Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ranboo is in a bed. Which is strange, because that shouldn’t be possible. The bit of grass he’s been stuck on for who knows how long at this point is barely big enough to sit on, much less fit a bed. He reaches out blindly, feeling with his hand, and sure enough there’s sheets, a blanket, a pillow under his head. And he can’t hear water anymore. 

Where the hell is he?

Cautiously, he opens his eyes, and he’s met with stone. The whole room is stone except for the bed and a closet that he can see off to the side. It almost looks like a cave. But why is he in a cave? And whose house is this? It can’t be his, unless he’s forgotten that much. Wouldn’t there be something around that looks familiar, though? And nothing here looks like anything that he would own. When he finally sits up, even the bed looks fancier than anything he’d ever own. Which has to mean that this isn’t his bed, and this isn’t his home.

The realization that he’s in a strangers home with no idea how he got there is alarming enough to make him jump out of the bed, but as it is when his body jerks at the fear of getting caught somewhere he definitely shouldn’t be, a soreness deep in his bones makes itself known, and he has to force himself to move gently when he has another realization.

He’s alive. He can feel himself breathing now, which feels strange after not doing for so long. He touches his face, only to pull them back immediately as if he’s been burned. But that can only be a comparison, because there’s no evidence he’s ever been burned at all. His face is smooth, and when he looks down at his hands, there are no scars there, either. He runs his fingers across every piece of exposed skin he can see, and it’s like he’s in a completely new body, with no scratches or marks anywhere. 

With shaky hands, he reaches under the front of his shirt and carefully presses his palms against his chest. Nothing. No scratch, no scar, no scab, no rough, textured skin. It’s as if for some reason he’s been given a brand new start, and he doesn’t know why. He shakes his head to himself. He can think about that later. Right now he has other things to worry about.

When he does finally stand, he’s relieved to see that he’s in his own clothes. At the moment, he’s glad he stopped wearing full suits and dressed it down to just nice pants and a nice shirt, because a jacket would definitely be more uncomfortable right now. 

He shuffles out of the room, curiously looking around to see if he can find the person who owns the house. If he can explain that he doesn’t know how he got here before they discover him on their own and freak out, maybe they won’t be as mad. He’ll basically be turning himself in. Not that that worked well for him the last time–

Upon further exploration, it’s clear that the entire home has been either built into a pre-existing cave or was dug into the side of a mountain because the ceilings, floors, and walls are all stone, and all the doors are different colored curtains. Except for the front door, which he finds to be a regular door made out of wood. It’s also clear that he’s the only one here at the moment, because he never finds anyone else during his careful wandering around the house. There aren’t even any pictures hanging up to give a hint as to who might live here. 

Well, he’s awake, and if he leaves now (after remaking the bed, because that would just be rude to sleep in someone else’s bed and then leave it messy) then maybe the homeowner will never know he was here. And maybe there’s someone he can find who can tell him where he is and maybe how he got there. 

The sun is blinding when he steps outside, and really it has been a while since he’s seen the sun. That, and the cave house has absolutely no windows in it, only many different lamps and light fixtures to make sure you can see. It also doesn’t look like he’s anywhere that he would know. Maybe he has been here before and he just doesn’t remember. Wherever he is, it’s a large field, and he can see a few clusters of flowers scattered around. There aren’t any other homes in the immediate vicinity, so he has to guess the homeowner likes to be secluded.

Which isn’t a great thought to have, considering there’s the very real possibility the homeowner themself brought him all the way out here to do who knows what where nobody would see. 

He can’t really see any buildings around, either. Is he in any kind of civilization? Maybe he’s close to one. A village, maybe, that he just has to walk to. If he only knew which direction he’s supposed to go. It seems the only option is to just pick one and start walking and hope he makes it somewhere before it gets dark, however long it will take for that to happen. It’s the only thing he can think to do, so he takes a deep breath, picks a direction, and starts walking.

He’s thankful he didn’t wake up in the snow somewhere. He doesn’t have anything to protect against it, and having to walk through inches of it would not be fun. As it is, the grass here comes up to his ankles, his feet only disappearing for a moment until the grass is flattened by his shoes. There aren’t either trees, either, which would be helpful if it starts raining. And now he has a new fear. He’s newly alive, and if it just so happens to rain while he’s out here, he’s done for. 

The thought causes him to pick up the pace as much as he can with his legs still feeling sore, and the combination of pain, distracting thoughts, and slightly tall grass makes it to where he almost steps on something. Or, someone? It must be someone, with the way they shout, startling him.

“Hey watch where you’re walking, asshole!”

He immediately freezes in place, looking around for who he almost ran into. For a moment he doesn’t see anything, and then there’s the smallest amount of pressure on his shoe that makes him look down to see the tiniest person he’s ever seen climbing up.

“Oh my god!” he exclaims. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you. Are you okay?”

To his surprise, the small person laughs. 

“Wow! Actually apologizing for once. Is today opposite day or something?”

It’s said sarcastically, like this is something he usually doesn’t apologize for, which confuses him. It’s also confusing because the guy says this as if they’ve spoken before, which Ranboo definitely cannot remember. At least he’s managed to get over the embarrassment of asking people who they are over the years, but he’s still caught off guard.

“I-I’m sorry, do I know you?”

The person grunts as he pulls himself to his feet, holding onto Ranboo’s shoelaces to help balance, and it’s now that Ranboo can see what he is. He almost looks like a bug, only about the size of an insect, with blue and white patterned skin, a pair of blue, transparent wings, and tiny antennas on his head. Ranboo definitely can’t remember seeing someone like him before.

Little bug guy scoffs. “Did you hit your head or something? Yeah, you know who–”

He cuts himself off when he finally looks up. Ranboo can just barely make out that he looks confused, so he carefully gets down to be on one knee so they can see each other better. Bug guy seems extra confused by this, and stares at him. “Wait, who the fuck are you?”

Okay, so Ranboo doesn’t know this person. He guesses he was being mistaken for someone else. Another enderman? Are there other endermen here? Anyway, at least he can go through introductions without feeling weird about it. Or weirder than normal.

“I’m Ranboo. I–can you tell me where I am? I don’t, I don’t know what’s going on.”

Somehow, bug guy looks like he doesn’t believe him, and this is apparent by the up and down look he gives, like he’s looking for some hidden trick. It appears he doesn’t find whatever he’s looking before because he pulls back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Your name is Ranboo?” he asks, like he needs clarification. For what, Ranboo doesn’t know, but he nods. “Huh, guess not all Ranboos are rude as shit.”

“Thanks? I guess?” Ranboo says, equal parts shocked and confused.

“I’m Sneeg,” bug guy finally introduces. “You’re in Origins right now. Or well, the very edge of it at least. Not that many people out here.”

Ranboo racks his brain, trying to see if he’s ever heard of that name before. It doesn’t sound familiar, but maybe he can find out what other places he’s closer to, he can figure out how to get home from here.

“I don’t think I’ve heard of this place before. Where exactly are we in the Greater Esempi?”

Sneeg cocks his head. “Greater–what? Is that where you’re from? Because I’ve never heard of that.”

Ranboo’s stomach drops. Oh god, how far away from home is he that Sneeg doesn’t know what he’s talking about? Maybe there’s a map somewhere he can look at, something where he can point out Snowchester so someone can tell him how to get there. Then again, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for the universe to pull a sick joke on him and put him as far away from home as possible after reviving him. It would be just his luck.

Sneeg has continued talking to himself, wondering about where on earth Ranboo is from, but Ranboo is too busy spiraling to hear most of the comments until Sneeg asks “How did you get here?”

“I don’t know.” He admits sheepishly. Sneeg looks at him, unimpressed.

“Like, ‘you were walking around and got here but you didn’t follow any directions’ don’t know or-?”

“I woke up maybe thirty minutes ago in a random house and I can’t remember how I got there.”

With the looks he’s giving him, Sneeg definitely thinks he got blackout drunk and somehow broke into someone’s house. Which Ranboo knows for a fact is something he would never do, for multiple reasons.

“. . .Right. Uh. Okay. Here’s what we’ll do.” At that, Sneeg starts climbing up Ranboo’s pant leg, stopping when he reaches his knee. Now, even closer, Ranboo would guess that he’s probably three inches tall. He pushes at Ranboo’s hand until he flips it over, palm up, and then climbs on. When Ranboo doesn’t do anything, he starts gesturing for Ranboo to pick him up and stand up, which Ranboo does with a start, holding his other hand up to make sure he doesn’t drop him. “I’m gonna take you to talk to someone who should be more help than me, his name is Philza–”

“Phil’s here?” Ranboo interrupts, ears perking up and almost dropping Sneeg. Maybe he’s closer to home than he thought. Maybe Phil was off on some mission somewhere, and Ranboo had managed to be dropped in the same place. He can help fix all of this and get him home. Sneeg looks surprised.

“You know Phil?”

He nods. “Yes, but I haven’t seen him in a long, long time.”

Sneeg throws his arms up in disbelief. “Well, shit, maybe he has something to do with why you’re here. Maybe send him a message and let him know you’re here.”

Oh, right. That sounds like a good idea. He reaches down to his pockets, and is shocked to find that they’re empty. No comm, no totems. . .no books. He doesn’t have any of his memory books. 

“I don’t have. . .” He stutters out. Everything he could remember from his life was in those books, all the little details he never wanted to forget. They’re gone. 

What has he already lost since waking up that he doesn’t know about?

Surely Phil can help. Phil can help jog his memory, or just tell him things he can’t remember, maybe get Tubbo–

“Damn, it’s like you were literally just picked up and dropped here,” Sneeg says with a whistle, interrupting his thoughts. “Do you have anything with you?”

Ranboo shakes his head. “Just what I’m wearing.”

Sneeg sighs, and then gets a determined look on his face. “Okay, we’ll get that figured out. Hopefully. Let’s just go talk to Phil and see if he can help.”

With Sneeg giving directions from his seat on his hand, Ranboo starts walking deeper into Origins.

Chapter Text

It’s way too cold to get out of bed right now. Not that mornings usually aren’t cold, because that’s what you get with living in a cave, but they’re usually more bearable than this. The fire he lit probably went out, which of course it did. Which, really none of this would be happening if someone had just built him a house when he told them to, but no, they told him to do it himself like he’s someone who works. That had just left him to find a cave and make it livable because what else was he supposed to do, manual labor?

Absolutely not.

Whatever. He’ll restart the fire when he gets up, which is not what he plans to do right now. The bed is comfortable, and if he pulls the blankets around himself tighter that should be able to fight off the cold–

Wait. Why is he in bed? Last he remembers, he was at his portal, tinkering with something. How did he get back? It’d be unusual for him to forget that. 

Ranboo opens his eyes and sits up, and then freezes. This is absolutely not his cave. There’s a window, firstly, but also terrible decorations that he would never choose. Ever. Whoever lives here has terrible taste. But how did he even get here? And where is ‘here’ exactly?

He needs to figure this out. Thankfully when he gets out of the bed, he’s still in his clothes. At least whatever brought him here didn’t mess with that. Appearances are important, and he dresses like this for a reason. The room is weirdly dusty as he goes over to the window, having to step around a few chests that look like they haven’t been opened in years. Ranboo can’t imagine how someone could live like this. 

Strangely, the window is slightly frosted over, so he has to strain a bit to see out of it. It looks like on the outside of the window is a flower box, with tulips? It’s hard to see, but that’s what he thinks is there, anyway. Aside from that, it doesn’t look like there’s anything outside. Well, no, that’s a lie, he can see parts of some hills, but there’s no grass. And barely any trees. Everything is just white. He lets out a huff of frustration when he realizes what it is. 

Snow. So. Much. Snow. Whoever put him here, he’s going to kill them. Maybe not actually, but he definitely feels angry enough right now. This has to be some kind of prank. Someone knocked him out and sent him off somewhere super far away to where it’s cold enough to snow, and now he has to figure out where he is and how to get back. Great. It’s not like he was working on anything important or something. 

Alright, here’s what he’ll do. Step one is get out of this house. Step two is message Phil and try to see what his coordinates are. Maybe with Phil’s help, he’ll be able to at least get pointed in the right direction. Maybe he can find some materials to make a portal to get back quicker. Whatever, that bridge will be crossed when he gets to it. 

He discovers that the lower floor of this house is even uglier than the one he woke up on. There’s a weird red and green color scheme, and honestly, the shades clash and don’t match each other at all. How the person who lives here manages to look at it at all is a mystery. Which, speaking of, he hasn’t run into the owner of the house. So they’re either not here, or they’re hiding from him. He’s not sure which one is a more favorable situation. There aren’t many clues about who lives here, either. There’s no pictures, barely any trinkets or things around the space. There seem to be more chests than anything, so maybe this is more of a storage building.

That option flies away as soon as he almost steps on a black cat, who hisses at him and then glares up with very bright green eyes. It seems they both startle each other, because they both freeze and just look at each other. Someone must live here then, if there’s a cat. It even has a collar on, and, now that he’s actively looking, he can see food and water bowls off to the side in what looks to be a kitchen area. On the counter is a bag that’s been tipped onto its side, and he can see a few pieces of cat food that have fallen out. 

Clearly the cat’s owner doesn’t do a good job of putting the food away. He could go clean it up, but it’s not his cat, and he really couldn’t care less. Especially since said cat clearly doesn’t like him. It keeps hissing at him and backing away like he did something to it. Whatever. He doesn’t have time to worry about an animal. 

Going outside immediately proves to be a mistake, because his foot sinks through at least five inches of snow, soaking his shoes in a matter of seconds. And it’s freezing. Which, duh, seems obvious considering he’s already established that it snows here, but still! He’s not exactly dressed for the weather. None of his clothes are a heavy material, and it’s not like he was expecting to be somewhere so cold. But now he’s extra pissed, because if someone did this to him like a prank, they absolutely went too far. He could probably push this to be seen as endangerment if he wants to, and he’s definitely willing to. 

The good thing, though, is that when he steps outside, there’s a house nearby. So even though he might be completely frozen when he gets there, it looks like there are people he can question on where he is and if they had anything to do with bringing him here. 

He kicks up snow as he goes, which only serves to make his clothes damp, and damnit, he’s going to have to deal with burns later. At least they’re not on his face, which he’s worked hard at keeping scar-free. Maybe whoever is at this house will have a potion he can use. He can hear dogs as he gets closer, and the house is actually bigger than he first thought. It’s styled more like a cabin, but it almost looks like two of them attached together. Not what he would have personally picked to live in, but it isn’t terrible. He’d even consider it respectable. As he trudges closer, arms wrapped around himself tightly, there’s a small stable attached to the side, and he can see a few horses inside. Actually, there are people there, too, and they must have just gotten back from somewhere. 

One of them is someone he definitely doesn’t know. It’s a piglin, tall to the point where his head is almost touching the roof of the stables. Possibly taller than Ranboo, but who knows (it would be a first, that’s for sure). He’s bundled up in cloaks and fur, and he has a few pieces of jewelry, what looks to be earrings, dangling down. The strangest thing about this person is that he has a crown on his head. Ranboo can only assume that this house belongs to him, but if he’s royalty, shouldn’t he be living somewhere much more grandiose? Why is he letting himself live in the middle of nowhere in what is comparatively a shack in regards to what he should have. 

The other person looks more familiar, somehow. Green clothes, a green striped hat, blond hair, large black wings on his back. Ranboo lets out a sigh of relief. It’s Phil. Phil had followed him when he was being brought out here, and he just happened to bring someone he’s never seen before to help take him back. Phil will know who did this to him, and Phil will be able to get him back home. 

Or, well, back to Origins.

And surely this other person, who he can only assume is royalty of some nature, will feel some connection to him and decide to help out, too.

Chapter Text

The further they walk, the more houses Ranboo starts to see. None of them are big fancy things, mostly a collection of cabins and cottages, and as they reach their destination, two of them are floating up in the sky. Which is something he can say for sure that he’s never seen before. The one that Sneeg directs them to has a ladder leading down from it. Apparently, from what he understands from the explanation Sneeg gives, it’s like their community house, only they call it the Pub. It definitely looks cozier than the community house ever did, looking more like an actual house with a pitched roof and some plants scattered around on the section of dirt the building is floating on. 

Ranboo doesn’t know how it works, and doesn’t ask.

Phil is apparently inside, and according to Sneeg it’s where he can usually be found doing ‘Phil Stuff’, which Sneeg does not elaborate on. When they reach the bottom of the ladder, Sneeg shimmies up onto his shoulder and grabs on to a tiny fistful of hair to make sure he doesn’t fall.

“Are you able to teleport with other people? Our guy can’t, or at least he won’t.”

He must be talking about whoever he mistook Ranboo for at first, and it definitely sounds like whoever he is, he’s an enderman as well. A full enderman, at that, considering the fact that he can actually teleport. Ranboo goes to shake his head, but stops before he accidentally sends Sneeg flying.

“I can’t teleport.”

“What?” Sneeg sounds surprised. “But aren’t you an enderman?”

“Technically I’m only half.”

“Oh. Cool. That actually makes sense with your whole black and white thing. What’s the other half?”

“Don’t know.”

“Geez, there’s a lot you apparently don’t know,” Sneeg mutters under his breath, only legible from how close he is to Ranboo’s ear. “Well, guess we’re climbing then.”

From the way he says it, Ranboo almost expects the climb to be long or difficult. It’s actually neither, but he supposes for Sneeg it’s different with how small he is. And it does look like he can fly, but even then that might be too slow for what he wants. 

When they get to the top, it’s revealed that the building is made up of a lot of different materials and not just wood, which is what Ranboo originally thought when looking at it from a distance. Among the different colored wood are scattered pieces of blackstone and some kind of white material, and he can also see that some of the plants actually climb up the side of the building as well. He’s still looking around at the outside when Sneeg suddenly flies off of his shoulder and towards the door, going through a much smaller door that’s been attached near the top, presumably made just for him. He doesn’t look back or give a heads up to follow, and it has Ranboo scrambling to keep up. 

He’s surprised to see that the interior is mostly an open layout. There’s a bar off to one corner, some barrels, a few doors to the side, a wall of chests labelled with different names, and strangely next to that wall is a giant water tank. He’s going to stay away from that if he can.

Sneeg again doesn’t pause when Ranboo looks around and goes straight to one of the side doors, scaling it surprisingly easily up to another small door. This time he stops on the small platform under it and gets Ranboo’s attention, beckoning him over. When Ranboo is close enough, Sneeg opens the smaller door.

“PHIL,” he shouts, and then launches himself into the room. Ranboo can hear him still talking, although now it’s a bit muffled. “We got a situation, old man.”

Ranboo opens the door, and is immediately hit with a wave of heat. When he steps inside, it’s apparent it’s coming from a lava pool off to the side, which is surrounded by netherrack. The other wall is lined with brewing stands and chests labelled with different ingredients. Standing in the middle of the room is a nether portal, and Ranboo is surprised when some of the particles floating around it zoom over to him and circle around him. He had forgotten they tickled a bit. 

And standing near the potions, where Sneeg has drifted over to, is Phil. Just the sight of his hat, hair, and wings fills him with so much relief. And then Phil turns around.

That is not his Phil.

This Phil is much more bird-like. He has more feathers, for one thing, covering his arms, legs, neck, even small parts of his face. And his feet are actual bird claws. It’s a far cry from the basically human man with wings on his back that Ranboo is used to. All he can do is stand there in shock, and when Phil spots him, he looks just as confused. Sneeg looks back and forth between the two of them before stopping on Ranboo and joining in their confusion.

“I thought you said you knew him?” he asks, and Ranboo shakes his head.

“No, um, my Phil is less. . .bird.”

The phrasing makes this Phil raise an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

“I found him out near Ranboo’s house, and turns out his name is also Ranboo.” Sneeg explains. “And he has no idea how he got here and doesn’t know where ‘here’ is. He thought you two knew each other, but I guess you don’t-?”

Phil looks him over thoughtfully. “Well, you’re definitely not our Ranboo, that’s for sure.” He turns to Sneeg. “Did you happen to see him anywhere?”

“Who, ours? Nah, but it’s not like I was looking for the guy.”

