Chapter Text
Consciousness came to Ghostboo in fits and starts. The first time he came to, the world was just too loud and too bright for him to handle and he went back under again. Next time he came to things were better but not by much and he faded on the edge of passing out again until the world finally came back into focus. Blinking slowly, he slowly registered that he was cold and something smelled absolutely horrible next to him.
Slowly looking around, he realized he was somewhere entirely unfamiliar for once. While that should probably worry him, xe felt so relieved xe nearly burst into tears. Something new and different. Next was unfamiliar sounds which almost pulled xem back out of focus before xe shook xemself and forced xemself to focus on the here and now.
Xe was in some gross alleyway and outside, somehow. For a split second xe worried Ranboo had somehow managed to die again but that worry subsided when familiar red and green blood was not found on the ground. Wherever xe was, it was not limbo and it was probably not the SMP considering how unfamiliar the surroundings were.
A strange and colorful variety of people walked past the alleyway, each new and wildly different than the next. This definitely was not the SMP. Only big servers like Hypixel had this many people. Dream could only wish to have that many people on his server. That thought sent a shiver down Ghostboo’s spine before xe shook himself.
Slowly getting to his feet, he looked down at himself then at the people. At the moment, he did not want to draw attention to himself. Hell, he wanted to avoid the crowd and the thought of actually having to interact with another person nearly sent him into a panic. So he quickly went into his inventory and swapped his outfit for one of the various others he had been carrying around.
Snuggling into the purple turtle neck he had swapped into, he felt oddly vulnerable without the comforting outfit. To reassure himself of his decision, he reminded himself that xe had no way of washing those clothes and xe did not wish to stain xem in this strange new place. This sweater was much less important to xem, being a sweater that had been given to xem by Phil and dyed purple once xe realized it was one of Wilbur’s.
Steeling xemself, xe took a deep breath then slowly let it out. With a nod, xe turned away from the crowded streets and turned down the dark alleyways. Though this was probably not the safest option, xyr anxiety began to calm down the further xe got from the noise. Plus, xe highly doubted anyone would try anything with xem and… well… if they did then xe was more than prepared to deal with it.
As xe wandered, he found himself growing more and more confused by his surroundings. Everything was so very different from the lights, to the machinery being used and architecture to the people wandering about. There were so many hybrid traits he had never seen to the point that he was starting to doubt they were hybrid traits. The further he got from the populated areas, the more hybrid-like people got and the more rundown things seemed to get. This might give him some variety of traits to compare against mobs and animals but it was more disheartening than anything. Really showed the descrimination starkly.
He mentally shook himself from these thoughts, knowing he had no way of doing something about it. It was a habit xe shared with Ranboo, fretting over things out of their control. At least Ghostboo remembered all of the lessons Ranboo learned then later forgot about. Taking a deep breath, xyr wrinkled xyr sensitive nose at the smells that invaded and coated the inside of xyr mouth. Coughing, xe grimaced. Well, that worked too. Xe pretended to just cough out all xyr worries and push it to the back of xyr mind rather than spiral.
Running a clawed hand through xyr hair, xe paused as xe realized that between the smells of metal, machinery and trash, xe had tasted rain in the air. Hesitantly, he looked up at the sky and caught a glimpse of dark, dark clouds before he quickly got overwhelmed. The alleyways were narrow enough to avoid overwhelming him and he teleported across streets so he was able to keep the anxiety of being somewhere new at bay. However terrible a coping mechanism it was, in the alleyways he was able to pretend that he was still in that corridor. Limbo might be hell but it was a familiar one.
The sky instantly overwhelmed him and he forced himself to look away, forcing deep breaths in order to stave up panic though the horrible smells around xem choked them up each time. Shelter. Xe had to focus on finding shelter. Panic could come later. Contemplating xyr absolute fear of being somewhere entirely new surrounded by people xe did not know whether or not were safe could come later.
Quickening xyr pace, xe took twists and turns through the rapidly darkening alleyways. Teleporting when need be, xe searched for somewhere not lit up by lights. Somewhere that smelled abandoned. The first rain drop hit when he got truly desperate and simply looked through a darkened window, teleporting inside. The sound of rain that followed was both comforting in its familiarity and terrifying. It was grounding and scared him.
