Content warning: this chapter depicts verbal abuse, depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior

Please be careful when reading and feel free to stop anytime if you need to. I appreciate you guys, so please stay safe.


Time comforted Memory, helped him calm down, and convinced him to eat more. Eventually, Time left the dimension and Memory fell asleep again.

After an indiscernible amount of time (he didn't want to know how long), Memory woke up with a groggy mind, somehow feeling more exhausted. He didn't want to wake up, but he also needed something to do. Barely opening his eyes, he felt around the bedside table until he found the soft flowers. He dragged one closer and commanded it to project the memory. He skimmed the memory before dismissing the flower and grabbing another one.

Soon, he tossed all the flowers away. Without sitting up, he lifted a hand and summoned a brand new flower. The new flower entered the room like a ghost and hit like solid matter into his hand. He remembered all the flowers embedded into the walls and cursed at himself. Why did he always realize too late that this room was going to become more unkept after every new flower? Why couldn't he think things through?

He had struggled to think or feel anything. The flowers had been doing the thinking for him, being his only source of "entertainment."

Memory peered into the new flower. It showed a memory of him listening to Void, who seemed more intimidating than usual. "So you don't want to do what I say and erase the Elder's memories?" Void challenged. "You don't want to make this Elder forget to send reinforcements against Nightmare's rebellion, ruining Elemental's brilliant plan? Tch, I thought you were the only Steve I could count on."

Memory felt sick. He remembered how Void finally persuaded him to attack the Elder Steve. This was his memory, right in front of his eyes, and he couldn't believe he had tricked himself into thinking he was happy then. He was familiar with Void's words and how he used them for the purpose of discipline. But now, Memory saw them for what they truly were: manipulation. Spoken weapons to make him afraid to be himself.

He needed to know what else he missed.

He summoned another flower and viewed another memory of listening to Void. Void's cold words took hold of Memory's mind. Not only did they make him feel as powerless as he felt generations ago, but they reminded him of his failure to see the red flags.

What happened to all those Steves Memory hurt because of Void?

He needed to know.

Despite how much it hurt him.

He summoned more flowers, watching his terrible past unfold. What became of the Steves after he stole their leaders' memories? What other evil orders did Void give him?

Memory saw himself be yelled at Void and grimaced. He forgot this was a distant memory and he trembled. He refused to look away because a furious question in his mind demanded to be answered. Was hurting those Steves for your father worth it?

The answer to that question was pounding in his head, but Memory kept looking at more flowers, submerging himself in hate, shame, and pain. Finally, he snapped and sobbed into his pillow. The crying made the answer drill deeper into his skull.

No, it wasn't worth it.

...He watched the memories again after cooling down.

This wasn't the first time he went through this cycle, yet he didn't learn a thing. All this hatred and pain lingered like a hangover, but he kept viewing the memories. What he was trying to find in them? Hope? Justice? Whatever it was, he didn't find it and instead always found anguish. But he kept searching and searching, unsure if he was looking for something that wasn't there or for a new reason to hate himself.

Regardless, he kept doing it. Not like he had anything better to do.

Nothing he ever did was good.


Memory woke up again. His head was heavy from the groggy sea of thoughts it was carrying, and his chest felt pressed down from all the anguish. In his dreams, he had been reliving a particularly horrible memory of Void berating him, and the stinging words still lingered.

He clamped his head. No, don't think about him or what he said that night. He could vividly see his father's furious expression. Stop thinking about it! He wanted to break free, but if crying and sleeping didn't help, how could he get his mind off of Void?

Memory turned to the flowers on the bedside table. He grabbed one certain gray flower and commanded it to project the memory. It projected a hologram of him and Illusion ordering cookies from that Blue Steve village.

Memory smiled, the last of his apprehension vanishing. He rested on his side and pressed the flower to his face. He felt like he was reliving the entire experience.

He cherished his time with Illusion. When Reality took care of him when he was injured. When Reality saw him with his tinted glasses and got goofily excited. For some reason, he viewed the memory with the cookies so many times. This was a rare moment where he decided to see these cherished memories instead of the awful ones. During these moments, a small part of him told him that he had been through so much, and the least he could do was take a break and look back at the only positive impact he made on someone.

He watched the memory for the fourth time, and then guilt struck him. How could he mope here when Illusion was in the Overworld lost and suffering? He didn't know how long he had been in his dimension, but he felt ashamed for every theoretical hour he had wasted, denying Illusion his memories.

Memory grumbled, criticizing his selfishness, and crushed the flower, causing the hologram to disappear. He hated that he was still reluctant to move. The guilt wallowed in his chest, and when he remembered his overgrown bedroom and all of the flowers staring back at him, the remorse grew heavier.

He sat up and began listing every single thing he had to do. Take a shower, get dressed, clean up the room, undo all his mistakes. The list accumulated, and it nearly made him fall back into his pillow.

