Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For a moment, everything was cold. 

Fear shot through Ranboo’s head, and his gaze scrambled in a frantic fashion. Was he back at the facility? Had someone kidnapped Tubbo and Tommy as well? Then the lingering warmth from once resting bodies sunk into his body, and he could feel the chill of the winter air pass through his thin blankets and into his bones. He was still in bed, just the last one to wake up. Shaking his head, he let out a low warble and shifted himself off the singular mattress. Feathers dusted the shared room of him and his friends, and he could just make out the remnants of pollen from the flowers that somehow hadn’t died. 

Slipping on a pair of run-down, once fluffy slippers and ducking under the doorframe, just barely missing his horns, he waltzed into the hallway of their not so abandoned apartment. The entire complex was partially demolished from an old fire, and the Esempi Government didn’t really care much to repair it, so it was home to mostly impoverished people and villains who didn’t want too much attention on them. 

Sweeping into the kitchen, Ranboo ran a tired hand through his hair before gently placing his hand on the surgically implanted piece of alien biology in his chest. The pearl glistened in the dim sunlight that filtered through windows covered in different kinds of ivy and vines. A cold hand was placed on his shoulder and he jumped in alarm. Laughter erupted from behind him, and he turned to see Tubbo cackling with his hands on his knees, hair jumping with the amused sound. 

The boy raised his head, and Ranboo watched as the bionic eye where his left eye previously was shuddered and rolled before the blue L.E.D landed on him. A bright smile was stretched across the brunette’s face, so Ranboo couldn’t be all that mad. “Big man! You’re transformed, did you have another nightmare?” Tubbo’s voice darted around the room, the modifier implanted in his throat changing it with almost every word. Blinking, Ranboo shrugged, “I think I did it when I woke up, cause I thought I was back in the facility.”

Self-conscious of his appearance, Ranboo slowly shrunk from his complete, almost 8’3”, piebald form into a more humanoid form. He was still quite tall, standing at 6’6” but now instead of a monochromatic color scheme, he had fluffy brown hair that fell over one eye and had grown into a mullet. Craning his mouth into a grin, he knew his canines were still incredibly sharp, but now if someone busted in to rob their apartment they wouldn’t be scared off immediately. 

Tubbo pulled something off of his wrist and it dropped towards Ranboo. Taking the black hair tie carefully, the tall teen tied his hair back into a small ponytail and blinked softly. The smaller boy’s mechanical wings buzzed from his backpack, but he didn’t make the effort to lift off the ground, “Tommy’s out getting groceries. I’m put in charge of making sure you look presentable for your interview.” 

A pit dropped in Ranboo’s stomach as he remembered what today was. He was supposed to be signing in for an interview as an intern at Crew Hero Corps. while Tommy and Tubbo would split off to Sleepy Boys Terrace. Both were pretty high-end hero headquarters, but they couldn’t be too conspicuous by all submitting to the same HQ. Purple particles began appearing around Ranboo, and a low humming echoed through the room, as if the particles were annoyed by being woken up. 

Tubbo gripped Ranboo’s hand shortly, and the cold hum of the boy’s mechanical arm thrummed against his hand. The particles giggled in glee at the interaction, and they sleepily disappeared back into wherever weirdly sentient particles went. Heterochromatic eyes softening, Ranboo made weak eye contact with Tubbo, who shook his head, “Don’t get too stressed, or Chatter will awaken in all of us and that might not be the best first impression.” Tubbo’s version of Chatter, miniature mechanical dolls almost identical to him, must’ve been out doing something when they slept last, since Ranboo hadn’t seen them. Tommy would’ve suffered the consequences of having butterflies randomly appear around him, the thought making Ranboo crack an amused grin.

Chatter was what connected all three boys, a remnant of their time in the facility. It manifested itself differently, depending on the artificial power the boys developed. While Ranboo had his beast form + leftover teleportation from the alien pearl, his Chatter were the most protective but also the largest in number. Tubbo had mechanical manipulation, and multiple implants to accompany it, but his Chatter were the most intelligent and followed his footsteps in almost everything. Tommy’s were fragile, just like the state of the boy when Chatter had manifested itself, but they were the most dangerous. Each butterly had removable scales that, if touched to the bare skin of a non-chatter holder, would put them to sleep. 

Carefully, Ranboo was tugged back into the shared bedroom of the three teenage boys. Tubbo shuffled impatiently through their closet, grabbing a recently ironed white button up, a pair of nice black slacks, and a pair of suspenders. Shoving them towards Ranboo, he left the room quite quickly. 

With shaky hands, Ranboo unbuttoned the shirt and slipped it on. The whole process of getting dressed was quite shaky, but the suspenders were probably the worst part. By the time he was finished, Tubbo entered the room with his hair nicely combed back from his eyes, and completely dressed for his own interview. “Sit on the floor, big man,” Tubbo pointed to the thin rug before the bed. Placing himself gently down onto the rug, he relaxed against the other boy’s knees.

The feeling of the comb passing through his hair was relaxing, and the mutated boy had to resist the urge to release a purr. Just as soon as the comforting feeling had started, it was pulled from him. A loud slam echoed through the apartment as the final roommate of the trio returned. “Boys! Where are you at?” the residual quiet was sucked in as the most excitable of the trio peered into the room. His shock of blond hair flopped gently and piercing electric blue orbs paired with a grin were shot in their direction, “We ready to get some money money? Cause I think it’s long overdue.” 

Tubbo laughed, and Ranboo cracked a smile at the interaction. Tommy fished for something in his grocery bag before extending it to Ranboo, “Here. Since your mouth is still, y’know.” He gestured to the long scars that pierced the side of Ranboo’s mouth. If enough effort was placed into his actions, Ranboo could open his mouth completely along those scars, but it was definitely unsettling to the normal civilian. In Tommy’s pale hand rested a monochromatic black and white medical mask, causing Ranboo to gasp, “my brand!” 

Carefully taking the mask, he strapped onto his face, and felt tension release from his body, if only slightly. The boys all gripped each in a tight hug, before barrelling out the door. They had only half an hour to each get to their destination, but Tubbo’s and Tommy’s took the longest to get to.

There was a small lift to Ranboo’s step, as he traversed from the Pogtopia district in L’manberg, and aimed more towards El Rapids District, where Crew Hero Corps had it’s main institution. Most people paid him no mind, and he had to resist the urge to chirp in elation. He could see as he wandered the streets all different kinds of genetically transferred powers, such as a family that all had three eyes each. His hand rested gently against his pearl, and as he wandered towards his destination, he wondered if once upon a time if he had natural powers such as that.

Shaking his head, he gaze upwards towards the shockingly purple building. The exterior decorating was done by Time Warp, the travelling hero, while the interior was supposedly done by Jack of Cards, the gambling hero. Ranboo didn’t understand why someone would take “gambling” as their title if they were a hero, but it was none of his business at the moment. Pushing through the revolving door, he was opened into a beautifully crafted marble lobby, where he could just spot other teenagers and young adults patiently waiting. Placing himself before the check-in counter, he coughed softly, “Um, hello.”

The person at the counter, young with a startling shock of pastel hair, cracked an eyebrow, “Another interviewee? You signed up beforehand, right? Just tell me your name.” Ranboo, at the time of signing up, hadn’t given himself a good alias, so he had just submitted his “real” name, “Ranboo Live Beloved, from the Pogtopia District.” The receptionist nodded, the keys on their keyboard clicking as they typed it in. Carefully they picked up a bowl full of small candies, “Take some butterscotch, or a jolly rancher. Whichever you prefer. Your name’s in the system, so you can go sit with the other interviewees.” Carefully taking one piece of butterscotch candy and one blue raspberry jolly rancher, he shuffled off to the seating by the other wall. 

The other interviewees were chattering amongst themselves, but Ranboo didn’t really mind staying alone. Facing himself towards the wall, he slightly removed his mask and lifted open his mouth near his ear. The less frightening he was the better, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t erase the convenience of his, extendo-mouth? Whatever it was. Slipping the strap of his mask on, he pulled his headphones out and connected them to his phone, foot tapping to a just beginning beat. 

Time passed quite smoothly, and soon enough from the office Ranboo had seen so many teens leave with frowns, his own voice was called. Dress shoes tapped against the marble flooring as he nudged the door open with his shoulder. Sitting at the desk were three men. A man with chocolate colored hair, and two with ebony black hair. One of the ebony-haired men had a white headband, and the other’s hair was wildly flowing outwards but a wicked scar marked him as a very not-so-familiar face.

These were the three heroes who had originally founded the Crew Hero Corps. Time Warp, the travelling hero, Fireball, the arson hero, and Jack of Cards, the gambling hero. Time Warp raised his head with a small grin, “Welcome, you must be Ranboo Live Beloved! Come sit down, please.” Conceding his head down with a nod, Ranboo placed himself in the plush chair before the large desk. His legs instinctually crossed at the ankles but he tried to ignore it as best as possible.

Jack of Cards sent him a wider, almost faker, grin, “So, you’re from the Pogtopia District? Were you born there or?” Ranboo grimaced beneath his mask, licking his tongue along his face. Taking a deep breath he shrugged, “I don’t remember. I just know I live there now, I have slight long-term memory loss,” the silver-coated lie spilled from his lips with ease. There was an appraising look from Jack of Cards before he leaned back.

Fireball leaned forwards on one arm, cocking an eyebrow at him, “Do you have any powers? Can you show us them?” Sighing, Ranboo placed his hand against the strap of his mask, “It’s kinda gruesome, you sure you wanna see?” It was gruesome for him to open his mouth, but it was a side-effect of the transition from beast to human, so he would deal with it. The three heroes shared a look before turning to him and nodding. Slowly, he peeled off his mask and revealed the situation with his mouth. 

Carefully, he let his tongue out, and then opened the rest of his mouth, revealing the sharpened canines and sharper teeth past them. Technically he had two more rows of teeth past that, but that was only if he lost the first row. Shutting his mouth, he placed the mask back against his face and quietly glanced towards the three heroes. They were worryingly silent, causing Ranboo to stiffen. Had it been wrong to show them his mouth? His nerves grew, and he knew Chatter would appear soon if he wasn’t careful. 

Before he could get too high-strung, Fireball spoke, “That was so cool!” Auburn eyes sparked with a small flame within them. Ranboo blanched at the statement, trying to process the words before Time Warp chimed in, “I haven’t ever seen a power that does that to someone! That seems so freaky, but so interesting!”

Jack of Cards was worryingly silent, before he sighed and twisted his tie, “I think we’re through with the formal questions then, since these two seem to have broken the immersion.” His face seemed to soften a margin and he looked at the other two in the room, who had the discretion to look a little sheepish. His gaze returned onto the tall teen, who immediately shrunk even further. Placing his hand flat against the desk, he craned a brow at Ranboo, “Tell us, Ranboo. What do you know about Crew Hero Corp. and it’s inhabitants.”

Taking a deep breath, he tried to recall what Tommy had told him about the industry he sat in the midst of. Licking his mouth beneath his mask, he breathed out, “Well, Crew Hero was an idea proposed by Time Warp,” his long finger was jammed softly in his direction, “and Jack of Cards and Fireball followed. You three were considered one of the strongest trios for heroes of the century, just behind the Sleepy Boys. But, Crew rose to the top after recruiting number 1 hero Dream and the underground hero Error 404.” Another figure was jammed to the picture on the wall, showing a smiling white orb and a brown haired man with large white goggles and a mushroom hat.

Continuing, Ranboo shuddered softly, “Time Warp was an underground hero until he saved pro hero Ph1lza from an attack by the End King, number 1 villain at the time, and his forces. Jack of Cards and Fireball arrived soon after, and took the hero world by storm. But they are still one of the most well-known heroes in the world, even past Esempi.” He raised an eyebrow towards them, as if in challenge against his knowledge. 

Time Warp shared a look with his partners before smiling at Ranboo and sticking out a hand, “Well, Ranboo. You have the job! Welcome to the Crew Hero Corp, newbie.” Ranboo’s eyes widened in surprise, and he carefully shook one of Time Warp’s fingers. If he wasn’t careful, he would probably faint or summon Chatter on accident. He was dismissed soon after, with promise that he would return tomorrow for his first day of work.

Just as he stepped out of the hero agency, he resisted a squeal of delight as Chatter revealed themselves. They danced around him, a sort of congratulations that Tubbo always compared to the way bees communicated. He hoped the other boys’ interview was going well. 

Everything had been going fine until Chatter had appeared. 

Both boys had been answering questions flawlessly, and they could tell Ph1lza and Sir Phantom were already on board. It was only Blood God they had to convince but he seemingly wasn’t taking it. Questions were thrown left and right, until the question of powers arose from the burly man. He craned an eyebrow at them, and Tommy had to resist flinching.

Tubbo started off, “I have increased intellect, but I mostly use it on building gadgets,” he gestured loosely to his eye and glove covered hand. Tommy sniffed gently in annoyance but stayed silent. Just as he was about to answer, he was hit with a splitting headache and had to slam his eyes shut. When his eyes opened again, he was surrounded by a mass of fluttering color.

Chatter had arrived.


The butterflies all flew around Tommy and tried to get his attention on them, but he tried to bat them away. From the other side of the desk there was a cough, and Ph1lza was looking right at him with an inquisitive look. Staring at Tubbo, he tried to think of something before he regretfully sighed, “My power is summoning butterflies whenever I’m stressed. So, yes, I am stressed right now.” It wasn’t that he was stressed, quite frankly, the thrum of excitement from Ranboo’s side of Chatter was quite nice. It must’ve meant that he had gotten the job, so hopefully they could secure it on their end. 

Sticking out a finger, one of the butterflies landed on Blood God’s finger, and a small grin cracked. Tommy tried to mask his surprise, but clearly Blood God’s associates did not share the same grievances. They looked at him with such unbridled disguise, it made Tommy want to laugh. Sending his confusion across the chatter connection, Tommy dipped his head towards Blood God just as he rumbled out, “You two are hired. Your first day is Friday.” 

Then, they were out in the hallway, and they could just make out a fervent conversation in the other room. Chatter fluttered around in amusement as the two teens departed from the building. One of the receptionists at the desk yelled out after them, “See you later, Butterfly Boy!”

Tommy wanted to possibly punt that receptionist. But that's besides the point.

For now, they had to focus on safely get back to the Pogtopia district so that they could meet up with Ranboo before his turn at patrol for the night. Chatter murmured against the wind, and halfway home Tubbo’s little Chatter bots joined them, and he could almost tangibly hear the repetitive word they were chanting. How annoying. There was still the slight thrum of happiness from Ranboo, which made it easier to bare with, and occasionally Tubbo or Tommy would point out one of the particles watching them from afar. 

As they nudged open the door to their apartment, for a moment Tommy’s heart fell in his chest, before he spotted his tall friend on the couch. A cruel smirk rested itself against his lips, “What’s up, Ranboob!”


The groan that came from the couch was just as pleasant to hear as always. 

Chapter Text

Patrol was usually split between who had eaten the most that day. For the Tuesday of the best week of their lives, Ranboo had consumed the most of his accursed spaghetti. That meant that he would get to run the busiest patrol route, Button Run, to his chagrin. He usually loved leaving that route to Tommy, but Tommy could only stomach two plates of spaghetti while Ranboo had two and a half. Oh so close. Tommy, instead, would go down Ravine Valley, and keep on the lookout for petty thieves and mugging. Ranboo had to keep his eyes out for kidnapping and larger scale heists. How fun.

His body contorted slightly, extending towards the ceiling. Four horns extended from his head, one set smaller than the others. Two tails whipped wildly behind him, and he carefully picked up a home-sewn two-tailed suit coat. Throwing the coat on over his t-shirt, he pulled on clearance Hot Topic pants, and left his feet free. It was easier to run with his paw pads against the ground.

Feet padding softly against the hardwood, he walked into the living room with a small huff, “I’m ready for gear.” Tubbo sat on the couch, his eye rolling around in amusement before landing on a small pile beside him. He picked up a small earring with a flickering red light, “Here’s your comm bud. Make sure you keep it on in case necessary.” Ranboo carefully took the earring and slung it into his ear with a small flick. It hurt less than it did the first time they started wearing these. Another piece of equipment was tossed his way soon after. A tool belt filled with vials of a glittering black liquid, “Void jelly. Use it wisely if necessary, you know it’s expensive to attain.” Another small nod came from Ranboo as he clicked the belt around his waist. 

A high-tech laptop was opened and a small light flickered on the GPS screen. Tubbo was the tech guru for the group, he ensured everything was smoothly run and that no one was endangered or left behind. Many times, the offensive duo had their asses saved by him alerting them of incoming issues. Ranboo pet his head gently, and a smile rested itself on Tubbo’s face. Tubbo looked up at him with a single mist-colored blinking at him, his hair covering the rest, “Be careful, big man. Tommy’s already out there working.” Slipping on the mask that covered the top half of his face, Ranboo nodded. 

Then, he was outside with the cold air blowing around him. Chatter danced amusedly around him again, their quiet chattering growing as they realized they were alone. They never enjoyed talking whenever any of the others were around, unless they were communicating with other Chatter. One of the particles, Ranboo could just make out a pair of horns and a leathery tail on it, came forwards and muttered something quietly. He pulled them closer and just heard a small “sus.” That was a big mistake.

