Chapter ten: Undeserving
Sincerely,
Herobrine.
Three weeks ago
Jack unconsciously growled as he tried to weave the canes together. His messy handiwork resulted in said canes falling from his grip, no closer to becoming what he was trying to make.
"Shit," he growled.
Ari—who sat nearby, weaving her own basket with impressive dexterity—glanced up and grinned. "Having trouble?"
"No," Jack growled absently. He snatched up the canes and all but slammed them together.
"Now, don't get angry," Ari said. "Take a deep breath—"
"You're just saying that because you know it'll piss me off more!"
"This takes practice." She chuckled. "Especially when you're doing it like that."
"Shut up. I know what I'm doing."
"You obviously don't!"
"I do, and you'll see— Stop laughing!" Jack snapped.
She grinned. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. But at least let me help you, 'cause you're not going to be making any baskets like this. Look at how I do it one more time."
Jack shook his head and glanced to Cupa, Sylvia and Andr, who were busy working on some other contraption in the centuries-old ruins of a house nearby. Sylvia was making something of clay, while Cupa had gathered several basketfuls of…something, which she placed near the pit Andr had been digging. Apparently they were working on some kind of kiln.
"Seems more fun, doesn't it?" Ari said.
Jack sigh-growled. "They're working on that. Athena has made more bows and arrows than we'll ever need, we've got a small arsenal of axes, and people are talking about building huts." He frowned. "Why're we making this stuff, anyway? We can have Andr steal shit from the cities, right?"
"Not all the time—not without drawing human attention. It's always handy to remember how to make things for ourselves. If one of us end up alone somehow, it's handy for them to know how to get food and make weapons, tools and baskets. The reason you're stuck with this tedious job is because you don't know the first thing about survival."
He turned to glare at her. She smirked back playfully.
"It's always good to know the basics," Ari said. "Maybe you'll get the chance to work on a furnace or a hut before Mystia sends you back."
"Yeah, right." He paused, then added more softly, "Uh…thanks, I guess. For teaching me all this stuff."
"Hey, I'm happy to help. I don't want you to instantly die if you ever get separated from us…"
"How nice of you."
"…because we all know how bad you are at surviving right now."
He gave another glare. "I hate you."
She smirked. "That's fair. Now look closely at how a real master weaves a basket."
Present day
Andr looked down at her hands.
The sight of the giant mob bleeding out haunted her. Athena kneeling at his side, surrounded by Hunters. The unnamed mob had convinced the archeress to let him die, and Athena had in turn told Andr not to get help. And Andr had listened, like a fool.
She clenched a fist. Even when her former self's emotions didn't surface, she was still powerful. She should've been able to help…but she hadn't. Because she let someone else tell her what to do. With this power, she should be able to help anyone, right? The only thing that was holding her back was her inability to act of her own accord.
I should be stronger than that.
Maybe I can be stronger…
Andr felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to be met with Athena.
"Hey," Athena said. "Thanks for your help."
"We let one of them die," Andr said more coldly than intended.
Athena paused, taken aback. "It was his wish," she softly said.
"And that excuses it?"
Athena fell silent. Then she nodded down. "Where'd you get those?"
Andr looked at her legs. They were covered in a new-looking pair of black trousers. She felt embarrassment suddenly melting her coldness—the result of a kind of mood swing she had been having more and more often as her other self grew more influential.
"Ah, well…" she said. "I found them in Crevan's hideout. He and Bear had a lot of things stored away." She touched the short cloak she had around her shoulders. Also black, the short, worn cloth just about reached her lower back. "I thought, since they probably weren't going to see much use if we left them there, I might as well take them…"
"They look good on you."
"Thanks."
Kai hauled his supplies to his horse outside, glancing at the descending sun. Soon enough, they could resume their journey.
The incident with the redstone lift that night had left him thinking. Though it was not the first time he had talked to a mob, having a neutral conversation with one was still a rare occurrence. Whenever it did happen, it left him feeling conflicted. Even more so than usual, anyway.
"She shows no hostility," he mumbled to his horse as he worked. "Either she has remarkable self-control, or she somehow does not hate us." He paused, then added, "Or she was afraid that showing hostility would have consequences."
The horse looked at him. He knew he was just imagining it, but he could not help but feel judged.
"Do not look at me like that, Valiant," Kai sighed. "Even after what happened with Sarah, I had a duty to fulfill. There were still threats to fight."
Valiant did not avert his gaze.
Kai sighed again. "I will be back."
He returned to the cave, where the other Hunters were packing. The mobs did not seem to have much with them, aside from the bag the sympathizer was carrying. Mobs were more used to getting nourishment from their environment, be it by hunting or by picking fruits.
Crevan—the Red Fox—sat in a corner, looking into space, his hands bound. Kai felt responsible; looking back, he should have expected that Flamma would cause trouble. Had he taken that into account when they formed their plan, Bear might still be alive.
