His back was turned when Steve opened up the door. He was hunched over and pacing erratically, clutching his head like it was hurting.

Alex was huddled in the corner, barely conscious. Her eye was blackened and several bruises were apparent on her arms. She was only a kid, a kid who didn't deserve whatever beatings she had just endured.

"What did you do to her?" Steve exclaimed as he rushed over to her side. Her injuries looked way worse up close and he noticed a gash under her other eye.

Brine didn't respond and kept pacing uncontrollably. Steve stood up and stormed over to his brother.

"What's up with you lately?" Steve screamed at him. He grabbed on his shoulder and forced him to turn around. Steve gasped when he caught sight of his face and stumbled back.

"Brine...what happened to your eyes?" Steve whispered.

"You want to know what happened to my eyes? What happened to me?" Brine asked in a deep voice. He chuckled darkly and straightened up making him look even more evil and demented.

"I finally figured out what I was destined to do in this weak world - and that's to take it over. Want to know what I did to the brat over there?" He smirked, "I was just about to kill her. But you came along, so now I have to kill both of you."

Brine leaped forward and punched Steve in the face causing him to slam against the wall.

"Brine, please. Your my brother and my best friend. I know this isn't the real you."

He smiled wickedly and punched Steve in the stomach. He fell to the ground in pain and coughed until blood appeared. Brine grinned and kicked him in his chest.

"Please. Please. This isn't you. This isn't the brother I know and love." Steve begged. His chest was beating in pain and it took almost almost everything he had to keep breathing.

"You're right, this isn't the brother you know and love. That side of me is dead, and soon you will be dead too." Brine, in a new sense of strength, hoisted Steve off the ground and threw him to the other side of the room near Alex.

"You all had your perfect life destined for you while I was the unsure one, the sibling who wasn't supposed to be the hero. Well guess what, I'm gonna be the hero for now on. Without you, I'll take over this world and make it my own." A mystical aurora surrounded him and he shot a ball of light towards Steve. He found just enough strength to turn away right as the shot hit the wall.

"You're...you're not a hero." Steve spat between gasps of air and wiping the blood away from his lips. "You're just a glitch."

Brine walked over slowly, a smirk playing on his lips. Blood was smeared across his hands and all over his shirt. He kneeled down next to Steve and lifted his chin up so that he was staring into his cold, soulless eyes.

"I'm Herobrine, and I'm no glitch. I wasn't supposed to be anything, but by getting rid of you I will be everything." He punched Steve again, his head slamming against the wall. He slumped down to the ground with blood slowly seeping out of his mouth.

Herobrine shook his head at Steve's broken body before standing up and prowling over to the lone chest near the furniture. He opened it up and plucked an iron sword from the inventory.

He chuckled lightly and traced his finger over the slick edge of the sword. "This should finish off the job quite nicely." He muttered to himself.

The sword hung loosely from his grasp as he twirled it between his fingers. He was toying with them and Steve knew it, but didn't have the strength to stop it.

"B-Brine..."

"My name is Herobrine! Call me that again and I'll kill the girl first." Herobrine snapped at Steve.

"She's not some g-girl, she's your sister. Alex, the girl you made sure went to bed with a story, or the girl you would comfort when she had a nightmare." Steve's chest felt as if his ribs just collapsed on his lungs, puncturing them until there was no air left to breathe.

"How can I comfort her now when I am the nightmare?" He asked in a devilish tone. With an evil, twisted smirk growing on his face, Herobrine aimed the sword directly at Steve's heart.

Herobrine plodded through the unforgiving forest, twigs and bushes stabbing into his legs. Eventually he decided to stop fighting nature and fell to the ground near a small stone overhang.

He was finally able to relax but it was still hard to do that when every breath would cause his injuries to hurt worse than they already did.

When the explosion occurred, Herobrine was thrown against the wall as several materials, large and small, collapsed on him. Since he was immortal, the blow didn't kill him, but it did leave several wounds that he knew would be painful for awhile.

