18.

><>3rd person POV><>

::: Previously: After over sixteen years of believing the human species is dead, Null is overjoyed when it finds three young humans -- more like they find it -- as it is training. Meanwhile, Herobrine finally calls upon his brother in defeating what they both identify as their common enemy. :::

Null cheerfully scurried around the house, gliding from chest to chest in order to grab enough ingredients to make some nice warm soup. Already, there was a large pot over the fire in the fireplace, which was working on boiling, and in front of it in the small living room the furniture had been completely removed to make room for it's little human-pin. Inside it were the three children the void being had determined inside to keep safe forever, even if that meant they would have to be cooped up at times.

The three children inside the make-shift corral shivered a little, the fear that maybe they would be eaten slowly bubbling up with the heating water in the large pot. Null was completely oblivious to this fear, however, as it stirred through the chest, looking for whatever food humans might enjoy eating. In the end, it concluded that it had enough to finally set to cooking, plopping all the items on the floor between the corral and the fireplace: potatoes, carrots, leaves, beef, beetroots, watermellon, and some already cooked salmon.

"Um, Mr.. what exactly are you planning to do with us?.." The girl with orangeish hair asked politely.

"Listen here, evil space guy, I WILL NOT BE EATEN!!" The younger boy shouted furiously, shaking his whole body against the bars of the wooden cell, hoping to break them as well as make a point. Null looked up curiously at them before realizing their genuine fear. Unable to speak still, Null jumped back from the pot, violently shaking it's head and waving it's hands in front of it, hoping to signal that that wasn't the plan.

"Wait, so, you don't want to eat us?.." The oldest boy with brown hair asked, standing up along with the other two.

"What do you want from us?! I demand to be let out! I want my lawyer! My mom and dad are going to hurt you so bad if you even lay a hungry finger on us!" The youngest once again spouted a bunch of demanding shouts, the last of which made Null's eyes widen. 'Parents?! Thst must mean there are even more humans!' It's face rejoiced as it pounced closer to the little enclosure the three human children were in, only remembering then that it still couldn't ask anything. All three in the wooden enclosure jumped back, away from Null, and stayed up against the opposite side with fear that made them tremble. Null realized it's jump was a mistake too late, and cowered back to give the children some space, instead returning to the soup.

"...Um, Sir, can you speak?.." The girl asked. Null shook it's head slowly as it watched the fire. "Oh.. That's sad. Were you always unable to speak?" Again, Null shook it's head.

"Naya, don't you remember what Dad always said? Never talk to strangers. Especially ones who could possibly want to kill you." The oldest spoke sternly.

"Yeah, but, he doesn't seem like that kind for some reason. He seems a little.. nice. Maybe he is even trying to help us. He can't speak, so how are we supposed to know?" Naya spoke.

"First off, it trapped us in a cage. No nice person would do that." The oldest scowled, looking once again at the topless wooden enclosure around them.

"And, it just stole us without permission!" The youngest chimed in. Realizing these valid points the children were making, Null, first blocked up the front door, before taking down the wood which was encasing the three young ones. It wasn't just yet ready to risk them running off. Surprised, the children stood in the center of the small room awkwardly. Null then went back to the chest it had put all the furniture in and put all that up once again, before going back to the pot when the water was finally boiling. The humanoid void began grabbing the edible items on the floor while two of the three children just sat on the couch, which was facing the fire.

"Um, Sir, are you making that for us?" The girl asked from behind the moralized darkness. It turned to look at her with kindness in it's blank, glowing white eyes, and nodded. "Ahem! Not sure if you know this, then. But we don't usually eat leaves in our soup.. or at all really." Naya corrected as politely as she could. "..Also, watermellon would probably taste horrible in a stew.."

"And I don't like beetroots!" The youngest added, shouting from the couch. Null took these tips kindly and left those three food items out, going instead to grab more potatoes and steak. It lifted the newly grabbed ingredients up to the kids with a question in it's face.

"Yes. That is what we usually put in stew." Naya smiled. Null's eyes scrunched in joy, and it plopped in the veggies and meat alike, all into the pot. "..Do you not need to eat?"

"Do you not even have a mouth?!" Again, the youngest shouted. The older boy sitting next to him finally elbowed the younger one. Null answered both questions by nodding politely, before finding a stick to stir the soup/stew with.

"Hi.. My name is Naya. The boy with glasses is my older brother. His name is Stephen. The younger boy who keeps shouting is my younger brother, Toby. We were just exploring above ground for the first time.. and ran into you. So.. we don't exactly know everything going on up here, other than that Herobrine has been hunting our kind for years now, just so you know."

"Naya, what if he is secretly working for Herobrine?! You just took the risk of dooming our entire home! All our family and friends!" Stephen spoke up, angered. Null just listened silently, bursting inside with joy. Not only were these three alive. Not only did they have parents as well, but they also had an entire system of underground villages of some kind! Such good news was almost impossible to stay chill over. The human species was not extinct! It even sounded as if they may be thriving.. just, underground... And with that, Null knew what it's new goal was. Not to simply keep itself alive, all alone here; but to find these humans, build up and train another human army, hopefully an unstoppable one, and defeat Herobrine, once and for all!