Chapter Text
Baba was getting sick and tired of all of these players disrupting her den. The enderman hybrid was annoying, but the cub seemed to like him if his false loudness was anything to go by. And the hybrid did seem to be polite, and a youngling in his own right. So, she let it slide and let him stay. However, the loud, angry voices outside would not be granted the same courtesy.
Around her, the other animals prepared to deal with the loud creature preparing to intrude upon their space. She pawed at the ground, sparing her cub a glance as she watched Bob take up her position at his pillow. He didn’t have her fur, but the cub loved cows. He was the best choice to watch her cub.
The enderman hybrid saw her eying the door and took a quick step to the side, wisely deciding to remain out of her way. She huffed out in gratitude, tensing her muscles in preparation for her attack as the door swung open…
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Ranboo’s day just kept getting weirder and weirder. Being teleported into some mystery location: unsettling. Finding Tommy and getting to see his friend doing at least marginally better: so far the only upside to today. An entire barn of animals that seemed to be sizing him up: nerve-wracking. Looking outside to find himself in Technoblade’s area, with the Butcher Army and Dream in the midst of a heated argument: more toxic than a radioactive dumpsite.
All in all, Ranboo was not liking the situation he and Tommy were in. Still, it wasn't like there was much he could do. He was unlikely the animals would let him just take Tommy, and even if he did, where would they go? Outside was just about the worst assortment of humans and hybrids, all of whom had shown that they would put themselves and their own interests above those of Tommy. Didn't even care about his health or well-being. All they were concerned with was the protection of the land they held.
Technoblade was probably worse, having destroyed Tommy’s home. While Ranboo hadn’t been there to see it, he had heard through his former “friends” about how Techno basically disowned his own brother, leaving him alone in the wake of Wilbur’s death. Yeah, that hybrid definitely wasn't good for Tommy's continued mental health.
And Dream… the admin had abused Tommy, manipulated him, broken him down until he was falling apart at the seams. He convinced the boy that no one cared for him, and that Dream was his only friend. While the first part of that statement had been proven true enough, Ranboo refused to stand by and let this blatant abuse continue.
Still, there was only so much he could do, and nowhere he could go given Tommy’s current state. However, an entire barn of wild, angry animals seemed keen on aiding him in his mission, if their cold, dead stares at the door were anything to go by. One of the polar bears even grabbed the hem of his jacket, pulling him behind the mass of animals after he stepped aside. This left him alone with Tommy and a cow, a wall of fur and wool between them and the outside world.
Honestly, he could live with this. Tommy’s blanket nest seemed rather soft, and he was tired, cold, and stressed. So, without further ado, he curled up around his friend, pointedly ignoring the sound of the barn doors opening.
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Technoblade wondered why a child was living in his barn.
If the child aspect wasn't bad enough, the fact he was (formerly?) part of L'Manberg didn't help matters. Although it seemed like the child didn’t seem to realise where he was until that exact moment, which just raised more questions.
Also, if a child was living in his barn, did that mean-?
Orphan
Orphan
Kill the orphan
What are you talking about
Are you mad
The second worst thing to happen to orphans
Technoslay
Technokill
Technogetmurderedbyanimals
I forgot about that
Whoops
Get wreck
So not only was the orphan (former??) L'Manbergean child living in his barn, he was also the only one able to enter it without getting absolutely murdered.
Frankly, this was getting confusing, so he shoved the issue of the barn child onto future Techno to figure out. (Honestly, he really should have gotten to the source of the barn drama before, but again, that was a future Techno problem.)
The current problem was the moron of a duck hybrid who was just about to sign his own death warrant, along with one for his little ragtag group of friends. He would later deny any concern he held for any of their lives, but he would at least admit that he was more than a little put off by Dream.
While his presence wasn’t surprising (he knew how stubborn the man could be, and he knew that he wasn’t gonna drop the whole Tommy thing no matter how much he protested), the Admin’s current state was. He somehow looked worse than before, clothes threadbare and filthy, mask held together with what looked like old honey. He was gaunt, pale, and greasy, his entire body seemingly radiating exhaustion and the alertness of someone who was expecting a sneak attack from his own shadow.
He really wasn’t gonna like what happened when Quackity opened that damned door, and Techno got the idea that Dream already knew that.
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Quackity grinned as he swung the door open, ready to lay into Ranboo and maybe get his hand on an animal to take hostage. If the pet wars taught him anything, animals made great bargaining chips. However, that smile immediately dropped when he saw what he was facing on the other side. After all, no man, not even Dream himself, could stand a chance against a raging mama polar bear.
Now there were other animals following the polar bear, but the avian was a little more concerned with the giant one at the front. The secondary polar bear behind the first was also quite concerning but not as bad, as he didn't look quite as angry and wasn't charging at him.
Quackity was quickly relieved to discover he was not the main target of the polar bear's attack. She knocked him down on her way to greater enemies. Sure it hurt when she and the rest of her compatriots stampeded over him, but he survived the encounter and that was honestly more than he was expecting when he saw her.
However, the blue sheep that followed the party pulled a bit of a dickish move when she stepped between his legs with quite a bit of force, using violence to express her displeasure with him.
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Dream couldn't believe things kept getting worse. He was already scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to luck, so how did he keep managing to sink even lower?!
Today was supposed to be the day things got back on track. He was going to use Ranboo to get to Tommy, then he was going to use the Butcher Army to get Techno under his thumb. If the Blood God owed him his life, then Dream would own him. That’s how today was supposed to go.
Instead, he found Ranboo had vanished, forcing him to go along with the Butcher Army to try and salvage things. From there, he was horrified to see that this so-called “army” didn’t even have a plan! And then! Then that stupid, stupid duck hybrid ended up opening that damned barn door, unleashing the very same polar bear that had nearly mauled Dream not too long ago.
At this point, the admin felt more depressed than surprised by the situation. Of course, the bear made a beeline for him, murder in her eyes. Of course, she was followed by an entire menagerie of animals that were keen on taking his head. Of course, the last of his weapons and tools had broken following his last failed attempt at material gathering, leaving him utterly defenceless.
Frankly, Dream was more than a little relieved to sink into blackness for the second time today, knowing from experience that he was merely unconscious and not dead. He could only pray that when he opened his eyes again, the world wouldn’t somehow be even worse.
(He knew it would be.)