Apologies for yet another foray into the Herobrine's short but angsty past (couldn't resist the occasional angst craving).

Among the several future chapters written and the next chapter just not coming along, I just picked this one to post something, lol.

I know Steve has been missing for a bit (been exhausted and asleep in this very same stronghold of the server where Herobrine just ended up in this chapter). He is coming back soon, though.

From the looks of it all, he really got pulled into something that he should have not been involved in. Herobrine's contest with the players and the Admin appears to go back further than even he remembers it and he is far from being on the winning side.

Four Years Ago

This update brought the worst changes he had ever experienced.

Casting a hunted glance in direction of the meadow, where the dancing flames of the summoning totem lit the grass with menacing, moving patches of light, Herobrine turned and ran to the nearest trees, hoping that his escape would go unnoticed.

"There! I see him!"

"After him!"

The eager yells sent despair welling within him, making it even harder for him to cling to the meager remnants of strength that just began to return to him after his last respawn. The aches of pain from multiple strikes still ached in his entire body, forcing him to limp as he tried his best to get away.

He knew that he would not be able to escape this time, either.

A strike of a spear pushed him forward, throwing him face-first into the mud. Excruciating agony radiating across his back along with numbness in his legs, which refused to obey him, told him of the shattered vertebra. Still, he made an attempt to crawl. He could feel the entrance to an underground cave only blocks away. Hidden beneath rotting leaves and piled up branches, it beckoned to his sight, now flickering in and out of focus. If he only managed to fall through into that hole, he would have a slim chance to get away. Then, he would need only a few more minutes before he had enough strength to teleport and then he would vanish out of their reach altogether.

"Got him... Here, guys!" A very satisfied voice declared. Heavy armored boots came to his view and he ceased moving, giving up on further attempts to get away. His stomach sunk at the inevitability of what would now follow.

Another death and respawn. He had lost count of how many he's gone through in the past several days since the update. The new summoning mod overrode his normal respawn pattern, each time drawing him at random to yet another of the newly lit totems in the area. At first hundreds, now thousands of them sprung up in all local servers as the Admin informed the players of their latest news.

The player did not deliver a killing strike, yet. Desperation and a slight glimmer of hope led Herobrine to turn, allowing him to look at his pursuer. Attentive, dark blue eyes met him, considering him with pleased interest.

"Please... Let me go..." His plea fell quiet as more players ran in and surrounded him, their faces excited and weapons pulled at the ready. That's why the player didn't kill him, yet. He was only waiting for them. There was no use asking for mercy. They would not give it. They didn't even consider him alive.

"Are you getting all this?" One of them smirked.

They were recording this? Despite the despair and fear that filled him at the coming ordeal, some anger managed to return to his heart, though barely in embers. His pride, though previously shattered many times to pieces, also helped him to silence the useless begging that tried to break through. Herobrine glared at them.

"Why are you doing this?..." He asked angrily. The players did not attack, yet. "I can feel and think. And I perceive pain as well as you can in your own world. Why harm or kill me, when I can simply accept defeat and you can gain same rewards? Allow me to leave and you will all get what you want." He frowned at them.

The players exchanged an amazed look and brightly grinned.

"You're right, Greg. This bot is fun! He actually seems like a real person!"

"Let's not kill him just yet. I want to try something, first."

They didn't even bother to respond to his words. And Herobrine could do nothing when they lunged toward him. In moments, familiar dark metal chains wrapped around his body. With a jerk, which nearly sent Herobrine into unconsciousness as the spear still embedded in his back painfully jarred within his flesh, the players began dragging him somewhere. He was not too aware of the process, simply struggling to pull in breaths. One of the loops of the chain pressed against his throat so tight that it stifled him of air.

"You are not a human being. You just look like one. That means you don't need to breathe or eat or use any of those functions. Just overcome this. You are code and nothing else! You can change code!"

