Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything flashes and my vision goes dark. I reach out, attempting to grab on to something, but everything that was there before was gone. All the smells and colors that once overwhelmed me were missing. I could feel the emptiness dragging me inside of it, into the nothingness. Not again, I was happy here. There can be no way this is happening. I could hardly hear my thoughts over the pounding of my heart. I saved them. I made sure there was no way anyone could have possibly got hurt. 

∽∽∽∽

Yes, I am a time traveler. I go through different timelines changing minor things, so everyone I love is kept safe. But there have been mishaps, and sometimes I fail to do my job. 

Currently, there has only been one person from every timeline determined to stop me. No matter what I did, all they wanted to do was lock me up somewhere I would be unable to use my powers.

Being what I am, I got the chance to meet the ancestors of everyone I loved, and I have sworn to keep them all safe.  

Throughout my time, I have witnessed pain, suffering, and history repeat. But, I also have seen joy and celebration. There have been things I couldn't help, and I still feel guilty for those times. Some memories are blurry, and some things I don't remember at all. I've heard rumors of side effects of people like me using their abilities. But I haven't experienced any notable changes yet. 

Along my journey, I came across a Nation created by two best friends who longed for freedom. They ran away to the woods and started everything up from the ground. But along the way, there have been countless times of hurt, betrayal, and especially times where there was no hope. The nation slowly grew with size, riches, and people. But as they became more powerful, they gained more enemies. The two friends fought in wars together, even working for freedom in the fights they had no chance. The Country had good morals, and everyone wanted to be a part of it. They held an election, so their people could decide on a ruler, but when the two friends lost and the new president exiled them from their home, they slowly went mad. They fought adverse to what they stood for and tried to go against democracy. But the more challenges they faced and the more punishing the battles got, the original government slowly went insane. During what some thought would be the final fight for control, the former president who initially swore to keep his land safe revealed himself as a traitor. Despite his promises, his one motive was to destroy his nation. One night while everyone was planning for battle, he snuck away and planted explosives all around his land. I did what I could to destroy it and many times succeeded. But after the friends got their home back, after a new president got sworn in, after everyone thought they got what they fought for, he blew it all up. Today, there is nothing left of the Country, the people who once lived there are slowly going insane from the loss, and out of the two friends, there is only one who survived. 

As time went on, things didn't get better. I had to change the outcomes from a tyrannical ruler but, I was unable to fix everything. While the nation was still thriving, the same person who vowed to take me down had the same promise to the Country. He got rid of everything he ever cared for, only so no one could have anything over him. He bribed people with wealth to betray their side. While attempting to gain power over everyone, he manipulated the most vulnerable people during their times of need. But, when he put everything on the line, he lost. For the first time, the most powerful man fell. And, he didn't only lose everything, but he also lost his future. All his friends found out what he was doing, and everyone he thought was on his side turned against him. And the man was thrown into the prison he built for me. It was inescapable, and he knew that. For now, I'm still unsure of why he wanted to get locked up , but I'm assuming it is for some plan he has set up.

∽∽∽∽

As I got sucked into the abyss, I suddenly couldn’t remember why I was here, or who I was. The only thing I felt was the wind crashing into me from all sides. What’s happening? Where am I? Where did I come from? I couldn’t answer the simplest questions. All of a sudden I felt my feet touch the hard ground, and I could hear the sounds of people talking. I looked around and saw a huge forest and in the distance were two friends talking about freedom. 

I felt a strange feeling coursing through my veins, and I looked down at my hand. It was slightly translucent as if I wasn’t real, and I wasn’t convinced that I was. I couldn’t even remember who I was. 

“Tommy, come here! Look at this!” 

In front of me, I could hear a deep voice, coated with a strong British accent calling out someone's name. I started walking forward, my feet bringing me towards the sound. 

“Ha! Why are the fish jumping around like that!” A different voice called out, this one sounded younger, with a higher-pitched accent. I walked closer, seeing two men towering over a long and winding river. Sure enough, the salmon that were swimming with the current, was jumping around as if they were trying to get out. 

“Let’s name them Clementine!” The same boy called out.

“So they’re all gonna be Clementine?” The older one questioned, through the trees, I could see the blonde and shorter boy nodding. “Fair enough.” The taller man with long coffee-colored hair that flopped into his eyes laughed. He looked over in my direction but did not react to seeing me as if I wasn’t there. 

All of a sudden everything flashed, and I was standing next to a van with a group of people. Everyone was cheering and happy, but despite how familiar everything felt, I couldn’t remember where I was or what was happening. 

“We did it!” Someone yelled from the crowd.

“Schlatt is gone!” Schlatt? No, it can’t be. Why is that name so familiar?

I turned around, trying to look for anything that rung a bell. All of a sudden the floor beneath me exploded, blasting broken bits of dirt and stone through space. Everything lurched up under my feet and threw me and the crowd scattering in different directions. The world was a whirlwind of wood and everything that was in the area, and I slammed back to the ground with a thud. My breath left me all at once and my ears rang with a high-pitched whine. Nothing else mattered at that moment but air. I couldn't get in a breath. 

“Wilbur! Where’s Wilbur?!” The same young boy from the river yelled. Is everyone ok? Is Wilbur ok? Where am I, can I help?

“Tommy, there’s no way he made it out alive.” Someone from the crowd responded.

“No, no, he had to! He promised me! He promised me he wouldn’t! Wilbur has to be ok!” Even I knew that Wilbur didn’t survive, but the boy was screaming for his friend like there was still a chance. “Phil also promised me, and Techno, no! This, no! Please someone help!” 

