Thank you so much for clicking on this story! Man, this is old.

((Nov 30, 2018 Author's note: Hey! Just a bit of a backstory to this, I started writing this in 2014. I scrapped it and restarted, and the result is this book! Back then, I was young so I loved Minecraft (literally the only game I could afford back then lmao) and the YouTubers who played them! Most of them have moved on, like my favorite SkyDidMinecraft/NetNobody. I, too, have moved on since I'm much more older and I'm starting to like big-girl things HAHA.

However, I couldn't just delete this series I've worked so hard on, so I will continue until I'm satisfied. This book is currently part of a three book series, with this being the second one actually. Twisted Choices is the first and the third one is Forbid the Unknown. Do take note that I grow towards certain characters and I sort of stop using some characters. OCs will start be added in, but I promise you'll love them! They aren't Mary-Sue or super OP lmao.

I hope you like what younger me has planned for you!))

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the game 'Minecraft'. I own this AU series only. But hell, I'd love to own Minecraft.
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"Adam... Adam?"

An uncomfortably deep and familiar voice cooed. Sky fluttered open his eyes to see his friend bending over his desk, looking rather concerned. Scratch that, looking pissed. Sky's vision was temporarily blurry as he woke up.

He mumbled blearily without thinking, "Ty? Since when did your hair get so long? You look dumb."

His captain and friend, Ty, frowned and stood upright and spat mockingly, "I look dumb to you all the time. Anyways, you're so worn out from training yesterday that you overslept. You already put up the shift plans in the dining hall and you and I, together with Mitch, are going mining. Your own orders, so don't blame me for disrupting your beauty sleep."

He paused. "Sir."

Sky nodded lazily and rose from his chair. He staggered like a drunk man across his room. His hand blindly searched his desk before he found his shades. He put them on tiredly, missing and hitting his eye once before he managed. Ty raised an eyebrow and said, "You can't hide your eyes forever, y'know? They're unique, you shouldn't feel insecure."

Sky scowled, rolling his eyes. He ignored him, heading for a chest that sat in the corner of the office. Sky violently opened it and fished out his enchanted (courtesy of Seto) gold pickaxe. Everyone else had the required diamond pickaxe, but Sky could never find it within himself to get rid of his baby. Just then, someone decided to burst in, wrapping his arms around Sky's shoulder and twirling them around.

The young man greeted him cheerfully, "Afternoon, sir! Did you dream about butter again? Bet you did."

He talked so fast, too fast for anyone to keep up. Sky rolled his eyes behind his shades and switched the subject, "What ores are we gonna need again? And Mitch, please refrain from busting down my door. Again."

Adam Dahlberg, otherwise known as Sky. Widely known for his love of butter and hate of squids. His soldiers would secretly describe him as angry 24/7 with his anger management issues. No one talks about it, and would rather it stayed that way. Commandant of the Southern Military.

Ty Warren Ellis, captain of the Southern Military and a good friend of Sky. By 'good friend', it meant he's one of the few who could survive Sky's pissy mood. Described as the silent type but deadly strict in serious scenarios. In a committed relationship with his hair care products.

Mitchell Donnel-Ralph Hughes. Gifted in combat but really cheeky. The other soldiers find him a positive energy in dark times. He's in charge of training combat to absolutely anyone. Absolutely loves battles and the thrill of it. He never leaves the base without a weapon or his best friend. As an officer cadet he is an elite soldier of the Southern Military.

Ty strolled to Sky's side and reported monotonously, "Running low on iron, which is a bad thing since new cadets are coming to join next week. We need iron to make weapons."

Mitch butted in and said, "You can't fight in a battle without a weapon like a sword. No iron, no sword. No sword, no balls to fight. No balls to fight-"

Sky brushed the cheeky soldier off of him and said, "I get it. Anything else?"

Mitch shook his head, happily swinging his small dagger around. It was a matching one he shared with his best friend. Said best friend carved his initials on the knife.

Ty suggested, "Why not go to the mine near Emerald Village? There's plenty of iron there."

Sky nodded, the mine was known for gold as well. Obviously the gold part appealed more than iron to Sky. He has a slight obsession with it. Then he got to thinking... Why is there so much iron in Emerald Mine? Shouldn't it be called Iron Mine?

His train of thought was broken when Mitch grinned and declared loudly, "Emerald Mine, it is! Race you two to the stables!"

Mitch broke down the already-broken door again and rushed out, his laughter getting softer as he ran down the hallway. Ty and Sky exchanged unamused glances. The taller of the two was obviously extremely irritated. His fists were clenched as he stared at the broken mahogany pieces on the floor.

Ty observed it as the beginning of an angry outburst so he chuckled, trying to relieve the tension, "Don't be too hard on him, he's just trying to lift our spirits a little..."

Sky laughed bitterly and spat, "By breaking down my door? For the third time this year? If that's lifting my spirits, I don't know what makes me happy anymore."