Shaking himself, he looked around the dark room which seemed to be some sort of backroom. Throwing caution into the wind, he moved further into the building to find what appeared to be abandoned machines. Tasting the air, the place smelled like dust and faintly like people or rather one person. Like they came here sometimes but not enough times to linger properly beyond the scent of metal, satin curtains and paint.
The further xe got into the building, the fainter the sound of the rain became, much to xyr relief. Peering around, xe kept xyr hands away from the machines, uncertain of what they did. They had buttons and levers. Ranboo had long since learned only bad things came from buttons and levers and Ghostboo full-heartedly agreed with that sentiment. Nothing good came from buttons and levers.
Then he spotted it. A giant box of glass filled to the brim with stuffed animals of various kinds. It had buttons and a lever too but that was not his focus. Nor was the weird claw that hovered in the corner of the machine. No, what had Ghostboo’s attention was how incredibly cozy it seemed. Well, he supposed it probably was not but his instincts screamed that it was a cozy space that was safe from outside predators and that was exactly what xe needed.
So on impulse, xe circled the machine, squeezing behind it and ignoring the dust in search of an entrance. It took some fiddling around but xe managed to find a sliding door that was easy to pry open with his claws. Crawling inside should have probably been an impossible feat considering his stature but with cat-like flexibility, he was easily able to squeeze inside and curl his lanky body into a little bun. Though, faintly he noticed that he was somehow smaller than he remembered. That was a worry for future Ghostboo though.
Closing the door behind xem, xe squirmed around a bit before tucking xyr limbs close and burying xyr face into the dusty old stuffed animals. Tail thumping against the glass and softly purring, xyr enderman instincts felt sated. Though, he supposed Tubbo would have called it xyr Catboo instincts and teased him about it. Huffing at xemself, xe let those thoughts pass xem by rather than allowing it to bring down xyr mood. It was quiet in the box and xe was comfortable and felt safe. Focusing on that was much more worth xyr time.
Melting contently, xe allowed the sound of xyr own loud purrs and the lovely feeling of safety that being in a confined space brought to lull xem into a comfortable slumber. There would be much to worry about tomorrow but that was future Ghostboo’s problem. Current Ghostboo was happy and content and that was all that mattered.
Waking up feeling starved was not what Ghostboo would call ideal. For some reason the gross feeling of an empty stomach hit him harder than he expected. Then again, he supposed he had technically never felt hungry. Ghosts did not need to eat and though he remembered what feeling hungry felt like, it felt distant, as if the sensation was muffled.
Grumbling deep in xyr throat in complaint, xe slowly uncurled from the cozy, warm nest of stuffed animals and slid the door to the machine open so xe could slide out and stretch. Landing on the ground with silent paws, xe stretched much like a cat, arched back and all. Shaking out xyr fur, xe stood to xyr full towering height and undid the messy braid xyr hair was in so xe could redo it.
Now that xe was well rested and significantly less overwhelmed, xe looked around the place as xyr claws deftly weaved xyr hair into a neat little braid. Well, as little as a braid as hair that reached down to xyr thighs could manage. Really, Ranboo had been meaning to get a trim but always forgot and put it off for later. Ghostboo was glad he did, braiding was always rather soothing for them both.
Sighing softly as xe realized he had grown distracted, he padded over to one of the machines to peer at it curiously. As far as he could tell, it did not seem connected to anything. Of course it could be connected to cleverly hidden redstone but he did not smell the stuff in the air. A place filled with machines should reek of the stuff. Instead, all he smelled was dust, the faint presence of what he assumed was people, rodents and glass along with some other substance he could not quite identify. This place was all very strange.
Ears flickering faintly, xe hummed thoughtfully before taking the ribbon xe had been holding in xyr mouth and tied off xyr braid. Maybe xe would have to take one of these apart at some point. Very carefully. Not that it would tell xem how the stupid thing functioned, such things were Philza and Tubbo’s wheelhouse. It would be really fun though and maybe xe could find something useful! Xe did not know what that could be but it sure would be something!
As he considered just taking one apart right that moment, his stomach gurgled, reminding him that he needed to eat. This would be a bit of an issue considering he was certain that though he no longer heard the rain it would still be wet outside. Which meant he could not exactly go outside without risking injury. So he had to hope there was some proper food in here or he would have to stoop to desperate measures. Well, what others would call desperate measures. Ghostboo might like rats and mice well enough but they were not exactly the weirdest things he has ever eaten. They truly were a last resort though.
