Fun fact, this chapter was originally over 18k words! I had to split it into three chapters (34, 35, and 36).
Content warning: arophobia, toxic behavior, child abuse, emotional abuse, gaslighting*, self-destructive behavior (in the form of social isolation), swearing, fantasy violence
* There will seriously be a lot of gaslighting in the next three chapters. I've read lots of online articles about it to get the behavior accurate. However, in Chapter 36, I worry that I didn't write this behavior as accurately. So I just wanted to give a quick disclaimer: if you need to learn more about gaslighting for your own writing or for real life, please do proper research about it or consult an expert. Thank you. (Same thing applies to other topics.)
Oh, and I don't know how to give a heads up without spoiling what'll happen in Chapter 34, so here's the vaguest content warning I can give: this chapter will have a certain asshole parent to a very specific bad parent thing.
RRFF IS BACK, Y'ALL
I hope you guys have been doing well! I have 6 chapters that are ready to be posted, and I thought it would be perfect to start posting them on the 1 year anniversary of RRFF's release.
Yeah, that's right, it's RRFF's 1 year anniversary. I posted the first chapter on August 21, 2020, and now I'm posting Chapter 34 on August 20, 2021. It's pretty crazy how much the plot and characters have changed since the first chapter. And wow, I just want to say: thank you so much for sticking around and reading my fic, despite all of the hiatuses!
Now, without further ado, let's get started! Before the chapter starts, have a recap!
For a Chapters 1-26 recap, read the author's note at the top of Chapter 27.
For a Chapters 27-33 recap, read below:
After taking control of Sabre (who is corrupted by Shadow Stone and has his account back) and taking Galaxy Steve, Memory merges Sabre's account and the Memory Dimension together, allowing him to enter Sabre's world as a hologram without entering the Menu.
Memory lends Sabre his memory-erasing powers and commands Sabre to erase the entire world's memories about Sabre and the Steve Saga and delete his social media presence.
Meanwhile, Illusion, Alex, and Time team up. Illusion returns Alex all of her powers, and the two find a way into the Memory Dimension and attempt to stop Memory. Unfortunately, they were unable to stop Memory, who successfully erases everyone's memories about Sabre and the Steve Saga in Sabre's world.
Memory uses the mysterious tree from Chapter 19 to freeze Illusion in time, feeling guilty and wanting to save Illusion from the next stage of his plan: bring back Void Steve and send him to a different world, using a Shadow Stone-Galaxy-Sabre amalgamation as a vessel. While executing his plan, he learns that Alex (at her full power) is immune to his powers, and he freaks out when he realizes who Alex really is. Despite the freak out, Memory successfully pulls off his plan and slowly begins to lose his mind as he restores Void's memories into the amalgamation, making him forget his own father.
But then, Time enters the scene, reversing time and undoing Memory's mission. Enraged, Memory separates Time from his two allies and fights him until Time is too exhausted to reverse time again. After realizing that he had to find a different way to defeat Memory, Time gives Alex an enchanted clock and a secret quest, and sends her away in the timeline.
After exhausting Time and forcing him to retreat to the Time Dimension, Memory goes to the Shadow Stone-Galaxy-Sabre amalgamation to bring back Void again, but Illusion steals the flower crown of Void's memories and begs Memory to stop. Memory refuses, gets the crown back, and puts it on the amalgamation. However, Illusion, risking his own well-being, confronts the amalgamation to stop Void's return. Memory tries to take Illusion away to keep him safe. But when Illusion refuses to leave and is in huge pain, Memory switches sides and transforms into Time!Memory, reversing time on the amalgamation.
Illusion takes back the flower crown (and he keeps it) and uses his powers to split the amalgamation back into Sabre and Galaxy. However, Sabre becomes weak and explodes into green code and black ink. Illusion and Memory freak out and try to find out if Sabre is still alive. They end up looking through Lucas' memories, but they didn't find the answers they were looking for.
Illusion wanted to restore the memories of Sabre's world's people so that they can look after Sabre, but Memory refuses to let Illusion restore them. They end up fighting each other, and it ends with Memory accidentally erasing all of Illusion's memories, and he feels incredibly guilty.
Illusion, having no memories, ignores Memory and Time and runs away from the Illusion Town. Time lashes out at Memory, causing Memory to flee.
Phew, that's the recap. Now let's continue where we left off!
"There must always be a balance between good and evil. It's inevitable. The iron golem is made to defend families. The pillager is made to destroy and steal. This is the balance, but they are not equal in quality. The good is encouraged, while people are shamed for being evil. Barely anyone is willing to become evil to balance the universe, so those who are dedicated to the evil side must work harder that the good people and make the tough decisions for the sake of everyone."
Void rested a hand on his 6-year-old child. Memory perked up and turned his gaze from the crystal blue lake to his father, whose red eyes burned with inspiration and expectation.
"Memory, as my son and my henchman, you must also work extra hard to make sure evil balances with the good in the universe. I'll teach you how, and you will help me with this difficult but necessary task...For you have a special role in this balance..."
Memory placed his smaller hands on Void's hand and gave it a squeeze. He scooted closed to his father to give him a hug. Void chuckled and hugged him back.
The sky bloomed orange and red until the purple ink of night shrouded the world. The stars emerged from the cool darkness, greeting their reflections dazzling in the crystal lake.
