I'm seriously so grateful for all of you that I wanna say it again: thank you, thank you, thank you so much for your patience! Enjoy the next chapter!

"ELEMENTAL!" Time shoved Sabre aside, sending the player soaring across the town and slamming into the wall.

What?! Illusion stood stunned while Time – and later Alex and Galaxy — claimed their spots near the chamber, and Sabre recovered and ran towards the group. The four friends surrounded the chamber, blocking it from Illusion's view. Usually, he would feel indignant about that, but he instead felt grateful because, oh my God, this is actually happening.

Everyone, even Sabre and Galaxy, were speechless, staring intensely at the chamber. Time pressed his hands against the glass wall and began to shake. Alex, who was next to him, wrapped him in a hug. Trembling, Time murmured, "He's alive…he's alive…" Alex closed her eyes, as if she were absorbing some of Time's emotions. Sabre turned away with a worried expression, while Galaxy kept his gaze on the chamber, not moving at all.

Once he recovered, Time got up. "Illusion, you have to come see him!"

Illusion flinched. Before he knew it, Time was at his side and pushing him closer to the chamber. "Wait – !" He nearly stumbled because Time was moving fast, and now his mind was swarming with apprehension. There was so much he wanted to know. He had spent years with only an idea of who Elemental was, and all of that would change the moment he looked into that chamber. A part of him felt dread. Another part of him thought this was too good to be true. There was also a small part of him telling him to just stop overthinking, open his heart, and be excited for what was to come.

Galaxy tensed up. The first time he had moved in a while. "Why isn't he moving?"

Illusion now saw the person in the chamber, and the sight horrified him. The body was motionless on the floor. Instead of bright red skin, as colorful as Galaxy, he was dull. His red arm, instead of as vibrant as lava, was a pattern that resembled gray, dried ash. What should have been his blue arm looked like a sunless day. His clothes were equally as faded and worn.

Illusion jerked back and wished everyone crowded the chamber again. He couldn't bear another glimpse, but he had to. He had to make sure that…

He cautiously looked again. Fighting the urge to turn away, he studied the body, hoping to find any sign of life.

Time squeezed his shoulder. "He's alive, Illusion. He's breathing."

Barely though.

His fears waned, but a new emotion – someone else's emotion – seized him. He turned his attention to Galaxy, who still stared at Elemental with a dreadful expression. His mouth looked stiff, and he could barely utter the words as he asked, "Sabre, why isn't he getting up?"

Sabre grimaced instead of looking at the chamber. "He's been stuck in the menu for years. That'll take a lot out of you."

"Wait, did I make it worse? Did I accidentally suck the life out of him when I absorbed him?!"

"No, it's not like that!" Time quickly assured, releasing Illusion's shoulder. "Elemental will survive this!"

"But what if I – "

"It'll be ok! We can – "

Illusion took the opportunity to bolt away, trying to put as much distance between him and the chamber. If it weren't for Galaxy's anguish anchoring him to this place, he would have fled. So instead, once he neared the edge of town, he planted himself and began focusing.

It wasn't just Elemental that was the problem here, and counting each new problem made him more tense. Time was already forcing Galaxy to feel positive. He was going to make Galaxy feel worse, and thinking about that enraged Illusion. Alex could either lessen or exacerbate the situation, so Illusion had to react before she did anything. Sabre was trying to help Time, but he was letting Time do more talking, and he seemed antsy to end this as soon as possible. Was Sabre in a rush?

Illusion then remembered that Sabre expected to hear from Memory, and that filled him with dread. If Sabre heard the bad news, he would freak out, everyone else would freak out, everyone would point fingers at each other, and Illusion would get a headache from carrying everyone's stress. And if Elemental were to die right now…Oh, he absolutely could not let that happen. Not only would that put Galaxy in despair, but Time would also be devastated.

Hold on, Time…

"QUIET!" Illusion shouted, louder than he meant to. He shrank back at the sight of everyone's shocked looks, but he quickly stood straight and rejoined the group. "Can we even open the chamber without hurting Elemental?"

Time inspected the chamber. "Yes, we can!"

"Then get him out of there!"

Galaxy was surprisingly obedient and immediately opened the chamber. Time and Alex exchanged baffled looks before joining Galaxy.

Sabre muttered, "He's back. The old Illusion we know and love is back." But he eventually joined the others. Soon, the team of four moved Elemental out of the chamber, laying him on the grass.