Phil hums, then looks back at Ranboo. “Can you remember anything before you got here?” Ranboo gets fidgety at that, and Phil notices because he visibly softens. “You don’t have to tell us if you’re uncomfortable, I just wonder if it would help us figure out how to get you back to wherever you were if we know where you started.”

Ranboo definitely does not want to go back to where he was before this, but surely Phil doesn’t mean to send him back there. Although, this is clearly a completely different Phil, so Ranboo can’t trust any of his prior thoughts of him. But he also knows that he has a point, and there have been times that saying things out loud has triggered more memories, so it’s possible this could help.

“I was, well, I was on a chunk of land floating over an endless sea, trapped for. . .I actually don’t know how long. Probably years.” He pauses to think. “I believe there was also a tree, because sometimes it rained but I don’t remember getting hurt.”

Sneeg and Phil just stare at him. For quite a while, actually, to the point where Ranboo starts fidgeting with his sleeve and his tail starts shifting nervously.

“What the fuck?” Sneeg finally says.

“That sounds like an impossible place to be. How on earth did you get there? And why did no one come and save you?” Phil asked, sounding a mix of amazed and horrified.

Oh boy, here he goes.

“I was dead.”

Phil, to his credit, doesn’t have much of a reaction other than getting that thoughtful look on his face again. Sneeg looks like he’s buffering.

“Ah,” Phil replies, “then you’re definitely not from this world. Where are you from again?”

“You were dead?! How are you here??” Sneeg all but screeches before he can answer Phil’s question. Ranboo shrugs.

“I have no idea. One minute I was there, the next I was waking up back in that cave. Oh, and I’m from the Greater Esempi, Snowchester specifically if that sounds more familiar-?” The last part is directed towards Phil, who nods a bit.

“Vaguely. It sounds like someone decided to bring you back to life and got your universe mixed up with ours.” He rubs at his chin, thinking. “Do we know for sure that our Ranboo is still here?”

There’s silence between the three of them until Sneeg pipes up “I think you’re the only one who can check that.” 

“Right, right. Give me a second.”

It’s like Phil fazes out, to where you can only see a faint outline of him. Sneeg doesn’t seem that put off by this, but Ranboo finds himself taking a slight step back. Does this mean that Phil is the admin of this place? Should he be acting more respectful? Should he have even told him that he was dead? Before he can spiral on it any further, Phil pops back in, looking like he did just a moment ago. He sighs, adjusting his hat. “Like I thought. He’s not here.”

“You think we switched places somehow?” Ranboo asks, trying to understand what Phil is saying. “What would cause that to happen?”

“Our Ranboo likes to mess around with portals and see what the farthest distance he can go at once is,” he explains. “It’s possible something weird happened that sent him to your universe when you were being revived, but when your world suddenly had a Ranboo again, it sent you here to take his place.”

“Is it possible to switch us back?”

“Maybe. I’ll have to look into it.”

At that, Phil moves past them and goes back into the main area of the pub, Sneeg and Ranboo following behind. Phil makes his way over to the barrels and starts digging through a few of them, pulling out different books and putting some back while keeping others. 

“Sneeg, I’d like it if you helped, since sometimes you’re able to see things I don’t.” He says, and Sneeg suddenly appears on top of a barrel, grinning mischievously. 

“Hell yeah, I’m always ready for a mission.” 

“What do I need to do?” Ranboo asks, standing a few steps from them so that he isn’t in the way. He’s never been the best with this sort of stuff, but he’s willing to try if it means there’s a bigger chance of him making it home. 

Which that’s a whole new can of worms. He’s not just in a different place, but in a different world? How different even is it here? So far gravity and such has stayed the same, but he didn’t know portals could be messed with to do crazy stuff. He didn’t even know travelling between worlds was possible until now! 

Can messages be sent? Would he be able to use some device to let everyone back home know he’s okay? That he’s trying to come back? That he misses them?

“I think it would be best for you to be distracted with something else,” Phil says. “I’d hate for something to go wrong while you’re here.” 

Ranboo doesn’t even try to argue. “O-Okay.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll leave you to your own devices in a strange place, though. I’ll have some people, Tommy and Tubbo, come stay with you, maybe show you around so you’ll feel more comfortable.”

Ranboo instantly perks up at that. “There’s a Tubbo and Tommy here, too?”

It’s been so long since he’s seen anything related to either one of them, and now he’s been told that this world has their own versions. Of course, he has to remember that they won’t be the same as the ones that he’s used to if Phil is anything to go by, but it’s still a crumb of something he’s been missing. He’ll just. . .have to remind himself that this isn’t his Tubbo. Which will be fine.

Sneeg and Phil don’t seem to catch the excitement in his reaction.

“Is that okay?” Phil asks slowly.

“Yeah! Yeah, that’s fine,” he answers too quickly. This just gets him more confused looks, and he sighs, fidgeting with his hands now. “I just, I haven’t seen mine in a really long time.”

A look of understanding, and then pity comes across his face. Sneeg looks to be having the same realization, and then has a much bigger reaction as he has another realization.

“Wait a second, how come I’m the only one your world doesn’t have? Why don’t I have a duplicate?” he demands, and Phil laughs. Really, Ranboo has been wondering the same thing. He’ll have to ask around and see what the differences are, because he hasn’t seen a Techno in this world, who he would have assumed would be with Phil. 

Phil sets one last book on the pile he’s been making and then looks at Sneeg.

“Why don’t you take it as you being one of a kind,” he suggests.

Sneeg looks at him suspiciously, then appears to be contemplating the idea very seriously. 

“Y’know what, I’ll accept that.”

Chapter Text

Phil and the piglin don’t notice him as he approaches, which is kinda crazy considering how loud his footsteps are through the snow. Like, seriously, if someone was trying to sneak up on him while walking through this, he’s pretty confident he’d hear them. And he’s not even trying to be sneaky, so this is just poor observation on their part. 

After much more trudging than he would have liked, he gets close enough to them that surely they can hear him, disregarding the fact that he's practically right behind them. 

He huffs. “Phil, thank god. Do you–”

Before he can finish, a sword is pointing at his throat. Phil (does he look different?) has spun around into a defensive stance, sword held steady and a hair’s breadth away from actually piercing any skin. The piglin has also turned around, but stands much more casually, although he makes no move to hide the fact that he’s holding a very powerful looking axe at his side, ready should he need it. 

Startled, Ranboo freezes, hands instinctively raising up, which he immediately regrets because now he’s lost whatever small amount of warmth he had given himself. This is very, very strange. He didn’t know Phil was this jumpy.

“Who are you,” Phil demands, as serious as Ranboo’s ever seen him, and that’s even more confusing. And a little insulting.

“Excuse me?” He responds, incredulous, and Phil just tightens his hold on the sword.

“Who are you,” he repeats. “How did you find us.”

Ranboo makes a face. “What are you talking about? You know who I am.”

“Are you sure you don’t know this guy?” the piglin suddenly asks. “Did you forget? You are getting kinda old–”

“Shh!” Phil cuts him off exasperatedly. The piglin just hums and shrugs. Phil glares at him, and then fixes Ranboo with a stern look. “Name.”

Ranboo sighs. If Phil really wants to hear his title and all, he supposes he can oblige. And maybe it will help clue in the piglin since it appears he misplaced his crown. Someone probably took it from him when they dumped him here, the bastards.

He stands up a bit taller. “Prince Ranboo of the End,” he announces. “And you’re Phil,” he adds, in case Phil forgot that, too.

Which, actually, now that he’s really looking, Phil is. . .different. Very different. He’s lost a lot of his bird features. Really, he just looks like a human that has bird wings on their back. Like Tommy, only with black wings instead of white. It’s weird seeing him with such a human face. But he can question him on his appearance after he figures out where he is and what happened.

Strangely, when he says his name both Phil and the piglin inhale sharply. Phil actually lowers the sword slightly, and looks at him much more intently than before. Normally Ranboo would love this kind of attention, but this time it feels less admiringly done and more like he’s being analyzed. Like he’s some sort of strange bug. Like Sneeg. 

Now it’s the piglin’s turn to look cautious, and where Phil lowers his sword, his axe raises that same amount. Phil still looks stunned. 

“Ranboo-?” he breathes out, and that’s definitely the weirdest response to his name he’s ever gotten. He looks like he wants to say more, but can’t, so the piglin takes over.

“How did you find us?”

Find them? What, like they were hidden? He literally just looked outside of the building he was in and saw them. If they’re hiding out, they’re not doing a great job at it.

“I walked over here.” The piglin looks at him, very unimpressed, and he huffs. “Listen, all I know is I woke up in that house over there,” he points at it, “and here I am. I don’t even know where ‘here’ is.” He turns in a circle dramatically, because what else is he supposed to do in this situation? Phil is still, well, now it looks like he’s staring off into space, and the more Ranboo looks at his different appearance the more unsettled he gets. “Also, Phil, you look very different. What’s up with that? And who is this?” He points at the piglin, who now looks confused.

“What? What do you mean you woke up in that house?”

Ranboo sighs. Apparently neither of them know how to listen. “I mean I woke up in that house. I–okay, yes I was messing around with a portal again, so maybe that has something to do with why I’m here, but I still think it’s possible this is all a prank, and I want to know who’s responsible. I’m freezing, my clothes are getting wet, and I do not appreciate any of this,” he finished, crossing his arms. And what if he’s pouting? He deserves to!

Phil has some kind of reaction to the mention of portals, and then looks like he’s mentally debating something. Whatever he decides on, he lowers his sword fully, and hums thoughtfully. The piglin turns his attention towards him.

“So you don’t know this guy?”

Phil shakes his head. “No.”

“. . .Right. How does he know you?”

He glances back and forth between Ranboo and the piglin. “. . .I might have an idea. Come with us.”

Without another word, he turns and makes his way up the steps to the front door of one of the houses, the piglin following without hesitation. Ranboo does hesitate. Clearly something is going on, something different from what he originally thought, and he’s not too sure he wants to follow what he’s realizing are probably complete strangers into a random building. 

But it’s also his chance to get somewhere warm and not risk the chance of getting any more burns. The two are entering the building when he scrambles to follow after them.

***

“So what you’re saying,” Ranboo says, sitting on a couch in a room that is, frankly, smothered in crows, “is that I fucked up a portal? I don’t know, that doesn’t sound like me.”

One of the crows jumps off of its perch, making Ranboo flinch, and flies over to Phil and lands on the brim of his hat. Phil doesn’t pay it any mind, focusing on one of the books currently in his lap that he had grabbed when he first sat down. The piglin, who Ranboo has since learned is named Techno (and is not royalty; that had been a very awkward conversation, learning where his crown came from), is scanning through a bookshelf. One of the crows is perched on his shoulder, but he also says nothing about it. 

Phil snorts at his comment. “Well, not ‘fucked up’ per se, but you definitely did something to it to change where it connected to.”

“Is that even possible?”

Now, it’s not that he didn’t think it was impossible. He’s just never thought about it on this scale. All he was trying to do was extend the reach of a normal portal, and even then it was supposed to lead to somewhere still in his world. Not an entirely new one where the trip knocked him out in the process.

Phil shrugs. “Up until this point? Really only in theory. So I have no idea what you did to make you end up here.”

Ranboo huffs and sinks back into the couch. “Well. Isn’t that great. And ‘here’ is-?”

Really, how many times is he going to have to ask this question to get an answer? It’s literally been his only question, even before knowing that he wouldn’t be able to just walk back to his cave. And his annoyance only grows when Phil grins.

“My house,” he replies, not looking up from his book but still laughing at the reaction Ranboo has. “But outside of that, we’re in the greater Esempi. Not really in any town or city or anything. It’s just us out here, which is why we were so startled to see you.”

Finally a normal answer. And it’s one that makes sense, too. Not that he’s ever heard of this palace, but having a name for it makes him feel more secure. It strangely makes everything feel more real as well.

“O-kay. . .So if you live here, and I’m assuming Techno lives in the connected house-?” He continues after Techno confirms it. “Who lives in the one I woke up in?”

It’s a normal enough question, he thinks. I mean, surely it’s not some empty house that they just have. Especially only putting a single cat in it by itself. And whoever this person is, he has some decorating tips for. 

Unexpectedly, both Phil and Techno get quiet. It’s like they freeze in place, holding their breath. The crows are still moving, because they’re animals, of course they’re going to move, only now it feels like every single one is staring at him. Like he shouldn’t have asked that question, like it’s something he shouldn’t know. But when he looks at the two of them, they just look sad. Deeply, deeply sad. 

And then hesitantly, they start moving again, completely ignoring his question as Techno awkwardly clears his throat and Phil flips through a few pages in a book.

“I think we’ll be able to get you back,” he says, clearing his throat as well, “but I don’t know how long it will take. It’s probably going to use a lot of redstone.”

Well that was very strange. And intriguing. When people don’t want him to know something, that makes him want to know about it even more. And besides, not knowing something lets him make all kinds of assumptions, which never goes in that person’s favor. But he’ll restrain himself for now if not for the simple fact that the main focus is fixing a portal to get him back.

“Do you know how to use redstone?” he asks, and maybe it comes out more condescending than he planned for it to. Not that he knows anything about redstone, but if these are the people he’s putting his trust into, they need to know what they’re doing.

“Some,” Phil says. “Techno’s better at it than I am.” 

Said man is in the process of pulling out his comm (and damnit, where did Ranboo’s comm go? Surely it went through the portal with him), typing away at it. “We should probably ask Tubbo if he can help, if he’s not busy.”

Phil hums in agreement. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Just tell him to come over any time.”

Tubbo? Tubbo? The one who constantly makes his life hell? Ignoring the fact that Ranboo usually starts it, Tubbo never listens to him! Ever! He’s the one who first publicly embarrassed him by saying he didn’t know who Ranboo was, and then when Ranboo insults him, he doesn’t get the hint to leave him alone. 

Ranboo just tries to live his life as normally as he can while being away from the End; he has an image to uphold after all, a strict way he has to act and dress and present himself. All of this done for a reason and Tubbo just finds an excuse to shit on it all the time just because he can’t handle it whenever Ranboo tells him something true about himself. Always calling Ranboo rude when he’s just telling the truth. And now there’s another one of him here.

“God, there’s a Tubbo in this world too?” 

The disdain in his voice actually seems to surprise Phil, and he looks up from his book confused. “Yes-? I would think there are doubles of everyone, but I don’t know for sure.” 

“And you have to bring him onto this project?” When Phil takes too long to respond, he sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Is he even going to be capable of doing this?”

In his shock, Phil laughs. It’s so quick and short it’s like it was pulled out of him without any warning, and he sets his books on a nearby table. Seemingly all of the crows fly over to the side of the room that Phil is in, perching on his chair, his hat, his shoulders, leaving Ranboo’s side completely bare. Techno just snorts into the cup of tea that Ranboo has only just now noticed he has. Phil, not bothered by the crows at all, clasps his hands together.

“Okay, I don’t know what your deal is with your Tubbo, but this is a different one. And if we’re lucky, he’s going to be helping you get home. So I would put away the attitude for now.”

Do all Phil’s have the ability to make you feel like you’ve just been scolded by your father? Because it’s not pleasant, especially when Ranboo knows the feeling all too well. And it doesn’t help that the shadow of crows only makes what he says and does more ominous. Evidently, things are not going to go Ranboo’s way, at least not with this. Sometimes he has to pick and choose his battles, and right now, he’d rather not have one with Phil, especially if what he knows about his Phil translates over. He sighs and crosses his arms, absolutely pouting and not caring that it’s obvious. They should know he’s upset.

“Sure. Fine,” he bites out. “Go ahead and put my problems in his hands since I clearly don’t get a say. I’m sure this will go great.”

Chapter Text

Ranboo waits nervously for them to arrive, and he knows it’s obvious from how his tail won’t stay still and he rocks side to side a bit. He has no idea how this Tubbo and Tommy are going to be. He can only assume that they’re going to look different than he’s used to, if Phil is anything to go by, but it’s hard to imagine anything other than what he already knows. 

He has to keep reminding himself that he’s not about to see his husband or friend. These are strangers, and he needs to act accordingly. Even if he knows there’s a good chance that he’ll break down when he sees them. 

Phil and Sneeg are still looking through the barrels. They keep pulling out scraps of different things, but Ranboo is too distracted to try and see what they are or even ask. They’re not looking for long when the door opens.

“Okay Phil, what’s so important you needed us and no one else to–”

Ranboo freezes at the sound of Tommy’s voice, and when he looks up, there they are. And they are very different looking. This Tommy looks mostly the same, tall with blond hair, only on his back are a pair of white wings. It’s more like the Phil back home, which is strange to see considering his Tommy is just a human.

Tubbo, though, is very different. Instead of the hooves, horns, and ears of a goat hybrid, this Tubbo has bee wings and antenna. His eyes are slightly bigger and darker, and they dart between him and Phil. Unwillingly, Ranboo’s face heats up. 

“Who’s this? Is he new?” Tubbo asks, and Phil steps away from the barrels to stand next to Ranboo.

“In a way. This is Ranboo.”

The two of them scrutinize him for a moment, and Ranboo gives a hesitant little wave. Tommy raises an eyebrow. “Hate to break it to you, but that’s definitely not Ranboo.”

Phil sighs. “Not our Ranboo, but yes, this is Ranboo. But anyway, Sneeg and I are going to figure out how to send him back to his world, and I need the two of you to stay with him. Maybe show him around so things aren’t so strange.”

“Man, we’re babysitting?” Tommy complains at the same time that Tubbo questions “What do you mean ‘his world’?”

Tommy pauses. “Wait, yeah, that’s a better question.” 

“Ranboo is from a different, well, universe is probably the right way to describe it.”

Tubbo is suddenly flying right in front of his face, wings buzzing behind him as he studies him, making Ranboo jump. “So you’re an alien? Are you from space?”

“N-Not that I know of?”

“He can’t remember a lot, so it’s totally possible,” Sneeg calls helpfully from where he’s still standing on a barrel. Ranboo’s ears tilt down, embarrassed.

“I’m pretty confident I’m just from the End. Or, well, my world’s End? This is confusing.”

“Does this mean we have two Ranboos now? God, that sucks!” Tubbo complains, leaning back and flying back over to Tommy. 

“No, our Ranboo switched places with him,” Phil explains. “We think something went wrong when he was tinkering with portals like he always does.”

Tommy scoffs. “Serves him right, the prick.”

The comments make Ranboo’s stomach drop. Clearly the Ranboo from this world is not on good terms with this Tubbo and Tommy, which is sad to think about. So much for making a good first impression if they’re already expecting to hate him. They definitely don’t look pleased that he’s here. Phil looks at them, unimpressed.

“Anyway, just stay with Ranboo until we get everything figured out. Hopefully it won’t take too long.”

“Do we have to?” Tommy complains, and Phil shoots him a look. He stares back defiantly for a moment, ultimately giving up with a groan. “Ugh, fine dad.”

He turns on his heel and opens the door. Tubbo flies out first, and before Tommy follows him he calls “C’mon, boob,” over his shoulder.

“I–okay,” is all Ranboo can get out before he’s scrambling after them.

They’re both already in the process of flying or gliding down to the ground, so Ranboo starts making his way down the ladder as quickly as he can without putting himself in danger. He doesn’t want to fall, but he also doesn’t want to be left behind. It also doesn’t help that the particles are still attached to him and they seem determined to stay in his face at all times.

When he does finally make it to the bottom, thankfully Tubbo and Tommy are waiting for him, and they regard him curiously. Well, Ranboo is going to think curiously, but he can tell there’s a bit more judgement there than curiosity. He doesn’t think they’re going to say anything about it, though, because as soon as he’s on his feet they turn and start walking, leaving Ranboo to follow without a word.

He thinks they aren’t going to say anything to him until Tubbo speaks up.

“Can you not teleport or something?”

“No,” he answers, and that seems to surprise both of them. Clearly Sneeg isn’t the only one who expected him to be able to.

“Wait, really? Is that something that happened when you got put here or-?”

“I’ve never been able to do it,” he explains. “A friend of mine, Techno–do you have a Techno here?”