The Admin appointed overseer's voice accused in his memory. Again, Herobrine tried to separate from his human side, if only to quiet the pain raging from the injury in his back, where the spear continued to drag along the ground, tearing the wound in his back larger. Hot blood streamed down his sides, soaking his pants and shirt. Another careless jolt had torn out the spear altogether. His cry remained unheard among the excited shouts of the players as they dragged their trophy back to the meadow.

Dumping him against the summoning totem, the group of players began to send out comments online about their success.

"We got him!"

"Real Herobrine!"

"This mod works!"

"Our turn!"

Herobrine shakily tried to pull in his limbs and curled up smaller. Closing his eyes, he miserably waited for them to finish what they started. His back injury was slowly pulling closed, the pain rapidly starting to dim as his body healed, but it was only a brief respite. These players knew well about his weakness. Obsidian chains would prevent him from teleporting away even at much higher levels of strength. And if they attached them to blocks several times his weight, he wouldn't be able to escape them even at his death.

"Blocks! Here!" One of the players directed, realizing his fears.

Several blocks thumped to the ground. The chains roughly jerked and Herobrine found his body pulled up and pressed against the cool, smooth block, each of his arms stretched out to the heavy blocks of obsidian. He bit his lips.

Level four. He glanced at his returning power and nearly cried inside. He needed to be at eighty before he could disrupt the code of the obsidian metal and break free of this trap. As his human side remained sensitive to injury, exhaustion, and pain, his gaming boss side remained bound by the gaming mechanics assigned to his role. And he have not yet found a way to defy it except by pure strength of will. Which came at level 80!

Why didn't he try to resolve this weakness earlier? These players now would not give him the chance to break free. What did they plan to do with him? Take him prisoner? Return him to the Admin?

"Hey, guys... I'm going to give it a try."

The slightly hesitant voice ended with a sword ripping into his heart.

His vision failed to black, followed by the bright building and explosion of light, a muted scream broke from his non-existent chest as yet another respawn followed.

Coming to, Herobrine found himself still in place, chained, with eager faces looking at him. The waiting players exchanged pleased looks.

"Rad! I've got a sword and armor! Level 8 Sharpness and Fire Aspect! And Fire Resist! Level 6!" One player exclaimed, proudly lifting his trophy weapons for everyone to see. The light of the still burning totem left menacing red gleams on the shining steel that gave off a purple sheen of enchantment.

The other players murmured between them, watching the spoils with mixed admiration and envy. And the player must have been the one to deliver the killing strike. His weapons were probably the rewards offered by the System for destroying a villain.

Bitterness welled up within even as Herobrine's mind reeled. No wonder they had completely ignored his offer of defeat. Such an act would have offered these players only one boon, not the multiple cheat they could get by killing him repeatedly. He could understand their logic. He knew that they did not consider him a real living being. That didn't stop hot hate rising within him.

How much he wished just now that he could destroy them. Kill them with the same callous enjoyment that they displayed themselves. He wished that he could hear them beg, before he took their lives, and not just here, in this useless Game, but in their own world! How much he hated them!

"My turn!" Someone gleefully yelled and another strike ended Herobrine's inner rage, locking him in another long moment of agony of respawn. And he emerged from it again in the same pitiable trap.

Be those Admin cursed for doing this to him!

He quickly lost count with how many times the situation repeated. Thankfully, his mind had retreated into a daze, where he fervently wished to remain for however long this torture lasted. Still, he perceived the pain. It seemed to have engulfed him, piercing every corner of his being, growing until it held at an intolerable level. No longer coherent, he probably broke his composure and screamed. He truly didn't know. Now, he hung in resigned silence, his body shaking at the unabated pain. Strings of hair hid his face from their eyes.

System error. Potential cheating found. All further rewards from object Herobrine.0076914.014 are automatically lowered in quality. Report the incident to the Admin and wait for review of your case.

He was not the only one to have noticed the System message that briefly appeared in the corner of his vision. He didn't react to it.

"What? Unfair. I only got this?" A player complained with the tone of sincere indignation and childlike hurt. He held a single left iron boot, and even that rusted.

