Big Book of Xephna One Shots

All-Nighter (S)

TW: Set in Tekkit

Xephos yawned as he sat on his bed in the dawn light, his sheets temptingly warm. He looked over to Honeydew's large bed, not surprised that it remained unslept-in again. The dwarf had taken to camping on Pig Island full-time, only appearing to feverishly make stacks of wool, mumbling always about pigs. Xephos sighed, thinking of it. His friend had always had a weakness for cute things, and it was quite a sight to see the strong dwarf suddenly drop his battle axe and melt in a gushing cascade of "AWW!"s at whatever had caught his eye this time, but even for him, this was getting obsessive.

Xephos looked to Lalna's bed, similarly untouched, and scratched his head. Not another case of pig madness, he thought, cringing at the idea.

He got dressed, straightening out his bed so it matched the others, brushing out the creases with a satisfied flourish. Walking the short distance to the factory, he checked the saner of the two noticeboards as he passed. A new sign had been tacked to the side that read in Lalna's cramped script: "Redstone."

As Xephos entered the factory the machine wall whirred away, fed by the sunshine and the quarries burrowing ever deeper beneath them. He flew to the open top floor, and found Lalna slumped over a crystal chest, snoring gently. Xephos smiled, touching down beside him, and resting his hand gently on the scientist's shoulder.

Lalna jumped awake, blinking at the sudden light.

"You've got to stop doing this, friend," Xephos said.

"I'm fine," Lalna replied, getting his bearings. "I-I just need to finish this."

"Why don't you get some sleep? I can work on the sorting machine," Xephos offered.

"Er," Lalna hesitated. Xephos' track record with machinery wasn't in his favour. "Well..."

"Look, you're half-asleep. Go to bed. I can handle it."

"But-" Lalna started.

"Go." Xephos said firmly.

Lalna sighed, reluctantly giving in.

"By the way, what's that thing on the board, something about redstone?" Xephos asked.

"Oh that," Lalna said heavily. "Honeydew condensed all our redstone to make wool, and now there's none left."

"None at all?" Xephos stared at the chests around them despairingly.

"Nope." Lalna confirmed. "And it'll be ages before our quarries get that deep."

"Urgh," Xephos grunted.

"I need to make one more sorter, so if you're working on the machine, I'll go mining," Lalna said.

"Lalna, you need sleep," Xephos said, crossing his arms.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Lalna dismissed him. "I'll just go down the quarry in the basement, and into that chasm, there's bound to be some down there."

Xephos frowned, he had the distinct feeling this was a bad idea, but before he could say anything, the scientist flew down the hole to the lower floors, and disappeared down the ladder. Xephos got to work, looking through the chest marked Unsorted, and sighing heavily. There was so much to do.

***

Lalna rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he landed in the chasm, its rough walls towering over him on either side. He stepped over a narrow stream of lava, and spotted a dark cave leading away behind it. He placed a torch at the entrance, trying to peer in, but saw only blackness. With a gulp, he walked in, one hand against the cool stone, as much to keep him upright as to guide him, leaving a trail of torches as he went.