Chapter Text
Ranboo was having a fairly boring day. He had bullied Sneeg a bit (the man was just so small and killable!) and he’d done some mining, but that was it. He still had to do something about the nether roof situation, that was for sure. It was his! His nether roof! The nerve of Phil, making it accessible to all the commoners! Ranboo could hardly believe the audacity. If he respected the man any less (Phil was the crowfather, the closest thing this place had to a king if Ranboo understood correctly) Ranboo would have killed him. He still might, it’s not as though a bit of murder did any harm. Origins was a peaceful server, everyone who died would respawn without a scratch.
Thoughts for a later time. Phil was currently off somewhere, probably grinding for materials. The elytrian had to be the most motivated person on the server, he was the first to get full armor. The current issue was that Ranboo was bored. This simply wouldn’t do! He could always go hang out with Tommy. Tommy was Crowfather’s son, and the only member of the server Ranboo considered his equal. (Tommy was also Ranboo’s best friend, not that the enderian would ever admit it aloud.)
Plan in mind, Ranboo headed out to find Tommy. His head was already full, planning pranks they could pull together. While theft didn’t exactly befit their status as royals, it was quite fun. Almost as fun as crushing Sneeg’s tiny fragile body like a grape. Almost. Plus, Tommy didn’t seem too concerned about people’s opinions of him, a trait Ranboo secretly envied. Ranboo had just reached the bridge that led to Tommy’s little hole of home when he felt… off. Hit with a sudden wave of dizziness, Ranboo had to fight to keep upright. It would hurt his reputation to be caught sitting on the dirt of the ground. There was a strange feeling in his chest, like teleportation but… more. His vision blurred, and he blinked quickly to right it.
A couple more blinks and he could see clearly. What he saw, however, was all wrong. Where was he? Since when was Ranboo sitting? The room was clearly underground, and there was the sound of lava bubbling nearby. Ranboo looked down and froze. What? He was clearly in the stronghold, based on the portal frame in front of him. Since when had someone decorated the stronghold? Were… were they using the portal frame as a table? What was going on? How did he even get here-
“-oo! Ranboo!”
He snapped his head up, and saw Phil sitting there. Was he responsible for this? Ranboo didn’t care if Phil outranked him, he would kill the man for messing with him like this! What did he even do? Had some sort of potion been used on Ranboo without him noticing?
“Are you alright mate?” Phil asked, as though this wasn’t his fault. Was he trying to fool Ranboo?
Not having this for a second, Ranboo snapped out: “Where am I! What did you do to me?”
Phil’s feathers ruffled a bit, and his face showed only concern. “You’re in the syndicate meeting room. We were in the middle of a meeting.”
Ranboo felt his brow furrow. Syndicate? Meeting? Anger gave way to confusion as Ranboo struggled to remember any mention of some sort of meeting.
Apparently noticing his lack of understanding, Phil gently said “Are your memory problems acting up again?”
Memory problems? How dare he insinuate something of the sort! Ranboo had a perfect memory thank you very much! He still had all of the Enderian court manners and customs perfectly memorized, despite having been exiled over a year ag-
No. He wasn’t going to think about that. It wouldn’t do to lose composure in front of Phil, especially not in the current situation.
“I don’t have memory problems, Philza.” He said, voice full of irritation.
“Bruh. His memory problems made him forget that he had memory problems. The irony.”
Ranboo startled at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Abruptly, he realized him and Phil weren’t the only people in this “meeting.” Sitting in once chair was Niki (who wasn’t even wearing a turtle helmet. Why wasn’t she in water? He didn’t see water anywhere, wouldn’t she suffocate?) In another was a person he didn’t recognize, presumably the source of the new voice. The man was a piglin, dressed in a light blue cape, head adorned with a golden crown. Some sort of nether royalty? Ranboo wasn’t aware of any piglin monarchies, but then again he wasn’t well versed in overworld or nether politics. He never thought he’d have to worry about it.
If the Piglin was some sort of royal, was this meant to be a meeting of royals? In that case, why was Niki here? Unless… was she some kind of merling royalty and he hadn’t known? It wouldn’t surprise him, they didn’t interact often because of her aquatic nature. Ranboo and water simply didn’t get along.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Phil’s voice once again. “Ranboo are you okay? You’re being a bit spacey.”
