This last one was an idea i had about this little arcade machine gameboy thing i have. Its like a total of 6 inches tall, and it has 156 games on it- including the OG "sonic the hedgehog" Game! I was just imagining if Schlatt had this in his house, Charlie would be playing on it all day (and probably all of bechtrio, but it would have taken too long to add all of them)
He's died two times already and he isnt even past the first level
CW// language, dark themes, violence, blood, burns, vague eye injury
Notes: One more left :] uh oh
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6
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Tubbo woke up feeling just as tired as he had the night before...if not more. His head ached and his eyes were still sore from crying. He was sure if he looked in a mirror he would look awful.
Tommy, Wilbur, and him had been stuck in their house for half a day without any sign of Techno or Phil. And even then, he’d only seen Tommy once.
Although it was probably good Wilbur hadn’t come back to talk...He didn’t think he could talk to Wilbur after the night before.
Tubbo knew he overreacted, but he couldn’t help but direct his anger at Wilbur. He’d been the one stupid enough to get them caught-it was his map after all.
With a groan, Tubbo rolled over and shoved his face into his pillow. He wanted to scream, to let out all the stress he’d felt for the last day and go back to everything being normal. But the only thing screaming would accomplish would be Tommy checking up on him. Again.
He had barely even gotten a solid hour of sleep... He was so used to the gentle breathing and purring of his giant friend, sleeping under sheets was almost impossible. The stillness of the mattress was just another reminder of what Wilbur had done.
“Tubbo, you up?”
Tubbo whined as light poured through his open door. Standing hesitantly in the doorway, his brother held out a plate with a piece of blackened toast on it.
“Want breakfast?”
“What time is it?” Tubbo groaned.
“Noon.”
Tubbo nodded and waited for his brother to plop down next to him. Unceremoniously the plate was shoved into his hands.
The toast was a bit burnt and there wasn’t anything on it, but he couldn't really blame Tommy...he didn’t think their dad had gotten groceries in a long time.
The bread tasted like shit, but he couldn’t remember the last time he ate. He scarfed down as much as he could until the burnt taste started to make him feel nauseous.
“Thanks, Tommy.”
“Don't thank me, I got to take out my rage on that bread,” Tommy grinned.
Tubbo laughed, “It definitely tasted like it big man.”
Tommy shoved Tubbo backward onto the bed with a huff, “Shut up.”
After a few seconds of silence, Tommy's grin dropped.
“Hey dude,” Tommy swallowed nervously, “You feeling any better?”
“I don't know. How am I supposed to feel right now?”
Tommy gave him a tight frown, but he wasn’t even certain of how he felt. He felt useless, for one, and miserable too. But he also felt tired and sick and lonely in ways he’d never felt before.
His brain tried to push back against his grief, but everything reminded him of the giant he had come to adore.
“He’ll be alright, he’s a big man Yaknow,” Tommy hummed, gently placing a hand on Tubbo’s leg.
“He’s unconscious Tommy.”
A sputtering breath left his brother's lips as he tried to come up with a response, “Yeah but- I’m sure, I know he’ll be fine. I’ll kill him if he’s not.”
Finally, Tubbo let himself relax. His shoulders sagged against his brother’s with exhaustion.
“I hope so...”
The two sat in silence for a couple minutes with Tommy’s hand slowly rubbing against Tubbo’s leg. The comfort was nice, but a selfish part of Tubbo wished the touch was from his giant friend instead.
“Tommy...Do you think I was too harsh to Wilbur?”
A soft hum left Tommy’s lips, “Don't worry about him right now Tubbo...He’ll get over it.”
“He’s probably not taking this well either though,” Tubbo frowned, “I think I should apologize...”
Tommy squeezed Tubbo’s shoulder reassuringly and stood up from his bed. His shoulder popped loudly as he stretched his arms above his head.
“You don’t have to right now, but I’ll go with you if you want. I’ve got more toast to give out anyway.”
