A/N Alright! So, the plot bunny didn't leave me alone, even after I lost interest The Darkness Within. So ta da! You're welcome.

This story is more about what if there wasn't a Witherstorm, but an outbreak of Withersickness? (And yes, I drew inspiration from Raintag's fanfic All That Remains.)

And yes, you'll get to see some Formido in this.

Enjoy!

EDIT: I do not own any of the characters or settings in this story! Everything (except my OCs) belong to Telltale Games - or what's left of it anyways. . .

"What's going on?" Jesse yelled over the chaos of EnderCon. People were screaming in panic, all of them running away from the convention. Whatever caused this much mass panic, Jesse mused, couldn't be good.

"I don't know!" Olivia's head was swiveling wildly around, taking in the scene. "Where's Axel?"

Her question was answered when, a moment later, Axel called, "Jesse! Jesse? Where are you?!"

Jesse's head snapped towards the towering male, and he ran over to the burly boy, Olivia in tow. "Axel! Do you have any idea what's going on?"

The burly boy shrugged, seemingly nonchalant, but Jesse could see he was clearly on edge; he continued glancing back over his shoulder, the source of where the people were running from. "Beats me, dude."

Petra skidded to a stop next to them a heartbeat later, her eyes darting around. Sweat covered her forehead. In the light of the torches, her face was a pasty pale color. Her grip was strangling the hilt of her golden sword.

"Petra!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Oh, we're so glad you're okay," Olivia breathed out, her shoulders slumping with relief.

Petra's eyes flashed with relief when they landed on them. "You too."

"And…" Olivia looked over Petra's shoulder, her eyes widening. "Lukas?!"

Jesse followed the curly-haired girl's gaze. Sure enough, there the blond was, his eyes widening at the sight of his rivals. "Hi," he greeted timidly, raising his hand.

Jesse felt one of his eyebrows shoot up, but he shrugged, deciding to worry about it later.

Axel, however, wasn't so keen. "Why is he here?" he demanded Petra, sounding a little more than angry.

Petra shrugged, though Lukas was the one who answered. "Do you have a problem?" he asked, a hint of testiness in his voice.

Axel scoffed. "Yeah I do, you stuck-up, arrogant jerk."

Jesse tuned out their argument because something, or someone, had gotten his attention. "Gabriel!"

Leaving his friends, he ran up to the diamond-clad warrior, skidding to a stop in front of him. Gabriel was looking torn between stressed and fear, his grasp tight on the hilt of his diamond sword. "They're here," the dark-skinned warrior breathed out, his eyes wide.

"Who's here?" Petra demanded; Jesse didn't realize until she spoke that she had snuck up behind him.

"How did this happen…?" Gabriel muttered, his eyes darting around, sweat rolling down his face.

"Gabriel." At this point, Jesse's patience had snapped. He grabbed the warrior's arm. Gabriel flinched, but Jesse was past the point of apologizing. "What is happening?"

Jesse's stern voice seemed to snap Gabriel out of his fearful daze, summoning back the fierce warrior they all knew. Gabriel looked down at the two teens, his face so serious that Jesse couldn't help but feel a flicker of fear in his chest.

"Wither."

Beside him, Petra sucked in a breath sharply. Jesse glanced at her and then back at the warrior. "Come again?"

It was Petra who spoke, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "Wither, Jesse. Wither sickness."

That's when it hit him. Jesse looked over at the redhead, whose eyes mirrored his own fear. Jesse fought down a surge of panic. If Petra was this scared…

Nothing much can scare Petra.

Jesse turned back to Gabriel, shoving down the fear. This feels all too familiar. "How many people?" he demanded.

Gabriel's eyes had returned to their fearful daze from before, but at Jesse's voice he turned back to him, his eyes sharpening with clarity once more. "Too many." His grip was now strangling the sword as his eyes darkened. "And the Bureau of Quarantine is here," he growled.

"What are they going to do?" Petra demanded.

Gabriel turned back to them, his eyes void of that spark he had once held. "Bomb this town."

Jesse felt horror surge within at his words. He chanced a glance towards Petra, whose face had gone stark-white.

Then Gabriel turned back towards the venue of the keynote. "Get out of here," he hissed, turning back to them. His eyes were dark, indicating that what he was saying was not a joke. "Find the rest of the Order." He pulled out an amulet, the trademark of the Order, and handed it to Jesse. "The future lies in your hands now."

