Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tubbo ran through the trees, rain and tears streaming down his cheeks as branches and thorns scratched at his arms and legs. He was never going back. Nothing was worth that. Today had been the breaking point. He’d actually been excited before everything happened. His friends were coming over, his dad set up a party for him and promised to lay back on the drinks for the day. It was supposed to be the best birthday ever. But his dad set off those fucking fireworks right when he was about to blow out his candles, and Tubbo freaked out and accidentally knocked the table over, and the whole party went down in flames. He could still hear his dad laughing echoing in his ears.

He knew what happened to him. He knew how he felt about fireworks, and bright lights and loud noises. Anything even remotely similar could send him into a full blown panic attack, and he knew that, yet he set the fireworks off anyway.

Tubbo screamed as he stumbled over a tree root, tumbling down a muddy hill. He groaned and shakily stood up, panting and covered in mud. He began running again, wanting to get as far away from his home as he could. The boy couldn’t bear to be near it.

The rain turned to snow as he ran, the colder air nipping at his raw cheeks. Tubbo breathed heavily, rushing past a spider’s web sparkling in the snow, past a racoon watching him from inside a hollow tree, past crows perched up on tree branches and a large boar hunkered down beside a bush. The boy ran right out onto a frozen lake before he stopped, doubled over and panting hard to catch his breath. The snow swirled around him, getting caught in his eyelashes and hair.

His body shook as he broke into sobs, wind nipping at his ears and nose. Tubbo wrapped his arms around himself as he cried. 

Crack .

Tubbo froze, going deathly still as he looked at the ice below him, a large crack stretching out across the frozen lake below his feet. The boy’s breath hitched as the ice below him shattered and he plunged into the frigid water.

Chapter Text

Tubbo woke up to sunlight in his eyes, its warmth a harsh contrast compared to the cold of snow melting into his back. He cracked open his eyes, blinking a few times after the bright light hit him. The boy slowly sat up. His back was cold and ached from laying on the ground.

After his eyes adjusted to the light he began to take in his surroundings, which were quite honestly very plain. It seemed just the same as before he fell into the lake. 

Tubbo gasped, looking around in frantic confusion after he realized he was not only alive but out of the lake. Someone must have saved him, it seemed to be the only explanation as he wasn’t even near the lake anymore. But there were no footprints or people nearby. Tubbo was alone, in the silent woods.

The boy stood up, scanning over the trees and finding nothing out of the ordinary. He turned around to grab his backpack and found it was gone, in its place a bunch of footprints leading off into the trees. Tubbo scoffed in shock and followed after them. The footprints led to a boy about Tubbo’s age, albeit taller, wearing a full fucking raccoon skin like an accessory. The head even had the skull still in it so it looked like there was a deflated raccoon hanging off the guy’s head. Tubbo stared in confusion and mild disgust. The guy had mud stained hands and bare feet and large dark marks around his eyes mimicking that of a raccoon. Honestly, if Tubbo saw this guy rummaging through his trash at night, he’d think he was a raccoon.

“Uhhhh…” He mumbled, not sure what to say. “That’s my bag, boss man. Can I have it back?” He asked carefully.

The boy narrowed his eyes at him before chucking the backpack over to him. “Everything inside is shitty anyway,” He said, standing up and turning away.

Tubbo startled, very surprised the boy could speak. He’d assumed he was raised by wild animals or something. “Uhm, wha- Wait! Why are you out here?” The boy asked, following after the stranger.

The other huffed, spinning around and bending down to Tubbo’s height. “I live out here, bitch boy. Can’t you tell by my awesome attire?” He gestured to himself.

Tubbo looked him over again. He wouldn’t exactly call this boy’s clothing ‘awesome attire’. He looked like he was a woodland version of Tarzan. “By yourself?” Tubbo asked, tilting his head at the tall boy.

“Psh, no. There’s tons of others.” The boy said, standing straight up again and beginning to name off people, holding up fingers for each. 

“There’s Phil and Techno and Ranboob and Puffy and Niki and Jack-”

“Okay okay I get it! So is there like, a town out here orrr?” Tubbo asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

The boy laughed. Tubbo frowned, feeling this boy was very unhelpful. He was about to leave when the guy grabbed his wrist. “Come on, weirdo, I’ll show you where they are.” He said as he began pulling Tubbo into a dead fucking sprint through the trees and snow.

Tubbo gasped, struggling to keep up while ducking and dodging bushes and tree branches. “Can you sl-o-ow down?!” He shouted, yelping and ducking under a branch right before it hit him in the face.

“No way, man! Slow is boring!” The teen shouted and pulled Tubbo tumbling down a hill. The shorter yelped in surprise, rolling down after the tall guy. He came to a stop in a pile of snow and decided it was best to just never get up again. Of course, mystery boy had other ideas. “Come on, short man! You gotta meet Techno, he’s awesome!” He tugged Tubbo up and motioned for him to follow him. “Or maybe I’ll take you to Niki’s first, I wonder if she’s got any pies. Or we could go down to…”

The boy’s voice faded as he walked off, and Tubbo turned straight around and began walking through the trees away from him. “Jeez that guy was weird,” He muttered to himself, weaving through thorns and weeds. He came out of the thicker trees and found himself near a river, the rush of the current too fast to allow it to freeze. With a tired sigh he sat down beside it, looking at his choppy reflection in the water. 

Tubbo looked up from his broken mirror image and froze. His blood ran cold at the sight of the tall creature on the other side of the river. It stared at him, its red and green eyes felt like they were looking into his very soul. Tears streamed down its face, seeming to never stop, and its skin was split down the middle black and white. Terrifying horns, claws and teeth were the main thing that drew in Tubbo’s attention though. He held his breath, hoping the monster would move along. It let out a sorrowful wail before wandering off through the trees, seeming to almost phase through the branches.

Tubbo let out his breath and collapsed into the snow, breathing heavily. “What the fuck was that ?” He wondered aloud.

Chapter Text

Tubbo was still a little freaked out from the fucking monster he’d seen. But he was hungry and cold and maybe he should have thought through his running away plan better. He should have grabbed more useful items rather than his personal favorites, and he would have done better if he ran into town and maybe bought some food before he ran off.

But he didn’t. So now he was cold and hungry. But that weird raccoon boy from earlier had said there were people living out here, so maybe there was a small town. He hoped that was the case at least. It may very well just be that the guy is crazy and named a bunch of animals and called them his friends.

Tubbo got up and began walking roughly in the direction the tall boy had been leading him in earlier. He groaned in annoyance once he reached the denser trees, ducking under branches and walking over exposed roots. He hissed in pain when a particularly sharp branch managed to nick his cheek. The boy looked up, trying to gauge where the sun was. It was virtually impossible to see past all the leaves, which, now that he thought about it, was weird. These trees shouldn’t have leaves in what appeared to be the dead of winter. It also shouldn’t be the dead of winter, it was only late summer. Everything here was so weird.

Tubbo yelped as he lost his footing and skidded down a hill, landing unceremoniously in a snowbank. He groaned and lifted his head up, only to see none other than raccoon boy himself. 

“Have you been here this whole time? Really? Well fuck I should have checked here first,” The boy looked down on him with a confused and slightly annoyed expression.

Tubbo realized with a sigh that he had fallen down the very same hill from before. The boy grabbed his hand and tugged him up before beginning to drag him through the trees once again. Tubbo resigned himself to his fate and decided to ask the boy some questions while they walked. “So, what’s your name?” 

“TommyInnit!” The boy exclaimed proudly.

Tubbo made a face. “Oh-kay, Tommy , are your friends human?” He asked as casually as possible.

“Yeah, duh. What, you think they’re faeries or some shit? Yes, most of them are humans” Tommy replied, weaving and ducking through the trees.

Tubbo sighed. “Okay then, which of your friends aren’t human?” He asked.

Tommy hummed in thought before answering, “I guess Ghostboo and Ghostbur, and also Clementine,”

The shorter nodded, feigning understanding. He decided not to ask about the Ghost guys, instead opting for this “Clementine” character. “Who is Clementine?” Tubbo asked curiously.

Tommy stopped and pulled off his raccoon-pelt hat, holding his hand up to his very dirty, blond hair. A large silk moth crawled out onto his palm, fluttering its oversized wings. “This is Clementine,” He said, holding it out in front of Tubbo.

The brunette made a face, forcing a weak smile as he stared at the insect. Okay this guy is literally insane what the fuck why does he have a giant bug hiding in his hair why are there monsters here what is this place-

“So,” Tommy interrupted Tubbo’s super intelligent thoughts as he put Clementine back on his head and replaced the raccoon headwear. “That’s Clem, and if we hurry up and get to Logsted I can show you my son,” He began walking off.

Tubbo stood, his brain slowly processing what had been said before he shook himself out of his freeze and asked, “YOU HAVE A SON?” He hurried after Tommy, looking up at the guy who seemed insanely casual about all this.

“Yeah, why?” Was all he said in reply.

Tubbo made a sound quite similar to that of an insulted bird whilst in the midst of his shock, “Wha- why do you- How ?!” The boy managed to ask.

Tommy shrugged. “I dunno, I found ‘im livin’ in a cave, so I took him home and he’s been my pride and joy ever since.”

Tubbo looked Tommy over again. “You have a home?”

The taller squawked in offense, “Of course I have a home! What, do you think I live out in the fuckin’ woods like a rabid bunny or somethin’?!”

Tubbo paused. “Can bunnies even get rabies?”

“Of course they can get rabies! All mammals can get rabies! You know what, never mind. Here, look,” The blond gestured widely in front of them.

With a sigh Tubbo looked out at what he was showing him and gasped. There was a gorgeous snow covered valley before him, which made no sense because this forest shouldn’t be anywhere near any mountains. There were rivers and a massive lake and fields of flowers somehow growing through the snow and the fucking stars were visible despite it being midday.

Tubbo’s awe slowly slipped away as he realized that there was no way he was in the forest near his home. “Tommy… Where am I?”

