The problems that came with being Admins didn't come immediately. Once the three friends arrived back at their small village, they were hailed as heroes. Numerous people started asking why their skins were a different color, and after hearing about Notch and how he granted their wishes to become Admins, they began begging them to demonstrate their powers. While Romeo was hesitant in dabbling in something that he didn't completely understand, Fred and Xara were more than willing to show off their newfound abilities.
"Ladies and gentlemen!," Fred hollered in a sports announcer's voice. "Are you ready to witness true power?" The massive crowd that accumulated around them cheered loudly. "Alright then!," said Fred, grinning from ear to ear. "Why don't we start off with something small, just to give you a taste of what is to come?" He closed his eyes and concentrated. Then, he vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared a few blocks away. "Check it out!," he bragged. "I just teleported on my own, and I didn't even have to use an ender pearl." The crowd oohed and aahed, eager to see more. "And if you thought that was impressive, check this out!," said Xara, then clenched her fist and slowly raised it above her head. At the same time, a nearby tree was pulled from the ground and floated into the air. "We can travel anywhere we want AND move objects with our minds!," she said. "What do you guys think of that?"
As the crowd continued watching and cheering at the spectacle that Fred and Xara were putting on, Romeo silently watched from the sidelines, shaking his head in disappointment. He had no idea how those two were able to get used to their powers so easily. So far, Romeo only ever used his powers when flying back to the village with the others, but after that, he had never used them up to now. He didn't trust himself not to accidentally teleport into a structure and suffocate to death, or to accidentally hurt someone with his new superhuman strength and telekinesis. Those idiots don't know what they're doing, he thought bitterly, angry at his friends for being able to enjoy life so easily, and angry at himself for thinking such nasty thoughts. He'd probably melt into a puddle and die if Xara knew what went on in his head.
As for Fred, Romeo couldn't help but feel anger and hatred towards that man. He had felt that way about him longer than he could remember, actually. Although he found Xara annoying from time to time, he never felt an ounce of hatred towards her like how he felt about Fred. Xara was just...mentally challenged. That was hardly her fault.
Romeo had always felt a deep dislike for Fred, even before they became "friends." Fred was always the popular one, the boastful one, the one who always had to be in the spotlight. His dislike towards him only grew when Fred decided to leave behind the victims that Notch had turned into statues. For all his talk about saving people and bringing good to the world, Fred sure was adamant on leaving those people to their fate. Xara left too, but at least she was clearly upset about it. Romeo almost hoped Notch had decided to petrify Fred as well. He sighed angrily, trying to hide his emotions before they showed on his face. He didn't need anyone to see him stewing in silence and ask him what was wrong.
"And for our next demonstration," Fred announced proudly, "we'll need our good friend, Romeo, to assist us. Uh...Romeo? Romeo? Hey, where did he go?" Aw, shit, Romeo thought, wincing when he saw Fred and Xara trying to spot him in the crowd. Performing in front of all these people like a circus monkey was NOT what he needed today. He discreetly pushed through the crowd as stealthily as he could, hoping not to be seen. Maybe I should head to the town library, he thought. At least books aren't as stupid as people.
Unfortunately for Romeo, he HAD been spotted. Fred was able to see him stepping out of the crowd and heading to the library. "Hey, Xara," he said. "Why don't you keep the crowd busy for me? I'm gonna see what Romeo's up to." "Sure thing, el capitan!," said Xara, saluting. Fred chuckled and flew over the crowd, stopping in front of the library. He went inside, which was completely empty. That wasn't so surprising, since not only was the library unpopular to begin with, but pretty much everyone in the village was being entertained by Xara.
Due to how small the library was, as well as knowing exactly where Romeo's favorite reading spot was, Fred was able to find him in no time. Romeo was currently engrossed in a book which, judging by the cover, was about the medieval era. "Hey Romeo!," said Fred, not noticing the frown that appeared on Romeo's face. "I had a feeling I'd find you here. Why don't you get your nose out of that dusty old thing and join us outside? Trust me, that's way more fun than reading!" "To you, maybe," Romeo grumbled, then sighed and closed the book once he knew that Fred wasn't going to leave anytime soon. "What do you want, Fred?," he sighed. "In case you don't know, crowds aren't exactly my forte. I'd rather spend the rest of the day in this library reading my favorite books with no one to bother me, thank you very much."
"Well, you're sure in a grumpy mood," said Fred, raising an eyebrow. "Look, you don't have to join us outside if you really don't want to. But something's been eating you ever since we left the mountain and I want to know why. Maybe I can help." Romeo gave Fred an irritated glance, then sighed and put the book down. "It's about what happened in the temple," he explained. "You left those people as statues. You made this big speech about helping people and making the world a better place, but you obviously didn't mean any of that."
"Hey, that's not true!," said Fred, deeply hurt by the accusation. "Listen, I meant every word of that. But I couldn't help those people, Romeo, even though I wanted to save them so badly. If I tried to help them, what would stop Notch from petrifying them again and killing us as punishment? The old man's too powerful. There was nothing I could do."