Herobrine leaned over, his chest tightening as his movements enabled the pain radiating from his chest. He clutched the end of his pant leg and pulled on it, tearing it down the middle of his leg until he reached his knee.

A large gash lingered its way up his shin, dried blood splattered on his pants and new blood seeping out of the wound. His old scar was reopened, but may heal easier than it did when he first got it.

His chest was burning with pain so he leaned back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. He already knew he had a couple broken ribs, but he's dealt with a lot worse so there was no use in complaining about such insignificant injuries.

"Wow. You look terrible."

Herobrine's eyes snapped open and he immediately leaped up on to his feet. His chest burned with pain from this action by he didn't let it show on his face.

When he caught sight of the person his only reaction was stunned silence. So many questions were rushing through his mind that he couldn't concentrate on just one.

"Speechless? That's the first."

"W-why are you...how did you find me?" Herobrine choked out. The Assassin chuckled lightly under the black mask that was covering her mouth.

"Sweety, that's two different questions." Her long, dark brown hair swayed gently behind her from the wind. She was dressed in a black and dark red suit with tall black boots to match. A gun was slung behind her and numerous daggers were hidden under her sleeves. These weapons were pointless though because her empty, white eyes held many unbelievable powers.

"But I guess I'll answer both." She said with a sly smirk that was noticeable even under her mask. "Why am I here? You'll learn in just a minute. How did I find you? Please, I'm an assassin, the best one in the business actually. I was trained to find people who didn't want to be found."

She glanced down at his leg and her eyebrow arched up. "Get in a bit of a scuffle?" She asked.

"No. Now tell me why you're here." Herobrine demanded. The Assassin seemed to find some humor in his words and chuckled so much that she had to bring her hand up towards her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Honey, you're in no position to order me around. Remember the fire? I can make that happen again." She threatened. A small ball of fire flickered across her hand, Herobrine glaring at her but kept his mouth shut.

"Ah, now you know how to listen!" The Assassin exclaimed and the fire fizzled out. "I'm here because..."

Suddenly Herobrine felt something tug on his wrist and he looked down to see what it was. Some black substance had surfaced from the ground and was tightly wrapped around his arm. Then, he felt his other hand being tightly bounded by her magic. His feet must've been wrapped the same way because he went to rip the "chains" away and his feet wouldn't budge.

Almost as a finishing touch, the magical material covered his mouth so tightly that he couldn't even mutter a sound. Not like he was going to anyway, since it was a sign of weakness, and just glared into her eyes.

"I'm here because I'm going to take you back to the Nether. You can't be killed, but I will be damn sure you come close to it. You're going to really know what it's like to live in Hell."

She lifted her hand and a small ball of blue energy appeared. Herobrine was frantic on the inside trying to figure out a way to escape. In desperation, Herobrine tried to pull on the chains that were keeping him where he was. They didn't budge, but he kept trying anyways.

"Aw...can little Brine not escape?" The Assassin mocked in a childish voice. The ball of blue energy grew in size as the chains began to get tighter and tighter.

"Say goodnight." She said in a devilish tone. She brought her hand to the side like she was going to throw the ball of magic at him. Herobrine gave up with his attempt of breaking the chains and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see The Assassin's satisfied expression.

The seconds seemed to take forever as Herobrine waited for the energy to knock him out. After he was convinced she hadn't thrown it for a while, Herobrine opened his eyes to see a surprising scene unraveling before him.

A mysterious person in a black cloak now held the energy that The Assassin once held and seemed to be threatening her with it. She looked back and forth between Herobrine and the cloaked figure.

"You may have won this battle, but you won't win the war. I'll make sure of it." The Assassin hissed before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The hooded person stood with the ball of energy levitating over their palm.

