[Aria's POV]

At this moment in time, I have no control over my body. Herobrine's rage was overpowering my own abilities, but I also wasn't fighting him to take it back. I knew that would be fruitless and end up with both of us exhausted, and he was just like me when angry.

Stay out of my way and let me cool off.

So, I'm sitting back, watching where he was taking us by basically floating behind him. He was storming his way through the Nether fortress, making no noise and even his mind was eerily silent. He didn't have the block up, that much I could tell, but he was staying silent for now. I shake my head and look behind us. So far, I haven't caught anyone tailing us yet, but I would be surprised if it stayed that way.

He turns right, heading towards the throne room. Once he's in there, any mob and player within five blocks from us grow rigid and back away more. This fury that was pooling from him is nearly tangible. Everyone was moving out of his way and letting him by. I knew exactly where he was going. It was the one place we could blow off steam and not hurt anyone. I double-check behind us once more and still spot no one following us.

'Odd...'

"Not necessarily, if you think about it."

'Ah! He speaks!'

"Don't."

I only shake my head and move closer into his line of sight. 'Hero, I know you're upset-'

"That's an understatement."

'But you can't let this distract us from our plan. Don't let the anger you feel blind you the next time we go against him.'

He finally turns to look at me slightly, both eyes burning white on my avatar's skin. I only sigh softly before finishing my statement. 'Trust me, I know what it's like to be blinded by rage.' Herobrine slows to a stop, and his shoulders drop with a deep sigh. "I... I know you do, but if I would have stayed in that room..." He starts moving once more, nearing the entrance to the battle arena. "I wouldn't have been able to hold back."

"It's a good thing I knew exactly where to find you, then."

Both of us snap our heads up to spot a certain stubborn avali standing surprisingly tall in the middle of the arena. His nanotech armor was on, and he was holding an energy blade in his hand. His helmet was off, for now, making it easier to speak to him.

'Mobius?!'

Herobrine shakes his - my- head. "You don't want to do this, kid. She can't stop me if things get too out of hand this time." I glare at Herobrine, but I know he's partially right. Not to mention the fact that he still looks like me, and I would most definitely feel the pain later, so Mobius won't want to hurt me too much-

WHAM!

I watch as my body skids back a few feet and Herobrine holds his nose tenderly. I lift my own hand to my nose, despite not feeling anything currently. Herobrine's eyes are wide, and I turn to see Mobius smirking. He lowers his hand, and I notice slight red on the knuckles.

"I don't need her help right now. Besides, I'm not here for her anyways. You need to blow off steam on something less... breakable." His helmet forms over his head, and he drops to a fighting stance. "Come on, old man." I can only stare at him before turning to look at Herobrine...

Who was actually giving me a sidelong look?

'Are... you wanting my approval for this?'

He doesn't speak, but he nods his head slightly.

In all honesty, I can't tell if this is a good idea or not. However, this would be a chance for me to see if I have gotten stronger if I really end up needing to push Herobrine out. I give him a shrug and gesture to Mobius.

'Let him have it. He's probably got something up his sleeve, so be careful.'

'Really? Telling me to be careful when I'm about to fight your friend?'

'Trust me when I say he isn't as weak as you think he is.'

Herobrine only shakes his head, then moves forward. I stay behind a bit to watch, slightly wishing I had popcorn at this moment.

'Oh, this is going to be good.'

Silently, I sit off to the side in silent anticipation. I knew Herobrine had been holding in a lot of his anger lately. I guess Mobius figured out that it wasn't just my own rage that I was trying to keep under control. He was the only one that stood a chance against Herobrine right now, but even then I had my concerns.

Without a moment's hesitation, Herobrine pulls my sword from the sheath, and I can feel my eye reacting to it. It was as if the blade could tell I wasn't in control. I try to calm the sensation, telling it to allow it this once. 'Talking to a sword. Not the weirdest thing I have done.' It seemingly works, as the mild pain dies down. Mobius only smirks before rushing forward. A frown creeps its way onto my face. Mobius knows better than to try hand-to-hand. He's better off keeping his distance.

