Chapter Text
A lot could happen in the blink of an eye. That fraction of a second could contain vital information that goes unseen. Realistically, anyone who dared to blink was braver than any soldier and more daring than the gods themselves.
A blink was all it took for explosives to begin raining from the heavens to destroy L'manberg. A blink was all it took for Phil's sword to strike Wilbur. A blink was all it took for Ranboo to fall to the ground.
At first, he couldn't comprehend the fact that he was dying. A searing pain cut through his back and punctured his chest, and yet he didn't notice the sword coated with blood that was shaking just in his peripherals. He heard someone shouting his name, and then the following sound of thundering footsteps approaching him. A distant haze of voices barely reached his ears, and Ranboo frowned. They sounded concerned, but Ranboo just couldn't figure out why. They had gotten out of the prison, hadn't they? Why did they sound so scared? A heavy weight seemed to settle itself in Ranboo's limbs and hindered him from getting up. But, why was he on the ground in the first place? It wasn't very comfortable at all. Ranboo made a weak attempt at moving his arm, but it remained in the same crooked position, refusing to move. It felt like someone had poured metal straight into his veins and stuck him to a magnet. No matter how hard he tugged at his limbs, they just wouldn't budge.
His breath started to shallow, each lungful getting heavier and harder to hold. His vision blurred and he was only able to make out vague, colored shapes dancing across the wet grass. Why was it wet? Was it because it was right next to where the sea was? But then why didn't it burn? Water was supposed to burn Ranboo, due to his enderman-like nature. That also didn't explain why the grass was oddly sticky. Was that why he couldn't move? Was the grass holding him in place?
The sensation of being moved startled him out of his trance like state. Someone had lifted him off of the grass and was now holding him in their arms. Ranboo was disappointed that he couldn't quite make out who it was, vision too blurry to distinguish any unique facial features. But that was okay, he was just grateful to have been freed from his ever sticky prison.
He leaned into the presence, hoping that the gesture carried over and could be registered as thankful. In return, Ranboo felt the other's arms tighten their grip on him. They said something, but Ranboo couldn't tell what it was. What? Now he couldn't hear things either? Whatever was happening to him, he just hoped it would be over soon.
He let out a slow exhale, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him. Who knew simply trying to get off of the ground could be so tiring? He could vaguely hear the sound of his own heart hammering in his ears, as though it were straining and fighting against something. It was a strange feeling, having his pulse beating so rapidly, yet being so tired simultaneously. Usually those two sensations didn't mesh together.
And then, he closed his eyes. He dared to blink, and was prepared to face the consequences. He hoped when his eyes opened again, he would be able to see better.
However, they remained shut.
And it wasn't just that, either. He was no longer gratified by the sensation of air pooling in his lungs. In fact, he couldn't breathe at all. The feeling of being carried slowly drifted away, as did the ever present sound of their footsteps. He thinks he should be panicking, but he can't help but lean into it. It was nice to not feel anything. It was relaxing to have silence drown over his senses.
Only when everything around him finally stilled, and the last signs of life faded away, did he recollect what it all meant. Everything became much clearer as a thought struck him. 'Holy cow, have I just died?'
He tried to tear his eyes open, to move anything, anything at all. He strained to hear the sounds of his heart that had been present only moments before. He tried, oh so desperately, to smell the smoke and copper tang of blood that coated the battlefield he'd just been on. And yet, he couldn't do anything. Oh.
The realization was harsh. Ranboo still had so much left to do in life. He still had to help Wilbur build up the land he'd helped him establish. Foolish still had to give him a tour of his latest project. He still had to ask Dream about the enderwalk, and confront him about his connection to it. He never had a chance to find the fourth memory book, either. He still had so many flowers left to give to Tommy. He still had so many hugs to share with Tubbo. He still hadn't found Micheal.
Oh my god. Micheal. Sam had captured Micheal and still had him held captive. As far as he knew, Ranboo was the only one that knew even loosely where Micheal was, let alone knew that he was missing to begin with. How would Tubbo find Micheal without him? Ranboo was the only one who bore the knowledge that Sam had had him. Sure, Ranboo had given Techno the photo of the three of them together, but he had no way of connecting it to the fact that Micheal was gone, or that Sam had him.
Micheal was missing, and Ranboo was his only hope. And he's just gone and died.
And for the first time since he'd been stabbed, Ranboo had felt scared. He couldn't afford to die now, not when Micheal still needed him. He pulled at whatever invisible restraints were tying him here. Please. He tugged again. He couldn't die now. He twisted around, desperately trying to free himself from the confines of death. Please. He still had so much he needed to do. Please please please please please. He begged. He begged, please don't let this be the end.
