After the incident with Ivor, Soren went back to his fortress, believing it was best to be away from the rest of the Order for a while. Studying endermen used to be a favorite pastime of his, but now, he just wasn't in the mood. Soren was grateful that he had the foreknowledge to bring the command block with him to the End, otherwise...he shuddered to even think about what could have happened. What a mess, he thought, absentmindedly counting the number of items he gained from his mob grinder. Things were never going to be the same again.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder, causing him to spin around and scream in fear. "Soren, it's me!," said Ramus, who was also frightened by his outburst. "Ah, Ramus," Soren sighed. "I'm sorry that I didn't notice you coming. Is there something you need?" "Well...kind of," said Ramus. "By the way, how is your nose?" "Oh, it's healing up just fine," Soren responded, tapping on his bandaged nose. "It should heal up in a few days or so."
"That's good to hear," said Ramus. "Listen…" There was an awkward silence. "...I'm about to ask something of you that may seem a little sudden. You don't have to accept it if you don't want to." "Ramus, is something the matter?," Soren asked worriedly.
"Oh, yes, everything's fine," Ramus assured him. "I'm just a little...nervous right now. I'm not sure how you're going to react to this…" "Perhaps it's better that you tell me now and get it over with," said Soren. "Whatever you want to say really seems to be eating you up."
"A little bit. Sorry," Ramus apologized again. "It's just...it's only been a few days since your falling out with the rest of the Order, and I didn't want to spring this onto you so soon." "You don't have to be so nervous," said Soren. "Just tell me what you need." Ramus nodded and took a deep breath. "Soren...would you like to be Lucy's godfather?" Out of all the things that Ramus could've asked him for, this was definitely NOT what Soren had in mind.
Finally, Soren found his voice. "You...want me...to be her godfather?," he asked, scarcely believing the words coming out of his mouth. "Yes, that's what I said," said Ramus. "Though I understand if you're not ready for that responsibility just yet." "I-it's not that," said Soren. "It's just...why on earth would you make ME her godfather? Surely you could've asked any other member of the Order instead of me." "I did consider them," Ramus admitted, "but I still believe that you're the best candidate. Let me explain." He cleared his throat. "I've recently realized that I can't take care of Lucy on my own. At least, not as her only parent." Lucy still had Isa as a mother, but of course, Ramus didn't mention her. "After leaving the End, I took her to the library and scolded her. But after she talked back, I...lost my temper and slapped her."
Soren stared at Ramus with wide eyes. "You slapped her?," he asked incredulously. The very idea that a man as gentle as Ramus would slap his own daughter was shocking, but when he thought about it, he felt that he would've done the same thing in Ramus' shoes. Following them to the End really was incredibly stupid of Lucy. Ramus nodded sadly. "Yes, I did," he said. "While I regret physically hurting her, I DON'T regret telling her off for her actions. Still, I only ended up making things worse. That's why I need someone else to take care of her when I'm not around or when I'm not being myself. I need a pair of helping hands. Namely, yours."
"I suppose that explains some of it," said Soren, letting it all sink in. "But still...why me of all people? Didn't everyone tell you?" "That you were a fraud?," said Ramus, causing Soren to wince. "Yes, they did. They're still a little upset with you, but I'm sure it will pass." "Aren't you upset?," asked Soren. "I was at first," Ramus admitted. "But you still have our best interests at heart, I'm sure. I know you care for us, even if you can be a little bit...difficult. That's also one of the reasons why I chose you to be Lucy's godfather." At that point, Soren took out a bottle of water and began drinking from it. All this sudden drama was making him thirsty.
"I've seen the way you've been looking at my daughter, Soren." Soren immediately spat out the water, soaking Ramus in the process. Ramus nonchalantly wiped some of the water off his face. "It's the look of someone who can't bear to see her hurt," he continued. Soren coughed and gagged, thumping his chest to get the water out of his windpipe. "You *cough cough* couldn't have started with THAT, you ignoramus?!" Ramus smiled discreetly. "I think out of everyone in the Order, you care about Lucy more than anyone, even my brother. Seeing you get rid of the ender dragon with the command block only cemented that. That's why I want you to be Lucy's godfather. I want someone who loves her just as much as I do. Understand?"
"Yes, I think I understand," said Soren, finally getting the last drops of water out of his system. "I personally don't agree that I'm godfather material, but if you really think I can do it...then I'll be the best godfather Lucy has ever had...which isn't a very high bar, considering that I'm currently her ONLY godfather." Ramus chuckled with relief. "That's good to hear," he said. "Great, even. Also, I talked with Ivor and managed to convince him not to leave the Order yet." "Oh...thank you, Ramus," said Soren. He was deeply relieved that Ivor was going to stay. He wasn't particularly fond of the man, but that didn't mean he wanted to get rid of him.
