Chapter 33 : Internal conflict

Hey guys, Agithos here for another chapter. A chapter I wrote exclusively during my travels by train, to be precise...Seems like nobody cares so let's get on with the guest responses

-Ethan

"Good story as always man good job" - Glad you liked it ^^.

Present time, Home, Hayden POV

"Are you ready, you two ?" I asked as I put my weapon in my sheath.

"Yes !" Yeabi replied followed by a nod coming from my young creeper girlfriend.

It has been a little more than an hour since Mickael, Blazette and, most likely, Vanessa left for the lost kingdom of the nether skeletons. Charloette was in the kitchen, sobbing quietly in front of a mushroom stew Ayumi made for her while Andr was trying to cheer her up somehow. As for Ari, she was looking outside the window with the faint hope of seeing her little sister pass through the purple portal any second now. Speaking of this portal, we were in front of it. We wanted to make that bastard eat the ground...just kidding, we were only going to have a little 'friendly' chat with him.

"Alright then, let's go !" I spoke up before I walked into the other realm.

That being done, we arrived inside Blazette's fortress. Like before, one of those zombie pigmen was in front of us. However, this one seemed to have been waiting for us. He bowed to us before putting his sword on his shoulder.

"There you are, I was waiting for you !" He spoke up.

"You were ?" Yaebi raised an eyebrow.

"Yes !" He nodded "Mistress Blazette told us about your arrival. Our orders are to show you the way to queen Charloette's castle so you can, and I quote, 'punch that bastard so hard, his head will go through the bedrock ceiling' !"

"I see !" I chuckled "Lead the way, then !"

"Understood !" The soldier saluted us "Soldiers, in formation !"

Out of nowhere, five soldiers surrounded us, forming a sort of ring with us in the center. That being done, we walked towards our destination : Charloette's castle. As we exited the fortress, I could see Cupa looking around the place like an excited child. She was amazed by the sight of the Nether. It was her first time outside Blazette's castle. As for me, I only went to the Nether once during my time as a mercenary and I didn't leave unscathed. It was already quite a dangerous place before with the cliffs, the lava ocean and the mobs. Now, it has become even more deadly with those roaming monsters coming from Notch knows where.

"Hayden, look !" Cupa spoke up as she pointed at a few glowstone blocks hanging down from the ceiling.

"Those are glowstone blocks !" The zombie pigman troop leader replied "They are one of the only sources of light here.

"They are beautiful !" The creeper girl responded with beaming eyes.

"Yes, but their powder is really hard to get...At least for you. Blazes and ghasts have no problem collecting it since they can fly !"

"How long do we have to walk ? Yaebi asked as we passed next to some soulsand blocks.

"For someone who can fly ? Only an hour but, since we are on foot, it can take up to two more hours to reach our destination !"

"Uuuuh !" Yaebi sighed.

That being said, our journey began. I twasn't going to be very long but it was sure going to seem like it.

Meanwhile, The Nether, Mickael POV

"Are we there yet ?" The little girl complained for the 64th time since she rejoined us.

"We didn't force you to go with us !" I grunted.

"Geez, I was just asking !" She replied.

"Cut it out, you two !" Blazette spoke up "We are almost there !"

We went around the next mountain and we finally arrived at our destination. A group of mob was already there. I could see enderman, skeletons, zombie pigmen and even some other humans. I instantly recognized Korian, the captain of the queen slime's royal guards. She was talking to some child wearing a grey hat with two black dots on the side. The child was also wearing some kind of dress made of big grey pearls. She had short grey hair, grey eyes and seemed no older than twelve. Upon seeing us, they stopped talking.

"You are late, I was beginning to think we wouldn't see you !" Korian saluted before spotting Vanessa walking behind me "You brang someone with you ?"

"More like was forced to take her with us !" I frowned and crossed my arms.

"I said I was sorry, okay ?" The cave spider glared at me.

"Whatever, just make sure she stays out of trouble !" Korian didn't seem to care. She then turned to the little girl next to her.

"This is Shara, a silverfish. Don't let her young age and her small size fool you. She is the head librarian of her stronghold. She is a genius and one of the few people in all Minecraftia who can read and understand old minecratian !" Korian presented her.

"Old Minecraftian ?" I asked.

"Yes, it's a long lost language that no one speaks anymore. It's the same language that was used to write the enchanting books !"

"Interesting..." I said as I looked at the little girl.

