Dead Inside

31.

"There it is again!" Rainbow Steve had been saying he saw something for the last hour or two. Sabre didn't see anything. He knew something was there, he believed Rainbow Steve, he just couldn't see what. 

"Where?" Galaxy Steve asked. "I want to see it."

"It was right there," Rainbow Steve replied, pointing in front of them. "I swear it was there."

"We might be getting close," Sabre said. "You saw whatever was there quite a bit for the last five minutes."

5 minutes, Sabre thought. He knew he forgot something, but he wasn't sure what.

"There!" Rainbow Steve yelled again. "Right there! You see?"

Sabre broke from thought and whipped around. Sure enough, a white, faceless figure stood there. What was it?

"Oh, you're right!" Galaxy Steve said. "You did see something."

"I see it, too," Blue Steve said. "What could it be?"

"A ghost," Galaxy Steve said. "What else?"

Sabre looked closely at the figure. They were sitting quietly next to the wall of the cave. They didn't have a face, though it was covered in a white mask. The figure looked up to face the group. 

"Hello?" Sabre spoke. 

"You going to beat me up, too?" The figure asked. 

Sabre blinked. Something wasn't right. The figure surely wasn't a Steve, but it didn't look human, either. What was it?

"We don't want to hurt you," Alex said. "We were just exploring."

"I see," The figure said, looking away. "My mother was an explorer."

"Where is she?" Galaxy Steve asked. 

"Dead," the figure replied. "Killed. Murdered. Betrayed. That's how it is." they looked up. "It's my father's fault. He killed her. He stole my face. He took everything."

"Where is he?" Rainbow Steve asked. "We can help you."

The figure shook his head. "Dead, as well. I was left here, with Emburn and Carodu. They helped me. Though," the figure paused when he spotted Galaxy Steve. "Cuz?"

Galaxy Steve blinked. "Who? Me? I think you got the wrong person."

"No, I may not have a face but I know what I see," the figure said. "You are Galaxy, right?"

"Galaxy Steve," Galaxy Steve said. "But, if you get rid of the 'Steve' part, I think so."

"So it is you," the figure said, standing up. "You are Galaxy, the future Lord of the moon and sun. Don't you remember me? It's me, StarLord."

"My memory isn't as bright as it was before," Galaxy Steve said. "Mind explaining?"

"You are my cousin," StarLord said. "Son of SunLord. I am StarLord, son of MoonLord and Lord of the stars."

Sabre glanced from Galaxy Steve and StarLord. Was this true? Or was a trick of Forest Steve?