The other particles heard the word and immediately he was blasted with waves of “amog us? Sus? When benchtrio sus?” He hated when Chatter came together on one topic. It was one of the most annoying times of day, he had to admit. Shaking his head and hair out, he felt himself collapse inward and then he was back on top of his apartment complex. As he jumped, Chatter would occasionally chime in with directions, acting as his eyes since the blindfold that accompanied his vigilante attire was quite stupid. But he couldn’t risk agitating himself with eye contact. 

Left

Ranleft

Go left

Sus pog

Move on Chat

Pog, pog

He hummed in amusement as he veered left. Chatter had this incomprehensible ability to recognize directions and happenings around the Pogtopia district, but sometimes he had to take their advice with a grain of salt. Deep down they were tricksters at heart, especially when it came to the monotony of patrol. 

From the road some voices shouted, “Look! It’s Enderwalker! Enderwalker c’mere!” Shuffling to a halt, he released a small ‘vwwoop’ and then landed in front of the group of teens. One of the teens grinned at him, “Sup Ender! Who’s out with you today, Icarus or Buzz-Bomber.” Tommy was given the street name Icarus when he fell down one sunny day, and his glittering golden wings had made it look like wax melting, but he didn’t seem to mind. He always claimed he had the best name out of the trio. Ranboo was given his title based off of his appearance/connection to the alien race of Enderwalkers, that had once upon a time come into contact with Esempi but it had been long since then. Tubbo’s was because he accidentally made robotic bee bombs that chased people at random, that was not a fun week. 

Recognized

One of them is pretty

Ranboo tell them Tommy’s out

Tommy needs to stay safe

Allium duo moment

Giving a weak smile to the group, he sighed, “Yea, Icarus is down patrolling Ravine Valley. He was pretty happy today, so I bet you could get an autograph if you asked.” Tommy absolutely loved giving autographs when he was doing patrol, it made him feel like a real hero honestly. The group sighed in relief, but one grabbed his shoulder. Chatter rapidly described them to him, as they were mostly functioning as his eyes on patrol. The boy had a serious look as he frowned, “Be careful, Enderwalker. Heroes are deployed in the area, and they don’t exactly look happy.” Blinking, Ranboo felt where the hand was before waving in the direction of the group.

Heroes. In Pogtopia District? A distant memory. The only hero who usually patrolled down here was Seerdom, but they were out of commission for the next week, so the Bench Trio Vigilantes (a work in progress name, truly) had upped their patrols to ensure that everyone felt safe. His world collapsed inward once more, and suddenly he was back on top of the building he had just teleported off of. The piebald boy shook his head dismissively, big name companies didn’t care enough about places like this to patrol here.

Calm yourself

Tommy is worried

Calm down

Sadge moment

Stop reminiscing about the past, you know what happens

Ranboo backstory moment

Tommy must’ve felt his dismay from across the link, so he shook himself out. He had to prioritize the here and the now, and at this moment, that was his patrol. It was important that he ensured nothing was going on today, since his patrols might halt due to work. Leaping off of the building he stood on, he slid across the next with a little issue. 

Voices echoed from below, and he could just make out two angry tones. One was higher-pitched, “You said you had the payment, so where is it?” Black market deals. Those were well within his skill set to defuse, so he carefully slid down a fire exit ladder, trying to stay as silent as possible. His talons clicked once, before he was silent once more. The conversation continued, but he couldn’t care to listen at the moment. He was waiting for it to either get violent, or for the goods to be presented.

Just as he had expected, it got violent first.

Ranboo brawl moment

Use your charisma, main character boy

Genderman do be brawling

Chatter giggled as he stepped from behind a group of boxes with a slow clap echoing, he felt kinda like a villain for that. Didn’t matter, it got his point across as the three at the opposite end of the alley whipped their heads around. Briefly, Chatter ran him through a rundown of their gear. High-pitch had two knives and a pistol, Medium was holding just a pistol with no other visible weapons, and low-pitch was holding a briefcase and had a knife strap on his thigh. Releasing a shaky laugh, the teen pressed his hands outwards, “Hey now, hey now. We don’t have to get violent about this, right? I mean, y’know.” No, he did not know, and he doubted they ‘knew’ because of it.

There was silence before Medium hissed towards him with a cocking of a gun, “Enderwalker. This seems more like Icarus or Buzz-Bomber’s deal. So why’re you here?” It seemed he couldn’t diffuse it enough. Whatever. Ranboo shrugged, shifting his stance to a more fighting ready one, “Spaghetti.” And then he was off. At first, he knew he had to disarm High and Medium, so he teleported behind them, twisting and slamming his tail into their stomach.

High was knocked over, the sound of the pistol and knives clanging and echoing around the alleyway. Medium was stronger, so he had only been briefly winded as a shot just barely whipped past Ranboo. Talons slid from between his paws and he tugged Medium’s shirt into them and slammed him towards the wall. Low was silent the entire time, and Ranboo waltzed over slowly. Removing part of his blind fold from his eye, he sent a look into one of Low’s eyes, “Give me the case and you won’t end up like Dimbo 1 and Dimbo 2.” Chatter buzzed angrily around him.

One paw of talons flexed dangerously, while the other was extended towards the man. A tough case was placed onto his paw and he grumbled in amusement. Low gripped his shoulder and whispered for a moment, “Good luck, Enderwalker. You don’t want to know who is at the other end of the alleyway.” Agitation flared through his chest as Low pitch dissipated into shadows. Chatter buzzed once more as their attention turned towards the entrance of the alley.

Blood God, not fun.

Dream and Blood God Team up, pog!

Dream is creepy

I dont like Dream

Alert Tubbo of the situation.

A monotonous, deep voice echoed from the entrance of the alley, “You might wanna drop that, pal. Me and my companion aren’t exactly excited to be seeing this situation.” Shit, he should’ve taken Chatter and those fans words to heart. Now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. A humorless chuckle came from the entrance as well, “You really like trying to be intimidating huh?”

So it was true, both top heroes were just at the end of his alley. Hissing to himself, he pressed a hand quietly to his earring, “Buzzer, I need one of those bee bombs right about now.” A sound of surprise came from Tubbo’s end of the connection, but rapid clicking relayed to Ranboo that he was getting onto the request. Flicking one ear towards the two heroes he sighed, “Why is it always the big guys? Couldn’t Seerdom have come back at the least, like. I like Seerdom.” Seerdom was kind to the vigilantes and residents of Pogtopia District, supposedly an old resident who had gotten chance at a better life.

Dream murmured somewhere off to the side, and Chatter buzzed into motion, excitedly bubbling about a familiar clang of metal. Resting his the back of his paw against the ground, Ranboo lifted it up to a small bee in it. Humming in amusement, he squinted beneath his blindfold, “Alright heroes. I’ll come along with you, but how about a little game of catch first?” Swiftly, Ranboo tossed the bee at them, using his other hand to activate his comms and shout, “Buzzer now!” just as the bee landed a good distance before the two heroes.

The small explosion would give him enough cover to escape, so hopefully he could get to the meeting location to reconvene with Tommy before going home. 

Tommy’s all time favorite part of the day would probably be patrolling. His wings, freed from the binding that kept them hidden, extended outwards in all their golden glory. Pogtopia was his home, and he was here to be the Icarus to protect the place that gave him his freedom. Binding his wings gave him bad memories, but to keep his friends safe, he would tolerate it.

Dismay fluttered briefly through the connection, and Chatter was immediately on it’s case.

Ran sadge

Ranboo sad not pog

Reminisboo

Heroes. In Pogtopia.

Ranboo was reminiscing? That was never good. Out of the three of them, the piebald teen was the most  unstable after the facility. Coming to a shifty landing on a rooftop, Tommy paused for a moment, “Chatter, make sure he stays upbeat. But don’t tell him I said that. Prick would rub it all up in my face, something something Soft TommyInnit. Stupid bitch.” The fondness in his voice was absolutely not there, and no one could accuse him of such.

A few butterflies paused as they hovered around Tommy, vibrating for a moment before an audible POP! released, and suddenly particles reminiscent to Ranboo’s Chatter were in their place. It was quite freaky to watch, but it was a considerably normal activity that Chatter did whenever contact between them was needed. Small vwoops echoed from the particles before they disappeared, probably to inform Ranboo to stay chipper. Silently, Tommy hoped they worked. Stumbling to his feet, he cracked his joints before cracking a smirk.

Getting a running start, he barreled himself off of the building and into a dive. Just before he hit the road, he slammed his wings outward and followed an updraft. Cheers echoed through the streets below, and Tommy excitedly waved towards the people below. He loved interacting with the citizens he protected, it made his heart soar just like it had wings of it’s own. A group of kids started taking pictures, so he posed a little as he flew forwards. 

A familiar face was in a group below, so Tommy dove in a flourished dive and stumbled to a halt. “Dragon! You brought Wish and Star too, how fun.” These were some of Tommy’s biggest fans, and one of the reasons he was so devoted to helping people. Dragon was a young teen with natural mutant dragon powers, and their twin siblings Wish and Star had similar powers. Amused, Dragon waved passively at Tommy. 

Their tail wagged gently, but slowed as they approached. A serious look encroached their face and they took in a sharp breath, “Icarus. Be careful, I already informed Enderwalker, but there are heroes in Pogtopia. Heroes that aren’t Seerdom or Trot.” Then they were gone, just like that. Another group came forward, requesting autographs, and leaving Tommy to ponder Dragon’s words. Heroes? Chatter had mentioned something about it, so was that what made Ranboo so distraught? This could not end well at all.

The rest of his patrol was quite quiet, which was why he didn’t exactly enjoy doing Ravine Valley. He enjoyed the high stakes of Button Run, but they had to keep their system going to ensure nobody got angry at each other. Though with all his friends and himself had been through, he doubted any sort of scuffle would keep them apart for long. Tommy was patient though, as he sat once more on the edge of a building. There was nothing truly like that stars flickering in the night sky.

“I never thought I’d live to see a vigilante quite as popular as you and your pals,” a voice, sick to the T with charisma, made Tommy’s throat fill with bile. Adjusting the clouded goggles on his face and pulling his bandana up further, Tommy coughed into his sleeve. Standing just behind him were the pro heroes Sir Phantom and Jack of Cards. Stumbling to a stand, Tommy prepared a stance with ease, watching as the two shared a look.

Jack of Cards placed his hands against the back of his neck, “I thought it was stupid for the government to ally our two departments just to catch some low-lifes, but now I can see why they need us. Wanna take a gamble, Icarus, was it?” Gulping, Tommy stepped back even further, pebbles falling from the edge of the roof as he stumbled even more. They had been listening for a while, clearly, if they picked up what his street name was. Sir Phantom sniffed and whispered, “You will gamble with Cards.” Boy was Tommy glad Chatter had long disappeared, they would've given him away to his boss so fast even if they didn't say anything. 

Swallowing his guilt, Tommy struck a hand out, “Fine. What do you want to gamble then, hm?” Blinking, Jack Of Cards shrugged, “Oh, how about, just a simple coin toss. If it’s heads, you go free, and if it’s tails, we apprehend you. Deal?” This was a rigged deal, Tommy knew from the start. But he also knew he had a trick up his own sleeve, his own ace in the hole. So why not. Shaking Cards’ hand with a firm grip, he nodded, “Deal.”

The silver coin flew freely through the air, landing with a soft thud against the rooftop. Peering down, bile filled Tommy’s throat as he saw the tails. Sharing a look with Phantom, he smirked confidently. “Well boys,” his time on the roof was up, he just had to hope the fates had their favors on him, “I believe it’s time I take my leave.” Releasing a two-finger salute, Tommy fell backwards into a wide dive, leaving Phantom stunned as the hero lunged after him.

Extending his wings outward, Tommy glid through the streets, winding into familiar tunnels and alleys. He could hear commotion behind him, and craned his neck only to be met with Sir Phantom gliding after him with Jack of Cards screaming his head off on his back. This was not the best situation. Pressing a careful finger to his comms, he screeched out, “Enderwalker! Get Ready to play a game of catch!”

Pulling his wings inward, he veered to their rendezvous point and dove wildly towards the tall figure of his friend. Ranboo’s stance sharpened at the sight of the heroes, and he opened his arms wide. Grateful, Tommy tucked himself inwards and dove right into his friends arms. With a small vwoop everything felt like it was collapsing in on itself. The last thing Tommy saw was the stunned looks of Sir Phantom and Jack of Cards.

They were the ones to lose.

Chapter Text

Warmth flooded the small off to the side room that the teenage vigilantes called their bedroom. It was quiet, the only sounds coming from the low hum of Tubbo’s machinery and purring echoing from Ranboo. The beastly teenager shuddered in his sleep, curling further in on himself underneath Tommy’s wing, causing Tommy to shuffle to try and accommodate him better. Tubbo rolled over, slinging an arm on top of the two, and subtly activating the low-powered heater in his robotic arm. 

Sighing, Tommy rubbed his hands against his face. After stressful days, such as yesterday, mornings like this were normal. It was mega scary yesterday, running for their well-being from some of the people that they now worked under. Memory flooded into Tommy, and he jolted awake to look at the battery-powered clock at their mattress side. It read 8:23 AM causing Tommy to hiss and shove at Ranboo, “Ranboo, boob boy, wake your ass up. You’re gonna be late to work at this rate.”

Ranboo shuddered, his lidless eyes fluttering, allowing for his tongue to flick out and lick them. The piebald teen lifted himself up and groggily yawned, “Work’s at 9:00, Tommy. It can’t be that late.” His gaze turned towards the clock and he scrambled backwards in surprise at the time. Almost shoving his friends off the bed, Ranboo scrambled over to the clean clothes pile and shuffled around for a nicer t-shirt and slacks. Tommy closed his eyes and covered Tubbo’s eyes as the teen shifted from his half-beast form to his human form and changed. 

The marred face of his friend greeted him as a hand was placed on his head with a ruffle. Tommy watched as Ranboo stepped to the side and ruffled Tubbo’s hair as well, before fluttering out of the room with a muttered ‘Bye.’ The front door was slammed shut and Tommy just groaned, flopping back in bed. He and Tubbo could get out an early patrol if necessary, but right now he just really wanted to sleep. 

A knock echoed from the hallway as a head of chestnut fluffy hair slowly raised their head. His fins flickered for a moment before he coughed, “Come in.” The mahogany door peeled from it’s frame as two heads poked their way in and shuffled after. A resounding slam rested in the room after it was shut, and slowly, Wilbur flicked the lights back on with a sigh. Levelling a look with the two before him, Wilbur yawned, “Eret, Fundy, thanks for getting here so quick. Sorry there’s no coffee, the new interns don’t start till Friday and I just couldn’t be bothered to start a new pot.” 

The red-head across from him shrugged, his fuzzy foxtail shifting side to side, “There’s no need to apologize, Wilbur. I’m just curious why you called us in?” His friend nodded off to the side, the sunglasses tipped on their head shaking a little, “Right, what Fundy said. Cause our first patrol back from rest starts in a few hours and we wanna make sure everything is prepared this time. No repeats of last time.”

Wilbur just shook his head with a soft grin, “It’s just a little serious, I promise it shouldn’t take too long.” His grin fell just as quick as it rose, “What do you know about the vigilantes in Pogtopia?” Eret and Fundy both stiffened at the mention of vigilantes, before Eret slowly slid back into her previous stature.

He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “There’s vigilantes there. So what? It’s not like there’s been patrols since Fundy and I were rendered injured.” That was the harsh truth when it came to places like Pogtopia. The Esempi government cared little for the lower class areas, barely putting out watch other than cops in the area, leaving it open to villain reign. 

Squinting his eyes, Wilbur carefully adjusted his glasses frames, “Hm. That doesn’t excuse that vigilantism is still extremely illegal. Techno and Dream ran into one y’know? So did, Quackity and I, plus I got a glimpse of the one the other duo saw two. Do you two know anything about the names ‘Enderwalker’ and ‘Icarus’?” 

Confused, Fundy shrugged with a slight flick of his ear, “No, not really. Most vigilantes in the area have never had street names, so we can’t really pursue anything about them.  Those are either new, young vigilantes or just street names given by the people.” His tail drooped, as he placed his arms in a crossed manner and leaned against the chair he sat on, giving Eret the floor.

Eret tilted their sunglasses forwards, revealing the glowing blind eyes beneath, “So, tell me, Wilbur. Why exactly is the government finally caring about Pogtopia, hm? Is Schlatt resurfacing from the depths of the catacombs, crawling from his mysterious tomb? The End King, maybe, recovering his forces? Or is it,” for the dramatic effect that everyone in Sleepy Boys held, Eret paused, “the ERROR 401 Facility was spotted again? Y’know, the one that was peculiarly shut down from the inside out?”

It seemed Eret had hit a weak spot, as Wilbur flinched minutely. Eret hissed and pushed herself back, “That’s what I thought. Don’t pretend to care about the legality of vigilantes until it’s pushed against your face, and don’t pretend to tell me that you care about Pogtopia. Just tell me the truth, Wilbur. Now if you’ll excuse me, Fundy and I need to register our gear.” With a shuffling wave, Fundy and Eret weaved their way through the chairs and out the door with not so much as a nod in dismissal.