“No,” Tommy answers, a bit bluntly. Ranboo tries to ignore it.

“Ah, okay, that makes sense then why I didn’t see him with Phil. But anyway, Techno tried to see if he could teach me how to teleport, but it never worked.”

“Is he an enderman?”

“Nope.”

“Are you an enderman?” Tubbo questions, turning to look up at him over his shoulder, making Ranboo fidgety.

“Yes? Technically half, but yes.”

Tubbo hums in acknowledgment. He looks Ranboo up and down, and then turns back around. “That explains why you look weird, then.”

***

They end up walking in silence for a bit. Ranboo is trying to stay out of the way as he follows, and there are a few times he notices Tubbo and Tommy look at each other for a moment, like they’re communicating without words. It’s weirdly comforting to see, knowing that even a different version of them has the same strong bond between them. It’s just his luck that he’s not a part of this one. 

Wherever they’re going, it’s near some of the houses he saw earlier. They might be going to one of their houses, actually, which he is a little worried about. But Phil told them to stay with him, and he trusts Phil to make sure he’s okay. Maybe he should have asked for a comm so he could send messages. . .

They both stop so suddenly he almost runs into them. Looking around, they’re in the garden in front of a small cottage. It looks very homey, with birdfeeders and windchimes hanging off of the house itself and some of the surrounding trees. He’s still looking around at everything when the two turn around and face him.

“You’re super quiet,” Tubbo says, catching him off guard.

“S-Should I be saying something?” he stutters out, and Tubbo sighs, almost sounding annoyed.

“I mean, no, it’s just–we’re not used to it.” 

“How come?” he asks, and is surprised to see that they also look surprised at his question. And very confused, if they way they glance at each other is anything to go by. Tubbo pinches the bridge of his nose.

“This just keeps getting weirder,” he mumbles to himself, and then says the next part louder. “Ranboo–our Ranboo? No, ew, that’s weird to say. Our Ranboo, can you imagine?” He nudges Tommy’s arm with a snicker, then clears his throat. “This world’s Ranboo is rude as shit and always has some comment about something or another, and he’s never afraid to say it. He’s never quiet when you’re around him, so it’s just strange that you’ve been so quiet.”

Ranboo doesn’t know how to take that. Is that why they’ve been weird towards him this whole time?

“Are you expecting me to insult you?” he asks. “I don’t even know you well enough to insult.”

“So you would if you knew us better?” Tommy accuses, making Ranboo feel even more confused.

“No? That’d be mean.”

“Huh,” he says, like he wasn’t expecting that response. He looks at Tubbo and shrugs, who shrugs back at him. 

Tubbo then starts walking towards the house, which Ranboo has since put together that it’s his, and lets them in when they follow. Ranboo ends up having to duck to get inside, his horns just barely brushing the top of the doorframe. It looks as cozy as the outside does.

It’s very open concept like the Pub, with a kitchen off to the right and a sitting area to the left with some chairs and a couch that has some blankets thrown across it. There are a lot of windows, letting in natural light, and there aren’t any lamps or things that he can see. Towards the back is a staircase that leads to what he’s assuming is a bedroom, since he can’t see any other doors down here aside from the front door they just came in through.  

Tubbo immediately goes over to the couch and throws himself down on it. “Have you found anywhere to stay yet? I’m guessing you’ll be here for a few days.”

“I mean, I woke up in some cave that was fully furnished, which was a surprise.”

“That’s Ranboo’s house,” Tommy explains, dropping down into one of the chairs. “Honestly, you can probably just stay there since he isn’t here.”

“Are you sure? I’d hate to accidentally mess something up in there or break something.”  

He only further proves his point by how carefully he takes a seat in the last open chair, making sure to hold his tail in his lap so that there’s no chance of it knocking anything over. Tommy laughs in disbelief.

“Well shit, I guess all Ranboos are not made the same.” 

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.”

“He just means that we weren’t too thrilled at first because we were worried you were gonna be like our guy, so we were kinda tense out of habit,” Tubbo explains, crossing his arms behind his head. “So it’s nothing you did.”

“Oh, well, it’s okay, I understand.” He starts fiddling with his tail. “I’m not too great with new people, either. It’s even worse when it turns out I’ve met them before and don’t know it.”

“Yeah, Sneeg said something about you not being able to remember anything?” Tommy asks. Tubbo grins.

“Is that something we need to help fix? I’m always down for experiments.”

Maybe his Tubbo and this Tubbo aren’t as different as he thought, because he should have known that would be what he thinks of first. However, knowing what kind of experiments Tubbo tends to run, he definitely does not want to be on the receiving end.

“No, no experiments,” he says quickly, and Tubbo pouts a bit but gives in. “I’ve always had memory problems,” he continues, “and I had books that I wrote everything down in, but apparently I was not given those back when I was revived.”

Tommy leans forward in his chair a bit. “What do you mean?”

“Hm?”

Crap. Is that something he should have told them? Does this world have weird feelings about revivals? His world definitely does, even though that doesn’t stop it from happening. Is there a revive book here? Is there a–do they have him here? Okay, there’s still a chance to fix it and try to play it off.

“Oh, I guess Phil didn’t tell you. Which why would he, there was no point in telling you and there was no reason for me to even bring it up because you didn’t need to know, and here I am making things even more weird–”

“Woah, woah. Hey,” Tommy says, interrupting his rambling and causing his face to heat up. “Didn’t mean to touch a nerve there or anything.”

Which of course he ended up rambling, he’s too nervous, and he always starts rambling when he’s nervous or lying, which is exactly what he was just trying to do. Now it’s obvious something is up with him, and they were already having to deal with him being from a different universe and what that entails.

“Are you a ghost?” Tubbo asks, and Tommy kicks him, making him yelp in protest.

“Tubbo!”

“What? I think it’s a fair question.”

They continue bickering with each other, but it actually ends up calming some of Ranboo’s nerves. It’s starting to feel more like he’s talking to his Tubbo and Tommy. They act the same with each other, in that stupid, brotherly way that he can remember, and he’s used to this. It’s starting to feel less strange. And of course Tubbo would jump to the conclusion of him being a ghost.

“I’m not a ghost,” he says, laughing a little and getting their attention.

“But you are. . .were? Dead?” Tubbo asks, so clearly leading but also making sure to let him fill in the blanks. Ranboo sighs, feeling more tired than anything.

“I was, yeah.”

Tommy whistles. “Damn. Yeah, I can only imagine what that would do to your head. Are you. . .good?

Ranboo shrugs. “I guess? As good as I can be. Everything is still a little weird.” He gestures up at his head. Now they’re looking at him sympathetically, and he quickly tries to go back to what they were talking about at the beginning. “But anyway! My original point: my memory has always been bad, so it’s not really something to worry about. There is a high chance that there will be days that I can’t remember anything at all, and I’ll need help getting some memories back. I have no idea how I’ll be when that happens, so I’m apologizing in advance.”

Tommy jumps to his feet and cracks his knuckles, like he’s getting ready for a fight that Ranboo isn’t too sure he’d win. “Sounds simple enough. Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” he says, full of confidence that only Tommy could have.

“Phil will get you home, and we’re going to be the best babysitters ever until then,” Tubbo adds on, grinning, and Ranboo makes a face. 

“Not too sure about calling it that but, okay. I trust you.”

Chapter Text

They have to wait until the next day for Tubbo to get there. Something about him living far away and needing to actually make preparations to travel, so that extra time means that Ranboo has to sleep in that godforsaken house again because neither Techno nor Phil have the spare room in their houses. Which he wants to call bullshit on, but whatever. 

This time, they wait in Techno’s house, which is surprisingly cozy given literally everything about the man. The fireplace is constantly lit, and there are pillows and blankets everywhere should you need them. He also has quite a lot of dangerous looking weapons displayed on the walls that Ranboo is extra careful to avoid. 

It’s around noon when there’s a knock on the door, and Phil gets up to answer it. Techno has spent much of the morning downstairs in his storage, digging around to see what materials he has so that they can start as soon as possible. While Ranboo dreads the door opening, he’s also curious as to how this Tubbo will look. This world’s Phil is already so different from the one he knows, so he can only assume there will be changes here as well. One can only hope he has a better attitude, at least.

The door opens, and he’s surprised to see two figures standing there, one much smaller than the other. They’re both bundled up against the snow, and the taller one guides the smaller in, kicking the snow off their shoes before stepping inside. Phil goes to the smaller one and starts helping unravel the scarves and hoods while the taller one does it themself, and once things are taken off Ranboo can see that it’s Tubbo.

He’s a goat, which is not what he was expecting. Or, well, has goat features. The horns, the ears, the legs, now that he can see them. And there’s a big, nasty looking scar that covers half of his face that looks old. He shakes some snow out of his hair, and then finally looks up at Ranboo and freezes. They both just stare at each other for a moment, Ranboo feeling awkward and confused at the reaction, and Tubbo looking like he’s seen a ghost. He’s silent for a good five seconds before grabbing the hand of what Ranboo can now see is a piglin child, turning to the door as if to leave.

“Nope,” he rushes out. “Fuck this. Can’t do it.”

The kid gets tugged along, tripping, and Phil goes stumbling after both of them. He grabs onto Tubbo’s sleeve, pulling him back. “No, Tubbo, wait–”

Ranboo almost laughs. Of course this Tubbo would be running away at seeing him. Clearly he’s scared of messing up.

“I thought you said he knew how to do this,” he says smugly. “I’m guessing he doesn’t, and I’m guessing I’m right once again.”

That makes Tubbo stop fighting against Phil’s hold.

“I hate this guy.”

Phil sighs. “Tubbo–”

“Phil, listen.” Tubbo comes a bit further into the room, still holding the kid’s hand who is now looking at Ranboo curiously. “I’m serious, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this.”

He’s clearly trying to whisper, but his volume is just loud enough for Ranboo to still hear. That, and the fact that Tubbo kept glancing back and forth between him and Phil the whole time lets him know exactly what he means. 

Phil pauses at that, and takes a deep breath. Gently, he separates Tubbo’s hand from the kid’s. He leans down and whispers something to him, doing it quiet enough that Ranboo can’t hear this one, but he sees the kid nod. Phil then stands back up and goes to Tubbo.

“Here, come here,” he says, and guides Tubbo into a side room, closing the door behind them and leaving Ranboo alone with the kid.

It’s kind of funny, because they just stand there studying each other. The kid, while clearly being a piglin, also has some discolored spots on him, and there are some spots where he can see bone. Actually, one of the kid’s eyes is just bone, an empty white socket staring at nothing. The other eye is completely fine, evident from how the kid is inching closer and looking at him intensely. Ranboo just stands there awkwardly, waiting for him to do something.

“Are you like daddy?” he finally asks, and Ranboo sputters.

“Excuse me? Who are you talking about?” Hesitantly, he points towards the door that Phil and Tubbo went into. Is this Tubbo a father? “Your dad?”

The kid shakes his head like it’s obvious. “No, that's Papa. You kinda look like daddy.”

“How so-?” Ranboo says after a moment. He really doesn’t want to be talking to this kid, and has no idea what to even try to talk about. But it’s clear this kid wants to talk about his dad, because he starts rambling on in half finished thoughts and stumbling sentences with intense focus.

“He was–he looked like you, but not fully, he was, uh, part of him was white! Like down the middle, like, like, a moon! Half of a moon. But you're not a moon at all. How come?”

Ranboo sighs. “I don't know. I don't know him. Why isn't he here?” Maybe if he plays along, the kid will get done faster and will leave him alone.

“He's gone.” he says matter-of-factly, like it’s a perfectly normal thing. Strangely enough, this catches Ranboo’s attention. He might be able to do something with this.

“Gone where?”

The kid shrugs. “Dunno. Papa said one day he left, and one day he'll be back. He didn't say when, though. I hope it's soon. I miss him.”

And now he looks sad. Ranboo is not prepared to deal with this.

“How long has he been gone, exactly?”

“Papa said he left when I was three, and now I'm. . .” he trails off as he looks down at his hooves, counting out slowly until five of them are up and presenting them proudly, “this many!”

Aw, poor kid doesn’t realize the situation he’s in. Ranboo tuts at him. 

“He's been gone two years, kid. That's a long time to be away. Sounds to me like he's not coming back.”

The kid actually looks hesitant, like this is the first time anyone has brought this up to him. Ranboo almost feels bad that he’s the one who has to say this to him. Almost.  

“No, he is,” the kid argues, but it sounds weak, like he doesn’t entirely believe the words he’s saying. Honestly, it’s better for the kid to realize this now. It’s always hard learning you have a shitty parent, but once you do it’s easier to move on and accept it. Some people just start on that discovery early, and if Ranboo has to be the one to help him figure it out, so be it. 

Ranboo doesn’t notice that the kid now looks like he’s on the verge of tears.

“Wouldn't he be back by now if he was going to come back? If he loves and misses you, I think he'd be back by now. But he's not. Wonder why that is.”

“Papa says that daddy loves me and always will, and he's coming back!” the kid says loudly, like he’s trying to yell but doesn’t, like he’s trying to stay nice and polite despite what he’s being told. Ranboo tuts and squats down to be more eye level with him.

“Sometimes people don't tell the truth. Sometimes people lie.” 

Granted, he probably could have said it nicer and not so condescendingly. But this is a child, and children don’t know anything, which makes them upset. This is obvious, because as soon as the words leave his mouth the kid bursts into tears. Loud, sobbing tears as he covers his face and tries to hide it. And this is just great. First Ranboo had to deal with a child asking too many questions, and now he has to deal with one that’s crying. As long as the kid doesn’t get any tears on him, this should go fine. 

Before he’s able to do or say anything else, Tubbo comes rushing into the room, looking furious. The kid turns towards him as soon as he realizes he’s in the room, and Tubbo’s anger immediately goes away as he scoops the kid into his arms, whispering to him and hugging him close. The kid holds on and just cries and cries into his shoulder, and Tubbo shoots Ranboo a glare that he’s pretty sure would kill him on the spot if it was something physical.

“What the fuck did you do?!” Tubbo demands, like this is Ranboo’s fault, and he scoffs.

“Clearly, he hasn’t been told–”

Tubbo cuts him off. “I don’t care what you think he hasn’t been told, you bitch–” 

“You will refer to me as ‘your highness’--” Ranboo starts, furious at being interrupted only to be interrupted again.

“No the fuck I won’t.” Tubbo starts walking towards him now, still madder than Ranboo thinks he’s ever seen his world’s Tubbo get. “You’re not the prince of shit. Not here, not to them, and definitely not to me.” Ranboo opens his mouth to say something but Tubbo steamrolls right through. “You want to get home? You’ll shut the fuck up, be polite to my kid, and I won’t let you explode into a million pieces on purpose.”

He says those last words with damning finality, and the only sound for a moment is the kid sniffling. Phil is poking his head into the room, and out of the corner of his eye Ranboo can see Techno’s head popping up from under a trap door, eyes wide as he takes in what he just missed. 

Tubbo takes a second to take a few deep breaths, still staring daggers. For once, Ranboo finds that he has nothing to say, and Tubbo notices.

“Good?” he questions, and then nods to himself before he gets an answer. “Great.” 

He turns and marches back into that room, and Ranboo is left to stand in silence. The sound of the trap door closing is heard as Techno goes back to digging through chests, and it’s not long before Tubbo reappears, pulling Phil down and towards him.

“Phil, I can’t do this and babysit at the same time,” he says in a hushed voice, only to raise it when he sees Ranboo still watching and listening. “And yes, I’m talking about you.” He sighs and runs a hand over his face and goes back to muttering towards Phil. “Is there someone we can ask to come over? Anyone at all you trust?”

Phil seems to hesitate for a moment.

“We can ask Niki, but I don’t know if she’ll say yes.”

Tubbo considers it for a moment, and then nods.

“I’ll risk it.”

*** 

It appears much of today will be sitting around and waiting for people to join them, because it’s another hour or two of Tubbo refusing to leave the kid, who he learns is named Michael, in the same room as him alone. He sits in a seat across the room from Ranboo, still glaring at him while Michael is curled up in his lap. Ranboo makes a point not to look at either of them.

So there's a Niki in this world, too. Evidently not as a mermaid if she's able to make it all the way out here with no water. Well, snow is technically water, so would that even work? Can you swim through snow? It's a safer assumption for her to not be a mermaid here. 

His assumption is proven correct when she gets there, but he's a little surprised to see that she's human. There aren't many humans back in Origins, to the point where he can't remember if he's actually ever met one. She still looks like Niki, with her pink hair and expression that says she's not as delicate as she may look. In fact, when she sees him, all she does is raise an eyebrow. 

It's only now hit him that she's actually been called to ‘babysit’ him.

“You actually called someone to come watch me.” He says with disbelief. “Amazing. I don’t need a coloring book or stories. I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.” 

The last bit is said towards Niki, but Tubbo responds before she can.

“Clearly you aren’t, since you aren’t capable of not insulting children.”

That does get Niki's attention, and she moves over to where he's sitting, looking at Michael. 

“Did he do something to Michael?” Tubbo wordlessly gestures to the kid's still shaking from, and she nods with a sigh. “Right.”

Hearing her voice, Michael perks up a bit. Tears marks are still on his face, but they've since dried. He reaches up towards Niki, who picks him up and sets him on her hip. Something about that causes Tubbo to look hesitant.

“I can ask if Tommy can watch Michael if it will be too much–” he starts, but Niki cuts him off with a hand.

“I’ll be fine. Michael is an angel, so I’ll just have to keep this one in line.” She nods her head in Ranboo's direction, not being subtle about it at all.

Ranboo scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I’m not a child.”

“Stop acting like one and maybe I’ll believe you,” Tubbo shoots back. 

Niko hums at that, sounding amused, and Ranboo pointedly looks away, leaning back in his seat. He's been shown absolutely no respect at all since showing up, and it's really starting to annoy him. So what, they don't know who he is. He still has a title! He still has superiority here! 

Niki adjusts her hold on Michael and then makes a clicking sound, like she's calling a horse (which is absolutely insulting). “Alright, up and at ‘em.”

She doesn't look at him as she makes her way to the front door, Michael peering over her shoulder at him.

“What? What are you doing?” Ranboo asks. Tubbo gets up and goes back into that side room, closing the door behind him and leaving the three of them alone. Niki has reached the door and is helping Michael get his coat and things on as she answers.

“We are going to a separate building to keep any distractions away from the work.” She fixes Michael's hat, and then stands up to take his hand. “What do you think about us finding Grandpa’s chalk and drawing some pictures?”

Michael nods at that, a small smile on his face at the idea of coloring, and then they start walking out. Ranboo doesn't want to follow them. Who is he to take orders from them? No, he's going to stay right here and not move. He's in a perfectly comfortable place and is warm. 

But if he doesn't follow, he'll be left alone, and that really doesn't sound like a good time, so he jumps up to scramble after them anyway.

Chapter Text

True to his word, the next few days are filled with trying to give him his memories back. 

The first time, Ranboo wakes up in a bed. Which is strange, because that shouldn’t be possible. The bit of grass he’s been stuck on for who knows how long at this point is barely big enough to sit on, much less fit a bed. He reaches out blindly, feeling with his hand, and sure enough there’s sheets, a blanket, a pillow under his head. And he can’t hear water anymore. 

Where the hell is he?

Exploring the house he finds himself in reveals it to be empty, which leaves him more confused. Maybe he can find someone who can tell him where he is. When he steps outside, he’s startled by two people: a bee hybrid and someone with wings. They don’t appear to be dangerous. Is this their house? Have they been waiting out here this whole time so that they could catch him when he tries to escape?

When they see him, they definitely don’t look surprised, but they don’t look mad, either. They just sort of wave hello.

“Hey Ranboo,” the one with wings says. “How’d you sleep?”

He hunches in on himself. How do they know his name? Does he know them? He doesn’t think so, but they clearly know who he is.

Maybe this is a dream. A weird dream where he’s alive again but he has no idea what’s going on. Even if it is just a confusing dream, it’s more welcome than it isn’t. He can’t remember the last time he dreamed something that wasn’t burning water. 

“How do you know my name?” he demands. “Where am I?”

