An old acquaintance
Herobrine landed quietly, well hidden in the deep bushes of a Jungle biome. After briefly checking if he was alone, he disappeared into a small cave. The night in the Overworld was slowly but surely coming to an end.
Without paying much attention to the monsters, who immediately retreated into the darkness of the cave corridors at the sight of him, he continued until he came to the small turnoff that led to the room with the nether portal, the same one that Nuka had gone through into the Nether not so long ago.
Normally Herobrine didn't use the portal, since he could teleport between dimensions without much difficulty, but he had just attacked and destroyed another village that night. Exhausted, he didn't feel like wasting his energy on another teleportation when there was a portal nearby that would take him directly to his castle.
Entering the small room, he looked thoughtfully at the portal. It was still activated and glowing gently, making strange sounds.
He built it shortly after he became free so that he would know immediately when Notch closed off the dimension again.
That never happened and after all this time Herobrine didn't believe that it ever would. The resources of the Nether had become indispensable for the Minecrafters and their uproar over the closure of the Nether would be far too great.
Not to forget that Notch with this action would inevitably send some Minecrafters to their deaths. Herobrine thought grumpily while striding towards the portal. Those bastards always made it into the Nether somehow!
With this thought, he stepped through the portal and arrived into the Nether.
The heat welcomed him like an old friend and the sounds and surroundings were so familiar that he immediately felt safe and secure. The sight of his castle made him think of Nuka again.
I wonder if he's still asleep? He asked himself as he slowly walked towards his castle. I hope he didn't have another one of his nightmares again.
Herobrine sighed.
He knew that taking care of a person like Nuka wouldn't be easy. Being tortured in Steve's dungeons for a week had been more than horrible after all. He had not expected that it would be this complicated!
Nevertheless, he was still glad that he had saved Nuka, even though he was still aware that his friendship with the boy stood more than on shaky ground. He still felt that he didn't deserve it, especially now that he could see the consequence of his decision to leave him behind in Skylor.
The thought of his past actions made his heart unbelievably heavy…
The boy had taken weeks to recover from his injuries and even now he was still extremely jumpy, refusing to leave the castle or use his powers.
But that wasn't what really worried Herobrine.
No, what worried him most was that, since his rescue, the boy had been getting terrible nightmares that pulled him out of sleep every night and left him disturbed and afraid, not being able to sleep again.
Herobrine couldn't remember how many times he had rushed into his room only to find him crying and shaking in fear.
He had done his best to calm him down but he knew he was not doing it well due to his almost non-existent social skills.
That's why he began brewing sleeping potions for Nuka, using herbs from the overworld and the old recipes, that he still remembered from the time when he had been Brian and lived in the castle of Skylor.
He didn't think that he would ever need this knowledge again, but he was glad he remembered it, since the potion proved to be quite effective.
Herobrine knew this wasn't the best solution, but he didn't know what else to do. He could not sit by Nuka's bed all the time and watch over him. He had other things to do.
At least he still enjoys reading books and they seem to help him a little. Herobrine thought as he looked thoughtfully at the castle. If he continues reading at such a pace, he will soon be through the entire library.
Herobrine smiled briefly, before his expression turned serious again.
I still wish I could help him more... he thought sadly as he walked across a large area towards his castle.
Suddenly, he paused. Something was wrong! Listening intently, he tried to figure out what it was.
Then it dawned on him!
It… was too quiet.
Alarmed, he tensed and looked around vigilantly in all directions.
There should be a lot more mobs here to guard the castle! Where were they?
Before he could think about it further, he heard a soft noise behind him.
He spun around to see two Netherrack blocks float up from the floor and shoot towards him at high speed!
Herobrine dodged. He did not have time to recover when an invisible force grabbed him, yanking him off his feet, and hurled him full force against a wall.
At the last moment, just before colliding with the wall, Herobrine teleported and reappeared in front of his castle. Breathing heavily, he quickly looked around for the attacker!
No one was there.
Closing his eyes, Herobrine allowed his senses to wander to find out the position of the attacker. To his confusion, he did not make out a heartbeat nor footsteps. He had no choice but to scan the surroundings with his eyes again. Rage slowly rose within him.
This attack had taken him completely by surprise!
He had been lucky that his reflexes were so good, otherwise the whole fight would have probably been over quickly.
How dare someone attack me in my dimension, in front of my castle and ambush me at that!
Herobrine scowled angrily as he continued to look around. He couldn't ignore a worried twinge in his heart. His opponents powers… were exactly the same that Nuka possessed.
He would never attack me! Herobrine thought as he continued to tensely search for his unknown opponent. He frowned.
Nuka had no reason to do this. Also, he was still far too weak and scared to leave the castle. But who else could it be? There was no one who could use such powers, was there?
Before Herobrine could consider this more, he noticed a movement behind him!
