CONTENT WARNING: mental breakdowns or anxiety attacks, claustrophobia, strong language, direct depiction of child abuse, self-inflicted injury in a fantasy context, intense fantasy violence, explosions/TNT
This is one of the most intense chapters in RRFF. So please be careful. If you are uncertain about reading it, it's ok. You're not required to read. Feel free to ask questions or voice your concerns to me.
They waited for two days for Sabre to come to the Illusion Town. He never came.
Guardian, currently keeping watch on a mountain near the Town, finally said the dreadful thought everyone was having. "I don't think he's coming."
Alex sighed in defeat. She was resting under the shade of a tree, which was near another gateway to the Memory Dimension. The group was supposed to enter that gateway to activate the machine once they spotted Sabre coming to the Tree – the first gateway. "What do we do now, Reality Steve?" She asked.
"What?" Reality looked up and closed the menu. He had been inspecting those rectangles of Sabre's account, studying their names and theorizing what they could do. But he never dared to touch them.
"Sabre's not coming. You said he would come here after fusing the Memory Dimension's power with the Illusion Tree. But it looks like he's avoiding the area."
Reality groaned. "I'll admit: there was a chance he wouldn't come. I certainly wouldn't come back to the Town if my first memory was being attacked there, no matter how strong the power is. It would have been so easier to if he returned willingly, but he didn't. Fortunately, I have a plan B. Memory Steve?"
Memory emerged from the shadows and bowed. "It's best that I prepare now."
"What's plan B?" Alex asked.
Memory grumbled. He wished the three didn't follow him into the Memory Dimension so he could prepare alone. However, he knew they just wanted to know the new plan. The clearer the plan was to everyone, the better.
"He's going to find Sabre," Reality explained. "Then he'll erase his memories again, including his memories about the Illusion Town. If Sabre forgets about the bad things that happened in the Town, he'll for sure come to the Tree this time."
"I first need to locate where he is." Memory sat on a platform of redstone. Hopefully he didn't end up in another dimension already. "Since the Memory Dimension disregards the rules of space and I am related to Reality Steve, I can use my dimension to locate him."
Alex's green eyes widened with intrigue. "I hope it works. I want to make sure Sabre's ok, wherever he is."
Feeling uneasy by the sudden pressure, Memory closed his eyes and concentrated. He did this hundreds of times before with Galaxy Steve, so he could erase his memories every time his uncle risked remembering everything. Memory succeeded every time! He could do it again, even if people were watching.
Thunder roared in the distance. Images flashed in Memory's head. A building made out of nether quartz. A giant machine inside. A familiar clock-faced Steve. On a distant hill.
Memory gasped and snapped his eyes open. "He's heading towards Time Steve. How is that possible?!"
"Time Steve?!" Alex and Guardian said in alarm.
Reality paced in circles. "Oh no no no no. Sabre must had accidentally brought Time Steve's prison from that pocket dimension to the Overworld. He probably sensed it teleporting and is on his way there! What if he hurts Time Steve?!"
Memory looked down as realization dawned on him. "...Oh shit."
Guardian gasped and dove towards Reality. He covered Reality's ears while shooting a horrified expression at Memory.
Reality shoved him away. "Don't treat me like a child! I already know what that word means!"
Guardian made another dramatic gasp. His horrified expression turned into a face that demanded, When did you teach him that word, Memory, son of Void Steve and nephew of Galaxy Steve, Steve?!
"I apologize. I didn't mean to swear." The word slipped out, because Memory realized he forgot to erase Time's memories. When the negotiation with Sabre failed, he was so focused on escorting Sabre and Illusion out that he forgot about Time.
Time knew Illusion used his freedom as blackmail for Sabre. Time knew what Memory did to his family...
And now his life was endangered by a crazy Sabre, so Memory had to indirectly save him. Fantastic.
Memory stood up and approached his three allies. "I'll make sure Time Steve is unharmed, for his and your sakes." He especially gave Reality an assuring glance. The poor Steve looked like he was imagining all the horrors that could happen to his older brother.
