I had just been reading for a while, occasionally being checked on by the Professor, when I hear a familiar knock at the door.

"Hello?" I say.

Time opens the door, smiling. I'm happy to see him.

"Hey buddy, what's up?" Time asks.

"Nothing much." I answer, as he walks over and sits next to me. "Nothing's really happened today, surprisingly."

"Well, it's been the complete opposite outside the lab." Time says, then he looks at me with a slightly worried expression. "You alright?"

"Mostly, yeah." I say. "Why?"

"...Nothing. Just... thought I noticed something."

Time stays silent for a moment, then brightens back up and goes back to what he was about to say.

"Anyway... You should've seen how much panic was happening at the Green Kingdom. Absolute chaos over there."

"Oh, boy. What happened?"

"Well, the Professor asked me to let them know about the situation with your symptoms and for them to be on standby as he figures out what might work." Time begins to explain. "I had never seen the place so hectic, even during that tsunami. When I got there, everyone was running around carrying bottles of something or other, and constantly trying to get out of each other's way. I'm pretty sure I saw someone get hit with a door as it was opening."

"Ouch." I say. "How was the Green Leader taking things?"

"Just as panicked as everyone else. He was checking on how people were doing at different stations, and then he saw me and came over and I told him the update. His face when I got to the part about you coughing up blood... jeez."

"Yeah, hearing about that happening to someone is always pretty horrifying."

"Mhm. And there was also another meeting today."

"Anything happen there?"

"Yeah, I went so I could update M and the Professor on the other Kingdoms since they're busy here. Most of it was the Leaders updating the others on how their parts of the plan are going while visibly trying not to panic. The Blue Leader especially looked worried about something."

Ah. Right. I might die, and that... thing about the deal I made in order to save the Orange Village all that time ago. He knows. Because he's the one that offered the deal.

"...Why do you have a look like you know what that's about?" Time asks.

Shoot. Play dumb, Sabre.

"Uh... whaaat, nooo... no I don't, what gives you that idea?" I say.

Time just looks at me.

"Sabre, you are a terrible liar." Time replies. "What's going on?"

"Okay, okay." I say, bracing myself for the verbal bomb I'm about to drop. "Try not to freak out... too much."

"...Okay?" Time says.

"So, if I die because of this virus..." I begin. "It won't be the first time I've died."

Time just looks at me, and starts to say something, but I stop him.

"Before you say anything, let me finish explaining, please."

Time worriedly complies.

"A while ago, like around when I first got here," I say. "The Orange Village got into trouble with someone called Nightmare Steve. He had all of them hostage to try and lure out me and Rainbow, who was still just an Orange Steve then. I made a plan and confronted Nightmare alone, and tried to make a deal. He wanted me to come with him for something, I didn't know what, but that's what he wanted. I said that I'll go with him if he made all the Darkness he had there leave and he would let the Orange Steves go... and it looked like he took the deal. He had me follow him to a little way's away from where we were, and... he destroyed me. He summoned a ton of lighting on me, and I didn't even know I had died until a Blue Steve came up to me in the World Beyond."

I look at Time, and he seems a mix of horrified and confused. I continue with my story.

"I eventually found the Blue Leader there, who wasn't a Leader yet then. I tried to find some way to get him to let me go back so I could save the Orange Village, and eventually he caved and offered me a deal; I can come back to life, but if I died again I would go to somewhere worse than the World Beyond. And... well, now I know what that place is. So if this virus kills me..."

"You're going to end up in the World Below." Time finishes my sentence, frozen in place.

"...Yeah." I answer. "I'll be stuck in the same place as Void for eternity. Not fun at all."

Time just sits there for a moment, taking in what I just told him.

"...And you didn't think to tell anyone?!" Time suddenly says.

"Look man, I can't exactly just bring that up in a normal conversation!" I answer.

"Well, this is just going to add to the panic." Time says, trying to calm down.

"Please don't tell the other Leaders." I say. "If the Blue Leader hasn't brought it up, then I'm sure he doesn't want it known for a reason."

"...Okay. Okay, I won't." Time says. "Jeez, Sabre..."

"I know. I'm an idiot."

"No, just- WHY."

"Heh, I dunno."

That... didn't go as bad as I thought it would. Time and I talk together for a little while longer, and then he has to go again. As I wave to him as he leaves, I notice that the sun is already setting outside. Dang, these days are going by fast... probably because there's a lot going on. With all that's happening, I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow.

I pick up the book that Green made for me, the one with all the photos of outside the village. Looking out the window keeps making me think of home, and I miss when I was able to wander outdoors freely, without having to worry about my death every few hours. I miss going out to that dock on the lake and talking with Time like we normally would, without hearing about so much worry going on throughout the Kingdoms. All in all, I just miss living again... it was so peaceful before all this, and I was enjoying not having to worry about problems going on in the Realm. Now, currently, I'm the main focus of the new problem. And I can't even help.

I wish that this was all just some bad dream, and I'll wake up at home at any moment, but I know that I'm just wishing for something impossible. This is real, and this is happening. And I could die.

I pull my thoughts from that and put the book away, now noticing it's gotten late. I really get lost in my thoughts a lot... especially the bad ones. I decide that I shouldn't stay up late tonight and turn off the lamp on the nightstand, gathering the blankets over myself. Either tomorrow will be like today, or it's gonna be a lot worse.

Knowing my luck, it's probably the second one.

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I hear a thunk coming from somewhere in the room, and slowly open my eyes as I wake.

What in the world, it's like... 2 AM, what just did that? I tiredly sit up and look around the dark room, and I notice that the clock says two-thirty... something in the morning. Close enough. Suddenly, another thunk noise sounds throughout the room, and I realize it's coming from the window. It... sounds like something hit it?

I turn to the nightstand to turn on the lamp as something hits the window again, and this time I hear it crack slightly. That's... not good. Nothing like panic to wake you up at the early hours of the night.

I quickly turn on the lamp and turn back to the window, and what I see fills me with fear.

There's two black-and-white creatures at the window, their colors forming a swirl. They're both slowly taking turns punching the window in the same place, making the now visible crack slightly larger with each hit. They know I see them, yet they don't stop. I'm frozen in horror, unable to scream at what's happening in front of me.

They keep banging on the window, and I instinctively scoot backward, looking for something I can use to try and defend myself. However, there's not really anything either sharp or long enough that I can use as a weapon. My search is interrupted by the sound of shattering glass, and I turn to see that the creatures have punched through the glass and are crawling through the shattered window. I panic and fall off the bed, scooting backward into the opposite wall.

I don't know what to do. I tried to stand so I could run, but it's like the presence of these things around me is making me worse, and I couldn't find the strength. As they climb in, I feel the pain in my heart come back and my vision is starting to blur. I see that the creatures are now in the room, and they're coming towards me.

Suddenly, one of them runs to the door and blocks it, just as someone begins pounding on it. I don't have time to look at the door as the other creature rushes over to me and closes its hand around my throat, lifting me into the air. I can't see anymore, for some reason my eyes just can't focus on anything and everything is too blurry anyway. The pain in my chest is excruciating, and now my head is pounding. Suddenly, I hear the Professor yell over all the commotion;

"ASSISTANT, GET OVER HERE AND BRING THE PROTOTYPE!"

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Hehe, ✨C L I F F H A N G E R✨ >:D