A somber-full yet distant gaze in his eye, Steve turned from his brother. The door was opened before him. Outside, armored guards stood at the ready, prepared to attack. Herobrine blinked a couple times, struck by his brother's previous statement.
"M-morals?! You claim I don't have MORALS?! Where were they when the two of us were surrounded?!" Slowly following his brother, Steve had to stop and turn once standing in the doorway, side-eyeing his brother with a mild glare.
"Good bye, brother... You aren't allowed out of this room."
"Where was ANYONE with supposed MORALS when it was up to I and I alone to save us?! We were left to ROT, Steve!"
"That is ENOUGH, BRIAN!" Steve spat. The emotion filling the room had at last gripped onto him. Tears fogged the older looking man's eyes. Herobrine flinched, blinking several times to recover from the sound of his old name. Both similarly looking men huffed in place for a moment, unsure of what to do. A little lower, "..We were soldiers... We agreed to fight until the end... There was nothing in the agreement we made about getting rescued if we needed it."
"You say that as if to excuse them!" Out from Herobrine's mouth spilled a mix between a hiss and a growl. "And then you left me as if morality was a good excuse to abandon the one who had so long ago saved you-"
"-Hey! You were asking me to kill someone!-"
"-I WAS THE ONE WHO SAVED YOU! I gave my SOUL for YOURS!.. At the very least, I didn't want you to ABANDON ME!!!" Water struck the glowing one's eyes as he strongly emphasized nearly every word with fast thrusts of his hands about, finishing by stabbing his own chest with his thumb as he pointed to himself. "YOU KNEW I WAS STRUGGLING, AND YET YOU LEFT ME!! YOU KNEW HOW HARD IT WAS TO FIGHT OFF THE DARKNESS..ESPECIALLY ALONE!!! And because of YOU... THEY TOOK OVER!! Made me the MAN I AM TODAY!!!" Steve backed away through the door, shocked...hurt. The older looking general then somberly lowered his head, avoiding eye contact. The door closed after Steve stepped behind it. Herobrine smashed his shoulder into the metal door, peering through the singular glass window with his two brightened eyes. "Oh, I see how it is! Just going to ABANDON me again, huh?!... A-at least give me (Y/n)!" Banging on the doors as his brother walked away, still staring down with a paled face. "HEY! Listen to me!! I refuse to cooperate until I have (Y/N)!!!"
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Previously...on episode 22 of Minecraft Storymode:
Herobrine's shoulders dropped, terrible guilt clear on his face as his eyes returned slowly to stare directly into yours. "I... I don't actually like Sandrah...in that kind of way... Just...don't want her to..feel so bad."
Your eyes widened a smidge. "Wh... Whaa?"
And nowww~:
"Wai-wait!... So you're telling me...you're just PRETENDING to be ber boyfriend?!"
"Hey! Not so loud! Someone might hear!... But- hhhhh, yes. While I do admire her as an asset and would even consider her a friend..she just.... I don't know!" The once great, now fallen king fumbled over his words. You stood in mild shock. This was not very good news to hear after everything Sandrah had told you just the other night.
"Well then... What do you plan to DO? Someday, she's going to want to marry you..and then maybe even want to have kids." You pretended to care for for the time being.
"I- I haven't thought that far! T-to be honest, I was expecting her to have died off by now!" Herobrine said while clutching his head.
"Shh! Quiet! Someone might be listening!" That certainly was a very sus thing of him to blurt out.
"Uoughh... Maybe you can convince her to like 303..? -No, wait, he hates girls. He'd probably prefer a hairy old man than someone like Sandrah!.. Ughh.."
"Or, maybe you can just learn to love her back." You proposed, hands landing on your hips. To be fair, imagining the look on Sandrah's face when Herobrine finally breaks up with her was all too entertaining for you; but at the same time, knowing her history and how desperately she just wants to feel loved, the cost to see such a face might just be her own life.. Herobrine seemed to understand this too. Breaking up with her outright wasn't even an option for him.
"Um....no... I know~" a naughty smirk rose on the tall one's face. Oh no.. "How about you try to get her away from me..?"
