Chapter Text
Orange light reflected off of the obsidian floors like a sad mockery of the sun. The heat from the lava encapsulating the prison cell would’ve felt suffocating if Dream wasn’t so used to it by now.
Tommy’s body laid in front of him, dark red blood oozing out of the side of his head where he’d hit it against the ground, unable to hold himself up as Dream had beaten the life out of him. The light from the lava reflected off of the blood on Dream’s knuckles as well, and all the man had done was smile at the sticky substance.
Two days later, Tommy's body was starting to deteriorate, as usual when someone lost their last life. He was noticeably still dead.
Dream’s hands - still covered in the now dried blood - shook as the realization set in.
“I don’t think this revive book is real.”
Tommy had told him that before he died. Dream had beat him for it, so sure in himself.
He’d been so confident that it was real. That Tommy’s claim was wrong.
But staring at the lifeless body in front of him, the air still buzzing after his attempt at revival, he realized that Tommy might have been right.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. The only thing keeping him alive - not real. He didn’t know if it was the best kind of trickery he’d ever done or if it was setting him up for failure. Because the day would come that they’d ask him to revive their friends. What would they do at the discovery that he couldn’t?
Dream just stood there, in front of Tommy, staring at the glassy, blank eyes of a dead man - a dead boy. A boy who would stay dead.
All he could do was laugh.
-
“Tubbo.”
Said man groaned, turning over in bed as if that would stop his husband from trying to wake him up.
“Tubbo, get up. I know you’re awake.” Ranboo tried again.
Tubbo screwed his eyes shut, pulling the blanket closer to himself, curling up in something that resembled a fetal position.
“Michael wants pancakes. You really want me to make them for him?” The enderman hybrid said, “You know what happened last time.”
Tubbo’s eyes snapped open at the memory of “last time” - the monstrosity that Ranboo had claimed was a pancake - and he begrudgingly sat up, glaring at his husband.
“Love you too.” was all Ranboo said, before he stepped out of the bed they shared with a stretch.
Tubbo followed suit, much less happy about it.
They trudged through the halls of the mansion, going to their son’s room, where he was sitting, reading one of the books Ranboo had brought back for him after the latest Syndicate meeting - a gift from Technoblade, who’d shrugged it off even though Ranboo knew that it was from his personal collection of Greek myths, which he rarely gave to anyone.
“Mornin’ Bee.” Michael said at the sight of Tubbo.
Maybe the kid spent a bit too much time around Techno, Ranboo noted, if he was picking up on the other piglin’s speech patterns.
“Want breakfast?” Ranboo asked, Tubbo still having not said anything yet.
Michael nodded, standing up from his chair and quickly putting a bookmark in his book before he joined his dads, the trio making their way to the kitchen.
They arrived, Ranboo sitting at the kitchen island and Michael hoisting himself up to sit on it, receiving an eye roll from his dad. Tubbo made his way to the cabinets, pulling out the ingredients he’d need to make pancakes.
“Plan for today?” Michael asked.
More often than not, the piglin didn’t speak in complete sentences. Initially, Ranboo and Tubbo had thought it was due to him not knowing English, but by now he was fluent. They just accepted it as a trait of his, and moved on. They were able to communicate already, so it was no big deal.
“We were gonna do some work over at the Bee n’ Boo.” Ranboo said, “Just some paperwork.”
“Maybe we can have a picnic at lunch.” Tubbo added, “If you’d like to join us.”
Michael nodded with a grin.
“While we’re busy, you can look around the Big Innit Hotel.” Tubbo thought aloud.
Ranboo pursed his lips, “I guess. But you have to be careful.”
“I know.” Michael said.
Ranboo smiled softly at his son, ruffling the longer tufts of hair on the top of his head. Michael just giggled, rolling his eye with a smile.
Prime, not a day went by that Ranboo wasn’t glad his son was such a happy kid, practically carefree. It made everything that their little family had been through even more worth it.
“Ranboo, my beloved, could you get a plate for me?” Tubbo asked, “Somebody put it where I can’t reach.”
“Of course.” Ranboo said, feigning innocence as he stood up, “I wonder who would do that.”
