Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

WOULD YOU PLAY ALONG WITH ME?

===

Angel chose to deal with the sudden murder of her parents like she dealt with all other negative things - by distracting herself and forcing herself into the mindset that everything was okay.

There was no time to grieve. The Feynman family was coming over soon, and she had to help Clara prepare dinner. She wanted to contribute by making cookies, and there was simply no space for her in this 'busy' schedule to think about her parents, or the ominous message that their murderer had written for her.

Clara had time, however, and her concern was ruining this illusion for Angel. How could she forget about her problems when Clara kept vocalizing her worries for her? And Tom - no, he didn't know. He couldn't know. There was no way that he was going to be told any time soon that his brother and sister-in-law had been brutally slaughtered in an alley by the same person that was supposedly coming for Angel next. This deal with Mr. Feynman was all he had spoken about for almost a month now, and this murderer was not going to ruin it for him, no matter what.

"Are you sure that you feel safe here?" Clara asked for what felt like the millionth time in fifteen minutes. "I'll try to rush back from the store once I finish, and I-"

Angel raised a hand. "I'm fine," she told her firmly. "I promise I'm fine. Me and Erebus will be alright here. We're gonna make the cookies and listen to Led Zeppelin, and life's gonna be good. You don't need to rush home, trust me, we're gonna be fine."

The keys in Clara's hand jingled together as she lowered her arm, sighing quietly to herself. "You know I can't help but worry about you, dear," she mumbled, taking a step toward the door. "But please, Angel, take care of yourself. Don't open the door for anyone else besides me or Tom, okay?"

"I know, don't worry," Angel said, offering her a reassuring smile. "I'm not going to let any strangers into the house, I'm just gonna be making cookies with Erebus."

Clara nodded, smiling back, though the expression didn't reach her eyes. "Okay, sweetpea." She moved back towards the door, her gaze shifting up from Angel slightly as she saw Erebus move into view. He nodded at her, placing a hand on Angel's shoulder.

"I'll make sure she's safe," he gently promised, looking down at Angel as she placed a hand over his. Clara's smile grew a little more genuine as she opened the door, stepping outside.

"I trust you with her, magpie. Have fun, both of you, and stay safe."

As soon as Clara shut the door, Angel sighed softly in relief. "Now we can make cookies," she said, giggling a little as she turned to face Erebus. "Let me grab my record player, I wanna listen to Led Zeppelin's fourth album..."

Erebus didn't seem to be showing the same amount of enthusiasm as she was. "Angel, are you sure it's a good idea for us to stay here?" he asked. "I'm afraid of what might happen if the person that killed your parents decides to show themself..."

Angel quietly groaned, moving away from him and walking to her room. "Not you too," she muttered, glancing back at him as he followed her. "Listen, it- it's going to be fine, trust me. Everything is going to be fine. I'm not feeling too hung up over it, and neither should you. I mean, you're here, anyway, so there's not really anything for me to be worried about..."

Erebus raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Well..." Angel trailed off slightly, feeling her face start to heat up as it dawned on her what she meant by that. "Like- I feel safe with you. I just do. When I'm with you, I don't really feel like anything bad can happen."

Erebus paused in the doorframe of Angel's room, almost taken aback by her words. "Are you serious?"

Angel glanced over at him. "Yeah, of course," she told him. "And it's not even because you're powerful either. It's just 'cause... I feel that way, y'know?"

Unplugging her record player from the outlet, she picked it up, turning to face him. Her heart seemed to skip a beat when she saw the almost giddy smile crossing his face, and the way he turned away in order to hide it. "That's... That's good, I'm glad that-" He paused, clearing his throat as he meekly looked at her. "I'm glad that you feel that way."

"Yeah, it's a really nice feeling," Angel said. "Is there a chance you can grab the album? It's brown, and it's got a picture of some guy holding a bunch of crops on his back..."

Erebus moved over to the shelf where Angel kept her records, skimming through them until he pulled out the one she had been referring to. "Is this it?"

Angel nodded, moving back out into the kitchen and looking for a place to plug her record player in. "This one slaps... one of Led Zeppelin's most famous songs, 'Stairway to Heaven', is on this one, but good Lord, they're all so good..."

She barely even noticed that she was starting to ramble as she set up the record player on the countertop. "'The Battle of Evermore' is so well done," she said. "That's one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs of all time - it's about a book series called Lord of the Rings, which I've never read, but I want to one day. Apparently, there's quite a few Led Zeppelin songs about Lord of the Rings. There's one called 'Ramble On' - fun fact about that one, I was listening to that song right before I realized that I could make a deal with Herobrine to bring you here. It's a bit jauntier than 'The Battle of Evermore' is, but I still like them both - are you alright?"

Mid-sentence, she had caught sight of Erebus again, pausing as she saw the way that he was watching her. There was something familiar about how mesmerized he looked, almost as if he was seeing the moon and the stars for the first time. Crimson eyes shone as he merely observed her, his head tilted slightly to the side and clear relaxation in his features, like this was the perfect place for him, the only place he wanted to be.

And then it clicked. This was the same look that Tom wore whenever he would watch Clara - the same awestruck gaze that Clara held in her eyes when she spoke about Tom's accomplishments - the same enamored affection that her parents had held for each other in the past.

It was love.

And then it was gone.

"What?" Erebus broke from his trance at once, looking away and fidgeting slightly with the album he was still holding. "I- I'm fine, I was just... I was just thinking - no, that's not right... I was just trying to concentrate on what you were saying. That's it."

Angel chuckled softly. "You're alright, Erebus," she told him, moving over and taking the album out of his hands. "What were you thinking of? You can tell me."

She turned away, going over to put the vinyl in the record player, but Erebus placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her where she was for a moment.

"Wait," he mumbled, almost as if he didn't want her to hear. "I was- I was thinking about you, that's all."

Angel turned to face him again. "You were thinking about me? Seriously?"

Erebus nodded, subconsciously shifting closer to Angel, unable to help himself from doing so. She was able to see that the glimmer of emotion hadn't faded from his eyes - or perhaps it had, and it was only present when he was looking at her. "I think about you a lot, Angel."

The now-familiar feeling of heat descending on Angel's cheeks slowly returned. "What about me were you thinking of?" she asked.

Slim fingertips fidgeted with soft fabric as Erebus fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt, barely able to refrain from answering. "It's... not important right now," he murmured after a moment of hesitation. He would tell her soon, he had to. For now, however, he was still unsure of himself. "Come on, let's go make those cookies now."

With a soft huff, Angel nodded and turned away, a small pang of disappointment hitting her at the fading suspicion of what she believed he may have said to her. Perhaps she would have to be the one to speak first after all, but she, too, was unsure. They were one and the same, with hidden emotions plaguing them both, doubt blanketing them like the warmth each brought onto the other - the catalyst of their feelings.

Chapter Text

MY GRIP ON MY SECRETS SLIPPING

===

"Where is the fucking parchment paper - nevermind, I found it, it's right in front of me, goddamnit..."

Angel's mildly annoyed mutterings mingled with the catchy ending of Led Zeppelin's 'Four Sticks' as she picked up the roll of parchment paper that she had misplaced. Erebus was standing off to the side, having been watching Angel with fascination the entire time as she created cookie dough with ingredients that most certainly were not cocoa beans and wheat.

"And then, when I put the cookies in the oven," she explained, looking back at him. "They're gonna become baked. That's when you know they're, like, actual cookies, 'cause right now all we have is this goo. When the goo goes into the oven, it gets baked because of the heat, and then it turns into cookies that are safe to eat."

"How?" Erebus asked, moving closer to her as she began to scoop small amounts of the cookie dough onto a sheet of the parchment paper that she had set on a tray. "Don't they burn?"

"Nah," Angel said. "This parchment paper is special. It's got... like, a different type of stuff on it that makes it so it doesn't burn in the oven. And the oven's set at a certain temperature so that the cookies don't burn either - I mean, hopefully they won't burn, but it's not like they're gonna be set on fire or whatever."

"And how does the heat turn the- the goo, or whatever, into cookies?"

Angel blinked. "Um... good question. I have no idea. It just does." She reached up, performing jazz hands dramatically. "Magic!"

Erebus chuckled, stepping behind Angel and watching her work, placing a hand on her waist subconsciously. "You don't really know what you're doing, do you?"

Blushing ever so slightly, Angel bit her lip. "What do you mean? Of course I know what I'm doing, I'm a master at cookie making," she said confidently. "Just because I don't know how it works doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing! Here-"

She stepped to the side, placing a hand on Erebus's lower back and pushing him towards the counter. "You try making these, if you think you know what you're doing."

"Angel, I never said that I did-"

"Oh, come on, it's pretty easy," Angel said, grinning up at Erebus. "Just take the spoon, and try to get little balls of cookie dough on the parchment paper. It's a bit sticky, but if you get enough it'll come off easier."

Erebus hesitantly took the spoon from Angel. "You really want me to do this?"

Angel huffed a little. "You're not gonna, like, destroy the cookies if you scoop them out," she reassured him, running her hand up and down his back once before dropping it. "You've got this, don't worry."

With a slightly nervous smile, Erebus looked down, scooping out a decent amount of the cookie dough and setting it onto the parchment paper, hitting the spoon against the tray a few times to make sure it actually got on the paper. He looked back at Angel hopefully. "Did I do it right?"

Angel nodded. "That looks delightful," she told him. "And it doesn't even have to be in, like, a perfect circle or anything. They'll flatten out when they get baked, and they'll still taste good and all."

Erebus relaxed slightly as Angel told him that he was doing good, grateful that he wasn't ruining anything since he had never done this before. He scooped out more of the cookie dough, glancing over as Angel opened the oven and grabbed the oven mitts that she had set aside on the counter.

"Safety first," she said, picking up the tray after Erebus had placed the dough on it. "Once this tray finishes baking, we'll take the baked cookies off and put the rest of the not-baked dough on to make another batch of baked cookies."

She shoved the tray into the oven, giggling a little to herself as she set the timer. "God, these are gonna be so good..."

"I'm looking forward to trying them," Erebus told her, watching as she stepped back over to the bowl. Angel scoffed.

"You say that like you wanna wait," she chuckled, reaching toward the bowl. She scooped out a small amount of the cookie dough with her finger and popped it in her mouth, humming at the taste. "Fuck, that slaps..."

Erebus tilted his head, his brow furrowing with confusion. "Why are you eating that?" he asked. "That's just the goo, are you supposed to eat it?"

Angel shuffled her feet, glancing down guiltily. "Well... not really," she mumbled. "There are some raw ingredients in there that might cause salmonella..."

"What's salmonella?" Erebus's eyes widened slightly. "Is that, like, food poisoning? Angel, are you going to die?"

"What- no!" Angel exclaimed. "I'm not gonna die, salmonella isn't even, like, bad or anything - try it, it's actually really good!"

She reached out towards the bowl again, but Erebus was quicker - he snatched the bowl off of the counter, clutching it close to himself. "Angel, no-"

Angel dramatically pouted. "Why not? It's good!"

"I refuse to see you suffer from food poisoning," he told her sternly. "If there's any chance that you'll get hurt- Angel!"

With a mischievous giggle, Angel leapt forward, swiping at the bowl and dashing away, the sticky dough clinging to her finger. "You'll never take me alive - ah!"

Erebus set the bowl aside and chased after Angel, reaching her in a few long strides and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back and practically lifting her off of her feet. Kicking at the air, Angel tried to fight back, giggling uncontrollably as she squirmed in Erebus's arms.

"Let me go, asshole!" she laughed. She tried to bring her hand up to her mouth to eat the cookie dough still there, but Erebus grabbed her wrist, still holding her tightly with the other arm. "I'm not gonna fuckin' die 'cause of this shit - let me eat it, I'm hungry!"

"Is it really worth it?" Erebus's breath tickled Angel's ear as he held her close against himself. "You can't just wait ten minutes to have a normal cookie?"

Angel shook her head, starting to settle down. "Cookie dough is just, like, superior," she told him, still giggling to herself. "You gotta at least try a little bit, come on!"

Erebus let out a dramatic huff. "If you insist," he said, pulling Angel's hand closer to himself and popping her finger in his mouth, licking the dough off of it before she had time to react.

"What the fuck-"

Rendered speechless, Angel could only stand there as she felt Erebus's tongue curling around her finger, before he drew back, a satisfied smirk on his face. "You told me to try it," he chuckled. "How else was I supposed to try it when it was right in front of me?"

"I-" Angel looked away, her face burning as she tried to put words together. Biting her lip, she turned to face him, lightly hitting Erebus in the side with the hand that he was not holding. "F-Fuck you, man, I wasn't expecting that, goddamnit!"

Erebus's smirk widened as he stepped closer to her. "Oh, stop, you and I both know how much you love when I fluster you..."

Angel had no response to that, knowing just how true it was. Before she could even have time to think, the music playing on the vinyl changed to something much slower and sweeter than before, and her eyes widened at the realization that she could change the subject to save herself from the feelings boiling within her.

"Uh - this song is called 'Going to California'!" she told him. "It, uh... I don't even know what it's about, but it kind of reminds me of you."

"How so?" Erebus asked, though it was clear his mind was still on what had happened before.

"Listen," Angel prompted as the gentle melody of the mandolin and guitar began to fill the air. Erebus nodded as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to concentrate on the music and lyrics.

"Spent my days with a woman unkind, smoked my stuff and drank all my wine..."

"That part reminds me of Malacoda," Angel said softly, not wanting to break the immersion too badly. Erebus chuckled a little.

"Made up my mind to make a new start, going to California with an aching in my heart..."

"Obviously, we're not in California, but I guess you could say 'going to Crossrose' instead," Angel mused, shrugging. "I dunno."

"Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair..."

Angel hesitated ever so slightly. "Ah... yeah," was all she mumbled, glancing down as her blush returned, avoiding the gaze of Erebus as he opened his eyes to look back at her. "I've... never worn flowers in my hair before, so I guess that wouldn't fit..."

She trailed off as she felt Erebus's fingers interlocking with her own, gently taking her hand and lowering it. As he stepped closer, his other hand settled on her waist, filling Angel with that warmth that she had come to love as she shifted toward him as well.

"I think it fits just fine," he told her, a small smile on his face.

As one, the two began to sway from side to side to the flow of the song, each so entranced with the other that they couldn't look away. The gentle melody flowed around them as they immersed themselves in the moment, sinking into each others' warmth and drowning in the feelings which swirled in their heads.

"Angel?"

"Hm?"

Erebus shifted closer to her. "What do you think would happen if I kissed you?" he asked.

Angel blinked. "What, uh- What made you think of that?"

"Who says something prompted the thought?" Erebus murmured. "What if I've been thinking about it for a while now?"

"Um..." Angel tried to come up with a response to that, looking down in a meek attempt to hide how much she was blushing. "I-I mean, as far as what would happen, I'd probably kiss you back, and it- and it would be normal... have you ever kissed anyone before?"

Erebus shook his head. "No, never," he said. Angel raised an eyebrow.

"I find that hard to believe... So you're saying monsters from every world didn't flock to you in order to say that they've kissed the great King of the Endermen?"

A small smile crossed Erebus's face as he scoffed. "I wouldn't have wanted that kind of attention anyway," he mused, glancing down. "What about you? Have you kissed anyone before?"

Angel nodded. "Unfortunately, yes," she murmured. "It didn't mean anything to me, though."

"And if I kissed you now?" Erebus let go of Angel's hand, reaching up and setting his own on the side of her face. "Would that mean something to you?"

Silence, filled only by the forgotten Led Zeppelin music in the background, followed Erebus's words. Angel knew the answer to his question, she knew it just as surely as she knew herself, but she remained quiet, too afraid to speak her thoughts aloud as if doing so would cause them to come true. The truth scared her, the fact that kissing Erebus would mean more to her than just about anything else brought her an indescribable emotion that she was afraid of, but that she was drawn to all the same.

Instead, she nodded, wordlessly confirming all of these things to herself, and to Erebus.

Before either of them could do anything, however, the door opened.

"I'm home, dears!"

Clara.

Erebus quickly let go of Angel, stepping away as he looked up. Angel spun around, stumbling as she moved toward the counter, pretending to do something productive and trying to hide the utter disappointment that flooded her body as Clara walked into the room.

"Is everything going alright here?" Clara asked, setting down the plastic bags of groceries that she was carrying. "How are the cookies?"

Angel didn't respond, too busy attempting to hide her burning face from her aunt. "Ah..." Erebus mumbled, turning toward the oven to see how many minutes were left on the cookies - he had completely forgotten that they existed until Clara mentioned them. "The first batch is almost done, I believe..."

Clara smiled. "I'm glad the two of you have been having fun," she told them. "Angel, would you be able to put away the groceries while I bring them in?"