"However," Ramus said with a frown, "Ivor wanted to make it perfectly clear that he's only doing it for Lucy, not for you or the Order." Soren winced, but nodded in understanding. "That's...understandable," he said. "You can go back and tell him I got the message. I'll be staying here for a little while longer, until everyone back at the temple has calmed down." "That's probably for the best," Ramus agreed. He turned around and was about to walk out of the room, but suddenly turned back to face Soren again. "By the way, I'm getting a little worried about Lucy." "What do you mean?," Soren asked fearfully. "Is she alright?"
"Oh, she's fine," Ramus assured him. "She got out of her room two days ago and was about as happy as a clam. But...she's been acting strangely. I sometimes caught her talking to thin air, even though there was nobody else nearby. I asked her who she was talking to, and she told me about her 'friend' named Mister Hoodie." "Oh, so she just has an imaginary friend," said Soren, calming down. "I'm sure that's nothing to worry about. Most children her age have one." "That's true," said Ramus. "I'm just unnerved by how...serious she was. It's almost as if she genuinely believes there is another person in the temple." He shook his head. "But you're right, it's probably nothing. Heh, look at me, getting scared by an imaginary friend. The next thing you know, I'll believe that the ghost Ellegaard saw in her mirror was real too."
The two of them chuckled over the memory. Then, Soren placed his hand on Ramus' shoulder and gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you for giving me another chance, when nobody else would." Ramus smiled back. "It was a pleasure. We're friends, after all."
A few days later, Soren finally returned to the temple. While his relationship with the rest of the Order was a little strained, they were still willing to give him another chance. Lucy was especially happy to see him, if her jumping into his arms and nearly breaking his back was any indication. Ivor apologized for breaking Soren's nose but remained distant from him. For a moment, everyone hoped that things would start going back to normal.
And for a couple of months, things DID start going back to normal. Unfortunately, the peace wouldn't last. Soren was back in his fortress, but he wasn't hiding from his friends like he did before. Instead, he was in a laboratory hidden deep underground, experimenting on the command block. He was trying to reactivate it using multiple redstone sources, but the block seemed to be unaffected. Soren scratched his head and murmured to himself, then took out a notebook and began scribbling his notes. The architect had been enamored by that block ever since he found it in a smoking crater in the woods. It was capable of performing feats that were beyond his comprehension. Even though that block caused a rift between him and his friends, he was still determined to experiment on it and unlock its secrets.
However, after countless sleepless nights, he was no closer to understanding the command block than when he started. He tried cracking it open, throwing potions at it, activating it with redstone, and even striking it with lightning. None of those methods yielded any results. Soren leaned back in his chair and sighed tiredly. He was beginning to run out of ideas. What are you?, he thought irritatedly. Where did you even come from?
Suddenly, he was struck by an idea. It was an idea that was so genius and yet so obvious that he wanted to slap himself for not thinking of it earlier. If potions, redstone, and lightning won't work...then why not try all three of those things at once?
With renewed vigor, Soren ran around and began reconstructing his entire laboratory, adding new dispensers, new levers, and attaching a lightning rod to the command block itself. When it was all complete, Soren stood back to admire his handiwork. There were now two levers instead of one. The first lever activated a redstone trail leading to the command block while the second lever activated dispensers that shot various splash potions at it. He also made the circuit in such a way that if both levers were pulled, the lightning rod would attract lightning from the sky and redirect the energy directly into the command block.
Soren's excitement deflated when he realized that there was a problem with his plan. For this experiment to work, both levers had to be pulled at the exact same time. However, one lever was on one side of the room while the other lever was on the other side. They were too far apart from each other for Soren to properly pull them simultaneously.
If Soren wanted to pull this off, he needed someone else to pull the other lever. He needed an assistant. "I hope Ramus won't mind," he said, walking out of the lab.
Back in the temple, Ramus had just tucked his daughter into bed. "Daddy, tell me another story," pleaded Lucy, laying in her bed with the covers pulled up to her eyes. Ramus chuckled. "Another one?," he asked. "Lucy, I already told you enough stories to last a lifetime!" "But daddy!," Lucy whined. "Your stories are so good!" She gave her father a pair of puppy dog eyes, causing Ramus to laugh. "Alright, alright. This is the story about-" Suddenly, Soren barged into the room. His face brightened upon seeing Ramus. "Ramus, there you are!," he said, sighing in relief upon seeing the man. "I need your help! My experiment on the command block requires an assistant! Please, I need you to be that assistant!"
