Minecraft Story Mode: Pain and Healing

Chapter 19: Showdown

We entered the castle and walked through a hallway lit by sea lanterns, which led us to a gigantic room that was filled with lanterns, colored glass, and various other valuables. "Woah!," was all I could utter as I looked around the room with stars in my eyes. Slab nodded in agreement. "Totally epic, right?," he asked. "Epic? This is incredi-- I, I mean...I've seen better," I corrected myself, remembering whose office this is. "Oh really?," asked Slab, looking very amused. "Well why am I standing around? I gotta go find Hadrian." He turned to walk through the hallway before turning back around. "Oh and don't touch anything!"

Since I already shot and kicked that man in the knee, I didn't want to get further on his bad side. "Okay, don't touch anything," I mumbled, playing with my fingers. "No problem." I saw something glinting from the corner of my eye and turned to see a full set of armor standing upright on a glowing podium. The armor was pure white with gold lining and specks of diamond all over it. "Is that...Tim's armor?," I murmured in recognition.

"So!," said a voice right behind me, causing me to scream and jump a foot in the air. I turned around and saw Hadrian standing just a few inches from me, smiling in amusement. "I see you've found Tim's armor," he said. "Though I gotta say, I'm surprised you'd be attracted to that armor, with everyone calling you the 'New Patrick' and all." "So why am I here?," I asked impatiently, putting my hands on my hips. "Why, so we could continue to discuss the terms of our deal," said Hadrian casually. "You can look closer." He gestured to the armor. "Go ahead." He began to pace around the room.

"I assume by now you've heard all about Tim?," he asked. "Everyone loves him." "You seem awfully fond of Tim," I said suspiciously. "Didn't he win your games? Aren't you bothered by that?" "And they ARE still my games," Hadrian snapped. "I love having a legend that can inspire my competitors. Tim is an inspiration to them, even when he's not here. One could say he's an inspiration BECAUSE he's not here. It's so much easier for a legend to stay nice and shiny when it's a fond memory... Easier to control it. Though your reputation certainly isn't doing you any favors, I still think it would be best if you made a quiet exit."

"Yeah, and about my reputation," I said angrily, "I'm a little sick of everyone treating me like a monster and calling me 'New Patrick' all the time, so why don't you explain to me just who the hell Patrick is anyway?" "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?," Hadrian asked in an icy tone. "I know a lot more than you might think, sport. See, there's something you should know about the games... No one ever wins unless we want them to. Not even Tim..." My eyes widened in alarm. "Did you KILL him?!," I shrieked.

Hadrian blinked, then burst out laughing. "And I thought out of your little group, you were the smart one," he chuckled. "Don't be so idiotic, Alex. This place has respawn, remember? What I'm trying to say is that Tim isn't real." I blinked. "Oh...that makes a lot more sense," I muttered. "Tim gives them hope!," said Hadrian. "He keeps them playing the games! But... No one wins. Ever. Which is why I think it'd be in your best interest to...play along." I frowned at him. "Are you threatening one of your own competitors?," I asked. "Not very sportsmanlike of you, Hadrian." Hadrian chuckled bitterly. "Using my own words against me, eh? How sneaky of you. That sounded like something I would have said."

"Of course, I didn't invite you up here just to 'threaten' you," he continued. "I want to show you something." He walked over to a seemingly normal bookcase before pulling on one of the books. There was the sound of redstone and pistons. Then, a doorway opened up in the wall right next to him. "You have a secret passageway?!," I asked incredulously. Hadrian only gave me a smug smile before entering the doorway, not bothering to check if I was following him. I hesitated, afraid that he might be leading me into a trap, before my curiosity got the best of me and I went into the doorway after Hadrian.

We walked down a long set of stairs, leading us deeper underground. The redstone torches on the walls of the corridor provided barely enough light for us to see in the darkness. "You're probably wondering who Patrick is, right?," asked Hadrian as we walked down the stairs. "And why everyone seem to associate you with him, avoiding you like the plague?" I nodded, squinting in the dim light. Hadrian turned to look at me with a dark glint in his eyes. "Well, you're about to find out." I shivered, even though the tunnel was not cold.