Just cuz. This is what the main character's hair looks like.

Decided to go back through the chapters and give them official names, besides just "a" , "b" , "c" and so on. XD

Also, potential trigger warning (includes depression stuff) up ahead.
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     Turned out there were a LOT of things to learn about the secretive Steve. He was really only known for occasionally popping into villages to rescue the citizens from danger, mostly when there was another village rescuer in need of help. He was like the IlLusIVe hero of the heroes. Not easy to predict, and almost IMPOSSIBLE to track! Turns out, a lot of this was because he never stayed in one place very long. The house I had been nurtured back to health in was apparently just one of his MANY houses scattered about.

     For a few weeks, I followed this man around as he traversed a plethora of different biomes, mined for treasures in different caves -- something he was surprisingly bad at -- and met up with many old friends of his along the way. I felt like a mere added weight to him; an extra load on his back. He assured me, though, that I was no burden to him. Slowly, as I was able to help him in return and learn a fraction of this man's plethora of knowledge, I did feel a little more in place with my supposed uncle...

     There was still this nagging fear. Desire, you could also call it. Sparky was still away. After a month of aimless nothing had gone by, I was beginning to feel a little restless. Steve had promised he would help me find him, but, as the days dragged on with little attempt to actually help other than to keep me from striking out on my own, I began to wonder if he was just trying to stall me as long as he could... If he was, I couldn't really blame him.. after all, entering the Nether alone was pretty close to suicide! Going after Herobrine for some cat was worse than wishing death upon you and your entire family!

     But, Sparky was more than just a cat. He was the only thing I had left... Steve would never understand this, though. He just wouldn't.

     "Hey, why DO you have so many houses?" I asked the man as I followed suit behind him along a windy trail. We were climbing over rough terrain. Land of the billy goats. Dangerous only if you were stupid. As the wind whipped around us, pushing against mine and Steve's large backpacks, the man waited a moment to answer. At the time, we were on our way towards another one of Steve's houses, which he said now was less than five hours away.

     "Works well with my lifestyle." The man answered simply. I figured so. "Plus, it's always nice to have a place nearby I can direct weary travelers or homeless families to on a last minute's notice."

     "Hm. That's nice.." I commented. We continued trekking on, fighting the wind as we made our incline along the rough terrain. Our huffs of hot air were the only things escaping our mouths for another full hour or so. I was glad Steve wasn't one of those people who was awkward to be around when neither of us had anything to talk about.

     My foot misplaced on a little pebble as it slid down onto the natural path, nearly becoming the cause of a sprained ankle. Thankfully, though, I... oh so gracefully, caught myself in time. The same happened up ahead with Steve, except he had a lot more than just one pebble coming his way. My eyes widened when I saw an entire goat, white and covered in thick fleece, ram my -- potential -- uncle right in the ribs! I gasped as the man fell right before my eyes. Thankfully, it wasn't a drop-off, but it sure was a heck of a steep decline; and with the momentum Steve was rolling at, he may as well be falling off a cliff! I kicked the goat out of sheer petty revenge, quickly following it up by actually doing something productive: chasing after the fallen savior of many.

     The rocks were sharp and it was a challenge to keep a quick pace while also without tumbling down myself. Eventually, I thought I may just have to take that risk and run with all my might, because my dear 'uncle' was headed straight for an ACTUAL cliff!

     He fell in, screaming in terror when he realized there was no longer a surface of ANY kind under him! I screamed too, full well knowing I could have done more to save him. I held my breath when I too reached the edge of the cliff. Panting and wide eyed, my invisible irises searched far and wide for Steve. And just when I began to feel another shred through my heart-

     A speck of blue splashed from under the white water current... Did I mention the cliff lead down into a river? The man desperately grasped one of the large boulders, fighting surprisingly well against the rapids. He looked well enough. I took that as my sign to climb down there to help him out. There was a little rocky edge along the sides of this river, though they weren't easily accessible. Luckily, I knew how to get around. I climbed down the rock climbing wall as quickly as one can go without falling! Steve yelled for me, or for anyone else, to come and save him. His pride was gone. Now, he was just a helpless survivor. When his grip released from one rock, he simply struggled for the next. Each time, he could hold on to that rock less and less. I just hoped his arms wouldn't completely go out by the time I finally got down there! My fleet planted themselves on solid ground. I raced down the river's edge to reach Steve, still not quite sure what my plan here was.

     I decided jumping over rocks and simply pulling him out was the best course of action at the time. Stupid, I now know. My arms reached down for his, hands grasping a firm hold of his wrists. Slowly, I began to pull his arms off of the rock.

