Finally it became impossible for him to stay with his own thoughts any longer, and with no one else he could talk to, Sollux pulled up his chat client and clicked on Karkat's handle.
- twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 03:34 -
TA: KK
TA: KK ii can't do thith anymore
TA: ii hacked iinto ED's thecurity footage to keep an eye on him and he'th not okay.
CG: Hold the fuck on
CG: You hacked his security footage?!
CG: Sollux, I understand you don't have many boundaries and you suck at social norms, but even someone as nookdeep in mind honey as you has to understand that goes past the line of normal fucked up.
TA: yeth ii know that kk.
TA: ii couldn't help iit.
TA: ii couldn't talk to hiim after all the thiit we read and ii got worriied.
CG: …..
CG: It's bothering you too?
TA: of courthe iit's botheriing me KK.
TA: ii found more of those fiileth, and they're all just ath bad.
TA: He'th not okay, ii don't know how he'th lasted under all thiith prethure, but he'th not lasting much longer.
CG: I'm sure he's fine.
TA: KK no.
TA: KK he'th not fiine, ii just watched him almost have a breakdown getting on hiith lucuth for another hunt.
CG: Eridan is normal about 5 second away from a breakdown.
TA: whiile ii understand deniial iith a normal state for you, thiis iith not an okay tiime for iit.
TA: ii diid a liittle research on past orphanerth and you want to know how 97.63% of them diied?
TA: Thuiiciide. 97.63% of orphanerth kiiled themselveth. 3 managed to get themselveth kiilled other wayth.
TA: he iith not 'fiine'
CG: ...
CG: Well what do you want me to do about it?
TA: ii don't know
TA: ii don't know how to help hiim or how to of any of thiith thhit.
TA: ii just know we have to do thomethiing.
CG: …
CG: YEAH, I KNOW.
For awhile, neither of them touched their keyboard, both knowing that they could not do nothing, but knowing that was nothing was all they knew to do. Until Eridan decided that now was the best time to message Karkat.
- caligulasAquarium [CA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 03:34 -
CA: Kar? You there?
Over at his computer, Karkat was freaking out. He didn't know what to say or how to handle the situation, so he didn't. Instead, he switched windows to ask Sollux for help.
Oh how he would later wish he hadn't done that.
CA: Kar, this isn't funny.
CA: Why have you been ignoring me?
CA: And why has Sol been doing the same thing?
CA: Are you two planning something?
CA: I mean, I get Sol ignoring me some of a' the time, but normally he'll at least tell me ta' fuck off.
CA: I know you're there, Gam told me he talked to recently.
CA: Are you okay?
CA: Did I say somethin' to piss you guys off more than normal?
CA: Did I mess somethin' up?
CA: Whatever it was, just answer, I didn't mean to offend you.
CA: Kar, I really need someone to talk to right now.
CA: I know I probably fucked something up here, I always do that.
CA: And I know I'm always a fuckin' mess, but I don't know how to handle this Kar.
CA: I'm scaring myself and I don't know what to do.
CA: I can't talk to Fef about it and I'm scared and I don't know what to do.
CA: I've just been super overwhelms and I just got back from a hunt and it didn't go well.
CA: Kar, I can't handle this.
CA: I can't do this anymore and I can't not do either.
CA: ….
CA: Please Kar, just one word.
CA: Anything.
CA: I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry and I didn't mean it, I swear.
CA: I'm sorry, please just answer, I need to talk to someone.
CA: I'm sorry.
caligulasAquarium [CA] disconnected.
While Karkat had just figured out with Sollux a rough idea of what to say he noticed Eridan go offline. Swearing quite loudly, he swapped his chat back to the wall of purple text that he quickly scanned.
"No, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, this is bad."
Abandoning the chat, Karkat snatched up his phone clicking Eridan's name. With baited breath he listened to the ringing of the phone. Nobody answered. Instead he was greeted with Eridan's normal voicemail message, which he meet with swearing before hanging up.
It took him a total of twelve seconds of swearing and rereading the chat log to figure out his next course of action. Once more he used his phone, but this time to call Sollux who had the decency to answer.
"KK-"
"No time, I fucked up, he's not answering and I need you to check that video feed and make sure he's okay right now."
From the other end, Karkat could hear the faint clicking of keys before Sollux answered.
"He's not in his hive, or at least not where any of the cameras can catch him. His lucus is there though. What happened KK?"
"Fuck, fuck everything. I didn't think to check while he was talking to me and long story short he thinks I was ignoring him. Get your ass over here, I'm calling Feferi and then you are flying me to his hive so we can both sort this out."
And with that, he hung up on the other without giving him a chance to reply. One quick call to Feferi later explaining roughly what was wrong, without fully revealing the level of snooping he and Sollux had done and she had promised to swim up to his hive to look for him, which took care of at least some of the problem.
From there, he couldn't do much but continue to try and call Eridan while waiting for Sollux to land outside his hive. Surprisingly, it wasn't long before the psiioniic landed outside and with no words spoken, the two of them were back in the air and headed for Eridan's hive. Luckily Sollux had flown there a few times before, mostly to visit Feferi as her own hive was underwater.
Finally, after the journey over sea which was awkward for the both of them due to the silence and mild guilt weighing them down, they made it to his hive.
It wasn't a pleasant place to be, even on a clear day. Eridan's hive was creepy on a good day and straight up out of a horror movie on the bad ones.
Feferi was waiting out front for them, a mix of worry and indignation clearly being displayed as she waved at them, singeling for them to land near her. When they did as directed, she began to speak before they could, her tone distressed and her fish puns less pointed than normal.
"I can't fin him anywater, I've been through his normal spots in his hive and he's not there and Seahorsedad seas that he hasn't left, so I don't know where he could be."
Everything was rushed and a little garbled, but the two made it out what she was saying, though it was Karkat who replied first.
"What the fuck do you mean by 'his normal spots' couldn't he still be in the hive?"
"Well, yes but he really doesn't like or use most of his hive. Most of the bottom floors are broken or gross and he almost never goes on the seacond half. If he was as upseat as you say he was, then I doubt he'd go there."
"It's worth checking though, Sollux and I can scour the bottom area, you check the second half of his ridiculous, unnecessaryly weird hive."
The other two gave a quick nod before the group split up, each hurrying to their area.