it's over. // a jsab fanfic

1. "heroic" procrastination .

Chapter 1's Content Warning
• Mild depiction of slight anxiety, fear, and paranoia.

Cyan dashed from side to side desperately. The dark void surrounding him appeared to stretch for miles. He was more focused on the bright pink lasers headed toward him, however. They barely missed him as he dodged, aching to catch his breath. Why is every day a struggle? he thought. Projectiles rushed at him from every angle. Cyan's vision began to blur from the lack of oxygen. He tried to encourage himself, now blinking back tears. I just have to last a few more minutes, I can make it. Man, I'm out of shape... A laser grazed his arm, shattering the bright blue skin slightly. "Ow! Shit," he winced. All his focus was now destroyed. The projectiles began battering him violently, leaving him cursing in pain. The void around him began to fade; the pain with it.

"Cyan, that's the third time this week you haven't been able to make it through the simulation." A taller shape approached behind him as he caught his breath. They wore an elegant, shimmering white shirt with long sleeves that flowed past their hands and dark blue pants paired with white boots. Their skin was a calm blue, their face tainted slightly by a delicate frown. Cyan sighed, collapsing onto the bench behind him. "Well, I don't see why these exercises matter anyway... The Corruption was, like, centuries ago. It's so boring, living like this, always in fear." He brushed off his dark jeans and adjusted his grey hoodie. "Again, Cyan, we never know when they might strike again," said the shape irritably. "I need you to focus, and maybe hit the gym more often... You obviously have been slacking. Out of breath so easily? Hmph."

Cyan got back up, walking down the pavement to avoid them. "I didn't ask for a lecture on my physique, Cube, but thanks anyway. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going home to go back to sleep." The shape- or, Cube- tensed up, before taking a deep breath, calming themself down. "Okay. Same time tomorrow, then. Get good rest, please, Cyan. You're worrying me." Cyan noticed their expression soften and felt his own do the same out of guilt. He opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it again, giving a brisk nod instead before speedily walking down the sidewalk.

His house wasn't far from the Tree of Life where he'd been training. Every day, he made his way to the Tree for special training. The others said it wasn't a big deal, but while his siblings were out partying and using their strength as mere parlor tricks, he was stuck training with Cube. He was jealous of his siblings' more lax schedule; two training sessions per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Despite his rampant jealousy, he made no effort to improve his conditions. He saw no use in the training. In the world of Paradise, everything was more or less peaceful in his eyes. Yet he had been born a Hero, and thus immediately shoved into a training program with his siblings. Every Hero ever born (though there were usually only ever four, every couple of decades or so) had instructions drilled into their head from the moment they could understand a full sentence to the moment they died: Protect Paradise. From what? There were no major world threats to be fought- at least, to be fought using violence.

Cube insisted there definitely were during every session. Every day, Cyan rambled about how useless the training was, and every day, Cube responded, "Haven't you learned about Corruption?" before going into a three-hour lecture on Paradise's history. Corruption was like mind control, as far as Cyan remembered. According to legend, Corruption was ruled by a ruthless king who'd harnessed the magic of the Tree of Life to take over Paradise with the corrosive pink plague. His name had long been lost to the tides of the past, but his tale had scarred Paradise for as long as anyone could remember. Obviously, there was some truth to the legend; as a result of Paradise's impending doom, the Tree had produced four heroes of different shapes and colors, four siblings to take down the tyrannical king. A blue square, a yellow triangle, a green pentagon, and an orange circle. Cyan was the blue square of his time.

Cyan was abruptly ripped from his deep train of thought as his house came into view. Sighing in relief, he jogged the rest of the way, bursting through the door and immediately flopping onto the couch. His sister Aurum, the yellow triangle, was already on the couch jotting down notes. Cyan's flop had disrupted her writing, causing her pencil to strike across the page messily. She groaned in frustration. "Really? You, honest to god, couldn't have sat down a little more gently?" Kicking his legs forward and crossing his feet over the coffee table dramatically, Cyan chuckled. Sarcasm laced his voice. "No, I'd just die."

"Har, har," Aurum droned, erasing the line she'd accidentally drawn across her notes. "Go bother Quintin, I'm sure they're bored. They've been studying a couple of moves they had a hard time with all day while you were out." Cyan pretended to be offended. "My dearest sister, how could you shove me away so blatantly?" His words were greeted with a sharp glare. "Quintin's in their room. Bother them." Aurum repeated herself, clearly not willing to feed into Cyan's goofiness. Cyan shrugged and got back up, stretching.

Uuugh... I'm so sore after today. I can still feel the injuries from the simulation. For a virtual set-up, the sensations are very realistic. Maybe I should rest, like Cube said...

He considered for a minute, shaking his head to clear the looming brain fog. Sleep does sound appealing.

Cyan ventured through the living room and down the hall, climbing the stairs to his bedroom. He'd chosen the attic for maximum privacy, but whenever he was as exhausted as he was now, it was more of a hindrance than a benefit. He leapt gratefully onto his bed, not bothering to shower or change. It didn't take long at all for him to drift peacefully off to sleep.

The dream was bleak and dark. Though he couldn't see or hear anything to suggest it, Cyan's head swirled with the notion that something was terribly wrong. He turned frantically with his fists raised in a defensive position, anxiety rippling throughout his body. Cyan felt claustrophobic, as the dark made it impossible to determine where the room ended and the walls started. It was nothing but a stuffy void, not unlike the ones in his training simulations, apart from the immediate feeling of terror.

"Haven't you learned about Corruption?" a voice mocked from the darkness. It didn't have the same stern, gentle tone that Cube's had- the voice had an arrogant growl to it, the type of voice you'd expect from the voice of a rock band's lead singer. Lasers and bullets zoomed in stream-like formations to either side of Cyan. He couldn't see where the voice came from, and his ears did no good. The sound echoed throughout the void, filling the pit of Cyan's stomach with discomfort and fear. A shadowy figure loomed over him, raising a gun-like object, before aiming at his skull and firing.

Cyan awoke in a cold sweat, nearly hyperventilating. The nightmare had been short, and the whispy remains were quickly fading from his mind. He'd slept for only a few hours. It'd been in the evening, maybe 7 PM, when he'd gone to bed, and now it was midnight. He changed out of his dirty clothes and into something cooler- a white tank top and black shorts- before heading down the stairs to get a drink, and maybe use the bathroom. Shivering, he turned on his phone's flashlight. His nightmare had left him anxious and paranoid, checking around the corners as he trudged towards the kitchen. Opening the door with a slight creak, he flicked the light on, turning the flashlight back off. He heard rustling in the pantry and flinched. Aurum walked out, a chip bag in hand. "Ah, guess you caught me- Cyan, you good? Your face is so pale, I'd have thought you were Cube." His sister's face portrayed a cross between curiosity and concern as she studied his expression. Cyan hesitated, nodding quickly. "Of course, I just need a glass of water. Had an unsettling dream, you know?" He put on an awkward smile and opened the cabinet, grabbing a cup to fill from the tap. Cyan felt Aurum's gaze boring into his back as he downed the water in two swift motions.

"Right... I'm heading back to bed then. Goodnight." Aurum stated, her tone slightly questioning, but not pushy. She retreated to her room as Cyan nodded again, placing his cup in the sink before rushing back to his own room. Cyan was well aware that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

word count: 1497

// A/N : hope my writing/spacing isn't too inconsistent JFJAJF, but there's chapter one. lmk if u enjoyed, new to this whole being-an-author-on-Wattpad thing :skull_emoji:

also, i didn't have anyone, like, read this to look for errors... L ig