Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I do not own the game 'Minecraft' I own this AU series.
Updated as of 20 April 2019 with bonus Seto content. Enjoy.
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"How is he?"
Seto looked up at his captain over Sky's bed with a reassuring smile, "A couple of burns I couldn't fix with a little magic. He did fracture his arm from jumping to protect you."
Ty rolled his eyes, "Sky and his hero complex..."
Seto chuckled, leaning down to bring Sky's blanket over his rising and falling chest. They had to treat him in his room since Seto wanted all civilians to be treated in the ward. It had been a week since the attack. Everyone was transported safely to the shelter and Ty sent an extensive report to the Royal Military.
After all, it was up to the big boss up North to decide what to do. The attack has already been documented in Minecraftia's newspaper 'Diamond Daily'. It was cheesy and off-putting, yes.
The nation had been shocked at the extent of the attack. Villages were requesting more and more guards, and the militaries relented. The South have yet to receive an answer from the North though.
Ty didn't expect a good answer. The general of the Royal Military was sleazy and lazy. He went up North with Sky once, for a big military meeting. The general was an asshole. Ty had never even seen him in full uniform. He really disgraced the soldier name, and no doubt the only reason why he'll respond is because the press would start blaming him if he took no action.
In times like these, Ty wondered what Herobrine would have done if he remained general.
He looked down at Sky, and frowned. He reached a hand and patted his friend's shoulder, "If you don't wake up in a week, I'll kill you in your sleep."
Seto looked at him like he was crazy, and Ty laughed.
-
Seto was leading Ty through the casualties, giving him their daily report. They were walking down the beds in one ward when Ty asked, "Has anyone... Um... Passed yet?"
Seto shook his head, "No one other than those who were declared dead on site a week ago. We do have a couple critical conditions. Don't worry, I got the nearest hospital to come and transport them to their care just yesterday night."
Ty ducked his head, "May the Ladies bless you, you're a savior."
Seto smiled, "Paperwork's on your desk, sir."
They suddenly stopped, and Ty followed Seto's gaze. They were at the last set of beds. Behind the curtain separating all beds, a familiar man crouched over his friend on the bed. From where they stood, they could hear Mitch's sniffing.
Ty looked at Seto and found him staring at the friends with empathy. Seto was extremely close to Brice, who miraculously survived with a few minor burns. If Brice had been severely hurt like Jerome, Seto would be in a similar position to Mitch.
Seto led them back, and Ty asked softly, "How is Jerome?"
It was silent for a moment before Seto replied, "He'll live, just not with a hand. I couldn't do anything. Recovering a limb requires illegal blood magic. As much as I would love to save everyone, I must abide by the law of my people."
Ty nodded, "Of course. I understand."
Seto hummed, "But I do have an idea in the works. It'll take time, but if it's successful, I think Jerome will be just fine."
Ty raised an eyebrow, "Sometimes I forget you have quite the brain on you."
Seto rolled his eyes, the mood lightening, "Everyone seems to forget so."
-
The medical course Seto took when he was just a cadet was meant for extra useful knowledge. He didn't expect or wanted to be posted as a medical officer. It broke his heart a little back then, because that meant he wouldn't be out on the field much.
He had a lengthy talk with the commandant back then, with Brice loyally at his side, fighting for him. All the commandant could offer him was Brice's company as his buddy and a few outside missions here or there. The only condition was that Seto would always be a medical officer should there be a major attack or event.
Over time, Seto learnt how to be comfortable with his title. He got promoted to head medic, arranging medical squads and checking logistics monthly. At least he was allowed to share a room with Brice.
However, Seto's brain needed to work. He honestly thought bandaging someone was purely out of muscle memory. He wanted to discover and learn. By the time he decided to help out with the research unit, Sky had been promoted to commandant, and the previous one stepped down.
Sky had been a little worried about Seto's time management, but he agreed anyway. Again, he needed to prioritize his duties as a medical officer, but Seto was grateful to be able to help with the data explorers gathered from their expeditions. Minecraftia's land was still young, and there was so much more to discover.
When the captain had brought in a wolf, Seto shook with excitement. Up-close with Minecraftia's wolves was one of the things Seto had always wanted to do. Animals in Minecraftia that existed in other countries were much bigger and lived longer than in other countries. Minecraftia's horses, cattle, wolves, spiders and countless of other creatures were huge as compared to their counterparts in other countries.
