happy fourth of july to my american readers! more importantly though, happy herobrine beats up Notch day


"Micah, go." Notch ordered, all but shoving the valkyrie away towards the door on the other side of the room.

"My lord!" The valkyrie exclaimed.

"Go, I said. Find the guard." Notch's dark gaze was focused on Herobrine, who barely gave the valkyrie a second glance as he hastened to obey. A scribe was of no concern to him, and he knew that there was no guard to be found. "Herobrine." Notch held out his hand, and a great, white and gold warhammer shimmered into existence within it. "I was told that you were dead."

"Yes, well…" Herobrine took a step into the room, watching the hammer carefully as he made his way along the left wall. "…I'm afraid it will take more than a few arrows to kill me."

"I can tell." Notch moved the other way, putting a low table between them. "You've been busy." Herobrine leered at him.

"So I have." He nodded towards the doorway that the scribe had run through. "I'm afraid there's no backup waiting for you." Notch's brow furrowed.

"How did you get so close undetected?"

"A man of my talents? The same way I have remained undetected for the last eight years." Herobrine edged closer. "I left no witnesses alive."

"Why are you doing this, Herobrine?" Notch stopped circling him, gripping the shaft of his hammer with both hands. "What happened to you since last we met?"

"You know exactly what happened!" Herobrine barked. "I did not come here to talk. I came to make you pay for everything I have suffered!" Lurching forward, Herobrine leaped onto the table and swung his sword at Notch's head.

Notch jerked back, swinging his hammer in a wide arc, and Herobrine teleported off the table to avoid it. He lunged again, slashing at Notch's side and instead tearing a rend in his navy-blue cape. Another swing from the hammer forced him back, and Herobrine took a brief moment to assess his condition. Any exhaustion he had felt before was drowned out by adrenaline, coursing through his veins like lightning.

A stab of longing made him snarl, and he took a step back to collect himself as Notch turned to face him fully. He wore shimmering armor, shining gold and silver in the glowstone lamplight. Perhaps he was not so careless with his life after all. Herobrine stepped forward, then teleported.

He appeared behind Notch, driving the sword into his spine, but Avalon's blade wasn't sharp enough to pierce his chestplate. Notch jerked aside at the blow, spinning around, and Herobrine wasn't fast enough to get out of the way of his hammer before it slammed into his side. He smashed into a chair with a shout, crumpling to the ground, but regained his wits in time to teleport back to his feet on the other side of the room.

Notch's gaze flicked over to him as he curled his free arm around his ribs. Perhaps broken, he wasn't sure, but it mattered little when his rage and determination blocked out the pain. If he survived this battle, then he could attend to his wounds.

"We don't have to do this, Herobrine." Notch said lowly as he recovered. "Put down your sword."

"So you can finish what you started?" Herobrine snarled. "I should think you would be grateful for this opportunity - provided you are not such a coward that you cannot fight me yourself!"

"What I started?" A perplexed look flashed over Notch's face. "Herobrine, you do not mean that you think I was responsible for the attack on your home?"

"I know you were!" Herobrine shouted. "Your assassins told me themselves!"

"Herobrine, I would never do such a thing." Notch protested. "You and your family were dear to me, I had no reason to have you killed."

"Liar!" Herobrine teleported within range again and slammed his heel into his opponent's knee, causing him to stagger back with a growl. Rearing back, Herobrine aimed for a gap in his armor, but Notch seized his sword arm by the wrist and stopped him in his tracks.

"I do not want to kill you, Herobrine." Notch spoke as Herobrine struggled and tried to jerk free. "But your crimes in recent months have been too great for me to ignore. Drop your sword." Herobrine sneered at him, teleporting back a few feet to escape his hold.

"Either you kill me, or I cut you down where you stand."

"Very well." Notch lifted his empty hand, and glimmering lights appeared in the air around him. "I am truly sorry for what you lost, but I cannot atone for a crime I did not commit." The lights flashed towards him faster than the eye could see, and Herobrine felt as though a thousand needles pierced his body at once.

"Agh!" Herobrine staggered back, grasping at his exposed arms. The damage wasn't great, he realized a moment later, he could only see a few small, bleeding pinpricks. But it had hurt. And in the time that he was examining his wounds, Notch was coming in for another attack.

He jerked back just in time to avoid the hammer swinging at his ribs, the heavy face passing barely an inch from his ragged shirt. Notch swung again, barely hindered by the weight of his weapon, and Herobrine ducked under it and rammed his shoulder into Notch's chest. It hurt- his chestplate was hard - but it had the desired effect, sending Notch stumbling back a foot and knocking him off balance long enough for Herobrine to slash at his upper arm. Notch's blood seemed to shimmer as it arched through the air, though Herobrine wasn't sure - and didn't dwell on - whether it really did or if it was just a trick of the light. He merely went in for another strike, and Notch seemed weaker when he blocked it, one of his arms now injured and blood staining his tan sleeve.

The lights appeared again, and Herobrine jerked back, waiting for the warning twinkle of light before teleporting behind Notch to dodge the attack. Notch was ready for this, and immediately spun, driving his hammer into Herobrine's shoulder and knocking him back to the ground. Herobrine growled low and sprang back to his feet, barely feeling the throbbing. Notch had a hand over the wound on his arm. It seemed he still felt pain.