Placing his head in his hands, Wilbur sighed through his teeth. How was he supposed to salvage his plans now? His body flickered for a moment before he remembered something, he could go invisible. Crew Corps had a shadowwalker, and they were required to work together if Pogtopia was in play, so maybe he should pay Crew Corps a call.

Slow days is what Ranboo loved, whether it be on patrol or during his new internship. Spinning around in his fun spinny chair, he paused when he heard the phone ringing. Looking around the room, he huffed when none of the secretaries or interns were around, seems it was his turn to answer the call. Slowly removing his mask and picking up the phone, he hummed, “Crew Hero Corps, this is Ranboo Beloved, how can we help you today?” Perfect customer service voice line, sweet. 

There was slight static from the otherside before an all too familiar voice spoke, “Ah, you must be their new hire. This is Sir Phantom from Sleepy Boys, could you patch me up to one of the founders?” Gulping slightly, Ranboo sighed through his nose and licked at his eye. Most of the heroes in the building were in a meeting, ensuring that it almost was impossible to get any calls through. He might have to make a separate call if necessary.

Taking back his voice, Ranboo stumbled for a moment, “Well, u-uhm, Mister Phantom, the heroes in the building are all in a very important meeting and they made the secretaries all ensure that no calls would be patched through. I’m very sorry but it should end within the hour, so maybe if you call around 2 pm you might be able to get through. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience.”

A light chuckle emanated through the phone as Phantom spoke again, “Don’t feel like you have to apologize, Ranboo, was it? I just wanted to see if it was alright if I came over for a little visit. Could you meet me in the lobby and take me to the meeting room? That building is always such a labyrinth.” With a short murmur of agreement and departure, Ranboo hung up the phone and quickly placed his head in his hands and groaned. Was that proper procedure? Training had never gone over something like that.

Shuddering gently, Ranboo stood with a stumble and wandered towards the elevator. This situation only promised chaos. The subsequent elevator ride was silent as the jittering piece of machinery carried it’s solitary passenger. The monotonous music of Frank Sinatra mulled in his ears, and Ranboo shifted his mask to ensure it was covering his mouth completely. With a jumping ding, the metal doors creaked and shoved open, revealing the marble foyer of the Crew Hero Corps tower once more.

The pastel haired secretary nodded towards Ranboo, he remembers their name being Wyvern. Wyvern smiled softly, “Sup, Ranboo. You don’t seem like the type to come down early or skip out like the other interns, so what’s up?” Ranboo shrugged and rubbed his arm nervously, “Weird request from a pro hero. Can’t exactly deny it, y’know?” Softly, Wyvern murmured in agreement before turning back to their work.

Within the next minute, the revolving doors of the foyer turned, revealing the chestnut hair of the 7th pro hero, Sir Phantom. The charismatic man sent a grin towards Wyvern and leaned against the counter, “Hello, Wyvern.” Turning to look at the man, Wyvern groaned, “Hello, Mister Phantom, what’s the deal for today?” Phantom fluttered his eyelashes in faux innocence before sighing and dramatically leaning back, “You always see through my charades Wyvern, what gives you that ability?”

The frill along Wyvern’s ears raised in alarm, Ranboo had never seen it extended. He got along well with the secretary due to the fact that Dragon was their younger sibling along with the twins, but this was quite startling. A low hiss came from the dragon powered adult as they sighed, “You know what it is, Mister Phantom. Please, tell me what you need from the Corps for today, or else I will be forced to call Sol and Clementine to escort you out.” Phantom stiffened before sighing, “Of course, I’m looking for the new intern. Rambo, was it?”

Wyvern looked towards Ranboo slowly and mouthed “I’m Sorry” and then extended a talon towards the teen, “Here is the product of your query, Mister Phantom. He can escort you to wherever you need to go. And it’s Ranboo, like Ran-Boo!” Slowly, Wyvern turned back towards their computer with a shrug towards Ranboo. Phantom’s gaze slowly turned to the boy, and Ranboo flinched, throwing the contact away immediately. The urge to allow spines to grow along his back was immediate, but for his own mentality he ignored it and tried to shutter Chatter’s urge to awaken.

“Um,” his feet shuffled along the floor, “Come with me sir.” Then they were off to the elevator, the awkward tension between them almost tangible. It seemed Sir Phantom didn’t like that, as the two listened to some sort of instrumental about cats? He wasn’t really paying attention. Sir Phantom leaned against the side of the elevator, “Tell me about yourself Ranboo, Crew Hero isn’t the easiest thing to earn an internship in, y’know?”

Ranboo hated small talk, it was the bane of his existence, but he would suffer to make a good impression. They had to go to the top floor anyways. Tapping his shoes against the shuddering floor, Ranboo tore a nervous hand through his hair, “Uhhh, well. I’m from Pogtopia District, I have a mutant power, and I live with some roommates. Graduated early, y’know?” Phantom slowly raised his arms with a grin, showing off the tattered and broken wings that gave him the secondary part of his name, “Mutant power solidarity, yes?”

Sir Phantom was often regarded as a perfect power mixture. The merging of a siren-song power and a mutant phantomasmal hybrid that stayed in Esempi, causing him to rise in the ranks exponentially quickly. Ranboo wouldn’t exactly call it, equal, seeing as he was in a similar position but couldn’t exactly show it and it wasn’t exactly natural on his own part. The pearl lodged in his chest thrummed in greeting, and all he could do was place a soft hand on it, “Of course.”

There was a lull in the conversation before Phantom spoke once more, “Can I see your powers? I mean, mutant power holders don’t exactly stay in one place for long.” With a soft grimace, Ranboo shrugged. What could he do, deny someone a simple request who could hold the balance of his job in their hands? It’s whatever, it would dismiss the small talk anyways. Carefully, he hooked a finger around the strap of his mask and pulled it back.

Often times he compared his mouth to that creepypasta, Jeff the Killer. It wasn’t exactly a scar though, it was more like the line between a pair of lips. He didn’t exactly have defined lips either, if he really wanted to, he would just draw them on with some neutral lipstick. Gently opening his jaw, he let his extended tongue hang for a moment before he snapped his mouth shut and put his mask back on.

Phantom was silent off to the side, but only for a heartbeat, “That is quite interesting! Your jaw structure seems to resemble that of ancient Enderwalkers, and Enderwalkers who continue to preside in the stars above. Are you perhaps related to them at all?” Ooo, not the best question to answer. Ranboo shuffled from foot to foot with a shuddered shrug, “Maybe, there could be a loose connection in my genetics I’ve never really looked into it.” Oh he knew there was more than a ‘loose’ connection in his genetics, but no one other than his roommates knew. 

The elevator dinged and the doors shoved open to reveal a short hallway ending with a large pair of dark oaken doors. Walking forwards, Ranboo quietly knocked on the door. There was a muttered shushing from inside the room before the door was warily opened and the face of Cards peered through. A bright grin cracked across his face at the sight of Sir Phantom and he opened the door.

“Phantom! Come in, come in. We could use your insight on our dilemma.” Sir Phantom waltzed with a slightly crooked grin on his face and Ranboo stepped off to the side. A call came from the side and Cards looked towards Ranboo with a soft smile, “They want you in there as well, Ranboo. A little bit of direct info from Pogtopia, y’know?” A scarred hand was placed against Card’s mouth as he comically whispered, “Plus, they aren’t as scary as you think. I think most of them are thinking about bagels right now.”

He wiggled his eyebrows before tugging Ranboo into the room just before the door was shut again. Scrutinous eyes pierced into Ranboo, and he immediately had to crane his neck away. Pin pricks danced across his skin from the eye contact, giving him shivers and chilling shakes. His eyes met for a moment with Fireball’s, and the man gave him a soft smile. Picking up his feet one after the other, he put himself in an off chair next to Fireball, and the older man rubbed his shoulder gently. 

Time Warp stopped spinning in his rolling chair for a moment and sighed, “Okay, so, we have two new viewpoints of Pogtopia. Sir Phantom,” he gave a wide gesture towards the pro hero,” patrolled there the other day, and Ranboo,” his body stiffened at the call but relaxed when the eye contact never came, “lives there. Who do you guys want the viewpoint from first?”

A deep voice echoed from the side where a black-haired man with a 3/4 purple bunny mask sat. He sniffed gently, “Sir Phantom. I wanna know exactly what he saw.” So, Ranboo sat through the second story-telling of Tommy’s encounter with Cards and Phantom the other day, this time more one-sided with less action adjectives. It was over quite soon, and Ranboo sighed when he realized it was his turn to be questioned.

A different hero, a male with a sprout coming from his head, looked at Ranboo, “Okay, Ranboo was it? You’re a civilian, so I can’t ask too much, but, have you seen vigilantes in your area?” Ranboo froze for a moment before contorting his face under his mask. One of the heroes who was staring at him seemed to realize he was wearing one and huffed out, “Can we have him take off his mask, as well? Because I can’t get a read on him when he has it on.” Fireball’s eyes widened and he looked towards Ranboo, who shook his head fervently. He knew most of these heroes worked in the facility, but he would not show them his face. Time Warp’s voice came from the front, “No, Tina. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”

That was the end of that as Ranboo slugged backwards with a sigh, “Mm, yea. I’ve seen vigilantes, it’s like a given in my area. I live near a convenience store, one of the regularly stocked ones, so y’know. More chance of mugging and such.” He could elude the fact that he and his roommates were the ones stopping most of the muggings, but that wasn’t that important. A few heroes threw him pity but Sir Phantom only looked at him after sharing a look with Cards.

Jack of Cards shrugged before turning to look at him as well, “Ranboo, what do you know about the names Icarus and Enderwalker?” Oho, he knew all too much about them, for he was one of them. Tapping his fingers against his arm, Ranboo shrugged, “They’re pretty well-known. Other than Spectrum and Mercenary, they’re the only vigilantes that actually have a good team dynamic. I mean,” they should’ve heard about Tubbo right? “it’s probably because they have three people, which is quite the easy number to manage.”

Phantom froze and turned to look at him, “There’s three of them?” Oh, maybe they didn’t. Welp, that was completely on him, “I mean yea, haven’t you heard of Buzz-Bomber?” There was a beat of silence before Phantom let the tension in his shoulders relax and he groaned, “That’s what the last name was. Sorry if that made you nervous, kid.” Ranboo resisted the urge to mutter about being ‘not a kid’ but he wasn’t at Tommy’s level. 

For a moment, there was a lull in the conversation before Time Warp turned to Ranboo with sad eyes. Something filled Ranboo with dread as Dream and 404 entered the room just as the brown-haired man began to speak. Time Warp’s voice was soft, an afterthought maybe that he thought might help to get the message across, “Ranboo, you’ve lived in Pogtopia for most of your life, as you’ve told us. Now, this is very down-low info, alright? Have you ever heard of the ERROR 401 Facility?”

Everything around Ranboo was gone the moment ERROR 401 came from Time Warp’s mouth.

Was he Ranboo? Or was he PR0J3CT: 18114 once more

Chapter Text

The floor was cold.

It was always cold though, 18114 remembered. Whether it be the cold seeping into his shoulders as he laid in that damp, empty room with that rank smelling extraterrestrial he was supposed to know. The man was nice, his name was Edward. According to Edward, he was from the stars. 18114 couldn’t really remember the stars, but from what he was told they seemed wonderful. Pieces of light plucked from the beyond and placed into the dark night sky.

Edward told him, on the days where the pain was agonizing and paralyzing, that his body was reacting well for a youngling. 18114’s chest hurt the most, but the white-coated men said it was part of the process. After they left, with bruises decorating his lightened skin, and blood seeping from mouth, Edward was always there. Though 18114 didn’t truly understand the concept of familial love, he knew there was a glimmer of hope within him that wished Edward was there to be like a father for him. 

The Enderwalker was kind to him, tending to his wounds and cooing in a language of warbles and purrs. It made him feel safe, like he was wrapped in a warm blanket of words. The affection he felt towards Edward was always blooming the moment the male Enderwalker entered the room. Some days, it was just quiet silence between them, as Edward bandaged green-blooded bruises, or placed his cold talons on water burns.

18114 looked towards Edward quietly, “How did they find you, Edward? You don’t seem like the type to end up,” he motioned uselessly around them. At the cold that seeped in the walls, the stench that came from everywhere and no where, with ceilings upon ceiling keeping him from the stars. Edward’s lilac eyes sparkled, the fuzzy particles that followed him humming as he carefully tugged at a knot in 18114’s hair. A crooked smile darted across his face, “Youngling, you learn later in life there are people, not ideals, that you stand for.” Edward sighed and placed a hand against 18114’s back and shook his head, “I just chose the wrong person to stand for.”

That was the last time 18114 would talk to Edward. When the white-coated men returned, the darkness enthralled his vision once more. The next time he woke up, there was a humming in his chest that sounded almost ethereal and reminded him of Edward. But along with that came the injections. Purple liquid flushed into his skin, after he was left for years at a time to rot in a prison.

He could not remember how old he was when the first boy came in. Fluffy brown hair covered a soft felted nose and a pair of horns in his hair. The white-coated men called him 2021, so he was just like 18114. Another year passed, and 2015 joined them.

From there, his memories splintered. Memories of warm arms, encompassing him and 2021. Promising, “I won’t let them hurt me. They won’t touch a big man like me.” The visceral screams that came from the labs that day contested those words.

“Ranboo”

Transformation through pain, as 18114 slashed through blurred face after blurred face. It didn’t matter who they were once, they were nothing now.

“Ranboo!”

Stars glittering against the dark night in the sky, as 18114 clutched the pearl wedged into his chest. He was free, and he had gotten to see the stars. If only Edward could’ve seen them with him.

“RANBOO!”

With a jolt, Ranboo almost fell out of his chair. His hands were dug fast into his arms and bubbling discussion accompanied by a familiar lavender flitted past his face. Chatter had summoned itself, and Ranboo gently held out a hand with an open palm. A medium sized particle with tear streaks in it’s fizzy fur looked up at him, jittering and pressing itself to his hand. He was still in his human form, the pale sheen of his skin discolored from stress. 

Fireball, Jack of Cards, Phantom, Time Warp, and a few others were all in front of him, trying to wake him up. Phantom pressed a soft hand to his shoulder, “Ranboo? Are you there? You were gone for a serious five minutes.” Blinking, Ranboo tugged his glasses off and wiped at them with a shrug, “I’m here yea. Sorry, I just don’t like thinking about um. The facility you mentioned.” There was a bob in his neck as he swallowed nervously.

Behind him, Dream and Cards shared a look. They knew the appearance of those little fuzzy particles. There were only three options for the occurrence of them. They would have to discuss this later on. Dream nudged 404 and the two slipped out from the room. They had gotten enough info from the other heroes about the meeting today.

Ranboo’s hands shook as Time Warp carefully took them in his own. The heterochromatic man didn’t make eye contact, instead squeezing his hands in reassurance, “You can take the rest of the day off, alright? If you need to, have Wyvern take you home. I don’t want you on your own in case you have another episode.” Shakily, Ranboo stood and nodded to Time Warp. Slipping out of the meeting room. He quickly slapped his hands over his mouth as a nervous vwoop! escaped his throat. 

Shuffling to the elevator, he clutched his head within his hands, trying to calm himself down. There was a shift in the elevator as someone else stood quietly beside him. A warm, black gloved hand appeared and rested against his back. A low, bass baritone voice echoed through the elevator, “Time Warp asked me to accompany you. We’ve never really been introduced though, hm? My name, that you might know me by, is Corpse.”

Corpse crouched beside Ranboo as the elevator descended, “Time Warp, Fireball, and Jack of Cards really were concerned, y’know?” A couple chatter darted towards Corpse and hummed agitatedly around him. Ranboo recognized which ones they were and weakly muttered out, “Brumin, Ana, stop bothering the nice man.”

The two significantly larger particles paused and shamefully floated back towards the taller teen. Corpse’s eyebrow cranked in amusement before he sat down next to Ranboo, “Everything’s so stressful in the city, huh? I’m from Rutabagaville, out on the outskirts of Esempi. When I moved here…” the deep tone of Corpse’s voice and the idle conversation seemed to clear Ranboo’s chest by the time the elevator dinged and the door opened again. 

With assistance from Corpse, Ranboo was brought to Wyvern’s desk, who looked up with surprised eyes. Carefully, they stood and took Ranboo from Corpse with a quiet, “Thank you, sir.” Corpse gave Ranboo a small salute before disappearing into the shadows. Ranboo paused and frowned before Wyvern pushed him forwards. Soon enough the two were outside and Ranboo was standing at the sidewalk. Carefully clambering onto the newly transformed Wyvern’s back, he felt the wind rush through his face as familiar sights passed through his eyes. Everything felt like it was being seen from a different perspective, as if he wasn’t the one in control.

Was 401 coming back? A shuddered gulp echoed through Ranboo and Wyvern hummed, “Calm down, Ranboo. We’ll get you home to your roommates soon enough, alright?” Ranboo shakily nodded as his skin grew pin pricks along it. Chatter fluttered animatedly around Wyvern, who just hummed pleasant tunes to them. It wasn’t long before the run-down apartment he loved to call home came into view. Wyvern’s body veered sideways and they landed with a small rise of dust around them.

Stepping carefully onto the ground, Ranboo felt a long talon placed on his head. Wyvern chuffed softly before whispering, “If you need me, you know where my family lives, and you know my desk phone’s number. Be safe, Ranboo.” Then they were gone, back into the sky and Ranboo was left with the feeling of cold winds against his back.

