Romeo's hand hovered just an inch away from the door. He wasn't sure he could do this. He scoffed to himself. It figures that Romeo, one of the most powerful beings in the world, couldn't even bring himself to do something as simple as knocking on a door. Finally gathering his wits, he knocked on the door and waited. There was no response. Romeo knocked on the door a second time. There was still no response. After knocking for a third time with no answer, Romeo slowly opened the door and looked inside. Fred was the only one inside the cabin, staring off into space like a zombie. He was sitting on his bed while holding Xara's bed in his hands. "Fred…," said Romeo. "Are you doing okay?" He couldn't help but wince at how blunt he sounded. Of course Fred wasn't doing okay. Not after what had just happened…
It had been a few weeks since Fred and Xara's baby died, and a few weeks since Romeo called off his attack. Fred and Xara never got over their grief after their baby's death, and for some reason, Romeo just couldn't bring himself to attack them when they were at their most vulnerable. The irony was not lost on him. He was more than willing to murder their baby just so Fred and Xara would never leave him, but when the baby actually dies from natural causes and his friends end up in a downwards spiral of grief...well, Romeo didn't know how to feel about that. He slowly walked towards Fred, who paid absolutely no attention to him, and quietly sat down next to him on the bed. He looked down at Xara's bed in Fred's hands and sighed heavily. "Fred...I know this is hard to accept, but you need to move on."
The only response from Fred was a single twitch of his eyebrow, showing that he was indeed listening to Romeo, but was still stuck in his own little world. No matter how hard he tried, Romeo just couldn't bring himself to hate Fred anymore. "Fred, are you listening to me?," he asked impatiently. Fred only let out a low hum in response, cradling Xara's bed in his arms. His patience wearing thin, Romeo made an attempt to snatch the bed away. That turned out to be a big mistake. Fred suddenly grabbed Romeo's arm and twisted it around, causing Romeo to groan in pain. Then, he elbowed Romeo in the stomach and tossed him across the room with a fling of his wrist. Romeo was able to steady himself in midair and glared at Fred. "Damn it all, Fred," Romeo growled. "You're supposed to be the rational one, not me. You've been hiding out in this blasted cabin for weeks now! It's time for you to let go of the past!"
"That's easy for YOU to say!," Fred suddenly yelled, snapping out of his trance. "You have no regrets! You got exactly what you wanted!" "I didn't want this!," Romeo snapped. Fred narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "Then what DID you want?," he growled angrily. Romeo opened his mouth to respond, but found that he could not answer. "That's what I thought," said Fred, sitting back down on his bed. "Leave me in peace, Romeo. I need to mourn."
At first, Romeo contemplated doing just that, but something stopped him. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he still retained many memories of himself with Fred and Xara. Not all of them were fond or pleasant memories, but they were still...well, memorable. He couldn't forget them if he tried, and he can't forget them now. Deciding to take one last crack at it, Romeo once again sat down next to Fred, making sure not to make any sudden movements that could set him off again. "They're dead," he said bluntly. "Hiding and wasting away is not going to bring them back." "I know that," Fred snarled. "I'm not stupid." "Could've fooled me," Romeo snarked, but quickly calmed himself down. "Fred," he said as gently as he could. "How do you think Xara would react if she saw you like this?" Fred visibly stiffened. "Don't talk to me like you know how I feel," he retorted woodenly. "You don't know anything."
Romeo had to admit that Fred was right about this one. He didn't have an inkling of understanding on what Fred was going through. After all, he never saw his newborn child die during childbirth, or witness his own wife hang herself in this very cabin.
After Fred and Xara's baby died, both of them fell into a pit of depression, but Xara was the worst of the two. She was like a ghost, always staring off into space with glassy eyes, always mumbling to herself nonsensically, and always turning her head like an owl whenever she heard a small child call out for their mother. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she would suddenly sit up in bed and start SCREAMING like a banshee. Whenever Fred tried to calm her down afterwards, Xara would crumple and sob into her hands, crying about seeing her dead daughter's eyes staring at her everywhere she went, accusing her. The two of them were in so much crippling grief that Romeo decided to call off his attack permanently.
Finally, Xara couldn't take it anymore. No matter where she went, all she could see were the dead, lifeless eyes of her baby glaring at her. She wanted it to stop. So she took things into her own hands. She discovered Romeo's command block, used it to take away her own powers, thus stripping her of her immortality, and hung herself inside their childhood cabin. Fred came back not long after, and seeing his own wife hanging from the ceiling was enough to break him. After burying Xara's body, Fred hid in the cabin and never came out since.
"You're right, Fred," said Romeo. "I don't know how you feel at all." He reached over and squeezed Fred's hand. "But that doesn't mean I don't care about you." Fred stared at Romeo in shock. "I thought you hated me," he said. Romeo paused for a moment. "...maybe I don't," he finally said. "Fred, I've made my decision. I don't want to be an Admin anymore." Now Fred was even more shocked. "Romeo, what on earth are you talking about?," he asked.
"Let me explain," said Romeo. "Before, I didn't think I had a choice. I didn't want to lose my powers, but I didn't want to lose you and Xara either. I wanted to keep both. That's why I orchestrated that earlier attack, you see. I thought I could intimidate you and Xara into backing down and staying as Admins with me forever." He sighed heavily. "But seeing you like this made me realize that being an Admin isn't worth it. In fact, it SUCKS. You were right, Fred. We never should've gone searching for the Old Man of the Sky. I want to go back to the way things were. Back to the simpler times, when we didn't even know the existence of Admins."
