Chapter 1: Deep In Those Eyes
Deep in those eyes, I see my reflection
Though I'm not so sure if that it's me that I'm seeing
I see someone who reaches
For a place far beyond my current perception
I see someone who reaches for the distant sky above
Tracing their fingers through the clouds
Though their skin stings in return
My reflection says that there's no hope
And yet, I still see a spark hidden in the shadows
Of pain, of despair
And I wonder,
What else can my reflection tell me?
The daily sight of white laboratory walls was beginning to make him feel overtly ill.
It wasn't all that bad, to tell the truth. The work was interesting, and he was quite passionate about the field of science and hands-on research. With his status and level of importance within the field, he was given good pay, as well as the opportunity to live in a high-class district in a high-class home, having such a rare chance at life that others could only dream of ever having. Most of the population would die before ever getting the chance to even see a fraction of the place he had the honor of living in.
In all truth, Andvari was living the good life.
…
But damn, would it kill these people to paint the walls a different color?
Sitting back at his desk, Andvari absentmindedly tapped his pen against the surface of the table before him, staring intently at a stack of papers that was not too far away from him, beckoning to be taken care of. His light blue eyes showcased some exhaustion that was only barely being fought back with a half-consumed cup of coffee, which was currently sitting to his nearby left. His messy, short black hair, decorated with some strands of white at the request of a fellow co-worker, fell ungracefully in front of his face, occasionally needing to be pushed back. The sleeves on his white lab coat were folded halfway up, though, it was starting to become cold enough in the room he was in to force him to seriously begin thinking about releasing them once again.
It was a warm, summer's night outside, though, he wouldn't be able to feel any of it until he emerged from the underground, underwater lab space he was currently located in. The city that the research center was operating in, Crystalia, had originally built the place hidden from the general population's view, but due to the continued presence of mobs, they remained where they were. Because of this, they had to have an oxygen unit specifically crafted for their use, though the air was mostly kept cold for reasons that he wanted to fight against, for the sake of his own shaking bones. Their main concern and current population of research subjects, the many different monsters of Minecraftia, reacted differently to different temperatures, and though that was an important part of their research and all, he was seriously debating whether or not bringing some sort of heater or fire pit to his desk would be appropriate at this point in time. In any case, he would have to grin and bear it until the later hours of the night came and he was allowed to leave, though he wouldn't really be "grinning" at all.
Work was already going rather slowly today, but for reasons unknown, a fellow lab-worker dropped half of their assignments upon his desk and simply left without giving him a chance to spark a passionate debate against the action, leaving him with the duty of taking care of it without his consent. He was left to debate with himself about which half of the taller stack of assignments he should tackle first: his, or his co-worker's.
Eventually, he decided to start with his own tasks near the bottom of the stack, fully intending on returning the other half back to his dear colleague when he had the chance. Pulling out a small fraction of the papers from the stack, Andvari got straight to work, glancing over the information in front of him with careful, yet quick eyes.
It was a situation report that he'd grabbed first, appearing in front of him with a short block of text that wouldn't be too difficult for his eyes to speed through. Though these came daily and were often rather tedious in nature, what made them so important was the fact that these reports often stated the approximate numbers of monsters that roamed the area outside of the protective iron walls placed around Crystalia, coming directly from the Crystalian Citizen Guard themselves. Since monsters didn't often dare to draw near the city in fear of what the lab would do to them (as they should), it was rather easy to count each type, from the zombies, to the skeletons, to the creepers, and everything else that happened to appear in the night. Of course, he would have to pass these papers further down along the line of command, but since they weren't all too difficult to deal with, these reports were often the least of his concerns and worries.
As he was about to place the piece of paper off to the side, he noticed another report that had partially been pulled out onto where he had intended to place the first one. He also noticed that the typical wall of text that his eyes usually only barely skimmed over was looking a bit longer today.
Pulling it out fully and bringing the paper a bit closer to his face, the details of the report suddenly jumped out at him, having been properly examined.
'AREA REPORT
CURRENT STATUS: Investigation Ongoing
FULL DETAILS: Body of young child found roughly thirty-four feet away from the northern wall located in the Quartz District. Time of discovery is placed at 20:26. No signs of death by monster evident, cause of death yet to be determined. Area is placed under high alert as required per system protocol. Autopsy requested, lab work needed.'
"...Well, that's...tragic." Andvari muttered under his breath, re-reading the information to himself a couple of times over to really process it fully.