"So you'll erase Sabre's memories before he accidentally hurts anyone?" Alex asked. "That'll make him unable to use his powers and make him finally come to the Illusion Tree, right?"
"If it follows the plan, then yes." Memory generated a ball of energy, which formed into a bow and a quiver of arrows.
These arrows could erase one day's worth of memories. Since it had been four days since Sabre lost all his memories, shooting him with four arrows would be enough.
Then again, one arrow with enough energy to erase all of his memories could also suffice. However, last time he tried to shoot Sabre, the player teleported to dodge the arrows and used his power to make the arrows disappear somehow. Having extra ammunition made Memory more comfortable with this mission. And even if he could shoot Sabre with one powerful arrow, why would he put all of his energy into that arrow? Did he want to be drained of all his energy near an amnesiac Sabre who could quickly relearn all those dangerous powers? Hahahahaha, no.
Alex took a step forward. "Is there any way we can help?"
Memory recalled his past, when he witnessed villains and heroes temporary team up. It was always a disaster. The heroes always slowed down the plan, fussing about the lack of ethics and compassion the villains had in their decisions. With an unpredictable threat like Sabre, Memory didn't want that disadvantage.
"No thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I can manage." Besides...I can't have the heroes see what I'm about to do to Sabre...
Alex looked uncertain, but nodded. "Be careful out there."
Memory gave her a respectful bow. "Well, in the case that something drastic does happen to me...perhaps I deserve it. After all, my decision to erase his memories brought us to this situation in the first place."
Alex stepped back, baffled, but also impressed by his self-reflection. "Well, good luck."
"Stay in this dimension for your protection. Time will stay frozen here, so when I return from my task, it'll only be a moment for you."
It would be foolish to immediately teleport to Sabre, so Memory entered a nearby forest biome and snuck around. He had to observe the environment he was going to work in before he could encounter the player.
As he walked through the forest and noted the surroundings, he withdrew an item from his inventory. It looked like a piece of coal, small enough to fit in one hand, but it was anything but a mundane item. It emitted dark, sinister particles. It radiated an aura, which turned its surroundings gray.
This Shadow Stone had rotted in Void Steve's treasury, never put into use for being a weaker variant. However, since most Shadow Stones had been destroyed, Memory didn't have any other options for his personal plan. Hopefully this will be enough.
Memory rested a hand on the Shadow Stone and concentrated, channeling some of the powers Illusion had given him. When he uncovered it, a pink streak formed in the center of the Stone. The nearby grass and trees regained their lively colors as the stone's aura shrank.
He placed it back in his inventory and continued walking until he exited the forest biome, arriving at a...strange grassy hill.
Could he really call it a grass hill anymore? 95% of it had been covered by a cobblestone platform. A complex building made out of quartz block stood in the center. Time Steve's prison.
"Oh hey! I remember you!"
Memory craned his neck up to see Sabre on top of the building, waving at him enthusiastically. Memory froze when he noticed Sabre's pupil-less eyes, wide open with chaotic excitement, matching his sharp, pearly white teeth. Instead of covering his eyes, Sabre's black blindfold hung around his neck.
Sabre jumped off the building, flew towards Memory, and give him a friendly embrace. "Hey, how have you been, buddy?! Remember when you tried to shoot me in the face?!"
Memory didn't move a muscle and just internally screamed. Muffling down his panic, he disabled his illusion powers, unleashing his uncontrollable memory powers.
Sabre released him, still giving that sharp smile. "Man, so many things happened in the past few days! First, I thought I was a nobody. Then I discovered these wicked awesome eyes and wicked awesome powers. I can do anything I want! It's been lonely with no one to show off to, so I'm glad you're here! I know we didn't start off on the right hook, but with these powers, I don't need to fear you. Let's be friends!"
Memory chewed his lip, standing awkwardly while Sabre inspected him. This was Sabre without his memories?
