Chapter 54: Caught in the Middle


His head was swimming, his body was weakening, and yet, he still wasn't going down.

Yanking out the arrow with as much gentleness that he could afford himself at the moment, Steve took a quick look at its bloodstained surface before throwing it into the nearby bushes, trying to force his body to place more distance in between himself and the stronghold as best he could. With the energy that he had left, he wanted to make sure that he was at least a considerable distance away from the area before his body finally gave up on itself, despite its current strange condition.

Was his inherent divineness finally showing itself in a significant way? Had he been afflicted with something that was being fiercely combated by his blood? Why hadn't he experienced the reaction he had been expecting?

It took one stumble for his questions to fade away. As he briefly tripped over his own feet, Steve found himself leaning towards a nearby tree for immediate support, which soon shifted into him needing further support as he fell against the trunk completely. As he took a couple of deeper breaths that he hadn't realized he needed, his eyes darted around the darkness of the area, attempting to find whoever had shot him. He tried to listen closely to his surroundings as well, though, he found himself less successful in that regard. He'd stopped hearing the sounds of communicative yells a few minutes ago, and at the current moment, his own controlled breathing was all that came to him. He had no exact clue who had shot him, and, frankly, he didn't exactly want to find out, but given his circumstances, he expected for his luck to run out soon.

It wasn't long until he finally decided that uncomfortable cover was better than none. Fighting against the growing numbness of his limbs, Steve attempted to crawl over into the nearby bushes, eventually succeeding after a few seconds of commanding his body to move, but receiving no answer. Hoping that the leaves provided ample cover for him, Steve allowed his body to slump upon the ground, though he still felt something within himself screaming for him to keep moving; to not let himself fall entirely. He felt his heart slow considerably as the rest of his body remained on full edge.

What exactly had he been hit with? Although he suspected at first that the arrow hadn't been tipped with anything out of the ordinary, when he originally went to pull the arrow out, he found that the arrowhead had been made with a different kind of material; something darker, less relatively stable than iron. However, after smudging the traces of his blood that remained on the arrowhead, he found what seemed to be a solid coat of something redder, almost black even, upon it. He could only hope that it wasn't something completely toxic, though, given his current situation, that'd likely be the least of his worries.

After a few seconds of waiting for his body to begin relaxing to no avail, Steve soon began to hear what sounded like rapidly approaching voices. Closing his eyes to not risk being spotted through the leaves covering him, he allowed himself to place all of his trust in his own hearing ability.

It took a while for the voices to reach where he was.

"Did you find him yet? Any sign?" Came a male voice, not too close to where the miner was, and yet, not too far away to be too quiet.

"No. And lower your voice!-" Responded a seemingly older man, "He may be hiding somewhere nearby. Those arrows work quick, you know; he'll be out soon enough."

Somewhat relieved and annoyed all the same at the confirmation that the arrows were meant to knock him unconscious, Steve waited for the strangers to continue their conversation. He was somewhat disappointed instead as footsteps soon approached his hiding spot a bit closer. It wasn't until the footsteps paused roughly a few feet away that he finally heard them speak once again.

"You…do you think he actually escaped without passing out?" Came the younger man's cautious voice.

A hum of consideration. The rapid shifting of fabric, perhaps indicating a head shake.

"Do you think anyone can take that amount of spider venom and whatever the hell else that guy gave us? If he's not out like a light yet, he'll be wishing that he was pretty soon enough.

A groan almost involuntarily left Steve's lips as he listened. So someone had specifically made these arrows for circumstances like the one he was currently in. He could only hope that they weren't made for him, but at this point, he was willing to bet that the odds weren't in his favor, necessarily. Now that he properly thought about it, there was a small amount of nausea that was currently trying to overwhelm him, though, he assumed that his body was hard at work in fighting it off. Hopefully.

He tried to curl in his fingers, finding that the action was beginning to be a lot more difficult than it had been previously.

…So he was struggling a bit. Not comforting.

"Do you hear anything, sir?" The younger man questioned. "I can't hear the running anymore, but what if he's even farther up ahead than we thought?"

"Again, the poison is supposed to be fast-acting. You need to be more alert; we could be hearing him collapsing soon enough."

