[M's POV]

The last few days have been... hectic, to say the least.

Even with Time's aid in the form of that countdown (which the Professor and I have obviously not shown the other Leaders), we're still struggling on figuring out how to combat the virus. No potions work, no kinds of natural medicines like herbs work either, and the other Leaders and I have even resorted to letting the Professor take a risk and use slightly more advanced chemical treatments... no luck.

And during it all, Sabre's health has still been declining.

Known symptoms worsen, and new ones appear. I'm on my way to the Professor for an update about them now, actually. Apparently he's been able to identify a few conditions that appeared as a result of the virus' infection. With some familiar afflictions, we might be able to help Sabre with one issue at a time instead of trying to find something that'll cure it all at once.

Entering the Professor's main research lab, I see him running from one piece of equipment to the other while messing with them and writing things down, the Assistant trying to keep up with him.

"Professor?" I call out, which makes him stop and turn around. He, uh... I have to admit, he looks psychotic.

"Oh, hello M! Perfect timing!" He says, quickly flipping through the notebook he's holding. His hair is tangled every which way and the circles under his eyes are so dark they almost look fake, but at the same time he looks wide awake and is as jittery as always. "I was just running some other tests while waiting for you to arrive and-"

"Professor, are you... alright?" I interrupt.

"Of course I am, do I not look alright?"

"No." The Assistant says.

"I wasn't asking you, Assistant."

"Professor Red, what have you been doing?" I sigh. He better not be doing this again.

"I've been working on fabricating at least a base form of something that could fight the virus, and am hoping to combine prototypes of that with the chemical treatments because those had a very slight effect on it but it was more like when something pokes something with a stick repeatedly to annoy it instead of actually fighting it but that's still some progress and better than nothing and I've found more leads on things that the virus could trace back to and-"

The Professor pauses for a moment.

"...I may have had twenty cups of coffee in the last twelve hours but that's not important-"

"Professor, it's 9 in the morning. Did you even sleep?"

Both the Professor and the Assistant answer.

"yES."

"No."

"Traitorous snitch!"

"I was programmed this way."

"Not by me."

"Because you're awful at determining what is harmful to your own health and safety."

"Am not!"

"My records say otherwise."

I hold up a hand in a 'stop' motion, making them both stop talking.

"Professor..." I start. "You can't keep ignoring your own health in these kinds of situations. One, you're not able to handle it as well as you used to, and two, you may be the only person that could possibly find a solution to the problem with the virus. You're so worried about helping cure Sabre of his condition for some reason and have been giving everything you've got to do so, but what use would it be if you ended up destroying yourself in the process?"

The Professor's expression changes from an eccentric frustration to a melancholic frown. He looks to the side and crosses his arms, one hand grasping the sleeve of his lab coat.

"...You could probably guess the reason." He says quietly, and I follow his gaze to a series of photographs on a nearby desk.

It's old pictures of his time during the Age of Discovery, surrounded by friends he had lost to battles and Darkness, mostly friends from the old academy. One thing I've always noticed in those photos is a strange outlier entity, simply known as the Judge, who looks almost exactly like Sabre. Apparently, he and the Professor would talk often between fights and when the Judge wasn't too busy. At least... that's what the Professor would tell me about him.

"Not only is it like losing him again, but..." Professor Red continues. "Last time I wasn't able to help. I might have another chance at saving a friend, but I keep failing over and over again. What if there's one more time that I screw up, and there won't be another shot at trying again?"

Professor Red looks so... depressed. I didn't know that he was so hung up over not being able to figure out what's going on, I thought he was just taking it as a challenge like everything else. To him, though... it seems it's more like a kind of redemption to him.

"Professor, don't think like that. It's because of you that we're able to help Sabre right now." I assure him, and he looks at me with a sort of confusion. I continue. "If you hadn't caught the virus so early, who knows how long it would've been before anyone realized something was seriously wrong? And you've come up with more progress than any other group trying to develop cures. You've done anything but fail."

The Professor looks at me, almost shocked, but his face softens to an appreciative smile.

"Thanks, M. That... means quite a bit." He says.

"No problem, old friend." I smile. "Now, speaking of him, you were going to give an update on Sabre?"

"Ah, yes. I have good news and bad news." The Professor says, looking in his notebook again. "Good news is, I've found something that works... sort of, and maybe it could be used as a new base for a cure."

"And that is?" I ask, a little hopeful that we've found something.

"You know how I had a piece of an ancient golden apple that was apparently a divine gift similar to how Genesis gave his creations gifts to help them survive?"

"You had a what now-?"

"Ah, you didn't. Well, I did, and I decided 'Screw it, I'm not doing anything with it and what could help more than something that was originally given to a race of Steves by a Creator?' and used it as part of an experimental cure. And it worked. Sorta- it's was able to push back the virus a little bit."

"Professor, that's great!" I exclaim.

