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okay, in their defence, it had seemed like a solid plan.
they'd heard rumours about a server member they had never met, one who apparently shut himself away only weeks before they had arrived on the server. of course, there was always the risk of it being wrong, of the tales of the blond-haired boy who'd been revived being completely false, but aimsey had gotten desperate.
in all honesty, it was a bit sad, having to admit their only friend was a ghost, and they hadn't even realised that he was a ghost until, like, last week.
even for them, that was a little embarrassing.
though their conversations with ran had never been particularly serious, aside from their brief argument after they had lost their first life- which they were absolutely not over, by the way, they were still trying to cope with their new walking stick and their newly fucked-up joints- aimsey could tell how much being dead was upsetting to him. it should've been obvious, really, that being dead would upset anyone, but they didn't know how long ran had been dead, and had almost assumed that he had become accustomed to it. but they could see through it, quite easily, actually.
it was obvious in the way his mismatched eyes would sadden and his face would falter as he tried to throw an arm around their shoulders playfully, or as he tried to pluck a gentle looking violet flower from the ground, only for his hands to phase right through. aimsey couldn't let him carry on like that, it just felt cruel, to watch from the sidelines as their only friend struggled to become accustomed to living as a ghost. they had never asked, not really, not outright, but it soon became blatantly obvious that ran had not actually been dead for very long.
so, after seeing ran's face fall one too many times as he got struck by the realisation that he is, in fact, dead, aimsey decided to finally do something about it.
"hello?" they called out, loudly, tapping their knuckles against the door again, "is anyone home? hello?"
it seemed pointless, to stand in the garden of the same violet flowers that they always saw ran staring at, and to knock uselessly against a door, time and time again, hoping the outcome would change, hoping that the door would swing open and they could meet the infamous boy who'd been revived himself. aimsey just hoped that he actually knew how he was brought back, otherwise it would be useless.
just like their fucking knocking, because whatever asshole lived there, he was clearly ignoring them-
"what do you want?"
aimsey stumbled back, hand falling back to their side, tilting their head and analysing the boy who'd answered the door. they had expected some wise, mentor-like man, or maybe a battle-stricken warrior. what they hadn't expected was a boy to answer, a boy younger than them, with eyes that looked as if he was still dead.
"sorry! i just- are you tommy?" they asked eagerly, not letting the fact that they had to crane their neck upwards to talk to him bother them. they'd gotten used to it by then, given how ran was freakishly tall, even in death. it wasn't as if they were particularly blessed in the height department themselves, but it was definitely an adjustment when they'd arrived at the server, given how everyone there seemed to be much taller than them. the closest person to their height that they'd met was the strange man with a half-burnt face who'd taken their first life.
he squinted his eyes, annoyance written across his face, marred with thick scars and mottled with half-faded bruises. "depends who's asking," he grumbled, voice hoarse, yet quiet, "are you new?"
"yes! no! uh, kind of?" aimsey grinned apprehensively, rocking back on their heels as they spoke, voice growing loud with nerves, "i've been here for a few weeks, i just haven't met you yet! i'm aimsey, and i need your help."
with a sigh and a pinched brow, the boy leaned sideways to tip his weight onto the doorway, eyes half-lidded and tired, "right. sure, whatever. yes, i'm tommy, but i don't know who told you who i am, or who told you that i help people. whoever it was completely lied to you. i don't help people, and i will not be helping you." and with that, tommy stepped back, hand grasping the doorknob loosely as he swung the door shut.
"wait!" aimsey called, relief flooding their chest as they watched the door hesitate, only an inch away from being closed, "you were revived, right?"
in a single blink, the door was back open, and there was a dagger at their neck.
"who told you about that?" tommy hissed, voice venomous and low, hands steadier than they had been before. before aimsey could even open their mouth to respond, eyes trained carefully on the blade that was ever so close to their skin, tommy continued, sounding almost frantic, like a madman, "what do you want from me?"
okay, well, shit. they knew their plan was flawed, but they hadn't expected it to go this badly. did people regularly threaten each other in this server? "i just want your help!" aimsey took a cautious step back, one hand raised in surrender, the other shakily grasping their walking stick, "i thought you might be able to tell me about revival?" they hesitated, not looking away from the dagger pointed straight to their throat, "and, maybe, how to revive someone?" at tommy's expectant silence, they continued, voice tinged with nerves, "of course, you don't have to, i don't mean any- any harm or anything! i was just curious. if you can't help, that's fine, i'm not-"
"who are you trying to revive?" tommy sounded almost suspicious, slowly lowering his dagger as his hands began to tremble again.
