Work Text:
Based on That Distant Shore from Steven Universe
TW; Blood, Panic Attacks, Violence and Death
Once Karl stepped out of the portal he started running to one of his empty books, flinging it open to start quickly writing before he could forget. A certain phrase was repeated in his head,it was like a loud noise he just couldn’t get rid of no matter what he tried.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
With every repeat the phrase just got louder and louder as Karl wrote, the sound was becoming unbearable to hear, the sound kept drowning out his thoughts. “Get out of my head!” The time traveler shouted, his hands grabbing his head in agony. The noise had to stop. The noise was drowning his thoughts. The noise was something awful that had to be purged.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
“Stop! Please stop!” Karl shouted, tears starting to fill his eyes, his entire body dropped to the floor as he grabbed his head in unbearable agony. He had to leave, he had to leave this library, that would make the noise stop right? Karl rushed over to the ladder connecting his underground ‘office’ to the Kinoko Kingdom library, Karl grabbed onto the rope for his dear life but the noise only got louder. This sound, no no this noise had to be purged or at least silenced for now.
Karl made his way up the ladder as quick as he could but once he made it out of his ‘office’ his eyes were met with a beautiful library, it was like he’d never seen it before but he was sure he’d been here before, everything was so...so foggy…
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
Karl then screamed out in pain. “Why...Why wont it go away!” Karl took a deep breath re-aligning himself so he wouldn’t start freaking out. Home, that's where he needed to go, home but… where was home exactly? Did he have a home?
“Home...That's where I need to go...yeah home..” Karl picked himself up and started to run out of the library but as he ran out he ran into somebody, he ran into Badboyhalo.
“Karl? Are you okay? I heard you screaming from Hannah’s farm so I came to check on you” Karl looked at Bad up and down and then blinked and then up and down again. “Im fine, Bad! Just uh...Tripped!” Karl’s sentence was soon followed by nervous laughter. Bad knew something was wrong but he didn’t want to pry.
“Where you headed to Karl?” Bad questioned, his tone was friendly and it wasn’t a fake friendly it was a genuine friendly tone.
“Oh i'm just...going home!” Karl spoke with a hesitant smile, whenever Karl spoke and he was nervous or just stressed out he let his sleeves dangle and he’d mess with his fingers, more specifically his thumbs. “Thank muffins you’re going home, Sapnap has been worried about you being gone…” Bad’s words were cut off by the noise getting louder and louder in Karl’s head.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
The noise was so loud, it felt like a stab through his heart everytime it started again. Louder and louder it got and the more painful it got. Karl tried holding in his screams of pain but it was hard to, especially when the pain was getting so bad.
“Disappear to…” Bad’s words were now interrupted by Karl collapsing on the floor in agony, his screams soon turning into painful sobs. “The noise....It’s...It’s so loud” Karl cried out. Bad looked down at Karl who was sobbing on the grass, genuine worry spread across Bad’s face, this may not have been his son but this was his son's fiancé so Bad bent down and picked Karl up who was sobbing with one hand and pulled his trident out with his free hand.
“Karl just breath, it’ll be ok” Bad spoke softly and hushed, almost like a mother speaking to her newborn, all Karl did in response was give Bad a slight nod as tears continued to stream down Karl’s face. The farther Karl got from the library the quieter the noise got which was good but Karl knew he had to get rid of the noises or at least try to ignore them, to help with this he was gonna have to go to a professional...Karl needed to go pay Technoblade a visit.
Bad and Karl finally arrived at Karl’s house, the time traveler passed out during the journey to his home. Bad knocked on the door with his foot due to his arms being occupied with Karl’s sleeping body, as soon as the knock was received a certain bandanna wearing male came running to the door, violently swinging it open to see his fiancé fast asleep in his fathers arms. “Bad...What happened to Karl '' Sapnap's voice had a certain worry to it but this was more of an angry worry. Everytime Karl came home for the past two weeks he was either bruised, bleeding, asleep or tipsy and this was really starting to piss Sapnap off, its like he never got to spend time with his fiancé anymore, he’d always be running off to that stupid library he buildt. Bad stepped into the house and brought Karl up to the room he shared with Sapnap. Once Karl was all tucked into bed Bad went downstairs to see Sapnap sitting on the couch very noticeably pissed.
“Bad start explaining now” Sapnap demanded, Bad hesitated before responding knowing that if he told Sapnap the truth that would double Sapnap’s already existing worry about Karl and it would double his social anxiety. “Nothing bad happened Sapnap, Karl just passed out while reading in his library” Bad gave Sapnap a small reassuring smile but Sapnap immediately knew that Bad lied to him...His own father lying straight to his face.
