Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A boy sat, swinging on a swing. Children screaming could be heard, but the boy paid no mind as he swung, no person around him. 

Up and down

Up and down

He hummed, gentle singing leaving his throat. 

London Bridge is falling down Falling down, falling down

London Bridge is falling down My fair lady

Build it up with iron bars Iron bars, iron bars

Build it up with iron bars My fair lady

Iron bars will bend and break Bend and break, bend and break

Iron bars will bend and break My fair lady

Build it up with gold and silver Gold and silver, gold and silver

Build it up with gold and silver My fair lady

A worried woman's voice rang, a hint of fear. “R-Ranboo sweetheart, it’s time to come in!” He smiled, slowing down the pace of the swing. Jumping off, he quickly finished his rhyme. 

London Bridge is falling down Falling down, falling down

London Bridge is falling down M-Y F-A-I-R-L-A-D-Y

Children around him scattered, too afraid of being in contact with him. He frowned, he was a normal boy. He slowly walked over to the head sister, Sister Anne. She knelt in front of him, making stern eye contact with him. “Ranboo dear, can you do me a favor?” Ranboo eagerly nodded, he loved doing errands for the sisters. “Yes Sister Anne, what shall I do?”. 

“Can you run along now and go into town? Bring me 10 bars of chocolate, here’s the money and a note to remind you”. He nodded, putting the note and money in his pocket. He loved the little town. He hurriedly ran to the gate, children still moving away from him. 

Unknown to him, the sisters had just wanted him gone. Away from scaring all the children, he was an odd boy. 

He made his way, jumping in puddles as he walked. He looked at one of the puddles staring at his reflection, green and red eyes met his gaze. His black and white hair looked like a bird's nest. He giggled. He turned around, St. Theodore’s orphanage stood proudly. The building looked medieval. He hummed, the steady nursery rhyme leaving his mouth. 

For Ranboo was a normal boy, a normal boy who stood tall for his age. He skipped along the trail, puddles splashing as he went. He didn’t care for the mud splashing him, he was happy, his humming steadily as he went. 

The walk to the town was a 20 minute walk, but for Ranboo, it was half an hour. No adult paid mind as he made his way into town, it was normal for children to run along. Strangers' gaze met him, but like usual, he paid no mind. Hopping as he walked, leaving giggles as he saw strange reactions.

Approaching the store, he noticed the clouds had suddenly gone dark, it would rain. He hummed, entering the shop. A man with black hair greeted him, the man wearing a white shirt. “Welcome”. He looked up, a smile gracing his lips. The townspeople never avoided him, strange looks only. He would accept that. “Hello stranger!” he eagerly greeted, his childlike behavior winning his nervousness. The man chuckled, “Call me Sapnap, kid”, “Now, what can I do for you”. Right, he had a task to do. 

Pulling out the note along with the money he read, “10 chocolate bars, please”. Sapnap nodded, handing him a bag filled with the chocolate.

“That will be 10$ please”. Ranboo slowly counted the money, then handed him the $10. “Nice doing business with you bud”. With that, Ranboo was off on his merry way. Hopping around he noticed it was still morning, plenty of time to get back home. 

A great idea popped up in his head, he would go around town! Walking along the path he couldn’t stop but look at the flowers. His favorite flowers were Aluminum, the purple color adorning it. He noticed talking, looking to his right he noticed a family. 

Two boys, one blonde and the other brown haired with a man and woman. They seemed to be laughing, they all seemed to have hats, his fist subconsciously tightening. At some point he had wished for parents, but the two times he had been taken in resulted in a forced removal. The people would do funny “rituals” on him, the sisters had found and had removed him from the home. He felt different in one of those funny rituals, but the sisters had told him that those people were bad. So he ignored the feeling. 

Snapping out of his daze, he noticed he was in front of a lake. Duck’s quacking as they passed by, one duck softly pecking him before leaving. He giggled, ducks were amazing. He noticed the family had gone away, the sun seemingly going down. Oh, he better hurry back, he didn’t want to be locked out of the orphanage again. Walking down the path, he heard arguing. It was the two boys again, two adults cornering them. 

“Why are you brats wearing hats at a time like this, Vampires are ye?” The two boys looked stressed, the brown haired boy’s lips trembling. He didn’t like bullies, and adults picking on kids was bad! Even the sisters never bullied him, it was just the kids! 

He fumed, walking up to the adults. “Hey, Why are you picking on them!”. The men had turned towards him, an angered look on their face. “What’s it to you kid, beat it”. He was shoved to the ground, the bag falling with it. A sudden feeling formed in his stomach, it was the same feeling that he had whenever he was picked on. He wished the men would fall, they were mean. To his great surprise, the men did fall. The hats falling with them, the two boys took it as an opportunity to grab the hats and run, leaving Ranboo cornered and alone. 

