He never returned.

So the brothers set off hesitantly. Markus was absolutely terrified when they passed the forest, and was even more terrified when they reached the swamp. Hero, being the shortest and most ungraceful person on the planet, kept getting his foot stuck in mud and bag in quicksand. They escaped the nasty swamp covered in muck and washed up in a river flowing through the next forest.

The journey took five days, and Hero hunted for the two of them. However, food was scarce in the swamp area, as the area had more small fish than large ones. The large ones were in deep waters, and Markus had no idea how to swim, and Hero nearly got eaten by a crocodile.

Needless to say, both boys were absolutely relieved when they caught sight of the village they were looking for.

Hero and Markus stayed low as they crept around the walls and stalked towards the designated tower. A guard was patrolling the tower and stared down at them with narrowed eyes. He cocked his gun and aimed at the two, and Hero felt his brother stiffen and clutch at his sides painfully.

"¹Kakova Vasha tsel' zdes'?"

Hero bit his tongue, trying to remember the bits of Russian he learnt from Ivan.

"²E-e, okhrannik po imeni Ivan poslal nas syuda."

The guard raised an eyebrow and lowered his gun. He looked around cautiously before bending down and pointing to a few stones that stood out from the rest in the wall.

"Pull them out. And get in the tower quickly. I'll put them back later. ³Toropit'sya!"

Both Hero and Markus rushed to pull out the heavy stones and crawled underneath it. Hero's height helped him effortlessly, but Markus had a few scrapes. The brothers scrambled to the tower and bumped right into the guard, who was lifting a hatch on the ground for them.

The brothers slowly got in and climbed down the ladder before dropping to the ground, dust flying on their clothes. The two looked around and spotted a rather tall man standing with a torch.

"Ivan sent you?"

Hero nodded, "Yes."

"Follow me then."

The two brothers ran after the man as he jogged off, and Markus grimaced at the rats running over their feet. "Where exactly are we?"

Markus wasn't paying attention, so he bumped face-first to the man's back when they halted. The man wiped sweat off his forehead and said gruffly, "See for yourself."

Markus tip-toed over the man's shoulder and gasped. Tents were assembled in neat lines, torches lining the walls. Bags and satchels were aligned next to the tents. Boys of many ages played around the tents, as men tried to weave their way through. Hero noticed that most, no, all of the men were much more bigger and muscular than he was, and were carrying weapons of all kinds.

Hero caught himself staring at one particular man who was massive, pulling a rickety cart of wood and coal behind him.

"Because of the law, many boys fled their villages, this is where they go."

The man who was pulling the cart, passed it to two of his friends and ran over to the trio. Hero's breath got caught in his throat when the man locked eyes with him for a moment.

"I'm Kaleb, and I'm from Britain. Did any of the Russian spies sent you?"

Markus caught his brother in a trance so he answered for him, "Ivan Zharkov did."

Kaleb nodded with a smile then asked, "Your names, then?"

Hero cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hero's fine, thank you..."

Kaleb just raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Markus pulled Hero behind him and narrowed his eyes. He didn't like Kaleb, but he had no idea why. He just seemed like a dick.

"It's personal."

Kaleb grinned and bent down to look at Markus properly, "You playing Big Brother, huh?"

Now, Hero thought Kaleb was a dick. Yeah sure, Hero thought Kaleb looked... Nice, but now he had seen this attitude, he did not want to play nice, shy or innocent.

Hero stepped from behind his brother, "I'm the older one here. And don't talk to him like that."

Power: 47%

Kaleb didn't say anything, and just looked at Hero up and down. He then smirked and whispered, "Alright then, sweetheart. Follow me to your tents."

As they walked, Kaleb turned his head to Hero and grinned lazily, "Your tent is right next to mine."

Markus overheard it and grumbled under his breath, "Remember I'm in the same tent so don't try anything."

Kaleb heard it, however, and scowled under his breath. They reached the tent and the three of them stepped inside. Kaleb took Hero's items from his hands and put them down neatly in a corner next to a mattress, while Markus stared in anger, and Hero with confusion.

Kaleb turned to Hero... Again. "Hey, if you need a better blanket or some pillows you can drop by my tent or something."

Hero snickered and nodded, "Yeah, sure."

Markus was fuming.

○

"Oh dear."

"What is wrong, my Lady? Are my sons okay?"

