Content warning: alcohol reference/allegory (in a joking way), toxic behavior, discussion of trauma and child abuse

This is a relatively chill chapter, which is probably refreshing after all the previous chaotic chapters, lol.

Enjoy! Also, I hope you enjoy the weird callbacks to Act 1 that'll be in this chapter, lol

After a long, peaceful silence, Alex finally cleared her throat. "Umm, is it ok to ask where is Illusion?"

Memory pulled out of his (second) embrace with Time, feeling apprehensive again. He sighed and withdrew the large zinnia from his inventory, holding it in his hands. Being the embodiment of all of Illusion's memories, the flower glowed bright red. Its multiple layers of petals seemed to defy gravity, flickering like a flame being tugged from all sides except up. While the flower felt weightless in his hands, looking at it made the guilty chains around his heart heavier. "I'm sorry. I truly am."

Alex looked confused as she observed the zinnia. Then she paled. "No...Did you seriously..."

Time raised an assured hand at her. "He didn't mean to." He gave Memory a serious look. "But how do you plan to fix this?"

Memory gulped, unused to reciting these drawbacks. "When I steal memories from people who interact frequently with me, those memories become connected to my memories." He nudged the zinnia. It unraveled and morphed into a bundle of smaller flowers. all blooming in various shades of red. Tiny gray forget-me-nots appeared and twisted themselves around the zinnias' stems. "My memories have become linked with Illusion's. When I restore memories, they leave my dimension and I lose my knowledge about them. If I don't return these memories, Illusion will forget about me and everyone else, but if I return them...it'll be me who forgets him."

Time leaned back. Without his mask, his surprised expression was clear. "I didn't know that. So that's why you refused to restore them immediately."

Memory turned away with a heated face. He remembered how he lashed out at Time, and it embarrassed him now. "I know it's selfish, but I don't want to forget about him." He already regretted saying goodbye to Illusion when he was convinced that Void would come back. He couldn't bare the idea of doing it again.

"No, it's not selfish," Time said. "He means a lot to you; I wouldn't want to forget about him either. Heh, it's crazy to think that when I first saw you, I feared that you were planning to hurt him."

"But you ended up being right," Memory whimpered. "I don't know how to fix this."

"Is there a way you can unlink the memories?"

"I don't know. I never figured out how," Memory admitted, ashamed to reveal another one of his flaws.

Time and Alex exchanged sympathetic glances. Their eyes eventually gleamed with hope, exchanging some secret conversation. Time looked back at Memory and said, "I have an idea: give me Illusion's memories, and I'll find a way to restore them."

Memory gasped. "Would it be similar to how Alex restored your memories by making you see through my past?"

"Sort of, but we'll only be using Illusion's memories," Time explained. "Memories can serve as anchors in the timeline. And with Alex's help, we can use those anchors to access a certain fragment of the timeline, which will deliver so much information and hopefully trigger Illusion's memory restoration, similar to how viewing the past triggered mine's."

Memory perked up. "When someone triggers their own memory restoration, the memories return on their own without causing me to forget about them. It could work!"

Time smiled and reached out with his open hand. "So, want to try it?"

Memory glanced back at the flowers. He wanted to believe it could work. Time and Alex could do anything. But deep down, he was worried. Yes, Illusion could analyze memories and process things quickly, but he was also hostile and skeptical. Would the plan really work?

He looked back at Time's hopeful face. The worries persisted, but something in his heart felt uplifted. After everything, Memory was now seeing how much he had in common with Time. They both wanted to be there for Illusion, after everything they had been through and the tragedies that struck Illusion and Elemental. So if Time believed that this plan was worth a shot, then Memory would believe it too.

Memory formed all the zinnias back into one big flower and handed it to Time. "I can't express how thankful I am about this, Time."

Time smiled and tucked the zinnia in his inventory. "Of course. I want my brother's memories restored as much as you do! But before we can do that, we actually have to find him."

Alex groaned and facepalmed. "We have to search for another person with no memories? I thought finding Sabre and restoring his memories was hard enough!"

Time corrected himself. "Actually, I think it's better if only one of us search for Illusion. I fear that a group search would scare him off."

"I want to find him," Memory volunteered.

Time gave him a perplexed and shocked look.

"Umm, is there a problem?"

"Oh, no. I actually agree that you should be the one to find him, but I don't think you should find him while looking like...that..."

