Hero's Bane

Chapter 53: Isn't Worth The Risk

Edited 5/1/2022

"Li-onel." Steve softly muttered as he returned to consciousness, he saw a story unfold out of the blackness of his mind; from seeing through someone else's eyes and watching a familiar man get reckless in fighting a horde of mobs, to saving the poor armored guy from being killed, and it later ended with a long conversation with the feeling of happiness to it's finest. He couldn't explain what was going on then, but as he started to wake; he could think more clearly. It didn't feel like a dream. It was almost real, but the entire time it was out of someone's perspective; two names quickly came to mind and he opened his eyes and looked up.

"Herobrine?" Steve weakly moved a hand up to his face and rubbed his dry and irritated eyes, he still felt too weak to move so he remained in his lying position and used only a little energy to turn his head enough to see up a small platform that stretched outwards and up. It appeared to be made of Nertherbrick slabs. A top of four of these neatly stacked brick layers was a tall chair that also looked like it was made out of the same brick, but it was slightly darker and carved out with precision. It had perfect carvings of a unique design with a block of pure gold just behind it. It was sort of the kind of a royal throne you'd see in a castle or a fortress of a ruled province, it was fascinating and that was for sure, but his eyes soon fixated on the one who occupied the chair. The white-eyed being was seated perfectly upon the well crafted throne and leisurely rested one arm on the armrest while his other held up his head.

The miner slid one arm underneath his chest and pushed himself up, he used the other to balance himself as he now swayed in his partiality lifted position.

"Don't move." Came a calm voice in the man's head.

Steve quickly froze in place from the voice.

"You are still very weak. I would advise you to remain still, at least until you regain enough energy to move."

The miner found himself lightly nodding but remaining silent, not sure of what he should say first. The last he remembered was being in that dark room and putting up with the torment it caused and then later having the souls trying to drag him into the sands with Herobrine trying to keep him out of their grasp and telling him that the trial was over. He then said that he trusted him and that was when he flew straight into the side of the portal frame and everything was blank after that. But then there was that dream.

"It is no dream mort-… Steve." Herobrine corrected. "I had found myself lost in a memory in attempts to remember what trust was, you apparently invaded it and saw through my eyes." Herobrine lifted his head from his coiled hand and rested the arm along the chair's armrest like his other. "Is that what happened? I was too focused on the memory that I might have dragged you into it, it's not the first time though."

It definitely wasn't the first, Steve did remember being dragged into one where the old hero had been chained to a stone column and was repeatedly tormented by the angry crowd around him, taking their attacks and words of resentment… twice. One from Herobrine's point of view, to his own view from a huge crowd. Then there was a time when he saw Lionel trying to defend his friend after apparently fishing the guy out of the lava, he later saw the aftermath of that and it was heartrending to watch the sentinel die in that manner. There was another of watching Herobrine fall into the Nether and then roll into lava from fire bombs that the giant flying mobs had spat at him. Then there was that memory of watching the ancient man trying to save Connor, he watched as the being lost control of himself to see nothing but white until Lionel stopped the rampage. So seeing Herobrine's recent memory was just one of a growing mass, the more Steve saw; the more he understood about the being's past. There still was some things he didn't know yet about the powerful man.

"Putting aside of the memories I wish not to recall; I can say that I have a little recollection of what trust really is, therefore you are no longer a prisoner and are free to walk around once you are capable of doing so. But-." He quickly added as the miner was about to speak. "You will remain here alive in the Nether until I decide when your time has come, once I have no further need of you then I'll make it swift. That you at least deserve."

Steve deeply frowned and hung his head low. Even after everything he had been through with the being; even the final deadly trust trial, he was still going to die to the end. "Why?" The miner finally mustered a word without even looking up at the guy.

Herobrine oddly found himself hating his situation. He was the powerful one who could do whatever he wanted and smite whoever he wanted. Normally, before this human showed up and 'changed' him; he would have no trouble at all killing the miner, but that is not the case now. Just thinking about killing the man at his feet made him feel despondent, it was bad enough that the man looked dejected cause that feeling just passed on to the being and he couldn't shake the mood. However, the hero had his reasons and his code. "That is no concern of yours." He said blankly into the man's mind.