Stepping into the ash-burnt lobby, he felt his body slouch and slowly transformed back into his beast form. Chatter buzzed happily around him as he walked up the hallways to his shared apartment. Carefully nudging the door open, he coughed at the rising dust and muttered out, “Tubbo, Tommy, I’m home.” Fluffy hair and a pair of horns appeared over the couch along with golden feathers and even brighter hair. The two teens scrambled over to their roommate and grappled him in a hug.

Tubbo paused for a moment before critically staring at Ranboo, “Doesn’t your work day end in like, two hours?” Ranboo froze, seizing up and shuffling away, fidgeting with his talons before removing his mask. Cracking his jaw, he tugged the teens back to the couch and squinched his eyes shut. Opening them warily, he breathed out and whispered gently, “The heroes. They brought up the Facility.” Just as Ranboo had done moments before, Tommy and Tubbo froze, the words sinking in. Tubbo curled inwards while Tommy hissed curses quietly. Neither of them had been in the Facility as long as Ranboo had, but they still didn’t have the best experiences there.

Tubbo shook his head fervently, “They probably just thought wrong, right? I mean, the facility couldn’t be back. We-we made sure of it! Let’s not think about this, yea? I mean, we have patrol to start and everything.” There was a pregnant pause in the room before Tommy picked up the conversation again, “So we’re all patrolling today?” Fervently, Tubbo and Ranboo nodded, Tubbo setting a hand protectively on Ranboo’s arm, “Yes, you’ll be taking Button Run. I’ll be with Ranboo at Piston Park, I wanna make sure nothing happens.”

Time flew by as the trio got prepared, although anxiously, for their patrol for the day. Just as Tubbo landed behind Ranboo on a roof, there was a cough behind the two. Looking over, Tubbo gasped happily and totted towards the taller, caped figure. With a swirl of their cape, Seerdom brought Ranboo and Tubbo into a wide hug. The hero adorned her usual puffy white shirt, brown combat slacks with large black platform boots. Seerdom gave both boys a wide smile, which was returned ten-fold, “Hello, boys. How’s patrolling been without me or Trot to terrorize you.”

Wilbur held a baited breath as he watched Eret give the two vigilantes an almost familial smile. It made his heart wrench before he stamped it out. These were illegal vigilantes, he couldn’t be feeling sympathy for them. Hopefully Corpse would be doing better tailing Trot, just in case the third vigilante was out tonight as well. Something about the brown-haired vigilante felt eerily familiar though.

Tubbo sighed, running his fingers through his hair nervously, “Well, it’s definitely been interesting. The other day heroes were assigned to here. I mean, here of all places, Seerdom.” Seerdom paused, taking off their glasses with a glance away from the boys. He didn’t exactly want to use her quirk on them, they had sworn not to. Placing her glasses back on, Seerdom looked towards the boys, “Who did they assign?”

Ranboo rubbed his arm gently, “Phantom, Jack of Cards, Blood God,” there was a pause, “and Dream.” There was a small shuffle from Seerdom before they were brought into an even tighter hug and she sighed out, “So that’s why Phantom questioned me and Trot today.” At the dual looks from the teenage vigilantes, Seerdom chuckled humorlessly, “Not to worry, boys, I did not give away anything.” With a mocking zip of their lips, Seerdom smiled at the boys, who slumped in relaxation.

“Now,” they were released soon after, “I must be off. I know you two are probably patrolling Piston Park, and Icarus is most likely patrolling Button Run, so I told Trot to be cautious around that area. Be safe, boys, I don’t want to see you on the news.” Seerdom drew their cape inwards before drifting off, sending a wary glance at a wall off to their left. Ranboo and Tubbo shared a look before shrugging and jumping off to the park to start their patrol.

Chapter Text

The days left that week, for the concern of the universe, weren’t as mentally taxing. And before the trio of vigilantes knew it, Friday had come. All three of them would be out of the house for the work day, so they had let the Dragon family know they would be out. Tubbo carefully tucked his shirt into his pants and fixed his hair extensions over his horns. He could never be too careful about revealing too much, especially after the run in earlier in the week.

Gripping Tommy’s hand tight, he released it and the two walked into the start of their new job. A head poked up from behind a secretarial desk to the left, causing Tommy to groan in annoyance. The cheekily grinning secretary cocked an eyebrow at the boys, “Butterfly boy! Butterfly boy’s roommate! Heard you two got accepted!” An ear flicked on top of the cat hybrid powered secretary’s head as a cheshire grin grew on their face, “So, let’s start with introductions, cause I’ll be the one giving you a tour.” With a flourished, dramatic flip, they landed before the boys with a deep bow. Their hand was across their midriff as they stuck their tongue out, “Ambrosia Teller, at your service. She/her.”

Tommy could get a better look at the all too insufferable secretary now. The woman had shockingly bright orange hair that faded into yellow with yellow slitted eyes. On her head were a pair of color-coded cat ears, and a yellow and orange tail swung loosely behind her. After watching her for a moment, Tommy sighed loudly and stuck out his hand, “Theseus Innit. He/him.” There was a rapid shaking in his arm as Ambrosia shook his hand before turning to Tubbo. Tubbo nervously stuck out his hand as well, “Tub Unders. He/him as well.” Then his arm got the same treatment as Tommy’s. It was funny watching it happen to someone else.

After calming down from his snickering, Tommy followed loosely behind Ambrosia as she gave the two a dramatic tour. It seemed the entire compound had a thing for dramatics, as any heroes they came across played into the little charade that Ambrosia was putting forth. Finally, after an insufferable half an hour, the boys arrived at their offices. Ambrosia opened the door for them and then was off with a wave. Tommy groaned, rubbing his hands down his face and then slapping his cheeks. Tubbo snickered, “Butterfly boy.” Hissing, Tommy tugged on his air, “Don’t say a word.” They were silent once more as they surveyed the area. 

A shuffling cough came from off to the side, and Tommy faced a figure with a surprisingly bald head and glasses reminiscent of 3-D glasses on his head. The person sniffed, a thickly accented voice reminiscent of Tommy’s parroting at them, “Ayup, you lot must be the recruits.” Tommy sharpened, recognizing the voice. This was the hero ManiBlaze, recognizing the golden and flaming sticks that swirled around the man, almost out of control. Resisting the urge to make a penis joke, Tommy conceded with a nod, “That we are, sir.” ManiBlaze gave him an appraising look before shrugging and motioning for the boys to follow him.

“So, as your superior, today we’ll be looking for the areas of interest you will be interning in. Unlike other facilities, like Crew Hero, our interns all focus on one specific interest,” there was a slight flare against ManiBlaze’s glasses as the rods that circled him paused and he looked towards the boys. “To begin that process, I need you both to describe your abilities to me. And don’t act like you don’t have them, my superiors have informed me you do,” Tommy stiffened as ManiBlaze’s gaze fell on him, and then wilted when he realized it was a targeted statement. It didn’t matter, he could use the Chatter as his power front to get them to check on Ranboo.

Tubbo stepped forwards first, removing a finger from his prosthetic. Carefully, he lifted it up with his good arm, “I have increased intelligence, as you were probably told.” He turned the finger towards ManiBlaze, revealing part of the circuitry and wiring within, “I coded and developed all of my prosthetics.” Tubbo pulled his hair back slightly, revealing the L.E.D of his eye before letting his bangs fall back over his eyes. ManiBlaze hummed, writing something down on a piece of notebook paper.

Taking a deep breath, Tommy shut his eyes, connecting to the chords within him that strung all three of them together. Carefully, he tugged on the multi-colored chord that signified just his Chatter. When he opened his eyes once more, there was an explosion of color and wings, as butterflies flitted around him and in his face, trying to grasp his attention. ManiBlaze sent a curious look the butterflies before hurringly scribbling something onto the paper. Taking advantage of his distracted superior, Tommy brought a butterfly close, “Check on Ranboo, the others will still be present when you return. Make sure he’s safe.”

The butterfly fluttered for a moment before, as usual, letting out an audible POP! and where a butterfly once flew was a familiar lavender particle. It disappeared with a small vwoop just as ManiBlaze turned his gaze back in confusion. Tommy shrugged, “Stress butterflies, sometimes they just pop y’know.” ManiBlaze scrunched his nose before shrugging, “Right then. You lot follow me and I’ll get you situated.” 

The entire process was quite endearingly complicated for all three people involved. It had taken just over two hours to complete, giving way to two new interns within the well-respected facility. Tubbo would be employed under heroes like Warden within the equipment development wing. Tommy, on the other hand, was even harder to place. 

ManiBlaze paced back and forth within the small office that situated the three males. Tubbo wasn’t really paying much attention to the man, and Tommy was quietly conversing with his recon butterfly. The smaller butterfly, with suspiciously Ranboo-brand wings, fluttered gently. It paused for a moment, as if considering it’s words, before the words filled Tommy’s head as if he had known them all along. 

Ranboo is okayish

Against your wishes he persists at work

The heroes Fire ball and Corpse are

Watching over him 

Tommy groaned in annoyance and nudged Tubbo gently, “Did you hear all that, Tubs? Stupid motherfucker not listening to us.” Tubbo sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Yea, but at least he has people looking after him.” Grimacing, Tommy nodded in agreement. Their discussion was cut short by ManiBlaze whooping in glee, “I’ve got it!” He sent a sheepish grin towards Tommy as he ruffled the boy's hair, “You’ll be going into the medical wing with Lillith and her team.”

Freezing, Tommy frowned, pondering the words. Lillith was a well-known sideline hero, but he didn’t exactly know if he wanted to be on the sidelines, even if the butterflies weren’t exactly the best power. It didn’t matter, it was what he was stuck with now, since the decision wasn’t exactly up to him. Tubbo bumped him with a small smile, almost minutely releasing the tension within him. Sniffing, Tommy looked towards ManiBlaze, “That reminds me, uhm, sir. Where are your superiors? We’ve seen most of the heroes, even the two you assigned us to intern under.”

ManiBlaze froze, picking at his tie with a constrained cough, “Well, uh, I guess you two are allowed to know. Since it’s a uh, paid internship. Hrgh if I get yelled at, it’s your two’s faults, alright?” Tubbo and Tommy looked at each other before fervently nodding, curiosity overtaking their briefly wary feelings. Groaning, ManiBlaze ran a hand down his face, “Right, right. So, Tec- I mean Blood God is out, we never know where he disappears to. Ph1lza is out patrolling up in Manburg Parks, and Sir Phantom is doing work with Crew Hero Corps about the vigilante issue in Pogtopia.”

Fear bubbled along the connection, as the two boys shared a subtle look, which ManiBlaze failed to notice, as he shrugged in dismissal. “I mean,” he frowned at the ground, cleaning his glasses, “They shouldn’t really be that much of an issue. It’s probably just some low-powered kids pretending to be heroes, y’know?” He glanced at his coworkers, who shared equally nervous chuckles before he turned towards the door, “Let’s go get you settled with the heroes you’re working with.”

Carefully, Tommy shut the door to the med-wing behind him. ManiBlaze had been called to quick patrol after a spotting of the Eggpire was listed, so he was left to introduce himself to Lillith on his own. Carefully, he walked to the office that was decorated with a pastel pink placard with black lettering reading Lillith’s Office . His hand trembled as he released a swift knock against the cheap wooden door. 

There was an odd creak from behind it as a flashily pink haired woman peeked out, a curious look on her face. She looked up towards Tommy, motioning him inside. Looking around the room, he noticed it was decorated with photos that all included Lillith with random figures. Shaking himself out, he placed himself on a plush stool in front of a nice-looking oak desk. Lillith gave him a calming grin, her four pairs of wings flaring outwards, “Hello, Theseus, Jack told me you were coming without him, so I hope I didn’t startle you too much.”

Tommy scrunched his nose, unfamiliar with the name, “Who’s Jack?” Seemingly amused by the small comment, Lillith placed a hand against her mouth, “Ah, you would know him as ManiBlaze. Don’t tell him I told you his civilian name, he’d have my head. Lillith is a bit confusing for me in the med-wing, so feel free to call me Niki.” Niki stuck her hand out for Tommy to shake, he took it cautiously shaking it gently. Her wings fluttered in amusement, and she drew them in, creating a sort of monotone cloak around herself.

She stuck a singular finger out, attracting some of Chatter to it, almost as if she had slathered it in sugar and honey. Her eyes lit with joy and she drew a finger carefully along the abnormally large butterfly’s back, “Oh these little guys are beautiful! They’re part of your power right? That’ll be helpful for calming down children at disaster scenes. Jack made the right choice putting you here.”  Tommy stiffened, unused to such a statement. Chatter fluttered nervously before him, trying to cheer him up. The strings were being tugged all over, and Tubbo would not appreciate if the Tubblings appeared while he was talking to one of his favorite heroes.

Calm

StressedInnit

It’s not like the facility

Shaking himself out, Tommy nodded with an empty grin, “Well I’m glad he assigned me here as well, Miss Niki.” Niki giggled in amusement, before motioning for him to follow her. The cloak her wings made dragged behind her, and muffled the clicking of her heels against the pristine floors of the med-wing. He could hear shouts in the distance, probably from other support based heroes. The entire place seemed pretty busy bodied, which didn’t really matter to Tommy, he could follow the flow just fine if he put the effort into it.

Niki carefully nudged open a door with an empty nameplate, revealing a room with a smaller oak desk, and bookshelves filled with assorted medical supplies and medical-related books. “You’ll be studying in here most days, since the internship has just begun. We don’t want you to have to do any hands-on training yet, unlike Warden’s tactics. Your friend’s probably already getting his hands oiled up to do robotics, but we don’t really work like that down here.” Tommy looked around the room before looking back at Niki, who gave him an encouraging grin and a thumbs up before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

Carefully, Tommy peeled a few books from the shelves and placed himself in the office chair that was provided for him. It was interesting, frankly, reading about all these medical terms. It didn’t take him long to get a grasp on what he needed to know, but before he could go further, a butterfly with buzzing wings dropped before him.

This was one of Tubbo’s Chatter, he could recognize the bee-like patterns but also the mechanical pieces that were attached to it. Strapped to one of it’s fluffy legs was an ear piece reminiscent of their vigilante gear. Carefully peeled the ear piece off, he lodged it into his ear and pressed his finger to it, “Hello?” There was light static from the ear piece before Tubbo’s voice echoed through the small speaker within, “Big man! You startled me there, but that just means these work!”

Tommy grinned to himself, Tubbo was such a genius. Honestly, he would bet that if it were just Tommy and Ranboo, they wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. What with Ranboo’s sleepwalking habits and longer-lasting issues from the facilities, and Tommy’s stubborn and all-too hot headed nature. Tubbo buzzed through the ear piece again, “Mr Warden has us working hard over here already, can you believe it! How’s things in the med-ward?”

In a mostly exaggerated manner, Tommy leaned his arm across his forehead and groaned, “So. Much. Studying. Tubs. If I knew there was going to be so much to this, I would’ve argued with ManiBlaze to put me somewhere like PR. At least then I would get to cuss people out.” There was silence from Tubbo’s end before laughter echoed through the connection, “Alright Mister ‘School would be beneficial.’” Tommy frowned, pouting all the while knowing Tubbo couldn’t see it. 

It lasted for a while before the boys were dismissed from work for the day. The two were comparing Ranboo’s first day to theirs as they walked out, not exactly paying attention to who they were passing. Tubbo had begun to let his hair off of his horns, humming to some song he couldn’t remember the name of.

So deep into their conversation, they didn’t notice one fluffy brown-haired man’s eyes on the ivory horns that curled from Tubbo’s head.

Chapter Text

It seemed to be a trend for the week- all the babying and careful words. You have a PTSD induced episode once during your first day of work and suddenly you’re the one whose bones are glass. Ranboo didn’t like it at all, as he tried to push the papers, type everything out, and maybe at the least get some work done with every hero in the whole facility breathing over your neck. This time, it was Corpse. Corpse wasn’t the worst to have watching over him, the man gave him space and wasn’t too prying into his personal life.

The entire facility wouldn’t even let him out of the building, and he could tell it was painful for Wyvern to play along with the spiel. The dragonoid figure had been with the trio for a while, ever since the facility. Ranboo hadn’t known much about the family of four, but he had his suspicions. That didn’t matter though, because he was just about finished with this last assignment on his work computer. The particles were buzzing around him, slightly agitated, but he couldn’t place why. Spinning in his chair, he groaned softly, “I told you guys,” he kept his voice low to ensure Corpse didn’t think he was insane, “I’m not gonna eat my paperwork.”

Some of the particles went out of their way to act upset, but the agitated ones all drifted towards the door. Just as they were about to reach it, Corpse’s head shot up, and he tugged them back as the door was slammed open. The particles buzzed in gratitude towards Corpse before floating towards Ranboo in an almost protective pattern. Peering past the curtain that was the Chatter particles, Ranboo could just make out the tall form of Sir Phantom. Sharing a look with the particles, he leaned back considerably, as if trying to subtly eavesdrop. Seemed like it would work honestly.