     "No- no-no, wait!" Steve attempted to warn me. His arms lost grip completely...as intended. What was unintended, however, was the sheer strength of the roaring water all around us. Steve was swept away in an an instant. And I, with the stupidity of a five year old, didn't let go.

     I fell in after Steve with a splash. The water was frigid, and the strong current scraped me constantly against rock after rock. The river was mockingly shallow! I could have stood up in it if the water wasn't such a mighty force. Now it was Steve trying to reach ME. I was struggling a bit more, spitting up earthy water like it were fresh air! He too was stuck, but at least he had a hold of his surroundings and seemed to know what he was doing. I, on the other hand, had never personally been swept away by a strong current before... This was new for me!

     Eventually, Steve reached me and grabbed my hand. It wasn't much; probably hindered us even; but, it gave me the reassurance that at least there was a decent chance of us getting out of here alive. ...Our escape really wasn't that climactic. We just held tight for a time until the river widened, the current slowed, and Steve and I were able to swim to shore. Where we finally surfaced, there were still the tall walls of natural stone on either side of the river, but at least they were shorter now. Ahead of us, within this little space was a convenient little oasis consisting of some dirt, grass, and about seven oak trees. I and Steve fell onto the bank happily. Our skin was absolutely covered in bruises and our muscles felt like useless jello, but, it was amazing the beating we were able to take...in order to make it. It hurt to smile, but it was worth it...

     What started in a smile, slowly turned into a chuckle from both of us. Hearing each other's joyous exhales only filled us with even more joy. It wasn't long before the two of us were laughing like maniacs, laying on our backs over smooth stones, clutching our aching chests.

     Eventually, we got up and started a fire. The whole incident had likely stripped an entire day from our schedule, so we decided to just camp the night here and redo tomorrow what we had done earlier today. Maybe then, no goats would attempt murder and we'd finally be able to reach home base. Steve set up the fire. I set up a little makeshift canopy -- half a tent -- out of nothing but sticks and leaves... At least it would protect us from the wind.

     Our clothes were still SOAKING wet when we sat down again, each chilling to the sound of our own silence as the minutes glided on. Suddenly, Steve spoke up.

     "Oh my gosh.. You have a gash in your arm, don't you?" A little worried, my 'uncle,' leaned in closer to get a better look of this bloody wound which had gone almost completely unnoticed at this point. Looking down, I saw a lot of blood building around my elbow, but, it didn't look too bad.

     "We're both covered in cuts, man! What makes this one any dif-"

Ripp!

     "..fff..er...ent..." Before I was even able to finish, Steve had pulled out a handy little pocket knife and started cutting off a strip of his purplish blue pants. The newly exposed skin on his shin was noticably paler than on his arm, like he never wore anything but pants. As I expected, there were many little fresh cuts and bruises gained from the rapids. But, there was something else too... Hiding beneath all of that rested the not so subtle rows upon rows of scars. They weren't normal, either. No. They weren't even naturally caused. My childlike eyes stayed rudely fixed on the part of the man's exposed leg as he prepped the strip of cloth for usage by ringing the water out and hovering it over the fire. Before he noticed me, I turned my head away quickly.

     An uncomfortable silence rested upon us as Steve took to wrapping my arm with care. I thanked him by simply mumbling, my eyes drawn to the warmth of the hot flames. For a while longer, an uneasy feeling sat at the back of my throat, urging my mouth to open and speak words. At last, I did.

     "You've saved so many people... You know that, right? You're loved." I spoke quietly, barely rising my voice over the crackling fire and rumbling river water.

     "...Huh?" Steve's head lifted, his blue eyes curiously peering into mine. Then he, as if just remembering, dropped his head down to his lower leg. "Oh..."

     "Sorry.." I whispered sheepishly, hoping I didn't make him uncomfortable or anything..

     "No. It's alright... Those are old."

     "O... Well, I'm glad you are feeling better..." I then sealed my lips, though so many more questions tried their hardest to pry them open. We sat there for a still moment, my uncontrollable eyes continuing to glance at his leg every now and then. Hopefully, with my pupils nearly impossible to see now...he simply wouldn't notice.

     Steve sighed, tucking his exposed leg behind the other one as he sat criss-cross. "They marked the ones I failed to save... I used to do that as some form of closure. However...it never helped. So, I eventually stopped. But, not before both of my legs had been scarred permanently..."

     "I'm...sorry...you ever felt the need to do that..." Was pretty much all I could think to say. The man huffed, almost a chuckle.

     "Yeah.. I was stupid back then though. Too young to realize what I was doing." He sighed, placing his chin on both of his hands. I sat to his right, a couple feet away now. The warmth of the fire comforted our fronts while the cool of the night pinched our backs.

