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Karl opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by white.
He stood in a very large and spacious room, intricate patterns lining the walls with tall pillars standing proudly in the corners. Empty space encompassed the room, except for a single table with a black flower in a simple clay pot. It appeared to be decaying. The sight was perhaps a little too familiar. Karl shuddered before making his way across the room to the door, his footsteps echoing with every step. At the top of the stairs, he saw a book. Why he didn't stop to read it, he didn't know for certain. His intuition told him he had read it before. So, onward he went, through a grand entryway and into a hallway.
Subconsciously, he knew where to go. It was as if the layout of this castle was memorized deep within his mind, as if it were once a home of some sort in a different life, or maybe at a different time in his life. He took a right, and shortly went left after that, letting himself wander wherever his legs wanted to take him.
He spaced out as he navigated through the place. He thought about how he vaguely remembered the designs of the hallways and the overall beauty of the place. It was almost eerie how familiar this castle was. A feeling similar to deja vu crept its way throughout the time traveler's body, making him shiver, but he embraced it. Strangely, it felt peaceful to be there, despite the unexplained intimacy and connection he felt.
His mind continued to wander, eventually settling on pondering why he was here. He got a gut feeling that he was there for a reason. But why? To find something? To help someone? To write another story? He couldn't remember the details exactly. He only knew he had to bring happiness. He couldn't forget that main goal, and he couldn't lose himself. Those were the only two things he knew for certain when he arrived. He thought for sure that before he departed his dimension and time, he would try to find a way to remember his goals once he got here. Yet, here he was, grasping for any sort of memory or clue. A sigh escaped his lips, shortly interrupting the peaceful ambiance of the room.
He suddenly stopped and gasped. He had put his hands in the pocket of his hoodie and he felt a small leather journal. Of course! He always carries one around. He prayed he had written down something to help himself.
He ran his fingers along the meticulously crafted journal, feeling the smoothness of the engraved spiral on the front. Excitement flowed throughout him. He flipped to the first page and felt his hope vanish. All that was written were three carefully written words: "Bring him home."
What was that supposed to mean?
Karl stuffed the journal back into his pocket and huffed in frustration. Why would he leave such an ominous hint for himself? Plot convenience and aesthetic? Lame. He didn't know what he was going to do, yet he continued on, hoping to find something else that would tell him what he was doing. He assumed he was supposed to be finding a person, but hey, you never know. He could just go back and take the withering flower home and call it a day.
In a nearby room Karl had yet to reach, sunlight seemed to pour into the area like a warm blanket, the soft rays flickering through the tree and bouncing off of the white walls and floors and the chains holding a familiar pair of swings up. They seemed to creak and ever so slightly swing thanks to the cool yet calming breeze that wisped through the open space. Leaves fell from the tree that was firmly centered in the room, softly hitting the ground.
A soft and sweet yet almost haunting tune seemed to carefully ride on the air; humming, coming from a certain person who hadn't come home in a long.. long time. Long half black, half white hair fell down the shoulders of the homesick traveler in question, the tune continuing to come from his mouth.
Sat on a branch on the tree was an all too familiar face, half black half white, eyes shrouded by small wings that covered his eyes that seemed to come from behind his ears. A pair of small yet still sizably large and thin wings were folded up on his back, tucked under a thin veil-like cape that was as pale blue as the sky, and two tails curled around the branch as a sense of security and balance. Pointed ears twitched as wind blew by them again, and clawed hands held a journal in his lap, his outfit being devoid of any and all color and strikingly different than his usual outfit besides his sleeves, one having a thin veil of a soft red within, and the other a soft green.
He seemed to be humming a familiar yet painful tune. He was happy to be home, but he didn't know there were others. He had no clue that someone else was within these walls. Not anymore, at least. There used to be many; now, it's as empty as the homesick hybrid’s memory.
The calm of the place was remotely disturbed when the young hybrid felt something shifting amongst the air. It made him curious, and the feathers on his wings both covering his eyes and tucked behind his back seemed to ruffle at the thought. Was someone else home? Took them long enough. It felt like forever. However, the boy didn't bother to look and see for quite some time. The disturbance was nowhere near the tree, so why bother at the moment? He'd wait.
And wait he did. His humming got ever so slightly louder as his tails uncurled themselves to flick in tandem below the branch of the tree he was sat upon. Swinging, much like how the swing set would be if he had someone with him. He missed seeing others. That's why he hid his eyes. He doesn't wish to see the vast emptiness of the warm yet quiet place he recalled as home.
He tilted back his head ever so slightly, the grey-scaled silver crown tipping back as he did so. His ears flicked as he reached up with his darker hand to carefully pluck a leaf from the tree he was sat on, carefully holding it between his fingers. The leaf was soft, yet still plant-like. It was lighter than anything imaginable, and he could hardly feel it weigh a singular milligram in his slightly scarred palms.
Ah.. the scars. He never remembered how he got them. Every time he came here, he had more. Where were they coming from? It never rained here, not from how long he can remember. So why did parts of him have water burns? He knew he couldn't touch water, why would he? His mind tried to wrack itself for an answer that just never came to surface. All he knew is he was home again, and he was alone. Or so he thought.
He remembered feeling someone walk around, the pattern of air and his humming colliding with this blockade. Who was there, he didn't know. He didn't even know if it WAS anyone to begin with. Surely he'd hear them. People have a tendency to be loud, and from what he remembers, many people he knew were loud. It was a normal thing to the boy. He couldn't remember names, or faces, but colors. Colors attached to feelings attached to pain, sorrow, happiness, joy, hope and despair.
Sunlight Yellow and Earthen Green; a father, mourning and feeling the guilt of losing a son. Pink and Royal Red; a brother, living without his twin and his younger siblings. Cold Grey and Ancient Gold; a ghost of a brother who was killed by his father upon his request. Lightning Yellow and Red; a loud boy he saw as a friend, obsessed with his music. Chocolate Brown and Green; a friend, and ex president of a nation he knew not the name of, obsessed with bees. He knew that the nation was long gone. It left when the brother, clad in grey and gold, took his final breath of the ashen air. Gunpowder is a residual smell he senses. However there is one color and feeling combination he does not like to think of. It makes him feel...wrong. Fake. Not real. Not like the others, who make him feel safe; a home away from home. White and Green. A smile seems to beckon him to the wrong side, promising safety in violence. He doesn't like to listen to the call of the smile. It scares him. The world around him seems to collapse and cave and swirl whenever the voice gets the better of him. It always seems to lull him into a false sense of security. He doesn't like those colors and those feelings.
He sighed as he leaned forward, shaking his head to rid his poor empty mind of the thoughts. As his half toned hair fell over his shoulders, he rolled the leaf between his fingers and let the wind carry it out of his palm. He leaned back against the tree and smiled, before feeling...something off. He turned his head and spotted the cause of the small disturbance. Well, not spotted. He could feel something else here.
Karl, who the hybrid had yet to meet, was traveling down a particularly long hallway when he began to think he was going insane. The place seemed to be humming to him. He turned a corner, thinking nothing of it. When he stumbled upon a courtyard with a swing set, and he saw who was sitting there, his eyes widened in remembrance. He found who he was looking for.
