**二十三 (Chapter twenty-three)
eng: The regret of being too late.
A/n: This book will be updated every week. Next update will be on October 8th.
~
A few weeks have passed since Wither's group has gone missing. Early every night, all of the mobs had but a little speck of hope that maybe— just maybe, their classmates would finally show up to class. That maybe they've decided to take a few weeks off to themselves.
Herobrine knew that this was far from the truth. He has been trying to teleport to them every hour of the night, yet no prevail. All of his students were starting to notice how distraught he was.
"Guys, you don't think that... That Herobrine's hiding something from us, do you...?" Zombie says to the rest of his peers as they head to class.
"I have a feeling that they're gone, guys...," Enderman mumbles in response. "I've tried teleporting to them for days, yet... It never works..."
"But... But that can't be, right? Maybe they're still alive! Maybe we just haven't searched hard enough!" Pigman says, seemingly determined. Enderman just shakes his head. "As much as I'd like to believe that, how would that explain why neither Herobrine or myself have been able to locate them?"
"He has a point, Pigman...," Ghast mutters in response. The mood in the classroom has been dismal ever since they went missing. The classroom had lost half of its students overnight.
The four students enter the classroom, almost instantly noticing the absence of their teacher. Herobrine was never late.
"..." The remaining students take their seats quietly. Unlike how they used to be, they didn't chatter or mess around.
A few minutes go by. Then an hour.
"Um... Guys? What's taking Herobrine so long..."
The four mobs decide to investigate. Enderman nods, knowing what he has to do. All four of the classmates link their hands together before closing their eyes, feeling the ground shift below them.
"The Nether...?" One of the students exclaim, "What's Herobrine doing here...?"
"Maybe he's found Wither and the rest of his group!" Pigman, as usual, was the most enthusiastic of them all. The other three classmates exchange glances before walking forward, looking for their teacher.
"Even if that's the case... Wouldn't Herobrine tell us? He wouldn't just leave us sitting in class like that!" Zombie had a point. Herobrine was always punctual and respectful to his students. Herobrine cared deeply for each and every one of his students.
"Didn't you teleport us to Herobrine, Enderman? Where is he?" Ghast asks, looking around for their teacher.
"Teleportation in the Nether is kind of weird. Every block in the Nether is eight in the Overworld, right? The same rule applies for teleportation. It's pretty much impossible for me to teleport to Herobrine's exact location. He should roughly be about... sixty-four blocks away from us." (A/n: Don't fact check this. This was completely made up for this story... It also ties into why Wither couldn't teleport to Creeper and Slime on his first attempt.)
"S-Seriously? Do you at least know what direction to go?"
Enderman shakes his head. "Sorry... I don't make the rules..." Zombie sighs. "Alright, then. I think we should split up."
"S-Split up? But Zombie... That's how Wither's group went missing in the first place!" The others don't seem to listen to Enderman, all agreeing with this plan and walking off in different directions.
"We'll meet back here in an hour!" Ghast shouts, "Don't worry so much, Enderman!" Enderman scoffs at his roommate.
"These idiots... I swear, if anything happens to them..." Enderman walks straight ahead, hoping that one of them are able to find Herobrine quickly.
~
Meanwhile, at the border between the Nether and the Lord's part of the Nether...
"Stand guard. The Lord has specifically instructed us to keep watch for intruders," The squadron leader instructs, his men saluting him. They've been standing there for days on end, making sure that no outside mobs come close to the border.
With the uprise of escaped criminals, the Guard was especially keen on protecting the border. The Lord was absolutely furious at the news of over fifty prisoners escaping in one night.
Some of the guards were starting to slack on the job, tired of keeping watch. Whenever the squadron leader would walk far enough away, some of them would converse and complain about the job assigned to them.
"This is ridiculous... Those prisoners are clearly long gone and the Lord is still asking us to patrol the area..." A few mutters of agreement.
Suddenly, from the distance, movement could be spotted. "General, I think... I think there's something approaching us!"
"Stand guard." All of the guards simultaneously draw their swords, ready to attack on command. As the figure started moving closer and closer, its shape made classifying what it was easy— it was a player.
"Not another one... Don't these players understand how dangerous the Nether is? Wandering around like they're in the Overworld..."
"...Strike it down. I want it dead." A chorus of 'Yes, sir!' rang out before all of the guards charged.
The general stayed back, not feeling the need to lead the charge. It was another measly player after all, a mere human that was unfortunate enough to walk this deep into the Nether.
Though, to his surprise, he was severely wrong. The human singlehandedly defeated all of the guards in mere seconds, leaving behind only their remains. The general stood there in shock for a few moments before coming to his senses and drawing his own sword.
"Who goes there?!" He bellows. The figure doesn't respond nor look as if he felt threatened. The figure walks all the way to the front of the border before turning around to face the general.
His eyes— if they were even considered eyes— lacked pupils and were void of any emotion. The general, now feeling a bit intimidated, backs down. The human didn't possess any weapon, but his stare was absolutely terrifying.
He walks straight up to the general and blatantly asks, "Have a few Overworld mobs crossed through the border recently?"
