Herobrine's Message (15 page)

“Oh, come on, noob, don't start with me. You know how much I can't stand sentimentality.”

“No, no, it's not that!” cried Stan, shaking his head as if he were trying to shake off a bug. “It's just . . . I have a question. About myself. And I was wondering if you could give me your perspective on it.”

“Well, sure, I can give you my perspective, noob,” replied
Sally, shrugging. “I mean, I can't guarantee it'll be any good, but you can try me.”

“Well, okay then. Hmm . . . how do I say this . . . Do you remember right before the Battle for Elementia, how you told me that I was special, and I was on a higher level?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well . . . what exactly did you mean by that?”

Sally paused for a moment, and a pensive look crossed her face. After a while, she spoke. “Well . . . to be honest, I'm not entirely sure, noob. It was just . . . in that moment, I felt like there was something about you. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but it seemed like, somehow, you were definitely on some sort of higher plane than the rest of us. And then, when you came up with that amazing speech off the top of your head . . . well, at the time that seemed to confirm it.”

“But the thing is,” continued Stan, talking faster now, “that you weren't the only one who told me that. During my training session in the Adorian Village, Crazy Steve implied that he could sense something like that in me, too. And then later, in the middle of the Ender Desert, Kat told me that she could feel it, too . . . it's like they felt I was some kind of chosen one or something . . . as if I was destined to defeat King Kev and become the president of Elementia. I mean . . . do you think that that's possible? Do you think that I might be
some sort of chosen hero or something like that?”

Stan looked at Sally expectantly, waiting for an answer. None came. Sally simply sat on her obsidian block, hand pressed against her forehead. Finally, after a full minute of silence, she responded.

“Well, let me start by saying this, Stan: no. No, I don't think that you're a chosen one, with your destiny written in the stars or any of that crap.”

The breath that Stan had been holding in gushed out of him in a wave. He wasn't entirely sure what to say next. Luckily, he didn't have to answer, as Sally wasn't done yet.

“That being said, I still believe that you're something special.”

Stan was confused. “But you just said—”

“Stan, let me spell it out for you,” Sally said slowly, turning to look him in the eye. “There are a lot of people in the world who are talented. There are a lot of people who are willing to work hard. And there are a lot of people who care about those who can't help themselves, and want to do all they can for those people. Most people have at least one of those qualities, and if you looked a bit, you could find somebody with two of those qualities without too much trouble. But Stan, let me tell you . . . it's extremely rare to find somebody who has all three of those qualities. And you're one of those people.”

Stan smiled. “Do you really think so?”

“Of course,” replied Sally, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “And I think that the thing that so many people see in you, Stan, that makes you stand out even more, is that not only do you have a ton of all three of those traits, but you also have a habit of influencing people around you.”

Stan raised his eyebrows. “What do you—”

“Oh, come on, Stan, look at your two best friends!” sighed Sally in exasperation. “When you first met Charlie, he had talent, and he wanted to help other people, but what happened every time he tried?”

“Well,” mumbled Stan awkwardly, “usually he would just end up too scared to be much help . . .”

“Exactly!” exclaimed Sally. “And what was it that finally forced him to buck up and fight for what he believed in?”

Stan scratched his head, forcing himself to think back to their quest across the Ender Desert all those months ago. “Well . . . I guess it was in the NPC village . . . when I made him face that Spider Jockey . . .”

“Right, Stan,
you
did that! You saw that he had potential for greatness, and you gave him the little extra shove he needed to turn into the amazing warrior he is today!”

“Well, I guess . . . I mean, I hardly feel like I deserve all, or even most of the—”

“And look at Kat!” Sally cut in. “I'm sure you remember
what she was like when you first met her, right?”

“Well, I seem to recall that she might have tried to kill me a little bit . . .”

“So you met up with this girl. She had the raw talent, and she was a fearless and hard worker, but her priorities were all in the wrong place. She was using all her potential for her own ends, just trying to claw her way up in the world and not caring who got thrown under the bus because of it. And do you know how she realized that she was wrong?”