Sir Phantom picked up a steaming coffee from the carrier he held, “So, I was running for coffee, like you guys asked. You wanna know what I saw? Corpse, you were around for Schlatt’s reign of terror, right?” Corpse must’ve nodded, cause Sir Phantom seemed to hum in appreciation before continuing, “I saw this, almost miniature, version of Schlatt. Had the curled ivory ram horns and everything.” Ranboo’s heart jumped in his throat, but he had to stay silent. Chatter, of course, didn’t have the same woes as they buzzed like flies around Ranboo’s ears.

Tubbo

They saw his horns

I thought he was hiding them
Tubbo backstory moment?

We could learn

Ranboo pulled at his ears, and levelled the particles with a glare, attempting to keep his voice low, “We don’t have the right to learn, we have to wait for Tubbo to trust us enough to share.” Everything still felt like it was collapsing around him. First, at the beginning of the week, with the mention of 401, and now Sir Phantom being witness to Tubbo’s horns. It all felt like too much at this point. Noise bubbled around him, different to the static-like telepathy of Chatter.

Coming back into his surroundings, Ranboo blinked at seeing Corpse snapping his fingers in front of him. Seeing that his eyes were re-focused, Corpse leaned back in his chair and held out a steaming cup, “Hot Chocolate. I didn’t want Wilbur to get coffee incased it messed with,” he made a loose gesture towards Ranboo’s situation. “Wilbur?” that was the one thing that Ranboo wanted to focus on, not the pity. Corpse seemed to pause, before chuckling to himself, “Ah, that’s Sir Phantom’s civilian name.” Sir Phantom turned from the doorway and groaned at the man, “Oh come on Corpse, we’re working together on this vigilante stuff and you give out my civilian name to the first intern you talk to.”

It seemed Sir Phantom wasn’t supposed to share that info either, as he slapped his hands over top of his mouth soon after. Ranboo stiffened, fear coursing through his veins, as he dampened the urge to transform then and there. He had to get a better grasp on it, he didn’t want a repeat of the Escape. Corpse stood, turning to look at Ranboo, as if trying to grasp Ranboo’s opinion on the situation, and as if there were a baby monitor in the room, Fireball and his fiancees followed soon after. It was all too much, and Ranboo could feel his talons developing from his nails.

Ranboo let out a low growl, his skin growing spotty, “Stop looking. Stop stop stop-” there was a small vwoop from his throat, and the blurring of chatter in his head, and he was gone. When his vision returned, he was fully transformed, almost on all fours. Picking up his beastified body, he turned in a circle, recognizing the alleyway. A figure stood at the end, and Ranboo could just make out Wish Theseus, Dragon’s younger sibling.

Wish’s tougher, almost concrete colored tail, dragged against the ground as they tugged on Ranboo’s arm. Their monotonous voice was like clarity in his ears, “Wyvern asked me to find you. They got concerned.” Ranboo constantly questioned to himself how the entire family could identify with they/them pronouns, but he never truly pursued the idea. He let himself be led out of the alleyway by Wish, and eventually the two met up with Star, who’s fluffy tail puffed and wagged at the sight of Ranboo.

Star clutched his arm tight, “Dragon and Wyvern were really, really, concerned cause they said the heroes were talking about the dark place! And then they were talking about him.” Something dark entered Star’s tone for a moment before the bubbly twin was back to talking animatedly beside Ranboo. He only shook his head and gave each dragonoid a hug before going inside the apartment. There was silence in the apartment, and just as Ranboo opened the door, he was barrelled into by Tubbo, his horns connecting just to the sides of Ranboo’s mid section.

Ranboo held him close as Tubbo babbled apologies to Ranboo, who could just make out the worried form of Tommy in the kitchen. Tubbo looked up at Ranboo with a teary-eyed, snot-nosed expression, causing Ranboo to soften, “It’s not your fault, Tubbo. Sir Phantom could’ve made any kind of assumption, you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’ll be fine, it’s not like they can make any immediate connection between us and our vigilante personas.” Just as Tubbo seemed to brighten, a knock at the door cut them off.

Nerves high on edge, Ranboo tried desperately to de-shift, but found that the situation was too tense for him to even get his horns to shrink. Tommy gripped his shoulders and pushed him towards the bedroom, shoving him into the all too tight closet. The blonde grabbed for his binding tape, twisting it around his wings and shoving his shirt over his head, and looking at Ranboo. “We’ll be back, stay quiet. Please,” then Tommy was gone, out the door to the bedroom and leaving Ranboo in cold isolation. Just him, his thoughts, and Chatter trying to ease the situation by trying to lick the door.

Tubbo scrambled for his hair extensions, layering them over his horns as frantic knocks echoed through the apartment once more. Keeping his best hospitable smile on, he carefully peeled the door open only to be greeted by a grouping of heroes trying to push their way into the all too small apartment. From what Tubbo could see, there were at least six, and seemed to be all of their bosses. How wonderful. 

Broadening his smile, Tubbo stepped to the side, “ah, uhm, Mr Ph1lza, Mr Blood God, Mr Phantom, how nice of you to, uh, visit us?” This was so unbelievably awkward already. Did Tommy really have to put their actual address in the system on their resume? Speak of the Devil and he shall appear apparently because just as Tubbo was cursing the blonde out for it, he came barrelling from the side hallway with his Chatter following him. His wings were messily binded behind him, but it seemed that only Tubbo noticed.

Ph1lza looked around, sharing a look with the three Crew Hero Corps heroes (they were Time Warp, Fireball, and Jack of cards, at least that’s what Tommy had told him, all those weeks ago.) before turning to Tubbo with a strained grin, “Ah, Tub, sorry for barging in unannounced, my colleagues here were just looking for an intern. He had the same listed address as you both, so I was wondering if you two happened to have another roommate?” Tubbo looked towards Tommy, desperately trying to figure out an escape plan. Something had to have happened with Ranboo, causing the taller teen to escape from work. 

Tommy stepped forwards, shrugging his shoulders, “I mean yea, we have a third roommate, but he’s never here. Honestly, I think he might be dead in a ditch somewhere, wouldn’t be too surprised with this place.” Sir Phantom flinched a bit, as if the words had physically burned him. His voice was soft when he spoke, “Why do you say that?” Trying to deny the man any sort of clarity, Tommy huffed and looked away, “He was kinda a sketchy figure, appeared asking us for housing and promising that he’d bring us food money. ‘Course that deal falls through if he’s never here y’know? Quite honestly, I think he got mixed up in that uh, facility business a while back, and we haven’t seen him since.” It was quite the cover story, but hopefully it would be intricate enough to throw them off their trail. 

Jack of Cards looked suspiciously towards the boys, but a hand from Time Warp stopped him as Fireball leaned forward. The raven-haired man frowned, and Tubbo felt sick at the sight of almost tangible concern on his face, “Alright, just tell us if you see a boy named Ranboo around, alright? Apparently Wyvern sees him around sometimes, so we have the Theseus’ family on the lookout as well.” Those words meant nothing to Tubbo, since he knew the Theseus’ would rather die than give away actual info to heroes about the boys. Still, Tubbo nodded dutifully, but it seemed the heroes were not finished yet.

Blood God stopped his coworkers, placing a hand on each of their shoulders before turning to the boys, “You wouldn’t care if we searched the place, right? You two have been with us for most’ve the day, so he could’ve come here thinking it was empty and hidden out.” Trying to conceal their fear, Tubbo and Tommy gave each other subtle looks before shakily nodding with a smile towards their superiors. They had to get Ranboo out of there.

Just out of the corner of his eye, Tubbo could see one of the Tubblings kicking their legs on the windowsill. Their sly grin was telling, and he motioned for them to come over. The heroes passed before the two boys, and Tubbo quickly spun into a quick crouch, “Tell-” Tubbo paused, how could he do this properly.

There was a shout from inside one of the rooms, and Tubbo could hear Jack of Cards yell out, “Hey, this looks like Icarus the vigilante's outfit!” Tubbo grabbed the Tubbling and tossed it towards the bedroom yelling out, “Tell Enderwalker to get out of here!” Lunging forwards Tubbo grabbed his own outfit and grab bag. Tommy snatched his own grab bag from behind the potted plant, letting his wings break the weak bindings. Ph1lza and Fireball turned the corner just as Tubbo was scooped up into Tommy’s arms. Their twin shouts of alarm fell on deaf ears as Tommy dove out the window, beating his wings to catch the air drifts into the sky. The only person who could follow them now was Ph1lza.

Ranboo, at this point, was so done with running. But it was all he could do at the moment, the commotion becoming too much. He could hear the heroes tramping around in the apartment, searching for his human form. A Tubbling wiggled it’s way into the closet, making the familiar motions for him to listen. Covering his ears, he tried desperately to focus on the sounds inside his head.

You need to leave

Heroes patrolling the apartment

Tubbo and Tommy have already fled.

Enderwalker must flee.

The particles buzzed in agitation as Ranboo quickly grabbed his veil, throwing it over his head. It was his best bet to get out of here. Stepping back, he heard the door to the bedroom creak open, and just as the closet was about to open, he threw his whole weight onto it. Sliding under the surprised figure of Sir Phantom, he heard the man begin to yell, “Hey! Ender-” before everything collapsed inwards, and he was suddenly on the roof of the building.

In the distance, Ranboo could just make out the departing figures of Tubbo and Tommy, followed closely by Ph1lza, who was dangling Fireball from his grasp. Turning around, Ranboo was instead met face to face with Blood God and Jack of Cards, who looked all too annoyed to be stuck together. Raising his hands, Ranboo shook his head fervently, and Chatter buzzed in agitation. Jack of Cards hummed, a sly sneer on his mouth, “Well, well, well. Thought you could hide out in some teenager’s apartment, huh? Tough luck for you and your pals, we’ve got the top heroes out here today.” With a gasp, Ranboo interrupted his monologue as the energy for one last teleport came in. He only knew of one place to go.

When the world fell back into place around him, Ranboo was laying on a rug in the middle of the floor. Two blondes stood from the couch, helping him up. The first, an older one with a scruffy five o’clock shadow and a golden medallion, gave out a humorless chuckle, “Where’s you and your little benchtrio now.”



Everything came crashing down with that one statement. The Benchtrio was separated, and neither group knew where the other was.

Chapter Text

There was utter chaos in the Bedders household (could it even be classified a household?). Purpled Bedders, in all his preemptive and precautionary nature, had not expected Ranboo Beloved to fall into his house, on the verge of tears. Ever since that day he had seen, with his own eyes albeit Punz not believing him, heroes like Dream and 404 lurking in the shadows, everything felt slightly off (as if someone had moved the universe to the left). Still, he considered himself quite the friend, even if he had only truly talked with the other vigilante on a few occasions. 

Punz was off in the kitchen brewing together some, hopefully, calming tea for the false enderwalker. Purpled sat on the couch playing a mario kart game against Ranboo, which seemed to be cheering up his spirits as well. The taller teen was notoriously competitive outside of his small trio, so whenever the group of five were together, they held mario kart tournaments. Just as Purpled’s character, he liked playing Toad, threw a blue shell, Ranboo’s character, he seemed to prefer Bowser, passed through the finish line for the final time.

With an estranged cheer of success, Ranboo slumped against the couch and grinned weakly at Purpled. The boy had long since returned to his humanoid form, but Purpled didn’t really care either way. The two of them were in this boat together, two beasts parading around in human form. Purpled’s powers allowed for him to become a beast of light, though nobody knew how he attained said powers. He used them sparingly, as the transformation was painful, and he didn’t exactly like ruining his favorite purple hoodies. 

Soon after the conclusion of the heated Mario Kart game, Punz meandered into the living room, three steaming mugs of tea within his arms. Placing himself between the two, who had just been previously butting heads, while giving each a mug of tea. Ranboo clutched his tight, and Purpled could see the slight shake in his limbs. Punz was nursing his own drink, as if it had injured him in some way, and Purpled could bet the man had burnt his tongue on the steaming liquid.

There was an awkward, but comfortable silence within the trio, and Purpled knew it was sort of due to Ranboo’s charisma. The false enderwalker had an ability to connect with most people, that it was almost supernatural. Though he didn’t really know what was considered supernatural these days. Punz’s voice broke the fragile silence, “So, what actually happened? You three stooges are never usually separated, and all I see before me is one lanky and awkward teenager.” Ranboo seized in place, freezing for a moment, before slumping forwards in exhaustion.

The teen’s deeper voice warbled some otherworldly noise, sarcasm dripping from his tone, before he spoke, “Tubbo’s horns were spotted by Sir Phantom, I ended up freaking out and teleporting from work, which led the heroes to raid our apartment. From there they found Tommy’s vigilante gear, so we all escaped. I’d assume Ph1lza is still pursuing Tommy by flight, and I did what I do best.” Ranboo’s feet knocked against the sofa as he sighed, guilt flooding from his tone, “I was a coward. I ran instead of defending my friends, all because I was the easiest to recognize.” He tugged in annoyance at the veil across his eyes, removing it with a harsh tug. 

Purpled shook his head as he sipped in annoyance at the still too hot tea, “You weren’t a coward. You did the only thing you knew what to do and that was get help. Of course, Tommy and Tubbo are perfectly capable on their own, so I wouldn’t worry as much if I were you. They might brawl you if I happen to spill the beans, so try to keep your head up.” Is emotional blackmail for a good reason still technically bad? Probably, but Purpled didn’t really care as long as it seemed to ease the tension in Ranboo’s shoulders. 

Ranboo was one of the strongest people Purpled had met, and with how much he and his brother worked with the Underground, that was saying something. Purpled turned towards his brother with a huff, “Next time, wait a little before giving us the tea, yea? I know you were a pussy and burnt your tongue on it too.” Like a child, and like clockwork, Punz stuck his tongue out and threateningly raised his arm with a small blade forming from his wrist.

Used to the empty threats, Purpled only released a hissing crack on his skin, and both of them eventually backed off. He could see out of the corner of his vision, Ranboo was watching with a complicated expression on his face. Somewhere between a mix of complacency and of guilt, it must’ve been similar to what his roommates did at home. It was whatever, it didn’t add or release tension from the teen, so it was okay. 

Punz let out the loudest burp Purpled had heard from him, before he sent Ranboo a cheeky grin, “Well, I mean. They don’t have to know if we are going to save them before they even have time to register what’s happenin. Cause you can’t exactly fight someone who’s in a prison.” Purpled threw a bunch at Punz, which was blocked by a quickly strewn together shield-hand. Chuckling echoed from the other side of the couch, startling Purpled to look over. Ranboo was clutching his stomach and laughing a little. Surprised, Purpled gave a pleasant grin while Punz joined in the laughter, his medallion swinging with the bouncing of his chest. 

Picking himself up off the couch, Purpled extended a hand towards Ranboo, “Let’s go beat up some hypocritical motherfuckers. Just like when we all first escaped.” There was a tense silence from Ranboo, before he threw his hand into Purpled’s and picked himself up. If there was any time to go save some motherfuckers, it was now. Punz cheered in the background, before pulling the two teens into a quick hug. “Come on, come on. We still have secret identities, don’t we?” they were then led along the hallways of the luxury apartment.

Purpled could appreciate a couple things about his older brother, and one of those things was his workmanship with gear. A gated shutter was unlocked as Punz carefully slipped a key from beneath his medallion. With a huff, he shoved the shutter door open, and revealed a pristine garage, filled wall to wall with different kinds of super gear. Ranboo’s eyes widened and Purpled let out a dry laugh at the sight. 

Punz swung in a dramatic circle with a wide grin, “Take your pick kiddos. Punzie doesn’t have any payroll right now,” his eyes glinted against the golden medallion thrumming on his chest, “and this’ll be all too fun.”



Tommy’s wings were so so tired. He had been flying for at least four hours straight, trying not to leave L’manburg. His arms were strained, and Tubbo’s hands were slipping, but Tommy was desperate to not let him go. Not now, and not ever, they had all sworn this to each other. The hawk-winged avian knew where Ranboo had most likely teleported, but there was no easy external access into the Bedders apartment, and Purpled wouldn’t appreciate it if heroes were led directly into his home. Ph1lza was still following close behind him, causing Tommy to hiss softly.

He knew his own wings were good, the glimmering golden tone of feathers were the best in the business, but when the genetics that applied those wings to his body were chasing him, he couldn’t really tell. Back in the facility, when he was still small, and he hadn’t met Ranboo yet, he remembers stumbling upon the vials. Each had a popular hero's name, and the one that had attracted him most was Ph1lza’s.

Of course, later on, that spelled his torture out for the facility workers, but that didn’t matter now. Tubbo tugged impatiently on Tommy’s sleeve, huffing softly, “Put me down Tommy, you have to get help. I can survive on the ground.” Tommy almost wrenched back in appallment. How dare Tubbo say that? Letting out an agitated chitter, Tommy frowned, “What if they drop Fireball in after you, what then?”

Their airborne argument was interrupted by the growing sound of Ph1lza’s wingbeats. Tubbo tugged something from his grab bag, throwing it towards the ground and whistling. Where there once was a metallic ‘X’ there was now a large barrier in the ground. Tommy could hear Ph1lza cussing out the appearance of the now large X and trying to maneuver around it. Sharing a look with Tubbo, Tommy saw the determination in his brown-haired friend’s eyes and groaned, “Fine, but if you need me, I want you to immediately send a Tubbling or figure out a way to turn into a butterfly.” Tubbo chuckled in amusement, but nodded as they began to descend, “Alright big man.”