"WAIT!....Hold up. You mean.. you want ME.... to flirt with her?" 🤨 The man shot you finger guns... You were dead on the spot. "Nonononononono! I can't do THAT! I'm not GAY, nor have I ever flirted with anyone! And, come on! Sandrah?!"
Herobrine's demeanor shifted. Serious. He stepped with more intensity, slowly, towards you. Your posture stiffened, eyes widened as worry filled your veins. Judging by the look in his eyes alone, you knew to be careful with everything you said and did from here-on-out.
"...Strange... And yet you chased after General Steve without question... You killed for me, nearly died for me, and sacrificed so much of yourself without hesitation... Why then do you hesitate now..?" Herobrine stood barely a foot away, set eyes about ready to pry open your mind to read your thoughts. Your breathing hitched, a shiver involuntarily showing.
"..It was...not my humanity that was on trial before...as it is now."
"(Y/n)... That doesn't sound like you. Come on.. What's wrong?" Your hands flinched the moment two large, warm ones gently grabbed yours. They held only your fingers so loosely you could pull away with ease. But you knew this was only because Herobrine was testing you. Your mind raced for something to say.
"I- I'm conflicted, is all... Am I not also loyal to Sandrah, too? I d-don't want to hurt her-"
"Pssh.. Ignore Sandrah for the moment... (Y/n).. Where to your loyalties lie..? Your own feelings....or me?" He stared down on you. Your mouth dried, so bad you worried it might be obvious the moment you at last answered.
"They...they ... You, sir." Lowering your head to hide the defeat. Pained to speak those words, "I am only loyal to you."
"Good girl." Herobrine smiled again. Sighing in relief as he patted you on the shoulder. Then, he chuckled as he stepped away. "It doesn't have to be much. You can just playfully hit on her during dinner...just to see how she would react." He suggested as if it were so simple.
"But!-" Herobrine left, closing the door behind him before you could even finish. "I....share a bed with her..." Only mumbling the rest. He obviously didn't hear.
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...What do girls like? You strolled through a large closet of just clothing, looking for something nice. Carefully, you thought about what might catch the girl's eye. You hated doing this..but, hey...if you were doing it, you were doing it right.
"Hmm... None of these would work.." Growling a little after you had spun in a few circles. "Hey, Enderman butler!"
"It's Ee, mam.." The well dressed enderman poked from behind the closet room door.
"Alright, Ee.. Are there any suits meant for women, perhaps..?"
"Um... None meant for your size... Bu-but we can have one tailored for you if you so desire!" The Enderman offered with a raised right brow.
"Yes, please!"
"Alright then. Just wait here..I guess. The seamstresses will be here to take your measurements within the minute!" Driven by curiosity, the Enderman teleported away immediately. He wasn't wrong about it taking less than a minute, either. It was a little overwhelming even. Without any time to prepare, a barrage of enderwoman wrapped their long arms around you, measuring your figure up and down with measuring tape. Even without the queer act you were supposed to be putting on soon, the interaction was more than awkward. Their swift teleporting around and even swifter sewing work put together a fine suit for a lady within only a few minutes! Good timing, too!
Rushing down the hall, you frantically headed toward the dining room. You were late already! Tripping through the dining room doors, your face flushed bright red as you whipped your hair back over your head where it was supposed to go. All eyes landed on you...and it was much more than just Entity303, Herobrine, and Sandrah. No, a bunch of new faces sat together. Sandrah sat across from Herobrine, next to 303 who again sat himself at the largest seat at the end of the long table. Speaking of whom, 303 comically slurped some noodles into his mouth, eyes not leaving you. Said noodles even smacked the red eyed one in the face on their way in, though still, he didn't flinch. Everyone else's eyes were also still glued to you.
"...I'll- I'll just...leave....heheh.." There was nothing but color on your face as you slowly, awkwardly, spun back around.
