Fred

One hour to Romeo's deadline. Fred wished he knew what had happened to him; where this sudden urge to conquer the world came from. He had always been ambitious, but this? No. This was beyond ambitious. This was insane, even for an Admin.

He sat within his house, staring into space and accompanied by no one but Xara, who sat suspended in midair next to him. She had messy purple hair and eyes as red as Fred's (which is to say, blood-red). Her skin was milky pale almost to an unhealthy degree and glowed with a faint purple aura. His house was nothing grand, unlike Romeo's proud designs. It was an honest abode, built with an assortment of wood and mushroom blocks, some of which glowed an icy-blue to match the deeper blue aura he gave off. He had a blue bed near the entrance to his house, a lot of bookshelves, and an area at the back with his closet.

All Fred had wanted was for the three of them to be friends, living happily ever after in a bright future. Wasn't this what Romeo wanted, to? Hadn't he built his Challenge, so they could be together? He had thought so-he had be convinced so. But now, he wasn't so sure. He wasn't sure of anything, really, except that Xara wouldn't join him (despite her fierce personality and tendency to agree with Romeo more often than she did Fred) and that he definitely wouldn't join him.

Romeo had always been capricious, but when one knew him as well as Fred, it's quite possible to predict some of his moods. Now, he could never see them coming. One moment, he could be happy, being with his friends, and the next, he could become dark and brooding. Fred looked up at the clock on his wall. Forty minutes till deadline. He hoped Romeo would call it off, and decide he'd stay here after all, and they'd all be friends again, but he knew it would never happen.

Which meant the only chance of it happening was if Fred talked to him. He knew, deep in his heart, that attempting it could possibly be fatal, but he refused to believe it. Romeo's my friend. He wouldn't hurt me, much less kill me. Right? A few weeks ago, he would have readily believed so. He wouldn't have had any doubt. But now…he did. Not that he wanted to believe he did. Would he? Would he really kill me, just for power? If he was honest to himself, yes. Yes, he would. Sorrow, grief, pain. How had it come to his? What had tipped Romeo to do it? Was it inevitable? Could he have seen it, and fixed it before? Guilt, regret, anger. Worst of all: What it already too late? Was their any hope left for him? No. He thought. I have to believe I can do this. There's good in him, I know that. He had to try and convince him to stop. He couldn't let their friendship shatter, not like that. Even if the attempt meant death.

He sighed, then heaved himself off the chair. Xara glanced up as he rose.

"Where are you going?" She asked sharply. Fred didn't meet her eyes. She knew him too well; would guess his intentions just by looking at him. She would attempt stop him, and that would just waste time. Time needed to ensure a brighter future.

"Going out for a walk," He lied."I…need something else to think of."

She narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything, Fred said,"Take care of the world. I'm sorry about this, but it is the only way. Goodbye, Xara." She opened her mouth, but he was already gone. He closed his eyes and imagined their cabin, and in the next instant, he was there.

He stood in a pathway filled with an assortment of flowers; tulips and daisies and sunflowers; blue, purple, red. Water filled a small pool, in which a couple fish swam. And, right in front of him, was the first cabin, the first building, the first thing to appear from the endless void of night. Looking at it, Fred felt a stab of longing, regret, and pain. He wished they had never left the cabin. That's when he had felt the closest to his friends. They had done almost everything together. They had been happy. Together. Home. Now, with his friends miles away from each other, he had felt as if their friendship had been slowly withering, like a plant exposed to the cruel winds of winter, slowly decaying from frost. Xara had built the portals and Romeo, his Challenge. They were together as much as possible, but with civilians to attend to and a town to manage (for Romeo and Fred, at least; the Oasis was quite capable of running by itself), they didn't have as much time together. He loved his people. He didn't resent them for taking his time; he didn't distain them as Romeo did towards the weak. But they were delicate. They needed constant care, and they were way to easily hurt. While the mycelium coating his islands kept them safe, monsters (especially Romeo's creations) always found a way in, by sea or by sky. For those a little more spirited, well…they can fight, but in the end, it never seemed enough. Though he'd persuaded Romeo to stop with his creations, he never ended them entirely, and the mobs he'd introduced earlier can't ever be exterminated.

With a jolt, Fred realized he had been standing their for an entire ten minutes. Had he really been standing their for that long? Shaking his head, he forced himself to walk, up the stairs and through the door, into their first home.