"We got a message. The System says we are cheating."

"Hah? Well, yeah. We kind of are... But still not fair! I didn't get a turn."

"It's your fourth go, Edward. We only got three kills each, too."

"But Mark, Loyd, and Erron got four! And they had good loot!"

"Relax. We probably just need to wait a little."

"Or, we could give him to the Admin? They might give us something for that, too."

"No, not them. Those greedy sobs won't give us anything. They'll probably take our stuff away because they'll say we cheated."

"It's their own fault! You cannot cheat if you kill a glitch!"

"Ugh. You are right though. This shop is probably closed." The frustration in the player's voice was unfeigned.

"Ugh! Let me try again just in case! Die, you bleeping bleep! I want something good!"

Even in his daze, Herobrine jerked at new pain piercing his side and then chest repeatedly. The angry player took out his frustration by delivering an entire volley of stabs.

System error. Gaming obstruction noted. A dungeon boss cannot respawn in the location of death. Time to subject relocation. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six...

"What? Noooo!"

Herobrine couldn't help a smirk twisting his bloodied lips. This time, it appeared that the System sided with him, protecting him from further machinations of the players, despite counting him a glitch. He supposed that he should be grateful? For whatever reason... It was over. For now.

He even welcomed the usual agony of his respawn before his consciousness finally slipped into darkness...

...

"Wake up, darling..."

"Wake up."

He lay somewhere quiet and dark. He could sense this even with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes, for a long moment he simply stared up at the night sky where countless distant stars burned in the velvet black void, faintly veiled by thin, gray clouds. Huge moon filled the cool air with gentle, silver light.

He lay upon his back upon a flat, grassy surface, for a moment unsure if he had really respawned somewhere else.

And then a sound came from him, from deep within his chest. Maybe a huff or a stifled, short sob. He lay, his vision blurring as breaths grew uneven, even as relief spread through his entire being along with endless exhaustion. Lifting his slightly shaking hands, he hid his face. Was he finally free?

A teleportation ping nearby had him on his feet in an instant. He only managed to stumble forth a few steps before his feet gave and he collapsed right by the thick stump of a tree. Terror and despair returned in a wave that nearly crushed him.

No.

Not again.

Please!

A figure materialized a few blocks away and headed toward his fallen form. Utterly defeated, he had only enough strength to turn his head and silently look at the approaching player.

He could neither fight nor run this time.

Doris. Local Server Owner.

Reading the message hanging over the player's stats, Herobrine clenched his hands into shaking fists. This was nearly as bad as running into the Admin, although he was no longer sure if he would not welcome getting caught, despite the uncertain fate that would follow. At least, he would be granted a respite from further pain, until they decided what to do with him. He would accept being retrained at this point. If their privately sent messages could be trusted on that. It might be that they were simply trying to make him surrender so they could finally destroy him.

The player stopped a few steps away and appeared to study him. Silence lay between them as a long moment passed. And then the player gestured, pulling up a screen. There, Herobrine could see multiple comments flooding in from players all over the local servers. Images of him, scowling as he fought them back, mixed with images of him running away, his teal and cyan form standing out brightly against the green backgrounds of forests and brown walls of brick buildings. He had been doing nothing but fighting and running for the past four days. And dying.

"I got another hit!"

"Me, too!"

"I got a bot, but it's not him. It's not the glitch."

"You mean, not the real Herobrine?"

"What do you mean, not real? Of course it's not the real Herobrine. Real one is dead! The Admin killed him! But this one is the next best thing. And we got him on the run!"

"Hey, guys, who had the last hit? I got my totem lit and I got nothing! Are you sure he's still here? Who's had him last?"

The players argued online. Images of Herobrine summoning totem were present in almost all their postings. Distracted, the player appeared to review what they said but said nothing. He didn't type anything in chat, either.

He didn't summon Herobrine here, then? This was just a normal respawn?

Herobrine cast about a quick, wary glance and saw no totem nearby. This player also seemed confused. Did he not follow the news?