"Buuut that's where I have to get into the bad news..." The Professor says, flipping a page in his notebook and gaining a stressed expression.

"Oh Origin, what now?"

"Sabre's internal systems received some damage while the experimental cure fought the virus." The Assistant explains. "It seems that brute-forcing a cure using a remnant of a divine artifact was difficult on the affected organs. So if the Professor wants to continue with developing a cure with it, we'll either have to give Sabre doses very slowly or find a way to strengthen his systems enough to where they could handle it."

"And on top of that, remember how the golden apple was a divine gift?" The Professor adds. "That means it was created by a deity. And if only something from a deity was able to affect the virus-"

"That means that the virus was created by a deity too." I say, catching on. The Professor nods.

"Yeah. That's a problem." He says. "Uh... on the bright side, we don't have to be searching for a culprit in the Realm anymore."

I sigh and run a hand through my hair.

"Well, explaining all that to the other Leaders during today's meeting is going to be fun..." I mumble, then look at the Professor. "Well, I'm going to visit Sabre. Good luck with your research, Professor."

"Alright, M. See you later." He says, then walks off into another room, the Assistant following him.

I head into a hallway, looking for the next hall that leads to the containment rooms. I feel bad that Sabre has to stay in what's basically a cell while we try to cure him, but it's the only option. The safest option.

...I just hope that he's awake when I visit this time. I... need to talk with him.

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[Time's POV]

I looked up from my book when M entered the room, a bit startled. I was more getting lost in my thoughts than actually reading, and hadn't heard him coming down the hall.

"Hello Time, I- Oh." M begins, stopping when he sees Sabre. "He's still asleep..."

"Hello M. Yeah, both the virus and the trial cures have been rough on him." I say, glancing at my friend.

Sabre's skin is now deathly pale, and his sunken in eyes are even more noticeable. His hair has started to thin out. Both the veins in his arm and the small bruises from many injections are visibly obvious. Recently, the virus had started affecting his energy levels along with his organs. The recent trial cure, although it did fight the virus, definitely didn't help with that. Sabre's been sleeping a lot recently. Normally, it would be a nice change from his insomniac tendencies, but knowing the reason behind it just gives me a feeling of dread.

"Has he been awake at all today?" M asks, stepping into the room and stopping next to me.

"Yes, he has. I was able to talk to him a few times." I reply, closing my book. "He's been upset that he's been too weak to get up for the past few days. That, and really homesick; earlier he kept talking about home and the village."

We stay silent for a moment.

"...Did you want to talk to him?" I ask. "I could let you know next time he's awake."

"If it's not an issue, I'd appreciate that." M answers. "There's... something I need to talk with him about."

"...Scared?"

"Hm?"

"People he knows have been visiting for days, M. You know that." I continue. "They're scared that whatever this is might actually take him. And to be honest, so am I, but I'm still going to make sure it doesn't. Are you scared, too?"

"...Yes. I am." M sighs. "There's... well, since you've been staying by his side all week and listening to what his other friends have said, you probably know what I want to say. There's things that I shouldn't have said, shouldn't have done... things I should have done."

"I think all of his friends are guilty of that. I'm no exception."

M looks at me, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone being guilty or how I'm included?"

"Wh- Both. I've never heard about something like that."

"Well, technically you did. You just only caught the tail end of it." I say, reflecting on the same old memories that keep resurfacing. "You remember the Rainbow Kingdom, right?"

"Of course I do, how could I ever forget the place where I was kidnapped by Demon Steves?" M says with a sarcastic grin. It makes me laugh a little.

"Well... it wasn't as harmonious as it seemed from the outside. In truth, it was the epicenter of a lot of conflict." I start to explain. M looks surprised. "Mostly, it was people being angry at Sabre for things Shadow had done. The Leaders were too busy dealing with all the crowding and supply problems to notice, and... well, there was a little bit of them letting their frustration out not very responsibly."

"Mostly Yellow, right?" M asks.

"The others told you about that?"

"It's been implied that happened during quite a few meetings regarding what to do about the remains of the Kingdom in last meetings. That, and Yellow isn't very good at hiding guilt."

"Figures." I chuckle. "Well, then the Corrected Sun happened, and you know the rest from there. It seemed like a lot of people used Sabre as a scapegoat after the first Age of Darkness, and were too blinded by panic, stress, and fear to notice how wrong it was until I showed them how much he was sacrificing to protect them despite what he did. He was attacked by total strangers and people he thought he could trust, turned away by friends, abandoned by those he was close to... yet he still saved us. People still hold that guilt now, even though it's been so long since then."

"I guess I never really did get the full story about that..." M says quietly. "And what about you? You said that you were guilty too."

"Well... I'm not happy about it, but it still happened nonetheless." I sigh. "Before Sabre was corrupted for the first time, I never really noticed how Sabre kept putting himself between everything. I was newly created then, so I was oblivious. But... that's no excuse."

I find myself staring at the floor while starting to tell M the next part.