Herobrine only continues his walk, sword pointed to the side. I can feel the blade powering up. The glow was growing in brightness, but Mobius doesn't stop. Just as Herobrine lifts the blade and releases a wide arc of power, Mobius rolls to the side and fires rockets from his shoulders. With ease, Herobrine slices and dices the projectiles, or completely deflects them. When he regains the ability to see through the smoke, Mobius is gone.

I can only smirk as I see Hero's stance go rigid.

Mobius was above him, diving straight at Hero. As he nears, he flips to slam his foot into Hero's head, but I see my body roll to the side at the last second. The impact on the ground from the avali's foot craters the netherrack. I can see the lava pooling into the hole, bringing back memories from my first fight here.

I shake my head.

'Not now, past trauma. Stay focused here.'

Herobrine stands, then charges quickly to attempt to regain the upper hand. Mobius keeps a smirk on his face and dodges each attack. I can see Herobrine growing more and more annoyed. His attacks were becoming more erratic and scattered as I could feel his rage growing. Mobius notices this and suddenly stops his dodging and slips his foot into an opening Herobrine exposed with his footwork. Said person trips, and Mobius swiftly kicks my sword from his grasp. As Herobrine stumbles, Mobius quickly goes on the attack. His first few hits land until Herobrine regains himself and begins to block them.

Mobius continues to attack, not showing any signs of fatigue. Herobrine, on the other hand, was starting to tire. I could feel it as well. The rage only lasted for a minute, and now I could feel our small amount of energy begin to drain. Just as I'm about to say something, Mobius lands a painful blow on Herobrine's chest, and he collapses to the ground. Mobius stands over him for a moment. I can't read his expression with his helmet on, but Herobrine just sighs. "If there is something you want to say, say it." Silence hangs in the air for a moment. I start to worry-

"I'm sorry."

I feel my neck pop as I snap my gaze towards Mobius. He was now extending a hand to Herobrine. Said person was barely lifting his head, eyeing the hand wearily. Mobius wasn't making eye contact with Hero, but I could see on his face that he wanted to say something.

But he wanted to say it 'eye-to-eye'.

And since he was starting to shrink again, his nano-suit was still on to keep him tall enough.

Herobrine starts to reach out, still showing concern that Mobius is tricking him. That's when the avali looks over finally to see what's taking so long. "Come on, I'm not going to throw you or anything. Just take it already, before I change my mind." A small smile makes it onto Herobrine's face (or I guess, my face) and he quickly takes the offered hand. As he said, Mobius simply helps him up before facing him completely. There is silence for a while, and I can feel Hero starting to get uncomfortable. Thankfully, Mobius breaks the silence with a sigh.

"I apologize that I didn't believe Aria sooner. She was trying to show us you had changed, but none of us believed her." Mobius turns and suddenly locks eyes with me. I can only gasp in unison with Herobrine as he also turns to look at me. "You can see her?" Mobius only nods. I shake my head with a soft laugh. "You know at this rate, that skin is going to get nerfed. You're becoming too OP." Mobius only gives a soft chuckle before he turns away. Herobrine, confused, calls to him. "Mobius, wait." The avali stops, and Herobrine continues.

"What makes you trust me?" He turns to look at us slightly. His gaze meets mine for a moment, then he turns and continues walking. "I've fought you before. If you wanted to kill us, you would have by now. Aria would have no chance at stopping you in time." With that, he disappears back into the castle, leaving the two of us alone in the battlefield.

I swear that suit is overpowered with his imagination.

I would agree with you on that one, Aria.

I turn to Herobrine as I remember the last true battle I had against him in the physical world. The Enderdragon had been defeated by Andrew and his wither-

Wait...

That's it!

I turn to Herobrine, who looks at me with wide eyes. "I have bottles of dragon's breath hidden in the end. It is possible, but we have to convene with the others now to make the plan work." I only nod my head, then suddenly I'm in control. "Please... warn me when I'm about to take control. That made me dizzy." I only hear his chuckle as I dash up the stairs and to the 'war room' as we call it.