"Maybe having something to look forward to will help you out."

Memory felt a faint spark of energy, but that immediately died. He badly wanted to see Illusion and be with him again, but he knew it wasn't possible with Illusion's current state. How could Memory look forward to something that wasn't here yet?

He gloomily scanned his room, and his gaze paused on his aromantic and asexual flags, which somehow remained untouched by flowers. He remembered how Reality excitedly rushed up to them.

Another spark of energy ignited, and this time, it didn't die.

Memory rummaged through his bedside table's drawer until he found the item he needed. Although Illusion didn't remember their friendship, Memory was going to see him and pick up from where they left off, before he felt even worse about himself.


Memory brought his dimension forward in time by six days. When Time Steve last visited Memory, he had repeatedly told him that the backup machine would start duplicating memories on Day Six of the project. So when Memory was ready to return to the Overworld, he had to arrive on that sixth day. Memory didn't understand why he had to come at a specific time. But after everything Time had done for him, he wouldn't dare disobey his cousin's order.

Memory teleported to the forest near the Illusion Town. Although he was wearing his mask, he winced at the blue sky that he hadn't seen in so long. After recovering from the bright light, he tugged on his coat one more time. He was wearing his most comfortable suit, which he had put on after detangling his hair and taking a shower. He had debated about wearing a breathable turtleneck instead of a shirt and tie, but ultimately decided the latter was worth it. He liked the idea of being "tie twins" with Illusion, even though his cousin wouldn't feel the same way.

Memory headed to the Illusion Town. At the entrance, Alex was waiting for him with an eager but concerned smile. "It's great to see you again, Memory! How are you doing?"

He gave a polite bow. "I'm doing...well. Thank you for the letter. It meant a lot to me." He wished he could say more. He had reread Alex's letter several times. He never wrote back, but he wanted her to know how much he appreciated her kindness. To think that we were once enemies.

"No problem!" Alex responded. "Why don't you follow me into the Town?"

She led Memory to the center of the Town, where Sabre and Galaxy were adjusting the machine connected to the Illusion Tree. Their machine had become a trio of connected containers. There was so much redstone wiring surrounding it, that the back half of the Town had become a labyrinth of redstone dust and blocks.

Sabre was placing even more redstone down, eyes fixed to the ground. He looked up and noticed Memory, causing both of them to flinch. Alex gave an gentle squeeze on Memory's shoulder and a serious look at Sabre.

Sabre forced on a smile. "Oh hey, Memory! You doing ok?"

Memory shrunk back. "Umm, I'm fine. How is the machine?"

"It's good to go. Yesterday, I gave Galaxy my account and we did a test run. He disconnected from the server for 10 minutes!" Sabre clung to his heart and wheezed. "Those were the slowest 10 minutes of my life. I currently have my account, but tomorrow I'm giving it to Galaxy, and we're going to rescue Elemental."

"I'm pleased to hear that..." Why was it hard to feel excited? He should feel happy that his cousin was going to be rescued.

"Yeah..." Despite the blindfold, Sabre was clearly darting his gaze around; the twitching near his mouth and cheeks gave it away. "...When will you return my world's memories?" He finally blurted out.

Memory stiffened, a wave of guilt crashing down on him. Alex glared at Sabre.

Memory was saved by thunder, because after that, Time teleported nearby and ran up to the three. "You came!" He gave his cousin a side hug. "I'm glad you're here! Sabre, I'll work with Memory on the machine that will deliver your world's memories back. Please be a bit more patient."

Sabre groaned. "Fine. But please do something soon!"

Alex gave the cousins a thumbs up and gestured Sabre away.

"Can we see Illusion?" Memory asked Time, before feeling awkward. "I mean, unless you need me to help with the machine first, since that's obviously more important. Whatever you want to do first works for me."

Time chucked. "No, let's visit Illusion first. You came a few hours earlier than I expected, so the machine isn't ready yet."

"Oh, sorry for coming early, or umm..." When was coming earlier a bad thing? Maybe it's only bad when I do it.

"Don't worry about it. Ready to go to the Time Dimension?"

"Actually, before we go..." Memory scoped around the Town and spotted Galaxy, who was by the machine adjusting a redstone repeater. Galaxy paused and looked up, meeting Memory's gaze. He didn't seem terrified but his expression was flat. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Galaxy nodded a greeting, his flat expression unchanging.

...It was a start.


Yellow light engulfed Memory and Time, causing Memory to wince. Eventually, the light fractured and morphed into an endless hallway lined by magma walls and clock-shape portals.

