Adam jolted awake with a gasp.
He was lying under a tree, in the peaceful shade of a sunny meadow. There was a light summer breeze that gently rustled the grass and wildflowers. It was quiet besides the faint chirping of birds in the background and the rustling of grass.
A boy was leaning over Adam, his face emotionless but his dark, brown-maroon eyes were full of concern. "Huh...Ty?" Adam asked sleepily. Ty blinked. "We should head back," he said bluntly.

Adam slowly got up inot a sitting position. "Why...what are you doing here?"

Ty blinked again. "Were you dreaming? Do you think you're still dreaming?"

Adam rubbed his eyes. "No...I was having just a long dream...I think...I can't remember what it was about, though..."

Ty walked away from Adam and went over to a pile of small, floating wooden blocks not far away. He picked up the wooden blocks, then turned to Adam once again. He blinked in surprise. "Adam, why are you crying?"

"Hm?" Adam asked, and touched his fingers to his eyelids.

~*~*~

"...Don't tell anyone I was crying..." Adam muttered embarassedly to Ty as they walked up the dirt path through the meadow until they came to a huge stone wall. An arching tunnel lay ahead of them, and they alked through without hesitation,

"I won't," Ty replied simply. "But...if you're crying for no reason...maybe you should tell your dad?"

"Are you serious!?" Adam asked Ty incredeously. "Why would I do that?"

"What's the problem, Adam?" A voice asked ahead of them. Adam turned his head from Ty to look in front of him, where a man wearing a cape, red with the face of a creeper, stood in front of the tunnel. He had blue eyes, long black hair, a gray hoodie, and his face looked rather red.

"Gizzy?" Adam asked, looking up at the man. Gizzy leaned over the two boys. "Ty mad at you?" He asked.

"What?" Adam said defensively. "Why would I be crying? Espeially if Ty was mad at me? Which he's not, by the way!" He paused, taking a breath, and drew back from Gizzy. "You reek of alcohol..."

Laughter aroused from behind Gizzy, where two other red-caped men were sitting at a small, wooden table near the other end of the tunnel. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with that!" One of them called, a duck hybrid in a suit. The other man, a green, dinosaur-like hybrid, laughed and drank something from a large cup.

"You're drinking again..." Adam said, looking behind Gizzy at the two men. Gizzy smiled. "Want some?" He asked.

Adam looked back up at Gizzy. "But...you guys are on duty now, right?"

Gizzy nodded. "Yup. Today, we're watching the gates. We've been here all day. We've started getting thirsty, y'know? Not really a big deal if we had a little alcohol after a hard day at work."

Adam frowned. "But...if you're swigging alcohol and getting drunk over here, how are you guys gonna fight?"

Gizzy raised his eyebrows. "Fight? Why'd we have to fight? We're watching the gates."

"Are you serious?" Adam asked, frowning. "For when the walls are attacked!"

There was silence.

"Wow," Gizzy said, scratching the side of his head. "Don't scream stuff like that, Adam...actually, don't scream at all."

The duck hybrid at the table laughed and got up out of his seat, walking over to stand beside Gizzy. "Hahaha, you've got some spirit, kid," He chuckled. "Look, if anything happens, we'll do our jobs, 'kay? But the thing is, not even in the last century have the walls been attacked! There's nothing to worry 'bout!"

"Yeah, but still!" Adam exclaimed persistently. "You always gotta be prepared, right? It's times like this, when we're all laid-back and off-guard, when we're vuernerable to an attack!"

"Really, now?" Gizzy asked, looking thoughtful. "I suppose you've got a point there...but then again, these are Giants we're talking about." He glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice, as not to be heard by any bystanders. "I sometimes see the Giants on the other sides of the walls, when I'm up there, y'know. But, from my experience and rank as a soldier, I am pretty sure that even they're too small for the walls. 100 blocks tall, y'know!"

Adam frowned. "Are you saying that you don't have any will to fight the Giants, then?"

Gizzy shrugged. "Nope."

"What!?" Adam exclaimed. "You're a soldier, isn't that your job?!"

Gizzy chuckled. "But Adam, people will get frightened when they see soldiers fighting. They know something's up. Everyone gets to be happy when we sit around and do nothing. Happy soldiers, happy people."

