Heyyy, Been a while now has it? :')
So Imma just leave this new chapter for you guys and- yeah
(sorry for the long wait along with the cliffhanger I really did thought I could update this chapter before my motivation would be gone-)

∘°❉°∘

Lightning boomed in the cave, it echoed loudly as the bats screeched ad flew out of the cave. Then the two Red Steves appeared, rolling over just as the lightning died and landed on the spot. Goggles was able to reach Colle but instead of grabbing him to stop, the sudden teleportation made Goggles push his friend which is why they were both tumbling against the cobbled ground.

Both lay on the ground for quite some time, before the mechanic sat up. His head ached just as he tried to move, quickly bringing up his hand on the side of his head, he felt something. Whatever he touched on his head was not dry, and when Goggles pulled his hand to see what it was, he saw a red liquid, his blood.

Great.

He probably hit the ground so hard that his head started bleeding because of the rough surface. It didn't hurt much, he'll probably have to take care of it sometime soon. He looked around for a bit while trying to sit up from his place, seeing as he was in a cave, big at least like the height of his own house. Tall and sharp dripstones were above, though steady as it is it wouldn't fall right after. Still, Goggles was aware of it.

A groan interrupted the mechanic as he looked right in front of him. The Red Steve who he chased for a while, moved slightly and now was trying to get up.

" Colle. "

The Steve flinched and stopped his movements just as he heard his name being called from behind, recognizing who the voice belonged to. Colle didn't budge though, not even turning around to face Goggles at the moment. He tried to stand up and run away, but he felt like he was being pulled down, like he was chained on the ground, gravity now leveling on him as Goggles stood and talked.

" What were you thinking?! " Goggles raised his voice, he didn't approach Colle for a moment as his frustration took over his head. " We just found you after Beef contacted you, yet you ran away from us? " Colle only shifted in silence, Goggles stood there for a moment to embrace the silent response, yet his frustration remained as well. " Don't you know how worried everyone was after you disappeared? How scared and distant Beef was to try and find you? How stressed out are the leaders and Seer for you? And me, " Goggles stayed still in silence as he mentioned himself, Colle could feel a pinch of regret yet he was doing what he had to do. The mechanic took in a sharp breath before speaking again.

" Colle I was worried sick, everyone was. I thought you were actually taken away and tortured, with no one able to save you in time. Colle I- " Goggles turned his head around and took in a sharp breath again, his eyes closed shut the same as he clenched his hands from below. He looked back to face Colle in front of him once again. " ...You were gone for two weeks, I got scared something really bad happened to you. Just please, come back. " Colle shook his head, still remained silent, his eyes only widened and fear took in his head. Goggles could feel his heart pinched in pain.

" W-why- COLLE JUST TALK TO ME! "

Goggles' screams echoed in the cave, loud enough for everyone outside to hear, Colle could only flinch from that but tried to avoid looking back at his friend. His hands unknowingly reached over to his own arms, feeling his fingernails slowly dig into his own skin. He could feel it, the energy crawling from his chest to his arms, he could feel it around his neck. his eyes try to focus on what's in front of him, he doesn't want to panic, not wanting his friend to witness what's happening.

But Goggles is stubborn to leave a friend, Colle knows that everyone knows that.

" Colle I don't know what's going on- or something is scaring you and all but, whatever it is we can try to fix it an- "

" There isn't anything that needs to be fixed. "

Goggles flinched and his mouth shut in surprise, he never heard Colle spat like that, it sounded gloomy and dark. It sounded like Colle was somewhat mad, his voice was too low down and he only heard him like that rarely. The mechanic only stood for a while before replying back.

" Wh- Colle, please- " Goggles finally took a step forward, before slowly proceeding to walk over to Colle.

" Buddy I know it's a rough place to be in right now, " Colle's eyes wandered over to the side where he could hear the footsteps getting louder and louder.

" But I'm here for you, Beef, Sharp, Spark, and the others as well. " Goggles finally reached Colle, his hand hovering over Colle's shoulder for reassurance.

