The Withered Rose

Chapter 4: Herobrine's Infiltration

While Yazmyne and Desmond were going against each other, Herobrine rushed to find the room Notch was hiding in. He was already within the base, thanks to the lack of guards at the front entrance, and had the Rift Stone ready to use.

I'm going to destroy you, Notch. You've torn Yazmyne and I from each other, even in our greatest battle- and not to mention everything you did to me before I even met her...

He checked every hall, went down every corridor, moving with all the cunning swiftness as even an Assassin would do.

I don't care what it takes. You die, tonight.

Suddenly, he could sense something- Notch's presence. Immediately, Herobrine turned left and saw a massive door at the end of a short hall- no doubt, his sworn enemy was taking refuge in there.

Now or never.

Taking a few steps back and a deep breath, Herobrine charged the door and crashed through it full-on. The thick wood broke and splintered as if it had been made of toothpicks, revealing a wide room full of artifacts and a few odd paintings.

"Come out, come out, brother!" Herobrine called, stepping over the debri on the dark carpet, "Its time to end this war for good!"

To Herobrine's surprise, Notch revealed himself immediately. The bearded man stepped out from behind a small statue on one of the artifact stands, weilding his glowing golden axe, and a determined expression.

"I am not your brother!" Notch exclaimed, "You are nothing but a glitch- and the biggest mistake I ever made,"

Herobrine immediately began to advance, cracking his own neck as he weilded his pickaxe in one hand, and the Rift Stone in the other.

"But you're right about the other thing," Notch declared, standing his ground with his axe at ready.

"This war ends now. With your permanent removal."

At this, Notch charged as well- he swung his axe but missed as Herobrine fazed out with an electric jitter, jumping away in perfectly executed timing.

"You don't get it, do you, Notch?" he smiled, clashing his pickaxe with the next swing, "This time...you're the one getting removed."

Without another word, he took two steps backward and thrust the Rift stone at the floor near Notch's feet.

"Wh-what the...!"

The floor opened up in a swirling blue portal, sucking them both in at once before closing again. The opponents found themselves falling through empty space before hitting the floor of a strange pocket dimension.

Both rose and looked around- the surroundings seemed dark and almost eerie, shadows rolling forward almost like the Nightmare Realm- but unlike that dimension, this world was only slightly like Minecraftia. The ground bore strange green blades that stuck up from the soil rather than being fully flat, and the surrounding environment was equally weird. The oddest part of all, though, was the way Notch and Herobrine now appeared here- as they sought to gain their balance again, they realized that their forms were much more detailed, having five strange extensions on each of their hands, clothes with folds and texture, and weapons that appeared more lethal than ever.

"Looks like a game-changer, eh, Notch?" Herobrine chuckled, "Now...lets see how powerful you are, in a world you didn't create..."

Notch barely had time to block the attack as Herobrine swung his pickaxe, coming down hard against the golden axes' handle. The bearded man was shocked by just how strong Herobrine seemed now- they were no longer titans of equal power, but a force of encodic nature against a game designer who had little experience in true fighting.