Hero's Might: Previews

Updated! 1/4/15 It seemed so short and dry when I went back over it, the first preview in comparison was much better so I have decided to amp this one up a bit and get more of humanistic feel. Please enjoy. 5 Pages to 9!

…

Herobrine stood before a large iron door, he knew that just behind it would hold all of the tainted mortals; the sick and dying with pale to black colors taking over their bodies and spreading quick. He normally would have avoided the place entirely if it weren't for the fact that it was his friend that was inside suffering, he had done as much as he could to help the miner but could not stop the disease that was ravaging the poor man's body. The hero coiled his fist and sighed heavily, he hated watching the miner limp and then abruptly fall when walking down the corridor just the night before. His body had failed him and he grew too weak to even stay standing, after dealing with the disease much longer than any other human; he finally collapsed and could be down until he dies. The miner had tried to get up on the occasion only to fall back down or even pass out from the lack of energy, it's now been twelve hours of rest and the man hasn't even moved barely an inch.

The White-Eyed man growled deeply to himself, he already had to watch his best friend die while being helpless to save him, now the same event could happen all over again with Steve; not even having the ability to move around could stop the mortal from slowly withering away. This angered him to strong point but worried him more, he couldn't do anything but demand for a cure; he knew nothing of medicines and herbs for he had never had any use for them as humans did a long time ago. He watched people in the early times make potions and cure the ill, he never needed a potion because he wasn't human and never got sick.

He placed his hand upon the cold iron and hesitated. Herobrine wasn't too excited about going in; not only was checking the man's worsening condition going to be hard to withstand, but he also had to deal with the frightened and miserable sibling of the miner's. Stephanie didn't like him, she hated him and feared him greatly; even when he protecting her and the other mortals from the fetid monster. He hoped she wouldn't run this time when he entered, he needed to talk to her and now was the most opportune time; she had been in the infirmary every since the miner fell. She was infected as well but not as near as bad as most mortals, she could still move around without much trouble. But that was a bit of a problem; she would always leave off in a hurry or turn away and act like he didn't exist when he tried to talk to the miner with her around. Steve had asked him a simple request, it was time to fulfill it on the man's behalf and do away with needless fear so that she could be herself.

The powerful man pushed the iron door open and stepped into the large room, the voices that once filled the space came to an abrupt stop and all heads turned towards him. He instantly had several pairs of eyes looking directly at him, eyes from various ages that came from the figures in the wooden chairs and beds. He had the attention of almost all of the mortals in the room except from two humans at the main end, one was lying motionless on a bed with the other sitting in a chair by the bedside; weeping rather loudly in the new found silence. She apparently didn't even care since her attention was on the lying form or she had just failed to take notice of the quietness. It was actually better that she didn't. She didn't like him at all and would probably leave again if she saw him; still holding dearly onto the resentment she had for him for taking two precious lives that she loved so much and missed, plus for all of the things he did to her when he was without memory.

Just more regret to deal with even if it wasn't his fault at the time, it was his hand that caused it though and that it what mattered.

The old hero began a slow amble towards the young weeping woman, only her loud sobs and the sounds of his footsteps could be heard in the interior of the barracks. Most of the stares he got were ones of shock, anger, uncertainty, and fear, it was expected though; especially after what he had done to the humans who moved into the land not so long ago. The mortals remained still and quiet as he passed by but he did not pay any of them no mind, some were too sick to move much anyway. None of them seemed brave enough to even move in his presence which was wise, if any of them had the gall to try something sneaky then he will make sure that they would certainly regret it. He didn't have time to waste with the sickly mortals, he had to keep his focus on taking out the abomination when it returned and check up on his friend who was also fairly ill.