Hooves clicking against the ground, Tubbo danced in place for a moment before he watched Tommy spiral off towards the descending sun. The black wings of Ph1lza followed soon after, and Tubbo looked straight ahead of him into auburn, flaming eyes. Fireball was known for a short temper, and even hotter flames at the peaks of his temper. How fun for Tubbo. Pulling his cheek to the side, Tubbo slung his tongue out before scrambling on his hooves. There was a yell from behind him as a lob of fire was thrown his way, but he immediately threw out small spikes behind him. You could never be too prepared in the vigilante business. 

Swinging his body to the side, Tubbo began desperately finding alleyways to try and lose Fireball from. He couldn’t be the one to lose, not this time. Every little alleyway brought him further and further into the winding streets of L’manberg, and it was obvious that the day was ending. The streets were quite busy, so Tubbo backpedaled into an alleyway just as soon as he had been along the sidewalk. Instead of the normal turns and twists, he was met with a quick dead end. 

Preparing all types of metals in his grasp, Tubbo revealed his bionic eye and stamped his hooves as Fireball entered the alley. Gripping his bag tight, Tubbo threw a weird shaped piece of tungsten onto the ground. Twisting his hands outwards, and then slamming them upwards, Tubbo reformed the tungsten into a wide sheet shield to block the flames. It seemed Fireball’s flames weren’t enough to melt the tungsten, as the older man yelled in frustration. Reducing the tungsten to it’s former state, Tubbo took advantage of the man’s agitated distraction and slipped underneath him and back onto the main roads.

It seemed they would have to take this to the public eye. Removing his hair extensions quickly, Tubbo flicked his welder’s mask over his face and slid through the panicking crowds. Fireball’s yelling sounded elsewhere, and Tubbo’s heart dropped as he heard other heroes answer the call. A couple defected, heading towards the sky to help Ph1lza, and the others all continued after Tubbo. Twisting his body back, Tubbo balked at the sight of four heroes muscling through the crowd in an attempt to get to him. 

Someone in the crowd must’ve recognized him as they drifted further into Pogtopia District, causing people to yell out, “Buzz Bomber!” That seemed to get the attention of one specific person as they ran towards Tubbo’s sprinting figure. An agitated roar echoed from behind Tubbo as he turned around and watched as a large, quadrupedal and earthly looking dragon emerged from within the crowd. More people began to scream, but the dragon signaled with it’s tail to a few others, who scattered with a least more of a purpose.

The heroes, taken aback, tried to figure out a way around the dragon, but failed as the dragon bounded towards Tubbo. Swinging himself onto the dragon’s back, Tubbo patted their neck, “Alright, Wish. You know where to go.” Wish huffed, a puff of dust coming from their snout, before they were off again. Behind them, walls of concrete and dirt ascended, blocking off the vision from the heroes, and cutting short easy pursuit of the two. 

Up in the sky, Tommy was quite overwhelmed by all the heroes. He released a nervous chuckle, fluttering his wings to keep him in place. Raising his hands, he splayed his fingers outward with a sly grin, “Alright, alright. No need to bring out all the big men, for little old me. Ph1lza, nice to see you, same to you Sir Phantom. And you’ve brought out so many other heroes. How touching of a reunion.” His wings glimmered as the sun bounced off of them, giving them that waxy look that had gifted him his vigilante name. 

Ph1lza frowned off to the side, “Where’s your friends? Fireball just buzzed in that the one you were carrying, Buzz-bomber, rode off on a-” the man paused, as if choosing his words carefully, “Big-ass, four-legged, wingless dragon that manipulated earth. And we haven’t seen anything of your other pal, Enderwalker, since he teleported away from Blood God and Jack of Cards.” His wings were puffy, even as he kept Sir Phantom from lunging towards Tommy. The other hero looked primed to lung forward and arrest the teen, almost hoping for it. 

Tommy shrugged, “I mean, no one really needs to know, right? Can’t give away all our secrets of course.” Something ascended behind Tommy, and he could feel his shoulders sag in relief. The legless, serpentine dragon let out a booming hiss as it’s feathered wings swept forwards to cover Tommy. Ph1lza shouted in alarm as Tommy fell onto the dragon’s back, and tried to follow as the two shot through the sky.

Cackling and whooping in amusement, Tommy laid himself against the dragon’s back, “You’re a real life-saver, you know that, Star?” Star hummed in amusement beneath him, before releasing a long winded hiss, agitated at the heroes on their tail. For the next hour, as they attempted to reach the rendezvous point between the Theseus’ siblings, Star was forced to try and act a little more careless than usual in an attempt to lose the heroes. 

Tommy didn’t mind, he enjoyed the adrenaline rush that each dive and turn gave, but it seemed that the heroes weren’t giving up that easily. How sad for them. Star tucked their wings in, diving towards the figures below on the ground. Landing with a thud, Star was placed between Tubbo, who was sitting on Wish’s back still, and the group of heroes who were pursuing him. Off the top of his head, Tommy could spot ManiBlaze, Fireball, Blood God, and Irish Eye. How nice. 

The group of winged heroes who were pursuing Tommy thudded down behind their comrades, getting hushed greetings. Tubbo sent a grim grin towards Tommy, who only returned it. This was not exactly a fight in their favor. Star hissed in warning at the land-bound heroes who had started to approach. Their wings sharpened, the now knife-like feathers almost poised to release. Two of the heroes stumbled back, but Blood God and Irish Eye continued forwards. 

ManiBlaze and Fireball each ignited their powers, and were ready to attack, when an arrow landed just before Blood God. Everyone peered curiously at it, before looking for it’s origin, where they found a large western dragon standing behind three figures. One with suspiciously familiar horns and tails, who dropped down beside Tommy and Tubbo. Ranboo had arrived, and with back-up in tow, to the relief of his roommates. 

Purpled and Punz descended soon after, the last dragon descending with them. It was definitely the largest out of the three dragons, and ice flew from it’s mouth as it roared towards the 8 heroes in front of them. Ranboo jumped onto it’s back, and crouched down towards the heroes, “You all will back off, or else my allies and I will take care of you. You don’t want to anger three dragons, do you?” That must’ve meant this was Dragon Theseus, the second eldest Theseus sibling, in dragonoid form. In unison, the three siblings roared once more at the heroes, causing some of them to scramble back until all of them eventually retreated. 

After Ranboo had jumped off of Dragon’s back, Tommy watched as all three siblings de-transformed into their normal half-human forms. Now he could see the almost eerily perfect similarities between the two, the only differences being eye color and dragon limbs. How curious, but he didn’t want to pry right now. Dragon clutched Wish and Star close, blinking as if dust was in their eyes, “You guys might want to get out of here and to a safe house. They’ll be back soon, and it won’t be long before they make a connection between Wyvern and us. Stay safe.”

With those parting messages, the siblings were gone down the entrance of the alleyway, and Tommy was left to turn to the remaining four vigilantes. Nobody seemed to know what to say, as silence blanketed itself over the area. From off to his left, Tommy watched Purpled shift from foot to foot, as if debating his words. Punz was fiddling with his medallion, and Ranboo was fervently checking on Tubbo. They probably didn’t have much more time before the heroes returned with back-up.

A sigh of relief left Tommy when Purpled looked about ready to speak. He stepped to the side, allowing the dirty blonde the floor, “Well, uh. I don’t really know what to say, that was kinda underwhelming. Pussies.” The gathered vigilantes laughed at the wording from Purpled, who only weakly grinned at their amusement. Catching his breath, Purpled started again, “Now, I know you guys haven’t stocked up your safe houses in a while,” and the bench trio vigilantes looked away guiltily, only proving Purpled’s point, “so Punz and I were wondering if you wanted to stay at the apartment? I mean it’s big, and it’s definitely kind of empty.” 

Tommy looked towards Tubbo, who only shrugged indifferently. Placing his talons on his hips, Tommy looked towards Purpled with a sly grin, “Only if there’s Mario Kart and other games.”

All he got was a sly smile in return.

Chapter Text

Each person in the room couldn’t bear to speak. As if the notion of even muttering a word would worsen the dim environment. One brown-haired man raised his head and glanced around, hetero chromatic eyes sparking from beneath steam-punk type goggles. He leaned back against the larger chair he sat again and nervously ran a hand down his face, “So, we couldn’t catch what was probably three (3) teen vigilantes? Because of…” he trailed off at the end, leaving the discussion open to his peers. 

A raven haired man with a stark white bandana spoke from his left, “Big motherfucking dragons. Three of them. Oh and those two other vigilantes that appeared too. We weren’t expecting them to have any back-up, Karl.” There were small chuckles from the sides at the wording of the first accusation, but the sounds were cut short by Karl’s fingers rolling against the table. He groaned and rubbed his hands against his face once more, trying to resist the urge to hit the head.

Before he could say anything else, the door was rappled against, and everyone’s attention was wrought to it. Karl raised his head, narrowing his eyes before he called out, “Come in, and immediately state your business.” As if the door itself was nervous, there was a light groan from the door as it slowly opened itself inwards. In the doorway stood a familiar pastel-haired secretary, “Ah, hello Mister Time Warp, and everyone else. I’ve brought drinks and sweets from Miss Lillith’s shop in the Kinoko District. They were provided by Mister Dream, as an apology for not being able to attend this morning's call due to patrol.”

Karl could see now the tray within their hands, packed tight with coffee cups and pastries, so he motioned for them to enter the room. The dragonoid set the trays down and waved goodbye to the heroes, departing as soon as they could. Reaching forwards, Karl noticed each coffee cup was labelled, meaning Dream must’ve remembered all their orders. Tugging the tray towards himself, Karl sighed, “Raise your hand when I call your name, I’ll be passing around coffees.”

It took a serious 15 minutes to get all of the cups out, but eventually everyone had their coffee cups before them, and a pastry each. Relaxing a bit, Karl sipped at the hot liquid, and coughed when it stung his tongue. These were pretty recently delivered if they were still hot. It was whatever, though, as everyone continued to discuss their plans. For all it was worth, whenever Karl gathered all the heroic staff of the compound, it was usually quite chaotic. He should’ve known this same meeting would’ve followed that same trend.

As the end of the meeting approached, Karl felt something burning in his throat, causing him to claw nervously at it. From the corners of his vision, he could see Sapnap and Quackity doing the same. The other heroes in the room shot up, rushing towards the fiancees, as everything began to spin. Karl hacked out a cough, a weird greenish-white glob of mucus flying from his throat. As he coughed, and as his vision darkened, he could’ve swore he saw the mucus blob grow a face and smile. 

Off to the sides, two thumps let him know that Sapnap and Quackity had already gone down. The loud, worried discussion of the other heroes around him was like cotton stuffed into his ears. All he could do was let himself fall to the warm embrace of the darkness.

If someone told Philza that morning, that he was going to wake up from drinking some kind of drugged coffee to telepathic crows, he would’ve asked if they had just been to a future-seeing super or something. After Jack had brought the coffee, and the heroes went back to discussing the vigilante case, Philza couldn’t tell that something was wrong until he was already knocked unconscious.

Fluttering his eyes gently, he jolted back when there was an alarmed squawk in his face. Wings flaring outwards, he threw himself upwards and looked around. Wilbur was peacefully, well as peaceful as you could be with mockingbirds hopping all over you, sleeping on the floor of the meeting room while Techno was looking at the birds with a terrified look. 

Sticking his hand out gently, Phil watched a crow hop onto it and tilt it’s head at him. A couple more crows came from the edges of his vision, and stared with jealousy towards the one on the blonde man’s hand. The crow on his hand cawed in amusement before turning to Phil. As though Phil was in an old-age fantasy movie, he could suddenly hear the crow’s voice within his head, joined by a few others.

Dadza is awake

Dadza pog

Don’t crowd him

He’s probably nervous

Pog

Phil stared from crow to crow, utterly confused with how he could understand the discussion before him. Techno shifted from the side, soon enough coming up behind the older man, “They’re called Chatter, Phil. They just sort of, manifest themselves in different ways.” Turning towards the other unconscious man, Phil looked towards the mockingbirds nervously, “So then they are…” Nodding fervently, Techno shuffled his feet nervously, “Yes, the birds on top of Wilbur are also a form of Chatter. I have some as well, but they don’t manifest outwardly. They stay,” he tapped his head, “here.” 

“So,” Phil started, looking across the crows that were starting to nip at each other, “you can understand what these guys are saying?” The pink-haired man paused, messing nervously with his braid, “Yea, it’s like a mutual thing, like watch this.” Techno carefully grabbed a crow, and the crow just looked at him, before an audible POP! released into the air and suddenly the crow was gone. Phil, in horror, stared at Techno’s hand, causing Techno to wave his hands nervously, “No, no! He’s not gone. He’s in here now, part of my Chatter, he says Dadza should calm down before the others appear.” Fingers dropped from Techno’s head as he looked towards the coffee cups on the table.

Groaning from the floor caught their attention before anything else could be said. Wilbur rubbed at his head as he sat up, “Why in the fuck is there a bunch of birds on my body and why are they screaming about me being a ‘Meow Meow’ of all things.” Techno laughed from the side as Phil just smiled in amusement, maybe having this Chatter thing wouldn’t be too detrimental. 

Phil left Techno to explain the situation to Wilbur, instead turning back to the table where the coffee cups sat unbothered. Someone knocked on the door, eliciting all three men in the room to stiffen. The wooden door cautiously creaked open, revealing Niki and Jack behind it. Niki looked surprised to see the trio awake, and quickly shuffled inside, “Oh thank goodness, you guys woke up! We checked the coffees and there was some sort of weird, green and white goopy substance dissolved in it.”

Niki held up a bag, showing the mucus-like substance within. The type of green that the substance was didn’t even seem nearly natural, as it was almost neon. Quickly, the demon-powered woman put the substance back into her tool belt and motioned to Jack, “According to Jack, the Pop Off Crew are dealing with the same issues. Wyvern just called to inform us that Karl, Sapnap, and Quackity are just waking up as well. Only those three were affected.” 

Techno looked towards Phil with a careful look, “Phil, there’s something you need to know.” Phil put his hand up to silence the pink-haired hero, and turned back towards Niki, “Are they alright? I know they were already torn about losing that Ranboo boy as well, so I’m concerned they might not recover properly.” Jack shook his head fervently, the blazing sticks that accompanied his powers gliding around him, “They are doing fine. Sapnap’s apparently talking to flames that he hadn’t even summoned, Karl now has a school of fish following him around, and Quackity is covered in ducklings.”

“Phil-” Techno was cut off once again as Wilbur spoke up, “So they got nothing done about those vigilantes or anything?” Niki rubbed at her arms, her wings sprawling outwards before falling back over her shoulders in their cloak form, “We don’t exactly know, they hadn’t told us anything. I’d assume-” she was cut off by Techno finally getting loud enough to almost shout.

“I know something about those vigilantes.” 

Everyone’s attention was wrought to him, and he sighed, rubbing his hand against his cheek, “That one we hired, Theseus or Icarus, or whatever you want to call him. Those butterflies of his?” Phil stiffened realizing what he was getting at just as Wilbur spoke, “They were a form of Chatter.” Techno nodded fervently, “Correct, and that boy with the particles? Probably also a form of Chatter, which means all three of them have some sort of Chatter.” The red-eyed man gripped his arm nervously, “And the Chatter substance, that green and white substance? It comes from Facility 401. You remember rescuing me from there, Phil?” 

Phil stiffened, nails digging into his arm as the realization hit, “We need to find those kids. Before 401 finds them. Is there any way we can contact them with Chatter, since we all have them?” Techno shrugged indifferently, “I’ve never tried. For the longest time, I thought I was the only one with a Chatter. But if I could turn one of your crows into my chatter, if we focus enough we could try getting one of theirs. Wilbur, bring one of your birds over.”

The fluffy brown-haired man stepped forwards, carefully holding the gray bird with his hands. The bird looked around, chirping in curiosity as Techno looked towards him. Techno gripped his arms, “You remember what Enderwalker’s particles look like, right?” Nodding quickly, Wilbur let Techno continue speaking, “Focus yourself on the bird and imagine it as a particle.” 

Wilbur looked towards the bird within his grip and took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the bird. It took a few minutes, but the sudden POP! from before echoed through the air and where there once was a gray mockingbird sat a lavender particle with wide eyes. The particle darted around, and the men could hear within their heads,

Where am I

Where’s Boo

Bring me back to Boo

They were playing Mario Kart

Boo was winning

BRING ME BACK

All of them stumbled back at the yell, and Wilbur gripped the particle tight. Taking a shaky breath, he turned the particle towards him, “Tell Enderwalker to meet us at Button Run in two nights at midnight. We have to talk.” The particle paused, looking around the room with nervous eyes.

Do I get to go back?

Wilbur nodded, “Yes, you’ll be returned to your ‘Boo’ if you pass along this message. Please, it’s for all of their safety.” The particle buzzed in agitation weakly, before it almost sighed in sadness.

Fine

Do you want it to be from Sir Phantom?

Nodding once more, Wilbur watched as the particle buzzed in regret. With a loud VWOOP! the particle had soon enough disappeared. All five members of the room shared worried looks as the mockingbirds and crows flew around in amusement. One of the crows descended, looking towards Philza,

The Children will not be amused

They are protected by the Winglet

If the Winglet learns of this, they will not

Be lenient.