"Look, son."
Memory looked up and gasped as six colorful stars emerged from the night and formed a line. As the aligned stars shined, his attention fell to the crystal lake. Its reflection of the six stars shimmered and, unlike the real stars, began to morph. They shifted around the reflective plane and joined together in a circle. Inside of the circle, some shapes flickered into existence.
Memory clung onto his father, his breath accelerating. Void chuckled, "That's right, the Colors have come to say hello."
"AAAHHH!" Memory slammed the glowing zinnia against the crafting table. The air was frigid because of the raindrops frozen in time. The cold bit his exposed face and his fingers even though he wore gloves.
He sniffed before glaring at the ancient tree in front of him. The Memory Dimension had changed so much, and so many awful things had happened, but the tree and its sandy island remained the same. Usually, he would had found comfort in this familiar retreat. But now, it mocked him.
He took out another Shadow Stone – his fourth one. He smashed it into the crafting table, causing it to explode into powder, which snaked into his arms and entered his bloodstream. Memory flew across the lily pad bridge and slammed the zinnia into the tree."PLEASE, REVERSE IT!" He screeched. "FIX IT SOMEHOW AND GIVE BACK HIS MEMORIES. I BEG OF YOU."
The tree's ticking clock didn't falter. Memory dug his fingers deeper into the old bark. "PLEASE! If there's nothing you can do for him, then do something about their memories!" He refused to look, but he hoped the Tree knew he was talking about the firey horizon and the memory-infested islands. "Reverse what I've done! Restore the Sky People's memories! It's what he would have wanted!"
The tree gave no response.
Memory looked down and snarled, accidentally dropping the zinnia. "You're useless. Useless!" He slid down, curling up against the tree, trembling as the tree's inner clock pounded into his ears. He muffled down the growing sobs with a hand. He accidentally inhaled the remaining Shadow Stone powder on his glove, giving him a jolt of energy.
Time didn't move here, but the clock kept beating. A constant count, as if the tree was trying to soothe him. It's o-kay. It's o-kay. It's o-kay.
But no, it wasn't. There was no way this tree would comfort him. Especially after the undeniable fury he saw in its creator.
I'm more than just useless. Memory buried his face deeper into his arms. I'm a monster. Something grew in his chest. It raced in his blood. Dark particles bristled off his fingertips. The darkness in the Shadow Stone felt heavier against his emotions, breath, and entire being. But he didn't suffocate; he was starting to embrace it.
Thunder.
Memory tensed, the dark radiation surrounding him like a barrier. He slipped on his balaclava and mask before glaring at the newcomer.
Time Steve flew over the hedge maze and landed by the lake's outer edge, his heavy footsteps crushing the wet sand. His clock mask ticked ominously. "My brother's memories. What are you doing to them?"
Memory stood up. The dark aura around him began to drain the sand and lake of their vibrant colors. "Go away," he warned.
Time spotted the red zinnia at Memory's feet. He charged at Memory. "Give them back!"
Terrified, Memory snatched the zinnia and teleported a few blocks away. Time skidded to a halt to stop himself from crashing into the tree. Memory backed away, holding the zinnia to his chest. "I wasn't doing anything wrong! I was trying to give them back!"
"You expect me to believe that? Reverse! Freeze!"
Against his will, Memory teleported back to the tree and became frozen in time. Time yanked the zinnia out of his hands and then punched Memory, sending him flying into the shrubs that bordered the lake.
"No!" Memory quickly recovered and teleported behind Time. He tried to grab him, but Time swirled around to punch him again.
Memory jumped back to dodge the next punch. "I didn't mean to take Illusion's memories in the first place! It was an accident!"
"If it was an accident, then why didn't you immediately return the memories?" Time challenged. "You restored Sabre's memories. Why can't you do the same for the Steve you claim to care so much about?"
Memory tensed. He was painfully aware that he could easily return Illusion's memories, but that would bring an unavoidable, horrible drawback. Time rubbing that painful reminder to his face made him bristle. "It's not that simple! I know my powers better than you. You barely understand half of your powers because of your amnesia!"
Thunder snapped the cold air and flash! Memory was thrown into the tree. A punch struck his face and then two hands clenched his throat. Time's clock mask bored into him. "Unbelievable! You're blaming me for being clueless when it's your crime that I don't remember anything? If you're so frustrated about these misunderstandings, then give me back my memories!"
Memory seethed, spitefully prying the next words out of his throat. "I already told you! It's not. That. Simple!"
"Then I guess I'll continue misunderstanding you."
Memory flinched again. Time's words struck every nerve and sparked the dark particles in his blood. "YOU WANT YOUR MEMORIES BACK?!" He teleported out of Time's grasp and into the sandy mainland. "FINE! TAKE THEM!" Memory threw an arm forward and lightning struck.
"TAKE THEM!" Another lightning strike.
Memory threw both arms down. "TAKE THEM ALL! SEE HOW BROKEN THIS ENTIRE FAMILY IS!"
Lightning pelted the island. The sand exploded or morphed into glass craters. Geysers launched out of the lake. Time lost his balance and stumbled. He crawled underneath the tree's frail cover, using his black cape to shield himself from the wild forces.
Blue forget-me-nots descended from the air and morphed into humanoid shapes. They landed and surrounded Time, who leapt up into a defensive pose, but gasped once he saw them.
