There's been a lot of new lore recently and I am LIVING for it! Y'all see the latest Ranboo lore stream?? Anyways, I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate Aimsey's character into my fanfic somehow- and I think their character will be just what this story needs to give the plot a little push. Enjoy, and happy reading!

(Also- Michael is in this chapter, except I know literally nothing about children. So... I tried my best.)

Two days earlier...

Tubbo didn't want any trouble.

After what happened to Ranboo, he just wanted to live a peaceful life. He wanted to give Michael a peaceful life.

Why couldn't he ever get that?

He shook his head. Best not to think about that. He just had to focus on what Ranboo would want. If he was still alive.

But he is alive, a voice whispered in his head. Tubbo shook his head again.

Him and Michael were both sitting on the floor of the flower shop. It was around noon on a Friday, so there weren't a lot of customers. The young boy was scribbling nonsense on some paper with a red crayon. Tubbo gently tousled his hair, and the child giggled.

Tubbo took a deep breath in, savoring the moment. Like he could maybe breathe in the peace and calm in the air. Like he could maybe breathe out the grief.

Michael didn't understand yet. He was just a toddler. But Tubbo could tell that he missed Ranboo too. Ranboo was the one who had technically found him, in that dumpster. It was a normal day, they were just walking down the street, and thank god Ranboo's hearing had always been a lot better than his because the taller man froze and claimed to have heard a cry.

Upon further investigation, they found the boy. Small, sick, dirty beyond belief, and thrown out like another piece of garbage. Tossed away, just like that. And so, they did what they always do. They took the piece of trash and brought him home.

They weren't planning on keeping him. They figured they'd just clean him up a bit and bring him to the orphanage. Most orphanages were shit, but Philza knew a friend named Puffy who ran an actually decent one. But the little rascal won over their hearts before they even made it home to give him a bath.

In front of him, Michael held up the picture he was drawing. It looked vaguely like a red flower. Tubbo smiled at him. "What's that, big man?" He asked as cheerfully as he could. His son pointed and babbled as toddlers do. (The red crayon looked too much like blood-)

"That's great, Michael!" Tubbo said. He picked up the small boy and held him in his lap. Michael squirmed a little bit, but Tubbo just hugged him tightly. I'm not letting anything happen to you.

Sometimes, when the nights got long and his eyes refused to shut, Tubbo would lie awake wondering what made them adopt Michael. And then he would look over at Michael sleeping peacefully and he'd stop wondering.

Ranboo was an orphan. Tubbo was kicked out at sixteen. Neither of them wanted to leave another kid alone in the world.

Ranboo would do anything to keep his son safe. And so would Tubbo.

"He helped me escape!!"

He helped me escape!!

"...What?" Tubbo said numbly. The word left his mouth, but he was barely aware of it. He helped him escape- no, no it was impossible, everyone knows that you can't escape mind control, it's-

"What do you mean he 'helped you escape'?" Wilbur scoffed, but Tubbo saw him shaking.

Tommy paced back and forth, glancing at the three of them like he was debating something in his mind. Finally, he let out a huge sigh and began talking.

"Dream just calls him his 'butler.' He doesn't call him Ranboo. But Ranboo told me his name when he helped me escape!"

"Okay, but HOW exactly did he help you escape?" Techno asked dubiously.

"I'm getting to that!" Tommy snapped in annoyance. "Ranboo is basically Dream's butler. Dream has him doing everything for him. He's like his right hand man or something. He has been since he got mind controlled."

Tubbo felt sick.

"But,"Tommy continued, "Then, there were these BIG explosions- of course, you must've felt it, it shook the whole building- and a few minutes later Ranboo came to my room and uncuffed me and helped me escape-"

"Wait wait wait, back up," Wilbur said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're gonna need to explain a few things."

"Like what?!"

"Oh, I don't know!" Wilbur threw his hands in the air. "Maybe like who exactly are you?! Where were you when this happened?! Why were you handcuffed?! What explosion are you talking about- because I haven't heard anything about that!"

