To the guest reviewer named "T" from last chapter– Herobrine has already appeared in this story. He was the "being" at the end of last chapter– the one that destroyed the portal.

Thank you for the reviews and the support so far! Here's chapter four! :)

Chapter Four – Portal

'Oh Umbra, please stop struggling,' Dusk whispered as the baby Ender Dragon writhed in her grip. She teleported them several blocks forward– since teleporting seemed to calm down the dragon for a some time.

But it never lasted for long– because soon she would struggle once more, looking over the Enderman's shoulder.

Back in the direction of the player.

Dusk shivered at the thought, she had just thought that Umbra was being a curious child after hatching. But the farther they got from the player, the more desperate she became. Dusk closed her eyes for a moment, shifting. Why was this happening– the young queen couldn't possibly be missing her mother's murderer!

"Rah!" Umbra whimpered, the dragon looking up at Dusk with her purple eyes. The dragon's gaze was beautiful, eyes much deeper than the last queen's had been. Was this a trait of a young dragon, or would this remain with her as she grew? Dusk didn't know, but the only thing she should be worrying about was getting to the portal.

'Don't worry,' Dusk muttered, teleporting to calm down the dragon once more. 'I sense the stronghold up ahead, soon we will be safe in the wonderful End.'

The dragon let out a grumble, peering over Dusk's shoulder once more.

...It was probably just because she had hatched with him around, that's all. Of course Umbra would be upset to leave something familiar behind. The overworld was no place for a dragon, so she was trying to seek comfort in some form. As soon as they were back at the End Umbra would most certainly feel safe, and stop wanting the player.

Dusk nodded at this, and teleported forward once more.

'...Perfect...' She muttered, looking about at the purple particles drifting up from the ground. Most creatures couldn't see them except for when the energy was being used– such as when teleporting, but an Enderman could see all energy that came from the End. This place was radiating with Ender energy– meaning that the portal was right below them.

She didn't bother looking for an entrance– Dusk simply closed her eyes and teleported down into the ruins of the stronghold. She found herself relaxing as her feet landed on the cool stone, finally free from the blistering daylight. She opened her eyes, looking about the stronghold. While not the End, it was the closest she could get here in the overworld.

Strongholds were built by Enderman generations ago, as places to house their Queen's portals. Ender Dragons could summon them to link the two worlds, though it greatly exhausted the dragons. Dusk knew that there was no way that Umbra could pull off such a feat at her age, which was why they were seeking the portal the player had fixed. They'd have to destroy the link once they went through just to be safe– but Umbra could always create another one when she was older if they needed to get to the overworld for some reason.

Though the player could probably just fix it again.

"Rah!" Umbra whimpered, her purple eyes fixated on the ceiling. Dusk glanced up, but saw no threat of any kind. A look of longing was in the dragon's eyes, though she no longer struggled against Dusk. The Enderman smiled at this, before reaching out, trying to sense the aura of the End portal.

Nothing.

'...Strange...' Dusk muttered, perhaps she needed to be closer to sense it? 'Don't worry, we can find it on our own, it should be in the center of the stronghold.'

Dusk set off down the empty halls– the opened chests showed that Steve had enjoyed raiding the strongholds before coming to the End. Dusk tried not to let this bother her too much– Enderman didn't use strongholds anymore. Enderman that were in the overworld were either outcasts or those with an adventurous heart, they wouldn't need it either. The only purpose of this place was the portal, which had been fixed by Steve. She just needed to go through and return Umbra to where she belonged, then disable the portal from the End's side.

Then things could go back to normal.

'I should have sensed the portal by now...' Dusk muttered, mostly to herself, since Umbra's eyes were starting to droop. 'I recognize these halls– the player used them to leave after coming back through the portal...'

What was going on?

Dusk paused as she made a turn– the portal room was right there. Why wasn't she sensing anything?

She shifted Umbra in her arms, and carefully made her way towards the entrance to the portal room. Dusk felt her heart racing, a strange chill in the air. She was a being that did enjoy a cooler climate, but this was no natural chill. It almost reminded her of being in the precious of the queen... but the feeling was not a welcoming one.

