The Stories He Has to Tell | SabreTober Prompts | Hosted by IcyWillowSong

~| Day 12: Indigo |~

Series: Rainbow Quest

AU: Dreaded (A while after the timeline reset, and Sabre and Time were able to come back, Sabre goes out to do something one night and doesn't come back. The next morning, after Time and some of the people of the village look for him, Sabre is found in the woods with a mysterious substance over his eyes. After it causes a lot of panic and confusion, they eventually get the Professor over and he identifies it; it's none other than the infection Dread Steve created)

Context: Professor Red had the Assistant take Sabre to the lab, and is currently trying to figure out a way to cure it since Dream Steve is kinda dead.

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[Time Steve's POV]

"Time, I said get back! That stuff can spread!" The Professor yells from the other room. "Do you want to risk getting infected as well?!"

I sigh and take a few steps back from Sabre, who's laid on the table connected to a few machines. The strange infection over his face somehow slips under his blindfold, covering his eyes.

Finding him in the woods like this was so... disturbing. He was just leaned against a tree, breathing shallowly, the deep purple substance dripping from his face. The Professor freaking out when he saw it didn't help the situation, but at least he knows what's going on.

I hear M walking into the room, and look up to see him and the Professor standing in the doorway. The Professor has a solemn look, while M stands horrified.

"What on earth happened to him?" M asks after a few beats of silence.

"We don't know." I answer. "Last night, he went out to take care of something, and he didn't come back. The village and I got worried, so we went to look for him and..."

I gaze back at Sabre, noticing he's starting to shake a bit. It's worrying, and I think the Professor's noticed it too.

"We just found him like this." I continue. "I don't have the slightest idea of what could've caused this, but apparently the Professor does."

M turns to look at the Professor, and he nods.

"Yes, I do. I've seen this infection before on a much larger scale." Professor Red explains. "It was created by a being known as Dread Steve, who up until now we all believed to be dead. It infected almost every civilization at one point. We were lucky back then, because we were able to get the help of the person that knew how to combat it, but since he's gone now... we're on our own unless we can convince the Blue Leader to let him out of the World Beyond for a bit."

"What exactly does this infection do?" M asks, stepping closer.

"Don't stand too close, like I said, it can spread and spread fast." The Professor warns.

Suddenly, all of our attention is turned back to Sabre, as his breathing hitches and he begins to shiver.

"It's already started..." The Professor says.

"What?! What's 'started'?!" M exclaims.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"This specific kind of corruption isn't made to control or kill someone." The Professor says. "It was made to torture an individual with their absolute worst fears. Apparently it gives Dread Steve more power the longer it goes on. I've never been infected myself, but lots of my friends from that time had, and let me tell you it is not a pretty sight once it gets into its later stages."

M and I freeze at the explanation.

"His... worst fears?" I say, remembering a few and how they affected him just normally.

"Yes, the infection corrupts the mind and shows the affected their greatest fears." Professor Red says. "And when I say 'greatest fears', I mean what makes the affected mentally break. It can get to that point with Sabre if we don't work this out quickly. M, have you contacted the other Leaders?"

"Y-Yes, they should be here soon..." M says, visibly shaken by the news.

"How quickly does the corruption progress?" I ask. I need to know if I need to step in at some point and attempt to reverse the infection if it gets too bad.

"The more fear it creates, the faster it gets." Professor Red answers. "And fear can snowball quickly once it gets out of hand. So either we convince Blue to let Dream Steve out of the World Beyond until this issue is solved, or we have to come up with our own solution. Hopefully the first idea because that'll go faster."

We hear the sounds of familiar voices entering the lab. Professor Red and M turn to leave.

"I'm guessing you want to stay with him?" The Professor asks.

"...Yeah." I reply, looking back at Sabre.

They leave the room. As I stare back at Sabre, I know I can only hope for this to be resolved quickly. Knowing him, I can't even begin to imagine what he's going through right now if he's being shown his worst fears. Sabre has always been a strong fighter and never let his own state get in the way of his battles, but it always catches up to him later.

I've seen the effects of such things on him. The fears I know of haunt him, sometimes plaguing him with nightmares. He's described horrors to me once I ask, and judging off of how the Professor put it, they're going to get worse. We need to help Sabre somehow, and soon.

 I just can't let those same fears break him.