The chains that cut into his wrist and ankles disappeared along with the irritating mask that was preventing him from speaking. Herobrine breathed a sigh of relief once the material had finally disappeared.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am-"

Herobrine was cut off when the hooded figure threw the same magical ball that The Assassin had created at him. When it made contact, Herobrine fell to the ground and felt his eyes become heavy and shut. He was still conscious and could hear their footsteps rumble across the ground.

They must've had a horse because he could hear the distinct footsteps of the animal clambering it's way near him. The person lifted him up with no effort and tossed him on to what felt like some sort of wagon. Other bags of random goods were stacked around him that provided some comfort. The person put some sort of sheet over the wagon, but that was probably some kind of precaution considering they were lugging around the most wanted person in all of Minecraft.

The magic finally kicked in, and Herobrine fell into a deep sleep where he could only dream about what would soon happen to him.

~~~

"He looks like sh-"

"I know what he looks like. That's why I brought him here so you could maybe patch him up."

"I dunno...he's got a nasty cut there on his leg. That'll hurt. And his face is so bruised up I could hardly recognize him. Why do ya want him fixed up anyways? He's done nothin' but a nuisance to Minecraft."

"You know why. Do you think you can heal him?"

"I'll need a ton of potions, but yeah, I can fix him up brand new."

"Thanks. Need a potion to knock him out?"

"I though he already was."

"Yes, but it'll wear off soon. He can probably hear us now."

"Nah, I got some potions that'll keep this nightmare dreamin' for days."

"Good. I'll come back later after he's...after you fix him up. Want me to pick you up something at the market?"

"Yeah, some rope could be handy."

"Why do you need rope?"

"Look, I know you have a connection to him, but I'm not lettin' this devil run around freely in my house."

"I'm sure he won't...otherwise he'll have to deal with me."

"If ya say so, but if he kills me while you're gone I'm gonna kill you."

"Please. I saw him chained up like a prisoner on death row in the middle of the forest. He won't do anything to you."

"M'kay. See ya in a bit."

"Bye."

The door closed leaving Herobrine to ponder what that conversation was about.

"First patient I've actually wanted to hurt. Too bad I gotta give you this pain killer." The man with a gruff voice forced some terrible tasting potion down his throat that knocked him out for the second time today.

Ever since his first encounter with the witch at age thirteen, Herobrine had been slowly drifting away from sanity. Five years later from that date was when he snapped. When he almost killed Alex and Steve.

The sword was aimed at Steve's heart, but some force acted upon him and the sword ended up embedded into the wooden wall. With a swift tug he was able to take it out and spun around to see what had happened.

Notch, who was at the time twenty-three, stood in the doorway with smoke escaping his hands and an enraged scowl plastered on his face.

"Brine...what have you done?"

Herobrine glanced back at Steve, a bloody and bruised mess that was broken way beyond repair.

"We were just wrestling a little." Herobrine said with an innocent smile spreading across his face.

"Where's Mother and Father? Maybe they can help you..."

"Help me? How can they help me if they're dead?" He said with a smirk as Notch gasped from this sudden realization.

"When...when did you..."

"Kill them? Earlier this morning. It was such a show; you should've been there. But that's okay because Alex got a front row view of it. Maybe she can tell you all about it later." This was enough for Notch to leap from his spot on to Herobrine.

"You sick monster. Why are you trying to kill your family?" Notch exclaimed.

Herobrine growled as he shoved Notch off of him and grabbed his sword. "This isn't my family. Besides, you were never here to act like a brother anyways."

"Then what about Steve?"

"What about him?" Herobrine snapped.

"He's been there for you. Even for the past few years when you've been at your worse." Notch said, snatching a sword from the same chest Herobrine had been at earlier.

"He's done nothing but get in my way." Herobrine retorted. He swung his sword at Notch but it was blocked before it could connect.

"What about Alex? She was your best friend."

Herobrine snorted in contempt. "No, she was Brine's best friend. Brine is dead."

