So I had an idea while looking at the comments in the Return of the Fallen chapter and someone commented about 'Haven't the Blue Steves ever heard of rebirth or reincarnation or something' and ye-

So instead of Sabre having to make that deal after Nightmare kills him and he needs to get out of the World Beyond, Blue Steve has a different idea that technically isn't breaking the rules... because it hasn't been done before.

Instead of being revived, Sabre is reborn/recreated as a sort of hybrid that's mostly a new type of Steve, with the other part being his human side.

Blue Steve saw an opportunity when he noticed an experiment of Nightmare's in his lair's lab, which was a kind of 'blank slate' of a Steve that wasn't really alive, as Nightmare was trying to make an improved version of Dark Steve because he noticed his creation learning things from the voices of the people he absorbed talking to him. It had no darkness, no color, but most importantly no soul. Everything else was all ready for it to be brought to life, it just needed a soul, but Nightmare couldn't figure that part out. So, Blue Steve sends Sabre's soul into the blank husk, conveniently right where he needed to go to save his friends. He also still gives him the Blue Crystal.

As Sabre's soul is merged with the husk, its appearance changes to match the new life it's given. It changes to look just like Sabre, but he has otherworldly pastel colors covering him with just patches of his normal colors, his eyes are now glowing white, he gains a small halo above his head, and it's later realized that his voice has a bit of an echo effect if someone listens for it.

Sabre wakes up inside one of those big test tubes inside Nightmare's lair, and soon breaks out to save his friends (Imma tell that story in a minute). Everything goes pretty much as normal, with some obvious smaller changes, and later in the story with some major changes because there was a good opportunity for a story change.

Here's some details:

- Sabre has the usual powers of a Steve, along with a few peculiar ones unique to him. One is he can teleport into the World Beyond anytime he wants with zero consequences, another is being able to take control of things without souls to help him (limited to small things like a plushie or something, it just has to vaguely look like something that could be alive), making things float, and the fourth is found out much later; being a sort of embodiment of the World Beyond, he is the literal bane of the World Below and the Demon Steves' existence. He's like a living crucifix lol

- Given that he's gone to the other side, he can see spirits like the Blue Steves can. Going into the catacombs later on terrifies him because... obviously. It doesn't help that Rainbow or any of his other friends can't see them.

- Sabre can hover a little bit, but not fly. There's a limit to how high he can go, and there has to be ground under him. It's handy if he has to jump from a high place though, because the hovering acts like a safety net when he gets to the bottom. Other than situations like that, he still just prefers to walk.

- It takes a while for Sabre to get used to and learn how to use his powers, which leads to funny moments like accidentally hovering in his sleep or teleporting when he gets spooked. Not really having a mentor along with kind of being the first of his kind doesn't make it any better.

- People keep trying to suggest changing his name now that he's mostly a Steve, but Sabre's response is usually along the lines of "No, my name is Sabre, I like my name and don't want to change my name just because I have new abilities." He gets really ticked off if he hears someone trying to call him something else, the reason being is that it's the same as someone irl being like "nah your name doesn't suit you" and trying to get everyone to call you something else. This has identity angst potential.

- Sabre has nightmares of how he died, as that is one heck of a traumatic thing to go through. They happen more frequently the more stressed out he is.

- Sabre is actually both freaked out by and very attached to the Rainbow Crystal, because he can hear Rainbow talking to him from it since it's kind of what's left of him. When he tells the Leaders about this, they of course flip out. This also means that Sabre refuses to use the Crystal to fight the Darkness/Void, therefore it doesn't get shattered.

- When Sabre starts seeing the Demon Steves, they all try to capture him because they can sense that he is the ultimate weapon against them, no Darkness required. While the Demon Steves can't bend reality when he's around purely because his very existence blocks their more extreme powers, they still mess with him and try to corner him so they can drag him to the World Below. Because he can't get the Leaders to understand what's going on (he tries at first, but they all start thinking he's going crazy), he ends up hiding in his house for a very long time.

Here, Sabre gets kidnapped by the Demon Steves instead of M, and M is only able to go rescue him because he saw him get taken and knows where the Professor put his portal experiment. When Sabre shows back up covered in burn marks after a long time of being missing, then the Leaders realize he isn't crazy and oh no they're in danger.