"Yeah, I'll- I'll do that," Angel said, nodding as she glanced over at Clara, watching as she went back outside to pick up more groceries, leaving her and Erebus alone once more. She walked over to the bags that had already been brought in, picking up some of the food to put in the refrigerator. "It's a bit of a relief, honestly," she said to Erebus, who tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

Angel gestured with one hand to the record player, which was now playing the not-so-gentle harmonica and heavy guitar riff of 'When The Levee Breaks'. "I'm not having my first kiss with you to that song."

Erebus laughed.

Chapter Text

AM I PRETTY ENOUGH TO LOVE BACK?

===

It didn't take long before the house was filled with the aroma of the chicken casserole that had just started baking in the oven. Angel placed the salad that she had just finished preparing onto the dining table, before turning to face Clara. "Is there anything else that I can help with?" she asked.

Her aunt picked up her keys on a nearby desk. "I don't believe so," she told her. "The casserole needs to finish baking, but I'm sure Tom and I will be back by then. I need to go pick him up from where he is with the Feynman family, and I'll be back shortly."

Angel was able to see the concern creeping up once more on Clara's face, and she huffed. "We'll be fine, Clara," she said firmly. "We were fine before, and it won't even be that long that you'll be gone."

Clara didn't bother to fight this time. "I believe you, dear... besides, you'll each have each other to be with. I won't be gone for very long at all, and the Feynman family will be arriving right after us."

"Oh, boy..." Angel chuckled. "I really hope that this goes well, for Tom's sake."

"I'm sure it will," Clara reassured her, starting to move over to the door. "I'll be back very soon. Stay safe, both of you."

And just like that, Clara was gone once again. Angel couldn't help but feel slightly excited at the sound of the door shutting behind her aunt, since it meant more time to be alone with Erebus - this excitement was interrupted by a pang of disappointing realization. "Shit."

"Hm?" Erebus, who had been standing motionless in front of the oven, inhaling the rich aroma of the casserole that Clara had made, turned to face her, tilting his head.

"Ah..." Angel grimaced. "It's not that important. I just wanted to get a shower before the Feynmans arrived, but Clara already left..." She let out a frustrated sigh, looking down as she felt her cheeks start to flush red.

"What do you need Clara for?" Erebus asked. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Angel's face started to burn as she kept her gaze down. "It's stupid..." she muttered. "Um... do you remember back in Minecraft when it started to rain, and I got really bothered by it?"

Erebus glanced down as he thought back to the time Angel was referring to. "I think so, yes."

"Yeah, well..." Angel fidgeted with her hands a little. "Getting wet, especially when I can't control the source of it, really bothers me - as in, like, I can go into pretty bad panic attacks or disassociate sometimes, as a trauma response, and obviously, I don't want to do that, so... whenever I take showers, I just prefer to have someone nearby to pull me out of one if that happens. Like, I-I definitely don't want someone in the shower with me, but just having someone else in the room or just outside really helps me a lot."

She started to relax slightly as she saw that Erebus wasn't judging her for this at all - in fact, he looked slightly intrigued by what she was describing. "Would you like for me to stay with you in the room?" he offered.

"I-" Angel's fidgeting grew slightly worse at his words, and she stammered a little as she spoke. "Listen, you- you don't have to-"

"Angel, I want to help you," Erebus told her, stepping forward. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, so you can tell me what to do, alright?"

He reached out once he was close enough, taking Angel's hand in his own. That almost mesmerized fondness returned to his eyes as he watched her, waiting for her to tell him how he could help.

"Um..." Angel gently squeezed his hand, looking up at him. "Fuck, you're so sweet... uh, yeah, I guess you can stay if you want, as long as you don't, like, do anything weird."

"Like what?"

Angel motioned with her other hand. "Y'know... look at me naked in the shower, or whatever. I know how much you'd love to, though-"

Erebus choked on air.

"-but I don't think right then would be the time," Angel finished, giggling a little at his reaction. "Maybe another day, though - I need to actually, like, get ready for the shower right now..."

Letting go of Erebus's hand, she started to walk off, leaving him to process what had just happened and what she had just said. "I'll tell you when you can come in," she called to him, unable to force away the smile that was spread wide across her face.

Moving into her room, she walked over to her dresser and picked out some clothes to put on after the shower, making sure they were comfortable but not too casual. Once she had gotten her clothes, she stepped into the bathroom, grabbing a towel and placing it on the sink along with her clothes. Her movements were slow and methodical, a stark contrast to the thoughts racing in her head - the mere idea of Erebus being in the same room as her as she showered made her incredibly flustered. It wasn't even supposed to make her feel this way, this was something he was doing to make sure she felt safe, not something he was doing to just tease her. Despite this, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like a burden for asking him to do this and putting him in a situation that would likely be uncomfortable for anyone else.

It isn't a burden if he wants to do it, she thought to herself, the voice in her head bearing a suggestive undertone. Angel scoffed aloud.

Reaching into the shower, she turned on the water, making sure it was a suitable temperature for her. The sound of the droplets hitting the floor and flowing into the drain reminded her of rain as she began to strip off the clothes she was wearing, humming 'Going to California' softly to herself as she did so. A small smile crossed her face as she glanced up at the mirror - she wasn't overly vain by any means, but she was proud to have a body that made her feel comfortable in her own skin. This was something she refused to take for granted after having been deprived of it for so long.

Once she had stripped, she placed her clothes into the hamper for them to be washed later before returning to the shower. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand under the shower head, allowing the warm water to flow over her skin as she slowly stepped further under it. "You can come in now," she called out as she closed the shower curtain, moving completely under the flowing water.

It only took a few moments until she heard footsteps, Erebus's gentle voice following them. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Angel replied. "Just don't move the curtain." She could feel him enter the room as she picked up a bar of soap. "You're really considerate for doing this, and double-checking if it's okay to come in. That's really kind of you."

A part of her wished that she could see his flustered reaction to the compliment. "I'm just grateful that you trust me enough to let me help you," he told her. "That's all I want to do, especially if it will help me earn your trust."

Despite not being able to see Erebus, Angel couldn't help but glance over in his direction. "What do you mean?" she asked. "You don't need to earn my trust, you already did that. You're, like, the person I'm closest with now - asides from Clara and Tom, of course. I trust you with so much already, and I really don't want anything to happen to you."

Angel could hear the giddy smile in Erebus's voice as he spoke. "I'm- I really appreciate that, Angel..." he murmured.

There was a moment of silence, filled only by water hitting the floor of the shower. Angel fidgeted a little - the conversation had been distracting her well, but thankfully, the pause didn't last for too long as Erebus spoke again.

"Do you think we'll ever get the chance to kiss?"

Angel froze up at the sudden question. "Ah..." She glanced down at the floor, biting her lip as she tried to come up with a response. This certainly wasn't something she expected Erebus to ask, but it wasn't an unwelcome question - it was something she had been wondering too.

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" Erebus quickly asked after noticing her pause.

Angel shook her head out of habit, before remembering that Erebus couldn't see her. "No, no, you didn't," she reassured him. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About kissing you."

Erebus chuckled softly. "You think about that a lot, then, hm?"

Reaching up to start washing her hair, Angel scoffed. "I mean... I've been thinking about it a lot more than I had before. Like I said, it'd mean something to me." A brief pause. "It'd mean a lot more to me than I'd care to admit."

"What do you mean?"

Angel softly sighed as she began to rinse her hair, taking care not to get her face wet. "I don't know..." she mumbled. "Do you remember a night ago, when we were joking about you being in love with me? And I said that I'd only want you to be if you meant it?"

"I do," Erebus said. His voice was soft, as if he was lost in thought.

"Well..." Angel could feel an invisible hand gently tugging at her stomach as she prayed to God that this wouldn't end poorly for her. "Well, I- I'd want this to be the same way. Like I said, kissing someone isn't just something people do... if you were to kiss me, I'd want it to mean something to you."

"Who said that it wouldn't have meant something to me?" Erebus asked, clearly confused. "Angel, of course it would mean something to me. I've never kissed anyone before, just like I've never felt the way that I do when I'm with you for someone else. I..." He trailed off, not knowing how to put his feelings into words.

"Erebus... people typically kiss because they're in love with each other," Angel told him. "That's what I mean by wanting you to mean it if you decide to kiss me - as in, meaning that you'd be in love with me, which is- which is something I highly doubt."

"Would you mean it if we kissed?"

The question caused Angel to freeze in place. This wasn't at all how she had assumed coming to terms with her feelings would be - there was no sudden rush of realization that made her feel as if she was floating, but rather a firm weight settling into her anxiety-ridden stomach as she was forced to face the truth. This wasn't a heartfelt confession like those in movies - rather, she was standing naked in the shower, soapy water streaming from her hair as she stood there, her face hot and her heart pounding.

It felt so wrong, the truth, after everything that had happened, and yet, it couldn't have made more sense. Had Angel ever hated Erebus, even in the beginning? There was no point in time when she could have, despite the opinions of Gameknight and his villager friends. Hell, she had risked the world for him, back when they hadn't even been friends. She risked the well-being of everyone in Minecraft and in the physical world just to save him from death at the hands of Malacoda, and had risked her own life by saving him again from Gameknight - this wasn't even mentioning the plan she had made with Herobrine, solely to bring him back. Had she only done these things out of the kindness of her heart, or was there something else in her heart that had longed for him, that had cried out in earnest for his presence for so long after he had died in her arms?

His warmth was unlike any other Angel had experienced, and it wasn't just a physical feeling for her - no, this warmth brought comfort to her very soul, gentle hands of care embracing the light within her that gave her life itself. Crimson eyes shone with nothing but mesmerized want and enamoration and a true desire to change, in order to become a better person for her. It was because of her that he was learning to appreciate himself, causing her to do the same in turn as if their very souls were entwined, like trees with a common root, each becoming stronger due to being with the other.

She wanted this, she wanted him. She wanted to experience this growth with Erebus, no matter how scary it seemed. He was the only thing giving her life meaning and direction, and she couldn't bear to lose him. Desire to hold and protect, to teach and learn from, to live life and grow old with, to receive unconditional love from and make unbridled love to, filled every crevice of her body, to the point where she could feel herself trembling.

"Yes," she said, never more sure of anything else besides this, these words to Erebus. "I would mean it... I do mean it."

A soft, stuttered exhale followed Angel's words, setting off a spark of panic in her mind and causing her to blurt out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Are you masturbating?"

Erebus yelped at the sudden question. "No- what?!"

"I don't know- it was the first thing I thought of!" Angel exclaimed, wringing her hands. "I didn't want to just leave it like that, and you were breathing weird, so-"

"You thought I was masturbating because you heard me breathing?!"

Angel huffed, reaching over and turning off the shower water. "It- It's whatever, I'm getting out of the shower anyway, so if you wouldn't mind stepping out for a bit while I get dressed..."

"Alright, I'll- I'll see you in a second," Erebus mumbled, and Angel could hear his footsteps receding out of the bathroom before the door shut behind him. A frustrated groan escaped her as she stepped out of the shower, and she put her face in her hands.

"Jesus fucking Christ..."

She was still trying to process what had just happened, but already she could feel the embarrassment settling in. It was shit for her to come to terms with her true feelings, especially strong feelings like those she harbored for Erebus, and she had needed to get out of that conversation before it turned bad, like she assumed it would have if she let the weight of her words sink in any further.

Grabbing her towel, she quickly dried herself off, shivering slightly at the cold air hitting her body. She started to pull on her clothes, humming once again as she tried to compose herself, forcing the catchy melodies of Led Zeppelin into her head instead of her overwhelming feelings. Her pants had barely been pulled on before the door was pushed open once more.

"Angel, Clara and Tom are- shit!"

"What the fuck?!" Angel yelped, grabbing her shirt and pressing it up against her chest as she spun to face Erebus with wide eyes. "I'm not dressed yet!"

"How long does it take for you to get dressed?!" Erebus screeched, turning away and pressing a hand over his eyes as he slammed the door shut.

"How long do you think it would take me? A fucking millisecond?!" Angel shouted through the door as she put down her shirt and snatched up her bra. "I swear to God, if you saw my tits, I'm going to cry- what did you even want?"

"I didn't see anything!" Erebus called back. "And Clara and Tom just got here!"

The Feynmans.

"Fuck!"

Chapter Text

YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK

===

Hair dripping and heart still pounding, Angel exited the bathroom a few moments later. Her aunt and uncle stood in the dining room, accompanied by Erebus and four other people that Angel could only assume were the Feynmans. All heads turned in her direction as she came out, and she awkwardly smiled.

"Howdy," she greeted.

"Angel," Tom said. "I'd like to introduce you to Richard Feynman, the man I've been talking about for some time now."

"'Some time' is an understatement," Angel chuckled, reaching out and offering her hand to Richard. "But it's nice to meet you."

"Tom has told me many good things about you," Richard told Angel, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you as well. This here is my wife, Nartha-" He pointed to the kindly woman, who was standing next to her children, a young boy and girl. "-and our kids, Tommy and Jenny."

Angel smiled at the children, praying that they wouldn't be too disruptive to the dinner as children tended to be. Tommy, the older one, seemed to be a little jumpy despite being more put-together, while Jenny, whose bright clothing highly contrasted Angel's, seemed quite excited to be here.

"Why don't we all sit down?" Clara prompted. "I made a chicken casserole, and Angel made a salad..."

"But I don't want salad," Jenny complained. "I wanna go play Minecraft!"

"Jenny..." her brother groaned, causing her to pout a little.

Angel scoffed. "Mildly offended," she mumbled. "I made that salad with my own two hands, and ingredients fresh from the store that I didn't even go to - I made cookies too, don't forget about those."

Jenny looked up with excitement. Nartha chuckled a little.

"Maybe you can have a cookie after you eat dinner," she told her daughter as the two families moved to sit down. Angel chose a spot at the table where Erebus could sit beside her, having noticed the way he was standing off to the side, looking unsure of whether he belonged there or not. He clearly stood out among the two families, but no one seemed to be paying him any mind - no one except for Tommy, that was. The kid had a mildly uneasy yet curious look on his face, as if he recognized Erebus from somewhere, but couldn't put his finger on where.

As Clara started to serve the casserole, Tom and Richard began discussing things that Angel couldn't be bothered paying attention to. She thanked her aunt as she was given a plate of casserole and salad, glancing down as she started to eat.

"You do have Minecraft, right?" Tommy asked, looking up at her.

Angel nodded, chewing and swallowing her mouthful. "Yeah, I haven't played in a good bit, but I do have it. I could show you around some of my worlds, if you want, but I'm pretty shi- pretty bad at making actual builds. I just like exploring and messing around."

"I love to build!" Jenny exclaimed - Tommy vehemently nodded in agreement, as if he knew this better than anyone. "I like making colorful things - maybe I can show you how to build something!"

"That would be cool," Angel said. "I used to play on servers though, before they stopped working, so I haven't spent much time on regular worlds and stuff."

"What kind of servers?" Tommy asked - once again, his gaze flickered to Erebus, a hint of scrutinization in his face. "There's one in particular where I used to spend a lot of my time. I made a lot of friends there."

Angel could feel Erebus shift uncomfortably at the way Tommy was watching him, so she reached under the table with one hand, placing it on his knee in hopes of reassuring him. She wanted to ask Tommy what his deal was, but didn't want to disrupt the dinner. "Any ol' servers, really," she shrugged. "I met some cool people there too. It really sucks that they don't work like they used to."

She hoped that it wasn't obvious that she was the cause of this - her deal with Herobrine to help him get to the Source had made all of the servers die.

"Tommy really misses his friends that he met on the server," Jenny said forlornly. "And I do too! We used to go into the game with our dad's invention, the digitizer, and it was amazing!"

Angel paused, her brow furrowing. "That sounds familiar..." she mumbled. "What, uh... What's your name in the game?"

"Gameknight999," Tommy said simply.

Erebus shot backwards in his chair, causing Angel to let go of his knee with a yelp. Both stared at Tommy in shock. "Gameknight?" Angel repeated incredulously. "Holy shit..."

"Language, Angel," Clara quickly interjected.

"No, but- that's- that's the guy! The guy that did stuff- dude!" Angel pointed at Tommy, gesturing wildly with her hands. "I'm- I'm Angel, remember? Angel1059? From that war?"

Tommy gasped. "Angel?!" he exclaimed. "What- What happened to you?! I haven't seen you online since you left the battle!" He turned his attention to Erebus, who was gripping tightly onto the table, his stare fixated on Tommy. "I-I have to know you too, from the battle! What's your username?"

