That one time I woke up in prison

Chapter 6

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The newly-respawned boy shook in the warden's arms, terrified sobbing echoing through the obsidian around them.

"Shh shh, it's okay," the creeper-hybrid tried to calm him, "just breathe; Bad and Ant are busy seeing what the hell is going on out there. I'm going to need you to explain what happened."

The boy in the multicoloured jumper clutched shakily at the warden's armour, trying to stumble through an explanation but incoherent and inconsolable. Sam supposed it was fair; the boy had just lost his second canon life after all - he was down to only one left now.

A basketball sized scar now covered a bit over half of Karl's face, the flesh around the edges seeming to have caught the wither effect. The creeper hybrid couldn't imagine how painful it must've been, even after respawning.

Eventually, he was given a very basic story, though it seemed even the boy had no real clue of what had happened. From what the warden could tell; the visit had gone fine at the start, but then Techno had made withers outside the prison and shot holes in the walls. The wither made its way through, into the cell, and stole the boy's canon life, also letting Dream out in the process.

The warden needed to get out there and help, but he also couldn't just leave the inconsolable boy alone after such an event. He'd called Jack Manifold, as the boy had previously been insistent on becoming a prison guard and was eager to show his worth.

Jack could comfort Karl and get a proper telling of what happened while Sam worked with the other guards to secure the threat. Things would be fine; they'd capture Dream and Techno, and put them both in cells. They'd manage it. Right?

When the boy with 3D glasses came in, Sam missed the small smirk Jack gave at being closer to becoming a prison guard. When he handed Karl over to the boy with 3D glasses, Sam missed how his bow was missing. And when he ran off to join the fight; when Karl buried his face in Jack's shoulder, Sam missed how Karl's scared expression dropped to a smirk.

He missed it all, in favour of worrying about the escapee.

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"You seriously lost a canon life there..?" the ex-prisoner was more upset over the loss than the time traveler was. He tentatively eyed the rotting skin around his companion's newly acquired scar.

"Yeah? It's called being dedicated to the mission." Karl cracked up, seeming quite unconcerned, "I still have one canon life left, so it really just doesn't matter to me."

Dream's eyebrows furrowed, still concerned despite the time traveler's apathy, "You said you die a lot on your travels and those don't count, but these deaths obviously do. Won't you still die for real if you lose your last canon life here?"

"Oh I will," the boy with the multicoloured hoodie confirmed with a nod, "I just don't care."

Upon the confusion he received in return, he decided to explain, just a bit.

"It's not like the universe will fall apart without me," he shrugged, "I'm not the only Karl Jacobs, nor anywhere close to the first. Every Karl dies in the end - they honk up, create some anomaly, and then get chased down by the Inbetween to be 'corrected'. I already know it's basically impossible for me to end up as the last Karl; the one who creates the perfect timeline."

His face was jovial and careless, and while his tone tried to replicate it, there was a faint hollowness inside. His eyes were blank with resignation.

"That's..." the ex-prisoner faltered, unsure of exactly what to say, "I don't think that's the best way to look at it."

"Well what can I do? That's kinda the only way to look at it, really." The time traveler laughed, as if he wasn't so compliant about his own inevitable death.

Dream didn't know how to deal with this. What do you say to someone who acted so passive about their end? If anything, the boy in the multicoloured jumper seemed to be waiting for it, as if it was the only thing in store for his future.

...

Dream didn't want to die. He didn't want to think that death was the only solution to his situation, or the sole path he could walk down. He knew it just wasn't right for him - he didn't want it to be right for anyone else either.

He simply nodded to his companion sullenly, making a mental note to persuade the boy otherwise in the future, but moved onto another topic for now.

"So where do we go from here on out?" He asked instead, looking to Karl for answers.

The boy looked at him curiously, "You really weren't planning to just go back to your god complex?"

"What? No!" He protested, exasperated, "I told you I wasn't lying about anything! I have nothing to do with whatever happened in all the time I lost!"

"Sorry sorry," Karl muttered, raising his hands in surrender before sighing, "the first course of action is to find a safer place for you to hide. We can't stay here in my abandoned library forever."

"What about staying with Techno? And Phil?" He asked, wondering why that wasn't an option.

"Ranboo's there too. While he's the memory boy and will likely forget you're hiding there, he also is really close to Tubbo - and Tommy - so I don't think it's a good idea to get him involved," the time traveler explained, before adding, "at least not until you remember how to brainwash him."

"You realise you're condoning the traumatisation of minors, right?" He murmured sourly, not at all enjoying what Karl was implying he do.

"Dre, my standards have decreased drastically from when I first started travelling. Suck it up."

The ex-prisoner simply glared, causing his ( definitely temporary , Dream decided) companion to just drop it.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just sort out a place." He hummed in contemplation, "El Rapids has been abandoned for a while, but Quackity might've gone back there after the fight we had. Sapnap's busy being depressed with George in Kinoko Kingdom - he uh, he doesn't want to see me right now, as far as I can guess - so we can't go there either."

Dream didn't dare ask about the fight. It was probably his fault - maybe not directly, but as a result of everything. That seemed to be a running gag since he woke up in a cell.

