Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sometimes Karl couldn’t figure out if the migraines came from the time travelling itself, or the memory loss. Or maybe, it was because of the stress that came with it all. Writing things down helped, but it was only a matter of time before Sapnap caught on. The first few times the traveler showed the side effects of his journey, it was easy to play it off. 

Then again, when it started, it was small things. Forgetting to grab things for the house, forgetting small tasks around Kinoko, or where certain supplies were. Simple things, he thought. Simple things he could blame on being busy. Sapnap never really mentioned the fact Karl was gone for longer and longer each time. Those excuses were getting harder to figure out. 

The point when Karl realized how bad it was getting was when he forgot the name of his own fiance. 

He’d just been looking through pictures. Good times from El Rapids, when they were all still together. The memories were bringing a smile to the man’s face. He could remember how lovely it all felt then. Shared kisses and whispers, hands being grabbed to excitedly pull another towards some new exciting thing. Everything was new and exciting with them. They were exciting! There were plans to get married, plans to be happy.

He didn’t even know where his fiance was now… 

What was his name again?  

That thought shook Karl to his core. No, there was no way. He definitely remembered. He had to. If not, he had to have it written down in his book. In a book. It had to be somewhere. He’d been staring at a specific picture. He and Sap were on either side, with the other in the middle of them. There was no unfamiliarity. There are clear, real memories of him being there. He remembered when they’d taken this picture. But the name was gone. He flipped the picture to see that back. No names. Nothing. Not even a date. 

He didn’t need to look, it would come to him, it would.  

It never did. 

Sapnap found him an hour later, sat at the edge of their bed-- it could easily fit all three of them. Maybe if he was here, Karl could remember-- eyes still glued to that picture.Something had been said about food, but it flew in one ear and out the other. He didn’t acknowledge anything until Sap took the picture from his hands. Karl looked up with a small ‘hey’, but didn’t actually try to stop him. 

`“Thinking about Quackity again?”

The brunette opened his mouth to answer, but there were too many things going through his brain to say. That’s his name? Where did he go? Why isn’t he there? Needless to say, the buffering symbol could be seen in his eyes. When Sap looked back at him from the picture, he could see it, too.

The bed dipped when Sapnap sat next to Karl. The image was set down in favor of hands being gently held. Karl felt like telling him then and there about the memory loss and the time travel. But he’d been warned not to. At this point, what reason does he have to not believe what the InBetween tells him? No, he can handle this himself. He can find the thing that’ll stop him from losing his memories. Maybe. 

“Yeah,” He finally managed to get out after a minute or two. Neither of them pushed any further. 

Dinner made him feel a little better. The two had decided on eating on the couch, instead of their table. Sapnap sat normally, Karl opting to lay down and throw his legs across the other’s lap. 

“See, really, when you call me nimrod, it’s really a compliment.” Sapnap had explained. Karl shook his head incredulously. 

“Sure, whatever you wanna think.”

“No, it’s true! Something, something, there was a biblical figure named Nimrod. Except the point is that he was just super smart. But in the old Looney Tunes series, Bugs called Elmer ‘nimrod’ as a sarcastic jab. Like if you were to replace it with, like, Isaac Newton or something.”

“Yeah but how long ago was that, even?” 

“All I’m saying is when you call me a nimrod, you’re admitting I’m smart.”

“I know what I mean when I say it, thank you.” 

Sap’s plate had been abandoned on the floor, taking Karl’s from him to set it right next to the first. Karl gave another ‘Hey’, this time followed by a “Stop taking things from me!” 

Karl’s legs were moved, Sap went to lay on him, chin coming to rest on his chest. The traveler, at least, expected him to have more to say. Instead, there was a soft silence. The black haired man closed his eyes, seeming to decide his fiance was, in fact, the best pillow. That was fine, he could stay there forever, if he really wanted. Maybe it would work as an anchor, keeping Karl rooted to the here and now, in this fixed point in time. It was perfect. It was almost perfect. From what he can remember, it’s been a while since either of them had seen Quackity. Karl went off on his own-- albeit unwilling at this point-- adventures. But was he even with them when they left El Rapids? 

He genuinely wasn’t sure. And it was starting to get to him. 

“We really need to find Quackity.” 

Sapnap’s eyebrows raised, but his eyes stayed closed. 

“You tried already, you were the one who went out to invite him here.”

He was? Had he talked to Quackity since then? That was a good sign, wasn’t it? 

“It’s been long enough,” He does think so, “ Someone on the server has to have seen him recently, right?” 

Sapnap didn’t really get a chance to speak before Karl started sitting up, forcing the other to move off of him. A look of concern was shot at the brunette, but he pretended to not see it. There was a lot to be concerned about, but Sap had no clue; Not really, anyway. Moving off the couch, Karl paced. Sapnap watched from the couch. 

“And if literally no one has seen him since then, then something has to be wrong, right? Like where would he be that literally no one has seen him? No, asking around is one of our best bets.” He mumbled out the last part of, “Or maybe there’s something in my library.”

“Karl--”

“It’s not like Kinoko doesn’t have signs. People know we’re here. And we just.. Haven’t heard from him. Hello?”

“Hey, Karl--”

“I don’t know what I’ll do if I--” Forget more than his name, “-- if we don’t look and it ends up being too late.”

“Listen to me--”

“Because if nothing’s wrong and he’s around, why isn’t he here ?”

A hand grabbed his arm, stopping Karl from his back and forth. He was going to burn a hole into the floor at this rate. Sap’s other hand ran through his own hair, a small sigh escaping his lips. 

“We can look tomorrow. You look like you’re about to pass out from stress.” He pulled Karl to sit back down, head moving to rest on Sap’s shoulder. “I miss him, too, you know. I… I also sometimes worry if something’s happened, but worrying this much won’t really help us until we know something, right?”

He was right. Karl still felt the need to start looking right away-- that every minute he waited, something could be happening. He could be whisked away at a moment’s notice. There was so much to think about, so much to do and no knowledge of how much time they would have. But then there was that look in Sapnap’s eyes, the one he had when Karl would get too overwhelmed, and freaked out. Moments like these. 

A few deep breaths were taken in the span of the silence, a hand playing with Karl’s hair and making him feel physically sleepy, as opposed to the mental exhaustion the outburst put him through. He knew, rationally, that Sap was just as sad about the whole situation as he was. Sap had to wonder where their fiance was, too. He had to deal with both that, and Karl keeping secrets that would only get worse over time. Karl had to shove down the guilt he felt with that thought. He was too tired for the guilt. 

“I think it’s time for bed.” 

Karl nodded in agreement. 

He would get a head start tomorrow, starting with the library. But it was not tomorrow. It was still night. And tonight, he had Sapnap right next to him, and that was enough comfort for him to sleep somewhat peacefully through the night. 

Chapter Text

The books had virtually nothing on where Quackity could be. And of course the last thing he remembers is the state of the original library after being dropped there by the InBetween. As far as Karl’s information goes, Q could have disappeared into thin air. According to Sapnap day two of looking, he might as well have done just that. They were going on day four now, but apparently things were silent across the area. 

A few random papers were thrown into the air with a noise of frustration. He really hoped those papers weren’t important. Or, if they were, at least he’d remember to pick them up and actually look at them before setting them somewhere. 

He really needed to organize the library.

Yeah, another thing to add to the steadily growing list of things you need to fix. 

Both hands went to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose with his pointer fingers. The other part of his duo (that should be a trio, as though he hasn’t repeated that in his head since he saw the hoking picture) was out asking around, seeing if anyone nearby would have seen the missing fiance. 

The server was a big place, but it was so easy to run into anyone.  It couldn’t be too long before they could find someone they’re actively looking for. Thinking positively, it would take a week, at most. Negatively speaking, the man is dead and no one wants to really think about that. So, Sap would be back with at least some kind of information. 

A walk around Kinoko Kingdom was always good for his nerves. It was a well-deserved break after being in the library. It could get really stuffy in there, sometimes. Maybe he’d call someone to help him with that, or he would put off fixing it. Always something that needed to be fixed. 

His communicator gave a small beep, and Karl checked to see who would be contacting him. 

<Sapnap> I think I might have found something helpful. 

<KarlJacobs> Well that would make one of us! 

<Sapnap> I’ll meet you at the house later, I’ve got a few errands to run before I head back. 

<KarlJacobs> Sure, I have a few more things to do at the library. I’ll see you at home. 

<KarlJacobs> <3

He put the communicator back in his inventory as it beeped again, but he didn’t need too many brain cells to figure what kind of response his boyfriend sent him. There was a genuine hint of a smile on his face as he made his way back to the library. He did want to know what Sapnap found. If he could get everything cleaned up quickly enough, he could definitely make it home first, no doubt. 