The little silverfish girl was staring at us with expressionless eyes. After a few seconds of silence, I decided to break the ice.

"Hello, Shara, my name is..." She instantly interrupted me by raising her hand before pulling out a sheet of paper from her dress.

"You are Mickael Tabor, a human who lives inside the overworld in a house with his friends. You currently live with a skeleton who is also your girlfriend by the way, a spider, a zombie, an endergirl and a cave spider. You come from another world and was chosen by Notch to defeat Herobrine. Your past is unknow to me. I don't have anything about you until you participated in a expedition where you killed three men and injured another one. You infiltrated a village, blew up a storage building. Defended a village where you died but was brung back to life. You and your friends managed to end a king's reign in Azlanta, you took part into the negotiations between the two slime queen and last but not least, you held your ground against a giant monster. That's quite the record you have there !"

I was dumbfounded, I don't know how long I stayed there with my mouth wide opened.

"I did my research !" She crossed her arms and smiled proudly "Come on, let's not waste any more time. We have a lot of things to do !" She was about to turn around as she spotted Vanessa "Oops, I didn't see you there. My bad, I have a habit of only give attention to important things...Who are you ?" She had a cocky smile on her face.

I saw a little veins popping out of Vanessa's forehead. These kinds of things had the talent to piss her off. A little more and I would see smoke coming out of her ears. Both of the little girl stayed like this for a second before Korian frowned and began to pull on the little girl's ear, hard.

"Shara...We already talked about this. What did I say ?" The zombie pigman scolded her.

"Okay, okay, okay. I am sorry, I am sorry. Stop pulling my ear, it hurts !" The silverfish girl replied.

I chuckled at the amusing sight. The proud and cocky little girl had been replaced by a cute one getting scolded. Next to me, Vanessa was snickering evilly and even Blazette was having trouble containing herself. After a few seconds, Korian let Shara go and the little girl Immediately put a hand on her now red ear and began to pout like a five year old.

"Shara..." Korian warned her

"Okay okay...My name is Shara, what is yours ?"

"Vanessa !" The cave spider spat as they glared at one another "It would be best for you if you remember it !"

"I only remember important things !" Shara replied before walking away "Come on, prepare your stuff and let's go, we don't have all day !"

"What a brat !" Vanessa thought out loud. Fortunately for her, the silverfish was already to far to hear.

"Yeah...Reminds me of someone I know !" I chuckled as I followed the others.

"Who do you..." She stopped and probably thought about it for a second "HEY, MIKE. GET BACK HERE !" She then ran after me, her fist in the air.

2 hours later, In front of the ghast's capital , Hayden POV

"Finally, we are here. I can't take it anymore !" Yaebi said as he almost fainted. Fortunately, Cupa was there to catch him.

"Are you alright ?" She asked.

"I should be the one asking you that !" The zombie boy replied "I am in a T-shirt and some pants and this heat is still killing me. How can you walk around in a SWEATER ?"

"Because I don't have anything underneath, silly !" Cupa giggled.

My face went red and Yaebi was too stunned to respond to that. Cupa let him go and rejoined the captain standing by our cover. We were a hundred block away from the city, behind a small cliff. I looked at the zombie to see him with an eyebrow raised and his hand on his chin.

"Don't you dare imagine what I think you are imagining, got it ?" I warned him, a fist tightened.

"I don't know what you are talking about !" He replied with a sheepish smile on his face and I rolled my eyes.

We both then got closer to the captain.

"So, what's the plan ?" I asked.

"We will escort you through the city as prisoners. However, once you get to the castle, you will be on your own. Understood ?"

We nodded and he snapped his fingers. One of the soldier put a backpack on the floor and pulled out some ragged leather clothes as well some iron collars.

"We have to wear that ?" Cupa asked.

"Yes, unless you want to stay behind !" The captain answered with a serious voice.

"N-No !" Cupa shook her head and the captain threw her her clothes. She looked at us and frowned "Can you boys turn around ?"

As we turned away from her, I heard her call my name.

"Not you, Hayden, you can look if you want !" She giggled at me and my face went red.

I slowly turned my head around and found myself in trance as I saw her beautiful slender nude body. She had her back turned to me so I couldn't really see anything private. She picked up the rag and put it on her. She then turned to me, a wide smile on her face.

"How do I look ?" She asked.

"You're as beautiful as always !" I immediately answered with a blush on my face "Not a piece of clothing is ever going to change that !"

