Disclaimer: I do not own the game 'Minecraft'. I only own this AU series.
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"You're finally fucking awake."

Sky was sitting up on his bed, his back supported by a mountain of pillows. He had a roll of bread in his uninjured hand, and rolled his eyes when he saw Ty walk in.

He took a big bite of bread, and mumbled with his mouth full, "This is what I get for saving your life?"

Ty growled, knowing Sky was just doing that to spite him. He snapped, "Can you act like a fucking soldier for once?"

Now Sky was getting a little pissy too. It was a little absurd, he doesn't recall the last time he was angry. He knew he had anger management problems, hell, his discipline folder was a novel long because of his discipline cases as a cadet. However, he realized he hasn't been angry as of late, and he wondered whether it had anything to do with his newfound powers.

Regardless, Sky was pissed once again. This time, it seemed to escalate faster, his skin burning as he remarked with a sneer, "What crawled up your ass and died today, Ellis?"

Like always, Ty's hackles raised and his growl grew deeper. His eyes started to have their purple tinge to it. His fangs were already peeking out, and Sky somehow thought of it as a win. He was prepared to fight back whatever Ty was going to shout at him, but his eyes widened when he saw his captain visibly try to control himself.

It worked.

Ty shut his mouth tight, hiding his fangs. He also closed his eyes and turned away, taking a deep breath while rubbing his forehead. When he exhaled, his eyes opened with his mouth, and the dragon fangs were gone. Sky's anger died down, replaced with surprise. Ty used to be as explosive as he was, even if he didn't blow up as much as he did.

Ty spoke, this time with annoyance rather than fury, "Look, I'm here to give you a rundown of things, not to start a shouting match."

Sky smirked, "I would win."

Ty narrowed his eyes challengingly, "Yeah, sure."

Before Sky could come up with a comeback, Ty cut him off by starting his report, "All civilians who didn't have a relative in other villages to stay with are settled in our shelters. Storage moved to the basement, minor civilian casualties all healed up..."

He went on and on as Sky listened, chewing on his bread roll. He perked up when Ty started to touch on depleted medical supplies.

"Any soldier in critical condition?" he asked right when Ty paused to breathe.

The captain looked away and solemnly said, "Aceti. He woke up recently, actually. His, uh, hand got caught in a creeper explosion. Blew right off. Seto's working on something, but he said it'll take time. The Drew brother too. He got bitten, but the antivenom was delivered quickly. Still resting up, though."

Sky frowned and softly inquired, "How's Mitch and Killia dealing with it?"

Ty shrugged, looking down at his boots now, "It seemed like Killia's doing better, since her brother is doing well. She was really closed off at first too. Didn't talk to anyone when I put her on shift. Mitch is... Uh..."

He met Sky's concerned eyes, "He's asking Seto if he could move Jerome up to their bunk, but Seto hasn't decided. He actually wanted to get our opinion on that."

Sky hummed, thinking before he concluded, "If Mitch knows what to do, go right ahead. Jerome needs support, and I'm sure Mitch can provide that."

Ty nodded, "Alright then, I'll send a word."

"Anything else?"

Ty brought a hand to his chin, thinking. He's been reporting for a quite a while now, his tongue was getting dry. He also needed to return to his office, Rive said he wanted to talk about something.

"No, that's about it, honestly."

The captain started to grow flustered, as he folded his arms guardedly, "Actually... I also wanted to say thank you. You know, for saving me?"

Sky stared at him, making him uncomfortable. Ty was about to turn tail and leave as soon as possibly when the commandant spoke.

"Uh, no problem. I actually wanted to say something too."

It sounded important, so Ty stepped closer. Sky's bread was finished when he was reporting, and the commandant grunted as he sat up straighter. Ty made no move to help, knowing Sky hated feeling pitied or weak. Sky looked at him, and those golden eyes seemed brighter than ever. It almost rivaled Herobrine's glow, but not quite.

However, for the first time since Sky received those eyes, Ty could see emotion in them.

It was determination. A bit of fear. Ty listened carefully.

"With the medics coming in and whatnot, and the attack... This attack is one of the worse, and I'm sure no one up North sent over rations just yet."

Ty shook his head.

Sky huffed, "Well, I've been thinking... This attack... It could have been avoided, or even less... Destructive if we had just..."

Ty raised an eyebrow.

"If we had just... Used our powers?"

Ty's eyes narrowed in disbelief as he leaned back. He opened his mouth, ready to shoot down Sky's idea when he cut him off.

"No! Look, just hear me out, okay? Think of all we could have done with our powers. I would have been able to teleport civilians from the village directly to a medical team in the base. With my elemental training, maybe I could force the fire down. With your wings, and your own control of fire, you could get casualties out of there!"

Sky's fist clenched the sheets and was shivering as he continued.

"Herobrine said there were others like us in the military. Once, he even said that there were more of us than you think. What if we-we make a unit full of us, we'd be powerful! No mobs would stand a chance."