It was strange, and that was why Seto wanted to discover why and how. Of course, he needed the captain's permission to take a look at the wolf. He was sickly and thin, but over the week, Seto documented how the wolf finally filled in his pelt after every meal. Seto had always been fascinated by all things dangerous, some say that Brice was 90% his impulse control.
When the attack occurred on Emerald Village, Seto didn't sleep for over 48 hours until Brice forced him down onto his bed. In a, uh, non-sexual way, of course. Seto grew to love and hate his job as a medical officer. He loved the thrill, and the knowledge that came with it.
He hated watching loved ones approach his casualties.
He hated talking to them about their condition.
He hated rubbing Mitch's back as he stared emotionlessly at his best friend's bandaged up wrist.
He hated preparing Ashley's body to be brought to her family.
He hated the anticipation of telling Jerome he would never be able to wield his favorite hatchet.
On the days where it's just hate-hate-hate and pain-pain-pain, Seto finds solace in his friend. Brice would always visit every two hours to see if he was still up and running. He brought up breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes, he brought up snacks he stole from the pantry.
When his shift was over and he handed over his casualties to the next shift, Brice would be waiting outside to lead them back to their shared rooms. He'd wait outside the showers for him, sit next to him as he ate his extremely late dinner...
And before they slept, they would put on their cloaks and stand at their balcony, and talk.
About everything, anything and even nothing.
Seto was exhausted, but happy to have his friend, and definitely pleased to serve the nation that has provided so much for him.
It's what his parents would have wanted him to do.
-
Ty poked at Rive's head, in between his ears. The wolf's ears flicked and he lifted his great white head to see what disturbed his slumber. Ty let himself smile at Rive's slow tail wag when he recognized him. He continued scratching the wolf's head.
"You up for a quick run?"
The wolf got up and stretched on Ty's bed. As the captain went to collect and wear his cloak to protect him from the night's cold, he observed his friend on the bed. As Rive stretched, it became clear how much he's grown. His body took up all the space Ty had delegated for him on his bed. He put on weight, and his muscles ripped under his fur as he stretched.
When the wolf yawned, Ty saw white fangs glint at him. Rive then hopped off the bed, and walked alongside Ty as they left the room and made their way down to the stables. It was around three in the morning, and the base was quiet. Some soldiers who were awake for duties greeted him. Some even petted Rive who appreciated it greatly. The Southern Military had gotten used to Rive, with the exception of Mitch and the horses of course.
Rive played with a piece of hay outside the stables as Ty prepared Jenny for their 'quick run'. He rode Jenny outside and whistled to catch Rive's attention. He then started Jenny off to a canter, Rive running behind with his tongue rolling out of his mouth.
They rode up a small hill with a small gathering of trees on top, and Ty slowed Jenny down to a walk, letting her navigate her own way past the trees until they found a clearing.
Rive ran in front of them, sniffing around the clearing. Ty dismounted Jenny and tied her to a tree, patting her neck. He approached Rive, who kept staring into the trees.
"Someone's here," the wolf growled.
Ty's hand immediately went over his holster as he joined Rive's side, staring in the trees. His reddish-brown eyes turned into their enderdragon purple, trying to see deeper into the forest.
All he saw were two glowing white eyes staring at him tiredly.
Ty let his hand rest. Herobrine emerged from the trees, black cloak around him. He had a dark blue bandana around his neck, and he crouched down to greet Rive. The wolf padded over, licking his face as Herobrine chuckled and patted the wolf's shoulders.
He looked up at Ty, "Were you looking for me?"
Ty shrugged, "I wanted to. Just didn't expect to see you tonight."
He stood up, Rive running around him in excited circles. His eyes were paler, and he smiled tiredly, "I'm afraid I can't go far at the moment."
Ty narrowed his eyes, stepping closer. The man's skin was paler than usual. His hair was messy, as if he had just woken up. However, Ty knew him well enough to know that the man never sleeps. He looked him up and down. His cloak was thrown on haphazardly, probably. There was fresh mud on his boots.
He heard a deep sounding neigh, one that doesn't sound like Jenny. It also came from behind Herobrine and not where Jenny was hitched.