A weight pushed against him, strained against his chest and it suffocated him. No, this wasn't fair. It felt like he was being squished into a fine jelly, the pressure increasing until he felt like his head was going to pop. Maybe struggling like that wasn't a good idea. Life was cruel, but perhaps death was cruler.
It should have been painful, but it wasn't. That was possibly the scariest part of it all.
Ranboo felt himself being rocked back and forth, as though he were now in a boat crashing against the angry waves of the sea. A small flash of pain lit up in his shoulder, as though something had a tight grip on him there. But, that didn't make sense. He was dead, wasn't he?
Maybe he wasn't. Not anymore, at least. Every person on the server had three lives. Ranboo thought he only had one left, but maybe he'd miscalculated. It's not like he ever remembered dying, so he couldn't be entirely sure what it felt like to lose a life and then come back.
He felt like his face was on fire, and slowly his senses drifted back to him. The feeling of being rocked got quicker, and the sound of someone's voice greeted him. He allowed himself to relax for a second. It was okay. He must have had more than one life left. He was going to be okay. He could feel something soft under him, cushioning his back. It felt much nicer than the blood covered grass that scraped at his skin, and it felt miles better than the cold jaws of death. Not that death felt like anything at all. He breathed a sigh of relief, and relished in the fact that he could breathe again.
He guessed that he'd probably been taken back to his home in the syndicate commune, and that he likely was laid to rest in his bed until he was brought back into consciousness. The rocking got harsher and his cheeks felt like they were being carved into. Now, that certainly was abnormal, right?
His eyes blinked open, slowly, and was nearly blinded by harsh sunlight. A distressed voice called "Ranboo? You okay bud?" He brought a hand up to his face, in an attempt to locate the source of pain, only to be surprised when his hand was also burned upon contact. The tightness on his shoulder immediately loosened as the person let go. That must have been what the rocking was. Someone was trying to wake him up.
He glanced over towards where he'd heard the voice come from, surprised by who he saw. He's expected either Techno or Phil, leaning towards Phil due to the distinct British accent, but seeing Tubbo certainly wasn't unwelcome. Tubbo had his eyebrows furrowed in a clear display of concern as he asked again "you okay?" The burning sensation didn't cease, and only worsened as Ranboo tried to nod.
Tubbo must have caught the way Ranboo winced, because he immediately bolted into action. He brought up a small cloth and began to dab it onto Ranboo's cheeks. It stung, and Ranboo briefly wondered what he was applying to him.
He tried to vocalize the question, but his voice was raspy and dry, and immediately cut out. Tubbo gave him a sympathetic look, and told him not to worry. Ranboo was left unable to reassure him that he wasn't worried, he trusted whatever Tubbo was doing, the pain seemed to be lessening after all. He was just curious was all.
As though Tubbo could read his mind, or at least some part of it, Ranboo began receiving answers. "I'm just drying your face, sorry if it hurts." Tubbo said, tone soft and gentle, as though he were talking to a wounded animal. Ranboo supposed, in some sense, that he was. Maybe that description was more accurate than he'd like to admit.
It seemed it wasn't that Tubbo was applying something to his face with the cloth, but instead that he was drying it. That made sense, and that was as much as he needed to know. He could get more answers later. Exhaustion still clung to his bones, and he was tempted to drift off back into sleep.
Tubbo didn't seem to like this, because the second Ranboo drifted off he was rocked back into consciousness. Ranboo looked over to see that the cloth had now been discarded. Tubbo must have finished what he was doing, then. Tubbo chided "How long did you stay up? I told you to get to bed quickly because we had a big today today."
Ranboo blinked, slowly sitting up. "What?" He asked, voice still sore, evident by the crack it gave. But, the question still got across. Tubbo again, gave Ranboo a look of complete sympathy "Ah, are you having memory problems again? I suppose you do look a bit dazed.." Tubbo drew in a sharp breath between his teeth "Well, I can explain on the way. All you need to know for now is that we gotta get going because we have to be somewhere right now. Actually, we're a bit late. It took me a while to get you to wake up. You actually scared me a bit, I'm glad you're like.. not dead or anything" Tubbo huffed a small laugh, as though the concept of Ranboo being dead was amusing. Ranboo raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding. He was, in fact, dead and he didn't understand at all what was so amusing about that. Did Tubbo just not know? Maybe he thought Ranboo was simply sleeping, and was not made aware that he'd just lost a life.