Sabre's wide smile didn't falter at all. "Actually, now I feel a bit stupid. I'm in a chicken onesie while you're dressed so nicely! Well, except for this ugly mask."
Memory jumped back when the player tried to grab his mask. He knew it didn't matter if Sabre saw his face or not; he was gonna erase all of his memories anyways. But still, boundaries!
Just turn around a blink already! Memory cringed and nervously stepped back again.
"Hey, don't be shy! I just want to know you better, but the mask covering your face isn't matching my vibes at all. That's why I stopped covering my eyes, though I have no clue why I wore a bandana in a first place. You know what they say: the eyes are the window to the soul!"
...What's a soul? Memory, being the son of Edgy McEdge™, never heard that word before. He didn't want to ask and make himself look stupid, so he just nodded, pretending he understood.
"Anyways, if you don't want to be friends, that's fine. Because I sense someone in this building. Maybe they'll be my friend instead. I've been wandering around and just found this place, and I think - "
Memory's silent prayer was heard, because Sabre just blinked. A white flash.
"What? What just happened?!"
Memory teleported to the side of the building. Sabre looked around in confusion, his back against Memory.
Now's my chance! Memory aimed the bow and shot Sabre's head.
"YEOW!" Sabre cried and rubbed his head. "Wait...where did this giant building come from?!"
Sabre forgot one whole day, including finding this building! Three more to go.
Memory teleported back into the forest, hid his bow, and walked out to meet Sabre. "Hello, stranger, are you alright?"
Sabre pouted. "Oh yeah, today's a totally perfect day. No I'm not ok! An arrow hit the back of my head!"
"That's unfortunate." Memory pretended to be alarmed. "Are you injured?"
"...No, actually." Sabre felt the back of his head, surprised. He laughed. "I must be so OP that arrows don't injure me! Though they still hurt, ooooow. Oh, by the way, I'm a super powerful person. Want to hear about my powers?"
It was at this moment that Memory realized that Galaxy Steve wasn't so bad. Because Sabre was much, much more annoying.
Sabre just rambled. Memory spent so much energy maintaining his polite posture, despite every ounce of his body wanting to tape Sabre's mouth shut. Finally, Sabre did a dramatic swirl and looked away.
A flash.
"What just happened?!"
Memory was back at the side of the building. Now that I know this strategy works, might as well do this. He took the Shadow Stone out of his inventory. He fused it into an arrow. He nocked this fused arrow, aimed at Sabre's head, and fired.
"OW!"
The second day erased and one Shadow Stone implemented into Sabre. One step closer to erasing Sabre's memories, and one step closer to Memory's own plans...
Memory hid the bow, teleported, and introduced himself to Sabre. "I heard a noise and came here. Are you alright?"
"No, I got hit by an arrow! But that's fine. Anyways, I'm going to ramble about my epic my powers and how mysterious my backstory is even to me."
I hope erasing his memories is this easy for the rest of the mission, Memory silently prayed.
Then Sabre blinked.
Memory teleported by the building again. He drew another arrow, ready to shoot the temporarily dazed Sabre for the third time.
But he had ran out of luck.
Sabre by chance turned around and dodged the arrow in time. He gawked at the arrow that now pierced a nearby cobblestone formation. He whirled around to face Memory, his white eyes glowing with rage. "I had a feeling someone was messing with me. It was you!"
Memory gulped.
Sabre raised a hand. Memory gagged as his throat was crushed. He dropped his bow and clawed vainly at the invisible force that constricted his neck. The same force pulled him up, levitating him off the ground.
Sabre brought him close to his scowling face. His brown hair defied gravity and danced with power. His white eyes flared. He tensed his arms. The fabric of his onesie's sleeves shook like alien sequin. One moment a white cloth. The next, ink-colored limbs replaced his arms, green 1s and 0s rippling across them like scales.
"Whatever you're doing, I'm stopping it right now!"
Thunder echoed like a gong, and all color drained from Memory's face.