- Sabre ends up being used as a shield by the entire Rainbow Kingdom, and everything goes to crap not because of the Darkness being unleashed, but because the Steves don't realize they're draining Sabre by doing so until he gets got by Void doing a sneak attack and is sent into a coma because of a combination of power drain and the resulting injuries. People panic, in the panic resulting from that everybody starts separating, and oh whoops there goes the Kingdom. The Orange Steves are the ones that take Sabre with them, since they've known him the longest. Sabre is very confused and soon very upset when he wakes up.

- While Sabre is taking a lack-of-power nap, Shadow takes the opportunity to break himself and the Shadow Sword out of the hidden underground room and unleash the Darkness himself because he may need a host but the need to fight his natural enemy is much more important. He later connects to Sabre while he's still recovering, which is a headache for not just Sabre, but all of the Chromatics too because now they have to deal with not being able to get rid of Shadow without risking causing harm to Sabre.

Wow I made this one really angsty outta nowhere-

Anyway have situations, and after that there's a story :D

—

Sabre: Alright, I'm getting my soul put into a new body in the Overworld while I'm in the World Beyond. Nothing can go wrong here.

(Proceeds to get the ultimate form of whiplash once he's alive again)

Sabre: ...ow.

—

(Orange goes to check on Sabre one night, a little after the incident)

Orange: (walking into Sabre's room) Hey Sabre, how're you-

(Sees Sabre hovering like three feet in the air above his bed like in a horror movie)

Orange: A-

—

(During a Rainbow Kingdom meeting)

B. Leader: And then there's the issue of how the Demon Steves keep finding their way past the walls and causing havoc...

Y. Leader: Maybe we could use a machine to amplify Sabre's abilities, and make a sort of barrier around the Kingdom?

Light: (Pointing at Sabre) Uh... I don't think he'd be able to handle that.

(All of them turn and see Sabre just sitting there on one of the sides of the room.)

O. Leader: Sabre? Are you alright?

Sabre: (Barely listening at all, pretty much just staring straight ahead and trying to focus on not passing out)

O. Leader: ...Sabre?

—

(In the catacombs)

Rainbow: Alright, now- Sabre, why are you in a corner?

Sabre: (Literally backed into the corner out of fear) Why are there so many people-

The Spirits in the Catacombs: He can see us-

—

Alrighty, now for some story :3

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"Good luck, Sabre. Hopefully you find your next life won't end so quickly."

Blue Steve's voice rings in my ears as everything goes dark. It suddenly feels like I'm being moved faster than I can think.

And then, I feel my own heartbeat.

My eyes snap open, and I can barely see. Everything seems fuzzy. I try to reach out to feel my surroundings, but my hand quickly hits glass. I run my hand over the surface in front of me, feeling it curve in a circle around me. I'm... in a glass tube?

I try to take a breath, but there's some sort of liquid inside with me. It's sort of thick and I can see it's a dark, grungy blue color. Like water, but murkier. I start to panic.

I need to get out. I need to breathe.

Quickly readjusting myself, I set my hands against the glass behind me for support and start kicking the glass in front of me. One kick, I hear a crack. Two, I can feel some of the liquid surrounding me getting pulled through a small opening. Three-

*CRASH*

The glass gives way, and I'm practically shot out of the giant test tube and onto the floor. Landing on my back, I slide for a moment before I'm just lying there on the ground, staring at the ceiling as I take deep breaths while coughing out some of the liquid. The air feels heavy, but... I'm alive. Whatever Blue Steve did worked.

After a few minutes of just sitting there, I start trying to get up. Movement feels awkward and clumsy, probably me getting used to my new body and it getting used to gravity, but I manage to slowly stand up. My legs shake as I have to stand a bit stiffly in order to stay upright. I see a door nearby, further through the room to my left, and try to walk to it.

It's more like stumbling. Each step is a struggle to keep from falling, and I remind myself of a deer trying to walk for the first time. I probably look so stupid right now. If Orange was seeing this, he'd probably be laughing so hard he'd fall over first...

