Chapter 81: High Above

Perspective: Steve


Steve had never anticipated the current situation. He, Jennifer, and his brother helping to lead a massive army, ready to save the multiverse. All because his dead friend dropped some stones.

They were in the flagship's hull, organising themselves into ranks and files. The redstone lights dimmed, and he knew they would go out any minute. He took a look at Jennifer and saw her red hair glimmering even under that little light. He smiled. Like a mirror, she smiled back. He would die for her if he had to.

Ozen hopped from one foot to the other to his left, drawing and undrawing his sword in a duellist's stance. Sadly, he just seemed to get clumsier each time, and Steve clapped him on the shoulder to hint maybe he should stop. He wondered how Wolfric was doing, down with Shadow.

"Preparing to breach in t-minus one minute," Brad said into his sleeve, emerging from between the ranks.

Brad wore armour made from that odd black alloy originating from Fire's world. His helmet almost entirely obscured his face. A diamond rapier hung at his side. He nodded respectfully at Steve as he took his position next to Andras at the head of a group of Eye-and-Claw operatives.

Pistons sounded and a series of handles rose from the floor. The reinforced hull would hold now that Rose had done her work creating the opening, but they still had to remain upright. He and Jennifer reached for the same bar. Their hands touched. They kept them there.

Steve looked to his left, toward Astro and his Guild. Talita approached them. Her old fingers pried open a small, wooden case. Astro smirked. Eight rings glinted in the low light - rings full to bursting with background energy absorbed from Nexus.

"Thank you for holding these in reserve," said Astro. "Send Shadow my best."

He removed the ring he was already wearing and delicately slid his fingers into the new ones.

"Thirty seconds," Brad mumbled.

Everything seemed to speed up and get louder. His heart hammered. Everyday itches became agony. Jennifer's hand felt so soft he thought his own might melt into it.

Herobrine chuckled at a song Dinnerbone strummed on his ukulele.

Urist murmured as he took practice swings. Voidblade nodded at every word.

"Ten seconds."

Cossack, the Gaian leader, coughed and readjusted his green cloak. The rustling was like an avalanche. Steve realised that he was saying the seconds aloud with Brad.

"Five."

The lights went out.

"Four."

A row of men knelt at the front, holding spears which shot fire after you cranked a handle enough - riflemen.

"Three."

Ozen's sword emerged from his inventory one last time.

"Two."

Steve equipped Excalibur in turn. He held his breath.

"One."

Crack! Wood splintered overhead, and bronze alloy crumbled away. Everything jerked forward, as though the ship were already trying to push them out into battle. Steve steadied himself against the handle, then stood up. Jennifer's hand slid from under his. The twang of a bowstring quivered through the darkness.

The pistons began to move.

"At arms!" boomed Herobrine.

Everyone took the hint to get into a fighting stance. A shudder went through Steve as the cool surface of the ender pearl dropped into his palm. Light fell through the crack and illuminated the tips of the taller weapons. Andras' halberd. Moderators' staffs. And so on.

"Stay safe out there," said Jennifer.

"I will," he said.

"You too," he thought.

They got a glimpse of the other side for the first time. A large hallway. Stone walls. High ceilings. Some sort of intersection with a locked, heavy door at the crook. No lanterns on the immediate landing, but he could see their purpled glows further up the corridor. Tower forces already lined up to fight. Mages at the front of a line of mercenaries. Arrows already sailing towards them.

One struck a nearby pigman and he fell. Astro and the other mages raised their hands. Countless magical shields materialised, overlapping and intersecting in some sort of crystalline honeycomb. Arrows began to bounce off it.

"Hold," decreed Herobrine.

The men at the front cranked their rifles.

Thud! The pistons had moved, the ramp was ready for them to descend, but the mages of the Tower, many of them white-clad, had set up their own line of shields. Steve redirected his attention to the central figure, a tall, proud looking pigman.

Astro stepped out in front of the crouching riflemen. He moved slowly, delicately. Hands raised. Eyes closed.

Suddenly, his arms dropped, and the crystalline shield structure shattered. The shrapnel flew straight into the opposing shield wall.

"Fire!"

A volley of death surged out from the line of riflemen, striking the line of mages. Steve's eyes widened as he saw the force with which the victims lurched backwards. The pigman remained standing, having successfully rebuilt a shield in time to save himself.

"Attack!"

Steve's body moved ahead of his mind. He felt like a passenger. His feet moved beneath him, and his arm hurled an ender pearl. It shattered against the pigman-mage's magical barrier. The orange-tinged shield split down the middle. Steve's arms prepared to plunge Excalibur into the mage's heart but froze mid-movement as Herobrine intervened.