Steve finally looked up. "It's because of my soul isn't it?" He said quietly.

"That… is one reason." The being said with a discontented tone, knowing that he needed every soul he could possibly get in order to please his great liberator as promised from his debt. The human had many chances to escape his grasp, he failed to leave at the many open opportunities that the being had opened for the miner. The being could free the miner now but that would be going against his code that he had made for himself after meeting Lionel. He swore an oath to himself and his brother that he would pay all of his debts in full and that beast had commanded him to take every single soul that was within his grasp. He had to obey to continue in fulfilling his great debt. After Steve failed to slip at his last opportunity, that was when the being decided that the man wasn't going to escape and was going to persist to 'change' him and now his fate was sealed here in this world. It was sad that the man had proven himself trustworthy, Herobrine didn't think any human could ever match up or come close to Lionel's standards.

"One reason? There's another?" The human looked up at him with confusion on his features.

"It would be best for you not to know."

"But why not?"

"Because I said so." Herobrine narrowed his eyes but softened them as Steve sunk back in fear. "Like I said." He said more calmly. "It's in your best interest not to know why, it would change your so called 'outlook' on me. Just having you here and alive for so long has already affected me enough, that is all I will say." He crossed his arms.

Steve gaped for a second but let the question leave his mind, there was no point in crossing the boundary that unsettled the powerful man. Even if it was his goal to change Herobrine; he wasn't sure if he was changing him for the better, or so it seemed that way. "Oh." The miner looked away.

Herobrine was starting to get heated from such a small question. Steve didn't know just how much he was changing him, the last hunt Herobrine went on was nearly fruitless because of this 'alteration' of mind. He never had problems before in his hunt until the miner came along, now that time has passed with many different events including the said human in them; Herobrine had felt something inside of him change. He wasn't quite sure of what it was but whatever it was kept him preoccupied from paying more of his debt.

With Steve around he started to question the motives of the human and fought confusion until the truths came out. The human's actions also affected him. Like the miner had saved his tormentor and killer before they even became acquainted. Three times that man had saved him from mental torment from a dark memory, a pit of gnawing and agonizing flames, and even possible death after a huge battle. Beforehand, this man had knew very little about the being and yet he still chose to save him and later stick around to sentence himself to death just to change him.

Even now that Herobrine can finally get back to work, he was having trouble; all because of the presence of one man named Steve. This one human being caused him strife that he couldn't fight off. Not only did he struggle with killing some of his victims; one particularly looking like the miner, but he almost lost control of himself several times in one night as he attacked a village and claimed some of those lives. He could recall chasing one of his fleeing victims out of their home. While in pursuit of this woman he couldn't feel the joy he used to always have while chasing his prey, cries that once made a wicked smile form upon his lips only now made him deeply frown.

This woman was nothing like the miner but in his chase everything was starting to turn white, just like it did with his first prey that somehow transformed into Steve for a moment and even seemed to sound like him at one point. He could smell the blood of her husband on the shirt she wore after clinging to the lifeless body and weeping loudly before running for her own dear life after he killed the family's eldest son that tried to defend her. His mind was going fuzzy after that, only after the hazing blur fell face forward with a diamond sword speared through her back did he finally come back to his senses to see his work. He had just killed another human without the feeling of enjoyment and the thirst of revenge, this happened many times in one night. It was the miner's fault. Revenge that was supposed to seem endless was not present during his hunt, it wasn't right. He hated all humans and now he was slipping up and losing it while he made some of his kills. This was 'his' doing. Steve's.

Watching the miner struggle to sit up made his anger fade.

…

Steve moved his legs outwards as he sat up from the warm floor, it wasn't as near as hot as it was earlier and neither was the temperature of the thin air so this likely indicated that he was higher up in the fortress. His body was sore all over, especially his head considering he hit that obsidian hard after Herobrine jerked him free of the souls. His stomach growled lightly and made him moan softly from the lack of food, his tongue was also dry as well as his throat to add misery to his pains.

