Archive of Our Own

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“The stories of my childhood spoke of three ancient Gods.

One of them was the God of the Overworld. He took no name, only his title. It was said that with a wave of his hand, vines of the most vivid green burst from the ground to aid him, and with the softest of whispers, the prettiest flowers sprouted at his feet. The trees bent like brittle sticks just to obey his will, and the creatures of the land adored him, as he adored them.

It was said that the God came from a distant land, bringing with him cattle colored the brightest, most lovely shade of red, with mushrooms growing from their backs as they grazed on lush green grass. Any who could take a cow - later renamed Mooshrooms - and keep it and love it as the God did, would live a life of peace and happiness as long as the cow remained in good care.

Elders claimed the God’s tears summoned rainfall and aided the farmer’s with the crops, and his smile was bright enough that it coaxed the sun to come closer to the world in order to keep it warm, for times when the God could not do it himself.

He was a peaceful God, content with watching his world flourish.

However, what he didn’t know was that another world lingered just out of reach of his own.

This world was red and unbearably hot, filled with creatures of fire and brute strength.

The Nether.

The Nether God was a fearsome warrior who took the name Nether as his own.

Nether was fierce.

He spared no mercy to those that even considered trying to harm him.

It’s said today that Nether held a fire deep within him, one that burned so hot that if any were to feel his scorching touch, their skin would melt.

There are rumors, you know. About brave warriors who tried to defeat Nether, only to be killed in the face of his wrath. Some believe that the skeletons that reside in Soul Sand Valleys are all that remain of those brave warriors, their skin long since burned from their bones, leaving the skeletons to wander aimlessly for the rest of eternity.

Others even claim that Nether’s tears created the lava lakes that fill the bottom of the nether. Your father claims it’s something else, but luckily, he’s not here right now.

Anyways… The nether roof has two large holes at the very center of the nether. There’s only one story about those holes, but it’s a good one. It claims that when Nether first awoke, his mighty horns broke through the nether roof when he stood upright! And when he pulled his horns free, a raging Wither dropped into the nether, spitting it’s decaying infection onto creatures, turning them into it’s mindless slaves that now only seek to spread the infection to others. And, well, if you ever manage to find the holes in the nether roof, be sure to be wary! No one knows where that darn Wither went!

Oh! And - what? You want to hear about the third God? Pfft, okay. I was getting to that, though, just for your information.

The third God ruled a realm few people had ever managed to see.

There are only vague descriptions of his realm, but I think it’s okay to use a little bit of imagination here, don’t you?

Yeah… Well, the third God ruled over the End. Like Nether, he adopted his realms name as his own. End’s realm was almost complete darkness.

The few bits of land that were available were floating islands, and if there was anything below them, it was impossible to tell with how dark the whole place was.

If you lost sight of the ground directly under your feet, it was certain you’d get lost in the void.

… The void was a place of mystery. Even those that have returned from the End safely haven’t been able to describe the void in detail. The only thing that everyone seems to agree on about the void, though, is that it’s cold. Freezing cold. If you stand still in the End for too long, it’s possible you might become the next living statue! Crazy, right?! I know! … Haha, well, anyways.

The God of the End was protective of the few creatures that lived there. It was mostly a bunch of Endermen, but there were other creatures too.

Winged beasts that roars could shake the ground an adventurer stood upon, purple creatures that hissed and spat out some sort of odd liquid that made people float up high enough that they couldn’t see the ground beneath them, and even more winged beasts! Though, there always seemed to be a difference between the beast who’s roar could shake the floating islands and the other creatures with wings. I’m certain the roaring one was described to blend in with the void almost perfectly, save for the purple gas that flowed freely from their giant jaws and their bright purple eyes. But the other was described a lot more vaguely. The only bit of the creature that seemed noteworthy was it’s wings, which some adventurers even managed to gather for themselves off of the creatures rotting corpses… Yeesh. Kinda gross if you ask me.

But yes, so few creatures in one realm, and their God loved them all dearly, blanketing the land in darkness just so the creatures could hide if they felt threatened. Kinda sweet, isn’t it? Not as sweet as the God of the Overworld or anything, but still!

… Skeppy always agrees with me when I say it’s sweet…

Skeppy is not a simp! Language! Ugh, I’m giving him burnt muffins for breakfast, he definitely taught you swear words, even if you’re no tattle tale. 

… Hah, okay, okay, don’t worry my little muffin head, there’s still more to the legends. I’m not finished yet.

Okay… Wait, where was I?

Oh! Right, right, right. End.

Well… Honestly, there wasn’t much to End. He was a mystery, shrouded in just as much darkness as his realm.

I know, but don’t worry! There’s more to these tales, just be patient.

So… The Gods ruled their realms. End and the God of the Overworld, kindly, while Nether ruled with an iron fist, ensuring he always held the most power in order to show his strength over the other creatures who lived in the nether realm.

Centuries passed with the Gods maintaining their rule, keeping close guard over the inhabitants of their realms and making sure all was right in their worlds.

And, you could say everything was as it should be.

But that was not the case.”

→ 

“That’s it?”

A young boy frowned up at his father, who laughed.

“No, no, that’s not the whole story, Sapnap, but it is all you’re getting tonight. You need sleep, as do I. Sleep is good for us, remember?”

Sapnap whined in protest, sagging in his father’s careful grip.

They’d been seated on the couch together for the past few hours, Sapnap making his toys battle it out together while Bad - Sapnap’s father - had flipped through a book, humming quietly under his breath.

“I don’t wanna sleep…!” The boy complained, beating a clenched fist lightly against his father’s chest as Bad chuckled, picking Sapnap up with ease and beginning to carry him to his room down the hall.

“I know, but if you don’t you’ll be too tired to listen to more of the story tomorrow, don’t you think?” Bad’s tone was light, and Sapnap’s urge to argue more was pushed down, even more so when a yawn escaped him.

Bad laughed again, the sound quiet, and Sapnap could feel his cheeks grow warm in embarrassment.

“Don’t laugh…” he uttered, his eyes beginning to droop as if his yawn had tilted him over the edge and dropped him right into “sleep-mode”.

“Alright Sappy Nappy, I’m not laughing,” Bad answered kindly, entering Sapnap’s room and gently settling him onto his bed, tucking him under a thin blanket carefully. (Thin enough to prevent Sapnap from overheating at night by accident, but not uncomfortable. In fact, it might’ve been Sapnap’s favorite thing, that blanket.)

“Mkay… Night…” Sapnap mumbled, feeling a warm kiss get pressed to his forehead as Bad murmured a fond, ‘ goodnight ’ in reply, before leaving the room and shutting the door silently behind him.

Sapnap fell asleep dreaming of two gods with faces that seemed so familiar, but his thoughts as to why went unanswered as the boy drifted off to sleep.

→

“You know, a lot of people wonder where the Gods went… 

Wha - Of course they were real! 

They were what made this world, what led it to becoming what it is. The God of the Overworld gave every realm it’s own bits of nature, no matter how scant. Nether introduced fire to the world, his soul’s flames stretching far beyond the borders that keep each realm contained in it’s own space. End’s blanket of void spread to the nether and Overworld, creating shadows and the night.

The rivers were carved by the Overworld Gods’ hands. Magma was created in Nether’s palm. Magic flowed from End’s own fingertips and filled the rest of the realms up until it was a common practice among anyone, not simply those End-born.

They each contributed bit by bit to build the world we live in today.

And now we’re left to wonder where they went after the Second Merging…

… What? I’ve never told you about the Mergings? 

Oh muffin - I was sure I did already! Gosh darn it…

Eh… No better time to tell you than now I suppose, hey?