A colossal bedrock sword careened through the shield's remains and sent a swathe of white light burning onward. It was a blow to break bedrock in a swing and Herobrine didn't even break his stride. He just marched deliberately onwards, his pigmen biting and tearing and killing around him, and his blackshells rattling proudly onward, invincible beneath their obsidian armour.

Steve felt as though he had already survived the battle. Like he was already trying to piece together memories that had made so much sense in order and now seemed completely disconnected on reflection.

Jennifer was at his side stabbing a mercenary, then in a puff of purple particles was on the other side of the battlefield, putting an arrow into a charging giant. Ozen stood behind him, then was ahead of him, grappling with a spear-wielding mage.

Here, he saw Urist batter open a door, send his men in to begin fortifying it, carry chest upon chest from the airship. Already, they were knocking down walls, creating turrets for archers to fire through. In the distance, Voidblade's claws twisted the neck of a blonde man, or, no, he had thrown a purple-glowing lamp to the ground, and his armoured feet shattered the crystals, emboldening Astro to order a renewed charge!

Even more confusing were Steve's own actions. He fought fiercely with a woman who had a scar through one eye, or maybe an eyepatch, but only a second later Excalibur plunged into a giant's knee. And he couldn't see Jennifer. And he knew he was supposed to follow Astro down one corridor, but the current of battle was carrying him towards another one, where Herobrine strode on as though there was nothing in the world worth fearing.

He slouched out of the way of an enderman's enchanted axe. That was when he got the vague impression of being surrounded. His life was in danger, but still, he could barely feel his fingers. He cut down one mercenary. Two! Dodged another swipe from the enderman. More mercenaries filled the gaps. Where was Jennifer? Ozen? He couldn't see them, he had to-

The enderman's axe connected with his helmet and knocked the soul back into his body. Immediately he tensed back into action. He broke the enderman's guard, then stunned him with a punch. His opponent teleported away. Steve struck down another mercenary, then another.

Some began to back away, maybe because of his renewed prowess, but maybe because the currents of battle were changing again. More allies cascaded into view. He saw Urist breaking a nearby mage's leg with his mace. Dinnerbone cracked a giant's skull with his ukulele, then with a flick of his wrist sent the corpse flying. Brad's diamond rapier punctured an enchanted chestplate. Steve heard something warp into place behind him.

He turned back to the enderman, ready for a proper fight, then jumped back as he saw an arrow - Jennifer's arrow! - pierce them through the eye. Ozen wrapped his arms around a stocky pigman mercenary and suplexed him. Steve smiled as Jennifer grabbed his hand.

"Astro needs us for fortifications. Come on."

She threw an ender pearl just before Steve had the chance to nod, but the second they hit the ground Steve made up for his hesitation. He pulled a stack of cobblestone from his pocket and began to place it down on the line where friends stopped appearing and foes became ubiquitous. Jennifer and Ozen guarded him with precisely fired arrows and heavy sword-swings.

Within a minute or so, a surprisingly professional-looking crenelated barricade was established, three blocks high and two blocks deep, to allow a lip for archers to stand on. However, the enemy were already trying to seize it.

Astro forced his way through the melee, swinging Fire's old sword viciously but a little clumsily.

"Get the lamps!" He called out.

Steve moved to hop the barricade and seek out a crystal-filled lamp to shatter, but a particularly large, zombified giant with a sword the length of a small tree forced him to fall back. He and Ozen took turns trying to bait it into making a mistake.

Jennifer, meanwhile, leapt up at the other end of the barricade. With one foot elevated on the turret, she effortlessly sent an arrow spinning into a lamp. She had already begun to look for the next one when the arrow struck, smiling as she heard the pleasant, glass-like tinkle of broken crystal.

Behind her, Astro forced one of his palms forward and the giant Steve and Ozen were fighting with hesitated mid-strike. It was as though he had been frozen without ice, straining to force the point of his sword down but impeded by an invisible force. While Steve and Ozen exchanged a look, a man in a skullcap ran between them and plunged a large, lapis-encrusted greatsword into the giant's face.

Jennifer leapt from turret to turret, trying to get a good line on the next lamp. However, a young officer had gotten smart and ordered several of his soldiers to band together around a nearby lamp, holding up shields to defend it until a fast-builder could be found to construct a more elegant solution. She cursed.