Trying to push the inner and outer aches away; he finally took a moment to look around and gaped in awe at his surroundings, he was sitting in front of a throne with a long and lengthy corridor to his back. Clusters of burning Netherrack blocks floated up high next to large Nertherbrick pillars that went up into an arch at the top of the ceiling, these pillars were long and the roof of the fortress was pretty high up. The interior of the place was familiar like that of the fortress in the Overworld, except for it was well lighted and everything was a dark shade of red. It was an amazing sight.

"I see you like my fortress? I built it from the ground up. By my own two hands."

Steve looked back at Herobrine with a raised brow. "You mean, this entire place was made by hand?"

The other nodded. "Indeed. I've had plenty of time to create it to push away the repetitive life of stumbling across the uneven grounds of Netherrack and gravel, it also gave some kind of work to do while spending years secluded in the place with nothing to do but wonder around until my window of freedom could be opened."

"Window of freedom?"

"Yes, but that is something that you should not place a concern or even think about." The ancient man lightly narrowed his eyes.

"Oh. Sorry I asked." He said blankly.

"That is fine, just don't ask about it again. Well now that you have earned my trust you can see more of the fortress if you wish, I now know that you won't try to escape anymore so you have free range to move about. However; I advise that you stay on this floor, do not descend the stairs or move up into the towers. Mobs often patrol these areas and some even come into my throne room, but as you can see there is none to be found in here. I have dealt with them so you will not have to worry about getting attacked or accidentally provoking some. Going out on the balcony is also ill advised, the monsters in this world will likely attack you on sight. Some even make the mistake of attacking me. They die."

"You're not going to watch my every move?" That was surprising to Steve, Herobrine seemed to always keep an eye on him.

"I trust you now. Like Lionel had often told me; trust is only as strong as you make it, if I watch your every step then that means that I can't trust you that well if not at all. You have proven yourself trustworthy, more than I ever thought you could." Herobrine leaned forward out of his seat and re adjusted his sitting position. "I honestly thought you couldn't at first, but you faced more than enough and kept your promise for a second time. As you had completed your part of the deal; I still hold mine, you get to live longer."

"And answer some of my questions? Right?" Steve asked cautiously.

Herobrine heavily exhaled and sealed his lips. "Yes, but there is some that I will not so don't expect too much."

"Then can I go ahead and ask some?"

"Very well."

"Okay." Steve started timidly. "I have been thinking about that dre- I mean- memory of when you first met Lionel. Well. … Actually, I have thought about this ever since I found out that you were real and there is nothing in your history that can explain it."

"Where are you getting at?"

"Where exactly-… did you come from?" He asked hesitantly.

"Hmmmm…" The powerful man tapped his chin as he thought deeply, but even thinking back to his first day in the world as he did in the memory he couldn't remember being born nor having any kind of parents or creators that revealed themselves to him. He just appeared one day and that was what happened, or so he recalled. "I do not know? Nowhere I suppose? One day I just suddenly came to be and appeared on the highest mountain somewhere along the outside of the land where humans first came together, I had knowledge and power upon being alive and that was that. There was no one else like me, I searched many years. Lionel looked like me, that was as close as I got. But he was human so I am not connected through blood. I guess I just came to life on my own."

"But, I thought we were all created by Notch?"

Herobrine instantly narrowed his white eyes and sneered, he tightly coiled his hands around the ends of the armrests and his posture grew tense quickly. "No, I was not created by that damned god of yours if that is what you are thinking." He growled lowly under his breath, just thinking about being a creation of that traitorous divinity made him gnash his teeth in disgust.

"Sorry, I only assumed as a god-"

"Assumed?!" The being interrupted. "If I was then he wouldn't have chosen pathetic mortals over someone powerful such as myself, or to be more precise; choosing liars and murderers over someone who was innocent! I was in the wrong, I was innocent!"

Steve grabbed the sides of his head and squeezed them, wincing from the loud voice booming in his head and giving him a strong and dreadful ache. "I know that." He quickly agreed to try and calm Herobrine back down but it didn't help at all, the being's temper only flared with each passing second. "I'm just saying that he's the reason why the world is hear and why we're- I mean, I'm here and other people."

