“You won again!” Jakob cried out in frustration. “How are you so good at this?”

“Just lucky, I guess,” Notch smiled. He had chosen Pit as his character, and even though he was typically viewed as a weak character, he had dominated Jakob for the tenth time.

However, his mind was on other things. In a video games, it was possible to go to a different world, and take control of people living in that alternate universe. But what interested him most was the ability to kill other things in this world. From behind the safety of a screen, he could slay all the mobs he wished. And if he died, it wouldn’t be a problem. He could simply play again.

“You know, Jakob… I’ve been planning to make a video game of my own,” Notch said.

“Really? What’s it called?” Jakob asked.

Notch thought about it for a moment. The title of the game he had just been playing summed up what the game was about perfectly. He had to choose the perfect name for his game, too. Since his world was called Minecraftia, he could use that as the name of the game too… no, it was too long; maybe he could tweak it slightly. Minecraftia. Minecraft. That was it.

“Minecraft,” Notch said. Jakob looked interested.

“So what do you do in this game?”

Notch studied Jakob’s face carefully, for any hint of doubt, any trace of suspicion. There was nothing. With a smile, Notch started explaining.

~o~O~o~

Outside, Celt was smiling too. Fae had done well. As well as being a tracking device, the ender essence had slowly spread through Notch’s system until, slowly but surely, it had reached his heart. The emotion of remorse had been eaten away by the ender essence first. Empathy would be next. After all his emotions had been destroyed, he would become a mindless zombie, a tool for Celt. Notch was the puppet, and Celt was the maniacal puppeteer.

Suddenly, Celt realised that Notch had disappeared. Celt saw him walking briskly down the street, and followed him before he went out of sight.

Celt watched as Notch slipped through the door to the building with the portal. He wondered how no-one had found it yet. However, he didn’t say a word as Notch stepped back into Minecraftia once more. He only silently followed him through.

~o~O~o~

Herobrine let the tears stream freely down his face as he pulled the last sword out. Although it was now late at night, he couldn’t give up. This was his final chance. The final chance to save a life.

As Scar’s body crumpled to the ground, Herobrine was struck by an idea. He felt stupid as he poured the potion of healing into the last survivor’s mouth. He had more than enough to spare; how had he not thought of this before? He could have saved everyone, instead of desperately hoping that by some sort of natural miracle they would survive.

However, there was no point dwelling on what might have been. Scar coughed, and Herobrine was relieved to see only air coming out of her mouth. The night lit up briefly as green code covered the wound in her chest, healing it completely within ticks. Scar sat up like nothing had ever been wrong with her, and looked at Herobrine, confused.

“What happened? Celt… he…”

“Shh, it’s fine. Don’t worry yourself about it,” Herobrine said gently.

“Where is everyone?”

“You… they didn’t make it. Celt had no mercy. You’re very lucky to have survived.”

“But… my friends…”

“Look, there’s no point in thinking about them. Your friends are gone now, and there’s nothing more you can do about it.”

“So I’m now the only Musketeer in the whole of Minecraftia?”

Herobrine almost nodded, but then he remembered Steve and Boo. They had already fit in so well that they felt like they were true Excalibloods. Well, Boo technically was an Excaliblood anyway, but she had lived in Musket for a long while anyway. He told this to Scar.

Her eyes lit up excitedly. “Where are they?” she asked eagerly.

“Well… they’re in Excalibur.”

Scar’s face fell. “Oh.”

“Would you like to join them?”

“What?”

Herobrine smiled at Scar warmly. “We treat them like our own. I’m sure the others won’t mind a new addition to our family.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Scar’s eyes shined brightly. “Then let’s get moving!”

~o~O~o~

“So you’re saying Herobrine is a murderer?”

“It’s true. I saw it myself.”

Steve looked at Core fiercely. The two of them were standing up, facing each other. Anger darkened Steve’s face, but Core remained calm, as always. “I already told you all the details. He speared my friend to the wall with an iron sword while she was still alive! Is that not cruel? Inhumane?”

Core simply stared at Steve seriously. “Even so, Herobrine is one of our strongest warriors. It is this ruthlessness that makes him powerful.”

“It’s because this isn’t someone from Excalibur, isn’t it?” Steve said angrily. It was more of a statement than a question.

“Steve, I know it’s your spawntown, but we have no responsibility for whatever happens beyond this village. You have to remember that Musket was the place that waged war on us. The alliance with Musket has been broken, Steve. You’re welcome to help them, but you will do it alone.”

“I can’t help them anymore! Herobrine’s probably killed them all by now. Heck, it’d be better for them if they’re dead – no-one should be forced to suffer such a painful death!”

“I agree,” came a voice from the door. Herobrine smiled wearily as he closed the door behind him. Next to him, Scar was also smiling despite her tiredness.

“But… I thought you killed her,” Steve gaped.

“Well, she looks very much alive to me,” Herobrine said.

“He saved my life,” Scar whispered.