Philza petted the crow gently, “You probably mean those dragons from the other day. I promise we’ll be safe, alright?”



It was the most he could promise, without being able to see the future ahead.

Chapter Text

Focus was an important part of every encounter. The grinding of plastic against plastic, shouts of amusement and of annoyance, they all fueled the background. Ranboo’s nails dug into the controller he held tight within his grip, rapidly bumping against the buttons as Bowser slammed down Punz’s Hero on the screen. Yells echoed through the apartment as Ranboo fell back with a deep sigh. A flashing “Winner: Bowser” flashed across the screen. Punz groaned and covered his head with his hands, “How are you kids so good at these games?! You’ve literally only played whenever you’re over here.”

Tubbo stuck his tongue out, bumping Ranboo’s arm with his own, “Get good, old man.” Alarmed, Punz raised his head and barked out a grunt, “Hey! I’m not old!” This time, Tommy and Purpled joined in, chanting, “Old Geezer! Old man!” Trying to reign control of the situation back in, Punz gripped his brother and noogied him while flipping Tommy off. Ranboo and Tubbo cackled from the side, clutching onto each other in hopes that they wouldn’t fall off the couch. All three of the teens’ Chatter were darting around the room in equalized amusement. The particles were playing peek-a-boo with the Tubblings and the butterflies were playing some sort of flying hopscotch. 

It was nice, almost relaxing, to be in such a homely environment. Laying his head on Tubbo’s still shaking shoulders, Ranboo watched as a particle paused. His eyes widened when the particle looked towards him, and as if one of the others had taken command of it, collapsed outwards. Where there once was a lavender Chatter particle now laid a gray mockingbird with weirdly brown accent feathers. The other Chatter turned to look at it as it rose in the air and flew towards Ranboo.

Landing on the back of the couch, it stared at Ranboo as the teen stared back in horror. The mockingbird tilted it’s head, chittering a bit. Catching Tubbo and Tommy’s attention, all three of them stared at the bird as it opens it’s beak, but the only thing that came out sounded within his head.

The Vigilante known as Enderwalker

As well as adjacent members of the Vigilante troupe

Sir Phantom, the hero, requests a meeting

He asks that you meet with him and his comrades at Button Run

In two days time, at the strike of Midnight.

Do you accept the proposal?

Purpled noticed the silence and turned towards the boys, pausing when he saw that they were frozen as they stared at the bird. All he could do was watch as Ranboo almost crumbled over as he quietly spoke, “I accept, as does the vigilante knows as Buzz-Bomber, and the vigilante known as Icarus.” Then, his eyes widened immediately when the bird nodded, before collapsing in on itself and turning back into one of the particles that accompanied Ranboo around everywhere. 

Ranboo looked towards the others of the Bench Trio, and then looked towards Purpled and Punz, “We,” he motioned to his roommates, “are going to be meeting with pro heroes in two days at Button Run.” The particle was long since gone, buzzing around the others and making idle chatter to try and pick up context clues for what it missed. Punz stiffened, gripping the arm of the couch, “Absolutely not. You three were almost apprehended last time I checked. And besides that, we all know that the Facility is most likely up and running again. Do you really want to run this risk of encountering any workers?” 

Tubbo huffed, his feet tapping against the hardwood floor, “What if we took Dragon with us! What then, gonna argue that?” There was a tense silence between the four, and Purpled could only watch from the sidelines. Punz groaned, rubbing his palms down his cheeks, “Fine, Dragon will accompany you to Button Run in two days. But that means they will be your first contact before the heroes. Understand?” The three teens fervently nodded, trying to dismiss the awkward atmosphere around them.

Purpled shrugged the atmosphere off of his shoulders, “Anyone up for a Splatoon match?” 

-=I=-

The two days dragged onwards, and Ranboo can faintly remember somewhere in the middle, Dragon arriving at the Bedders apartment. Now though, it was time for the meeting that they were all dreading. Currently, Ranboo, Tubbo, and Tommy were seated on the back of their pastel friend. Dragon’s wings beat against the wind currents of the cold night air as Ranboo checked his watch. They had 5 minutes left before midnight to get to Button Run. 

Veering to the left, Dragon descended slowly, landing with a shuttering of their wings, and crouched down gently. Ranboo slid off the smooth scales of the older beast, Tubbo and Tommy following soon after. The four, with Dragon still in full transformation, walked towards the edge of the building that was adjacent to the alleyway where it had all begun. The skirmish with Blood God and Dream felt so long ago.

A clock’s toll rung throughout the area, and it wasn’t long until thumps dropped behind the bulkier figure of Dragon, who was nodding off. The sound alerted them awake, and the frill around Dragon’s head flared upwards while Ranboo rested a hand on their leg. The adult looked down towards them before stepping out of the way, and laying down behind them. All eyes were on the Bench Trio now. The first people he could recognize were his own bosses from Crew Hero Corps. 

His hands nervously ran against the veil that covered his vision as the particles buzzed, but the warmth from Tommy standing in front of him, and the familiar buzzing of Tubbo releasing his wings from his bee-pack made him feel a little better. Tommy’s voice was laced with venom, as Ranboo focused in on him, “What the fuck do you bitches want.” 

Somewhere off to the side, a voice Ranboo couldn’t place spoke, “We just want to talk,” the deeper voice felt familiar, as if he could almost place where it was from, but his brain was shutting it down almost immediately. Shaking his head, he heard Tubbo chime in from his left, “No way, last time you wanted to talk, you ended up chasing us from our apartment.”

There was no conversation for a moment as Dragon rumbled behind them, the heroes had probably stepped a little too close for their comfort. One of the heroes sighed, “Can you call off the dragon? We aren’t gonna attack you or kidnap you.” Smoke emitted from behind them, most likely just a show of intimidation from Dragon. Ranboo pat one of Dragon’s talons reassuringly before looking towards the general area of the heroes, “Nope! Promises and everything, y’know? Can’t disappoint some people, cause then they’d find out.” Shrugging off Tommy’s hand, Ranboo stood to almost his full 8’5” height. The tension in the area was running thick, so he was at least 3/4 transformed at this point, and primed to finish if needed. 

Ranboo recognized Time Warp’s voice as the man spoke, “Well, we just wanted to ask some questions, alright? Something happened with some of us, that you three seem to be knowledgeable about. And I don’t know if your friend here is equipped to hear about it. Not exactly a public matter.” The three teens stiffened, and Dragon rumbled again, almost borderline growling at this point. 

Tommy yelled out, “And what might that be, huh? Dragon has been in contact with us for a while, I doubt they wouldn’t-” “it’s about the 401 Facility,” for once, Tommy was cut off as Sir Phantom spoke, Ranboo could never forget his voice. Sputtering and falling back, Tommy was held tight by Ranboo as Tubbo marched forwards. Before Tubbo could do anything however, Dragon had de-transformed and stepped in front of the trio with a swoop of their wings.

Their voice was taught thin, a tremble to it almost, “I did not form within a tube for three years, undergoing painful tests, and watching my template, my older Sibling, get tortured within that facility for you to claim that I am not equipped to hear about that same facility because it is not ‘public knowledge.” There was a resounding cough, as cold rushed from Dragon’s mouth, and Ranboo hurried forward to pat their back. Ranboo’s tails lashed back and forth, and he growled, “Don’t assume things about this area.”

The heroes backed off, and Ranboo listened to the particles as they murmured behind him. They were, quite frankly, more intrigued by the reveal of so-called ‘Dragon Backstory’ than by the altercation happening before them. Honestly, Ranboo was too, but he couldn’t question Dragon too much at this moment, so he backed off. Dragon huffed in agitation, most likely biting at a hero, before transforming and laying back down behind the boys, their tail curled in front of the trio like a barrier.

One of the heroes spoke once more, “Right, so, agitated guardians aside, that’s the thing. We have a hero here, Blood c’mere mate, who was involved with the facility. He has this connection to a thing you also seem to have. Does the term, Chatter, ring any bells?” The particles froze, and sparks almost flew through the area as Tommy’s butterflies and Tubbo’s tubblings appeared. 

Ranboo hissed as the fur on this thinner tail puffed, Tommy’s wings fluffed outwards, and Tubbo buzzed in agitation. Tubbo peered suspiciously towards the heroes, “How the fuck do you know about Chatter.” The tubblings murmured nervously below him, and the other Chatter tried comforting them carefully. 

Who Ranboo could only assume was Blood God, spoke carefully, “I was in the facility since childhood. Ph1lza saved me, but couldn’t get anyone else even though they were just starting experiments then.” The false enderwalker stiffened, gripping his chest nervously. This all felt so wrong, like something was going to happen that could crash his world.

Fireball spoke nervously, “There’s one issue with us knowing about Chatter though because,” there was an elicited six soft POP! s throughout the area as Ranboo clutched at his suit. 

“We all have chatter now as well.”

Chapter Text

Tubbo was startled. That was all he could bring to mind. For such a genius, he couldn’t think of a better word. He was startled about what he saw in front of him, because it scared him with how unknown it was. Tommy had froze somewhere behind him, and Ranboo was trying not to melt down. They were always two sides of the same extreme, but Tubbo at the least could try and keep his head on. 

As for chatter, well, they weren’t quite taking it well either. Looking back to his taller roommate, Tubbo could barely see Ranboo through the buzzing (or was it hissing?) purple cloud that was covering him in an attempt to block him. Tommy’s butterflies were tense, staying close to Tommy, a couple fluttering at him in consolation. Just as Tubbo was trying to stay as calm as he could, dampening any emotions festering in his chest, he could see the reflection from his own chatter. They milled about, looking to him for direction, causing him to take a deep breath. He could do this, he could take this on until Ranboo and Tommy were calm.

Turning towards the heroes who had called the three vigilantes into the meeting, he tried to study the playing field. It was like chess, that was the best comparison he could make. Ranboo was the king of his side, Tommy a bishop, the chatters a mixture of pawns, rooks, and knights. He was a queen, an unknown playing card, ever since he had dedicated himself to playing on the down-low. Fixing his face, he darted over each hero, analyzing their figures.

In this game of chess, the heroes had the upper hand in terms of numbers. Fireball was tense, most likely feeling the guilt of inducing the panic all around him. Small, floating flames darted around him, their large eyes blinking. That was his chatter then, how fitting. He could be acquitted to a rook, most likely along with Ph1lza. Picking at his nails, Tubbo turned his gaze to the next hero.

Jack Of Cards was holding tight onto a duckling, a few swarming nervously around his feet. They were messing around with a deck of cards that had fallen from his tool belt, playing some sort of re-fashioned “Go Fish.” The man could be compared to a Bishop, just as Tommy could, unpredictable but with an eventual pattern. Turning to the other members of the Crew Boys that were here, Tubbo paused.

Time Warp had stuck himself behind Fireball, the fish swarming him trying to reassure him. Comparable to a queen out of his group, Time Warp was the most unpredictable out of them with his ability to siphon time and travel at will. Though Tubbo could not see Dream or 404, he could compare them to a King and a Knight respectively. He could not tell if the two were even here, which gave him a weird sort of relief.

Sighing with a press of his cheek, Tubbo gazed towards his bosses (old bosses?). Ph1lza stood near the back, crows flocking behind him and decorating every portion of his body. Quite honestly, he was the calmest in appearance. His face was gracefully drawn into a thin line, eyes studying everything just under the brim of his hat. That was what made him a rook, the ability to make a plan with just a glance.

Sir Phantom stood off to the side, grunting as he shoved a mockingbird away. Compared to the rest, he seemed the most unused to his chatter, making him a weak link. Tubbo could use that and overtake him, just as a queen overtakes a knight. The brown-haired hero met Tubbo’s gaze, causing the teen to avert his own to the last hero.

Blood God was tenser in body language than he was in facial expression, though not with Chatter, more than likely with the atmosphere. He was the perfect contender for a pawn on the verge of becoming a queen, the best descriptor Tubbo could fester. The pink-haired man shuffled from foot to foot, letting Tubbo acknowledge that he did not have a visible Chatter. Quite interesting.

Turning towards his friends once more, Tubbo sighed in relief when he saw Tommy was less tense. Ranboo was further back, covered in a single piebald wing and a larger pastel blue wing. Dragon, Tubbo resigned as he sighed, must’ve been calming Ranboo down. At least some one was, as Tubbo turned back towards the heroes and twirled a piece of steel between his fingers, “Well.”

The heroes turned, their eyes widening at his advancement. Huffing in amusement, Tubbo continued, “This is quite the predicament, I mean. All three of us,” a grand wave of his arms went outwards to his roommates, “thought it was only us who had chatter. How fun.” A sick grin spread across his face as he tapped his hooves against the ground. “Of course,” he started again, “that begs the question here. All three of us spent a great deal of time in the Facility, which gave us our chatter.”

Tubbo’s eyes lit with a devilish delight, “So what gave you yours then?” The tense aura that erupted from inwards out within the group of 6 heroes was almost tangible, causing Tubbo to suppress a laugh. It was almost too easy to break them apart, as if they were putty within his hands. And yet, in all the chaos before him, Tubbo could tell that Ph1lza was still the most rational. His eyes met the older man’s, causing him to crack an eyebrow. 

The winged man pushed through the tense crowd, holding a crow on the back of his hand like a wise old mentor. Eyes crinkled, he sighed in amusement, “Though it is amusing to let you play with us like this, I do have an answer to this. Some sort of substance, I assume the same that was used against you three and Blood God, was slipped into our coffee during our meetings. They were perfectly labelled according to each of us, leaving an opening for someone to poison us.”

Smile widening, Tubbo clapped his hands, “At least one of you has a reasonable brain this time. Perfectly done, Mister Ph1lza. You are correct to guess that we were given a substance to summon Chatter.” Time Warp’s head rose, pulling at something in his pants, “was it…” He trailed off, pulling a vacuum-sealed bag from his pockets, filled with a neon green substance. Off to the side, Tubbo could recognize Ranboo’s warble, meaning he would be in play soon.

Tubbo nodded quickly, “I would assume yes, those vials were in the rooms with the beds so it’s most likely. However, I don’t want to see it so shoo.” Flapping his hands, Tubbo covered his eyes as the Tubblings mulled about. Rustling fabric gave Tubbo the leeway to uncover his eyes and sigh. Time Warp gave an apologetic smile before shrugging, “That was found in the coffee, so it’s our only lead.” 

Ranboo waltzed forwards, lying his body across Tubbo’s back, causing the shorter boy to sigh. “That isn’t very helpful, because if the coffee was delivered to you then it went through so many hands,” hand against his chin, Tubbo sighed in agitation. Releasing his chin, he scratched at his horns with a puzzled expression. If their leads ended there, then there was no way they could fester an answer to the resurgence of the Facility.

Sir Phantom surged forwards, extending an arm/wing out, “That plays into our next proposal then, outside of bringing up Chatter.” The brown-haired hero nodded to the other five, who seemed to step back and give him the spotlight. The phantasmal hybrid kneeled before Tubbo, and looked to the other teens as well, “We want you three to stay under our watch, due to the resurgence of the Facility.” Rumbling echoed from behind the kids, but it was cut short as the hero raised a hand, “Not to worry, you overgrown lizard, your sibling has agreed to take your family under our watch as well.” Dragon seemed to pause, before hissing and de-transforming.

Tubbo froze, this was not what he had expected, at all. His eyes turned to Tommy and Ranboo, who both were sharing looks of their own. This was such a puzzling offer, that Tubbo couldn’t even think of an answer on his own. On one hand, it was heroes, and Purpled n Punz would get worried for their safety, but on the other, it was free safety along with an ensured roof over their heads.

Licking his lips, Tubbo sighed, “We’ll take your offer, Mister Phantom, as long as all three of us stick together.” Sir Phantom brightened, clapping his hands together in a sort of delight, “Wonderful! We have a penthouse ready for you in the hero housing district, so not to worry.” Ranboo and Tommy stuck themselves close to Tubbo as Sir Phantom escorted the three into the middle of the heroes.

Dragon was off to the side somewhere, looking uncomfy with their current situation, something Tubbo could empathize with. Blood God sidled up to the dragonoid soon after, leaving Tubbo to look away. He didn’t want to intrude on a private conversation.

Was this the best he could get for them? Protection with the people who were just a few days before chasing them? If it meant they could stay together, then Tubbo was fine enough with siding with the heroes.

End of Arc 1: Protea - Hospice

Chapter Text

It didn’t take very long to move the trio of teenagers into the new apartment that they would be residing in. Boxes were snugly tucked into the corners of the main room, but Ranboo was a little too nervous to check what was in them. Quite frankly, none of them knew, seeing as their old apartment wasn’t made of much but a run-down bed, a rattling fridge, and a stove one light from falling apart.

Instead, the trio sat on the couch, with the smaller two being tucked into Ranboo’s arms tightly. Ever since that night before the heroes, none of them wanted to risk being away from each other for too long. The resurging fear of the Facility coming back, and the proof right in the heroes hands. Well, that’s quite the shock in all their systems at the least.

Ranboo groaned, taking his hand from Tubbo’s shoulder and slinging it across his eyes. On the TV in front of them, they had some cringey ass movie playing that gave him twentieth-hand embarrassment at this point. Tubbo snickered off to his side while Tommy just huffed, he seemed at least interested in the movie. “Is there anything else we can do other than watch the shitty movies they have in this place?” Ranboo’s hand hovered over the remote, the urge to shut it off growing stronger by the minute.