"Hey human, we don't have all day !" The zombie pigman interrupted us "Get changed so we can get in !"

"Y-Yes !" I said as I removed my armor and my sheath. I then put the ragged clothe and the iron collar around my neck.

Now that we were all ready to go. The soldier went into formation and we approached the city. I could see two guards standing next to the front gates as well as a few of them floating above the city.

"It's going to be tough to escape if things goes out of hands !" I thought.

"Halt, state your business !" The first guard spoke up upon seeing us approaching.

"These three were caught doing mischiefs into a nearby ghast village. We brang them here so they could be punished for their actions !" The troop leader explained.

The second guard turned around us to make sure we didn't have any weapons on us before nodding to his comrade.

"Very well, you can enter but keep them under control until they arrive into the dungeon. We don't need them causing trouble, especially at a time like this !" The first guard said as he opened the door to let us through.

That being said, we entered the city. There was many ghasts floating into the city even though some of them seemed to prefer walking on solid ground. Other races were also present like zombie pigman and skeletons. Since the attack on Honeystu's city, those two races were highly requested in order to defend bigger cities. As we made our way through, I noticed something strange, and I wasn't the only one.

"Why do they seem all sad ?" My girlfriend asked me. She was right, everyone looked angry, sad or even depressed by something

"Probably Menos' doing !" I answered as I could parts of conversations the citizen were having.

"I can't believe princess Charloette is a traitor, she was really kind with everyone !" One of them said.

"...and now the king is telling us we should give up...that the enemy is too strong for us to handle even though we didn't even try !" Another spoke up, clearly angry.

"Mommy, what are we going to do ?" A child asked

A little further into the city and we could see some civilians arguing with the guards about something. Both sides were shouting at each other. It looked like they were going to fight any second now. Cupa was beginning to get anxious as people were stopping what they were doing to watch us.

"Keep your head low !" The captain whispered "Don't do anything strange. We can't afford to attract attention !"

Another minute passed and we finally arrived in front of the castle. It was massive with multiple balconies where ghasts could land. It was white as it seemed entirely made of quartz blocks. The troop leader raised a hand, meaning we had to stop. He then walked towards the guards standing by the gates. I couldn't hear them talking but I guess he explained the situation. The guard nodded and opened the door.

We entered the castle. Maids, butlers and guards were roaming the place. As we arrived into the main hall, we stopped.

"This is as far as we can take you. Another group will arrive shortly to pick you up !" He then pointed at a zombie pigman carrying a bag "He will hide your equipement into a room nearby your cell !"

Then, I saw him search into one of his pocket and pull out a small golden key which he gave to me.

"Take this key and don't lose it !" He warned us "It the one you will use to free yourselves from your collar !"

"Got it !" I replied as I took the key and hid it in my piece of clothing.

With that being said, a group of ghast guards came to us. He saluted the captain.

"We are going to take care of them from now on. Thank you for bringing them to us !" The leader of the group spoke up.

"Got it !" The zombie pigman nodded before the group walked through the entrance of the castle, leaving us alone with the ghasts.

Three of them grabbed Yaebi, Cupa and I by the arms before dragging us towards the castle's dungeon. We had to walk for a few minutes into the palace before we arrived in front of a big metal door. Even though the nether was supposed to be always warm, the air was cold here, almost as we had returned to the normal temperature of the overworld. In the cells, prisoners were there. Some of them simply said hello while others threw insults at the guards.

"Hey, nice legs, creeper girl !" One of them said after whistling at Cupa "At which hours do they open ?"

I turned around and threw him the best death glare I ever did. The prisoner gulped before quickly backing away into the shadow of his cell. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my girlfriend sigh before giving me a sweet smile. A couple more cells and we finally arrived in front of an opened big cell.

"This is where you will stay until you are judged for your crimes !" The leader said as they pushed us inside and closed the door.

Then, they left. I took the chance to take a good look at our room. It was a big one with a few wooden beds as well as a bucket for...necessary purpose. At least, that's what I supposed because we didn't want to pass enough time here to find out. I carefully looked around to see if any guard was coming towards us and pulled out the key from my clothes. I freed myself, Cupa and Yaebi from our iron collar.

"It's good to finally get out of these things !" Yaebi spoke up after scratching his neck.

"I agree !" I replied "Now, we just need to leave this dungeon and find Menos !"

