IT ONLY TAKES A REASON TO KILL

===

The first side of the Animals record had barely finished, and Angel was already hyperfixated.

"Holy fucking shit... holy shit, holy shit..." was her continuous refrain as the ending of 'Dogs' played out, and her hands flapped repetitively as a way to relieve her excitement. "That was fucking sick, holy shit..."

The song had lasted for seventeen minutes, but to Erebus, it felt like seventeen seconds. He had been absolutely enamored with the music, hanging onto every note and taking in the lyrics as much as he could. To him, it all was so much more fascinating than the music discs, or even the music of Minecraft had been, each instrument interacting with each other in such a complex and amazing way that he couldn't get enough of. The fact that the song was that long only added to the storyline it was conveying, which Erebus had found captivating and almost relatable.

"So, that one was called 'Dogs'..." Angel muttered as she flipped the record over to start playing the other side. "Now, this one's called 'Pigs (Three Different Ones)'. I wonder why... what did you think of 'Dogs', by the way? I thought it was fucking sick, holy shit..."

Erebus nodded in agreement. "Your world's music is so much better than Minecraft's," he said. "It's fascinating how bands like that are able to portray a story with music..."

"I know, right?" Angel exclaimed. "Like- I've listened to so much music over my life, and shit like this still fascinates me..."

As she fell silent, the echoing snort of a pig emitted from the record player, and she moved back over to her bed, sitting beside Erebus. "Tom told me that this song is about corrupt politicians, or people that are in charge," she explained. "That's why they're called 'pigs', because of how cruel they are. He said there are some specific names, but I can't remember them."

"He knows a lot about this kind of music, doesn't he?" Erebus asked.

Angel nodded. "He grew up when a bunch of it came out," she said. "It was what he listened to as a kid, just like me. For me, there's new types of music and different artists and stuff, but I've never really connected with them like I do with rock artists like Pink Floyd. There's just something about them that's super cool, y'know? Like- listen to them! They're sick!"

She giggled a little, looking up at Erebus, unable to help but grow slightly flustered as he smiled back at her. This reaction was easy to brush aside - she was just so happy that she had someone that would be willing to listen to music with her. Returning her attention to the record player, she focused once more as the lyrics began.

"Big man, pig man, ha-ha! Charade you are..."

Angel suddenly snorted in amusement as a correlation between this song's lyrics and her past experiences began to form in her mind. Erebus raised an eyebrow as he watched her. "Hm?"

"Oh, god..." she muttered, shaking her head. "I dunno, sometimes I think of random shit when I'm listening to music... Given the meaning, and the whole 'charade you are' thing they just said, this part of the song's starting to remind me of Malacoda."

Erebus tilted his head, surprisingly unwavering at the name. "How so?"

"Well..." Angel gestured with her hands, as if trying to physically generate what she was thinking about into words. "The theme of corrupt politicians, obviously, he was a dickhead... um, 'charade you are', that's, like - him acting all high and mighty like he actually cares about using his army to win, when all he really cares about is himself- dude, did you count how many times he said something about him being 'King of the Nether'? It's insane!"

Erebus laughed at that. "Shit, I almost forgot that he did that," he mused, chuckling softly. "I'm sure all of Minecraft's glad that he's dead..."

"Hol' up- excuse me?" Angel's eyes widened. "Since when was that fucker dead? I was going to throw a goddamn party!"

A proud smirk spread across Erebus's face. "Once we got to the End, I ordered my Endermen to pick him up and throw him into the void. That was the plan I had mentioned to you before you left."

"Holy shit..." Angel looked down at her hands for a moment, processing this, before looking up at Erebus. "I can't imagine how relieving it must have felt to see him die, oh my god... I'm actually proud of you, man, that must've taken a lot."

Erebus blinked, looking slightly taken aback. "You're... proud of me? For what? I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't done what I did."

"Yeah, well, you still did it," Angel said, placing a hand on his arm. "The courage it must've taken to even think about standing up to that abusive fuck... I really am proud of you. I wish I could've done that."

Erebus looked away, quickly hiding his face. "I-I don't know what to say to that..." he mumbled, and Angel chuckled, patting his arm. She wished that she was able to see him blush, like he could with her. "Who would you have done that to, if you had the chance?"

Angel hesitated for a moment. The answer was obvious, but saying so would lead to more questions from Erebus, questions that she was not ready to discuss just yet. Before she could speak, the sound of the doorbell ringing interrupted her from her thoughts, partially to her relief.

