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apollo-writes-random-shit · 3 years

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Escaping

Read on AO3 here!

Chapter 2

Summary:

Karl needed to escape and needed to escape fast.

(Spoilers for the latest Inbetween episode! It also mentions some of the characters from past videos.

Note: The reason Quackity is not mentioned and only Sapnap is referred to as Karl's fiancé is because Quackity isn't comfortable with fanfiction involving him being shipped and I want to respect his wishes.)

The moment he woke up, Karl could recognise something was off. Granted, something always seemed off in The Inbetween but ever since he had discovered that secondary set of books, everything had gotten worse. Colours had seemed slightly off, the other Karls' movements seemed almost robotic, the manner enhanced whenever he toured the white complicated pathways.

In beauty lay danger and that's what The Inbetween was. An uncertainty shrouded in sheets of elegance, beckoning to him like a siren, yearning to have him within its clutch. As much as he desired to unwind, to allow his muscles to untense and obey the wishes of the land encompassing him, he couldn't. Not while the memories from former visits were playing through his subconscious. What was the ' it' the books had been speaking of? Was it even safe to uncover the enigma that was its identity?

Sighing, he forced the thoughts to the side as he reached down for the latest book, already feeling trepidation at the thought of what had been inked onto the pages.

The first page was the same as always. A simple greeting, along with a note that there was still more he had yet to learn about himself. Still, something made Karl feel unnerved and he knew whatever the second page held wouldn't be as friendly as it seemed.

I'm so glad to finally see you again! :]

I see you have accidentally strayed from the path recently and I must remind you, don't stray from the path! :]

Unable to help himself, a shudder ran down the young time traveller's spine. That smile. It seemed innocent yet it screamed danger. The path...The one which as far as his failing memory could inform him, had never been fully set out. What was the path? Was it just following the halls? Was it avoiding the hidden books? Why did that smile remind him of something? No. Not something. Some one . But who?

Carefully, he set the book down, wishing not to upset the author by damaging their book. They were watching him. They were always watching. Every move in the castle was watched. Karl was sure of it. Surely someone had to be. Surely one of the authors was lurking in the background, watching where his feet took him.

Karl just wasn't sure if whoever was watching him had the best wishes for him. All he could tell was that eyes were on him. He was nothing but prey to whatever controlled this beautiful land.

With a sigh, he left the courtyard behind him, wandering instead to a tree which had once possessed a warning. The warning of the threats the palace he walked so often held. The warning of a pair of eyes. A plea to ignore the angelic atmosphere and find a way to a prohibited room.

A plea to stray from the path.

The water looked so inviting as he approached, though the flicker of a darker copy of the area made him take pause, a feeling of paranoia briefly chaining itself around his heart. It was nothing but his imagination. Surely that was all it was.

Making up his mind to disregard the event, he allowed water to engulf him. Allowed it to pull him down gently until he rested in front of a door one that lead to a place where he could gather his thoughts without being watched.

Well, in the past that's what it used to be. The instant he stepped through that door, he was filled with the urge to escape the darkened room. To find a way out of The Inbetween forever. Yet, he was attracted to the book resting before him, water pooling at his feet. All he had to do was read...So why was he shaking? Why were his eyes shooting around, scanning for threats? What was that smell coming from above him? Surely it wasn't what he thought it was...

Swallowing, he promptly reached out, scooping up the text before he could stop himself for if he didn't, he wouldn't pick it up at all.

Go up the ladder, it has a surprise waiting for you.

Eleven words and a wink yet that was enough to cause Karl's body to tense up, blood turning to ice as the smell wafting down from the small room above him seemed to almost become stronger, slowly wrapping around him, almost like a hug. A cruel yet gentle hug.

He couldn't discern when his body started moving again. He couldn't feel the creaking timber under his shivering fingers, unseeing to the wall drifting gently past his eyes.

It was only when he heard a cry that he was jarred back into his body, mouth slamming shut as wavering sight snapped back to focus. He hadn't even noticed he had collapsed to his knees, the sight of blood splattered everywhere overwhelming him.

Stick to the path :]

How'd The Inbetween expect him to trust it now when it did...Whatever this was?

Quickly, the time traveller stumbled back to the ladder, doing his best to overlook the sensation of half-dried blood sticking to his shoes. At least some of it washed off as he desperately clawed his way out of the water, almost slamming into the white tiles as he launched himself off the tree.

He wanted to throw up yet found himself unable. No. Instead, he just found himself walking to yet another book, a familiar rose placed lovingly nearby. A wither rose, petals dark as the monster who almost always seemed to drop them.

