Alone

Sven was in his fresh set of clothes which was a white jumper and grey trousers with a black belt and gold clip. Mira was still wearing the same World War Two Soviet uniform that was given to her by a veteran who died. Both of them stood before the being with a battered red body, pink bruises and purple scars. They also had a single bright red glowing eye that was only noticeable by the black outline of it, and that eye looked like it was once two eyes but were at some point meshed together into one.

Mira trembled and hid behind Sven, who glanced at her, then glanced back at the single-eyed being. "And who are you?" He sternly inquired, frowning as he got into a fighting stance.

"D⌾n'⍑ ℇ⍻en ⌦⌾thℇ☈! Yo⌰ ⍲☈ℇ s⍑⟟ll to⌾ ℍur⍑ fr⌾m y⌾u☈ f⟟gh⍑ w⟟tℍ ⍑ℍℇ Bli⅁ℍ⍑br⟟nge☈... Sven!" The being's distorted voice echoed through the air.

Sven took a step back, while Mira took two steps back. "I'm guessing you know me via someone in the village, correct?" He asked, taking another step back.

"No." The being shook their head. "As s⌾on as ⟟ fir⎎⍑ s⍲w y⌾⌰ two... ⟟ ⟟mme⟄⟟⍲⍑ely  knℇw who y⌾⌰ two were as if I have known you both for a long time. ⍑ℍ⟟s w⌾rl⟄... tℍis reality- hℇck, this entirℇ verse... ⟟'m n⌾⍑ s⌰⍴⍴⌾sℇd t⌾ be in this 'existence'... ⟟ ⍲m f☈⌾m ⌾ne ⌾f the two '⌾r⟟⅁⟟☊⍲ls'... my ℍ⌾mℇ ⌰n⟟⍻ℇ☈sℇ... completely or⟟⅁inal, it was ⌾nℇ ⌾f two ⌾r⟟⅁⟟nal ver⎎ℇs..." The being replied. The distortion their voice echoed through the air like a normal voice echoed in a cave.

Mira stood firm, and frowned. "J- just t- t- tell us who y- you a- are!" Her frown and firm stance fell apart. She was really unsettled, and tried to make her trembling look like ‘adjusting her feet’.

"⟟ w⌾ndℇred whℇn y⌾u we☈e goi☊⅁ ⍑⌾ s⍴ℇak ins⍑ℇad of choosing to hi⟄e, M⟟r⍲."  The distortion and echo in the being's voice was a lot calmer, what was being said was clearer and more coherent, but the more understandable tone was short lived. "B⌾tℍ ⌾f y⌾⌰ ⍧c⍲☊n ⍧⍲all⎾ mℇ me... ℍy H⍦⍴ Hypn⌾ ⎎t S⍑e ℇ ⍑eve..."

"Hypno Steve... you hypnotise people? Do you know any Hypno Alexes-"

"No." The being, Hypno Steve, interrupted. No 'no' wasn't a forceful stop, but a calm halting of words. "⟟n my h⌾mℇ ⌰n⟟⍻ℇ☈sℇ, ⍑hℇrℇ wr☈ℇ no Alexes."

Sven scratched his head. "How does that work? You need a male and female to reproduce." He asked.

"I- I uh a- accident uh a- accidently d- d- dropped s- something-" Mira immediately bolted down the hill, and single-eyed being noticed, so he paused and waited.

Hypno Steve understood the true reason, Mira was flustered, and with her now far enough away to not hear, he continued, answering Sven's question. " S⍑ℇ⍻ℇs rℇ⍴r⌾d⌰⍧ℇd asℇ🝍⌰ally ⟟n my home universe... there were only Steves in my verse. ⍑hℇre was ⍲no⍑ℍer ' original' un⟟⍻ℇ☈sℇ in another separate verse... ⍲nd tℍey had Alexes, no Steves." Hypno Steve paused, waiting for a few seconds, so Sven understood and didn't get lost.

Hypno Steve then continued. "⍑hℇ Alexes rℇ⍴rod⌰cℇd ⍲sℇx⌰ally ⟟n ⍑ℍℇ⟟r ⌾r⟟⅁⟟n⍲l un⟟versℇ, j⌰s⍑ l⟟kℇ ⌰s S⍑ℇvℇs ⟄id ⟟n ⌾⌰☈s. ⍑ℍℇ☈ℇ w⍲s n⌾ sℇx⌰⍲l rℇ⍴r⌾⟄⌰⍧⍑⟟⌾n, ⌾⍑ℍℇ☈ ⍑ℍ⍲n bℇ⍑wℇℇn ⍑ℍℇ w⟟ldl⟟fℇ."