Karl almost didn’t realize how disoriented he was the moment his hand met the handle. One step in, and he could barely tell what was happening. He couldn’t even think of anything other than the fuzziness in his head. This, in reality, only lasted for a moment. He’d travelled again. 

This could not be the absolute worst possible time for this, was all he could think. 

He couldn’t remember why, though. Whatever he was doing just before that, it was all gone. He felt a deep sigh come out of himself as the annoyance he had in the first place dissipated. 

Whatever it was, it would have to wait, anyway. He had a job to do. 

Sapnap was the one to come home to an empty house. At first, he wondered if Karl had over asserted himself, expecting to find him passed out on the couch. But that wasn’t the case, either. He’d then, logically, checked the bedroom. Nope, no sign of Karl. 

The library was the other place he looked. The literal last place Karl said he would be. And yet, here Sap was. In the library. Still Karl-less. It was dark, with one lantern still holding onto its flame for dear life. He’d checked the entire building, but that left him confused. Maybe they’d somehow passed each other on his way there? 

He checked the communicator, shooting some quick messages. He waited in the library for a few minutes. No reply. Okay, Sap was heading back to the house. Because Karl would be there by now if they did pass each other. 

Sure, Karl also had a tendency of just disappearing. It wasn’t like it was forever. But now? Really? He was the one who was so adamant about searching as soon as possible. He was supposed to be in the library, looking for who knows what. So, the conclusion that made sense was that Karl had, in fact, passed him walking. Maybe taking some weird roundabout way. 

Still, the home was the exact same as it had been left. No sign of another life anywhere. He was just alone in the house, with not a single peep from the communicator. Had Karl even seen the message? A breath came out through his nose, and only then did he realize there was smoke. He needed to calm down. He’d just sit on the couch; wait for Karl to come back.

It took almost two days for Karl to come back. 

He was sitting near one of the fountains, seeming pretty dazed. The moment George told Sapnap, he bolted to the spot as quickly as possible. The shout of Karl’s name must have been pretty loud, because it caused the man to nearly jump out of his skin. 

Sap was genuinely unsure if he was happy or furious to see him. 

“What the hell, man? We’re going on a whole wild duck chase, and as soon as I get something, you just wander off? What’s that about?” 

There was not a hint of recognition in the traveler’s eyes, staring Sapnap up and down as though he was trying to figure something out. 

“Do I know you?” The question was so genuine, it caught Sapnap off guard. 

“You’re joking? Please tell me you’re joking.” 

Fuck.

It wasn’t even another beat before the look on Karl’s face morphed from confusion to complete and utter fear. There was a sputter, trying to find the right words to piece together in the least suspicious amount of time.

“I’m sorry, Sap. I didn’t mean that. I’m just…” He trailed off, not sure what he could say. What lie he could tell. Lying now felt really bad in his mouth, but he had to. He felt like something worse would happen if he even tried to explain. 

“You’ve just been gone for days!”

“I know, I know--” No, he didn’t know. How could he know? He was still trying to regain the memories that he needed to come back right now. A migraine was starting to set in. An attempt to ignore it was made. “I know, I’m sorry, Sap. I’ll explain everything later, but right now I’m… I can’t talk about it right now.”

An excuse. They wouldn’t talk about it later.

In fact, they didn’t talk much about anything for the rest of that day. Karl fell into a restless sleep the moment he made it to their room and their bed. He didn’t dream about anything, and the sleep itself did nothing to make his migraine go away, or make him less tired.

Maybe the drained look on his face is why Sap didn’t push what had happened just the day before on him. He didn’t know how he’d answer, anyway; he’d just try to make something up on the spot and hope his love believed him. He’s definitely not stupid. He knows something is up. This is torture.

Karl’s head felt like it was pounding as the two sat at the table. They’d made something simple for lunch, and they still had other things to talk about. 

“So,” Sap started, “Quackity.”

There was only a nod in response. Why was it so bright in here? He really wanted to go back to bed, but that wouldn’t help. It didn’t even seem like an option now that the discussion had basically started. And he wanted to find Quackity. He needed to find him. 

“Well, I did ask around. I was pretty much pointed towards the same area, but it was really George who gave the place’s name.” 

Wait, there was an actual location? So he wasn’t missing. That was good. Karl rubbed at his temples. 

“How the hell does George know anything? The guy sleeps more than any of us.”

Sap shrugged. “I guess he gets around more than we thought. We’re not his parents, we don’t keep tabs on him.”

“Right.” He wasn’t going to question too much. It wasn’t like anyone on the server knew how to actually communicate. There was plenty of proof for that. “Then where is the place? Is it close?”

“From what I know, it's basically south of us. Might take a good walk to get there, but it’s not farther than the L’Manhole. It’s a pretty new country, I’m surprised neither of us knew. Have you heard of--”

“WELCOME TO LAS NEVADAS!” A slime man greeted casino patrons, his boss not too far away, watching the people come and go. 

Chapter Text

“WELCOME TO LAS NEVADAS!” Slime has just started yelling at passing tourists. He was supposed to be learning how to greet people, but it really wasn’t long before it turned into the green dude getting very hyped about it, running to anyone and everyone. Quackity was mostly following him around, making sure he didn’t get into too much trouble. 

He was only half paying attention, though. There was another issue with one of the slot machines. He’d had it fixed, but it was still on the fritz. He really wanted to get it actually fixed, or replace the damn thing. Things really shouldn’t have already started breaking down. 

Just as Slime was about to run someone off with questions that may seem uneasy to a few, Q called him over. It caught the green boy’s attention immediately, oozing his way over with a smile on his face. 

“Hey, I need you to go find Sam. Tell him I need him for one of the machines.” Of course, he could always go looking himself, but the day was already proving to be longer than he wanted. He just wanted to retire to his office. 

Finding himself in his desk chair, Quackity let out a deep sigh, idly playing with the rings on his necklace. He never realized he was doing it, hands becoming so used to the jewelry being there. 

He’d almost managed to get his focus back on track when there was a knock at the door. He assumed it was Slime back with Sam. Really, he assumed that quest would take longer. It was actually almost unnerving how fast it was. Not that it mattered, the avian really should get back to his country. He still had broken things to fix, after all. 

“Come in,” He called, adjusting his tie as it was not Slime that came through the door. Fundy had his hands in his pockets, seeming to take a moment to speak. 

“Hey, you have some visitors looking for you.” Quackity’s eyes narrowed, mostly in thought. Even as his mind was trying to figure out who it would be, he motioned for the fox to bring them in. Q tried to be subtle as he pulled a knife from his desk drawer. Of course, this was only for a worst-case-scenario. 

It nearly fell out of his hand as his fiances walked through the door. His brain almost short circuited right then and there. His lovely fiances! Who abandoned him! Who made their own kingdom and never even invited him. Yet, here they were. Uninvited. In his country. The look of confusion on their faces rivaled his own. He slipped the knife into his back pocket. 

“Karl, Sapnap.” He kept his voice even. Circling around to the front of the desk, Q found himself leaning against it. Even if he had a good poker face, he had no clue how to really handle this. Neither of the other two had spoken, despite making their way further into the office. Fundy had already retreated. Whatever this was, he really had wanted no part of it. 

Karl was unsure of how to speak up. He’d really thought out scenarios where they’d see each other. The best case, Q was happy to see them, and they went back to normal, or at least back together. Judging by what he perceived as a slowly growing cold look from Quackity, the best case scenario wasn’t going to happen. 

“This is a really nice place,” Karl started, nearly cringing at the small talk. No one else was going to say anything; he might as well start somewhere.

“Thanks, I built it from the ground up.” Q found himself grabbing a poker chip from his desk, flipping it like a coin repeatedly. He still wondered why they were there. Why so suddenly? 

“Wow, that, uh, must have taken some time,” It was Sapnap who spoke next, keeping the topic going. 

“It did. But I guess I had a lot more after realizing you guys abandoned me to start your own.” Oh, there it was. 

Karl barely had a chance to get a word in after a soft ‘what’ was cut off. 

“What do you mean we abandoned you? You were the one who left El Rapids!” Sapnap snapped back, something Karl wasn’t expecting. Not yet, at least. Quackity seemed to take that just as well, throwing a hand in the air.

“Well, congratulations! I was doing a little building of my own, as you have definitely seen on your little adventure here. It’s almost like when I went back to find my oh so lovely boyfriends to show them this wonderful thing I made, there was no one there!

“Now, I wasn’t born yesterday, Sap. Some of us may lack the brawn with all that brute, but you fucked right off to your little mushroom bitch shack before I even had the chance!”

There was just more yelling, overlapping now as Sapnap and Quackity stood only inches apart. Karl was still trying to piece together whatever timeline Quackity was giving. He’d found himself walking over to break up a fight before it started. 