What kind of psychopath would kill a child and leave them out there in the wild? Granted, he didn't know what exactly caused the kid's death, but regardless, there weren't too many options to consider. Nobody was able to leave the city freely except through the port, so whatever happened, it couldn't have been a Crystalian who did it. The child wouldn't have been able to get out there without being spotted either, so all signs currently pointed toward outside shenanigans.
Regardless, this was a deceased child. He only hoped that they'd be returned to their parents and laid properly to rest. The lab would get the necessary info, and all would be finished soon enough. He just wished that he'd have nothing to do with the process.
With a small sigh, he placed the report aside, moving quickly to grab the next piece of paper just above it in the pile. To his general surprise, he was met with the sight of large, bold letters written in bright red at the top of this one.
'URGENT' Read the bolded letters at the top.
The rest of the letter produced a feeling in his stomach that genuinely made him want to vomit.
'In a report just recently released to the lab, information about the recovered corpse of a young child was included. An autopsy was conducted, and the preliminary summary refers to the cause of death as being excessive damage sustained due to falling from a considerable height-'
He stopped reading. He didn't need to finish the report. They were always heavily detailed, often painting extremely graphic images that were completely accurate in describing whatever was examined. He didn't need to see that. He didn't even need to imagine it. The child's last moments, their emotions, their realization as things came to an abrupt end.
He was used to a lot of disturbing things stemming from the depths of their operations, but rarely did it ever involve children. They tried their best to avoid those things if they could, though occasionally a zombie or two showed up on their doorstep, looking rather young for such a horrifying creature. They'd take the poor thing in to monitor potential outbreaks in the area, but other than that, they'd avoid dealing with younger individuals.
Well, at the very least, he would.
Though the report was only relaying the aftermath of events that had occurred outside of their reach, he still didn't want to become involved in it. Putting aside the updated report, Andvari continued working silently.
His plan of action was quite simple. He'd finish his paperwork as promptly as he could. He'd go down to the lab to run some tests that he'd been assigned. He'd clock out, and go home to finally be reunited with his beloved wife. Standard day, standard procedure. He'd be feeling a little queasy due to the news he received through said paperwork, but nevertheless, he'd be able to manage himself.
Just a solid few minutes ago, the lab had been wrapped in a deafening kind of silence, causing most to flinch at even the mere sound of their clothes shifting along with the movements of their bodies. Now, it was almost too noisy to work. Almost.
Andvari stared down at the lab report in front of him, his hands pressed firmly against his ears as he struggled to read the information coherently. Something about a skeleton losing a rib bone or such during a lab test, he discovered. The noise around him only got louder as more and more people got into the mix as they filed themselves into one, giant crowd in the nearby hallway, with him only realizing that the crowd was even there when he turned to find a few of his colleagues leaving their seats in order to join in.
Had there been an evacuation alert, and he hadn't noticed? What the hell was going on?
Finding himself too frustrated to continue, Andvari promptly got up and began to walk toward the noise, but not before grabbing his coffee mug. He was already beyond tired, and all this noise was certainly going to contribute harshly to his current state.
After stopping by their office kitchen and filling his mug up to the brim, Andvari made his way to the office crowd, noticing how the line seemed to head straight down toward the very end of the hallway. There was only one door there that could've been particularly interesting enough to draw such attention, and that was the entrance to the deeper levels of the lab.
They all collectively referred to said lower levels as the "Catacombs'' due to the area's inherently disturbing nature and immense size. Holding centers for mobs suddenly became known as "Sections" down there, and rooms became "cells." The lights were always dimmed, and the buzz of the air pressure unit designed to keep mobs placated never ceased to assault the ears, following visitors with a low, persistent hum as they walked around. The Catacombs were where new mobs were examined; where they were named. The mobs that were sent there were either too strong and dangerous for normal containment measures or were completely unknown to their systems. This place was also where employed researchers often drew their greatest injuries from. Not a lot of mobs were ever held there, but whenever they were present, any person that found themselves in the area was advised to proceed with extreme caution.
He'd once gotten the chance to be promoted to the Catacombs, but he promptly declined the offer. After that, he purposefully hindered his own performance to be sure that he'd never get a promotion like that on his doorstep ever again, or, at the very least, anytime soon. In any case, it was clear that everyone in the hallway was heading in the area's direction, but…why? Most of the time, people were too frightened to even dare look in the direction of the far-off, iron door. What changed?