"If they have, they've already been exiled." It wasn't a complete lie, but revealing the truth would be considered a treasonous act. The human— or whatever he was— wasn't having it. His pupilless eyes glowed a fiery bright white. "I won't ask again. Have a few mobs within the past few weeks entered that side of the Nether or not?!"
Terrified, the general says, "Y-Yes, we've had an uprising of intruders within the past few weeks..."
"Bring them to me. Now."
"I cannot do that for you, sir. The Lord of our realm forbids—!" The human raises his fist angrily, clenching it. Pretty soon the general was in an invisible chokehold, suffocating and gasping for air.
"It wasn't a question. Try anything and your fate will be far worse than your subordinates." He releases the general from the chokehold, the guard gasping for breath as he nods. "Y-Yes, sir. Right away." The guard disappears to the other side.
As you, the reader, might've guessed... The said human is indeed Herobrine. Not only has he searched every nook and cranny of the Nether (this side of the Nether, anyway), he's also searched thoroughly through the End.
These past few weeks have been extremely stressful for him, and he's been unable to focus on teaching the rest of his class. He's determined to get to the bottom of this, not believing for a second that all four of his students died from this assignment.
He quickly recounts the splash potions in his inventory (the ones that he gave each of them prior to starting their adventure in the Nether) and notices that instead of the initial four that he had... He had five? How could this be?
Herobrine counts again. There were indeed five splash potions in his inventory.
"Impossible..." There was a glint of hope in his eyes.
"Herobrine!" Enderman pants heavily as he finally finds his teacher, "Are you alright? Everyone was worried about your absence, and-!"
"Enderman, what in the world are you doing in the Nether?"
"We came here to search for you, teacher..."
"We?" Herobrine repeats incredulously, "Are the rest of your classmates here as well?!"
"...Yes..."
"...Return with them back to class immediately. It isn't safe here." Herobrine wasn't ready to lose anymore of his students to the Nether.
"But, teacher, we want to help!"
"Enderman! You found Herobrine!" The other three students come running towards them.
"All four of you, back to class now. I will join you shortly."
"Herobrine, they're our friends! I'm tired of sitting around hoping that they'll walk into class someday!" Zombie exclaims.
"Yeah! We can help!"
"Students, as much as I appreciate the enthusiasm for finding your classmates, I must ask that you return back to the classroom immediately. It's unsafe here-!" The four students continue insisting on staying to help search for their friends. Any moment now, Herobrine was about to lose it.
"That is the human that took out all of our soldiers!" A shout is heard behind them. Not good, Herobrine thinks. "Enderman, teleport yourself and your classmates back to the classroom. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"But, teacher-!"
"Now!" Upon hearing the sternness in his teacher's voice, Enderman instantly teleports all of his classmates back to their classroom.
Herobrine pulls out an enchanted diamond sword. "Hopefully this fight won't be easy like the last."
~
Slime was brutally flung into the Overworld, screaming at the top of his lungs. Thankfully for him, his ectoplasmic body was able to withstand the fall. He lands face-first, groaning before hopping and landing on his feet (not literally).
"Where... Where am I...?" There was no one around, not even the prisoners that he escaped with. He was alone in a vast forest of trees, not but a clue where he was. Though a feeling of relief washed over him, knowing that he had successfully escaped that hell of a realm.
"I hope Skeleton's alright..." He hops off in a certain direction, unsure of where it'll take him.
A few hours pass. It's almost sunrise, though a spark of hope ignites within him as he spots a similar school. Though Slime wouldn't burst into flames upon touching sunlight, he still preferred staying indoors during the day.
Hopping inside the school, he enters the classroom. To his surprise, it wasn't empty like he expected— Enderman, Ghast, Pigman, and Zombie all lie on their desks, fast asleep.
"Guys!" He squeaks. Pigman stirs, groaning, "Herobrine, did you find them...?" The others follow suit, yawning and opening their eyes a crack.
"Oh, it's just Slime...," Zombie mumbles sleepily.
"..."
"W-Wait, Slime?!" The four students sit up simultaneously, fully awake.
"Miss me?" Slime asks cheekily. Immediately, the four students rush out of their seats and engulf their small friend in a huge group hug. "Dude, where have you guys been?! We've been so worried!"
"Ah, well..." The four students notice the uncertainty and hesitation in Slime's voice, immediately releasing him.
"I-Is something wrong? Where's everyone else?" Ghast asks.
"Wither and Skeleton are trapped in some scary realm in the Nether, and... And Creeper, he's..." Unable to finish his sentence, tears form inside of Slime's eyes.
"S-Scary realm? What do you mean...?" Ghast asks softly. To his knowledge, the Nether was just the Nether.
"It's a whole different part of the Nether... It's... Entirely run by wither skeletons. They threw Creeper and myself inside of a cage, a-and then Skeleton came to rescue us, b-but then..." Slime starts to weep quietly.
"Another part of the Nether? Why haven't I heard of it before...," Pigman mumbles.
"C-Creeper, is he..."
"Creeper's gone...," Slime confirms with a sob. The rest of the mobs also start to cry softly at the loss of their classmate, their friend.
"We can only pray that Wither and Skeleton are alright..." A teleport is heard at the front of the classroom. There stood their teacher. The teacher that always kept their spirits high during the lowest of times.
...Across his face was a despaired expression of regret.
"...Students, I... I have failed you all as a teacher."
~