Chapters are now linked to my user page!
Chapter featuring Alien, an OC by @Gacha xx Tuber
TWs for the chapter: Manipulation, trauma, memory loss, mild panic attack, weapons
TWs for this part: weapons, mentions of trauma
Chapter Five: You Can't Fight It (You Can't Breathe)
––˙𓆩𓂁𓂄𓆪˙––
Las Nevadas was quite a big nation.
Like, it was ginormous. As Ranboo looked on, he felt as if the capitol city would be half the size of the entire state of Snowchester.
Sighing, he thought about his little cabin for perhaps the thousandth time in the past two days. He missed it dearly, and longed to go back. But the whole trip, Dream had been completely silent. Maybe Ranboo was right.
He glanced at his friend next to him. "Ranboo from Snowchester, is this Las Nevadas?" Slimecicle asked excitedly. Even at night, Las Nevadas' bright lights illuminated all things around, rivaling the moon and stars.
"Yeah, it is," Ranboo replied softly, but felt giddy and more explosive than a block of TNT. He felt like the sparkling snow drink from Snowchester.
Snowchester again?
Ranboo sighed, before moving forwards again. Like always, Slime followed happily.
They had met about a day ago. Ranboo had seen a blobby green humanoid wearing a white suit, crying at the edge of a forest. He asked if Slime was alright, and the two became friends rather quickly.
Ranboo had explained he was heading towards Las Nevadas, and Slime asked to come along. Of course, Ranboo agreed, thinking he'd want the company, and that they could become friends. However, that proved to be much more difficult than originally thought.
It was hard having a friend when you've lived in solitude your entire life. Ranboo didn't really talk to anyone and kept conversations with merchants and townspeople to a minimum. Having a companion who wasn't weird and annoying (like Dream) was strange, albeit Ranboo was pleased by the easy friendship.
Ranboo teleported himself and Slime into the "town square," patiently waiting as Slime rushed around pointing out every single store, person, and plant. Lost in his thoughts, Ranboo didn't notice the new person approaching until Slime called out, "Look, Ranboo from Snowchester! A new friend!"
"Hello!" A small being cheered in a warbly, enchanting voice. Ranboo looked down. It was inconvenient, interacting with a shorter person when Ranboo was freakishly tall at over six and a half feet, and this new guy was about four feet tall.
Ranboo respectfully bent down. The good-natured fellow didn't seem to react, gushing an introduction. "Hi, I'm Alien! What's your name?" They didn't appear to be human, with pitch-black void eyes with question mark pupils set in unnaturally pale skin. A cute face was framed by neck-length black hair and bangs, half of the bangs a neon green. A bright cape was tied on their back.
"Uh, hey... I'm Ranboo."
"Where are you from, Ranboo and his friend?" Alien cocked their head at Slime, who had ran over to meet the new person.
"That's my buddy Slimecicle. I'm from Snowchester, and he's from L'Manberg."
"L'Manberg?" Alien's eyes widened. "What's it like there?"
"Very nice, I'm guessing," Slime announced proudly. Then the smile faded from his lips as he remembered an unpleasant memory.
"So uh," Ranboo broke in, shifting uncomfortably. "Do you know a place we could stay for a bit? Like, settle down, find a job?"
"Oh, I recommend the House of the Snowfall. Very good service. Oh, and, Ranboo B'Luvid? Portaler, correct?" Alien lowered their voice. It didn't occur to Ranboo until later that he had only told Alien his first name. "You might wanna watch out. People here are trying to catch you. You're kinda wanted here."
Chills ran down Ranboo's spine, "Me? What did I do?"
"Rumors say you work with Dream. He's kinda a baddie around here."
"Wait, but–"
Alien hastily backed up, a wide grin plastered on their face. "Nice meeting you, Ronnie!" they called, purposefully loud enough for others to hear. "Good luck!"
Ronnie? Dream? Wanted?
The words made Ranboo's head spin. Slimecicle didn't know what Alien was implying either. "Well," the optimistic slime announced cheerfully, "we can work on that later. For now let's try and find the House of the Snowfall!"
Ranboo peered at his map. "Okay, here it says to go west..."
––˙𓆩𓂁𓂄𓆪˙––
Ranboo wasn't sure what went wrong, but now he's being threatened by a netherite blade, and Slime was in a big tempered-glass box, looking very content and sitting waist-deep in water.
"Please don't hurt me," Ranboo pleaded.
"Sorry, it's my job," Iris dismissed coldly. At least, Ranboo thinks his name is Iris. That was what the tiny purple stitching on his armor read, anyway.
"Whatever you've been told, I'm not working for Dream. I hate that guy, actually. He bullies me and makes me sad."
"Do you know where he is?" Iris asked. When Ranboo shook his head, Iris tried other names. Apparently, he was also looking for Dream's companions: Ember, Daemon and Glitched. Ranboo had never heard of any of them before.
He was also searching for a mercenary named Áspro. "Wow, you're after quite a lot of people," Ranboo attempted to joke. Iris didn't find that funny, still glaring at him with that calculating look. Ranboo silently cursed himself, pondering what to do.
"Ranboo B'Luvid. Affiliated with Dream, also known as the Puppetmaster. Wanted in L'Manberg, Kinoko Kingdom, Logstedshire, and Las Nevadas for assault, thievery, arson, and murder." Iris paused, a deadly look in his vibrant purple eyes. "Sound familiar?"
Ranboo was horrified. "What? No! I am Ranboo B'Luvid, but I didn't do any of that! I haven't ever been to L'Manberg, or Kinky Kingdom, I haven't even heard of Logs-died-sure! You have the wrong guy."
"I'm going to have to take you in for questioning," Iris announced quietly. It was clear he didn't believe Ranboo, but the pressure of the blade decreased.
He grabbed Ranboo's forearms firmly, but not enough to hurt.
What did hurt was the sudden jolt of pain that flashed through his wrists. Ranboo yelped, his wrists snapping to each other. It felt like he had been mildly electrocuted. He found he couldn't pry his hands apart. "What the hell?"
"Electrical 'handcuffs'. They'll release when I allow it."
Ranboo came to the conclusion that Iris was a no-nonsense person. As he begrudgingly followed Iris, wrists cuffed together, he asked, "where are we going?"
"To the Syndicate," Iris replied curtly.
It also occurred to Ranboo that Iris didn't talk much.
"This is great, Ranboo from Snowchester! Iris from Las Nevadas is so nice!" Slime called from inside his box on wheels. A wide grin had taken over his face. Iris scoffed in acknowledgement to the comment, continuing to push the box in front of him.
––˙𓆩𓂁𓂄𓆪˙––
Thanks for so many pings :D
––•꒰ঌ ꨄ︎ ໒꒱•––
Next update on Monday?
