Disclaimer: I do NOT own the game 'Minecraft'. I only own this AU series.

OC alert too. This is Kait from Sep 2017 talking, and I do admit that they are extremely useless to the plot. I can't believe 2014/2015 me implemented them.

Kait from 2019 talking, wow. Time has passed.
☆

Martin grinned, his hand in a cast, "Oh, a couple of nibbles here and there, but I'm fine. I'm a delectable delight you know, spiders love me. The potion Seto gave me makes me feel quite better."

Sky nodded, as he studied the blood-soaked cast. He winced. He said, "You'll go back to your shifts in a week or so. Seto said that it was pretty bad."

Martin nodded, a small hint of sadness in his face. Sky walked up to his bed and said, "Hey. You are still one of my best soldiers, Martin. Nothing is going to change that. Not even your injuries."

He looked up at his commander through his shades. He smiled and whispered, "Thank you, sir."

Martin Petrov, mostly known as Bodil. A really cheeky Bulgarian that loves pulling pranks and spends his free time pranking people, especially the cadets, just to cheer them up through the rough times of training. He gets in trouble for that though, and lessened the impact of his pranks after Sky warned him of removing Martin from the sergeant major rank. Very famous in the Southern Military, every private who just had been there for a day already know everything about him. On top of all that, he's friendly and smart.

-

As Sky strolled past the hallway, Jason ran to him from behind and almost shoved a handful of documents in Sky's face. Jason said, "Good news... W-We've..."

Sky chuckled and placed a hand on Jason's hair and said, "Calm down... Jason, I'm startled."

Jason managed to crack a smile at the stupid inside joke and finally caught his breath.

He took a deep breath and said, "Okay... We've got a plentiful of new cadets coming tomorrow. And, some female cadets had also been recruited from all over Minecraftia. They'll come next morning at exactly nine o'clock."

Lieutenant Jason Probst. An excellent soldier. In charge of the recruitment of soldiers. Helps with paperwork with Sky. Really friendly, super sweet yet still third-in-command of the Southern Military. His previous dream was to become an astronaut. He used to have a pet pig called Jeffrey but he got lost. (He's one of the pigs in Emerald Village. No one noticed.) In his private quarters, it was rumored that he had a pet bat called Dillon because soldiers overheard screeching in his room. No one knows where the Dillon part comes from. Some soldiers speculate that he has a special lady in his room instead, others cringe at that idea.

Sky smiled. More recruits, more soldiers, less people getting killed by creatures. Females never really join the army. One of the good female soldiers in the elite soldier division was Ashley Mariee Surcombe. A great fighter and had the immense intelligence of areas mobs will most likely to be found. She's one of Sky's best explorers, so she takes her squad out to be explore certain areas and report back to Sky about temples, villages, tribes and places good for building or resources.

That made Sky remember something, so he asked, "Is Ashley back from exploring?"

Jason frowned and replied, "She's... She just came with her squad after you left Martin in the ward. She's very unstable. Probably got attacked by multiple mobs.. Venom bites from spiders, burn marks from creepers..."

Sky's mind shattered into pieces. He left Jason and ran towards the ward, ignoring the worried cries from Jason. He swung open the ward door, to find his explorer on the bed a few beds away from Martin, blood splattered everywhere. How could he have missed her coming in?

Seto had rushed up apparently, his robe was draped on a chair to the side, and his uniform was stained with blood. He was breathing heavily, his hand tucked behind Ashley's head, supporting her. Sky rushed over, other medical staff moving out of the way. He looked down at her and gasped.

Parts of her body were hastily bandaged to stop the bleeding, but the bandages were still soaked. Some medical staff were applying pressure, doing their best. Sky saw a couple of healing potions on the side, empty. They were waiting for the potions to kick in. Her hair was matted with dried blood, and her eyes were pale.

Sky asked softly, "What happened, Ashley?"

The poor girl shut her eyes and rasped, "A-A man. One moment, he was a... A spider, then the next... An enderman. He kept changing and changing, sir. I-I was alone. Hunting."

Before Sky could respond, she kept going, coughing in between her words, "He was crazy, not... Not human. He bled turquoise."

She opened her quivering palm, and sure enough, there was a smear of dried turquoise liquid. Seto's eyes widened in awe.

Ashley continued, "I couldn't... Couldn't react in time. B-But... A man came in. Saved me. He-He made the creature run away, then called for help. He came to me, Sky. I-I saw his face. I couldn't believe my eyes."

She turned her head to the side, a small smile on her face. Sky held her hand, urging her to continue, "Who was it?"

She shook her head and whispered ever so softly, "He's not a monster. Not a murderer. He gave me time. S-Said I would do good in the Aether."

She wheezed a final breath, and everyone who surrounded her gasped softly. Sky felt her hand become colder, before gently letting it go. He softly said, "Get one of her dog tags and send it together with a letter to her family. Ask if they want her buried in the Royal Burial Ground or wherever they want her to be."

The Royal Burial Ground is many acres of land bought by the Persson family. Those who had fallen during the rebellion for Minecraftia's independence were buried there. Since then, soldiers who die have the choice of getting buried there, together with an honorable funeral. The burial ground is closely guarded, as it too is reserved for the royal family to rest when they pass away. Sky's own father was buried there, he visits his grave every few months with his mother.

The medical staff stopped applying pressure to the wounds and went to prepare everything. Seto remained cradling Ashley's head. He wasn't close to her, but he always felt like he played a part whenever a soldier passes under his care.

Seto spoke, his voice almost too quiet to hear, "I-I'm sorry, sir. I did what I could. The potion could only kick in so fast."