He looked down at Herobrine, "Did you just... Come back from a village? Run-in with guards?"
Herobrine chuckled, looking behind him. He clicked his tongue, and the pattering of heavy hooves could be heard.
He turned back to Ty and walked past him, sitting on the grass, "Good eye. Yeah."
Ty watched as a mighty black stallion appeared from the trees. It trotted with an air of grace and righteousness. As the moon reflected light onto the stallion, Ty found it to be a beautiful friesian. Its coat was a glossy black and his curly mane was of similar nature.
It trotted over to Herobrine, and lowered his great big head to nibble at his shoulder. The man reached up to press a hand against the stallion's cheek. It was somewhat fitting in an odd way, for a small but hardy man to own a huge and dark horse.
Ty carefully stepped forward, the friesian was huge, a kick from it would send him flying, "What's his name?"
Herobrine got to his feet and the stallion used his nose to push the man towards his chest with a grunt. The Swede looped an arm around the stallion's neck and patted his shoulder.
He looked at Ty and replied, "Kaizer. The horse I had when I was still in the military is galloping in the clouds."
Ty ducked his head, not knowing what to say. He then spotted something on the stallion's belly and pointed it out, "He's got a scratch there."
Herobrine hummed, "Got it from an arrow when we were trying to get away from the village earlier."
The captain slowly came forward, petting down the stallion's back and trailing his hand towards the wound. The stallion just grunted, tossing his head over Herobrine's shoulder. Rive was excitedly sniffing at the horse's legs, not listening to their conversation.
"Why were you even in the village?"
"Had to get some bandages and alcohol," the Swede muttered, not meeting his eyes.
Ty's head snapped up, "For what?"
The man shrugged, but immediately winced and squeezed his shoulder. His hand relaxed, and the pain in his eyes were gone in a second.
Ty narrowed his eyes, "One of the soldiers saw you. In the attack."
Herobrine kept quiet.
Ty kept going, "You saved her life. You also got hurt, really hurt."
Rive whined at Herobrine's feet, nudging his head against the man's legs. The Swede scoffed, "What's it to you?"
Ty stepped forward, "Can I look at it?"
Herobrine surged back, glaring incredulously at the captain. Kaizer must have sensed his discomfort and flared his nostrils, stomping on the ground towards Ty. Rive just yelped and moved out of the way of the big horse.
The Swede narrowed his eyes and spat, "I took a medical course. I know how to help myself, thanks."
Ty knew the man in front of him had 500 different ways of killing him with a twig but he had to put his foot down, "You won't be able to see if there's any infection. Just one look."
Herobrine's eyes narrowed as he grumbled and turned around. He unclasped his cloak and slid it off his shoulders, hanging it on his arm. Kaizer stepped away, choosing to graze near Jenny. The mare curiously stared at him.
Ty stepped closer to the man and reached out. Before his fingers even brushed against Herobrine's shirt, the man looked over his shoulder and said sternly, "Don't lift it up. You can pull down my collar and see it."
Ty nodded, his fingers hooking Herobrine's collar before tugging it down slowly.
There were nasty healing scars in the shape of claw marks on both of his shoulder blades. They were pink and a little irritated, but healing well. No signs of infection. Ty's sensitive nose picked up a warm, citrusy smell and he breathed in deep. He loved citrus scents, it calmed him down.
"Are you... Sniffing me?"
Ty jerked back and exclaimed, "No! I just... I was trying to smell any infections!"
Herobrine shrugged his cloak back on and raised an eyebrow at him, "Your nose was awfully close to my neck rather than down my back... But whatever you say, kid."
The Swede walked away from him, towards Jenny and Kaizer while Ty stood in embarrassment and shame of what he just did. Herobrine reached out to let Jenny sniff at his hand, before reaching out to pet her nose. Ty frowned at his horse. She usually refused to let anyone except her rider handle her, and now here she was, being a little traitor.
Ty forced as much anger as he could into his glare until Herobrine asked, "How is everyone? I saw quite the amount of casualties."
Before Ty could answer, Herobrine paused and said, "The general side of me is proud."
Ty narrowed his eyes, "And the rest of you isn't?"
Herobrine laughed, turning and focusing on giving Jenny what it seems to be the best pet she's ever had.