He stepped up to the young woman and waited quietly for her to take notice of him but she didn't, she only sat lurched forward in her chair with her hands covering her face. Her ragged cries oddly created a light prickly and uncomfortable feeling in his chest, a sensation that he didn't like one bit. It was one of those feelings he had rarely ever felt, sympathy in general was a very rare thing too. But considering who it was that sat in the seat and the one lying on the bed; he allowed it, he hadn't felt this way since back in the days when he was still considered a hero. It had been a long time since he had sympathy, he still wasn't used to it and he definitely wasn't open to the feeling but he could show it if for only his friend's sake and his sister's sake and nothing more.

His white gaze moved from the young woman to the man lying on the bed. There laid the miner, sleeping ever so soundly with a peaceful look lining his soft features; he was resting well despite his horrid condition. Upon closer observation however; he could tell that the miner was still struggling, even if he appeared to be sleeping well he wasn't doing good at all. The man's breath was heavy and quick; like he was struggling to breathe properly, just one of the major symptoms of the nasty effect he had. The right side of his neck and cheek was starting to pale just like his arms started to a while ago, this meant that the black was going to be covering up the side of his face soon and that would mean that he'll have trouble turning his head to the right with his infected muscles tightening up under the tainted skin. Steve was already having trouble moving his arms and even one of his legs, he can no longer move with the vitality he once had. With the strange substance spreading; it would only be a matter of time before he'd be fully paralyzed, he would probably die if the old man couldn't create a cure fast enough. Herobrine coiled his fists and lightly clenched his teeth in anger. He was going to have push the old mortal into finding a cure faster or make him pay should he take too much longer or fail; friend of the miner's or not.

A ragged sob-part-cough tore his attention away from the miner and his rage came to a halt as the woman lifted her head and looked straight up at him with tearstained eyelids. At first she softened her cry, then she looked down at Steve and wiped away more tears that came streaming down at the sight of the bedridden man. She was clearly afraid with that look in her eyes but she seemed to focused on Steve to even worry about the monster who took part of her family away from her.

"Stephanie." Came Herobrine's calm voice.

This immediately made the young brunette look back at the White-Eyed man with a light and quiet gasp even though she couldn't stand looking at the infamous killer, she was surprised that he called for her so calmly despite the tension they had not so long ago. He was standing only feet away from her but she didn't scoot back or cower away, she wouldn't do that anymore. There was no point. She was infected too which meant that her time would be getting closer anyways, Steve's was clearly creeping up on him. His health was declining and so was hers. There was no reason to flee or stand clear of the ancient evil anymore.

She lightly looked at the glowing white orbs but moved her gaze away from the cold looking stare, those white eyes just looked so intimidating and soulless. Herobrine had taken away her brother and father and yet her other brother became friends with the demon and claimed that he had done wrong out of been treated wrong, he was also supposedly doing what he was forced to do for a great beast in fear for his own wellbeing. It was hard to believe and she still refused to acknowledge some of the story. Herobrine was everyone's enemy, even Steve's. Yet… the being was protecting her and Steve, he even seemed to protect some of the people that were taking refuge in the fort; likely because of Steve's presence and nothing more. But regardless, she saw with her own eyes what he had done and it didn't make him look so 'friendly' like her brother had claimed. The old hero still hated humans so it was possible that he would ruthlessly kill any of them whenever he wanted to, for no reason other than his own will to do so. He'd kill anybody at any time, he would even kill Steve like he tried to many times before, twice in her presence. He was an uncontrollable fiend and would slay his own 'friend', a monster.

Stephanie felt more tears well up in her eyes, she was feeling even more hopeless with the fate of her brother already coming into light. If Herobrine did decide to kill him or her right now then it would be almost like a favor, putting them out of their misery instead of dying slowly with the pain they had. That dark thought made the hot fluid in her tear ducts flow more rapidly and her breath hitched the more she thought about it. She found herself crying loudly again with the gathering drops moving freely down her cheeks, she didn't want to die and she didn't want her brother to either; but she just couldn't get the thought of death out of her mind. Stephanie kept her head low as she looked down at her empty palms, her arm then started to ache again and she quickly glanced to her right bicep; it was covered by her pink jacket sleeve but she knew that the mark was there. The thought of the grey splotch on her paling limb wasn't a welcoming one, that's what first happened with Steve's arms and he ignored it like it was nothing. Now he had blackened skin in the place of the pale splotches; as black as charcoal, his blacked limbs also seemed cold and devoid of life when she touched them. His facial features were starting to sink in a bit as if he was fading away like he was drying corpse in the making. He also wasn't eating well so he had dropped a large amount of weight quickly; along with muscle mass too, he was defiantly getting weaker with each passing day. She would be in his position too soon and soon in her mother's. Her life was a living nightmare and she wished she could just wake up from it.

