Roxy let out a deep sigh as they sat down on the rock. Talking about her past, before the game... before she got better, was hard. She began with the background information about the Condesce, who she was and what she'd done to the earth to make it the post-apocalyptic shit hole she'd grown up in. Specifically, she'd mentioned the fact that she was the Alternian's former Empress, aka Her Imperious Condescension. The Condesce was good at two things as far as Roxy saw it. She was super fucking good at conquering worlds and then spectacularly fucking up those worlds once she got her grubby little mitts on 'em.

Roxy then went on in depth about the gradual extinction of the human race and the Condesce's direct role in it. The despair she'd felt being one of two human beings left on earth. The fact that Dirk was a good three thousand miles away, in the middle of the fucking ocean with no way to get to him. That her other friends were stuck 400 years in the past and utterly untouchable. That the person who she had believed was her mother had died hundreds of years before Roxy was even born. Worse, the reality that the only way she'd ever meet her friends or the woman she thought was her mother was to play a game... a game she knew the Condesce wanted her to play. That the only way to make her hopes and dreams come true was to play right into the hands of the very person who'd made her life a living hell and had basically taken everything from her.

"To say I wasn't in a good place back then is a bit of an understatement," Roxy supplied with a huff. "I was a lonely, depressed teenager with an entire wine cellar at her disposal and no adult to tell me what a fucking terrible idea that was."

"So... you drank," Hermione whispered tremulously, realizing her worst guess had been correct.

Roxy let out a hollow sounding laugh. "I didn't just drink. I got black-out drunk on the reg. Drank till I couldn't feel feelings, y'know. Could barely function once the game got started - was a fucking liability to my friends and a danger to myself. I was a huge mess." Roxy let out a very loud, shaky sigh. "I ain't proud of it. From what she told me, Rose was nice enough when she was writing our part in that book she gave you that she kind of toned down the fact that I was an almost functioning alcoholic. Like, I guess she cut out some of the more embarrassing logs. But the evidence is still there - can't really hide it."

For a moment, Hermione thought of saying something dreadfully stupid like 'I'm sorry'. In fact, she struggled greatly with finding something to say that wasn't one of the most idiotic things you could say to someone in Roxy's position. "Well, you got better, didn't you? I mean, from what I've seen from meeting you four years ago to today - you're sober. That's good," she said attempting to be encouraging but to her ears sounding silly and a bit lame. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong..."

Roxy took in stride, as she always had. Most people didn't know how to deal with someone who had a problem like she did, because they never had that problem to begin with and Roxy hoped to god they never would. Most folks tried their best. She couldn't judge someone who'd never been in her shoes, after all.

"Nah, s'all good," she exclaimed with a hand wave. "I just decided that I didn't want to be a hilarious shit-show when I first met my mom/ecto-daughter. So I got clean. And here's where we get to why I acted so messed up when I first met you." Her cheeks puffed out as she exhaled harshly. "How much do you know about doomed timelines?"

Hermione gave her the standard definition of what a doomed timeline was, almost verbatim. It was a timeline where one or more players had utterly failed at what they needed to do, consigning everyone in that timeline to die, inevitably. Here came the really hard part of her story, revealing that she and John both came from a doomed timeline where everything that could possibly go wrong had happened. And it had all happened that way because the Condesce had manipulated every last step of their journey for the benefit of herself and the demon that employed her.

She told her that the Rose they knew now was not the woman Roxy had first met. She recounted how joyous that first meeting was for her and how it was abruptly ended - watching in horror as the Condesce impaled Rose with her trident - watching as Rose died in her arms, unable to do anything. That was why she'd reacted so irrationally. Because for just a moment, she thought it was happening all over again and that she'd have to watch everyone she loved die and be unable to do a damn thing about it.

"Wait," Hermione interrupted, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "I was under the impression that everyone from a doomed timeline dies, save the Time player - who would go back to fix what was wrong. If that's true, how are you even here? And you're clearly not a Time player, Dave is, because there's only ever one per session."

