After almost two hours of convincing the next night, Techno finally let me go back to the Dream lands on my own.

For acting like he didn't care about much outside his family, he was extremely overprotective and stubborn.

I had to bring in Phil and Ghostbur to help convince him to let me go just for the night. I wanted to tend to Quackity's eye and see Sapnap, George, and Karl.

Techno was worried about me running into Dream or some other trouble, but I assured him I could take care of myself. And I used the fact that my powers were stronger now, which didn't make him happy because he knew I was right.

So when I finally made it to L'manberg, I had several potions clipped to my belt and a cloak pulled tight over my head. Techno made sure I would stay hidden until I got to my location.

The sun had just set and the balloon lanterns were beginning to light in the coming night. They floated lazily above the spruce buildings of the nation, reflecting on the teal water below.

Quackity's house was lit up, a shadow moving around on the inside. I took that as a sign that he was home, so I went and knocked lightly on his door.

When the door opened, it was indeed Quackity in his casual navy striped jacket and beanie.

I peeked around and seeing no one was near, I pulled my hood off my head. Recognition registered on his face, and he opened the door wider to let me in.

"You came here alone?" Quackity asked as I unclipped my hooded cloak and hung it on a hook.

I had changed before coming, back into my navy hoodie and casual pants. It would've been too obvious who I was with my Antarctic clothing.

"Yeah, but trust me it was not easy," I said lightly, sitting on the couch.

It was the same couch I had sat on before I had tried to save Tommy for the first time. And it was before I knew how lost Dream was.

So much has changed since then.

Quackity quickly changed the subject away from Techno, the scar on his face a reminder.

"Do you really think you could help me?" He asked slowly, gesturing at his face.

When he sat next to me, offering a mug of coffee, I could see his scar closer now.

The stitches had been taken out and it had closed up nicely, pink instead of the harsh red from before. His lip had been damaged, as well as a tooth, but that had been replaced with a golden one.

The scar wasn't the problem though. It was his eye, which was cloudy and a pale blue instead of a rich brown.

"How severe is the blindness?" I asked.

"I can't see anything. All I see are shadows in that eye and it throws off my whole vision. Everything is one-sided, and I can't fight anymore."

"Do you see any shapes in that eye?"

He covered his good eye and peered at me with the other.

"I can barely make out the outline of your body. But that's it."

When he uncovered his eye, I nodded and gestured for him to give me his free hand. As he gave it to me, I looked at him pointedly.

"Look, I don't know how well this will work, but I'll try my best."

Before I could see his response, I closed my eyes and felt power surge up. My subconscious drifted and strings that make up the world brushed against my fingertips.

I gently pulled at the ones around Quackity, finding myself inside his mind now. The sense of losing sight in my left eye washed over me as I sunk into his vision.

All my senses became overwhelmed with the feeling of his heart beating in rhythm with my own and his chest rising with each breath. The core of his soul and existence grazed mine, and the connection snapped into place.

I faintly heard Quackity gasp as I called my naturalist powers, pouring its life into his mind. As I did, my 'blinded' eye lost some of its feeling to normalcy.

"Holy shit," He muttered, drawing me back to reality.

The connection fizzled away and I felt myself return to my own body. Two beating hearts became one, and breathing was left for my lungs to do themselves.

When I opened my eyes, I smiled and pride flushed through me.

Quackity's pale blue eye was a bit darker now, closer to his dark eyes. It was definitely still cloudy and light, but it seemed better.

"Can you see?" I asked, holding up my hand.

His mouth was agape, it turned up in the corners slightly in a smile.

"You're holding up three fingers?"

I nodded excitedly, pulling him into a hug. "You can see!"

He hugged me back when both of us remembered our past meetings. We pulled away shyly, averting our eyes to different objects.

"Big Q-"

"Y/n-"

I stifled my laugh and looked up at him. "You go first."

He sighed, keeping his eyes on the couch. "I know we've lost touch recently, and that's on both our parts, but I'm sorry. I do care about you, and now you've helped me see a bit better."