Using the key, I opened the cell. We all got out and I locked the door behind us to not attract any suspicion if a guard was going to pass by this area. Unfortunately for us, the door didn't look like it had been oiled in years. A loud noise was heard through the dungeon.

"What was that ?" I heard a guard say as he approached our position.

I got ready and, as soon as the ghast turned around the corner, I took his head and smashed it against the wall. He grunted in pain before falling on the floor, unconscious.

"I hope you didn't kill him !" He then spoke up before checking his pulse. Yaebi sighed in relief when he noticed he was still breathing

"That's too bad !" Someone behind us said. We turned around and saw a middle aged woman with green hair looking at us from her cell "Well, I guess it can't be helped. Take his keys and get me out of here !"

"Who are you ?" Cupa asked as she approached the zombie pigman girl.

"My name is not important. Just give me the keys so I can get out of here !" She frowned.

"Sorry !" I replied "We are not here to free you. We have an important mission to take care of !"

The prisoner glared at me. In a fraction of a second, she grabbed Cupa and smashed her back against the bars of the cell. Then, she put her right arm around Cupa's neck.

"Cupa !" Yaebi tried to rejoin her but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the girl pulling out a small golden knife and putting it next to the creeper girl's throat.

"Nuh huh !" She smiled "I wouldn't do that if I were you, zombie boy. I tried to be nice but you chose the hard way. Be it. Now, give me the keys before I form a puddle with her blood !"

I was angry, so angry in fact that a few electric arcs were coming out of my body on their own. I glared at the girl and pointed a finger in her direction. She dared to threaten my beautiful little angel. She wasn't going to She raised an eyebrow and smiled even more.

"Release her at once. I won't give another warning !" I spoke up with a harsh voice.

"Oh, really ?" She asked with a smirk "And what do you plan to..." I didn't let her finish as I fired a small lightning bolt right into her face. As soon as the electricity entered her flesh, her eyes widened and her body began to spasm uncontrollably. The pain she was experiencing was preventing her to scream or even make a single sound. She let go of Cupa and fell on the floor motionless. Cupa would have fallen too if it weren't for Yaebi catching her before she could do so.

"Are you alright ?" I asked as I ran to them.

"Yes. Thanks to you, sweetie !" She smiled at me when I helped her get on her feet "Let's go, I don't want to be here any longer !"

"I am going to take this. It could be useful !" The zombie boy said as he picked up the small golden knife the prisoner dropped.

"Now we just need to find our stuff !" I spoke up "The captain said it should be in a room nearby !"

Quietly, we explored the dungeon. We tried to avoid passing nearby cells with prisoners in it as they could have alerted the guards or even threaten us. At one point, we arrived into what looked like a storage room.

"I think this is where they store the inmates properties while they rot in this prison !" Yaebi said.

I slowly opened the door but quickly stopped when I noticed two shadows moving on the wall in front of us.

"Two guards, in front of us !" I whispered to my two friends. Yaebi got himself ready and I counted "1...2...3 !"

We burst into the room. The guards didn't have the time to understand what was happening as I fired a bolt of lighting at the one on my side. The bolt collided with him and he was sent flying into the air. I made sure to put just enough power to knock him out for a short time. As for the other ghast, Yaebi managed to pin him to the ground. He tried to levitate into the air but couldn't.

"AL..." was all he could say before the zombie boy smashed the ghast head on the floor, knocking him out.

"Nice job !" I spoke up.

"Thanks !"

As Cupa was searching for our stuff, we decided to tie up the two guard so they couldn't ring the alarm once they wake up.

"That should do the trick !" Yaebi spoke up.

"Hey, guys, I found them !" Cupa said as she pointed at a chest with our equipment inside.

"I think it's time we pay Menos a little visit, don't you think ?" I asked as we got ready and changed.

They nodded at me and we quickly left the dungeon before making our way towards the throne room. We encountered a few guards on our ways but nothing to serious. After a few minutes, we finally arrived in front of the throne room, which was surprisingly seemed that nearly all soldiers had been deployed on the streets to avoid a riot from the civilians outside.

"Where is everyone ?" Cupa asked.

"Not here, that's all that matters !" Yaebi replied.

I couldn't really disagree with what the zombie boy said but Cupa had a point. We saw only a small number of guards, far too little to guard a whole castle efficiently. A part of me feared we had been spotted at some point and they were all waiting for us inside the room just behind the door. With apprehension, I put my hand on the handle and slowly opened the door. I was surprise to see the throne room perfectly devoided of life. No guards were there and no one was sitting on the throne.