"Stephanie." Came that godly deep tone of voice again.

The young woman looked up at him but didn't respond, she only sat there and tried to keep the tears from collecting on her cheeks.

The powerful being stood there and waited for some kind of reply but the woman was too stressed and sorrowful that nothing passed her lips but that of rapid breaths and whimpers. He expected that much. Herobrine looked away for a moment; noticing that his long gaze was making her uncomfortable, he looked back to see that she had her palms covering her face again and she was in a hunch. It was a pathetic sight but he had to reason with the woman, Steve asked that much of him to at least try and get along with her; he did owe her his protection as well as Steve's for the slaughter of their brother and father.

"Crying will not help him, it will certainly not help yourself." He said quietly, completely ignoring the other silent humans in the large room. "Steve is going to be fine and so are you, it may take some time however. … You should know that your brother would not want you to sit there and cry all night, you should be getting some rest yourself."

He received no response.

The old hero sighed and crossed his arms, this was not going to be an easy first topic to reconcile the woman with. "You know, your brother once told me something he considered very important; something that he hates more than anything else. … He hates- to see you cry." He finished softly and looked down at the bedridden miner still sleeping.

This gained the woman's attention, she carefully moved her hands down and looked back up at the frightening immortal. The healthy-built Steve-look-alike didn't sound so terrifying as he did the last time they talked, this time he sounded strangely mellifluous and genuinely honest with his dual tones.

"He says that that it is one of the things he can't stand." Herobrine was surprised when he moved his gaze back to Stephanie to see that she removed her face from her palms and was looking up at him again. With Steve's sister's attention; he continued. "Out of everything he could hate in the world, even me who deserves his detestation more than any other; he chooses to hate the sight of your tears the most? I once found that concept of this 'hate' to be meaningless and absurd, but now I see why. I cannot believe that I didn't realize this until now, I had to see you weep for myself to have this strange feeling of inner pain. I've felt it before; a long time ago when my brother was left to die in front of me and I was powerless to save him at his final breath. There had been no greater pain that I could possibly feel than to watch him slowly die only an arm's length out of reach, I would have been content burning in the Nether for an eternity if it meant letting him live." He said more quietly while moving his gaze to the stone floor. "It has been a very long time since I had any kind of an attachment to mortals, my heart has long forgotten the ties I've once shared with many; only recently have I remembered what I held dear and what I had lost. My past has been filled to the brim with pain, torment, sorrow, hate, loneliness, …longing, I am now but a mere shadow of tragic hero gone mad.

I have your brother to thank for restoring this 'humanity' I used to possess, it's painful but nice to remember those who were important to me and those who now are. Your brother has become a close friend of mine, I would even consider him my own brother; for he his generous, trusting, considerate, and self-sacrificing as Lionel was when he was alive. A brother who had replaced my other, I would lay my own life for him if it ever came to it like I would have for my previous brother; that is how significant he has become to me. Despite everything I've done to Steve; the fights, the near-death experiences, the destruction of those he loved; he does not hate me and I cannot understand why. He chose me as a friend rather than a traitor and enemy when he should have, I certainly do not deserve this title of 'friend' for what I've done to him years ago and what I've done more recently but I accept it no less. I am still in regret for all of the wrongs I've done to the both of you, mostly to him when we crossed paths as foes; or rather him being my foe. Now I owe him dearly, especially for not giving up on me when I had barely any memories of our tribulations two years ago. … I may have never told him; but I consider him my equal, human or not he is worthy of such a stature or perhaps even one greater than my own."

