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Tommy was going to die.
That's what Ranboos first thought when he saw what was happening before him.
Tommy was going to die, again.
Dream was looming over the blonde boy Ranboo had seen as a friend and ally since the very beginning. Even if Tommy was difficult, even when he threw insult after insult, even when he burned an Allium he gave him after he came back from the dead.
He was still a friend.
So seeing Tommy there, on the ground, his eyes filled with fear and tears as Dream approached, a Netherite axe in one hand and his intimidating smiling mask on his face, Ranboo knew if nothing was done, Tommy would die.
Everyone was frozen however, Tubbo had tried to fight but the now amputated arm was a sign he had failed.
Techno tried to persuade but Dream had used his favour card to force the piglin to not act.
Phil had tried to stop him but Techno held him back.
And Wilbur…. He didn't do anything.
His eyes were just empty but a sadistic smile graced his face.
Ranboo still remembers his words beforehand.
"Don't worry Tom's, you'll be back before you know it. Limbo isn't so bad after a while, you just need to stay there for a short time until Dream deems you ready to return and then you'll forever be grateful to him as I am".
Ranboo could not even believe he had been working with this psychopath in a burger van for months.
Everyone else couldn't even enter where they were.
Pandora vault was an unbreakable fortress with no way out.
The only one who knew passed out after being hit pretty hard by Techno. Sam is still breathing but just barely.
So the only one who can act is Ranboo himself. He stopped the bleeding from Tubbos amputated arm but he's so weak from blood loss he can barely stay conscious. But he's fighting it with everything, just to watch his best friend be cut down once again by the same man a fourth time.
Well, not if someone has something to say about it.
One side of Ranboo cowered at the sight of the man in neon green, wearing a mask that has haunted his mind for months.
But the other side screamed of protectiveness and rage, seeing someone precious to him in danger.
His instinctual Enderman side that has seen Tommy as his haunting since the start of their friendship.
And he'd be damned if he lost him.
And that side was winning
Dream lifted his axe, aiming for Tommy's head, to split his skull in two. Ranboo lost it.
His eyes became purple, deep and soulsucking.
His already 7'5 height grew to a staggering 8'7.
His claws grew to the length of a human's forearm and his jaw unhinged. He wasn't Ranboo anymore in this state, not the nervous, but kind hearted half Enderman who'd give flowers to people and apologise profusely to the smallest of inconvenience.
He was now an Enderman, seeing one of his hauntings in danger and going to do something about it.
He screeched an awful sound, running towards the green man, his enemy in a flash of light.
Dream brought the axe down but stopped before it hit its target as a large clawed hand grabbed the hilt. Ranboo growled, his form before the blonde teen in a protective stance, tail flicking this way and that.
Everyone held their breath, shocked to see what they saw as a helpless boy become this terrifying beast.
Dream had been shocked into a still stance, giving Ranboo the time. His biggest mistake.
Ranboo ripped the axe out of his hands, sending it flying across the room.
The green man was still too close so he raised a clawed hand, swiping it down upon his face.
The man's smiling mask split into four pieces and the face under it split into four deep claw marks.
The man screamed in agony, blood dripping down his face. One of his eyes had been clawed, his left one, and he holds it now as it bleeds profusely.
He staggers back which Ranboo is grateful for, a little because he's still there. His enemy is still too close to his haunting.
The green man breathed heavily, probably in immense pain due to such an injury.
He shoots his head up, his one uninjured eye almost glowing a sticky colour of green stares in rage and fear at the tall beast that struck him.
Ranboo growls, an unholy sound echoes throughout the obsidian room. Everyone else is still, too shocked into fear and dread to act against what was happening before them.
Even Tommy has been shocked into silence, which doesn't happen often. He stares at Ranboo like he's seeing him for the first time.
He probably is, this is a side of Ranboo no one has ever seen before.
Dream should have backed off at this, should have escaped or given him space but like a fool, he does not.
So blinded, almost literally, by his thirst for power, his rage and his stubbornness to succeed in a fight, summons another weapon.
A glowing Netherite sword, another danger that registers in the Endermans mind.
He hisses, crouching down low before the blonde in a protective stance. His tail coming closer to his body but continuing to flicker left and right aggressively.
Closing his injured eye and ignoring it, Dream readies his sword and runs forward.
Ranboo does the same and they meet in the middle of the fight.
Dream brings down his sword, aiming for his legs but Ranboo is too fast. He spins out of the way and uses the momentum of the spin to backhand Dream in the stomach, sending him flying.
He flies until he hits the obsidian wall, trapped.
Ranboo screams again, his clawed flailing, his fangs growing, his tail lashing. Then he sprints forward, his unhinged jaw ready to clamp upon flesh to tear apart.
