Remorseful Recollections of the Forgotten Family

🏹 Chapter 26: A World for the Taking

Here is a casual reminder that this is gonna be the last chapter update for a while. RRFF is gonna go on hiatus after this chapter.

I originally estimated that the hiatus would last about 3-4 weeks. But a lot of stuff happened in irl since then; I am now uncertain if I can get RRFF out of hiatus by that time. So just in case, I'm gonna extend the hiatus from 3-4 weeks to 4-8 weeks. Just a heads up. Thank you for understanding!

All that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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"Ok, Alex and Guardian, let's build a machine to – AHH!" Sabre collapsed. His breathing reduced to painful cries. He clenched his heart, where a dark substance formed on his chest, staining his white onesie.

"Sabre!" Alex was at his side, horrified. "Are you ok?!"

"I...I..." Sabre brought his hand up. The dark stains were now on his hand, slowly spreading to his arm.

Guardian took a step back, his blue eyes frozen in fear. "I've seen this way too many times before: he's corrupting."

"What?! How?!" Reality shot up but refused to step forward, staring in terror.

"There are two ways a Steve corrupts! One is when their power, physical form, and emotional state are not aligned for a severe period of time. I doubt that's the case here. The other is when they're infected with Shadow Stone."

"But all Shadow Stone has been destroyed! In the Overworld, at least. What about from the Void?"

Alex stepped away, her shoulders tense. "Memory Steve did this. He betrayed our trust!"

"W-who's that?!" Sabre cried as his color started morphing into grayscale.

Alex lowered her head in defeat. "We should have told you about him..."

Memory teleported into the Town, landing with a loud stomp, startling the group. He gave a bow. "I'm pleased to meet you all again. Have I caught you in the middle of breaking our agreement?"

Reality was the first to speak. "Memory...why?"

The villain didn't falter. "Like you, I have a personal quest and Sabre's the key."

Reality stepped back, dismay and horror clear on his face. A moment later, he forced himself to don a determined expression. He ran up to Sabre and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Sabre, concentrate on using my illusion powers on yourself. You can nullify the effects of the Shadow Stone! Just concentrate! You can fight it!"

"I'm trying! Aaaaahhhh!" Sabre trembled and tore off his bandana, tears streaming out of his tightly shut eyes.

"The corruption is covering you, but imagine that you're covering it instead! You won't let it win! Let the illusion cover the corruption, and you'll be ok! I promise!"

Pink particles burst out of Sabre's hands. The grayscale matter dispersed, as if fleeing from the pink sparks. But it quickly stabilized and continued expanding. "I can't! It's too much to handle and – AHHH." Sabre screeched and shot a blackened fireball at Memory.

The blast sent Memory flying back. "AAH!" He slammed the wall and slid to the ground, limp. He grimaced and looked at the damage. There were no burns, but the corrupted fireball left a dark splatter on his chest.

"Memory!" Reality cried.

Memory bit back the pain. In seconds, the dark splatter shrunk and vanished. He got back up and brushed the remaining particles off his suit. "You can't corrupt someone who's already evil."