Chapter Text
Epilogue.
“Ha!” Ranboo planted one foot on the chest of his fallen enemy, eyes blazing in triumph. “I win!”
George bared his teeth at the ender hybrid, equally inflamed. “You wish!” He hissed indignantly. “I’ll get you, just you wait—”
A pillow to the face muffled the rest of his sentence. Ranboo hopped off George’s chest easily, all of his battlefield intensity disappearing as he beamed around the room. “Yay!”
Ten disbelieving, mildly intimidated faces stared back at him. (George’s expression was still obscured by the pillow.) “You picked ‘sudden pillow fight of doom’ because you knew you’d win!” Sapnap pointed at Ranboo accusingly. The effectiveness of the gesture was slightly dampened by the crude paper dunce cap balanced precariously on his head.
Ranboo and George turned to the blaze hybrid in sync. George peeled the pillow off his face to reveal his smirk. “You’re just salty you were the first to lose.”
“Practice makes perfect!” The ender hybrid added cheerily, a hint of snark in his voice.
The blaze hybrid’s jaw dropped open in the face of the double attack. “Excuse me,” he huffed, leaping to his feet. “It’s just ‘cause I’ve been feeling off today!” Sapnap bluffed.
“Probably ‘cause you ate Quackity’s ‘tacos’ earlier,” Techno muttered, eyes averted innocently.
The room broke into chaos again as Quackity promptly started swearing at the piglin hybrid, who grinned unbotheredly while Bad desperately shouted ‘language’. Sapnap took this as a cue to fall on George, whacking the older man in the face with his own polka-dot pillow. Ranboo danced out of the way easily, stifling a giggle as he watched Sapnap and George brawling on the ground.
“Don’t let your guard down, boob boy!” Someone sang behind him. Every muscle in Ranboo’s body tensed as dread washed over him. Before Ranboo could whip around to face his attacker, however, a fluffy whack in the head sent him tumbling to the ground.
A sock-clad foot nudged his back. “Gotcha!” Tommy smirked. “Your reign ends here, Ranboo.” Despite his wrinkled t-shirt, striped pajama pants, and soft weapon of choice, Tommy looked every bit like a rebel overthrowing a tyrant.
Ranboo just groaned unintelligably, thankful that Phil had insisted on covering the cozy room with their sleeping mattresses before the sudden pillow fight of doom.
“Haven’t you had enough of being a rebel?” Tubbo scoffed, appearing suddenly by Tommy’s side and aiming a pillow at the back of his knees. Caught off guard, Tommy promptly crumpled on top of Ranboo, drawing an pained oof from the ender hybrid.
Tubbo just grinned mischievously down at his two fallen friends, his hands—healthy, whole, and uninjured—still clutching a pillow triumphantly. “L’manberg wasn’t enough for you?” He teased.
Tommy rolled off of Ranboo, much to the ender hybrid’s relief. “If I wanted to make L’manberg 2.0, I’d be hitting him.” He scoffed, jabbing a finger over at Dream, who was wheezing with laughter as he recorded his best friends’ battle.
Propping himself up on his elbows, Ranboo squinted at the chaos that had descended upon the room. Dream had abandoned his comm and was now surprisingly—or not, considering their reputation as friendly rivals—wrestling Techno as Sapnap, George, and Quackity egged them on. Karl was sneaking up on an unsuspecting Bad, who was busy facepalming hard.
Phil tried his best to blend into the walls. It was to no avail, however, as Wilbur quickly zeroed in on the elytrian and barrelled toward him. Phil’s shrieks were lost beneath Wilbur’s delighted cackles, as he brutally attacked his pseudo-father with a fluffy pink pillow.
“ …This isn’t really what I meant when I said ‘sudden pillow fight of doom.’” Ranboo admitted bemusedly. “But I think I like this more.”
Tubbo plopped down beside the two of them, though not before giving Tommy one last half-hearted whack. “It suits us, doesn’t it?” He pointed out brightly. “We’re not exactly the best at planning, after all.”
Ranboo and Tommy shared an amused, if not slightly sardonic look. Indeed, their last moments in the mansion had been filled with unplanned twists. To be fair, such a situation was impossible to perfectly plan out, as Dream had pointed out while apologizing profusely for Tubbo’s lost fingers. Tubbo, riding high on their escape, just waved his bandaged hand dismissively and reminded him that they’d regenerate upon respawn.
In the months since they’d left that horrible server for the last time, the number of times any of them had slept alone could be counted on one hand. Tubbo and Ranboo’s half-finished village project, the cozy abodes of Quackity’s desert server, George’s unaesthetic but homely cobblestone builds, and even their old DreamSMP community house all became prime sleepover spots.
It had taken months to get here, specifically, what with the struggle to get a new server approved and the long hours spent terraforming and building it. Phil had even kept his word and spent an entire day lugging mountains of stuff, from his hardcore world to this new server. But now, at last, their little family had a server of their own to call home.
