Into the Meeting

Nuka sat once again on his mattress in the corner of the cell, his legs pulled tightly to his body and his eyes staring gloomily ahead.

Several days had passed since he had lied awake and accidentally observed Notch visiting Herobrine and he still didn't know what to make of it.

He was still confused and frightened about his likely relation to Null, which was already more than enough to keep him awake at night, so he would have preferred not to have seen Notch in the midst of it all, as it only added to his worries.

He still hadn't told Herobrine about it and he wasn't sure if he should, knowing that it would only make him more angry.

"I can't believe nothing has happened yet!"

Nuka lifted his head and looked over at Herobrine, who was sitting leaning against the wall, looking quite agitated.

By now, he had recovered well enough to sit up and even take a few steps, albeit with some pain.

However, it hadn't improved his mood, much to Nuka's displeasure, although he could understand it.

In the past few days, he had become increasingly restless, and sitting here in the cell all the time was also fraying his nerves, just like Herobrine's rants about this and that.

I mean, what does he expect to achieve with all this complaining? Nuka tiredly wondered, casting a slightly annoyed look at Herobrine. No one can hear him except Einshine and me, and we can't do anything.

"What are they waiting for?!" Herobrine continued his rant in that moment. "For Null to show up and kill us?!"

"Do you really think Null will still find us?" Nuka interjected, feeling his nervousness grow at the thought. "I mean, it's been almost a month since we escaped the End."

But Herobrine snorted in response.

"You have no idea, Nuka," he added with a grim look. "He may not have found us yet, but I assure you, he's still searching for us and he will find us sooner or later! He always does."

With those words, his face darkened, and it seemed like he was briefly lost in thought before returning to the present.

"But can't the barrier around the city protect us from him?" Nuka interjected, but Herobrine only laughed coldly in response.

"The barrier..." he repeated with amusement before his expression turned grim again. "The barrier can't protect us from anything at all. All it does is shield the city from external eyes and warn us if someone more powerful than the wizards infiltrates the city. But should this happen, it will already be too late..."

He sighed.

"So why aren't they doing anything?!" he burst out again, to which Nuka could only sigh.

"Perhaps they are," Nuka tried to appease him. "And we just don't know about it."

"Oh yeah?" Herobrine retorted grimly. "Then why does Roxana tell us every time that nothing has changed?!"

Nuka had nothing to say to that.

It was true but he wasn't so sure if they could trust Roxana in this regard.

After all, despite being friendly to them, she was still a wizard and Nuka doubted that she would pass on such valuable information to prisoners like them, assuming she even had them.

However, Herobrine seemed to see it differently, which surprised Nuka. Usually, he was very skeptical of claims from others, especially strangers.

"I think you're overthinking things," Einshine suddenly chimed in, who had also been sitting in the corner the whole time, listening with a half-annoyed, half-bored expression.

But of course, Herobrine wasn't pleased to hear that.

"Of course, you think that!" he snapped at him. "Your life isn't on the line!"

But before Nuka could intervene, they suddenly heard several footsteps outside the door, which opened shortly after, revealing two wizards followed by Roxana.

"Greetings," she continued a moment later with a slightly uncertain smile before turning to Herobrine. "I... I'm glad you're awake. Ethan wants to see you."

With these words she nodded to the wizards, who then turned to face Herobrine and approached him, causing Herobrine to step back and regard them with suspicion.

"Don't you dare touch me!" he hissed at them, stepping back and glaring at them with hatred in his eyes.

But they were not impressed by that.

They grabbed Herobrine and lifted him up despite his loud protests.

He fought back fiercely and managed to deliver a targeted blow to one of the wizards' faces, sending him to the ground!

Startled, Nuka jumped up and positioned himself protectively in front of Herobrine, who was now on the ground, crawling back with a pained and angry expression, while the wizard he had hit quickly got up and, together with the other, pointed his staff at him!

"No! Don't hurt him, please," he pleaded, looking at them with fearful eyes. "You... you don't need to help him, I can do it!"

With these words, he looked at Roxana, who had been standing there the whole time, watching the spectacle with a shocked expression.

"I... I don't know," she responded uncertainly. "Ethan... Ethan didn't say that you..."

