Dead Inside

40.

The friends had just set off in search of the God of the Steves. Sabre was a little nervous about that. He knew the God of the Steves was friendly towards other beings, but Sabre was supposed to be in the Cemetary of Bones; How would the God of the Steves react to him being flesh and blood again?

"I'm sure the God of the Steves is still in that valley," Alex said. She was leading the group with Galaxy Steve at her side. "He mostly stays there where it is safe and where he can watch over the other Steves using his mind."

"He can do that?" Galaxy Steve asked. Alex nodded in reply. 

"He must be quite powerful, then," Galaxy Steve said. 

"He is," Alex told him. 

Beside Sabre was Rainbow Steve with Blue Steve and StarLord right behind him. Portal Steve stuck close to Sabre's other side. A light breeze blew at the group of friends, ruffling their hair slightly. Sabre breathed in the scents it carried; lavender flowers, sap-covered trees, and even the slight smell of rain. Glancing up, a thick set of clouds floated in the distance near the mountains. Rain was sure to come. 

"I bet anything Bright Steve will join us," Portal Steve murmured as if speaking to himself. 

"Why?" Sabe asked. 

Portal Steve glanced up at him. "Bright Steve and Emburn are- how should I put this? A thing."

Sabre knew exactly what Portal Steve was saying. "That's nice. They get along quite well, I guess?"

"Oh, you have no idea," Portal Steve said with a slight chuckle. "Although, we'll have trouble with Blue Alex, and Dust Alex."

"Why's that?" 

"Dust Alex is hard to find," Portal Steve replied. "One moment, she's there. The next, gone. And Blue Alex isn't fond of us. She prefers to be alone. She's an assassin." he added in a quiet tone. 

"An assassin?" Sabre repeated quietly. Memories flooded through his head at the thought of that. Many years ago, he was an assassin as well. But, he changed now. "Interesting. I've met a few assassins back then. What's she like?"

"Quiet," Portal Steve responded. "Bossy, aggressive, territorial, etc etc etc. She's kinda like Emburn, you know."

"I've met Emburn," Sabre said. "She doesn't seem aggressive or territorial."

"That's because you haven't met her the way I have," Portal Steve said. "She hated most of us. Always telling us to go away and leave her alone. But we followed her anyway, Entity Steve said she'll need our help eventually even though he didn't want to come along; so he left. Turns out, she did. She got blindness when someone attacked her; we didn't see who. She almost walked straight off a cliff. That's when Green Steve came. He stopped her and that's when we all became great friends." Portal Steve glanced at the others before turning back to Sabre, his voice dropped low in a whisper. "She has a secret, you know."

"A secret?" Sabre questioned. "What secret?"

"Two secrets, actually," Portal Steve whispered. "She's not just a girl in a fox costume. It's not even a costume, at all! She's not even human!"

"What?" Sabre asked. "How's that possible? She's clearly human, like me. I'm a human in a chicken onesie."

"She's not," Portal Steve said. "She's actually a rare species called Iumis."

"What are those?" Sabre asked. "If you know, of course."

"Yeah," Portal Steve said. "Iumis are a creature that is part human, part animal. They are born either full Iumi, such as Emburn, or half Iumi, such as her cousin, Carodu. Half Iumis have jus the ears and tail of the animal, but full Iumis have the whole fur set. Iumis have the ability to act like an animal, eat like an animal. They have animal characteristics. Take Emburn for instance. She's a Red Fox Iumi. She is sneaky, aggressive at times, territorial, and quite shy. Iumis are close to extinction, sadly."

"Alright," Sabre said. "And what about her other secret?"

"This one she's not fond of," Portal Steve told him. "She's a murderer, a criminal, and a demon."

"How so?" 

"She-" Portal Steve hesitated for a moment. 

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me," Sabre said. "It is a secret, anyway."

"No," Portal Steve said. "I trust you, I have a feeling you have a right to know. She- She may have killed her father and brother and a few other people."

"What?" Sabre asked, astonished. "Why?"

Portal Steve shrugged. "She said her father was the head criminal and villain, but of course there's the SkeleKing, too. She also killed him, and ate his soul. That's how she became a demon. The SkeleKing told her to marry him and become the Dark Goddess. Emburn said that's why her father raised her; to grow up and become the Dark Goddess of all criminals and villains. She killed her father because he was the one to kill her mother, sister and banish her brother. She had two brothers; Stricter and Delson. Stricter is- a human and a Steve. Delson is a Silver Fox Iumi. Not the black kind of silver fox, literally silver. Then, she killed hundreds in her youth, mostly humans and Iumis. Although, after she killed the SkeleKing and ate his soul, now that she's a demon, she is the Dark Goddess."

Sabre was shocked. A murderer? A criminal? A Dark Goddess? Maybe- Just maybe- Emburn wasn't who she seemed to be.