Chapter Text
When Ranboo hears the door to his home open from where he’s searching through his chests down in his basement, he expects to hear Phil’s cheerful ‘hey, mate!’ or a subdued ‘hello’ from Technoblade.
He’s getting used to their habits of entering each others’ spaces without needing to be invited. It’s… domestic. Familial. Something Ranboo can’t remember ever having before moving out of L’Manberg and into the secluded peace of the tundra, before finding his place beside Tubbo, as a husband and a father. Leaving the blood soaked grounds of L’Manberg has given him a substantive chance at healing, existing alongside people that trust him, whom he can trust in turn.
But a few beats pass without any other sounds from the floor above following the metallic clang of the door.
Something is wrong.
The uncharacteristic silence puts Ranboo on edge and he summons his axe, ready to fight if he needs to do so. The server is becoming a cesspool of trauma that breeds dangerous players, ones that have only ever seen him at his weakest. After aiding Technoblade during the era of the Butcher Army, he knows he’s a target. Or a pawn, if someone wanted to do more than just kill Technoblade; their allegiance wasn't so subtle as to go unnoticed by those that wished them harm. If someone like that is here, they are not expecting him to be able to defend himself. Maybe they even expect that he will not remember them. It would be a… reasonable enough assumption, had he not been surrounded by people that sought to help him heal, now. This new family is healing wounds he hadn't even known could be treated. He has an advantage that no one outside of the commune was aware of. He can remember, and he can fight. Really fight. He has a new precision, a new drive. He has people to protect and people to live for. If there was a time to use what Technoblade has been teaching him, it’s now. He can prove that he's grown. He isn't helpless or weak-willed anymore.
Assess the situation, he thinks, there was no impact of a falling body, no one just collapsed and is now in urgent need of help. There were no footsteps up to the second floor. Whoever they are, they are standing still, just inside the door. There were no creaks from the chests upstairs… they weren’t here to take anything. There are two possibilities. Either someone or something wandered in, or someone wants me specifically, and wants me to come to them, he concludes.
He prefers the former, but when does he ever get what he wants? If he were one to believe in a higher power, he would think that the universe did not want him to have the peace he's found here, but at this point, he’s decided it’s a collection of unfortunate coincidences that toes the line between annoying and depressing as opposed to something like fate. It does him no favors to believe he's destined to be unhappy.
He closes his eyes and takes a quiet breath in, pausing, and exhaling out the last of his nerves.
Mind focused, he pictures where he needs to be, and with a final steadying breath, he teleports upstairs.
He blinks away the particles snowing down around him, scanning the room for the intruder. He turns, his axe in front of him.
The intruder stands just within the doorway, a gloved hand holding the door open. Their confident posture greeting his own far more tense stance.
He so desperately wishes this was just a nightmare he could wake himself up from, but the static that creeps up and around his senses is all too real. All too reminiscent of a time in his life he thought he left behind him.
His hold on the axe slackens before it falls away completely. The dull thud of his weapon hitting the carpeted floor is the last clear sound he hears before the static in his head grows to become overwhelming.
He stumbles forwards onto his knees at the intruder's feet, mind revolting violently as he loses control. His screams stay trapped within his skull as he feels his arm reach out to the hand extended to him against his will.
He almost wishes that he'd be taken under like all the times before, but something is different.
There's a purple hue to everything, a detail he's never remembered or found written down in his book. He's still seeing and processing and remembering.
Something is wrong.
When Ranboo heard his front door open from his basement, he had not expected to be face to face with the soulless eyes of Dream’s mask.
– ◐ –
Tommy hasn't seen Phil for a while.
A lot has been happening, okay? Tommy was busy being awesome and Phil was busy cozying up with good ol’ Technoblade in the tundra or whatever. Tommy is just Wilbur’s awkward little childhood friend, it’s not like Phil owes him anything. It’s not like he saw Phil as a father, seeing as he had practically raised Tommy because he and Wil were inseparable since the day Wilbur found him.