"Like what?" Memory glimpsed at the crystal blue lake and gasped when he saw his reflection. There was a pitch black streak across his face and dark particles surrounded him like a blaze from the Nether. "AH!" He jumped back, shielding the infected side of his face. Did the Shadow Stones cause this?! "D-do I look...too frightening? Why didn't you tell me right after I took off my mask?" He asked bashfully.

Time snorted. "We both assumed all evil Steves know when their appearances change, so we thought you knew."

Alex nodded. "Your side has a certain aesthetic."

"You'll scare Illusion looking like this. But don't worry; I can create a potion to remove the Shadow Stone effect, and you'll look like your old self again."

"How will you make a potion?" Alex asked. "Brewing stands are hard to come by these days."

Time gave a smug smile. "I know a place."

"Where have you been ever since you broke out of Illusion's machine anyways?" Memory asked.

"Well, after I broke free, I ran off and needed time to process everything. I had no idea what was happening, but I did know that Steves around the world needed me. So I went around the Overworld doing favors and helpings Steves while I tried to think things through. I ended up creating a temporary haven for Steves. I also found a brewing stand during my quest, and it's at the haven. When you guys are ready, I'll teleport us all there."

Alex shrugged. "I'm ready. What about you, Memory?"

Memory straightened his back. As he registered Time and Alex's patient gaze, he suddenly felt cold. This was more than just a temporary team up to save Illusion; they were inviting him to something.

He had spent years declining invitations from friends. He couldn't comprehend that he was finally being invited to something, and from Alex and Time out of all people. Moments ago, they were enemies trying to stop each other. He never thought he would see all three of them ready to work together. He felt uneasy, but reminded himself that Time and Alex wanted to move on and work towards a common goal.

Maybe they even want to become my frie – Memory by instinct killed that thought. I'm just projecting.

Memory made extra sure that the illusion powers were blocking his memory powers and put on his balaclava and mask. "I'm ready as well."

Time summoned thunder and soon they were engulfed by light, the Memory Dimension fading away. Then, somehow even brighter sunlight replaced the white vision, and soon they were surrounded by blue sky and grassy lands. They were standing on a dirt pathway, which led to a circle of five tiny houses.

Time gestured Alex and Memory to follow him to the circle of five houses. The buildings were made out of old wood, and their ceilings were a haphazard pattern of wood and cobblestone slabs. One of the five buildings was twice as big as the others. A messy community garden was tucked between the bigger building and a smaller building. And chests flooding with blocks and unclaimed tools were scattered in front of each building's entrance.

Time, who still had his clock mask off, laughed nervously, his eyes darting everywhere to avoid looking at Alex and Memory. "Not the best looking place, I know. But the Steves are dispersed; the illusion teleported most Steves far away from their villages so they wouldn't see how abandoned they were. I had to quickly built this place because the Steves really needed it."

Alex looked at each house, looking like she was muffling down some negative comments. She forced herself to brighten up. "I...like it! It's great that you built this. How many Steves are here?"

"Eight Steves. Most of them are out gathering supplies."

"Eight?! That's incredible!"

"I can give you a quick tour." Time approached each building, motioning his friends to follow. He explained, mainly to Alex, that the biggest house held small bedrooms for each resident. The other four buildings serve as a cafeteria, a crafting workshop, a potion brewing area, and a community center.

Every now and then, Time and Alex would look over their shoulder at Memory, who always flinched when that happened. Why did they keep looking back at him? Where they expecting him to say something? He knew heroic Steves build havens and civilizations, like the Yellow Kingdom and Rainbow Town, but he had never seen them up close, let alone speak to a town-builder. Only knowing destruction all his life, he didn't know what he was supposed to say. Congrats on saving eight Steves out of the thousands who were lost? But he knew that was inappropriate.

"You built this all in one day?!" Alex exclaimed. "You make this sound so easy."

Time looked away, forming a flattered smile and scratching the back of his neck. "Aw, thank you. But it actually wasn't easy. I was overwhelmed by everything I had to do. I just focused on one step after another to get things done. So I focused on my first task, which was looking for – "

Grass rustled. Time, Memory, and Alex turned to the sound and saw a Green Steve walking towards them, looking down at his arms, which were holding wool, leaves, and paint. When he looked up and finally noticed the three, he jumped up with a scream, dropping all of his items.

"Oh, I was just talking about you!" Time ran up to the newcomer and helped him pick up his stuff. "Welcome back! How was your trip to the Blue Steve village?"

