Chapter 11

"Stephen."

Someone's calling my name.

No, he isn't. My name is Steve.

"Stephen?"

Who is that? Sounds familiar. I should answer him… Nah. Too tired. And he's calling for some "Stephen" guy.

"Hey!"

Steve yelped as his inner peace was brutally interrupted by an abrupt slap to the face. Stunned, he willed his drowsy eyes to open.

Two teal eyes were glowering in front of his face. Two speaking eyes. "Awakened, have you? Good."

They were back in the beautiful room with the throne, although Steve could hardly appreciate its beauty when he was shackled to a chair. He opened his mouth to speak, but his vocal cords were frozen and refused to budge. In fact, his entire body felt unnaturally stiff. He couldn't even move in his seat. Of course, he couldn't process any of this, for the spider venom was making his head spin. All he could do was lazily glance at the strange person who was speaking. He was pacing around him and rambling on about something, but with each word Steve's hearing decreased. Eventually he failed to hear anything at all, although he could see that the man was doing something with his hands; his fingers were outstretched like a spider web, with his palms open to Steve. It appeared as though he was grasping for something invisible.

Shadows were waving at him through the corners of his vision. The room around him blurred and shattered into millions of colorful pieces. They danced in front of his eyes like a river made of rainbows, putting on a spectacular display.

As the shadows drew near, the strange, rambling person smiled and crouched beside him. He whispered something in his ear. Something Steve just barely made out.

"Goodbye, Stephen."

The world faded to black.

…

Meanwhile, DC was busy hyperventilating in the cell as he thought of all the bad things that could have happened to Steve. Torture. More torture. Maybe he was being drained this minute. Poor Steve - as if being poisoned by a giant spider wasn't enough.

He spent his time pacing from wall to wall, repeating the same sentence over and over again: "Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay."

Herobrine listened to the creeper's anxious chant wistfully, soaking in the sound of his little voice. "There's nothing you can do," he rasped. "I know it's difficult, but you have to try to calm down. Worrying won't change anything."

DC let out a frustrated huff. "And feeling sorry for yourself is going to restore peace to the world?" he snapped.

Herobrine flinched.

"Steve was the closest thing I had to a friend! If he's gone, then I don't know what to do. There's nothing left." With this revelation spoken aloud, he said no more for fear of bursting into tears.

Thus commenced the most awkward silence known to man.

The inevitable stillness was broken by the sudden appearance of an Enderman in the cell. It stared at the two prisoners but quickly pretended to be fascinated with looking at the floor when it saw DC staring back.

"…Is someone else in here?" whispered Herobrine.

"One of those Ender-creatures just teleported in here," DC whispered back, keeping his eye on it.

"Oh? Is Alastor not with it?"

"No."

"That's odd. Why is it here, then?"

"To free you."

"WHAT?" exclaimed DC. The Enderman spoke! "You speak!"

"Yes. Alas, I would require more time to explain much; all I can say is that Master prohibited speech when he enslaved us."

The Endermen were slaves? It made sense; they weren't exactly treated like equals. "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to free you from this prison," it declared. "We must hurry while we have the chance. I know the way to the portal. Let us go."

"Wait! Why are you helping us? Why didn't someone come earlier?"

"No time, no time. We must go now! Can you walk by any chance, Mr. Herobrine?"

"I can barely even breathe."

"Oh. In that case, I will carry you."

With Herobrine safely in its arms and DC by its side, the Enderman teleported out of the cell. "I lack the strength to teleport more than once every hour or so; I am a bit weaker than my brothers. We shall have to walk from here. Stay close."

The group ascended the same flights of stairs that brought them here and turned right. A long corridor awaited their arrival around the corner, through which they moved swiftly. It led them up a few rows of stairs to an observation deck overlooking the great magma lake below. Here the Enderman raised its head and let out the piercing shriek that had summoned the flying creatures before. Once again, they came from all sides and flew in their linear formation, forming a "bridge" from the fortress to the mountain where the portal stood.

"Hurry!" the Enderman cried. "There is no doubt Master has heard us by now. Across the ghasts!"