Memory gawked, mentally counting all the portals he could see. To others, the portals may look identical, but Memory recognized the unique scratches, dents, and lopsided features of each portal. Like the portal to his left. Like the others, the portal had Roman numerals bordering the inside of its circular frame, but Memory knew that the 2nd hour's symbol was actually the outline of a tall cup instead of "II." The cup symbol reminded him of generations ago, when he and Time stole cocoa beans from Galaxy and snuck back to the Time Dimension to make hot chocolate. Adjacent to that portal was another portal with smaller clock shapes swirling inside of its pale entrance rather than Nether swirls. Memory remembered being a child staring at that portal for hours, trying to count every single clock in that portal; he remembered feeling sleepy after counting past 80, and the next thing he knew, he was tucked in Time's bed, which was huge and had a frame that looked like a steampunk car. Child Memory was too excited to be in Time's cool bed, that he forgot to feel angry about losing his count.

Memory turned away from the portals to compose himself, feeling his eyes become teary.

Time took off his mask and gave a soft smile. "For a long time, I've only seen this dimension as a place of work. But after regaining my memories, I see this dimension differently. Every corner, every room, every block now has meaning, a story behind it. This place feels like home again."

Memory looked at Time in disbelief. He was used to being described as a burden or someone to be feared. His presence turning a place into a home was something he never imagined himself to be capable of.

"I created a new room for Illusion, so you won't recognize the place. Follow me." Time led Memory through the long hallway.

"So how is Illusion doing?" Memory asked. "Not just with his memories, but with his wellbeing. Since Galaxy's back, Illusion is bound to his father again, and I'm worried about how that's affecting him."

"Let's talk about Galaxy first then," Time explained. "He mostly feels fine since he's happy to be with his friends again. When Galaxy's in that state, Illusion doesn't seem to be bound by him. Illusion stays home, and it's like the old days when I took care of him in Galaxy's head. But sometimes, when Galaxy's upset and feels like he hasn't done enough, Illusion gets antsy and tries to sneak out, also believing he has to do something. When he's like that, he obsesses over figuring out what's upsetting Galaxy."

"Have you done anything to help them?"

"Galaxy can only help himself, but I tried to help Illusion by keeping him here, in a plane of existence where Galaxy isn't present. Illusion's calmer when he stays here, but it's not perfect. This is the Time Dimension, which is connected to Galaxy's energy, so Illusion still stresses about Galaxy's wellbeing at times. I try to keep the dimension as isolated from Galaxy as possible, and that seems to ease Illusion."

Memory realized another question he hadn't considered yet. "Have the two even met?"

"No, actually. They obviously know each other, but haven't met face-to-face, since Galaxy has been busy helping Sabre, and Illusion has been in my dimension ever since you found him. I'm hesitant to introduce him to his father because he needs to be isolated from Galaxy's connection."

Time and Memory arrived at a cobblestone-framed portal that Memory's never seen before. They stepped through it and arrived in a huge open room with cobblestone walls. Closest to the entrance were a kitchen, a dining table, and a workshop with crafting tables and furnaces. The other side of the room was a lounge, with couches to divide the area from the rest of the room and bookshelves occupying the corner.

Memory tensed and peered over his shoulder to see if the portal they went through was still there. "There are no windows in this room."

"Oh, sorry!" Time snapped his fingers. Four 2x2 glass panes appeared on the walls, pushing some furniture and wall décor away. The windows revealed the open white space of the Time Dimension, and Memory relaxed.

Between the kitchen and the lounge was a door. Time headed to the door and knocked on it. "Illusion, come out. We have a guest!"

"People?!" Illusion said through the other side of the door. "Why?!"

Time groaned. "What are you doing in there that's more important than saying 'hi' to someone?"

"I'm having me time."

"Is that 'me time' just you sitting in the corner with a grumpy expression all day again?"

"...No!"

"Listen, we won't work on the machine until you come out and spend some time with us. You have to enjoy life a bit, you know!"

"We live in the Time Dimension, where time is valuable but also worthless! Your threats of not working on the machine hold nothing against me!"

Memory looked away. Wow, Time had to deal with two shut-ins during all this? Suddenly, everything Time did to help him through his depression added a new level of admiration and guilt to Memory's jumbled mess of emotions.

"Actually wait, I'm hungry," Illusion said. "But the food is out there and I'm in here. I did not think that through...Ok, fine! I'll come out, but only because I need a snack and I have no other choice." The door swung open, and Illusion hopped out with a sour expression. "Hello! Make yourself at – " He froze when he saw Memory, who nearly yelped. Illusion stared for a while, all his previous irritation gone, and sighed. "Hey, Memory." There was no affection in that gaze.

Memory slowly bowed. "Hello. How are you?"

"Well, there's a roof over my head and nothing's currently demanding my attention, so I can't complain, thank you." Illusion looked down with a pondering expression, one hand on his hip and the other tapping on the doorframe.

Memory awkwardly stepped out of the way. "The kitchen, correct? What are you in the mood to eat?"

Time answered, "I got him into salmon jerky when he learned that I had a dehydrator."

The three headed to the kitchen. Illusion sat at the dining table, slouching, while Time gathered ingredients from a chest. Unsure of who he should stay near, Memory stood in an open space between the two, reaping none of the benefits of being next to either cousin and all of the suffering of feeling out of place.