Mostly everyone was there, and Mobius was walking in from another room with Alexa and Joseph in tow. We all gather around the large table once more, and I can't hold back the smile on my face. "Alright guys, I have an idea. Let's make it a plan." The others all nod in agreement, but I notice we are missing one specific person from the mobs. "But first, we need to gather everyone."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Finally, we park ourselves at the site of our first house, right next to spawn. Mobius lowers one screen before gazing around. "Yup. It's here. I can see the tear in the game code leading to the background files." He turns to me, and nods. "It's like you said. His arrival seemingly broke the world here in a way that can't be fixed automatically." I nod, but Herobrine speaks behind me. "He always leaves a trail like this, but it is difficult for me to find them at times. I cannot see them like you can, you overpowered turkey." Mobius only snickers at that, and I shake my head. "Focus, you two. We have one chance. Everyone knows what to do, where to go?" When everyone nods, I suck in a deep breath. I could feel the nerves starting to settle in, but I couldn't let that stop me.

Could this all fail and we all die? Yes.

If one slip up happens, will the plan crash down on top of us? Also yes.

Will I let that keep me from trying to save everyone? Never.

I lift my hand, focusing. I can feel Herobrine pushing his power through me and to my fingertips. With a burst of light, I throw my hand to the side. An audible crack echoes around us as the landscape in front of us seems to shatter like broken glass. Behind it, I can see the blue background and floating yellow files. Numbers and words litter the landscape, each a sequence pertaining to a part of the game. I turn to the others, and give them a single nod. They return it, except for Alexa, who looks away. Joseph turns to her, then back to me and nods again. The only one still opposed to this plan was her, and for good reason.

However, it is the only option with the probability of everyone getting out alive.

But my survival was at an all-time low.

I can only sigh before turning and launching into the code. It feels like pushing through a wind barrier that is grappling against you, trying to push you back. I bust through the other side, floating carefully in one spot. I turn to watch the cracking seal up, spotting my friends start to scatter to their places on the other side.

'You think he knows?'

I hear a grunt before he replies.

'I think he's expecting us.'

I take a slow, deep breath. We simply needed to stay low for now and lure Entity to our playing field. I just needed to find the file before he found us.

But, the landscape of the code was massive! Every file was floating around in this digital space, small clear wires connecting each together to the main .minecraft file. It takes a while, but I finally spot the 'assets' file floating just under the main folder. I gaze around, searching for any red eyes and white cloaks, or flying scythes.

'I don't see him either. Keep your guard up. He may be unpredictable, but he always has a plan.'

I only nod my head before pushing my way up towards the file. I carefully float behind as many folders as I can. I may not be the brightest of the bunch, but I'm not stupid enough to just fly straight there. Once I reach each folder, I check around. It may be slow, but it's safe.

'Stop.'

His tone is low, and I freeze behind the 'resourcepacks' folder. He's floating next to me as well, as we have learned that Entity can see us when we are in our 'ghost' form. He gestures to a file across from us, about forty or more blocks away. At first, I can't see what he's trying to show me, but then he appears out of the folder. It's slow, deliberate as if he was hoping we would see him.

But he doesn't see us.

I can tell he's a bit confused as he starts to look around. I pull my knees up to my chest as much as possible, huddling behind the folder. As Entity looks our way, I drop down and let the folder completely cover me. Herobrine keeps an eye out, as we are hoping his transparency makes it difficult for Entity to spot him easily in this landscape.

Call it a suicide test, because if he's spotted, we're doomed.

Thankfully, I hear him breathe out a sigh of relief. 'He's moving away from us. Something seemingly caught his eye.' I only nod and gaze at the next folder. Our destination.

'Assets'.

Quickly, I use the 'resourcepacks' folder like a diving board and propel myself upward. Grabbing hold of 'assets', I rap my knuckles against it, and it opens up, sucking us into it like a vacuum. I slightly flip as we enter it before regaining my balance. Around us are each of the separate file folders within 'assets'. I click on 'objects', and it reveals the massive amount of folders within. I quickly make my way to '1a' and open it. This time, it pulls up a window with the files on it as if it was a computer screen. I click the third file, labeled "Herobrine.exe". His code appears in my hands, the perfect cube it was.

"I really hope this works." I whisper, and I can see him nodding next to me. "Agreed. Or this whole plan will fail." I slightly shoot him a withering glare. "Thanks for that reminder, mister pessimistic." He returns the look, and I shake my head. 'Focus. We only get one shot.'