A red-haired, bearded man leapt up beside her and, with a wide grin, drew back his bowstring. His arrow had a small device with a burning fuse bound to the tip. With a precise twang he sent it flying at the lantern. It detonated just above it, scattering the shield-bearing soldiers, but leaving the crystal untouched. Jennifer and the red-haired archer exchanged a look and then both loosed arrows at the exposed lamp. Jennifer's struck first.

"Next one's mine!" the man cackled.

Jennifer was about to quip back when Astro beckoned them over. Steve had already joined him. Seeing friendly soldiers begin to take control of the barricade and force the Tower's forces back, she hopped down. Astro cast a small charm to drown out the sound around them in a small radius. He pulled out a basic-looking map compiled from Fire's accounts and those of deserters, then suspended it in the air. Brit droned out instructions for which frequency to use and Steve adjusted his headset accordingly.

"We need to make it to this crossing point," Astro decisively jabbed his finger. "Then we'll be able to join together with a few or our other units and establish a real beachhead to attack the throne room from."

Steve noticed that there was supposed to be some sort of staircase leading up and down for several floors. It was a key chokepoint. They had entered on this floor because they had the clearest idea of the layout, the throne room itself was several floors up.

Herobrine crackled through the radio: "We're making steady progress, but some large, charging beast keeps harrying our efforts. You'll make it there before us. Just seal off the route we're due to come through and we'll have the enemy encircled."

"That's all well and good for you!" A raspy voice came through. Steve heard some maniacal cackling in the background.

"What's happening, Ray?" Astro pressed with considerable distrust. "Where's Ozzy?"

"No, Viral, that's a friendly, leave him be! Sorry, what were you saying, Astro? Yes, they're killing us out here. It's as we feared, not a man is re-forming. We've lost half our force." Astro sighed deeply. "We won't be able to make the rendezvous. If not for Amaerin and Atreidon, we would already have been overrun."

Steve remembered Astro describing the haphazard way some men in his world, if they were lucky, crumbled to dust when killed in battle, only to later reconstitute themselves in the last place they slept. Looking around at the zealous Vanillan soldiers charging past them, Steve wondered if they would go forward so readily if they knew that desperate safety net didn't exist in Nexus.

"Where's Ozzy, Ray?" Astro pressed.

It was the raspy voice's turn to sigh.

"We came across a civilian. Looked like a researcher. Ozzy insisted on bringing them into our ranks. Suddenly, they just… exploded. Turned out they were a mage. Then the ambush began… I'm sorry."

An oaken-haired woman called Tass covered her mouth.

"Shit," Astro hissed.

Steve sensed this was more than a strategic loss for Astro and placed a hand on the wizard's shoulder, discovering as he did so that the man with the skullcap had done the same. Then, he craned his head for a closer look at the map.

"Rose," Steve began. "How's it looking on your end?"

"Good, Arcation have broken off to attempt an encirclement of the enemy, but otherwise Woobly and the Void are on track to clear the sector."

"Jus' helping 'em set up camp here," entered Urist. "Their sector's almost clear."

"Great. Rose, could you take a few guys and help Ray's group out?"

A momentary pause followed.

"Are you quite certain I'll need the few guys?"

Steve could just imagine her little half-smirk. He beamed.

Astro lifted Steve's hand away, firing off an appreciative look.

"We'll leave that to your judgement, Rose," said Astro.

He looked around, then cocked an eyebrow.

"If there's no other business, CHARGE!"

A cheer went up and the force ran forward. Steve, Jennifer, and Ozen ran at the front, placing obsidian beneath them to create ramps for their allies to follow over the barricade, then leaping off into the fighting. Steve equipped a second sword and began to carve a bloody trench into the enemy ranks, while Jen ducked and dodged her way through them, leaving a trail of arrow-punctured opponents. Ozen soon fell behind, slowed by his tendency towards hand-to-hand combat.

Only two groups were able to keep pace with Steve Brine and Jennifer, the Eye-and Claws, and Astro's Guild. The rest fell behind into the general ruck, but these three kept the fight moving onwards in a perpetual torrent of glory.

The Eye-and Claws were both interesting and confusing to watch, according to Fire they were not an organized army as such, instead they were a collection of highly skilled individuals. Each one of them fought differently, yet they still moved cohesively and left the Tower's soldiers few options for counterattacks. However, the standouts by far were Brad and Andras.

Brad flowed between enemies as if he wasn't in a battle, but in a series of duels. Each of his opponents found their end at the tip of his diamond rapier that seemingly refused to acknowledge the existence of armour, and simply skewered anything it pointed at. Andras on the other hand exerted a zone of absolute control, any Tower soldier daring to step close was cut down by his halberd. Occasionally Andras would throw a kick, allowing the demon contained in the runic armour that replaced his right leg to lash out and devour an enemy. Not even magical attacks could touch him, it was as if he could see them coming before they were even cast.