Okay… Let's see…

How does the story go again…? Ah! I remember.

Okay, so, one day, a long time ago, there came a time when a young mage wished to… Well, I don’t know… I suppose they wanted to expand their knowledge on the End portal’s magic, or something like that.

I’m not sure, okay? Bear with me here, I thought I told you this story years ago when I still remembered it clearly.

Hm… The young mage wasn’t understanding magic properly. Whatever they did was wrong, so they believed that if they could take a bit of the raw energy directly from the portal and study it, it was possible that the extra knowledge would help them improve! In theory, at least.

They couldn’t have guessed what would happen when they dipped an enchanted glass bottle into the portal and brought it back out.

You see, the magic and energy of the portal, once it was opened, was contained by twelve Eyes of Ender, which ensured the magic stayed in it’s ring. Nothing could break this ring once it was set up properly, not even the strongest netherite pickaxe, but the magic being pulled out of the ring was something even the portal’s enchantments could not prevent; with the magic pulled out of the protective barrier the Eyes of Ender created, the portal was no longer contained.

Magic spilled from the bottle, expanding relentlessly until it was swallowing the stronghold completely. And, here’s where things got even more complicated!

For purposes of faster travel, Nether portals were built all around, and there was one very large portal that was set outside the stronghold, so large that even a ghast could squeeze through it if it wished to do so. But, this only caused extra chaos.

The End portals’ magic had expanded so rapidly, quickly consuming everything in its path until it reached the surface, stretching out even farther. Eventually, it mixed with the magic of the Nether portal, breaking off the obsidian barriers and allowing the Nether portal’s magic to begin roaming free in the same manner.

It was this that first pulled the Gods away from us.

No one knows exactly what happened, but when the three worlds connected at once - the End and Nether magic touching while in the Overworld - it seemed like the Gods’ presences each abandoned their realm.

At the time, no one had known the reasoning for their Gods’ disappearance. All anyone could do was avoid being consumed by the magic, which stopped expanding eventually - luckily for anyone who’d had to experience that.

That was the First Merging, and the first time the Gods disappeared.

They came back once the Merge was undone by another God. This God went by the name of XD and was the ruler of another realm, one that no mortal has seen a glimpse of to this day. He appeared from the sky, with the wings of a hawk, and had soared down and used his magic to undo all the damage that had been done. Once everything was as it was prior to the Merging, he disappeared again, flying up and up until no one could see him. The only thing that hadn’t come back after XD was done, was the mage that had caused the whole thing in the first place.

When others went to search for them, all they found was a broken glass bottle with fading enchantments and a burning book filled with scribbled notes. Wherever the mage’s body was, no one had ever found it. If there was even anything left to find after what they experienced.

The Overworld God was greeted eagerly by all those who had been by his side when he disappeared, but it was rumored that he seemed different. It was always chalked up to what he might’ve experienced, wherever he was taken to, but I’ve always thought it had something to do with the other Gods as well.

Maybe it’s possible the three Gods ended up somewhere together and got to talk…

I dunno. But that’s the story of the First Merging.

And no, before you ask, I will not be telling you about the Second Merging, not tonight. Your father’s getting older kiddo, I need an old man nap! Now, you get some rest too, okay? If you need anything, get Skeppy. He keeps kicking me whenever I try to go to sleep so he deserves to be woken up in the middle of the night! If you need anything in the middle of the night, that is. Anyways. Sleep well, my little muffinhead, I’ll tell you about the Second Merging some other time. Night, Sapnap.”

→

Some kids his age might’ve argued that Sapnap was too old to be interested in his father’s stories, but he could care less about what others thought.

His father was no storyteller, but he very well could be; he had a way of bringing his words to life, of perfectly displaying an image in the air before his audience as he spoke in varying tones, all switching to match whatever mood he was attempting to recreate.

Sapnap had always been a sucker for his father’s stories, and that was not bound to change anytime soon.

Sure, Sapnap maybe did get a bit upset whenever his father seemingly left him on a cliffhanger, but in all honesty, the wait was always worth it in the young demons’ eyes.

Besides, his father also seemed to have a talent for spotting when Sapnap was ready to pass out, and for that he was grateful as he made his way to his room, right across the hall from his parents. He was quick to fall into his bed, tugging a random blanket up to his chin as he stared at the ceiling, simply tracing the shapes he could make out of it until his eyes were fluttering shut, and Sapnap was sound asleep.

But though the demon had fallen into a fitful sleep, he was wide awake in his dreams.

→

Whatever this place was, it was dark. Darker than a Piglin bastion, so… Very dark.

Nether muttered crossly under his breath as he stepped cautiously forward through the darkness, batting away uselessly at a smoky substance that drifted by his face.

“Ugh - what the fuck is this place?” The God growled, feeling heat prickle at his fingertips.

A netherite sword was gripped tightly in one of the Gods’ hands, the other clenching and unclenching in rhythm with the slow beating of his heart.

This place was annoying, the God decided after swiping away another tendril of the smoky substance.

This place was nothing but darkness, not a splash of color anywhere in the distance. Sapnap must’ve been the only source of light in the whole damn place!

It was frustrating.

He was trapped in an unrecognizable space that seemed to either go on forever or have him walking in an endless loop, and the worst part might just have been the fact that he was alone.

As lonesome as his life was, at least there were other creatures in the nether, no matter how hostile. Here, there was nothing, not one other soul-

Only, Nether apparently had greatly timed complaints, because just as the thought of being completely alone crossed his mind, he heard it: a hushed voice.

The grip on his sword that had slowly slackened over time was tight around the hilt within an instant. Nether raised the sword, glaring through the darkness as he attempted to pinpoint the source of the noise.

Then -

“Woah there, tiger, we don’t mean to cause any trouble.”

Sapnap turned around quicker than a rabbit running to evade a cat, sword held up and pointed directly at a stranger’s chest. A stranger who looked entirely unamused.

“Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve learned that netherite doesn’t really work on Gods.”

A snicker came from someone else - another stranger, obviously enough, who was positioned directly behind the first.

“Gods,” Nether echoed, raising a dubious brow, “End and… No name…? What are you two doing… Here?”

End smiled, chuckling quietly at the look of disdain that appeared on Nether’s face.

“Same thing you’re doing here,” No Name said, frowning at Nether as he added, “and don’t call me that.”

Nether was not going to stop calling him that.

End giggled, tugging No Name closer and - oh.

“Hand holding? Really? Since when do Gods hold each other's hands?” Nether scoffed, and End giggled again.

It sounded nice.

“Since it’s easier to not lose one another if you’re always holding on to each other,” End supplied, before thrusting his free hand forward, “Speaking of - give.”

Nether spluttered, jolting backwards, “Wh - what?! I’m not gonna just give you my sword! Do you think I’m crazy?! You might not be able to kill me but you can still do some serious damage!” He cried, voice pitching dangerously close to “voice crack zone”.

End looked at him like he was, in fact, crazy.

No Name looked at him like he was stupid.

“No - no, I don’t want your sword, I want your hand. C’mon, don’t be shy, hand it over… Pun not intended.” And with that, End was leaning forward and scooping Nether’s free hand into his own, offering the bewildered God a joyful smile.

“You can put the sword away, by the way. I don’t think Overworld bites. And I only do it if asked.”

And that was… So stupid.

Who -

Nether grunted as End began walking forward, blonde locks swaying as he pushed through the smoky tendrils in the air without seeming to mind them all that much. No Name was following along easily after End, simply waving away nearby tendrils with an unbothered look on his face. Nether struggled to right himself in comparison for a few moments, before his feet finally caught up with the whole situation and started working again.

