[There's some pretty graphic stuff here, so I put a stopping point if you want to skip over it]

Ranboo hated headaches.

Half of the time, they came when he was in a good mood and ruined his day.

The other half came after he blanked out.

Those were much worse than the first, and it just so happened to be what he was feeling right now. Except now the pain felt too- real. Like it was more physical than mental.

But how did that make sense? The wars were finally over. He was actually not in danger!

Then, why did it hurt?

Then, all at once, it came back.

Tommy.

Tubbo.

Dream.

Ranboo wasn't exactly sure what had happened. Still, he remembered that haunting porcelain mask staring at him from the doorway.

And now he had a headache.

He was in trouble, wasn't he?

~

Tubbo groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. His head hurt, which was a bit alarming. There was also the fact that he was just kidnapped by Dream. That was bad too.

He forced his eyes open, squinting to see in the dim light.

The room Tubbo was in was pretty much empty. The walls were a dark obsidian, interrupted by a single iron door. Nothing decorating the walls. Nothing on the floor.

Save for a huddled form next to him.

Ranboo was lying next to him, still unconscious. He had dried blood on his brow, turning his multicoloured skin a brownish-red. Tubbo felt his own face, wincing as his fingers brushed the spot where Dream must have hit him.

Tubbo stared at his fingers as they came back red. His head felt fuzzy, and he wondered if he had a concussion.

Probably.

He slumped against the wall and put his pounding head in his hands.

This was not good.

~

Ranboo finally mustered up the courage to open his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't.

He was in an obsidian room.

Just like the panic room.

He squeezed his eyes shut again, but the memories had already resurfaced.

The voices.

He was a traitor. He ruined everything. He's why Tommy died.

No, Dream was why Tommy died.

Why did it all have to lead back to Dream?

Dream, with that voice that plagued his nightmares.

Dream with that smile.

Ranboo opened his eyes again, preferring the real world or was it? over the horror that was his mind.

He spotted Tubbo slumped against the wall, filling the hybrid with relief.

He wasn't alone. Dream couldn't get to him if he wasn't alone.

He needed Tubbo.

Ranboo struggled to sit up, wincing as his vision filled with spots. His head hurt, yes, but he didn't think he had a concussion. Not that he'd had one before, but still. Wait, he'd hadn't, right?

He dragged himself over to Tubbo, too tired to fully stand up. Ranboo gently touched the boy on the shoulder, falling back as he was nearly punched in the face.

Tubbo shook his head, his eyes widening. "Ranboo!" He exclaimed, his voice slightly slurred. "I- I'm sorry. I thought you..." He trailed off, staring into space.

"Tubbo, are you alright?" Ranboo asked once he had recovered from nearly being rendered unconscious for the second time that day.

Tubbo slowly shook his head. "I- I think I have a concussion."

"Oh." That made sense.

"Ranboo, are we going to die?"

"Uh," Ranboo said, unsure of how to answer. "Maybe? But if Dream wanted us dead, wouldn't he have killed us already?"

"Good point."

The hollow sound of footsteps rang out of the silence.

Dream.

Ranboo sighed and said under his breath, "Speak of the devil."

~

Tubbo glanced up as Dream opened the door. He was grinning, and Tubbo wanted nothing more than to run away.

But, no, he was trapped in a tiny box with a pretty-much-defenceless hybrid and his worst nightmare.

Hah, Dream, nightmare. Two complete opposites, but still one and the same.

Dream slowly stepped towards Tubbo and Ranboo, and Tubbo shrank back against the wall.

"Ah, you're awake."

Tubbo squeezed his eyes shut.

"Are you wondering why I brought you here today?"

Tubbo heard Ranboo shift.

Dream sighed, sounding like a schoolteacher when a simple question went unanswered.

"I know you know things about Tommy. I know you think he's alive. And, I know that if that's true, that ruins everything. So, I'm not taking any chances."

Dream sighed again at the lack of reaction.

"Here's how it's going to go. You are both going to help me find Tommy, and I will kill him."

