Heya! I took advice from the comments from last chapter, and these timeskipping chapters are gonna be structured like the flashbacks. Or- sort of like short oneshots all put in one chapter? Idk how to really explain it-

Either way, enjoy this rollercoaster of fluff, angst, lore, comfort, learning, and everything in between :D

Also wow this book has been in the top 3 spots a lot-

Also also, hey new character art! This is the previously mentioned chef of the castle, who stopped giving a frick two decades ago lol. Say hello to Jasper!

—————————————————————————————————————

Sabre walks through the castle corridor, wondering what M had asked him to meet him at the main hall today. As far as he knew, there wasn't anything special planned. However, M seemed really excited about something.

As he rounded the last corner, he saw the Red Leader, M, and a few Red Steves with adventurers' gear talking in front of the large main door. M notices Sabre enter, and happily waves him over, the Leader and the other Red Steves continuing to talk. M steps away from the group for a little bit to meet Sabre in the middle of the room.

"Hey! Glad you made it!" M smiles.

"What's all this about?" Sabre asks. "It looks like there's something going on."

"There is. It's time for one of the scouting groups to go outside the Kingdom for materials." M says excitedly. "Dad lets me go with them because I always want to take whatever chance I can get to see outside the borders. I was wondering if you wanted to go too? You've stayed inside of the kingdom since you got here, and I figured you probably miss seeing the outside world-"

"I, uh- I've actually never seen outside any of the kingdoms." Sabre says. "Is it any different from normal landscapes? I have no idea."

M just stops in his tracks, a weird expression on his face. He's silent for a few seconds.

" ...What."

"Yeah, I've... I've only ever seen the different Chromatic kingdoms, the Library, the temple, and the Hub. Closest I got to actually seeing more of the Realm is being on a kingdom's outskirts. I figured there was just nothing special about outside the civilizations..."

M stands there for a moment, then turns and walks over to the Red Leader.

"Dad."

"Yes, Amaris?" The Red Leader asks, momentarily stopping his conversation with the explorers to answer his son.

"Sabre just told me that he's never been outside any of the kingdoms."

The Red Leader gets the same weird look as he seems to try to process that information. He looks up at Sabre, then back at M, then Sabre again, then M again.

"...As in he's never left their premises, or?" He asks.

"He just said he's only gone to the outskirts of them. He's apparently never left any of the other civilizations and seen the Realm." M says.

The Red Leader just stands there for a little bit, trying to process the information. The small group of scouts also look puzzled.

"...Well, we can't have that. It's just plain unfair." One of the scouts says, crossing his arms and looking at Sabre with a smile. "You want to come with us? We don't mind."

"Really?" Sabre asks.

"Of course! Everyone should have a chance to see what the world looks like." Another scout says.

The Red Leader gives an encouraging look. M looks excitedly at Sabre.

"Uh... okay." Sabre says with a small smile.

M excitedly cheers a little, quickly leading Sabre to a small supplies closet where the scouts keep their equipment. Before he knew it, Sabre was already prepared to join the small group, along with M and the Red Leader, who's coming along to keep an eye on his son.

"Alright, everyone ready?" The leading scout asks. He gets replies from everyone confirming they are, Sabre nodding while gripping his satchel a little tighter.

"Which area are we going to?" M asks with a bright smile.

"The ribbongrass plains. We need to gather some of the resources that grow there, like silverroot." Another scout replies.

Sabre doesn't know what either of those plants are, but he could make a few guesses. He could also just ask Amaryllis about them later, too.

"Okay, everybody brace yourselves." The scout leader says, a familiar energy gathering at his hands. "We're getting ready to teleport."

As the sound of lightning crashing around them registered in his ears, Sabre closed his eyes to avoid the bright flashes. He blocked out memories as he felt the world shift around him once more for the first time in so long.

"Sabre? You alright?"

M's voice drowned out the fading sound of the lightning. Sabre opens his eyes again, seeing his friend's face looking at him. The Red Leader stood a little further behind M, also looking to Sabre with slight concern. The scouts were already discussing where to search for the materials they were looking for.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay." Sabre says, taking his hands off his ears and standing up straight. "Just... been a while since the last time I was teleported."

