It was like being underwater.
The silence pressed in all around him. It filled up the auditory ducts behind his fins like a cold, wet gel. And he was weightless. Carried on the blackness as if it had solid form. And yet it did not. He could feel the chill on all sides of him, nibbling at every inch of exposed flesh like a school of curious fish.
Distantly, he was aware of his body moving. Floating through a vast nothing, not even a breath of air brushing past his skin. The only weight was the soft touch of his clothing against his flesh. He moved his eyes in an effort to look around. To gain his bearings. He felt his lids pressing against his retinas.
A self-imposed darkness. And yet it felt right. As though opening his eyes would unplug this weightless fantasy world and send it spiraling down a drain.
He felt something on his shoulder. A soft touch. Fingers curling about his upper arms and pulling. His body began to move upward. He felt his captor's breath against his cheek. A sweet, salty smell. As if someone had taken sea water and candied it.
"You can open your eyes now."
He did. But for a moment he didn't realize it. The world around him was nearly as black as the one inside his head. But then he caught a glimpse of his scarf floating beside him. Floating as if caught in a current that didn't exist, it stretched away from his neck and rippled in the cool vast nothing. Pink and white it was. Strange.
Really sort of tacky, to be honest. It wouldn't go well with the streak in his hair at all. Too bright.
His eyes shifted down, absorbing the rest of his outfit. The much more acceptable purple hue. The moon embroidered on his chest. The saving grace of a pair of shoes identical to the violet tone he favored.
And then his gaze slipped further down. Down into the abyss beyond his feet. Past the tip of his toes where he saw a bright purple world. As if some god had reached down and carved a city out of amethyst. As the world rested silently in the palm of that blackness, it glittered in the distant light of some bright star. Each facet of each turret of each crystal tower snagged at the light, giving the planet its own sparkling glow.
He felt himself continue to ascend, the purple planet and its chained moon growing smaller and smaller beneath his feet. He stared, watching it shrink. Watching as the darkness seemed to eat at its edges.
"Where are we going?" His own voice sounded strange to his ears. As if the blackness had snatched it off his lips and swallowed it before it had a chance to travel at all.
The candied saltwater breath washed over his cheek as a laugh sounded quietly in his ear. A stray tendril of soft black hair brushed against his jaw.
"Fef," he said, feeling his vocal chords vibrate, but again barely able to hear the words as they passed over his lips.
If Fef heard them, she made no indication. She simply continued to pull him upwards. As if they were swimming. Swimming up to some impossible surface where there was no light. Up and up and up they went, Fef's candy seawater breath puffing rhythmically against Eridan's cheek. There was no sound. No breath of air. Just the cold. The cold and the dark.
"Fef, come on, this is gettin' really fuckin' disconcertin'—"
"Shh." Her breath was warm on his skin. "I wanted to show you. There."
One of her hands released his shoulder and her arm extended out, past his face and into his line of sight. Her forefinger stretched straight in front of him, her colorful bangles jostling lethargically on her wrist, though they made no sound. He followed her finger with his eyes, his gaze landing finally on a distant golden pinprick.
Her voice came in his ear again. "Soon now. They told me."
He opened his mouth to reply when another speck of light caught his attention. Winking like a curious firefly come to inspect the distant golden planet, a tiny green light floated close. It alighted on the chained moon for an instant, looking delicate. Like a bead of dew on a flower petal. It was a beautiful image, in that single moment.
And then the golden planet blew apart.
Green light expanded out and the distant golden turrets shattered like so much glass. Tiny bits of debris launched into the darkness, glittering like droplets of water from a popped bubble. Eridan's eyes widened as the green light faded, remnants of the energy still snapping and sparking between the largest chunks of golden refuse.
"Fef… What the fuck is this…?"
He turned his head, twisting in the girl's grasp to try and catch a glimpse of her face. She was smiling, her eyes obscured by the green glare reflecting off her goggles.
"It's happening. Just like they said it would."
She turned toward him, her hair spilling about her head, weightless, as if they were underwater. The light faded from the lenses of her goggles, and for a moment their gazes connected.
"It's all starting to fall apart."
Eridan stared at her as she continued to smile.
His vision seemed to shift then. It blurred. Darkened. Distorted. Feferi's smile seemed to engulf his eyes until all he saw were those fangs. White and jagged.
Her eyes stared down at him.
Golden.
And then white.
Empty.
Her hands unclenched.
And he was falling down.
Down.
Into the darkness.
His own strangled cry was what woke him. His eyes snapped open and suddenly he was staring into the metal rafters of the lab above him. His chest heaved as he sucked in glorious breaths of dusty air.
It took longer than he would have thought to regain his bearings. For some reason the dream had felt oddly real. And so it was that reality came leaking back into his head slowly, as if it were being run through some kind of filter.
He rolled onto his side, pushing himself up on an elbow. He felt the flutter of cloth and the chill of the tile pressing against his body.
Right. Because he wasn't wearing any clothes. Because he had proceeded to fill a bucket with Sollux. A bucket that he supposed was probably of the red variety. That was what they had agreed on, wasn't it? Even though no buckets had really been present at all. So they had filled some intangible object of some questionable color and now the mental image was just getting very abstract and impossible to visualize in any way, so Eridan gave up on it and decided to move on to more productive ruminations.
Like why the bleeding hell Sol wasn't around.
He pursed his lips as he sat up, scowling at the decidedly empty room. He did begrudgingly note the cape that had been draped over him, but it was not nearly enough to excuse the land dwelling bilgesack from skipping out on him post coitus.
He did, however, notice the lunchtop sitting beside him. He frowned. Apparently whatever Sol had gone off to do did not require the use of Kanaya's computer.
He hoped it was really fucking urgent, whatever it was.
Eridan got to his feet in a huff, scooping his garments off the floor and beginning to don them once more. He wasn't going to sit in the nude for Sol to stumble upon later. As if the dirt scraper deserved such boons after his blatant disregard for Eridan's sexual favors. No one left Eridan Ampora out to dry.
Not without a very good explanation and perhaps an offer of bulge licking as a humble act of contrition.
Thoughts of bulge licking served to distract him from his indignant fury for a few moments, but he picked up the slack soon enough. After he dressed himself and flung his scarf back around his neck, he sat down in front of the lunchtop.
He squinted at it for a few moments. Sol had been using the computer. Signing in and rifling through the troll's business would be a suitable form of retribution. Also, a computer meant access to Trollian. And just because Sol wasn't in possession of Kanaya's lunchtop didn't mean he wasn't sitting in front of a screen somewhere.
Eridan stuffed his hand in his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper Kanaya had given him. On it, written in her neat script, was the login information. He punched it in and the computer flickered to life before him.
Several programs were already up and running. One of them was a rather simple looking interface that seemed to mirror Trollian's in all ways but function. There was no window for text input that he could see.
Disregarding it, he pulled up the other program. A private transtimeline bulletin board. Several posts had already been made in Sol's hideous mustard yellow and eyesore of a typing style. He disregarded them. For all he knew, he had very little time to do as much damage as he could, and reading through whatever mundane sort of memos Sol found it necessary to leave himself seemed a poor use of that time.
He opted instead to start a new memo.