Young Memory hyperventilated as he smashed his hands against the glass. The glass wall refused to bloom any spiderwebs of liberation, cruelly shining the reflection of the approaching creepers and zombies. As the mobs came closer, Memory's hands trembled. No, his entire body was shaking.
He shot pleading, fearful eyes at his father, who towered over him on the other side of the wall.
"Think your way out of this, boy!" Void stomped a nearby stone into oblivion, sneering at Memory. "Stop asking me to hold your hand during training. You'll be alone in these situations, so depend on only yourself, like an actual strong Steve!"
Although barely breathing, Memory formed a fist and punched Sabre's face.
Sabre yelped and Memory dropped to the ground, wheezing in air and coughing.
Sabre aimed a hand at the fallen bow. The bow glitched. Memory grabbed a stone from his inventory and threw it at Sabre's eye. The player yowled and his hands launched protectively over his injured eye.
Memory snatched the restabilizing bow, made sure his quiver was still on, and sprinted into the forest.
"Hey! You're not going anywhere!" Sabre cried.
Memory lunged behind a tree, his heart racing. That power! He should have blinked by now, but my powers didn't make him forget me. He must had used Illusion's powers to disable my memory-erasing ability!
Memory tried to concentrate. Could he unblock his memory powers? He felt nothing change, which made him despair.
"Where are you?!" Sabre roared.
Memory glimpsed at his bow, grateful he still had it. I can do this. I've erased many memories from a distance before. I've shot Yellow Steves who raced at high speeds. Sabre's just like that! Someone as fast as Yellow Steve...who can teleport like Purple Steve, is as unpredictable as Red Steve, quirky as Green Steve, clever as Blue –
Oh my Colors, this is going to be so hard.
Memory stilled when he sensed a powerful aura. Somewhere in this forest, Sabre was searching for him. Just two more hits. Erase his memories two more times and I'm done. He silently teleported to tree after tree and circled around Sabre.
Now behind the player, Memory aimed an arrow and released. The arrow zipped towards Sabre, but he heard it and teleported out of the way. Another arrow. Teleport. Another arrow. Sabre ducked this time.
Sabre spotted Memory and sprinted towards him. The Steve rushed to grab another arrow, but Sabre raised a hand and in a blink, darkness engulfed Memory.
Young Memory trembled. "I'm so sorry, Dad! I swear I won't make the same mistake again!" He had failed his first mission after being so certain he would succeed.
Void shoved him to the ground. "I'll make sure you won't, you foolish child! But first, you need to learn some more humility!" He summoned a stack of dirt blocks, while his red eyes blazed with disappointment and spite.
"C-Can you please tell me what went wrong?" Memory begged. "So I can think about my mistakes while I'm locked in and learn from them?" He was taking initiative and admitting his inadequacy. Surely, that would impress him. Surely, that would make him reconsider burying him. Surely, that would make him proud. Surely, that would make his father go back to his loving self that disappeared a long time ago.
Void picked up Memory and threw him into the ditch. "I'm not making this easy for you, boy. Use your own damn brain and figure it out! In fact, I'll only let you out once you understand why you messed it all up!"
The last thing Memory saw was Void's fierce gaze before the dirt blocks covered the ditch, leaving him with no sense of time, space, or light.
Memory became deathly still in the darkness. He knew his feet met the unseen ground, but did he dare to confirm the rest of his surroundings? A moment later, he gained the courage to feel the space around him. His arms and hands – his only sense of the world – immediately touched cobblestone walls.
Wall.
Wall.
Wall.
Wall.
Floor.
Ceiling.
A 1x2x2 space.
Not even enough room to jump.
"Oh-oh fuck..." He gulped. His heart hammered in his chest. He couldn't see anything, yet something in his very being swore that the walls were crawling closer. That the space was shrinking.
He pressed his body and ear to the wall. In this sea of black, black vision, he could only hear a muffle of Sabre's voice outside. What was he saying? Where was he?
