Chapter Text
If you were to ask Tubbo, he would tell you the server’s problems started when Dream decided to take L’manberg’s independence way too seriously.
One thing led to another which led to another which led to the present day, where L’manberg is gone forever and Tubbo had the burn scars to show for it.
Who knew that three years could document the entire rise and fall of a nation? Tubbo mused as he walked around L’manhole, peering cautiously at the glass.
“OI, TUBBO!” A distant shout rang from the stairs that led to the main SMP.
“HI TOMMY!” Tubbo yelled back with a wave.
Tommy’s tail twitched in the telling way it did when he was sad or stressed as he walked over to Tubbo; his eyes kept flicking around like he expected someone (Wilbur) to pop up out of nowhere.
“What’s up, big man?” Tubbo asked, spying the bit of Ghostbur’s blue that Tommy was fidgeting with.
Tommy’s ears flickered outwards and his head turned downward. “Di’n’ wanna be alone with… him.. Walking around.” He muttered.
That was a surprise to Tubbo, though he tried not to outwardly show it.
“I was just headin’ back to Snowchester, if you wanna come. You could see Michael!”
Tommy gave a single nod and grabbed Tubbo’s hand, pulling him away from the rising sun over a destroyed country that they once called home.
“Hi Michael.” Ranboo cooed, sitting on the floor in front of his son.
Michael oinked happily and ran right into Ranboo, burying his face in his chest and wrapping his small arms around Ranboo’s much larger chest.
Ranboo aww ed and returned the hug, placing his chin on top of Michael’s head. When Michael started pulling away, Ranboo placed him down, watching him zoom around his room.
“WE’RE HOME!” The door downstairs slammed open, making Ranboo jump.
Peering down the trapdoor, he saw Tubbo and Tommy walk in, shedding their coats and kicking off their shoes.
“Bee! Bee!” Michael squealed, running to the opening and making ‘up’ motions to his father. Ranboo picked Michael up with a laugh.
“Off we go to see Uncle Tommy and Bee!” He held onto Michael carefully and descended the ladder.
“It’s my boy!” Tubbo cheered when Ranboo reached the ground, rushing over and lifting Michael into the air, much to Michael’s delight.
Ranboo noticed Tommy near the wall looking anxious and beckoned him over, taking Michael from Tubbo’s arms—which prompted an an angry ‘hey!’ —and plopped him into Tommy’s.
Tommy’s eyes widened and his ears flicked around, sending Ranboo a scared look as he adjusted Michael in his arms. “A-are you,, sure?”
With a happy nod, Ranboo bounded back over to Tubbo, who was watching with an amused expression.
“I think they’ll get along just fine.” Tubbo said as Tommy said something to Michael in Piglin.
Ranboo hummed and rested his chin on top of Tubbo’s head, careful not to press on his wings from the back. “Me too.”
The next morning found the four getting ready for an early-morning trip.
“Where’re we even goin’ this early?” Tommy grumbled.
Ranboo, placing a fluffy hat on Michael’s head, answered, “Just a walk. We wanted to get some stuff for the bee dome in the mansion, and Michael needs some time outside. Two birds, one stone.”
“It’s not that bad, Tommy.” Tubbo grinned with a worryingly mischievous glint, “Wanna race for flowers?”
Tommy instantly shot up on alert. “You are ON, bitch.”
“Save the competitions for when we’re at the flower field guys,” Ranboo said but made no move to break them up, just picking up Michael and following the two running boys at a much more even pace.
Forty-five minutes later, Ranboo was navigating the forest with a chip in his step, son holding his hand next to him and two very out of breath men following.
“For two guys who’ve fought in epic battles, you guys have very bad endurance.” Ranboo cackled. The ender particles floating around him released a barrage of words, almost incomprehensible other than a large amount of ‘Sassboo’ s and ‘burn’ s.
“You try-” Puff puff “-large amounts of smoke inhalation.” Tubbo huffed.
“No, I don’t think I will.”
Tommy could only glare.
Suddenly, Ranboo stopped, causing his companions to walk straight into him.
“What gives?” Tommy asked, peering around Ranboo into the clearing he had stopped in front of. “Woah…”
Instead of a regular clearing in front of them, the entire ground was a void. It was slightly reminiscent of the End portals that Ranboo only vaguely remembered from his childhood, but missing the usual frame that bordered it.
“What is that?” Tubbo breathed, eyes fixed on it.
Ranboo took a small step back. “Nothing good, I think.”
Breaking the silence that had fallen over them, Michael pulled away and ran forwards, stopping right at the edge and leaning forwards dangerously.
“MICHAEL, NO!” Tubbo screamed in horror.
Ranboo couldn’t react fast enough as time seemed to slow down and he watched Michael lose balance and pitch forwards, disappearing into the endless void. He wasted no time, jumping after, distantly hearing Tubbo and Tommy follow closely behind.
The last thing Ranboo saw was a glowing aura and a kind face, one which he didn’t recognise, but still felt a sense of calm around before darkness overtook his vision.
Ranboo opened his eyes to blue sky. Falling. Oh, Prime, he’s falling. The ground was coming nearer, fast. He wasn’t very worried about himself, his armour could take the fall damage, but there were people falling with him that didn’t have the same protection. Like Michael . And Tommy.
As the ground approached, he saw Tubbo grab at Michael and hug him to his chest. He pushed himself forwards and did the same (albeit a bit more awkwardly) with Tommy. Ranboo motioned to Tubbo, wind too strong to hear each other, that there was a pond underneath them and that they should angle themselves towards it.