"It's alright, it's normal to be a little disoriented or shocked when you haven't teleported in a while." One of the scouts says, turning to Sabre. "Happens all the time. Once, Ember here joined on a trip to a mountain after not teleporting for three weeks, and ended up fainting from the sudden shift in altitude."

"Rory, shut up."

The scouts all laugh, and the story makes M and the Red Leader laugh as well. Even Sabre cracks a smile.

"Anyway, we're just going to be gathering herbs and stuff. You guys can just hang out around the area while we do that." The scout continues. "Just be careful not to wander too far."

"Will do, thanks!" M smiles.

As he follows M and the Red Leader out into the field of grass, Sabre gets a good look at the area for the first time. The grass isn't the normal green he's used to, but rather a much lighter and softer green with about half the grass, and the rest being various different colors in similarly soft shades. The grass is long, reaching just above his waist. It moves like water when the wind blows through it, the ripples looking like waves. Azalea trees are dotted around the area, the warm sun above shining down on the purple flowers and soft, rounded leaves. There are a few birds he doesn't recognize flying above, their feathers seeming to shimmer in the light.

"Woah..." Sabre quietly gasps, looking around at the scenery.

"Cool, right? And this is only one biome!" M smiles. "There are a lot of areas like the ribbongrass plains, too. Maybe you'll see them too someday."

"Maybe." Sabre smiles back.

The Red Leader stops at a large azalea tree, using a large root as a bench. M excitedly goes a little further, leading Sabre to an open area in the field.

"It's called 'ribbongrass' because of how long it grows, and all of the different colors and waxy texture of it making it look like ribbons. Some people call it 'wading grass' because of how high it gets, similarly with other types of long grass like it." M explains. "The unusual amount of azalea trees are a result of the ribbongrass for some reason favoring that kind of tree, letting it grow there. There's actually a record of azalea trees growing better in this kind of biome, so there's a theory that something in the flowers helps the grass grow better and that's why the ribbongrass helps azaleas grow."

"That's cool." Sabre says, running a hand through the tall grass. It wrapped gently around his fingers, never tangling in them or cutting them on its edges. "Maybe it's the flower pollen?"

"Maybe."

Sabre quietly continues to play with the grass, observing its movement. M watches for a little bit before getting and idea, and walking to Sabre's side.

"Hey." M grins.

"What?"

"Ever played tag in a grass field?"

"No-?"

Sabre is interrupted by M quickly tapping his shoulder, then turning and running away, laughing. It takes a second for Sabre to realize what just happened, but when he does, he cracks up and runs after him.

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!"

"Tag only has one rule; Don't get caught!"

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is!"

As M tries to turn, Sabre leaps and catches up to him, quickly giving him a playful jab on his arm and booking it in the opposite direction. M turns around and gives chase.

"Nope!"

"Heyyy, get back here!"

"Never!"

The two ran through the grass, the tall, thin leaves swirling around them while they ran. As their laughter filled the air, a stronger breeze came, making azalea flowers come loose from their branches and dance through the air, the wind as their partner. The warm rays of the sun seemed to cover everything in a joyful light.

The Red Leader watches as Sabre and M ran through the grass, their beaming expressions bringing warmth to his heart. He was glad to see Sabre finally able to have fun.

As the scouts finished their work, he asks for them to give the two boys a little more time. Obliging, the group of scouts gather and reminisce about their previous adventures, as the Red Leader continues to watch over Sabre and M.

—————————————————————————————————————

Sabre looked out to the view of the town, standing on his room's balcony. The nights were getting warmer as the days got brighter, yet Sabre couldn't help but feel somber.

A known knock on his door made him turn his head.

"You can come in, M." Sabre replies.

M carefully opens the door, his expression kind yet worried. He walks to the balcony and joins Sabre, leaning on the railing next to him.

"Hey. You doing alright?" M asks. "I noticed you've seemed upset for the past few days. Did something happen, or...?"

"No, nothing happened..." Sabre sighs. "I- There's just something that's been getting at me lately."

"...Would you be okay with telling me what that is?"

There's a pause. Sabre looks away, staring at the town below.

