Mild Gore warning.
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><><><>Almost a full 4 Years Ago<><><><
"I SAID LIFT THOSE KNEES! LIFT 'EMM!!!" The commander of your squad spat in a fellow soldier's face. His gray hair was shaven to nearly bald. Badges of honor adorned his uniform. You were drenched in sweat. So was everyone else under the blazing sun. It was hard to picture yourself elsewhere anymore to help your mind and body stay put and escape mentally. You had just been doing this so much! For so long! Everyone jogged in place in rows, all wearing the same bleak dark green jumpsuits. Mud gripped at your boots. You could already feel the sun digging through your hair, roasting your scalp. It was hard to keep your breaths calm and steady. You were still somewhat new here, not quite ready to all of the cardio and exercise suddenly heaped onto your shoulders.
The commander caught into your lagging, stiffly strutting your way with his hands tightly clasped behind his back. You saw the scowl in his eyes aimed directly at you and shivered. You tried to pick up the pace, jogging in the same spot beside the others, but to actually get your body to do as your mind wished was a complete nightmare.
"SO YOU'RE THE RUNT OF THE LITTER, EH?!" Standing directly in front of you, the commander gave you what everyone called, some special one-on-one time.. Your eyes stared dead ahead, acting as though you didn't notice a thing. You had learned all too quickly that looking him in the eyes lead to more shouting and eventually even dried out tear ducts. "EH, I SUPPOSE YOU'RE SUPER VIRTUOUS TOO, 'UH?! ANSWER ME THIS TIME!"
"No sir!" Still staring ahead, you jogged on in place, the Sargent stepping around you like a wolf studying its prey.
"THEN STOP TREATING THE MILITARY LIKE YOU'RE IN A CHILDREN'S STORY, SOLDIER! YOU ALONE AREN'T GOING TO WIN THE WAR! NAHH! MAYBE YOU'LL GET TO BE IN THE PILE OF BODIES THE REAL HEROES STANDS ON WHEN VICTORY IS DECLARED, AND THAT'S IF YOU'RE LUCKY! YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Yes si-r!"
"LIFT YOUR KNEES! HIGHER!!" He shouted directly into your left ear. Every muscle in your body was already stinging. Every bone aching. Every joint about to give out. Still, you tried, finding little success. You managed to lift your knees to about average, level with your hips. But clearly the commander wanted more. "AH- I BET YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE PACIFIST TYPES WHO BET A WAR CAN BE SOLVED WITH A FEW HUGS AND KISSES!"
"No sir!"
He ignored you. "NOW SAY YOU'RE STARING AT AN OPEN BARREL POINT-BLANK AND THEY'RE ABOUT TO FIRE! NO AMOUNT OF TALKING CAN SAVE YOU FROM THAT! AM I RIGHT, SOLDIER?!"
"Yes sir!!"
"THEN START ACTING LIKE A REAL SOLDIER AND SHOW ME NO MERCY! WE DON'T WIN UNTIL THE ENEMIES' GUTS ARE PILED HIGHER THAN NOTCH'S TOWER! DO YOU HEAR ME!!?"
"Yes-s sir!!" You had no real thoughts of your own. Only to say what he wanted you to say and do what he wanted you to do. Anything to pry his glaring eyes from your pain stricken form.
"I SAID DO YOU HEAR ME!?!"
"YES SIR!"
><><><>The present...I guess<><><><
.
You woke up for the first time in a while feeling at peace. Stretched out, laying on your stomach and stretching your limbs outward to take up as much space as a starfish might, you sighed, realizing morning was here at last and that your blissful sleep would have to come to an end soon. Pillows were all around to comfort you, a deep, deliciously exquisite mattress under your body.
Wait-
You drew your hands under your chest and pushed yourself up quickly. You were on a bed?! Not just any bed, but the one you had just refused to sleep in the other night!! Instantly, your face heat up. Your skin crawled in terror.
"You up finally?" You spun around, sitting up in bed quickly as Herobrine approached from the direction of the bathroom door. Casually, he adjusted the collar to his usual teal shirt and then tightened the belt around his waist. You were stricken for a moment with terrible paranoia. At least, dressing you were the same pajamas as before. Herobrine seemed at most, confused by the way you stared at him in utter horror. At last, once the paralysis melted away, you hurriedly questioned.