Tubbo smiled thankfully and waited for Tommy to grab more of his awful toast. He held it proudly even though Tubbo thought the smallest breath would make it crumble.
Softly, Tubbo knocked on their older brother’s door waiting for the teen to yell at them. Although, after a few seconds there was still no "fuck off" from Wilbur.
“Maybe he’s sleeping,” Tommy shrugged.
It didn’t stop a nervous frown from spreading across Tubbo’s face.
“It’s noon Tommy.”
“I mean you just got up,” Tommy pointed out nonchalantly.
Tubbo sighed and knocked again a bit louder, “Yeah but this is Wilbur.”
When there was yet again no response Tubbo really started to worry. Wilbur barely ever lied down to sleep, and even then naps were practically unheard of.
“Wilbur?” He shouted, “I just wanted to apologize, I uh... I was too harsh I know. Also, we have breakfast for you- if you want that...”
Tubbo’s mouth pulled into a frown when they were only met by silence. Wilbur was never that quiet...Even when he was upset the gentle strumming of guitar strings always came from his room.
And it seemed like Tommy was finally worried too.
“Hey big man, come on can we talk?”
Tommy stepped forward and knocked so loud Tubbo was worried he’d break the hinges. But there was still no response from the older teen.
“Wil? You in there?” Tommy yelled with his face pressed against the wood.
“Where could he have gone?” Tubbo frowned. Their dad had locked everything before he left...it wasn’t like Wilbur could just walk out.
Tommy hummed and told him to hold on before disappearing back into their room. Now alone, Tubbo felt the dread start to swirl and tighten against his chest. He wasn't thinking when he got mad at Wilbur...He didn't mean to hurt his brother.
“Got it!”
When Tommy got back he proudly held out a small metal hairpin. He hunched over next to the door handle and deftly jabbed in the pin. He fumbled a little bit with the metal, twisting and pushing until finally the door popped open with a soft “click.”
Immediately both boys rushed into the room.
Wilbur wasn’t there.
His bed was messy and his guitar was still out of its case, but there was no sign of the older teen.
“What- I- how did he leave?” Tommy sputtered, throwing open Wilbur’s closet for any sign of the boy.
“I don’t know...”
Tommy looked all around, checking his drawers and the window for any sign of his escape but there was nothing. It was like Wilbur had vanished.
“Somethings going on Tubbo...”
“What do you mean?” Tubbo frowned, watching unease spread across his brother's face.
“I don’t know, I just feel it,” Tommy grimaced, “Wilbur’s missing, and Techno and dad have been gone for almost a day...I know he’s mad but why would he leave us for that long?”
“Maybe he came when we were sleeping?”
“When’s dad ever quiet?” Tommy questioned.
Tubbo’s face scrunched up, “So what? You want us to break out when dad's already mad at us? Because you think something might be wrong?”
Tommy tilted his head to the side before nodding at Tubbo. A sly grin tugged at his mouth.
“Exactly, come on what’s the worst that can happen! We get in more trouble? We’re already grounded forever.”
Tubbo tried to argue but Tommy was already on the move, throwing on his backpack and boots. He grabbed the same pin he used on Wilbur’s door and popped it into the front door.
“Tommy maybe we should think about-”
“Got it!” Tommy interrupted.
Tubbo tried to pull his brother back, but Tommy was already out the door. He guessed he had to follow, there was no way Tommy would give up now.
Outside the thrum of the village loud. People ran around with kids and bags of groceries while others sat down to eat on small blankets in the grass. Everything seemed okay... Perfect even.
“Look everything’s fine, and we should go back before dad finds out and kills us,” Tubbo groaned, tugging on Tommy’s shoulder.
Tommy smirked and yanked Tubbo forward, sending him stumbling into the grass.
“Nah, let’s check out the headquarters. If anything’s up they’ll know.”
Tubbo huffed and brushed off the dirt from his pants. He couldn’t believe he was letting Tommy rope him into more trouble.
But a small part of his brain yelled that this was the only way to help his giant friend. Even the possibility filled him with determination.