"Oh, no, please!... Your chair is still open." 303 politely pointed you to the singular empty seat. The sound of your quick shuffling all the way around the dining table was the only thing heard for a while. Trying to make the situation as little awkward as possible, you combed through your wild hair with your fingers as you walked, hoping to tame it by the time you sat down. By the time you were seated, you wanted nothing more than to simply cease existing. "So, what's with the..um...get-up?" The white robed one asked, followed by him slurping from his bowl of chicken noodle soup, red eyes still not leaving you.
You weren't wearing anything too flashy. Dark burgundy red suit, white dressy long sleeve shirt underneath, sleeves rolled back in white, black tie having fallen loose during the run and all of it a little unbuttoned and messy since you had just been running so much. You huffed when you were at last seated, though were a little too awkward to open your mouth much.
However, it was a requirement to be polite and answer 303, soo.. "Um. Just... Trying something new." You mumbled.
"I like it.." Herobrine mused not far across the table. Only then did you realize he had been staring with mild amazement as well. Except 303's wonder was obviously stemming from not being used to seeing a girl like yourself in an outfit like that. Herobrine, however... You couldn't quite make out what was the source of his sudden fascination. Suddenly realizing he had been staring, Hero cleared his throat, "Ckhum... I mean... It suits you." Eyes then returning down to his own bowl. You just hummed a brief thanks, nose drawing the rest of your attention downward to the fine dish of noodles and soup. Happily, you gulped up whatever you could, absolutely famished after today's training session!
Your head jumped back up when Herobrine deliberately cleared his throat. Watching the man's face, you saw him glance between you and Sandrah, who was sitting just right of you, with slightly widened eyes. You felt your face heat up, turning back to dinner only to give yourself a moment to calm down and think of a plan. Again...you hated this plan. Sandrah beside you was being oddly quiet, meanwhile.
You started thinking back to all of the sly, smooth talking antiheroes you remembered reading in stories so much as a kid, wondering how you could possibly act a little more like them. Though, of course, you still needed to make your act appear natural enough that no one picks up on it being an act. Ughh... Why was it always you getting into messes like these? You remembered being somewhat sly with Sandrah in the past, but those encounters usually ended in you threatening her and even breaking her wrist one time! Hm. Perhaps another complication... To make yourself feel a little less awkward, you instead imagined everything here as a play. Yes, perhaps you were the backup actress meant to take over for the actor who turned out sick? You also tried to imagine Sandrah a little more masculine, hard as that was with her hair all pretty in curls, a big, poofy, pink and white dress on. Or perhaps, instead..it would be easier to imagine yourself as a man? Mm, yes, that seemed to help a little. You imagined yourself as a tall, toned young man, who had the personality of a downright scoundrel with a heart of gold. Okay, so now you had a persona... Now just to implement said persona into what was happening right now.
Clearing your throat after swallowing, you leaned back a little in your chair, appearing casual as you flicked one of the blondy's curls. "Nice hair~" You attempted to sound sly, however, the mild shaking in your tone did show. Sandrah turned to you curiously, chewing as she stared you down. Immediately, you felt guilt worse than a thousand death penalties. "I-I-I- mean -yeah! Um.." Blushing, your face turned down to your soup, just staring at it for a long moment until the other girl turned away.
"-So! What have you all done today, eh?" Breaking the tension one could cut with a knife, 303 spoke out to the entire table.
"Doing fine! I....." Someone at the very end of the table spoke, though his voice was drowned out by distance.
"...I'm sorry, sir, but I have no idea what you said! Perhaps later!" The red eyed one chuckled.
"I, (Y/n) and Sandrah trained a little today.."
"-A little?!" The other lady griped. "I can hardly lift my arms!"
"-I can help with that if you need~" You had absolutely NO idea what that was supposed to imply, but you said it anyway! Sandrah started laughing. Apparently what you said was some kind of joke to her. Hey, at least you tried. Herobrine now couldn't get onto you for not attempting. As you had hinted before, though, you were just...really bad at flirting...