"Wh- why am I in this BED?!?"
"You were having terrible nightmares last night. Entertaining as they were to watch, I could see the stress they were putting on your body and mind. Also, I wasn't getting any sleep. So I put you on the bed to see if it would help... It did. I slept on the couches if you were wondering." Casually pointing his finger outward, your eyes followed to land on a collection of two sofas and a chair desperately trying to mimic a bed. Some blankets were still sloppily draped about the collection as if having exploded from the center-point. That mess of a "bed" did not look very fun to sleep on.
"Oh.." You breathed quietly, wondering why Herobrine of all people would do something so nice. You were already under his control supposedly, so why would he try to convince you to his side more? "I...don't remember having any.." Adding at last, you started scooching toward the bed.
"Well I remember them quite vividly." The man chuckled, crossing the room to draw open the curtains, appearing to be in a hurry. "Most of which were about me." He added calmly. "Strange, though you are bound to my side, your inner mind is tormented by me still..."
"Is that why you were so nice?" Sliding out of bed, feet planting on the cool, smooth floor. "Because you had pity? What were they about?" You were really curious now as you stood. It had been a while since you last remembered having a dream in general. "And isn't seeing my dreams like reading my mind anyways?"
"Okay, first off.. No, the two powers are separate. Judging by how you are acting right now, it seems as though I was correct and that watching your dreams is indeed different than reading your thoughts. So, good for me, I guess. Secondly, I let you sleep on my bed because I was tired, alright? I slept on the couches because I knew you liked your personal space. And as for your dreams themselves...most of them were short and quick.... Most of them being...me torturing you in one way or another.." You noticed Herobrine avoiding eye contact with you as he spoke the last part, eyes turning to the floor instead as if guilt had taken some part of him. Curious... Even though he didn't actually do any of it, he still felt somewhat responsible? "...I'm glad to hear that you do not remember."
"O-oh, right! Definitely!" You stood around, awkwardly swaying, wondering what exactly you should be doing. All of your clothes were in the other room. "Soo, did you have good sleep at least?"
"A little... I must admit, though, that feeling never left me. Luckily, we were never attacked, but I still fear we might be."
"Oh, so what are you going to do then?"
"We leave."
"Wait, what?!"
"I promised 303 I would not bring his castle to harm. That and there are so many more of my allies seeking refuge here... I wouldn't want them harmed if the mortals are only after me.." Herobrine said. Just now, you noticed all of his shuffling around the room and picking up random things was actually done with a purpose. On one of the chairs was a softened leather bag, which the fallen king shoved all of his miscellaneous items into. Eventually, he tightened the knot and turned his gaze your way again. "I suggest you begin packing. I want to leave as soon as possible. What is left of my troops are already gathering outside the castle." The tall one informed.
"I- I can't exactly pack yet! My stuff is back in my room!... Is Sandrah coming, too?"
"Of course she is. You can pack later, then, I guess. Here." Herobrine strode your way with the Netherite sword and dagger in each hand, casually handing both weapons to you. You just held them, not having a place to attach such weapons to your person just yet. After a few minutes, Herobrine slid a few last potions into his messy sack, shoving them into the little nest of clothes he had in there, and at last slung one of the pack's straps over his shoulder. Strange how suddenly he went from looking like a dazzled gentleman to mountain climbing roughian in the span of just two days. "Alright.. Ready to go if you are." Hero smiled your way. You nodded stiffly, then followed the wild haired one out the door. He encouraged you to lead him to your previous bedroom, however you had very little idea where it actually was, leading the two of you in an aimless circle Hero eventually had to save the two of you from by just asking a servant who worked there. All was eventually cleared up, and Herobrine waited outside the door patiently as you entered the door.
Stepping inside, you were a little surprised to catch Sandrah rushing around even faster than Herobrine had been, neatly folding all of those clothes into a bag as well as other items, weapons, and a couple enchanted books.