Ty finally made his move and said lowly, "Sky, I thought the whole massacre started because Herobrine knew he was powerful but couldn't control it in the end. What if that happens with you?"

Sky shook his head fervently, "It won't. He's coaching me."

"You don't have the best control, Sky, even you know that."

"But with the training, maybe I could learn! Herobrine always stresses about control this, control that, control yourself... He'll teach me! Maybe-Maybe we should go public. Then we'll call people like us from all over the country, they'll come out of hiding, they'll boost the country, Ty!"

Ty growled, "The magic folk were slaughtered just because people assumed they were doing magic. What do you think people could do to us? They've eliminated entire species, Sky. Do you want us to killed?"

"Times have changed."

"The country is barely recovering from Herobrine's incident. That was decades ago. We weren't even born. The moment they get a hint of information of his whereabouts, they come running with guns!"

Ty's growl grew louder, "Almost every week, when we see him, he's harboring some sort of injury from a run in with a human. What do you think they'll do to you? They know you. They know your family. They know where you are, where you will be."

His voice grew low, knowing he was treading on a dangerous path, "What if they go for your mother?"

The passion in Sky's golden eyes disappeared, and Ty braced himself when he saw fury replace them.

The commandant started, "How fucking dare-"

"Seriously?"

The two of them turned to Sky's balcony. Herobrine stood there, in his signature cloak, dark blue bandana on his nose. His eyes shone brightly, and they were narrowed angrily at them. He looked a bit dirty and tired. When Ty looked closely, the Swede had quite a cut on his cheek.

The man pulled down the bandana to his neck and stalked forward, eyes solely on Sky now. He said lowly, "I came here to check up on you, like a good person, but here you are, immediately jumping to risk your safety once again. How many times do you want me to save you, kid?"

Sky rolled his eyes, "Nothing about you is good. Besides, you don't have to save me from anything."

Herobrine growled, deep in his throat, even deeper that Ty's enderdragon growl. Said captain looked up at Herobrine in shock because of the sound, and the Swede met his eyes. He narrowed them dangerously, and Ty moved to obey the silent order.

He turned and left, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Sky and Herobrine watched him go, and once the door was shut the latter walked over to it and waved his hand over the wood. Glowing blue lines came up and disappeared on the wood. Sky recognized them from the magic folk soldiers, Herobrine was putting down a charm.

Probably a silencing one. Oh boy.

Herobrine swerved around and deadpanned, "I gave you my energy to heal faster. I also put a temporary monitoring spell on you so I would alerted if you were to get any more hurt. The spell vanished, so I assumed you woke up. I came here to check on you."

He came closer to Sky's bed, leaning in as he snarled under his breath, "And you're already plotting your suicide."

He leaned back, eyes narrowed in disappointment permanently as he asked, "Why do I even bother helping you? It's not worth it if you're going to die! I told you, time and time again, that telling anyone was dangerous."

Sky fought back, "If I told people, they wouldn't bat an eye if I used my powers to help people out of that attack!"

"That's because you'd be dead already!"

Herobrine grumbled to himself, breathing heavily. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose as he mumbled, "Kid, you've barely even scratched the surface of your powers. What makes you think you could come clean and not come to harm? You have nothing to protect you."

"I have you."

Herobrine's eyes widened in utter disbelief. He exclaimed, "You coming clean is one thing, Adam, but involving me?"

His voice went soft, "You're not asking for suicide, you're asking for torture."

Sky narrowed his eyes, "So you'll just let me die?"

"No!"

Herobrine downright shouted at him. His deep, commanding voice echoed in the silent room. Thank god for the silencing charm or else a patrolling squad could have come running. Sky was momentarily stunned, and Herobrine took this chance to speak, softer but still distressed.

"I won't... I won't let anything happen to you."

He brought his hands up to his face, covering his glowing eyes. His voice was strained when he mumbled, "I can't- Fuck."

He took a deep breath, and Sky could just watch. He felt fear when Herobrine shouted at him. He felt like the man was ready to kill him. However, now, seeing the usually collected man so panicky and stressed, made something deep within him feel... Bad.

The Swede looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, honestly. Sky couldn't handle the guilt and was about to apologize when Herobrine let his fingers glide through his hair, pulling them back.

His hands stayed there as he whispered, "Do what you want."

Sky was taken aback, "I- What?"

Herobrine's eyes met his, and for once, Sky could see how exhausted the man was.

"Do what you want. It's your life."

Sky was confused. Was Herobrine going to just leave him in the dust?

It seemed that Herobrine was doing that mind-reading thing as he hastily added, "I-I'll do what I can. To protect you."

He looked away, his hands tightening in his hair, "Kid, I don't know what's going to happen. It's fucking terrifying."

He looked back at Sky and let his hands fall, his messy hair falling back to his forehead, "I just hope your soldiers are as accepting as you think they are."

