Ty stretched, leaning into the chains around his wrists and letting them support him. His back cracked with a satisfying pop. He spread his wings as wide as the cell allowed, yawning as he did so. Good morning, Eg.

There's no such thing as morning here.

Yeah, well, I just woke up. Deal with it.

Okay then.

Do you think she'll come today? Ty wondered. Emma, I mean.

Eguire hesitated. I… she probably will, but…

What?

Are you sure you want to do this?

No. He didn't want to go through with his plan at all. He didn't want to do what he was about to do. Whether I want to or not, I have to.

You could just join Herobrine. There's always that option.

No. I won't. It's not an option. I'll kill him. Ty sensed Eguire's discomfort at the thought. We both know he wants us dead.

He said he wanted us to join him.

He also said that I'm next for what Seto got. He hates me. You know he does. He'll kill you just to get me.

The dragon's voice was strained. I've been taught my whole life to serve him, Ty. How can I possibly attack him?

With your teeth.

You know what I mean.

Ty thought for a moment. He killed Seto. He framed us for it. He tortured us. He tortured us multiple times.

It would be wrong to betray him.

It would be wrong to let him live.

You do understand it will be impossible to kill him, Eguire warned.

The further he is from his home plane, the easier it will be. He can be hurt here. We can kill him.

Eguire thought for a moment. Ty could feel the dragon's worry. Seto attacked him. Seto couldn't kill him. And then Seto died. How sure are you that this will be different?

Thinking about it made Ty feel sick. He'd had to try and convince Herobrine that he believed his story about who really killed Seto. He wasn't sure if his act would succeed, or if it even had a chance; Herobrine had been the one to threaten to kill him, after all. Ty had pretended that he felt guilty for the sorcerer's death, and acted as distraught as he could. Instead of sadness, however, all he felt when he thought of Seto's death was a burning hatred for Herobrine. Herobrine had killed Seto, and Herobrine had used that to turn his friends against him. He was a monster.

However, Eguire had a legitimate question, one that needed some thought. Ty took a moment to think. Seto tried to use magic. We can use our claws. If we rip his head off of his body, then he won't be healing himself anytime soon. It seemed like a reasonable assumption: no head meant Herobrine was dead.

We can't be sure of that. We don't know anything for certain.

We know that we can't stay here. He's going to kill us, whether it's now or after he takes the Overworld. It wouldn't matter if we joined him, and I couldn't live with myself if I did. Ty flicked his tail.

Can you live with yourself if you complete your mission?

Of cour—Ty flinched as an image filled his mind, unbidden. It was Ember, as he remembered from the simulation.

The simulation seemed so long ago, but remembering made it real again. It made it terrifying. Ember, lying on the ground, dying… Ember, barely breathing, bleeding out, dying… Ember, dying in any way at all. Ty dug his talons into his hands, letting the pain push the images away.

I… I would have to. The plan fails otherwise. She has to be stopped.

Eguire knew what he meant by that. You're certain?

Ty swallowed, but it was difficult because of how dry his mouth suddenly was. "Yes," he whispered aloud.

Eguire seemed almost impressed. Then I will be here for you. We will be turned into bacon together.

Thank you for that, Eg.

Ty stretched again. He knew why he had to do this, of course. Ember was Herobrine's most powerful servant. She was his greatest obstacle. Logic dictated that he take her out of the fight before the fight began.

He avoided thinking the word that he really meant. He didn't want to remind himself. She had saved his life. She had protected him. She was his friend, in a way. For a while, he'd considered that he might even—

No. He couldn't let his mind take him down that path. Ty closed his eyes and remembered what he needed to. He couldn't trust Ember; she'd betrayed him and blinded him. She was dangerous; Zariah had tried to kill him on multiple occasions. She would never be persuaded by reason; she believed that Herobrine conquering the Overworld was good. That was the real issue: she would never leave Herobrine. The Nether god controlled her utterly. There was no saving her.

Ty had no choice.

The coldness that settled over him felt wrong. It was as if he were detached from the world, more ghost than living being. He was a machine with one mission, and that mission was to destroy. Death did not scare him now. Machines were not afraid of death, and he was a machine now. He was a killing machine.

He fought to purge himself of the regret that clawed at him. He had no choice. He couldn't afford to be distracted by his feelings. Ty took a deep breath and let it out. "I don't care," he told himself, quietly. There was no real reason to; it was illogical. He had to be logical about this.

Logic. That was what he needed to do: he had to think with his head, and not let his heart interfere. He was about to make the logical choice, and the logical choice was obviously the right one. That was how things worked, after all.

He kept that in mind as he heard someone approaching, footsteps echoing through the hallway.

Be ready, if this is what you want.

I am ready.

Ember came into view, and quickly unlocked his cell door. She was painful to look at, and he couldn't meet her eyes as she stepped into the cell, locking the door behind her. Ty could feel her eyes on him, burning him. "Please look at me," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

He forced himself to meet her eyes. They were filled with an emotion that he couldn't quite identify. She looked almost sad, but that wasn't it. Melancholy, perhaps. "What?"

"I…" Ember trailed off, biting her lip. "Ty, are you okay?"

From here on out, everything he did would have to be perfect. A slight mistake could mean failure. "I'm fine," he lied. His voice cracked, though, undercutting the words. Shit.

