#t!eret

Phil and Techno lead them from the front with torches and swords out, and Jack trailed like a starved dog. Every few seconds he’d glance back at Ranboo with pinched brows like he was worried if he stopped looking the giant would suddenly attack. At one point he even tripped on a tree root while staring back. He fell face first into the dirt, and while Ranboo looked like a kicked puppy Tommy was quick to bully the man.

Meanwhile, at the very back of the group, Tommy, Ranboo, and Tubbo marched along. Tubbo stayed right beside the giant’s steady footsteps while Tommy stayed just a few steps ahead. Droplets of cold water sprayed up at Tubbo whenever Ranboo’s feet dug into the grass, but he didn’t bring it up- even when his green shirt looked almost black from how muddy it was. The tight frown permanently plastered on Ranboo’s face was bad enough- he didn’t want to upset the giant any more.

“Hey you alright?” Tubbo asked softly as he slowed down a bit, letting the others get farther ahead.

Ranboo glanced down and gnawed on his lip. Blood was already forming from where sharp teeth had cut through the muscle.

“Mhm, I’m fine,” he said curtly.

Tubbo frowned and jogged forward until he could reach the giant’s tail. The long appendage was tightly wound around the giant’s leg, but he was still able to grab it to tug on the fur. He expected Ranboo to slow down so they could talk or at least find it funny, but instead he just froze in place. A weird feeling curled up in Tubbo’s gut when Ranboo shot him a dangerous look before whipping his tail away.

“Tubbo, please stop,” he shook his head, “This is serious.”

His voice only raised a bit, but it was enough to draw Jack’s attention even from several yards in front of them. The other trainee’s head snapped towards the giant, and Tubbo could pinpoint the moment Ranboo noticed. His ears flattened against his head and his mouth slammed shut. 

He looked so small.

Tubbo wanted to comfort him, to take him back to the den and cuddle up in his fur, but he knew his dad would be furious if either of them left. The only way the guard was even letting Ranboo live was by helping the guard... There was no way he’d let Ranboo just walk off.

But every time Jack so much as looked at Ranboo, the giant looked like he got caught committing a crime. He looked so guilty, even though there was nothing he could do to control his appearance; even though Tubbo had spent months trying to help convince Ranboo that he wasn’t a monster.

He just really hoped this one lesson wouldn’t completely ruin their progress.

The group walked on like that for almost an hour before anything changed. They stepped down over a log bridge onto one of the many forked paths of the trainee route. Ranboo struggled to get down onto the smaller path but he eventually was able to squeeze under the tree tops by folding his upper body over. His tail trailed behind nervously like he was afraid to move in the tighter space, and his eyes darted back and forth into the trees.

This section of the forest had always been Tubbo’s least favorite anyway. Ever since Tommy had been attacked by a badger-hawk when they had just joined he’d never liked it (not that he really liked any part of the forest).

The area was darker than most parts of the woods, which was saying a lot since most of the forest had heavy foliage that blocked out all light. There was just something about how the branches curled around like mangled limbs that filled Tubbo with a sense of dread. Instead of the gigantic bright green pine trees that covered the rest of the forest, large twisted oak trees surrounded the path. On the tops of almost every tree, Tubbo could just barely make out the shape of giant bird nests; he just hoped he would not have to see their inhabitants.

“God why are we going this way?” Jack grumbled as he jumped over a massive root protruding from the dirt.

“Its shorter,” Phil said as he turned back to Jack, “Don’t want overwhelm our new trainee on his first day. And first rule for you Ranboo, don’t complain like Jack- won’t get you anywhere.”

Tommy burst out in laughter at Jack’s shocked expression, but Tubbo couldn’t help but focus on Ranboo’s shy smile. He tried to hide it, but Tubbo could tell how much he wanted Phil to like him. Deep within Ranboo’s small movements and nervous speech laid a desire to be wanted- a desire Tubbo knew very well.

“Oh uh its fine. Actually. I live in it-uh the forest- so like...its not bad. We can go a longer way if you want,” Ranboo stammered.

“Nah don’t let Jack’s complaining get to you,” Techno hummed in amusement, “He’s been a trainee for years and at this rate it’ll stay that way.”

Jack sputtered in protest, but before he could argue something huge dashed across the tree top. Leaves and  twigs cascaded over them, and Tubbo had to jump away to avoid getting hit by a massive branch. 

Quickly he whipped out his sword but the creature was already gone, far, far ahead of them.

“What the fuck was that?” Tommy asked, before being immediately shushed by Phil.

