It was raining.

Herobrine cupped his hand above his eyes in a halfhearted defense against the downpour, his other hand fumbling with the latch to the gate that offered him a way in and out of his sheep's enclosure. The storm had come upon him suddenly while he was in the midst of a task, forcing him to scramble to finish it before he was completely drenched. He'd failed. He was soaked through and freezing in the late autumn chill, and he was dearly looking forward to getting inside and into a set of dry clothes.

Finally, the latch clicked, and he straightened, seeking out his modest home through the driving rain. He had lived here for nearly a decade now, and while he was plenty familiar with his makeshift settlement, this weather was significantly impairing his sense of placement and direction. The rain roared in his sensitive ears, drowning out everything else.

High in the sky, he caught a glimpse of white.

A winged figure tumbled through the air, its grand, white wings all but limp as it hurtled towards the ground. The figure seemed to try one last time to regain control before they crashed into the ground, coming to a stop in a large patch of mud. Herobrine remained frozen for several moments, his heart hammering in his chest. A valkyrie? Here? Surely they were not here for him- he had been left alone for centuries, why now-?!

…were they still alive?

Cautiously, Herobrine approached the fallen valkyrie, who lay motionless in the deluge. The valkyrie was a woman, her golden hair and dirty robes plastered against her ashen skin. One wing had been pierced by an arrow, though the head seemed to have snapped off when she'd hit the ground. As he came to a stop beside her, her eyes flickered open, but they offered only the faintest trace of recognition before they closed again. So she was alive. But, between the rain, the cold, and the blood that continued to leak from the wound in her wing, Herobrine knew that she would not remain that way for much longer.

Herobrine had made up his mind in a moment. He bent down, gripped her under her arms, and pulled her up and out of the mud.

The valkyrie emitted a sharp cry, her shaking hands jerking up to push at his with all her waning might. Herobrine tightened his grip, biting out,

"Calm down." But she didn't seem to hear it. She continued to struggle as he lifted her over his shoulder, and only then did she once again fall limp. Herobrine wasn't sure if she had accepted her fate or simply passed out.

He wasn't sure what had prompted him to help her, he reflected as he once again sought out his home and began to make his way towards it through the rain. He owed no allegiance to the valkyries. He could have easily left her to succumb to the elements, been rid of her body once the rain had stopped, and gone on with his life as though nothing had happened.

Maybe it was because, looking at her face, he couldn't help but remember another aetherian woman whose life had been cut far too short.

Herobrine shoved his way through the door of his little shelter, taking a large step to the bottom of the stairs and gesturing to the cold fireplace to cause it to spring to life. If the valkyrie was going to survive, he was going to need to get her warm.

Herobrine came to a stop at the lava's edge, craning his neck back to look up at the fortress that towered above him. The structure was built of red brick, formed from refined netherrack, and many of the bridges looked either about to crumble or had done so already. If Null truly had made this place his home, it seemed that the threat of plummeting into the lava was a negligible one.

Herobrine knew that the bastions predated his reign, and, from the state of this fortress, it likely did as well. To use one of the lakes as a natural lava moat was risky, but effective- crossing it would be very difficult with defenders firing upon you. As long as they had sufficient food and water, they would be able to withstand any attack.

Not from him, though. Herobrine set his sights on the closest bridge, clenched his hands into fists, and teleported.

The bricks underneath him creaked ominously as soon as he had landed, and he hurriedly moved off of them onto more solid ground. By the time he had looked up, he had already been spotted, and two of the immense, blackened skeletons were running at him down the length of the bridge.

Herobrine waited until the first was within range to swing before he teleported, slamming his boot into the creature's spine and sending it tumbling over the end of the bridge. The second skeleton swung at him and he ducked, centuries of fighting experience the only thing keeping him alive. He slipped around behind it and seized it by the sword arm, trying to disarm it, but the creature yanked him up off his feet and hurled him off onto the bridge. Herobrine grunted as he hit the ground, tumbling into the low wall and stiffening as the bricks shifted beneath him. While he knew that the heat of the lava would not harm him, to fall on it from such a height would definitely hurt.

He rolled over and scrambled back to his feet, narrowly avoiding the black blade that slammed into the bricks where his head had been a moment before. The skeleton brought its sword down on his head and he was forced to teleport, blinking about ten feet down the bridge and breaking into a run. He couldn't destroy them, likely not with a weapon and definitely not with his bare hands. For now he just needed to evade. That, and find his real target.

