CHAPTER 4

Tropelet grabbed the fruits he had earlier put away, along with a half-filled potion bottle and Alex's sword. He gave it back to her before putting his hand on her shoulder and teleporting them to the surface.

Alex had seen Tropelet teleport a few times, but it was nothing compared to actually experiencing it. Bright colors danced in her vision and cold beyond anything she had ever experienced froze her bones. It seemed to last for an eternity but at the same time, it was over in an instant. Before she knew it she and Tropelet were on the surface. A clear night sky and a bright full moon shone overhead. Alex quickly recognized the trees as the forest around her village.

Tropelet hissed and stumbled back. The grass was still damp from the recent rainfall, and it was burning his feet. Alex gasped. "Tropelet!" she exclaimed.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth. "Let's just hurry." He took a step, but the ground was even soggier than the previous patch and he immediately jerked his leg back. "Tipsnogard!" He swore in Enderese.

Alex took off her boots and handed them to him. "They probably won't fit, but they'll be better than the grass," she said.

"Thank you." He was barely able to fit his thin, clawed feet into the boots, but it still worked.

The walk back to the village was quiet and uneventful, which was fortunate. The grass under their feet squished with every step, making stealth nearly impossible. Luckily, the entire village was asleep, so no one saw them. Alex really didn't know what would happen if Tropelet was discovered, but it probably wouldn't take two glances for people to realize who he was. Alex glanced at Tropelet's wanted poster as she passed it.

You know, she really didn't have to do this. If she gave Tropelet to the king of the Aetherians, she could probably explain that she was innocent. She would probably be rewarded greatly for her efforts and the king could probably remove these memories and powers from her. She didn't want to get involved with Aetherian affairs, and she CERTAINLY didn't want to become a wanted criminal for protecting… what even were Tropelet's crimes anyway? Alex looked at the poster again.

WANTED

Tropelet Doolbdne

The picture was clearly of Tropelet. He was covered in both red and purple blood. His mouth was fully open in an enraged scream, and he was reaching towards whoever took the picture, like he was moments away from clawing out their eyes.

For Murder, Treason against the High Crown of the End, Conspiring against King Haurus of the Aether, and Aligning Himself with Enemies of the Overworld, Nether, End, and Aether.

REWARD: 10,000 EMERALDS OR 15,000 END CREDITS

See? Why the Nether was she protecting a murderer and traitor? And ten thousand emeralds would probably set her up for life. It was decided, then. She'd turn Tropelet over to the Aetherians.

Alex opened her front door—and froze. Her house was supposed to be pitch black, but she could see everything clearly. Nothing was in color, but she could see the outlines of her bed and chests almost perfectly. She shuddered and turned on the light. She couldn't wait for all this to be over. This was already too much excitement for one week.

"I guess I'll have to make you another bed," Alex said, opening one of her chests and pulling out a few blocks of wool.

"No, I'm fine," Tropelet said with a dismissive wave. "Enders sleep standing up."

Alex shrugged and put the wool away. She dug through the chest and pulled out a few potions and a roll of bandages. "Here, for your arm."

Tropelet nodded and took them. "Thank you, Alex." He hesitated, before adding. "I will fix this, I promise."

Yeah, you will, she thought to herself. She just smiled at him, though, and said, "Thank you."

She put her sword away and curled up in bed. She had no intention of sleeping, though, no matter how badly she wanted to. She just had to wait for Tropelet to fall asleep, then she could finally fix all of this herself.

Six Aetherian soldiers walked into Haurus's throne room. A few of them walked with limps; most of them had injuries that were still glowing and healing. They bowed before their king, but they did nothing to hide their terror. Their knees openly trembled.

"You failed," Haurus hissed, glaring down at the soldiers.

"Y-your majesty, the Ender—" one of the soldiers began, but he was abruptly cut off.

"Silence!" Haurus ordered. "I don't want to hear your excuses. I gave you an order, and you failed to carry it out. Such insolence will not be tolerated."

"Your majesty, we were interrupted by a Human," one of the soldiers blurted. The others just stared at him, wondering why he would sign his death warrant so willingly.

Haurus's eyes narrowed. "A Human?" His voice was low and threatening.

The soldier trembled as he spoke, clearly regretting his decision to open his mouth. "Y-y-yes. She c-claimed to be a mob hunter, and she clearly wanted a piece of the Ender's bounty. She managed to get her hands on this strange glowing orb from the Ender, but Amythest shot her and made her drop it. The magic was absorbed into her, and the Ender teleported away with her."

Haurus tapped his fingers on the armrest as he thought. This was not good. Not good at all. That orb was most definitely Herobrine's memories and powers. It shouldn't have been possible for a Human to absorb that kind of magic! Magic that powerful should have burned her to a crisp from the inside out. At the very least, it should have dissolved into the atmosphere and caused a thunderstorm strong enough to wipe out half of one of the Humans' kingdoms. This shouldn't be possible, but it clearly was.

Haurus couldn't kill the Human, obviously. If she died, so did Herobrine's incredible power. She would need to be captured, which would probably be easy since she was, after all, a dimwitted, weak Human. Haurus did wonder, though, if the Human was working for Herobrine. Why else would she take the orb? It should have had no value to her, since Humans had no in-blood magic. It was possible that the Ender purposefully put the magic within her so if he died, she would still live. That didn't really make sense, since everyone, including Herobrine, knew that Humans weren't very reliable. They were too easily killed and had a depressing sub-century lifespan. Hmm. Maybe it was all an accident after all. Haurus wasn't going to take that chance, though. That Human was going to be in his palace by tomorrow, Haurus was going to make sure that was certain.

"You are dismissed," Haurus said to the soldiers with a dismissive wave. The soldiers glanced at each other, surprised they were able to get out of that without some kind of punishment, then quickly scrambled out of the throne room before he could change his mind.

Haurus then snapped his fingers, and an Aetherian woman teleported into the room. She had long, naturally magenta hair in a braid and bright purple eyes. She wore black clothing and had a netherite sword strapped to her back. It shimmered with enchantments. She bowed before the king. "Your majesty," she said.

"Cyrena," Haurus addressed her, "I have a mission for you. There's a Human somewhere around the North Forest that—unfortunately—has Herobrine's magic. I want you to capture her and bring her back here alive. Tropelet should be somewhere near her, too, and if possible I want you to bring him back here. Alive or with his pearl, I couldn't care less. I just want them both."

Cyrena bowed again. "Yes, your majesty." She then vanished, leaving no trace she had ever been there.

Haurus leaned back in his throne and laced his fingers. This whole Herobrine situation was turning so much messier than he had anticipated, but she shouldn't be surprised. Of course capturing that slimy little silverfish was going to be this whole ordeal. Oh well. It would be cleaned up soon enough. He was certain.