Chapter Text

“Hm? The valley?” Tommy replied, confused.

“No, Tommy- Where are we? Snowchester isn’t anywhere near a mountain or a valley. The forest near my town wouldn’t lead to this,” Tubbo said shakily.

Tommy shrugged. “I dunno, Techno calls this place ‘Terra Amissus’, whatever that means. I think it’s Spanish.”

Tubbo facepalmed. Not only was he somehow very far away from his hometown, but now he had to deal with an idiot who didn’t know anything about languages, apparently. “If my three classes in Latin taught me anything, I think it means land of lost, or, land of the lost? Something like that. Why does your friend know Latin?”

“Cuz he’s a nerd,” Tommy chuckled and stuck his tongue out at the valley. “Now come on! I’ve got people for you to meet!” He said before quite literally rolling down the hill. Not even on his side, this guy was forward rolling like he was some sort of living ball. Tubbo’s back hurt watching him.

He sighed and slowly began to walk down the slanted ground when he tripped over a rock and went tumbling down the hill after Tommy. Today seemed to be full of suffering and rolling down hills.

He came to a stop in a snowbank, giving him some serious deja vu, only this time there were flowers sticking out of the snow and the sun wasn’t blocked by trees. Everything ached. Tubbo had no idea how Tommy was up and standing behind him as if he hadn’t just armadillo rolled down the hill. 

“Come on! Let’s go, I live nearby! We can go see my son first!” Tommy said all too energetically. Tubbo groaned and, well, he didn’t do anything else. He just laid there in pain.

Tommy scoffed and walked over to Tubbo, his dirty bare feet somehow not frost bitten in the snow. “If you don’t want to meet my amazing son you can just say that, but I won’t like you very much,” He said bitterly.

Tubbo lifted his face out of the snow, cheeks and nose red from the cold. “What are you talking about ?” He asked, “I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I just fell down the biggest hill I’ve ever seen in my life so my entire body hurts. Just let me lay here in peace,” He groaned and planted his face back down in the snow. 

Despite not being able to see him, he could practically feel Tommy’s eye roll. “You’re just being dramatic. Besides, I have food at my place-”

“Okay let’s go,” Tubbo said, suddenly standing right beside Tommy. 

The blond shrieked and fell over, landing on his rear and looking up at Tubbo in shock. “Holy shit! How did you get up so fast, man you scared me! Asshole!”

Tubbo chuckled. “I’m hungry, don’t judge my motivations.”

“What are your motivations?” Tommy asked, standing up and brushing snow off his clothes.

“Good food, a comfortable bed, explosives, and good looking men,” Tubbo listed off.

Now it was Tommy’s turn to stare in confusion. “Wha-?”

Tubbo burst into laughter. “I’m kidding! Partially anyway. One of those things is a lie, but you’ll never know which one,” He winked, smiling menacingly.

Tommy made a face. “You scare me. I like you! Let’s go,” He grabbed Tubbo’s wrist and began leading him towards another hill.

Tubbo groaned and let the blond drag him along.

He basically fell asleep on his feet and got a rude awakening when Tommy let go of his hand and he fell flat on his face. The brunette snorted and jerked up, face covered in snow. Tommy was standing in front of a questionable version of a hobbit’s house from Lord of the Rings. “This is my humble abode!” Tommy announced proudly and threw the door open. “And inside is- Oof!” He fell onto his back as something shot out of the inside and crashed into his chest.

Tubbo squawked in surprise, looking over to the thing sitting on Tommy’s chest. “Are you okay?!” He asked worriedly.

Tommy laughed and nodded, despite the attacker having its arms around his neck. The blond stood up and the little figure hung from his neck, refusing to let go. “This is my son, Shroud”

Tubbo tilted his head, trying to get a better look at the kid under what appeared to be a fake giant spider pelt he was wearing. The kid turned to Tubbo, allowing him to get a good look at his face from where he hung off Tommy’s neck. He had darker skin, dark hair and deep brown eyes hidden beneath broken red sunglasses. He was missing a few teeth when he smiled, and he had the weird fake spider pelt covering most of his body. The boy jumped down and got close to the ground, crawling rapidly towards Tubbo, and he no doubt looked like a massive killer spider hurrying towards him. Tubbo chuckled, slightly uncomfortable by the red glass eyes staring at him on top of the spider’s head. “Tommy, what’s up with the spider pelt thing?”

Tommy looked over to him. “Hm? Well he can’t wear a normal spider’s skin now can he?”

Tubbo stalled, raising his hand and about to say something but getting cut off by Tommy talking to Shroud. “Hey Shroud, you wanna go find Phil for me?” He asked. Shroud stood up and nodded hurriedly, running off to presumably find Phil.

“Wait!” Tubbo yelled, causing the boy and Tommy to stop and look at him. “You’re just gonna let him go off by himself?! What is he, three?!”

“He’s six actually, but you’re completely right.” Tommy said. He walked over to Shroud and took off his raccoon pelt hat and let the stupid moth crawl out onto his hand, then handed it to Shroud. “Take Clementine. She’ll make sure you stay out of trouble.”

Tubbo facepalmed, and Shroud nodded before running off again.

Chapter Text

Tubbo sat uncomfortably on Tommy’s makeshift couch, which was more than likely just a pile of pillows and blankets shaped like a couch and hidden beneath one larger blanket. The wooden mug sat in his hand and he eyed the contents warily. He didn’t exactly expect Tommy to have packaged tea out here, so whatever was within this cup had to be some fucked up forest shit, like water with mud and berries in it or something. There wasn’t much to Tommy’s home. There was a weird hole in the wall that worked as a fireplace to the left, two other holes with curtains over them instead of doors against the longest wall, a bunch of cluttered bookshelves that housed anything but books to the right, and two dirty, glassless windows on the wall behind Tubbo.

The decor was questionable too. Some pieces of terrible hand made pottery were scattered throughout the room, a vase even housing some alliums. Paintings and sketches hung up on the wall, some clearly made by someone who wasn’t Tommy, although the blond seemed fairly decent at art. There was also a weird sign with red writing on it that said; Absolutely no jumping in cadillacs. Which was weird since there was a very old broken down Cadillac half buried outside Tommy’s house. Tubbo decided not to ask.

The door flew open and the weird spider-pelt kid came inside followed by a blond man with a feather-covered poncho over his green robes. His eyes widened when they landed on Tubbo, “Oh he’s so young,” The man mumbled to himself, ducking to not hit the dirt ceiling of Tommy’s home.

Tommy walked over and handed Shroud and the man each a cup of the weird ‘tea’ then led them over to the couch where Tubbo sat. Shroud all but burrowed into the lumpy structure while the blond man sat down and made a surprised sound at its integrity.

Tommy sat down on a piece of wood that might have been intended as a coffee table. “So, Phil, this is- Hey wait a minute, you never told me your name! I told you mine, that’s not fair!” He complained.

Tubbo rolled his eyes. “My name is Tubbo-”

“Okay Tubso, this is Phil. Resident Crowfather and builder of things, the only man ever.” Tommy introduced, gesturing grandly to the scraggly blond dude who was apparently very great.

Tubbo nodded slowly, pretending to understand what Tommy was saying. “Alright. Uhm, nice to meet you, sir,”

“Nice to meet you too, Tubbo. I do have to ask though, what brought you to the valley?” He asked, tilting his head with an almost sad look on his face.

Tubbo scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I was just running around in the woods and I fell in a lake, when I woke up I was up in the woods,” He explained, leaving out the bit about him running away and such.

Phil didn’t look convinced, but nodded nonetheless. “Well then, I hope you haven’t been too freaked out by everything. Tommy can be a bit much,” He chuckled lightly.

Tommy huffed and crossed his arms, muttering something under his breath. Tubbo smiled slightly before going more serious again. “Can you maybe explain to me what this place is? All Tommy told me was some weird Latin shit,”

“Ah,” Phil nodded, frowning in thought. “Well you see, we call this valley and the land that surrounds it Terra Amissus, because that’s what it is to us. The Land of the Lost. We all come from different places, but we’ve come together here. We’ve formed a sort of patchwork community, and we take care of each other,” He smiled warmly, but Tubbo felt as though he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

Despite this the brunette nodded and replied, “That’s cool. This place does seem nice,” Besides the fact that nothing makes fucking sense, Tubbo thought.

Tommy chose then to butt in. “Well you’ve met Phil now, so we can go see the others! I think I’ll take you to Niki, we can maybe swipe some pie. You’ll love her, she’s very nice and not at all crazy,” The blond said, dragging Tubbo out of the battered round door of his house, leaving Phil alone with Shroud.

His stomach growled and he followed Tommy along, eager at the idea of getting food. Tommy once again pulled the shorter into a dead sprint as he ran down the hills, Tubbo struggling not to fall over again and end up in another snowbank. At one point Tommy forwent the hand holding altogether and started somersaulting down the hill while laughing.

“Wait for me! I’m hungry!” Tubbo yelled and rushed down the hill after him, unable to stop the joyful laugh from leaving his lips.

Chapter Text

Niki seemed nice, although she was only slightly more normal than everyone else. At least she wasn’t wearing an animal pelt, but the knife holstered on her side was questionable. She did however live with a weirder woman, Puffy she called herself. She wore a ram’s skull built into some sort of mask, although it was normally sitting on top of her head instead of covering her face, and she had a wool shawl to match. Because why wouldn’t she? It seemed everyone in this place had a weird animal thing. 

Tommy had snatched up another piece of pie after they left and was currently inhaling it while they walked. Tubbo wasn’t sure why Phil called this place a ‘community’ when it seemed everyone lived at least almost a mile apart. Niki and Puffy’s was a little cottage nestled in some trees, so far away you couldn’t even see it from Tommy’s. Tubbo now understood why Tommy’s feet were so fucking stained.

The taller boy choked on a cherry for a second before he managed to get it down, then he turned to Tubbo. “Let’s go see someone else! How about, hm…” He thought, scratching his head.