"Then he must be so very proud." Herobrine suddenly arose from his chair and stomped down each step with ferocity until he standing before Steve with a dark expression and dangerously shaking fists that looked like they were about to strike something… or someone. "Watching them grow from a peaceful loving infant into a lying and deceiving thief that takes whatever they can. His 'loving people' are just like him, cruel, selfish, greedy, and judgmental. I would hate to be a creation of his. He cared for his 'real creations' more then someone as lonely and as cursed as I am!"

"Cur-cursed?" The miner lightly stuttered as Herobrine took another step towards him.

"Yes cursed! What you don't know about that memory was my influence. My power has a certain aura to it that make feeble creatures like yourself cower in fear and even flee from the very sight of me. Something that was given to me upon my creation!"

Steve couldn't help but nod to that. He was feeling fear now that Herobrine was raging on about Notch and humans and looking like he was about attack out of sheer rage. He did admit to himself that every time he saw the being either in the dark, in his dreams and nightmares, anytime before and a little after he tried to level with Herobrine that he felt a sort of fear come upon him. Just seeing the powerful man at a distance made him feel like prey to a monster stalking him. But that was a while ago.

Now the only time he really felt fear was when the old hero got mad, that strange feeling that emitted from Herobrine was really overwhelming. He has fought this great fear before, but with Herobrine's temper getting worse and appearing to lose control over it, it was only a natural reaction to be very afraid. Of course, he was going to die anyways but he couldn't help himself from shaking with the powerful man sounding more and more violent.

"Humans can sense it well, Lionel did." Herobrine continued with a twisted expression. "But he fought it and overcame it, it took a long time for the people in his homeland to accept me and they eventually did. But if it weren't for him getting wounded and seeing the real me then I would still be a lone being traversing the lands, wondering why in the Nether was I still alone? It would be HIS damn fault! My creator or not, HE left me to be alone and later to suffer at the hands of his more prized creations; in which I had trusted in many of them! I could have easily claimed their lives at any given time during the rise of the fortress, but I didn't. Many feared me but I never did any harm to them. I even helped them create the stone structure that they call their fortress and they still ended up treating me like a monster! And to think that each man, woman, and child that I used to pass on the streets gave me a smile or a praising shout-out for being a great protector? Lies. Every word and smile, just fake!"

'That can't be. Only after being framed did they turn on him in belief of the persecutor. I just can't see-' Steve thought to himself.

"See what?!" Herobrine made another step and the miner scooted back a block.

Steve mentally slapped himself for forgetting about Herobrine reading his mind. "I just can't see people being born to only just be liars, deceivers, and murderers, there has to be a reason they turned on you." He then gulped some dry air and leaned back from Herobrine moving closer. He hoped that Herobrine would realize that his rationality of people was warping out of his anger. There was some reason the people turned on him but it wasn't because they were always faking their expressions or born to be traitors, otherwise Lionel would be in that group. Those people must have really liked and even cared about him at some point.

"They are!" Herobrine ground his teeth held back his urge to hit the human.

"I'm not. Am I? And Lionel? Is he a born traitor? Have either of us betrayed you?" Steve quickly asked with his eyes glued shut and a weak arm hovering over his face, half expecting to have either a fist or a boot come at him. Luckily nothing struck him but a hand moved away his arm roughly and clasped tightly around his jugular. How did one small question put his life in so much danger? He was really regretting in asking.

Herobrine's hand shook and he felt his nails lightly burrow into the man's skin but he released the human and stood tall, he growled loudly and looked away for a second before returning his heated attention back to Steve. "He's not!" Herobrine defended despite his own logic. "He's different, ...he's my brother."

The miner knew what he was about to ask was risky but he chose to anyways. "Then what about me?"