Dream raises his sword in time to catch the bite before it reaches his head, the Endemans obvious target for his teeth to sink into.
Ranboo clamps against the netherite in his teeth, feeling it almost bend under his strengthened jaw.
His claws push against the sword and with it against Dream who's fighting back with everything he's got.
It's a struggle but Dream is obviously failing at it. Ranboo keeps pushing and pushing, jaw clamping harder and harder against the strong material of Netherite.
They say Netherite is powerful, an unstoppable material that could not be broken.
The Enderman begs to differ.
It's a struggle but soon, the Netherite begins to crack. Ranboos teeth sinking further and further in, digging deeper into the fraying surface of the sword until…
It shatters.
Straight in half, Dream's sword breaks.
He hears him gasp, his uninjured eye widening in realisation but again, Ranboo will not give him the time.
With Ranboos strength and speed, he pulls his arms away, slamming them against the wall where he is now trapped under the fury and strength of a pissed off Enderman, completely at his mercy.
As he stares one last time in the creatures eyes, the last sight of life he has being the purple swirls of the Enderman, Ranboo goes for the final blow.
He goes for the neck, unhinged jaw biting down hard. Dream's voice is lost to gurgles as it fills with blood then, Ranboo pulls back.
A string of flesh, bone and blood follow the jaws of the beast, red blood pouring from his mouth and from the victims throat.
It's a brutal sight but Ranboo does not care. The enemy is dead, his haunting safe and protected. He's done well.
Dreams body goes limp, his glowing green eye fade to a darker green and now, he's gone.
He called himself a god, Ranboo distantly remembers and now he's nothing but a corpse.
Gods can bleed.
Gods can die.
One example of that is before him, bleeding and dead.
He doesn't care though, he's done what he needed to do.
His haunting was saved but looking again, he is not safe yet.
Many enemies are still in the room and he will not let them get close.
Ranboo, still writhing in his beast form, his eyes purple and glowing, his height still towering over every single person in the room, lumbers over to Tommy, his haunting.
Tommy, seeing the blood covered Enderman, pushes himself back until he hits a wall. His eyes wide in fear and staring into the Endermans eyes. Ranboo does not care though, hauntings are allowed to look into his eyes, he'll allow it.
Tommy is still afraid though, his breath is coming quickly in and out, it gives the Enderman anxiety. He needs to calm down or he'll hurt himself more.
A calming chirp escapes the Enderman as he continues to approach the boy. Trying to calm even though he does not realise he is what he's scared of.
Ranboo kneels before him, his arms reaching out. His claws and hands are still covered in blood. Tommy flinched, having no way of fighting back but he should not fear him.
Ranboo scoops the boy in his arms, sitting on the ground pulling the blonde close.
Holding him to his chest, wrapping himself protectively and comfortably around the boy, he begins to pur.
Similar to the purs of a cat, the pur is used to calm down his haunting, to relax and when he feels content. There's been a few times in his normal state he's purred.
When cuddling with Tubbo or Michael or both of them or when Phil ruffles his hair or scratches behind his ear. He purs.
After a few moments, Tommy does soon relax. Soon realises he's being held and not attacked or hurt. The purring being the reassurance that it is, works as well to calm the blonde.
"Ranboo?". He croaks, his voice hoarse from screaming and begging. Ranboo hums but continues to pur, his eyes closed as they rest atop the head of Tommy's.
That moment ends however when Ranboo feels another's presence approach and he hisses as he snaps his head to who it is.
In his state of Enderman instincts, all he sees is another potential danger. They have no arm, look to have horns and are shorter but they could still pose a threat.
In his state, he does not recognise the form of his husband, looking worried and scared but also relieved.
He hisses threateningly, tightening his grip around the boy in his arms.
The person stops, holding still but not moving away. Ranboo rises from his seated position, standing his tall 8'7 glory even if he has to slouch a bit because of the ceiling not being high enough for him.
"Tubbo?". Tommy calls, now being carried like a baby in the Endemans arms. For a moment, Ranboo recognises the name but it's gone afterwards as his instincts to protect take over once more.
Tubbo smiles reassuringly at the blonde though, raising his hand up placatingly.
"It's okay Tommy, you'll be fine, Ranboo will protect you but right now he's too far in his instincts to make sense of everything. He won't hurt you but he won't let anyone close until he gets out of it. You'll have to stay with him until he calms down okay?".
Tommy is still slightly confused, looking up at Ranboo who's keeping a close eye on Tubbo and the others scattered around the room.
Ranboo knows he has to leave, the humming of his pearl deep beneath his skin strengthens as he prepares for a jump.
He needs a few moments before he has enough energy built for it.
