Lost Memories

Part 3; Chapter 16 - Goodbye.

(I can't believe we're at the end of Part 3 already. Thank you all for making it this far in my fanfic, it really means a lot :] Now since this is the last chapter of Part 3, I'll be going on a month's hiatus. I hope you enjoy this last chapter until Part 4 comes out on March 16th!)

=Rainbow Steve's POV=

"Let's go home." Time said. He stood, wiping his tears. It had only been a few minutes since the explosion, and he had already regained his composure. "Time, are you sure..? It's okay to grie-" "Please, Sabre, I want to head back." Time interrupted. Sabre sighed, walking over and holding his hand out for Time.

Time seemed to hesitate, staring at Sabre's palm. I put my hand on top of Time's, and he took Sabre's hand. I moved and hugged him as he choked up another sob. Sabre did the same, the two of us holding Time close. We let Time cry on our shoulders, until there were no tears left to cry.

"Can we go home now..?" Time asked, his tired eyes just visible behind his transparent clock mask. "Yeah, come on.." Sabre reassured. He took Time's left hand as I took his right, and we began to lead Time from the ice path to the forest.

The walk was silent, the atmosphere almost grey as we trudged silently through the biomes back home.

Home..

I don't know if I could call the place a home. Yeah, there were memories made there, and there were friends, close enough to almost consider family, but.. I didn't feel connected to it. Not like the Rainbow Town.

...Wait, what was the Rainbow Town? I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to remember anything about it I could've seen, not just been told by Sabre. I huffed and shook my head. I knew that the Rainbow Town, from what Sabre's told me, was our home. We lived there and grew it, even had several residents at the time. And honestly, that's what I wanted for the future. I wanted a new Rainbow Town. For injured Steves, good Steves, and even reformed evil Steves.

I smiled a bit at the thought. Despite the loss, I was hopeful, and a bit exited, for a better future. Nightmare hadn't showed up in a long while, and Elemental was... unfortunately... gone, so we could be at peace, right? We could find a flower forest to build in, and spread it out even further with bonemeal and saplings! Any Steves looking for refuge we could help build a house for, we could make farms, we could have animals, we could even have Rainbow Trees! Sabre told me about those, and they sound pretty.

I became so lost in thought with the different possibilities that could occur with a new, beautiful place to stay, that I hadn't noticed we arrived back to the house until we were right outside.

Time pulled his hands away from Sabre and I. We gave him concerned glances as he backed away from us slightly. "I.. thank you, you two. For everything." He said. "Heh, for what, Time..?" Sabre replied. I could sense a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"Well, after all that.. I need time. Without Elemental, I.. I don't know who I really am, and I decided while walking back, I will no longer be watching over the timeline." He stated. Sabre looked at me, then back at Time. "Well.. will you ever return?" He asked.

Time looked down. "I don't know. I just.. There could be a possibility I'll just leave and never return.. I want to grieve on my own and move on, especially from this place. He raised his head to look off to the West, where his and Elemental's huge battle was earlier this month.

I stepped forward and hugged Time. "I'll miss you.." I muttered, Time patting me on the head before hugging back. "What about Galaxy, Time? He's your dad.. At least say bye to him, maybe?" He asked. "Yeah. Get him for me, okay?" Time replied. I heard the house's door open and close.