"Well, it doesn't look like you're getting Herobrine anywhere if you don't," Einshine suddenly chimed in, who had now also stood up and positioned himself next to Nuka. "So why don't you just let us handle it? Trust me, it's much easier."

Nuka looked at him in surprise when he heard that.

He hadn't expected the Griefer to stand up for him, but he was grateful for it. Roxana looked at him uncertainly and for a moment it seemed like she wanted to object, but instead, she sighed resignedly.

"Alright," she reluctantly replied. "I hope I won't regret this."

With these words, she nodded to the guards, who then approached Nuka and Einshine and released them from their chains, before doing the same with Herobrine.

Finally being free from those dreadful things was an incredibly good feeling and Nuka would have loved to stand there for a few more minutes and savor this moment. But he knew he couldn't do that now.

He had to take care of Herobrine first.

With this thought in mind, he turned around and helped Herobrine to his feet, wrapping his arm around him and supporting him, just like Einshine, who did the same on the other side of Herobrine.

Herobrine grimaced as he was pulled to his feet again, but otherwise, he didn't complain, which relieved and worried Nuka at the same time, as it was evident that he was still in pain.

Is it really a good idea to move him so much already? Nuka wondered uncertainly but before he could ask Roxana about it, she had already turned around, signaling them to follow her with a "Let's go."

A short while later, they stood in front of a large but unremarkable wooden door, which apparently was the destination of their short journey.

The two wizards who had accompanied Roxana kept their eyes on them the entire time, pointing their staffs at them, clearly determined to show that they were still prisoners.

They had also tried to urge them to hurry but Nuka had made an effort not to rush, so as not to further burden Herobrine.

With this thought in mind, Nuka turned his gaze and anxiously surveyed Herobrine, who had now closed his eyes and appeared quite exhausted.

Nuka's heart sank as he looked at him.

The path had been short but spanned multiple floors, and it was evident that this outing had not been good for him.

He seems to be much weaker than I thought, he worried, before his attention was drawn to Roxana, who had now opened the door and peered inside cautiously.

"It seems Ethan and the others are not here yet," she said, glancing at Nuka and the others, "but I don't think it's a problem if we go in and wait for them." With these words, she opened the door and gestured for Nuka and the others to enter.

The room they entered was spacious, with several small windows covered by dark blue, beautifully decorated curtains to keep out the heat from outside and several banners hanging on the walls, whose emblems Nuka could not recognise.

In the center stood a large round oak table with several identical chairs made of dark wood, except for one that was larger and adorned with gold, indicating it belonged to the leader.

Incredible, Nuka thought in admiration as he looked at the large chandelier hanging directly above the table, filling the room with light. I bet this room is used for important meetings, but why have they brought us here?

"You can sit Herobrine down right there," Nuka heard Roxana say a moment later, as she pointed to one of the many plain chairs around the table, where they soon placed Herobrine.

He sighed in relief and closed his eyes, leaning back and relaxing.

It seemed that he was in less pain now, which greatly relieved Nuka as he watched Roxana approach him to examine him.

While Herobrine still didn't like these examinations, he now endured them without a murmur. Thankfully this was already a significant improvement and something Nuka was very glad about.

I'm really glad that he at least trusts Roxana a little now.. Now I don't have to be so worried for him anymore, he thought happily as he watched Einshine also settle on a chair near Herobrine, letting out a bored yawn.

Nuka was about to join them when he noticed a second double door on the other side of the room. It was also made of dark wood and otherwise completely identical to the other one.

Reflectively, Nuka looked at it.

I wonder where that leads? he wondered, but before he could dwell on it further, he heard several footsteps and voices by that door, which opened shortly after, and several people entered.

The first one was Ethan, followed by Steve, who now looked noticeably stronger than the last time, immediately making Nuka nervous again, and Notch, who hadn't changed much but now wore a friendly smile and appeared much more relaxed than last time he had seem him.

Behind them were two more individuals but before Nuka could even get a glimpse of them, he suddenly heard a loud angry scream!

He turned around and barely caught sight of Herobrine getting up and rushing towards Notch with a furious expression, grabbing him and delivering a powerful blow to his face!