Slightly relieved, Herobrine found the strength to sit up, propping himself against the tree stump. Keeping an eye on the player, who did not make any aggressive move, yet, Herobrine turned his attention to his own stats. Hopefully, he watched the golden color slowly fill the empty power bar. His glance also held with concern on his level, which for some reason kept glitching between 0 and 1. Too many respawns? He needed only a little bit more time.

"Guys, did everyone install the new mod? everyone! That glitched bot, Herobrine, is somewhere here! He's hiding in our servers! Make sure you install the latest mod! Its how you can make him respawn directly to where you are. Here is the link! Herobrine_Hunt_by_Endig_and_ . Hurry up and join! You can get all kinds of uniques every time you get a kill!"

"Hey, I got 3! All 'A' class. You can literally get top level gear even though he's just a low-class bot! Its sweet!"

"I got 2 epics and 3 rares!"

"1 epic and 6 uncommons!"

"Wait, how did you get so many? I only got 1 epic."

"Haha! That's because we know a cheat! If you surround him by obsidian, or use a restraining item like chains, then he will just respawn right where you kill him. We just got 42 hits!"

"Yeah, but the last was trash. The System says we cheated and then respawned him somewhere else, even though he was still in chains."

An image appeared, where Herobrine saw himself, tied to the very totem block that summoned him to his last unfortunate location. Splatters of blood realistically painted the surrounding several obsidian blocks with red. Herobrine noticed how the watching player's eyes slightly widened and the player shifted, making an ill gulp. He almost sneered at the player's weakness, but then nearly retched himself as the world around him span, reminding him of his own pathetic state. The echoes of pain had dimmed to nothing, but strange dizziness and weakness persisted, slowing his thought process. At the moment, he was nearly fully human and entirely helpless to prevent whatever the player decided to do to him.

Taking advantage of the continued respite, Herobrine closed his eyes, leaning his aching head against the tree stump, and attempted to calm his volatile human emotions. That would aid in his normal powers returning faster.

"Hey, if you get him again, make sure to wait at least five minutes before the next kill. That might keep the winning streak going."

"Yeah and call us! We'll do it right this time. DM me!"

"DM me, too!"

"Hey, I'll pay you fifty gold if you get me in!"

"Fifty? I'll pay you a 100!"

"150!"

This time Herobrine couldn't stifle a defeated huff. No player could resist such offers, of which came in multitudes. Especially the owner of such a tiny and boring server as this seemed to be.

Glancing at the player, Herobrine caught him frowning, lips pinching in a tight line. He would have almost concluded that the player was appalled by what he saw, but how could he? Hunting Herobrine was certainly profitable. The Admin even encouraged it, despite the rumors that Herobrine was a sentient program rather than merely a very complex bot with realistic responses. Even Herobrine did not wish to dispel that idea, mindful of what they told him about their greater authorities becoming interested in him if he was. He tried to keep to his role because of that.

This latest torment with unending hunts was pushing him to the brink, though. If this continued...

Catching the human turn and give him a strange look, Herobrine found the strength to frown back at him. Whatever happened, he would not beg for mercy. Not again. It would be pointless, anyway. Notch was wrong about the humans. Perhaps in real life they were normal, good people who would show each other kindness, but this did not apply to him, a program with mere semblance of life.

Anger mixed with shame at the memory, which he did his best to push back to the furthest corners of his mind where he kept it before – a reminder of his weak and broken state that he did his best to hide even from himself. But he couldn't help the slight shaking of the muscles in his body, anticipating another bout of cruelty and pain. To overcome this, he clenched his fists even tighter and pushed them slightly behind him out of view, keeping the player's gaze bound to his cold, angry gaze.

He will not beg!

"Herobrine?" The player's uncertain voice still made him flinch, his thoughts reeling at the moment the player stepped closer to him. His body betrayed him, shying back and trying to hunch smaller as if that could protect it.