Angel glanced at Erebus, who was utterly speechless, then turned back to Tommy, fidgeting with her hands. "Um..." she mumbled, gesturing to Erebus. "So, uh... hear me out-"

Before Tommy was able to do so, the realization hit him, and his eyes widened in horror.

"You..." he breathed, a shudder rippling through his body as he met the gaze of his arch nemesis, his worst nightmare. "How- How...?"

Angel raised a hand. "Hear me out-"

Tommy pointed at Erebus. "I knew something was wrong!" he shouted. "From the second I saw you- wh-what are you doing here?!"

Angel's eyes narrowed. "Gameknight, don't be a racist."

"I'm not being-!"

"Tommy, keep your voice down, we're with company," Nartha said firmly. "What's going on?"

"That's-"

"I'll tell you," Angel said, reaching over and taking one of Erebus's hands in her own - he was staring at Gameknight as if he had seen a ghost, and with good reason after everything the kid had done to him. "That imbecile nearly killed him when he wasn't even doing anything, damn it!"

"How could you say that?!" Gameknight exclaimed. "He was hurting you, after he escaped the Land of Dreams!"

"We were hugging, you idiot! And then your crony shot him and ruined that for us!"

Gameknight stared in disbelief. "Why would you do that?!"

"What do you want me to say? Something dramatic and uncalled for like 'because I love him' or something?! It's common sense, Gameknight! It's hearing someone out and having mercy! If you were there with him, you would've seen the shit he went through with Malacoda, that he deserved a hug rather than an arrow in the back! You were torturing him to death - he was terrified!"

All eyes were on Angel and Gameknight now, but neither of them seemed to care.

"Do you realize how many innocent lives he terrorized?" Gameknight snapped. "He deserves what he got! And you - what's gotten into you, huh? What did he do to you? You fought for what was right when you were with us - since when would you side with a monster like him?!"

"Since I saw that he was more human than you'll ever be, asshole!" Angel shouted. "When do you think?!"

"You brought this on yourself." Erebus's lip curled into a sneer as he finally found an opening to speak, Angel's hostility empowering his own. "She's right, and you know it, Gameknight."

"Shut up!" Gameknight screamed, leaping to his feet so quickly that his chair toppled over. Snatching up the knife next to his plate, he pointed it at Erebus, his hand shaking. "Get back, both of you!"

Gameknight's voice reverberated in the room just as Malacoda's had back in Minecraft, frightening Erebus into submission - he stumbled backwards, his arms raised up as he flinched, looking up at Gameknight in fear. Angel's eyes widened.

"Put the fucking knife down!" She stood up as well, grabbing her own knife and pointing it at Gameknight. "Put it down now!"

"I'm not taking orders from a traitorous monster like you-"

"You will not speak of her like that!" Erebus screeched, his body trembling with a combination of rage, fear, and adrenaline.

"Shut up!" Gameknight shouted again. "Don't you dare act like you have the right to feel anything for anyone after what you've done! You don't deserve to be here, to be human when you're the furthest thing from human I've ever seen! You're just like Malacoda, a heartless nightmare who only cares about himself- ah!"

"Angel!"

Strong arms wrapped around Angel's torso, pulling her away from the table she had lunged at, knife held aloft. Dropping the weapon on the floor, she fell backwards against the warm body holding her, heart pounding so hard in her chest that she felt as if it would burst out of her. Blood was rushing in her ears, mingling with the thoughts overwhelming her mind - how dare he say something like that?

"Angel, that's enough."

Tom's voice was firm as he stepped in front of Angel. Behind him, she could see Richard Feynman doing the same for his son, while Clara and Nartha stood off to the side, looking nervous.

"He started it," Angel muttered. "You know it, you saw it, he started it-"

"Enough," Tom said sternly. "You need to calm down. All of us need to calm down."

Nartha glanced up at Clara as her daughter wrapped her arms around her, softly sobbing from how overwhelming everything that had just happened was. "Mrs. Abrams, I'm afraid we'll have to do this another day... we're terribly sorry-"

"No need to apologize," Clara reassured her. "I think all of us need time to settle down. What do you say we try again tomorrow, in the afternoon, after church?"

"I don't wanna see him again," Gameknight muttered, shaking his head. "He's a murderer, he's killed countless villagers, he deserves to be in jail!"

"Tommy, stop." Richard placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Let's go back to the hotel, and we can talk about it, alright?"

The Feynman family began to leave, quietly conversing among themselves. Erebus's arms were still tight around Angel's waist, both for her security and his own. She couldn't blame him - being face to face with the man who mocked and blamed him while torturing him to death would have clearly been a lot for him to handle, even though Gameknight likely couldn't do anything in this world.

Things were starting to dawn on Angel as well. Her overwhelming anger at Gameknight combined with everything she had told Erebus about in the shower was just too much for her to handle at the moment.

"Let me go..." she muttered, placing a hand on Erebus's arm. "I-I really wanna be alone right now, at least for a second..."

He complied immediately, releasing his grip on her and allowing her to walk off, her hands clenched into fists as she moved to her room to process everything that had happened. Shutting the door, she sat down on the edge of her bed, closing her eyes as she replayed what had just happened in her head. She had just threatened Gameknight, her uncle's client's kid, with a fucking knife. Why would anyone in their right mind threaten a child?

But she knew the answer. It was the same answer to the question that Erebus had asked her while she was in the shower. She knew the truth, the terrifying yet overwhelmingly right truth.

"Fucking hell..."

She loved him.

Chapter Text

IS THERE NOTHING TO FEAR?

===

Erebus was quiet as he helped Clara and Tom put away the uneaten dinner, lost in thought. The whole interaction with Gameknight - or Tommy, as he was called in this world - had happened so fast, too fast for him to handle, but right now he wasn't thinking about that. All that mattered to him was Angel.

It almost scared him, how quickly he had come to defend her from the person that had nearly killed him, but it scared him even more that he knew exactly why he had done it - or, at least, he had a theory. The conversation that he and Angel had had in the bathroom stirred up the feelings that he'd been harboring for quite some time, those confusing, unfamiliar feelings that made him feel so comfortable and so vulnerable at the same time.

Was this what love felt like?

Through no fault of his own, Erebus knew nothing about love. He had always believed that it was too late for him to learn what it was like. But when Angel was around...

"Clara? Tom?"

The two turned to face him. "Yes, magpie?" Clara asked, stepping over to him.

"Could I ask you something?" Erebus's voice was soft and unsure as he looked up at them. "It's not about anything that just happened, but... it's something that's been on my mind for a little bit of time now."

"Of course you can, son," Tom said, nodding. "What is it?"

Erebus looked down at his hands, trying to figure out how to put the thoughts swirling in his mind into words. "I just wanted to ask..." he mumbled, briefly glancing up at them as he motioned with his hand. "The two of you - you're in love, right?"

They nodded. "We've been married for almost twenty years now," Clara told him.

"Right..." Erebus exhaled slowly, trying to clear his head. "And- And how did you figure out that you were in love, exactly?"

Clara and Tom glanced over at each other, a realizing smile starting to grow on both of their faces, as if they knew exactly why he was asking this. Erebus could feel his face start to heat up as he looked down once more, hoping that they wouldn't take this question the wrong way.

"Everybody experiences love in their own unique way, sweetie," Clara said, moving over to the table and sitting down. "I'm sure that Tom feels love in a different way than I do, for example. Despite this, I feel like there are a few similarities between most people when it comes to what they believe love is."

Tom pulled up a chair and sat down beside his wife, gently taking her hand in his. "For example," she continued. "When I first met Tom, it didn't take me very long at all to realize that he was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I was drawn to his kindness, his intelligence, his willingness to help others, his dedication to his family... the list could go on. He always brings a smile to my face when I need it, and when we get into disputes or disagreements, he is always willing to fix the situation rather than letting it escalate." A warm smile spread across her face as she looked up at Tom. "He keeps me safe, and I try my best to do the same in return."

Erebus watched as Tom gently kissed Clara's cheek, his head settling onto her shoulder. "And she does a great job with it," he said, squeezing her hand. "For me, it was a sensation of trust that drew me to Clara - trust that we could build a home together, that we could strengthen each other's families and lives, free of judgment or defiance. She is the one that I am certain that I want to share both the happy and the sad moments of my life with, because I know that she will help me do what is right. Love has helped me to accept her for all that she is, and all that she is not, and there's nothing that I would rather do than to help her, since she has done so much for me."

Every word that Tom and Clara spoke only cemented further in Erebus's mind that he was truly feeling this, that he was feeling love, love for Angel. It was her that he had been drawn to ever since the beginning, her that he couldn't help but feel safe with. He trusted her more than anyone else, and after everything that she had done to help him in Minecraft and in the physical world, he wanted nothing more than to give back to her the kindness and care she had brought to him.

It didn't make sense. Wasn't it far too late for him to learn what love was?

In the back of his mind, he knew that this was no longer the case. Angel had shown him that the impossible truly was possible, that he was able to feel however he wanted without being judged for it, that he didn't have to depend on being a king to feel important or loved.

She was the one that made him feel loved.

"Right..." he muttered, turning his gaze to the floor. "And... And how exactly did the two of you, y'know... come together? How did you know that both of you felt the same way?"

Clara reached out, taking Erebus' hand in her own. "Trust me, dear, she feels the same way for you that you do for her."

Erebus immediately looked up, startled. "What- What do you mean?"

"Angel," Clara said. "I can tell by the way she looks at you that she feels the same way."

Tom nodded in agreement. "She talked about you so much for that month you weren't alive. It was like her whole world had been torn apart, Erebus... she hadn't been that upset since the whole situation with her parents happened. She truly cares about you, Erebus, more than anyone else we've seen her with."

Erebus could barely get the words out now from how flustered he was. "So... So what happens now? How do I tell her what I feel?"

"It will be difficult," Clara told him. "A confession of feelings like this is never easy, Erebus, no matter who you're doing it for. However, we know Angel, and we know that she would never do anything cruel to you, no matter if she admits to feeling the same way or not. If she rejects you, it'll likely be because of her own uncertainty of her feelings. It wouldn't be your fault at all."

"It's best to be honest," Tom chimed in. "Just tell her everything that you've been feeling for her. Like Clara said, I'm sure that she will reciprocate your feelings as well, but if she doesn't, it won't be because of anything you did. Just be patient with her, and the time will come when she feels ready enough to reciprocate."

Erebus looked back down as he processed all of this. Though he highly doubted that Angel would make fun of his feelings once he told them to her, he still felt quite nervous. He had never felt anywhere near this intensely for somebody before - even his hatred for Malacoda was nothing compared to the love that he felt for Angel. Everything that had happened in his life was leading up to this moment. There was no more time for him to run away from his feelings. He had to be brave now, for Angel.

"Thank you," he said quietly, letting go of Clara's hand and stepping back, exhaling sharply as he resigned himself to his fate. "Thank you both so much, for everything."

"Good luck, dear." Clara's gentle voice followed him as he turned away, starting to walk down the hallway toward Angel's room, toward love, for the first time in his life.

Chapter Text

TELL ME HOW I'M RIGHT FOR YOU

===

"Angel?" Erebus called, knocking on the door.

"You can come in."

Ignoring the pit of nervousness growing in his stomach, Erebus gently opened the door, stepping inside Angel's room. She was sitting down on her bed, looking over at him.

"I'm glad you came," she said, watching as Erebus shut the door behind him and sat down next to her. "I, uh... I've got something to tell you."

Erebus tilted his head. This couldn't be good. "What- What is it?" he asked. "I came in here because I had something to tell you too, but you can go first..."

Angel looked down, a pink haze settling over her cheeks. "Are we about to tell each other the same thing?" she chuckled. "That would be insane..."

"What if we were?" Erebus reached over, placing a hand over Angel's. "There's a possibility..."

"Well, if we were, then I wouldn't have anything to worry about, telling you this," Angel mumbled, her fingers intertwining with Erebus's as she took his hand. "Feelings are fucking weird, aren't they?"

Erebus's eyes widened ever so slightly at her words. Maybe she was about to tell him the same thing that he was about to tell her.

"Look..." Angel's gaze fixated on their intertwined hands. "What I said in the shower is all true. I-I really do have feelings for you, Erebus... feelings of love, and shit. I'm in love with you. There, I said it. I just am - it's like... you're the person I feel the most safe with, and you're truly kind, and you understand me better than anyone else, and I- I can just see a future with us together. I've never once hated you, and I just- I really want to give you the love that you deserve, alright?" Her face was bright red by this point, but she still managed to chuckle. "Be proud of me, I'm no longer in denial about it."

Erebus's grip tightened on Angel's hand for a moment, before he let go, placing his own on top of her head and gently pulling her closer. "Angel... are you serious?"

"Yeah?" Angel glanced up slightly nervously. "I'd never lie about this kind of stuff... if you don't feel the same way, that's okay, I wasn't really expecting you to-"

"No, that- that was what I wanted to tell you about," Erebus told her quickly. "It's just... I've never felt love before. I never thought that I could, but when you're around, I feel something so warm, so secure, like- like nothing can go wrong when I'm with you. And it's so strong, too, stronger than any anger or hate I've ever felt for anyone else. I really think that what I'm feeling is love, Angel."

"Holy shit..."

Angel looked up at him, almost startled by the fact that he felt the same way as her, despite having prayed that this was what he would say. "And- And listen, I- holy fuck, I never thought that this would happen..."

"Me neither," Erebus murmured, gently pulling Angel closer, feeling her lean against him. "Take your time, Angel, I don't want you to feel rushed or uncomfortable."

"But that's what I was about to say," Angel told him. "So yeah, we established that we have feelings for each other, but what does that mean? I don't want you to feel like you have to be in, like, a relationship or anything until you're ready-"

"I am," Erebus said firmly. "I feel like as long as I'm with you, I'm willing to do anything to pay back the love you've shown me."

Angel blinked, quickly looking back down as she scoffed. "Goddamnit..."

"What is it?"

Fidgeting with her hands slightly, Angel chuckled to herself. "Well, you said anything, and my mind automatically just went to- to- god, y'know what it went to. Sex. I'm sorry."

Erebus felt his face heat up as Angel said this. "I've never had sex before," he mumbled, looking down.

"And you don't ever have to," Angel told him. "If you never want to have sex, that's a valid decision."

Erebus shook his head. "It's not like I don't want to," he explained. "I've always just thought- it's a vulnerable thing, isn't it? I never could have brought myself to do that with someone unless I really trusted them..." His voice lowered to almost a whisper, as if he was afraid to continue at a volume at which Angel could hear him. "Someone like... like you."

"Would you want to try having sex one day?" Angel offered - she was finding it incredibly hard to keep still at the moment, since her whole body felt as if it were about to spontaneously combust, but she kept calm for Erebus. "Please understand that I would never force you into something like that, never. If you ever feel uncomfortable with what I say about the subject, or anything that I do to you, please tell me, Erebus. I'd hate to make you uncomfortable. Fuck, am I ruining everything...?"

She faltered slightly as both of Erebus's hands reached up to cup her face, tilting her head up so that she was looking into his gentle crimson eyes.

"You worry too much, Angel."

His voice was soft, not accusatory, yet it drew a soft sigh from Angel. "I'm aware," she said, scoffing with amusement. "I, uh... I had a relationship back when I was sixteen, and it didn't go so well. This was back when I was questioning my identity, and I just wanted someone in my life who would understand how shit everything was for me then. I tried to convince myself that I was in love with them, and it didn't work. I can't help but worry, Erebus... I don't wanna do something wrong and make you not have feelings for me anymore."

"That's not going to happen," Erebus told her, leaning slightly closer to Angel. "I promise, that's not going to happen. You can't hurt me, Angel. All I feel is you."

Soft breaths puffed against Angel's face as she gazed up at Erebus, leaning against him and immersing herself in how warm he was making her feel. Her stomach was twisting with excitement as she shifted closer to him, watching him fondly.

"You know," she murmured. "If we ever are going to get the chance to kiss, we might as well do it quickly so that Clara doesn't interrupt us again..."

Erebus huffed, an amused smile crossing his face as he leaned down, his chest rising and falling in time with his slightly unsteady breathing. "Could you- Could you be the one to initiate? I've never done it before..."

"Of course I can," Angel told him. "We'll take it slow, okay? Learn at your own pace. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it quickly." Placing a hand on Erebus's waist, she smiled up at him. "You ready?"

Erebus nodded, closing his eyes as he leaned in, Angel doing the same. Their lips tentatively brushed together once before they connected, filling both of them with a surge of giddy excitement and a sense of belonging, like this had been what they needed all along. One of Erebus's hands moved to the back of Angel's head as he softly attempted to match the way Angel was kissing him, savoring every second of the moment even though the two pulled back seconds later.

