Ara: I hope everything is going all right.
BlackDragon41: As always thank you for your kind review. Does Herobrine have a plan? Steve certainly hopes so.
... Also yes, Endermen cannot pick up some blocks. But Herobrine can certainly break a few rules and so do the servants under his command. XD
Steve flinched as at another solid hit, a faint torch light appeared shining through a narrow crack to the other side, where Steve's wide eyes picked up a flurry of movement. His eyes flicked to his twin and found a familiar flat expression hiding Herobrine's true feelings and thought on the matter. His white eyes also seemed aware, rather than distant.
"H-Herobrine?" Steve dared to ask in an uncertain tone of voice. Again, he flinched at yet another hit, which sent larger rocks spraying in their direction. Herobrine scowled and looked to the farthest corner of the cave.
As if on a cue, several tall dark forms materialized there in a purple flurry of particles. Three of them carried pale yellow blocks with bluish-green metallic patterns, surrounded by a faint blue shimmer. Three others began to work, carving out a hollow shape of a small square, Herobrine's eyes remaining fixed on their work with a small frown that betrayed his concentration. Steve noticed a bead of sweat rolling down his stubble-covered cheek.
As soon as the surface became even, those who held the strange blocks, carefully put them down in rows of three, turning them so the middle line patterns pointed inward. Finishing their task, the creatures vanished while the others continued to work. The same three returned, placing another row of three blocks and vanishing again. They repeated the process until the blocks formed a square.
At that moment, the three Endermen who had carried the blocks turned to those who already finished their work and stood mulling about and suddenly thrust their clawed arms into their chests. Steve couldn't help a small gasp and threw a slightly fearful glance toward his twin, who continued to concentrate on his grisly task. Grasping the hovering ender pearls left behind by their slain comrades, the three beings enslaved by Herobrine's command carefully placed the pearls into the nest formed by metallic blue-green patterns on top of the laid-out blocks. By then, three more white-eyed Endermen appeared, standing docile until the process repeated, and they perished with a screech that made Steve cringe, wincing.
What was Herobrine doing? Steve thought that he cared about these black-skinned mobs more than any of the others? Why was he killing them now?
The last of the slain creatures' hearts found its place within the strange block and the area within the square suddenly closed with a glassy smooth curtain of black where starry sky swam. Steve stared at it with fascination.
"An… End Portal?" He guessed, blue eyes opening wide and breath held as he even for a moment forgot about the vengeful adventurers doing their best to break through the heavy obsidian lined walls into their refuge.
Steve couldn't help a blink, though. If Herobrine could control the Ender creatures, why did he wait so long? Why not simply order them to take him and Steve to safety elsewhere in this world?
"I need to check… If it will be safe for you to remain. If not, you will be coming with me. And Steve?..." White eyes turned and held on Steve with a definitely guilty look. "…Trust me."
After a moment of hesitation, Steve nodded, though he remained confused. At that, Herobrine turned away, once again settling a piercing look on his creatures, who began to look around, making uncertain noises as if confused at finding themselves in this place.
Back under Herobrine's control, their eyes shone a brighter white. Falling silent once more, they turned as one to face them, sending a chilled feeling through Steve's heart. Their forms vanished and reappeared next to Steve. Seeing their unblinking blank gazes and long, clawed hands reaching for him, Steve couldn't help shrinking back.
"Wait-wait-wait!... Ugh!" Steve could not help a cry as they roughly pulled him up to his feet, the flare of pain briefly engulfing his vision. Gasping for breath, he swayed in their steel grip, then managed to shift his blurry gaze to his twin, who had been pulled up by their hands also.
Both of them now stood right by the edge of the mysterious gate. Herobrine's white eyes were squeezed tightly shut as he breathed through flared nostrils. Gritting his jaw, the man winced as he dragged his feet into place before standing up, swaying a little. The pain dwelling on his face shut away, a grim look of determination taking its place along with anger. Glowing eyes angrily narrowed on the breaking wall.
The Endermen let go, allowing Herobrine to stand on his own. Scowling, he suddenly stepped toward Steve. A gleaming, diamond sword appeared in his hand, which pressed against Steve's chest, too close to his nervously clenched throat. He jerked back, a gasp breaking through. The grip of the Endermen prevented him from escaping the threat.