" And whatever that you're going through we'll help you out, so just talk to us, come back plea- " Just as Goggles placed his hand over to Colle's shoulder, Colle's instincts shot up to his head in panic. Immediately he turned around and shoved Goggles hands away, not even aware that the flames appeared just as he swung his hands.

Goggles pulled his hand away before he got hit with the fire out of panic he took a step back from Colle and the other Red Steve did the same to him, and when Goggles looked up at Colle, his mouth went shut and his body stiffened.

Half of Colle's face looked like he was burned from a huge explosion that affected his face and it was like his face was still open from bleeding. His arms were starting the have blood seek out from Colle's fingers pressing on his skin, not even that but he could see little bruises and scratch marks on his arms, ones that weren't there before in the past and looked fresh. It wasn't just that that was concerning, it was the fact that his skin was slowly infected with a void-like color, it was already spread across his arms and covered half of his right cheek.

Colle looked distraught, terrified, and yet tired. His expression held a panic look though, his breathing was short and hitched, probably because of the chase but that didn't seem to be the case. Goggles were stunned to even speak about Colle's sudden features.

Was... was this why he was running away from everyone? Was the reason behind his disappearance caused by what was going on with him?

" Goggles... just please- " Colle took a step back away from his friend, his hands starting to scratch on a different part of his arm as his panic rose. " Don't come near me. I- I don't want to hurt you...! " Slowly the void-like infection was spreading from his cheek over to his eye, Goggles started to panic just when he noticed that and Colle was starting to spiral in fear.

" Nonono- Colle it's going to be okay. "

Goggles took a step toward Colle to try and reassure him, but Colle only took a step back as well, the void infection seemed to get worse as his panic kept rising. That made Goggles stop, he didn't know what was going on with Colle, but Colle was panicking and needed to calm down.

" Colle just, listen to me alright? I'm not mad at you, I'm just scared that you disappeared out of sight and I'm worried. "

The Collector looked over to Goggles for a bit, his friend was taking a step closer to him and talking. Those words were muffled, he couldn't understand or hear them, but his friend wasn't mad. He felt like he was going to spiral, with fire surrounding his arms and burning his face. He could hear his laughter in his head, the grin that he feared to see in his life that would plaster him.

Goggles only just walked towards him, and Colle stopped moving. The Red Collector tried to calm down as the laughter still boomed in his eardrums and messed with his head, but he couldn't move, he just wanted all of it to stop.

Colle's emotions got over him, and he couldn't do anything else. He can't run away again, he's too tired. He's afraid. He cried and wailed in the cave, all helpless and powerless.

He ducked down on the stone floor, trembling. Something warm wrapped around him more, arms held him in comfort, yet Colle sobbed more throughout the night. His wails echoing the caverns but no one can hear him now, other than his friend.

- ✯ -

" HE WAS RIGHT THERE! HE WAS SO CLOSE BEFORE HE DISAPPEARED AGAIN, AND THEY TOOK AWAY GOGGLES AS WELL! "

" Beef! Just calm down for a moment! "

After the incident of Colle disappearing again alongside the Professor, the Elite meeting room for the Red Elites never felt chaotic and tense before. Beef had come in and started ranting and screaming, repeating words of how Colle and Goggles disappeared in sight right in front of him. The Topaz and Jade Guards left as they didn't want to be part of the argument, Genesis came around when one of the Jade guards told him what happened.

It was late and everyone was stressed, the Elite Leader, Sharp, Spark, the Red Leader, and even more worst for Seer and Beef. However, the other two had different ways to express their stress.

Beef was vocal and was screaming, almost throwing and chugging stuff to the ground as he became a bit too violent in the room. Seer was quiet, his head ducked down as he let the argument follow the whole time, his hands only fidgeted with his cloak and the handle of his scythe and didn't participate in the argument.

The yelling became too loud for him, but it felt like it was ringing in his ears. He wasn't even paying attention to what he was hearing after Sharp tried to calm Beef down from his tantrums. The yelling soon became muffled, the ringing didn't stop, and his grip on his weapon became so tight that he felt like his own palm was bleeding.

His eyes only stared at the wooden floor beneath him as thoughts came into his head and ruined him. He saw Colle, yet he was too late to save him from what he was going through. If his eyes weren't lying to him, he saw what happened to Colle, a glimpse if the Red Collector's face of what he feared to happen.

