Six Stone Souls (The Pack)

Chapter 35

Hey look me and KatelynKramer are gonna have a pun war in the comment section on this chapter XD
(But let's do it tomorrow, I'm going to bed rn lol)

Warnings: None

     ~Vikk's P.O.V.~

"Look, there they are!"

Lachlan and I immediately spring to our feet, rushing to where Mitch is, and squinting as we look over the small section of plains surrounding the Capital.

"Where? I don't- oh! You're right!" Lachlan beams, along with myself and Mitch.

Off in the distance, rapidly approaching, is Preston, Rob, and Jerome. Preston is a horse, and Rob is riding atop his back, Jerome seated behind him. Lachlan, Mitch, and I break out into the clearing, dashing forward to meet the trio. As Preston skids to a stop, Rob and Jerome clamber off of his back as the three of us stop in front of them. Preston morphs back into normal, panting heavily. Rob plops down on the ground, looking weak, and Jerome inspects a nasty gouge on his arm.

"Jeez, you guys are in rough shape." I comment, eyeing over my worn out friends. "What happened?"
"We... Had a little run in with some skeletons on the way out..." Jerome explains, "And a ghast shot me in the arm."
"Are you okay?" Mitch asks in concern, "It looks really painful."
Jerome shakes his head sadly, "I mean I don't think is broken or anything... But I can't really use my powers because it hurts so much... And you're still not strong enough to heal me... Are you Rob?"
Rob shakes his head, "I'm afraid so."
Lachlan raises an eyebrow, "What happened to you, Rob?"
"They only gave me a single piece of bread each day, and they'd inject me with wither poisoning so I was forced to constantly heal myself... Unless I wanted to die. Which, obviously, I didn't... But now I don't know how long it's going to be before I can use my healing ability again."
"Hold on a sec, I think Lachlan picked up a healing potion from a witch that attacks us the other night." I remember, turning to Lachlan.
His eyes widen, and he perks up, "Right! I forgot about that! Here, Jerome." He panics, hastily taking out the potions and handing it to Jerome.

Jerome nods in gratitude, popping off the cap and living the vile to his mouth, downing the pink liquid in a few seconds. Instantly, the gash on Jerome's arm seals up completely, leaving his muscles and flesh as good as new.

"Thanks." He states, tossing the now empty glass bottle over his shoulder.
"We need to get moving, though." Preston chimes in, speaking for the first time since we've reunited. "I'm one hundred and ten percent sure Herobrine knows we're here, and if we're going to fight him, we need to buy as much time as possible so Rob can-"

Preston's sentence is abruptly cut off by a large explosion, and cracks of huge lightning behind us. We all whip around to see a darker than normal cloud spiralling over the Capital, bolts of lightning streaking across the sky. We all shout in surprise as a shockwaves of energy blasts out, knocking us back a few blocks. From the origin of the blast, way off in the distance, floating high in the sky, is a lone figure. Our eyes widen, and we all retreat back a few steps, fearing the worst. But then again, who else can summon such power and float in the sky?

"RUN!" Mitch screeches, but we're already one step ahead of him.

The six of us take off across the plains, darting into the forest, and trying to create as much distance between us and Herobrine as possible.

"THEre iS No esCApE!" His booming voice rings out, as if coming directly from the sky itself, and a rumble of thunder accompanying it.

The fact that is sounds like he's right behind us only encourages me to run faster, as with everyone else. The muscles in my legs are screaming in protest, a cramp is welling up in my side, and my lungs are searing. Panic blurs my thoughts, but all I focus on is the path ahead, and keep pushing on.

Soon enough we tumble out into the large plains biome- the same one where we fought our dark clones. Thankfully, despite the lightning and thunder, there is no rain. Otherwise there's only be five of us here at his point in time. We sprint madly across the lush grass of the plains, not daring to look back. It's only when we reach near the middle of the massive biome that we collectively are forced to stop and catch our breath, for we can't psychically run any longer.

"Did... D-did we lose him?" Rob wheezes, hands on his thighs as he doubles over panting.
"Did we lose him?" Jerome repeats in disbelief, "What kind of a question is that?! We just..." He takes a sharp intake of breath, "delayed him."
My eyes widen, and my stomach flips. "And not by much... Look."

We all turn to see Herobrine floating behind us, hair tossing in the wind, and an evil smirk on his face. His eyes gleam mischievously, and his iconic diamond pickaxe is gripped tightly in his hand. The wind howls around him, and lightning cracks off in the distance. We all rise to our full height, despite our exhaustion, and try to see, brave. To be honest, my knees want to buckle, but I force my legs with all my will to stop shaking, even if my heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest. This is it. No turning back now.

"Hello..." He greets, his voice sounding normal yet still holding malice and venom. "It's been a while... Hasn't it?"

We stay silent, too reluctant and frightened to respond. Herobrine flashes a toothy grin, twirling his diamond pickaxe in his hand. At the same time, the wind picks up and throws dirt and grass in a jagged circle around him, making him even more intimidating... If that's even possible at this point.

"Y-you're going to pay for all this!" Preston threatens shakily, trying his very best to sound brave.
Herobine chuckles, greatly amused, "What are you going to do? Talk me to death?"

Preston snaps his mouth shut, looking more angry and offended than scared now. And his edgy demeanour quickly spreads amongst us, fear gradually being replaced with hatred and rage. In a flash, every single thing he's ever done comes flooding back. From burning countless villages, to torturing innocent lives, all the way through the last few months, up until now. With a burst of courage, Rob speaks up.

"You've been toying around with this world long enough, Herobrine!" Rob hisses, glaring daggers at the demon. "You've killed innocent people, you've burned down countless homes, you've made every single being on this planet your slave! Even the mobs! You killed Notch, and most importantly..." Rob continues, voice rising by the second, and vines appearing around his arms, "YOU HURT MY FRIENDS!"

And with that we all sink into fighting stances, pushing away any doubts or fears that could ever arise. Mitch summons his light bow, Jerome holds Betty in one hand, and a shadow ball in the other, Rob has his vines already out and ready to strike, Lachlan pulls out twin swords, and readying to attack with his powers, Preston's skin glows hot and bright, a fiery aura encasing his hands, and I mentally prepare to strike with rocks, at the same time pulling out my diamond sword.

Herobrine looks momentarily taken aback, before his brow furrows and his eyes shine with pure hatred.

"I've waited too long for this moment..." He begins, the wind picking up significantly,

"AnD NOw yOu WILl paY!"

~~~

Question of the chapter:

Raise your hand if you're ready for this fight!

My answer: 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