Tubbo couldn’t take much more walking. “A- ah, how about we go to whoever’s closest?!” He asked, putting as much false excitement into the question as he could. “Then we can head back to your place. I’m really fucking tired. We can visit more people tomorrow.” Part of Tubbo wished this would all be a weird dream and he’d wake up at home if he went to sleep, but he didn’t voice that part.

“Yeah!” Tommy agreed. “Let me think, ah! Bad is closest! Come on,” He ran off through the trees, not waiting for Tubbo.

The brunette sighed. He was not excited for many reasons. One, anyone with the name or nickname ‘Bad’ couldn’t be very nice. Two, even if they were closest that didn’t mean they were close . And three, he was so damn tired.

With a heart heavy by the suffering of walking all day long, he followed after Tommy.

_____________________________

Tubbo wheezed and looked up at Tommy, squinting in the harsh sunlight. “Is there an easier way up?! What the fuck are you, fuckin’ Tarzan?!” He shouted, his legs trembling at the thought of falling.

Tommy laughed and jumped up, latching onto another of the many holes in the red rocky wall. “There might be but I always go up this way! It’s faster!” He yelled back.

Tubbo wanted to cry as he slowly pulled himself up another few inches. “Why do these lunatics even live up here?” He wondered aloud, sparing a glance behind him at the snowy valley far below. Why anyone would choose to live on top of a wide open plateau was beyond him, especially since it was probably way colder and windier up here. The boy groaned and climbed up a few more feet, eventually meeting up with Tommy at the top where he collapsed in relief and exhaustion. “I am never , doing that again,” He said through breathes.

Tommy shrugged, biting into an apple he plucked off a nearby tree that was there for some reason? “Fine wif’ me, I’w jus’ come up dat way by myse’f,” He mumbled through the apple.

Tubbo rolled his eyes. “You’re a slob,” He stated. “Ughhh, I could fall asleep right here,” He muttered. 

Tommy swallowed his bite of apple. “I thought one of your main motivations was a comfortable bed?”

Tubbo chuckled devilishy. “I said one of them was a lie,”

The taller made a face and very slowly bit into his apple again, causing Tubbo to chuckle. “Anyway, we shoul’ go see Bah an’ Skebby, they live ovah der’,” He mumbled, pointing to a large white cabin next to a small pond.

Tubbo groaned and forced himself up, walking over to the cabin whilst Tommy ate his apple. “Come on, let’s get this over with so I can sleep.” He grumbled.

Tommy nodded and chucked his apple core off the cliff before rushing after Tubbo. The blond knocked harshly on the cabin’s door, bounding on the ball’s of his feet as they waited for an answer. The door opened and a tall man with long hair, red glasses, a red and black hoodie, and a muffin themed apron . Tubbo blinked, more surprised by this than he had been the animal pelts. “Hello I’m Tubbo, I’m new here, I’m here for an introduction then I am going to sleep for twenty eight hours” He said plainly.

The man stalled before nodding slowly. “I’m Badboyhalo, but you can call me Bad.” Tubbo was a little surprised by how different his voice sounded than he expected. The guy sounded very friendly. “Uhm, I’ll get Skeppy, you can meet him then go have your long nap, I guess?” He said before disappearing inside. 

He soon came back with a black haired man with tan skin and he was a shining blue box that had a stupid face with its tongue sticking out drawn on it. The box was pushed back just enough to see the guy’s eyes. “Uh, hi I’m Skeppy,” He introduced himself.

Tubbo nodded. “Hi I’m Tubbo and now we’re leaving” He grabbed Tommy by the arm and pulled him away from the cabin that sat in the middle of the desolate fucking plateau. Tommy whined something about wanting to have a muffin but Tubbo ignored him. “Tommy, what's the fastest way back to your place?” He asked, looking out over the valley with a hand over his eyes to help with the glare.

Beside him, Tommy grinned mischievously. “The river,” He said as he grabbed a chunk of wood that looked almost like a really shitty raft.

Tubbo glared at him. “Tommy, Tommy what are you doing?” He asked worriedly.

“You wanted to get back fast. So, we’re, gonna !” He jumped at Tubbo and the two tumbled backward into a river that led straight off the fucking cliff. Tubbo screamed and clung to the piece of wood and Tommy just raised his hands up in the air as they went down the waterfall. “WEEEEEE!”

_____________________________

Tubbo collapsed on the dirty carpet in Tommy’s house. Apparently, Tommy not only did not possess a spare bed, but he didn’t have a bed to begin with. He and Shroud just slept on the massive pile of blankets and pillows disguised as a couch. This was no issue for Tubbo. He recalled plenty of times he’d fallen asleep in weird ass places. On the bus, over the arm of a recliner, on a table, under a table, in a pool floatie, and many more magnificent nap spots. So Tommy’s worn out carpet was not even the worst thing he’d slept on.

Tommy came in, shaking himself off like a wet dog and hanging up his raccoon pelt. He plopped down on the ‘couch’ and whistled loudly. After a few moments the pitter patter of little feet came rushing into the room and Shroud pounced onto Tommy, chucking his own pelt across the room before nuzzling into the blond’s chest. Tubbo chuckled quietly and grabbed a spare pillow, setting it under his head. It didn’t take long for Tommy’s breathing to even out and it was clear he and the kid were asleep. Tubbo sighed and rolled over, staring at the dirt ceiling. As fun as this was, at least at some points, Tubbo really did hope this was all a dream.

Chapter Text

Tubbo woke up. He buried his face into his pillow, blocking out the light shining through his window. He must have left it open, there was quite a breeze blowing in. He didn’t want to get up. Didn’t want to see his dad after what happened yesterday. All his friends had seen him freak out, stumbling over and knocking over the damn table with the cake and gifts on it. He ran into the woods, and he didn’t intend to come back. So why was he at home in bed?

Tubbo opened his eyes, blinking in the sight of dirty walls. He rolled over, and saw a scraggly teenager and a kid asleep on a lumpy couch.

Tubbo groaned and smashed his face back into the pillow. It wasn’t a fucking dream , he realized. He heard a tiny thud and looked over to see tiny feet on the floor. They moved over into the kitchen and the owner of the feet sat down and pulled open a trapdoor in the floor. Shroud leaned in, rummaging around in what Tubbo would assume was a tiny cellar, before he emerged with a couple of lemons and oranges. He shut the trapdoor and walked over to a makeshift cabinet, grabbing an old orange juicer. Tubbo continued to watch in some sort of fascination as the kid made his own juice, Tommy beginning to stir in the background. 

Tubbo looked over to Tommy who blinked lazily, looking more like a zombie than a human being. He yawned and stretched out, shaking the tiredness out of his legs. The brunette’s attention was pulled away from Tommy when he heard little footsteps again, and he turned to see Shroud holding out a wooden cup to him. Tubbo slowly took it and Shroud walked over to Tommy, handing him his own cup.

“Mm, thanks Shroud. You are very pog,” Shroud blinked and nodded, sitting on the floor and drinking his own juice.

Tubbo took a slow sip of his juice, which actually wasn’t that bad, as he watched the interaction between father and son. The juice seemed to magically perk Tommy up, because he got off the couch once the cup was empty and seemed just as annoyingly energetic as yesterday. “Alright, Tubso! Who should we meet today?” He asked as he walked over to his hardly a kitchen and lit a fire in the fireplace.

The addressed brunette took a good two minutes to realize Tommy had spoken to him before he replied, “Mph, I dunno. Someone close by, preferably…” He mumbled, not really interested in meeting people so much as he was getting out of this place.

Tommy hummed in response. “Yeah? I wanted to go see Techno though, and he lives like twenty miles north of here.” 

Tubbo wanted to cry.

“But I guess we could go see Ranboob,” Tommy said, seeming to be making some atrocious looking pancakes on a rusty pan over the fire.

Tubbo looked up, “Ranboob?” He asked, confused.

“Well his name is actually Ranboo, but he is very not pog,” The blond stated matter-of-factly.

Tubbo had no idea what pog meant. “How far away does he live?”

Tommy hummed, “That’s the question isn’t it? The guy doesn’t actually have a house, he just lives in and around the woods, moving his weird tent wherever he goes,”

“So he could be really easy to find, or he could be really hard to find…” Tubbo muttered, and Tommy nodded cheerfully.

Tubbo sighed, and Tommy handed him a weird pancake. The brunette bit into it, telling himself he’d have a good fucking day today, no matter what the world had to say.

“This tastes like shit,”

_____________________________

Ranboo, it seemed, was incredibly hard to find. Tubbo spat out a mouthful of leaves and trudged through the snow after Tommy, panting with exhaustion from trying to keep up. The taller didn’t even seem bothered by the near two feet of snow he was currently walking through, barefoot . He also didn’t seem to consider the fact that no one would, or even could set up a tent in this level of snow, so Ranboo could not possibly be out in this area.

Tubbo groaned, ducking under a low branch and gasping as he fell through a spot of snow that was a lot deeper. He shrieked and fell through the powdery snow, coming out beneath it to a big ass cave, and thus a very painful landing. He whimpered and laid on the cold stone ground, listening to the dripping of water from the ceiling and- footsteps?

The brunette couldn’t bring himself to seek out the source of the sound. He just laid there as it got closer. Eventually someone leaned over him, looking at him with concern. “Are you okay?” The stranger asked, worried.

Tubbo managed to shrug, chuckling weakly. “Probably. I’ll just lay he for a few years and be fine,” He mumbled.

The guy tsked and pulled Tubbo up carefully, the shorter repeatedly saying ow the whole time. “I don’t think you’re fine. You may have broke a bone,” He said.

Tubbo, now sitting up, could actually get a good look at this guy. He was ridiculously tall. The shorter sighed and looked up at the hole he’d fallen in through, snow still suspended above it, waiting for the next unsuspecting person to go walking through it and fall in.

“I was looking for a guy named Ranboo with my-” He paused, not sure what to refer to Tommy as. He shrugged and decided ‘friend’ was good enough. “With my friend,”

“Well, I guess you’re in luck then. Because I, uh, I’m Ranboo,” He said awkwardly, smiling slightly. 