Adam balled his hands into fists. "I know that...but what's the point if we're just going to sit around in these walls all our lives? We're living in a giant pen. We're cattle."

Gizzy's eyes widened, but the duck and the green dinosaur both laughed. "Gee, that kid sure knows how to talk!" The dinosaur chuckled.

"Not like you can do anything 'bout that, though, right, Gizzy?" The duck said, laughing and elbowing Gizzy.

"Yeah, right," Gizzy said, relaxing and cracking a smile. Adam walked past Gizzy into the city, followed by a silent Ty. Gizzy watched them go. He couldn't possibly want...? Gizzy thought, but pushed the thought away. Of course not. The kid's crazy, but he's not insane.

~*~*~

Adam and Ty walked together through the small, empty road. This wasn't one of the main paths; no markets, only homes.

"...Adam," Ty spoke suddenly. "You shouldn't join the Survey Corps."

"The Survey Corps aren't as dumb as Gizzy and his friends!" Adam said defensively, turning towards Ty. Ty kept his gaze focused on the ground.

"I never said the Survey Corps were stupid," Ty said, glancing at Adam. Both the boys stopped walking and looked up as they heard the faint clanging of bells in the distance.

"The Survey Corps returned!" Adam exclaimed happily. "The main gate's opening!"

He grabbed Ty's wrist excitedly and began to run in the direction of the bells. "C'mon, Ty! The heroes are back!"

People crowded the sides of the street as the main gate opened and the Survey Corps rolled in. Men walked in, or rode on horseback, down the cleared streets. They all wore iconic, bright blue capes, with they symbol of a yellow pickaxe on the back.

"Gah-I can't see anything..." Adam muttered as he ran behind the people gathered on the sidewalks with grim expressions. He caught sight of some crates outside a house, and leaped up onto them. Ty followed obediently. Adam gave a bright, excited smile as he caught sight of the blue-caped heroes above the heads of crowds.

One bearded man riding in on a horse was closest to Adam. He looked grimly at the ground in front of him, but lifted his head and turned it in Adam's direction. He caught sight of the boy's bright face behind the crowd, and quickly looked away, his dull black eyes focusing on the ground once more.

Adam's grin faced, and he blinked, turning to look at some of the other men. His eyes widened and he gasped.

Men were limping and leaning on each other for support, some looking beaten and bruised and some with blood-soaked bandages on their arms, legs or faces. Some horses were pulling wooden carts with wounded soldiers lying down in them. They walked by grimly, not meeting the crowd's eyes.

"Why are there so few of them?" a man asked in front of Adam.

"A bunch of them got eaten," The man next to him replied.

"That's what you get for going outside of the walls," Another muttered.

"Joey? Joey!" Someone called. Adam and Ty watched as an elderly woman ran onto the streets, stopping one of the men. "E-excuse me, but...my son, Joey...I can't find him." She stepped closer to the man, and looked up at him with concerned eyes. "Where is he?"

The man stared down at the woman. He had gray hair and a beard, with a crown of leaves on his head. "It's her. Joey's mother." He turned to the soldier next to him. "Bring it to her."

"Yes, Commander Jeb," The soldier muttered with a slight nod, turning to the nearest wooden cart.

The woman watched Commander Jeb and the soldier with wide, frightened eyes, and looked down as something was handed to her.

In her hands was something wrapped tightly in an old, gray cloth, with dried blood stains all over.

The woman stared down at the object in horror, then looked back up at the Commander, her mouth gaping slightly. "H...huh?"

Commander Jeb looked at her solemnly. The other soldier had already turned away.

The woman looked back down at the object and quickly unwrapped the cloth. She cautiously undid the last fold, to find a severed human arm under the cloth. She gasped and quickly put the cloth back over it, her hand quivering. Her hand tightened on the cloth and she began to moan, sinking to her knees and quietly sobbing.

"That was all we could retrieve," Commander Jeb said grimly.

The woman grasped the cloth on both hands as if it were a child, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

Commander Jeb got down onto his knees to get closer to the woman, who looked up, holding the hand of the severed arm up to her cheek. "My son...he was useful, right?"