"Um, Soren," said Ramus, glancing at the little girl in the bed. Soren also saw her, and an idea seemed to enter his mind...one that will haunt him forever. "Ramus, why don't you take her with us?," he asked, smiling. "She's never seen the command block before, so I'm sure the experience would be a real treat for her." Ramus looked uncertain. "I don't know, Soren," he said cautiously. "You know how Ivor reacted when he found out…"
Soren looked extremely uncomfortable. He rubbed his nose, remembering how hard Ivor punched him there. "Yes, I remember…," he trailed off. Ramus appeared deep in thought, then sighed. He looked at Lucy, who was gazing up at the two men curiously. "Lucy," he cooed. "Me and Soren are going to do a little work. Do you want to see?" Lucy's eyes brightened. "Is Uncle Ivy gonna be there?," she asked hopefully, poking her head further out of the blankets.
Ramus chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry sweetie," he said, "but your uncle's away collecting ingredients for a potion." Lucy visibly deflated from the news. "But cheer up," Ramus continued. "You'll still have daddy and Soren to keep you company." Lucy quickly cheered up and nodded. "Then it's settled!," said Soren, eager to show Lucy the command block. "Let's go to the experimentation room." The three of them left the temple and walked all the way to Soren's fortress before entering his lab room. Soren, Ramus, and Lucy stood in another room with glass separating them from the room holding the command block. Lucy was eagerly trying to peek over the glass since she was much shorter than the two men.
"Pull the lever!," yelled Soren in a dramatic fashion. I've always wanted to do that. Ramus rolled his eyes in amusement and flicked a nearby lever. It activated a trail of redstone leading to the command block, causing it to glow ominously. At the same time, a few dispensers shot various potions at the block, making it glow even brighter. As icing on the cake, the lightning rod did its work, attracting a bolt of lightning that nearly blinded them. After the light faded, they saw that the command block was glowing brighter than ever before. "Ramus, look!," cried Soren. "It's working!" Finally, he was going to figure out the origins of the command block. "Quite a sight, right Lucy?," asked Ramus, turning to face his daughter. Instead, he was met with empty space. Suddenly, they heard giggling and saw Lucy running around on the other side of the glass, laughing playfully. She must have snuck into the testing room while Soren and Ramus were temporarily blinded by the lightning strike! No! It's the ender dragon incident all over again! "Lucy!," cried Ramus, running into the testing room.
"Ramus, no!," yelled Soren, torn between running after him and staying put. Ramus ignored him and ran over to Lucy, hugging her protectively just as a beam of light shot out from the command block and zapped them both. In that moment, Soren could've sworn he saw two other people appear from the light beam. One was a man wearing a white hoodie. He had red eyes and pitch black skin. The other man had red hair, a goatee, charcoal skin, and a menacing smile. For some reason, two words popped into Soren's head. Virus. Admin. The Virus grabbed onto Lucy while the Admin grabbed Ramus. With the father and daughter still holding onto each other, the two beings began a tug-o-war with their bodies. At first, it seemed like the Admin was going to win easily. However, the Virus pulled back with a sudden burst of strength that caught the Admin off guard. At the same time, Lucy and Ramus could no longer hold onto each other. The Virus vanished taking Lucy with him, and the Admin vanished taking Ramus with him. All of that happened in the span of a nanosecond, yet Soren was somehow able to keep up with what happened. After that, Soren was the only remaining person inside the lab.
The architect looked around the now empty room in shock. Then, the full weight of what just happened crashed into him. He curled up into a corner and began to sob.
Fortunately, Ramus wasn't killed by the command block as Soren thought. Unfortunately, he ended up in the last place anyone would want to go to. When it finally felt like the world stopped shaking and stretching around him, Ramus opened his eyes and found himself in completely unfamiliar territory. Soren's laboratory had been replaced with what appeared to be the Nether. Behind him was a gigantic maze, similar to the one Ivor built in the Far Lands, but made of obsidian. A few dozen blocks in front of him was a large stone building. A sign that said "Sunshine Institute" was posted in front of the building. Ramus realized it was some kind of prison upon noticing the guards posted on nearby watchtowers. He was also surrounded by a group of strange golems that also seemed to be made of obsidian, with purple glowing markings on their bodies. Worst of all, Lucy was nowhere to be seen.
