Minecraft Story Mode: Gods Don't Die

Chapter 6: Alternate

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.