Chapter 9

                                    

                                          
Xisuma bid farewell to Gem as he stepped through the dark red void that led to Hermitcraft.
. . .
"How was the meeting?" Grian asked. He was waiting by Xisuma's door when the level nine admin portaled back into the Hermitcraft server. "What's the physical prime admin like!?" Grian buzzed in excitement. Xisuma merely groaned. 
"You wouldn't like him." Xisuma said in a matter-of-fact tone. Grian cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. "Blasted admin absolutely roasted ol' Techno Blade with his pinkies. I bet he could've done it with just his eyes if he wanted." Grian smirked. He could have, all he would've had to do was lower his hood. 
"Anyhow, he's much too serious for you." Xisuma searched for words, "Rule-lover... weird, secretive, and cruel. Really cruel and cold." Xisuma explained haltingly and visibly shivered. 
"Too bad." Grian sighed, "I bet I could have beaten him." Grian announced. There was more truth to his statement than met the eye. Xisuma snapped around and suddenly roared with laughter. 
"Yes, you on the other hand could have made it storm all over Minecraft if you'd been there! Especially if you pulled one of your little pranks." Xisuma elbowed Grian companionably. "Then again, he would have absolutely murdered you which would make you a living legend in the admin community!" 
Xisuma grinned even wider. "He made Gem lose her lunch just by smiling at her. Actually, he smiled at me too. It was really weird..." But Grian was relieved to see Xisuma didn't dwell on it.
Suddenly Grian felt a wave of nausea and fear hit him. His sixth sense was telling him something... Grian stumbled back, as if punched in the stomach. Xisuma caught him, looking worried. 
"You okay Grian?" He asked. Xisuma's voice sounded faint to Grian as his head began to spin and his knees buckled underneath. Him vaguely saw the sky begin to storm and turn a dark, stormy gray. Rain began to pelt down on Minecraftia, and Grian quickly put himself back together.
But as his breathing evened out and his fear left him, the unease and terror still remained. The sky didn't clear. That's weird. I'm completely in control. Suddenly it hit Grian - there were two primes. Grian's eyes widened and he stammered something inadauble to Xisuma as he took to the air shakily.
Dread filled him like a bowl of soup being slowly poured, and fear drove a knife through his heart. A sense of something terrible to come settled over him like a shroud. Grian shakily summoned a portal and stepped through it. Something was gravely wrong. 
As Grian stepped out into the strangely empty hallways of the admin headquarters, he fought the urge to crumple into a heap on the ground. Somehow Grian managed to put his prime admin robes on and drop his false appearance. 
Grian facepalmed. Hard. His head finally cleared though his forehead seared from the force of Grian's blow. 
The first place he rushed to were the prime admin quarters. Pearl was strangely absent. Grian proceeded to check all the classrooms. It was as though every admin in the headquarters had vanished. Grian watched lightning strike the ground below the tall marble building. It wasn't him, he was sure now. 
Where could Pearl be!? Suddenly a realization hit Grian. His face went pale under his hood and he broke into a run. Hallway after hallway Grian made his way through the matrix of corridors. Until he finally reached the heart of the headquarters. The Prime Technology Base. It manages all of Minecraftia. Grian felt so stupid. This is where he should have checked first. It was literally the heart of Minecraftia. 
Grian pushed the big golden doors with all his force. They were sealed shut with some kind of magic. Grian pulled his hood up slightly so his right eye was uncovered. A gleam of magic passed over his eye like a film. Grian immediately saw the door light up with bright violet magic.