"I see... well, Steves and Alexes here can reproduce sexually and asexually... which I'm guessing you already know." Sven was a bit intrigued about these two 'original' universes, one with just Steves and the other with just Alexes.

"We're steering off topic- you wanted us to help you as you already helped us and that you'll help out again in return." Sven noted. What do you mean by all of that?" He then asked.

"Wℇll..." Hypno Steve glanced away, turning around and looking at the sky. "Y⌾⌰ hℇl⍴⟟n⅁ mℇ w⟟ll ⍲ls⌾ hel⍴ you and Mira ⟟n ret⌰rn..." His voice became less distorted, and had a more somber tone.

"⟟ am ⌾ne ⌾f the l⍲st remaining beings f☈om my verse... other than... him... the F⟟rst C⌰rse. So basically, I am alone..." Hypno Steve sighed.

"You know about the First Curse... like, fully?" Sven inquired, raising an eyebrow, tilting his head.

"Wh⍲⍑ I knℇw a⌦⌾⌰t the First Curse back then ⟟s n⌾w i☈☈elℇv⍲nt. What you know him to be as... ⟟s☊'t wh⍲t I once knew him to be as." Hypno Steve replied. "It is compl⟟⍧⍲tℇd, ⍲nd it d⌾esn'⍑ m⍲ttℇr ☈i⅁ght n⌾w." He added.

"Wh⍲t m⍲ttℇ☈s ⟟s th⍲t... there is ⍲n⌾tℍer bℇ⟟n⅁... ⟟f I ⍧⌾lle⍧t all the⟟r fr⍲⅁mℇn⍑s... I think I ⍧o⌰ld bring them back..." Hypno Steve paused to make sure Sven was keeping up, and then continued, speaking in a much more coherent tone than earlier. "And if I can bring this person back... he would be able to help you as well as your friend."

"I see... but how exactly are we meant to help you- You- well, judging by what you said about being 'one of the last' and all that- this 'original' universe no longer exists. How are we meant to help you if these fragments existed in that universe?" Sven questioned Hypno Steve.

"Wℍen he was s⍴lit into tℍese fr⍲gmℇnts, tℍℇy were sent out ⟟n⍑o parallel un⟟ve☈ses of the original one." Hypno Steve explained, providing clarity, but still not answering the main question. "When the ⌾r⟟gin⍲l ⌰n⟟vℇ☈se became 'lost' or 'inaccessible', ⟟⍑ branched out ⌾⌰⍑ ⟟n all ⟄ire⍧⍑⟟⌾ns ⍲n⟄ 🜅⌾☈me⟄ ⍲n infinite multiverse in the original universe's verse and that verse's existence." He added.

"I got a few questions about what you mean by 'verses', as in... do you mean a single universe... or a separate existence?" Sven asked, but then predicted what Hypno Steve was probably going to say. "Wait, I'm guessing it doesn't matter right now, we can worry about it later... at least that's what I think you're going to say right?"

"N⌾⏙ y⌾u ⍲rℇ ⅁etti☊⅁ wℍ⍲⍑ m⍲⍑⍑e☈s ⍲n⟄ ⟄⌾esn'⍑ m⍲⍑⍑ℇ☈ in ⍑he moment." Hypno Steve nodded and spoke calmly. If he could smile, he would.

"I still don't get how me or Mira are meant to help. You clearly know a lot more about things than us two combined." Sven stated.

"⍑he fr⍲gments of the person... they ⍲re in, as I said, within the parallel ⌰niver⎎es ⌾f the ⌾rig⟟n⍲l one. B⌰t the infinite ⍓any ⍴⍲☈a⎾⎾el u☊ivℇr⎎es ⍲☈e very dan⅁ℇr⌾⌰s... ⍑⌾⌾ ⟄an⅁e☈o⌰⎎ 🜅or me ⍑o go alone." Hypno Steve finally explained, and continued to answer the question. "This is where you two come in. The three of us working together, we can retrieve what I am after, and if I can do what I desire to do, it'll... he... he will help you two." He further explained.

"Well... if these fragments are spread out into these parallel universes... with infinite universes, there should be infinite universal scenarios..." Sven spoke out his thought processing. "... and with infinite scenarios, there should be infinite fragments of the guy..." Sven noted in his processing. "... and that should mean... we can get all the fragments we need."