The being's fists coiled and uncoiled repeatedly before he shook his head. "It doesn't matter! The past cannot change and nor could your kind as a whole! That blasted being let his subjects torture me for what felt like endless months, before finally aiding them in sending me down into this tormenting wasteland for a crime I did not commit! I had done nothing to deserve that punishment, in fact I deserved praise for taking my time and wasting my power to save his beloved beings from the mobs! And even if I was created by him; I want absolutely nothing to do with that wretched creator, he has betrayed me and let my brother be killed by one who devised the whole plot! Brutus…" Herobrine hissed as he mentioned the name. "The traitorous mortal wanted to eliminate the one next in line for the throne and had framed me for attempting to kill Conner, all so that I wouldn't be seated on the Sovereign's throne next since I became the favorite at the time! Brutus wouldn't let me save the boy though he knew of my blood healing capabilities. Notch allowed that to happen! He allowed Connor and Lionel to die!"

His eyes blazed brightly and this made Steve instinctively crawl backwards even more and unfortunately, Herobrine followed with heavy steps, each footfall becoming less normal with the being lightly swaying. Steve could tell Herobrine was getting very mad, probably to the point of no self-control. The last time he saw those brighter than bright eyes was when Herobrine was battling him, being matched by a human made the old hero flip and become a destructive machine.

"He allowed that bastard to have me paralyzed and tortured! He allowed Brutus to come to me every night with blades and blazing torches to make me suffer for nothing! I didn't deserve that!"

"Hero-"

"I didn't deserve it." He whispered more darkly.

"Um-. Herobrine?" The miner nervously asked as he continued to back away until his back met a vertical surface. He looked up and saw the Nertherbrick pillar shooting up into the ceiling, he moved his frightful gaze back in front of him to see Herobrine getting closer.

"A Traitor. I thought he was my friend." Herobrine's voice in Steve's mind started to alter and darken, two voices now sounded like five and the being's dark tone was really starting to terrify the poor guy. "The whole time he gave me respect, treated me like an equal despite my power and his high rank. What happened to that?" Herobrine tilted his head at an angle.

The powerful being's head was crooked at an angle that Steve best knew as Herobrine's ferocious and unstable state. The striking white eyes was a dead giveaway in his loss of control, but the last time the being had his head tilted like that he set everything on fire and stabbed him in the shoulder without mercy or a second thought. But this time was different, the being would stop every few steps or so and clasp his hands on the sides of his head before swinging it and applying more pressure, what was different was he was talking unlike before his out of control state where he remained quiet. Perhaps this is what the being was thinking in his destabilizing condition and he was hearing for the first time as Herobrine spoke out into the miner's mind.

"Traitors must pay. Brutus. …" Herobrine suddenly grinned wickedly and stopped as he reached within a block of Steve. He suddenly shot a hand down and grabbed the miner by the neck with a strong grasp, again digging nails into the human's flesh. "He paid." The crazed being then lifted the miner to eye level and he then shook the man and made him cry out from the pain of his flesh being stretched by the rough movements.

"He told me Notch was watching over my brot- brother!" The white-eyed being suddenly snapped his head to his left then jerked it right with his free hand on his forehead before hissing in pain. "What happened to that?!"

"Herobrine s-stop." Steve choked and weakly moved an arm up top grasp the constricting force. Something was horribly wrong with Herobrine. Just a few minutes ago he seemed relaxed and content sitting on his throne, but now he had gone mad. Steve never knew that there would be any kind of risk in asking a simple question.

"He made Lionel Bleed! I made him suffer!"

…

Light instantaneously consumed Steve's vision until his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. He leaned up and blinked over and over and rubbed his stinging eyes to find himself on a large patch of grass, he now sat before a golden plated man with several armored men and women behind him and one single silver plated man on the opposite side of him with a blade held out. He immediately noticed the burning flesh smell and wrinkled his nose from the stench. He gazed over passed Lionel to see the form of a man lying in the grass with burns covering his body.

"I will stand by him no matter what Brutus! He's innocent!" Lionel held his sword out defensively, as if he was preparing for battle.

"Hmm, it's a shame you won't be able to tell that to the Sovereign. As I have said before for your act of treason, where you stand is your grave."

"You can't be serious?" A different voice spoke out from behind the lead guard. The blonde-headed armored man moved forward and grabbed the leader by the shoulder to spin him around. "We don't have the authority to execute our own, executions are only decided by the Sovereign or the council. Besides, Lionel can't do much with Herobrine anyways so why are we even out here?"