"G-great!" Green Steve forced down his fright and gave a smile. "But the Elder Blue Steve over there was...off. I felt bad for him."

Alex looked confused. "Where did you find this Green Steve, Time?"

"He's the Green Steve we were supposed to rescue from the machine," Time explained.

Alex's jaw dropped and her entire face turned red. "OOOOOOHHHHH."

Time gave an awkward cough. "I felt bad for him. We were supposed to find him before I got infected, so finding him became my first priority. The illusion paused his infection and made him forget why he was in the machine in the first place. He's the first resident of this haven."

Memory cringed. Being trapped in a machine and forgotten? This Green Steve was blessed to not remember that.

Alex formed a wide grin, looking more red. "Y-yeah. Hi, Green Steve! Nice to see you again!"

Green Steve regathered all his dropped items. "Nice to see you again too." He then stepped back to remain six feet apart from Alex.

Alex threw her hands out in assurance. "Hey, it's ok! Sabre cured my infection!"

"I know," Green Steve replied. "Time Steve told me."

Time rejoined his friends and playfully leaned against Alex, who still looked embarrassed. "I know you two didn't have the best history, but I hope that changes!"

Meanwhile, Memory tilted his head as he studied the Green Steve. Why do I feel like I've met this Green Steve before?

"I'm looking for a village. Where can I find the nearest one?"

Memory stumbled back. Oh my Colors, this is the first Steve I talked to when I first blocked my memory powers! The entire moment flashed before his eyes. Every single cringy word from that conversation with Green Steve. The struggle to figure out the illusion powers for the first time. aaaaAAAAHHH –

Memory kept staring at Green Steve, who was now awkwardly staring back. Without breaking his terrified gaze away, Memory generated an arrow and raised it up with a shaky arm, aiming it at Green Steve.

Time, while still giving Green Steve a friendly look, gently pushed down Memory's shaky, arrow-holding arm. "So, did you get the supplies you wanted, Green?"

Green Steve nodded. "I did! Thank you again for the emeralds! Now I can make some arts and crafts. It's what I like to do to make myself happy. I bought extra supplies to keep in the community center if other Steves wanna make art too!"

Time perked up. "That's an excellent idea! Thank you!"

"If you need anything, I'll be drawing at the community center. I'll probably be drawing a lot...to make up for all the lost time I spent in that machine."

Alex quickly dipped her head down. She probably would had fell face-first if she had been more flimsy. "Green Steve, I'm really sorry that we forgot about you. We were dealing with an even bigger problem."

"It's ok. Time Steve explained that too. Oh, where's Sabre?"

"Oh, Sabre is – " Alex did a double take and gave Memory an alarmed expression. "Actually, where is Sabre?"

Time also gave Memory a curious expression.

"..." Memory stared at them both while the mental image of Sabre exploding into green numbers replayed in his mind. "..." Sweat pressed against his mask, which was hiding his expression of pure terror and awkwardness. He slowly brought up his still trembling arm, now aiming the arrow at Alex.

Time pushed down Memory's arm again and said, "I saw Galaxy in Memory's dimension when I arrived there. If Galaxy's there, then I'm sure Sabre's there too. Alex, why don't you go back to the Memory Dimension to fetch them?"

Alex perked up, the red on her face fading away. "Yeah! I'll go do that right now!" She walked backwards, giving a frantic farewell wave. "Nice to meet you again, Green Steve! I'm just gonna go and – Ah!" A new Steve entered the haven on the pathway Alex was using, and Alex bumped into him.

The new Steve, who was a Red Steve, snarled, "Watch it!"

Alex jumped out of the way. "Oops! Sorry – wait, Leader, is that you?"

The Red Steve blinked multiple times and finally recognized her. "Oh, it's you." It really was the Leader of the Red Steves. The leader of the rebellious Red Steve village that was dealt by Memory. The leader who was kidnapped by Illusion and forced into working for him. He was wearing tattered travel clothes and a poncho, which covered his leader badge. He must had been travelling to find and gather Red Steves, just like what Illusion told him to do.

"How have you been?" Red Leader asked.

"Good! Just good! I'm gonna go now!" Alex walked past Red Leader and sprinted away. She ran until she was a dot in the distance, then she paused. "Wait...It's a dimension." Lighting suddenly hit her and she disappeared, signaling that she teleported.

They know each other? Memory wondered.