“No,” Stan replied skeptically. “Do you?”

Sally scoffed at him. “Oh, give me some credit, Stan. You don't think that you were the
only
one I talked to during that training week before the Battle for Elementia, right? I talked to Kat and Charlie, too . . . come to think of it, I probably talked to Kat
more
than I talked to you! I was training her in dual sword fighting, remember?”

“I guess you're right,” replied Stan. It was amazing how many details of their campaign to take down King Kev he had forgotten during his last five months as president.

“I'll tell you, Stan . . . it was
you.
Do you have any idea just how much Kat respects you, not just as a friend but as a person? By taking her with you on your journey, even after she'd attacked you, changed her life, and you showed her by example how to be a better person who cares about other people.

“That's the reason that you're special, Stan. It's not any kind of prophecy, or destiny, or anything like that. Simply put, you're one of the best all-around people that I've ever met, and it rubs off on the people you know.”

As Sally finished her speech, she took a deep breath, let it out, and pulled an apple out of her inventory to eat. The two players sat there for a while in silence. But as the sun set on the infinite expanse of totally flat grass, a single tear of happiness rolled down Stan's cheek. All he had ever tried to do was be the best person he could be, and every once in a while, it was nice to know that he was doing a good job.

As the sun finally sank out of view, Stan stood up from his block.

“Thanks for the advice, Sally,” he said with a smile. “It means more to me than you know.”

Sally chuckled and looked up at him affectionately. “You know I meant all of it, noob. You gonna head back to Elementia now?”

Stan nodded. “This has been a great day, Sally, both in training and in talking to you. But I have to get back to my server now. My people need me.”

Sally smiled. “Do what you have to do. I'll call you back here tomorrow, okay?”

“Deal,” Stan replied. And with that, he turned his back to Sally, and looked straight into the eternal expanse of the
starry night sky. He took a deep breath, and before long, the words popped into his head yet again.

DISCONNECT FROM SERVER?

“Yes,” Stan replied out loud, and with a faint pop, he disappeared from SalAcademy.

Stan felt his body once again as he rejoined Elementia. The frigid air of the taiga was soothing to his skin, far more pleasant than the biting gales of the tundra. Stan opened his eyes.

All around him, the tall spruce trees protruded into the night sky from the snow-covered ground. Small hills of dirt topped with snow were scattered about the island. In the distance, a ring of ice expanded around the shoreline of the island, beyond which the azure ocean stretched forever until it merged with the starry night sky. And right in the center of all this, standing not two blocks away from Stan and looking him straight in the eye, was another player.

“Hello, Stan,” said Leonidas with a smile. “Glad to see that you're back.”

T
here was a moment of silence as Stan stared at Leonidas in disbelief. Leonidas looked Stan in the eye, praying that he wouldn't panic.

Then, without warning, Stan gave a shout of fury as he whipped a diamond sword out of his inventory and swung it as hard as he could. Leonidas just barely managed to leap out of the way as he felt a shockwave leave the sword and brush right by his head. He was forced to hop backward twice more to avoid the two follow-up attacks.

“Stop it, Stan!” cried Leonidas, raising his hands over his head. “I ain't gonna fight ya!”

But Stan paid no attention. He thrust the diamond sword forward, directly at Leonidas's stomach. He was forced to lean backward, his stomach just moving out of the range of the sword jab, but the pulse of Knockback energy that shot off the sword hit him squarely in the stomach, sending him flying backward. Leonidas landed with a thud on the snow-covered dirt right on the shore of the island. He glanced back up and saw Stan, flying through the air with sword overhead, on course to plunge it directly into Leonidas's heart.

As much as he hated to counterattack, Leonidas knew that he had no choice. With great agility, Leonidas rolled onto his back, and when Stan was over him,
he kicked his feet into the air and directly into Stan's stomach. Leonidas flew up off his back and landed on his feet, as Stan was launched backward and skidded to a stop on the ice surrounding the island.