Tubbo huffed as his husband placed a quick kiss on the top of his head, before taking a plate from a nearby cabinet - that was, indeed, out of reach for the shorter of the two - and placing it on the counter beside the stove.
He began to head back to the island, to sit back down again, but he was stopped.
“Excuse me, you better help me out. You can’t just sit there looking pretty.” Tubbo said.
“What am I supposed to do? You have it covered.” Ranboo replied, “And aw, you said I’m pretty.”
“You’re fucking lucky you are, or else I would’ve divorced you by now.” Tubbo said, turning back to the pancake he was cooking before it burnt.
Ranboo heard Michael snicker from where he sat, watching them as they bantered. By now he was used to his fathers threatening divorce over petty things, so it didn’t phase him.
The enderman’s gaze drifted to the cabinet where he knew the candy was kept.
“Can I add M&M’s to the next batch?” He asked, already expecting Tubbo’s response.
“No.” Tubbo said, “You lost those privileges after last time.”
“Last time wasn’t even that bad-”
“It ‘wasn’t that bad?!’ You put a cinnamon roll in a pancake! How is that not bad?!”
“Bee’s got a point.” Michael chimed in, receiving a cheer from Tubbo and a look of betrayal from Ranboo.
“I thought you were on my side, Michael!” Ranboo shouted dramatically, “You said you liked it!”
“I lied.” Michael replied.
Ranboo gasped, “How could you betray your own father?”
Michael laughed, sounding more like a squeal - the way it always did when he found something absolutely hilarious. It was Ranboo’s favorite sound. His expression softened.
He really loved this family.
-
“Paperwork, my beloathed.” Tubbo grumbled, glaring at the papers in front of him like they’d personally offended him.
“You could say that again.” Ranboo sighed, tapping his pencil on the table he and Tubbo sat at.
Tubbo huffed, “Paperwork, my beloathed.”
Ranboo snickered, and the two were once again brought into a comfortable silence.
After a few more minutes spent mulling over confusing paperwork - you’d think after owning the place for so long they’d understand it - Michael burst in through the front doors, a bright grin on his face as he panted, out of breath.
“Hi Michael.” Ranboo said fondly, “Whatcha been up to?”
“Exploring.” Michael replied, still huffing, “Found some bees.”
“Bees are always nice. You okay?” Ranboo asked, “You seem out of breath.”
“Bees got mad.” Michael replied, “Had to run.”
As if on cue, the sound of angry buzzing could be heard outside the door, causing their son to yelp as he took a few steps further into the hotel. Tubbo burst out laughing. It faded away a moment later, either the bees giving up or missing where Michael had gone entirely, and he relaxed.
“Did you anger the bees?” Ranboo asked, while his husband just continued to laugh.
Michael shrugged, “I hit the hive by accident.”
“What were you doing?”
“Jumpin’ around.”
Ranboo chuckled, “Yeah, that could do it.”
Even now, Michael still liked to jump around for fun. Ranboo wouldn’t judge his son.
Tubbo stood up suddenly, slamming his hands on the table, “Y’know what? I’d say now’s a better time than ever for lunch. I’m tired of looking at these papers.”
“Are you sure? We’ve still got a lot to do.” Ranboo replied, though he put his pencil down.
Tubbo nodded, “Yes.”
That’s how they found themselves walking to sit under their favorite tree behind the empty Big Innit Hotel, Ranboo carrying a picnic basket they’d packed earlier that morning.
“To be fair,” Tubbo said, “We’re only taking a break. We’ll get back to work when we’re done.”
“I guess.” Ranboo replied as they got to where the grass met the beach, “This a good spot?”
They placed a blanket down on the grass, and got situated. Their lunch consisted of leftover steak from the night before and some cake Ranboo had saved.
Sitting there in the grass, surrounded by flowers, feeling the soft breeze, it was relaxing. Ranboo let himself bask in it.
“Can I go play?” Michael asked.
“Of course.” Tubbo replied, “Just don’t get too close to the beach.”
Michael nodded, before running off.
-
Since Michael could remember, his dads had forbidden him from getting close to the beach behind the Big Innit. He always wondered why, but whenever he asked, they simply told him it wasn’t safe, and he didn’t know if he wanted to pry beyond that considering the grim expressions they always wore when talking about it.
