Kanaya: Return to the core

The lab after Kanaya finishes talking to Jade.

Reterniabound, titled in Homestuck as [S] Kanaya: Return to the core. is a Flash segment in Act 5 Act 2, posted on 01/22/11, that stars five of the trolls within the lab, with roughly 3 hours and 14 minutes left in the countdown. It is the second part of Alterniabound.

• Walkthrough/Transcript (or pastebin)

Information of note

The end of Sollux and Eridan's duel.

The three playable characters are Kanaya Maryam, Karkat Vantas, and Eridan Ampora.

After Terezi Pyrope absconds from the room, the reader/player will be able to control Kanaya or Karkat. Karkat is unwilling (and playing as him, unable) to leave the main room via the transportalizer, and when Kanaya attempts to do so she will be knocked out of the way by Eridan who enters the room. As Karkat, his conversation with Kanaya concerns his frustration with Jade's password system and how his relationship with Jade might be upsetting to Terezi.

Kanaya must return the matriorb to the core, and in order to proceed Kanaya must pick up the matriorb and notify Karkat of where she is going (for not telling her leader would be irresponsible). Karkat says she has to be in the lab with him, but after saying she will be gone for only a few minutes, Karkat lets her go. After doing all of this, she attempts to transportalize, but is knocked out of the way by Eridan.

The reader will then be forced to continue as Eridan, and can end the flash game by talking to Sollux Captor and Feferi Peixes, who are currently resting in the horn pile. Still angry at Sollux after their last duel, he says that as the Prince of Hope, he knows when all hope is lost, and says he will join Jack Noir in hopes of being spared and attempts to get Feferi to go with him. Sollux and Eridan begin round 2 of their duel which ends with them charging energy beams. After the duel, the player is given the option to view the scene again or start over.

None of the other trolls make an appearance.

Doc Scratch has a message waiting for Kanaya. Or rather, he has a message for Karkat, left on Kanaya's computer. It's a pity she doesn't trust him or have any time to highlight it.

Items

• Scalemate — Duke Pinesnort; blue
• Faygo — lukewarm; playable characters consider, but decide against, having a robust swig
• Used host plush — decapitated for some reason
• Host plush
• Broken 8 ball — indicates that Vriska Serket is not present
• Tinkerbull plush — belongs to Tavros, who is on his way to his fight with Vriska. The description notes that the trolls are certain that he is alive, which is true; Vriska does not kill him until half an hour after the end of the flash.
• Matriorb — can be taken by Kanaya; Karkat is unable to examine it; Eridan notes to "help" Kanaya out with it later
• Dragonsuit — Terezi's cosplay getup; Karkat feels bad for mocking her about it. Its description is the same for all characters and mentions that having separate per-character descriptions would have been a "waste of time".
• Broken bow — Equius's
• Uni-real Air — Gamzee's
• Teapot — Nepeta's; steeping "cameowmile" tea
• Drawing tablet — Terezi's, with a half-finished fanfic comic featuring a coolkid and herself.
• Robo-debris — of Aradiabot; the description mocks how the trolls are certain of her death, when the reader knows her to be alive
• Exploded computer
• Milk — Equius's

Secrets

Trickster Mode.

Just like in Alterniabound, Trickster Mode allows you to go to the music room, but Sollux is performing a mad hip thrust in the place where Gamzee used to dance. His shitty music taste also results in only one track, Heir Conditioning, being available, much to the disappointment of the EarthBound cast, who, unlike in Alterniabound, can actually be talked to, remarking on where Gamzee went, Sollux's thrusts, and how he only has one record. Heir Conditioning is an arrangement of Utsuho Reiuji's theme, Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion, and Cirno's theme, Beloved Tomboyish Daughter of the Touhou Project.

