He had lost to the players.

A muffled groan escaped his lips and he shuddered, then got to his knees and tried to drag himself over to one of the walls. Thin beams of light flowed through the single window in his cell, patterns of shadows dancing on the bedrock floor. He only made it a couple of blocks before collapsing onto his stomach again, breathing heavily as he dropped his head to the rough floor.

A shaky hand lifted to his left eye - or, where it used to be. Now the empty socket was glued together with dried blood, his head pounding against the cool stone.

He'd lost everything.

His army, his powers, his reputation, and his respect.

Perhaps worst of all, he had lost an eye to the lowest mob in the entire game.

How befitting for a tyrant.

[The next game will start in 3 minutes.]

The players couldn't see how he had been wounded, due to how he was rendered to those outside the game. They had no idea they had broken his arm when they pushed him off the bridge. Couldn't see the gash they had left in his neck. Didn't understand that physical wellness had nothing to do with health- that was merely stamina. Wounds were something else. His head pounded, primarily from his empty eye socket, claw marks marring the skin around it. It was possible that infection was setting in.

[The next game will start in one minute.]

He didn't know if he could keep this up much longer. The players never tired of this, playing this 'game' against a 'realistic Herobrine'. People logged off, and people logged in. It's a never ending nightmare.

[The next game will start in 30 seconds.]

how long…

...have I been in here?

let me out….

"Herobrine." Fingertips brushed his shoulder, and his arm jerked up, grabbing the hand and yanking its' owner down beside him. He heard a startled yelp as he opened his eyes, meeting Steve's blue ones barely a foot away.

Immediately, he released him, and the miner sat down hard. Rubbing his working eye, Herobrine looked up at him, then glanced around at his surroundings. It seemed to be midmorning.

"You slept in." Steve told him quietly. "And I saw you were… dreaming again."

"Hmm." Absently, he pressed a hand to his blind eye.

"Do you… want to talk-"

"I would rather not." Herobrine cut him off quickly. "I need to repair your house." Rocking to his feet, the demigod braced himself on the tree he had fallen asleep against and set off towards the building.

Steve didn't come after him, opting to perform his morning chores instead while his companion replaced the burned flooring in his house. His mind was only half on the task, which, luckily, was enough. The other half focused on the events of the previous night.

The dreams were nothing new, he had been having them since he escaped back to his secluded world. He had never had that issue before, though - at least not as far as he knew. In the nether, it really didn't matter.

He knew Stephanus dealt poorly with fire, and would rather not kill him regardless, so he had to come up with some solution. The simplest would be just to find another place to sleep, but he preferred not to leave the miner alone. He was mortal, after all. Vulnerable. Even with his orders to leave him be, one or two mobs could slip through and attack him.

Maybe… Notch could help rid him of his nightmares.

Shaking his head, Herobrine pushed the thoughts away. He could not rely on Notch, not when he really had no certain way to contact him. And, even if he did, his brother was unable to fix his broken and marred body. Why would his broken mind be any different?

Of course Notch had changed his password.

Sighing, Caden leaned back from his screen, clasping his hands behind his head. It wasn't that he hadn't expected this, of course that would've been the first step he took. Too bad, though. Would've made his job a lot easier.

His computer had been stripped of information, basically everything was gone - but they couldn't take his expertise. He had already tried to contact his old group, but they had refused to respond. Apparently they wanted nothing to do with him now that he'd screwed up.

He'd show them.

Herobrine. He was smart. Unless he had been controlled by someone at Mojang, which he had seen no sign of, he was a sentient being. A fully automated, intelligent AI was still almost unheard of in the world of technology, but yet here he was. If, somehow, he could be captured, Caden could think of many a business man - dark web or otherwise - who would jump at the chance to examine the technological marvel.

He wasn't quit sure yet how, but he would hunt him down and take him prisoner once more. He would take his revenge on Herobrine, on Notch, and on the group that had left him behind in one fell swoop.

When Herobrine returned, something was different.

He had retreated to the Nether for a little while, just to surround himself with the familiar for a moment. He had come across a few mobs, and they seemed thrilled that he had returned. Why, he wasn't sure, he had never been the kindest to his mobs and had really done nothing to warrant their loyalty. Undoubtedly Notch's doing, he was the one who had given him the mobs as his servants in the first place. He made a note, though, to go back every now and again. Just to assure them that he was still there.

He wasn't entirely sure what had changed, at least not at first. Stephanus was performing some mundane chores outside, repairing a few fences by the looks of it. Herobrine disappeared into the house, intending to finish smelting the built-up stacks of ore - which was when he discovered a few squares of carpet covering the flooring he had just replaced.

Curious, he prodded at the soft wool with his foot, and felt something cool and solid underneath it. Stone?

"Hey, you're back." Steve's voice startled him, and he spun to see the miner in the doorway. "I, um… switched out the wood for stone." He gestured to the carpeted area. "So it's safe for you to sleep in the house. I added carpet, too - if you insist on sleeping on the floor, the least I can do is make it a bit more comfortable."

Herobrine blinked blankly at him. Steve had… modified his house for him? Why go to the trouble? If anything, he should think the miner would be glad to send him farther away - especially after the scare he had given him last night.

Steve shifted worriedly, and Herobrine realized he hadn't responded. Breaking his gaze, he turned and headed for the door.

As he passed him, though, the demigod reached out and touched Steve's shoulder in what he hoped was a friendly gesture.

"Thank you." He murmured under his breath. Quickly pulling his hand away, he disappeared through the front door.

He found himself back on his stack of hay bales, basking in the sun with Sandy the cat on his lap as he tried to sort out his thoughts. He didn't understand. As he had stated the previous day, Steve did owe him a debt for his help-

- unless one took into account how many times he had tried to kill him. That might cancel it out.

Regardless, the miner thought he did, but Herobrine didn't see why he had gone to the trouble of trying to make him comfortable. It wasn't as if it eased his supposed debt, did it? And it was clear he was still wary around him, why would he encourage his close proximity to him?

Could it be that he genuinely cared about his well-being?

Herobrine shook his head furiously. That made no sense. What had he ever done to earn his… affection? He had been nothing but cold to him, keeping his distance for his own safety. He had been selfish, helping when it was convenient to him. What had prompted this display of selflessness?

His head hurt. Herobrine let the matter go for the moment, resting a hand on Sandy's back as he tilted his chin back to look at the sky. Regardless of the reason for it, he was hardly complaining. While confusing, Steve's actions… felt good. It had been so long since someone was genuinely kind to him.

He didn't dare hope that such treatment would continue, but at least he could enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

herobrine: experiences one (1) kindness
herobrine:
herobrine:
herobrine: what the FU

~FFF