Tubbo sat there, taking in the guy’s appearance. He sighed. Why had he let himself think this Ranboo guy would be remotely normal? First off, he was living in a fucking cave in a tent at the moment, and second, he wore a cloak covered in black fur on one side and white on the other, with a birch stick crown on his head to top it all off. Not to mention the black and white wooden mask set aside that looked like something out of a woodland horror movie. Tubbo hoped the guy wouldn’t put it on, it was eerie, even without a wearer.

“You’re new. I thought I met everyone in Lotol,” Ranboo mumbled, messing around with some things near his campfire.

“I- I am new, I showed up yesterday. Wait, Lotol?” Tubbo asked, tilting his head.

“Ah, yeah. Land, of, the, lost. Lotol. It’s shorter, and easier to remember than Techno’s latin name or whatever…” He trailed off, staring into the flames.

Okay, this guy’s loony, Tubbo thought to himself, making a face as he looked to the side. “So, could I possibly get out of this cave?” The brunette asked.

Either Ranboo didn’t hear his question, or chose to ignore it completely, because he turned to Tubbo and asked, “Who did you say your friend was?”

Tubbo stalled, blinking a few times. “I didn’t say. But his name is Tommy. You know him? Feral, wears a dead raccoon, has a kid for some reason. He’d very hard to miss,”

Ranboo nodded quickly. “Yeah I know him,” He replied, running a hand through his brown hair and knocking his stick crown askew. “Uhm, do you wanna get out of the cave?” He asked.

Tubbo inhaled deeply. Finally . “Yes please, thanks.” He answered as Ranboo threw some snow on his fire and packed up his tent. “Are you moving?”

“Yes. I’ve been here much longer than I would’ve liked, to be honest. I just, lost track of time… I’m sure Tommy and the others are wondering where I’ve been, I’ll have to apologize to them,” The taller rambled as he threw a backpack over his back. “Come on, exit’s this way,” He began to walk off through the cave.

Tubbo stood and followed him, trying to ignore Ranboo muttering to himself up ahead.

_____________________________

Tubbo collapsed into the flowery snow, inhaling deeply while Tommy and Ranboo sat on an old moss covered log. Staring up at the sky, Tubbo once again felt confused by everything. The sun seemed too close, not by munch, but just enough to be weird. And it was cold, but not cold enough for how much it snowed. It had to be just above freezing temperatures, yet the snow never seemed to melt, and plants grew strong despite it. Tubbo’s head hurt. The last time he’d asked about this place he got a vague as fuck answer, so either nobody really knew, or they weren’t telling him.

He deserved to know. He wanted to get out of here soon.

Tommy waved eagerly at someone in the distance, yelling at them to come over. Tubbo just blinked lazily and looked up at the clouds, breathing in the chill air. Ranboo made a hasty exit before the newcomer reached them, and Tubbo watched him go in confusion. “Tommy, what’s up with Ranb- OH WHAT THE FUCK?” He shrieked after catching sight of the new arrival. He was tall, with wings like a bat’s that were all tattered. He had claws and sharp teeth, a long barbed tail, and pure blue eyes. He held a batter parasol over his head and he was smiling so happily.

“Hi! I’m Ghostbur!” He greeted, holding out his hand. Tubbo was too stunned to accept it. “That’s okay! You don’t have to,” He said with a smile, pulling his hand back to himself.

“Tommy, how many monsters are in this place?” Tubbo mumbled, trembling slightly.

“Hm? Monsters? What do you mean?” Tommy asked, sitting cross legged on the log.

“I mean I saw another creature when I was by the river yesterday, before you found me again. It was tall and creepy and crying and all kinds of fucked up,” He exclaimed.

Realization flashed across Tommy’s face. “Ooohhhhhhh, you saw Ghostboo. Yeah, he cries. He normally stays out in the woods, doesn’t talk to people much.”

Tubbo turned to him. “These things are ghosts?”

Tommy shrugged. “That’s what we call ‘em. They’re like, a piece of a person. A piece that’s more lost than the rest of you. The piece that wants to go home…” He trailed off before continuing. “Uhm, Ghostboo is Ranboo’s ghost,”

The brunette’s eyes widened in surprise. “That thing I saw by the river was a part of Ranboo?” He asked.

The blond nodded. “Yeah. Ranboo used to be so desperate to get home, he disappeared into the woods for months before we first saw Ghostboo. The next day, Ranboo was back, and he couldn’t remember much. I think being on his own messed with his head,”

“As for Ghostbur, he’s a piece of a guy who used to live here called Wilbur,” Tommy got a sad look in his eyes. “We, don’t actually know what happened to Wilbur. But Ghostbur showed up about a year after he went missing, and he’s a lot more alive-ish than any other ghost, so that’s cool…”

Tubbo nodded slowly, feeling bad for Tommy. But then something caught his attention. “Tommy, you said that ghosts are the part that wants to go home. You said that Ranboo wanted to go home. What do you mean?”

Tommy turned to Tubbo, his usual grin replaced with a pitying and slightly scared look. “Tubbo, we can’t leave ”

Chapter Text

Tubbo’s blood went cold. “What do you mean ‘we can’t leave’?” He asked, hands trembling.

Tommy picked at his nails, keeping his eyes down. “We just can’t. It doesn’t work. The farther out you get the more dangerous it is. And even if you get past that…” He trailed off.

“What? What’s after that?!” Tubbo asked frantically. 

Tommy sighed. “It just, ends . The world. The ground drops down into a chasm or some shit and there’s nothing beyond that. People have tried leaving from all different directions, it’s like we’re just surrounded by nothing.” He finished, looking up at Tubbo.

The brunette stared ahead, numb. They were trapped? Tubbo would never get to play with the goats on the farm outside of his town again, never get to visit the bees or help Miss Gem collect honey. He’d never finish school or help out that homeless kid on the street like he promised, he’d never be able to give him another sandwich or cookie. He’d never see the sun the right way again, and his winters would never be cold enough. He’d never be able to see his friends or his mother’s grave again.

Tubbo stumbled back, causing Tommy to stand and reach out for him in worry. “Don’t touch me,” He hissed, backing away from Tommy. Ghostbur looked between the two in confusion and Tubbo bolted off towards the trees.

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he ran, branches nicking his arms and face. He wiped his eyes and dodged bushes and rocks, he ran, and ran, and ran, until he couldn’t feel his legs anymore. The boy collapsed into the snow, sobs racking his body.

He wrapped his arms around himself, screaming into the wilderness. He was never going home. He was trapped, in this fucked up feral valley with a bunch of freaks.

Tubbo’s breath came out in sharp gasps. His vision was beginning to blur from his lack of air, or maybe it was the tears. The brunette wiped his eyes, his breathing still quick and shallow. There was no noise besides his breathing. Not even birds. The forest that seemed so alive all the time was dead silent. Tubbo raised his head. Had he scared everything with his screaming? 

Tubbo’s blood ran cold. It was so dark. How far had he run? The trees were so thick and there hardly seemed to be any sunlight. The snow was actually frigid for once, the cold stabbing like tiny knives in his exposed skin. It was eerily silent and Tubbo wanted to break down again just because of how scared he was, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. Was this what Tommy meant about going out too far? He hadn’t even run that long, had he? Did that mean there were dangerous things out here?

Tubbo trembled, looking around the dark woods. His footprints were gone. Which way was back? Tubbo started hyperventilating, his eyes darting around frantically for anything, any clue of where to go. His eyes caught sight of dangerous bright green ones staring back through the underbrush and Tubbo screamed, scrambling back through the snow. He blinked rapidly, and it was gone, but what was there instead was hardly any better.

The teen gasped, his breath freezing in his lungs. The monster- The ghost thing or whatever, the one he’d seen by the river, it was standing right in front of him, leaned over and looking at him with its red and green eyes. He hadn’t even heard it approach.

It was crying too, just like it had been at the river. Tubbo shook, his heart feeling like it was about to break out of his chest. The ghost let out an echoey wail and tilted its head at him. Tubbo backed away slightly, not letting his eyes leave the creature.

It removed its gaze from him, looking around slowly, even behind itself, where the frightening eyes had disappeared from. It then turned back to Tubbo, and slowly raised its hand, pointing a long clawed finger in the direction opposite Tubbo was facing. 

The brunette looked behind him hesitantly, and suddenly he could see his footprints again, leading out into a brighter part of the forest. 

He turned to thank the ghost, but it was gone.

_____________________________

Tubbo stumbled through the woods as the sun was just beginning to set. Despite the ghost pointing him in the right direction, he had gotten a bit lost once again after reaching a safer part of the woods. He really didn’t want to be out here at night though.

He pushed past a low hanging branch which came back to whip him in the cheek as soon as he let go. Tubbo whimpered, holding his hand over his injured cheek as he continued on. Somebody had to live around here. Tommy had talked about a bunch of people who supposedly lived in ‘Terra Amissus’. 

The sun soon set, making way for the also oversized moon that rose overhead. Tubbo managed to hit a lot more branches and roots without the sun’s light lighting the way. 

Tubbo squinted, catching sight of a dim light in the distance. He picked up the pace, walking quickly through the snow until he came out to a small clearing. In it, was a little cabin, a single light on through one window. Tubbo nearly laughed in hysteric relief. He rushed down the small hill and towards the door, knocking frantically on the wood.

He waited a moment, hearing footsteps from inside along with other sounds. The door swung open, and a tall man with long, messy pink hair stood before him. He looked down at Tubbo with an almost emotionless look, slight confusion showing in his eyes. He was wearing some very well used pajama pants and a t-shirt, but then again Tubbo didn’t think it was easy to go clothes shopping around here.

Exhaustion filling his body and weighing him down with relief, he broke down in tears right there, not even able to ask the man for help or explain why he was there. As threatening as the guy seemed, he suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

“Ahhhhhhh, PHIIIIILLLL! Help me out here?!” He yelled back into the cabin, not taking his eyes off the teen.

