Stonebrook High School

Chapter 93

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"They've got a few questions for you, if you couldn't tell already," started off Isa who looked down at the man sitting on the edge of his bed. "I'm just here to watch over them and make sure nothing goes awry, but I believe nothing of the sort will happen."

Ivor stuck his lower lip out, in a mix of somewhat playful but also genuine disgust, as he scanned his eyes over the group again. "Yeah, yeah, just ask the questions already."

The high school kids all looked at each other for a second, trying to decide who would ask a question first. The indecision made two move forward first, Lukas and Jess.

Jess nodded to let Lukas go first, and so the blond boy flipped his journal open to a page with drawings of the command chip. "This piece of technology. We know that the Withers were being made by the US military but dropped when one went out of control. Yet you were convinced that the command chip could control the original Wither long enough to at least 'teach Gabriel a lesson'. From what we've learned, Soren was the original owner of this chip and used it to take the Ender Dragon down instantly. Where did it come from, and why is it so powerful?"

The male adult furrowed his brow together and crossed his arms as he shifted into a state of reminiscence. "Starting off with some hard-hitting questions right off the bat, I see. Not even giving me a moment to come up with excuses to get out of this."

"... To be fair, you agreed yourself, Ivor," whispered Jess from the side. He glared at her and mumbled, "Shut up, kiddo."

The oriental man sighed and looked at Lukas as he answered. "I don't know where Soren got it from. But it showed up in his hands one day and we took it as a miracle. Even though we were all suspicious of it, we couldn't help but rely on it at the same time. Soren refused to tell us about the blasted thing's background, and it didn't help that he was the only one who really knew how to control it properly, so it's no surprise that I couldn't control the Witherstorm in hindsight. Annoying as hell that I have to admit that, though."

There was a lot of scribbling from Lukas as he wrote down everything Ivor said, and Isa clicked on her recorder that she had started earlier while everyone was settling in. "So you don't know where the command chip came from? Despite knowing you could combine it with military work?"

"I didn't." Ivor leaned back a bit on his hands. "I just made the connection that if Soren could overload a Dragon with electrical signals, I could probably do the same with other biological specimens. And for the record, Soren actually gave me the original blueprints of the wither stuff. He was a little too excited about going into that kind of research."

Jess nodded as she came up with a follow-up. "Hm, so by your information..."

There was a lot of back-and-forth as everyone took turns asking questions, learning the real reasons behind Ivor's actions and the truth behind the stories of the Order. Although the kids were on one side excited to be hearing things about the group they had all looked up to, it was, at the same time, sobering and solemn as Ivor continued on. The Order were a group of friends first who met tragic crossroads, and it all seemed like every poor decision, every unraveling situation, was connected to Soren.

Which led to the final major question that the group had to ask. Axel was actually the one who said it first, his large build seemingly growing as he stood up from where he was criss-crossed on the floor.

"So where is Soren?"

The tension suddenly became thick in the air, everyone feeling as if they couldn't move a muscle or Ivor would flee. This was no light subject — everyone could tell by his history that Ivor had both respected Soren greatly as a friend before feeling utterly betrayed and left in the dust. It didn't help that the old Order member now had a grimace on his face, the shape of his mouth seeming as if it could spit poison and his eyes colder than ice. Deep impressions on his forehead cast dramatic shadows onto his browbone and he now looked angrier than the group had ever seen before. Isa, however, was not affected, perhaps due to the nature of her work, and she coolly moved in between him and the kids to create a physical barrier without a word. "Don't take it out on the children. You wouldn't be much of an adult if that were to happen."