Chapter 12

Fake, fake!

"Wha-What?" Steve mumbled cluelessly, giving Notch a wide-eyed look.

Notch placed his hand on the Alpha player's back. "That so-called 'Herobrine' you were dealing with the whole time is nothing more than an advanced hacker that I believe is trying to trick you. He tricked both of us into believing he was the real deal." Notch looked away from Steve and glared at the wall. "Ah, I am so foolish! I should have known. It is not like Herobrine to join a random server and go searching for you when he never has in the past..."

Steve stared at the table. "So...there is a real Herobrine that I still haven't seen yet?"

"That is right. That hacker must have tricked you into coming onto that World to capture you. A lot of players have dark fantasies of capturing and enslaving you, Steve. You are a legendary player, you must know. Many hackers could get a profit off of holding you hostage."

Profit? HOSTAGE? Steve shuddered in discomfort at the thought of players wanting to do that to him. "So...so.. Herobrine doesn't want to do that? Herobrine just wants to keep his distance from me?" Steve murmured, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the Herobrine he had been interacting with was a fake.

"I believe so, Steven. In fact, I would go as far as saying that you are safe around him. If he wanted to harm you, he would have done so already on that World. That is one of his main Worlds." Notch replied gently, rubbing Steve's back in affection.

"So...the real Herobrine does look like the Herobrine I see on the News? He's not skinny or pale or stinky?"

The creator chuckled in amusement. "Yes. The pictures of Herobrine on Minecraftia's News are very, very similar to what he looks like in real life. Of course, they are all drawings, not real photos of him. It is almost impossible to capture a photo of him, let alone see him once in your lifetime."

Steve smiled. "Wow..."

Notch raised an eyebrow at how daydreamy Steve suddenly looked. "Happy about that, Steve? Or what."

"I just...think he's cool. I can't believe I was actually walking around on one of his Worlds." Steve replied sheepishly, looking down at the table.

Notch hummed in thought and grunted, "Well, I don't want to get you too excited, but I think you should know that you have already communicated with him as well."

"What?" Steve questioned, confused.

"You said that you wrote him a 'hi' on the sign that was on his Nether portal, right?" Notch asked and to that Steve nodded. "He must have seen it."

Steve's heart suddenly dropped and he stared in front of him in realization. "Oh my god..."

Notch gave him a worried glance, "What is it?"

"Notch...it all makes sense now...it all makes SENSE!"

The creator flickered his eyes around Steve's face in puzzlement. Steve laughed and gave him a true smile. "There were two Herobrines! I was interacting with two Herobrines! Not just one!"

"Well, yes, that's the—"

"The hacker Herobrine had NO clue what I was talking about when I said I saw his portal because it WASN'T HIS! It was the REAL Herobrine's! I had found the REAL HEROBRINE'S!" Steve exclaimed in excitement at his conclusions.

"Yes, this is true," Notch agreed.

"And when I went back down to the ravine where the real Herobrine's portal was, I checked the sign again and it said 'hello Steve' and I was originally so confused because I thought that the hacker Herobrine somehow found that portal within like, thirty minutes and signed it. But no! It was the real Herobrine that responded! Oh my gosh...what if... what if the real Herobrine doesn't even know that there is a hacker on that World that's imitating him?" Steve gasped, looking at Notch fearfully.

Notch paused and looked at the ceiling in thought. "Hmm... let's see. It is quite possible that Herobrine does not have a clue what is going on up on the top layer of the World. When Herobrine does come to the Overworld, he is usually looking forward to mining. He is one of the best miners of all time." Notch informed Steve.

"Really? Wow..." Steve whispered in uncontrollable admiration.

"So, it is possible that he does not know about the hacker. At least we now know that he is aware of you. We also know that he does not seem to have a problem with you or...so it seems."

Steve's stomach got mushy. Wow... I actually talked to Herobrine. The lord of all monsters. The only demigod that exists...and he hasn't harmed me. Wow...I'm the luckiest player in this universe... "Notch, what should I do now?" Steve murmured curiously.