Thankfully, it seemed as though no one but Herobrine had any idea what you were attempting. That both relieved and discouraged you. You almost gave up. You..kinda did... Change of plan. You just started small talk with Sandrah, since that seemed to be the best you could do. Only change being the occasional compliment whenever one came to mind. That was a lot easier to do... You, again, may not be the best at small talk, but at least you were better at that than flirting! Across the table, Herobrine talked to 303 and some skeleton king sitting across from you. The blank eyed one's eyes wandered your way every now and then as you slowly made your small gestures of affection toward Sandrah. Nothing big. Just little things you remembered seeing your brother doing when he would tease his girlfriend back in the day. Sandrah started to notice, her comfort levels plummeting by the minute.
"Uh-ummm... Are you..okay, (Y/n)?" Sandrah at last asked. Herobrine involuntarily coughed, as if trying to draw attention away from you. It did little more than attract more eyes to the awkward interaction.
"Heh.... No.. Why do you ask?"
"'Cause you're kind of acting str... wait, are you- are you flirting with me?!" You fought to hide your blush. Thinking quick... What would the great Han Solo do?
Leaning in a little closer, completely disassociating yourself from your own body in that moment, you shown a playful smirk, "..I dunno... What do you think?~ Could be. Could not be. That part's all up to you~"
"H-Hero!" Sandrah spun to the man who was already staring at you two, frozen. He shook himself out of it quickly, turning his attention fully to her..hard as it was. He appeared especially dumbfounded, having no idea how a usual boyfriend would act in this situation. He was flustered, though. Finally deciding what he should do, the immortal man sprang from his seat, nearly falling over on weak legs, and politely turned to the host of the palace.
"My apologies, 303. I- I must talk some sense into my bodyguard- (Y-Y/n)!" The entity only chuckled.
"Heheh, fine by me. Give 'er a smack for me for the three outta ten performance." The hooded one jokingly added, making Sandrah's eyes widen.
"You won't actually hurt her, will you?!" Sandrah nearly stood from her chair, however, Herobrine calmly gestured with his hands for her to stay.
"No, Sandy.." Came a soft chuckle from his mouth. "I won't." You assumed he wouldn't either, but it was interesting seeing Sandrah still willing to stand up for you like that. 303, however, moped a little, appearing to be more in the mood for some entertaining action. With a reassuring smile, the tall, strong man reassured Sandrah that all would be fine. She at last relaxed, though her cheeks flushed red when she turned to you again. You mirrored. "Come on, (Y/n)," he spoke more forcefully toward you. You played along, standing like a poor dog caught stealing someone's shoe. "We'll talk on the way to your room."
"Bu-but she shares a room with me!" Sandrah burst. Hero's eyes widened slightly at the news, making eye contact with you. Some form of an apologetic look crossed his face. However, behind it all, for some reason he was bubbling with anger. Had been for the past few minutes now, you noticed... It almost looked too real to just be him acting. Then Herobrine's own head dropped to the floor. As did yours.
Silently, you both paralleled the other around the long side of the table to the door, each holding some ounce of shame. The anxiety of it all had finally gotten to you. Like after some of your worst battles, your head ached and your heart lost its rhythm. Shivers engulfed your skin after you finally left, at last away from all of the prying eyes. You hated it! Not even the nice dinner could make up for such a night! Not with the flirting, deceit, pressure,and-
"-(Y/n)." Your head snapped up to Herobrine as he walked beside you, now his shoulders dropped and his posture weary. Still, some deep anger bubbled. Though it was quickly fading as you two were alone. "I'm...sorry." You were taken a little off guard by that. "I was so desperate for a quick solution, I..."
"..It's okay..." No, it was not okay! But, you had nothing else to say. Suddenly, Herobrine slowed down beside you. You turned, eyes first noticing how shaky the man's legs were. "..What's wrong?"
"I- I don't know! It's that feeling again.." Annoyed with himself. "I feel terribly weak."
"When did it start??"
"I don't know! It's been happening at random for the past while now, steadily getting worse! I think- I think- I think it means something bad is going to happen soon." Clutching his stomach. You blinked a few times curiously. Some unknown power of his? "P-please. Don't tell Sandrah about this! She is going to worry too much!"