"Oh! Hello, (Y/n)! You startled me!..." Obviously trying to ignore the events which had conspired the other day, the two of you both made an effort not to look at the other directly for too long.
"Oh- sorry."
"Where were you last night? I was never told!"
"Oh, you know.. just some servant's spare room.." rubbing the back of your neck bashfully.
"Ahh, glad you didn't have to sleep on the floor at least.."
"...Yep..." Cheeks red for multiple reasons now. You started scurrying around the room as well. Occasionally, you two ladies would almost bump into each other, but other than a few short apologies, you hardly spoke. You rolled all of your clothes into compact little bundles, before shoving them into a leather bag much like Sandrah's and Herobrine's, leaving only one simple outfit to change into.
"Cute pajamas, by the way. Where did you get them..? ...Op! I'm not flirting by the way!" Frantic. You laughed awkwardly.
"These pajamas were spare ones, and I totally get it! Sorry about last night, by the way! I was...peer pressured into it. Hehh."
"Really? By who??"
"Oh, you know. Just a couple enderwoman who work around here.."
"Why those little fricks! ..Thought I saw one of them giving me a naughty look the other day... Anyways, I forgive you." Sandrah smiled, shocking you.
"Wait, really?"
"Yeahh, just...leave the flirting to me alright? You're tERriBlE at it!" That one made you really laugh.
After everyone had packed, you left. 303 wasn't home at the time today goodbye. Herobrine was in too much of a rush to wait for him.
---------------------
"Man, why is Herobrine so on edge?" Sandrah whispered your way. You could only shrug.
"I dunno. He says he just has this feeling... Know anything about that?" You asked back.
"Nuh-uh... Must be really bad, whatever it is." Hearing this kind of worried you a little. Being roped into this man's mess probably meant whatever harm came to him came to you too. By now, everyone was marching through a dark forest. Hundreds upon hundreds of trudging feet trampled the poor grass behind you. You and Sandrah walked side by side, standing not far behind Herobrine, who had his own specialized arsenal of armored Illagers riding Ravagers joining him through the forest. You just hoped this man's fate wouldn't be yours...whatever it was.
After a long day's worth of travel wandering seemingly nowhere, Herobrine stopped the band. "We set up camp tonight! No one lights a fire!" Herobrine shouted. That...concerned you a little bit. Not like it was really cold or anything, but it definitely wasn't comfortable either. Everyone else with flesh seemed to have the same thoughts, setting their tents a little closer to the ground to preserve heat, some even opting to put their blankets together to create community beds.
Wanna put your blankets together with me and a few other female Illagers?" Sandrah asked, though innocently could also be seen as bait to see if you were really into her or not.
"I'd rather suffer." Monotone, you huffed. The way you said it made Sandrah laugh for some reason.
"Ohhh, alright then!" The other woman elbowed you. You could tell just by looking into her eyes how relieved she was to see you back to your old self.
Instead of everyone sitting in a circle around a fire, everyone just sat in circles...but without the fire. Between the trees, for miles one could see specks of white. The tents nearly as plentiful as the soldiers themselves! Herobrine's tent was planted in the middle of them all, ravagers positioned in a tight circle around it. The tent itself was actually pretty small, since he too wanted to preserve heat. The original fabric was so big though that he could just fold it in half and set the twice thick fabric as normal over the posts. Where you were seated, awkwardly touching shoulders with Sandrah and some witch you couldn't understand the language of, was way off near the edge of camp. Everyone seemed to be conversing with one another except for you. You just sat, blankly staring at some rocks in the center of the sitting circle while mentally preparing for the night ahead.
...Nightmares, huh? As glad as you were that you didn't remember any of them, you were really curious at the same time. Maybe you could somehow will yourself to remember some of them tonight...if you had them..? Maybe you had them so badly nasty night simply because of how close you were to him in your sleep. But then again, you did remember Sandrah saying that when you did finally go to sleep the night you slept together, you had somehow managed to wake her up once or twice with your supposed nightmarish dreaming. So, maybe it was a little more common than you thought.