"Was that okay...?" Angel breathed, as if this hadn't just been the most thrilling moment of both her and Erebus's lives.

In response, Erebus pulled her back in with newfound confidence, his lips pressed against Angel's more firmly as she matched with the same enthusiasm. Slim fingers passed through soft hair as their bodies pressed against each other with growing desire, Angel's grip tightening ever so slightly on Erebus's waist. There were no words to describe how much he had yearned for this feeling, how much Angel's warmth and the sensation of her lips on his felt like everything good in the world and then some happening to him. It was so perfect, so cathartic for him, and he clung onto Angel, wanting to drown himself in this feeling, this overwhelming good where he no longer needed to worry about anything.

Time lost itself in the growing heat and passion of the kiss, desire for each other burning brighter within both of them. They finally had each other, they finally felt like they belonged somewhere, and they couldn't help but long for even more of each other. Breaking the kiss once more, Angel spoke in not much more than a whisper.

"Are you sure you want this?"

Erebus nodded immediately. "I do," he murmured. "I may be nervous because I've never done this before, but I really do want this... I want you, Angel. I want to feel you, all of you."

Angel smiled up at him, gently running her hand up and down his side. "How do you want to do this?" she asked. "I just want you to be as comfortable as possible, alright? We'll take it as slow as you want, and if you ever feel like you want to stop or slow down, please tell me."

Once again, Erebus nodded, looking down as he did so. Angel could tell that he was blushing again as he tried to put words together. "I... I want you to be the one that's, like... doing it to me," he mumbled, motioning with a hand. "I want you on top."

A small chuckle escaped Angel. "I had a feeling you would," she murmured, smirking up at him. "And honestly, I'm happy about it. I already know you'll look so pretty under me."

Erebus shoved his face in his hands, letting out a soft whining sound that made Angel's heart melt. "Fuck you..." he huffed, briefly glancing between his fingers at her. "How, uh... how do we start?"

"Well, if you want to lay down, you can do that," Angel said, still grinning at him. "If you lay on your back, then I can get on top of you, and then we can do it... You'll probably need to take your clothes off too, but you can decide what you want to keep on and what you don't."

"I think I'd like that," Erebus told her, gently pulling her closer - she could practically feel the heat radiating from his face. "I don't mind taking my clothes off for you... are you going to as well?"

Angel nodded. "If you want me to. I'm just - I'm not, like, nervous, but... I don't have a normal body, so to speak. My- My tits, or whatever, I only have them because I got surgery for them, and I haven't gotten bottom surgery... I'm sure you wouldn't judge me or anything for how I look, but still."

Erebus placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Angel," he said. "I would be the least likely person to judge you for your body. You're forgetting where I came from, what I was - I was, quite literally, a monster."

"That's true, I guess..." Angel mumbled. "But you've probably never seen a trans girl's body before."

"Whatever I'm about to see, I'm going to love just the same," Erebus told her, squeezing her shoulder. "Trust me, Angel."

"I do," Angel said, her voice full of sincerity. "I trust you so much, Erebus."

"We'll do this together, okay?" Erebus pressed a soft kiss to Angel's forehead as he started to move from the edge of the bed, sitting down in the center and motioning for Angel to join him. "Should I start taking off my clothes?"

"You can if you want," Angel said, moving in front of him. "I'll start taking mine off too."

Erebus nodded, reaching down and starting to pull off his shirt, Angel doing the same with her own. Midway through, they made eye contact for a split second, and burst into a fit of nervous, excited giggling - they couldn't help themselves, everything that was happening was just so thrilling for them.

"Where do I put my clothes?" Erebus asked, crumpling his shirt up slightly in his hands.

"You can just toss them on the floor or something, I don't care," Angel mumbled as she pulled her shirt over her head and discarded it. Glancing back up at Erebus, she felt her face burn even hotter as she took in the sight of him. "Christ, you're beautiful..."

She reached out with one hand and gently set it on his side, feeling him still at the soft touch. It came as a bit of a surprise to her, how gaunt he was; her fingers were easily able to trace the curve of his ribs as she trailed her hand up to his chest, feeling it rise and fall slowly in time with his breathing.

Erebus's body complied to the subtle pressure, and he leaned back a little bit. His gaze met hers once more, curiosity and desire and love igniting within both of them as Angel moved forward, following him as he felt his back hit the mattress. She was on top of him now, shifting so that she had a leg on either side of his waist, looking down at him fondly.

"Is this okay?"

It was more than okay to Erebus, it was perfect. He felt so safe like this, despite the position being an incredibly vulnerable one for him after what he had gone through with Malacoda. Angel's presence made him feel safe, as if nothing could go wrong while the two of them were together like this, and he couldn't have been more grateful.

"Yes," he murmured, placing his hands on her waist as he gazed up at her with wide eyes. "You're so beautiful..."

"Do you want to keep going?" Angel asked. "I just want to make sure."

Erebus nodded, moving his hands down and starting to take off his pants as Angel did the same thing with her own, discarding the clothing once it was off. Both were left in their underwear now, each admiring the other.

"Fuck, I can't believe we're doing this..." Erebus murmured, his fingertips ghosting against Angel's body, trailing along her sides and stomach until they brushed against the bottom of her bra. He glanced up at her beseechingly, and Angel smirked.

"You want me to take off my bra for you?" she asked, her eyes darting around his face as she just admired how pretty he looked beneath her. She reached up with one hand to pass her fingers through his hair, quickly retracting as soon as she saw him pull away. "Shit... do you not want me to do that?"

Erebus was almost startled at the concern that had arisen so quickly in Angel's eyes - concern, not anger that he had faltered at a touch. "Were you about to touch my face?" he asked softly.

Angel shook her head. "No- well, maybe... I was really going to touch your hair, but do you want me to avoid that?"

"I'm not used to having my face touched gently," Erebus murmured, slightly embarrassed now. "I'm used to- to being... y'know, hurt. Maybe another time, Angel, just... right now wouldn't be good, because of everything else going on."

"I understand," Angel told him sincerely. "I have a similar thing on the back of my neck, from what happened with my parents, so I really do get that." She leaned down, placing her hand on his shoulder instead and kissing his forehead. "Thank you for telling me."

"I'm sorry." Erebus couldn't stop himself from apologizing, even though he didn't need to. "I didn't mean to ruin anything-"

"You haven't, trust me," Angel reassured him. "Communicating about boundaries is important when doing stuff like this, especially for the first time. I'm glad you told me." She gently squeezed his shoulder. "Would you like me to take my bra off now?"

"God..." Erebus breathed. "I want it off. I want everything off. I just- I want you, Angel. I want to see you, feel you, love you the way you deserve to be loved. Please..."

Angel smiled warmly. "I can't say no to 'please', now, can I?" she chuckled as she reached up, unclasping her bra and tossing it to the side.

"Holy shit-"

Angel couldn't blame Erebus for his reaction - he had never seen a single tit in his life. "Cool, aren't they?" she said. "I'm proud of having these, they make me feel good about myself."

Curious eyes lingered on Angel's chest as Erebus's hands shifted up slightly further. He brushed a thumb against one of the thin scars underneath her breasts.

"Can I ask how you got these?"

Angel nodded. "Well, the tits aren't natural, obviously, so I had to get surgery for them." Upon seeing Erebus's confused reaction, she continued. "Surgery is this procedure where doctors basically cut you open and fix something inside you - in my case, they gave me tits. I could also get bottom surgery, where I'd get a- well, a woman's parts instead of a man's, but I'm still trying to figure out if I want that or not. In any case, the scars are where they cut me open to give me tits."

"Does it hurt?" Erebus asked, fascinated.

Angel shook her head. "They make you fall asleep before surgery, so you don't feel anything. Recovering from it's a whole different story, but we can talk about that another time. Can I take these off?"

Her hand trailed down to the underwear Erebus was still wearing, and he could feel the pit of excitement and nervousness growing in his stomach as he realized just how close they were to the actual sex. He nodded, ever so softly panting with anticipation as her fingers hooked in his underwear, starting to tug it off as he lifted his hips off of the bed as much as he could to help.

"God..." Angel murmured, moving back slightly and trailing her eyes up and down Erebus's body. "You're so pretty... fucking gorgeous, you are."

She smirked a little as she watched him look away, softly biting his lip and squirming underneath her, starting to grow desperate - Angel could clearly see his growing arousal now that his underwear was off. He glanced back at her a second later after she had removed her own, his eyes widening slightly.

"Fuck..." he breathed, drinking in the sight as he beckoned for her to come closer. "I-I've never seen anything like this before... holy shit, you're bigger than me."

Angel giggled, setting a hand over her mouth as she moved back. "I love how that's the first thing you notice," she murmured as she started to get off the bed. Erebus quickly grabbed her hand.

"Where are you going?"

"If we're gonna do this, I need to get something first," Angel told him, offering him a reassuring smile as he let go of her. "Don't worry, I'll be right back, this is just something important that will help."

She walked off to her dresser, crouching down and opening the bottom drawer so she could rummage around inside. Straightening up a second later, she raised a small bottle in triumph, moving back over to Erebus.

"What's that?"

Climbing back on top of him, Angel uncapped the bottle. "It's called lubrication, or just lube," she told him, pouring a generous amount into her hand and starting to spread it onto herself. "It'll make it go in easier. Without lube, this could hurt, and I really want to avoid hurting you as much as possible. Since this is your first time, it might still hurt a little or feel uncomfortable, and that's when you need to tell me if it's getting too much for you, okay?"

Erebus nodded, gazing up at Angel as she set the bottle aside. "I will," he said firmly.

"And if you want me to slow down or stop entirely, you'll tell me, right? I promise that I will if you tell me to."

God, she knew how to make him feel so safe, even when doing something so unfamiliar. "I will."

"Are you ready?"

"I am."

"I love you, Erebus."

"I love you too, Angel."

A giddy grin spread across both of their faces as they said this, and they couldn't help but giggle once again with excitement. Placing a gentle hand on his waist, she began to push into him, watching him closely for any sign that he would want to stop. A stuttered gasp escaped her at the feeling of being so deeply embedded in him, despite how slow and steady she was going.

Erebus had never felt anything like this before. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, let out an unrestrained whine as he felt her inside him, reached down to grab at Angel's hand and feel her fingers curl around his own - but not once did he ask for her to stop. He refused to, he couldn't, not when Angel was so intimately close to him, her thighs sliding underneath his own as their hips met. Not when Angel let out a quiet groan of her own at the feeling of every part of Erebus against her, not when she lifted his hand up and pressed such a sweet kiss to the back of it that he nearly melted.

"You okay?" she asked. "You need a second to adjust?"

Erebus nodded quickly as he looked back up at her, and Angel gently squeezed his hand. "Take your time, sweetheart... I'll do anything to help you feel better, okay?"

She smiled at him, just taking in how pretty he looked when he was like this. Eyes wide, hair a mess, lips slightly parted, he looked a masterpiece on the bed beneath her, and she couldn't help but blush as she watched him.

"My God, you're so pretty..."

Gently running a hand up and down Erebus's side, she waited until he was ready for her to continue, when he placed his free hand on her waist and nodded.

"You can move," he murmured, his voice breathy and desperate. "Please."

Angel obliged, starting to rock her hips back and forth at a steady pace that Erebus could get used to, gently thrusting into him as she pressed his hand down into the bed. "How does this feel?"

Her words were laced with a soft moan as she spoke, a sound that made Erebus's heart flutter in his chest as he pulled her closer. "I... I can't- ah- I can't describe it," he gasped, every motion of Angel inside him eliciting an almost pleading sound from within his throat. "It's good..."

A rush of pride flooded through Angel at his words, and she leaned closer to him, pressing a featherlight kiss to the tip of his nose. "You look so pretty..." she murmured, feeling his hot breath fan against her face as he began to pant from the sensation of her being inside him. "Fuck... and you feel amazing too, oh my God..."

Erebus's hand trailed up to her back, pulling her body flush against his own as he leaned up, kissing her once more with pure need, an overwhelming longing that only she was able to satiate. He had never felt so warm, so safe in his life, never before Angel. Here, in her gentle hold, he could be himself, and that was precisely what he was doing to do.

Slim fingers slipped into her hair as he clung to her, his desperation made apparent with every motion of his mouth against hers. He tilted his head up, his tongue pressing against Angel's lips as he wordlessly asked for permission to go further. She invited him in, and he was flooded with an even sweeter warmth, so perfectly addicting to the point that he couldn't help but let out a shaky whimper into her mouth.

In response, she began to thrust into him slightly faster, overcome with such excitement that she was making him feel this way that she wanted to continue, to give him the pleasure and gentleness that he deserved more than anything else. She wanted to be the only one he thought of, the only one to make him feel this good - she wanted him and all of him. Nothing in her life mattered more than he did. She loved him, and she didn't ever want to stop.

"Angel-!"

He spoke her name like the gentlest of curses, the most devout of prayers, the most desperate of pleas ever to be uttered by mortal lips - it made her shudder with delight. Here, she was able to truly feel like an Angel, his Angel.

Breaking the kiss, she moved back to admire him, a thin strand of saliva connecting the two. "You're doing so amazingly," she murmured, leaning up and pressing gentle, loving kisses to his face, causing him to giggle amidst the high-pitched gasps and whines that he was letting out. "I-I'm so proud of you, Erebus, fuck... I could never ask for anyone better to be with, you- you're so fucking amazing and you deserve to feel this good..."

"Angel, please..." Erebus's voice trembled as his legs started to do the same - he practically writhed against her as everything started to overwhelm him, all of the care and love and pleasure that she was showering him with starting to accumulate within him all at once. "Please don't- Please don't stop- ah- please, I'm begging you, you can't stop, you can't- fuck-!"

"I'm not gonna stop," Angel murmured, squeezing his hand as she panted against his skin. "I- God- I'm not gonna stop, I promise... how could I stop? You're being s-so good, you've always been so good to me, Erebus... I love you so much..."

Her words, laced with gasps and grunts of pleasure, were sincere, far more sincere than Erebus was used to. He was losing himself in the praise, and the pleasure that Angel was giving him as she fucked him - no, this wasn't just fucking, this was so much better than that. They were making love, displaying themselves in such a vulnerable, intimate way that meant so much more than just simple pleasure.

Erebus had never felt so much of one thing before, so much of one absolutely beautiful thing, and he couldn't help but let go of Angel's hand, tightly wrapping both arms around her and burying his face in her neck. He was losing himself in it all, losing the memories of everything he had been through - the torture, the self-deprecation, the painful doubts he had about everything good, it was all gone now, replaced with unbridled love. His moans and cries choked up in his throat from emotion, and his whole body shuddered against Angel's as he clung to her desperately, as if his life depended on it.

"'M close..." he whimpered, his hips bucking up against Angel's and earning a sharp gasp from both of them. "Please, Angel- ah, fuck- don't stop, please..."

"Me too, Erebus- shit..." Angel held onto him, her free hand gripping onto one of his thighs as she thrust into him. "Holy fuck, I-I'm close too, I'm not gonna stop- God, Erebus-!"

It was surreal to Angel, how breathtakingly beautiful Erebus was. The fact that she was the cause of him feeling this good, that she was making him react this way, filled her with an almost forgotten sense of pride that she had deeply missed. She held him close, feeling the way that his body twitched and writhed beneath her own as he clung onto her, listening to his whines and moans that were music to her ears, hearing her name fall from his lips again, and again, and again, like a mantra, like a prayer, just for her.

Tangled bodies trembled from wave after wave of shared pleasure, mouths agape in choked cries more harmonious than any record Angel had ever listened to. Hearts pounded as one as sweat clung to their skin, stars shimmering in their vision as feeling and touch and lust and love, unbridled love, filled the heated air.

In this moment, everything was perfect. In this moment, all they had was each other, and that was all they needed.

Panting and gasping for much-needed air, both flopped down onto the bed, Angel still on top of Erebus. He wasn't letting go of her - his grip was still as tight as ever around her waist as he slowly recovered from his orgasm, and his face nuzzled deep into Angel's neck.

"How... How do you feel?" Angel asked softly, looking over at him as she let go of his thigh and placed it on his shoulder.

No response came from him, and Angel soon realized why - his body was still shaking, hitching in her arms as he held onto her like his life depended on it. Her eyes widened as she realized that the wetness gathering on her neck wasn't sweat.

"Don't let me go..." Erebus whispered. "I-I need you right now..."

"Oh, Erebus..." Angel wrapped both arms around his back, kissing the side of his head. "I've got you, I've got you, okay? I'm not gonna let you go... you did so good for me, okay? I'm so proud of you..."

A weak sniffle came in response as Erebus slowly removed his face from Angel's neck, looking up at her with eyes filled with tears of overwhelming catharsis. "I love you so much, Angel..." he whispered. Angel smiled down at him, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"I love you too, Erebus." 

