A dull ache in her side was the sensation that finally drew Evangeline back to wakefulness.

She emitted a soft groan, her hand drifting up to rest over the source of the pain. She was exhausted, her arm felt so heavy… no, wait. She opened her eyes a slit to blink down at herself, immediately recognizing the shackles on her wrists. The next thing she noticed were the bandages wrapped around her middle, peeking out from beneath the hem of her borrowed tunic, and her head popped up to study her surroundings.

She was in a dark, circular room with a wooden door on the far end, made out of chiseled stone with numerous sets of manacles attached to the walls in the same manner as her own. She wasn't alone - on her right was Herobrine, slumped over in unconsciousness against the wall. Unlike her own, Herobrine's shackles glimmered with a faint, purple light, indicative of some type of enchantment. Likely to keep him from teleporting free.

Evangeline rocked forward and jerked experimentally at her chains. Though they had about three feet of slack, they were solid, not budging no matter how hard she pulled. She settled into the most comfortable position she could muster, crossing her legs and straightening her wings where they had been smashed against the wall, and went over what she knew. She and Herobrine had been alone, out at night in the snow, and had been attacked by one- at least two valkyries. More of the reanimated dead was her first thought, but… the undead had always taken a few moments of inaction before they attacked. These ones went after Herobrine immediately.

Evangeline's hand prodded cautiously at her side, running over the snug bandages that covered her wound. They'd taken her alive. Herobrine, too. Of course, he couldn't die, but the valkyrie corpses that had attacked them in the past had never shown signs of wanting to take them prisoner. Had this been their plan all along? Or had something changed? If so, what?

The clink of chains interrupted her musings, and she looked up just in time to see a half-awake Herobrine jerk so hard at his cuffs that he nearly wrenched his arm out of its socket.

"Careful!" She exclaimed as he growled in pain. "I've tried already, they won't give. Can you teleport?" Herobrine blinked at her for a few moments, evidently still shaking off sleep, before he clenched both of his hands into fists.

"No," he reported, his voice gravelly. "I can't."

"As I thought." Evangeline nodded to his shackles. "They're enchanted."

"Mmh." Herobrine's narrowed gaze roamed around their prison, taking in the same things as she had several minutes before. Evangeline watched him silently as he did so. His rejection from the previous night still stung, but she had no time to dwell on it. If they were to have any chance of making it out of here, she would need to set her feelings aside and focus.

Eventually, Herobrine spoke again, quiet. "Do you know where we are?"

"No, I only woke up a few minutes before you. I-" She cut herself off abruptly. "You were stabbed." Herobrine blinked groggily at her, then lifted one hand, chains rattling coldly as he drew up the hem of his shirt to reveal blood-stained bandages wrapped around his chest.

He rested a hand over the wound with a deep frown on his face, and Evangeline imagined that he was going through the same questions that she had. She looked away, focusing instead on the walls of their prison. Something was nagging at her, something familiar… was it just that it was warm here, rather than the chill of winter that she had grown used to in the Overworld-?

"The Aether." She exclaimed suddenly. "We're in the Aether." Herobrine shot her a look.

"How can you tell?"

"The air. It feels… different." She shrugged helplessly, not sure how to explain it. "Trust me, as someone who has spent the majority of her life here."

"Very well." Herobrine didn't argue. "So we can conclude that we were taken captive by your villain, then."

"Yes, if the attack by valkyries wasn't enough to confirm that already." To hear the words aloud still sent a shiver down her spine. She still didn't know why she had been captured alive, but she doubted that she would remain that way for long. Whatever had happened to Meryl was likely her captor's plans for her as well, to turn her into a soulless, empty husk sent out to do their dirty work. And there was little, if anything, that she could do to stop them.

The thought, though horrifying, gave Evangeline some measure of peace as well. They had already discovered how to cure such an affliction. Her captor's enslaved warriors would be far less effective when the Aether had the ability to bring them back to life.

Herobrine lifted his head abruptly, turning to the door, and a moment later Evangeline heard muffled footsteps making their way towards the prison.