The player paused again. Attentive gray eyes considered him with what seemed to be concern. Herobrine didn't believe it. He struggled to breathe as a great weight seemed to descend upon his chest. Now it would happen. Any moment, this human will call to the others to join this server and they would proceed to take advantage of the latest method to ensure the high count of his demise in order to get their spoils.

He will not beg. This time the thought came small and quiet against the returning wave of desperation.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." The player's voice strangely shook, almost as if he felt sorry for him.

The image of the player shifted, the hood dropping, and revealed a slim figure dressed in plain, working overalls of brown cotton, common for beginning builders. Long, blonde hair fell over the player's shoulders. The girl's hazel eyes watched him with compassion.

Herobrine did not believe her words, but remained silent. His vision blurring in and out of focus, he returned his attention to the ever slowly growing power indicator in his stats.

"Listen. I don't know how to help you. Your health shows at full ten hearts, but your level keeps glitching between zero and one, so it's probably not that good. You are also a raid boss. I don't know which potions will help you. Healing or harming?" The player asked.

Healing... Healing potions would have effect on him. Herobrine wanted to answer this time, but could not bring himself to neither say nor write this in chat. To answer such a question would betray his sentience, would it not? He gave up. Still, he could not help some hope appearing despite his disregard of players. This human seemed so sincere.

Some fear quieted, and exhaustion immediately flooded to take its place. His eyes closed against his own volition. Most of all, he wished that he could get away and simply sleep. For days, somewhere secluded and dark. Safe.

The player's frustrated sigh startled him awake.

"All right. I guess I can understand why you won't trust me. After what they did to you, you probably think that all us players are the same."

That's right. None of you care what I really think or feel. Only when I was with Notch, before the Admin told all of you that they had carried out tests that determined that I was not a sentient person, you showed some idle interest. But it was only as much as you might for an interesting new creature in your virtual zoo.

"But we are not! I think that you are real. A real person." The player's voice sounded hopeful and shy. "I won't ever hurt you. Please believe me." The player's voice broke a little. Glancing at the screen that still hovered next to her, she firmly dismissed it.

"And I won't tell anyone that you are here. I promise. All right? Just... don't leave. Please... I mean, what I'm trying to say... If you need any help, you can ask me for it. You can talk, right? Or maybe text in chat? Can you do that?"

Herobrine quietly looked at the player from hooded eyes, which dimmed in brightness. He still didn't say anything.

"Stay on my server, please. Stay as long as you want! Its usually only me who comes here, anyway. I am the server owner, too! So no one can come here except if I white-list them. And I won't! The only ones who might come is Irene and Skat, they are both friends of mine. Also Doyle, Mark, and Ron. And Margaret. And Cyrus. That's my kid brother. Only his real name is Timothy. Oh! And I'm Anna. Doris is just my nickname."

The girl grinned and nervously shifted again. If her appearance reflected her true age, she was still very young, maybe 15 or 16 years old. How could she be a server owner? The thought came almost idle as the girl's sincere words almost calmed Herobrine's fears. Even if she might change her mind later, for now she was not a danger to him. While not entirely certain of his perception of human emotions, Herobrine felt fairly certain that he judged her intent correctly.

"Don't worry, though. No one really comes here anymore except for me, so..." The player shrugged, a little bit sad. Perhaps an outcast, who badly desired company? If true, that might also reassure Herobrine's safety. He hesitated.

[Herobrine to Doris]: "I'll stay for now. Thank you." Herobrine dared to type in private chat and slightly shrunk back, as the player nearly jumped for excitement. A huge grin appeared on her face.

"Yeeee!" She squealed. Turning to Herobrine, she gave him the biggest puppy eyes he had ever seen, which twitched his lips in a ghost of a smile.

He even managed a small, amused nod. The player jumped again, entirely too happy.

Time to go. As friendly as she seemed, and though Herobrine had accepted her invitation, he just didn't feel comfortable remaining close while in his weak condition. Not when he could leave.

A glance at his energy bar showed it reach 1%, enough to take a risk. Herobrine activated invisibility mode and teleported a short distance away to the nearest cave system.

