The Balancers

Part 9: Origins and Unbalance

I climbed up the ladder as fast as I could to investigate the screaming. As soon as I was up, I ran out of the temple and skidded to a stop. My eyes were having a hard time registering what I was seeing. I knew who it was, but I couldn't believe it. I had never met him personally, but my bosses had told me a lot about him. He had almost wiped out the entire realm I had once lived in. Of course that realm was gone now, but he had tried to take it down along time ago. Standing in the middle of our island stood Origin Steve. There were still a few steves left as well, and they were either cowering behind something or closing their eyes and teleporting away. I slowly walked forwards, watching Origin for any movements. He suddenly stopped looking around and stared directly at me. As I approached a smug grin appeared on his face.

"So you're the one everyone's talking about." He said. I hadn't been aware that anyone had been talking about me. Although it wasn't surprising after the fight with that Demon Steve. "When I heard that there was a steve out there that wasn't completely weak and useless, well I had to come see it for my self." He seemed to look me up and down. A few of the steves hiding around the area were also staring at me with shock and confusion. 'They're noticing the blue.' I realized. "I'll admit," Origin Steve continued. "I've never seen a steve like you." That wasn't surprising based on the very little I knew about Balancers. 

"Yep. I'm one of a kind." I replied. He must have thought that that was amusing because he let out a chuckle. It didn't sound friendly.

"Then you and me have a lot in common." He stated. "We're both unique. We're both powerful. And we both seem to like the color blue." That last part he said with the slightest tone of mockery. My bosses had warned me about Origin Steve. He was dangerous for more reasons then just being powerful. Origin was very manipulative. He could get in people's heads quite easily. I had to make sure not to let him do that to me. 

"What do you want?" I asked. I was doing my best not to make any sudden or fast movements. I was hoping that I could keep this whole ordeal peaceful. Although most of my talks with people like Origin end with a fight. He suddenly shifted his wait, seeming to go into a more defensive stance, while still looking mostly casual. 

"I'm here to see if your worth as much fuss as everyone's making about you." he answered. That really didn't sound good. I had heard from my bosses, as well as other steves that showed up here in Rainbow Realm, that Origin could do some insane things. Word has it he even took Sabre and Galaxy Steve out of the timeline. They had been there for nearly a decade. Not only that, but over that decade Origin Steve had managed to completely remake the steves. He had made them have just enough of another color mixed in that they couldn't use any of their powers. I had to be careful. I noticed that Unknown Steve was standing in the entrance of the temple. I also noticed he was holding things in his hands, but I didn't have time to see what it was because Origin kept talking. "I can't have people thinking that anyone can stand a chance against me." Luckily, my bosses had also told me how Origin had been defeated.

"What about Alex?" I asked him in calm voice, although I'll admit I added a bit of taunting into it. He stared at me with a blank expression, but then his eyes narrowed and his moth curved to a snarl. He slid one foot back and put his fists up, ready for a fight. I turned slightly to the side, and pointed my right arm at him. I held my left arm at a slight angle, positioned away from my side. I had been experimenting with new fighting styles, but right now I was going off of extinct. Origin lunged forward. I side stepped, but he turned and uppercut me, sending me flying through the air. I flipped myself around midair, and planted my feet on the side of the temple. I launched off the wall and smashed into Origin Steve, causing him to fall back. As he fell, I landed on the ground and spun in a quick circle, kicking him in the gut, sending him into the pond. I turned and looked back at Unknown Steve. He was holding The Dark Relic and The Shadow Relic. I was about to ask him why he had them when Origin came out of the water. He stood on the edge of the pond, soaking wet. He stared at me in silence, anger radiating off him like a block of concrete out in the sun. He sprang forward and smashed his fist into my head. My mind felt dizzy. He swung his leg under me, and I fell to the ground. He stood over me and began to punch my chest and face repeatedly. I gritted my teeth. This wasn't how I was going down. My eyes were closed. I reach inside of me and latched onto my energies. My eyes flung open and a blast wave of energy flung off of me. Origin was throne into a wall, crashing through it and soaring off the edge of the island. I scrambled over to the edge and looked over it. I saw him look up at me as he fell, and I could tell he was furious. Before he fell into the void far below, he closed his eyes and teleported away. I turned over and just sat there on the ground. That was the first time as Balance that I had actually gotten remotely tired. Suddenly I heard cheering and clapping. I looked around a saw the few remaining steves on the island cheering.

