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“Ranboo, what are you doing?” Tubbo questioned the tall boy who was currently scavenging through his chests.
He smiled at Tubbo, seemingly content with being caught in the act. Tubbo could spot dozens of iron ingots piled in his arms. Annoyance boiled inside of him and he resisted the urge to punch Ranboo.
Tubbo leaped forward to snatch the iron back. “Hey, stop stealing from me! I spent hours in those caves, alright?”
His friend only laughed as he dropped the iron — well, most of it — and ran by to his tiny dirt shack in the river. Tubbo carefully collected the iron and placed it back in the chest. Jesus, how strong was the fucker? Tubbo could barely lift ten of these ingots by himself.
His communicator buzzed on his hip and Tubbo slipped it out of his pocket to see the message.
[Ranboo] You stole from me first
[Ranboo] So who’s really the thief?
He threw his communicator to the ground and groaned. He was a bit surprised that it didn’t break.
“That was taxes, Ranboo!”
[Ranboo] THIS IS MY LAND
[Ranboo] MY SHACK
Tubbo laughed and picked up his communicator, quickly typing out a message.
[Tubbo_] no no
[Tubbo_] my land my rules
[Ranboo] WHAT
[TommyInnit] shut up dumb asses me and philza minecraft are mining
Tubbo slid his communicator back into his pocket, ignoring the messages from Tommy. He and Phil had been mining for a few hours now. He hoped they would be back by the time the sun set, or they were going to be in some deep shit traveling back home. Maybe they’d run into some new faces, though! It had gotten a bit lonely. When Tommy and Tubbo first set off to start their own lives, they had been alone building this tree house. Ranboo and Phil had stumbled across their home and accepted their offer to stay. It was nice having more company than just Tommy around. He could actually be serious with Phil and could rant about all his new ideas for their home to Ranboo. They were all great company, but finding a new face in this jungle would be lovely.
Tubbo continued to monitor the iron smelter and keep Ranboo away from the chests. It was very boring just sitting on the ground and watching iron melt down into an ingot. It felt like hours had passed but when he asked Ranboo, he said it had only been thirty-two minutes.
“Oh my god, Ranboo, I’m going to die out here,” Tubbo complained.
He was laying down on the chest where all the newly smelt iron was stored with his head dangling off the side. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ranboo upside-down shrug in response. God, how lame. Tubbo sighed again and rolled around, staring at the ground below the tree house. In the shade, there was an empty patch of land. He needed to put something there. What could he put? He had enough farms and animal pens…
Then, he spotted it. On the ground in front of him laid his enchanted pickaxe, shimmering a purple-ish blue. His pickaxe had multiple cracks in it and the stick was held together with bandages and leather. He would soon need a new one since its durability was basically reduced to shreds. He had enough diamonds — especially since he taxed Ranboo — but the enchantments wouldn’t be very good if he just used the same enchantment table. He needed to make a real enchantment center. Phil had taught him how to make one a few weeks ago. He needed sixteen bookshelves if he remembered correctly, and they all needed to be placed around the enchantment table filled with books of the ancient end dialect. He had chests full of books from exploring caves, villages, and pillager towers. He had enough materials! He could do it!
“Yes!” Tubbo shouted and immediately rolled off of the chest. Ranboo startled but Tubbo ignored him. “I’m a genius! You’re a genius, Ranboo!”
Tubbo immediately raced to the tree house and scaled the ladder to the first floor. He could hear Ranboo following him and was grateful that he had extra hands to help. Tubbo yanked open all of his chests and dug around to find books and wood.
His communicator buzzed but Tubbo didn’t bother to look at it. Instead, he turned around and shoved Ranboo towards the chests.
“You! Look in all the chest from books in the end dialect! I’m going to go build the bookshelves and prepare the enchantment center.”
Ranboo’s eyes brightened in understanding and he nodded in determination. He scavenged through the chests and Tubbo quickly remembered the whole stealing problem that had been going on.
“And no stealing!” He reprimanded, and Ranboo waved him away dismissively.
Tubbo sighed but got to work.
It took hours to finish the project. Tubbo had to nail the wood boards together and sand them down. After finishing the shelves, he dug out an area for the enchantment table — with Ranboo’s help — and built the shelves in a five-by-five square around the center. He carried down the enchantment table, which was so heavy he almost fell to his death twice, and finally placed it in the middle. By mid-afternoon, the enchantment center was almost finished. All Tubbo needed to do was build the walls and roof and he could enchant away!