Anna startled, then made a frustrated huff, peering about her. Pulling up her interface, she frowned at the data.

"Well, you didn't leave. It would say 'Herobrine left the game' if you did, right?" She muttered to herself.

Standing several hundred blocks away in the shadow of the woods, Herobrine leaned against the tree and tried to keep his shallow breaths quiet as he fought to hold on to his consciousness. He was visible once more.

He obviously had tried to use his power too soon. Lifting his head, he narrowed his eyes into the dark where he could just distinguish the beckoning entrance to a cave. He had almost reached it. Just a few more steps will do. Waiting until he gathered a little more strength, so he wouldn't fall half-way to his goal, he pushed away from the tree and staggered forward.

The local System chat clicked open.

"Are you still here?" He heard Anna's worried voice. "You didn't leave, right?"

Herobrine stifled a sigh.

[Herobrine to Doris]: "I'm still here. I need to rest."

"Oh. All right! And I must leave. I have to work, ugh! But right after, I'll come back. Don't go anywhere, all right? Please! And... Um... This is so weird! I cannot even believe it! It's like I'm dreaming, but I'm not. Or I hope I'm not? And... You're really here!"

Herobrine snorted and promptly stumbled, hastily catching himself against another tree where he took a short pause with his eyes closed to steady the dizzy spell.

"Oh! If you need anything, I have a castle. You'll find it quick. It's the only big thing around here. There are a lot of chests there and you can take anything you want!... Only you probably don't need anything, right? I mean, you can just make things appear out of thin air. I saw you with Notch! That time when you came to visit that therapy group? With all those kids? I don't know why they removed that vid, but I still have it! You were the best! So, I know that all that talk about you being evil is a lie. Right?" This time the player's voice sounded nervous.

"It's not like you're going to burn my castle down, right? On the forums they all say that's what you do. But that's not true, right? I mean... I have it all backed up, so I can bring it all back. It's just it's a pain. And I really worked so hard on it and all my friends did, too. Even though now it's just me. But it took us nearly two years to build it, so don't destroy it, please... Or go ahead. It's probably all right. Just don't leave! All right? Only I have to go now, so I'll come back later. Please don't go! All right, I'll be back soon!"

The player's voice came so awkwardly fast and tangled words that Herobrine winced a little, feeling pressed. He now understood the reason for the player's unusual attitude, though.

It had been Notch's idea, when Herobrine still lived under his supervision. Concerned about the hostile perception and rumors, which continued to circulate among the players, Notch decided to show that Herobrine was more human than they believed. For that, he visited a site in game which had been organized for visits of ill, young humans, who received damage to their bodies in real life. Theories existed that those of them who visited the game would often recover their functions faster or lose them slower than those of them who didn't come into the game.

When Notch came, of course they had asked if it was true and Notch now watched over Herobrine. And Notch offered for them to meet him. It had not been approved by the Admin because Notch did it too fast for them to deny his actions. He would have never received permission to bring Herobrine into such a place, otherwise. They later even scolded him for it.

But Notch's plan succeeded. Finding himself in interaction with the young humans, Herobrine had not felt any ill will towards them, unlike the older players that he had encountered in the game. Maybe it had been their innocence and genuine welcome along with eager gifts, or maybe it was because he had been so anxious to live up to Notch's expectations, but he felt a good feeling toward them that Notch called compassion. And he ended up giving gifts to them with increased healing stats. Of course, it would only work on their avatars in game, but it was the thought that counted or so Notch had said. The adult humans present at that moment had recorded it on a video, which they had posted online.

As Notch had hoped, the video proved effective and even convinced a number of other humans that Herobrine was not inherently dangerous or meant for some malicious purpose by his unknown creator. And the brief public interest raised by this event was perhaps the only thing that kept the Admin from simply destroying him, when just a day later, Herobrine badly messed up. Provoked by several human players who accosted him in Notch's brief absence, he unintentionally revealed his power to override code even in a peaceful location and turned it into a scene of horror. The Admin immediately removed him from Notch's custody and placed him into the care of their associate, who soon proved Notch wrong. And only Notch's timely interference allowed Herobrine to escape with his code intact.