The answer almost made Steve let out a weak chuckle. Little did they know, he was already on the floor and temporarily out for the count; he tried to shift his leg a bit, and found that it felt as heavy as a bag of ores at the end of a proper mining day. He could still move them, sure, but as he became more and more aware of the effort it was taking to even do such a thing, the more worried he became.

How long were they going to hang around him, anyways? He was steadying his breathing as much as he could, but the longer they stood idle, the more difficult it was becoming to not take sharp, shallow breaths. His heartbeat was slower than it usually was, but every now and again, he felt it take a small skip forward as the strangers close to him moved slightly. It suddenly felt like it'd gotten too quiet in the forest; where were the mobs? Where were the other champions that were on the hunt? Where was Herobrine? Where was Constiere? Were they waiting for him?

His thoughts were broken by what sounded like his attackers abruptly shifting around their bodies, loading their bows and arrows rather quickly as his entire body flinched in response.

"…Did you hear that?" The younger man asked.

Steve wanted to open his eyes. What did the others hear? Who else was coming? What else was coming?

Suddenly, there was a sharp whoosh through the air. Then, a cry of pain, seemingly from the younger man.

"Where did that-"

"Wait, isn't that-"

A few more whooshes came, though, there seemed to be something different that Steve noted about the sound. Unlike the typical kind of subtle fierceness that came with normal arrows, whatever was being shot produced a shorter sound. Smaller, yet faster, if he could take a guess of why it sounded that way.

"Get back to the stronghold, we need to warn the others that they're back again!"

As hurried footsteps soon grew more distant, Steve found himself briefly letting out a sigh of relief as he lifted his head slightly, but not before realizing that he hadn't exactly been placed in a better situation.

Something else had chased his attackers off. Something was still, potentially, after him.

Almost face-planting in the ground in exasperation, Steve forced himself to keep his eyes closed, his body still (more than it already was), and his ears alert to his surroundings. Nothing else had made itself known yet, nor had anything drawn closer to him in order to chase after his attackers, but he couldn't be certain that he was, only metaphorically speaking, out of the woods yet. His body grew more numb in the time it took for his attackers to make their escape, and yet, he could still somewhat feel the uncomfortable sensation of his muscles tensing in anticipation. If he were to be found, he knew for a fact that he wouldn't be able to fight back. At least, not properly.

'Oh, but I…can't…' His thoughts trailed off. What good was there in wondering what would happen to him?

Even his brain started to feel numb, though, he felt as if that was more of a response to his current situation more than anything else. Death was not a thing he should fear any longer, and yet, he feared it. He was now aware of the fact that he had, in fact, died at one point, and yet, despite all of his efforts to push the matter aside, he still wasn't fond of the idea that death was something he could just…well, spring back from. Though there were only two things that were now guaranteed to end his life permanently (that being the end of all reality itself and the weapons of the divines), it still wasn't great that he'd be able to 'die' and come back from it.

He didn't like it, but thoughts of what Herobrine had told him about the process of death began to overflow his thoughts. He knew the other had experimented in the process, both in causing and experiencing it all the same. How strange was it to become numb to such a unifying concept? Though he himself now only had faint memories of what he'd experienced at the time, he was only barely able to remember what the feeling of his body being torn apart felt like. Herobrine was different in the sense that he knew how "dying" felt like from various different angles, even to the point of being able to replicate such processes and inflict them on others. He didn't want that kind of familiarity; though a part of him hated the feeling, and knew well enough that it was foolish to obsess over, part of him wanted to continue fearing the reality of death. Part of him wanted to wonder how bad the numbness in his body would become; how much spider venom had been put into the poison that now found its way into his body, what exactly else had been added to the poison that was now coursing through his veins, whether he'd ever recover from it or not.

A feeling of deep dread settled within his stomach, sending a barrage of warning signs throughout he rest of his body as he started to feel pins and needles underneath the surface of his skin. He was starting to lose his mind while being unable to move; the black spots that were slowly beginning to creep into the corners of his vision were telling him that he needed to get out as soon as he could before he went fully unconscious.