"It's- it's complicated! It..."

Dream loved Tommy.

Dream told him so himself- which is a good thing, because otherwise Tommy wouldn't have known.

Dream's love didn't feel like love. It felt like something closer to pain. But Tommy was told that love is pain, so he guessed that it made sense that Dream would hurt him. Because aren't you supposed to help the people you love, even if it's hurting them?

Tommy wasn't sure. It's not like he had a lot to go off on. He didn't remember shit. All he knew was that he woke up in a hospital one day- a hospital that looked far too much like a lab for his liking- and Dream was there. Dream called him his little brother. It made sense. They both had blond hair, so that means there's a good chance they're related, right?

Dream listed off all these medical terms- head injury, concussion, blunt force trauma, amnesia. Tommy hadn't really been listening. But Dream just smiled and said that he'd take care of him. Because he was his older brother, so it made sense that he became his legal guardian.

And then he listed off some rules- always listen to what I say, don't talk back, do what you're told, be polite and kind. And his rules made sense too. And he told Tommy that he'd have to punish Tommy if he did something bad, so that he'd be able to learn and do better next time.

Everything that Dream said made sense.

So why was there this constant feeling of wrong? Why did Tommy never feel loved? Why did the sight of Dream make him want to run? Why did he always make him feel like a small, cornered animal?

It didn't make sense. Or maybe it did.

After living with Dream as his guardian for a few months, Dream got a new butler. It was the first person Tommy met, other than Dream. Tommy wasn't allowed out.

He introduced him, except there was something off about him. His expression was too blank, his posture was too rigid, and his demeanor was too still.

"This is the new butler, Tommy." Dream said with a smile. Always with a smile. "If you need anything, talk to him."

Tommy didn't like him. He didn't like the way his crimson eyes stared straight ahead. He didn't like the way his crimson eyes stared straight at him. Almost like he wasn't seeing him. Almost like he was seeing through him.

The butler never spoke a word. He always stood in the corner quietly, his towering form looming and lurking. Always followed every order perfectly and silently. Stood by as he watched the worst of Dream's punishments. Never flinched, not even when Dream hit Tommy so hard that it left scars. Not when Dream broke his nose, his arm, his legs, his lungs.

The butler might as well have been a zombie.

Until one night, he wasn't.

Dream had Tommy under constant surveillance. Said it was for his own safety. So that he'd know if anything bad happened to him. He handcuffed him to the bed every night too, after Tommy had tried to run away once. He never tried to run away again.

Tommy always had trouble falling asleep. Dream called it insomnia. In his head, Tommy called it terror. Once his eyes finally drifted shut, he was almost immediately awoken by a loud BOOM. It sounded like a firework. Or an explosion. It shook the mayor's whole mansion. Tommy could feel the explosion in his bones.

He jerked up and almost fell out of his bed. He might've, if he wasn't handcuffed. His heart thumping in his chest was unbearably loud next to the silence in the mansion. And then- another BOOM.

Tommy started tugging at the handcuffs attached to the bed, but it was no use. His left hand was bound to the headboard, and the cuffs were steel. There were faint sounds of fighting and shouting downstairs. Tommy tugged harder.

He might've dislocated his wrist if the butler hadn't burst into his room at that moment. It was dark, but Tommy would recognize that tall, lanky form anywhere. Shadows covered his face, and so it wasn't until the butler hurried over to him and knelt beside his bed that he noticed his eyes. They weren't red anymore. Well, one of them was, but it wasn't the same chilling shade of crimson. It was gentle and warm, and the other eye was green. And for the first time, his eyes looked clear. Like he was actually seeing.

"Stay still." The butler whispered in a voice rough from disuse. Tommy's breathing froze. The butler pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs trapping Tommy.

Tommy sat up and rubbed his wrist. He watched the butler with a mixture of shock and confusion. The tall man stood up and looked out the window nervously before turning back to Tommy. He held out his hand.