"I... I spent my whole life being raised to believe that I was born to fight. I was told in my old world that fighting was my reason, my purpose. Why I... why I'm living." Sabre begins. "I wasn't told any different when I got here. Sure, none of the others ever said it, but with how they explained how each color had a purpose and everything, I think they thought that my people were similar to theirs in that belief... 'Everything is given a purpose'. I thought I had known mine then, but now... with everything I've seen, a-and... it was wrong. But since fighting was all I've known, I..."

Sabre grips the railing of the balcony, his hands shaking. M, worried, steps closer to his side and places a hand on his shoulder.

"Sabre...?"

Sabre stops for a moment, looking up at M. He fights tears as he releases the railing, bringing his hands close to his chest, as if checking if he still had a heartbeat.

"...I don't know what my purpose is anymore, M." Sabre says quietly. "If fighting isn't it, then what is? How- How do I know I even have one at all? In a realm full of people that know their place in the world... does not knowing where mine is make me... useless...?"

M is taken aback by Sabre's question. He stands there for a moment, before turning Sabre to him and wrapping his arms around him in a hug.

"You are not useless. Don't you ever forget that, okay?" M says. "That... stupid belief is outdated and incorrect, there is no set 'purpose' for anyone. We decide for ourselves... just as everyone should be."

M lets go, still keeping a hand on Sabre's shoulder.

"Just as you should be, too. There is no one or any thing that can tell you what you are. So don't listen to the false words of people that never actually knew you, okay?"

Sabre nods his head, reaching under the blindfold and wiping tears from his eyes. M smiles, and takes his hand off his shoulder.

"Now, let's go back inside, okay?" M says warmly. "We can grab some snacks from the kitchen and hang out in the castle library for a while, if you want..."

"That... sounds nice." Sabre smiles back. "Thanks, M."

"No problem, Sabre."

The two head back inside. Sabre is still quiet, but he feels grateful for M's kindness.

—————————————————————————————————————

It was a warm day, summer just beginning. However, a storm had arrived at the kingdom, dousing everything in a strong downpour. Sabre sat on one of the velvet fabric benches in the entrance hall next to the front doors, listening to the heavy rain as he reads a book.

M runs in, quickly closing an umbrella and shaking off the water on it before putting it in an umbrella holder nearby. Even with the protection against the rain, he was still soaked, but he still smiles.

"Heck of a storm, huh?" M asks as he tries to shake the water out of his hair.

"What were you doing out there, M-? It's pouring outside!" Sabre exclaims. 

"Oh, just visiting some friends. You know."

Sabre sighs, shaking his head as he puts his book down, but still smiles.

"Well, go dry off before you catch a cold, man." He laughs. "Can't have you getting sick, and your dad would flip his lid if he found out you went out in the rain like this."

"Alright, alright." M rolls his eyes, also laughing. "We're more resistant to weather than you, remember? It's gonna take more than some summer rain to make me sick. You're picking up on some of his nagging behaviors, I swear..."

As M exits the room, Sabre finds himself shocked for a while. Was he really starting to act a little like the Red Leader?

...He didn't think that was really a bad thing.

M returned a little while later, now in dry clothes and holding two bowls of hot soup. He offers one to Sabre as he sits down, the rain outside still pouring with the occasional rumble of thunder overhead.

"Oh, thank you." Sabre says, putting his book back down and taking the bowl.

"No problem. The chef made some soup for lunch since it's all dreary outside, and I figured you'd like some too." M replies. "You've had beetroot before, right?"

"Yep, better than I expected it to be, to be honest."

"Jasper just knows how to prepare actual seasonings and spices properly."

They both laugh. There's a few minutes of silence as the two just sit and watch the rain, every so often taking a second to eat some soup. The atmosphere is cozy and almost nostalgic, it kind of reminding Sabre of his rainy days in the Hub.

Except... this was better. He wasn't alone; he had M right next to him and various people somewhere around the castle. No pig pen right up against the wall to create a fairly awful smell. The area wasn't flooding due to walls boxing the water in like a pool, no rivers or ponds to overflow and spill through the front door. People passed by the castle outside, some carrying umbrellas while others opt to take their time walking through the storm, enjoying playing in the water and not caring if they got soaked. Everyone was just... living.