“Bullshit!” Sapnap was yelling now, smoke coming out of his mouth. Never a good sign, especially indoors. “Karl told you! We never even heard a fucking peep!”

“Well I don’t know who Karl told because it sure as hell wasn’t me!” 

Oh, maybe he shouldn’t have tuned back into the yelling. Both of them were looking at him, now. Karl felt anything he’d managed to puzzle together in his head come apart. 

Quackity was looking at him with anger. Sapnap was staring at him in a way that told him to confirm that. But he couldn’t confirm it. That was why he was here trying to fix this. Suddenly, it was uncomfortably quiet. 

“Karl, you told him, right?”

I don’t remember is not a good answer. It will make everything worse. He can’t lie his way out of this one. Sure, he could lie, convince Quackity that he definitely did. More lies. He was so sick of the lies. He’d done it to Sapnap a handful of times. Why couldn’t he think of anything here? 

It was because of the way they looked at him. Sap’s face grew into worry at the lack of a response. Quackity would call him on any lie, he knew. His name was said again, nudging him to answer the question. He really didn’t want to answer the question. 

“I… I forgot…” It was probably the truest answer. He felt his heart rise up in his throat at the absolute disbelief from Quackity. Karl and Sap were shoved away with a laugh. The traveler refused to look at Sapnap. He could barely handle seeing someone he loved so angry at him. “Quackity, I’m so so--”

“I do not want to hear it.” He was laughing. It wasn’t the kind of laughter he’d give after telling a joke, or something Karl and Sap would have heard when smothering him in affection. It was bitter. Quackity took a moment to compose himself and stand up straight. “You mean to tell me that you just went this long forgetting to invite me. That’s somehow more insulting, it really is.”

“We didn’t even know this country existed until--”

“I must have lost the invitation. Or you know, maybe I just forgot.”  

It all really came back to Karl’s memory, the traveler thought. It was his fault Quackity hadn’t come back. He wouldn’t be able to fix this, would he? He almost gave up right there and then, spilling over about the time travel, the InBetween, the memory loss, the fact he has no clue how to fix it. He keeps it in, though. He opened his mouth to speak again, but it only came out as a half-yelp as Quackity grabbed his hoodie collar. Sap almost moved to step in, but Q held up his free hand. 

“Really, allowing you in my country as long as I have is a courtesy in and of itself. Neither of you are allowed here, got it? You’re unwelcome.” He moved his hand back, finally grabbing that knife. It was pointed threateningly at Karl, who put his hands up. As though it would defend him in the least bit. “If I catch either of you here again, I’ll have you killed on the spot.” 

It was a hollow threat, but Q could tell by the look of fear in Karl’s eyes, he definitely fell for it. Karl was let go as Sapnap really made his way over. Q stepped back with a smug grin. 

“Quackity, please--” Karl pleaded.

“Get out of my country,” Quackity responded in kind. 

“Let’s just go,” Sapnap agreed. 

Karl was torn. He wanted to stay, try to explain. Sap was already attempting to nudge him to leave, a hand on the traveler’s shoulder. His mouth felt dry, his hands were twitching. Karl couldn’t just leave like this, could he? 

He didn’t really get a choice as Sap pulled him to the door. Green eyes never left Q, not until the door was closed and Karl’s eyes snapped to Sapnap. The two of them stood there, staring at each other. It was the first time since the argument started that Karl could see the look on his fiance’s face. It wasn’t anger. It would have been easier if the look was anger. Not by much, but it would definitely beat the look of sheer disappointment.  

“I can find a way to fix this, Sap, I--” 

“I really think you’ve done enough, man.” If there was one way to shut up the brunette, that had to be the line to keep anymore words in his throat. Sapnap was already walking away, not waiting for the other to follow. 

The journey home was uncomfortably quiet.

Chapter Text

He could just burn it to the ground. The library, the journals, the evidence of any and all time travel. They’d only left stupid El Rapids in the first place because of the stupid library he had to keep safe because of that stupid egg. But there was still the whole ‘being pulled along and not knowing how to fix it or anything for that matter’ issue that would come whether or not the library stood. With everything else going wrong in Karl’s life, he wasn’t about to piss off the seemingly sentient palace that seemed to have control over his entire life. 

A noise of frustration left as the palm of his hands pressed further into his eyes. The motion in and of itself made flashing shapes appear behind his eyes, and he knew if he kept it up, he’d just end up with another migraine. Really, when had everything become so difficult all of the time? It really couldn’t have been so long since everything was right and normal. Or, as normal as it really could get on the server.

There was at least a point he remembered for himself. And Quackity. And Sapnap. 

Oh Prime, Sapnap had barely even talked to Karl since the fight. The look of disappointment and hurt never really seemed to leave, and all at once it was starting to feel like Karl’s excuses and attempts to fix it on his own were catching up too quickly. Because what if Sap left, too? What if he just decided it wasn’t worth all this? Quackity had made it so clear that he was unhappy. He’d never get over the anger that had come from that visit. 

Maybe, he hated the thought, it wasn’t worth it. Maybe they should just give up on him, leave him to his disappearing act. Leave him to focus on fixing the past until he forgets them entirely. Until he forgets who he is outside of the InBetween. 

Maybe the library floor wasn’t the best for this breakdown. 

Just breathe, stupid, Karl scolded himself, hands finally leaving his eyes to push himself into a sitting position. He really needed to get it together before it was too late to even try. Like.. Sure, maybe one of his fiances had physically threatened him and, yeah, he had to keep lying to the other and, fine! Maybe it was starting to feel like a little much weighing on his chest. 

He ended up waiting for Sapnap at their home. Sitting at the kitchen table, he’d asked the other if they could talk. Karl had no clue what they would talk about. But he couldn’t stand the way things were with them. With them. It had never been like this.  

“How are… you feeling?” It was a slow question to fall from Karl’s lips, as if the words were picked so carefully. 

He only got a half-assed shrug as a reply. “Ran a few errands with George today. It wasn’t bad, but my feet hurt by the end of it.” 

“Oh, well I’m glad you got something done, at least.”

“What’d you do today?”

“I had uh…” A breakdown in the library-- “Work to do. In the library.”

“Yeah. Why is the library so important again?” 

The question caught the traveler so off guard, he let out what passed more for a laugh than anything. It was a good question, though.

“At this point? Honk if I know. But I gotta make sure it’s safe, at least.”

“Safe from what? Is the egg even an issue anymore? It’s just a library, dude.”

“It’s my job. Kinda like how Sam makes sure the prison is safe, I make sure the library is safe.”

“Didn’t a whole security issue just happen with the--”

“It was the only thing I could think of, I don’t know.”

Things felt normal for a moment as they laughed it off together. It was short-lived, fading off into short scoffs almost immediately. 

“No, but really, what is in that library that has you gone for days at a time?”

“What makes you think it’s the library?”

“So you’re just running off on your own for some other reason that isn’t the one place you never seem to fucking leave?” Oh, that one had a hefty bite of sarcasm. Sapnap was shaking his head, tongue in cheek as he waited. 

“No. What? That’s not-- Sap, I just… Deal with a lot of private information. It could take me days to--”

“What kind of information?”

“Sapnap, I just told you it’s pri--”

“Are you meeting up with someone?”

“I’m not cheating. If you’d just listen--”

“You just fuck off to nowhere all the time and let me guess, the same thing happened when you just so happened to forget to tell Quackity. Or when you forget other dumb shit. Because either you’re lying about one thing or the other. So what? What could have made you act so weird. And, Karl, if you’re actually having memory issues, we really need to--”

Karl couldn’t do it. He couldn’t listen to this. He didn’t have an excuse. He didn’t have a way to explain that would be allowed. But he couldn’t stand what it was causing. How could he, when even in all of Sap’s upset, he was still worried for his partner. It was all too much for what was currently happening. A yell ripped out of his throat as he stood up, quickly. 

“You think I wanted any of this to happen? Do you think I feel great about fucking up so severely? About ruining the whole relationship? Do you know what it felt like, in that room, realizing it’s my fault? I can’t stand it, it feels worse knowing I didn’t just hurt you, I hurt him. I hurt both of you.

“All I wanted to do was fix things. All I wanted to do was fix things!” The traveler had a very sudden feeling this was already in dangerous territory. He couldn’t stop it now, even if he wanted to. “I don’t even have a choice anymore! I did at first but it was just, I don’t know? Exciting? And then I saw what happens, and I-- I knew I had to stop it from getting this bad! And I can’t stray from the path, and I can’t figure out what I need to and I don’t know what I’ll do if I forget you again.”

It would be cruel irony to say time was frozen, however metaphorically. Karl’s hands had found their way to the chair, knuckles turning white with how tight his grip was. Sap seemed to be processing. Firstly, that Karl had snapped at all. He felt guilty in the aftermath, having pushed so far, but it finally got him some answers. The answers were just as confusing, unfortunately. 

