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."
He flicked a hand towards Sabre. The player stiffened. Like a puppet, he got up as if invisible strings tugged him by his limbs. He lifted his head up rigidly, revealing his now emotionless face. "Come," Memory commanded. The gray-scaled Sabre kicked himself off the ground and glided to Memory's side.
Alex gasped, with the others watching in horror. "What did he do to him?!"
Guardian looked nervous. "Not only did he corrupt Sabre, but he's mind controlling him. We should have known. When Memory Steve returns memories, he also puts his influence into the victim, allowing him to – " Guardian suddenly flinched, eyes wide and alarmed.
"Guardian?!" Alex cried.
Guardian blinked twice, his expression now emotionless.
"You're controlled too?!"
Reality looked down in shame. "Memory also erased and restored all of Guardian's memories. I ordered him to, during our first debrief for one of my plans." Reality walked to Alex's side, a determined look replacing his guilt. "It's up to us to stop him."
"You won't, though." Memory snapped his fingers and Guardian pounced at Alex.
Reality tried to pull Guardian off her. "Guardian, as your former evil boss, I command you to stop!"
Memory turned his attention to Sabre and snapped his finger again. Sabre punched himself in the face, though his expression remained unfazed. "That was for burying me alive. Now, with your powers, be a gentleman and show me the illusion."
Sabre shot a hand up. The sky glimmered and morphed into a pinkish, rainbow gradient. The plane of illusions.
"Excellent. And what part of the illusion covers Galaxy Steve's true memories?"
Sabre flicked his hand and a certain area of the plane turned white. Memory generated an arrow out of his energy and fired it at the area. The white area shattered and dissolved before the blue sky flickered back into existence.
"AAAHH!" Reality collapsed and clasped his head.
Galaxy Steve, wherever he is in Reality's mind, remembers now. The illusion won't block the memories I restore to him.
"Next." Memory nodded back towards Reality, who was being attacked by the Guardian. "Switch with him. But before that, use your illusion powers to handcuff him."
Reality jumped back from Guardian, holding a black eye he received. His account's health regeneration healed the injury. Sabre sprinted towards the fray and tackled Reality, who screeched, "NOT THE FACE."
Memory felt the world distort around him. When his vision stabilized, he saw Reality jump back from Sabre, panting. "We swapped?! And..." He looked at his hands, realizing they were locked in pink handcuffs.
Guardian was now behind Alex, twisting her arms behind her. She thrashed around and attempted to kick her friend before giving up. The mind-controlled entities set Reality and Alex on their knees. Memory approached them, giving Reality an amused expression beneath his mask. "Your own illusion powers prevent you from using your abilities. Also, congratulations on joining the side of good. I knew you were good at heart."
"What do you want?" Reality demanded. "I never expected anything like this, even though I knew you would cause trouble."
"You will see, for you are also a key to my plan. As for Alex." Memory gave Guardian a stack of cobblestone along with the redstone materials. "Lock her in a machine and make sure she doesn't escape. Stay here, while Reality and I go elsewhere."
And at the end of my plan, I'll erase both Alex and Guardian's memories of me.
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Memory exited the Illusion Town, with Sabre dragging Reality along. Once they were a good distance away from the Town, he placed down two wooden blocks to serve as chairs and ordered Reality to sit. Sabre stood like a statue behind Reality, who fixated his gaze on the handcuffs.
Memory slumped into the other chair, the shame in his chest feeling heavier. He couldn't look at him, knowing he had lost the right to act like everything was fine. "...I apologize for all the stress I've caused. Are you alright? I...overheard the negotiation."
Reality tensed, gaze still fixed on his hands. "I wasn't thinking, but it doesn't excuse what I did. I'm horrified that I went that far, threatening to erase you and Sabre out of existence."
Memory got up and carefully approached him. "It's alright. I forgive you, as long as you never do that again."
Reality shoved him back. "Ok, let's not get off track! What do you want from me?"