The entities looked like Void, Galaxy, and Elemental.
"No..." Time shook his head and soared into the sky, only able to escape because the tree's thin branches created many gaps to fly through. The three entities jumped into the air and chased after him. Soon, a storm of lightning and fireballs commenced between them and Time, who created two clones to fly with him.
The battle circled around the island. Memory kept near and watched Time and his duplicates fight, flee, and defend. He wondered for a moment if this was how Void watched his progress while growing up.
His chest tightened with more pain. He thought the only way to unleash it was to command the entities to fight harder.
Finally, the Elemental entity burned one of the clones into a crisp.
"No!" The real Time charged at Elemental.
The Elemental entity spat, "We left Memory behind. We should go and bring him back!"
Time halted mid-chase and stared at Elemental, who then said, "I don't care that Galaxy said we shouldn't talk to him! He's a friend! I'm shocked that you're being submissive about this!"
Time shied away, slowly hovering back to the ground. Void landed behind him with a thud and grabbed him. Time yelped and tried to fly out, but Elemental landed to help Void pin him down. Both entities spewed venomous words at Time, who thrashed in their grip, accidentally dropping the zinnia. "I'VE HEARD ENOUGH! LET ME GO!"
Galaxy destroyed Time's remaining clone and joined the other entities. Memory inched closer to the crowd; close enough to see Galaxy dip his head down and mumble, "I just...want to get away from this family." The three entities continued reenacting memories. Memories of running away, abandonment, guilt. Time looked tensed and afraid, summoning thunder in a fruitless attempt to freeze the enemies in time.
Memory quickly grabbed the zinnia before retreating. He tucked the zinnia into his inventory, and he couldn't look away from the fight. Wait, why am I doing this to him? I don't want him to – The dark particles in his chest suddenly felt heavier, sinking down any pity he temporarily had.
In fact, he was about to command the entities to be more brutal and –
Time suddenly gasped and looked at the sky. "A-Alex?!"
Memory jumped back, his gaze darting around the open sky. Alex?! Where?!
"You figured it out?!" Time yelled at the sky again. "Oh thank goodness, perfect timing!"
Lightning pelted the area surrounding Time. The three entities vaporized and turned back into flowers. Immediately after, Alex materialized in front of Time with a frantic expression. "Time Steve, I understand it now!"
Alex? Memory shot an accusing glare at Time. "WHERE DID YOU TAKE HER DURING OUR FIGHT IN THE FUTURE?!"
Time shot a glowing hand at Memory, but Alex jumped in the way. "Time, I figured out why he hates you so much, and I found a way to restore your memories to show it!"
Time gasped. "Seriously!"
"Yes, seriously! We need to use your tree!"
Memory snapped, "What are you two planning?!"
Alex shot a look of warning and sympathy. "Memory, please stay away! Don't come near!"
Time and Alex flew back to the tree. Thunder roared and a golden barrier spawned, surrounding Time, Alex, and the tree. The tree shook the blue forget-me-nots off its frail branches. Alex touched the trunk and holographic golden flowers began to grow on it.
Memory gawked at them. "What are you doing?! Just leave my dimension!" He charged after the barrier.
Alex looked frightened as she raised her arms and – Flash! The golden dome flared and pushed Memory backed.
"Ah!" He crashed into the hedge maze again, hitting his head against a strong branch. His vision shook and blurred as the golden dome solidified. He could barely move and comprehend the blindingly golden light, casting the entire island with a yellow gleam and –
He lost consciousness.
.̷̧͉̉̋̌͋̕B̸͖͖̱́͋͛̽̿̓Ṙ̵͎͑͌Ȩ̷͚̟̼̈́Ä̵͉̣̤̗́͆̄͘K̶̞̗̹̩̙͊(̶͈̪͊͋̆͆̾͝)̴͎̩̯̦̻̱̿̽
Remorseful Recollections of the Forgotten Family:
Act 2: PAUSE
He fell back.
The gray flowers slipped out of his hands as he plunged down, leaving a trail of wild flowers in the air. Gravity did its work by swinging his hair into his face and tugging the remaining flowers out of his hand.
He blinked madly, temporarily stunned by the sudden change of light and place. But then he remembered to breathe like a living person, and he remembered where he was.
He spun around the gray space, activating his flight powers to break his fall and eventually land gracefully on the ground.
He flicked his hand to the ceiling. The scattered gray flowers gathered themselves into a bundle. He kept them suspended in the air, since he still needed them, but he couldn't continue until the audience got the context they needed.
It was time the audience saw Memory's backstory. Alex knew the truth about it, and Time was about to learn it. Memory was accidentally knocked unconscious at this point. That was a good thing. It was good that Memory was unconscious, unable to see or investigate how Alex was showing the past to Time.
Memory was safe from reliving his trauma at this point in the story...it was a shame that it wouldn't be the case later.
He winced, bitter that he couldn't do anything about what would come next in the story.
He sighed and flicked his hand again. New gray forget-me-nots spawned and surrounded him.
Since Memory was unconscious and...fortunately not witnessing what Time was seeing, he had to directly step in and provide the audience the flashbacks they needed.
Ugh, he won't be able to pull it off as smoothly as the shorter flashbacks. He already lost some hold of the narration, but hey, at least he now knew it was pointless to try to do this perfectly.