The wooden door creaked loudly as it swung open, admitting three valkyries into the dark room. All three of them wore hooded robes dyed a deep, crimson red, though the leader of the trio had robes far more intricate than the other two. One of them held a lantern, and the other held a long, twisted staff. The leader's hands were empty. Their wings, though mostly white as most valkyries' were, were dyed a rusty brown at the tips of their flight feathers with what could only be assumed to be blood. Subtlety, Evangeline decided, was not one of their strong suits.

The leader came to stand before Evangeline, his gold-rimmed eyes studying her for a moment. Evangeline met his gaze evenly. His face was visible - not one she recognized, but it confirmed what she had already feared. He didn't intend to let her leave this place alive.

"Evangeline Morningstar." He greeted her, a note of derision in his voice. "You are quite the tenacious one."

"If you expected me to simply lay down and die, you have another thing coming." Evangeline fired back.

"Well I certainly didn't expect you to join forces with the former king of the Nether." The man nodded to Herobrine, who was studying their captor with narrowed eyes. "But life doesn't always go the way we want it to, does it?"

Evangeline tightened her jaw. "You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"You're correct, how rude of me." The man gave her a small, mocking bow. "My name is Sirben, of the ninety-nine." Not a name Evangeline had ever heard before. Probably an alias, but she tucked it away just in case anyway. "I'm sure you know, though," He went on as his small smile vanished, "that I did not come here to exchange pleasantries."

"No." And Evangeline had a fairly good idea of what they intended to do with that stick.

"Now," Sirben began conversationally, "I know you have met several of my emissaries."

"Your puppets? Yes."

"Such a crude term, but yes." Sirben tsked. "Several of them you've cut down, which, while unfortunate, is not so much of a loss. They can be replaced. Where I draw the line, though," Sirben's glittering eyes narrowed with distaste. "Is when you bring them back to life." Evangeline pursed her lips and matched his glare.

"If you didn't want me to save my closest friend, perhaps you should not have sent her body to kill me."

"Perhaps not." Sirben agreed. "But what's done is done. What I need from you is to tell me how you did it." Evangeline steeled herself. She didn't know if telling him would somehow enable him to prevent it, perhaps he thought he would be able to account for it somehow? Either way, he wasn't getting a word out of her.

Sirben sighed as she went silent, clamping her jaw shut. "I gave you a chance to do this the easy way." He turned to his companions, taking the staff from one and gesturing to the other. "Get her up." The other valkyrie set down his lantern, stepped forward, and produced a key.

Evangeline didn't fight as her shackles were removed and she was hauled upright - now was not the time. Even if she was at full strength, which she most certainly was not with the stab wound in her side, there was no way that she could overpower three valkyries at once. She would have to take this beating and figure out where to go from there.

Sirben came around to face her as the valkyries pinned her arms, holding her still between them. "No second thoughts?" He asked. When Evangeline didn't answer, he slammed the staff into her ribs.

Evangeline braced herself for the blow, but what she didn't expect was the shock that came with it, the fire that flooded her veins causing her limbs to seize and wrenching a scream from her throat. Sirben took a step back as she recovered, a small smirk on his face as she gasped and shook.

"Reconsidering yet?" His voice was smug, and Evangeline bared her teeth at him. "Very well." He swung the staff again, and Evangeline squeezed her eyes shut as it connected.

"I don't have to get it from you, you know." He hissed as she jerked and slumped against the pair of valkyries that held her. "Your commander knows as well, does he not? You friend, too, miss Cassiopeia."

"C-Commander Zenith will never allow you to get your hands on Meryl." Evangeline gritted out. "We know your game now." Sirben hummed.

"Do you?"

"Yes." Evangeline forced a smirk, if only just to annoy him. "And soon, so will the rest of the Aether. Killing Meryl was the single most foolish decision you've made thus f-" Sirben seized her by the jaw, cutting her off before she could finish.

"You know nothing about me." He hissed. "I have been toiling away for longer than you can imagine - do you truly think a few upstarts mean anything to me?" Evangeline tried to jerk her head free, but he only tightened his grip. "I will get the cure out of you, one way or another, then I will handle every one of your little friends. You may have brought her back to life, but I still hold Cassiopeia's soul- I know her every movement. Already my men have been dispatched to deal with them." Evangeline stiffened harshly. More of the undead? Or living valkyries, like the bloodstained warriors that held her up now?

