"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be looking for him?"

The others flinched at the spider's harsh tone. A dark skinned and rather chubby girl stepped forward. She tried to soothe him, "Noah, you know we can't..."

The others hummed thoughtfully. This just seemed to anger Noah more. He spat, "Then why now?!"

They stepped back, wary. In the corner, Markus did not meet his eyes. The third other person in the room, a man Noah's size, tall and muscular, said monotonously, "I understand what you wanted to do. But-"

Noah swerved to stare at him angrily. The man gulped before restarting, "But Lady Minecraftia has asked for it to be this way. I'm sure she didn't know and she feels sorry."

The spider's claws dug into his own arms but he did not reply. He paced around the room, and asked softly, "Will he be alright?"

The others looked at each other with concern. The woman replied on their behalf, "Uh... The thing is..."

Noah raised his head. He still looked angry, but they could tell he was trying to calm down. His hand started rubbing over the puncture scars on his neck, obviously distressed. He whispered, "He won't be alright. That's what you're trying to say?"

"Um, y-yeah. I'm sorry, buddy," she muttered.

The spider let out a displeased grunt. The other man finally spoke up once again, "Look, this will all be over soon. He'll come back stronger than before. We all have."

Noah stared at them through his hair, his red eyes spooking them a little. He slowly asked, "And what if he doesn't come back?"

The others were about to reassure him again, but he never stopped, "What if he does? But he'll never be the same? What if his anxiety and trauma gets worse and he'll get scared and I can't protect him. Fuck, I can't protect him, it's going to be all my fault, he's not alright-"

"Noah."

Everyone turned to the stairs, to see a particular winged man stare at them angrily. With a flutter of his wings, he flew down to them, standing right in front of the distressed spider. He pushed into his space, challenging him. Noah started a growl, but was cut off when the man said sternly, "He'll be fine. He needs to get hurt so he can be stronger. You of all people should understand that."

Noah's mind went to the facility where he came from. He visibly shuddered, but did not back down. He snarled, "Why are you here then? Shouldn't you be with him? At least he has somebody to suffer with."

The angel stepped back and answered shortly, "It hasn't started yet."

Noah pressed, "Why do you know, and he doesn't?"

The angel bit back, "It has been the same for the others. Allix did not know, but Odelia did. Kenny did not know, but Perce did. Hero will not know for now, but I will and I do."

The spider huffed and spat, "You're always the exception, Nabiel. Just lingering in Hero's shadows, never to be- Fuck!"

His sentence got cut short when the other tall man, Kenny, grabbed the spider by the throat and pinned him to the nearest wall. Nabiel was behind him, staring at Noah in shock. Kenny squeezed the spider's neck and Noah hissed, pushing back at his attacker. They were equally strong, so both had their muscles trembling as they tried to out do each other.

Kenny spat, "Apologize!"

Noah snaps back with equal rage, "Never."

Allix, the woman, and Markus were just at the sidelines, not wanting to get involved. They however, tried to comfort Nabiel, who stayed silent after the blatant insult. The angel ignored their attempts, staring at the ground. He shook himself out of his stupor and told Kenny to drop the hybrid. With a look at Nabiel, Kenny finally let go and stepped back for Noah to take a breather.

They watched the spider squirm on the ground. He still had the energy to glare up at Nabiel, who stood his ground. He narrowed his eyes, and said, "I'm pretty sure Hero won't be happy with you fighting with his friends. Am I right?"

Noah's eyes widened and he hissed, "Leave him out of this."

The angel scoffed, "Fine. He doesn't need to be dragged into your petty little drama with me. He has had enough on his plate."

He turns and starts heading upstairs, tail swinging idly behind him. He called out, "Hero will come back. I'll make sure of it. Everything that happened in this room does not reach anyone who wasn't here today. Think of what the Ladies would think, if we're so divided like this.

He turned to look at his team. There was a visible separation between Noah and the rest. They were fine with him at first, welcoming even. However, everyone had their short fuses, and the usually calm and easy spider hybrid blew his. He turned to glare at Noah one last time, before he disappeared to the second floor.