Seer couldn't process the argument in the room, his thoughts burned in his head, and the feeling of guilt had started to become worse as he tried not to move an inch from where he was standing.

' T-this- this wasn't supposed to happen! ' He yelled in his thoughts, his eyes darted away from the yelling Elites in front of him and gripped the handle of his scythe. ' I had time!- I was supposed to stop it! How did I not notice earlier? '

He did notice at least, but too much thought was covering those signs a lot lately when he wanted Colle to have some time alone. He should've suspected this, and he's mad at himself for letting it happen.

The more he continued to yell mentally, the more he felt he was slipping out of reality. His eyes became so distant that no one in the room would notice, he didn't know if he was breathing properly or not. He's dissociating again. He's been through these moments a lot lately. Normally he doesn't do this a lot around the meetings he was in, not wanting to worry others about his well-being. He's the Chromatics and Biome's Colorful Hero, the one and only Rainbow Steve, Hero of Solace and Colors, he has a good role of being everyone's savior now. And to see him spacing out, he felt everyone would pity him.

" Seer. "

A hand held the Hero's shoulder, soft but enough to get Seer out of his own thoughts and snapped back in panic. And with that slight panic, almost bringing the scythe over to Genesis's face. The action shocked everyone in the room.

Seer looked at everyone. Beef was finally sitting down on his seat with Sharp standing next to him, the Elite Leader was on the other side of the table where his seat was, and Spark was standing on the side and was leaning on the supporting pillar a second ago. Then Seer turned to Genesis, who stood still, his single forest eye widened and head tilted slightly where the large curve blade almost caressed his cheek.

" G-Gene- I- "

" Hey now, it's alright Blue. "

Oh, he missed being called that so much.

" You almost gave us a scare there. Are you alright now? "

Seer could feel his weapon being turned and pulled down a bit, he didn't fight back, his hand slowly losing its grip on the handle for a moment. He didn't know how to respond back to Genesis, he wanted to speak up with another apology, but he felt something clogged his throat as he tried to do so.

" Sit down now, seems like you're already up in the hazy clouds for a while now. Get yourself together for a bit, we're here. "

Seer simply shook his head after hearing that, he sheathed his scythe on his back once he regained a bit of himself, and now his hand covered a side of his face. At most he would feel too much regret, about the situation with Colle and what he had just done, he felt like a child needed to be taught with manners of his well-bring again.

" No- I- it's fine, sorry- I wasn't thinking well there. Sorry for the abrupt attack. "

Genesis only shook his head for that and patted Seer's shoulder with a gentle smile. ' Oh Gene, you're too forgiving.. '

" You don't have to apologize for such a mistake, I mean any reaction out of your trance is better than having none at least. "

Seer turned back around the Red Elites in the room, they still looked tense about the reaction and move but seemed to be busy in their own thoughts afterward. Beef was the first to look away from where Seer was, mumbling something out of Seer's hearing reach while Sharp looked down on him, upset but tired for the most part.

" I was about to say uh- " The Elite Leader cut his voice through the silence and Seer turned to him. " Seer, it's a bit late at this hour now. While it has been great that you've helped out in the search, I think you should rest up for tonight and come back tomorrow if you want to help out more about the situation. I'm sorry if it led us to another dead end and all, but- "

" No no, don't apologize for this. " Seer waved off the apology a bit too quickly. " The situation with Colle and Goggles wasn't our fault, to begin with, and I'll do whatever it takes to get them both back in this kingdom all safe and sound. " The sound of determination was bold, yet it was another wall to hide his fears behind. He had to build up his charisma, he felt like the Elites were observing him now, too. Red Steves and their wisdom, might be able to outsmart him for hiding something.

The Elite Leader nodded in understanding, before asking another question.

" Seer, I know this is a bit sudden to ask at this kind of situation but, how are you holding up? With Colle's sudden disappearance, you've seemed... off. And now you've looked like you've been through a bunch in this situation. Are you alright my friend? "

The question struck Seer again, he could feel his heart racing in panic. His hand clutched on his fabric, he tries to focus his eyes on the Elite Leader.

