Heads up that I am not shipping anyone, I'm not a shipper, period. You'll understand why I'm putting this later in the chapter. Thank you, and get ready for angst about ya boi, Time simps :)

Also TW for blood and one curse word here

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I woke up just as Dark was climbing down from his hammock. I could hear the wooden platform that made it's way by it and Rainbow's bunk from him walking on it. I could also hear Rainbow snoring. So that's what woke me up... I call out to Dark.

"Yo."

"Ah, hey Sabre." He replies.

"Heh, did Rainbow wake you up too?"

"Yeah..."

Silence for a moment. Then, I have an idea.

"Wanna prank him?"

"Oh, absolutely."

I hear Dark move closer to Rainbow, and I brace myself for the incoming angry skittle boy. Dark takes a deep breath, and;

"RAINBOW!" We both yell.

Rainbow screams and falls out of his bunk, Dark moving out of his way. I hear shifting above me for a minute, probably Rainbow looking around, then it stops.

"GUUUYYYYYS!" Rainbow yells. Dark and I start laughing.

"You woke us both up, our turn!" I say.

"Sorry buddy, but..." Dark says between giggles, "You kinda did."

Rainbow laughs too. "Man, screw you guys."

We start the day like normal. Rainbow getting my body awake, we sit down at the little cushion area, we decide on breakfast (some baked potatoes from Green Steve, they were awesome), we joke around while eating.

It's been two days since Green came over, which means he's coming back today. The three of us are really excited for it, as we've made something for him as a thank-you; a scarf that alternates between the colors lime and grey, with a new little patch of our insignia of the Vengeful, hidden on the inside. Rainbow actually made the scarf, while I helped with materials and Dark made the patch. He made patches for us three as well. I've put mine on my other sleeve, as I didn't want to replace my earth patch, while the other two don't really know what to do with theirs yet.

We finish eating and go outside, waiting for our new friend. We're planning on spending the day in the clearing in front of the cave, as we don't know if Green will show up late in the afternoon like yesterday or earlier than that. While we're out there, Dark works on a tree base for in case of an emergency escape, while I sit with Rainbow as he discusses plans for what he wants to do.

"So, in order to make our later plans work," Rainbow begins. "I need to power myself back up. I lost all of my rainbow power when I was destroyed, so I've found a way to get it back."

"How?" I ask.

"It's simple; I use crystals to drain color from a lot of things. The power unlocks that way, remember? It's just going to have to be on a way bigger scale."

Over the two days after Green's visit, we experimented with what powers the Crystal had given us after being crystallized. Dark can now make small crystal growths around him, use the powers of Yellow and Orange better (we got the powers of all the colors, but his Orange and Yellow sides have more power than the rest), use a shadowy version of Darkness to morph his hands into claws, and create a crystal shield in front of him. It's pretty cool.

Rainbow, on the other hand, has much more abilities than before. He can make large crystal growths in large amounts, use all the colors of the Crystal better than I can, make crystals float and act like spears, and absorb color from things to power himself up, as previously mentioned.

So far, all I can do is make the crystals already on me grow and make a thin, pointy, long crystal shoot out from my wrist. It kind of looks like a hidden blade.

Rainbow continues with his explanation. "I'm thinking we could actually use this to start our revenge."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I'm going to use my crystals to start making crystal growths all over the Kingdom, and they'll absorb the color from things, which will make its way to me. It'll scare everyone so bad!"

"Nice. Great idea, Rainbow!"

"Aw, thanks!"

Dark pokes his head out of the tree he's building the emergency base in.

"That is a cool idea! Will it need something live a siphon, though? Just absorbing the power straight from the crystals might be bad for you... Also, you might get caught if you have to take it from the crystals directly."

"Don't worry, I've found another cave that I'll use." Rainbow assures Dark. "The crystals will lead there, and I'll be in the middle of the room, taking the power from around me."

Solid plan, bud. 10/10.

