Chapter Fourteen: In the dark of the forest

Navigating through the tunnels was nearly impossible without Jimmy, or at least it was a whole lot harder. Steve cursed on Herobrine's name at least three times after he and Elli both got lost twice, then had to defeat a nasty zombie with an iron chestplate.

They stumbled through the dark, unwilling to waste lanterns or torches, as parts of the labyrinth were slightly lit by torches, but not nearly enough to see anything.

"What's up with Jimmy's dad, anyway?" Steve asked, hopping across an underground lake on a few stone blocks, careful not to slip.

"He's… the head of our… I mean, I guess you could call it an army," Elli shrugged, bouncing across the stones like a baby slime. "He wants Jimmy to be like him, but Jimmy doesn't exactly… have a… um… how would you put it… Natural talent for leadership."

"Ouch," Steve winced. He'd never known his father, but the idea of not being able to live up to the expectation of such an important figure… yikes. "Doesn't Jimmy try?"

"Oh, he tries, it's just never good enough," Elli explained, following Steve through a deep cavern and deeper into the earth. "He'd rather study Herobrine with me than fight zombies as a training exercise."

"That sucks," Steve answered, taking a left turn and avoiding a gross puddle. "Speaking of which, what do you guys know about Herobrine?"

"Not a ton," Elli shrugged. "We used to live outside of the mountain, but one day, he showed up and began to kill people. It got ugly fast. Apparently everyone fled underground. Jimmy thought he could still be alive, but-"

"But Alex and I killed him," Steve answered grimly, leading Elli down a turn into a maze held up by wooden support structures. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, not quite," Elli answered. "There's this legend… a spellbook made by the nether king, that says how to bring people-"

She was cut off suddenly by a horrible snarl, like a rabid wolf had been released into the caves, the sound echoing off of the hallways and caverns. Steve ducked down, the sound vibrating against his eardrums and hurting his soul.

"What is it?" Elli whispered, her hazel eyes glittering with fear.

"A nether portal," Steve hissed back. "Come on."

Together, they crept across the freezing hallways and peeked around a corner, towards the sound. Inside the room, guards were abundant, standing at attention and facing towards a whirling nether portal. The portal casted the room in a magenta light, highlighting the dust in the air and darkening the Netherite armour the guards were wearing.

The portal snarled, screeching like a banshee as a man stepped out, the light casting enough shadows to hide his face. He didn't stumble as he stepped out, but rather, lifted his hand, revealing an item.

The skull of a wither skeleton.

Steve shivered suddenly, fear sparking through his body as he pulled away from the room. A wither skeleton skull. Why would these people need a wither skeleton skull?

Behind him, Elli gasped suddenly, and Steve winced, expecting the guards to come flying at them with swords drawn. When they didn't, however, Steve relaxed, and crept closer to get a better look.

"Guards!" the man from the portal shouted, and Steve leapt up, whipping out his diamond sword. He came face-to-face with the first guard, kicking him back and slicing his shoulder. The next two guards ran forward at him, and Steve drop kicked the first one, stabbing the second in the stomach.

"ELLI, RUN!" He shouted, jumping over the next guard with a graceful flip.

"But what about-"

"JUST GO!" Steve screamed, tackling another man and twisting around to stab a third. He could barely fight back when another man grabbed his sword arm and judo-flipped him over, causing Steve to struggle against the ground, the breath knocked out of him.

"Well, well," A distinct voice sounded from the portal, as a man walked across the stone floor towards Steve. "Why would you have any reason to be down here?"

"Braxon," Steve hissed, coughing slightly, trying to fill his lungs. "I should ask you the same thing."

"Should you?" Braxon asked. "Well, now that my guards have you, it seems you have no right to do anything. Guards," He snapped his fingers, and the guards dragged him closer. "Look at you," Braon leaned closer, and tilted Steve's chin up so they made eye contact. "The man who killed Herobrine. You're no stronger than your pathetic mate."

"What did you do with Alex!?" Steve struggled, pushing himself to his feet. "What did you do to her?!"

"She'll be fine, my good boy, she's just… quite a while from here," He sniffed, frowning. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wither to summon."

"It was you," Steve growled. "You're the one who'll summon the wither. Why? Why would you destroy your own people?"

Braxon smirked. "I'm not going to. No one questions a man with dragons. Why? Because he has dragons!"

Steve struggled against the grip of the guards. "You won't get away with this!"

Braxon snorted. "I already have."

The guards hauled Steve backwards, through the cold, barren tunnels, and deep into the earth, where they dropped him in the dust.

"Don't go anywhere," The first guard laughed.

"Not like he can," The second chuckled.

The two of them stepped away, disappearing into the dark, and Steve was left along on the cold stone floor of the caves.

Review Replies:

Moatazabou4: I've been slowly updating these with more minecraft updates since the last story.

JimmyPenguin421: Yeah pretty much.

Elbert The Cookie: Yes, Illagers are different things.

Ayannamichaeli: Yes, yes it was