Dead Inside

69.

So much is happening, Sabre whispered to himself. Too much is being lost.

Both Galaxy Steve and Portal Steve have died, and it's all Forest Steve's fault. Rage burned through his grief and clenched his fists tight. Rainbow Steve was gently grasping his arm as Forest Steve withdrew the twisting staff of branches. Sabre glared at the once trusted Steve and forced Rainbow Steve off him to hurry forward and stand a short distance from Forest Steve.

"Ah, Sabre," Forest Steve smiled with glee at the sight of Sabre. "Nice of you to join this gruesome reunion."

"Enough talk!" Sabre exclaimed. "I've had enough of you Forest Steve."

"Enough of me?" Forest Steve placed a hand on his chest with a fake shocked expression. "But, I'm your dad, Sabre. How can you not have enough of me?"

"You are not my dad!" Sabre insisted. "A dad is someone who cares for their children, not abandon them for his own foolish needs."

"You can't deny it, Sabre," Forest Steve spoke in an annoying gentle voice. "You wanted to know who your family was, and that's me, your own father. If you join me, we can catch up on all those years we've missed!"

"Not likely," Sabre spat. "You'd rather kill me than raise me if you got the second chance."

"The offer is still up for discussion," Forest Steve shrugged. "So? Are you going to attack me?"

Sabre hesitated. What was he to lose? Why wouldn't he attack?

"What's the matter, Sabre?" Forest Steve questioned. "Can't stand to kill your own father? I get that."

"No," Sabre clenched his fists tightly at his sides. "I can kill you. And I will. Who cares who you are? Who cares how terrible your past was? We will defeat you, right here, right now, and we will trap you in your own forest. Evil always- always- ends the exact same way they do. That means you, too."

"Wow," Forest Steve clapped his hands. "Beautiful speech, Sabre. Sorry to disappoint you, but you'll just have to go down with me."

Forest Steve was about to lunge when the God of all Steves blocked him with a wall of ice. Forest Steve glared upward at the powerful Steve.

"Sabre," the God of all Steves turned to him. "Stay back. This isn't your fight."

Sabre nodded and went back to join Rainbow Steve, disappointed.

Why couldn't I do anything? He scolded himself. Why didn't I attack when I had the chance? He was right there!

Rainbow Steve set a hand on his shoulder, Sabre unwilling to meet his gaze. He knew what was going to happen, so why did he flare up like that?

An explosion drew Sabre's attention. He whirled around to see Forest Steve go flying through tree after tree and across the border. Even more disappointment flooded Sabre to see that. Now the prophecy the God of all Steves told him would come true.

"Sabre!" Rainbow Steve exclaimed. Sabre turned to him. Rainbow Steve was pointing at a tree that was leaning towards them. A crack split the silence and the tree began to fall. It was heading straight for Entity Steve.

"Entity Steve!" Sabre cried out.

Entity Steve looked up at the tree heading towards him. His glasses reflected the falling tree, his eyes wide. Dust Alex paused from running in circles around Sally and turned to see what the commotion was about. Her gaze was fixed on the tree and turned swiftly towards Entity Steve. She rushed forward and leapt after him. Entity Steve turned to her, a fearful expression on his face. Dust Alex's speed wouldn't be enough, Sabre realized as the tree came closer towards squishing Entity Steve. Dust Alex was so close when the tree crashed. Sabre hurried forward with Rainbow Steve at his side, stopping in front of the fallen tree. Entity Steve was there; Alive, to Sabre's relief. He was being crushed and he reached out, grasping the ground as he tried to free himself. Dust Alex hurried over and knelt down.

"Entity Steve?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"I-" Entity Steve winced. "I'm stuck."

Sabre and Rainbow Steve joined Dust Alex.

"He needs help!" Dust Alex told them. "This tree will crush him to death; We can't have that happen! We have to do something. Can we break this tree so it's easier to lift? Or will that make it worse? Can we dig a hole under Entity Steve for him to crawl out of? Or will he get stuck even more? Or worse! What if he can't get out?"

"Calm down, Dust Alex," Rainbow Steve instructed. "We'll get him out. Somehow."

"It would be easier if Portal Steve were here," Dust Alex pointed out. "He could use a portal to teleport Entity Steve out from under the tree or teleport the tree out from over Entity Steve."

"He's gone," Sabre reminded her, his voice dropped in grief. "He would've been here if we dealt with Forest Steve sooner."

Rainbow Steve shook his head. "We will remember him. But we have to help Entity Steve or we will lose another friend."

Sabre nodded. "But how?"

"I can help!" Sally popped up beside Sabre, startling him for a moment. She pulled out a packet of TNT.

"No!" Rainbow Steve interjected. "That could kill him!"

"That's the point!" Sally brought up with a wide smile.

"Sally," Cala walked up to stand beside Sally, a soft but warning tone in her voice.

"Aww, okay..." Sally moaned, dragging her feet as she walked away.

"Allow me," Cala said, turning to Entity Steve and the crushing tree. She summoned her book and used her powers to lift the tree off of Entity Steve and dropped it far from the friends' location. She knelt beside Entity Steve, who was gasping and struggling to sit up. "I need to stay with him, to make sure he will be alright. You need to go after Forest Steve and the God of all Steves."

Sabre nodded, turning to Rainbow Steve, Dust Alex, and Sally. "Come on."