Somewhere Else

A warrior strode silently through the twisting labyrinths of the massive castle complex. It seemed utterly lifeless. All around lay signs of recent battle that raged through, leaving behind wreckage and ruin.

Walls and smooth paved stones glistened with dark patches of spilled blood. Burns and soot covered the walls where spells flew and fire exploded.

The warrior could almost hear the yells of rage, growls, and screams of pain of those who fought here..

Pausing by the massive stone stairs, their balustrades chipped or missing altogether, the warrior looked up toward the ornate gate into the throne room, torn off the hinges and cast down. Glancing left, he noticed a small entrance hidden behind the twisted trunk of a tree protruding seemingly right through the stone floor.

Curling around the thick trunk, the staircase brought the warrior below into the servant quarters. Proceeding along the narrow corridor, he by-passed numerous rooms, also ravaged by battle. Personal belongings scattered across the floor, broken and abandoned, as those who invaded carried out everything of value.

His harsh, blue eyes briefly pausing on a discarded doll, the warrior kept going, his face expressionless.

His steps came almost soundless, despite the shining armor he wore or the sheathed sword hanging at his left side. His movements sure and confident, he was unconcerned with stealth.

A feeling unerringly guided him to his goal - the one on the other side of this connection. And the feeling warned that the one he searched to find knew of his coming, since he kept the link open instead of closed.

His "brother" waited for him.

Concern drove the warrior to hasten his step, so strong were the emotions that he perceived coming from his counterpart. Pain, turmoil, persistent anger and feelings of betrayal and loss, along with glimmers of dark despair. And through it all a grim sense of resolve. It was this last that worried the warrior most.

Frowning, he strode across the twisting passageways, taking short-cuts, until at last he stepped through a yawning gap between the walls and paused, gazing at yet another long hallway.

The feeling that guided him grew much clearer, stronger. And even with his limited perception of magic, the warrior perceived such a tingling sensation of Power raging just beyond those sealed doors, that his hair stood on edge.

This was not good.

The degree of power he sensed was well beyond what he expected, given his counterpart's condition last time he saw him. Most likely, it meant that his own artifacts of protection and fighting skills would be useless if events forced him to confront his twin in battle.

Hoping that it would not come to that, the warrior drew his eyebrows together, gritted his teeth, and strode forward determined to stop his "brother" from doing whatever desperate thing he planned. It was clear to the warrior that his double's emotions currently clouded his judgment. And doing so often led to rash action and unjustified risk, the warrior knew from his own experience.

"... Find him. Before the others do." Another voice sounded in the warrior's memory. Permeated with power, quiet and also full of genuine concern.

"... You may be the only one he will listen to."

"I will try, Notch... But Nether, I think I'm already too late." The warrior grumbled to himself, his blue eyes still gazing unseeing at what he perceived at the end of that corridor.

Roughly shaking off doubt, his teeth gritted and chin set, the armored man strode toward the closed doors...

...

"... Release him." Came the familiar voice, immediately sending comfort through the warrior's mind and heart despite its chilly tone.

"Only after you answer our questions, Notch. Because rest assured, both of you will be called to speak before the Council about this."

"Yes! You knew where he was. And what he was planning to do. And yet told us nothing?"

The last voice, incredulous and harsh, broke through the warrior's foggy mind and returned him to the present.

Groggily, his blue eyes opened. He found himself standing on a platform, a glowing circle of ephemeral fire flaring around him from an intricate pattern drawn on its edge. Purple splotches of color swirled through the mist flowing just below the warrior's knees.

Beyond the platform stood a group of men dressed in long white robes with intricately ornate edgings. Their aura flared with so much power and anger, that the warrior instantly felt himself a child, surrounded by unfriendly grown-ups.

To his relief, however, their anger did not aim at him.

A single man stood facing their group. Tall and lean, dressed in simple, unadorned clothes unlike those who opposed him, the man glared back at them unafraid. His proud, stately posture declared his confidence even before their greater number. On his hairless head lay a simple, golden band. The only other element of status he wore was a white, silky cape with an embroidered letter "C" - a symbol of his high ranking as the Creator and Protector of a powerful Domain consisting of many worlds.

