Binds That Tie

Chapter 1: Reminiscence and Revenge

A/N: New story! Woot! Anyways, I've had this idea for a while but I decided to go ahead and start on it(I still have like 8 more Minecraft stories I want to do). Unfortunately, Hero's Bane is on a small pause because I have a small writer's block and there is a part that I haven't decided if I am going to add it in yet. Even worse? I have a writer's block on 57 Under as well. MineCrash, my mind just crashes at the thought. I haven't given up on the stories but I wanted to go ahead and post this just in case I don't finish up the next chapter of H'sB this week which is unlikely. Also, sorry if the first chapter seems a little dark but it gets better as the story progresses. Enjoy.

…

Steve panted heavily as he paced to the side with his eyes locked on orbs of pure glowing white. He could see his own breath from the chilling air of the cool night, the warm fog from his mouth floated upwards and dissipated in the bright light of the full moon in the middle of the sky above. He huffed loudly as the cold air filled his aching lungs. He didn't know how much more of this fight he could take, he had been fighting and running from this demonic look-alike now standing in front of him in the clearing of the oak woods.

"You've slowed down Steve." Herobrine hissed the miner's name with a nasty and vile grin. The being only stood yards from his human double and he didn't feel the tiredness that normal humans felt after long hours of exhausting fights, instead he only felt more thrilled to continue their long hours of combat and strife. With him not having any of the strife since he was on the winning end while the miner was on the losing one.

The miner deeply frowned and gritted his teeth in anger. He was starting to feel the fatigue from the fight that had been raging since the setting of the sun when that demon tracked him down and attacked. He didn't want to admit that he needed to rest because he knew that the man before him known as Herobrine; wasn't going to allow him to escape this time.

"What's the matter mortal? Running out of steam?" Herobrine taunted with his dark and silky voice, he chuckled deeply to himself and raised his sharp pickaxe made of the most durable ore. The diamond tool now used as a weapon gleamed in the moonlight, Herobrine tightened his hand around the handle. "Unfortunately, I am not going to be so- kind in sparing you tonight. No. You do remember what today is right?"

Steve ground his teeth and made a low feral snarl, he was furious with a bad and painful memory coming up. He knew exactly what day it was or more like night. That one faithful hour of darkness; just one year ago, it happened to be the same night as tonight. That day…

"Today was the day that I walked into their home, or should I say night just last year?" He started.

"Shut up!" Steve coiled his empty fist and tightened his hold on his iron sword, being reluctant to move forward from his own weariness.

"It had been the day of their fiftieth anniversary, you came over to celebrate. Perfect timing. They were peacefully sleeping and so were you in the guest room next to theirs."

"I said SHUT UP!" Steve took one deep breath then charged with his blade at his side, heading straight for Herobrine just standing in the opening with a devious smirk plastered on his face. The miner moved his sword over his head as he jumped at the being with determination to strike his enemy, clearly blinded by rage.

Herobrine chuckled again before slinging the pick as soon as the human's sword neared, now deflecting the blade and it's wielder; sending Steve bouncing to the ground and rolling a few feet away. He rolled onto his stomach and forced himself to move onto his hands and knees but a strong weight pressed him back to the ground, the weight was too heavy to lift no matter how hard he tried to push against the force. Herobrine dug the heel of his foot into the center of the man's back; eliciting a loud pained wail before finally removing his foot and reaching down to grab the miner by the back of the neck with a tight squeeze.

"Remember that scream? It was your mother's." He whispered into Steve's ear and the miner retaliated by bringing the weapon around his side to slash his captor but Herobrine deflected it with own weapon and kicked it out of the man's hand. "She was the first to go, but she was lucky to get to see you one last time. You ran into the room shocked from her cry and that priceless look on your face was … delicious."

"LET GO!" Steve moved his elbow up and attempted to slam it into the side of the demon's face but the being quickly released the miner and jumped back.

"She was lucky to see you unlike your father. Too bad I ended him a little too soon, he deserved far more but I just couldn't contain my hate for him nor the joy of seeing him suffer though it was only for a short time. … He laid quietly upon the bed and didn't even notice my presence; so many years without failing to notice me and he falters? He's apparently gotten too old to sense me coming like he used to. Such an unfortunate mistake by nature on his part. I thought our battles were never going to end?" Herobrine chuckled darkly to himself. "I remember his face. It was so- so peaceful and worriless, just the sight of it made me sick. I drove the sharp end of my pick into his neck and held him down as he gagged to death on his own blood, your mother had awoke to the gurgling sounds and then it was her turn."