It’s not like Phil killed Tommy’s friend and older brother figure and bombed his home.
...Okay, so maybe Tommy is feeling some anger about everything.
But Ghostbur had wanted to see Phil, and Tommy is having a hard time being as much of a pain in the ass around Ghostbur as he would prefer, as of late. He’s going soft and it's ridiculous. It does make sense in a way, though. He had always felt something more–something different–about Wilbur, no matter how they both changed as they grew up. They tried their best to take care of each other. They were a family to each other when their own families failed them. Wil so selflessly took care of Tommy for years, and Tommy cannot begrudge who he became after the hell he went through before he died. He’ll always love the man who was his brother in everything but blood. Ghostbur is still a part of Wil, so maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world to do this one thing for him and go with him to see Phil.
It will be a little awkward if he runs into Technoblade, though.
Tommy breathes in a small hiss of air through his teeth. Yeah… Rough history there. No big deal, though, he has it all handled. He’s Tommy-fucking-Innit, after all.
When Tommy arrives with Ghostbur at Phil and Techno’s tundra commune (or whatever the fuck they're calling it), he expects some awkward tension and some passive-aggressive remarks that will go completely over Ghostbur’s head.
What Tommy had not expected was to watch as Dream, the massive prick that was supposed to be in prison, turned to him from his place in Ranboo’s doorway before vanishing in a cloud of purple particles.
Oh, fuck that.
– ◐ –
When Tubbo’s communicator pings with a new message, he expects an update from Ranboo on when he would be dropping in to Snowchester.
They had plans for Ranboo to start moving some of his things to the mansion today.
It means more to him than he thinks he could ever explain to his friend. Especially since he knows Ranboo has become attached to the two he had been living with in the tundra.
It felt good to be someone’s first choice, is all. He knows he and Michael are important to Ranboo, but it feels different to know Ranboo is going to be moving to live with him in Snowchester. He likes the feeling that comes with having that affirmation; that feeling of being wanted in someone's life. He’s grown so used to being the one reaching out, to being the one in the friendship to be open. He loves his friends, but it felt nice not to be the one in the relationship labeled as ‘clingy’. That’s not to say he doesn't love the dynamic he has with Tommy! That’s their thing, is all. He didn't have to have that dynamic with all his friends.
Ranboo wants to live here just as much as Tubbo does, and he never tries to play it off as something that doesn't mean a great deal to him. He appreciates everything Ranboo has given him. They aren't in love, but he still loves Ranboo dearly. What they have works. They’re happy. Living in Snowchester together feels like a new chapter; a second chance.
Protecting Ranboo from Quackity’s plan to execute him at the festival had been mostly selfish; it had been projection and emotional exhaustion. But living as he is now, with someone he knows he did right by, a bright light shining amongst all the darkened wrongs that came from his actions in L’Manberg, he feels hope. L’Manberg was hell, but he left there knowing that for all his faults, he at least did this one thing right.
They’re excited to have all three of them in one place, where they could turn their mansion into a home. It has more room for Michael, for Ranboo’s pets, for all the storage they’ve found themselves needing. The pets are a part of the arrangement that Tubbo is particularly looking forward to. Michael will get to meet all of Ranboo’s pets and have more permanent company when they are out and about. He is, admittedly, a little worried about what will happen with the cats and the chickens in the same space… but that is a problem for later.
He distractedly opens up his messages, doing a small dance around Michael’s room with the small zombie pigman on his hip.
His movements slow to a halt as he reads through frantic words coming through on the screen.
TommyInnit whispered to you: hey big ma n
TommyInnit whispered to you: some shit is going down
TommyInnit whispered to you: just saw dream outside ofth e prion
TommyInnit whispered to you: he
TommyInnit whispered to you: took ranboo with him wherever he is now
TommyInnit whispered to you: i dontk now how he got out but he was here at technos
TommyInnit whispered to you: an then he wasnt
When Tubbo’s communicator pinged with a new message, he had not expected to have his world start to crumble around him with every word.