So xe sniffed around the machines and behind the counter xe had failed to notice earlier. There was no food there but there were more stuffed animals which xe fully intended to add to xyr nest. Wandering into the backroom behind the counter, xe dug around in cabinets and around tables. While xe was at it, xe took the chance to peer out the window xe had crawled in through. Turned out that it might not be raining but it sure was drizzling. Wrinkling xyr nose, xe turned away from the window and continued xyr hunt.
Locating another door, xe found it locked but it was simply enough to teleport to the otherside. A little vwoop later, a cloud of purple particles and he was through. Standing in front of a staircase, xyr ears flickered slightly and xe sniffed the air. It was somehow even more stable than the air in the room full of machines. Relaxing slightly, xe dropped down onto all fours to crawl up the stairs. They were too steep for xyr long stride and the ceiling was much too low for xyr stature though some part of xem realized xe really should not be able to fit at all.
Another locked door and teleport later, he was inside what appeared to be an apartment. It has been a while since he has seen one as usually big servers like Hypixel were the only ones so crunched for space that they needed these things. Usually someone just found a spot to settle and built however big a living space they felt they needed. Going by how many buildings he had passed on the way here though, he understood why apartments were needed. There was so very little space, he doubted anyone had built anything in a long time.
Mentally shaking himself from his thoughts, he began to search about once more for something to eat. To his surprise, he found food in the kitchen. All of it seemed to be something that lasted for ages. Pastas, canned foods, some unrecognizable stuff in colorful bags of shining materials and jars of other stuff. Oddly enough, though he was certain he had never learned the language on the packages, they still made sense to him.
Mumbling the names of things under xyr breath in a language of unfamiliar sounds, xe fidded with the various contraptions in the kitchen to get a feel for how they worked. Xe wondered if this was a side effect of the odd void that brought xem to this world. Normally xe would doubt xyr memory but xyr other memories were as clear as they had been since xe came into existence. There was no reason to doubt xemself over something like this. Perhaps if there were big holes in xyr memory like Ranboo had xe would be more concerned but until that happened xe was content to just not look a gift horse in the mouth.
Not every mystery had to be solved right this moment. Though there were certainly a lot of them to contemplate as he very, very carefully filled a pot with water and set it on high heat on the run down looking stove. Listening to the metal creak as it heated up from the other side of the kitchen, he carefully watched steam rise from the pot as he waited for it to boil. Everything so far sounded suspiciously about those stories Technoblade was always rambling about. Stories they had never understood fully about people being transported to new worlds. Well, he never understood what made them interesting since anyone could hop servers normally as long as they were whitelisted or public servers.
The only time that was not a thing was on Dream SMP. Somehow Dream had managed to cut off access to the space between servers so no one could leave the hell he had created. Either way, the stories Techno had told or referenced in passing were only interesting in that those worlds all seem to be modded in different ways. Part of xem wondered if Techno truly knew these stories or if he was just parroting the things Chat said to him. Sometimes xe wondered if Techno was less a man and more like a kid poking his head out the top of a trench coat full of screaming, blood thirsty ferrets.
That mental image alone was enough to draw a giggle out of xem as xe set a timer on one of the machines, several bags of the pasta open with xyr claws and carefully used tongs to drop the dried pasta in the water of the pot. Thankfully, the packages had instructions on how to cook these things. He planned to ignore the broth thing. It seemed way too water based for him to not scorch himself from the inside out eating it. Finding oven mitts, he used them with a spoon to stir the pasta then held the pot very, very far from himself as he poured the pasta into a strainer.
Then with some butter, xe poured the pasta into a large bowl xe was sure was supposed to be a mixing bowl but xe had made way too much pasta for it to fit in a normal bowl. Besides, it was not like anyone could judge xem. Setting it aside to cool, xe dug around to see if there was a way to wash the dishes without actually touching them. Finding something xe could scrub the pot with, it was easy enough to use the barely fitting oven mitts to scrub the thing safely with minimal damage to xyr claws.
Settling down and eating the salted, buttery noodles felt like heaven. By the time he had finished off the bowl, he was feeling pleasantly sleepy and purring softly to himself. It felt weird, just not caring what any potential person who might see him might think. Sitting on the floor eating an ungodly amount of noodles out of a mixing bowl was not exactly the picture of put together but… well… when had either of them been that. Ranboo might pretend but Ghostboo recognized there was no point in pretending. Might as well act like the mess they both were.