Ignoring Phil’s question, he turned his attention to the piglin. “Who are you? Why am I here? And why do you think I have memory problems?”
The look in the piglin’s eyes was distinctly concerned, though Ranboo had no idea why. He didn’t even know this man!
“Kid… It’s me. Techno. Your mentor?”
Mentor? Mentor for what? The only thing Ranboo could possibly need to be “mentored” in was overworld customs, and he had Tommy for that!
Never one to hold his tongue (-even when he really should have. Even when it got him exiled by his own mother-) Ranboo immediately voiced the thought. “Why would I need a mentor?”
The piglin -Techno, he supposed- looked hurt by that. But why? He didn’t even know the man! Techno didn’t reply, instead turning his head slightly away.
“Ranboo, I think you’ve forgotten some important things. Do you know where we are?” Niki asked.
There it was again! The assumption that Ranboo had memory problems!
…Did he?
Well… he didn’t know where he was or how he got here. He also didn’t recognize Techno, and based on the way the piglin had spoken Ranboo was clearly supposed to. How much time had Ranboo forgotten if he didn’t even remember his own memory issues. Oh god, this was so embarrassing. He must look like a fool right now. Bowing his head to hide his ashamed expression, Ranboo muttered a reply.
“No… I don’t know where we are. I didn’t even know I had memory problems.”
To Ranboo’s great relief, nobody laughed. Instead, Niki gently said: “That’s okay Ranboo. We’re in the Syndicate meeting room right now, like Phil said earlier. We were having a meeting to discuss Kinoko Kingdom.”
Syndicate? Kinoko Kingdom? How much had Ranboo forgotten! Ranboo felt incredibly uncomfortable. Apparently he had memory loss, and he’d forgotten several important things. How would this reflect on Enderia? (It wouldn’t. Ranboo was exiled. They wouldn’t claim his actions as a representation of their kingdom)
Choosing to avoid that line of thought, Ranboo hesitantly asked “Uh… What’s the syndicate?”
Usually Ranboo wouldn’t be caught dead sounding so weak, but given the circumstances he thought it to be justified. He just found out he had memory loss! He had apparently forgotten the entire syndicate, whatever that was! This was truly a terrible day for the ender prince.
“The syndicate is our little anarchist organization. We make sure corrupt governments can’t oppress people.” Techno answered with confidence.
…Anarchist!? How much had he forgotten! “Anarchist? Wh- I’m a prince! Why would I ever join an Anarchist group!”
Everyone in the room froze, staring at Ranboo with wide eyes. The combined weight of their gaze made the usually confident enderian shrink slightly. Had he just made a mistake?
“Ranboo… you’re a prince?”
…They didn’t know? That would explain the shock written across the features but… how? How would they not know? Niki and Phil interacted with him enough they had to be aware of his status. Right?
“Of course I am! Why else would I have this crown? Are you doubting me? Just because they exiled me doesn’t mean they took my title! I’m still the prince! I still matter-“ Ranboo abruptly clamped his mouth shut.
Shoot. He had not meant to say all of that… Once again he failed to keep his mouth closed. Phil and Niki didn’t know he’d been exiled. He had always told them that he was in the overworld on vacation. Would they think him a peasant now? Had he just (once again) ruined his reputation with too many words? He also hadn’t meant to get so emotional towards the end of his accidental rant. This was a disaster. He firmly decided to blame the distress of discovering his memory loss on the total loss of his composure.
He finally gained the courage to lift his gaze. He saw the three of them looking at him, not with disgust, but with sadness.
Phil placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Aw, mate… it’s alright…”
Why weren’t they mocking him? Throwing him out? Ranboo wasn’t one for needless displays of emotion but he found himself fighting tears. He hadn’t expected this kindness. Maybe these people… anarchists though they may be… were okay. Certainly they had to be if Ranboo chose to keep company with them! He didn’t give his precious time to just anyone. Making the decision to (somewhat) place his trust in them, he asked the question he’d been afraid to voice.
“So how much have I forgotten?”