He looked to the side, avoiding contact with Ashley or Sky, "I should've used magic."

Sky narrowed his eyes, "That's illegal, Seto. You said it yourself, it's dangerous for the giver. You're giving your own life energy to someone, in other words giving them a few years of your life."

He leaned closer, hoping he could convince Seto that he didn't need to do that, "I wouldn't want to risk my soldier's life for another. No matter how bad that sounds."

Sky feels a little guilty for splitting Seto and Brice apart. They've always gone on shifts together, but recently Sky wanted to test their relationship out and see if they could work without the other.

"Go and clean up."

"Yes, sir."

Seto left Ashley's body, moving to pick up his robes and walk to the nearest bathrooms. Sky's gaze lingered on Ashley before he left her side, wishing her a safe journey to the Aether.

As soon as Sky left, a figure appeared by Ashley's side. He leaned over, looking at her.

"I did what I could."

He sighed.

"But I'm no good man."

He gently took Ashley's hand and spread her fingers apart, looking at the turquoise stain on her hand. He scowled. He let go and fixed her hair, muttering a cleaning charm under his breath. Immediately the blood disappeared from his skin, clothes and hair. He lingered for a moment before disappearing in a blue flash.

-

Sky had went to talk to Ashley's squad, who was with her on her exploring expedition.

One of Ashley's squad members spoke, "She ventured out on her own at night, we didn't know. We were sleeping at our camp, and we woke up when he heard someone calling for help."

Sky tilted his head, "She called for help?"

Another one of Ashley's squad member shook his head, "No, it sounded like a he. No other man went out with her though. We were all at camp, she was all alone. We went towards the noise and found her, bleeding and alive, but barely."

Sky frowned, "And the man?"

"Gone. The place was a mess. I couldn't distinguish the footprints and the trails. Just a bunch of blood, red and turquoise. We tried looking around, but couldn't find anything or anyone."

Sky asked his last question, "You didn't hear the creature?"

The squad members looked at each other before they shook their heads.

Sky looked away with a frown, "I see."

-

Ashley's parents wanted her buried at the Royal Burial Ground, and a bunch of Royal Military soldiers came to pick up her body. Her squad members were invited to the funeral, so they went as well.

Jason had woken up at 4 in the morning to ride his brown overo Nokota mare, Winona, to the training facility not too far from the base. Mitch and a couple of other soldiers were sent there to help Jason oversee the training and selection process. Jason honestly didn't like going to the training facility. A lot of recruits like to step over his head just because he wasn't too overly fierce. Mitch would fix that in a second though.

When he reached the facility, Mitch and the others were already setting up the hall for the new recruits coming in. Jason greeted them before going to office. He yawned as he looked through the training papers he received from the North. Jason was distracted as he heard the entrance gate opening. He checked the time and sighed, this lot sure were early.

Jason neatly set down the documents and strolled out his small office, to the parade square. The Minecraftian flag flew high over the Southern Military flag. Walking in from the gate on horseback, were two young people; a young woman and man.

Jason walked over to them and asked with a small smile, wanting to be friendly for now, "Why are you two here so early? Also, what are your names?"

The two exchanged calm glances and the girl answered, "I'm Killia. This is my brother, Kei. We registered from the Northern district?"

Kei smiled and waved, as his sister stubbornly held a straight face. Jason smiled as Kei said, "We got a Royal Recommendation."

Jason did remember, he was a little jealous honestly. A Royal Recommendation was no joke. You have to really be up there to get noticed by the king. What really intrigued Jason was why did the two come to the Southern Military instead of staying in the North? The Royal Military had a higher pay, and was definitely more respected. They could get in easily with the Royal Recommendation.

He sighed and said, "Well, you two must be eager to be soldiers, having arrived much earlier than usual. You can leave your horses at the stables, I'm sure you got your maps. Your dorms are at the far side of camp, the soldiers there will lead you two to your rooms. You'll get into your training uniform and gather here. Just leave your items at your rooms."

The lieutenant watched as the two walked away.

-

Jason sat on the platform in the meeting clearing, reading the documents over and over to ensure he did not forget anything. He also ticked off Killia and Kei's names off the list of recruits. He then winced as a cheerful but loud 'Hey!' broke his eardrums. He looked up as he dropped his papers, all of them scattered across the dirt. He saw Mitch smiling as he stood over him. He noticed Killia and Kei right behind him, ready in their training uniforms.

He was almost about to let a curse, but went with, "What the hell, Mitch?!"

Mitch just laughed. Kei snickered behind him but his sister did not join them.

□

Information:

These are subject to change. However, insight on the military system is in Book Extras, Shorts and More. The following was taken from the chapter:

'The Southern Army, Sky's one, has a spider. (Referring to mascot) Their uniforms are brown.'

Elite Soldiers Uniform: Dark brown capes with golden stitching, Brown butler-like tailcoat jacket, Black boots, Black pistol holster on thigh, Black berets, Black gloves, Black belt that crosses their chest and back that can hold quivers/bows/swords

Soldiers Uniform: Brown butler-like tailcoat jacket, Black boots, Black pistol holster on thigh, No capes, Gray gloves, Wear dark brown caps (not berets), Black belt that crosses their chest and back that can hold quivers/bows/swords

Recruit Uniform: Pale gray uniform, Black boots, Gray cap, White leathered gloves (all militaries have this as a standard)

Killia's Appearance: Tall female with dark brown hair that reaches down to her back, feathers braided onto her hair, Bright amber eyes, Chocolate skin

Kei's Appearance: Golden Brown hair, bright amber eyes, Chocolate skin