CHAPTER 3

When the Aetherians finally caught up to the Ender, they saw it laying on the ground and the Human holding a glowing orb. They thought for a moment that the Ender was dead, perhaps the Human had killed it, but no. The Ender moved.

One of the Aetherians loaded an arrow into a bow. "What are you doing?" another hissed.

"Relax. The king said 'dead or alive', right? I'll just get it between the eyes and make our lives so much easier," the first explained.

"What about the orb?"

"We can reason with the Human, and if not, we can kill her. She's not important, either way we'll get that thing for the king." The Aetherian fired. Unfortunately, they weren't even close to hitting the Ender. Instead, they hit the Human.

The orb exploded when it hit the ground. The Ender was thrown back, but Alex was frozen in place. She couldn't feel her hands and feet, much less move them. She was trapped by the magic that roared and swirled around her like the wind of a hurricane. All at once, the magic turned and slammed into her, rising her off her feet. She could feel the energy entering her body and racing down her veins. She screamed in agony and clenched her hands into fists, since that was the only thing she was able to move. Tears ran down her face as the last of the magic entered her body and she was dropped out of the air.

Everything felt numb yet hypersensitive at the same time. Alex's hands were shaking and her skin tingled. Her vision faded out of focus, but she saw a few specific images. The Ender was staring at her, the Aetherians walking towards her with swords drawn, Tropelet struggling to his feet and standing between the Aetherians and Alex.

Wait. How did she know the Ender's name?

That was her last thought before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Sweet sticky juice dripped down Alex's arm. She held an enchanted golden apple in her hands and she munched on it. Every bite was perfectly sweet and juicy, with a slight kick from the magic. She sat on the edge of a floating island. All around her were similar floating islands covered in brightly colored trees and small houses. Islands close together were connected with bridges, but they were relatively useless. Aetherians teleported between islands with no need for bridges. The sky was washed in brilliant shades of orange. Since the Aether had no horizon for the sun to sink behind, the sun simply bounced from east to west, turning the sky brilliant colors when it sunk lower in the sky. No night or darkness touched this dimension. Alex sighed in peace and took another bite of her apple.

Something wasn't right. Alex had no idea how she had gotten into the Aether, nor how she had gotten an enchanted golden apple. Was this a dream? No, it couldn't be. Everything felt way too realistic to be a dream. Besides, she had never been to the Aether before and there was no way all of this came from her imagination.

"Hey, Hero!" Alex glanced back and saw a kid about eight or so years old join her on the cliffside.

She smiled at him. "Hey Steve." When he sat down, she put her arm around him. They enjoyed the view together.

Wait. Why did that kid just call her "Hero"? Better question: why did she RESPOND to the name Hero!? And how did she know the kid's name was Steve? She had never seen this kid before in her life!

She wanted to throw the rest of the apple away, stand up, and start demanding answers from the kid, but she… couldn't. Now matter how badly she wanted to move, Alex was stuck staring at the sunset. It was almost like this wasn't even her own body. She couldn't even panic from that concerning thought.

Against her will, Alex glanced over at Steve and frowned when she noticed something. There was a bruise under his left eye. "Steve—" she began, but Steve interrupted her.

"It's fine, Hero," He brushed her away. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing," Alex pointed out. "Is it Anthony again? Do I have to teach him another lesson?"

"No!" Steve exclaimed. "Just… stop. Last time you just made it worse." He looked down at his lap and fiddled with his fingers.

Alex's heart sank. "I'm… sorry, Steve." He looked back up at her. "I didn't mean to. But I'm your big brother. It's my job to protect you," she smirked and nudged him.

Steve chuckled and nudged Alex back. "You're only older by three minutes."

"Whatever. I'm still older." Satisfied with making Steve smile, Alex went back to watching the sunset.

Alex wasn't even sure what to make of that conversation. She was his… brother? That didn't even make sense! If anything, she'd be his sister. Besides, Alex didn't have any siblings. What was going on!?

Drip.

Drip.

Drip drip.

Drip.

Something cold and wet landed on Alex's face. She flinched and slowly cracked open her eyes. Her vision was blurry and it was dark, but she quickly adjusted. She was in a cave. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like claws reaching towards her and water dripped from the tips. Another cold drip landed on her cheek and she quickly brushed it off.

Alex was lying in the center of a small base cut out from the sharp dripstone floor. Several chests were stacked against one wall next to a furnace and crafting table. A torch burned off to the side, casting flickering light over the base. The shadows of the stalagmites danced on the wall of the cave.