"I need your father. The things I'm about to do...I'd rather it be Galaxy Steve who gets hurt instead of you. Please...I beg for your cooperation."
Reality gulped. "But if I give him back, I'll be bound to him again. If you hurt him, I'll be failing my mission to make him happy. Either way, you're going to hurt me."
"Well, you are only bound to Galaxy Steve if he exists in this world."
Reality gawked and then looked at Sabre. "And what about him?"
Memory came near Sabre and set a hand on his forehead. A soft glow formed. "I can temporarily lend my powers to the people whose memories I restore. The powers will be in the mind, which means he can bring them to his world."
"What powers did you give him?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"...This is your plan, huh? With your memory powers and the corruption, you'll be able to control Sabre and make him erase the memories of everyone who knows him. The Sky People. His friends, family, and colleagues. You'll make them all forget about you."
After transferring some power to Sabre, Memory returned to Reality, hiding a dark expression under his mask. "I won't make just his world forget about me. I'll also make them forget about Sabre. When he returns to his world, he'll become a nobody. No one to watch his work, no friends for him to consult to."
"This is revenge, isn't it?"
"The best part is that he won't remember a thing! I'll finally be free! He won't remember this world either, so he won't come back. You can rule the Overworld without any enemies, if you wish."
Reality shook his head. "I shouldn't rule this world. Sabre is the only one who can save it. Memory, enough of this! You're going crazy!"
"I've gone mad the moment I learned thousands of people know who I am."
Reality looked away guiltily. "They've always known about you. I made you upset when I broke the fourth wall and revealed the truth. The truth hurt you, and I'm sorry."
"Hah!" Memory threw his head up and laughed. Thunder surrounded the duo as his cackles became more sinister, causing Reality to shrink back. "No no, I'm delighted that you revealed the truth! Sabre's account truly is the key to save the Steves! To save your world!" He summoned the bloody red flower crown. "Which is why I need your father. I'd never force you to leave this server again, but you have Galaxy Steve."
Reality gasped. "Wait, is this how you're gonna bring back Void Steve?! You're going to send Galaxy Steve to a different world and release your father there?!"
"Yes! I'll set him free and save this world from his wrath. He'll conquer and destroy as many servers as he wishes, feared by many. Perhaps if he gains more powers, he can conquer Sabre's world too."
Reality snarled. "You can't! Other servers have living beings stuck in the game. They will die, and the players will be endangered too! I won't give you Galaxy Steve. If you want to go through with your plan, take me instead, but I know you don't have the heart to make me go through that again."
Memory grabbed Reality by his collar and brought him closer to his spiral mask. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Your father has wronged you. Why are you willing to go through pain for him?"
"No, you don't make this harder than it needs to be. When you release Void Steve, it's no longer about him, Galaxy Steve, or you. It'll be pure chaos! You don't have to hurt me! Just forget about him!"
Memory sighed and dropped Reality. "Out of everyone, I expected you to understand." He walked away, looking back at the Illusion Town. "I'm just like you: trying to fulfill the task my father has given me. The one I've failed far too many times. I burden myself and him with all of my failures. This is my chance to be freed from it all, all while saving the world that you care about too.
"But you're right: I refuse to let you disconnect again." He glared back at his cousin. "But that makes me come to this: I'll erase and restore your memories, allowing me to mind control you and force you to bring back Galaxy Steve...You know what also happens when I restore memories."
Reality tried to flee, but Memory grabbed him and forced him to sit back down. "Memory, think this through! If you restore my memories, you'll forget all the memories you made with me! You don't have to do this!"
Memory ignored him. He hovered a hand over Reality and activated his powers.
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Memory stood in an endless yellow dimension with an abstract flower field. Reality's mind. His memories. Purely out of curiosity, he spun around to see if Galaxy Steve was anywhere, only to force himself to look back at the flowers and the task at hand.
Several blue forget-me-nots broke free from the field and hovered towards him. They glowed brightly, being Reality's most significant memories. Just stealing and restoring two of these will do, so I won't drain my energy.