CURRENT twinArmageddons [CTA] RIGHT NOW opened memo on board FUTURE A22HOLE2
CTA: my name is sol and im a huge fuckin sack a bilge wwater not fit to lick the royal bulge a one dashin sea troll wwho doesnt evven need to be mentioned in this shitty loww class memo
CTA: wwait
CTA: oh fuck
CTA: thats not right i havve to make this fuckin authentic
CTA: my name i2 2ollux and i 2peak with a 2hitty annoyin li2p becau2e my face flap i2 2ome 2ort a deformed abomination befittin my 2hitty location on the hemospectrum
FUTURE TwinArmageddons [FTA] AT 1:22 HOURS FROM NOW responded to memo
FTA: fiir2t of all ii double my ii2. liike thii2.
FTA: iit concern2 me that ii had two tell you thii2 becau2e iit2 a pretty clear element of my typiing 2tyle.
FTA: 2o thii2 ii2 ju2t further affiirmatiion that you are, wiithout a trace of doubt, a complete fuckiing iidiiot.
FTA: and ii 2hould be genuiinely concerned over the fact that ii ever allowed my genetiic materiial two come intwo contact wiith your2
FTA: iin ca2e your iidiiocy ii2 2omehow contagiiou2.
CTA: oh wwell look wwho decided to fuckin respond
CTA: howw about you put a wword in wwith your current self and tell him that i dont fuckin appreciate bein left naked in the middle of a lab
CTA: cape notwwithstandin
FTA: iim goiing two iignore that on the ground2 of ii really dont giive a 2hiit riight now.
FTA: becau2e 2econd of all
FTA: why are you u2iing my handle
FTA: on my priivate tran2tiimeliine bulletiin board?
FTA: youre two much of a moron two have been able two get pa2t trolliian2 pa22word 2y2tem
FTA: a2 rudiimentary a2 iit may be.
CTA: wwell it helps that you left yourself logged in to this thing
CTA: but im not lettin you continue this blatant debasement a my intelligence
CTA: ESPECIALLY considerin youre the one that left yourself logged in
FTA: all riight ii 2uppo2e that wa2 a pretty 2tupiid mii2take on my part.
FTA: but 2tiill, the lunchtop2 2leep mode automatiically requiire2 you two re-enter the logiin iinformatiion.
FTA: and that 2hould have been more than enough two keep you out.
CTA: i havve my wways
FTA: whatever. not iintere2ted.
FTA: the poiint iim really tryiing two make here ii2
FTA: get out.
FTA: now.
CTA: not until your current self deigns to respond im not sittin here for a fuckin hour wwaitin on your pleasure sol
FTA: 2hiit ED.
FTA: can you ju2t
FTA: for once iin your pathetiic 2piit 2liick of an exii2tence
FTA: lii2ten two a goddamn word of what 2omeone 2ay2 two you?
CTA: that depends on the nature a wwhat youre tryin to convvey here and if i deem it wworthy a my attention
FTA: je2u2 fuck
FTA: ii ju2t
FTA: iim tryiing two deal wiith 2hiit
FTA: liike, a lot of 2hiit
FTA: an iimmea2urable amount
FTA: and youre ju2t beiing an unbearable fuck about iit.
CTA: wwhat sort a shit could honestly come up in the space of a feww hours
CTA: unless its me comin ovver there to kick your ass
CTA: wwhich is definitely becomin a legitimate possibility right noww
FTA: you wont be able to kiick my a22 even iif you deciide that2 a thiing that you want two do.
FTA: becau2e iim not even iin your tiimeliine anymor,e you fuckiing dumb2hiit.
FTA: fuck
CTA: wwait wwhat
CTA: youre losin me here sol
FTA: ii know.
FTA: becau2e you have the ba2iic comprehen2iive abiiliitiie2 of a goldfii2h.
CTA: can wwe stop goin on about my comprehensivve abilities and get an actual dialogue to function here
FTA: all riight. fiine.
FTA: but iim only agreeiing two thii2 becau2e ii gue22 explaiiniing 2hiit trump2 tradiing iin2ult2.
CTA: so start doin that
CTA: and by that i mean explainin shit
FTA: ii me22ed up.
FTA: really bad.
FTA: liike ii 2eriiou2ly fucked a lot of 2hiit up
FTA: and ii triied two fiix iit but
FTA: ii dont know iif any of what iim doiing ii2 riight anymore.
FTA: ii mean, when ii triied two fiix 2hiit before ii ju2t ended up makiing thiing2 wor2e.
CTA: okay im goin to stop you there on account a you not makin a bit a fuckin sense
FTA: ju2t
FTA: go read the other memo2.
FTA: a2 much a2 iit paiin2 me two let you be priivy two my per2onal iinformatiion.
CTA: please sol as if i givve any amount a shit about wwhatevver sort a back and forth rubbish you get up to wwith yourself
FTA: ju2t read iit before ii change my miind and encrypt the whole damned thiing.
CTA: fine im readin
Eridan begrudgingly dragged his cursor over to the other memos. He pulled them up, one after the other, lining them up in a cascading fashion over his monitor. He spent longer than he'd really ever intended just organizing windows on the screen. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his stomach. One that was definitely not the persistent burning of curiosity that he had expected.
Sol was granting him express permission to peruse through something he had obviously wanted kept private. And rather than feel excited or triumphant as he should have, he instead felt a bit ill. As if something had gone horribly wrong and he just hadn't realized it yet. As if things had been going horribly wrong the whole time and he hadn't realized it. Like he was standing under a cliff and kicking absently at the rock wall, oblivious to the boulder looming on the precipice above him.
His gut twisting, he let his eyes drift to the first memo. He sent one last absent kick against the face of the cliff and let the boulder above him come crashing down.
CTA: oh
CTA: oh fuck sol
FTA: ii diidnt ask for a commentary.
CTA: wwell you cant expect me to read all a this and not make any sort a remark at all
CTA: though i havve to say im really touched by the fact that this wwas all done on my behalf
FTA: all riight that2 kind of gro22ly exaggeratiing the amount of iinfluence you had over my actiion2
FTA: but you get the amount of 2hiit that iim iin now.
CTA: more or less
CTA: i mean im right in assumin that this is after you killed your doomed self or wwhatevver it is you wwere supposed to get done in that timeline
FTA: ii wouldnt 2ay kiilliing ii2 precii2ely the thiing ii accomplii2hed.
CTA: wwait so wwhat the fuck did you accomplish then
FTA: iit wa2 more liike
FTA: ii dont know
FTA: iit doe2nt matter. he2 not goiing two be botheriing me any tiime 2oon.
CTA: all right but ignorin that for a second
CTA: wwhen are you goin to be gettin your ass back ovver here
FTA: all riight diid ii not diirect you two the riight memo2?
FTA: thii2 ii2 the alpha tiimeliine.
FTA: iim the alpha me.
FTA: no more 2wappiing. iim 2tuck here.
CTA: oh
CTA: wwell i mean i kinda figured
CTA: so you can keep remarks about my intelligence in your fuckin protein chute theyre not needed
CTA: i guess i wwas just wwonderin wwhere this puts us then
FTA: us?
CTA: come on sol you cant tell me you havvent thought about it
CTA: you can drop the fuckin aloof loner act i knoww youre feelin a lot more emotional shit than youre wwillin to let on
FTA: iim ju2t confu2ed and tiired.
FTA: ii dont know what two do anymore.
