Hero's eyes darted to the doorstep. Mrs. Yale winced next to him at the mention to someone she cared for. His soldiers, oh god, he can even tell their names. His cadets, his soldiers that he trained so well.

They were looking to arrest him.

They held up a piece of paper, and Hero could read it with his superb eyesight.

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

PREVIOUS GENERAL PERSSON

LAST SEEN LEAVING THE NORTH KINGDOM WEARING THE ROYAL MILITARY TRAINING OUTFIT, AS SEEN BELOW

25K EMERALD AWARD

Motherfuck.

They had a picture of him in the exact same training outfit. The blue shirt with 'ROYAL MILITARY' at the back, and the logo in the front with his own name below. He was standing in position next to the soldiers he trained with, as some sort of batch photo. He wore the required black pants, with the polished combat boots. The gloves used for weaponry grip were on his hands, and his previously long hair was tied in his same old ponytail. He had his eyes back then too.

Mr. Yale stared at the poster and just said gruffly, "Can't help you fellas. Have a good day."

He tried to shut the door but was stopped when one of the soldiers slipped a boot through the door to stop it. Hero would have been proud of how stern they were if not for the situation he was in. The soldiers barged in, and Mr. Yale fumed silently. He stood protectively behind his wife and Hero. The soldier holding the poster turned to Mrs. Yale, and asked about Hero.

She shook her head with a hate-fueled smile. They turned to Hero, and looked him up and down. A few of them snickered at his height. Hero looked unamused, and his hand was itching to discipline them. To show them who he was, and how disrespectful it was to mock a superior. His hand curled into a fist as he inhaled deeply. He stared straight at the soldier, his soldier.

The soldier looked taken aback with how familiar the anger in those blue eyes were.

He did not move his head and said loud and clear, authority laced in his tongue. "No."

The soldiers lurking behind snapped up and went to stand at attention. Hero realized his mistake. He had said no several times in his military time to soldiers who complained. Everyone was familiar with his commanding tone, and when that tone was heard, even if soft, everyone would snap at attention, ready to salute him if he passed by. Only if it was guaranteed that he had left the perimeter, would they resume their duties.

All eyes went to Hero, and the soldier spluttered, "I-I, s-sir-what?"

Hero cleared his throat and spoke gentler. "No, I have never seen the monster other than in the papers."

Mr. Yale looked puzzled. The soldiers who were now in position shivered at the familiar voice. The soldier who held the poster blinked. Hero caught the recognition in Mrs. Yale's eyes.

The soldiers nodded dumbly and stumbled out, muttering an apology to the Yales. Mr. Yale shook his head and properly wished Hero good luck on his travels. Mrs. Yale insisted on seeing him to the porch, so she guided him out alone.

Hero found himself in a motherly bone-crushing hug with Mrs. Yale. He raised his head, and saw her looking at him, as if she knew.

"Please be safe out there, dear. If you see them again, keep going and keep jumping from village to village. Make sure you don't leave any evidence, or a pattern."

Hero's eyes widened. "Do you know who I-"

She grinned. "Of course. And don't worry, my dear. I don't blame you for anything."

She bent down to be at eye-level with him. "Everyone is a perfect balance of good and bad. Sometimes, the bad takes over. And I know how hard it must feel. Take care of yourself."

Hero could feel himself smiling.

"Okay."

○

Hero had to go through another round of horny soldiers before he could leave the village. From what he had seen earlier, he had come to a decision. All he had to do was to talk to Helena and everything would be set. He teleported right into spider territory. The sun had started to set moments ago, so everyone were waking up from their morning slumber. He saw litters of pups scamper towards him before tackling him. The weight of five litters had him fall to the ground. Pups squeaked and huddle close to him, as he laughed under them.

Their fathers ran after their children, and apologized to Hero profusely. Hero told them it was fine, all the while balancing tens of spider pups wrestling on his shoulders, head and lap. Spiders always had the fathers as caretakers, while mother did the hunting and providing. Even after females lay the eggs, the fathers create the web nest and stay by their eggs while their mates do their own duties. That was only the majority, sometimes the females would do it, and other times, both would switch back and forth.

Noah had always wanted a litter of his own.

One early morning Noah dreamily talked about having his own family. He would like to share the responsibility, Hero remembered. Noah then went into detail, how his ideal mate would be so kind and patient, and that he would be rather easy to anger. Hero had responded to his ramble.

"Then go find yourself a mate."

Noah was silent after that.

Hero's flashback was interrupted by a frantic squeal. He looked down to separate a wrestling pair of pups. He cradled a male hurt one to his chest softly, hissing words of comfort. Their father came forward to take the other angry sibling and reprimand them. The other fathers just watched their alpha, noting how much of a great parental figure he could be.

Soon, Hero had eased the pups off to their fathers, after taking care of the hurt one. He watched the fathers and their litters crawl away to their dens to feed. His nose picked up a familiar scent and he turned around to see Helena leading a group back from hunting

It was breakfast time.

Humans would consider it dinner, but Hero just sat in the usual gathering area, outside Noah's den. He stood, head up high as he watched spiders assemble in front of him. Helena's hunting group placed their kills onto the pile of leaves. They did the standard separation procedure, before waiting for their alpha to take his share. Hero looked at the array, and decided to tear into a buck. The spiders watched as he sank his trained fangs into the limb and tore it off with one practiced jerk. Blood filled his mouth as he brought the bloody meat to his lap.