-

Sky could not help it.

"What the fuck happened to you?"

Herobrine was not startled. He was expecting it, honestly. Steve, on the other hand, glared daggers at Sky, who apologized under his breath and calmed down. Herobrine scoffed and turned away, and his lieutenant answered for him, "On the same day you all have experienced changes, he had been attacked in his room late at night."

Seto was staring at the general, his fingers itching to help, to cast a diagnostic spell, anything. He could see the other charms placed by other magic folk, but he wanted to help as much as he could. He was a little stressed, and usually he would grab Brice's arm, which was cue for a comforting side hug. However, Brice was all the way on the other side of group, and he avoided the warlock's eyes.

Seto gulped. He and Brice had a special connected that was known to very few. These type of connections involved soul magic, one of the three forbidden magics to perform. Herobrine has spoken about studying and performing such illegal magic, but the warlock didn't dare pry. This... Connection, had always been felt since the day he and Brice established it. They could feel the pull towards each other, hence why they never left each other's side. With special permission from both Herobrine and Sky, they got to go everywhere with each other and no one would be able to complain.

Seto and Brice cherished that connection, as they linked the two men in ways no one knew was possible. Then, that dreaded night, they both woke up to an excruciating pain. They shared a bunk bed, with Brice on top, and the bed creaked as they shot up in agony. They both felt something within them twist and tear, before finally breaking. Soon, they felt empty. Seto had been so confused and terrified, and his first instinct was to reach for Brice on the top bunk.

As soon as he put his hand on Brice's mattress, he heard a hoarse yell telling him to fuck off and do not touch him. It made Seto hurt even more, and the tone scared him to obeying, tucking himself up against the wall. He watched as Brice jumped off his bunk, and stomp angrily to the balcony, pulling the translucent curtains behind him. Seto watched his shadow take out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, and went to sleep inhaling the smoke from Brice's puffs.

Brice had stopped smoking after he and Seto found out of their connection.

Seto raised his head, trying to pay attention to what Lieutenant Gen. Winchester was saying. He explained how they could not find any leads, and finally told them of Hero's loss of powers. It seemed like only he and Sky were talking, with the occasional growl from Ty and a comment from the sulking Herobrine.

-

Everyone took turns explaining in great detail what they experienced. Jason had described very vividly how terrified and painful when he was forced into a slow half transformation. Even Herobrine winced, and the blind man could probably form the images in his head, which were dark and saddening. Ty had been short and blunt.

"Woke up with my clothes torn, with my wings, tail and all the other shit. 99% of what I'm doing is because of my enderdragon instincts, so I just slept all day until Sky found me."

Brice had just scoffed and said, "Nothing happened. I just woke up early and went out for a smoke. Some people are just overreacting."

He stared at Seto, who reluctantly described what happened. He rolled his eyes when Seto finished, and Steve found it strange. The two soldiers visited the North to talk to Herobrine about certain topics often, and everyone noticed how close they were. He whispered his findings to Herobrine, who raised an eyebrow before humming questionably.

Sky described his frustration, but Steve stopped him before he punched something on impulse. Sky was taken outside to breathe, before he came back red faced and slightly less stressed. Mitch also had to stop his story, because he room was growing hotter by each word he spoke. Herobrine tapped Steve on the side as he panted from the heat, and Mitch stepped outside to cool down.

Herobrine explained what he saw and felt, and even though Steve has heard it millions of times already, he still winced at the pain and horror in his general's voice. He kept a hand on the Swede's shoulder, which trembled with slight tremors he had started getting after the attack.

They had discussed for far too long, as the sun fell and the moon rose along with the stars. Herobrine wished them a good night before getting soldiers to escort them to their rooms. Once Steve was done with his evening reports, he left his general, blowing out the torches before he left. Herobrine laid in the darkness, and Erin crawled up to his chest, resting his head underneath his owner's chin. The tabby rumbled slowly, and the Swede reluctantly shut his eyes, waiting for the impending nightmares.