He watched Illusion tap his fingers impatiently against the table. When Illusion noticed him, Memory gave a small smile, but he realized his mask was on. He awkwardly tilted his head in a way to suggest the friendly expression. When did communicating through a mask become so hard?

"So..." Illusion dropped his gaze before looking back up with an amused smile, pointing at Memory's chest. "Tie twins."

Memory gasped and pointed at Illusion's gradient tie. "Yes, tie twins!" He noticed!

"Yes!"

Time, he noticed! Memory wanted to scream.

"No one here appreciates dressing properly, so I'm glad you're here," Illusion said.

"Oh, well, thank you. I've always liked your style as well."

Illusion inspected his coat's puzzle-patterned lining. "Thanks, though I don't understand why I look like this and what this is supposed to mean."

"Well, some Steves are lost with meaning and trying to understand why..." Memory stepped closer. Illusion didn't seem annoyed by that, so Memory braced himself and sat next to Illusion. His young cousin stubbornly fixed his gaze on the table, but it was clear that he was uncertain of what to say rather than refusing to talk.

"So, has Time restored your memories?"

Illusion sighed. "Ok, I get that you're supposed to be important to me, but I don't understand how nor feel ready to trust you."

"What do you remember?"

"I know everything that's relevant, but I'm still unconvinced that I truly went through all that. When I think about those flashbacks Time gave me, they feel like weird dreams, an engaging story, or someone else's history, but not my memories."

Memory gulped. "Do you still see me as an enemy?"

Illusion pondered for a bit. "Not enemies. I'd like to say that I trust you, but I know your past. What we apparently went through together is not enough to convince me yet." He gave an apathetic shrug. "Sorry if you were expecting a different answer."

Memory looked down sadly. He longed to talk to the Illusion he knew, but the Steve in front of him was reluctant to enter a friendly conversation. It was like talking to a stranger.

Having to call Illusion a stranger pained him more than he thought it would.

Time set a plate of salmon jerky on the table. "Here."

Illusion responded by silently munching on a piece of jerky.

With no one talking, the room was too quiet. Memory should have been used to it, but this silence made him want to leave.

No. If he had up and left right now, he would have returned to the equally quiet Memory Dimension. It wasn't the silence that was bothering him. It was the fact that he didn't know how to break it.

He was supposed to be making Illusion's time worthwhile. But he worried that Illusion was as antsy about this silence as he was. He worried that Illusion was regretting this moment. Memory certainly would hate it if people watched him eat. What was that spark that somehow got Illusion to eat cookies with Memory in the past? The spark that made Illusion realize that opening up to Memory wasn't a mistake?

What could Memory do, at this moment, to make Illusion not regret coming out to see him?

He remembered the item he had in his inventory. He was nervous about how abrupt this conversation would be, but it was worth a try.

Illusion looked up from his snack, giving Memory a disinterested expression. "What do you want?"

"I'd like to show you something." Memory took an aromantic pin out of his inventory and gave it to his cousin.

Illusion studied the pin. "I remember seeing these colors."

Memory smiled underneath his mask. "Do you remember us bonding over this?"

"I remember I had to nurse you back to health, but not much of it. What else did we do?"

"This is the aromantic flag, and we bonded over our shared experience of being aromantic."

As his fingers traced the pin's five stripes, Illusion's expression glowed. "I remember. I remember that this is me! Now I understand why I wanted to barf every time I read those books that had kissing when I was a kid."

Time perked up. "Is this, like, accepting your past as your memories?"

"No, but this might be one of the few flashbacks I felt something about."

Memory smiled more. "That sounds wonderful." He glanced at Time, and he knew they were thinking the same thing. If he still has his pride in aromanticism, and remembering that made him accept some of his memories as true, then is there a way to make him accept more of his memories?

"What even is this?" Illusion inspected the pin and flipped it around. "I know it's the aromantic flag, but what is it on?" He touched the backside of the pin, making the needle unlatch from its safety net.

Memory flinched. "It's a pin. Don't touch the sharp end."

Illusion quickly set the pin down.

Memory felt another spark of energy ignite. "Time, may I go to your haven and get some paint supplies at the community center?"

"Well, if no one else is using it and you put it back there after you're done, sure."

Memory beamed. "Thank you." He teleported to the haven and grabbed the supplies he needed. He teleported back to the Time Dimension on the same spot, startling Time and Illusion.

"I conveniently found some blank pins too!" Memory cheered.

"You inconveniently scared the living daylights out of me!" Illusion snapped, trying to calm down and fix his posture.

Memory was flustered. "Oh, my apologies." He set the supplies down. "Illusion, would you like me to teach you how to make your own pride pin, which you can keep and wear?"

"Really?!" Illusion gasped. "You'd do that?" Then he looked downtrodden. "Actually, what's the point of making something that's only for decorative purposes? A decoration serves no use for me."