His brother glared and tried to talk back to their dad, but the older man was completely focused on the tree tops. Tubbo looked around nervously, but it all looked the same. The only movement came from the wind gently pushing the leaves.

“Phil-″ Techno didn’t get a chance to finish before another loud crash reverberated through the trees.

Tubbo drew his sword in panic and shuffled closer to Ranboo. However, the giant seemed just as worried, his eyes darting around frantically to figure out what was wrong.

“Stay behind us!” Techno yelled back as a loud pounding sound filled the forest.

Within seconds the sound was on top of them as hundreds of gigantic creatures leaped through the tree tops. Ranboo growled and inched closer to the group, but the monsters above them payed him no mind. Tubbo watched in awe as leaves fell around them like hail until one of the branches above them snapped with a loud crack.

A large branch came crashing down and Techno had to push Jack away so he wouldn’t get hit. However, the branch wasn’t all that fell. Tubbo felt his breath catch in his throat as a ginormous hairy beast plummeted through the trees. Its body twisted midair in an awful sort of grace before hitting the ground with a crunch. Immediately, Ranboo’s tail shot in front of Tubbo and Tommy like a shield making the creature scramble away. 

“Just a raccoon-cat,” Phil snarled as he swung the torch at the creature, “Don’t let it scratch you who knows what diseases it has.”

It whimpered and fell over again, lashing out with its clawed paws, but Phil didn’t move. In horror, Tubbo realized a giant gash was dug into the creatures side and blood was dribbling out over its teeth. Its eyes narrowed at the light but he was fairly sure it couldn’t really see Phil with how wildly it flopped around.

“Wait, stop,” Tubbo frowned as he bent down to get a look at the thing’s injury, “I think it’s hurt.”

Phil narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to the beast just for it to screech in fear again. A few of the creatures still rushing through the trees whined in response. 

“You’re right,” Phil muttered as he knelt down next to it. Slowly he poked the beast’s injury with his boot, and watched as it squirmed in pain.

“What the...I’ve never seen so many of them before,” Techno murmured as he stared up at the hundreds of raccoon cats still racing across the tree tops. Blood and leaves fell down over them, but all they could do was watch as the one on the ground continued to howl in pain.

It only took a few minutes for the animals to disappear, leaving them in silence. The injured creature had long since stopped making any noise, but Tubbo felt too sick to check if it was breathing. He couldn’t explain it but something felt off.

And it seemed Ranboo agreed.

“We have to go,” the giant whispered, “Something’s wrong.”

“Well no shit,” Jack snapped as he turned to face Ranboo- his sword now pointed up at the giant, “You fucking lead them here didn’t you. Wanted to scare the shit out of us huh? The one time you come and hundreds of monsters show up, explain that.”

Red crossed Tubbo’s vision as he slid in front of Jack, his own sword drawn in retaliation, “Dont fucking talk to him like that. He didn’t do shit.” “Yeah well maybe monsters attract monsters huh? Ever thought of that?”

Tubbo seethed, jabbing the tip of his blade forward, “You fucking-″

Tubbo didn’t get to finish though before a roar shook the ground around them and shook the trees. He barely had time to think before he was pushed behind Ranboo by the giant’s tail. The force of the appendage hitting his chest knocked his breath out, but not any more than the sight in front of him did.

Tubbo, along with the others, crouched behind Ranboo’s tail in terror as an enormous shape (almost half Ranboo’s size) dashed through the trees. Phil’s breath stuttered as the form got closer and closer, until suddenly it seemed like it was shrinking.

The gigantic dark form twisted and molded until it was much smaller, and a medium sized raccoon-cat emerged from the trees.

“What the fuck,” Tommy hissed before being immediately shushed by Phil.

The raccoon-cat’s beady black eyes gazed around the path before settling on Ranboo. The giant tried to straighten his posture to look more intimidating, but the mangled web of branches above made it difficult. The small creature tilted its head and squeaked, and as terrified as Tubbo was, he had to admit it was almost cute. Its banded tail and masked face made it look soft and kind.

However, the mirage of safety didn’t last long.

Ranboo snarled at the creature and instantly its expression shifted. What he once thought was cute now resembled something straight from his nightmares. Tubbo swore he saw its bones push through its skin as the creatures muscles twisted and pinched it painful ways. Ranboo shuffled back as the creature started to grow and growled again, but nothing stopped its awful transformation.

Its skin tore off in shreds as it continued to grow up to the tree tops, rivaling Ranboo’s own height. Its claws grew enormously long and its snout flattened against its face. Even its coloring shifted as black and white patched splattered across its skin.

“A fucking chameleon,” Phil inhaled, “I can’t believe it.”