The cabin was simple. It was a one-story house entirely made of wood. A small porch was attached to the front. The inside was decorated with nothing but their banners; item frames with a sword, a redstone torch, and a book under their symbols; some bookcases, an armor stand, and their beds at the very back-purple, blue, and red, separated with bookshelves. Another set of banners hung above them, each with their respective symbols. Fred reached up to grasp at the air, and a blue book appeared in his hand. He opened it up and skimmed through the pages. This was his journal, the one he had written in since the beginning: …was no sun, no sky, no stars… Xara created the meaning of time in hours, minutes, and seconds, and I realized it was a crucial aspect of our world, a concept that cannot be missed. Thought I sometimes thought it was better to live in a timeless bubble… I created the flora and fauna, the flowers, the trees, the grass; the chickens, the pigs, the sheep, all of them shaped with infinite care, except perhaps the squid… The first dawn rose over the little patch of color in an endless void; the sun flaming orange, the horizon a splash of gold and blue and pink… We expanded our world, giving diversity to the forming biomes. I shaped the woodlands and took special care with the birch forest; I created the plains and the mushroom islands and all the sub-biomes of those listed. Romeo raised the mountains and created the vast seas; he made the desert… This is my last entry. We parted ways, setting out to expand the first and world, create our towns and cities and civilians to populate them… All the way to the first blank page. He thought for a long time over what he would write, and as the words fell into his mind, his heart grew heavy with sorrow. He started drifting of into thought again, but the awareness of time told him that he didn't have long. He had never been more thankful for Xara's creation, way back in the beginning. He reached up to grasp a quill from the air, set the black tip to the paper, and began to write.

By the time he was finished, the ink ran dry. He felt like crying, just like humans do when they were hurt or in pain, but no tears came. He wasn't sure if he could cry, but right then, he was grateful for it. If the ink ran free, well…he'd have no time to write a fresh one, no matter how hurriedly he did so. He sat staring down at possibly the last entry of his life. Then closed the book and flicked his wrist. He knew little of engineering, but this was enough. Blocks floated up into the air. Observer blocks appeared along with various redstone pieces. He replaced the beds in mixed order, putting Romeo's bed backwards the way that warrior had insisted, all those years ago. He always did have a strange sense of humor.

Fred placed his book in the corner and sealed it. He quickly tested it, just to make sure it worked. Once he replaced the beds, the piston pushed the block back to reveal the book. He then mixed the order once again. The observer blocks clicked and the piston replaced the wood. Now that that was done, there was only one thing left to do: confront Romeo and put an end to his madness. He closed his eyes and envisioned the tower: a mass of cobblestone and bricks, with lava running down its high walls.

And he was there in a flash of purple, standing on the many balconies of the tower. Romeo stood from across the room, staring intently at something on the wall. He turned as he appeared. Romeo had blood-red hair and ash-gray skin that sometimes appeared almost blue. He had luminous gold eyes and blood-red scleras, as apposed to the other two's red eyes and white scleras. His robes were black run through with rivulets of red, like veins of blood within black flesh. He smiled."Fred," He greeted."I hope you've decided to join me."

"No. I've come to stop you."

Xara

Take care of the world. I'm sorry about this, but it is the only way. Goodbye, Xara. To late, she realized his intentions. To late, she realized what he was about to do. She shot to her feet, anger and fear pulsing through her. She disappeared, dropping through the invisible portal and onto the balcony where Romeo had made his deadline. Neither of the Admins present heard her.

"Please, Romeo," Fred was saying."this…this is mad. Why do you want the other worlds?"

Romeo glared at him through slitted eyes. The maniacal glint was even more pronounced than ever."We could have an empire, Fred. A kingdom that stretches from shore to shore and beyond. No one would ever question our power. We would rule supreme, and with our friendship, nothing can stop us."

"You've turned our friendship into a dictatorship!" Fred said, his voice rising in desperation."You think we should all listen to you, without question or objection. You're turning us into servants, Romeo."

The warrior seized Fred's collar and dragged him closer."When have I not considered your ideas?" His voice dropped into a deadly whisper."You asked me to stop creating monsters, and I did. You suggested the way I built my castle, and I took your ideas into account."

"You discarded all of them!"

"Only because they are unfit!" Romeo's face turned into a snarl, and Xara knew why: three minutes to deadline."This is your last chance. You can join me or leave."

Fred jerked himself out of his grasp and stood off. He looked devastated, angry, and heartbroken, but then seemed to iron his will. He attacked.

Romeo dodged him easily and drew his sword; three feet of obsidian honed to a deadly point and glowing with powerful enchantments. He tripped Fred as he tried to charge and flipped him on his back, putting the point of his weapon to his throat."Traitor." He hissed."You. My friend. Betrayed me. How could you do that? You were supposed to stand on my side, help me rule the world. Now you attack me!"

"You betrayed yourself!" Fred looked desperate, scared, grieved, but he looked Romeo in the eye, determined.

The warrior snarled and pressed the blade closer. His breathing was harsh and ragged. His face showed rage, bitterness, and betrayal, from his eyes to the curve of his mouth."Very well. If you won't stand by my side, then you're against me. Goodbye, Fred."

Xara screamed in rage and lunged, her sword flashing through the air. Romeo looked up and flicked his hand, his blade sinking effortlessly into Fred's neck. His body flickered red. Romeo pulled his sword out and rolled away, twisting to bringing his blood-caked sword up to meet Xara's. Their swords locked, and for a moment, they stared at each other, red against orange, each seething with fury and betrayal.

"How could you?!" Xara shouted."You-you killed him!" Her voice cracked, all her despair pouring out. Behind her, scarlet blood gushed from Fred's wound, staining the ground around him and permeating the air with the sickening stench of blood.