Memory looked down in defeat.

Time jumped in. "I'd like to make an asexual pin. It would make me happy, and Galaxy loves seeing his family happy."

Illusion's eyes sparked with inspiration. "Well, if that's the case, I'll be capable of doing an activity like that." He turned to Memory. "Teach me, and tell me more about this aromantic thing."

Memory poured paint onto a palette. "So, being aromantic is why you hate books about kissing. What else do you know about your past that made you realize you were aromantic?" He had already talked about this back when Illusion was Reality. But he was happy to talk about it again. He'd had a hundred conversations on the same topic if Illusion wanted to. He'd have the same conversation over and over again if that meant he could be in Illusion's company.

Finally, a nice conversation. No schemes. No worries. Just a simple chat.

Maybe this friendship could be saved.

"I regularly analyze this world to find ways to make it better for Galaxy Steve," Illusion said. "I've seen so many bizarre thoughts of Steves and what they believe will make the world better. Like, find a partner and love will solve all your problems. Did this world learn nothing? It always needs more than one hero to fix stuff!"

Memory shrugged. "It's because they think love is different. Special. I used to worry I was missing out on life because people kept treating love as extraordinary."

"Did they get into your head?"

"They made me believe I was repressing my emotions and holding back. They told me I was just scared to try something new like I always was. So I did try to date with help from my old friends. I used to identify as something else besides aroace. I didn't care about what gender someone was, because I felt the same way about them all, so I thought I was bi, and then pan. But after all the lukewarm dates, it turned out my attraction for multiple genders was actually a lack of attraction for all genders, and I couldn't force myself to date because I didn't want to. I knew my nervousness to talking to people was awful, but the dread of kissing or holding hands with someone felt like hell. Even though I knew I didn't want to date anymore, I always worried I was doing something wrong."

Illusion crossed his arms. "Well, I think there's nothing wrong with not wanting a partner. Everyone should be able to spend their lives however they want. I hope I get that freedom to choose my own life one day."

"Well, you do have the freedom to choose which color to paint first." Memory handed Illusion a palette of white, black, yellow, and green paint.

Illusion squinted at the blob of green paint and then back at the aro pin. "This paint matches neither shade of green on the flag."

"Use yellow or white to get the right color."

Illusion took a paintbrush and attempted to mix a bit of yellow and white into the green, but it ended up too pale. "This is going to take forever!"

Time, who finished pouring paint for himself, said, "I can help. I looked into the future and saw all the possible ways to mix the exact shade of green you want."

"How do you know it's the exact green I want?"

"I grew up with Memory and helped him express himself. I'll know if it's the correct green. Do you want my help or not?"

Illusion sighed. "Yes, please."

Time used his paintbrush to scoop a certain amount of white and yellow onto the green paint. Illusion mixed the colors, and they morphed into the light green he wanted. He gasped and his eyes widened. "Green!"

Time faced Memory. "Do you want any of my paint for an asexual pin?"

"I appreciate it, but I don't need to paint. I'll just help Illusion."

Illusion began painting, focusing so hard to make sure the stripe of light green was perfect. When he completed the line, he gave a huge sigh of relief and began the black stripe.

Memory continued, "I know you're looking forward to a future where you have freedom. Are you able to visualize that future?"

"Sort of. Since Galaxy's currently at ease, I have a little bit of my freewill. I definitely don't want to find a partner. And after all the nonsense I apparently experienced in my past, I don't wanna wither away constantly working for someone else. I want to become a self-sustaining, independent person, so I want to learn important skills, like cooking, and how to take care of injuries instead of putting an illusion over them."

"You want to learn cooking?" Time interrupted. "But when I ask you to help me cook meals for everyone, you always complain and say you're busy."

Illusion glared. "If I want to cook for myself, I'll learn it by myself!"

Memory muffled down a laugh.

Illusion returned his attention to Memory. "What about you? What's your aromantic dream future?"

Memory pondered. He already knew he was nonamorous and that he'd like to spend his future hanging out with friends and family whenever he wanted. But for a long time, his future was the opposite of what Illusion wanted. Illusion didn't want to work for anyone, but Memory had thought his future was being a better servant for Void. And ever since that night, there had been a hole where his ideal future used to be. Part of all of his pain – the tugging of the chain – came back to the fact that he didn't know what to do anymore.

"I would like to be with friends and family," he answered. "I never liked how some people abandoned their friends after finding a romantic partner, because I want to cherish my friends." I made a similar mistake by thinking I couldn't be Illusion's friend anymore when he decided to become good.

"Well, I hope you're able to live the life you want," Illusion said, not looking up from painting the next green line.

Memory flinched. Why are you saying that? Like you're assuming you won't be part of my life?

Memory got up. "I'll be back in a moment. Illusion, I suggest going over the pin with a second coat of paint after you're done with the first."