He reached for the closest flower. When his hand was an inch away from it, the flower started morphing. He froze as he witnessed small gray flowers materialize and twist themselves around the forget-me-not. He drew his hand back, and the gray flowers disappeared.
Gray. The color of my memories. And if they were naturally twisting themselves to that forget-me-not, then that significant memory was...
He reached for a different memory. He drew his hand back when the gray flowers spawned. Next memory. Again. Next memory. Again.
All these memories that Reality held dear to his heart. They were all special because they involved...
Memory took off his two masks. He looked away as tears streamed and a sad smile crawled onto his freckled glanced at those flowers one more time before turning his attention to the others he hadn't seen yet. After searching, he finally found two significant memories that didn't involve the gray flowers, stole them, and restored them.
"Reality, release Galaxy Steve," he commanded.
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In the Overworld, Memory blinked back into consciousness. He felt his masks on his face again, confused to sense his eyes were dry. When he recognized the two Steves in front of him, he jumped back.
Reality was gone. Illusion had fallen off his chair, with an unconscious Galaxy Steve sprawled on the grass.
Illusion groaned and sat up. He squinted due to his glasses being knocked off. He inspected himself, dismayed to see his grayscale suit and coat and the handcuffs still on him.
Still confused, Memory handed Illusion his pink eyeglasses and helped him stand up. "I remember you. I don't understand. I was supposed to forget about you when I return your memories."
Illusion put on his glasses, but refused to look at his cousin. "Well, I still have the ability to filter memories. You're not the only Steve who can use their powers in their minds, even if they're trapped in the physical world, heh. I let you keep the memories we shared together."
Memory gawked at him. What should he say? He had so much he wanted to say. But he was completely awestruck, still registering that Illusion's significant memories proved how much he reciprocated their friendship.
"Thank you," he finally said, embarrassed that it wasn't much. "Thank you so much." He dipped his head down sadly. If I could only also remember Void once I give his memories back to Galaxy...
"Hey." Illusion, despite the handcuffs, did his best to hug Memory, snapping him out of his sad thoughts. "Don't be sad. You'll be ok."
Memory cursed under his breath and removed himself from the hug. He didn't deserve it.
He faced Sabre and commanded him to unlock the menu. The "Disconnect" button hovered between him and the player. Memory didn't just give Sabre his ability to erase memories. He also gave him his ability to enchant any entrance or exit to become a portal to the Memory Dimension.
Sabre grabbed the "Disconnect" button. It glitched and distorted. When the rectangle reformed, it read a new text.
Merge the Memory Dimension with Minecraft's Menu.
Illusion stepped back, nervously eyeing the text. "Are you sure about this?"
The masked Steve looked back. "...What other choice do I have? But I'll do my best to stay safe. Don't worry."
Illusion didn't respond. He sat down and stared at the pink handcuffs, refusing to look up.
With a heavy sigh, Memory grabbed Galaxy Steve, who was still unconscious, and looked back at the button.
This will be both a test of my strength and my dimension. He was already anticipating that whatever was going to happen to his home would drain a good portion of his power. But it was a necessary step.
Memory raised a hand and brushed the button, a chill sent to his body when he felt its solid form.
He pressed it.
And the Overworld blinked out of sight.
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Word count: 2737
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Reality: I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE –
Memory: *corrupts Sabre*
Reality: *SCREECHES*
Memory: *mind controls Sabre and Guardian*
Reality: YoU bEtTeR sToP
Memory: *takes Galaxy and Sabre's account*
Illusion: STOP
Memory: *goes to Earth to erase the memories of everyone there*
Alex, crying: Nooooo.
Illusion: BOI, STOP
Memory: *respawns Void Steve so he can destroy any server he wants*
Illusion: FAAAAA –
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Aaaand, the hiatus begins. I will try to post a status update about the hiatus in late March (on Wattpad and DeviantArt).
Thank you for reading. Take care and stay safe.