Red Leader rolled his eyes and turned towards Time and Memory. "You there! Can I rest here for the night? I'm worn down from all the traveling I've been doing." He yawned and rested his hands on his hip, accidentally nudging the bag wrapped around his waist. The bag coughed a tiny cloud of purple dust and shook slightly, causing some gold nuggets to slip out of a tear in the corner.

Memory glanced at the bag with suspicion. It seems like he's been doing more than just finding Red Steves. He's been collecting resources, and for what? He should had known that Red Leader wouldn't become completely obedient. Although Illusion no longer wanted to be a villain, Red Leader didn't know that and was probably plotting something.

Time gestured to the biggest building. "Feel free to take one of the empty rooms and make yourself at home. Cafeteria is on the left and we currently have a Green Steve at our community center. Rest well!" Time then shoved Memory, startling him. "POTION TIME!"

Red Leader perked up. "Wait, you have a brewing stand here? Can I use it?"

Time continued pushing Memory to the brewing area. "Unfortunately, we're dealing with an emergency, so I'm afraid I must decline your request. I have a clipboard attached to the community center door. Feel free to write your name down on the list of the brewing stand waiting line!"

Red Leader gasped. "WAIT, a clipboard?! You-you can just force people to wait for your help by making them write on a list...and they'll never knock on your door to bother you for things?" He fell to his knees – eyes wide with awe – and screamed to the heavens. "WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT SOONER?! MY EYES HAVE BEEN OPENED TO A BRAND NEW WAY TO AVOID PEOPLE."

As he pushed Memory towards the brewing area, Time scowled and whispered, "I know what you did to his village."

"...Illusion told me to erase his village's memories," Memory weakly defended.

Time groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "One step at a time, one step at a time. But don't expect me to forget this when we start fixing this mess."

...We?

They arrived at the brewing area. It was a small room. Chests lined its walls. Wedged into the corner of the room was a table, which held a brewing stand.

Memory remained at the entrance and crossed his arms to his chest, almost ashamed of the space he was taking. Time nudged him. "Hey, come on. I remember how we brewed potions together. I kinda want to relive that."

Memory gave Time an intrigued look. "You remember that?" He couldn't understand how Time had the mental energy to bring up something so trivial and old, when there were so many horrors in the past Time could mention.

Time laughed. "I'm surprised it feels so natural to remember. You were three when we first made potions...actually, we technically weren't making potions at that age. I was a kid mixing leaves and rocks I found on the ground into a bucket of water, and you had to sit on the table, holding up Brewing for Beginners and turning the page for me."

Memory tilted his head. "I don't remember that long ago. Why do I suspect that you made that all up just to mock me?"

"When Dad got me a brewing stand for my birthday, I of course invited you to help me use it. Buuut, you were still too small to reach the brewing stand, so you continued sitting on the table to hold my book. But obviously, that no longer became a problem years later." Time stepped back and observed Memory from top to bottom. He gave a hmmm sound as he craned his neck up to look directly at Memory. Then he looked down (emphasis on down) at his own body. He sighed, shaking his head. "Anyways, I need your help. Follow me."

Memory kept close to Time as they approached the brewing stand, still feeling uncertain. Time activated the blaze rod in the stand and placed down three bottles of water. "Alright, let's begin. Can you hand over the glowstone dust in that chest next to you? I also need some sugar and some coal."

Memory obliged and handed the ingredients to him.

Time began pouring the ingredients into the bottles. "Oh, ice!" He slammed the table in alarm. "I need ice, but there's no ice in the storage! Memory, can you – "

Memory quickly teleported to the Memory Dimension, grabbed a few ice blocks from a shulker box, and teleported back to Time. "You're the master of time, yet you always forget that potions need time to cool," he said flatly as he handed the blocks over.

Time gave a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, you're so helpful! Thank you!" He found an empty chest and put the ice blocks in it.

He returned to the stand to lower the heat. "Hey," he began. "Remember when I made a breakthrough discovery and found the cheapest way to brew a Potion of Nausea? I was gonna change history with my invention? BEHOLD!" Time dramatically took out two oddly-shaped potions of fizzy water and placed them over his eyes. He looked around the room through the potions, his jaw dropping to the floor and his eyes wide with wonder. "Woah, everything looks so blurry and weird! These potions are making me so nauseated!"

Memory took off his mask and balaclava, because Time had to know that he was rolling his eyes and scowling at him. "Really now? You gave Galaxy Steve a panic attack with that joke every time. The joke was cringy, but you convinced me to erase everyone's memories of the joke, so you could use the same joke a hundred times and they would always laugh like it was the first time they heard it."