Ramus instinctively reached for his sword, but his inventory had been emptied. One of the golems went to apprehend him, forcing Ramus to shift into a combat stance. "Now, now, Big Henry," said a calm voice. "That's no way to treat a guest." The golems stepped aside, making room for two men to walk into the scene. Actually, it was only one man. The other person was more like a boy, only a few years older than Lucy. The boy had a slimy expression on his face that looked very out of place for an eight year old. "Who are you people?," Ramus demanded. "Where am I?" "Why, I'm so glad you asked!," said the man, putting his arm around Ramus' shoulders like he was greeting an old friend. "I am the warden, but you may call me the warden, or mister warden if you'd prefer. The little boy next to me is Horace. And this…" He gestured to the stone building in a dramatic fashion. "...is the Sunshine Institute."
Ramus roughly shrugged off the warden's arm. "Alright, thanks for answering my questions," he said. "But HOW did I get here? The last thing I remember is that block shooting a beam of light at us and...Lucy!" He had almost forgotten about her! "Where is she? What did you do to her?!" The warden chuckled. "Calm down, papa bear," he joked. "All your questions will be answered in due time. For now, there's someone who'd like to meet you." "He'd better be the one in charge of this whole thing," Ramus growled. "As a matter of fact, I am," said a voice just behind him. Ramus spun around, coming face to face with a man floating in the air. He had red hair, a goatee, and charcoal skin. He also exuded an overwhelming aura of power. Ramus could've sworn he'd seen that man before upon being struck by the command block.
"Who are you?," he asked warily. "Who am I?," the man repeated, pretending to be hurt. "Ramus, I am just wounded! Yes, I know your name. I know everything about you. But of course, you know nothing about me. So I'll introduce myself. I...am the Admin." "I see," said Ramus, narrowing his eyes. "Would you mind explaining to me how or why I'm here?" "Ahem!," the warden cleared his throat angrily. "Don't talk back to the Admin like that! Show some respect!" "Calm down, warden," said the Admin. "Don't worry, I'll answer your questions. You see, I influenced the command block all the way from here and used its powers to bring you to me. I created that block, you see. That's why I have complete control over it."
Ramus gaped at the Admin in shock. "You...created the command block?" The Admin nodded, enjoying his dumbfounded reaction. "Guilty as charged," he said. "I made it thousands of years ago as a countermeasure against one of my enemies. But sometime after that, I lost it. Your dear friend, Soren, happened to come across that block, and upon using it for the first time, the old fool unwittingly released a cosmic signal that I was able to trace. But I didn't take the block back immediately. I wanted to see how he and his gang of losers were going to use it. And let me tell you, I've never been more entertained in my entire life, and that's REALLY saying something! Using the block to become a group of heroes? Ha, priceless!"
"So we've just been your source of entertainment this whole time?," growled Ramus. "You evil, vile, despicable brute!" Horace and the warden visibly bristled at the insult, but the Admin brushed it off. "Oh, trust me," he said, staring into the distance. "There are worse evils out there other than me. Far, far worse." Ramus glanced at the direction that the Admin was staring at and saw a mountain in the distance with a ring of thunderclouds surrounding it. He wasn't sure why, but looking at the mountain gave him chills and forced him to look away. "That still leaves one more question," he said. "Why did you even bring me here?"
"That...wasn't part of the plan," the Admin admitted. "The command block was supposed to bring your daughter to me, not yourself. But something, or someone, decided to interfere in business that he has no right to stick his nose in." He grumbled something about "rebellious Viruses," whatever that meant. "Wait, you wanted to kidnap Lucy?," Ramus gasped. "But she's just a child! What could you possibly want from her?" The Admin chuckled. "Please, I'm not telling you every little thing just because you want me to. I think we're done here. Warden, take him to the Sunshine Institute." With that said, the Admin clapped his hands and vanished.
"Welp, you heard the Admin," said the warden. "It's time to introduce you to the rest of the Sunshine Institute family." One of the golems, Big Henry, stepped forward and grabbed both of Ramus' arms, lifting him into the air. "Put me down, you piece of metal!," Ramus snarled, thrashing around like a wild animal. "Wow, this one has a temper, mister warden," said Horace, taking out a baton. "Can I hit him? Please?" "No need to do that," said the warden, causing Horace to put the baton away with a disappointed scowl. "All inmates act like this at first. They'll quickly learn that there is no escape from the Sunshine Institute." The warden started walking towards the institute with the golems and their struggling prisoner not too far behind. Horace followed the warden right on his heels, tailing him like an eager lapdog. It would be a very long time before Ramus would ever step foot from within the institute's walls.