Ty joined in before answering his question seriously, "Sky hasn't woken up. Those who were in critical condition are stable now."
He thought of Jerome, "We have a... A few soldiers who experienced extreme loss..."
Herobrine hummed, "Would it be alright if I come over, take a quick look?"
Ty's eyes widened and he stepped forward, "B-But it's dangerous. You'll get worse wounds than those on your back. I won't be able to help you escape if you got found out."
Herobrine smirked at him, "If. If I got found out."
The Swede placed a hand on Kaizer's back before hauling himself on top of his stallion. The horse stopped grazing and raised his head, alert and ready. Jenny turned her head expectantly to Ty, who sighed and walked over, Rive at his heels.
It was nice, riding with Herobrine. His horse was fast, and looked absolutely magnificent when he went into a full gallop. Back when Ty was young and had just escaped from the hybrid facility and went under Herobrine's wing for a while, he had a pretty dapple gray Arabian called Minnie.
She was his service horse back when Herobrine was a soldier. She was a little old back then, but her spirit was fiery and bright. Ty was saddened to hear that she passed. One thing Ty observed when he followed the Swede around was that the man had a soft heart when it came to animals.
In fact, there this one godamn gray tabby cat that would follow him around for days then disappear. He wondered what happened to the cat. He usually slept on Herobrine's shoulder.
Rive was having the time of his life, running next to Kaizer and Hero. Ty had been bringing him out to exercise his legs and gain a bit of muscle together with the fats they have been feeding him with. He had grown, now at Ty's waist and could be around Herobrine's height if he stood on his hindpaws.
It was an oddly majestic sight, watching a big, white, scarred wolf run next to a huge horse with an all-black wearing rider. Of course, Rive began to feel tired and they slowed to a walk. They eventually stopped, with Herobrine dismounted and slapping Kaizer's thigh, sending the stallion galloping away. Rive chased him for a bit until he realized Kaizer wasn't going to stay anymore.
"So how are you going to get in?" Ty asked from on top of Jenny as they waited for Rive to come back.
Herobrine scoffed, "You seem to forget that I can turn invisible."
Ty's throat released an uncomfortable growl, and he hastily cleared his throat, "You know I hate it when you disappear. Last time you did it, I freaked because my instincts went haywire."
Herobrine was shoved back a bit but he caught himself when Rive decided to tackle him. He patted the wolf's shoulder as an attempt to calm the hyper canine as he replied, "Then I'll teleport."
"I thought you said you can't teleport unless you've been there multiple times. From what I heard you've been to the base twice."
The Swede rolled his eyes, or at least Ty thought he did, "I sneaked in a couple of times to read your archives when I wanted to learn more about your commandant. Don't tell anybody. I wasn't supposed to and Markus would kill me."
He paused, "Or execute me. Again."
He chuckled at his own morbid joke as Ty stared at him with wide eyes. Herobrine stopped laughing and said seriously, though his eyes were kind, "I'll teleport. With the amount of casualties, I assume Sky is resting in his room instead of the ward?"
Ty nodded once, but he bit his tongue before he said 'Yes, sir.' He knew Herobrine had just joked about his tragic past, but he didn't know how far he could go. The man was obviously a soldier. He carried himself well, posture perfect, head high, shoulders back, sharp tongue and fierce eyes. He was the perfect soldier.
Ty did call him 'sir' when he first met out of respect and fear of angering him, but it just pissed him off. He just told him to call him by his name, but Ty noticed how he'd wince whenever he said 'Herobrine' as well, as if he hated that too.
"Alright, I'll see you there."
He was gone in a flash of blue and a warp sound. Rive whined, bounding over to sniff at the patch of grass where Herobrine used to stand. He looked up at Ty with wide shocked eyes.
-
Ty had rewarded Jenny with a carrot before heading to the pantry to get a slab of raw pork for Rive to busy himself with in his room. Rive was extremely pleased and went to town the moment Ty dropped him off in his room. After that, the captain walked towards Sky's room.
The hall was quiet, save for the occasional patrol walking around speaking to each other in soft whispers. Ty liked these moments, where the base was quiet. Soldiers who were on duty walked with silence in favor for those who needed sleep. Ty's enhanced senses could relax, and his body was less tense as it was during the day.