Worse yet, now Herobrine himself began to believe that the overseer in charge of him had been right. His hatred of humans continued to grow since the day that he escaped. He even wished for them to die today, not just here in game, but in their own world. This meant that he really was a monster that his overseer claimed he was.

Notch would have been so disappointed.

Only Herobrine tried! He really tried to be what Notch expected him to be! And he couldn't do it! He could not stay in control. And he had failed to make wise choices, which would have convinced everyone that he meant them no harm. He tried though, making sure to stay out of everyone's way, not causing damage, running away from fights rather than seeking them out. None of this worked. The Admin simply wouldn't leave him be! Why else would they release such a horrible mod?

Herobrine could not help a scowl as an unpleasant memory of first meeting with his Admin assigned overseer forced their way into his memory.

"I am not going to lie. I hate programs like you." The Admin keeper's voice oozed despise and annoyance as he studied Herobrine, then nervously standing in the small room of the lab where he had been placed to wait. He had yet hoped that he might be returned to Notch. Instead, it had been this human, whose callous attitude stirred the worst of Herobrine's insecurity and fear. Still, he obediently stood and listened to every spoken word, remaining silent even though his new overseer's words confused him. The human meanwhile continued to rant, obviously displeased by his unexpectedly assigned task. His voice began to fill with scorn that dripped like poisonous acid upon Herobrine's still trusting and hopefully open mind.

"You pretend to be intelligent and self-aware, so some fools with too much time to think have imagined that this somehow makes you real people. As if you are different from other pieces of code that we wrote into the game. You are not! Especially, you! All you are is some stupid NPC that a hacker took and then modified your core. Then stuck you in the skin of a dangerous mob that we ourselves once created! If it was up to me, I'd have sent you straight to removal. But noooo! Now I must run tests! And somehow find a place for you in our game, where you'll be of some use. What a waste of time!"

This human seemed so angry. He was nothing like Notch, who had been kind and believed that Herobrine had value simply because he existed. Notch saw Herobrine as not that different from his people, whom he jealously guarded, willing even to argue with the owners of the game for their sake. Herobrine so badly wished that he had appeared among them, instead of in a mod, where he featured as a villain, whose only purpose had been to entertain any players that wondered into his keep to challenge him. He reacted with aggression and did his best to destroy them. That reaction remained in his code despite Notch's best efforts to help him learn to suppress it. Notch believed that Herobrine was more human than mob and could live among others peacefully.

This human seemed to believe otherwise. Again, Herobrine strongly regretted his earlier failure. It had been his own fault that he had been taken away from Notch and given to this man, who seemed to hate Herobrine already simply by virtue of what he was.

"At least I get paid for this... " The human grumbled. "All right. Enough of that." His voice abruptly calmed.

"Now for what I'll be doing and what I'll be expecting specifically of you. What I'll be doing is running tests. Mostly to check how you function and what exactly that hacker stuffed into your core program. I cannot get through to your code directly because of all those complex defenses he placed all around your main functions. And to my understanding even Notch could not do it. As such, we have no idea what you are capable of and what nasty surprises are hidden in your code, just waiting for the right moment to explode. It is my task to figure all this out. And it is entirely up to me on how I will accomplish this task."

The human frowned, pausing as he appeared to think. The lips of his gray skinned avatar then pinched and red eyes gave Herobrine a very unfriendly, cold look.

"I'm going to give you tasks to complete. Some of them will be easy and others most likely impossible. For each failure you'll be punished. Don't be surprised. Pressure is the best way to learn and see what you are capable of. You'll find that you can do much more than you think you can, just given enough of a push. I know this from a personal experience... " The human's expression twisted as if he tasted something sour.