Commander Jeb's eyes widened.

"H-he might...not have been a hero..." The woman said shakily, "B-But his death did help mankind, right?"

The street was silent. "...Of course!" Jeb replied hurriedly, but looked horrified. "...no..." He muttered."During this misson, we...no, not this one-all our missions..." He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. "We still haven't accomplished anything!" He screamed. "I'm a faliure! I just get soldiers killed! And we still know nothing about the Giants!"

~*~*~

The street was silent as the last of the Survey Corps walked on. The crowd started to disperse.

"Gee, that was harsh...a man muttered. "Seriously," Another agreed. "So we're just offering ourselves to the soldiers as free Giant food? W-" He was interrupted as he was hit in the head with a stick.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, turning to see Adam, furiously raising the stick he had just crafted with his wood. "What was that for, kid!?"

Adam opened his mouth to speak, but was jolted backwards as Ty grabbed Adam's wrist and ran. Adam scrambled to his feet and ran down a corner with Ty, the man's angry screaming fading behind them.

"Ow! Ty, I get it, just let go!" Adam exclaimed as Ty dragged Adam by his shirt collar down the road away from the main street. Ty suddenly pulled Adam in front of him with incredible strength and threw him against a small cobble wall at the end of the street.

"What was that for?" Adam exclaimed painfully, scrambling to his feet.

Ty gave Adam a serious look. "Adam, do you still wanna join the Survey Corps?"

Adam looked up at Ty in surprise. Ty stared straight at Adam. At first, Adam thought Ty was being his calm and collected usual self. But Adam could see something more behind Ty's dark eyes this time. Ty was concerned for him. Ty was scared of Adam joining the Survey Corps.
Adam forced himself to look away from Ty. "Let's get home," He said, dodging the question. Ty didn't press him.

Adam and Ty treaded up a slightly sloping road, up a couple of cobble stairs to their house. There was nothing particularly special about it-just like all the other houses in their city, it was small and wooden. But it was theirs.

Adam swung open the wooden door. "We're back," He called, walking inside with Ty following.

"Welcome home," A woman replied with a warm smile, turning from where she cleaned dishes at a sink to look over at Adam and Ty. Adam's mother.

At a wooden dining table behind her sat a man, who also turned around with a welcoming grin. Adam's father.
Adam and Ty walked over to the chest on the right wall and opened it, placing their wood into it.

Adam's mother walked over, looking over Adam's shoulder as he put his wood away. "Wow, that's a lot of wood you gathered today!" She exclaimed. "I'm surprised. You never gather this much."

Adam didn't meet her gaze. "Um, yeah," He replied simply.

Adam's mom leaned closer with a knowing smirk. "You look guilty," She said. "Ty helped you gather that, didn't he?"

Adam looked away embarrassedly. He was always guilty, the way Ty was so loyal to him. Ty would gather all of Adam's wood in a heartbeat for him. Adam knew that Ty wanted to do it for him, but he still felt guilty about it constantly.

The two boys joined Adam's father at the wooden dining table, joining him while they ate the food Adam's mother had prepared. Adam noticed that his father wasn't eating, just putting some books into a bag.
"Dad, are you heading out?" Adam asked him curiously. Adam's father nodded. "Business trip. I'm off to see someone in the inner walls. Don't worry, I'll be back in two or three days."

"Mm," Adam replied, digging in to his food. Ty sat quietly, looking down at his untouched food.

"Adam wants to join the Survey Corps."

Adam's mom whipped her head around in shock. Adam's father froze.
Adam looked at Ty, hurt. "Ty, why would you say that?!"

"Adam, what are you thinking?!" His mother exclaimed, circling around the table to come to Adam's seat. She got down on her knees and grabbed his shoulders. "Don't you know how many people die in the Survey Corps?"

Adam nodded, flashbacks of what he had seen earlier on the main street appearing in his mind. "Of course I do!" "Obviously you don't!" His mother exclaimed.

"Adam," His father said calmly. Adam and his mother looked up surprisedly at Adam's father. Adam's father looked into Adam's eyes with an intelligent stare. "Why do you want to go outside?"