If Dream has Ranboo, then he’s in danger. Again.
He knows about what happened in Logstedshire with Tommy.
He’d listened as his best friend sobbed, heaving out words through violent shudders against his chest as he recounted what he could stomach sharing when they promised to be honest with each other. For so long, they had been victims of Dream’s manipulation and of their own naivety, too young to realize they couldn't expect the other to read their mind and understand their choices. In the weeks that followed, they talked for the first time in years, about their vulnerabilities and nightmares. They told each other their darkest memories, trusting the other to use that information towards healing, towards caring for each other. Trusting Tommy was now one of the easiest things in the world. Tommy trusting him, in turn, meant the world. He didn't know he could have that with someone.
Now, he has that with Tommy and Ranboo.
He knew, from when Ranboo asked him to read his book–to help him find what was real and what was a lie within its pages–that Ranboo would mean everything to him.
Ranboo chose to trust him, and he holds that truth close to his heart, to be cherished.
Now, Ranboo knows his past as well as Tommy does, and he can remember it without the need of his book.
They keep a journal anyway, one that they write together so that Ranboo can have something to fall back on if he ever relapses. They write it together so Ranboo can trust that everything within its pages is true. It gives him that peace of mind. He’s healing. They both are.
Tubbo understands, now, how Dream used him to get Tommy alone, to drive them apart. He had watched as Dream shouted orders and made demands, watched as Tommy just… listened as Dream destroyed all Tommy’s possessions before help arrived and Dream was taken to prison. He knows that Tommy watched Dream destroy his belongings for his entire exile. He knows Tommy is still afraid of keeping anything valuable, worried it will go to waste in a matter of days or hours.
Tubbo understands, now, that Ranboo is afraid of not being in control of his own body. He knows his husband, he knows that he is afraid he will hurt people he cares about, because he still doesn't know if some of the things in that book were true. He's scared to trust, but he trusts Tubbo. He trusted him enough to find a loophole in Dream’s rules, to find a way to tell Tubbo what was happening when Dream was doing everything in his power to isolate Ranboo.
Dream has already hurt so many people. Has hurt him. Tommy. Ranboo.
If he has taken Ranboo…
No.
No, Tubbo isn't going to let anything happen to him.
When he'd read through that book, he had promised Ranboo that he would protect him. They were married, for fuck’s sake, it’s in the job description.
Ranboo must be terrified. He knows how much he fears the helplessness that came with being nothing more than a vessel for Dream’s whims.
But they’re just kids, and Tommy and Tubbo aren't enough to stop Dream, he knows that now. They're going to need help.
As a plan forms in his head, Tubbo goes about bundling Michael up in warmer clothes. He'll need them for where they are going. There is no way that Michael is leaving his sight right now. If something happens to him at Ranboo’s hand while he is under Dream’s control… he fears that his husband will never be able to come back from that. The safest place for Michael is with Tubbo.
Now, he just needs to summon the Syndicate and reveal that he knows they exist. Easy.
– ◐ –
When Technoblade opens his front door, he expects a shivering Ranboo looking for help moving things to Snowchester.
He knows the kid is moving, he keeps tabs on him. For the Syndicate. Not because he cares about him. Or worries about him.
Absolutely not.
He didn't agree with his choice, of course. Snowchester was lovely, sure, but something about it always made Technoblade pause. Surprisingly, it wasn't fully connected to Tubbo. The kid had been a political figure, but he was also just a kid, only a few months older than Ranboo. The voices craved Tubbo’s blood, but Technoblade was tired of hurting the kid under the influence of external pressures. Or… internal pressures, in this instance.
His core reasoning being that he's tired of being used. He has his people now, and as long as Snowchester doesn't establish a government, he has no reason to intervene. He will not let the voices convince him to hurt someone that is important to Ranboo.
When Technoblade opened his front door, he had not expected to see Tubbo, out of breath and with a child clinging to his coat.