He turned, pointing with his sword towards a giant, intricate temple that was far from the town. "Over there is my temple. The inner chambers are built with obsidian. They should be able to resist the bombing raids. Once there, a Nether portal awaits. Take the railroad tracks, which should lead you to the Order's temple."

"What are you going to do?" Petra countered, her voice hard with a challenge.

Gabriel's grip tightened. "Stay here and do whatever I can."

Jesse suddenly noted, dully, that Axel, Olivia, and Lukas had joined them when Gabriel was telling them about the Bureau of Quarantine and were staring at the warrior with horror.

With a yell, Gabriel charged back into the venue of the keynote.

"What do we do now?" Lukas broke the silence by asking.

"Whoa whoa whoa, you do not get to ask that!" Axel sneered.

Lukas crossed his arms. "Why not?" he asked, hostility in his voice.

Jesse stared at the amulet in his hands, his mind whirling. Why him? He was a nobody, a loser, an outcast. Why him, out of everybody, would Gabriel the (freakin') Warrior tell him to find the Order? He lifted his eyes to look towards the venue, where Gabriel had disappeared. He felt this indescribable tug to go in, to help the people get out.

He also had a very good idea of who was behind this outbreak.

Jesse thrust the amulet into Lukas' hands. The blond started, staring at the suspender-clad teen.

"Take it!" Jesse snapped. "You heard Gabriel. Get out of here, and go through the Nether!" He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out the flint and steel he had earlier, tossing them to Olivia. He turned to Axel. "Take care of Reuben."

"What will you do?" Olivia asked, aghast, as Axel and Lukas were looking as if they thought Jesse had lost his mind.

Jesse drew his sword. "Say hello to an old friend," he growled.

"Jesse," Petra interjected, putting a hand on his shoulder, "you aren't going in there. I am."

Jesse shook the redhead off. "Petra, you know as well as I do that this outbreak isn't normal." His voice sounded oddly dark, even to him. "I need you to protect them-" He waved a sword over at Axel, Olivia, and Lukas, who were staring at him in disbelief. "-as they're running."

Petra stared at him with hard eyes. "And you don't need protection?" she asked sarcastically.

Jesse cast a glance towards the dome. "I know what we're up against," he countered. "If what I suspect is right, then I'm the only one who is able to stand up against him."

With that, he leapt up the stairs, two at a time, ignored his friends' protests, and charged straight into the dome.

Inside, it was havoc. People who Jesse could see were infected were curled up in pain, scrunched in on themselves while those who were not yet infected were running around, not knowing where the exit was.

Jesse hollered over the chaos, "Over here!" and gestured towards the open doors. He was nearly swept off his feet by the stampede. He rushed still further in, running into a black-haired, long-bearded man with sickly-green robes, the one who had scammed Petra out of a diamond

The man started, then scowled. "You again?"

"Sure," he rushed to respond. "Get out of here!"

The man stared at him, an odd expression on his face. Jesse scowled. "Wither sickness outbreak?" A thought suddenly popped in his head, and he glanced over the man. "You're not-?"

The man grunted. "No."

Jesse shoved the man. "Then go! Get out of here!"

Without hesitating, the man turned and fled out the doors.

As he stood, evaluating the situation, Gabriel ran right into him. "Wha-?" The dark-skinned warrior glared at him. "You again! I thought I told you to run!"

"Not happening," Jesse grunted.

Gabriel glanced over Jesse's shoulder, his eyes widening with shock before darkening. Jesse followed his gaze, his stomach plummeting when he realized Petra was behind him.

"You too?" Gabriel growled sharply, a rumble in the back of his throat.

Jesse gave Petra a glare. "I thought I told you to stay with the others!"

"Not happening," Petra shot back, reminding Jesse of his same response when Gabriel had told him to run.

"Well, are they safe?" Jesse asked, just to be sure.

Petra nodded, her body tense as she scanned the area. "They left."

All the hair on Jesse's arms suddenly stood on end. At the same time, a rumbling in the dome seemed to indicate…

Gabriel raised his head, his eyes widening forebodingly. "GET DOWN!"

Jesse, on impulse, charged into Petra, pushing her out of the dome. Petra stared back at him, her face written with shock. "Jesse-"

She was cut off with an explosion that sounded from the roof. Rubble piled in front of the exit, blocking her from Jesse's view. He hoped with all his heart that she wasn't crushed by the rubble, that Axel, Olivia, Reuben, and even Lukas made it to the temple safely.

Dust swirled around as the roof caved in, plunging them into darkness. Jesse ducked, covering his head as he waited for something to fall on him, kill him.