He did as End had said and sheathed his sword, all the while being unable to help but wonder… Who the hell were these guys? What type of Gods were they?!

→

Being tugged along by End and No Name didn’t end up as bad as Nether had thought it would.

They were both rather pleasant company, most of the time, and they both knew how to keep the mood light.

They worked well together, chattering enough to fill the silence and inviting Nether to join them every once in a while.

Thus far, he had declined, but the offer to join in and share some of his own stories was beginning to seem more and more tempting.

And overall, End was helpful.

He knew, somehow, how to tell time in a dark place like this.

Well, he’d said that he merely estimated what time it could be, but Nether was sure he was probably correct 99% of the time he guessed how many days might’ve passed.

It was nice to talk to them, especially when they would finally stop walking and just settle down, hands still linked - just in case.

Sometimes, they’d gather in a little circle, knees touching as they ranted on and off about anything that came to mind.

Other times, they’d lie down next to each other, shoulders bumping, and No Name (who the others had chosen to call George, just because of how stupidly good it seemed to fit him) taking the time to explain what stars looked like. He’d trace out constellations, and for a while Nether would wonder if he’d ever get the chance to see the stars himself.

There were no stars in the nether.

He wondered if he’d be able to see the Overworld and steal a few stars away, just for himself.

(And maybe he’d share with End, if the God decided to ask nicely enough.)

(Even if he didn’t, Nether would still offer to share.)

George eventually decided to give them both names of their own.

“What's wrong with our names?” End had asked, pouting sadly.

George had stared at him for a moment, then a few more, before pointing at Sapnap and saying simply, “Nether is a stupid name. I’m going to call you Pandas.”

“Pandas?” Nether had repeated incredulously, gaping at George openly.

“Pandas!” End parroted, though his tone sounded a lot more excited about it.

Nether noted the fond smile on George’s face when he looked at End, but didn’t comment on it and instead went on, “Pandas sounds worse! How is Pandas better in literally any way?”

George had opened his mouth to argue, but End cut in first. “What about Sapnap? It’s Pandas backwards and I think it sounds cool…”

It took them all a moment.

“Panpas?” George blurted out, a giggle erupting from his lips as End flushed a bright pink, stammering for a few moments before he dropped his face into his palms with an embarrassed whine.

Sapnap was laughing along, playfully tussling End’s hair, but found he actually quite liked the sound of the suggestion. When the laughter died down, End peered up at them, still looking pink.

Sapnap only smiled at him gently, pulling the other’s hands away from his face.

“I like Sapnap. It has a nice ring to it.”

And End had smiled, and it was like it had lit up the whole void.

→ 

Leaving his father and dad had never really been something Sapnap had considered doing when he was younger.

Even now, the thought was daunting, but he had a friend with him who was going to be with him the whole way, wherever they went.

He'd met George a year before he’d turned eighteen, and now he was just shy of turning nineteen and was preparing to say goodbye to his parents.

The timing was bittersweet - this would be the first birthday he'd spend without Bad and Skeppy there to sing him happy birthday and carefully pass him a knife to cut a cake that Bad had spent time decorating carefully to ensure it looked perfect - but George and Sapnap had been planning the start of their grand adventure for months; it wasn’t something they wanted to let pass by, and Sapnap knew that if he stayed for another birthday, he wouldn't want to leave for another two years, at least.

Leaving before his birthday seemed to be the best option, and Bad and Skeppy were nothing but supportive, even as they were saying goodbye.

“Listen you little muffin head,” Bad began, his glowing white eyes appearing glassy with the sheen of tears, “you better send at least one letter every few months, got it? Once a month would be preferable, but you know…”

Sapnap laughed fondly, and perhaps a tad bit wetly, leaning forward to hug his father, “You know I’ll send you so many letters,” he whispered, and Bad laughed right along with him.

Another pair of arms wrapped around them and Sapnap turned slightly, adjusting his grip so Skeppy was in his arms too. Skeppy was just as emotional as Bad, Sapnap knew, he just was better at fighting off the tears for a bit.

“Take care of yourself, kiddo,” Skeppy said, tone affectionate as he tugged on a strand of Sapnap’s hair. “If I hear about anything happening to you I’ll go out into the big world, find you and drag you back home myself, you hear me?”

Sapnap laughed again, “Yeah, yeah, I hear ya’ dad, I'll be fine. George and I will flourish out there, and I’ll make sure he's signing my letters too just so it’s clear he's alive ‘n all… Gosh I’m gonna miss you guys.”

“We’ll miss you too,” Skeppy said, just as Bad began squealing quietly, a strained little ‘ awww- ’ escaping him. Skeppy scoffed, though his gaze was full of love as he lightly pushed Bad back inside, “Alright, alright you two, go before Bad starts demanding more hugs and keeps you here till sunset.” He waved them off playfully, and Sapnap and George chuckled before they were heading off, making their way through the forests that had surrounded Sapnap’s childhood home for longer than he could possibly remember.

As they left the familiar trees behind and began making their way towards a small Nether portal hub nearby, Sapnap had a good feeling about this; everything would turn out great.

→

“I’m bored,” Sapnap droned, his pointed ears twitching as he listened to George’s repeated taps against whatever surface it was that kept them from falling into the void at all times.

“We’re all bored, Sapnap,” George replied blandly. The taps paused, and then continued as if they'd never stopped.

Sapnap grit his teeth, having grown tired of the incessant tap, tap, tapping a millenia ago. Well, that was an exaggeration. According to End, it hadn't been that long since they’d all awoken trapped in the void.

“At most,” End had said a few days prior, “it’s been a few weeks. While the realms can survive without us, it isn't necessary considering we still exist. XD will find us eventually. Actually, I’d assume that the passage of time from this place compared to our realms is drastically different - if I’m right about a few weeks having passed for us, then that'd be too much time in our realms. XD is powerful enough to resolve whatever exactly happened within a few days at most, regardless of the issue. Their magic can revert anything, so it’s unlikely whatever happened has caused them any issues.”

And that had been reassuring at the time, but Sapnap was bored, and there was no sign of their beloved XD coming to their rescue anytime soon.

Now, in reply to George, Sapnap retorted pointedly, “End doesn't look all that bored.”

His tone was harsher than intended and his gaze quickly flicked to End, but the third member of this little group was zoned out, green gaze hazy and fingers twitching occasionally at his sides.

“What's he doing anyways?” Sapnap asked, but George could only shrug.

“My best guess would be that he’s tuning us out because someone is being annoying.” George teased, and Sapnap scoffed.

“Yeah, you! With all your tapping.”

George laughed, and Sapnap smiled because the sound was so pleasant to hear, so pleasant to draw out of the other God, and what else was Sapnap to do other than smile when he heard it?

“Says the one who keeps sharpening the blade of his sword against his armor! Who does that anyways?”

The two bantered back and forth for a while, laughing the whole time, and butterflies were flying around inside of Sapnap wildly by the end of it, but that's just it.

Eventually, they stopped talking, silence filling in the space and leaving the two to glance at End in concern periodically. After a while, after the longest period of time yet with End zoned out as he was, he came back to both George and Sapnap pressed close to his sides, each gripping one of his hands with his head leaned gently against Sapnap's shoulder.

“Mm… Guys?” End uttered quietly, the other two Gods perking up.

“End!” Sapnap grinned, George squeezing the blonde’s hand happily as he blinked himself out of his stupor.

“Hi...” End offered quietly, shuffling closer to Sapnap’s side. If Sapnap softened significantly at that, expression melting into the warmest of smiles, none of the Gods commented on it.