Tubbo paused in his snickering, looking up at the taller teen, “I mean, we could see if the Theseus siblings have moved in.” Tommy’s head shot up at that, while Ranboo gave an incredulous look towards the brown-haired boy. Flinching a bit, Tubbo raised an eyebrow at them, “What! Chatter’s been screaming about them ever since that night, and you can’t say you aren’t curious.”


Ranboo stammered, trying to catch his thoughts. It was true though, he had been wondering about what Dragon said that night. Sir Phantom had also said that they would be staying under the heroes protection, so reasonably they had to be nearby right? To be honest, Ranboo couldn’t remember much after Tubbo agreed to the protection.

Stumbling to his feet, Ranboo stuck his hands out to his friends, and tugged them upwards. Huffing, he patted at his chest before looking to the elevator. It was quite the daunting thought, exploring the apartment complex. While the whole place was mostly empty, there were some heroes living on the lower floors.

Beneath his feet, however, the floor shook once as something collided on a lower floor. Head shooting to attention, Ranboo gulped and looked at Tubbo and Tommy. Beeping came from the landline phones in the main room, and Ranboo hurried over to accept the call. Sir Phantom’s voice echoed through the room, a melody within the chaos, “Boys? Are you alright?”

Ranboo sniffed, nodding hesitantly, “Yes, we are, it’s just uhm-” “SOMETHING LOUD CRASHED DOWNSTAIRS,” Tubbo’s excited outburst broke through Ranboo’s quieter demeanor. The phone stayed silent, Ranboo chalked it up to Sir Phantom thinking. It wasn’t silent for long however, as a long sigh emerged from the device, “I told Wyvern that this would be tough, but noooo they insisted that they could keep Dragon under control.”

Blinking, Ranboo peered at the phone, “Wait so you’re saying…” Trailing off, Ranboo frowned as Sir Phantom chuckled over the phone. The brunette cleared his throat, “Yes, the Theseus Siblings are in your complex. If you want to visit them, they’re about 3 floors below you in 529.” There wasn’t much more after that as the phone clicked off, Sir Phantom seemingly done. Tubbo began to bounce towards the elevator, clearly resisting the urge to activate his wings on his pack.

Although they were allowed to keep Chatter out, for emergency communication means, they were barred from using their powers. Which made sense, since the three of them alone had almost destroyed the interior of the penthouse twice. Tommy shuffled along behind Tubbo, while Ranboo reluctantly followed.

He wasn’t the most excited to go see the Theseus’, at the moment, especially if that was really them that had shaken the building. Sighing, he stepped into the elevator and hugged his arms close to his body. Staring at the ceiling, he groaned as an overplayed song came on over the speakers. Tubbo bounced, humming along while Tommy joined in his groaning.

Just as the song halted, the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open with a low scratching sound. Ducking his head, Ranboo waltzed onto the 5th floor of the complex. Pushing past him, Tubbo skipped further into the hallway, where the sounds of yelling were emanating from. Tommy and Ranboo shared a look, before hurrying down the hallway with him.

The ground shook lightly here, and just as the trio arrived to the specified door, they could hear inside. “What were you thinking!? Taking this deal was the stupidest thing you did since suggesting you take a job with the heroes,” Dragon’s voice echoed from the room, bouncing around the trio. They sounded ticked off, to say the least. Leaning closer to the door, Ranboo inhaled at the sound of Wyvern’s voice.

“You have to understand,” something shook the walls, “I chose this, for us.” Calm as ever, Wyvern’s voice was like a melody breaking through the bass of Dragon. Still, the discussion continued, “How did you think I felt when I heard what Ranboo said? I was concerned about Star and Wish!” Silence blanketed close afterwards, causing Ranboo to tense. It stayed like that for a breath, before the door creaked open slowly.

All three boys tumbled into a pile of limbs, causing two giggles to erupt from above them. Groaning and blinking, Ranboo noticed two figures, and he sighed knowing who they were. Star leaned down, a wide grin stretched across their face, “Hello! It isn’t nice to eavesdrop, you know?” Steps echoed across the floor as the older siblings rushed into the hallway.

Stretching to a seated position, Ranboo watched as Wyvern leaned against the entrance to the hall. Dragon groaned, rubbing at their face, “God dammit. Troublemakers, all three of you.” Rubbing at his neck, Ranboo gained a sheepish expression while the other two just pouted. Wyvern only laughed, “Come on, you three, into the living room. We’ve got some explaining to do, I assume.”

Stumbling to their feet, the trio of teenagers followed after the reptilian family. Each took a seat on the couch, with Star and Wish flanking them to Tommy and Ranboo’s sides. Wyvern stood in the middle of the room, while Dragon had disappeared. The eldest sibling sighed, pressing a hand to their cheek, “Well, where would you three like to start?”

The couch shook as Tubbo’s hand shot upwards, the brown-haired boy reaching high up. Covering their mouth, Wyvern giggled lightly before pointing towards Tubbo, “Alright, go for it.” Tubbo nodded, placing his chin in between his fingers, “Right! What were you guys at the facility for?” Wincing, Wyvern sighed, running a hand around their horns.

“Well,” they began gently, “Technically, I was the only one admitted to the facility.” Blinking, Ranboo straightened in surprise. Wyvern, ignoring the three, continued, “I was admitted because I was an enigma to my family. My powers had mutated from a simple reptilian hybrid into a great and powerful wyvern. They were scared, I guess, so they sent me.”

Ranboo raised his hand next, causing Wyvern to nod at him. Coughing into his fist, he opened his mouth, “Why did Dragon call you a template, before their sibling.” Wyvern halted, mouth opening in surprise. The older dragon turned to the doorway, a hurt look crossing their eyes, “Really Dragon, you called me a template again?”

Turning his head, Ranboo looked towards Dragon, who had paused with snacks in their arms. Dragon gulped, not meeting Wyvern’s eyes, “Well, uh, it was in the heat of the moment and uh…” Wyvern held a hand up, “We’ll talk about this later.” The pastel-pink haired figure turned to the three boys on the couch, “Well, as you know, I was kept in the facility. However, the facility had never seen a mutated power such as mine. They wanted to take this opportunity to test on it. As they did so, they cloned me to manipulate my DNA at it’s base. These three are the result.”

Arms waving towards their siblings, Wyvern cracked an eyebrow. Ranboo gaped, staring at Star, who shrugged. Tommy banged his hand against the couch, “You guys are clones and you never told us?” Star huffed, pouting a bit, “It’s not exactly something that comes up in casual conversation you know.” Wish nodded, rubbing their arm gently.

Dragon shrugged, setting the snacks on the coffee table, “It’s not that big of a deal, I guess. We were admitted probably 20 years ago? I grew faster than the other two, so I’m the second oldest sibling. We got out when you three demolished the place, and well, we felt inclined to help you.” Their body sunk into the armchair they flopped onto, dramatic as ever. 

Tommy paused, looking towards them, “We never saw you in the facility, though.” Wyvern nodded, picking at their talons, “We were kept in a separate lab from everyone else. Dragon had an even shorter temper then, and was only held back if Star and Wish’s growth tubes were in the room with us.” Dragon nodded, a snarl resting on their face, “Quite the evil geniuses, those disgusting scientists. I never wanted to endanger Star and Wish, even though I didn’t want them to have to exist.”

Ranboo turned, gauging the twins' reactions. They, however, had no intention of listening as they played rock paper scissors. Sighing, Ranboo picked at his pants, “So that’s it? That’s kinda anti-climactic.” Dragon laughed, placing their head on their hand, “What were you expecting? Wyvern to be some kind of savior to kids within the facility before being admitted? Yea right, they weren’t even given a chance, they were 5 when they got admitted.”

Wyvern sighed, sitting on an ottoman, “Yes, I was quite young once I was admitted. Not much excitement there. But that’s also why I felt inclined to accept Wilbur’s offer, when he made it. I don’t want anybody brought back there, and I don’t want anymore mini me’s made.”

Pausing, Ranboo looked to Wyvern with a raised eyebrow, but they only smiled slyly in response. “Of course, you three can stay as long as you like,” the hybrid’s tail swayed back and forth against the floor, “I would’ve invited you over sooner if I knew you were in this complex, ehe.”

Tubbo cheered, reaching for the snacks with Tommy while Ranboo sighed. That was one loose end tied up. All they could do was wait for the future, it seemed. 

Chapter Text

White lab coats sifted through rubble, turning rock over rock. They had finally re-discovered the demolished laboratory’s location, and were trying to see if they could salvage any remaining equipment. On the hill, three figures overlooked the messy construction. The first’s lab coat swayed in the wind, his mechanical goggles whirring and ticking. He sniffed, looking down over the other scientists, a scent of disdain on his voice.

“Those damnable children will pay for what they’ve done. It took us ages to find this place, how were you so lucky to spot it?” His salt-n-pepper hair swayed in the dying wind as he turned to his companions. The other, more chatty one, just sighed, “Dr Kiebler, we’ve been over this. I have my connections, and you have yours. If all you wanted me to see was the weak construction effort you have towards this rubble, then me and my partner will take our leave.”

Kiebler sighed, running his hand through his hair, “Fine, fine. But remember our agreement. I want those escapees at the new location. Any you can find .” His companion nodded, gripping his partner’s arm, “Of course, for all you’ve done for me, Doctor, this is the least I can do.” With that, Kiebler’s allies took their leaves, scraping over the hills of rubble together.

“Traitorous bastards, stealing my mental manifestation concoctions…” the scientist (or was it a doctor? He could never remember) continued his mutinous ramblings as he slid down the rubble to join his coworkers. 

Start of Arc 2: Rhododendron & Imperilment

Tommy groaned, running his hands down his face, his wings flaring outwards. All he wanted to do right now was fly, but if he wanted to keep a roof over his head, he had to listen to those stupid heroes. He could still hear Sir Phantom’s nagging voice in his head,

“No powers in the apartments, understood?” the brunette shuffled his coat over his shoulders, giving the three teens a sharp look. Ranboo nodded almost immediately, his shoulders hunching. Tubbo, on the other hand, shared a sly look with Tommy. It didn’t escape the hero’s gaze however, as his hands gripped their heads tight, “I mean it, you two. No powers in the apartments. I don’t want to hear about the whole place falling apart.”

After that, Ranboo had given Tommy and Tubbo such a sad look that the two felt inclined to agree. So here he was, flexing his wings to fly, but staying grounded and uncomfortable. Would it be breaking the rules if he went to the rooftop and glided for a bit? Possibly not, and so the gears in his head started grinding along slowly. There was a way he could loophole it, if he wasn’t in the apartment itself. 

He shuddered his feathers a bit, before slowly stalking towards the elevator. Tubbo was tinkering in the attached workshop and Ranboo was passed out somewhere, so he could just go for a quick little fly. Flex his wings and then be back before anyone would notice, right? Totally.

The elevator dinged as it got to the rooftop floor, an easy trip. Tugging gently at the loose feathers in his wings, Tommy breathed in the rushing wind around him. This was the freedom he wanted when he escaped that stupid facility. The wind rushed through his feathers and all around him.

Stretching his golden wings, he caught a quick tailwind, pushing him into the sky and above the apartments. Everything fit into perspective from here, and just at the edge of his vision he could see Button Run. The wind rustled the feathers on his wings, tilting them and pulling him along. It wouldn’t hurt to go for a little trip, right? No one would notice. He could just manifest that no one could notice and it would be fine. 

Maneuvering his path towards his old apartment complex, he trilled in elation. He was flying again! Stretching his wings and feeling the warmth of the sun flowing through his feathers and skin just like he had only days ago. The wind rustled his hair, blowing it into his face with a refreshing chill. This was how his life was supposed to be. Flying in the air and feeling the adrenaline pumping through him. 

It seemed, however, that the wind had different ideas, as it began to slowly pick up in pace. His hair covered his sight as the wind shuffled his wings in improper directions. Everything fell from his control, and he began to tumble through the sky. The pace grew, and he could feel the air escaping his lungs as he collided with a nearby skyscraper. 

Screams echoed below as people began to take notice of his descending body. Trying desperately to flap his wings, he felt pain spark through him and he cried out. One of them must’ve been damaged in the collision with the building. Helplessly he began to fall and fall, slowly losing what consciousness he could faintly grasp. 

Just as everything went dark, a honeyed voice cooed in his ears, “You’ll be safe soon, Icarus. Just as you were before…” 

When Tommy woke up again, blankets cradled his body, and something constricted his wings. Voices echoed around him, seeping of concern and coddling. Great, he had fallen back into what he was trying to get away from. Shirking from the voices’ direction, Tommy reluctantly peeled his eyes open. 

For a moment, the colors before him swirled until they finally decided to settle into perceivable forms. From what he could discern, without prying into the current conversation, Sir Phantom was hovering over him while snapping something to Ranboo and Tubbo. That just wouldn’t do.

Swiping his hand out warily, he crowed to himself when he felt it collide with skin. “Stop…” Tommy’s voice was groggy enough now, but at least it was understandable, “don’t…yell at them. This,” his arm was outstretched in another wild wave, giving him the satisfaction of hitting Sir Phantom again, “was..all me.” The chattering of the other three stopped, and Tommy only then realized that part of all the noise must’ve been the actual Chatter . Sighing, he slumped back against whatever he was laying on. It didn’t really matter to him, but it felt suspiciously like his bed. 

Finally, Sir Phantom’s voice became intelligible enough for him to decipher, “What were you thinking! Running out like you just own the place and without even telling anyone where you’d gone either.” Tommy flopped his arms to his sides, groggily turning to look at Sir Phantom, “I was bored. Do you know how boring it is not being able to fly?”

A grumble came from someone else’s direction, and Tommy had an inkling that it was Ranboo. Stowing away that little note for later, Tommy grunted as hands gripped his face close to Sir Phantom’s, “Yes, Tommy. I know what it's like because I can also fly! If you had just told me you were feeling cooped up I could’ve-” Instead of letting the older man finish, Tommy just giddily cracked a smile. Gripping Sir Phantom’s face in return, he shook the man’s cheeks, “You are exponentially ugly. Did you know that?”

Luckily, that seemed to be Sir Phantom’s snapping point. Tommy’s face was released, and he relished not having his cheeks pinched anymore. In the background, he could just see the lanky brunette crouching over with his hands covering his face. Serves him right, making an unintentional pun such as he did. With the hero out of commission for the moment, Tommy shuffled his way into consciousness once more. 

Before he could get very far, however, someone was gripping his head. Quite hard, in fact, but it was the type of grip he could recognize. “Tubbo, Tubster, the Tub Man, could you let go of my head I am quite ready to get up,” instead of a dignified response he got silence. How quaint. Shooting his arms up, he began methodically slapping at Tubbo’s hands for even a chance of being able to get him to let go. 

It didn’t work very well, as Tubbo only lightened his grip enough for Tommy to actually be able to register the pounding in his head. This was not the best scenario. Before he could go back to whacking Tubbo’s hands off his head, the shorter brunette spoke, “You should lay back down. When we found you, your head was bleeding and your wing was fractured.” That would explain the pounding in his head then. And the constriction of his wings.

Trying to get up again, Tommy grunted when another set of hands pushed him back down. Sneering, he made an exaggerated frown, “Well it’s not very helpful if you try and stunt the healing process by not listening to me. And me says, I’ve healed enough.” That wasn’t enough, again it seems, as neither figure relented. Knowing Ranboo had a weaker grip than Tubbo, he began smacking at the tallest boy’s hands instead. It worked for a moment until his head decided to retaliate.

The thrum of pain increased what felt like tenfold so instead of dignifying Ranboo’s spitting of randomized words with a response, Tommy groaned and curled into himself. From somewhere to his right, he could hear Tubbo let out a self-satisfied tut. The prick. It took a few minutes, but once the pain subsided to the level it was when he awoke, Tommy fell on his back, limp on the bed. 

Ranboo peered over him, the boy’s heterochromatic eyes glimmering in the artificial light, “Right, since you’re sufficiently out of commission, it would probably be best to tell you what I saw when I found you.” That did not bode well with Tommy as another wave of pain struck his cranium, this time bringing a wave of nausea. His tall roommate was rifling through his pockets for only a moment before he pulled a piece of paper out and flicked it open.


There was a deep breath before Ranboo spoke again, “Might wanna prepare yourself for this.” A beat of silence followed that sentence, then two more as Tommy tried to ready himself on the bed. Ranboo seemed happy enough with his position to continue, “Ahem. Dear Icarus, Enderwalker, and Buzz-Bomber. How kind of you to give us a beacon to your location. We aren’t that happy with your performance before your little stunt. Once you three are back here and happy, we’ll see about your punishment. Which one of you will break first, hm? Will it be 18114 or will it be 2021? I’ll see you soon, boys. Your dearest doctor.” 

Tension flooded the room as Ranboo teetered off, seemingly losing his voice. Tommy thought for a moment, trying to process what he had just said. Once it registered however, he leaned over the edge of the bed and began dry retching. The nausea had returned, but not in association with his head. Tubbo rushed over and, in the midst of the reading, so did Sir Phantom. The two held him steady as his vision faded once more.

As he began to retch out his nonexistent lunch, Tommy was only left thinking of one thing.

Why was it always him?