Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The lands had grown peaceful over the last months, well, as peaceful as the SMP could get. The egg had been vanquished and those who were under it’s control were on the path to full recovery, doing community service all the way as retribution, since complete imprisonment was deemed morally unjust.

As for the prison itself, nobody had heard from its sole inmate since the egg was still infecting the SMP, yet Sam reassured everyone that Dream was still locked securely in Pandora’s Vault.

However, even though times were at an all time low in terms of hostility, the Syndicate was still ever-vigilant, keeping a close and constant watch over the major groups or factions of the lands.

And, on every other Tuesday, a meeting was held to discuss their findings (though lately they had turned into more of a lunch get-together, as Niki frequently brought freshly baked goods to share with her fellow anarchists).

This Tuesday was no exception, as Phil, Niki, and Techno stood beside the lava-disguised entrance to the meeting room.

“Should we just go on ahead?” Techno asked, growing slightly impatient.

“Give him a bit more time,” Phil responded, “he probably just got sidetracked, you know how Ranboo can be.”

“Do you think he’s already in the meeting room?” Niki said, peering into the pool of lava.

“Nah that’s not like him,” Techno said, “he’d wait for us if he was early.”

A buzzing noise came from the basket of bread and pastries Niki held, and she pulled out her communicator, making a face at it.

“Who is Dream XD?” She asked.

Techno and Phil shared an alarmed look as they glanced at each other before each pulling out their own communicators.

Phil opened his mouth to speak when an ear-shattering boom sounded from deep beneath the earth. The noise was louder then anything they’d ever heard, louder then tons of tnt exploding at once, louder then a dozen withers’ screeches.

“What is going on?” Niki demanded urgently.

“I don’t-“

Phil was cut off by the beeping of all three of their communicators.

The message that popped up was written in purple text.

Ranboo has made the advancement: [The End?]

Chapter Text

Phil had heard of the End. It was mentioned various times in the dusty, yellowed books he found in the structure that now housed the meeting room. The beings that were there centuries ago believed it to be a realm of endless void and violent beasts. But, while the texts were fascinating, he’d always dismissed them as being tall tales, nothing more than fiction.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

“What’s going on?” Niki repeated.

“We need to go.” Phil said quietly, barely more then a whisper.

“Phil?” Techno asked, hardly masking his own alarm.

“C’mon.” Phil dove into the lava entrance, landing lightly in the water below before taking off down the ice-slicked path.

The door to the meeting room was open, and, sat in a chair labeled ‘Lethe’, was the person Phil wanted to see least.

“What did you do?” Phil growled.

“So accusing now, are we Philza?” Dream XD said loftily, “Who said I did anything?”

Phil opened his mouth to respond when Techno slid up next to him, Niki only a second later.

“Phil, what is going on,” Techno said, eyes locked on the lounging man, “And who is that?”

“That slimy bastard-” he indicated to the chair “-did something to Ranboo,” Phil spat furiously.

Dream XD gasped in mock-offense, “A bastard? Me? I’m hurt!”

He stood and walked up to the trio of anarchists, “Dream XD at your service,” he said extending a hand to shake.

“Dream-?” Niki started, stiffly refusing the handshake.

“No no no,” he corrected, “I’m not the Dream you know, but I am related to him. Your Dream is my little brother!”

“And both of them are equally manipulative bitches,” Phil said.

“How rude,” XD pouted, “Dream is far less cunning then I am. And he’s not a god either.”

“You’re a god?” Niki said.

The apparent immortal laughed, “As far from mortal as could be!” He shot a pointed look at Phil, “Not unlike someone else here-”

“I gave up godhood years ago and you know that XD,” Phil grimaced.

“Keep telling yourself that, maybe it’ll be true one day.”

“Aside from that,” Techno interjected, stepping forward and raising his sword to point at DreamXD, “What did you do to Ranboo?”

“What did I do? You should be asking what he did.”

XD stepped aside to reveal the table at the center of the room, the wood hacked to bits, revealing a glowing abyss, a portal.

******

“Thanks for your help, you two!” Tubbo grinned at Puffy and Foolish, both of whom carried large boxes labeled “MICHAEL” in bold lettering.

“Of course,” Puffy replied, smiling, “It's a lot of work to move all this stuff alone!”

The three of them walked together along the mansion halls, Tubbo holding the hand of a small, zombified piglin, Michael himself, who walked unevenly, a clear sign of its youth.

A loud, booming grumble echoed suddenly from underneath the earth, shaking the ground.

Puffy gasped, losing grip on the box, letting it fall to the floor with a dull thud, and Tubbo pulled Michael tightly to him, as if trying to shield the child from any possible harm.

Just as quickly as the noise started, it stopped.

“Oh gods, is everyone alright?” Puffy worried, gathering the trinkets that had fallen out of the box.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” Tubbo responded cautiously, slowly unfurling himself from around Michael, who looked at the ground with large, scared eyes.

“Foolish, you okay?”

The builder had set down the box he was holding and was looking, confused, at his communicator, which had buzzed directly after the boom.

“Uh, Tubbo, what does this mean, you think?”

He handed Tubbo the communicator, and Tubbo read aloud, “Ranboo has made the advancement: [The End?]”

“What does that mean?” Puffy asked.

“I don’t know,” Tubbo said, “Ranboo said he was going back to his old house to visit Phil and Niki and-” and Techno his mind finished. 

“Tubbo-” Foolish started, watching as the younger’s expression turned grim.

“Can you watch Michael for a bit?” Tubbo muttered, picking up the piglin child and handing him to Foolish, who looked more confused then ever. The half-goat boy turned and swiftly marched towards the mansion’s exit.

“Where are you-?”

“There’s something I need to do.”

Chapter Text

Is this home? Ranboo’s mind was a haze, barely registering what was going on around him. Is this my home?  

It felt like home, in an odd sense of the word. The pale, harsh stone island felt familiar under his feet, and the freezing, otherworldly wind buffeting at his hair seemed almost welcoming. The pillars of obsidian towering up into an empty, starless sky didn’t feel imposing, but as regular as trees. 

This place felt like home. 

No, something’s wrong .

What? 

This isn’t home… is it?

Ranboo scrunched his nose in confusion.

How could this not be home?

It’s missing something. Something important.

There’s nothing missing.

Please, you have to believe me.

Pictures, memories flickered faintly through his mind. A box of obsidian that provided more pain then it was intended to prevent. Chunks of debris flying past him, blown out of the earth. The cries and screeches of three-headed beasts. 

That wasn’t home, Ranboo shook his head.

No, not that, please, just trust me.

The memories changed, and the images were drastically different. He saw the inside of a house made of wood and stone, and the merry crackling of a warm fireplace. He saw cloaks trimmed with fur and he saw blankets of ebony feathers. And he saw the smiles-

Smiles. No, that wasn’t right.

The grinning faces of friends melted into those which were sinister, soulless eyes and a joyless smile.

What do you want from me? Why did you do this? I don’t want this.

You just have to remember. Just remem-

End of Interlude from the Void