—————————————————————————————————————

It's been a while, and we're still waiting for Green. Dark finished the tree base a little bit ago, and Rainbow has finished planning out his crystal absorption plan a few minutes before that.

I AM SO BORED.

I can't move, so I couldn't find anything to do. I tried just imagining things, but I quickly got bored of that. I think I spaced out for a while... maybe? I don't know, I don't remember anything after getting bored of imagining things... anyway, I think I spaced out for a bit because next thing I know Dark is tapping my shoulder. I snap back into reality. Rainbow is next to Dark, looking at me worriedly.

"Dude, you okay?" He asked. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while."

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm pretty sure I just spaced out." I answer. "What did you want to say?"

Dark goes back to smiling and relaxes. "Well, since I finished the tree base, I was wondering if you guys wanted to see it."

"That sounds cool!" Rainbow says, getting up and grabbing my arm.

"Aight. Let's see it." I say.

Dark takes us up to the tree base, and it's amazing. It's perfectly hidden in the leaves, with its windows being obscured by vines, the same way blinds work. It seems he took some materials from inside, because it's furnished as well. There's a light blue fluffy rug on the floor, some lanterns hanging from the ceiling, two chests labeled "Snacks" and "Supplies", flowers in flowerpots on the windowsills, some chairs around a small table, and differently colored pillows on the chairs.

"Wow..." Rainbow gasps. "It's like a second home in here!"

"This is beautiful, Dark!" I say.

"Heh, thanks guys." Dark says. "I figured that since it's a backup base, it should have nice stuff in here in case the cave is found."

I look towards the window, and Rainbow understands. He makes my body walk over to it and open the window. The view is breathtaking. I lean against the windowsill, just staring into the unknown surrounding us. I wonder what else is outside the Kingdom that shares the same beauty as our home out here. Are there other forests surrounded by flowering vines? Are there biomes similar to ones in the world I'm from? Are there creatures yet to be discovered, just waiting in the mysterious foliage surrounding us?

My thoughts are interrupted by the sight of a portal opening in the distance, and the loud strikes of lightning. Something... no, someone is falling from the portal.

Rainbow turns to the window. "What the-"

He's interrupted by a loud bang as the figure makes contact with the ground. Sooner than I can process, Rainbow has grabbed me and the three of us are rushing to the scene.

"Why are we going towards it?! Isn't whatever that was dangerous? There was lightning!" Dark says, being dragged behind Rainbow.

"I recognize who that was!" Rainbow yells back.

Wait, Rainbow knows who that was? Who? Are they friend or foe?

We arrive in a biome completely made of stoney hills, the portal closing above a valley between two of them. Carefully, we peer over the edge to see who had landed. The figure had a terrible gash on his head, spattering blood onto his tattered brown coat and grey sweater as it poured from his wound, a white mask barely holding itself together on the figure's head, nearly slipping off.

"Oh my goodness..." Rainbow whispers, in just as much shock as I am.

It's Time Steve, battered almost beyond recognition.

Rainbow, Dark, and I rush to his side, and he's... well, surprised to see us all.

"Wh... how..." Time stutters. "Y-you're all..."

"Dead, yeah, we know." Rainbow says, taking a cloth out of his pocket to help stop the bleeding. "Don't try to move, you'll make it worse."

"Am... am I-I dead now?" Time asks.

"Nope, not yet." Dark answers. "And you won't be, not on our watch."

Rainbow turns to me. "Sabre, you're going to carry Time back to the cave, alright?" I nod.

Time looks confused, then sees me next to Rainbow. He looks... not horrified, but like he's seen a ghost. Reaching his hand over to me, he starts crying harder.

"I-I saw y-you... I s-saw you..." He whispers. He's losing a lot of blood... what does he mean, 'he saw me'?

Rainbow secures the cloth to Time's wound and puppeteers me to pick Time up off the ground. As we start running back to the cave, I look at Time when I notice he's staring at me. I make eye contact, and give a soft look as if to reassure him that he's going to be alright. I think he understands, because I feel his hand grip my arm as he closes his eyes.