Herobrine looked over at Steve once more before returning his attention to the sister Stonewall, he was quite surprised by her look but masked it as good as he could. She appeared as though she was shedding even more tears from his words; whether she believed him was beyond him but she looked as though she did. Her beautiful deep sapphire eyes seemed intently focused on him oddly, as if she was attentive and listening closely. This woman's lovely features saturated in sorrow had him feeling most strange, he never really paid too much attention to her until now; her misery was masking a beautiful face that shouldn't ever be covered by tears and red streaks made by constant abrasive rubbing to the skin of her cheeks. Herobrine took a deep breath and exhaled lightly, he was afterall; asked by the miner to try and get along with Stephanie. She is of course; a descendant of the Stonewall linage and Lionel's distant relative. It was just uncomfortable trying to associate with someone who fears him terribly and hates him so much, it didn't help that her mere appearance effected him in a strange way. Still, he needed; no wanted to seem a little better in her eyes. If it would be enough to keep her from running away or getting defensive then that would be enough, satisfaction even. If only to become more tolerable, not just for the miner's wish but because any descendant of Lionel's should be of great importance; the ones who carry a little bit of him within them.

"I know him well." He started again with a more louder tone, breaking the strong silence of the room. "I've been through a lot with him and he developed such significance over time. But you-. You're twenty-one years old, brunette with blue eyes, you have your hair in a ponytail most of the time, about five-foot-nine in height, has a slim but lean build, soft facial features, wields a sword and a small hidden iron dagger stashed carefully and out of sight in your coat pocket, and yet I know very little about you from the time we've been in each other's presence. The things that define your personality and who you are is locked away inside; confined and imprisoned by the tragedy that has befallen you and your people. Even by me. I am deeply sorry about that, my memory was not with me at the time. I've been broken for as long as I've been alive, Steve is not at fault for my shortcomings and actions to these people. That would be mine alone. You need to have no more immediate fear of me anymore, I have regained my old self and have become more stable now. Actually, you should have nothing to fear anymore. As Steve has become of great significance in my eyes; so have you."

Stephanie blinked in surprise and made a light gasp, not quite sure how to process such words.

"You are of the Stonewall's descendants too." Herobrine started more cautiously while gauging the woman's reactions. "Part of a family that is strong willed and powerful in beliefs and hope, part of a of my greatest friend's legacy. Rest is assured, no harm should ever befall to anyone related to Steve. I owe him and even you my life, for what I've done to you and your brother cannot simply be forgiven. Still, I not only 'have' to protect the both of you but I 'want' to. I've caused enough damage as it is for your family; you and Steve deserve every second of my attention when it comes to your safety and wellbeing, therefore I will no matter what threat comes over the horizon. Whether you accept it or not is entirely up to you, your opinions however; do not matter to me. So there is no need to fear me, you may hate if you'd like but fear not. That is what I'll ask of you, to not completely fear me would suffice. Be your true self always and don't mask it in my presence. … I'd be content with that."

"Why do you do this?" Stephanie muttered quietly while looking away, still uncertain of how she felt about Herobrine going from sounding like a monster to sounding like someone genuinely considerate and regretful.

"Do what?"

"Act like this! You treated us like batted prey to a beast and now you sound so noble and honest like you actually care?"

The old hero closed his eyes and sighed, he reopened his eyes to see that Stephanie wasn't looking at him anymore but rather looking down at her brother at her side. "I cannot expect you to understand… as of yet. You are still in dismay and uncertainty from the recent events, frightened even to depict me anything other than a monster from what I've done no less than a week ago. I do not blame you, I have been a monster in countless eyes before your time, this instance is no different in mortal eyes. Perhaps within time it could change? I won't force you to tolerate me, but I will ask as it is in both your brother's and my interest. I am now looking out for you and your brother; accepting it or not wouldn't change my intentions, I will protect you and Steve."