The two look shocked, and share a look.

“Shit, I guess we’re diving headfirst into this immediately,” the bee one stage whispers, and the winged one shrugs. It doesn’t do much to dampen the anxiety growing in his chest.

“So you don’t remember us?” the winged one asks, and Ranboo shakes his head hesitantly. 

The bee one sighs. “Oh boy. Okay, you’re gonna have to bear with us. You didn’t exactly tell us how we’re supposed to do this.”

“Do what?” 

“Jog your memories.”

Ranboo isn’t too surprised that he’s forgotten something, but he thinks he would remember coming to this place. And being alive. How is he supposed to be able to trust what they’re saying, anyway?

It ends up taking a couple of hours to get him close to how he was the day before. He’s very reluctant to answer any questions, and doesn’t like how much they seem to know about him that he can’t remember ever telling them. 

Eventually, they’re able to tell him things about himself that they would only know if he had told them, so he has to admit to himself that he must have been the one to share that information. Just acknowledging that seems to flip a switch in his brain, and he’s able to remember most of what happened the previous day. Some things are still fuzzy, but the most important stuff is all there. 

The day after that, he wakes up with no memories again, only this time, Tubbo and Tommy don’t realize it at first. They still expect him to be super confused and wary around them, but when he walks out of the cave, he acts like he knows who they are. He seems even more nervous than usual, but for a while they don’t think anything of it. Until Ranboo asks them to remind him where he is, and then it’s revealed that he barely remembers anything and has just gone with whatever they’ve said because they’ve acted like they know him, so he just assumed they were right and tried to follow along to the best of his ability.

Luckily, he is much more trusting this time, and it doesn’t take long to fill in any gaps that he has.

***

It’s a nice enough day that they’re taking a walk. Tommy had called it a tour and Tubbo referred to it as ‘seeing the sights’, but most of it has consisted of walking through forests and fields. Ranboo has definitely learned more about this place, but he doesn’t know how much of it he will actually remember. He still hasn’t gotten any materials to make a new memory book, and after the last few days, having one sounds like a decent idea.

Like usual, Tommy and Tubbo are walking slightly ahead of him, lightheartedly arguing about, honestly he doesn’t know what it is at this point. Sometimes he thinks they just like having the chance to debate something. But he doesn’t mind it. It’s fun listening to them, and it means he doesn’t have to focus on a conversation and can look around instead. 

He’s been surprised at how many flower fields there are. The one they’re walking through now is covered in an assortment of colors, and thankfully the flowers are all ones that he recognizes. It’s one thing for the people here to be different, it would be a whole other thing for the plants to be different. 

One of the fields that they’re walking in the direction of is almost patterned in stripes, pink, yellow, and reds alternating over and over. When he squints, he can’t quite make out what they are, but they’re getting closer so he’ll find out soon enough.

It’s like a punch to the gut when he finally sees what they are.  Rows and rows of tulips that seem to stretch on forever, swaying ever so gently in the breeze. 

He feels his knees hit the ground more than he consciously does it, and it’s loud enough to make Tubbo and Tommy pause their argument and look back at him, concerned. Not that he notices, as gently, carefully, he reaches out and picks one of the flowers. He holds it in trembling hands, and his vision goes blurry for a few seconds before his face is burning, tears building up and falling almost immediately. His chest feels tight, and all he can do is hold the tulip closer, pressing his nose to it as he takes shaky breaths. 

Hands grab his shoulders and shake, and oh, they’ve been saying things to him, trying to get his attention. It finally registers that they’re concerned, asking what happened and if he’s okay. He blinks at them before remembering that he needs to breathe, to take deep breaths. 

His face still burns from where his tears carved paths down his face, but he thinks he’s managed to calm down enough to speak. All three of them are sitting on the ground now, and Ranboo takes a few more breaths.

“I didn’t know there were pink tulips here,” he finally croaks out. “I haven’t seen one in so long.”

He knows they’re confused why he’s having such a reaction to a flower. He would be, too, if he were them, and they’re just watching him, clearly not knowing what to do or say to comfort him. He sighs, and runs his fingers across the petals.

“These have always been the one thing I remember, no matter what. If I can’t remember his name, or remember who he is at all, I always know that these are his favorites.”

Somehow, it’s clear who he’s talking about. He’s brought up his Tubbo more times than necessary, and it’s something he’s always done. So many things remind Ranboo of him, and then his mouth will move faster than his brain can process what he’s saying. He knows it has to be weird for this Tubbo, because every time he talks positively about anything between him and his Tubbo, he looks. . .Ranboo doesn’t know if uncomfortable is the right word, but he always seems to not be able to believe that they interact in that way. 

Right now, Tubbo looks contemplative, like watching this scene unfold made him realize something.

“Can I ask you something?” He questions while Ranboo is trying to carefully pat dry his tears with his sleeve.

“Hm?”

“What’s. . .what’s your relationship with your Tubbo?” he asks slowly. “I’ve just been getting the feeling it’s pretty different from the one between me and this world’s Ranboo.”

“He’s my husband,” Ranboo replies wetly. Tubbo nods like his suspicions have been confirmed, while Tommy’s eyes go wide. It makes Ranboo laugh a little, but it doesn’t stay for long when he continues. “And I haven’t seen him or Michael in so long.”

“Michael?” Tubbo questions.

His boy. The sweet, smart, wonderful little boy that he’s been away from for too long. So many days that he’s missed, accomplishments he wasn’t there for, time he just wasn’t there, period. And Michael was so young when Ranboo died. Does he even remember him? Or know who he is?

“Our son,” he finally says, and the tears start falling again. He doesn’t bother trying to wipe these away. “I don’t even know how old he is now. Time works differently when you’re dead, so I don’t know if it’s been months or years.” 

He winces as his face stings again, and reaches up to try and dry it again. He’ll have to find a healing potion later. They all sit in silence now. Ranboo doesn’t really know what else to say. He doesn’t even know what else he could say without crying again. Of course he didn’t last long having a smooth face. He’s always been an easy crier. 

He’s still holding the tulip he picked, and when he starts idly twisting it around Tommy looks like he wants to say something. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before the words finally come out.

“How did you die?” he asks, and then immediately starts to backtrack like he hadn’t actually meant to say it outloud. “If it’s alright for me to ask–”

“I was stabbed in the back,” Ranboo answers, cutting him off because it will be better to just tell them than let the awkwardness of trying to be polite drag out for longer than necessary. “Literally.” 

Tommy looks startled. “What? Why?”

Ranboo shrugs. “I can’t remember. I think I was taken somewhere that I wasn’t supposed to be, and I couldn’t leave.” He pauses, trying to think. Most of the details from that night are fuzzy, with some of them only being a few colors. There’s a lot of green. “Techno came and saved me,” he continues, slowly, trying to make sure he’s remembering the right things through the haze, “but whoever took me the first time wasn’t happy about it? So he stabbed me. The next thing I can remember is being stuck on a patch of dirt floating above water with no way to leave.”

That all sounds right, but there has to be more to it than that. Like where he was taken, why he was taken, why he had to be killed over it. . .

“Well, at least you’re alive now.” Tubbo says, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah. I’m still getting used to it.”

“Does it feel weird?”

Thinking about it too hard makes him feel itchy. But not enough to try and scratch at, just enough for there to be a strange sensation. He looks down at the flower, and it goes in and out of focus for a few seconds. “It’s like my senses aren’t working correctly. Sometimes I can barely feel anything, and other times everything is too much.” He looks at his other hand, slowly twisting it around. “Nothing really moves smoothly anymore, and my head. . .I don’t know, it’s not like I’m having even more trouble remembering, but my head still feels fuzzy. Floaty, maybe? Like I’m not fully tied here.”

“That could also be because you’re technically not tied here since this isn’t your world.” 

“Hm. Maybe.”

“I’m sure it’ll go away soon,” Tommy says confidently. “And if it doesn’t, we should have you home somewhat quickly.”

Ranboo sighs. “Here’s hoping.”

Tubbo nods in agreement and then stands up, doing a couple of dramatic stretches as if sitting down for a while tired him out. “Alright, I think we should see if there’s something we can do about those burns now.” 

They help Ranboo get to his feet, and he follows them back to Tubbo’s house, still holding the tulip close to his heart. He just needs to focus on home. He’ll be there soon.

Chapter Text

The next few days are spent in Phil’s house, just him, Niki, and Michael. Several crows also join them, and they squawk and peck at him whenever he tries to touch something, which is just rude. 

Niki isn’t too terrible to spend time with, other than the fact that she doesn’t let him get away with anything at all, which is very annoying. Any time he says something even the tiniest bit insulting about someone she shuts it down immediately. She also spends more time with Michael, who doesn’t seem too keen on being anywhere near him. Ranboo catches him staring every once in a while, though, and whenever he meets the look Michael goes back to whatever he was doing, acting like he hadn’t been looking. 

It makes for a few very boring days, but also gives him time to think. Mostly about the others. It’s strange that Techno is here but there isn’t one in his world. There’s no Michael, either, but there aren’t any kids in Origins that he’s aware of. Well, he’s pretty sure Tommy is Phil’s son, but no one has ever confirmed anything. There are no small children, then. And there’s no Sneeg, which isn’t that a relief. He can almost argue that the little bug is more annoying than Tubbo, but Sneeg is better at avoiding him so they don’t interact as much. Even when Ranboo goes looking for him, he manages to hide away.

This world’s Phil is also very skittish. He knows that he’s technically a stranger, but he didn’t think his sudden appearance would warrant a sword being held to his throat. It makes him wonder if there’s some kind of danger nearby that no one has mentioned yet. 

And then of course there’s this world’s Tubbo. So far, it seems the personality isn’t that different, and that mutual hatred is still there. Although, Ranboo hasn’t been able to figure out why. He of course was being rude just to be rude, but he can’t remember even having the time to do something of a scale that would cause Tubbo to hate him this much so soon. Even the few times they’ve run into each other since he got here, it’s been silence and pointed glares. It’s been eating at him, which is weird. Things like this usually don’t bother him as much.

Strangely, it’s a welcome distraction from what usually bothers him. He can ignore how his hair brushes the back of his neck, how his pants have decided to feel restricting today, how he just doesn’t feel right.

He shakes his head, forcefully pushing those thoughts away. Of course when he thinks to himself that he’s been able to ignore it, it pops back up immediately. Distraction, distraction, what can he. . .

There’s a soft gasp from Niki that catches his attention. She’s ooh-ing and ahh-ing a drawing that Michael is holding up while smiling proudly. He has some questions. Maybe she can answer them.

“Why does Tubbo hate me?” He asks, and Niki doesn’t bother to pause what she's doing to look over at him. She actually grabs a new piece of paper and starts sketching out something.

“Hm?” she hums, distracted.

Ranboo huffs. She needs to listen. “I mean, literally the moment he saw me he wanted to leave, and I don't understand why.”

“Other than the insults?”

“No no, that's not applicable for this. He made it clear he hated me before I ever said a word to him. And that's what I can't figure out.” 

Her hand stutters in mid air, and he can see as she glances at Michael. He seems oblivious to the sudden tension in the room, and continues scribbling on a page with a piece of chalk. Niki has some kind of internal debate, eyes flicking around to random places, and then she lowers her own piece of chalk onto the table. She props her elbows on the table, clasps her fingers together, and then rests her chin on them. 

“I'm only telling you this because I think it's relevant information for you to know.” She says seriously, still not looking at him, and now Ranboo feels a little worried what he’s about to hear.

“Okay-?”

It takes her a few seconds to actually respond, and she has a sad look on her face when she does. “You remind him of his husband.”

Husband? Tubbo had looked at him weird when he first walked in, but surely that can’t be why. But, Michael did say he looked like his dad, enough to point it out. He also hasn’t seen his other self here once, and everyone keeps giving him strange looks every once in a while. Which he can only assume means that, his other self, this world’s Ranboo–

He chokes on air, having to take a second to cough in disbelief.

“You mean–”

Niki nods. “Yes.”

It's such a ridiculous thought he almost doesn't want to believe her. A version of him? With a version of Tubbo? He can't see how that's possible, why that would even happen. How that would even happen.

Well, then that just isn’t fair. He’s being treated badly when he didn’t even do anything in the first place! This is ridiculous! 

He laughs once in shock. “Good grief. He's mad at me because I make him think of his husband? Something I'm not even purposely doing?” 

“Well, people grieve in different ways.” Niki has started coloring again, and she’s gripping her piece of chalk tightly, her movements stiff. Ranboo just scoffs.

“Oh I'm sure. Considering he left, what, two years ago? Yeah, left two years ago which to me clearly says he didn't want to be here, and Tubbo is boohoo-ing that he hasn't come back? It's been two years! That's plenty of time to have gotten over it, maybe find someone new. I mean, this is just pathetic at this point, holding on to something this long when it's so obvious it's not coming back.” 

A thud as Niki gets to her feet, the table jostling with the movement and some of the paper floating down to the floor. Now she’s looking at him, and she looks angry. “You don't know anything about them. Either of them.”

He shrugs. “I know enough.” 

There’s only a split second of time before Niki is picking Michael up. She takes the paper he was drawing on and a handful of chalk and then leaves without a word. It takes a moment for Ranboo to realize that she doesn’t just leave the room, she leaves the house, and he’s alone before he can really process what just happened. 

Really, this is a new record. He’s never made someone storm out that quickly before. 

Before he can really celebrate this new achievement, Niki is back, only she’s empty handed. She doesn’t bother to explain as she walks over and sits down right across from him. He isn’t expecting for her to immediately, without hesitation, stare him directly in the eyes.

“So what's your deal, then?”

The question makes him squirm, and the eye contact legitimately hurts, so he turns away, crossing his arms.

“I don't know what you mean.”

“Cut the bullshit, you absolutely know what I'm talking about. You've managed to insult everyone here for no reason, and I want to know why.”

This is starting to get annoying. No, infuriating. Who does she think she is, bossing him around and telling him what to do? He’s a goddamn adult, he'll do whatever he pleases. She hasn’t earned any information from him.

“Why should I tell you? Why do you want to know? I don't have to tell you anything.”

She sighs, and from the corner of his eye he can see her pinch the bridge of her nose. “Listen, I don't care how often you get your way, because it stopped as soon as you woke up in Ran's house. I'm tired of this superiority complex you have, and I demand to know why you think you're so much better than everyone here to the point of having the right to say whatever you want about whoever you want.” She points at him, emphasizing her words, and it only makes him squirm more. What right does she have? She has no idea what it’s like to be him, and she doesn’t deserve to know. There is absolutely no way he’s about to have a therapy session with a person he barely knows, who he doesn’t like, and who has absolutely no right to demand this of him and expect him to comply. He would rather die than talk about this himself (Nevermind the fact that he doesn’t even have an answer for her). “It's despicable, and you're despicable, and I hope they get you back so that we never have to see you again.”

“You want to know why?” he explodes. He can’t take this anymore, actually. It’s clear she’s not letting him get out of this, and if it will make her shut up, if it will make everything shut up, he’ll say it. “Because something is wrong with me. I constantly feel wrong and uncomfortable and I don't like it. I don't know how to stop it, and it's not fair that I have to feel like this all the goddamn time and no one else does. It's not fair, and the only way to make it fair is if everyone feels as upset and uncomfortable as I do. All. The fucking. Time.”

He finishes his outburst and feels out of breath. That was way too much vulnerability for his liking, but at least now, it’s quiet. He shifts in his seat, crossing a leg over the other, switching them, moving around more after that. He can’t get comfortable for some reason. He takes a few deep breaths, but it still feels like his heart is about to beat out of his chest.

Actually, it’s too quiet now. He glances back over from where he’s turned away, and Niki is just looking at him. She looks worried, actually. Concerned.

“Why?” she finally asks, voice much softer than it’s ever been towards him. He scoffs, but it’s weak.

“Why what?”

“Why do you feel so bad all the time?”

“I don't know,” he says noncommittally. He knew she was going to turn into a therapist.

“Ranboo.”

“I don't know! Believe me, everything would be so much simpler if I knew what was causing it. But I don't.”

Niki clicks her tongue, and then stands. Curiously, in spite of himself, he watches as she walks towards the front door. His ears twitch at the faint sound of a lock turning, and then she makes her way back over and sits down again. 

“Well, you better figure it out, because we're not leaving until you do.”

It takes a second for him to register what she means, and then he gapes at her. “What, you're gonna trap me here until I talk?”

She nods. “I am.”

This is an outrage. This is imprisonment! Absolutely outlandish. “You can't do that!”

“I absolutely can. I hold much more power here than you do. So get to thinking.” She waves a hand at him, gesturing for him to begin, and he sighs. He doesn’t want to think about it. He never has. 

That’s a lie. There have been a few times in his life he’s tried to think about it, but it’s always been too hard. He ends up going in circles, and when your thoughts are stuck in your head, there aren’t many other shapes for them to go in. And it’s not like he could say it to someone and explain. He can barely explain it to himself without getting a headache. It’s just too much. For him to do and for her to ask.

No matter. He’s stubborn. The most stubborn person he knows, in fact. If Niki is willing to wait for him to explain, then she’s going to be waiting for a long, long time.

Chapter Text

“I have a question,” Tommy says from where he’s going in circles above Ranboo and Tubbo’s heads. Tubbo is sitting in the grass, and Ranboo is laying down next to him, picking at blades of grass and entertaining the particles drifting around. Tubbo tilts his head up to look at Tommy.

“About-?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking–”

“A shocking development.”

“Fuck you. Anyway, I’ve just been thinking about the differences between this world and Ranboo’s. Like, specifically the people. Because both Ranboo’s are endermen, but here you’re a bee, and there you’re, I think a goat?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if there’s any reasons for that,” Ranboo says. “Cause sometimes it’s weird? Because we've always called my Phil a bird, but the Phil here is way more birdlike. My Phil is actually more like you, only with black wings.”

“Interesting, interesting.” Tommy flips himself over to where he’s facing the sky and crosses his arms behind his head as he continues his circles. “And your world has a Tommy?”

“Mhm.”

“What’s he?”

Ranboo takes a second to think about it. He can’t remember ever seeing any specific traits about him. He still doesn’t even know if he’s actually Phil’s son, considering he doesn’t have any wings.

“I think he’s a human,” he finally says, and Tommy squawks.

“What?!” He lands, probably a bit more forcefully than he normally would, and Tubbo snickers at him. “Tubbo’s other self is a goat and I’m a human?? That’s so boring!”

“I didn’t make him human!” Ranboo says, holding his hands up defensively. Tommy huffs and flops down onto his stomach. Tubbo throws a handful of grass on him, and then turns his attention to Ranboo.

“Who all do you have in your world?” he asks. “I know there’s some people you have that we don’t have, and the same reversed.”

“Oh! Um, let’s see. . .” Ranboo starts counting off on his fingers. “The two of you, obviously. Phil, Techno–who I know you don’t have here–Niki. . .”

“We have a Niki,” Tommy pipes up, face still in the grass. Ranboo perks up a bit.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t know if you’ll be able to talk to her, though, cause she’s a mermaid.”

Ranboo deflates at that, but knowing that there’s someone else here who’s even a little familiar is nice. “That’s so cool. My Niki is human. So your other self isn’t the only one.”

“Yeah yeah, yippee hooray.” 

“And you don’t have a Sneeg, right?” Tubbo asks, and Ranboo shakes his head.

“We definitely don’t have anyone like him.”

He doesn’t think they have anyone as small as him. The smallest people he can think of are Michael, who’s a child, and Tubbo, who just happens to be short. If there are any little bug people, he’s never seen them before. 

“Do you have a Fragrance Man?” Tommy suddenly asks, lifting his face up. A few blades of grass had stuck to his face, and they slowly detach and fall back to the ground. Ranboo tilts his head, confused.

“Do we have–what? What is that?”

“His name is Schlatt,” Tubbo supplies. “He’s like a spider guy.”

Tommy shifts to prop his head on his hands. “Yeah, apparently he sells smells or something? He comes by every once in a while with different bottles and charges you to see what it smells like in them. Not even just to buy it, but to smell it! Honestly feels like a scam.”