A smile graced my lips. Quackity had dove head-first into his political duties and his determination got ahead of his head, leading him to the execution.

I know Techno would never forgive him, but I had known Quackity before all of this. When he had fled from Schlatt and was just a boy.

So I took a deep breath and sensed the rekindling of our friendship with my next words.

"I'm sorry too. I can't say I agree with the government shit, and I probably won't ever, but I don't want to take away from your own decisions. That isn't fair to you."

He paused and then said quietly, "I'm just trying to help Tubbo out, after all he's been through..."

I put my hand on his shoulder, making him look up at me. "And you are helping him. You may be one of the only ones he has to look to for guidance as he's growing up now that I'm away and Schlatt's, well, you know."

A glint of pride flashed in his eyes and he smiled at me.

We talked for a while longer until Quackity said he was supposed to be with our three other friends tonight. They were staying up in a house on top of the nation behind L'manberg.

So we left Quackity's house and walked towards Karl's small home on the outskirts of El Rapids. I hadn't been back since I went back in time with him, and since some vines had grown over the windows.

As we neared the doors, a loud crash came from inside.

Quackity and I glanced at each other nervously, and we quickly began knocking on the door.

No response.

The doorknob was locked and so was the windows, so Quackity shouldered the door until it snapped open. He fell through, already getting up in search of Karl.

But the one-room house was empty.

Some candles were lit in the corners, bathing the room in near darkness. Shadows climbed the bookcases that made up the walls.

"Where the hell is he?" Quackity asked frantically. "He isn't with Sap or George, he said he had errands to run."

My eyes fell on a specific bookcase in the corner, a thin book slightly out of place.

I ran up to it, pushing the book back into position.

Click.

The bookcase swung open, revealing the ladder I had climbed a couple of months ago. Dust coated the walls and spiderwebs were in the corners.

"What?" Quackity asked behind me.

I didn't respond and slid down the ladder in a flurry, my eyes already searching the even smaller room.

It was the room with several diaries and pictures from Karl's previous adventures through time. Some books were scattered on the floor near the ladder, forgotten.

Before I rounded the corner, I knew Karl was in there. I could hear his fast breathing and quiet sniffles.

Quackity was quick on my heels, but came to an abrupt stop, crashing into my back as my eyes snagged on the boy.

Karl was curled up in the corner, pressed against the dark oak tables. Diaries and feathers were everywhere, surrounding the boy.

Black ink was spilled in puddles and feather pens had turned dark in the liquid. The room was in shambles, with some of the ink seeping into unused books.

I paid no attention to it though, staining my boots as I ran through the ink towards Karl.

Parts of his bright hoodie were completely white, void of neon. One of the lenses in his googles was cracked, green glass shards dusted in his almond hair.

His eyes were squeezed shut, his gloved hands over his ears in distress. His watch was completely shattered, one of the hands missing.

Something was very wrong here.

Quackity was in shock, looking around the room in confusion. When he saw Karl, he kept his distance, his mouth open in sadness and fear.

"Karl?"

This made Karl look up, tears lining his eyes. He looked frantically to Quackity, and then to me.

I kneeled in front of him, blocking Quackity from view. The time to explain was not now.

"Y/n?" Karl asked me as if he was guessing my name.

"Karl, what happened here?" I gently pried his hands away from his head, bringing them into my own.

He looked around, taking in the chaos the room was in. His eyes snagged on something, making me look with him.

The leather-bound book was thrown beside us, the green swirl on the front chipping off. Some pages were torn out, half in the book.

"What happened?" I repeated gently.

Tears began falling down his usually pink cheeks. "I-I can't remember."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Something inside of him just seemed to break, his face completely crumbling. He dove into my arms, nearly pushing me off balance with the sudden movement.

Sobs racked his body, his face pressed against my shoulder. I quickly wrapped my arms around him, whispering some comfort to him and placing my hand on his hair.

"Are you hurt?" I asked when his tears slowed.

