Happy semi-monthly update!
So I moved to a new apartment almost two weeks ago, and finally have gotten things into some vague semblance of order. I also have, unfortunately, sprained my wrist, and trying to not move enough for it to heal has been... difficult. I am bored easily. Just a little life update for yall.
anyway, time for violence.
Alex appeared in her cage with a gasp, clutching at her head. Finding no wound, she looked up, only for her pained expression to morph into confusion as she realized that she was trapped again.
"How did you set my respawn here?" She snapped. Null, standing by the Elder Guardian, dunked the blade of his sword into the water to rinse off her blood.
"I have my ways." Alex seethed, but said nothing more as Null stepped back onto the ledge around the room and ambled his way back over to the cages. Herobrine hadn't, Heather noticed, moved any closer to her cage, probably out of fear that Null would take it as an escape attempt. She wished he would, she would feel better if he was within her reach.
"Now what?" Steve spoke up, sitting stiffly next to Herobrine.
"I haven't quite decided yet."
"Course you haven't." Heather muttered, gripping the bars of her cage. Alex flinched in her cage, batting instinctively at the air as the mining fatigue effect was re-applied. Null made his way around the room to Heather, and she released the bars as he stopped to stand in front of her. She focused on his sword, which could easily slip through the bars and run her through here. Absently, she realized that it wasn't netherite. He probably didn't know about netherite.
Abruptly, Null turned away. "I have another challenge for you."
"Oh boy." Alex muttered.
"Steve and Alex versus Herobrine. If Herobrine loses, I kill Heather. If Steve and Alex lose, I kill Notch." The three named immediately shared looks of disbelief and horror, and Heather felt her heart begin to thud in herchest. They couldn't let him get away with this.
"Fine." Steve's voice made her whirl in shock. "I have a score to settle anyway." Heather opened her mouth to protest, but he shot her a look that said stay quiet. Surely he had some plan?
"Wonderful." Null's gaze turned to Alex, whose icy gaze was already on him. "And you?"
"Very well. I suppose I'll get a wooden sword?"
"We'll see." He turned to Herobrine again, who looked horribly cornered. "If you refuse now, you will be slaughtered, and wouldn't that be a shame for your dear little wife?"
"I suppose," Herobrine muttered, "I have no choice but to defend myself." That made Null's face light up in a twisted grin, and Heather tightened her hands into fists. It was getting really infuriating to have people fighting over her.
Null released Alex from her cage again, who clambered out and feigned a lunge at him to make him flinch. She was unsuccessful, and skulked over to where Herobrine and Steve were waiting instead.
"Do you expect us to fight in the water?" Herobrine asked gruffly.
"Why not?" Null materialized three stone swords in his hands, tossing them over one by one, and each one was caught without much effort. "Begin."
The trio didn't react for a moment, apparently caught off guard, before Herobrine ducked away and jumped into the shallow water. Null backed away as Steve and Alex gave chase, the latter moving to cut him off as Herobrine stepped onto the opposite bank. Steve met him there, swinging recklessly at his head, but Herobrine deflected it and swung back. Alex came up behind him, and Herobrine slammed his leg into Steve's ankle to topple him before turning to fight her. Heather wasn't sure if Null could tell, but she could - they were sparring, nothing more. They must be stalling out for something.
Their fight made its way around the room, which Null absently avoided as to not be caught up in it. Steve and Alex came close to overwhelming their opponent at times, but never too close, always giving him the chance to get away. At one point, Steve's sword was knocked clean out of his hands, and Herobrine stomped on it, causing it to shatter. Null did nothing but produce an iron sword and offer it to Steve as a replacement. One could clearly see whose side he was on.
The battle stretched on and on, and Null appeared to grow bored with it, as his focus continually shifted to the Elder Guardian at the end of the room. It was then that the fighters took their chance, and, before he could react, Alex hurled her sword and planted it in Null's stomach.
Their captor let out a shout, born more of shock than pain, but it was plenty enough for Steve and Herobrine to fall on him. In an instant, Steve was cleaving Null's head from his neck, and the living shadow dissipated into smoke.
Herobrine dropped his sword, abandoning it for Null's diamond one before turning and sprinting towards the guardian. Heather watched with tentative amazement as he brought the sword down on the chains, crushing them, and within a few moments the creature was free. It lurched free of its' prison, splashing in the water and thoroughly soaking Herobrine.