“Stan, I refuse to fight ya!” shouted Leonidas again as Stan struggled his way to his feet, battling the slippery ice underfoot. “I just wanna talk to ya.”

“Yeah, well I just want to get home without running into any more Noctem troops. Life isn't fair,” grunted Stan, no mercy on his face as he sunk to one knee, driving his sword into the ice block he was standing on. The ice shattered with a crack, and Stan sunk down through the ice and into the water below.

Leonidas glanced wildly around the ice field, squinting to try to figure out where Stan had gone. In the faint moonlight, Leonidas saw no indication of where Stan was going to pop up next. Then, all at once, Leonidas noticed a dark figure directly under his feet, getting larger and larger by the second. Leonidas leaped back toward the island in alarm as a glowing diamond sword drove up out of the ice, missing him by inches. He jumped and leaped back and forth in desperation, narrowly avoiding the jabs of the sword that Stan was sending up through the ice.

Leonidas felt the crunch of snow under his feet, and realized that he had reached the island yet again. He glanced at
the edge of the ice, where Stan had burst out of the water and landed. Immediately, Stan's steely eyes locked onto Leonidas, and he began to sprint as fast as he could toward Leonidas. Unfortunately, he had forgotten what he was standing on; Stan slipped on the frictionless ice blocks under his feet and tumbled to the ground. Leonidas seized the opportunity to turn around and flee back onto the island.

“Come back and fight, you coward!” bellowed Stan in outrage, but Leonidas sprinted across the snowy dirt of the island, weaving his way through the grove of spruce trees.
I need to talk to Stan,
he thought to himself, his mind shifting into strategy mode.
And if I'm going to do that, I need to get myself somewhere where he can't attack me.

Leonidas ducked his way behind a particularly wide spruce trunk, and he glanced over his shoulder. Stan was prowling through the forest in his wake, lunging behind every tree in search of Leonidas. Leonidas was relieved. He had a minute to catch his breath and figure out a plan before Stan was upon him. He turned to look straight ahead and found himself staring directly into the eyes of an Enderman.

The monster was standing about fifteen blocks away from Leonidas, but he could feel the creature's purple eyes piercing into him like knives. Leonidas's heart had stopped dead in its tracks at the sight of the dangerous mob, but it now began to race in panic as the Enderman's mouth opened,
revealing its jagged black teeth. It began to tremble in preparation for attack. Slowly and calmly, Leonidas notched an arrow in his bow. He knew that if he were to shoot an arrow at the Enderman, it would just teleport out of the way. He had to wait until the monster moved of its own volition, and when it was upon him, fire the arrow at point-blank range.

Leonidas's eyes began to water. He didn't dare look away from the Enderman, or even blink, lest the monster vanish and catch him totally off guard. Leonidas held the eyes of the open-jawed, shuddering Enderman for another half a minute. The monster refused to let up and, finally, he could take it no more. He blinked for a split second, and when he opened his eyes, the Enderman had vanished.

Leonidas cursed under his breath, and he slammed his back against the tree, bow raised. He glanced around in a frenzy, trying to see the entire area around him at once. The Enderman was going to reappear any second now, and he had to prepare for anywhere that it could possibly . . .

Without warning, Leonidas felt a pair of hands wrap around his throat. As he coughed and sputtered in a panic, Leonidas saw two long, spindly black arms out of the corner of his eye, reaching around from behind the tree. Leonidas kicked and struggled to no avail as the black hands pressed harder into his throat, beginning to pull him up the tree trunk by his neck. Leonidas could hardly see nor feel anything anymore, besides
an overwhelming feeling of helplessness as the demon choked the life out of him. Then, from somewhere in his collective instinct, Leonidas became aware of the arrow still grasped in his right hand. Without thinking, acting purely on base impulse, he drove the arrow into the Enderman's hand.

