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Dream could still see him. The original Karl, from before he forgot. He knew this Karl was a poor imitation of the man who was once his friend. But he couldn’t help but compare this Karl to his Karl. He always saw him. In the way he moved. In the way he laughed. No matter what he did, he couldn't help but be reminded of what he lost.
"I wish you were here" He whispered softly, as Karl sat beside him, rambling about something Dream didn’t fully understand, so much like how Karl used to do, before he forgot, before Dream lost him. It was nearly painful. He said it so quietly that Karl nearly missed it.
Karl cut off his rambling and turned to him, confused, not sure whether or not Dream meant that statement for him to hear. "..I am here?"
Dream froze, as if he hadn’t realized this. As if the fact that Karl was sitting besides him was news. He sighed, "Yeah."
"I… I suppose you are"
Karl frowned, tilting his head, hearing the clear hesitation in his voice. He didn’t ask about it, not wanting to pry. They weren’t close enough for that. He turned his eyes back up to the sky, and continued talking about what he had been talking about prior. Dream didn’t interrupt him again.
His thoughts drifted as Karl told him about something new he was building with Quackity. Dream thought Karl said it was called “Mexican L’manburg” but he was certain he must’ve misheard him.
Dream supposed that, in a way, Karl was still here. But the Karl he remembered, the Karl he loved, the Karl that knew Dream, was buried. Hidden by the side effects of time travelling, buried underneath his new memories. Karl just needed a little push from Dream to remember. But that was something for Dream to think about another time. If he tried to help now, Karl would only resent him.
They stay together like that for a bit, both of them staring at the night sky together. Karl rambling, and Dream listening silently, nodding occasionally. Both of them with things they wanted to say, questions they wanted to ask, but neither quite having the courage to say them.
Karl fell silent, and Dream turned to look at him questioningly. Karl smiled, laughing awkwardly and standing up, “It’s late, Quackity and Sapnap are probably getting worried, I think it’s best I turn in for the night."
Dream waved as Karl turned and walked away, back to his home in L’manburg. Dream remained sitting on the ground, watching his figure slowly shrink until he was completely gone, too far for Dream to be able to see him.
Once the shell of what used to be Karl was gone, presumably retreated into the arms of his fiances, he sighed, standing up and brushing grass and dirt off of his pants.
He stared into the empty field, so much colder now that he was alone again.
He fell to his knees on the hard ground, clutching his head in his hands. “ I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. ”
A horrible sob wracked his body as he cried, only reminded of what he once had. Of what he could’ve still had if he had just tried harder to convince Karl to stop time travelling so much, if he had been more insistent about Karl not ending up like Ranboo had.
"I wasn’t ready." he muttered bitterly.
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Karl covered his mouth, smothering his sobs. His hands shook as he let go of the sword that was embedded in what used to be his best friend’s back.
He scrambled back, legs collapsing beneath him, unable to continue supporting as his shaking grew worse. Everyone watched with wide eyes, too shocked to help him, as Karl wrapped his arms around himself, screaming and trying to get as far away from Dream’s corpse as possible. He could swear even his corpse watched him, taunting him. He curled into himself further, trying to get it to stop. Trying to get all those eyes off of him.
There were so many things he wished for in that moment. He wished everyone would stop watching him. He wished he didn’t still feel Dream’s dead eyes on him. He wished he was anywhere but here. He wished he was still in the times when him, Dream and Ranboo were all happy. He wished Dream weren’t dead. He wished he didn’t kill him. He wished it didn’t end like this.
He didn’t want it to end like this. He wished this could end happily, him running off with Dream and Ranboo, but he knew Dream was too far gone. There was no other option. There was no other way this could have ended than with Karl killing him, but he still wished there were. But, in the end, wishing would do nothing.
He felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around him, picking him up and wrapping him into their not quite warm embrace. He sobbed openly, wrapping his arms around Ranboo. He could feel Ranboo shaking too.
“I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready.” Karl pushed out between sobs, heaving for breath.
Ranboo hugged him tighter. He was crying too, his tears burning him as they trailed down his face.
“Neither of us were.”