"Until we die?!" She suddenly snapped her head back with her eyes watering again. "It won't matter soon enough anyways! He's going to die and then I'm next. He's grown so weak... It won't matter if you could protect us or not. I'm going to lose my brother." She finished more quietly. "I can't even see why he smiles in all of this death and decay, he doesn't fear death. He- he told me this before he fell asleep."

Herobrine was a bit surprised from that, he new the miner cherished life but to openly say it to his sister in the midst of what looks like was an uprising of hopelessness? Unlike him, or… actually now that he thought about it; the miner had been through enough that he was probably used to saying his prayers. But regardless, Herobrine knew that he couldn't leave the younger Stonewall sibling to give into despair and grieve to her death. Steve was a great remodel; truly he had been too far from his family for too long for his sister to see nothing but hopelessness when it was that man who went through torment again and again, only to see a path to freedom of despair. His sister needed to see this.

"When your brother faced me and the face of death many of times a few years ago; he fought it and didn't give in, even when he stood absolutely no chance against me nor Ender. Even when I was awoken and tearing through this land days ago, he stopped at nothing to try and reason with me while risking death." The being gestured to the sleeping miner. "Even now in his poor condition; he has the will to fight. Steve struggles to swing his sword now and he can't run as near as fast without tiring himself within a short time of moving, but with his hindrance he still wants to fight. He still clings to the hope that one of his friend's will find a cure, and that he can help in destroying that deathly fiend plaguing these lands. He's faced death so many times now that I believe he may no longer fear it." The demi-god swung his head back in forth. "I think he knows what fate will befall him and the land soon if we can't stop the spreading of the black dust. I am immune to it but humans, creatures, mobs, and everything else alike is not. Even the stone brick walls that shelter you mortals will eventually fade away but not anytime soon by the looks of it, so it's best not to worry too much."

Stephanie remained silent and continued to wipe the tears away, for once she didn't feel so afraid of the legendary monster of a man. He spoke in such a way that made her feel as though she could trust him and that just shouldn't be, or at least it shouldn't be in her head. Herobrine was a cold-blooded killer, yet here he was; talking so calmly with a reassuring and concerned tone. Her heart was conflicted. Steve have forgiven the old hero a long time ago but she hasn't and wasn't sure if she could. Her brother did defend him from time to time as well; saying that he wasn't a monster or anything of the sort and was just misunderstood and living a life of vengeance, it was only up till now that she had seen and heard him be so- so … human.

Herobrine looked back over to Steve. "You shouldn't worry too much about him either, he wants to fight but he is in no condition to do so, it's best for him to stay here. He's been through enough near-death experiences as it is, he hasn't recovered enough strength either. I will not allow him to go out there and have his condition worsen, so try to keep him in the fortress if you can. Please? Also try to keep him or anyone from going down into the dungeon, I have it blocked off but some people may try to mine a tunnel out of this land. Unfortunately, that's were a lot of the decaying mobs are at; I've already taken care of the ones that got onto the main floor, so exposure to the dust should be at minimum. It would be very unwise to clear up the blockage and allow the disease riddled mobs to come in, the disease could spread faster that way and possibly kill out all of you. … Perhaps that old mortal can make a potion to stop this disease? He has surprised me almost as much as the miner, you should keep faith in that old man. And remember; make sure that Steve stays here, I'll be heading out soon to keep an eye out for the boney brute." And with those words; Herobrine turned on his heels and began to walk back towards the door.

The image of the dark monster returned to her mind and she was very afraid of it, afraid of it's monstrous roar and the disease and destruction it spread. Another twinge came from her right arm as she readjusted her position to face her brother, after seeing the spot on her right bicep; it didn't help her feel any better about her or her brother's disintegrating situation. He had large black splotches all over his chest and his arms were already almost fully black, it was slowly appearing on his face; if a small spot made her hurt for a even a second then she didn't even want to imagine what pain her brother was going through. Steve's health was deteriorating more and more, even in his sleep. The man just breathed more stiffly and barely moved at all; even though he tossed and turned in his sleep a lot when he was fully healthy. He wasn't looking good at all, she believed that she'd be in the same situation soon. "We're going to die aren't we?"

