"He shouldn't exist. It's a glitch of some sort."

"Then remove it."

"I cannot. The System keeps switching. Look... See? It keeps saying that he's a player. Then, back to that. Then, this! I've been trying to get rid of it for almost an hour! And nothing. I cannot even access its profile! I remove one function, and as soon as I move on to another, it comes back."

Herobrine, too weak to move, lay curled up on the floor of the strange chamber where these beings have put him. Deceptively human in outward appearance, but now he knew that it was only an illusion. They were powerful. Far more powerful than he imagined himself to be.

The pain that assaulted his senses was another proof of that. Tearing a muted scream, it raged across his body, seeking to pull it apart, until it left him panting and trembling on the floor. He curled up tighter in a helpless effort to defend himself, despite knowing that it would do no good. They were determined to destroy him.

They tried, again and again. All he currently wished was that they would finally succeed, if only to cease this torture. A brief period of oblivion, before he reappeared here again, somehow anchored to this strange place and defenseless before their lack of mercy.

"... See? It's still here." They didn't even see him as a living being. The voice of his torturer radiated disappointment. His glowing eyes shut, Herobrine cowered on the ground and tried to gulp in breaths, his ribs still locked by spasming muscles.

"Maybe a few more sessions will finish it off? It seems much weaker now." Another says thoughtfully.

"I really do not think that it could have simply appeared. There are precautions set in place so things like this do not happen... Maybe someone made him?"

"Hmm..."

"Well, just keep trying to purge it. We cannot risk it getting loose again. He already made enough chaos. All the players are still complaining."

"Fine."

No, no, no, nonono... Please! He would have begged them, no longer caring about the humiliation. His pride and former confidence had been utterly crushed by what he had seen so far. He wished that he had not tried to threaten them when he first woke up here. Then, he might have still had his voice so he could beg them to spare him. It was too late though. They simply didn't care. To them he was little more than a bug, that dared to crawl into their dwelling. Despair washed heavily across his senses.

And then another wave of pain came, searing all thought and shredding his very being, leaving him suspended in an endless muted scream.

Herobrine's eyes shot awake and fire flared around his jerking arms, only to sputter out as he lay there, his heart thundering in an uneven rhythm.

Stunned, Herobrine lay on his back and blinked up at the rough-hewn, wooden ceiling of Steve's room. The urge to escape gradually ebbed away.

He was still safe.

An annoyed frown crossed his features. It's been a while since such dreams bothered him. He no longer had to worry about that. Right? Notch himself had promised him that he would be safe.

Herobrine forced himself to sit up and glared at the door. He hated feeling this weak. He still felt as if he could not take a breath. He needed to go. Get out. Now.

Gathering his strength, Herobrine lurched up and immediately had to brace himself against the wall, where he stood briefly, breathing heavily as pain from poorly healing wounds washed across his perception. He waited, then stubbornly continued on his way, his eyes holding fast on the door.

A few steps. Just a few steps away. He would do this. He was not weak!

Each step sent more pain, but he continued, gritting his teeth, willing his reluctant body to obey his will.

The door yielded easily. Herobrine unwillingly released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Of course, it was open. Why would it be locked? Steve had no intention of holding him prisoner. He could not have done it even if he tried!

Still, an image flared vividly in his memory, of another door. Not wooden like this one, but metal, spotlessly white and reflecting his own glowing eyes back at him, wide open with terror. He could not breathe! Choking on missing air, he beat and pounded, then uselessly scrabbled at the invisible line where it should open, until it slid from his dimming view as he fell to the ground. His body uselessly contorting as his lungs tried to draw in air that was no longer there.

Gritting his teeth, Herobrine sucked in a breath, though it made an ache in his chest grow, and then another, as Steve's cozy room swam in his vision. His panicked glance swept across the cabin until it found Steve, asleep. For some reason, that sight steadied him.

Leaning against the wall, Herobrine regarded the haplessly sleeping human, sprawled carelessly on the rather narrow couch, and his breath calmed.

Turning his determined gaze on the outer door, Herobrine set an unsteady foot forward. Cautiously, he completely let go of his support and stood there, struggling to find his balance. He made another small step forward, and then another. Trying to keep his unsteady shuffle quiet, so as not to wake the mortal, he made it to the door. At his touch, it creaked slightly open.

Herobrine cast the human behind him a displeased glance. Careless. So careless. He really did begin to take Herobrine's protection for granted.

Pushing the door open with his hand, Herobrine stepped through and just stood there, taking in sights, sounds, and smells with all his senses. The wind gently ran across his face and stirred his hair. Night sky above quietly enveloped the earth. Closing his eyes, he reveled in the rustling sound of leaves in the surrounding forest and felt the pressure retreat from his mind. Even growls of the undead aimlessly roaming nearby comforted.

He was free. And safe.

A soft lurp sounded, somehow hesitant and apologetic. Herobrine couldn't help smirking a bit. So, now his servants deemed it safe to return? Their tentative presence, approaching, helped clear the last remnants of old fears, allowing Herobrine to shove the memories back down in his mind.

He opened his eyes, his face and heart calm. Glancing back at the still sleeping human, Herobrine considered him once more, his expression indecipherable.

Rurp? The questioning grown came again. Turning his glowing gaze back to the tall shadows of his servants drawing closer, Herobrine firmly stepped outside.

...

The first thing Steve noticed when he woke up was the delicious smell permeating the air. Next was the sounds. Steve blinked, trying to identify them. Something was sizzling and sputtering.

Blue eyes shot to the kitchen door and then to Herobrine's room. Steve jumped up and peered, to see the bed empty.

For a moment, he blinked at that, then turned toward the kitchen. Hesitantly, he made his way there and stopped at the entrance, gaping.

Herobrine was... Cooking?