While Yazmyne and Desmond were going against each other, Herobrine rushed to find the room Notch was hiding in. He was already within the base, thanks to the lack of guards at the front entrance, and had the Rift Stone ready to use.

I'm going to destroy you, Notch. You've torn Yazmyne and I from each other, even in our greatest battle- and not to mention everything you did to me before I even met her...

He checked every hall, went down every corridor, moving with all the cunning swiftness as even an Assassin would do.

I don't care what it takes. You die, tonight.

Suddenly, he could sense something- Notch's presence. Immediately, Herobrine turned left and saw a massive door at the end of a short hall- no doubt, his sworn enemy was taking refuge in there.

Now or never.

Taking a few steps back and a deep breath, Herobrine charged the door and crashed through it full-on. The thick wood broke and splintered as if it had been made of toothpicks, revealing a wide room full of artifacts and a few odd paintings.

"Come out, come out, brother!" Herobrine called, stepping over the debri on the dark carpet, "Its time to end this war for good!"

To Herobrine's surprise, Notch revealed himself immediately. The bearded man stepped out from behind a small statue on one of the artifact stands, weilding his glowing golden axe, and a determined expression.

"I am not your brother!" Notch exclaimed, "You are nothing but a glitch- and the biggest mistake I ever made,"

Herobrine immediately began to advance, cracking his own neck as he weilded his pickaxe in one hand, and the Rift Stone in the other.

"But you're right about the other thing," Notch declared, standing his ground with his axe at ready.

"This war ends now. With your permanent removal."

At this, Notch charged as well- he swung his axe but missed as Herobrine fazed out with an electric jitter, jumping away in perfectly executed timing.

"You don't get it, do you, Notch?" he smiled, clashing his pickaxe with the next swing, "This time...you're the one getting removed."

Without another word, he took two steps backward and thrust the Rift stone at the floor near Notch's feet.

"Wh-what the...!"

The floor opened up in a swirling blue portal, sucking them both in at once before closing again. The opponents found themselves falling through empty space before hitting the floor of a strange pocket dimension.

Both rose and looked around- the surroundings seemed dark and almost eerie, shadows rolling forward almost like the Nightmare Realm- but unlike that dimension, this world was only slightly like Minecraftia. The ground bore strange green blades that stuck up from the soil rather than being fully flat, and the surrounding environment was equally weird. The oddest part of all, though, was the way Notch and Herobrine now appeared here- as they sought to gain their balance again, they realized that their forms were much more detailed, having five strange extensions on each of their hands, clothes with folds and texture, and weapons that appeared more lethal than ever.

"Looks like a game-changer, eh, Notch?" Herobrine chuckled, "Now...lets see how powerful you are, in a world you didn't create..."

Notch barely had time to block the attack as Herobrine swung his pickaxe, coming down hard against the golden axes' handle. The bearded man was shocked by just how strong Herobrine seemed now- they were no longer titans of equal power, but a force of encodic nature against a game designer who had little experience in true fighting.

"Finally feeling what its like to be in a real fight, aren't you, brother?" Herobrine grinned, pressing further with his weapon.

Notch grimaced, barely holding his ground, until the clash of the weapons finally released. Both opponents began to pace around one another, preparing for the next attack- Herobrine's smile couldn't have been wider as he switched his pickaxe from hand to hand, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Notch watched him warily, preparing to defend when needed- he held his golden axe at ready.

"You can't win, Herobrine. I may not have made this world, but I won't let you bring Minecraftia into greater ruin than you already have!"

Finding strength, the bearded crafter decided to attempt the next blow. Herobrine laughed, merely fazing out and in again in a burst of electricity; Notch stumbled as he missed, giving his opponent a clear shot at kicking him in the backside. Herobrine did so forcefully, knocking the unbalanced Notch to the ground. He immediately scrambled to get to his feet, barely rising before Herobrine fazed again and reappeared right in front of him.
It was too soon for Notch to react- Herobrine swung his pickaxe with lightning speed, and cut Notch across the face three times before he could even take a step. His opponent cried out from the pain, clutching his bleeding wounds.

"Never seen your own blood before, have you, Notch?" Herobrine taunted. He began to advance again, slowly, like a wolf approaching its wounded prey.

"Too bad you're about to see a lot more of it..."