Things were going no better back in the temple. In fact, they were worse. After crying over the supposed deaths of Ramus and Lucy, Soren ran over to the temple just as Ivor returned from collecting the ingredients for his new potion. Upon seeing Soren's red eyes and wet face, Ivor grew suspicious and demanded answers. After Soren explained everything, Ivor was far from pleased. "Ivor, I am so sorry!," said Soren. "I didn't know this would happen, I swear!" "Well, apologies aren't going to bring them back!," spat Ivor. "I told you not to go through with the experiment! But you didn't listen! You never do! Now my brother and niece are dead, and it's all your fault!" Ivor stormed out of the room, trying to hold back tears as he left Soren behind, who looked down at the floor with shame and regret all over his face.
But that wasn't the end of the drama. Unbeknownst to Soren, Ivor wasn't the only one who heard the news. "Is it true?," asked Ellegaard, causing Soren to jump and spin around. Ellegaard was standing in the doorway along with Magnus and Gabriel. "How...how much did you hear?," he asked fearfully. "Everything," Gabriel grunted, giving Soren a nasty glare before leaving the room. "Gabriel, where are you going?," Soren called after him. "Exactly where Ivor is going!," Gabriel retorted. "Anywhere but here!" As Gabriel's footsteps faded away, Magnus shook his head in disgust. "You can have this place all to yourself, ginger beard," he spat angrily. "I'm going back to Boom Town. And I'm never coming back." After Magnus said his piece and left, Soren gave Ellegaard a pleading stare. "Don't leave...please…"
At first, it looked like the redstone engineer was about to break into tears. Then, she quickly wiped her eyes and replaced her sad expression with a stony one. "I'm going back to Redstonia," she said curtly. "Don't follow me." She stomped away, leaving Soren all alone inside the temple. The architect stood in place for a moment in silence, then left the room and began casually walking around the temple. His footsteps echoing across the corridors showed just how empty the place was without the rest of the Order...without Lucy…
Finally, Soren couldn't stand to stay in the temple any longer. He returned to his own fortress, where the entire mess started. From that point on, he shut himself off from the outside world, dedicating himself to studying endermen. They were nice and predictable creatures, not like his so-called friends. Psh! Who needs friends anyway? Soren was fully content being all by himself. He could finally get to work finishing his Wool World. No one to bother him, no one to betray him...no one to keep him company...no one to make him laugh…
And from that moment on...the Order of the Stone was no more.
Far, far away, a flash of light suddenly occurred in front of a small wooden building. "Nancy's Home for Lost Children" was what the sign up front said. After the light faded, an unconscious Lucy was lying on the ground not too far from the orphanage, alive and unscathed. But the Virus inside of her was incredibly weak from his struggle with the command block. It would be a long time before he could even communicate with her again. A moment later, a woman with black hair styled in a ponytail and wearing a drab gray dress ran out of the building, having noticed the sudden flash of light. She saw Lucy and gently picked her up. Lucy yawned and looked around tiredly. "You poor girl," said the woman. "Are you alright?" "W-what's going on?," asked Lucy, nervously looking at her surroundings. "Where am I? WHO am I?" No matter how hard she tried, the little girl couldn't remember how she ended up here. In fact, she couldn't remember anything. "Don't worry," said the woman, patting her on the head. "I'll give you a name. How does Alexandra sound to you?" Lucy, now named Alex, smiled at the woman. "I like that name," she chirped. Smiling, the woman grabbed her tiny hand and led her into the orphanage. "My name is Nancy," she said. "I'll introduce you to the other children."
Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Isa was last visited by Ramus and Lucy. They didn't even send a letter telling her they were alright. Isa spent most of her nights laying in bed wide awake, fear and paranoia plaguing her thoughts. Finally, she could stand it no more. She had to make sure that her family was alive and well, even if she had to run all the way to the Order's temple. Screw Ramus' insistence on not wanting Isa to be seen by his friends! She was going to find out what happened to him and Lucy even if it killed her!
As luck would have it, it was raining heavily and lightning was flashing across the sky, followed by peals of thunder. She was tired, drenched, hungry, and in danger of being attacked by mobs, but she still persisted. As Isa ran through a forest that was halfway between the temple and her own house, her ears suddenly started ringing and she grew incredibly nauseous. Her focus began slipping. Everything around her turned blurry.
As a result, she slipped on a mud puddle and banged her head against a nearby tree. She was instantly knocked unconscious. After a few hours, Isa finally woke up with a splitting headache. The sky was clear. The sun was shining. There wasn't a cloud in the sky…
...so why did something feel so...off? Isa quickly figured out why. The sky wasn't just above her. It was also below her. And next to her. It was all around her. She gasped and stood up, scanning her surroundings. Only there was none. Not a single block in sight. All she could see was a single tree...which she was currently standing on. Below the tree was a vast void of nothingness. "Wh...what is this place?," she whispered fearfully. "Where am I?"