When they finally got to the headquarters both froze in confusion.
The doors that usually stayed wide open were locked shut...and no guards patrolled the outsides like normal.
Tommy knocked loudly on the wooden door hoping for anyone to let them in. For a few seconds, they were met with silence until a soft shuffling came from inside.
“Who is it?”
“Ponk?” Tubbo asked, “Where is everybody?”
“Oh- Tubbo? Fuck, is anyone with you?”
Tubbo frowned at the worry in Ponk’s voice. The doctor was usually so calm but even through the door, he seemed uneasy.
“Just Tommy-”
“Come in.”
Tubbo backed up as the wooden doors cracked open. Ponk’s face came into view, and Tubbo was sure he hadn’t slept in at least a day. Bags hung under his eyes, and his back was hunched over in exhaustion. Ponk looked even worse than he did.
“Quick quick, close it behind you,” Ponk demanded before running off into a different part of the building. Tubbo frowned at the harshness from Ponk...
Maybe Tommy was right and something was wrong.
“What the fucks up with him?” Tommy muttered.
Tubbo shrugged and followed Ponk further into the building, no one else seemed to be there. It was odd that in the middle of the day not a single guard member was there...and none were outside either.
The only sign of life in the building was the dim light coming from the infirmary. Softly Tubbo pushed open the door and found Ponk now hunched over someone’s sleeping form.
Tubbo frowned and moved to sit next to Ponk on one of the rickety wooden seats. In the cot, Sam lied still; his skin looked sickly white.
“Fuck...What happened?” Tommy whispered, looking up at Ponk with wide eyes.
The doctor just sighed. His head fell towards his chest in exhaustion.
“He was tranquilizer, by Wilbur we think-”
“Wilbur?!” Tommy yelped before being immediately shushed again by Ponk.
“Sorry, sorry,” Tommy said quickly in a hushed voice, “Why would Wilbur do that though?”
“Trying to get the piglin out we think, don’t know why he’d want to...But Sam was keeping watch of the thing,” Ponk grumbled before pulling a small clear vile of liquid out of his pocket. Silently he poured a small bit into a spoon and stuck it into Sam’s mouth.
“It’s good you boys are here, I really thought Sam would recover quicker, but the antidote isn’t working too well on him,” he sighed, “I'm worried he might have an allergy to it. We’re gonna need you to watch over the town for a bit, Jack’s already helping.”
“What?” Tubbo frowned, “Where's everyone else? In case you forgot, we’re not actually guard members yet we-”
The older man silenced Tubbo with his hand and hunched over in his seat. He took a deep shaky breath before placing down the vial next to him.
“You don’t need to know, you’re right it’s not your responsibility. Just please make sure everything’s alright out there.”
Tommy stood up with a furious expression, “Ponk dude tell us-”
“I can’t Tommy!”
His brother immediately deflated in the same way he did whenever their father yelled at them.
“Why not?” Tubbo butted in, standing next to his younger brother.
“You’re both kids, this shouldn’t be something you need to worry about-”
“Okay whatever, but our dad and brothers are missing Ponk!” Tommy shouted, making Tubbo flinch from the harsh tone.
His brother’s words finally seemed to get through to Ponk. The doctor hung his head down as his arms crossed over his chest protectively.
“I’m sorry... I just- I can’t tell you,” he whispered.
“It’s okay Ponk,” Tubbo hummed, making Tommy growl in confusion, “We’ll just go yeah?”
Ponk nodded and reached out to grip Tubbo’s hand. The fingers dug into his skin painfully, but by the sad look on the doctor’s face, he knew it was supposed to be reassuring.
“Whatever,” Tommy growled, “Bye Ponk.”
Once they were back in the village square Tubbo felt the weight of the situation push against him.
His family was missing, the guard was gone, and something was clearly wrong...
Not to mention the fact that somehow Wilbur had escaped, and Ranboo was still probably unconscious deep in the forest.