"And if we don't?" Tubbo wondered who had said that. It didn't sound like Ranboo.

Oh, he'd said it.

Yeah, he probably had a concussion.

"Then there will be consequences." Dream responded.

~

Ranboo was watching the whole ordeal with wide eyes.

So, Dream did know.

And it was Ranboo's fault.

He really was a traitor, wasn't he?

Tubbo's voice brought him back to the conversation.

"And if we don't?"

Oh, boy, that was stupid.

"Then there will be consequences."

Ohhh boy.

Then, Dream pulled a water bucket from his inventory, sending a wave of fear jolting through Ranboo's body. The masked man grinned.

"Don't act like you didn't know this was coming. I will say it again- you will help me find Tommy, and you will let me kill him. And if you don't cooperate with me, Tubbo, I'll hurt your friend. Simple."

Ranboo glanced at Tubbo, who had finally looked up. His eyes were wide with fear.

"Do you want me to show you an example?" Dream said, cocking his head. He still had that sick smile plastered on his face, and along with the empty stare of the mask, Ranboo almost couldn't bear the terror.

Water.

You see, Ranboo was half enderman.

And water killed endermen.

So Ranboo avoided water at all costs.

He'd had encounters with it, of course. How could he not?

Water was absolutely everywhere. (Hence endermen's insanely short lifespans) Humans needed it to survive. It was in rain, lakes, rivers, oceans. It was in tears.

[Stop here]

The other half of Ranboo had given him tear ducts, which he cursed his genes for every time he cried.

His tears weren't his only scars. They littered his whole body. It was proof of the agony he went through every time he got wet.

Have you ever had your skin melted off? It's not fun.

That's why the water bucket Dream was currently holding meant unbearable pain. Maybe even death.

Death would be better than that.

"No!" Finally, Tubbo spoke.

Dream shook his head. "Too late."

Ranboo squeezed his eyes shut as Dream slowly tilted the bucket, and the water began to trickle over the edge.

What's the best way to describe the pain? Ranboo didn't think there was one.

Worse than being burned. When you get a bad burn, your skin chars, not melts. Either way, you would probably pass out before long.

But Ranboo didn't pass out. He couldn't. No matter how bad he wanted the relief of sleep, his stupid body didn't see excruciating pain as a reason to faint. Of course not.

He'd learned to help with it after years of being worse-than-burned. Disassociating worked the best. It was so easy to just leave the world behind, putting the agony off for later. No matter how terrifying his head was, nothing was worse than the pain he felt in reality.

Ranboo wasn't sure how long he was in his head. It could have been mere seconds. Minutes. Hours? He just knew that when he came to, Tubbo was sobbing, and Dream was gone.

Ranboo really wished he could pass out. The pain was indescribable, and Ranboo was nearly convinced to go back into his head, but Tubbo noticed he was awake and started crying even harder. The brunette said something that Ranboo only half-heard and brought over a sparkly pink bottle, his hands shaking violently. Ranboo would have cried with relief, but, you know.

The healing potion was sickly sweet, like always. Usually, Ranboo hated the flavour, but now he indulged in it.

Ranboo gave a shaky sigh as the pain subsided and his head cleared. He knew the relief was only temporary, but he could not be more thankful.

"I would have given it to you sooner, but Dream said it could kill you if I gave it too soon, and I really didn't want you to die, but you screamed, and it was so hard-" Tubbo broke down into a sniffling mess again, not like it had really subsided in the first place.

"I'm fine, Tubbo. Thank you." Ranboo breathed.

"But you're not!" Tubbo screamed, startling Ranboo so much he would have fallen down if he wasn't already on the ground.

Tubbo handed Ranboo the now empty glass bottle, and Ranboo could just barely see his reflection.

It was bad.

Nearly the whole white half of Ranboo's face was an angry red, and where the healing potion had worked, Ranboo could see bad scarring starting to form. Ranboo's left ear was messed up, too. Most of the cartilage was melted away, leaving a deformed mess in its place.

Now, he let himself cry.