Rest (Ghost Au)

Chapter 38

Dream was standing at the counter of the Gate Room the day after he got the call, waiting for Karl to show up. He fiddled with the logbook, flipping and reading the words on the pages. His ears perked up when he heard footsteps behind him. "Hello, Karl," Dream said as he turned around, facing the brunet who wore a surprised look. 

"Hey Dream," Karl said with a nervous smile, hands behind his back. "Been a while, you haven't been back for days."

"Actually," Dream started, "I logged onto the book just yesterday," he said. "Where have you been? If I recall correctly, you mentioned to me once how you make tallies every night."

"I've been...busy," Karl said, avoiding eye contact.

Dream raised his eyebrow, "I'll be straightforward. Where's Tommy?"

"What's a Tommy?" Karl panicked, alright. Dream gave the other boy a look, resulting to a sigh. "How do you know Tommy?" Karl asked.

"He's...hmm," Dream looked down on the ground, thinking about it. "My sister went to a Halloween Party with his friend Tubbo's sister, Lani once."

"Well that's oddly specific," Karl commented. "Q talked to Tubbo and a guy named Fundy, so unless you can prove that you're in their side, I'm not taking you anywhere."

"Look, I can prove it," Dream said as he pulled the crystal ball necklace from under his neon green hoodie. "Hello?" He called out.

"Oh, hey mate," Philza picked up the crystal ball from the other side. 

"Can you put Tubbo on?" Dream asked.

"Can't," Phil answered. "It's Tuesday, the kids have school. Yesterday was a free day 'cause of the Town Festival last Sunday."

"Fuck," Dream said. "Umm..." he trailed off before looking at Karl, "Fundy there?" 

"Yeah, I think so," Phil said before disappearing from the crystal ball view. 

"You called?" Fundy appeared. 

"That the guy Q?" Karl asked, pulling the crystal ball from behind him.

"Yeah, yeah, that's the same voice," Quackity said. 

"Great!" Karl said, "Come with me then." He began leading Dream out the Gate Room.

"Won't you like, get in trouble for leaving your post and allowing random ghosts use the Universal Portal?" Dream asked as they walked. 

Karl shrugged, "I don't think the council's noticed yet," he said. "Besides, Tommy's a 16 year old that got dragged here for messing around and having fun because of the council's twisted ideals. Least I can do is try help him get back. I've seen way too many Lost Souls go through the Universal Portal and left in the Human Realm to wander aimlessly for the rest of their lives."

"Right, Lost Souls," Dream trailed off, thinking back to his and Sapnap's conversation. He wonders if Sapnap's still searching for Tommy. He hopes not. 

"It should be around here," Karl said as he scanned the wall for something. He perked up and pressed the gray button which revealed a passage. "Tommy's down here," he said.

"I'm back," Karl said as he reached the bottom of stairs.

"Are Wil—Who the fuck are you?!" Tommy exclaimed as Dream came into view.

Dream chuckled at the reaction, "We've never actually met, have we? I'm Dream."

Tommy furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember where he'd heard that name. "The homeless ghost that Techno knows?"