Memory felt sweat form against his mask, yet...it felt so cold.
He pounded his fists and clawed at the stone. "Let me out! LET ME OUT!"
What was he even hitting? He couldn't see anything.
How long?
How long would he be here?
He began to hyperventilate. How much air remained in this small, small space? What if this hell already lost all its oxygen?
He fell to his knees. His trembling fingers – burning from the hopeless digging – trickled down the cobblestone wall like raindrops. His legs probably disappeared along with color and light. He teared up as his breathing raced faster and faster, each inhale became smaller and smaller. The oxygen in his body dropping and dropping.
I can't escape. I can't see. I'm...I'm...
I'm gonna die in here.
His hand clamped his mouth shut, desperately trying to fight back to escalating whimpers and cries. Yet nothing could be done about his screaming, screeching heart. I need air. I need air. His eyes squeezed shut, the small leak of tears confirming that he did truly shut his eyes. He couldn't tell in this dark, dark space.
Over and over the thoughts replayed. About the space. The mental image of Sabre building more layers on this grave. How all his senses but touch and panic abandoned him. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die.
But I want out. But I want out. But I want out. He badly wanted to scream those thoughts out loud, but his gloved hand continued muffling down his screams.
Memory felt around in his inventory for a familiar shape. Please please please please please. Once he found a touch, he nearly dropped dead from joy. Thank you, thank you, thank you. He immediately placed it on the wall. He embraced the relief and blinked out the tears, until his claustrophobia returned worse, because – fuck – this space was really small. A tomb. A narrow, dead-end hall. He pressed himself to the corner, staring fearfully at the ceiling inches above his face.
The ceiling didn't leak any lights. For all he knew, he was already buried under miles of stone.
His hearing must had returned, because the dark, dark silence was piercing his ears.
"LET ME OUT!" The screeches bounced off the walls like a swarming colony of bats. He fished through his inventory for a wooden door and placed it in the center of the space. Fuck, why did I just cut the space in half?! His breath became shallower as he placed both hands on the door and willed all of his energy into it.
He opened the door, raced through it, and slammed it shut. Trapped in the other 1x1x2 container, but at least it was in the Memory Dimension. He pressed a hand against the low ceiling and screamed. "PLEASE! HELP!" The tears flooded, blurring the image of the cobblestone walls and the brown door in front of him. "GET ME OUT! GETMEOUT! GETMEOUT! GETMEOUT!"
He waited and waited. For any sounds of fireballs to announce their rescue mission. But the only noise he heard was the thumping of his heart and the storm of panicked thoughts. No one is going to come. No one is going to come. No one is –
"LET ME OUT!"
No one is going to come. I need air. I need air.
I NEED AIR.
Memory grabbed a TNT from his inventory and struck it against flint-and-steel. The TNT fumed and blinked white. Memory pressed against the wall and hugged the TNT to his chest as he let out another screech. "AAAAAAHHHHHH – "
The TNT exploded.
The KABOOM of the blast sounded only for a second before a ringing silence cut it short. His vision snapped back to black when the torch vanished. He soared through pseudo-space, flying back for imaginary yards before his head and limbs collided with stone. The ringing drowned out the sound of thuds and cracks.
Smoke drowned his senses. He whimpered in pain as he weakly set a new torch down, lighting up a much bigger space. The door was destroyed. Several loose blocks floated in crevices that the TNT pounded into the new walls.
This isn't enough.
Memory trembled, his breathing hacked into pathetic gasps as his chest burned in pain.
He pushed himself up, only to slip back down. He landed on his arm, and he yowled as his injured arm slammed against the stone.
I NEED TO GET OUT.
He got out another TNT and ignited it. Explosion. Unseen ambushes of smoke. Violent tosses in space. Another torch set down. Repeat.
At least this time, he paused enough to think. He mustered strength in his broken arm and threw the ignited TNT to the other side of the space. The blast particles barely brushed his face. The puff of white light revealed a burst of stone shards before blinking out of existence. The shards knocked and bounced off the walls in darkness.