Karl felt himself start to cry. Which sucked. Crying really sucked. He tried to wipe at his eyes quickly, knowing he couldn’t hide it but hating the feeling. Sap just looked confused now, any anger he had fizzling out. 

“Karl, is there actually something wrong with your memory? Is someone doing this shit to you?” Sap’s voice was so worried. It was now plainly obvious something was wrong. Something had been wrong for a while. He started to move over to where Karl was standing, but the taller held a hand up to stop him. 

“I. Might throw up.” It wasn’t a lie. He did want Sap to hug him or give him some comfort. It also felt wrong to want that at this moment in time. Sapnap should be angry. Karl thinks he should be angry. He was still only getting half-answers, but it was better than the straight up lies that were the alternative. The brunette swallowed the lump in his throat; it could have been his heart, leaping too high in fear for all he knew. It took a few breaths, a surprisingly welcome moment of silence despite how loud everything felt. 

Then, he moved to slowly stand up straight, Sapnap’s eyes not once leaving him. 

“It’s…. So much harder to explain.” It came out strained, careful. 

“Well, I’d sure like some kind of explanation. I kinda think I’m owed one, babe.” 

Oh, he was using pet names and Karl’s heart melted and all it did was make him feel guiltier. Thoughts about the InBetween, the words that never felt quite right, filled Karl’s head. Really, he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. It was against a rule, wasn’t it? How much was he willing to tell Sapnap? Hell, the painful fear of Sap getting tired and leaving was coming up, being argued by the fact Sap should leave with how much Karl is hiding. 

That was probably how he came to a decision. 

“Tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow?”

Karl nodded. He would have to come clean. But he needed the time to figure out what he would say. 

“I’m gonna… I’m gonna sleep in the Library tonight. Give you some space.”

When any confirmation, however hesitant, did come, Karl nodded again, hands moving to hide in the pocket of his hoodie. No other words were exchanged before Sapnap was left alone in the house. 

It was a nice night, at least. It would have actually sucked if after all that, Karl had to walk through the rain. Even so, he was lost in his thoughts. He was telling Sapnap. He was so tired, so worn out by all of this. Everything the following day would either go very poorly or well enough to fix the issues between himself and Sapnap. Man, if only he’d made the decision to just tell them when they found Quackity. There was a shudder as Karl remembered the knife being pointed at him. Q had been angry. Rightfully so. He wasn’t sure he could fix that one.

No, he could definitely figure this all out, once tomorrow happened. Hands moved to wipe at tired eyes, feet stopping just in front of the door. A voice in the back of his head joked once more about burning the place to the ground. That would just make all his hard work for nothing, and if Sap knew about what he was doing, it would be easier to get through, right? The disappearing act wouldn’t be so much of an issue. Maybe, actually, this was going to be a good thing for him. Maybe breaking a rule would be okay, if it was just Sapnap. Surely, the InBetween would forgive him this once, right? 

He finally let out a breath, taking in the sight of Kinoko Kingdom and the stars that seemed to look over the entire SMP. No, he was going to be okay. He was going to be able to remedy his relationship, then he was going to figure out how to really fix things. He really hoped he felt this way in the morning. 

The moment Karl’s hand touched the doorknob, that same feeling of disorientation returned. The click of the door was what brought him back to reality, if only a little. No, this could not be happening now. He was wrong, last time wasn’t the worst possible time. Now was. One thing at a time! He could only deal with one thing at a time! He pulled his hand off of the door, turning around and attempting to walk away from the building entirely. Change of plans, Sapnap was getting a rundown and he was getting it now. He would profusely apologize to the spitfire that was his fiance later, he promised in his head. 

Even as he walked away, towards his home, the fuzzy feeling in his head was going strong. It was starting to affect his vision, going randomly blurry. It felt like he was walking nowhere, trying to keep his feet steady and his head on straight. Grey eyes felt really heavy, and he tried to yell out to Sapnap-- It was a hope that he was close enough to his home, and that the other was still awake to hear it. 

A migraine took over, this time very obviously caused by fighting something he had no real power over. The fingers pressed into his temples did nothing to soothe the absolute pounding against his skull. He had to remember. He had to remember.  

He looked up, suddenly in what looked like a city. And also suddenly being appointed cameraman. Well, this was a weird assignment from the InBetween. Any other worries were, regrettably, forgotten. 

The InBetween was cruel, he didn’t think, too busy being pulled back and forth between straying from the path, not straying from the path-- Going through the portal, not going through the portal. All he knew was he was running, vague threats of losing everything, not remembering any of his loved ones. He was getting very close to having to make some kind of choice. 

He didn’t really feel much different when finally getting through the portal. No more or no less watched, which he supposed wasn’t the worst. 

Karl didn’t start feeling any different until the haziness kicked in. It was wondered if he’d ever get over how disoriented going between places would be. This was a little different than normal, though. Wherever he was, it sure wasn’t the library. In honesty, it looked more like a gas station. Why would he be left at a gas station? Why wasn’t he at the library? He was supposed to be home.

There wasn’t really a lot of time to think on these things, a migraine hitting him at nearly full force. He could feel one of his eyes water at the pain, palms pressing hard against his eyes. He'd attempted to walk forward, but an unknown hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. 

Something was said to him, but he wasn't really in a place to process that right now. He looked over to the one who had him. It was already hard to focus, but even attempting to identify the other proved much more difficult by the mask covering the lower half of his face. There was almost a look of concern. 

"Karl, you can't be here." That one came out clearer, though the pounding in the traveler's head still remained. He really needed to fucking sit down. 

"Who are you?" It came out harsher than expected. Usually he had more time to collect himself. He was supposed to be back in the library. The person's hand squeezed down on his shoulder. He wasn't sure if he was thankful for the grounding, or wishing the hand would stop touching him altogether. 

The fluorescents of the gas station before them were suddenly too very bright, and tears fell from his eyes. It was honestly too painful to focus. Or stand, really. 

“Are you alright?" That sure was the question of the day. Finally the hand was off of his shoulder, though the stranger still held it out, as if Karl looked as wobbly as he felt. 

A few swallows, hands wiping at tears that kept his vision blurry. It probably looked like he was crying, but it was just this stupid migraine. "Uhm, I think I need to lay down." 

Sam was just lucky at how quick he caught Karl. Well, this wasn't good. Hoisting the brunette up to move him, there was a quick mutter under the still conscious man's breath. 

Chapter Text

The position Karl found himself sleeping in was uncomfortable. A hand went to rub at his eyes, the previous migraine gone and forgotten. Now, most of his pain came from the way he’d been slumped, nearly falling out of his seat. It took him a moment to push himself up, finally opening his eyes to what looked like a desk. It was a lot different from anything he’s seen at the library.

That was when the short interaction he’d had hit him. He still wasn’t able to place the man who’d talked to him, nor could he even remember much of what was said to him. Eyes frantically darted around the current room, trying to pinpoint anything that would help him figure out where he was. There was no telling how long he’d been out of it, or even why he couldn’t seem to bring up any memories of where he was supposed to be outside of the library. Maybe he did know this place. It didn’t seem like he lived here, or maybe the stranger would have taken him to some sort of house. Maybe a bed. A chair in some kind of professional-looking office? That was just odd. 

Something that he did remember was the man he saw said his name. He can’t pick out the sentence, but he was sure the man called him Karl. 

Eventually he managed to get himself to his feet, though he wasn’t really sure what to do from here. He was literally in some unfamiliar place, left alone in some room. It would have been nice to have something-- anything, really-- to compare where he was to where he was meant to be. If this room was meant to feel familiar, it didn’t. If anything, he could joke that maybe he was at a job interview he forgot about, however unlikely. The door felt like a good place to start. 

Once close enough, he only barely caught the sound of voices on the other side of the door. It didn’t really seem to matter so much until he’d grabbed the door handle, the sounds going quiet when he turned it. The sound of a soft ‘go,’ could be heard before the door started to swing towards Karl, only barely giving him the chance to steady himself. 

The door perpetrator was the one to keep him from falling, a hand grabbing the front of his hoodie. This definitely wasn’t the same guy as before, Karl noted. He was shorter, with no mask covering his face. The traveler’s eyes did end up on the scar along the other’s eye. He ended up falling a few steps back, the other following him forward. 

It wasn’t until Karl was very obviously steady that the man with the scar unhanded him. The look he was getting was not happy, though. He wasn’t sure what exactly he’d done, but he had a feeling this new stranger didn’t like him already. It wasn’t until the stranger pointed back to the chair, spitting out a “Sit” before making his way to his own chair. This was his desk. Karl supposed that made sense. 

