Longest chapter yet, and quite a funny one if I do say so myself. Anyway, enjoy!
Die Another Day
Light.
That was all he could see.
Brilliant, blazing white light that penetrated his screwed-up eyelids and caused a pulsing headache to throb at his temples like an unrelenting heartbeat. Herobrine moaned slightly, and tried to cover his eyes with his arms, but to no avail. He lay in that position for what seemed like an eternity, before finally finding the strength to sit up and look around. The strange light scattered instantly to the corners of his vision as he raised his head, then disappeared altogether.
Well, Herobrine thought, That was strange.
He soon realised the ghast was nowhere to be seen. Had it died? He'd heard that the creatures in the Nether dissolve when killed, but wasn't entirely sure it was true. No matter. Nothing in the Nether was fully explainable; even Notch, the most powerful Minecraftian alive didn't fully understand it's strange ways.
Herobrine finally managed to stand, automatically reaching out for a wall to lean on and support himself. Something wasn't right, though. His thoughts was clearer, more focused, and the pain in his side lessened. In fact, he couldn't feel anything at all.
He went to look down at his ribs, then realised with horror that the hand resting on the netherrack wall was submerged in a broiling column of flame. In his confusion, Herobrine hadn't noticed the block he had been resting against had caught light, and his arm with it.
"Crap!" He yelled, waving his arm around manically in an attempt to extinguish the flame. "For block's sake, why me?" Herobrine made a strange sight as he tripped and ricocheted off a wall, all the while trying to put out the fire spreading to his clothes. He stumbled over a small magma cube behind him, causing it to rouse angrily from sleep, and plunged off the soul sand ledge towards the raging lake of lava, cursing all the while.
Herobrine opened his eyes slowly; he had shut them tightly as he had fallen, but… surely it didn't take this long to fall to one's death, did it? Upon warily taking stock of his surroundings, one thing became clear. He was floating. Not just floating, flying! Arms outstretched, Herobrine hovered a couple of metres above the crusted magma's surface, one arm still wreathed in flickering orange flames. He supposed he looked quite fearsome, for even the half-dozen ghasts watching shied away from his blood-soaked figure.
I wonder… He mused, gazing at the inferno in his palm.
He willed it to go out, and instantly he was no longer alight. Herobrine laughed with pure joy, and with the faintest thought ignited his whole body, cloaking himself in a jet of flame. Extending his palm, he sent a dense, compacted sphere of white-hot heat at the nearest solid surface, which combusted instantly into a river of molten rock.
Drifting over to the ground, still ecstatic in the discovery of his new abilities, he sent fireballs spiralling through the hazy atmosphere, causing the Nether's native mobs to scatter in fright. His eyes burned in their sockets, glowed pure brilliant white in the complete ecstasy of his powers.
Then he blacked out.
The ghast with the old scar across one eye watched the ragged stranger talk to himself by the lava lake. The man was not a mob, that much the watcher knew. He was intelligent. He had gifts. The white ghost watched him practice, discover what he could do. It watched as Herobrine disappeared in a puff of purple particles, appearing a couple of blocks away. It drained him, though so after a few tries he would have to rest and nurse the still-not-healing wounds. In fact, although Herobrine was not aware of it, hours would pass without his heart beating at all. Lastly, Herobrine discovered the ability to blend in completely and perfectly with anything behind him so he could pass through the Nether undetected. Already a small house had sprung up beside the ethereal obsidian portal, tucked away out of sight so it would not be noticeable to anyone who arrived. Fascinated, the ghast observed the man making tools for himself, a strange netherrack pickaxe, a shovel, and finally, a shimmering (black and silver) quartz and obsidian sword.
Herobrine smiled, gazing with delight at the weapon in his palm, absentmindedly making flames lick up the edge of the blade.
Let's see you take me now, Notch.
Unfortunately, the obsidian to craft the sword came from the very same Nether portal that had exiled him, so unless someone entered from the other side…
No point worrying about that now. Travelers occasionally entered the Nether, in search of ores, glowstone or simply for the challenge of fighting powerful mobs. The entrance of one such thrill-seeker, a young man, had first given Herobrine the idea of taking the obsidian from the portal. He remembered the moment fondly, sitting on the netherrack shelf he used for a bed.
Herobrine could see the traveller in the far distance, clearly laden-down with Nether-quartz and nuggets of gold. He was well-equipped, decked out in full diamond armour, with an enchanted sword drawn in front of him. His skin was human, a tanned, darkish man with purple eyes and short, jet black hair. The guy hadn't died after all, as Herobrine had hoped. He looked guiltily at the large chunk of obsidian clearly missing from the side of the portal, wondering what to do. Certainly, the explorer wasn't going back that way.
Quickly, Herobrine hid as the man crested the brow of the hill on which the portal was situated, but he didn't go straight for the portal as the once-dead man had expected. Instead, he rounded a corner, staring for a while at the house tucked away beyond.
Herobrine's house.
Is he planning to rob me? Herobrine thought mockingly. Sure enough, after a quick perimeter check, the traveller forced open one of the large doors and slipped inside.
Herobrine just smiled.
Could my day get any better? He clenched his fists, and instantly set them alight, a maniacal grin plastered on his face, his white, burning eyes contemplating the fun to be had ahead.
What does Herobrine have in store for this young man? Please leave a rating if you liked! :)