Chapter Text
Oh, I remember going out into that forest with your father. One time while adventuring, we found this base of a kid that lived in town, he disappeared a week before I moved in. Believe his name was Ranboo?
Tubbo was so thankful that he remembered that conversation with his Mom when he was younger. He didn't know how he was going to explain to them 'Oh, I heard my dead best friend said the name Ranboo!' That would not go over well.
He ventured onward, on his 'quest' of sorts. To the base... wherever it was. He sighed a bit, trying to ignore the creepiness of the forest. It was usually easier than this. He sighed a bit, trying to not shiver when some branch landed on his head.
Tubbo finally found it, and he gave himself a pat on the back for it, grinning. He opened the door, blinking a bit at the creak it made. He sighed and shrugged before entering, and looking around.
Oh, did we ever go in? No, it felt almost... disrespectful in a way. What if he returned and he saw it messed up? Besides, it would've been an invasion of privacy.
Welp. He didn't really care about that right now, what he really cared about right now? Was trying to figure this all out. Tommy said this kid's name. He'd seen and even heard Tommy. He hadn't told Techno and Wilbur about that yet, he'd kept it quiet. He didn't know how long they were staying in town, and he didn't really want to dump this on them until he figured out more.
It felt like he was hiding some big secret and it sucked so much.
Luckily, he was pulled out of his thoughts rather quickly, picking up a letter on the ground. He groaned seeing as most of the letter had been scratched out. That wasn't super useful. He looked around some more, finding a necklace as well, with a green cracked gem. He put both the letter and the necklace in his pockets and left the base rather quickly.
"Oh, I recognize that necklace," a voice said. Tubbo blinked and turned to look at who said that. It was Miss. Cherry, she owned the bookstore. She was probably as old as his parents, if not a bit older.
Tubbo blinked in realization, "Wait, you recognize the necklace? C-could you tell me about it?"
Miss. Cherry nodded, "Well, I'm guessing you know the name of the boy who owned it. Ranboo. Sweet kid. I used to babysit him sometimes." Tubbo nodded. "He disappeared one day, though I think I know where he'd gone. At least around where he'd gone."
"Where?" Tubbo asked, looking at her seriously.
"There's this lake in the forest, and Ranboo always wanted to go check it out. His parents didn't though, because the lake was quite far in the woods, and they didn't want him getting hurt or anything," Miss. Cherry explained. Tubbo nodded, taking in that knowledge.
"So," Tubbo murmured, looking at her, "You think... he'd gone there?"
The woman nodded, "It'd make the most sense." Tubbo thought about it, before walking over to one of the bookcases. He found a book he might like and walked back to Miss. Cherry to buy it.
"W-where is it?" Tubbo asked kindly, as he held the book after purchasing it.
Miss. Cherry looked at him curiously, "Why are you so interested in Ranboo?"
Tubbo blinked, "uhh, it's a weird story, miss."
"Why are you heading over there, again?" his father asked him as he was looking for his phone. Tubbo blinked, how was he going to explain this to his parents? They'd probably think he was being weird, or just imagining things, even with proof like Fundy who'd seen Tommy that first time.
"Uh, well, I was talking to Miss. Cherry!" that bit was true, at least somewhat, "she told me that there was this very nice lake out there, and I wanted to take a few photos!" His father looked at him before sighing with an expression that told Tubbo he'd somewhat convince his dad.
"Alright, well, guess I can't stop you," his father said, "Just if you see Lani, tell her that Mom wants her help making dinner tonight." Tubbo nodded, finally finding his phone. He grabbed it and put it in his backpack quickly.
Tubbo hugged his dad, "Love you, Dad! I'll be home soon, promise!" After a ruffle of hair, the brunette sped out of the house rather quickly. "Bye, Mom! I'll be home soon!" And he was off.
The brunette continued heading off to the forest, when he got there, he got a small grin on his face.
As he headed in it, it wasn't as bad as earlier, though some branches he swore were out to get them. A few times, he'd feel the branches in his hair, almost like hands. That was far from fun for him when it happened to him. He pulled a branch off a tree after one time, keeping it in his hand like a weapon almost. Would it be useful? Probably not. But it made him feel safe so that was good.
Tubbo thought a bit about this whole situation. He wondered, had Tommy always been there as a ghost? Probably. It made him feel bad, honestly. He hoped Tommy understood why he made new friends and wanted to move on not to be depressed forever over his death. He'd miss Tommy forever, yeah, but... agh, this was so weird. Tommy was a ghost and knew this kid who'd been gone since his Mom moved into town. And both his parents were teens around that time. His best friend is a ghost, he knows a dead kid from long ago, great.
This was all so weird, what the heck, should he even be doing-
Splash. He was pulled out of his thoughts after tripping on a rock, and landing in... water? He got himself up and looked around. Oh. OH. This is it! The lake! Tubbo grinned wildly, and pulled out his phone, taking some pictures. This was perfect. He didn't think he'd find it this quick... oh. He'd be in the forest for a few? Welp, guess he was truly stuck in his thoughts for a bit. Weird.
Tubbo took out his phone and took a few pictures, grinning. He looked around for a bit, before noticing something. A sneaker. A very muddy, old, few holes in, shoe. Oh. Snap.
He looked at the pictures on his phone. He looked back at his notes. Mabye river? Definitely river. Shoe. Culd be coincidence. But looked like itd been there for a wile.
Tubbo sighed a bit, he looked at the notes he wrote, before taking the paper and folding it. He put it in his pocket before hearing the sound of a notification from his phone. He turned it on, and looked at what had buzzed curiously. It was a text from Wilbur.
Hey, Tubbo. Uh, I was going through the old Treehouse, and I found something you might like want. Wanna come over?
...huh.