He had intuitively stumbled upon the distantly familiar hybrid, half of him taking the form of an enderman and the other part seeming to be a part of this dimension itself. The boy's outfit reminded him of the endless hallways and pillars: white. Yet, it appeared more faded than the castle, as if it had worn him down, slowly deteriorating the more hours he spent in the Inbetween. He was the opposite of the pastel sky adorned with blues, pinks and oranges; time had caused the hybrid to become desaturated. Karl hoped he wasn't too late.
Said hybrid had sensed someone enter the room and decided to move the wings hiding his eyes, his pale red and green eyelashes fluttering open as he looked around before spotting the person who disturbed him, his humming coming to a halt. He was right. Someone finally came home.
He seemed to pause. Confusion and a feeling of some odd foreign emotion to the hybrid seemed to flood into the mismatched eyes that retained their color. The red and green scanned the person in the courtyard as the wings that used to cover his eyes folded up behind his ears. His glance, despite having feelings behind the colors, seemed blank. As blank and faded as he was. He shifted in place a little as he scanned the newcomers face.
He remembered the face. He’d seen it before, obviously. He just couldn’t remember a name. Not yet. Maybe it will come to him in a small while. It always does. Not his own name however. He started humming again softly as he watched the person look at him. They were home, why were they confused? Concerned? He didn’t have a clue. No thoughts retained themselves behind those curious yet blank and dull eyes.
As Karl took in the sight in front of him, he suddenly felt nothing but weight. The weight of this world fell on his shoulders as if gravity had increased tenfold. The weight of the purple journal in his hoodie pocket, reminding him of the weight of those three words he scrambled to write before he traveled. "Bring him home." His heart sank. How was he meant to do that?
The time traveler was still, becoming buried in his thoughts. His main goal was to bring happiness to everyone in his home dimension, the goal being practically etched into his mind because of how often he reminded himself of it. So what happens if Karl can't help who he was meant to bring home? What if he can't save Ranboo?
His train of thought stopped abruptly. He finally remembered the hybrid's name. Ranboo. The name grounded him, keeping him from flying too far away in his head. Ranboo. He grasped onto the name. Ranboo. He has to remember what he came here for. Ranboo. The white walls were brighter than ever with the sunlight reflecting off of it, and he allowed it to attempt to calm him down. Ranboo. A wave of relief in the midst of all this chaos. A familiar name in the midst of so much unknown. He repeated it over and over until he accidentally said it out loud.
"Ranboo?" he had called out softly, concern showing evidently in his tone.
‘Ranboo?’. That was the hybrid’s name. He hadn’t heard it in so long, or at least that's what it felt like. He seemed to go rigid and froze, the wind now hitting him like blades almost. He blinked and looked to the side, trying to wrack his brain for a name. Anything. There had to be something.
White, the color of peace. The color of tranquility. The color Ranboo once was. For a moment before he turned away, Karl had seen a flicker of it in the hybrid's eyes. He could bring Ranboo home.
Karl's determination was restored.
"What are you doing here?" he decided to follow up with. He slowly approached the hybrid who sat in the snow-colored tree, the sound of shoes meeting the quartz floor ringing out, though quieted. He didn't know how well it would go, but he was making an attempt to get some information out of Ranboo. Not in an interrogation sort of way, but more so he could get an understanding as to why the hybrid had been here for so long. He needed to help him come home.
His feet brought him to one of the two swings. He sat on it, still gazing up at Ranboo in the tree. He once again found himself lost in thought, wondering how the hybrid had been here for so long. Karl knew he could access this place any time he unwillingly time traveled, and also if he spaced out enough. Was Ranboo trapped in his mind? Or... though there was no way... Ranboo was also a time traveler? And he had finally reached some sort of limbo, being stuck in the Inbetween? Karl's mind spun as endless possibilities poured into his mind. He needed to find a way to get Ranboo back home.
As Karl moved towards the swings and sat, the hybrid kept an eye on him, still reeling from hearing his name. He watched the grayscale hoodie-clad male sit upon one of the swings, and he finally seemed to pause and let his face shift to one that he hadn’t had for quite some time. A smile. Then the name of someone came to the tip of his tongue, and he couldn’t help but return the questions with an answer. “Long time no see, Karl, hmm? I...” The hybrid seemed to trail off. “...I don’t remember why I’m here, it feels like I’ve been here for centuries almost-” His voice was as soft and faded as he was, his tails flicking behind him as he tilted his head, the ebony black and snow white hair curling and falling around him as he hopped off the tree carefully and stood with a little bit of trouble. He was able to steady himself and walked over to the other swing and sat down on it, his hands wrapping around the old chains.
Something caught Karl’s attention briefly as he rested on the swing and watched Ranboo climb down from the tree and join him at the swing set. Birds. They couldn't be seen, but Karl heard them clearly, adding perfectly to the peaceful ambiance. He wondered where they were. He wondered what kind they were. Time traveling had tried to teach him about the insignificance of these creatures, yet he openly ignored it.
He wanted to respond to Ranboo but he couldn't find the words. Yeah, long time no see. Karl briefly remembered how everything became slightly off, how it seemed a piece from every individual at home was missing since his disappearance. Ranboo was the missing puzzle piece that got lost from the box, and it affected all the other pieces, the surrounding pieces more than others. Karl was relieved he had at least found the missing one. Yet, concern still radiated off of him. He could just sense how worn down the hybrid was. He had flashbacks to the simple withering flower he saw when he first woke up here and shuddered, the image clearer now than ever.
Ranboo sighed and looked next to him to Karl, and smiled a little more. “You haven’t been here for a while, have you? It’s so quiet here, no one ever comes home here anymore… I wonder if they forgot. That’s something I seem to do a lot. Forget. I don’t think I like it that much, really.” He looked up to the sky and hummed under his breath softly, watching the sunlight bounce off the clouds as the sky was painted in so many pastel colors. He then looked down and started swinging ever so slightly, the old creaking and clicking of the swing making him smile more. He seemed to want to say something, but he didn’t say a word. He couldn’t think of what to say honestly.
Karl had taken note of Ranboo's smile growing more as they swung. Confusion lingered for the time traveler. His words broke Karl's heart; how could he be smiling? Was it really that surreal seeing someone? How long had it been? Maybe time moves slower here. Maybe it had been centuries for the hybrid, and as time crawled on, he had started to decay. Karl had no way of knowing for sure, the thought irritating him in the slightest. He tried his best to move past it, running a hand through his soft hair absentmindedly.
"I know what it's like. To forget." Karl found himself saying those words before he could fully register what he was doing. He spoke completely from the depths of his soul, truer words having never been spoken. It was as if someone finally understood his fears. He could speak freely, the thought lifting his spirits despite the somber conversation. "I don't wanna forget who I am. Or who I love." He let the silence after his words speak for him. The birds were quieter, more far away. The wind stopped rustling. It was as if the atmosphere of this dimension could pick up on the two's feelings and match it.
He started swinging with Ranboo.
He looked down at his feet as he swung gently, not daring to go higher than the hybrid. He didn't want to break the intimate moment. There was a sort of unspoken connection the two had, and he felt it stronger now than ever before. He didn't even consider saying anything more, contempt with easing his way into Ranboo's trust slowly. In the inbetween, he had copious amounts of patience. He didn't feel the need to rush the hybrid home. Heck, he didn't feel the need to get back to his own house. After all, this castle was said to be a home away from home. He just wanted to spend time with a friend that understood him, the feeling too euphoric to let go of. He felt at true peace here.