Noticed you strayed from the path a bit there! Your mind seems to be playing tricks on you :]

Let's not let that happen again!

Go to the room where this all began

How had he strayed from the path though? Had it been by allowing his instincts to lead him below the tree? Judging by the sights that the hidden rooms bore, The Inbetween had wanted him to go down there. Was it speaking of the sudden change of atmosphere that had lasted a few seconds as he approached the water?

The book held no answers. Just more instructions.

Instructions that he knew he had to follow. How bad could it be right? He just had to go to the large empty room and see what it wanted. He could just pretend the whole blood thing never happened! Ignorance is bliss or whatever...Did the same go for pretending to be ignorant?

With a sigh, Karl slowly started walking, ignoring the small water pools forming under him. He was always dry when he woke up back home so why stress about it now? The sooner he read the book, the quicker he could leave. The quicker he could get home...The quicker he could get back to Sapnap. God, he missed him.

Coming to a halt, Karl picked up the room's novel, catching sight of another just beyond the stairs. Whatever that book held, would most likely set off a chain reaction. He could just feel it. But that book would have to wait a moment.

This is where you first joined us in The Inbetween :]

What a joyous time it has been!

I feel you have learned so much about yourself and abilities you possess.

There is still so much to discover here in the inbetween, but I can see you are starting to doubt yourself!

How silly! :]

Karl paused. Silly? How was it silly that he had started to doubt himself? He was losing his memories each time he unwillingly jumped through the timeline. Of course, he'd doubt himself and this place. Who wouldn't?

I can tell you aren't yourself as much lately... Must be having some crazy terrible and skewed imagination! I assure you, this is not a place to provoke harm, but a place to feel at ease.

"That's a honking load of crap..." Slight fear struck through him when he found his voice echoing through the room. Would he be punished for speaking against The Inbetween? It had started to appear more and more like a living being over each trip.

Don't trust the illusions, they are only your mind deteriorating.

Don't trust anything except for the path.

Just stick to the path, and read the books :]

Carefully setting the book down, he walked towards the stairs, steps light yet oh so loud in the empty room. Read the books huh? Well, it didn't outright say the only books he was permitted to read were the ones accompanied with a wither rose.

Quickly, he snatched the second book up, leaning against the wall before he opened it, almost hiding in the corner in hopes of whatever the hell was watching him couldn't read the inked words.

PLEASE JUST GET TO THE PORTAL.

THE INBETWEEN ISNT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS.

Before he could even close the book, he found himself back in the spacious room he had just retreated from, heaving for air as he lay prone on the floor. Tear glazed eyes watched as a book carelessly slipped off its podium, just begging to be picked up and examined.

Stop straying from the path, Karl.

I know you more than you do.

I know what is right for you.

These visions should not dictate your opinion on The Inbetween. It is safe here.

How was a place that threw him around carelessly like a toy safe? How could he feel protected if reading a mere tome could have him launched into another room?

The urge to escape just grew stronger as each threatening word engraved itself into his terrified mind. Quickly, he stumbled out of the room, all but throwing the book back into its hiding place. Reading that book had caused him to be thrown through space.

The only thing that calmed his racing heart was the portraits hanging on the wall. Each time he returned, a new one would be there, showing a scene of the area he had just visited, with the people he had made connections with...Images holding all of Sapnap's reincarnations, both past and future.

Like always, Karl paused in front of the one holding his Sapnap. He couldn't help but let a small smile grace his features as he looked up at the face of his fiancé. "I'm so gonna cuddle the honk out of you when I get home."

Taking a step back, he mentally slapped himself. Right. He had to find a way out of this place. Sighing he turned on his heel and walked away. He'd be back home soon and the real thing was always better than a still image. Gods, he could practically feel the other's arms wrapped around him.

Movement caught his eye and he paused. Odd. Normally the other Karl's never paid attention to him and instead just walked around by themselves...One had never just... Stared at him before. They never responded to his presence yet here one was. Opening his mouth to voice his confusion, he was stopped by a silent almost unnoticeable tilt of a head before the other walked off.

Obeying the silent order, Karl followed, only to be hit with nausea yet again. The hallway felt like it had tilted as the lighting changed. Where was he? Surely this couldn't be The Inbetween...Or was he just seeing its true form?

The other had paused again, staring before disappearing altogether, a small leaf of paper floating to the ground in his wake.

Immediately, Karl darted forward, wanting to read the other's words before it too was snatched away.

