Sabre hadn't been the same since the war. He had left without notice. Apparently his parents had signed him up without warning. He didn't get to say goodbye to his friends.
He had trained hard, being the youngest new recruit, he didn't want to be picked on, so he trained hard every day, even after training hours. He slept little and ate even less, he was too busy training.
When the recruits had been deemed battle ready, Sabre wasn't scared. He remembered the all out wars he had at the Daycare, and he knew how to fight, how to kill, and how to win.
He soon became recognized as a brilliant strategist, and they made him a general in charge of a force of 50 men, as a testing trial. The men didn't listen as he was nearly 1/4 their ages, but Sabre didn't care. Any man who wouldn't listen was required to do 100 push ups. If he complained, Sabre would add 50. The men had never been more fit, and the troops were never disiplined better.
It wasn't until Sabre's 4th battle that he knew how terrible war could be.
Recently he has gotten an new addition to his troops, a young boy by the name of Shark. Shark was the same age as Sabre and showed promise to also be a leader, so he had been sent to be part of Sabre's crew.
Sabre has taken an instant liking to Shark, he felt familiar, as if he had known him at one point, though Sabre couldn't tell you why if you had him at gun point.
Shark was a great soldier and a great leader. But it was his first battle that was his downfall. They were winning, fighting, when Shark got distracted and got shot, right in the head.
Sabre screamed, seeing his new friend die right before his eyes, and he got shot in the arm.
When the battle was over, Sabre's side was victorious, but Sabre was out of commission. He was shipped home, the terrors of war fresh on his mind.
The first thing he wanted to do after being released from the hospital was go back to Daycare, but his parents wanted him to heal and go back to war, so Sabre ran away. He hoped he still had a room back at the Daycare. He hoped the kids hadn't forgotten him. He hoped they would let him hide out in the only place he felt safe and at home.
His friends fretted over his strange behavior. They didn't know about what had happened during his absence. He didn't tell them, so how could them? The did know that something was wrong and they needed to fix it somehow.
"Sabre. Saaaabre. Sabre? Saaaaaaaaaaaaaabre? SABRE!"
"AHHH!" Sabre yelled.
"Sabre. You got lost in thought again." Goldy told him.
"Sorry." Sabre apologized. He was sitting on the floor in the Daycare room and he had been staring out the window at the sky.
I wonder if Shark is watching. He had been wondering. It should have been me... I'm the experienced one, I should have protected him.
"Alright, dude. What is going on?" Ryan demanded. Tina stood, worried, beside him. The mood of the room was low as everyone was worried for their friend.
"Nothing... I'm fine!" Sabre lied. "Do you guys wanna play a game or something?"
"Game?" Goldy asked, perking up. Unicorn shot her a look to remind her not to get distracted. Even he was worried about Sabre's strange attitude.
"No, Sabre. Tell us what is going on." Unicorn told him.
"I'm fine! Really guys!" Sabre said with a fake smile. "Come on, Goldy, I know you want to play!"
"Sabre. I'll play once you tell us what is going on." Goldy told him stubbornly.
"I'm fi-"
"STOP LYING!" Tina screeched. She clasped a hand over her mouth. She scooted behind Ryan, worried that she would blow up again and make matters worse.
"You are effecting everyone's mood. Just tell us." Ryan said.
"Fine..." Sabre finally gave in, worried that if he told them, they would hate him, but knowing if he didn't tell them, they would hate him anyways.
And so he told them the whole story, everything from his surprise of being put into the army, to him being made a general, to Shark, to his injury, to him running away.
Everyone was silent.
Well, until Goldy ran over and gave Sabre a hug. Everyone soon followed.
"Don't worry. If your parents try to send you back. We will take care of it." Tina said, gesturing to her band of sling shot wielding crazy children.
"You can stay here!" Ryan offered. "Unicorn does anyways."
"Hey! That's a secret!" Unicorn complained.
"We all knew..." Tina said.
"Not Goldy." Unicorn sighed.
"What about me?" Goldy asked.
"Nothing." Ryan said, shaking his head.
Everyone laughed except for Goldy-who was standing there very confused. Sabre realized maybe his friends could be the ones to put the pieces back together and help him forget about his terrible time in the war.
Well. For now anyways.
815 words today! Hey there! I know you thought the long chapter would be out today. Well no, sorry. First of all this is technically the 19th One Shot, because we have that explanation chapter. The second reason is that it isn't done yet. I don't know when it will be done, and I've been set back due to life circumstances, but when it is down, I'll post it, most likely before Christmas. I'm also here to say that I'm getting ready for finals, so posting of one shots are going to be on a bit of an irregular basis. Don't worry, as soon as break starts I'll be able to post more often, but for now, don't count on me posting every weekday. I'll try to keep some coming out when I get a free moment, just so you aren't left alone, but I'm not sure how often that will be. Anyways, have a great day/night/early morning/late evening! Byeeee! (Wow this author's note is 204 words long...)