"Snowchester? Absolutely not, there's no way in Prime that we'd be able to hide there. And the crater of L'Manburg is completely taken over by the egg, so that's a no-go." He continues to consider, "Maybe we could go to Tommy's holiday home? He's abandoned it as far as I know, and Connor only shows up sometimes. Plus, I'm sure I can convince him to not say anything."

The ex-prisoner lit up, "Can we go see the Community House? We won't have to go too far out of our way for it, and it wouldn't hurt, right?"

Karl felt his mouth go dry. He didn't like how excited Dream was. He knew Dre had built it with the rest of the Dream Team, back when the server was barely starting. How was Karl going to put this gently?

"...We can definitely go see it," he cleared his throat hesitantly, "but it isn't quite as you remember it."

The ex-prisoner's smile faltered, but he stayed upbeat. "It's okay, as long as it's still standing!"

The time traveler cringed.

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He watched the colour drain from his friend's face as they approached.

They stopped in front of what remained of the Community House, the time traveler refusing to meet the eyes of his companion.

The ex-prisoner drew in a shaky breath, dropping to his knees as he looked on in horror.

It was destroyed. The build he'd loved so much; all the time he'd spent there with his friends; it was all gone. Who the hell would have dared to wreck it like this?

"It's uh," Karl gulped, laughing nervously, "it's kind of on its last canon life, I guess you could say."

"What happened..?" he murmured to the wind, breathily.

"Well, you blew it up the first time to frame Tommy," the boy in the multicoloured jumper rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "then like two or three months later Puffy had a villain arc and blew it up after Fundy did some 'social experiment' thing."

"Papa..?" His voice cracked, his eyes drifting over the wreckage. He did this. He was the one to destroy it first. He'd sowed the seeds of destruction in the server, leveling the only peace the server might've had. He'd even managed to cause his own papa a mental breakdown.

What the fuck had happened to his server?

Karl crouched down beside his friend, giving his hand a comforting squeeze as he tried to mutter comfort. Unfortunately, they weren't in a situation to stay on the floor.

"Dre, I'm sorry, but we have to keep moving - we're right out in the open here, we'll be found." When the ex-prisoner didn't make a move to get up, he sighed, "I can't carry you, I'm a twink. Please get up."

He'd given Dream his frog hoodie. It wasn't exactly the best disguise, but it certainly hid his face and covered up the orange prison jumpsuit, so it was a decent temporary fix. It was better than nothing, but it wouldn't help too much if someone looked closely. Staying out in the open definitely wasn't the best idea.

He heard footsteps approaching as he pulled the ex-prisoner to his feet. His eyes widening slightly, he quickly shoved the disguised boy into the water, striding across the ruins of the Community House to intercept the advancing duo.

"Fundy, Punz; hey!" he greeted, forcing a smile onto his face. It was more of a grimace though.

They glanced between each other before looking back to the boy in the multicoloured hoodie.

"Karl, what the hell is that?" the fox boy stared, eyes wide.

For a second, panic stirred through his bones. Had they seen Dream? Had his hoodie not gained its colour back from being in the Inbetween? Then the mercenary stepped forward, half-cupping Karl's face in their hand as they stared closely at the withered scar.

"The edges are actually rotting," they murmured, frowning as their friend winced, "how the hell did you die?"

"I got shot by a wither; didn't you see in chat?" he flinched away from Punz's touch, pain flaring in the wound again. "I lost a canon life."

The fox and mercenary looked between each other again, expressions turning to sympathy, "You still have two lives left though, so that's good, right?"

The time traveller hesitated, before shaking his head stiffly. "I only have one."

Punz wore confusion for a second before they seemed to remember, "Mexican L'Manburg, right? When you died to frame Eret?"

"El Rapids- and yes." He nodded, before remembering a certain ex-prisoner was hiding nearby, "So uh, did you guys need anything or?"

"Oh yeah," Fundy piped up, "I was talking to Quackity, and he seemed kinda off his rocker."

Nodding along, the mercenary added, "Sapnap was refusing to leave his Kinoko project thing, too."

"We were both coming to find you, and ran into each other on the way. Did something happen between you guys?"

The time traveler knew Fundy was probably only concerned because he wanted to scam people with Big Q, but he gulped dryly before letting his voice crack, "We had a bit of a fight. I'm pretty sure the wedding's off."

Wide eyes looked back at him. "Oh shit, really? I thought you three were like, perfect for each other?"

The mercenary smacked the fox boy over the back of the head when Karl's gaze dropped to the ground, barely contained tears threatening to slip down his cheeks.

"I mean," Fundy panicked, "I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything we can do to help?"

"It's fine," he shrugged, but his voice cracking betrayed him, "I don't think there's really anything you can do; I'd rather just be alone right now."

They shared a look again. Karl " Physical-touch-is-my-love-language " Jacobs wanted to be alone? Hesitantly, they looked back to the boy in the multicoloured jumper. "Are you sure?"

He simply nodded.

The fox and mercenary eventually went on their way. They left the time traveler alone in the ruins of the Community House, leaving him to his thoughts. They both missed a certain ex-prisoner in a borrowed frog onesie coming up to put a hand on the shoulder of a disheartened Karl.