Illusion felt queasy seeing that body again, but he couldn't afford to slow down. "Sabre, hand over your remaining redstone."

Sabre gawked. "We used the last of it on that machine!"

"If you don't need the machine anymore, then gather the redstone from that!"

Sabre groaned and returned to the machine.

Realizing that gathering redstone would be a good distraction, Illusion called out, "Guardian! I need you to mine more – oh, he's not here. Where is he?!"

Alex looked up from inspecting Elemental to say, "In the Spirit World. We sent him back home while you had your memory loss."

Illusion felt embarrassed that he hadn't noticed Guardian's absence until now. I just hope he's doing well in the Spirit World. I definitely should apologize to him next time I see him. But since thinking about Guardian didn't solve his current dilemma, Illusion told Alex, "Then I need you to gather more redstone."

"Wait, what?"

"Just find as much redstone as you can. I don't care how you get them." Before hearing anything else Alex had to say, Illusion turned to Galaxy. "Do you know how to enter the Time Dimension?"

"Yeah I can! I don't even have to think about it!"

"Then I need you to come to the Time Dimension with me. We'll stabilize Elemental there."

Galaxy perked up. "You mean we can save him?! How do we do that?!"

"By transferring energy to him, of course."

Alex shot the two Steves a worried glance. "Galaxy, you just came back from a hard journey. I don't think transferring energy is a good idea."

Illusion huffed. "I know it's risky, but I need to give Galaxy something to do. "

Time butted in. "Galaxy can help by assembling a machine. We can use my energy to stabilize him."

"No!" Illusion snapped. "You have an important job, and I don't want you distracted with anything else until you get that done."

"An important job?" Galaxy seemed desperate. "I can help with that!"

"I'm capable of helping too," Alex insisted. "You and Time don't have to do everything yourselves."

"No, because Time's the only one who can do this. Plus, I've told you to gather redstone, yet you're still here!"

"But why can't Galaxy gather the resources while I be the one giving energy to Elemental?"

"Because I don't know if your energy will stabilize Elemental. And frankly, I don't know why you're offering energy to Elemental when you weren't happy with me having it."

Alex groaned. "That wasn't the point I was making. I'm just offering ideas."

"You don't understand. I need everyone to do their specific thing and – "

"Freeze!"

Alex and Galaxy came to a halt, but Illusion didn't. He looked around confused. He noticed the tall grass around town and saw that they were also frozen in time. When he looked back up, he saw a scolding Time in front of him, and he shrank back with an eep.

Time rubbed his temples and let out the longest sigh ever. "Everyday I argue with Illusion. It's like its own time loop."

"Hey, Time, I – "

"What has gotten into you? We're trying to help you, but you are fussing about how to do things, and we don't even know what you're trying to do."

Illusion sputtered in indignation. "Well, I didn't say it outloud because I knew it would cause more annoying questions, and I thought you knew what I was trying to do!"

"I guess I didn't, and I'm sorry for that. Just tell me what you need and I'll do it." Time sounded committed, but he kept shooting nervous glimpses at Elemental.

"Ooooooooh, drama?"

Time and Illusion looked baffled as Sabre slid into their conversation with an open-mouthed expression. Even though Time's powers didn't affect him, Sabre still moved slowly by choice. "Time, are you scolding him like a child? Actually, now that you froze everyone, can I ask where Memory is?"

Time's eyes widened with realization. "Oooooh." He leaned closer to Illusion and whispered, "He's the important task."

"And you need to go and find him now," Illusion whispered tensely. He really hoped he didn't have to explain more. Not with Sabre here.

Time again tried to look committed, but he glanced at Elemental again. "I know this is important to you and I won't shut it down, but Elemental is important to me too."

"Come on, please work with me here," Illusion pleaded. "The sooner we get him, the sooner he'll be out of my hair." He pointed at Sabre, and since Sabre was trying to sneak into their hushed conversation, he pushed the player away and formed a temporary barrier around him. "Plus, why are you conflicted about leaving Elemental. Can't you make a copy of yourself?"

"Not if I want my energy divided too. I need as much energy as possible for what you want me to do."

"Well, I plan to stay behind with Galaxy to take care of Elemental. The one thing you couldn't stop going on about is how I need to accept help. Why don't you listen to your own advice?"

Time sighed again. "Fine, I'll do what you say. I'll come back as soon as possible."

Sabre punched against the invisible barrier. "Guuuuys, stop ignoring me!"