Fred snorted. "It's a little late for that," he said cynically, turning away from Romeo to face the wall. "That doesn't mean we can't try," Romeo argued. "This is what YOU wanted, remember?" Fred gazed back at Romeo hopefully. "Do you really think we could go back?," he asked. "Even without Xara?" "We'll never know if we don't try," said Romeo. "Come on, let's give it a shot. We'll live out the rest of our lives as totally normal humans without a care in the world, and without the burden of being gods weighing on our shoulders. What do you say?" For the first time in weeks, a glint of hope entered Fred's eyes. Romeo had no idea how much he needed to see that. "Yeah," said Fred, taking Romeo's hand. "Let's give it a try."
After that, Fred and Romeo used the command block to get rid of their own powers and became mortals again. They lived out the rest of their lives as totally normal humans without a care in the world, and without the burden of being gods weighing on their shoulders. Together, they grew up into old men and peacefully died in their beds at ripe, old ages.
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This. Freaking. Sucks. Those were my exact thoughts as I sat there on the hard stone floor in my dirty clothes, bored out of my mind, completely and utterly powerless. I should've known that Herobrine wasn't going to play fair. Honestly, what else did I expect? I sighed loudly and laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling in pure boredom. When there was no answer, I sighed even louder. There was still no answer. Finally, I took a deep breath and sighed as loud as I could… BANG! BANG! BANG! "Would you shut up already?!," yelled the guard, banging on the iron door for what felt like the hundredth time. "Dear lord, you're driving me fucking insane!" "But I'm booored!," I moaned. "Entertain me, peon!" The guard grumbled undecipherable words under his breath. "What was that?," I asked, not quite hearing what he said. "I was saying how wonderful it would be for me to get in there and strangle you with my bare hands," the guard snapped. He clearly wanted to intimidate me, but I wasn't worried. After all, Isaac taught me how to tell whether or not someone was bluffing or genuinely threatening me.
He also taught me how to kill a person with a stick, a pufferfish, and a melon. I couldn't help but shiver from that traumatic memory. The guard outside heard me shivering and probably thought that I was afraid of him now, if his smug chuckle was anything to go by.
With nothing else to do but wait, I held my hands out in front of me to form two "mouths" talking to each other. "Mwahahahahahaha!," I made my left hand cackle in a high-pitched voice. "You're too late, Captain Amazing! The whole world is now under my control!" "That's what YOU think, Doctor Evil!," I made my right hand speak in a deep voice. "I'll karate chop you so hard in the throat that you'll be puking babies for the rest of your life!" "...that's an oddly specific and very weird threat, Captain Amazing," said Doctor Evil. "Oh, shut up, you!," Captain Amazing snapped. "Making these one-liners is a lot harder than you think! Anyway, Doctor Evil, prepare to be defeated!" Then, I began smashing my hands together repeatedly. "Hyah! Take that! And that!" "Oh, no!," cried Doctor Evil. "Captain Amazing is too...uh...amazing! Nooooo!"
I suddenly stopped what I was doing, blinked a few times, then groaned and placed my arm over my eyes in mortification. "What the hell am I doing?," I sighed. "I could ask you the same question," the guard outside snarked. I flipped him the bird, even though he couldn't actually see me. If Herobrine's idea was to slowly drive me to insanity, it was working.
Suddenly, I heard another pair of footsteps getting closer to the door. "He's ready to see her now," said another male voice, possibly another guard. The iron door opened, revealing two men who were dressed from head to toe in...actually, I wasn't sure what I was looking at. They appeared to be wearing armor, but it wasn't like any other armor that I had ever seen. It was black, sleek, and looked very futuristic, for lack of a better word. They also held large guns in their hands. I couldn't help but stare at them in shock. Needless to say, guns weren't a thing just yet. If you wanted to shoot something from far away, you used a bow. If it weren't for all those thriller and noir films that Kevin showed me, which had plenty of gunfight scenes, I probably wouldn't have even recognized what they were holding and aiming...at...me. Aw, shit.
"What the hell are you staring at us for?," asked one of the guards. Since his helmet covered his entire face, I could only recognize him by his gruff voice. He was the same guard who had been standing outside the door since I woke up. "And get up already. The boss wants to see you." I stood up and dusted myself off. "Who's the boss?," I asked. The guard sneered, or at least made a weird sound that implied he was sneering. "Like you don't know," he scoffed. "You gotta know who the boss is, otherwise why would you even be here?"
"Of course, why else would I be here?," I snarked. "It's not like I ended up here against my own will- oh, SHIT!" I quickly jumped to the side right when the guard fired his gun at me. Fortunately, he wasn't actually aiming at me, because there was no way I could've dodged a fucking bullet of all things. Instead, the bullet flew into the wall that was behind me, but instead of cracking it or making a small hole like how I expected, the bullet blew up, creating a small, sizzling crater in the wall. Even in the movies that Kevin showed me, guns were NOT supposed to be able to do that. I slowly turned back to face the guards. The expression on my face must have been priceless, because the other guard was desperately trying to hold in a laugh.
