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“Where did you come from, Ranboo?” Slime asked one day while they were chatting in the cookie outpost.
“What do you mean?” Ranboo returned and Slime explained.
“Quackity from Las Nevadas, Fundy from L’Manburg, where is Ranboo from?”
Ranboo laughed awkwardly. “I don’t know. I don’t have any memories of a time before now.” Slime looked at him with wide eyes, and for a second Ranboo worried he’d have to explain the concept of memories to him, but, before he could think of a good definition, Slime asked. “Then, what is the first thing you remember?”
He thought back to it, back to before George’s house was burned down, before Tubbo’s tour. And all he remembered was spawn, or the building that signified it.
“I remember spawn, a building a few blocks that way.” And he pointed to behind the cookie outpost. “But that’s a pretty universal experience, I’m sure.”
“Ranboo from Spawn.” Slime tried out, but shook his head. It wasn’t quite what he was looking for.
Slime seemed to be in deep thought for a second before asking: “Where are you now?”
Ranboo thought about it, he was never really a part of L’Manburg, at least not like Fundy had been. He’s part of Snowchester, but he didn’t live there or anything. He lived at Techno’s place, but that wasn’t really a city, moreso just a place. He didn’t know, so he responded honestly:
“I don’t really know. I’ve never really been a part of something like that. Right now, I just go where I'm needed, it makes me feel like I belong.” Slime titled his head. “Who needs you right now?”
And Ranboo felt a cold chill wash over him for a second. “Currently no-one.” He responded, turning away from Slime’s gaze, with a mix between cringing and shame. “But someday they might! And I want to be there for them.”
Tubbo knew that Ranboo would move stars for him if he only asked. Techno and Phil would be slightly more reluctant to help, but he’d help them in a heartbeat. Slime seemed to think on that as he rephrased his question yet again: “Where do you belong?”
These questions were getting deeper and more abstract by the minute. Ranboo sighed shortly, but quickly thought of an answer. “I belong where my friends are. I just- I just don’t want to be alone. And I love my friends and Tubbo, so I want to stay close to them, so that if they ever need my help, I can give it to them.”
“You let others decide where you belong…” Slime thought on that for a second. Instead of living his life alone, Ranboo had friends who’d help him and who he could help. Slime observed, out loud: “Not very decisive are you?”
Ranboo chuckled, the slime’s forwardness was refreshing, in a way. “It’s one of my character flaws.”
“Don’t you want anything for yourself?” Slime asked. And without taking a beat to think, Ranboo responded: “I want to be with Tubbo. And with Tommy, and Phil, and Techno. When I’m with them, I feel loved. I don’t remember ever feeling that, and it is an amazing feeling.”
Slime snapped his fingers like something had clicked, but the only sound that came out was a dull slimy sound.
“Ranboo the beloved!” He called out as if it was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime spark of genius that brought about this new nickname. Ranboo started to laugh louder, not intending to put a damper on the other’s enthusiasm but doing so nonetheless.
“What’s so funny about it? I thought it was smart.” Ranboo quickly reigned himself in, “No, no, no. I’m not laughing at you I swear. Just- Are you sure you haven’t heard of me before?”
Slime just gazed at Ranboo blankly, what does he mean ‘are you sure’? Of course he’s sure.
“It’s just that-” Ranboo continued, “that’s my last name.” Slime stared at him louder, and Ranboo could see why humans used gazes to converse, Slime’s gaze conveyed perfectly all the confusion going on behind his eyes.
“My full name, it’s Ranboo My Beloved.” Ranboo looked off to the side shyly, “Well, Ranboo _-My Beloved now, but still.” As the cogs turned in Slime’s head, and it all finally clicked he fell down backwards onto the grass with a sigh. “Then what am I supposed to call you?” Ranboo reigned in the remnants of his laughter and responded. “You could just call me Ranboo, like everyone else.”
Suddenly, Slime shot back up, looked Ranboo dead in the eye and said: “I got it! I’ll call you ‘Ran’!”
Ranboo felt his nerves rise, his adrenaline pump and the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Something about the name Ran incited panic in him. He got lighter and lighter, a feeling he now recognized as a stress-response. If he didn’t calm down or suppress it he’d teleport away.