There were more skeletons further down the bridge, already facing him, and they sprung into action as approached. The first attack he was able to dodge, but the second came at him before he had recovered and his knees cracked against the bricks as he hit the ground. He kicked with all his might into a skeleton's shin, and the bone cracked, the skeleton narrowly missing him as it crashed to the ground beside him. Herobrine seized its abandoned sword, then teleported again and ran.

The black sword was heavy in his hand, cold to the touch, and his skin crawled where his fingers met the hilt. It was as if his very being rejected it, but he held on tight. If he was going to stand a chance, he needed to have a weapon.

He was approaching one of the enclosed towers, and he slowed, glancing back over his shoulder in order to locate his pursuers, only to come to a stop when he realized that they were no longer chasing him. They had stopped at varying distances from him along the bridge, motionless, and Herobrine turned to face them as he tried to work out what was wrong.

"Herobrine." The sound of his name had him whipping around to look, and he lifted his gaze to the top of the tower to find Null.

He was just as Hama had described him. Null resembled a living shadow, enshrouded in a dark fog that seemed to drain the color from the space around him. Herobrine couldn't see his eyes, but he could tell he was being studied. Null's hands were met behind his back, barely visible in the orange light that shone up from the lava below, and Herobrine was struck by an intense feeling of being cornered.

"Null."

"You've come a long way to see me." Null's voice was low, and loud, seeming to echo off of the Nether ceiling hundreds of feet above them. Herobrine understood why the Order had called him their god. "Come to settle unfinished business?"

"No." Herobrine glanced over his shoulder, wary of being snuck up on, but the skeletons hadn't moved. "This isn't about you and I, this is about everyone that you have tormented for the past centuries."

"So you're a hero now." Null turned to pace down the length of the flat roof, his footsteps silent on the ancient bricks. "How valiant of you. Imprudent, but valiant."

"As imprudent as you were in making an enemy of me?" Herobrine snapped back. "If you had left me and my people well enough alone, perhaps you would have been able to continue to thrive, undetected, for centuries longer."

"You speak as though your victory has already been assured." There was a lilt of amusement in Null's voice. "Are you truly so confident in your success that you have come to face me, alone, and expect to make it out alive?" Herobrine allowed himself a tight smile.

"I am not so assured in my own abilities, no. But I did not come alone."

From the sulfuric haze that hung above the lake came a winged figure, her wings glowing like living flame in the light of the lava below. As Null stood and watched him, Evangeline plummeted from the sky, her wings flaring out to either side to slow her as she slammed her heels into the back of Null's head.

Their foe was sent flying from his perch, past Herobrine to tumble for several feet on the bridge before coming to stop. Herobrine got a much better view of him for a moment, the cloud of mist that had hidden his form having been knocked away by the force of Evangeline's blow, but this offered no more insight- he was still little more than a silhouette, a featureless form that seemed to absorb all light that it touched.

Herobrine took a step back as Null shifted, lifting his head, and in the next instant the waiting skeletons began to move.

"Herobrine!" Came a shout from the air, and Herobrine sprang up onto the railing of the bridge, lifting his arms just in time for Evangeline to catch him up and carry him away into the sky.

"He's solid!" she shouted over the rushing wind as she angled them into a slow circle over the fortress. Herobrine grunted, studying the bridge.

"I'm going to try to draw the skeletons away," he called back. "You go after Null. Be careful."

"I will." Evangeline lowered herself into a dive, aiming for one of the taller towers. She beat her wings as they neared it, slowing them down enough for Herobrine to land with nothing more than a stumble when she let him go.

They were upon him in moments. One of the skeletons had already been on the stairs, forcing Herobrine to lift his borrowed sword and block the blow before he had even found his footing. He was knocked back, then teleported, appearing directly behind his foe and swinging his sword with all his might into its tibia. The bone shattered, sending the skeleton down on one knee, and Herobrine brought his sword's hilt down on its skull with a crunch.

He could see Evangeline making her way to the bridge, darting overhead as she tried to get a clear shot at Null. The remaining skeletons were clustered tightly around their master, swords at the ready, just waiting for Evangeline to come into range.

Herobrine's attention was commanded once more by the sound of footsteps racing up the stairs, and he spun around to defend himself as two more of the monsters came into view. He swung at the first one, was blocked, and jerked back as the second tried to take advantage of his stillness. He slammed a boot into the first skeleton's ribs and it staggered back, colliding with its companion and knocking them both off balance. Herobrine whipped around and hurled his sword into the first one's skull, shattering it, and the second caught itself against the railing as the first crumbled into dust. Herobrine wasted no time in snatching up a fallen sword, beating away the skeleton's swing and cleaving through its brittle ribs.

