Markus twisted the keys hastily to Hero's office at the army base. Passing soldiers looked at him sadly, pitying how their ruler had lost his brother to betrayal. Markus frowned at the thought, and twisted the knob too rough. He heard the knob make a cracking sound as he shouted in his own head that his brother was not a traitor.

He kicked open the door and shut it loudly behind him. He took in his brother's office. The desk in front of him was littered with documents, letters and reports. A cup of ink has spilled in the corner, and multiple quills were scattered on the desk. There was a 'discarded stash' in the corner, a bunch of stacked papers stabbed angrily by a dagger. Those were usually bad reports or marriage proposals by rich families.

Markus walked around the table, to Hero's chair. It was an old thing, but had padded seats, armrests and even a padded backrest. It was worn from use, and Hero's military trenchcoat-thing was draped over it. He picked it up, and smiled warmly at the one-and-only general rank on the shoulders. It had long sleeves, which were folded neatly at the ends. Hero's last name was on the tag, right below the Royal Military crest, a creeper surrounded by olive leaves. Their motto was in a small banner surrounding the creeper.

'To Those Who Believed'

It was obviously hinting at Hero and Markus, those who started Minecraftia's dream along with many who fought in the rebellion. It was them who believed, and worked hard for that belief, for Minecraftia to be free and on her own.

It would probably make no sense now to some, as the one who led the rebellion had committed multiple unforgivable crimes, and was either dead on still on the run. Markus hoped it was the latter.

He thumbed the stripes of Hero's rank on the shoulder, before dropping back on the chair. He opened the drawers on Hero's desk. Most of them contained more papers, while some had random necessities. He saw a brush in there somewhere, and a first aid kit as well. There was some oil for bruises and abrasions thrown in the mix. Markus was just a little surprised to find a dagger hidden in all of the drawers. He could not blame his brother though, Hero was paranoid sometimes.

When Markus was lazily looking around, he caught something colored among the mundane white of papers. He pulled it out, and his heart warmed at the gray, white and black picture. It was of the main team, Hero, Darryl, Kaleb and Markus. Hero and Kaleb were both in fighting gear, their bodies heavy with multiple weapons. Hero was loosely holding a rifle while Kaleb nuzzled into his cheek. Kaleb had a sheathed sword thrown over his shoulder. Darryl, Markus flinched, was in his unusual garbs once again. He laughed merrily at Kaleb's antics. Markus then looked at himself. He played strategist in the rebellion, and was dressed normally. There were notes in his hands, and he just grinned at his frowning brother.

Markus sighed. Kaleb and Darryl were dead. Kaleb had a hero's funeral, and Hero had looked solemn in the dark ceremony. Minecraftia's flag was draped over his coffin, and he had an honorable marble grave. The military's motto was even on there, and no doubt it was covered in flowers right now. Darryl, oh dear, had a quieter funeral. Well, according to Jeb, since Markus refused to attend. People were shocked at first, but they just assumed he was traumatized by his brother's 'betrayal'.

He too, had a hero's funeral, but honestly, Markus did not think he deserved one. Darryl had made Markus think that his own brother needed to die. Markus knew he was being too cold, but he always sided with his brother. Markus tucked the picture in his pocket, and went exploring again. Markus had privately requested for all of Hero's uniforms to be safely kept away in a chest, so he ignored the wardrobe. He went out to the balcony instead.

Cold wind blew at his face, and Markus sighed. He leaned against the railing, and stared at his kingdom, his country that he built with his brother. They all believed that Hero was killer. They all want him dead.

They're all looking for him.

Markus did his best to stop them, but they sought revenge for those who had perished.

Six months later, In a new year

Catching the eye of a spider on the opposite of the river, Hero sprang. He ran with his body low to the ground, the silent charms on his boots helping him sneak up quickly on the buck. Multiple red eyes in the forest followed his movements, and once he broke into a full-out sprint, they dashed out as well. Their hissing startled the buck drinking water, and desperately tried to look for an opening to run. It turned, only to be greeted by a smirking human, who leaped at its neck. It reared and cried as Hero bit down hard on that spot on the neck, his sharpened fangs breaking through flesh easily.

