(!) Trigger Warning: puke (!)

Ranboo sprinted down the boardwalk and across the many piers of Snowchester. If his hunch was anything to go by, the world was in grave danger; he had to stop his husband before it was too late. The humanoid rushed up the steps to his family's home, and burst into the front entry way. All was quiet in the house, but there was no peace as Ranboo made his rounds.

He checked every room, every closet, and every floorboard for clues, but there were none to be found. It had to be here somewhere. In a final, last-ditch effort, the sentient walked to the back of his closet. He pushed against the back wall to open a secret door: his panic room.

Dust drizzled down from the top of the doorway, lingering in the air as he entered the chamber. Memories of a crisis or two flooded his mind as he stepped into the dust-covered room.

Once upon a time, Ranboo had visited the room regularly. In times of great distress, he would sit in the corner of the great, metal box as he breathed through his panic. It was a refuge he'd outgrown when he'd platonically tied the knot with Tubbo. Soon after, the enderman didn't need the safe space to calm his anxious mind. And so, the room had been abandoned...until now.

Ranboo ran about the space, rapping his knuckles across every inch of metal. "Come on, come on," he goaded the walls. "It has to be here..." The being was just about to lose his cool, when suddenly, he heard it: the far-right corner. It was hollow. 

Palms flat against the wall, Ranboo pushed with all his might, desperate to unveil a secret door- it didn't budge. The sentient groaned in frustration. "Okay," he breathed. "One last time before I get the TNT."

The hybrid placed his hands against the cool metal once again, and pushed. The strength of the act combined with the unmoving wall forced Ranboo's feet to slide back. The movement threw the being off balance and caused him to stumble, skewing his push off to the left. The sound of metal grinding against metal echoed throughout the chamber. Ranboo froze. Had he finally unearthed what he'd been looking for?

Upon further inspection of the wall, a huge grin found its way onto Ranboo's face: with only an inch-wide doorway, the secret room had been breached. The enderman hybrid dug his fingers into the crack and threw his body weight into one, mighty push. Slowly, ever so slowly, the metal wall slid open. The second the opening was wide enough for him to slip through, the being ceased his actions and stared into the room.

It was just as he'd imagined it. Before him stood an exact replica of Tubbo's bunker in The Syndicate. Every detail was identical, from the filing cabinets lining the room's perimeter to the enderman writing on the back wall's white board.

Ranboo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. So, Tubbo had two planning bunkers. The humanoid had thought as much after his meeting with Jack. He just needed evidence for the rest of his theory to be proven correct.

The sentient rushed over to the center table, and slid the scattered papers off the server map. Surely, the map would reveal what Tubbo was up to. But as the being scanned over the piece of cartography, Ranboo realized his worst nightmare had come true: he was right.

The map in The Syndicate's planning bunker had shown the server split into five kingdoms, each ruled by one of the server's main powers. This map showed their ultimate demise. The center point of each nation was circled in black, with the rest of the country encased in a larger, red circle. The key listed the destruction with a cold objectiveness: the black circles were the nuclear strike zones, and the red circles were the resulting radioactive fallouts.

Ranboo gripped the edge of the table as his vision swam and his blood ran cold. Tubbo never intended to hand over his nukes- he intended to use them. Joining the alliance must have been a ruse, a way to get closer to his enemies. He would have gained valuable insight into each new nation: what land they claimed, how much they'd expand. The goat hybrid would know exactly how big of a blast he'd need to bring it all tumbling down. It seemed that starting the server over was all too easy for the President of Snowchester. Who would have thought that sweet, caring Tubbo- platonic soulmate and father of one, would be the villain of his own story?

The very idea of his husband being so cruel made Ranboo sick. The poor hybrid ducked under the table, and released the contents of his stomach all over the floor. His mind raced with an endless stream of panicked thoughts.

Dear gods, what have I done? he internally screamed. I've been living with a psychopath! I- I adopted a child with a murderer. Dear gods!! Ranboo dug his fingers into his hair, trying to get a grip on this twisted, new reality. How long has he been like this? What if he's always been like this? No. Something must've happened. Something-

Ranboo gasped. He should have seen it sooner- Something was about to happen, but he had the power to change it. Ranboo remembered seeing a timer on the control panel in the nuclear lab, along with a list of three coordinates. The nuclear rockets were most likely on a timer, with their targets pre-programmed into their system. If he could warn Wilbur, Quackity, and BadBoyHalo about the oncoming missile crisis, he could save the world. They could end the alliance, and come together to evacuate the people before it's too late. And Tubbo would-

Ranboo paused. As much as he cared for his platonic soulmate, releasing the man from hell was too big of a risk. Ranboo could save the server, but he couldn't save Tubbo. A tear nearly slipped from the sentient's eyes as he tried to remain calm. At the very least, he could rescue Michael, and the benevolent side of Tubbo could live on through their son. It was a small blessing, one that gave Ranboo hope.

His heart and mind at peace, the sentient bolted out the planning bunker and raced back into his bedroom. Quickly, the being flung open his personal safe, and pocketed as many enderpearls as he could. He had to find the members of Tubbo's alliance fast, so he decided to check the nearest location first: Las Nevadas.

Ranboo stood firmly on the front lawn of his home, gaze set towards the diamond city. He raised his arm high and back, and threw his first enderpearl as far as he could. And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Will Ranboo make it in time to stop the showdown in Las Nevadas??

 Vote to help him save the day!! Next up- THE CLIMAX!!!

As always, thank you so much for all the support. Y'all are so wonderful <333

[Image Credits] "Paper" (Cropped Slightly) by keone  (https://www.flickr.com/photos/keone/3333621162)