Steve almost felt the skin on his tightly coiled fists rip, he kept his dark gaze on the ground as the rage and sorrow built inside of him. He trembled, not in fear but in anger. He never felt a hate so strong, he was contemplating on a very daring move but he didn't know if he had the power in him to do it and take down that monster with himself. He had a couple blocks of TnT in his inventory that he was going to use for the mines but now he thought of a better purpose.

"You know, they would probably be still alive if you father hadn't made that forbidden shrine?"

"What are you talking about?" He growled through his teeth.

"Oh, so you don't know that little secret of my reason for being? He must have kept you from that all these years? And it would seem as though I have also neglected to inform you of the truth?… Well, actually not. I had planned for this day as well keeping the truth from you until the time was right so as long as your father did, so it looks like I can now tell you why I hunted and you and him all these years. Why I killed him and your mother, and why you are next in line."

The miner kept his mouth shut, he loved his father to death but there was one thing that he never forgave him for; it might even be the one reason why that man and his mother were dead now. He started to think that Herobrine, him, and his dad was a part of it and that was not a good thought.

"Yes, it was over twenty years ago when you were a young child if I remembered correctly?"

Steve's eyes widened, his fears being realized. It couldn't be what he was thinking, it just couldn't be. He didn't want it to be.

The being placed a hand on his chin and tapped it as he recalled his past. "Hmmmm, that day? Definitely. It has been quite the while now." He removed his hand and stared a slow walk towards the human.

Steve began to take steps backwards, he might have felt the need to get reckless but that fear deep within him made him move away from the dangerous man nearing. "Stay back!" Steve stopped and held his sword out but Herobrine seemed completely un-phased by the weak attempt at being intimidating.

The white-eyed man frowned. "Don't blame me for his death and soon to be yours. He deserved it. After all-," Herobrine suddenly bolted forward in one swift motion and rammed his elbow into the miner's chest; they both flew into a birch tree close by with the miner being slammed painfully and pinned against it by the copy's forearm. Herobrine sneered and leaned in a little closer to Steve's ear and whispered. "-He made me."

Herobrine then let go of his shocked victim before swinging one leg around and kicking the miner in his midsection with power, this had the human careening to the ground several yards away and tumbling to a stop in the tall grasses.

Steve made a pained face but remained wordless as he gasped for air. He rolled in place a few time with his arms tightly tucked around his aching stomach, obviously in a lot of pain. He felt as if his bottom ribs had cracked and they might have been. He even thought that his insides got rearranged, that wasn't a pleasant thought. He coughed a few times and took deep breaths to alleviate the tight compression in his upper torso, he literally had the wind knocked out of him and he had to replace that in which had been lost.

"Well actually, I would say the both of you created me."

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, he never wanted to believe the words coming from the other's mouth but it was just as he feared; what his dad did with him that night was to conjure some deity or entity and the miner just had to be part of it though he didn't want to be evolved in the first place. "I- I wanted- nothing t-to do with it." The grounded man coughed then rolled onto his side and lifted one of his heavy eyes, now looking up the powerful demon.

"Doesn't matter, I am here now and I intend to see my last goal accomplished. I've already killed your father, your mother for the topping of my vengeance to him and now it is your turn and not because you are obviously involved in my summon. I told that man that I was going to take everything away from him in our first encounter and you are all that's left, that's why I'm going to kill you. He wasn't the only one to pay though. They all paid, you are the last and I'm done letting you walk. Our fights are starting to grow old and you cannot even come close to touching me, unlike your father. He and his friends actually almost killed me once and nearly wiped my presence off the face of this world, which is why I started to kill 'them' in the first place, the leader was my one and only primary target but that changed quickly. They should have known better than to even think about destroying me. So now here we are, reciting the history lesson to make the wounds more savory. It seems quite fitting wouldn't you agree?"

"I don't want to hear any of it anymore." Steve winced as he forced himself onto his hands and knees.

"Too bad, I know how much it hurts to recall it Steve, but I just love causing you pain. All kinds of pain. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to just kill you quickly and be on my way; it was your blood used after all that brought me into this pathetic world."

"Damn you." Steve cursed under his breath as he stumbled on his feet and fixed his vulnerable position.

"Where should we start? Ah, when you and your dad were younger. You were but a mere child then." Herobrine began. "Your father hung out with the wrong crowd of people, thinking he was going to do something 'magnificent' to change the world."

"I don't want to hear it!" Steve shouted.

"Him and his 'friends' gathered an assortment of items that are very difficult to obtain and pieced them together to call upon entities from another dimension to their world all in hopes of fulfilling the club's- or should I say 'cult's' goal to try and use this spirit for their own purposes. A powerful slave if you will?" Herobrine smirked as the man before him shook, he could sense the anger, fear, and hate coming from the miner. "Adam was a cultist, just trying to do whatever it was that he could to impress his organization, to make the best of himself and he did collect large portion of the materials needed. In fact, I would say he done at least fifty percent of the work while the others did a quarter of that amount. You- unwillingly, did the rest."