Something powerful had been here.

"Rhh?" Umbra's eyes flickered open, peering around uncertainly. Dusk patted her back, and stepped into the portal room.

There stood the stairs that lead to the portal frames, and she could hear the boiling of lava that sat under the portal. Dusk still sensed nothing though, and she gulped. She slowly mounted the steps, ready to look into the starry abyss of the end portal.

A pool of lava met her gaze instead.

Dusk blinked, staring at the portal frames, no swirling portal between them. Her eyes flickered across them with a panic. It didn't take her long to notice that there was only eight frames when their should have been twelve– the end portal frames that were there had an Eye of Ender in place, but that didn't change the fact that four were gone.

Meaning the portal was gone.

Dusk could only stare at the broken portal– there seemed to be no order to the destroyed blocks– they were just gone. Dusk clutched Umbra close to her chest, the dragon shifting uncertainly.

'The portal is destroyed...' She whispered. The last entrance to the End had been destroyed... And with the queen dead there was no one to make another one. Dusk glanced down uncertainly at Umbra, who had just tucked her head under one of her wings. She was too young to create a portal, let alone having the understanding of what would be needed of her even if she did!

Dusk stumbled back, heart racing wildly. She had no way to get Umbra back to the End– an Ender Dragon was trapped in the overworld. This wasn't happening– not when she had just gotten the egg back! This wasn't–

Dusk paused mid panic, realizing that she did know of a being that had gotten to the End working with a broken portal. A being that had managed to fix a portal that should have been dormant. A small flicker of hope bloomed in Dusk, though much more dread rushed back over her.

She didn't want to see him again.

But what other choice did she have?

'...Well Umbra,' Dusk said quietly. 'It looks like we have to go back to the player.'

Zhht!

And with that Dusk teleported back to the surface of the overworld, leaving the shattered portal behind.

"I just want to thank everyone for coming to the celebration of my son's success," Sharara said, her priestess robes flowing behind her as she turned, facing the gathered village. Steve smiled uncertainly out of the ones who had raised him, giving a small wave. "Steve has done wonders for this village, having placed his life at risk time and time again to defend our home. And now we gather here for his greatest achievement yet– for the slaying the demon of the End– the Ender Dragon!"

The village erupted into cheers, while Steve shifted, images of the baby Ender Dragon entering his mind. They believed that the dragon was forever gone– but now there was a young one to take it's place... one that was wandering the overworld...

No. It was going back to the End, where it would never have to cross his mind again.

But the image of the bedrock shattering refused to leave Steve's mind.

"Steve."

Realizing his mother was speaking directly to him, he raised his head, smiling at the one that had raised him from a child. The one who had taught him everything he knew, who had encouraged him to follow his heart. To fight, explore, learn– he was who he was because of her. She had taken both him and Sol into her home, into her heart...

Steve smiled, joyful for her, but sorrowful for the loss of Sol.

"I know you have never met him, but I know that Shawn would be proud of you as well," Sharara said softly, and the village lowered their heads respectfully. Steve's eyes flickered towards the blacksmith ruins on the edge of the village.

Shawn, Sharara's late husband. He had died not long before Steve had been found by the village, he was the man that would have been his foster father. The village spoke little of him, the pain was too much for their priestess, so Steve had known little of Shawn. All he knew was that a terrible accident was the cause of his death, Shawn having died in a fire. The burned blacksmith ruins– all that remained of where Shawn had worked– they stood at the edge of the village as tribute to him.

"That means a lot to me, Mother," Steve whispered. He may have never known the man, but the idea was comforting that someone out there would have been a father for him.

"We shall end this celebration with a toast to our hero– my son, Steve!" Sharara said, raising her arms up. "Steve, it may seem that you have accomplished all that one can, I but know that fate is holding a great purpose for you. Your journey has only began!"

Steve smiled for her sake– but he had no desire to pursue anything else. If anything, he simply wanted to rest.

