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"Sapnap, I remember who Quackity is!" Karl exclaims while he gets out of the portal, ready to see his fiancé after traveling for who knows how long. Time passes differently whenever he's gone. But he figured out how to get his missing memories back, with the help of the Overseers. "I have my memories ba—"
Karl would be lying if he told you he didn't freeze when he saw the desolate state of the land of what was once used to be filled with greenery and creeper holes; the Dream SMP.
There's nothing left but bedrock. The greenery and buildings are all gone. It doesn't look like anyone has inhabited it for who knows how long.
"What…?" He whispers in shock, eyes wide and afraid.
How long has he been gone? What happened? Did he arrive in the future?
"Sapnap?" He shouts for his fiancé's name, stepping closer to the dead land. There's smoke everywhere, and he did his best to cover his mouth and nose so he wouldn't inhale the contamination. "Quackity?"
Where are they?
Karl didn't hear any response, so he called for the other members of the server, any name he remembers — but no one responded to his calls.
Why can't he find anyone? Is this the future set in stone for them?
Karl ignores those thoughts, continuing to look for anyone or any sight of life. But no matter how far he goes, he has found no one.
He doesn't recognize where he is. Everything in the land (or what it used to be) is filled with bedrock and dust floating in the wind and pieces of land that's barely holding before it falls.
Karl doesn't like this place. He wants to return to his fiancés and be with them — tell them he remembers everything and apologize to Quackity for calling him a murderer and banning him from ever stepping foot in Kinoko Kingdom. If he has to tell them the truth just so Quackity can forgive him, then he's willing to do it.
He coughs, feeling lightheaded the longer he stays in the area, so he leaves to stay somewhere else. Karl doesn't know what happened or who caused the destruction of the SMP, but he wants to find out to prevent this future from happening.
…
But how is he supposed to do that when there're no signs of life left on the server except for him?
For once, Karl isn't sure what he's supposed to do. He believes that he's in another one of his travels for the nth time, and he's not sure why he's here.
He can't even breathe in the area because of the intoxication, not wanting to risk his life and return to the present yet. It makes him lightheaded. The after effects would linger if he returns in this state; he needs to go somewhere else.
Karl heads over to where he thinks Kinoko Kingdom was, looking at the coordinates when he took the compass out of his inventory. He is close to Kinoko Kingdom, which he finds as a relief for him and hopes that the country's state is not the same as the others.
But all his hope vanishes when he finds it the same as the others, heart sinking at the idea that all the books about his travels are gone. From a distance, all that's left of Kinoko Kingdom is a crater that goes down until bedrock.
Still, he goes closer to the area and has some hope that he can find the others somewhere or any remains of their existence. But he finds nothing; it's like everyone is erased from existence, just like the others.
It makes Karl want to tear his hair out because he's not sure how he's supposed to prevent this. He doesn't know who did it—and that's the problem. He doesn't know who caused this or who owns a nuke on this server, but he has to prevent them from doing it, so this future doesn't happen to them.
This tale differs from the rest… there's no one here… It's just him. How is he supposed to return to the present if there's no conclusion in here? He knows there's another way to return to the present, but he doesn't want to do it. Not yet.
Karl closes his eyes, trying to prevent himself from passing out, and takes deep breaths. Then he opens his eyes and sees a figure from a distance holding something. He couldn't figure out who they were because of the dust and smoke in the wind.
Still, it gives him hope. So he walks closer to the figure, calling out for them. It's another person—he's not alone in this. It doesn't matter who they are. He can ask questions about what happened to the others; where they are and what happened that caused this destruction.
"Hello?" Karl steps closer to the figure, finding the cloak familiar, but he can't pinpoint why. "Do you know what happened…?"
The cloaked figure stays silent; neither moving nor responding to him. Then it stands up, lifting someone in their arms. The cloaked figure turns around and Karl gasps when he realizes the cloak is familiar because it belongs to the god who gave him the gift (a curse, his mind supplies) to travel back in time. Not only that, the god is carrying his friend, George, in their arms.
"XD…" He breathed out, still in disbelief to see the god in front of him instead of at the god's world. "What… what are you doing here?" His brows furrow, noticing the strange glow around his sleeping friend, but he doesn't mention it, fearing that the god would react negatively about it.
