The Herobrine Quest

Chapter 53. It's All You

Quickly, Toxic reached out with her mind, finding Herobrine rather easily. She could read his thoughts, predict his actions, and so much more. But now, she had a more important mission to take care of.

"Herobrine." She could sense him jump a little as she called his name in his mind, and she said "There's been a change of plans. We can no longer rely on getting to the designated spot. It will take too long."

"I will bring them into the castle, and when I do, you knock them unconscious as soon as they get in there. Except for me, of course. Knock me unconscious and I'll have your head. Once they're out, I'll tell you the rest of the plan."

She heard Herobrine reply "Yes, Toxic. But why abandon the plan?" She sighed and said "We don't have enough time for it. He has planned another meeting, and I cannot be late. And if the mission is not finished by that time..."

She trailed off, unable and unwilling to finish her sentence. How could she say out loud that if she failed her mission, her father would die? And so, she simply left the conversation at that.

Again, her ankle brushed against the daggers hidden in her boot, and she quickly shifted her stance so that she couldn't feel the imprint of the blade through the leather.

They were on the road to Herobrine's Fortress.

And there was no turning back.

They stayed silent the entire walk up to the front gates. There was nothing left to say; no jokes to be exchanged, no speeches to rally them for battle. They had no need of it. They were ready.

The front gate opened without incident, which Ranger thought was odd. She had been certain there would be an army of mobs waiting to stop them from getting inside the gates.

And, as usual, she was wrong. The inside courtyard was dead silent. There was only the sound of the wind against stone. Ranger felt a twinge, and that twinge told her this was bad, and to get out.

Of course this was bad. If there were no mobs outside, there would be an even greater number of mobs inside the fortress. They pushed the enormous double doors open to behold...

Absolutely nothing.

No mobs came to meet them in battle. There was no sign of anything anywhere. It was almost like the castle was deserted. Silently, Wolf gave the signal to go inside.

Their steps hardly echoing on the white and black tiled floor, they walked inside, wary of every alcove where hidden archers could hide. But still, nothing attacked.

"Something's not right here." Blaze whispered. Ranger nodded and whispered back "We're missing something. Something important." Wolf heard them and whispered "Maybe they don't know we're here."

Even as she said those words, they knew it wasn't true. They knew something - somebody - was in this fortress, but just wasn't showing themselves, for whatever reason.

"I think we should get out of here." Toxic whispered, her whisper-voice cracking slightly. Be it from tension or from the strain of being as quiet as possible, nobody could tell.

Suddenly, Pro looked up from where she was staring at the floor. She turned to Toxic, who stiffened slightly, for reasons unknown to them. She said quietly "It's you."

No.

"It's been you the whole time.

No.

"It was you this entire time and you never said anything!"

No...

"You controlled Mineral, made us think she was responsible!"

Oh Notch no...

Toxic watched as the others turned to look at Pro in shock. They saw confusion in their eyes - confusion she had caused. But it was not confusion at her - it was confusion at Pro.

They refused to believe that their friend had masterminded their destruction. Toxic had to will a confused look into her face. She asked "What do you mean?"

Then Ranger's sharp intake of breath cut through the silence.

No.

"Pro is right...it was you."

No...this had gone horribly wrong.

Then, understanding dawned on their faces as they pieced everything together. All the coincidences...all the plans...everything she had done to lead them off her trail. It all came back to her. Her cover had been blown.

But she didn't reach for her daggers. She didn't even make a move toward there they were hidden. Even if she had tried, she wouldn't have been able to move. Just from the sheer force of the wave that had crashed down on her, she didn't draw her daggers.

Not when their faces contorted with rage.

Not when they all drew their weapons.

Not when they rushed at her.

Not when a blinding light flashed.

Not when they all fell to the ground, unconscious.

Not when Herobrine appeared behind them.

Not when a single tear - albeit a small one, but still a tear - dripped down her cheek and splattered against the hard white marble of the floor. She looked at it, wondering how such a small thing could convey so much emotion.

The tear spread into a sheen of reflective liquid...and what Toxic saw when she looked at it was not what she wanted to see. She saw herself. Quickly, she scuffed the tear away with the heel of her boot, swiping away the reflection and the face she saw inside.