The guard who shot at me slowly lowered his gun. "Don't. Test. Me," he spoke. "...you son of a bitch," I whispered. "You tried to shoot me." "I wasn't even aiming at you," the guard spoke. "If I wanted it, you'd already be dead." Finally, the other guard couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing uproariously. His voice sounded much lighter and younger than his fellow guard. "Okay, that is not funny," I growled. "That was just uncalled for. You DO know you're both harassing your prisoner, right?" The younger guard finally stopped laughing. "Sorry about that," he chuckled. "But let's face it, you kind of had that coming. I mean, what did you expect from insulting two men with guns pointed at you?" I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. Yeah, that definitely wasn't my brightest moment. "Heh, whoo!," the younger guard said. "Man, you're a riot. You're not that bad...for a spy, that is. Anyway, you better come with us so we can take you to the boss. He's got some questions for you that need to be answered."
And there it is again, I thought in confusion. That's the second time someone called me a spy since I first got here. Why do they think I'm a spy of all people? "Oh, and one more thing," said the younger guard. "Before you step out of this room, you gotta wear this." He took out a strange object that looked like a metal bracelet and tossed it to me. I caught it and observed it for a while. It took me a few seconds to realize what it was. "Really?," I deadpanned, staring at them with an "are you serious" face. "You want me to wear a shock collar?" "Got a problem with that?," the older guard asked mockingly. "Uh, yeah!," I retorted. "Yeah, I have a problem with that! You want me to wear a fucking shock collar? I'm not an animal!" "No, you're not," said the older guard. "You're a spy, which means you're worse than an animal." I clenched my hands into fists. "Call me a 'spy' one more time," I growled. "I dare you. I fucking dare you."
"Now, now, children," said the younger guard. "Let's not escalate this further than we need to. And listen, uh…" "Alex," I said. "Right, Alex," the guard continued. "I get that you're pissed about having to wear a shock collar, which is understandable. I'd be pretty pissed myself. But it's kind of a necessary precaution for our prisoners. Do you have any idea how many of them tried to make a run for it once they stepped foot outside of their rooms? You get it, right?" I glared at him, but eventually sighed and began putting the shock collar around my neck. "Fine," I groaned. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it." For some reason, the younger guard began chuckling again. Strangely enough, so did the older guard. "What now?," I sighed.
"Oh, nothing," said the younger guard. "It's just that I didn't say you had to wear the collar around your neck. You could've worn it around your arm or something." My eyes widened and I quickly tried to take it back off, but it was now stuck around my neck. I tried yanking on it, scratching at it, and even tried biting it, but nothing worked. Meanwhile, both of the guards were laughing shamelessly. "You guys are assholes," I muttered, glaring at them. "Heh, if we had an iron ingot for every time we heard THAT," chuckled the older guard. "Come on, let's go meet the boss already. He's not a very patient man, if you catch my drift." After that, we got out of the room and walked down a long and eerie hallway that was bathed in bright light from strange looking lanterns hanging from the ceiling. As we walked through the hallway, I decided to make some more conversation. "So…," I said slowly. "So…?," the younger guard echoed.
"So...what do I call you guys?," I asked. "I can't exactly just keep referring to you two as 'the guards' in my head all the time." "Trying to squeeze information out of us, huh?," the older guard scoffed. "Didn't expect anything else from a spy." My eye twitched. "Now, now, Hank," said the younger guard. "I think it's only right for us to tell her our names. We'll be watching over her for a long while anyway, so why not get acquainted with her as soon as possible?" Hank grumbled under his breath but didn't say anything else. "Anyway, I'm Jimmy," the younger guard introduced himself. "And as you already know, this big old lug right here is Hank." Hank started grumbling again. Hank? Jimmy?, I thought. Why do those names sound so familiar? "Well, I'm Alex," I said. "It's nice to know that I'm dealing with actual people under all of that armor and not a pair of robots." Jimmy chuckled. "Nah, robots are crazy expensive and take a ton of resources to build," he said. "We prefer doing our jobs personally. Plus, we don't really trust advanced AI, if you know what I mean." ...okaaay, I thought in confusion. That was supposed to be a joke not meant to be taken seriously, but sure, whatever floats your boat, I guess. Still, I couldn't help but wonder where I heard those names before. Even their voices sounded familiar!
We eventually arrived at a massive room that was nearly empty except for a long table at the center. Seated behind the table were five people dressed in white robes that hid their faces in dark shadows. On the other side of the table was a single chair with iron cuffs on the armrests and legs. Jimmy and Hank suddenly shoved me into the chair and quickly locked the cuffs around my wrists and ankles to prevent myself from escaping. "Sorry about that," Jimmy whispered upon seeing the surprised look on my face. "Like I said, necessary precautions." Then, the two guards stepped back with their guns aimed at my head while the people in robes stared at me - even though it was very hard to tell with their faces hidden - for what felt like an hour. Finally, the robed figure in the middle, who was obviously the leader, spoke in a heavily distorted and modified voice. "Why have you come here? To steal our secrets? To find our weak spots? Answer these questions or you will suffer the consequences." Yikes. Those people really like getting to the point, huh? "Yeah, about that," I said nervously. "I'd love to tell you...if I even know what's going on. Trust me, I'm just as clueless as you are." Next to me, I heard Hank hiss for some reason. It was the sound of someone who knew that shit was about to go down.