For a moment, the fear may have been that he’d stumbled into some mafia base. Like he was trespassing on the mob, and was about to wear the concrete shoes. Swim with the fishes. The jokes in his head made his mouth twitch a little. He had to hold back at least a small laugh. 

“What the fuck is so funny? I told you to sit down.” 

Oh, right, Karl might be in actual danger. Cool.

He quickly moved back to the chair he’d woken up in, already left with more questions than answers. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” That was a good question was the response Karl wanted to give, if he was being honest. There was a hesitation, wracking his brain for a lie. It almost felt like a trap. It felt like there was an answer this man was looking for, but the time traveler had nothing.

In reality, he didn’t know why he was there. It seemed like none of his memories were resurfacing, and, by the looks of it, it’s been long enough that something should have come back. This was bad, actually. That thought alone made this situation all that much worse. 

Okay, focus on the positive. What did he remember? Well, his name, obviously. The server. He was a time traveler. His job was to protect the library and fix the timeline. Fix it from what? That seemed to be it. He tried to pull anything else, something outside of the In Between and the Other Side and all of that utter nonsense he had no business thinking about right now. He’d been warned. Karl had been warned, and this was punishment. Maybe this was punishment for that. 

Fingers snapping pulled him from this, wide eyes looking back at the other man. “Hello? Are you there?” 

“Sorry, I…” This was hard. He spoke slowly. “Well, I am… A traveler. Just, uh. Traveling… through?” Technically not a lie. The other looked unamused, one eyebrow raising. 

“Listen, man. I really don’t know where I am, so if I’m trespassing, I can really just get up and go and never come back. You already look pretty unhappy with me being here. I get it. Some dude comes up on your… Mafia thing? I guess? And that’s really sus as hell, you know? So I definitely hear you. What I’m saying is, I can just.. Go.”

“Mafia… What? What does any of that even mean? Are you actually shitting me right now?”

The face had gone from unamused to incredulous, and Karl at least thanked Prime that the guy about to kill him was pretty. He wondered if they made concrete shoes like actual shoes. Maybe like clogs.

“You’re being serious? You have no clue where you are? You just happened to stumble into my country?” 

“I’m trespassing in a whole country?!”

“You are being serious.” A hand went up to the stranger’s mouth, no longer looking at Karl. The gears seemed to be turning in his head, like he was weighing his options. Before anything, he nodded, taking out his communicator to shoot a quick message. Then, he started to laugh. “Well, there goes one threat to my safety, that’s for sure!” 

Karl was lost. “What?”

“Here I was, thinking you were a spy! How silly of me, right? No, no, listen. You see, I’m just a little protective of Las Nevadas, which is the country you’re currently in. There can be conflict around here sometimes, you can’t ever be too careful.” Now the man stood, making his way over to Karl to put out a hand. Karl took it in a firm shake. “You can call me Quackity. 

“I’m so sorry for this treatment, starting right now, you’re a VIP guest. I’ll get you a nice room to stay in, something decent to wear--” Karl made a small noise of protest at the hidden insult, “--And I can show you around my country. I think you’re gonna love it here, Karl.” 

There it was again. This man knew his name. “How do you know my name?”

He was going to get at least one answer. It was going to drive Karl mad. Quackity’s face did falter. It was so hard to spot, Karl didn’t even notice it. 

“Sam, my business partner, said you told him before your little fainting spell. What was that about?”

“I’ve been getting migraines lately, I think that one was just too much or something.” Finally, an actual full truth was exchanged. Q nodded, taking that answer at face value. He definitely seemed much more… agreeable now. Karl felt something off about that, but something felt off about everything right now. The hand that had been holding Karl’s in a handshake never really left, and now moved to help pull him out of his seat. 

There was a knock at the door shortly after, Quackity calling a confirmation to come in. The first stranger-- Sam, that’s what Quackity called him-- made his way into the room, as well as another; A fox man. The grin aimed at Karl was now pointed towards Sam and the other. 

“Hey, Fundy, can you bring my valued guest to one of the rooms in the hotel? Make sure he gets one with a good view. As an apology for mistaking him for a spy.” 

Sam looked between the two of them, not quite sure himself what to make of the situation. He’d tried to fill Fundy in, but there wasn’t really a lot of information. 

“Uh… Sure. Follow me.” Fundy motioned to Karl, who slowly made his way out of the office. Sam and Quackity watched them go, Q waiting just a few moments to finally drop the fake grin. His fingers went straight to the bridge of his nose, a tight scowl finding it’s way to his face. 

“What happened?” Sam asked, a mix of slight concern and genuine curiosity in his voice. The creeper hybrid moved his mask off, arms crossing shortly after.

“I don’t know what he’s playing at. If he’s playing at all. We’re just going to entertain it for a little bit. Figure out why he’s here and what’s up with this little act. Because really. What are the odds of whatever his fucking ‘amnesia’ issue is bringing him all the way out here?” No, it really did feel too planned. Karl just had to be really good at this act, or something. There was no way Karl waltzed into Las Nevadas with virtually no memory, and passed out. 

Quackity wasn’t worried about Karl, he was just confused about the situation. 

The situation of his (Would it be ex? Their last meeting hadn’t gone well,) fiance not knowing who he is. 

“I’m surprised you’re making him a guest. I would have expected you to try to hire him.” Sam was making a joke right now. Some days, Q would have chewed his friend’s head off for joking while he was under so much stress, but the joke did pull a small scoff of a laugh out of him. 

“Shut the fuck up, Sam.” It was said with his own air of joke, before letting out a deep sigh. “Do you think he’s serious?”

A hum came from the taller, even if he already had his opinion. “He did seem really disoriented when I found him. I wonder if something happened before he got here. And if it is a case of memory loss, what do we do if and when he eventually gets those memories back?”

Ugh, that was just another thing to deal with. “We can cross that bridge later. Sleep on it, or something. I need a drink.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea right now?”

No, but you’d need one too if this was Ponk, was something Q didn’t say. Instead, the words out of his mouth were, “You worry too much,” Before promptly exiting his own office, heading straight for the casino bar.

Chapter Text

Sapnap had waited. He’d waited for Karl to eventually emerge from the library, hopefully ready to talk about everything. Waiting was never an easy thing, though. There was an anxiety that clawed at him through that whole night. There was just something so wrong in the interactions they’d been having. There was something so wrong about the way his fiance reacted to him. Sap had been left wondering if he’d been too harsh. But what was he supposed to think?

One of his fiances had up and left, and the other seemed to be forgetting things at an alarming rate. Quackity seemed to hate him now, and Karl was keeping secrets. The firestarter was finding himself drained at the stress of it all. Part of him wanted so badly to be angry. How could he get married to people who pulled shit like this? 

There had to be a reason. He would get that reason from Karl. Then, he’d decide how to react. He’d figure out what the fuck was going on, and finally get some kind of closure. That was best case scenario. 

Actually, he thought, Best case scenario would be both of them here, eating a normal fucking meal over the dumbest small talk. Best case scenario was going back to when they were just happy together. When they were just figuring out this whole ‘polygon’ thing. 

It had been about a full day when Sapnap started getting annoyed. There was still no sign of the brunette leaving the library. No one in Kinoko had seen Karl at all, according to people he passed on a very fast walk. There was no way this was happening now. There was no way that, once again, Karl had up and disappeared. 

The library really had been a last resort. As much as he wanted answers, he didn’t want to pressure his lover. There was a lot of faith in the promise of finally getting to hear the truth from the culprit himself. The library door was pushed open, Sapnap finding himself met with silence. There was no sign of Karl even being there. 

No sounds of feet. No sounds of rustling paper. No muttering under his breath while he was lost in thought. All sounds that Sap had been desperately hoping to hear. He could still be there. Sleeping, maybe. Yeah, he just fell asleep at one of the desks. 

“Karl?” His voice felt too loud in the room, only to be met with pure silence. Sapnap could feel something welling up. Disappointment? Anger? It was bullshit, he thought. He was supposed to get an explanation, but instead he’s met with another disappearance? No, absolutely not.

At this point, Sapnap was not careful about being quiet, making his way through the entire library in an attempt to prove his brain wrong. Karl wouldn’t do this to him. But he did, and the fiery man was getting to the end of his rope. He could only take so many secrets; he could only take so much of his fiances disappearing without a trace. 

He had the now all too common thought of burning the place down. As he looked on the tables, shelves, anywhere for a book Karl himself had written in, he tried to reach for any explanation. Oh, he could scream. He really could. All of the books on the tables were, unfortunately, just books. What was he expecting? This was just a library. But it was also where Karl spent most of his time. 

Sapnap sat on one of the chairs, hands covering his eyes. He applied pressure for a moment before decidedly leaving his hands to rest on the desk. Okay, so. 