Approaching a nearby colleague as he took a brief sip of his coffee, Andvari went to tap a finger against her shoulder, promptly gathering her attention as she noticed his height from the corner of her eyes.
"What's all the commotion?" Andvari asked, swirling around the contents of his mug a bit.
The woman gave him a slight look of disbelief.
"...Didn't you read the updated status report?"
" ...Debatably." Andvari answered, drawing a long sigh from the other.
She turned toward him fully, nodding her head back to the door ahead of them.
"The report stated that the corpse of a child had been discovered just outside of the city's perimeters."
Andvari nodded.
"That part, I knew. Was it something in the updated report that summoned the cavalry?"
The woman nodded her head slowly.
"...So...the child was dead. He had no pulse, he was cold, he was...lifeless."
She gave him a concerned expression, watching as his gaze slightly narrowed in response to the information.
"...I'm aware."
The woman continued after a few seconds of tense silence.
"...A few minutes ago, he woke up."
Now that was something rather intriguing.
Eyes widening slightly, Andvari shot a look of confusion down to his coworker, who simply shrugged in response.
"Now you see why the lab is the way it is. The subject will be placed in a solitary location down in our examination wing."
"Already out here with the dehumanizing terms, aren't we, Violetta?"
Violetta rolled her eyes at his words.
"Well, I'm not sure which human you've seen that can magically raise from the dead."
"Technically, the zombies we examine are humans who've risen from the dead. Are we sure that they're not just another zombie? Any swabs for infection?"
Violetta shook her head.
"Already done since he was found outside of the city limits. No traces of infection were found. This child is warm. He's breathing, not decaying; he's pretty much alive. Only major concern is that...well…"
"...Well what?"
"...His eyes."
Andvari raised a brow at her.
"...What about them?...Were they somehow damaged from whatever fall he took?"
"...They…glow. They don't reflect light, the investigation team checked, they actually glow. We're thinking that the subject may be some sort of new mob, or something like that."
Andvari nodded slowly, looking down at his coffee as he went to take another swig of it.
Unsurprisingly, he was certain that he'd be needing some more.
"...A child was discovered on the edge of the city, seemingly deceased. They wake up with glowing eyes. Is that correct?"
He received a brief nod.
"...Let me know if there are any updates on the situation. I'm not waiting in line for this."
"...Will do."
With that, Andvari turned around and left the growing crowd, returning to the slightly more peaceful area that his desk was located in. Whatever was going on currently would be given a proper report later on, anyways. He'd read it then.
Maybe the current research team assigned to the case had been mistaken. Maybe they didn't find a new mob, but...a stray, perhaps? Some skeletons rise up mid-decay, perhaps that's why the child has such weird eyes?
The man shook his head as he approached his desk once more, taking a moment to stand in front of it and stare at the surface. His eyes wandered back to the pile of papers he'd already taken care of.
Near the bottom of the stack, he saw the edges of the updated report.
…
…
…
His stomach began to churn at the idea of reading it again. He instead chose to sit down properly at his desk, moving his efforts to the rest of the stack that he had to attend to.
Finishing the last portion of his stack of papers, Andvari sighed, glancing over to the second stack that laid just beside it. Debating with himself momentarily, a small groan left his lips as he took a sheet of paper from the gifted stack, beginning to look over it as well.
All he knew was that his coworker would certainly be owing him back, one way or the other.
It'd been an hour or so since he returned to his desk, and he had yet to receive the boost of energy that his coffee was supposed to have given him. His focus was beginning to grow unstable, and, to his slight annoyance, the time seemed to be going by even slower. Everything was still rather chaotic in the building after the arrival of their newest anomaly that they'd have to research, his wing of the lab unfortunately included, and all his mind could focus on was the new arrival. He suspected that he wasn't alone in his predicament.
How did the kid survive? What was he? Was he being treated with care, or was he being treated as a potential threat?
He didn't currently know. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to step into the Catacombs, let alone even see the kid specifically. He didn't know what current state the child was in, what the extent of his injuries were, nothing.
…
Curiosity nagged at him to get up. He listened.
Placing his unfinished report back onto his to-do stack, Andvari decided to start heading to the lower level of the lab that their new subject had been placed in, intrigued about finding out how the child was being treated, having narrowingly cheated death, apparently.