Chapter Text

YOU AND ME, INSEPARABLE

===

Angel awoke the next day, more content than she had been in what seemed like forever, glancing around at her surroundings. Sunlight was streaming in through her window, illuminating small specks of dust that floated in its rays. She didn't know what time it was, or how long she had slept for, and right now it didn't matter. All that mattered was this moment, this perfect moment where nothing seemed to be wrong in the world, and she had nothing to worry about.

Erebus's naked body was draped overtop of hers, his face nestled in the gap between her shoulder and her neck. His warm breath puffed against her skin, being the only sound in the room that Angel could hear. If she leaned down ever so slightly, his hair would be able to tickle her nose, and she smiled softly at the thought.

She glanced down at Erebus, who shifted slightly on top of her, having woken up as well. Sleepy crimson eyes met Angel's own as he tilted his head up, smiling at her.

"Hey..." he murmured, shuffling closer to her.

"Howdy," she said, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Erebus's smile widened. "Perfect," he told her sincerely. "How about you?"

"I feel like I'm being roasted alive, but I have you in my arms, so is it really that bad?"

Nuzzling into her neck a little further, Erebus tightened his arms around her. "I just make everything so much better, don't I?" he chuckled.

"Well, you do," Angel said. "It's just a thing I've noticed when you're around. I honestly haven't been this happy in so long."

A rush of pride flowed through Erebus, something he still hadn't gotten used to yet despite having felt it so often during his time with the Abrams family. "Why is it that you always know what to say to make me feel good about myself?" he murmured.

Angel giggled. "Magic," she told him sweetly. "Nah... usually I just tell you what I want people to tell me, which works for you 'cause we're so damn similar, I suppose."

"Whatever it is, I'm grateful for it," Erebus mumbled. "I'm still not used to being told stuff like that."

"Well, you'd better get used to it soon, 'cause I ain't stopping until you do."

Reaching up, Angel took one of Erebus's hands in hers, squeezing it. He glanced up, much less sleepy now that he was engaged in conversation with her. "I liked the things you were telling me during sex," he told her, causing her grin to widen.

"Hell yeah, that was my aim - on the subject, if we ever were to, y'know... try that again, what sort of things would you want me to change? Or would you want to try something new next time? Or - this should've been my first question - would you even want to do it again?"

A grin of his own crossed Erebus's face as he observed the way Angel blushed. "Of course I'd want to do it again. It was... different than anything I was used to, yes, but I really did feel good, Angel. You made me feel good."

Angel let out a soft 'yay', raising her free hand as a fist in the air in triumph. Erebus chuckled. "You're so cute..."

"Oh, be quiet." Angel's blush grew worse as she looked away. "If we're gonna talk about cuteness, then let's talk about you. You were absolutely stunning underneath me."

Erebus froze up, momentarily at a loss for words from how flustered he got, before he quickly recovered. "Well, I- I bet you'd look even more beautiful if I was the one on top next time," he told her, smirking.

"Oh yeah? You think you can handle being the one on top?" Angel playfully scoffed. "But you were so perfect underneath me, and you moaned so beautifully too..."

"Alright, y'know what-"

Angel felt Erebus grab her free hand as well, pressing both hands on either side of her against the mattress. He rose up, hovering above her and pinning her down against the bed as he moved to straddle her waist. Giggling, she attempted to pull her hands free from his tight grasp.

"Let me go!" she laughed, wriggling underneath him. "You heathen, what are you doing?"

"Just seeing how pretty you look underneath me," Erebus smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he squeezed her hands. "You know you love it, Angel, just admit it."

Angel rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, you're hot when you're on top, is that what you want to hear?" She stopped struggling as she huffed, pretending to give up. "Why do you wanna be the one on top so bad?"

"Besides the fact that I get to admire you like this?" Erebus moved a little closer to her. "Well, why not? I'm sure I can get the hang of fucking you, and I doubt you'd mind either. Maybe you like the feeling of someone stronger than you on top..."

"I would," Angel chuckled, leaning up as much as she could, bringing her face closer to Erebus's. "But you get so weak for me..."

"Angel?"

The muffled voice of Clara interrupted Erebus's response. "Are you almost ready for church?"

Angel froze up. "Shit!"

Shrieking, she jolted up with enough force to knock Erebus off of her, scrambling off of the bed. "Shit, shit, fuck - what time is it? Goddamnit, I swear to God-"

Erebus tilted his head. "Angel, what's wrong?"

"It's Sunday!" she exclaimed, dashing over to her dresser and hastily yanking out several articles of her more modest clothing. "Jesus, I don't even know what fucking time it is... I gotta get dressed, I gotta get out of here-"

"What are you talking about?"

Angel spun to face him, clutching the clothes in her hands. "Church," she said simply. "People of a certain religion go to church just about every Sunday. I showed you the church in Crossrose, right?"

Erebus nodded, watching as Angel frantically got dressed. "Well, I planned to go to church today, and I wasn't even thinking about it until Clara said something - god, I'm sure I look like a fucking mess right now, and I don't even think I have time to shower-"

"If it makes you feel better, I probably look like a mess too," Erebus said, slipping off the bed and starting to pick up his clothes as well. Angel scoffed.

"As if you ever could," she muttered. "You can't come, though, if that's what you're getting at."

"Why not?"

Angel glanced up at him. "Remember the other day, when that dick bag, Shein, or whatever his name is, came over and said you were a criminal? You killed people, Erebus - if anyone sees you in a church, you'll go to jail. Jail's a shitty place, trust me, you don't wanna go there."

"That makes sense..." Erebus murmured. "What do I do while you're gone?"

"I dunno," Angel said as she pulled her shirt over her head, quickly realized that it was backwards, and swore loudly. "Listen to the rest of Animals or something, I can try to set up the second half for you if you want before I leave."

"Oh, if you're going to be late, you don't have to-"

"No, no, I got it, hang on..." Angel quickly moved over to her record player, pulling out the Animals vinyl and starting to set it up for Erebus. "It won't take long, but after this, I've gotta go see what time it is and get out of here..."

She trailed off slightly as she felt Erebus's arms circle around her waist, his body pressing against hers from behind. "Take a breath, Angel," he softly urged, closing his eyes. Angel did so, her chest rising and falling as her movements slowed. "Please don't stress over leaving on time, if you're a little late it's not a big deal." He paused. "Is it?"

"Um... not really, but, like, I don't wanna interrupt the service while it's going on," Angel mumbled, feeling Erebus kiss the top of her head. "But it's not that far anyway, and we normally arrive early... it'll probably be fine, but still, I don't wanna be late."

"Are you sure you have time to be setting this up for me?" he asked.

Angel nodded. "Of course - I'm basically done right now, it'll start playing here in a second."

She lowered the needle onto the edge of the record, drawing an echoing snort from the machine as she stepped back, letting it play out the intro of "Pigs (Three Different Ones)". Erebus let go of her, allowing her to move over to her shoes. "We already listened to the beginning of this one, but you can finish out the album and tell me what you think."

"You're letting me listen to the rest of the album first?" Erebus tilted his head in slight surprise. "Even though you haven't heard everything on it yet?"

"Eh, I can listen to it whenever," Angel said dismissively, waving a hand as she pulled on her shoes. "Plus, it'll give you something to do while we're at church. I'm sorry you can't come with us, but it's just the way shit is at the moment... I have a feeling you might've liked going to church with us."

"Maybe one day I could," Erebus suggested. Angel shrugged, standing up.

"We'll be back soon," she told him, smiling up at him. "I hope you enjoy listening to the album."

"I'll be right here when you get back." Erebus reached up, running his fingers through Angel's hair and messing it up, causing her to giggle. "I love you, Angel- you say that whenever someone's about to leave, right?"

"I mean, I've always thought it was kinda cute when Clara and Tom would do it, so you can if you want," Angel said, grinning at him as she started to walk out. "I love you too, Erebus, and I'll see you when I get back - Clara, I'm coming, I'm almost ready to go!"

She dashed out the door, shutting it behind her and leaving Erebus alone in her room. A small smile lingered on his face as he sighed, starting to pull on the rest of his clothes as he absentmindedly listened to the record Angel had put on for him.

The first part of the song was familiar to him, since he had gotten part of the way through it before Angel found out about him killing Brandon, Jake, and Chad - how Erebus had gone his entire life without listening to music like this, he had no idea. As good as the discs back in Minecraft were, the ones here were beyond anything he could have expected, just like so many other things in this world, the physical world. Words could not describe how grateful Erebus was to Angel that she had brought him here, but for now, he chose not to reminisce. He sat down on the edge of the bed, closing his eyes and listening to the record.

Unfortunately, it didn't take him too long before he was interrupted - shortly after Angel and her family left, a sharp knock came from the front door. Curious, Erebus stood up, moving quickly out of the room so that he didn't have to miss much of the song. Once Angel returned, he hoped to ask her if there was a way to pause the music on her record player.

Walking into the living room, he peered through one of the windows, seeing a man he didn't recognise idly waiting on the front porch. Unsure of what to do, and not wanting to be impolite in case this was someone Angel or her family knew, he opened the door, tilting his head. "Hello?"

Light reflected off of the sunglasses that obscured the stranger's eyes, as well as the badge he was holding up. "My name is Officer Nero Shein," he announced, a sneering grin spreading across his face. "Erebus, you are under arrest."

Chapter Text

FUCK YOUR CULTURE

===

"Under-?" Erebus glanced up, trying to figure out what Shein meant. The grin that was spread across the officer's face unnerved him ever so slightly. "How do you know my name?"

Shein huffed. "Oh, I know a lot of things," he said, dismissively waving a hand through the air. "How I do is not your concern right now. The only thing that is important is the fact that I know you, and I know what you have done." He took a step forward, his expression unreadable behind his sunglasses. "You are under arrest for murder."

An invisible hand of dread clutched at Erebus's insides. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, stepping backward. "How did you find out about that?"

"Don't move," Shein snapped warningly. It was a harsh command, one far too sudden for Erebus's liking - it reminded him of Malacoda. "Unless you value yourself, you will do as I order without hesitation."

Erebus's eyes narrowed. "Who are you to speak to me in this way?"

Shein was unfazed. He took another step forward, one of his hands going to his waist and curling around a black, rectangular object in one of the holsters on his belt. "You have the right to remain silent," he sneered. "I suggest that you take advantage of it, before you get hurt."

Stunned, Erebus desperately tried to think of a comeback to Shein's words, but found that he was unable to. It didn't make sense - why was he freezing up? This was just a stranger, so why did he sound so familiar? The way he spoke bore an uncanny resemblance to Malacoda, the taunting comments and harsh orders driving memories into Erebus's mind, memories that he had prayed that he would forget. He didn't understand why this was happening - he was safe, wasn't he? He was safe, he had Angel to look out for him, he was no longer in danger from Malacoda, or anyone else-

He was shaking.

Looking down at his hands in disbelief, he watched as they trembled ever so subtly, that now-familiar growing panic within him causing them to do so. It was happening again, that unstoppable dread that Erebus knew was like a wave crashing down on him again and again and again, determined to drown him, just as it had back in Minecraft when his fear of Malacoda had gotten too much for him to handle, just as it had when Erebus had been tempted to shove his hands underwater to see if they would burn.

No, no, no, why was this happening again? Was he really that-

"Pathetic."

A sharp pain erupted in the side of Erebus's face, causing him to stumble slightly, caught off guard. Shein's mocking smile spread wider on his face as he watched him straighten up, lowering the hand he had used to hit him with. Gathering every ounce of remaining courage left within him, Erebus let out a screeching snarl, dashing forward.

"You don't get to fucking hit me-"

He only got two steps in before the rectangular device that Shein had threatened him with was pointed directly at his chest. A pop sounded through the room, followed immediately by an awful crackling and a shrill, agonized scream.

Erebus collapsed to the ground, every muscle in his body feeling as though it were ablaze with white-hot flames. This was beyond anything he had ever experienced before, far unlike the burning of water at his skin - no, this was inside him, so unbearably painful that he no longer knew where he was. He couldn't move, couldn't fight, couldn't do anything other than howl in anguish as the excruciating pain tore through him-

And then it was over, ending just as quickly as it had come. Lowering the taser, Shein chuckled wryly, shaking his head.

"I can do what I want with you, Erebus," he said. "Stand up, get off of the ground, before I hurt you again."

Gasping and trembling, Erebus attempted to back away from Shein, his overwhelming panic having tripled at what had just happened. "What did- What did you just do to me?"

"I tased you," Shein told him simply as he held up the device - the wires that had projected from it were still embedded into Erebus's chest. "It's a fascinating device, really. I had the pleasure of testing it out on a particularly peculiar couple the other night - that was before I killed them, of course. Now stand up, before I do it to you again."

Erebus obeyed without hesitation, the unbearable sensation of being tased too much for him to handle a second time. He slowly rose to his feet, his gaze fixated on Shein in fear that he would attack him.

"Good, now sit down."

Shein pointed at one of the chairs in the dining room, following behind Erebus as he grinned in triumph. This was exactly where he wanted him - well, for now, at least. Soon, they would move, but at least he could settle a few matters here.

As Erebus sat down in the chair, Shein pulled out both sets of handcuffs that he was carrying. "You actually obeyed a set of instructions for once," he mused, the mocking praise causing Erebus to wince a little. "I knew you had it in you. All it took was a little torture to make you pliant... perhaps I should have done this earlier."

Through Shein's harsh words that bore an uncanny resemblance to Malacoda's way of speaking, a hint of a different sort of familiarity percolated. "Do I know you...?" Erebus asked.

"That's not a question I think I should have to answer," Shein huffed, moving behind Erebus and grabbing one of his wrists none too gently. He could hear the sound of metal clicking against metal as Shein restrained him to the back of the chair, only cementing his unease further into his mind. The fact that he was letting this man control him like this, just to avoid a bit of pain - how pathetic was he?

Straightening up once more, Shein walked around in front of Erebus, arms crossed smugly over his chest. "What a sad sight," he mused, not looking sad in the slightest. "To see you reduced to this... what has that wretched girl done to you?"

"Don't you dare bring Angel into this," Erebus snarled, momentarily forgetting that both of his wrists were restrained by handcuffs and pulling forward. "She is not at fault for this."

"So you admit, then, that being reduced to the sniveling mess that you are was none other than your fault?"

Erebus glared up at Shein, forcing away the thoughts nagging at him, telling him that this truly was his fault, his own fault, his own most grievous fault. "You speak as if you know anything about me."

"Ah, but I do," Shein said. "Like I have said, I know a lot of things, especially about you."

"How?"

Another dismissive wave of a hand through the air was the only answer he received. "All will be revealed in due time. For now, we must wait... I wonder how long it will take for your dear Angel to notice your absence, if she even does. Either way, it will be no matter, for I still plan to speak with her myself-"

"You will do no such thing," Erebus snapped, forcing confidence through the fear clearly projected in his voice. "You will not go near her, you understand? You-"

A harsh smack sounded through the room as Shein backhanded Erebus, hard enough to draw a whimper from him. "You just don't learn unless pain is involved, now, do you?" he sneered, stepping forward. Reaching out, he grabbed a fistful of Erebus's hair and wrenched his head back at a painful angle, ignoring his high yelp as he leaned in close to his face. "Unless you want Angel to get hurt, you will show some respect, understand?"

Wincing and trembling, Erebus shook his head as much as he could, trying his best to maintain his sense of reality - Shein's face was far too distorted by that of Malacoda. "Don't hurt her," he whispered, his defiance clinging on by merely a thread, far too overwhelmed with panic to be as prominent as he had hoped. "Leave her out of this, whatever this is - please, just- just keep this between us, don't hurt her- ah!"

The overwhelming agony that had struck him before jolted through him once more, and he cried out, pulling desperately at the handcuffs that dug harshly into his wrists. His body twitched and tensed up as wave after wave of electric pain was sent through it, and his screams echoed throughout the house as Shein laughed, both sounds combining with the crackling of the device and forming a cacophony that assaulted Erebus from every direction, tearing away at his sanity and replacing every remaining bit of courage in him with panic, even after the agony subsided.

He was letting this happen. He had allowed Shein to restrain him, to make him unable to fight back, like he had been created to do. This was on him, everything that was happening and that was going to happen was on no one but him. And Shein knew this. Somehow, Shein seemed to know more about him than he did, and it was terrifying.

It was far too abrupt for him when he figured out why this seemed to be the case. There was a flash of white, followed swiftly by a pang of realization, so sharp and so sudden that it felt like an arrow driven straight through his chest.

'Shein' chuckled menacingly. "Oh, this will be fun."

