yeah if you're reading my other minecraft fic you might've seen this in the A/N, but I exhausted my Writing Spirit and typically it doesn't refresh until I get Validation. please leave review
"Steve escaped?" A huge smile spread across Heather's face, and Manfred gave her a passive nod.
"Alex, too." The sound of his voice, talking forwards instead of backwards, was… jarring, at the very least.
"That's- that's really good." She pressed a hand against her forehead. "I'm glad. Is Herobrine okay?"
"He is unharmed."
"Okay. That's good." Nervously, she clasped her hands in her lap, and the room declined into awkward silence. Manfred didn't move for a few moments, then came closer and sat down on the floor next to the bed she sat upon. He looked up at Heather, but she avoided his gaze. Maybe it was just because of how he talked, but he… just… didn't feel like Manfred. Not to mention that Theo could have easily done other stuff to him as well.
"So…" She began uneasily. "Did you… learn anything more about Theo?"
"No."
"Oh." She twiddled her thumbs. "Um..."
Already tense, Heather nearly jumped out of her skin as a crash sounded in the hall outside her cell. Scrambling to her feet, she hurried to the door and peered out through the window, only to gape in shock as a bald man with a black beard stepped into view.
"Notch?" Her squeak caught his attention, and he glanced over at her.
"Good morning to you as well." He gestured in her direction, and Heather stumbled forward as the door she leaned against disappeared in a cloud of sparks. "Find your husband and get out of here."
"B-but- what are you doing h-" She broke off as she spotted a white-clothed figure against the wall, clutching at his ribs with one hand as he struggled to his feet. "Theo?"
"I am here to deal with him." Notch threw an unconcerned glance in the boy's direction. "Now go. I am not here to harm you." His words registered in her mind, but she hesitated, frozen. What would he do to him? She couldn't just leave!
...no, yes she could. Herobrine was more important. Shaking her head to clear it, she turned to make a break for the hall, but clawed fingers grabbed her arms and she stopped short with a yelp. "Manfred?"
"You are not permitted to leave." The enderman snarled, and she whirled around to see cold aggression in his eyes. "Return to your quarters."
"No!? I have to-" Manfred disappeared, and an instant later an arrow whizzed by where he used to be.
"I said go!" Notch roared, and Heather took off down the hall, leaving their fight behind. She knew where Herobrine's cell was, she could probably break him out if she wasn't disturbed.
Thin, black arms encircled her chest, and Heather let out a cry as she was lifted up in the air. "Put me down!" She shrieked as Manfred turned, starting to carry her back. "Manfred-"
"Shut up." His arms tightened around her as she squirmed. "I do not wish to hurt you. Cease your resistance."
"I have to find Herobrine!"
"He is no longer of importance to me."
"Yeah? He is to me!" The room shifted in front of her, and Manfred dropped her on her bed. She heard weapons clashing in the other room, and immediately slid off the mattress, but Manfred shoved her down with a hand on her shoulder.
"Stay."
"Hands off." An instant later, Manfred was sent hurtling across the room into the wall, an audible snap sounding as he collided. Heather whirled around in search of the owner of this new voice, only to slump with relief upon recognizing him.
"Herobrine." Her husband was beside her in an instant, pulling her into his arms, and she buried her face in his shoulder.
"I heard you screaming. Are you alright?"
"Mm-hmm." Herobrine didn't move for a moment, then abruptly stiffened.
"Stand down, I don't want to have to kill you." Heather lifted her head an inch to see Manfred a few feet away, face contorted in a snarl. One of his arms hung uselessly at his side.
"Manfred, no." She managed, and he directed his glare at her for a second before returning it to her husband. "Manfred, don't move. You're hurt."
"That is irreverent."
"I don't care, get back! Find a safe place and wait this out, go!" She begged silently that he would listen, but he didn't move, eyes locked on Herobrine's above her.
"Do as she says." Herobrine growls. The anger on Manfred's face dissipated for a moment, and he took a step back. Whether he was listening or was making a tactical retreat, she wasn't sure, but it seemed like a good thing.
None of them moved for a couple seconds, then, abruptly, Manfred disappeared. Heather rested her head on Herobrine's shoulder again, and he placed a hand on the small of her back, pulling her close.
"Let's get out of h-" A deafening crash drowned out the rest of her statement, and the bed disappeared from underneath her as Herobrine teleported to the other side of the room. Grabbing his shoulder for leverage, she looked up, but immediately hid her face again as a pair of blocks flew past her and hit the wall. Theo landed beside them, a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, and immediately charged forward again only to be thrown back against the wall.
