Time went on, and Herobrine watched the Endermen closely, if from a distance. They were certainly unlike any other being that had ever been known to Minecraftia - even water hurt them. The many other inhabitants of Minecraftia knew to avoid looking directly at the Endermen, though there were occasionally accidents, and unfortunately, nothing could be done about such accidents when they happened. Eventually, Herobrine decided to supervise the above-ground ventures by night-walkers during the night, to make sure the Endermen were avoided, and thus, that there were no accidents. Of course, this wasn't a flawless system, and more than once Herobrine himself made the mistake of looking at an Enderman, but as he, like humans, was always revived elsewhere when he died, he always accepted death for the sake of the Endermen he looked at.
It truly pained Herobrine that he couldn't interact with the Endermen safely, as they were, like all of Notch's children, his responsibility, and ideally his friends. One night, however, Herobrine saw a human walking around with a pumpkin on its head wander right into a group of roaming Endermen…and nothing happened.
Herobrine watched, amazed. The Endermen completely ignored this silly human with a pumpkin on its head. The human in question didn't seem to be particularly avoiding the Endermen; on the contrary, it occasionally turned its head to look at one of the group…and still, nothing happened.
Do pumpkins somehow shield the effect of looking at an Enderman? Herobrine wondered. As there was no real harm in trying it, he decided to do so.
Of course, with a pumpkin on his head, Herobrine was indistinguishable from humans, as his eyes were his only distinguishing characteristic, but as he, unlike humans, could converse with the other inhabitants of Minecraftia, the confusion caused by the ruse was quickly settled whenever Herobrine ran into a fellow Minecraftian on the night he decided to try it out. Wearing a pumpkin also made Herobrine feel very silly, but he decided that if there was even a chance that he could interact safely with the Endermen, his pride was a small sacrifice. Thus came the night when Herobrine, wearing a pumpkin on his head, met a group of Endermen, and was able to safely converse with them for the first time.
"O children of Notch, it heartens me that we may speak in safety at last!" Herobrine exclaimed when the pumpkin worked.
Is that him?…
Brother of God…
It must be…
He speaks…
"Please, friends, my name is Herobrine," said Herobrine.
Herobrine…
"Hero"…"brine"…
An interesting name…
For the brother of God…
Herobrine smiled; his name was pretty strange.
Being at last able to talk with the Endermen at length, Herobrine gave them his long-overdue welcome speech, and started telling them about the world they were now part of. Night passed quickly, and Herobrine and the Endermen soon had to go underground. They were good listeners, and Herobrine was able to share all the secrets of Minecraftia with them in a matter of days.
"I hope you can share what I have told you with your fellows in my stead," Herobrine said when he was done, "as I-"
We already have…
"What?" Herobrine was surprised.
We told you…
We are spirits of shadow…
Where there are shadows…
And some of us in person…
There our ears are as well…
All of our kind have been listening…
"Oh." Herobrine took a moment to process this.
This world is strange…
Thank you for explaining it to us…
We are lost here…
We do not belong here…
Yet you welcome us…
Thank you, Herobrine…
"You're quite welcome," Herobrine said automatically, still trying to process what they were saying.
There was a pause. Herobrine could still barely make out some whispers, but he had a feeling they weren't directed at him.
Finally, he said, "Your kind are strange to me…I've never before known of beings that are harmed by water."
Water is strange to us…
Foreign to us…
You think we are strange…
Yet to us…
You are strange…
Perhaps that is understandable…
In that what is different…
Is hard to understand…
"You say water is foreign to you…" Herobrine half-asked.
Yes…
"Are you…not from here?" asked Herobrine. "You say you do not belong here, but…"
This is not our home…
We do come from elsewhere…
Though we are your brother's children…
This dimension is not ours…
Yet we are trapped…
We cannot go home…
"Where are you from?" asked Herobrine. "The Nether?"
What is this…?
"The Nether"…?
We do not know this word…
"The Nether is a dimension connected to this one," Herobrine explained, realizing he had forgotten to mention the Nether when he was sharing the secrets of Minecraftia with them. "I've never been there myself, but I hear it's a very dangerous and frightening place, full of fire and lava."
No…
That is not our home…
Where we come from…
There is no fire…
No lava…
No water…
No trees…
No grass…
No snow…
No plants…
No sun…
No moon…
No stars…
"What is there?" Herobrine asked, confused.
Empty space…
A safe place…
White stone…
Black towers…
And a sky…
An empty sky…
Full of nothingness…
Nothing more…
Though the voices of the Endermen were nothing more than whispers, Herobrine thought he could hear wistfulness in their words, and a longing for something long-gone.
"How did you get here?" he asked.
The whispers stopped, and all the Endermen stared intensely at Herobrine. For a minute, Herobrine was afraid that the pumpkin on his head had stopped working or come off, but then a single whispered word drifted through the air:
Come…
The Endermen all turned suddenly and started heading down a branch of the cave. Realizing that he was supposed to follow them, Herobrine did so.
Occasionally, the way was blocked by underground waterfalls or lavafalls, both of which Herobrine had to clear himself, as the Endermen couldn't get near either of these obstacles. It was difficult going in places, but they finally managed to reach a stronghold.
Strongholds were one of several new features of the world of Minecraftia that had recently come to be. Herobrine had no idea who was even supposed to have made them - as they were clearly supposed to have been built by someone - but had accepted them with passive intrigue.