"Yes, ⍑h⍲t ⟟s tr⌰e the⌾☈e⍑⟟⍧⍲lly." Hypno Steve nodded, and spoke in an echoless and distortionless tone. "B⌰t tℍℇ☈ℇ's ⍲ls⌾ ⟟nf⟟n⟟⍑e ⍲m⌾⌰☊ts ⌾f ⌾⍑ℍℇ☈ ⟟☊f⟟☊⟟⍑e s⍧ℇn⍲☈⟟⌾s, ⍲nd ⟟ can only ex⍴l⌾☈ℇ ⌾nℇ ⍴⍲☈⍲llel un⟟⍻ℇ☈se ⍲⍑ ⍲ ⍑⟟me." Hypno Steve pointed out. "⟟m⍲⅁⟟☊ℇ r⌾ll⟟☊⅁ ⍲ ⟄⟟⍧ℇ, b⌰t w⟟th ⟟nf⟟nite faces to it."

"Hmm, before I agree to help you... who are you trying to bring back?" Sven questioned. All of this was completely out of the blue. "You came here out of nowhere and offered us help and that you already helped us and that we need to do something back- it is all really suspicious- I don't know." Sven explained the distrust in his discernment.

“When you two weren't looking, another person showed up- they were with the Withering Blightbringer. I simply teleported them and sent them to a random area in the vacuum of space.” Hypno Steve claimed.

“Hmm, alright…” Sven mumbled. “And who is this guy you are trying to bring back?” He again questioned. He wasn't on board with helping out yet.

"He was someone who I butted heads with, and he was fr⟟ℇ☊⟄s w⟟tℍ s⌾me⌾☊ℇ ⟟ ☈ℇ⍲lly disl⟟⏧ℇ⟄. ⌦ut I jus⍑ ⏙⍲☊t some⌾☊ℇ 🜅☈⌾m my home u☊⟟⍻ℇ☈se to tal⏧ ⍑⌾... ⍲☊y⌾☊ℇ... ℇ⍻en i🜅 ⟟⍑'⎎ ⎎⌾⍓e⌾nℇ ⏙ℍ⌾ ⟟ ℇ⟟⍑ℍer ⌦⌰⍑⍑ℇ⟄ ℍℇ⍲⟄⎎ ⏙⟟⍑ℍ ⌾☈ ℇ⍻ℇ☊ ℍ⍲⍑ℇ⟄ ⍴☈ℇ⍻⟟⌾⌰⎎⎾⍦...-" Hypno Steve's calm and composed voice began to crack, a crack that wouldn't be noticeable to most due to his voice being naturally echoey making that difficult, but Sven still noticed.

"I'm in." Sven agreed. He understood what feeling lonely was like. "May I ask a bit more about... about who this guy was? I just wanna know about who it is I'm about to help you try bringing back." Sven still wanted to know more about who this person was.

"He was s⌾me⌾☊e wℍ⌾ ⍧⌾⌰l⟄ m⍲☊⟟⍴ulate 'time states' of beings or small areas of terrain." Hypno Steve then stared from the edge of the mountain, looking at the area where Sven bashed about the Withering Blightbringer. "With enough power, he could reverse the damage of this area back in time, as if none of the destruction here ever happened." Hypno Steve explained.

"Lemme guess, due to what their powers revolve around manipulating time... I'm guessing the name is 'Time Steve' or something like that?" Sven almost rolled his eyes. He still found it absurd that the last name of almost everyone he had recently met so far, was literally either 'Steve' or 'Alex'.

"Yes, and while me and him didn't get along, Time was a good person." Hypno Steve nodded. "When you are one of the last beings from any universe, ⌾☈⟟g⟟n⍲l or ⍴⍲r⍲llel ⌾r e🝍⍑ℇns⟟⌾☊ ⌾r wℍ⍲⍑ℇver... you'll miss the good and the bad, as they mold you into the person you are." Hypno Steve added.

"Well uh I'd be happy to help and I'm sure Mira would be-"

"No, Mira wouldn't want to come with me. She can help out when both of us come back." Hypno Steve stated, having an echoless and empathetic tone. "I have looked at and have seen all of the tribulations she went through. She won't trust me yet, and on top she will be a liability." He added.

"I am guessing you can... see everything I've done too- I imagine..." Sven's voice went low, and looked down at the ground.

“Yes. But now I don't remember it.” Hypno Steve stated. “On top of casting illusions, I can erase memories… including my own. After I saw what I saw… well, I erased what I saw from my memory, simply out of respect.” He then patted Sven on the shoulder.

"You and Mira are the only other people I have cared about- who weren't the select few individuals I cared about from the verse I'm from..." Hypno Steve continued speaking in the empathetic tone. "... because of what you both went through." He added. It felt weird and confusing for Hypno Steve. He only cared about those closest to him, and now he found that he still had empathy for those he didn't know.

