Ok, two pieces of good news for yall:
- The next chapter is already written, and
- you guys are getting it first! screw wattpad amiright lol
"Okay, doctor." Heather sank down next to Theo, causing him to jump as he was startled from his work. "What's the news? How's he feeling?" Theo hesitated, looking down at Steve's prone form on the ground before him.
"If I had to guess, I would say not great."
Steve had yet to wake up since Null had attacked him. The latter hadn't made a reappearance, despite their group not having gone far before making camp. Heather had noticed that he'd never shown up while Theo was around - maybe he was intimidated by the hacker. Whatever the case, Theo had been working tirelessly to try to fix whatever was wrong with their friend.
"Look at this." Theo gestured to his screen, and Heather leaned over to study it. "For my own reference, I wrote a process that will identify what - and who - a specific piece of code belongs to so I can follow it. Red is Steve, blue is Null."
"That sure is colors." She remarked. Theo had tried to explain his technical jargon to her before, but this mass of letters and numbers meant nothing to her.
"Right. Sorry. Um…" Theo struggled to dumb it down for her. "It's like… okay. So Null's code, it's like a virus. Not a computer virus, a people virus. It's spreading its way through the game's code, infecting it as it goes." He pointed at where the red and blue intersected. "He got Steve." Heather frowned.
"Is… it's not irreversible, is it?" She asked, with no small amount of trepidation.
"No. I've been reversing it for the last few hours." Theo sighed, cracking his knuckles. "See, now the problem is- Steve's started to spread. He's becoming a virus too. It's all very messy. I've been referencing Alex's code to try and put him back together, but I don't have everything, since they're… different people, and stuff."
"Mm…" Heather rested a hand on Steve's head, brushing his hair out of his face. "Poor Steve."
"He's been through the wringer." Theo agreed. "But I'm fairly confident I can fix him. I just need time."
"Okay…" Heather gave her friend a final pat. "...what happens if you can't fix him?" Theo went quiet for a few moments.
"I dunno. I guess I trap him in a Nether Portal and try again after Null's dealt with."
"Fitting." Heather sighed. "Oh, and, do you really think Null can remove him? Like he threatened to?"
The hacker quirked his jaw thoughtfully. "I think it's worth not giving him the chance."
"Right." She nodded, standing. "Thank you, Theo."
"Of course." Theo gave her a small smile, and Heather returned it before turning away and heading back to where the others waited.
None of the others liked this situation any more than she did, disheartened by the state of their friend. Alex was currently dozing on top of one of the beds they had been lugging around, with Notch sitting quietly against the wall next to it. Herobrine was plucking at the bandages on his shoulder, and he looked up as his wife approached.
"Heather." He murmured in greeting. Heather sank down and flopped against him, face buried in his side. Herobrine gave her a squeeze. "How's Steve?" He murmured. "Any progress?"
"Mmh… yes, but nothing visible." His wife shifted to lay her head in his lap, gazing up at his face. He looked very nice from this angle. "What's the plan?"
"The plan?" Brine echoed. "I suppose we're waiting on Theo for that."
"Well, disregarding Steve." She elaborated. "Do we continue to travel?"
"As much as possible." Herobrine leaned his chin into his hand, his other hand tracing her cheek. "I wonder if it isn't possible for Theo to join us." Heather blinked.
"Doesn't he need to work on Null?"
"Perhaps he would work while we were stopped. He's the most effective at keeping Null off of us."
"Mm…" Heather nodded. "I've never seen Null attack him, yeah." Herobrine shrugged.
"Would it surprise you if he were a coward? Relentlessly hunting those he sees as vulnerable and helpless, while avoiding those he sees as a threat?" Herobrine scoffed softly, shaking his head. "It only clashes with his rantings… they would lead me to believe he thinks himself all-powerful."
"Well, he's crazy, he doesn't have to make sense." Heather pointed out. Herobrine nodded in agreement, and a few moments passed before his wife spoke again. "...you think there's any hope for him?"
"Hope?" Herobrine echoed. "For who? Null?" Heather nodded.
"Theo said he saw some similarities between Null and himself… in that he's hurt, angry and lashing out."
Herobrine frowned. "Theo never tried to kill you."
"That's what I said!"
"To answer your question, though, I can't say." Herobrine shook his head. "Whether or not he can be saved. He's…" He hesitated, and Heather filled in,
"Nuts."
"Right. Completely consumed by his desire for revenge." Herobrine sighed. "Revenge for a punishment he entirely deserved." Heather was quiet for a few minutes. He was right. He and Notch had been lacking options at the time. Without a way to kill Null, trapping him had been their best option. She wondered fleetingly if, if they had tried, it would have been possible to save him back then.
"I think we should put him back in the Nether Portal." She commented lightly. "That way, when he breaks out in another 1,600 years, at least he won't be interrupting our wedding." Herobrine scoffed quietly.
"Wasn't it 1,700?"
"I can't remember. If-"
"Heather!" Theo's voice interrupted their light banter. "Herobrine, Notch, Alex!" Heather looked up to see what all the ruckus was about, and spied the smallest flash of blue on Steve's face. "He's awake."