"Ten points to Gryffindor!" Roxy grinned at her quick witted friend. "See, it's like you said -normally Paradox Spaces goes out of its way to kack you. Sort of like when you wanna wipe a computer. Like, you could just overwrite shit, but all that does is put new stuff over old stuff," she explained, waving her hands animatedly. "There's still gonna be old stuff left over, right? So, if you really wanna do it clean, you gotta be brutal and wipe fucking everything with a special program. Paradox Space works like that, brutally wiping out shit it don't need."

She paused long enough to make sure Hermione was keeping up before continuing. "Thing is, you can't never really get rid of every last little bitty bit of info, not for realsies. There's stuff left over and if you're really clever you can find neat ways to get info back that you thought was gone. What happened to me is like that. Well, me and John - we sort of found a giant ass loophole that let us squirm our way out of being straight up murdered by game mechanics."

"How?" Hermione's tone was dreadfully insistent. There hadn't been anything about that in any of her books.

"Well, I ain't the only one that gots a sleeper power. And, let's be honest, my sleeper power is just my regular power. John... he has a real sleeper power, one we don't brag about on account of the fucking weird way he got and how insanely powerful it makes him."

The young witch looked at her skeptically. "But it's no secret he's a Godtier. It was in that green book Rose gave me in plain black and white. He was the first one of you to reach it."

"Yeah, but this shit was something he got outside of normal Godtier powers. How he got it is not the point really... and frankly the shenans involved in that story is out of fucking control," she began, with a self-conscious shrug. "The fact is - he can selectively travel through timelines and alter reality without creating any paradoxes that doom the shit out of everything. It's sort of like he's a Time Player but without all the dangers and risks involved inherent to that Aspect. We call them his 'Retcon' powers, cuz he was able to retroactively change the timeline to tilt things significantly in our favor."

Her eyes widened as she remembered to a moment four years ago - when John had taken her from the Astronomy Tower to the monastery in an instant. "H-he transported me via..." she gasped haltingly, her mind racing so quickly she was barely able to form coherent sentences. "F-f-four years a-ago... that time when he transported me, he was using this 'Retcon' power? That wasn't a part of his normal God Tier powers?" Hermione's voice became a bit shrill at that point.

"Nah, dude's Heir of Breath. His shit don't work like that," Roxy said blandly, as if it wasn't the most terrifying thing one could say in regards to non-standard forms of magical travel. "The only person he can transport using his normal powers is himself... or like him and a chess dude flying in a car, which I'm under the impression he actually did at some point for some convoluted fucking reason, no doubt."

Hermione could not believe what she was hearing, so she closed her eyes and took a calming breath. "You implied that traveling that way isn't dangerous... but nothing comes without a cost. Especially when it comes to this game of yours - everything I've read about it indicates there are always consequences for your actions. Always."

"True, but in this case it ain't that simple. Since you mentioned it, John lettin' you hitch a ride using his Retcon powers ain't no thing. He wasn't changing nothin', he was just taking you from point 'A' to point 'B' in the safest way possible, comparatively speaking. Like, you should be glad he didn't show up with that fucking car all 'beep beep motherfucker, let's ride the wind'. Because honestly, I love that boy to pieces, but there ain't no way I'm sitting in any kind of vehicle that he's controlling using only his windy bullshit."

Hermione scoffed, the look on her face telling Roxy she wasn't buying it. And then she inhaled deeply, her eyes closing briefly as she steeled herself. "There was a cost, but not for the 'me' you're talking to now or the John you've already met. See, this whole game is one big mind-fuck. The 'Roxy' and 'John' from the new timeline John created with all his record breaking time-hops paid that price. They died, we lived, which brings up a whole host of messy questions we ain't gettin' into."

"You know, every time I think something can't get worse when it comes to this game of yours, it inevitably becomes more horrible than I could ever possibly imagine," she commented with a frown.

Roxy actually guffawed loudly. "Yeah,well. That was my fucking reality for, like, a year and a half. Sort of like your whole on-going camping trip from hell looking for the 'you know whats', that shit is horrible as fuck. We all got our crosses to bear," she stated simply with a shrug. "So, your turn."

"Huh?" was Hermione's rather elegant reply.