Ember smiled weakly, apparently unperturbed. "That's good. I was worried about you."

A small part of him wanted to abandon his plan. How could he possibly go through with this? How could he possibly hurt her? Ty forced that part of himself down. He had to be logical. She was his enemy now. He couldn't allow himself to feel for her.

She hugged him then, startling him. Ty could feel her heartbeat against his chest, quick and strong. She was warm, and very much alive. "I missed you," she said quietly. Ember let him go, but stayed close.

Good. He needed her to be close. Even as he had the thought, he was hating himself for it. He shouldn't do this… but it was logical. Ty clenched his hands, readying himself for his escape. "Emma, I'm sorry." He meant it.

"What for?"

Ty swallowed. This.

He smashed his hands against the stone wall as hard as he could. With the bones broken, he pulled himself loose of the manacles. Ty scythed Ember's legs out from under her with a kick, his hands repairing themselves even as he attacked. His healing powers had only sped up, it seemed.

Ember caught herself before she hit the floor, landing on all fours like a cat. "What are you doing?" she asked, staring at him in shock.

"I'm sorry," Ty whispered again, his mouth moving before he willed it to. He had no choice. He had started on this course of action, and now he could only wait until its end. He caught Ember's arm and pulled as hard as he could.

She cried out in pain as her shoulder collided with the stone wall behind him. "Ty!" Ember ducked away from his hand before it collided with her jaw, and scrambled to her feet.

"There's nothing else I can do." He struck at her again, and Ember blocked. "I have to stop Herobrine, Em. I have to stop you."

"He'll kill you!" She was dodging him, scrambling just out of reach. Her face was filled with shock and hurt.

"Not if I kill him first."

Ember's eyes filled with tears. "Don't say that. Please don't say that. Ty, I don't want to fight you, I don't want to hurt you, please don't do this—"

"Then join me," he begged.

"You know I can't." He saw resignation fill her face, but didn't react in time.

Ty hissed in pain as her claws swept across his arm. He whipped out his wings and struck her in the jaw, dancing away from her hands. Ember hissed and kicked, knocking the breath from his lungs. He punched at her again, but she evaded, ducking underneath his fist to deliver a blow so hard that it cracked bone. He snarled in pain.

Ember was faster than him, much faster. Ty swiped at her, claws fully extended, but she escaped the attack. Somehow she managed to land a scratch on his arm, and it sent green blood running down over his hand.

What do I do now? Ty took a step back, just out of her reach.

This was your plan!

Eg, think!

He succeeded in slashing her shoulder, earning a shriek. Purple blood ran down her arm, and she staggered back, breathing hard. Tears were streaming down her face. When he moved in to continue his attack, however, Ember was back at him. Her injuries seemed barely to slow her, and she jabbed her claws deep into his thigh muscle before pulling them out.

Ty roared in pain, stumbling backwards. Clumsily, he managed to elude a kick. This was not looking good for him.

Get in close to her, and take whatever she throws at you. Do what you have to.

I'll be too injured to fight Herob—

YOU HAVE HEALING POWERS, YOU IDIOT HUMAN.

Oh. Those were worth taking into consideration.

Ty dove at Ember, sending them both toppling to the ground. She twisted, raking her claws along his belly. He forced himself to hold on, burying his claws in her shoulder muscles. Ember tore at him again, struggling almost frantically under his weight. He was heavier than her, thankfully, and she couldn't escape.

Tears made his vision blurry, but he was able to catch hold of her hair and jerk her head back against the stone floor. Ember bit his arm, her fangs sinking in deep. Ty winced, but brought her head down again, harder than before. It took one more before she let go of him and went limp.

He sat up, groaning in pain. His whole body was covered in blood; his and Ember's mingled. His wounds were closing, though, while hers stayed open. She was absolutely motionless, just like she'd been in the simulation. The simulation, where he'd seen her die.

Oh Notch. The pain throughout his body was dissipating, and the bleeding was stopping, as though the fight had never taken place. However, Ember was proof that it had. She was definitive proof of the fight, because she lay unmoving in a puddle of blood.

Logic.

Ty took the ring of keys from her as gently as he could and turned to go. This was all wrong. He had a sneaking suspicion that he'd just done something horrible. Tears slid down his face, and he wanted to break down into a sobbing wreck.

No. Ty bit his lip. He had to be logical. He had done what was necessary to get to his fight with Herobrine. He had to fight Herobrine, because he had to kill Herobrine. He had to kill Herobrine, because if he didn't the god would kill him and conquer the Overworld. Logically, that was unacceptable.

He undid the lock of his cell and slipped out into the hallway, closing the door quietly so as to not disturb Ember.

You know…

What?

You don't need to worry about disturbing her anymore.

Ty wanted to scream.

Update number two, in less than 72 hours. I'm on a roll. Also, it is early morning, and I have not slept yet. This is dedication. Can you feel my love for you people? I am usually a koala bear in terms of the amount of sleep I require. Oh, the sacrifices I make!

If y'all can wait 6 months for a chapter, and still be into my story, then I can wait 6 hours for sleep.

Thank you for the reviews; they absolutely made my day :D Tell me what y'all think of this new chappie!

SOTC: "I Am Machine," by Three Days Grace.