Commander Zenith shifted uneasily where he stood before the throne, his gaze focused firmly on the cloaked man that stood on the left-hand side of the Nether Queen's throne.
"Your majesty, you know who that is, right?" He finally asked.
"Of course I do." The queen looked almost offended that he'd asked, gliding across the room to meet him. "He's not exactly subtle."
"Ah..." Zenith turned his attention to her, lowering his voice. "Then you know he should not be here." Herobrine could, of course, hear him perfectly well.
"And what exactly is the point of being queen, commander, if I cannot do what I want?" The queen fired back. "I am well aware of his actions, both centuries ago and in recent days, and I have determined that his place is here - not locked in a cell, or cast out into the furthest reaches of the Overworld. Now-" The queen turned away, heading for a side door. "If you will wait here, I must convene with my men for a moment."
"Yes, your majesty." Zenith murmured as she retreated. It was not until she left his sight that the black-winged valkyrie turned his attention back to Herobrine, who met his gaze quietly. Neither of them spoke for a moment.
"Does Y/N know you're here?" Zenith finally asked.
"No." Herobrine lowered his gaze to the floor. "And I ask that you would not tell her."
"Why not?" Zenith arched a brow. Herobrine winced, unsure how much of their relationship the man already knew.
"I'm sure that you're aware of her... attachment to me." He said slowly. "If she knew where to find me, I could become a distraction."
"Hmm." Zenith regarded him quietly for a few moments. "Very well." Herobrine's shoulders slumped in relief.
"Thank you." Again, they lapsed into silence. It stretched on for quite some time, and Herobrine was beginning to consider an excuse to slip away when Commander Zenith addressed him again.
"Why here?" The question was... not accusatory, but wary, and Herobrine looked back to find the valkyrie's icy-blue eyes boring into his own. "You helped take down a ring of necromancers operating in our own lands, right under our noses- if you'd wanted to stay in the Aether, I'm sure you could've. And even barring that, you could've easily gone back to the Overworld. But, no- you decided to go and pledge your allegiance to the place to which you were ordered to never return." Those blue eyes were narrowed now. "Why?" Herobrine exhaled softly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"I..." He began quietly. "...came here to petition the queen to lock me up." He paused for a beat. "She refused."
"Oh." The commander frowned, brow drawn in a perplexed expression. "Why?" Herobrine shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"No- I mean, why did you turn yourself in?" Zenith clarified. Herobrine looked away again.
"I thought it would be best for everyone." He said softly. Y/N's face came to his mind unbidden, and he willed it away. "That the Nether would live in fear of me no longer. But..." His eyes flicked back to Zenith's. "The queen had other ideas."
Zenith was watching him quietly with an unreadable expression. "I see."
"Commander!" The queen's voice was accompanied by the creak of the side door, and both men turned to find her majesty standing in the doorway. "Join me."
"Yes, your majesty." With a small bow, Commander Zenith made his way over, vanishing through the door and leaving Herobrine alone in the throne room.
**
Herobrine glanced down at the head pillowed against his shoulder, wondering once again if Y/N had fallen asleep.
She had been sleeping when Alex woke him, too tired to stay up and watch any longer, but by their guide's testimony it had been a struggle for the valkyrie to get to that point. Y/N was groggy when he'd eventually woken them, but had done her best to be attentive as he removed the scraps of his cloak that he had used to bind her wound. The potion had worked as intended, and her wound had healed nicely, leaving only a small scar from the cauterization. Still, Herobrine had opted to carry her for another day. The rest would do her good.
They had made it out of the deltas about an hour ago, and now skirted along the edge of a crimson forest. Obviously, the danger of being attacked by hoglins was greatest within, but there was a chance that the queen had come here seeking supplies so they stayed close to look for tracks. Herobrine was silent as he walked, listening attentively for any signs of danger... even as it was getting increasingly difficult to focus with Y/N's breaths brushing against his neck.
Every day brought them further into the Nether, ever deeper into the uncharted wilds. Their chances of finding the queen grew slimmer by the day, he knew that. The chances of coming across something that would lead them to Sirben... were slightly higher.
The Nether was by design a dangerous place, filled with fire, steep drops, and hostile creatures. Herobrine again wished that the queen had never gotten it into her head to come along. However, she had with her a native, as well as two valkyries. Between the three of them, he was reasonably confident that they would be able to keep her safe from the environmental hazards. Sirben was another story.
Cunning and cruel, Herobrine had no doubt that Sirben would leap at the chance to capture the queen of the Nether - he had threatened Notch, to take out the mortal queen would be child's play. Whether he would kill her or turn her into one of his disgusting pawns, Herobrine wasn't sure, but he knew that the danger to her majesty's life would decrease significantly if Sirben was removed from the equation. So, he watched.
Alex bobbed along at his side, her green eyes flicking over to the forest every few moments. As much as he had been hesitant about her age and lack of experience, Herobrine couldn't deny that Alex was a very competent young lady. He was glad to have her along.
From a little ways off, Herobrine heard the crunch of footsteps and stopped in his tracks.
Almost immediately, Y/N was lifting her head and blinking around. Not asleep, then. Alex stopped as well, looking from him to the woods.
"What?"
"Someone's nearby." Herobrine muttered, adjusting Y/N in his arms as he looked around for cover, but there was none to be found. If they were attacked, they could flee - more difficult with Y/N's injury, but he was sure they could manage. The sounds, however, didn't bring to mind the aimless lumbering of a hoglin. They sounded humanoid. It could be the queen, but so far into the Nether it was more likely...