"I don't think so," He said into my hoodie.

I pulled him back a bit to see. He was right, he didn't seem to be hurt anywhere on the outside.

"Do you remember anything?" I didn't want to pry him, but I needed to know what was going on.

He sniffled and took a deep breath. "I was coming back from some time, and then I was in a really bright place. The next thing I know, I'm here with you in front of me."

"Anything else?"

"I think I was running from something in the bright place. It wanted to keep me there."

That's when something stuck inside of me. I had been to that bright place.

The Inbetween.

"Karl, was it called the Inbetween?"

Recognition flared in his eyes, and his tears slowed a bit more. "Yes, it was. I remember now. How did you know?"

I waved it away for another time.

"Do you know why you can't remember some stuff?"

He stared off into the distance, his mind working hard to remember. When he focused his eyes again, they were a bit calmer.

"No." He lied.

I tilted my head, giving him a knowing look.

He sighed, looking at the ground. "Time traveling has an effect on my memory. At first, it was little things, like what color my eyes were, but now..."

Anxiety spiked in my heart, grabbing onto it with an iron fist. If Karl had known the consequences in the beginning and had been traveling for this long ... how much could he remember?

"Karl, do you remember who that is?" I asked, moving to the side so he could see Quackity.

While we had been talking, Quackity had watched out of concern or fear. Now he came over, kneeling next to me to look Karl in the eye.

Familiarity was in Karl's eyes as they fell on Quackity.

"Yes, that's Big Q."

Quackity relaxed a bit, sitting down on the floor. He took Karl's other free hand, and I noticed, for the first time, that they had matching rings on their fingers.

"Who am I to you?" Quackity asked, desperation filling his voice. There was something there more than I knew.

This made Karl smile, tears still falling down his face. It was a bittersweet moment, and I could see tears in Quackity's eyes as well.

"You're my fiancé and so is Sapnap," Karl whispered, clutching Quackity's hand like a lifeline.

It was good he could remember people, but one of those things came as a surprise to me.

"You guys are engaged?!" I said, excitement snapping into the air.

Quackity's face flushed pink and Karl laughed, his eyes brightening. They both smiled sheepishly at me.

"We were planning to tell you soon..." Karl said, some color returning to his cheeks.

I quickly pulled them both into a hug, laughing with elation. I felt the tension and fear ease out of the two boys and they laughed happily as well.

When I pulled back, Karl's face was dry and he was smiling brightly.

"I don't think I want to travel anymore," Karl said, looking around the room. "And this room has to go."

He looked at me, a question in his eyes.

I nodded, answering it.

"Karl, I think you need to tell Quackity and the others who you are," I said, my eyes darting between the two.

"Can we go home first?" He asked, his voice small again.

We nodded, and Quackity helped him up. They climbed the ladder ahead of me, disappearing up into the floor above.

The room was eerily quiet now, the only sound being the burning torches. There was an unsettling presence in the room.

Join us.

The words came out of the wrinkles of silence, pressing into my head in the form of a headache. Red lined my vision and images of crimson vines climbed across my sight.

We will bring you peace.

"No, get out," I whispered, pressing my hands to my temples.

It was the Egg. Perhaps it was connected to Karl's experience in the Inbetween and that's how it was here now.

Join-

I summoned water in my mind, flushing the red from my eyes and mind. It hissed and withered, dying like a flower deprived of light.

Now wasn't the time for that.

I scooped up the leather journal, diaries, and some pictures. They bulged under my arm as I half climbed up the ladder with one hand.

My eyes swept across the disheveled and destroyed room. Whispers of evil were engraved here, increasing with each time Karl traveled.

It was for the best that he stopped using the book.

So I did what Karl asked.

With my command, the room erupted into flames and destroyed the lingering pieces of history.

~~~~

surprise shawty i put one more out since i wont be back till next week

i know this doesn't follow the current plot, but i need to get things geared towards the ending i plan on writing :)

have an amazing day or night! drink water and eat something!