I'm angsting the clock man and there's nothing you can do to stop me.

Also uh- sorry for not updating in like-

*checks time of last update*

Hhhhhhhaaalf a year-

That's almost as long as Elan's hiatus, Christ on a bike I'm so sorry-

—————————————————————————————————————

[Time's POV]

Okay. Sabre's stable, Professor Red made sure of it.

After that anxiety rollercoaster, I stayed at the lab a little while longer so I knew Sabre was okay and everything was under control, then... back to work. I'm the only one that can access this kind of stuff, and even if it may drain me a bit I need to figure out at least something that could help clear up this whole fiasco.

The Interdimensional TV is a huge help, that and my own power. It's not that lonely staying in my dimension for so long again, as I have Leaf with me... what a good dog. Well, usually. He's been a troublemaker recently.

Speaking of, he nudges my leg holding a stick while I sit at my desk, writing down possible dates for when Sabre could have gotten infected. He isn't careful at all with what he's around and doesn't pay much attention (no offense to him of course), so maybe it was sometime in an environment that was crowded where whoever this dipwad is released the virus on him.

I sigh, and place the quill down for a second as I pet Leaf.

"Sorry little buddy, not now. I need to figure this out." I say, scritching the little spot behind Leaf's ear.

Leaf whines, drops the stick, then steps forward and rests his head on my lap.

"Come on, Leaf. I'm sorry I can't play with you, but I'm busy." I sigh. "We can play later, okay?"

Leaf looks up at me with a look that I can only describe as indignant. He whines for a second, then lifts his head up and sits down in front of my chair.

"Believe me, I want to take a break, but nobody knows how long Sabre has left before this virus kills him." I say, sighing.

I pause for a second.

"I really do need a break, I'm talking to a dog..." I mumble, turning back to the desk, and move a couple books over to the side so I have a little more space to put all of these lists of crossed-out days... I've been at this for a while. Checking one of the many clocks around me, I see I've been at this for hours straight now. It's evening already...

Leaf suddenly barks, and grabs onto the edge of my coat, pulling. I quickly get up and try to make him let go, being careful not to rip the fabric.

"Leaf-! Let go, this is my favorite coat-" I say. "Drop it, Leaf! Down!"

Leaf finally lets go after a minute of tug-of-war, and as I start to clean the dog drool now on my coat I realize why he's suddenly been so mischievous these past few days.

"Leaf, I'm sorry I haven't been giving you as much attention as I used to, but this is serious." I tell the pouting dog. "We could lose Sabre for good if this situation with whoever caused it isn't resolved. If only I knew how much time he had left..."

I'm about to go back to my desk, when I stop in my tracks.

"Wait, how much time he..." I say quietly, some dots finally connecting.

I run over to the Interdimensional TV, almost not noticing Leaf following behind me. As I begin to calibrate a new custom setting to it, I start to feel a little stupid I didn't think of this sooner.

"Holy Origin, I'm an idiot. Of course! At least that part is obvious!" I talk to myself.

The TV turns on as I enter the new setting, awaiting input. Just a black screen with the text 'Set Target' above a blinking line is all it shows, the keyboard that I don't really use emerging from a dusty slot. I could definitely make it look better later, but right now this'll do.

I quickly type Sabre's name, and hit enter. The system calculates for a bit, but then a series of numbers separated by colons appear. Bingo.

"Hah! YES! It worked!" I exclaim, excited to finally have a solution to something.

I immediately grab a technological slate that I've been working on, similar to the Interdimensional TV but smaller, and transfer the timer to its screen. It works perfectly, the countdown exactly the same as the one of the TV... it's an awful reminder of what may happen, but it's reliable and useful.

I almost trip over Leaf as I dash to the portal, hoping the Professor is still awake at this hour.

"I'll be back! You stay here and don't wreck anything while I'm gone!" I say to Leaf, then mumble to myself again. "Aaand I'm still talking to a dog..."

I hear the thunderous sound of lightning striking as I reach the portal.

—————————————————————————————————————

The Professor is a little startled when I run into the lab.

"Time-? What are you doing here so late?" Professor Red asks, momentarily handing the books he was carrying to the Assistant.

"I've got something! It might not be much, but it's still helpful." I reply, stopping in front of him.

I hand him the tablet, and he looks at it while I explain.

"I was able to set this to tell how much time Sabre has until he's killed by the virus." I say. "Now we don't have to just take a wild guess."

"According to this device, Sabre has three months and two weeks." The Assistant says, looking over the Professor's shoulder.

"Okay, I could work with that..." The Professor says, then looks up. "This'll definitely help."

"And don't tell Sabre about it." I sigh.

"Relax, I won't. He has enough to panic about. But... Thanks, Time. You have no idea how many things are made easier now that I know where the deadline is."

"No problem, I'll let you get back to work." I say.

"Same here." The Professor says. "But Time? You should take a break soon. I know someone's overworked when I see it."

"So do I, and now you're also a hypocrite." I reply.

"Shut." The Professor says, smiling slightly, and he and the Assistant go further inside the lab.

I turn and head back out the door, getting ready to teleport. Maybe I should take a break... if I overuse my power looking through so many times, I won't be able to help for a while.

The same jarring sound of lightning emanates around me as I return home.

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[Sabre's POV]

I've gotten used to waking up to the sound of lightning at this point.

I look around the room for a minute, still getting used to the new placement. Other than no more window, the room is furnished a little differently and is made of a darker grey stone than before, but it's still alright. The only problem is-

"Hey Sabre." The same annoying, distorted voice says, his face appearing in the corner of the room like a sleep paralysis demon.

"Go away." I whisper.

"Heh. You sure?"

"Yes. I'm trying to sleep."

"Alright."

And just like that, he's gone.

Hypno's taken to annoying me by just randomly appearing instead of scaring the crap out of me by looking into the window, due to the previously mentioned lack of a window.

He hasn't done or said anything like usual, so I guess he's just bored and wants to mess with me. The Professor saw him in here one time and told him to either leave me alone and make himself useful to the cause or just stay out. Gotta admit, it was pretty funny seeing the former Red Leader be scolded like a toddler.

I shift and pull the blanket over me a little, finally starting to fall back asleep.

...

"Hey."

"Hypno I swear, I'm going to bash your head in with a leg of the nightstand."

"Fine, fine."

...

Finally some silence as I drift off.