Tubbo wiped the sweat away from his face with his discarded jacket. Pride fluttered in his chest when he stared at his home. Not only had he almost finished the enchantment table in a few hours, but he had accomplished so much here in a little more than a month. He had a beautiful jungle treehouse based on the home of his idol, animal pens and farms that could feed him for weeks, and many friends to share this space with him.
It was amazing. He never would have thought he could accomplish so much in such little time. That’ll show his parents! He’s gotten so far since his first day in the jungle with Tommy. Soon, he’d move on to his next project which would be even bigger and better than his entire base. The temple was going to look spectacular. For now, however, he needed to finish this cobblestone hut.
“Alright, you’re good, Ranboo,” Tubbo said dismissively. “I don’t think I’ll need any more help here.”
Ranboo nodded and wandered out of Tubbo’s sight. With one more grin, he got to work once more.
Building the walls was more challenging than making the shelves and base. The cobblestone was heavy and hard to shape into a flat surface. Eventually, after many anger and tear-inducing situations, the enchantment center was finally finished. The walls were smooth and the shelves were lined with leather-bound books of ancient times. Tubbo smiled, content washing over him. Now, after all the hard work, it was finally time to enchant.
Tubbo placed a brand new diamond pickaxe onto the enchantment table. Instantly, the floating book opened and all the pages flipped in unison. It was mesmerizing watching the old, decaying pages communicate with each other to find the perfect page for the tool. Finally, the pages settled and Tubbo scanned the words. There were symbols and words Tubbo couldn’t understand, but through the lines on the page, words came to Tubbo’s mind.
Efficiency I . . . ?
Silk Touch . . . ?
Efficiency IV . . . ?
Tubbo’s finger swept the rough pages as he tried to make a decision. Silk Touch was a very important enchantment since it kept everything it mines in its original state. Cobblestone would stay as the stone which was essential for his next project. However, Efficiency IV would mine everything very quickly, and since it was at the highest level of possible enchantments, there was an opportunity for more enchantments to tag along. He thought hard about his decision. When he boiled it all down, it was an easy choice.
He closed his eyes and exhaled, attempting to empty his mind and let the book pick. His finger glided across the paper absently. He searched around trying to scan every single symbol. Finally, his finger reached a spot that pulsed and he stopped. This felt right. Almost silently, Tubbo muttered,
“Efficiency-four…”
Tubbo opened his eyes and the book glowed bright orange and blue. The book closed with a violent snap and he barely had enough time to yank his hand away. The book glowed brighter and brighter and Tubbo thought he saw the pickaxe begin to glow as well. Soon though, the lift grew painful and he had to shield his eyes from the glare. Suddenly, the bright light behind his eyes disappeared into the darkness. When he opened his eyes and blinked away the spots, he grinned. The pickaxe shone a shimmering purple and ancient dialect was carved into its handle.
“Ranboo!” Tubbo yelped, quickly scrambling to pick up the tool. “It worked! The enchantment worked!”
Tubbo ran his hand across the diamond pickaxe, getting goosebumps at the magical feeling it held. The purple shimmer of enchantment was like a shield around the pickaxe. His fingers couldn’t go through it but it also didn’t feel solid; it was like gas or maybe liquid. He would have to ask Phil once he got back. Phil seemed to know everything about the world. Tubbo pursed his lips once he found words engraved into the pickaxe’s handle.
ᒷ⎓⎓╎ᓵ╎ᒷリᓵ|| ╎⍊
⎓𝙹∷ℸ ̣ ⚍リᒷ ╎╎╎
⚍リʖ∷ᒷᔑꖌ╎リ⊣ ╎╎╎
Tubbo had gotten three enchantments on his pickaxe? Efficiency-four must have been the best choice. Tubbo smiled and squinted at the symbols again. He’s tried before to translate the ancient language, but he could just never figure it out. Neither could anyone that he’s met before.
Ranboo poked his head into the enchantment center with a questioning hum. Oh right!
“Dude, look at my enchantments! I got three of them,” Tubbo explained and shoved the pickaxe into Ranboo’s arms. Ranboo took it and carefully inspected the symbols, seemingly lost in thought.
Tubbo continued, “One of the enchantments is efficiency-four, which is super good, but I wish I knew what the other ones were. Though if one of them is Silk Touch, I’ll be able to figure it out!”