"Trust me." Herobrine repeated in a low, dark tone but did little to reassure Steve as anxious daze settled over his thoughts.
At that very moment the wall on the far side of the cave exploded, pieces of black rock bursting out in all directions toward them and some rolling directly under Steve's feet. Two familiar figures appeared in the break, their hair and clothes dusty from their mining. Heaving chests and angry brown eyes searched the cave darkness before settling on the two fugitives.
Herobrine's silky, menacing chuckle echoed around the room, instantly making the two adventurers tense, their bodies going into a defensive stance and grips tightening on their weapons. Steve recognized the purple sword and the enchanted axe, with which the younger man, Marko, had threatened to chop off his arm. He couldn't help gulping, feeling their eyes flick from him to the one who appeared to hold him hostage.
Neither of the adventurers appeared ready to charge into the trap.
"About time. I was wondering when you would finally show up."
Herobrine sneered in an idle tone. Despite his obviously missing arm, his formerly weary stance turned to a casual, bored look that Steve remembered well. It was as if he didn't even consider his missing limb a disadvantage. No sign of pain showed in his expression. His pretense was so convincing.
It worked on the two heroes as well. The older adventurer's hand shot out, keeping the younger from lunging forward. Warily, he remained standing in the break as his narrowed eyes searched the room ahead for any sign of potential traps. His eyes returned to Steve, who stood with his chin cautiously lifted, trying to draw as far away from Herobrine's deadly blade as he could.
"Your tricks will not work on us this time." The elder adventurer half-growled. "I don't care if he dies. If he is a Player, he'll respawn. You won't!" He promised darkly.
"Then I'll make sure that it won't be easy for you." Herobrine gave up on his act. His sword flicked to the front, held at the ready. Steve felt the hands of the creatures pulling him back as they stepped out of the way, leaving Herobrine to stand alone, facing the two players. Concerned, Steve watched him. Surely, his twin did not think that he could fight them both now, in his weakened state?
"Let's make this playing field a bit more even." Herobrine smirked with a dark tone. A barely perceptible nod of his head and the heroes suddenly reacted, their bodies jerking as their eyes went wide.
"Bliiip… He really can do it… Adler! My settings are at thirty percent!" Definite notes of panic broke through the younger man's voice.
Herobrine made a satisfied humph. Steve could see though how much the effort affected him. The hand that held the sword faintly trembled, the sword lowering a little, even as disdainful smirk continued to play on Herobrine's face. His white eyes did not leave the two players. Neither did the dark eyes of the older player, who observed Herobrine with a frown.
"Its fine, Marko! It doesn't matter. We can do this. He's almost done. Look at him."
Steve's worried eyes held on his twin's one-armed figure, slightly swaying as he remained standing in place. The eyes of the Players narrowed. Without another word, both their forms blurred as they streaked forward toward their cornered prey.
"Aaaah!" The younger man's scream rang out, finding himself impaled by a diamond sword from the side. A second white-eyed figure stood, blocking the way between the adventurers and the one-armed figure, who began to laugh, amused by the stunned looks of the Players who froze in their movements once again, staring at their new opponent in disbelieving confusion. The diamond sword retreated and a vicious kick sent Marko staggering back to hit the wall, where he collapsed into a heap.
"Ow, ow, owwww!" Young hunter gasped, shaking hands holding to the blood-gushing wound, brown eyes holding on it with disbelief. The elder, frozen in a defensive position a few steps away, gave him an angry look.
"Your potion!" He growled. His face twisted with pain, the young man's eyes flicked dazed to his partner, then his shaking hands produced a potion which he began to drink. Ignoring him, the elder switched his gaze to Herobrine's uninjured twin and lunged into another attack.
Their movements blurred in Steve's vision, their forms appearing here and there across the cave in brief pauses as they contested each other's strength, their swords blocking each other. In one such moment, the elder angrily turned his gaze toward the younger, who still fearfully sat on the ground, watching their fight.