He waved his hand again and levitated into the air. The gray flowers flared white, consuming his vision again, taking him – and the audience – to a brand new scene.
A memory.
Eight teenaged Steves sat in a circle. Purple Steve sneered at the Green Steve sitting next to him. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare!"
Purple took out of his inventory a bowl of dark purple goop. The bowl emitted a stinky, purple smoke, casting a sinister shadow on his snickering expression. "I dare you to eat my grandfather's special stew."
Purple shoved the bowl into the balking Green Steve's hands. The other five Steves began chanting, "chug it, chug it, chug it."
12-year-old Memory got a scent of that stew and almost barfed, instantly regretting his choice to sit next to Purple. He had just gotten comfortable, but with all the Steves now hollering and taunting, he was questioning why he came to this party in the first place. I just wanted to spend more time with Purple. But why did he have to make new friends with wild people?
Green held his breath and slurped the soup. "BLEH!" He fell forward and gagged as the rest of the Steves laughed at him. "BLEH! P-PURPLE, I'm so going to get back at you one day!"
Purple's sneer grew. "You're welcome!"
Memory looked at Purple with worry. He wasn't used to how peaceful Steves talked to each other. Did Green Steve seriously threaten Purple? Or did Purple's sneer imply that Green's threat was only a joke? Just in case, Memory made a mental note to hang out with Purple more and keep an eye out for a certain Green Steve with bad breath.
Green wiped the slobber away with a sleeve. "Guess it's my turn." After chugging down a water bottle and eating a mint leaf, he said, "Hey, umm, Memory, right?"
Memory was snapped out of his thoughts. When he saw Green look directly at him, he had to muffle down the urge to teleport. "Umm, yes?"
"Alright Memory: truth or dare?" Green asked.
"Umm..." Memory fidgeted with his hands. He recalled all the dares and truths that already happened to other Steves in this game. They all gave him second-hand embarrassment and oh Colors, he would die if he had to do anything humiliating.
"Umm, truth?" He finally decided the safest of the two poisons.
"Alright. Remember, no lying!" Green briefly glanced at Purple, who seemed excited that his timid friend was finally picked. Green smirked and looked back at Memory. "Who do you have a crush on?"
Memory gave a baffled look. "Umm, what?" That was it? No probing him for his most embarrassing secret? No asking him to reveal something personal? Just a question so mundane that it didn't even need a crazy game to justify its prompting?
Green gasped. "Oooooh, lover boi, spill the beans!"
Memory nearly sputtered. He didn't even answer the question yet, so why was Green acting like this?!
The question. Memory gulped. He was caught in the glee of getting a safe question that he forgot about the new, bigger problem: what the Fuck™ was a crush? These teenagers were polite enough to explain to him the rules of Truth or Dare, but like everyone else, they never explained what a crush was.
The teenagers hollered, "Ooooooh! Who do you liiiike?"
Memory cringed. Why were they so loud? "No one," he answered bluntly.
Everyone except Purple groaned. "You're not supposed to lie! Why do you think it's called Truth or Dare?!"
Memory's freckled face heated up and he felt more confused. "But I wasn't lying!"
One of the hecklers softened their voice. "Hey, don't be shy. We're all friends here and we promise to keep it a secret." Then they winked.
"Keep what a secret?" Memory wanted to grimace at that wink, but he had become afraid to emote any emotion around these Steves.
Purple kept giving Memory encouraging glances, but he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Come ooon, who do you like?" Green asked. "Everyone has a crush, and we just want to get to know you better."
Everyone has a crush? "Look, I don't know, so I don't have one."
"Come on, tell us!" The Steves demanded, their chants getting louder. Memory shrank back and began to tear up.
Thunder.
All the Steves in the circle froze mid-chant. The grassy ground still swayed from the wind, but none of the Steves moved.
Thunder drummed again and bam! Time landed in the center of the circle, causing Memory to yelp.
Time waved hello. "I happened to be in the neighborhood. Are you ok?"
Memory looked down, trembling.
Time knelt down and gently squeezed Memory's shoulder. "You can tell me anything, you know."
Memory whimpered, finally allowing the tears to stream. "I-I don't understand. They keep asking if I have a crush. I keep telling them 'no' or that I don't understand the question, but for some reason, they keep thinking that I'm saying 'yes' when I mean the opposite! They keep probing me for answers I don't have and it's making me uncomfortable!" He loathed it. For all his life, there was a nervousness that followed him, always making him suspect something was "off" when he talked to people. That nervousness always grew as soon as peers asked about love life, which was unfortunately pretty often. It made him stammer and fidget. He had no idea what a crush was, but everyone had told him that his nervousness was a sign of a crush he was too chicken to admit. That made Memory nervous about being nervous, which made it even worse.
Time frowned. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. It's them who are lying to themselves by assuming everyone has a crush."
Memory sniffed. "I just came to this party because it's been forever since I last hung out with Purple. I didn't want this to happen. What am I going to do? How am I supposed to be friends with these people if they think everything I do is romantic? How can I be myself if I'm so awkward that they're always getting the opposite idea of me?!"
"Hey, hey, slow down!" Time sat down on the grass, hand still on Memory's shoulder. "You're really upset about this, and I know you just wanted to have some fun. I can keep these guys frozen for a while longer. So...can you explain the game you were playing?"
