pre-chapter note: this is separate from chapter 45 (previous). it takes place directly after the canon events of the manberg vs pogtopia war.
you may or may not want to check your tales from the smp knowledge - there's a good few references.
-----
"Y/n L/n"
"Beloved friend and fighter"
"RIP"
Karl quietly stepped away from the tombstone. His small bouquet of your favorite flowers added to the gifts that rested upon your grave.
He turned to see a dark pair of eyes on him.
"Hey, Alex," Karl said, tone casual but somehow still heavy.
Quackity nodded his head in response. "Karl."
"How are you?"
"Well..." Quackity sighed, breath forming a cloud in the cold air. "I've been better."
Karl gave a half-smile, nodding in agreement. The two stood side by side, hands in their jacket pockets and clothes jostled by the wind.
The silence was interrupted by a sudden, loud ding. Quackity groaned when he checked his pocket for the sound.
"I- I'm sorry, gotta- uh- answer this," he murmured, quickly rushing out of the cemetery. Karl glanced at the leaves that were thrown into disarray by his departure.
He sighed, bowing his head and closing his eyes. When he opened them again-
What the...?
Debris surrounded him on all sides. He would have thought he was in L'manberg if not for the lack of people. It felt... completely empty.
The brown-haired male took a cautious look around, feeling as if any disturbance would cause an avalanche. A faded sign caught his eye, wood chipping off of the fragile thing. He stepped closer to read the letters, squinting every so slightly.
Welcome to the Town that Never Was.
-----
Your eyes flew open with a shock.
Everything was dark. Warm. Burning hot, even.
Your limbs felt as if they had been tied to weights. You struggled to sit up, at last realizing you were no longer in L'manberg.
Your hand touched your face in amazement. Scars coated your body instead of blood and ash. The stained, muddied clothes you had worn were replaced with a fresh set.
A sudden itch clawed at your throat, and you coughed a few times to try and drag it back down.
"Here. It will soothe the ache."
You jolted in your seated position, head turning to see a woman. Her hands were gently clasped around a mug of something steamy.
"Okay, uh, this is not the first time I've woken up in a strange room away from my home, but I'm still slightly terrified." You awkwardly adjusted your position. "So where exactly am I? And who are you?"
The woman let out a musical laugh, corners of her eyes crinkling. "Welcome to the Other Side, Y/n. I'm Kristin. Come with me, please let me explain a bit more."
You gulped slightly and followed her out of the door.
"You can refer to me as Kristin, but most know me as the Goddess of Death. As well as guiding souls to the afterlife, I rule the Other Side, this place. I used to rule alongside my husband Phil, but he- he chose to join the mortal plane."
You weren't quite sure how to respond to Kristin's saddened expression. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's alright," she responded with a reassuring smile. "Those dear messenger crows of his give me endless updates. I've got too many letters from them to count."
The both of you chuckled as Kristin continued. "Well, anyways, more about the Other Side. Its counterpart is known as the Inbetween. DreamXD rules over it."
"DreamXD... Does he have any- any relation to Dream, by chance?"
"You've heard of Dreamons, yes?" You nodded. "They inhabit the Inbetween. Sometimes they venture to the mortal plane to possess its people. DreamXD had been possessing Dream for years. He only stopped after some mysterious ritual that happened quite recently."
"So, I take it possession isn't good."
"No, definitely not. I haven't been able to see the inhabiting process, but I've heard it leaves the possessed a shell of their former selves. I've been trying to stop it for years. That actually... does bring me to why you are here."
A long pause followed. Her face was torn as if debating the words that came out of her mouth next.
"I need you to become the next goddess of death."
You froze.
Okay, hold up, what the fuck, holy shit-
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" you blurted.
Kristin bowed her head slightly. "As much as I would like to keep helping, even gods themselves change. Soon enough, I won't have the power to defeat DreamXD or any of the younger gods."
The two of you stopped at a courtyard, red vines draped over dark roofs. It was empty aside from fallen white tulips that covered the cobbled ground and a large clock displaying mysterious symbols in place of numbers.
"So that's where you come in. In order to fight XD and win, you'll need much more than just your spirit and your sword. I will train you to wield the magic of the Other Side like it is part of your own body, and you will learn power as you never have before. And... we need to recruit a friend of yours. XD granted him abilities for who knows why."
Kristin drew her hands together, pointing them towards the clock. Its hands begun to spin rapidly, and when they stopped, time did too.
No. Literally.
Pictures flashed around you and the older woman. You barely caught a few as they passed by. Tear-filled eyes. Cold hands. Red stains. Burning fire.
And suddenly, you appeared in a library.
It was tinted black and white, like an old film. A worn oak table was covered corner to corner with posters and maps, and poring over them was a familiar face.
"Karl!" you gasped.
You made for the table, but upon reaching it, you realized he didn't see you. Couldn't. Your eyes flickered around once more at the desaturated surroundings. A memory, maybe?
"It keeps getting worse..."
Holy shit- You flinched and looked at Karl, quill moving across the pages of a leather bound book.
"I'm afraid that one day, I'll travel and not even remember who I am anymore..." he murmured, eyes sparkling against the candles on the walls. "But maybe, if I travel enough, I'll be able to right some wrongs."
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. But more pictures began to flash, and soon Karl was back at the library with disheveled hair and eyes.
He ran for his notebook and began scribbling into it in a panic.
"The Inbetween, a place I don't quite understand." That's the Dreamon's home. "I keep losing my memory whenever I go there, but I just can't stop."
Flash bang. You were back at the courtyard. Kristin nodded at you.
"Time travel. Karl has been blessed, or cursed depending on your view of it, with the ability of random time travel. I've no idea what XD intends to do with Karl, but I believe it can't be good."
Kristin's eyes glowed, and she held a hand out to you. Her eyes hold an intense stare with your own.
"So, will you help me?" she spoke, voice teetering on the fence between fierce and blood-chilling. "Will you take my place and fight against gods themselves?"
If you had said no at that moment, you would simply have passed on to whatever awaited you in the afterlife. If you said yes... well, a hellish path of battle and challenge had already been paved and you'd have to walk the whole way through it.
You held no regrets as you grabbed her hand.
After all, who were you to deny a challenge?
-----
1291 words (without a/n)
Header by @/craftervali on Twitter
ahahahaha i have 5 different projects due before winter break and we aren't talking about the tests. how is school going for those of you who attend?
next chapter will be angsty again. uh heh. but i'm hoping it won't take too long to write.
unrelated but hot tea at 10:48pm as you write an author's note is very nice. please make sure you lovely people hydrate yourselves as well :) i will see you in the next chapter, or possibly hanging around in my conversations! byeeeeeeeeee
-Partially Human