Just hearing his name makes Ranboo feel uneasy. It makes him think of sleepless nights, and calming down from nightmares. Flinching at loud sounds, days of drinking a bit too much. A time before he moved there, where Tubbo was alone.

“We did have a Schlatt,” he says eventually, “but he was gone before I ever got to meet him. Probably for the best since, I’ve been told that he was not a good person. Tubbo doesn’t like to talk about him.”

Tommy and Tubbo share a look, and Ranboo can only imagine the things they’re thinking of. He doesn’t even know if their assumptions would be correct. Tubbo’s the one who finally says something. “Oh. Well, glad he’s gone if he always caused problems. If only we were so lucky.”

He says the last bit jokingly, like he’s trying to lighten the mood, and Tommy groans.

“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want you to be able to go home to your family. It just also means that the other Ranboo will be back, and that’s not exactly something to look forward to.”

Ranboo rolls onto his side to look at the two of them easier.

“What is so bad about him? You guys keep complaining about him, but I don’t think anyone’s ever told me why, other than he’s loud and rude.”

Tubbo sighs. “He is, but it’s the way he does it. It’s not like if you happen to run into him he’ll say something. Sometimes it feels like he tracks you down specifically to tell you something that he’s cooked up that’s purely to hurt you as much as possible.”

“It’s almost like he studies everyone to figure out what their insecurities are and then says the worst thing possible about it,” Tommy continues. “And it’s not like you can insult him back to make him realize you can’t be messed with. Anything you say, he’s got something for it to immediately fire back with.”

“He’s just super miserable to be around.” 

“That’s. . .not fun,” is what Ranboo finally settles on. It’s like he had assumed that other versions of himself would be similar, and that theory so far has been proven right, if everyone else he’s met here is anything to go by. But for another version of him to be such a bad person. . .it does make him wonder about who he was before his earliest memories, the him he can’t remember.

“Nope!” Tubbo says with fake cheeriness.

“That makes sense then why Sneeg was rude the first time we saw each other. He must have thought I was him.”

“It’s so strange how different the two of you are. Like, even just your personalities. It’s crazy.” 

Ranboo then has a thought that makes him smile, and the more he thinks about it the more he starts to laugh at how ridiculous it is. Tubbo looks confused.

“What?”

“I’m just imagining,” he gets out through giggles, “my Tubbo has been through so much stuff that he can act the exact same way as your Ranboo, but it’s done to protect others more than act as a rebuttal. So all I can picture is your Ranboo making the mistake of saying something to Michael and Tubbo just losing it on him.”

From how it sounds, he would deserve it, and if he’s in any way around the Syndicate, he’s probably having a fun time with Niki, too. And with both of them teaming up against him, Ranboo wouldn’t be surprised if he came back as an entirely different person. 

Apparently the thought of that Ranboo getting what’s coming to him is funny to Tommy, too, because he chuckles.

“I would hope he doesn’t enjoy being mean to children, but considering there aren’t any here, I have no idea.”

“Speaking of Michael, is he a hybrid?” Tubbo asks. “Is he the same as either of you?”

“No, he’s not. He’s, well. When we first found him he was a zombie piglin, but we’ve been able to cure him so that he’s not rotting anymore. He’s got a few spots where you can see some bone, but other than that he’s fine and growing.” 

“That’s so crazy. I feel like this is stuff that Phil would want to take notes on. He’s always gone on about how he thinks there are other worlds out there, and this has just proved him right so I bet he’s thrilled.”

Yet another similarity between the two Phils. His Phil will probably want all of the information he’s learned about this place, too. If he can remember it. He should definitely make a new memory book.

“Should we go find him? So I can tell him all this stuff?”

Tommy and Tubbo share a look before speaking at the same time.

“Nah.”

Chapter Text

It only takes him two hours to break. And by ‘break’, he means give in and actually try to start putting his feelings into words. Two hours is an impressive amount of time to sit in silence, though, not doing anything. She should be proud of him for that.

He still doesn’t know how to put it into words. He can still feel the different emotions, but they won’t translate into something he can actually say outloud. It’s frustrating that he’s having so much difficulty with this, especially since if he wants to leave Phil’s house at all he has to figure it out. He wouldn’t put it past Niki to keep him here for days if that was what it took. He really does not want it to get to that point. 

This shouldn’t be the thing he gives up on. It’s about himself, he should know himself, be able to accurately describe what he’s feeling. Even if he’s never really had any practice. 

If Niki can sense his inner turmoil, she doesn’t show it or do anything about it. She continues to sit in silence, waiting while Ranboo stares holes into the wall as he tries his hardest to think. He needs something to say, to at least get him started but absolutely nothing is coming to mind. He can’t figure out what is making him uncomfortable, much less talk about it, and that somehow increases how wrong everything feels. 

Finally, he realizes he has to give up, and accept that there’s a good chance he won’t be able to leave because he doesn’t have an answer for Niki. He sighs, the first sound that’s been made in a while.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I just. . .don’t know how to describe it.”

Niki shifts next to him. “Would it help if I asked questions? Try to guide you there?”

It’s not a bad idea. He shrugs.

“Maybe.”

“Okay,” she starts. “You said you feel uncomfortable?” She waits for him to nod before continuing. “Are you getting overstimulated by something? I can imagine it’s much warmer here than the End.”

He thinks about it for a second, but that doesn’t match what he’s feeling. “No, no I’ve always been fine in any weather. I do prefer it to be colder, though I’m not used to it anymore. I was actually freezing when I first got here because it’s been so long since I’ve been home.”

That definitely hadn’t been his best moment. The End is so much colder than it is here, and he used to not blink at freezing temperatures. He really has been away for a while.

“Hm, okay. Would it be your clothes?” Niki tries, and actually, that feels closer. Not quite there, but he thinks they’re heading in the right direction. It’s like they’re playing hot or cold, and they’re starting to get warmer. Barely, but it’s still something.

“I don’t think so. They’re very specifically made, so they feel fine. But, I don’t think they ever look right. Wait, no.” He pauses to think. That’s not quite right. His clothes have always been tailored to fit him perfectly, so sizing has never been an issue. That has never stopped them from feeling strange sometimes. “In general they look fine, it’s like they don’t look right on me.”

Wow. Now that he’s said it outloud, things are starting to make some more sense. He still isn’t quite sure what yet, but it’s better. Warmer. 

“Correct me if I’m wrong about this,” Niki responds after taking a second to think, “but it sounds like maybe your appearance is why you’re uncomfortable.” 

He makes an ‘eh’ gesture. “Sort of.”

It’s still not a definitive answer that he’s hoping for, but she still looks happier, like he’s given her something she can use. Which, really, he has.

“Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Do you feel like your appearance is wrong? You mentioned that earlier, feeling like you’re wrong.”

“Yeah, actually. Things just feel. . .off.” 

“Like?”

He knows she’s just trying to help lead him to an answer, but he can still feel himself getting frustrated. Not just at her, but at himself, too, for making everything so difficult. Whatever she’s been doing, though, has actually helped. Things still aren’t entirely clear, but it’s enough that he actually has words to describe it. He keeps remembering little things that he had either purposefully pushed away or unintentionally forgotten. 

“I don’t know. Every time I look in a mirror, I know what I’m seeing is me, but I also feel so disconnected from it. It just doesn’t feel like me, somehow.”

Really, this has been an issue for as long as he can remember. As a kid, he just thought it was from the sudden change of his clothing, going from the softer, breathable dress of a kid to something more fitting for his title. He has grown to like the aesthetic of the clothes, but something about the style itself made him feel weird. He was never able to describe it accurately to his parents, though, so he had just given up. Somehow, Niki can understand what he’s saying when he isn’t even saying it because she just continues to look at him thoughtfully.

“Close your eyes.”

It’s such a sudden change from what she’s been telling him to do that he just stares at her. 

“. . .Why-?”

“Just close them,” she insists. “Try to imagine yourself, but don’t picture what you see in a mirror. See if you can just let your mind fill in what it wants to naturally and we can go from there.” 

He hesitates, before sighing and doing as instructed. “Alright.”

As always, he doesn’t see anything immediately when he closes them, just darkness. He’s already feeling doubt about this, already wants to just give up and say it didn’t work, but this is something he needs to figure out. For himself. 

It does take a bit, but eventually he’s able to imagine himself walking up to a mirror, and he does look different. His hair is a bit longer, neater looking than the weird mullet it’s growing out to be at the moment from not being able to get a haircut for a while. He’s always liked the thought of long hair, so that isn’t too much of a surprise. 

He almost looks thinner. Not in a skinny way, but like his shoulders are less broad, like he looks, almost softer. He doesn’t really know how to describe it. His face still looks like him, but there are subtle changes there, too. His jawline isn’t as sharp, his brows are a bit thinner. 

He has horns, which is really what startles him. He’s never had them. It’s one of the main differences he can point out in the appearances of male and female endermen. Males don’t have horns, he doesn’t have horns, yet as he looks at himself in this imaginary mirror, his brain has given them to him. They’re tall and slender, curling up and around his head almost like a crown themselves. They look like his mother’s. With a start, he realizes that he looks like his mother. Not identical, but in the way that children look like their parents. In the way that he’s always been told he looks like his mother but he’s never been able to see it. 

And it feels right. Even just looking at himself, even knowing it’s technically his imagination, it feels like this is how he’s supposed to look. That strange itch always under his skin is gone, but it still takes a moment for all of those realizations to click together into a final conclusion, and when it does, she opens her eyes with a gasp.

Niki jumps slightly next to her, and then she leans a bit closer.

“What is it? What’d you see?”

It takes a second for Ranboo to actually form the words. Was it really that simple to figure it out? Why had it taken this long for her to realize this, to even think the words she’s about to say?

“A girl,” she breathes out. Niki, who Ranboo can now see was looking at her with concern at her sudden reaction, looks relieved. And a little proud. 

“Yeah?”

Ranboo nods. “Yeah, I think so. Yes.” And oh, not that that door has been opened, everything feels so much more obvious. No wonder she’s always felt uncomfortable with everything about herself. No wonder no matter what she did, she was never able to make that feeling go away. And it’s not that it’s now gone. She can still definitely feel it, but it’s somehow much easier to handle now that she’s put a name to it. “That felt easier than it should have been.”

Maybe it only feels that way because it happened quickly in this specific place. Because if she really thinks about it, it hasn’t been easy, if the years of not being able to figure out what’s wrong with her coupled with shoving those feelings away are anything to go by. 

Niki just shrugs. “I find that usually talking it out with someone who can offer that outside perspective helps a lot.” 

“I. . .thank you.”

And Niki actually looks surprised, like she wasn’t expecting that from her, which causes Ranboo to feel an unexpected wave of guilt. All this time she could have just tried to talk to someone and get some answers, and instead she decided to make everyone hurt like she was. She has actually always felt a little bad about her attitude, but she ignored it because she couldn’t even explain why she was acting that way in the first place. Definitely not a great coping mechanism, and she’s been an asshole to a lot of people on purpose. 

It sounds like the other Ranboo is very different from her. Even aside from the obvious physical differences (Michael had described him as a half moon anyway, and she can only imagine what he means by that). Everyone here seems to love him even though he’s not here. He was probably much kinder than she’s ever been. He’s lucky to have this many people still here waiting for him, that love him. She doesn’t have anyone like that waiting for her, but she knows it’s her own fault. Everyone back in Origins probably celebrated when they realized she was gone, anyway. But it’s no use worrying about the damage when it’s already been done. Maybe there’s a way she can fix it, even a little. 

Niki pats her on the shoulder reassuringly. “Happy to help.”

Ranboo offers a small smile, and then sighs. “I should apologize to everyone.”

“I agree.” She stands up, pulling Ranboo up with her. “I’ll go with you.”

That makes Ranboo feel a bit better, not having to go in there alone. She would understand having to do that, because it’s her problem and no one else's. But if Niki is willing to be there with her, she’ll take it. Hopefully everyone can forgive her, or at least be able to agree to be civil until they’re able to send her back. Maybe Niki can help her make some other changes to feel more comfortable, too.

Chapter Text

Ranboo wakes up in a bed that definitely isn’t his. Not that he’s slept in it in a while, but he still knows enough to recognize that this can’t be Snowchester. He doesn’t know why he would be in Snowchester, but clearly something has happened to where he isn’t in limbo anymore, and he wants to assume that that’s where he would be taken.

Going outside reveals grass, so he’s definitely not in Snowchester. It doesn’t look like New L’Manberg, either, although that’s the closest thing he’s able to think of to compare. At least it’s not raining, because he doesn’t have any of his armor with him, and who knows how long it will take to get back home. He doesn’t have anything with him, which does make sense seeing as he was dead, but it’s still inconvenient. Maybe he’ll spot someone soon and can ask for help. 

Right as he has that thought, he turns in just the right direction to see two people heading his way. He raises a hand to block against the sun and squints, trying to make out who it is. When they get close to enough for him to make it out, he lets out a shocked laugh and takes off towards them.

“Oh my god, Tubbo!”

Tubbo looks a bit startled at that, but Ranboo doesn’t notice.

“Hey!” he greets. “Is today a good day or–OOF.” He’s cut off by Ranboo wrapping his arms around him in a hug, briefly squeezing the air out of him when he holds on tighter than expected. Ranboo’s almost holding him, Tubbo’s feet barely touching the ground, and he taps at Ranboo’s side the best he can with how his arms ended up pinned. “Everything okay-?”

And that’s weird. Why isn’t Tubbo reacting like he thought he would? Did he forget what happened? He sits Tubbo down and grabs his shoulders.

“Tubbo, I’m here! I’m alive! Unless I’m not, then. . .wait, are you dead?”

Tubbo reaches up and grabs his arms. “What? No I’m not dead, I– Ranboo, where do you think we are?” He asks, bewildered. Ranboo looks around.

“I’m not sure. Definitely not Snowchester, because there’s no snow, but other than that I have no idea. We must be pretty far away though, because I don’t see any houses or things at all–”

“Ranboo, you’re not in your world, remember?” Tommy says, cutting him off, and that’s right, Tommy’s here too and–wait, what? Ranboo looks between the two, confused, before stopping on Tubbo.

“What do you, what do you mean?”

“This isn’t your world. I’m–I’m not your Tubbo.”

Ranboo shakes his head. “What are you talking about, of course you–”

Tubbo shakes him, and now he looks serious as well as concerned. “No, Ranboo, listen. I am Tubbo, but I’m not your Tubbo.”

“I–”

“Close your eyes.” Ranboo starts to protest, and Tubbo shakes him again. “I’m serious.” Ranboo hesitates. He doesn’t know why. But this is Tubbo, and he trusts him. He sighs and closes his eyes. “Okay, now picture Tubbo. . . You got it?”

“Mhm.”

“What do you see?”

“You.”

“No, you–goddamnit, Ranboo, what features do you see?” Tubbo demands. “And don’t say hair, or eye color, or anything like that.”

It’s a weirdly specific request, but Ranboo hums in acknowledgment as he goes over the different things he can see in his mind. “Um, horns. Floppy ears. Goat legs. The scar on the side of your face.” 

“Okay. Open your eyes and look at me.”

He does, and goes to speak, but Tubbo holds up a finger and looks at him sternly, so he just looks. And is confused. Tubbo doesn’t look like what he just described at all. He looks to the side and, Tommy has wings? That’s not right, is it?

He woke up in a cave, which is where he’s slept for a little more than a week now, and Tubbo is different and Tommy is different and Phil is different and there are people he doesn’t know and–

He’s in Origins. He’s not home. Phil and Sneeg are working on opening the portal to send him back.

He has to take a second and blink as all the memories come flooding back. When everything focuses, Tommy and Tubbo are looking at him, concerned. He pulls his hands back to his chest like he’s been burned, and he can feel his tail winding its way around his ankle. He feels embarrassed, and ashamed. 

“Oh. Oh. Shoot, I’m sorry, I didn’t–” He takes a step back, and both Tubbo and Tommy reach out to him with concern, and he flinches. And he hates that, his ears pressing back against his head. “I need a minute, sorry.”

And then he turns and runs.

***

He ends up back in the field of tulips. He didn't realize he remembers where it is, and he also can't remember how he got here. He thinks he's sitting somewhere in the middle, surrounded on all sides by the flowers. A breeze is blowing, making the flowers sway gently back and forth, and it's also picked up a few strands of his hair, making them brush against his face every so often. 

His face feels raw from all the tears. He doesn't know when they started, only that they lasted a while, and all he could do was sit and cry and cry and cry until his sobs were dry. His mouth feels dry now, too, his lips puffy and cracked from where a few tears ran over them. 

He's sitting with his knees pulled to his chest, his chin resting on top of them as he stares silently at the tulips in front of him, eyes tracing over the shape of the pink petals. He still feels that itch to take some, to make a bouquet to take home with him because he's always loved surprising Tubbo with gifts. 

Of all things to happen. Surely he's never done this before, because he's never had another Tubbo around to mistake for the original. And he's so embarrassed. 

He has no idea if they're looking for him. Maybe they are looking for him and just haven't found him yet. Maybe they aren't, and instead went back home, or to the Pub, or to wherever it is they like to go. He doesn't know which outcome he wants more. 

“Ranboo?”

He jumps, not having heard anyone approach. When he turns around, Tubbo and Tommy are standing–er, flying behind him. 

“Oh! Hi.” He says, cringing at how rough his voice sounds. The two of them look concerned. 

“You doing okay?” Tommy asks, gently landing. Tubbo continues hovering, and it's a little funny how that makes the two of them the same height. 

Ranboo opens his mouth to say something, then hesitates, and closes it. He turns back around. This feels like something that would normally be hard to say, and the fact that his throat feels like sandpaper doesn't help. It takes a while for him to work up the nerve to say anything, but Tommy and Tubbo just wait patiently, silently. 

Ranboo watches the tulips sway, and grips the sides of his pants.

“Maybe it was better when I was dead.” He all but croaks out. Tubbo sputters behind him.

“What?”

He takes a shaky breath. “When I was dead, yes, I didn’t have any of my family with me, but now that I’m alive. . .” The tears start building up again, with the perfect timing they always seem to have. The bad thing is that they never hurt any less, the pain always causing more and creating a neverending cycle. He tugs his sleeves over the heels of his palms and presses them into his eyes. 

“I can’t help but feel like I’m being tortured with someone who looks like my husband but isn’t him,” he continues, voice trembling and starting to raise in pitch. He hopes Tubbo doesn't think he's mad at him, because even though it hurts, he isn't. It's not his fault who he looks like, just like it's not Ranboo's fault that he was revived and placed here. But it doesn't make it any easier. “And I can’t do anything about it. I don’t even know if going back is possible.”

There's the sound of footsteps behind him, and a hand gently presses against his back. It slides onto his shoulder as they move in front of him, and he shakes with a small sob. “I miss them so much.”

“Hey, look at me.” Tubbo says gently. It isn’t easy to take his hands away from his face, but eventually he does. It takes even longer to actually open his eyes, partially from how they sting and stick together from the tears. When he does get them open, Tubbo is kneeling in front of him. He looks at his nose. “You will get home,” Tubbo says confidently. “Phil may be old, but he’s really smart. If anyone can figure out how to fix that portal, it’s him. I don’t know how long it will take, but you will see them again. I’m sure of it.”

The comment about Phil’s age is so sudden and so familiar it startles a laugh out of him. He knows Phil is very capable and very smart. And if two of them are working on this, everything will be fine. If his Phil is even aware of what’s going on. None of them actually know if this world’s Ranboo ended up near Snowchester or where the Syndicate lives. But Tubbo is right. If anyone can figure this out and get him home, it’s Phil.

He’s still feeling guilty about his earlier comment. He knows that Tubbo isn’t here to make him feel more homesick than he already does, but maybe Tubbo doesn’t get that. Maybe there’s a part of him that feels like he’s doing something specifically to make him feel bad, even though that’s not the case at all.

“I’m sorry,” he says, because he has to tell him. “It’s nothing against you, I swear–”

“I know,” Tubbo reassures, squeezing his shoulder gently. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s hard, I get it. But you’ll get through this. We just need to be patient for a bit longer.”