"Do you remember the last time it rained like this...?" M asks, looking joyfully at the outside, reminiscing.

"Yeah... it was the night you brought me here." Sabre replies. "To be honest, I have no idea how I didn't get sick myself, staying out there."

"It's a good thing you didn't."

"Probably just lucky."

"Ah, c'mon, you're tough too. It takes more than a little storm to-"

Thunder suddenly roars outside, making both of them jump. The Red Steves that were outside quickly rush underneath any nearby awning or tree. After a few minutes, everyone looks around, seeing there's no danger and going back to what they were doing. Sabre and M stare at the rain for a few seconds.

"...Okay, maybe it's not a 'little' storm." M chuckles awkwardly.

Sabre begins to laugh, M's face turning a little redder as he joins in.

—————————————————————————————————————

Sabre sat on a chair next to the Professor's computer, letting him run tests as usual. He's been doing this for a while, and Sabre's slowly gotten used to his eccentricity. The Assistant stood nearby, awaiting commands.

"Interesting..." The Professor mumbles to himself, looking at some new data on the computer.

"What is it this time?" Sabre asks.

"Are all of your people so genetically complicated?" The Professor asks. "These readings are much more complex than what I'd get from another Steve."

"Yeah, pretty much. With so many combinations of everything, we can all look pretty different." Sabre replies, shrugging. "How are yours simpler?"

"Well for one thing, the only colors we receive is the one that makes up the entirety of our appearances. You have like- five. At the least." The Professor says.

"It gets even more complicated than that." Sabre laughs.

"There is no way-"

Something pops up on the computer. Professor Red looks at it, then quickly runs across the room and up the stairs.

"Crap, my potions!" He yells as he leaves.

Once the Professor is out of the room, the Assistant looks at the pop-up as well.

"He'd forgotten to set a timer again." The robot says.

"Oh, hopefully the potions still come out okay."

"They likely will. Leaving potions on for just a few minutes longer usually only has the effect of a higher concentration." The Assistant explains. "It is a common mistake often made, even by experts like the Professor."

"You really look up to the Professor, huh?" Sabre asks with a smile.

"Of course. It would be difficult not to, with a genius of such caliber as him. Father is-"

The Assistant immediately stops, realizing his error. Sabre has an expression of surprise, but tries to hold in a laugh at the same time. After a few minutes, the Assistant snaps his gaze to him.

"Say a word about that and I will research your species' weakness just to use it against you." He says quickly.

"I won't, I won't. Chill." Sabre replies, still trying not to laugh. He fails, and the Assistant glares at him.

The Professor comes back into the room, taking off some disposable gloves and throwing them away into the nearby trash can.

"Crisis averted. Now..." The Professor starts, but notices the scene. "What are you laughing at?"

The Assistant gives Sabre a look before he replies.

"Oh, the Assistant just had a small glitch for a second. It made him say something random." Sabre answers, calming down.

"Oh dear, are you alright Assistant?" The Professor asks his creation.

"I am fine. It was a very minor glitch." He replies. "I've already stopped the root cause and started to log a report in my database."

"And the cause was...?"

"Too many calculations at one time."

"Oh, that one's just a minor risk that comes with your computing system. You don't need to worry about logging that one." The Professor says, returning to his computer. "Just be more careful, alright?"

"Yes, Professor."

The Assistant continued to glare at Sabre for the rest of the testing session. Sabre wasn't bothered by it, though. He found it adding to the hilarity of the situation.

—————————————————————————————————————

"Hey, Sabre?"

"Yeah?"

"You said your people made a lot of things just for the heck of it. They ever make anything that can cool off a room?"

"Unless you want to deal with owing the Professor one, nothing I can get or make right now."

"Uuuuggggghh."

M and Sabre were lying on Sabre's room floor, the balcony door hallway open along with all of the windows. It was one of the hottest days in the peak of summer, and the two couldn't find anything better to do without feeling like they were being roasted by the sun. Sabre especially didn't want to go outside, not wanting to risk getting burnt. He knew some parts of the process of sunburn healing would freak out his Red Steve friends. The two had normal t-shirts instead of their usual sweater and long-sleeve-shirt-with-coat, respectively.

