A hard decision

Nuka sat in a small, dimly lit, stone cell. Again.

He wrapped his arms around his knees, staring sadly at the floor.

He had expected to be locked up again, but this time it was much worse than in Melodia, especially because he was alone again.

Nuka grimaced as he thought about it.

It hadn't been long since the guards had dropped him off here but it already felt so much longer.

Especially since there was nothing to distract him from his gloomy thoughts.

Originally, he had hoped to meet Einshine here, but that too proved to be a fallacy, which worried Nuka greatly.

What has happened to him? he asked himself again as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair, causing the chains on his wrists to clink softly It's not like him to just disappear like that. After all, he promised me he'd take her to the portal and lead her through.

I wish I'd had the chance to ask Roxana and the others about it, he added, glancing at the rusty iron door opposite him through which the muffled and barely perceptible voices of his guards penetrated.

I wonder what kind of plan they'll come up with against Null? wincing as he remembered the throne room scene again, where Null had shown him his powers and superiority very clearly.

He himself had no idea how to achieve this, but luckily most of the group were wiser and more experienced than him, especially Steve, so they would certainly be able to come up with a good plan against him, wouldn't they?

Hopefully Hero will still be alive then, if they even find one he added with a quick worried glance at the door And hopefully they'll decide to save him now that I can't...

With that thought, he sniffled softly and buried his face in his arms as he remembered how shocked and distraught Herobrine had looked the last time he'd seen him.

He was so against me agreeing to Null's deal... Nuka thought sadly, but what else was I supposed to do? If I hadn't said yes, he would have just killed me and that would have been the end of us...

How is he doing? he continued to ask himself and he felt his heart grow heavy Probably not too well after all this time without a potion from Roxana. I wonder if he's worried about me? Is he still conscious at all? Has Null already done something to him?

Nuka couldn't help but suppress a soft whimper at the thought.

If only he could help him...

But before he could think about it any further, he was distracted by a small commotion outside his door, followed by two thuds and the sound of a key being pushed into the lock.

Nervous and unsure of who it might be, Nuka sat up and looked tensely at the door, which bursted open a moment later and Nuka's heart skipped a beat as he looked into familiar shining white eyes with matching black mask belonging to none other than the Griefer he had just been thinking about.

Speechless, Nuka stared at him.

"Einshine?" he asked for a moment and he could feel his mood suddenly improve as the Griefer entered the cell and hastily closed the door behind him, "I... I can't believe you're here! You don't know how happy I am to see you! I thought you... you were..."

"We don't have time for this!" the gryphon interrupted him, stressed out, "We have to leave, fast!"

"Leave?" Nuka repeated, confused, while his friend hurriedly knelt down next to him and tried to open his chains with a bunch of keys that he had probably stolen from the guards, "Why? It is safe here..."

"No, it's not!" Einshine contradicted him, surprisingly sharp but without looking up from his work, "Neither for me nor for you! Especially not for you!"

Nuka looked at him uncertainly.

He didn't understand why the Griefer was so tense and angry but the way he was behaving was beginning to worry him.

"Me?" he then asked, trying to make sense of it all but still relatively cheerful and light-hearted, "Why?"

Einshine, who was still trying to loosen his chains, sighed in frustration before looking up at Nuka and it was obvious that he was upset.

"Because they want to kill you Nuka!" he snarled, causing Nuka to freeze and all the light-heartedness he had just had flew away like a leaf in the wind.

"K-Kill me...?" he repeated weakly with a dismayed look at Einshine, who was still busy with his chains, "Are...are you sure...?"

"Of course I'm sure!" replied Einshine, annoyed, without looking up from his work, "I heard them say it myself!"

At these words, a soft click sounded and Nuka felt the chain around his hand loosen. It was such an incredible relief for him.

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" he continued a moment later as he quickly released Nuka's second chain, stood up and held out a hand to help him up. Suddenly a voice sounded behind him:

"Einshine?"

Nuka froze as Einshine whirled around to reveal Roxana standing in the doorway looking at her with a surprised face.