Suddenly, the brief silence that had formed in the forest was cut short. Heavy footsteps began to approach where he currently was, causing a feeling of natural dread to wash over him once again as he struggled to steady his breathing and keep his eyes shut tight.

The footsteps soon stopped, leaving Steve even more tense than he had been even before. Surely, the individual who was just a quick glance away from the find of their life was the same person who'd accidentally came to his rescue, right?

Whoever had inadvertently saved his life began to speak.

"They shouldn't be able to get this far out from that stronghold. What the hell is our patrol group doing?" A sigh came from the stranger's mouth. "That place is too active to be left alone like this. Why are they all running around like bugs? Something happened within the walls, I presume?"

Silence came for a moment or two, before another sigh left the stranger's mouth.

"…Nevermind that. If I catch one of them, I can easily find out for myself."

With that, the footsteps slowly became distant, leaving Steve to suddenly realize how hard his heart had been beating.

He was incredibly lucky that he hadn't been spotted. Even more so that he happened to overhear such a strange statement from what seemed like a separate party that was apparently chasing down the champions. Granted, he was going to report back to Herobrine about everything that had happened regardless, but this brought another whole set of questions to the forefront of his mind.

Who else was targeting the champions? Why were they containing the stronghold?

His brain couldn't think of any more questions. Things were getting too fuzzy to comprehend.

Forcing his arm to push himself upward with way more effort than he was comfortable with, he was met with an immediate wave of nausea that he couldn't overcome as he lifted his head, prompting him to vomit as he felt the buzzing numbness of his body overwhelm him. His breathing had become rather labored as he tried to move his body, and yet, he still tried to stand up regardless. Dragging his heavy legs beneath him as best he could, Steve began unsteadily crawling out from beneath the bushes and soon made his way back over to the tree that he'd initially collapsed against, attempting to use it for support as he tried to get back up. His head felt like it was stuffed full of wool, but he supposed that he could still walk away from where the danger had come from as much as he could before he finally hit his limits. His escape would remain as hasty as he could possibly allow it to be.

It didn't take long for his plans to ultimately fail. Somehow, his support grew weak, and he found his body collapsing entirely against the tree, falling back down upon the ground as he lost all strength to fight against his current situation. Nothing he did could convince his arms to move any longer; he fell face first into the ground before he could put up any kind of fight to prevent himself from getting more hurt.

His body stopped responding to him. The poison, though slowly, had won. He knew that he'd be unconscious, though, he desperately hoped that it would only be for a short while.

He wondered how disappointed Herobrine would be in him for allowing himself to get into trouble once again.

He wondered, briefly, how worried Herobrine would be at his sudden extended absence.

He was asleep.


It was strange. At no point before in his life had he ever physically felt the blood in his veins being pushed along by his heart. A small dam had been broken within the inner layers of his body, and, much to his personal discomfort, he felt that "water," as a result, run throughout. It was chasing after something, that much he could tell, but whatever it was failed to be recognized within his brain as he slowly became more aware of the fact that, in fact, he was alive.

Spitting out dirt and grass from his lips, Steve slowly opened his eyes, glancing lazily around at his surroundings as he gained awareness of the world around him once again.

What happened? Why was he in a forest? Why was it still dark outside? Had the others let him have another break again?

The…the others?

Briefly curling his fingers as he attempted to regain control over his limbs again…why was he expecting them not to listen?

Glancing down at his hand, Steve stared at his own skin for a minute or so, utter confusion coming upon him as he found it difficult to think of why the sensation of his hands moving felt so…unnatural.

He knew he was forgetting something. Something pressing.

…Was he in danger?…

…Had he been in danger?…

…He was in danger.

He'd finally gone down. His body had failed him.

He'd been unconscious. For how long, it was uncertain, but whatever the case was, he'd been out long enough to put both him and the others at extreme risk.

Now internally screaming at his limbs to function, even though it was evident enough that they were capable again of listening, Steve pushed himself up as he now put full focus onto his surroundings, glancing around to see if he needed to start running again.