He ran through the trees, laughing as the grass tickled his ankles and the sounds of various animals could be heard nearby. He wondered if any chickens were nearby. He’d always liked chickens. He had a pet chicken back home, and he loved her very much. He always thought about finding her a friend.
There was a break in the trees, one Michael was familiar with. He looked beyond it, where the empty beach was. He remembered when he was little the beach was more visible, but over time more and more trees had been planted around it, almost like the adults didn’t want it to be seen. He wondered why.
Looking back through the trees behind him, he couldn’t see his parents. He knew where they were, he wasn’t lost, but that meant they couldn’t see him either. He looked back at the beach.
It’s just a regular beach. He thought, And I’m not little anymore, I can handle whatever’s wrong with it.
He took a step closer to where the grass met the sand, still contemplating, before taking another. And another. And yet another.
Soon enough, he was standing on the sand, not too far from the water that lapped at the shore. He was too nervous to go near the water.
Michael was a good swimmer. His parents had made sure he could swim from the time that he had the coordination to do so. Of course, Bee had been the one to teach him, as Boo couldn’t even touch water.
He couldn’t explain why, but the idea of getting near the water made Michael nervous. Maybe it was due to his parents constantly telling him to stay away from the beach, but this felt almost instinctual. He didn’t want to get any closer to the water than he needed to.
Almost like it was proving his point, Michael saw something shine on the horizon.
It wasn’t the usual shine of the sunlight reflecting off of the water. In fact, it looked almost green. Michael squinted, trying to see it better, but his eyesight wasn’t exactly the best. He had recently started to wear glasses specifically made for him, but he hadn’t thought he’d need them now.
Blinking a few times, he still saw the shine. So it wasn’t something in his eye or a trick of the light.
Something was in the water.
He was torn between being scared of it and curious, and as the shine began to flicker his curiosity began to outweigh the fear. Especially when he saw the faint outline of a person form out of seemingly nowhere.
Taking another step towards the water, Michael was still unsure, but the person was just floating limply. Were they okay? Were they unconscious? Did they not know how to swim? How’d they even get there?
They would drown if they didn’t start to swim soon.
At that thought, Michael took a few more steps. The water lapped at his hooves. He eyed it wearily, but as the light continued to flicker, getting fainter and fainter, he feared for the worst. He stepped into the water, feeling the edges of his pants get wet, and as the light fully flickered out, he stepped in further, not stopping after just one step this time.
The next thing he knew he was waist deep in the water. Then it was at his chest, and then he was swimming rather than just walking, no longer able to stand and wanting to get to the person faster. Finally reaching them, he grabbed their arm.
They didn’t react. One thing Michael noted about them was that they were blonde, with white streaks in their hair, almost more white than blonde. Their eyes were open, half lidded and glassy, unfocused. From their lack of a reaction, Michael had a feeling they were unconscious.
He couldn’t stay in the water, wanting to get this mystery person to shore as fast as possible and get help from his parents. Plus, he was still afraid of the water, and being in it was not helping him in this situation.
Michael began trying to pull the unconscious person closer to the shore, but it was hard. It was harder to swim while holding another person.
“Michael?! Where are you?!” He heard Bee call, and turning to face the shore, he saw the moment that his dad realized where he was, “Michael!”
Boo was behind Bee, still by the trees, and he followed Bee’s line of sight before he, too, saw the piglin. Michael swallowed. He was gonna be in so much trouble.
He kept struggling to swim to shore, and he guessed that Bee noticed, because the next thing he knew Bee had jumped into the water and was swimming to him. Michael sighed in relief, continuing to try to pull the person to shore.
“Michael! What are you doing?!” Bee yelled as he reached him, grabbing him to hold him in the deeper water, before his eyes landed on the still unconscious person in Michael’s grip, “Who the fuck is that?”
“I don’t know!” Michael replied, “I saw them in the water!”
Bee looked between Michael and the person, “We need to get back.”
Michael nodded, and the two started to swim again, both pulling the person this time. It was significantly easier.