There was a knock on the door, and Sabre gave permission to come in. The Red Leader pokes his head into the room, looking confusedly at the two. Unsurprisingly, he didn't have his usual fancy coat, just a fancier long-sleeve shirt. It made the gold bracelets on his wrists more visible.

"What are you both doing in here?" The Red Leader asks.

"Sabre's room has better air circulation." M says. "I didn't want to be cooked alive in my room."

"Alright then." The Red Leader shrugs. "Just thought you'd want to know, Amaryllis is setting up a bunch of sprinklers and hoses outside his shop for people to mess around with water and cool off."

"Really?!" M exclaims. Both he and Sabre quickly sit up.

"Yeah, go check it out for yourself." The Red Leader chuckles. "Have fun, boys."

As the Red Leader leaves, Sabre and M get up and rush down the hall, heading to the main entrance. Quickly putting on their shoes as they reached the door, they ran excitedly into the town and went in the direction of Amaryllis' flower shop.

Sure enough, Amaryllis had set out sprinklers everywhere in the street, a few hoses leading out of the greenhouse as well. He was standing in front of the doorway of the shop, holding a hose with one hand and a glass of fruit juice in the other. Many people were gathered around playing in the water, including Ruby and his father, who was trying to keep Ruby from attempting to run and slide on the slick stone brick of the street. Ruby's friends, who Sabre now knows as Scarlet, Cherry and Berry (a pair of twins), Candi, Coral, Rose, Penn, Pepper, and Amaranth (who's nicknamed Brick), were giving their parents similarly hard times with keeping them from doing something stupid.

Sabre and M quickly greet Amaryllis, then join in on the fun. After a few minutes of the two running around, M decides to pick up one of the sprinklers attached to a hose and point it right at Sabre. However, when he looks up Sabre isn't where he last saw him. Confused for a moment, he looks around for Sabre before realizing that the water coming from the sprinkler he's holding is coming to a stop. He makes the mistake of trying to see if something was lodged in the openings, and proceeds to be blasted by a sudden rush of water, now thoroughly soaked.

He hears Sabre laugh behind him. Turning around, he finally sees him standing over the hose connected to his sprinkler. He had been stepping on it when the water was stopping, and M had completely fallen for the trap. M responds by dousing Sabre with the sprinkler while he's too busy laughing to dodge.

A while later, Sabre and M are sitting down in the shade of one of the trees next to the shop. Amaryllis had given everyone fruit juice made from the products of his greenhouse's indoor orchard and fruit garden, so everyone was having a break from playing in the water, either sitting in shady spots as well or talking to each other. However, Ruby and his friends were still jumping through the water from the sprinklers.

"What do you think the Professor's doing?" Sabre asks, taking a sip from his cup.

"I dunno, probably more of his experiments. Why?" M replies.

"Eh, I kinda figured because of all the racket he'd show up with something like... I dunno, a water cannon."

"Would you believe me if I told you he's done that before?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. And of course, his first target was dad." M laughs.

"Oh man, he must've been so mad."

"He was. Dad banned him from engineering projects for a week."

"Ha! That's hilarious."

"It was, until the Professor took his revenge by taking that time to make blueprints for a bigger project." M says, stopping for a moment to drink some juice. "He made a high-powered fish cannon and shot a salmon through his open window from the lab."

Sabre chokes on his drink laughing, M laughing too once he makes sure he's okay. They're quickly interrupted by a jet of water suddenly drenching them.

Looking toward where it came from, they see Ruby and his friends all frozen in place while they seemed to have been fighting over a hose. The children all immediately drop the hose, point at each other, and shout a chorus of

"He did it!"

M's about to respond, when Sabre smiles and grabs a nearby bucket that had been accumulating water from all of the hoses and sprinklers for the past few hours. He sprints over to the group, stops, and before they realize what he's doing they've already all been soaked by Sabre dumping the water from the bucket on them. The children laugh and pick up the hose again, trying to get Sabre with a stream of water while he uses the bucket as a shield. A cascading ring of water forms as he blocks, sending most of the water right back at the group.

Before he knows it, the group of kids decide to ditch the hose and have brought Sabre to the ground, all tackling him. All of them, including Sabre, are laughing as the kids' parents quickly come over to see if he's alright.