Orange. The Orange Village. That's right... I remember where I am now.

Nightmare took the Orange Village hostage after killing me. Blue Steve put my soul in one of his experiments in the same lair he's holding my friends in... really hope that doesn't have any repercussions. The last thing I need is Nightmare having some sort of control over this body, since it's his creation.

While getting to the door, I notice a sink with a mirror above it. I get a glance at my reflection, and immediately stop in my tracks.

My hair is mostly white with only a little spot of the normal brown I used to have, which is a small area on my bangs. My skin is covered in some sort of pastel color, one moment I think it's blue but then I see some other color in the mix. Purple, red, a light green, a pastel yellow... there's so many, but if I don't look too close it just looks grayish blue. Patches of my normal skin tone are symmetrically placed. There's a little halo floating above my head. I'm wearing what looks like hospital scrubs, but they're grey. My eyes... my eyes are glowing white. I... I don't know if I like it... Where's my blindfold-?

I... what am I? What are all these weird colors on me?

Wait- no. Can't focus on that now. My friends need me.

Walking gets easier as I get closer to the door. Once I reach it, I peek outside for a moment, looking for anyone or anything that could be nearby. There's surprisingly nothing there... I thought something would be running over here given how I broke out of that tube. Nightmare probably has the place filled with Darkness creatures, since I'm pretty sure no sane Steve would ever work in here, and nobody knows if the Darkness creatures can actually hear or not. Lucky me, I guess.

I make my way through the hallway, quickly getting used to my new body as I go. Soon, I reach a main room of sorts. I see a sign next to another hallway that reads 'Holding Cells', and start heading to that hallway. That has to be where he's keeping my friends.

The area gets more dilapidated the further I go. Nightmare must not bother taking care of his prisons very much, given how that lab he teleported me and Orange Steve into was in a similar state. I have to be careful not to slip on some moss a few times.

Suddenly, I hear voices approaching. One I really didn't want to hear again anytime soon.

Nightmare.

Thinking fast, I turn right into a branch of the hallway and duck behind some barrels. A few seconds later, Nightmare walks right past, ordering a few Darkness creatures around. I wait a while before leaving my hiding place and continuing through the hallway. I don't want to get caught and lose this second chance.

Soon, there's another branch. In one room I can see a big machine holding someone in place, and in the other I see a bunch of prison cells. There's familiar voices coming from the cells, but as soon as I recognize the person in the other room's machine, I head in there.

Orange is facing away from the door, unable to turn because of the machine keeping him from moving. I quickly enter the room and head to the other side, the side he's facing.

"Who's there?!" Orange calls out, probably hearing my footsteps. "I told you, I'm not telling you anything about the Crystals!"

"Orange Steve! It's me!" I reply, finally getting to the other side. His eyes widen as I appear in his view. "Are you okay? Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

As I climb up the stairway that leads to a platform in front of the machine's door, Orange is silent. When I get up there, he has tears streaming down his face.

"S-Sabre...?" He says quietly, his voice shaking. "I-It can't... Is it really you...?"

"Yes, it's me! I'm here!" I reply excitedly, already working to find a spot I can break that'll shut the machine down. "I'm okay. It's a long story, but I'm okay. I'll explain everything to you and the others later, I promise, but right now I need to get all of you out."

I spot a bit of redstone that's connected to a lot of the machine, and break it. Immediately, Orange is released. I turn to ask if he's alright, but before I can he rushes towards me and hugs me. He's crying.

"Orange-? Buddy, what's wrong?" I ask.

"You... you were gone..." Orange says through tears. "We all saw you... saw him kill you..."

As he cries, I return the hug. We both take a minute, just... standing there. I didn't realize until now how horrifying it must have been for him to see Nightmare kill me.

Once he calms down, Orange steps back and lets go. I smile at him.

"Now, let's go get everyone else, alright?" I say.

"A-Alright." Orange smiles back.

We quickly leave the room, heading to the other prison cells to free the people of the Orange Village. Man... they're gonna flip their lids when they see this.

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I also drew his design :3

He does get his blindfold back but I wanted to show off the change to his eyes lol-

I had a lot of fun with this one hehe