Sven took a step back. "Well... I guess I'm happy to help you." Sven shrugged. "But how do you propose that we can get to this 'multiverse' that you say is in a 'different verse slash existence?" Sven asked. "And all this... interversal stuff etcetera is still mind boggling to me- to be perfectly honest."

“Well if you're ready and not that hurt from the fight… follow m-” Interrupting Hypno Steve was rain, accompanied by roars and screams of thunder. But the thunder sounded very unusual, not like regular thunder.

"A disruptor storm…” Sven pointed out.

“N⌾t a bi⅁ deal fo☈ me tho⌰⅁ℍ- ah ha ha HAℍAℍ⍲H⍲!” Hypno Steve chuckled and scoffed, and with a white flash, he teleported, taking Sven with him, and leaving Mira behind.

Sven and Hypno Steve were now in a room. It was not a complicated technological room. It was a box, roughly the size of the Red Leader’s house in the village cluster. There was a large, three metre cubed glass light bulb, dangled above the centre of the room, attached to chains that were connected to the cracked and eroded andesite ceiling. Barrels and chests with lamps behind them made up the walls. There was a TV-looking device at the centre of the room, on top of a table with a massive notebook as well as a feather and a jar of ink. The floor was made out of red concrete and decayed red carpet. This room was a complete mess. All sorts of items, junk and so on were littered everywhere. There were multiple chairs all over the place, some were good, some were flipped, some were decayed, and some were both decayed as well as flipped.

But Sven wasn't focusing on the state of the room. “How did you- that was a disruptor storm!” Sven exclaimed. Disruptor storms interfered with the ability to teleport.

“Oℍ h⌾ ℍo ho ℍ⌾ ⌾h…” Hypno Steve sniggered. “Di⟄ y⌾⌰ no⍑ ⍑ℍ⟟nk d⌰☈⟟n⅁ m m⍦ ⎾ l⌾n lo ☊ g⅁ l⌾☊ely ℇ🝍⟟s⍑ e ℇ☊ ence, th⍲⍑ ⟟ coul⟄'ve le⍲☈ne⟄ t⌾ de⍲l w⟟⍑h s⌾⍓e s⌾ somℇ eone or s⌾mℇ⍑h⟟n⅁ in⍑e☈🜅er⟟☊⅁ w⟟th my ability to tele⍴⌾r⍑, ℍmm?” He scoffed, which echoed throughout the entire room. He was no stranger to things that interfered with his ability to teleport. Disruptor storms didn't faze him.

“I see…” Sven slowly nodded, stroking his stubble. “What is this place anyway?” He then asked.

“My dimension. I created it by using the remnants of his brother’s dimension, as well as using dozens of parallel copies of indigo crystals.” Hypno Steve explained. “⍑his ⟟s ⍑he ☈es⍑ ⌾f wh⍲t rem⍲⟟ns. ⌾ther tℍ⍲n ⍑his, ⌾nly me, the F⟟rs⍑ ⍧urse ⍲nd ⍑he f☈⍲⅁men⍑s of T⟟me Steve that's out there remains from all that was created in my universe.” He added on whilst walking to this TV-looking device, and turned it on. “This dimension lets me explore what's beyond my home verse.”

“The original Sabre could still be out there, but I can’t really care less about him.” Hypno Steve retorted whilst setting ‘interversal’ and ‘interdimensional’ coordinates.

“Who is… ‘Sabre’ may I ask?” Sven inquired, scratching his tilted head, a head that had a confused but curious face.

“He's someone who I hated for a long time- and I still hate him.” Hypno Steve answered, speaking with a calmer voice. “He was always fighting bad guys, sure. But he stuck his nose into other people’s business whilst doing so.” He added. “One time, he came to my kingdom, which lead to a troubled individual finding the kingdom, which resulted in me being injured with injuries that should've been a hundred percent fatal.” He continued explaining. The more he spoke about his past, the more important it felt to share.

Hypno Steve rolled and cracked his neck, then continued. “My universe’s Professor Red- the original Professor Red- he took a sample of Sabre and infused it with me- I was the last person he knew from our generation- he didn't want to let me go.” He stated. “In short, that is how I became who I am now… and I got cursed with almost infinite knowledge. I had knowledge of all things within my universe except for my future. The curse isn't that big of a deal now, but the knowledge I hold is still overwhelming. I know of truths and stories that mustn't be told.” He revealed with an ominous tone.

“Before all of this... to me which feels like an eternity ago, I was a simple Red Steve- well, not just that, I was the leader of my kingdom until that incident. The incident took a lot away from me. I don't blame the Professor I knew, he was doing what he thought was for the best. But Sabre and especially the troubled individual? I hate and still hate both of them.” Hypno Steve sighed, then continued speaking. "I miss when life was simple."