The birds were chirping, drawing nearer and nearer. Karl hoped he'd be able to see one soon.
Pulling Ranboo’s hair as gently as ever was what the wind decided to keep doing. Curling, bobbing and weaving through the soft strands of the hybrid's hair as he swung back and forth ever so slightly. The air, for once to the hybrid, was light and welcoming. It used to be like this, but then he was alone for oh so long. He could hardly remember anything from when the Inbetween was bustling and lively. He missed the songs and the laughter that would carry on the breeze.
…Just how long had he been here? The hybrid couldn’t remember anymore. He was home finally, but home was empty. His home was the people who lived here and the castle, but without one, the other just felt hollow. Empty. Like how he was. His faded jade green and ruby red eyes looked to the tree then to Karl again as they sat in silence on the swings for what felt like hours to the poor hybrid.
He didn’t mind it. Just having someone else to be with him made him feel like home was finally coming back to normal. He missed everyone, and he was glad to see Karl, even if he couldn’t even remember the hoodie-clad time traveler properly. He didn’t mind. Any company is good company here.
Pointed black and white ears shifted down as the smile appeared to slip off of Ranboo's face again as he looked back up. He seemed to scan the sky for answers as to why everyone had left, but he knew he wouldn’t get a response. Not just yet. He wasn’t ready for the answer yet, he knew this. He just wished he was. He didn’t like not knowing things. Not knowing things made him anxious, and when he’s anxious he thought of that smile that plagued him when he wasn’t home. He didn’t like that feeling.
The smile on Ranboo's face came back as the birds chirping seemed to make him turn to jelly, his body seemingly relaxing more as he swung ever so carefully. He didn’t wish to break the swing set, and with his height he very well could if he wasn’t careful. He looked over to Karl as the fellow time traveler spoke, keeping track of something.
As the two swung back and forth on the swings, Ranboo began to hum softly once more, just listening to Karl's words, what few words there were. They seemed to echo on the wind to Ranboo, and he smiled more as he let out a soft sigh and spoke again, his voice softer it seemed. “..18.”
18? Karl looked over at Ranboo in confusion, a small smile still stuck on his face. The two made eye contact.
“...18 words-” He then paused. Then an odd and foreign noise escaped the hybrid that made it clear he hadn’t felt like this in a long time. He laughed.
18 words… Karl got hung up on that phrase. He shivered.
Those two words hauntingly reminded him of a butler from one of the many days he unwillingly time traveled. He had forgotten about a lot of it, but Ranboo brought those memories back. He wished he could look back on that time fondly, as there were good moments too, but he had been killed by that butler. His body unwillingly tensed in response to the flashback. He forced his smile to stay on his face, not wanting to bring Ranboo down. The hybrid had laughed. It was a soft, airy, and faded laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. Karl wouldn't be the one to take that away.
“I’m sorry, that must be weird- I just think counting how many words someone says is nice,” An apology was quickly said, pulling Karl out from his thoughts. Ranboo didn’t realize what this may entail to his newfound friend and what he’s seen, but he didn’t seem to mean harm with it. In fact, he kept letting out soft giggles over his habit, and was so focused on that he didn’t seem to realize that he was now crying. Not enough to cause a physical reaction, but enough for the tears to roll down his face. They didn’t seem to hurt him here as they would in the normal world. Another perk to this realm.
"No need to apologize," Karl responded hastily. He was back to looking down at his feet and listening to the creaking of the swings. And Ranboo's laughter. Ranboo hadn't stopped giggling for a while, and Karl thought that was a good thing, that they were making progress, until he looked over at the hybrid. He saw his red and green eyes glisten, full of spilling tears.
His immediate reaction was to fully turn toward Ranboo (well, as much as he could on a swing set) and ask hesitantly, "Are you okay?" He didn't know what the answer would be for sure. He didn't know if the tears were because of the laughter, because of relief from being with another person, or because of sadness, of empty loneliness, of fragile fear. Maybe it was none of it. Maybe it was all of it.
The thoughts running through the hybrid's head were wild. Snippets of so many things that he couldn't retain to memory, happy and sad alike. Snippets of an underwater city of wonder, of a large hall full of lights, music and laughter, happy things. Then snippets of a sword and maniacal laughter in the city, then of red eyes and a command to kill. He didn’t know where these were coming from, but the happy snippets seemed to try and outweigh the bad.
It worked, and he kept laughing softly as tears streaked down his cheeks, his tears tinted red and green near his eyes. As they rolled down his mismatched cheeks they seemed to lose the color, but they were part of the most colorful thing on him.
He looked over to Karl after a while and smiled, seeming as cheery as he could be while tears poured down from the jade green and ruby red shiny eyes like the waterfall not that far away. He tilted his head as he moved his other hand that was on his mouth so hug himself properly, now stationary on the swing.
“I... I don’t know! I’m happy but I’m sad, I’m not used to this, I’m sorry-” He let out a soft chuckle that helped choke back a soft, almost inaudible sob. He wasn’t used to this at all. Talking about his feelings to an empty void was what he was used to. Having someone here finally made him feel so many things he couldn’t understand anymore.
"It's okay," Karl spoke softly. He knew it was a lot at once. The poor hybrid's emotions had finally caught up to him, and it was overwhelming, he was sure. He promised himself to stand by Ranboo's side through anything and everything.
Ranboo’s eyes watered up more as he seemed unable to stop the tears from falling, his swinging coming to a halt as he kept laughing softly. He moved a hand to cover his mouth, the other moving as a way to hug himself as he seemed to fall apart emotionally.
The two could feel the castle weep with the hybrid. The white tree seemed to droop, similar to being weighed down by snow. The wind gently rustled the leaves on the tree, as if attempting to comfort. The birds sang a funeral song quietly. It was chilling. The castle mirroring the hybrid's emotional distress seemed to just reiterate how long he had been here, the tree seeming to cry with its friend now sat on a swing instead of the branch it had for him. The leaves seemed to somehow get softer and sadder in look, and the hybrid continued to crumble under feeling so many things at once again. He wasn’t used to the happiness of seeing someone, the sadness and emptiness of how alone he was sinking in. It was all too much for him.
The concept of feeling happiness and sadness, hope and despair was just a foreign concept to him. He had been here so long, after all. He accidentally started to dig his once colorful fingertips into his upper arms, the claws unable to penetrate the fabric but the pressure helped ground him ever so slightly. The twin tails he had curled around themselves as he slowly started rocking on the swing once again, trying his best to not make any other sounds involving his crying. The restrain he was using was soon becoming visible, and he had to let out a sigh from it all weighing down on him.
Ranboo finally let out a soft sob noise amongst his gentle laughter, a hand moving to go and cover his face a bit out of a mixture of fear and embarrassment. That much was visible. His body language told all the things that were needed to know.
The cry that rang through the air was enough to cause Karl's composure to finally crack, just barely enough to let his own tears gather in his eyes. He could feel Ranboo's joy and pain. His relief and loneliness. He could feel it so vividly, not only because of being extremely empathetic, but because the dimension they currently resided in brought the two together in a connection stronger than the time traveler had ever felt before.
