The quiet crash of glass shattering beside him startled Steve out of his pain-induced haze.

Immediately, he felt the bones in his shoulder begin to knit, causing him to grit his teeth against the unsettling feeling. The longer it worked, though, the more the pain reduced, and he gradually found himself able to move again as the pain in his head subsided. Cautiously, he reached out with his good arm, trailing his fingers up to his healing shoulder. While an ache remained, and his sleeve was still stained with blood, the crippling pain was gone. What could possibly fix such an awful wound in such a short time?

"Steve?" He jumped at the voice, looking up to find a sort of… some sort of pyramid-shaped entity hovering over him, a little smaller than a standard block. Caden's avatar? "How are you feeling?"

"U-um…" he pushed himself upright, flexing his shoulder. "A lot better. What did- did you-?"

"I found you at the bottom of a ravine. I guessed you fell, so I brought you back here to heal." He was back in the void. He had barely noticed with the shock of his pain being relieved.

"How?" He found himself asking. "Or- why? You're not a healer, nor do you know how I work, I can't imagine you being able to fix me just like that-?"

"I used a potion." Caden gave a small laugh. "Regeneration II." At Steve's bewildered expression, he continued. "I guess you never learned how to make potions?"

"Some, just… not that one." His head still felt fuzzy. "Why?"

"It's- my fault." The words were blunt, but the meaning got through. "I put you there, so it's my fault you got hurt. So, it's my job to fix you up."

"I- oh." Steve rubbed at his aching head, marveling at the apparent kindness his captor was showing him. "Okay. Where- where are my dogs?"

"They're still in your world. I can't guarantee they'll work in this world, so I didn't bring them here. Are you fully healed?"

"N-no." Another bottle shattered on the ground beside him, and he jumped, but by the time he realized what was happening he could already feel the effects of the healing potion. Small swirls rose up from the ground around him, and, dazed, he lifted one hand to try and touch them. They passed through his flesh.

"Thank you." He said, softly. Caden didn't respond for a moment, but finally made a small sound of acknowledgement. "Not that that's- made up for what you've done." He turned weary eyes to the triangle. "But I know you didn't have to do that."

"I- mm." A pause, then, "If you-"

A loud slam cut off the rest of his sentence.

"CADEN!"


"CADEN!" Caden's head whipped around at the unexpected shout, rising to his feet at the sight of his father in the doorway. The taller man had a broken bottle clutched in one hand, and he braced himself. He had a weapon.

"What?" Caden swiped his headphones off his head, setting them on the desk beside him. He had to keep him away from his equipment, at the very least. None of this could be replaced, not with all the work he'd done. "What do you want?"

"This-" His father held up the remains of the bottle- some sort of alcohol - then dropped it, letting the glass shatter on the floor beside him. "Was the last in the house."

"So go out and get some more." The hacker cautiously approached the doorway. Steve's world was still on the screen, and, while it was incredibly unlikely that his father would pay any attention to him, he wanted to play it safe.

"There's no more money!" A rough hand on his chest shoved him back, and Caden nearly tripped before slamming into his chair. "I know you have more - you've been locked in this **** room for more 'n a week! Hand it over!"

"I don't have anything for you!" Regaining his footing, he shoved him back, causing his drunken elder to stumble back a foot. "Go beg on the streets for all I care, I'm not responsible for your expensive habits."

The fist caught him across the jaw before he saw it fly.

Caden brought up his hands to defend himself, but it did little to protect him as another fist slammed into his forearm. Ducking under the next punch, he rammed his elbow into his elder's neck, but that only served to infuriate him further, prompting a barrage of kicks into his stomach and legs. Giving up, Caden fell back onto the floor, burying his head in his arms to protect his face as he was beaten.

After a minute, it stopped. The hacker didn't move for a few moments, head tucked between his legs, as he heard his father move around the room. A crash sounded as something overturned, papers scattering to the floor. Looking for money.

Eventually, he gave up. Heavy footsteps made their way past him, coming dangerously close to Caden's still body before exiting into the hallway. Once he was gone, out of sight, the teen lifted his head to assess the damage.

Stacks of paper were strewn across his usually-clean floor, and a trash can laid on its side with balled-up sheets of paper and empty food containers lying on the floor beside it. He hadn't found any money, of course. It was all electronic. Caden cast a glance at his computer, letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing his setup undamaged. On the screen, Steve was looking around, examining his prison. He must've been confused when he had abruptly stopped talking.

Letting out a low groan, Caden staggered to his feet, pushing the door shut before limping back to his chair. A bottle of over-the-counter pain medication sat beside his monitor, and he shook out a couple of pills into his hand before swallowing them dry. The ache would remain for a good while, but regular doses of aspirin would help him manage the pain.

Finally, he picked up his headphones, settling them back over his ears.

"Sorry," he began, "I got distracted. What were-"

"Caden!" Steve interrupted, whirling about to face his camera. "What happened? I heard- there was-" he trailed off, but the concerned look in his eyes told him everything he needed to know. His microphone, of course, had still been on.

"My dad came in." Caden brushed it off. "I had to get rid of him."

"Got rid- it sounded more like you were the one being rid of!"

"It's not a big deal. Drop it." Steve stopped, but the worry in his eyes remained. His gaze flickered to the ground for the briefest of moments before lifting back up to his POV.

"You know," He said softly. "You and Herobrine are more alike than you think." Caden snorted, opening his mouth to give a snarky retort, but Steve cut him off. "You're both proud, and arrogant. You don't know how to ask for help. You'd rather ignore your pain than deal with it. Try to fix it.

"I'm sorry," Steve continued before the hacker could stop him. "For judging you harshly. I assumed- well, from what you did to us, I assumed you were cruel for the sake of being cruel. And maybe you were, to some extent, but now I know that you have your own pain you're trying to hide."

"I don't need to be psychoanalyzed." Caden's voice is harsher than he means to be. "Therapy's never done me any good."

"I don't know what that means. But…" Getting to his feet, Steve walked up to the camera, reaching out a hand and pressing it against- what looked like pressing it against the other side of the screen. "You're fighting your own battles, and I know that now. You hurt people because you were hurt. I can't say you're handling it too well, but at least I know there's a reason." Caden was silent, fingers gripping the arms of his office chair, for a good few moments. Then, slowly, he lifted one hand, pressing it against the screen where Stephan's hand was.

"Thanks." A dozen hateful retorts bubbled to his lips, but not a single one could force itself out. He'd been talked down to all his life, treated as a poster child for delinquency and poor life decisions since the time he became a teen. He was used to being patronized, but something in this- this AI's words was so genuine, so kind, he didn't know how to respond.

"That's why you took Herobrine, too, isn't it?" Though his hand didn't move, Steve's eyes dropped to the ground again, his small smile fading away. "He tormented the players, so you wanted to get back at him. A cycle of hurt."

Caden blinked as something he'd heard - no, read - came back to him.

[uuuennj227]: sk20111 claims you're vulnerable to physical harm. Is that true?

[Herobrine]: Yes.

[uuuennj227]: show us.

He'd doomed him to more hurt than he'd known.