Living in Me (Sequel to Not Gonna Die)

|Epilogue| Stars

          The night was calm and the base of Team Crafted was quiet and still. Out on one of the balconies of the great castle was a dark silhouette looking up at the sky, standing so still that from down below, it seemed as if he was a statue. A dark outline of a door opened behind him and other figure stepped out, moving to lean on the railing beside him. From him came a faint, small flicker of light that was visible from the main street below, but there was no one outside to see.

          "You've been standing out here long?" Adam asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the night or alert anyone to their presence.

          Steve shrugged a little. "A few hours maybe. But I prefer the outdoors to sitting inside."

          Adam nodded in agreement. He rested his arms on the railing and looked at the sleeping buildings below.

          "How's your friend doing? Mitch?"

          "He and Jerome were really close, even as kids. But we'll make sure he'll be okay. That's what friends do."

          "You've got a really solid group of friends Adam," Steve said knowledgeably. "Don't let them go."

          "I won't."

          They were silent for a few minutes before Steve spoke again. "I heard what the Lords said after the battle. You do know that they're going to forget everything they said, right? About not attacking each other?"

          Adam sighed. "I know. But even if we get peace for at least a few months, I'll be happy. I knew as soon as I said it that asking them to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious was a long shot."

          Steve hummed. A few seconds more passed before he said, "I'll keep an eye out for anyone who tries to pick up where Entity left off. I travel a lot so I'm pretty likely to hear a few things now that I know what to look for."

          "Thanks Steve." Adam followed the older man's gaze up to the bright stars above. The constellations of Herobrine and Anne still embraced in the sky but now, a little away from them, the stars had rearranged to form the figure of Notch working over a table, blueprints behind him. He heard Steve give a sigh and looked over to see him with his shoulders slouched, looking down to the street below.

          "You know, I thought - well, I believed - that maybe, after this whole war thing was over and done, the three of us could get back together again. Be a family, you know?" Steve didn't need to explain who 'the three of us' were. "We had split up years and years ago - centuries, really - but even we had all forgiven each other over the argument, we stayed separated out of habit more than anything. I thought that this war would change that but now, well..."

          "I'm sorry Steve," Adam said quietly.

          Steve took a breath and looked up at the stars. "Guess I'm the last in the family."

          The tone was nonchalant, but Adam was struck with a thought regardless. "If you're the last, does that mean that you won't get the Star Blessing?"

          Steve shrugged. "Yeah, but it's not really important. Hey, maybe I'll end up in the stars anyway, even without the blessing." He gave Adam a lopsided grin, but Adam could see the pain in his eyes.

          "I'll watch them," he promised.

          The show of uncaring dropped and Steve gave him a small, sad smile and a nod of thanks. They stood in thoughtful silence again, looking up at the sky.

          "Don't waste your magic," Steve said suddenly. "You owe that much to Herobrine. And don't go down the path he took either, of destruction and hate, he wouldn't want that. Learn from his mistakes and listen to your friends. They'll keep you on the right track."