“Guys! Calm down!” Bad’s annoyed voice rose above the chaos and fluffy carnage. “We spent hours building this house! If you all destroy it…” He trailed off ominously, narrowing his glowing eyes at Karl, who froze mid-swing.
“Yessir,” Karl replied dejectedly but meekly, promptly hiding his pillow behind his back.
The rest of their friends followed suit, reluctantly setting down their weapons. George climbed off of where he’d been holding Sapnap in a headlock, smirking lightly. Ranboo just looked on in amusement. “Just to be clear…I’m still the winner.”
“Who knew that lanky fucker would be so good at pillow fights?” Wilbur muttered to no one in particular. Ranboo couldn’t quite tell if his voice was awed or snarky. “Whew, look at the time!” The older man added, checking something invisible that must’ve been his personal status bar.
Phil peeked at his own personal window, eyes widening at whatever he saw. “Okay! Off to bed, children!” He declared with a clap of his hands. “We gotta get up early tomorrow to visit the server Japan, remember?”
Tommy raised his head from the soft, thin mattress below. “Riiight.” He promptly let his head fall again, a tired but happy smile settling on his face. “What a day it’s been, amirite?”
“What a day,” Ranboo agreed, pushing himself up off the ground. They’d spent it partying, celebrating the completion of their new home. The ender hybrid stifled a yawn. “Gotta go brush my teeth,” he informed his friends sleepily, standing and wandering off to the door.
Opening the door—a pale cherry-colored thing that looked nothing like the mansion’s beige entrances—Ranboo stepped out into the small hallway. The entire little cottage was only about as big as Eden, as none of them were keen on building anything too big. They’d had enough of grandeur in the mansion.
The narrow hallway led to a communal bathroom, a kitchen, and little else. Outside the house, equally quaint little cottages formed a little village in the prairie biome; one for each of them. For tonight, Ranboo and his friends would have to squeeze in order to sleep together in this house; but that was exactly what they wanted.
Ranboo shuffled into the bathroom, blinking in the bright light. Sapnap was already standing before one of the many sinks, a toothbrush in his mouth. He perked up as Ranboo entered. “Rwnbo! Jst l’ke ol’ t’ms, mm?”
The ender hybrid blinked at him uncertainly. “…Huh?”
Sapnap held up a hand, turning briefly to spit out his mouthful of toothpaste. “Just like old times, eh?” He repeated brightly.
“Like old…” A memory from months ago flashed into Ranboo’s mind, of talking with Sapnap in a bathroom not unlike this one. “Oh! Right!”
The blaze hybrid grinned, stowing his toothbrush away in one of the cabinets lining the walls. “We really did catch him in the end, eh?” He said, a knowing look in his eye.
Ranboo smiled too, remembering their conversation from an eternity ago. “Just as much as Tommy caught us,” he pointed out honestly.
“Of course.” Sapnap’s smile softened as he clapped Ranboo on the shoulder. “Well, I’m off!” The blaze hybrid trotted out the bathroom.
Turning to the sinks and retrieving his own toothbrush, Ranboo couldn’t help but keep smiling. Sometimes, it was still hard to believe that it was all over. When Ranboo had finally stepped over the threshold of the mansion, it felt like thousands of memories of past loops hit him at once.
Reconciling his jumble of memories with the fact that, outside that cursed server, no time at all had passed…well, that took much longer than the trek to the server jump point. But, months later, they were all beginning to heal.
As Ranboo finished brushing his teeth, the door swung open again. Peering behind his shoulder, he saw Techno and Dream—not bickering for once, surprisingly—walk in.
Techno gave him an approving nod. “The sudden pillow fight of doom was a good suggestion.” The piglin hybrid said simply. “Even if the suddenness, uh, caught us a bit off guard.” Ranboo snickered slightly, remembering the looks on everyone’s faces when he’d thrown the first shot at an unsuspecting Sapnap.
Dream nodded in agreement, eyes twinkling as he trotted toward the sinks too. “Next up; bucket pudding!” He vowed, squeezing toothpaste onto his own toothbrush. “You get me, right, Ranboo?”
“Sounds fun!” Ranboo replied easily, giggling interally at the way Techno’s eyebrows immediately rose in the way that suggested competitiveness.
“Bucket pudding? Like a fuckin’ bucket of slop?” Ranboo heard Techno ask skeptically as he made his way out of the bathroom. Dream shot something back, partially muffled by toothpaste, that made Techno snicker. Ranboo closed the door quietly behind him, rolling his eyes fondly at the duo’s familiar catfighting.
The ender hybrid emerged back into the main room. The lights had been dimmed since he left, and Ranboo could already spot George and Quackity conked out together in the corner. Phil, grooming his metal feathers quietly not far from them, offered Ranboo a smile as he passed.
Ranboo smiled back softly. The older man had been more attentive to his wings ever since they escaped, almost like he was afraid something would take them away from him again. His protectiveness over his wings paled against that over his pseudo-sons, however. Even now, his left wing was draped almost defensively over a slumbering Wilbur.