Turning, he barely managed to dodge two swords shooting straight at him out of nowhere. Strangely enough, these blades looked very different from normal blades.
Obsidian blades! Herobrine glared at the blades with surprise, watching them dissolve and disappear into nothingness right after they missed him. Suddenly, he knew exactly who had attacked him out here.
It couldn't be!
In that moment, he felt someone teleport behind him. Spinning to face the unknown assailant, he managed to block another attack with his own double swords. Finally seeing the face of his attacker, Herobrine's eyes widened in shock.
He was looking at himself!
Herobrine's double sneered, taking advantage of brief hesitation to strike Herobrine's sword from his hand, disarming him. Another lunge threw Herobrine's body to the ground. Feeling a sword pointed at his throat, Herobrine froze, and silently stared at his twin, whose face distorted in a wide grin.
"Well," he finally said, in a satisfied tone as he eyed his now helpless opponent at his feet, whose white eyes held on him with an incredulous look.
"What's up... Moonface? Long time no see."
Herobrine said nothing.
He lay there and watched his lookalike in surprise and disbelief.
"...Null?" he finally whispered.
His counterpart's grin grew even wider, before the figure blurred and became indefinable for a brief moment, solidifying again to reveal a young man whose clothes, skin and hair were pure black, making him look more like a shadow than a person.
His eyes, just like Herobrine's, shone bright white and were the only thing that stood out from his figure, besides his blood red scarf, giving him an even creepier appearance.
"It's good to see you again."
Null smiled, standing up and making his sword disappear, and held out a hand to help Herobrine up.
"How are you?"
Herobrine ignored it. Quietly standing up, he glared at Null speechlessly.
He never expected to see him again.
Null was also a god, like Herobrine and his brothers. He held sway over the shadows as well as watched the End. Yet hardly any of the Minecrafters knew his name and that didn't surprise Herobrine.
Null was good at staying in the shadows, and the fact that he could change his shape into any person he wanted only helped him to remain hidden.
The only time he himself had appeared was when Herobrine and his brothers had become gods and Herobrine had been banished to the Nether. But Herobrine doubted that many books mentioned this, even though Null played one of the main roles.
Without him, Herobrine would have never found out the truth about Notch, would never have been rejected, would never have been banished to the Nether. Still, Herobrine was not angry with him for that.
On the contrary, he was glad that Null had told him the truth back then. Null had been the one who took care of him after his break with Notch and Steve, who freed him from the Nether, who cared for him again afterward. That's why he was one of the very few whom Herobrine still trusted.
He trusted him even though he knew almost nothing about him or his origins. It had never been important for Herobrine.
Null was the one who stood by him in the worst of times, so he was all the more glad to see him again, even if he had not expected his return.
"You… you're alive?" He finally spoke, watching Null with disbelief as if expecting him to vanish into thin air at any moment, leaving him standing in shock and confusion.
That didn't happen.
His counterpart continued to stand there, grinning and looking at him expectantly.
"Why so surprised?" Null finally teased with a mocking voice, "Did you think I was dead?"
"Well, what else should I have thought?" Herobrine replied with uncertainty.
"It must have been a hundred years since I saw you last! Where have you been?! And why didn't you come back after the explosion?"
"Because I had to recover from it first," Null replied seriously and looked at Herobrine with grim reproach, at which Herobrine guiltily lowered his eyes.
The explosion had been his fault.
He had attacked a village with Null as a revenge against Steve and Notch and shot down one of the houses with his lightning bolts without knowing that it held stored TNT.
The explosion had destroyed everything within a 50-block radius and had been so violent that Herobrine had been thrown away, fainting. As soon as he came to, he desperately searched for Null, who had been inside the village just before the explosion. He had found nothing but ashes.
Herobrine had blamed himself terribly for having killed his mentor and only ally. Now that this turned out to be wrong, he felt relieved, but also angry for having felt guilt for nothing.
Why did Null not let him know that he was alive all this time? Did he do it on purpose, to punish him for his early recklessness?
Herobrine frowned. "Why did you attack me? Was it revenge for my mistake?" He demanded with a grim look at Null.
Null again only grinned. "Nonsense!" His tone held amusement, "Do you really think I'm that vindictive? No, I just wanted to check if you still keep in shape. Just think of it as a little training session from an old friend."
Herobrine raised his eyebrows in surprise. Null had never called him that before.
Neither at the time before he was banished to the Nether, nor in all the time afterwards where he had attacked villages and cities together with him, Null never called him a friend. It had never bothered Herobrine, since he knew that the guy didn't care much about such things anyway, which is why his claim now brought him confusion.
"Besides, if you were really wondering where I've been all this time, maybe you should have looked in the End," Null continued in his voice before Herobrine, who just looked at him with a question.
"You were there all this time?" Herobrine verified, to which Null nodded.
"Of course," he said simply, "You could have stopped by." He added with another reproachful look at Herobrine.