"Notch, you are one of us. Why have you sought to hide this from us? The Great Council ordered us to find and capture that monster."

"Yet, your Champion here prevented our servants from doing that!" The younger immortal hotly accused.

The man's dark brown eyes narrowed at them.

"Steve did the right thing. A little more, and they would have broken the Barrier and released the magic my brother used to fuel his reckless spell. Although this location is barren, it may well have started a chain reaction. In which case, this entire world chain and everything in it would have ceased to exist, including my champion and your servants." He explained coolly.

The immortals unwillingly shared a doubtful look.

"Our servants did not tell us of this." One of them said and cast the two hooded figures a sharp look. Standing close to the wall, the two beings unwillingly shrunk further into the shadows, trying to be less noticeable.

"Of course not. And you did not see it fit to scan their memory first. Instead, you've detained my champion and tried to break through the protection I've set around his mind, though you knew that carries risk of causing damage to a human mind. And you did this knowing full well that he is not just my champion, but also my named brother. Rest assured, the Council will hear of this when I give them my account about this."

The immortals exchanged another look at this half-threat, half-promise, spoken in a stonily calm tone.

"We did not seek to do him harm." One of them immediately backtracked.

"However, he did stand in the way of our servants, allowing their quarry to escape." He began to say.

"Why do you call him your brother?" Another immortal interrupted, glaring at Notch with resentment in his blue eyes.

From his impatient look and lower level of power, the warrior could tell that he was much younger than the others, even though it was otherwise difficult to tell with immortals - they had the appearance of adults when they sprung into being in areas permeated by Power.

"By calling him that, you are calling him our brother. He is not one of us!" The younger immortal said vehemently.

"He is a mistake, which should have never been created." He insisted.

"An abomination, which must be destroyed!" The younger immortal's friends readily supported him.

"And had it not been for your... Champion here... our servants would have handled this matter! They would have apprehended him. Instead, he got away. And because of him, we cannot even trace where the magic took him!"

The younger immortal cast an angry glance toward the warrior trapped within the platform and others did as well. Steve had a hard time keeping himself from shrinking before the immortals' oppressive power.

"No matter his value to you, he had no right to interfere in our affairs! The Great Council itself has appointed us to carry out this task and you, Notch of Craft, will not stand in our way!"

"The Council did not order his death, Notch." An older immortal pointed out, his voice calmer and more amicable.

"Only his capture, so he would stand trial. We are not like rash humans, who condemn without evidence, based only on hearsay and groundless accusations. An investigation would determine his innocence or guilt. But instead of coming with us, he chose to fight and flee. That does not speak well of his state of mind. Surely, you see this?"

"He is dangerous! Cannot you see that? Why do you continue to defend him? You know the wrongs he has done! The wrongs he continued to do, even after he became free from his master's so-called control? Clearly, he cannot handle himself and his destructive nature. Thus, he must be stopped."

"Herar..." An older immortal turned to the younger with a warning, at which Herar seemed to cool down a bit and stepped back in deference.

Ignoring the youth, Notch addressed his equal.

"Yes, I do understand your point, Venun. And you know why I disagree. But this is not the right time nor place to speak of this. Release him." He insisted with a nod in the immobilized warrior's direction.

The barrier of blue flames fell, setting the warrior free. It took another moment before he managed to shake off the lethargy and forced his feet to move, bringing him to his protector's side. With a wince, Steve held his hand to the still raw looking slash wound on his side, but took it away with relief as his adoptive brother's power swept over him, healing his wounds and filling his weary body with new strength.

"And to answer your question, I did not know what my brother was planning, no. Our connection is such that he couldn't let me know in words. He wished to speak to Steve. I suppose... to say goodbye. But what he planned to do concerned him alone and no one else."

"No one else? So, you think it's nothing that he has used forbidden magic that could have destroyed these worlds?"

