dude, you've been gone for 2 months? what happened?

by Anonymous

Summary:

Ever since Ranboo vanished over one of their brief breaks, there had been a system set up with the Brighton content creators- Everyone would take turns to head on over to Ranboo's house every few days.

1) to make sure nothing was stolen and to keep things clean

and

2) They all had the hope that maybe, just maybe, Ranboo would reappear back at his house.

 

It's not like Phil was expecting to ACTUALLY find Ranboo when it was his turn to check on their house, let alone a heavily injured and delirious Ranboo.

Notes:

Anon is because I don't normally write mcyt/genloss/irl fics :} you can call me Stickers!

Chapter 1: protologue

 

Here's the thing.

 

Ranboo had vanished.

 

 

They'd said something publicly on their Twitter, saying that they were really tired, and were going to take a break for no longer than 2 weeks, and probably not interact with any social media at all. A full cleanze, so to speak.

Privately, to his friends, Ranboo had admitted that they'd been feeling increased paranoia when outside, and that he was going to take some time to calm down, see a therapist maybe, and that they were gonna not be active for a bit.

Everyone was supportive, mental health comes before content creation, always.

 

 

But then 2 weeks passed, with not a word from Ranboo. Not even in private. He was given space, the thought being that he was more stressed than they thought, and needed more time detoxing from social media and social interaction.

 

That thought didn't last long when Freddie had taken it upon himself to do an in-person check in on Ranboo, bring some snacks, make sure that they weren't making his mental health worse by isolating. He'd texted Ranboo and rang the doorbell, but got no response. I mean, he could be pulling a Tubbo and be conked out? Freddie shrugged, shouldering the bag that had the cans of premade frosting and saltine crackers in them to feel under the doormat and retrieve the spare key to let himself in.

 

 

 

It was quiet. Too quiet.

 

 

 

Normally, there'd be music playing from some corner of the house, either because Ranboo was in a room, or because they'd forgotten to turn off a speaker. Instead, it was silent. The air was still, and it smelled stuffy.

Freddie apprehensively walked in, closing the door behind him. He deposited the bag of snacks on the kitchen counter, looking at the long-stale bag of chips that had been left open haphazardly on the table. He wandered, peering into each room, searching for Ranboo. Many had a thin layer of dust forming on the furniture already. He found Ranboo's office. The PC was off, but the LED lights were still on. Freddie poked into Ranboo's bedroom next. It was the messiest in the house so far, clothes scattered on the ground with various trinkets. His bed looked unmade, and their phone was laying on the edge of the bed, untouched.

Even though it was a violation of privacy, Freddie picked up Ranboo's phone. It was low on battery, and all the messages everyone had sent them were unread as of over a week ago. The last app Ranboo seemed to have open was the notes app, seemingly being a journal of sorts that Ranboo was keeping.

 

 

Not going outside isn't helping, I still feel like I'm being watched :( I think I've finally snapped lol. Maybe sitting out in the backyard and getting some fresh air for the first time in a week will help? yeah. i'm gonna go do that

 

 

Maybe Ranboo was in the backyard...?

 

Freddie pocketed Ranboo's phone, and walked downstairs to the back door, peering out the window. Something seemed... off. He unlocked the door Why was it unlocked? and stepped outside into the yard, peering around.

The lawn was unkempt, not fully wild, but not tamed either. Makes sense, Ranboo probably didn't have the motivation or energy to take care of it.

 

Freddie's eyes caught on a spot in the yard.

 

By the fence, there was a patch of grass that looked like someone had torn at it with their bare hands, and the boards of the fence were scuffed and splintered, with something ominously dark smeared onto them, like something that was moving had been dragged over them.

 

 

 

 

Oh.

 

Oh.

 

 

 

Ranboo might not have willingly let his break go this long.

 

 

 

And with that chilling thought, Freddie without hesitation called the Police.

 

 

 

"999, What's your emergency?"

"Uhm, so... I think one of my friends was kidnapped."

Chapter 2: present (tense)

Summary:

cut to the main fic summary- that's where we at folks

(Ever since Ranboo vanished over one of their brief breaks, there had been a system set up with the Brighton content creators- Everyone would take turns to head on over to Ranboo's house every few days.

1) to make sure nothing was stolen and to keep things clean

and

2) They all had the hope that maybe, just maybe, Ranboo would reappear back at his house.