Tubbo’s communicator buzzed multiple times and when he stopped rambling, he noticed Ranboo was typing into his. Tubbo read the messages and his eyes nearly exploded.
[Ranboo] Dang efficiency 4, fortune 3, and unbreaking 3???
[Ranboo] Thats super good
His mouth dropped open in shock and he stared at Ranboo. The other boy just looked confused at Tubbo’s shock. How did Ranboo learn the end dialect? Was this why he couldn’t speak? Was he fluent in it? How did Ranboo even get out here? All the people that spoke the end dialect lived in the End Realm, and all those who adventured to the ancient realm never returned home. Was Ranboo from the End Realm? Tubbo had so many goddamn questions.
“You- You know the end dialect? ” Tubbo spat out.
[Ranboo] Yeah? You dont?
Tubbo gaped at him. “What do you- no, of course, I don’t! No one knows the end dialect anymore! Unless, they were born in the End Realm- wait, Ranboo are you from the End Realm?”
Ranboo shook his head looking… fearful?
Tubbo sighed. He tried to wrack his brain for any more information that could explain Ranboo somehow knowing a supposed dead language. When Ranboo stumbled across their treehouse, it was obvious he couldn’t speak the same language as them. They got around it because he could understand English, but they still tried to figure out a language Ranboo could speak. When Tommy had asked Ranboo, the tall boy had said he couldn’t remember any languages he spoke.
Wait a minute.
“Wait, wait, wait, Ranboo? Did you know those symbols were in the end dialect?
Ranboo typed some more on his communicator, still appearing anxious.
[Ranboo] No I just saw them and knew
[Ranboo] It was easy to write them in english
“So— do you remember ever seeing those symbols — that language — before?”
[Ranboo] uh no
“Okay, alright, stay with me here!” Ranboo nodded along to Tubbo’s words, now growing confused.
“You understand the end dialect and you understand English. You can’t remember ever learning the end dialect. You also can’t remember anything that happened later than a month ago. So, hypothetically, of course, you could be from the End Realm and somehow got to our realm! That would explain why you can’t speak English and why you know the end dialect! It would also explain how you showed up here more confused than me or Tommy.”
Ranboo looked overwhelmed and just shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. Tubbo would let that slide though, so he grabbed his pickaxe back and grabbed Ranboo’s hand.
He tried to put himself in Ranboo’s shoes. He was missing a huge chunk of his life. He didn’t know if he had any family out there looking for him. Ranboo was all alone in this world until he stumbled across Tommy and Tubbo. Now, after all that time of being alone, there might actually be people out there that know him. There might be a place where he is wanted and understood and loved. Of course, Tubbo loved and wanted Ranboo but this was a new Ranboo. The people in End Realm would know the old Ranboo. That probably means a lot to Tubbo’s friend, so Tubbo was determined to help Ranboo get back home. Just because Tubbo and Tommy had a bad home didn’t mean that Ranboo did as well.
Tubbo’s idea was set in stone.
“Here, bossman, I know this is weird,” Tubbo breathed in. “It’s weird and scary and really unfamiliar. But I promise that we will get to the End Portal and get you home, alright? We’re like a big family and that means we help each other out.”
Ranboo smiled and, before Tubbo could blink, he was pulled into a tight hug. Ranboo squeezed him so tightly that Tubbo could barely think. He still managed to hug Ranboo back. When he was released, Ranboo was close to tears. Tubbo grinned and punched him in the arm.
“Okay, I’m done with all this sappy shit. It’s time for you to give me your taxes.” He joked.
Immediately, Ranboo’s face changed from thankful to hysterical. He immediately pulled out his communicator but Tubbo ran away. Climbing up the rungs of the tree-house ladder, he sang mockingly,
“La-la-la-la-la! I can’t hear you because Ranboo’s an idiot! He needs to pay taxes, bo-ba-bi-ba-bo-bi!"
The sun was setting. An orange glow smeared across the horizon while the sky behind it faded from sky blue to midnight purple. The night was approaching fast and neither Phil nor Tommy was home yet. When Tubbo messaged them Tommy had claimed to be “big” enough to fight all the monsters and Phil said they’d be back before nightfall. Tubbo was still worried, however. He felt like a bowstring ready to fire, all stressed and strung tight. Waiting for the little flicker that allowed him to burst. He kept waiting to see the duo running on the horizon, riches in arms. Or maybe they’d be in a boat from the east, with their boats so heavy water was leaking into the floor. Tubbo watched the land and ocean and river for hours but there was still no sign of them.