"It was before I learned puns were the superior sense of humor. I had to make the best with the jokes I had back then," Time defended himself.

Memory scoffed playfully and smiled. All of his uncertainty melted away as an ancient, long forgotten sentiment rekindled.

The cousins focused on the brewing stand again, watching the potions change color as tiny bubbles emerged to the surface. Memory glanced at Time fondly. Since he had his memories back, was Time thinking about the same memories that he was thinking of right now? About the first potions they brewed together? How they read the Greek mythology book while they waited for the potions to boil? How Elemental would walk in on them and tell them that the complex alchemy the wizards used was better than brewing?

Eventually, Time sighed. "So...Elemental Steve..."

Memory flinched, being brought back to the present. "Nothing would ever make the wound heal. I never wanted this to happen and – "

"Memory, I don't blame you for what happened," Time assured. "Heh, it's funny that I remember my past, and I try to process it by wondering how I would rewrite it. But I'll eventually come to terms with it. Like I said before, accepting that our loved one's journey has ended is something that must happen. I just want to ask you a question."

"Ok...what do you want to ask?"

"I'm grateful that I remember my past, but there are still some things I don't know. Like what happened once Elemental...stopped hanging out with me. I wasn't there for him, but I know you spent time with him when he started working for Void. How did you treat each other?"

Memory sent a jolt of silent power into the flowers. They flinched and their images flickered and ceased. Now anyone would mistake them as normal flowers, because he permanently erased those memories, making them irretrievable.

"The flowers never decay either. I would like to gift you this, my new friend."

Elemental accepted and wore the flower crown. "Thank you so much for your kindness! ...I also hope I can remember my family."

"I hope you are able to as well." Memory stared sinisterly at the flowers. "But please don't lose your mind as you look for answers!"

He knew that Elemental, being the son of a promise-breaker, wouldn't listen to him. Every day, Elemental would become more mad from not knowing his past. Every day, he would become more desperate and willing to follow Void Steve.

And that gave Memory immense satisfaction.

Memory jolted from the clang of metal hitting the floor. He teleported to the kitchen entrance and saw Elemental gawk at the dropped pans and hurriedly pick them up.

Memory growled and stormed away. Void was asleep. If it was Memory who dropped the pans, Void would had yelled at him for disrupting his sleep. But Elemental would get away with it easier.

He summoned a blue flower, which projected Elemental's memory of creating a failure of a cake with Time for Galaxy's birthday. He sent some energy into the flower, making it turn organic and making the memory disappear. He furiously ripped apart the flower. Deep inside, guilt was yelling at him to stop. It yelled louder and louder as the flower became more shredded.

He knew he had to shove the guilt away later.

"Memory?"

Memory turned to glare at Elemental, who was giving an awkward smile. "Sorry if I interrupted you in the middle of something."

"...Not a problem," Memory mumbled.

Memory and Elemental sat in the living room together, both reading their own separate books.

Elemental closed his book and awkwardly coughed. "So, you're Void's son. How does it feel?"

Memory muffled down a frustrated groan. It had been four years ever since Elemental moved in, and this was the tenth time Elemental had asked this question. He was sick of it. Sick of all the times he accidentally erased Elemental's memories. Sick of all the introductions and hellos he had to repeat over and over because of these stupid powers. Sick of always saying hello to his replacement.

The last time Memory accidentally restarted their friendship was two weeks ago. His powers were spiraling out of control.

He had a feeling that today would be the last time Elemental would ever remember him. And Memory wasn't even sad. He wanted this to be over.

"I assume you're asking because you want to know what it's like to have a father," Memory scoffed, not looking out of his book.

Elemental chuckled. "You caught me. Yes, I'm curious."

"And needy," Memory hissed.

Elemental gasped offendedly. "Why are you like this? Ever since I've met you, I've gotten nothing but a bad aura from you. Have I done something to upset you? I'm just curious."

Memory growled. "Maybe you should just let me have this moment." This final moment to talk with you.

"A moment to do what?"

Memory slammed the book shut and finally faced Elemental. He flicked his hand, summoning a few forget-me-nots. He chuckled darkly. "You never asked to see my powers before."

Elemental gawked at the flowers. He took off his flower crown, darting his gaze between the floating flowers and the buds weaved into his crown. He began to tremble. "...You."

