Minecraft Story Mode Season 3, Episode 2: Friends and Foes

Part 8: Detective Lukas

 Lukas approached Romeo, who was sitting behind one of the birch trees in the front yard and crying, and sat next to him.

"I'm just here to make sure you're doing all right," Lukas assured. Romeo didn't speak, his head was still lowered, and he didn't even look at Lukas. "I know you weren't being overly aggressive and verbally attacking Erica," Lukas added.

Romeo instantly perked up and wiped away his tears. Lukas could see a hint of a smile on Romeo's face as he lifted his head up and made eye contact with Lukas.

"You believe me?" Romeo answered.

"Of course I believe you. First of all, I know you pretty well and Erica's a complete stranger to me. Second of all, Jesse told me Erica found out you were the Admin yesterday, and why else would Erica wait this long to tell everyone unless she was waiting for the perfect moment to use it to her advantage? The way Erica said it, and by that I mean the timing and wording, made it sound even more like she was using the information to make you look guiltier. And then there's the fact that Erica somehow doesn't have a birth record, which makes her seem suspicious and not very trustworthy," Lukas explained.

"Okay, then why is Jesse on Erica's side? I'm one of Jesse's closest friends- she said it herself- and she barely knows Erica. There's also a mind blowing amount of evidence against Erica and none against me except for Erica's word. Jesse is a great detective and has amazing social smarts, so I don't understand why the bloody heck she hasn't been able to figure out that Erica is lying," Romeo pointed out.

"Jesse will pretty much believe anything anyone tells her as long as the person is sympathetic enough and a good liar. Crying or being upset is seriously the quickest way to get Jesse on your side, and it doesn't matter if you've run over squirrels with a car while laughing maniacally. She really just lets her extreme sympathy cloud her judgment. What makes it even worse is that Jesse is really arrogant and stubborn, so good luck with convincing her that she's wrong," Lukas told him. Romeo clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes.

"I just can't believe Erica sunk this low. She confessed to using 'Erica Stirpe' as a fake identity, but then told me I'd done exactly what she wanted me to, fell to the ground and began to sob, and blubbered to all of the guests that I was just this horrible person who had screamed at her. But no, she didn't stop there," Romeo fumed. A small amount of red lighting began to crackle in his hands. "She just had to tell everyone that I was the Admin, which completely and utterly destroyed my chance at starting over with a clean slate!" Romeo snapped. The amount of red electricity in his hands rapidly increased, then sent out a fountain of sparks.

The electricity died down until it was gone. The only things left were the tiny burn marks around him.

Romeo lifted his hands off the ground and into his lap. Lukas could see the hand-shaped burn marks where Romeo's hands once were.

"Sorry. I really had to rant to get that off my chest," Romeo apologized. He sounded much calmer now. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, I'm fine. A couple of the sparks flew onto my jacket, but nothing burned my skin," Lukas responded. Romeo let out a sigh.

"I am really, really sorry about that. My emotions can have an effect on my powers, as I'm sure you and Jesse have seen before. Anger, fear, and stress can cause my powers to go out of control," Romeo stated.

"Is that how--?" Lukas began. He cut himself off before saying Fred died upon realizing that now would be a terrible time to ask the question.

Romeo raised an eyebrow.

"Is that how what?" Romeo said.

"Never mind."

"You were going to ask me something," Romeo noted.

"I'll ask you later. Now is really not a good time," Lukas told him.

"There's one more thing I forgot to tell you about Erica. She said I'd fallen right into her trap," Romeo replied.

Lukas' eyebrows rose.

"Holy crap. I can't believe I didn't notice it before. Her rose scented perfume, her use of ender pearls, the fact that her tactic was to throw all suspicion onto you, saying that you fell right into her trap, her false sweetness and innocence before you discovered the truth, her glasses, and her green eyes. Erica Stirpe is Cassie Rose," Lukas realized.

Romeo's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"What?!" Romeo exclaimed. He paused for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"It all fits. You saw her in the Nether recently, right?" Lukas replied.

"I did. Lukas, you're a genius," Romeo answered.

"You got the information and I put it all together. We make a pretty good team, huh?" Lukas added. Romeo smiled at him.

"We definitely do," Romeo agreed.

"And I guess we've both been framed by a murderous White Pumpkin. Add that to our list of things in common," Lukas joked.

Romeo couldn't help but laugh.