Illusion nodded. "Thank you."

Memory left the room and returned to the long hallway. He sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. He thought he was getting somewhere. He saw how much Illusion wanted to talk with him about the aromantic experience. But when Memory talked about himself, Illusion grew distant.

He thought bonding with Illusion over being aromantic was the key, but it wasn't enough to rekindle the past friendship they had. Although the backup machine was still an option, Memory couldn't help but feel upset. Upset that his companionship wasn't enough to help Illusion remember. Maybe Illusion being unable to remember was proof that Memory wasn't good enough to deserve him as a friend.

What if he didn't even like me before he lost his memories? Maybe Illusion only saw him as useful. And after learning Memory's goal to bring back Void, maybe Illusion kept him around because he was more concerned about stopping Void than spending time with Memory. What if Illusion saw that as a burden, not a friendship? And now that Memory no longer planned to bring back Void, would Illusion have a reason to stay around someone who caused him so many inconveniences?

Honestly, could they rebuild their friendship? Illusion helped Memory realize Void's true colors, but it was technically Illusion who acted out horribly to reveal that truth. Memory badly wanted to reunite with his best friend, but he also felt uneasy being near the same person who acted out Void's personality with great accuracy.

What if him being so eager to talk to Illusion was a bad thing? What if he was repeating the same mistake, going from one manipulative villain to another? He was unable to recognize the signs of Void's abuse until it was too late. What if it was the same with Illusion's friendship?

Was he unsafe around Illusion? Was Illusion a monster? And was Memory failing to see the signs because...he was a monster too?

Time stepped out of the portal and sat next to Memory. "You alright?"

"...yes," Memory lied, not wanting to worry Time.

"Well, whatever you are feeling, helping Illusion will make you feel better. He wants your help again with the pin"

"Alright, I'll come back soon."


"Aaaaand done!" Illusion gave the black stripe a final coat of paint. He carefully lifted the pin and showed it to Memory. "Well?"

Memory grinned. "It's perfect."

Illusion beamed. "This is the proudest I've felt about something I've done, with my own hands!" He showed it to Time. "Time, look at this mastery of art if I do say so myself."

Time applauded. "Great work!"

Illusion got out of his seat. "I'll put it in my room!"

"Actually," Memory quickly said. "You should wait for the paint to dry before you take it anywhere. I don't want your hard work to get ruined."

Illusion placed the pin back on the table. "Oh, you're right. Thank you for making sure my arduous time and effort don't go to waste." He turned to Time. "Umm, Time, can you do the...you know." He spun his finger around in a clockwise motion and whispered, "whoosh, forward."

Time shook his head. "No shortcuts allowed. You'll have to wait for the paint to dry naturally."

"Why?! What reason do you have to force me to wait like a normal person?!"

Time got up to fetch his baked potato from a furnace. He sprinkled butter, cheese, and diced vegetables over his potato. "Patience is a good thing. If everything came without waiting, the reward wouldn't be as satisfying." He then looked at his steaming hot potato and whispered, "Forward." The steam from the potato reduced. Looking back at Illusion, he said, "Not everything is going to be solved quickly, so you need patience to handle those situations."

Illusion threw his hands up. "But that wisdom is for, like, dealing with people, not dealing with something you do for fun!" He pouted and turned his back against Time, who began eating his potato.

Memory patted Illusion's shoulder in sympathy, but Illusion shook him off. Memory felt dismayed. My painting idea wasn't enough to make him happy. No: he's upset, but not at me. Determined to comfort Illusion again, he said, "We can do something else while you wait for the paint to dry."

Illusion hovered his hands over the pin. "But what if I leave the pin unguarded and someone messes it up while I'm doing something else?"

"There's no one else here." Memory playfully punched his open hand and wrapped the fist firmly. "But if someone ruins your work, they'll have to talk to me. Say, doesn't the machine that restores memories still need to be worked on? Why don't you explain to me how it works?"

Illusion's eyes lit up. "You know, I'd be happy to!"


The three Steves entered a room adjacent to the previous one. The new room was also lined with cobblestone walls. However, instead of furniture, the room had one big machine in the center, made out of illusion blocks and hooked up to a redstone circuit.

"Here's the machine," Time introduced. "I found it in a hidden room back in Illusion's cottage, and I managed to teleport the entire thing here."

"While I'm here..." Illusion circled the machine. "Let me solve that thing that's holding it back from being completed."

Memory looked shocked. "Wait – "

"Go, Illusion, go!" Time encouraged. "If you've fixed the other problems with the machine, you can fix this one too!"

Memory glared at Time. "Wait, you sneak! You didn't figure out how the machine worked. You just let Illusion play around with it and watched him do all the work!"

Time didn't look apologetic. "I was hoping that working on the machine would trigger his memories. But yeah, I knew he could figure out the machine faster than I could."

Illusion knelt down and tweaked the redstone circuit. The machine made a humming noise, causing him to gasp gleefully. "It's finally complete!"