Both men were mad, turning to glare at him. He looked around for an escape, but none was seen. Both men quickly approached, all he could do was curl up in a ball. 

------

He was in pain, in the most uttermost pain he could describe. The men seemed to be drunk, and had decided that Ranboo deserved a nice lesson. Kicks were thrown at him, leaving his little body in pain. He cried, he shouldn’t have stepped in. “You dumb ass kid, we would have won big money if we were right with those other damn kids”. The kicks were getting harder, and the harder they got the more angrier his little body got. One final kick was all he needed. 

Fire suddenly sparked, attacking the mens feet. He watched in fascination as the fire slowly spread through the mens body, but a stoic expression lay dormant in his face. The men screamed in agony, but like usual, Ranboo paid no mind. Picking up the fallen bag, he turned back. A smile graced the child's lips, Purple ominous eyes staring back at the burning men. 

“You shouldn't play with fire” he let out a small giggle, eyes turning back to red and green. Both men stared in horror as the child, no monster skipped away. Humming a creepy rhyme as he went. 

Bend and break, bend and break

Iron bars will bend and break

That was all the men heard before the fire completely engulfed them. The fire department quickly approached them, but it would be too late. But for two scared boys and a blonde man, the words would haunt them. 

“ You shouldn’t play with fire ”.  

------

A blonde man sat with his wife, multiple people surrounding them. But many could tell something was wrong, for the two youngest of the cove weren’t here. A tall brown haired man had recently arrived, just returning from work. Wilbur, for the most part, was concerned. The sudden spike in vampire hunting had increased, he just hoped his two youngest brothers were safe. 

A slam at the door had them all standing, weapons ready. Two blonde and brown haired boys stood there, gasping for breath. Phil immediately stood up, he was concerned. 

“Tommy, Tubbo what’s wrong?” The brown haired boy’s lips trembled, tears threatening to fall. But the blonde boy spoke.

“Phil, Phil, help. We were attacked by these two drunk guys but this boy jumped in and stopped them. He’s in danger Phil!”. 

Phil quickly rushed to them, “can you lead me to wear the boy is?”, both boys nodding. Grabbing his hand and rushing off. 

They quickly approached the town, as night slowly approached, the abilities became stronger. Phil being able to fly far distances quickly. A giggle rang through the street, that of a child. Two pained screams ringing out with the giggle, but Phil heard some haunting words a child should never be capable of saying. 

You shouldn’t play with fire

His instincts went wild, puffing his wings out he grabbed at Tubbo and Tommy. Hauling ass out of the area, that wasn’t a normal kid. Getting back to the cove, he slammed at the castle's doors. Locking it with every possible lock he could grab at. Everyone looked alarmed, what had gotten Phil spooked. 

“Phil honey, what’s wrong”. That was Kristen, he looked towards her, then at the rest of the members. Concern being shown all around, it wasn’t every day a grand elder got spooked. 

He sighed, letting both Tommy and Tubbo go. Both running towards Kristen, tears in their eyes. 

He sat down, looking awfully around his actual age, centuries old. “The boy, the boy that rescued Tommy and Tubbo. He’s tall and has white and black hair, but he’s not normal”. 

Wilbur stood up, “What's so odd about a kid”. 

Phil still looked shocked, quickly turning towards his second eldest son. “Wilbur, that isn’t an ordinary child”. Techno let out an annoyed huff, “Spit it out Phil, what’s so odd about the kid”. 

“He’s a Cambion, and by the looks of it. He made an unknown contract with Tommy and Tubbo”. 

They all sat there in silence, Cambion’s were rare, as they were seen as abominations. 

Cambion’s were the result of humans and demons, now why was there such a child like that in Manberg? 

Unaware of people speaking of him, a boy skipped back to the orphanage. A smile gracing his lips. He got two cool lines on his stomach, one yellow and one brown. He wondered what they meant. 

But he knew one thing, fire was a dangerous thing to play with. Those men had hopefully learnt their lesson. He quickly approached the orphanage, just in the nick of time. 

“Sister Anne, I have the chocolate bars!”. The sisters sighed, unaware of what just had happened. 

A masked man sat, five people surrounding him. 

He looked at them, a smile gracing his lips. 

We shouldn't mess with fire, right guys ?

Chapter Text

Unlike last time, Ranboo this time stood in the corner. Children ran around, avoiding him like the plague. But he wasn’t alone, oh no no. A smile slowly plastered on his face, as he sat on the ground. For he had dolls, and one specific doll peaked his interest, that of a pig. 

It was an old doll, the doll being ripped due to children pulling on it. He paid no mind to it, looking around himself. Along with the pig doll, three other dolls joined him. He would bring himself joy, no need for other people. He hummed again, a gentle tune of which the sister's would always use to play with children. 