T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞L̴̳͈͉̅̊҉̴͙͖̞̳̜̖ͣͧ̑̑͜͞͠͞͠L̴̳͈͉̅̊҉̴͙͖̞̳̜̖ͣͧ̑̑͜͞͠͞͠ T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞M̶̷̶̶̲̊ͥ͋͟҉̳͈̺͟͢͠͠ͅ

T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞L̴̳͈͉̅̊҉̴͙͖̞̳̜̖ͣͧ̑̑͜͞͠͞͠L̴̳͈͉̅̊҉̴͙͖̞̳̜̖ͣͧ̑̑͜͞͠͞͠//T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞M̶̷̶̶̲̊ͥ͋͟҉̳͈̺͟͢͠͠ͅ / T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞,. T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞Ŗ̴̴̪̈̄͞҉̷̨̖̮̉͑ͯ̑̋͟͠U̸̵̶̸̫̠̰͈̹̮̹̲̻͙̎ͪͣͦ̕͜͡͞͡͡T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞

T҉̷̘͙͖̠̫͉̰͕̓ͦ͑̄̒́͜͜͟͞H̴̶̵҉̶̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̪͍̒́̔ͩ̒ͥ͑̓͜͟͠͞͞E҉̸̰̰͎̖̪̱͚̆ͨ̀͜͞Y̵̵̷̡̛̬͖̠̤͍̋ͫ̌ͤ̅́̚̕͞͞ N̵҉̰̜͉͔̾ͬ̽͟͢͞͡E҉̸̰̰͎̖̪̱͚̆ͨ̀͜͞E҉̸̰̰͎̖̪̱͚̆ͨ̀͜͞D҉̣͍̤͇̮͙̓̎͗̇ͥ͜͜ T҉̷̘͙͖̠̫͉̰͕̓ͦ͑̄̒́͜͜͟͞O̷̵҉̵̷̢̭͚̜̠̪̰ͫͣ͐ͩ͆͢͟͢͠͞͝ͅ K҉̦̖̙̱̮̿ͭ̐̌͘͜N̵҉̰̜͉͔̾ͬ̽͟͢͞͡O̷̵҉̵̷̢̭͚̜̠̪̰ͫͣ͐ͩ͆͢͟͢͠͞͝ͅW̵̶̸̸̻̼͉̱͈̄͗ͭͯ̾̒̿͟͢͢͠

T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞Y̵̷̵̡̛̤͍̬͖̠̅́̋ͫ̌ͤ̕̚͞͞ N̵̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢҉̾͟͞͡E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞Ḋ̤͇̮͙ͥ҉̣͍̓̎͗͜͜ T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞O̵̷̷̵̪̰ͩ͆ͅ҉̢̭͚̜̠ͫͣ͐͢͟͢͠͞͝ K̦̖̙̱̮̐̌҉̿ͭ͘͜N̵̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢҉̾͟͞͡O̵̷̷̵̪̰ͩ͆ͅ҉̢̭͚̜̠ͫͣ͐͢͟͢͠͞͝W̸̵̶̸͈̻̼͉̱ͯ̾̒̿̄͗ͭ͟͢͢͠ W̸̵̶̸͈̻̼͉̱ͯ̾̒̿̄͗ͭ͟͢͢͠H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞Ȧ̶̵̗̳҉҉̦̣̤͔̟̩̋̿̏ͦ̈́̍͟͠T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞ I̶̴̗̗̦͍ͨͭ̉͢͟҉̡̯̺̜̅́͋̃͢͜S̵̶̷̢̮̬͖̫̞̻͈̄͑̇͋͛̓̅͟͜͜͜͠͠͠ H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞Ȧ̶̵̗̳҉҉̦̣̤͔̟̩̋̿̏ͦ̈́̍͟͠P̘͎̀͊҉̷̧̥͚̣̉̓̕͟͜͠͞͠͝ͅP̘͎̀͊҉̷̧̥͚̣̉̓̕͟͜͠͞͠͝ͅE̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞N̵̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢҉̾͟͞͡I̶̴̗̗̦͍ͨͭ̉͢͟҉̡̯̺̜̅́͋̃͢͜N̵̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢҉̾͟͞͡G̸̛͔͇̞̹̈̀͘͘͟҉̜̜̱̄ͩ͆͜͝͞

