Chapter Text
Ranboo, Cleric, Bard, and Sorcerer awaited the return of their teammates in complete silence.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ranboo could see the way Bard’s fingers kept twitching, as if itching to strum the strings of his guitar, and yet he refrained from doing so. Even Sorcerer, who usually had an annoying quip for every occasion, seemed lost in thought. Maybe being so close to the object that so strongly opposed his nature was taking more of a toll on him than he’d previously let on, because his quiet demeanor was truly unusual and somewhat disquieting.
Cleric, on the other hand, was the picture of calmness. He wasn’t fidgeting with his bandages or pacing around nervously. He was just standing still near the book, invisible arms positioned so he could make a quick grab of it, and eyes locked on the entrance to the cave. He reminded Ranboo a bit of his Tommy any time a mission came up, and he and Tubbo gathered around their kitchen table to plot. Their expressions were identical. And, knowing the results of said missions, he could only hope for that to be a good omen.
It could have been a minute, just like it could have been a century, when the sound of feet slamming against the unsteady stone beneath them could be heard once more. And it took a moment for Ranboo to recognize it, because anxiety had his heart beating so loud in his chest that it drowned out anything else. But when he did realize that the two sounds were separate, he straightened up and approached the entrance of the cave to try and see how the chase was going.
His leg was still on fire. As a matter of fact, after staying still for so long, the pain had worsened. But he ignored it. They were so close to accomplishing their mission, he couldn’t give up now.
Down the street to their right, the figures of his two teammates and their hulking pursuer were growing closer. He could see a splash of red against one of Paladin’s sleeves. From that distance, it was hard to tell whether the blood was his or someone else’s, but he made a mental note to check in on him later. Rogue didn’t look injured, but he did look extremely fatigued and was starting to slow down.
That wasn’t good.
Quickly, he turned to Cleric and grabbed his attention. The universe wasn’t giving him anything to say, so he made do with his hands. He repeatedly pointed at the book and then at the entrance of the cave, giving their healer a frantic and worried look throughout.
Thankfully, Cleric wasn’t a moron (even if he did have his thoughtless moments), and he picked up what he was putting down quite fast. He grabbed the book, hissing in pain at the contact. Ranboo watched, eyes wide, as steam rose out of the bandages Palading had given their healer. Still, much like he had ignored the pain in his leg in favor of the mission, so did his teammate.
Holding the book tight, Cleric ran out of the cave and toward their friends. “Duck!” he yelled as soon as he’d gotten close enough to make his throw. He’d gotten there just in time, too, because his exhaustion had made Rogue trip, and Paladin, in an attempt at saving him from the fall, had tumbled down with him.
A twenty-sided dice appeared in front of him, and dread settled over him. He pushed it, heart beating in his throat, and watched as it rolled and rolled, teetering between a four and a six for a long moment, before slowly moving one last time and ending on an eleven, which was turned into a twelve thanks to Cleric’s proficiency in athletics.
Would that be enough?
Were they safe?
He didn’t want to look. He didn’t want to know what would happen. But he could do nothing to prevent it. He was frozen in place until the dice disappeared, and then the scene revealed itself to him too quickly for him to turn away from it. The throw was a weak one, and the book didn’t reach their opponent. It did, however, land a couple of steps in front of him, and he mindlessly covered that distance in an instant. As soon as the sole of his shoe met the leather exterior, the entire artifact went up in flames. At the same time, golden fire that moved like feathers in the wind enveloped their pursuer as well.
The hostile Tommy didn’t scream as he burned. He didn’t let out a single sound. His silhouette just collapsed to the ground and remained there even as the golden fire disappeared.
“That was one Hell of a holy sight” Sorcerer murmured, chuckling to himself as if he’d just made a hilarious pun. For as unfunny as his joke had been, it still got a chuckle from Bard, so it was a partial success.
Ignoring his quip, Ranboo limped over to where all of his remaining teammates were. Cleric was busy using a piece of his dress to bandage up Paladin’s arm and ignoring the painful-looking burns he’d sustained, and Rogue was cleaning out his scraped knees and hands as best as he could from the dirt of the street. Not knowing where to begin to help, he pulled out of his inventory some water and food and passed them around.
While he was busy fussing over them and making sure they ate something, the crumpled figure of the previously hostile Tommy sat up with an unsettling creaking of bones. It was like sitting next to Phil while he did his old man stretches again.
Looking over, Ranboo noticed that what had once been a beast with bubbling flesh and an overabundance of eyes was now a teen that couldn’t have been much older than Rogue. His hair was brighter than that of the other Tommys he’d met so far, golden strands shone even in the dim light of the cave. His eyes were icy and empty, underlined by deep dark circles. He looked gaunt, malnourished, probably the reason for the sound from earlier. And even while sitting, Ranboo could tell that he was particularly lanky. Hell, they were probably the same height! But all of that Tommy was bones. Even under the fabric of his too-big black wizard garbs with orange highlights, it was hard to miss the way his knees looked thicker than the rest of his legs.