"Ohh, I don't intend to talk to her for a WHILE now!...eheh.." You stood still, crossing your arms as you waited for the fallen Nether King to regain his standing. Still trembling but strong enough to press on, Hero passed you quickly.
"Follow me." He strode stiffly. You scurried after him. He almost seemed as if he was preparing for battle or something!
"Whe- where are we going?!" But he didn't answer. After weaving this way and that for a while, Herobrine finally pulled up to a set of large but average for this place set of doors. He pulled one of the two doors open and immediately pushed you through. You yelped briefly as you tripped over your own foot. Falling, you caught yourself in a roll and simply rolled over your right shoulder, swiftly standing again. Your face paled, eyes widening to see another guest bedroom, very similar to the one you had slept in last night but a little different too. "...A new room for..-"
"-Us." Herobrine casually strode past you, headed straight for the bathroom where he immediately started splashing his face with water. His arms when holding himself against the counter still were quivering under even the little weight. "I am in no shape to function without knowing you will be here to defend me." He blurted. HIM not able to function?! Wh-what about YOU?! The soft glow of the lights were eerily calm in comparison to the chaos twirling around in your mind. You stared at the unmade bed since last night, as well as some other pieces of furniture pushed around just a little or having a cyan shirt or dark pants draped over them. You felt yourself beginning to hyperventilate, yet you had very little strength to actually move.
"...-Wai-wai-wai-noo! Not in the same bed!"
"Unfortunate, yes. I checked again with 303 and there are no spare ones."
"-I'll...just sleep on the floor." Barely shuffling your feet forward, you stepped some more into the imposing room. Remembering your close call from just earlier today, you didn't want to push against Herobrine's wishes too much.
"...Alright with me, I guess. As long as you can hear me... But perhaps you could make yourself comfortable on one of those sofas instead?" Herobrine pointed his arm out the door at a couple small couches. Showing mild interest, you stepped closer to the couches and sat down. They were more like elongated m chairs. Probably considered a love seat by some. You huffed. They were too small to lay on...small as you were. At least knowing the man wouldn't force you to sleep in the same bed calmed you some. You had never even considered him a potential partner or anything. After all, you had this constant fear about him killing you to deal with already.
As you tried to get your sleeping situation all set up, Herobrine stood in the cracked open door to his room, conversing quietly with a few mobs. After a time, those mobs left and new ones came. These ones were heavily armored in diamond, carrying with them Netherrack axes.
"You are not to allow anyone through these doors without my spoken permission." You caught the man informing his troops sharply. "Whether it be in...or out." You turned your head to glance curiously at Hero, who had in that moment turned his own head back to glance at you. Quickly, you dropped your gaze... Herobrine spun back. "You are to take the first half of the night shift. Make sure whoever is taking your place later tonight has been properly verified."
"Yes sir." A gruff voice responded, holding little interest in that moment. You could almost hear the dread of having to stand in place half the night in the skeleton warrior's monotone voice. Herobrine just nodded before shutting the door at last.
"Again, why not just Sandrah? She would be better than me at least.."
"You already know my reasons... Now I have some spare pajamas in the drawer. A bit big for you, but a simple and easy solution all the same. You wouldn't want to be dressed in a nightgown around me, now would you?" He ended with a slightly tilted head, hammering in his point that he intended for you to stay the night. A sigh slipped from your mouth as you begrudgingly complied. You followed Herobrine's pointed finger to a cabinet and pulled out a simple long sleeve button up PJ top and matching pants. Both were a basic sea blue shade. Herobrine, meanwhile, hogged the bathroom all to himself. Instead of taking your chances and changing outside the bathroom...you simply waited for him to be finished.
He was quick, strolling back out of the bathroom in a near identical change of PJs, save for the lighter shade of blue. Herobrine stiffly bowed his head to you as you passed him, headed for the bathroom. "Good night." He said, no more than the standard polite thing to say. You felt too out of place to even attempt a response.
