Home again
When Nuka woke up, the first thing he felt was a cozy warmth and and he was about to snuggle in a little bit more and relax, when he suddenly heard two voices conversing softly in the background!
Confused about who it was and where he was, he opened his eyes and, to his surprise, realized he was in his room in Herobrine's castle!
But how did I get here? he wondered as he cautiously lifted his head, whereupon, shortly after, he spotted Herobrine and Roxana working on something at his desk.
Both had their backs turned, seemingly unaware of his awakening, but that wasn't what astonished Nuka.
It was the way the two interacted.
Nuka sat up a little more and stared at them in wonder and confusion, while the two of them continued working, seeming to be lost in their own world.
He had never seen two people speak so gently and kindly to each other, especially not Herobrine.
They look good together, he thought and was startled when he heard Herobrine laugh.
And it wasn't even an evil or threatening laugh but a small and genuine one. It was so unlike him.
Like he genuinely enjoyed their company.
I wonder what they're doing that fascinates them so much, he thought before extending his hand, but hesitating because he didn't know if he should disturb them or not.
He didn't want to, especially because seeing Herobrine smiling and happy was such a rare thing.
But he had no other choice if he wanted to get answers.
Besides, they would notice him sooner or later anyways.
"Uh... h-hello?" he finally managed to say, causing the two to turn around and look at him in surprise.
"Nuka!" exclaimed Roxana a moment later, delighted, while Herobrine still stood there, staring at him in shock as if Nuka had caught him doing something forbidden.
He still looked weakened and tired, and the green eyes on his face painfully reminded Nuka that all of this wasn't just a bad dream.
That would have been too good to be true.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're awake!" Roxana continued cheerfully, sitting next to his bed. "How are you?"
"Oh, quite good I think," Nuka replied with a nervous smile. "Still a bit dizzy, but otherwise, I'm fine."
Roxana nodded in relief upon hearing that.
"Ah, thank Notch," she sighed happily a moment later. "I was worried there might be more complications after you were unconscious for so long."
"Here," she continued, reaching into her pocket, searching for something "Hero and I made this. It should help you with any residual complications from overusing your powers."
With these words, she turned around and held out a potion that she handed to Nuka, who looked at it with surprise.
"You and Hero made this?" he repeated incredulously, looking at Herobrine, who avoided his gaze.
"Yes," Roxana replied with an enthusiastic nod glancing briefly at Herobrine before looking back to Nuka with a smile
"He's teaching me some of the old recipes so I can use them to help others. Isn't that great?"
Nuka looked at her in shock upon hearing this before turning back to Herobrine.
"You're teaching her?" he asked with a puzzled smile, while Herobrine still continued to avoid his gaze, looking very uncomfortable now. He folded his arms and stiffened up but Nuka was too curious to stop now.
"Since when do you reveal your greatest secrets to a stranger? Especially when it comes to helping others? I mean, doesn't that go against everything you do?"
"Enough!" Herobrine suddenly exploded, spined around to Nuka and looking at him with surprisingly angry eyes.
"What I do with Roxana or what I teach her is damn none of your business! Got it?"
Nuka looked at him in shock, before lovering his head with guilt.
He knew Herobrine's body language well enough by now to know when to stop asking questions and now he regretted choosing not to listen to it.
Still he hadn't expected such a sudden outburst and above all he didn't understand why Herobrine reacted like that.
Why was it so bad that he and Roxana were doing stuff together?
"Anyway, we have more important things to do," Herobrine continued with a now much calmer voice, running a hand through his hair, seeming quite exhausted, before directing his attention back to Nuka ,,Do you know how much you missed?!"
Nuka looked at him uncertainly, still trying to figure out why he was so angry in the first place and for a moment he wondered if he should ask him about it but he quickly refrained.
After all, Herobrine didn't seem to like this topic and Nuka didn't want to further dampen his best friend's mood.
For now it was best to go along with him.
Maybe I can ask him later, he concluded with a sigh before looking to Herobrine and smiling nervously.
,,No unfortunately not" not be answered before he face darkened again ,,The last thing i remember is saving Einshine from a cave in."
,,Yeah I figured", Herobrine answered with a sigh as he settled on the other side at the foot of Nuka's bed. "But don't expect much. It's not a pleasant story."
And with these word he started to tell all the things that happend to him and the group.
Well, not everything, as they were still running out of time, but everything that was necessary, including the reveal of the relation between Nuka and Null.
"Oh," Nuka murmured after a few moments of silence, feeling disheartened after listening to Herobrine's story. "So now you know..."
With these words, he turned to Roxana, who nodded sadly.
"Yes," she confirmed a moment later, gently grabbing Nuka's arm and looking at him imploringly. "But Nuka, no one holds a grude against you."
"Well..." Herobrine grumbled quietly, earning a stern look from Roxana.
"Don't listen to him," she continued, turning her attention back to Nuka "Aurora and the others... they might still not like you but they are more angry at Hero. After all, he was the one who told you to keep it a secret, wasn't he?"
"Yes," he replied softly, withdrawing his arm from Roxana's grasp and gazing at her for a moment. "Seems like we're even for that now."
Roxana looked at him, momentarily puzzled, but then she understood.
