A necessary sacrifice
Roxana looked sadly at the door through which Nuka had just disappeared.
She still felt guilty for putting that spell on him, even if it had given them some important answers in the end.
Although I'm pretty sure he would have told us all that himself if he'd had the chance... she thought ruefully.
Though maybe not everything, she added as she remembered how the boy had struggled until he couldn't take the pain anymore when Jason had asked him about it and was forced to reveal his direct relation to Null.
The truth still shocked her, even though she had already suspected something similar.
I feel so sorry for him… she finished as she glanced sympathetically at the door again through which the guards had just led him I can only imagine how terrible he must have felt when he learned that the one who had threatened the very fabric of this world and hurt and almost killed his best friend was his father...
"Ales, do you have a plan?" Alex continued to Steve, who just sighed.
"No," he admitted a moment later, "I had a few on the way here, but with all the new information Nuka gave us, most of them are useless."
"But that's why it was good to question him," he continued shortly afterwards in a serious voice, "Because now we can make a new plan. One that has a much smaller chance of failing than the one I had before."
"But do we really know that much more?" Jason asked doubtfully, to which Steve only nodded.
"Of course," he replied simply, "We now know that Null is definitely in my castle and since Herobrine is there, we can assume that Notch is also being held captive."
"Are you sure?" Alex asked uncertainly and even though she was still calm, Roxana couldn't help but notice that she was a little more nervous than before. Why now tho? "I mean, after all, Nuka didn't say anything about him."
"That's true," Steve conceded, "but I don't see why he shouldn't. Sure Nuka hasn't said anything about him, but the castle is big. It's quite possible that he put Notch somewhere other than Herobrine, which is why Nuka couldn't see him."
"Although," he added grimly, "the boy's attention is too focused on Herobrine that I don't think it's unlikely that he simply overlooked him in the heat of the moment."
"Of course, there is still the possibility that he is already... already dead," he continued a moment later in a faltering voice and Roxana noticed how a slight unease ran through everyone at these words, "but I... I can't believe that. After all, he is the creator of this world and I can't imagine that his death has no effect on the things he created."
Roxana looked at him doubtfully.
She hoped with all her heart that he was right in his assumption, but given how long they hadn't seen him and how long he had been without the potions Roxana had given Herobrine and Steve, she knew the chance that he was still alive was more than small.
"The point is," Steve continued again in a firm voice, "that we have to assume he's there too, and therefore we have to be able to find him, rescue him and possibly give him medical care, along with... Herobrine."
He grimaced at the last words, making it more clear that he didn't like the idea at all, but before he could say more, Alex cut in again.
"But how are you going to get into the castle anyway?" she asked him anxiously, to which Steve just shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh, getting into the castle isn't what I'm worried about," he replied before turning to stare at the table with a thoughtful expression, "It's the shadows and Null itself that I'm worried about, since we can't escape, fight or even kill them. Which means even if we get into the castle and into the throne room to save Herobrine and Notch, we'll easily be overrun and killed if the shadows are still around."
"Well, we can use water to destroy them," Aurora suggested hesitantly, to which Steve just sighed.
"We could," he agreed, "but a bucket of water only lasts for so long, and I don't know if it will be enough to destroy all the shadows, especially since we don't know how many shadows Null can make."
"I don't think there are an infinite number," Alex interjected, "If there were, we would never have been able to save you and the others from the portal."
At that moment, Roxana realized something.
"Maybe he can only summon as much as his strength allows," she began to say, causing everyone's faces to turn towards her.
All the attention made her feel a little uncomfortable, but she forced herself to continue:
"At least that's how it works with magicians who are able to duplicate themselves. This takes toll and energy on the body until the number of doubles is too great and they collapse. Their health is also affected when many of their doubles are injured."
"But considering how powerful Null is, it may well be that even if the number is limited, he can still summon large numbers easily," she added dejectedly, "not to mention that he's not a mage anyway, so this rule may not apply to him at all."