“Tubbo! Michael! Are you okay?!” Boo asked as soon as they were near the beach, concerned warbles in the back of his throat. He was as close as he could get without touching the water, and Michael felt a twinge of guilt about making him worry but unable to do anything.
“Michael saw someone floating in the water.” Bee replied, finally reaching the beach and pulling them with him, dragging them out of the water. Michael followed.
As he looked at the person again, now able to focus on more details, Michael saw dark bruises littering their face. They looked like they’d gotten quite the beating. But underneath that all, they looked not much older than him. Their hair was shaggy, and it was definitely more white than blonde. Their eyes were completely closed now.
The shirt they wore - a red and white baseball shirt - was torn in places and had what looked like a blood stain on it. At the sight of the person, Michael heard Boo gasp.
Looking up at his parents, Michael saw both of them staring at this person, taking in their features with what looked like shock or horror.
What did they know that he didn’t?
“He was just in the water?” Bee asked, looking at Michael.
Michael nodded, “Looked like he appeared.”
“What, like out of thin air?”
“Yeah.”
Boo put a hand over his mouth, thinking, and Michael heard a quieter warble that he made when he was distressed.
The person stirred, their face scrunching up. Bee sharply inhaled.
“Tommy?” He whispered, his voice cracking.
Tommy - a name that felt oddly familiar - suddenly bolted up, his eyes now wide open. He sucked in a breath of air, as if he hadn’t in years, frantically looking around. As he took in his surroundings, he began to hyperventilate.
“Tommy? Is that-” Boo stammered, leaning closer to the boy, “Hello?”
Tommy immediately looked at Boo, frantic and confused and very clearly disoriented.
“H- Hello?” Tommy stuttered out, his voice sounding scratchy from disuse.
He looked down at the ground he was sitting on, digging a hand into the sand like he was making sure it was real.
“How are you… here?” Boo asked.
Tommy didn’t reply at first, staring at the sand as he sifted it through his fingers.
Michael looked over at Bee, who’s face looked whiter than the snow in their home, staring at Tommy like he was looking at a ghost.
Maybe he was.
Michael had no clue what was going on.
Tommy looked up at Bee, continuing to breathe heavily - which Michael was getting more concerned about each passing second - and they both froze.
“He- H-” Bee stammered - Michael had never heard him stutter like that before, “Hello?”
“Tubbo?” Tommy said, his voice cracking.
Bee scrambled away, like he’d touched fire, shaking his head.
“This isn’t real. You can’t be real.” He said frantically, “You’re dead.”
Tommy nodded, his eyebrows furrowing, “I- I’m- How am I-”
He sharply inhaled, looking around frantically.
“Where the fuck am I?!” He exclaimed, trying to stand up on obviously shaky legs, “What is going on?!”
Boo quickly grabbed at his shoulder, trying to help steady him, and Michael could tell by the repressed wince that the water that remained on Tommy was burning him.
“You don’t understand, Dream he- he killed me, I was in- in... void! Where am I now, is this- is this hell or heaven or- where am I?!” Tommy rambled, shaking like a leaf.
Boo gripped his other shoulder, turning to face him, “Tommy, breathe.”
Nevermind that Boo also looked close to passing out. Bee didn’t seem to be doing any better, stood up as well now with at least six feet between him and everyone else.
“Pinch me.” Tommy said, and Boo shook his head.
“Pinch me!” Tommy exclaimed, and begrudgingly, Boo did.
Tommy shrieked, flailing out of Boo’s grip and curling in on himself, “Don’t do that again, don’t do that again, don’t- don’t!”
“You’re real…” Bee choked out in disbelief. Tommy turned in his direction before he even finished speaking, his eyes widening even further.
“I- Am I?” He shakily asked.
“Pinch me!” Bee replied, and when Tommy did Bee quickly stepped away again, looking afraid of the other.
“Let’s stop pinching each other.” Boo said, grasping at the one thing he could change.
“Where- how- I….” Tommy said, trailing off as he continued to look around. He staggered back as his breathing got even more out of control, his hands covering his ears as his eyes shut tight, “What the fuck is that sound?!”
Michael looked around, confused at what he could mean, until he spotted the water lapping at the shore, the sound of the waves becoming more noticeable.
“The waves?” He asked, looking at Bee, who continued to stare at Tommy.