"Oh, you mean because I didn't tell you that... that I was the one who... who gave the arrow to Jason?" she whispered, dismayed.
Nuka only lowered his gaze.
He didn't want to hold a grudge, but discovering that she, now one of his favorite people in the group, was partly responsible for his imprisonment and torture in the dungeon, hurt him deeply.
Especially because she had kept it from him and she probably never would have revealed it without Jason's confession.
I'm not angry at her, thought Nuka as he observed Roxana, who had lowered her head and sighed deeply. But I want to at least know why... I want to understand.
"Well... I guess I owe you an explanation" Roxana finally replied, running a hand through her hair and locking with her sorrowful green eyes onto Nuka.
"It... I'm so sorry for what happened to you back then, Nuka," she continued a moment later, with a sad and seroius tone "I... I didn't know they...they would do this to you..."
"You see I... I had never been to Skylor before.", She tried to explain ,,I always lived in a small village far away from there before coming to Melodia and I was only in Skylor because Aurora moved there for her training and she had invited me to the festival…"
She sighed.
,,That's why I gave the arrow, because I thought they would just imprison you for your crimes, as we magicians do."
She shook her head sadly, closing her eyes, still evidently regreting her decision.
"But when Aurora came to me and told me... what... what had happened to you..." she paused, sighing sorrowfully before continuing with a heavy voice, "I...I was horrified and ashamed because torturing and killing people goes completely against our code."
"That's why I wasn't at your execution, instead, I left Skylor way earlier than I had planned. It was only after a few weeks that I learned through a letter from my sister that Hero saved you and you survived, which I am very glad about."
With these words, she lifted her head and smiled weakly before her face darkened again.
"I didn't want to tell you what I did because I was still ashamed," she continued with lowered eyes, "and because... because I didn't want you to be angry with me and especially not go through all these….memories again..."
She sighed.
"I hope you can forgive me for this" she ended with a pleading look at Nuka, who quite surprised by this explanation.
"I think you can accept her apology, Nuka," Herobrine suddenly interjected before he could say anything himself, "After all... the blame ultimately still lies with me."
At these words, his face briefly darkened and he looked away, prompting Nuka to cast him a sympathetic look before he got back to Roxana and smiled sadly.
"I thank you for yor explanation" he replied kindly. "And I can understand now why you did it and therefore, I can forgive you."
"Thank you," Roxana responded, relieved, before a clearing of Herobrine's throat caught her attention.
"Well? Do you think Nuka is fit to get up again?" he asked, to which Roxana quickly nodded.
"Yes, he should be good now," she confirmed, casting a brief, assessing glance at Nuka before redirecting her gaze to Herobrine. "I think we can return to the others now."
"Good," murmured Herobrine thoughtfully, before looking at Roxana and smiling, "Go ahead if you will, right? I need to talk to Nuka for a moment."
"Oh, of course," Roxana immediately replied before she stood up, hastily packed her things, and then left the room.
"What's going on between you and her?" Nuka asked curiously shortly after she had left.
"Hm?" Herobrine responded, confused, prompting Nuka to smile uncertainly.
"I mean, usually, you're very, very reserved when it comes to teaching someone, especially brewing potions. And she even wants to use it to help people, normally you would hate that, right?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Herobrine muttered coldly, his face hardening again as he turned away, leaving Nuka quite puzzled.
"Why not?" he dared to ask. "You looked so happy and content working with her."
He smiled.
"If I didn't know better, I would say that..."
"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Herobrine sharply interrupted, causing Nuka to flinch and look at him in shock, still not understanding why such an innocent remark upset him so much.
But he knew Herobrine well enough by now, that he realized it wasn't the right time to continue.
"Oh... okay," he muttered instead with a deep sigh, attempting to shake off his disappointment and frustration before turning back to Herobrine. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Herobrine, whose anger seemed to also had subsided by now, sighed in response and briefly rubbed his eyes with his fingers, before turning to Nuka again.
"Well... After everything we've been through in the last few days," he began with a serious tone, "I couldn't help but notice that you seem to have a problem with Jason. So much so that you hastily left the room the first time you saw him. And not just that. Even now, you're doing your best to avoid him and evade any eye contact."
He paused briefly, and Nuka found himself lowering his gaze and tensing.
He knew where this was going.
"I mean, if I didn't know better, I would say you're afraid of him because he's the one who shot you down back then," Herobrine continued with a thoughtful voice, more to himself than to Nuka, before turning back to him. "But you didn't know that until now, so why do you fear him nonetheless?"
Nuka swallowed hard as he heard that.
He knew that his reactions regarding Jason couldn't go unnoticed, especially since the cave-in and he was relieved that, of all people, Herobrine was the one who took him aside and brought it up.
Nevertheless, he still felt awful.
Not because he was afraid to tell him; he knew he could trust Herobrine.
Not, it was because of the shame that weighed on him.
Ashamed that he had reacted that way in the first place, ashamed that he couldn't control himself and especially ashamed because it was such a silly reason that didn't deserve such harsh reactions.
But he knew he still had to tell Herobrine.
He was the only one he could ever tell.
"Well," he finally began with a slightly shaky voice, turning his gaze away and feeling the tears welling up, "it's nothing...it's just because he... he looks like my... my tormentor..."