Astro's Guild proved equally formidable, and as Steve heard the calls of battle, became familiar with their names. The oaken-haired woman was Tassadar, and she fought on the flanks with a sword in one hand, a small, spring-loaded firearm in the other. She would lock blades with her opponents, then unload a round or two into their stomachs. Next to her was a bandana-wearing man called Mo who swung with precise, two-handed strikes of an axe. Steve didn't see too much of them, but what little he saw impressed him. The spring-loaded firearm in particular meant that Tassadar hardly saw an enderman she didn't kill.

The true crowning jewel of the Guild were Astro and his friends. Steve watched as the man in the skullcap, Aaron, spun and stomped and struck his way through the enemy ranks. He heaved a huge, lapis-encrusted diamond greatsword this way and that, deflecting blows from giants and cutting down iron golems without a bead of sweat on his brow. To his right, the red-haired archer, Secret, advanced with an enchanted bow, always seeking another lantern to shoot down or another target to kill. Small, the blond assassin ensured no one slipped through the archer's guard unpunished, disappearing into the crowd and then bursting forth in a savage flurry of daggers.

Between them, Astro advanced, striking this mercenary with his new sword, Dodgeball, and crushing the ribcage of that enderman with his mind. The sword glimmered with a black flame, and whenever it drew blood, the glimmer of life in its victims' eyes seemed to dim, as though merely being in contact with this blade had brought them slightly closer to death. Larger injuries would rapidly engulf the victim in the same black flame, leaving them a lifeless, charred corpse not long after. He barked orders to his friends, coordinating them into a tight V-formation which withstood any advance.

After them came Brit, the moustachioed detective, whipping his silver firearm from foe to foe. He didn't bother to ensure all were dead as he proceeded, simply ensuring they were injured enough for someone behind him to finish the job. Half the time, this was his friend, the always-filthy Gracey, who zipped through the battlefield, brutalising men with a switchblade and shambling away from attacks.

Every now and then, the stout Gaian commander, Cossack would waddle urgently up and try his hand in the thick of the fighting. The episode which formed Steve's understanding of his fighting style came when Astro was briefly encircled. In order to buy himself some room, Astro shifted the floor behind him, slamming a mercenary into the ground and enabling him to focus on a much more dangerous enderman. As the mercenary wheezed and strained back up, Cossack ran forward and hefted his sword into their gut. Astro, having dispatched the enderman, looked over his shoulder, to see a sweaty, panting Cossack beaming back at him, very pleased to have made himself useful. He fell behind again almost immediately afterwards, this exertion having knocked the wind out of him.

Finally, they came to the crossroads - a junction where four corridors met, and the Entity's assembled wealth was clearly overflowing. Goblets, chests of gold, and paintings Steve had to assume were valuable were stacked against the open door of a nearby room, which itself was full of glass display cabinets. One of the walls in the x-shaped junction gave way onto a large, spiral staircase which had been hastily sandbagged with straw and dirt. A small, wooden palisade was all that stood between them and this key objective.

Without hesitation, they jumped the enemy's fortifications. Everything became a clamour of sword upon steel, the twang of arrows, the crack and boom of firearms. After Steve removed the head of an enderman captain, sending up a spray of purple blood, he saw a giant - the very one who had stolen his crystals all those months ago - bat aside an Eye-and-Claw operative, then crush a member of Astro's Guild underfoot. Steve watched with a weird curiosity as the Gaian riflemen found him, and the giant began to shudder under repeated blows from bayonet and bullet. Still, he kept fighting, until finally Brad leapt in and passed his rapier through his gut.

They were winning. Talita and Andras joined forces with Jennifer to start attacking the sandbagged stairs. Cossack barked orders at Ozen, and Steve's brother obligingly began to build the barricade over the route Herobrine was due to come up. Steve found himself back-to-back with Astro, becoming a cyclone of victory in the splintering Tower forces.

But soon Steve broke their flow to warn Astro of a new threat. Down one of the routes, a new Tower force was charging towards them. Then, Steve noticed their erratic behaviour. Endermen warped frantically onwards, only covering several metres at a time. Their eyes held the madness of retreat. Steve watched as one fell beneath a heavy spear, swiftly retrieved by a severe-looking man in white armour, and another was wrapped in ropes by a woman in blue, then finally an officer at the fore of the fleeing enemies was split in two by a wave of impossibly sharp knives. Rose leapt through the red mist, glamorous and terrible.