Losing Sol had simply been too much for him– like losing a brother.

But still he raised a glass with the rest of the village, toasting to his future. All Steve could see in his future was protecting the village, perhaps traveling to his scattered bases for a chance to be alone. But no more adventures, no more action.

It was high noon when the celebration finally ended, and he found himself eating lunch with his mother in the church. He bit into the bread, a village classic, with little care for what the taste was. He glanced around the chapel with a sigh, tapestries and banners all hung on the walls, all paying respect to the creator of their world.

"Mother, aren't the tapestries for Notch getting a bit dusty?" Steve asked, noticing the flecks clinging to the cloth. Perhaps one normally wouldn't notice, but Steve had spent what felt like most of his childhood trying to keep them clean.

She paused, looking up at the banners with a look of disgust. Steve held back a laugh– leave it to his mother to get upset at something unclean being in her church.

"...Must of slipped my mind while you were gone," She muttered, chuckling. "Guess I was too worried about you– don't worry though– I'll have them clean in no time."

Steve nodded, taking the last bite of his lunch. He was careful to brush all of the crumbs into his hand so nothing got onto the ground.

Surprisingly, even as the son of the village priest, Steve wasn't one that necessarily worshipped. Yes, believed that Notch had shaped their world, and Steve had interacted with the church much of his life, but it had never been the center of his life like it was for many of the villagers. He supposed he saw the best way to truly honor Notch was to see the world he had made first hand, to defend it, to truly live the life he had.

But at the same time he wasn't truly well versed in the legends and creations of this world. Instead of keeping him cooped up and studying, his mother had urged him to be in the outdoors and learn for himself. Perhaps she had been more lenient than most mothers since he had a wolf to defend him then.

"Mother?" Steve asked, looking up at the tapestries.

"Yes Steve?"

"...What am I?"

Sharara looked unsurprised– this was a question he had asked many times. He knew he wasn't a villager, but at the same time he was like no other mobs. He had met no other being like him.

Steve cleared his throat. "I mean, I feel that I'm a good person, but... but I am much more violent than the villagers. I love to fight– just like a hostile mob! But at the same time I defend what's important, like a golem. But I speak and live like villagers and..." He clenched his fists. "I mean, why am I here? You guys call me a hero– but at the same time aren't I just a monster to the mobs I slay?"

Sharara paused, looking towards him. She was at the front of the chapel, an unreadable expression on her face. She closed her eyes, sighing.

"Is being different wrong, Steve?" She asked in a quiet tone. "Because to me it isn't– you're family. What you are doesn't matter to me..." She paused. "And why you are here...? That's a difficult question to answer... but I know that you have a wonderful destiny. Never settle Steve– there is so much we still don't know. Just keep doing what you're doing."

Steve nodded. "Thank you Mother," He sighed. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to head home now– I'm still tired from everything."

She smiled. "Get all the rest you need."

"I'll speak to you later," Steve said, and he headed towards the chapel doors. He let the crumbs in his hand scatter to the ground as he stepped outside, watching as the small village went about their life.

So simple, so predictable. But it was home.

Rest... it did sound nice, even if it had been an excuse.

With a sigh Steve headed down the road towards his home.

Once he reached the modest building he called home he pushed open the door, just in time to see a black creature racing towards him. Steve tensed, but was knocked to the ground as the being leaped at him.

Steve grunted, finding a pair of purple eyes staring happily at him.

"Agh!" He cried, shoving the baby Ender Dragon off of him. He quickly rose to his feet, slamming the door, panting. He stared at Umbra, who was happily dancing around his legs. The player slowly looked up, finding a nervous looking Enderman.

"...Hi..." Dusk said, shifting.

"I told you to get this thing out of here!" Steve cried, pointing down at the dragon. Umbra was nuzzling his leg, making a purring-like noise as she did so. He kicked the dragon away, making Dusk tense.

"I... know," Dusk said slowly, and she gulped. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but..." She sighed. "But I need your help, Player."

Couldn't one get any peace and quiet around here?