Memory dried his eyes and pushed his tinted glasses back up. "Umm, you pick a person and ask them to choose truth or dare, then you either force them to answer a question truthfully or dare them to do something."
"Okay. How about we do a practice round?" Time let go of Memory's shoulder and leaned back. "Do you want to go first?"
"Umm...you can go first."
"Truth or Dare?"
Despite his recently horrible experience with picking truth, Memory still recognized it as the safer choice. "Truth."
"What's your favorite song?"
Memory gasped, realizing he found the perfect excuse to gush about his favorite musician. "Well, since I've been listening to the new album of Alkali Steve lately, my favorite song is 'Ignite.' It's really cool! It's so catchy, and I really want to see Alkali Steve perform it live one day!"
Time perked up. "Really? That's cool!"
"Did...did I ramble?" Memory felt embarrassed.
Time chuckled. "I don't think there's a time limit to this game. Consider this your first real Truth or Dare experience."
Memory smiled and relaxed a bit. "I guess it's my turn. Truth or Dare?"
The two cousins kept exchanging questions, challenges, and enthusiastic answers. Some laughter and dramatic gasps broke their pattern, but nothing shattered the playful mood.
It was Time's turn again. "Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"What's the one thing you wish all allos could understand?"
Memory huffed. "I wear suits because I like how they make me feel, not because I'm trying to impress someone! Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to talk shit about dragons."
"WHAT?!" A miffed expression grew on Time's face. His arms shuddered, as if he badly wanted to strangle someone. Through gritted teeth, he answered, "Dragons suck because there are too little of them! Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"If a Steve tied me to a railroad and tied Elemental to another railroad, and there was a minecart coming, who would you save first?"
Memory stroked his chin and made an exaggerated "hhhmmmm" noise before answering. "Neither. I would instead have tea and cookies with the Steve who tied you up, and we'll laugh at you and Elemental for being idiots who got caught."
Time gave an offended gasp while Memory laughed madly. Time pinched the bridge of his nose. "What have I done? I wanted to cheer you up, and you end up becoming a savage."
Memory scoffed. Was this how the teenagers felt when playing this game? "I adore you, but you should know that I'd give up this family just to have cookies with someone."
"Scary. I need to watch out for you – Gh!" Time suddenly winced and clenched his head.
"Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine. I'm just pushing my limits with how long I can freeze time."
Memory suddenly felt guilty. "I'm sorry I wasted your energy."
Time shook his head. "No, it's alright. This is actually nothing compared to last year. My endurance has increased a lot this month!"
"Woah, that's so cool!"
"I'm gonna unfreeze time. Once time unfreezes, I'll cause a distraction that'll interrupt the entire game, and they'll stop bothering you. Go have fun with the rest of the party for me!"
Memory smiled. "Thank you so much."
The thunder roared, but 13-year-old Memory's excitement was louder. When he and Void appeared on an island in the Memory Dimension, he blurted out, "WELCOME TO MY – " He coughed and straightened his posture. "I mean...The Memory Dimension has been fully set up, Father. Would you like me to show you around?"
Void slowly spun around to observe everything in the Dimension, which was a swamp divided into various islands by lava lakes and rivers. "Nice aesthetic choices. When I agreed to see your dimension, I thought I'd be able to navigate it without problem. After all, I lent you some of my dimension, so I practically did most of the work anyways. But seeing that you made drastic changes, yes, I would like a tour."
Memory beamed. "Please follow me!" He and his father teleported to various islands, and then teleported to the top of the highest tree on one island. "We're near the center of the dimension, so you can really see everything here! Oh, and the sky!" He pointed at the dark sky, where a few blue speckles populated it. "If you look closely, you'll see I stored all the memories up there! There's no way anyone can steal them back!" He stared eagerly at his father, who scanned the horizon ahead.
"Less land means more jumping and less room for pathetic heroes to run," Void laughed. "Is that accidental genius? It's cool, but it's all disorganized. I don't know how you navigate through this."
"...I can teleport. It shouldn't be a problem for me."
"Yeah. But is this all? Just lava and land? You didn't divide your dimension into anything else besides lava and land?"
"Well, I do have a – " Memory clamped his mouth shut. He was about to tell Void about the island where he was building his home, but he remembered that it currently looked like crap because he hadn't finished building it.
If Void was pointing out every flaw that Memory didn't see before, then he might literally tear apart his cruddy home. Memory's enthusiasm would had costed him days of work on his house. He chastised himself for being so excited about something incomplete in the first place.
Void observed the dimension again with less interest. "I guess a monotonous dimension is alright, but...it's simple. The Void Dimension has a castle and a garden; an actual infrastructure. Time Steve split his dimension into smaller pieces that's easier to organize. Not only that, but he can travel through dimensions. You can't even do that yet; you can only go to the Overworld, my dimension, and here."
Memory looked down sheepishly. "I guess you're right..."
"Getting your own dimension is a great milestone and all, but don't forget you still have a lot of work to do. Time Steve can now make machines out of thin air, while you still build them by hand. He can see into the future!"
"I-I can see into the future as well, Father! I can steal memories and view them to see what Steves are planning to do in the future."
"But if you erase their memories of their plans, that future won't happen! You have to restore those memories to ensure the Steves will take those actions that lead to the future you saw."