Ranboo nods, taking a shaky breath. “Yeah. You’re right. Thank you.”

Tubbo just watches him, and then for a moment it looks like he’s contemplating something. Eventually it appears he comes to a decision, because he carefully pulls away and then holds his arms out.

“Here. Pretend I’m him. Just for a second. Let me hug you and just close your eyes.”

Ranboo wants to say he hesitates, that he thinks about it, but the chance to have that comfort is too great to pass up, and he practically falls into Tubbo’s arms. His head lands on his shoulder, and he slightly turns his face into his neck, closing his eyes tightly. Tubbo accepts him easily, and he tilts his own head slightly to where their heads knock against each other. 

Tubbo’s arms come up around his shoulders, and when one of his hands threads into his hair at the base of his neck, halfway cupping his head, it’s so close to the real thing that Ranboo lets himself forget that it’s not. 

Chapter Text

The apologies go about as well as she was expecting. It’s mostly begrudging acceptance, with Tubbo still seeming keen to keep his distance whenever possible. He does seem to appreciate the fact that she apologizes at all, though. Michael is still hesitant to let her get close, but accepts her apology. She doesn’t know if it’s because he’s a kid, or if he can actually tell that she’s sorry, because as soon as he accepts it he asks if she’ll play games with him and Niki now. 

She’s relieved to see that no one bats an eye at her being a girl, which is something she was a little worried about. Apparently they know a few trans people, and Techno offers to make her a potion that will change her body to one that matches. She’s surprised when he offers it, because she hadn’t known that was something that could be done, but he’s apparently made them before, even if they’ve only ever been the other way around. That does make her worry a little, but Niki says that she’ll help him make it.

So with the two of them making the potion, which she’s told will take a few days, and Phil and Tubbo still tinkering with redstone, that leaves just her and Michael. Who now only wants to play dress up despite the fact that there are no costumes lying around. 

Phil ends up giving them a few old pieces of armor and some cloaks to use, and Michael decides this is perfect to pretend to be a knight saving Princess Ranboo from a dragon. He’s very heroic, and does say a few questionable things every once in a while that doesn’t make sense for a child to know about. Being around Techno and Phil, who she can see are seasoned warriors, she’s not too concerned about where he got it from. She hasn’t gotten the impression that he would have ever been put into a dangerous situation involving some kind of battle, especially considering that everyone is very protective of him, to the point where she wouldn’t be surprised if Tubbo has ever wrapped him in bubble wrap.

She hasn’t been able to figure out if it’s because he’s a kid or something else. He does appear to be the only kid, since she hasn’t seen any others, and Tubbo hasn’t mentioned any other kids he might have. That and he only brought Michael over, and she would assume that he wouldn’t leave his other child somewhere alone. 

As promised, the potion is ready a few days later. It won’t work immediately, they say, which she honestly thinks is for the best, but instead the changes will happen gradually throughout the day. How fast it happens doesn’t entirely matter to Ranboo anyway. She’s just happy they’re happening at all. 

Because this version of the potion was a newer one for Techno to make, he asks her to stay in the same building as them so that he can monitor for any negative side effects. This has Michael following along, which in turn has Niki following along so that for once, everyone is at least nearby. 

Eventually, everyone stops to take a break and have a snack, mostly from Michael announcing he was hungry and also wanting some attention from Tubbo. Which, Tubbo looks like he needs a break. He looks tired, and the circles under his eyes have only gotten darker. It’s strange how natural it is for Michael to bring him a snack, almost like he’s used to having to get his dad to eat something. He looks grateful for it though, and pulls Michael into his lap while they eat. 

For the most part, everyone is sitting around resting. Ranboo’s hair has steadily been getting longer throughout the day, and she keeps brushing her hands through it, trying to get used to the new length. It’s still very uneven from its earlier style, but Niki has promised to give it a trim later after the potion has finished taking effect. 

And then suddenly, there’s a small crackling sound, almost like if someone is holding a radio and changing the frequency around. It immediately sets everyone on edge, Techno grabbing his sword and cautiously rising to his feet. The static continues, and a crow that’s sitting on Phil’s hat hops down onto his lap and starts nosing around in his robes, strangely like a dog. It finally sticks its beak into a pocket and caws. Phil shoos the bird away and reaches in. Right as he pulls out his comm, the crackling crescendoes until–

“Hello? Hello? Anyone out there?”

The voice sounds dismissive, like whoever is on the other side isn’t expecting a response. It also sounds exactly like Phil, which has him looking down at the device cautiously. He looks at everyone warily before he raises the comm up.

“Who is this?” he asks carefully, and it’s clear he catches the other person by surprise.

“Holy shit–My name is Phil.” Ranboo perks up at that. Surely this means what she thinks it means. “This might sound weird, but is your name also Phil?”

Phil stares at the comm for a moment, and then looks up in disbelief.

“Ranboo, I think your world found us.”

“Ranboo is with you?” Comm Phil asks.

“Yep, I’m assuming you’re also trying to get a portal opened up?”

“Yes! This is great, actually. I don’t know how much you’ve been able to figure out over there, but I’ve managed to get the portal to disconnect from where it normally leads to. Do you know what your coordinates are?”

Phil is already standing up and going to a bookshelf, scanning through and grabbing a few different ones. “In our world, yes. In the universe? No. But I can look into it. What set up of coordinates will you need?”

They continue talking, although the Phil on the comm is much quieter as it gets moved to a table where Phil deposits both it and the books he’s gathered. Most of what Ranboo can hear from the conversation is one-sided and filled with so many science terms and other jargon that she can’t really understand what they’re talking about. But she can’t believe it. She might actually be going back soon. She doesn’t really know anything about the science of portals, so she had been hoping it would be possible to get her back, but she still hadn’t been sure. But now that the comms have managed to get signals to each other across entirely different universes? She feels much more confident in their plan and abilities.

She misses the last thing Phil says, but she catches her Phil’s response as he walks closer to where everyone is sitting, his voice now a bit louder.

“Okay, I’ll get to work on that. I think with both of us sending out the portals to a connecting spot, we’ll be able to make contact and get the Ranboos switched back.” 

Everyone in the room freezes at the exact same time. Except for Ranboo, who is honestly a little freaked out by the unintentional coordination. Phil grips the comm a little tighter, a little closer to his face. “What?”

Her world’s Phil doesn’t seem to understand what he’s just said (not that she does, either). “Sorry, did the connection get weird? I thought I had it stable. I was just saying that with us working together it will probably be easier to get the portals lined up and get everyone switched back over.”

“You have a Ranboo with you? Our Ranboo?”

“I’m assuming, since you know what I’m talking about and seem to be missing him.”

Tubbo suddenly appears at his side, and Ranboo hadn’t even seen him get up. He snatches the comm out of Phil’s hand, holding it up close to his face like if he holds it close enough he’ll be able to see through to the other side. 

“He’s there?” He all but breathes out, and comm Phil makes a sound of surprise.

“Is this Tubbo?”

“Yes.”

Ranboo can hear the smile in his voice. “Ah, I’ve heard a lot about you. Yes, he’s here. Well, not here with me right this moment, but he is here in our world.”

Tubbos’ breath hitches, and he’s gripping the comm so tightly his knuckles are turning white. “He remembers me?”

“Oh yes.”

“Michael?”

“Yes.”

Tubbo takes a shaky breath, and suddenly looks like he’s trying not to cry. Phil, still standing next to him, puts a hand on his shoulder to steady him. Tubbo nods to no one in particular. “Okay. Good. That’s, that’s good. And he’s okay?”

“A little shaken every once in a while, but yes. I have our Tubbo and Tommy watching after him.”

“Okay.”

During that whole conversation, no one had noticed Michael climbing down from the couch and making his way over to Tubbo and Phil. When he gets there, he tugs on Phil’s robe, looking confused.

“Grandpa, why does he sound like you? Do you have a brother?”

It’s sudden enough and loud enough to make both Phil’s laugh, and it’s only a little creepy that they laugh the exact same way. They start explaining that no, they’re not related, and try to help him understand that they’re the same but also not, which Ranboo is sure will be very confusing to a five year old. 

Tubbo hands the comm back, and then without a word goes off to a side room. Niki goes to stand to follow him, but he waves a hand and shakes his head. Whatever he’s thinking about, he needs to be alone. Ranboo still isn’t entirely sure what the whole deal is with their Ranboo, but this clearly isn’t the time to ask about it. So she just listens to everyone try to explain the concepts of alternate worlds to Michael, which then leads to him asking if there’s another him, and he’s very disappointed to learn that there isn’t. At least where he can talk to him. 

More conversations are had, and then Ranboo is being given the comm to have a chance to talk. She isn’t expecting for everyone else to leave the room to give her privacy. She has no idea what they think she’s going to talk about, but it’s still a nice gesture either way. And there are some things she needs to say, anyway.

She waits until the door has closed behind everyone, and then waits a few more seconds before lifting the comm up.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” There's some shuffling from his side. “How are you holding up over there?”

She shrugs before remembering that he can’t see her. “I’m okay. Almost got stabbed when I first got here, but it was kinda my fault for sneaking up on them.”

He makes a ‘hm’ sound at that.  

“So, was there something you wanted to tell me?”

Right. She had thought she heard someone tell him that they were going to let the two of them talk. About what, she didn’t know at first, but now she’s thinking it’s probably so she can come out to him. Which does sound like an important thing to do. 

But it also feels like a good time to apologize. It would be better to do it now than to wait and make him wait, and if she’s a little worried about how everyone will take it (which she is), Phil is a good person to start with. She knows even if he doesn’t accept it, he won’t yell, or get mad at her about it. If anything, he’ll just be like a disappointed dad, which isn’t the best outcome she could hope for, but it’s better than the anger she’s bound to receive from the others once she gets back.

“Yeah,” she says, and then takes a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. “Um. I’m sorry, about my attitude, and all the rude things I’ve said to you since moving to Origins. It wasn’t right of me, and you didn’t deserve that.”

She wants to say more. That doesn’t feel adequate enough, doesn’t really sound like she’s sorry enough, but that’s all that will come out, like her voice ran out of battery and turned off. Phil actually seems a little shocked, which she isn’t sure is a good or bad thing.

“Oh,” he finally says after a few seconds. “Well, thank you for the apology. I–forgive me for asking, but did something happen? This just feels very out of character, and I’d rather you apologize and mean it than apologize because you think it’s what you need to do.”

Yeah, she’s not entirely surprised at that.

“I know, and I really am sorry,” she says, as earnestly as she can. She’s hoping that if the words themselves aren’t enough, the tone that she’s speaking in is. At least he’s managed to give her a good segue into coming out, because that change really is what’s causing her to really think about what she’s done. “But, yeah, there has been a change. I um, the reason I’ve always been mean to everyone is because I’ve felt uncomfortable about something my entire life without knowing what it was, and I didn’t think it was fair that I was the only one feeling that way so I insulted people to make them feel what I was. And I’m not saying that it was right of me, because it wasn’t, but that’s why. But I have figured out what was causing me to feel weird. I, I’m a girl.”

She doesn’t know why she feels nervous. It’s not like this is something she’s been hiding and is only now getting the courage to tell people. She only figured this all out a few days ago, and it’s not like she needs anyone’s approval over this. And besides, if anyone doesn’t approve, it’s not like she’s going to be around them. She’s been thinking about what to do when she gets back. Right now the plan is to write and send out a bunch of letters because she knows that if she were to try to apologize in person, no one would give her the chance because they would think she’s just there to insult them like always. She knows it will be better for everyone if she keeps her distance when she gets back.

But, Phil has always been there for her, even when she’s been as nasty as possible to him. He was the one who welcomed her to Origins, who offered to help her find a place to stay, has really offered help whenever he thinks she needs it. He’s been kind to her despite how she’s treated him, so out of everyone she thinks he has the most right to hate her. So she’s maybe a little worried that this will be where that changes, despite everything she knows about him.

And of course, he immediately proves those fears wrong.

“Hey, I’m happy for you. Figuring this all out can be difficult, but I’m glad you got there. Do you want me to let people know over here?”

“No, no it’s fine,” she quickly says. She would at least like to have a little control on how everyone is told. Not that she thinks Phil would do a bad job, it’s just. . .She needs to do this herself. “I’ve been thinking on what I want to do.”

“Okay. Is there a different name I should use?”

She hasn’t actually thought about that. And well, she really didn’t need to. She’s always been Ranboo. It’s her name, and she likes it. It’s always been the one thing that’s felt right. Yes, her name is still fine, and she can’t imagine being named anything else.

“No, Ranboo is still good.”

“Alright. Thank you for telling me.”

And then the conversation just ends. She doesn’t know what else to say. Those were really the only things she was planning on saying, and she doesn’t think Phil has anything else to say or reveal. She thinks she understood enough of what they were talking about earlier to know that whatever it was taking to get her world was difficult, but they’ve finally managed to crack something. Should she say something about that? She’s learning very quickly that outside of insults, she doesn’t really know how to talk to people. 

They end up sitting there in silence for what feels like an awkward amount of time. Apparently there isn’t anything else to say because eventually Phil sighs. Not out of sadness, anger , or distress, but more to just break the silence before actually speaking.

“We’ll get you home soon, okay?”

Right. Home. It’s been long enough that she probably should start thinking of Origins as being her home now. Maybe there’s still a way to get back to the End, but that’s a problem for later. It’s not her biggest concern at the moment.

“Okay,” she says, and then adds, “Thank you.”

“See you soon, Ranboo,” he says kindly.

“Bye.”

The comm makes a ‘click’ sound as Phil ends the connection, and Ranboo is left to sit there in silence. It’s only been about a week, and her life has changed so much more than she thought it would. And still the craziest part of it has been waking up in a new world, which she hadn’t even known existed. There has to be more out there, right? It can’t just be the two.

How many of her are out there? How many Phils? Tubbos? 

And speaking of Tubbo, she’s a little concerned and confused about his reaction to learning that his Ranboo was in her world. Like he wasn’t expecting him to be there. Why wouldn’t he? From the sounds of it, something happened for her to switch places with him, so it only makes sense that he would be there. 

Actually, everyone had been surprised. Maybe it was just because they haven’t seen or heard from him in years. That’s really the only thing she can think of. She could probably just ask. It’s probably not the smartest idea to go straight to Tubbo, but when she had asked Niki, the answer she was given had felt incomplete. She didn’t point it out in the moment, but she still thinks about it sometimes. 

It’s probably better that she doesn’t meddle. It’s none of her business. But she’s also so confused. And Tubbo clearly looks like he isn’t planning on going to someone about how he’s feeling. Maybe she should go to him. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger, anyway. You have less to lose.

Yeah, she’ll try and talk to him when she can.

Chapter Text

A few days later, the three of them get called up to the Pub by Phil. He doesn’t tell them anything other than he has some news that he thought would be better to tell them in person, and Ranboo can only hope that it’s something good. 

He’s waiting for them in that side room with the portal, and it’s immediately obvious that work is being done. It’s become even more cluttered, with books and bottles scattered everywhere, only now there’s the added mess of boxes and boxes of redstone and connectors. The portal itself also looks a mess; it’s been taken apart, with only about half of it still standing as an empty shell, and there are some faded marks on the obsidian where redstone powder had been drawn on and then rubbed off. The floor underneath it is missing pieces, and peeking around Ranboo can see a few connectors here and there in varying positions of on and off. All things that he recognizes but has no idea how to use. 

Phil is standing at a side table that has a collection of small tools on it. Also lying there is what looks to be his comm, and it’s got some side panels missing with some extra wires plugged in. He looks up when they walk in, and he’s wearing, frankly, ridiculous looking goggles that somehow make him look even more birdlike. He reaches up with red stained hands and slides them off as he grins. 

“You’re here! Amazing. We’ve made a lot of progress.”

“I can see that,” Tubbo says, knocking his foot against one of the boxes. “This is. . .a lot.”

“Well, we’ve needed all of it,” Phil responds. He starts dusting himself off, and Ranboo realizes that Sneeg isn’t here.

“Wasn’t Sneeg helping you?” he asks. “Or am I misremembering.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s helping. He’s down underneath looking at everything.”

They all look over to where he points at where the floor has been pulled apart. There are a few spots that are just big enough for someone of his size to fit down in. 

“Getting the spots you can’t reach?”

“Exactly. But!” He beckons all of them closer to the table he’s at, and they gather around. “This is what I wanted to tell you about.”

He gestures to the mess of things on the table, and Tubbo pokes at the halfway disassembled box.

“Your comm?”

“Sort of,” Phil says. He picks it up and then carefully steps around boxes and things to stand closer to the portal as he starts explaining. “So the trickiest part of this has been getting the portal to stick to something. We’ve managed to disconnect it from the nether, but trying to reconnect it to such a different place like another world isn’t as easy. I don’t know what’s over there, so I don’t know where to, ah, well I guess the best word is aim, so it’s not able to reattach to anything. Sneeg said he had an idea of something to try, so I let him go down and decided to start messing with my comm.” He waves it around slightly for emphasis. “There’s a way to rewire it, almost, and find different frequencies. Like with a radio, only these are much stronger in that regard considering you can message someone when they’re in the nether and get a response back. And the nether is a whole different dimension, which is really impressive, but that dimension is still specific to this world. Is this all making sense so far?”

Ranboo has no knowledge of any of this stuff, so he’s going to assume that this is all correct. It all sounds so complicated, and this was more Tubbo’s thing than his, anyway. 

Tommy shrugs. “Kinda?”

Phil makes a ‘sounds good enough’ noise, and continues. “Okay, well, I was wondering if it would be possible to make it even stronger to find frequencies that aren’t in this world. Which is why everything is a mess over here.” He gestures around the whole space again. “I’ve spent the whole morning tweaking and rewiring and sending out messages and trying to call.”

“Have you been able to get anything?” Ranboo asks.

“For a while, no. But then, I finally got a response from someone. They sounded very confused, but they also sounded exactly like me.”

He says all of this more pointedly at Ranboo, and Ranboo can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“You mean–”

Phil nods, grinning smugly and looking proud of himself. “I was able to get a signal connected to your world. Apparently they have our Ranboo, and they’ve been doing the same experimentation trying to get him back just like we’ve been trying to get you back. So now, we’re going to be able to work together and hopefully speed up this process to get everything swapped back around.”

“Holy shit! That’s amazing!” Tommy exclaims, grabbing Ranboo’s shoulders and shaking them in excitement. Ranboo is at a loss for words. Yes, he’s been hopeful that it would be possible to send him back, but there was never anything that made it clear it was going to be able to happen. He doesn’t even know how he got here in the first place. But they’re almost there. They’re actually almost there. He could be going home soon. 

And Phil! His Phil! Someone back home has been trying to get him back and switch everything back around. That has to mean that he’s doing that at his home, which is right there next to Techno’s home, so there might be others who are trying to get him back, too.

“Were you able to talk to anyone else?” He asks when he’s finally able to speak. “Who all was there?”

“Aside from our Ranboo and your Phil, there was that Techno you’ve mentioned before. Niki, Tubbo, and a little boy who I believe is named Michael. He was very rambunctious and delighted that there were two of us.” 

He wants to cry hearing that. Tubbo is there, is trying to get him back, is okay. And Michael is with him (why wouldn’t he be? There’s a feeling of deep relief in him, but he can’t remember what would have caused him to be so worried). It doesn’t surprise him that Michael would be amazed over everything going on. He’s always been curious, and Ranboo can’t help but laugh fondly.

“Yeah, that sounds like him.”

Phil sidesteps back over to the table and sets his comm back down. “It will probably still be a bit before we actually get everything connected, but I’ll let you know as soon as that happens.”

Ranboo nods. “Thank you.”

Tommy and Tubbo are still excitedly celebrating the update, and they start pulling him out the door saying something about having a little party to really celebrate. He thinks he hears something about making a list of final places to take him to while they still have the chance. Whatever it is, he knows it will probably be fun either way.

Phil does manage to stop him and hold him back for a moment, waving the other two off and promising to not keep him long. 

“Tubbo asked how you were,” he says when they’re alone. “He sounded very relieved that you’re alive and okay. And that you remember them.”