Crack! A shard gashed through his shoulder. Memory howled and grasped the bloodied cut. In a sick sense of luck, no rocks struck his head, yet that shoulder gash still sent pain clawing in his skull. His teeth crushed his tongue as the headache and the ringing in his ears intensified.
Yet he pried his hand off the cut, getting ready ignite and throw another TNT.
If no one was coming, then he would dig himself out of this grave, no matter how many times he had to blow up TNT in his face. No matter how many times he would be thrown around. No matter how times the explosions pelted shards and cracked his bones.
Again and again, the bombs exploded. Each time, the flash of the white blast became more faded as the smoke consumed the space, polluting the airs and worming itself into Memory's damaged lungs.
He was just about to ignite his sixth TNT when he sensed the ground shake. The dark chamber rumbled. Memory peered up at the ceiling, which was now four blocks above his head. He couldn't hear anything besides the ringing, but he still sensed something outside.
Rapid fire of explosions drummed outside. Memory pressed himself in a corner as the ceiling and the walls broke into pieces. Fireballs dismantled the cobblestone. The smoke seeped out of the new holes. Through the open spaces, Memory saw the familiar void sky of the Memory Dimension and many entities.
He raised a hand and commanded the entities to gather to the wall opposite of him. With mini-fireballs, they broke down the wall, transforming it into a clumsy formation of stairs.
Memory clambered up and collapsed in front of his saviors. He shuddered as the grass brushed against his skin, exposed by his torn, damaged suit, but at least it was anything but stone. He rested his arms down, the swelling and dents making them line the ground unevenly. He tried to inhale the fresh air, but immediately coughed, his chest screaming in pain.
He looked over his shoulder, seeing a destroyed, cobblestone sphere with a radius of 15 blocks. He looked back at his saviors – entities formed by stolen memories that he summoned to rescue him. He froze he saw Void among them, peering down at him.
He leapt up and brought Void into a trembling embrace. "Th-thank you. Thank you."
He received in return a snarl. He felt Void's words vibrate on his arm. "It's just a simple practice, boy. You've been locked in caves before. Stop being a coward!"
Memory hugged him even tighter, sniffling. He knew this was just the entity replaying a memory, but he nodded, trying not to let the tears fall anymore.
He released Void. Void and the other saviors reverted back into flowers and hovered to the sky. Alone again, Memory teleported far away from the sphere and fell. He grunted as he pushed his arm up and channeled his power. Thunder vibrated as a chest materialized nearby. Before he could reach and unlock it, his arm went limb.
"Memory!" A muffled voice rose from the sea of ringing.
He looked up, realizing he was on a familiar island. Alex and Reality raced towards him as the ringing in his ear diminished.
"Guardian's watching over the machine. We heard fireballs and came here. Did you do it?!" Alex paled once she got near. "Oh my Colors, what happened to you?"
Reality brought a hand over his mouth, eyes wide with shock. "Oh...oh god...Memory..."
Alex quickly spotted the chest and opened it. She grabbed a golden apple and handed it to Memory. He winced as he lowered his balaclava and took a bite. Immediately, a surge of relief drowned him and his injuries mended.
With his arms and lungs no longer aching, Memory sat up and choked a sob. "I-I can't do it. I've erased half of his memories, but I can't erase the rest! He's-he's too fast. He buried me alive. None of us can break blocks while he can generate them easily..."
Alex and Reality exchanged terrified glances.
Memory shuddered and dipped his head in shame. "I failed...I failed..."
Reality kneeled down. "You erased half of his memories. That's a feat of its own! What did you do to erase his memories?"
"I-I distracted him, making it easier to shoot at him."
Reality placed his hand on Memory's shoulder, causing him to look up at his determined, multi-colored eyes. "Then I'll come to the Overworld and distract him for you. I'll mock him and convince him to shoot fireballs at me." He darkly chuckled. "So interesting that the tables have turned!"