So that's what they were called. Fitting.

They made haste across the bridge of ghasts and stood in the portal. As the image of the hellish landscape disappeared from view, DC could've sworn he saw a pair of teal eyes glaring at them from the fortress's entrance.

At last, the Overworld came into view. DC was the first one to step onto the silky grass and fill his lungs with fresh, cool air. No more heat, no more fire, and the pigs weren't rotting and walking on two feet. The Overworld was the place for DC.

It was too bad Steve wasn't there to enjoy it with him.

The Enderman wasn't enjoying nature as much. "We must keep going," it persuaded. "Master cannot follow us through the portal, but I wouldn't be surprised if he sent a number of hostiles to hunt us down."

DC wasn't so sure they were safe from their enemy. The image of those teal eyes still burned in his mind. "Are you sure Alastor can't go through the portal?"

A sparkle shone in the Enderman's eye. It made a guttural noise similar to a chuckle. "Don't worry, my friend. I am certain he is doomed to dwell in the Nether. As for us, I know a good place to hide out for awhile. Follow me."

They followed the course of the clouds for an hour until the Enderman found the strength to teleport again. This took them to the edge of a leafy biome which DC had never seen before. "What is this?"

"This is a jungle," replied the Enderman.

"It's beautiful," murmured DC.

Indeed it was. Giant trees loomed over the shaded ground, with intertwining vines hanging from their leaves like a veil. Rich vegetation covered the deep, soft grass, especially so around the various ponds that dotted the landscape. The air was cool and damp, a pleasant change from the Nether's unforgiving heat. With the combination of the slight shade and the overgrown plants, it was easy to see why this would make a wonderful hideout.

"I know of a particular tree somewhere in here," explained the Enderman. "Its trunk is massive; we could easily hollow it out and use it as a base of sorts. Now, let me see… If we go this way, we should find it before nightfall." It pointed out the direction with its arm. "Let's go."

True to its word, there was indeed a giant tree in the middle of the jungle. The trunk stood out amidst the other, tinier trees, but this feature was well-hidden by a group of bushes. Herobrine was laid momentarily on the ground while the Enderman got to work hollowing out the trunk block by block. By the time it was finished, the sky exploded into a mass of orange and pink, signifying the setting sun. With its work finished and the other two safely inside, the Enderman holed up the entrance, leaving one block open above their heads so they could use the moonlight to see.

DC decided to address a question he had before he forgot. "Is there something we can call you by? Do Endermen have names?"

"Oh, yes, we do." It let out a small chuckle. "It has been so long since I have been called something besides a 'servant' that I almost forgot I had one. My brothers call me Loki. You may call me that as well."

"Ah. Well then, Loki… Thank you for rescuing us."

"You're welcome."

Once nighttime fell upon the jungle, they sat still in the darkness and listened to the moans, groans, and hisses of the night. No one dared to breathe louder than necessary. No one dared to move. The slightest noise could give away their place of refuge, and it was obvious they were hopelessly outnumbered. Their hearts would begin to pound violently whenever a foot would step too close to the tree. Sometimes a hostile was so close that its cry was deafening. In order to prevent himself from whimpering in fright, DC closed his eyes and prayed a little prayer of safety. Who it was he was praying to, he didn't know, but it calmed him just enough.

He must have fallen asleep at one point, because when he opened his eyes again, the sun was streaming through the hole in the trunk. Monsters were running around in agony as their bodies spontaneously burst into flames. They waited one minute. Two minutes. Three minutes.

Silence.

Loki re-opened the entrance to their hideout. "It appears that we are safe," it observed. "Of course, we should be cautious for any good-for-nothing creepers that decide to ambush us. Sorry," it apologized, seeing the hurt look on DC's face.

"It's okay. I know what you mean."

It nodded. "Anyway, we should spend today gathering supplies to sustain us for awhile, namely food."

Herobrine's face lit up.

"DC, I will go gather what I can of materials," it continued. "Perhaps you could look around and search for a bit of food. And Mr. Herobrine, I'll let you rest next to the tree - there you go - so you can listen for any signs of trouble; your hearing is better than most. If anything goes wrong, just yell, and I will promptly return. Is that okay with everyone?"

