Chapter Nineteen

Herobrine's Transformation

Lightning raged through the Nether, lighting the hellish realm like the sun. It was hard for the monsters to believe that the Nether could get any hotter, but that's exactly what happened as the bolts zig-zagged across the reddish-brown landscape.

Kokuyoseki stood under a shelf of netherrack, a worried look in his eyes while Kyan paced back and forth under the same shelf of red material. Other monster generals waited there as well. Their master had instructed them to take a break from destroying the Overworld and come back to the Nether for something very important. None of them knew what it could be.

Herobrine had teleported to each of them to give them the news, then left. Normally that wouldn't have been strange, except this time Herobrine had looked different. His eyes had not been glowing white, rather they were dark gray, and his whole demeanor had seemed a little off. . . almost nice.

He had assured them it was temporary when asked about it, and said he would be back to normal next they saw of him, but he would not say why he had taken on the disguise. The deputies knew he could change form, but they were still taken aback by it. None of them had ever seen Herobrine actually change in any of their lifetimes, it was like a legend come to life for them.

That, and the pressure of leading forces against the Overworld, was likely the cause of their unrest and anxiety. Witnessing lightning in the Nether made it no less nerve-racking. It didn't storm in the Nether. It never had, from the time it was created until now. Kokuyoseki seemed the most bothered by it, however.

"Kyan, would you stop pacing?" The young Enderman said, taking his purple eyes away from the lightning outside of their shelter for the first time.

"Only when you stop worrying," the hardened commander replied.

"I'm not worried," Seki retorted.

"Seems like you are," Kyan stopped pacing and faced the younger Enderman.

"Maybe you're the worried one, Kyan; after all, you can't stop pacing," Seki said, a calm returning to his voice as he regained his act.

"Are you challenging me, Enderman?" Kyan roared, a flame in his dark purple eyes.

Kokuyoseki held his gaze, their equal rank as generals allowing their eye contact.

"No," he said evenly.

"Good, because Herobrine will be here soon and he wouldn't want us to fight, would he, Kokuyoseki?" Kyan taunted, backing away.

"You would know, Kyan," Semi muttered.

"What did you say?" Kyan hissed, coming inches close to the shorter Enderman. It wasn't really a question, more of a challenge.

The other deputies quietly backed away from the pair of dark figures as the tension grew between them. They could sense a fight, and they knew enough not to get in the way of fueding Endermen.

"I said, you would know," Kokuyoseki stared up at the senior Enderman. Even though Seki was still tall, like all Endermen, he was not yet full grown. His young age and high status enraged Kyan like nothing else.

"And why is that, Obsidian?" Kyan spat, using Kokuyoseki's translated name as an attempted insult; because Endermen only used their birth names with each other.

For his answer, Seki stared straight into the dark soul of his enemy and smiled, "Because you are Herobrine's yes-man. Anything he tells you, you do. You have no independence, only a slave's heart."

The reply cut a deep wound in Kyan, and he wouldn't forget the hit to his pride, not for all the ages of the world. The elder Enderman opened his jagged mouth, and a terrible scream ripped through the Nether, torn from his throat like a demon. Then he hit Kokuyoseki with black fists. Semi tried to block, but he had been disoriented when one of Kyan's hits found their mark on his head.

The other generals watched on, uncaring. It was not their fight, nor were they going to make it theirs. If one of the Endermen died in the fight, then so be it.

Seki fell to the ground, panting.

"You should not have started this fight, Kokuyoseki," Kyan said, walking closer to finish it. He raised his fists.

"Stop!" Someone shouted. Kyan spun around. Behind him was Herobrine, his eyes cold and stark white once again, just like he had said they would be.

"My king - " Kyan started.

"Do not talk to me," Herobrine snapped, waving Kyan away as he walked over to Seki. He looked down at the young Enderman on all fours, coughing.

Kokuyoseki looked up, a red splotch on the side of his face.

"Get up, you fool," Herobrine ordered. "We have things to do. There's no time for senseless querrels."

"Yes, sir," Seki got up, brushing the red dust of netherrack from his skin, but red areas remained against the black, and those were not from dust. When Endermen get hurt, their skin turns red in the wounded area. It eventually fades away, however, and by the time Herobrine turned to the other deputies, most of the red splotches were gone. There would be no reminder of Kyan's blows. None but the memory of them.

"Quit cowering in the corner and get over here," Herobrine told the other generals, lifting his hands and beginning to craft blocks of obsidian out of thin air and code. White energy mirroring the lightning began to flow out of Herobrine's hands. As it left his fingers, it changed into a deep black with purple flecks, then it became square, and this a block of obsidian was formed.

The blocks continued to multiply until there were fourteen of them forming a rectangle. Herobrine then struck the hollow middle with lightning, and the portal was complete.

"Go," Herorbrine pointed to the portal. "I will teleport and meet you all on the other side."

The generals began to file into the portal, each one disappearing behind the undulating purple curtain in the middle. Zombies, Skeletons, Blazes, Creepers, all types of monsters were given the high rank of deputy. But not all were Herobrine's favorite. That privelege was gifted to the Endermen, chiefest and greatest among Herobrine's creations. Now he turned his attention to the only two here at the moment.

