Another Way It Could Have Gone

The original version of one scene in the 35th chapter of A Lullaby for Gods

Eridan is frozen, staring at Roxy. One of his hands has blood on them, claws stained red – candy red, just like Karkat’s own blood – a few trails running down his palms. 

Roxy has her head turned to the side. Karkat can’t see it, but he’s sure she has claw marks on the side of her cheeks.

Davesprite walks over to them, slowly, and lifts his sword directly over Eridan’s head.

Eridan doesn’t even look like he’s noticed, still staring at Roxy, and then at the blood on his hand. Karkat wonders for a moment if he’s going to be disgusted at the color of her blood. So unnatural. So off the hemospectrum. So human and beneath a highblood like Eridan.

“Roxy?”

Karkat – Karkat blinks. Eridan sounds afraid.

Roxy finally turns to him, and Karkat sees the gashes on her cheek, blood running down her face. She pushes Davesprite’s sword aside, but he just moves it to Eridan’s neck.

“Dave,” Roxy says, “It was an accident.”

“Roxy, he’s killed his friends before,” Davesprite says. Karkat’s almost inclined to agree with him, except the expression on Eridan’s face looks like surrender, and he drops his head to the floor and bares his neck.

“Dave,” Roxy says, “Drop your sword.”

Dave doesn’t move.

There’s footsteps by the doorway, and when Karkat turns, there’s Steve Rogers and Kanaya, glowing in the dim light.

Steve looks to Tony, while Kanaya looks at where Eridan is on the floor, Davesprite’s blade at his throat, and Roxy with her cheek bleeding and staining the collar of her sweater.

Kanaya moves lightning fast, grabbing Eridan by the hair so that he slips out from under the sword that nearly cuts into him, and Roxy is knocked off of him and onto the floor. All Karkat sees is a blur of light, and then Eridan’s smashed to the wall, so hard that the concrete actually caves in, a web of breaks forming on the surface, and Kanaya’s holding him by the throat with her hand. Her nails dig into his skin, drawing violet blood.

Eridan doesn’t move. Doesn’t squirm like he did earlier. Doesn’t try to pry Kanaya’s hand off.

His self-preservation instincts are kicking in, but gasping for air is all he’s doing. He’s not fighting. At all.

Of everything Karkat’s witnessed in the past few days, this is what unnerves him most.

Eridan’s chest is rising and falling, getting faster as his body is begging for air. His gills are opening and closing, but that just makes the blood Kanaya’s drawing pour out faster. He looks down at her, weakly, but still does not make a move to defend himself. 

Karkat sees Kanaya frown, just as confused as he is. 

Roxy runs to Kanaya and tries to pull her off, but she doesn’t budge. “Kanaya – please.”

Eridan glances at her, at the wounds on her cheek. Kanaya stiffens, and then looks at Roxy.

Karkat gets it, suddenly. He sits up. Watches Kanaya click her tongue and let Eridan go. He slides down the floor, sitting with his back to the wall, barely keeping himself up, breathing harshly.

“Jegus, Eri.” Roxy drops to her knees to check at the wounds on his neck, and he struggles to keep his eyes open. His attention keeps straying to her injured cheek.

“JARVIS, prep the med bay,” Tony says. 

Steve hits the lights, and Karkat has to close his eyes at the sudden brightness. When he opens them, finding that he’s raised his hands to shield them from the light, he sees Eridan slowly reach up at Roxy’s wounds.

He looks ashamed.

Karkat looks away.

“We can’t risk infighting,” Steve Rogers says, making his way over to where Karkat is. He holds out a hand, and Karkat, just so he doesn’t have to see what Eridan is doing, takes the man’s hand. He stands. Kanaya makes her way over to him and keeps her eyes on the floor.

“Kid was probably shocked. Reacted badly,” Tony says, motioning to where Eridan and Roxy are. When Karkat chances a glance, Eridan has his arms around her shoulders, and he looks like he’s crying on her shoulder, mumbling apologies. He looks away again. 

“Doesn’t excuse it,” Kanaya says.

Steve looks to where they are. Karkat resolutely looks down, following Kanaya. She puts a hand on his shoulder. 

“No, it doesn’t,” the man says. “Let’s just bring them both to the med bay. And then we’ll talk about this over some food.”

Karkat nods. That sounds good enough. 

Davesprite flies out of the room, wings flapping a little too forcefully.

Tony puts his face in his hands and sighs. This is a mess.