The two nodded.

"Well, I'll be off. Be safe." With that, Loki disappeared into the undergrowth, leaving DC to begin his quest for something edible.

Food, food… How would he go about getting food? There was no way he could bring himself to murder a farm animal, even if it was important. He didn't see any mushrooms in the area, either. What else was there to eat?

A tiny splash caught his attention. He walked around for a minute and came across a small pool of water. In it was a school of seven fish.

Aha!

He waded into the pool until half of his body was submerged, watching as the fish scattered around him, fearing their peaceful way of life had come to an end.

How right they were, he thought.

His mouth began to water at the thought of tucking into a nice, plump fish. There was more than plenty to feed all three of them. Dinner had arrived.

Wait. How was a creeper supposed to catch a fish? In a flash, almost as if his subconscious was answering him, he recalled the night he had gathered antidote ingredients for Steve. With his mouth.

He didn't like where this was going.

But we have to eat…

Taking a deep breath, he plunged his head into the cold water before giving himself too much time to think about it. He waded after the fish with determination, managing to corner a particularly slow one. He opened his mouth and chomped down.

Success!

DISGUSTING!

He choked and sputtered as the slimy fish flopped around between his jaws. "Mmmmph!" Keep a hold on it, he thought. This depends on your survival.

…

He couldn't take it anymore.

"Blech!" he cried, as he wheeled his head around and spat out the fish.

Herobrine cried out in surprise as it smacked him in the face and landed directly in his lap. "Hey!"

DC ignored him, concentrating on the task at hand. One fish down, six more to go.

One by one, he gathered the school in his mouth, spitting them out on the shore. It was a less than desirable job, but it had to be done.

Just as he caught the final one, he heard something rustling in the bushes. He quickly set the fish on the grass and rinsed out his mouth with a few gulps of water. When he turned his head back to the shore, he froze.

And screamed.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Loki was busy gathering logs when it heard the shout. A quick teleport later, it was standing next to Herobrine, who, for some reason, had a dead fish in his lap.

"What's wrong?" it asked, dropping the gathered logs at its feet. "Are you being attacked? Is anyone hurt?"

Herobrine shook his head. "I don't know. DC just started screaming a second ago."

"Where is he?"

He pointed in the direction of the pool. "There, I think I heard him screaming over there."

It rushed to the pool, hoping the creeper wasn't harmed. Shoving aside a tall shrub, it stared at the scene.

DC was huddled in the corner of the pool, wet and shuddering. Opposite to him on the shore was a pile of fish, next to which was a small, speckled animal. The animal was contentedly munching on one of the fish and staring at the creeper with a loving gaze.

Loki burst into laughter.

"H-h-how can you l-laugh at me like that?" DC stammered. "I am in danger here!"

"Danger?" It regained its composure. "You're not talking about that ocelot over there, are you?"

"Ocelot? Th-that's what this is?"

"Yes. And I assure you, it is completely harmless. It probably just wanted some fish."

"B-but that fish is mine! I caught it with my own mouth!"

"Calm down, DC. Why don't you come out of the water? We'll find a way to cook the fish; there's still plenty for all of us."

"Hmph." He cautiously rose out of the pool and made sure to keep a wide distance between himself and the ocelot as he made his way back to the tree. Just looking at the thing gave him the shivers.

Back inside the tree, Loki showed the two all that he had gathered. "I rounded up some logs in hopes of being able to make tools like you humans do," he told Herobrine. "It could be invaluable to our survival. Perhaps you could tell me how?"

Herobrine's blind eyes glazed over in remembrance. "Of course."

He explained how to create planks out of logs and a crafting table out of planks. Loki proved to be a quick learner, being able to follow his instructions to near perfection. Within a few minutes, he had created his very first wooden pickaxe.

"With this," said Herobrine, "you can mine stone. If you gather eight blocks, we'll be able to make a furnace." He coughed in the middle of his explanation, forgetting for a moment how weak he currently was. "If you'll do that, I'll smelt the wood and create some fuel to cook the fish."