The monster gave a shriek of alarm and vanished, dropping Leonidas to the ground with a thump. Leonidas gasped for air, and the world seemed to be going in slow motion as his senses returned to him. Then, all at once, the Enderman was standing above Leonidas, drawing back its black hand, still stuck with the arrow, in preparation for the final blow. Leonidas loaded his bow as fast as the warped lethargic reality around him would allow, and just as the slow-motion punch made contact with Leonidas's left arm, the arrow entered the Enderman's chest.

Although the slender black body fell to the ground and faded to nonexistence, Leonidas had to bite his tongue to refrain from uttering a holler of agony. The Enderman's punch, imbued with the monster's dark magic, had burned a hole in Leonidas's leather armor, and the pulsating pain coursing through his arm was unfathomable. As he clenched his teeth nearly to the point of cracking, Leonidas attempted to move the arm. Only by the highest willpower imaginable did Leonidas not bellow as indescribable pain engulfed his immobile limb.

Taking a deep breath, Leonidas grabbed the tree trunk with his good arm, pulling himself to his feet and wincing as his left arm swung back and forth limply.
Wow,
Leonidas thought to himself, cringing.
I guess they really
did
make the monsters' AI better on the last update.

“You've got five seconds to tell me if there're more soldiers with you.”

Slowly, Leonidas turned his head to the left, an exhausted look taking to his face. There, pointing his diamond sword directly at Leonidas's heart, stood Stan, his face ugly with hatred.

“Two seconds left,” Stan spat out in disgust.

Leonidas sighed. To be honest, he was really sick of finding himself in these situations. No matter where he went, he could never catch a break. Never once had things ever gone his way, and he had always walked in the worst place possible. He was tired of it. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . it would be worth it to just let Stan run him through, and allow all his problems to just end . . .

“Answer me, you monster!”

The shout jolted Leonidas out of his trance. His eyebrows creased, and adrenaline shot through his body.
No. I've come too far. I'm too close to give up now.
Leonidas gave a shout of fury, which Stan clearly wasn't expecting. The distraction allowed Leonidas to raise his good arm and knock the sword
to the side. He desperately searched for a plan, when his eye fell upon a turquoise orb lying in the snow.

Finally,
Leonidas smirked to himself.
Something goes my way.

Leonidas snatched the Ender Pearl from the ground, pitching it fastball style toward the limb of a tall spruce tree as Stan recovered. Leonidas closed his eyes, and before Stan's sword could harm him, Leonidas felt himself be sucked through the vacuum of space and land on the cushioned, snow-covered leaves of the tree.

Leonidas paused for a moment to catch his breath as Stan looked around wildly in confusion. In the moment of peace, the adrenaline began to drain from Leonidas, and the stinging pain in his arm became more and more prevalent. Leonidas gritted his teeth and realized that now was as good a time as any to talk to Stan.

“Hey, Stan! I'm up here!”

Stan whipped around to face Leonidas, and their eyes met. Instantly, Stan's befuddled face morphed into a scowl, and, with no words, he drew a bow.

“Don't, Stan!” bellowed Leonidas, his heart skipping a beat. “I already said, I don't wanna fight ya!”

“I'm not interested in anything you have to say, Leonidas!” grunted Stan as he notched an arrow and aimed at Leonidas's heart.

“Well, fine then! Kill me! But I refuse to fight!” shot back Leonidas. Taking a deep breath and praying that it wouldn't come back to bite him, Leonidas extracted his bow from his inventory and, before Stan could react, he pitched it down off the tree. It landed on the snow right in front of Stan's feet. Stan stared at the weapon.

“What're you playing at?” growled Stan, his brow creasing further as he glared back up at Leonidas.

“Nothin',” replied Leonidas, sounding much braver than he really was. With no bow in hand, he felt almost naked, and incredibly helpless. “I just don't want to fight you or your friends ever again.”

“What're you talking about?” spat Stan.

