Herobrine and the Endermen

In a single day and night, Herobrine's world had been transformed. Entire civilizations and buildings appeared from out of nowhere; ancient ruins and wondrous natural formations came into being; and even the light itself seemed to work differently. Minecraftia was suddenly an entirely new world.

More fascinating - and fearsome - than the structures and natural formations that appeared were the beings. At first, the residents of Minecraftia who had been around for many centuries were afraid of these new beings. Herobrine, of course, was the one responsible for welcoming any new being into Minecraftia, and, though it was difficult at first, the silverfish and cave spiders were eventually integrated into the Minecraftian community. The silverfish were an oddity in that they lived inside stone, but they were friendly and agreeable enough. The cave spiders, which inhabited special wood-lined caves, were also agreeable, though the old variety of spiders sometimes quarreled with them at first due to the venomous bite of the former and the superior size of the latter. It took a while for Herobrine to settle the disputes between the two races, but it worked out eventually.

In all, it was exhausting for Herobrine to welcome and native-ize the strange newcomers that suddenly appeared in Minecraftia, but it was well worth the effort, and the newcomers eventually became as much native residents of Minecraftia as the skeletons, spiders, zombies, Creepers, slimes, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, wolves, and squid.

Getting the old residents of Minecraftia used to the new structures was, likewise, a challenge, as Herobrine himself had to adjust to them. Giant mushrooms, ravines, underground wooden structures, and giant underground strongholds were new and amazing spectacles, and all of the old residents of Minecraftia, Herobrine included, were awed by what Notch, the almighty Creator, had added to the world. Even the newcomers were impressed by their surroundings. The adjustment was gradual, but the negative effects were minimal, and most beings simply enjoyed their new world. There was a loss, however, that saddened Herobrine: for whatever reason, the Far Lands, Herobrine's long-cherished home, ceased to exist. Herobrine didn't know how or why his brother had done this, but accepted it as his almighty brother's will nonetheless.

Days after the amazing transformation had been worked on Minecraftia, however, Herobrine started receiving some distressing news. Beings of all races and species, with the exception of the squids and slimes were vanishing all over the world. There was no way to account for the disappearances; the sun would simply set, and when it rose, someone would be missing. Beings didn't go missing every night, and the number of disappearances per night was neither constant nor consistent, but something was definitely wrong.

As Minecraftia's supervisor and caretaker, Herobrine was deeply troubled by these disappearances. He asked everyone, of every race and species, if any of them had seen anything, but for a long time, his inquiries yielded no results. Then, one day, a spider came to him, badly wounded and babbling incoherently. Herobrine quickly worked a spell to heal the spider's wounds, but the spider was no easier to understand.

"My friend, what happened?" asked Herobrine.

"T-t-t-the b-b-black th-th-things!" the spider babbled. "T-th-they k-k-killed S-S-Skellita!"

"Skellita? What happened to Skellita?" Herobrine pressed.

"Th-th-th-they…k-k-k-killed…"

"What killed? Speak to me, friend! What happened?"

After a day and night spent in one of the underground community caves, Herobrine was able to calm the spider enough for it to answer his questions.

"What is your name?"

"S-S-Spinderon."

"Okay, Spinderon," Herobrine said calmly, "tell me what happened. It's okay. Just relax…breathe…"

The spider named Spinderon took a few steadying breaths, and finally told his story.

"Skellita and I were wandering around, enjoying the nighttime on the surface," he said, still shaky but finally coherent. "She was riding on my back." Herobrine nodded; spiders often gave skeletons rides on their backs. "We were wandering around," Spinderon continued, "when we saw some movement near the beach." Spinderon broke off and smiled nervously at Herobrine. "You always say to commune with our fellow Minecraftians," he said to Herobrine. It was true; Herobrine always preached, especially after the many new arrivals in the world, that all the native beings of Minecraftia, created by his almighty brother, Notch, should socialize and welcome each other. "Skellita wanted to greet whoever was on the beach, and I agreed, so I carried her over there…" Spinderon broke off again, and Herobrine could sense that terror was threatening to overwhelm him again.

"Relax, Spinderon, you are safe here," he said to Spinderon soothingly.

Spinderon shuddered, but managed to continue. "We went to speak with the beings on the beach, whoever they were," he went on, "but for some reason, we couldn't figure out what they were. They were just…black shapes…wandering around…" Spinderon shuddered again. "They were frightening," he told Herobrine. "They looked like shadows. They kept picking things up and putting them down elsewhere, it looked like at random."

"They picked things up?" Herobrine questioned sharply. This was a development; although he himself had the power to break things, he had never been able to carry blocks of material around or place them anywhere.

Spinderon nodded. "That's how we knew they were of no species we had ever heard of before," he said. "But we figured, they were the children of Notch, just like us, right?" He gave a humorless laugh. "When we got closer, we saw that the black things had your eyes…but as soon as we were close enough to make that out, the ones closest to us turned to us, and the ones that looked at us that were carrying materials dropped what they were holding." Spinderon shivered again. "They just stared at us," he told Herobrine, "and we just stared back. Skellita eventually managed to voice a greeting, but the things didn't say anything in response…they didn't even move." Another shudder. "Eventually, we got creeped out, and I turned away…and…and the next thing I knew…" He broke off, trembling with terror at the memory.

Herobrine took a few minutes to calm Spinderon before asking, "What happened?"

"The…the things…they attacked us!" Spinderon finally blurted out.

Herobrine blinked. "So? Humans attack your kind unprovoked all the time. This may be a crime among Minecraftians that will need to be sorted out, but…"

"They moved so fast!" Spinderon exclaimed. "They ran, and they teleported, and they were on top of us before we could react! Skellita started shooting arrows, and I tried to climb high into trees so that the things couldn't reach us, but those…things…those things!" He broke off, trembling again.