"Got it."

It didn't take but five minutes for him to return with the needed materials. A slight downpour of rain began to fall from the sky, so it quickly holed up the tree trunk again. It fashioned together a crude furnace, in which Herobrine burned a few logs into charcoal, feeling around for the objects. He used one piece to roast the fish, and with the rest he made some torches. Now they wouldn't have to rely on moonlight to see. Even in blindness, he was a talented crafter.

DC's stomach growled as he smelled the tantalizing scent of fish wafting from the furnace, but then he heard a small mew from outside the tree. The sound chilled his bones. "W-what was that?"

"The ocelot!" exclaimed Loki. "Poor thing is stuck out in the rain. I'll let it in."

"NONONONONONO-"

It was too late. Loki had already welcomed in the soaking-wet ocelot. It shook raindrops from its mangled fur and - seeing the one who had caught it such delicious fish - trotted over to DC and gazed up with its huge, adoring green eyes.

DC wasn't about to fall for its charms. He backed into a corner, only to have it follow him. "You!" he hissed at Loki. "You've murdered us all!"

"What? How?"

"You let in this… this monster!"

"How can you say that? It's just a little ocelot."

"Just a little ocelot? It's petrifying!"

"…I don't see what is to be so scared of."

"WHAT?" he bellowed. "Just look at those fangs!"

"They look like normal teeth to me."

"Those sharp claws!"

"What claws? It clearly has them retracted."

"Those wild eyes!"

"Are we even looking at the same thing?"

He whimpered as the ocelot licked its paws. "Look, it's preparing to eat me!"

"Nonsense."

"Vicious beast, it is!"

The ocelot proceeded to rub against the creeper and emit a happy purr.

He squeaked and tried scaring it away. "Shoo! Leave me alone! Oh, I didn't even feed it the fish; it stole it from me!"

Loki observed the pair. "I think it likes you."

DC stopped whining. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, for one thing, it's purring."

"Oh, is that what that noise is? I thought it was growling at me."

"Ocelots really aren't dangerous, DC."

"Hmmm…" He still wasn't truly convinced, but Loki's words slightly calmed him down. "It is kind of cute, in a way…"

Suddenly, its fur fell off in tufts, revealing a shimmering white coat with black tips on the tail, paws, and face. Its eyes morphed from green to a dazzling blue.

"I was wrong, I was wrong, it is vicious, and it's going to kill us all. Help!" he panicked.

"What happened?" Herobrine spoke up.

"It-it changed! Right before my eyes! First it was speckled, now it's white! What's happening?"

"It's only transforming into a cat," replied Herobrine calmly.

"What?"

The human sighed musingly. "I remember, back in the village, there were a few ocelots that strayed from the jungle. When one bonded with a human (or a creeper, in your case), it would transform into a cat. Once bonded, it was forever loyal to the human. It's possible that is what happened with this one."

"You mean… this cat is loyal to me now?"

"I suppose so."

Their conversation was interrupted by the wonderful smell of roasted fish. They ate as if they had never eaten before. Loki nibbled on one (apparently Endermen weren't too fond of the fishy taste), DC ate two, and malnourished Herobrine wolfed down the remaining three.

As DC was working on his second fish, he heard another mew. The cat - his cat - was pleading with its eyes for a bite. "This is mine," he growled. "You already stole one, remember?"

It pouted, and DC immediately felt guilty in spite of himself. He dropped the remainder of his fish at the cat's feet and allowed it to eat.

Night was falling, and the rain was still pouring. With the den lit up with torches and their bellies full of fish, the group fell into a relaxed sleep. As DC's eyes were closing, he felt the cat curl up next to him, an action that produced a lump in his throat. Even with these new allies by his side, he felt lonely. A gut feeling told him that Steve was dead by now, and a few tears slid down his face at the thought. He was alone once again, a powerless creeper against a powerful madman. Somehow, he was going to avenge his friend. One way or another, he would thwart Alastor's plans.

Stevie, he thought. I'll name the cat Stevie. After my friend.

He fell asleep.