Even though he could feel wood dust sprinkle lightly onto him, nothing slammed onto him anywhere, apart from a particular sharp edge of a wooden plank plunging into his arm. He gritted his teeth and rose from the debris. He rummaged through his inventory.

The bright light of a torch shone from his hand as he took in the scene before him. The roof had caved in, revealing the light of the moon shining down on them.

He looked over, and the glint of diamond met his eyes, the rest buried under a pile of stone and wood. "Gabriel?!" He ran over.

As he heaved loads of stone and wood off of the warrior, he was chanting, "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't-"

A feeble cough greeted him. Jesse's eyes scanned the pile, locking onto Gabriel's. His eyes were wide with pain, a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth. "J-Jesse," he wheezed.

Jesse began digging the warrior up with renewed vigor. With a last heave, he threw aside the giant stone slab that was crushing Gabriel's torso.

What he saw nearly made him throw up. His armor was coated with blood, all of them seeping from under the warrior's body.

Jesse stared at Gabriel. "Gabriel…"

Gabriel grimaced. "Jesse," he gasped out. His hand shot out and snatched Jesse's arm, his grip surprisingly strong, and pulled, forcing the brunet to lean in.

"Listen carefully, since I don't-" Gabriel winced, his breathing coming in fast and shallow. "-don't have much time. You must find the rest of the Order. Ivor… Ivor can find a cure."

"Ivor?" Jesse asked, confused. "Who's Ivor?"

"You will know," Gabriel wheezed. His eyes began glazing over, his tight grip relaxing. One breath. Two breaths.

"You can't go!" Jesse cried.

Gabriel looked at Jesse with sad, dark eyes. "I'm…sorry." He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Three breaths. Four breaths.

Nothing.

Jesse suddenly realized he had stood and was making his way over to the blocked exit. His world was imploding around him, the world darkening until there was nothing left, not even the stars that dot the sky.

Gabriel's dead.

"As will you be," another voice, gravelly, echo-y, and dark resounded, sounding behind the male. Jesse yelped and whirled around, coming face-to-face with glowing white eyes.

"Brine," Jesse snarled, drawing his sword.

"Herobrine," Brine corrected.

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Not much of a hero if you ask me."

Br-er, Herobrine's eyes glowed menacingly in the dark. "Not much has changed, has it, Formido?"

Now Jesse flinched. "I don't go by that name anymore," he shot back, trying to hide his emotions behind a dam.

"No?" Herobrine drawled. "How disappointing."

"What do you want?"

Herobrine recoiled from Jesse's growl. "Me?" he asked, innocently putting his hands over his heart. "What makes you think that I want something?"

"You're the one who started this outbreak," Jesse accused.

Herobrine, much to Jesse's suspicion, didn't protest. "Yes, that I did."

"Why?"

"Why?" Herobrine's eyes glowed brighter. He stepped towards Jesse. "Why?"

Another step. "So that you will suffer the same as I did."

Another step. "It wouldn't be enough to just destroy you."

Another. Herobrine's eyes glowed brighter than ever with dark rage. "I want you to suffer slowly while watching your entire world die."

Another step, putting Herobrine right in front of him. "Starting."

He yanked Jesse's right arm, the one with the cut, outwards. The shock of pain nearly made Jesse pass out. A whimper bubbled from his throat, but Jesse pressed his lips against it. Why does it hurt so much?

"With."

The white-eyed man yanked Jesse's sleeve up.

"You."

Jesse stared. In the moonlight, his blood gleamed a dark purplish color. The veins in his skin were purple, extending outward from the cut. Even in the silver light, he could see his skin was a pasty-pale.

I'm infected.

Jesse yanked his arm away, brandishing his sword. "It doesn't matter," Jesse snarled. "I'll end what you started right here, right now!"

Herobrine tilted his head. "Careful, Jesse. I'm not the enemy here."

Jesse paused, staring at him with confusion. Rage bubbled within him when he tilted his head up and saw the planes of the Bureau of Quarantine flying overhead. "Why you little-"

Herobrine grinned, his eyes taunting. "Have fun, Formido."

All instincts screamed at Jesse to move! Jesse cast his glance up and saw a TNT heading straight towards him. He should've moved, should've done something, anything, but all he did was stare, transfixed in horror, as his death literally fell towards him.

He didn't have enough time to even scream when darkness swamped him like a tidal wave, snuffing out the moonlight and the stars.

Only Herobrine's eyes remained alight.