Ranboo really does almost start crying then. Not because he was worried they wouldn’t care about him, but hearing it is still nice. Knowing that Tubbo sounds just as eager to see him does make him feel better, and that much more eager to get home. 

“Of course I remember them,” he says softly after a moment. He really doesn’t want to start crying, because that would mean having to take care of the burns and probably ruining the happy mood that everyone is in. Phil looks at him like he understands, and gives his arm a reassuring pat as Ranboo does his best to keep his voice level. “I’m glad it sounds like they’re okay, too.”

Chapter Text

It takes a few days before she finds a time to talk to him. After that day of talking with her Phil, it’s like he’s pushed himself to work harder, longer. Sometimes she’ll watch Phil leave that room, but she’ll go to sleep before she ever sees Tubbo. 

It’s a bit of a shock when she does finally see him. He’s sitting near a window, looking out of it, and he almost looks forlorn. She steps up behind him and takes a peek outside. Niki and Michael are playing in the snow. He can barely walk from how much he’s bundled up, but it doesn’t stop him from picking up handfuls of snow and throwing it into the air to watch it scatter. There’s pure, unbridled joy on his face, and Tubbo sighing reminds her why she came over here in the first place.

If he’s noticed her standing behind him, he hasn’t said anything, just keeps watching out the window. She takes a seat next to him, carefully, trying not to disturb him too much, and clasps her hands together in her lap.

“Can I ask you something?” It actually takes her a moment to say anything. This feels like a rare moment of relaxation for him, and she doesn’t want to upset it. 

He laughs through his nose, eyes never moving away from the window. “Sure. And y’know what? Maybe I’ll answer it since you actually asked.”

Well, that’s better chances than she was expecting. 

“What happened to your Ranboo?” she asks before she can hesitate. He tenses up almost immediately, and his shoulders hunch down slightly. It’s clear it was a mistake to ask that, that she should have just stayed curious and stayed away. She starts getting to her feet in a hurry. “I shouldn’t have asked that, I’m sorry. I’ll go–”

“No.” He holds a hand out to stop her, and she freezes. He’s still looking out the window. “No, sit. I’ll tell you. It’ll definitely explain some things.”

Slowly, she lowers herself back down. “Okay.”

It’s silent for a while. They just sit there, Ranboo waiting, and Tubbo doing, well, she doesn’t know what other than watching. But she can see the pained expression on his face, before he sighs and forces his look into a neutral one.

“Have you figured out he was my husband yet?” he finally asks, and she nods. It’s pretty much the only thing that she knows about him. It’s all anyone has ever mentioned, and even then it’s only been a few times. Tubbo nods back. “Hm.”

Another sigh. His hands have started to shake, and then he quickly grabs the bottom of his shirt, gripping it so tightly his hands start to turn white. “He was killed two years ago,” he says, nonchalant, like he’s giving a service report. “Stabbed, left to bleed at the edge of a pond.”

Ranboo feels sick. Of course everyone has been mad at her. Of course he’s been mad at her. His husband was murdered, and she kept insinuating that he had left on purpose. Niki had told her she didn’t know anything about them. She was right.

Tubbo reaches up to rub at his face, and she can’t tell if she’s imagining the tears there.

“Every little thing around here reminds me of him,” he says after another moment of silence. “I can’t escape him. Not that I want to, but y’know. And then you appeared, and I thought wow, I really am cursed, because here’s the universe giving me a Ranboo, and it isn’t even mine.” He pauses, and laughs bitterly. “And Michael is always asking where he went, when he’s coming back. I never knew what to say, so I would just tell him ‘I don’t know’ or ‘soon’.” 

“But now he’s alive?” Ranboo asks after Tubbo doesn’t say anything for a while. 

“Yeah, and I have no idea how. It’s just a miracle he even remembers me.”

“Were you expecting him not to?”

“He’s always had trouble with remembering things,” Tubbo explains. “And I don’t mean he would forget what day it was or forget to grab something from the store. He’d wake up and months would be gone, years sometimes. There were a couple of times he forgot us. And with him being. . .gone for so long, I guess I was expecting the memories to be gone for good.”

Ranboo shifts in her seat a little, not really knowing what to say.

“Well, it sounds like he loves you a lot, to remember you after death,” she tries. To her surprise, that actually makes Tubbo smile fondly, an amused huff leaving him.

“Yeah,” he says, all soft in a way she hasn’t seen before. “He was known to be sappy like that, so it really shouldn’t surprise me. What about your Tubbo?”

That startles her. What does the Tubbo from her world have to do with anything? And it’s weird, hearing him be referred to as her Tubbo. No one there is hers, and probably never will be.

“What about him?”

Tubbo shrugs. “You’re so different from my Ranboo, so I can only assume that your relationship is different from ours.”

That has her snorting before she can stop herself. “Yeah, it’s very different. He hates me.”

“Ah. I see.”

It’s clear he wasn’t expecting that answer, even after correctly assuming that he wasn’t about to be told that they’re in love or anything. He doesn’t say anything after that, so the two of them keep looking out of the window. Ranboo pulls her feet up onto the seat, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her shin on her knees.

Michael is in the middle of making a small snowman. It’s about as big as him, and stands next to several others he’s already made. It almost looks like he’s creating a small army. Only none of them have any arms or faces, so they mostly look like strange structures dotting Techno’s front yard. At one point, he looks up and notices them watching, and he grins at them and waves excitedly. Tubbos hums, amused, and waves back. Michael gestures around to the snowmen, pointing out each one, and Tubbo gives him a thumbs up that has him cheering. The praise seems to invigorate him, and he starts making more. 

It’s all so incredibly domestic to watch that it makes something in Ranboo’s chest ache. She doesn’t have many memories like this from childhood. And not to say that she doesn’t have any happy memories, because she has plenty. There’s just not many of her and her brother playing like this, per se. They always had to find little moments to have fun in whatever way they could. Life was usually just too busy or had more important things going on. 

She doesn’t have anything like this waiting for her to come back. She has a cave, that she’s probably going to be spending a lot more time in. What she’s watching in front of her isn’t the kind of life that’s for her. That’s saved for other people.

“I’m glad he has people waiting here for him,” she says after a while, and she finds that she really means it. “You, Michael, Phil, Techno, Niki. He won’t be alone.”

“What about you? Who are you ready to go back and see?”

“That’s not really something I’m getting. I’ve pretty much burned all my bridges before they could even be built. No one there likes me, except for maybe Phil. But that’s Phil. I’m pretty sure he likes everyone.”

Tubbo hums. “Sounds like the one difference between them.”

“Eh. Different worlds.”

“True.”

She sighs, adjusts her position a bit. “But yeah. I’m going to get back and then probably go home.”

Home. Such a strange word with no definitive meaning. Something she will probably never have, not in the way that she can see it here. 

“What then?” Tubbo asks, but her mind keeps drifting, so she only half hears him.

“Hm?”

“You go home, and then what?”

She shrugs, pushing her face into her knees. “I don’t know. See if I can fix anything, I guess. But I don’t know if that’s even possible.”

“Things usually aren’t broken beyond repair,” he offers, and oh, he doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand the extent of what she’s done or for how long. 

“This is definitely an exception. I’ve made people hate me. There isn’t much I can do to fix it. I think I’ve pushed everyone to the point of no return. I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to be my friend in any capacity.” 

There’s nothing more she can say about it, because there is nothing more. There’s no going back from this, and looking forward is terrifying. She’s just stuck in place. 

When Tubbo breaks the silence, she glances over at him. He’s rubbing his fingers together, staring down at them in his lap, looking a little like he’s not entirely present. Like he’s remembering something, seeing it in his head and remembering it completely.

“Well,” he says softly, kindly, “here’s some advice from my Ranboo: it’s never too late to apologize and start over.” He laughs to himself a little, now looking sheepish. “I’ve found myself listening to that more and more recently.”

“That sounds like a good idea, starting over. It’s probably all I can do.” 

“It’ll be good,” he says decisively. “For you, and for everyone who deserves an apology.”

He’s right. And she knows he’s right, so she nods. “Yeah. Thank you,” she adds after a moment. That’s been an unexpected thing, how used to not being polite she has gotten. It’s been so long that manners were just an afterthought, and now that she feels better, she’s having to remind herself again. She tends to say things a second too late, which she’s feeling self conscious about, but no one has said anything about it, like they know she’s trying. So she isn’t really surprised that Tubbo doesn’t bring any attention to it. 

There’s one more thing she wants to say.

“And your Ranboo sounds like he’s a good man.”

Tubbo smiles at that. He finally turns to face her, and she can see now that his eyes are shiny with tears that haven’t fallen yet.

“Yeah, he is,” he whispers. 

Ranboo offers him a small smile, and he pats her gently on the shoulder before turning back towards the window. They continue watching for a moment, and then without a word Tubbo stands, Ranboo watching curiously as he goes over to the front door. He puts on his coat, hat, and gloves, and then goes outside. 

When she turns back to the window, she can see him walking out towards Michael and Niki. Michael runs to him when he sees his dad, jumping up at him. Tubbo catches him easily, and Michael looks happy and rosy cheeked. 

Ranboo just sits there, her cheek pressed against her knees, and watches.

Chapter Text

“Are we going to get to meet everyone?” Tommy asks as soon as they get back to Tubbo’s house. He makes himself at home on the couch, lounging back, and Tubbo goes off to the kitchen and starts rummaging through some cabinets. Ranboo sits down in a chair across from the couch.

“I mean, I don’t know how it’s going to happen. Do you want to? If everyone ends up coming over here?”

Tommy shrugs. “Would that be okay?”

“I’m fine with that. Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

“It’s your family. I’d understand if you would want to have some alone time with everyone with us out of the way.”

The thought has crossed his mind before, of it being a private event. But that was before he knew how many people were invested and working on getting the portal fixed. It had always seemed like it would just be him and the other Ranboo stepping through, back to their own worlds with little fanfare. Ranboo would make his way back to Snowchester and that would be that. 

Now, though, knowing that his friends and family are all together for this, and knowing that Tubbo tends to ignore dangerous things when it has to do with himself, Ranboo is positive that they all might go through the portal before he does. And having other people there would never stop him from being sappy with his family or anything. He’s never been embarrassed about that.

“Well, you being there wouldn’t stop me from seeing them, so I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

Tommy fistpumps. “Nice. I’m hoping I can meet Techno because he sounds cool as hell.”

Tubbo joins them at that point, his arms full of snacks that he hands out before he all but jumps onto the couch, consequently landing on Tommy who is practically taking up all the space. They push and shove and argue until there’s enough space for the two of them to fit, and Tubbo grins victoriously while Tommy scowls. He takes some of Tubbo’s snacks, and Ranboo just giggles at their antics. 

“Anyone you’re wanting to meet, Tubbo?” he asks. Tubbo contemplates for a moment, and then shrugs.

“I don’t know. Honestly, any of them.”

“Wait, there’s gonna be two Tubbos. And two Phils,” Tommy points out. 

There’s going to be a few doubles when that portal is opened. Ranboo keeps thinking about what it will be like to meet his other self. Honestly, he’s been feeling nervous about it just hearing what everyone has said about him. All the outcomes he can think of are very awkward no matter what, so he's not exactly looking forward to it. But he hasn’t considered how it will be for Tubbo. Or even Phil, for that matter. 

“I didn’t even think about that. Is it going to be weird for you?”

Tubbo just shrugs, popping more snacks into his mouth. “Mm, I don’t think so. You make it sound like we’re very different, so I don’t think it’ll be too strange. We’re not even the same hybrid.”

That’s another thing he’s thought about, and just imagining what his Tubbo’s reaction will be makes him laugh a bit.

“I’m a little curious to see his reaction to you being a bee.”

“Why?”

“It’s like, one of his things. Or well, how to explain this. . .I don’t think bees are his favorite animal or anything, but maybe they were when he was a kid? I just know that whenever we see bees Tommy points them out really loudly to Tubbo to annoy him. So it’s just a little ironic.”

At the mention of his other self, Tommy perks up. “Wait, do you think the other me will be there?”

“I don’t really know. The last I heard he was busy with something, and Phil didn’t say he was there when he got the comms connected.”

“I didn’t think you would want to meet the other you,” Tubbo says, elbowing him. “Didn’t you say he was lame?”

Tommy scoffs. “Well yeah, he is lame, and that’s why I want to meet him so I can gloat about being the absolute best Tommyinnit ever.”

He strikes a little pose, and Tubbo just stares at him, clearly unimpressed. “. . .Right.”

“I don’t know who’s going to be going where, so this is all hypothetical, anyway,” Ranboo reminds. 

“Wait, you’re right,” Tommy says. “What if we’re the ones to go to them? What would we pop up into? I want to be prepared.”

“Snow,” Ranboo answers plainly, and Tommy looks disappointed. “Lots and lots of snow.” 

“Oh.”

“Is there anywhere else we would pop in at?” Tubbo asks, grimacing slightly. “Maybe somewhere warmer?”

“The only places I can think of are Phil and Techno’s houses, which are in snow, and mine and Tubbo’s house, which is also in snow.”

Tommy straightens up a bit. “Shit, wait, didn’t you say you’re from a place called Snowchester?” He turns to Tubbo and nudges him. “Maybe we should hope for the other place, maybe it’ll have less snow.” 

“Does that mean if they come over here that they’re gonna burn up, though? If they all live in such a cold climate?” Tubbo asks.

It actually takes Ranboo a second to realize why they’re asking about this. Why would they burn up? They’ve been in this kind of climate before, and they can handle it just fine. But after a moment of confusion he remembers that he hasn’t told Tubbo and Tommy much about his world’s climate, so there’s a chance they think it’s cold everywhere.

“No, no, they’ll all be fine,” he assures. “Michael and Techno will probably love it, actually, considering they’re both piglins.”

Now they both look incredulous. 

“And they decided to live in snow?” Tommy exclaims. 

“Michael’s like, a toddler. I don’t think he made that decision,” Tubbo responds, in a ‘I can’t believe you’re this stupid’ kind of way that has Tommy making a face at him. It makes Ranboo laugh.

“We always keep the house very warm. But I think Techno wanted to be somewhere more isolated? That feels right. And he goes everywhere with Phil, so Phil followed.” 

He can’t really remember a time when Techno and Phil weren’t living together, and from what he thinks he’s been told, they’ve always travelled together. When one of them appears somewhere, the other isn’t far behind.

“Interesting.” is all Tubbo says to that information, and then changes the topic. “Well, Tommy, I guess you can bond with Techno over being the only version of you to be there.”

Tommy considers that for a second, and then nods to himself. “Y’know what, I’ll take it.”

They continue talking and snacking, and Ranboo takes the time to just think back on what he can remember from being here since it’s very likely he’ll be going home soon. He won’t see this place again, and while he’s excited to be going back, it’s also a little sad. It hasn’t been all bad here, and he hasn’t hated it. He thinks he’s going to miss the Tommy and Tubbo here. Or maybe seeing them has just made him miss his even more. 

He’ll have to try and write it down somewhere when he gets the chance. This is something he wants to remember.

Chapter Text

It only takes a few more days for the portal to be ready.

This is the first time Ranboo has been in the room that they’ve been working in. She can’t tell if they were using an empty room or if everything that was in here has been removed to make a place for the portal to go. And the portal itself looks very strange. Redstone is everywhere, connecting to different devices and wires that are attached to, well, she actually doesn’t know. There are a few symbols that she’s never seen before drawn onto different parts of the obsidian, too. The strangest thing, though, is that instead of glowing purple, it's a bright orange.

They’re all crowded into the room, and Tubbo is looking at it untrustingly. 

“Are we entirely sure this is safe?” he asks, and he pulls Michael a little closer to his side. Michael, to his credit, is staring wide eyed up at the swirls dancing through the orange haze.

Phil shrugs. “As far as I’m aware, yes.”

That doesn’t seem to satisfy him, because he makes a face. 

“Will Kristin be able to help if everything goes bad?”

Ranboo has no idea who that is. As far as she’s aware, this person doesn’t exist in her world. But if she’s being brought up as a way to fix any problems, she’s going to assume whoever Kristin is, she’s very powerful and very trustworthy. Even though Phil starts looking a little nervous when Tubbo brings her up.

“Let’s hope so,” is all he says, and Tubbo does not sound pleased with that response.

“These odds don’t sound entirely great.”

“Let me go through first,” Ranboo says, and they turn to look at her. “I’m the one who actually needs to go back. And if something happens, then it’s only me who’s stranded and not the rest of you.”

Tubbo hesitates, and when he looks at Phil, he just gets a shrug in response. He sighs and turns back to her, picking Michael up. “If you’re sure.”

She’s not at all. But if this is her only way of getting back, she’s going to trust it. Everyone takes a few steps back as she approaches the portal, and she briefly wonders if there’s a chance the whole thing could explode. Definitely not the best time to have that worry pop into her head. 

The portal still has that same sulfur smell, so at least not everything has changed. It’s something familiar, slightly comforting, so she closes her eyes and focuses on that as she steps into it. 

For a moment nothing happens, and she can tell that her feet are still touching ground. And then in an instant, she’s floating. Everything feels slightly fuzzy, like she’s being covered in static, but she can just make out that pull that always happens, her destination gently tugging her closer. Then something jerks her to the side, and it feels like she’s spinning in the open air, tumbling ass over head. Thank goodness she closed her eyes before stepping in, because if they were open she would probably be getting sick right now. 

And then her feet touch ground again with a solid ‘thump’. She hesitates to open her eyes because she has absolutely no idea where she’s ended up. But when she does, she’s filled with relief. 

She’s in the Pub. More specifically, that weird side room with the community portal. It’s kinda funny; this portal is the whole reason she got into this mess. She has wanted a portal all to herself, but wanted it to be the best one possible so that she could use its benefits and keep it hidden from everyone else. She’s going to stick with normal portals from here on out. 

This room looks almost identical to the one she just came from, in the sense of all the redstone and machinery around. But also standing in the room is Phil. Her Phil, in all his bird-like glory. He actually sighs with relief when he sees her, which isn’t the most comforting.

“Were you worried it wasn’t going to work?”

“Honestly? Yeah, I was scared this was going to be how I accidentally kill a bunch of people,” he admits, and yep, that would not have been good. But she made it through in one piece. Now how is she supposed to let the others know it’s okay to come through, and that she made it?

Before she can even try to start brainstorming, Michael suddenly pops through, stumbling on his feet and looking dizzy. She has to reach out and grab him so he doesn’t fall over. He recovers quickly, though, and immediately starts looking around in amazement. Not long after, Tubbo comes through, looking panicked, but he calms as soon as he sees Michael snooping around under tables.

“Okay, note to self,” he says, sounding a little out of breath, “make sure he knows not to go running into random portals when he doesn’t know where they lead.”

The others quickly follow, all looking different levels of concerned, but everyone calms down when they realize that the portal did in fact work and no one died or exploded or anything like that. 

Phil, or well, the other Phil–the other world’s Phil? This is going to get confusing fast.

Phil-who-just-came-through-the-portal looks around the room, taking everything in, and then is startled when his eyes land on his other self. Both of them just look at each other for a moment, and then Ranboo’s Phil laughs.

“Well, now I know what he meant by less bird-like.”

“What the fuck, you look so much cooler than me! This isn’t fair,” he responds, exasperated. Bird Phil looks at Techno next, taking him in. 

“I want to assume you’re Techno? You are. . .very scary looking.”

Techno nods, looking proud of himself. He definitely looked scary when Ranboo first saw him, with his tusks and armor and very powerful weapons. Now all she can think of though is him sitting down with a book while wearing the tiniest reading glasses she’s ever seen, or playing with Michael and crying out very monotone in pain as Michael ‘kills’ him. 

“All according to plan,” he says, almost to himself. Like a nerd.

At this point, Michael has made his way to the door that leads out to the rest of the Pub, and he’s starting to inch it open and peer outside. 

“Is Daddy here?” he asks to no one in particular, and then starts calling out “Daddy! Daddy?”

Once again, Tubbo is quick to run over to him, this time being successful in stopping him from running off. 