The hallway had cleared out, no doubt due to the investigation team finally getting tired of everybody else cramming into the place. Though some people were still hanging around, it was clear that they had no intention of going back down, instead choosing to talk with each other right where they were. Andvari, as naturally as he could despite his growing curiosity, made his way down the hallway, past the foreboding iron doors, and down the flight of stairs that led to the deeper entrance of the Catacombs. Being met with a large, gated door at the bottom, he went to open it, finding a bit of resistance before finally managing to slide the door open.
When he finally found himself standing firmly in the first level of the Catacombs, he had to take a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim room, finding his vision only being assisted by a few stray lanterns that were placed here and there.
In the middle of the current floor he was on stood a moderately-sized quartz chamber; one that had large windows on all sides looking into the room. It was the only area that was lit up properly, almost blinding him where he stood. Seeing that this "experimentation" room was still rather messy, and that the table there was still covered in blood, it was safe to say that they'd just finished dealing with whatever had been in there, no doubt that creature being their new arrival.
Where was the child now?
Glancing around, Andvari began to walk in further, keeping his gaze directed upward as he focused his sights on the various different numbers that were hung above several different doorways. There were four "Sections" on this floor specifically; each one was a closed-off room with another small cell placed inside for safety, though he doubted that a mob wouldn't be able to break through it if it was determined enough. Picking at random, he went straight toward the Section that was directly opposite the entrance to the area. Looking up at the small iron plate that was attached to the wall above the door leading into the Section, he found the number "256" etched into the surface.
As he went to test the doorknob, he was surprised to find it unlocked, allowing him to enter the Section without any issue in order to continue his search for their new arrival. Getting past the door, he was then met with the sight of the cell inside.
He froze as his gaze fell upon it.
Sure enough, bizarrely enough, there the child was. Sitting in Section #256 was their newest arrival. He'd selected the right room.
…
He got a good, solid look at this kid, and immediately felt overwhelming nausea come over him as he turned away, unable to stare at the child for too long.
Blood. Blood stuck to his short, chestnut brown hair and made it clump up in odd ways. White, regal-looking clothes adorned with gold trims and small jewels were stained heavily with dark, creeping blood. The tiny, frail-looking body before him appeared to be utterly broken, struggling to remain upright as it sat cross-legged and slumped upon the floor.
Andvari looked back toward the other. He would've totally mistaken the child for being dead if it weren't for the fact that he was staring directly at him.
Silver eyes looked up at him blankly, creepily remaining wide open for longer than what he'd ever deem to be normal. To his utter shock, those silver eyes were, in fact, slightly glowing, the traces of white light just barely being seen in the dimly lit-up cell the boy was sitting in. What hurt Andvari personally the most was looking directly into the other's eyes and finding such a strong mix of emotions there despite the emotionless appearance of the rest of his face.
Fear. Confusion. Pain. Fear. This child was in total distress, but they did not express it beyond their gaze. While other small children would've already been uncontrollably bawling at this point, the child was only sitting quietly, locking gazes with him in what appeared to be an effort to examine him carefully.
He still couldn't keep the other's gaze for long. Andvari turned away once again, his stomach churning at the disturbing sight before him. Somewhat shaken, Andvari began to walk back to the refuge of his desk upstairs, but not before turning back to glance at the disturbed child one more time.
The child was now staring blankly at the floor in front of him, face remaining emotionless.
Andvari subconsciously shivered, immediately continuing to exit the deeper level of the lab.
Lol, originally, I was against releasing a side-story to my other fics in concern for disrupting the upload schedule a bit, but I found that a couple of you lovely folks were interested in this little backstory a while ago, so here it is! Also, I realized that sometimes, writing for something else gives me ideas for other stories haha
For those unaware of the full story (which might be everybody at this point), this fic will be the full explanation of how my OC, Andvari, met Herobrine, and how he came to be his right-hand man, so to speak. This was one of the first Minecraft fanfictions I've ever written, actually! However, given the fact that I believe the original version of the fic was first written back when I was in like, seventh grade (maybe even sixth lol), I thought that I'd update things a bit, lmao. I'd like to think I've improved somewhat in my writing skills since then, hopefully XD. In other words, this fic is a rewritten version of that one!
The story was originally titled "The Tale of Andvari," but I decided on a little update to the title as well lol. I don't plan on making this fic as long as Understanding is, so rest assured, y'all, this'll be a quicker read! Idk what I mean by quicker at this point tho haha. This fic will be updating sporadically due to my main focus being placed on "Understanding," so sorry in advance!
With that said and done, here we are with another fic though! Leave a review if you have any thoughts or criticisms!