With a full stomach and a new sense of contentment, xe dragged xemself to xyr paws. Though xe wanted to return to xyr nest, xe knew that this living arrangement was not permanent. Someone obviously had been living here. It reminded xem of the bunker in Snowchest. Stocked and unlived in, ready to be occupied should the worst come to pass. Though it was less dreary and defensive, it still had an air about it that echoed the atmosphere that the bunker sported. Which meant someone might come here at any time and xe needed to prepare to flee.
So he explored the apartment. For how cramped apartments usually were, this space was oddly nice. He was rummaging through the back of someone’s closet as he began to search various drawers and cabinets. Clothes that obviously had not been worn in a while, odds and ends of personal effects scattered about yet neatly put away. It felt both lived in and not. Waiting to be occupied by someone that was not there.
Well, xe might as well take a page from Tommy’s book. Time to be a dirty crime boy because xe had nothing but objects of sentimental value to xyr name and those things would not help xem survive in a strange new world full of strange new people. So xe needed to gather together everything useful and see if xe could put together anything xe might need for xyr future survival once xe was forced to leave this place.
Gathering everything up and dumping them in the living room area, xe discovered some rather interesting things. First, he found that the bags worked like shulkers. Any bag he had had a limited amount of slots and each could be stuffed into each other infinitely. Like a shulker inside a shulker inside a shulker. Not that you could stack shulkers like that back home. Something always stops you. Either way, this was useful as it meant that he did not have to worry about managing how many slots he had in his inventory.
Second thing he found was that things did not stack. Putting two of the same can of beans in his inventory did not stack them. It was like filling xyr inventory full of cakes. Each one took up a space which was a little bit annoying for inventory space purposes. It would have been twice as annoying to deal with if xe had not discovered the thing with the bags. Though having multiple bags worth of stuff stacked together was also tedious to manage.
By the end of xyr fiddling, xe managed to store all the canned goods along with a can opener and various cooking implements inside of xyr inventory and there was still a bunch of other stuff to go through and meddle with. At least xe knew xe would not starve for a while yet. Starvation was a terrible way to die and xe had no idea if xe had three lives here or not. Xyr hearts were not visible on xyr wrists nor arms though xe did find a bunch of water burn scars xe had not been aware were there. Honestly, xe did not often look too closely at xyr own body. Probably why xe has been mostly avoiding turning on any lights or being near any reflective surfaces. Something was different about xyr body and xe was not ready to face it. Xe might have great night vision but it just made the world grey scaled and indistinct. Finer details got lost in the grayscale.
Huffing softly, he turned back to the rest of the stuff he had gathered. Now was not the time to be going down mental rabbit holes. Who knew how much time he had here. He needed clothing that would protect him from the rain and keep him warm. There was not anything that could be used to make shelter but there was enough bedding that he could store away to make a new nest for when the time comes to move.
With some digging through the clothes, xe settled on whatever would properly fit before moving onto the rain protection bit of this whole plan. Well, after piling all of the other clothes in the corner so they would be out of the way. Tail holes could be added to the pants later. There was an odd variety that reminded xem of Eret. When Eret was not in their kingly outfit, she never seemed to wear the same thing twice. Xe admired that about him. Unfortunately, whoever was supposed to live here did not have too much that fit xyr tall stature though some had an almost costume like quality to them. To quote Techno, that was pretty sus considering the rest of the apartment. The incredibly weird mask xe had found really pointed to this being some weird safe house.
Not that Ghostboo could judge too harshly considering the amount of war crimes committed by their friends along with various smaller crimes. Honestly, he seemed to be some sort of criminal magnet… or he would think that if most of the server had not committed some sort of crime. Nether, even he had committed a few though none as severe as the ones Dream always accused him of. Just the thought of Dream made his long ears flatten against the sides of his head and he chittered in annoyance. The thought of the bastard still haunted him even now.
Turning xyr attention to the odd yellow coat xe had found after some digging, xe decided it needed to be altered. It looked pretty distinctive and the sticking was of higher quality than the ones on the other clothes. On even closer examination, xe found some sort of mesh that worked like armor was woven into it. Even testing water on it found the water repelled by the fabric. It was perfect! Besides how distinctive it looked. Xe did not want to be caught stealing something so obviously expensive. So xe did what xe usually did with hand me downs, xe decided to dye it another color.