Okay, maybe 'peace' wasn't a possible thing when trapped in a Nether dungeon– but Alex would give just about anything to be able to have time alone. Well, she usually was alone, but still...

Basically, she didn't want anymore of these unnecessary visits from Travis.

Alex was sitting cross legged on the soul sand floor of her cell, glaring at the pigman prince. Like his last visit, he wasn't dressed in his normal attire. His red robe had clearly been worn more than once– which was practically unheard of with royalty. Nothing about him screamed 'royalty' at the moment– except for the twin enchanted gold swords across his back, which he always had on him.

He was standing on the opposite side of her bars, with a stack of books in his hands.

Interrogation was something she had expected from the Pigmen. Taunting, mocking, beatings– unfortunately they were nothing new either. And of course the crafting, so much crafting. She was their crafting slave, and nine times out of ten when they made a visit, it was for her to craft. And of course they occasionally showed to give her food and water.

This was not a normal visit– and Alex did not like it!

"Can you read?" Travis asked, the Pigman prince holding up one of the books he was holding.

"What do you want?" Alex growled– where were his stupid guards? Usually they should be all over her by now with how she was treating their prince.

"I want to know if you can read," Travis asked, still holding up the book. Alex glared at him, not sure of what he was trying to accomplish. How would any answer benefit him? Perhaps Pigmen couldn't read and they wanted to find another use for her?

"...No..." Alex said slowly– she would not be taken advantage of anymore! She crafted their weapons, she wasn't about to do anything else!

Besides, she didn't even know if she remembered how to read. Her adoptive mother had never been fond of her, so she had ended up spending most of her time with her father in the forge.

"Shame," Travis said, setting down the other books, and opening up the one he had showed her. "Books are very interesting– they hold far more knowledge than any of us ever could. I suppose I could attempt to teach you, though I do not think my father would like that."

...So he could read? Then why had he bothered asking her?

"This one is my favorites, it's a tale of many of the myths and legends that our people have collected over the years," Travis looked at her. "Though I personally believe that it is history. Did you ever hear that players were once much more common in this world?"

Alex let out a low growl. "Yes, more times than I care for."

He pretended not to notice her bitterness. "Notch was said to live right alongside them– even though they were in survival mode players were said not to hunt mobs in this time. As a being of creative mode, Notch could gift them with whatever he pleased," Travis turned the page. "I could go into the whole history, but I think the important thing is the fact that adventure mode was a state of punishment for players that abused their powers."

Alex flinched.

Travis snapped the book shut, looking over her. His dark eyes studied her, gaze unreadable.

"I am trying to understand you, Player, and I have several questions for you," The prince said, setting the book on top of the rest of the pile. "Where and how were you born? There have been no players for nearly a millennia, according to Pigmen history of course. Who were your parents? There should be no players around to give birth to you."

Alex closed her eyes. "You're asking pointless questions, Travis."

"I have other ways of getting answers from you," The Pigman said evenly.

Fear crawled through Alex, she pretended that she didn't care what they did to her, but their harshest methods still got to her. She couldn't handle anymore of their 'questioning'–

"I don't know," Alex whispered. "I don't have any answers for you– because I don't even remember myself. My earliest memories are of waking up outside the village as a child– I don't remember anything before that. The only parent in my life was my adoptive father– the blacksmith of the village," Tears ran down her face as her thoughts turned to her father. "He was the only one that cared about me, the only one that defended me. No one else wanted me– and he followed me into the Nether when they banished me," Alex gulped. "He'd still be alive if he hadn't done that. It's my fault–"

She stopped mid sentence, realizing just how much she was saying. She lowered her head, she had only wanted to explain enough so he knew that she truly didn't have any answers. But instead she had shown him a weakness, she had allowed her broken self to show. Why had she messed up like that? Why had she allowed those memories to surface? Why–

"...What about your adventure mode?" Travis asked, leaning forward. "What did you do for Notch to trap you in such a state?"

"I–" Alex's voice cracked. "I've asked myself that so many times," She whispered. "I've been like this my whole life, I didn't do anything," She looked up at him, more tears in her green eyes. "I didn't do anything to deserve this!"