Karl could sense how Ranboo was struggling to keep in his emotions, desperately trying to bottle it up. "You don't have to hide," he encouraged. He knew it was better to let out those feelings. "I know what it's like. You can let it out." Karl was certain he would start crying with the hybrid, but he was fully okay with it.
The wind felt far more cold than it usually did to Ranboo, though maybe that's because of his current state of distress and disarray. He’s used to not feeling anything at all, being blank. Empty. Hollow. All the emotions and snippets of memories crashing down on him like the waterfall crashing against the water below not that far away seemed to open the floodgates thanks to someone else finally being here. Someone could finally feel what he was feeling, see what he was seeing. Someone was finally here that he could rely on. He hadn’t had that in a long long time. Someone finally was here to help, after what felt like centuries. The confirmation that everything was alright, that it was okay, seemed to make the hybrid fall apart more, his laughter mixing in with soft sobs. He still tried to hold them back despite what Karl said out of pure habit.
Karl stood up, suddenly but not jarringly, having an idea. Whenever he was upset, physical affection made him feel so much better. It was comforting in a way nothing else was; the touch of another living being. He wondered if Ranboo felt the same way. He sauntered his way over to the other swing in which the hybrid sat on, and he slowly leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him.
The hybrid had begun to shake more, letting more smaller sobs slip out as he hunched over a little, his shoulders going up and his head dropping. But at the feeling of the hug, he went rigid and was completely still for a few moments. He wasn’t used to this at all either.
Karl tried to communicate everything through the hug, and in a way, he did. He wanted to ramble about how everything was going to be okay, but he knew it wasn't always effective, so he hugged Ranboo a little tighter, a little firmer, as if he were afraid the world around him would dissolve into nothing at any second. He wanted to tell Ranboo about how he knew what he was going through, about how he had experienced it before, but it was too many words to explain that he couldn't fully grasp, so he let his hand run through the hybrid's long curly hair absentmindedly. He poured everything he had ever felt into the hug, knowing Ranboo could feel it too. It made him the most emotional he's ever been in his life, and he cried softly with the hybrid, his tears finally falling faster than he could comprehend, not being able to hold them back even if he wanted to. He let himself cry, not having the energy to stop himself from whimpering quietly. All he could focus on was how he understood Ranboo's struggles. Karl needed to be there for him as much as he could.
The warmth and feel of the hug that the hybrid was now in made everything about him fall apart. His mismatched hands latched onto the back of Karl's jacket and his face instinctively tucked itself into his shoulder. After a few moments of nothing, he seemed to come completely apart in Karl's arms. His laughter finally stopped as his sobbing took full force, the sounds of his sobs sounding choked. Almost like this was the first time he was able to cry in ages.
The sobs and soft gasps between said sobs were almost painful to hear, sounding like the whole weight of the world came crashing onto the tired and faded hybrids shoulders. Ranboo seemed unable to handle everything that he was now given, his trembling mirroring that of the leaves now shaking on the wind.
Karl could feel Ranboo's trembles. The hybrid felt like an earthquake in his arms. The time traveler held him as close as he physically could, trying to comfort him in as much as possible. It felt so warm and safe. The glowing embers of a fire didn't even come close to the warmth of holding someone tightly. He could walk on the surface of the sun, it's strong gravity causing him to succumb into the star, becoming one with it, but the feeling of not being alone anymore was stronger and more real.
And he felt Ranboo finally let down his guard, finally unravel like a tightly woven thread coming loose. The hybrid's sobs were earth-shattering, physically and emotionally. Every jolt from every sob pushed against him. It made his heart shatter more and more, and he started crying harder. The world collapsed around them.
Karl never wanted to let go, and he sensed Ranboo didn't want to either. It felt too good to let go, the comfort of holding the hybrid. Sobs wracked his body, though he didn't completely know why. He didn't cry this hard often. This dimension simply seemed to make him overly emotional. But, he was okay with it. He was finally able to release all the stress from hiding the fact that he was a time traveler. The fact that couldn't tell any of the people he loved the most important detail about him. He practically attached himself onto Ranboo, grateful to finally let everything out with someone by his side. It felt like a connection, a spark. It felt like a reunion. It felt like everything was okay, or would be okay.
He still sobbed, gasping for breath. Would everything be okay? He thought about everything in the universe that ever caused him worry as he wept. He worried about the next time he would time travel, about if he would still remember himself and the people he cared deeply about. He worried about his deteriorating mind. He worried he wouldn't be able to fix all of the problems that occurred or have yet to happen. He worried he wouldn't be able to fix Ranboo's problems or bring him back home. He worried he wouldn't be able to make everyone happy. He worried he wasn't good enough for everyone he ever met. He worried. Every single worry cluttered his thoughts. As he cried, he let it all go. The weight of the world fell off his shoulders more and more with every tear that fell down his face, and he could finally focus on other things. It would be okay. Karl almost laughed, a thought popping up. How funny it was, that he had originally planned on helping Ranboo but he ended up falling apart with him.
The hybrid seemed to hold Karl closer at hearing and feeling him crying as well, and he gave off an odd feeling to the hug. Fear. He was afraid to let Karl go; he was afraid the fellow time traveler would disappear into thin air like everyone else did so long ago. He finally had someone, and he was afraid to let them go again. His hands seemed to ball up more of Karl's jacket, his body shaking more.
His sobs turned into soft yet hysterical ones, and the sounds he was making got softer and raspier from sobbing his throat raw. The cries were painful, the sound of someone who’s seen too much yet also seen too little. The sound of a broken hybrid who just wanted to never be alone again. He wasn’t used to crying, or feeling anything. Everything was just too much to the poor hybrid, but he finally had someone who knew how he felt. Finally, after all this time, he wasn’t alone anymore. He wasn’t alone.
The hand in his hair from Karl also appeared to ground Ranboo back down relatively well, but he was still not doing too shabby. He pulled Karl even closer if he could, and made a soft whimper as his ears pointed down and plastered themselves to the sides of his head. He finally attempted to say something, his voice softer than before. “..i-it’s jus-just b-be-been so..s-so quiet here- So lonely- No on-one comes h-home anymore- I-I’m so h-hap-ppy you’re here-” He let out another soft sob, seemingly falling apart more in Karl's arms. He squeezed his mismatched eyes shut, his tails uncurling around themselves to just lay limp on the soft grass below.
Ranboo's words felt like sharp pain throughout Karl's body. Every single word had cut deep into his soul, tearing it in half. "It's- it's okay," he choked out. "I'm h-here now. You aren- aren't alone." He felt Ranboo lean further into the hug, and it only comforted him more. "W-we aren't alone." He was reassuring both the hybrid and himself.
Ranboo seemed unwilling to let Karl go for now, his grip softening. He was tired. Everything was so much, and his aching tiredness was becoming more evident. He didn’t want to sleep, he was afraid he’d wake up and Karl would be gone. So he settled further into the hug, making softer sobs and whimpers. His throat was sore and hurt, but he didn’t care. He kept himself clung to Karl, despite his grip loosening due to pure exhaustion seeping into his bones. “..p-please..- D..Don’t g-go..- P..Please..?” He sounded childlike in nature, like a young kid not wanting their parent to leave them at home. He finally wasn’t alone, and he never wanted to feel alone again. He missed this.
