Prince of Heart- Well here's a story that provides no relevance to the main storyline other than being symbolic of Eridans' feelings. Fun times.

Beforan, 300 sweeps before the game

Eridan sat on his newfound throne, set in place by the previous ruler, previously overthrown in a battle of epic proportions by the Kingdom Demolisher himself. The battle had been trivial, lasting only a few hours between Eridan's military might and the small city with a population of six hundred thousand. Eridan had taken the city, not out of revenge or desire, but simply because the city was in the way of his goal: the underwater utopia of Palontine; his former home before he was banished for violent actions. Now he planned on getting revenge on the city, by either tearing it down and slaughtering the inhabitants, or ruling over them with an iron fist.

The city beyond him was breath-taking though: one of his cannons had directly hit the palace, letting him take in the ruined cityscape below him. He gazed down upon the crumbled wooden buildings, watching his soldiers, consisting of members from all over the Hemospectrum, march around, occasionally stopping to pull up some of the civilians and send them off to his work camps. He smiled, knowing that he was just a few hundred miles from the edge of the ocean, and so close to getting home. Part of him was nervous though; Her Personable Sovereign, in spite of her reputation as one of the nicest trolls on the planet, had begun to grow impatient with him, and taking the capital of Beforan may be the last straw before she comes down on him with all her might. As confident as Eridan was in his accumulated army consisting of soldiers from his conquered cities and fellow rebellious high-bloods wanting to reinstate the nobility system, they were nothing compared to the hundreds of millions of soldiers in the Sovereigns army. He had to give it to her: Feferi knew how to future proof.

The throne room he sat in was silent, save for the cackling of fire that softly burned around the makeshift window a few dozen feet in front of him. He would've put it out, if he actually cared about the mahogany décor making up the room, which admittedly was pretty good looking. Four guards stood around him; two at either of his sides, and the other two stationed at the door, not that he needed them. He'd grown into a pretty skilled fighter, learned in hand to hand and his rifle, Ahab's Crosshairs, and on top of that, his custom made outfit by a Jade-blooded friend provided easy protection. She had adapted one of his usual outfits, a pair of striped pants, and a lightweight everything-proof vest that showed off his thick arms. On top of that laid his cape, completely stab, bullet and explosion proof. Most would claim that his purple streak of hair and glasses would take away his credibility as a warrior; but that was before he'd cut out their tongues.

Eridan would most likely stay a few days, then gather his forces for the decimation of the remaining towns and cities standing between him, and victory.

"My LoRd," he heard a coarse male voice say. He looked over towards the door, and saw one of his most trusted commanders enter. The purple blooded land dweller briskly walked up to him, and gave a quick bow by kneeling on one leg and springing back up.

"oh makara," Eridan said, leaning his head on one fist and examining his long time commander, the Mettlesome Combatant. The fairly tall troll definitely towered over Eridan, his clothes consisting of a pair of baggy polka dot pants, a pair of shoes bigger than his feet, and an equally baggy t-shirt. Not the best clothes for combat, Eridan thought, but he was one of the best fighters in his entire army. His face was caked with make-up, a myriad of black and white, while a large poof of messy hair hid half his horns.

"SoMeOnE hAs CoMe To SeE yOu," the Combatant informed him.

Eridan scoffed, "i dont think i asked for vvisitors makara."

"YeAh, WeLl, ThIs MoThErFuCkEr WaS iNsIsTaNt." Gamzee moved to the side, and gestured for the double-doors to open. "PrEsEnTiNg HeR mOtHeRfUcKiNg MaJeStY, hEr PeRsOnAbLe SoVeReIgN."

Eridan perked up, and watched as four figures entered the room; two well-dressed guardsman, the Sovereigns Threshecutioner, and the Sovereign herself. The guards stationed themselves at the end of the room, near the window, while the Threshecutioner and Sovereign greeted Eridan up-front. The Threshecutioner himself wore a foot length grey robe, covering most of his body aside from his face, his striking candy red eyes being his most notable feature. The Sovereign though, wore a more colourful outfit, with a black and fuchsia one-piece swimsuit underneath a transparent green and purple skirt, and a pair of goggles on top of her head in front of the golden tiara.

"oh your majesty," Eridan said, smiling and examining her curvy figure up and down, "lookin ravvishing as alwways."

"Cut t)(e s)(it, -Eridan," she ordered. "W)(at the actual FUCK do you think you're doing?"

"vvery rude of you your majesty," Eridan said, acting as if his feelings were hurt. "i address you formally and you treat me wwith disrespect."

"R-EALLY? After everyt)(ing you've done? I gave you a c)(ance to join my forces-"

"you gavve me a chance to givve up evverythin i built and be ruled ovver by an oppressin force. but the problem bein that no-one else realises it."

"O)(, you are not giving me a lesson on morality rig)(t now!"

Eridan scowled at her. "wwhat is your business wwith me? i do havve other matters to attend to."

"I'm sure," the Sovereign noted sarcastically. "I see now that diplomatic peace will not succeed, nor do I wis)( to start a full blown war. So I c)(allenge you to a one on one; if I win, you dissemble your forces and retreat to the sout)(ern lands."

Eridan raised an eyebrow. "and if i wwin?"

Feferi sighed, "I will pull all support I )(ave for t)(e city of Palontine, allowing you easy access."

Eridan chuckled, "those are some guts youvve got there fef. wwho wwill fight?"

"You and me, -Eridan. No weapons, no )(elp."

"wwith all due respect your majesty i dont think that wwould be wwise," Eridan pushed himself up from the throne. "but if you insist."

