Heather was no stranger to being alone, but this loneliness and grief was stronger than anything she had ever felt before.

Theo had brought her to the End, to a castle built of gold and diamonds. It was far too grand, when she considered she was the only one who would ever see it. It sat on a static island in the void, evidently isolated from the rest of the dimension considering she couldn't see any other land no matter how hard she tried. High walls surrounded the edges, making certain that she couldn't make any attempt to escape. While she had free range of the island otherwise, her gilded prison was just that - a prison.

She was alone in the castle, not even a single mob made its appearance. She knew Endermen should be spawning frequently, so she could surmise that they were probably shut down as well. Was this really Theo's plan? To rule an empty dimension, devoid of color and laughter and life? Did he really hate people that much?

Heather spent a long time - maybe a couple days, but she couldn't tell - exploring the castle. She only rarely saw Theo as she wandered through his empty home, which was cold and bare, devoid of any comforts. No furniture, carpets, or even beds. It was useless as a home and barely viable as a shelter, all it accomplished was probably what it was built to do - to be a monument to his power and his victory. She wondered idly when he found the time to build this.

Theo himself never moved from his throne in the great hall of the castle, always typing away at a virtual keyboard. Heather wasn't sure what he was doing, he had already won, hadn't he? Did he shut down all mobs, or just the ones in this plane? Notch had once 'stored the minecraft world away' to fight Herobrine - could Theo do the same thing? She had a lot of questions, but couldn't bring herself to ask. Not yet. Not after everything he had done.

But, eternity was a long time. Eventually, one way or another, she would work up the courage to get her answers. It wasn't like she had anything else to work towards in this miserable world.

The day to confront him came a few days later.

Obviously, Heather couldn't really tell how fast time was passing, there was no indication whatsoever of day and night in her environment, but she could estimate it had been about three days since Theo trapped her there. Not that it really mattered, but it helped her deteriorating sanity to have some grasp of the passage of time.

Leaving the small sanctuary she had made herself in a corner of a small room, Heather made her way through the castle, the layout of which she had already memorized after having nothing to do but wander the grounds of for the past few days. She went over her questions a hundred times as she made her way to the throne room, rewording them over and over, but she still wasn't ready when she approached her captor's throne.

"Nice of you to show your face." Theo commented as she stepped into view, not looking up from the small screen floating in front of him. "I was wondering if I was ever going to see you again."

"Like you have any right to be mad at me." Heather shot back, hands balling into fists at her sides as her apprehension turned into anger. "It's not like you didn't know where to find me. I'm trapped here."

"Right, whatever." His voice was flat and emotionless as he tapped at his keyboard. "Tell me, what have I done to warrant a visit from the high-and-mighty Nether Queen?" His words sent tears springing to her eyes, and she immediately whirled around to leave.

"****. I'm sorry, that was mean of me." His tone changed instantly, from cold and hard to soft and apologetic. "I'm sorry. What did you need?"

"I wanted," Heather ground out from behind clenched teeth. "To ask you some stuff."

"Go ahead." She heard shuffling, and glanced behind her to see Theo climbing down from the platform his throne rested upon to approach her. He placed a block of wool, and gently took her by the arm, pulling her down to sit on it before settling beside her. It was a kind gesture, but she didn't really trust it. "Heather?" He prompted, and she ran through her questions once more before choking one out past the lump in her throat.

"Did you s-seal away all the mobs too? There are n-no Endermen."

"Basically, yeah." He gave her a small nod. "I'd rather not have them around just yet. Not until I finish."

"Finish what?" Her eyes flickered to his throne, and the small screen that still floated in front of it. Theo followed her gaze.

"Since Notch is sealed away now, he can't stop me from taking the power he had as the owner of the dimension." A beat. "So, now I'm the owner. That means I can, for all intents and purposes, do anything I want."

"Which is…?"

"I'm cutting the world off from Earth." Heather's heart stilled in her chest. She remembered this. He talked about it before, what seemed like forever ago. "No more players will be able to connect, and Mojang won't be able to influence my code. I'll be safe."