“Exactly what it sounds like, Stan. I quit the Noctem Alliance already, and I wanna join you and fight for Element City.”

“Ha!” laughed Stan bitterly. “There's no way you're gonna lower my guard by lying . . . where're your other guys? Are they getting ready to ambush me? Are they watching now with Invisibility Potions?” Stan's eyes flickered around the snowy island nervously before returning to the now angry Leonidas.

“No, Stan, I'm bein' serious! I was wrong to ever follow anythin' the Alliance said! They're a bunch of no-good, vile murderers with twisted ideals and horrible methods. I never
believed in anythin' they said, and now I've broken free and want to fight for ya!”

“Give me one good reason that I should believe you, and not shoot you right now,” Stan spat out in disgust.

“Well, how's this?” Leonidas replied, thankful that at least one good thing had come out of the fight from a few minutes ago. “All the mobs in the game are fightin' for the Alliance now. If I was still with the Alliance and had guys with me, how come I got attacked by the Enderman just now?”

Stan's mouth opened for a moment, then closed. He looked confused, and Leonidas grinned, realizing that he had gotten the point across.

“Well . . . that's . . . ,” sputtered Stan, “. . . maybe . . . that was just a rogue Enderman that you just so happened to come across! I mean, come on, Leonidas! You expect me to believe that you realized overnight that you were fighting for the most evil organization in the history of Minecraft?”

“Course not!” cried out Leonidas in indignation. “Stan, I told ya this the last time we met, and I'll tell ya again . . . I didn't
choose
the Alliance, the Alliance chose
me
! The only reason I
ever
joined those evil cretins is 'cause I had to! When I was a noob, they threatened my family and said that if I didn't join . . .”

Suddenly, Leonidas found that he couldn't continue. Although he was sure that he was about to win Stan over,
it finally occurred to him who he was talking to. Stan was well known for being very friendly toward, and extremely protective of, the NPC villagers. If anybody would know what Leonidas so desperately needed to, it was him.

“Stan . . . the moment that I quit the Alliance,” Leonidas continued slowly, his voice trembling with emotion, “was the moment . . . when they told me they had attacked the NPC Village. I never did hear . . . what the casualties of the attack were, before I left. So . . . I'm so sorry, but I have to ask you . . . did Moganga survive?”

Stan's eyebrows, which had been slightly raised at the sheer levels of poignant sadness in Leonidas's voice, now shot up, and his mouth hung open. How did Leonidas know Moganga by name?

“Um . . . no, she didn't . . .”

“Then what about Ohsow? And Leol? And Vella?” Leonidas was desperate now to hear the news that even one member of his family had survived the raid. “Stan . . . what about Mella and Blerge? What about their sons?”

Stan couldn't believe his ears. Leonidas knew the names of the villagers? How was that possible? And Stan recognized the tone of Leonidas's voice as strikingly . . . sincere. And . . . if that was true . . . could it possibly mean that Leonidas really . . .

Suddenly, Stan flashed back to his fight with Leonidas in
the Jungle Base. During that fight, too, Leonidas had spoken with true emotion in his voice, trying to make it seem like he was an actual human being with feelings . . . right before he had sunk an arrow into Charlie. This was clearly just Leonidas playing another mind game with him. Surely there was some other explanation for how Leonidas knew the villagers' names. Stan was about to release the string of his bow and let the arrow fly when, from the other side of the island, he caught the tone of faint whispering.

Stan whipped his head to face the source of the noise, instinctively sinking to his knees to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. As he glanced through the tall, spruce-wood tree trunks, nearly black in the midst of the night, he didn't see anybody. Then, without warning, a dark figure emerged from behind one of the trees. Without hesitation, Stan drew an Ender Pearl from his inventory, and, praying he wouldn't be seen, he pitched it upward into the boughs of the nearest tree. A second later, Stan found himself comfortably perched in a hollowed-out den of leaves in the top of the tree. He looked up and realized that he could see Leonidas, crouching up in another tree.