“Hi,” George answered, just as quiet, his smile just as warm as Sapnap’s. “You were out for a while, had us starting to get worried for a second there.”

End faltered at that, looking to George, then Sapnap as if attempting to see if they were serious or not. When it seemed he found his answer, he only looked away, nodding.

“Right.”

The trio sat cuddled together in silence for a long while, Sapnap’s hope of End bringing the light back to their spot diminishing as the silence stretched on and on. Though, it didn't fade completely.

And maybe that was a good thing, for moments after Sapnap had cleared his mind of those thoughts, End was clearing his throat, mouth falling open but offering no sound for a moment as his cheeks flushed pink.

“Um… Can you guys…” A pause, a brief flash of hesitance on his face before it disappeared and he continued, “Can you guys give me… A new name?”

And his answer was instant.

“Dream,” he said, before the others could even think of saying anything else.

“Dream?” The other two echoed, George sounding delighted, while Dream only seemed confused.

“Yeah! Dream! I think it fits.” Sapnap grinned, reaching over to take a hold of End’s hand with a pleased hum as the other held onto him, grip loose but still there.

End was silent for a few moments, and in the silence, Sapnap found himself appreciating the coolness of the Gods’ skin. Where Sapnap was hot to the touch - hot enough to kill any mortal he even brushed a fingertip across - End was almost freezing, his skin offering Sapnap the opportunity to lean against the man in order to cool down whenever it felt like there was a small chance he’d burst into flames sooner or later. (It’d happened before and he definitely did not want a repeat.)

While admiring how their temperatures contrasted so pleasantly, Dream eventually agreed, tone soft, “It fits.”

Sapnap and George let out little cheers, trapping Dream between them in a hug as they celebrated the Gods new name.

Maybe to anyone else, it wasn’t a big deal, but to them in that empty void they were trapped in, in that moment, it was everything and more.

→

Meeting Dream felt like fate.

They’d stumbled upon him while making their way slowly but steadily through a Warped Forest in the Nether, and he had been chattering easily with an Enderman of all things.

It seemed unlikely that the creature could understand him, but it did at least seem intrigued by whatever it was the guy was saying, making low ‘ chrr ’ing noises at him occasionally.

George and Sapnap had slowed to a stop at the sight of the man - stopped at the sight of the wings attached to his back - and watched him curiously until they were noticed. The Enderman stared at them, and as they averted their eyes, they both looked to the man clad in a bright green color that stood out harshly in literally every Nether biome.

He didn’t seem to mind the harsh coloring of his clothing, instead waving at the two strangers with a small smile before he turned back to the Enderman, looking it right in the eyes as he continued speaking, his wings flapping a few times before settling into place again.

It was with a shared look of surprise that Sapnap and George silently decided that, yeah, they were definitely about to head over there and talk to the stranger who was talking to an Enderman as if it were an old friend.

And, though the three men were unaware, a being watched them interact, an expression of disdain appearing on its face as fate messed with its plans yet again.

→

Dear Sapnap,

Hi! I hope you and George are doing well!!! Oh! And I recall in one of your most recent letters you mentioned another new companion? If they are still around, I send them my best! They definitely will need it, dealing with you and George. (Joking, of course... you two can have your days where you happen to act wonderful. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens, so hopefully this mysterious stranger gets many of those days if they are still travelling with you. )

I wanted to send some muffins along with this letter, but Skeppy advised against it! :(

(If you happen to be in the mood for my muffins after reading that, blame Skeppy for not having any, I really did try to figure out a way they could be transported safely)

Oh, and attached to this letter you’ll find a lot more pages - but don’t worry, I didn’t write all of it! Well… I did, but it’s not just me ranting on and on about something, I promise!

In fact, I decided to write out the Second Merging for you! I remembered recently that you liked the story whenever I told it to you, so I thought it’d be a good gift in place of the muffins ( :( )

I hope this is okay with you and that you’re doing well! Write back soon and I hope you enjoy the story just as much as I remember you do :D

Safe travels! I send my love and the warmest of imaginary hugs

Love, Bad
(And Skeppy sends his love and “hello’s” and imaginary hugs as well)

→ 

The Second Merging.

(Note: Hi Sappy Nappy :), if you’ve chosen to read this I hope it’s as I always told it, I can’t remember this story too clearly anymore after filling my mind with so many others. Regardless, I hope you enjoy! Happy reading!!!)

The second merging was not like the first.

To put it simply, no one knows how it happened. Only that it happened fast and out of nowhere.

Supposedly, the days in the Overworld after the First Merging had become more and more gloomy. It was a reflection of the Overworld God’s mood, but no one had any idea as to why he was upset.

Nowadays, people claim that during his absence in the First Merging, he might’ve seen terrible things.

No one knows.

All they knew for sure was that the world and it’s God were sad, and it rained for many days at a time. Sometimes, the rain would stop, and people would celebrate the sun, but eventually it would return.

This happened for months, rain pouring from clouds colored black, darker than a night sky that had not even a sliver of the moon.

Luckily enough, the God was kind, and chased away the rains when he realized just how much of it there had been for all that time. He chased away the dark clouds with a look of despair in his eyes, but turned to the people with a smile and blessed them with weeks of warm sunshine.

The people celebrated again, and though they cared for their God, it was during this time of celebration that they ignored his despair in favor of cherishing the welcome warmth of the sun.

It was during this time of celebration that the Second Merging happened.

Some say the Second Merging was the Gods’ punishment for people ignoring the God of the Overworld, but no one knows what the truth to this story really is.

All people know is that the Gods disappeared again, the worlds collided, and XD was the one swooping in to save everyone. But, unlike last time, the Gods did not return to their realms.

XD left the three realms, uncaring towards the chaos that followed once the damage had been repaired, and to this day none of the four Gods have been seen again.

Some think they left due to boredom, or because the world’s inhabitants needed to learn how to live on their own, needed to learn how to not rely on their Gods for everything.

Others hope they’ll return to us someday.

Personally, I think that wherever the Gods are, they’ve done plenty enough for their realms. The world has continued on even without them, and regardless of if they return or not, I don’t think that’ll change. But who knows? Maybe they’ll surprise us all one day.

But that’s the end, and I hope you enjoyed it, my little muffin head. 

• Bad

The End.

→ 

Only, that was not the end.

→

When the void began crumbling apart, Dream had looked solemn for the first time in… A while.

“XD is coming for us,” he’d said, appearing as though the life had been drained from his eyes.

“... Isn’t that good news?” George voiced Sapnap’s thoughts, tentative, but confused.

Dream smiled, but it was bittersweet, and it was clear he knew something that Sapnap and George didn’t.

“It is. Things will go back to the way they were before.” Dream answered, and then it clicked.

“We didn’t know each other before. Not as we do now,” Sapnap murmured, and Dream nodded simply.

“XD will be here shortly. I’m afraid this will be where we say goodbye. And then I assume XD will guide each of us back to our realms and life will continue as it was. With each of us ruling our separate realms.”

George scoffed, “Oh please, I’m sure we can find a way to see each other again. We’re Gods! It can’t be that hard, surely.”

Dream was shaking his head before George was finished. “That’s not the way it works. The portals to the Nether and End were created as barriers. The End portal is indestructible and keeps me and my magic in the End, and other magic that matches mine out. Nether portals aren’t quite as powerful, but that also means they can hardly handle magic that is not the portal itself. Sapnap attempting to pass through a portal would be too much for it to handle. It’d break if you tried to pass through it. The same thing goes for you, George. This… This place, it’s the only place we’d ever actually get to see each other again, and I’d guess this happening at all was a mistake. XD explained a lot of the world’s limits to me… A long time ago…”

The God of the End shrank in on himself slightly, frowning, and George leaned into him habitually.