He could tell it was affecting Ranboo, as well. He stayed in his little dirt shack in the river. Every now and then, Tubbo thought he heard the clicking of communicator keys but they soon disappeared. When Ranboo would emerge from his hut, he’d scan the land around him. Once he saw Tubbo with his spyglass and frustrated brow, he’d wander back into his hut once more.
The minutes passed and there was still no sign of anything. He groaned and fell backward, landing his ass straight onto the wooden planks beneath him. He put his head into his hands and just… breathed. He was so stressed. He didn’t want anything to happen because he wasn’t there again. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened to Wilbur Soot.
The chest creaked open quietly and Rubbo jumped up. Were they back? Why wouldn’t they say anything? Tubbo scrambled to the ledge but when he peered down, his hope was replaced with brutal annoyance.
“Ranboo!” He yelped, racing down the ladder. “Get the hell out of there!”
Ranboo, who had been leaning over the double chest peering at all the ingots, jumped. He slammed the chest shut and, with a laugh, ran back into his dirt shack. When Tubbo got to the ground, he was very out of breath. He glared at Ranboo’s house, anger swelling a bit past the reasonable amount. Impulsively, he yanked open his satchel and grabbed a rock from his recent mining. He aimed at the door, eyes squinting, and prepared to launch. Once he saw a fluff of white and black hair emerge, he threw the pebble as hard as he could.
For a moment, he didn’t think it hit its target until he heard a loud hiss of pain come from Ranboo.
“Ha-ha! That's what you get, asshole!” He mocked, a bit more playful now that he had realized that this was a bit silly. “I can’t trust you to not go through my stuff anymore!”
There was silence and Tubbo pulled out his communicator.
[Ranboo] YOU CANT TRUST ME?
[Ranboo] YOU JUST HIT ME WITH A ROCK!1!! AND YOURE TAXING ME
[Ranboo] I HAVE TO BE AFRAID
[Ranboo] TUBBO
[TommyInnit] shut up ididot
[Ranboo] WJAT
5+ messages…
Tubbo rolled his eyes. Ender, he had enough of Ranboo’s bickering. He spotted the little gear button on the side of his communicator and smirked. He clicked the button and scrolled down to the title that said, “Messaging & Blocking.”
With a grin, he clicked on Ranboo’s profile and clicked a big, red button that said, “BLOCK.” A few seconds later, a message appeared.
[Server] Tubbo_ has blocked Ranboo. He will no longer see Ranboo’s messages.
[TommyInnit] AHHAHAHDAHAHA
[Ph1LzA] you chaotic shits
Tubbo could see Ranboo’s angered glare from the other side of the river, but he simply smiled and turned around.
“Oh no!” He cried, “Whatever will I do without Ranboo? He— Ran— Ranboo my beloved, oh, dear me!”
He dramatically threw himself around the path, waving his arms in exaggerated moments. He felt like a wife from a play who found out her husband had died in the war. It was hilarious.
He continued to whine and stumble around, interrupting his own monologue with giggles. By the time he was finished, he was leaning against the treehouse’s trunk, gasping for breath. Every time he tried to take a deep breath, he remembered how silly he was being a moment ago and dissolved into laughter. Earlier, he had been anxious and drawn-tight, waiting for the others to arrive home. But now, he was loose and free. He had been cut loose from the bow and was allowed to play sway in the wind. He felt so happy at that moment.
He finally caught his breath and smiled. The air around him was chilly and the air was quiet. Everything was peaceful now.
But it was too quiet. Too peaceful.
He glanced up and searched for Ranboo. He wasn’t in the treetops nor his dirt shack. He wasn’t by the animals or in the river. He looked towards the forest and when he finally found Ranboo, he was drawn tight and ready and explosive.
Again , Ranboo was digging inside of his ingot chest. This time, however, he wasn’t just surfing through them all to make fun of Tubbo. This time he was gathering as many ingots as he could and throwing them into his leather bag. He was stealing the ores Tubbo had spent precious time collecting. Those were his. Not Ranboo’s!
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He yelled and jumped to his feet.
Immediately, Ranboo laughed and closed his bag. Before Tubbo could even scream at him some more or comment on how rude it was to laugh at him, Ranboo was racing off into the forest, dozens and dozens of iron ingots in hand.