"Well, I been talking for a while and while it's been rad as hell getting all this shit off my chest, feel like I ain't bein' a good friend just talking about my issues. You got issues too. Huge, horrific issues. What with your mission to kick you know who's moldy asshole... one friend all fucked up and barely conscious in a tent, the other one is fuck knows where. You're having a tough time right now, it's obvious. I'd be a shitty ass bestie if I didn't offer my shoulder for a good cry," she explained, patting her shoulder invitingly.

Hermione hesitated for only a seconding, looking into her friend's face. Roxy wore her signature silly smile, but just underneath you could see the genuine concern. And even though this version of Roxy didn't remember their first meeting yet, Hermione felt the same as she had back then. That this was a person one could trust their secrets to. Letting out a shuddering sigh, Hermione started at the beginning. She told her everything, even though it was hard and she spent a good portion of her time crying, as usual. Roxy was a sympathetic ear, offering advice when she could and her shoulder, which was remarkable good for crying on, as promised. And when she finished and the sun was low in the sky, Hermione felt as if something terrible had been flushed from her system. She felt good for the first time in months.

They chatted merrily on the way back. Hermione blithely mentioned future Roxy's interest in Arithmancy. For which Roxy gently chided her for. "Gotta watch out for them casual spoilers," she said by way of explanation. All the same, Roxy was interested in the subject though they did end up sticking to safer topics, like their favorite thought experiments and various physics equations that made them laugh.

By the time they got back, the sun had set and all the camp was aglow with lights. Dinner was on the table and it was just as raucous affair as it was the previous day, mostly because Terezi had finally made an appearance. If she were to say that Terezi Pyrope was loud, that would be an immutable fact and a vast understatement of reality. She was a megaphone that some idiot trickster had gifted with sentience; cacophony in human form made by a malevolent god as punishment for some unknown crime. She made Karkat's yelling from the day before seem like sweet heavenly music.

Like Karkat, she was very short but unlike him she was lean and wiry. For some absurd reason, Hermione was forcefully reminded of the Hungarian Horntail Harry had faced in fourth year. Her hair was somewhere between neat and artfully messy, with a pair of straight, pointed horns peeking out mischievously. Her eyes weren't immediately visible, hidden as they were behind an odd pair of sunglasses with red lenses rather than the normal black. She wore plain black clothes, the only splashes of color were her bright red trainers and the teal sign for Libra on her T-shirt.

As if she knew someone was watching her, Terezi's head snapped in her direction. She stared at Hermione intently, lips pulling back to reveal a shark's grin. It went on long enough that it made the young witch distinctly uncomfortable, turning away even though she knew without looking that the troll was still staring at her. It was exactly as Kanaya said last night. Terezi almost enjoyed deliberately making people uncomfortable.

"You're right, I do," rasped Terezi, having suddenly plopped herself into an empty space directly across from Hermione. How and when she did that without making a sound was a mystery.

Shocked, Hermione almost choked on the stew she'd been eating. "E-e-excuse me?" she squeaked out between gasps, before chugging down a gulp of water.

"I enjoy making people uncomfortable. Deliberately," Terezi answered with a toothy grin, her voice carrying.

Not that anyone was all that interested as their attention had been diverted elsewhere. John and Karkat were having a very spirited discussion about Alternian films, which was really more along the lines of an argument. Though it was difficult to tell as it was clear Karkat was the only one arguing. John seemed amused by it all and was answering back with cheerful jabs, a small half-smile on his face. Vriska chimed in on occasion, with the sole apparent goal of goading Karkat into having an apoplectic fit. And if that was, indeed, the goal, she was succeeding with honors.

Hermione turned her attention away from the amusing spectacle and back to the Seer of Mind, thinking for a moment or two before she spoke. "Why?"

Of all the questions she considered, this one seemed the most important. She could ask her how Terezi had known what she'd been thinking or really anything else. But this one, most of all, seemed like it deserved an answer. Why would anyone enjoy making people uncomfortable? It seemed entirely pointless and counterproductive to any kind of communication that wasn't overtly hostile.

"It's an interrogation technique common on my world. You keep the subject constantly unbalanced so that they have a harder time answering with anything but the truth," she admitted as if Hermione had voiced her thoughts, and then she grinned wickedly. "And also because it's fun to watch people squirm."