"You'll be trapped here." Her voice trembled. And so would she.

"If that's what it takes for me to be safe, I'm willing to make that sacrifice."

"I'm not!" The tears returned with a vengeance, and one escaped down her cheek. "I want-"

"Heather," he interrupted, but she ignored him.

"I want to g-go home. I don't want to be stuck here forever, I w-want to see my friends and family again." Her voice was wobbling dangerously, but she pressed on. "Please just let me go home, I don't want to- I don't want to be trapped here forever. Why me, a-anyway? Why do you want me here so bad? Why can't I just go home?"

"Because I care about you!" Theo insisted. "I- I've never- I don't know what it's like to have a sibling, I've never had one, but you- you're like a little sister to me." His eyes were wide and earnest. He was telling the truth. "You're the only other person who's- well, who's been nice to me. The only good person I've ever met. I don't want to- I can't lose you, because I love you!"

"That's not what love is!" Heather was on your feet. She didn't remember standing up, but she was upright now, hands clenched into angry fists at her sides as she glared down at the stunned teen in front of her. "You- I know you don't have much experience with love, but here's a tip: this isn't it. This is selfish, and hurtful, and-" She hesitated, formulating her next sentence as hot tears began to stream down her face.

"Love is patient, love is kind." Her voice wobbled, but, amazingly, didn't crack. "It doesn't envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always-" Her breath caught and she swallowed hard. "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

"Love is when you care for another person so much that you put them above yourself. When you're willing to sacrifice for someone. Herobrine- H-Herobrine showed love." She dashed the tears off her face with her sleeve, a pointless gesture as more immediately took their place. "He was willing to bring me home. Willing to bring m-me back to my family even i-if he'd never see me again. Steve showed love." She couldn't really see past the tears blurring her vision, but from his silence she knew Theo's attention was still on her. "He r-risked being killed back in the beginning to try and p-protect me from Herobrine.

"Alex showed love." She smiled a bit at that. "She protected me, a-and she didn't even know me. She protected me for Steve's s-sake. Heck, even Notch showed love. He t-tried to keep his creations safe from you.

"You can k-keep me here forever. I can't s-stop you. But don't even claim that it's because you care. That it's about love. You only care about yourself." She stopped, chest heaving from lack of air and excess of emotion. The void was silent except for her raspy breaths, and the occasional sniffle as she struggled to stop the tears from flowing.

A soft sob caught her attention, and her heart dropped.

He was crying.

Theo was crying.

Rubbing at her eyes, Heather blinked past the film of tears to find him on his knees, hands pressed over his face to hide his tears as he cried. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly, as if he felt her gaze on him as she sank down to sit on the wool block again. She could feel a knot of emotion forming in her chest, but struggled against it. She couldn't afford to feel sorry for him.

"I'm s-sorry." He gasped out. "I'm really sorry, I am, I didn't- I didn't understand. I'm sorry." He choked back a sob. "I'll b-bring you home, I promise. Please d-don't be mad." Her heart skipped. Just like that? Was he serious? "I was s-selfish, I know." He continued, head bowed over his hands. "I'm sorry, I was just - sorry."

He looked so distraught that she couldn't help it. Even though he was - well, like he was, he had rarely been anything but honest. Heather slid off the block and threw her arms around him.

He jumped when she touched him, but didn't otherwise react except to lean forward and press his forehead to her shoulder as he cried.

"I'm sorry," He apologized again. "I was s-scared. I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that." She grumbled, shifting to a more comfortable position on the ground beside him. Her face was red and swollen, heart pounding in her chest, but she was starting to calm down. She could go home.

Neither of them spoke for a couple minutes, as Theo's sobs slowly died down to the occasional hiccup. Finally, he whispered,

"I miss m-my dad." Heather blinked, lifting her chin from where it rested on his shoulder.

"...go home, then."

"I c-can't."

