The Broken Flame

Brine screamed out again as he charged forward, swinging his dual swords forward. The Ender’s reflexes stopped him again and he growled. “Damn you! You have the gall to bring harm to my friends and my brother?! You have the nerve to try and take away everything I’ve worked so hard for?! You’ll pay dearly for what you have done, Glistenia! You will pay for hurting Steve, Celina’s people, and for making me hurt her!”

Celina shouted out again as she sliced through another zombie. There were still many monsters coming towards her and she didn’t think she could fight much longer. Her body was tired, and it ached like the Nether. She had already gotten many cuts and bruises from the monsters, and luckily none were zombie scratches. But she knew there wouldn’t be much longer to fight if her body gave out on her.

Brine was now leaving himself open every time he tried to swing at the Enderwoman and he was covered in small gashes and cuts all over his limbs. They bled and stung like nothing else, and he could see his life fluid pattering on the ground. He wasn’t healing, her sword was negating his healing powers and he knew he was getting weaker by the second. Brine was now swinging wildly but every blow was blocked by Glistenia’s purple sword. He jumped into the air one last time to come down at Glistenia.

Then, it happened. 

It was like time slowed down as Celina looked up to see Brine with his blades held out at his sides, leaving his chest wide open as the Ender seemed to smirk at him. Celina realized what was about to happen and she shouted out, “BRINE, NO!”

Then the wail rang out and Celina screamed.

It was too fast for Brine to stop it, too fast for him to bring his weapons up in defense. Glistenia brought her sword up in one swift motion and Brine let out a sharp gasp as the sword went through his chest and out of his back. There he was, suspended in the air as his swords flew from his hands and clattered to the ground. Brine was hanging there, and there was a moment of silence before he wailed out in agony. “EEEERRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHAAAHHHH!”

“BRINE!” Celina shouted out as loud as she could. She began to run towards the Enderwoman and the Demi-God, dropping her sword on the ground.

Brine felt hot tears flood his eyes and roll down his face as he began to writhe in pain, Glitsenia only glaring down at him as he cried out again. She suddenly took her blade and shoved it into the stone, Brine going down with it and shrieking again as he hit the ground. He tried to pull the blade out as he laid there, but he couldn’t get it out with his body now getting weaker and the pain he was in.

Glistenia chuckled and backed away a few steps, hearing the queen running towards the dying one. She spoke to Brine with a dark, sinister voice. “Now… now you will die for your betrayal, Herobrineious. You will finally be vanquished from this world for your weakness. This human was your downfall, and she will watch you die before I slay her too.” She snickered. “You have failed, Herobrine.”

Celina finally reached Brine and dropped to her knees. “Brine! Oh, dear Gods!” she cried as her friend continued to writhe on the ground. She could see that the sword had gone through him and she could see all the damage he had taken in his fight with Glistenia. Her eyes went wide when she realized his wounds weren’t healing. The Ender had given him his powers, and it occurred to her that she knew how to stop them too. The queen heard her friend cry out again, his voice beginning to grow hoarse. “Brine, hold on! I can get this out, I’m gonna save you! Hold on!”

Brine whimpered, but managed to grab onto Celina’s wrist before she could grab onto the sword. “Ce--Celina, don’t! He--Her sword… it’s too pow--powerful. It’s… it--it feeds on nothing… but rage and anger. I’ve seen--mobs try to use it. It--it kills them because… it takes their energy if you--you don’t have enough… enough fury to use it. I--It could kill you if you try to hold it.”

Celina blinked and gaped at the weapon that was sticking out of her friend. She could see that red aura that surrounded it and she shuddered at the thought. If slices from it could stop her friend’s healing powers and kill mobs, she didn’t want to imagine what might happen if she took a hold of it.

The queen heard Brine cry out again and she felt herself beginning to panic. “Brine, we have to get this thing out of you somehow! You’re not healing and--”

Brine shook his head. “For--forget about me. You… you need to...to--stop Glistenia.” He hissed and closed his eyes as the pain grew. “She… if you can’t… stop her, she’ll… she’ll kill Steve, and then… who knows--who she--she’ll go after?”

Celina realized how right Brine was and she felt her eyes watering. “Brine, I can’t just leave you here to die! I love you! You mean so much to me! You’re my best friend!” She shook her head. “And… I… I can’t defeat her, Brine! I’m outnumbered here! And--and… I just-- I don’t think I can--”

“Not by… yourself. But…” Brine coughed violently before pointing out his blades that he had dropped. “Take… take my blades. If you use them… you can defeat her. I made them myself and--and I… I know you can use them.”