Herobrine literally pounced, landing an airborne roundhouse-kick solidly into Notch's chest. Notch had not expected this in the least, nor was able to see it coming because of the blood in his eyes- he was thrown backward so far, he hit one of the odd tree-trunks nearby with enough tremendous force to split it in two.

By now, the crafter of Minecraftia was wheezing- the wind was knocked out of him, blood was all over his face, and his golden axe had been thrown out of reach. It was very clear that Notch had no ability or power to fight in this world- and Herobrine was loving every minute of it.

"I'm disappointed, dear brother!" Herobrine sneered, "I thought you'd at least put up some sort of fight....but look at you...."

He planted his foot on Notch's chest, pressing his pickaxe against his throat. The bearded man groaned, struggling to keep the blade away, but was too weak to stop him.

"Juust look at you. So pathetic...I almost feel sorry."

The blade dug harder, piercing the skin shallowly.

"Almost."

"It....it doesn't...matter," Notch choked, nearly in tears, "I don't want to die, but if you kill me, you'll still...."

Deeper. Blood slightly oozed from his throat, as Herobrine pressed the pickaxe harder.
"you'll....still...."

"I'll what?" Herobrine laughed, "I'll still be the true king of Minecraftia?"

He lifted the pickaxe from his throat, staring his fallen opponent straight in his dark eyes.

"Your time has come, brother. Time for you to feel the pain of losing your whole little world, like I did, and like Yazmyne did. Everything slipping away...as your life comes to an end...."

The white-eyed victor raised his pick high as he said this, aiming for Notch's head.

"Ah....if only Yazmyne were here to be part of this moment..."

"You'll still die...Both of ...both of you!" Notch finally gasped, straining for his voice.

Herobrine paused for a moment, slowly losing his wicked smile.

"What do you mean, old man?" he snarled, "Once I kill you, Minecraftia is ours. I and my Queen shall torment and murder all who dared follow you, and rule your miserable world until the day it crumbles from existence!"

"He has the ultimate weapon," Notch stated defiantly, "Steve has the weapon which can destroy you both. He's up there, back in the Overworld, and when you come back you'll find I'm not the only one who'd enjoy shoving a sword through your miserable black heart!!!"

"Weapon..?"

Herobrine lowered his own weapon, immediately thinking back to when he and Yazmyne had noticed Steve come into the battlefield.

He'd been holding something....some weird fancy sword....

Oh no.

"Yazmyne..."

The white-eyed king lost all thrill of the battle- he spoke so quietly, it sounded like a soft moan rather than words.

"Yazmyne..."

He turned from his target and immediately looked up- thank God, there was the portal, slowly revealing itself again.

"She's probably dead already," Notch sighed, struggling to rise again, "And when you go back up there, Steve will destroy you, too. You and your Queen certainly will be together forever, Herobrine.....forever burning in-"

Herobrine screamed so loud his voice broke, twisting around and bringing down his pickaxe with insane force into Notch's chest. The man's ribcage splintered with a sickening crunch, as his own wail of agony echoed through the strange dimension- Herobrine knelt down and yanked the pick to the side, splitting open the muscle and bones further to expose Notch's beating heart.

"You've had this coming for far too long, brother," he spat, reaching his hand into the trembling, pain-wracked body of his crying enemy.

"Now you know what its like...to be removed."

He gently clutched the fluttering organ, just enough to cause more pain, as he stared straight into Notch's anguished eyes- his enemy could barely breathe, overwhelmed with agony.

"But the difference between you and I...is that you, will NEVER come back!"

Without another word, Herobrine tore out Notch's heart, and crushed it in his fist. The look of ultimate shock, terror, and sorrow in his code-brother's eyes would have been the sweetest sight to him any other day, but Herobrine was far too angry to fully enjoy it- he watched in bitter pleasure as Notch finally breathed his final breath; he fell limp, soaked in his own blood.

It was over for Notch. The ruin of Minecraftia had finally been defeated- but Herobrine hardly cared; something far more important was bearing down on his heart.

"Yazmyne, I'm coming!" he cried, sheathing his dripping pickaxe as he leapt into the air and began teleporting his way to the portal. Tears began to form in his glowing white eyes as he moved faster and faster, hoping and praying with all his might, that his true love was still safe.

"Just hold on, my Queen...just hold on....please, please still be alive up there...."

- End of Chapter 4