Movement from beyond caught his attention, and he looked up to find a skeleton standing on the opposite tower, nocking an arrow and drawing a bowstring taut.

"EVANGELINE!" Herobrine roared, and the skeleton let go, sending a jet-black arrow streaking through the air. Evangeline's wings tucked around her body and she fell, the arrow splitting the fog harmlessly above her as she swooped low over the lava. "Archer!" he shouted again, then leapt down from the tower to land on the bridge where Null still stood. Herobrine straightened, his knuckles white around the hilt of his stolen sword, and he lifted his chin as he stared down Null and his defenders.

Notch roared as he brought his maul down on a skeleton's brow, turning on his heel even as it crumbled to defend himself from the next. It was neverending. With every skeleton he brought down, there was another to take its place, and Notch swore that he could see more inside the castle walls. There hadn't been this many when they had arrived for the queen, he was sure of that. So, either they had gathered reinforcements in his absence… or they were making more of them.

Notch was tired. It had been many centuries since he had been forced to fight for survival like this, and while he had been able to hold his own thus far, he knew that he would soon be overwhelmed by his foes. He would need to flee, but how could he, when the lives of Trixtin and her people were at stake?

Notch lifted his hammer to deliver another blow, and a black sword sank deep into his bicep.

Notch shouted in pain and teleported, grasping at his arm as he appeared atop the castle battlements. He expected his sleeve to soak through with blood, but, as he watched, none came- only a numbing, all-consuming feeling of cold that began to flow up through his arm and spread throughout his body. It was at that moment that he realized what exactly they were dealing with.

He curled his hand into a fist, wrapping his other hand around the wound as he forced his healing power into the gash. He could hear the skeletons coming for him, scrambling up stairs and scaling the blackstone walls, but he stood his ground and forced the cold back into the wound until it had evaporated altogether. Only then did he straighten again, raising his maul and slamming it into the first skeleton unfortunate enough to come within reach.

"Notch!" The shout had him whipping around in alarm, and he looked up to find Steven leaping from a ledge above them, the blackstone bricks rippling beneath him to soften his fall as he brought down an immense chunk of rock upon their attackers.

"Steven!" Notch exclaimed. "You were meant to stay with the queen!"

"She's with Phillip. Besides-" Steven slammed the fallen rock into two more of the skeletons, shoving them off the wall and into the courtyard. "You looked as if you could use the help!"

"Nevermind me, I'm alright. You cannot allow yourself to be hit," Notch stressed. "Get back, do you understand me?"

"Notch, my abilities are most suited to handle these things," Steven protested. "I will be fine. Allow me to fight beside you." Notch stopped for only a moment, his dark eyes raking over his eldest son.

"Very well then," he said. "Let's fight."

Evangeline tucked her wings around her body and dropped as the skeleton fired again, the black arrow flying wide and vanishing into the lava. Evangeline shot up again, striking out with her sword as she flew past the archer, but all she accomplished was nearly losing it as the blade glanced harmlessly off of blackened bones.

"Evangeline!" Herobrine's voice caught her attention, and she ducked down between the supports, weaving among them before popping up again beside the bridge where Herobrine stood. "They're brittle!" he shouted, locked in a staredown with Null and his defenders. "Hit them like you did Null, and they'll shatter!" Evangeline grunted in acknowledgement and turned, weaving her way back through the fortress to find the archer. The last thing she needed right now was to be shot out of the air while trying to take down Null.

They had woken early, discussed their plan of attack, and Evangeline had taken Alex to a place of safety while Herobrine went on ahead. Once Alex was situated, Evangeline had returned to the fortress, watching and waiting for her moment before coming in to attack. Unfortunately, it seemed that Null was not quite as fragile as his underlings.

Evangeline shot up into the sky and the skeleton spotted her immediately, setting an arrow to its bow and beginning to draw. Evangeline banked hard to the left, then the right, and the next two arrows flew harmlessly past before her heel made contact with its skull.

She wheeled around to land as it crumbled, her gaze flitting out over the nearby towers in search of any more. She could see a second archer leaning out from a window, and she snatched up the bow from the pile of ash, plucking a cold arrow from the archer's quiver and setting it to the string. She aimed, then fired, and she watched as the skeleton toppled from the window and into the lava below. Seeing no more archers, she switched the bow out for her sword again and took off, back to the bridge where Herobrine and Null had clashed.

Herobrine was taking down a withered skeleton as the bridge came into view, clubbing it over the head with the hilt of his sword and cracking its skull, and he finished the job by slamming his elbow into its head. There were three skeletons remaining at Null's sides where he watched, and Evangeline was about to come in and help when one of them caught her attention.

