A/N: Hello, this is Enderkit! This is my first story, and of course it had to be Minecraft xD

I would like to say a few words before the story begins - I noticed something that I want to clear up and prevent confusion and other such feels later on. Family is in NO WAY intended to be a copy of The End's Secret (I forget who wrote it, but they're awesome - you should go read their story :)). I know the two stories are somewhat similar, but I was working on this before I even knew The End's Secret existed, so please don't start throwing BS like that. I plan to take Family in a COMPLETELY different direction, just FYI.

We good? Good. Carry on!

The clang of weapons clashing echoed through the void of The End, one a sword forged from the finest diamonds, the others the razor blade claws of the dimension's guardian. The battle had persisted for hours, long after the beast's wings had been injured beyond use and it was forced to ground level.

The black-skinned monster had sustained serious wounds, her magenta-purple eyes glowing with hate. Her opponent, a miniscule human that wore a hide of impenetrable blue-colored stone, continued to defy her by refusing to simply die. Unable to stand on one of her four legs, the Ender Dragon was forced to fend off his blows with only one clawed paw while the others were reserved for supporting her heavy, muscled body. Now that the membranes of her wings had been torn through by arrows and the passing slashes of that blasted sword, they had been reduced to dead weight on her back – she could not even use them to shield herself, for allowing further injuries would only cause her pain and provide an opening for the human's attacks. She had ordered her Endermen followers to stay back, to not interfere – this human was a threat, and even if it cost her dearly, she would not risk the lives of her people… and that of her future hatchling. With the last of her strength, until there was nothing left of her, she would protect the defenseless egg of her child.

Steve panted, and fought the urge to groan in pain. He didn't want to show weakness in the presence of his adversary, but his mortal body was reaching its limit. Scratched, bruised and battered, he held one arm clamped to his side, covering a gash the she-dragon had ripped into his flesh when he had stumbled. His armor had lost half its durability, his quiver of arrows was reduced to nothing, and his diamond sword was beginning to chip from the insane strength behind each of the dragon's swings. Half his time had been spent trying to destroy the crystals the beast had used to heal itself, yet the struggle had only intensified once he was forced to face the monster head to head. He was a miner, not a warrior. But he would not back down – this creature was dangerous, and if it somehow followed him on his way out of this void... he couldn't say how he knew, but something deep in his instincts told him that destruction would be inevitable. It was also the only way to open a portal back to the Overworld. He had no choice – he had to slay the dragon, if he was to ever return home, alive.

It was a perilous dance, with only the two participants. A dance of death, when the only mistake one makes is all it takes to cost them everything.

The she-dragon hissed, backing up slightly to dodge a diagonal slash from the miner. In a lightning strike, she attempted to clamp her fangs down on the miner's head and upper torso in a snakelike fashion, but he jumped to the side at the last second. She snarled at him, frustrated.

Steve quickly caught himself from nearly falling over as he dodged what would have been a nasty bite. The pain from his wounds was beginning to make his vision blur, but he fought to stay lucid. The dragon was hurt, and retreating, but still fully awake and furious.

Or so he thought. The she-dragon was also fighting the symptoms of her wounds, and had to shake her head slightly to dispel the creeping blackness. Her strength was draining away with every drop of purple blood she spilled. Glaring at the miner, she then tried to take advantage of her extended neck to head butt him back with her steel-hard horns. This time, the blow connected.

Steve felt the air leave his lungs as all 50 pounds of black-scaled muscle in the dragon's long neck worked against him, throwing him into the air. He landed on the hard End Stone, coughing as his body fought to regain the lost oxygen, and his shaking limbs betrayed him and refused to place him back on his feet.

The she-dragon made a noise of discomfort as the muscles in her neck wrenched from the strength behind the blow. Sensing her victory was near, she slowly edged away from the cave she had been defending and using as a protective covering for her back and sides, in an attempt to force the human to face her head-on - where her teeth and claws were located. Her tail dragging listlessly behind her, she growled and folded her crippled wings tighter to her body, one foot held in the air to keep from touching the ground as she stepped closer to the enemy.

Steve gripped the hilt of his sword tighter, drawing as much strength as he could from his broken body. If he ever got out of this mess, he would eat as many steaks and grilled pork chops as he could get his hands on back home, he thought. He didn't want to go down, not yet. Struggling back to his feet, Steve had an ominous feeling in his gut that this battle would be quickly drawing to a close whether he liked it or not.

The she-dragon felt it as well. Baring her fangs at the miner, she raised her wings in a defensive posture designed to make herself appear much larger as a scare tactic. Hissing and spitting, speckles of purple blood dotted the ground as they seeped from her wounds and between her sharp teeth.

Steve also took up a defensive position, holding his diamond sword between himself and the she-dragon.

They could both sense the tension behind this moment, that this next move would be the end of it all. One would survive this, or none, but not both would be walking away alive.

The two lunged at each other simultaneously.

Steve yelled a primal scream that echoed of eons past.

The Ender She-dragon, in turn, roared in defiance.

Only one of the drawn weapons hit home, and the loser fell to the ground, a mortal wound torn in their flesh.

Shortly, the victor collapsed as well, succumbing to the overwhelming damage done to their body.

A/N: First chapter is short, sorry xD But what do you think? Too much violence? I kinda like the drama.