"Um... hang on, it might be Clara or Tom or something," she muttered, standing up. "You keep listening to the album, I can go back and listen to it another time. I'll be right back."

Erebus nodded in understanding, watching as Angel walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She moved over to the living room, peering out the window to see who was there. It was a surprise to her when she saw a tall police officer standing outside, and she rushed to open the door.

"Howdy," she greeted, tilting her head to the side. The officer was unfamiliar to her, and she could see her reflection clearly in the sunglasses he wore, which were obscuring his eyes.

"Are you Angel Abrams?"

Angel nodded. "I am, how may I help you?" She tried her best to act as polite as possible, she had been taught to do so for officers at a very young age.

"It's nice to meet you, Angel. My name is Shein, Nero Shein."

"Officer Shein," Angel repeated. "That'll be easy to remember, since you've got a Shein-y badge..."

She pointed at the police badge he wore, which was, indeed, quite shiny. Shein raised an eyebrow.

"That was horrible, and I will never say anything like that again," Angel backtracked, huffing to herself. "Anyway, what can I do for you? Would you like to come in?"

Shein shook his head. "No, thank you. I wanted to ask you a few questions about an incident that took place late last night at Crossrose Community Park."

"Oh?" Angel was quickly intrigued, yet also nervous. She immediately wondered if someone had reported Erebus hitting Brandon, but this was quickly dispelled as Shein stated the time that it had happened.

Shein quietly sighed. "Ms. Abrams, do you go to Crossrose High School?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, for about a year now. My education was delayed due to me moving a few times during my life."

"Are you familiar with Brandon Horowitz, and Jake and Chad Cannon?"

A pit of dread began to form in Angel's stomach. "What did they do this time?" she huffed. Her first thought was that they defaced a wall to say slurs about her or Erebus, or they had threatened to hurt her.

"Nothing," Shein said grimly. His expression was unreadable behind his sunglasses. "I regret to inform you that Brandon, Jake, and Chad were found dead early this morning, at Crossrose Community Park."

Angel couldn't help but stare, her heart pounding in her chest. "Dead? How?"

"Murder," Shein told her. "Blunt force trauma. No weapons were found at the scene of the crime."

"Holy shit..." Angel breathed. She didn't know how to feel - obviously, she was glad that they were gone, but even the thought of that made her feel incredibly guilty. No one in their right mind should be happy at the death of another, no matter how bad they were. She couldn't help but remember Gameknight999, and how he and his villager friends had cruelly rejoiced at Erebus's death. How was she any different from them? "I-I don't know what to say to that... we weren't particularly close, but like- shit..."

Shein's voice was as unfeeling as ever as he reached into his pocket. "Security footage caught this man leaving the park," he said, raising up a small, grainy photograph. "Do you know who he is?"

Despite the extremely poor quality of the security footage, Angel recognized the shadowy figure immediately, and her stomach dropped.

"I'm..." She leaned forward, squinting at the photo, trying her hardest to conceal what she was truly feeling. "I have no idea who that is. I really don't, I'm sorry..."

"Are you sure?" Shein tilted his head to the side. "Look closely, Angel. Is there anything you recognize about him?"

Everything. "Nothing, officer."

Shein looked mildly disappointed. "Hm..." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Well, I appreciate your time, Ms. Abrams. If you discover anything, you know where to report it at. The families of those young boys are desperate for information."

Angel nodded, another pang of guilt hitting her. "Yeah... I will."

Shein turned to leave, which was rather abrupt for an officer. Then again, the others that Angel had encountered had been there specifically for her, so she brushed it off. Her heart still pounded in her chest as she shut the door, clenching her hands into fists as she stormed back into her room.

"Angel?" Erebus's voice called to her, but she didn't answer. Pulling the needle from the vinyl, she turned off the record player, spinning to face Erebus.

"Did you kill Brandon, Jake, and Chad last night?"

Erebus spoke as if this was common knowledge. "Yeah, I did," he told her, nodding.

"Jesus Christ..." Angel shoved her face in her hands, the pit in her stomach growing further as he spoke. "Holy shit... holy fucking shit, this can't be happening..."

"What?" Erebus tilted his head, confused by this reaction. "What's wrong with that? They hurt you, didn't they?"

"What's wrong with- Erebus, you can't kill people!" Angel exclaimed. "It's, like, a crime and shit! You could go to jail if you get caught- and you did get caught! There's footage of you leaving the park, and if anyone ever sees your face again, you're gonna get arrested, for fuck's sake!"