Memory paled. "But he's dangerous! I refuse to let you get hurt!"
Reality formed the "Disconnect" button in his hand and smiled darkly. "I have an account, remember? Because players have accounts, they can regenerate their health faster than a Steve, despite having lower health bars. And if they die, they can respawn. I'm not sure if I can cheat death the way Sabre can, but this will help me survive while I distract him. Besides, I already said I'm willing to risk my life for the sake of the Steves."
Memory gulped. He knew Reality had a bad habit of grossly underestimating risk. But at the same time, did they have a choice? Sabre was crazy. Perhaps desperate measures were necessary.
Alex eyed Reality skeptically before turning to Memory. "I'll also come to help distract Sabre." There was an assuring hint in her eyes, telling Memory, Don't worry. I'll make sure Reality doesn't get hurt.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sabre!"
"Oh, it's you again." Sabre hovered towards Reality, who climbed up a cobblestone formation to get his attention. "Are you here for your friend? Well, buddy, I pulled a prank on your friend by trapping him in that sphere over there!"
Little did Sabre know that Memory was not in the sphere anymore, but hiding behind a tree, readying an arrow. Changed into a new suit and still having the effects of the golden apple, Memory was prepared, and he prayed Reality knew what he was doing.
"I heard that you're powerful," Reality began. "Not to rain on your parade, but you're not as strong as me. Go on. Throw a fireball at me."
Sabre stammered. "Wha-wha-whaaaaaat? You messing with me, chief? But alright, I'll test it out. Just remember you asked for it!" There was a disturbing glee in his pure white eyes. Sabre let out a mighty battle cry and blasted a fireball at Reality.
Reality! Memory silently cried as his younger cousin slammed into a tree. He crashed onto the grass and held the gruesome injury on his arm. He hissed through gritted teeth, his silver glasses knocked off his face. But a moment later, his injury and pained expression faded away, and his hoodie mended itself.
He stood up and put his glasses on again. Sabre was baffled. "What?! You can regenerate your health?! How do you do that?!"
Memory perked up. Reality lived! Now was his time. He quickly aimed the arrow at Sabre's head and fired.
"Ow!" Sabre rubbed his injury. After looking around in confusion, he glared at Reality, white eyes glowing furiously. Reality fearfully stepped back.
"I know what's up! You're trying to erase my memories too! Well, I'm not letting you do that!" Sabre raised his arms. Ten levitating fireballs formed, glitching pink and orange. They surrounded Sabre, who aimed them all at Reality.
"Oh, you gotta be shitting me," Reality muttered before crossing his fingers and shutting his eyes tight.
Not on my watch! Memory aimed another arrow. But the levitating fireballs were in the way, protecting Sabre!
"Hello! Hi!" A voice cried.
Sabre paused and turned around. Memory followed his gaze and spotted Alex in front of the Nether quartz building, a desperate plea in her green eyes. "Look, I'm not here to hurt you!"
"No, all of you are trying to hurt me!" Sabre spat back. "I don't even know what you guys want from me! I remember nothing, and you still want to take things away from me!"
Alex gently raised her arms. "I promise I won't hurt you! Look, I can understand how you feel right now. You're probably confused and scared, and dealing with a lot of things right now. But I promise you that I'm not a Steve. I won't shun an outsider like you. I just want to help!"
"How am I supposed to trust you?! Stay back!" Sabre threw a fireball at her. She jumped out of the way, and the fireball destroyed the building's wall instead.
With one fireball gone, Memory saw an open space to hit Sabre. He aimed. No time to lose! I must get this right! He felt a surge of confidence overtake him, and he shot the arrow. It flew through the open space.
And brushed past Sabre's hood.
Sabre flinched and glared at Memory. Memory paled and quickly drew out another arrow. He swiftly nocked it and fired, sending it flying while Sabre hurled three fireballs at him.