Finally— finally —the falling was over and they hit the water with a large splash. Ranboo braced himself against the water and pushed up, gasping for air and swimming quickly to shore, spying Tubbo do the same.
Once all four were back on dry land, he noticed they had company. Someone was standing just behind them, watching wide-eyed.
Someone who was very, very familiar, but younger than the last time Ranboo saw them.
“Fundy?”
Tubbo was so fucking confused. That was Fundy. Standing right there, looking so much younger, less scarred and less traumatised. A look around the area had Tubbo struck by old memories. They were in L’manberg. L’manberg before the wars and the elections and the explosions and the exiles, but still L’manberg.
How? Why? Was this some sort of cruel trick by the universe? Sending him back to where it all began?
Or, he thought, Is it a blessing?
“T-Tubbo?” Oh, Prime, Fundy sounded so young . “Tommy? What??”
Tommy met his eyes and their shared brain cell clicked. They had both come to the same conclusion and, from the looks of it, so had Ranboo.
“Heyyy, Fundy.” Tommy grinned, lying in the sand. “Nice to see ya again.”
“WHAT THE FUCK.”
Five minutes later, they were sitting in the Camarvan, drying off, and awkwardly staring at Fundy.
“So…” Ranboo trailed off. The silence was stifling .
Thankfully, Tubbo was spared from awkward talk with this younger version of his nephew/brother by the front door being pushed open and a new pair of people coming in.
Mid-laugh, the two— Tommy and Wilbur —seemed to take a proper look at the scene in front of them, as they promptly froze.
“Uh,, Fundy?” Young Wilbur (Prime, Tubbo would NOT get over how weird this was) said, “Who’re these guys?”
“‘Ow do,” Tubbo’s Tommy said. “We’re from the future.”
“What the fuck.” Past Tommy (they really need to sort out that name situation) swore.
“That seems to be everyone’s reactions.” Tubbo hummed. “How about we get the rest of L’manberg in here and then we can talk? Just so we don’t have to repeat.”
“Uhh… sure?” Wilbur pulled out his communicator and started typing, presumably whispering to Eret (oh god, Eret. This was before their betrayal, right?) and past Tubbo.
Past Tommy shifted from foot to foot, looking like he was gonna burst. “So who’re those two?” He gestured at Ranboo and Michael. “‘Cause obviously you’re Tubbo and you’re, uh, me, but I’ve never seen those two before.”
“Oh!” Ranboo laughed nervously, “Yeah, uh… I’m Ranboo. I join the server in about two years? And this,” He lifted up the child snuggled in his arms, “Is Michael. He’s, uh, my adopted son.”
“Cool, cool,” Past Tommy said, visibly even more curious, but holding back his questions, surprisingly.
At that moment, the Camarvan door opened once again and past Tubbo and Eret walked in.
“Hey boss man, you said you wanted… us.” Past Tubbo trailed off as his eyes landed on Tubbo, Tommy, Ranboo and Michael. Eret just raised a single eyebrow and leaned against the wall, giving Wilbur a questioning look behind the glasses.
“You guys wanna explain now?” Wilbur asked.
Ranboo exchanged glances with Tubbo and Tommy before speaking.. “Uh.. yeah. I’ll do it. So-”
He started talking, explaining how the group of four had gone on a walk and ended up falling through a void-portal, and falling through the sky. Ranboo purposefully omitted any details about what actually happened in the future. They’d do that when the time was right.
“That’s about it.” Ranboo finished. “Any questions?”
Past Tubbo raised his hand, “Yeah, did we win the revolution?”
Tubbo winced. “What would you consider ‘winning’?”
“Gaining independence, obviously.” Past Tommy huffed.
“Then, yeah, we did. But it wasn’t… easy.”
“What do you mean by that?” Eret finally spoke.
Tommy shrugged nonchalantly, but his body was tense. “Lotsa death, destruction, loses. Y’know, the usual.”
“We’re not getting into it right now.” Tubbo said stiffly. “It’s not gonna happen again if we have anything to say about it.”
His words elicited a small cheer from the revolutionaries that dissipated the solemn atmosphere and Tubbo took that opportunity to bring up something important.
“We need different names.” He pointed at past Tommy and Tubbo. “It’s weird calling you ‘past Tommy’ or whatever.”
“I call being Tommy!” Tubbo’s Tommy said loudly before past Tommy could.
Wilbur laughed and man was it great to hear this Wilbur, one not going down a mental spiral, that hadn’t hurt Tubbo or his family, or an amnesiac ghost who was nothing like the original. “You can be Toms,” He said, ruffling his hair. “It’s what I call you anyways. Not much to get used to.”
“Following that train, I’ll be Tubbo and you’ll be Tubs?” Tubbo asked his younger self.
When the newly-dubbed Tubs agreed, the group dispersed to do their own things, Tubbo going with his family outside to look around and show Ranboo the sights, since he had never seen this version of L’manberg.
Tommy let out a sigh as he sat, back to a tree, overlooking L’manberg; Tubbo sat next to him and Ranboo next to him , Michael on Tommy’s lap, already mostly asleep. The air was peaceful as Tommy felt Tubbo’s head fall to his shoulder and Ranboo’s arm sneak around both of them.
He clutched Michael tighter as his breaths evened and he fell asleep; judging from the stillness on Tommy’s right, so had Tubbo. Slowly, Tommy sank into their embraces and let his eyes close, falling asleep to Ranboo’s hand slowly going through his hair and Michael’s weight on his chest.