DukeDaniel: Ayyyy nice to see you! And so glad you're enjoying this! I am having a ton of fun with it (obviously, from my impressively consistent upload schedule x'D)

Evangeline staggered forward as the zombie holding her gave her a shove, only to be seized by her wrists a moment later when two more came up on either side of her. She had figured out already that trying to fight her way free was useless - she was far too weak to overpower even one of Sirben's puppets. So, she let herself be dragged, choosing to focus on her surroundings instead as she was pulled through a doorway into a much larger room.

The room was round, with a high, domed ceiling of which the center portion was made up of a glass skylight that served as the main source of light for the room. Evangeline's heart ached as she caught her first glimpse in weeks of the Aetherian sky. In the center of the room was some sort of circular sigil, on and around which she could make out splatters of dried blood. Likely where Sirben performed his executions. On the east side of the chamber was, curiously, a lit Nether portal, gilded with a collection of golden runes that shone brightly from the obsidian frame.

They weren't alone. A few of the bloodstained stood with small packs of undead valkyries around them, as though waiting for orders, and still more passed through the room with urgency every few moments. Were they expecting an attack? Even Sirben seemed ill at ease where he walked before them, his jaw tight and glittering eyes narrowed.

Evangeline's suspicions were confirmed a moment later when he pointed out a pair of the bloodstained. "Get outside and head them off," he ordered. "See to it that they don't get close." The bloodstained valkyries bowed and hurried away with the undead at their heels. It seemed that each one was capable of controlling a certain amount of their puppets at once - and perhaps their influence was weaker when it was spread between multiple vessels. Evangeline had been able to tell a significant difference between the three that had set upon her and Herobrine in the field and Meryl, who had attacked them alone.

"It's a crying shame that our acquaintance is at its end so soon," Sirben was saying, and she turned her attention back to him as they came to a stop on the sigil. "Believe me when I say that I had many wonderful plans for you - but, alas, I am not able to allocate resources to dragging you with us."

"With you?" Evangeline's gaze flickered to the Nether portal, then back. "Oh," she scoffed. "I see. For all of you and your followers' pretentiousness, you are fleeing at the first sign of danger."

"I prefer to think of it as a tactical retreat." Sirben responded amicably. "Though we may lose one or two of our number, our rebellion will live on. And you, miss Morningstar, will be joining my ranks of undead. " Evangeline lifted her chin.

"Only until I am cured."

"Ah, I wouldn't put too much faith in that." Reaching beneath his cloak, Sirben drew out a curved dagger, and Evangeline looked over her shoulder to scan the room. She soon found who she was looking for - Herobrine, held by three of Sirben's puppet valkyries beside the door through which they had come. He didn't fight, didn't struggle against their hold, just met her gaze evenly across the space that divided them. His eyes were sorrowful, but at the same time he looked… at peace. Likely due to the fact that Sirben was unable to follow through with his threats of an excruciating death.

A shove against her shoulder caught her off guard, and Evangeline winced as her knees cracked against the bloodstained stone. Sirben raised his knife, the blade glinting in the noon sun, and Evangeline met his eyes in defiance. She only wished that she could have given Herobrine a proper goodbye.

A dark shape flashed high above them, and then the skylight shattered.

Sirben jerked back, staring up in alarm as Evangeline ducked her head to shield her face from falling glass. A moment later, a figure slammed down behind Sirben, black wings flaring around him.

"Hey, mate."

Sirben barely had time to turn before he was struck with a powerful wing, and the zombies holding Evangeline released her to spring to their master's defense. Surging to her feet, Evangeline looked up to the skylight to find valkyries spilling in through the gap, among them Meryl's commander - and Meryl herself.

"Meryl!" Evangeline shouted. A hand landed on her shoulder, and she whirled in surprise to find Herobrine standing over her.

"Eve!" Meryl looped around and came down to land before her, nearly stumbling straight into her as she did so. Evangeline wrapped her in a hug, content to just let her lean for a moment before she held her at arm's length to look at her. Meryl's chest was heaving as she gasped for breath, and her face was slick with sweat.

"Did you fly all the way here?" Evangeline demanded. "How did you- how did you find us?"

"I'm… I'm linked." Meryl gave her a tired smile. "Somehow. Something led me here, I was…"

"Ladies," Herobrine interrupted, and Evangeline looked up to tune in to the rest of her surroundings. Meryl's reinforcements were, despite being vastly outnumbered, holding their own against Sirben and his zombies. Sirben himself was on the west side of the room, steadying himself on his staff as it blazed with red light.