“You were wrong,” Core said to Steve. Steve looked away, ashamed. “Next time, I hope you’ll be more loyal in backing up your brother.”

Core turned to Scar. “So you’re Scar. Good to meet you. So what are you good at?”

Scar shuffled around awkwardly. “Well, I’m blind in one eye, so it’s difficult for me to do many jobs…”

“How good are your ears?”

“I suppose being blind has improved my hearing.”

“Are you good with a bow?”

“Yeah, I’m all right.”

Core strode over to the door, revealing the sunrise. Steve hadn’t realised how tired he was until he saw the first rays of light. He had been up all night.

“Now, shoot that flower over there,” Core said, pointing at a red rose at least a hundred blocks away.

“That’s impossi–” Herobrine began, before Core slapped his hand over his mouth.

Scar narrowed her eyes. She got out an enchanted bow, and notched an arrow. Pulling back the string to her shoulder, she focused on the flower. Then she fired.

The group ran out into the sunshine to look at the shot. The arrow had severed the rose at the stem, and embedded itself where the flower used to stand. “That’s one way of picking flowers,” Steve muttered, picking up the rose and twiddling it in his hands.

“You’re in,” Core said, and Scar cheered. “It’s your choice on where to stay. You can stay with someone else, or ask our resident builders to build a house for you.”

“Thank you so much,” Scar beamed. “So, can I move in with one of you guys?” she said to Steve and Herobrine.

“We actually live together,” Steve said. “And… all our rooms are full.”

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to find those builders,” Scar said, and ran off to knock on every single door in the village.

“I’m not a bad guy, Steve,” Herobrine said softly. Although he wasn’t looking at him, Steve knew it was meant for him. “I only kill when it’s necessary.”

“I’m sorry for doubting you,” Steve said bashfully.

“I’m sorry too,” Herobrine said. Steve looked into Herobrine’s eyes, hopeful. He turned to Steve with a smile, eyes warm. “Brother.”

~o~O~o~

Herobrine sat in front of the portal, unmoving. For some reason, he felt as if staring at the mesmerising surface would somehow force Notch to come out of it. This foolish idea wouldn’t come out of his head, but Herobrine didn’t mind. It was something to do while waited.

Occasionally, Steve came into the room, offering Herobrine something to eat. He would kindly accept, then get back to watching the portal while munching on some bread.

Many days passed, but Herobrine didn’t give up hope. He kept on watching, vainly hoping that he would come back.

Then he did.

“Notch!” Herobrine cried, and embraced his brother in his arms. He had missed his warm body, the feeling of having someone close to you. Although Steve was still precious to Herobrine, Notch had been there from spawn. The bond between them could never be broken.

“Brother… I have found a solution to my problem,” Notch said happily. Herobrine let go of Notch, his eyes wide. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or not about this turn of events. Herobrine had never expected for Notch to actually carry out this ridiculous dream of his, and although he was glad Notch was happy, he also felt sorry for the mobs. They had never done anything wrong, and Herobrine still couldn’t see why Notch hated them so much.

“I am sorry, but I must go back as quickly as possible,” Notch said suddenly, and once again, Herobrine was left standing in front of the portal, all alone.

~o~O~o~

“Ready to release it?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Notch had finally done it. He had created a gateway to another world; his world. Now that he was finished, it was time for him to release his game to the world, and his dream would finally be realised.

He had made the player all-powerful, able to create blocks and destroy them at will – and kill mobs without suffering any damage. After some research, Notch had found that people didn’t want to get killed often, which was a shame.

What? Notch shook his head, trying to remove the sadistic thought. It startled him that he had actually thought of it.

Notch let Jakob take care of the uploading process. Despite his genius ideas, Notch still had no idea what he was doing in this world. But for now, all he had to do was sit back and wait.

~o~O~o~

For the first time in ages, Herobrine felt like he had no worries. His brother was safe, and Celt seemed like just a distant threat, more like a dream than reality. He breathed in the cool morning air. Life was good.

Herobrine heard someone running towards him. Runnel. He was panting heavily.

“What’s wrong?” Herobrine stuttered, panicked.

“People… are disappearing,” Run said, before collapsing. Then just like that, he vanished in a flash of code. Herobrine was unsure what to do next. He heard Core shouting, and ran towards the centre of the village. People bustled around anxiously, while Core shouted for silence, trying to make his voice heard over the frantic chatter. Herobrine noticed that as well as Runnel, Drop and Jan had disappeared. This was the first time he had ever seen Chaff cry.

“Remain calm!” Core yelled. “We can’t do anything about it, so don’t worry about it!”

This only made everyone even more agitated. In the midst of all this chaos, Herobrine was strangely calm. One name was in his head:

Celt.

Since I'm entering this story into the Wattys, it would be greatly appreciated if someone could make a trailer: a short animation, perhaps, of some key moments in the story. And maybe a cool voiceover. My own voice isn't exactly the best voice to narrate, so if anyone has a decent mic, please let me know!

Fanart on the side is by MattDoesMC!