“Whatever the fuck it is it’s too loud!” Tommy exclaimed, his hands moving to pull his hair as he shook his head.
Boo’s eyes lit up in recognition, and he stepped towards Tommy slowly. He reached the boy, taking his hands and moving them away from his hair, and Tommy flailed, trying to get away from him.
“Get the fuck away from me, stop it, stop it!” He exclaimed, “It’s too loud, it’s too loud!”
“We should go somewhere quieter.” Boo said, “Where do we-”
“The Bee n’ Boo.” Bee replied, his voice still shaking, though he seemed to regain his composure.
Boo nodded, before he turned back to Tommy, who was no longer flailing but was still trying to pull his hands free, his shaking knees looking like they were gonna give out at any second.
“We’re going somewhere quieter, come with us.” Boo said.
“Let me go.” Tommy replied, and Boo did. When Tommy didn’t try to run, Boo stepped away, before he gestured for everyone to follow him, going back to the trees and heading in the direction of the hotel.
Bee and Michael followed, and Michael looked behind them to see Tommy following them as well from a distance, slower and looking around like he was seeing everything for the first time, wide eyed and terrified.
-
When they reached the hotel, Ranboo lowered the blinds on all the windows, dimming the light in the room by a lot. Tommy relaxed, but not by much.
“Is this… better?” Ranboo asked. Tommy didn’t reply, but that wasn’t surprising.
They all were silent for a moment, as Tommy took in the room, the rest of them watching him with different expressions. Michael was confused by the entire situation, Tubbo looked sick, and Ranboo was an odd mix of confused and concerned.
“Where am-”
“Are you-”
“How are-”
The three spoke at the same time, before they all were quiet again.
“You go-”
“Sorry-”
“Shut the-”
They cut one another off again, before Ranboo sighed, shaking his head.
“Tommy, you go first.” He said, “You must be confused.”
“Where the fuck are we?” Tommy immediately asked, “And where’s Dream?”
Before anyone could reply, Tommy looked over at Michael, for probably the first time since he’d woken up, “And who the fuck is that? Why do you both look so different? What the fuck is going on?!”
He looked between the two adults, who shuffled awkwardly.
“Well… to answer your first question, we’re at the Bee n’ Boo hotel.” Ranboo said.
“Bee n’... what? The fuck?” Tommy asked, his voice still shaking. He shook his head with a sigh. “Okay, where’s Dream?”
Tubbo and Ranboo made eye contact, having one of what Michael could recognize as a silent conversation. Tommy seemed to pick up on this, looking between the two.
“Where is Dream?” He asked again, more apprehensive.
Tubbo turned to the teen, “Dream is dead.”
Tommy’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. “What?” He asked.
“He’s been dead for a while.” Ranboo nodded.
“Then- then how…” Tommy muttered to himself, “I thought he could’ve revived me.”
Tubbo and Ranboo looked at one another, both surprised.
“Maybe he did and it just took a while to… I don’t know, set in?” Tubbo suggested.
“Maybe.” Tommy shrugged, before looking over at Michael again, pointing, “And who’s the piglin?”
Ranboo bristled, but before he could reply, Michael interrupted, “I’m Michael.”
“Why is this ‘Michael’ here?” Tommy said, addressing Tubbo.
“He’s me and Ranboo’s son.” Tubbo said, and he repressed a grimace at Tommy’s shocked expression.
“You- you have a son?” Tommy stammered, “When did that happen?”
“Around the same time we got married.” Tubbo replied sheepishly.
“You’re married?! How long have I-” Tommy cut himself off, sighing shakily, “Okay, and why do you both look so different?”
Tubbo looked at the floor, almost guilty, and Ranboo walked over, placing a hand on his husband’s shoulder before he turned to face Tommy.
“Tommy, how long do you think it’s been?” He asked.
“I don’t fucking know. It felt like centuries, but I doubt it’s really been that long. You’re here.”
Ranboo took a deep breath, squeezing Tubbo’s shoulder as he looked Tommy in the eye, something he refrained from doing usually. He found that even though it was a bit distressing, it wasn’t as much as it normally was.
“Tommy, it’s been ten years.”