CW: Blood, gore, and mentions of vomiting

~<•>~

"And what if it's the guy who used the dagger?" Ranboo asked as he, begrudgingly, caught up to Tubbo.

Tubbo grinned as he shook the dagger in his hand. "That's what the dagger is for, Boo."

"Never call me that ever again."

Tubbo grinned. "Maybe don't piss off the guy who's holding a dagger and is having mood swings right now."

Ranboo rolled his eyes as they turned the corner.

"Oh my god..."

"Holy shit..."

It looked like a murder scene. Actually, Tubbo was convinced that it is a murder scene. There was fresh blood splattered on the ground and the walls, with chunks of what looked like flesh and brain matter strewn all about the place. Nearby was a plank of wood with a few rusty (no, not rusty, bloody) and bent nails protruding from it, which looked to be what caused all this, with the amount of blood and brain matter that was on it.

"Who could've done this...?" Ranboo asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tubbo didn't answer. How could he answer a question that he didn't know the answer to? He gripped the dagger tightly and walked around the area, which looked to be your typical alleyway. It was surrounded by run-down homes and had several banners and clotheslines strewn across from building to building, which made the entrance the only exit as well. He then noticed a dumpster against one of the walls and, against his better judgment, decided to go up to it and open it.

He wished he hadn't.

Inside was a dead body, with its throat slit wide open—almost to the point of decapitation if it wasn't for the spine—and its head bashed in. He couldn't even make out the facial features anymore, the face was so bashed in. The skull was exposed and broken, and the brain now resembled watered-down mashed potatoes.

And the worst part was their wings. Or, more accurately, the lack thereof.

The wings were brutally ripped out, and the majority of the back was gone. Almost all of the skin was ripped off, and the muscle that used to be the base of the wings was now gone as well, leaving nothing but nerves, veins, and bone.

He wanted to throw up.

"Tubbo? Are you okay?" Ranboo asked. He was a few feet away, investigating the supposed murder weapon, and couldn't see the body. Tubbo thanked whatever deity was out there for that.

He backed up and closed the dumpster lid, trying to breathe in the cool night air to avoid losing whatever contents were in his stomach. However, he inevitably found himself hunched against a corner, throwing up his dinner. His throat burned from the stomach acid, and his breath now reeked of vomit.

Ranboo rubbed his back comfortingly. "Gods, what did you see in there?"

Tubbo wiped the vomit off his lips, causing the back of his hand to be covered in drool and also smelled like the bile in front of him. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Ranboo hummed as he looked around. The scene wasn't that old, meaning that whoever did this must be nearby.

"We need to tell Tommy," Tubbo murmured. "Whoever did this hasn't gone far. And part of me thinks that this isn't exactly a one-man operation."

Ranboo frowned. "Are we really about to do a whole murder mystery thing?"

Tubbo shrugged. "Probably."

"We're fifteen."

Tubbo glared at him. "Has that ever stopped anyone?"

"N-no..."

"Okay then." Tubbo deadpanned as he started walking back to the entrance of the alley. "Trust me, I'd love to just tell Phil all of this and trust that he'll deal with it, but I've known him far longer than you have, and I know for a fact that he won't do shit unless it directly threatens the royal family. Especially now, with the loss of his wife. It'd be better for us to figure this out on our own, or maybe bring Techno and Wilbur in."

"I can't even tell Sapnap?"

"No," Tubbo stated, balling his hands into fists. The dagger had been abandoned by the dumpster at this point. "For all you know, he could be working for the one who did this."

"But he's a phoenix," Ranboo argued. "They're born protectors because of their inability to die."

"Ranboo, you will eventually learn that just because someone is sworn to protect does not mean they won't harm innocents." Tubbo deadpanned, glaring at his friend. "As Techno likes to say, 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Even if it's as small as protecting the kingdom, it's still a form of power."

And with that, Tubbo flew off, presumably to make sure that the two royals were out of the bar.

Ranboo had never felt more alone in his life.