In a blue flash, he was gone.

Sky stared at his hands for the rest of the night, thinking.

-

Ty walked straight to his room, not looking back. He was greeted with Rive on his bed, wagging his tail when he saw him. The captain sat next to the wolf and let his fingers comb through Rive's coarse fur. He needed to calm down, he was feeling a little anxious.

Rive scooted his body to press up against Ty before resting his big head on the man's thigh. Ty's hands went up to stroke his ears, and the wolf panted happily.

Rive said softly after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "I talked to the girl."

Ty's hands stopped. He asked quietly, "Which girl?"

Rive nudged his head towards Ty's fingers as he mumbled, "She was there when you found me. She's the scary one, who pointing that dangerous human thing at me when she saw me. She has feathers in her hair, that one."

Ty's fingers relaxed as he breathed out a sigh of relief, "Okay, Killia then. Thank god..."

"She understood me," Rive said rather enthusiastically.

"What?!"

Ty's head snapped to Rive's and he removed his hand completely. The wolf whined and looked up at him.

Ty asked, "She understood you? How?"

The wolf rested his head back down again, thinking it wasn't a big deal. He replied sleepily, "She looked really scared of me... She understood me, and I understood her."

Ty stared at nothing, trying to comprehend everything. He asked shakily, "D-Did you mention me?"

"I asked if she was just like you."

"Rive!"

Ty got up, shaking Rive off of him. The wolf also jumped off the bed on instinct, whirling around to face Ty in surprise. His tail was tucked in between his legs when he saw Ty towering over him angrily.

Ty growled, and he could feel his fangs start to poke out, "What the fuck have you done!?"

Rive whined, "I don't know!"

Ty crept closer, explaining loudly, "No one's supposed to know about me! No one!"

The wolf, feeling daring, growled, "Well, apparently no one knew about her either!"

The captain halted, taking in what Rive had just said. Fuck. He shouldn't focus on himself right now. He stood up straight and walked to the balcony, leaning against it and thinking. He could hear Rive padding to join him, albeit hesitantly.

"Ty? Are you okay? I'm sorry I-"

"No, no. It's... That's the least of our problems..."

Ty looked at the moon.

"After all, she understood you."

-

While a shouting match and a discovery was taking place, in another part of the base, two friends were trying to plead with a very tired Seto and a confused Brice.

They were in the ward, and Seto was leaning against the wall next to Jerome's bed as both Jerome and Mitch begged him for permission to move back to their rooms. Brice stood nearby, obviously waiting for his friend so they could return to their own room for the night as well. He was no medical officer, so he couldn't really side with anyone.

All he could do was offer up an awkward smile whenever Seto looked at him for support.

"Seto, you know I hate the ward," whined Jerome.

Seto rolled his eyes, and removed the hand pinching the bridge of his nose. Brice winced at the bags under his eyes. He's been on his feet since early in the morning, and the blond didn't think he could stay up for another hour.

The sorcerer turned to Jerome and said, "I know, but I only let you return to your room because all you get is a bite or a cut, but this? Your hand has been amputated, Jerome. You need to be under constant monitoring!"

Jerome groaned, Mitch patting his back in comfort. The latter raised up, "He absolutely hates it here. He can't sit still. Anymore longer and he'll bite off his other hand. Please, Seto."

Seto folded his arms and explained, "I know you've learnt a lot from me, Mitch, but you're still not licensed to monitor him. I don't even think he can stand yet."

Jerome narrowed his eyes and said lowly, "Fucking watch me."

The injured soldier immediately started to swing himself off of the bed, Mitch standing up to assist him. Jerome yelped when he tripped when a bedsheet curled around his leg. Seto lunged forward and caught him, mindful of his arm. Brice had stepped forward and Mitch had lost his grip.

The three of them moved to settle Jerome back on the bed as Seto said sternly, "I watched and saw nothing, Jerome. You need to stay here."

Jerome grumbled to himself and Mitch looked crestfallen. Seto was about to excuse himself until Brice finally spoke, "I mean, you can just put a monitoring charm on him."

Seto looked offended as he glared at his friend. He turned back to the other two best friends to see them give him their best kicked puppy eyes. He glanced between Brice and the two before groaning loudly. Jerome and Mitch ceased their puppy eyes and grinned at their success.

Seto sighed, "Godamn, fine. I have a few conditions though."

Jerome leaned forward, "Anything."

Seto raised an eyebrow at that before saying, "You'll let me remove all those wards on your room. I can enter whenever I want to check up on you."

Jerome flinched, looking at his friend. Mitch met his eyes and shook his head, before turning to the sorcerer and saying, "Can you just reduce the power on the wards? We still want them up."

Seto narrowed his eyes but relented, "Alright. I'll turn them down. When do you want to move?"

"Now!"

Both Brice and Seto jumped at Mitch and Jerome's synchronized reply.