Mutated Ectoplasm

8. One of a Kind

God, when did his life become so complicated?

Karkat flew out of the warehouse, eventually finding his friends outside. The week hadn't exactly been easy on them too, but they were managing. He honestly didn't want to bother them with this type of shit, especially since most of it wasn't that dangerous currently, but they'd been insistent since the fight with Mrs. Littlemeyer. Ghost hunting cut into their schedule a bit, but it thankfully hadn't gotten too bad since then. School work was being done on time.

"Surprised you guys stuck around." Karkat wanted to tell them he had it handled but figured that would only start another argument. "It's just Boxy, not like he's a real threat."

"You say that but getting busted lip from a box of staplers says otherwise." Aradia replied, rolling her eyes. She looked him over carefully, raising an eyebrow. "I'm guessing he didn't land a hit this time?"

"Getting knocked out by staplers would teach him to dodge." Sollux hands clumsily fiddled with the clasp of the first aid kit they'd started bringing along with them. "Then again, this is Karkat."

"Ha, ha, real hilarious, jackass." Karkat floated himself closer, raising the thermos up and moving it slightly. "I captured Boxy without incident, okay? He's not going to be a problem for the rest of the night."

"I'd suggest leaving him in there, but I'm pretty sure trapping him in a 'cylindrical prison' overnight would only make him angrier." Aradia laughed to herself before sighing, putting away the ecto-gun she'd been holding. They'd all taken one from under Spades nose to make sure they were prepared. "Any idea how to keep him away for longer?"

"I'd drop him off somewhere within the Ghost Zone and see how long it takes to get back if I wasn't afraid of keeping the damn portal open." Karkat moved down lower to the ground, debating on turning into his regular form just yet. "You guys still planning on staying out? Usually the ghosts taper off by now."

"I might head home." Sollux yawned, as if to grind in the point that he was tired as all hell. "I don't think my dad has caught on just yet, but if I stay out any longer, he might start to suspect I'm doing drugs or something."

"Yeah, Heido is really starting to get on my case." Aradia grumbled, fighting off a yawn herself. "I might cut it out for tonight too." The two looked expectantly towards Karkat.

Said teen shifted a bit in the air in thought before nodding and floating upwards. "I think I'll do another sweep of the town just in case. Rather not hear about glowing snakes in the morning from the neighbors again."

They nodded, though he could see them hesitate for a brief second. He flew up and head off to the park before they could say anything else, if only to let them sleep for the night.

Once he was far enough away from the area, Karkat sighed to himself and felt some of his energy drain out of him. He had to let them sleep at some point, but they always tried to follow him whenever they could. He knew they still felt guilty for the accident, even if they were trying to turn things around, so they just kept going on patrol with him.

It wasn't a great feeling, knowing they were doing it out of guilt. But he didn't feel like arguing about it either, so it was going to have to be like this until they could come up with a better solution.

Karkat did his best to let his mind empty as he flew through air. He didn't like a lot of things about this situation, but he had to admit that flying was pretty relaxing when he wasn't dodging random projectiles. The wind flowing past him was gentle, the night was quiet, and seeing everything from above was almost eye-opening.

The streetlights were on, dotting the streets in a hazy glow. People's houses were either dormant or bustling with activity. The park had a random pattern of lights, offset by glowing, green cages and someone floating in the middle of it...