"They are perfectly fine, it's just... Apparently your firstborn's powers have developed enough for him to use..."

"Use what?"

"Charm."

"Charm? What's that?"

"Seduction, my friend."

"My son knows how to seduce people?!"

"Without his knowledge, yes."

"I didn't ask for this!"

"It's my little sister's work, it's literally in his blood and instincts."

"Wait, what?"

○

Kaleb brought the brothers around for a tour. So the underground village really was where young boys escaping the law fled to. The boys are being taught how to fight and defend themselves, and also basic survival like how to make a bonfire and cook. Kaleb was 'impressed' that Hero could do most of those, but when he mentioned the word 'housewife', Hero snapped at him.

Kaleb's friends were puzzled as to why their 6'3 leader cowered underneath a 5'1 Swede. Markus was satisfied.

Hero and Markus were quite shocked when Kaleb told them his plans to build up a small army to overthrow the current Russian controlling Minecraftia and get independence. Hero joined immediately, and with some persuasion, Markus did as well.

○

Some of the boys, were not as nice as others.

Markus was friendly, so he got along fine with everyone with the exception of Kaleb.

But Hero was criticized for his height and frame, and he always got remarks that he should be the one making meals rather than fight.

But if the two brothers were together, people left them alone. However, the two were drifting apart slowly, as they both played different roles. Hero somehow managed to talk Kaleb into putting him into combat, and Markus was helping his fellow genuises in battle plans.

Hero could not help but notice that his younger brother was growing... Taller and bigger than he was. Now that he thought it, Markus resembled their father while Hero leaned more towards their mother. In both appearance and height...

Everyone was gathered for a battle plan meeting. Markus and Kaleb were away in another tent, discussing more. Poor Hero was left alone.

Hero had to stand in front of the crowd, because of his height, and he snorted when he heard the stupidest idea ever and raised his voice to make an opinion.

"I think we should-"

"All children should raise up their hands, Pup."

Hero folded his arms and stuck out his hip as he stared at everyone who cackled afterwards. He squeezed his arm and huffed, blowing a few strands of stray hair from his face. This amused the crowd even more, somehow.

"Look at him! So tiny and small, poor thing!"

"Are we sure we want a mouse on the battlefield?"

"Get back to the kitchen, maybe make me a sandwich of two, hah!"

Hero snarled, "Do I have to fight to voice an opinion in here?!"

The men hollered and cheered, laughing among themselves. The man who gave him the children comment, stepped forward with a smirk.

"Unfortunately. Runts like you won't live a day in the Russian army, likewise for here. I do need an actual target..."

The men stepped back and formed a circle, pushing Hero into the middle with the other man. Hero stared straight at the man, as his body shivered a little with every small breath he took. He dug his boots into the soil, and clenched his fists. It was quiet, and everyone was anticipating a move. Hero could hear his own eyelids blink.

And then the man sprang.

Hero yelled in surprise and ducked, at the same time pushing himself forward. He slid in between the man's legs and found himself safe and still stood firm to the ground. He turned to see a fuming man, who roared and charged again.

Hero's reflexes did not work this time and all the air was knocked out of him as he was shoved back to the ground harshly. The heavy man dug his heels onto Hero's ribcage, and the Swede cursed loudly. The man leaned forward and wrapped his massive fist around Hero's neck and squeezed lightly, making the younger boy gasp and choke.

Hero shut his eyes and struggled hard, but all he could manage was a small turn of his body. He felt his entire body burning, and opened his eyes to stare directly at the man. The man gulped as he noticed Hero stiffen and not make any sound.

"Release me."

The man screamed as his fist around Hero's throat started to grow warmer until he felt the burning sting on his fingertips. He pulled back and looked at his hand, which was covered with blisters and aching red skin.

His hand was burnt.

He turned around to see Hero on his feet, his own hand rubbing at the pink marks on his neck. Hero raised his head and stared hard at the man, who stepped back. The man saw a small glimpse of fiery glowing white eyes before icy blue irises replaced them and the man gave one last look to his hand, which was still very much burnt, before fainting.

All Hero could manage while trying to catch his breath as the man fell backwards, was a smug grin as the crowd began to yell.

Translations:

1: Russian. "What is your purpose here?"

2: Russian. "Uh, a guard named Ivan sent us here."

3: Russian. "Hurry!"

Remember these are from Google Translate, so not that accurate. :P