Memory dipped his head in defeat. He still hadn't found a way to remember the memories that he returned to victims.
"Time also found a way to clone himself through time and fight! I'd kill to be able to do that. It would make my job so much easier."
"Well, I've been working on my combat skills too! It's just been difficult to fight without my destructive powers and – "
"Are you making excuses?!"
Memory froze. He was suddenly aware of every island in this dimension having wood and dirt blocks. Blocks that Void could easily collect and confine him in. "N-no! I'm just saying what's on my mind."
"Which is an excuse! I already gave you enough! I gave you part of my dimension after you've begged me for your own home for so many years. In return, I expect you to pick up the pace with training!"
Memory fought down his tremors and bowed. "Yes, Father."
Void scoffed. "Enjoy your new home." He teleported away.
Memory sulked. He wanted to go back to the island that would soon be his house. He would have to teleport from island to island to find it, but the thought of that drained him. Ugh, Void's right. Why did I choose islands? What was I thinking?
He felt miserable as he teleported from island to island. He had placed forget-me-nots on the islands in certain arrangements so he can distinguish each island. He eventually recognized some islands and the fastest path home. That didn't feel exciting though. He would be walking back to an incomplete base: a tiny wooden house that only held a bed, crafting table, and chests filled with random stuff. It didn't even have a roof yet.
When he finally arrived at the home island, a burst of confetti tackled him. "Surprise!" Time and Elemental pounced out of their hiding spaces and embraced Memory.
Memory yelped and teleported out of their hug. "What's the meaning of this?!" He looked up and noticed that his incomplete base donned a colorful banner that read "Welcome Home!"
"Congratulations on getting your own dimension!" Time cheered. "I really like what you've done with the place so far."
Memory gawked at him. "You do?"
"Yeah! I love all the orange and yellows. Is the lava...?"
"Lava is just a portal to the Overworld. I don't recommend stepping into it."
"Awwww," Elemental sulked, putting away the inflatable cup holder that he was carrying. "Well, your dimension will always be the world's biggest hot tub in my eyes. Anyways, come in."
The brothers escorted Memory into the base. There was a table full of snacks and several shulker boxes stuffed to the brim with wood, cobblestone, and other building blocks. Memory wandered around the decorated room with awe. He brushed his hand against the snack table and scanned the sweets, his mouth watering.
"We want to celebrate you getting your own place," Elemental explained. "And we want to help you finish your house."
Memory gasped. "Really?"
"Yes, really!"
Time added, "We can start building after we eat, if you want."
Memory smiled. "I'd appreciate that. I have a certain vision for this house, but it's difficult to build when..." He stared at his hands mournfully.
Time shifted nervously. "We'll help you build your dream house! Oh, and after we're done with building, there's a surprise I'd like to give you..."
"Like I said before, this surprise will drastically change this island. There will be thunder, but don't be alarmed. If you don't like the gift, I'll undo the transformation and it'll be like it never happened. Is that alright?"
Memory, who was closing his eyes at Time's request, nodded. "Yes, it's alright."
"Great. Three, two, one..."
Thunder.
"Alright, open your eyes."
Memory opened his eyes and gasped. The island had completely transformed. The ground was golden sand instead of grass. In the center was a clock-shaped, illuminating lake. In the center of the lake, a magnificent tree stood tall, reaching for the gray cloud that covered the island. The tree donned beautiful dark blue leaves, arrow-shaped branches protruding from the foliage. The entire island drummed to a beat. The rhythm was coming from the tree. Memory could see the surrounding air bloom with sound waves of the tree's beats, mixing into the dark sky.
"I call it the Time Tree," Time said, breaking Memory out of his trance. Time built a pathway out of lily pads on the lake and brought Memory to the tree, where he taught him how to control time in the dimension. "So, do you like my gift?" Time asked.
Memory rested his hand on his tree. He was still in disbelief. Feeling the tree's beat against his own hand made his heart leap. The thrilling realization began to sink in. He could freeze time now. He could stay in the dimension for as long as he wanted!
He gave Time a teary smile. "It's perfect. Thank you. No one's given me a gift like this. You just made my dimension so much better..."
13-year-old Memory teleported to the base of a mountain. He quickly hid in the shadows and checked the gift he was holding. He had been working hard to paint and polish up this gift, which was originally a shoebox he found in the Galaxy Tower. He had asked Purple Steve to cut out two eye holes on one side of the box and a big hole on the other side.
He suppressed an excited giggle. Time's gonna love this! Oh Colors, I hope I don't look like an idiot when I show him this.
Memory climbed up the mountain and found Time building a huge clock machine.
Elemental was also there, leaning against a wall of stone and pouting. "I told you a thousand times and you didn't show up with the right model? We could had easily won first place, but you just had to bring the wrong model for the build! Why didn't you get it right?"
Time didn't look up as he tweaked his machine. "Look, I'm sorry, Elemental. But I still promise a victory dinner tomorrow. We got second place, after all!"
Elemental's eye twitched. "You didn't answer my question."
Memory hid the box behind his back and cleared his throat. Elemental and Time turned their attention to him. Time greeted, "Oh, hey Memory. What's up?"
"I wanna show you something!"
Time placed down his tools and approached Memory with a smile. "Oh, show me!"
