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The first time Ranboo died, it had been an accident.
And most deaths in the server weren’t accidental, or so it seemed, so it was entirely stupid that it had happened this way but, well.
Ranboo had been careless.
He had a plan. A way that would surely give him a chance to figure more about the enderwalk, to get his memories back. He’d written it down, he had everything set up. A dispenser that would shoot an arrow. And if it hit him, it’d just bounce off his armor. But. But! It could also make him teleport. It could help him tap into the enderwalk.
Or just get rid of it completely, he wasn’t sure. But still…he had to try. He had it set up, he knew what to do.
But he messed up.
And oh, how it hurt.
On one hand, he’d teleported. That was one thing that had happened! He didn’t have any control over it or where he had gone, but it happened.
On the other…
Teleporting right into the wall wasn’t what he’d wanted.
It took him a second to realize what had happened. One moment he’d pressed the lever to send the arrow, the next he was stuck. Half in, half out of the wall. And maybe he could’ve pried himself out of it, but it was a little hard to do that when you couldn’t breathe. Once the realization of that kicked in, he panicked. He hoped he’d be able to teleport again, get himself out of the wall, but it didn’t work. He was stuck, and oh he was going to die there.
It was painful, waiting for it to just end. And when he did, he sat up in his bed in the arctic, breathing heavily and with a reminder of the pain still fresh in his mind.
Afterwards, he didn’t tell anyone what had happened. It was a little embarrassing, honestly. He didn’t want others to know how badly he’d failed. Besides, he still had 2 lives. It was fine! He just wouldn’t die again. It couldn’t be that hard.
---
The second time Ranboo died, he'd made his own choice. He was prepared.
He had seen it coming from the moment Wilbur told him how the trap worked, but he knew there was no changing his mind.
And when he’d seen Tubbo there, shaking as he stood on the pressure plate, unknowing of what would happen if he stepped off but too terrified to find out, it only solidified the idea of what he was going to do. His own heart seized upon seeing him there, and he was quick to make his way to him.
Ranboo put his foot on the pressure plate and a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder and told him to move. But not before pressing a soft kiss briefly to the top of his head, lingering there for a moment as he held Tubbo close for a moment. He was pretty sure he’d still have a life left after this, but he still didn’t know what he got up to while in the Enderwalk, so there was still a chance this was all he had left.
Still, he smiled up at Tubbo as he scrambled away and to the ladder, and it only grew as Tubbo returned the smile.
He got Wilbur and Quackity’s attention, Wilbur immediately trying to come rescue him but he stopped them. Wilbur needed to realize how frivolous this all is, and this was perhaps the way to do that. His gaze flicked up to Tubbo for a second. His eyes were firmly closed as he curled up in the corner.
He smiled.
And then he jumped.
When he woke up on his bed in the Arctic, he let out a breath of relief.
---
Nothing could have prepared Ranboo for the third time he died.
Everything was chaotic with the alarm blaring as Techno came and rescued Dream from the prison, including him in the mix.
And when they got out, they were immediately greeted with a bunch of people.
When Ranboo found out that Sam had Michael, he felt the blood running through his veins freeze. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before taking his armor off.
“Please,” he begged, “please don’t hurt him.”
“Bring Dream back,” was Sam’s only response.
But there was nothing Ranboo could do—Dream wouldn’t even listen to Techno, who tried to get Sam to let him go. Ranboo knew there was no way out of this, so he handed Techno the picture of Michael. Even once Ranboo was dead, he couldn’t let any harm come to his son. He just hoped Tubbo would be okay without him.
And then the sword went through his chest and everything went black.
---
Limbo was cold. Ranboo shivered from where he sat on a single island amongst the ocean. Salty water sprayed up against him occasionally, though it was nothing compared to the neverending tears pouring down his face.
He was aware, vaguely, of what Ghostboo was doing, but could do nothing about it. He just curled himself up a little tighter.
---
The first thing Ranboo thought was that it was bright. He shielded his eyes until they got a chance to get used to it. And when they finally could, he looked around.
The first thing he saw was Techno with Phil behind him, both looking relieved.
“You’re okay, mate,” Phil said, smiling. One of Ranboo’s ears flicked and he looked down at himself. Was…Had he been revived?
And then someone calling his name was the only warning he got before arms wrapped themselves around him, practically clinging to him. There was Tubbo, burying his face in his chest as he cried. Ranboo brought his arms up and held tight, burying his head in Tubbo’s curls, being mindful of his horns.
“You dickhead,” Tubbo mumbled against him and Ranboo laughed wetly. Tubbo pulled away and looked up at him. He reached up to wipe away Ranboo’s tears, but Ranboo just grabbed his hand and held it. He pressed it against his cheek and leaned his head into it.
“I missed you.”
Tubbo huffed, using his other hand to pull Ranboo’s head down so he could press his forehead against Ranboo’s. “If you die again, I’m killing you.”
“Noted, ‘bo.”