Astro took his turn to draw Steve's attention, knocking him on the shoulder and gesturing down the final corridor with Dodgeball. The enemy, scattered and confused but sufficiently numerous to pose a problem if they regrouped, fled down towards another series of junctions and doors.

A Tower officer, tall, proud, and adorned with many medals stopped the flight and gestured to hole up inside a nearby door. He twisted the handle. Immediately a man with a colossal stone shield exploded out and crushed the officer into the far wall, killing him instantly. Following him were a slender archer, a man with a flaming sword, and a hooded man holding a staff which poured fire and darts onto the retreating Tower forces. The warriors of Arcation had finally begun their encirclement - a bit late, but Steve couldn't help but feel a little grateful.

Astro gestured, the clamour of battle was drowned out and the floating map emerged again, then began to decisively issue commands.

"Urist, how far out are you?" he asked.

"Na far, minute o' running at tha most."

"Excellent. In that case, Steve, Jennifer, and I are taking a small force and Arcation out on clean-up duty. The rest of you, stay here until Herobrine breaks through, and Urist's team are able to properly fortify the position. We can't afford a lucky charge from the enemy encircling us. We're on their turf, don't forget. Brad, you're in charge."

"Got it. We'll hole up here and if we have the capacity, we'll send a party to capture their comms. Might be able to break their morale and facilitate surrender."

"Absolutely, just don't go for the throne room yet, we need to have a firm foothold before we risk it. Also haven't heard much from the lower sections and the machine."

Steve got the impression Astro was trying to make up for his earlier indecision when he heard that Ozzy guy died, but the orders made sense. Someone had to keep Arcation on a leash after all. He and Jennifer said goodbye to Ozen and joined Astro as he approached the warrior priesthood.

"Gogyst!" Astro called.

The hooded man dispatched his latest prey and turned.

Steve glanced over his shoulder and noticed a few Eye-and-Claws, Talita, and a column of riflemen falling in line behind them. The 'small force' Astro had mentioned. Dinnerbone had also emerged from the fighting and dawdled alongside, strumming his ukulele.

"Astro!" exclaimed Gogyst, who ran up and clapped the wizard on the shoulder. "Is this not as glorious as the Onslaught? Does it not make our wars on the Brotherhood and against Dominus look trifling by comparison, now that creation itself is on the line?!"

Even beneath the obfuscation charm, Steve could tell a mad grin had spread across Gogyst's face. He reminded Steve of a version of Kay who one hundred percent, completely believed his own hype. Yep, he needed supervision. He and Jennifer exchanged a weary look.

"Yes, Gogy, glorious indeed," said Astro through a forced smile. "Anyway, we need you to help us finish these guys off before we go after the throne room."

Gogyst seemed to shrink a couple of inches as he slouched forward, then called to the man with the flaming sword.

"Vacar, take point! We're on clean-up duty."

Then, to the man with the stone shield and the archer:

"Besta, get behind Walkers' shield, we're doing this methodically."

They advanced at a measured pace. Steve and Jennifer ender-pearled forward to disrupt the enemy force and separate a few stragglers, who would then be cut down by Astro, Vacar and the others. The wizard also made sure to reach out with his mind where the lamps allowed and shattered bones, snapped necks and shut down nervous systems. The archer, Besta, and the riflemen peppered the enemy with a series of precise pot-shots.

They followed the retreating army through the corridors, and then when they tried to shake their pursuers, through a series of rooms. A grand hall filled only a chair, a fireplace, and hundreds of item frames full of music discs. A colossal mob-grinder. A farm full of pigs, cows, and sheep. Finally, they returned to the corridors and rounded a corner.

That was when they saw it. The Tower soldiers fled toward a large, obsidian gate, while a lone figure thundered in the opposite direction, right towards them. It was like nothing else Steve and Jennifer had ever seen, so they stopped, allowing Astro and the others a moment to catch up.

It was some sort of huge iron golem, complete with the long arms, the square fists, and the rectangular nose of a villager. However, instead of the usual black eyes, it had a single, red pupil, glowing angrily. And it wasn't made of iron, its armour was too dark a grey for that, with black speckling. Was that… bedrock?

Before they knew it the golem was upon them. Steve rolled out of the way of one fist, but the Eye-and-Claws operative behind him was not so lucky, his firesteel breastplate immediately warped then rebounded and his whole body went flying. Astro immediately set about trying to heal him with his glowing hands, but he was badly hurt.

