Okay for some reason I have decided to write what my beta reader is calling a 'very ambitious crossover fic.'
It's a fantasy chosen one style long form. It has a bunch of different characters from a few different fandoms, and I, for some reason, have decided to do a polyship where only two of the characters have actually met before. Wild.
Anyway, have a snippet with no context yet 'cause I seem to write things starting from the middle and work my way out to the beginning and end.
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It began without warning. No flicker of closing eyes. No slow drift into sleep.
One moment, Philza was crouched by a dying fire under a black sky, shard clutched in his hand.
The next, he was standing in a field of silvery green grass, the world bathed in twilight that had no sun and cast no shadow. The wind stirred gently, cool and dry. Not cold but just enough to carry the scent of something unreal. It didn’t smell like home. Or the new world. It smelled like something in between.
The horizon stretched on forever, wrapped in a kind of peace Philza hadn’t felt since… he couldn’t even remember. His wings instinctively flared slightly at his back, the feathers catching the strange light.
At the heart of the field stood a tree. Massive. Entirely foreign. Its bark shimmered like cooled metal. Its silver leaves rustled faintly in wind that didn't move the grass. Every inch of it whispered of an otherworldly presence.
Philza took a few cautious steps forward. The ground was soft beneath his boots. Silent.
Then, something shifted.
A ripple in the air. The sensation of weight entering the dream.
A soft thud followed by a muffled groan broke the stillness.
Philza turned and there he was.
Slimecicle lay face first in the grass, limbs half sunk half seeped into the earth.
“Okay,” Slime mumbled, voice muffled slightly. “This is... objectively, the strangest nap I’ve ever taken.”
He rolled onto his back with a grin, blinking up at the skyless light. “Hey, I know this place! I’ve never seen it before in my life, but I know it.”
Philza felt the corners of his mouth twitch upward. “You alright?”
“Oh, totally. Just dreaming with style.” Slime sat up, brushing small bits of dirt stuck to his arms, moreso spreading the mess around his slime, not that he really noticed. “This grass is stupid soft. Where are we, the dimension of weighted blankets?”
Philza looked back toward the tree. “I’m not sure this is just a dream.”
“I mean, I’m not arguing. But if this is how dreams look now, I’m never waking up again.”
Then another shift but sharper this time.
The sky didn’t change, but something beneath it did. Like a ripple in thought. Philza felt it before it happened.
Tango stumbled into the field like he’d been pushed through a door with no warning.
He caught himself on one knee, breathing hard, cloak flaring around him only it wasn’t his usual cloak. It shimmered like ink in water, constantly shifting in the corners of Philza’s vision.
Tango’s eyes were wide. Panicked. Searching.
When he saw them, Phil and Slime, he froze.
“What the hell is this?” he whispered. “Is this-am I dead? Are you dead? Are we all dead?”
Slime waved lazily. “Hey, welcome to the dreamscape. You’re just in time for the existential breakdown buffet.”
Philza stepped forward carefully. “It’s okay. We’re not dead. I think… we’re dreaming. Together.”
Tango shook his head. “No. This doesn’t make any sense. It's been quiet. Too quiet. I haven’t felt anything in days. You guys were-God, I didn’t even know if you were alive.”
His voice cracked on the last word. Just barely.
Philza moved closer, his voice soft. “We are. We’re here.”
Tango didn’t reply. But he didn’t back away.
And then.
A soundless pause.
Like the world inhaled.
And X33N appeared.
No light. No flash. No drama.
One moment there were three of them. Then four.
He stood a few paces away, arms crossed. Not surprised. Not confused. Just still.
“Okay,” he said simply. “This is new.”
Tango blinked. “...X?”
Slime grinned. “Hey, buddy! Welcome to group mind prison!”
“Prison?” X33N’s gaze flicked across the field. “Feels more like... a bubble.”
Philza nodded slowly. “A space between. We’re not fully dreaming. We’re connected. Through the shard, I think.”
X33N didn’t answer right away. His expression didn’t change, but Philza felt it. A shift in the bond.
Relief.
Buried deep, but real.
None of them said what they were all thinking.
I missed you.
I thought I’d lost you.
I didn’t know how much I needed this.
But in the hush beneath the twilight sky, the bond hummed between them. Quiet and familiar.
They weren’t alone anymore.
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So yeah. I have decided to write a X33N, TangoTek, Slimecicle and Philza ship fic even though only Slime and Phil actually have met. I just thought their characters would blend really well together! That and my poly ass be crazy.
Also I know their characters are a little ooc, but please spare me its 4am and I am so very tired.