He was still stuck in the forest, but judging by the lack of additional sounds apart from the ones that usually overtook the forest, he was perfectly alone. Steve could make a guess that he was far enough away from the stronghold to finally relax somewhat, though, something within him screamed at the rest of his body to remain fully on guard. The numbness in his body was still pretty present, if the delayed rush through his veins had anything to say about things, although, given how he was able to move a little more freely, it was fading away, thankfully enough.

Not wanting to spend anymore time in a single place for much longer, Steve began to move once again, standing up and briefly having to remember the process of walking for a moment before taking off.

The commotion within the forest had died down significantly, if he had to take a guess. Though he was unsure of just how long he'd been unconscious for, he hoped that he hadn't been out for more than a few minutes or so. Given the immediate warning signs that were flaring off in his head, however, he was beginning to suspect that his guess was completely wrong. As he continued to walk through the forest, he found himself growing gradually desperate in trying to catch a glimpse of his traveling companions. He couldn't exactly remember which direction they had come from initially, so he was currently hoping to run in enough circles so that hopefully, they'd be able to spot him somehow, no matter how long that would take. Once again, he tried to see if his divine abilities would somehow make themselves known in being able to sense at least the inner pulse of his brother, finding his efforts fruitless. At one point or another, hopefully when he met back up with the others, he'd ask Herobrine how to feel these pulses, but for now, he supposed that he'd have to use his regular senses for the time being.

He knew Herobrine would be absolutely pissed at him for sure at this point, but he didn't care; as long as he actually found his brother, he'd feel a whole lot better than he currently did now.

Before long, Steve found himself growing a bit tired as it suddenly dawned on him how much he'd been running around and subjecting his body to various different kinds of stresses. He, surprisingly enough, was beginning to grow tired once again, much to his general dismay. When would he be able to see the others again? When would he be able to see Squash again? He wanted so badly to rest upon her back once again, as his legs were beginning to scream at him.

Before he could become too exhausted, however, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a brief flash of orange covered by green.

He knew that color combination. He knew that short stature.

His voice sounded out before his brain could catch up with what he was doing.

"Constiere! Wait up!"

As Constiere froze at the sound of his voice, he hobbled his way over to the other, who immediately met his appearance with a raised brow and sort of disappointed expression.

"…Okay, what shot you, and what did you get afflicted with this time?" He asked as he miner caught up to him.

"…Do I even need to ask how you knew that something happened?" Steve's shoulders immediately drooped as he realized that he'd been called out so quickly, though, the action was soon regretted as a sharp burst of pain quickly traveled through his body from where he'd been shot.

"…Your shoulder is bleeding and your eyes are more of a light purple than anything else, not to mention the fact that I saw you nearly trip over yourself five times trying to get over here. Does that explain it?" Constiere crossed his arms across his chest.

A frustrated breath left Steve's mouth.

"I feel like I've been made into a stuffed animal, my everything feels like it doesn't belong to me!" Steve shook his head as best he could. "But that's…well, not important. Why are you still here? I'd thought that you'd be with Brine already."

"I was out here searching for you! I got myself into the stronghold, and it took me forever to actually get out of there. It was a pain."

"…You…you actually got in? How?"

Constiere threw up his hands in frustration, letting out a groan.

"They actually managed to grab me! Can you believe it?!" He exclaimed, "I ran into one of their scouts by accident, and they ended up calling in a group. They treated me like another intruder at first, but when they actually got a good look at me, they started treating me like a kid and managed to drag me off. I bolted the second they stopped dragging me around, but still…"

With a quick huff, Constiere placed his hands on his hips. As he did so, however, Steve looked at him with a raised brow, a small smile threatening to upturn his lips as he realized what the boy had just admitted to him.

"So…what you're telling me is that you, a mob general, actually got caught by humans?" He asked, attempting to keep his tone more neutral.

Constiere glanced at him with a raised brow for a second or two before his eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Do not tell him that I got caught."

Steve raised his hands in defense.

"Only if you don't tell him that I got shot. You snitch, I snitch."

Constiere continued to stare at him for a moment or too before offering him a hand, which he shook with moderate difficulty.

"Deal."

"Thanks."

As they dropped hands, however, Constiere looked at him questioningly.