(And wasn’t that something? They’d spent so long in this void, together, that they’d developed habits meant for comforting one another, keeping each other as happy as possible in their endless void.

… How long had they been here? Dream had stopped keeping track.)

“Well…” Sapnap eventually started, “If we can only see each other here, then we’ll do whatever we have to to get back.” His gaze hardened in determination and he made his way closer to the other Gods, reaching for their hands.

George offered his forward instantly, and though he was significantly more hesitant, Dream followed suit.

Sapnap grinned, placing a kiss to each of their hands gently, “We’ll break the barriers. Figure out how to use our magic so we can come back here again. Be together again, because no damn portal is gonna keep me from seeing you two. Okay? We’ll-”

“I wouldn’t recommend doing any of that, actually.”

The three Gods all startled at the sudden sound of a fourth voice, turning to see another being gazing down at them. The newcomer scoffed.

“I see you’ve all gotten rather comfortable. I’d say I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m not. Now come on, I must return you all to your realms. The mess has been cleaned up. It is time for you all to come with me. I do, however, apologize for taking so long.”

Sapnap wondered if the God before them could actually feel apologetic.

He doubted it.

And yet, he still followed it when Dream moved to their side automatically, sharing a glance with George before they both followed after the God of the End, their hands silently linking together.

→

He couldn’t recall saying goodbye to Dream, only whispering a hushed plan to George when XD and Dream had slipped through a pulsing rift that filled the air of the void with an electric buzz. His words had been hurried, perhaps even desperate, because while he didn’t know what it was they all shared, he knew it was something, and he loathed the very thought of that something going away just because of some damn portals.

They’d reunite, Sapnap was sure of it.

He couldn’t control time, nor could he know what his fate would become, but he was certain he wanted to spend the rest of eternity with Dream and George, no matter what.

They’d figure something out.

→

Meeting Dream was certainly one of the most memorable highlights of George and Sapnap’s journeying.

He was fun, and kind, and clicked with the both of them almost instantly upon being approached in that Warped Forest.

Weeks had passed since then, and Sapnap could say with full confidence that he, George and Dream were the best team ever.

Together, they could handle most any battle!

With George’s skill with the bow and arrow, and both Sapnap and Dream extremely skilled swordsmen, plus Dream’s additional ability to fly , no enemies stood a chance against the trio.

They were unstoppable, and prided themselves over the fact.

“We should have a team name! Like - like the Terrific Trio! Or… Or… Uh… I dunno, what do you guys think?” Sapnap proclaimed one evening, when the sky was turning dark, when the moon was rising over the distant horizon, and when Dream was carefully coaxing a fire to life in the center of the camp they’d set up for the night.

George scoffed from where he was propped up against a tree. The Mooshroom hybrid was adorned in thin clothing, his fluffy cow ears twitching in irritation as a fly continued to assault his face. “I think you’re an idiot,” he said, and though the look in his eyes was nothing but fond, his expression was pinched, the man huffing in annoyance as he stood abruptly, tail lashing.

“And I’m going into the tent. Come cuddle me once you’re both done being boring. Goodnight.” With that, the hybrid did exactly as he said, ducking into the tent he and Sapnap had set up and closing it behind him with a muffled, tired groan trailing after him.

Sapnap and Dream chuckled, their attention turning towards where Dream had finally managed to convince the writhing flame to grow. The man fed the fire leaves and scrapped letters that had been saved up just for this purpose, humming in satisfaction when the fire suddenly sprang upwards, embers floating through the air delicately before they burned through completely and turned to ashes, floating down to settle against the ground.

Sapnap watched him fondly as he worked to ensure the fire was contained, then reaching out a hand silently when it was clear Dream was finished fussing over it.

Dream glanced at his hand, a brow arching as amusement flickered across his features. A few moments passed, and then Dream broke, scooting closer and connecting their hands, fingers linking together with practiced ease, with Dream’s wings stretching to lightly rest across Sapnap’s back.

Sapnap suppressed a shiver as Dream’s cold palm made contact with his, but quickly got used to the other’s cold skin with a quiet sigh, shrugging his shoulders to shift the wing into a more comfortable position.

Sapnap shifted, leaning against Dream’s side and tucked his face close to Dream’s neck.

“Hi,” he whispered quietly, smiling when Dream shivered as his warm breath hit his skin.

“Hi Pandas,” Dream whispered softly in return, looking content as he relaxed his posture, sinking into Sapnap and resting there.

“You know…” Sapnap began, Dream humming curiously, “I kinda like the sound of the Dream Team, if we really did wanna go with a name for ourselves.”

And Dream laughed, tucking himself closer to Sapnap as he nodded. “We’ll have to talk to George about that one, Pandas.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Dream smiled, and Sapnap felt like the action turned the night to day with how bright it was.

“Heh… Alright. He’ll only agree if you give him a kiss.”

“So be it.”

“You can’t give George a kiss without giving me one too.”

“Pff - okay Sap. If he needs a kiss for convincing, I’ll give you one too, right after.”

“Good.”

The conversation lapsed into silence, for a while, until Dream said softly, “It’s late; we should join George soon…”

Only, Sapnap didn’t move, and neither did Dream.

They only snuggled closer together and listened to the sound of each other’s breathing, the fire crackling before them, both without a care in the world as the night dragged on.

→

It had worked.

Sapnap’s plan had worked.

“Dream!” He called out, searching for a familiar face through the smoke that filled the void.

He didn’t know where he was, didn’t know where George and Dream were, but he’d find them. 

He would search every inch of the void if he had to.

But, luckily enough for Sapnap, he didn’t have to do that.

“Sapnap?”

The voice was distant, but Sapnap didn’t care.

He raced forward, glancing around frantically as he tried to properly understand which way he had to go in order to find-

“Dream!”

Just ahead of him, the other God turned, spotting him and lighting up, “Sapnap!”

Dream raced towards him, and Sapnap launched forward to meet him in the middle, tugging the other into a warm embrace as soon as he was within reach.

“Sapnap-” Dream wheezed, his arms wrapping snugly around Sapnap’s waist, “what are you - what are we doing here? Where - Where’s George?”

“Right here, idiots.”

The two looked over, seeing George in all his glory, walking up to them with the biggest of grins on his face as he gazed at them.

They released each other slightly, opening their arms up, and George rushed forward to sink into the embrace eagerly. He sagged once he was in their arms, leaning his head against Sapnap’s shoulder, “Prime, I’ve missed you both,” he complained, his arms squeezing tight around them.

Sapnap chuckled, nodding along, “I did too. Living isn’t the same without you two around.”

Dream seemed like he was about to voice his agreement, but paused, wriggling free of George and Sapnap and taking a few steps back, looking around at the void above them.

“Yeah, yeah… I really missed you guys too but… What are we doing here? What did you do?”

Sapnap grinned, feeling joy swell inside of him at Dream’s look of awe and confusion.

“I made a plan.” He said simply, tone smug.

George scoffed, his ears twitching irritably as he shoved a hand into Sapnap’s face, pushing him backwards slightly. “Please, he had a half-assed idea that just so happened to develop something way better after I criticized him. Apparently, knucklehead over there works well when he’s under pressure.” George gestured to Sapnap, who snorted, and Dream raised a brow.

“That doesn’t - what? Guys, just - just what did you do?”