Again, Herobrine took some time to soothe Spinderon.

"Skellita and I killed the things that attacked us," Spinderon finally finished weakly, "but she was hurt too badly…she died, and there was nothing I could do…"

"You did well to come to me," Herobrine told Spinderon. "It may be that these creatures are behind the disappearances that have abounded throughout the world of Minecraftia since the Great Change." He paused. "What did these beings look like?" he asked after a minute. "I know you said that they are black and have my eyes, but what do they look like?"

"They looked…like people…but not people," Spinderon said hesitantly. "They were tall, and thin, and they had really long arms and legs…and they were black, and their eyes were all white, just like yours…but they were otherwise shaped like humans. Also, they gave off weird purple glitter."

Herobrine pondered this for a minute.

"Thank you, my friend," he said to Spinderon at last. "If it wouldn't be too much to ask, may I request that you inform as many of the Minecraftians as possible that they are not to venture above ground after dark - not even the night-walkers - until I have resolved this issue, and have the ones you tell help you spread the word?"

"You're not going to confront those things, are you?" exclaimed Spinderon.

"I must," answered Herobrine; "it is my duty. These beings have committed a crime, and even were this not the case, it is my job to help any new species or race in Minecraftia integrate into our world as seamlessly as possible. I must confront them, no matter the risk."

Despite Spinderon's many protests, Herobrine would not be swayed in the matter, and Spinderon reluctantly went to spread the word among the many residents, old and new, of Minecraftia.

Thus it came to be that Herobrine stood on the surface alone as the sun set, with no companion, day-walker or night-walker, anywhere in his sight. As darkness fell, Herobrine waited, knowing that the strange black creatures would appear somewhere, sometime.

The moon was rising to its peak in the sky when Herobrine detected movement in the distance. He headed toward the disturbance in the otherwise-still night, and sure enough, tall, thin, black figures came into view.

Herobrine stared at them from a distance for a minute. They looked so strange. Their appearances could not be adequately compared to that of any being in Minecraftia, and yet their forms were vaguely human.

But what were they?

Herobrine approached the group. When he was close enough, some of the strange creatures froze, dropped what they were holding (in the cases of those that were holding something), and turned to stare at him. Herobrine saw that they did, indeed, have his eyes, though the direct contrast of the white of their eyes to the pitch-black of their skin made their eyes appear to glow.

There was silence, and apart from the more distant creatures, no one moved.

Herobrine cleared his throat. "Children of Notch, I greet you," he said.

The beings did not respond.

Herobrine took another step forward. "I said, I greet you," he repeated.

Still, the black figures said nothing.

Getting frustrated - no one had ever had the nerve not to answer him before - Herobrine declared, "In the name of my brother, almighty Notch, your creator, I command that you speak to me!"

The creatures still did not move or speak, but the night was no longer silent. A strange noise started to become audible to Herobrine's ears. At first, he thought it was some of the divine music that C418 had written that sometimes sounded throughout the land, but as he paid closer attention, it grew louder, and Herobrine realized that it was…whispers.

Brother of Notch…

Our creator…

He is here…

He speaks to us…

He commands us…

He looks at us…

Why is he looking at us?…

He does not understand…

He does not know…

"What do I not understand?" asked Herobrine. "What do I not know?"

He hears us!…

Our voices…

How can that be?…

Brother of God…

So he claims…

Yet he must be…

Even if he does not know…

How else could he hear us?…

Yes, he must be…

How unfortunate that we have to kill him…

Do we have to kill him?…

We must…

He has seen us…

But does it matter?…

If he is God's brother…

"Why does it matter that I have seen you?" asked Herobrine, frightened.

He does not know…

"No, I don't know, so tell me!" exclaimed Herobrine. "Who are you?"

We are the Endermen…

Spirits of shadow…

We cannot allow ourselves to be seen…

If you look at us directly…

You steal our soul…

We must kill to take it back…

Or you will take it from us…

We cannot move…

We are frozen by your gaze…

But when you look away…

We are free to move…

And we must move quickly…

Lest you take our souls away…

"I am sorry to hear that that is your lot in life," Herobrine said honestly, "but Minecraftia is home to many other beings besides yourselves, and we all share this world; it is the Minecraftian way. While I realize that you are not visible during the day, for whatever reason, the people of Minecraftia, myself included, cannot simply give the nights to you. There are those who burn up in the light of the sun, and must walk the surface at night, if they are to walk it at all, and it would not be fair to deny them the trees and the sky for the sake of one people."

They may have the trees…

And the sky…

So long as they do not look directly at us…

Or if they do…

And wish to live…

They must continue to look at us…

Until the sun rises…

For we are formless and powerless during the day…

And if caught in the gaze of another…

When the sun rises…

We will die…

But only if they look directly at us…

"So you're saying that if someone sees you out of the corner of their eye, or in their peripheral vision, you will be unaffected?" asked Herobrine.

Just so…

Brother of God…

Look…

The sun rises…

Those caught in your gaze will die…

Or you must die…

Do not look away…

Not if you wish to live…

Brother of God…

"I cannot die a permanent death," Herobrine told them, "and, as caretaker of Minecraftia, and all of its people, I accept death so that you may live. Your lots in life are strange to me, but it is my hope that, someday, you and your kind can live peacefully among us, as our friends."

As you wish…

Brother of God…

You are kind…

And we are sorry…

Sorry you looked at us…

For we must fight for our souls…

"I understand," Herobrine told them; "it is natural for all living things to fight for the right to keep living."

He turned away.

He felt, rather than heard or saw, the Endermen leap at him, and the pain that shot through him was brief before he was swallowed by darkness.