In The End

Chapter 9

As soon as he recognized where was, he felt a sudden pain come over him as he was slammed into the stone wall, a clawed hand around his throat. It reeked.

"Explain, enderman!" the zombie king snapped, having him pinned to a wall with a clawed hand around his throat. "Xa-Tul knows you befriended the traitor!"

He glared at the zombie king, holding back a gag from the stench of rotten flesh. He looked behind him and saw all of the monster royals glaring at him.

Xa-Tul and Malacoda were glaring the hardest.

He turned his gaze from the ghast quickly, gritting his teeth and trying to keep his composure. Why did Herobrine have to bring him back..?

He turned back to the other royals, trying his best to ignore the king of the Nether. "What're you talking about?" he asked, playing the clueless card as best he could.

"Xa-Tul knows you've befriended Feyd! Xa-Tul also knows you know he's a traitor!"

The enderman king tried to think, frantically searching for some way to get him out of this mess. "You're just some stupid zombie, you don't know anything," he snapped, glaring. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing!"

The zombie king was silent a moment, then let out an annoyed huff, making the older king gag at the smell of his breath. He let the enderman go, retracting his claws.

Everyone seemed to relax for a moment, then turned to Malacoda. Before the enderman could have a moment to be proud of avoiding a whole issue, Malacoda spoke.

"Then what was you're reasoning for being by your successor for so long and not bringing him here. I could sense you two right by each other," the ghast lowered himself to the stone ground, his eyes blazing.

The king stepped back, gritting his teeth as everyone turned their angry gaze back to him. "I-I didn't sense him nearby. I- oof!"

In one fluid motion, Malacoda had picked him up and flung him at a stone wall. He immediately crumpled, gritting his teeth in pain. There were cracks along the stone where his body had impacted.

"Don't lie, enderman," the ghast came close, holding the enderman's chin. "Try again, you scab."

He winced, and considered his options. He was shaking.

Why did he even protect his enemy in the first place? He wouldn't be in this predicament if he just hadn't lied over something so stupid. Feyd was an enemy, and these royals were his friends... right?

Great Notch, this wa confusing.

He looked back to Malacoda, stammering. "I had no clue, I swear. And I didn't know he was a traitor." He tried to change the topic, frantic for anything to get the ghast king and everyone else off his back. "Could that be why you can't teleport him here?"

The ghast glared at him. "Do you take me for an idiot, enderman?" he snapped, annoyed. "Of course I know that's why."

"Of course," he said. Why did he immediately find himself sucking up to him? "You're so smart."

The egotistical floating demon only smiled before turning back to the enderman king. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're conspiring with the enemy," he said.

He tried to stammer something, anything else out as the royals all turned to him. They looked murderous. Angry. Betrayed.

Before any of them could say or do anything, Herobrine cleared his throat, drawing in all of their attention.

"I really can't decide whether I should give up and kill all of you or not," he said, crossing his arms.

They were all silent. Some looked anxious, particularly Xa-Tul. The enderman king assumed Herobrine would take out frustrations on him like a parent on the eldest sibling.

Herobrine turned his gaze to Erebus. "In order to prove that you aren't betraying us as well, I'll let you tell us your plan of revenge on the User-that-is-not-a-user. Surely you crawled your own way out of the Place of Deletion for a reason."

He was quiet a moment, confused. "... what."

"Surely, you can find a way to make Gameknight999 suffer the most. Even if it hurts Feyd." The shadow-crafter smiled, almost tauntingly.

He grit his teeth. "Right," was all he said, digging his nails into the dark stone ground.

I can finally show I'm worthy and good enough. I can finally make that brat pay. I can fix all of this and be respected again, if I just tell them my idea. If I just...

But...

I don't want to hurt Feyd. He's the only person being there for me. Trying to help me. Caring about me. I can't hurt him like that, especially when he tries so hard for the User-that-is-not-a-user already...

He looked at all the other royals, watching them watch him. No, these were his friends. These were his people.

Feyd was the enemy. He didn't really care. He didn't actually want to help. He wasn't his friend. He didn't love him.

"My idea is we make the ones around him suffer first," Erebus said, a determined look on his dark red face.