"You're lying," the robed man said bluntly. The robed person sitting next to him, who was obviously a woman due to her slimmer figure, pulled out a remote control. It looked like the same one that Kevin used to change channels on his television set, but while his remote had numerous different buttons on it, this one only had one large red button. She pressed the button...and suddenly, a rush of electricity flowed through my entire body. Crackling noises filled my ears, my body convulsed sporadically, and it felt like every bone in my body was set on fire. The cuffs on the chair were the only things that were holding me in place. It almost felt like the time when PAMA tried to take the headset off of me. After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally stopped. I was left sitting in the chair, breathing heavily while my face and fingers still twitched from the leftover current. Smoke was rising from my slightly singed hair, and blood was pouring out of my nose. "Every time you tell a lie, my associate here will press this button," the robed man explained. "This will activate the shock collar around your neck and induce a controlled electric shock of about five hundred volts. It doesn't matter how stubborn you are. Just a few shocks from that collar is enough to loosen the tongues of our most hardened prisoners." The robed man leaned across the table. "Now answer the question."
I coughed harshly, sending a few droplets of blood flying onto the table. "I…*cough cough*...don't know anything." The robed man nodded to the one with the button, who pressed it again. ZAP! Another electric shock coursed through my body painfully. I screamed out in pain and thrashed around inside the chair, but the iron cuffs firmly held me in place. Finally, the shock went away again. "Don't test our patience, you filthy spy," another robed man growled, also in a distorted and modified voice. "Our forces found you just outside our base, unconscious and laying in the mud. Nobody in their right minds would dare get that close unless they were enemy spies. Not only will you tell us why you're here, but you will also tell us everything that we need to know about the Old Builders and PAMA." My frazzled mind could barely even understand the words that were coming out of his mouth, but the last part caught my attention. "O-Old Builders? P-PAMA?," I croaked hoarsely. "That got a reaction, didn't it?," said the leader. "Now tell us everything that we need to know. Don't think for a second that you're indispensable."
"I…*cough*...swear," I groaned. "I don't...*cough cough*...know anything." Once again, another electric shock caused me to scream in pain and convulse violently. "Wait a minute!," somebody cried out. It was Jimmy. "I think she's telling the truth, boss. I really don't think she knows anything." The shock went away again. "Explain," the robed man ordered. Jimmy gulped audibly. "Well, think about it," he said. "We found her right outside of our base, and not only that, she was unconscious. That'd make her a pretty terrible spy, right? And also, if she really knew anything, what reason could she have to keep it to herself? She'll just get tortured some more, and it's not like she can just go back to PAMA. She'll be killed." Jimmy paused and cleared his throat nervously. "I mean, that's just my own personal opinion...uh, boss."
The robed man stared at Jimmy unnervingly, while Jimmy slightly wilted under the intense pressure. Hank was nervously fingering his gun, as if he was about to defend himself from an unknown assailant. Meanwhile, I was in so much pain from the electric shocks that I didn't even know what was going on at the time. I just wanted the pain to stop.
"...maybe you're right," the robed man finally said. "Maybe she's not really a spy." Jimmy ended up sighing in relief. "But that doesn't mean we can just let her go," the leader continued. "She was still found right outside of our base, a base that, need I remind you, is completely hidden from the outside world. The only people in the world who know where our base is located are the people inside of it. This young woman somehow found our base, and I clearly don't recognize her as one of our forces. She may not be working for PAMA or the Old Builders, but she is still a potential threat to us. And all threats, no matter how harmless they may seem, need to be eradicated as soon as possible." "Um, actually, maybe we should hear her side of the story before we decide to execute her," Jimmy said urgently. "She could still hold valuable information for us. She could still be useful." "...you have a point," said the robed woman who was holding the button. "Very well, then. We'll use a...less painful method to extract information from her. But she still has to wear the shock collar. We don't want her doing anything...rash." "Crystal clear," said Jimmy. "But let's not start questioning her now. She's pretty out of it. Me and Hank will take her back to her cell and let her rest for a while. After that, she'll give you all the answers you need." With that said, the two guards uncuffed me from the chair. Hank picked me up and carried me over his shoulder, since I was far too weak to even process what was going on, let alone walk on my own. We began making our way back through the hallway.
About halfway through, once the guards were certain that they were currently out of earshot, Hank turned to face Jimmy angrily, still carrying my limp body over his shoulder. "You wanna tell me what that was all about?," he snapped. "Jesus Christ, Jimmy, you could've gotten us killed with that little stunt of yours! You're smarter than that!" "I know, I know," Jimmy sighed. "But I couldn't just let them continue. If they kept that up, Alex would've died." Hank paused for a moment. "Well, that's a first for you," he said. "You usually don't care whether or not a prisoner dies from being electrocuted. Something I need to know?" Jimmy noticed the teasing tone in his friend's voice and glared at him. Or at least, he tried to, since it was pretty hard to do so when your entire face, including your eyes, were covered by a reflective glass visor.
"It's not like that, Hank," he groaned. "You know I'm not the type of guy to go 'aoogah' over some lady who I barely even know." "Well, what you did back there didn't really help your case," said Hank. "Come on, what's eating ya? I've been your pal for ten years, man. You can trust me with anything." Jimmy stopped for a moment, trying to find a way to put his thoughts into words that wouldn't get him laughed at or ridiculed. "I just got this feeling when I first saw her," he began. "And no, it's not what you think, Hank! I know you're giving me that smug little grin, even through that visor!" "I have no idea what you're talking about," said Hank, even though he indeed had a smug grin on his face. Jimmy gave him the middle finger, though there was no real malice behind it. "Look, I have no idea where that feeling came from," he explained. "It's like...for a moment, I thought I saw this weird series of events...like visions...and they all lead up to this huge climax with Alex right in the middle of it. I feel like she's important in some weird way. Like she's the one who's gonna save the world from becoming an even worse dump than it already is." He sighed heavily. "I'm not making any fucking sense, am I?"