Eridan clicked open the pin that kept his cape around his neck, and let the cape fall behind him and flow around the chair. He then ripped open his vest as he walked, the thing plonking down to the ground with a loud thump, to show off his stout upper torso. He then proceeded to crack his neck, standing over the Sovereign in height, much unlike his post-scratch counterpart.

"wwait wwait," Eridan paused the story, "wwas that comment really necessary?"

The Sylph chuckled, "I'm giving you a compliment! From paintings I've seen, you were a handsome and stout individual. Just think; that'll 8e you in a few sweeps! Well, the stout 8it at least. I think you've got the other part down."

He returned the Sylphs' smile. "nice savve. but im the same height as you!"

"Exactly my point. You just 8urned yourself."

Eridan lost his smile and growled, "i guess i did. man i inderstand wwhy kar hates himself so much."

"oh vwell hey, vwhat seems to be going on here?" A mysterious voice asked, prompting a loud groan from Aranea. Eridan turned his head to the source of the voice, shown to be a remarkably familiar, though Eridan couldn't place his finger on it, male fish troll. The guy stood above both Eridan and Aranea, six feet in height, and dressed surprisingly different from an average troll, more so like one of the humans; a white short sleeved tee with the same sign as Eridan, a pair of black denim jeans, and a black pair of dress shoes. The guy had slicked back hair and doted the same pair of horns Eridan had, and had a sign shaped scar above his right eye.

Aranea threw her hands up in frustration. "Why can't I just tell a story without people interrupting- Oh my God, is this how people see me? May8e I am that 8ad."

"you ain't bad looking, if youre vworrying about that," the guy remarked, waltzing over to the booth and leaning on it nonchalantly with one of his mesomorphic arms. "so a booth, huh? vwhat are you selling? 8A8ES? it looks like youwve only got tvwo left in stock." He gazed over at Eridan with an eyebrow raised. "hovw you doing?"

"im... fine i guess. wwho the fuck are you?"

"im the cat that can shovw you the 8EST time of your life."

Aranea pointed a hand at the guy. "That is Cronus Ampora, your dancestor. Otherwise known as Orphaner Dualscar."

"wwait," Eridan said, shocked, "youre my ancestor?"

"hey, i can be vwhatewver the situation needs, you knovw? like i could be your boyfriend, if the need arises."

Cronus inched closer to Eridan, making him feel a slight bit of discomfort. "yeah no thanks ivve already got a boyfriend in wwhatevver quadrant you dont havve."

Aranea raised an eyebrow. "Do you really?"

"wwhose side are you on? fine i only got a kismesis can you just go awway?"

"oh, come on," Cronus said, moving over to Eridan and wrapping one arm around him in one swift movement. "dont be like that. this thing vwe got here? i mean, vwhat is going on here?"

"wwhat is going on here?"

Cronus chuckled, "you know damn vwell theres something betvween us. something strong and passionate."

Aranea made a sudden gasp, banging her hands on the desk. "Cronus, I just found out that Latula got yelled at by Mituna and is feeling insecure and vulnerable!"

"latula? insecure? WVULNARABLE? jackpot!" Cronus left Eridan's side and sprinted off in the opposite direction. "thanks for the heads up, babe!"

"holy shit youre good at that." Eridan remarked.

"Why can't one of my friends I actually like turn up? Thank God you're here, I'd probably 8low my 8rains out if I had to deal with them on my own."

"i mean to be kinda honest he wwas pretty hot."

"Yeah, that seems to 8e the general consensus around most here. He's just too much of a mean and over8earing to handle that most dismiss him, and he's gotten especially worse since he identified as a human."

"i should probably go convverse wwith him. he is still my ancestor. and another vversion of myself i guess."

"Well you're welcome to go and talk to the guy whose only purpose seems to 8e an amplification of your negative qualities."

"as temptin as that sounds im gonna pass."

"Well as long as you're here, I may as well continue my story."

Feferi didn't back down though, clenching her fist as the man approached. The room was silent once more, the flames lighting the two's shadows along the wall behind them, and Eridan cracked his neck to instil fear in his opponent, though it didn't seem to work. He gave her a chance to swing first, but nothing came from the defiant girl. So he decided to take it for her, swinging his fist at her cheek, but was blocked when Feferi caught his fist in the palm of her hand. Her grip was surprisingly strong, and he felt a crack in his knuckle, forcing him to his knees.

"O)( w) (appened?" Feferi said smugly, feigning innocence. "I t)(oug)(t you were some fearsome warlord!"

Eridan struggled to look at his second-in-command. "makara."

The clown nodded, pulling a pair of pins from his inventory, but a sickle sliding across his throat stopped him, and he was pushed to the ground with purple blood flowing from his throat. Eridan would've shouted out, if he didn't feel a sharp needle pierce into his neck, causing him to fall to the ground.

"I expected more from a troll so infamous. )(ow long did you )(onestly think I'd let t)(is go on? And did you )(onestly t)(ink t)(at an army made of citizens of places you've conquered wouldn't eventually TURN ON YOU?" Only a groan came in response. "Well now look at you. An army in ruins, and I'm going to send you to be tried and executed for your crimes; t)(e first execution in a long time." Eridan felt himself fading from consciousness, the needles' drug flowing through his veins. "May w)(atever God you wors)(ip )(ave mercy on you." And he then fell under the influence, his mind finally fading to black.

Prince of Heart- Man, I can't wait to have a full chapter with Cronus. All views expressed about handsome insufferable fish douches are exclusive the author and the Serkets alone.