 

It's not like Phil was expecting to ACTUALLY find Ranboo when it was his turn to check on their house, let alone a heavily injured and delirious Ranboo.)

Phil heaved a deep sigh as he approached the door to Ranboo's house.


It had been two months since Ranboo had vanished, since Freddie had frantically messaged the private server holding most of their friends with a photo of a broken fence.

It had been... hard. The abrupt hiatus of multiple streamers brought suspicion. They weren't allowed by the police to tell their viewers, not that anyone would've anyways- it was far too fresh.

At the one month mark, the police decided that a public statement about Ranboo being missing might bring more information.

It was even harder to see the community's reaction. Most viewers were scared for Ranboo, and supportive of their friends, understanding when content was less often or streams felt stilted. Some viewers- ones that were mass reported and rejected from the community- said that Ranboo had it coming for being gay.

Even with help from the public, there were no leads. It was a dead trail. Other than the dark stains and splintered fence, they had nothing other than what Ranboo had written in their notes app, presumably from right before they vanished- based on the entry being about feeling watched, kidnapping was unfortunately the most likely reason.

A check-in had been established among content creators to prevent something like this going unnoticed for as long as Ranboo's disappearance had, as well as various friends of Ranboo's going to their place and making sure everything was clean and okay if when they were found.

Phil had the check-in today. Normally Aimsey, Guqqie, or Tommy would be the ones checking in, but Tommy was overseas and Aimsey and Guqqie were visiting family, so the duty fell to Phil.

Phil had done this before, early into when they set this plan up.

He hated doing it. Not because it was inconvenient, but because it hurt.

Normally Ranboo had music playing on a speaker somewhere, or a movie in the background, but without them it was silent. Their house lacked the life it had with its occupant. It felt empty.


Phil squeezed his eyes shut and blinked quickly to drag himself from his thoughts and walked up the steps. He was putting his copy of the key in the lock when he realized something was wrong.

Very wrong.

It was already unlocked.


Shit. Phil cursed quietly and quickly pulled out his phone to dial 999.

The call picked up promptly, the operator sounding far too calm for how he felt.
"This is Emergency Services, how can I help you?"

Phil willed his voice not to waver. "I was checking in on my friend's house while they've been missing and the door is unlocked. I think someone broke in. The adress is 45 South Street."

The operator made an affirmative sound and there were a few clicks through the phone. "Okay sir, thank you for calling. I've sent police to your location and reccommend that you stay put. They will be there in 5 minutes."

The call ended with a click, and Phil paced in front of the house. He sent a quick message off to the private discord letting them know what happened before waiting more.

He only lasted 3 minutes until the itching worry and curiosity became too much. As much as Phil seemed to be the rational one, he too is able to make irrational decisions.

He opened the door and stepped inside.

It was dark. Instead of the usual dusty smell he'd be greeted with when checking on things, it smelled metallic.

Phil's throat felt tight as he turned on the lights. Everything... looked fine. Nothing was out of place. He ventured further in, looking through the living room. When he reached the kitchen, his heart dropped.

There was a body on the tiled floor. Dark red congealed in a pool around the figure, blood soaking their jacket beyond recognizable colors, lower face locked in metal. Phil nearly gagged at the stench of copper, fumbling for his phone when he realized.

Though matted, the body's hair was the right color, and given how often Ranboo wore their mask, he would recognize their upper face easily. Ice crawled down his spine.


He found Ranboo.

Notes:

Hey, I'm back! Its been a year, sorry about that- I landed myself in the hospital for a bit and had shit go down irl but I finally got motivation :)

Founders cut blueprints are not canon here!! I outlined it long ago lmao

Chapter 3: overseas

Summary:

News of Ranboo's reappearance reaches Tommyinnit.

Notes:

INJURY DESCRIPTION WARNING!!!!

Tommy was in America to talk over details about his comedy show tour.

His phone kept buzzing during this current meeting. He was tempted to check it, but the meeting was nearly over anyways. He'd been too busy to answer stuff for a few days now, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.

Twenty boring minutes later had Tommy finally able to check his phone.

He froze as soon as he saw the notification.

It was from Phil, in the private server.


Ranboo was found.

Ranboo was in the hospital.


Tommy choked down a sob in the back of his throat as he looked through the rest of the messages.

Phil had to leave soon after he found Ranboo, in their own house, like their kidnappers brought them back.

Aimsey and Guqqie had apparently canceled their trip and taken the train back to Brighton. Both had taken up position watching Ranboo at the hospital, and the descriptions and photos made Tommy feel sick.