CTA: all right wwell youre not bein any real sort a help to yourself by doin any a that
FTA: then what am ii 2uppo2ed two do?
FTA: and ju2t for your iinformatiion, ii meant that iin a pii22ed off 2ort of way becau2e ii really cant expect you two be any real help two me iin thii2 2iituatiion.
CTA: okay im offended by that statement
CTA: your general fuckin demeanor is offensivve to me right noww
CTA: just like your shitty font color
CTA: and your iidiiotiic way a typiin 2hiit.
FTA: better.
FTA: 4/10
CTA: come on i used the goddamned period and evverything
FTA: ii tend not two type liike a moron gargliing hoofbea2t 2hiit.
CTA: wwhat the fuck are you evven goin on about that doesnt make a metric ounce a fuckin sense
CTA: either wway i dont think that merits a six point fuckin deduction sol thats just fuckin robbery
FTA: heheh.
CTA: i take that as an admission a guilt as wwell as a sign that youre ready to stop bein a fuckin jackass for twwo seconds so that wwe can make some actual dialogic progress
FTA: ii gue22.
FTA: the thiing ii2
FTA: 2iince you kiind of know everythiing now
FTA: and there2 really no u2e hiidiing any of thii2 2hiit from you anymore
FTA: ii ju2t 2ort of felt liike ii had everythiing fiigured out
FTA: and ii wa2 ready two be okay wiith thiing2.
FTA: but now thii2 happen2 and
FTA: ii ju2t…
CTA: …
CTA: come on sol i cant really provvide any decent sort a input until you finish a fuckin thought
FTA: the me from thii2 tiimeliine diidnt know anythiing.
FTA: like, he ha2nt been through the 2ame 2hiit ii have. and becau2e of that he ha2nt realiized 2ome thiing2 about hiim2elf.
FTA: ii gue22 all iim tryiing two 2ay wiith thii2 ii2…
FTA: that ii really doubt the you from thii2 tiimeliine ha2 realiized 2iimiilar thiing2 about hiim2elf.
CTA: sol is this your wway a tellin me youre in lovve
FTA: god, youre such a fuckiing iidiiot.
FTA: iit2 my way of telliing you that iim not 2ure.
FTA: that ii need more tiime two be 2ure.
FTA: more tiime wiith you.
FTA: fuckiing chrii2t.
CTA: oh so
CTA: wwhat youre sayin is that you wwant me to travvel to wwhere you are since you cant come back to this timeline
CTA: is that wwhat im supposed to be takin awway from your needlessly evvasivve remarks here
FTA: ii gue22 2o.
FTA: but on the other hand iim not 2ure iif iit2 a good iidea.
FTA: the la2t thiing ii want two do ii2 fuck up another tiimeliine and have two deal wiith thii2 2hiit all over agaiin.
CTA: wwell wwhy dont you just fuckin find out for sure then
FTA: and how am ii 2uppo2ed to do that?
FTA: and ju2t for future reference, any tiime ii a2k a que2tiion liike thii2, iim only a2kiing iin a 2ort of generiically pii22ed off 2en2e becau2e, liike iive 2aiid before, ii really doubt there2 any po22iible way you can an2wer that.
CTA: sol i really dont think this necessitates another bout a your uncreativve slander
CTA: it doesnt take a fuckin savvant to figure out that you might need a bit a counselin on the usage a this newwfound powwer a yours
FTA: ii wouldnt really call iit a power. all ii diid wa2 2teal a program off of AA2 hard driive.
CTA: and thats wwhat im tryin to get at here
CTA: i thought you and ar wwere tight i mean your inability to manage a quadrant wwith her notwwithstandin
FTA: iif we were stiill tiight do you thiink ii would have any rea2on two fuck around wiith you at all?
CTA: wwoww sol that wwas pretty fuckin loww
CTA: here i am tryin to offer you some advvice a the sincerest sort i can manage and youre repayin me wwith ungrateful and really sloppily constructed fallacies
CTA: because from the sound a your memos it looks like you wwere pretty fixated on fuckin around wwith me
FTA: all riight we are not goiing two keep briingiing that up.
FTA: ii diid not giive you permii22iionn two read tho2e ju2t 2o you could briing them up a2 2ome 2ort of feeble fiire 2helter two 2hiield you from all my 2iick burn2.
CTA: is this makin you feel better or something
CTA: fuckin around wwith me and avvoidin the situation thats currently sittin in front of us
FTA: maybe.
CTA: all right wwell you can fuckin stop is wwhat you can do
CTA: im tryin to be helpful here and youre bein nothing but unappreciativve a the effort im puttin into this
CTA: you can start by not bein such a brinewwashed cowward and talkin to ar so you can get some sort a basic understandin a your situation as it stands noww and figure out if me comin to your timeline is a thing that wwould be a good idea
FTA: ii cant.
CTA: wwell
CTA: ars goin to get trolled one wway or the other sol
CTA: and its either goin to be you or me thats doin it
FTA: ii fuckiing CANT.
FTA: how am ii 2uppo2ed two tell her about thii2? have you even fuckiing thought of how that2 goiing two 2ound?
FTA: iin ca2e you cant conjure the iimage your2elf iit would probably go a lot liike
FTA: gee, 2orry AA, but iim fuckiing priince priick. and by that ii dont mean two 2ay wiith partiicularly 2hiit fliippiing rage that ii AM priince priick.
FTA: ii mean that there ii2 a priince priick.
FTA: whiich ii2 two 2ay, ED.
FTA: and ii am fuckiing hiim.
FTA: nook-2tuffiing, bulge-2uckiing, 2traiight up raw fuckiing of the mo2t di2gu2tiing kiind you can conjure up from the mental refu2e piile where all your mo2t morally deba2iing thought2 go two rot.
FTA: and ii hacked your robot braiin two go back iin tiime and make 2ure that thii2 wa2 a liife2tyle ii could contiinue.
FTA: and ii 2ort of fucked up the entiire tiimeliine a2 we know iit becau2e of thii2.
FTA: 2o can you help me out 2o that ii can contiinue maybe 2tiickiing my bulge down ED2 proteiin chute becau2e damn that ii2 a thiing ii really enjoy.
FTA: GOD iif you arent the mo2t a22faced, probo2cii2 pronged, 2hiit chokiing MORON ii have EVER fuckiing had the misfortune to know on ANY level.
FTA: FUCK.
CTA: so is this a thing you wwant me to copy and paste directly into trollian to send to ar
FTA: YOU A22 FONDLIING FUCK
CTA: im goin to take that as a yes
CTA has banned FTA from responding to memo.
CTA has closed memo.
Eridan rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses.
It was too much.
Dealing with Sol's ambling, self-loathing romantic confessions via the perusal of poorly constructed walls of shitty yellow text while simultaneously being berated by the same troll in a distressed and, therefore, even more seriously enraged state than usual was making his heart and head throb. Red and black feelings swirled in his gut like some unholy marbling of liquid brewing in the cauldron of an especially fictional wizard.
Because the way he felt simply didn't seem like it had any right existing. It wasn't fair that it existed at all. On the one hand he wanted to make good on his threat of pasting Sol's rant into Trollian and shooting it off to Ar. On the other hand lay his heart, bleeding a molten ooze so potent that it made him ache to his core with longing. Because, in the end, it was that waffling demeanor and those passionate responses of either hue that made him want to seek Sol out. That made him want to push him up against the wall and beat him and kiss him and beat him some more. That made him want to tear his own insides out because sometimes that was just so much easier than being locked in a labyrinth of yearning with no exit.