"There is no one there !" I spoke up.

"Hey, look at this !" Cupa pulled me by the arm towards a nearby window.

"What is happening ?"

We looked outside to find many people gathered outside the castle. They were staring at someone on the balcony : the one and only Menos. It seemed we found the explanation about why the castle was empty : Outside, nearly all soldiers had been deployed on the streets to avoid a riot from the civilians outside.

"My people..." Menos began "I am sure you are aware of what I decided this morning. Despite the protestors, I am holding my ground. We shall retire from the alliance. This is a new era for the ghast race. By becoming Herobrine's follower, we shall receive great power. I know you are scared but you just have to believe in me. I'll handle the rest !"

"And what if it fails ?" A civilian spoke up from the crowd.

"It won't, and, if it does fail, it won't matter. We will all die anyway if we keep on fighting !"

"I can't accept this. If I have to die, it will be on the battlefield, nowhere else !" Another civilian glared at him

"You will accept this !" Menos looked in her direction "Otherwise..."

Menos snapped his fingers and, a few seconds later, three guards arrived at the ghast girl's side. Her eyes widened as they picked her by the arms and began to carry her away from the area, under the protests of the crowd. Some tried to help her but were quickly pushed back. That being done, the ghast king turned around and returned within the safe walls of his castle.

"Over here, quick !" Yaebi said as he pointed at behind the throne.

We hid behind the furniture. After a minute, we heard the room's door opening.

"I shall rest for a while. I don't want to be disturbed !" A voice we recognized as Charloette's husband replied.

"Yes, my lord !" Another voice replied before we heard the door closing.

"Fools...!" Menos sighed as he rejoined our position "How come they can't see that I am right ? No matter..."

As he spoke to himself, we looked at each others. There wasn't much time before we would have been spotted. We quickly exited our cover and faced the ghast king.

"Menos !" I called him.

Upon seeing us, he raised an eyebrow before chuckling a second later.

"Well, I can't say I am surprised to see you here after Charloette managed to escape although I expected Blazette to come, not you three !"

"You will excuse us but she is occupied somewhere else !" Yaebi replied "She has something better to do than to take care of a petty little tyran !"

"Because you think I want to be one ?" Menos crossed his arms "I am only doing this because my people doesn't want to follow my ways even though I am the king here !"

"What makes you think you are right ?" I asked "The war has only just began and yet, you back down. Even worse, you betrayed Charloette's trust and feelings for you. You used to be our friends, what happened to you ?"

"I saw the truth. I thought about it for some time now and I can't find any other alternative !" He replied "I have to admit : Charloette was a nice girl but she was unable to make difficult decisions for the sake of her people. I had to take matters into my own hands !"

"You bastard..." I whispered to myself as I prepared a lightning ball in my hand. Menos looked at me with an expressionless face

"I see...Then I think we don't have anything more to say to each other !" He then smiled "I am going to show you how Herobrine rewards those who help him !"

Menos began to grunt in pain and we all took a step back. Our eyes widened when we saw his yellow eyes get red. His white skin changed to a more greyish one. That being done, began to grow in size to almost three time his normal size. We had to cover our ears as he screamed in pain when two other smaller faces formed on both side of his cheeks. We couldn't believe what we were seeing. Our former friend had transformed into a monster.

"This is the true power of a ghast !" He spoke up after a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Home, Charloette POV

"Menos..." I thought to myself.

I was sitting at the table. A piece of cake was on a bowl in front of me, untouched. Ayumi and Andr were with me, not saying anything. As for the spider girl, she had fallen asleep waiting for her sister. She was on a chair, a blanket over her. I was thinking about what happened to me during the last few hours. Even now, I couldn't believe it happened.

"Menos..." I whispered "What happened to you ?"

"Don't worry !" Ayumi spoke up as she heard me "I am sure Hayden, Cupa and Yaebi are doing everything they can to learn the truth !"

"I know...It's just that...even after what he did to me, even after all this time he lied to me..I...I just can't bring myself to hate him !"

"It's understandable..." The skeleton girl replied.

"No...It's more than that...I...I still love him, Ayumi !" I let a few tears fall down onto the table.