Everything around me was broken and falling apart. I had no idea what was happening in the slightest, but I knew it was bad. I’ve never heard such a heartbreaking cry and it only made the ringing in my ears so much more painful.

“Someone help!” The boy shrieked. He was on his knees, looking at the ashes and burning homes. From a distance I could tell he was shaking, his blond hair was covered in dust, his face and clothes were all bloodied, he was broken. Yet he kept trying to run into the explosion, and two tall men who looked just as hurt had to hold him back. Tears silently ran down all their faces and my heart broke. These men who looked so strong and powerful were falling apart, and I knew it was a sign of what was to come.  

“You’re my son!” Someone yelled from a distance, everyone turned their heads just in time to see the one known as Wilbur grab the man with pleading in his eyes.

“Do it, Phil, do it!” Wilbur’s voice was barely audible through the chaos, but that was the last thing we heard before he fell to the ground, a sword stabbed through his heart. A painless death. The other man that once stood beside Wilbur fell to the ground. He screamed, he screamed louder than I ever thought was possible. That was until Tommy screamed, his scream pierced through the burning air.

Everything was loud until it wasn’t. 

Everything was grey until it was black.

Everything was broken until it was nothing.

Chapter Text

I was back in the nothingness, floating through the void. Everything was dark and empty. What is happening? Why do I keep coming back here? Who am I?  

My memories still wouldn’t come back to me, and everything was missing. 

“This is the in-between,” I turned around abruptly, a voice I couldn’t recognize surrounded me from all sides. “A world you’ve been to a few times now.”

“Who are you? What are you doing to me?” I shouted, but of course, I was met with no answer. 

“It’s time to comprehend more of what is happening to you, Karl.” The voice continued, Karl? Am I Karl? “This place acts as your gateway for traveling in time. It isn’t a dimension you’re familiar with but in some senses, it’s a home away from home.” 

“Tell me who you are! Tell me who I am! Please, I just want answers!”

“Karl, you need to understand, the key to you grasping more of an understanding of your time-traveling abilities lay within this void you will soon get to traverse. But fear not, this is not a place to provoke harm, but a place to feel at ease.” 

The simple words bounced around my skull, banging into my head like hammers. 

Time travel.

Karl.

Abilities.

“Tell me why I can’t remember anything!”

“Your body is deteriorating, every time you travel you lose more and more understanding of who you are. But, this is something that you can most definitely solve in the future. If you explore more, you will one day know what to do to stop losing yourself and have better control over your mind.”

I felt cold hands pull me out of the darkness. Frightened cries echoed and dug into my skull.

“Are you ok?” A familiar voice cried. I hazily opened my eyes, slowly getting used to the light. I realized that I was laying on the ground in the forest from before, a man stood next to me, towering over my frail body. 

“Wilbur?” I mumbled. It can’t be. I just saw him die. And he couldn’t see me before. No one could see me.

As his name left my mouth he took a few panicked steps back, “How do you know my name?” He suddenly became defensive, “Have you been eavesdropping? Who are you?”

“I-I-I,” I stuttered, the change in his stance startling me, “I’m Karl. I don’t know where I am or who you are. All I know are the names, Wilbur and Tommy.” 

His eyes went wide, “Tommy?” 

I nodded at him, still laying on the ground. I could feel my spine-tingling and goosebumps erupted on my arms. What’s happening. Am I a time traveler? Who are these people and why do I keep coming back to them? 

“I’m going to need you to come with me,” He murmured, just loud enough for me to hear. Wilbur stood next to me momentarily paralyzed with fear as I struggled to stand up. “I’m Wilbur, but Tommy,” He whispered Tommy’s name.

I knew better than to ask what was happening. He didn’t seem to know either. 

He led me through the trees and over to a huge black and yellow wall. It was barely built and looked like it was still in construction.

“This is the start of L’manberg’s walls. Eret is building them,” He looked up at the great border and scoffed, “He’s the only one out of us that knows how to build.” He chuckled until the mood suddenly became somber. 

“Let’s move on,” He continued leading me forward. “Tommy, my best friend. He’s my right-hand man and he’s helping me create this new Nation. He’s currently with Tubbo.”

“ Tubbo” I gasped, as the name hit me I suddenly saw a boy laying on the ground of rubble. He had little horns poking out the sides of his head and they were coated in blood. A sword was stabbed through his chest and I could tell he was gone. Next to him was a huge man, he too had horns on his head but his were much bigger. The man’s bloodied hands were holding onto the boys’ shoulders. He looked like he was crying, and was trying to bring Tubbo back.

 “ Schlatt.” It hit me, that was Schlatt. The person the people were cheering for when the explosion happened. 

“Schlatt? Who’s that?” Wilbur said, bringing me back to reality.

“I-I-I-I, I don’t know,” I stuttered. 

“Hmmm,” he hummed and walked forward. 

I continued following him, he led me on a wooden path that took us to a van with a big flame on top. A sign was placed in front of it with the words, “hto dog”. I assumed it was just hot dog spelled wrong and I didn’t bring it up.

“This is L’manberg’s caravan.”

“No,” I gasped sharply. The van. Wilbur. Schlatt. It can’t be. “What’s happening?” 

My body started shaking and I could hear my heartbeat speed up. 

“Karl?” 

“Wilbur, please help me.” I looked up at him with pleading eyes. “I have no clue what’s happening, or where I am, or even who I am.” 

“Let’s go inside the van. I’ll make you a drink and try to explain to you all that I know.”