Closing my eyes, I begin to move my ender-half to my hands to try and protect me from what I was about to do. Then, I begin to allow the code in my hands to absorb into my avatar. We had learned, through Mobius' and Joseph's digging, that the reason Herobrine was weaker than he was before (and why he was stuck within me) was that he was actually separated from part of his code. By being trapped within my sword, he was separated from certain aspects of his code that allowed him to have his own avatar, which minimized his power.

I didn't fully understand it all, but I smiled and nodded nonetheless.

But what I wasn't expecting was the immense pain that this would create. It felt like burning liquid was flowing through my hands and up my arms. I grit my teeth to keep myself from screaming out and alerting Entity to our presence. No doubt he already is finding our scent with this happening, but I couldn't think about that now. I had to finish this right here or else-

"ARIA!"

His shout was too late.

The pain in my chest that I feel is familiar, and my eyes snap open in shock. I remember it from the battle I had against Andrew the first time we were here. Despite the burning sensation in my arms, I could feel my body growing cold already.

There's a tug on the blade piercing my chest, causing me to step back, but I hold my ground. I had to get this code fully downloaded, no matter what. I close my eyes again and force myself to focus on getting this code. If I die here, it doesn't matter. I just have to get Herobrine reconnected with his code-

A tug again, along with a rumbling growl that shakes the folder we are in. I can only gasp in pain as my eyes snap open again. I could see Herobrine's code was nearly gone, but I was losing control.

"Aria! Let it go! It's not going to work!"

"It has to work!" I shout back, feeling the warm liquid slip down my lower lip. I hold my ground, trying to finish the job I came here to do.

But the last tug pulls me away completely. I shout in pain, shock, and anger as I am dragged out of each and every folder and thrown across the code space. I feel the blade retract as I slam against a folder. Suddenly, I feel gravity appear, and I fall until I crash against the ground on my side. A pool of red is already forming around me, the pain starting to dull as I lose my senses. I can hear his cackling as his blurry figure lands in front of me. My breath is ragged and my vision is fading. Entity's white-cloaked figure slowly makes his way towards my beaten body. I can hear Herobrine trying to speak to me, and I barely turn my head to see him kneeling beside me, hand on his chest and red at the edge of his lips.

"Hero..." He tries to speak again, but all I hear is Entity cackling once more. I finally realize the object floating beside him was the sword coated in my blood. His scythe is in his other hand, shining brightly in the dim landscape. I turn back to Herobrine. I lift a hand, shaking as I use the last of my energy to reach for him. Our hands touch and his eyes go wide.

"Knock... him... down... Hero."

My eyes flash a blinding pure white, so much so that I can even see Herobrine close his eyes in pain. I barely see Entity flinch back as well before the light engulfs my vision. I feel Herobrine's mind start to fade from my own, along with his power. With a final push, I force his code out from my avatar and into his ghost form. The light fades, and I feel my hand crash against the ground. A few blocks away from my head, a figure was lying against the ground.

No longer transparent.

No longer in my mind.

Herobrine sits up, holding his head in confusion. His eyes lock with mine, and I give him a small smile. His expression goes grim, and rapid footsteps make me turn my attention towards the growing white cloaked figure. I see Herobrine thrust his hand out towards me, and I feel gravity shift until I'm being pulled backward. I can tell I have left the code when torchlight hits my eyes. I can see the cracks in the wooden planking in front of me as I crash against the ground. I can hear voices all around, but all I can focus on is Herobrine turning and slamming his fist against Entity's face, stopping the red-eyed virus from following me out of the code. The cracks disappear, and all I see is the glowing-eyed Steve skin turn to give me a small smile one last time.

A hand slips under my head, and I hear two voices. I can't make out who until my head is tilted just right. A blue and yellow eye meet my own. The yellow eye emits a line of light, and I realize it's Mobius scanning me for my injuries. Behind him is Reginald, who quickly kneels down. His warbling echoes around, but everything was starting to get quiet. My eyes were tired, and I couldn't hold them open anymore.

'It's up to Herobrine now...'