     "How young ..were you?.." I asked genuinely. I had imagined him as nothing but an adult, it was a funny concept to imagine him as a kid.

     "Oh... About sixteen when my adventure began." He answered plainly. I nearly gasped. Would have actually gasped had I myself not grown up doing all kinds of crazy things from a really young age as well. "I know... Young. My brothers and I.... though.. We used to explore together when I was even younger, before...you know."

     "Wait, so are you hinting that Herobrine became evil when he was only SIXTEEN?" Picking up on the subtler details, my eyes widened.

     "Well, yeah, technically.. I guess. He had been slowly going insane, though, since he turned fifteen... Heh..." Absent mindedly, I nudged the small purple potion further into my bag, which sat on my lap. "At his core, though... He really wasn't a bad guy..." Steve's demeanor had completely slumped by then. I began to wonder if I should try to cheer him up. I wasn't necessarily the best at brightening the mood, but it was worth a shot to try.

     "..How did-"

     "How did he become evil? Mm.. everyone asks that... Truth is, I'm not exactly sure."

     '...I was going to say how did the chicken cross the road, but this works I guess.' "I- uh-h.. How so?"

     "I wasn't...there. Only Mar- Notch knows, and.. he rarely ever speaks of it, much less explains what happened. All I've gathered is that Brian was killed..? Or something? By some creepy monster with white eyes. I can only assume the creature for some reason then used Brian's body to make what we all now know as Herobrine."

     "Wait, so does that mean he doesn't have memories of when you were younger??"

     "O-oh no, he does!... Which is what really confuses me... I usually...just don't think about it, though..." Seeing Steve was looking a little unsettled, I leaned against the log behind me, not intending to bring it back up. "...Out of all the suffering people I've seen, though... none were quite like my brother."

     "Huh?"

     "The only thing I can vividly remember from well, the cave incident, is the sight of Brian's fallen body. Skin blown off of him. Blood everywhere- I just..." I could see a visible shiver course over him as he adjust led his legs under him a little. Showing empathy, I placed my hand on his shoulder, my own horrid memories of my fallen mother slipping back into the corners of my memory.

     "It's okay..." I began to whisper, seeing tears now brim the usually stoic but kind man's eyes. "You...you couldn't... You did your best."

     "But did I??" Steve's tone snapped with a hint of hostility. "Mark told me to leave to get help, and I did, even though I knew there was no one out there to help! My foolish self just kept on hoping when I SHOULD have stayed and helped another way! And now Herobrine exists, because I was a foolish child who thought that with enough hope anything can happen!" Steve fell quickly, his back arching over the log behind him. His agitated hands rose to rub his heated forehead. I leaned a little further away, not yet sure what Steve was like when emotional. "Ghaa!"

     "Listen! Listen- listen- listen- listen-" I caught his attention, making Steve curl forwards again, attempting immediately to play it cool after that outburst. "We- we all have moments like that, not just you!... Like me!...for instance. I wish... I wish I had been able to save my mom and best friend, but I couldn't. So, I just have to... I dunno. Not blame myself for their death? Oh, silverfish, I'm not making any sense." Then, I felt a warm hand rest on my shoulder. My head turned, seeing Steve trying to comfort me now. Only then did I realize I was curled in a near ball, pulling at my hair absent mindedly. "Guess...we're on the same boat...huh?" I chuckled. Steve did as well, a soft smile on his face.

     "Yeah...that we are... I thank you for your understanding. It is..hard, to open up like this to other people... Guess it makes it easier for someone like you, who knows the pain already.." I just nodded, knowing exactly what he meant.

     "Well, anything else you want to share while you're at therapy?" I chuckled jokingly. Steve just barely hissed a small, strange laugh.

     "You, uhh, you ever heard about why all of us went into that cave to mine in the first place?"

     "I, uhh.. For treasure..?" I assumed the obvious.

     "Eh... Sorta. We had a...village. All of us lived in it for the majority of our teenage years. But then, you know, a band of people came in and.. crashed everything to the ground." My eyes widened slightly.

     "Woah- wait! Did they..? Did you save them?!"

     Hesitation suddenly filled Steve's entire body, like part of him wanted to tell the truth while the rest urged him not to.

     "...Yes." His tight jaw struggled the word out. "B-but.... Yeah, it was hard.." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, turning away from me now. I wasn't quite sure what this meant, but, I could see Steve was returning again to how he usually was. I turned to face the fire as well. With a sigh, I thought through the last few days again. Through the past month.

     "Are... Are you trying to keep me from saving my cat..?"

     Steve turned his head to me slowly. "...We need to get prepared, first. If it really was my twin who stole your cat.... I've seen Herobrine since we were kids.... He's nothing like my brother once was..."