Tubbo immediately raced after him, heart pounding with rage and betrayal. Did Ranboo think this was funny? Or even somewhat acceptable? This was plain disrespectful and he was ready to beat Ranboo into the ground.
Tubbo wasn’t thinking anymore. He was in fight mode and he was mad. He yanked the bow out from behind his back and grabbed an arrow from its basket. He slid to a stop at a bush and all he could feel was being tight and hysterical and ready to explode.
Tubbo notched the arrow and drew back the string tight, tight, tight. He was pulling so hard he felt like any moment, with any more pressure, it would snap.
He felt like he was going to snap. Everything built inside him: stress from Tommy and Phil, constantly monitoring his ingots, grieving Wilbur Soot, and never being safe. The pressure was building so deep inside him. He was so ready to let it all go and let it explode. He wanted it gone, he wanted to be free, and he wanted to explode.
And so he did.
Tubbo would regret the next moment, the next split-second for the rest of his life. He would try to forgive himself or think it wasn’t his fault. Underneath all the comfort and tears and advice that was given to him, he knew the truth. Maybe, just maybe, he had wanted to do what he did. He wanted what happened next. He wanted everything to burn and everything to disappear. Despite this all, despite his poorly made decision filled with anger and stress, he would sacrifice it all the take the moment back and stop.
Because in less than a single second, Tubbo let his finger slip off the tight, tight, string.
And the arrow flew.
Tubbo blinked and he was notching an arrow and aiming. He blinked and the arrow flew through the trees. He blinked the iron was on the ground and the arrow was in Ranboo’s chest. Tubbo blicked and Ranboo was on the ground. He blinked. He blinked again and again and again. While he kept blinking, Ranboo. Wasn’t. Moving.
Horror flooded Tubbo and before he could blink, he was at Ranboo’s side. In a fury of tears and gasps and snot, Tubbo ripped his shirt apart and gather a large piece of fabric. Don’t remove the arrow, he thought. Your arrow. He stuffed the fabric in the arrow hole and he couldn’t think.
Tubbo looked down at his friend, his best friend, he was dying, and Tubbo finally broke. Ranboo’s eyes’ were wide and unseeing. His hand twitched as if he was trying to lift it and his gasps and gags were horrifying. There was blood on his tongue, in his throat, on his chest, pouring everywhere. It was on Tubbo’s hands, his shirt, the grass below, the air, and everything. Ranboo coughed and gasped and his face was turning purple. Blood gurgled from the depths of his friend and when he coughed again, blood flew in the air. It flew like the arrow Tubbo shot. This time it hit Tubbo. It hit his face and his chest and it was only blood . It still felt like he was getting ripped open from the inside inch by inch.
“Ran— Ranboo, Boo, hey, hey, ple—ease, ” Tubbo sobbed, wiping the blood off of Ranboo’s face harshly. “No, no, no, I’m sorry, I didn’t— I didn’t mean it, please!”
Ranboo only stared up at the sky, forever-seeing and blind at the same time. He wasn’t supposed to look like this. He was meant to smile and laugh and smirk. He was supposed to joke with Tubbo and make fun of him and listen to him ramble. Tubbo was supposed to help his friend, not… not this! They were meant to take on the nether together and venture into the stronghold and find Ranboo’s family! Ranboo would never find his family.
His fault, his fault, his fault, his fault, his fault, his fault, his fault, his fault—
Ranboo stopped twitching and Tubbo stopped breathing. He held it all in. Ranboo’s eyes were glossy and rolled back. He froze in place. Ranboo’s skin was purple and pale and no longer warm. Tubbo closed his eyes and with a shaky arm, placed his hand on Ranboo’s chest.
Still. It was all frozen and still and dead.
Ranboo wasn’t breathing and Tubbo felt like he never would again.
[Server] Ranboo was shot by Tubbo_
[TommyInnit] what the fuck
[TommInnit] this is a s hitass prank tubs
[TommyInnit] ranbo say ssomethng
[Tommyinnit] tubbbo pleae what hapned
[Ph1LzA] Tubbo if this is a prank you are in so much trouble
[Ph1LzA] Ranboo send a message right now.
[TommyInnit] nonon o not again tubo o pleasee
[Ph1LzA] No. Tubbo, Ranboo one of you respond right now I’m serious.
[Ph1LzA] Fucking hell oh my ender
[TommyInnit] HWHAT TEH FUCK DID YOU DO TUUBO
20+ messages