W̸̵̶̸͈̻̼͉̱ͯ̾̒̿̄͗ͭ͟͢͢͠H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞Y̵̷̵̡̛̤͍̬͖̠̅́̋ͫ̌ͤ̕̚͞͞ C̸̣̭͖̤̒̈͊͟҉͓̟͇̼͕̻ͭ͌ͩ̒͘͜͡͞͠Ȧ̶̵̗̳҉҉̦̣̤͔̟̩̋̿̏ͦ̈́̍͟͠N̵̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢҉̾͟͞͡'T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞ Y̵̷̵̡̛̤͍̬͖̠̅́̋ͫ̌ͤ̕̚͞͞O̵̷̷̵̪̰ͩ͆ͅ҉̢̭͚̜̠ͫͣ͐͢͟͢͠͞͝U̸̵̶̸̫̠̰͈̹̮̹̲̻͙̎ͪͣͦ̕͜͡͞͡͡ T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞L̴̳͈͉̅̊҉̴͙͖̞̳̜̖ͣͧ̑̑͜͞͠͞͠L̴̳͈͉̅̊҉̴͙͖̞̳̜̖ͣͧ̑̑͜͞͠͞͠ T̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞H̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞M̶̷̶̶̲̊ͥ͋͟҉̳͈̺͟͢͠͠ͅ?

ᴡ̸̵̶̸͈̻̼͉̱ͯ̾̒̿̄͗ͭ͟͢͢͠ʜ̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞ʏ̵̷̵̡̛̤͍̬͖̠̅́̋ͫ̌ͤ̕̚͞͞ ᴀ̶̵̗̳̇҉҉̦̣̤͔̟̩̋̿̏ͦ̈́̍͟͠ʀ̴̴̧̪̈̄͞҉̷̨̖̮̉͑ͯ̑̋͟͠ᴇ̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞ ʏ̵̷̵̡̛̤͍̬͖̠̅́̋ͫ̌ͤ̕̚͞͞ᴏ̵̷̷̵̪̰ͩ͆ͅ҉̢̭͚̜̠ͫͣ͐͢͟͢͠͞͝ᴜ̸̵̶̸̫̠̰͈̹̮̹̲̻͙̎ͪͣͦ̕͜͡͞͡͡ ʟ̴̳͈͉̅̊҉̴͙͖̞̳̜̖ͣͧ̑̑͜͞͠͞͠ʏ̵̷̵̡̛̤͍̬͖̠̅́̋ͫ̌ͤ̕̚͞͞ɪ̶̴̗̗̦͍ͨͭ̉͢͟҉̡̯̺̜̅́͋̃͢͜ɴ̵̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢҉̾͟͞͡ɢ̸̛͔͇̞̹̈̀͘͘͟҉̜̜̱̄ͩ͆͜͝͞ ᴛ̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞ᴏ̵̷̷̵̪̰ͩ͆ͅ҉̢̭͚̜̠ͫͣ͐͢͟͢͠͞͝ ᴛ̷̫͉̰͕̒́҉̘͙͖̠̓ͦ͑̄͜͜͟͞ʜ̶̴̶̵̪͍̒ͥ͑̓҉̨̡̛̼͎̫͓̒́̔ͩ͜͟͠͞͞ᴇ̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜҉̰̰͎̆͞ᴍ̶̷̶̶̲̊ͥ͋͟҉̳͈̺͟͢͠͠ͅ?