In the photo that Aimsey sent, Ranboo looked sickly pale, skin tight on his bones, starved. The hospital gown hung limply off of them.

They had bandages around their wrists and splints on multiple fingers, and their neck was bandaged and in a padded brace. Gauze covered Ranboo's right eye, hair shaved down to bandage around their head. Their lower face was covered by bandages too, practically mummified. There was a small gap to allow a few tubes into their mouth but not much else.

At the edges of the photo Tommy could see a heart monitor and multiple IVs. Aimsey was holding Ranboo's hand.

Tommy had to close Discord, hands shaking as he stumbled to sit against the wall. Ranboo looked half dead.

He was already opening his email to cancel everything. No way he'd be preparing for his tour when his friend who had been missing for two months was finally found.

He started packing his hotel room up, quickly buying an earlier plane ticket to get back to the UK as fast as possible.

Tommy looked through the written update Aimsey had sent in the main channel, feeling more nauseous with each line.

Dehydration.

Malnutrition.

Three broken fingers.

Right shoulder dislocated.

A metal muzzle that was burned into their face.

Missing right eye.

Severe head damage.

Cut tongue.

Burns down their back.

Traces of heavy hallucigens and sedatives in their bloodstream.

Whoever kidnapped Ranboo tortured them.

He felt sick.

Notes:

ermmmm yeah I am a bit mean to ranboo I think

kudos and comments fuel me it seriously meant so much when I updated this after nearly a year and got a bunch of comments :} thank you <3

Chapter 4: panicking time

Summary:

Ranboo wakes up.

It was really hard for Aimsey to see their best friend like this.

Ranboo looked like a corpse. This is the kind of thing that happened in a fucked up horror movie- not real life.

Aimsey was dozing off when they felt Ranboo's hand move from where they had it over his. Aimsey shot awake and rubbed their eyes, whispering. "Ranboo? Are you awake...?"

What's visible of Ranboo's face twists in discomfort as his remaining eye peels open, distant. He starts to panic, heart monitor beeping faster and clawing at the IVs.

Aimsey starts to panic as well, grabbing Ranboo's arms to stop them from hurting themself, talking quietly. "Ran- it's okay, you're safe, nothing is gonna hurt you-"

Ranboo recoils from the contact with a muffled sob. Before, he was always very physically affectionate but it seems like whatever happened made them scared of touch.

It made sense, given that they were seemingly tortured to the brink of death, but it still hurt. It hurt to know that even though they were his best friend, he was too scared to realize they were safe.

It made Aimsey's chest ache, but they withdrew their hands. As soon as they weren't touching him anymore, Ranboo curled into the fetal position and cried, chest heaving with suppressed sobs.

Aimsey could hear them mumbling, incomprehensible due to the fact that their fucking tongue was cut, like his kidnappers tried to silence him. Aimsey presses the call button next to the bed to get help.

As soon as staff arrives, Ranboo panics more. He thrashes and screams, splints on their fingers cracking as they try to fight back. A doctor ends up sedating them, and Aimsey can see the blank terror in his eye as the needle slips in, right before he passes out like a ragdoll.

Aimsey sits there, frowning as Ranboo's splints and bandages are fixed, IVs reapplied.

Something was deeply wrong with their best friend.

They got Ranboo back.

But he'd never be the same.




------



The next week went the same, even when different people were there. Ranboo would always wake up and panic, fighting like his life was on the line before eventually having to be sedated again. The hospital had to restrain them to the bed, which seemed to make them freak out more, but it was the only way they could think of to stop him from hurting himself.

Most of Ranboo's friends who could afford to canceled streaming and recording for the foreseeable future. They wanted to be there for Ranboo- he obviously needed it.

If Aimsey wasn't at the hospital, it was usually Tommy or Phil. Others would often stop by as well, Freddie, Snifferish, Nihachu, Guqqie... even some of the Americans flew over and were staying with friends so they could be there. Slimecicle, Michela, Moonzycat...




It wasn't until another few days had passed that Ranboo woke up without panicking. Aimsey was the friend who was there when it happened.

They were scrolling on their phone when they heard Ranboo shift slightly. Aimsey tensed, ready to press the call button again, to calm a freak out.

He didn't though. Ranboo opened his left eye and stared at the ceiling tiles, oddly calm.

This was scarier than when he was panicking. Now it was like they had given up.