"Athena," Kai said. "You should check if the sun is low enough."
She nodded and stood up. Kai grabbed a set of bags and quietly followed her outside. He had wanted to talk to her about Bear's fate, but what could he say? That he was sorry? He was a Hunter—any expressions of sympathy would sound insincere or mocking, no matter how good Athena was at reading people. He did not even want to think about how Crevan would react.
Outside, Kai returned to the horses, leaving Athena to test the sun.
Raulyn's horse—Kai forgot its name, and he was not even sure if Raulyn chose the same horse for every mission—looked at him expectantly.
"If you are expecting food from me," Kai muttered as he dropped the bags on the ground, "I fear I must disappoint you."
The horse kept looking at him. Then it turned to something else.
Kai followed its gaze, and was pleased to see Athena and Minerva casually wandering around. Seemed like the sun was low enough for the Stray to leave cover without too much discomfort.
Athena looked to the horses hesitantly, then approached, followed by her reluctant sister. Athena regarded the horses with a hint of wonder. She was probably not used to being close to one without the fear of being attacked.
Raulyn's horse looked back at her calmly.
Then Valiant let out a low whinny. Kai shot his horse a look. "What do you want! You eat enough as is."
Athena chuckled. "You talk to your horse?"
"I find he is a better conversationalist than most Hunters." He glanced at her. "Is the sun low enough? If so, we can leave as soon as our luggage is packed."
"We're ready. It still stings a little, but that won't last long."
"Good." He moved towards the cave entrance. The other Hunters were too busy packing their items, questioning Flamma as to why and how she followed them unnoticed, or 'ensuring that the mobs did not try anything'. Kai was the only one moving the bags. Someone had to do it.
As for Flamma… Apparently she had not felt comfortable leaving her fellows at the mercy of the mobs, so she had followed the group on her own horse, tracing their steps, keeping her distance.
When the group stopped for a brief break, Flamma had entered a separate cave to rest as well. It was here that she met Crevan and Bear—whom she had immediately tried to kill, only to face capture. In her scuffle with the two mobs, she had been too focused on the fight to remember the way back, and therefore could not lead Kai and Athena to the exit.
Kai was impressed by how Flamma had remained so distant and hidden from the group for so long without losing them, but he was not happy to see her here. She kept insisting that she had done everything right in the mineshaft, saving herself and Kai both. And despite the fact that Athena could have easily betrayed Kai and sided with the two mobs, Flamma had absolutely no trust or sympathy for her—too indoctrinated to see that Athena's plan would have worked in everyone's favor, had Flamma cooperated.
Of course Galen and Ilyoin believed and agreed with her story. Raulyn had remained somewhat impartial, only reprimanding Flamma for disobeying his orders. If she had helped kill Bear, the captain would probably have been less harsh on her.
Rayallv had kept himself quiet and separate from the debate. Kai had ended up leaving the debate as well after telling his side of the story. He knew there was no convincing the others that mobs could do any sort of good.
He hauled another set of bags outside and returned to the horses. Athena was still looking at the beasts with fascination and apprehension. Kai passed her and Minerva, set down the bags and began to tie one to Valiant's saddle.
"Hey, Kai," Athena said, gently grabbing his arm.
Kai stopped, looking at her hand. She quickly let him go and glanced towards the cave.
"Can I ask you something?" Athena said, her voice quiet.
"Go ahead."
"Why is Raulyn here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why's he doing all of this?" Athena asked. "I mean, why help us get to the Aether at all? Because he wants to capture Jack? Or because of that letter Herobrine left him? I don't understand."
Now Kai was the one to glance at the entrance. He did not think that discussing this with her would be harmful in any way, but talking to the mobs at all without insulting or threatening them was something the Hunters would not take positively—especially if this was the subject of their conversation.
"Why do you want to know?" he hesitantly asked, setting down the bag he was holding. "He is doing this. That is all you should be interested in."
She did not respond, but her gaze was insistent.
"The letter," Kai finally said, "mentioned three others besides Snyder."
"Tristan, Karles and the Rogue."
"Yes. When Jack was still in Ironhand, Tristan was one of the three Hunters alongside Drake and Raulyn. When he threatened to turn against the Hunters, Drake killed him at the cost of his own life, leaving Raulyn by himself."
"Was that before or after Jack left?"
"After. It was believed that Jack's act of rebellion had inspired Tristan to defect, but this was never confirmed."
Athena remained silent for a while, pondering on his words. "What about the other two?"
He doubted this could do harm, either. Besides, this was common knowledge in Ironhand anyway. "Raulyn's parents were killed by mobs when Raulyn himself was just a few years old. Karles took him in and trained him to become a Hunter since childhood. He was eventually killed during a hunt."