Memory woke up and grimaced. Pain exploded in his left arm. He sat up and clenched his shoulder. Sticky blood stained his gloved hand and the burns smelled awful.
In front of him, Sabre lied unconscious. Alex had him on her lap. She cried silently as she tugged the black bandana over his closed eyes. She looked up and gave Memory a melancholic smile. "You did it. You erased the last of his memories. He feel unconscious because of that."
Reality ran up to Memory, wincing once he saw the burn. "Shit, that looks really bad." He kneeled down to inspect the wound. "Anyways, impressive work, Memory. You completed your most challenging mission yet. You shot an arrow at three approaching fireballs, and your arrow dodged them all and hit Sabre! That was epic!"
Memory gave a weak nod. "Thank you."
"Ugh...what happened?" A new voice ached.
Memory, Reality, and Alex turned to see the building's broken wall. Time Steve crawled out of the debris and limped outside. He inspected the damage and raised a hand. "Reverse." The debris levitated and mended back into the wall. The fireball's explosion was reversed in time. "Forward. Freeze." He waved his hands around like a conductor, manipulating the explosion to rewind, go forward in time, and pause in midair. He completed his warmup by reversing the damage permanently, restoring the wall. "I can control my powers again. No infection," he concluded happily.
"Time!" Reality raced towards his brother and embraced him. "Sabre destroyed your machine when he hit that wall. I'm so sorry you got hurt. My actions have endangered you."
Time pushed Reality away. He inspected his brother up and down, his clock-mask concealing his expression. "Illusion? Why do you look so different?"
Reality gulped. "Well...um..."
"Where is Galaxy Steve?"
"Look, it's really complicated to explain. But I learned something, which caused me to –"
"Where. Is. Galaxy. Steve? What did you do to Dad?"
Reality couldn't say a word.
Time stepped back, expression still unreadable. "You absorbed him, didn't you?"
"Look, I did it to – !"
Time tore his gaze away. "I thought I raised you to be better than Void Steve." He clenched his fists. "Where did I go so wrong?" Thunder. Refusing to look at anyone, he disappeared, leaving Reality to stare at the space dumbfounded.
Alex shook her head and gave a tsk. "You should have seen that coming, Reality Steve."
Memory tried to speak up to defend his cousin, but then a spike of pain paralyzed him. He shouted and held his injury. Then he screeched as pink glitches coursed across his arm, which began to swell, fracture, and bleed again.
Reality and Alex eyed him in horror.
"What's wrong?!" Alex cried.
"Those fireballs had traces of my power! When they hit, they blocked the effects of the golden apple! His injuries are returning!"
Through watering eyes and his lungs and limbs tearing apart, Memory collapsed. His world turned dark.
"Memory? MEMORY!"
He heard cobblestone dismantling. Young Memory quickly put on his mask to conceal his puffy red eyes. Void remove the cobblestone ceiling, allowing light back into the chamber. "So, did you figure out what you did wrong?"
Memory climbed out and dipped his head shamefully. "I failed this mission because I went astray from your instructions. I created a new plan that I thought would produce a better outcome, but I messed up. If I simply followed your directions, none of that would have happened. I apologize."
Void grinned. "You're starting to get it, boy. You're not at the level yet to think about your own schemes. From now on, always listen to me and never question it. You learned firsthand what happens if you don't. Got that?"
"Of course, Father." Though he was willing to comply, Memory felt his heart crack. He wanted to use his own plan to impress his father, but it turned out that he wasn't as smart as he thought he was. If he couldn't come up with a clever plan, how else could he impress Void? Every day, the list of all the skills he could show off grew smaller and smaller. And every day, his fear grew and grew.
The fear that he would never be enough for his father.
Word count: 6067
And the green binary code motif with Sabre is of course inspired by Kiwi Queen 13's idea about Sabre's eyes (though the idea is no longer associated with their Steve Saga fanworks). If you believe I shouldn't be using a similar idea and want me to remove the motif, let me know and I will.
Anyways, thank you for reading. Take care and stay safe.