The Endless Torment of an Admin (MCSM Fanfiction)

Chapter 17 - Admin's Powers

Petra had forgotten just how awful the underneath was. The air was heavy and hot, with a constant smell of smoke that made breathing difficult. The bedrock didn't let any light in, but instead of the Oasis growing completely dark like the Keep, everything was bathed in a gloomy, orange glow from all the lava. Even though the air was still with no breezes or wind, it only took minutes for the dust to find its way into everybody's clothes.

"I don't understand." Petra said, as she walked down the dusty clay path with legs like jelly. "Xara had seemed set on wanting to rebuild this place."

"Maybe... maybe the Oasis was beyond repair." Jesse said softly, sounding equally confused. "Maybe she gave up."

"It would be disheartening to any builder to see a place they built up from nothing, broken down into this." Lukas said, sounding devastated. "I can't say I would blame her. It would take one person alone a lifetime to rebuild this."

Petra stopped, flinching as she reached up to hold one of her shoulders. It was becoming impossible to forget about what happened in the Sea Temple.

"Petra?" Lukas asked, noticing the redhead's discomfort. "Feeling alright?"

"Yeah." Petra replied, beginning to walk again. "My arms just feel like lead, is all."

"Where else could Xara have gone?" Jesse asked in exasperation.

"Fred's Keep, maybe?" Lukas suggested.

"I don't think so." Petra said, biting her lip. "You didn't know Xara, Lukas, but I can't envision her walking into Fred's Keep and being welcome with open arms."

She looked to the side and gestured to a broken structure. "And the portal is exactly the way we left it, either that Enderman really hates the left corner, or Xara hasn't touched it again."

"What about the cabin?" Jesse suddenly asked, turning to face Petra again. "Think she'd go back there?"

"Considering how she reacted when you returned her bed to her, I'd say that's a definite possibility." Petra responded, nodding. "That place clearly meant as much to them, as our treehouse did to us."

"Where is this cabin?" Lukas asked warily.

"On the other side of the underneath." Jesse responded miserably.

"I can't even walk that distance on foot on a regular day." Petra said softly, looking down at the ground. "There's no way I'm going to be able to do it with how I feel right now."

"We should have used the compass!" Jesse exclaimed in frustration, turning away from her friends and raking her hands through her hair. "The Keep is a lot closer to the cabin than this!"

"Jesse, calm down." Lukas said softly, beginning to reach a hand out to rest it on her shoulder. He seemed to rethink that action, pulling his hand back again.

"We wouldn't have known to go to the cabin then." Petra pointed out, heavily sitting down on a broken brick column. "It would have doubled the trip, because we would have travelled all the way here, only to backtrack."

"I guess you have a point." Jesse muttered, her shoulders sinking. There was fresh red glow tainting her eyes.

"We'll just have to divide the trek there into shorter bits." Lukas said, tapping his chin thoughtfully as he turned to look into the distance. "The Keep could serve as a halfway mark. We'll break frequently on the way there, spend a night, then do the same for the last stretch."

"We don't have much of a choice." Petra agreed, although the thought of all that travelling filled her with dread.

Jesse didn't say anything, continuing to pace up and down the short strip of dry ground between the group and the nearest dilapidated building. Her eyes were still glowing.