Cruel but Gentle - Herobrine X Steve

Notch sighed heavily and rubbed his temples in an attempt to relieve some of the building stress. He had been sat at his desk for about two days now, continually coding on his computer. His eyelids felt heavy from lack of sleep and he strained to focus on the countless lines of code which made up the reality he and everyone else lived in.

A sudden familiar presence appeared behind him. Notch turned his swivel chair to face them. It was Herobrine, who honestly looked awful. His clothes were crumpled and dirty, his hair messier than usual and Notch could see tear stains down his brother's cheeks. It hurt him to see him like this.

"Er...h-how's Steve..?" Herobrine stuttered, the normal cockiness in his voice completely gone. Notch also noted how Herobrine no longer stood tall and confident, instead avoiding eye contact and seeming...smaller.

"I'm still having some difficulty finding him amongst the code." Herobrine growled at his brother's answer and his face quickly changed from heartbroken to enraged.

"If you don't find him then I'll-"

"Don't worry," Notch assured, standing from his chair and taking a careful step towards Herobrine. He was used to his brother's new bipolar mood, since it happened often when he came to check up on Notch's progress. One moment he'd be close to tears and the next snarling threats. "I'll get him back and I'm sure he'll forgive you once you explain-" A knock at the door cut off the rest of his sentence. "Enter."

The door flung open and a young, ginger-haired woman stood there, panting while she wore a huge smile on her face. When she noticed Herobrine - who had folded his arms across his chest and moved back at her entrance - the smile faded slightly and she suddenly seemed hesitant and fearful.

"Yes, Alexandra?" Notch addressed, trying to look reassuring as he faced Alex. She gulped but turned her focus to Notch and her excitement over-powered her fear.

"Dusky's awake!" She grinned happily. A small weight was lifted off Notch's shoulders. That was one less thing to worry constantly about.

"Wonderful!" Notch turned to Herobrine. "If you give me twenty minutes I will-"

"No, I need to tell the little mu-...her something." Herobrine interrupted firmly, white eyes glazed with a sense of determination. Notch nodded.

"In that case, we'll teleport there. Alexandra," Alex - who was eyeing Herobrine cautiously - snapped her gaze to Notch when he addressed her. The god in question held his hand out. "Grab my hand." Alex did as instructed and suddenly they were outside the infirmary, with Herobrine appearing a moment after. Alex stumbled, feeling dizzy and slightly nauseous, but caught her balance after a second.

Notch opened the door to a dull-coloured room with a shiny floor. White beds were lined across the walls on either side and, on one of these beds - lay a mostly grey dog with a beige muzzle and (at the end of the same bed) a tabby cat. The dog wore a black collar and had white bandages wrapped around numerous places on her body, however, the most prominent was wrapped around her right eye. When the three entered the room to approach the animals, they growled and hissed at the alarming sight of Herobrine.

"Don't worry, he isn't here to cause any harm."

Dusky had doubts about this, and by Ace's expression, he did too but neither said anything. Alex moved forward to stroke Ace and Notch stood beside the bed. Herobrine stayed a safe distance away. Dusky curiously noticed he looked rather...depressed. For some reason. Now she was looking, they all seemed unhappy. What was wrong? And where was Steve? Was he still trapped in Herobrine's castle? Shouldn't he be here to see her?