Memory presented the decorated box with one hand. With his other hand still behind his back, he summoned a flower, which held one of his memories. "Take a look!"
Time looked through the eye holes. Memory quickly inserted the flower into the bigger hole and commanded it to project its memories.
Time gasped, still looking through the eye holes. "Hey, it's almost like a movie! Wait, is that me and...it's the magical lake and Dad and...wait...I know where this is going...HAH! He got slapped by a fish!"
When the projection ended, Time looked up and returned the box to Memory. "How did you do that? That was pretty cool!"
Memory beamed. "Surprise! I figured out how to show memories!"
"Really? Great job!"
Memory beamed even more. He did it! Time liked it! Time always liked funny moments from their family trips, so Memory hoped he would like the memory-viewing contraption he made. Time deserved a gift, after all.
Elemental glared at them both. "Memory's really thoughtful. You sure could have used a memory viewer when you were building that model!"
Time groaned. "Again? Just let it go, Elemental. Second place isn't that bad!"
"It's bad when the judges laughed at us when our machine broke down for two minutes!" Element looked away to shudder. "One of them was a celebrity..."
Memory awkwardly stepped away. His smile fell, and he now realized he had bothered his cousins at the wrong time.
"It's not the end of the world," Time retorted. "We can't argue about all these little things forever, or we'll never get anything done."
Elemental rolled his eyes. "Fine. Do me a quick favor and I'll drop the topic."
"Name it."
"Can you look into the future and see what Nerdy Blue's Bookstore will have for sale next month? I want to save up my emeralds in advance, so I'd like to know what books they'll have on sale next month."
"Oh, I can do that." Time waved his hands around in a circle, generating a golden orb of light. It morphed into a grid, which displayed changing numbers over time. He handed the hologram to Elemental. "Here's a little graph of what to expect to go on sale in the next four weeks. Happy?"
Memory gasped and stumbled back. Time was able to share his vision of the future?! Not only that, but he had the power to transform his vision and reduce it to a simple, easy-to-understand graph? With nothing but light?!
Memory looked back at the shoebox. He was now hyper-aware of all the paint strokes and the cardboard's wear of age. He winced, embarrassed of how childish his "invention" was. He came to this mountain happy to show off something cool to Time. But instead, he felt defeated.
Guess you'll be heading to the lava pit soon. Memory was about to put the box in his inventory, but then he hesitated. Wait, what if I need it...Pfft, who needs this box? Who would –
The smaller figure struggled to climb up and tripped on a crevice near the mountaintop. The tall figure caught him before he fell and gently swung him back on his feet. The small figure raised his arms gleefully from his short "flight." The tall figure patted his head in response before the two bowed to the hovering figure.
...Memory smiled and tucked the box safely into his inventory. Maybe he will like it. I can entertain him and tell him so many stories with this...
"...And then after that, you'll scout this area." Void pointed at the diagram placed in his castle's battle room. "Got that, Memory? ...Got that?"
"Hmm?" Memory flinched. "Oh, yes, I understand."
Void scowled. "What's gotten into you? I'm getting sick of you not paying attention anymore! I've seen all your latest endeavors and how you've been so focused on being nice to Time Steve." He tightened his grip on the battle table, accidentally leaving clawmarks on the edge. "Why are you prioritizing being nice to Time Steve over training?"
Memory gulped. "I'm not prioritizing him! I just wanted to show him my gratitude."
"You know saying 'thanks' would be enough."
"I want to do more than just thank him. I want to give back to him."
"What will you gain from that?" Void asked.
Memory felt flustered. "Time's just...done so much for me. He's so wonderful and just...I want to believe that he enjoys my company, which is why I want to be kind to him."
I want him to think I'm cool too...
Void stepped around the table and continued to scowl at Memory. "Do you want to know why Time gives you all of these nice things? It's not to make you feel good. He does all those things to feel good about himself."
Memory gasped. "W-what?"
"Think about it. Time's smart enough to know that good guys are best at giving, and he wants to be seen as good. His father is always concerned about his reputation, and that self-consciousness runs in his side of the family.
"He just wants easily impressed people around to feel good about himself. Time only wants to be your friend so he can give himself that satisfaction! By giving you all those gifts, he's making you in debt to him."
In debt? Memory briefly glimpsed at his inventory and the pathetic little shoebox craft. Is that the real reason why I spent so long making that for him?
"He's trying to make you in debt to him to make you go soft on him," Void continued. "And you can't allow that to happen! The evil side already struggles to maintain the balance, so don't let the good guys feel great by giving them exactly what they want: validation for doing minimal work and bad guys who go easy on them."
Memory looked back at Void with uncertainty. "But what if – "
"You can't also forget your destiny!"
Memory gasped. "You mean..."
Void nodded. "Yes, your destiny. The reason why I created you in the first place. The real reason why I climbed every single mountain in this pathetic world to find the Colors, who gave me the power to create you and gave me this vision of the future."
He snapped his fingers. Dark particles materialized and formed a dark panel that flickered to life and displayed a faint, grayscale image of a destroyed landscape. One barren mountain was its only survivor. Hovering above it was a dark, cloaked figure with bright red eyes.
"This is the future! The aftermath of the inevitable ultimate battle between good and evil, when I'm no longer held back by Galaxy Steve or anyone else! But like Galaxy Steve, I won't be alone..."
