Chapter 9 – The Confession
(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)
Jesse picked a torch off the wall, before exploring around the secret room with Romeo.
"There's gotta be something down here."
Jesse approached a bookshelf.
"This one is called The Survivors' Book of Secrets. Okay, secrets are good." Jesse said, before picking the book up. "This book contains the collective knowledge of the Survivors. We're an underground group of survival experts who have been around since the early days… It goes on. Signed by The Chief."
Meanwhile, Romeo found a few water buckets, which he put into his inventory, as they may come in useful later on. He found an unmarked book. Interested, he took a read through it.
"I know I had my doubts, but it was worth leaving home. I'm glad I had Xara and Romeo with me." Romeo read aloud before doing a double take. "Fred's Journal!"
Jesse came racing over. Romeo turned the page and kept reading.
"I don't know what Romeo wants anymore. It hurts. All I wanted was the three of us, together. Maybe we should have never left the cabin. We weren't just happy there, we were home."
Romeo started sniffling, before breaking out into sobs.
"What's wrong?" Jesse asked.
"I-I'm so sorry." Romeo whimpered.
"Romeo?"
Romeo snapped out of it and looked up at Jesse.
"S-sit down." Romeo instructed. "I-I've got something to t-t-tell y-you."
Romeo wiped the tears from his eyes before launching into his story.
"When we left that cabin after getting our powers, I wasn't exactly 100% happy about it." Romeo began. "Fred and Xara wanted to build towns and start communities, but I didn't exactly want to leave the past behind. Which is part of the reason why I built Romeoburg on top of our old cabin."
Romeo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"But it didn't work. Nothing ever could make me feel as happy and alive as I was back when we were living together in that cabin. So I tried to hang out with my friends as often as I could, for old times sake. But they kept getting busier, and busier, and busier, and busier! It got to the point where they were unable to hang out with me anymore, as they were too busy managing their own towns."
Jesse noticed that it seemed very difficult for Romeo to continue, but he was interested in the story of what drove them apart.
"It's as if they had found their perfect hobbies. Things that made them happy. It slowly got to me, it was as if they had forgotten about me! It hurt, quite a lot."
"Eventually, after not hanging out with them in forever, I slowly became desperate. I built a challenge in Romeoburg and I began to look for someone to be my friend. My champion, as I liked to call it back then. But it just wasn't the same. Power began to go to my head, and I became a very difficult person to be around."
"And the scariest part of that? I almost went down Xara's path myself. I was very close to losing myself when Xara betrayed us. After spending forever suffering under a corrupt Admin, it made me think just how dangerously close I had been to being exactly like Xara."
"Hey, don't compare yourself to the Admin, you're nothing like her." Jesse said.
"True." Romeo agreed. "She was evil from the beginning, while in my case, I almost let my emotions get the better of me."
"Watching Fred die, watching Xara take my powers away from me and then watching her bedrock over this world and then imprison me, it made me see just how horrible I'd been. Next time, I won't take all these things for granted, after seeing first hand just what can happen if you're not careful. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I should have known that someone as loyal and as nice as Fred wouldn't just abandon me like that."
"Next time?" Jesse questioned.
"I… I'll explain later." Romeo responded, dodging the question. "Anyway, now that I have that off my chest, why don't we keep looking for that gauntlet, 'ey?"
"You got it." Jesse agreed.
After searching tirelessly, they were forced to accept that there was nothing here.
"Well, this place is a bust. I guess it's time to go to Romeoburg." Romeo said. "Come on."
Romeo and Jesse returned to the upper level of Fred's house, and they returned to the front door, where Binta was standing there outside.
"Binta!"
"Romeo, Jesse." Binta greeted. "I… there's something I need to request from you."
"What's that?" Romeo asked.
"Rumors have been going around since your arrival. There aren't many people we don't recognize down here." Binta said.
"Yeah, about that…" Jesse said, sheepishly.
"Well? Did you at least find what you were looking for? This weapon?" Binta asked. "I don't know why Fred would have one. But I must admit, I'm curious."
"I'm afraid we're going to need to keep searching for a bit." Romeo answered.
"Well, I want to help you, but… there's something I need from you in return." Binta said, turning to Jesse. "If you're really from up there, then you must have a way back. Take us with you, above the Bedrock."
"Above? Binta, what are you saying?" A citizen asked nervously. "We don't know what's out there."
"It has to be better than this." Binta reasoned.
"We're safe here, and if Xara…"
"Xara trapped us down here. She wants us to stay. I won't give her the satisfaction."
"She won't like us going up there." A ginger-haired citizen said.
"Are you absolutely sure about this Binta?" Romeo questioned. "I haven't got a clue what Xara's doing up there, but I do know that it's bad. If you really want to return with us, then I won't stop you."
"Thank you."