The tension in his heart only grew as he saw family’s walk by unbothered and happy. Whatever god had decided that his family deserved this much pain would pay if he ever found them.
“Come on Tubbo we can’t stay here,” Tommy’s voice echoed against his ears.
“What are we supposed to do?” Tubbo asked softly.
Tommy’s hand grabbed his wrist reassuringly, and when Tubbo looked up he saw a small smile on his brother's face.
“Well, to start off we should probably go wake up your lover?”
“He’s not my- what?” Tubbo frowned as Tommy dug into his backpack.
After a few seconds, he produced a small vial of liquid...the same vial Ponk had been giving to Sam.
“The antidote? How-”
“Wilbur’s little pickpocketing lessons finally paid off,” Tommy grinned before tossing the glass vial into Tubbo’s hands.
He fumbled with it for a moment before bringing it up to his eyes. Sure enough, it was the same one from before. The glass was still half full- he just hoped it would be enough. If anyone could help them find their family it was Ranboo.
Tubbo followed behind Tommy as they ran to the wall. Strangely, the lever controlling the gate looked like it had been used...The guard only ever took it down in emergencies, when they couldn’t just climb over.
“That can’t be good,” Tommy whispered at the sight.
Tubbo nodded and watched as his brother jumped up onto the wall, dragging himself up. As soon as Tommy sat on the edge Tubbo followed suit. The cracked stone dug into his palms, but after so many nights visiting Ranboo he barely felt it.
The two moved quicker than they ever had before. Going out in the morning was dangerous, they both knew it. Everything was awake, and without the cover of darkness, they were much easier targets, which meant they had to be fast
The whole time, Tubbo clenched the vial as close to his chest as he could, he couldn't afford to lose it. Every branch his foot caught on and every rock he stepped over was dangerous.
The moment Ranboo’s den came into view Tubbo felt his heart beat faster. His legs propelled him in front of Tommy while his mind yelled at him to go see his friend. He sprinted through the winding maze of tunnels while Tommy ran breathless behind him.
At last, Ranboo came into view.
Tubbo let out a worried breath and immediately ran up to his giant friend. The large weighted net still rested over his unconscious body. The only sign of life came from the giant’s slow breaths.
“Fuck...Tommy cut the net, I’m gonna try to give this to him,” Tubbo called out before gripping a large section do the giant’s fur in his hands.
As carefully as he could he climbed up the giant’s side. Usually, he’d get help from Ranboo, but there wouldn’t be a kind hand or tail to help him up this time.
Tubbo was almost completely out of breath by the time he reached his face. His arms ached from pulling his body up, but the sight of his friend’s sleeping eyes tugged at his heart.
Careful to not spill any, Tubbo uncapped the vial and kneeled over the giant’s mouth. He stuck his arm in between his lips before pouring in the rest of the vial’s contents.
When he pulled his arm back out it was sticky with saliva making Tubbo gag as he wiped it on his friend's fur.
“Have you cut it?” Tubbo yelled down to Tommy who was still running around the sides of the giant.
“Mostly!” Tommy yelled back as Tubbo carefully slid down the giant’s chest back to the ground.
He anxiously eyed Ranboo’s face hoping to see any sign of movement, but after a few minutes, there was still nothing.
“Did you grab the right vial?” Tubbo asked.
“It was the only one, how could it be the wrong one,” Tommy argued nervously.
Still, a tight frown crossed Tubbo’s face as he walked closer to the sleeping giant. Slowly, he sat down next to Ranboo’s hands and pet his fur.
Tubbo couldn’t hold back his tears any longer when there was still no response from his friend. His back shook with sobs, and his heart squeezed uncomfortably in his chest.
“I’m sorry...” Tubbo whispered with his face pressed against the giant’s fur.
He only looked up again when a soft pressure pushed back against him. Tubbo’s head shot up in surprise as a familiar tail wrapped around his body.
“Ranboo?” Tommy shouted ecstatically.