He paused as he passed Bad, who watched the sleeping forms of their friends with a faraway look in his eyes. Ranboo settled carefully next to the demon hybrid. “Sorry for all that mess,” he chuckled quietly.
“Oh, you muffinhead. I don’t mind!” Bad replied contentedly, glowing eyes crinkling at the edges as he smiled. “I may play the chaperone, but you’re all grown men. I’m not gonna tell you all what to do.” He tore his gaze away from the lightly snoring Quackity. “I was just thinking…we really did get our happy ending, hmm?”
Ranboo pondered, his own eyes growing thoughtful and unfocused as he looked toward one of the walls. On it, in the space where a clock might typically hang, was their contract book. Its spread-out pages showed proof of their family’s vows to each other, as well as the lighthearted post-mansion plans they’d made. Sing karaoke together…bucket pudding…amusement park… “Right down to the very last detail,” the ender hybrid marvelled.
Bad beamed, and Ranboo knew that—just like him—the demon hybrid was thinking about their conversation long ago in Eden. They’d made painfully optimistic plans, daring to hope that they could escape and create a new home on a new server. And their fairy-tale dreams really had all come true.
“Go to sleep, Ranboo.” Bad said gently, though not without the slightly authoritative edge of a mother hen. “It’s getting late.”
“Good night, Bad.” Ranboo offered the demon hybrid a last smile before heaving himself to his feet once more. He trudged toward his spot among the blankets, limbs heavy with sleepiness.
There, he found Tubbo already fast asleep, mouth hanging wide open as he slept soundly. Tommy, still hanging onto consciousness, looked up at Ranboo expectantly from where he was acting as Tubbo’s pillow. Ranboo plopped down obligingly, snuggling immediately into the warmth of the blankets.
“G’night, Boo.” Tommy murmured, his eyes seeming to shine in the low light of the room.
Ranboo smiled, basking in the quiet comfort of his family slumbering around him. “Good night, Toms.”
He closed his eyes, ready for sleep to overtake him. It almost felt like he was still in Eden, settling down for sleep on futons spread across the ground. Eden was perhaps the only place in that mansion that came close to feeling like home. Unwillingly, Ranboo’s mind wandered to the thought of the mansion.
On one of the nights that Tommy had crashed over in his and Tubbo’s village, Ranboo caught him scrolling feverishly through a server list on his comm. Ranboo hadn’t said anything. He just sat quietly by Tommy’s side, silent tears rolling down both their cheeks as they stared at the listing for that one, dreadful server. Tommy had been right; the mansion was gone, but the server lived on.
Ranboo couldn’t even begin to imagine what Tommy was feeling in that moment. Even if the Thing had tormented him since the very beginning, the mansion must have been a twisted sort of home for the younger boy. And even with the mansion gone, that server still held painful echoes of the past. Maybe one day, many years from now, the pain of that place would fade, and they could set foot upon that server once more and laugh. But not yet.
They never talked about that night again. Sometimes during their constant sleepovers, however, Ranboo would jolt awake to hear Tommy stifling sobs in the dead of night. Sometimes, as Ranboo himself drifted off, he could still hear Tommy softly counting the breaths of his family around him.
Ranboo peeked over at Tommy, half expecting to see the younger boy’s lips moving silently as he counted.
But Tommy was already fast asleep, eyes closed and expression just as painless as it had been the entire day. Ranboo found himself smiling at the sight, his best friend’s peaceful face swimming in the back of his mind even as he turned away. It was progress.
As the warmth enveloped him and his consciousness faded, Ranboo could hear the rest of their ragtag little family trickling into the room. He watched through bleary, half-shut eyes as Techno curled up beside his brother and father. Dream was whispering with Bad, both men sprawled across the mattresses, carefree smiles tugging at their mouths.
Moving like a shadow, Sapnap settled somewhere just out of sight of Ranboo’s blurring vision, a contented sigh leaving him. Someone—perhaps Karl, from the feeling of fluffy hair brushing his shoulder—flopped between Ranboo and the older man. Quackity threw a careless arm across the ender hybrid’s legs in his sleep, while George slumbered like a dead log.
Ranboo let his eyes slip shut at last. Eden was in their grasp once again. The pain of the mansion was far from all their minds that night.
Only the sweetest memories remained. Cherry wood tables, the smell of pasta, and friendly chatter permeated Ranboo’s dreams. He remembered the warmth of the futons in Eden, and the thrill of ending a battle victoriously, his friends at his side.
The Thing had beaten them down, time after time again. But the mansion held a certain, devastating beauty too. When Ranboo woke in the morning, it would be to bright peals of laughter and the smell of sizzling bacon. And at night, after a day of fun and games and laughter, Ranboo would drift off again in the embrace of the family that he found in the mansion.
Tommy had torn them away from the nightmare of the mansion. Now, at long last, they would build the houses they planned, visit the servers they chatted about, and eat the food they craved. This ragtag little family could finally fulfill the dream that had perservered through even the depths of hell.
Now, it was time to write their own fairy tale ending.