The swings. Do not believe in this place. Do what we could not. Hurry. Please.

Nodding slightly to himself, Karl took off, sprinting down the remainder of the hall, doing his best to remain steady as the floor shook beneath him. The Inbetween was no doubt angry at the brief communication and he silently prayed for the safety of his copy's soul.

Ever so innocently, another book rest tucked against the tree. Darting around the ones roaming the area, Karl grabbed it, almost crashing into the tree as he did so...He had a feeling the time traveller he had just seen had written it or at the very least, knew of its existence yet for some reason, was unable to read it himself.

These versions of yourself have lost themselves.

They have stayed in The Inbetween for far too long and have lost who they are, doomed to traverse this castle forever.

These are not just visions, this is reality.

Go to the portal.

The portal...That's what he needed. That was his ticket out . It had to be.

Of course, getting there wouldn't be simple for The Inbetween was still enraged. The second the book closed, Karl felt himself pulled in multiple directions. One second he was facing the portal he needed, yet before he could reach for it, he found himself in a corridor, walls speeding past.

The scream ripping through his throat only came to a stop once he was in yet another dark room, faced with a book that he had no choice but to open.

Don't go to the portal.

How could he not? He wanted freedom from this hell. He wasn't safe here. He was safe at home.

I will see to it that you will regret it if you do so.

At this point, he was regretting everything. Things were clicking into place. The hidden books, the reason why no matter what he did, another Karl had never interacted with him until now...It even explained the portraits. The Inbetween wanted to keep him here. Wanted to trap him. Wanted to bring despair to those who loved him, never knowing if he'd ever one day return to them.

This is not even a warning.

We will come and make sure you don't stray from the path

"We?" Nervously looking around, Karl couldn't help but whimper. He couldn't see into the darkness. He was exposed here. Vulnerable. The slip of paper seemed to weigh down his pocket. He had to run. No...There was no choice but to run.

Spinning on his heel, he carelessly dropped the book behind him, flinching at a whisper in his ear.

Follow the torches.

The voice was familiar yet that of a stranger. Was it from himself? Another version of himself? A loved one? Now wasn't the time to focus on that.

Instead, he ran, ignoring the way his still damp shoes squeaked on the tiles. He had to get away. The water under the courtyard's tree looked oh so inviting like always but he forced himself to look away.

He couldn't afford to allow himself to be distracted anymore. He needed to get out.

It can't follow you through the portal.

The whisper almost made him take pause. The voice had changed. It was younger...Sweeter. That of a small boy. Tubbo? No...Not him. Tubbo's voice seemed to always hold a mischievous undertone. Yet. It did sound like him in some way. It was connected to him somehow and that's when it hit Karl. Robin. The two times orphaned boy convicted for a murder he had never committed. A boy condemned to burn, the ending of his life controlled by the adults in his life, twisted with paranoia. They had wanted someone to blame and who better than a child with nothing more to lose? A child with no more fight left in his soul?

The thoughts of the past distracted him from the glitching landscape. Distracted him from the way his hands shook as he scaled yet another ladder, almost losing his grip.

You'll be home soon.

Another voice, no longer belonging to Robin but another face of the past. A voice he hadn't heard other than a handful of times, the voice soft yet nervous. It reminded him of eyes moving nervously around under a mask, short sentences always cut off in fear of punishment for going over the few words the speaker had been so 'graciously' allowed. Despite being the one to strike him down. To coldly tell him to return to the egg's home, Karl did not blame the Butler for he had no say. Held under both the cursed Egg's influence and the orders of his master, Sir Billiam III, he had no choice but to obey and leave Karl bleeding on a cold stone floor. He had been able to see regret in the young man's eyes as he plunged the sword into him.

Forcing himself out of a memory soaked in pain and blood, Karl kept running, almost slipping as he clambered to make it to the top of a short staircase. He was so close, he knew it. He was close to escaping.

Keep going! Hurry!

It wasn't hard for Karl to figure out who the soft yet eerie voices belonged to. After all, Zachary and Ash were the only ones he had met that spoke like that. The two had creeped Karl out somewhat over his participation in Schlatt's games. The way they spoke, the way they crept around everywhere, hiding in the background before appearing right next to you.

Two twins clothed in mystery. No one seemed to know much about them, despite Connor saying they were friends. Who was Karl to judge though? The SMP was full of strange characters, after all, some weirder than the twins themselves.

Why did he feel like they were somewhat connected to this place?

For your friends.