Memory sneered. "Surprise! At least you know Void wasn't bullshitting you when he said you'd find the answers you needed here, because I had them all along."

Elemental snarled. "You rat!" He threw a fireball at Memory, but Memory jumped out of the way, eyes still on Elemental.

"WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL ME YOU HAD MY MEMORIES?!" Elemental roared. "Void...did he tell you to do this?" He clenched his head and began to hyperventilate. "Did he steal my memories so I can walk straight into his trap? Did I did nothing but waste my time here and – AH!"

Memory threw a dart at him and desummoned the flowers. "Shut up. Nobody cares."

Elemental blinked and shook his head. He looked confused for a moment, but them resumed to stare nervously at Memory.

We've broken eye contact so many times. When will he just forget? Memory was surprised that his powers didn't erase Elemental's memory yet. But he welcomed the surprise. There was so much he wanted to say to his cousin.

"I can't take it anymore," Elemental fussed. "Why are you looking at me like that? I feel like...I have a reason to be upset at you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Memory groaned. "Why in the world would you think so negatively of me."

Elemental sputtered. "I don't mean to antagonize you. I just want to understand things."

"That's all you want to do, but you never will. You'll never understand what others are going through because you're too focused on yourself."

"Hey now, that's not true. I'm – " Elemental couldn't continue. He wasn't oblivious enough to know that he was only in Void's castle for his own selfish reasons. "Ugh, whatever you believe, fine. If you're going to have a fowl day, then be proactive and fix it."

"I am having a bad day, and I just fixed it!" Memory snapped.

"Then don't cause any more problems! Ugh, if you'll excuse me, I'll be calmly clearing my thoughts by going out for a walk. Farewell." Elemental turned around.

Memory teleported away with a flash of light.

He arrived in the hallway and looked through the newly collected bundle of Elemental's memories of him. Each bundle of memories had grown smaller than the last as his powers spiraled more out of control. At least it's finally over...

Memory turned and saw Elemental walk out of the living room with a perplexed expression. Elemental then looked up, baffled that there was a flower crown on him. He took it off and observed it with confusion. Eventually, he shrugged and tossed the flower crown away.

As Elemental walked away, Memory stormed back to his bedroom, gritting his teeth and holding back the fresh tears.

He hated the fact that Elemental would walk away from him happier than ever before.

"Memory?" Time repeated.

"Oh Colors..." Memory stumbled back. He trembled, eyes glued to the floor. He couldn't bring himself to look at Time, and he felt ashamed of his cowardice. "Oh Colors, I don't have a good answer for you. I tried being nice to him. It was my fault he was there anyway. But, there were times, when life was rough, that sometimes...I felt like I had permission to be cruel to him."

He heard Time tense up. Memory hissed. He wanted to bury himself as punishment. "I thought being cruel to him would turn the day around." Oh Colors, why was I like that?

"Do you regret it?" Time asked.

Memory gulped. "I do now, but it's too late." He hid his face. "I can't make it up to him. I was so horrible."

Time sighed. "Would you like some advice on what I would do in your situation?"

Memory looked up nervously. "Please...I feel so lost."

"If you truly, deep in your heart, wish you can take back everything you've done to someone who's long gone, the best thing you can do is give kindness to those that the lost one would appreciate you for helping."

Memory pondered, trying to decipher the words of the hero. "Like paying it forward?"

"Exactly!"

"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."

Memory tore his gaze away. "Umm..." He brought his arms closer to his chest, as if that would somehow take back all the excitement he foolishly allowed himself to feel. "I don't know if I can."

Time raised an eyebrow. "Why not? You can teleport across dimensions to fetch me some ice, but you don't know if you can be nice to other people?"

"I mean, I can. But it's just that...you be nice to someone, and then they'll try to be nice back and...My father basically explained it as – "

"Oh yeah, I remember. Did Void tell you to reject any kindness, because he worried you'd be focused on paying it forward instead of listening to him?"

Memory nodded. "It's honestly odd to hear the same advice, but from someone on the heroic side."

Time fully whirled around and sputtered. "B-b-but I'm not like Void! I'm not telling you to – !" He double-facepalmed.

"I apologize! I didn't mean it like that!"

Time dragged down his hands and groaned, revealing his irritated look. "If you're comfortable with me asking: if you're so cautious about this...debt system you see with kindness, why did you choose to be kind to Illusion?"