But before she or Nuka could say anything, Einshine stood protectively in front of him and quickly pulled out his two redstone daggers, which had belonged to him before and which he had probably found in Herobrine's castle. He held them threateningly in Roxana's direction.

"Don't you dare come even one step closer!" he hissed to Roxana, who was still standing in the doorway and hadn't moved an inch.

"Nuka, you have to go now!" he continued at Nuka, who had stood up in the meantime and was looking between the two in confusion, "Go! Leave! Teleport while you still can!"

"Leave?" Roxana asked in confusion, "W-why do you want to...?"

"Don't act so innocent!" Einshine interrupted her sharply, "You know the reason and I know it too! Yeah I heard what you're planning to do with Nuka and what role he's supposed to play in your cursed plan, but I won't let you do it!"

Roxana's face went white when she heard this and she looked caught and startled, which was not a good sign for Nuka to say at least.

"You overheard us?" Roxana gasped in surprise, to which Einshine nodded grimly.

"Of course," he replied simply, "For a long time. Actually, I just wanted to know what you were up to so I could help you, but that's going too far!"

"You've been here for so long?" Roxana asked in shock before her face became confused again, "But why didn't you say anything? We...we were so worried about you..."

"Hm. I don't know," Einshine snorted contemptuously, "maybe because I didn't want to spend all this time locked up in a cell! I'd rather play the poor helpless blind boy who's lost in the sewers and is taken to your previous hideout without being asked, than that!"

Nuka raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He hadn't expected Einshine to take advantage of the weakness he hated so much to gain access to the Minecrafter's hideout, probably just blindfolding himself as he couldn't imagine it was okay for him to show his scars to strangers and especially Minecrafters.

But the fact that they apparently didn't even check if his claim was true shocked him greatly, considering the situation they were in at the moment.

Either they were feeling too secure with their defense systems or Einshine was playing his part damn well, he concluded, when he suddenly noticed that the Griefer was staring at him impatiently, as if waiting for Nuka to answer something he hadn't heard.

"What are you waiting for?" he continued tensely a moment later, "Don't stand there rooted to the spot. Get out of here already! Come on!"

Nuka sighed softly when he heard that...

It would probably be better to just follow his advice and leave, but as easy as it was, he couldn't.

It wasn't that he didn't believe Einshine, but if they were really planning to kill him then he wanted at least an explanation...

He wanted to know why the people he had built up a certain amount of trust and friendship with would make such a decision.

,,Einshine... Einshine says you want to kill me..." he continued instead, addressing Roxana, who was clutching her staff nervously and seemed rather helpless and confused, "is... is that true?"

Roxana froze at his words and Nuka felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach when he saw the guilt and remorse in her eyes…

So it was true...

"It's not that simple, Nuka..." she murmured softly as she lowered her eyes and looked down at the ground, "No one wants to kill you, but... but it could happen if... if we follow the plan..."

She sighed, brushing her hair out of her face and for a brief moment Nuka could see the tears in her eyes.

"I'll explain it to you," she continued dejectedly a moment later, still without looking at him, "You have a right to know anyway..."

Nuka nodded in agreement, glad to finally know the reason for their terrible decision, but his heart sank the more he heard of her story...

The plan she and the others had made was anything but safe and more than risky, especially for him, but even if Nuka didn't like it, no matter how hard he tried to somehow turn it around, it was the only thing that made sense.

There was no one else in the world who had any divine power left in them, aside from Null, to do this…

It had to be him...It had to...

Nuka swallowed hard and he couldn't help but take a step backwards, bumping his back against the wall as his heart clenched painfully letting the gravity of the situation sink in…

"I'm so sorry," he heard Roxana whisper dejectedly a second later, while he stood pressed against the wall, still trying to process the whole thing, "I... I can understand if you want to leave now... and if you do... then I won't stop you... I'll just tell the others that you somehow got free and the cell was already empty when I got here, but you intend to do that...then...you'll have to hurry!"

Nuka raised his head in surprise when he heard that.