"We gotta get you out of here." He said urgently as Tommy just stared at him. "You can't- you can't stay here, we have to go!"

"You can talk." Tommy said dumbly. "All this time you could- what the fuck's up with your eyes?"

The butler shook his head, eyes wide. "That's- it's not important right now, we don't have time!"

"How do I know I can trust you?" Tommy asked, glaring.

The butler hesitated. He retracted his hand, and held it out again. He bent down a little so that he was at eye level with Tommy.

"My name's Ranboo." He said softly. "I'm- I don't want to do what Dream says. You must've realized by now, but he's not- he's done a lot of bad things, and he's doing a lot of bad things- to you especially, but also to a lot of people. So we gotta get you out of here so he can't hurt you anymore."

Tommy's fists curled around his blanket as he frowned. "But- no, but he- he said he loves me. He said he's my older brother. I can't just..."

The butler- Ranboo- slowly put his hand on Tommy's shoulder. He looked him in the eyes. Ranboo's eyes were full of gentleness and pity when he said, "Tommy, if he really loved you, he wouldn't hurt you. You don't hurt people you love."

"But what if I deserve it?" Tommy objected, but Ranboo just shook his head.

"No one deserves what you've been through, no matter what they've done."

Tommy wanted to object further, but something made him trust Ranboo. He let the tall man guide him through the hallway and down the stairs. The sounds of fighting got louder. Ranboo ushered him towards a broom closet.

The initial panic finally cleared from Tommy's head and what logical thinking skills he had came back to him. "Why don't you just teleport us out?" He asked. He'd seen Ranboo do it before, when Dream wanted him to fetch something.

Ranboo winced. "The... the mind control messed with my powers a bit, I don't think I'll be able to teleport for a while."

"The WHAT?!"

"Mind control?" Ranboo turned his head to face him, raising an eyebrow. "You mean you didn't know?"

"No, I..." He clamped his mouth shut when the sounds of fighting got louder. Ranboo moves something in the back of the broom closet to reveal a narrow hallway. It was dark and damp, but it was looking more and more like a better option than staying at the mansion.

Tommy went in the passageway without hesitation, but he paused when Ranboo didn't follow him. He reached out a hand to the taller man, but he didn't take it. Instead, Ranboo fished a dried flower out of his pocket-an allium-and pressed it into Tommy's hand.

"I know a place where you can stay," Ranboo said. He didn't meet his eyes. "The people there are trustworthy, and they can help you."

"Well, what about you?" Tommy didn't want to leave Ranboo behind. He was the first person to show him some kindness.

"I can't go with you." Ranboo's voice was unusually firm. "There have been times where I've escaped the mind control before, but it's never for long. All I can do right now is help you get out of here."

"But-"

"Here's what you need to do," Ranboo continued. "Follow the tunnel, and once you get out-"

A loud CRASH startled the both of them. It was nearby. A pained grunt came from outside the broom closet, in the hallway. And then they heard Dream's voice.

"Goddamn rabbit!" The sound of a boot hitting flesh, followed by a sickening cry. "You really thought you could take it out? With some puny tnt? You're a fucking dumbass!" Dream continued dealing blows to whoever it was out there that pissed him off. The nauseating sound got harder and harder to listen to.

"Run!" Ranboo hissed in Tommy's ear, eyes wide.

And Tommy ran.

He bolted through the passageway and didn't stop even when his legs began to hurt. He didn't stop when he saw a dot of sunlight ahead of him. He didn't stop when he burst open a door that led to an alley outside of the mansion. He didn't stop when he heard people chasing him. He didn't stop until he caught sight of fresh alliums in a flower shop window. He didn't stop until a boy his age told him to hide.

Tommy wanted to keep running. He wanted to run until all the memories of Dream and the mansion and Ranboo and mind control and everything were too far away to remember.

This has been the longest chapter yet! Hope you enjoyed! I don't really know much about Aimsey's character, but as you can probably guess, they'll show up here soon.

Have a great week, and happy reading! :)