Ring around the Rosie, pockets full of posies 

Ashes Ashes, we all fall down

Unknown to him, some of the sister's were observing him. Pale faces meeting each other, this child, who was once a normal sweet child had slowly turned into an outcast. They quickly walked away, Sister Anne taking the lead. Having found a spot free of children she looked at every member, "Sisters, something must be done of the child. Although he is a child, most of the children seemed scared of him. I believe this interesting situation calls for Father Francis".

Most of the sister's let out a surprised gasp, for Father Francis was no normal priest. The father himself was a renown exorcist priest, having had many successful exorcisms. "Sister Anne, do you truly believe the child is possessed?" She turned to look, it was one of the newest Sisters, Sister Nihachu, a young lady who dawned pink hair.

She nodded, "yes, it most definitely might point to his sudden odd behavior. Father Francis will most definitely take around two weeks to arrive, treat Ranboo no differently than how you would treat him right now". They all nodded, grim expressions on their faces. "Call the children for prayer, I will speak to Ranboo myself tonight".

As the sun shined brightly, a boy's life would drastically change for the worse.

------

An hour after playtime, Ranboo was called into the head sister's office. He knocked, "Sister Anne, you asked to see me?" The lady smiled, looking down at him. "Yes dear, can you run this along to the church in town? He visibly inflated, he would get to see the town again. He nodded, a huge smile plastered on his face. "Yes Sister Anne!". The sister smiled, quickly handing him an envelope. "Run along now, do try and arrive back in time". He ran, dodging children he passed by. His room would be changed that night, more locks would gather at the door, noise padding dawning the walls.

------

He again closed the door to the orphanage, humming as he went by. The birds chirped as he went by. 20 minutes into the walk, he noticed an opening in the tree line. His curiosity won the best of him, suddenly turning and walking to the opening. Flowers covered the opening, a flower biome. He spotted two familiar figures, the boys from yesterday!

He approached them, "Hello, are you two alright from yesterday". The two figures turned quickly, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Yah, thanks for that, for saving us", the blonde one spoke.

"No worries, I don't like bullies. "What's your name, I'm Ranboo". He stood his hand out, waiting for both boys to accept back.

The brown haired boy broke the silence, handing his hand out. "T-Tubbo, I'm Tubbo". They shook hands, a warm feeling sparking in him.

"And I'm Tommy". The warm feeling blossomed more, leaving him happy.

They sat there for a while, admiring the flowers in peace. "So, where do you two live?" the two boys turned, "We live two towns over, bigger L'manburg". Ranboo turned to look at them, and gave an awed expression. "Isn't that where most vampire cases are currently, that's so cool". A whistle had both boys turning, both quickly standing up.

"It was lovely meeting you Ranboo, but Tubbo and I gotta go, cya", both boys ran. Oh well, he still had church to go to.

Police seemed to linger around, something must have happened. Oh well, Ranboo didn't care. He skipped on over to a large chapel, laughing as he saw the dove's fly away.

He entered the chapel, a slight burning feeling sent shiver down his back. He paid no mind, preferring to listen to the church choir hum the Gregorian chant. Finding the priest, he silently walked over to him. The burning sensation getting stronger as he approached.

"Hello Mr.Priest, Sister Anne asked for me to give you this' ', he handed the man the envelope, the man smiling at him. With that Ranboo decided to call it a day, but for the townspeople, it would be the last they'd see of Ranboo.

------

He walked down the path that led to the orphanage, an odd feeling surrounding him. It felt like the feeling when he would go outside and play, when all the children seemed to stare at him in anger.  Approaching the orphanage, he noticed it was quiet. Too quiet. The doors were still open, so he walked in. Entering the building, he heard the sister's speaking. Something about one of the sister's having run off, he didn't pay attention. It didn't involve him.

Making his way towards his room, he didn't seem to notice someone was following. With a slam, his room was shut. He jumped and turned, why did it slam?

He tried opening the door, but the door wouldn't budge. But, after his fifth attempt at opening the door he heard a voice, that of sister Anne.

"Ranboo dear, go to sleep". Footsteps quickly sounded, they sounded distant. They would let him out after, right? They always did.

Finally laying down in his bed he noticed one thing, one thing he should have relied sooner.

The burning sensation was back, and it was worse than ever. He curled into himself, clutching at his hair.

But for the orphanage, something indeed went well, the children seemed to laugh more joyfully. No one seemed to notice the child standing on the second floor, looking down with a pained expression.

For the exorcism wouldn't truly help, it would ultimately result in the downfall of the orphanage. 

For a boy's eyes glowed an ominous purple, a crazed look dawning his face, giggling as he hummed to no one in particular. 

The nuns and the priest stole a prince from his bed

and bound him in a room

All hoist the flames high in the air

for the prince will bring down there doom