After Illusion took down the barrier, Time told Sabre, "Memory will come soon. But first, we have to make sure Elemental is in good hands. Resume."

Once unfrozen, Alex exclaimed, "I'm ok with doing anything. Anything that allows Galaxy to rest."

"No, Alex." Galaxy puffed out his chest. "I can do it. This is Elemental Steve we're talking about. I've been separated from him for generations. Staying strong for just a little more is nothing compared to all those years apart. Let me do this."

Illusion stared at Galaxy in disbelief, wondering if he misheard Galaxy.

Alex looked unconvinced, but her drive to argue had died. "It's just…ugh, fine. Just don't strain yourself."

"Don't worry, Alex. I'll be careful!"

"Can you go gather more redstone now?" Time asked.

Because she respected Time more than Illusion, Alex finally conceded and left the Town.

"Speaking of redstone…" Illusion gave Sabre a stern look. Sabre grumbled as he handed him all the redstone that was taken from the machine.

Time struggled to pick up Elemental. "Galaxy, help me. I'll show you where you can put him in my dimension, and then I'll be on my way. Illusion, come here." Time and Galaxy lifted Elemental off the ground, while Illusion eagerly stood by them.

"Hold up!" Sabre called out. "I know Elemental is important, but can Galaxy give me back my account before he leaves?"

To stall, Illusion said, "Hmmm, let me think…no!"

"What do you mean 'no'?!"

Illusion nudged Time urgently. Thunder roared, overpowering Sabre's protest as the family teleported away.

Time led the family through the hallway and into a brand new portal. They arrived in an empty room with quartz walls and floor. Time shouldered all of Elemental onto Galaxy, who accepted it with a smile. Time placed a bed against the center of one of the walls, and Galaxy set Elemental down on it.

Time gave everyone a grateful nod. "Take care of him. I won't be gone for long." There was thunder, and Time teleported away. Someone looking out for Memory should have given Illusion relief. But he was just feeling his apprehensions grow stronger.

Illusion tossed quartz and cobblestone in Galaxy's direction. "Can you build a stabilizing machine?"

Galaxy nervously picked up the blocks. "What kind?"

"Any kind! Just build it around the bed!" Illusion was already putting his portion of redstone down.

"I've never built a machine hooked to a bed before!"

"Just start and I'll guide you through it – no, you're building too close – no, that's too far! Ugh, just build where I mark the redstone!" He knew yelling at Galaxy was making his own feelings worse, but he was used to this sensation: making sacrifices that caused short-term shame, but hopefully guaranteed a better future.

Galaxy created a large platform around the bed, with pillars at each corner. Illusion assembled a large machine nearby. Finally, Illusion connected the machine, pillars, and Elemental's bed together with redstone, and activated the machine. The redstone glowed, the light pulsing in-sync with Elemental's slow breathing. This machine would do most of the work of monitoring and improving Elemental's health here on out, so Illusion relished the small victory before stressing out again.

He was worried about Memory. He was worried about Sabre, who – based on his quick analysis of the Town's energy – was throwing a fit back in the Overworld. He tried to assure himself that Sabre couldn't do anything about his predicament, not without any – wait, did he tell Alex to not interact with Sabre? Crap, what if she tried to help Sabre and ruin everything? Illusion forced himself to stop wondering about that. Time would find Memory before then, then all of this would be worth it.

Illusion then checked up on Galaxy, who stood near Elemental's side. He seemed less stressed, but the weariness in his eyes was unmistakable, so Illusion still felt apprehensive.

Quietly, Illusion assembled a chamber and connected it to the machine with redstone. This would be the next step in Elemental's recovery: transferring energy to him. Having this chamber done gave him more relief, but he found himself unsure of what to do next. There technically was no rush now that the machine was stabilizing him and Galaxy seemed content to stand here for hours.

A part of him was surprised he got this far. He realized he couldn't have done it without Galaxy's cooperation.

"...Hey," Illusion called out, getting Galaxy's attention. "Thank you for helping me. I thought I was going to have to argue for hours to get my plan rolling, but you made this easier."

Galaxy smiled. "If anything, I should be thanking you for helping Elemental! I'd hug you or give you a sandwich, but you don't seem to enjoy that stuff. So let me do this instead." He walked around the bed and offered Illusion a firm handshake.

Illusion was taken aback by the gratitude and the gesture. Before he could feel sad about a missing, gentlemanly friend, he accepted the handshake. "Thank you. I appreciate this as much as your help."