Dealing with Sol had forced him to eat a lot more of his own pride than Eridan had ever dreamed was possible. And yet it seemed as though he was about to be served yet another helping. Because as much as he wanted to humiliate the troll and teach him what it really meant to so freely wag his sloppy tongue in insult at a sea dweller, he wanted to be with the troll even more. He didn't want to let Sol slip out of his grasp. Not after they had been through so much strife. Not after Eridan had splintered his own ideal of what it meant to have the blood of royalty and live accordingly. He had given up too much. He could give up a bit more if it meant taking Sol into his arms and holding him there.
He was sure if he ever did something so sentimental that it would make Sol literally gag with repulsion. And that was why he wanted to do it, to be honest. He was sure the mustard blood would make excellent faux-retching noises.
He pulled up Trollian and scrolled through his contacts, locating the rust-colored text of Aradia's username within seconds.
twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling apocalpysArisen [AA]
TA: hey ar i need to speak wwith you
AA: s0llux
AA: y0ur typing style seem t0 be err0ne0us
TA: oh fuck i forgot to sign out a sols account
TA: wwhatevver i dont havve time to go messin around wwith trollian im on a strict sort a schedule here
AA: eridan
TA: yeah i actually havve a question for you the subject matter a wwhich is a bit sensitivve so i should probably be takin this sloww as its a lot a information for someone a your levvel to process at one time
AA: s0llux is n0 l0nger with us
TA: wwell wwhat i wwas goin to say wwas something more like
AA: hes currently residing in the alpha timeline, a l0cati0n which was successfully reached by bereaving my mechanical b0dy 0f its p0wers 0f time manipulati0n
TA: okay but youre missin the bigger picture here
TA: actually no thats pretty much the wwhole picture
TA: howw do you evven knoww about this i mean i had to wwade through about eight tons a memos to get to that conclusion
TA: you knoww if electronic transtimeline memos wwere a thing that could be wweighed
AA: its n0t a difficult c0nclusi0n t0 reach, given my current state
AA: i felt the pr0bing of an0ther electr0nic presence in my mental faculties
AA: and simply deduced that s0llux w0uld be the 0nly 0ne capable 0f such technological maneuvering
AA: i als0 maintain c0mmunicati0n with all my 0ther selves via the same netw0rk that s0llux hacked
AA: and s0 im acutely aware 0f the machinati0ns 0f each timeline
AA: even th0se that are n0t physically manifested t0 me
TA: i
TA: wwhat
AA: th0ugh as t0 s0lluxs m0tives, i have n0 inkling
AA: i presume this is t0 be y0ur r0le t0 me
AA: unl0cking the final requirement t0wards all0wing me t0 guide this timeline t0 its c0nclusi0n
TA: wwait ar youre getting wway ahead a me here
TA: i mean i guess i get that youre privvy to all a this information on the basis a you bein really unnatural and havvin a head made a wwires constructed by some swweat production factory
TA: but wwhat are you goin on about wwith this talk a concludin timelines
TA: is this to say that you can see the future
AA: yes i already explained this
TA: wwell howw about you start speakin to me as if i dont understand a fuckin piss puddle a this
TA: because i dont
AA: the explanati0ns w0uld serve n0 purp0se
AA: i myself am n0t fully able t0 c0mprehend the nature 0r s0urce 0f my abilities
AA: but it has n0 meaning
AA: all that matters n0w is the functi0n
TA: so wwhat then wwhats the fuckin function
AA: my functi0n is t0 see this timeline t0 its c0nclusi0n
AA: as ive said
TA: so wwhats the conclusion
AA: destructi0n
TA: uh
AA: 0_0
TA: all right are you just expectin me to take that like its nothing
TA: like that has no bearing on my existence at all
AA: are y0u asking me whether i find it advisable t0 panic in this situati0n
TA: wwell
TA: i dont really knoww
TA: im still just tryin to take all a this in
AA: then ill answer the questi0n acc0unting f0r all variables presented
AA: if you had said yes my resp0nse w0uld have been that i see n0 explicit functi0n in having feelings regarding the matter 0f this timelines c0nclusi0n at all
AA: its 0utc0me is inevitable and theref0re any feelings expressed will 0nly urge it f0rward acc0rdingly
AA: if y0u had said n0 my resp0nse w0uld have been given via impartial pict0graphic representati0n
AA: like this
AA: 0_0
TA: okay howw about i do us both a favor and tell you to shut up so i can think for a second
TA: i need this to be fuckin to the point all right
TA: none a your fatalistic bullshit since thats bein no help to me at all
TA: least of all emotionally
AA: em0ti0ns are a thing i have ceased t0 fully understand
TA: wwell im feelin a lot a them right noww so i wwould appreciate it if you could just keep your mechanical bullshit to yourself and let me talk
TA: sol fucked up the timeline and i guess youre awware a that
AA: he 0nly did as he was always meant t0 d0
TA: wwait wwhat
TA: from the sounds a it he splintered the wwhole fuckin thing
TA: and youre sayin that wwas a thing that wwas supposed to happen
AA: 0f c0urse
AA: with0ut his interference the true alpha timeline w0uld never have been created
AA: it had t0 happen this way
AA: it was always meant t0 happen this way
AA: that is h0w ive c0me t0 understand the truth 0f time and the traversal there0f
TA: okay
TA: i dont really understand but im done tryin to force sense out a you
TA: just tell me wwhat to do
AA: i can tell y0u things eridan
AA: s0me 0f which may c0ntain phrases that could be perceived as advice
AA: but in the end i have n0 c0ntr0l 0ver y0ur decisi0ns
AA: please keep this in mind
TA: all right that is noww a thing that is ass deep in my think pan
TA: get to the fuckin point
AA: if s0llux were t0 leave his timeline, he w0uld d00m it
AA: there w0uld be n0 fracture in timespace
AA: it w0uld simply be the end 0f the alpha timeline as we kn0w it
TA: okay so im guessin thats a thing wwe wwant to avvoid
AA: maybe
AA: maybe n0t
AA: 0_0
TA: youre losin me ar
AA: im ch00sing n0t t0 divulge the nature 0f the alpha timelines end
AA: y0u will n0t need it t0 make y0ur ch0ice
AA: but if s0llux ch00ses t0 return here he will die
TA: all right but howw long is it before that happens are wwe speakin in terms a lunar perigrees or swweeps
AA: minutes
TA: oh
TA: wwell fuck
TA: is that something that can possibly be avvoided i mean could the timeline be splintered at all
AA: n0
AA: this timeline is slated f0r imminent destructi0n
AA: if it was n0t i w0uld be unable t0 fulfill my purp0se
TA: so wwhat about the alternativve
TA: a me goin to him i mean
TA: is that a thing that wwould be possible
AA: the s0llux y0u are acquainted with is the alpha s0llux
AA: his presence in the alpha timeline is necessary
AA: y0u are a d00med entity
AA: y0ur encr0achment 0n the alpha territ0ry 0f spacetime w0uld create a dimensi0nal shift
AA: ultimately ending it
TA: so any tryin to get out a this arrangement means fuckin up the timeline further
AA: yes
TA: but you wwont tell me if this wwas howw it wwas supposed to be all along
TA: if my fuckin up the timeline is wwhats supposed to happen and is howw the alpha timeline is supposed to end
AA: yes
AA: if it is any aid t0 y0u simply think 0f it in these terms
AA: all 0ur time is sh0rt
AA: its up t0 y0u what t0 decide t0 d0 with it
TA: i think im goin to need to speak wwith sol again
TA: all a this ruminatin on time has got my think pan doin flips
TA: i just dont knoww if hes goin to be around to read any memos i happen to post
TA: and i dont knoww howw much time i havve
AA: ive already reached inside y0ur netw0rk and merged tr0llians functi0ns with that 0f the time travel system s0llux installed 0n y0ur c0mputer
AA: y0u will be able t0 c0nverse with any0ne 0n any timeline 0ver a chat client
TA: oh
TA: wwell that wwas needlessly decent a you
AA: im 0nly perf0rming my r0le in this timeline
TA: sure i guess
TA: im maybe goin to talk to you later ar so dont go doin anything
TA: not that you really havve any shit of any importance wworth doin
twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling apocalypseArisen [AA]
Eridan took a moment to remember to breathe. He sucked in deep breaths, exhaling through his nose. Still, darkness ate at the corners of his vision. He wondered, perhaps, if he was still dreaming.
