DISCLAIMER: I do not own Minecraft. This story is a fanfiction of a fanfiction. I do not own the original story; BlackDragon41 does.

A/N: This story takes place in chapter 18, 'His Pain', in the part where Steve is running from Herobrine and jumps over a lava pit. Herobrine follows, but falls in.

Inhuman screams filled the air in the cave. Steve felt his heart wrench as the sound filled his ears, stunning him.

He imagined the pain must have been terrible; burning endlessly but not being able to die.

He was unsure what to do now that the fallen hero was trapped, but then an unfamiliar female voice rang through the cave.

"HEROBRINE!"

Steve stared in disbelief as a woman in a cyan top and long, blue skirt ran towards him. As she got closer, Steve saw she looked just like him, only in female form.

oOo

Herobrine looked up from his fiery prison upon hearing the familiar voice. "What is SHE doing here?!" he thought to himself. He was torn from his thoughts as the lava continued to gnaw at his flesh.

oOo

The strange woman ran up to the side of the lava pit and gazed down at Hero, a look of utter sadness on her face as she panted.

She turned to Steve and begged, "Please, can you help him?" Steve's conscience ate at him as he looked into those desperate blue orbs.

Steve felt himself nod and glanced up to see a chunk of stone hanging from the roof. He looked back at his sword, and then started smacking the block with all his might.

The woman looked up at him, a mixture of thankfulness and worry swept over her. She was grateful the strange man was helping, but hoped he didn't fail.

oOo

Herobrine howled from the intense pain and looked around for anything to help him to escape. Looking up, he saw the miner hacking away at a block of stone using his blade.

oOo

Steve grunted angrily at the stone before finally breaking it off into a smaller block of cobblestone. He scooped it up and set to the dangerous part of the task.

He lay flat on his stomach and edged closer to the pit of liquid fire, the cube in his hand.

The woman leaned over the edge slightly, her gaze swapping between the hero and the strange man.

oOo

What did the human think he was doing?! Herobrine watched as the man slid down further slowly with a block in his hand.

oOo

As Steve reached where he wanted to be, he hurled down the cobblestone block beside the stone wall. It clung to that surface just as Steve hoped it would. With his task completed, he edged out and away from the lava pit, and stood beside the strange woman.

He watched as the demon made his way to the small block of safety and hauled himself out of the nightmarish liquid.

Steve was shocked by the horrid sight of the hero's blackened skin. He could hardly tell that his feet were even feet.

Steve and the woman looked on as Herobrine's wounds started to glow with a bright light. The woman had a look of pure worry on her face as Hero moaned painfully as his skin and clothes renewed themselves.

Once the being had fully healed, he looked at the woman. Her expression changed instantly from worry to happiness as she ran towards him.

Hero scooped her up and spun her around in a joyful embrace. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he held her, and the two shared a short, passionate kiss.

Steve couldn't believe his eyes as the romantic scene played out before him. If what had just happened had not felt real, Steve would've sworn he was dreaming.

Herobrine set the woman down and smiled at her one last time, before walking off into the darkness.

Steve just gawked at the still smiling woman, completely speechless. She cleared her throat and said, "I should probably introduce myself, but let's get out of this dangerous place first."

oOo

Later, Steve and the woman sat in the cobblestone and gravel street in front of a torch. After introducing himself, Steve listened intently as the woman told her story.

"My name is Brittany Stonewall. I knew Hero ever since he came here to Antecedent Element.

Our relationship began long ago...

It was a normal day. Hero and I were alone on a hillside, just looking down on the sea below.

"The view sure is beautiful."

Hero gazed down and replied, "Yep. It sure is."

Suddenly, I heard a hissing sound. He heard it too, and we turned our heads to reveal a creeper only a few feet away from us.

I screamed, but Hero leapt up and a sword materialised in his hand. He stabbed the creeper in its gut before grasping his hand around its throat. He squeezed until I heard the sound of cracking bone, and the vile mob went limp. Hero tossed it into the raging waters below us, before jogging back over to me.

"Are you ok?" he inquired as he held out his hand, his white eyes glowing with worry.

I smiled as I took his hand and he lifted me to my feet. "I'm fine, thanks to you!"

I had always had a small crush on him, and as we gazed into each other's eyes, I couldn't control myself.

I closed my eyes, leaned in and kissed him. He was startled at first, but then he leaned into the kiss as we both shared a passionate moment together.

As we both pulled away, Hero stuttered, "Brittany, I-"

"Shh," I whispered, placing a finger on his lips. "I love you."

He smiled at me. "I love you, too." We both leaned in and we kissed again.

Ever since then, I've been deeply in love with him. The kiss somehow gave me eternal life, as well.

But life changed. One small accident and everyone turned on him, punishing him and banishing him to the Nether. My cousin Lionel died for him!

He's been suffering greatly ever since the punishment started! He didn't even deserve it! Hero would never purposefully kill Conner!

Ever since Antecedent Element fell, I've been wandering this valley, regularly visiting Notch's shrine and praying for him to help Hero.

He is hurting so badly," Brittany stood and turned to leave, but she looked back before walking away into the darkness.

"Please help him, Steven."

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this little tribute. I posted this in honour of BlackDragon41's story, Hero's Bane's 1 year anniversary. I take no credit for the original story. I've tried not to take too much from it. A major shout-out to her for writing such an AWESOME fanfiction!