Abolish Herobrine

The Cloud Game

Five Years Six Months Three Weeks Ago

The Virus stopped trying to break free and just stood there sadly, looking at Notch from behind the powerful walls where Notch lured him to trap him.

"Brother... Forgive me. I could not help you."

His expression seemed so genuine, showing fear and also guilt. Notch could see the words, even though he couldn't hear them as security blocks now kept the Virus from interacting with surrounding world.

And then he screamed, falling to his knees and covering his face with shaking hands as the forces within the containment walls began to tear his form apart. Notch had to turn away, unable to witness the agony that that virtual being experienced. He felt strong sympathy for him, then, but could do nothing to help him.

This memory bothered him, still.

Years had now passed since that day, but questions remained. If that Virus tried to destroy him, why did he say those words in the end? Was it really just him resorting to a psychological trick and manipulation? That seemed likely, considering how smart the Virus was and his own lack of memories at the time. Still, Notch couldn't help considering other alternatives of what that situation could have meant.

What if the real Herobrine really did believe that he was trying to save Notch from control of the humans? And that's why he attempted to take over the entire System?

In either case, he had gone too far and endangered innocents, both in their own world and the world of the humans. Notch couldn't tolerate that. And if he had to make the choice, he would have destroyed him yet again.

A bright beam of light fell directly into Notch's eyes and he irritably waved his hand, so a cloud appeared and blocked it high above.

"What is that?" New Herobrine's hesitant voice distracted Notch from his thoughts. Notch could not help a small smile.

"What?" He asked. White eyes shifted to Notch and the being pointed to the blue sky wrapping over their heads and extending far beyond their viewpoint on a cliff, at the edge of which they stood. Behind them extended a softly rolling grassy hill. For a moment, Notch didn't understand.

"You saw what I did?" He asked next. At the uncertainty in the program's look, he brought up his hand and formed a simple equation of code, which should have remained invisible to the human eye until actualized into the Game matrix. White eyes turned to the changing shape that hovered above Notch's palm, shifting from a cube to a sphere, to an irregular polygon with shimmering, white edges.

"You can see Code." Notch concluded, keeping the rising mix of emotions from his tone so his voice remained utterly calm.

"Here. Hold it." He suddenly cast the form to Herobrine, who instinctively held up his hands and... managed to catch the thing, by instinct or luck grasping the threads that kept it stable. For a moment, he stared at the simplistic shape with curiosity, which soon turned to confusion. Then he looked up and found Notch studying him with a strangely cold, evaluating squint.

White eyes opened wide as uncertainty returned and Herobrine looked at Notch with a slightly frightened question.

"I'm just testing your abilities. You have not done anything wrong." Notch calmly reassured and saw Herobrine's tensed body relax a little. White eyes returned to the piece of code suspended in between his carefully held hands.

"Try to change its shape." Notch directed. Obediently, the being complied, or tried to, as its dark brows lowered into a frown of concentration. An expression of anger appeared next, as the code defied his will.