Ranboo swung his legs off the side of the bed, preparing to stand up. A dull, lingering pain still rested on Ranboo's cheeks. He slowly reached up to touch where it hurt, only to flinch when he realized the skin was still raw there. Tubbo offered him a hand, to help him stand. "Sorry about that, by the way. When I came in I noticed you were crying in your sleep. I hope it doesn't hurt too badly. Such a shame that water does that to you.. I can't imagine it feels nice at all"
Ranboo let out a slow breath, trying to process all the new information he'd been given. At the very least, that explained his current predicament in terms of why his cheeks hurt. But, it did very little to explain literally anything else. Why was Tubbo so calm about this? Was he not worried, even in the slightest when he heard that Ranboo was dead? Did he not hear that at all? Did Ranboo even die to begin with? Maybe it wasn't real at all, and maybe his memory really was playing tricks on him.
The thing was, he'd only ever forget things. He'd never generated a brand new memory out of thin air like this. And it all felt so unbelievably real. It was hard to believe the memory was falsified
Ranboo took Tubbo's hand, and was lifted to his feet. He stumbled a bit, struggling to maintain balance, but he eventually was able to stand up straight. His breath shook slightly, as he glanced around his room. He was very surprised, however, to see that this was in fact not his room. At least, it wasn't any more. His eyes slowly scanned over the scattered chests and ever so slightly cracked floors. This home had been destroyed ages ago. So why was he in it, now? And, again, why was Tubbo so calm about all this?
Something small bumped into the side of Ranboo's leg, and he glanced down to see his pet cat, Jjjjjjjjeffry rubbing his face on his ankle. Ranboo's mouth gaped open. That cat had died over a year ago. The cat's grave was still by his actual home, in the commune.
Ranboo was standing in his home that had been destroyed, with his cat that died purring and bumping into his leg. Tubbo watched him, as though he were studying him. Tubbo was always like that though, over analyzing Ranboo's every move. He just usually wasn't this obvious about it. There was also something else that was abnormal with Tubbo. The right side of his face and his arm were bandaged, as though he'd sustained a recent injury. Ranboo's jaw wobbled. "You're- what happened to your face?" He questioned, voice trembling.
Tubbo frowned, looking oddly distant and hollow for a moment. "Don't worry about it. We should get going." He said coldly, as he reached out to grab Ranboo's hand. "Don't want to upset Dream, after all"
This didn't make sense in the slightest. Dream was in prison. Or, no, he'd broken out, hadn't he? Ranboo hoped he hadn't threatened harm to Tubbo or anything of the sort. Ranboo distantly felt bitter. It was somewhat Dream's fault he'd died. Sam had taken him hostage, and told Dream to return to Sam's side or he'd kill Ranboo on the spot. Dream then told Sam he didn't care for Ranboo in the slightest, and continued walking away. And that was what prompted Sam to take his sword and-
Ranboo shuddered.
Tubbo dragged Ranboo down the stairs, being careful to make sure neither of them fell. Sure enough, as they entered the main living area, it was very much akin to Ranboo's old home. A small meowing sound alerted Ranboo to the location of his other cat, named Enderchest. She was sitting proudly on one of his crafting tables, looking at Ranboo and Tubbo as they made their way to the front door. Ranboo gave a small wave to her, relieved to see something at least somewhat normal amidst all this chaos.
The pair made their way out the front door, Tubbo making sure the door was locked before they progressed. Ranboo stuttered awkwardly as they walked through L'manberg. Disbelief was apparent in his features as he looked at the familiar wooden pathways and support beams that held the nation up.
So, he really was back in the L'manberg era, then? L'manberg had been blown up by Dream, Techno, and Phil a long time ago. Walking though it now, pretty much confirmed the fact that something was terribly wrong.
Ranboo was unsure if time traveling was a normal side effect to losing a life, but he had no choice but to go with it. If he continued acting as though he were in current time, the time in which he was dead and Micheal was missing, then he'd surely alert everyone else to this catastrophe. He was unsure if that would mess up the timeline, but he wasn't keen on testing it out.
This certainly was a mess, and Ranboo had absolutely no clue how to even begin confronting it. Would it be better to pretend nothing was wrong and continue with the timeline he'd already come to know? Or would it be better to figure out some way to get back to the present?
Ranboo halted in his steps, causing Tubbo to yank backwards before turning to look at him. Ranboo paid no attention to his friend, however. He'd just come to the realization that he'd been presented with an opportunity to fix the wrongs of the past. He could stop Tommy from getting exiled. He could stop L'manberg from being destroyed. He could stop Tommy and himself from dying. Ranboo could kill Dream when they had him cornered in the vault, like they should have done the first time, instead of imprisoning him.
He'd been presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity to take the weight of the grief and burden of the past from his friend's shoulders and bear it all on his own, or maybe even remove it from existence entirely.
Tubbo gave Ranboo an odd look when Ranboo began to smile.