"So Raulyn lost every one of his caretakers to mobs…"
Kai nodded. "Some say that is the reason why Raulyn is so zealous. I do not know how true that is; he claims he does not remember his parents, yet he seems convinced that the mob who killed them is the same one that killed Karles later."
"And that mob was the Rogue?"
"No—Raulyn already executed Karles' killer. But, supposedly, the Rogue was part of the same group they were hunting."
"So this is about revenge," sighed Minerva. "Typical."
Kai glanced at her. He tried to keep his face even, but Athena seemed to read him easily. "It's not that, is it?" Athena said. "This isn't about revenge. This is a hunt."
"I thought you already realized that?"
"There's more to it though, isn't there? Raulyn's tenacious, but he wouldn't go to a place like the Aether just to get revenge—or even to kill a regular mob. He's more careful than that."
Kai hesitated. Athena reminded him of Sarah, albeit less apathetic. He was not sure what to think of that. If she knew why the Rogue was so important, she might understand the Hunters' motivations for this mission. Maybe even help them.
Minerva shook her head. "Let's just go get the others."
"You go," Athena said. "I'll help Kai with these bags."
Minerva hesitated.
"Just go," Athena said. "I'll be fine."
The Wither Skeleton paused. Then she pointed to Kai. "You. Don't touch her."
She stalked away.
Kai looked at Athena questioningly.
"No one else is helping you," Athena said. "I've seen humans do this before, so I think I know how to do it."
"Watching someone doing something and doing it by yourself are two very different things."
"I learn quickly."
He grabbed a bag. "Well, you are classified as a learner."
"What does that mean?"
"You should be careful; most learner mobs are more attuned to one thing than another—as I am sure you have noticed."
"You say that like it's some power I have."
He stopped, turning to her. "You…do not know, do you?"
"Know what?"
He paused. In hindsight, he should have known she would not know anything about this. Mob classifications were created by humans.
He began tying the bag to the horse's saddle. "Your heart does not beat, correct?"
"That's right."
"Because of that, you are classified as an undead mob. As far as we are aware, you did not rise from the grave, but you have characteristics of someone who is dead."
"What does that have to do with learning?"
"Well," Kai said, "there are other classifications. Besides undeath, you are also classified as a learner. A mob who can…well, learn more quickly and effectively than humans."
She frowned. "… Superhuman learning?"
"Have you never wondered why you are so skilled at hand-to-hand combat?"
"I thought that was just me being fast."
"Well, you are fast," he confirmed. "Coordination, senses and reflexes help, as does your tendency to target vulnerable areas. But it does not mean certain victory unless those qualities are especially strong, especially when your opponent is armed. Have you ever seen treatises about fighting?"
"Yeah, I have."
"And after seeing those treatises, learning to apply the techniques they mentioned was quite easy for you, correct?"
"Isn't that normal?"
He chuckled. "Ha! Most humans need extensive practice to instinctively master those techniques. Learner mobs do not. A combination of superhuman abilities and combat mastery gives you a major advantage in a fight. Many learners are also quick to adapt to their opponent's fighting pattern, which only adds to that advantage." He finished tying the bag and took another one.
"I… I never knew that. I guess that explains why using a bow became easy so quickly, too." She hesitated. "And…why Bear couldn't beat the Hunters. He wasn't a learner, was he…"
Kai fell silent as a more serious tone set in. "Even if he was," he quietly said, not looking at her, "not all learners can survive a situation like that."
She remained silent for a moment. "Kai… About that…"
He glanced at her.
"I'm not blaming you for what happened to him," Athena said. "I blame myself more, because I'm the one who stood by and let him die."
He said nothing. He did blame himself for what happened.
"But you…" Athena continued. "You said you only hunted mobs because of people like Elektra. Bear was nothing like her, but the Hunters killed him anyway."
Kai suppressed a sigh. He knew where she was going with this. It was not unexpected that she brought this up.
"Yes, I have reservations about many things humanity considers normal," Kai admitted. "Especially matters that involve mobs. And yes, if it were up to me, Bear would have survived." His gaze darkened. "I also said the Hunters do not deserve your sympathy. That includes me."
"But you're better than them. We made a good team in that mine, didn't we?"
"When this mission is over, the Hunters will go back to hunting mobs. If you and I meet again after that, it will not be on good terms."
She fell silent. And she still did not look angry.
"This is the only way to protect humanity," Kai added. "There are terrorists and survivors among your kind, and I do not trust myself to be able to tell them apart."
Voices rang out from the cave. The others were preparing to leave. It was time to move.
Athena gave Kai one last look. A look of disappointment. Then she left to join the mobs.
Kai watched her go.
Yes, I know this chapter was basically nothing but dialogue, thoughts and infodumps. Not every future chapter will be like this, I swear.