"I'm taking George with me," DreamXD answered and walked away while still carrying George in their arms. They do not stop walking, even though Karl keeps demanding them questions and answers about what happened to the server—what he can do to prevent it from happening.
The god stops and turns their head to face Karl, telling him the words he didn't want to hear. "You are in the present timeline, Karl Jacobs."
"What…?" Karl couldn't believe it. Not when he looks around the vicinity and all he sees is destruction and a desolate land. He's done everything he can to prevent a future like this from happening, yet it wasn't enough. He isn't enough.
He thought he had enough time, but when he thought back, he never did. He was distant from Sapnap because he let his "murderer" in their country and never gave him the chance to explain why he brought him there.
"There has to be another way," Karl says while tightly gripping the sweater with his trembling fist. Why isn't he enough? "It shouldn't have ended like this!"
DreamXD tilts their head, then fully faces the time traveler while still never letting go of George; holding him closer. "And it did."
The god doesn't sound mad nor disappointed that he failed to do what he is supposed to do. They have mentioned nothing about getting rid of him, just like the previous time traveler.
Despite it, Karl feels a wave of disappointment flow through him. He's ashamed he never got to figure out and prevent this from happening. Karl unclenches his fist from gripping the sweater, letting it fall to his side in defeat. "I wish it were different…" But he can't. He still can't control when or where he travels to, still trying to learn from the Overseers.
XD stays silent for a moment before crouching down so Karl doesn't have to look up at them every time. Karl looks at George for a moment, wondering how he hasn't woken up even after all of this, before returning his gaze to the god. "I have a proposition for you, dear traveler."
"What is it?" Karl asks, finding it strange to see them with a mask instead of the void, their appearance resembling the admin of the server. Even then, he finds himself nervous around the god, XD giving a sense of intimidation despite not doing anything.
DreamXD tilts their head, humming in a low tone. "Normally, there would be another Karl Jacobs replacing you, but–" a hand appears, and it cradles Karl's face– "You will be an exception, seeing as you've done your job better than the others."
Karl's eyes widen at the contact, not expecting it from the god before schooling it into a calmer expression and voices out what he's thinking about. "What do you mean by that, XD?"
The hand cradling Karl's face moves to get rid of the dust and ash on his face while they speak. "This server is inhabitable. There's going to be a new reset and everyone loses their memories." XD looks at George, then back at Karl. "Except for those who survived the explosion."
But that would mean—
"No one is going to remember their past relationships and problems," Karl mutters, devastated by the idea of his fiancés not remembering what they were to each other. If that were the case, then Karl would be the only one who remembers their relationship.
Their set number of lives would reset back to three, and the server will be peaceful again—if problems don't arise in the new world. Everyone would be in a clean slate and form new relationships. Memories of their previous life would be gone. Dream and Tommy could become friends instead of constantly fighting with each other. Karl wouldn't see Sapnap staring nowhere, the longing in his eyes of missing Dream—or what he used to be before everything went downhill.
And that is a good thing. He can pay more attention to the events happening and prevent history from repeating itself. Everyone doesn't have to be miserable and their trauma is also gone. But only he (and George, if he ever wakes up) will be the only one who remembers what happened to them. And Foolish — Karl remembers seeing him from his past travels.
"Correct," the god nodded and stood up, the hand on Karl's face moving away from him. "The server has become unstable, and I need someone to prevent that from happening again." DreamXD looks down, looming over the time traveler. "And you, my dear traveler, will be the one to do it."
Dumbfounded, Karl can only blink in response. He's never done something like that before. Sure, he's been to different timelines, but none of them are directly involved or closer to his present timeline. He's never gotten the chance to do it because he could barely control his powers.
"This will be another job for you, traveler." The god moves further away and Karl moves to catch up to them, unsure where they're heading off to. "Protect the new server. Learn from the Overseers the ability you have and control it." Karl nods even though DreamXD isn't looking at him. "Your memory is fragile, Karl Jacobs, and it will lead you into obstacles."