"However, you may have to do some convincing." Romeo pointed out.
"They'll come around." Binta reassured. "The mycelium on this island has kept the monsters from spawning, and we've been safe here so far, but it won't last. Our only chance for a real future is up there."
"Well, we'll get to the cabin, get the weapon, and we'll come back." Jesse said. "Then, we will figure out a way to get above the bedrock."
Binta pulled out a compass.
"Fred left this to me before he…"
Binta sobbed slightly.
"I tried to follow your instructions to go to Romeoburg when you didn't come back. But I got stopped at the gates to Romeoburg."
Romeo raised an eyebrow.
"You need to do something about that army of yours there." Binta said.
"I'm not following." Romeo responded. "I don't remember ever having an army there."
"Well, what I'm trying to say to you is be careful." Binta warned. "In the meantime, I'll prepare my people. You just find that weapon, and report back."
Nurm returned.
"Great, you're here. We've got a new destination, so…" Jesse began.
Nurm interrupted with a vocalization.
"Wait, what? You're not coming? You're gonna stay here and wait for Jack?" Romeo asked, seemingly understanding Nurm. "In which case, I agree with you. If there is a slight chance that Jack survived that fall, someone needs to be here when he gets back."
Romeo turned towards Radar.
"Speaking of which, I'd highly recommend you stay here too."
"What?"
"My challenge, it's incredibly dangerous, and I'd rather not see you get hurt." Romeo said.
"But…" Radar tried to protest.
"I'm sorry, but it's for the best." Romeo insisted. "Besides, you can stay here and on the off-chance that Jack does show up, tell him that we've gone to Romeoburg. Okay?"
Radar gave a sad look before nodding.
Jesse approached Nurm.
"Hey, stay safe. Both of you."
Romeo and Jesse left Fred's keep and made tracks for Romeoburg.
Romeo and Jesse didn't really talk for the first part of the trip. Eventually, after riding for a while, Romeo took a look around and recognized the surroundings.
"Okay, Romeoburg shouldn't be too much further." Romeo observed.
Jesse looked ahead and saw a crater inside the tracks.
"Uh oh, tracks out! Brace yourself!"
The minecarts tumbled off the tracks upon hitting the crater, spilling the duo out onto the ground.
"Ow, ugh!"
"Man, the track is a complete wreck." Romeo commented.
"Yeah, what's up with that…"
"DUCK!" Romeo screamed, dodging to the side as a splash potion of slowness splashed in the spot where he was just standing.
"Jesse, we've got company." Romeo pointed.
Jesse looked around, and saw a figure standing stiffly still in the distance. It was wearing grayish-blue colored armor with lapis blue and gold gems and was wearing a mask which covered it's head. It suddenly lurched into action and pulled out a diamond sword. Romeo responded by drawing his own diamond sword.
"Take cover, Jesse. I've got this." Romeo directed. "Come on then, fuckwit! Show me what you've got!"
The figure sprinted towards Romeo, and aimed a blow at Romeo, which Romeo ducked with ease.
"Ha! Is that all you got?" Romeo taunted.
The figure pulled out a greenish-grey potion and threw it down, creating a cloud of dust, which it disappeared into. Romeo coughed from the dust.
"Ugh! Oh man, oh jeez!" Romeo coughed. "Okay, where are you?"
The figure suddenly launched into the air behind Romeo.
"Look out!" Jesse exclaimed.
Romeo dodged just in time, which he would not have been able to do had Jesse not shouted. Romeo and the figure got into a brawl, which ended in Romeo kicking the figure down with his foot. Romeo walked over, grabbed the figure and pulled him into a headlock.
"All right, let's see who our visitor is!" Romeo said dramatically before ripping off the mask. What Jesse saw, almost made him faint on the spot.
It was Ivor, except he had a blank expression on his face. Looking closely, he saw that his eyes were glowing blood red. A loud static sound threatened to burst Jesse's eardrums.
"What the fuck?" Romeo exclaimed, letting go of Ivor and plugging his ears. "Something's off about this guy. His eyes!"
Jesse knew straight away what was going on with Ivor. He was being mind-controlled. But it was impossible, Jesse took down PAMA years ago.
Ivor spun around, grabbed Romeo and pulled him into a vice-like headlock of his own. While Ivor's back was turned, Jesse saw a blinking device on the back of his head. Yep, he was chipped all right.
"Ack! Jesse! GET THIS…ACK…. GUY OFF ME!" Romeo demanded, choking.
"THROW ME A WATER BUCKET!" Jesse ordered.
"WHAT?!"
"JUST DO IT!" Jesse snapped.