"He really is as powerful as they said he was!" yelled a Yellow Steve.

"He beat Origin Steve in a fight!" a Violet Steve proclaimed happily. The Indigo and Purple Steve next to him nodded, and continued to cheer. 'This won't be the last time I see Origin Steve' I thought. He was going to come back, angrier then ever. But at the moment, this was a small victory. I stood up and looked to Unknown Steve. My eyes went wide. His eyes were closed, and the two relics were spinning in the air above his hands.

"NO!" I hollered, and I sprinted towards him. I wasn't scared at the fact he was fusing to the relics. But a few days ago I had put my Balancer Energy into them so I could track them if they were taken or lost. I hadn't even thought about someone else absorbing any of them. "Unknown wait, stop!" I yelled again. I was almost there. I jumped, stretching my arm towards him. My hand brushed against The Dark Relic, and then it and The Shadow Relic flung into Unknown's chest, just like The Blue Relic had done to me. A shockwave of black and and dark gray energy blasted out of him. I was flung back and everything went dark. When I came to, I was leaning against a tree trunk, with my legs sprawled out in front of me. I looked up and saw the front of the temple had been ripped apart. I stood up slowly, my legs slightly numb. I ran back to the temple. It looked like all the others had teleported away, probably out of fear. I slid to a halt at the edge of the crater where the front wall of the temple had been. most of the crater led to the open air below the floating island. Bit in the middle were a few blocks of dark terracotta. And laying on them was Unknown Steve. Well, he didn't look like Unknown Steve anymore. Half of his body was covered in pure black markings. They looked exactly like mine. 'No way...' I thought, but suddenly it made sense. He was an Unknown Steve that had absorbed two relics I had put my energies into, which included a small amount of Creator Energy, and the strange energy I gained after becoming Balance, which I had begun calling Balancer Energy. I quickly went down the side of the crater and leaped over the gaping hole onto the floating blocks. I leaned down, grabbed him by the arms, and flung him over my shoulder. I turned and leaped back over the gap, and climbed out of the crater. When I got out, I leaned him against another tree on the island. I walked over to the pond and scooped up some water in a bucket. I walked back, and splashed the water in his face. He woke up sputtering.

"What the heck!" he complained. He stood up, and immediately fell back down. I went to help him back up, but he stopped me. "I can get up by myself." He said. He stood up shakily, then leaned against the tree. He looked a lot like me, yet very different. Instead up my nearly pure white, he had his own very dark Unknown Energy coloring. Our pure black colorings were exactly the same. It covered our legs, and went in a diagonal line from our left leg to the top of our right arm. We had patches of our normal coloring on our right leg, and a pure black patch over our left eye. The rest of our heads were our original color, and on our backs was the same diagonal line dividing our pure black and our old colors. His left eye was a very dark gray, and his right eye was a pure black. And there was an almost pitch black infinity symbol on his chest. There was no way to deny it.

"Looks like your a Balancer now too." I said. He looked at me, and for the first time I saw an expression of surprise on his face. "Don't worry, I can help you learn. Although I haven't mastered these powers either. Just a warning though. This whole world seems to not allow us to fly, so don't try that." He stared at me with an unreadable expression, then let out a loud sigh.

"Looks like I don't have a choice now." He said. "Looks like I have to stay with you now." That was true. It would probably be best if the only two Balancers in existence stayed together. 

"Why were you absorbing those relics anyways?" I asked. 

"Because I wanted to become more powerful so when we go back to save the Unknowns and Blanks, I could actually do something." That made sense. He didn't want to just sit back and watch me do all the work.

"Well, if you were trying to become more powerful, this is probably the best thing that could have happened." I replied. I though for a moment. "You need a name for your Balancer form." I said. "Mine's Balance, so maybe it should be along the same lines as that." He nodded, and I could tell he was thinking. I was as well. I had named myself balance as I thought it was fitting, seeing that I was half white and half pure black. I thought about how he was half black, and half pure black. He didn't look balanced like I did. And then it hit me. I put my hand out to him. "Let's get started on training, Unbalance." I offered. He stared at me, and for the first time he flashed a firm smile, and let out a rough chuckle. He reach and shook my hand. And the duo of Balance and Unbalance began. But, it was only the beginning.