Karl found himself calming down more too, his sobs being replaced with whimpers and a shaking just strong enough to be uncontrollable. He gripped Ranboo tightly, trying to be there for him and steady himself more. He broke at Ranboo's begging, burying himself into his shoulder further. "I w-would never leave," he said, his voice trembling, barely above a whisper. He knew he wouldn't ever be able to bring himself to leave. At least, not without the hybrid, but they had time to discuss that later. He was so happy he had this connection, this comfort.
Ranboo made a soft whimper at hearing the reassurance that Karl wouldn’t be leaving him. He didn’t want to be alone again, so hearing that seemed to relax him more, causing him to default into just wrapping his arms around Karl as best as he could as exhaustion seeped into his bones, falling lax against the hug hold the two were in.
As the world calmed down, he found that the birds had resumed chirping, hardly noticing they had ceased in the first place. They were strong. The two on the swing set wanted to be that strong. They wanted to fly, too. They both knew deep down someday they would.
Ranboo’s shaking hadn’t ceased and he seemed to still be ever so softly crying, an occasional whimper leaving him, but he seemed to have calmed down partially. At hearing the lovely birds again he smiled softly against Karl’s shoulder, his eyes opening a little bit to look at the area around. The castle didn’t seem cold anymore. It was warmer. Happier. That seemed to make Ranboo happy. He was so used to it being cold and empty and hollow, but he finally has someone, and the castle seemed happy as well. The hybrid started to hum ever so softly again, that same familiar tune. It wasn’t as soft due to his throat being in pain, so it sounded a bit strained and raspy, but he wasn’t in any pain while humming. He was just happy. Satisfied. He was happy Karl was here.
It was like the hybrid was missing a half of himself he has now found. He never expected for this to happen, but now that it has? He wouldn’t have it any other way. The sunlight beaming down on Ranboo's back made him shiver slightly amongst his trembling, and it kickstarted an odd little noise that shouldn’t come as a surprise thanks to his hybrid self. Purring. He was making some odd, soft little trill like purr and clung to Karl as his eyes fluttered back to being closed, the red and green eyes bright against as they closed again. He smiled more to himself and let out a soft little giggle, keeping Karl close.
The castle appeared to have calmed with the two time travelers, the tree seeming to have warmed up a bit as the branches almost perked up at seeing the friend they had that was once sat upon their branches calm down. Ranboo fiddled with Karl’s jacket and smiled, his odd purr-like trills still coming from him. The sounds rumbled in his chest, and his ears twitched a little more at the feeling, his humming becoming a little softer and better to hear as the rumbling in his chest distracted his mind from the pain of his throat. The soft trills seemed to sneak into the tune he was humming, adding a sort of... calmer feeling to the previously almost haunting tune that once flooded the empty and lonely castle. The tune that once ached and yearned for someone to return the call was now fulfilled; satisfied. It was warm and full of the happiness Ranboo now felt.
The sadness and pain was still there, Karl could feel it if he tried. But the pure relief and happiness of no longer being alone filled the hybrid with copious amounts of calm and satisfaction, glad to finally not be alone. He finally had someone who knew of his pain, who knew of his struggle, who knew how being alone felt. He was finally happy, finally okay with being home. Home was finally properly here in his eyes.
The Inbetween always felt like home, but it was quiet. Lonely. Silent besides Ranboo's humming. But now he had someone to speak to. Karl was like some cliché night in grey and white shining armor, if the armor was a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. But Ranboo personally couldn’t care less what the fellow time traveler was wearing, all he cared about was that he finally had someone again. Someone to cling to, to talk to, to laugh and cry with. The feeling made him tear up again, but out of pure joy at this point, his negative feelings seemingly melting away the more he thought of no longer being alone. He himself seemed to feel warmer than before, and he held Karl closer to him if he even could, trying his best to keep from squishing Karl or making him uncomfortable.
Karl felt exhausted after everything that happened. He came to this dimension to try to find Ranboo and bring him home; he didn't expect to make such a deep emotional connection with the hybrid. Though, this is the Inbetween, so what did Karl expect? He didn't remember that anymore, but he was sure this was way better than anything he could've previously imagined.
He felt Ranboo's tremors against his own and he sighed, trying to force his body to relax more. By this point, he was emotionally exhausted and he just wanted to go to bed. But, he feared that if he slept, he would wake up back at home, away from Ranboo and with no memory of his time here.
The thought suddenly brought a pang to Karl's chest. When he eventually had to leave the Inbetween, he most likely wouldn't remember any of this. He would have to go back into hiding, feeling like he couldn't be himself and feeling pressured to fix all the world's problems on his own. The realization wore him down greatly. If he hadn't already cried so much, he knew tears would make their endeavor to prick at his eyes and tumble to the floor. Until a new thought settled its way into Karl's brain and solidified itself there: Ranboo would go back to feeling alone too. He sniffled quietly, embracing the hybrid with a newfound love and appreciation, not wanting either of them to go through the heartbreak of losing each other.
He pushed these thoughts away as best as he could, deciding to focus on what was happening now and not what has yet to come. He would rather absorb as much of this as he could than get lost in thought, drowned in worry. Ranboo's humming and odd purring noises brought Karl back into the moment. A smile of adoration crept its way onto the time traveler's face. It reminded him of the soft trills of an enderman. It was honestly pretty adorable. He was reminded of an unspoken question from earlier. "What song are you humming?" he asked out of curiosity.
The hybrid was starting to ever so softly drift off into a half asleep daze despite his wishes, hardly being able to comprehend that he was asked something. His eyes opened a little before smiling softly, the trilling he made continuing. “...a lullaby I remember... can’t remember from where... a lady used to hum it a lot..” His voice was soft as he went back to humming softly, calmed by the warmth that now flooded the grounds. He continued to hum, his mind tuning out again.
The color white surrounded the two as they hugged and chatted openly. It somehow stood out more than ever before, seeming to glow brightly in response to the two's comfort. Karl could've sworn he saw an elegant dove swoop out of the corner of his eye. One of the birds that had chirped during their entire experience together in the Inbetween. He grinned genuinely, a bit spaced out from the sudden overwhelming peace in this dimension.
Little did they know, a godlike figure they call XD was watching the two time travelers from above; he didn't want to interrupt them. Dream and their resident Dreamon were having an argument in the back of his head so he tried to push their voices aside, which worked for a few moments before a wheeze from Dream broke his thoughts. He exhaled as he heard the broken sobs quiet down from the two below him before he opened his wings to flare behind him. He should go down there, comfort them.
“Awh, look at them! Being two big babies, Hahahaha!” The Dreamon’s voice floated in his head. XD gave up being nice and pushed them out of his consciousness.
XD left the balcony where he watched over the two, heading down the stairs so not to startle them. He hid one pair of wings and put his mask on, the two letters on it shimmering slightly in the sunlight. As he walked past the large windows before getting to the swing area, his clothes changed so he was in more comfortable clothing. He now donned a blue hoodie with navy blue jeans alone with a white pair of sneakers.
A small meow alerted him to look up to see Marsh, his pet cat, in front of him. She was a winter white ragdoll cat with sunlight filled eyes. She purred and hopped up onto his shoulder, sitting there as if she were a parrot. The God let out a small laugh before continuing to the swings.