"But it would make sense," Steve replied to her surprise, "After all, the powers of the gods follow the same rules as the magic of mages, except that they are much stronger and you don't need a staff to use them."
"That's all well and good," Alex intervened again, "but how are we supposed to use this to get the shadows and away from the castle?"
"Maybe we could get Null to send most of them to a place where they could be doused with a lot of water," Roxana thought aloud, "so that they would disappear and in turn weaken Null a lot and make our fight against him easier."
"You mean we should set a trap for them?" asked Jason, to which Roxana nodded eagerly.
"Yes," she replied, glad that her idea wasn't immediately rejected, at least until she saw Alex's face that was full of disbelieve.
"But how would that work?" she asked skeptically, "After all, we'd need a huge place far enough away from the castle that we could flood without putting the whole town underwater. Especially since we would still have to find a way to get Null to send his shadows there without arousing suspicion."
Roxana looked at her uncertainly.
She wasn't sure on how to do this either, but before she could admit it and distance herself from the idea, Jason intervened again.
"What about the portal?" he asked, looking at Alex, "It has a lot of space around it, so we could flood it without damaging the buildings or other things, and it's quite far away from the castle."
"That could work," Alex admitted, "But how are you going to send Null's shadow there?"
"Simple." Jason explained, "We'll make it look like we're trying to get people out of the city through the portal. Null's shadows are already there and will try to stop them, which will make Null send more and more of them and when enough of them are there, we'll unleash an ocean of water that will destroy many of them and weaken Null."
Roxana's heart lightened when she heard that.
That actually sounded like something that could work.
"It's not a bad idea," Steve mumbled in response, "but I don't like getting the civilians involved. And we need to get some of them there, otherwise Null will get suspicious."
"But you still think he'll buy it?" Alex asked, to which Steve sighed before nodding.
"I'm pretty sure he expects me to at least try to get some people out of the city," he replied grimly, "but I don't want any more civilians to get hurt than they already are! There's no guarantee that everyone will survive this!"
His voice became sharp with the last words and Roxana feared that the idea was off the table when Jason suddenly stood up in front of him.
"But they won't either if we don't do anything!" he replied sternly before his face became gentle again.
"Hey, I don't like the idea either," he continued in a clearly calm voice, while Steve gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "but nobody seems to have a better one..."
Steve didn't reply, just crossed his arms and stared grimly ahead of him, apparently unwilling to admit that Jason was right.
But finally he sighed in surrender.
,,Fine," he finally growled, "but we can't force them! I'll only take those who are willing to leave of their own accord...which probably won't be many anyway, considering how much I've already let them down..."
At the last words, his voice became slightly shaky and he ran a hand over his eyes, whereupon Roxana looked at him sympathetically.
What a burden must have been resting on his shoulders...
"You underestimate your people, Steve," Alex replied at that moment with a smile, "They still believe in you. I bet if you went out and asked them, many would still put their lives on the line to save you and the world."
Steve looked at her in surprise and Roxana thought she saw a glimmer of hope in his blue eyes, but before he could say anything, Aurora started talking again.
"But what if Null comes too?" she asked worriedly, to which Jason just shook his head.
"I doubt he will," he replied, "He's still expecting Nuka to come back, so he can't leave or he might show up and free Hero himself. Especially not if he shows up right when that happens."
"What do you mean by this?" Alex asked suspiciously, to which Jason just sighed.
"I mean that we should include Nuka in our plan," he explained, "We'll give him Steve and let him return to Null with him, so that it looks to Null as if he's escaped us while we follow him and hide. And when the time is right, we'll pour all the water we have on him, and while he's weakened, we'll capture him, free Herobrine and Notch, take the staff and return the powers to their original owners."
"If Steve is okay with it." he added quickly, to which he just nodded, while Roxana looked at Jason in surprise.
She would never have thought that he would suggest such a thing, especially considering how angry he was when Nuka had kidnapped Steve the first time.
