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7 | Joy Of Remembrance

WC: 1938
Warnings: Hints at derealization, slight self-deprecation

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"He doesn't recognize us," Grian was telling Cleo a few minutes later. He'd immediately called her after what Ranboo had said—turns out she was heading to Scar's house anyway after she saw Ranboo's death message in chat. The two of them, plus Zedaph, now stood outside Larry's house.

Cleo glanced up at Larry, where Ranboo still was. "I don't understand. The void isn't supposed to erase your memory, is it?"

Zed shook his head. The poor guy had been dragging himself pretty hard for what had happened back in the Cave. "No. Back when I was studying the void, I never noticed anything like that happening."

"D'you think this has something to do with why he can't remember anything pre-Hermitcraft?" Grian asked.

"Maybe. I dunno," Cleo said. "Right now, I'm just worried we're not gonna be able to get his memories back and we'll have to start all over again."

On that depressing note, she climbed back up the ladder leading into Larry's shell. "I'm gonna go talk to him and see if I can jog his memory."

"What do you want us to do?" Zed called after her.

"Go tell Xisuma. He'll want to know about this." Cleo shut the door behind her before the other Hermits could ask any more questions.

--

Ranboo knew he should know where he was right now, but he didn't know why or how.

It was like he was grasping for something that was just out of his reach. He could see it, but he couldn't touch or grab it. Everything around him looked so familiar but for the life of him, he couldn't recall where he'd seen it all before. The gap in his memory was infuriating.

"...Ranboo?"

A woman with bright orange hair was pulling herself up the ladder. Her skin was an odd bluish-green color, but that didn't throw Ranboo off for whatever reason. She watched him with such familiarity that he was sure he should know her.

"...I know you, don't I?"

The woman frowned. "Yes. My name is Cleo. I'm one of your servermates here in Hermitcraft."

The names seemed to fall in place like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It was weird—Ranboo could place the names in his mind, but he didn't have the full context. Like, how did he know Cleo in the first place? How did he arrive in Hermitcraft? He knew the answers, somewhere in the back of his mind, but it's like there was a barrier preventing him from seeing more.

The fact that he had some kind of amnesia didn't surprise him, either. It was just another fact, like how his name was Ranboo, or how his hair was two-toned—black on the left and white on the right.

"Keep talking," he said. "It's like...the memories are coming back as you tell me more and more. Some sort of recall, I guess?"

So Cleo did.

She told him everything that had happened in the last few days, starting with how he had found himself stuck in a death loop by spawn. She told him about meeting Xisuma and how the admin had explained Ranboo was stuck in Hermitcraft for god knows how long. She explained that the room they were in right now was Scar's starter base, and how Grian had given him lessons on how to fly with an elytra. Finally, she'd explained how he'd fallen into the void, which was why he'd woken up back at Scar's base. Apparently, that's when he'd lost his memory.

As Cleo spoke, each detail clicked in Ranboo's mind right where it was supposed to go. Everything made sense. Having Cleo there was like having some kind of memory recall--a trigger to help bring back anything he'd forgotten.