“I see…” The story hit Sven deep. “I can relate to that... resenting someone who took away something really meaningful to me.” Sven nodded. “My parents died in a car accident while I was waiting for them to pick me up from school- it was also my birthday too.” He began sharing. Normally he wouldn't share this, but he related to Hypno Steve too much regarding loss. Sven couldn't bring himself to not share his own life story with Hypno Steve.

“Then I found that the person- his name was Bobby by the way- the guy in the other car- he had survived and- it just- it just…” Sven covered his eyes and began to cry. It was too painful for Sven to continue sharing his past. “... in short, I had really deep envy and hatred and resentment against Bobby and his children and those feelings against them I let out of control…”

Hypno Steve related to Sven, despite his experience in dealing with loss was different to his own. He gently placed his right hand on Sven and guided him to a chair that was right next to them.

“I've been searching for too long to find someone I could relate to who suffered great loss.” Hypno Steve shared, he had empathy for Sven. “I am happy we both relate to each other, Sven.”

“Yeah I guess so…” Sven spoke with a low and fractured voice, his throat and lungs hurt from the inner pain stemming from this loss. He wiped his eyes, and puffed up his chest, controlling his capability to cry.

Sven then stood up. “What is it that we are doing to find these ‘Time Steve fragments’ anyways my guy?” He asked, groaning from controlling his tears. “How are we going to hop to different parallel universes and so on?”

“With this dimension, we can cross across verses, as well as into locations within that verse. Indigos have the ability to traverse planes and dimensions, and even entire verses with enough of them working together.” Hypno Steve replied. “These indigo crystals hold a lot of power and utility. They are very different to the other chromatic crystals.”

The TV-looking device at the centre of the room made a ‘ding’ noise. Hypno Steve turned around and headed back over to the screen. “⍲ℍ, the coord⟟☊⍲⍑es of tha⍑ verse, ⍲nd tha⍑ s⍴ℇcific uni⍻ℇ☈se w⟟⍑ℍin that verse, ℍ⍲s been ⟄⌾wnl⌾⍲⟄ℇd.” Hypno Steve noted, and began writing them down on a sheet of paper, using the jar of ink and the feather. Now the coordinates have been saved, if anything happened and the coordinates were lost, he still had them written down, and he could retype them into the device. The coordinates weren't just numbers or words or symbols, it was patterns, squiggles, shapes, and all sorts of gibberish and jargon.

“You seem to have photographic memory. Why do you need to write these coordinates down?” Sven questioned.

“I w⟟⍴e my memory ⌾f ⍑he c⌾or⟄⟟☊⍲tes be🜅⌾☈e en⍑ℇ☈⟟n⅁ wℍℇrℇvℇ☈ ⟟ ⍲m ℍe⍲⟄⟟n⅁.” Hypno Steve answered. “You just don't kn⌾w wℍ⌾ ⍦⌾⌰ c⌾⌰ld be dℇ⍲l⟟ng w⟟tℍ a☊y⌾ne that c⌾⌰l⟄ ℍ⍲ve ⍲⌦⟟l⟟⍑⟟es ⍑ℍ⍲⍑ lℇ⍑ ⍑ℍℇ⍓ steal, wipe- or any abil⟟⍑y ⍑ℍ⍲f ⍧⍲☊ mess w⟟⍑ℍ y⌾⌰☈  me ⍓ℇm mem⌾☈ or ⟟ℇ⎎es- ⟟⍑ ⍧⍲☊ lℇad to all sorts of problems th⍲⍑ ⟟ c⍲n'⍑ be bothered to deal with...” He explained. “... and if the technology fails, I have what I need to remember on paper.”

“I see.” Sven understood. “Basically making sure ‘you keep your wallet secure’ kind of thing- Not wanting others no sensitive information basically- yeah, that's a smart way to secure information you don't wanna risk.”

“Precisely.” Hypno Steve nodded. “Now I have everything set up, we can begin hunting for the fragments of Time Steve.”

“How many of these ‘Time fragments’ are out there?” Sven asked.

“Well, we need to find at least one first. Then I can let the computer- the thing that looks like a TV- I can let it analyse the fragment.” Hypno Steve replied. “Then it can list all of the parallel universes in my verse that contain fragments of Time Steve.” He explained, providing even more clarity.

“I- nevermind. I was going to ask another question. But they can wait.” Sven had a determined look on his face. “Lead the way Hypno Steve.” Sven then stood next to Hypno Steve, close enough for him to teleport, which was what he did next. A white flash engulfed the room, and when the light dissipated and faded away, the room, Hypno Steve's dimension, was empty again.