"I am so sorry about that, Sabre." Cerise says as he picks Ruby up, getting him off. "We've been trying to teach them not to roughhouse-"

"I-It's okay sir, I'm fine." Sabre replies.

"If you say so..." Cerise says as he places Ruby back down, who runs off back to his friends. "Y'know you don't have to call me 'sir', right bud?"

"Oh, uh, sorry."

"Nothin' to apologize for." Cerise chuckles. "Just let me know if Ruby gives you any trouble, alright? He's kinda known for it."

"Gets it from you." Amaryllis says, passing by.

"Wh- Hey!" Cerise follows after him. "You're the one that did stuff like brought frogs in the house when we were kids!"

"You made a rope swing over a ditch!"

"It never broke, now did it?"

As they walk away, Sabre heads back to M, who had been holding his drink for him.

"You look like you had fun." M laughs as he hands him his cup, noticing Sabre is now dripping wet again.

"Sure did." Sabre replies, sitting down.

"I'd guess so, based off how you look like you got dunked in a river."

"What, you want the bucket treatment too?"

"Don't you dare-"

—————————————————————————————————————

M tried not to pry as he and Sabre returned to the castle, the warm evening air filled with fireflies and starlight, however he could tell that Sabre was shaken by whatever had gone down at the lab that day.

He had only been told by one of the kingdom residents that lived near the lab that his father had asked for him to take Sabre back home while he was out in town after finishing another request. Seeing the concern on his face, M quickly made his way to the lab hoping nothing had gone wrong. Nothing did, but he was still anxious when he had finally arrived, the sun long set by then.

Sabre was sitting in a chair at the main entrance of the lab, the Assistant next to him. He was clearly upset, having suddenly gone back to gripping his sleeves nervously, and he was anxiously glancing back to the other room. The Assistant was trying to comfort him, and while it was glaringly obvious he was bad at it, it was still nice he was trying to help him.

M heard shouting coming from a different part of the lab, the angry voices echoing through the stairway belonging to the Red Leader and the Professor. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but it was getting tense. He understood why he was asked to get Sabre home.

"Please remember, it is not your fault." The Assistant said to Sabre as M slowly made his way to the two.

Sabre merely stared at the ground. That was the only thing he was able to pick up on before he and Sabre left. He of course wanted to know more, but he knew he really shouldn't ask right then. Sabre needed to be in a calmer environment at the moment.

At Sabre's request, M accompanied Sabre as he went to his room. Once they did, Sabre shut the door behind them and moved to his bed, sitting down on the soft covers. He gripped a throw blanket with barely shaking hands.

M grabbed the desk chair and brought it next to the bed, sitting down with him. They usually only did this when Sabre would have nightmares of his experiences with the other colors, but this was a... special case.

"Do you want to talk, or do you just want me to be here?" M asks. "Either is fine. I won't bring it up if you don't want me to."

"...Talk." Sabre replies quietly.

He gives M a familiar look that tells him he can start. M thinks carefully before asking.

"Do you... if you're okay with it, could you tell me what happened back there?"

Sabre is quiet for a moment, picking up a corner of the blanket and wringing it in his hands,but he eventually takes a deep breath and answers.

"We... the Professor was just doing some usual tests. Figuring out how I work in case I need medical help and seeing if things like certain plants or something else logged in his computer's database were harmful to me. That kind of thing." Sabre starts. "The Red Leader was there with us because he unexpectedly had some free space in his schedule and wanted to learn too. The Professor was asking questions as he worked, like he always does. And then... he decided to ask about how my lifespan worked. He first told me about yours, how your people can just keep existing until their life ends forcefully. I made a remark about how that's considered a type of immortality with my people, and... he asked what I meant."

M continues to listen, having an uneasy feeling about where this was going.

"I explained that compared to you, my people don't work like that. It's a matter of 'when' we die, not 'if'. Eventually when we age enough, our bodies just start to fail." Sabre continues. "They were already both horrified at that, and then the Professor asked how long we live. I told him what it is, we only live 70 to 80 years if everything goes alright, and some people get to 100 if they're really lucky. It's... actually not that long compared to you guys. The Red Leader was obviously upset, but he didn't really say anything, but the Professor... he didn't take it well."