Adam blinked. "I want to see the outside world," He replied without hesitation. "To understand it...I don't want to sit in these walls all my life without knowing what the outside world is like. And...and, if nobody takes the jobs of the old Survey Corps, then wouldn't the old heroes have died in vain?"

Adam's father searched his son's eyes. "I see."

He got up out of his seat, and began putting on his coat. "My ship's here," He said. "I should be going."

"Wait, dear!" Adam's mother called, rushing over to the front door that his father was already opening. "Help me convince Adam!"

"Nothing can distinguish a human's curiosity," Adam's father said wisely. "Adam," He called, turning to his son. "When I get back, I'll show you the basement."

Adam brightened. "Really?"
He had been curious about the basement all his life. His father had never allowed him down there.
Adam's father walked out the door. "Have a safe trip!" Adam called brightly.

They watched as the man walked down the road, and turned a corner.
"I won't allow it," Adam's mother said once they lost sight of him. "You're not going to join something as stupid as the Survey Corps."

"S-stupid?" Adam echoed in surprise. "Aren't the ones who want to live in these walls their whole lives the stupid ones?" He stopped, then turned and ran away.

"Adam!" His mother called. She watched him run, and heard footsteps behind her as Ty began to follow Adam.

"Ty," She said, turning around and resting her hands on the boy's shoulders urgently. "Adam is a kind boy, but he can be reckless. Sometimes he doesn't think. Please...promise me, when trouble comes...protect each other!"

Ty nodded. "Of course."

~*~*~

Laughter echoed through the alley. "Heh, what's wrong?" A smug voice asked. A large hand grabbed a small boy by his shoulder and pined him against a wall. "Fight back if you wanna prove me wrong!"