Tubbo could only grin as one giant eye blinked open at him.
“Good to see you big guy,” he smiled, pulling Ranboo’s tail into a hug.
A soft purr vibrated against Tubbo’s body. The familiar touch was almost enough to make Tubbo forget about why they had come.
Almost.
“Ranboo...we need your help,” Tubbo sighed as he pulled back from the hug.
The giant let out a slow growl at the loss of touch while his other eye blinked open.
“Wilbur and- and everyone really. Everyone’s missing, and we don’t know what happened. Michael too...”
The giant stared into his eyes before letting out an even deeper growl. This time Tubbo backed away in confusion, he’d never heard anything like that come from Ranboo.
“Big man are you-”
Tubbo didn’t even get to finish his sentence before he had been swiped up in Ranboo’s hand along with Tommy.
“Hey! Warn us first!” Tommy yelped as he pushed against the giant’s prodding fingers, “What's wrong with you!?”
Ranboo just purred again, letting out a soft happy chirp as he pulled the humans close to his chest.
“Okay dude, I love you too, but we’ve kinda got a bigger problem,” Tubbo called out nervously.
The giant didn’t even seem to notice his friend’s plights as he plopped back down onto the ground.
“Why’s he acting so stupid?” Tommy growled as he pounded against the giant’s fingers.
“Hey, dickhead! Didn't you hear Tubbo!? Wilbur’s gone! And your pig son!”
Ranboo looked down at Tommy and tilted his head to the side.
“Yeah come on fucking look at me. Michael. And. Wilbur. Are. In. Trouble,” Tommy growled hitting Ranboo’s hand with every word.
The giant chirped sadly at Tommy’s words before standing up, shaking both of the humans around.
Tubbo yelped and grabbed onto the soft fur while the giant let out a series of loud hisses. They had almost no time to recover before Ranboo was moving, his long strides got them out of the den in seconds.
“I hope he knows where he’s going,” Tommy frowned.
Tubbo couldn’t help but agree.
He’d never seen Ranboo in a state like this. The giant didn’t say a single word only stopping to tilt his head up and sniff around.
He was acting more like an animal than he ever had. If Tubbo didn’t trust him he would have found it unsettling how the giant’s eyes passed over them without any recognition.
Tubbo always joked he was like a cat, but he didn’t like seeing Ranboo actually act the part.
The giant marched forward for what felt like an hour before he finally slammed to a halt. Tubbo was about to call up to him before he noticed how weirdly quiet it was around them.
Normally the forest was filled with noise- the sounds of giant toads, birds, and bugs filled it with sound. But now there was nothing...not even the smallest chirp of a cricket broke the silence.
It was unsettling.
Ranboo was the first one to break the silence. Both humans were dropped to the ground as the giant knelt down next to a large hole in the dirt. Tubbo noted it was most likely some sort of underground den. He remembered his father warning them about those.
Slowly, a deep growl shook out of the giant's chest, and Tubbo realized anxiously that Ranboo was baring his teeth.
“Oh my fucking god,” Tommy yelled, “He's really about to go after a fucking gopherbear.”
Tubbo frowned and backed away from the giant. His mouth was wide open now as he hissed and growled at the hole.
“Nothings even coming up what the-”
Tommy’s words stopped and Tubbo’s breath caught in his throat at the sight in front of them. A giant hand appeared over the edge of the hole before a head and body followed suit.
A longhorn giant...
Tubbo couldn't even process what he was seeing before Tommy had yanked him behind a tree.
“Holy shit...” Tubbo gasped as Ranboo growled even louder.
Unfortunately, the longhorn didn’t seem to be too afraid.
“What do you want?” it growled making Ranboo’s ears twitch backward.
Ranboo chirped angrily reaching out to grab the other giant before he pulled back with a loud hiss. Where his hand had been just moments before a pile of sizzling slime burned into the grass... And small burns covered his fingers where the goo had splashed against him.
“Don't you dare fucking touch me,” the longhorn growled. Even though he was much shorter than Ranboo, the giant’s confidence made Tubbo feel queasy.