He walked out the doorframe, Ty watching after him before following a few steps behind.

-

"You guys really are slow! Uh, no offense, sirs."

Mitch pouted as he passed Ty and Sky on his Clydesdale stallion, Biggy. Mitch had found him wandering in the wild, roughed up from an encounter with wolves. He took care of him and Biggy has never left his side since. Sky has a beautiful dun Andalusian, a horse he had since he was a cadet. His name was Boy, and Sky admits to not being all that creative. Ty has a blue roan Mustang mare, that he also found in the wild. Her name was Jenny, and Ty loved her to bits.

The group mounted their horses and began to set out. Sky kept on looking back at the base with worry. Leaving the base had always gotten him anxious. He knew it could manage just fine without him, but he couldn't help but worry.

Ty, observing his face, soothed him, "Jason's in charge. He's not at the training facility today."

Sky breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Jason was around, Sky didn't have to worry about any more broken doors, or whatever his soldiers like to break nowadays.

Once they reached the village, they left their horses at the local stable and put on their dark brown capes. It was an optional part of the uniform, meant to keep you warm and insulated, or to block off the heat on a sunny day.

The Southern Military's cape was dark brown and had gold printing on it, depicting their Military mascot, a spider with olive leaves around it. Two arrows are crossed behind it, and a banner below it has the military motto 'To Those Who Believed'. The Royal/Northern Military had a creeper, while the Eastern Military had a skull.

As they strolled past the houses, children and citizens peeked out from their work to catch a glimpse of the soldiers. Most of them were eyeing Sky. He had a reputation for being the top of his batch when he enlisted. He even had the opportunity to transfer to the Royal Military but the rumors about the soldiers there prevented him from actually going for the opportunity.

Ty grinned vainly as he followed Sky, Mitch trotting along behind him. Ty was extremely proud of his position, so he liked to show off just a tiny bit. Mitch was rubbing his stomach as he whined, "I'm hungry... Can we stop by a general store or something? I need to grab a couple of things."

It took a moment for the commander to actually process what his soldier had said. Ty stopped preening in front of the civilians and swerved to look at his commandant. He opened his mouth, wanting to stop whatever was going to happen. Then, Sky spun around in shock and growled, "You didn't bring any food?"

Mitch scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously, "Well... Jerome was pretty hungry..."

Sky scowled and spat, "We were low on food and you decided to give what was meant for us to Aceti?!"

Mitch immediately frowned and retorted, "Hey! I thought Tyler, Martin and Bash was in charge of hunting food! Besides, Jerome was out on that exploring expedition, he needed it more than we do!"

Sky parted his jaws to lash out again but Ty put his hand on his shoulder, gently saying, "We have enough emeralds to buy food here, Adam. Don't get angry, we're in public. It won't take long either."

Sky took a breather and removed his gaze from Mitch, grabbing his bag of emeralds from his sheath. Ty and Mitch exchanged uncertain glances at each other, Mitch opening his mouth but shutting it after Ty shook his head. It was common for Sky to lose his temper and break a few things. He got angry at a private the previous week and threw a chair at him and both the chair and private were pretty broken after that.

The trio strolled to a shop, greeting the surprised owner and browsing the variety of food. Mitch exclaimed from one corner, "Holy shit, they have fresh baked potatoes!"

Sky rolled his eyes and heard the shop owner say, "Well, sir, I could give you a little discount for all the effort you put in protecting us from those nasties in the woods."

The commandant and captain stared at each other, clearly amused and slightly embarrassed. Mitch butted in and argued, "Oh, no! It's alright! Thanks for the offer, sir, but we'll be paying full price."

The shop owner chuckled heartily and Mitch emerged from the counter to face Sky and Ty. He held out a half-eaten potato and said, "I bought three stacks! One for each of us."

He handed out bags full of potatoes to Sky and Ty. Ty thanked him while Sky just snatched it and headed for the mine. Ty bounded after him and Mitch thanked the shop owner before leaving.

As soon as Ty reached Sky, he whispered harshly, "Calm down, today, please. Just this once."

Sky ignored him as they reach the mine. The trio looked down at the hole lodged in the ground, not many people mined there, but... A cave was a cave. People were still scared after that Renou Mine accident years ago back when Minecraftia was under Russian rule. Miners were pretty low on the list of desired jobs after the death toll came out on that.

Sky led the team down, carefully weaving through narrow passageways and jumping from ledges to ledges. Ty and Mitch followed, not too far behind, watching out for any spiders. They reached a small indent in the wall. They took a thorough glance of their surroundings, lava and water trickling down the walls. Sky lit and placed down a torch for better lighting.

Mitch grinned and said ,"There's so much iron! I'm pretty sure I saw gold back there for you, sir."

Ty nudged Mitch and said, "He's gone. He saw the gold too. Let's start mining, don't want to attract spiders with all the noise."

Mitch mock saluted him and after a playful punch in the shoulder, they both starting hacking away at iron with their pickaxes.