Tubbo felt frozen in place as he stared up at the newly formed giant. It flexed its clawed hands, and Tubbo couldn’t help but register all of its similarities. The giant- or the chameleon as his dad had called it- looked like if Ranboo stared into a broken mirror. It had all of the same parts, but everything was just a little off. Its teeth stuck out more and its horns were jagged and long. In horror, he even realized the chameleon had formed a yellowish bump on its horn to mimic Ranboo’s ring.

Phil’s hand grabbed at his own, and Tubbo squeezed as hard as he could. The situation almost reminded him of when he was little and was too afraid to go out in the dark. His dad would always grab his hand and walk with him, telling him how brave he was the entire time until he finally felt safe enough to be on his own. However, nothing could stop the terror that flowed through him though as the chameleon stepped forward. Even Ranboo, who usually had a handle on situations involving other giants, seemed aghast.

With an ear-piercing roar the chameleon threw itself at Ranboo, its claws digging into his sides as it tackled him to the ground. Urgently, Phil ushered their group behind the trees as the two giants rolled around, both trying to come out on top. Tubbo shouted as the chameleon bit down on Ranboo’s shoulder leaving a trail of blood on his robe. Instinctively, he tried to run out to help his friend but Phil yanked him back before he could.

“He needs help!” Tubbo screeched as he tried to squirm out of his dad’s grip.

From beside him he heard Tommy shout in anger and turned to see him in a similar situation but with Techno. His older brother held Tommy tight to his chest as he tried to kick his way free. At the sight of teeth digging into Ranboo’s neck Tubbo slammed his foot down on Phil’s. His dad yelped in pain, letting Tubbo free, but he had no time to celebrate before pure horror filled his body. Giant muddied eyes stared at them as blood dripped from the chameleon’s mouth. An odd clicking sound reverberated through its throat, before it lunged forward grabbing them all in its massive fist.

Ranboo wailed and lashed his tail out at the chameleon, but the other giant just grabbed the appendage in mid air. Tubbo felt the pressure momentarily  increase around his torso, and he swore he heard something crack as the chameleon dug its claws into Ranboo’s tail. 

This time when the chameleon let go Ranboo went limp on the ground. He cried out in pain, but there wasn’t anything he could do but watch. Tubbo gasped in fear as the chameleon lifted the humans up to its face to take a better look at its prey. Its gigantic narrow eyes glazed over, and all he could do was stare in horror as its maw opened beneath them. Tears burned their way down Tubbo’s face as its breath washed over him and his friends, his family, cried in fear.

When they were less than an arms-length away from the creatures teeth he slammed his eyes shut. If he was going to die he’d rather not see it. Instead he tried to focus on the warmth of the bodies next to him. He couldn’t exactly tell, but he was pretty sure Techno and Tommy were the bodies beside him.

The awful stench of the giant’s breath washed over them and Tubbo sent a silent prayer to whatever god there was, but the pain never came. His body was jolted to the side, and unceremoniously he was dropped onto the ground. The impact crushed his lungs and made him cough for air, but he was free. He turned back around just to see Ranboo struggling to fight back against the chameleon. Every time Ranboo hit it with his claws the creature struck right back, and as strong as Ranboo was he wasn’t built to be a fighter. 

Tubbo scrambled to grab his sword to help, but before he could something small whistled through the air. He didn’t even see what had happened before the chameleon collapsed, twitching on the ground. Tubbo snapped his head to the other side of the path and sure enough a brunette man stood tall with a bow in his hands. 

Ranboo collapsed, shaking the ground as he tried to catch his breath from the fight, and as much as he knew he should check on him, Tubbo couldn’t pull his eyes away from the strange man. The tall brunette nodded at their group before slinging his bow back over his shoulder, as if he hadn’t just downed a giant with one arrow.

“What the-,” Tommy faltered, “Who the fuck are you?”

The man tilted his head in amusement and ran his hand through his curls, “Well first off- your welcome.”

The first thing Tubbo noted was just how deep the man’s voice was. Even though he was just about Wilbur’s height the strength in his voice made him seem so much bigger. Although, the next thing he noticed was much stranger. The man had a piece of thin black fabric covering his eyes that he kept having to adjust. Every time Tubbo thought he was going to pull it down so he could see, the stranger just tugged it back over his eyes like a mask.

But more than that there was an air to him that felt strange. It wasn’t entirely bad, but it felt powerful, almost like he was royalty.

Tubbo didn’t have much more time to ponder though before the man walked over to help Jack up off the ground. The guard trainee groaned in pain and immediately leaned his weight against the man, regardless of the fact that they were a stranger.