Tubbo fell to his knees and cried as the familiar face of Tommy’s friend Phil appeared behind the pink haired man, in his own pair of well worn sleepwear. His expression softened and he kneeled down beside Tubbo, “Oh kid…” He mumbled, “Come on, let’s get you inside. You look like you need some rest,” He said gently and led Tubbo into the cabin.

The boy cried and leaned against the blond, barely making it inside before he passed out beside him.

Chapter Text

Tubbo woke up in a bed . He was surprised to say the least. That Phil guy was passed out in a chair not far away, his hair a complete and total mess and there were even feathers in it. He looked just as weird and scraggly as ever.

Tubbo slipped out of the bed and walked over to him, unsure if he should wake him up or just go wander around the place on his own. Phil was still in his pajamas from last night, which were white and green striped and looked like they needed one of those stupid nightcaps to go with it. Get him one of those and a candle and the guy might as well be Geppetto from freaking Pinocchio, albeit a bit more feral looking and clearly not Italian. 

The boy reached out and poked Phil’s arm, which surprisingly woke the man up almost instantly. Tubbo jumped back when Phil jerked up, looking around the room in confusion. His eyes landed on Tubbo and he calmed down. “Hey mate, how you doing?” He asked.

Tubbo shrugged. “Pretty shitty honestly,” He admitted. 

Phil nodded slowly. “I’m guessing you found out that we can’t really leave?” Tubbo nodded. “Yeah. It sucks. I wanted to leave so badly when I first found that out. I had a wife back home, and I didn’t want to accept that I’d never see her again…”

The boy frowned, “I’m sorry… That sounds awful.”

The blond nodded, “Yeah well, not much we can do about it. I’ve got my own ghost that carries a lot of the burden of longing for home, he’s almost never seen though. Hangs out near the Edges, where I used to go a lot when I was trying to find a way out.”

“You have a ghost too? Does everybody?” Tubbo asked, a bit worried.

Phil shook his head. “No. Only those who were really desperate, to the point where they were starting to go mad with grief and desire to get home. I have one, Wilbur has one, although no one knows where Wilbur even is, Ranboo has one, Puffy has one, and believe it or not Tommy has one,” He listed off.

“Wait, Tommy has a ghost?” The brunette inquired. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

The older scratched his neck, “Well, Tommy doesn’t like his ghost very much. He tries to keep it locked up or just plain far away from everyone. Not only does he find the way it looks unnerving, but it reminds him of how much he really does want to go home,”

Tubbo frowned. That really sucked. You either had to accept that you were trapped here forever, or a piece of your soul or some shit would break off and become a creepy crying monster. Not ideal, in Tubbo’s correct opinion.

“Is there…” He inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself, “Is there anything I should know, if I’m going to be living here from now on?” The boy asked.

Phil gave him a sympathetic look, “Well, you already know about the ghosts. And I suppose you picked up on the lack of electricity or running water, or anything that can’t be provided from the woods. Besides that, I suppose there’s the rules, and XD.” He said.

Tubbo blinked. “Rules? From who?”

“Well, in the mountain, there’s a statue, as well as tons of words written around it in the stone walls. They state the rules. ‘Don’t fight, don’t hurt each other, don’t cause conflict.’ ‘Talk to each other, this place is a community.’ ‘Be friends.’ ‘Do not go too far beyond here, it is dangerous.’ ‘Do not ignore the dreams.’ ‘Visit the caves.’ ‘Do not upset him.’ ‘ Listen .’” He listed, looking back up at Tubbo with a serious expression.

“These are all written on the cave walls, and in the beginning people ignored a lot of them. This created endless nights. The sun would not come up, and in case you haven’t noticed by now, being out at night isn’t exactly safe,”

Tubbo had a feeling this was true, but he hadn’t picked up on anything out of the ordinary besides the one time he’d gone really far into the woods. “Not really,” He replied.

“Well,” Phil continued, “I’ll explain then. Whenever the sun sets, the monsters come out. These aren’t the same as ghosts, they’re not people. They’re almost zombie-like, not seeming to understand us. They will attack, and I’d be lying if I said they’ve never killed anyone, although the worst part about that is that you come back. You don’t stay dead, not by the monsters’ hand. A few people have died from sickness or other injury, but if the monsters kill you you just come back, and with unspeakable trauma to boot. They’re terrifying, and they get worse the longer it’s dark, so going full days without sunlight turns these things into living nightmares.”

Tubbo gulped. “Why is this place so awful?” He whispered.

Phil shook his head. “I don’t know, Tubbo. But then there’s DreamXD. We don’t know who or what he is, if he’s alive or dead, a spirit, but he seems to play god of this realm. He will occasionally speak to people in dreams, make strange demands. He claims to have written the rules, but also says that he cannot let us leave, simply because there isn’t a way. People catch glimpses of him, building up this idea of him eventually. The one thing everyone noticed though is the round, white mask with a smiley face drawn on it.”

_____________________________

Tubbo walked out of the cabin, ready to head back to Tommy’s. Everything Phil told him now weighed heavy on his mind, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. At first, this place had seemed like some sort of weird limbo, where you were happy and alive, but just couldn’t leave. Now it seemed like some sick horror story.

The brunette wandered off through the trees in the direction Phil told him the valley was. He zoned out for a moment but was brought harshly back to reality when he bumped into something. The boy fell over and landed on his rear, and looked up to see what he’d hit. It was Technoblade, or Techno, as Phil called him. And he was no longer in his pajamas. Now, after seeing the weird norm of outfits here, he expected Techno to be one of the most frightening. Which he was, but his outfit wasn’t what he expected.

He wore a boar’s jawbone around his own jaw, tusks and all still attached to it, but that was by far the most intimidating item he wore. Besides that, he had some furry boots which Tubbo would assume were made of the same boar’s pelt, and some battered and patched up brown pants. Above that he wore a somehow still mostly white poet's shirt, with a red jacket covered in pins and patches over it. The patches and pins ranged from anarchy and anti-government themed, to little cartoon animals. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and to top it all off, he had tons of gold earrings, leather work gloves, and a straw hat with fake rabbit ears on it.

Tubbo blinked, not sure what he was looking at.

“Hullo? World to short kid?” Techno waved his hand in front of Tubbo’s face.

The boy shook his head and focused his eyes, “Huh? Yeah?”

“You gapped out for like, three minutes, I was kinda freaked out,” The guy huffed.

“Sorry,” Tubbo mumbled, “I’m just not used to the way everyone dresses. What’s with the animal themes?” He wondered.

Techno shrugged. “Dunno. Guess it just kinda became a thing, like tradition ‘r somethin’. Everyone started doin’ it after Tommy showed up, wanted to make a way to sort of accept people into this hellhole officially. It’s like, ‘congratulations, y’re now stuck here with us, might as well have matching outfits’.” He snorted.

Tubbo chuckled slightly. “Does that mean they’re gonna do it for me?”

“Probably. Better pick an animal you like now, kid, or they might choose somethin’ for ya, and it could be somethin’ stupid, like a bunny,” He pointed to his hat.

The boy laughed, and Techno smiled slightly. “This place ain’t all bad, I personally like the lack of government,”

Tubbo nodded slowly. “Mhm. Well, I’m gonna go, try to find Tommy and stuff. Thanks for the talk, I guess,” He smiled awkwardly and began to walk off.

“No problem, kid. Just remember, pick an animal before they choose somethin’ for ya. Don’t wanna see you end up as a squirrel or somethin,” The man called after him.

“Okay!” Tubbo shouted back and took off through the trees.

_____________________________

Tubbo found Tommy passed out on the hood of the Cadillac in front of his hill. The brunette eyed him, confused. “Tommy?”

The blond snorted and jerked awake, looking around with half open eyes. “Whasit?!” He slurred.

Tubbo burst into laughter and Tommy rubbed his eyes. “Tubbo?! I- I thought you might have- I mean, well, at night time there’s-”

Tubbo inhaled deeply, catching his breath from laughing. “I know Tommy. Phil told me about the weird crap and monsters and stuff.”

“Oh… How much did he tell you?” He asked nervously. 

Tubbo sighed. “He told me about the rules, and XD, and the monsters, and the ghosts,” Tommy flinched. “Yes Tommy, I know you have one. I’m not gonna judge or anything,” He assured.

Tommy shook his head. “No, sorry, it’s not that. I just feel obligated to show you now…”

“What? No- You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to, man” Tubbo argued.

“No no, I’d feel like I have to and it would just eat away at me. Come on, I’ll show you,”

“Alright… If you insist,” Tubbo said awkwardly, following Tommy inside. They walked past Shroud who looked up from where he was drawing on a rock with charcoal. The boy stood and walked over to Tommy as soon as he saw the blond approach one of the curtain covered holes in the wall. He clung to his dad’s hand and followed them inside.

Tommy led Tubbo down some very dangerously made stairs, Tubbo clinging desperately to the little notches in the wall and trying not to slip down the fucking dirt steps. They reached the bottom and Tubbo gasped in relief, but his breath froze in his lungs when he saw Tommy’s ghost. 

It was strangely small. It looked like a weird tiny bird person, although it looked kind of creepy with the black claws and spikes sticking out of its legs. It had red feathered wings instead of arms, and they were built like that of a bat, having little claws on them. It’s mouth was weird, like it was divided into three little mouths instead of one, and its dark, crying eyes looked up at Tubbo, making him feel unexplainable dread. It had hair like Tommy’s, but it was a duller blond and littered with feathers. There were spines on its back and it just looked so sad .

Shroud whimpered and clung to Tommy’s leg, hiding his face in it. Tommy’s ghost could fit in Tubbo’s palm, but it was somehow the most frightening one he’d seen yet, even trapped in its tiny cage. 

“Ghosts turn non-material at night, so if he wanted he could just slip right out of the bars. But he doesn’t,” Tommy said quietly. “He just sits there, crying… I don’t like it. That thing is a part of me . Why does he look so wrong ?”