"As for you," Sirben ran his thumb along her chin. "I don't quite know if I should make you into one of my zombies, or just kill you and throw your body into the abyss. I don't think it will matter much to you either way." He released her, and Evangeline jerked her head back.

"You must have a truly low opinion of the holy armies if you believe I will succumb to torture." She spat.

"I haven't been given reason to think otherwise." Sirben hiked up a brow. "Do you know how many of your fellow soldiers begged for their lives? How many pleaded for mercy? I do believe that your 'Meryl' was among them." Without giving her a chance to respond, Sirben slammed the staff into her ribs again, drowning out her retort with a scream as electricity raced through her body.

Her side was burning when the shock ran its course, the tender wound throbbing from so many involuntary movements. She was all but limp in the arms of the bloodstained valkyries, her legs too weak to hold her weight any longer. All she could do was level a halfhearted glare at Sirben and wonder if he intended to beat her to death.

"You really are tenacious." Sirben mused. "Perhaps it's time to try a different method." He set aside the staff, reaching into the folds of his elaborate robes to draw out a dagger with a curved blade. "Your wing is looking well," he commented, and Evangeline drew both wings tight against her back. "I hope you haven't gotten too used to that." He grabbed her right wing with his free hand, forcing it to extend, and Evangeline began to struggle for the first time as a spike of panic went through her.

"Don't-!"

Her plea was cut off by the groan and shriek of metal, and Sirben's chin jerked up just in time for Herobrine to slam the trailing ends of his chains into his head.

Sirben went down with a choked cry, and Evangeline was dropped, crumpling to the floor in a graceless heap as the bloodstained valkyries lunged to assist their master. Herobrine snatched up Sirben's abandoned staff and swung it in a wide arc, driving the pair of them back as Evangeline gasped and curled around her ribs.

When she looked up again, Herobrine was standing over her, brandishing the staff before him as he stood between her and her tormentors.

"Enough." He rasped out. His free arm was curled around his own ribs, and the glimmering shackles still clung to his wrists. He couldn't win this fight, only delay the inevitable. Still, Evangeline was grateful for the interruption.

Sirben chuckled dryly as he picked himself up, dusting off his hands on his robes. "You," He addressed Herobrine, "need to wait your turn. Don't think I've forgotten about you." Herobrine sneered at him, but Sirben merely stepped closer. Herobrine swung the staff and Sirben caught it mid-swing, the solid oak thudding harmlessly into his black-gloved palm, and Herobrine staggered as it was ripped from his hands. Though unarmed, he stood his ground, staring Sirben down as the valkyrie ambled closer.

"You know as well, don't you? The cure." Sirben asked. Herobrine didn't answer. "I assumed that you would be… far more difficult to persuade than your little friend, but… perhaps there's something to be done there." Sirben swung at him without warning, and Herobrine blocked it with his forearm, but he still emitted a choked growl as electricity coursed through him at the blow.

"Very well." Sirben stepped back, beckoning his lackeys close as Herobrine clutched at his chest. "Restrain them. We'll pick this up once the others return." With that, he turned away, waiting unconcernedly as the other two advanced on Herobrine again.

Herobrine didn't fight this time, letting them drag him back against the wall and force another set of unenchanted manacles around his wrists. Evangeline was next, and she grit her teeth to keep from crying out as her battered ribs protested sharply at the movements. Once they were both bound, the valkyries retreated, and Sirben gave them both a final, appraising look before leading the way out of the prison.

Evangeline drew in a shallow breath, then let it out, fumbling at her chest to try to get an idea of the damage. Every breath sent searing pain through her body, but she didn't think any of her ribs were broken.

"Evangeline." Herobrine's voice had her lifting her gaze, and the concern on his face made the ache from last night return in full force. "Are you alright?" Mustering all her strength, Evangeline managed to drag herself up enough to sit against the wall.

"Y-yes." She managed. "Nothing broken. Just bruised." He hummed quietly, his gaze falling to the shackles on his wrists. Had Sirben forgotten that he had shattered the first set? "Thank you." She added quietly. "For stopping him." Herobrine gave a single nod.

"Try to rest." He murmured. Evangeline hummed in acknowledgement, lowering her chin to rest on her knees. The adrenaline from her beating was ebbing away, making the pain more intense by the minute, but all she could do was shut her eyes and try to block it out for long enough to sleep.