Brutus shrugged the man's hand off and sneered. "Our own? You are obviously blind and dim-witted if you think that he's still a part of us. Letting him pull out the demon after he was condemned to burn; such an action cannot go unpunished, especially as a traitor of our Sovereign. He has become a conspirator when he chose to go against our lord's word and defend that beast. He's nothing more than a commoner now, a civilian who still wears armor that is no longer his. He has now preformed a great act of crime. This thief, heinous criminal, and traitor can be punished by my call."

"That still doesn't make it right!"

"Silence Kaith! As the leader I say he must pay as all high treason criminals must, with death. Just because he is a friend of yours doesn't make him less guilty for trying to revive the monster. Our lord will be furious if he knew what Lionel was doing now, he already stripped him of his ranks. Maybe if he was still a sentinel then he would get a fair trial, but I call the shots here now." He pushed the iron plated man back. "Now back into your place or suffer the consequences for betrayal."

"You can't do this, this is just wrong! It's murder!"Kaith shouted back.

"Watch me."

Steve looked back at the silver ex-sentinel to see his hands wobbling, the man grimaced as he readjusted the iron blade in his injured hands but his face was filled with determination.

"How pitiable. The least you could have done to drag that demon out of the lava was stab your blade into him and pull him to the edge of the pool, you may not have much of a sword afterwards but it would have been better than using your hands like a fool. But it seems you were foolish enough to use your plated hands and have the metal singe you from the burning liquid. I bet some of that metal melted and clung to your flesh as it cooled."

"This… this pain is nothing! I wanted to save my brother at all costs and if it meant taking a few burns then so be it!" Lionel defended.

"Yes, but in doing so you have become handicapped, you can barely even hold that sword. I'm afraid that this battle you are prepared for will end abruptly, you will not be able to move fast enough. Even if you did your skills still do not match up to mine." Brutus pulled off his helmet and shoved it into one of the other sentinel's hands.

"Please Brutus, can't we give him a fair trial?" Kaith plead.

"No. Now stand back." The golden sentinel fixed his posture and stood straight. "Before the execution commences I will officially state your crimes to your lord and your people as demanded by the council and then the punishment you shall receive will commence. You are hereby guilty for an act of treason. In being either a commoner, peasant, or slave you-"

Suddenly the memory started to speed up and in a fast picture motion, Brutus continued to talk before swiftly withdrawing his long sword and holding it out. He prepared to move forward until the sentinel known as Kaith pulled out his own blade and held it to the side of his leader's neck. He said something but Steve couldn't quite understand, all sounds and voices were absent as words were shared. The scene suddenly went blank and then back to normal before going pure white a few more times. Within seconds of returning to a normal state the lead guard had placed his sword away as if the other had ended the conflict but then the blonde man's expression turned into one of shock as Brutus landed a strong blow to the man's stomach. In this same instant he grabbed the sword that the man had dropped and plunged it through the guy's lower torso, Brutus pulled it out and jabbed him again but this time in the chest. He pulled it out swiftly and coldly watched as Kaith stumbled back until he hit the ground with his hands covering his bleeding wounds.

Time slowed down now but every word and sound ceased to exist.

Another blonde then ran up to him with shock written on her face, her long locks of wavy gold hair strung out from underneath her helmet and hung loosely from her abrupt movement to the ground. Both of their faces were similar so they must be the twins that Herobrine spoke about. Kaith and Kalen. She cried out loud as the fatally wounded man's face contorted in agony and she wept over him as he mustered his final words. The other sentinels gaped and gawked in disbelief and disgust, some even moved down to the dying man trying to calm his painful shouts and convulsions. Brutus then turned to the group and motioned his hand as he spoke. Many of the faces fell into blank and or pitied expressions. Brutus held up the sword and turned back to Lionel who had also been shocked from watching the man kill his friend. Lionel then shouted in rage and steadied his hands despite his pained expression and loose hold of his blade.