"You still love that bastard ?" I heard someone say behind me. I turned around and saw Ari looking at me with sleepy eyes "He betrayed you and broke your heart. If it was me, I would have split his head in half !"

"I can't help it, Ari !" I responded, facing her "I have too much good memories with him. It's with him I spent the best months of my life. It's like...something changed inside of him. I am sure he was honest when he told me he loved me the first time !" I added.

Ari grunted and facepalmed. She couldn't understand what I was feeling but I couldn't hold it against her as she never fell deeply in love with someone like I did.

"Can't you just accept the fact he is an asshole ?" My spider friend replied "Face it, he manipulated you the whole time !"

I looked at the ground. I couldn't believe that version of the story. The more I thought about it, the more I find this situation strange. With now a clear hand, I was sure something had happened to him and I was determined to find out, even by myself if I had to. I looked up and began to float towards the door.

"Hey, Charloette, where are you going ?" Ayumi asked me.

"I am going to my castle. I want to speak with my husband in person !" I answered, not even looking at her.

"Are you serious ? Even after what he did and said to you ?" Ari raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I need to hear the truth !"

"But...but...He..." The spider girl rolled her eyes before sighing "Fine...but I'll come with you !"

"Thank you !" I smiled.

"Ayumi, Andr, you guard the house !" Ari face her friend who nodded "If Vanessa comes back, tell her she is grounded !"

That being said, we passed the front door and went in front of the portal.

Four months ago, Berlin, Mickael POV

Here I was, standing here in front of my future colleges. I arrived yesterday late at night, so I didn't have the time to present myself to the others. The sergent gathered everyone in the meeting room and was standing next to me. I have to say, I was a little anxious despite all these years passed in the military.

"Alright men, let me present you our new recruit : Mickael Tabor !" He then looked at me. I nodded and saluted my teammates.

"Really ? We accept kids in the GSG9 now ?" A bald man said.

"Trooper !" A middle aged woman replied as she lightly kicked him in the leg.

"Do not be fooled by his youth, Trooper !" The sergent chuckled "He has spent most of his short life in the army. In Texas to be precise !"

I heard a few personnel whistle upon hearing that. However, the bald man seemed unimpressed. He simply crossed his arms.

"Well, sergent, if you allow us. I would like to see what the rookie can do in a fight !"

"Granted !"

"Thank you. So, rookie. Up for a challenge ?" The bald man faced me, I nodded. "Good, meet me on the ring inside the sports hall after work !"

"Alright, enough said. You will be able to talk late. Now, back to work everyone !"

"YES, SIR !" We all responded as we exited the room.

The rest of the day passed pretty smoothly : Sports, shooting session, that sort of things...Now that I had finished work, I had to meet the guy called Trooper at the gym. When I arrived, I saw him and two other soldiers from the unit : The middle aged girl and another guy with a beard and short black hair. Upon seeing me, he walked towards me.

"Hey, rookie, glad you could make it !" He waved at me.

"Well, I said I would come !" I replied with a smile.

"We didn't have the time to present ourselves this morning. I am Adam, Adam Pfeifer but most of my friends call me Trooper like those two behind me. The woman on the right is Migas, she is really intelligent even if she quite bossy at time !"

"That's because I am the only one with a working brain in this group !" She replied, slapping Trooper on the back of the head before smiling at me "Anyway, nice to meet you Mickael, my name is Daniela.

"And this is Martin. We call him 'Reck' because he always says that after hitting a target. He is super skilled with a sniper !"

"Hey !" Reck waved at me.

"They'll act as judges to make sure no one is badly hurt !" Trooper explained "Are you ready to get on the ring ?"

"Yep, ready and prepared !" I replied.

We got on the ring and went into fighting position. The woman came to the side of the ring and began the countdown

"3...2...1...Begin !" Migas spoke up.

We slowly walked towards each other. I tried to analyse him to find out if he would mostly use quick attack or strong ones. That analysis didn't last very long because he rushed at me. He tried to hit me with his fist but I managed to dodge just in time. In response, I threw him a light kick in the leg which he parried.

"Not bad, maybe there is more to you than I thought, rookie !"

He ran to me for the second time. This time, I wouldn't try to dodge and I prepared myself. As soon as he came at distance, he tried to hit me only for me to catch his fist. With a swift motion of my arm, I made him turn around before kicking him in the back of the leg, making him fall on one knee. I then put him in a headlock, ending the fight.

"Okay, okay, you win !" He said between two gasps of air.

