Prince of Heart- And now, here's Wonderwall
Eridan jumped down from a piece of debris, unhindered by his lack of a cape now that he'd covered Terezi's body with with it, so his landing ended up being a lot easier without worrying that he'd trip over his own cape. He had stomped all the way from Derse to the edge of the two planets, where the lava flowed off the edge of LOLAC and into the vast emptiness of space. Where the gears and stone platforms were cracked and scattered, sinking into the lava below or floating through the space above Eridan. Where the world seemed to end, where everything had gone to shit. Where everyone he cared about just… died. He crossed the debris, a dangerous task if he fell, and moved from one piece to the other, as he trekked his way to the edge of the crash, where he could go no further.
He looked over the vast ocean of lava below him, a few dozen feet fall from the platform he stood on. Despite the glow from the sea, and the colour that popped compared to the stars above, it seemed vastly empty, with no further platforms nor gears anywhere he could see over the horizon. It churned and turned, bubbling and cracking as the Prince looked too deeply into its gaze. The lava almost seemed to call him, a whisper in the warm, sweating air around him, seducing him into the lava below. This was what he came here for, right? That's all he was good at anyway, killing. But now that he was here, he felt his stomach well up, almost as if something was swarming around his insides. He tried to reason with himself, that it'd be a few seconds, over in a flash. That he'd felt more than comfortable doing it to others, why the hell should he feel so nervous and hesitant about doing it to himself? What was one more to add to the body count, right? Everyone hated him, and he'd get to see all his friends again in the bubbles, living forever as a ghost. There was literally nothing keeping him here.
But he couldn't. He just couldn't take a step further. Nothing for him in life, with everything to gain in death, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, as if he felt like there was something keeping him going here.
"HEY," he heard a very familiar voice catch his attention. He slowly craned his neck to the side to see the Knight of Blood, Karkat, sitting slumped against the piece of debris lodged into the concrete. He was stained with dark purple blood, his sickle laid next to him on the ground, and his sweater ruffled and creased from his former battle.
Eridan lowered his neck back to gaze over the ocean of lava, replying, "hey."
Karkat looked over at the Prince, then out at the sea of lava in front of him, and proceeded to sigh deeply, "TOUGH DAY, HUH? YOU HAVE THAT TINGE OF I-WANNA-FUCKING-*END*-MY-MISERABLE-EXISTENCE IN YOUR EYE."
"ivve got half a mind yeah."
"YOU'RE STANDING PRETTY CLOSE TO THE EDGE THERE DUDE."
"i might just get closer kar."
Karkat stared at the boy for a moment, studying the lifeless gaze in the Princes eyes, and then the slight shake in his hands beside him. He brung up one knee, resting one of his own arms on it for comfort, before continuing his gaze at the fish-boy.
"HOW BAD COULD YOUR DAY HAVE BEEN? LIFE SEEMED TO GO TO SHIT BUT JEGUS DUDE, IS THIS WHAT YOU CAME UP WITH? NOTHING COULD HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN THAT BAD TO WARRANT WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU PLAN TO-"
"i killed them kar. davve. rose. kan. jade. aranea and the hic. all of them felled by my own damned hand. they all felt the hot blast of my wand deservvin or fuckin not and i havve no excuse. three good heroes fuckin died because i couldnt keep it under control and i feel like thats not even gonna be the end of it. and ivve had that stupid feeling since the fuckin meteor. i shouldvve acted on it back then kar stopped all this shit from evven happenin but i didnt. cause i just thought if i kept goin thered be somethin for me at the end somethin to make all ivve suffered and all those that havve suffered cause of me worth it."
He jerked his head towards Karkat, tears froming and a strain put on his posh accent. "but it nevver fuckin happened kar! i nevver came close! i thought i had my rudimentary life together but it all turned out to be a fuckin ruse wwhere my matesprit used me to further her owwn dastardly plans my kismesis cheated on me and i ended up with evveryone dead and or hating me. the only person that didnt hate me was davve but noww his is the death i feel the guiltiest about! i heard evveryone can be a hero if they just try but i did just that and noww im more of a vvillain than i evver was! i dont get wwhat i evven did wwrong kar but it shouldnt matter any fuckin more. ill be judged in the afterlife."
He turned his now tear struck face to the ocean of lava. "the dream bubbles. wwhere evveryone wwill see howw i made up for wwhat i did to them."
Karkat left his sight on him for a moment, before, frustrated, he sighed, "SO WHAT, THIS WAS YOUR ONLY ANSWER? GOD, YOU ARE AN *IDIOT* FOR THE AGES."
Eridan huffed at that statement, slightly put off.
"I MEAN COME *ON*, WHAT DO YOU THINKS GONNA HAPPEN, EVERYONE THAT YOU'VE KILLED IS GONNA WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN GOD DAMN ARMS LIKE YOU'RE THE SAVIOR OF THEIR COLLECTIVE GUARDIANS, WITH NO CAVEATS? YOU'RE AN ABSOLUTE MORON DUDE, AND YOU NEED TO GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS. IF THIS WAS ONE AND A HALF SWEEPS AGO I WOULD FUCKING PUSH YOU OFF THAT CLIFF MYSELF, POSSIBLY IN A SORT OF MURDER-SUICIDE ATTEMPT BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE BEEN SO GOD DAMN GIDDY THAT I'D DANCE OFF THE EDGE WITH YOU. BUT I REALISED SOMETHING OVER THAT TIME. ALL THAT TIME I SAW A SIDE OF YOU THAT I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT EXISTED."
Karkat scrunched up his nose and looked down at his lap. "I SAW YOU, DUDE. I SAW THE GUY THAT WAS BACKED INTO A CORNER, NO OTHER OPTION PRESENTED TO HIM. A GUY THAT WANTED TO DO SOMETHING, EVEN IF IT TURNED OUT VILLAINOUS. YOU NEVER HAD THOSE INTENTIONS, AT LEAST, NOT TO EVERYONE. SURE, I HATED YOU FOR KILLING OUR FRIENDS, BUT YOU NEVER PLANNED TO ATTACK THE GUYS. IT WAS SELF DEFENSE. AND SEEING YOU GROW OVER THAT SWEEP AND A HALF… IT OPENED MY EYES DUDE. I MEAN, YOU STOPPED ME FROM PROBABLY MURDERING DAVE OR SOMETHING OVER TEREZI, YOU GOT AN ACTUAL *GIRLFRIEND*, YOU TOOK A STANCE AGAINST GAMZEE, A GUY THAT'S ALMOST A FOOT TALLER THAN YOU, AND YOU FOUGHT AGAINST JADE TO DEFEND SOMEONE ELSE. ONE AND A HALF SWEEPS AGO I COULDN'T EVEN IMAGINE YOU TURNING OUT LIKE THIS."
The Prince loosened his frown, his eyes widening in realisation, as the Knight continued, "I DON'T KNOW FULLY WHAT COULD'VE HAPPENED TO YOU. BUT YOU'RE NOT A BAD GUY. YOU'RE JUST PROOF THAT EVEN THE WORST PERSON CAN BE A HERO, IF THEY JUST TRY."
Eridan stared over the edge of the platform for a moment, almost as if he were waiting for something to push him in either direction. But he processed the speech just made by his friend, and as he reached a decision, he spun around on his heels to face away from the cliff.
"maybe. im goin back. you comin kar?" Eridan asked.
"NAH, I JUST KIND OF… WANNA WAIT HERE FOR A WHILE."
Eridan nodded to him farewell, before setting off on his trek back to the pair of humans.