Romeo scoffed. "Excuses, excuses," he muttered, going back to reading his book. He didn't expect Fred to swat the book out of his hands, nor did he expect him to punch him in the face, knocking him to the floor. "OW!," Romeo yelled, clutching his injured nose. "What was that for?!" "How dare you fucking say that?!," screamed Fred, looking more angry than Romeo had ever seen him. "Do you think I wanted to leave them behind?! Do you think I get some sick amusement from leaving them to a fate worse than death?! Besides, YOU didn't do anything to help them either, so you have no right to judge me!" Romeo rubbed his injured nose and picked his book back up, giving Fred a menacing glare. "So this is your idea of helping?," he asked angrily. "Thanks, but I've had enough 'help' from you. You can leave now."
Fred sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "What happened to you, man?," he asked mournfully. "What happened to you?" Romeo rolled his eyes. "Maybe I was always like this," he snapped. "Maybe that shy, self-reserved man you thought you knew never even existed. Maybe THIS is who I really am, and you were just too dense and thick-headed to realize it until now." Fred sighed again. "...I really hope that's not the case," he said.
After some awkward silence between them, Fred finally decided to leave. "I hope you enjoy that book," said Fred, walking out of the library. Romeo stared at the door that Fred had just exited through, then shook his head vigorously. "This is what I want," he muttered to himself, continuing to read his book. "No more noise, no more distractions, no more imbeciles telling me what to do." ...So why did he feel the need to convince himself?
As Fred exited the library, blinking in the harsh sunlight, he could hear the crowd laughing and cheering. His mood lifted upon hearing those sounds. Xara was probably giving those people the time of their lives. He couldn't wait to fly over there and join in on the fun. It would definitely distract him from his recent fight with Romeo.
However, as Fred got closer to the crowd, he couldn't help but notice how strange they sounded. That's weird, he thought uneasily. It doesn't sound like they're cheering at all. It sounds more like they're...mocking someone. Once Fred got close enough to get a good look, he was shocked by what he saw. The crowd that was cheering and laughing just a few moments ago was now booing and shouting obscenities at Xara. Some of them were even throwing rotten fruit at her, staining her hair, face, and clothes. Even worse, Xara was being held down by some ropes and chains, meaning that she couldn't escape as she was being pelted with objects and bullied relentlessly. Xara looked up at Fred with scared eyes. "Fred, help me!," she sobbed. With an angry yell, Fred landed in the middle of the crowd, causing a shockwave that sent everyone flying onto their backs. Then, he took the ropes and chains in his hands, ripping them apart effortlessly and freeing Xara. The poor girl hugged Fred tightly, crying into his shoulder.
"Xara! Hey Xara, are you okay?," Fred asked worriedly, hugging her back. "What happened while I was gone?" Xara sobbed and hiccuped at the same time. "W-we were just having f-fun without you. I was showing them m-my powers and we had fun, but t-then they started calling me names a-and they tied me down with ropes and I-I was too scared to do anything and they s-started throwing s-stuff at me and...oh god, I was so scared, Fred!" Fred glared at the crowd while still cradling Xara in his arms. "What the hell is wrong with you people?!," he yelled. "Why did you all turn on her like that?! Answer me!"
"'Cause she's a freak!," someone in the crowd spoke up. "You're all freaks! We were just putting her in her place, that's all!" The rest of the crowd murmured in agreement and continued to jeer at them. Fred couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had lived in this village for his whole life and the people who lived here NEVER acted like this before. They were such nice people. How could they turn on them so quickly and suddenly? And why were they so cruel to Xara? Everyone in town LOVED her! None of this made any sense…
...was it just Fred's imagination, or did he just see a white-eyed man glaring at him from the crowd? Whoever he was, he disappeared faster than Fred could even blink.
A rotten apple suddenly bounced off Fred's face. "We don't want your kind here anymore!," yelled Miss Crucible, the one who threw the apple. She was an old lady who lived in a small house across from Fred's. She was a nice lady who gave out candy to children (and Xara) and loved gardening. This was not Miss Crucible, but someone completely different. "Get out of here, and take your 'friends' with you!," the old woman continued.
As the crowd continued mocking and throwing objects at them, one of them struck Xara directly in the eye. It was a shard of cobblestone, sharp and dangerous. "Ow!," Xara cried, clutching her eye. "Xara!," Fred gasped. "Are you okay?!" "Does...does it look bad?," asked Xara, taking her hands off. Her left eye was now swollen and bleeding. Fred had to resist an urge to swear in front of her. "It looks...fine," he said unconvincingly.
Suddenly, something landed in the middle of the crowd in a similar fashion to Fred, sending clouds of dust flying all over the place. Once the dust had cleared, the object was revealed to be Romeo, glaring at the crowd with as much hatred as he could possibly muster. "R-Romeo?," Xara stuttered, unused to seeing her friend look so angry. Romeo glanced at her injured eye, and his scowl deepened. "Did they do that to you?," he asked angrily. Xara flinched and nodded her head. "Look at that, it's the third freak!," someone in the crowd jeered. "You're gonna be a hero and help them? You can do that by leaving with them!" "Or better yet, kill yourselves!," someone else hollered. "The world needs less freaks roaming around!" After that, the crowd began chanting, "Go away! Go away! Go away!" over and over again.
