//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 41: A Journey's End (Part 3) // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further ado, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Square: Punch Square: Punch Pulling back his fist, Steve sent it rocketing into Herobrine’s chest, another punch swiftly hitting his face. The god of the night stumbled back from the blows but recovered quickly, dashing forward with a roundhouse kick. Circle: Block Triangle: Kick Blocking the attack with an arm, Steve suddenly dropped low to the ground, pivoting on one hand as he swept Herobrine’s legs from underneath him with a kick, sending him to the floor. The deity grunted as he hit the ground, before rolling backwards onto his feet. X: Jump Square: Punch Leaping forward, Steve threw a powerful punch that Herobrine barely managed to block by grabbing his arm. In return, he threw a punch of his own, one that Steve barely caught. Neither one willing to let go, they were locked together, both struggling to overpower the other. “When I win,” Herobrine spoke in a strained voice. “I am going to kill everyone you hold dear, while you watch.” Steve panted through gritted teeth. “Gonna be hard, groan, to do that, when you’re dead.” In response, Herobrine growled and pushed hard, breaking Steve’s hold and sending the Crafter stumbling back. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Herobrine leapt forward and landed a powerful punch on Steve’s face, snapping his head to the side as he knocked to the ground. Damage Received - 4 damage. 22 health remaining. Circle: Dodge Circle: Dodge Groaning, Steve rolled to the side as a diamond sword pierced the ground where he had been laying moments before. Getting to his feet, Steve stepped to the side as Herobrine slashed his blade down, cutting through the air, but leaving him open. Square: Punch Triangle: Kick Square: Punch Taking advantage of the opening, Steve leaned forward, punching Herobrine hard in the face. Quickly kicking the back of his leg, Steve sent his opponent to one knee, before bringing back his fist and punching him solidly in the side of the head. Roaring in fury, Herobrine threw an elbow, which connected with Steve’s stomach, knocking him back. Shooting to his feet, the deity rushed forward and threw a powerful roundhouse kick that connected with the Crafter’s face, making him spin in mid-air before colliding with the ground, face first. Damage Received - 5 damage. 17 health remaining. Groaning, Steve rolled over onto his back, only for a black boot to come stomping down on his chest, holding him down. Damage Received - 2 damage. 15 health remaining. Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw Herobrine standing over him, diamond sword lifted above his head, a malicious grin on his lips. “Looks like I win!” “No!” A voice cried out, drawing both of their gazes over to the side, where Abyss was being helped to her feet by a struggling Trench. She stared at the deity with pleading eyes. “Don’t kill him!! Please Herobrine, I’ll do anything!!” The god of the night smirked. “Ah, young Jean, no, you go by another name now. Abyss, I think is was.” He chuckled. “It’s been quite some time since I last saw you. How have you been?” he asked as he ground his boot into Steve’s chest. “Please, let him go and I will do anything you wish! Please, just don’t kill him!” The dragoness begged. Steve struggled to push Herobrine off of him while the deity seemed to be in deep thought. After a few moments passed, he spoke. “I must admit, the prospect of having you do whatever I will is a very appealing offer. But I will have to decline.” Raising his blade once more, he plunged it into Steve’s chest, piercing straight through his diamond chestplate, causing it to crack in two. Both pieces fell away and disappeared in a small puff of smoke. Critical Damage Received - 13 damage. 2 health remaining. Armor Broken - Diamond Chestplate. Max Health decreased to 29. The pain was utterly agonizing. It felt like someone had just poured lava on his chest, only they made it ten times more painful, and they concentrated it to one single area, making the pain even worse. He groaned in agony as he struggled to repress the scream that so desperately wanted to leave his mouth. He could feel his blood pouring out of his body, onto the road beneath him. “NOO!” He heard Abyss shout, but it seemed strangely muted and distant. Though his vision had significantly darkened from the pain, he managed to look over at the dragoness, as well as the stallion supporting her. They both had expressions of shock and sadness as they looked at him. He wanted to say something, anything, but his body didn’t respond to his wishes. ‘Oh shit, oh shit!’ Steve heard his Nightmare counterpart yell from the back of his mind. In all honesty, Steve had actually forgotten he was there in the first place. ‘Hang in there Steve! I’ll try and fix this!’ The Crafter didn’t respond, the pain having overloaded his senses. Herobrine smirked down at the near-dead Minecraftian before releasing his grip on the sword, leaving it imbedded in Steve’s chest. “You never had a chance Steve. Nightmare or not.” Stepping away from the downed Crafter, he turned to Abyss and Trench, another diamond sword materializing in his grip. “Now, to kill everyone you care about. Starting with you two.” He stalked towards the pair. Meanwhile, behind the god of the night, the black mist that had surrounded Steve was now concentrated around the wound on his chest, disappearing inside him, returning the Crafter to his standard appearance. Steve felt the pain began to ease into something less agonizing and more manageable. ‘Steve, I’ve lessened the pain and stopped the bleeding, but with that sword in your chest, there isn’t much more I can do.’ The Crafter gave a silent groan as he responded. ‘Thanks Nightmare. Give me a sec.’ He began to reach up for the sword handle. ‘Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing?’ Nightmare Steve inquired. ‘What does it look like? I’m going to get this sword out of me, then I’m going to take that fucker down.’ Steve gripped the handle of the blade and squinted his eyes shut as pain flared up from the movement. ‘NO! That guy just wiped the floor with you! You’re in no condition to fight as it is! I’m not even sure you can stand!’ ‘If I don’t, my friends will die!’ Steve responded as he glanced over, only to see Trench get knocked to the side by Herobrine, the stallion bleeding from the multiple wounds on his body. Abyss was on her feet now, facing off against the god of the night. ‘Look, I know it’s crazy, thinking we can beat him and all. And yeah, we may very well die here today. But please, trust me like I trusted you, just for a moment. Please’ No response for a few moments. Then, he spoke. ‘Fine. But if we die, I’m going to kill you.’ said Nightmare Steve, the humorous undertone in his voice informing Steve that he was joking. ‘Thank you.’ With that, Steve wrenched the sword out of his chest, biting his lip so hard it bled in order to keep from screaming. Damage Received - 1 damage. 1 health remaining. Choosing to groan instead, he managed to dig the tip of the sword into the ground, using it to push himself to his feet, though he stumbled slightly. Arm pressed against the hole on his chest, he held the blade with the other as he took slightly shaky steps towards his opponent. Herobrine swiped his blade, cutting deep into Abyss’ arm, causing her to cry out in pain and fall backwards, cradling her injury. Just as he was about to attack again, he stopped as he heard the sound of footsteps. Glancing back, his white, pupil-less eyes widened slightly to see Steve shuffling forward, his indigo eyes narrowed on him, blood stained blade by his side. “So, you are still able to fight. I must say I am slightly shocked.” “Y-yeah.” Steve spoke, voice shaking. “I’m j-just full of s-surprises.” “Indeed. But alas, you will not be winning this fight.” “Oh r-really?” Steve brought up his sword. “Then why don’t y-you prove it?” The deity glared at the Crafter, before pulling back his blade, dropping into a fighting stance. The next moment, he dashed at Steve, sword at the ready. Steve didn’t move, watching at the god of the night came closer and closer. Then, right when Herobrine stabbed his sword forward to impale the Crafter, Steve suddenly dropped, making the attack miss completely. SLICE!! Herobrine’s eyes widened as he felt pain flare up in his stomach. Looking down, he could only stare in shock as he saw the diamond sword piercing his torso. And there was Steve, both hands gripping the sword handle as he grinned up at Herobrine. “Sorry. Did I get the drop on you?” He quipped before pulled the sword out, sending the deity stumbling back. Square: Slash Square: Slash Stepping forward, Steve swiped his opponent hard across the chest, quickly following up with slash to the leg, sending Herobrine to one knee. Quickly grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Steve pulled him up to look into his eyes. “You lose, asshole.” Square: Slash Before the god of the night could respond, Steve slashed upward, making a huge gash on the deity’s chest. Herobrine stumbled backwards, staring at the Crafter with wide eyes. After a few moments of standing stock still, he swayed slightly before, ever so slowly, falling backwards, his body landing on the road with a heavy thud. Steve stared at his fallen opponent for a short while, taking deep, ragged breaths. After about a minute had passed, he sighed heavily