He walked through the archway and leaned against it. Once again, he didn’t want to startle the two; it would make him feel guilty. He carefully observed the two before letting out a small ‘ahem’ to try and grab their attention. Marsh let out a hopeful meow before hopping off his shoulder to make her way over to them, yet still not getting too close.
Needless to say, and much to the dismay of the God, Karl was startled when he saw another person had made an appearance. He had felt the presence but hadn't realized it until the individual was in front of them. Karl looked up, loosening his grip on Ranboo but refusing to completely let go. His eyebrows twisted in confusion, feeling a strong sense of familiarity toward the figure, yet unable to place exactly where the two had met before. He only stared as the person approached them, instinctively going back to hugging Ranboo tightly, but this time in protection. However, he got a gut feeling that this new being in front of them didn't mean any harm whatsoever. Still, better safe than sorry. He wouldn't let anything happen to the hybrid now that the two were united.
Before he knew it, Karl was being offered a handkerchief. He hesitated for a moment before slowly unwrapping one of his arms from Ranboo and accepting it, using it to wipe the surprisingly large amount of tears that had begun ever so slightly to dry on his face. "Who are you?" He couldn't stop himself from blurting out, his need to have his questions answered growing stronger by the second. "And why do I get the feeling I've seen you before?" The birds sang, seeming to echo his question. He just wanted some answers. He was tired of forgetting everything.
With a confused grumble, Ranboo finally shifted his head up a little and looked behind him, his tired and surprisingly now bright eyes looked confused at the new face to him. He made another little enderman trill and tilted his head, his own wings now unfolded behind him. Out of his own instinct, he wrapped them around Karl, the smaller wings tucked behind his ears ruffling a bit as he contemplated hiding his eyes again.
This figure… felt familiar and he felt no harmful intent from it, just like Karl. Or maybe that was Ranboo picking up on Karl's verdict. The hybrid was too tired to know, and much too exhausted to care. All he cared about was the fact he had Karl, and he was afraid to lose him now. He tilted his head back to normal and tucked his face back into Karl's shoulder, a smaller trill leaving his mouth as he clung to Karl.
His wings didn’t stay wrapped around properly for long, the hybrid finally being pulled from the conscious world into a sleep. His wings slipped off of Karl a little, but managed to instinctively stay on him enough to keep some protection. Even in his sleep, his grip on Karl didn’t seem to loosen, his ears pointed down. He seemed to let out soft little purr-like snores as he slept, but they were hardly loud enough to be a bother. The humming he was doing played in his head as he slept, keeping him in a comfortable and peaceful sleep for once. He was very comfortable it seemed, and remained asleep in Karl's arms.
Ranboo's lullaby was stuck in Karl's head, the melody floating peacefully on loop through his mind. He could almost imagine an orchestra going along with the simple yet beautiful notes. Violins and other similar string instruments accompanied by a harp. Perhaps even a piano. It was comforting. It was now permanently etched in his mind, associated with nothing but tranquility, the whiteness of this home, and thoughts of Ranboo.
Speaking of the hybrid, Karl was heavily picking up on his exhaustion. He could sense it pretty strongly, and part of it rubbed off on him. Just the current sight of Ranboo, curled up against the time traveler and letting soft trills ring through the air, was enough to make Karl's own mind numb itself in drowsiness and beg to be lulled to sleep. It looked so cozy. Karl needed to start taking care of himself more. He hadn't gotten a good night of sleep for a long while, too caught up in time traveling to help fix the world's problems. It didn't help when Ranboo softly wrapped his wings around his body, the gesture making Karl fall into a deeper state of relaxation.
XD looked at Karl with a small head tilt before a small smile slipped past his lips behind his mask. He didn’t speak, but simply handed the time traveler a book and quill, writing on the pages. Karl promptly looked back up at the strange ethereal being, accepting the offered book.
Karl was a little surprised to see the words writing themselves, but he was honestly too worn out to overthink it. He read each sentence in his head as the words appeared:
‘Hello Karl Jacobs. I’m who people like to call “God.” I can’t tell you my name yet, nor speak until I know I can trust you. Please don’t take this personally. For your other question, for why you seem to recognize who I am. I resemble someone on the SMP you two come from, for a start. Another reason is because I'm always here, in the Inbetween. My presence is imprinted into your memory, you can never lose it.’
A God? Karl supposed that made some sort of sense. The being was adorned with large elegant wings on his back that were fit for a God.
The writing paused momentarily while XD observed his surroundings. He looked to the tree where a few doves sat before 2 flew down to his shoulders, one of them letting out a small trill. His wings fluttered slightly as he glanced to the two of them, noticing Ranboo slipping in and out of consciousness. The book and quill made a small noise before more started to be written within the pages.
‘It seems Ranboo is exhausted. I can take both of you to a room where you may sleep, if you wish. I don’t know if your body will stay here or travel once more but it’s worth a try. Perhaps we’ll find a book for you, Karl.’ If XD didn’t know any better, Karl wouldn’t know what that last line meant. Hopefully he did.
A room where they could sleep... "That sounds nice," Karl spoke softly, not daring to wake Ranboo and too exhausted to speak louder anyway. Instantly picking up on what the God spoke of, he shuddered at the thought of time traveling while this tired. Wait, HE was the reason Karl would occasionally time travel? Eh, the shock wore off quickly; he supposed it made sense. The guy was the literal God of this realm after all. Karl sighed. He knew it was his job to be the storyteller, but he just wanted to stay in this moment a little longer. He needed time to process everything. "I think I'd rather get some sleep too," he spoke honestly.
He stood up, ready to be led to a room the two could stay in. Yet, a part of him was afraid that he would wake up and the Inbetween would be gone, replaced with the bedroom in his hidden library. He wasn't ready to go back yet. He wanted to stay here with Ranboo, make sure he was okay. He wanted to talk with the hybrid more about anything and everything. He wanted to hold him in his arms as long as possible, hating the idea of his time here being cut short. Above all, he didn't want to lose his memories from any part of his time here. The thought shook him to his core. Him and Ranboo meeting here was clearly destined to be, as it had helped the two out more than words could ever portray. He couldn't imagine forgetting his new friend.
Speaking of the hybrid, Karl didn’t know how to get him to his room. He almost opted to carrying Ranboo, but he was way too tall for the time traveler to carry. He looked over at the God, his eyes saying 'hey, a little help here?' clear as day.
…
The minutes passed, and Karl and Ranboo were taken to their own bedrooms, the latter having to be carried by the God. The pastel sky still glowed with all sorts of colors and hues. Karl sighed. He had been reluctant to let go of the hybrid. For all he knew, they could wake up back home after this, not a single memory of the occurring events, of the doves that had accompanied them, of the endless white corridors, of the creaking swing set in the courtyard, of the wind that caused leaves to tremble, of the earthquake of emotions the two had gone through together in such a little amount of time. The time traveler's heart sank further the more he thought about it. He didn't want to forget. He entered his room and watched as Ranboo was carried to his own room and was laid down gently in his bed. He looked so peaceful.
Whether Karl liked it or not, sleep was approaching him quickly. It didn't help that this dimension was so calming. It was probably mirroring Ranboo's peaceful state. The time traveler wanted to succumb, to fall asleep himself, but he stayed awake for a little bit longer, letting the moment linger on as long as he could make it last.