There was a lot to think on. A lot of possibilities for the next time he saw Karl. How would he even ask the other to explain this? How could he do it without disappointment and anger finding its way out of his throat? First, it was Quackity, who still had gone ahead and made a country without them. Even before Kinoko. And it wasn’t like Q had come to try to patch things over, either, when he found out. And Karl, with the secrets, the lies, the disappearing act. They used to be so close, and Sapnap’s angry thoughts are only paused by memories of shared kisses and the feeling of hands in his own.

He’d never asked for much, you know? Sure, he was a little reckless at times, and definitely threatened to kill more than just a few pets on the server. But everyone did bad shit. Was him watching his best friend go power hungry to the point of imprisonment not enough? Or watching his other friend lose himself in sleep, not even really knowing what was and wasn’t a dream? 

Any flame was extinguished by this point, but he still found himself angry. Narrowed eyes scanned the room, landing on a rug that had been moved in all his pacing. Of course, he wasn’t paying enough attention when looking to notice it. 

There was a trapdoor under the rug. 

Sapnap almost couldn’t bring himself to descend down. The door hadn’t been locked, to his utter surprise. He’d suspected a lot more fight. He was ready to put up more of a fight with the door. But there it was, open wide and a ladder down staring him in the face. It wasn’t dark, either. It still had torches in it, as though it was frequently used. 

“Karl.” He tried to call down, keeping his voice steady. Maybe this is where he went. Maybe he’d fallen asleep in this hidey hole the other had no knowledge about until this moment. 

Unfortunately, the lack of answer was enough to tell him that wasn’t the case. So, down he went. It really was a normal enough room, though smaller than what he was expecting. The sight of more books didn’t really surprise him. It was when, upon closer inspection, he realized every book in this room was a journal. Each journal having a labeled place. The lost city of Mizu? The wild west? What, was Karl ditching him so much to write stories? Did he think Sapnap would care if he was a writer? 

In any other circumstance, Sap would have respected the other enough to not read the books so very obviously put out of the way. But it might be what Sapnap was looking for: answers. 

He wasn’t sure what to look at. There were a good few books, and he wasn’t exactly sure that some fiction was going to give him anything. So, he went for the one labeled ‘diary entry.’

There was a mumble to himself about how Karl would have to forgive him before opening the book. There it was, a book signed by his missing fiance. There was an obvious hesitation about this whole thing, even if his brain was screaming at him to keep going. The first page nearly hit him like a brick. 

Each time I travel I remember less and less. I really need to start writing these as soon as I come back to the present day…

There it was. Confirmation that something was going on. Right there on the page written in a familiar handwriting. His mouth was agape, and he knew this was only the beginning of the news. Travelling? Where was he travelling? He started to read more quickly. Time travel? Time travel was what was affecting his memories? 

I need to keep this quiet. I can’t tell anyone what happens, or how I know these stories...

He finished one diary, and immediately went to another. He saw about the in between, how it was taking his memories, somehow? 

I have to keep looking deeper and deeper into the InBetween so I can find my way to ensure that I don’t lose everyone that’s close to me.

This was just before they’d come to Kinoko. Just how far back did this go? There were more diaries, but Sapnap couldn’t bring himself to keep reading. Everything had been put back where he’d found it, and pulled himself up the ladder and out of the small room. He’d closed the doors on his way out, but there was no way he was staying in that library. 

Karl was a time traveler. He was time travelling to fix.. Something? Maybe a lot of things. But why not tell anyone? Did he come up with that rule? The rambling from the other night had started to make sense. He couldn’t tell anyone. Not him. Not Quackity--

Quackity. Quackity wouldn’t know, either. He wouldn’t have seen any of it. No, Quackity deserved to know. He deserved to know and he deserved to hear it from Karl, too. So, he’d go tell Q. Explain things, as best as he would be able. Then, they’d find Karl. 

The threat of him being killed upon entering Las Nevadas was shoved to the back of his mind. He knew how to fight, he could easily at least get through whoever or whatever was thrown at him. That was what decided it. Sapnap was heading to Las Nevadas the moment he’d grabbed his supplies. 

He wasn’t going to lose these two.

Chapter Text

The room Karl had wasn’t bad. Sure, the whole situation was confusing, and none of his memories had even shown a hint of resurfacing, but man was this bed soft. He’d collapsed onto it sometime after realizing he didn’t even have his books to reference. The library’s location in reference to wherever he was decidedly stayed a mystery. So now, here he was, face in a pillow for the past hour or two, waiting for something to happen. 

He thought about Quackity. The dude was odd, that was for sure. Karl still wasn’t fully convinced he hadn’t stumbled into a Mafia. Las Nevadas. That sounded like a mafia name to him if he ever heard one. Plus, why would he be so concerned with spies if there wasn’t weird mafia shit to hide? Someone that pretty always had something to hide.

Okay, he’ll admit that last one was a bit dramatic, but the scary man was also very pretty. His mind wandered to where that scar had come from. Of course, the only thing that he could think of was another mafia scenario. What was it today with him and mafias?

Luckily, an odd sounding knock at his door was enough to end the train of thought. He’d finally pulled his head up, forgetting the lights had in fact been on. He’d made sure to call out a ‘hold on’ to whoever was at the door as he rubbed the light flashes from his eyes. Another moment had been taken after he sat up to adjust himself. 

He really wasn’t prepared for yet another stranger at the door. There was definitely something… Interesting about the man with bits of what? Slime? Dripping from his body. Karl decided not to think too hard on it. The man had a big smile, and it wasn’t long before he’d started to speak. 

“Quackity from Las Nevadas told me to bring you this.” A suit bag Karl hadn’t previously registered was shoved towards him ungracefully, causing the traveler to fumble with his grip. He held tight to the hanger, leaving the bag itself to drag on the ground. Whatever was in there might get wrinkled, but he really didn’t care much about that. “He wants me to tell you word for word to meet him at the casino bar tonight. When I asked him why, he said, ‘it’s a friend thing,’ to which I said ‘like the hole?’ He then said ‘Yes. Like the hole.’ He also tried to kill me for being a spy.” 

None of that had made sense, Karl decided after playing it over in his head. He gathered the important part. Casino bar. The suit bag was slung over his shoulder, the green dude in front of him still standing there. It felt like a stare off, though Karl would rather just have looked anywhere else. 

Oh, he was waiting on a reply.

“Where is the casino?” He asked finally.

“Oh, it’s not far from here.”

Another pause. The man put his hand up for a high five. “Dap me up!” 

Karl did, despite his confusion, dap him up. 

‘Tonight’ was so vague. It didn’t really give the time traveller much to plan off of. He assumed he had the time to walk around Las Nevadas. At least this way, he wouldn’t get so lost every time he was left to his own devices. Luckily, he’d realized pretty quickly that the place wasn’t really that giant, comparatively speaking. Not that it was a complaint. It made it easier to get around, when you can see nearly any of the landmarks from most locations. 

Then again, it was pretty hard to not see that big old space needle from miles away. 

There were a lot of nice buildings here. The casino was actually pretty easy to spot, and Karl spent a few good minutes wondering how he’d navigate that building. Things for future Karl to worry about. Maybe when future Karl gets his memories back. 

That was another thing. This was a little long for absolutely no memories to have resurfaced. The walk was supposed to help, but it was like all of the thoughts were trapped; locked behind a door with no key in sight. He didn’t even have a journal. Of course he didn’t. That would make it all too easy. A frown crossed his face as he was unfortunately reminded of the universe hating him. Or at least the InBetween. His frown deepened at the fact of all things he could remember, it was that place. Place? Thing? Omniscient being who is essentially holding him at gunpoint for breaking some stupid rules he never even asked for?

You’re the one who didn’t follow the warnings, a tiny voice in the back of his head scolded, You should have stopped time travelling before it got this far.

He was just trying to do something good. The road to hell really might have been paved with good intentions, but Karl felt more like he was in an unsure limbo. It wouldn’t really surprise him if he did die, and his punishment in limbo was this memory loss. Stuck dead and not even realizing it, not knowing if anything he did made a difference. No knowledge of if anyone would even miss him. Not knowing if he failed. 

Okay, time to push that thought out of his head. 

Karl Jacobs was not dead. The pinch to his arm proved that.

He may not be in limbo, but whatever this was, it was teetering on the edge of hell in his brain. 

Quackity’s thoughts weren’t faring much better, to be honest. Not that he would admit that to anyone but himself. He watched Sam work on the still broken slot machine, having given up in frustration at least an hour prior. At the moment, save for the sound of tools against metal and the whirring of the casino itself in the background, it was pretty quiet. 

He worked to distract idle thoughts by thinking through his plans. He had a few meetings to get through, mostly more building plans. He had a trip to the prison… Nevermind, that also wasn’t the best distraction. Thinking about the prison and Dream would just ruffle his feathers more. 