Chapter Text

YOU'RE JUST THE CHARACTER YOU'VE MADE

===

A sense of unease crept up on the back of Angel's neck as soon as she walked back into her home. It latched itself onto her, refusing to abate and growing much more prominent as she found herself being greeted by silence - there was no response from Erebus, not even when she called his name multiple times. Her newfound paranoia caused her to dash through every room in the house, searching frantically for him and finding nothing.

Unease gave way to fear, which was quickly joined by disappointment - after speeding up from the basement for the third time, she saw that the Feynman family had arrived for dinner. Gameknight was eyeing her warily, and this only grated further on her nerves.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Angel snapped, shutting the door to the basement behind her. "We're still having this lunch? I've looked around the house three times-"

"Dear, he's probably just somewhere in Crossrose," Clara said gently, placing a hand on Angel's shoulder.

"And that's what's freaking me out!" Angel jolted back, taking a step away from Clara. "He doesn't know Crossrose as well as we do- what if he gets lost? What if someone hurts him? What if he gets hit by a car? He doesn't have any money, and- and I only showed him around once! What if-"

"What if he got arrested?" Gameknight spoke up, his voice only grating on Angel's ears and driving irritation further into her. "He is a murderer after all..."

"Gameknight, if you don't shut up-"

"Easy, Angel," Tom said firmly. "We don't want a repeat of last night."

Angel wrung her hands in distress. "I'm sorry, Tom, but I really don't care," she told him. "Erebus is gone, and if he's somewhere in Crossrose, we need to find him, as soon as we can."

"Is there anything that we can do to help?" The gentle voice of Nartha spoke up.

Gameknight turned to face her incredulously, sudden fear making its way across his expression. "Mom, no!" he hissed. "You- You don't understand what he's done!"

Clara took another step toward Angel, who was barely concentrating at this point, feeling distress and panic starting to overwhelm any reason within her. "Sweetpea," she murmured. "If he is in Crossrose, the likelihood of that man you mentioned finding him is very slim."

"He's a police officer," Angel snapped. "Of course he's gonna find him!"

"There's a chance that he won't," Clara said firmly. "Listen to me, Angel. Shawn, or Shane, or whatever that man's name is-"

"It's Shein."

"-Shein, yes - he could be busy with more important things. It's Sunday, dear. He might be off duty."

"Wait, how do you know about Shein?"

Angel turned to face Gameknight, who looked just as nervous and confused as she felt. "How do you know about Shein?"

"What?" Gameknight's eyes widened. "You don't- You didn't-"

A thick pause as he stuttered into silence. Angel's eyes narrowed, and she took a step toward him, but before she could voice aloud her thoughts, Richard Feynman spoke.

"An officer, you said? Officer Shein?" he asked, turning to his son. "Is that who you wanted to use the phone for last night at the hotel?"

Gameknight was frozen in place, like a deer caught in the headlights of all of those around him. Angel stared in disbelief.

"What the fuck did you do?"

"Language," Nartha said quickly.

"No!" Angel exclaimed. "No language, I don't give a shit! What did you do, Gameknight?!"

Nartha placed her hands over Jenny's ears as Gameknight raised a hand. "Angel," he began. "You're a reasonable person. I know you can be, you were before when we were fighting together. Please, I know you can hear me out-"

"I'm not hearing out shit until you tell me what you did!" Angel shouted, taking another step away from Clara when she reached out toward her, attempting to pacify her steadily growing anger. "Tell me!"

"Okay, fine!" Gameknight took a step back, both hands now raised in defense. "I set the police on Erebus, okay? The person's name that I talked to was Officer Shein - I remember that because that's a similar name to someone else I know! I did it last night because-"

"What? Because what? Because the thought of me having a shred of happiness in my life was too much for the world to handle?" Angel's lip curled as she glared at Gameknight. "You say I'm reasonable when I don't even believe you know what the word means! You- You fucking-" She reached up, dragging her fingers through her hair. "He could be in jail because of you!"

"I know, I know!" Gameknight exclaimed. "I was scared, okay? You- You don't understand what he put me through!"

"He understands what he put you through!" Angel retorted. "His time with Malacoda- you don't know what happened to him, and I do!"

"I didn't know!" Gameknight's voice was desperate now, desperate for her to understand. "I don't know anything, and I still don't! All I know is that he tormented me for so long - he was in my nightmares!"

"And you were in his!" Stepping forward, she pointed at Gameknight, refusing to relent. "You killed him in my arms! Do you know how many times I've thought back to that moment, how many dreams I've had about that?!"

"Angel."

Tom stepped in front of her, placing both hands on her shoulders. "Look at me."

A pang of nervousness hit Angel as she turned her attention to Tom, who seemed to notice this reaction - he took a step back, lowering his hands, not wanting to come across as a threat. "I'm not mad with you," he began softly. "But I really think you need to calm down, Angel. I understand that you're stressed about Erebus, but we already put this dinner off once, and the Feynman family aren't going to be here for much longer. Richard and I are going to be very busy for the remainder of the time that he is here, and we won't have time to push back this dinner for another day."

Angel frowned as she looked down. "I know," she mumbled. "I'm sorry, I really am, but- but what am I supposed to do? Erebus could be anywhere, and that f-" She paused, exhaling sharply. "That kid set the police on him, and he doesn't know Crossrose that well..."

"If he gets caught, we'll work something out," Tom reassured her. "I'm sure he'll come back soon, though, okay? He might just come back during dinner." A hopeful smile crossed his face. "Maybe he's out getting you a gift."

Angel wanted to retort by asking where Erebus would have gotten the money necessary to do so, but gave up. "I suppose you're right..." she mumbled, taking a step back. "I'll just- I need to calm down, alone, okay? I'll be in my room."

Tom nodded, as did Clara. "Take as much time as you need," she told her gently. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Thank you." Casting one last glance over at Gameknight, she turned away, quickly heading to her room. Despite Tom's gentle reassurances, the sense of unease that Angel had felt upon entering her home was still gripping onto her, its icy fingers of dread refusing to release her as she opened the door to her room.

Stepping inside, she exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down and focus on Tom's words to her. Surely Erebus would have left her a note if he had gone out, right? She glanced around her room, searching for something that would confirm this, and her heart leapt once she noticed a piece of paper folded up on her bed.

Maybe everything was okay, she thought. Picking up the piece of paper, she unfolded it to read, and all traces of relief were washed away at once. Her terror returned in full force, hitting her like a train as she beheld the words on the page.

I told you we would meet again.

Come to Crossrose Swim Club at 10pm, alone, and we will finish what we started.

See you soon, Angel.

Chapter Text

GIVETH AND TAKETH AWAY 'TILL THINGS COME OUT A CERTAIN WAY

===

Every minute of the rest of Angel's day induced a fresh wave of panic within her. She was unable to take her mind off of the cryptic note left on her bed - who was it even from? Was it from Officer Shein? Had he found Erebus? Or was it someone else, someone she knew, who had kidnapped Erebus to get back at her for something she had done?

Her suspicions were on Officer Shein, but that didn't entirely make sense - he was a police officer, wasn't he? He was, by default, a moral man, who knew how to uphold the law and do what was right for the people of Crossrose.

If that was the case, why had he told her parents where she was? Why had he let them out of jail? Surely he knew what they did, right?

It felt as though the hours until 10:00 chose to stretch themselves as long as they could, solely for the sake of tormenting Angel. Nothing could distract her from her growing worry in her room - she certainly wasn't going to go eat dinner with Clara, Tom, and the Feynmans. If, somehow, either her aunt or uncle learned about the note left for her, they would forbid her from going to Crossrose Swim Club, and she had to go, no matter what.

At 9:30, Angel snuck out of her room through the window as quickly and as quietly as she could. The sun had gone down, leaving the cool evening air to chill at her skin as she made her way to the main town. After so long of living in this town, she easily knew the way to Crossrose Swim Club, despite never having gone inside it. It wouldn't take her far too long at all, especially if she ran, and this gave her hope that Erebus would be okay.

As she ran, she was reminded of another very similar experience, one that still sent tremors down her spine as she recalled it. For a brief moment, she wasn't dashing down the streets of Crossrose, feeling the night air against her skin. Buildings turned to trees, and the sidewalk blurred into grassy dirt beneath her feet, and now, she wasn't even thinking about the swim club. Any minute now, her surroundings were going to give way to that clearing, that terrifying place where she had seen Malacoda tormenting Erebus, his maniacal laughter echoing and drilling further into Angel's mind that this was her fault.

It took no effort for her to hop over the wire fence, landing on her feet and stumbling slightly as she hit the ground. Immediately, her fears were confirmed, and a paralyzing panic overtook her, rooting her to the spot.

Shein was there, watching her smugly through the tinted glasses he was still wearing, despite the fact that it was nighttime. Erebus was restrained to a chair in front of him at the edge of the pool, limp and barely conscious but still breathing. Forcing herself to move, Angel stepped forward, wary eyes fixated on Shein.

"Well, well, Angel," the 'officer' said. "I see that we have met again."

Angel willed her voice not to shake as much as she could. "What... What the fuck is this, huh?" she snapped. "What did you do to him?"

Shein huffed. "Nothing irreparable," he told her dismissively. "In any case, this isn't about him. This is about you, Angel."

Taking another step forward, Angel pointed an accusing finger at him. "What kind of officer would pull this kind of shit?" she shouted. "You set my fucking parents on me!"

The grin that was spread across Shein's face faded ever so slightly. "Haven't you figured it out yet?" he asked, before sneering. "You're far more stupid than I would have thought, then... You see, I'm not an officer. Nor is my name Nero Shein."

"Well, that would sense," Angel huffed. "Who are you, then, if you're so bold?"

A soft chuckle escaped Shein. "Come closer," he told her. "But stay on that side of the pool. Take one step in either direction, and you will have made a decision that you haven't heard yet."

Angel's head tilted as she stepped to the edge of the pool, watching him. "The hell does that mean?"

"All in due time, Angel." Shein waved a hand dismissively through the air, before reaching up, grasping the edge of his signature sunglasses and pulling them off in one fluid motion. Angel's breath caught in her throat, and her heart seemed to stop.

His eyes were pure white.

"Holy shit..."

"That's right, Angel." Not-Shein cackled. "You remember me now?"

Forcing herself to recover from her initial shock, Angel's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"We made a deal," Herobrine said simply. "And I've come to finish what I started. I knew that the only way to be able to bargain for what I want was with him, which is why I took it upon myself to-"

"Hang on." Angel raised a hand. "Give me a second here."

Herobrine huffed, but stopped speaking.

"So what you're saying..." Angel muttered. "Let me get this straight - what you're saying is that you came to the physical world, disguised yourself as a fucking police officer - do you realize how ironic that is? You, as a police officer, the heroes of Crossrose- oh. That makes more sense."

"As a fan of irony yourself, I thought that it would have become obvious who I was far earlier than now," Herobrine commented. Angel suddenly let out an incredulous laugh.

"Hang on, hang on- another thing. You come here, you disguise yourself as a police officer only God knows how - and you named yourself Nero fucking Shein? Herobrine - Nero Shein? Could you have picked a more obvious fucking name?"

"If it was so obvious, why didn't you recognize me?"

Angel's face fell. "Well, shit. Now I feel stupid. Can we just move on now?"

Herobrine laughed. "There are far more pressing matters at hand than my choice of name. I brought you here for a reason, along with your dear Erebus-"

"Yeah, what the fuck did you do to him?" Angel snapped. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Patience," Herobrine said, raising a hand. "As much as I wish I could have done more to him, he is fine. I only punished him when he refused to cooperate-"

"Well, obviously, you literally kidnapped him-"

"Will you stop interrupting me?!" Herobrine shouted. Both Angel and Erebus, who had not spoken once throughout this whole exchange, winced at his tone. "I have a deal to make with you, Angel."

Angel huffed, glancing down. "Right. Your deal. What is it?"

Herobrine crossed his arms over his chest. "You lied to me."

"The hell? When did I do that?"

"You told me that gaining a physical form would be more beneficial for my endeavors than directly entering the Internet," Herobrine told her. "You told me that I could access the Internet from the outside and control it. There is no way for me to do that without entering it directly. Disguising as a police officer was the closest that I could get to doing so - I was able to access information about everyone, including you. With this knowledge, I was able to find your parents and release them from jail, until I discovered that they were of no use to me, and killed them."

"That was you?!" Angel exclaimed. "That makes perfect sense now - honestly, thanks for that, they were dicks-"

"Let me continue," Herobrine snapped. "Before I brought your parents to you, I realized that despite the information I was granted, there was nothing that I could do with it; no way that I could achieve my goals from outside of the Internet. So I devised a plan to capture Erebus - it was simple to place a criminal charge against him after he murdered those three kids, and arrest him shortly thereafter while you were at church." A devious smile crossed his face. "The Feynmans were an unexpected, yet very welcome addition to my plan, however. In short, I brought you here to make a simple request. Find Richard Feynman's digitizer, and use it to bring me where I rightfully belong - in the Internet."

Angel blinked as she took in this information. "And, uh... what are you going to do once you get in there?"

"Why, find my creator, of course," Herobrine said, as if this was obvious. "The one who implemented the virus that caused me to come alive within the world of Minecraft. I intend to make him pay for the suffering he brought, the unnecessary violence that he put me through simply because of what I was..." His voice was a menacing growl now, and his hands clenched into fists. "I will find him through the Internet, and once I succeed in doing so, the very virus that he created will destroy him."

"So let me get this straight." Angel looked down, gesturing with her hands. "I go back, steal my uncle's client's prized invention from him, then give it to you, so that you can go into the Internet and kill some random guy... yeah, that's not gonna happen."

"Then you have a choice to make, Angel."

"Oh, great, there's more..."

Reaching down into his police duty belt, Herobrine pulled out a small, metal object and pulled it open - it was a folding knife, its dark blade gleaming in the moonlight.

"I swear to fucking God, if you put that anywhere near Erebus-"

"Relax." Herobrine cut Angel short, his voice still eerily calm. "It is not my choice whether he gets hurt or not. I've done enough to him."

"What did you do?" Angel snapped.

"I merely showed him what the consequences would be if he disobeyed my orders," Herobrine said simply. "My other failed creation, Malacoda, taught him well, but not well enough, it seems - Angel, relax," he urged, seeing how Angel was now practically trembling with suppressed rage. "If you take a step in either direction, you will have already made your choice."

"If you don't tell me what this bullshit choice is about, I swear-"

"Patience." Herobrine moved his free hand up to his duty belt, pulling out another object - a ring of a few keys, which jingled as he held them up. "These will get your precious Erebus out of the handcuffs restraining him to this chair."

"Gimme those," Angel demanded, holding out a hand.

"So you've made your decision?"

Angel's hand lowered. "What's the catch? And what's the knife for?"

Herobrine shook his head. "There is no catch... only a simple test of loyalty. You see, choosing the keys will free him, but it will allow me to escape. However, if you choose the knife, you will be able to stop me from leaving."

An expression of utter confusion crossed Angel's face. "What if I don't choose? What if I just stab you with the knife and then use the keys to help Erebus?"

"By then, it will be too late to save him." Herobrine said simply. "You see, you will be under a bit of a time constraint, once I kick this chair into the pool and let it sink-"

"What?"

Erebus was suddenly alert, wincing as he twisted in his chair to face Herobrine due to the ache his body was still experiencing from the taser. "You're not- you can't-"

"What the fuck?!" Angel shouted, stricken with the same panic that Erebus had. "You can't just fucking do that- come on, we can work something out, you don't have to-"

"Shut up!" Herobrine shouted, though he seemed quite pleased with the reaction he had received. "Listen to me, Angel. This is the choice you must make - catch me and stop me from escaping, or save the man you had already lost once. The answer may be obvious at first, however, it would be worth it to remember that I know where you live - or more importantly, where your family lives. Your aunt, Clara, seemed quite nice..."

He tapped the blade of the knife against the hilt of the gun sitting in its holster. Angel was horrified.

"You- You're not gonna kill my fucking aunt!" she shouted. Erebus jolted against his restraints, the terror on his face mirroring that which Angel felt.

"Angel, please- please don't-"

"Whoever dies is entirely up to you, Angel," Herobrine said, his voice ever-so calm as he tossed the ring of jangling keys to one side, and the knife to the other - it made a scraping clatter as it landed on the concrete, and the sound caused Erebus to flinch. "Make the decision - save your family, or save Erebus."

He placed a foot on the back of Erebus's chair, earning a whimpering cry from him as he was pushed closer to the pool's edge.

"Don't!" Angel shrieked. "Don't make me choose - please, I'll do whatever the hell you want, just don't make me do this!"

"Then find the digitizer!" Herobrine snapped. "Let me into the Internet, and let me exact the revenge that I deserve!"