M wasn't really sure about how to feel with this information himself. It was a twisted gnarl of emotions in his chest, feelings of fear of the future, anger at whatever entity decided someone like Sabre needed to live such a short amount of time, an early grief at the thought of his best friend leaving the world so soon, a hurt confusion as to why... just why. However, M didn't let those wretched feelings show, and took a few seconds before asking Sabre to continue.

"What'd he do...?"

"He... wanted to try seeing if the lifespan extension thing he did with all of the Red Steves would work on me. He didn't try right then of course, he just said the idea asking if I wanted to, but... he was so wound up about it. The Red Leader immediately said it was a bad idea, bringing up how it made all of you more physically fragile, and..."

"...And?"

Sabre let go of the blanket corner and brought his knees to his chest, almost curling up.

"...They started arguing. After a while the Leader told the Assistant to bring me to the lab entrance and get someone to find you when he came to see what was going on. We waited for a while, and they kept getting louder until they were just... yelling at each other. I guess..."

Sabre stops for a moment.

"...You know how the Professor says the two of us both remind him of a friend he and the Leader used to have?" Sabre asks.

"Yeah, why?" M says.

"I-I guess that's why they got so worked up over it."

M understands what he means as Sabre goes quiet again, staring at the floor. He then moves from the desk chair to the bed, sitting next to Sabre.

"The Assistant is right, it's not your fault it happened. The thought of losing you so soon just... started out as hurt that turned into something that reopened old scars." M says. "You have nothing to do with what happened back then or the aftermath of it. So... don't go thinking you started it, okay?"

Sabre takes a second, then nods. He hesitates for a moment before motioning to ask for a hug, which M gladly obliges. As they separate, Sabre sits up and takes a moment before talking again.

"...M, can... can I tell you something?" Sabre asks. "I was going to bring it up back at the lab once I finished explaining my people's lifespan, but then... you know."

"Of course, what is it?" M replies.

"Something happened while I was still with the other colors... something that might have changed that." Sabre says. "I don't really know because I don't know how that stuff works."

There was a small twinge of hope, however it was quickly overshadowed by horror as Sabre explained what had happened.

An attack.

A false deal.

Revival.

As Sabre finished, M simply brought Sabre into another hug. It mostly confused him, but he understood why. Anyone would be shocked to know what he... experienced.

M's outrage at the actions of the other Chromatics only grew as he realized the implications of what had been brought upon Sabre.

How could they...?

How could they have let someone so young become their martyr?

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Sabre let the Assistant lead him through the lab, having been sent a note from the Professor that morning. However, he wasn't led to the usual testing area; the Assistant took him to the upstairs observatory.

The calm white clouds covering most of the sky could be seen out of the glass roof, sunlight filtering in being almost muted. It reminded Sabre of how things were cooling down after so long of summer's heat. The Professor was sitting next to the large telescope, quickly closing his hands around something in them he was looking at. He puts the small item in his labcoat pocket as Sabre approaches.

"Sabre, I- ...Hello." He greets, much calmer than usual. His tone was almost somber.

"Hey, Professor." Sabre replies, giving a small smile as he sat down next to him. "What's up?"

"I... wanted to apologize for yesterday." The Professor starts. "The Leader and I started about old issues when we shouldn't have. I... reacted badly to what was just basic information to you. I made it seem like it was a problem that needed to be fixed. I'm sorry. I just..."

The Professor takes a deep breath before continuing.

"You've been here for six months now, and I'm not kidding when I say you're one of the best things that ever happened to me. I, like an idiot, just assumed you'd stay as long as one of us Steves would. When you told me that your life would end no matter what, after such a short amount of time... I let my emotions get the better of me in the moment and tried to suggest a procedure that could have hurt you. The Leader and I started arguing because of that. Not because of anything you did, alright?"

Sabre nods, and the Professor's tense movements relaxed.

"Good, it's... good you know it wasn't your fault."

"I got the same explanation from the Leader." Sabre says, smiling a little.

"...Ah. I... should have known he'd get to talk with you first."

"It's alright."

