Everything was wrong, things had gone so wrong and there were so many voices going on in Gamzee’s head they had no idea what to listen to and what to ignore anymore.  Karkat was busy with Dave of all people and unavailable to talk with, Gamzee was sure their moirallegiance had been broken though there were no words on it. Their heart was sore and they didn’t know who to take it out on.  One voice told them Terezi, screamed it so loud their head ached.  When they tried to act on it the screaming ceased just as they were shoved to the ground.  There was silence for once, blissful silence for only a moment before the laughter began. It echoed in their mind and off the walls, for a moment Gamzee was sure this had to be a night terror.  

The physical ball and chain meant nothing compared to the mental one Vriska had put on Gamzee, they weren’t allowed to think anymore, and there were things off limits to them in their own memories.  They weren’t allowed to talk to most of the others on the meteor, Vriska made sure they stayed away from the group.  Lil Cal continued to whisper at them and the puppet was the only thing Gamzee was allowed to talk with.  They wondered every once in a while why Vriska didn’t take that away too, considering the things whispered to them were certainly acts Serket would not be ok with.  It would interfere with her motherfucking irons or whatever.   

When Gamzee asked Cal, the puppet only told them not to worry and the friendliest of the tones urged them to seek comfort with a familiar friend.  Gamzee’s confusion was evident and their questions were met with grumbles, growls, and the repetition of LOCAH from the puppet before it went quiet.   

Grabbing his dusty grubtop it only took a bit of scanning through different time lines and open forums to figure out what LOCAH stood for and its basic location.  The problem now was how to get there.  Purple eyes glared at the weight on their leg and a rage that had been steeped down by Vriska’s mind control began to bubble up.  A growl escaped the highblood’s lips, they could feel anger, Vriska’s influence was weaker than usual, this was a good thing.  They took a deep breathe trying not to let anything alert her to their flaring anger and plan as their hands gripped the cuff around their ankle. 

Another breath in, eyes focused on the metal, grip tightening.  Gamzee let out a grunt as they attempted to pry the metal apart.  A creak gave them a glimmer of hope that freedom was possible. Another grunt and pull, longer this time and the metal snapped.  Gamzee stared in awe at the cracked and dented metal in their hands for a moment before letting it drop with a tink to the ground.  They took a few deep breathes to calm them-self, they couldn’t alert Vriska to their new found freedom, and stood up.  The next part would be the trickiest.  Getting off the meteor and to LOCAH without being caught was going to be one hell of a challenge, they had no idea how to get through the halls without being spotted.

 The word air vents echoed in their head and they glanced at Lil Cal before their eyes traveled up to the grate covering the opening to the air ducts.  They’d never noticed them before, or how large they were.  Gamzee stumbled over and took hold of each side, considering how much it felt they had to work to get the cuff off, prying the grate away from the wall felt like tearing paper.  Gamzee blinked and set it down quietly, their heart beating quickly with excitement.  Hefting themselves up and in Gamzee began the slow quiet crawl through the vents.  Lights passed occasionally and Gamzee could see into other rooms.  They passed one of the main rooms and saw what had broken Vriska’s control.  

 Everyone was squished together watching some sort of movie, Vriska’s attention was rapt on the screen while her legs rested across Terezi’s lap.  No wonder she wasn’t keeping a mental lock down on Gamzee.  The purple blood’s eyes zeroed in on Karkat who was sitting comfortably in Dave’s lap.  The blonde was whispering something into the cancer’s ear that had him laughing while their fingers were intertwined.  A knot tightened in Gamzee’s stomach and for a moment they thought they were going to vomit. Nothing hurt so much as seeing their best friend so happy with someone so awful.  Seeing Karkat so happy without them.  Gamzee swallowed hard and tried to quietly move on.  Block it out.  

 After what felt like forever Gamzee finally came to the main transportation room.  They weren’t sure how it would work exactly but this was where Lil Cal told them to go. After looking around and fiddling with some coordinates Gamzee felt confident that they had figured out how to get to LOCAH.  Taking a deep breathe Gamzee stood on the transportation pad and waited for the countdown to hit zero.  Once the lights cleared from their eyes and they could see Gamzee grinned widely. They’d made it off the meteor.  

 They had no idea what was waiting for them on this planet, even less of an idea where they were going, but the sheer mirth of getting to run around free of Vriska’s influence, without the fear that she could hear and stop them was enough for Gamzee.  They honked happily and ran around in a small circle before falling to the ground laughing. The world was far from colorful, it was nothing like their planet but God it was great to be free.  Their joyous celebration stopped almost as soon as it began when they heard voices approaching.  Ambling to their feet Gamzee looked around for a hiding spot, seeing there was scarcely anything around they instead drew their clubs, trying to hide their shaking.  Gamzee had no fight in them, they had been fighting mentally for almost 3 years and didn’t want to have to physically go at anyone.  

 As the voices grew louder Gamzee sprinted forward hoping they would gain an advantage with a surprise attack, but upon seeing the source of the voices Gamzee stopped.  There with one of the humans was a floating blue sprite, the two new comers stared at them in surprise, the map in the human’s hands indicating the two were working on a quest of sorts.  But Gamzee’s purple eyes continued to be drawn to the sprite, they would recognize those horns anywhere, even through a film of purple tinted tears.  “T-tav?” they stuttered out, clubs falling to the ground as they stumbled forward.

  “Gamzee what are you doing here?” Tavros responded his sprite form rushing toward his old friend.  Gamzee heard the Taurus’ voice, and god was it amazing to have that experience again, and lost their own.  There was so much they wanted to say and none of it was coming to their tongue. Instead Gamzee let their legs give out as Tavrossprite caught the falling clown.  Tavros’ now blue eyes widened in worry as he lifted his friend into his arms. “Gamzee?  Gamzee are you alright?!”  He asked shaking the purple blood.  Gamzee’s eyes shined with admiration and tears as they stared at Tavrossprite.  “Missed you so motherfuckin’ much bro.” they muttered burying their face into Tavros’ ecto-chest.

 “Tav, who is that are they ok?” Jane asked rushing up to her sprite, Lil Seb not far behind.  Tavros looked worriedly between Gamzee and Jane. 

“I don’t actually know to be totally honest at the moment and I think maybe I should probably take them somewhere to make sure they’re alright. I’m sorry Jane I-I don’t want to leave you on a quest bu-“

 “Oh hush up Mr.  Your friend is in trouble you should take care of them!  Seb and I can handle this mission, there’s no way a gal like me can fail!” Jane responded smiling widely.