With a little of the stack of blue he had received from Ghostbur and liberal use of the crafting menu, he dyed the coat. Oddly enough, instead of just turning blue it came out looking green. It seemed his inventory was not the only thing to change. Though he doubted he would be able to test the full extent when all he had was a two by two square to work with. Oh well, at least the green matched one of his eyes. Removing buttons and stitching in new silver ones really brought the look together. Then removing the weird cape thing that buttoned over the shoulders made the whole coat look new.
Using the fabric from the cape along with a hood he cut from another jacket, he managed to make something that could be pulled up over his head and little horns in the hood to fit over his actual horns. Unfortunately, xe had to sacrifice the mesh that was in the cape. There was just nothing xe could find that would cut it so xe just removed the fabric from around the lining. At least in the end the hood matched the coat he stitched it to. Though xe was not as good at these things as his friends, xe could make something functional.
With the mesh, the coat counted as armor to xyr inventory so whatever magic controlled the inventory made sure the coat fit xem. Too bad clothing slots did not work the same. Finding a pair of white and black armored shoes also worked for his paw protection purposes though it ended up dyed red after he found a pen and used the ink like one might use squid ink to make red dye. Proud of himself, he went to check himself out in the bathroom mirror.
He flipped on the light then froze as he remembered why he had been scared to look at himself. Ghostboo had been scared to see what xe looked like, had been since xe had seen xyr horrific, distorted appearance in the water soaked with Ranboo’s blood. Once that immediate scare cleared out though, xe realized there was nothing to fear. Xe looked very much like Ranboo, if 2 feet shorter. Face split half and half down the middle though the white seemed to bleed into the black side of xyr face like white paint spilled over black fabric.
The tear scars they shared were deeper on xem though much worse on one side and barely visible on the other. Much more vibrant green and red stained xyr black cheek as if he was permanently crying blotches of color. Really, it made sense considering how much he spent crying in limbo. Upon closer inspection, he seemed different, more inhuman than either of them usually looked. Reaching up, his claws brushed his face. A layer of soft fur greeted the pads of his fingers where previously he had been vaguely scaly. The white side was harder, stiffer, as if it was covered by some sort of shell.
Finally, this brought him to the most noticeable differences. Xyr ears were oddly patterned like a moth’s wings on the red and green, velvety insides and oddly feathery looking along the outside while xyr hair was no longer split down the middle. The white seemed to have invaded the black side of xyr hair, causing it to look more three fourths white rather than half and half. Finally examining xyr hands, xe realized that even xyr hands had this odd fur besides the usual ‘finger beans’ as the others joked. The white hand was oddly shelled like xyr face but the black side was pretty much the same. It was as if xe was literally half bug.
Pausing, xe looked back at the mirror and hesitated before slowly opening xyr jaw. It seemed his ‘mouth of horrors’ as Tubbo called it just got more nightmarish. Not only did his jaw unhinge as it always had, full of sharp teeth and disconcerting purple, his lower jaw split like mandibles which was just plain nightmarish. He hurriedly closed his mouth with a click and trilled nervously, the trill trailing off into a clicky sound.
Well, at least he now knew what his other half was. Plus, his new outfit looked awesome. Yes, let us focus on that and not on how xe seemed to be… half bug apparently? The moth patterning and fluffy fuzz seemed to point to some sort of weird moth. Baffled and confused, Ghostboo wandered back to the living room.
Gathering everything up into neatly organized bags, xe made notes of which bag had what in it on a small notepad because just trying to figure out how this would work made xyr head hurt. While his memory might be better than Ranboo's, he did not have a perfect memory by any means. Best to just write it all out and stuff the notebook in his inventory. By the end of it, he just dug up a bag of crunchy chips that he was sure Techno would have absolutely loved and just ate the entire thing for a meal. He did not feel like preparing something properly. It has been a long day.
Ignoring the perfectly good bed he had found, xe headed down into the room full of machines once more. Changing out of the shoes and jacket he had forgotten he was wear, he gathered up a bunch of stuffed animals from behind the counter into his arms. Then he trotted back to the odd glass case with the claw. Crawling inside after pushing the stuffed animals into a pattern that filled his enderman brain with contentment, he closed the glass and curled into a little bun. Sleep hit him and fast. Tomorrow would be another day in this strange world and he needed all the help he could get.