He took this time to observe everything. His room was quite large and, surprise surprise, covered in white decorations and designs. The part Karl loved most, however, was the dozens of bookshelves that lined the walls. He walked up to one, seeing copies of his favorite novels, excitement bubbling in his chest. He walked over to another, a familiar title of "The City that went Mad" catching his eye. His name was written as the author. He remembered writing about that particular time he traveled, but didn't expect to see it here in the Inbetween. That's actually pretty neat, Karl thought, a sense of pride overtaking him.
His eyes glanced over to the wall furthest from the door, and saw two tall, fancy looking windows on either side of his bed. He ran over to one of them and the sight was absolutely gorgeous. He could see other parts of the castle, towers shooting up to the sky, all of it draped in a light snow color. A waterfall roared in the distance. The sky's many pastel hues smiled down at him. He absorbed every detail he could. Ranboo's hummed lullaby was still playing in his head, and it only made the scenery more beautiful.
Having an idea, he took out his journal. He stared at it. The teal spiral stared back. Conveniently, there was a desk in the room with a quill and ink. He sauntered over to it, grabbing the writing utensil and bringing it with him back to the windowsill, his thoughts swirling. He opened to the page where he had originally written those three words. "Bring him home." A smile tugged at Karl's lips as he wrote down three more new words. A continuation. Perhaps even a happy ending. "We're home now."
Karl absorbed the scenery as he pondered those new words and what they meant to him. The Inbetween was a home away from home, of course. The familiar castle would always be a comforting place to be in. But it was nothing compared to what Ranboo had become to him. Karl grinned wider. They were each other's homes. He successfully did what he came here to do and not only that; he brought himself home too. The thought brought him unimaginable amounts of peace.
He finally tore his eyes away from the sight though his window, having attempted to burn it into his memory as best as he could. As he clambered into bed, he thought about every event that had occurred here on loop. He prayed he wouldn't forget it; more specifically, he prayed he wouldn't forget Ranboo. He couldn't lose him now. He held onto that thought firmly as sleep finally overcame him.
And Karl woke up at home a few hours later.
He stretched his arms and legs, letting out a soft yawn. The sight of his hidden library greeted him. He wracked his memory for some sort of clue as to why he was here, not remembering falling asleep. The time traveler vaguely remembered adventuring to the Inbetween, but the details were fuzzy. His heart ached. No memories of the events that happened there were left in his mind, and he got the feeling that it was something he wanted to remember.
He exited his library and decided to go for a walk, needing to clear his mind. Fragments of memories popped up in his mind, not making much sense to the time traveler. A swingset carefully placed in the middle of white. The flapping of some sort of bird's wings as it sang and flew. A god dressed in light blue attire. Multicolored eyes full of overwhelming emotion, tears pouring to the floor. Being embraced. A peaceful melody being hummed. None of it clicked. They were meaningless puzzle pieces that didn't come together.
The further he grew lost in his thoughts, the more he subconsciously ignored his surroundings and the passing of time. Before he knew it, he found himself in an area he didn't recall ever being at before, and he paused, trying to see if anyone was around through the scattered trees.
-
With a startled shock, a loud gasp escaped the hybrid prince. He… where was he...? Home. Yeah. Wait… was he? His eyes took in the SMP buildings around him. This… this was his home. Why did it feel like he wasn't safe? He was supposed to be safe at home, but this didn't feel safe. He was afraid. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he shook his head, distorted enderman distress sounds escaping his mouth as he crammed his eyes shut. His ears pointed downwards and he let out a soft whimper, and-
Blip.
He jolted as he was suddenly collapsed into grass, the cold blades of green clinging to him with midnight dew, his jade and ruby eyes scanning the moon and stars. He let out a shaky sigh and stayed on the ground for a bit, closing the mismatched colored lashed eyes. He stayed there for a while before getting up, shifting to be on his feet. He looked around the large, vast and empty clearing and for a moment he paused.
A flicker of a white room, tree in the center. Ranboo smiled a bit. That place felt like home. He wondered when he could go back. He started to sway a little as a soft droning in his head began to form into a melodic tune that lulled him into a calmer state. He started to hum along to the melody that was playing in his head, before full on singing along to the soft lullaby.
He unclipped his vest/waistcoat and set it on a tree stump not that far away, and adjusted the smaller Antarctic Empire colored vest he got from Philza a while ago. He smiled and set his crown down on the vest and sighed, grinning more. He walked back to the clearing and continued his humming, the haunting yet familiar and comfortable tune leading him on into his own mind as he closed his eyes.
He bowed to no one in particular and started dancing a little, his footsteps on the grass almost inaudible as he twirled and did his own thing. He never really did this around others, and the mobs nearby didn't bother him in the slightest. They didn't see him as a threat, but rather one of their own. And while he appreciated the factor, having to shoo baby zombies away from him for Philza's sake was a pain in the ass sometimes.
A chuckle slipped out of his mouth before he recuperated himself and continued to hum and sing the haunting tune he seemed to love so much, dancing like he was in a ball all by himself. Dancing like no one but the gods were watching, cause he didn't know if there even were any. He was far too mellowed to feel anything other than the calm and cold embrace of the night, wrapping around him like a partner in his one-man masquerade ball where no one had physical masks, but masks that hid them from the judging views of their peers to the point that who they were before disappeared, leaving nothing but the air around him, following him like a leader in a play.
-
Karl decided on wandering deeper into the forest, feeling a sort of unexplained pull there. Bits and pieces of the Inbetween continued to cloud his thoughts, making Karl sigh. He pulled out his journal from his hoodie pocket as he walked, feeling the smooth pages against his touch. Maybe he wrote something that would bring him to a further understanding.
He stared for a moment at the 6 words residing on one particular page. Half of them he remembered. Bring him home. He had originally written those words because of what little he remembered of his journeys to the Inbetween. Every time he traveled there, he felt a lonely presence. So, that day, he had decided to try and find him, attempt to help him. Maybe he would even make a friend. The three unfamiliar words made him somewhat convinced he actually did make a friend. We're home now. Who could the "we" be referring to? Karl and who?
His inability to recall frustrated him, but he pushed it aside, trying to think on the bright side. The short sentence most likely meant he had actually done it. That concept was comforting, but loneliness still plagued him. There was a huge part of his memory missing. The swing set. Something had happened on the swing set.
After what felt like too long, Karl finally heard something. It sounded like someone else was in these woods. He perked up, trying to walk in the direction of the sounds in hopes he could decipher them. At first it sounded like someone was talking, but the closer he came to the other presence, he realized it was humming. A soft, chilling melody. He drowned himself in the sound, finding it oddly familiar and comforting.
And it hit him.
His legs started moving before he had time to realize what was happening, breaking into a sprint. Karl had to find him. Everything came flooding back, crashing like the waves of a tsunami, but no destruction in its path. The fragments finally came together. The swing set, carefully placed in the middle of white. He sat on those swings with a certain hybrid who he could hear humming at this very second. The flapping of a bird’s wings as it flew and sang. Those doves had chirped as he cried with the hybrid. The God dressed in light blue attire. He had consoled the two as they embraced. Those multicolored eyes full of spilling water. They were red and green. They cried with him. Being embraced. He had hugged the hybrid so tightly, afraid to let go, afraid to forget. The peacefully hummed melody. It was here, being sung as he ran.