Aimsey hesitated, reaching out to touch Ranboo's wrist. They twitched, but didn't show any other response. Aimsey took this chance to gently move to hold Ranboo's hand.

Ranboo's head slowly turned, remaining eye flicking to their joined hands. He wasn't reacting to the fabric straps holding their chest and wrist still, their other wrist held by the sling holding their dislocated arm.

Aimsey's voice cracks as they whisper quietly. "Hey Ran... it's good to see you awake. Well- awake and not panicking."

They sigh as Ranboo gives no response other than looking in their direction.

"...I'm sorry you're scared. I understand why though."

Aimsey quickly takes a photo and sends it to the private server to let everyone know that they're awake, but... not all there.

The people who did this to him have to be found. They nearly killed Ranboo, and now they're a shell.

Hopefully one day they'd be more cognizant, but with the head injuries... it wasn't guaranteed.

Notes:

Motivation has me in a chokehold

Comments appreciated!!

Chapter 5: THEFT

Summary:

Tommy gets stolen from.

In hindsight, Tommy realized it was a bad idea to go visit Ranboo while he was tired from editing, but... he really wanted to see his friend. Even if that friend would shift between being disassociated and fearful violence at any second.

Even if Ranboo didn't understand what was happening... Tommy wanted to be there. Just to remind himself that Ranboo was found.

But alas, he dozed off in the stiff chair beside Ranboo's bed and was woken up by clattering.

Wait.

The nurses were quiet when checking in, and the next visitor, Jack, wouldn't be arriving til the evening.

Tommy shot awake, ready to press the call button if Ranboo was freaking out.

They weren't though.

Tommy had left his phone on the bedside table, and Ranboo had... grabbed it? It seems they wiggled from the strap holding down their left wrist and undid the one over their chest.

Tommy felt like crying. Ranboo wasn't disassociating, but not panicking either. It wasn't for a few more seconds until he realized that Ranboo was holding his phone. Instinct kicked in and he spoke as he normally would to a friend.

"HEY!! Bitch!! My phone!!" He tried to snatch his phone back without touching Ranboo, but they managed to move their arm out of the way. Tommy quickly stood though and snatched his phone back, realizing that the camera app was open.

Confused, he went to his gallery and saw a selfie. Ranboo woke up and immediately took a fucking selfie. What the fuck.

Tommy's confusion must have been visible, because Ranboo started making a rough wheezy sound. Tommy thought they were coughing until he realized they were laughing, snickering at his dramatic reaction to his phone being stolen.

Ranboo was actually awake.

Tommy started to cry, voice shaking. "Hey big man, welcome back."

Ranboo squinted their eyes to smile back.


-


After Tommy had gotten his tears and laughter out, he gasped out between wheezes, "Ranboob, why the fuck did you wake up and take a damn selfie."

Ranboo started to chuckle quietly again, weakly lifting their left hand and gesturing like typing, pointing at the app for Twitter on Tommy's phone.

Of fucking course.

Tommy remembered Ranboo telling him about the 'roadkill' story. Of course Ranboo would want to post and laugh at it. And he knew exactly what Ranboo wanted him to say.




Tommyinnit
@Tommyinnit

"I lived bitch"

[Image attached of Ranboo laying propped up in a hospital bed, taken as a selfie. The heart monitor and IVs are visible, as well as the bandages patched over their face and neck, their right arm tucked in a sling]

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Alberbo
@alberbothegreat

RANBOO WAS FOUND?!? WHAT



Smeeple
@smeeple31

holy shit



Ran/Snake
@diceboo

oh my god they found them. they're safe.

Notes:

this is a bit shorter while i gear up for the rest of the story! If you have suggestions feel free to comment them, I might use them :}

Oh and don't let the fluff in this chapter lull you into a sense of security

Chapter 6: new old clothes

Summary:

Aimsey brings some stuff from home.

Everything had been better since Ranboo woke up. They still don’t talk at all, probably because it makes their face hurt, but still. His parents had flown over from California and taken over a lot of the care to give the group of streamers a break. 

 

Aimsey was visiting with a duffel bag full of stuff. Ranboo was gonna be in the hospital for a while, so might as well make it more comfortable by bringing them things.

 

Aimsey leaned into the room. “Ran?”