Brutus turned around and began to walk towards the miner until he suddenly spun and held the sword out as he slashed the attacker coming at his back. He ran the crimson coated sword across the woman's neck and silenced her immediately from the deep cut. Her weapon and her body dropped to the ground. The victor threw the blade down at her feet as she gasped for air.

Steve's eyes remained wide as Lionel squinted his shut for a fleeting second before screaming something and running up with his sword swinging towards the golden sentinel. Brutus easily blocked each strike with his own drawn one before raising a leg and kicking the sentinel back forcefully. Lionel stumbled backwards and fell flat on his back and scrambled to get onto his feet as Brutus moved over to the motionless man with burn marks all over his body.

Brutus muttered words that Steve could not hear but he could read one of the words as the man mouthed it. 'Traitor.' He said before raising his over the being's neck and preparing to drive it in until Lionel ran at him. An evil smirk appeared on the leader's face as he suddenly whipped his blade back. Apparently, he was using Herobrine as a ploy to get Lionel off guard… and it worked.

To Steve's horror, Brutus flipped his blade's position and rammed it right through Lionel's chest plate as he charged at him, in having a long sword he had the upper hand and he pierced the man's armor and then through flesh. He swiftly moved to the side, avoiding the iron blade that Lionel had released in his sudden impalement. The expression on the silver sentinel's face was just dreadful and it made the miner's heart wrench and twist painfully.

Brutus took the speared man and forced the sword straight into the ground next to the being and the trapped man cried out silently with widened eyes as he hit the ground, the golden sentinel forced the blade to plunge all the way through his body and into the dirt. Steve couldn't take it anymore, he tried to pry his eyes from the scene but he couldn't, it was as if an invisible force kept him facing the murder scene and wouldn't let him look away.

Shortly after Brutus fully stood he left his blade impaled in the man and muttered a few things before walking over to the other shocked and disgusted sentinels. He took his golden helmet and placed it back over his head, he then began to walk back towards the fortress out in the distance with the other sentinel's leaving Lionel to stay pinned and bleed out. A few looked back but kept walking.

…

Everything started to flash out in white again and then it flashed a deep red. It soon settled on the ledge of a dark overhang above an ocean of lava with an open terrain of land not too far away. Steve was back in the Nether, yet at an unfamiliar location that looked far more terrifying and dangerous than the Nether Wastes. Steve found himself looking off a ledge of black grainy stone to see balls of fire flying at what looked to be an armored man in the distance, running across an unleveled terrain of ash and pits of lava like his life depended on it.

Something started to shift from the corner of his right eye and he turned his head to see a man just like him with the same shirt and pants gazing down at the scrambling human. The man then raised his head from the moving figure and turned to reveal bright white eyes looking at him with a sadistic smile plastered on his face.

"Herobrine?" She cautiously asked with worry, that look was just filled with cruelty and malice. It was an expression of such a degree he had yet to see from the old hero yet, and it terrified him.

Herobrine then turned his head back towards the running human and suddenly leapt off of black stone overhang and down below to the ground. He landed on his own two feet with perfection and rose up without trouble. He started to walk in an unhurried pace towards the man that was getting pelted with blazing spheres of fire that were being shot at him from huge white flying figures hovering in the Nether skies. Steve saw one of these things before in one of Herobrine's memories of first coming to the Nether and from his first prison cell in the Nether. Steve carefully peered down and inched closer to the edge to see what Herobrine was about to do but the uneven surface he stood upon had him lean forward too much and he lost balance.

The miner thought he was going to fall to his death but something strange happened, he landed on air. Some invisible wall that kept him from falling to the land far below. Stunned that he was laying on nothing he remained still and looked closer to see the man running towards Herobrine's direction, the human was unaware of the being going to meet up with him. A hill of some gray and craggy looking pillars prevented him from seeing up ahead, the small pools of lava everywhere would definitely make it difficult to evade anything. The flurry of ashes whirling around in the air already made it difficult to see the terrain, there were so many cliffs and high shelves to fall off of and down to an ocean of lava below.

As the man drew nearer Steve blinked. "That's… Brutus?!" He strained his eyes and there was no doubt with the golden armor on but it appeared to be tarnished by burn marks that the exploding fire balls made and it was dented in many places. Steve watched as Herobrine stopped at the bottom of the hill of black and stood in place with that dastardly grin on his face.