When we get back to the cave, we rush inside and place Time on my bunk. Rainbow rushes to grab the splash healing potions, while Dark gets the bandages, and I stay with Time. He's still got his grip on my arm. Rainbow and Dark go to Time's side with the supplies, and get to work on trying to fix the gash on his head.

As they do that, my mind wanders to older days. Time was a good friend to me after losing Rainbow, and he helped me through a lot of it along with Light, before I got corrupted. I still remember the fear in his eyes when that happened... I've wished every day since then that I told him to teleport away so he wouldn't see what happened next. It didn't take that long for him to warm up to me again after I was cured, though. We went back to being good friends, and it was basically only him and Green that I felt really understood that I wasn't in control of what happened. However, shortly before the Corrected Sun problems started, it was like he and Elemental just disappeared. The portal to their dimensions closed and everything, and no one could figure out why.

I'm pulled from my memories when I notice Time isn't hanging onto my arm anymore. He's been bandaged up now, and he's breathing normally. Rainbow and Dark are talking over in the other side of the room. While keeping an eye on Time, I listen in one what they're saying.

"Do you think he'll be alright, Rainbow?"

"I'm not sure... that gash on his head was pretty bad."

"Like... how bad? Will there be any lasting damage or something, as far as you can tell?"

"No, I'm sure that he won't have brain damage or anything, it didn't reach his brain like Sabre's wounds did. However, his skull was cracked open... it's to the point I might have to crystallize him if the potion didn't work that well."

"Dang... hey, how do you know this guy anyway? I'm not judging or anything, I just wanna know."

"He's a friend of mine and Sabre's, we became friends close to before I shattered myself like an absolute idiot."

"You're not an absolute idiot, Rainbow."

"I literally joined Void's side, I'm pretty sure that makes me an idiot."

"Wait, you what?"

"What what?"

"...'Kay then."

I would've laughed at that part if I could. You're not an absolute idiot, Rainbow... you're my best friend.

The hilarity is cut short when I notice something wrong with Time. Panicked, I'm able to scream;

"TIME ISN'T BREATHING!"

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[Green Steve's POV]

As I step out of my house, I double-check to make sure I got everything in the basket.

Cookies? Yep. More potions? Got them. More foods? Yep, I'm sure they're gonna love the soup I made them. A clock? They finally will have a normal sleep schedule. I pull my hood over my head and step out of my garden, ready to see my hidden friends.

Being their supplier is actually pretty fun. I have things to do, and I'm helping people. I don't have to cook for just me, and making them things they need other than potions has made me feel like I'm being more than just a healer, unlike my previous life in the Green Kingdom. I might be considered a traitor for doing this, but I've always thought that the ways the Leaders go about things are kind of stupid. I never liked being isolated from the world before the Rainbow Kingdom was made, and being stuck as one thing just because of my color is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I've always wanted to be a craftsman, but never got to, as I was to be a healer because of my natural abilities. So, being the Vengeful's supplier is kind of like being what I want to.

I make my way through the forest, being careful to cover my tracks. I don't want them being found because of me. I'm starting to see familiar landmarks from when last time I visited them, so I know I'm going the right way. As I'm walking, I hear footsteps and voices in front of me. I cautiously look to see what they are, and to both my relief and worry, it's three Colorless Guards. At least they're not Darkness, I've heard that it's back from my friends in the village, but what are Colorless Guards doing all the way out here? I see an Elite that I usually see patrolling farther out, near the village. Perfect, I'll have an alibi that will be supported by one of their own. I quietly step back a few paces and pull my hood down as not to be suspicious, then walk by, making it look like I didn't know they were there and was just passing through. When they notice me, I make it look like I had just noticed them, too.

"Oh, hello." I say.

"Hey there," one of the Guards says. "What are you doing out here?"

"I live a little ways that way." I say, pointing in the general direction of my house. "I'm friends with people in a village this way, and they asked me to get some things for them."