The boy clutched the arm pinning him in failed attempt to loosen the grip. "W-why would I wanna do that?" The small boy asked, glaring up at the larger boy, with bright blue eyes. "I'd never stoop so low." The larger boy, who had dark brown hair and a blue hoodie, pushed the small boy against the wall harder. "Say that again!" His two friends glowered menacingly behind him- A lava creeper hybrid in a suit, and a robot hybrid.
The small boy glared at the three. "You know you're wrong, so you're resorting to violence to try and win the argument!" He exclaimed.
The boy with the blue hoodie gave him a bewildered look. The creeper and the robot also looked confused.
"If you're beating me up, that technically would mean that you're admitting you're wrong, right?" The blue-eyed boy finished.
"Stop with your crap already!" The brown-haired boy exclaimed, raising his free hand to punch the smaller boy.
"Hey, stop!" A voice called. The three bullies paused and turned to see Adam running up to them.
"It's Adam!" The robot exclaimed.
"Heh, what a moron! He's back again!" The lava mob exclaimed as the three raised their fists, ready for battle.
"Does he want to get beaten to a pulp?" The blue-hoodied boy asked, loosing interest in the smaller boy.
The robot's eyes widened as he noticed another boy calmly following Adam, his eyes in a shroud.
"T-Ty's with him!" He called. "Crap!" The lava creeper exclaimed. "Run!" The three turned tail and ran in the opposite direction.
Adam slowed down when they reached the small boy, who was sitting down against the wall. Ty stopped as well.
"Did...did they run after seeing me?" Adam asked, panting, watching the three go hopefully.
"No, they ran after seeing Ty," the smaller boy replied. He got to his feet, but stumbled when putting weight on one foot. "Ow..."
Adam and Ty's heads snapped in the boy's directions. "Hey, are you okay, Jason?" Adam asked, walking up to the boy. He held his hand out.
Jason stared at Adam's hand, brushing his sandy brown hair out of his face. He frowned, and his blue eyes stared down at the ground. "No...I can stand by myself." He steadily got to his feet.
"Oh, sorry," Adam said, surprised.
~*~*~
"...So, after I told them that Minecraftia would have to leave the walls eventually, they started beating me up," Jason finished. The three boys were sitting in a small town square, the sun beginning to set. They were perched on some large cobble stairs that led down to a calm riverbank that weaved through the city.
Adam threw a pebble into the flat water. "We just want to go outside. Why does everyone hate us?"
"Well," Jason explained, "It's been peaceful the past century, living in the walls. Giants might get inside when people leave the walls, so the government banned people from going to, or simply being interested in, for that matter, the outside world."
Adam looked out at the water. "It's our own lives being risked. No one should have the right to stop us."
"There's no way you should do that," Ty said, staring straight ahead at the water. Adam and Jason looked over, surprised. "No way," Ty repeated.
"Ty, why would you tell my parents?" Adam asked, slightly angered still. Jason looked up interestedly.
"I don't remember agreeing to keep it a secret," Ty replied.
"So, how did it go?" Jason asked Adam interestedly.
"Well," Adam started. "Mom and Dad weren't too happy about it."
Jason sighed. "I figured."
A slight breeze flew through the city. Fallen leaves rustled. The small clouds in the sky flew faster.
"I think that people are crazy to believe these walls will protect us forever," Jason said, light brown hair blowing softly in the breeze.
The setting sun had fallen behind the walls, casting a shadow on the city closest to it.
"Even though these walls have stood tall for 100 years," Jason went on, "There's no guarantee that they won't be broken down one day..."
There was silence. The three boys looked out at the water, which now caught the brilliant light of the setting sun, deep in thought.
Suddenly, a huge jolt of lightning crackled down just outside the wall, and the whole world went dark for a heartbeat, noting but the light of the lightning flash visible.
The earth itself seemed to rumble in shock, and the three boys were thrown off the cobble stairs. There were shouts and cries as people walking through the town fell to the ground from the sudden earthquake.
The rumbling subsided, and the cries of townspeople faded to gasps and panicked panting.
The three boys scrambled to their feet.
"What was that?!" Jason exclaimed. "An explosion?" He whipped around to face where the explosion had come from, Adam and Ty following his gaze.
People were calling, pointing towards the wall.
"Over there!"
"Something fell?"
"I'm not sure."
Jason watched them run in the direction of where the lightning struck, and suddenly ran after them.
"Hey, Jason!" Adam called, but the small boy had already taken off. Adam and Ty helplessly followed him.
Jason came to a halt in an open area in the town, where many people gathered, staring up in frozen shock.
"Jason! What's going on?" Adam called, catching up. "What are you..." He followed Jason's terrified gaze and gasped.
On the wall lay an enormous, dark green hand, clutching the already-crumbling wall tightly.
"H-how?" Jason exclaimed. "Isn't that wall a hundred blocks tall?!"
Adam stared at the hand in fear. "It's them..." He said in a terrified whisper.
A huge shadow arose on the terrified townspeople as a ginormous dark green head rose from behind the wall.
"Giants!" Adam exclaimed.
The dark green figure overlooked the town with soulless black eyes, then slowly raised a huge foot.
Then, he brought it down on the wall.
An ear-splitting crash echoed through the city as broken chunks from the wall flew into the air. Air from the blast knocked people off their feet sending them into the air. The huge rocks came down, crushing houses and people. Dust kicked up from the explosions spread through the whole city. People screamed and ran away from the falling debris and chunks of wall.