Ranboo had come to the decision that, even if it turned out that the artifact was entirely to blame for their pursuer’s bloodlust, they wouldn’t take him on board. Several of his teammates had gotten hurt because of him, and so had he. The shard of glass lodged in his leg was still lacerating his flesh further with every movement of his. And yet… seeing him like that made his resolve crumble before he could even voice his intent.
Maybe he was becoming weak.
His entire objective from the beginning had been to get back home as quickly as possible by any means necessary. But how had taking Bard on board helped him achieve that goal? And what about descending into the belly of the earth to destroy that artifact? And, now, rescuing a Tommy who just looked like a bit of a kicked puppy? Was he losing his drive?
No.
No, he still wanted desperately to see his best friends again. He missed them dearly. He missed feeling like he was part of a whole. Like he was a fragment of their soul, too, even if it wasn’t true. Their lives were too entangled for them to ever exist as separate entities again.
But… maybe he had just found a new purpose as well. Something else he wanted to fight for.
Man… morals truly weren’t his strong suit. Why did he have to end up in the role of a hero? Paladin would have been so much better suited for it, as much as he loathed to admit that. He had that seemingly blind faith in justice that was accompanied by a ton of repressed anger, characteristics that often marked the protagonist of adventure-packed stories. Ranboo didn’t have any of that. He was just a clever guy who’d found a way to avoid getting his hands dirty.
Silently, he offered the new Tommy a piece of dried meat. It was from that deer Cleric had hunted down by himself a while back. They’d figured it could last them longer if they smoked it. It wasn’t much, but their reserves had been running a bit low lately. Perhaps, once they were out of the cave, he’d stop one moment by Charlie’s weird emporium and ask him if he knew of any restaurants nearby. They all deserved a warm and nice meal that their healer didn’t have to slave in front of a campfire for.
The newbie’s eyes went wide. He looked startled, as if that was the first act of kindness he’d received in years. Ranboo couldn’t even imagine what he’d gone through.
He noticed his cape twitching slightly on the back. And an odd movement that he noted down, but didn’t investigate any further. He was too tired and too in pain for that. Besides, he had a feeling that it was too early for that reveal. He hadn’t earned any of the kid’s trust yet.
“… thank you…” the new Tommy rasped. His bones creaked again as he reached out for that one measly strip of meat. And again, when he opened his mouth to take a bite. His condition was even more pitiful than the one they’d found Bard in, and he was pretty sure that the musician had actually been on the brink of death, if he hadn’t already crossed that threshold then.
“What are we doing with him?” Cleric asked. He’d already bandaged Paladin up to the best of his abilities and was now taking care of his invisible limbs, which, as it turned out, weren’t so invisible on the inside. So there were now two scorched hands just floating there in front of them with some mostly burned-off bandages hanging off of them. It was a gory sight he could have done without.
“We have to take him somewhere safe” Paladin’s statement came off sounding more like a question than a declaration of intent. For as strong as he usually appeared, he, too, was tired. Ranboo would not have been surprised if his mind was a bit foggy from the pain, nor if he was emotionally exhausted after that little episode both he and Bard had when they’d seen the Revival Book.
It hadn’t been an easy day for any of them.
Rogue frowned. His eyes were fixed on Paladin’s arm. “He hurt you, though…” he mumbled. It sounded a bit childish, maybe because of the tone he’d used. A reminder of his youth for them, and probably a result of almost losing yet again someone he loved, for him. Because, while he didn’t know much about his life before that world, Ranboo had seen enough of his own story to know that war couldn’t have been kind to him. It never was.
That little plea was enough to get Paladin to hesitate, at least for a moment. And, even after, he didn’t argue against Rogue’s statement. He didn’t try to point out that he’d also hurt him when they first met. He didn’t try to explain that everyone deserved a second chance, like all those classic goodies-two-shoes heroes Ranboo had grown up reading about and watching. He just hugged their youngest tight, wrapping a hand to the back of Rogue’s head so that he could more comfortably press his face into the nook of his neck. And then he just glanced over at Cleric and him, clearly intending on leaving the decision up to them.
Ranboo looked back at the new Tommy. He’d noticed him flinching at Rogue’s words, and, even now, he looked guilty. The meat was hanging out of his mouth, only half chewed through. His shoulders were slumped down. His eyes were glued to the pavement. If he had a tail, it would have been tucked between his legs, he was certain of that. It was hard for him to feel any anger toward the poor guy.
Besides, the artifact was to blame more than him. Which was to say that he could be pissed at his good old favorite punching bag instead: God. Life could be fair sometimes.
