*internal screaming*

Y'all really like scaredy-cat Sabre and fishy boi Orange Steve huh?

Aight then, I'm gonna keep writin (aaaand possibly have a hekkin scream moment ahah wut)

 Btw I'm putting the Subnautica soundtrack above every chapter from now on so you guys can get a vibe for the book (and absolute bops to listen to, because Simon Chylinsky (person that made all of it) is an absolute master of their craft)

—————————————————————————————————————

[Orange Steve's POV]

I had just exited my home when a familiar face pops up in front of me.

"What's that thing you keep visiting?" Nosy Orange Steve asks me.

I jump back out of surprise.

"Wh- JEEZ, dude! Don't do that!" I exclaim. "What are you even doing all the way out here?! The village is in the Grassy Plateaus!"

"Well, you know a lot of us explore, Orange Steve." Nosy says, crossing his arms. "And we all noticed you and Red have been going over to that thing from the weird pod for the last few days. "What is that thing and why do you keep talking to it?"

"It's none of your business, Nosy." I say, annoyed. "We're just helping him get his bearings here. And did you really have to wait outside of my house? You could've just asked me when I visit the village in a few days."

"What do you mean, 'get his bearings'? He's like nothing we've ever seen here." Nosy says. "What even is he? How do you know he's not a threat to everyone?"

"He got scared by a peeper, I'm pretty sure he's not a threat." I sigh. "Now leave me alone, I need to meet up with Red."

I try to swim around him, but Nosy Orange Steve swims in front of me, blocking my way. I try a few more times, but he keeps doing it.

"Dude, move!" I say.

"If it's not a threat, the tell me what it is!" Nosy says. "It's not like we'll attack it, so what is it?! Is it a mutant form of us? An alien? Some recently discovered species from this planet? Is it a lost creature from the arctic sector?"

"Okay, fine!" I yell. "He was on that ship that crashed a week ago. Happy now? Stop pestering me!"

"So he IS an alien!" Nosy exclaims.

"Yeah, and I don't want you guys crowding him. He's still pretty terrified of everything here, and probably still shaken up about what happened to him. So leave him alone." I say.

"Aw, c'mon!" Nosy says. "We won't crowd him!"

"What happened when I introduced Red to you guys says otherwise." I say. "All of you got unreasonably excited over him, I don't even want to imagine how hectic it'll be if all of you come over here to see Sabre."

"Sabre? That's the alien's name?" Nosy asks.

I facepalm, knowing he just ignored what I said except that. I then think of something to make Nosy bug off.

"Okay, how about this;" I say. "If Sabre's okay with it, I'll bring him with me when I visit the village in five days."

"Ooh, okay! Seeya later!" Nosy says, and he quickly swims off.

And he wonders why people constantly call him out on being annoying. I sigh and start swimming towards Red's house, so we can meet up and then go over to Sabre's pod. Why the heck did Nosy go through so much trouble just to bother me about Sabre? Yeah, he's constantly making himself part of people's business, but I wasn't expecting  anyone to go out of the village just to see what's going on.

I hope that visit doesn't end up going badly...

—————————————————————————————————————

[Sabre's POV]

Once again, I wake up to the sound of something hitting the bottom of my lifepod.

I get up from the floor, stretch a minute, and walk over to the lower hatch. Orange and Red immediately jump out of the water and into the pod as soon as I open the hatch, one after another.

"Woah, that was cool!" I say.

"Told you we could do it Red!" Orange says, smiling. He then looks at Red. "Red Steve? You good?"

Red has his hand placed over his spine, arching his back.

"Yeah, just... give me a minute." Red says.

"Old." Orange giggles.

"Shut up."

I laugh a little at that. Red stands up straight after a few seconds and turns to me.

"Anyway... Sabre, we've got something to show you." Red says. "It'll help you understand more about our people and how our communities work."

"Oh, that sounds cool!" I say. "I guess that'd be pretty useful, I do want to see any others of you guys..."

"Perfect! Then let's go buddy!" Orange says excitedly.

I open the hatch so Red and Orange can go ahead and dive back into the water, then as usual, put on my wetsuit and join them.

They both start leading me through the Shallows, my reoccurring need to surface not stopping the journey, as I use my Seaglide to jump out of the water like a dolphin. The oxygen tank refills completely in the same amount of time I'm in the air. Once, I let Orange grab onto me as I was about to jump out of the water again, and we both went high into the air thanks to Orange using his finned tail at the last second to give us more of a boost. Red laughed and called us immature, but we didn't mind. It was all in good fun.

Eventually, we reach what looks like a stone building. Algae and sea grass covers a lot of the pillars, but the doors and main wall of the ancient build looks almost untouched by the plants growing around it. I stare in awe at the intricate designs of the undersea structure in front of me.

"Welcome to the Chromatic Temple, Sabre." Red says.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Orange says, smiling as he swims in front of me.

"Cool? This is amazing!" I say, admiring the temple.

"You might want to refill your oxygen tank for a second before we go in, Sabre." Red says. Just to be safe."