"Yes you can." She insisted, but he only let out a shuddering sob. "I'll come with you. Will that help?"

"N-no, I can't- I can't go back." He protested. "I'm so tired of being hurt, I can't go back to-"

"Let me help you, then." She interrupted, and his mouth snapped shut. "I don't- I don't like you as much as you like me. But I do care. I want to make it so that you can be happy, a-as long as it isn't at the expense of others' happiness." She paused, but he didn't respond. "What do you mean hurt? Who's hurting you?"

"People. At school." He mumbled into her jacket. "Everyone hates me. I didn't do anything to-" His voice hitched, and he stopped.

"Did you tell your dad?"

"N-no, what would he do?"

"Well you don't know unless you ask, will you?" The retort came out ruder than she intended, and she followed it up with a sigh as she lowered her chin onto his shoulder again. "Go home. Bring me with you."

"I can't."

"Yes you can."

"I can't!"

"Theo!" He stiffened at the sound of his name, and his grip on her slackened a bit. "If you-"

"Riley." He interrupted, his voice barely more than a whisper. "My name's Riley."

"...Riley." That's a good sign, she hoped? Heather had almost forgotten Theo wasn't his real name, but she did remember that the reason he never gave her his name in the first place was because he didn't want to go back. Now…?

"Riley, you can't just keep running away from your problems. You have to face them." She mustered as much courage in her voice as she could manage. "They'll always catch up to you eventually. Even here. Eternity, remember?"

"...yeah." His response came out in a pitiful whisper, but it was still loud against the deafening silence of the void. "Okay."

A flash of light swallowed them up, and Heather's surroundings were replaced by a dark room.

She pulled away, blinking in the sudden darkness, and she felt Theo- Riley scoot back and get to his feet.

"H-hang on." A pause, then a click sounded as a lamp turned on beside her head. The blonde looked up as her eyes adjusted, and found herself face-to-face with a teenage boy with tanned skin and dark, curly hair. The same features, though, the same face. It was still him.

Pressing a hand against the floor beside her, Heather stumbled to her feet, squinting around the room at her surroundings. Theo's room was small and cramped, a computer behind her and a bed to her left. Between them, they took up most of the space in the room.

"Let's find your dad." She took a wobbly step towards the door on the other side of the room, but Theo snatched up her wrist before she could get far.

"Not now, it's the middle of the night." He whispered in protest, but she twisted her arm and slipped free. He tried to grab her again, but abruptly crumpled in on himself as a pained yelp escaped him.

"H-hey, you okay?" Heather turned on her heel, sitting down beside him as he sank onto the edge of the bed.

"Ribs are bruised, I think." He whispered, curling an arm protectively around his chest. "Got beat up yesterday."

"Oh." She sat stiffly for a moment, not sure what to say. She could already see why he wanted to stay away so badly.

The door creaked open, and Heather's head snapped up as the light flipped on to reveal a large, blond man in the doorway.

"Riley?" The man exclaimed, gaze falling on her as she instinctively sat up straight. "What's going on? Who is this, what is she-"

"Dad." Theo interrupted, and his father froze, his attention directed immediately to the boy beside her. He stared for a moment, presumably taking in his face, red with tears, and the bruises she could now see on his arms and neck.

"Hey," His voice took on a softer note as he started to approach, slipping through the doorway and kneeling beside the bed. "What happened to you, kid?"

"School. Hamill beat me up." Theo's face was blank and empty, the only emotion she could read was exhaustion. "Again."

"Hamill-?" Before he could question him further, Theo lurched forward and flung his arms around his father's neck, prompting a startled shout from the man as he buried his face in his shoulder. His dad didn't move for a moment, then tentatively wrapped his arms around his son. "What's going on?" His eyes flickered to Heather again, and she mouthed 'later'. Blinking, he gave her a single nod before closing his eyes and tightening his arms around his child.

The tension in her body disappeared, and a small smile finally worked its way onto her face. Not everything was fixed yet, Minecraft was still empty and she wasn't home.

But, at least Riley was.