"When Sabre did get corrupted... I was there with him. I had taken him to the Hub after Rainbow's funeral so we could do... something. I can't remember, it was hectic pretty soon after that. Void ended up killing one of Sabre's friends, who had been captured after blowing up at him during the funeral and running off, and he used that rage and loss to his advantage to somehow corrupt Sabre with Darkness."

M has a concerned and sorrowful expression now. He listens intently as I tell him what happened.

"While he was trying to fight it, I was terrified and started backing up. I told Sabre I was scared, and even though he was in so much agony, Sabre only reassured me that everything would be okay and that I would be fine. But as he started to lose himself, I... I ended up blurting out that I was scared of him. At the time, I was scared out of my mind, but now I realize that I made it worse by saying that... Shadow took control shortly after. In the weeks following, it ended up with me and Elemental being depended on a lot to defend our safe zones while fighting a losing war against Void. It was the most horrific experience of my life, being part of that. The stress kept getting to Elemental, and it didn't help whenever I got myself hurt by trying to do what Sabre did, and that ended up being the start of Elemental's abuse towards me. Even after Sabre freed himself, I still distanced from him because I was scared. After the war ended and the Rainbow Kingdom was fully established, Elemental started closing me off from everyone else and... you know the rest."

I hold the book close to me, it having been a gift from him a long time ago. It takes me a few minutes to finish speaking, but I eventually manage to gather the words.

"Ever since then, I kept wondering that if I didn't treat him as a monster, if I had said something different... maybe it would've turned out okay. Maybe Sabre could've fought it off if I had helped him, but... I turned my back on him like a coward. When he was corrupted again and ended up being exiled, I helped him because I didn't want him to fall into despair again. I didn't want him to be alone again... I wanted to change what could've happened if Shadow was the only voice of reason he had. I wanted to prove that he was still good. Dark helped how he could, but... he never would've admitted it, but deep down, he was as troubled as Sabre was. I had to help him, too. And I did."

I lower my head and stay silent. I had never told any of that to Sabre, of course. He'd just end up feeling guilty himself, even though none of it was his fault... like every other problem that he's faced.

M places a hand on my shoulder, reassuring me. I look up.

"What you did to help him then was brave of you. You stepped up when no one else did." He says with a faint smile. "I'm sure that Sabre appreciated every bit of it."

"Thank you..." I reply.

It's quiet in the room again, before M glances at the clock hanging on the wall.

"Oh crap- the next meeting's about to start!" He quickly says, starting towards the door. "Sorry about this, Time. I could come back later if you'd like."

"It's alright, take care of what you need to." I smile. "I'll be right here."

M smiles back, then leaves the room. I can hear his hurried footsteps fade, and just like that, it's quiet again. Nothing but the ticking clock, the beeping of machines, and Sabre's slow breaths. I open my book again and go back to staring at the pages while losing myself in my thoughts. Maybe one day I'll tell Sabre what I told M, but now's definitely not the-

"T-Time...?"

The quiet voice makes me turn my head in a split second, and I see that Sabre is awake and looking at me. His expression is exhausted and pained, but also bone-chillingly serious.

"Sabre? What's wrong?" I ask. "And M wanted to talk to you, of course he has to leave for a meeting now-"

"I-I know, Time. I heard most o-of what you two were talking about." Sabre says, his voice barely above a whisper.

I sit there for a second, surprised and a little nervous.

"You- You did?"

"Yeah, but that's... not what I need to talk about right n-now."

Sabre starts trying to sit up, holding a hand to his side in pain as he does. I quickly get up and rush to his side.

"Sabre, you shouldn't be trying to get up right now-!" I say, trying to get him to lie down. "You have internal damage, for goodness sake!"

"I know, I-I know. But just... just listen." Sabre says, pushing my hand away and supporting his back against the metal headboard of the bed. The machines connected to him are beeping louder than before. Where's the nutcase when you need him?

"Sabre, you-" I start, but he interrupts me and motions for me to sit down in the chair again.

"T-Time, please. I-I know you don't want me doing this right n-now, but I might not get another chance to tell you."

"Sabre, you need to rest right now, why can't you just tell me later?" I ask

Sabre has a grim look on his face for a moment, before I feel he looks me in the eyes. I've grown to tell when he's making eye contact behind the blindfold.

"Because you're th-the only person I want to hear this. Now are you going to l-listen, or not?" He says, his tone urgent.

I stay quiet, now worried. I do as he asked and sit back down in the chair, facing him. Sabre takes a breath and stares blankly at his hands.

"T-Time, there's... things I've never told anyone here about. Things I've seen. Th-Things I've done. Things I-I want you to know."

I start to feel a sense of fear pool in my chest as I answer.

"Things... like what, Sabre?"

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Dang I really had M play therapist in this chapter lol.

Anyway, y'all wanna see something crazy?

Cause things are gonna get nuts next chapter >:)