His gaze traveled across his clan. The spiders still had their gazes on their alpha. Their alpha rarely took meat, and if he did, only when someone offered to cook it over a fire. They have seen him hunt, but never eat raw. Hero released his teeth from the meat and raised his head, blood dripping down his chin as he did so. He let out a short snarl, and the spiders immediately started taking their fill. The mothers brought back kill for their families and dens, and elders took their own fill. Helena took her share last, and dragged the rest of the buck and a few berries next to Hero.

He had not taken a bite, and was just staring at the hind leg. Helena shifted into human form and sat down. She offered her berries, but Hero declined with a grunt. She stared at him for a moment, before asking, "What happened?"

He decided to be straightforward, "I can't stay."

Helena gulped and looked down. "Why?"

Hero raised the hind leg to meet his chin. Blood had stained his pants now. "People are looking for me and I was almost caught today."

Helena sighed, "You do know we can protect you, right?"

In a fit of anger, Hero sank his teeth into the leg. Helena looked at him with wide eyes and watched as he tore a strip of raw flesh and chewed. She watched as he swallowed, staring as his Adam's Apple bobbed. He just said softly, and Helena saw a peak of his glistening bloodstained fangs. "Noah said the same thing."

He turned to look at Helena straight in the eye. "And look what happened to him."

The female spider's breath hitched and she cooed, "None of it was your fault, alpha. Besides, who will lead the clan in your wake?"

Hero shut his eyes as he took another bite of the hind leg. He savored it this time, and decided that raw deer meat just had a tiny bit of bitter in there. It was easier to chew, though, and it slid down his throat easily. At this point, Hero could feel his mind numb, just like when he started killing those people in the North. The only difference between then and now, was that Hero embraced it.

He welcomed it, the numbing silence of emotions and vulnerability.

After swallowing, he simply hissed, "You can."

Helena stared at him in shock. Hero met her eyes and he raised a brow, "You're much more capable than I would ever be. Last time I was in charge of something, people died. It happened again when I became Noah's equal, and I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

Helena just said, "Why me then? What's so special about me?"

Hero smirked. Not the teasing one, the cold and heartless one that made Helena wince. "Same reason when you crushed after Noah in mating season daze. You've witnessed things he had too. You came from the same place, hence you understand each other."

He looked at Helena. "You can continue his legacy. You know of his dreams, his wants. You'll pull through, I know you can and he would have too."

Helena sighed, looking at her share of food. "Where will you go then?"

The white-eyed man laughed, "Oh, I'll be scampering all over the place. These people are always on the search, especially after what I did. The search expanded till here and I don't want any of you caught in the crossfire. I'll travel, and maybe one day, I'll find myself here again."

Helena hummed. She took a bite of her meat too. "I'll be sure to be on the look out for you then. When will you leave?"

"As soon as possible."

Helena nearly choked on her meat. (Heh.) She stared wide-eyed at her friend, "Wait, what? Aren't you going to tell the clan?"

She was surprised to see Hero gnawing at the bones of the leg. He had cleaned off every piece of meat, and was just sharpening his teeth on the bone. He chipped a few bits off before saying, "I'll play with the pups a bit, then I'll leave via Noah's grave. I... Need a last moment with him before I start my journey."

Before Hero could stand and discard the bones, Helena grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down. He found himself with his neck bared, as Helena buried her nose in that scent gland in his neck. She inhaled his scent deeply, before rubbing respectfully against his cheek. He pressed back, before they pulled away. It was how spiders said goodbye.

○

Hero had a lovely time with the pups. They wrestled and played with him, and he even took care of some while their fathers needed to run a quick errand. Unfortunately, when all the fathers came back and were ready to take their children for a nap, Hero had to remove himself from the cuddle pile the pups had formed around him. Some woke and cried out sadly for him, but he shushed them with a quick whistle. Spiders whistled to comfort sometimes, and he whistled them a short and soft tune to send them to sleep. A lullaby.

The fathers thanked him before he started leaving the territory. He met Helena again, and they shared one last goodbye before Hero equipped all of his tools and weapons. He slung an old bow on his shoulder, and the new sword he got from Mr. Yale on a sheath on his belt. He had a gun tucked away with magic, and he could summon it with a quick snap of his fingers. He started trekking to Noah's grave, where he was currently sitting.

He sat next to the intertwined flowers. The old scarf lay around it, and Hero could see traces of raven feathers in there. He picked one up, and studied it in the moonlight across the sea. It was glossy and unusually big.

○

Roderich stared at Nabiel, who looked smug for some reason.

○

The wind picked up around Hero, and it blew the feather away from his fingers. He looked back down at the grave, and patted it slowly. He pulled himself to stand, and turned to the sea. Wind, his element, blew against his face as he breathed in the harsh air. The scent of ocean filled his nose and he visibly relaxed. The crashing of waves along the sand accompanied the crickets singing in the forest behind him. Hero started walking along the cliffs, and stepped over spider territory and into the open.

He never looked back.

A voice he used to dread filled his ears. He grinned as it sounded forced and tired, nothing like it used to before; angry and demanding.

Welcome back, Herobrine.

He was in control. Derrek was nothing but an influence. He may have been a puppet then, but he grew stronger and tore the strings away from his puppeteer. He responded back with equal distaste.

Thought I got rid of you for good, you dick.

Oh, you wish.