"I know this one. It's true." The Elite says. Right according to plan.

"Alright." The Guard says. They clearly all buy it. "Just be careful out here."

"I will, thank you. Have a nice day!" I wave as I start back in the direction I was headed.

I hear the Elite Guard talking. "I told you guys, nothing to worry about with him. I see him visiting the village all the time, and besides, he's just a Green Steve. What damage could he possibly do?"

Heh, 'Just a Green Steve'. They never expect us to be the ones with secrets, or the ones that can actually do some damage. Just they wait...

It was still a close encounter, though. My heart is still racing when I reach the river. I go over to the nearby tree, where Rainbow had placed the vine I needed in order to get across, right where I asked him to. I swing over, and walk to the cave entrance. Knocking on their hidden door, I hear shuffling from inside. Dark opens the door.

"Oh hey, Green. There you are."

"Hey Dark." I smile.

"Before you come in, there's something you need to know..." Dark says, looking worried.

"What is it?" I ask.

"There's been another zombie added to the group. Although, I don't think the Kingdom knows he's been dead yet..."

Who in the world could he be talking about? Well, I don't mind. The more the merrier. As I step in, I see Rainbow sitting at their little dining area, looking tired. I begin to wonder what happened, when I see Sabre sitting next to his bunk, which is being occupied by a person with light grey skin, in a torn coat, wearing a broken mask. He has a crystal growing out of his head, which is surrounded by bandages.

Wait... is that Time Steve?

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While Rainbow is explaining everything to Green Steve, I'm still keeping watch over Time.

When he stopped breathing, he actually died for a few minutes. Rainbow had to bring his soul back to his body like he did for me. Time is now asleep, no longer seeming to be in too much pain. Having to crystallize someone so fast took a bit out of Rainbow, so he's resting at our little cushion area, which I guess is our dining area. Dark is helping Rainbow explain everything to Green.

Once the other two are done explaining, Green walks over to where Time and I are.

"Well, you did an excellent job of wrapping the bandages and stuff, especially in such a rush." He says. "All that we can really do now is make sure he heals." Green looks at Rainbow with a smile. "I'm very proud of you, Rainbow."

Rainbow beams, and Green sits back down next to him. We all talk for a while.

We're all still talking with each other. Green brings up how he encountered Colorless Guards while getting to us.

"Well, at least they passed right by us." Dark says.

"And they didn't suspect a thing from you?" Rainbow asks.

"Nope," Green answers. "The Elite that was there saw me delivering things to the people in the village I'm friends with, so he backed up my story. Besides, in his own words," Green leans back with a sarcastic, yet confident smirk. "I'm just a Green Steve. What damage could I possibly do?"

We laugh. Now that's just stupid. While it did come in handy, Green shouldn't be underestimated just because of his color. Our laughter is interrupted by a familiar voice.

"What in the world...?"

We all excitedly turn our heads towards Time, who is now sitting up and looking back at us. With visible confusion on his face, Time points at the group in front of him.

"...Three of the four people here are dead, what is happening?"

"We'll explain the details part later, buddy, but in short we're not dead anymore." Rainbow says, walking over to Time and giving him a hug. "How ya feeling?"

"Like I just got drop-kicked." Time says. He brings his hand up to his head, and feels the crystal growing out of it. "...What is that."

"Uhh... well, something happened while helping you..." Dark says.

"What?" Time asks.

"Wellll..." Rainbow says. "Let's just say that you're part of the zombie group now."

Time thinks for a moment, then realizes.

"I DIED?!" Time exclaims.

"Only for a few minutes." I tell him. Time looks at me with more confusion.

"I just heard you talking, but did not see your mouth moving..." He says.

"The people that are crystallized, aka you three, can only communicate with Sabre through the Crystal because his body is paralyzed." Green explains. "It's the only way he can speak right now."

"Just be glad your injury didn't reach your brain like mine, bud."