Two piglins appeared at the crimson forest's edge, beady eyes narrowed as they regarded the strangers.
Herobrine's heart skipped a beat, but Alex was already stepping forward to address them. "Hello!" She called, lifting a hand in greeting.
"Good day." One of them grunted in response, eying Herobrine where he stood with Y/N. "What brings the three've you so far out?"
"We-" Alex started, but Herobrine cut her off.
"We're here on the queen's business." He shot Alex a warning look, carefully lowering Y/N to her feet in case they needed to fight. "Looking for an escaped convict." Not every tribe of piglins was loyal to the Nether queen.
"That so." The piglin's gaze remained on him for a moment before shifting to Y/N. "She hurt?"
"I was." Y/N answered for herself, resting a hand over the large bloodstain on her robes. Her other hand remained on Herobrine's arm. "Though I've all but recovered now."
"By what?" The other piglin, female, spoke up. Y/N glanced at Herobrine before responding.
"A hoglin."
"In the Tear?" The female piglin pressed onwards. "The great gorge, some miles east of here?" Y/N nodded in confirmation. "So you were the ones that killed them!"
"We were." Herobrine jumped in again. "We encountered the first one in the ravine, and, seeing that it was already injured, we decided to finish it off. The second one caught her by surprise."
"Good!" The piglin clapped her hands together. "We'd been pursuing them for some time- those beasts were strange ones, not deterred at all by the warped 'shrooms around camp. Put up a fight, too. Two've our number had t' go back on account of injury. Can't say I'm not disappointed I didn't get the kill myself, but we're all a lot safer without those things runnin' around causing havoc." Herobrine nodded, but he was frowning.
"I'm afraid you may not be out of danger yet," He said. "Those two were not the only hoglins we've come across who were not at all bothered by warped mushrooms."
"We were attacked by three of them in the middle of a warped forest," Alex piped up. "They drove us off course." The piglins, hunters from the looks of their dress, exchanged a glance.
"That's no good." The man said. "You outta come back t' camp with us. Highlord Vex'n would want to hear what you've seen."
"I'm afraid we cannot stop." Herobrine promptly turned them down. "Our task is important, we cannot delay-"
"Herobrine," Y/N murmured, and he dropped his gaze to meet hers. "We're nearly out of food and water." She pointed out quietly. "And we may not have another opportunity for some time to replenish it." Herobrine hesitated, but found he didn't have an argument for that.
"Our supplies are beginning to run low," He said, looking up to the piglins again. "If we come with you, would you be able to provide us with more?"
"Sure," The woman said easily, exchanging a glance with her companion. "Least we can do for takin' down those brutes."
"Then lead the way." Herobrine took a step towards them, struggling not to let his wariness show on his face. He had, of course, spent the last forty years becoming re-accustomed to living with and around piglins, and them with him. Would news of his allegiance to the queen have spread this far into the wilds? Did they even recognize him?
"This way," The woman beckoned them over, turning back towards the crimson forest. "Camp's not too far." Nodding for Alex to follow, Herobrine placed a hand over Y/N's on his arm and followed the piglins into the woods.
**
"So, we have an animate skeleton made of charred bones, and a town full of people who are crumbling into ash. Seems like a pretty clear link to me." Tekno tried to hoist himself up onto the ledge, struggled for a moment, then extended a hand upwards. "Help me up, would you?" Meryl sighed and grabbed his hand.
"It's possible," She said as she hauled him up. "But it's just as possible that they're entirely unrelated. Don't you think it's a little farfetched to assume that a single creature could do that much damage?"
"Well, maybe there's more than one." Tekno shrugged.
"Either way, we can't do much with our conclusion regardless of what it may be." The queen told them from where she stood waiting with Commander Zenith. "Other than avoid that thing, and anything else like it."
"Her majesty is right." Zenith agreed. "Hypothetical fighting prowess aside, Sirben's zombies were one thing - how do you kill something that's made out of living bones?"
After stocking up on food and supplies they'd found in the desolate piglin town, the queen and her companions had continued their trajectory into the Nether wastes. Despite the encouragement that finding fresh food had offered them, Meryl still had little hope that they would encounter anything of use. Each day only brought more of the same, more heat, cliffs, and reddish rock.
Y/N, where are you?
"I, for one, don't think bones would be that hard to deal with." Tekno commented as they crossed the plateau. "My axe would make short work of 'em."
"Yes, but at what point would it be considered dead?" Zenith asked. "You might hack off one limb, or the skull, for that matter, only for the rest of the body to continue coming after you."
"Yeah, but, from what N/N told us, zombies die just about the same as humans do." Tekno pointed out.
"Zombies have hearts and organs still." Meryl cut in.
"But they don't use them," Tekno countered. "When we cured you, you weren't breathing, and you didn't have a heartbeat. Or any brain function at all, from the looks of it." Meryl blanched and her hand flew instinctively to curl around her chest.
"David," Zenith reprimanded him. "Sore subject." Tekno had the decency to look at least a bit ashamed.
"Sorry, Meryl."
"Look!" The queen caught their attention, saving Meryl from having to come up with a response. Coming up to her side, Meryl followed her gaze off the edge of the cliff and found a blackstone-paved road.