Tales of the Admins

[Garrett Jax]

Garrett Jax stood patiently atop the gated walls of the compound, called Discovery. Next to him, wearing a bright yellow jacket, was the Developer liason to the Admins, Rohj Teerin. Communication between Devs and Admins was essential for a smooth running operation, and so the lead developer, Teerin, volunteered to live among the Admins to facilitate that. Of course, Garrett took every opportunity to harass the poor guy over the Temple of the Damned being moved on to the ethereal realm away from Mortal eyes. However, despite Garrett's most logical arguments for its return, Teerin was unmoved. The time was now for more drastic measures.

"Garrett, um...why are we here again?" Teerin asked. Four targeting lasers pointed at the Dev's chest made his voice shake slightly. Garrett tried to smother a smirk as he watched the Dev's eyes follow the laser's path all the way up to the Guard Towers where the Admins were perched, armed with Banhammers. Teerin's eyes grew wide. "W...What's going on, here?"

"Banning," replied Garrett, in a low, raspy whisper. He watched to see if the Dev would wet himself, but amazingly, the guy remained more calm than he expected. He should have known that intimidation wouldn't work on him. Devs received so much abuse, they were almost immune.

Teerin stood straighter, putting on a brave front. "Banning me won't get you your Temple back, Garrett.

Garrett scoffed. The man was insufferable. "I'm not going to ban you. You're a Dev, and as much as I hate you guys, even I have to admit your service here is invaluable." Garrett raised his hand high and the four lasers pulled away from Teerin's chest. "No, I'm here to show you firsthand how Admins handle banned individuals. It is one of our more...messy duties."

Before Garrett could continue, a loud uproar sounded from inside the Compound. The gates opened and two Admins appeared, each holding the arm of a screaming individual, dragging him forward. As they neared, Garrett could make out some of what was said.

"IT WASN'T POWERGAMING!!!! IT'S JUST THAT MY ROLE PLAY IS OUTSIDE THE BOX. THIS IS BULL!!!"

Garrett shook his head, sadly. He knew this person. With a sigh, he watched as the two Admins escorted the banned player outside Discovery Compound, and shut the gates behind him. The player moaned and whined aloud to everybody, finally exhausting himself with the effort, and eventually settled down in the courtyard below where countless others already sat.

Teerin looked at Garrett, questioningly. "What is that place?" he asked.

Garrett sighed again. "That is Purgatory."

"What?" Teerin asked, incredulous.

"Purgatory. It's a sad, horrible place outside the Disco Community where people linger and lurk. They either make the choice to stop actively participating, or the choice is made for them. They stay here, not part of the Community, yet not gone either. They linger and lurk, until they either decide to come back, are allowed to come back or choose to finally leave for good."

Teerin looked on, amazed. "What a sad miserable existence."

Garrett nodded. With a loud booming voice, he called out to the people in the courtyard. "Go live your lives, people. Quit loitering. There are a million different things you could do with your life. Why waste it here?"

At the sound of Garrett's voice, a large collection of strange looking creatures stood up as one and scampered quickly toward the compound walls.

"What are those?" Teerin asked, alarmed. "They look like...giant cockroaches."

Garrett peered over the walls at the giant roaches. Their hairy, spindly legs moving in haste. They were beyond count. He raised his voice to the Admins in the Guard Towers, "Raise the alarm, Karlotta alts have been spotted!"

Instantly, laser guided Banhammers came alive, exploding one cockroach after another into a sticky, stinky goo. The Karlotta alts kept coming, determined to reenter the Community. One after another went down to Admin fire. Garrett himself unleashed a Banhammer of his own and with a sadistic laugh, fired Green Judgement upon the filthy creatures. By the time the Banhammers quieted, thousands of Karlotta alts littered the courtyard.

Shaken, Teerin looked over at Garrett, "Did we get them all?"

Garrett laughed. "Of course not. We never get rid of all of them. What fun would that be?"

At that moment, another voice, an angry one, could be heard as the gates to Disco opened. A half animal, half human creature was storming out, yelling at the top of his voice that he was leaving Disco for good. Garrett looked closer. Was that the same furry as the one he encountered just a few days ago? He didn't think so. This one was more obnoxious and annoying. He listened to The Savage-like creature rant on about how abused he was by the Community, yet after taking only a few steps into the courtyard he eagerly ran back into the Compound. After a few moments, he repeated the same scene, screaming in rage at the persecution he was suffering, only to run back to rejoin the Community moments later. After several more times of this, Garrett raised his gun.

Teerin looked exasperated. "Do it, Garrett," he said, anxiously.

A single shot was fired from Garrett's Banhammer, exploding the furry head into bits of fur and bone.

"Can't wait to read the Violation Report for this one," said Garrett, smirking. He looked at Teerin. "You see what we have to deal with day to day? This is what we do to preserve and protect the Community inside. Don't you think we deserve our Temple?"

Teerin sighed. "You're never going to give this up, are you?" he asked.

"NOPE."

As they both walked inside the compound, Teerin said, "I will think about it."

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