He surveyed Trollian's new chat interface, gazing bemusedly at all the new branching timelines. At first glance, it looked as though the holographic monitor had been shattered, the originally straight timelines fractured. But, as he followed the glimmerings of reds and purples and cyans and grays, he saw that it was more like a tree constructed of stained glass. In the center was the trunk made of the bright hues of the hemospectrum, and from it sprouted multicolored branches that twisted off in every direction.
He let his cursor hover over the tendril of glowing yellow light at the heart of the trunk. A text box sprouted next to his pointer, cycling through times and locations, but all under the same heading.
SOLLUX CAPTOR: ALPHA
He followed it down. Down into the tree's roots, where the multicolored lines of light separated and twisted down, joining with other fragments of light. As he followed Sollux's little tendril, the heading never changed.
SOLLUX CAPTOR: ALPHA – 2:13 HOURS AGO – VEIL [THIRD SUBLEVEL]
SOLLUX CAPTOR: ALPHA – 9:31 HOURS AGO – VEIL [COMPUTER LAB]
SOLLUX CAPTOR: ALPHA – 56:47 HOURS AGO – LAND OF DEW AND GLASS [FIFTH PORTAL]
SOLLUX CAPTOR: ALPHA – 213:38 HOURS AGO – LAND OF BRAINS AND FIRE [THIRD PORTAL]
SOLLUX CAPTOR: ALPHA 926:17 HOURS AGO – ALTERNIA [COMMUNAL HIVESTEM]
All the way back he could trace it. The yellow line, unbroken. But still one of the last to join the great trunk of the tree. He let his cursor rest over the other colors joined in the tangled core.
TEREZI PYROPE: ALPHA – 3:44 HOURS AGO – VEIL [COMPUTER LAB]
VRISKA SERKET: ALPHA – 6:22 HOURS AGO – VEIL [COMPUTER LAB]
He licked his lips, letting his cursor hover over the purple hue he knew so well.
ERIDAN AMPORA: ALPHA – 2:13 HOURS AGO – VEIL [CORE]
He felt as if a hand had reached through his chest and twisted his heart. It couldn't be right. Two hours ago he had been pressed against Sollux's body. Not even clothing had come between them. He pushed his cursor over to Sollux's yellow strand, hovering just outside the trunk of the multicolored tree of timelines. It glowed there, brightly. And it was tangled around a stray purple strand of light.
ERIDAN AMPORA: DOOMED221476 – 2:13 HOURS AGO –VEIL [THIRD SUBLEVEL]
He stared at it for a while, his heart seeming to fill his entire body with each throb. He could hear it pulsing in his ears. Pounding on the back of his tongue. He swallowed hard.
So this was how it was going to be.
He found the alpha Sollux with the same timestamp he had been given in his previous memo and clicked on it. He barely felt his fingers as they tapped out a message.
CURRENT twinArmageddons [CTA] began trolling FUTURE twinArmageddons [FTA] RIGHT NOW
CTA: sol
FTA: ii 2wear two god, iif you relayed any of what ii ju2t 2aiid two AA, iim goiing two carve out your iin2iide2 wiith a paiir of feediing prong2 and force feed them two you.
FTA: al2o, how the hell are you contactiing me through trolliian?
FTA: and why are you 2tiill u2iing my handle?
FTA: doe2 iit giive you 2ome 2ort of 2iick 2atii2factiion?
FTA: liike youre controlliing me or 2ome 2hiit?
FTA: doe2 thii2 have two do wiith your glariing control i22ue2 that po22iibly border on the fetii2hii2tiic?
CTA: sol
FTA: what?
CTA: i talked to ar
FTA: fuckiing perfect.
FTA: ii2 thii2 the part where iim 2uppo2ed two waiit iin pant2 wettiing antiiciipatiion for you two recount the entiire grue2ome affaiir iin an act of pompou2 one-upmanship
CTA: sol
CTA: you remember in your memos wwhere you wwere discussin some sort a powwer you havve
CTA: that lets you hear the vvoices a the imminently deceased
FTA: yeah, ii remember. ii diid ju2t get done wriitiing the damned thiing.
CTA: can you hear me in there
FTA: what the fuck ii2 thii2 all of a 2udden?
CTA: im just askin if you can hear my vvoice if you stop tryin to tune them all out for a second
FTA: what?
FTA: why would you even a2k me 2hiit liike that?
FTA: are you haviing 2ome kiind of morbiid erotiic fanta2y riight now?
FTA: diid AA put you up two thii2?
CTA: you can hear me cant you
CTA: sol
CTA: fuckin answwer me
FTA: no.
FTA: ii cant hear you.
FTA: look2 liike youre a2 hard two kiill a2 you are two kiick off of my fuckiing handle.
FTA: 2eriiou2ly, 2top u2iing iit.
FTA: iit2 really 2tartiing two pii22 me off.
CTA: youre lyin
FTA: what?
CTA: you can hear me
CTA: i knoww you can hear me in there
FTA: ii already told you ii couldnt 2o can we plea2e ju2t drop iit?
CTA: im doomed sol
CTA: and wwe both fuckin knoww it
FTA: 2hut up.
CTA: i wwas nevver meant to be a part a the alpha timeline
CTA: and you wwere nevver meant to be here wwith me
CTA: heh
FTA: what the FUCK are you goiing on about?
CTA: you wwere alwways the alpha sollux
CTA: since the vvery beginning
CTA: you can look at the timelines they make it pretty obvvious
CTA: you wwere just late in takin up your true place i guess
FTA: ii knew talkiing two AA wa2 a bad iidea.
FTA: 2he alway2 put2 all thii2 bull2hiit iin your thiink pan about fate and how thiing2 are suppo2ed two be.
FTA: fuck that.
FTA: FUCK.
FTA: THAT.
