Chapter Text
“Where are you going?”
The sudden voice, small yet still sharp with authority, made Tubbo stop in his tracks and turn around to find Ramon staring at him, Richarlyson not too far behind. The sun was barely up in the sky, and Tubbo had tried to leave before anyone else could wake up, but it seemed he’d failed at that.
He decided it would be best to put it simply.
“I’m leaving.”
“Why?”
“I told you I’d stay the night, and I did. And, unless I am wrong, it is no longer night. And it’s not like I’m going be be of any use to you, so I’m leaving before your parents change their mind about not killing me.”
Ramon looked a little bit hurt, and Tubbo actually felt kind of bad for a short moment. The two of them continued to stare at each other, and then the child walked up to Tubbo and kicked him in the shin.
“Ow. My feelings,” Tubbo said blankly.
“You’re not leaving,” Ramon told him. Richarlyson nodded his head in agreement.
“Look, kid, you don’t even know me. You’ll forget about me sooner or later, or you’ll end up passing by my corpse when I eventually die.”
Ramon scowled.
“You.” Kick “Are not.” Kick “Going. to. die.”
Tubbo threw his hands up in defeat. This kid was going to drive him crazy.
“Ok, Ok! I’ll stay for a little bit! Stop kicking me!”
Ramon grinned triumphantly- Little shit- and grabbed Tubbo’s hand in order to drag him back over to where Fit and Pac were sharing some food, having already gotten up.
Fit and Ramon shared a knowing look- of course, they did- and Pac smiled up at Tubbo kindly. Tubbo knew that Pac knew he had tried to leave, but the other just seemed to ignore it.
“Did you sleep well?”
Why did he even care?
“If nearly having a panic attack in the middle of the night counts as sleeping well, then sure,” Tubbo deadpanned.
Pac walked up to him, not dropping his smile even though the teenager did notice it falter slightly and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. Tubbo panicked internally because he obviously did not give the other the answer he wanted. He was probably going to kill him now.
Instead of killing him, though, Pac only spoke again, the kindness not leaving his tone.
“We’ve all done that before, but I’m not sure if it counts to much. I’m going to say no. Are you hungry?”
Tubbo shook his head rather harshly, shaking Pac’s hand off of him. Why the hell was he acting like that? He was treating Tubbo like he’d known him all his life, even though he’d hardly known him a day. The teen wasn’t sure he liked that too much. It was just weird and uncomfortable.
He wanted to get out of there. He wanted to leave and not come back and go back to being alone and on his own. He didn’t want to have to deal with this.
He took a couple of steps back, crossing his arms over his chest and scowled. He didn’t need these people’s pity.
“You don’t need to waste any more resources on me,” he practically spat. “Look, I appreciate the offer but I have my own food and my own supplies and I don’t want your help.”
Pac backed away, looking kind of dejected and looked at Fit with an expression that he couldn’t quite catch. Tubbo couldn't catch the look that Fit returned but could tell that they pretty much just had an entire conversation through the exchange. The man walked over to him, looking him in the eye.
Shit, Tubbo thought. He was definitely going to be killed now.
But Fit made no move to harm him.
“No,” he told him, speaking up for the first time that morning. “But we want your help.”
What?
“What do you mean by that?” Tubbo asked, because who in their right mind would want his help anyway? Were these people insane? Was it a trick?
Whatever Fit was thinking, the man didn’t show it. “We saw your skills with that chainsaw back there. And the fact that you’ve managed to stay alive this long, entirely on your own? You’re good at survival, Tubbo. We need someone like you with us.”
Tubbo stared at him blankly but still considered the offer for a moment. It didn’t seem that bad, and the fact that they had younger children with them made them seem a little more trustworthy. He could do it for the children, he told himself. Just for the kids. He kinda liked them anyway.
Besides, if he ever felt unsafe he always had his chainsaw. Tubbo met Fit’s gaze.
“So you want to form an alliance based off survival.” He stated.
“Yes,” Fit replied. “For survival.”
Tubbo looked at Fit and Pac, then at the two kids. Then, he made his decision.
“Ok, fine,” he said, nodding curtly and offering a hand out for Fit and Pac to shake. The two of them shook it. Tubbo didn’t miss how different each person's handshake was, how Fit’s was much more rough, yet Pac’s was firm but also gentle.
After that, and a little bit of pushing from the others, they all split their rations, even though Tubbo still felt kind of awkward in doing so. But he supposed he had to get used to it, since he didn’t know how long he would be with them for.
Fit and Pac were quite surprised at how much Tubbo actually had on him. The teen’s backpack was mostly full of food and other important items, but he did enjoy collecting little trinkets and treasures that he found around, or sometimes stole.