“We used magic to break a Nether portal!” Sapnap exclaimed, grinning excitedly. “And it worked! With George using his magic on one side of the portal and me using mine on the other side of the same portal, we managed to break it! But instead of the magic just bouncing off the portal once it broke, ours managed to connect right as the barrier enchantments were broken! And like… I’m pretty sure the odds of that happening on the first try - or at all - would be like… Bad. So… Luck was certainly on our side! And once our magic connected, the Merge began. We weren’t sure if it would connect to you too, but… Here we are!”

“Here we are,” Dream repeated, voice laced with amazement as his eyes lit up.

“Here we are,” George confirmed, smiling fondly as he flicked his gaze between Sapnap and Dream. 

“Yeah… Now c’mon - we’ve gotta figure out a way to stay here, or to convince XD to take down the barrier enchantments on the portals. Surely if XD can stop other Gods from leaving their realms, he can make some type of thing that’ll keep the realms from merging, right?” Sapnap cut in, gesturing to the void around them.

“Right,” Dream and George chorused, both smiling brightly.

Sapnap melted at the sight, and knew that they could do it; they could figure out a way to get what they wanted without risking their realms.

They’d figure something out.

And besides, they had luck on their side!

What could go wrong?

→

The void was torn apart harshly, just as it had been the first time.

They weren’t ready to go back, to leave each other once more, but they knew they could do this again, could see each other over and over until the end of time, or until the world fell to ruins because of them.

It was selfish of them, potentially risking the world just to have the chance to hold each other, but they’d made the world what it was, had guided each realm’s inhabitants through everything for a millenia.

Didn’t they deserve to be a little bit selfish here?

Was it really so bad to crave having each other, when they’d never had anyone else?

The time they’d spent in the void the second time around felt shorter.

Dream guessed XD would be quicker to fix the whole mess.

He was right, even though the three Gods had begged the universe for more time together as the void began crumbling.

XD had torn through the rift in the void, glowing brightly enough that the smoky tendrils of the void writhed in their light, shrinking back as if creatures burned by flames.

XD had no true face, could not express emotions clearly, but it still seemed as if it was full of rage as it stared down at the three Gods who held each other closely.

It’s voice was tired, angry, scornful when they spoke.

“You… You fools.”

XD plunged towards the ground, hissing quietly as it landed, almost like a creeper preparing to explode.

The God of the Aether stood before the others and offered a laugh, one that sounded so unnatural coming from the God that it unsettled the three.

“Are you… Are you really willing to risk the realms, just for a bit of hand-holding ?! Are you truly forsaking your duties as Gods for something as trivial as affection? Something as utterly useless as love?” The God’s wings, with ruffled feathers and all the elegance of a dirtied field mouse, flapped a few times behind them before spreading out, in a manner that almost seemed menacing.

“You three each hold a world in the palms of your hands, and instead of cherishing it, you choose to toss it aside in favor of an emotion that will fade as eternity comes and goes? Do not tell me I created such pathetic Gods. Do not tell me all my effort to keep you three in line, to keep this world functioning, will go to waste because you cannot sit still.”

No God uttered a word in reply.

XD scoffed.

“Pitiful.”

XD gestured to the rift. 

“I will not allow this to happen again. If I have to stay out of the Aether just to ensure you do not bring forth the destruction of the world then so be it. Go through the rift. Now.”

They didn’t want to.

They entered the rift, stepping through it with XD watching them carefully the entire time.

→ 

The people claimed the Gods disappeared because they chose to.

That was not the case.

They did not have a choice in the matter.

→

Over a hundred years after the Second Merging was fixed, a Demon wandered through the Nether, a satchel filled with gold ingots and quartz thumping against his side gently with each step he took.

He hummed cheerfully under his breath as he walked, pointed ears twitching occasionally, until it all came to a stop at a very peculiar sound.

For the Demon, the sound was unmistakable.

He followed it until he found the source, gasping softly at the sight of a small child, swathed in thin blankets and writhing in a basket as it cried out.

The Demon took in the sight of some nearby Hoglins, sniffing the air curiously as they approached the basket and rushed forward, shouting and waving his arms about.

Startled, the Hoglins squealed as they ran off, kicking up red dust and brittle brown grass as they made their escape.

The Demon chased them for a few moments, only to ensure they wouldn’t return, before he turned and bolted back towards the basket.

The crying had stopped, and the Demon feared the worst as he peered into it, only to come face to face with a small, round face. One that was smiling up at him as the baby made… Baby noises.

“Oh my muffin…” the Demon uttered softly, reaching out to press a finger against the baby's forehead. Well, he tried, crying out as the baby's skin burned him.

“Ow! Fu - Fudge! Fudge! Ow, ow - ow...ow… Ouch… That… That burned? What?”

The baby laughed as the Demon bent down to take a closer look at it, glowing white eyes squinting as the Demon tentatively reached out again, only to react the same as before.

“Oh my muffins! You hurt! What are you?!” The Demon cried, clutching his hand close to his chest with a pout. Still, regardless of his burned hand, it was clear as the Demon looked back down to the giggling toddler; he was not gonna leave them here.

Another being watched from close by, hidden in the red trees of the Nether, and hummed in satisfaction as it watched the interaction.

By the time the Demon had resorted to carefully carrying the basket, the being was disappearing, off to ensure that another two fates were being sealed.

→

Over a hundred years after XD had left the mortal realm again, leaving behind three realms that had no Gods to guide them, a cat hybrid and his lover were walking through a large field of grass that stretched towards the horizon in every direction.

The cat hybrid, energetic and ready to run, laughed as his lover lagged behind him, waving down at the other when he reached the top of a hill.

The cat hybrid sent his lover a kiss through the air before turning tail and racing towards the next hill, enjoying the feeling of the wind in his face. He easily made his way to the top of the next hill with a breathless laugh, glancing around and thoroughly enjoying the view.

Everything he could see was green, so vivid and bright.

Well, not everything.

The hybrid paused as a mass of red and white caught his eye, turning and gasping quietly in surprise at what he saw.

Mooshrooms.

The mushroom themed cows were rare, but to see a whole herd of them in one place? It was almost unheard of.

The cat hybrid, practically entranced by the sight, crept closer and closer, fur standing on end as his tail flicked, the hybrid desperately trying to contain his excitement.

Even when the cattle could see him, they didn’t startle, only grazing leisurely on the grass around them as the hybrid slinked between them, admiring their colorful pelts and lightly petting a few that wandered closer to him.

It was exhilarating, and the cat hybrid was about to run to grab his lover when something caught his eye again.

Sitting in the middle of a few cows, was a small child.

The hybrid paused, eyes widening at the sight.

“What-?” He whispered to himself, confusion coloring his features before he was stepping closer.

The child noticed his approach pretty quickly, but like the cows, they didn’t seem all that startled, only staring at the hybrid with wide, curious eyes.

“Oh my…” The cat hybrid murmured upon spotting the red tail, and the red and white dotted ears the child had. “A… Wow… Didn’t know you existed… What are you doing here? Where are your…?” So many questions, but no answers as the cat hybrid frantically looked around for any other hybrids that could be the child’s family. When it was clear that there were none around other than himself and the child, he cooed softly, bending to pick the child up.

The child remained silent, only staring up at the cat hybrid before sinking into his touch with a happy hum. The mooshrooms that had been surrounding the child eyed the cat hybrid curiously, but made no moves to attack him. 

With one last look around, the cat hybrid slowly began walking away, all the while searching desperately for anyone else.

There were no others.

None visible to the man, at least.

The same being who had watched the Demon disappeared from the area once it was clear the cat hybrid would not be leaving the child there alone.