"O-okay then??" Time says. "Whatever, I'm gonna just figure this out later... but it's great to see you too, Sabre."

"Hey Time, I've got a question..." Rainbow says.

"Shoot."

"When we found you in the valley, when you saw Sabre, you started panicking and saying 'I saw you' over and over again. Why'd that happen?"

Time looks sorrowful for a moment, then looks back up at us.

"Well..." He says. "Let me explain."

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[Time's POV, the day of Sabre's Death]

As I watched Sabre through the interdimensional TV, I could help but wonder why Elemental keeps pushing the rule of "Don't Intervene" on me. It's kind of strange. That was Galaxy's own rule, I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to be passed down to us. Also, some things we do need to intervene on eventually, like how he really should've let us help with the Corrected Sun. I wasn't worried about it all that much, at first, but then Elemental closed the portal to the Citadel without warning. I'm starting to get worried that he's doing something he shouldn't.

I turn myself away from my paranoid thoughts and bring my attention back to Sabre. He's looking for a disturbance that was reported near a village. I hope he stays safe... Elemental walks into my dimension behind me.

"Hey Time. You watching something?" He says.

"Hey Elemental. Yeah, Sabre's looking into a reported disturbance near a village."

"Cool, cool."

While watching, I see something yellow near Sabre. Oh no... no no no!

"Elemental! Someone's about to attack Sabre!" I spring from the couch.

"Oh, no."

"'Oh no'? That's it?! Elemental, they could kill him!" I start to rush to the portal. "We have to warn him!"

Suddenly, Elemental grabs my arm and pulls me back. "Time, no! We don't intervene!"

"Elemental, Sabre could die! Don't you understand that?!" I look back at the screen, and the Corrected Sun member is creeping closer to Sabre. "He's our friend! We have to help him!"

Elemental is fighting to keep me back now.

"No, we don't! For the last time, we don't intervene! How many times do I have to tell you this, brother?!"

Elemental get a firm grip on me, and turns me towards the screen, not really knowing what's going on. "We only watch! We never intervene!"

He looks at the screen with me, only to see the moment that Sabre is skewered with the Corrected Sun member's sword. I start screaming as tears streak down my face, and fight Elemental to let go of me, but he stands still and unmoving. He has a look of confliction on his face. Yet he stands there, watching. Frozen in place. I can only watch, as Elemental keeps his grip on me, while the Corrected Sun member drops Sabre off the cliff. I let out a few final screams of anguish, as Elemental releases me, and I drop to the floor crying. After a while of just breaking down, I turn to Elemental, questioning if it's really him.

"How could you do this, Elemental?" I say coldly, slowly rising to my feet.

He just turns back to me, an even colder look in his eyes, as he made no expression.

"We don't intervene, Time."

Enraged, I shove him out of the way as I run to the portal. We can still save Sabre, can't we? No, not 'we'. I can.

"Time!" Elemental shouts.

I don't care. I rush up to the portal, but it's like there's an invisible wall. I keep trying to break through it, when Elemental walks up to me and pulls me back from it. I quickly turn around, facing him.

"Time." He says, a stone-cold look in his eyes. He looks almost as angry as I am. "We don't intervene."

"I can still save him, Elemental! You clearly aren't going to help!" I scream at him.

"No, you can't! We are not to intervene with anything happening in the Overworld!" He yells. "That's Galaxy's rule, and we BOTH will follow it!"

"Like hell I will, Elemental!" I step forward at him, seething with rage. He seems caught off-guard by my outburst. "Screw the rule, that was Galaxy's, not ours! You and I both know that if it wasn't for Sabre, we'd be dead! Why are you being so heartless?! Now open the portal and let me go!"

"I am not heartless! I'm merely following the rule set by our creator, and yes, you WILL follow it!" Elemental screams back.

Who does he think he is now, saying what I'm allowed to do? I snap at him.