"Of course! Family means everything to me. I'll be friends with anyone who helps them!" Galaxy set his hand down and asked, "Now, who are you again?"

Illusion nearly jumped to the ceiling. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM?!"

Galaxy recoiled in alarm and bewilderment. He scanned Illusion up and down. "...Benny from Iceland? You look different in this realm."

Illusion double face-palmed and did a Memory-inspired muffled scream. "Illusion Steve! Your son!"

Galaxy flinched in surprise. He quickly turned away and covered his face in shame.

Illusion was fuming and flabbergasted. "I-I know we haven't met each other until today, but I am truly lost for words." As he said that, he felt his anger slowly being replaced by hurt. You've been free for a few days, and you didn't take the time to figure out who I was. But if he said that outloud, both of them would start feeling worse. So instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I'm letting that slide because we have more important things to worry about."

"Umm, hello?"

Illusion and Galaxy turned to see Alex at the entrance. She eyed the room curiously before hurrying towards them.

"How did you get in here?" Illusion demanded. He was both annoyed and nervous. "Did you bring Sabre?"

"No, it's just me. I just thought really hard about the Time Dimension and somehow made it here."

"This is your first time in this dimension?"

"Yes. This is, like, the fifteenth room I've entered."

"It's…impressive and scary that you found this place despite never seeing it before. What are you doing here?"

Alex clasped her hands together and pleaded, "Illusion, don't make Galaxy do this. Can we just wait for Time to come back and energize Elemental?"

Illusion rolled his eyes and groaned.

"We still have other options. I don't want Galaxy to get hurt."

Illusion called out, "Hey Galaxy, I think Alex needs a drink after collecting the redstone I suuuuure hope she brought. Could you fetch her a drink?"

"That's a great idea! Sure!" Galaxy ran out of the room, causing Alex to look bewildered.

Without Galaxy present, Illusion felt eager to finally spill it out. "I know there are other options, and I would choose them if they were the best options, but they aren't."

"But why is Galaxy the only one you're allowing to help Elemental?" Alex asked.

"Guardian is back in the Spirit World, Time has something important to do that cannot wait, I can't speak to Sabre until Time finishes that important thing, and I had to keep you busy collecting redstone I actually didn't need so you wouldn't help Sabre speak to me, because you totally would have that if Sabre asked. That left Galaxy as my only option. Now do you get it?"

"That…no, I didn't get any of that."

"What's so hard to understand?!" Illusion screamed to the ceiling.

"Let me get this straight: did you plan all that just to keep Sabre out of this? But he's the best person to solve this problem! I don't understand why you're not letting him help, after everything we, Guardian, and Memory did to restore his – "

"Because Memory is missing!"

Alex jumped back, tense and pale. "...Where is he?"

"I don't know. That's why I sent Time out. He's the only one who can get into the Memory Dimension and find him. If Sabre kept pestering me about Memory, he'd eventually find out he's missing. He'd freak out, then Galaxy would freak out because he never likes seeing his friends upset, then we'd all be too distracted to help Elemental, and if Elemental gets worse because of that, Galaxy would never get over that! I have to worry about what Galaxy hears or sees because he's no longer in the illusion. That's why Time has to find Memory now, because once we find him, we won't have to deal with Sabre being upset and causing a bigger mess! And I couldn't tell anyone because if any of this gets to Galaxy, he'd panic anyways!"

Alex looked more sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Illusion. This must be a hard time for you."

"Ugh, tell me about it." Illusion's hands twitched. He wished he had a squishy on him. "I had to do all of that because if everyone got caught up with Memory being missing, I wouldn't have any brain space to fix these messes!"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Yes, that, but I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about you being separated from Memory. I imagined his disappearance was hard on you."

Illusion flinched. "What? This is about Galaxy and what would stress him out. I'm not…" He trailed off, realizing everything he had just said was absurd.

He quickly shook his head and said, "I just needed to distract everyone until Memory returns. I don't want to deal with everyone's stress when I can just stall for Memory and never have to break the news to anyone. It's convoluted, I know. I just wish people would try to understand and see past the ridiculousness."

Alex still looked confused, but eventually nodded. "I'm starting to get it, but this wasn't where I thought the conversation would head."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you were going to say that all this planning was to distract you – not Sabre and Galaxy – from the fact that Memory was missing."

