Upon the Ruins of a Broken World II A Dreamsmp AU

Friends Found

The handle turned and a slim black hand with beige blotches strode in. Jack let out a sigh of relief. It was Ranboo.

Ranboo stepped into the room without looking and closed the door behind him. He hadn't seen Jack yet.

He turned and froze, staring at Jack. Jack immediately glanced down, putting his hands down as the halfling shuffled backward, his hand going for the door.

"Wait, Ranboo!" He exclaimed. "It's me, it's Jack."

Ranboo froze and Jack felt that unsettling gaze pass over him.

"Jack?"

Jack nodded.

"Please don't call for help."

Ranboo was still for a moment and Jack stood still, letting him survey the strange body.

"How do I know it's you?"

Jack took a deep breath and looked up right into Ranboo's unsettling gaze. He felt himself freeze, stuck to place.

Ranboo didn't break the stare but instead investigated him, searching. Jack felt his lungs start to constrict and his air run out. Please.

Ranboo reached into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses, putting them on and cutting the connection. Jack sagged with relief and gulped in air. Thank goodness.

"What the heck man? What have you been doing?" Ranboo asked, coming to stand beside him and laying a supporting hand on his shoulder.

"I was working on the formula Ranboo, it... it worked." Jack said frowning at his notes. He saw the bottle laying on the floor, some golden liquid still trapped within. "Just, not the way I planned it to work."

"We need to get you out of here, Jack. If someone finds you it would be—" Ranboo seemed to search for a nice word. Jack didn't.

"Catastrophic, fatal, terrible." He finished the sentence. Ranboo frowned and then nodded.

"Yeah."

"How though? How are we supposed to get me out of here?"

"I don't know..." Ranboo muttered and then his eyes lit up.

"Wait here, I have an idea."

Jack watched as the young halfling slipped from the room and out into the hallway. What was he going to go get? Jack decided he would clean the office so long.

He gathered up his notes and wiped the golden liquid from the floor. He almost fell the first time he tried to bend with his new legs but were surprised by how steady he felt. Huh.

The door creaked open behind him, and Jack reacted before he could think about it.

"Wait, Jack!" Ranboo exclaimed, frozen and eyes wide with fright. He had good reason too. That scorpion tail was barely a centimeter from his neck. Jack flinched back as he realized what he had done.

He slumped back against one of the tables and put his head in his hands.

"I am so sorry, Ranboo." He muttered.

There was no answer. For a moment Jack thought his friend had fled in fear but then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay man, I know what it feels like, those strange pulses of reflex. It's okay." Ranboo whispered

softly.

Jack didn't know what to say to that. He just felt grateful, grateful he had a friend who was willing to stand by him.

Jack wondered if Fundy and Emily would have stood by him.

He realized they probably would.

"Okay, what was your idea?" He asked, straightening.

"Here." Ranboo pulled something from his pocket and Jack frowned.

A small amethyst bullet.

"It..." Jack looked at Ranboo skeptically. "It might work."

...

Philza's landing was clumsy, exhaustion laying on his like weights. Quackity collapsed next to him, his breathing harsh.

Phil willed his legs to move. He could almost sleep, he could almost...

He entered the small cave where he and Quackity kept the maps. He crossed another town off it with a red pencil.

They weren't making any progress.

They couldn't find Wilbur and the rest.

With a sigh of frustration, he stumbled from the cave, Puffy ran out to meet him and slung his arm over her shoulder.

She was still a human.

"You need to rest, Phil, come on."

"No, I'm on lookout tonight." He mumbled and tripped on a stray rock. Puffy pulled him up and shook her head decisively. She led him to the back of the cavern, where they all slept.

"I'll take your watch tonight." She spoke. "You're going to hit a burnout of you go on like this, Phil, and where would we be then?"

He shot her a crooked grin as she pushed him into a bed roll.

"Tell Quackity he should come sleep as well." He muttered.

"He's not as stubborn as you, Phil." Puffy said and pointed to a sleeping figure a few bedrolls over. Quackity was snoring peacefully, his face calm in slumber.

Phil smiled fondly and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.