Chapter 34: Don't Fall Asleep

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- Nya's POV -

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Zach's pained cries filled the air, shattering any silence - but I couldn't see him. Only white light.

"Stop it!" I screamed at Herobrine, who was also shrouded in the creepy brightness. But I knew it would do no good.

I frantically searched around, looking for something that I could use to break the wall - something I could throw, or hit with, something.

But the entire room was empty, except, obviously, the interconnecting walls I was stuck in. There was nothing lying about that I could use. Panic began rising again, fuelled by the sheer agony of Zach's screams. Slowly, I began to realise something through the haze of my messy emotions - my fire.

Thanks to some practice, I could control my flames much better now - I silently thanked Zach for encouraging me to train myself. Balls of fire, hot, flickering and raging formed in my palms, and I raised both my hands simultaneously, and willed the fire to blast at the walls - and it did. The force of the impact nearly threw me off my feet, but I stood my ground, and the size and heat of the fire steadily intensified as moments passed. I was sweating, there was a biting pain in my head, and I could feel my energy disintegrating with every single flame I produced - but I kept standing.

I quickly cut the fire off (to much relief) to see what damage I had done on the wall. When I ran forwards to check, I noticed a tiny black singe, barely the size of my palm, stain the transparentness. A quick rush of hope, like a spark, ran through me, and I felt a faint sense of triumph as I stood facing the wall again. I called upon the fire again, and it obeyed - but this time it was more hesitant, and much harder to keep up. It barely lasted half a minute.

But it still made damage. The burn was much larger now, perhaps the size of a block. I was trembling with exhaustion, but I was fuelled by anger, panic and a heated sense of revenge. So I took a deep breath, summoned my energy, raised my hands again -

Suddenly, Zach's screams ceased.

I had put so much concerntration into my fire - into breaking down the barriers - that I hadn't noticed that the light Herobrine had created had dulled to a pale white. I watched as it rapidly deteriorated until it didn't exist at all. I felt a sick feeling of dread.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust, but the image was registered quite quickly. Zach was lying on the ground, limp, and my heart clenched. Herobrine had his head in his hands, knees bent, as if he were struggling to support himself with regular strength. The sight startled me almost as much as Zach's did. Herobrine, weak?

I heard him yell out in fustration, and the ground rumbled slightly. Clare gave a short pained gasp, and for a fraction of a moment I noticed Gemma's solid stance waver with a slight lowering of her sword-wielding arm. The tremble must have disturbed her already on-edge concerntration.

Almost as an impulse, I blasted a quick burst of flames at the nether brick floor - but to no avail. It was like the floor had been enchanted to withstand it. I cursed loudly, throwing another waft of fire at the ground, but it escaped unharmed and intact. I cursed again and shot a desperate glance towards Herobrine and Zach . . . And froze.

Herobrine was leaning against the barrier, and Zach had rolled onto his back and was breathing steadily. Herobrine was hunched over, clutching at his heart, and I saw his face, his eyes - they were plastered with genuine fear.

He clenched his eyes shut - in pain or desperation, I'm not sure. There was a bitter sweet relief that washed over me when I saw that Zach was alive.

A groan of pain sounded from Herobrine; he was still leaning on the barrier. I turned abruptly towards him again, confused, but I took his opportunity of weakness to strike again, this time the hardest I had ever done. The force of my fire against the barrier was so powerful that I could hardly stand, but I kept on pushing through. The fire blast lasted about 30 seconds before I had to stop or risk fainting.

You're not falling asleep now, Nya.

There was a whole in the wall, much to my excitement. I had made progress, finally.

Suddenly, I felt someone behind me - they pushed me in the back and I fell to the ground, helplessly weak from the overuse of my SE.

I turned around onto my back on the ground as quickly as I could, wincing at how weak I felt. My blood went cold when I realised who pushed me.

"Ethan?" But his eyes; his eyes were white. Clare had him. "Crap, Ethan, she got you too?"

Of course, he didn't reply, and I tried getting up - only to have him raise a foot over my head.

"Move and you'll pay," he said, and his voice was low, flat and monotone.

I glanced helplessly at the wall; there was a hole the size of a block. If I put only a little more energy into breaking it, I should be able to make it wide enough for me to fit through and help Zach.