All the Alternians she'd met had made her feel uncomfortable for one reason or the other. This one was no different. "I assume you've come over here for a reason."

"Then you assume incorrectly," she retorted giddily and then she cackled. "I came over here to mess with you."

"And why's that?" Hermione hissed with a hint of indignation.

"Because you make it so absurdly easy," Terezi replied, tenting her hands as she leaned in. "You don't like us very much... us trolls, I mean."

It was the truth, though she wouldn't admit it. "Rubbish. I've only just met you... trolls. I haven't known any of you long enough to even begin to make such a blanket statement -"

"Liar," Terezi countered with great amusement. "You haven't known some of the humans in our group all that much longer, but I know for a fact you're all great human friends. Length of time has nothing to do with it."

"What are you implying?"

"That we make you 'distinctly' uncomfortable. With the exception of Kanaya... but she's always been better at socializing with humans than the rest of us. Them," and then she gestured at Karkat and Vriska, who had loudly elevated their disagreement from simple sarcastic barbs to playground taunts, "because it's something they've never been good at, even when they were on Alternia. And me... because I don't give a shit." And then she cackled again. "Your deflections are pointless, so you may as well answer".

"I suppose that there is some truth in your statement," answered Hermione cautiously, unable to see what the whole point of this argument was. "That's not a crime, is it?"

"No, it isn't," she conceded. Her head swayed oddly for a moment, as if she were sniffing the air. "So, tell me Miss Periwinkle-Starburst... how did you like Dave and I's little art project?"

Reeling, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not only at the question but the strange, spontaneous nickname. "W-what?"

"The flier we just finished today and sent you two sweeps ago." She paused for a few seconds. "Or perhaps I should say four human years ago. Did you like it? We both worked awfully hard on it."

"Why do you keep saying things like that?! Human this and human that! It's ridiculous!"

Terezi gasped dramatically, feigning hurt. "I'm an alien, after all. We do have to live up to your impressive Earth expectations," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've seen some of your movies. The one where the monster bursts out of that human male's chest was particularly funny. So, what did you think of our lovely art project?"

It took Hermione a moment to remember it, the flier that had been graffiti-ed by Dave all those years ago; the flier with the strange little addendum on it that was almost like a portent - S33 YOU SOON. Truth be told, she had thought the flier was terrible in an endearing kind of way, but terrible none-the-less.

"It... it was very amusing," Hermione answered diplomatically, feeling out of sorts and a bit annoyed. "But I don't under-"

"Are you patronizing me because I'm blind?"

"What?! I d-didn't kno-"

"Making fun of a blind girl... Tut! Tut! What would your human woman-lusus say?! If she remembered you, that is." She paused for effect, something dangerous in her smile. "Rather devious of you, the way you wiped your strange human guardians of their memory of you, without even asking. I'm almost impressed."

Hermione's eyes went wide and there was a flicker of fury. "H-how did you know that?!"

"I'm a Seer. It's all part of the job," she said flatly, leaning a bit on that last word suggestively, as if giving away some kind of hint for a riddle she hadn't bothered to tell.

"I don't see what the point of all this was, other than to be deeply unpleasant and rude," she snapped, feeling deep in her heart that this was the single most off-putting conversation she'd ever had in her whole life. She would have rather had a good long sit down with Rita Skeeter over a cup of tea than continue speaking with the Seer of Mind.

Terezi was overjoyed by the feathers she'd so clearly ruffled, her grin losing none of its more manic qualities before she quickly sobered. "The point was for me to get a sense of you... and whether you're up to the task that'll be set before you."

"So you were testing me, then?"

"In a manner of speaking..."

"And did I pass?"

"That remains to be seen," she answered with an air of nonchalance, standing up rather abruptly. Pulling out her dragon-headed cane from seemingly nowhere, she carefully navigated herself out of her seat and tapped her way to the entrance of the camp. Holding back the tent flap with her cane, she turned to give Hermione one last look, that shark's grin on her face before walking out silently into the night. Vriska followed her shortly thereafter.

Happy 4/13, folks!