The group of Endermen, with Herobrine in their wake, made their way through the stronghold, and they were quickly passing through rooms Herobrine hadn't explored. Eventually, they were met by a swarm of silverfish.
Silverfish…
Our little guardians…
Born when we broke through…
How are you, little ones?…
"Endermen!" they squeaked. "Endermen! Welcome home! We work hard! We protect you!" Suddenly, they spotted Herobrine. "Human!" they exclaimed. "Human! Human! Human! Go away!"
"I am not human, friends!" Herobrine exclaimed as the group swarmed towards him. "It is I, Herobrine!"
The angry swarm calmed down. "Herobrine!" they squeaked. "Herobrine! With a pumpkin! You look silly! You look human!"
"I apologize, friends," said Herobrine; "this is the only way I can be close to the Endermen without stealing their souls with my gaze."
"Herobrine! You protect them! Notch's brother! You are good!"
Herobrine couldn't help but smile at the squeaking creatures. They could be pesky for humans, but they were good Minecraftians.
The Endermen spoke again.
Is it safe?…
"It is safe!" squeaked the silverfish. "Always safe! That's our job! We protect it!"
"'It'?" questioned Herobrine.
Come…
Little friends…
Escort us to it…
Herobrine…
He must see…
We would share it with him…
"Right this way!" squeaked the silverfish. "Come with us! We show you! Herobrine!"
Curious, Herobrine followed the Endermen and the silverfish that flowed together through the stronghold like a wave, like a swarm of ants. They came to a room in which Herobrine was surprised to find a silverfish birthing cage.
"I didn't know there were silverfish birthing areas," Herobrine commented out loud.
Of course there are…
Where did you think they came from?…
They are not day-walkers…
They do not breed…
"I guess I never thought about it," Herobrine admitted. "I didn't know they didn't breed."
They do not…
They came with us…
Though there are none in our home…
"Do you not breed?" asked Herobrine.
Not here…
"Herobrine!" squeaked the silverfish. "Come and see! Look in there! There it is!" They parted, forming an open path between Herobrine and the entrance to a room from which light was emanating. Herobrine stepped forward and looked inside.
There, on the floor, was a square frame of strange blue blocks, some cracked, some not, with a lava pool at the bottom of the pit they surrounded.
Herobrine turned back to the Endermen. "What is this?" he asked them.
That is our way home…
Or it was…
We didn't make it…
Nor did we break it…
But now it is broken…
And we are stuck here…
Trapped in this world…
Unable to go home…
To where we belong…
To where there is only shadow…
"Portal!" squeaked the silverfish. "Portal! Portal! Ender portal! Broken portal! Portal to The End!"
"'The End'?" questioned Herobrine.
Our home…
Our long-lost home…
Through the portal…
To our world…
We are the Endermen…
We are from The End…
Hence our name…
"Oh." Herobrine turned back to the broken portal. "Can it be fixed?" he asked them.
If only…
Perhaps it can…
But we cannot…
We cannot fix it…
We hold the power…
But cannot use it…
Trapped within us…
Mocking us…
The power to go home…
"Is there any way I can help?" asked Herobrine.
No…
We do not know…
What is required…
To fix the portal…
"Eyes of Ender!" squeaked the silverfish. "Ender pearls! And blaze rods! Craft! Mix! Fix!"
Craft?…
Mix?…
Fix?…
Little guardians…
What are you talking about?…
You never told us…
Eyes of Ender?…
What are those?…
"To The Nether!" squeaked the silverfish. "Kill the blaze! Endermen! Pearls from death! Craft! Mix! Fix!"
The Endermen turned to one another, and the whispers of their voices became incoherent as they all spoke questioningly to one other at once. The silverfish, meanwhile, had grown very agitated, and were scuttling to and fro all over the place. The resulting chaos was utterly bewildering to Herobrine.
"Craft! Mix! Fix!" squeaked the silverfish, over and over again. "Craft! Mix! Fix!"
"Enough!" Herobrine finally shouted.
Almost instantly, the silverfish regrouped on either side of the room that held the birthing cage, the Endermen all turned to Herobrine, and everything was silent and still.
Herobrine slowly turned his covered head to acknowledge each and every being before him before finally speaking. "I will try to find answers," he told them. "In the meantime…" He looked up at the Endermen in the room. "I thank you for sharing your secret with me, friends," he said. "I will do my best to find a way to send you home."
Thank you…
You are kind…
Long have we suffered…
We want to go home…
"It is my duty to assist my fellow Minecraftians however I can," he assured them, "and though you may be from another dimension, you are Minecraftians nonetheless, as you are the children of my brother, Notch. I bid you all farewell."
And we you…
Brother of God…
Herobrine...
Herobrine nodded. Then, he left the stronghold and went outside, and finally, he was able to take the pumpkin off of his head. He set it down, then turned to the sky pensively.
"Kill the blaze!"…"To The Nether!"…"Craft! Mix! Fix!"… The words of the silverfish echoed in Herobrine's head.
"Craft! Mix! Fix!", he thought. Crafting is something humans do, and if The Nether is somehow involved, there may be little that I can do to help the Endermen get home. Of course, humans have an insatiable curiosity…if they find out about this place the Endermen are from, surely they will want to journey there to see it for themselves. Humans may be the Endermen's only hope…
Talk about irony…