aimsey swallowed thickly, "my friend, ran, i don't know if you know him, but he really, really hates being dead, so i want to bring him back."
something in tommy's eyes changed, softened, maybe. it was almost as if some flicker of guilt had taken over their gaze. "no," he spoke quietly, turning slightly to settle the dagger onto the table at his side. "no, i don't know him," he paused, before stepping out of his house, shutting the door behind him. "but i can try and help."
there was definitely something that tommy wasn't telling them.
for someone who had claimed to not know who ran was, he looked awfully upset as they arranged the summoning circle, settling out two circular vinyl's on the ground. 'disc's', tommy had called them, though aimsey didn't have a clue why the god they were summoning would have any attachment to the dusty vinyl's that tommy had taken out of a strange, glowing box. this server was fucking weird, they'd quickly learnt that.
"are you sure you don't know who ran is?" aimsey prompted, knelt on the ground as they poked at the firepit that they'd started, right in the centre of the circle. apparently, tommy wasn't completely certain about what they were meant to do, since he hadn't chosen to be revived, and, according to him, the man who revived him was 'the biggest dickhead on the entire server'. aimsey didn't want to question that, not at all, so they simply threw another bunch of twigs into the flames.
tommy didn't bother looking up, continuing to scrawl manically into a leather-bound book, not allowing aimsey to see what he was writing. "yes, i'm sure."
"alright," they hummed suspiciously, eyes narrowed as they glanced back, watching as he wrote furiously across page after page, "but you're using your one favour, from a literal god, to revive someone you've never met?"
at that, tommy blinked, "yeah," he glanced up, meeting their eyes with an expression so cold that they recoiled, "yeah, i guess i am."
they turned back to the fire, reaching for their walking stick that they'd left at their side and hobbling to their feet, limping over the circle of golden dust and stones. "so, even though you don't know ran, do you know who the person he lived with is? in that- that mansion in the snow?" tommy didn't respond, so they only pushed, "do you know who that is?"
tommy didn't look up, "no."
"i'm only asking because he took my first life," aimsey muttered, just loud enough for tommy to hear. still, tommy didn't so much as glance upwards, though his eyes did sadden slightly.
as he stood up, he didn't bother to brush the dirt from his knees, holding the book in his hands with a white-knuckled grasp. "i can't guarantee this is going to work, so you might want to stand back," he warned, abruptly changing topic, though they didn't move, "fine, alright, but you should probably cover your eyes."
and then, before aimsey could reply, tommy threw the book into the flames.
for a moment, nothing happened, the pages only shrivelled into ash, and the leather smouldered. then, slowly, the fire started looking less and less amber, distorting into a glowing lime colour.
only seconds after aimsey raised a hand to shield their eyes, there was a bright flash, and the gentle sound of fluttering fabric.
"you called?"
it took everything in them not to scream, there and then.
before them was a deity of some kind, with glowing rings of gold wrapped around its porcelain head, three pairs of pale wings outstretching from its back as its sage robes. its voice was lined with static, and they had to grit their teeth to bite back a remark about how the noise seemed to scrape at their ears. it stood over the now-extinguished firepit, floating just a little above the ground. sure, it wasn't much, but to aimsey?
this entire thing was fucking insane.
and, though they didn't scream, a surprised squeak did slip past their lips.
"dreamxd," tommy greeted quietly, face blank, far too calm for someone who was face-to-face with someone who seemed to hover above the ground. he shifted the cardigan sleeves so the pair of scissors in his hands could peek out, held between pale fingers.
aimsey blinked, flicking their gaze between the two, "what the fuck? no, what the- what the fuck?"
tommy only waved them off, which was kind of a dick move, in their opinion, "you owe me a favour," he spoke softly to the deity, eyes downturned with sorrow. "for what your brother did to me. you owe me a favour."
okay, there was clearly a lot that aimsey was missing.