Erebus stood up. "We can work around that, Angel," he said calmly. "I thought you'd be okay with it, after what they did-"

"What d'you mean, okay with it?! It's murder, but that's not important right now! I can't see you go to jail, you don't know how that shit works around here!" Angel lowered her hands, looking up at Erebus. "You're not the King of the Endermen anymore, you wouldn't survive in a damn prison!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Angel was quickly taken aback by how offended Erebus looked at her words, as if she had directly insulted him. "What does that mean?" he snapped. "Of course I'm the King, what else would I be?"

"I- That's not the point at all! The point is-"

"That is the point!" Erebus's voice was rising dangerously. "If I'm not the King, I'm nothing! What sort of pathetic, cowardly thing do you see me as now?!"

Angel blinked. "I'm trying to save your ass from jail, and this is what you're thinking about? Your rank?!" she scoffed. "Do you not see how selfish that is?"

Erebus looked as if Angel had just slapped him across the face. "Selfish?!"

"What did you think I saw you as?" Angel exclaimed. "I wouldn't have brought some stuck-up King back to life, would I? I saw you as you, Erebus! A man with flaws and feelings, someone I could relate to and help! I suggest you go back to Minecraft if you want to be that high-and-mighty King so damn bad!"

"I never wanted to be a King!" Erebus shouted. "Malacoda wanted to be a King, I just wanted to be loved!"

Angel opened her mouth to retort, but as his words started to sink in, she could come up with nothing to say. In that time, what Erebus had said had dawned on him too. There was no way he could take it back. With a forlorn sigh, he sat back down on the bed, putting his face in his hands.

"It doesn't matter whether I'm a King or not," he mumbled, curling into himself slightly. "I'm not happy with myself either way, and no one else is happy with me either. If I'm not exactly what everyone wants me to be, I'm nothing... I'm just some expendable Enderman that happens to be powerful."

He peered up at a stricken Angel between his fingers. "You shouldn't have come back for me, Angel. You should've stayed with Gameknight and left me to rot. Shit would've been so much easier for you..." A dry scoff escaped him as he shook his head. "He had it so fucking easy... he had no idea what I had to go through, because he's such a perfect fucking hero."

Angel took a tentative step forward, not daring to interrupt him. It was clear through her guilt-ridden mind that these were things that Erebus had thought for a long time, so she let him rant, intently listening to every word.

"Everything got confirmed for me when he nearly tortured me to death in the Land of Dreams," Erebus murmured, looking away. "I had to stand there, feeling water just burn away at me as he tells me why he is destined to win and I am to lose... They love him, Angel. They all love him so fucking much. He kills me and is called a hero, is celebrated by his community, and when I do the exact same thing here, ridding this town of the scum that were those kids..."

His hands were shaking now, so Angel gently took them in her own, praying that this would help, that this would show him that she hadn't meant a word of what she had said, that she had just been so stressed at the thought of losing him that she nearly drove him away further. She could feel his hands squeeze her own, gently pulling her closer as his head tilted up to meet her gaze.

"You..." Erebus's crimson eyes were wide, overwhelming emotion shimmering within them. "Angel, you've provided me with something as close to love as I think I'll ever get. That's why I did what I did, not as an act of malice or because it will give me power - I wanted to protect you. I've known nothing about love through no fault of my own, but the way you treat me is unlike anything else I've ever experienced. I can't afford to lose that, Angel."

Angel's heart pounded in her chest as she processed all of this. She had never seen Erebus express this much emotion with her asides from earlier, when he had awoken from his nightmare, and even then he hadn't verbally expressed his feelings, not like this. It was shocking to hear him talk this much, and already she was overcome with guilt from the things she had said to him.

Had she really impacted him that much?

"Erebus..." she murmured, stepping closer to him. "I-I'm-"

"Angel?"

A woman's voice called from somewhere else in the house, and Angel's head snapped up to face it.

"Wh..." Her grip tightened slightly on Erebus's hands. "That- That didn't sound like Clara..."

It sounded far too familiar to someone else that she knew.

"Is something wrong?" Erebus asked. Angel let go of his hands.

"Um..." She took a step back, feeling her chest start to grow tight. "No, I'm- I'm just paranoid, it's not because of you, I swear, I just... that didn't sound like Clara, and I need to make sure it is."

Before Erebus could respond, she dashed out of the room, every inch of her body praying that it truly was paranoia twisting Clara's call, distorting her voice, making it sound like-

"No..."

An older man and an older woman were standing in the living room, their smiles far too warm to be chilling Angel's body this much.

"The Lord is good..." the woman spoke, reaching out. "We've finally found you, Angel, my child. Now we can be a family once more."