“Ranboo’s in danger, and I need the Syndicate’s help.”
– ◐ –
When Niki is messaged to come to the commune, she expects… Well, she has no idea what she should expect. The Syndicate has a meeting place; they don't use the commune for gatherings, even though three of the four members live there. That's just how they operate.
When Niki was messaged to come to the commune, she had not expected to hear that the closest thing she had to a little brother had been taken by one of the most powerful people on the server with a history of tormenting kids.
“Please, I know I shouldn't know what the Syndicate is, but Ranboo and I don't have secrets. We don't- we can’t, it puts us both in danger. I was never going to- to do anything with the information, I swear.”
Technoblade lets out a disbelieving huff at that, but doesn't interrupt.
“All that mattered to me was that Ranboo had a group of people that cared about him. You're the only people I can trust right now, because he trusts you, but he's not safe. Dream- Dream took him. Tommy said he saw Dream and Ranboo teleport. He used Ranboo, he used him to teleport somewhere, and we don't know where they are or what Dream is going to do to him. I don't know what he's going to do-” Tubbo cuts himself off, suddenly dry heaving, his panic only serving to make him sick.
Niki rushes to his side as he crumples to the cold wooden floor, a hand on his arm to steady him while the other rubs circles into his back. She knows his upset is genuine. She knows she can trust this changed Tubbo. The one who cares for her brother, the one who married her brother. She feels the connection they both share, and understands the impulse to protect Ranboo. The impulse she knows they both feel deep in their souls.
Bad people see her brother's vulnerabilities as a means to control him. He's always fallen so easily to manipulation. She's seen it time and again. She remembers more than Ranboo does, keeps the memories of tearful nights and cruel peers to herself while Ranboo’s lost most of them, and for that she is grateful.
But as she looks at Tubbo, all she sees is grief. She sees a kid who has lost every good thing he's been able to grab hold of all his life that is so desperately fighting to keep Ranboo with him, rather than watch him be lost like every other thing he's held dear.
She knows she can trust the child who sees Ranboo’s vulnerabilities and seeks only to love and protect and hold him close.
“Why should we trust you? Dream is supposed to be in prison,” Technoblade demands, resting his palm on the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheath it at the slightest provocation.
Clearly, Technoblade is going to be harder to sway.
She understands, but that doesn't mean she's not less than pleased. Time is precious, at present.
“Tommy told me you owe Dream a favor, and if it weren't for the Syndicate I would never ask for your help, Technoblade. I don't know if you know all that your ‘friend’ has done to me, Tommy, and Ranboo. He’s inhumane. Cruel. All I can do is hope that Ranboo means more to you than someone who abuses kids,” at Tubbo’s admission, Niki stills. Dream has hurt Ranboo before?
“Tubbo, what has Dream done to Ranboo?” she asks, but she is afraid of the answer. She needs to know, though, what happened. She can't help her brother if she doesn't know what type of damage has been done this time around. If she has to kill Dream herself to keep him safe, she will. Just like she has to every other vile piece of shit she's laid waste to for hurting her only family.
At her question, Tubbo laughs. It's almost unhinged.
“If he hasn't told you, why should I? Mmh, you know what? Just know this: since Dream went to prison, Ranboo’s memory isn't fucked up anymore, he doesn't wake up screaming every night, he doesn't flinch at sudden movement, and he is proud of his heritage and works to understand it rather than fear and suppress it,” by the end, Tubbo was rubbing away angry tears, fists clenched tight.
Niki is not fairing much better, enraged at the implications. She had no idea her brother had been hurting so deeply.
When she had seen Ranboo with friends he had made all on his own, people she knew and thought she could trust, she had given him space to be his own person. She had never thought that that would be one of her biggest regrets, now. Never again will she leave her little brother to face the world alone.
She looks to Phil, who nods at her. He knows she plans to get involved, with or without them. She has his support, though, and it's comforting.