Karl frowns, remembering the other Karl's he saw in the castles of the InBetween. Those who have lost themselves, forever wandering inside the castle with no way of returning to their timeline. He will not be like them. He's strayed from the path and he will continue to do so.
"How can I keep my memory intact if time traveling causes it?" Karl asks with desperation in his eyes and tone, still with no solution to fix his memory problems.
DreamXD doesn't respond for a moment, their wings twitching before it moves as a wing wraps around Karl, edging him closer to the god. "I'm afraid I do not have the answer, my dear traveler," the god tells Karl in what almost sounds somber, the wing wrapped around Karl moving closer to him, almost protectively.
"Oh."
So that's it, huh? Eventually, he'll be like the other Karl's in the InBetween, forever wandering the castle. But he'll do everything he can to protect the server before the inevitable happens.
"You do not have to do it, if you don't think you're capable," says the god, but Karl shakes his head, already having his mind set to it.
"I can do it." Karl nodded as he turned to the god with a determined expression.
DreamXD looks at him and nods. "Very well." The hand that's been floating endlessly moves towards Karl and the time travelers shake their hand, sealing the deal between them. Other than that, a mark appears on Karl's neck; the letters "XD" imprinted on him, glowing brightly.
Karl touches his neck, a slight hiss of pain as he slowly rubs it to soothe the pain. He cranes his neck to look at XD. "What was that for?"
"That," the floating hand gestures to Karl's neck with the imprint on it, "is a mark to show what's mine." Because of Karl's confusion, XD explains it further. They lower George so Karl can get a better view when they move the cape away from George's neck, also showing the same imprint of "XD" glowing brightly when their hand came in contact with it. "George and I made a deal, and now he's my friend forever."
And that—
That explains the "XD" mark Karl found on Foolish's neck while they were chatting about nonsense. He tried to ask Foolish about it that day, but Foolish only muttered "annoying god" and "pet", which made little sense to him. But now he understands what Foolish meant that day.
"And because I agreed to the deal, I too have the mark." XD nods and releases the cape, hiding the imprint on George's neck, and holds George closer to them as they lift him up. Karl finds it strange, but he won't complain about it, not wanting to anger the god.
They look at Karl for a moment and Karl looks at the god, wondering what they're thinking about. He doesn't ask while XD lifts a claw and touches Karl's forehead, whispering words Karl doesn't understand. Then he's glowing like George by the time the god stops talking.
And a tremendous wave of relief crashes onto Karl, not realizing how close he was to passing out from the aftereffects of the explosion. He finds it easier to breathe, the air easily filling out his lungs instead of the radiation. He understands now why George is glowing.
DreamXD scoops Karl with their hand, a gasp escaping from his lips while XD lifts him until he faces the mask. "You will give me updates on the new world whenever I ask for it," they tell him and when Karl nods, he is being lowered until he's next to his sleeping friend while XD continues to walk, their wings fluttering a bit. "Now that you have the mark imprinted on your neck, I will be able to communicate to you without needing a physical form."
Karl nods, remembering the times he saw George talking to himself but didn't want to ask who, in favor of giving him privacy. Though he finds it eerie that the god looks similar to the tyrant of the server, and their name also resembles him.
"Despite this new job of yours, you must still continue to travel and write their history." At the mention of keeping notes of them, Karl is reminded that all of his books are destroyed, except for the one he carries with him all the time. "Keep them safe and hidden from the others. Do not let them know what power you hold."
Karl finds it lonely that no one will know about it, but he understands why XD wants him to keep it a secret. People are going to take advantage of him and use his ability to travel back in time to do something worse and change the entire history because of the butterfly effect.
A hand appears out of nowhere, smaller than the hand carrying Karl, and it moves to ruffle Karl's hair, trying to comfort him. "Do not be disappointed by it, traveler," XD tells him in a soothing manner that makes Karl relax. "When the time is right, you will reveal them."
Karl looks at XD. "How will I know when the time is right?"
DreamXD stops walking and looks down at him. "I will be there when the time comes."
Then the god looks in front of them and fabricates another hand out of existence and Karl watches in awe as the claw tears through the fabric of the universe, the familiar glowing portal edging through it.
DreamXD's wings curl up and they walk towards the portal, leaving the desolated server behind.