The hero stopped and tilted his head back, seeing the more tears forming in the young woman's eyes again. He lightly sighed and walked back up to her. "I know that you afraid of me and death Stephanie, but you do not have to. Even if Nigel cannot create a cure-"

"We're going to die." She cried loudly and started the water works.

"You're not going to die so stop crying. If the old man cannot find away than I will." Herobrine said with a hint of annoyance, he thought that he got the woman to stop but she started to go again. He stepped a little closer and sighed after realizing his cold-like reply made her kneel over to hide her face as she wept.

"He's going to die first! I can't lose my last brother, I love him so much. … He's the only family I have left. … I don't want to lose him." Stephanie lifted her head for a brief moment to catch sight of the one nearing her with heavy steps.

Herobrine quickly moved forward and kneeled down onto one knee to the woman's eyelevel, he leaned forward and softly cupped the sides of the woman's face to keep her from hiding it or burying it in her hands again. She stiffened up and gave him a look of horror and sorrow, not expecting the ancient evil to do such a thing. Her eyes immediately look away from the white ones.

It was aggravating that she clung to so much despair when it was her brother that clung more to hope, even in the darkest of situations; the miner fought like Lionel. "Listen Stephanie, if you are Steve's sibling then you have to be stronger than this. You could not imagine how hard it was for Steve to watch his father and brother fall from my blade, I showed him to get him away from this land but even after that; he came back because he was strong and in more ways than one."

Stephanie closed her eyes from the being's words and sobbed more quietly, she didn't need a reminder as to why she hated him; especially not after he was being so heartening and supportive though he was supposed to be a demon. She peeled her eyelids and looked away as the white glow filled her vision.

"I want you to look into my eyes mortal, you need rest. So look." Herobrine asked, he lightly growled when she refused. "I need you to look into my eyes." He said again with a little aggression, using just a little pressure to force her to face him directly but she only kept her eyes shut while more hot tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I can't… … I just can't…!" She cried aloud.

"Damn it, just look!" He shouted with his brows narrowed in impatience, he quickly lightened his expression when he noticed that his shout had terrified the girl; she was even shaking from his outburst.

"I'm afraid."

The being lightened his hold and took a deep breath himself to cool. "Then at least listen to me. I owe you and your brother a great debt and I am going to do whatever it takes to fulfill it." He said with a serious but soft tone. "But I'm not only doing this for the payment of the lives I took from the both of you, I am also doing this because your brother is my friend. He has done so much and sacrificed a lot for me when I did barely anything but cause him pain and suffering, so you listen and you listen good." He used both of his thumbs to gently wipe the tears away as they rolled down her cheeks. "You and your brother are not going to die. I will do whatever I possibly can to keep the both of you alive." He paused when she finally opened her eyes and looked directly into his. I will not let either of you die, that I promise!" Herobrine felt strange as he made that promise, he used to hate promises so much because they were never accomplished and now he was making one out to a mortal; other than the only person he could trust. "You hear me? I promise that I will not let either of you die, I will destroy the monster and make sure that the two of you survive at all costs."

"But-"

"I will hold my word, just you wait. There's no telling where that blasted monster went but I have a feeling that it will return soon when the rain stops, so I must leave now and watch out for it. I will stop at nothing to rid it of this world and free this land of it's deathly hold, even if I must perish. … That is a promise too." He let his hands slip from her face and stood up slowly, he felt a little more at ease with her less fearful expression; at least now the tears were drying. "Remain inside the fortress, keep your brother within your sights and make sure he continues to rest." He finished and the woman nodded to his surprise. "Thank you. Now goodbye." Herobrine turned away and began an unhurried walk back towards the door, he felt more encouraged then ever to stop the wretched creature of death and bring peace back to the lands. Where he would go once the menace was gone… he did not know. He didn't feel like he belonged to the valley of the north anymore even though he held the fortress in his solitary rule for centuries, it belonged to mortals once again now.