Illusion wanted to retort, but he found himself unable to argue. While he knew he commanded this scheme to protect Galaxy, he also knew Galaxy's feelings had shoved his own feelings aside. His own feelings about how he failed Memory. For a moment, Illusion wondered if not having his free will was a good thing, if it allowed him to avoid his own pain.

"Do you want to know how bad the situation is?" Illusion began.

Alex hesitated before nodding.

"Memory sacrificed his own memories to restore my own."

Alex gasped. "That's…that's – "

Galaxy returned, carrying a bottle in each hand and balancing a third bottle on his head. "I found out how to make melon smoothies! It's delicious!" He handed a drink to everyone and gulped down his own. "Maybe I should make one for Sabre?"

"No!" Illusion snapped.

"Why not? He worked just as hard as the rest of us."

Alex jumped in. "We can talk to Sabre later. I think we should first talk about what to do with Elemental."

Illusion hoped Alex could see the silent gratitude on his face. He already felt more at ease.

"Like I said before, there are plenty of ways to help Elemental," Alex said. "Maybe we can keep him comfortable until Time comes back, or…" She perked up in realization. "Illusion, can you give him your energy instead?"

Illusion flinched, feeling baffled. He should have thought of this sooner. Elemental wasn't just an objective he had to take care of for Galaxy's sake. Elemental was his family. His brother. Their energies were compatible.

Galaxy exclaimed, "You're right, Alex! Now that I know this guy is Illusion, I think he'd be perfect!"

"Fine, I'll do it." Illusion set down his barely touched drink and entered the chamber. "But this means I have to trust one of you to control the machine. Just pull the lever on my mark and I'll take care of the rest."

Galaxy put his hand on the lever and gave a firm nod.

"Go."

There was thunder and Illusion's vision darkened. The only thing he detected was the pulsing aura of Elemental, which manifested before him with the machine's magic. The aura was dim, but it was there.

Illusion channeled his energy towards Elemental. Suddenly, he felt a surge of emotions. Right before him wasn't just a person who meant something to Galaxy, but Illusion's long-lost brother. The brother he never knew but went great lengths to save his life. His breathing accelerated. All the questions he had in his mind, all the nervous energy he pushed aside, came back to his mind. It was messy and overwhelming. All he knew was that he wasn't some pawn for someone else's goals. He was here as a brother, helping the brother who helped him. And at the moment, that was all he wanted.

His energy serged, but he also felt himself draining. "Okay, I think I gave him enough!"

Illusion was released and he stumbled out of the chamber, panting. "I gave him…as much as I could…Let's hope that made a difference."

He, Galaxy, and Alex surrounded the bed. Illusion placed a hand on the machine, which delivered a quick analysis report to his mind. "This machine says he's recovering."

"He's looking better too!" Galaxy cheered, beaming at the returning color in Elemental's body.

Illusion studied Elemental's face. There were bags under Elemental's closed eyes, but there was also the tiniest twitch of the eyelids. It was a new face he wasn't familiar with, but the sight of it filled him with just as much emotion as the sweetest, kindest cousin did.

"Galaxy, Alex," he began "Thank you for putting up with my strange endeavors. I know I perplexed everyone, but I promise once things calm down, I'll explain things better. But for now, I'm glad we helped Elemental."

"Speaking of helping," Galaxy said. "I should return Sabre's account soon." Now that he saw Elemental was healing, he seemed okay with temporarily leaving him.

Illusion stammered, "It has been a long day for everyone, especially Sabre. I think it's a good idea if you return his account so he can go back home immediately." He shot a pleading glance at Alex.

Alex looked at Illusion and then at Galaxy. "I'll come with you to make sure Sabre takes the break he deserves."

Galaxy bounced excitedly. "Let's go then!" Together, he and Alex exited through the portal.

Illusion sat down on the floor, relishing in the relief. It was a hectic start, but at least Elemental was starting to recover. Time and Memory would be pleased once they check in on him.

Then he heard faint thunder.

"Finally!" Illusion quickly stood up. "You have no idea how glad I am to see – " When he faced the portal, his smile faltered.

At the entrance was Time. Just Time.

He was keeling over, resting his hands on his knees as he trembled. "This is bad."

"You didn't get into the Memory Dimension?!"

Time shook his head.

"No! There's got to be some way to open that entrance!"

Time grimaced. "The entrance wasn't the problem. The problem was…there was no place to enter." He looked at Illusion, giving an expression of pure despair.

"The Memory Dimension is gone."

Word count: 4339

I will apologize for delays, but I will not apologize for cliffhangers :)