“What do you mean?”

“My blades can only be wielded… by… myself… or--someone… I trust. I--I made them that way. Their powered--by… by the--the user’s will to… fight and sur--survive.” He reached for her hand and took a hold of it, letting out a whimper. “Let them… fuel you. Let them--give you strength. For our people, for Steve… for me, Celina.”

The queen’s eyes spilled over and she found her emotions overwhelming her. “Brine… I…”

“Please,” he quietly pleaded. “Please, Celina. We can’t… let her win.”

Celina quietly gazed at Brine, before giving a serious expression to him and nodding. “...Okay… okay, Brine. I’ll do it. For our people, for Steve, and for you.” She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. “I’ll do this for you, I promise.”

Brine smiled as she stood, his eyes threatening to close and his breathing became more shallow. He was in so much pain, but some of it seemed to dissipate as he looked at the queen.

Celina stood with her hands clenched at her sides, her brows furrowed in determination. She looked up at Glistenia, several blocks away from her. The Ender scoffed as the human glared at her.

“Are you done with your little emotional fit, young queen,” she asked with venom in her words. “Humans are such emotional creatures, it makes them so weak. Having such connections has obviously brought you nothing but pain. You really should just let me end your misery right now. You’ve obviously worn yourself out, you’re on the verge of collapsing. I can see it in the shaking of your body. You should just give up now.”

Celina frowned deeply. “That’s what you think, Glistenia. But I’ve still got some fight left in me. Besides, I just have to remember Steve’s motto that I’ve always followed: fight a good fight until the very end!” She pointed to the Enderwoman. “You may think that you’ve won, but the battle isn’t over yet!”

That was when Celina took off in a sprint as fast as her legs could carry her in their weakness, heading for where Brine’s crimson weapons laid. 

Glistenia seemed to realize what the queen was doing and her eyes widened a bit. “What are you… NO! STOP HER! DON’T LET HER REACH THOSE BLADES!”

Arrows were drawn and Celina could see a few skeleton archers nocking their projectiles and readying to fire at her. She huffed, before dropping down as she heard the arrows come flying. They missed her by a long shot and she got to her feet and kept running.

A loud hissing noise had her pushing herself to run faster despite her aching lungs. She was wheezing now but she knew she couldn’t stop. She forced herself into a roll and managed to get just out of the reach of the creeper’s range. 

Glistenia shrieked in anger and teleported in front of the swords, a few blocks in front of the queen. She swung her arm out, but she miscalculated the swing and Celina slid down onto her side, the hand flying over her. She slid past the Ender and took a grip on Brine’s swords.

“NOOOOOO!” shouted Glistenia, seeing the queen rise to her feet.

As Celina stood, a burst of energy seemed to flow through her veins in an equally balanced course. She felt stronger the moment the blades were in her grip and she could feel her body getting stronger. Her thoughts moved to her people, to Steve, to Brine and his wish, and she felt the energy getting stronger and stronger inside her.

Her will to keep fighting seemed to create a pulse, a glow inside her that made her feel like she could do anything. And she knew what she had to do now.

Celina stood before the Enderwoman with the swords in hand, and her eyes dropped closed. When she opened them, a magenta smoke began to drift from them. She took a stronger stance and her eyes seemed to sparkle with resolve.

Glistenia would have had her jaw drop if she had a visible one. No… no, no human could wield those blades! NO HUMAN! She shook her head and growled. “STOP HER! KILL HER! SHOW HER NO MERCY!”

All of the mobs in the room seemed to move as one towards Celina and she closed her eyes for a moment. She let her determination flow through her as time seemed to slow down.

*****

All of the memories she had made with Brine flashed through Celina’s mind. She knew how much he had changed, how he had become a better person. She knew she wasn’t just defeating Glistenia.

She was trying to save Steve, her people, and everyone in Minecraftia.

Including Brine.

Her friendship with him was no mistake, and she knew she had to keep fighting.

*****

She could see Brine’s memories in her mind, as she had seen them.

She could see Cebrina’s smile, her love for her husband evident in everything she did with him. She could see their first meeting, their dates, the two of them fighting side by side.

She could see Brine proposing to her and their wedding.

Celina could practically hear the princess whispering to her, as if she still stood.

“You can do this. You can defeat her. You just have to keep fighting.”

****

“Fight a good fight…” 

The mobs drew closer and closer to Celina, and that was when her eyes snapped open.

“UNTIL THE VERY END!”