It was one man, one simple, insignificant man that Herobrine was targeting. Angel didn't even know who he was. He could have been an absolute douchebag. But what would have happened then? What if Herobrine thought it not enough? What if he craved more destruction, more power through the Internet after that? What if he killed more people, or took over the world like the monsters of Minecraft had planned to do once they entered the physical world?

The words came out before Angel could stop herself.

"I won't let you do that!" she shouted, gripping her hands into fists hard enough that her nails dug into her palms.

Herobrine simply grinned. "Hm..." he mused. "Maybe you aren't so bad after all, Angel."

And with that, he leaned forward, kicking the chair over the edge and into the pool, the resulting splash mingling with Erebus's terrified scream as he hit the water. Immediately, he began to sink, hitting the bottom before it fully hit him that he was drowning, that the surface was well beyond his reach. Panic ruled his mind as he began to helplessly thrash against the handcuffs binding his wrists to the chair, the metal digging sharply into his skin. This was everything he had feared and more - even if he could miraculously escape from the handcuffs, he still didn't know how to swim, rendering reaching the surface impossible.

Angel could swim. Angel was coming to save him.

There was no sign of her, however. No shadow pierced through the moonlight to signal her entering the pool, no disruption passed the water besides his own as he fought to return to the surface, as he fought not to breathe - she wasn't there.

The realization was far too sudden for Erebus to handle, and yet, somehow, he knew it had been coming.

Clara.

She had chosen her family over him.

This was where Erebus was going to die.

This couldn't be it, this couldn't be how he died, not like this - and yet, it was already happening. Water was suffocating him, choking him, seeping into his throat and lungs and burning his insides, even as he frantically thrashed against his restraints, even as his wrists throbbed with pain, even as bubbles streamed from his mouth as he let out an anguished, inaudible scream.

At least Angel had been able to save her family...

Had he been selfish for wishing that Angel had chosen to save him? Or had he just wanted to feel her close one last time before he died?

Little bursts of light were starting to pop in his vision, clouding the sight of the surface above him, but none even came close to shining as bright as Angel had in his mind.

She was an Angel, wasn't she?

Perhaps she would greet him in the afterlife, welcoming him with open arms.

He could almost see her now. Eyes half-closed, he could see her, could feel her hands touching his face and making him feel so warm, so safe.

He called her name, but there was no sound, just a face he couldn't see, a touch he couldn't feel.

His voice was gone, and so was he.

Chapter Text

IT DON'T LOOK LIKE SURVIVAL

===

Except he wasn't. Or was he?

He was ascending. Was this Heaven?

There was a sensation of what felt like rebirth. Suddenly, water wasn't the only thing he could feel. He could breathe again, and so he did.

Although, it didn't feel like breathing. It felt like he was drowning all over again as he spluttered and choked, weakly trying to expel the water from his burning throat. The pressure around his waist wasn't helping at all - it was too tight against his chest for him to get a proper breath, but he couldn't fight it.

Solid ground, stairs up, found their way underneath him, and with every ounce of his remaining strength, he scrambled onto dry land, heaving and panting as his hands scraped against the concrete. Whatever was dragging him hauled him up, enough for him to get at least his torso settled onto solid ground. Exhausted and overwhelmed, his strength gave out, and he simply laid there, focusing on his rapid breathing and his blurry vision.

His surroundings started to come into view. Ahead, near the corner of the pool, a foldable knife laid - Herobrine's knife, untouched. He couldn't focus on it for too long, for a figure collapsed onto her knees directly in front of him, doubled over, and vomited into the pool, shaking just as much as he was. She was whimpering, her body curled into itself as she reached up, dragging fingers through her hair as she gasped for breath, clutching at her chest as panic overwhelmed her.

This wasn't real.

This couldn't be happening again. She had already gone through this once, why would it happen again? She was safe-

If she was safe, why was she wet?

Why could she swear she felt hands on her neck, her head, her arms, grabbing her and pinning her down under the water?

She wasn't safe when she was wet, not after being submerged for as long as she had been, not while the panic of being underwater merged with what had just happened mere seconds ago with Shein. Seeing Erebus trapped below the surface, undergoing the same horrible sensation of drowning that she, too, had gone through - it was unbearable for her.

Fuck, had she even saved him? Had her indecision taken too long? Was he even still alive? Had she failed to protect him, just like she failed at everything else? Why was she still wet? Was she safe? She needed the water off of her skin, why wasn't it coming off? She needed it off, needed it off, needed it off, get it off, get it off-

Pain seared through her forearms as she clawed at the water on her skin, sinking further and further into her mind, like she was drowning there too, because she wasn't safe, she was never fucking safe, and she had possibly just lost the only person who ever made her feel anything remotely close to safety, because God forbid she could have anything good in her life-

Was it because she felt more comfortable in a woman's body than a man's? Was it because she felt attraction, love, for a man, the same as she had been born? Was it because of the way she acted, because she lashed out at those that hurt her instead of turning the other cheek, instead of loving her neighbors as herself?

Or had God simply just deemed her unworthy of happiness from the moment He chose to create her?

A frightened yelp escaped her at the feeling of sudden warmth against her, pulling at her, as if desperate for her closeness despite the fact that she didn't deserve it. She tried to move away, the new sensation simply adding something else for her to get overwhelmed by, but it clung to her - he clung to her, pulling her toward him like he would die if he let go.

He was alive.

Fuck, he was alive. He was alive, he was here, he was safe.

With a sob strangled in her throat, Angel dove into his arms, gripping onto him tightly and burying her face in his sopping shoulder. He yelped at the feeling of her gripping so tightly onto him, but she could only loosen her hold by a little bit, too overwhelmed to think straight. Their bodies shook in tandem, Angel's with emotion and Erebus's with recovery, and she let the warmth of his trembling body spread over her, not quite calming her down immediately but giving her hope that she would be able to, allowing her to believe that she was deserving of doing so.

If she wasn't good enough, then he wouldn't be here, would he?

She saved him. She saved him. She was a good person.

"You're here..." Erebus's hoarse voice whispered in her ear, a combination of disbelief and affirmation pulling more tears to Angel's eyes.

She nodded, sniffling as she tried in vain to keep her own voice steady. "I'm- I'm here, Erebus... I'm never- never going to leave again..."

Their arms tightened the embrace just a little more, each thinking the same thing that the other was - that something, someone, was going to pull them away from each other, to wrench them apart like Hunter's arrow had back in Minecraft. They held their breath as if it would be the last one they could experience together, frozen in time and in terror as they clung to the only support that they had.

Nothing happened. There was no arrow, no feeling of being torn apart, no agonizing loss. They were together, they could be safe together, and that realization helped Angel's breathing to even out and her heart rate to slow. She was still scared, of course, but the fact that Erebus was with her, holding her, loving her, gave her hope that she could be okay again.

"You..." Erebus pulled back, almost suddenly, as if he had realized something. He placed a hand on her shoulder, staring at her with wide eyes. "You're here- why are you here?"

His face, with hair plastered to the sides from being underwater, was panic-stricken, which in turn caused a sudden rush of anxiety to well up inside Angel, rendering her unable to speak. Why was he scared? Was he scared of her? What did he mean, why was she here? Was she not supposed to be here? Did she do something wrong again? Why did she always end up doing the wrong thing?

"Angel-"

He pulled her into his arms again and away from the buzzing questions that pierced her with doubt, and she rested her head on his chest, listening to the beating of his heart. A choked sob escaped her at the feeling of his soft embrace and the faint pressure of his head resting on top of hers.

"Are you mad at me...?"

The whispered question took Erebus aback, but a part of him understood why Angel would ask this. "No," he murmured, coughing slightly as he spoke - his throat and chest still burned from his near-drowning. "I just... I don't understand why you saved me."

Angel tilted her head up, sniffling as she tried to steady her voice. "I-I couldn't let you drown..." she told him, her voice trembling as the words she spoke circulated her emotions even quicker within her. "I didn't have a choice."

"You did," Erebus said, looking down at her solemnly. "You- Angel, you chose me over your family..." He gently placed a hand on the side of her face, making sure to be slow and cautious so as to not startle her. "I just want you to be happy, Angel."

"But I am..." There was a desperation as Angel spoke now, a plea for Erebus to understand. "I am happy with you... you're my- you're my safe space, Erebus, I need you..."

Her shoulders shook as she clung on tightly to Erebus, his face blurry in her vision that was obstructed by tears.

"But Tom- Clara, Angel, he's coming for them-"

"Erebus." Angel's voice rose slightly as she tried her best to steady herself. "I don't care about that... I came for you. I wanted to come for you, because I love you. Clara- they're going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine-" She began to pull herself away from his embrace. "But we should probably find them... can you stand?"

Erebus winced as he started to rise to his feet. "I think so, but I'm not steady..."

"That's okay, here-"

Angel let him wrap an arm around her lower back, allowing his trembling body, still sore from his previous torture and drowning, to lean against her. "I've got you," she murmured, looking up at him. "It's a bit of a walk home from here, but not too far-"

"I'm alright," Erebus said firmly. "Let's just go."

With moderate difficulty, the two began to walk home as quickly as they could - it was a painfully slow pace for Angel, but she knew that Erebus was trying his best. Every step they took only worsened Angel's paranoia, and the mere thought of what she would possibly find when they got home made her sick to her stomach. What if Clara and Tom were already dead, thanks to her decision to save Erebus over them?

At least she had him, right?

As the house came into view, Erebus moved away from Angel's support, stumbling forward and dashing as best as he could toward the house. "Tom!" he shouted, ignoring the searing pain that rose in his throat with every word he spoke.

"Clara!" Angel shouted, running past Erebus up to the front door and flinging it open. There she stood in the living room, unscathed, much to Angel's relief - the stern look on Clara's face quickly faded to concern.

"Angel, dear, what happened?" she asked, stepping forward and gently cupping her face in her hands. "Oh my goodness, you're soaked, where have you been- Tom and I have been worried sick-"

"We fucked up," Angel muttered, grabbing Clara's wrists. "You- You gotta call the Feynmans, tell them they're in trouble- lock all the doors and get somewhere safe-"

"What's going on?" Clara's worried gaze turned to Erebus, who was panting heavily and leaning against the wall, winded from his brief spurt of energy. "What happened to you? Are you in danger?"

Erebus nodded frantically behind Angel, who was struggling to get her words together. "We're fucked, Clara- Officer Shein isn't an officer, and I made this deal with this guy, but it went wrong, and he tried to kill Erebus, but now he's trying to kill you, and he wants Mr. Feynman's digitizer to kill more people-"

"Dear, slow down," Clara murmured, though it was clear that she, too, was starting to grow worried. "It's going to be okay, you can explain later, but tell me what you need me to do."

Angel exhaled slowly. "Call the Feynmans," she said. "Tell Richard to bring the digitizer to keep it safe. We need to find Tom and tell him everything, and-"

"Angel, get down!"

A body rammed into Angel's, wrenching her away from her aunt and tackling her to the ground. At the same time, a deafening bang sounded from outside, causing her to shriek in alarm as several more followed - the front window shattered, raining shards of glass on all those nearby. All three bodies hit the ground hard, Erebus's on top of Angel's in order to shield her from harm.

Raising his head slightly, Erebus was able to see an unmistakable figure dashing off into the shadows and out of sight. Shein - Herobrine - was holding an unfamiliar, dark object in his hand; likely the weapon that he had used to shatter the window. What was it for? Why had it been so loud?

"Clara!"

Erebus's heart stopped. This wasn't just a shout of concern - no, this was a scream, one that rent through the air with unbridled terror. Angel scrambled out from underneath him, reaching out and grabbing her aunt's arm, her eyes wide. She shook her frantically, but there was no response.

"What happened to her?!"

As soon as the question left Erebus, the sickening answer was revealed to him in a shade of crimson that he was far too familiar with, spilling from a gaping wound in Clara's head. Her eyes were lifeless, staring forward without seeing, no matter how hard Angel shook her, shouting her name for a response that she would never receive.

The icy hand of realization gripped at Erebus's throat, choking a cry of horror as the bitter truth descended on him.

Clara was dead, and it was because of him.

Chapter Text

WARMER TEARS THAN YOU'VE GROWN USED TO

===

The house was quiet. It was cold too, or perhaps this was just an illusion brought onto its occupants by Clara's sudden death. She had always known how to make anyone she encountered feel so warm, and nothing but a disconcerting chill was left in her wake. Tom and Erebus had taken her body into the garage, out of sight for the time being until they could sort out the situation with Herobrine.

It came as a sick sort of relief for Erebus when Tom brought him into his arms, shoulders shaking with sobs. Seeing someone that was almost a mentor to him, someone that had always been so strong and composed in any situation, break down in front of him, made him feel so much safer in doing the same himself, for he still wasn't used to sharing his feelings with anyone other than Angel. The two were unable to do much else besides hold tightly onto each other, and for now, that was enough.

It hadn't exactly sunk in that Clara was gone, that she was truly gone from both Erebus's and Angel's lives. Even though he hadn't known Clara for long, he had been able to experience just how kind she was and how much she cared for him, and that had meant so much more to him than he could express. She was one of the main reasons why his self-confidence had begun to return to him, why he had felt so comfortable coming into the physical world - she had helped him to feel truly human, for the first time in his life, without even trying.

Erebus barely even registered the presence of the Feynman family as they returned. Despite how many people were in the house, it still felt so desolate, so lacking, without the warmth of Clara. Angel wasn't present either - she had locked herself in her room, not saying a word to anyone, but Erebus couldn't blame her. She had just lost her aunt due to the decision that she had made, but in Erebus's mind, it wasn't her fault.

It was his.

Angel had chosen to save him over Clara, and he still didn't understand why. She was her family. How could Erebus have ever compared to that?

Richard and Nartha were talking with Tom, providing him with as much comfort as they were able to. Erebus had been asked to recount his experiences with Herobrine, not once stopping to console Gameknight, who had been sent into a state of severe panic at the mention of the name. Despite this, it came as a bit of a surprise to Erebus at the realization that three of the four members of the Feynman family had encountered Herobrine before, not just Gameknight.

Right now, however, Erebus was alone, away from the family's pressing questions that only cemented the situation further in his head. He had other things to do - Clara's blood still stained the floor of the living room, a memory of her death still plagued the house, and he had to get rid of it. Holding the cleaning supplies that Tom had pointed him to, he knelt down beside the pool of blood and began to wipe it away.

Crimson bled through the paper towels that he was using, staining his hands with the same color that his skin had been back in Minecraft. He winced at how symbolic it was - Clara's blood on his hands, both literally and metaphorically - but he couldn't look away from the truth. This was Angel's aunt's blood, her life, spilled onto the floor of this room where he knelt, and it was because of him.

A lump rose in Erebus's throat as his hands began to tremble, and he was barely able to concentrate on what he was doing anymore. He only succeeded in smearing the blood around on the floor more, curling up slightly in his position on the ground as he sniffled, biting his lip and shivering. Only when he felt a presence kneel down beside him did he look up from the blood on his hands, jumping in fright.

"Sorry..." For once, Gameknight truly looked like he was. "I just... I wanted to see if I could help. Can I help?"

Erebus stared at the boy in shock, distrust clear in his expression as he moved back. "Why?" he muttered, his voice too weak to sound angry.

Gameknight reached out, picking up the roll of paper towels. "This isn't right..." he mumbled. Looking down, he began to wipe away at the blood on the floor, his gaze flicking up to Erebus from time to time. "This is my fault."

"Yes." Erebus's tone was blunt - why was Gameknight even saying this? It was blatantly obvious. "You set Herobrine on me because of your own bigotry, refusing to see me as anything other than a heartless monster. And he didn't just torture me - no, he brought Angel into this. Angel, an innocent girl looking for happiness, had to watch a member of her family die because of a choice she made, which could have easily been avoided if you had just gotten over yourself. This is your fault, Gameknight999."

He could see the truth of his words stab into Gameknight like a weapon, but no longer did it give him the same satisfaction that it would have back in Minecraft. A hint of guilt crept up within him, and he looked down, sighing quietly. This was a kid. He was guilt-tripping a kid - how awful of a person was he?

"Back before I entered the game," Gameknight mumbled. "I was someone who was known as a griefer - a player who destroyed things and killed for fun. The only reason I did it was to just- to feel in control, because I didn't have that in the physical world. I realized what I had done after learning that the game was really alive, and from then on, I swore to become a better person. Now that I have something worth fighting for, that's where my strength comes from."

Erebus scoffed, looking away. Another one of his self-righteous rants about how he was so much better than him - this was not what he needed to hear right now.