The creator sighed a long, deep sigh. "I only know one thing that you should do for certain and that is to not let the hacker Herobrine touch you or mostly importantly find you. You must remain hidden. I am extremely worried about his intentions."

"Alright..." Steve mumbled.

"Steven, you know the cold winds hackers produce? Those winds mean that they are close to you. If you feel another wind hit you, dig yourself a hole and stay in there for as long as you feel you will be safe again to go outside." Notch said. "Understand?"

"Yes. That is really helpful information. But...does Herobrine feel those winds too?" Steve asked, tipping his head.

Notch shrugged. "I don't see why he wouldn't. He is a player just like you and me. Only difference is that he has god-like abilities and slightly different biology."

"Well then, wouldn't Herobrine already know that there's a hacker on his World? He must've felt a cold wind by now." Steve wondered.

"I do not think he has felt one yet, Steve. It gets...ugly...when Herobrine finds hackers." Notch drifted off into silence.

"Does he...not like them or something?" Steve questioned.

Notch nodded and chuckled. "Oh, he hates them. That miner despises them like nothing else. He brutally kills them and destroys their Worlds until nothing is left but dust."

"Oh...he must be too deep in the Underworld to feel the winds then. He must've been mining the whole time while the hacker and I were running around." Steve said, pondering on it. He couldn't believe that the real Herobrine actually was on that World the whole time, just in a different location. This excited Steve. He could finally meet the Herobrine he sees on the News.

Notch examined Steve's piped up facial expression and sighed. "I am guessing that you want to go back now that you know the real Herobrine is there?"

Steve blushed and nodded. "I'm sorry Notch, but I have to. I've been waiting all my life to meet him."

Notch raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean, Steven? You have met him before. He used to follow you around all the time in Alpha—when you were first created and he was just resurrected."

"W-What?" Steve muttered.

"It is true. I used to watch him watch you. Perhaps I...never told you about it. I am sorry Steve, I just did not want to scare you during that time because you did not know of him then. I did not want to suddenly inform you that a demon had been watching you build your house and sleep in your bed at night." Notch said and sighed, shaking his head side to side slowly.

"Oh god..." Steve whispered in surprise.

"I am sorry if it is overwhelming." Notch told the young miner sincerely.

Steve shook his head and swallowed. "Why did he watch me?"

"I never knew his reasons. It was after our fallout so we did not talk anymore. I always guessed he did it because he was excited that another player was created. I also thought he watched over you because he did not want you to get hurt or suffer the same fate he did."

"Really? So...he was protecting me?"

Notch smiled. "He has always had a soft spot for you."

"Oh god..." Steve muttered, his face flushing. He couldn't believe it. He was a little frustrated that Notch hadn't told him this stuff earlier, but he understood his reasons. Herobrine used to protect him. He watched Steve build his first house. He was always there. He was always watching him. How...embarrassing.

"I know this information may be touching, but you must remember that Herobrine is a cold, remorseless god. He may have a mysterious weak spot for you, but he slaughters and imprisons other players for his own personal satisfaction. He rules the monster kingdom and rides the ender dragon on her back. He can levitate, break obsidian in only four punches, and read minds. He is absolutely terrifying and not a joke. Players who laugh at him are silenced by pickaxes swung into their throats. Herobrine may avoid talking and fighting you because you are his weaker, gentler counterpart, but that does not mean that you should go walking up to him and expect a hug." Notch told Steve sternly. "He can read your mind, Steven. He can hear every thought and emotion you experience. Even more nerve wracking, he is sensitive to entities. Do you know what that means, Steven?"

Steve gulped and quickly shook his head.

"Sensitivity to entities means that you can feel another entity's presence from a distance. This means that he may already know where you are if you are twenty blocks away from him. He can sense your body temperature and breath."

This kind of freaked out Steve. The young miner fumbled his fingers and bit his lower lip, not knowing what to do or say about that.