FTA: iim not goiing two look at a few colored liine2 on a computer 2creen and throw my prong2 up iin the aiir and yell "well, ii gue22 that2 iit! nothiing ii can po22iibly do now, the god2 have deciided two 2hiit on me 2o iim ju2t goiing two 2iit under thii2 raiin of fecal matter becau2e iit2 not liike ii have two functiioniing leg2 two tran2port me away from thii2 me22, nope. ii have two 2iit here becau2e the colored liine2 told me to."
CTA: sol
FTA: ii thought you were goiing two talk two AA 2o we could get thii2 2hiit fiigured out.
FTA: not 2o that you could 2iit on your nub2 and giive up.
CTA: sol
FTA: FUCK
FTA: iif ii knew iit wa2 goiing two be thii2 way, ii would have never opened that memo.
FTA: ii never would have talked two that jacka22.
FTA: becau2e ii 2tiill ju2t dont get it.
FTA: ii would have never 2aiid any of tho2e thiing2.
FTA: ii would have never encouraged my pa2t 2elf two go and me22 wiith tiime.
FTA: iin fact
FTA: iim not goiing two.
CTA: sol ar said you wwere necessary for the alpha timeline to form and be movvin forwward
CTA: so you encouragin your past self to mess wwith time seems like a thing you should probably be doin
FTA: no
FTA: fuck that
FTA: and fuck you for saying it.
FTA: iim goiing two get you out of there.
CTA: sol has your head evver lied
FTA: 2hut up about my head.
FTA: my head ii2nt the ii22ue.
FTA: and even iif iit wa2
FTA: ii thought you 2aiid iit diidnt matter.
FTA: you knew we diidnt have much tiime together
FTA: ii thought that wa2 the whole poiint of thii2
FTA: that2 what made iit 2o damn
FTA: ii dont know
CTA: sol
FTA: 2hut up
FTA: ii dont care about dyiing.
FTA: not anymore.
FTA: becau2e for the fiir2t tiime iin my whole liife
FTA: iim okay wiith thiing2.
FTA: okay wiith my2elf.
CTA: im pretty okay wwith you too sol
FTA: 2o iim a2kiing you
FTA: two plea2e let me ju2t
FTA: fiigure 2omethiing out.
FTA: iif we have two diie
FTA: ii at lea2t want iit two be twogether.
CTA: all right if you say so
FTA: fuck
CTA: youre cryin arent you
FTA: dont project your own 2loppy dii2play2 of emotiion onto me.
FTA: ju2t 2iit tiight for a miinute
FTA: iim goiing two talk to AA
FTA: and then iim goiing two encrypt thii2 entiire tran2tiimeliine communiicatiion feed.
FTA: ii dont want future me contactiing pa2t me.
FTA: ever.
FUTURE twinArmageddons [FTA] ceased trolling CURRENT twinArmageddons [CTA]
Eridan leaned away from his computer, dragging a sleeve over his eyes. His tongue was wet with warm salt, and his cheeks stung. Projecting his own sloppy emotions onto Sol indeed. He laughed bitterly, wiping his face again.
Still, he couldn't help but feel his stomach clench at Sol's words. Of course, everything had gone downhill. Of course, he would have never made it his choice to have things play out this way. To have Sol splinter the timelines and end up separating them, the alpha from the doomed.
And yet…
He went back to the memos Sol had left for himself. It had been his future self who had caused the troll to question his feelings in the first place. To take Eridan's own advances seriously. Without that first contact, would anything have happened between them at all?
Eridan's heart throbbed in his chest. His hands felt cold and moist with sweat. He rubbed them on his pants.
As much as he hated how things had turned out, he wouldn't have traded those few moments with Sol for the world.
And so it was now clear what he had to do.
He scrolled back along Sol's timeline until he found what seemed to be a suitable place. He clicked on it.
He would just have to make sure he was authentic as possible this time.
CURRENT twinArmageddons [CTA] began trolling PAST twinArmageddons [PTA] RIGHT NOW.
CTA: 2o iive come two giive you a me22age about 2omethiing iincrediibly iimportant.
PTA: 2o thii2 ii2 future me, huh? ii gue22 ii have two a22ume 2o, 2ince youre u2iing the 2ame handle tag that the bulletiin2 employ. but iit shouldnt be po22ible for you two u2e the tran2tiimliine functiion2 on the trolliian chat cliient. You 2hould only be able two do iit through publiic chat board iinviite2. I 2u2pect 2ome kiind of triickery.
CTA: 2u2pect all you want but iid have thought youd have more faiith iin your2elf as 2ome 2ort of wiizard hacker or 2omethiing.
CTA: even iif thats a 2tupiid comparii2on 2iince everyone know2 that wii2ard2 dont exii2t.
PTA: what the fuck are you even talkiing about? can we 2tay on topiic plea2e? iim pretty legiitiimately pii22ed off riight now about thii2 whole encryptiion debacle, and 2iince ii can only a22ume that youre the jacka22 behiind iit, iid at lea2t liike to know what your rea2oniing on keepiing me out of my own priivate bulletiin wa2.
CTA: okay fiir2t ju2t let me apologiize for that wiizard thiing.
CTA: ii realiize that ii2 probably uncharacterii2tiic of pa2t me two 2ay. but iive been hangiin around a certaiin da2hiing 2ea dweller lately 2o hii2 iintere2t2 have been rubbiin off on me.
PTA: oh my god.
CTA: ii future 2ollux now thiink wiizard2 are pretty cool, even iif they are fake.
PTA: oh my god, future me ii2 a complete moron.
CTA: no, ii thiink weve come a long way. weve made a lot a decent progre22. e2peciially where quadrant2 are concerned.
PTA: no. no no no no no no no.
CTA: iim afraiid iit2 true you can deny iit all you want but ii am future you and 2o ii already know all of thii2.
PTA: no ii refu2e two beliieve that any of thii2 ii2 happeniing. thii2 ha2 offiiciially become one of my niightmare2.
CTA: weve even fiilled a paiil or two, weve really come a lot farther than anyone really expected.
PTA: my niightmare2 u2ually only iinvolve lot2 of hiideou2 torture and viiolent death though. thii2 ii2 beyond anythiing my fucked up 2kull could even come up wiith.
CTA: ii gue22 thii2 ii2 probably why future you encrypted the board. pa2t you ii2 haviin a really hard tiime dealiin wiith all thii2.
CTA: and when ii 2ay future you ii actually mean future me. future-y-er me.
PTA: thii2 cant be real. can you plea2e tell me that thii2 wa2 all 2ome 2ort of twii2ted joke you devii2ed a2 a te2t of my mettle to 2ee iif ii qualiifiied to u2e the bulletiin.
PTA: becau2e iif 2o, wow, that ii2 fucked up, even by my 2tandard2.
CTA: okay, iim tryiin to be 2eriiou2 wiith you and you ju2t contiinue to shoot me down. ii gue22 ii 2hould have expected a2 much. pa2t me wa2 a pretty 2tubborn a22hole.
PTA: ii mean, ii know ii have tho2e day2 where ii feel liike the lou2iie2t piiece of 2hiit on the planet, but ii dont thiink ii could ever develop a level of 2elf-loathiing that would warrant abu2iing the mental facultiie2 of my pa2t 2elf on thii2 2cale.
CTA: iim feeliin pretty abu2ed now my2elf. kiinda startiin to wonder how any of your future event2 were po22iible wiith you beiin iin 2uch a clo2ed off 2tate a miind.
