uHH, iT'S STILL MIDNIGHT, rIGHT,

[rocketchair]

WHAT: Tavros' rescue.
WHO: Tavros and... whoever idk participation isn't required!
WHEN: The Dark Hour, after Tavros shows up on TV.
WHERE: His dungeon, an imploding version of Tavros' former hive.

The black hole in the middle of Tavros' respiteblock had grown since his shadow first created it. Most of the items that once littered the floor had fallen in, and there was nothing Tavros could do but watch them disappear into the void. A couple of oogonibombs rolled in, and he listened, waiting for them to hit the bottom. How far down did the hole go, anyway? Tavros didn't know; but at the rate things were going, he had a feeling he was about to find out.

And his shadow wasn't treating him any better. If anything, interacting with people through the television had only worsened his behavior. He was angry, an emotion Tavros himself rarely experienced, much less expressed. At some point, he had managed to save Tavros' lance from falling into the bottomless pit; and every now and then, in between crying and screaming like a spoiled child, he would threaten to run Tavros through with it 'just like Vriska did.' Tavros thought he could escape his shadow by running to the other end of the room, but the hole had grown so large that he couldn't reach the door if he tried.

"Why does everyone want to stop me?" Tavros' shadow wondered aloud. He then turned sharply on his heel. "Why does everyone want you?!"

Tavros flattened himself against the wall. "I-I-I, uhh..." he started, unable to look himself in the eye. "I r-really don't know, b-but..."

But he hoped they would come soon.

"Sh-Shut up!" His shadow stomped again. "You're only alive because you ran from me! Why are you such a coward?!"

As Tavros watched his recuperacoon tip over and fall into nothing, he couldn't come up with an answer. Between his shadow and the rift, it was only a matter of time until one—or both—did him in.

Comments

[riseup]

John's near the front of the party, and he stops short with both his arms stretched out when the huge hole comes into view. "Be careful," he says, as much for his own benefit as everyone else's. How do you be the hero without being heroic enough to die for real? Some questions are best left to ponder later.

When he looks between the two versions of Tavros, John's face is unusually grim. If it happened to Tavros, it could happen to any of them. Such a good guy doesn't deserve this. He draws a steadying breath before calling out, "We don't want to stop you, Tavros. I promise. We want to help you."

[ihateyouetc]

John isn't the only one near the front. He also isn't the only one looking grim. Karkat's face is different shades of grave depending on the angle from which one looks at him. The circles beneath his eyes are dark enough to rival the oblivion hole in the ground, but the rift wins by virtue of depth.

There are splatters of bright red on his right cheek; his mouth is a down-turned half-moon-shaped slice of teeth that look like they belong to a shark. There's a sickle (where'd he get it?) in his left hand and his posture slouched, but the muscles are tense and everything about it resembles hackles raising on the back of a cat's neck.

Maybe he was thinking the same thing as John, whose voice is filled with understanding and patience. In direct contrast, Karkat's voice is low and his tone is like a snarl. "Nobody wants just one of you. We're here for both of you, and the sooner you fucking accept it, the sooner you can get the hell away from this shithole."

How helpful.

At least it isn't all he has to yell. "And so fucking what if you run away sometimes -- I did, too!"

[rocketchair]

Tavros was caught between wishing they hadn't come and being surprised that anyone had shown up at all. John trying to save him made sense, somewhat; he was nice to him, always standing up for him whenever someone (mainly Eridan) tried to insult his intelligence or his status within the hemospectrum. But Karkat? Why was he here? What happened to him?

Tavros' shadow obviously hadn't expected anyone to come either. He was practically frozen in place, not sure what to say in protest or whether he should try lashing out at either of them.

After just staring at the two of them in silence for a few seconds, Tavros—the one cowering in a corner—asks, "b-but, uhh... wh-who is he?"

His shadow rolls his eyes in response. "I'm Tavros, stupid. The real one. The better one."

But as he says that, Tavros' shadow hesitates. Words like 'stupid,' 'real' and 'better' seem to get stuck in his mouth before he can get them out, and when he does, they feel forced. He can't even bring himself to look anyone in the eyes when he speaks. His behavior now is much different from when he was speaking through the television. At least then, he was more sure of himself.

Tavros' shadow looks down and shuffles his feet. "They shouldn't even be here for you."

[riseup]

John has done this before. He studies Souji's friendleadership carefully every time someone else appears on the television, every time they delve in. He knows deep down that there's no reasoning with the shadow. You can't ignore what they're saying, but you can't give into their prodding and poking either. It's all about trying to get through to the person — and if you can't, well. His grip on the Zillyhoo tightens. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Karkat's last words don't make sense to him at the moment, but he files it away to ask about later. "You're both Tavros." John's voice is firm and clear. "You are the same person, whether you know it or not, and people appreciate you the way you are."

Okay, maybe that's less true. People are assholes. People are assholes to Tavros, which frankly makes no sense to John. So of course he feels unappreciated, like he has to prove himself. "Or if they do not, then they should. But you don't have to throw yourself away to make them respect you."

Really, honestly, he just wants to fly across the chasm and hug Tavros until he feels better. That isn't what they're here for, though.