Chapter Text

Tubbo sat on the floor in Tommy’s home, waiting for the sun to come up. Tommy had said that everyone was getting together to get him an outfit or pelt or whatever, and it would happen in the morning. That wasn’t the reason he couldn’t sleep though. Tubbo was just, overwhelmed. Everything was so difficult to take in. He was never leaving. Nobody was.

The boy stood up and walked over to one of the windows, looking out through the curtains. He almost wished he didn’t.

Illuminated by the moonlight were dozens of tall, black, horned creatures. They had long limbs and sharp looking claws. They roamed around the valley, letting out low hisses that got lost in the wind. And sitting in the middle of one of the snow covered flower patches, facing the moon with its eyes closed, was Ranboo’s ghost. Like Tommy had said, he seemed sort of transparent now that it was night.

Tubbo shuddered and closed the curtains just as one of the monsters was turning to look his way, slumping down against the wall. This place was terrifying. 

The boy didn’t know how long he laid there, but he must have fallen asleep at some point because soon Tommy was shaking him and telling him to get up. Tubbo groaned and forced himself through another awful breakfast graciously provided by Tommy, then he, Shroud and Tommy all left and headed towards the ‘main cave’ as Tommy called it.

They walked in silence, soon coming up to a large opening in the mountain. Tubbo shuddered at the chill breeze coming from inside.

“C’mon, it’s okay,” Tommy said and pulled him along inside.

Tubbo stared at the glowing green words etched into the wall, exactly the same as Phil had said. Then there was the statue. So tall it almost brushed the cave’s ceiling. It had a round mask covering its face, a smiling face chiseled into the stone with two halos wrapped around its head forming an X. It wore elegant robes and had four arms outstretched, holding its palms out. Tubbo hated how realistic statues could be.

Tommy pulled him over to where all the others were gathered around a large bonfire, and if Tubbo didn’t know any better he’d say they were going to sacrifice him. It struck him that he’d never actually said anything about what he wanted to dress with. He hoped he didn’t get something stupid, like a squirrel Techno mentioned. 

Tubbo scratched his neck nervously, his hand running over his massive scar. His eyes widened in surprise. No one had ever mentioned it, he realized. Did they not care? Or were they just staying quiet out of pity? Because there was no way none of them had missed it. It took up half his face and even went down part of his chest.

He never got to ask about it because Puffy and Phil came over, holding things in their hands. Phil handed him a fuzzy cropped jacket, with yellow and brown stripes and a fluffy collar. Tubbo blinked in surprise and slipped it on. Then Puffy placed a wooden diadem with horns attached to the sides on his head.

Tubbo stood there, shocked. “First of all, why is it so short? And how did you guys know I liked bees…?” He asked quietly, just slightly worried about whether or not they could read minds.

Phil chuckled slightly, the firelight dancing off his feathered poncho. “The jacket’s cropped so you can see that,” He pointed to the little embroidered flowers on the lower half of Tubbo’s shirt. “And Tommy saw the bee pins on your bag, and he also snooped through it and found photos of you with little goats so Puffy whipped together the headpiece.”

Tubbo turned to said teenager, Tommy was blushing heavily and staring at the ground. Tubbo laughed at his embarrassment. “Really, boss man? I don’t know why I’m surprised. I really like them, thanks.” He smiled, then turned back to everyone else. “So is this it or what? Is there anything else we have to do for this whole ceremony thing?” The brunette asked, looking around at the people in the cave. There were quite a few he didn’t recognize, but then again he did sleep through a lot of introductions Tommy planned to take him to.

A man with dyed green hair and a wooden green raccoon mask stepped forward. “Well, we could find you a place to live, unless you want to stay with Tommy-”

“No!” He protested, but then cleared his throat and spoke again. “I- I’d like my own place, I mean. I’m, uhm, very independent,” He said calmly. Totally saved it.

The man nodded, chuckling slightly. “Alright guys. Let’s find the new guy a place!” He slammed a wooden trident, which Tubbo had honestly missed in his earlier look over, on the ground.

Everybody broke into speech and exited the cave. Tubbo followed behind, raising a hand to his new headpiece. He looked back at the statue, swearing he saw a glimpse of green beside it for a split second. He shook his head and ran down the mountainside after the others. “Wait for me guys!”

_____________________________

Tubbo was impressed . These people were fucking machines. After three hours of wandering the valley and woods around it, Tubbo decided on a spot in a nice flower-filled clearing, the snow low enough there to see most of the plants. Once he picked a spot, everybody got to work, and by the end of the day Tubbo had a small home to live in. It was mostly built into a hill, but it was at least better than Tommy’s. As said, Tubbo was impressed, and a little scared. These fuckers had literally gathered and made the materials by hand AND built it all in one day. They surely couldn’t be human. 

Nonetheless, Tubbo had a home. Everybody waved him goodbye, clearly exhausted, but happy nonetheless. Tubbo felt bad for them. They really seemed to enjoy having something to do, and had probably been preparing for this for a while since there were plenty of house warming gifts brought over that couldn’t have been made last minute. He had furniture and rugs and curtains and all kinds of things, well, not the normal kinds of things like a TV or refrigerator, but he had a kettle and a fireplace and a dirt cellar for storing food. Tubbo was amazed. 

The brunette stood in his doorway after everyone had left, and the sun was almost set. He was scared to spend his first night alone, but at least he wouldn’t be out in the open. The boy looked around one last time, ready to head in for bed, when he caught sight of Ranboo. The guy hadn’t left with the others, and he certainly didn’t have his tent set up nearby. In fact, Tubbo could see the tent parts sticking out of Ranboo’s bag. He was just sitting on a log, mumbling to himself.

“Ranboo?” Tubbo called, a bit worried. He didn’t want the monsters to get him.

The taller flinched harshly, looking up and over at Tubbo. He must have realized how dark it was getting because a panicked look crossed his face and he quickly stood up. “Shit- I didn’t realize how late it was, I need to- Fuck, I don’t have a spot-”

“Hey, do you wanna stay with me?” Tubbo asked, totally just out of kindness and not because he was scared shitless of being alone. 

Ranboo blinked, looking like he was about to protest, but a distant howl that almost sounded like wind must have been enough of a reminder that death was waiting out there for him, even if it wasn’t permanent. “Y-yeah, okay,” He muttered and hurried inside.

Tubbo shut the door and walked in with him, shutting the curtains and the wooden shutters he had instead of window glass. He turned back to Ranboo, who was just standing there awkwardly. Tubbo felt very uneasy looking at him due to his mask, and Ranboo seemed to catch this because he quickly removed it and set it aside. “Sorry,” He mumbled.

Tubbo shook his head, removing his horned diadem and jacket. “It’s not a problem, man. I’m still a little freaked out by everything anyway, so I appreciate the company…”

“... You’re the first to show up in a long time, y’know,” Ranboo said quietly. “They didn’t build Tommy a house, or anyone else. But I don’t blame them. Back then, everyone was still very fidgety and paranoid. I mean, I guess we still are. But they’re desperate to have something to do. This sort of freedom should feel nice, not having any job or taxes or anything to worry about. But, knowing that you can’t leave , it pollutes it. If this were just a normal valley, I doubt anyone would want to leave, besides the occasional trip to buy things like seeds or clothes. But we want to leave because we can’t,”

Tubbo was quiet for a moment before he added. “That and the monsters,”

Ranboo snorted, “Yeah. Those are pretty awful too,” He nodded.

Tubbo smiled and walked over, sitting down on his couch. Much to his surprise the whole thing shifted beneath him and he yelped, falling back into it. He stood up and yanked the blanket off, finding dozens of pillows beneath instead of an actual couch. He sighed, “Fuckin’ Tommy,” He mumbled.

Ranboo giggled behind him, and Tubbo turned to him with an evil grin. “Think that’s funny, Mr. Monochrome?” 

“I’m not monochrome, only my mask and cloak are black and white- Oof!” He fell back when a pillow hit him in the face. He gaped at Tubbo, who had armed himself with two more pillows. “Bring it, bitch,” The short brunette said with a grin.

Ranboo smiled and stood up, grabbing the pillow that had been chucked at him and removing his cloak and crown. “It’s on,”

_____________________________

Tubbo and Ranboo laid in the pile of pillows, exhausted from their very brutal pillow fight. Tubbo turned to Ranboo with a question that had been on his mind since he let Ranboo in. “Why were you mumbling to yourself out there?” He asked curiously.

Ranboo flinched, looking away for a moment. “I- I hear him…” He whispered.

Tubbo tilted his head. “Hear who?”

“Dream- DreamXD, whatever his name is. He refers to himself as Dream. He tells me things, I don’t like them. He’s spoken to a few people now and again, but he talks to me all the time . The things he has me do are weirder than normal. He doesn’t make me bring fruit offerings or gifts to his caves, he makes me kill animals and wander the beyond. He threatens me, too. Says if I don’t do it he’ll make sure the monsters get me, and I won’t come back. He gets agitated whenever someone tries to leave… He scares me, Tubbo…”

Tubbo blinked, tears filling his eyes. He hugged Ranboo tightly, burying his face in the taller’s stomach due to the weird position and height difference. “You don’t deserve that,” He mumbled.

Ranboo squeaked, seeming surprised by the hug, and he very awkwardly returned it. It occurred to Tubbo that he might not have had any physical touch in a long time. He lived on his own in a tent, wandering the woods. And even when he was around he avoided people unless he needed to speak. Tubbo would bet he hadn’t been hugged in years, and that managed to break the dam and make him sob.

Ranboo seemed even more distressed after this. “Ack-! Don’t cry, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have told you, I didn’t mean to upset you!” He said, panicked.

Tubbo shook his head, hugging the boy tighter when he tried to get away. “N-no, no no- I’m just sad because you- you don’t deserve this, none of us do.” He hiccuped, Ranboo’s shirt soaking up his tears. “This place is awful, why can’t we leave?!” He wailed, and Ranboo just laid there, tense.

“W-well there might be-” Ranboo stuttered, but immediately slapped his hand over his mouth. Too late.

