RED RHYTHM

ACT I: The Last Normal

The world wasn’t loud, but it had rhythm.

The grass hummed when you stepped on it. The clouds wobbled like stretched marshmallows. The sky shimmered gently, as if breathing to a silent beat.

X danced through it all, a gleam of RYB Yellow bouncing like laughter. He was shaped like joy: a rounded X, cartoonish limbs, two curious white eyes with black pupils, and that eternal "uwu" mouth.

His arms and legs were bright Canary Yellow, stretching and flailing as he skated along stone paths with exaggerated wobbles. "Whoa! I'm a professional flailer!" His voice high-pitched, energetic, with that American accent

Behind him, steady as a heartbeat, was Four. His form glowed in a smooth Curious Blue, sleek and tall. His limbs: Picton Blue, sharp-fingered, precise. Meant to defend.

He folded his arms, nasal voice deep and smooth. "You always land on your face."

X twirled, posed. "That’s why I’ve got you, Foury!"

Four rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it. Just gave the smallest of nods.

X called him Blue Beat sometimes, when they were both in object form. And when Four called him back, Golden Friend,it made X beam.

---

They were unstoppable. X and Four.

Golden Friend and Blue Beat.

Until one day, whooooommmmmmm.

The sky inhaled.

And Four vanished.

ACT II: The Silence Falls

The sound didn’t stop. It shifted.

The clouds no longer danced. The rhythm bled out of the air.

The hum began.

Low. Vibrating. Deep in the bones.

X spun. "Four? Where'd you go? FOURY!?"

But there was no Curious Blue flash. No rhythmic steps. No arms folded, waiting.

Instead, Emerald Block stood alone. He didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe. Just stared at the clouds.

Then the red touched him.

A flare. A pulse. A hum like a thousand held notes breaking at once.

He convulsed, green cracked into spiraling red. Eyes flared. Then he was gone.

What stood in his place wasn’t Emerald anymore.

It wasn’t anything.

ACT III: Rebirth (But Wrong)

A red figure emerged. Smooth. Circular.

Like Four.

But red.

And hollow.

In the middle of the figure, a yellow dot pulsed, slowly.

It turned toward X.

Those eyes�"too familiar. Too empty.

It walked in rhythm, yes. But that rhythm was wrong. Too exact. Too calculated. Like someone pressed PLAY on a copy.

"...Foury?" X whispered.

The red figure said nothing.

ACT IV: Broken Reflections

X ran. Tripped. Skidded.

Dust streaked across the ground.

He flung himself at the red figure. Arms wide. Heart wide.

"FOURY!! You’re back! I knew it, I KNEW IT!!"

He hugged tightly.

The red figure didn’t flinch. Didn’t move.

Didn’t hug back.

X looked up. Eyes hopeful. "Say something... please. Say my name. Say anything!"

The red figure blinked slowly.

Turned.

Walked away.

ACT V: Ghost of a Friend

It stood where Four used to stand. Folded its arms like him. Stared like him.

But it never laughed. Never protected. Never jumped between X and Two.

Never reached for X.

X stood at a distance. Hugged his knees. Watched the thing wearing Four’s rhythm.

ACT VI: The Contestants Whisper

"That’s not Four."

"Four used to make jokes."

"He once blocked Two with a speaker. Remember?"

The red figure passed them. Silent. Unblinking.

"I don’t like the way it watches us," Leafy murmured.

"That isn’t Four," said Gelatin. "It can’t be."

But X wasn’t listening to them.

He was watching for any flicker.

ACT VII: X Can’t Let Go

Every day, X approached. Golden Ingot. Or true form. Didn’t matter.

He’d always say:

"Remember me? I called you Blue Beat once. You said it was 'cheesy'... but I saw you smile."

Sometimes the red figure tilted its head. Sometimes not.

"You used to protect me. Just me. You always said I was your Yellow Friend."

No reply.

But one time, the red figure's hand twitched. Just once.

ACT VIII: Emerald Is Still In There

X watched closely.

The red figure ripped a math one day. Not well. Not even intentionally. But it mirrored Emerald block’s old habit.

Green flickered at the edge of its form. Like corruption leaking from a dying memory.

X stepped back. Shaking.

"No..."

"They used you. They used you to make Foury..."

His voice cracked.

"But they got it wrong."

He looked up at the red figure.

"You're not him. You can't be."

ACT IX: The Final Realization

X stood on a hill. Watched the red figure from afar.

The wind carried silence. The rhythm had faded from the sky.

"...Foury's not back."

X lowered his arms.

"That’s not him."

The red figure twitched. Like something deep inside cracked.

Then...

CRACK!!

A blue flare ripped through the red.

Not from the surface. From inside.

The yellow dot flared BRIGHTER.

The red shattered.

And there, breathing hard, Curious Blue skin flickering�"

Was Four. His limbs sparkled in Picton Blue. His fingers were sharp. He shielded X before he even fully stood.

"You came back...! I missed you… I never stopped trying�"" X choked, voice trembling but bright.

Four leaned closer, his nasal tone gruff but full of warmth.

"...Yellow Friend."

ACT X: Return of the Rhythm

The world pulsed. A beat. Then another.

Then the sky shimmered again.

EPILOGUE: The Long Wait Ends

Emerald block was gone. Forever.

No one mourned.

X and Four sat on a cliff. Both in object forms now: Golden Ingot and Pigstep. They bounced lightly beside each other.

X giggled. "You always look like a red tomato in that form."

Four chuckled in his deeper object-voice. "Says the glowy toaster."

They leaned against each other.

The rhythm returned. The sky hummed. The clouds wobbled.

All was in balance.

---

THE END.

Author's Note

Ignore the �" :skull: