A/N - Just a quickie here. As a celebratory mark for our move out of unit sharing the same wall to the one we've lovingly dubbed "the murder unit"(long story), I bring to you all, the FINAL CHAPTER to Legend of The End! Please, enjoy!
[CHAPTER XXVIII - Final]
[The End Leads to New Beginnings]
White noise was all that filled his ears for a long while, body not responding to his mind's frantic commands to move. Before too long, his eyelids regained the function to work, slowly fluttering open and revealing tired and unfocused violet eyes.
At first, the blinding sun was all that greeted his vision, causing a groan to vibrate his throat. And that was when the pain around his neck was brought to his attention… quickly followed by his whole being exploding in burning pain as the cuts and burns ached and stung the more his body began to register the many injuries covering it.
"Ahh—." he hissed quietly to himself, trying to prevent his body from moving even an inch as the pain seemed less severe the more still he remained. Closing his eyes, he slowly and gently brought his trembling right hand up to his neck once the pain simmered down, flinching noticeably at his own touch upon the stinging the tender strokes from just his fingertips brought the seared and damaged flesh. "Nngh… ow…" he groaned under his breath.
"I'm sorry."
His eyes snapped open at the all-too-familiar voice as his head shot up, body surging upwards on instinct despite the great pain it brought him, causing him to groan deeply in the back of his sore throat while scooting backwards against the dirt and grass he was lying on.
Too lost within his dazed thoughts and burning pain flaring up everywhere, he nearly missed the words that were whispered to him in a shattered tone… Through his mounting anger and swirling fear, a small shock of surprise still buzzed his mind at hearing Herobrine actually uttering those two small words for the first time ever since they had first met nearly a year ago in his dream…
Of course, he didn't believe he was sincere even in the slightest. So he opted to just act like he didn't even hear them.
Herobrine flinched slightly at the other's drastic reaction, but stood his ground from where he sat back on his heels by Steve's feet. He kept his head hung low, glowing eyes focusing on anything and everything around them but Steve's inescapable angry gaze.
Finally after realizing Steve wasn't about to say anything to him anytime soon, and unable to stand the tension and silence any longer, the demon at last slowly brought his head up enough for his eyes to meet Steve's.
He made a face at seeing the angry wound that was done to the younger male's neck by his own hand, the severity of the injury showing it was in desperate need of proper cleaning and bandaging and would no doubt be leaving behind an ugly scar in the wake of its healing.
A scar that would remain with Steve for the remainder of his life as a reminder of his mistake for so foolishly trusting the ruler of the Nether, and for the entire Overworld to see and know of the Great Hero's near fatal error and mock him for it...
'Why? Why did I do that to him?'
Swallowing thickly, he fought to keep eye contact. "… you know… for the… for your… umm…" he pointed to his own neck to help make his point clear, cursing for having trouble finding the right words and getting them out. "Fuck…"
Never has he felt so weak and utterly lost before… Even when he was still human!
He still received no words. Even for his apology, though he figured maybe the human didn't register the words. Only a hardened glare, causing a frown to further pull at his lips, his eyes finally losing the fight and dropping down to the ground once again with a soft sigh.
Nothing else was said or done for a long while, the two remaining in each other's company in silence. At last, Herobrine broke the quiet, shoulders slumping while releasing a truly defeated and broken sigh that actually caught Steve off guard. "Look. I know you hate me. And quite honestly I can't blame you. I just…? I'll leave you alone. Never come to you in person or your dreams again. Ever. I was just waiting until you woke up… I-I wanted to make sure nothing would hurt you… and that you were alright. You know… after what I—?" he suddenly dropped what he was going to say next with a soft sigh, shaking his head while slowly lowering it once more.
Waiting for a moment to see if Steve would actually respond this time, one last sigh came from Herobrine as he began to push himself up to his feet, desperately pleading to himself that Steve didn't notice how badly his legs trembled to support his weight.
"Good-bye, Steve." he whispered before quickly turning his back to the other and started walking away with a considerably noticeable limp to his steps despite his efforts to hide it. Too weak to teleport, his eyes stung in a very unfamiliar way with each slow and painful step he took as he left Steve further and further behind.
"What happened?"
Stopping with an almost audible gasp, Herobrine turned slightly to look over his shoulder, white eyes wide.
Steve was staring at him from where he sat on the ground, eyes still narrowed though not nearly as hard now. "Back in The End. What happened, Herobrine? How am I still alive, and where's your precious egg?" he demanded, his voice scratchy as he winced slightly from speaking.
Herobrine just stared at the other, unsure of what exactly he should say. Turning his back to the miner once more, he simply rolled his left shoulder weakly; "Don't worry about it. Just know that you're alive. And that you're safe. From the Mobs, The End… and me. I won't harm you anymore. And I'll make damn sure none of the Mobs ever hurt you again. I… I promise to stay away from you and from your village. It's just right over that hill by the way… I was going to inform them of your condition if you hadn't woken up."
"So what… you're just going to leave now? Pretend like nothing ever happened between us? Go to some other biome and allow your new pet to kill all the villagers and grow stronger!?" Steve spat, the new and pure hatred and resentment he had towards Herobrine now very evident and was just dripping from his tone.
Despite the obvious betrayal and heartache that was reflecting in his eyes.
Herobrine said nothing for a moment before simply tching at the other's choice words as they caused the unknown pain in his chest to spread and ache even harder. He hesitated to turn around after hearing shuffling and dirt crunching under the weight of Steve as he guessed the man was getting to his feet. Chancing a glance over his shoulder confirmed his suspicions as he saw the younger male standing now, albeit weakly and slightly off balance, arms hanging by his sides as he just stared at him.
Waiting.
"I'm… not going to another biome, Steve. I'm returning… to where I belong. I'm going back to the Nether."
Steve scoffed, continuing despite his throat burning with every word that vibrated his larynx, "Oh, so then you're raising it there first, before unleashing it into the Overwor—"
"I DON'T HAVE IT!"
Steve physically jumped as Herobrine interrupted him with a raise of his voice at him, the inhuman male breathing deeply to calm himself after his fit of impatience, hands balled into tight fists that trembled by his sides.
"What…?"
Before anything else could have been said between the two of them, a sudden burst a white light blinded the area for only a second. Steve lifted his arms up to cover his eyes from the painful light, only lowering them once he was able to see the light had faded. He gasped upon doing so… as the two of them were no longer alone.
A man stood between them, about as tall as Steve was but much tanner. He looked about as human as himself… unlike the villagers that roamed this land. Adorning his face was a black beard that was unable to hide the warm smile his lips were curled up into.
Even though Steve had never seen this man before… something in his mind told him he already knew who he was. "Notch…" he breathed, feeling weak in his knees so suddenly he fell into a bow before the god.
"Always have to make such a big fancy entrance don't you? But I already knew you'd be coming for me. It was only a matter of time! Well guess what—today's your big lucky day! I'm going back on my own accord… no need to banish me again or anything like that." Herobrine growled, the loathing he had towards Notch very clear in both his tone and body language.
However, Notch simply turned his smile from Steve towards Herobrine, watching from where the other stood with his back still turned to them.
"Brine," Notch finally spoke, his voice having a divine echo to it that made all of Steve's aches and pains cease to hurt him. He then turned back towards the miner, lifting his arm and having his hand gesture towards the man. "I believe Steve has a right to know."
Herobrine jerked slightly before shaking his head. "Know what, exactly?"
"The truth."
Suddenly, Herobrine seemed to have lost both his temper and his mind, whipping around while letting out a bark of hysterical laughter, "The truth? Oh I'll tell you the fucking truth alright. I used him! Betrayed his trust and loyalty to get what I wanted! I took so much from him and in the end left him with nothing but pain, betrayal and scars! I dirtied him and took advantage of his loneliness, warping his innocence while taking it! My greed for revenge and power was too strong that it blinded me from seeing what I had been doing to him until I broke him! I stole so much from him for a simple chance at getting back at you! I! HURT! HIM! And in the end of it all? I nearly destroyed him!" By the end of his rant, he was seething; breathing deeply but quickly as if on the verge of hyperventilating.
Steve was, needless to say, utterly shell-shocked at the words that came from Herobrine. But not only by that… but also at just how genuinely upset he was…
Could he have actually developed feelings for him and was witnessing how the demon reacted to painful guilt…?
"That was not what he had asked." Notch simply stated, seeming unbothered by the outbursts just seconds ago. "You are avoiding telling him the truth to the question he asked, Brine."
Steve barely caught it, but it was there…
Herobrine flinched. The almighty powerful and unstoppable Herobrine flinched! His lips pursed together into a tight thin line while taking two steps backwards.
"If you will not tell him, then I shall show him." And with that, Notch turned towards Steve fully, ignoring Herobrine's sudden and almost desperate sounding pleas to stop. Standing before the still kneeling human, he smiled to him while lifting his right hand out to him. "Steve. Relax, and close your eyes."
"Notch… don't you dare do it! I'm warning you! Stop it, Notch! No!" Herobrine called out while running up to the god, the sideways glance he gave the demon causing Herobrine to skid to a halt with a low growl.
Doing as told, Steve startled a little upon feeling a warm and gentle touch placed over his forehead, guessing it was Notch's palm that was touching him.
Suddenly, as if he were reliving the entire event, the memories of what had transpired in The End began playing over in his mind clearly, causing his body to tremble slightly as his chest tightened up;
Steve was vaguely aware of what was happening around him, the pain Herobrine had inflicted on him both physically and verbally numbing his body and ears. He was able to find enough strength to roll his head to the left, paling eyes barely able to make out the outline of Herobrine standing before the strange alter that served as a nest for the egg he had apparently been seeking out this entire time.
New tears streamed down his dirty and bloody cheeks as his chest ached with renewed heartache, turning away from the scene of seeing the one he had-dare he say it?-fallen in love with pining over that stupid egg.
He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to keep the tears from falling to no avail. The hurt and loneliness he felt when he first came-to on that beach were reawakened and were now adding more to the sorrow that was slowly killing his heart. Being revealed that Herobrine basically cares nothing for him destroyed what was left of his resolve and strength.
All this time he was happy. He had rebuilt his life; he had a home and many new friends, and when he thought he would be alone forever had found someone that turned out to have been the last person he ever would have thought of. Someone that, over time, managed to show him what it was like to have someone who actually cared for him and not because of some fate-chosen title…
But it had all been a lie.
"I'm so stupid…" he whispered weakly, eyes still remaining tightly shut as his throat burned. "I believed… all of his lies… I'm so stupid and naïve…" His voice choked as he swallowed back the sob that threatened to leak out. "… so fucking pathetic…"
Eyes, once bright with growing life now dull with creeping death slowly opened; releasing the endless streams of tears while staring up at the blackening sky, heart pounding heavily against his ribcage and in his ears.
The ground was shaking badly beneath him now… it was only a matter a seconds before it would open up and swallow him into the depths of The End where not only the pain would end… but so too his life.
He smiled so weakly at the thought. He was welcoming it actually. And why not? Could he really be blamed? He was weak, tired and hurting… and had already failed his mission. The dragon may be gone… but Herobrine got what he wanted and he feared there was nothing nobody could do to stop the demon from reaching his goal now. He personally didn't care where his soul went… just as long as it wasn't the Nether.
He didn't think he could handle spending the rest of eternity living in the place Herobrine had complete rule over. But then again, now that Herobrine possessed the egg… who could stop him from taking over every realm? A new pain stabbed his heart at the thought that now… if he somehow survived this, he would never be able to escape the demon.
If Herobrine wanted to… there was nothing Steve could do to keep the Nether ruler from finding him and hurting him. He even slowly began to fear that Herobrine would actually hunt him down after taking control of the Overworld. Deep down… he knew he wouldn't kill him. He knew Herobrine enjoyed him too much to just murder him and toss him aside. He would fight against him though… despite knowing that he would be able to easily overpower him. He knew the demon would most likely keep him locked away in his room and force himself on him again and again…
That main thought. As selfish as it seemed of him, that was the main reason why he was truly welcoming his death. Because at least that way… the demon would only have his soul to torment and not an actual physical body to torture and have his way with.
A particularly loud rumble and violent tremor beneath him had his eyes squeezing shut once more while his breath was held, the sand he was lying on ripping apart underneath his body and pulling away, his back no longer touching anything solid as he plummeted to the blackness below.
'I'm sorry… Everyone, that I failed you.' Tears fell freely from his eyes as he continued his decent into the abyss, feeling the oxygen in the air thinning out as he suddenly began suffocating and fading into unconsciousness. 'P-please… try to find it… s-somewhere to… forgive… me…'
Suddenly, the memory switched from his point of view… to Herobrine's, causing a brow to rise in curiosity at just what Notch was trying to get at;
"STEVE—!" Herobrine, despite his exhaustion, made a dash towards the spot where the man had been lying just seconds ago, leaving the egg behind as his chest heaved from him pushing his body to continue running while avoiding all the debris as the obsidian towers began collapsing.
The dozens of Endermen that were still in The End were wandering around aimlessly, completely at a loss as to where they should go since it was their home world falling apart all around them.
Scooping up Steve's discarded diamond sword as he ran past it, Herobrine showed no hesitance as he drove the blade home into the chest of one of the confused Endermen that had gotten right in the demon's path. "Forgive… me," he breathed to the creature while balling his left hand into a fist just before punching the dying being in the mouth, forcing it to open and allowing his fist down its throat. "But I need this!" Without skipping a beat, Herobrine balled his hand around the creature's precious Ender Pearl, yanking it free from its throat and ending its life instantly as it gave one final shriek of pain before falling to the side.
Once again, with no hesitance, he threw the now broken sword away and held the pearl close, jumping straight into the large opening that had appeared beneath Steve. Putting his arms by his side and making his body as aerodynamic as possible, Herobrine was able to catch up with Steve's falling body quite quickly, carefully wrapping his right arm around the man's seemingly lifeless form.
He held him close against himself for a few seconds; cursing at how cold his body was already becoming. Pressing his lips against Steve's forehead, he whispered against his chilled flesh, "I've got you, Steve." Looking over his shoulder to see them both about to plummet into what was sure to end both their existences, Herobrine put all of his remaining strength into throwing the Ender Pearl up, watching as the small green pearl flew straight upwards and through the opening before shattering against the bedrock that made up the nest for the egg.
Wrapping both arms tightly around Steve, he held the limp body close as they were both suddenly teleported back up to the surface, just before the large nest-like structure. Gasping from the pain that came from using the pearl, Herobrine begged to no one in particular that his body took most of the damage and didn't finish off the human.
Taking a few seconds to assess Steve's body, a strong tightness overcame his chest as he was receiving no response from the man. With a few small shakes of his head, Herobrine then brought Steve up, bending over him and pressing his ear against the other's still chest just above his heart.
"… no…" he whispered shakily, tone holding a disbelieving quiver while slowly leaning back and lowering Steve into his lap before gently placing his right hand against the miner's tear-stained and bruising cheek, tilting his head towards him as his thumb softly began stroking his paling face.
Looking down into the pool of water that had mysteriously appeared upon the death of the dragon, Herobrine could see the Overworld reflected beautifully in the rippling surface.
Lifting Steve bridal style, he approached the edge, his eyes flickering up towards the egg for a fleeting second thought.
Steve could see… could feel the inner conflict the demon had within himself at that very moment in time—
Steve could already be dead. He was unresponsive and was losing body heat at an alarming rate. He didn't appear to be breathing and he couldn't hear his heartbeat. If he was gone… what was the point in bringing his body back? It would only be a useless task.
But the egg…?
The egg was for a fact still alive…
He could gently lay Steve to rest before mustering up the last of his strength and knock the egg into the water before jumping in after it, both being deposited safely back into the Overworld. That way he at least wouldn't be leaving completely empty handed.
He looked down into the paling face of his lover—
His… lover…?
That's right! His lover!
Eyes narrowing upon the decision that was made, he held Steve flush against his chest while taking a step off the edge and into the cold water that served as the only portal out of The End.
Once on the other side, Herobrine cursed after gasping in surprise upon seeing just how high up they were from the ground. As well as seeing that they were apparently deposited somewhere in the desert. With quick actions, the demon managed to twist them around in the air so that he was underneath the miner, resulting in using his own body to cushion Steve from the hard fall; a yelp of pain leaving him as the impact forced the air from his lungs the instant he collided with the hard sand.
Taking a few seconds to recover from the impact, he groaned in pain while pushing himself upright, carefully allowing Steve to roll off and to the side before pushing him onto his back and calling out to him, trying to get some form of response from him yet again.
The fall must've been a hard enough hit to have jump started Steve's heart again, for a sigh of relief escaped the demon when Steve let out a small groan of pain, his head tilting slightly to one side.
He was alive!
"Steve…! Y-you're… alive." he gasped breathlessly. Lifting his eyes skyward, Herobrine growled softly upon the harsh light from the sun beaming down on them both, the heat not bothering him in the slightest as it and the burning sand actually began to sooth his aches.
But Steve…?
"You're illness from before… You're not safe outside like this. Not in the damn desert and not in the weakened condition you are in." he warned the unconscious man.
Quickly scanning the area around them for some form of shelter, Herobrine felt a wave of relief wash through him as he spotted a tree on the edge of a plains biome just on the outskirts of the desert.
Lifting Steve up by under his arms, he used the last of his strength to drag him over towards the large tree not too far from their current location, wanting to try and get him out from beneath the brutal sun's heat. However, his seemingly endless strength failed him just as he reached the dirt and grass as he let out a cry of surprise upon tripping over himself, unable to bring Steve any closer to the tree's shade.
Having nothing nearby to use as shade for the injured human and still too tired and weak to use his powers to teleport them to safety, panic began easing into him until a ridicules idea came to him, having him do the only thing he could think of given the situation—
Herobrine positioned himself on his hands and knees directly above Steve, using his own body to block out the sun and shade the human the best he could.
And he waited like that. For hours until the man at last woke up… his body slowly moving to follow the shifting sun and keep his shadow over Steve. His eyes warned any Mob that drew too close to back off, the monsters knowing just WHO he was and not risking their lives. Even stray Creepers knew better to keep their distance, despite the urge they had to kill the human the demon was protecting so strongly for some strange reason.
Gently removing his hand from Steve's forehead, Notch gave a small nod to the miner before looking back towards Herobrine…
Who was seething with pure rage; "Why?" he growled dangerously between tightly clenched teeth, hands balled into tight fists that trembled by his sides and began steaming as the Nether ruler was just one flick away from setting flames to them.
"He deserved the truth." Notch simply replied, eyes narrowing slightly in warning for the other to calm himself.
"But why?!" he shouted almost too quickly.
"I think the real question that needs to be asked is why you didn't want me to know?!" Steve interrupted the two while slowly getting to his feet again, eyes glaring at Herobrine. "Why didn't you want me to know? Answer me, Brine!"
"Dammit!" Herobrine cursed loudly as he found himself unfairly (in his eyes at least) cornered by the two, forcing himself to relax albeit minutely, however he was anything but even remotely calm; "I was planning on leaving you after I made sure you were alright and safe! I was going to leave the Overworld and return back to the Nether where I belong, shut off my end of the portal, and get out of your life! I don't deserve you anymore, Steve… I never deserved you! You-you deserve someone better than the lying sack of shit I am! Someone who honestly cares for you and not just using you for their own benefits and sick pleasures!" He paused for only a heartbeat's length of time as his chest ached the more disdained he became.
"If you had known the truth that I had chosen to save your life and left the egg behind then it would've been harder for you to hate me as much! You're too nice, Steve! You would have wanted to forgive me! And you do, don't you!" he shouted, the last sentence more a statement verses a question.
"What if I said I don't forgive you? And that I still hate you all the same?" Steve retorted with a hardened glare.
"I know that you're lying." Herobrine growled back.
Steve frowned, eyes falling to the ground in defeat. Herobrine was right… It's true that before he was furious and even felt hatred towards the demon. But even then… he knew deep down he would never be able to fully hate the man, especially now that the truth had been shown to him.
Though there was still a great deal of hurt and anger…
Trying to think of something else to argue about just so he knew the man wouldn't leave, he looked back up at him. "Why did you kill that Enderman? It did nothing to you, so there was no need to end its life."
Another growl was first heard before words, "I was too weak to use my powers, okay!? I could teleport myself once maybe twice more but not both of us! I needed its Ender Pearl so I that I would have been able to bring you back to the surface with me!"
Steve gasped while Notch remained silent.
"I'm going back to the Nether, Steve! Regardless how you feel or what you want!" the demon continued in a stern tone. "See? The Great and Almighty Notch himself has somehow found the time to leave his precious Aether and come all the way out here just to banish me to that hell again!" Herobrine spat in a sarcastic tone as he motioned towards Notch who had kept silent during their entire argument.
Now was his turn to speak however, "Actually, I have not come here to banish you to the Nether, Brine."
Both Steve and Herobrine blinked in pure confusion as they turned to look at the god, Herobrine being the one to voice his confusion further. "What?"
Notch sighed, "While yes… your past actions do still offer more than enough reason to banish you once again… however I cannot turn a blind eye to the few good things you have also done. Despite how few and far in-between they were. Brine, I am not banishing you to the Nether. You are to remain here, in the Overworld. However, I am not closing off the Portal into the Nether as you are the one whom reins over that realm, you must still maintain it and the creatures within."
"What kind of punishment is that?" he inquired, eyes narrowed with a brow raised in suspicious curiosity. "That sounds more like you're returning my freedom to me…?"
"In a sense, I am. However, there is a fifty-fifty chance of your 'freedom' either becoming a fate worse than being trapped alone in the Nether; or a great reward." Notch simply stated while turning away as if to begin leaving. He paused, keeping his back towards them but looking over his shoulder and directly at Herobrine, "I am leaving Steve in charge of your fate, Brine. He will either forgive you and wish to remain with you, thus giving you the greatest reward over anything I could ever offer. Or he will not forgive you… leaving you behind to wander around both the Overworld and the Nether. Alone and uncared for by all."
This had Herobrine's full attention now. His glare completely gone, white eyes open wide in pure shock at the other's words. With jerky motions, he slowly turned to face Steve.
And for the first time ever… Steve was able to see true fear in the demon's blank eyes. Despite being empty of pupils and irises, fear could still be seen. This startled him, causing him to take a step back away from the other man.
Herobrine mistook his reaction as a sign of rejection and sighed quietly while looking down at his feet, suddenly unable to look the human in the eyes as his shoulders slumped in a defeated manor as a crushing sharp pain took hold of his chest; "I see… then in that case I already know what my fate holds." he whispered softly, his words nearly missed by both Notch and Steve.
However Steve blinked, swallowing the lump in his throat and standing his ground, "Really? You're sure about that?"
"Yes."
His response was almost too quick, earning a renewed glare from the miner. "Just that easy then? You're giving up? What ever happened to the demon that knew no limits and never quit?"
"He died." came the almost broken reply.
"This isn't you, Brine!" Steve snapped, hands balling into tight fists, just aching to punch the demon in the face to snap him out of it. "You're… you're so out of character… I don't like this side of you. Tell me, what fate do you see yourself having then?"
Herobrine dared to lift his tired and forfeited gaze into the once again bright violet eyes of the human he had surrendered his life-long plan for revenge for. "Solitude."
"Are you really sure about that? You had said yourself I would want to forgive you…"
Herobrine blinked, confusion replacing most of the fear in his eyes as he just stared at Steve, remaining quiet as the younger continued; "I may be 'too nice' as you put it… but sometimes that's not a bad thing. There are good people out there who make bad choices. Just as there are bad people who sometimes perform good deeds. It's two sides of the same coin, Brine. Take me for example. Again, you say I'm too nice. But I'm human… I show both traits of the same coin; I kill—but only when I need to. I steal—but again, only when the need be. I'm not perfect. And despite this god-like image you and all the myths surrounding you have painted of yourself? You're not perfect either. I still don't know a whole lot about your past or how you came to be the way you are now. But I do know you were human once! Greed is dangerous, Brine. And without an anchor to help you hold tight to what's most important… then greed can manipulate and destroy you." he explained, all the while taking slow steps closer towards the other until he was standing right before him.
Herobrine merely stared at him, unable for the longest time to find his voice to respond. When he did, his words were almost irrelevant in Steve's eyes. "But how? After what I said? After what I did?" he asked, his voice so uncharacteristic as he spoke in a weak and almost desperate tone, hand going to his own throat as a sign of just what he meant. "Humans feel anger and hatred just as easily as I do. You should be angry at me for using you. You should hate me for hurting you so badly!"
Steve simply smiled and chuckled at the motion and words coming from the man, rolling his shoulder once in a shrug while looking away, "Just as humans are capable of forgiveness and love. Greed blinds people who are too weak to fight against it. This scar will serve as a permanent reminder for both of us of that fact." he whispered softly while gingerly tracing his fingers along the seared flesh of his throat.
"Both?"
"Yes. For you; a symbol of how weak you were to give into temptation that greed gave you. And for me; a symbol of how weak I was at being unable to see just how bad it was and find a way to protect you from the influence of your greed and anger."
"It is not your job to look after me, Ste—!"
"Yes it is! We're in this together. There is still a lot of hate in you, Herobrine… but I really do think together we can overcome it. They say everyone deserves a second chance, Brine… Maybe this is the time you deserve yours." He kept his narrowed eyes trained on the demon, standing his ground boldly while waiting for the other to respond.
However Herobrine just stared at him, speechless for a very long time. Finally he looked over to Notch, completely lost with what to do as his voided eyes silently plead to the god for Steve's decision to make sense to him.
"You have always believed the humans to be weak minded and ill-willed. But Steve is living proof that even you, Brine, can be proven wrong of things. You may be psychically stronger than Steve ever will be, but his spirit will always over power yours. Your mind may be having a hard time comprehending this situation because of the hundreds of years' worth of greed, anger, hatred and jealousy blinding you… and even though you will never admit it, the loneliness you felt while imprisoned there is also part the blame.
"But Steve himself, standing before you now, is living breathing proof that there is still good lying dormant deep within you somewhere. By sacrificing the egg in exchange for Steve's life, you have proven to both Steve and I that you are not fully corrupted by evil, hate and greed. At least not any more you are not.
"The time you spent traveling with Steve, even though in the beginning your intentions were to use him and then betray him once the egg was within your grasp, that short amount of time allowed for you to temporarily gain clarity through the greed that had corrupted your heart and mind. And even though once the dragon was slain and your intentions were brought into light, after you had reached your goals and betrayed him, leaving him injured and to die… you weren't able to fully carry out your entire plan. Because something happened to you, Brine, which not even you could have predicted and prevented…"
Herobrine remained silent while taking in the words Notch spoke, his expression soon changing to urge the god to continue as the demon could not think of what could have possibly happened to him.
With a warm smile on his face and a gentle touch to Steve's shoulder, Notch whispered, his tone sounding as if it were the simplest answer ever; "You fell in love."
Steve looked down to the ground, a visible blush tinting his cheeks as Herobrine's eyes opened wide and glanced over to stare at the human in shock.
Notch continued; "I know this comes as a surprise to you. And to be honest, I would be lying if I said I myself weren't as surprised. I honestly believed you to be unable to feel love and compassion ever again after all those years spent alone down in The Nether." he paused for a moment before glancing down at Steve and continuing, "But something about Steve… made you open your eyes."
Steve blinked and glanced up at the god for a second before giving a fleeting glance over to the Nether ruler, feeling his face heating up even hotter upon finding the other staring at him.
Herobrine still said nothing. In fact, he hadn't even heard Notch's voice. The entire Overworld went deaf to him as all he focused on was the human standing nervously before him.
"All this time… I thought I was just developing some strange possessive obsession for you, Steve. I couldn't really label it as anything other than that." Herobrine finally spoke up, vaguely aware of the sudden disappearance of Notch's presence but chose to ignore it for the time being. "The fury I would feel rushing through my body whenever somebody else simply looked at you was enough to drive me mad."
Steve felt his body heating up in response to Herobrine's words; "Yeah… you certainly suck at hiding your jealousy." he chuckled weakly before suddenly taking notice of the god missing as he looked around them, soon facing Herobrine again. "W-where'd he go?"
Herobrine gave a quick glance around himself before giving a small chuckle, "He does that. Comes and goes as he pleases. Some things haven't changed it seems in the six hundred years I was gone." He then turned back to Steve, his weak smile fading into a strong frown as he maintained eye contact, "So… now what?"
Steve blinked, looking over at the demon for a second before looking up into the sky, "Well… you said Sanderlorum is just over that dune, right? We can start by going home."
Herobrine gawked at him before letting out a sarcastic laugh, "You're seriously saying you want me to live in that town with you? They hate me, Steve! I'm Herobrine! Do you really think they'll welcome me there?! I damn well nearly scared the life out of that Inn keeper the night I gave him the cure to save you!"
"At first? No. No they won't." he smiled at him warmly. "But, I'm sure if you earn their trust like you did mine… then everything will be alright. They're good people, too, Brine. They'll be able to see that you're changing."
"Steve… I highly doubt it's as easy as you say it is." Herobrine nearly whined, annoyed by the human's optimism.
Steve only laughed while turning his back towards Herobrine before slowly making his way towards the town that had become his new home. A quick glance over his shoulder brought a smile to his face as he saw the Nether ruler begrudgingly following him, complaining under his breath the entire trip.
Steve knew at first it was going to be a hard task for Herobrine to earn the trust of all the villagers. But Steve had faith in both the people of Sanderlorum and Herobrine.
It would be a rough start, but he was determined to make the two things he cared deeply for get along:
The whole village of Sanderlorum and the Ruler of the Nether.
—End—
A/N - And there y'all have it! (hopes to hear some applause) I can not thank you all enough for all the wonderful reviews and PM's I've received over the course of this story! Don't think I've forgotten what I've said in my previous chapter! The little Herobrine side story will be uploaded soon. Least the first chapter to it. Along with the First chapter to the next installment for this story. The side story... I have no title for it yet, lol. However, for those of you watching me, keep a close eye on your emails for the next installment to this story; "Minecraft - Return of The Wither" *jazz hands*
I also apologize for the cheesy ending to Legend of The End... I tried. ;_;
*Again a huge special thanks to slingading for the fantastic cover art for this story! Thank you so much and much love to you!*
P.S. As for my earlier A/N... we just moved out of the unit that literally shares the same master bedroom wall where a triple homicide took place in the beginning of the year. Fun times. NOT!