Quick footsteps came up from behind him; before he could even turn to see the fleeing woman, he felt two limbs shoot past the spaces between his arms and his sides to wrap around the middle of his chest with a tight hold. He was stunned, silent and frozen even from disbelief as the woman dug her head into his back. When he heard the steps he assumed that the woman had lost her cool and was going to flee from him again as she had did before, but this; he didn't expect. What had him stunned the most was the feeling of the arms around him rather than the younger stonewall not running away from him like she often did in his presence; it had been ages before he had felt such an embrace from anybody, let alone from one who feared and hated him so much. He didn't know what to even say or do.

"Please don't die? Please?" She whimpered into his back, her right arm and shoulder began to twinge again in agony; it was hard not to cry from the pain rather than the emotional stress she was going through. "You don't have to go that far for us."

Herobrine felt her trembling from behind, the woman was really fighting the fear to actually get up close to him; or even touch him for that matter. He didn't know she had it in her to even get close to him willingly, it was progress of good accord at least. Steve would be thrilled… if he weren't sleeping, he's been sleeping way longer than normal humans did which also wasn't a good sign. But still, when he did awaken he'd be happy to hear about this.

"If I must than I will, that much I do owe. I always pay my debts in full."

The old hero tilted his head back and fully turned around when the arms slipped away from him and let the cold air of the barely lit fortress eat away at the warmth he had collected, the woman stumbled back a few steps while grabbing at her right bicep and cringing from the pain. "It hurts!" She wailed and took another step back while trying so hard to numb out the pain by constricting the infected area with all of her remaining strength.

Realizing this, Herobrine strode forward and quickly grabbed the young woman by the arm and pulled her into a tight hold against him; Stephanie struggled against him in trying to free herself from the unexpected hold, he moved too quickly for her to escape. Herobrine used his free arm to clasp onto the infected limb and pull it out and away from her other hand. "Stop, you'll cause more damage to yourself if you keep doing that." He tried to reason while dealing with the anxiety filled woman, she of course only thrashed about in his hold until she tired herself out and came to a still position. She couldn't free herself of someone that strong so she caved-in and obeyed despite the debilitating pain welling up in her bicep. Herobrine grabbed the pink coat sleeve and pulled it up her arm carefully to examine the large gray and black splotch just before her shoulder, he placed his hand over it carefully and applied just a little bit of pressure and caused Stephanie to wince; he noticed that the hot pained muscles underneath were pulsating wildly. It was one of the first signs of muscles fighting and dying; struggling to fight off the infection to remain healthy and functional, they would be hot when the body fought the infection but grow cold and blacken when they died or weakened. Thankfully, humans muscles were in layers and strands so if the surface was infected only some of the muscle would die out or weaken whilst the rest would remain okay until the infection would spread deeper over time. Stephanie's infection was bad however, she had been struck with an arrow near the surface and the arrow had gone deep enough to ensure infection would spread a little more effectively; the shot thankfully was a poor one so the whole arm wouldn't get as infected as fast as it could have if the shot was spot on and aimed better towards the bone.

Stephanie groaned and held back the need to shout, she kind of wished that Herobrine would tighten his hold on the pained spot to numb it, but her in her rational mind she didn't know if that would be a good idea. The man said it could get worse so she had to tough it out for as long as she could; at least the throbbing wasn't as near as bad with the old hero applying some pressure to the pulsing muscles. … That was until he released his hold on it. She felt the pain return at a greater intensity and cried out, it was as if her arm had been set ablaze and had tiny silverfish-lings burrowing around inside.