The spiders helped immobilize the deer as they bit onto each limb. They crawled on it as it fell, keeping it down. It squirmed under everyone's effort. Once Hero tasted blood on his tongue, he let go. The buck thrashed wildly as blood spurted, before falling limp. Carefully, everyone got off and hissed their approval. Helena shifted and punched Hero's shoulder and said, "Great job, alpha."

Over the months, Hero did not even need Noah to tell everyone who he was. He established his rank perfectly, giving out reasonable orders and taking care of the clan alongside Noah. He taught Helena, Noah and Hugo how to fight well in human form, and in turn he was taught how spiders and creepers fight. He slowly adjusted what he learnt to his own fighting technique, to establish something new and unique. As a soldier, he used his knowledge to get through, but creepers and spiders taught him how to use instinct as well.

They also taught him how to make different parts of his body into skilled assets. Hero used his fangs more, not afraid to bite and hiss. He got into an accident with a spider, and got bit. All spiders had venom, but with creature blood, Noah, Helena and Hugo were immune. They all went into a frenzy over Hero when he got a sick after the bite. He vomited a lot and could not move for a few days. Noah was shaken, as he had thought that Hero would die, as their venom were lethal.

Hero survived.

The vomiting and inability to move was just his body getting used to the venom. His body was special in a way, so instead of submitting to the venom, it accepted it and made Hero immune as well. Hero, being the curious thing he was, had went and gotten himself bitten by various other creatures and are several poisonous foods. Noah freaked when he found out, but Hero did it so he would be immune to almost everything. Everyone was convinced that Hero was invincible and immortal for a moment.

Back to his assets, Hero became much more flexible than before, and that was saying something. He was already flexible but cave spiders had to run and squeeze through every crack, so he learnt how to switch directions, pivot and slip through the smallest of spaces. Regular spiders lived up in trees, so his climbing got better. He could scramble up a tree in seconds, and he learnt how to use vines and branches to his advantage. Adding his own strength, cave spider flexibility and agility and regular spider knowledge of vines, Hero could use vines like he knew gymnastics. He could not reach his full potential, as his foot slowed him down a little. It healed quickly with the help of forest herbs, but the massive scars on his foot never left. They ached sometimes, but Noah would massage some oil from herbs to ease the aching.

Hero learnt how to communicate with his new clanmates, as he learnt hiss speak from Noah. His stealth has increased as spiders navigated silently at night. Hero had basically earned his place in the wild. The spiders shared their knowledge of other creatures as well, as they would pass by sometimes for migration or mating seasons.

Talking about the mating season, Helena had apologized for her behavior to the alphas. She had said that since Noah had been the one to introduce her to her new family, she looked up to him greatly. The season haze made her affection increase, when she had not meant for it to. She stayed inferior to the alphas, and grew a little close to Hero, listening to his stories of her other blood's kind. The spiders had also learned about human from Hero, so they promised to only grow aggressive when they were truly threatened.

Hero did not ask about Noah's past just yet, nor Helena or Hugo too. The three came from the same 'facility'. Hero only guessed a bit from the small stories he heard, but he never asked.

"We'll get back whenever you're ready, alpha."

Hero stood, wiping the blood from his mouth. He swallowed the rest in his mouth, and sighed. Grabbing a hold of the buck's antlers, his voice rang out, "Everyone grab on. Don't let go."

Every spider brought a limb to the carcass and waited for Hero to teleport them back. Everyone was used to Hero's powers, as he still had to explore his boundaries. He needed to get used to it, and they just went along with it, not questioning Hero much.

When they appeared back to the hill, Hero waved the spiders off. They obeyed and dragged the carcass away, while Hero made his way to Noah's den. The spider was hanging off the entrance, lazing around. He brightened up when he saw his equal, and crawled down to greet him. He rubbed his head against Hero's, and the white-eyed man purred and nuzzled back. Spiders stared at the display of affection for a bit before scrambling away, giving their alphas privacy.

Noah did not tell him that was how you greet your mate.

Noah made sure no one told him.

The spider pulled back and hissed, "Glad you're back. I got another complaint about you from the elders. It was getting bothersome, so maybe you could follow me and ease their... Concerns?"

Hero raised an eyebrow, "Same one?"

