Thirty-five enderpearls and a swim across the sea later, Ranboo finally met the outskirts of the diamond city. As he climbed up onto the stone bridge, a familiar orange blur whizzed by him. "Fundy?"

The fox hybrid whirled back around and froze, eyes wide with shock. "Ranboo, what're you doing here?"

"I-"

"You know what? There's no time to explain," Fundy cut in. "I just got a text that Las Nevadas is under attack. I gotta go-"

"I'll go with you!"

The fox hybrid paused, a look of bewilderment present on his face. "But, Ranboo, you said-"

"I know," the enderman halfling said. "I'm sorry. Tubbo's death...It wasn't your fault. So many other things were at play, and...yeah. Sorry."

The tension in Fundy's shoulders vanished as he gave his friend a grateful smile. "Thanks, Ranboo. But seriously, we gotta go!"

The two hybrids sprinted down to the city's center, and raced up the casino steps. What lay before them was the calm before the storm, the dawn of Armageddon. Off to the left, nearest to the entrance, stood Quackity and the citizens of Las Nevadas. Though few in number, the militia were ready for war, swords drawn and eyes hungry for blood. Across the checkered floor was BadBoyHalo, cackling in the midst of three ginormous, red tentacles. Ranboo blanched at the very sight, reminded of his encounter with The Egg. And in the middle of it all, perched by the throne, stood Wilbur- a madman with his army of dreamons. The enderman hybrid was surrounded by crazy dictators, each one more ruthless than the last. It was the beginning of the end,...but not if Ranboo had anything to say about it.

"STOP!!" The sentient ran to the middle of the room, all eyes on him. "STOP!! DON'T DO THIS!!"

"Ranboo, no!!" Fundy yelled, reaching out for his friend, but remaining firmly behind Quackity; it was Ranboo's fight now.

"Ah, Ranboo. How nice of you to join us!" Wilbur sang, a wicked grin stretched across his face. "Connected all the dots now, have you? Think you can still save the world, enderboy?"

"Just stop!!" Ranboo screamed. "You don't have to do this. None of you do! This war- it's meaningless!"

"Oh, but I beg to differ, Ranboo," Bad purred, his tone tainted with sinister delight. "A war would benefit The Eggpire greatly. With every death The Egg consumes, its power only grows stronger. The time has come to solidify its rule once and for all."

"No, you don't understand!" the enderman shouted. "Tubbo has nukes ready to devastate your nations. We have to evacuate the server- now!"

"Like hell we do," Quackity shot back. "Who's to say you're not lying to us, hmm? What if this is just a trap to make us all surrender? I never trusted your husband, Ranboo, so what makes you think that I'd ever trust you?!"

"Hi, Quackity! I'm back!"

All heads instantly snapped towards the back of the building, where a visiting bystander stood. Of all the people on the server, no one expected to see Charlie the happy slime today, much less here and now. If Ranboo squinted, he thought he could see a shorter figure hidden behind the slime...

The mayor of Las Nevadas groaned. "What do you want, Charlie?!" he roared. "I'm a little busy right now!!"

"Sorry, boss. I just thought you'd like to know I went to go check out that secret dreamon lair I found," the slime reported. "Once I told them you were working with Wilbur, they let me meet one of your friends. And he really wanted to come visit, so here he is!"

Emotions ranging from mild surprise to outright horror rippled throughout the room as the green, translucent slime stepped to the side. It couldn't- It couldn't be- "TUBBO?!" 

And there he stood- the President of Snowchester back from the dead. Though small in stature, his presence silenced everyone in the room. Clad in the cold-weather clothes he'd died in, the goat hybrid giggled before his audience. "Seems as though I've arrived just in time for the show," he announced. "How wonderful!"

The tiny bundle in Tubbo's arms suddenly shifted in a restless manner, until a quiet, little creature turned to face the crowd. If Ranboo was surprised to see his husband, he was mortified by the presence of his own son. "Michael!!"

