Sorry for the long wait, writing is HARD! If you spot any mistakes or errors in any of my chapters, please let me know so I can fix them. Anyways, read, enjoy, and don't forget to leave a rating!

Note - this is a "flashback" chapter.

Memories

"Come on! You're falling behind!" The boy laughed after shooting a mocking glance at his younger brother, covered in mud and panting heavily several metres behind him. He couldn't even manage to draw breath any more, let alone challenge his older sibling's mockery of his stamina.

"Ugh… Wait up! I can't…" The blue-eyed child groaned, clutching his side in pain. After a few more staggering steps, he gave up and leant heavily against a tree for support, glaring at his more able-bodied brother, already toned and battle-hardened from hours of exercise.

"It's going to be night soon you know. We should get going." The young warrior prompted and waited patiently for a response; he got only a glare in return. He noticed his sibling was still having trouble catching his breath, and the pale skin on his shoulders was red and peeling.

"Serves him right for staying too long indoors," Notch thought, "He hasn't given his skin time to adapt to the sunlight."

A sharp breaking of branches and the rustle of foliage alerted him to another presence nearby, so Notch drew his iron sword and placed himself in front of his brother. With a growl, Herobrine hoisted himself up and drew his own weapon.

"I don't need you to protect me, brother."

"Formal as always, Brine." Notch smiled thinly, keeping his eyes on the trees beyond their small clearing. He was confident he could handle a few lowly mobs, but the sight of the sun sinking below the horizon the added responsibility of looking after his brother…

"What's the matter?" Herobrine taunted lightly, "Scared of the dark?"

"If you could run faster we wouldn't have been out so late in the first place." Notch was pretty sure he had traced the source of the noise to a dense knot of foliage, an ideal place for an attacker to conceal himself. He tensed in anticipation, but relaxed when he caught a glimpse of the figure behind the bushes.

"You scared me, Misa!" Notch smiled, calming. "I could have stabbed you!"

"Damn, I still can't sneak up on you, Notch," A young woman stepped out from behind the low tangle of branches, long dark hair swept back in a loose ponytail. She wore her favorite leather hunting clothes, worn and tattered, with her trusty iron sword by her side. "Hey blue-eyes, wassup?"

"This tedious ten-mile hike was not my idea," Herobrine muttered testily, leaning back against his tree. "Notch made me participate in this hellish run."

Misa smiled in fake sympathy, pulling him up from his comfortable spot on the ground.

"Come on, it's dark out here." With a hard poke to the back, Herobrine was off and running again, the trio steadily making their way towards their ramshackle village. Notch and Misa chatted easily as they sprinted through the open forest, making light work of the last half-mile of grassland, while Herobrine found himself (once again) exhausted and finding it hard to draw breath. His brother made it look so easy - running tirelessly without a care in the world - but exercise wasn't one of Herobrine's strong points. He started to lag behind, his chest heaving in an attempt to get more air.

"Brother… Wait!"

It didn't look like Notch had heard him; The older sibling didn't even glance back at his struggling kin. Herobrine tried to call out to him again, but he could only muster a loud, choking cough. Tripping over a stray grass block almost invisible in the twilight, his ankle twisted and exploded with pain when he tried to put pressure on it. Herobrine figured it must have been sprained, or worse. "To Nether with it!" He swore in his head, legs crumpling beneath him as they could no longer support his weight. Herobrine knew he wouldn't be able to walk for a while, and his brother hadn't even noticed his predicament. He just needed Notch to look round…

"So, what is it with him anyway?" Misa shot a curious glance at the young man jogging beside her. "He's so… withdrawn and formal. You two look so alike, but you're polar opposites."

"Brine loosens up when you get to know him," Notch grinned. "I think he's just on edge because he fancies yo- Ow!" He rubbed the tender spot on his shoulder where Misa had punched him, and waited for Herobrine's inevitable breathless protestations. When no sound came from behind him, he slowed and turned around.

"Brine?"

Misa skidded to a halt and frowned. "Where did he go? He can't have fallen behind that much."

Night had well and truly fallen now. Not a faint smudge of brightness remained in the obsidian sky, and Notch could hear the rowdy clatter of skeletons in the far distance. They began to retrace their steps, growing increasingly agitated at their companion's absence.

"I swear, if this is one of your games…"

Then they heard the scream.

Herobrine couldn't get up. His ankle was one cold lump of agony and any attempt to move it resulted in a sharp nauseating wave of pain. At least he hadn't lost his sword; the stout iron weapon rested in his lap, although he doubted it would help him much if a mob attacked.

"Brother…" He knew Notch was too far ahead to hear him, and it could be ages before anyone realised something was amiss. Even worse, he could tell that there were mobs around, as the shuffling of clumsy undead feet was resounding in the silence. Herobrine swore colourfully, trying to keep the fear at bay.

Then he heard it. Someone… No, something was behind him, a crude, snarling outline in the blackness. There was nothing Herobrine could do but clutch his sword tightly and wait, as he was unable to run. The hulking figure maneuvered itself into Herobrine's line of sight, ignoring his weak attempts to fend it off. It brushed against his swollen ankle, causing Herobrine to yell out in pain. This primal reaction only seemed to encourage the flesh-eater more, it's growls increasing in intensity as it batted Herobrine's sword to one side, out of his grasp.

"No! I refuse to die this way!" The young man swung his fist at the corpse's face, but any nerve endings he may have triggered had long since rotted away. He could only use his bare hands to fend off the mob and try to keep it's filthy mouth away from his skin, but he knew his cries would only draw more attention to himself so he endeavoured to stay silent.

What would Notch say if he saw me now, losing to a lowly zombie? Herobrine grunted, the strain of keeping a hungry mob at bay taking it's toll on his arms. Brine tried to push the mob away, but it was a hopeless effort and he knew it. The zombie's decayed, rotting teeth were mere centimeters away from his neck, it's cold, lifeless eyes boring into his own. It opened it's mouth wide-

And suddenly jerked forwards, a semi-congealed spray of blood spattering it's shirt. The mob slowly slid to one side, revealing Herobrine's brother yanking his sword from the zombie's back. Notch grinned down at his injured sibling; it appeared the warrior had gotten there in the nick of time.

"You OK, brother?"

Herobrine sighed, but couldn't keep the relieved grin from spreading across his face.

"I… I am fine. Thank you."

Notch smiled. "Don't worry, baby brother. I'll always be here for you when you need me most."

"I'll always be here for you."

"I'll always be here…"