Notch appeared, passing through the cloud of dust raised when the wall collapsed with arrows floating around him. They launched at Theo, but he teleported a foot to the left to dodge them, then a few feet forward to swing his sword at Notch's chest. The god blocked it without much effort.
The hacker jumped back, managing a backflip before floating and raising a bedrock pillar to block Notch's next attack. His sword cracked when it struck the pillar, but immediately glowed and regenerated.
"Let's leave." Heather whispered, and Herobrine blinked, tearing his eyes away from the battle.
"Of course. Let's go." The world around her shifted, but they only moved a couple inches to the left. Herobrine scowled, and her vision blurred again, but they hadn't left the room. "What in-?"
"I told you to leave." Notch shouted. "It's too late now. I've locked us inside this dungeon, until the ban is lifted no one can teleport out."
"...I see." Lowering his wife to the floor, Herobrine gave his wife a stern look before drawing his pick, twirling the tool in his hand, and stepping forward to swing it at Theo's heart.
The hacker ducked beneath the swing, slamming his shield into Herobrine and causing him to stumble back. Quickly, he spun, fending off an attack from Notch on his other side. He was fast. There were tiny particles floating up around him, he must have taken a potion.
Heather watched as Herobrine and Notch tag-teamed their opponent. They worked in perfect harmony, their fighting styles almost identical, and Theo was having trouble keeping up even with what she guessed was a speed potion. The only thing keeping him in the fight was his teleportation, while both his opponents could do the same they had to react to his movements and one another's in order to continue the fight.
A sword sliced into Theo's arm, and he let out a yelp, disappearing in a flash of red. Notch disappeared after him, and Herobrine threw a glance in Heather's direction before following. Not wanting to be left alone, the blonde staggered to her feet and hurried out of the room, following the sound of metal on metal down the hall. For all she knew, Manfred was lurking somewhere to drag her off again the moment she was left unattended.
Theo appeared in the adjoining room, then teleported again as Notch appeared behind him, striking the god with his sword before popping out of view. He appeared again right beside Herobrine, who nailed him in the side of the head with his pickaxe before he escaped. Heather huddled in a corner, watching the battle while trying to stay out of focus, and winced at the sight of blood staining Theo's clothing. She couldn't really justify feeling bad for him, given what he'd done, but she did anyway. Dumb human empathy.
Theo took another hit and stumbled back, hitting the wall. Herobrine swung at him, driving him into the corner, and Heather's hands flew to her mouth as her husband lifted his pick to deliver the killing blow.
A soft vwip sound reached her ears as Manfred appeared between them, shielding his master from Herobrine's attack.
The warrior faltered, pulling back to avoid hitting his old friend, and immediately Theo lunged forward to slice a gash in his arm. Herobrine let out a startled cry, and Notch appeared beside him to defend him, only for both Theo and the Enderman to vanish from sight. They were only gone for a moment, though, before Manfred appeared beside Herobrine, slashing at him with his clawed fingers, and Heather watched with eyes widened with horror as Theo popped into view behind Notch and stabbed him through the heart.
The god vanished in a shower of sparks, and Herobrine whirled around just in time to block a strike aimed at his shoulder. As he struggled with Theo through the crossed blades, however, Manfred grabbed him, lifted him into the air effortlessly, and slammed him into the stone wall.
"Manfred!" Heather yelped, trying to catch the Enderman's attention, but he ignored her, focused on her husband. Herobrine teleported to his wife's side, pushing himself up with one forearm and clutching his pick with the other, and she scrambled upright to defend him as Theo and Manfred turned in her direction.
"That's sweet, but move." Theo jerked his head towards her cell. "I don't want to hurt you, so please get out of the way."
"No." Amazingly, Herobrine didn't agree with them, taking his moment of peace as an opportunity to get back on his feet. Reaching out, he grabbed Heather's wrist, trying to teleport out again, but again they only shifted a couple of inches. Notch's teleport ban must still be in place.
"It's over." Theo raised his sword in her direction, meeting her husband's eyes. "Give up, and I won't have to hurt you anymore." Heather glanced up, but Herobrine ignored her, not taking his eyes off of his blood on Manfred's claws.
The next instant, he was gone, and she looked up to see him pinning Theo to the wall via his pickaxe piercing his throat. The boy made an awful choking sound, reaching up to grasp at the blade, but his hand faltered and fell to his side. Heather was frozen, holding her breath, unable to do anything but watch as a single drop of blood slid down the handle of Herobrine's pick and dropped to the floor.