Alex slowly sat up and examined her surroundings. Where is she? Was this a dream, too? She honestly couldn't tell. She ran her fingers over her arm, remembering she had been shot. To her surprise, the arrow and the wound were gone. The skin was smooth, with not even a trace of the injury. Okay, this was a dream. There was no way she could have healed that fast.

Suddenly, Tropelet teleported into the cave with a small "vrrp". White bandages stood out against his black skin. They were mostly wrapped around his chest and his stump of a left arm, but he also had one around his leg. He walked with a noticeable limp. He held several large, pale purple fruits. He munched on one and put the rest in a chest. He glanced at Alex and smiled when he saw her on her feet. "Ah, good, you're okay."

"What do you mean 'you're okay'? Who are you!? Where am I?!" Alex demanded. She reached for her sword to threaten the Ender, but she realized the blade and its sheath were gone from her back. "And where's my sword!?"

"Calm down, I have it. I didn't want you to harm me," Tropelet said. "You're safe, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Not worry!? I'm stranded underground without a weapon and I'm in here with a criminal!" she took a step back from Tropelet and scowled at him.

Tropelet almost retorted, but he stopped himself. "Fair enough. I mean you know harm, though. If I was going to kill you, I would have left you to the Aetherians."

His words sent a cold shiver down Alex's spine. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"That thing you broke wasn't just some contraband," Tropelet said seriously. "You're Human, so I wouldn't be surprised if you have never heard of Herobrine before, but—"

"You mean the guy from the wanted poster? The one that was arrested recently? What does he have to do with anything?" Alex demanded.

"Before he was arrested, he entrusted his powers to me, along with his memories by accident. And I failed him, since now they're in your body," he glared at her.

"What?!" Alex's tone rose in pitch.

Instead of saying something, Tropelet sliced her arm with one of his claws. Alex yelped in pain and jerked away. "Hey! What the heck, I thought you said you weren't going to hurt me!"

"Look," Tropelet pointed at the wound. Alex looked down at it and sucked in a gasp of shock. The wound glowed faintly and before her eyes, it healed. In just a few seconds it was completely gone, leaving nothing but a dribble of blood down her arm.

"Woah," was all she could say.

"No Humans heal like that. I had my doubt as to whether you absorbed the power or destroyed it, but when I saw the arrow wound heal before my eyes I knew you had absorbed it," Tropelet explained. "This makes you the most wanted person in the Tetraverse."

"What!? Why?" Alex demanded.

"Well, just a few days ago that title belonged to Herobrine. Obviously, he was captured. The king of the Aetherians will not want this piece of Herobrine floating around the worlds. I had the powers in my possession, making me the most wanted. Now it's you, and unlike me, you can't just pass them up. You absorbed them into your body. His memories are now yours, as are his abilities. And there is nothing I can do about it."

Alex had to think about that. She was the most wanted person alive, simply for breaking a weird orb. Was she really going to have to spend the rest of her life as a wanted criminal? "Is there really NOTHING you can do? There isn't a way for you to reverse the absorption?"

Tropelet shook his head. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. I cannot wield magic like that. We'd need an Aetherian to undo it, but—"

"The Aetherians want me dead," Alex finished.

"Exactly. Not all of them, though, since there are a handful that are on Herobrine's—and therefore our—side. Herobrine's capture has sent a lot of them into hiding, though, for fear of being next on the chopping block. It will take quite amount of time to find one; more time than we have."

Alex bit her lip and stared into space. What an unfortunate pickle she has found herself in. "So… I can't go home? What do we do now?"

Tropelet sighed and shrugged. "I… truly don't know. I need time to think, heal, and contact people. It will take time before we really have a plan. I'm sorry."

Alex sighed and sat against the wall. Her head still ached slightly from absorbing the magic and she was overall just… confused. Her life had just turned upside down in the blink of an eye. Like Tropelet, she also needed time to rest and think.

"Hey, why don't we head back to my place? My village is small, so there won't be a lot of people who could see you, and I have potions and bandages. I'm sure I'd have something for your arm."

Tropelet glumly glanced down at his bandaged shoulder, where an arm should be connected to it but there wasn't. "There's probably a reason why I should say no, but I can't think of any. Fine, let's hunker down at your place. Probably will be more comfortable than a cave. Let me grab some supplies, then I'll teleport us to the surface."