They retreated slowly, attempting to stop the golem's march. Vacar, Steve and Astro's swords all bounced right off the creature. The riflemen formed a line and let off a volley against it, but it hardly even flinched, and scattered the line with a single strike. Gogyst shot flame from his staff until his fuel supply ran out. Talita's missiles simply glanced off its torso. Dinnerbone eventually ran forward and attempted to send it flying with a concerted telepathic push, but it strained on until the man with the black hat began to slide backwards under the force of his own powers.

"Go for the eye!" Jennifer called out.

Those who had bows drew them, and the remaining riflemen attempted to reload. Steve's arrow merely bounced off its chin. Jennifer fired a shot at its head, but it glanced off the edge of the eye. Then, Besta of Arcation leapt out from behind the stone shield and sent one of his heavy arrows flying out from his greatbow. It struck the creature right in the eye and sent reeling. Besta and his fellows let out a cheer. Then, the golem's head snapped right back into place. Crack! And the red eye was glowing even brighter than before.

Besta was immediately eviscerated by the blast, and everyone began to run for cover as further lasers began to rapidly shoot from the golem's eye. Jennifer and Talita managed to reach the end of the corridor and hide behind the corner, but Astro, not having time to summon a proper shield, joined Steve in taking cover behind Walkers' shield, all while trying to convince him not to suicidally avenge his fallen comrade.

"Brother!" screamed Walkers, as Steve grabbed him around the waist.

A laser blast chipped away some of the stone at the edge of the shield.

"He's gone, Walkers, there's nothing you can do!" Astro reasoned.

"I can kill this beast, that's what I can bloody well do!"

He began to march forward, dragging Steve with him.

"Do something!" shouted Herobrine's son.

Astro grimaced. "So much for clearing the sector."

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. There was a crunch which alerted Steve to two indentations on the ceiling - or sets of indentations, it was like someone's fingers had dug in.

"Oh!" Steve exclaimed as he realised Astro's plan.

The wizard pulled down and the ceiling came with him, collapsing on top of the bedrock golem.

A cloud of dust rose, and there was a moment of anticipation, but they did not have to wait for it to clear naturally as further laser blasts tore straight through the cloud and right at them. Somehow, Astro had managed to crush everything but its head, which was wedged upright and firing at them.

Then, the sound of thundering footsteps echoed up the hall towards Steve. He looked back, and there strode Herobrine. Deflecting blasts with his sword, Herobrine did not once change the pace of his ceaseless advance until, at last, he stood over the crushed golem and plunged his sword into its head. Bedrock ate through bedrock, and the red eye flickered before turning off altogether.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. He patted Walkers on the back and shook Astro's hand.

"Oh, thank Notch!" Steve laughed. "Or Herobrine, I guess."

Herobrine struck a pose and was clearly about to say something very important and self-serious when a rumbling sound began.

Within seconds a colossal beast slammed through the wall and directly into Herobrine. The beast was taller than Steve, rampaging forward on legs like tree trunks, its massive horned head ploughing through anything that stood in its path. A small grey villager sat, sneering on its back. Herobrine returned to his feet immediately and pursued the beast rider down the corridor, swearing vengeance.

Steve would have joined him, but they were immediately swarmed by a series of similar grey-skinned villagers who emerged from the breach. They weren't too tough, however, and Steve, Astro, Jennifer, and the others fought their way through the crowd of hemming and hawing attackers, crossing through the breach in the wall. After all, they were supposed to clear the sector, and this was a new part of it.

However, then Steve saw a figure crushed under some rubble down a side-passage.

"Steve!" they called.

It was Ozen. How had he gotten there?

Steve and Jennifer ran straight towards him and began to lift the stone bricks which covered him. As soon as the rubble was clear, however, Steve remembered what happened to that Ozzy guy. He pulled Jen back and placed down some obsidian. Sure enough, Ozen immediately transformed into a white-robed mage, but instead of exploding, disappeared. Steve furrowed his brow and slowly looked out from behind the blocks.

"Steve," said Jennifer. "Look at the floor."

She stomped and the ground crunched. Gravel.

An unseen piston clanked, and the floor gave way. They fell about fifteen blocks and slammed into the ground which was made of… railway tracks?

Steve looked around. A series of wood-log supports reached up around them, propped against the walls, and discarded signs littered the floor. An insanely basic trap. Steve cursed his own stupidity, but he didn't have time to think about that.

Two figures emerged from the shadows at the pit's far end. A man, and a woman who looked a little like… Alex? It wasn't quite her, but the resemblance was uncanny. Also, she wore a strange, winged grey armour.

Suddenly, words appeared in front of the man in a bright, white font. Steve had always considered himself a bit of a slow reader, but somehow immediately understood their meaning.