"…Wait, how are you gonna hide the fact that you got shot? Again, your shirt is covered in blood, and your eyes make it obvious that you got hit with something." He paused. "…Did I just make a stupid deal?"

Steve thought to himself for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

"…My brain's still kind of numb. I'm gonna be honest with you, I did not think anything I said through at all."

Constiere stared at him for another few seconds before dropping his head with a long, exaggerated sigh.

"…Master's gonna kill us."

Steve joined him in hanging his head.

"…Only if the stronghold champions don't first…"

As quickly as he lowered his head, Constiere perked back up, looking at Steve with realization in his eyes.

"You're right! We need to get out of here, I think I still was able to spot another banner somewhere close to here; we're not that far from the stronghold's boundaries!"

Steve gave him as close as a nod as he could muster, following after him as they began to walk once again. As tiring as it was for the miner, the two continued running towards the deeper depths of the forest, hoping that they wouldn't find any more distractions to get involved with.


Thankfully enough, Herobrine wasn't pissed enough at the two of them to kill them. Rather, surprisingly enough, a small degree of genuine worry was present in the other's lightly glowing gaze, though it was mostly overshadowed by a stern glare that both Steve and Constiere were on the receiving end of.

"I can't really expect for all three of us to be so timely in dealing with sudden obstacles all the time, but really, Steven, almost three hours of waiting?"

Being scolded by his brother immediately prompted a groan to escape his lips, which in turn prompted a brief giggle to escape Constiere's.

"I-Listen, I-" Steve tried to explain.

"-And don't be laughing either, Constiere. You were gone for the same amount of time; what's so funny about that?"

Constiere's own laughter immediately died down as he fixed his posture on reflex. Staring at the two of them for a few more seconds, Herobrine soon let out a small sigh of disappointment before slightly softening his gaze a bit, turning his attention more to Steve as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"…Might as well start explaining yourselves, particularly you, Steve. While I was attempting to contact the silverfish, I felt my breath…well, it halted. I felt my heart stop for the briefest of seconds, and I'm unsure of why that's the case, though I have my suspicions."

Steve raised a small brow at him.

"…And…why are you mentioning that? Is that your "me" sense that goes off whenever I'm in trouble, or…?"

Herobrine thought to himself for a moment before giving him a small shrug.

"…Call me a fool. Call me a fool all you want, but…I remember briefly feeling something similar once before, and, depending on what you tell me now regarding what happened, I think I might know what it means."

Looking at the other's slightly unsettled expression, Steve thought to himself for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

"…I…I got targeted by the champions right when we split up. I was running for a bit, ended up meeting with a couple of folks I was actually familiar with-"

"-Who?" Herobrine interrupted.

"…Friends. They helped me escape from the people who were chasing me first, and led me away from the stronghold. Then, of course, when they left, I ended up being chased by another group, and…well, as you can see, I got shot."

The worry in Herobrine's expression immediately fell away. The look of complete and utter disappointment that soon replaced Herobrine's expression seemed more potent than anything he'd ever experienced before. Though he suspected that he shouldn't have been surprised, it still stung quite a bit.

"…Symptoms?" He asked after letting out a sigh.

"…Felt numb. I did end up collapsing but I…well, weirdly, I didn't pass out at first? Also, my body was kind of fighting itself before I went down." Steve quietly answered with a shrug.

Taking his words to note, Herobrine brought a hand to his chin as a small hum escaped his lips.

"…The fact that your body had to expend so much energy in keeping itself upright leads me to think that whatever hit you, it's custom-made."

"…In what kind of way?" Steve somewhat tilted his head.

"Over time, as you continue getting used to your divine attributes, you'll start to notice normal afflictions affecting you less and less. If you directly subject yourself to them…this process only accelerates."

"…Meaning?"

"It's been long enough since you…well, since your healing capabilities awakened. I'm not saying that you're at the point that you won't feel anything; that'll never be the case, as you'll always be able to feel something. I'm just saying, you shouldn't be feeling something that strongly if it were made from normal substances, even the Nether ingredients. Somehow, I have reason to suspect that something else was mixed in whatever that arrow was coated with; something that was intended for either me alone, or the both of us combined."