“Bad tell me the fucking truth” Sapnap barked, his tone only getting angryier. Bad sighed, he’s gotta tell Sapnap about Karl’s panic attack.
“I heard Karl screaming in pain from Hannah’s farm so I went to go see what was happening and he said everything was fine and he just needed to get home and then that's when it started to happen, he started breathing heavily, he started screaming and crying and then he collapsed onto the grass in what seemed like agonizing pain…” Bad could see the shock and worry on Sapnap’s face as he talked but as Karl’s fiancé he deserved to know what was happening. “Karl started to mention something about noises...I...I don't understand what he meant by noises, it was silent from what I heard”
Sapnap was shaking at what Bad just told him. H-He had a panic attack...How long has this been going on...Karl and I are gonna need to talk soon “Bad why didn’t you tell me this immediately, this is something I should’ve known” Tears started to sting the brunette's eyes. “Bad...Why didn’t he tell me” Tears flowed from Sapnap’s eyes, small sobs erupting from him. “Sh..Shouldn’t he tell me...Bad…Am I gonna be a bad husband for Karl?” Bad looked Sapnap in the eyes before bringing his hand up to cup the side of his face wiping away the tears from his sons’ eyes.
“Sap, you’re gonna be the greatest husband for Karl, I just know it” Bad gave Sapnap a small smile before retracting his hand. “Sap, you should go check on Karl and get some rest” Sapnap nodded at his father giving him a weak smile before heading up the stairs to his shared bedroom.
Sapnap let out a sigh once he saw Karl asleep in their bed. “Im sorry Karl…” Sapnap muttered before taking his shirt and hoodie off and tossing it onto the floor and proceeding to hop into the bed. Silence fell over the two of them all Sapnap could hear was Karl’s breathing and the rustling of the sheet as he got comfortable, Sapnap sighed breaking the silence. “I love you so much Karl Jacobs you don't even understand” Subpoena whispered before wrapping his arms around his fiancés’ waist pulling him closer to his body spooning him.
.
.
.
Karl found himself in the in between once again but this time it was different, way different. Everything around him looked all dead and corroded, the big tree in the middle was completely dead and rotting, the walls were cracked and eroded. Karl looked down at his clothing; it wasn’t white...It was black just solid black.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
“What happened here” Karl walked around placing one of his hands on one of the eroding pillars, the pillar started to shake as Karl’s hand was placed onto it. “How’d it beco-” Before he could finish his sentence the pillar collapsed. Karl’s body was crushed underneath the weight of the pillar. Something no no someONE appeared before Karl’s eyes. The person looked just like Karl except he had his inverted hoodie on and his eyes were completely black and an ink like substance was pouring out of the corrupted Karl’s eyes.
“This is what happens when you stray from the path Karl” The thing spoke, it voice was skratchy
Tears stung Karl’s eyes. “No….Please..You’re not me” Karl cried out, he could feel his bones and torso being crushed which caused him to make small whimpering noises.
“Karl this is your fault…” The thing mumbled as it started to walk over to Karl who was struggling under the pillar that crushed him. “This is what happened when you stray from the path” Tears streamed down Karl’s face, a mix of panic and pain corrupting his face, then the loud voice returned, it was louder than ever.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
“No! Stop it please!” Karl yelled out, the more he moved and yelled the more he got crushed.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
“Please stop! I can't take this anymore” Karl sobbed out, everything ached, his head going dizzy, his vision going blurry, and his entire lower half and torso getting crushed by the overwhelming weight of the fallen pillar.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
Karl sobbed out in pain as he felt his bones and organs being crushed to dust. “PLEASE STOP!”.
.
.
.
Karl sat up, covering his mouth as he realized he had said his last sentence aloud, in real life.
Tears streamed down his face. Karl found himself wide awake with his knees held tightly to his chest, small shaky breaths escaping his mouth, soft cries and whimpers also escaping him. “No...I don't wanna...No more” Karl mumbled out, his breaths getting even more shaky and stuttered. Jacobs pulled his hoodie hood up silently sobbing into it, everything hurt, the time traveler felt the urge to puke boling in his stomach. More and more tears pooled from Karls eyes, small sobs coming from Karl in which awakened his fiancé. “Karl?” Sapnap’s voice was groggy yet concerned. Karl looked at his fiancé with teary eyes, still whimpering and shaking. Sapnap’s hand went to meet the side of Karl’s tear stained face but stopped halfway.
