~ Chromatober 2024 ~

Day 8: Protection/Lonely

Old art go brrr- Also buckle in. I had a field day on this one :) Hehehehehe-

----

Series: Rainbow Quest

AU: Villainous

Characters: Elemental Steve, Time Steve, Sabre

Angst: Major :)

----

I had to.

There wasn't another option I could have taken.

My hand still was trembling from leaving Leif in the protection of a green Steve, his whines in my ears. I knew he was so confused... But if I didn't come back, he was in good hands. He would be alright. With a deep breath in, I ball my fists, then stare ahead at the distance where a once colorful castle stood. Now it was covered in streaks of black and gray, akin to the claws of a giant beast. I can't help but feel a chill run down my back that makes me shudder.

It was now or never.

Gritting my teeth, I bend my knees until I'm crouching, then touch the ground under me. My hand grazes the soft blades of grass as I apply a bit of pressure to the ground. It gives in a bit before I push up. The ground raises up with my movement, flinging me towards the gate of the castle. Wind whips past my ears as I see the landscape flick past me. Haha... I guess part of this felt... Nice.

I brace myself for the landing and then tuck into a roll. The stones of the cobbled road poke into my back, only causing a slight discomfort as I unfold from my roll, coming to a stop in the middle of the gates. Yet as I ready myself to fight, I realize nobody stood at the gate. Only a soft howl of the wind through the windows of the towers supporting the gate brought any sound to my ears. I take a step forward, gazing around, then slowly walk forward. My boots clicking on the stones adds to the soft howl as I pass under the gate, then into an empty courtyard. Everything was neatly trimmed, but the shapes of the hedges were almost... Humanoid. Like it was defining Steves in their last moments, screaming in agony. Barely holding back my shudder, I force myself to look ahead and make my way towards the main doors. My footsteps echo against the walls around me as I reach the bottom of the staircase that led up to the doors. I only pause a moment to swallow down the lump in my throat before I take the stairs two at a time.

Once I get to the top of the stairs, the doors are pulled open, revealing a scene I wasn't expecting. A crowd of Steves all stood on either side of a carpeted pathway, their eyes turning to me as the door opened. I can see hope fill the eyes of the closest ones, but I feel sick to my stomach. This isn't their rescue. I'm not here for them... Of- of course. He summoned everyone inside to witness this so that they could have their hope destroyed. He wanted everyone to see.

Trying my best to keep my fear down and off of my face, I step forward, making my way towards the dark garbed man sitting on the throne. Whispers fill the room as I walk, my footsteps muffled on the carpet. The closer I got to this vile man, the more I could just see his satisfied smirk. It was as if he knew he already had won. So with whatever happened next, I'd need to... Outsmart him. Not my strong suit... That was always Time's thing... But I had to try.

As my gaze trails over the scene, I see several darkness beings and the Rainbow Hero beside the vile man. But my brother was nowhere in sight. I stop a distance from this man where the crowd was now behind me, then glare, my voice echoing as I broke the near silence.

"Where's my brother?"

With a simple smirk, the man sits up straight, then raises his hand. I tense up instinctively, ready to fight, but he flicks his hand. "Right here." As he speaks, a rift of darkness opens up and a figure is thrown out of it, tumbling a few times on the floor, before he stops a few feet away from me. Instantly, without any thoughts, I'm by his side. His clock mask was cracked with a part of it missing, a trail of dried crimson trailing down from his mouth. My hand hovers over his chest as I see more dried crimson around a tear in his turtleneck sweater, right in his shoulder. "Time... What'd he do to you..." My mumbled words fall out of my mouth, a numb terror and anger filling my body. Yet I know I can't be angry right now. I have to keep calm.

The vile man's voice echoes through the hall, drawing my attention back to him.

"I think it might be an apt time to mention that he has a poison in his system. I do have the antidote, however... You have two options here. One, you can take your brother and leave, watching as he dies in your arms then suffer with being lonely for the rest of your pathetic existence. Or two, you surrender and stay within the walls of my castle, and I'll give you the antidote to save your brother so you both can remain together. So what will your decision be, Elemental Steve?"

I feel my entire body go stiff. No... He didn't- no no no... What?!

Frantically I glance between my brother and the man on his throne. I could tell from my brother's pale face and the faint black lines around his lips that my brother was poisoned, like this horrible man had said. Feeling him shift, I see Time open his eyes weakly, his gaze processing the fact that I was holding him. I turn to look back up at the man who was tapping a finger on his throne. The rhythm of the taps matches my pounding heart, bringing me back to the clicking of the clock in Time's dimension.

"So-? Don't keep me waiting in suspense, Keeper of the Elements. Are you going to choose to be alone, or will you choose to keep your brother's company?"

I feel my hand trembling as I turn back to look at my brother. He weakly tries to shake his head, his lips tracing the words I know I should be saying. But...

I couldn't loose Time. Maybe together... later on... Even if we were trapped within the confines of this darkened castle, we could still bring light to the Steves and save them. We just have to... wait.

Feeling a heavy weight in my chest as I turn to look back up at the dark man upon his throne, I speak the words that would change everything for everyone...

"Give me the antidote."

With a grin, the man reaches into his pocket to pull out a small vial of golden liquid that he tosses to me. I watch as it flies through the air towards me, ready to catch it with a hand. Yet a quick blur of black knocks it off course. The vial flies over my head and I fling myself backwards with my hand extended.

A grunt escapes me as I harshly land on the ground, but feeling relief as the small vial was in my hand. Yet... I could see the terrified faces of every steve in the crowd. Some... looked at me with disappointment... I knew that some would loathe me for this choice. I knew I was selfish.

Could you blame me for not wanting to loose my brother?

Muttering obscene things under my breath as I push myself up to my hands and knees, I crawl back over to my brother and pull him into my lap. I quickly uncork the vial and look into his eyes as I support his head and tip the vial to his lips. He... looked sad and in pain. I know he was telling me no- But I couldn't- I couldn't take him back to an empty home where I was just going to leave his body afterwards. I can hear the evil man chuckle as I finish pouring the vial into my brother's mouth and the lines of black around his lips receded.

"Rainbow, my little butterfly, go and prepare a room for our new guests. They will be staying with us for a while," He says as he turns to the Rainbow Hero, who nods with a dull look. The crowd of steves murmur behind me as I hold my brother in my arms, keeping him close.

I... I'm sorry, everyone.

I'm so sorry...