Memory couldn't help but smile, recalling all of his fond memories with Illusion. It was bizarre to think that he used to be apathetic, patiently waiting for Illusion to cause his own downfall. But eventually, Memory got more involved in helping him; he couldn't just watch him fail and ruin his own life. He remembered that one moment, the morning of the day Illusion became Reality, when he decided to prioritize helping Illusion over saving Void. The moment when he realized that saving Illusion from his own downfall would be how he would make things right with his family. To prevent the family from splitting even more. A way to pay it forward.

"I believe a part of me did feel indebt to your family, driving me to help him," Memory answered. "But even though I wanted to do something right, and even though Illusion reciprocated the kindness by gifting me with some abilities...I just helped him not expecting anything in return. I just helped him...because I wanted to."

Time smiled. "Looks like you do have being kind in you."

"I suppose..." The more Memory realized his kindness to Illusion, the more sick he felt about how he had treated Elemental and Time. Things would had been so different if I just acted the same way to Elemental and Time. Why did I finally allow myself to be kind to Illusion?

Was Illusion just special? Was it because he was younger and needed some help at times?

Or was it because Illusion was the first time Memory had to interact with family...without Void breathing over his shoulder.

At that moment, something clicked inside Memory and he nearly stumbled back. He forgot he was in the brewing area. His breathing and his heart raced. His heart felt lighter than before, having been broken free from chains that he never knew existed.

So without Void around to judge everything he did, Memory just naturally felt the need to be kind? But that went against everything Void had ever taught him. It was a bitter reminder that no matter how hard he tried, Memory was never able to fully master what Void taught him.

"Did you worry that being kind to Illusion would make him soft?" Time asked, bringing Memory out of his thoughts.

"...No," Memory gasped, his mind going haywire again. "I didn't even worry about that. If anything, I think I helped him become stronger." He shook his head. "I don't understand any of this."

"It's alright if you don't," Time assured. "Can I ask another question?" When Memory nodded, Time suddenly looked nervous to continue. "I know Void told you to reject my kindness, but what about Void himself? Your past suggests that he gave you a lot of...gifts...to help you." Time looked like he was swallowing sand with each word. "Did Void's kindness made you weak?"

Memory flinched. He turned away, his already shortened breaths racing more. Wait, how can this be? How can Void shun me for accepting kindness, yet always tell me that he was the kindest and most trustworthy friend I could have? No, no, it doesn't work like that. Void isn't kind. He does the tough things that must be done for everyone's own good, including all the things he does for me. The things he does to me.

But he always boasts about being generous, right? And generosity is kindness.

"Stop asking questions and trust me!" "You know, those who question me are always the one who abandon me later."

"Memory?" Time called out.

"Maybe this whole thing isn't black and white!" Memory snapped, startling Time. He calmed down, the new guilt chasing away the sudden temper. "I apologize. It's just...there used to be a time when I could be curious and ask Void about these things. But over time..."

His focus went dark. Suddenly, he was back in those dark chambers. His breath raced and he clamped the table's edge to remind himself of the present. He couldn't hear his breaths or his heartbeat. What seemed to be pounding in his chest and running through his blood instead was Void's voice. His shouts, his criticism, his threats.

"Over time...I couldn't risk speaking up or even thinking about defying him."

A high-pitched whistle whirled, surprising Memory and Time. They realized that the whistle was coming from the brewing stand. Time swiftly and safely removed the boiling potions from the stand and stuffed it into the chest full of ice. "The potion's done! Once it's had enough time to chill, we can give it to you."

Thunder roared outside. "Ah, perfect timing. She's back." Time said. He briefly gave Memory a soft glance before facing the door. Was that pity or worry in his expression?

Alex entered the building and sprinted towards the Steves. "I found Galaxy, but he's not doing good. I can't wake him up and his energy feels low."

Memory grimaced and hid his face with his mask. "Being fused with Sabre and everything that happened with Galaxy Sabre must had taken a toll on him. How can we help him?"

"I put him in one of the spare bedrooms," Alex explained. "I think the only thing we can do now is supplement him with some of our energy. Well, at least until we can give Galaxy super strong healing potions, and I already asked someone to start making those."

Crash! Leader of the Red Steves stumbled into the room and fell face-first to the wooden floor. He jumped up with a bloody nose, ruffled hair, twitching hands, and an aggressive smile. "MY NAME'S FIRST ON THE LIST. IT'S MY TURN TO USE THE BREWING STAND."

Word count: 6324