You felt a tap on your shoulder. As did Sandrah. Both your heads flicked up, seeing the glowing eyes of Hero. "Mind if I sit with you ladies?" He smiled faintly.
"Of course!" Sandrah eagerly scooted to make room. You for the most part were still and silent, only moving briefly when it seemed the man might just fall on your leg. Once the man had sat down, protruding slightly from the circle Sandrah leaned forward and placed her forehead on his shoulder. One of his arms stretched out and wrapped around her back. What a smart movie it was to have Sandrah keep their "relationship" a secret. They just looked like really good friends, so word was much less likely to spread of their affection than if she kissed him on the cheek or something. Herobrine mostly sat along the outskirts of conversation, since the majority of it revolved around period talk and child birth stories among the Illagers women. You as well mostly sat back, wondering how on earth such hearty women could possibly go through with being both warriors AND mothers!! Must'a just naturally had a lot tougher bodies than humans. Sandrah was somehow able to stay relevant in conversation, just because it was a gift for her. Herobrine mostly zoned out, occasionally cringing at the characteristically graphic and bloody tales that were shared all around. Ay, the man had to learn sometime I guess! Seemed to come out of it with a new appreciation for women in general. Haha! Probably helped that all of the Illager women basically made it a competition to see who had it worse!
"Uh-khm!" Clearing his throat, Herobrine stood once the sun had officially set. "Everyone should probably be heading to bed." His eyes scanning around the quieting forest, Herobrine was pleased to see that already most of his soldiers were either going to bed or purposefully staying up as scouts. It was just you chatty ladies still up. You were drained from the day, too tired to even stand properly. Everyone began to leave the circle one after another quietly, one of them offering to stay up the first shift. "Come on, (Y/n)." Herobrine softly kicked at your side. You groaned, stubbornly laying down in the grass. Herobrine huffed down at you. "Come on, (Y/n).." Starting to get a little annoyed. You just growled back at him.
"Where do you want (Y/n) to go?" Sandrah suddenly stomping up to you two for some reason surprised Herobrine.
"Wo-.. Um, just taking her to a secure place so she won't mess with anyone."
"But, I forgave her. You don't have to worry about that!" Sandrah reassured with a smile, casually draping a damp towel over her shoulder for cleaning her face. Herobrine put on the stupidest face you'd probably ever seen on him!
"Uhhh, well, still gotta be safe! So..come on, (Y/n).. Get up." Continuing to nudge your sides with the tip of his boot, you finally responded with more than just a tired groan and rolled onto your arms and legs. From there it was just getting up into your wobbly legs again. "Woah.." noticing you about to fall. You caught yourself quickly. "You okay?"
"Yeahh.." You huffed. "Where to, warden?"
"Heh, this way." Herobrine took the lead again, weaving through camp until at last you were at the center of it. You stopped with your small pillow and blanket in hand as Herobrine ducked down to crawl into his tiny tent.
"No."
Poking his head out, "Ay! It's warmer in here! Plus, how would you be able to save me if I am attacked in my sleep if you can't even hear or reach me!"
"Please don't make me do this..." ...He made you do this. You shoved yourself so far into the side of the tend that the damp tent walls were literally just laying on your face! Herobrine slept a little off to the side as well, though not as far as you. To your delight, the tent seemed a little bigger on the inside than the outside.
Huffing, oddly satisfied, "Hhhh, good night, (Y/n)." Herobrine said as he slid himself into his nice and thick sleeping bag.
You grumbled from underneath the tent's excess. "Am I really making that much of a difference?"
"I...don't know. That is what I am trying to figure out." Herobrine answered thoughtfully. Then, he rolled onto his side, back facing you. Yours was already facing him. Though it took you a while, you eventually adjusted to hearing the gentle rhythm of the man's sleeping breaths, eventually falling into near sync with them. After maybe an hour or two of just rolling around uncomfortably with nothing but a little blanket...you finally fell to sleep.
-----
Was this...a nightmare? Your body felt like a stranger to you. Before your eyes flashed image after image of something horrendous. So fast did they scurry by, almost like that time when you were under hypnosis. You were only given bits and pieces; small moments of something horror worthy...