"Stop!" The man placed his hands over his ears and shook his head back and forth.

"They built that empty totem and chanted with dark words, thinking it would be enough… but it wasn't. I manifested in spirit, unaware of who I was or what I was but I saw everything from atop of that pedestal. They argued with each other of what went wrong for hours, it was then when I realized that they couldn't see me, but I couldn't move either so I just stood there and observed their intentions since I had no other choice. They chanted again and again but nothing happened, nothing even happened to me. It turned out that they needed something else, something to bind my essence into this physical realm. Blood. It's the strongest tie in your world and so they decided to use their own to pull me here… but no. Their blood was disgusting, I refused it. All of those men and women there were tainted with transgression and their own indulgences, even demoralized by the very act of creating a shrine for their cult and pulling me to the waking world to do their bidding. I refused to shape myself into any of their revolting images. So after taking turns and pricking their fingers to find no success they finally decided that the ritual required 'blood of the innocent' and none of the cultists had a clear conscious. The leader then thought that they needed fresh, untainted blood. None of them knew of anyone with a clear conscious so the leader came up with the idea of using a child's blood and none of the cultists had any young children, except for him."

"No!" The miner sealed his eyes shut. He could almost remember that very night though he was so young.

…

"No daddy, please?" The young child tried to pull out of the older man's grasp, seeming very frightened with his expression that was exposed from the fire of the small torch he carried. "I don't want to do this anymore, I'm scared." He tried to pull his small hand from his father's larger one but the man held onto his firmly.

"It won't hurt too bad, I promise." The older man said with a soft voice as he tugged the little child long in their pace through the dense woods. Steve looked up at his dad but the man's expression was unreadable in the darkness of the hood he wore in the moonlit night.

Young Steve could see the dim lighted shrine only yards away with several people standing around the alter all whispering undecipherable words lowly with redstone torches in their hands. Most of them were wearing black cloaks, the only ones who weren't was his dad who wore a red one and the supposed leader; wearing a white one. The leader was the only one who had his hood down.

"Ah, you brought the boy? Good, I knew I could count on you Adam. It's no wonder why I made you chairmen of our association?" Said the man with one hand held out and the other clinging tightly to a redstone torch.

Steve backed behind his dad's leg a little and partially hid his face while clinging tightly to the red robe. The man reaching his hand out to his dad belonged to the only one who didn't have their face hidden by the hood. The white-robed man was bald and his eyes were a deep brown that seemed almost crimson with the reflection of the glowing red torch in his eyes, he looked sinister.

His dad took that man's hand and shook it.

"I'm glad I could contribute. But- does it really require this kind of method; using a child to bring the entity here? I mean no disrespect about speaking up against this; but I really don't want to involve my son if I don't have to?" He said with a worrying tone.

"Look Adam, I know you care for your boy but if we really want to eliminate the living terrors of this world then we must consider all of our options. Sadly, we don't have many, plus using his blood may not even work. We will try everything in our power to bring a powerful being to destroy the monsters, anything. Even if we must use a young child." He sounded regretful but his eyes shown something else. "Those night creatures have taken many lives of our loved ones, it's in everyone's interest that we succeed and put an end to all of those endless hordes of deadly beasts. Besides, I plan to keep my end of the bargain and pay your's and your wife's debts. All two hundred emeralds. Even if this method doesn't succeed then I will pay half, just as promised." He retracted his hand and held it over his heart. "You have my word."

Adam took a deep breath and lightly squeezed the child's palm. "You also promised that you wouldn't hurt him. I expect that you'll keep your word on that too, right Jacob?"

The man now known as Jacob sighed and looked back at the other cultists who were still chanting. "I can't promise that he'll feel nothing, because taking some blood will be… um… a little painful but we will not harm him with more than a tiny cut. It'll be nothing too concerning." He rolled his eyes as Adam shook his head back in forth in disbelief. "Look, just a minor scratch, if we need more than he'll just have to donate a little more?"

"I don't like doing this." Adam replied. "I almost don't-"

"But you won't regret your decision!" The man interrupted. "Once we have our tool then the world will become a safer place, anyone would be able to walk out into the dark without fear, miners can work at peace without having to constantly watching their backs, 'children-'" The bald man emphasized loudly. "They'll be safe and grow up without the fear of the world's living monsters, they'll be able to laugh and play and spend time with their parents. A dream we both share, it's our common ground. They will not wind up as orphans, such as you and I." He placed hand upon the other's shoulder and gave a pleading look. "We've both lost ours at young ages, to those monsters. So think about this? Think about him?" He moved his gaze down to the boy.

