Author's Note: Foreshadowing and hints to potential plot twists are some of my favorite things to include in my writing, so please pay careful attention to all the details brought up in this chapter. It's an important one, though the next may be even more so.

I don't own Minecraft.

September 20th, 2017

-Sae-

Chapter 24

The Weapon

By the time that Zephyrus slipped into the viewing chamber, the experiment was already coming to a close. He stayed silent when he entered. He was usually quiet around his parents, this moment being no exception. He had stopped crying, but the loss of Renee still clawed at his aching heart. He had seen her escape from one of the fortress' many windows.

Then again, it wasn't like he had actually been trying to catch her.

Eras gestured for him to come closer. He pushed off of the wall that he was leaning against and cautiously approached the glass separating them from the weapon that had just been created. Tom had shown him the much weaker replicas that the players occasionally made, but it compared nothing to this.

Power and magic surged through the small grooves littering the ashen device, appearing as light blue light. That was the first difference that he had noticed. The other was the eyes that stared back at them. While the two sets on the left and right were both empty, there was a certain look to the ones that were filled with light blue light.

"We'll have to run some tests," Tom suddenly commented.

Zephyrus weakly nodded in agreement, but his stomach felt sick at the thought of the destruction that it would cause. He hoped that Renee was doing something with the information that he had accidentally allowed her to find. She was the only one who could stop this. He couldn't.

Then he stumbled back in alarm. Tom and Eras turned to stare at him, but he brushed off the incident with the claim that he had briefly lost his balance. Though it was partially true, there was also a reason behind the action. The weapon had been staring at him. Why would it take an interest in the person who hadn't been there to create it? And why did that look make him feel even guiltier than he already felt?

As the group filed in the sitting room, Liz was greeted by the sight of familiar faces. She felt like she was back in Nether. Hero, Oracle and their respective chosen were all around her. Some were sitting on the floor, while others perched on the ends of already occupied sofas. The only face that she didn't recognize belonged to a girl wearing some sort of uniform. She had several files underneath her arm, but her focus seemed to be on Bas. The two were engaged in a conversation.

When Katy noticed the girl, she gave a startled cry. The girl's head popped up at the sound, only to give a similar one when she saw its source. The two rushed over to each other. It was only when she saw Bas' grin that Liz realized who the newcomer was. Her name was Renee, and she was close friends with Bas and Katy.

Although, from the kiss she was currently giving Katy, the two girls seemed to have become more than that. Liz smiled. It didn't surprise her that much. The two had always been incredibly close.

When they pulled apart, Renee stared at Liz. The smile immediately faded. Of course Renee didn't know it was her; how could she have possibly known? It would seem some strange man was smiling at her for no good reason. Heat rushed to her face as she looked down at the ground. Though her embarrassment was certainly not enjoyable, it wasn't the worst part. She would have to explain everything to Renee. She doubted that she would believe her.

She heard Renee walk over to her.

"I never thought I would see the day where you were taller than me, Liz," she said as she threw her arms around her. Liz popped her head back up, furiously attempting to blink away the tears that were starting to fall. "Bas told me about everyone before we got here. Well, except the part about my girlfriend being here."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Bas added, his grin growing larger.

"...You believe that it's me?" Liz quietly asked.

Renee nodded, the smile she gave reaching her eyes. "We're in Minecraft. If that's possible, anything is."

The weapon took in the faces of its creators through the thin pane of glass. If it wished to, it can easily break through the glass. Though it itched for freedom, it knew that it had to wait. Attacking now would only result in punishment and distrust. They had to believe that it was completely under their control. Bidding its time was the only option. They were surely going to test its abilities away from the fortress. That would be the time to break free.

It was unsure of what came after that. There wasn't many places that it could go now, though its mind wandered to a girl with fire burning in her eyes and a boy with a permanent hole in his heart.

Its gaze landed on the youngest of its creators. While he hadn't been present at the time of its creation, it knew that he had been partially responsible. The boy stumbled back in surprise or even terror. It was hard to say.

Maybe the testing wasn't the only way to break free.