Herobrine had under exaggerated when he said "most" of your nightmares were about him. No. ALL of them were about him. From things as physically graphic as the glowy eyed man ripping out your organs and eating them before you, to emotionally scarring as seeing the same white eyed demon killing every member of your family over and over and over again, especially Anna. Though they were short, they sure were horrifying! Why had you not remembered these all the nights before? What fractured part of your mind was forced to watch all of these in real time? At least you in the moment had the pleasure of having some strange out of body experience in your own dreams, feeling like you were merely watching over the shoulder of the real person meant to watch it all in great detail, without the speed ups and occasional skips. Even with this little buffer, though, the imagery wasn't pleasant. The more you saw, the more you wished you hadn't asked your brain to let you see them. Disgusted more and more with time, you were eventually anxious, fighting for a way out.
Let me out!
Somebody wake me up!!!
"-Shh, shhhh..." You came to suddenly, feeling your body quivering and sobbing. It all started to calm down as soon as you had taken control again. Warm tears flooded down your face, just now drying up, now that you were back in control. Still, you felt a terrible, pained ache. Like your heart had just been plucked out and would take a while to mend itself. "Shhhh.. there there..." A deep voice whispered. One large, gentle hand rubbed your back. The other just held itself in place, wrapped around your waist. Your whole body shivered when you realized you were in his hold, quickly squirming again, panicky to escape. "Nah-ah... Hey...hey... It's okay.. You're okay..." Herobrine talked to you like you were some kind of sorry little child! He probably didn't even know you were officially awake now! Wait, had he acted this way the other night, too?! You cringed just thinking about it. The man pulled you a little closer to him, stroking through your hair with the same hand that had just been rubbing your back. You froze up, falling into silence as you just shivered..not knowing what else TO do! You were still too shaken to fight back, and you were scared to speak and let him know you were fully awake. He might hurt you then... Noticing how tiny you were making yourself, and remembering back to those nightmares he had just seen, Herobrine wrapped you in a hug and rested his chin on your head. Still laying on his side, Hero began to feel pain prick the corners of his eyes. "...I'm sorry... I'm really TRULY sorry..." The immortal spoke with such genuine empathy...it didn't even sound like the same guy!!
You couldn't comprehend why on earth he was even acting this way.
"Yu-you must be cold.." Speaking a little clearer, though still soft to the ears, "heh-ere. The man's arms then left you for a moment. You heard unzipping, and your eyes squinted open just enough to see the man quickly opening up his sleeping bag. "Here.. This should help you sleep better..." Whispering again. Despite your minor whimpering protests, Herobrine insisted that it would help you sleep without nightmares, occasionally commenting on how cold your arms- and then even bare feet were as you joined him! He reeled you in, then zipped the thing closed behind you. Your shivering intensified. Not because you were cold, necessarily, but because suddenly being against such a warm body made your own realize how desperately frigid it had been for the last few hours! "..Theeerrree you go.." Making sure everything was well situated, Herobrine sighed, rubbing your back again as you shivered beside him, his own warm bare feet flinching away from your cold ones.
After you had warmed up some, deliriously tired mind deciding to believe this was all just a dream for now, you at last began to calm down. Hero followed your relaxing mood. Once he had made sure you were situated properly with a portion of his pillow under your head and everything, the man chuckled to himself and turned around to lay on his other side. "Now don't have another nightmare again, or 'mma kick you out." He threatened...playfully? You were just awe struck more than anything. Surely, this was all just some bizarre dream. An hour slowly passed. The man eventually fell asleep. Though your eyes were heavier than cement, you cracked them open. You wanted to wake up, not go to sleep! The other man's back lightly rubbed against your chest with each breath. No... This had to be a dream!
Two long, dark clawed hands crawled form under the tent's wall, slowly climbing up your back. Your breathing hitched when the arms landed on both yours and Hero's heads, holding each of your hair tightly.
Vwoop!
You reappeared somewhere outside, though still in the sleeping bag and still with Herobrine... Yep, definitely a dream. And as two purple eyes twinkled your way through the darkness, your mind finally gave up. The night consumed you.
Hopefully...it was all a dream...