I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll be trying to make it long as well as the other chapters, but it will take longer to come out that way. Well, that's what I do I guess- enjoy!
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Sabre and M stare at the Red Leader in shock. What was he doing here? "Red Leader-?! But I thought—"
"I've been watching you both for a while, and as I am disappointed my apprentice disobeyed me, I am glad he is alright. We're here to help. As much as I don't want to.." The Red Leader says, whispering the last part. He knows they heard him, but that isn't important. "The others are gone as well? It was smart of you to leave someone outside. Either way, what are you going to do now?"
Sabre recovers from his previous shock rather quickly, and shakes his head. "Well, we were talking to Time Steve and he found Void Steve so we're gonna go find the place Time said he'd be and I'm gonna go talk to him."
The other figure steps forward and takes their hood off as well. "If you're saying what I think you are, you're going to need help."
"Professor Red-?! You're here too?! You know what, forget it. I don't really need help but I'd like to not be alone.. until we get there, I mean."
The Professor nods, understanding what he means. "Then we should get going, yes?"
"Yeah. Are we walking or are we able to teleport?" Sabre asks, genuinely not wanting to walk.
The Red Leader sighs, stepping closer to Sabre. "Everyone gather around. Sabre, think of where you're wanting to go and I'll take us there." He says, grabbing Sabre's hand. The Professor grabs M's hand, and M grabs Sabre's other hand. "Ready?" The Red Leader looks at Sabre, and he nods. "Let's go!" Lightning is summoned upon them, and they disappear.
When Sabre opens his eyes, he's met with the giant portal the Darkness was using to get to the void. He shudders, and looks around. "That image was at an angle, but I don't know which.."
M looks around as well, before looking up at a mountain, or a hill.. whichever it is, he thinks that portal is there. "How about there? That image showed stone and trees, it looked like it was high up." He points toward the mountain, or hill. He still doesn't know which to call it.
Sabre makes a noise of approval, "Yeah I agree. Let's go then. Oh wait! It didn't look like it was activated, we'll need redstone.." He turns around, only to see the Professor balancing a fish on his head, and a block of redstone in his hand. "Uh.."
"I have the redstone, let's go!" He runs towards the trees, the fish on his head not falling off somehow.
"Right.. let's go then!" Sabre runs after him, the Red Leader and M following.
Once they get to the river, crossing it and climbing up the mountain, they reach the portal. Sabre and Professor Red walk over to it, while M and the Red Leader stay a bit farther back. The Professor pulls out a pickaxe and hands it so Sabre. "Do not ask why I have this, just break the blocks." He says, and Sabre rolls his eyes, though nobody can see that.
Sabre breaks the corner blocks, and Professor Red replaces them with redstone blocks. Almost immediately after doing so, the portal activates. The Red Leader grabs the Professor's arm and drags him away from the portal. "You're not going in there again." He looks over to M. "Neither are you."
Sabre walks closer to the portal, but turns to face his companions. "I'll go alone. Just stay here, please."
The Red Leader nods, while Sabre turns back to the portal. "Be safe, Sabre.." M says. He doesn't want Sabre to get hurt.
Sabre smiles, "I will, M, don't worry." With this, he walks through the portal.
On the other side, Sabre is met with a bunch of red blocks. He looks to the right, and there is one of those things again, walking down the path. He hides on the side of the portal, and waits for it to pass. As it passes, Sabre runs to the left. "Woah, what is that building? And- and those towers, they look familiar.. I saw them in the image Time Steve showed us! Hm.." He walks up the path he found, lit by the torch pillars. It's bright in this dimension already, but they are landmarks. He follows them up to the building. "It is completely black.. oh shoot, I forgot to put the rainbow crystal back! I'll have to be extra careful then.."
Sabre keeps walking, and soon he gets to the entrance of the building. "Woah.." There's a tube, and inside of it looks to be.. "No way, it's true?!"
"Well, well, well.. look who it is." Void Steve says, turning around to look straight at Sabre.
"Void Steve.. you're actually in the World Below. I can't believe I'd ever see you again. Just seeing you makes me mad, but I can't focus on that."
"Oh, I know it does!" Void says, clearly only wanting to mess with Sabre in the moment.
"I came to speak to you, and if you do speak to me, maybe I can help you out. Can't believe I'm even offering.."
"Oh? HAH! Help me?! You cannot help someone who does not wish to be helped, Sabre!"
"Well, look.. when you spoke to me, about how you stopped something worse. Was it this? We're you trying to stop these things?!"
"Isn't the view nice, Sabre..?"
"What..? No. It's not." Sabre says, agitated that Void Steve is ignoring his questions. "Stop trying to change the subject, I need you to tell me.. you were speaking of these things, weren't you? You knew this would happen!"