“So,” Tubbo asked, once everyone was done eating. “Do you guys have a plan or…?”
The boy watched as everyone suddenly looked at Pac, directing his gaze to the Brazilian as well. The man’s expression fell. Tubbo immediately understood that something was wrong.
It took Pac a little bit to speak up, probably because he was trying to figure out what exactly to say, and he looked nervous.
“We’re trying to find my best friend,” he said after a bit, voice soft, almost careful even, like he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. “Tubbo, are you familiar with the Federation?”
The Federation. Tubbo knew what that was. With the way the country was in shambles, with pretty much most of humanity wiped out, several groups of survivors had grouped themselves into organizations to try and regain some sort of order. The problem was that many of those organizations were corrupt. The Federation was one of the most infamous ones. Tubbo had a notorious streak with them. He really hoped he wouldn’t have to encounter them again.
“I’m aware of what that is. They don’t like me,” he told Pac warily. Pac nodded and continued.
“They- they kidnapped him. My best friend. One of Richarlyson’s other dads.” Pac’s voice broke. Tubbo watched in silence as Fit reached out a hand to comfort him, albeit slightly awkwardly, and both Ramon and Richas hugged him.
“That’s why we need your help so much,” the brunette whispered, looking at Tubbo with desperation. “I understand if you change your mind.”
Tubbo sighed, brushing his hair out of his face, and did not miss it at Ramon glared a warning at him from by Pac’s side. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
It was too late for him to change his mind, he decided.
“We already shook on it,” he stated. “So really, I can’t change my mind if I wanted to. And I think Ramon would make an attempt on my life if I did. So, that being said, do you have any idea where your friend might be being held?”
Pac offered him a wobbly smile, full of relief. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I don’t know exactly where he might be… that’s the problem, but I know a group of people we know who may be able to help if we can get to them without dying first. That’s where we were headed before we met you.”
Tubbo nodded his head, humming in thought.
“Well,” he began, “It would probably be best to leave now, since it's early. And if we can manage to find a car I can probably jumpstart it. That would get us there much faster than walking and would probably be much safer.”
“There’s a parking lot nearby, over there,” Fit said, pointing outside. “And wait- do you even know how to drive?”
“Nope,” Tubbo said, exiting the building into the early-morning sunlight and walking in the direction Fit had pointed in. Sure enough, after walking for a bit, he could see a parking lot in the distance in front of what appeared to be an abandoned strip mall. He’d already figured out what car would be the best choice before they even made it over there.
Walking up to an older-looking green van, Tubbo slapped his palm against the hood.
“This one’s perfect,” he told the others, who had followed him out looking a little confused. “Just give me a few minutes.”
They all watched as Tubbo did his thing.
The teenager buzzed around the parking lot like a firefly, scavenging around and taking whatever he could find before returning to the car. It took a little bit of effort and he almost electrocuted himself at least twice, but eventually, he'd gotten the car to start. He looked up at the others, grinning triumphantly.
“I don’t wanna know why you needed to know how to do that,” Fit said, raising his eyebrows, “But it’s incredibly useful. Anyway, I think it’d be best if I drive.”
“Yeah that would probably be safest,” Pac agreed, hopping into the passenger seat. Following him, Fit got into the driver’s seat, and Tubbo hopped in the back with Ramon and Richarlyson.
As Fit pulled out of the parking lot, Tubbo felt Ramon tug on his shirt.
“What’s up, king?” He asked, looking down.
Ramon kept his voice low, but he had a mischievous smile on his face.
“Can you teach me how to do that?”
“To do what? Jumpstart a car?”
“Yeah, that.”
“I don’t mind, but not right now, obviously.”
Ramon grinned even wider, before going back to his conversation with Richarlyson.
If Ramon’s dad had heard their conversation, he didn’t say anything and just kept driving.
The car hummed along the road that stretched out endlessly in front of them, the engine purring softly. Fit and Pac were engaged in a conversation together from up front, but Tubbo barely paid attention to anything. He was kind of tired, and it was quiet enough for him to fall asleep, so he just leaned against the window that provided quickly-changing scenery, closed his eyes, and let the world fade away from him for a bit.
It was a while before he woke up, still feeling the sensation of the car driving along the highway; confirmation that they were still driving. He blinked open his eyes and tried to sit up, but a weight on his side prevented him from doing so. He looked down to see both Ramon and Richarlyson leaning against him, both boys fast asleep. Fit and Pac were still awake, although they had stopped talking, and were currently staring out the windshield in silence. Tubbo could tell that they’d been driving for a couple of hours since it was almost noon, and the landscape had changed greatly.