It was wearing red.

Evangeline's wingbeats faltered, and she slowed, dropping down to land atop a tower and get a better look. The skeleton's shoulders were draped in tattered fabric, blood-red and trimmed with gold. Protruding from its back were a pair of skeletal wings, useless without the flesh and feathers required to carry one through the air. Its face and form were otherwise unremarkable, but Evangeline knew in a heartbeat where this corpse had come from.

"Sirben," she choked out. Herobrine looked up momentarily, then back to Null, where he easily picked out the object of her attention.

"So it wasn't enough to betray your servant, hmm?" he shouted. "You had to desecrate his corpse as well."

"Sirben had been a liability for a long time. It was not I that did the betraying." Null's voice made Evangeline shudder. "And all who fall to my wither are rendered as such. It was nothing personal, I assure you- though it is what will become of both of you once I am finished here." Herobrine growled and charged forward, lifting his sword and bringing it down on the first skeleton to get in his way.

Evangeline dropped down to the bridge behind him and ran to assist, engaging the second skeleton as it went to attack Herobrine from behind. Their blades clashed once, twice, then it shoved her hard and sent her stumbling back. It lurched forward again only to be stopped by Herobrine, who severed its spine at the waist and sent both halves crumbling into ash and dust.

Only the winged skeleton remained, and it stepped in front of Null, his last remaining line of defense against them. Herobrine raised his sword, and Sirben's body charged at him, and Evangeline had to look away as Herobrine crushed its skull with a well-placed strike.

As Sirben's body was finally laid to rest, Null lifted his arms, and two, jet-black blades manifested in either hand in an instant before he charged forward to attack.

Herobrine was not prepared for the speed at which Null engaged him, slamming both of his blades down against Herobrine's and forcing him to skid back over the netherrack bricks. Evangeline shot up to swing at him and Null spun to block her, his razor-sharp blade nearly taking off her hand with the speed at which it moved. Evangeline grunted as she locked her sword with his, her hands trembling against the pressure on her blade, and Herobrine slipped free for just long enough to swing his sword into Null's ribs.

Null jerked back, falling into a roll to avoid them before springing back to his feet and lunging at her. Evangeline gasped as his blade met hers with a shriek of metal, ducking down just in time to avoid the second sword that passed just over her head. She caught the barest glimpse of a lock of blonde hair as it fluttered to the ground.

Herobrine engaged him with a shout, giving Evangeline time to recover and scramble back to her feet. Null caught Herobrine's sword with one of his own and ripped it from his grasp, hurling it away, and Herobrine was forced to teleport to safety as Null's sword slammed down against the railing where Herobrine had stood only a moment before.

By the time Null had turned, Evangeline was airborne, her heels slamming into his chest and sending him toppling over the edge towards the lava far below.

Evangeline was panting as she landed, clutching her sword tightly as she turned to catch Herobrine's eye. Neither of them were given the chance to speak, however, before a small, green orb flew over the railing, and where it landed Null reappeared as though he had never been gone in the first place.

Evangeline raised her sword on instinct as Null's flashed through the air, and as they met she shouted,

"Herobrine, go!"

He didn't argue, vanishing in an instant, and Evangeline beat her wings and fled into the sky. Null stilled on the bridge, head tilted back as he watched her, and as she scanned their surroundings Evangeline realized that they were no longer alone. Dozens of withered skeletons were scaling the fortress's supports, crawling out of the lava as if the heat meant nothing to them. Herobrine was scooping up a sword from one that had already fallen, but Evangeline knew they didn't have much time before they were overrun again. She didn't know if Herobrine felt as worn as she did, but she did know that neither of them could fight forever.

"Herobrine!" she shouted as she swept down to land beside him. "More are coming."

"Then we'll have to make this quick," he gritted out. Evangeline nodded, then took off again, and Herobrine teleported back to the bridge to re-engage his foe.

"You must realize that this is pointless," Null sneered, his cruel voice ringing out over the clashing of blades. "You have been doomed to this fate since you fell within the safety of your castle walls."

"I am- not that man anymore," Herobrine snarled, his long hair whipping about his head as he spun to block an attack. "I am no longer your victim."

"Is that so?" Null barked a laugh. "You will be."

"I don't think so." Herobrine summoned a handful of flame in his empty palm and swung, and Null growled in pain as he was momentarily blinded. Herobrine took advantage of this and struck Null's sword from his hand, but the action was ultimately in vain as it reformed in Null's hand only moments later.