But I didn't really have any idea what to do after that.

Attempt to kill Herobrine? Try and get to Clare? What will I do about the brainwashed others?

I made a small, frustrated noise. I was going about this blindly.

All I know is that giving up is the exact same as complete surrender - to Herobrine, to his values. That would mean Tali died for nothing. Emily died for nothing.

I wasn't going to let that happen. I would fight. I would fight and never stop fighting.

Before I could think any further, a shrill yell spread through the room, slightly muffled:

"Herobrine!"

I then realised that it was Clare who was speaking. I looked over to her; she was on her knees, trembling all over, and she looked like she was fighting not to pass out.

Oh my Notch. She's trying to control six people, and talk at the same time. What is she thinking? The strain . . . she could kill herself.

"What?" came the short reply. I then also realised that Herobrine was also on his knees, and he seemed to also be trembling.

"You can't do this. You're weak, and you knew that before you tried to move your soul into Zach's body. You don't have the power!"

"Don't," hissed Herobrine, "tell me I don't have enough power. I have enough power to do anything I want."

"No you don't," Clare counted, and she looked ready do die then and there. She seemed paler than moonlight. "You and I both know that you're too weak to create another Wielder. And you hardly have the strength to posses a human! You failed that gamble, Herobrine, and if you try and posses Nya - she's naturally stronger than Zach because she's a Wielder. You don't have the ability! You and I talked about this before this whole thing started!"

"You are wrong, Clare!" Herobrine shouted, but it sounded and looked painful. "I will posses Nya, get a body back, and then create an army of strong and obeying Wielders! I will wage war on Notch himself!"

"Give it your best shot," I yelled. Ethan kicked me in my side, and pain broke out where his foot collided with my skin, "You'll never be able to!"

Herobrine turned to me, and he laughed softly. "You don't seem to be in the position to sound intimidating, Nya."

"Neither do you," I retorted, and Ethan kicked me again.

Clare's voice rose again, and the shaking of it startled me. "Herobrine, don't push it. You don't even have a body."

"I will after I posses Nya." He stated, and his words sent both chills and panic both flying through me.

"Do you even have the strength to do that, though?" She asked.

He scowled. "Do you forget, Clare, that this is my realm? I draw energy and power from these very walls!"

Ethan, who had been in a silent and still statue above me, suddenly relaxed his posture and slumped a little bit - his eyes flashed from white to their normal purple. I could swear I saw confusion briefly cross in expression.

I looked over to where the others were - they were doing the same things. It was like lightning bolts across the sky; sudden, flashing, quick and random. Their eyes were changing colours from their normal one to the Wielder-possessed white, and both Emerald and Vent had dropped their weapons and brought their hands up to their heads.

"Get a grip, Clare!" Herobrine called forcefully from across the room, and my attention turned towards Clare. She let out a small grunt of pain and looked as though she were clinging onto life itself - she was going to kill herself. Going to actually kill herself.

A few seconds later all my friends stood stiff again, their eyes a harsh white. "Got it," Clare said weakly, and her voice cracked.

In a breath, Herobrine was standing beside Ethan. Although he still seemed like his normal sadistic self, you could see the strain etched into his features - lines in his skin, a slight desperation in his movements.

"Move," he directed Ethan, who stepped back immediately.

He leaned over me, and I balled my fists, preparing my flames for an assault.

He smiled.

"It was fun while it lasted, Nya."

Then, before I could blast him with fire, his hand rose above my head, and a bright, blinding light, like a white sun, was all I could see. Everything turned colourless and empty, dragging me in, and all I could think was:

I'm not falling asleep.

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*unedited, cos I wanted to update ASAP*

Before you can all lash into me, let me get a couple of facts straight.

I am having problems a lot worse than the average girl my age. So I'm sorry that Wattpad was of little concern the past month-and-a-bit.

Second - HOLY CRAP, GUYS. THE ENDING HAS BEEN PLANNED TO THE DETAIL. EXPECT THE NEXT UPDATE - WHICH WILL BE THE FINAL CHAPTER - TO COME VERY VERY SOON.

QOTD: How will it end??????

- Jazz

 (Also, just putting it out there again - see if you can head over to PaintersDaughterNet's YouTube channel. She has great vids, and she's also doing a series of the Wielder Chronicles as well!)