ARE YOU STEVE BRINE FROM WORLD 390?

Steve did not like the sound of this, but after exchanging a look with Jennifer, decided to say:

"No, I'm Steve… Mine, from World…"

I CAN TELL YOU'RE LYING.

"Yeah, I thought so. I'm Steve Brine. This is Jennifer."

The man stepped into the light, and Steve gasped as he saw his own face. The only difference was that where his own eyes were purple, this guy's eyes were a deep blue - like his own before he killed Drake Senior.

PLEASED TO MEET YOU. I AM THE STEVE FROM WORLD 001. YOU MAY CALL ME STEVE PRIME. THIS IS MY PARTNER, ALEX.

"Not Alex Prime?" Jennifer asked with a snort.

Prime began to bite into a golden apple. Alex laughed, and instead of using the ominous text, she spoke normally.

"No, Prime doesn't have an Alex, I helped him kill my Steve a while back. We kept the partnership going. What's your name?"

"Jennifer."

"Good, then I promise you this isn't personal."

Alex whipped out a crossbow with some sort of rocket loaded into it and shot it directly into Jennifer's chest. Jennifer flew back in an explosion of yellow sparks in the shape of a creeper's head. Alex used a second rocket to propel herself into the air and swooped down at Jennifer with a sword. Jennifer leapt up and began grappling fiercely with her airborne foe.

Steve moved to help, but before he could fully turn, a glass bottle had shattered against his shoulder. Suddenly everything from his armour to his own skull felt a lot heavier. A weakness potion.

DIE.

A minecart swept Steve's legs out from under him and he tumbled in.

"Well, at least I know what the tracks are for," he thought.

He fumbled around in his pocket for a bucket of milk and stole a sip just in time for the minecart to slam into the far wall. He saw Prime flying through the air with an axe and a large, rectangular wooden shield. With his strength restored, he leapt from the minecart and out of the way.

His footing regained, Steve launched a flurry of blows at Prime, hacking and slashing in a deliberate, practised onslaught. Every single blow was absorbed by the shield, but Steve knew it was only wood. He just had to keep hitting until- Snap! The shield splintered. Steve grabbed Excalibur with both hands and thrust it at Prime's dark grey chestplate.

The sword hit another shield and bounced off. Prime bashed Steve with the new shield and he staggered back.

THAT WON'T WORK. I HAVE LIKE FIVE MORE OF THESE, AND EVEN IF YOU GET THROUGH…

He tapped his chestplate with his axe.

NETHERITE. STRONGER THAN DIAMOND IN ANY WORLD.

Steve grimaced and rushed forward for another attack, only for Prime's axe to send him sprawling.

IT'S CALLED KNOCKBACK. OR DO THEY NOT HAVE THAT WHERE YOU COME FROM?

"Do they not have smack talk in your world?" Steve snapped back.

Steve wished he felt as confident as he sounded, and that wasn't his most confident retort ever. Cracks had already started spreading across his armour. He couldn't believe it. This was a fresh set and enchanted with unbreaking to boot. Even considering the battle, it couldn't be running down this early.

He dodged Prime's next swing, and then the next. He tried to keep his distance and bought himself enough time to see Jennifer be thrown to the ground by Alex. She drew Fire's ghast bone bow but didn't have time to draw back its heavy string before Alex was back on her again.

Something glimmered in Prime's hand. He wasn't holding an axe anymore, it was another potion. Steve narrowly dodged the bottle and it shattered against one of the log pillars. A single drop splashed against Steve's cheek, and he felt it burn at his very life force. A damage potion, good to avoid that one.

Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid the hook of Prime's fishing rod, which he had equipped while Steve was busy dodging the potion. With a robust tug, Steve fell forward and landed on his face. Thankfully, he was able to draw an ender-pearl and throw it between Prime's legs to avoid the inevitable strike of his axe.

The moment Steve materialised, he wasted no time in hitting Prime on the back of the head again and again. However, he did not stagger. No matter where he struck Prime, it was as though the harm was diffused across his entire body. In no time, Prime faced Steve again and bashed him with his shield.

I HAVE SEEN SO MANY LIKE US.

Steve dodged his swipe.

WE AWAKEN, WE PUNCH TREES, WE SURVIVE THE NIGHT.

Steve pearled behind him again, but Prime turned instinctively and blocked.

WE BUILD HOMES TO STAY SAFE, BUT THAT'S NEVER ENOUGH.

Steve reached over the shield and punched Prime in the face to minimal effect. He saw Jennifer headbutt Alex.