PTA: ii cant even handle thii2. ii am 2econd2 away from blockiing future me forever, becau2e thii2 ii2 ju2t two depre22iing for me two deal wiith riight now.
CTA: you diidnt even li2ten two me, a22hole. you cant block me untiil ii relay 2ome viital iinformatiion becau2e iif you thiink that talkiin to pa2t me ii2 fun iit2 not.
CTA: pa2t me probably would have found a more clever way two word that or 2omethiing but iim runniin 2hort on tiime here.
PTA: ii cant even block you. ii dont know what ii2 wrong wiith me. ii actually triied two. my mou2e wa2 hovering over the button and everythiing.
PTA: maybe iim entertaiiniing 2ome kiind of twii2ted fa2ciinatiion wiith a future me that ha2 apparently fiilled a bucket wiith eriidan.
PTA: ii mean, 2eriiou2ly, tell me that wa2 ju2t two goad me. becau2e there2 nothiing el2e that would di2gu2t me more riight now. 2o iim telliing you, future diip2hiit, two confe22 to your elaborate ru2e.
PTA: well played, ii totally fliipped out. whatever 2ort of ju2tiice you meant to 2erve ha2 been 2erved. on a biig 2iilver nutriitiion plateau.
CTA: that wa2nt a joke and youre kiinda 2tartiin two up2et me wiith how badly youre takiin iit
CTA: liike ii thought that thii2 wa2 the begiinniing where the whole relatiinon2hiip got 2tarted. at lea2t that2 what future-y-er me 2aiid.
CTA: now iim 2tartiin two thiink that he wa2 ju2t pulliin my fiin.
CTA: ii mean leg.
CTA: ii do fi2h pun2 now two ii mean how crazy ii2 that ha ha ha.
PTA: holy fuck ii thiink my braiin ju2t exploded iin my head. both of them.
PTA: ii 2eriiou2ly ju2t felt 2omethiing rupture.
PTA: maybe youre riight, maybe thii2 ii2 where thii2 2o called relatiion2hiip got 2tarted. becau2e you broke my braiin2, ii now feel de2tabiiliized enough to con2iider paiil fiilliing wiith that moron.
CTA: wow really?
PTA: no, a22hole. iit wa2 a joke.
PTA: ha
PTA: 2ee, and that wa2 a laugh.
PTA: becau2e ii made a joke.
PTA: it wa2 a pretty fuckiing bad one that only de2erved two letter2 of text expre22iing miirth though.
CTA: ii fuckiin get that you made a joke jacka22 do you want congratulatiion2 or 2omethiing?
CTA: be2iide2 you 2eemed iin a pretty decent caliigiinou2 2tate of miind when we diid the deed. well, when pa2t me and future you diid the deed.
CTA: not that any of iit really matter2 anymore ii gue22.
PTA: okay, werent you on 2ome kiind of a tiime liimiit here?
CTA: 2orry ii gue22 ii ju2t wanted one la2t 2par wiith you.
CTA: 2iince iit look2 liike future me wiill be encryptiin all thii2 iin 2hort order.
CTA: 2o ii gue22 all ii have two 2ay ii2 that you 2hould go back iin tiime iif your relatiion2hiip wiith eriidan ever hiit2 a rough patch.
PTA: you mean the relatiion2hiip that ii wont have becau2e thii2 ii2 all 2ome kiind of perverted prank?
CTA: ye2 that one.
CTA: ii mean iim not even iin the mood two defend iit anymore 2iince you obviiou2ly cant even entertaiin the po22iibiiliity of iit happeniin.
PTA: al2o, 2top cliippiing your progre22iive verb2 two 2ound liike hiim.
PTA: dont thiink ii havent notiiced that. becau2e ii have, and ii wa2 ju2t tryiing two iignore iit 2o that you diidn't know that your other method of provocatiion wa2 workiing, but iit ii2.
PTA: iit2 actually driiviing my biifurcated braiin2tem to be iin danger of 2nappiing.
PTA: 2o congratulatiion2. youve found every way in current exi2tence po22iible two iirriitate the 2hiit out of me.
CTA: oh 2orry, ii diidnt even realii2e ii wa2 doiin iit.
CTA: ii mean doiing iit.
CTA: ii really have ju2t been 2pendiing a lot of tiime around hiim.
PTA: ii feel siick.
CTA: well iim 2orry you feel that way.
CTA: but ju2t two reiiterate, 2ince ii thiink the maiin poiint wa2 lo2t iin you fliipiin out over a relatiion2hiip that you haven't even had yet, youre 2uppo2ed two go back iin tiime.
PTA: okay, ii wiill defiiniitely do that. two rectiify my made up relatiionshiip wiith a fii2h douche that wiill never happen.
CTA: ye2. go back iin tiime two the land of brain2 and fire and make hiim come duel wiith you.
CTA: he wa2 awfully lonely when he wa2 iin the land of wrath and angel2, 2o he wiill be more receptiive two your advance2.
CTA: and that2 all iim goiin two 2ay about that.
PTA: 2o were offiiciially through wiith entertaiiniing grubfuckiingly iidiiotiic hypothetiical 2cenario2 de2iigned wiith the expre22 iintent of pii22iing me off?
CTA: yeah ii gue22 2o.
PTA: good.
CTA: yeah
CTA: um…
PTA: what are we not done?
CTA: no we are ii mean there2 really nothiing left two 2ay on the matter.
CTA: ii gue22 ii ju2t thought thii2 would go 2moother.
CTA: ii mean ii hope ii diidnt fuck anythiing up thii2 wa2 kiinda my only chance.
PTA: on any other day, iid iinquiire about that, but iive come two the conclusiion that future me ii2 a complete fuckiing retard, and ii've giiven up tryiing two communiicate wiith hiim or under2tand hiim.
PTA: thank2 two you, iim now offiiciially dreadiing two become hiim. becau2e eiither you thiink thii2 ii2 all hiilariiou2 and youre doiing iit two provoke me or you actually genuiinely beliieve iin iit.
PTA: ii dont know whiich ii2 wor2e hone2tly. ii mean eiither way iive totally lo2t my fuckiing 2hiit.
CTA: youll be okay iin the future. future-y-er you know2 what he2 doiin.
CTA: iim goiing two block you now.
CTA: bye.
CURRENT twinArmageddons [CTA] ceased trolling PAST twinArmageddons [PTA]
Eridan sat back, rubbing his chin as he surveyed the conversation. He felt ill. He had tried to be as specific as possible. He had tried to include all the necessary information. And he had tried to be as convincing of an imposter as he had it in himself to be.
And yet he still felt as though it was hardly enough. Surely Sol had seen through it. Surely Eridan had now fucked the timeline so far upward that it was no longer in the meteor's gravitational field and was now sort of just spinning aimlessly into space.
He rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. Even if it was the case, he was not feeling any of the immediate effects of said fucking in the upward direction. And Sol, as far as he knew, was still behaving normally in his timeline. Eridan looked at the huge timeline tree on his monitor and tried to see if anything looked different. But it was like trying to memorize a tapestry comprised of abstract squiggles. He couldn't say if something had shifted, but the two tangled lines, Sollux's alpha stream and his own doomed one, remained in tact, off in their own dark little space. He smiled at them.