"Nope, you're definitely not," Hank said bluntly. "Just...don't do something like that again, okay? I was scared for you." Jimmy chuckled. "Hank, please, you're gonna make me blush," he said sarcastically. Eventually, they arrived back at my cell. "Alright, help me get her off my back, 'cause she's getting very heavy," said Hank, bending his knees. Jimmy carefully carried me off of Hank's back and slowly laid me onto the ground faceup. Hank opened one of my eyes with his fingers and observed my dilated pupil. "She's conscious, but barely," he said. "That shock collar did a real number on her." Jimmy got down on his knees and began lightly slapping my face. "Hey, come on," he said. "Wake up. Shake it off." I could only moan in reply, barely able to even think straight. "Yep, she's definitely out of it," said Jimmy, shaking his head. "How long do you think she's gonna stay like that for?" "How the hell should I know?," Hank asked. "I'm not a doctor. But seriously, five hundred volts. Damn. She's lucky to even be alive."
"So do you think she's a spy?," asked Jimmy. Hank shook his head. "Nah. I used to think that, but after hearing what you said earlier, I'm not so sure anymore. Hopefully, we'll get some answers once she recovers." The two guards sat down next to me and waited.
I opened my eyes and quickly sat up, desperately gasping for air. I looked around at my surroundings, then realized that there were two things that didn't make much sense. The first thing I noticed was that the pain I felt from the electric shocks were no longer present. In fact, it felt like I had just woken up from a long and restful sleep. The second thing I noticed was that I was no longer in the giant torture room with the robed people, or the jail cell where I first met the two guards. Instead, I found myself back in a very familiar and oddly comforting place. It was pitch black everywhere, but I could still see my own body when I looked down at it. There was no floor, but it still felt like I was walking on one. At first, I couldn't quite figure out where I'd seen this place before, just because it has been so long since I've been here. Then, my eyes widened in recognition. This was the inside of my mind! But I haven't visited this place since…
A light shined from far away, grabbing my attention. At first glance, it just looked like a tiny square floating in the air, shifting and changing into various colors. But as I got closer and realized what it really was, I began running towards it excitedly. Sure enough, the square was actually a familiar television set that had been turned on and was showing an episode of Steven Universe. And standing in front of the television was a familiar red couch with a familiar person sitting on it. The person paused the episode and turned his head to face me. My heart stopped in its tracks. I'd recognize those glowing red eyes and that white hoodie anywhere.
"Hey, Alex," said Kevin, smiling widely. "Long time no see. Hope you didn't get into any trouble while I was gone." I stared at my long time friend like I was seeing a complete stranger or a ghost. I even tried rubbing my eyes in case that what I was seeing was just a figment of my imagination. But it wasn't. Sitting right there, watching television while casually munching from a bowl of popcorn was the Virus that I had grown to love as my own brother, Kevin. "KEVIN!," I cried, running towards him as fast as possible. I jumped and tackled him, wrapping my arms around him tightly. "Whoa, hey there!," Kevin chuckled. "Slow your roll, kiddo! You're gonna break my spine if you keep this up." "I can't believe you'd still be joking around like this!," I yelled, tears streaming down my face. I wanted nothing more than to slap that smug grin off his face. "What happened?! Where were you?! How did you-?!"
Kevin placed his hands on my shoulders and slowly pushed me back. "Come on, one question at a time," he said calmly. "S-sorry," I said, wiping my tears away. "How...how are you still alive? I thought you were dead. I...I saw you disintegrating in front of my own eyes!" "Hey, I'm just as confused as you are, Alex," said Kevin, shrugging his shoulders. "...what?," I said, staring at him. "You mean...you don't know either?" "Nope," said Kevin. "One minute, I was in a state of nonexistence, and the next...poof! Just popped up outta nowhere." "...that's it?," I asked in bewilderment. Kevin nodded. "And...you're just okay with this?," I asked.
"I'll admit, it was pretty weird," Kevin said nonchalantly. "But hey, I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth." I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing. If I had come back to life for no explainable reason, I'd be pretty freaked out! Then, a thought occurred to me. "So you were the one who told Annie to evacuate everyone in Champion City…," I said slowly, remembering what Annie told me after Romeo had been defeated. "Yep, that's me!," Kevin said proudly. "...but if you were alive this whole time, why didn't you come back…?," I asked quietly. "You know what I love the most about Steven Universe?," asked Kevin, pointing at the screen. "The drama. Oh, and the badass fights, but mostly the drama. Rebecca Sugar has really outdone herself, don't you think?" He was obviously trying to avoid my last question, even though I couldn't even imagine what kind of reason he had. "Yeah...that's a pretty good show," I replied hollowly. Why won't you answer me?, I thought sadly.