“Woah, stay here with us for a second. New place, which means stick with me, remember?”

Michael doesn’t look entirely happy about that, but nods anyway and lets Tubbo guide him away from the door. Tubbo still looks uneasy at being in a new place, constantly looking around the room for hidden dangers. He’s also probably ready to reunite with his husband. The mention of the other Ranboo does get her Phil’s attention.

“Oh!” he says, as if he forgot the whole reason everyone else came through the portal, and he pulls out his comm. “Yes, here, I’ll let them know that all of you are here. I don’t think it will take long for them to get here, but I also don’t know where they went today.” 

Tubbo relaxes at that. “Okay. Thank you.”

After sending out the message, Phil leads them all out into the main space of the Pub. It’s a welcome sight for Ranboo, the familiarity of the space a nice welcome after all the time she’s been away. She’s also grateful that the place is empty. No one else is here to see her return, and she prefers it that way. She’ll get comments later, she’s sure, but for now her homecoming has no fanfare and no crowd of angry people waiting. Phil is probably the one to thank for that, or maybe they did get lucky and no one is here naturally. Maybe no one will show up.

The others are clearly getting antsy, ready to have their friend and family member back with them. There isn’t much to do in the building, but they all still look around, which only feels natural to do when you’re in a new place. So for the most part, they’re all distracted.

Ranboo should probably leave before the others get here. If she’s still here when the others arrive, there’s going to be unnecessary attention on her. And it would only be unnecessary because today is supposed to be a happy one with reunions, not disdain towards certain people. They deserve to have the focus be on them, and the only way she can think of that happening if she leaves. 

She almost doesn’t say goodbye, not wanting to accidentally bring down the mood, but her Phil catches her as she tries to slip by. For a second, she’s upset with herself that she didn’t try to teleport away.

“You alright?” he asks, and she doesn’t know why, but her first instinct is to act like she wasn’t doing anything at all.

“Hm? Oh, yes, I am.” 

“Where are you heading off to?”

She’s clearly been caught, and she can recognize that, so she might as well tell the truth. It’s not like he would have never found out. 

“Home.”

“You don’t want to meet the other you?” he asks, sounding a little surprised. She sighs, clasping her hands together.

“As curious as I am, he’s waiting to see his family. I’m not. And I don’t want to get in any of their way.” 

“You’re sure?”

“Mhm. Besides, I have some things I need to get started on.”

She’s decided to go through with writing letters to everyone. She hadn’t been able to come up with a better idea, and writing everything down will let her make sure she words things the way she wants. Phil will most likely get one as well, even though she’s already apologized and explained everything to him. 

Phil gives her a look, like he knows what she’s going to go do, but he doesn’t say anything about it, just nods. She goes to continue her plan of leaving before anyone notices, but Michael must have overheard their conversation because when she turns he’s standing next to her.

“You’re leaving?” he asks, and he sounds so sad. She squats down to be more eye level with him.

“Sure am, kiddo.”

She almost expects him to start pouting, he looks even sadder. “Are we gonna get to play again later?”

She’s not expecting that at all, and suddenly she can feel herself trying not to cry. “No. I’m sorry. I have to go home, and then you have to go home, and it will be really hard for us to be able to see each other again.”

She tries to explain it as gently as she can, and by this point everyone else has gathered around the two of them. Now that they’re all here, she’ll say goodbye to them. It really wasn’t fair that she was trying to leave without saying anything. 

Without warning, Michael leans forward and hugs her, pressing his face to her shoulder. At first she’s startled, but then she hugs back, holding him tightly.

“I’ll miss you,” he says, voice muffled slightly.

She gives him a quick squeeze. “I’ll miss you, too.”

He holds on for a bit longer, but eventually pulls away, trying to keep a brave face and not cry. He backs up until he runs into Tubbo’s legs, and then he gives a small wave.

“Bye.”

After that, everyone starts giving their goodbyes, telling her that they’re going to miss her and giving a few hugs. Their Phil jokingly scolds her to not mess with portals anymore, and she promises not to. It’s probably going to be a while before she even goes near one, let alone try to tamper with one. 

It’s Tubbo who stops her one last time before she leaves, the two of them away from the others and near the door leading outside.

“Are you gonna be okay?” he asks, and she feels like it’s genuine. 

Honestly? She doesn’t know. Everything is all jumbled up at the moment, and she’s just coasting through somehow. She’s sure that later things will hit her much harder, but she’ll handle that when it comes.

“I think so,” is what she responds, and then amends it. “We’ll see.”

He nods like he understands. She feels like he does. 

“Remember what I said, about apologizing and starting over.” he says, but the reminder isn’t necessary.

“I know.” She smiles. “Thank you.”

He smiles back and nods, taking a few steps back to start heading towards the others. “Bye, Ranboo.”

“Bye.”

She doesn’t run into anyone on her way home, which she’ll take as the miracle it appears to be. The cave itself almost seems to be in better condition than it was when she left. Everything looks like it’s been wiped down and cleaned, and her bed looks like no one has been sleeping in it for weeks. Really, this was unnecessary, but it’s a nice gesture that she takes note of all the same.

She takes the time to gather some supplies. Paper, pen, envelopes. It takes even more time after to figure out what she wants to say. But she does it, and with everything seemingly in order, she sits down and begins writing.

Chapter Text

It’s a nice day, which, thankfully it’s been almost entirely nice days while he’s been here. A few rain showers here and there, but nothing of concern to cause him to have to scramble to get inside. Like they usually do on nice days, they’re outside in some field. Ranboo doesn’t know if they go to a different one each time, but it certainly feels like it. There are definitely lots of places that are wide open and don’t have any buildings around. 

Tommy and Tubbo are talking about, honestly, who knows what. Ranboo isn’t really listening to them much, but the conversation seems to be more centered on the two of them and they haven’t tried to get his attention for anything. It’s still nice background noise as Ranboo lays in the grass, going back and forth between moving his hands across the blades and poking fun at the particles as they twist and weave around his fingers. 

It’s just a nice, calm day that has him almost falling asleep. He probably could if he let himself relax just that tiny bit more. But he doesn’t, and just lays there while his tail curls idly in the air at the edge of his periphery. 

He realizes with a start that they’ve gone quiet, and when he lifts his head up to look at them better Tubbo has his comm out, staring down at it while Tommy looks at him questioningly. 

“The portal’s open,” he breathes out. “They’re here.”

It takes a second for the meaning of those words to register in his brain. When they do, it’s clear it hits Tommy at the same time because all three of them jump to their feet and take off. Tommy and Tubbo immediately start flying, and Ranboo is running as fast as he can, his hair doing the flying for him. 

He doesn’t even notice that he’s starting to fall behind. All he focuses on is keeping his arms and legs moving, because if he pauses or slows down at all, it will take him longer to get there, longer to get to everyone. So he runs, and runs, even when his heart starts pounding in his chest and his lungs start burning.

And then he stumbles a bit as suddenly his arms are grabbed, and oh, Tommy has grabbed one while Tubbo has the other, and they manage to lift him up enough to where his feet aren’t touching the ground. Together, they’re able to makeshift carry him and still stay in the air. Ranboo can’t tell if they’re able to move faster like this, but it’s still a welcome break for his very out of shape body. 

The time seems to pass in a blur, with the Pub feeling closer and farther away than he thought at the same time. The anticipation is making everything feel weird, and eventually it’s like he blinks and then they’re approaching the Pub. As they get closer to the ladder, they try to start moving up so they can bypass the ladder altogether, but they’re only able to make it about halfway up before Ranboo slips from their hold. Luckily, he’s able to grab onto a rung and catch himself, now scrambling up as quickly as he can while Tommy and Tubbo fly up to the top. 

They’re waiting for him when he finally pulls himself onto floating ground, but he pushes past them towards the door without a word. The need to move quickly distracts him from how much his hands are shaking, and he all but flings the door open when he rushes inside. 

Almost immediately, he freezes. 

There they are. Phil, Techno, Niki–

Tubbo.

This is the Tubbo he knows. His Tubbo. Who’s looking at him like he’s seen a ghost. Ranboo understands the feeling. 

Before he can do or say anything, Michael appears seemingly out of nowhere and runs straight for him, arms already outstretched for a hug. 

“Daddy!” he calls, big smile on his face, and Ranboo drops to his knees in an instant to catch him, tears already falling as he holds his boy close. Michael immediately curls into him, his arms stretched around him as far as they’ll go and burying his face into Ranboo’s neck. And Ranboo just cries, and holds him, and tells him that he loves him. People could be talking to him right now and he would have no idea. 

Michael is mostly in his lap when he finally pulls back a little to look at him. He can tell that Michael has grown, still small enough to be held like this but definitely getting taller, and his tusks are starting to peek out from inside his mouth. Ranboo laughs wetly, reaching up and cupping Michael’s face with one hand.

“You've gotten so big!”

Michael grins and puffs out his chest. “Yeah! Papa says I'll be bigger than him one day.”

“I don't doubt it,” Ranboo says, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead.

It seems the excitement of seeing him has worn off because now Michael is looking around the Pub in wonder, taking everything in. It must be different enough from home, because he sounds amazed.  

“How did you get here?!”

“To tell the truth, bug, I have no idea.” He winces slightly as a few more tears slip out. “I'm sorry I've been away for so long.”

That definitely puts a damper on the mood. Michael’s expression changes, and Ranboo wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been trying to not show how much he missed him. He’s always wanted to look strong and show that he’s okay, even when it’s obvious he needs to cry. They’ve always told him that it’s okay to cry, but some part of him always wants to be the brave one and help others. He looks back at Ranboo, and it says a lot when his voice wobbles.

“Are you coming back home with us?”

Ranboo pulls him back to his chest, hugging him tightly. “Yes, and I won't be leaving for a long time.”

Michael nods into his shoulder. “Then it's okay. Forgive you.”

Ranboo lets out a deep sigh at that, and they just hold each other. Now that he feels a bit calmer, he can hear some footsteps behind him. He hadn’t looked to see where this world’s Tommy and Tubbo had gone, but he figures it out when Michael suddenly gasps.

“He looks like Papa. And he looks like Uncle Tommy!” He whispers not so quietly, and Ranboo chuckles. Still mostly on the ground, he turns them so he can glance at the two of them as well and stage whispers back to Michael, loud enough for the two to hear. 

“You can go say hi if you want to. They're really nice.” 

Michael just stares up at them in awe, and it takes everything in Ranboo to not laugh at how Tommy and Tubbo are standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. All of a sudden Michael gets shy and points up at Tommy. “Can I touch his wings?”

He sets Michael back down on his feet and gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You'll have to ask super nicely, but if he says no you gotta listen, okay?”

Michael nods. “Okay.”

Ranboo gives him a nudge, and he shuffles his way over. Tommy immediately crouches down to be more level with him, but Ranboo doesn’t see what happens next because his name is called (not that he worries, he knows Michael is in good hands).

He turns around, and his Tubbo is standing in the middle of the room, looking hesitant. No, not hesitant. It’s like he can’t believe that he’s here, and frankly, Ranboo can barely believe it either. They both stand there frozen. Tubbo’s eyes keep darting around him, like he’s studying him or trying to commit him to memory, but when their eyes finally meet, that’s what breaks him out of it, and they run and collide with each other, only to collapse in a heap on the floor.

Tubbo practically claws at his back, trying to pull them as close together as possible, like if he does it enough they’ll combine into one person. Ranboo isn’t much better, his tail wrapping around whatever it can find and absolutely getting tangled. They’re both shaking, but neither of them make mention of it. 

In a bit of a scramble, Tubbo pulls back, hands touching everywhere he can like he’s checking for bumps or scrapes or anything that shouldn’t be there. He finally stops with his hands holding Ranboo's face, and he's crying, too.

“You’re alive?” He chokes out, and Ranboo nods.

“I’m alive.”

“How? What–how?” Tubbo is still frantically scanning his face, brushing his hair out of his face, and all Ranboo can do is let out an incredulous laugh.

“I have no idea.”

Tubbo’s hands shift down to touch his chin, his neck, his shoulders, his arms, and then stop on his chest. He bunches up the fabric in both hands.

“Are you, is there–” he starts to ask, but cuts himself off, like he can’t bring himself to actually say it. It does take a moment for Ranboo to figure out what he’s trying to say, but then it hits him. The scar. Or maybe Tubbo is thinking of it as a wound, because the last he saw, that’s all it was. A big, nasty looking wound that was fatal. 

Ranboo grabs his hands, threading their fingers together and shaking his head.

“No, no, it’s gone. However I was revived, it got rid of all the scars.”

Tubbo makes a wounded sound in the back of his throat and pulls one of his hands free. Reaching up, he carefully brushes a thumb across his cheeks, touch so light Ranboo almost thinks he imagines it.

“Then you’ve been crying. Before this, I mean,” he adds, before Ranboo can say anything. “Why were you crying?”

Without even thinking about how it will feel on the burns, he leans into the touch, smiling softly at him. “I missed you.” 

Tubbo’s face scrunches up at that. “I fucking hate you so much.” Before Ranboo can respond to the comment that he knows isn’t true, Tubbo kisses him. It doesn’t last long, neither of them really capable of not crying at the moment, but it still makes Ranboo feel giddy doing it after such a long time being apart.

“No I don’t,” Tubbo says as soon as he pulls away. “I don’t hate you. I love you so much.”

Ranboo touches their foreheads together, bringing a hand up to wipe away some of Tubbo’s tears and ignoring how his skin screams at it. “I know you do.”

Tubbo’s quick to grab his hand and pull it away, giving him a halfway scolding look, but pushing it aside. They can deal with it later. He just continues to touch him, his face, his hair, his neck, like he’s convincing himself that this is real.

“You’re okay, you’re alive, fuck. I missed you. So much. I love you.”

“I love you too. I love you,” Ranboo says, managing to press kisses to his forehead in between words.  

“Are you okay, though?” Tubbo asks, then clarifies. “You were alright here? They took care of you?”

He keeps glancing between Ranboo and somewhere behind him where he can’t see, and he can only assume he’s looking at the other Tommy and Tubbo.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s been fine. I mean, memory stuff happened, but y’know.” He shrugs. “That’s pretty normal.”

That final reassurance must be what he needs because a lot of the tension drains out of Tubbo as he practically folds himself down into Ranboo’s lap, arms looping around his waist and head pressing into his chest.

“I’m just so happy that you remember us,” he breathes. “I was worried– I didn’t know if–”

Ranboo lifts his head up, making sure to hold eye contact with him. “I could never forget you. Never.”

***

The reunions continue. Niki is the next to greet him, hugging him tightly and telling him how much she missed him. Nothing has been the same with him gone, she says, and it’s a weighty feeling, being told that your presence has that much impact on people. Techno and Phil greet him, and while they don’t say much, he can tell by their expressions that they’re trying to hold it together for everyone’s sake. They’ve always been people who show their emotions rather than say them, anyway. 

And it isn’t long before Tommy is asking to be introduced to Techno. It’s actually funny, because it’s so like the usual dynamic between Techno and their Tommy that Ranboo actually feels a little bad for Techno. After learning how great a fighter Techno is, Tommy launches into what feels like a million questions that Techno begrudgingly answers, but he seems pleased at how amazed Tommy is. 

The two Phils talk, and Ranboo is pretty sure at some point he sees both of them with books out, asking each other questions and then writing things down. Apparently, no one had to give either of them the idea to talk about the differences between the two worlds; they had already had the thought themselves. The differences between them are even more apparent now with the two standing side by side. Even then, it’s just with their appearances, because their mannerisms are pretty much identical. 

Just like he thought, Tubbo is exasperated to see that his other self is indeed a bee. Apparently he had been told this beforehand, but seeing it in person was a whole other thing. Things did get a bit awkward between the two when he was asked about the scar on his face, but other than that things were fine. All in all, the doubles that were there were more similar than everyone thought.

(Niki was a little upset that she wasn’t able to see her other self, but understood that it would have been difficult to make it happen.)

And Michael was just happy to see everyone, proudly going up to everyone with both Phils in tow proclaiming that he has two grandpas now, which got some laughs and some shock from the Phil that isn’t actually his grandpa. It did lead to him being called old, which annoyed both of them. 

He was especially curious about “Not Papa”, as he called him. They don’t have anyone back home with wings like his, so he’s amazed at how delicate they are when he’s carefully guided through touching them. He giggles at the softness of the fuzz on his arms, and there’s only one accident of him pulling on the antenna too hard. 

Everyone else is talking amongst themselves when Michael decides his explorations are over, and he’s walked back over to Ranboo by the other Tubbo. Michael immediately holds his arms up, and without hesitating Ranboo picks him up and settles him on his hip. Tubbo is still standing next to them, looking out at everyone else in the room.  

“Is it weird?” Ranboo asks, briefly startling him, and he turns to look at him.

“What?”

“Seeing me with my Tubbo,” he clarifies, “considering how it is with this world’s Ranboo.” 

Tubbo shrugs. “I can’t lie, it is a little. But we’re also so different from each other that I can still make that separation.” He pauses and looks back towards everyone. Ranboo follows, but ends up just looking at his Tubbo. Which he really isn’t surprised about. He always ends up going back to Tubbo. “And, I don’t know. Watching the two of you, it’s almost weird to think that you two wouldn’t be like this with each other.”

Of all things, that embarrasses him, his face heating up and ears flicking downward briefly. It can’t be the first time he’s ever been told this, but it makes him feel all sappy knowing that other people can see how happy he is with Tubbo, how happy being together makes both of them. Because really, he can’t imagine himself being anywhere else with anyone else, either.  

“Speaking of, where is the other Ranboo?” he asks, trying to will his face to cool down. Tubbo hums noncommittally.

“Home, according to Phil. Guess he didn’t want to be around us or something. Phil didn’t explain too much.”

That has to be strange, right? But then again, he supposes that it does make sense that the other Ranboo wouldn’t want to stick around if no one here was going to be happy to see him. It’s still a little disappointing for the part of Ranboo that was curious to see what he was like for himself.

“Huh. Guess I won’t be meeting him, then.” 

“Eh, I don’t think it would have been that mind blowing or anything.” He nods towards the others. “They probably have a lot of stories to tell, though.” 

They likely do. But those stories will have to wait for later, because from the looks of it, they’re going back into the room with the portal, which can only mean that it’s time to leave. He’s almost a little sad to go. But he’s also ready to be home, and Michael yawning into his shoulder does make a nap sound pretty good right now. He just needs to make sure he writes down what he can remember before that. 

He hoists Michael up a little higher, changing the position slightly, and then turns to the Tubbo standing next to him.

“Looks like we’re heading back. Thanks for staying with me.”

Tubbo laughs and lightly punches his arm. “Thanks for actually being pleasant to be around.”

With that, he makes his way into the portal room, and his Tubbo is standing there waiting for him. He can just see the last bit of Techno go through, and then it’s just them. Their little family back together again after, well, he really doesn’t know. He’ll have to ask how long it’s been. 

Tubbo holds out his hand, and Ranboo takes it. He missed this. Even just this one little thing. He’s missed holding his hand. And they’re still holding hands when they step into the portal together. Everything starts to get wobbly and tingly, and right as his vision starts to swim he glances back to see the other Phil, Tommy, and Tubbo standing there, giving one last wave goodbye. He manages to wave back just enough to be seen with the hand still holding Michael, and then he’s gone.

It’s that same darkness from before he woke up in that bed in that cave. That same pull towards some direction, towards some point in the distance. That same feeling of weightlessness, with nothing around him to see, or feel, or hear. And then there’s a whirling sound, and a small burst of wind, and then his feet touch the ground. 

It already feels different, even with his eyes closed. The air is warm, but in the way it is when you’re trying to fight against the cold. That smell of heat, like something might be burning, but not enough to make you fear a fire starting. And it’s almost dusty, like something old is nearby, but again, not enough to overwhelm, just enough to notice. It’s all so suddenly familiar, and Michael’s weight in his arms comes back, and he can feel Tubbo’s hand still in his, can feel where his ring bumps against his fingers and where all the callouses are from the work he’s constantly doing. 

And when he blinks his eyes open and can see snow falling outside a window, he knows he’s home.