Herobrine hated the tears that returned to the woman's face, now he knew how the miner felt about seeing them. He did as much as he could to make them stop and now they were back, he felt more annoyed that knew that he couldn't do anything to stop the pain. … There was one way to not stop it, but rather stop the person in pain from feeling it. Without a command, he forced the woman to walk back towards her wooden seat; fortunately she didn't resist. He moved her back to the chair and turned her around to face him, she didn't keep her eyes on his for more than a second. "I know you're scared, but I need you to look into my eyes once more."

It was already hard to keep her eyes open to begin with as pain ripped through her bicep, all she really did was try and tolerate the pain; she continuously failed. "I can't."

"Do you trust me?" The White-Eyed man suddenly asked and held her still to keep her from squirming around to try and apply more pressure to the aching spot.

"I-I don't know?" With a conflicted voice of uncertainty she replied.

"Then just this once look and the pain will stop, I can make it stop. Just look into my eyes and it will." He said quietly with a bit of irritation; trying to keep her from pulling away, she wasn't dealing with the pain too well on her own. "Please?" He said calmly and the woman reluctantly looked back at him, she immediately squinted from the brightening glow of white, she couldn't look away though; not when the hero had her ensnared in his strange gazing trance.

Stephanie strangely found herself getting drowsy, the pain even seem to lessen. With the throbbing sensation now getting weaker she gave up the fight and stared until she was in a sleepy daze.

"Now rest, you look like you need it." He said and the glow in his eyes got a little brighter before dimming down. The woman's body went limp and her heavy eyes closed, she nearly slipped out of his grasp but he caught her before she could. He moved the body down onto the chair and gently leaned her head against the back of it. Herobrine lightly pushed her into a more comfortable position and pulled one of her arms that hung over the armchair and moved it onto her lap, he then held out his hand and a red blanket soon formed bit by bit in his grasp. He loosely draped the fabric over the girl and took a step back. Both Steve and his sister were deteriorating in their health, as well as most of the people in the room. He didn't see the point of quarantining the effected mortals, being exposed to the particles of the black dust was the only way they could receive the disease. Well that and somehow getting any of the particles into their body through tainted weapons, bites from effected mobs, or breathing in the stuff; yet they still stayed separate for precaution. A few mortals had already died from the weakening effect and they looked pretty healthy; only having a few patches of black as opposed to nearly a quarter of their body like Steve had.

The miner; he was surprisingly deteriorating slower; considering he had been exposed to the black dust way before anybody else had. He didn't know what was prolonging the effect for him, but he was glad that whatever it was is still keeping the miner alive. Steve was strong and seemed to do fine with the aches and pains of effected areas, he still had other issues that he couldn't handle though. He was basically starving himself and eating little to nothing each day, having no real appetite like he should. He also was getting more and more stiff around the effected joints, moving more sluggishly and getting tired way to soon. The last symptom that was concerning was his lack of breath, it was like his lungs could barely take in enough air to keep him going. Thankfully his sister was fairing better… for now. The ancient man knew it was killing the Steve to know that his sister was declining in health too, it was worse that he couldn't do anything about it. Herobrine felt the same, even he was powerless to stop it himself and he wasn't even human. He hoped that destroying the beast would destroy the disease, it might even be the only way or have the only cure within it somehow.

Herobrine stared at the two for a few quiet minutes before he turned on his heels and walked out of the room quietly, there was relief that he had somewhat patched the gap between him and the young woman but it would be for nothing if she ended up dying early as some of the humans have. Steve should be dead by know by the severe infection he had, he was unlucky but lucky at the same time to be strong enough to stay alive. Herobrine snorted and curled his fingers against his palm. He was going to have to get rid of the deadly fiend soon before it's fading influence would completely consume the miner and leave nothing but the husk of bones under sunken skin.

…

There was some choice words I didn't use in here because I didn't want to spoil too much, though you could probably guess. Hope you enjoyed this one, leave a review if you like and I may post another sometime. Thanks for reading! ;D

UPDATED! 1/4/15