SO WE GO OUT, WE KILL THE DRAGON, THE WITHER AND EVERY OTHER OPPONENT WORTH FIGHTING.

Prime tried to hit Steve with that stupid fishing rod again, but it only managed to scrape his cheek.

WHY? TO PROVE WE'RE THE BEST!

Steve drew a second sword and simultaneously deflected one of Prime's attacks while hitting the shield again.

BUT WHAT NEXT? AFTER ALL FOES ARE BEATEN?

Steve broke the shield and began to strike Prime furiously until he equipped a new one. Prime bashed him back.

SOME OF US HAVE WHATEVER WEIRD STUFF YOU GOT UP TO WITH HEROBRINE AND YOUR FAMILY. IDK, I ONLY SKIMMED YOUR FILE.

Prime's axe connected with Steve's arm, and he dropped the second sword. The cracks spread further across his diamond armour. Alex grabbed Jennifer as she tried to draw another heavy shot with the ghast bone bow. They soared upwards.

I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. I WAS THE BEST, BUT I WAS ALONE. THEN, FORGELIGHT FOUND ME, AND I DISCOVERED THAT I WAS ONLY WORLD 001! AND THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH EXACTLY MY PROBLEM!

Steve just about managed to dodge Prime's blow. He saw Jennifer grab Alex's wings, forcing her to crash into a log pillar. It wobbled.

SO I DECIDED THAT OF ALL THE TREE-PUNCHING KNUCKLEHEADS, I WAS NOT ONLY THE FIRST!

He struck Steve's chestplate. His boots broke. Steve couldn't stop thinking about that wobbling pillar.

I WAS GOING TO BE THE BEST!

He hit Steve again and his helmet shattered. Excalibur slipped from his hand due to the force of the attack. He remembered he and Jennifer's first day in Nexus. He backed up.

AND SURE AS THE NETHER!

Prime knocked out Steve's leggings. He recalled how they had tried to place dirt and tower, but it had crumbled away.

A glance confirmed that Jennifer was being lifted again, even higher than before, struggling all the way.

I WAS GOING TO BE THE LAST!

Steve slammed into the log pillar as his chestplate exploded into a cloud of diamond shards. Every part of him ached, and he was down to his turquoise shirt and jeans. Prime was winding up for a final, horizontal swing that would cut him in half.

Still, he couldn't stop thinking about how, after the dirt thing didn't work out, they realised they'd have to just cut the tree down normally, but when they went to do that…

NOW, DIE.

…The tree had fallen over!

Steve dodged, Prime's axe stuck in the log and cracks spread all the way along a metric cube of the pillar. Steve swung his fist forward. The block broke. His eyes locked with Prime's for a second. He saw fear in his opponent's gaze, perhaps the first fear he had felt in his entire life, but also a sort of respect.

NOT BAD…

The log fell on him. Steve saw him struggle for a moment, then disappear in a puff of smoke. His belongings scattered across the floor, including his armour, his stupid fishing rod, and those especially awful shields.

"No, the best," thought Steve.

He had no time for reverie or even to loot the spoils, however, as Alex hurled Jennifer from the ceiling to the bottom of the pit. Jennifer hit the ground with a crack, and Alex swooped down. Steve grabbed Excalibur and ran forward despite his lack of armour. Then, he heard the arrow snap into place. Jennifer held the ghast bone bow in hand.

Alex's eyes widened, she tried to pull up, but to no avail. The arrow shot forth even faster than one of her rockets. It pierced right through her exposed torso and pinned her to the ceiling. She didn't vanish in a puff of smoke, but her wings slid off, and her crossbow crashed into the ground.

Steve ran up to Jennifer and hugged her.

"Are you okay?"

"I just killed someone who looked like one of our close friends and neighbours. Otherwise, fine. What about you?"

"I just killed myself. Otherwise, fine."

They both got really quiet for a moment.

"Jennifer."

"Yeah, Steve?"

"I am so done with this interdimensional stuff."

"Me too."

They laughed until, finally, a grey villager corpse fell into the pit with them. Its neck was snapped. Astro leaned into view above.

"How are you down there? All good?"

"We're fine," Jennifer groaned. "That was just… a hard one."

"Do you need any healing? Or-"

"We're fine Astro!" Jennifer pressed.

"Okay, it's just… It's not like we have a hard countdown, but it's definitely time sensitive. Should we throw a rope down or can you build out? Actually, Steve, should I tell Urist to get you a new set of armour?"

Steve looked over at Prime's belongings - or, he supposed, Prime's remains depending on how you looked at it.

"I just need five minutes," he grinned up at Astro.