After that, we spent a while watching the show. Kevin just laughed and made witty commentary while I remained silent, just sitting there motionlessly with my eyes glued to the screen. Sometimes, I glanced over at Kevin, who seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. What's wrong with you, Kevin?, I thought. Why are you acting like this? It felt like I was watching the show with a complete stranger. Kevin was acting like nothing had happened, like he just wanted things to get back to the way they were. He brushed off my emotions like they were nothing and was just mindlessly watching the screen while shoving handfuls of popcorn into his mouth. I wanted to shake him and scream into his face. I wanted to slap him in the face as hard as I could. I wanted to make him tell me what the hell was going on with him.
"You seem pretty tense right now, Alex," said Kevin. "It's nothing," I lied through my teeth. You're not him, I thought. You're not Kevin. A plan began forming in my head. "Listen, I didn't just come here to watch shows with you," said Kevin. "I also came here to tell you something." "Hold that thought," I said. "You mind handing me the remote?" Kevin shrugged and gave me the remote. I began flipping through the channels before the screen showed a pale looking woman with black hair kissing a muscular young man with no shirt on. "This is a movie from the Twilight series," I said. "It's about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire and a werewolf. You loved this movie." "Uh...oh yeah!," Kevin chuckled nervously. "Love that movie! Can't get enough of it." Gotcha, I thought victoriously, turning the television off. "Hey, why'd you turn it off?," asked Kevin. "I was enjoying that." "Drop the act already, will you?," I said bluntly with a sigh. "I know you're not actually Kevin." For a very brief moment, Kevin went completely still and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "That's ridiculous. What makes you think that, kiddo?" I glared at him. "Because the real Kevin HATED Twilight."
Kevin froze again, his entire demeanor changing. Before, he was cocky and confident, or to be more accurate, he was TRYING to act cocky and confident, utterly failing in the process. But with his cover now blown, he seemed like a completely different person. His back was now ramrod straight, his shoulders were stiff and squared up, his grin had turned into a small frown, and his eyes were reduced to slits that glared right into my soul. At first, I was taken aback by the sudden change in his demeanor, but I had to remind myself that this was NOT the real Kevin. This was an imposter who had decided to take Kevin's face and voice, and was using them to manipulate me for some reason. "Who are you?," I demanded angrily. "Why are you pretending to be Kevin and what do you want from me?!" On the inside, I was seething with rage. That liar tried to emotionally manipulate me by disguising himself as someone who I loved dearly and had died right in front of me! What kind of sick fuck does that?!
"It doesn't matter who I am, Alexandra," said the imposter. The fact that he called me by my official name just cemented my suspicions. Kevin had always called me "Alex", or other nicknames like "kiddo" or "dude." But he NEVER called me "Alexandra." "All that matters is that I have something very important to tell you, and you need to listen," the imposter continued. I glared at him suspiciously. "Then why don't you tell me face to face?," I challenged him. "Why don't you show me who you really are?" The imposter paused for a moment, as if he was actually considering revealing himself. But he shook his head. "I already told you, my real identity is not important." "Well, it's important to ME!," I snapped angrily. "Who are you really? Notch? Herobrine? You're one of those two, right?!" "No, I am not!," the imposter snapped. "I came here to warn you about them!" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. On the one hand, there was no way I could trust someone who refuses to even tell me who he really is. But on the other hand, I could use all the help I could get, no matter what source it comes from.
"Alright, fine," I sighed. "But just know that I'm taking whatever you're going to say to me with a grain of salt. I don't trust you one bit." The imposter grumbled under his breath, clearly not pleased by what I said. Finally, he relented. "Fine," he growled angrily. "Now listen carefully, because this is very important. Notch and Herobrine are dangerous." I rolled my eyes. "Geez, I never would've figured that out," I said sarcastically. "Is that all you came to tell me?" "I'm not done," said the imposter. "Those two cannot be beaten, they cannot be killed, and they cannot be bargained with. They will tear you to pieces, physically, mentally, and emotionally. You can't win against them." "So is THAT all you came here to tell me?," I asked angrily. "That I'm going to fail?" "If you keep going down your current path, you're going to experience more pain and suffering than you ever thought possible," the imposter warned. "I'm throwing you a lifeline here. I'm trying to save you from a terrible fate."
I raised my eyebrow in confusion. Now that was something that I wasn't expecting to hear from him. "What do you mean?," I asked. "I want to help you," said the imposter. "You have no reason to trust me, and that's fine. I just want to give you some very important advice. It could mean the difference between life and death." "And why should I believe you?," I asked. "Because I didn't have to do the things that I did," the imposter answered. "Remember, I was the one who had your friend, Annie, evacuate people out of Champion City before Romeo destroyed it. I didn't have to do that. I could've let those people die. But I didn't." "You'll have to try harder than that to convince me," I said. This Kevin imposter may have saved hundreds of people, but there was no guarantee that he did so out of purely good intentions. For all I knew, he only did that to get in my good graces and would've let them die if there was nothing in it for him. "Alright, fine," said Kevin. "How's this for proof? Do you remember all those strange nightmares and visions that you had recently?"