“Karl….” He paused looking Karl over with loving eyes “Are you okay?” As Karl opened his mouth to speak a small whimper like sob escaped him. The time traveler's head was filled with that one voice, repeating the same phrase over and over.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH
“It won't stop...Sapnap” Karl croaked before throwing himself onto Sapnap’s chest sobbing into it. “It won't go away” Karl muttered through small sobs. Sapnaps arms hesitated over Karl’s back but eventually he dropped his hands onto his fiancés’ back, drawing small circles on his back, something that Sapnap’s father (Bad) would do whenever he got upset but Sapnap could tell that Karl was way more than upset. Karl sobbed into his chest, shaking, crying, sniffling, letting it all out. "Karl, what happened?" Sapnap asked, voice soft and laced with care. "I-" Karl wiped his tears away, playing with the strings on his hoodie he'd fallen asleep in. "Just nightmares."
"Just? Karl you're...you’re” Sapnap stuttered. “what happened?" Sapnap asked and Karl breathed in shakingly, all attempts trying to keep himself from bursting into sobs once more. "I was-" He inhaled slowly, the sharp cold air filling his lungs. "I was stuck under a pillar and I couldn't move an-and I was scared." Sapnap held the boy closer to his chest, his hands moving to his lower back and tightly (but not too tightly) hugging him. “Do you wanna talk about it Karl?” Sapnap asked, still keeping the soft tender tone to his voice. "Each night I-I dr-dream about this white castle...I-I wander around I-It reading books and feeling a-at peace bu-but it wasn’t like that at all” Karl was breathing heavily still, eyes a reality and shaking, tears once again falling from his eyes. Sapnap could feel Karl’s body start to tense up
"Karl," Sapnap's voice came out a bit more firm this time but it still kept its soft and caring demeanor and Karl looked at him confused. "You're having a panic attack" Karl shook his head. "N-No this just- just happens sometimes." Karl’s tone was muffled as he sobbed into his fiancés’ chest. Sapnap hands ran up and down Karl’s back, trying to soothe him. "You're having a panic attack, I need you to pay all your attention to me, okay? look at me" Sapnap removed one of his hands away from Karl’s back and up to his cheek but Karl’s eyes were closed refusing to make eye contact with his fiancé. “Show me those beautiful chesnut eyes Karl '' Sapnap whispered, making chills move all through-out Karl’s body.
“Karl...can you tell me five things you see?” Karl finally looked up from his fiancés’ chest, and focused on what the raventte said. “Y-You, the bedsheets..ah..my sleeve, my hair and..your hand..” Karl cringed at his voice, it sounded so broken, so….Alien like. “Okay, good. What are four things you can feel?” The ravenette asked softly, trying not to scare the trembling boy.
“The softness of my hoodie” He took a deep breath once again trying to regain his lost composure. “Your soft hand on my cheek” Karl paused, he could feel more tears budding in his eyes. “The sheets on our bed, my hair and the softness of the way your skin feels on mine.” Karl softly spoke.
“Now, three things you can hear.” Sapnap spoke, making his voice softer and more calming. Almost like he was trying to lull Karl to sleep “My voice, your voice and...and the sound of my breathing” Karl answered, he felt himself start to calm down the more he spoke with his fiancé, but the feeling of getting another panic attack or nightmarish dream was still looming.
Sapnao smiled softly at his fiancé. “Tell me two things you can smell” The time traveler took in a large inhale, taking in all the scents around him “Our musty bed sheets” They may have been musty and old but the musty and oldness of them brough Karl comfort. The time traveler took in another large inhale “The smell of the forest” Karl muttered, he didn’t know exactly why he smelt the forest but he did...Maybe the smell of the forest was comforting to Karl...
“Lastly one thing you can taste.” Sapnap softly whispered. Taste, It was just a weird question, out of all things to be asked Sapnap asked about taste. “Tears…” Karl muttered visibly starting to calm down, his breathing started to return to normal and tears starting to disappear. “Starting to feel better, my love?” Sapnap questioned his eyes starting to close and his touch with Karl getting softer. Karl could feel his thoughts starting to re-collect themselves. Karl responded to Sapnap by nuzzling his head into the crook of Sapnap’s neck. “Thank you Sap…” Karl muttered.
Silence fell over the room, the only audible is the small breaths coming from Sapnap and Karl.