Travis' gaze showed no pity– he watched her with only fascination.

"Perhaps you did something so horrid that Notch removed your memories as well," He muttered. "But what would a child do to earn such a fate? Perhaps you players are simply that corrupted– Notch should have never trusted another being with his powers..."

Alex clenched her fists. "I would have held nothing against your kind if it wasn't for what you've done to me– don't you dare act like I'm the evil one here– when your kind is the one that has imprisoned me for being what I am!" Alex closed her eyes. "What have players ever done to your kind anyways?! You said yourself that there hasn't been any in your lifetime alone! We've done nothing to you!"

Travis' eyes narrowed. "Are you that naive?" He asked in a low tone. "Do you not even realize that what players did generations ago still plague the Pigmen today?" Travis twitched. "The zombie virus did not originate in the Nether, Player, it came from the overworld," He glared at her. "In the overworld it was controllable, limited, but once you players opened up portals to our world..."

Alex paused. "The zombie Pigmen...?"

"They were all once Pigmen– hundreds of sprawling kingdoms across the entire Nether," Travis whispered. "Civilizations reduced to nothing, the infections didn't just target the dead like in your world, but the living as well. One zombie Pigman could infect a whole kingdom in days..." He glanced towards the iron door that lead out of the room that held her cell. "Cerdo is the last standing fortress in the Nether– there were several others that fell recently– in this century– but we're all that's left. Players brought this disease upon us, corrupting this whole realm."

"...But I didn't do that," Alex whispered. "You can't hold that against me..."

Travis shook his head. "Your kind is dangerous– it's a miracle that Father is keeping alive– which is probably a good thing though."

"Can't lose your slave," Alex muttered through gritted teeth.

Travis shook his head again. "No, Player, killing you may be killing our last hope," He looked over her. "Though I do not understand how one in adventure mode could fulfill it... but you're the closest thing we have."

"Fulfill what?" Alex snapped.

Travis opened his mouth– but what the Pigmen prince was going to say was lost as the iron door was thrown open, several Pigmen guards entering. Alex tensed, scrambling back at the sight of them. Travis sighed, looking disappointed.

"Your Majesty!" They cried, bowing. "Your father has been searching everywhere for you!"

"I know," Travis said, picking up his books. "I was hoping it would be a bit longer until he found me down here."

"He requests your presence right away," The guards said, still bowing. Alex was at least glad that they were speaking in peaceful so she knew what they were saying– she hated it when they'd chatter away in the language of hostile mobs. The Pigmen tended to speak peaceful to each other so the other mobs of the Nether couldn't listen in on their private conversations.

"We will speak another time," Travis told Alex, and she sneered.

"I look forward to it," She said sarcastically, making the guards stiffened. She regretted her words as soon as she spoke them– knowing that this wouldn't slide. Travis held up his hand to keep the Pigmen guards still, but she knew that they'd be back as soon as he was gone.

"I know that you do not mean it," Travis said. "But I personally do look forward to our next talk," He headed towards the door, pausing before he exited. "Oh, Alex? I am sorry for what happened to your father."

Alex stared at him, but before she could even muster the thoughts to consider a reply, the iron door was slammed shut, leaving her alone once more.

In this story, Ender Dragons have the ability to form and shape End portals– though it comes at the cost of much of their energy, so it is rarely done. This power is released upon their death– which is why a portal appears after the Ender Dragon is defeated. The portals that are on the overworld side are housed in strongholds– which have not been used in generations, leading to their power sources (Eyes of Ender) disintegrating over time. By placing more Eyes of Ender in the frames, Steve was able to reactivate the portal, accessing the End.

If Umbra has the ability to form portals she is too young and too inexperienced to use it, meaning that they are truly trapped.

Just to note, Dusk is a bit mislead with Steve. She knows that he can fix portals, and believes he can fix the one that Herobrine destroyed last chapter. But Herobrine destroyed the frames itself– which is beyond Steve's power to do anything for.