"Come on, guys," whispered Fred, clenching his fists. "Let's get out of here. They made it pretty clear that we're not wanted." Xara nodded timidly, trying to stop the blood flowing from her eye. Romeo, however, had no intention of going that quietly. He raised his hands in the air, slowly held them apart, and CLAPPED. The sound pierced through the air, commanding total silence from the crowd. Then, a horrified scream filled the air.
That scream was quickly joined by other screams. People in the crowd began to wither up and die, their skin turning leathery, their eyeballs sinking into their skulls, and their bodies turning into dust. After a few minutes of endless screaming and death, all that was left of the crowd were piles of dust and bones. Fred, Xara, and Romeo were now the only ones left alive in the entire village. "Romeo," whispered Fred, horror and disgust in his voice. "Did you just…?" Xara screamed and began pounding on Romeo's chest with her bare hands. "You killed them!," she sobbed. "You killed them all!" "They hurt you, Xara," said Romeo in a monotone voice, his face completely blank and impassive. Xara continued pounding on his chest, screaming and sobbing. Fred managed to pull Xara away and hugged her tightly.
"I'm not sure why you're both so upset," said Romeo. "Those people deserved what was coming to them." "'Those people' were our friends and neighbors!," Fred yelled. "They looked up to us, and we were supposed to protect them!" "Looked up to us?," asked Romeo, his voice filled with disbelief. "Didn't you see what just happened?! They turned on us! Once we became Admins, they saw us as freaks! Why the hell are you so defensive of them?" "Because something wasn't right!," Fred retorted. "Romeo, you've lived here just as long as I have, so you must've noticed how completely out of character they were acting! Something must have been altering their behavior or mind controlling them or SOMETHING, and you just went ahead and killed them all! What the hell are you th-!" Without warning, Romeo shot a single laser into Fred's chest, sending him flying back and carving a trench into the ground with his body. It wasn't enough to severely harm him, but that didn't lessen the emotional blow in the slightest. Fred slowly got back up and stared at Romeo in shock, then glared at him while his fists glowed with an ominous energy. "You're gonna regret doing that, you little-!"
"STOP IT!," yelled Xara, whose sudden burst of strength allowed her to telekinetically overpower both Fred and Romeo, pinning them to the ground. "This is insane! Romeo just killed everyone in our hometown, and now you're both about to fight each other! If we don't stop this now, this whole thing will just escalate and get worse and worse and we'll be stuck in a never ending cycle of hate!" Xara's outburst was enough to bring Fred and Romeo back to their senses. Xara released her telekinesis on them once she knew they weren't going to fight again. "Romeo, you don't understand," Fred said much more calmly, getting back on his feet. "I saw a man in the crowd, someone I've never seen in the village before. He had pure white eyes and I think he had something to do with what ha-" "Oh, would you stop it, Fred?," groaned Romeo, also more calm than before. "You saw someone with white eyes, did you? Well, you're pretty much just describing a normal blind man. Stop blaming some imaginary bogeyman for THEIR mistakes. They got what they deserved, and I'm sticking to that."
Fred scoffed in disbelief and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It doesn't change the fact that you've officially become a mass murderer, Romeo. How the hell do we explain this, huh?" He gestured to the numerous piles of dust and bones surrounding them. "How do we explain to the world that Romeo, one of the greatest heroes in the world, has killed every single person in his home village? Why don't you answer me that?" Romeo growled under his breath. "Alright, you've got a fair point," he conceded. "Look, we'll just cover this up, alright? We're Admins now, so we can basically do whatever we want. Let's erase this village's very existence from reality, make it so that nobody even knows this place was even real. No village, no bodies, no consequences." Fred was far from pleased by that answer, if his shaking head and grinding teeth were any indication. "Basically, you want us to help you cover up a genocide - one that YOU caused, by the way - by literally wiping our own home off the map."
"You got any better ideas?," Romeo snapped. "If people find out what happened, we'll be hunted all over the world! Sure, being Admins, we don't have to worry about them hurting and killing us, but we'll still be hated and detested for the rest of our lives, which is going to be a VERY long time. Do you want to live that kind of life, Fred?" Then, he pulled out his secret trump card. "Do you want Xara to live that life?" Fred growled and tightened his grip on Xara, who whimpered and squeezed back. Fred knew that he was being played, and he didn't care. The idea of Xara being hated by everyone in the world just for being an Admin was something he never wanted to face. "Fine!," he snarled, glaring at Romeo. "I'll help you cover this up, but just this once! After that, stay the hell away from me and Xara. Because as far as I'm concerned, the old Romeo is long gone, and I don't think I like the new Romeo."
That was the day everything changed for them. It was also the day that Fred became wiser, the day that Xara lost her innocence, and the day that a permanent crack grew between their friendship, casting out Romeo as a stranger and an outsider. Fred wished he and his friends had never gone to the Mountain of Mojang to have their "wishes" granted. He knew that somewhere out there, the Old Man of the Sky was laughing at them.