"Wait-" Gameknight reached out, tentatively nudging his arm, before quickly pulling away as he saw Erebus flinch. "That's not what I meant to say- I just-" He sighed quietly. "You've changed too, Erebus."

"I'm glad you finally noticed," Erebus snapped. Gameknight shuffled a little closer, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"At dinner yesterday," he said. "You weren't trying to hurt me, and I didn't realize that at the time. You were just... You just wanted to protect Angel, didn't you?"

Erebus nodded slowly, confused.

"Don't you see?" A glint of hope shimmered in Gameknight's eyes. "You found someone you cared for. Looking back, I can see now- you guys really love each other, don't you? You found that strength to stand up to me to defend her, even after everything that I did." He glanced down, a look of shame crossing his face for a moment, before returning his focus to Erebus. "Everything that I said to you that day, back in Minecraft at the Source - you learned from it. You're not alone anymore. You found someone that you care for, and I know that she cares for you as well." A hint of a smile crossed Gameknight's face. "I'm... I'm actually proud of you."

A brief silence followed this statement as the weight of Gameknight's words settled into Erebus. He was thoroughly taken aback - the User-that-is-not-a-user, the one who he had fought with for so long, was... proud of him?

"I understand if it takes time to forgive me," Gameknight said, fidgeting slightly with the paper towel he was holding. "Or even if you never do at all... I was neglectful of your situation, especially what was happening between you and Malacoda. I was scared, too scared to realize that you were too." He reached out his free hand. "I'm sorry, Erebus."

Erebus looked down at Gameknight's hand, the boy's words echoing in his mind as he slowly processed this. Drawing away slightly, he shook his head. "I don't think I can forgive you," he murmured. "But... you saying that, Gameknight, it means a lot to me."

Gameknight lowered his hand, his small smile returning. "I'm glad," he told him.

The sound of footsteps behind the two caused them to look up. Richard stood in the doorway next to Tom, looking down at the two of them.

"Dad?" Gameknight tilted his head. "What is it?"

A determined look was spread across Richard's face. "We have a plan."

Chapter Text

JAM THAT SQUARE PEG IN THE ROUND HOLE IN THEIR HEART

===

"So, what's the plan?"

The Feynman family, Tom, and Erebus all sat around at the dining table, Angel still absent for the time being. Richard lifted a briefcase up and set it onto the table, opening it to reveal the digitizer. "I propose that we give Herobrine what he wants," he said. Gameknight opened his mouth to protest, but his father raised a hand. "We'll send him into my laptop which runs the digitizer, but as soon as we do so, I'll be able to disconnect it from the network. He'll be trapped inside of the laptop, and that's when I'll be able to destroy it, and him as well."

Tom nodded. "It makes sense for the plan to work," he murmured, not meeting the gaze of anyone who looked at him. "As long as it's timed well."

"Could someone explain what this means?" Erebus asked sheepishly, looking away as the family glanced over at him.

Richard gestured to the digitizer. "This was what my son used to transport himself into the game of Minecraft," he explained. "If we activate it, it will transport a being's consciousness into whatever program is running on the computer."

Erebus nodded, trying his best to follow along with what Richard was saying.

"If we trick Herobrine into thinking that we're going to send him into the Internet via the digitizer, just like he wanted, then we could trap him inside my laptop and then destroy it."

"Does that mean we kill him?"

Richard nodded. "The destruction of his consciousness will result in his death, yes. His body will still be here, but his mind will be gone - he will have died in the computer."

Gameknight's eyes held a hopeful light. "And he'll be gone from the world forever then? We won't have to worry about him?"

"It seems that way, yes..."

"He's caused us so much pain," Gameknight murmured. "All of my friends - he tormented us and so many others for so long. We can't give him what he wants - I refuse to give him that."

Richard placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "He'll get what's coming to him, trust me," he told him firmly.

They were going to avenge Clara. Erebus met Tom's hard gaze for a moment, both of them nodding to each other in agreement - Herobrine deserved this. A soft sigh escaped him as he glanced down, his mind wandering to Angel as it often did. He wished that she was there with them, for he was sure she would take pleasure in killing Herobrine after what he had done.

"So we have a plan," Gameknight said. "Now all we have to do is get Herobrine to come here somehow... How are we going to do that? How do we find him?"

"No need to look too hard. I'm right here."

Gameknight practically fell to the floor from how quickly he had jumped out of his chair at the sound of Herobrine's voice from the living room. The rest stood up, Tom and Richard raising their hands at the sight of the weapon he was holding - the same one that he had used to kill Clara, unfamiliar to Erebus but terrifying nonetheless.

"You..." Gameknight's eyes were wide with terror as he beheld his nemesis, his nightmare, standing before him once again. Herobrine chuckled.

"Gameknight999," Herobrine greeted with mock enthusiasm. "It is so good to see you again, despite these, ah, unfortunate circumstances. You really conspired with these fools to destroy an old friend?"

Richard went rigid. "How- How did you hear that?"

Herobrine gestured with a free hand towards the living room. "I was outside the whole time," he explained simply. "I could hear everything you were saying through the broken window." His eyes narrowed at Gameknight. "Your conspiracies against me, as well as your sickening peace treaty... did you really believe that you could establish a friendship based on some silly notion that my most failed creation could change?" A mocking sneer tugged on his lips as he stepped forward. "I will enjoy finishing what I have started."

A shudder rippled through Gameknight's body as he began to tremble beside Erebus. "You will not lay a hand on my son," Richard said firmly, taking a step forward - Herobrine's attention turned to him.

"Your son has foiled my plans more times than I wish to recount," he snapped. "I believe that I will start with him first, before moving on to the rest of this pathetic rabble." He pointed with his weapon to Erebus, who shrank back in fright. "You will be last, made to watch as I destroy the friends that you have made despite everything that you had been created for." With a sneer, he took another step forward. "Perhaps I will reaffirm your failures in your ignorant mind by torturing your dearest Angel until I have her begging for death in front of you, right before I finally end her life on your command."

"That is not going to happen," Tom snapped, reaching up and pointing at Herobrine, uncharacteristically angry. "I will not allow you to touch my family again, you understand? I-"

An ear-splitting bang rang through the room, followed by a shout of pain; Tom stumbled back against the table, clutching his now-bleeding shoulder. Erebus's eyes widened.

"No!" he shouted, ignoring all of his fear and dashing at Herobrine, grabbing both wrists and attempting to wrench the weapon out of his hands.

"Richard!" Tom's call for action fell on deaf ears as Herobrine and Erebus struggled against each other for custody of the gun. It was unclear who lost their footing first, but both found themselves on the ground, grunts and shouts and scuffling filling the air and creating chaos as they fought.

Erebus was taller, stronger than Herobrine was, and his fingers curled around the hilt of the gun, one knee rising up to sharply catch against Herobrine's ribs, earning a yelp of pain from him. The gun fell from pale fingers as Erebus was able to gain the upper hand, hope finally piercing through his panicked desperation as he realized that maybe, just maybe, he and Tom and Angel and everyone else could make it out alive-

Out of nowhere, white-hot electricity erupted through Erebus's body as a terrifyingly familiar crackling filled the air - he seized up with a scream, allowing Herobrine a chance to snatch the gun from his hand.

"You pathetic fool!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet as he cackled, the sound mingling with Erebus's cries and the crackling of the taser until he lowered it. Raising the gun instead, he pointed it at Erebus's head, watching terror fill his crimson eyes as he realized what was happening, that he was about to meet the same fate as Clara. "You were always weak, Erebus. I would always relish the way you would cry when Malacoda would hurt you... I think I'll miss that when I'm- ah!"

A body rammed into him from the side, catching him completely off guard. The taser skidded across the floor, out of his reach as he let out a frustrated scream, struggling against the figure fighting him-

"Angel!"

Herobrine snarled as he saw Erebus's savior, angry determination painted on her face as she attempted to rip the gun from his grasp. With all of his strength, he wrenched his arm upwards, whipping the weapon across Angel's face and catching her off guard. A harsh shove to her chest caused her to stumble and fall backwards, but no one was paying attention.

No one heard the sickening thud as her head hit the corner of the table that she had been pushed towards, no one saw her body collapse to the ground, blood already starting to spill from the wound in her head - all eyes were turned to Gameknight.

"No-!" Herobrine shouted, his voice overpowering the low hum that came from the digitizer in Gameknight's hands, powered up and pointing at him. A yellow glow emitted from the device as it let out a sound like an approaching swarm of bees, and Herobrine's eyes widened in shock, anger, and for the first time, fear. "No!"

He lunged forward, attempting to knock the digitizer out of Gameknight's hands, but it was too late. His body seized up as a white beam of light struck him square in the chest, wrenching his consciousness from the physical world and into the laptop that it was connected to. With a horrified scream cut short, he collapsed to the ground, and the deafening sound of metal crunching against metal filled the air - Richard was furiously destroying the laptop that Herobrine had been sent into. Pieces of the device scattered everywhere, but Erebus didn't notice.

"Angel-!" he yelped, leaping forward and scooping her body into his arms, panic striking him at the sight of blood pooling on the floor, spilling from her head. The same crimson liquid stained the corner of the table that she had slammed against, and his hands as well as he pulled her close against his body. "Angel, wh- are you okay?"

No response met his question, and he placed a hand on the side of her face, gently tilting her head up. She wasn't looking at him. She wasn't looking at anything.

"Angel!" Erebus screamed. He barely noticed Tom falling to his knees beside him, a hand covering the wound on his shoulder; the sound of Richard's frantic voice calling 911 went unnoticed by him. Angel had to have just been knocked out, she had to have been.

Then why wasn't she breathing?

Realization that felt like red-hot knives driven into his stomach tore at him, and the resulting scream of anguish that ripped itself from his throat made it appear as if he really had been stabbed. As Tom began to sob from beside him, as Angel's blood coated his body as he gripped onto her, Erebus knew that nothing that he said or did could bring her back to him.

He was already beginning to grow cold.

Chapter Text

WHO I AM I CHOOSE THROUGH ALL THE THINGS I DO

===

The sun rose again, and again, as bright and everlasting as ever. Crossrose continued to flourish and thrive just as it always had. Every day, the sound of birds singing their cheerful tunes, and the sight of flowers in bloom remained the same, a constant in this world. Despite its hardships, life continued.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fucking fair.

How could life stay the same without the one truly good thing in the world that was Angel?

Police, real police, had taken both her and Clara away. It took some time for Erebus to be convinced to let go of Angel's body, especially since she was being taken away by the same profession that Herobrine had masqueraded as. Tom, despite his anguish, had helped him to do so. It was astounding to Erebus, how well Tom was doing despite losing both his wife and his niece, who had basically become a daughter to him, on the same night, not even an hour apart. He reflected to himself, however, that this was likely only a front that Tom chose to put on as a way to cope.

Erebus desperately wished he could do the same.

He had just lost the person that had made him who he was, quite literally. He had just lost the person that had taught him how to love. Just like that, by mere accident, she had been torn from him for the rest of his life.

The world had ended for him, so why had everything else moved on, all life refusing to fall silent, every living being not stilling in horror? Erebus's mind was in free fall for days after Angel had died, unable to comprehend the impossibility. The evidence of all his senses had to be lying, she simply could not be dead. She had always been so full of life, had she not? Why had it been torn from her so early?

The day after, Erebus had entered her room. It was so cold, just as he was after feeling Angel's limp body in his arms. Was this how she had felt when he was shot by Hunter?

The Animals album still rested on her record player from when she had played it for Erebus, right before she left for church. The virtual reality headset that had started all of this lay on her cluttered computer desk, untouched, and the notebook that she had written her adventures inside Minecraft in lay beside it. A small razor blade, tinged with an unmistakable red, lay on her bedside desk, and Erebus understood what that meant.

Her last moments had been spent in self-inflicted pain, and he had had no idea up until then.

Erebus was the one who deserved that pain. He had been the one that Angel was trying to save, that she had given her life for. It was his fault that she was gone, his fault that Tom was without a wife, without a child to care for.

He had taken the blade that day and walked into the bathroom, too overcome with grief to think logically about what he was doing. The blade was dirty, he had to clean it before he dirtied it again with the lifeforce of his body that he didn't deserve to have. Turning the faucet on, he had run the blade under the water, feeling it wash over his own skin as well as Angel's blood washed down the sink, water tinged red before it flowed down the drain, and was gone.

He stopped as he fully registered the feeling of water flowing on his skin. It was flowing, not hurting, not burning.

Angel had made a deal with Herobrine, simply to bring him back to life. She had made him human, she had given him this life, this blood that he was about to spill in her name. He couldn't waste this gift that she had given him, not after she had died to preserve it.

He had finally allowed himself to break down at that moment, dropping the razor blade and collapsing to his knees as his entire body shook with sobs that he was unable to repress. This time, Angel's body, that had made the sweetest of love to his own and had showered him with the affection that he had craved his entire life, wasn't there for him to hold. Her voice that had reassured him so gently that he was doing okay, and that it was safe for him to cry, was now silent.

All of that was in the past, Erebus had to remind himself. Today was important.

Today was the day of Angel's funeral, which was, as Tom described it, a way for him to say a final goodbye to her. This event was something that Erebus had never experienced before, since there was no real way for one to do this in Minecraft - villagers and zombies had salutes for the fallen, but that was about it. He was grateful that an event like a funeral was able to take place in the physical world.

It wasn't too crowded at Crossrose Lutheran Church, where the funeral was taking place. The Feynman family had chosen to be there as well, in order to pay their respects to Angel. Richard approached Tom before the service began, offering him a hug which he quickly accepted. Gameknight made eye contact with Erebus, and the two of them nodded at each other, acknowledging everything that had happened between them once again.

A speech was given by a mellow-voiced priest, who spoke with far too little emotion in his voice to be convincing. Despite his words, Erebus was convinced that he didn't truly know Angel like he had. Perhaps he was just bitter, but right now he didn't care. The first and only person that he had ever truly loved had been taken from him. He had every right to be bitter.

The service seemed to stretch out into infinity, yet it was over before Erebus knew it. People stood up to gather around the casket that Angel's body lie in, paying their respects and offering mementos to her. They left shortly after, quietly chatting amongst themselves. Erebus hesitated until the rest of the people had left, wanting to be the last to go up alongside Tom.

Soon it was his turn. With an ever-growing pit of dread in his stomach, Erebus stood up, walking up with Tom to the casket. Both held bright red roses, the same color as Erebus's skin had been in Minecraft, to be their own mementos for Angel, final gifts to give before she was gone.

The mere sight of her body laying in that casket was enough to force a sob from Erebus's throat, tearing down the stoic front that he had maintained all day. She looked so beautiful, so still, so peaceful where she lie, as if she could have been asleep, but she wasn't, and Erebus knew that. Approaching the casket, he willed his trembling hand to place the rose beside her, the sight of her face distorted by tears that threatened to spill down his face.

A soft hand on his back was his only comfort. "You're okay, magpie." Tom's solemn voice reassured him gently. "You can cry."

Erebus remained silent as he stared down at Angel, gripping onto the edge of the casket for his own support. Then he spoke, his voice nothing more than a shaky whisper. "I can't feel her anymore..." He lowered his head, his shoulders shaking. "It's my fault, Tom, it's-"

Gentle arms wrapped around his trembling body, and he leaned against Tom, sniffling as his head rested on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, son," he told him, running a careful hand up and down his back.

Erebus shook his head. "It is," he choked out. "I-I wanted to show her how much I loved her, and- and I couldn't even protect her..."

Tom remained silent, simply holding Erebus close and providing as much comfort as he was able to despite the tears that clouded his own vision. For a moment, Erebus simply allowed himself to be held by Tom, feeling a gentle warmth overcoming him - not nearly as strong as Angel's had been, but a warmth nonetheless.

"You're not alone," Tom whispered, sniffling a little. "None of us are, alright? It's okay for us to grieve, Erebus, but neither of us should have to do so alone... we both lost."

Erebus tilted his head up to face Tom, wiping away his tears with one hand. "She was like a daughter to you," he murmured.

Tom nodded. "And Clara... she was the love of my life." He lowered his head, tears dripping off the end of his nose. "I can't... I can't lose a son as well."

The warmth within Erebus grew stronger at Tom's words, and he gently pulled him closer, holding onto him firmly. "You won't..." he said, closing his eyes and sighing softly.

Maybe the sun rose again and again in the sky because it had a reason to. Maybe the birds sang as they always did because there was something worth singing for.

Angel may be gone, but Erebus was not. He was living, breathing, human. He had a reason to continue being so. She had given him this gift of life, and he couldn't lose it yet.

She was his reason to keep living. Tom was his reason to keep living. No matter what happened, he wasn't going to let them go.

Looking up at Tom, he nodded, and the two left the church, stepping into their new life, together.