So he tried to calm down quickly, think about things that give him peace, but it was to no avail. They only served to remind him of the fragility of his current situation, how easily it could all be gone within a second. Next he tried to suppress the fleeting feeling of weightlessness by keeping himself grounded. He tensed his hand around a handful of grass, ripping it out of the ground. He tried to calm his breathing by taking deep breaths but it was no use. He’d be gone from this place soon, and he couldn’t show Slime.
“Please… Don’t.” He managed to croak out. Slime reacted only by tilting his head in confusion. “Why not?” He’s just so goddamn curious. “Just- Don’t.” Ranboo repeated, more sternly this time. His more enderman-like gaze, less focused but somehow more threatening, helping his cause. Slime looked at Ranboo’s eyes and though the feeling of weightlessness didn’t worsen, like eye contact usually would cause, he could see the expression on Slime’s face now. Slime was scared. His eyes were widened, his mouth agape. He looked up at Ranboo, who had not gotten up, but who had grown a few centimeters in the time it took for his enderman panic to fully set in, and he was fearful.
Ranboo could see the fear in Slime’s eyes and he needed to leave. So, he let go of the ground, got up, and averted his eyes. ‘See you’ He tried to say, but all that left his mouth were the low-rumbling sounds he could now recognize as Ender. He struggled to get somewhere inside, out of Slime’s view but only made it into the hallway before feeling his bodyweight return all at once for a second, almost slamming him to the floor before it disappeared completely and he appeared somewhere else.
Even when the heaviness and weightlessness had become familiar, it always left him dazed. It took him many seconds to collect himself and his thoughts and get his bearings. His mind was still screaming that name at him, and he felt it crawl up his back, it was unsettling, like a word that’s on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t remember what it was.
Eventually he noticed the surroundings. It was clear he was underground, somewhere. Light coming from above a ladder was the only thing that lit up the small cave. The ladder seemed to be the only way out, so he walked over to it and climbed up. It went up into a cramped room with item frames along the walls, in one of the corners was a chest and along the floor books were scattered at random. Like someone had left in a hurry and only taken what was needed.
Ranboo grabbed one of the books and flipped through the pages, but the pages were all empty. He scanned the room for another exit and spotted a hole in the wall, just big enough to fit a person. This one led into a cave, floor covered in wood, with subsequent rooms going down. Here, too, the floor was strewn with books, some opened, some closed, but all were empty. Usually when he teleported out of somewhere like this he’d reappear somewhere he felt comfortable, somewhere he felt needed, but he’d never even seen this place before and it was anything but comforting.
A door bordered with windows stood on one side and, as he took a step through the door unsure where he’d end up, he recognized the surroundings. Straight ahead were the remnants of L’Manburg and to his right was party island, now also in shambles. The weightlessness had made way for confusion. And as he instinctively closed the door behind him, he noticed Tubbo walk by, on the prime path. He took large steps to catch up with him and tapped on his shoulder. Tubbo turned around, his arms holding a massive amount of stone and stone bricks. “Ranboo?” he said when he spotted Ranboo’s eyes behind him. “Weren’t you at the cookie outpost?” Ranboo pulled Tubbo into a hug, still confused and scared about what just occurred. The sudden movement made Tubbo drop some of the stone and with his newly free hand he hugged Ranboo back.
This must be why he teleported here. Tubbo was near.
“What’s wrong, bossman?” Tubbo asked, still juggling stone and Ranboo in his arms. Ranboo let go of the hug and responded; “Nothing. I just thought you might need some help with all that stone.” Tubbo’s face lit up at the prospect of help. “Please, yes.” He gazed down at the stone that was lying on the floor and Ranboo bent over to pick it up. They made their way to the cookie outpost, and Ranboo worried, worried about Slime possibly having seen him, worried about Slime still being at the outpost when they got back. But as he made small talk with Tubbo, his worry slowly faded and by the time they arrived at the outpost, it was gone. Cautiously he looked around for any sign of Slime, but it seemed like he had vacated the outpost shortly after Ranboo left.
Ranboo felt the tension leave his body, and when Tubbo peeked around the corner they were almost at eye-level. “You good, Ranboo?” Tubbo asked, his tone a bit more serious and concerned than back at the prime path. Ranboo quickly pulled himself together and walked back to Tubbo. “Yeah, I’m fine. What’s the plan?” At first Tubbo seemed reluctant to change the subject, but he quickly got lost in his building plans.
Ranboo slowly forgot about the anxiety, but he could still hear the name echo in the back of his mind.
‘Ran’
Why did that sound so familiar?