"and you wish to claim it now?" dreamxd, the deity, apparently, replied, which seemed a little stupid. they thought that should've been obvious, but okay. its words were just as sharp and grating as the harsh glow surrounding it, making them take a hobbled step back, walking stick catching onto a stray pebble. at tommy's agreeing hum, dreamxd continued, "what do you wish of me?"
he glanced back at aimsey with a reassuring glance, which they were grateful for, because this whole interaction was so confusing that their head was aching and they couldn't understand a thing. "you have knowledge of revival, correct?" the deity did something akin to a nod, golden rings around its' circular head bobbing up and down. aimsey took that as a yes, and apparently tommy did too, because he continued. "the one thing i ask is to revive ranboo, the same way your brother revived me. all three lives back."
at the deitys' silence, aimsey felt their heart sink.
of course it wouldn't work, why did they think for even a second that it would work? reviving people wasn't real, they knew that, but they had to try, and now they'd failed.
then, as the glow surrounding dreamxd flickered, a staticky sounding laugh reached their ears. "you are a bold one, tommy innit. you don't ask much of us, do you?" in some odd, godly way, it almost sounded as if the deity was amused. "i will see what i can do."
"not good enough," tommy clenched his fists, white-knuckled with fiery determination in his eyes. "you owe me, dreamxd. that's not good enough," he spat, words sharper than aimsey had heard before. they were almost tempted to tell him to knock it off, to stop trying to argue with a deity who already said they would try to help, but he seemed so certain that they simply watched. "you know what your brother did. you're lucky we aren't turning him in. we can get this entire server terminated, and we can get him thrown into a real jail, not just pandoras. if this server goes, you go," he hissed, seething, "now, will you help us or not?"
aimsey thought it was almost amusing, the way the pure white porcelain circle that was meant to be dreamxd's head seemed to pale. they didn't know deitys' could do that.
"fine," dreamxd whispered, words low and angry. the glow seemed to flicker momentarily, wings curling inwards, before both returned to their normal, absolutely-fucking-terrifying state, "it is done. he will be home soon."
and with that, it was gone.
"what was that?" aimsey asked, grasping the walking stick for dear life as the two hurried down the pathway. apparently, tommy had interpreted 'home' as the same place that ranboo had died, because, according to him, that was what happened to him when he was revived. he was brought back in the exact spot where he'd lost his final life.
tommy only blinked, distant eyes staring ahead of himself as they walked, "what was what?"
"that! that whole thing with that god! why did it owe you a favour?" aimsey questioned, blindly following tommy, because they had no fucking clue where ran had died, and he seemed like he knew where he was going.
"oh, that," tommy muttered, voice quieter than before. for a moment, aimsey considered apologising, because something was clearly being left unsaid, and he didn't seem to want to reveal that 'something'. but before they could, tommy continued, softly, "you know i mentioned that the guy who revived me was a dick? he was the same guy that killed me. dreamxd's brother. revival is strictly for deitys' and gods, and he broke server rules by doing that, so i used it as leverage. i wouldn't have used the favour otherwise, anyway, it's fine," he added quickly, spotting the guilty look on aimseys' face.
aimsey nodded half-heartedly, "still, why'd you use it on ran if you keep saying you didn't know him?"
the only sound for a moment was their footsteps, and the gentle knock of their walking stick against the wooden path, before tommy sighed.
he glanced towards them briefly before gazing back at the floor, watching his shoes as they walked. "i wouldn't be here without ranboo. he... he saved me, he did so much, and when he needed me, i just left him," he hesitated, voice shaking, "ranboo was locked in pandoras' vault for weeks before he lost his last life. wrongfully, of course, he didn't do anything. but i... i didn't know, not until he was broken out, that he was even in there. i don't think he'd like me very much anymore."
okay, they were miles out of their depth.
the one thing aimsey had learnt on this server was that everything seemed to be fucked up here, absolutely everything.
god, they were not equipped for this.
"i don't think that's true," they spoke softly, "ran told me about one of his friends. he called them allium, because he didn't think they'd want me to know who he was talking about. he said they were his closest friend, back when he was living, and the only reason he didn't visit them after he'd come back as a ghost was because they had a...bad experience with another ghost, and they didn't want to bring back any memories," aimsey paused, "i saw the alliums' outside your house. he was talking about you, tommy. he doesn't hate you."
tommy blinked rapidly, straining his eyes as if he was fighting back tears. "right," his voice came out much hoarser than he'd intended. "well, we'll see about that, because if dreamxd was right, then he should be..." he trailed off as they turned a corner, the path stopping abruptly as the mountains parted, revealing a prison in the centre of a valley. and, not far from them, a field, in front of the prison gates. "here," tommy finished.
and right in the middle of the field was a figure that both of them recognised.