"I don't know?"

"Think!"

"I want what's best for everyone but this summon is starting to look like a bad idea. Not even Sandra knows about our meeting tonight, she doesn't like me even going out to these meetings. She definitely wouldn't want Steven out here either."

"You don't have to tell her. She doesn't need to know."

"I know. But our procedures are changing and we are resorting to more devious actions to achieve this… this being. For the last six months we have been more like cultists than a group dedicated to protecting our people. These dark words? The sacrifice of animals? The use of blood? The use of innocent children? These things are against Notch! Why the words aren't even in human language. We're trying to conjure something that is beyond our knowledge, our control. Maybe even a god and that would be just blasphemous." He said blankly while looking down at the child.

"I see your point in this dispute but we are running out of ways, Sally's brother was mauled to death and devoured by a horde zombies just last month. She couldn't do anything to save him, she watched in horror from the window of her house as those vile fiends ripped him apart and consumed him. You know what that did to her? She hasn't been the same since! We are running out of options! It's only a matter of time until our entire village gets wiped out. We must do what we can, we are tired of losing our loved ones Adam. We've lost ones we loved already, we don't need to have more heartbreaks." He looked away and let his head hang low as he removed his hand from Adam's shoulder. "You don't want to lose Sandra do you?" He looked back up with a sorrow filled expression.

His grip on the child's hand tightened and then he motioned the frightened kid out from behind him. "Come on Steven, it shouldn't take long. He pulled the torch out of the child's hand and held it out for Jacob to take.

"But dad?" Steve tried to resist and pull out of his grasp, he just wasn't strong enough to. "Please, I don't want to do this, I want mommy!" He started to cry as he was partially dragged closer to the gold and red alter." Dad!?" He screamed.

His father stopped at a small staircase made of wooden blocks that was leaning next to the shrine and he looked up at the blank alter. "Okay Jacob, this is where you take over." He said with a hint of anger in his tone of voice.

"No, I cannot. He is your son, just prick the inside of his palm with this knife and hold him down until enough life-fluid has been spilt. Alright?" He raised the small weapon.

Adam removed his hood and stared long and hard at the blade that Jacob held out, it was made of a black substance. He reluctantly reached for it and took it into his hand. It looked and felt like cold and jagged obsidian, it was a tool that he was about to use on his own child and taking it made a tear come to his eye. He was afraid, more for the child.

"We will begin the chant again, just do your part and the rewards you get in return will be great. Not only for you but for your family and friends, for your son too."

The red-robed man shook his head after looking down at his shaking child. "He's scared, I can't. I just- can't."

"You'll be letting us all down, the world down." He said with an aggressive expression, his hood was then pulled over his head. "Do it." He moved his gaze over to the other cultists and nodded. They began the disturbing chant.

"Up the stairs Steven." He whispered and nudged the child forward with a hand on the kid's back. "Don't worry, I'll be up there with you. I'm scared too."

"But-"

"It's okay, every-everything's going to be fine." He forced the kid up the small staircase.

Steve shook visibly as he moved to the main top, he kept his arms coiled up in front of him and stared in horror at the flat surface of the smelly red rock. He felt himself being turned and his father grabbed onto one of his hands, he pulled but Steve didn't let him remove it from his chest. "No!"

"Come on, let's just get this over with, then we can go home and you can go back to bed? Okay? I'll even treat you to some cake from aunt Linda's bakery tomorrow?" He tried to sound persuasive but it wasn't working, the child held firm. "Steve?" He asked before his eyes moved down onto Jacob who gave an impatient look, the ritual was already in motion but he wasn't fulfilling his part.

"I don't want to daddy!" He started to cry again and move down the steps but his father grabbed him from behind and placed him back onto the spot in front of the alter. He pried Steve's right hand free and moved back behind him to keep him from running away and to get a better grip.

"I'm sorry son." Was all he said as he forced his child's hand open and out over the alter before laying the sharp end of the obsidian blade down onto his palm and pressing in.

Steve screamed and cried out as his hand shook, his palm had been cut and blood ran between his fingers and fell to the alter; pattering onto the red rock below.

"Just a little more Adam." Jacob said quietly, but loud enough for the parent to hear.

Steve had tears flooding down his face and his eyes were glued shut until a glow came from the shrine. He peeled his eyes and the chant became louder. All of the cultists backed away from the shrine but remained perfectly in sync as Jacob took the torch that Adam gave him and stepped closer to the alter.