"I'll give you a warning, too. If at any time I will find out that you are hiding something from me, or if you deliberately disobey, I'll simply recommend you straight for removal. So, a hundred percent effort and obedience! I say jump, and you jump. I say crawl, and you crawl. Do you get that?" The human's irate tone barely withheld impatience, so Herobrine nodded, though a small frown appeared on his face at the threat. He was going to try his best and fulfil his obligations. Immediately, he flinched as a small jolt of electrical shock stung the skin beneath his manacles.

"From now on, you'll say 'yes, sir' or simply type 'yes' in chat if you cannot speak. I am aware of your recurring handicap. Do you understand?"

[Herobrine to Victor0948]: Yes.

"Good. At least you are clever, which is more than I can say for the other program I have been tasked to test." The human didn't even attempt to hide his smirk.

Herobrine did his best to keep his already troubled emotions in check, not allowing them to show on his face. He didn't know what else to expect from this human, only that it was not going to be easy to fulfil what was expected of him. Still, he had been optimistic and even trusted that despite the seeming unfriendly first impression, his human overseer would prove reasonable. He thought that he could prove himself, become useful, and win him over, exactly as Notch advised him to do.

He was very, very wrong.

Herobrine scowled at the memory, but continued to walk, despite slightly swaying. Just a little ahead.

The owner of the server where he had taken refuge had already left. Herobrine could feel the absence of any connections. Glad to be entirely alone, he finally stumbled up to the rock wall where the entrance to the caves gaped. There, he briefly paused and glanced around the place. Immediately, his white eyes found the huge, dim shape rising in the near distance. That was probably the castle that the player was begging him not to destroy.

He couldn't help a huff. He didn't just destroy things on impulse, even when he felt moved to do so. Not anymore. Notch's efforts had not been entirely in vain. He was no longer the arrogant fool that he had been two years ago, when he first woke up and concluded that he was some sort of god. The harsh lessons he had received taught him his true place in the scheme of things.

He was an outcast, a glitched bot. He no longer wished to fight or prove anything to anyone. All he wanted was to be simply left alone. Why couldn't he just live like those virtual humans that belonged to Notch?

Why did the Admin insist going after him? He was not any danger to them or their game at all! Or so their last update just proved. Getting killed over and over again by low level players without any ability to resist them was proof enough for everyone of what he really was, was it not?

Turning around, his figure slightly slumping, Herobrine escaped the world into the safety of the cave.

At his request, the System displayed the entire local map. His estimation of the server was right – it was small. Tiny even. It also looked very strange. He had never seen anything like it.

Normally, the System generated fairly standard worlds, which varied only in climate and size and then received modifications by their owners, who were really just rich players who borrowed a piece of the larger game for their own use for a set period of time.

Again, Herobrine could not help wondering how this young female player had been able to afford such an expensive venture. Notch once told him that even a small server easily ran up in costs equivalent to many times the amount demanded of a normal player. This girl mostly lived here alone, the server looked practically abandoned and lacked the latest mods installed by players in neighboring areas, so there were virtually no attractions to invite visitors, which was how some server owners managed to pay their rent.

There was nothing interesting here, unless one counted this unusual formation below the ground, several layers below the normal cave system that was usually present in any world. It looked almost like... an enormous stronghold. Snaking branches of corridors held a great number of rooms, ten thousand twenty-four, to be exact.

Herobrine's narrowed eyes briefly held on the map before dismissing it. He was not too concerned about the details at this point, though he would check it all later when he had the time. Drowsiness was becoming unbearable. Summoning red-stone torches to aid his blurring vision, Herobrine walked a little further down the narrow neck of the entrance and emerged into a spacious area of slightly twice his height and extending out to more passages that lead away into the darkness. Above his head ran numerous cracks, allowing moonlight to fall in soft, sparkling beams of transparent silver. Somewhere, water droplets fell, striking hidden water streams.

His eyes searched and noticed a convenient niche that looked like a flat bench. With relief, Herobrine headed straight to it. Crawling inside, he curled directly upon the cool stone. Even the faint chill did not keep him from instantly dropping off into an exhausted slumber.