Chapter Twenty-One: Shadow Minions

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A/N: Forgive me for some of the language used here, but I thought it was justified. This chapter is from Skylar's POV, but the next will probably be from Raygel or Kitty's so we can get an update from them. Hope you enjoy! <3

Skylar's (Mystery) POV

"You didn't actually think you could get away from me, did you Skylar?" He chuckled. I gasped at the sound of my name, the name of an infamous minion of Herobrine. I dared a glance over at the others, but quickly looked away when I saw recognition in more than a few of their expressions. Now that they knew about my association with Herobrine, I knew they would never trust me.

Instead of continuing that train of thought, I demanded, "What do you want?" He didn't reply as several of the shadowy minions came through the hole he'd blasted through the wall.

"What makes you think I'm just going to stand by and let this happen?" I asked as I drew my diamond sword.

"I control you," Herobrine laughed, as if I was being stupid. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Really?" I countered with a confident smirk. "Just try it, you a**hole."  He hadn't been able to control me when I'd escaped and refused to kill my target. There was no way he was going to be able to control me now. Not this time. I was far too angry to listen to any kind of logic. As if to make point to Herobrine, I swung at the nearest of the shadowy minions. Their eyes glowed like amethysts, cold and unforgiving as gemstones.

I planted myself in front of Ty, Jason, and the others. No matter what they thought of me, I would still protect them. Despite our difficult meeting, they were Lizzie's friends and the only people I could rely on to have a chance of helping me.

"You bitch!" Herobrine snarled as another one of his minions dissolved into pixels. He had always been quick to anger and I knew I'd pushed him over the edge again. I felt the sudden exploding pain in my head and flinched, but didn't waver in my defense. I heard something –maybe a shouted warning– and realized that Herobrine himself had shot a Ghast-like fireball towards me. I managed to block it with my sword, but its explosion upon impact to temporarily blind me.

I heard a sword whistle through the air and leapt backward, almost running into the nearest people. They happened to be Jordan and Ty. I blinked and tried to clear my vision.  I shook my head and looked up to see a sword darting towards me, presumably the same attacker that driven me backward.

I didn't want to die here. The thought spurred me into action, ignoring the pain in my head. It would hurt later, but I couldn't think about that right now. I countered my attacker, spearing through its midsection. It dissolved around me.

Suddenly, everything seemed to stop. The shadowy figures around us backed away. Herobrine studied me, an icy rage hovering just below the surface. I stayed tense, my sword at ready.

"You've gotten even stronger, Skylar." He stated. I glared daggers at him. "Why do you continue to protect these people? I've been watching you. I know they tried to attack you. I know you wouldn't have defended yourself properly. You've lost all sense of reasoning. Years of training gone to waste. All because of a boy. Yes, I know about him. I know you think you love him. Do you seriously think that you'll be able to defeat me and rescue him, even with their help? Look at them. I've frozen them. They can't resist me the way that you seem to be able to."

I did glance over at them. Not because he told me to, but because I wanted to make sure they were uninjured. They weren't too far off and seemed to be perfectly fine. Herobrine would want to capture and torture them. I turned back to Herobrine and spoke.

"What do you want from these people?"

Herobrine smiled ruefully. "You should already know. They are leaders, people who inspire other to try to murder me and my minions. But you already knew that, didn't you? That's why you came to them for help. You thought they we strong. But the truth is, they are as weak as you."

The sound of stone grinding on stone echoed in my ears. I looked up, dreading what I knew that I'd see. This time it was too late for anyone to warn me as the roof collapsed. I could feel each breath I took as time seemed to slow. I could make it out of here. I knew I could, but did I dare revert if only for second? I could move faster than any living creature if I used the skills I'd learned as Herobrine's top assassin, but I'd leave myself open for his influence.

Was I strong enough? That was the simple question. Could I be stronger than Herobrine himself, if only for a split second? I knew he was smirking, knowing the choice I would have to make. Do I save myself physically or protect myself mentally? I turned and saw the others. They were looking at me, even in their frozen state. Some of them looked like they were ready to leap into battle with me before Herobrine had stopped them in their tracks.

Jordan, Ty, Sky, Ant, and Jason. They didn't know me and I didn't know them, but I'd been willing to protect them. I needed their help and now they needed me. But was it worth the risk to my sanity? If I lost my sanity, it would be even worse than the death or injury that would come from the falling rocks.

It took me less than a second to make my decision as my mind considered the facts at lightning speed. My body reacted in even less time. Shadows formed around my body and I darted out of the way of the falling rocks. I found myself between the frozen bodies of Sky and Ant. Once I was covered in shadows, there was no stopping them.

They gave Herobrine the opportunity to invade my mind and take over. I looked like one of the other shadow people, except I was completely done fighting yet. Herobrine didn't control me yet. My eyes were still their customary light blue-grey color. My eyes weren't purple and lifeless yet, even as icy cold pain and blinding snow-white light exploded inside my mind. Herobrine tried to take control of me forcefully as I fell to my knees and clutched my forehead. My physical pain was soon forgotten as he brought out every insecurity and doubt I'd ever had, trying to weaken me.

Every person I'd ever caused pain, every order I successfully followed, were presented to me. I was forced to accept everything I'd ever done. The most recent images were the worst. All of the people I'd considered as friends, locked in cages or frozen helplessly in place.

But these last images were Herobrine's mistake. He sought to break my heart with guilt when he only reinforced what I was fighting for. My friends were being hurt by Herobrine, not me. I was fighting him to help them. I had to fight him, even now. I couldn't let him win. I couldn't let him control me. As I realized this, the shadows around me faded away and weakened our link. Herobrine saw what was happening and fled my mind. He knew he had lost this mental battle. In his wake, a burst of vengeful power slammed me into a wall of rock and forced me back into reality.

"You bitch!" He snarled, repeating his earlier sentiment with much more venom. "How dare you?!" I opened my eyes slowly and painfully. "I'll kill you for disobeying me!" I could almost feel the shadowy people converging around me. I wearily pulled out my sword and got to my feet. My head pounded painfully, but at least Herobrine wasn't controlling me. But I didn't think I could win this fight, not without help. However, I didn't know how to unfreeze the others. Herobrine was controlling them in a different way than he had tried to control me. He'd controlled them physically, not mentally.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost didn't realize until it was too late. It was the shadow minions that I had to worry about attacking me. It was Herobrine himself. He moved with unnatural speed, a diamond sword ready to thrust into my torso. I managed to move out of the way just in time, but winced as he grazed my shoulder. I could hold off against the shadow minions, but not Herobrine himself. I wasn't Raygel or Kitty. I wasn't strong enough to do this by myself and I had no one to help me.

Herobrine and I traded blows, forcing me to fully concentrate on staying alive. I couldn't think of anything else, but neither could he. He would win out in the end, but for a brief period of time we could fight equally. He had greater endurance, but I was faster. I found myself locked in a seemingly endless battle. How could I win this battle, if not the war? I couldn't kill him. I could only distract him. Maybe if I was fierce enough, he would forget about and release the others. Then they could escape, even if I died. I was pinning everything onto one plan. It wasn't the smartest idea, but it was all I had.

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