ACT THREE
"..." Karkat paused, turning his head from the concerned, Sollux.
"I'm sorry."
"no iit2 not your fault"
"dont apologize" Sollux almost hissed, ashamed of Eridans ill behavior.
"... No, really... I'm sorry…" He almost swore tears had been forming in those vacant eyes, yet it turned out to be an illusion of sorrowful thought.
He crashed into the chair by Karkat's computer, burying his face in his arms, those forbidden tears threatening to rise again. This was. . . Way too much. Sollux swore he was on the verge of breaking.
"why are you 2orry"
"you diidnt do anythiing "
"you diidnt de2erve thii2" He wailed all three sentences, bellowing in pain not to generate tears.
He simply just stares down at Sollux, sighing as tears began to drop miserably from his damned cheeks,
" ... No. I did deserve this. Trust me."
He couldn't bear it anymore.
Solllux slammed the desk, his voice shaky from the secret sobs.
"2tu…2tubborn a22hole"
"you diidnt"
"dont apologiize"
"lea2t of all two me "
".. Are you crying?..." Karkat lifted his neck, attempting to get a view of the suffering troll.
"I'm so- ... Never mind, you'll get mad."
"Hey, I-..."
Karkat sighed, lowering his head.
"…"
Even if he wasn't with them at the moment, Eridan could tell that Karkat was going to experience hurtles with being dead.
A drain of personality or involvement was a typical phase attribute in trolls over an extent of time, it could be hitermist in certain individuals, and in Karkats case, quite extravagant.
Eridan figured that this depression like stage wouldn't be fairly noticable in his personality, already having similarities of the symptoms, his expectations had been that the differences would vaguely modify his current state.
Eridan was assured he had been in depression for quite some time, and it caused his once liveliness in grubhood that he had to decay, sucked into a void abyss of raven.
Sollux would have to cope with a renewed, completely different Karkat, not his somewhat eccentric matesprite that sufficed to eternal demise. And of course, the livid Sollux that had been in denial about his old lovers passing was going to blame it on him, Eridan.
Karkat was now gone, only a bland ghost to remain because of him. He tried to imagine what punishment of the sort Sollux had in store for him, nearly shuddering at the thought.
Attempting to delay the unpleseantness, he sunk back into the snug blanket that had been the exact same shade of his victims hue, a few black hairs from what he expected to be his [Or his brothers] stray hairs.
He almost had begone once more until a serine rest, but shit, he couldn't stop listening to them in that other room.. Hm. He covered his ears with blanket, turning away from that side of the wall, having a simpler time resting.
Finally, obliviousity.
Sollux sighed, and laughed dryly. Humour was the best way out.
The only way out.
There was no way to ease his pain, his sense of loss, or longing for his Karkat, not this ghost. But it was his Karkat, wasn't it? It didn't feel like it. He was so. . Different. Never to be the same again. To much damage has been done, he didn't want to do more. Sollux decided the best way to deal with it, was to hide it.
"no iim pii22iing from my eyes "
He wiped his face, and sat up, swiveling on the chair towards his matesprite.
"you what " He questioned in interrogation.
... Never mind.
"And you can't piss from your eye, that's not normal." Karkat intervined, non-comical at the moment.
He rests his head on his hand, looking to the side, his voice rather quiet and gloomy as he speaks.
" iim pretty 2kiilled and lea2t of all normal"
"dont nevermiind me now karkat"
"what ii2 iit"
"... No, never mind." He said once more, dully.
"plea2e"
"can you ju2t"
"talk two me vanta2"
"don't"
"not now"
"plea2e dont "
"No." His reply was cold, firm.
"ii…"
"you know"
"fiine"
"dont"
Sollux jumped from the chair, pushing it into the desk, and exited the room. If Karkat won't talk to him, what point is there for he to be there?
Sighing heavily, he entered the guest bedroom, and slid down against the door, his head in his lap. There was, no point, not anymore, to any of it.
He [Eridan] was trapped, like an ignoramus in the vain puzzle of a spiders web, into a nightmare. All walls, all fog, had been cast of raven darkness.
Even if he had absolutely no clue of his destination, or rather it had been a destination period, Eridan had thought he was stranded. Steady, haunting, sweeping momentums and hushed noises beckoned smoothly, a sudden firm whisp of liquid swept to his nearly articulated foot.
From his vivid memories, Eridan distinctly recalled it as sea water. Ah, the nostalgia… Wait. He had been marooned in a darkness clad sea, some sort of object supporting his body from collapsing towards smitten nothingness.
