Chromatober 2023

Day 7 - Mask

Series: Original Rainbow Quest (Part 3 to Day 1)

--- Time Steve P.O.V. ---

A rumble of thunder sounds in the distance, and I pay it little mind.  It's probably just the Yellow Steves coming in with more resources.  I glance up at the wall, which is almost complete except for a smaller section in the back.  It's amazing what a lot of steves can do with very little time.

"No!  They've found us!"

"Run!"

"Time Steve, where are you?"

I blink.  What?

I turn to find the steves screaming as they run away.  Above them, hovering a few blocks in the air, is a familiar brunette.

Oh no.

Without wasting another second, I pull out a sword, weaving through the retreating steves.  I had to put a stop to this.

A dark fireball whizzed past my face, crashing into the cobblestone wall and sending pieces scattering down.  It wasn't much damage, since stone was fireproof, but it was a warning.  The darkness would have no trouble destroying what little hope we had built up.

No.  I refused to believe it.

Still, I had to get Sabre away from the kingdom, especially if our actual resource gatherers came back.  This was too important.

"Missed me!"  I shouted, trying to rile him up.  With my time powers, I knew I could outpace him.  Given that, was it really such a bad idea to make him chase me?  I could lead this battle somewhere into the fields beyond, where none of the steves would get hurt by a stray fireball.

"Oh really!"  Sabre laughed, summoning more of the black flames.  "Do you think I'll miss again?"  It's always confused me, the way he talks now.  He didn't even talk like that to our enemies.  He was cocky, sure.  Foolhardy, definitely.  But actual threats?  No, he preferred to make fun of them.  I guess now he has the power to back up those threats.

"Try me."  I goaded, darting out of the way as a row of fireballs blazed toward me.  I planted myself between him and an empty field, dodging backward as he chased me.  Perfect.  I hit him with a few bolts of lightning, which irritated him, but didn't seem to actually hurt.  It was so strange.

"I see.  You want a one-on-one?"  he realized, sparing a glance for our half-built kingdom.  "Very well, I'll give you a one-on-one."

We raced away from the kingdom walls, trading lightning and fire.  To my relief, neither seemed to set any wildfires in the grass around us.  The rain we had gotten earlier must still have the grass damp.  A fireball singed the tail of my coat.  I guess I wasn't paying much attention.

The problem was, I didn't want to pay attention to Sabre.  I hated to see him like this, and every time my thoughts actually concentrated, all I could see was the face of my friend.  One of the first friends I had, if you didn't count my brother.

"Awh, come on clock boy!  I know you can do better than that!"  I scowled and threw some more lightning, hitting him squarely, but still not doing much.  I quickly put out the smoldering end of my cloak.  It would need to be replaced.

"I was just warming up!"  I retorted, letting the clock hands on my mask spin wildly.  I sped myself up in time, making me faster by comparison.  I dodged all ten of his incoming fireballs with ease, sending one shooting back toward him.

"You think that hurts, Keeper of Time?"  he laughed.  "It's darkness, you fool.  It just makes me stronger."  Of course it did.  Stupid me.  My mind speed-ran through all the war tactic books I'd read.  Elemental had gotten me plenty of those, stashed away in the library section of his dimension.  What were my options here?  I couldn't retreat.

Keeper of Time?  He'd never called me that before.  It was my formal title, sure, but- No.  Concentrate.

I zoomed toward him, avoiding the fire.  If I couldn't hit him with lightning, that meant swordplay.  I'd need to be a whole lot closer.  He saw my intentions, and pulled out the shadow sword, smiling to himself as a glimmer went through the dark metal of his sword.

We exchanged blows, and he barely managed to keep me away.  Sometimes he didn't manage it.  I left deep wounds in his arms and torso, which darkness quickly covered up, keeping the blood contained.  The difference was, I was not prepared to kill him.  He had no such qualms about me.

As the thought occurred, my powers shut down for a second, returning me to normal speed.  His next blow came in much faster than I expected, heading straight for my heart.

Realizing what was about to happen, I quickly raised my blade, sending the shadow sword veering off course.  It caught on my mask, instead, sending it flying fifty blocks to the ground.  I couldn't retrieve it mid-battle.

I scowled, trying to hide the reluctance on my face.  He laughed a little, already readying his blade for another try.  Instead of speeding myself up in time, I froze him, leaving him dangling there with his sword held back.

"Hey!  What's the matter, timekeeper, can't keep up?"  he snarled, trying to jerk free from my powers.  I narrowed my eyes.

"What happened to you?"  I demanded.  "When Funny died?"  He didn't so much as flinch at the Orange Steve's name.  "You're walking the edge of a blade, Sabre.  The steves down there will still forgive you."  I gestured to the Rainbow Kingdom.  "But you need to snap to your senses, and soon.  I'm not sure what your emotions are telling you, but we are your friends.  You've fought by our side for ages!  You can't just give up on them now."  Angry tears pricked at my eyes.  Sabre merely sneered.

"Awwww, how cute."  he mocked.  "Such a sentimental speech.  It's almost like you think he's still in there."

The hold on my powers broke, and the brunette lunged forward, sword at the ready.

Only a wall of ice stopped him from killing me then and there.  I faltered a little in the sky, dropping down a few blocks before catching myself.  I looked around to find my brother, who had taken my original spot in front of Sabre.  Was it even Sabre?

"Oh, you messed with the wrong steve."  Elemental said.  He was much better at matching Sabre's cruel tone than I was.  "I'll show you what a little fire can do."  before he could say much more, lightning rained down, taking Sabre with it.  "Ugh!  Coward!"

I dropped to the ground, picking up my mask with shaking hands.

"Time?"  I slipped the familiar accessory onto my face, bringing the hood of my cloak up.  "Hey Time, are you okay?"  I smiled through the tears, nudging my brother playfully.

"Looks like you arrived just in time."  I teased.

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Word Count: 1,111