Memory gave Time a final disappointed frown before smiling at Illusion. "So how does this machine work?"

Illusion pointed at the machine, doing a double-take to make sure everyone was paying attention. "So you want to create backups of your memories, which means you have to enter the machine. The machine will quickly scan your memories using my power." He looked over his shoulder with a sympathetic expression. "I know you don't like closed spaces, so I modified the machine to become an open space that doesn't immobilize you."

Memory saw that the center of the machine wasn't a chamber, but instead an iron platform surrounded by four illusion block pillars. He should have felt relief, but worries were filling his mind. Why would Illusion go through the effort of creating an open space for him? He thought Illusion couldn't care about him without his memories, and that Illusion secretly hated him anyways if he had his memories.

Memory worried he was making another mistake, that there was some danger he couldn't see because he couldn't tell the difference between friendliness and hostility.

Illusion continued, "As long as you stay on that platform, the machine will work, and copies of your memories will be created here." He pointed to a chest that was hooked to the machine. He opened the chest, revealing it was filled with rows of clay pots, each stuffed with a small illusion block. When Memory nodded in understanding, Illusion got more excited.

"How will those illusion blocks create the backup memories?" Memory asked.

"Great question! The machine will analyze the memories and send the information to the illusion blocks. The illusion blocks will transform into a replica of the memories. They'll turn into flowers because that's apparently what memories look like. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Indeed. It's truly fascinating how well our powers work together." Memory actually knew how the machine worked the moment he saw the chest (despite his anxiety being unconvinced), but it was worth asking to give Illusion a thoughtful listener and a chance to show off.

Illusion perked up, a familiar, arrogant gleam in his eyes. "Yeah! I don't remember building this machine, so I had to relearn the process. I guess past me did a great job designing it, because it only took me a few moments to figure out how it worked."

This was almost like before: joining their powers together, comforting each other, and encouraging each other. Except this time, there was no evil scheme to work on, which should be a good thing. But what was next? Memory wasn't sure how to befriend Illusion if they didn't have a common evil plan to work towards. What were they supposed to do to be friendly?

He again feared that nothing they could do would save this friendship. That maybe they shouldn't be friends, and that Illusion didn't want him around anymore. All the more reason why he wouldn't actually make the machine safe for me.

Time whispered something to Illusion, who nodded and faced Memory again. "I like getting stuff done, and you came all the way here to create backups, so let's not waste any more time. But first, are you alright with entering the machine?"

Memory snapped out of his thoughts and became anxious. It's not a chamber. It's not a chamber. He forced himself to take a deep breath. "How...how long will it take to back up the memories?"

"Only a moment. A quick moment," Illusion answered.

Memory did a double-take at Illusion.

Time chimed in, "That's very short, compared to our long lifespans!"

Memory glanced at the machine again, but he still felt tense.

Illusion sighed and softened his expression. "Hey, would you like me to use my powers to calm your emotions? It might ease your worries about entering the machine."

Memory mulled over the idea. Do I want him to use his powers on me? It would help me if I take the chance. But what if I get tricked? What if when I step into that machine, it's the end of me? The end of all my chances to fix everything I've ruined.

"Well?" Illusion asked.

Memory bottled down his panic. "I'd-I'd like that. Thank you." He only said that because he feared that Illusion sensing his distrust would have led to a worse situation.

"Great!" Illusion stepped aside and gestured to the machine. "Let's get started."

Memory internally screamed. If he had known that answering Illusion would have led him closer to the machine, he would have said nothing.

He was still worried, but a tense weight rose off his shoulders as he finally stepped into the machine. He nodded to Illusion, a brief moment of trust. Illusion nodded back and activated the machine. Thunder surrounded him as a new energy entered his mind.

Soon, the thunder ceased. "Done!" Illusion shouted.

Memory bolted out of the chamber, crashing into Time and knocking him down. "I'm sorry!" He helped him back up. His hands trembled and his face grew warm, but Time laughed, and Memory couldn't help but laugh too.

There was the sound of a chest opening. Memory and Time turned to see Illusion hovering over the open chest. All the illusion blocks had bloomed into pink flowers. Illusion gaped at them. "It worked, but how well did it work?"

Memory and Time joined him. Illusion glanced curiously at Memory. "Can I analyze your memories?"

Memory almost didn't hear him. He was so shocked that all of his fears were incorrect, that he lost sense of the current situation. "Oh, sure." He dipped his head so Illusion could hover one hand over it and his other hand over the potted flowers.

"The backups are exactly like your memories!" Illusion jumped up with glee. "Wow, this machine is great! I did it!"

Time offered a high five. "Nice work!"

Illusion high-fived him. He puffed out his chest and strode to the portal. "I'm going to celebrate."

Memory perked up. "Illusion, are you suggesting we take a break?"