"No, it's really not. None of what happened yesterday is-"

"I don't mean I'm dismissing what happened. I mean I forgive you both."

The Professor stops, then goes silent for a while, holding into something in his pocket. Sabre is quiet as well for a few moments, then breaks the silence.

"Is it because of how I remind you of your friend...?" He asks.

The Professor looks up. It's a few seconds of staring silence before he completely relaxes and chuckles a little, all of the tension leaving the room.

"That is only scratching the surface, my friend. But... you do remind us of him." The Professor says. "That's actually what I was going to bring up next."

The Professor hands Sabre the small object he had in his pocket, and upon looking at it Sabre realizes it's a small rose hair clip. The color has greatly faded, but it still looks beautiful.

"It was his. It was the last thing he left me before he... was gone." The Professor says. "You two were similar in the sense that you just wanted to help people. You wanted to save as many as you could and keep them from getting hurt. And... people took advantage of that. In both of your cases. If you could have met him too, I can tell you would've gotten along wonderfully."

The Professor carefully pushes Sabre's cupped hands towards him with one hand, only for a moment.

"He would've wanted you to have it, too. It's too precious to just leave in a box collecting dust."

Sabre stares for a moment, then smiles brightly.

"Thank you."

He takes a second to smooth out a part of his hair, then delicately places the hair clip on. Turning back to the Professor, they both smile as the Professor sees how it looks.

"Better than anything I could have done with it." The Professor says. Sabre could've sworn he almost saw him tearing up.

The Assistant suddenly interrupts the moment, peeking his head up from the stairway.

"Is the drama over now?" His robotic voice says in the usual monotone.

The abruptness of his question makes Sabre laugh. Professor Red facepalms, however hides a smile himself.

"Yes, it's over now. Please don't do that again, you almost gave me a heart attack." The Professor sighs.

"Oh good, I had no protocol for the figuratively 'watching my step' the moronic aftermath of your disagreement caused."

"Assistant."

Sabre just laughs harder. Even though he's a little frustrated with the Assistant's blunt observations, the Professor is glad he's not upset anymore.

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Sabre and M sat in the castle's library, casually talking while reading about the history of the kingdom. Sabre was curious, and M was more than happy to help him learn.

"And because of the sudden shift from openly talking with other kingdoms to hiding, any Red Steves that were still outside of the kingdom then had no idea what happened to us." M says as he wraps up explaining something. "Sometimes their descendants find our kingdom and want to join us, so that's why unity ceremonies became a thing. It's a way to officially make someone a part of the kingdom."

"That's so cool..." Sabre says, looking at a few artists' renditions of older ceremonies in the book M was holding. "And they just join the kingdom after that? No questions asked?"

"Eh, basically." M says. "I would know; I was part of one."

"What-?"

"Yeah. Remember how I told you I was adopted?" M asks. "A long time ago, my dad found me as a kid stuck in a deep ditch filled with briar bushes outside the kingdom. I must have been trying to get out for hours, because by the time I was found I had deeply scarred my hands from trying to use the thorny bushes to climb out. See?"

M takes off his gloves for a moment, revealing deep scars that looked like they were once gashes. He puts his gloves back and continues.

"Dad got me out of there, and took me home. At first he wanted to try to find me a home with someone else, but he got attached to me after a while and adopted me. He named me 'Amaris' because of how that night's full moon led him to me, apparently."

"Wow."

Sabre goes back to looking at the book for a moment, before M speaks up again.

"Hey uh- we could- I dunno, if you want to we could plan a unity ceremony for you." M says. "You don't have to of course, we don't want to push anything onto you, it's completely your choice, I just figured I'd ask because you seem really interested in how our culture works and you've been staying here for a while and-"

"M, of course. I'd love to." Sabre replies, smiling.

"Wait really?" M says, surprised.

"Yeah. It'd be awesome to just be included in something like that, let alone be part of one." Sabre continues. "Don't worry about me being nervous, I really do want to."

M just sits there for a moment.

"...You wanna go tell your dad-"

"Absolutely I'll be back in a second."

M rushes off, and Sabre laughs a little at the pure excitement.

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Enjoy the next timeskip chapter after this, because after that we're hopping right into the drama >:D