CRYPTOMNESIA // Eret x Reader

Eleven

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You woke up, yawning and stretching your arms far above your head. You turned onto your side, eyes still blurred with sleep, and spotted Eret's face inches from your own.

"HOLY— ERET?" You shouted, scrambling up from the comfort of the blankets. They startled awake and looked over at you with frustratingly tired eyes. He yawned and sat up, smiling politely at you.

"Good morning, Y/N," she whispered, stretching their back slightly. "Didn't mean to just show up while you were sleeping and well... Intrude, I suppose. You were out like a light, and Zalkhain said we were all in pairs. Apparently a lot more people stay in this castle than we expected." He trailed off, staring at the white sheets past your shaking hand.

You took a deep breath, silently willing the redness of your face to dissipate. "Don't... Apologize," you sigh, rubbing your temples in exhaustion. "It's fine, Eret. You didn't wanna wake me up, and I get that."

"Ah, good, good! Okay, again, I'm—"

"I just said don't," you interrupted, swinging your feet around to stand up. They laughed and followed your motion, standing on the opposite side of the room. "It's no small bed, anyways, so I didn't notice until I woke up."

"You're also the biggest blanket hog ever," she exclaimed, laughter still evident in his voice. "Did'ja know that, Y/N?"

"I did, actually!" You replied, putting your hands on your hips and grinning at them. She rolled his eyes, laughing more and shaking their head. "My mother used to say the same, in fact. Whenever I was young and had nightmares, I would go stay in her room. Said that she was sometimes quite unlucky to be in the desert when I was with her. Nights are nothing like the days."

"Same with Falconier, actually." Eret gushed, eyes bright. "Well, the opposite, but very similar! In the desert, it's very warm during the day. Warm and dry, right? No, no, not 'warm'. It's hot! Scaldingly so, correct? Yes, I'm correct. Then, during the night, it's equally as dry, but it's near freezing, right? Right! I did research, you know?" They ranted, eyes content with her exceptional knowledge.

You nodded and let him keep talking, a smile of your own finding your face. "Well, in the Falconier kingdom, it's pretty similar to the temperatures of Ensidione. Well, it's not snowy and nowhere near as cold, but you know what I mean. Very crisp air, somewhat cold, blah blah blah... Then, whenever the sun sets, the whole kingdom really just chooses to be warm and humid! It gets super stuffy and gross."

"Oh, really?" You ask, raising an eyebrow. They nod in excitement and smile wider. "That's really cool, Eret!" You reply, giggling.

"You really—"

"TOMMY!" Wilbur's scream came from down the death-case. You and Eret locked worried eyes and rushed from the room, still looking like you'd both just woken up. "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE MY BROTHER BEHIND!" His words were barely comprehensible through the obvious tears.

"Wilbur, I didn't know they weren't out of the castle!" Rosemary's voice broke through Wilbur's anguished cries. Her tone was not angered, but it was instead frantic—panicked. "I thought they were still in Falconier!"

"NO! No, Rose, they were back in Ensidione! I was meant to be crowned yesterday! They were back for my coronation, Rose!" He replied, tears slowly filling his eyes. You scrambled to reach Eret's hand, and she grasped yours tightly. "They're supposed to be here..."

Rose stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder, sighing quietly while he sobbed. His body wracked and crumbled upon itself as he fell to the ground. "Why didn't you save them...?"

Immediately, you stiffened. "Eret," you whispered, turning to face the taller person. He raised a brow, glad to remove his gaze from Wilbur's tears. "Eret, I need to go back to the overworld."

Their eyes immediately darkened, brows furrowing. "The only portal we know of nearby is the Ensidionian portal, and that'll do us no good. For all we know, it may be broken by now," she replied, voice only audible to you.

You sighed and nodded, squeezing his hand. "I know. You know you don't have to come, right? I don't want to risk you of injury."

"I know, Y/N. I'm still coming, though. No stopping me," they replied, smiling down at you. You wanted to disagree, to tell her that he wasn't coming, but you swallowed your pride and nodded.

"I wouldn't doubt it, Eret," you laughed and squeezed their hand again, before letting go. "We're getting dressed first, though."

"Gotcha," she responded, clenching his fist tightly. After a short while, they followed you back to the room and waited at the door while you changed and readied yourself.

"This is going to work," you reassured yourself quietly, checking yourself in the large mirror that hung on the wall. "It only seemed to sever when I changed dimensions. That means that, while I'm in the overworld, I'll be able to contact them. I can ask what they did to Tommy and Tubbo."

You smoothed the same invisible wrinkle in your black shirt for what must have been the twentieth (20th) time, before finally being satisfied. "This will work. This has to work."

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Perhaps forty-five (45) minutes after you small pep talk to yourself, both you and Eret were dressed and about to depart. "Y/N!" Fundy's cheerful voice came from down the hall, running towards you. You kept your back turned and sighed, not wanting to have to say goodbye. You knew there was a slim possibility that this worked a bit too well and drove that Seer person to you.

Brought them straight to you, those hollowed eyes staring into your own as they ripped your body apart. You shuddered and then nodded to Eret, who stepped outside of the castle's walls quickly. They wanted goodbyes seemingly less than you did yet.

"Y/N? Where... Where are you and Eret going?" He asked quietly, his voice now at your leg. He grabbed your hand, shaking wildly. "You— you aren't leaving me, right? Not like Uncle Toms and Tubs, right?"

That struck you straight in the weakest part of your heart, and you knelt next to the small boy. "No, Fundy—" You started, before instantly restarting. "Well, yes, for now."

"WHAT?" He cried, tears streaming down his small face again. "NO! No, please, please, don't—.. Don't leave me..."

You gulped and ruffled his hair. "Hey, bub, I'll be back. I swear. And, guess what?"

He sniffed and clutched your hand to his frantically beating heart. "What...?"

"I'll be back with your Uncle Toms and Tubs!" You exclaim, wiping his tears away from his cheeks.

"Really?" He asked, eyes much more hopeful than a second before.

"Yep! He'll be back in no time, I swear!" You reassured, feeling your own confidence dwindle more. Fundy hugged you tightly, crying out many 'thank yous' and 'good lucks'. "So will Eret and I, mkay?"

"Okay!" He exclaimed, obviously joyous, and squeezed you tighter yet. Eret called for you from outside, and you begrudgingly let go of the small boy. "Safe travels, Y/N! Please... bring them back safely."

"I will, kiddo. I swear," you reply, a large smile on your face. He smiled back and nodded, watching you stand and leave. Sure, his support was meant to pull you up mentally, to help you gain confidence... But now that all was said and done, you felt an ever-growing pit in the bottom of your stomach.

"Hey, what took so long?" Eret asked, her hand on his hip.

"Fundy is expecting a lot out of us," you instantly state, eyes more determined than you felt. "And we've got to give it to him."

"Right."

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