This is my first fanfic, so I really hope you enjoy it!

It started out fuzzy, more of a hum than anything. But as time passed, it grew definition. He could make out shapes now. He knew he was surrounded by friends, but who were they? He could't hear them yet.

The shapes evened out. There were two females there, and one male. He knew who they were, and he could feel himself grinning. His eyes adjusted fully, and he saw their faces. His mouth opened, and he tried to talk, but only rasping came. The taller female, the wild looking one, came over and offered him a some water from a bowl. He gladly accepted. When he had his fill, he could feel her name on his tongue. Nepeta, he tried, but instead the name came out as Disciple. She turned back toward him and smiled. He was confused, but his face didn't show it. He looked to the other female. Kanaya, he tried, but out came Dolorosa. What was going on? He looked to the male. He knew this one, he was sure of it. Sollux. But no. Psiioniic. They gathered around him, holding him close. But something else was wrong. Why couldn't he move? His arms were above him, stretched painfully. He tugged them, trying to break free, but they didn't move. He looked in confusion to his friends, and they looked at him with pain in their eyes. He looked up to see what it was, and there was a flash of light.

Karkat woke in a daze. He tried hard to forget it. It was only a dream, after all. There couldn't really be a connection to anything. That was just silly.

He got up and got clean for the inevitable trials to come. He put off going downstairs as long as he could stave off the rumblings in his stomach. If he could avoid CrabDad for the day, he could start off just a little brighter. As soon as he heard the front portal slam shut, he hurried downstairs. He threw together a meal, and took it into the block containing the television. He turned it on, more for the noise than anything else, and scarfed down his food.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"KaRbRo? YoU iN tHeRe?" Karkat sighed. Of course. Gamzee had messaged him last night talking about coming over today. But what was it for?

"NO GAMZEE, NO ONES HOME. THAT'S WHY IM ANSWERING YOU." He sighed again and got up to open the door. Gamzee came barreling through. "SO WHATS SO IMPORTANT YOU HAD TO TELL ME IN PERSON?" He shut the door and went to sit back down on the couch.

"WeLl HeCk. ThE wAy YoUrE bEiN', i GoTtA mAkE aN aPpOiNtMeNt To SeE mY bEsT fRiEnD. WhAtS uP wItH tHaT aNyWaY? yOu JuSt BeEn SuPeR bUsY, nO oNe'S eVeN rEaLlY sEeN yOu FoR wEeKs. We'Re MiSsIn' YoU bRo."

Karkat sighed again. "I DON't KNOW GAMZEE. I JUST. I HAVE A LOT ON MY MIND. I HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN SLEEPING WELL, AND ITS KIND OF GETTING TO ME."

Concern etched itself onto Gamzee's face. "WeLl, YoU gOt AnY cLuE wHaT's GoIn' On? CaN i HeLp YoU iN aNy WaY?"

"I DONT KNOW. I'VE BEEN HAVING THESE WEIRD DREAMS." Gamzee nodded, and Karkat continued. "THEY'VE BEEN GOING ON FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW. THEY GET MORE AND MORE VIVID EACH TIME, BUT ITS ALWAYS THE SAME THING. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT I WANT IT TO STOP. I HAVE A FEELING THAT THEY'RE JUST GOING TO GET WORSE FROM HERE."

"WhAtS hApPeNiN' iN tHeSe DrEaMs?"

"WELL, AT FIRST, IM JUST KIND OF THERE. IT FEELS LIKE I GOT KNOCKED OUT OR SOMETHING, AND I WAS JUST WAKING UP. THEN I START SEEING OUR FRIENDS. BUT ONLY, IT ISN'T REALLY THEM."

"WhAt Do YoU mEaN bY tHaT?"

"I MEAN, THEY LOOK OLDER. I CAN SEE THAT THEY LOOK LIKE THEM, BUT THEY AREN'T. AND WHEN I TRY TO SAY THEIR NAMES, IT COMES OUT DIFFERENT."

"WhIcH fRiEnDs ArE yOu SeEiN' bRo?"

"NEPETA, SOLLUX, AND KANAYA. BUT WHEN I TRY AND CALL FOR THEM, IT COMES OUT AS SOMETHING WEIRD. I CAN'T REALLY REMEMBER ANY OF THE NAMES THAT COME OUT, BUT THEY COME AND LIKE, HUG ME. I TRY TO MOVE, BUT I CAN'T. MY WRISTS ARE BOUND BY SOMETHING, AND WHEN I LOOK UP TO SEE WHAT IT IS, I WAKE UP."

"SoUnDs LiKe OnE hElL oF a DrEaM."

"IT REALLY IS. I KIND OF WANT TO FIGURE IT OUT, BUT I REALLY JUST WANT IT TO STOP. I FEEL LIKE I'M REALLY NOT GOING TO LIKE HOW IT ENDS." Karkat held his head in his hands, and Gamzee reached out to pat his back, attempting to comfort him. Karkat just sat there, massaging his temples.

"WHAT IF..WHAT IF IT DOESN'T STOP GAMZEE. WHAT IF THIS IS A DREAM OF THE FUTURE. AND IT'LL KEEP HAPPENING UNTIL IT COMES TRUE." Karkat looked up to him, worry etching his face.

"KaR, iT'lL bE aLl RiGhT. yOu JuSt GoTtA cAlM dOwN, aNd TaKe SoMe DeEp BrEaThEs. YoU gOt To LeT oUt YoUr RaGe, AnD yOuR pAiN. It AiN't GoOd To KeEp It BoTtLeD uP iNsIDe." Karkat stared at him for a minute, and his face softened.

"YOU'RE RIGHT GAMZEE. IF I KEEP WORRYING ABOUT IT, IT'LL JUST GET WORSE. I JUST NEED TO RELAX."

Gamzee looked relieved, and smiled at him. "WaNnA wATcH a MoViE?" Karkat looked at him, and smiled.

"ALL RIGHT. YOU PICK."