"I have no problem with that," Steve replied simply, "but how are you going to bring him down? He's no ordinary man and even without his staff, he's still a god with a lot of power."
"Well, Roxana still can summon some magic chains, doesn't she?" Jason replied with a glance at Roxana, but before she could answer him, he turned his attention back to Steve, "We could use them to bind him and his powers, at least for a little while. Just long enough for you and the others to get your powers back, and besides, you once said to me that even the most powerful god can't do anything when he's unconscious. I'm sure we can achieve this state by putting enough water on him."
"But how do you know that the water will have this effect on him?" Alex asked him skeptically, to which Jason just shrugged his shoulders.
"Why wouldn't it?" he asked back, "After all, that's what happens to Nuka when he gets too much water on himself, so why shouldn't it be the same with him?"
This was followed by an awkward silence while everyone exchanged glances, unsure whether this plan could work at all, until Alex sighed and ran a hand over his face.
"So, assuming this all works out," she explained and it was clear that she more than doubted this, "and Null lies weakened on the ground and can no longer use his powers, someone then grabs the staff and..."
"No. Not just anyone," Steve interrupted her, "It must be Nuka."
Roxana looked at him in surprise when he heard this, as did everyone else.
"Why ?" Aurora asked, confused, whereupon Steve lowered his eyes and his face darkened.
"Because the rest of us aren't capable of it..." he finally mumbled reluctantly, "Believe me, I heard it from Null myself when I was trapped by him... only those who are gods have enough power to wield the staff now. All others will ... die just by touching it."
"But Nuka isn't a god," Jason interjected, to which Steve nodded.
"No..." he agreed, "But he's the only one who comes closest to this at the moment, apart from Null himself. We just have to hope that he has just enough power to hold the staff and release the trapped forces before... Before it destroys him..."
Roxana froze when she heard that.
"Wait? You want to sacrifice Nuka?!" she gasped in dismay, to which Steve just shrugged his shoulders.
"I have to," he finally declared, whereupon Roxana stared at him in shock before becoming furious.
How could someone be so careless to somebody that had saved his life multiple times?!
"Oh really?!" she replied angrily, "I wonder if you would still suggested this and go along with this plan if Jason was the one who had to sacrifice himself!"
Steve's head shot up when she said this and for the first time looking at her with quite some fruy in his eyes.
"Be careful of what you say, mage!" he replied and even though his voice was calm, there was no mistaking the anger underneath, "You have no idea what I've sacrificed in my life! How many friends and other things that were dearest to me I have lost just to save this kingdom and its people!"
His voice became sharp with the last words and Roxana could clearly see the pain in his eyes before he turned away again.
"But you're right when you say that it's not difficult for me to sacrifice the boy, as it would be for Jason, for example," he added a little more calmly, "But regardless of that, I would do it anyway! And I'm one hundred percent sure that Jason would agree to it, even if it might cost him his own life, because he knows what's at risk! I'm not sure about Nuka tho..."
"Maybe we can convince him by telling him that this will also save Herobrine. Since he doesn't care about anything else...", he muttered more to himself than to Roxana, who was still staring at him in shock and despair.
"But that... that's not fair..." she whispered pleadingly, whereupon Steve just shrugged his shoulders again.
"The world is never fair, Roxana," he explained grimly, "I know you care about the boy but there's no point in letting him live anyway. He will only die, like all of us, in a few hours or more when the world finally collapses."
Roxana lowered her eyes when she heard that.
She knew he was right, but it still broke her heart to let on the thought of letting him walk to his own doom.
Especially because she knew how much he meant to Herobrine.
He'll never forgive me for letting this happen... she thought sadly, remembering how caring and gentle he had spoken about Nuka when they had made potions together. She turned her gaze back to Steve.
"And what if it doesn't work?" she asked quietly, "What if even he isn't powerful enough to release the powers before he dies?"
"Then we're doomed," he explained gloomily, "But we already are, so we have no choice but to try anyway."