Seer shook his head, letting out a shaky sigh and looked up to the Captain

ʏ̵̡̬͖̠̋ͫ̌ͤ̚͞͞ᴏ҉̢̡̲͇̌͗̀͢͝ᴜ̶͖̖͆̊̈́͡͡'ʀ҉̵҉̛̠̩̥̋ͦ̆͆͟͞͡͞͠ᴇ̵̡̫̫͍͕̎ͭ̐͟͟͝͞ ɢ̷̵̸̡̼̱͎͎̞ͤͬ̅͢͟͞ᴏ҉̢̡̲͇̌͗̀͢͝ɴ̸͐̈́͟͟͝ɴ̸͐̈́͟͟͝ᴀ҉͖̟̜̞̂̃̑̽͢͢͠͡ ʀ҉̵҉̛̠̩̥̋ͦ̆͆͟͞͡͞͠ᴇ̵̡̫̫͍͕̎ͭ̐͟͟͝͞ɢ̷̵̸̡̼̱͎͎̞ͤͬ̅͢͟͞ʀ҉̵҉̛̠̩̥̋ͦ̆͆͟͞͡͞͠ᴇ̵̡̫̫͍͕̎ͭ̐͟͟͝͞ᴛ҉̷҉̢͖͔̹͛̌͊͘͜͢͠͡͡ ᴛ҉̷҉̢͖͔̹͛̌͊͘͜͢͠͡͡ʜ̷̶̘̘̬ͭ̏͞͡ɪ҉̧̯̤̙͔̑ͧ̅̔ͦ́͜͟͢͝͠s҉̝̭̦͚̑ͯ̌͡.

Seer forced a smile. " I'm fine, everything's alright. Just, tired I think, yeah. " Seer ran his hand through his hair after he replied to the Elite Leader, but the Captain didn't falter from his position, and seemed to notice Seer's tactics this time.

" Anyways, I think I'll be off for tonight. I'll catch up on you guys tomorrow if that's alright. "

As much as Elite Leader wanted to progress on the Hero's state, he sighed and let it slide for now and nodded. " You may come to our Kingdom whenever you like Seer, get some good rest for now. "

The Hero nodded as he headed towards the door, he grabbed the handle and opened the door. He paused before saying his farewell. " All of you should get some rest too. Goodnight. "

" Alright, have a good night too Seer. "

And Seer left the meeting room and he shut the door close behind him, wings extended as he flew away.

The Elite Leader sighed once more, his hand going through the pocket of his jacket, and soon pulled out the familiar note. Hesitation filled his mind, but he knew he shouldn't hide it for now.

" Not sure if any of you were aware of Colle's mental state, but if you do speak up. "

Everyone in the room seemed to be struck with silence by the sudden words. Soon had their head turning of thoughts.

" Didn't we establish that Colle had a hard time controlling his anger? He used to keep it bottled up until he started to confess what was going on. "

" Well, part of it yeah. He's honest though, just after the Demon War he started being honest with how much he felt after his dread. But also he doesn't have a hard time controlling it, he gets frustrated enough like Beef and lashes out but only does it when he's alone, and it's not really violent.

" Hey! " Beef punched Sharp lightly on his arm, Sharp only chuckled in response.

Genesis looked up to the Ruby Elite Captain, eyes drifting to the note soon. " Captain, what is that? "

The Elite Leader's brows furrowed " Something that all of you should be aware and be told about sooner. "

The Leader soon walked over to the meeting table and placed the note down. Everyone soon peeked closer to the note, but soon had their eyes widened of what they saw.

Sharp walked over and took the note in hand, before looking up. " It's... Colle's handwriting. "

" What- "

" My reaction too when I saw this note. " Boss interjected, arms crossed as he stepped away from the table and looked at everyone. " It was in Colle's cottage house in the Desert Kingdom. I didn't want to believe that Colle had written so... abstractly and messy in his journal, but I felt like something had just happened to Colle that involved his mental state. "

" But why now?! " Beef only exclaimed as he turned to the Elite Leader, not angry for once, frustration was shown.

" I didn't want to worry most of you here. But I knew I had to tell you boys eventually. " A small hint of guilt trailed along the Captain's voice, the note on Sharp's hand soon was taken by Genesis carefully.

Mixed emotions of fear and confusion. " Oh Sandstorm- " The Demigod breathed out, handing the paper back to Sharp. " Even I couldn't believe Colle would write something like this. That's some REAL messed up stuff. "

" You think, whatever Colle's been through, " Everyone turned their attention to Spark. " Has involved with how much he's feeling, or at least suffering at this point, hence the note and why he was running from us? "

The room went silent again, they all seemed to know an answer.