"He wished to find a place, where he could finally live in peace." Notch sadly shook his head. In their expressions he found only disbelief and mistrust, and stifled a sigh.

"Perhaps, you should also know that when I called him my brother, I meant it... I have sent Steve to tell him that I finished what his creator started and he is now my brother in full."

"You did what?" The other immortals reacted with pure disbelief.

"I accepted him. Something none of you were willing to do. And had it not been for your servants interfering at the wrong time, he would have learnt of it. And perhaps chose not to leave... Which means that from now on, I do have a say in anything that concerns him, including your attempts to capture him and his trial. And I will be speaking to the Council about that shortly."

"Brother or not, he WILL stand trial. Once we find him. And we WILL find him." Herar declared.

"Both you and Steve share a connection with him, Notch. With your help, we could find him faster. It's in his best interest as well. Since the magic malfunctioned, there is no telling what state he is currently in. He could be in danger." The older immortal amicably appealed.

This time, Notch's heavy gaze fell on the two figures by the wall and they did move back, their limbs shaking.

"I will speak about all this with the Council." Notch frowned.

Casting their group a disapproving glance, Notch and his Champion vanished.

"What a mess..." The older immortal said with an amused note slipping into his expression.

Indifferently, Venun looked at the place where the potentially disastrous event just took place. The melted, flowing edges of objects in the room, with some parts of them missing and other things randomly fused among them, spoke of the anomalous flows of reality that passed through here. His gaze rested on the grisly mural on the wall, where parts of some unfortunate animal stuck out, half its body turned into skeletal fossils and half still fresh and bleeding a bit from a primitive arrow that protruded from its flesh.

"From the looks of it, his magic tampered with flows of time as well as other dimensions."

"Maybe he is dead?" Herar asked hopefully.

"If he was, those two would have felt it. With one sharing a connection through blood and another through power, we would have seen it at once if their 'brother' was dead. No, he is still alive." The elder answered.

"That wild magic could have cast him anywhere, though. Or even any-when..."

"Is there no way to find him, then? He managed to get away? That's unacceptable!" The young immortal stomped his foot, his hands clenching into fists.

"Of course there is a way. But it will require some time. And a bit of that mortal's blood, which we fortunately do have." An encouraging look at the two servants drew them a step closer to the powerful group, and one of them hesitantly lifted up his sword, still glistening with shed blood.

"Steve's? Why?"

A glance in his direction caused the inexperienced youth to connect the dots. Understanding bloomed in his pure, blue eyes.

"Well, if he helped us, we could have done this faster." He still grumbled.

"It would be best if we do this ourselves. Before Notch speaks to the Council." Venun pointed out.

"Why? You think they will recognize his claim? Accept that unnaturally created monster as an equal to us? That's pure nonsense!" Another immortal spoke up, until now staying quiet.

"He has a high rank, Kairen. His word will have weight." Venun said firmly.

"If his claim receives approval, as I suspect it will, our target's status will change. We won't be able to use the same methods against him that we can still use now."

"Then we must carry out the Tracing at once!" Herar exclaimed.

"He left our reality fully, so our actions are already limited. Even if we find him, we won't be able to bring him back. I doubt that the Council will approve us to use the same volatile magic that he used to escape."

"Then, how can he stand Trial?" The younger immortal asked in confusion.

"We do not need to bring him back to see the justice done." Venun smiled. Kairen nodded sharply, his scarred face turning grim.

"The world he escaped to does not know the danger that they now face. " Venun continued.

"Yes!" The others immediately picked up his reasoning.

"It was our mistake that allowed that Monster to escape. Thus, it is our responsibility to do everything in our power to stop him." Venun concluded.

"We cannot allow him to cause the same chaos and destruction in some innocent, unsuspecting world. The least we could do is warn them." Another immortal appealed to everyone and they responded with agreement.

"We will not allow him to commit further evil."

"One way or another, we will make sure that he answers for his crimes. Justice will be done."