Romeo struggled against Ivor's grip, and pulled out a bucket, immediately dropping it Jesse dove in and grabbed it. An expression of fear etched on Ivor's face upon seeing the bucket, but it was too late. Jesse tipped the water in the bucket on the ground next to Ivor, grabbed Ivor's face and shoved it into the water. Ivor let Romeo go as he started seizing up with electricity, the chip on the back of his head popping off.
"Ah, thanks!" Romeo gasped. "I need… I need a moment… need to catch my breath!"
Ivor lay still for a moment, before eventually opening his eyes. They were back to normal.
"J-Jesse?" Ivor questioned, slowly getting to his feet.
"Ivor." Jesse greeted.
"Yes, it is I, your friend Ivor." Ivor confirmed. "We've got a massive problem on our hands."
"What happened?" Jesse asked. "And what's going on with you?"
"Let me explain." Ivor said. "It all started when I fell through a portal into some sort of strange world. Everything was all white… Master Shadow's domain. He claimed he was a ninja master, a practitioner of the Shadow Arts. At first, I wanted nothing to do with him, he was a very suspicious character. But eventually, after a lot of uncomfortable eye contact, he asked me, ME, to be his pupil! I was confused at first, because he didn't exactly present his credentials or curriculum, but I was always open to learning! I'm a student of life after all, so I said YES! Before I knew it, I was punching trees, cleaning floors… all as part of my so-called training. At first, it seemed pointless! But after I had punched a forest's worth of trees and cleaned miles and miles of floor, two things became clear. Sometimes, doing menial tasks can be an amazing way to learn martial arts. And sometimes, strange old men just like tricking people into doing their housework."
"Okay, okay. Can we cut the bullshit and get straight to the answer? I don't care about how you became a ninja. Right now, what I'm worried about is what the hell is going on up on the surface right now?" Romeo snapped.
Ivor glared at Romeo, before continuing.
"Just as me and Harper were about to return from our vacation, mobs began to teleport in. We were confused at first, only Endermen were known to teleport. But when we saw their glowing red eyes, that's when we realized what was going on."
Ivor turned around.
"PAMA's been reactivated."
"WHAT?!" Jesse screamed.
"Yes, and this time, we're already too late. He's already begun spreading to other worlds." Ivor relayed.
"Wait a second." Romeo said. "What is this PAMA you speak of?"
"It's was a redstone machine that we fought years ago that was powered by the Redstone Heart." Jesse explained. "Basically, it mind-controlled everyone into being mindless slaves for it."
"Precisely." Ivor agreed. "And that mind-control was the worst thing that's ever happened to me."
Jesse suddenly had a flashback.
"Now, there's something I'd like to reveal. Since you won't be seeing Beacontown ever again, I might as well as give you a hint on the true nature of why I built this place." Xara revealed. "You see, sitting in your filthy treasure room, is a rather valuable Redstone Heart of mine, which I need to finish off my big project, but with you in the picture, things could get complicated. So I built this place as a distraction, to play with you for a bit, before I remove you from the equation completely."
Xara got right into Jesse's face, so that the only thing he could see was her glowing pink eyes.
"Now, take one look at the scenery out there, because it cannot help you now."
"Oh no, I remember before Xara banished me to the prison, she said something about stealing the Redstone Heart back." Jesse remembered, growing more nervous by the second. "She wanted me out of the way because she was planning to reactivate PAMA, and enslave the whole world using that machine!"
That made Romeo furious. His head began to shake, before he finally exploded.
"DAMN HER, I DON'T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!" Romeo roared. "Come on, Jesse! Now we've really got to hurry!"
"One more thing." Ivor added. "It probably has something to do with this Xara person, but PAMA's now got strong superpowers, which is how he got me down here."
"I… I've heard enough!" Romeo said. "Thanks."
"Okay, Ivor. I want you to go back to Fred's Keep. Tell them that I sent you and tell them about PAMA. Explain to them that it is not safe to go back up." Jesse instructed. "We'll be back there once we find what we're looking for."
"Please hurry, there's no telling how long it'll be before PAMA finds out I'm no longer under his control! Get whatever it is you're looking for and do it soon." Ivor pleaded. "SMOKE BOMB!"
Ivor took out another smoke bomb and threw it down, disappearing within the smoke. Jesse ran in and coughed. He turned around and saw Ivor a short distance away. He gasped upon seeing that Jesse noticed him.
"You saw nothing." Ivor said, backflipping out of sight.
Romeo shook his head.
"You have some weird friends, Jesse." Romeo commented.
"Thanks?"
Romeo picked up a minecart.
"That yellow-skinned maniac has forced our hand. We need to get to the cabin, now! Before Xara can cause any more damage." Romeo instructed. "Help me fix these minecarts."
After fixing the minecarts. Jesse and Romeo were set on course for Romeoburg.
Author's Notes: The fact that PAMA returns in this story gave me the idea to name the story 'Redstone Nightmares'
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