Something was definitely wrong.
Ranboo bowed his head to the giant and rubbed at his burned finger.
“Give...give back,” he coughed out.
The longhorn laughed triumphantly walking forward to the bigger giant.
“Ah, so you can talk? I’m not fucking sharing my meal.”
Tubbo frowned from the tree him and Tommy had hid behind. AT first he thought Ranboo was delirious until he picked up on soft crying sounds from the cave...The guard was in there.
Ranboo’s tail whipped out angrily at the giant’s words, but didn’t attack.
“Give...back,” Ranboo growled again.
Tubbo frowned at the injured sound of his friend’s voice. The harsh coughs he let out sounded painful.
“Go find your own,” the longhorn snarled, dipping his head so his massive curled horns were on display to Ranboo.
In contrast to the longhorn's rough appearance, Ranboo’s fluffy tail and face looked almost domestic.
Although his next actions wouldn't be considered that...
Ranboo snarled at the longhorn and whipped out his tail, smacking it directly in the legs. It cried out in pain and immediately more slime shot out from the hole, some hit the grass but most of it caught on Ranboo’s fur.
Tubbo watched in fear and Ranboo clawed at his burning skin, trying to get the slimy substance off of him.
In his distraction, Ranboo didn’t notice the longhorn rearing up to hit him, and when the horns jabbed into his leg Ranboo let out a massive yelp.
“We have to help. Ranboo's hurt and our family's in there,” Tubbo whispered, yanking on Tommy’s shirt.
His brother pulled him back before he could move, “We’ll die if we go out there don’t you-”
Tubbo didn’t even wait for his brother to finish before dashing out from their cover. Behind him, he heard Tommy shout, but he was only focused on his friend.
Ranboo wailed at the sight of Tubbo and tried to push him away with his tail, but Tubbo wouldn’t give in. Fire burned in Tubbo's eyes as he yanked out his sword and pointed it forward at the longhorn.
“Oh how cute, you’ve got a pet?” it laughed at Ranboo.
The taller giant cried out again trying to whip it with its tail before more slime shot out at him. The scent of burning skin just made Tubbo even more furious.
“Don’t fucking hurt him!”
This time the giant’s eyes fell to meet Tubbo’s. Its predatory eyes and sharp teeth immediately filled Tubbo with dread...he just hoped his stance didn’t show it.
This is what he’d been trained to do anyway. How could he join the guard if he couldn’t stop some giants?
Although the logical part of his brain argued that most guard members never had to fight alone...
“Tubbo god fucking damnit!”
When Tubbo turned he was met by his brother's terrified expression.
“I’m not letting you get killed alone dumbass.”
“Adorable,” The longhorn grinned as it quickly lunged forward at the humans.
Tubbo barely had a moment to react before he was in the giant’s fist. Over the roaring in his ears, he heard Ranboo wail out in pain.
The longhorn laughed breathily, its hot breath dripped against Tubbo’s face.
“I always like it when humans fight, thought you’d be better kid.”
All of a sudden a deep voice boomed against the trees.
“Let him go!”
Tubbo had never heard Ranboo yell before...
This time when Ranboo’s tail whipped out at the giant, the full weight of it slammed into the longhorn.
The giant’s hand loosened before its body tumbled on top of Tubbo; the weight alone was almost enough to knock him out. He heard a couple more loud shouts before the body was rolled off of him.
Ranboo stared down at him with worried eyes before another large shadow fell over Tubbo.
When Tubbo turned he was met by another giant. This one much more disheveled looking with slime dripping from its arms.
“Schlatt! I-”
The moment the jelly giant met Ranboo’s eyes it flung its arms forward sending slime flying. Ranboo snarled and slammed his tail into its head, but he was too late.
Tubbo barely registered as Tommy knelt above him trying to pull off the slime from his face.
The searing sensation of it against his eye was the last thing Tubbo felt before he finally gave out.
