"Let me out of here!" Steve screamed, hands clenched into fists at his sides as he glared up into the black abyss. "I know you can hear me! You can't just leave me here!" Nothing. Legs going slack, the miner let himself sink to his knees, narrowed eyes focused on the nothingness beneath him. He had to get out.

He had woken up a few minutes ago, sprawled unceremoniously on the ground (of sorts) in this empty dimension. The last thing he remembered was Herobrine and their captor having some sort of fight in the chat - one he couldn't figure out how to add to - before his memories abruptly cut out. The player must've knocked him out somehow.

Though he had wandered, Steve had found no signs of any sort of exit. The dimension consisted of nothingness all around him, except for the ambient light that allowed him to see himself. He was helpless, unable to do anything but scream into the void for someone to save him.

He hated it.

Crossing his legs in front of him, he looked up at the sky (ceiling?) once more. Herobrine wasn't there, as far as he knew. Was he already… gone? He didn't know how long he'd been out.

His thoughts strayed back to his home, his farm, his dogs playing in the front yard while the chickens roamed the grounds freely. The wheat had been almost mature. He wouldn't be there to harvest it, would he?

Slowly, Steve lay down on his side, lowering his head to the ground. Would his captor send him away as well? Sell him? What would happen to him after that? What would they do to him?

He was scared. There was nothing he could do.


Not bad for a day's work.

Caden slid back into his chair, taking a sip of the 6th mug of coffee he'd had that day. It had been about 12 hours now since he successfully hunted down his prey, and sent a few messages to some friends in the business. With any luck, they'd know where he could find the best place to auction off his wares.

He heard glass shatter across the house, and his face pinched in a scowl. His deadbeat father must have gotten home. He'd probably be up half the night, raving about whatever had annoyed him that day, but otherwise he shouldn't be bothered. The old man knew better than to bother him while he was working.

Rolling a bit closer to his desk, he minimized a passive firewall program and glanced at the file on his desktop - . He hadn't heard back from his friends yet - he may as well check out the second one.

He opened the world, and the screen was filled with blackness- except for a small, blue-and-brown figure.

...human figure.

Caden's brow creased, and he zoomed in to find a man sitting silently in the center of the room. He had a thin beard and darkened skin, with blue eyes focused on the abyss below him. He looked to be almost thirty, and his clothes were worn and stained.

...this was Stephanus? What had happened to the blocky character he'd stolen from the server? He was 100% sure he hadn't always looked like that.

Minimizing the window, he opened Herobrine's prison, identical in form to his counterpart's. Indeed, Herobrine's avatar was almost identical, albeit with glowing eyes- eye. One was heavily scarred. Dim. His hair was longer, too, falling down to his shoulders but leaving the back of his neck exposed. There was still a mark.

Pulling up the windows side-by-side, Caden sat back with a frown. Had they been disguised somehow while in their server? Did they notice a change? If so, they seemed to be over it already. There was a lot of detail on their avatars, though, including scars that couldn't have been formed in the half-day they'd been trapped in their respective prisons. Some sort of disguise, then.

He fullscreened the Steve's window, and clicked a tool on the far left. Using it, he clicked on the darkness near the avatar's head, making a tapping sound and startling the AI inside.

"Hello?" Stephanus scrambled to his feet, arms held close to his body as he scanned the void for the source of the noise. He didn't respond, and the figure turned in a slow circle before sinking to his knees again. Caden tapped once more, and again his prisoner jumped, prompting a smirk from the teen before he finally opened up the chat.

[sk20111]: Steve, isn't it?

"Hello?" Steve repeated, his voice softer. "That's- yeah. You are-?"

[sk20111]: That's not important.

"Where's Herobrine?"

[sk20111]: He's fine.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Steve raked a hand through his hair, glaring around at the emptiness. "Is he still- here? Or did you already…?" He trailed off, and Caden sat back in his chair. He really didn't like how much emotion he could see in 'Stephanus''s face.

[sk20111]: He's still on my computer, yes.

"Let me see him."

[sk20111]: I don't think so.

"Please." A pleading tone entered the AI's voice. "You have to- please, just let me see him. I'm worried he-"

[sk20111]: Look, I really don't care.

[sk20111]: At all.

Steve deflated a bit, his shoulders slumping as his gaze dropped.

"Then why are you here?"

[sk20111]: I want to hear about you.

[sk20111]: I know all about Herobrine, but you're new to me.

[sk20111]: Where'd you come from? How long have you been around?

"Wait, why Herobrine?" Steve frowned, ignoring his questions. "He hasn't left our server in years. Where would you know him from?"

[sk20111]: This isn't the first time he's found himself my prisoner. Only, this time, he's not getting away.

Steve's mouth dropped open.

"You're- you're the fake Notch!" So he knew. "Aren't you?"

[sk20111]: Yep

"How did you- Notch was supposed to deal with you! How did you find us again?!" Poor Steve looked horrified, clutching unconsciously at a scar on his left forearm. That was an incredible amount of detail. Had he been formed with said scar, or had he been wounded and developed it? Notch really had put a lot of work into his little pet people.

[sk20111]: Notch isn't as smart as he thinks.

"I wouldn't-" Steve cut off, hesitated, then sunk to his knees once more. For a few moments, he stared at his feet, and Caden wondered if he should prompt him again. Before he could start typing, though, the man finally asked in a small voice,

"What are you going to do with me?" The hacker hummed aloud.

[sk20111]: I'm not sure yet

[sk20111]: Something fun.

"Fun for me, or fun for you?" Was his follow-up question, an edge of bitterness in his voice. "Because of what you did to Herobrine is any indication, I don't want anything to do with your idea of 'fun'."

[sk20111]: unfortunately for you, you don't have a choice.

Gritting his teeth, Steve turned away, staring down at the ground once more. Though Caden tried to question him further, the AI only shook his head, otherwise ignoring him. Oh well. He didn't want to damage him, at least, not yet, so he backed off for now.

He checked on Herobrine as well, but he was silent and still in his empty prison. He poked at him a couple of times, and he reacted, but didn't make any attempt to communicate. That was in character.

Downing the last of his coffee, Caden closed both windows and switched over to another project. Until his friends got back to him he couldn't do much, short of harassing his prisoners, so he resolved to change gears for a while. He could leave Steve to stew for a while.

Maybe after another 24 hours of nothingness he'd be more inclined to talk.