“Pac,” Tubbo said, trying to keep his voice low so he didn’t wake the kids, “Who was that group of people you were talking about earlier?”
Pac turned his head to look back at him. “The Bolas,” he told him, which did not answer any of Tubbo’s questions. The teenager stared at him quizzically.
“The what?”
“The Bolas,” Pac repeated. “They’re kinda like a syndicate, almost. But they’re aiming to take down the federation. We’re pretty good friends with them.”
Tubbo didn’t speak up again after that, only went back to watching the scenery change out the window, and soon enough Fit had pulled over on the side of the road.
As the sun went down, the group shared their rations once more, Tubbo feeling slightly less uncomfortable than he had the previous night. The group chatted for a little bit, about random things, things that didn’t even make sense, like quantum physics and different paradoxes and machinery (Which, as it turned out, Tubbo and Pac had a shared interest for, but Fit was greatly confused by). Tubbo and Pac even had a rather long debate about what the best way to build a bomb was, much to everyone else’s concern, except for Ramon, who appeared rather interested in the topic.
“Ramon,” Fit told his son, “There is no way I am ever letting you build a bomb.”
Ramon was kind of dejected at that but cheered up a bit when both Tubbo and Pac offered to teach him to build a smoke bomb, which was a much safer option.
It was kind of peaceful, Tubbo had thought, as he drifted off to sleep leaning against the car window once more, with Ramon resting his head on his shoulder, beams of moonlight highlighting the boy’s small frame.
That peace didn’t last very long.
They were on the second day of driving when suddenly, Tubbo felt himself being lurched forward as Fit slammed on the brakes, the seatbelt holding him back. Instinctively, he looked out the front windshield to see what had caused the disruption and his blood ran cold.
There was a group of people that had materialized in their way, standing in the middle of the dusty road. One of them had a pretty threatening-looking gun, which was pointed straight at them. The man who was armed motioned for them to get out of the car, and Tubbo felt a chill go down his spine. As he reluctantly pushed open the door and stepped out of the vehicle, he eyed his surroundings for any clues or opportunities.
Tubbo stood protectively in front of Ramon and Richas, doing his best to hold his chainsaw out of view, as both Fit and Pac had a stare-down with the strangers.
“What the fuck do you want from us?” Fit challenged. His voice was sharp and full of authority, and Tubbo wondered if he might have been in the military at some point. He certainly knew where Ramon got it from.
“Everything you have,” The stranger ordered. Fit stood his ground.
“Fuck off.”
The stranger cocked his gun and pointed it directly at Fit. Pac grabbed Fit’s arm pleadingly, as Ramon sprinted out from behind Tubbo to stand protectively by his dad. Tubbo’s heart raced in his chest.
“Everything you have,” The stranger said again. Fit still made no move to do anything, even as Pac tried to convince him the fight wasn’t worth it. The stranger put his finger on the trigger, but instead of aiming it at Fit, aimed it at Ramon, and Tubbo’s brain went into fight or flight mode.
He activated his chainsaw and sprinted at the armed stranger, ignoring the gun that was now pointed straight at him. Everything happened so quickly after that; the man rushed to fire as the teenager ran, and some of the shots definitely hit their target, but Tubbo didn’t stop. As soon as he got close enough he lifted the chainsaw and swung wildly. There was a wet squelching noise and blood that splattered everywhere and screaming and a lot more gunshots, one so close to Tubbo’s head that it made his ears ring, and then there was the crunch of bone and then silence.
Tubbo staggered forward, collapsing onto his knees and falling over as the world spun around him.
“-ubbo! Tubbo!”
The voice took a bit to filter in through the ringing in his ears, but Tubbo recognized Pac’s voice. A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders as the Brazilian lifted him so he’d be sitting up. He was okay, then. Pac was okay. Tubbo hoped that everyone else was okay as well.
He tried to ask but the words came out all wrong, garbled and incoherent, and he was choking on what he figured to be blood.
Blood. He was covered in it. It was in his hair, dripping down his side, splattered on his face and clothes like death paint. He didn’t even know how much of it was his. And then he made the mistake of looking to his side.
The man’s body lay there, flesh torn and practically hacked into pieces from Tubbo’s chainsaw, blood pooling around it. Tubbo thought he might throw up. He’d killed people with his chainsaw before, but he’d never actually looked at the body. It was horrid.
“Pac, is he okay?” Fit’s voice came from behind him. So Fit was okay too then.
I’m fine, Tubbo wanted to say. I’m fine and you don’t need to worry about me just make sure the kids are safe.