"More are coming," Meryl said, leaning on her friend. "Tekno, and some others - we were attacked on the way."

"Right." Evangeline nodded breathlessly. "The undead- they're like you, they can be revived. We need to take down the ones in red."

"Right. Commander!"

"I heard!" Celeste landed beside them with a small grunt. "Good to see you, Evangeline. Are you hurt?"

"She is." Herobrine cut in before she could respond. "That man is the ringleader," He pointed out Sirben. "He should be your primary target." Celeste gave him a wary look, but nodded.

"Stay out of the action," She ordered, then promptly took off again. No sooner had she done so, however, than several of Sirben's puppets set their sights on the trio and moved in to attack.

Herobrine took out the first one by slamming his wrist cuff into the side of her head, sending the zombie crumpling to the ground even as Evangeline exclaimed, "Careful!" He gave her a long-suffering look, but didn't have time to argue the point as a second valkyrie dropped down with his sights set on Meryl. Evangeline lunged for him even as her ribs protested, slamming a wing into his shoulder to unbalance him before sweeping a leg beneath his feet.

As he floundered, though, a third valkyrie appeared at her side, and she wasn't fast enough to avoid the fist that slammed into her cheek. She crashed to the ground, a hand going to cup over where there was sure to be a bruise later while Meryl and Herobrine dealt with her attacker.

At the very least, none of the undead seemed to be armed, so they were in equal standing in that regard. Evangeline shook her head and pushed herself to her knees, intending to help, but her attention was drawn by movement and she looked up to find more Aetherian valkyries dropping down through the broken skylight - Sergeant Tekno at their head, jumping the distance without a care in the world.

"Come on." Herobrine grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, beckoning Meryl along as he pulled her away from the fighting and towards the door they had originally come through. Evangeline let herself be dragged. The three of them were injured, unarmed, and exhausted, respectively. It would be best to avoid being a hindrance to the more capable fighters.

Sirben was losing. His zombies littered the ground - disoriented, not dead, though she could see a few of the lifeless bloodstained who had received no such mercy. The arrival of Tekno and the others had only pushed the battle further in their favor, their number greatly overtaking what remained of Sirben's puppets. Evangeline and her companions were all but ignored where they stood by the doorway, leaving her free to scan the room for the man behind it all.

Finally, she spotted him, slinking along the far wall towards the Nether portal.

Evangeline's heart leapt in alarm. He couldn't be allowed to escape - if he made it through that portal, he could lose them easily within the unfamiliar terrain on the other side. Her gaze flicked to Herobrine, still holding her hand, but with his teleportation blocked there was no way that he would be able to reach Sirben in time, and by the time she got one of her allies' attention it could be too late. But she couldn't just stand here and let him go!

Evangeline weighed her options, then wrenched her hand free of Herobrine's, spread her wings, and took off.

Now, she didn't think she could take Sirben in a fight, she considered as she sailed over the battlefield with Herobrine's voice calling after her. So instead she set her sights on a different target. Angling herself parallel to his path of flight, Evangeline swept over his head and snatched his staff out of his hands, landing heavily and smashing the glowing weapon over her knee.

The effect was immediate. Across the room, zombies convulsed as though struck, their movements sluggish and confused when they again began to move. On the other side of the chamber, Meryl staggered into the wall. The remaining bloodstained, having realized that they had lost what remained of their army, began to either surrender or try to flee - a course of action that was quickly brought to an end by the Aetherian soldiers.

Panting, Evangeline turned back to the portal just in time to see the hem of a red cloak disappear through it. Sirben had escaped. A pity, but… at least he no longer had the power that the staff had granted him,

She dropped the splintered pieces of wood, looking up when she spied movement to find Herobrine crossing the room swiftly towards her. She gave him a breathless smile as he neared.

"Sirben got away, but-" Her words were cut off in a squeak as he threw his arms around her and held her close.

"You made it." He mumbled into her ear. Her heart racing, Evangeline couldn't do anything but wrap her arms around him tightly in return.

"We made it." She corrected him. He just sighed into her hair.

"It's all gone." Meryl reported, sitting on the small ledge that ran around the outer rim of the room. "The images, the inability to focus, the- the beckoning feeling, it's all gone. As soon as you broke that staff." She nodded to the splintered remains of Sirben's staff, and Evangeline followed her gaze.

"That's a good sign," She said. "If the influence on you is gone, we can likely gather that he cannot take command of any of his 'zombies', either."

