Roxy woke up alone, disoriented, in a place that was familiar in only the most surreal of ways. It wasn't familiar to her as she was. It was familiar to a washed out version of herself, a phony creation of the batterwitch's making. The cats on the walls stared at her condescendingly. They were cute, but their context made her skin crawl.

She saw the device on the floor that had flashed in her face, along with the letter. It had to be from Dirk, and she had a feeling he knew something she didn't. She took the letter, and opened it up, reading the contents carefully. It explained that Dirk had never lost his memory, that he had been sneaking around, building the devices that reversed the brainwashing effect. Then it had instructions for her, and Roxy had no plans to disappoint.

She put on the most stuck-up face she could, and went to go find Jake, hoping that on this journey, she'd find Jane as well. Jake and Dave lived in a dorm not too far from her own. It was kind of dumpy, and the two were constantly arguing, even now. Usually Jake would win, being the more brutal one currently. Roxy could hardly wait to fix that.

She knocked gently on the door and the arguing stopped. There was a faint grumbling before Dave answered the door, and Roxy activated the memory flasher, sending the two to the floor.

0o0o0o0o

Karkat and Sollux walked into the fighting arena, knowing that Terezi, Kanaya, and Nepeta had already set it up so that the rest of the trolls would be there, except Gamzee who no one had seen since he beat the champion once and left, never to be seen again. There were Eridan and Feferi, having a serious discussion about their relationship in the bleachers. Vriska stood by Tavros's side, and Aradia and Equius lingered nearby. Terezi had gotten them access to the tech booth, and they snuck in without being noticed.

Suddenly all the screens flashed on, and they flickered violently like strobe lights, broadcasting the light of the memory flasher throughout the arena. Those who had not already been exposed fell to the floor, blacking out until the broadcast stopped. For a moment there was silence, until a frustrated sound rose from the crowd.

"Tavros!" Cried Vriska's shrill and angry voice.

"Uhh . . . V-Vriska . . . uhh . . . wait!" Cried out Tavros, but Vriska had already tackled him in fury.

Sollux and Karkat ran out of the tech booth to find a nervous Equius trying to break up the fight.

Tavros was very confused as Equius tore Vriska off him. In fact, they were all very confused. What timeline was this, why were they all still alive, and most importantly, where exactly was Gamzee? None of them had seen him after that single incident, and the fact that he was missing was extremely disquieting. Deep down Karkat knew he would have to face his former moirail soon, and that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

Even more importantly, though, is that he looked on this group and knew exactly what they needed. They needed . . . a leader.

"Alright, listen up." Said Karkat in his most shouty voice. "I know this is confusing, but we have a plan.

0o0o0o0o

Dirk came into the room just as Roxy had finished memory flashing Dave and Jake.

"Oh good." He said in relief. "You started. Sorry, I just got back. Gotta take care of everything, it feels like."

"Well you know you can depend on me." Said Roxy. "Besides, all those cats were giving me the creeps. I'm ready to kick some batterwitch ass."

Dirk smirked. "I hoped you would be." He knelt next to Dave and Jake, helping them up. "Hey, are you two with me?"

Dave looked down at his clothes. "I'm with you, but this new look is just not gonna cut it."

Jake looked very confused. "Dirk? Oh gosh golly I'm fuzzy. What happened?"

"We were all brainwashed, but I stole some technology to undo the effects. Come on, let's go find the others, and snap them out of it. We better be quick too. We need to meet up with the trolls and we still haven't found Jade or Jane yet. Gladly, our God Tier powers should return very soon. I've had mine this whole time. It's just a matter of bringing myself to get into pantaloons again, if I can find them. Whatever sort of realm we're in, it's very strange, so be careful."

"We will be." Said Roxy. "Let's get going."

0o0o0o0o

As the trolls went to meet up with the kids, they noticed that the more their memories and powers returned to them, the more the city darkened, and the more they caught faded glimpses of dancestors and dead versions of themselves. They tried to figure out where they were, but the more they thought about it, the less sense it made. Soon they realized that, for all they remembered, none of them could say what had been going on before all this happened, plus, they were all still alive. Still, with no explanation, they continued on as the city turned into more of a dreamscape than anything.

Dirk, Dave, Roxy and Jake had no trouble in getting John and Rose back to normal, and as the world got foggier and dreamier, it was easy to find Jade, who was very confused and locked up in a touchup facility. She explained that they hadn't been able to brainwash her properly and that they had locked her up because she knew far too much. She had an idea of the nature of where they were. She also knew what had become of Gamzee and Jane. Still, she refused to say any more until they all met up, so as not to risk the realm's integrity.

It wasn't long until both groups met up, an occurrence that made the realm grey out dramatically. Jade quickly ran to the head of the group to explain, but just then the Condesce appeared, Jane and Gamzee, decked out in Crocker gear following close behind her. The kids stopped, their god tiers and regular clothing returning, along with their weapons, ready to engage in battle. Gamzee and Jane remained under the sea witch's curse, and drew their weapons as well.

Just as they were ready to charge, the whole world paused, and suddenly Karkat was alone, the only dynamic figure in a static world that was slowly fading around him. His heart pounded. He wasn't sure what was happening, and inexplicably, it frightened him. He looked everywhere, and suddenly he was alone, in darkness, a green, hard hand placed gently on his shoulder. He turned, finding himself with the hooded green skull monster that resembled Lord English, but clearly was not.

"Wh-Who are you?" he asked, trying to catch his breath. "Wh-Where am I?"

"You figured it out." Said the hooded figure in a soothing female voice. "I'm glad. A few more minutes and you would have been dead, and that wouldn't have been pleasant for fate. By the way, my name is Calliope. I admit . . . I wasn't planning on making any more stops, doing any more toward this battle, but I could sense you, trapped in there. It was all a dream, a trap, created by the Condesce to distract you. Be more careful from now on. You have a role to play, and if you get caught again, you will be too far from beyond saving."

Karkat looked more serious. "Right, of course, I will. Uhh, thanks for pulling me out."

"It was no problem, just don't make me do it again. Now I will release you. Go, find your role. Good luck."

Karkat watched as she disappeared into the shadows, took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes.

Fin

(Author's note: So that's it everyone! Yes, this ending was super vague. I hope you know that was 100% intentional from the beginning, and I hope you enjoyed it. Though Homestuck has left the forefront of my interest, I am excited to read the finale this month. That story has been a part of my life for so many years and I absolutely need to see it through to the end. Thank you all so much for reading my work!)