The colossal green head disappeared back under the other side of the wall.
"H-he made a hole in the wall..." Jason said in a high, panicked tone.
A tall figure with a crude light blue shirt and darker pants stomped through the city. It turned in the direction of the crowds of people.
"It's them!" A man screamed. "The giants are inside the walls!"
People screamed in terror and ran away as the giants entered through the hole kicked in the wall.
"We need to get-!" Jason exclaimed, but paused when he saw Adam. Adam was staring ahead with wide eyes, walking forward despite the terrified townspeople dashing in the other direction. "My house is over there...Mom is..."
Ty took off running after Adam. Jason gasped. "Ty-!" He watched them go, but stopped himself from chasing after the two. "It's over..." He muttered to himself. Tears began to form in his clear blue eyes. "The giants have invaded this town..."
Adam and Ty hurried down the usual path home, which was now littered with debris and fallen rocks. They pushed past people running the other way, who didn't even seem to care.
Adam passed terrifying scenes of people screaming and running, people crouched besides blood-splattered rocks, crying helplessly, and parts of people sticking out from under rocks.
Our house is definitely safe! Adam thought to himself as he kept running. Once I turn the corner, My house will be...!
He turned the corner, Ty close behind. The two boys gasped in bewilderment as they saw their house, crushed under a huge chunk of stone, then picked up speed, running faster.
"Mom!" Adam screamed, and Ty gasped, eyes widening.
"Mom!" Adam screamed again. Between two wooden beams of the collapsed house, littered with debris, Adam's mother lay. She fluttered open her eyes at the sound of her son's screaming.
"Adam!" Ty exclaimed.
"Ty, grab that side of the beam!" Adam called, kneeling down to grab the crushed wood. "We have to move this pillar!"
Ty quickly got to his knees and began to desperately try and move the house with Adam.
Adam paused as he heard the booming of heavy footsteps, and looked up with a panicked gasp.
Giants were getting close, lumbering though the streets. They would be found soon.
"H-hurry, Ty!" Adam exclaimed.
"I know!" Ty cried helplessly.
Adam's mother was trembling as her eyes darted around. "The giants are coming in..." She looked over at Adam. "Adam, take Ty and run!"
Adam struggled to lift the wooden pillar. "I-I want to run too!" He choked out. "Hurry and get out from under there!"
Adam's mom stared at the ground, eyes wide. "My legs are crushed under the house," She said quickly. "Even if you managed to get me out, I couldn't run with you."
Adam gasped, tears forming in his eyes. "Do you understand?" Adam's mom asked him.
"I...I'll carry you and run!" Adam exclaimed helplessly.
"Why won't you listen to me, just this one time?!" Adam's mother screamed, tears forming in her wide eyes as well. "Please! Just one last time! Listen to what I say!"
Ty froze, his eyes widening, and bent his head down, trembling as the tears started to come. "Ty!" Adam's mother called helplessly to him.
"No!" Ty exclaimed, trying harder to lift the wood as the giant's steps drew closer.
Adam's mother looked around helplessly. "At this rate all three of us will..." She stopped as the whirring sounds of retracting wires came from overhead. A red cape billowed out, and a soldier landed in front of their house.
"Gizzy!" Adam's mother exclaimed as Gizzy ran up to the crushed house and bent down. "Take the kids and run!" She ordered.
Gizzy smirked. "Don't doubt me," He said reassuringly. "I'll kill the giant and save all three of you."
"Wait! You can't fight it!" Adam's mother called, but Gizzy had already taken off.
She's right...I could just take Adam and Ty and run, Gizzy thought as he charged. But this is a great opportunity to be a true hero!
He suddenly came to a halt, skidding to a stop, and looked up with widened eyes.
The giant had stopped, and was staring directly at him with it's dark, open sockets for eyes. It was as if Gizzy had been paralyzed by fear of it's stare.
Gizzy blinked, and slid the blades he had been carrying back into the gear strapped to his thighs. He turned around and ran, scooping up Adam and Ty.
"Gizzy?!" Adam called as the man hoisted Adam over his shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"T-thank you..." Adam's mom whispered as Gizzy ran off with Adam and Ty.
"Gizzy, Mom's still trapped in there!" Adam called helplessly.
"Adam! Ty!" Adam's mom called with wet eyes. "You have to survive! Live on!"
Flashbacks of all the times they had lived together, peacefully, as a family ran through her mind. Her eyes widened as tears streamed down her face, and she covered her mouth with her hand, quivering. "Don't go..." She cried to herself.
The giant stomped in front of the house, the noise as loud as an explosion. Adam gasped as he watched over Gizzy's shoulder as the giant bend down and began rummaging through the broken remains of the house. It paused, and its green hands clasped around something. It stood up, grasping Adam's mother in both hands.
"No!" Adam cried. "Stop!!"
The giant brought its hand up to its face. Adam's mother thrashed and banged her fist helplessly on the dark green skin.
Adam gasped, his eyes wide as he watched in devastation.
The giant opened its mouth, bringing its hand closer to its open mouth still.
Ty looked back at the giant with wide, pained eyes, then forced himself to turn his head forward. Adam, however, couldn't bring himself to look away.
The giant bit down. Blood sprayed everywhere. Dark red flecks flew through the sky, and splashed onto the dirt roads below.
~*~*~
On that day, Minecraftia recieved a grim reminder.
They lived in fear of the Giants.
And were disgraced to live in the cages they called walls.