Desensitized (Herobrine X Hacker!Reader)

Part 6

"Heh," handing a new hot bowl back to you, "That part is easy. I took in the new Alex and corrupted Steve as if they were my own. Herobrine, at least at the time, preferred I continue to call him Steve. He hated the idea of letting go of the little remaining of his former self. This is why I personally still call him Steve..but you don't have to. For the most part, he now goes by Herobrine."

"And what about Alex?"

"At the time when she was first created she appeared as only a small 3 year old. Steve appeared around 11 or 12. I say "appeared" because quite honestly, time gets pretty fricken when you attempt to compare it with the outside world!" Null laughs. "Alex now... I don't quite know where she is anymore. I raised her as best I could, but, she always longed for more... Eventually, one day...she just...left..without warning. I haven't seen her since, but I check her heart-rate every now and then to make sure she is still alive. That reminds me." Null uses his hands to spawn a box of code in front of him, clicking around on it a few times before the image of a heart monitor, showing a steady rhythm of lines and squiggles, appears. Null sighs before turning it off. You stare in amazement as he shrinks the small code covered plane into oblivion.

"You can....do that..?" You muse.

"Mmhm. I appear to be the only one, though." Immediately, you show him up by pulling up a paper thin window of text just like his. "...I appear to be mistaken." A smile sounds. You grin back at the mouthless being.

"Wait so what happened to Herobrine, then??"

"Again, sadly, that is a sad yet predictable tale... The boy had lost his childhood, put lightly. He tried for years to regain what he had lost. I even helped him bridge code so he could at least return to Java... That was where...sadly, he was discovered for the first time... The internet went insane. They hunted him down to no end... I...tried to protect him. Sadly, though, I couldn't..." Null's shoulders drop slightly. As do yours.

You knew how that felt. The painfully recognizable inner torment of the failed parent...

"I...can relate..." You chuckle.

"Really?" ...You nod. "Hm... So anyways," He continues after seeing you had no intention to explain. "Steve eventually became used to the chase. In some twisted way, he turned it into a game as a coping mechanism of sorts. He started hunting the players in return, until, eventually, he had become the hunter. And, that is where he is now... I thought it was all fun in games for him. Yeah, he often relished in his role as the 'villain' but I allowed it simply because I thought it was all just an act... After seeing what he was willing to do to you, however... clearly not."

Alright, that was enough sad Null for you. You stand up and cross the hall, taking a seat beside the dark shadowy figure. Caringly, you pat his shoulder a couple times to comfort. His skin is cold. Not frigid or anything. More like the grey stones under and around you, which are unable to generate any heat.

"Hey, it's alright... If it helps you any, Herobrine didn't treat me terribly at least! Heh. He still offered me a bed to sleep in and three meals a day to eat... I was just too paranoid to accept any of those things." Though you smiled, you quickly saw Null's eyes widen.

"Wait, whatt!?" Null quickly stands, pacing in the little space his big form was given. "Oh, no no no no no... No!"

"Wh-what is it?!" You stand as well, mildly alarmed.

"I visited Herobrine in a dream last night! I- I didn't necessarily mean to, but since I came so angrily to talk about you, he took my coming as a threat! So now he thinks I am going to try to kill him!! Bu-but I never intended such a thing, especially NOW!"

"Wh-why not just visit him in another dream?!"

"You seriously think he would CARE?! For YEARS he has been suspicious of me! He is suspicious of EVERYONE! All he needed was my ONE sign that I might turn on him, and now is running with it having no intent to drop it! I could offer my very LIFE up and he wouldn't trust me!!"

"Oh boy... That is a bit of a problem.." scratching your chin.

"I know! And he already knows my weaknesses, strengths, and everything else about me! Not to mention he has specialized in the art of hunting! Ughhhh!! I should have just NOT talked to him last night!"

"Hold on! Hold on!... Now, I bet there has to be at least SOME way we can fix this! I- uhh- maybe just stay hidden..? I dunno.. Use some kind of firewall so he can't find your location as easily?"

"Ohh, if only! But Herobrine doesn't see the world as you and I! Nye, his look on the world is a whole lot more grounded. He doesn't see code. Instead, he feels it. He cannot write a line of commands. Instead, he pulls some strings in his mind until something happens. And he doesn't see firewalls either. He merely feels their presence and easily pushes through! In a way, he is both stronger and weaker than us! Messing with the code is mere instinct to him; he doesn't need a manual! But, at the same time, he does not see what we do; doesn't understand what we can... Hmm... Perhaps... Maybe we could find another way around this..? Something that maybe he can't feel or fight his way out of..?"

-------pov change-------

Herobrine rose above his quickly amassed armies with a smile. Armored and geared, they were ready. Herobrine knew it wouldn't be easy, but maybe, he could finally rid of the glitch even Notch himself couldn't vanquish. Null had dared turn against him?? The ONE person he thought never would?... Well, Null better wish he had never been created in the first place.

Because Herobrine was ready to hunt.

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(Oof. 8 month gap... Sorry, guys.)