Tubbo’s head shot up, tears shining on his cheeks. “What? What do you mean?” He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Ranboo cleared his throat, looking down nervously. “D-Dream always gets upset when people try to leave, and I once asked him why it bothers him so much if we can’t even leave, but he snapped at me and said they can’t be allowed to try. I- I don’t know, I might be wrong- That just makes it sound like it’s possible to me,” He muttered.

Tubbo breathed slowly, processing what Ranboo said. “You think… there might be a way?” He asked.

Ranboo nodded, and Tubbo’s heart filled with hope. “We have to try…” He whispered. “We have to get everyone out of here, if not for us then for our families,” He internally cringed thinking about his own family. 

The taller nodded at him, looking surprised by the enthusiasm but agreeing. Tubbo smiled, and promptly passed out on Ranboo’s chest, completely exhausted from everything that day.

Ranboo blinked, poking Tubbo’s arm. “Tubbo? Tubbo, c’mon- Don’t make me sleep like this,” He begged.

“Please?”

Tubbo remained asleep.

Chapter Text

“You want to what?!” Tommy exclaimed, falling backwards off the stump he sat on. 

“We want to leave. Ranboo thinks there’s a way,” Tubbo said.

Tommy stalled, “But you- you just got your house! Y-you can’t leave! I- I mean try, ‘cause you won’t succeed!”

“Tommy,” Ranboo said, “I hear DreamXD, he- I think there’s a way to leave,” 

“No there’s not! Everybody knows this!” Tommy shouted, standing up in front of them. “We can’t leave!”

“Tommy!” Tubbo yelled, moving in front of him. “What is your problem? We’re trying to find a way out, and if we fail it’s not like it’s your issue,”

The blond breathed heavily, tears in his eyes as he looked between them. “He won’t let us. We can’t.” He whispered.

“We want to try, Tommy. Just let us try,” Tubbo said quietly.

Tommy nodded slowly, “Fine. But I’m not getting involved.” 

“That’s alright with us,”

_____________________________

“What do you think that was about?” Tubbo asked.

Ranboo scratched his arm, “Tommy’s been here since he was nine. He’s tried hundreds of times to leave…”

“Since he was nine? How old is he now?” The shorter asked.

Ranboo sighed, “He’s about sixteen”

“But- That’s seven years!” Tubbo exclaimed, “How- What?!”

“Tommy has been here the longest. He told me once, after he had a breakdown. Nobody knew, because when people started showing up he wasn’t in their area, so when he finally found them they thought he was new,” Ranboo explained.

“Holy… Holy fuck,” Tubbo muttered, looking up at the moutain. “That’s awful.”

The taller nodded. “Well, boss man, where should we start then?” Tubbo asked after a moment.

Ranboo gulped and looked out into the woods. “I guess we should start with the Edges…” He shuddered. “I’ve been out there a few times, I hate it,”

Tubbo didn’t want to think about what the Edges were like. “Wh-what if we try the caves instead? Maybe they have something.” He tried.

Ranboo shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt to try I guess,”

Tubbo nodded. “‘Kay, let’s go then,” He mumbled and began walking off. But then he paused and turned back to Ranboo. “Ranboo, I don’t actually know where any of the other caves are…”

The taller chuckled and pointed up to a small opening in the cliffside of the plateau Bad and Skeppy lived on. Tubbo groaned dramatically and collapsed on the ground. “Nooooooo, I don’t want to climb up there!”

“Then don’t,” Ranboo shrugged and scooped Tubbo up, throwing him over his shoulder, “Holy shit, dude- You’re heavy!”

Tubbo shrieked. “AHHHHHH! YOU’RE A WALKING TWIG HOW ARE YOU HOLDING MEEEEE?!”

Ranboo wiped away a tear, smiling weakly. “...loud,”

_____________________________

Tubbo had entered feral mode. He was one with the valley. He was wild, he was free , well, except for the other worldly being keeping them trapped in this nightmarish pocket dimension or whatever.

The brunette crawled rapidly around the cave floor, searching for clothes and making Ranboo uncomfortable.

“You’re starting to remind me of Tommy,” The tall boy murmured.

Tubbo shot his head up, staring unblinking towards him from his spot on the ground. Ranboo whimpered and looked like he was going to cry, “You look like an evil possum,” He said.

Tubbo giggled hysterically and crawled over to the statue up against the cave wall. Most of the caves they had gone to had a statue or at least a shrine or sorts, but they hadn’t really found any clues. They were looking through the main cave now where Tubbo had gotten his diadem and jacket, which according to Ranboo was the last cave. He was really hoping they found something here otherwise they’d head out to the Edges, which he didn’t want to do.

The short teen made an array of terrible animal call imitations as he crawled around the cave, but he stopped short when he found something behind the statue.

He stood up, feral playfulness gone at the shock of what he’d found. “Ranboo there’s something back here,” He called over his shoulder.

Ranboo came over beside him and gasped. “It’s a door…” He whispered, looking into the hidden hole in the wall, the stone door blocking it left slightly open.

Tubbo turned to him slowly and grinned madly. “We might die if we go in,” He chuckled darkly, pushing the stone door open. “ Let’s do it ”

Chapter Text

Dark dark dark dark dark dark dark. Tubbo couldn’t see shit . He blindly felt along the walls, trying not to slip down the terribly small, steep, and damp stairs. There was a lot of moisture in here. Tubbo supposed that was how the fucking moss on the wall, that had scared the crap out of him the first time he felt it, was growing.

Then there was a light. A soft, glowing green light not far ahead, partially illuminating the stairs they were on. “There!” Tubbo said and hurried down the remaining stairs.

“Tubbo!” Ranboo whisper-yelled, “Wait up!” With his gaze locked on Tubbo he managed to slip and slide down the remaining stairs. 

Tubbo glanced back at him, “Are you okay?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah. Just slid down the fucking stone stairs and definetelly bruised my ass and back, thanks” Ranboo rolled his eyes. Tubbo clearly missed the sarcasm.

“Okay, good. Well, walk it off, let’s find out what this light is.” He walked on again.

Ranboo blinked and pushed himself up with a groan, “Yep. Yep yep yep, everything’s sore. Who made those stairs so awful ?” He muttered and followed after Tubbo.

Tubbo followed the green light to its source, which happened to be a strange lantern. There was a crystal inside, rather than fire. The boy looked it over in awe, but then Ranboo tapped him urgently on the shoulder. “What?” He asked, turning back to the tall teen.

Tubbo gasped at the sight of them . Pictures of everyone in the Land of the Lost. Their names, ages, how long they’ve been here, how they got here, their relationships with each other, all written underneath in glowing green words. And on the far end of the wall, Ranboo’s picture was circled multiple times, the words ‘ Came too close, keep him busy ’ written in the corner of his picture.

The teen turned to his friend, who was frozen in place, trembling and staring wide eyed at his picture. “Wh-what?” Ranboo whispered. “Came too close to what ?”

Tubbo spotted something out of the corner of his eye and walked over to a spot on the wall that had a crack in it. He looked into it, and gasped, seeing another room inside with purple light coming from it. “Ranboo, come help me get this open. Whoever made this place sure likes hidden doors,” He said as he began pulling at the rock.

Ranboo joined him and together they opened the doorway. They walked inside, the strange purple light covering most of the room. Tubbo looked around in shock at all the things in the room. Weird items, some pulsating with strange shimmering pink light, golden totems with emerald eyes, a large desk and plenty of notes and papers stuck to the wall going on about some strange book. Tubbo walked over to the desk, where the purple glow was coming from. It was a book, sat open on some page with writing he didn’t understand. But if the pictures were anything to go by, this book was their ticket out of here.

Then Ranboo suddenly fell to his knees, clapping his hands over his ears. “Stop- Stop it! It’s too loud!”

“What’s too loud?!” Tubbo asked frantically. 

Ranboo looked up at him, tears welling in his eyes. “ Him .”

He closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head. “Stop stop stop stop…” He muttered. 

Tubbo’s eyes filled with tears as he watched his friend suffer. “Wh-what do I do?!” He asked.

“I- He says to leave, he’s mad . He says we won’t get daylight for months, the monsters will come. We need to leave-”

“No! Ranboo, we’re so close! If we find a way out then he won’t even be able to torment us anymore!” Tubbo said, grabbing onto Ranboo’s shoulders.

“No, no Tubbo, he says we have to! He’s threatening me, he’s threatening you . I don’t want you to get hurt,” The taller shouted, panicked.

“Then- then, I’ll-” The boy stuttered, thinking of what to do. He looked around the room, and came up with a terrible, ricky plan. “Grab it and go!” He grabbed the book and Ranboo’s hand, rushing out of the room.

A scream of rage seemed to come from everywhere around them as Tubbo and Ranboo fled up the stone stairs and out of the cave. The sun outside was setting rapidly, and monsters were beginning to spawn. The two teens ran in a dead sprint to Tubbo’s place, narrowly avoiding many attacks from the monsters. They barricaded the door and windows and hunkered down in Tubbo’s living room.

The normally quiet monsters were screeching outside the house, scratching at the door and trying to get in. Tubbo shuddered in fear and sat down in front of Ranboo, setting the book down on the floor. He flipped through the pages, trying to find anything other than small notes that he could actually read. He sighed in disappointment. “This was all for nothing… We can’t read this shit,”

Ranboo picked at an exposed thread in his shirt and mumbled, “I can read it…”

Tubbo quickly looked up at him, resulting in him hitting his forehead on the taller’s chin. Ranboo yelped in surprise and pulled his head back, “I bit my tongue-”

Tubbo chuckled, rubbing his forehead. “Can you really read it though?” He asked hopefully.

Ranboo nodded sheepishly and picked up the book. Tubbo chuckled mischievously and got comfortable in Ranboo’s personal space, making the taller sigh. “Okay okay, this doesn’t seem very useful. Something about enchanting weapons,” He flipped a few pages, “No, no, infinite water, blah blah blah, something about creating bombs, ahah! This, here,” He pointed to the page. “It says Pocket Realms. Creating them seems complicated, but it says if someone ever wanted to un-make it, or get rid of it, because it was no longer needed or something, that all they had to do was create a big enough disturbance at the core.”