Romeo drove her back and swung, but she disappeared and reappeared behind him. She kicked him hard and sent him flying, but he backflipped and landed in a crouch. Xara leapt at him and he shot into the air. Changing course, she hurtled after him.

The two Admins fought back and forth in the sky, swinging and parrying and dodging. They swerved, dipped, and chased, their swords clashing with a ring of metal each time they struck.

"He betrayed me!" Romeo shouted. He ducked and swung, then parried and teleported behind her."And now, you are too. You brought this upon yourself!"

"You-heartless monster-" Xara could barely form a sentence. She dipped in the sky and twisted. Her sword clicked. Metal shifted into a rod, becoming a javelin, and she launched it at Romeo.

He swerved and the missile shot past him. Xara held out a hand and it reappeared. Romeo vanished, and, before she could react, appeared behind her and smashed the pommel of his sword into her head. An unpleasant sensation exploded in her head and she lost concentration. She dropped her spear, her body hurtling towards the earth at break-neck speed. Pain, she realized. She was feeling pain. Almost nothing could hurt an Admin. She can't die from lava, fire, drowning, fall damage, most weapons or most monsters, or, in short, almost nothing. She hadn't ever felt so much pain in her life; it was an unfamiliar concept to her, but when she did, she recovered quickly.

Xara rightened herself and summoned the spear to her hand. It shrank back into a sword. Romeo dove after her and she swung her sword up just as he struck, locking their blades together once again. She teleported them closer to land, flipping them both so Romeo's back slammed into the ground. He let out a grunt at the impact and disappeared. Xara rolled over and barely managed to parry his blow.

She'd held out for this long, driven by rage and the hunger for revenge, but Romeo was the warrior, and she had little chance against him. She sidestepped his blow, but at the last second, Romeo changed the course of his blade. The tip missed her arm by a millimeter. He kicked out and struck her chest, sending her flying through the air. He hurtled after her and slammed into her midair, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Romeo

Romeo's sword hung above Xara's chest, the tip quivering ever so slightly. Her breathing were ragged and harsh, her heartbeat fast and erratic. He himself was breathing hard, both from exertion and the thought of ending her life. Their eyes locked, orange and red, and Romeo saw fury, grief, bitterness, loathing, and knew it was directed at him, all of it, to him. He shouldn't care. She wasn't his friend anymore. She was an enemy, and enemies should be destroyed, regardless of their feelings towards him. But…it still hurt, seeing her face that way, twisted with disgust, every inch glowing with murderous rage. Do it. Stab. Stab, the way you did with Fred. Fred…who had come there in an attempt to keep him from ruling the world. Why? Why had he done it? Why had he done it? He fought me. He got in my way, and I killed him. Not my fault! Just kill her. Kill her and be done with it.

Red cords of energy bound her hands and feet, keeping her anchored the world, preventing her from slipping into a wormhole. Mind against heart. If he has a heart, Xara would have said, if she could read his thoughts. He can't kill her. Not another friend, even if that friend was treacherous one. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He fell back, his sword clattering to the ground, black and purple against crimson.

He could strip her of her powers, hold her in a cell. But not kill her. Or order her be killed.

If she escaped and set out to end him…

But he couldn't kill her. He knew, deep in his heart, that he would be making the biggest mistake of his life to spare her's, but he promised himself that she will never escape. He would make her prison inescapable.

Xara glared up at him."Don't have the guts to kill me?" She sneered.

Instead of answering, he stood up, broke her bonds, and slipped into a portal, dragging her with him. His destination? The terminal.

Romeo clapped his hands and his prison instantly appeared below him, level upon level of cells, and, further down, the Mush Room, the Zombie Mines, and, finally, the heart of the prison, where Xara would be kept.

Cell Block X…yes, that would be a fitting name, a personal joke.

He teleported down and flicked his hand. Xara appeared in the very heart of his prison, still in the coma he had kept her in. Below her, pressure plates clicked. He set the lava so it poured down to pool above the cell, a block away from a specialized TNT that explodes the moments the lava touches it. He paused for a moment, staring at Xara's body. She looked completely human, except for her purple hair. No longer glowing with power. No longer radiation a sense control. Just lifeless. Still. Human.

She would awaken before long. Romeo disappeared in a flash of purple, and was now floating in the air above his prison. There would be other inhabitants soon, he knew. But until then…well, he'll just have to manage it himself. He stared out in the distance, his luminous yellow eyes unfocused. So there would be no friends to help him rule the world. He would be alone, the land's sole ruler. He steeled himself. He didn't need his friends. If they weren't with him, then they were against him. He made the right choices. The world was his, the whole world. His.

"Bow to your king," He whispered, his mouth turned up in a twisted smile."Bow to your king."

Before you say that swords can't hurt Admins, know this: I am fully aware of it.

Here's my logic: a sword crafted by any old blacksmith shouldn't be able to harm one, but a weapon made from the hands of an Admin…well, why not?

But anyway, if you made it this far, I'm guessing that you liked it. In that case, please, review and share your opinions on it. Got an idea? Maybe I'll write it out; maybe I won't, but there's always a chance, eh?

If you've got a one-shot idea for another fandom…why not? Share them.

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Peace out!