Minecraft Story Mode: Pain and Healing

Chapter 20: Champion

It had been years since Kevin was taken by that shadow creature. Even today, I have no idea what it wanted with me or how it entered my mind in the first place. After Kevin went missing, I told my friends and family what had happened, and although they weren't that close to him, they understood my fear and assured me that Kevin may come back. Sadly, he never did. I didn't know whether the shadow creature had him trapped somewhere or simply killed him. All I know is that Kevin was gone and there was nothing I could do.

Again, that was many years ago. The pain that I went through after Kevin went missing had long since dulled over time. I still missed him, but I knew that crying and moping around wouldn't bring him back. On a side note, it had been years since I last saw Isaac as well. The last time I saw him, he had taken a vow to become the best bodyguard I could possibly have and went off somewhere to undergo more training. I hope he will come back soon. ...It was pretty funny, now that I thought about it. The first time we met, Isaac was ready to plunge his sword into me while I was asleep. Now, and call me cheesy if you'd like, I see him as my guardian angel, someone I could look up to and depend on.

That's not to say I favor him over Jesse. I love that little goofball and I always will. But in the past year, we have grown rather...distant. Our relationship hadn't worsened, but it felt like we were spending less time with each other due to all the other responsibilities we had to carry. Our reputations as heroes had spread like wildfire, and while that may sound like a good thing, the people of Beacontown placed us on these high pedestals and unknowingly gave us positions of responsibility that we had to carry out. There were tons of people in Beacontown who saw Jesse as the mayor, for god's sake!

Right now, I was hoping to leave all that behind me. I was currently drinking tea with Isa the Founder, or as I had grown to know her as, my mother. We were inside her small cottage that she had built for herself, which was much different from the majestic palace that she used to live in when Sky City wasn't...well, overflowing with monsters.

Isa was wearing her usual yellow robe with a golden headband around her hair and black eyeliner. I was wearing a plain white T-shirt, gray jeans, and my hair was tied into a bun. "I am so glad that you could make the time to visit," said Isa, sipping her tea. "I understand that you have a lot of responsibilities back home, with you and your friends being the new Order of the Stone and all." "It's no problem, mom," I said happily. "So how is Ground City faring?" I gave her a teasing smile. "Is Milo giving you any trouble?"

Isa laughed. "No, Milo and I are getting along just fine," she said. "He's actually quite smart. A lot of people look to him when they need advice." "That's good to hear," I said, drinking my tea. "But enough about me," said Isa, putting down her cup. "What about you, Alex? How are you and Jesse doing?" I frowned and looked at my cup in contemplation. "We're doing alright," I said, "but we've been growing kinda distant lately. Both of us have so many responsibilities that...we just no longer have the time to see each other."

Isa frowned. "I'm so sorry, dear." I smiled and shook my head. "It's okay," I reassured. "I'm just glad that I'm spending time with you." Suddenly, we heard a plate breaking in Isa's kitchen. "Yo, Alex!," yelled a voice from the kitchen, causing me and Isa to flinch. "I think I just broke something! Your mom's not gonna mind, is she?!" I glanced at Isa, whose face was as red as a tomato. "No, Ghost!," I hollered back, sighing heavily. "Just try not to break anything else!" Isa took deep breaths to calm herself down. "Alex," she said calmly, "I know you mean well...but did you really have to bring HIM with you?"

I smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of my head. "Well, I kind of promised that I would take him to see Ground City and what it's like," I said. Ghost stumbled out of the kitchen, holding an assortment of food in his arms. He dropped the food all over the floor, creating a huge mess. "Man, your mom is LOADED, Alex!," he said, grabbing some bread from the pile and stuffing it into his mouth. "Ghost!," I hissed. "She's sitting! Right! Here!" With the bread still in his mouth, Ghost turned to see Isa glaring at him, gripping her cup so hard that cracks were forming. "Oh...sorry," he said, spraying crumbs on the floor.