Any moment now.
"What do I-". And before Tommy can finish, Ranboos pearl is built up and he teleports away, to safety, to home. For his haunting to go, for him to be safe and taken care of.
Ranboo will protect him, for as long as he is his haunting, he is his family.
------------
Tommy was not having a great time.
First Dream gets out, then he works with Techno, Wilbur and Phil to create chaos in the server which he pretends did not sting with betrayal and hurt and then he gets close to being killed by the same man for a fourth time.
Keyword close.
Because for some fucking reason, the person to save him is Ranboo.
But this was not Ranboo. He grew even more taller than he already was, which was unfair in Tommy's opinion, but at the same time he cannot complain because the bitch did not look like Ranboo at that moment.
He looked close to a beast, just like a wild Enderman who goes crazy if you look into their eyes.
An unhinged jaw, his claws growing as long as his forearm, his eyes glowing that haunting colour of purple and the next thing he knows, he's going up against Dream and protecting him.
And he's not gonna complain about that, the green bitch deserves the shit beat out of him. But it was a lot more brutal than Tommy anticipated.
Four claw marks across his face, one getting his eye and making it pour a waterfall amount of blood. Then backhanding him into a wall and with lightning speed, pinning the man against the walls, trapping him in the struggle.
And like the impossible, with his jaw clenched into the netherite sword, he shatters it in two.
In two!
Tommy didn't think anything could break a Netherite sword but apparently Ranboos fucking jaw strength can.
After that, it's obvious Dream is dead.
And he is in the most brutal way Tommy has ever seen someone be killed.
He goes for the throat and rips it out.
Blood, skin and bone follows his mouth out as he pulls back out. It almost made him sick.
Everyone is stock still at this point, from fear and shock, everyone collectively can agree this is terrifying to witness.
Even the two known as the Angel of Death and Blood God are frozen from the brutality of the scene. You'd think they've seen enough blood to be desensitised to it.
Or it could be they're in shock that Ranboo of all people did it. Tommy knows he was.
And the next terrifying thing to happen is Ranboos' eyes trailing from the corpse of Dream to him.
And like a dumbass, he looks into the Endemans eyes.
Tommy thinks he's fucked now with what he's done and he pushes himself back until he hits the wall, trying and failing to get away from the looming beast.
But to no avail obviously and he's pulled into the embrace of the creature which is… what the fuck?!
Ranboo doesn't attack, instead he holds him close and gentle like Tommy is fragile. And honestly, he'd find that insulting if not for how odd and scary the situation is.
Then the noise starts, like a deep rumble. The deeper version of a cat's pur. That's what came out from Ranboo moments later.
It honestly sounded pretty nice and Tommy soon found himself relaxing. Okay, maybe he wasn't going to be killed, doesn't mean he wasn't still confused.
"Ranboo?". He tries to question and only gets a hum in response which is a sound that gets lost in the cacophony of purs.
Until Ranboo suddenly freezes, the purring stops and Tommy tenses.
Shit, did he do something wrong? Was he not supposed to say anything?
Tommy waits for pain but nothing comes. Instead Ranboo shifts and hisses deeply in his throat.
That's when he notices someone approaching, someone he knows.
Ranboo rises from where he sat, standing at almost his full height to appear threatening, taking Tommy with him. Tommy is now being carried in the arms of this beast.
Prime, this is embarrassing.
But he knows who approached, knows that brown hair and horns.
"Tubbo?". He calls the boy, hopefully he'll be able to help. Ranboo doesn't look close to letting him go nor does he look like he recognises anyone, not even Tubbo.
"It's okay Tommy, you'll be fine, Ranboo will protect you but right now he's too far in his instincts to make sense of everything. He won't hurt you but he won't let anyone close until he gets out of it. You'll have to stay with him until he calms down okay?".
Yeah, he knows Ranboo is too far in his instincts to recognise anyone, he's not dumb but the other part? He has to stay with him? That's gonna suck.
But looking at him now, Tommy realises Tubbo is right. He'll have to stay until Ranboob can snap himself out of it. But what the fuck is he supposed to do then?
"What do I-". He was going to ask what he's supposed to do but immediately gets cut off when the world swirls around him in a form of purple.
And now here he is, the aftermath of the entire event he will not forget for the rest of his life.
Dream is dead.
Like dead dead, which brings more relief than anything.
He's gone.
He can't hurt him anymore.
He's finally safe.
Well, he's more then safe, he's comfortable as fuck.
He's in some kind of nest in a room, cocooned in blankets and pillows. He's sure this is Ranboos vault, he's caught glimpses of the room before Ranboo shuts and locks it.
He knows from what Tubbo has told him that Ranboo is incredibly rich and this place is probably where he keeps it.