Playing as Kanaya

• Talk to Feferi and Sollux: Feferi talks to Sollux about his feelings concerning Aradia's disappearance, and how it led to him feeling more depressed and useless than usual. Feferi assures him that Aradia is fine. Sollux then thanks her for liking him, despite her being "2o riidiiculou2ly optiimii2stiic iit'2 kiind of 2iickeniing". Right after he says that, he chases Kanaya away.
• Talk about Terezi: Karkat talks about how he can't seem to do anything right in front of Terezi. Kanaya suggests that he chases after her, but he claims that he needs to hold down the fort, seeing as the whole place is in chaos and everyone else is missing. He also complains about the other trolls squirrelling their unimportant items into chests.
• Tell Karkat where you're going: Kanaya informs Karkat that she is going to return the Matriorb to the core. Initially, Karkat forbids her to leave, but after she tells him that he could cope without her and that she'll be gone for just a while, he lets her go and wishes her luck.
• Answer: Kanaya is uninterested in interacting with Doc Scratch, and puts off answering his messages 'til later.

Playing as Karkat

• Talk to Feferi and Sollux: When Feferi tries to talk to Karkat about Sollux's feelings, Karkat cuts her off by saying that he does not care. Sollux appreciates the gesture by telling Karkat that he is a true friend. Karkat goes on to ask if the duo have seen Gamzee around. Apparently both of them have not seen him in a while, and offered to go look for him. Karkat forbids them to leave and tells them to stay put.
• Talk about Jade: Karkat talks to Kanaya about Jade, and feels that Jade's new password system is ridiculous. Kanaya feels that Karkat has taken a liking to her. She also suggests that Terezi might have thought that he was trying to make her jealous of his interactions with Jade. Karkat retorts that Terezi was apparently doing the same to him by interacting with Dave, even going so far as to fake crying over his corpse. Kanaya then admonishes him for dismissing others' sincere emotions as fake so easily.

Playing as Eridan

• Talk to Karkat: Eridan tries to invite others to the Land of Wrath and Angels, claiming that he was very lonely. He would settle for anyone, even the "kittycat shipper cavve girl". He complains that being Nepeta's server player and saving her life wasn't enough to win her over. At this, Karkat explains that she was still obsessed with himself, and that her rejection has nothing to do with Eridan. He goes on to say that it was impossible for Eridan to make any progress with Nepeta since he treats her with so little respect. Eridan then changes the subject abruptly, stating that the angels in his world were very difficult to fight, to which Karkat explains that those angels were probably game constructs meant to serve other purposes in the game.
• Talk to Kanaya: Eridan thanks Kanaya for all the training she did with him. She waves the gesture away, saying that she only made him the wand, and that his newfound powers have nothing to do with her. Eridan asks about the Matriorb, and she explains that she was going to return it to the core to hatch it. He demands to be involved in it, seeing as he considered it to be an action filled with hope.
• Examine Matriorb: "Gotta help Kanaya out with this thing after your business is done here. Hope is your jurisdiction on this meteor."
• Talk to Feferi and Sollux: *Doing this action will end the current flash game after Sollux's and Eridan's battle.* Eridan tries to get Feferi to go with him to find Jack, to which she angrily refused. Eridan claims that as the Prince of Hope, he knows when hope is lost. Thus, he will go look for Jack in hopes that at the end of it all, his life (along with Feferi's, if she agrees to come with him) will be spared. Sollux then attempts to stop him, and a flash battle sequence is then carried out.

Glitches

A glitch in the Flash

For glitches found in all the Alterniabound styled games, see Alterniabound's shared glitches.

Sprites

Sollux's profile

Karkat's profile

Kanaya's profile

Eridan's profile

Feferi's profile

Sollux's battle sprite

Eridan's battle sprite

Feferi's battle sprite

Sollux dancing

Credits

• Programming - Aria "Gankra" Beingessner
• Music
  • "Darling Kanaya", "Karkat's Theme", "Eridan's Theme", and "Nautical Nightmare" by Toby Radiation Fox
  • "Heir Conditioning" by Joren "Tensei" de Bruin
• Art assets - Brett Muller, Eyes5, Jessica Allison, Lexxy, Rebecca Harding, Paige Turner, Richard Gung, SaffronScarf, Sockpuppy, and Vivus

Trivia

• While the file source refers to the Flash as Reterniabound, it has also been referred to as Returniabound by the art team.