If they had to die, it would be together.
He supposed he was okay with that.
He lifted a finger to touch those two lines, when a hissing crackle invaded his ears. His eyes flicked up, beyond his monitor, and he saw a white bead of light in the middle of the room. Energy snapped around it, dancing across the dimly lit room. The light slowly began to grow, blossoming into an orb the size of Eridan's fist. Eridan's brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing at the harsh glow. The hissing grew louder in his ears, like some angry beast caught in a trap, screaming and snarling and whining and buzzing with pain. And then, with a flash of light so bright Eridan saw bursts of thousands of colors before squeezing his eyes shut, the sound was gone.
It took a while for his vision to come back to him after that. He sat, staring and blinking, tears pouring down his cheeks. For one frightening moment he wondered if he was blind, and had horrible visions of having to wear tacky sunglasses like Ter always did and made a firm resolution to find shades in a style more suitable to him. It was a resolution he had to hold only briefly, for after a few more blinks and eye rubs, he found his vision slowly returning.
The scene that emerged from the darkness was an unexpected one. Sitting and trembling in the middle of what appeared to be a crushed grubtop was a troll. In this troll's hand was a pair of shattered anaglyph glasses. Steam rose from his gray skin and mismatched eyes as he held his head, grimacing.
Eridan blinked, baffled.
"Sol?"
The troll jerked away, as if the sound of Eridan's voice had burned him. He turned his eyes on the sea dweller, and Eridan could see that there was something very wrong with those eyes. They looked empty. Wild. Like the eyes of a lusus backed into a corner. Eridan suddenly wished he had never caught the troll's attention. Wished he could grab his words out of the air and shove them back in his mouth.
"You…" Sol's voice was shaky and hoarse. He tried to get to his feet, but stumbled, falling onto his hands and knees. His fangs were bared. "You… You…"
Eridan pulled the lunchtop closer, staring at Sol. This Sol that looked nothing like the one he remembered. "Sol, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
The troll put a hand to his head, baring his fangs wider, opening his mouth further. And then he screamed. His eyes began to blaze with red and blue light, the energy snapping about his head. Eridan pushed himself away a few feet, his eyes glancing at his gun, which was still propped up against the wall several yards away.
"Where ith thith? Thith ithn't right. What did you do to me?" Sol's voice was a yell. Ragged and torn and hanging by a single thread. His eyes seemed to bulge from their sockets, energy swirling about the retinas.
"Sol…said he didn't exactly kill his doomed self… Oh fuck…" Eridan lurched to his feet, clutching the lunchtop close.
"I need to go back. I… Need… Need…" Sol rummaged around through the pieces of the broken computer beside him. He tried slamming a few of the bits of plastic together as if it would force them to magically merge. But magic wasn't real, and neither was the possibility of the computer being reconstructed. Sol put his head on the tile and screamed.
Eridan took a few steps back. This wasn't his Sol. This Sol was broken.
Dangerous.
Sol's eyes snapped up as he noticed Eridan's movements. Eridan froze and stared at the troll. Sol rose to his feet.
"It wath you, wathn't it…? You never could leave me alone after that duel you thuppothedly had with me on LOBAF…" He put his hands to his head, as if trying to crush his own skull. "I need to go back. You fuck! You fucking shit! I'll fucking rip your limbth off!"
He screamed, light bursting from his eyes. Eridan dropped the lunchtop and it clattered to the floor, red and blue energy tearing through the air where Eridan had stood moments before. The sea dweller launched himself across the tile, panting, his cape flaring out behind him as he reached a hand out for his gun—
He gagged. He twisted around and saw red light tugging on the ends of his cape and scarf. Eridan choked and wheezed, his eyes widening as he saw the crazed troll dashing towards him. The sea dweller spun and jerked violently, trying to yank off his garments as fast as he could. He saw red and blue light begin to surround the bits of debris on the floor as Sol rushed closer.
"Come on… Come on!" Eridan screamed, tearing at his clothing. His chest heaving, he reached for his gun. It was inches from his finger tips. He drove his feet against the floor as hard as he could, skidding on the tile, reaching…reaching…
His fingers brushed the muzzle, then curled around it. He grabbed the gun triumphantly in his fist.
And suddenly it was spattered with purple blood.
Eridan stared at the liquid coating the Crosshair's muzzle. Watched, mouth agape with shock, as it began to drip down over the glistening blue metal. His eyes dropped, and he could see a the end of a jagged piece of metal protruding from his stomach.
He dropped to one knee, reaching behind his back to feel where the rod had entered him. He touched it, and barely had time to hear the strange squelching sound it made in his body before another explosion of pressure rocked him onto both knees. He coughed a gout of blood in surprise, staring at his chest to see yet another rod protruding from his body.
"Tell me how to get back, you shit, and maybe I'll thtop." Eridan twisted around, his eyes hazy with pain. But he could still make out Sol standing over him. The troll put a shoe on Eridan's side and forced the troll to the ground. Eridan clutched his gun close, bearing his fangs, now stained with purple blood.
"There's no…f-future…for you, Sol…" He forced out. It was an effort just to breathe. He could distinctly feel that one lung wasn't working at all.
"Tch," Sol turned away from him. "You were never even a threat, Eridan." He looked to the lunchtop on the ground. He began to move toward it.
Eridan gave a strangled cry, trying to lift his gun. But each movement drove a hot spike of pain through his entire body. He couldn't even curl his hands around his gun properly. Sol froze, turning back toward him slowly. His wild eyes became wilder still.
"That'th it, ithn't it? It'th the computer. The computer will take me back. Back… Take…" He laughed suddenly, grabbing his face. Eridan's heart clenched, his stomach twisting around the pole in his gut. The computer was brimming with time travel programs. He had used them himself.
Sol suddenly became calm. He nodded toward Eridan with what looked like profound gratitude.
"Thankth. Thankth. I'll be going back now. It wath nithe theeing you here while it lathted. Thith vithit wath tho short. Wow." He laughed again, turning toward the computer.
Amidst the growing agony and the darkening of his vision, Eridan knew. He knew that he couldn't allow this Sollux to go back. Not to where Sol was. His Sol. His alpha Sol in his alpha timeline. He also knew that he couldn't kill this troll. Not with a single shot.
But there was something he could do with a single shot.
He slid Ahab's Crosshairs in a wide arc across the tile, creating a trail of purple blood in its wake. Still lying on his side, he pushed the gun up to his shoulder, trying to lay it as straight as he could. He dipped his head down toward the rifle, trying to align his eyes with the sight. He would only get one shot. His fingers shook. His strength was absolutely gone. But all he had to do was pull the trigger. All he had to do…
He squeezed his eyes shut, and felt hot tears slipping down his cheeks.
He had never even had a chance to say it.
Those were his thoughts as his finger clenched. As white light went lancing from the head of his rifle and into the lunchtop, blasting it into a million tiny pieces that seemed to refract the dim light with all the colors of the hemospectrum.
He even thought he saw some yellow and purple glittering together there.
Those were his thoughts as Sol screamed in fury. As the troll turned back toward him, his eyes snapping with fury. As red light surrounded Eridan's ankles and wrists and began to pull.
He had seen some yellow and purple glittering together there. As if they belonged together. As if…
It was something he had never gotten a chance to tell Sol.
He had never gotten a chance to say—