The being had business to attend to elsewhere.

→

Over a hundred years after the Gods of the three realms disappeared, an adventurer found something rather odd in the depths of the End.

She had been preparing for months to enter the End and had only done so recently, a bag filled to the brim with supplies hanging on her back as she dropped into the portal with a cut off gasp of surprise.

The End was no longer a dangerous realm, not with all the work that had been done over the years to ensure it was safer for curious travellers.

This particular traveller, with curved horns, sheep ears, and long, wavy white hair, had been prepared for a harsher environment.

What she found was definitely not harsh.

She’d never looked at an Enderman before and thought of it as a social creature, but being in the End for more than five minutes proved to her that they really were quite social.

Actually, Endermen seemed more like the types to gather together in large groups to cuddle than to be solo creatures that wandered alone. Such a thought made her wonder if those Endermen that did happen to wander alone in the Overworld were just adventurers, like she was. Adventuring could certainly make life lonesome for any creature.

Pushing those thoughts aside, though, allowed the sheep hybrid to smile as she observed two Endermen, their hand-paw things connected and their tails twisted together as they exchanged conversation that she could not understand.

It was honestly rather pleasant, travelling through the End, though the hybrid knew she would face more challenges the more she travelled.

Regardless, she was having a good time.

Or, she had been for a while.

It was less fun when she accidentally met gazes with a nearby Enderman while glancing around. The Enderman shrieked, jaw falling open in a horrid display and drawing the attention of the other surrounding Endermen to her.

The adventurer groaned, hitching her bag up on her shoulders as she hurriedly raced away, determined not to hurt any creatures during her journey and instead heading towards a nearby safe zone, built specifically for situations like these and spaced around all over the discovered areas of the End.

Despite the rumored speed Endermen ran at, it was easy to evade the one chasing her, the sheep hybrid ducking inside the safe zone with a sigh of relief.

And though Endermen were exceedingly intelligent creatures, when angered, it had been proven long ago that coherent thought left them, making safe zones the best (peaceful) solution to aggravating the tall creatures of the End.

The adventurer sighed again once the angered Enderman simply began pacing outside of the entrance of the safe zone; she’d probably be stuck inside until the other relaxed and resumed doing whatever it had been doing prior to the hybrid’s accidental eye contact.

The hybrid dropped her bag of supplies, ears twitching at the resounding thud that followed, before she caught on to another noise.

This one was significantly quieter, a quiet hissing noise that sounded like -

The adventurer whipped around, searching the safe zone carefully until she spotted the hunched figure in the corner.

An Enderman, but not one that seemed to be angry with her, only defensive.

The sleek fur along the Enderman’s spine rippled as it turned a purple glare onto her, the sheep hybrid quickly averting her gaze.

Only, the Enderman did not approach her, tightly wrapped around something that caught the hybrid’s attention.

The Enderman hissed at her lowly as she neared it, but she was careful to keep her gaze on the small form the Enderman was wrapped around, gasping quietly in surprise when two purple eyes peered over at her.

The Enderman had a child tucked close to it’s chest, a child who had bright purple eyes and small, thin wings attached to his back. He wore a thin, dull green shirt with the back mostly torn out, and the adventurer was left to assume that had been done by the Enderman itself.

“Oh…” She whispered softly, the Enderman whining as it’s grip on the child tightened protectively.

“It - It’s okay…” She murmured, the child perking up at the sound of her voice.

The kid wriggled around, purple irises shining even in the dim light of the safe zone.

The adventurer smiled, feeling something warm build up inside her as the child cooed, making grabby hands in her direction.

The Enderman warbled quietly, glancing at the sheep before sharing a look with the child, who rumbled softly, almost identical to the way a cat would purr.

Also in the same manner a cat would, the kid leaned up, delicately pressing his fluffy blonde hair to the base of the Enderman’s chin.

The Enderman offered something similar to the sound of a polar bear’s chuffing, then, somewhat reluctantly, it loosened its grip on the child.

The child immediately jumped out of the Enderman’s arms, trilling excitedly as he approached the adventurer, who kneeled down slowly - cautious of the Enderman that watched her carefully, slitted pupils tracking her every movement.

“Hi there… Buddy… What’s a kid doing out here? I was sure all Endermen kids stayed a lot farther from the portal… But I guess you’re not entirely Enderman… But - but still. It doesn’t - what are you? I can’t say I’ve ever seen a hybrid like you before. I mean, I guess you look kinda like a bat hybrid with those wings, but those eyes? Only Endermen have those eyes. Oh, and I guess Ender Dragons too but… Nah… How would an Ender Dragon hybrid even survive out here? There aren’t even any recorded Ender Dragon hybrids that exist?”

The adventurer looked to the Enderman, silently wondering how long it had been holding on to the child, as said child poked at her and her bag of supplies curiously, wings fluttering with every new texture. Eventually, the kid paused in front of the woman, small hands tugging gently at her hair.

She chuckled softly, reaching out to pet the boy’s head in a manner that was fonder than it should’ve been after two minutes of interacting with him.

The boy offered another pleased purr, leaning into the touch. Just as he did so, the familiar sound of an Enderman teleporting filled the air, and when the adventurer looked up, the Enderman that had been holding the boy ever so tightly was gone.

“Oh…” The sheep hybrid murmured, the child turning and letting out a distressed cry upon realizing his former company was gone. 

“Ah - oh no,” she whispered, guiding the child’s attention back onto her, “oh dear - no, no, don’t cry little one, it’s okay, it’s okay. Please don’t cry, I’ll take care of you. Don’t cry,” She shushed the child gently, wiping at his glowing eyes as they grew wet with tears. The child’s wings fluttered, but this time it was not in delight.

The hybrid brought the child closer to her, hugging him loosely as he whimpered.

“Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay. Papa Puffy’s here; I’ll take care of you, it’s okay.”

The being watched this interaction closely, humming under their breath, pleased, before they finally disappeared again, content to let fate play the rest out as it pleased.

→

XD did not care for mortals, not as much as the other Gods once had.

Mortals, whether they meant to do it or not, ruined things.

The three realms had once been the Aether’s brethren, had once held no pain or misery, had once known complete peace.

When XD first breathed life into the mortals, they ruined all of that.

XD had once been tempted to destroy the worlds, kill off every mortal, and start over, but that hadn’t seemed entirely necessary.

Though time meant little to XD, they hadn’t wanted to waste it recreating worlds that were already fine. They simply needed to eradicate those that were causing problems and set some rules into place.

The Aether had no rules.

It became clear very quickly that the three new realms would desperately need rules.

Rules, and guidance.

From personal experience, XD could say that raising Hell was easier than raising Gods, but they did both anyways.

Through trial and error, they managed to fit the End God into a mold and watch as he grew to fit it perfectly. When they released him from the void to go and watch over his own realm, he did exactly as XD commanded, and he did excellently. 

He was a good tool, keeping the balance in one realm while XD fought to fit the other Gods into their own molds.

The Overworld God made it clear from the beginning that he was not quite so easy to command as End, but eventually XD made it work and fit the Overworld God into his mold with no trouble at all.

The Nether God was far more difficult to shape than the others, but XD had expected that from a God who was created to keep the balance in the harshest of realms, ruling over the harshest of creatures. Regardless of the time it took, the Nether God slipped into his mold in the end, and really that was all that mattered.

They were all crafted from XD’s own magic, shaped to be perfect little replicas, and XD could say that they were proud of what they’d accomplished with the three Gods.

They sent each God off to their separate realms and watched as they did exactly as told, keeping check over each creature, no matter how big or small.