Herobrine gave him an angry glance.
"You know that the End is not my favorite dimension." Picking up his sword, he dismissed it before turning to face Null. "Besides, what's the point of looking there if you hide in the Void? You know I can't go there."
"Did you just leave the End?" he cast Null a questioning glance and his former mentor shook his head.
"Oh no, I've been traveling for a while now," He casually glanced at the castle. Herobrine glared at him with indignation.
Then why didn't you come by sooner? He wanted to ask, but before he could open his mouth, Null turned his gaze back to him and smirked.
"That's why I came here," he continued in a meaningful voice, "I found something during one of my explorations on the Overworld. Something that can definitely help your plan to avenge Notch and Steve."
Herobrine raised his eyebrows in surprise. Now his interest was definitely raised!
"You found something I can use to get revenge on Steve and Notch?" he repeated incredulously, to which Null nodded.
"Something like that," he replied with a strange smile, "But I won't tell you more. You'll have to see it for yourself. Believe me, you'll like it."
Instead of being enthusiastic, Herobrine only looked at him with uncertainty.
"Why should I go with you?" he asked looking at Null with an unsure look,"Why can't you just tell me now?"
Null then stared at him for a few seconds and smiled.
"Suspicious as always," he said. Sighing, he shook his head and turned his gaze back to Herobrine, "How typical. Don't worry! You know you can trust me. After all," he grinned disarmingly, "I never lied to you or attacked you because of your powers and locked you up somewhere, did I?"
Herobrine just scowled at him in response.
He didn't like the fact that Null had reminded him of that time and especially of his imprisonment in the Nether. It had been one of the worst times in his life, but despite all that he had to admit that he was right.
Apart from Null and Nuka, there was no one else that he could trust in this world.
"All right," Herobrine finally conceded, "show me what you've found."
Null sneered when he heard that.
"With pleasure," he replied, before grabbing Herobrine by the arm and teleporting away with him.
A short time later, to Herobrine's displeasure, they reappeared in the End. Before he had time to look around, Null distracted him. Letting him go, he gestured for him to follow him to one of many obsidian pillars towering to the empty sky.
Herobrine did so after a moment of hesitation.
While they were walking towards the pillar, Herobrine wondered what Null might want to show him here. In front of the pillar, Null suddenly stopped and with a casual hand movement made two blocks float out from the wall, revealing a passage to a room carved into the solid material of the pillar.
"After you," Null suddenly stepped aside, gesturing to the passageway in invitation.
Herobrine frowned at him uncertainty, but complied, entering the narrow passage into a round, bare room. There was nothing inside except a few boxes and cobwebs lit by a few torches. Before he could question Null, the latter walked past him to a staircase cut into the floor, which Herobrine had not noticed before.
"Come on, it's down here," Null said in an enthusiastic voice, turning and disappearing into the narrow passage leading down. Still slightly suspicious, Herobrine followed him.
A few minutes later they reached the end of the stairs and Herobrine froze at the sight that opened before his eyes.
Down there, dimly lit by a few torches and chained to a pole was none other than Steve. Wearily, the man glanced up, as much surprise appearing in his blue eyes as now held in Herobrine's.
Quickly, that surprise vanished, replaced by old hatred and contempt that Herobrine was accustomed to seeing.
"Surprise!" Null shouted loudly at that moment. He came to stand next to Steve and gave Herobrine a triumphant look, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see your brother in chains? It's well deserved!"
Herobrine did not answer him.
He stood, silently staring at Steve, who was fortunately gagged and so couldn't interrupt with any of his usual stupid interjections. By the unwashed hair and clothing, Herobrine could tell that Steve had been here for a while.
The bruises around his wrists, where chains bound him, also caught Herobrine's eyes. Herobrine surmised that it was from Steve stubbornly fighting hard against his chains. By now, he seemed to have given up.
What an idiot, Herobrine's contemptuous look held on those dark chains. Even I couldn't break these chains, let alone him, and yet he tried to fight against them. He is more stubborn and dumb than I thought.
"And why do you think this should make me happy?" He turned his cold look from Steve to Null. "How is this supposed to help me get revenge against him and Notch?"
"Just wait and see," Null promised with an anticipating grin. "He's just first part of the plan to get your revenge."
With these words he leaned to Steve. Grabbing him maliciously by the hair, he yanked his head back, evoking a muffled groan as Steve's face contorted in pain. Herobrine watched this indifferently.
"Oh, and what plan might this be, exactly?" he cooly inquired, folding his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Null, who only grinned.
"Simple," he explained, "I will take away their powers."
Hello Guys and welcome to the second part and and thus the continuation of my Minecraft series. ^^
I'm sorry you had to wait so long, but now it finally out! I hope you will like it and have a good time while reading it. Updates will come very Sunday (exept when I'm not home)
With that I wish you a good day and happy easter! :D
See you around guys ^^