"I certainly hope not." Neither of them spoke for a moment, watching the activity in the center of the room quietly. Zenith and Celeste's soldiers were working on restraining the undead, who were wandering mindlessly without the bloodstained to command them. Their behavior made Evangeline think of Meryl's own after she and Herobrine had captured her - mindless, animalistic.

Reminded of Herobrine, Evangeline sought him out, and soon found him speaking with Commander Zenith. Likely of Sirben, or of what they endured as his prisoners, if the looks on their faces were of any indication. Evangeline shivered, hugging her arms to her chest as she recalled the dagger that had nearly taken her life.

"So…" Meryl cleared her throat. "You and… Herobrine, hmm?" Evangeline peered at her out of the corner of her eye.

"What about us?"

"He seemed… affectionate." Meryl examined her fingernails. "After the battle was over." Evangeline's cheeks flushed pink, and Meryl's face lit up in a delighted grin.

"It's- listen." Evangeline couldn't help returning it. "It's not how you think."

"Isn't it?" Meryl hiked up a brow. "Do enlighten me, then."

"Meryl!" A call from Commander Celeste saved Evangeline from having to explain her and Herobrine's messy relationship, but the look on Meryl's face told her that she would not be letting this go as she got up to answer her commander's summons.

Evangeline turned from her friend's retreating form to study the Nether portal, the imposing frame about ten feet to her left. Evangeline had seen them before, of course - she had been to the Nether - but it had been a long time. The churning portal's surface gave off an otherworldly glow and a low-pitched hum, one that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight to hear it.

Nether portals typically didn't function in the Aether. The distance was too great. Which, Evangeline assumed, was the purpose of the runes emblazoned on the obsidian frame. Sirben must have gotten it working for the event in which he would need a hasty escape. She shouldn't be too surprised that he had managed it, she supposed. He had managed to fix corpses into a half-alive state and force them to do his bidding. Compared to that, stabilizing a portal would have been child's play.

Even without his staff, Sirben was clever, he would remain a threat. The Nether should be informed of his arrival.

"Evangeline." A soft voice made her turn, and she found Herobrine approaching her with a carefully-neutral look on his face. "I hope this makes up for last time," He said quietly as he came to a stop beside her. "I'm saying goodbye this time."

Immediately, Evangeline's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Shock, horror, denial all flashed through her head in an instant, before she reminded herself that nothing had changed. Even as he'd kissed her, that night in the prison, he had told her that he didn't love her. Still, she couldn't just let him go.

"Must you?" She choked out, struggling to keep her voice steady. His face grave, Herobrine gave her a small nod.

"I cannot stay here. You know that." He told her quietly. "But… I have taken your words to heart. I see now that hiding in the wilderness will never make this world a better place." Evangeline's eyes lit slightly. Maybe she would see him again someday.

"Where will you go?"

"Away." His gaze flickered to his right, then back to her. "I'm… I can't tell you how sorry I am that you care for me in this way. I wish my leaving did not hurt you like this."

Evangeline shook her head, throat growing tight. "Then stay."

"You know I cannot."

"You could." She protested. "You were instrumental in bringing down a plot that threatened Notch himself, that would surely bring you favor if not a full pardon. A-and if for some reason it did not, I could go with you-"

"No, Evangeline, you don't understand." Herobrine cut her off gently. "Yes, perhaps those things would be possible - though I would not allow you to desert for my sake - but I cannot stay with you because I do not deserve it." His eyes held the same guilt as they had that night in Sirben's prison. "I do not deserve that happiness."

"What about my happiness?" Evangeline's voice broke, and her vision blurred with tears. Herobrine seemed to start to step forward, but stopped himself. Instead, he reached out to take her hand, and Evangeline watched through tears as he bent over it and brushed his lips against her knuckles.

"Promise me you won't come after me." He murmured.

Evangeline took a shaky breath. "Herobrine…"

"Promise."

"I promise," She said miserably. Satisfied, Herobrine nodded, then straightened up and released her hand. As she watched, he turned and began to walk towards the Nether portal.

"Y-you're going to the Nether?" Evangeline stammered out in shock. "You- you're banished! What are you-?!"

"I told you, I've taken your words to heart." Herobrine stopped just before the portal's surface and turned, giving her a small smile. "I'm showing them that they have nothing to be afraid of."

"But-!"

"You won't come after me, right?" He interrupted. She gave him a dejected nod. "Good." Herobrine hesitated for a moment longer. "Goodbye, Evangeline."

"Goodbye." Evangeline whispered. With that, Herobrine turned and vanished through the swirling light, leaving her alone before the portal with tears trailing down her face.