Tubbo must understand the exchange, as he slumps further to the floor, hugging himself in what she can only assume is relief. She kneels next to him, arm around his small, trembling shoulders.
She turns to Technoblade, expression defiant. She would not have joined the Syndicate if she did not trust him to have good judgment. They had agreed on a common enemy: governments and corruption. But Dream isn't a government. He’s a solo player with a penchant for chaos. Technoblade is drawn to that energy, as he shares that same insatiable need. She would know, she carries her own flavor of chaos, as does Phil. It is why the Syndicate works. But it also makes them unpredictable.
“You don't have to look at me like that, Niki,” Technoblade sighes and pinches the bridge of his nose before holding her gaze, “I care about the kid, too. He’s growin’ on me. Like some kinda fungus. Of course I'm helpin’,” he says, voice firm.
At the admission, Tubbo lets out a sob. Niki wraps herself around him, pulling him to her. He buries his face against her neck and her eyes burn in empathy. She only holds him tighter, hand settling into his hair, grounding them both.
Her fingertips brush against something metal, and she notices a band wrapped around one of Tubbo’s small horns. It’s made of obsidian and emerald, subtle but beautifully intricate. It’s Ranboo’s craftsmanship. She would know, she has a locket that he had made her. The obsidian is Ranboo’s signature, no one else on the server uses it in jewelry.
Tubbo must feel her pause when she finds the ring.
“He's important to me. I promised I would protect him, Niki. And right now… Right now I have no idea what to do. I hate it. I hate it so much,” he sniffles.
He's just a child. He's too young to have to shoulder the feeling of losing his world.
Before she can offer any words of comfort, Tommy enters the room chasing a small zombie pigman, no older than four years old. She tenses. She hasn't interacted with Tommy much recently.
“Sorry, Tubbo. Big Mike heard you crying, I couldn't keep him out,” Tommy says, softer than she's ever heard him speak. Ghostbur floats in behind Tommy. He appears to be taking his babysitting job seriously as he keeps a close watch on the young pigman.
The toddler runs up to Tubbo and into his arms, huffing in distress. She tightens her grip to keep the trio from tumbling to the floor and makes room for the child as his tiny hands pat Tubbo’s cheeks, unhesitant in touching the scar tissue along the right side of his face. Tubbo lets out a wet laugh, delicately holding one of the child's hands and pressing a kiss to his palm.
“Hi, Michael… Hi, buddy. I'm okay, I'm okay. Bee’s okay,” he assures and Niki’s heart clenches at the sight. This is her brother’s family. He has a family. Everyone in this room cares for her brother.
How much would her brother give to see them right now? To be with them and see all of his family together in one place, peacefully?
Why does this have to be the circumstance that unites them?
She doesn't even mind that Ranboo never told her about being married or adopting a kid. How can she be upset when they’re clearly so… good? How can she be upset when she has barely reached out? When her distancing from him has only solidified the feelings of isolation that go hand in hand with the manipulation he's faced? How can she begrudge him this after being in a situation where he was clearly being abused? They’ll talk about it later, for sure. But for right now, the priority is getting him back.
Philza seems to be processing the kid’s existence as well. Technoblade, on the other hand, appears unphased. He must have known, seeing as Tubbo came to him, and Technoblade was the one to summon her and Philza.
Technoblade clears his throat.
“Okay, we need a plan of attack. Firstly: Tommy, you’re stayin’ here with Ghostbur and the kid. You've been involved with Dream before, you don't need the unnecessary exposure,” Tommy goes to protest Technoblade’s words, but he just raises a hand and moves on, “Tubbo, if you weren't very directly connected to this, I'd be havin’ you sit out, too, but we might be needin’ you there.”
Tubbo nods as he picks Michael up and holds him against his chest, the child’s small head resting on his shoulder. Niki’s arms fall away as he rises back up to his full height, ready to do whatever Technoblade needs him to do to keep Ranboo safe.
Satisfied, Technoblade continues on. “We have to figure out what Dream could want that only Ranboo could get him.”