"You're not making any sense." Notch said as he swung his sword at Herobrine's legs.

"The name's Herobrine. And I have no family."

***

"He's waking up."

Herobrine groaned and tried to shake away his grogginess. "What's...going on?" He asked, mostly to himself.

"You just got out of surgery." Herobrine immediately woke up after that and sat straight up on his...bed.

"What do you mean surgery?" He asked the older man who was caught off guard by Herobrine's actions.

"Look at your leg." He said simply. Herobrine stared at him for the longest time before moving his gaze toward his leg. He removed the sheet that was blocking his view of his leg and simply stared.

There were no bandages, stitches, or even blood to be spotted (except for the stains on his clothes). All that was left was a long scar that trailed up his leg. It looked the same as it had been before the explosion.

"How'd you do that? It looks like the cut wasn't there at all!" Herobrine exclaimed in awe. The man's brows furrowed as he stared at Herobrine in confusion.

"Uh...I hate to break it to ya but you got that nasty scar up your leg from the cut." The man explained. Herobrine shook his head.

"No, no, no. You don't understand. I had this scar before the cut. It was just reopened when the explosion happened." Herobrine said with a laugh. But his joy diminished and was replaced with confusion.

"Wait a minute. Who the hell are you? And where am I? And where did the guy in the black cloak go?" Hero asked in a frenzy. The man just chuckled and shook his head.

"Full of questions, aren't we?" The man teased.

"Don't treat me like a child. Where am I?" Herobrine demanded this time.

"My house. A little outside the village."

"Okay, then who are you?"

"Name's Bernard. But you can call me Berry." The older man, Berry, answered.

"Who, and where, is the guy in the cloak that took me here?"

"Now I can't tell ya who it is cause they'll get mad at me if I do. Should be back any minute and you can ask-"

The old, dark oak door creaked open to reveal the person Herobrine was seeking. He jumped off the bed to go meet the person but was held back by a chain that kept him about a foot away from the bed.

He sighed in exhaustion and reluctantly sat back down on the bed.

Is this what today's gonna be like? Getting chained up and knocked out all the time? Herobrine thought to himself.

"Someone's eager to see ya." Berry said with a smirk. The cloaked person barely acknowledged Herobrine's presence and snaked into the room. They tossed a brown grocery bag over to Berry and he eagerly dug through the bag to find a sandwich.

"How was the surgery?" The person asked towards Berry. Before he could answer Herobrine interjected.

"Why don't you ask me? Y'know, the person who actually got the surgery." He said, irritated by the fact that he wasn't getting any answers.

"Has he been like this since he's woken up?"

Herobrine just sighed and fell back against the bed. He was obviously getting nowhere with this cloaked person.

The two continued on with their conversation while Herobrine stared at the ceiling, off in another world. While he was off in a daze, Berry had left the room, leaving Herobrine with his...kidnapper.

"You're welcome."

Herobrine broke out of his daydream and sat back up so he was facing the person. "For what?"

"For saving you from that woman, healing your leg, and not killing you." The person sounded familiar but Herobrine couldn't figure out who it was.

"Do...do I know you?"

"Well I'd hope so, you've only tried to kill me numerous times." They said, sarcasm dripping from their voice.

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't really narrow it down." Herobrine said with a laugh.

The person just sighed and he could almost see an eye roll under the hood. They reached up and pulled the hood down so that Herobrine could clearly see their face. He sat in stunned silence because he almost couldn't believe it for himself.

"Alex?"

•••

Hello everyone! Sorry for the false alarm earlier *guilty laughing* the chapter wasn't ready when I accidentally pressed Publish. So do you guys like this chapter? Since it's mostly in Herobrine's POV, I thought you guys would like it. And there was some Assassin stuff.

Okay, so yesterday I drew a picture of Herobrine when he was chained up by The Assassin and I'm pretty proud of it. I'm not the best drawer but here:

Yeah, so that's the picture I drew of him.

I did NOT look that pitiful.

Sure you didn't Briney.

Anyways, see ya next chapter

-Crazy