John John, the bartender working at a way too young age, forced to deal with bandits day in and day out, unable to make much of a living for himself. What could the bandits have taken anyway? They all knew the small town was struggling. Even Karl knew that the second he had emerged from the mines. There was only a handful of people living there yet the trio expected poor John to have money for the taking.

He had felt close to the poor boy, wanting to protect him. The teen was one of the main reasons Karl proposed a duel in the first place, one he had quickly regretted as the young man was gunned down, eyes once full of hope dimming as he crashed into the wood below him. As much as it had hurt him to shoot Mason, yet another timeline's Sapnap, he knew he had to avenge the soft-spoken bar owner. He had been able to breathe easier again once the sight of Ranboo walking around appeared.

Another room concealed in darkness in which housed small pockets of light greeted him. Pockets of safety for that's what the torches represented.

Protect your stories.

Karl always knew there was something different about Connor. There had always been something slightly off and it was only when he had travelled back to the age of cowboys and gunfights that he had realized why. Connor wasn't meant to be there and judging by the look in the other's eyes when he entered the bar, he knew it as well. They had both learnt each other's major secret in a split second.

The confrontation back at the SMP had been awkward, hushed whispers full of questions and admittances, interwoven with comforts. The two had walked away with promises and locations. Promises of pure secrecy and locations of hidden rooms, each full of their own narratives.

The dark welcomed the terrified young man as he darted past torches and out into the rain that did not register in his mind. It was only when he spotted the portal that he realized he had been soaked yet again.

The Inbetween may have attempted to slow him with the possibility of injury that came with sprinting through rainfall but Karl Jacobs was nothing but stubborn to get out and was not going to let a downpour stop him.

What did make him stop was yet another book, resting oh so innocently in front of the portal, a dark rose swaying side to side, beckoning him closer.

It was the last book he'd ever analyse in here yet he knew it would be the loudest.

You may never remember your friends again if you go into this portal.

Those simple words had his body overrun with fear. Was it a threat? A promise? A warning? All three? Karl couldn't tell but the voices in his head of those he had met were instructing him to keep calm.

Don't be silly, The Inbetween is here to keep you warm, comfortable, and most importantly, it is suppose to keep you in tune with the powers you possess.

"I never asked for these powers though!" A smothered sob escaped him as he collapsed to his knees. "I never requested for any of this..."

All he desired to do was go home. He just craved to be held by his fiancé as he murmured words of comfort, helping him to remember whatever had escaped his mind.

Karl had comprehended that Sapnap was curious and would eventually discover what he was. The other man held a sharp mind so it was only a matter of time before he had discovered the secret library. Sure, it had put a bit of a strain on their relationship for a while. Sapnap inquired why he had never told him and Karl had revealed why he couldn't. Why it had frightened him so much when he had realised that his love had gone through all of his tales. Why he disappeared and why he had clung to him oh so desperately one day, wailing as he reassured himself that he wasn't hallucinating. That his love wasn't dead.

But once the two had calmed down, they had started to work together, building up the trust that had been lost, making it greater than before. It also gave Karl another person to confide in when everything became too overwhelming.

Do not let these visions get to you.

This will not end well.

You will lose everything.

Lose what? He had a book full of reminders back home, waiting to remind him of everything he may have forgotten. He had a friend who knew the hardships that came with writing stories before leaving new friends behind him. He had a fiancé that understood the reasons behind his strange behaviour and poor memory.

Sapnap knew why he'd wake up wailing for a man long dead, for a man who he had once cherished even if he only knew him for a day. He understood the way he'd cry and apologize for killing him.

Don't be silly :]

If being 'silly' was what would get him out of here...Then Karl was ready to gamble. He didn't want to be yet another lost soul, straying the halls of a beautiful hell for the rest of all eternity.

The whispers of friends and enemies, past, present and those yet to come all whispered to him. Urged him to go through the portal. To protect himself from a place in a way so many had failed to do so.

Footsteps echoed behind him, striking fear into him, hand grasping for a weapon that didn't exist.

A well-known face regarded him with a perfect stranger's eyes.

"None of us can accompany you but go. Escape. It is the only way you can remain alive. You're our last hope."

"I.."

"You're the only one with a future. Everyone else has failed. Please. Hurry and modify your timeline. Save them all."

"I will." Looking away from his copy, Karl stepped into the portal, enabling its swirling matter to coil around him. The humming of the gateway grew more powerful, stifling the voices ricocheting within his head.

#Karl Jacobs #tales from the smp #The Inbetween #Apollo's shitty writing #DreamSMP

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