You slipped into the bathroom and carefully untangled yourself from the webbing that was your suit. You dared not undress too much, and so kept on things such as your bras for just this night...hopefully. No way would you allow yourself to be remotely comfortable around that dark lord--whatever his title was now!
When you finally arrived from the door, still fiddling with your rolled up pant and shirt sleeves, Herobrine spoke from a sitting position on his bed. "Do you have any of your weapons at the ready?"
You huffed, "What weapons, exactly?"
"Good to know." The man then stuck out his hand, materializing a dark blade filled with rippling enchantments. "This should be good... Oh-" He then stuck out his other hand, materializing a similar but smaller sharpened weapon. "A dagger for closer combat scuffles." He said as he teleported both items beside you on the floor. "You remember when we practiced those Ju Jitsu forms, right?" Your face immediately heated up. You guys...what?!
"U-uhm... Y-y-yeah!" You chuckled. Herobrine laughed too.
"Whaat? Remembering that one where we had to headlock each other with our thighs? Hahaa-" The white eyed man teased.
"-Th-th-that't...yeah-h.." The worst had come true.
"Well, it is stuff like that which will most likely come in handy am I to be attacked in my sleep. Just...remember that." Herobrine smiled faintly, then, feeling a lot more relieved and secure than before, Herobrine shuffled under the blankets until he was laying down.
You gathered together your pillows from the different couches and chairs and together formed a bed with them on the floor. You had previously attempted to scoot all of the sofas and chairs together to form a bed, but that had proven to..well..not work out as you had hoped. Laying down with only a thin blanket you had pulled from the bed, you settled yourself into a decently comfortable position. You had spent weeks sleeping in dark cellars and on the dewy ground...not to mention YEARS before that sleeping on old cots in military camps! Yeah...you had your fair share of poor sleeping conditions. But..near enough to your enemy so that you could hear him breathe..? That was something new...
"Y/n)..?"
"Uhh?"
"You asked again why not invite Sandrah to defend me in my sleep..." He spoke whole laying flat on his back, fingers clasped over his stomach.
Pushing yourself up a little bit onto one elbow. "Yeh?"
"Well, truth is... I...still don't trust her.."
"Wait..what?! She saved your life!"
"As have you...many times now. I....Hhhh. I just find it near impossible to trust humans, you being my one exception."
You squinted in the darkness. There was hardly but a faint glow from his eyes bouncing off of objects. "...Why?"
"Because, heh, you are physically incapable of turning against me."
"-No, I mean... Why can't you trust humans? What did they do to you?" Your eyes widened slightly at the mere thought of Herobrine having a proper reason for acting the way he has. Almost sickened you to think you might actually have the chance to empathize with such a twisted man.
There was a long, hard silence after that. You began to wonder if the other had just drifted off to sleep.
But then. "I...have been betrayed by ever human I've ever known. Not one cared enough to even talk to me through their reasonings...explain why they were suddenly on the other side. They just....left...and then tried to kill me." Hero's voice spoke softly, somberly, as if genuinely, somewhere.. he was still hurt deeply by it. You thought silently about the man's words. "Good night, (Y/n)?" You heard shuffling as Hero rolled onto his side, closing his eyes.
Your eyes wandered again to the sword and dagger laying on the floor in front of you. As he slept...perhaps you could kill him? There was a chance that wouldn't kill him, though. A pretty big one, actually... But who knows? Maybe he was so weak that it would? Either way...it was an insane risk. Remembering those close encounters from earlier today, it was hard to believe he still trusted you. After all of that.. you were still a better bet to him than even Sandrah.
Rolling onto your back, you smiled slyly where nothing but the hugging darkness could see, marveling at the once in a lifetime chance fate had handed you. My...not even one in a million had the same chances you had been so graciously given. So deeply trusted by your enemy? Strange, the revelation of how great this was made you feel almost as though you were living out an impossible dream. You would continue to gain the man's trust and learn more. You would continue to trick this fallen Nether King into believing you were to be trusted...all the way until at last you found a way to kill him properly. Yess... Then, at last, you could defeat the world's greatest foe.
You would avenge all of human kind.
You would avenge your father at last.