The piglin perked up at the sound of his name. The minute his eyes connected with Ranboo's, the child was leaning away from Tubbo, grabbing at air. "Papa! Papa!"

"No, Michael," Tubbo chided. "We don't like Papa anymore." Pressing the child back against his chest, he crooned, "Papa left us to die in hell. He doesn't care for us anymore."

Ranboo felt his heart implode, leaving a deep, endless void where it once was. How could Tubbo ever doubt him so? Nothing could be further from the truth. He had fought tooth and nail all this time to save his husband, but the hatred in Tubbo's eyes told a different story, one of hurt and betrayal.

The enderman hybrid made to speak, hoping to make amends, but Charlie beat him to it. "Welp, time to skedaddle!" he declared. "Duty calls. Bye Tubbo! Bye Michael!" With a jovial wave and a pleasant smile, the slime slid out the way he came, off to who knows where to do who knows what.

That didn't matter to Ranboo right now- his first priority was his platonic soulmate. "Tubbo-"

"Save it, Ranboo," the goat hybrid snapped. "I don't want to hear it. All this time your family's trapped in hell, and I hear you've been running around solving puzzles." The President narrowed his eyes into a hateful glare. "The truth is, Ranboo, that you should have known this would happen all along."

Ranboo very nearly lost his mind. "How was I supposed to know you were planning to blow up the server, huh?! I can't read minds, Tubbo."

"Yes, but you're my platonic soulmate!" his husband shouted back. "You're supposed to read my soul! You should have known I wasn't happy. I've been planning this for months, and you never ONCE noticed how I isolated myself. I'd go away for days, and you'd pretend like I'd never left!"

"That's because I can't remember, Tubbo!" Ranboo yelled. "That's why I keep that journal- to remember things I can't forget."

"But you never put me in that journal, did you? You monster."

The enderman staggered back in shock. Monster? Is that how Tubbo saw him now? "Wha- What did you-"

"You only wrote in that journal during your enderwalks, Ranboo. I would know- I read it. You never even tried to remember your family. I could die right here, right now, and you'd probably forget me in an hour." A single tear slipped down Tubbo's cheek, followed by a sad sniffle. "I'm surprised you've remembered me for this long."

"Enough of this," Wilbur hissed, directing the attention back to his stage. "We didn't come to watch two friends part ways; we came here to start a revolution- the dawning of a new era!"

In that moment, Ranboo realized something: peace was never an option. It never had been. If he wanted to save the server from endless war, he would have to do the unthinkable, even if it meant sacrificing the ones he held close. The sentient turned back to Wilbur, and growled, "I swear to you I will bury this city in nukes if you don't step down right now."

Tubbo threw his head back in a loud, obnoxious laugh. "Finally!" he cheered, his voice close to hysterics. "A way to start fresh! We wouldn't live to see it, but my gods, at least the new generation would have some peace."

Ranboo's heart clenched at his husband's words, his mind conflicted. This wasn't how it was supposed to end, not like this. He and Tubbo were supposed to grow old together, and raise their adopted child as a purely platonic partnership should. The enderman saw his vision of the future slip right through his fingers, along with the fate of the server.

"Not so fast, Mr. President."

Gasps were heard all around the room, followed by a groan from the mayor of Las Nevadas. "Technoblade," Quackity grunted.

With a diamond sword slung over his shoulder, the warrior piglin smirked. "The one and only."

THE CLIMAX HAS FINALLY ARRIVED AHHHHHH!!!! AND TUBBO IS BACK ASDFGHJKL

Will Ranboo actually blow up Las Nevadas?? Vote to save our favorite enderboi!!

As always, thank you so much for all the support. Ily more than Michael loves his platonic dads. <3

[Image Credits] "Marble and Granite Checkerboard floor" (Cropped Slightly) by Chris Waits (https://www.flickr.com/photos/chriswaits/14912433715)