“I don’t know, I think it’s really bad, he got shot a couple of times.” he heard Pac call out to Fit. He sounded worried. He wasn’t supposed to be worried about Tubbo. Tubbo coughed up the blood that was in his throat and tried to speak again, and this time he was actually able to get a few words out.
“-kids,” he gasped. “are they- they okay?”
“They're okay, Tubbo,” Pac told him, voice trembling. “We’re all okay. You did it. You saved us again.”
Everyone else crowded around him, looking down at him with various expressions of worry.
“We have to hurry and get to the Bolas’s base,” Fit said. “He needs medical attention. I think Phil will be able to help.”
Tubbo had no clue who this Phil guy was.
“Who?” He whispered, struggling to hold onto consciousness.
“He’s the leader of the Bolas,” Richarlyson told him. “And then there’s tio Foolish, tio Charlie, tia Baghera, and my pai Cellbit. I think Cellbit would like you because he also likes chainsaws.”
“I think they would all like him,” Fit said, helping Pac lift Tubbo onto his feet. They helped him limp into the van, and Pac sat in the back next to Tubbo, allowing Richarlyson to sit shotgun, with Ramon on Tubbo’s other side.
Fit turned the ignition, putting the car into drive, and pulled back onto the road. Pac pulled his first-aid kit back out and began doing his best to treat Tubbo’s newer gunshot wounds but it was clear that the teenager needed better medical attention. He’d gotten shot in a number of places, the most notable ones being the one that grazed his side, almost directly where his other injury was, and one that had hit him in his leg. Shortly after Fit had started driving, the teen passed out from the pain and continued drifting in and out of consciousness for most of the ride, waking up from time to time.
“I'll be able to manage,” Tubbo told them, once he felt a little bit better after waking up for a third time, drinking out of a bottle of water Pac had given him. “I still feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, but I’ve had a lot worse.”
“I’m scared to ask what worse means in this context,” Fit replied. Tubbo shrugged.
“I mean, I’ve had pneumonia before, and I’ve almost drowned, and I’ve been stabbed at least 20 times and a hundred other things that I can’t even count, so…”
“What the fuck,” Fit stated.
“It’s kinda the apocalypse, in case you've forgotten, mate,” Tubbo said.
“And you just got shot at least five times while killing someone with a chainsaw,” Fit retorted. “Which, by the way, was pretty badass. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“I’ll try,” Pac told him with a grin, placing a friendly hand on Tubbo’s shoulder. This time, the teenager didn’t try to fight it, even as the other positioned him so he’d be resting with his head on Pac’s shoulder. If Pac wanted to get blood on him, let him. Tubbo eventually ended up drifting back into unconsciousness.
The teenager stayed in that state for the next day or so, waking up briefly to eat and drink before falling back asleep. Luckily for all of them, the ride went smoothly without any major interruptions.
“Look, I think we’re here,” Fit said, just before evening on what Tubbo had counted to be the fourth day of just driving.
He looked out the window and was slightly surprised to see large white walls, which he realized after a second were made almost entirely of bones. He probably would’ve thought about it more if it hadn’t been for the person who was approaching their vehicle, a blonde man wearing a green robe and a white and green bucket hat. The most interesting thing about him, though, was the dark black wings that sprouted from his back. Two young children were at his side; a curly-haired brunette girl wearing a purple mushroom hat, who appeared quite sweet, and a blonde boy in a skull mask who had a rather warrior-like stance, sword held tightly at his side.
Tubbo knew that people like that man, who were not quite human, existed. But he’d never actually met one in person. It was rather intriguing, yet kind of frightening as well. These people were dangerous, he’d been told.
“That’s Phil, and the boy is Chayanne and the girl is Tallulah,” Fit told him, before hopping out of the car to greet them, followed by Pac and the two children. Tubbo decided it was best to stay put where he was, at least until Fit looked back and motioned for him to join them.
Tubbo stumbled out of the car awkwardly, wincing from the pain from his earlier injuries. He still felt a little bit dizzy- blood loss would do that to you- but Pac noticed and offered an arm to steady him, which he took gratefully.
Phil noticed Tubbo, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and wonder. The teenager thought he probably looked strange, standing there, all covered in blood.
“Phil,” Fit introduced, “This is Tubbo. The kid who saved our asses with a chainsaw twice.”
“Hi mate,” Phil greeted him.
Tubbo managed a grin. “Hullo.”
The leader of the Bolas nodded at him, returning the smile, and looked up, turning his attention back to Fit and Pac.
“Alright,” he said, “Let’s go inside, and get your friend the help he needs, and then we’ll talk.”
He turned around swiftly, and everyone followed him beyond the walls of bone.