"Don't- heh.. don't the colors compliment each other..?"
"Void please.. I hate to be saying this but I'm begging you.. I need you to tell me what are these things, and did you know about them?!"
"Begging.. me?! HAH!" Void Steve laughs, amused that Sabre is so distraught.
"Void, I hate that I had to come to you.."
"Yes. I did know."
"You stopped them, as the hero, didn't you? You put a stop to them. How?! How were you able to keep them away?! They're untouchable, and they reset reality at any mention of them!"
"These things- these demons.. they're more powerful than anything you've seen, right?"
"Demons.."
"Even me!"
"Demon Steves... they come from the World Below.. that makes sense. They are more powerful than anything I've seen. They clearly had to put you in a separated tube just to try and change you into one of them.. and you're letting them? I don't understand.."
"HAH! Even I couldn't stop them!"
"But you did.. you fell so the Darkness, but you still stopped them before you even created it! How?"
"Kind of.. not really."
"How did you defeat the Demon Steves? Before you created the Darkness and fell to it, and became this person, you had to have found a way! I need to know, or else they'll destroy or take over the world!"
"That's a, how do I say this, a story. A lie."
"A lie? What do you mean? It's common sense that you were the original hero, but you fell to the Darkness after creating it. But you saved the people before that. How is that a lie?? Tell me!"
"I didn't create the Darkness after saving the people.."
"What are you talking about? Why did you create it then, that seems like a waste. You were already powerful enough to stop these things, the Demon Steves—"
"I created the Darkness TO SAVE the people! HAH-"
"What are you talking about.. you- you created the Darkness to- no, no.."
"YEP!"
"You used the Darkness.. you didn't fall to the Darkness, the Darkness SAVED EVERYONE?! The Darkness was the only way to fight these things?! That's why you created it..? Not after, but before.."
"You got that right, buddy!"
"But.. if that's the case.. that would imply the Darkness was the only solution..the Darkness suppressed the people, but in turn it stopped these demons.. that makes sense actually. That first image I saw before I came here, not the World Below, but this world in general! When that Red Steve showed me the prophecy, it showed the Darkness surrounding the people, like a shield!"
"Yes.. a true price for protection."
"But.. I can't use the Darkness.. I wouldn't want to anyways, I destroyed it, and I destroyed you!"
"Did you?"
"I'm not gonna try and bring it back.. it's gone anyways, I couldn't use it even if I wanted to."
"What's this.. energy..? RAINBOW- energy..?"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"Hm.."
Sabre holds the crystal in his hand, "It's the crystal.." He puts the crystal away. "Look, everyone's disappearing inside of the Rainbow Kingdom and I last had it on me."
"You dare bring that thing here?!" Void puts his hands on the glass, more so showing his anger.
"I was a little preoccupied, okay?! These Demon Steves are ruining everything! The only reality that can't be reset is mine! If I hold onto the crystal, it should be okay."
"AND NOW YOU SEE!"
"The only thing I see, is that you created the Darkness to stop these Demons, and in turn became a monster yourself."
"HAH!" Void Steve smiles sinisterly, "The reason for my plan."
"What do you mean..? You wanted the Darkness to completely take over and to destroy these things all the way? You can't just pass yourself off as some good guy, now, you know that, right?! You ruined the lives of so many and it doesn't justify that!"
"Exactly.. and yes, I can."
"Says the one trapped in some kind of.. test tube.. by the Demon Steves. You're being turned into one—"
"I am the first Rainbow Steve."
"Not anymore.. that title's long gone. I can't believe I offered to try and free you.."
Void Steve chuckles. "I have always been the hero of this story.."
"No you haven't. You're no hero.. you're a monster like the rest. Ironically you're being turned into one. Even more than what you were. I couldn't even think that was possible at one point, and yet here we are. Void, you have to tell me the truth—"
"Hah.. I created the Darkness to SAVE the people.."
"You destroyed the people in turn."
"And YOU destroyed it! What a shame!"
The way he speaks suggests he knows something Sabre doesn't. "I destroyed it because it was ruining lives. It doesn't justify the means here.. you can't justify what you did just because there's more evil out there!"
"Too bad there ain't any left.."
"Yeah, I destroyed all the Darkness, I know I did that. But there has to be another way to stop these things!"
"There isn't, trust me."
"Well it's kinds hard to trust you after everything you did. I don't even know why you want to tell me all of this, just to mock me, knowing I can't do anything about it?!"
"I've searched every dimension, and very power source."
"I don't wanna hear this.. we're done here. I'm done!" Sabre turns around to walk away, though once he gets to the entrance he turns back to the steve in the testing tube. "Void.. this is the last I'll ever see if you. Just remember.. while you mock me, I still defeated you."