"Null will be back any moment." Steve gasped out, rubbing a cut on his shoulder. "We need to get Notch-"
"In a moment." Herobrine snapped, shaking his head to rid the water from his face. Turning back, he hurried to his wife's cage, and with a few strikes broke through one of the iron bars. Heather scrambled to her feet as he reached through for her, gazing at him in bewilderment.
"H-how did you-?"
"Mining fatigue has no effect on me." He answered her unspoken question. "It never has." She blinked, teeth still chattering from the cold water, but decided not to question it in favor of getting out. Herobrine helped pull her through the gap, and she was promptly joined by Steve and Alex.
"We need to find a way out of here." Alex hissed. "We're deep underground, as far as I can tell. Perhaps there's a way out through the maze?"
"I can break the obsidian, there's no need." Herobrine muttered in response. "It would be faster if I had my pick-"
"There will be no need for that." Null's voice drew their attention, and Heather spun to find him approaching them from the direction of the maze. His face, which she had previously only seen looking disinterested or amused, was angry now. He definitely did not expect any sort of retribution from his prisoners.
"You two, keep him at bay." Herobrine ordered, handing his sword to Steve and grabbing Heather's wrist. "I'm going to make us a way out."
"Right." Alex collected Steve's iron sword, and the pair stood guard as Herobrine pulled Heather to the far end of the tunnel where the guardian was still flopping about. Herobrine started to punch one of the blocks of obsidian, which obviously ticked off Null, as he promptly threw a pearl past Steve and Alex and appeared about ten blocks away. Herobrine didn't even pause, and Heather got into a battle-ready stance, ready to try and keep him at bay.
It helped somewhat, as he was too focused on her to realize that Steve and Alex were coming up behind him until it was almost too late. He barely dodged Steve's strike, and was immediately overwhelmed by their incessant, reckless attacks. Heather cast a nervous glance at her husband to find him halfway through breaking a block of obsidian, and looked back to see Null getting stuck through the forearm with Alex's sword. The shadow creature let out an angry roar, and his gaze turned to the Elder Guardian, who had gone still where she watched the fight. Then, without any warning, a beam of light shot from her eye and struck Steve in the chest, whose gaze flickered up moments before the damage hit him.
Steve toppled into the water with a cry, and Alex's momentary shock allowed Null to strike a heavy blow against her sword. She staggered, and only barely ducked under his next swing before the guardian's laser found her as well. The next thing Heather knew, she was staring into the guardian's eye, and the laser began to focus before two blocks abruptly appeared in front of her to block the guardian's sight.
Heather blinked, grasping at where the laser had been about to strike her chest, before Steve lurched from the water and lunged at Null again. The guardian splashes grew closer, and she cast a horrified look at Herobrine, only to see the piece of obsidian break with only deepslate beyond. Herobrine immediately set to work breaking that as well, and she spun to see if there was any way she could assist Steve and Alex.
Alex was rising from the water as well, coughing, and Heather could see her sword glittering at the bottom where she had dropped it. As she reached for it, the Elder Guardian slammed into her, crushing her against the dry rim of the tunnel and killing her. Before Heather could cry out, Alex reappeared on the other side of the room, inside her already-opened cage, and she merely clambered out again to rejoin the fight. Heart hammering, Heather scrambled from behind her shelter and snatched the sword from the water, but her body all but locked up when the guardian's attention focused on her.
"Halt!" Null's voice boomed out before the creature could attack her. "Leave her, she is worth more alive." The guardian obeyed, choosing to attack Alex again instead.. At this moment, Heather was alright with being a bargaining chip.
"Heather, here!" Herobrine shouted from behind her, and she spun to find him beckoning her towards the hole in the wall. Sheclambered out of the water and hurried to his side, turning back in alarm at Alex's dying cry. "We have no time, leave them." Heather spun to face him, shocked, but he merely beckoned her towards the tunnel. Biting her lip, Heather turned to look again as Steve was cut down in front of them, reappearing at the other end of the tunnel.
"We can overpower Null, why can't we get them?"
"The guardian is too powerful." Herobrine's voice was full of regret. "They will be alright. Hurry, before Null is no longer occupied with them."
"Do you truly think you can escape me without your teleportation?" Null hurled at Herobrine, brushing blood off of his sword. "You're immobile. What are you without a way out?"
"I have a way out." Herobrine snapped back. Behind him, Alex tackled Null to the ground, getting him in a chokehold as the guardian was preoccupied with Steve.
"Go." She hissed. At this, Heather finally obeyed. She let Herobrine boost her into the one-block tunnel and crawled through as quickly as she could, leaving the sounds of the battle far behind.