He finally reached a clearing and he spotted the tall figure, stopping abruptly and gasping for breath. “Ranboo!” He shouted between breaths, tears suddenly blurring his vision. He temporarily felt bad for interrupting the hybrid, as he seemed to be at peace, but he quickly remembered what was going on and he broke down into hysterical sobs, falling onto his knees. The gaining of those memories was so much, too much all at once. He covered his face with his hands out of habit, trying to muffle the sound of his cries. The coldness of the midnight skies consumed him and he shivered.
The hybrid was still lost in his head, not even noticing a presence till he heard his name called. He paused and whipped his head around, opening his mismatched eyes. He let them adjust to seeing again before looking behind him, freezing. The sight of Karl alone flooded his veins with some odd feeling. He watched Karl fall to his knees and sucked in a gasp, walking over to him
Every bone in his hybrid body ached at seeing Karl like this. It... almost pained him. Why did it feel like the world was falling apart? This wasn't a nightmare or a dream. He knew this was real, because his dreams wouldn't put him somewhere he doesn't know. He knows that well. So... why did his heart hurt so much? Why was this so painful to see? He tried to get the feeling of pain and hurt out of his mind, and continued carefully walking to Karl.
Karl’s mind swirled with worry. To Ranboo, he thought, it most likely was confusing. He most likely didn’t remember any of the details of their time there, hardly remembering the time traveler, if even at all. And Karl had just suddenly showed up to this random place in the woods where he conveniently happened to be, crying on the forest floor and calling his name. He needed to find a way to get the hybrid to remember.
“The In-Inbetween,” he started, desperate, trying to offer an explanation. “The sw-swinget,” were the next two words he could choke out. The time traveler continued to babble barely coherent phrases, finally declaring, “You we-were my h-home.” He prayed Ranboo would understand by now. He had to remember. They couldn’t lose their connection. He couldn’t lose home.
Ranboo had gone to crouch down in front of Karl before audibly choking on air. He listened to the words tumble out of the time traveler’s mouth, seeming to pause, and the gears in his head started to turn and click. That's why this was so painful.
Flashes of the Inbetween started to flood his head. The tree he now remembered feeling, that old bark pressed against his back and his wings. Wings? He didn't have those. Not in the SMP. He had them there, though. He remembered sitting on that branch, rolling a soft leaf between his fingers. He remembered the swings, clinging to someone clad in grey, and he remembered hearing the reassurance he wouldn't be alone again. He remembered hearing casual banter between the two, he remembered humming the lullaby as he calmed in that person's arms.
His brain fit Karl into the spots, and it was clear by how much his eyes widened that something was coming back to the hybrid. He seemed to stammer on words for a moment before he remembered another key factoid. How alone he felt not more than a minute ago. Karl suddenly made him feel not alone again, made him feel like this realm, this SMP... was home.
The jade green and ruby red eyes suddenly filled with tears, and much to the hybrids distaste, they started flowing down his cheeks like the waterfall he now remembered from the castle. They burned his cheeks as they rolled, but the pain was miniscule to the hybrid. He didn't seem to care much as he let out a soft giggle. The giggle shifted into one of a joyous laugh, and Ranboo practically tackled Karl into the dirt and grass.
He wrapped his arms around the time traveler and held him close, the smile that was trapped on his face big and happy as he kept laughing, while also making soft cries of joy at the situation. He was Karl's home, just as much as Karl was his. The two tails he had curled around themselves, and his ears were pointed up this time as he held Karl so close to him, like he was afraid to lose him.
"I- I r-remember, I-" He managed to stammer out words and seemed to let out another soft laughter-filled cry as he crammed his eyes shut. "..I r-remember, I remem-remember you, the s-swings- I'm so glad you're here-" He kept letting out soft noises of both sobs and of laughter, an occasional enderman blip slipping out at the pure amount of emotions that flooded the hybrid. He was so happy. He had his home again.
After trying to hold it back, he finally just let a relieved sob slip out of him, and his hands balled up the back of Karl's jacket once again, the red and green colored fingertips digging into the brightly colored fabric. He was careful to not harm Karl, too afraid that if he did he'd lose the one place, the one person, that felt like home. He was happy again. He was home, he was safe.
With Karl he was safe. The cold forest seemed to almost try and make the two feel warmer, calmer, safer. The hybrids cheeks were stained with burns that would go away with time, but Ranboo hardly seemed to care about the state of pain his cheeks were in. All he cared about was that Karl was here, and he finally remembered something. He wasn't blocked from a memory, a home, a place for once. He was finally able to remember.
The Earth didn't tremble and fall apart like it felt like in the Inbetween. But with everything going on in this moment, the sky might as well shatter, the wind might as well roar, the land might as well crumble apart. Instead of those illusions, however, in this dimension, it felt like everything came to a point where it ceased. The rotations of their planet stilled. The stars stopped flickering like the flame of a candle. Everything simply stopped, and all that was left was Karl and Ranboo, embracing, reunited. It was all quiet and calm.
Karl's painful sobs had turned into relieved cries. "You re-remember," he said in disbelief, his voice wavering, trying to keep himself from laughing with pure relief. He was almost knocked over from the power of Ranboo's embrace, actually giggling this time, gladly wrapping his arms around the hybrid. "I-I'm so incredib- so incredibly happy you-'re here t-too," he laughed, feeling weightless, his spirits being lifted higher they had ever been before. He didn't think things would turn out this well. He was so deathly afraid of losing Ranboo. But they could both finally remember everything. He had his home back.
The time traveler thought back to when he first came to the Inbetween. His goals had been firm within his mind, never letting himself stray from them. Don't forget to help fix the problems of the people in these lands in any way he could, and don't forget himself. Somehow, he finally managed to reach both of his goals. Ranboo didn't feel alone anymore. He had actually helped the hybrid.
And on top of that, he still remembered himself. His name was Karl Jacobs. He was 22 years old. He was a time traveler, and he used to hate it. He had lost control of himself with no ability to choose when he travels. He had to hide this fact from every single one of his loved ones. His hidden library had begun feeling like a dark and dim cave. He felt so utterly alone. But he found hope. He traveled to a dimension they call the Inbetween, and he met a hybrid who became a home. And they both remembered that they weren’t alone anymore. Karl didn’t have to hide.
That was exactly what he wrote about a day later in his purple journal. A short summary in his mind turned into a mini novel of some sorts, documenting the events of that day in the castle of white, the story of the connection he made with Ranboo. He sat in his hidden library, a quill in his hands, writing out every possible detail from that day. He wondered if the hybrid would do the same, knowing he kept a book on him about his own memories. Ranboo hadn’t forgotten though, so maybe he didn’t need to write things down anymore. Maybe he still would anyway. Karl made a note to ask later.
He sighed in content as he put a period on his last sentence and closed the journal. Before he set down his writing utensil, he titled the story “Their Home.” He laid the book down next to his others from the days he time traveled, absentmindedly humming Ranboo’s lullaby. He was so grateful for that tune’s existence; without it, he might not have been able to recount every detail from the Inbetween. A wave of happiness overcame Karl as the melody flooded his thoughts.
He was home.