Void grins. "Are you going to be a hero, or become the next void?"
Sabre turns back down the path. "I'm going to stop the Demon Steves."
"You tell me.."
Sabre ignores him, and walks down the path. "Goodbye, Void Steve. Forever this time." He makes his way back to the portal. "He can't be telling me the truth, the only way to defeat these things is by using the Darkness.. can he? I don't know.. I need to get out of here before a Demon Steve sees me. Demon Steves, huh? That's what they're called." Sabre runs back through the portal, and lightning strikes him, taking him back to the Overworld. He turns to face the portal once he's back, and sighs. The portal has deactivated and the redstone blocks that were in the corners are now gone, the mossy cobblestone back in its place.
M walks up to him, "Sabre? Are you okay?"
"Hm? Oh, M. Uh.. yeah. I.."
"It's alright. Did he tell you anything useful, if you saw him at all?"
"He did.. but it's.. I don't know what to do! He told me how to but it's impossible now!" Sabre grips his hair, obviously distressed.
The Red Leader and the Professor walk over to them. "Think hard, whatever he told you, it must be possible. We cannot give up." The Red Leader says, walking in front of him, to face him.
Sabre tries to think about it, and then remembers.. Void was talking weirdly when he said Sabre had destroyed the Darkness. Then it clicked. He gasps, and looks straight at the Steve in front of him. "I know what to do!!"
The Red Leader steps back. "Well, what is it then?"
"Uhm.. well, you see- can we just go?" Sabre shifts uncomfortably, he's not sure how they'll take this. It's the only way, yet he knows they won't like it.
"Sure.. where are we going?"
"Somewhere I haven't been in a while.." Sabre looks down, memories already flooding through his head.
"Want me to teleport us again?" The Red Leader asks, not moving until confirmation.
"Uh.. yeah, please." Sabre grabs the Red Leader's left hand, and then grabs M's right hand. The Professor takes M's left hand.
"Alright, you know the drill."
Sabre nods, and then lightning is summoned upon them once again. Sabre opens his eyes, and let's go if his companions' hands. "We're here.."
The Professor lets go of M's hand and walks forward, looking around. "This place is absolutely huge!"
"Yeah.. I don't wanna be here longer than I have to be." He walks over to the middle of the Rainbow Hub, where he and Light Steve had buried the Shadow Sword. "This is the absolute last thing I wanted to do.." He takes out the pickaxe Professor Red gave him, silently thanking him for it, and starts digging. "You all.. stay up here."
They all nod and start walking around, looking at everything. They've never been here before.
Sabre continues breaking the cobblestone, and breaks into the room they had out the sword. "Cant believe I have to be in here again.."
A figure walks out from behind the chest that the sword is in. "I see you're back.. hello, Sabre. Good to see you again."
Sabre looks away from him. "Yeah.. I don't feel the same, but I don't have a choice. Shadow.. I need you. I need you again."
"I know you do.. I knew you'd come back." Shadow walks to Sabre, and stands in front of him. "Never forget that I am the embodiment of Darkness, Sabre. I am not only you but I am also the Darkness. I am the creation that stopped the Demon Steves. I knew of them. And I knew you would return."
"And you chose not to tell me.. why?"
"I needed a reason to be released. Had I of told you, would you still use me?"
"I suppose not.. listen. Everyone I know is disappearing. If you know about these things, I need you to help me get rid of them."
"Not everyone is gone yet, though. You brought a couple of friends."
"I wasn't just gonna leave them there.. so yes, I did. Anyways.. the sword, is it still in the chest?"
"Of course it is.. it hasn't moved since you came here."
Sabre walks up to the chest, and opens it. Sighing, he picks up the sword, and closes the chest again. "Now what do I do?"
"You need to accept the Darkness again, Sabre. You cannot expect it to just work."
Sabre inhales sharply, and walks up the stairs. "Come on, I don't wanna be in here any longer." Shadow follows him, and once they reach the top, the three Red Steves are sitting in the middle of the Rainbow Hub, on the main platform.
M stands up. "Sabre, you're back! What did you go—" He then notices the sword. "Sabre.."
The Red Leader stands as well, and the Professor follows suit. "Is that the.. Shadow Sword?" The Red Leader asks, hoping it's not.
"It.. it is. It was the only way, you have to believe me!" Sabre grows worried. What if they cast him aside like everyone else had?
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Oops, I finished the second chapter the same day :]
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! I'm gonna start on chapter three soon, probably tonight or tomorrow, I'll hopefully have it out by the next day.
Again, any spelling or grammar mistakes you catch, feel free to correct them! I'm not good at catching them, so-
(Not me editing this three or four times-)
~Voilaxy Out~