Herobrine took a step closer, baiting Notch into an attack before ducking to the left and slashing at his arm again. Notch was wise to him this time, though, and sacrificed his swing in exchange for getting out of the way. Herobrine ducked close again, aiming for a chink in his leg armor, but Notch slammed an elbow into his head and rattled him enough that his blow glanced harmlessly off the shining surface. Frustrated, Herobrine warped back again, looking up just in time to be struck again by the dagger-like lights.

"Put down your sword, Herobrine." Notch's tone was warning as he stumbled back again.

"No!" Shaking off his disorientation, Herobrine teleported onto his left and slammed his boot into Notch's knee. The creator staggered with a growl, swinging at him, and Herobrine ducked beneath it to slash at Notch's hand.

His blade connected, and Notch's grip on the hammer faltered. Herobrine took advantage of his weakness to slam the crossguard of his sword down on the shaft of the hammer and rip it from Notch's hands. Seizing his chance, Herobrine drove his shoulder into Notch's chestplate again, shoving him into the wall and pressing the length of his sword against his throat.

For a moment there was no sound, nothing but the labored breaths of the two men as Herobrine pinned his sovereign against the wall. "As with you," Notch grit out. "It will take more than a lethal wound to kill me."

"Good." Herobrine snarled. "A quick death is too good for you. And I will do whatever it takes to ensure that you stay down."

"I did not kill your family, Herobrine."

"You may not have, but they died at the hands of your valkyries." Herobrine hissed, his grip tightening on the handle of his sword as he did so. "Who waited for me to leave, then stole in to execute my wife and child, under your orders. They were innocents, Stephen was a child-!"

"FATHER!"


Stephen and Alexis didn't speak as they climbed the stairs.

Notch's castle was deathly silent, and for good reason - they had seen more than a few valkyrie corpses on the way. Herobrine was moving fast, neither of them were sure if they were going to get to Notch first, but they had come way too far now to give up.

"Hey, um, Steve." Alexis muttered as they turned on a landing. "…if we run into Herobrine, what are we gonna do?" It took Stephen a moment to respond, his hand tightening on hers.

"I don't know." He finally answered. "I've… been thinking about that myself." Alexis hummed quietly.

"Maybe he'd recognize you?"

"He hasn't seen me since I was a baby."

"Maybe you look like your mom." Alexis suggested. "I do." Stephen cracked a tiny smile at that.

"Maybe."

"And you and him both have glowing eyes," Alexis went on. "And can teleport. I should think you'd be able to make a pretty convincing case."

"Only if he doesn't kill me on the spot." Stephen pointed out. Alexis shrugged.

"He didn't kill Lady Eydis."

"Right…" Stephen's mind wandered back to the Lady's description of the scene. "…I don't know. I guess trying to convince him that I'm his son would give us our best chances of survival."

A scream echoed down the stairs.

Stephen stiffened, then gripped Alexis's hand tighter and broke into a run. He didn't know if that was a valkyrie's dying cry or something else, but they had to be close.

They made it up to the top, and Stephen slowed in the hallway at the sound of voices. A single door was open, spilling warm light out into the hall, and he released Alexis's hand to nudge her behind him as he approached.

The room was a library of sorts from what he could tell, lit by several pieces of glowstone set into the ceiling, but Stephen's attention was quickly averted from the decor by the skirmish happening on the far end. He recognized one of the fighters, a tall, wiry man with dark hair and blazing eyes, from the night that he had rescued Cafos. His clothes were dark and ragged, and he wielded a silver blade. The other man must be Notch.

Notch was big. He was no taller than some of the mortal men that Stephen had seen, but his presence was still larger than life, the feeling accentuated by his shining armor and swirling cape as well as the huge hammer that he wielded. Herobrine had been terrifying when Stephen had first seen him in the woods, but now he looked so small.

Despite his obvious disadvantage, as Stephen watched Herobrine slashed Notch across the hand, disarming him and pinning him against the wall with his sword to his throat.

Stephen's heart thudded in his chest as the two exchanged words, too quiet for him to hear. There was no way he could- surely Herobrine couldn't kill Notch?! Alexis hovered just behind him, stiff with fear, and Stephen wanted to intervene but what could he do?

Herobrine's knuckles whitened where they gripped his sword, and Stephen knew he couldn't linger any longer. Extending a hand to keep Alexis behind him, Stephen stepped into the room and screamed,

"FATHER!"


The scream made him whip around in shock, his blank eyes lighting on the young man that stood in the doorway on the other side of the room. Herobrine had never seen him before, but the rush of knowing that shot through him nearly sent him to his knees. His eyes were sky blue, and they glowed, his stricken face framed by waves of brown hair. And his voice- he'd said-

Avalon's sword clattered to the ground as Herobrine turned, taking a half step towards the doorway.

"Stephen-?"

The young man's gaze lifted, and his mouth opened in warning an instant before pain exploded in Herobrine's head and he hit the ground.


well enjoy the wait until monday. also leave a review :3

~p0tat0-g0ddess