and let the sword in his grip drop, the weapon clanging loudly against the floor before he too fell, falling to his knees. “He’s gone.” The voice from his side caused him to glance over at Abyss, who stared at the body of Herobrine with joy in her eyes. “You killed him. It’s, finally over.” She let out a sigh of relief. Steve smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a evil, albeit pained laugh. Snapping his head towards the source, his stomach dropped when he saw that Herobrine’s body was moving slightly. Quickly grabbing the diamond sword by his side, Steve slowly walked over. When he was standing over him, he saw that a small grin had made its way onto the deity’s face. Steve narrowed his gaze. “What are you laughing at?” He demanded. “Just what Abyss said, that it was, over. It shows how, little the both of you, know about this world.” His smirk grew. “There are far more, villains in this world, than you know. Discord, Sombra, Entity 303, and many more. There is no way you can defeat them all. You will die eventually.” He coughed harshly. Steve stared down at the god of the night. After a few moments, he sighed. “Yeah, probably. But I won’t stop trying. I will always protect the innocent, until my dying breath. And when my time comes,” Steve raised his sword. “I'll see my friends and family again.” Without another word, the Crafter plunged the sword down, straight through Herobrine’s skull. Steve watched as the bright, white glow faded from his opponent’s eyes and all movement ceased. Gritting his teeth, he withdrew the blade and tossed it to the side, before stepping away from the corpse. Groaning, he pressed a hand to the injury on his chest, pain flaring up again. “Ugh, that hurts.” “Are you okay? I-I mean, relatively speaking.” Abyss asked, tone showing her concern. “No, if I’m being honest. But I’m still alive, so there’s that, I suppose.” The Crafter shrugged. “I’ll be alright.” The dragoness smiled and nodded. “Okay.” Smiling back, Steve’s gaze wandered to Trench's unconscious form laying a few feet behind her. Eyes widening at the injuries he had, Steve opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when something very strange happened. Trench turned white and faded into nothingness, right before his eyes. Mouth dropping open in shock, Steve looked around and saw the same thing happening to the rest of his companions. One by one, they turned white and faded from existence. First Trench, then Aura, then Princess Celestia soon after, followed by Dash and Rizworth. Only a minute or two later, they were all gone, leaving only the Minecraftian and dragoness. “What happened to them?!” Steve asked, extremely worried. Abyss merely smirked at him. “They’re free now. With Herobrine gone, there isn’t anyone keeping them trapped here. They’ll wake up in the real world, wherever they had been when this all started. Soon enough, both of us will wake up as well.” Steve closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as he rubbed his face with a hand. “Oh good. I thought something bad had happened.” Upon opening them, he saw his hand had turned white, just like his companions. Looking down, he saw the rest of him had turned white as well. “Looks like it’s your turn now, Steve.” said Abyss. “Let’s talk again soon, yeah?” Steve smirked and nodded. “You got it. See ya on the other side.” Not a moment later, his vision went white and he knew nothing more. * * * * * The next moment, when Steve woke up, he immediately knew something was wrong. For one, he wasn’t in the Everfree Forest anymore. He was in some barren, white room that smelled very sterile. For another, he was laying in some weird bed, with handcuffs on his wrists that kept him from moving too much. Grunting, he squirmed and thrashed, trying to break the restraints, but the blue glow on them told him it was a fruitless endeavor. Sighing, he ceased his moving and laid back in the bed. Taking a look around the room, he saw there was only one door, over on his far left. On his right was a window, though he was too far away to look out it. Suddenly, the door opened. Snapping his head to the side, he saw a pony, an pink unicorn mare, walk in, sporting one of those traditional nurse’s outfits. Following close behind her were two guards in the traditional gold armor. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of him looking at her and the guards visibly tensed, glaring at him. For a few moments, no one moved or said anything. Steve's gaze was even as his eyes wandered from nurse to guards and back. Eventually, the silence got to him and he spoke. "Where am I?" He asked. The nurse was apparently caught off guard by the question, but recovered enough to respond. "Um, you're in Canterlot, sir. Canterlot Royal Hospital."