The Pause [Adopted Book]

A Break in Time

Cycle 8459:

I'm not sure what to think. The village has been acting very strange lately. Some of the older steves keep whispering together, and getting really quiet when I ask about it. I keep reminding myself that it's probably fine, but not knowing what happens next in the timeline, I can't be certain.

Amber hasn't been immune, either. He's some mix of excited and nervous. I've been out painting with him a lot, since it seems to help him calm down. Still, I found him crying yesterday, and he wouldn't tell me why. He assured me that everything's okay, but I'm not sure.

I tried to bring it up with Hypno, but he didn't talk much. He's been lost in thought lately, and not as chaotic as usual. No amount of presents from the younger steves has brought him out of it. I asked Tonic to check in on him, so hopefully nothing's wrong with his health.

For once, it's almost relaxing to meet up with Origin and co. At least I know what their problems are. It makes it easier to brainstorm solutions. (Of course, it helps that I've been thinking about it for thousands of years.)

Blessing asked me to meet up with him this afternoon. He promised he would explain things. I hope everyone's overreacting. I'm bringing my best weapons, just in case.

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I couldn't stop fidgeting.  My eyes scanned the complex redstone of the portal machine, analyzing Ginger's blueprints.  Of course, if there was an error in the wiring, I wouldn't catch it.  I was useless with redstone.

"Blessing, chill."  Purple groaned.  Despite his eagerness to help out with the project, I could tell that he was quickly growing tired of my nervous energy.

"But when is Lime getting here?"  I fretted for the fifth time this morning.  "It's not going to work without him!"  Why did the yellow and green steve have to be so elusive?

"He's hanging out with Ivy.  He's coming after lunch."  Magenta answered, not looking up from his book.

"That- is reasonable."  I conceded.  "I'm just- not patient at the moment."

A wave of peace settled over me at last, and I stood still for the first time that day.

"Better?"  Turquoise asked.  I nodded, finally sitting down.  Magenta discreetly handed me a cookie.  He had baked some for the occasion, but they were disappearing quickly.  Sabre probably wouldn't get any, at this rate.

In return, the red and violet steve took the blueprints and notepad that Ginger had given me, leaving me with nothing to double and triple and quadruple-check.

"I think I would have liked this guy."  Magenta noted.  "He's a good planner."

"Let's hope so."  I sighed.  There was a moment of quiet before I voiced the question on my mind.  "Do you think... Do you think if it works, Sabre will actually leave?"

"Yes."  Turquoise volunteered quickly.

"Maybe?"  Purple mumbled.

"Absolutely."  Magenta nodded.

"Oh." I was floored. I didn't think it was that certain. I wanted to ask why, but wasn't sure if that would make me look stupid. Instead, I held my tongue, returning to the cookie.

It was hard to believe that after weeks of planning, the machine had finally been completed. Granted, most of the hard work fell to Ginger, who had to design the machine, as well as incorporate many power sets he had never seen before.