Oh he is so stealing shit before this is over.
The room is dark and quite spacious, some chests here and there and things on the wall. It's some kind of picture frame with something gold being hung on it, he can't see, it's too fucking dark.
What he can see however is the two glowing orbs of Enderman eyes. Eyes that belong to no one but Ranboo himself.
He stands a bit away, having backed away after wrapping Tommy in blankets and pillows and an incredibly soft pile of blankets and what he thinks is clothes.
Some are incredibly familiar, like the forest green shirt of Tubbos old button up or one of the Antarctic capes Techno and Phil wear or… is that one of his clothes?
Laid beside Tubbos shirt is a recognisable shirt of red and white, one of his own. It's an old one by how there's a few tears here and there on it, he wonders if it's his exile one he left at Technos.
But it's here, placed in the nest and as someone who was raised and lived with an Avian, he knows what that means.
He tried to ignore how his face goes warm at the thought.
He turns back to Ranboo, eyes flicking to his own eyes before retreating to his ear. He isn't sure if he's allowed to look in his eyes or not. He didn't get angry or annoyed earlier when he did so he isn't sure now.
Ranboo continues to stand there, completely still, just watching. It's incredibly creepy.
"Are you just gonna continue standing there and staring or what? Creep". He ends it, seeing only a small reaction from Ranboo as he speaks.
"⊑⏃⎍⋏⏁⟟⋏☌ ⊑⎍⍀⏁?"
Tommy stares at Ranboo for a moment, trying to remember what he had learnt from all the times Techno and Phil were teaching him Ender.
It clicked once he got it all but became… even more confused.
"The fuck do you mean by haunting?". He asks bluntly, still incredibly confused.
Ranboo makes a thoughtful chirp, looking down slightly as his fingers pressed together in front of him.
"⎎⏃⋔⟟⌰⊬ ⍜☍⏃⊬?"
Another moment of thinking passed before Tommy's eyes went wide and face went warm.
"Y-you… why would… I…. You call me…?". He stumbled over his words. It's obvious Ranboo is talking about him.
And he's in a situation where he's wrapped securely in a nest, with an instinct driven hybrid, who's calling him family.
Fuck, okay, this was unexpected. But… It's also nice, being treated like family again.
Tommy sighs.
"Fuck it. Come here you tall bitch," Tommy calls, wiggling an arm out as he beckons the Enderman hybrid to him.
He's emotional, he's had a long fucking day and he's free. For once, he's letting himself have this.
Ranboo perks up and takes careful strides to Tommy but slots before the nest, his head tilting. Tommy scoffs and rolls his eyes before he grabs the hybrid's hand.
He pulls the tall boy down into the nest and Ranboo carefully follows.
Ranboo soon lays down beside him and Tommy lays a head on the hybrid's shoulder.
"I know you probably can't understand me right now but… thank you for everything," he says quite sincerely. And it's the truth. He has a lot to thank the guy for and today proved, maybe he has someone else to trust in his life.
Ranboo blinks but soon enough, he's wrapping Tommy up in his embrace. His massive form practically engulfed Tommy. It's comfortable though, comfortable and warm.
It brings a small smile to his face.
☌⍜⍜⎅⋏⟟☌⊑⏁ ⏚⍀⍜⏁⊑⟒⍀
Tommy opens his eyes slightly, his slow brain now on the border of sleep registers Ranboos words.
When he realises what is said, his eyes widen a little.
"Yeah, goodnight Ranboo."
And soon, in the comfort of a nest and surrounded by the cacophony of content and happy purs, both fall to sleep.
—----
The next morning, Ranboo wakes with a foggy mind. Prime, what happens yesterday?
It comes back in flashes, Dreams escape, the trap, the prison walls surrounding them, Dreams mask and his cackles and the monologues that sent shivers down his spine.
Then Tommy was about to be killed and… nothing.
It goes blank from there but he feels something big has happened.
Did he… do something?
As he blinks his eyes open, he feels the comfort first, hears the slow breaths of someone, tastes the lingering taste of metal on his tongue.
Where is he?
One looks around and oh, he's in his vault room. Why is he in his vault room.
Someone shifts and Ranboo realises he's holding someone to his chest, looking down, he does not expect to see TommyInnit in his arms. But he looks at peace asleep, content and alive.
He's alive.
That's a big relief in Ranboos brain and he knows he has a lot of questions. For one, why are his hands covered in dry blood?
But for now, he's warm and in his vault. He'll find Tubbo soon and make sure Tommy is fed and Michael is safe.
He isn't sure he'll want to speak to Phil, Techno or Wilbur after everything, after they almost let Tommy die. But for now, he's okay.
They all are.