He finally reached Sky's door and slowly turned the knob, letting himself in. The room was empty save for the commandant sleeping soundly on his bed. One of his arms were bandaged up in a cast, resting on his rising and falling chest.
There was a bit of gauze on the burns on his cheek, but Seto had lessened the severity of them. He said they'd heal and close up in a day or two.
"The hell did he do to end up like this?"
He raised his head at the voice, and found Herobrine standing at the balcony. The sliding doors were open, and the breeze blowed the white curtains around him. The sight was quite serene. The Swede, clad in black and dark colors, standing with the moon behind him and the curtains flowing against his body.
"Ty."
The enderdragon snapped out of it and looked back at Sky, "Oh, uh... He saved me. Pushed me out of the way of a couple creepers."
Herobrine was on Sky's other side now, looking down at the commandant. The Swede let his eyes settle on the cast on Sky's arm.
He asked, "Let me guess, he broke his arm because of that too?"
Ty nodded with a scoff, "I had everything under control."
Herobrine's eyes went from Sky's cast to Ty's body. The enderdragon hybrid was visibly tired, and there were light bandaging on the minor wounds he has received from the attack.
The Swede raised an eyebrow before looking back down at Sky, "Hmph, doesn't seem like it."
The egotistical enderdragon part of him growled and he said lowly, "Is that why you stepped in, then? You thought we couldn't do it?"
Herobrine hummed nonchalantly, "Don't start a fight you know you can't win, kid. I stepped in because you needed manpower. I am a man."
He made eye contact with Ty again, to find two reptilian eyes staring back at him with anger. He didn't back down and said, "Not a hermit. I heard you trying to explain to that girl I helped. Really? A hermit? That was the best you could think of?"
The anger in Ty's eyes disappeared and Herobrine silently praised himself for the quick subject change. Ty protested, "She bought it, didn't she?"
"I guess."
Herobrine slowly pulled down the blankets resting on Sky's body, and Ty watched silently. The Swede gently ran his fingers down Sky's cast, and Ty could see his fingertips glow blue. They even left blue mist as he trailed down the injured arm.
"What are you doing?"
Herobrine didn't reply, solely focused on the task at hand. His hand paused over one spot, and stayed there. The man let his other hand rest above Sky's forehead. His fingers were glowing blue, he was using magic. Ty had seen him use magic before, but he had never seen him do this spell, if it was a spell at all.
Herobrine shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He exhaled as his hand settled on Sky's forehead and cast. Ty looked at his friend's face. Sky just scrunched up his nose and moved his head a little, but didn't wake. The blue mist from Herobrine's fingers seeped into his skin and into the cast.
The Swede's hands raised again, and returned to his sides. The blue mist glowed under Sky's skin and cast, before going away completely.
Ty looked up at Herobrine, asking his question again, "What did you do?"
"Sped up his recovery a bit."
He looked at Sky's face, and Ty followed his gaze.
"He will sleep well tonight."
Only then did Sky notice that the commandant was grinning in his sleep.
-
In one of the wards in the base, away from Sky's room, Killia sat next to her brother's bed. The room was dark save for the candle at every patient's bedside. It was quiet, an occasional shuffle of bedsheets and soft snores here and there. Killia's eyes never strayed from her brother's face.
He was sleeping peacefully. Killia even pinned up his hair so the air could cool his slight fever from the venom. Seto had said he would wake up soon, but Killia was still anxious. She looked down at her brother's exposed and bandaged leg.
They had stopped and got rid of the venom. They had used a nasty smelling concoction of herbs and fruits and other things Killia didn't want to think about. Killia was skeptical at first, as the medics had said that the concoction was a remedy that was discovered not too long ago in a village in Minecraftia.
It didn't look nice, it didn't smell nice, but it did the trick. Kei had vomited all of the venom in his body, but he had complained and complained. Killia brought him as much water as she could, though she had to admit the sight of her little brother whining made her chuckle a bit.
Killia's eyes started to feel heavy. She leaned forward and rested her head on her elbows, next to her brother's shoulder. She shut her eyes.
She didn't see the cloaked man who has saved her behind him. His hood and bandana was up. His eyes glowed from beneath the cloak. He took one sweeping glance at the siblings before disappearing in a blue flash.
Kei's eyes snapped open, and he turned to stare at the place where Herobrine stood just seconds ago.
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