Noah bobbed his head a little angrily. Almost everyone, especially all the pups, have accepted Hero. The elders, those who strictly follow tradition, were slow to trust him. Noah had told Hero of one particular elder going on and on about how Hero did not deserve to stay in the clan. The white-eyed man usually ignored people like that, but the complaints were getting incessant and irritating. He shrugged to Noah and the two started working their way down the cave system.

Several passing spiders hissed their greetings, and a little of pups from both kinds had played chase between their feet. Hero found them oddly adorable, as one crawled up his leg and onto his shoulder to run away from her siblings. Their mothers had called for them and they eagerly chirped their goodbyes to the alphas. Both of them had a soft spot for the young.

They reached the den and Noah had to switch back to human. The entrance would never allow a spider as huge as Noah to slip through. Hero crawled in, and sighed as the inside was bigger than it looked like. He could stand up, but Noah would have to crouch down a little. He did just that, and Hero spotted a shaking form pressed up against the wall. He hissed lowly to grab her attention, and the spider turned.

Her eyes were dull and had a blank look in them, as scars tore right through them. Noah was uncharacteristically silent, and Hero could smell the tension between them. They were clearly not on good terms. From the complaints, Hero would not be as well. Her hiss was raspy, and Hero could see her coat was more gray than the cave spider turquoise. She rasped, "I thought I already told you I wanted him gone."

Noah had replied before Hero could. The spider snarled a little but calmed himself down before hissing, "Remember your place. We don't take orders from you anymore."

Hero took some time to register what Noah had just said. Before he could ask upon his assumption, the elder snarled again, "You went and made filth your equal. He should be below us, not above us, the vile creatures."

Although it hurt just a little, Hero did not disagree. He spoke then, "What have I done to be classified with my kind? I have never done any harm to you, unlike the rest."

Even though she was clearly blind, her head snapped around to the source of Hero's hissing. She snapped, "There's this ugly and nasty scent around you. Why can't I be concerned for my clan?"

Noah had stepped in again, "That's my duty. You're no longer alpha. Haven't I made it clear years ago?"

The blind elder hissed, "Yes, right before you left to go after the filth. I should have never taken you in if you would disappoint me so."

Noah had flinched, that struck home. Hero immediately pressed his shoulder against the alpha's side. This was how spiders expressed comfort and sympathy. He pressed his cheek into Noah's neck, rubbing their scents together to hide the stench of pain around Noah. The spider purred appreciatively before hissing to the elder, "Remember where you stand next time. I would gladly kick you out if you insult us ever again."

The elder made a scoffing noise and turned around, refusing to look at them. Slowly, Noah turned and crawled out. Hero looked at the elder one last time before joining his friend. Said friend was stalking down the caves quickly, and Hero immediately pressed himself against Noah's side again. His pace slowed down and he pressed back, purring. Hero asked quietly, "You did that to her eyes, didn't you?"

Noah's eyes grew dark. "What if I said yes?"

Hero, knowing spiders preen under praise, hummed softly, "Then you're a brilliant, capable alpha. You took your place with pride, and you're a great protector of your clan."

He saw Noah's mouth twitch upward in a hesitant smile. Hero did not stop there, "You're absolutely amazing and dominant. Everyone knows who's the boss here. Just because a former alpha is upset, shouldn't justify everything that you do. I'm not disappointed in you, and I know no one else is."

Noah's purr was embarrassingly loud now, and his cheeks were tinted red. He ducked his head under all the praise and pressed his nose behind Hero's ear, flustered. The white-eyed man chuckled, a sound that Noah appreciated and loved. Spiders who were lazing by were absolutely done with the obvious pining between their leaders. They hoped they would get it over with soon. While Helena's short crush was obvious, Noah's longterm one was even more so. Even newborn pups could smell the affection between them. Noah had literally left the clan in pursuit of Hero. In Noah's teenage years, everyone had to cope with him going on and on about a pretty human with blue eyes. Same human had white eyes now but was still as pretty.

They were walking, with Hero still pressed against Noah's side. They both purred a little softer than before, and Noah had a calculating look on his face. He was bright red, and not from the praise he received earlier. He shut his eyes tight and came to a decision. He slipped a hand around his friend's back. Hero looked up at him expectantly. Noah had to swallow his own saliva multiple times before he could even spit out the question.

"Can I take you somewhere nice?"