I slowly nodded. "Yeah, I do," I said, before my eyes widened in realization. "Wait, that was you?! I thought that was just Herobrine or Notch fucking with my mind!" The imposter shook his head. "No, that was all me," he said. "I've been trying to warn you through dreams and visions, but you never heeded them. I even disguised myself as your other friend, Lukas, and tried to warn you with a Bible sermon." "That was also you?," I asked, shocked by what I was hearing. Now that I thought about it, the Bible passage that he read earlier fits eerily well with the current situation. No prizes for guessing who the devil is supposed to represent. "And now, it's too late," the imposter sighed. He seemed so genuinely upset that I finally decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "...so what's your advice then?," I asked, crossing my arms. "Run away," the imposter answered bluntly. "Just drop what you're doing and leave right now. Get as far away from them as possible. If you do that, then there's a chance they might spare you." And just like that, my opinion of him instantly plummeted. "I'm not doing that," I said firmly. "If those two want a fight so badly, then I'll give them a fight."
"YOU IDIOT!," the imposter roared, scaring the living daylights out of me. "Didn't you hear a word of what I just said?! They can't be beaten! They're invincible! I am offering you this one chance to save yourself, and you're too stupid to accept it!" "I don't care what you have to say!," I yelled back. "I'm not running away, and that's final!" "...you have a death wish," the imposter growled, slightly calming down. "You have a fucking death wish." "No, I have something else," I retorted. "It's a little thing called 'loyalty,' not that YOU have any fucking idea what that is. Maybe running away is MY best chance of survival, but what about the people who can't run away? What about everyone in the world who I vowed to protect with my life? What about all of my friends and family?" The imposter snorted. "What about them?," he scoffed. I gave him a heated glare, and the imposter glared right back at me.
"...get out," I whispered fiercely. "Whoever you are, get out of my head, and get out of my life! I never want to see you again!" "Fine!," the imposter growled. "You want to throw away your life so badly?! Go ahead! See if I care!" He got off the couch and was about to storm away, but suddenly stopped and turned back to face me. He was grinning again, but unlike the last one, which was incredibly forced, this one was much more genuine and much more malicious. "But before I go, let me tell you one last thing," he said. "And what would that be?," I asked suspiciously. Suddenly, it felt like I had been dunked in a tub of ice cold water. At the same time, my muscles seized up and I went as still as a statue. The imposter leaned his face into mine until our noses were practically touching. I couldn't do anything to get away. Then, he whispered into my ear in a menacing tone. "There is no god except for me. Alex, I will take away everything that you hold dear, and I will not stop until you have nothing left. Nothing but the thought of death to relieve you from the pain that will be in your future. Mark my words." The imposter leaned back and started laughing while I felt myself take back control of my own body again. "You…," I gasped, quivering in both fear and rage. "You…" "Yes, it was me," the imposter admitted. "I was the one who killed them all. Not Herobrine, not Notch. Me. I killed the old Order of the Stone and left that message on the wall in their own blood. Soren, Ivor, Gabriel, Magnus; I slaughtered all of them."
"You...you…" My whole body was shaking and my nails dug into the palms of my hands until they started bleeding. "You should've heard them cry and beg for mercy," the imposter continued. "They were pathetic. I took great joy in tearing their bodies apart with my bare hands. Unfortunately, one of them escaped with only a severed finger. Your father. But I don't think he'll pose as much of a threat anymore. I bet Ramus is cowering in a cave somewhere, waiting until he bleeds out from his wounds. What are you gonna do, Alex? Hm? What are you gonna do?!" I screamed and lashed out at his face, punching him directly in the nose. Then, I straddled him and began strangling him. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!," I screamed. "I'LL KILL YOU LIKE YOU KILLED THEM!"
Suddenly, an armored fist landed on my face, sending me flying back and slamming onto a stone wall painfully. I shook my head vigorously and slowly got back up with my fists raised, ready to keep fighting. But when my vision realigned itself, I realized that I was no longer inside of my own head. Instead, I was back in the jail cell where Herobrine teleported me. Hank, the one who had punched me in the face, was bending over Jimmy, who was coughing while rubbing his throat painfully. "Fucking hell!," he hacked. "What the hell's the matter with you, lady?! You almost crushed my fucking windpipe!" Hank marched over to me, picked me up by the front of my shirt, and punched me again, knocking me back to the floor. "Don't you dare pull another stunt like that again, you hear me?!," he roared. "Or I'll beat you up so badly that nobody'll even recognize you as a human being!" "I...I didn't mean to," I whispered, still trying to get my bearings back. "I thought he was someone else…" Compared to the emotional pain I felt from nearly killing Jimmy, the physical pain from Hank's punch was nothing.
"You alright there, Jimmy?," asked Hank, turning back to his friend. "Yeah, I'm fine," said Jimmy, slowly getting back up. "Geez, you save someone from being executed and this is the thanks you get? I'm sure glad I never got married." "Like you'd ever stand a chance with a female," Hank teased, glad to see that his friend was well enough to be in a joking mood. Then, he turned towards me, no doubt furious by what I had done. "You'd better have a damn good explanation for this, bitch," he growled. "You almost killed my friend!" "I-I'm sorry," I stuttered. "I didn't mean to…" At that point, a wave of grief and sadness washed over me. It wasn't because I nearly killed Jimmy, though that was a part of it. After seeing my own family lying in a pool of their blood, staring at me with their lifeless, glassy eyes, I was in a complete state of shock. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even think. It was like I was trapped in a dream that I was about to wake up from any moment. Then, Herobrine came along and there just wasn't any time for me to grieve. But after coming face to face with the one responsible for their deaths, I was reminded of their horrifically mutilated corpses all over again. They may not have been my family in blood, like Fred and Xara were, but they were the greatest family that I could ever ask for. And now they were dead. Killed. I was never going to see them again.