"Get him!" The elder yelled, snapping his chin toward the real Herobrine, who grinned at their effort with a sort of clouded mad glee that sent a chilled feeling through Steve's heart. He recognized the look. He had seen it on Herobrine's face before, when he was chasing him through the menacing hallways of his haunted mansion. Steve swallowed.
This wasn't good. Was Herobrine even in his right mind? Steve skewed his fearful eyes to the gateway, which seemed to be the only way to escape from this place, where three powerful beings seemed determined to defeat each other.
Forcing himself to his feet, the younger didn't move to attack amused one armed figure right away, but side-stepped, his own mouth open a little with quite a bit of fear. Healed flesh already showed through the bloody rend of his shirt.
Again, the forms of the elder and Herobrine's twin blurred, moving too fast for Steve to follow. A violent crash against the wall drew his and the younger adventurer's eyes to find the elder gasping as he hung pinned, one hand clasping helplessly against the stony grip of the sword impaling his stomach. Herobrine's twin sneered as he forcefully twisted, thrusting the sword deeper.
"Uugh... Aaaah-ahhh!" The man croaked, his eyeballs rolling back in his head. The younger's eyes flicked between his partner's form arching in agony and the one-armed figure, who ignored him, cruelly sneering at his helpless victim held at his puppet's mercy. Dark satisfaction held in white-eyed man's face as he appeared to enjoy the suffering he caused.
"S-stop!" Steve tried to cry out, but his voice came too weak. With rising horror he watched as blood welled up, running past the elder man's fingers as the sword's sharp edge sliced into his flesh while the man fruitlessly tried to block it from causing further damage.
A scowl of determination settled on the younger man's face. He lunged with his axe lifted toward the two-armed villain torturing his friend, only to suddenly shift direction. Steve froze, seeing the deadly edge of the axe swinging right toward distracted Herobrine's head from another side.
"No!" Herobrine's cry sounded, short and dull.
Steve blinked.
One of the three Endermen now stood in front of Herobrine, blocking the player's attack with his own body. The creature's disbelieving white eyes held down at the weapon lodged deep in its chest. And then its form fell apart into black dust, releasing an ender pearl that hovered in the air, glimmering with a strange bluish glow. Steve, Herobrine, and the young Hunter stared at it. The Human still held his axe frozen in the air, his mouth a bit gaping in panic.
He managed to lift his weapon just in time to block a powerful strike, which sent his body flying into the cave wall once more. Another pained yelp sounded as his form collided with a dull sound, puffing a cloud of dust that briefly obscured the fight. Herobrine's twin lifted the struggling young human by his throat, his own eerily ghostly face twisted by an angry scowl.
The same expression held on real Herobrine's face as he glared at the pearl left by his servant's death. Steve noticed his twin's face changing as the strange mad fog seemed to leave him. White eyes, once again aware, flicked to the other Endermen, still mulling next to Steve and blankly watching the place where their brother's form had dispersed.
The two creatures flinched at the disapproval in their master's glare. Steve felt both his arms grasped as they attempted to push him toward the portal. He braked his legs, delaying their effort, while his eyes anxiously searched for the forms of the players. He found the elder silently throwing away an empty potion bottle, his determined eyes already focused on Herobrine's copy.
Real Herobrine still seemed distracted, his dimmed eyes returning to the ender pearl. Regret showing in his pinched lips, Steve's twin dismissed his sword and lifted his hand. The pearl flew into his palm. Securely grasping it, Herobrine cast a silent, gloomy look at his twin, who just then dropped the younger Player as the older Human's sword impaled into his back.
Turning around, he attacked his new opponent, only to stumble as the younger swiped his axe under his left knee. Both of the Players seemed to have joined forces to finish dealing with Herobrine's able-bodied twin. Herobrine's face grimaced in defeat. Ignoring the two Players destroying his copy, he turned and limped toward the portal where Steve still resisted the effort of the creatures.
A screech of annoyance and a rough push recklessly sent Steve forward. With a startled small yelp, he fell into the starry curtain of the night sky. And then, his eyes squeezed shut and breath locked within pain-locked chest, he felt himself hurling through the endless, weightless black.