Dreamcrash

Epilogue

I got situated quickly. I ended up landing in a house near the outside of town, where the snow was thicker. It was two levels, with the first having a living room and kitchen, and the second with two bedrooms. There was a basement accessed by a door in the back of the house. It was small and had a cabinet filled with drawers, that was about it. 

I explored the town. One of the buildings was supposed to be a shop, and it always had fresh cinnamon buns in it. I don't know how they were all fresh. My only guess was the Creator who made this had decided they buns would always be fresh. The building next to that was an Inn. Farther along the road was an unnamed restaurant. It had tables and chairs set up, along with a jukebox. A bar was there too, with several unknown nonalcoholic drinks on racks behind it. There was a door in the back, but it was locked. There were many other houses around, most smaller than the one I chose. The doors on them were all locked.

I explored the areas outside town. On the side my house was on, there was what looked like the start of a cavern. I couldn't go very far, but I was able to explore a bit. It was wet, and I could hear running water everywhere I went in it. I ran across crystals now and then. However, after going pretty deep, I came across a big glitching mess. I couldn't go past it. On the other side of town, it opened up to a snowy forest. It was big, with tall pine trees. There were many icy spots, where I found I was not good at ice skating. Overall, the forest was a really peaceful place, but like the caverns, it ended abruptly with a glitching mess.

Patch, true to his word, checked in on me twice a week for a while. Helped me get comfortable, and gave me some company. We would talk about the ongoing of my home multiverse and how the other protectors were doing. After a while, his visits became less and less common, until he stopped coming altogether. I started getting used to the silence.

A few months in, not long before Patch stopped coming, I started experimenting with my powers. I learned how to travel in and out of the Dreamscape, training on it until it was second nature. I learned how the Dreamscape worked, too. I could sense the overall emotions of all the AUs in the multiverse I was in, like what I did in my home multiverse, only stronger. From there, I started learning about the inhabitants of this multiverse. I learned about Error, the resident destroyer. Whenever he showed up in an AU, it would feel unsettled, nervous. I learned about Ink, the protector. When he came, the AU seemed to sigh in relief. I learned about two other presences, one that brought fear and negativity, one that brought peace and positivity. I came to the conclusion that they were this multiverse's Nightmare and Dream.

A month after Patch stopped coming, someone else showed up. He said his name was AJ, and he was a very interesting person. A human, with black hair pulled back in a man bun. He had a grey long sleeved shirt, loose black pants, and a purple sweatshirt. His eyes were indigo. When he showed up, AJ acted like he knew me. He was pretty calm and easygoing, but acted like he was slightly above me. Other than that, he made great company. AJ was what he called a 'Multiverse Traveler'. He traveled across multiverses, and always had stories of what was going on in other AUs and multiverses. Sometimes, AJ would bring me things from other multiverses. At some point, he brought me leggings and a purple turtleneck, saying my normal outfit looked uncomfortable for day to day wear. The leggings and turtleneck fit, and I liked them, so I wore that instead. AJ seemed pretty happy with that.

Then, six months in, I had one last dream.

"So, what do you say?" Asks a voice. It's been so long since I had a dream, it takes me a moment to place the voice, but I remember it's Dust. "Because I'm all for yes."

"Same here." This one is Cross. "I'm getting tired of all the fighting."

"I'm not sure." There's uncertainly in corrupted me's voice that I've never heard before.

"As the others said, I'm in for it." That was Killer talking.

"Agreed." A fourth, low voice that I don't know speaks. 

"Boss, please. We're tired of fighting. And I know you are too. Trust me, it's going to work out fine in the end," Cross says. Nightmare sighs.

"Fine. I guess it would be nice."

"Great! I'll inform Blue!" Cross says, and then he probably leaves. The other three leave too, talking excitedly. 

"What have I agreed to..." Nightmare says. "This better work out."

Someone entered. "Back. Blue said that means everyone's in, and he's aiming to do it next week. And we're going to hold you to this, no backing out."

Nightmare chuckled. "Alright, alright."

"And boss? Thanks for agreeing to this. It means a lot to us."

Cross leaves and the dream fades away.

I wake up. I don't know what corrupted me agreed to, but it sounded like a good thing. 

I hear a knock on the door. I walk downstairs and open it. AJ's standing there, holding a box of something. "Ay, what up." He slides in and we sit on the couch. He opens the box to reveal food. "Tacos, from Underswap. Want one?"

"Sure." I grab one and bite into it. It's full of flavor, and tastes pretty good.

"Good, right? I love tacos." AJ grabs one and takes a big bite. "Mmmmm. Just wanted to drop these off, can't stay long. Sorry." He put the box in the kitchen and waved as he left. I finished my taco and closed my eyes, slipping into the Dreamscape. The AUs felt peaceful today, a sense of calm that flooded me. It was nice.

I took a seat and let the calm wash over me.

End