> Would you like to join our party and get out of here? [May affect your party members’ trust lv]
> Would you like us to accompany you out of this cave? We should part ways after that [May affect your party members’ trust lv]
> Do you have any plans now that you’re free of the mind control? [May affect your party members’ trust lv]
> I think we should part ways here [May affect your party members’ trust lv]
> I will let the others choose what to do with you [May affect your party members’ trust lv]
It looked like that time around the universe wasn’t gonna let him get out of making a decision. The ‘Exit Dialogue’ option had appeared underneath the others for just a moment, before being crossed out and replaced by a message that said: ‘Coward. Make a Choice’. That text too soon vanished.
It was kind of funny; usually, he would have agreed with that judgment. It always felt to him like a cheap way out. One he’d hardly ever picked. But, now that he felt the weight of all of his teammates' eyes on him, as well as that of the duty he felt toward the broken teen in front of him… he wished he had that safety net. He didn’t think he knew how to swim without it.
Sorcerer and Bard moved closer to them while he took the time to decide.
Bard plopped himself down next to Paladin, who swiftly dragged him into the hug he was giving Rogue as well. While startled by the quick movement, the musician didn’t seem displeased. Confused, maybe, but he handled it like he did most things, with a shrug and a smile. Man, Ranboo wished he, too, could be so carefree sometimes… maybe without his limbs casually turning into piles of dirt any time he stayed still too long, though.
Sorcerer, meanwhile, went to circle the new Tommy. He was studying him with that degree of intensity that he usually reserved for Ranboo. His gaze was that of a cat ready to pounce. And the kid wasn’t oblivious to it. He had been uncomfortable with the hints of attention he’d been given earlier already, but having someone solely focused on him made him curl in on himself and almost disappear.
Ranboo sighed. Because he couldn’t help being annoying, his first-ever party member had just taken away all the time he’d had to think. He couldn’t bear just leaving that child at his mercy any longer. It would have been excessively cruel. So he looked over the answers properly and genuinely thought about what to do.
His teammates didn’t seem to be leaning toward forgiveness, so for them most of the answers would have likely been correct… but there was only one option that his heart desired.
> Would you like to join our party and get out of here?
He asked that while purposefully looking away from Rogue. After all, his precious boy was the one who’d openly expressed his distaste for the idea of the new Tommy tagging along. He would be the one his response disappointed the most.
The new kid unfurled just enough for one of his eyes to peek out. From the darkness it was buried in, it glowed faintly, making it look bigger and the shock within it more apparent. Of course, someone who seemed so unused to kindness wouldn't have expected him to offer him a helping hand, even after he’d given him some food. If he chose to tag along, there would be a lot of work there to be done for Ranboo to earn his trust, he could tell. But he also could feel that it would be worth it. For him, at least. His other party members were up for debate.
“… you want me around?” the kid’s croaky voice was feeble, hesitant, surprised, and also a bit worried. Who for, Ranboo couldn’t tell. Maybe he regarded himself as a bad omen; he remembered a time when his Tommy had as well. Or maybe he was just afraid of them. He’d seen what they were capable of when he’d been a mindless machine, and maybe he still remembered. He supposed that, to someone so fragile, they could appear intimidating. “… people usually want me gone” he added after a moment, uncovering a bit more of his face, so he could show off a polite smile. It was no doubt a permission. Maybe if he were the one to bring up the option, then their discarding him would be less painful. That was probably along the lines of what he’d been thinking.
The results of Ranboo’s choice were only communicated to him after the boy had spoken. And they were unanimous. Every single party member of his trusted him a little bit more because of his act of mercy. Not even Rogue was upset. Or maybe he was still a bit. He’d gotten quite attached to Paladin in the short time he’d been on the team, after all; he doubted he could forgive any slight against him that quickly. Shy as he may have been, even for a Tommy, he was still protective of those he considered family. But perhaps, despite that, he understood. Maybe he could even see himself in the other teen a bit. Ranboo doubted that either of them had an easy life before they’d come to that world; every piece of evidence he’d collected so far told him they hadn’t.
The tension was cut short by Sorcerer, who saw it fit to give the new Tommy quite the vigorous pat on the back. “Welcome aboard, Warlock! Now, I must insist we quickly get out of here, because this cavern is gonna collapse without that book. That horrid little thing was keeping it unnaturally alive”. Disgust colored his features at the mention of the destroyed artifact. As always, he couldn’t help the theatrics. Although Ranboo did wish that he’d warned them about the threat before he wasted a whole bunch of time on his decision…
Why did he always feel the need to say everything at the last moment?
“We can discuss things further when we’re out of here, then” Paladin was quick to agree and rise to his feet. He wasn’t strong enough to pick up both Bard and Rogue, so he just gathered Ranboo’s precious boy in his arms and nudged the musician toward Cleric.
They were ready in record time, thankfully, because the ceiling started shaking and they had to make a run for it once more.