[Editor's Note - Duncan's journal entries below are basically re-written versions of what he said in Duncan's Tekkit episode when he sets up the nuke at Blackrock Stronghold, and Rythian's Tekkit Rebirth episode where Zoey visits him and Duncan traps Rythian; I DO NOT OWN THE EVENTS THAT HAPPEN (a.k.a I didn't come up with them obviously - they are from the actual series) ... that's just in case someone says "You've used the plot from episode blah from blah" etc - for my story to progress, you need to know this past so I'm just providing a brief summary in the form of diary entries. Hope that's okay with you readers - leave a comment / review if you have anything you want to say about the story (hopefully nice things) and... yup. sorry for bringing up bad memories of the old server in this chapter...]

[P.S. Apologises for making you read the wall of text above ^ - hope you enjoy the next section of the story!]

Kim looked at the page in front of her, full of wonder. "Nuclear Device" sounded like he had built some nukes in the past for some occasion; no wonder he knew so much about how to build the rockets! Kim noticed she was squinting as the page and looking around her, noticed the room was only lit by the last rays of sunlight – lighting a candle, she propped it on her bedside table and, after snuggling under the covers as if it was a bed time story, she began to read:

I've been building a lot of bits and pieces at the moment (basic machines really) and I was going to build the cannon today but… I had another idea. I am going to build something which will stop Rythian's warmongering; I have a plan. I'm going to build a small force field containing a nuke… and I'm going to put it under his base. I'll have the detonator – he won't be able to stop me. I can set it off whenever I like, and he won't be able to stop me.

Kim paused. Rythian… she had heard that name mentioned before, but only in whispers. Was this why no one talked about him? Why she hadn't heard anything other than a name? And why did Duncan want to blow up his base?

That doesn't mean I am going to blow up his base (…"Good…" Kim breathed before reading on…) – that's not my intention at all… I just have the power to do so if he wants to attack me… If he wants to keep the peace, then I will aim to keep the peace… I'll power the force field using generators and feed them coal or something; something to allow the force field to never run out of power.

Kim skipped the next few paragraphs – there wasn't anything of interest in them when he was describing what he was making. She started resumed reading properly when he described arriving at Rythian's base…

Huh. Wow. I flew over to his "castle" (compared to mine, it's highly pathetic)… it's overgrown and unclean… there are cobwebs everywhere; maybe it should be nuked after all.

I want him to know that he is unable to stop me. I am more powerful than him. That whatever he does and whatever he tries to do, I will always be a step beyond him…

Kim paused. Duncan was writing quite… darkly. As if he was obsessed with power. She quickly turned the page over and carried on scanning the words….

No amount of magic or science can get through a force field; I turned it on and it was impossible for me to get out. I built a large area and cleared it out, just so that they'd be able to see it – so that when they found it, they'd know it was useless. If the nuke goes off in the force field, it would be contained – but I quickly set up a system that when I activate the nuke, it will turn off. Just as long as Rythian can see it; I don't want to ruin anything I don't have to, I just want to make sure that I'm safe. Three nukes safe… Boom. Boom. Boom.

Kim read on in horror at the bluntness of Duncan's writing. Surely even it was for his safety, as he stated, surely he wouldn't take such delight at this deliberate unprovoked attack…?

I went back to the base and picked up some teleport blocks so I could get out of the force field once I set it off – as I arrived and made my way to where I had set up the nukes, I heard something. Rythian.

I heard Rythian arrive at the base and panicked briefly, trying to test out the system; luckily he left fairly quickly… but the system worked. I checked everything was working and Rythian returned upstairs. I paused as I was about to place them… I was terrified. One… two… three… I teleported out, and destroyed the remote access… if Rythian holds me at gunpoint, or threatens to kill me, there is still nothing I can do. The only way to turn off that force field is to detonate the nukes.

This will stop Rythian from the war. This will keep me safe. There is no way back now.

Kim reached the end of the page and laid it beside her, her hands shaking slightly. She didn't know why, but she felt unbelievably scared. Duncan had set up a nuke a while back under someone's base… just so he would be safe? What happens if he had accidently sat on the detonator?! Kim thought about how careless Duncan could be before realising why she felt so scared – the Duncan who was writing this was a different Duncan from the one she knew. Taking the next page, she realised it wasn't the beginning of an entry, and was halfway through; nevertheless she read on:

I was working and I heard a voice ask "Hello? It's Zoey and her dinosaur!" so naturally I was instantly suspicious; Rythian had probably sent her to do something to me… however, she promised she was there on neutral terms and for some reason… I believed her. I can't explain it – the optimism in her tone and her trusting smile made me believe her. I gave her some of brew I had on me and greeted them suspiciously… and was amazed to discover that she had left Rythian… for science! Science! Even Rythian's apprentice (well, former apprentice apparently) could appreciate that magic and science could be used in harmony. She asked for weapons to defend herself… of course, I wasn't going to say no to someone needing help. She was eager to learn how to function the scientific equipment I had and was constantly wandering around and investigating different chests; I didn't mind her messing up the chests; they were always organised.

Kim couldn't help but laugh. Duncan's chests were always organised? She was the one who organised them these days…

I gave her a musket and bullets… well; actually, I gave her dinosaur a musket and bullets.