"Yup! The machine worked. That's one key to restoring the memories of Sabre's people, which means I'm one step closer to making Galaxy happy. It feels so good to succeed for once. I wanna enjoy this moment while I can." He gasped. "I'm checking if the paint has dried." He ran through the portal.

Memory and Time exchanged glances. Although they wore masks, they both knew they were concerned but happy.

"Thank you so much for your help," Time said. "How are you feeling?"

Memory sheepishly looked away. "Baffled, to be honest. I thought something awful would happen. Not that the machine would fail, but that Illusion would hurt me. I don't know why I thought like that, because nothing bad happened after all."

"Illusion genuinely feels bad about what happened on the night you found him. He knew he was harsh when he forced you to realize your father's true colors. Believe me, he wants to make it up to you but doesn't know how."

Memory tilted his head. "He does care?" He's struggling to make things right. Like me.

"Yes. What reason does he have to harm you?"

Memory huffed and tore his gaze away. "I don't understand! If Illusion does care, then why can't we be like before?! Why can't he remember our friendship? I thought he didn't want to bond with me because he had something against me or I wasn't good enough for him."

"Neither of those things are true."

"Then what's really holding him back from remembering?"

Illusion returned and raced to Memory, the pin in his open hands. "What do you think? Dry enough?"

Memory inspected the pin. "Yes, it's fully dry, and it looks even better!"

"Yes!" Illusion held up the pin triumphantly. "The start of my collection!"

Time cleared his throat. "Illusion, can I ask you a question?"

Illusion pocketed his pin. "Yes?"

"Can you explain how you feel about your memories again? Or well, the memories I gave you."

Illusion shook his head. "They just don't...click to me. I think about the memories and I think 'sure, ok,' but they don't feel like a part of me, and I don't have a reason to believe otherwise."

"But what about today? You hung out with your cousin and had fun with him, right?" Time brought Memory closer, making him feel flattered. "Is that enough proof to make you believe the friendship you once had was real?"

"I mean, I did have fun." Illusion gave an assuring and guilty look at Memory. "And I did think back on the memories and tried to accept them, but..." He clenched his head and gritted his teeth. "It didn't work. I still can't see the time we spent together as my memories. I see them as an alternative reality, a piece of fiction, or an unrealistic longing, but nothing that I can accept as real." He released his head and frowned. "And I wish I could experience the joys of those memories now, but I can't."

Memory pitied him. Guess I'm not the only one who's upset that this friendship can't be rekindled. "When can I return his memories?" he asked Time.

Time tensed. "We still need to figure out how the machine puts backup memories into someone's mind, I'm sorry." He looked back at Illusion. "Can you articulate what exactly you feel? What do you think is preventing you from accepting your memories?"

"It's like an 'it's too good to be true' reaction, where accepting it would lead to bad or silly things." Illusion shrugged. "Although I'd love to have these memories, something inside of me is revolted and fears that accepting these memories would be...bad for me. Like it goes against my purpose and will put me off track."

Memory realized what was going on. "Galaxy Steve."

Illusion dropped his shoulders. "Yeah, him. I was able to feel joy working on the machine because I knew it would help Galaxy's friend. I was able to feel joy making this pin because I knew it would make Time happy, and therefore Galaxy happy. But trying to remember our times together..." He gave Memory a melancholic look. "...trying to remember our friendship doesn't advance my goal in helping Galaxy, so I can't will myself to accept those memories."

Silence lingered.

Illusion forced a grin. "But I'll remember that today wasn't a waste. I'd love to do things like this more often with you, Memory."

Time sighed. "Thanks, Illusion. Go enjoy your break."

Illusion promptly left the room, leaving the two older Steves to ponder.

"So Illusion can't remember his past with you not because he can't believe it, but maybe because Galaxy can't believe it," Time suggested.

Illusion couldn't believe in the past he had with Memory because his mind wasn't open to that idea. A mind that was bound to Galaxy's wellbeing. Galaxy couldn't accept the idea of Memory being a person with emotions and complicated thoughts. He only saw Memory as a threat to his sons. As long as he believed that, Illusion also couldn't accept the idea that Memory could be a friend.

Memory turned to Time, his mask hiding his serious expression. "I want to talk to Galaxy. We have to talk, and talking to each other might help Illusion open his mind."

Time took a moment before nodding. "I understand. Let's go get him."


Word count: 7999


Me: Frik, I can't figure out a good title for this chapter. What should I do?

Me: Well, I guess I should figure out a theme idea. The aro pin painting scene is in this chapter, so maybe I should make the title pin-themed?

Me:

Me: oh my god *evil snickering*

The brain cell in charge of writing angst: What is it? Did you figure out the title?

Me: Yes *evil snickering* I know what I'm going to title this chapter that has the aro pin painting scene and Memory angsting about Illusion not caring for him.

The brain cell: What?

Me: PINing : D

The brain cell:

The brain cell: We are not calling it that.