A Nightmare's Honor

Too Late

{F} Sky POV:

As soon as the Red and Yellow Apprentices had teleported away, I began to search for the "Professor", who had undoubtedly taken away Sabre and the Red Leader. I hope that cry of pain earlier wasn't Sabre...

I searched everywhere, flipping over the occasional desk, moving the occasional paperwork to the floor, tossing the occasional rug out of the way, and so forth. Needless to say, I made messes in every room I entered. I didn't really care, though. Nothing was going to keep me from getting to Sabre. If that stupid goggle-wearing apple so much as thinks of hurting Sabre, I'm going to pound him into apple sauce and burn his stupid "energy research" to the ground.

Suddenly, I noticed that one of the rugs on the floor was jutting out in a peculiar way. Without hesitation, I flung the rug away, revealing a trapdoor with... concerning smudges. This is definitely the way they went...

Cautiously, I lifted the hatch to find a small ladder leading down into a secret room. The lighting was dim, but I could still make out rungs that looked to be slippery. Oh gosh, this feels like a horror movie...

I began to carefully climb down the ladder, trying to ignore the sharp metallic scent of the tunnel. I also smelled a hint of smoke and oil from the room below. An oil fire? My word, what is that "Professor" guy doing down there? Making a bonfire?!

The moment I made it into the room below, I could sense that something was horribly wrong. The Red Professor, so pale that he was practically pink, was looking at a broken machine in terror. There was someone inside, but the smoke shrouded their details.

"What in the World Below is that thing?!" I screamed at the Professor, demanding an answer. "Is that Sabre?!"

"No-! Well- kind of- but-!" the Red Professor stuttered nervously in response, looking frantically between the creature and I.

"What do you mean, 'kind of'?!"

All the Red Professor could respond with was stuttery, mumbled nonsense. He seemed to be rambling on about something, but I couldn't make any sense of his words. Before I could tell him to can it, however, the figure began to move.

Stepping out of the broken, smoking machine was a Steve, though unlike any Steve I had ever seen before. He was red with bruise-like purple splotches along his body. One hand covered his right eye, which I could vaguely see had been scarred. He had a few other cuts on his body, some giving his ears a nick or two, and all of them looking not unlike the claw marks of some sort of beast.

The figure's left eye, which was glaring promptly at the Professor with a crazed look, was a golden-yellow color that seemed to have a strange spiral instead of a pupil. Other than the spiral, his eye looks just like Sabre's... I thought as a chill went down my spine.

"Professor, unless you want to end up in a cell, I advise you to gather our guards. Now!" the figure demanded, his voice strange. It had an echo of its own, and it was a strangely high pitch for that of a Steve. Without the echo, I'd swear it were Sabre when we were younger... except more like his voice matured but never deepened...

"O-o-o-of c-course, Red L-Leader!" the Professor stammered profusely, scrambling past me and up the slippery ladder with surprising agility.

"Wait, WHAT?! You're the Red Leader?!" I stared at the figure before me in absolute bafflement as he began to laugh hysterically.

"I suppose you Yellow Steves aren't the brightest!" he exclaimed, his yellow eye wide with madness. "I don't suppose that name fits anymore, however!" He paused to laugh once more before continuing. "It's Hypno King to you now!"

As he spoke, he had a grin that was unnaturally wide, and his echoey voice was beginning to give me a headache.

"'Hypno... King'..." I repeated his words, still in a bit of a daze. "But-but what about Sabre? Where is he?!" I demanded.

The "Hypno King" frowned comically. "You ask too many questions. Know your place! You are in my kingdom!"

"Screw your kingdom! Tell me where the actual world below Sabre is!!"

The Hypno King's frown deepened, and he began to look bored of my presence. It was while I continued to glare in hatred at the rotten apple Steve before me that a few Red Steve guards made their way down the ladder, the first one slipping and falling with a clanking thump to the floor. Flustered, the guard quickly stood up, stepping away from the ladder as he brushed the nonexistent dust off of himself in embarrassment.

"Perfect timing," Hypno smirked widely, his attitude changed in an instant. "Clumsy, take this Yellow Elite to our jails. And make it snappy!" He snapped at the guard that had slipped a few times with emphasis before promptly ignoring us all, becoming suddenly interested in the broken machine behind him.

"O-of course, sir!" the clumsy Red Guard saluted.

The Hypno King suddenly spun around, his only functioning eye glaring a dagger at the guard. "It's 'Your Majesty', you buffoon! And don't you dare make that mistake again!!"

"M-my apologies, Your Majesty!"

Fumbling slightly with a lead, the clumsy guard, using the leather tool like handcuffs, tied my hands behind my back. I thought for a moment about fighting back, then decided against it. I could definitely take these guards in a fight, but if I beat them, that stupid apple would definitely hurt them... And after all, these guards are just following orders. They're still innocent of what happens, and I can't actively let them be harmed by my actions...

Sighing, I carefully followed the guards up the ladder without the use of my tied hands. This is going to be a long stay, but I might be able to find Sabre. I hope he's okay...

~<>~ 

[Sky]: "You know, I should really finish the next chapter..." 

Thanksgiving: *exists* 

[Sky]: "I'll just wait until after thanksgiving break..." *procrastinates*

Christmas break: "Ello"

[Sky]: "Oops. Well, better late than never." 

TwinSova here~ I want to give a warm welcome to our new peeps :> Happy holidays and I hope you enjoyed [Sky]'s newest chapter. :D I sure did ^^ 

P.S. The maaany "occasional"s were a writing choice XD