"What?" Kim asked out loud in disbelief. There had actually been a… dinosaur? She thought that had been code for something. Just how old was this entry?! Skipping ahead slightly, she continued:

She was dismayed to discover her bat box stored hardly any power in comparison to mine. I briefly showed her how the force field worked around my castle; she seemed very curious about it and for a brief moment I was worried that she had discovered the nuke and that was why she was asking… but I didn't want to mention it – I was glad of the company, and when she suggested that she could come back for lessons whilst staying away from Rythian… I won't lie when I said I was pleased. She understood some of the systems and that half magic and half science was more powerful than just following one path… I laughed as she voiced this to me; she didn't understand why though. She didn't understand how unbelievably happy she had made me in that moment.

Kim paused. Duncan was… lonely. He seemed to sound a bit more like her Duncan. Blushing slightly at her thought process of 'her' Duncan, she looked at the next section:

As she left though, my heart sank slightly. Suppose she returned to Rythian… and suppose he corrupted her… or if he discovered that she had been speaking to him… I was confused for a moment before realising that I just needed the company. That was all. I had arranged to meet with Rythian later today – when he came, he would be in for a surprise.

Kim frowned. The next few passages seemed more agitated in the way the previous paragraphs had been written – as if Duncan had been eager to quickly write everything he could remember down.

I watched as Rythian entered the grounds and immediately inspected the block structure; as soon as he was within range, I activated the force field around it. My trap had worked! My mind turned dark however as he mockingly asked if every guest was treated with the same hospitality when they just wanted to talk. Why couldn't he be civil? I said he could talk from inside there - I knew immediately when he spoke of the old world being destroyed and that it needed "retribution" that it was wise for me to have him in the force field, and have one under his base; he was too dangerous, to bent on revenge. I asked if I could just say sorry and tried to defend myself by blaming it on Sjin… he didn't believe me. It had been worth a shot.

Kim's mind was already racing with questions; why was the old world destroyed? Why did Duncan have to apologise? It didn't make sense; Duncan wouldn't destroy a world… not on purpose anyway…

He didn't believe me when I said I wasn't as involved in the killing and exploding of people and buildings; I pointed out he was the only one who cared about it in an attempt to distract the fact that the majority of what he had said was true. Before I could stop myself I added that Zoey didn't care about it and that she had stopped by to see me that morning; he seemed to falter for a moment and I immediately regretted it; I didn't want to bring her into it, not really… I just wanted to make him hurt, before he could hurt me.

Kim was in shock… she felt nothing as she read on:

I told him to get over it – it was in the past… but he wouldn't let it go though. I voiced that he was determined to continue the war; but he surprised me by asking that all he wanted was a promise that what happened in the old world would never happen again… I was shocked, but then he made it clear he was being slightly sarcastic as he pointed out the evidence that I didn't want the same, that I hadn't changed – that my castle would have bombs and nukes and things to destruct the world. I realised, remembering the nukes under his base, that he was slightly right. But I didn't really care.

I sheepishly admitted to placing a nuke under his base and that he wouldn't be able to get rid of it – and that I wasn't bluffing. I laughed nervously and he took offence. He said that the actions I had taken, placing a nuke under his base and trapping him in a force field meant that he had underestimated me; he had expected better; I wanted a war. I tried to explain it was for security purposes but he didn't believe me. I said I wouldn't let activate it, that the detonator wouldn't go off – he pointed out that someone could find out the frequency or steal the remote and set it off without me.

Kim found herself nodding in agreement with Rythian – Duncan was a bit of an idiot for not realising that. Even she could have figured that out as a possibility.

I will not lie, that had not occurred to me; and the fact that Rythian, someone of magic and no appreciation of science, had understood that, really angered me. I dismissed it as it not being my problem if it was set off – and that I would keep him as a lawn ornament; he uttered to himself the words I knew I'd remember for years to come "…I can't trust you; I can't trust her; I can't trust anyone… I'm on my own." At that moment I had the briefest moment of pity for him – but then he went haywire in the force field, destroying the ground beneath him to try and find a way out, failing.

"Nice hole – now it's all horrible and holey… you've got to live here… you could have eaten grass… hopefully your magic will sustain you; have fun! I'm going to go to some more science!" I taunted him. I taunted him because I was more powerful than the mighty mage, I had trapped him, and he would never hurt me. I was safe. I could afford to be cruel.

"You'll pay for this Duncan."

The next part had been added in a slower fashion, and seemed to have been added as an afterthought at a later date - the writing seemed slower, and the pen seemed to be thicker and heavier on the page.

I remember laughing "yeah, good luck!" before flying away. If I had known that Zoey was watching and had heard that there was a nuke under her base… if I had known that Rythian would figure out a way to escape the force field… it's a regret I know I'll carry for the rest of my life.

Kim leant back and felt tears form in her eyes, and without knowing why, started to cry. Zoey was another unspoken name. Zoey, who seemed to be happy and kind and someone who could make Duncan happy in less than a day – Zoey, Rythian's partner it seemed, who knew there was a nuke under her base... as much as she wanted to Kim knew that she couldn't read the last pages she had. Not yet.

Duncan is my friend. He is my partner Kim thought to herself… she longed to know what happened next; how Rythian had escaped, what Zoey did next. What Duncan had done to Rythian's partner… Not yet she thought. Her heart seemed to be screaming the words at her; 'not yet'. Realising it was quite late and how tired she was, Kim blew out the candle beside her and clutched the pages to her closely, still crying. It was only as she drifted off to sleep that she dimly realised why – something terrible had happened to those two people because of Duncan.