He sighed, not able hear himself. Rather anything, for that matter.
the entire sequence was void of any sound other than the waves gentle, almost immaculate swooning. He sat back, the object had a quite rough interior. It scratched at his sensitive, unprotected, hands. Ironic enough his plentiful jewelry never seemed to be bothersome. Huh.
He almost fell victim to another level of slumber, that was until right when his eyes had been in the process of sloth blinking, a macabre strand of white fell from what may have been the heavens to the ocean in less than a second, chaos triggered as horrifying, obnoxious, sound beamed the entire beyond. It had been a storm.
Without thought, rain spurred without end, lighting resuming. Eridan adapted to these situations long ago, but this time, he just felt different... Weak.
He curled to a ball, bitter temperature causing him to shiver. Fuck, it was so strange. He could not move, and that ability did not rely in his powers.
Well, it had been his dream, his nightmare. It was manipulated by his concious. Or... His memories.
Once, far in depth of treacherous memory, Eridan had been stranded in a storm similiar to this at a time when he originally had intentions of feeding his lazy-ass lusus. Due to the weather and his youth, Eridan abandon his set mission and sheltered on a stray wood raft to escape the seas melancholy. The storm eventually stopped, he got home, safe.
This time was different. It felt like hours. No hope arrived. Eridan was pressured to weep, turning his arms to the dock floor and pressing upon them. He remained in this position before spotting a troll in the distance, struggling with swimming.
They looked like they were about to drown.
eh, wwhat the hell..
Eridan thought, diving into the dark water without hesitation to save this figure. It felt like forever to reach them, and he panicked, slowly vanishing into the abysses body. As much as he attempted to escape, the heartless body continued to feast upon his existence.
The struggling man rised, laughing obsessively at him, the only part of his body he had been able to spot before completely detering had been the eyes, azure and crimson. It was Sollux.
Eridan awoke, his eyes wide open, clothes, skin, and the blanket were coaxed in his sweat. He gave out an uncertain scream for an uncertain reason, praying no one would enter the room.
Checking out a nearby window, night had arrived. Everyone had most likely been asleep. Unable to fixate himself from the monsterous dream, he stood and strolled over to the door of a room, letting go tension of his head and pounding on it.
Sollux had been in that room, yet Eridan was not aware. Afraid of someones possible presence, he opened the door, shivering, slowly walking over to the rooms center. He couldn't tell. It was too dark.
Sollux had indeed been in that room, and having loomed over Eridan for several minutes, trying to decide if he should take his revenge on all the horrors of life by taking the life of the highblood, left to have his own fitful rest on the floorboards of the guest bedroom across from Karkat's.
His dreams weren't as vivid as usual, but they weren't empty either. The voices were back, whispering in his ear the fate of the world, of his life.
Doom.
The only thing, the only consistent thing that was constantly there. Doom. They were going to die. Everyone was going to die. And in the end, it would all be his fault. The voices whispered that it was his fault Eridan killed Karkat, it was his fault Gamzee left, everything was his fault. It was always.
Always.
He should just die. If he died, the oncoming doom would end. Wouldn't it? Even so, he slept on, thrashing and cursing the world in his sleep.
It was nearly impossible for Eridan to make out any image in that room. He wondered, he pondered, why in fact had he been roaming here in the first place? Oh well, he didn't really feel like leaving anyways.
Spikes of that nightmare pressured him to endure this nightly dispositioned exploration. He could make out a blurry medium length dresser with a worn out, but still useful, sleeping chamber.
The lime ooze in there had lightly illuminated, defied the darkness. He missed the friendly essence of his cozy bed chamber, whom he abandoned months ago when he went MIA for the lousy alternative, beds. The chambers ooze had been rich, thick, and opaque.
It seemed so luxurious.. He gave a hopeless sigh, thinking of Karkat. He bet that Sollux had still been in that room, wide awake, silently weeping. The degenerating bastard. Not able to turn down such an opportunity, he climbed upon the Velcro-sticking like wall surface, uncovering the lid of it.
It certainly seemed vacant of company. Almost in ecstasy, Eridan gave to a small leap to sink in the chamber, failing to see the psionic connectors or Sollux lying in the bottom, colliding onto his back and suddenly spazzing.
Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh sHIT!
He thought, not long before the other male troll had awoken, finding himself staring at his nemesis with nothing to say in return. Only exchange awkward glances before engaging in a spontaneous battle. Well shit.
Sollux woke with a jolt, and scrambled to his feet, pulling his stars out of his pocket, holding them at ready. His eyes glinted, and the psionics started up in response to his agitation. He eyed Eridan carefully, not saying a word. Any move the other made would mean his end.
