Chapter Twenty Six

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"H-Herobrine?" You stammer out, blinking around at your surroundings. It looks exactly like it had when you left, at least a couple of months ago. "What are-"

"Notch won't be able to track you here." Herobrine stands, lifting you up and laying you down on the bed. "Goodbye."

"Wait- what?!" You grab his hand with both of yours as he tries to pull away, pulling yourself upright on the mattress. "You're just leaving me here??" Despite your homesickness, the thought of losing Herobrine now was somehow even more painful.

"Yes."

"Why?! Why don't-"

"Y/N, it's not safe. I planned to bring you home after everything had calmed down, but I was too slow. I'm sorry." He tries to tug his hand away, but you hold on tight.

"You- Steve told me that going between worlds takes a lot of power. If you go back now, he'll kill you! Why did you waste so much power bringing me home?!"

"Because I love you." You freeze as he kneels down, cupping your cheek in his free hand. "He was always going to kill me eventually, and because you were associated with me he would kill you too. I'm sorry I put you through all of that. But you're home now. You'll be safe here."

"You're- you're just going to go back and let him kill you?!"

"Yes."

"You can't!!" You can't identify all the emotions swirling through you, but one of the strongest is sorrow. "If he'll k-kill you if you go back, then don't! Stay with me!" Herobrine smiles.

"I would never fit in in this world. Besides, Notch will find his way here eventually, and will destroy you to get to me. This is the only way to ensure you are safe."

"But you'll die!"

"Everyone dies eventually. I should have a long time ago."

"But I don't want to lose you too! I already lost Steve and Manfred, if- if you die I'll have lost everyone I met there!"

"Perhaps it's better if it's like it never happened."

"No it's not! I care about you too much!" Herobrine chuckles.

"I appreciate that. But your safety is more important. You're real, after all. I'm not."

"You're just-!"

"Goodbye, Y/N." Herobrine gently pulls his hand from your grip, pulling away.

You grab his face with both hands and press your lips against his.

Herobrine doesn't move for a moment, then leans into the kiss, placing one hand on the back of your neck as gently as he can. You hold the kiss for a couple seconds longer before running out of breath and pulling away, and you open your eyes to meet his through your ever-present tears.

You can feel the stubble on his face against your fingers, still holding him, and the roughness of his palm against the back of your neck. You open your mouth to speak, but, unexpectedly, Herobrine leans forward and kisses you again. You drop your hands to his shoulders, wrapping one arm around his neck to brace yourself as your eyes fall shut again.

Another few seconds pass before he breaks the kiss, pressing his forehead against yours.

"You are real." You whisper stubbornly. "You're real, and whole, and you deserve to be alive just as much as I do. As much as Notch."

"If it were at all possible for me to stay with you, my love," He begins softly, and you feel a blush creep over your face. "Then I would do it. But I can't let him kill you."

"And I can't let him kill you!" You reach up to rub the tears off your face. "I don't care what happens to us. I want to go back with you."

"No."

"Herobrine!" You protest, fresh tears springing to your eyes, and he sighs and pulls you into his arms. You throw your arms around him, burying your face in his shoulder and squeezing him tight. You're not letting him go.

"I have to go back." He murmurs.

"Then take me with you."

"You'd be killed."

"I'd rather die with you than live knowing I let you w-walk into a death trap and did nothing." You snap back. And it's true. It's stupid and dramatic, but it's true.

"I can't let you be put in danger again. I love you too much." You squeeze him harder, and stammer out,

"W-well how do you think I feel? I l-love you too, and y-you're gonna let him kill you." Herobrine lets out a breathless laugh.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just d-don't go."

"I can't stay long. Time passes much quicker inside the game, hours will have gone by already. The longer I stay, the more time Notch has to come after me."

"I'm n-not letting you go back alone."

"Y/N..."

"There has to be something y-you can do." You push yourself away, looking up to meet his eyes. "Some way you could beat him, e-even just hide from him."

"Notch is the ruler of the world. I can't even lift a finger to him. A long time ago, when he created me, he was weaker and I managed to escape. Now..."

"M-maybe you can talk to him."

"We've already seen how well that works. He is convinced that I am little more than a bug that needs to be erased."

"Then make him see that you're not!" You protest. "If you're a copy of his code, he has to have feelings too, r-right? Let me talk to him. I can try to convince him."

"He won't listen."

"Please?" You wrap your arms around his neck again, burying your face in his shirt. "Just let me try. You're his main target, y-you can keep me safe while I try to talk to him." He doesn't answer for a few moments. "Please."

"Very well." He answers at last.

"Thank you." You give him a squeeze, and he sighs, shifting forward to lean on the bed. "S-stay for a little while, okay? Notch can wait a little while. Y-you need to build up more energy."

"You're right. I'll stay." Herobrine murmurs in agreement. "Ten minutes."

"O-okay." Ten minutes to think of an argument to save his life. Your head is still spinning and your heart is beating like a drum, there are too many emotions in your mind right now. All you can do right now is hold Herobrine tight and pray that you can keep him safe.


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