He hadn't expected her to actually let him go and for a brief moment he was tempted to grab Einshine by the arm and leave with him!

After all, anything else would be nothing but a suicide mission.

It would be like his first execution, only this time he would go voluntarily. Or would he?

Nuka paused.

Because if he chose to do nothing, he and this whole world, Roxana, Aurora, Enshine, Herobrine! They would all die, but if he didn't...if he sacrificed himself...they could be saved.

Herobrine could be saved.

Nuka bit his lip and closed his eyes before turning away to hide his burgeoning tears.

After all he had hoped to find another way to save Herobrine, and now he finally got what he wished for, but at what cost...?

"Nuka, you don't have to do this!" he heard Einshine say in a sharp voice shortly afterwards, before he grabbed him by the arm and forced him to look at him, "They'll find another way! They have to! You don't need to sacrifice yourself for a world that hates you and has never given you anything good!"

But instead of agreeing with him, Nuka just sighed sadly.

"You're right," he replied quietly, "But I'm still a part of it...just like you and Hero...and...and if there's anyone I want to survive this, it's you guys..."

"But I don't want that!" Einshine hissed and to his surprise Nuka could actually see tears in his eyes, "Not like this! Not when after all is said and done I'm left in a world where my only friend is dead!"

Nuka froze at his words and Einshine also seemed shocked at his outburst before he quickly turned away and ran his arm over his eyes.

"I don't want to be alone on the run again..." he concluded quietly and Nuka was dismayed to hear so much despair and sadness in his voice.
He knew that Einshine liked him and saw him as a friend but that he meant so much to him…it both really touched and shocked him.

"But you don't have to."

Nuka raised her head and looked over in surprise at Roxana, who had been silent until now and was also looking at Einshine with a sympathetic expression, "If... if you want, you can come with me to Melodia. You'd be safe there, and you could even find other hybrids there."

"I know that doesn't replace our friendship with Nuka," she continued quickly when Einshine stared at her grimly, "but maybe it doesn't have to be. After all, there's still a chance he'll survive this too. Yes, it's small, but it's still there. So don't give up hope yet. Both of you."

Nuka looked at her doubtfully.

He personally doubted that he would make it back in one piece, but it was relieving to hear that there was at least a small chance for him to survive.

After all, it would be nice to return home to the castle with Hero and live there, just reading books and enjoying life, maybe even with Einshine, if he chooses not to go with Roxana...

Nuka couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Yeah how nice that would be...

However, the smile didn't last long, as he remembered what he had to do to get there.

"The others are coming!" he heard Roxana say in alarm at that moment, "If you still want to go, you have to do it now!"

With these words, Einshine turned back to him and Nuka was so pained to see the hope and plea in his shining white eyes but he knew he couldn't give Einshine what he wanted.

He couldn't just walk away.

He couldn't leave Hero to his fate…

No, he had to at least try to save him, even if it could cost his own life...

,,Einshine," he murmured softly as he grabbed him gently by the shoulders, looking at him with a sad smile "I thank you for trying to save me and for caring about me but I...I can't leave...Hero...Hero is still in danger...everyone is. And if this is the only way to save you and the world, then...then I have to try. Even...even if it might be the end of me… Okay?"

His voice trembled slightly at the last words and he took a moment to collect himself as he waited for Einshine's reply.

He half expected the Griefer to shout at him or even burst into tears, but instead he just lowered his eyes and suddenly looked very tired and dejected.

"Fine," he finally mumbled tonelessly without looking at Nuka, "Guess I can't stop you if you really want to do this, but that doesn't mean I support it!"

At the last words, he raised his eyes and glared angrily at Nuka, who only sighed.

"Alright. Thank you so much Einshine. For everything," he replied understandingly before smiling and hugging the Griefer tightly, who gasped in surprise, but Nuka held him for a moment longer, since he didn't know if he would have the chance to do so again.

The thought made him shiver and his eyes filled with tears, which he hastily wiped away before letting go of Einshine and turning to Roxana.

"All right," he continued a moment later, addressing her trying to retain a firm voice, "so what's our next move?"