" We need to find him and Goggles, fast. "

- ✯ -

A sudden echo of thunder crashed outside of the cave, surprisingly loud enough to wake Rindr from his sleep. His eyes looked around and soon laid on his brethren, who was snoring as usual on his bedside of the cave. His ears soon to pick up on the sound.

There wasn't any snowstorm outside tonight, someone was here. Rindr didn't need to look around and see who it was, the gentle soft blue glow was illuminating a small bit of the cave's entrance already, he already knew who was their unexpected visitor.

" Seer?... "

A slight pause and silence took over before the small blue glow started to float to the night desk near Rindr. Seer had worn his old cloak again and looked tired and out of it. A sudden concern waved over Rindr as he saw the Steve.

" What's the matter, young blue? "

" I- I don't know, just having a rough night. "

The Hero looked anxious, fiddling with the fabric, and was looking around. It was still strange behavior of why Seer was anxious, Rindr knew that Seer was this anxious when they first got him to the cave. The Giant hummed in response, tapping on his shoulder to signal the Steve.

Seer complied, he flew up again and sat on Rindr's shoulder. He was quiet, but it didn't bother the Giant. They sat in silence for a while now, Rindr soon struck up a small conversation.

" I've heard from the Winter Steves you were out exploring and searching for Colle, no luck finding him still aye? "

" Worst than that actually... "

Rindr turned around and looked at Seer, who had brought one leg up and hugged it loosely and his wings slowly covered his whole form. Seer was slouching but was tense still.

The giant hummed, hoping that it signaled the Steve to continue or not. He didn't want to pressure the Steve already, he had been through so much to get here by now and deserved a break, but apparently, that's not how everything would go.

" We found him, but everything went wrong afterward. "

" ... How so? "

" For, some reason we don't know, Colle ran away from us. And when he did get away from us, he disappeared along with Goggles. "

Even with the small information Seer had brought up, it still made the Giant gape in shock with how little it was explained but also already too much to be heard. Seer leaned closer to his leg more, his wings covered his body like a blanket, it provided him a small bit of comfort but that was just it.

" It's fine though, I'm going to head back to the Red Kingdom tomorrow and continue the search, right now searching for Colle and Goggles. "

" Seer- "

" And when we do, we're gonna get to the bottom of this. Talk to one of them and make sure they are well and not injured and get them back to the Red Kingdom for safety measures. "

' Oh, he's hyperventilating once again. ' Rindr mentally said to himself, watching the Steve spiral on his words.

" Seer. "

" And maybe figure out what the whole deal of the disappearance is, maybe if we do get the chance to see who is behind this we might interrogate them but if it's just Colle we will try to reassure him that everything will be alright and he can tell us about what's wrong- "

" Blue Steve. "

The Hero flinched on his shoulder, he wasn't really expecting to be called by that again this evening. Rindr noticed how stiff the Steve became after getting his attention again, his gaze softened with care and he held out a hand for Seer to jump onto; to which the Steve complied without a word.

Not a word was said between the two, Seer had sat on Rindr's scarred palm quietly and was fidgeting with his cloak nervously. The Giant stayed quiet at the moment, his thumb slowly reached to the Steve and caressed his cheek softly. Seer relaxed a little from the action, eyes closed as let out a shaky breath.

" Sorry. "

" There is no need to apologize, Seer, you have already done so much for all of us. You risked your life to begin with this journey just to protect all of us. "

Rindr brought his thumb over Seer's head- the colorful halo above the Steve soon disappeared into stardust- and ruffled on the blue hair of the Steve. The Giant was brought with so much nostalgia, remembering how close he was with the little Steve. He didn't want to admit it at first, but the way the two bonded over the past moons was nothing but care between them both.

He felt Seer tremble slightly, leaning closer to his thumb and letting out small whimpers.

" Don't worry little Sapphire, I'm here, you're alright. Let it out now. " Rindr shushed the small Steve on his palm, who sat and silently cried, muttering small apologies until it was replaced by his whimpers.

The night felt too blue, emotionally full of sorrows and guilt. Yet were explained in their cries where no one would understand.