Notch noticed Steve's tense face and mumbled, "I am not trying to scare you, Steven. I am just being honest with you about his abilities. If you are truly going back onto his World, you must know everything about him if you somehow run into him."

"Is Herobrine mean?" Steve asked softly, looking up at Notch with big eyes.

"I do not know how to answer that question, Steve. I say this because he kills players mercilessly day and night but has not even touched you once. I have no clue how he will act around you if you come face to face with him...that is why I am a little worried." Notch responded, rubbing his face with his hand in thought.

Steve giggled. "I really doubt he'll be as bad as the hacker Herobrine. He was ugly and filthy. He had no care for me or my time. He was immature and impatient."

"Well, Herobrine has always been a little impatient and I believe that he is a little rude during conversation with others because he tends to abuse his telepathy power. At least, that is what I have heard." Notch replied.

"Does he speak with contractions or does he talk more like you do?" Steve asked. "All my life I've heard at Herobrine speaks with no contractions."

"That is mostly true. He does speak like me. Although, he is a bit younger than I am. He may speak with almost no contractions, but he is far more playful and lively than I am."

Steve smiled. "Wow..."

"You act so fascinated when I tell you these things, Steve. You know, he is very close to you in terms of age. He may appear to be bigger and rough-and-tougher, but his spirit is much like yours. These things should not come across as a surprise to you." Notch said, furrowing his eyebrows down at Steve.

Steve laughed a little and shrugged off Notch's hand. "I know, I'm just a little amazed by him. I always have been. I always thought he was so mysterious and cool."

"Well, I sure do hope he thinks that you are 'cool' too." Notch muttered under his breath.

Steve laughed at Notch's comment happily and grinned up at his creator innocently. Notch shook his head in worry at Steve's excitement and walked away from his table, shuffling towards his large chest on the floor a little ways from the table. Steve followed his creator's movements curiously, remaining seated.

"I am going to give you one more item before you go back onto that World..." Notch huffed as he squatted down to rummage through the large chest.

Steve violet eyes lit up with curiosity and he bounded over to Notch's side, kneeling next to him. After searching through his chest for a few more seconds, Notch finally found what he was looking for and pulled the items out of the bottom of the chest to show Steve. He pulled out three potion bottles full of a dark, blue liquid. The color of the potion reminded Steve of invisibility.

"These are invisibility potions," Notch said, confirming Steve's thoughts. "Although, these are special potions. Once you drink one, the invisibility effect will last for an entire day-cycle and will show no visible potion effects. You will be completely invisible. No bubbles surrounding you whatsoever." Notch said, carefully handing them over to Steve.

"Incredible..." Steve murmured, placing them in his inventory.

"I am sure these will come in handy for you if you get yourself in a bad situation." Notch sighed and gave Steve a thoughtful gaze. "Do be careful, Steve. I do not want to lose you."

Steve nodded emotionally and leaned forward to embrace Notch, his creator's warm, wispy particles circling around him. "I will be careful, Notch, I promise. If anything goes wrong I'll come back to you right away."

Notch slowly pulled away from the young miner and gave him a worried look. "Steven, the littlest things in this universe can change a player's life. It was a nice, sunny day like this when Brine left my castle and died in lava. I was too late to save him. I watched him burn in front of me. The last thing he saw before he melted was me, standing there and watching him. He thought that I was not trying to save him. He thought that I wanted him to die. Now look at this universe, Steven. Now he rules the Underworld and created his own, hellish dimension: the Nether. Now you exist. You were created to protect the Overworld and balance the dark and the light in this universe. Don't you see how fast things can change, Steven? Disaster can strike from the littlest thing. Havoc and mayhem... Steven, I do not want to lose you too." Notch said, his brown eyes full of worry and care.

Steve looked at Notch sadly. "You will never lose me, Notch. Never."

Notch looked at the ground and nodded a few times to himself, his eyes still restless.

"Don't worry Notch, I will come back soon, just as I did today." Steven whispered and closed his eyes, exiting Notch's World and joining Herobrine's once more.