Falling From The Sky (Steampunk Ranboo AU)

Chapter 3

"Never caught your name, by the way," Alexander pointed out as he and Ranboo walked down the paths.

"It's Ranboo."

"Well, Ranboo, I have a feelin' that you'll fit right in with the others. In a good way, of course. They're all quite smart, just like yourself."

"Thanks, but I'm not... I'm not that smart."

"Nonsense, boy. Did you decide to go join the crazies?"

"No, but-"

"Ah ah. See, you didn't join the loonie bins, which makes you smart to me. A non-smart person would've gone and started poundin' and shoutin' with all of them." He jutted his thumb in the direction of the city's capital. "Ah, we're here!"

Ranboo turned around, looking at the building. It looked just like a normal house with the random slabs of metal, but they supposed they shouldn't have expected anything more. It's not like Alexander was going to show him a full on capital building.

"Alright, come on, Ranboo." Alexander waved the younger boy forward, and they walked into the house, looking around. "Hey, come on out, all of you!"

The first one to appear was a kid, looking to be around 12. "Hi, Alex! Ooh- Guys, we have a new person!" More people came out of their hiding spots, and Ranboo's eyes widened at the amount of them. "Hiya tall person, I'm Pip! Not a boy, not a girl, just a kid."

"Umm... Hey, Pip." Ranboo crouched down, shaking hands with the child.

"What's your name? Are you a boy or a girl? My mom used to say 'A boy looks like a boy and a girl looks like a girl' but I don't want to assume anything."

"I'm a boy," He told them, and Pip nodded.

"Alright Pip, scurry off. Let the others have a chance to meet them."

"Okay!" Pip bounced up, dodging people as they ran down the hallway.

"Alex, are you sure he's going to be a big help? They're all height, no muscle-" One woman started to say before getting nudged by the woman next to her.

"Don't be so mean! Hi, Ranboo. Sorry about my sister, she's a bit sassy."

Ranboo stood back up, shaking the woman's outstretched hand. "It's fine."

"I'm Amaryllis, my sister is Andromeda." Andromeda snorted, turning around and strutting away with her arms crossed. "Again, so sorry about her. I don't think she's had her fill of nitpicking yet." Amaryllis stepped back, bowing her head before leaving, apologizing once again and saying that she would go talk to her sister.

Ranboo met more people, including Rhys, a man with blonde hair, Vic, a person with dark brown hair and goggles, Seraphine, a red haired woman, and Elli, who was a person with green hair that they had apparently dyed themself.

"Well then, is that everyone that wants to be met?" There was a pause of silence. "Good that. Ranboo, I think it'd be best if you joined Pip in their room for your stay. It's at the very end of the hall and to the left, easy to find." They nodded, walking past the people and in the direction of the room.

"Pip?"

"Yes, Da- Oh, hey Ranboo. Are you gonna be my roommate?"

"It appears that way, yes." Pip raised an eyebrow, obviously confused by his wording. "Yes, Pip, I'm going to be your roommate," They clarified, and Pip jumped up.

"Ooh, this'll be fun! I can tell you all my stories, like..." Pip started rummaging in drawers, letting out a little 'Ah-ha' when they found what they were looking for. "Like this one!" Ranboo sat down as they handed him the drawing. "I think about this one a lot. It's a four legged beast, with a mane and tail and everything!" Ranboo brushed his fingers over the ink.

"Pip, this is... Wow."

"I know, I'm so great at drawing." Pip put their hands on their hips, striking a pose.

There was a knock on the open door, and Ranboo turned around. "Hey, Ranboo. There's a meeting right now that you can go to. You'd be able to help brainstorm, if that's your fancy. If not, you can just sit back and relax." Ranboo stood up, nodding, and Pip grabbed his arm.

"Please don't leave! I'm only starting, I have so many other stories to tell!"

"Can't you go to the meeting?"

"No, Alex says I'm too 'young and innocent'." Pip crossed their arms. "It's so unfair, I wanted to join so I could help, and nobody's letting me! I'm just sitting here, being useless little Pip."

Ranboo kneeled down, brushing Pip's slipping tears away with his thumbs. "What if I talk to Alex, see if he'll let you join?" Pip sniffled, nodding. "Alright, kiddo, I'll make sure that I do that. Why don't you draw some more in the meantime, make some more stories?" Pip gave them another nod, sitting down before Ranboo left the room with the man that he recognized now as Rhys.

"Ranboo my boy, so glad you could join us!" There were about 20 to 30 people in the large room, sitting on chairs, the floor, or leaning against the walls, while Alexander was standing in the middle of the room. "Alright, anybody got any ideas to start with?"

"Well, what if we tried a sheet parachute?" Somebody who Ranboo hadn't met suggested.

"Good idea, good i-"

"Wait, so you all just think of anything?" Ranboo asked.

"Ye-"

"How do you test it? How do you know if it works?"

"Well, we usually test it from a rooftop," Alexander answered.

Ranboo blinked, taking a deep breath. "So you test it from a short distance, then. We don't know how much of a drop it is from here to whatever is down there, but come on, it definitely isn't a short one. What works from a rooftop to the ground probably won't work from above the clouds to down there."

"What do you suggest then?" Andromeda snapped, her arms crossed just like earlier. "This is our best chance."

"Maybe it is, maybe it's not. Look, you have 100 members, give or take. There's less than half of that total here. Why not let more people help?"

"And who is going to be that helpful than the people we already have, tall guy?"

"Pip," Ranboo blurted out, and Andromeda bursted into laughter.

"The kid? Come on, you haven't known them for an hour yet and you're already putting your trust in them."

"Do you have a better idea? How do you know what they're capable of, what they can do if given the chance?"

"Come on, get your head out of your ass. Pip is a child, not an adult, a child. What can a child do that we can't?"

"Maybe they can't do anything, but at least give them a chance." He moved his gaze from her and looked around the room, feeling unfairly exposed. "How do you know what someone can do if you don't give them a chance?"

Alexander leaned forward, staring at Ranboo. "You hold a compellin' argument, Ranboo." He turned to Rhys. "Rhys, go get Pip."

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Oh my goodness is that another upload from me? Yes, yes it is.

Pip, AKA my favorite character, appeared, woo!!! What do you all think about them?

Literally said to River in dms that I wouldn't upload it but all that time I was joking 🤭 Bet I fooled you, didn't I, Onion?

Anyways make sure to eat something and drink water, also be on the lookout for another chapter because I'm on a roll with these right now. Should I probably be doing my schoolwork instead? Yes. Do I care? No.

Bye!!!