One of the large white mobs shot another fire bomb near the golden sentinel's feet and the explosion had the man shouting in horror as he fell off one of the pillars of salt he had been hopping along and down on the other side. The sentinel landed on a dark surface with a pained cough, then began to pick himself up off the ground slowly as crimson seeped from his lips. The being then slowly walked over to Brutus and the man displayed a face of true terror as he saw the white-eyed man coming for him. The man had shouted things at Herobrine but Steve could not distinguish the words as he was too far away to hear them, but his voice was noticeably filled with fear and submission on his pleading face.

Herobrine suddenly leapt forward and kicked him into a salt pillar with a swift rolling kick. The sentinel hit the pillar hard and crashed back onto the ground, the strike appeared to have stunned the guy as he didn't move when the old hero approached him. He wailed out as Herobrine paced over and put his foot down on the man's head and moved his foot, making the man's flesh painfully scrape against the sharp texture of the black stone which tore his right cheek all to pieces and knocked his helmet loose.

That cry made Steve look away. He heard every scream and cry, unlike the ending memory he just saw. Brutus deserved some kind of justifiable punishment for his actions, but this was just too cruel. He turned his head back around pried his eyes as the screams stopped. Herobrine now had the man in his grasp and he grabbed one of the clinching man's arms and jerked it away with a swift pop, popping the guy's arm out of place and making him scream even louder. Steve felt his stomach twist and knot from those sickening sounds. Herobrine then threw the man down roughly and raised a foot up as Brutus tried to lean forward and stand. Knowing what the being was about to do, Steve covered his ears and closed his eyes; even with his ears covered he still imagined the bone cracking sound with an echoing earsplitting scream to follow it. He daringly opened his eyes to see that one of Brutus's leg's were snapped and barely hanging on by the armor straps.

He wanted to puke. Blood would normally be hard to see on the dark surface considering it was black, but fresh blood was quite visible and it was spreading as Herobrine dragged the man around and purposely smack him against chunks of the sharp stone and pillars that stuck out of the ground.

"I can't take it anymore." Steve whispered to himself and then another cry filled his ears and it was bloodcurdling. He bravely looked down to see Herobrine now with the enchanted blade of wrath and preparing to stab it into Brutus. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" He squeezed his eyes shut tight and covered his ears again as he screamed. Sure Brutus deserved to pay for what he did, but watching Herobrine torture someone the way he did was just sickening. He never imagined him being so cruel, but if this is what he did for revenge then he didn't want to see it, no matter how much he hated Brutus he didn't want to see Herobrine kill him. "PLEASE STOP!" He shouted at the top of his lungs and finally opened his eyes.

…

Steve immediately found himself lying on the floor in the Nether fortress, his neck and back ached a lot and his head still lightly spun from the abrupt movements. He moved a hand up to his throat and felt a couple small indents that were sore to the touch, and trying to breathe took more effort than it should and it wasn't from the lack of air in the fortress. "Herobrine?" He called out and searched for the being until he found him a few feet away with his back to him and his head tilted forward and fists clinched tightly. The miner blinked in disbelief and tried to sit up, using the Nertherbrick pillar as a support for his back.

Herobrine lightly tilted his head to see the miner struggling to push himself off of the floor. He turned away and kept his head low. "I almost killed you." He said with his normal un-warped tone.

Silence hung in the air for a few short seconds.

"No more questions for now." Herobrine said placing one of hands on the top of his head and massaging his aching cranium. "It isn't worth the risk up to this point, I still feel an anger surging through me and I could…"

"Lose control again?" Steve quietly finished.

Herobrine made a short glance from behind his back before looking away. "Yes." He said blankly. "As much as I would hate to admit… I- there is something wrong with me. There always has been, even before I met Lionel." He removed his hand and looked down at his palm. "This has happened many times in my past and a few recently once you showed up. Lionel made the white fog stay away, but before I met him; I had- problems with self control. Notch or whatever damned god out there that made me… had…" He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "I had been made a monster."