The Player

Chapter 10

Steve makes it out of the portal first. He breaks out of the obsidian dome and starts running towards Herobrine. He notices him even before he shows up. Herobrine takes his attention off of Lord Enderdragon, who is seriously injured, and stares at Steve. He then does a crazy laugh that echoes through the entire End.

"So, if it isn't the Player," Herobrine says, "I thought you were never coming back from that spawning void that the universe keeps you in."

Steve huffs and pulls out his iron sword.

"Herobrine, stop your attacks and pick on the people who created you, instead," Steve says boldly.

Alex and I spawn right after that, and we hear Herobrine say my pleasure before swords begin clashing. We help each other out of the obsidian dome and start running over to the centre. Lord Enderdragon flies down to the ground weakly and lays there for a few minutes. I run over to him and see he still has a pulse. His eyes open.

"Zombie number 56, the players..." he says weakly, "they're real."

"I know, I know..." I say, "Don't waste your energy, they're here to help."

I take a pause and look at the fight above us, and then a sword drops down right near me. I flinch and move to a side. Lord Enderdragon smiles weakly and slowly gets up into a sitting position, and it's only then that I see how bad his injuries are. I wince and look up to him.

"I know I have to continue the fight, but...I don't know if I can," he mumbles. I look into his eyes and see a pained expression, one full of defeat.

"Lord Enderdragon, you almost won the fight with him hundreds of years ago, and you were alone. This time you have help. This time, you can't fail," I say boldly.

He closes his eyes again, and then opens them to reveal a piercing purple glow. He's at full power. He wastes no time in getting to the air and helping with the fight. The Players have already built a ladder to the top of the pillar, and are fighting Herobrine on it. I ignore the sick feeling in my stomach and start climbing the ladder.

The noises of the fight mixed with my heavy breathing give me a feeling beyond worry. I don't look down as I reach the top and feel the cold air brush my skin. Herobrine glances at me and I see him smile. He then slashes Steve down, making Alex angrier. When he hits the ground, he only has half a heart left, meaning we will have to take care for the rest of the battle. Alex yells in frustration and shoots multiple arrows, but Herobrine simply dodges them all. He then laughs and throws the sword towards me. Without even really realizing, I catch it with my left hand. Herobrine now doesn't have a weapon. He hides his face of worry and instead replaces it for madness. He laughs again and kicks the bow and arrows out of Alex's hands. Now I am the only one with a weapon. Lord Enderdragon lands on the pillar beside us and tips his head down.

"What are you doing all this for?" Herobrine asks, "To avenge your dead creeper?"

"You're the reason he is dead," I spit.

Alex looks to me in confusion; I don't look away from Herobrine. Staring into his eyes is like staring into the passive face of death. I release my breath and continue.

"Every minion deserves to live freely in their own way, not under the control of a monster like you," I announce.

Lord Enderdragon nods in agreement. I feel more powerful.

"No one here deserves to die because they don't agree with your sick motives, Herobrine. So leave this world and find your place in the forbidden place of the universe," I say.

Herobrine's anger then reaches an almost maximum, and I realize I might've gone a bit far. He then uses his glitch material to break the obsidian pillar and send Alex and me toppling to the bottom. Just as Steve recovers, Alex hits the ground and disappears. She just died. Oh god, she died. This pillar of lost souls is getting fuller by the minute. Meanwhile in the both of our grief, Herobrine grabs my neck and slams me to the ground. He then slashes me with a glitch sword he grabbed and pain shoots up my body. Lord Enderdragon roars and leaves the pillar. I struggle to breathe while Herobrine clenches his teeth.

"You aren't a hack like me to know the problems with living there," he seethes, "You're so respected by your precious Enderdragon, how would you know what the universe hates about you!?"

I slowly look over and see that Alex's bow is stuck in the ground beside me. I try to reach over and grab it, but Herobrine beats me to it and grabs an arrow. It is then aimed at my forehead.

"You have been nothing but a nuisance since I met you, and have done nothing but screw the world up since you got there. Monsters don't belong on the over world without being monsters," Herobrine spits, "now stop being a problem of mine and just die!"

I feel the breath leave my lungs as he comes closer with the bow and arrow. Then, just as he is about to shoot, Lord Enderdragon lands behind him and scratches him off of my stomach. He yells in pain and rolls to a side. Lord Enderdragon helps me up and I cough to catch my breath. He sighs and goes to attack Herobrine. I grab his sword, which slipped out of my hand during the fall, and go to join him. Steve, now seething with rage, also comes to join us. It's a powerful three man army against one, and that one is getting weaker.