Oh Brother Of Mine

15

Red eyes glared at Tubbo as he rode past. Time seemed to freeze. What that anger in his eyes, or something else? Something like a secret between the two. A message Tubbo couldn't read.

The young man opened his eyes. There was no time to dwell on that. He had to get to Las Nevadas and talk to Quackity. To see if Tommy was really dead, since the witch he captured seemed to be of no help.

Speaking of that witch, Tubbo had told him to get up half an hour ago. He turned to the magic tent, frowning deeply.

"Ranboo!" Tubbo yelled as he walked up to it, "are you getting up or am I going to have to drag you out of there!?"

There was a moment of silence before Ranboo spoke.

"N-no, I'll be out in a minute..."

His voice sounded pinched, like it hurt to talk. Tubbo frowned more. He debated walking in, but quickly pulled himself back. It was magic, and Ranboo was a witch. It could be a ploy to escape.

"Well hurry up." Tubbo crossed his arms, "I want to find Tommy quickly."

Soon after he finished talking, the tent started folding in on itself. It fell, disintegrating into purple particles that faded into the air. In the middle stood Ranboo, a scarf pulled over his face to hide the black mist.

"I'm ready." Ranboo said, fidgeting with his fingers.

Tubbo nodded, "good. Now come on, we're going to Las Nevadas. It's a long way."

Ranboo sighed as he fell in step with the witch hunter. How had he ended up in this situation? Tommy was out somewhere running an errand, then this witch hunter demands to know where he is, and then the same hunter kidnaps him! Ranboo really had the shittiest luck.

"So you know Tommy." Ranboo started, "how-how'd you meet him?"

Tubbo shrugged, "we grew up together. Tommy's family left him in the village and cause we were the only two without families, we sort of became brothers in a sense. You know him too?"

Ranboo nodded, "yeah, Techno brought him to the Arctic two years ago. I don't think he liked me very much at the start, but we got closer and... I would consider him me closest friend."

"Sounds like Tommy." Tubbo smiled softly, "we were such menaces in L'manburg, half the village hated us!"

"Oh, uh..." Ranboo's eyes widened slightly.

"Okay, not really." Tubbo rolled his eyes, "but I'm sure they were sick of all our pranks. What about you? I'm sure with your magic shit you got in loads of trouble as a kid."

Ranboo seemed to shrink away, pulling his scarf further up his face, "well, not-not anything I remember..."

"Oh." Tubbo said, "is it that weird black stuff?"

"Why-why do you care?" Ranboo asked, "you're a witch hunter. Aren't you supposed to hate people like me?"

Tubbo went quiet. It's true, he was supposed to hunt witches, not become friends with them. He shook his head. He was getting distracted. Finding Tommy was top priority.

"It doesn't matter." Tubbo pushed forward, "let's just get to Las Nevadas."

Ranboo nodded, silently following the shorter. He seemed different to any of the witch hunters he'd met, not that he'd met many. Still, it was strange to think someone the same age as him dedicated his life to hunting witches.

The tall witch looked up to see an expanse of water creeping over the horizon. He froze in his tracks.

"We're not going over water, are we!?" Ranboo yelped.

Tubbo turned to the witch, "uh, yes? It's the fastest way to Las Nevadas."

Ranboo shook his head, taking a step back, "no, no way I'm going over water. Not a chance!"

Tubbo rolled his eyes, "why? You scared?"

"Yes!" Ranboo said, "water causes the corrupted magic to flare up!"

"Corrupted magic?" Tubbo asked, "the black mist stuff?"

Ranboo pulled the scarf further over his face, "I'm not going over water."

"Fine." Tubbo huffed, "we'll walk around. There's a place close by where we can get some horses."

"Then why didn't we just go there first." Ranboo mumbled, following Tubbo away from the shore.

"Cause I thought we'd be sailing." Tubbo told him, "quit complaining."

"You literally kidnapped me." Ranboo sighed.

"Only until I find Tommy. Then I'll let you go." Tubbo said.

Ranboo hesitated for a moment, "and if you don't find him?"

Tubbo went silent. What if Techno was right and Tommy was dead? What would he do if Quackity confirmed it? No, he couldn't give up now. Not now that he's gotten so close.

"I'll find him." Tubbo nodded, continuing forward.

Ranboo sighed softly. This was going to be a long adventure.