I released my hold on him and he fell on the floor. It took him a few seconds to catch his breath before he went back onto his feet. His two friends rejoined us on the ring

"You got your ass kicked pretty hard !" Migas chuckled "I hope you'll take that as a lesson...but I doubt it !"

"Ouch, my neck !" Trooper faced me "For how long have you been in the military ?"

"Since I was six !" I answered "So, I that makes fithteen years !"

His mouth opened wide.

"Seriously ?" He asked "Fifthteen years ? Damn. You worked there for longer than I have !"

"Not so 'rookie' anymore, don't you think , Trooper ?" Reck laughed.

"I don't care for how long he worked in the army or how skilled he is !" Trooper smiled "He is still the youngest member we ever had in the GSG-9. Until he earn a new nickname, I am going to call him however I want !"

"Sore loser..." Migas sighed and I laughed.

For only response, Trooper walked back to the bleachers and pulled out a small bag from underneath one of the chair. He opened the bag and returned to us. When he arrived in front of us, he pulled out a few cans of beer from the backpack.

"Trooper, what did I say about drinking alcohol inside the barrack ? If a superior sees us, we will be in deep trouble !"

"Oh, relax Migas. It's only a few beers to celebrate to arrival of our new comrade. Beside, we are off duty tonight. We can do whatever we want !"

He gave each one of us a can and raised his into the air.

"Well, rookie, welcome to the family !"

"Thanks, you three !" I smiled.

"I think I am really going to enjoy working here !" I thought as we all drank.

Suddenly, there was a white flash. For one second, I saw the silhouette of a young woman looking around 19 years old. She had long grey hair in a twin tails hairstyle. Hey eyes were also grey like her short vest and pants. A bow and a quiver full of arrows was attached on her back. I was it by a sudden headache as memories flooded into me.

"Ayumi !" I almost shouted. I looked around me. The scene from my memory had disappeared, leaving me in an endless darkness.

"Notch, are you there ?" I asked him but I received no answer "Great, must have found myself in a nightmare again !"

A second later, a voice spoke up from behind me.

"Why do you want to come back, Mickael ?" I turned around and saw Ayumi, Vanessa, Cupa and all the others staring at me "I love you...Do you not love me anymore ?" I could tell she was crying. Tears were rolling down her cheeks

"Stay calm, Mickael. It's only a nightmare !" I thought to myself "You don't have to answer !"

"Please, Mickael !" Cupa added "We need you here. You were my very first human friend. I don't want to loose you !"

"Come one, rookie, we miss you here !" Another voice spoke up from behind me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Trooper, Migas and Reck looking at me.

"He is right, every day is not the same without you !" Migas continued "We need you back !"

"I swear, Mickael, If you make Ayumi cry. I am going to slit your throat !" Ari said.

"We are searching everywhere for you !" Reck replied "You have to get back home !"

I could only watch as the two sides began to walk towards me, speaking louder and louder. I found myself trapped as they formed a full circle around me, gradually closing it. They almost looked like zombies as raised their arms toward me.

"Mickael, come back to us. Come back to us. Come back to us !"

"Quiet..."

"You can't leave me, I love you. You can't leave me !"

"Quiet...Quiet !"

"Mickael...Mickael...Mickael !" The two sides began to repeatedly say my name, over and over again "MICKAEL !"

"SHUT UP !" I finally screamed.

Present time, The Nether, Mickael POV

I woke up with a start. I took a look at my surrounding and saw that we were on the railroad. The 'great way of transporting troops' was just a series of minecarts attached together but, hey, It was better than nothing, I guess. I yawned and saw that Vanessa had also fallen asleep on my torso. In front of me, the little silverfish girl from before was reading a book. Korian and Blazette were seemingly talking to each other but they were too far behind for me to hear the conversation.

"Are you alright ? You seemed to have a rough night !" Notch asked me.

"Yeah...I am fine !" I answered "Thanks for asking !"

I sighed and looked at the scenery, wondering if, even after leaving without a single trace for more than two months, my friends from the GSG-9 were still looking for me.

TO BE CONTINUED...Alright, that's the end of the chapter. The next one SHOULD put an end to Charloette and Menos arc but the Ancient kingdom arc shall continue for another chapter. So, as always PM or review to tell me what you think of the story : good or bad. And if you have any suggestion for the story, feel free to contact me. See you guys next time (^_^)/