Tubbo sunk back into Ranboo’s chest, hand on his chin in thought. “Hmmmmmmmm, big enough disturbance you say?” He grinned and flipped back to the page about bombs. “What does this say?”

Ranboo looked a little uneasy but read out, “Earth-crafted bombs are created from magic and simply the items one can find with the woods. Small bombs are often used in emergencies, crafted from rocks and small amounts of magic necessities. But bigger, more destructive explosives are possible too”

Tubbo looked in awe at the glowing words as Ranboo flipped the page, his gaze skipping straight over the tiny rock grenades to the fucking nuke made of foresty things.

The boy smiled widely. He had a plan.

Chapter Text

“I do not like this, I do not like this,” Ranboo mumbled, watching Tubbo once again crawl around a room rapidly. Only this time, he had a plan, and the room was beneath his house. Tubbo was like some sort of mole or ant, digging a freaking tunnel to the middle of the valley. Ranboo had told him that the ‘core’ of the realm was more than likely in the direct center, which would make it somewhere beneath a bunch of flowers. And with all the monsters outside, digging there seemed to be the best course of action.

Ranboo was trying to help, but every time he got close Tubbo just scurried past him with ten times the amount of work done. Ranboo decided to nap while Tubbo did Tubbo things.

Tubbo was beginning to lose it. He giggled to himself and dug, singing some sped up and slightly hysterical parody of a song he’d heard on a movie about digging tunnels. He was a machine. He was strong. He was crazy. Tubbo had at one point broke off the shovel heads so he could just hold one in each hand and actually dig like a mole. Whilst all this was happening, Ranboo had put a bunch of ingredients together to get the ‘magic’ part of the recipe, before he fell asleep at least. So now there was a pot of forbidden glowing stew in Tubbo’s crappy kitchen. 

The other resources he needed were easy. Leaves, sticks and branches, a few mushrooms, and a lot of dirt, which was easily obtainable at the moment. Tubbo giggled maniacally and continued his digging. 

_____________________________

Tubbo was pretty sure he’d found the core. He stared out at the round space he’d dug into, floating in the middle of it was a freaky looking thing that looked like if a cloud and a magic orb had a cursed demon child. Either way, he found it. He ran back to wake Ranboo and gather his supplies. The brunette carried the dirt back into the core room, while Ranboo brought in the magic soup. They set it aside and then ran back up to Tubbo’s house.

“Now… We need to get outside, and get the rest of the stuffs. But how? There’s still an angry pack of killer monsters outside,” Tubbo said, looking at his blocked windows and door.

“I could run off and distract them?” Ranboo offered. 

Tubbo blinked. “You’re insane. Marry me,” He looked up at him in awe.

“AaaaaaAAHHHHH?!” Ranboo screamed in confusion.

Tubbo laughed. “I’m kidding . Maybe. You should do it before Tommy can though. He said he’d marry me just so no one else could and then I’d have to be his best friend forever,”

“That sounds like a kidnapping cover up,” Ranboo stated.

“Yeah I know. Anyway, yes. You run distractions and I’ll go find some forest crap,” The shorter nodded.

Ranboo grabbed his mask and put it on before turning back to Tubbo, “Just, ehm, don’t talk about marrying me. That’s weird,”

“Calm down, I’d never marry that ugly face,” He grimaced, looking at Ranboo’s mask. “Creepy. Anyway, go go go!”

Ranboo nodded and carefully exited the house through a small hole Tubbo had dug in the back. Tubbo listened from near the window as Ranboo screamed and lured the monsters away. His screams turned much shriller and more panicked as Tubbo heard the monsters take off towards him. He chuckled lightly and moved the barricades away from the door, hurrying out into the woods.

_____________________________

Tubbo panted and hauled all his findings down the long tunnel to the core room. It was exhausting. But worth it.

He tossed the mushrooms and leaves and such aside, then grabbed the large branches, holding them up to make a frame for the bomb. Next step, according to the notes Ranboo left him in the magic book, was to mix the magic soup with the dirt to make it moldable and, y’know, magic. Tubbo looked between the pot and his pile of dirt, and then dumped the whole thing over it. He mixed it into a purplish mud and began building it up around the frame.

After what could have been hours, he had a rough nuke shape. He placed the mushrooms and leaves where Ranboo’s notes said to, and suddenly the whole thing glowed brightly and poofed into a much more clean shape.

Tubbo giggled in exhilaration. He quickly threw together a tiny detonator with some left over magic mud and a rock, and it too poofed into a better shape that wasn’t falling apart in his hand. Tubbo ran out of the room and up out of his house, sprinting through the woods and into the valley. He spotted Ranboo running in circles and swerving around to avoid monsters, screaming at the top of his lungs. There were others in the valley now too, armed with makeshift weapons for any of the monsters that came at them. Tubbo stumbled and rolled down the hill, landing face first in a snowbank. Tommy, who had apparently been nearby, ran over and helped him up.

“What the fuck is going on, Tubbo!?” He shouted. 

“I’m blowing this place up and getting us out of here!” Tubbo exclaimed. 

Tommy looked horrified . “What? No- No you can’t do that, DreamXD will be mad-”

“He won’t be able to do shit about it!” The shorter yelled. Then somebody screamed and Tubbo looked over to them. It was Bad, and he was pointing up at the cave in the mountain. Standing there, with glowing green, rage filled eyes, was a man. He held a round white mask in his hand, and overall just looked pissed.

“STOP IT THIS INSTANT!” He called, his voice carrying over the valley.

Everyone, even the monsters froze. 

“You can not leave. It is not possible! So stop trying, stop causing problems for each other! Remember the rules!” He yelled.

Tommy was shaking, Ranboo had passed out in the snow, Techno was glaring up at the man with green eyes, and Tubbo, Tubbo smiled.

“FUCK YOUR RULES, GREEN BITCH!” He pressed the button.

The entire valley shook, and the man with green eyes screamed. The ground blew apart in an explosion not far from where they stood, and all was quiet after that. For a moment, Tubbo thought it didn’t work, but then everything began to shake again.

The mountains crumbled to pieces, lakes and rivers drained, the ground broke apart and pieces floated upwards. 

At some point Ranboo woke up, looking around hurriedly. “DID IT WORK?!”

“I THINK SO!” Tubbo shouted over everything.

Tommy sprinted frantically for his collapsing home and pulled Shroud out of it just as the ground there fell away. 

Tubbo looked around at the chaos he’d caused. “God I hope this works,”

Everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Tubbo gasped and sat up, blinking rapidly in the harsh light. The first thing he noticed was the lack of fucking snow.

He looked around, shocked to find multiple others laying on the ground around him. Ranboo was closest, face first in the dirt. Tubbo laughed in disbelief and shook him wildly. “Ranboo! It worked!” He said. “We’re in the real world! We’re in-” He paused, looking around once again. “Miss Gem’s pasture?”

A small goat came up to him, nibbling on his jacket sleeve. The boy chuckled and petted its head before looking back down to Ranboo, who slowly lifted his head, but screamed when he saw a goat looking right at him. He scrambled back, breathing quickly in fear. Tubbo laughed again. “It’s a goat! It’s fine!”

The others had begun to wake up around him, looking around in shock and awe. Badboyhalo even broke down sobbing. Tommy was shaking, holding Shroud in his arms like he’d disappear if he loosened his grip even slightly. He had his eyes closed tightly and looked on the verge of tears.

Tubbo walked over to him and set a hand on his shoulder, “Hey,” He said softly, wincing when Tommy flinched. “We’re safe, boss man. You don’t have to worry about monsters, or DreamXD, and let me tell you, you can have some actual fucking food. Like cookies, or sandwhiches, or fucking pancakes.”

Tommy opened his eyes to that, “My pancakes were delicious, thank you very much. But, I’m scared… What if someone takes Shroud from me?”

“Oh…” Tubbo muttered in realization. Tommy was only 16, if anyone found out they’d probably take his kid. “Well, how about we go live in the woods?”

Everyone looked at him.

Tubbo laughed once more, “C-Calm down! We don’t have to worry about cursed realms or weird guys with a god complex! We can go build a little community, and have actual things like beds and food . And nobody can tell us what to do,”

Techno, who had been laying in the grass while a goat sniffed at his hair, sat up. “Fuck yeah! Anarchy, fuck the government. I’m in,” He got to his feet.

Philza stood beside his friend with a chuckle. “If Techno’s doin’ it so am I,”

“Well, I’m pretty used to the woods by now,” Puffy said and stood as well. Niki followed. Then Sam, and Bad and Skeppy, then everyone else.

Tubbo looked down at Tommy. “What do you say? I’ll help you build a playground for Shroud, and I’ve personally always wanted to take in this kid who lives on the streets in town. His name’s Micheal, they could be friends.”

Tommy smiled and stood up, “He could use some friends. Alright. I’m in. But I want to name the place! We can call it, Manlyland,”

Tubbo smacked him.

_____________________________

Tubbo chuckled and ran through the woods away from town, a small boy held in his arms. He ducked under trees and jumped roots before he eventually came across a small commune hidden in the trees. The boy in his arms stared out in awe. Tubbo smiled and walked down the hill, careful not to fall down it. He spotted Ranboo a little ways away, talking to Tommy while Shroud played on the playground they’d built. He made his way over to his friends, carefully setting Micheal down on the ground.

The boy looked up at him in confusion. Tubbo smiled and gestured to the playground, “Go on. Go talk to Shroud, I’ll get you some lunch in a bit,”

The boy nodded slowly and walked over to the slide, and Shroud eagerly began to talk to him. Tubbo walked over and leaned against Ranboo, watching the children play. “Hey Ran?” He asked quietly.

“Yes?” Ranboo replied.

Tubbo grinned, “I want child support,”

“Ah- What?!”