"Just a little more Adam."

"How much more do you need?!" The father shouted at the man, seeming very distressed with his action.

"If we want to get this done the right way then we need to get it done the first time, otherwise we'd have to try again."

Adam's glare faded as he looked away from the cult leader. He had a feeling his son was going to hate him for this.

"Please stop! It hurts!" The young one cried and tried to jerk his hand out of his dad's clutches but he couldn't pull away no matter how hard he tried. "Please!?" He shouted at the top of his lungs after seeing his life-fluid seeping from the wound on his palm, he was afraid that he was going to die. His dad was going to let him bleed to death.

"How long!" Adam sneered at Jacob with anger and impatience.

Jacob quickly pulled the torch up over his head and moved it towards the top of the blank totem. "That should be enough." He placed the fiery tip on the netherrack and it instantly alighted.

A single bolt of lightning struck the alter and Steve along with his dad were suddenly sent flying out and away from the alter, now with a face a human's on it. It's eyes glowed a deep red.

…

Steve's eyes were shut as his head spun, loud screams and thundering footsteps erupted from around him, he even heard crackling sounds like that of fire and it wasn't long before smoke filled his nostrils.

"Steven, Steven!? Oh Notch, what have I done!?" That familiar voice spoke aloud. It was his dad's.

…

"Please open your eyes boy, please? I'm sorry!"

Steve felt a strong grip around his form and he felt himself being hoisted off of the ground. He pried his eyes and winced from the spinning lights. He cold see flames now, all around like the woods were on fire. He shook his head and blinked and noticed that all of the trees above him were burning down and lighting up his surroundings. He turned his head and saw the alter lit, it was now a little different then he remembered. He blinked again and saw what looked a person standing in the flames on the totem but his head hurt too much to register what he really saw. He was getting father away from the shrine, all he could make out was flames and two piercing white dots through the thickening smoke. "Dad?"

"Huh? Steven!" He felt his father's breath on his face. "Oh thank Notch!" He lightly sighed as he sped up his pace. I am so sorry Steve, please forgive me my son? I should have listened to your mother, she said that joining in that group would only cause trouble and she was right. Just hang in there boy, I'm going to get you home and I'll never put you through any kind of mess like this ever again. I swear it!" He cried out. "I'll protect you no matter what."

…

Steve felt his eyes growing heavy.

…

Everything from that point on was nothing but a blur.

…

"He used your blood." Herobrine started again. "You were afraid that the shrine was going to take your life, you believed that your own father was going to let you die. How sad?"

"No, shut up!" Steve dropped his sword and squeezed his ears tighter but even as he did so he could still hear Herobrine's words.

"So now you must die for his mistake." Herobrine started walking towards the miner once more. "This is the price he pays for creating me, you helped in completing the ritual so now here I stand with your form, it's why we look alike. It's why I looked like this for years and why you had to grow into your more fragile form. In essence, you and I are the same, but I am far greater. Thanks for the donation by the way, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your contribution to the alter."

"Please leave me alone!" Steve quickly noticed the footsteps getting closer so he quickly reached down and took his sword into hand but a boot came down on top of it and kept it trapped to the ground. Steve quickly jumped up and continued to back away.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not going to let you live. I was created as a tool, an instrument for your pathetic kind to slay monsters and settle disputes for the cult leader. His intentions were not for the 'people' but for himself, he wanted power and he thought he could create and control me? That is his greatest mistake. Your father had his role in it too and he paid for trying to eliminate me. Now as I promised to him-, I will destroy everything he ever held dear and you are all that he has left." Herobrine lifted his pick and jumped up high in the air with a complete flip before landing directly behind the miner and pulling the weapon back, preparing to grab the miner's neck and end it. "It's time to die Steve."

…

Lightweight steps rushed through the tall grass, breaking the silence of the tranquil woods. An elderly woman with a dark colored cloak and hood rushed through the woods as fast as her frail legs could carry her, she gasped for breath as she ran.

"Oh, … I- hope, I hope I make it- in ti-time!" She wheezed, she quickly pulled out a bright blue potion from her inventory and held it firmly as she reached a clearing of oak and birch trees. "Oh no?" She lightly gasped as she ran out and saw Herobrine with his hands now latching onto the back of the miner's neck and forcing the man onto the ground face first with his pick lifted and ready to be jabbed into the man's back. "I have to stop them."

…

A/N: I know, I don't like to make Herobrine evil but this idea for the Herobrine mod just had to be done. Besides, who doesn't like Kid Brine? :3 Please review and tell me if I should continue on this or not? The next chapter will contain the guys being turned into kids… if the witch stops Herobrine in time?