Evangeline, soaring above the fortress, could tell that they were running out of time. While the majority of the skeletons were armed with black swords, she could see archers among them as well, meaning it would soon no longer be safe to fly. If all else failed, they may have to retreat, but that would rob them of the element of surprise should they return and try again. They needed to finish this, now.

Evangeline watched as Herobrine stumbled back under the force of Null's relentless attacks, and she circled around the bridge with her heart hammering in her chest. Below her, Herobrine's sword was knocked away, and he grasped after it uselessly as it flew over the edge towards the lava. Null lifted his foot and slammed it into the center of Herobrine's chest, knocking him flat on his back on the bridge with a stifled shout.

Now was her chance. As Null raised his swords, Evangeline dropped into a dive and tackled him, sending them both tumbling along the bridge.

"Herobrine!" Before either of them could move, she hurled her sword in his direction, and Herobrine snatched it out of midair and teleported to drive it through Null's chest.

Null went still at this. His chin lowered as he looked down, studying the zanite blade that protruded through his chest. He choked, and his swords crumbled in his hands, rejoining the mist from whence they had come. Herobrine released the hilt and stepped back, and Null's body slumped to the ground as the last of his strength left him. As they watched, the mist around him began to thin, soon dissipating entirely and leaving nothing but a grey, featureless corpse with Evangeline's sword stuck through its chest.

The rattle of bones reminded them that they could not celebrate too soon, and Evangeline jerked up, scrambling to pull her sword free as the first of the wither skeletons hauled itself over the railing. Iit took a large, menacing step towards them, then its balance faltered, and it crashed to the ground where it disintegrated into dust. All along the bridge, skeletons were reaching the top, only to begin to crumble mere moments later.

Evangeline sighed, turning to face Herobrine, and he reached out and dragged her into his arms.

She chuckled into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he breathed out into her hair. Neither of them said anything, far too exhausted to waste any breath doing so, and Evangeline rested her chin on his shoulder and watched as the skeletons gradually met their end.

At the end of the bridge, she caught sight of an archer, whom with the last of its strength had fitted an arrow to its bow, drawn, and fired.

Evangeline didn't think. She just wrapped her wings around Herobrine and shut her eyes.

Thud.

Herobrine grunted at the impact, drawing back, and his eyes flew open wide. "Evangeline?! Evangeline!" His grip on her tightened as her wing went limp, a jet-black arrow shaft sticking out from between her feathers. "No. Evangeline, why?!" Evangeline couldn't answer that. The only thing that she could focus on was how cold it suddenly felt.

The chill spread up through her wing and into her back, and her heart seemed to seize in her chest. She breathed out shakily as Herobrine lowered her to the ground, laying her in his lap, repeating her name over and over. She struggled to tear her gaze away from the veins of black creeping down her arm, lifting it instead to meet Herobrine's eyes. His face was drawn with anguish, tears trailing down his cheeks,

"Sorry," she managed. Herobrine only shut his eyes and muffled a sob.

"I love you," he choked out. "Evangeline…"

"I love you," she whispered. Herobrine cupped her face in his palm, but she couldn't feel the warmth.

Above him, she caught a flash of white.

Herobrine's chin jerked up and he addressed someone else, but Evangeline couldn't make out what was being said, nor could she identify the voices that came in response. Her vision was beginning to darken, and she was so exhausted that she welcomed it, letting her eyes shut.

"Hey." The urgent voice had her eyes flying open again, meeting warm, brown ones just above her face. "Hey, Eve, don't go yet. I need you to eat this for me." Something shimmered, golden- an apple. "Eat this, okay? It'll help, I swear-"

Evangeline blacked out.

Notch grunted as what seemed to be the hundredth skeleton fell before him, and he wearily lifted his maul once more. On his left, Steven was unarmed, but he was holding his own against the horde regardless. Notch could tell that his son was tiring, his skin was slick with sweat and his chest heaved with every breath, but neither of them were willing to back down yet. So, they fought.

Notch lifted his hammer to dispatch his next foe, only to lurch back in surprise as the skeleton crumbled at his feet.

His gaze flicked over to meet Steven's wide eyes as a second skeleton fell, then a third, and within moments they were surrounded by nothing more than a layer of blackened dust. Notch let his maul fall to his side in amazement, finally able to catch his breath.

"What…" Steven began.

"I don't know." Notch shook his head, looking out to the distant horizon. "But if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that their master has fallen." He stepped forward, beckoning a bewildered Steven with him as he approached the castle doors. "Come. We should ensure that the castle is clear before we bring her majesty the good news."

hey guys is this a good time to tell you that I write this fic by hand? also this chapter is 5000 words? please leave a comment I destroyed my hand for u :]

~p0tat0-g0ddess