Herobrine's words did nothing to ease his worries. However, an immediate question left his lips as he gave little time for it to circulate in his brain.

"…If it were for you, then wouldn't it have been worse?" He asked.

Herobrine thought about his words for a moment before his eyes widened a bit.

"…At any point, did you happen to go unconscious, if you remember?"

Steve thought about his words for a moment before a small gasp escaped his lips.

"I…I think? No wait, I did. I tried running away again, but I lost control of my body and just…well, I passed out."

The look of worry soon returned to Herobrine's expression as he directed his troubled gaze to Steve's own.

"…Was this around two hours ago?" Herobrine asked quietly.

"I…wait, how would you…" Steve quieted himself for a moment, before a look of realization flashed in his eyes. "…You know what? Don't tell me. Don't tell me that whatever you felt was connected to me passing out, alright? I think…I think I'm fine with not knowing."

Though Herobrine briefly looked as if he was considering elaborating on his suspicions anyways, he kept his mouth shut on the matter, instead choosing to nod and turn away from the miner. Before he could walk off, however, Steve let out a small noise as something came back to the forefront of his mind.

"Oh. I…I also managed to overhear something, I think."

"...You think?" Constiere asked him as Herobrine turned to face the both of them once again.

"...Okay, to be more accurate, I was told some things and happened to pick something else up too. Apparently, not only do we have to worry about the Nether portals leaking out the Nether, but there's also random ravines popping up everywhere!" Steve took a small breath before continuing. "Also…I hid in the bushes for a while after I got shot, and it kind of seems like…well, someone's trying to keep the champions in the stronghold. They're being watched just as much as they're watching the area around them, I think."

Herobrine took serious note of his words, leaving him in silence for a moment as he thought to himself.

"…The ground itself is beginning to fail. How deep do the ravines go?"

"Bedrock. I looked down one of the ravines and couldn't even see the bottom."

"…How did you come to the conclusion that the champions themselves were being targeted by something other than our forces, if what you said is accurate?"

Steve shrugged.

"…I was being chased, and…well, whoever managed to shoot me got shot themselves. I don't think they were shot with arrows, but…they were shot. The guy who I think actually shot them got close enough to me, and I managed to hear him a bit before he walked away. I was also told that the stronghold was pretty much already on high alert, so…well, I think it's safe to say that they were already being attacked beforehand."

Herobrine went to think to himself once again.

"…We'll have to meet up again with the others to confirm my suspicions, but…I may have an idea for why that is."

As he finished, Herobrine turned to walk away, leaving Steve in a bit of confusion as he did so.

"…Mind telling me then?"

Herobrine briefly turned back to look at him with indifference.

"I'm giving your body more time to heal from whatever poison you got inflicted with. Who's to say that you'd even retain what I told you if your system is still under high stress?"

Still feeling a bit of pins and needles within his body, Steve let out a small sigh of disappointment.

"…Fair enough."

With that, the three continued on their way, hoping to reunite with the others sooner rather than later.


A little late, but happy new year! Lol it's February tho T_T

So…I've been spending my school quarter in literally nothing but reading/writing-heavy classes. It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that we literally have essays due so frequently, and I'm talking like, 4-6 page essays y'all T_T I mean, it isn't really difficult for me given the fact that…well, I like writing obviously, but still, it's a lot of busywork that divides my attention like nothing else lol. So sorry for the long hiatuses! I'm trying to graduate this year, so this past quarter, I decided to take a larger workload to make that happen in time. I still have free time, but sometimes, it's just hard to get myself to write when I've been doing nothing but writing :P Luckily enough, I managed to have sort of a burst of inspiration recently, so at least I'm not suffering too much from writer's block!

Fun facts!:

1.) In case you were wondering, without revealing too much about the ingredients of the poison itself, yes, the poison used on the arrow is more of a poison that's used to drag information out from individuals who are not meant to be kept alive, meaning that it's used more on folks who are guaranteed to be impossible to negotiate with :p

2.) In case you were also wondering, yes, the dose of the poison given to Steve was, in fact, fatal. Yes, unknowingly, he's experienced once again another "respawn."

Anyways, that's all for now! See y'all in the next chapter!