His mind went back to Karl. The others had come to the agreement that if he remembered anything, he didn’t show it. It really seemed like there was no recognition anywhere in his eyes. That doesn’t just happen to people, right? Well, Ranboo also had memory issues. But that couldn’t be the same, could it? This was stupid, Quackity decided. He still wasn’t even sure he believed Karl’s convenient story. Maybe everyone else was fooled, but if Q had learned anything on this server, it was that you really couldn’t trust anyone. No matter how much you cared about them. 

And he didn’t care about whatever this was. His fiances had made their beds when they left him behind. All he was doing was playing along until it was all revealed. When he could catch Karl in the lie, or expose it for what it was. He’d figure out what the end game here was, and he’d laugh in both Karl and Sapnap’s faces, showing them they couldn’t play him like that. Fool him once, shame on him. There would be no fooling him twice. 

“So, what are you planning with him, then?” Sam’s voice cut through the thoughts, wiping his hands together as he stood. The machine seemed to be booting back up, hopefully without issue. Quackity cleared his throat, making his way to inspect it himself. 

“What do you mean?” The machine seemed to be starting up well, and accepted the diamond Quackity had put in to test it. The lights started to go, and the sounds of a functioning slot game eased a little bit of the day’s already thick tension. 

“You’re getting him dressed up to get drinks with you.” There wasn’t a win on this round. A frown found its way to Q’s face as he determined it was in good working order. The look didn’t leave when he faced Sam. 

“He won’t be so good at keeping up the act once he’s had a few drinks.” There was a certainty he tended to speak with, and it wasn’t entirely a lie. He was allowed to have doubts about this whole clusterfuck. 

“So, you do think he’s lying?”

“I think he’s fucking with me. I think he and Sapnap have some kind of stupid joke going. Or maybe Karl’s doing this on his own. Either way, it doesn’t sit right.”

“I just think this is a really interesting way to go about it.” Sam seemed like he had more he wanted to say, but decided against it. “And you think getting him drunk will help anything?”

“I’m not getting him drunk. I don’t want to have to crutch around a drunk person.” Quackity also kept unspoken words in his throat. If the others were right, that this wasn’t a faked get-back at the duck hybrid himself, he would figure that out that night. Karl had a tendency to ramble when he was drunk. It wasn’t really a passtime the trio had really gotten too into when together, but to say it hadn’t made for some pretty funny stories, it would be a lie. 

His mind found itself trailing off yet again, this time filled with vague memories of hands in his; drunken laughs in a blanket fort Sapnap had demanded they make. It had been so easy, then, for Quackity to lay in between both of his loves, finally knowing how it felt to be so secure in the fact he was loved so deeply. 

Was. It quickly started to form a bitter taste in his mouth. No, they were just like anyone else. 

“I have some errands I need to run, but you should be able to reach me if you need to.” Sam had moved to grab his tools, packing them all up neatly. “If you need help with the… situation, however that turns out, just let me know. If I can’t make it, I can probably send someone to help.” 

“Please, You’re not my dad and this isn’t going to be some date gone wrong.”

“Uh-huh, I definitely hear you.”

“Sam--”

“See you later, Quackity.” 

And just like that, the duck man was left to his own thoughts. 

The bar was nice, though. There were plenty of other patrons, noises, lights. It was always enough to keep Quackity on his toes. He sat at the bar, holding some non-alcoholic beverage in his hand. He wasn’t really drinking much from it, but he’d wanted to have something while he waited. Q needed to stay alert. He couldn’t let the other get any upper hand whatsoever. 

Unfortunately, Karl did clean up nice. He didn’t look as confident as he could in the almost loud outfit he’d been given. The shirt was a normal white button down, but the pants had been decidedly made color block. Kind of like that one hoodie he’d had. He looked good, but also very, very lost. There was no way he’d spotted Quackity, and the casino owner was thankful to whatever was out there for not getting caught staring. 

Sam’s voice started to play in his head, asking him again why he was doing this. Giving Karl a room and some nice clothes instead of using the memory he may or may not have as blackmail. This whole thing was a scam, anyway. 

But there was always something about neon lights shining on him while he stared around in both shock of how big the place was, and lost as to wherever he was supposed to be now. 

Karl would almost call it overwhelming. There was a couple who had just started yelling to his left, something about the night still being young. They seemed to be losing, though. His focus barely stayed glued there, trying to figure out where the owner or the bar even was. The last time he even remembers wearing anything fancy was… The masquerade. The traveller’s nose scrunched at that. 

Oh, yeah. I can remember that, but not wherever the honk my library is? That’s productive. The sarcastic comment never made it past his lips, eyes finally catching on a hand waving him over. What did leave him was a sigh of relief as he made his way to one of the barstools. If he had been paying more attention, he might have noticed the way Quackity stared just a little too long at him before returning to the drink in his own hand. 

It turned into a waiting game, neither of them taking the initiative to speak. Quackity had managed to keep his expression neutral as he drank. Karl was still looking around in absolute wonder at the place. 

“I built this whole country from the ground up, you know.” Q assumed Karl knew. But there was just something about the newfound look of wonder directed towards him that made his sureness of the act falter. Only slightly. 

“I walked around for a little while, earlier. I haven’t really seen everything, I’m sure.” 

“Maybe I could show you sometime.”

Listen, Quackity wanted to keep being mad. Inwardly, he still was. He had his own facade to keep up, he convinced himself. It definitely wasn’t the sparkle in the other’s eyes at the offer. And sure, Karl had his library to worry about. Getting back there should be a top priority. He just… thinks he should see where this goes. Who knows, maybe he is in a different time. Maybe it’s just… oddly close to his own. That he doesn’t remember. 

A smile formed on the time traveler’s face. He wasn’t going to assume the other was flirting, but Karl wouldn’t be opposed to the thought. That was cut off with an internal scolding. This guy wanted to kill him upon first meeting, it really had to be a mix of nerves (and how pretty of a face this totally not mafia boss had.) “Maybe.”

“You want anything to drink?”

“I’m debating it.”

“Oh?”

“Migraines.” It was a reminder. He did remember it being brought up earlier. The migraines weren’t caused by substances, he knew that. The thought of one popping up while he wasn’t 100% there was also a little worrying. 

“You don’t have to have anything alcoholic. I’m not.” If Sam were here, he would have scoffed. Quackity’s comments from earlier had been empty. Of course he wouldn’t actually pressure the other into anything like that. He was fucked up, and definitely had a moral compass that had been stomped on repeatedly-- But this wasn’t someone he hated. Even if he thought this act was playing too long, pulling him back in too quickly. 

“Actually,” Karl started again, seeming to have contemplated it. He was in a casino. As far as he knew, there was no way for him to get back to his library. If anything was waiting for him, he was blissfully unaware. While this usually would panic him again, making him search for his books to frantically try to retain any scraps, he decided to let it go. There was nothing he could do in his current state, anyway. Right now, it seemed like there was nothing to fix (even if his gut was screaming the opposite. “I think I am gonna have something. Maybe something light. I still don’t want to overdo it.”

“You always were a lightweight.” It was mumbled. 

“I am not.” If Karl caught on to the phrasing, he didn’t show it. This almost put Q back on edge as his partner turned his attention to the bartender, asking for whatever ‘light’ drink he decided on. 

There was no way he really didn’t remember. Karl hadn’t had memory issues when they were together, had he? Part of him wanted to ask about Sapnap-- see if there was any reaction. But, this act was a two-way street. Quackity was faking everything just as much. This had to be a cruel, sick joke. He registered a small sound of thanks and glass on the bar counter. Karl had begun to drink it right away, keeping it at sips. 

The next question shouldn’t have caught the hybrid off guard, but it did. 

“So… What did you want me to meet you for?” 

Chapter Text

Karl had barely noticed when he hadn’t received an answer right away, still sipping away on his drink as the other looked for words. Quackity had been so sure going into this, but it really was hard to wrap his head around the act.

“Well,” The avian started, voice not giving away his racing thoughts, “I told you that you were a guest here. I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier.” Karl sat up straight, now using the straw to swirl the ice around. 

“Dude, no, I totally get it. You’re just protective, or whatever. This is a really pretty place and history has a weird thing about pretty places.”

“What do you mean?” Quackity found himself slightly amused. 

“They just… Don’t always last.”  There was only a small silence before Karl backtracked. “I mean, not that this won’t last. I think this would be a great kind of place to last for a while. Especially with how, again, protective you are.”

“Anyone would be protective of their country. But, I guess you do have a point.” Quackity watched Karl down the rest of his drink, wondering if he should be drinking it so fast. Maybe starting at the bar wasn’t the best idea here. 

Karl hadn’t said anything weird or too revealing. Yet. Part of Q wanted to sit there, let Karl drink a bit more. Sure, lugging around a drunk ex probably wouldn’t be the highlight of his day, but he might get some answers. Maybe even a real explanation. The memory schtick would have to get old eventually, right?

