Pain shot up my leg. It felt like I'd dipped my foot in lava. The pain spread all the way up my stomach, then my chest, then washed all the way up to my eyes. I immediately felt the ability to open them come back, so I did. What I saw was horror.

We were in a large sphere of at least one hundred blocks' diameter. It was made of mossy bricks, and looked as if someone had cracked open a stronghold and dumped its contents into a jar- it was riddled with monsters, spawners, and the occasional chest. On one end I saw what looked to be an exit, but in between it and me were at least a hundred very angry mobs.

Out of the corner of my eye- I had some sort of restraint on so I couldn't turn my head- Punchy and Rufus stood next to me, both just as conscious- and immobile. We were on some sort of platform about fifty blocks above the very bottom of the sphere.

"Welcome, vermin," a demonic voice from the Nether itself hissed in my ears. It reverberated off the walls, echoing in a somehow eerie way. "Are you ready to be heroes?"

That last part seemed directed at me, somehow. I realized that it was Herobrine who I'd talked to about heroism, not Sparklez. That would explain how he knew my name at the time- supposedly, the Herobrine knew everything.

"This is my… Playground. It's a beautiful place, vermin. You can End it all here," he said in an entirely cold voice. "You can play with me. Consider yourself free to play… But play nice." My restraints lifted themselves and dumped me on the stone below me. I felt around for a while- for anything to defend myself- but found nothing. There was a faint glow from behind me, and when I reached behind me I felt the familiar bend of my bow. I pulled it out of its 'holster' and, holding it in front of me, I saw the familiar blue-pink glow of its enchantments- Infinity, Flame, and Punch.

When I was young and new to Minecraft, bows were still a fairly new invention. People boasted their archery skills, measuring talent in kills. I had spent days gathering the materials to make one and, when the day came that I had everything I needed, I had tediously pieced it together, bit by bit, until it was perfect. Years later, people had discovered enchantments, and I spent days gathering all of the experience I needed to get the perfect enchantments. There was a community enchanter a few chunks from the cave I lived in at the time, so I used that. Green orbs swirled out of my hands, drawn to the bow like a magnet. It absorbed the orbs and, for only a second, I could see its enchantments- Infinity, Flame, and Punch. Beautiful.

I closed my eyes and tried to recapture the beauty of the moment when I first saw my perfect bow, but the joy wouldn't come. All I could feel was the horror of the moment I was in. I opened my eyes, looked to my right, and saw Punchy, who was admiring a diamond sword he had just drawn.

"What's that?" I asked, interrupting the silence. He paused and looked at me as if he just realized I was there.

"This is Excalibur," he said with a hint of a grin. "The best sword in the world. Made of diamonds, obviously, and enchanted. Knockback, Flame, and Strength." I leaned to get a better look. It was truly a magnificent sword, hilt sparkling even in the dark. The blade itself was about two feet long, so sharp that even looking at it hurt. "I lost her in a volcano a few weeks ago. It was heartbreaking- I thought I'd never see her again." He looked up and grimaced. "Given the circumstances, I would prefer the alternative. Hey, what's that your dog has?"

I looked over at Rufus who had something shiny in his mouth that he kept turning in his jaws. I leaned closer and saw that it was an arrow. He offered it to me and I took it, knowing that it would be key to survival with my Infinity bow. "Thanks, boy. Remember, you don't have to wait for my mark- if you see a monster and you could survive fighting it… Kill it." He quietly woofed back his assent.

"So, do you want to make a plan?" I said, turning to Punchy. "We can't stay up here forever, we'll starve."

"Let me think… This looks like the only safe place in the entire… Everything, actually. I think there's a ladder, so once we go down we can come back up." Punchy said. "Does Rufus have trouble with ladders?"

"If I go up before him, he should be fine," I replied.

"Good. We go down, kill some zombies- oh, Notch." He peered over the edge, scanning the area. "I don't see any pigs."

"Zombies can only feed people," I said numbly. If we didn't have food for Rufus, we were just buying time. He was bound to get hurt eventually. "Rufus, I want you to stay here and Punchy and I will go down. Hold off any monsters. We'll be back-" Rufus jumped on me and barked sternly. I understood what he was saying. "No, Rufus, you have to stay here! If you get hurt, I can't save you. Are you hearing me?" He barked again. I saw that there was no convincing him. "Fine. But… Please be careful, Rufus. Please."

"Um… Steve?" Punchy said when Rufus climbed down on all fours again. "We're going to need the food. Quick." I nodded, pulled the string on my bow taut, and looked over the edge of the platform. From so far away there was no guaranteeing that I would hit something, but I shot anyway. I watched as a skeleton caught fire and dropped dead, arrows and bones flying askew. With a sigh of relief, I shot again, this time catching a zombie- then another zombie- then a skeleton.

"I thinned out a few right by the ladder. Are you ready?"

"No," Punchy said with a sigh. "Are you?"

"No." How could anyone be ready in a situation like this? "Let's go."