My voice began hitching, tears blurred my vision, and I began sobbing into my hands while rocking back and forth. Hank, his anger completely forgotten, stared at me for a moment, then turned to Jimmy, who shrugged in response. "Guess she must have a few screws loose," he said. After a full hour of nonstop crying, I was finally reduced to sniffles. During that time, Hank gave Jimmy a potion to drink, and whatever was in it must have healed up his damaged throat, because afterwards, his voice no longer sounded like a dying frog. "Hey, Alex," he said, bending down in front of me. "Listen to me, alright? I promised the boss that once you had your rest, I'd take you to him and you would tell him everything you know. I stuck my own neck out for you back there, so I hope you don't waste it." Jimmy noticed that I was staring off into space and shook my shoulder while snapping his fingers in front of my face. "Hey. You there? You listening to me?" I snapped out of it and slowly nodded. "Now you're lucky I was there to drag your ass out of the fire, because the boss was ready to have you executed. Don't mess it up again, alright? You're not the only one whose life is on the line." I nodded again. "Not talking anymore, huh?," said Jimmy. He sighed. "C'mon, up and at 'em. Let's not waste any more time."
The three of us walked out of the room and through the hallway again. As we walked, Jimmy did everything he could to get me prepared for the next meeting/interrogation. "Now when they tell you to tell them everything, you do exactly that," he lectured. "Don't hide anything from them. They'll know. They're like a bunch of mind readers or something like that. Also, don't have a breakdown like earlier, alright? They don't exactly take kindly to weakness. And…" He gestured to the shock collar that was still around my neck. "...I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep wearing that for the time being." "I know," I sighed, slowly nodding. "Necessary precautions, am I right?" "And she finally speaks once again," Hank joked. Jimmy chuckled. "Yep, got that right. Necessary precautions…" We finally arrived back at the giant room, where the council of robed people were waiting for us. The two guards guided me to the chair and locked me back in with the iron cuffs. After checking to make sure the cuffs were firm and secure, Hank turned to face the robed people. "Thanks for being patient," he said. "She's ready to talk now."
"I should hope so," said the only robed woman. "We wouldn't want a repeat of last time, would we?" She waved the button for the shock collar in an almost taunting manner. I winced. These people are absolutely RUTHLESS. "So you're not a spy then," said the leader. "But you are STILL a potential threat. And we have a rule here: any and all threats, no matter how small, must be taken care of before they grow into even bigger threats. And unfortunately for you, you're an unknown to us. We don't know anything about you. We don't know your history, your motives, your loyalty, nothing. And that makes you a very dangerous threat, young lady. After all, there is no weapon more powerful or deadly than the utilization of the unknown."
"But luckily for you, Jimmy has convinced us to give you another chance," the leader continued. "The only way for you to be spared is if you tell us everything about yourself. Leave nothing hidden. We'll know if you're lying." I sighed tiredly. "That's...gonna be very hard to do," I said hesitantly. "My life has been pretty...complicated, to say the least." "We have plenty of time," said the leader. I took a deep breath. "Alright, here it goes," I said. Then, I told them everything about myself, including the events that led up to this point. I told them how I was the daughter of two godlike beings named Fred and Xara. I told them how Romeo tried to kill me, then covered the world in bedrock and created an entirely new one above it. I told them how I was raised by the Order of the Stone, then Nancy, then got into an abusive relationship with Thomas and Annie. I told them how I met Jesse, Petra, Lukas, and everyone else who I could come to view as family. I told them how we defeated the Wither Storm and reformed Ivor. I told them about our adventures in the Portal Network and meeting the Old Builders. I told them how we fought Romeo and actually won. And of course, I told them about the murder of Soren, Ivor, Gabriel, and Magnus - which was very hard to get through - as well as my wedding with Jesse, the moon being covered by a shadow, and Herobrine finally teleporting me here.
When I finished my story, everyone was completely silent. They were all just staring at me, and even though each of their faces were covered up, I could tell that they were absolutely bewildered by what I just said. After a while, Jimmy covered his face with his hands and began murmuring, "Damn it, Alex" while shaking his head. "That's a very interesting story that you just told us," said the leader. "It almost sounds impossible." I sighed heavily. "I did tell you that you wouldn't believe me," I said, then squeezed my eyes shut in preparation for another shock. The robed woman was about to press the button again, but the leader stopped her. "Let's not be too hasty," he said. "I said her story was ALMOST impossible. I do think that there is a grain of truth in her story." I opened my eyes and stared at him in shock. Hank, Jimmy, and even the other robed people did the same thing. "Boss, what are you talking about?," asked Hank.
"Tell me something," said the leader, ignoring Hank's question. "This Soren fellow that you brought up a few times. What did he look like? I want you to describe his appearance as much as possible, and make sure to leave nothing out." I stared at him in confusion, wondering why he was so interested in what Soren looked like. "Well, he was almost bald," I said. "He had an orange beard, an orange moustache, and orange hair on the sides of his head, almost like giant sideburns. His nose was kind of bulbous and he sometimes wore a-" "-a pointed hat with a buckle around it," the leader finished. I blinked in surprise. "Do...do you know him?," I asked. The leader sighed, then reached up and took off his hood. My eyes practically bulged out of my head in total shock. The man dressed in the white robe...was none other than Soren.