I didn't start out expecting to respond to reviews, but here I am so…

A Fellow Minecraft Lover: Hi! (1) I'm going to try to upload one chapter a week. There will probably be 10-15 chapters total. I might upload mid-week occasionally (to this story or others), but I don't want to let myself become obsessed and end up getting sick of fanfiction. (2) Thank you for bringing that to my attention! I actually did have dividers, but apparently FFN doesn't much care for indentation, spacing, or tildes, and deleted all of mine when I uploaded the file, ugh. (Tildes are the little wavy lines that mean 'approximately.' They also make great dividers.)

Yield-to-eel: Thanks! It takes place in my version of the Minecraft Storymode world. I updated chapter one with an overview of that if you're interested.

Rose Stahla: Thank you!

Guest: Thank! I hope it won't disappoint.

So, I did some math on my statistics (Yes, you read that right. Don't judge me!) and it looks like I got 49 percent as many visitors to chapter 2 as chapter 1. Which means that either half the people that read chapter one went on to keep reading, or some of you bookmarked chapter one and keep coming back to check for updates (or used it as a shortcut to the site). Either way, thanks to those of you still reading!

Chapter 3: Family Reunion,

"Micah?" The older man cautiously croaked, then, more confidently, "Micah!"

"Hi Ivor," Micah said, with an awkward laugh, "Can we talk… alone?"

Ivor followed Micah's gaze to see his friends finally trickling into the entryway to answer to door. Little late for that isn't it, he thought. "Sure, we can talk in my library."

Ivor's library was technically in the front of the mansion, but Soren had designed their home with complexity in mind. It took so long to get anywhere that even the frontmost rooms might as well have been in the back. Of course, it didn't help that Ivor was deliberately taking the long way in order to calm to the raging freight-train in his mind before it completely derailed, so to speak. There journey didn't end when they reached the library either, as it took an absurdly long time to find two chairs near each other. That was intentional. Ivor preferred to read alone, where he was unlikely to be disturbed - except by the sound of Magnus's "experiments" because someone had thought it was a good idea to put the explosives room directly behind the thin wall of his library!

The library itself was large room, crammed tightly with shelves of books and random knick-knacks arranged into a neat and tidy maze pattern, that Ivor described as 'cozy' and his friends described as 'cramped,' 'lonely,' 'boring nerd stuff (that one was from Magnus),' 'ominously dark,' and 'shamefully disorganized.' There had also been a few irritatingly logical remarks made about the dangers of keeping a fireplace around so much dry paper, which Ivor had ardently ignored.

After finally locating two armchairs in the back of room, Ivor turned on his brother, "Where have you been?!"

"We need a place to stay." Micah said, ignoring the question.

"What?" Ivor was incredulous, "After all this time you show up asking for-"

"Just for a little while, a week, two at most. I got into some trouble and I just… I know this short notice but you're the only one that I can trust and I-"

"What in the Overworld makes you think that you have the right to just show up here asking for favors? What could possibly lead you to believe that I want anything to do with you?" Ivor yelled, then he froze, noting the shocked expression on his brother's face, "What kind of trouble?"

"I… do you remember the day I ran away from that foster family?"

"You mean the day you disappeared, not to be heard from for twelve years, leaving everyone to think you'd been killed by mobs or something? Is that the day you mean?"

Micah flinched, "Yeah, that day. Well… you see… as a kid on run I… well—"

"You what?" Ivor was losing his patience.

"I started running with a 'bad crowd' so to speak. I… I needed the money and the protection and well…"

"So you're a criminal." Ivor didn't know why he was surprised, Of course a kid on the run wouldn't be able to get a job; of course they would need to eat, but still, his brother, a criminal.

"Well I wouldn't put it that way. I—"

"You're a criminal, you're running from the law, and you want me to hide you?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean, yes I'm a criminal and no I'm not running from the law." Micah sighed, when he had decided to tell the truth, he hadn't realized how awkward it would be. "I was hired to get something for someone and I messed up, now he's sending his goons to track me down and well…"

"You need a place to stay."

"Yeah."

Ivor sighed, "Micah…"

"It's not what it sounds like."

"What is it then?"

"This isn't going to be a regular thing or—"

"No. It's not." Ivor snapped, it couldn't possibly be a 'regular thing' if it never happened in the first place!

"What I mean is, I'm going get out of this business."

"Really?" Ivor was getting mad; did his brother actually have the nerve to show up here and ask for his help like this, after everything, and then lie to his face about it?

"Really!" Micah insisted, "I know that sounds weak but, after this happened, I realized that this isn't right, it isn't safe… for Melissa." He smiled at the little girl playing just out of earshot. "I want her to have a better life than we did I… I want to be a better father than—" He stopped and looked down at his shoes.

Ivor paused, this was real, wasn't it? "Why me, though? Why can't you go stay with a friend, somebody you know?" Somebody you didn't leave to worry about you for twelve years.

"Most of my 'friends' wouldn't understand my leaving the business, or they would want something from me, or they would turn me over for a reward… You're the only person I feel like I can trust; you're my big brother… right?"

An obvious question suddenly occurred to Ivor, "What about the girl's mother?"

Neither man had realized that Melissa had been listening until she suddenly piped up, "Mommy lives far away, in a magical forest with the unicorns and the ferries. It's her job to keep them safe from the mean old magicians who put her there, and who want to forest's magic."

Ivor blinked at her, "What?"

Micah half smiled, half flinched and whispered, so Melissa couldn't hear, "Caroline passed away a few years ago."

"Oh, well… umm." Now it was Ivor's turn to be awkward.

"Look, it would only be for a couple of weeks, I promise, and then I'll leave you alone and you'll never have to see me again."

"You don't have to, leave me alone… I mean, it would be nice to be… a family… I guess."

"Oh." Micah said, taken aback. "Is… is that a yes?"

"It's not just up to me; I'll have to ask the others."

"Of course."

Ivor got up from his chair. Soren's not going to be happy about this. "Stay here, I'll ask." He began to make his way toward the exit.

"Oh, and Ivor?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, brother."

Ivor stopped and looked back. Up till now, he had thought of the person in that armchair as a stranger that somewhat resembled his brother, but now he could see, in his brother's eyes, the kid that he had grown up with and taken care of all that time. "You're welcome."