The Gods were XD’s masterpiece, and the rules of the worlds were a close second as they attached themselves to everything, living or not. Even the Gods were not higher than XD’s rules, and XD was just fine with that.

Everything was perfect, and XD was content with continuing to watch over the Aether as their creations watched over the other three realms.

Everything was perfect.

And then one mortal made a mistake, a single, miniscule mistake, and everything fell to ruin all at once.

Before descending from the Aether, XD had to take a moment to wonder, Where did it all go wrong?

Their Gods had been perfect. They couldn’t possibly have had flaws, for XD had crafted them, had taken care to give each God their own perfect qualities to be sure they were all just the same in the way they ruled and offered guidance.

It couldn’t have been XD’s rules. XD had meticulously gone through their rules, over and over again for centuries before putting them into place, had ensured that they couldn’t be broken, that the Gods couldn’t leave their own realms.

But then how to explain the Merge?

It all dwindled down to mortals and one stupid, stupid loophole that XD had never considered.

Mortals and their curiosity.

Mortals and their habits of challenging what was already written out for them.

Mortals and the way they always poked at a sleeping bear’s pelt. 

Mortals and the way they sought out solutions to fix their own trivial problems like not being good enough at magic.

XD had considered eliminating mortals a second time, but had decided that was too much work in comparison to bringing back their creations and tearing the Merge apart. 

After all, once the Merge was fixed and the Gods were back in their rightful places, the mortals would do the rest themselves.

The story of the deceased mortal and their failed experiment would spread over time, like every mortal tale did, and the mortals would build obsidian walls around the portals out of fear alone. They’d dread the day another Merge came and took away their Gods and would do anything to prevent it.

Only XD was certain, at the time, that another Merge would not come.

In the end, perhaps it was wrong of XD to have so much faith in the other Gods.

To say they were surprised at what lead up to the Second Merging would be an overstatement; XD did not feel emotions of any kind quite as vividly as the other Gods, or any average mortal, but an unpleasant feeling did happen to build up in the back of their mind when they tore open the void for a second time to retrieve their creations.

Saying they felt guilty at tearing the three Gods apart would simply be untrue - XD’s sole priority was making sure the balance of the universe remained intact, and that couldn’t happen if the Gods created to keep the balance were continuously fighting to rip the fabric of reality apart just to see each other for an amount of time that meant nothing in comparison to the eternity that they’d all live.

So, no, XD did not feel guilt when they sent the Gods off to live the life of a mortal.

Their hope was that the three would go through their lives and forget about each other, and once their mortal bodies died, their consciousness would return to XD, and XD would be able to provide them a new physical form.

But hoping was a fruitless thing.

Especially when fate had other plans.

Though XD was powerful, powerful enough to rip through the universe and time itself, fate was something entirely different.

Fate was a small thing, always zipping around all over the place as it silently set certain paths to go a certain way.

Fate was a slippery creature, one that XD had never quite been able to hold on to for long. And, even when captured by one of the most powerful beings in existence, fate had a way of twisting and turning until it was free, continuing to mark down the future however it pleased.

It was perhaps the only thing that existed that XD could not control.

Fate had its own agenda to attend to, one that no one had ever been able to figure out, and it was probable that no one ever would.

And despite how hard XD worked, despite the lengths they had gone to to ensure their creations returned to them and resumed their duties as Gods, fate seemed to favor them better together than apart.

Fate brought them together again, and all XD could do was watch.

The God could only watch as the three fall in love all over again.

It was almost infuriating, but when fate had made its decision, there was nothing XD could do.

It was a pity, really, but XD could not fight against the higher being. Sure, they could spend eons redirecting people, and ensuring they avoided certain things, but in the end their efforts would be useless.

In the end, fate always had its’ way.

An annoying fact, but a fact nonetheless.

There was nothing left for the God to do.

→

Eventually, the time came that XD had found themself at peace with the fact that they would have to finally release their creations.

For as long as they had existed, the three had been dogs on a leash with XD pulling them along.

It was about time they were set free.

XD did not feel remorse as they approached a flickering fire, a campsite in the middle of a forest, and a tent with three sleeping mortals inside.

They did not feel grief, or anger, as they pushed aside one flap of the tent and peered down at the mortals with a glowing eye.

They did not feel anything as, with a single touch to each mortal’s head, they pulled the sleeping consciousness of Gods from each of them.

It was almost difficult, separating the dormant memories of the Gods from those that each man held, but XD was careful, and with magic as powerful as theirs, it was a quick process that left the three lovers undisturbed.

Fate giggled in the Gods’ ears like an irritating fly, but the God gave fate no reaction. 

They only offered the mortals a final, muttered farewell, and disappeared into the night with fate in tow.

The mortals were none-the-wiser when they woke up.

→

“I’m telling you dude,” Sapnap insisted as he clung to George, who was clinging onto both him and Dream, “it was the craziest dream! There was this huge dude, with - with hawk wings! And - and he had this really bright green tail with a big ass feather on the end. And his HEAD! It was just! Floating! In mid-air! It was like a big ass ball, with an eye dead set in the center, and this weird sorta ‘x’ mark covering it. And the middle of the ‘x’ was also like, where the eye’s pupil was! It was freaky! And it was worse ‘cause it looked like he was hovering over me, just staring right at me! I felt all violated ‘n stuff. And you didn’t even comfort me once!”

George scoffed, attempting to tug his arm out of Sapnap’s grip, but the demon held strong.

“I would never comfort you, who do you think I am? Dream?” He rolled his eyes, but the red tipped tail that wrapped around Sapnap’s wrist was clearly saying the exact opposite. It was a silent comfort, even if they all knew Sapnap was just exaggerating.

“Actually, Dream didn’t comfort me either! So no, I don’t think you’re Dream cause he’s too busy neglecting me to be any better than you!” 

Dream laughed, and when he turned to give Sapnap an amused glance, Sapnap only stuck out his tongue in retaliation.

“Oh, you poor baby,” Dream cooed, shaking his head fondly as his wings twitched. “I would’ve comforted you, I swear, but I didn’t ‘cause I was tryna remember my own dream. When you described the guy earlier he sounded really familiar. I’m thinking I might’ve dreamt about him too, maybe. Though, I don’t think he had a tail in my dream.”

At this information, Sapnap perked up, releasing George and running to Dream’s opposite side to instead grab onto him, “OOH! Do you think our dreams synced up?! Are we in sync now?? Boyfriend goals? George! Why can’t you remember your dreams, if you had the same dream we could totally be throuple goals right now!” 

George only laughed at Sapnap’s whining, flipping him off as Dream wheezed between them.

“Okay, okay, I get it, you two dream-remembering lovebirds can have your moment. But later when I start cuddling Dream instead of you and you’ll be the one excluded from this whole couple goals bullshit, don’t come crying to me. We will not be inviting you to our cuddle session tonight, sorry, it’s a couple thing.” George’s snarky response had Dream’s wheeze pitching higher, the man attempting to pull his arms free from his lovers to wipe at his eyes. He was unsuccessful, but hey, at least he gave it a try.

“Stop! Oh my - pff, stop. I’m going to pee myself!” Dream laughed, pulling ‘gross’ and ‘that’s nasty, please don’t’ comments from his boyfriends as he finally tugged an arm free with a gasp as he tried to regain his lost breath, his wings fluttering behind him.

Their banter continued as such as the three continued on, heading to wherever fate wanted them to go.

And maybe fate had a few places for them in mind, but that wasn’t for them to think about now.

All they had to focus on was each other and the love they shared.

And for them, that was the easiest thing in the world.