 

Ranboo was slightly propped up on the hospital bed and staring at the ceiling. Aimsey frowned and walked into the room, closing the door behind him. They set the bag on one of the chairs next to the bed and waved a hand over Ranboo’s eye. Ranboo jolted and blinked, heart monitor jumping in speed slightly, but he realized it was just Aimsey and waved weakly. Aimsey smiled back awkwardly.

 

“Hey, uh, how’re you doing?”

 

Ranboo shrugged. He tilted his head towards the duffel bag curiously.

 

Aimsey brightened at the opportunity for a distraction, moving the bag to an open space of bed. “Oh yeah, I brought you some of your stuff so it isn’t just itchy hospital stuff, ya know?” 

 

Ranboo nodded. The bag was unzipped and the contents fell onto the stiff sheet. A hoodie, a jacket, some shirts and sweatpants, a mask, an arm pillow, and a blanket. Ranboo moved to look through the stuff with the arm that wasn’t in a sling, but stopped with a wince and a pained sound. Aimsey mirrored the expression. Yeah. Forgot his movement was bad again.  

 

“Oh, uh- Sorry…” Aimsey forced a nervous smile, “Here, I’ll look through it and show you, you can uh… indicate what you want?” Ranboo at least seemed amused, they nodded.

 

Aimsey started by holding up the hoodie. It was just a basic plain color, light blue. Ranboo stiffly nodded again, so Aimsey threw it over the back of one of the chairs next to the bed. 

 

This pattern continued for a bit, Aimsey showing the shirts (a plain white shirt, a shirt with the Twitch logo, a shirt with Foxy on it, etc) all of which were approved of. Same with the socks and pants. Aimsey was grinning when they stretched the blanket to show Ranboo. It was a stupid one that had been given to him several months ago that was from those crappy photo blanket websites- it was basically a stretched out PNG of Leon Kennedy’s face. Ranboo burst into wheezing laughs that sounded painful, but they didn’t seem to care, chest shaking and waving away Aimsey’s concerned hands.

 

It was hard for Aimsey to be concerned when Ranboo was this happy, like nothing had happened. The laugh wasn’t the same cackle, now muffled and wheezy, but it was still genuine. After they’d both stopped laughing Aimsey dug around in the bag and found the last thing that was in there, the jacket.

 

It was the red and gray varsity jacket that Ranboo had thrifted on a Twitchcon trip a while ago, the one with the red sleeves and white stripes on the edges. Aimsey smoothed out the wrinkles and held it up. They had grabbed it because it was one of their favorite jackets, before vanishing it was worn often.

 

Aimsey wasn’t expecting Ranboo’s left eye to go wide and for them to cringe away like they’d been burned. He had that terrified, blank look that haunted both them and all of their friends for weeks before Ranboo was fully aware. 

 

He looked like he thought Aimsey would hurt them. All she did was pull out a jacket, what…? It made sense that Ranboo would have some kind of PTSD, but a psychiatrist hadn’t been able to do an evaluation yet because of the fact that Ranboo couldn’t really communicate clearly. 

 

Aimsey was pulled out of their thoughts by a choked sob- one that came from Ranboo. They were staring at the jacket and shaking. Aimsey quickly threw the jacket out of sight and kicked it under the hospital bed. Ranboo untensed and started hyperventilating, the heart monitor going crazy. Aimsey slowly approached with her hands up and open, like their best friend was some kind of wild, scared animal. 

 

Ranboo’s eye darted from their face, hands, to their hip quickly. Checking for weapons. Aimsey felt sick, but tried to speak softly.

 

“Ran…? It’s okay, I put the jacket away, nothing can hurt you here, yeah?” Ranboo managed to shake their head weakly. Aimsey frowned, chest twisting uncomfortably. “I promise. I’m not going to hurt you. You… aren’t there anymore. It’s okay.”

 

They took a risk and reached out for Ranboo’s free hand and tried to hold it, but he jerked it away. Okay, that makes things harder. “Sorry, I won’t touch you, okay? You’re safe.”

 

It took a solid 5 minutes until Ranboo stopped looking like they wanted to run, and another minute after that until they untensed and started to cry. Aimsey touched their hand, and they didn’t move from it. 

 

Aimsey squeezed Ranboo’s hand gently, and Ranboo squeezed back. 

 

What the hell triggered this? What happened?

Notes:

Hi I'm not dead! Surprising! as always kudos and comments are highly appriciated, as it motivates me to continue telling you all the story :}

Notes:

uh oh boo boy is Not Okay

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of stickers' genloss fics and crossovers