"Will do, back in a second." I answer, and I swim up.

Like I said, it only takes a second for me to reach the surface and refill my tank. Better to top it off than risk suffocating inside the temple. I quickly swim back down to my friends, and we swim towards the door of the old temple.

When we reach the doors, I see Red place a peculiar tablet-shaped object on a glowing pedestal, and that glow suddenly spreads to the doors. The large, wide double doors slowly swing open soon after. Red, Orange, and I swim through the doorway.

Inside the temple is many intricate designs in the walls, matching the outside, but what catches my eye is seven differently colored pedestals on the floor of the temple, and a mural seemingly painted on the back wall. Red and Orange swim closer to the mural, and Red points at things on it when I get closer to it.

"This mural represents our people." Red begins. "As you know, Orange and I are called Steves of our respective colors. Red Steves represent wisdom, Orange Steves represent creativity, Yellow Steves represent energy, Green Steves represent health, Blue Steves represent spirit, Indigo Steves represent connection, and Violet Steves represent love. We all live in our own communities in different biomes of this world, using our powers to their best abilities to help us thrive in the harsh conditions here."

"So, there's seven different types of you guys?" I ask. "And you all have powers?! Like, actual powers?!"

"Yep!" Orange says, swimming in a loop around the mural. "Our color means what power we're supposed to have and what jobs best suit us, kinda like color-coding!"

"That's so cool!" I say, excitedly observing the mural. "Back home, we don't have any powers at all. We just... exist and do whatever feel like with our lives. We were never given anything to tell us what our purposes are."

"Really?" Red says, both him and Orange looking at me confusedly.

"Well, that sucks." Orange says.

"Yeah, kinda does honestly." I say, shrugging. "But hey, on the bright side, we barely have anything that tells us what to do. So we just try to do what makes us happy."

"Well... at least you have that." Red says. He then turns back to the mural. "Anyway, you've probably noticed the ring of this dark color around everything."

"Yeah, I did." I say, observing the shroud surrounding the vibrant, colorful circle. It's mostly black, but has tinges of a dark, sickly green color. "What does that represent?"

"That's the Kharaa..." Orange says. "It's been a problem as long as we can remember. In the beginning, it was a dangerous virus that killed billions across different planets, according to the records of it we've found. Our ancestors were able to contain it here, inside a facility. However, just a few centuries ago, an evil person came along and added their own mix of something to the virus. They turned the Kharaa into a mind-controlling plague, the strain only exclusive to this planet. The transformation is apparently really painful, and once you're too far gone, you're under its control."

"So... zombie virus situation?" I ask.

"Yeah, basically." Red sighs.

"Is... Is there any way you can stop it?" I say.

Red and Orange brighten up.

"Actually, there is." Red says, pointing to the multicolored swirl at the center of the individual colors. "This meld of colors represents the Hero, made from the chromatic Crystals each kingdom has; Rainbow Steve."

"The First Hero was created just after the Kharaa was re-released, and he fought it and almost got it under control!" Orange excitedly explains. He's hyper a lot. "Once he couldn't anymore, the Second Hero was created, and he was able to seal it away!"

"Woah... You should tell me about that more in-depth when I get home, that story sounds cool." I say.

"And it is a story for another time." Red says. "The final part of this piece of history is the Prophecy of the Third Hero and Savior Angel."

"Okay, now that sounds epic." I say.

"Right? It's my favorite part!" Orange says, swimming to my side, looking at Red.

"I know, because you ask me to tell it to you every time I take out the scriptures to study." Red chuckles. "It is said that just before the Third Hero needs to be created, a Guardian Angel from the stars will come to this planet, the sky set afire when he arrives. Once the flames end, the Angel will be dormant for a while, but when the Crystals need to be collected he will rise and aid in doing so... bringing the Third Hero to life."

"Aw, that's the short version..." Orange says.

"Well, we're kind of on a timer here, Orange." Red says. "Sabre can't exactly stay down here for long."

"Oh, right." Orange says.

"It's okay, Orange!" I say, putting my hand on my friend's shoulder. "Maybe Red can tell us the normal version when we get home, after you tell me the stories of the First and Second Heroes."

Orange smiles at me, and Red swims closer to us, also smiling.

"I guess you're right! Maybe we can make a group hangout out of it!" He happily exclaims.

"I wouldn't mind that." Red says.

Suddenly, the temple shakes, and the ambience of the sea is replaced with terrifying howls and screeches. I scream when everything gets loud, and hide behind Orange and Red.

"G-Guys...?" I say, trembling and holding onto Orange. "W-What was t-t-that?"

"Red? Red, what's happening?" Orange says, grabbing onto my arm, his voice laced with fear.

"Oh... Oh no..." Red mumbles... He sounds scared too. "This can't be... it just- it just can't..."

"W-What is i-it Red?" I ask. "W-What's g-going on...?"

Red turns to the both of us, terror in his eyes.

"The Kharaa." He says, his tone serious and fearful. "It's somehow out, and it's here."