On the mountain, a tall figure climbed up and gazed at the cloaked one.
"Evil must exist as a balance against good. Galaxy Steve has two sons who will one day overlook time and space, so there must be two who will counter them."
The screen darkened even more as dark particles steamed out of it. Memory gasped. He had never seen what happened after this vision before.
The screen zoomed in on the tall figure on the mountain. The figure stood up and raised up both fists, with ignited sinister red energy. The red glow bled color into the vision and exposed the figure's face: a spiral mask that blocked any signs of emotion. The masked figure peered down the landscape and noticed one small village that somehow survived the destruction. He adjusted his tie and suit coat before launching down from the mountain.
The screen flickered to the main street of the village. Colorful Steves shrieked and fled as the masked figure stalked closer. The hologram of a clock blinked to existence in front of the spiral mask. It ticked ominously until it glitched and glass shatter marks stretched across it.
Crack! As the holographic clock cracked, the fabric of time itself gave an ugly ripping noise. Slashes that oozed purple goop swiped through the air, severing the village into tiny parts. The world quaked as each parted section of the village glitched madly. Some buildings morphed into bare wooden skeletons, while others drowned in a sudden overgrowth of weeds and decay. The Steves gawked at the transforming village in horror. One slash through time nearly sliced through the village leader, who yelped and commanded everyone to flee.
All while the masked figure continued walking forward without faltering.
"This is the future you must turn into reality," Void's voice echoed. "I created you to be Time Steve's evil counterpart. While Time overlooks the fabric of time to protect every Steve from its unraveling, you will create chaos and put him in place by breaking time.
"And let's not forget what your little brother can do."
Memory edged closer to the screen and gasped when a shorter figure climbed up the mountain. He was still shrouded by darkness despite his hands glowing red. The short figure raised his hands like a conductor and the mountain rumbled. A dark matter materialized and began building on the mountain; Memory recognized the dark matter as indestructible material that could suffocate all good in the Overworld. The dark matter formed sharp points, steep stairways, and a castle on the barren mountain.
The taller masked figure teleported back to the mountain and greeted his younger brother with a head pat, while the deadly spines and irreversible fortress continued consuming the mountain.
"Your brother will be Elemental's evil counterpart. Once the Colors find you meeting their standards, they will again lend me their creation powers so I can create your brother, and you and your brother will work under my command to maintain this balance..."
Memory sat on the roots of the Time Tree. After countless of minutes of fidgeting, he forced his hands to let go of themselves and placed them on the roots. I need to learn how to actually break time. I can only break people's perception of time by erasing their memories. But with the Time Tree, I can practice on breaking time itself! This is a perfect opportunity to...
He grimaced. But what if I hurt the tree? I won't have a way to have more time to keep my shit together. What if Time gets mad at me for breaking the Tree and –
"By giving you all those gifts, he's making you in debt to him," Void's words echoed.
Memory gave out a huff. I HAVE to do this!
I'm so behind.
Time's leagues ahead of me. He's always stronger than me. Always smarter than me.
He discovered more about his abilities when he was my age.
His dimension's better than mine. My dimension isn't even fully mine anymore ever since he planted that tree. So will it never be its own thing?
I need to pick up the pace for Void. I have to do this and –
"Gah!" Memory kicked the nearest bush. He stormed away from the tree and towards the crafting table he kept at the corner of the sandy island. He began to craft a small leaf crown, but the weaving and twisting of wires wasn't enough. He was deep in this rabbithole of thoughts now, and it was spiraling him into more contempt.
Snap! He accidentally pierced the last three leaves in the wrong position. He snarled and shed off the broken pieces. His irritation pounded stronger against his head when he realized those were his last leaves. He had to go to a Green Steve village to buy some more leaf blocks.
He teleported to the outskirts of a Green Steve village. He forced himself to calm down before he approached the little civilization.
"Hahaha, yay!"
Memory turned his attention to a grassy, fenced-in park, where a teenage Green Steve had a little Green Steve hanging on his arm. The little brother giggled as he swung on his older brother's arm, and his brother laughed with him.
A smile found its way back to Memory's face. For a brief moment, he imagined that the teenaged Green Steve was him instead.
He reminded himself that no matter the frustration, he would always keep trying to train.
Memory returned to Void's castle to start on chores. Since he had arrived at the entrance, he checked the shulker box at the entrance for any packages or mail. He found a soggy, gross bag (probably another package of experimental sandwiches from Galaxy) and a letter from Time Steve. For me?
Memory opened the letter and read it.
Hey Memory, tomorrow Elemental and I are going to watch the Yellow Steve Sports Finals. Feel free to come with us! – Time.
...
"He just wants easily impressed people around to feel good about himself. Time only wants to be your friend so he can give himself satisfaction."
...
Memory sighed and crumbled up the letter. He teleported to the lava pit that was in the kitchen and threw Galaxy's package and the letter into it.
Word count: 7594
ERROR. Conflicting versions of Chapter 34 found.
Recalculating...
Word count: 7248
Issue resolved by the narrator.
Whatever just happened with the bold moments, don't worry about it.
And yup, we are going back in time to explore Memory's backstory! I hope you guys are looking forward to the big answers that I will reveal in these chapters.
Thank you for reading. Take care and stay safe.