"Kyan, Obsidian, watch them and keep them in line," Herobrine instructed. This usage of Kokuyoseki's translated name was not unacceptable because Herobrine was not an Enderman.

"Where are we going?" Obsidian asked.

"To the border with the Overworld and the Far Lands. It is time Minecraft witnessed true power," Herobrine said, darkness in his heart as he disappeared, leaving the two rival Endermen to chaperone the other lower deputies.

Herobrine appeared on the top of a small hill overlooking the edge of Minecraft where the Overworld ended and the Far Lands began. This is where it will happen, he thought. Finally, I will have my revenge. Finally, Notch will fall. The evil triumph brought a smile to his face.

An obsidian portal at the base of the hill lit up, and his generals began flowing out. Kyan and Kokuyoseki appeared beside it, having teleported from the Nether like Herobrine had. The two had no love for each other, but the disputes of his followers were not something Herobrine was concerned about.

His forces hadn't gotten this far across Minecraft yet, so things were still normal and green.

Life still flowed freely here.

Soon that would all change. With every passing moment the Virus could feel more and more power course through his code-filled veins. Herobrine knew the destruction his wave caused was only a temporary vision of the future he would make for this miserable place known as Minecraft.

The wave had been sent out as a warning, a sign of what was to come; but it also served a purpose. It had scanned all of Minecraft as it traveled, gathering bits of information that would transfer into Herobrine as powerful code, making him near-invincible with the kinds of things he would be able to do.

He had waited so long - so long - for this, and now today he would receive the bounty of all his hard work and maddening patience. Even now, in the distance beyond his generals, he could see it, feel it: A line of gray on the horizon, coming ever closer.

The Endermen were the first to notice after Herobrine. Their black heads swiveled to take in the entire surrounding area, but there was no gap in the fast-approaching wave, and suddenly it clicked for them. Before the Endermen could teleport away, it hit them all, striking them with weakness and filtered vision.

The wave was the strongest it had ever been, and now felt like forcing wind. It howled as it passed its thick curtain over them. Grass whipped around and tiny stones embedded themselves into the skin of the generals.

A Creeper hissed in pain while a couple of Blazes coughed out burnt foliage from the nearby trees. But Herobrine stood his ground, his back to the wave as he watched the Far Lands.

Eventually the mini tornado faded and continued on. The deputies of Herobrine hurriedly collected themselves and stared in awe as the wave passed over the border of the Overworld and dissipated into the Far Lands beyond.

The atmosphere changed, and lightning struck all around, spasms from the newly darkened sky. A cry split through the thick air, and Herobrine went down. White light burned around him on the hill. The monster generals were all watching, wondering what would happen next.

Then all was silent. The lightning went away with the burning whiteness around Herobrine. The sky, however, remained dark, only slightly changed from the storm clouds disappearing. Herobrine was still for a long moment, causing the generals to wonder if they should check on him. But then he arose, slowly, his back still facing them.

He looked down at his hands, stretching his fingers out and then clenching his fists, testing the new feeling inside them, inside him. He chanelled the power he felt from his soul into his hands, and fluorescent black and white light began flowing along his arms.

He turned around to face his deputies. They gasped as they witnessed the new stark white of Herobrine's eyes. They closed with such intensity it almost hurt to look at them, and they lit the area around him like white torches

Herobrine stretched his arms to the sy and looked up, sending streams of black and white energy into the reddish-brown atmosphere. Distant thunder rolled and rain began to pour. Kokuyoseki teleported to a nearby tree just tall enough for him to stand under. Kyan quickly followed. The tops of their heads were red from the liquid. A storm was on the horizon.

Herobrine then turned his attention to the earthen part of this world. Gathering his powers again, he aimed for the ground near the other deputies. A bolt of white energy shot from his hand and exploded into the dirt like TNT, forming a massive crater.

That was too much for one zombie general, and he began to cry out, "He's mad! He'll kill us all before this is over!" Then the undead creature attempted to flee, heading to the Nether portal.

But Herobrine reacted too quickly for the slow-moving zombie, and lightning summoned by the Virus struck the creature. The monster was dead in seconds, disappearing with a moan and leaving behind charred rotten flesh.

"Any more objections?" Herobrine challenged.

No one said anything.

"No? Good. We're doing this, whether a few of you want to or not."

Suddenly a witch came out of the Nether portal. "Herobrine, I have news from the Wither Skeleton spies!" She exclaimed, wasting no time on explainations and seemingly unphased by Herobrine's transformation.

"What is it?" The Virus snapped.

"There's a village to the north-east that is preparing for your assault on the Overworld," the witch reported, the tone of her voice showing how proud she was to deliver this important news.

"You don't say," Herobrine smiled. "Well, it's the perfect time to test out my new powers, and on the perfect test subject, too: Ill-prepared Villagers."

He laughed, causing the deputies to break out in a nervous chuckle. The Endermen were silent.

"What are you waiting for?" Herobrine suddenly burst out. "Get going!"

All the monsters at the base of the hill began to busy themselves. Kokuyoseki shared a wary glance with Kyan.

"Let's go reap some souls," Herobrine smiled and the fluorescent black and white light energy flowed into his hands and along his arms. Then they began to march upon the Overworld, a succession of fear and death.