Whether or not it was intentional, whatever Null did to Steve had left him debilitated until further notice.
That first night he said almost nothing, only a few mumbles suggesting that he was conscious before he fell back asleep. The next morning he was still sleeping, and the group discussed at length what the plan was from there.
Eventually, a consensus was reached. Theo would accompany the group for now, monitoring Steve's state and defending them from any of Null's attacks. They packed up, exited their shelter, and set off again, Notch carrying Steve across his shoulders.
The longer they traveled, the more Heather began to suspect that Herobrine was right - Null was avoiding Theo. There was no sign of him or any of his cronies, even when they eventually stopped moving altogether and made a more permanent camp. He seemed to have no interest in attacking while Theo was nearby to shut him down.
Steve floated in and out (mostly out) of consciousness over the next few days. On the fourth day, he finally woke up for more than a few minutes, blinking lazily into the campfire for a few moments before announcing his wakefulness.
"Heather?" The tired voice drew her attention away from her meal, and Heather looked up to find a pair of blue eyes on her.
"Steve!" She rocketed upright, hurrying over to where he was laying on the far side of the fire. The miner gave her a tight smile, though he made no move to sit up.
"What's… goin' on?"
"You've had a rough few days, that's what's goin' on." Alex sank down at his side as Heather got near, ruffling his hair fondly. Steve just rolled his eyes, too weak to bat her away. "What's the last thing you remember?" Alex asked as Heather sat down on his other side.
"Uh…" Steve got a hand up far enough to rub at his forehead. "I guess… fighting the Elder Guardian." He looked up, alarmed. "What happened there? Is everyone alright?"
"Everyone's fine." Heather hastened to assure him. "I got hurt, Alex got killed, but we're all fine now. You got kidnapped by Null." Steve frowned.
"Oh."
"And turned against us. Welcome back, buddy." Theo called over to him. Steve lifted his hand in a small wave.
"Oh… Notch." He let his head fall to the grass again. "I think I do remember that."
"Oh?" Notch looked over, evidently hearing his name. "What do you remember?"
"Nothing more than a jumble of images." Steve shook his head, then yelped when Alex dragged him up to sit. He braced one hand on the ground, not making any move to take his own weight. "Do you have… food?"
"Oh, yeah, of course." Heather scrambled over to the campfire, grabbing a golden carrot from the bag beside it. On her left, Herobrine was watching the exchange quietly.
"Thanks." Steve rasped as she pressed the carrot into his hand. His hunger bar was probably completely empty, Heather realized as he bit off the tip and visibly perked up. By the time he had finished the carrot and started on another, he was no longer leaning limply on Alex, looking almost as alert as he usually did.
"I remember riding through a spruce forest, crossing through a nether portal with a bunch of piglin brutes, and…" He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure what's real, it all feels like a dream. I think I remember talking with Null in the obsidian prison he had us in, too."
"Don't suppose you remember anything he said?" Herobrine spoke up. Steve was quiet for a few moments.
"Arguing." He said at last. "I said something rude to him, and he snapped back saying he'd 'remove his influence'. Which I imagine meant being under his control… which caused me to want it? I don't know."
Herobrine grunted softly. "Interesting, but not useful, I don't think. How are you feeling?"
"Better." Steve said without missing a beat. "Much better. Less like I could fall over at any moment."
"Good. I'm not carrying you any more." Alex nudged him gently. A few feet away, Notch rolled his eyes,
"How did you release me?" Steve asked curiously, easing his weight off of his friend. "Beat me over the head until I let up?"
"Is that how you usually solve your problems?" Heather cut in, incredulous. Alex snickered.
"Some of them." She allowed. "But no. Null threatened to remove you from the game, zapped you, then Notch and Herobrine killed him and you were back to normal… I guess."
"Not quite." Theo cut in. "I spent like four hours trying to splice your code back together. You're welcome."
"Thanks." Steve responded automatically, his face troubled. "Remove me? Like, kill me for good?"
"I guess." Alex repeated. "And, if he can do that, that makes you and I… rather vulnerable."
"Right." Steve rubbed at his eyes, sighing softly. "Guess we're a lot less useful in a fight, now."
"Well, that's why I'm here." Theo spoke up cheerfully. "And I'm very close to being able to shut him down for good."
"You can do that?" Notch asked, clearly surprised. "I thought you couldn't get rid of him because of how deeply he's entrenched in the game's code."
"Well, yeah. I'm not going to get rid of him, per se." Theo allowed. "But it will keep him from pulling any stunts like this ever again."
"What are you going to do?" Heather asked.
Theo pursed his lips. "I'm not gonna tell you yet. Not until I'm sure it's going to work. It can be a surprise."
"When it's a matter of life and death, I'm not sure I want it to be a surprise." Herobrine cut in flatly.
"Ahh, you're such a killjoy." Theo cracked his knuckles, pulling up his console and revealing the colored lines of code. "Don't worry. It'll be ready before you know it."