Quackity refused to think about the fact Karl could be telling the truth.

The traveler had ordered another drink before the other could really make a choice. It was another of the same, yet this time was ingested a little more quickly. Karl himself wasn’t really sure why he was doing this. He knew this probably wouldn’t end well. Getting drunk in front of a stranger?

But, he thought, maybe he was allowed a little leeway here. After all, if there were consequences to this, how would he know? The man deserved to feel less stressed than he was, at least for a little bit. 

With that thought, there was no hesitation downing the drink. He had glanced out of his peripherals, seeing the pure shock on the other’s face. Karl gave a grin. See? I’m not a lightweight.

The grin put Quackity on edge, just a little bit. What was the plan here? What was Karl hoping to gain from this? 

“Hey,” Karl said suddenly, “Can you show me the rest of the casino before I regret doing that?”

Quackity cleared his throat, moving to stand up from his spot at the bar, the thought Prime, help me crossing more than once. 

“Yeah, I’ll give you a tour.”

Karl’s eyes lit up at everything he was shown. The slot machines, the games, the clubs, the buildings– All of it was so fascinating to the traveler who was plotting out how he would write all of this down. It felt worth remembering. Unfortunately, that fuzz had started to set in. If he remembered anything the next time he woke up from the night before, it would probably shock him. 

For now, he was unfocused on that. Instead, the things he was being shown were enough to make him forget the things he’d wanted to all along. One of his favorite things about traveling had always been the pretty places. 

It was late before they stopped moving around, Karl swaying slightly and holding on gently to Quackity’s shoulder. The avian had taken them to a quieter area, standing on a balcony and enjoying the night sky. 

The silence was almost too much, though. Karl had luckily not said much, too enamored by Quackity explaining things as he was shown around and the fuzzy feeling he got when the other looked at him. Maybe it was just the alcohol, but Karl wasn’t so sure. 

But now, it was just quiet. Karl’s thoughts had quieted down, as well. He felt himself be moved to a chair, the duck hybrid moving over to lean over the balcony railing. 

“Don’t fall,” Karl said a little slowly. A laugh came in response. A reassurance, one would hope. Karl was not sober enough to try to catch a falling man. But he was a hybrid. Maybe he could fly. “Can you fly?”

“What?”

“Can you fly?”

“... No?” 

“Oh.”

Quackity blinked a little. He was expecting some out of the blue comments, but he was also no mind reader. He couldn’t tell what had brought the other to that question. Either way, he shrugged it off. Now that things had calmed down, he really needed to pull back the curtain. 

It was a little harder with how nice it felt with Karl there. It would be perfect if it were all three of them– He shook his head hard. 

Notice was taken of that, shaky legs finding their way out of the chair and stumbling over. Hands gripped the railing tight, as not to–

“Don’t fall” was parroted back at him. 

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

Karl decided he didn’t like the perplexed look on Quackity’s face. He seemed perplexed by a lot of things. Maybe Karl was doing perplexing things. But Karl didn’t want to be perplexed. He wanted to be happy for a little bit with the cute guy who hadn’t really tried to kill him or feed him to an egg. 

Of course he remembered the egg. 

“Nevermind.”

“You should go sit down.”

“I’m fine. You’re just too pretty to be sad, I think.” He wasn’t supposed to say that last part. Did the other look sad? Was it more sad than perplexed? Was it his fault? No, that was silly. How could he make a stranger look sad like that? 

“If anyone is actually fine here, it’s me,” Q started, rolling his eyes. “You’re drunk”

“I am,” Karl agreed. “But you just seemed upset, and I’m a little worried I upset you. Did I overdo it? I mean, I guess I didn’t really think through drinking but it’s fine if I don’t do it a lot. Or, at least, I don’t remember doing it a lot? I mean, I definitely remember things. Like that your name is Quackity. That mine is Karl Jacobs. That I travel.” He shut himself up pretty quickly after that, face starting to go more red than it had been from the alcohol. 

When Quackity didn’t speak, Karl could feel more worlds bubbling up. He tried to shove them down, but they wouldn’t stop once it had started. 

“I mean, I definitely might not remember this in the morning, which is sad. But hey, no migraine! That’s because I’m not stressed out tonight. Or, not as much. Stress is kind of a constant.”

“I hear that.” Oh, good. A response. That was good, right?

“But I do remember things. I’m very good at it.” A very obvious lie. Quackity had to stop himself from bursting into laughter on that alone. For a moment, his blood boiled. This joke was now definitely going too far. Karl had seen the slight scowl on Quackity’s face, deciding that maybe he should go back to his chair. He slowly stumbled back, nearly falling. 

He felt a hand grab his arm to help steady himself. He let out a sheepish ‘thanks’ , not making another effort to move. 

Quackity was thinking over his words carefully. He turned back to the sky hanging over his beloved country. He let out a deep sigh. 

“I’m fine, trust me. I just think you’re full of shit.”

“What?”

“I think you’re full of it. I don’t get it. And I don’t get why you’re here.” Karl didn’t know what Quackity meant, but he could feel himself grip the chair’s armrests. He had done something. He could feel the stress creeping up his back, the hint of a migraine coming on. Still he sat there, no recognition of the meaning behind Quackity’s words in his eyes. 

Quackity was just done with this game. 

“You know, I was in a relationship recently. Two really nice, sweet dudes. At least, that’s what I had believed for a long time. I even built a country so we could all be safe. Isn’t that just the damndest thing? And look, do you see them here?

“No, you don’t. And do you know why? Because, oops! It turns out they had made a country of their own. It just so happens, one of my fiances forgot to invite me. They forgot about me, Karl. So don’t sit here and talk about how great your memory is, when you could barely–”

When he turned to the other, the fresh tears falling from golden eyes stopped him from finishing the sentence. Maybe he’d gone too far, himself. Maybe there was something else going on. Maybe– 

“I am so sorry that happened to you.” It came out in a whisper. Q almost wasn’t even sure he heard it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. Karl looked like he had more to say, furrowing his brows as though it was a struggle to figure out just how to say it. “You… You’re right that I’m full of it. You’re right, I don’t even know why I’m here. I don’t even know where here is. I was just kind of dropped here. I don’t know if the memories I do still have are even true. I’m bad at remembering, and I’m really worried it’s all gone for good.” 

This felt like a bombshell for both of them. The still inebriated traveler felt the tears spill over his cheeks as the avian stood incredibly still. It had finally clicked that this wasn’t a joke. Karl hadn’t remembered anything. His memory of the SMP seemed to be gone, if not rapidly deteriorating. 

“Who dropped you here, then?” Quackity asked, feeling something uneasy grow in his chest. Surely, Sapnap wouldn’t have left Karl here. Did Sapnap even know? Did anyone know about this? The question Q gave didn’t get an answer as Karl just moved to put his head in his hands. 

Everything was suddenly too loud, too much, too spinny. He was still thankful for the lack of migraine. A loud groan was emitted, Karl now refusing to move from his spot as he felt his tears wet his hands and sleeves. 

Quackity knew he wasn’t going to get anything helpful out of Karl at this point. He’d need time to think on this whole situation himself. But he couldn’t just leave Karl there. 

“I ruined the mood,” words finally came, albeit muffled as all hell. 

“I think we both ruined the mood. You look like you need to lay down before you throw up.” 

Karl looked up at Quackity. He looked like a blubbering mess, and it made Q’s heart break. A weak nod was given, and Karl was helped up. For tonight, Quackity would take him back to his room.

“At least I’m right about one thing. You are too pretty to be sad.”

“Really? You’re still flirting with me?”

“I- Whaaat? I’m not flirting.”

“I’m dragging your ass drunk back to your hotel room after some weird deep moment, and you’re flirting.”

“Exactly, I’m drunk. And you didn’t kick me out after that soooo– I assumed fair game?”

Quackity shook his head, giving a scoff. 

“Ha! A smile.”

“A smirk at most.” 

“I’ll take it.”

“Why are you like this?”

“I’m drunk?” A barely viable excuse. 

Finally, they were back at Karl’s hotel room. Q got the door open, and immediately moved to help Karl to his bed. Karl let out a deep breath as he hit the mattress, almost seeming like a ragdoll. He didn’t fall asleep right away, looking up at Quackity with now dry eyes. He just stared, deciding to try and memorize this face. He’d been forgotten, one of Karl’s worst fears. He wondered how someone could do that. He didn’t have the brainpower to think too hard on it– on his own situation. 

“What?” Q said finally, hand on his hips as he stared down at the other. 

“I don’t want to forget you,” Karl said, with nothing but seriousness in his voice. 

Quackity shook his head. He turned to leave. “Goodnight, Karl.”

Karl fell asleep to the sound of his door closing.