"OH, SCREW IT! IF SABRE DIES, IT WOULDN'T BE THE FIRST TIME THE DEATH OF AN INNOCENT WOULD BE YOUR—"

I'm interrupted by Elemental punching me in the face. I'm sent into the wall, then bounce off it onto the floor. My mask breaks in half, both pieces falling off my face. It stings, and I think my nose is bleeding. I sit there for a moment, shaking. Elemental kneels down to my level.

"O-oh god... Time-"

"Get out."

"T-Time I-"

I whip my head to the side to face Elemental.

"I said, GET OUT! "

The entire Time Dimension seems to shake, the lights flickering. I'm facing Elemental with a scowl, him looking terrified at what he's done. He backs away from me.

"T-Time, I... I'm sorry-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT, ELEMENTAL! NOW LEAVE, BEFORE I MAKE YOU LEAVE!"

Elemental looks at me one last time, then quickly teleports out of my dimension. I then seal my dimension, making sure he can't come back in. I look over to the interdimensional TV, and see Sabre's lifeless body at the bottom of the cliff. I crumple back to the floor, the intense rage leaving me, and break down again.

Sabre is dead, and I could've saved him.

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"And... that's what happened." Time says, finishing his story. He has his hand on my shoulder, while Rainbow is wrapping him in a hug.

"Elemental... he made you watch me die?" I say.

"Yeah..." Time answers, crying again. "Yeah, he did..."

"Is he also the one that put that hole in your skull?" Dark asks.

"Mhm." Time answers him. "He broke through my seal and beat me senseless in some kind of rage. I'm lucky that I figured out how to reopen the portal and close it behind me."

"I'm so sorry that happened to you, Time..." Green says, nearly crying himself.

"It's okay, Green. I couldn't have kept it up much longer, anyway."

"Well, you're with us now," Rainbow says, letting go of Time and reassuring him. "And you're safe here."

Time smiles, wiping away his tears. "Thanks, guys."

"Welcome to the Vengeful, buddy." I say.

We stay talking for a little while, then Green has to go back to his house. After he does, Rainbow makes a bed for Time under Dark's hammock, and we all crash for the night.

After today, we all need the rest.

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[Rainbow's POV]

While the others are asleep, I sneak out of the cave and climb up to the tree base around midnight. I need to think.

What Elemental did was messed up. Now, he's hurt three of my friends. First, he killed Green's friend right in front of him, then he joined in on outcasting Sabre, and now he's made Time watch Sabre die and technically killed him. I can't let him hurt anyone else anymore.

How are we going to hide Time from him? If he was that possessive of him, Elemental has to be tracking Time somehow. Wait...

What if we tell Elemental what he did, without telling him Time's alive?

Yeah, this could work. Time still has his blood-covered coat and broken mask, so if I make it look like he tried to get away from where he landed in the valley, but died before he could... it's perfect. I needed to make Time new things anyway.

I take out the fabric and sewing kit I brought up here with me, and start making him a new coat while I think. It's the least I could do, he helped try to save me when I was corrupted by Darkness.

 Hmm... ways to take revenge on Elemental, on top of taking revenge on the Kingdom... this'll be interesting to do.

As I finish the coat, I have an idea. Elemental is definitely going to contact the Leaders now, right? Being completely alone terrifies him, who wouldn't be? And he'll probably think his brother isn't really dead, and will want help looking for him. And the Kingdom is currently on lockdown after hearing about Shadow and the Darkness... oh, this is too good.

I hold up the finished coat in the moonlight, looking at my handiwork. Time will love it! And I can ask Dark to make a patch for him later.

Where was I again...? Oh yeah! The Kingdom is on lockdown right now, and since Elemental is going to go visit it...

Well, if the Leaders and Elemental want to play with fire, they're gonna have to get burned eventually, won't they? Yeah... yeah, they will. And, I could take my own little revenge on Elemental while that's happening, if I make it look like an accident.

They hurt my friends. Elemental being the worst of them, and for now, he's at the top of my hit list.

I'm going to make sure he felt the same torture he put Sabre and Time through, no matter the cost.