Generated word of the day: Broken

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Direct sequel to "Fire" because the prompt was perfect for it

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There was gentle morning breeze, the sun shining brightly. There were barely any clouds in the blue sky, and birds could be heard – singing in the surrounding dark oak forest.

But as beautiful of a morning this was, the air was tainted with the lingering smell of smoke. People were injured, tired and traumatized.

And all that was left of a once large, brightly coloured and cheerful city.. was no nothing but debris and ash. Beacontown was gone.

"When I went to sleep last night, I never expected the next morning would be this way." Radar said, shaking his head as he stared at the mournful sight.

"I agree." Lukas replied. "I never expected to be woken up at midnight, from explosions miles off. Much less expected them to be from Beacontown..."

"I don't even know how we're going to begin rebuilding the place." Radar whispered, his eyes moving along the crowds of citizens that were trying to set up temporary camps around Beacontown. He was happy to see that nobody else has left yet – they were all incredibly loyal to Jesse.

Jesse. Radar stressfully rubbed his temples as he was once again reminded of the awful state Jesse was in when he last saw her. Skin pale, breathing raspy, eyes red... spirit broken.

Lukas had carried Jesse all the way to Champion City – it was a good thing the two neighbouring towns were so close together.

"What are we going to do next?" Radar asked softly. "Just... start from scratch? Build Beacontown back up like after the Wither Storm all those years ago?"

"We don't have much of a choice." Lukas said. "Jesse's citizens can't live out here forever. Now that the fire has been extinguished there will be nothing to scare off the mobs at night."

"I don't even know where we'll start." Radar said, raking his hands through his hair. Many questions flooded his mind, some absurd, some rational.

What if there were more explosions planted that hasn't gone off yet?
Who did this and will they come back?
Why did they want Jesse dead?
Will Jesse even be OK?
How was he supposed to cope with this situation?

"I'm going to start by reaching out to Axel and Olivia." Lukas said. "I know how much they care for Jesse, I'm more than a hundred percent sure they will leave their towns for a while to come and help out.

Petra as well. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a hold of her, but I'm going to try – She's been Jesse's best friend for years, Jesse needs her right now."

"That's all well and good for emotional support, but we really need to think about the town itself." Radar said. "What if this guy left more than three explosives for example?"

"If we do find any more TNT, Axel will be able to deal with that perfectly." Lukas explained. "I can help with the rebuilding, and Olivia could help set up redstone again so the town has some electricity. I'm not just calling Jesse's friends to come support her."

"God, I didn't even think bout the redstone wiring..." Radar said, starting to chew his nails. "I'm so not cut out for being Co-Hero-In-Residence-" His voice trailed off.

"What is she doing here?" He asked Lukas, tugging at the blonde's jacket and pointing into the distance.

Lukas turned around, his eyes also spotting the familiar woman walking down the road towards the crowds.

"Stella agreed to help out." Lukas said. "She and Jesse had become decent friends after the whole incident with the Admin last year, and she was surprisingly horrified to hear what had happened."

"I still don't like her." Radar replied, stubbornly folding his arms over his chest.

Lukas ignored Radar, jogging off towards Stella. Muttering under his breath in annoyance Radar followed after him.

"Oh Lukas, Honey, you weren't exaggerating when you said the place was absolutely incinerated!" Stella stated dramatically when Lukas came up to her, Radar only a few steps behind him.

"Those weren't my exact words, but I'm really happy to see you, Stella." Lukas said, holding her hand out for her to shake. "Beacontown needs all the help it can get."

"Anything for my former-rival and her friends." Stella said, waving her hands dismissively. Lluna walked out behind Stella, curiously sniffing Lukas before trying to eat his jacket.

"I had my staff fix up all unused apartments we have in Champion City, for all severely injured citizens." Stella said. "They can receive medical care there, and stay there until we get this place back up. I have about 20 open apartments. I will also send over some of our best medical staff to help the people camping out here."

"Thank you, Stella." Radar said, his voice strained. It sounded like it was the hardest three words he ever had to speak in his life.

"How is Jesse doing?" Lukas asked Stella.

Stella's confident smile dulled down a bit. "Physically, she's doing good. I'm surprised how quickly she's started to shown signs of recovery, despite the overexertion she had put herself through. But mentally..." Stella shook her head. "It's been a long time since I've seen someone so strong, with so little fight left in them."

Lukas and Radar exchanged glances, equal amounts of worry in their eyes. Jesse stayed confident through the hardest battles. She's gone through so much heartbreak and grief in her life. Had this attack on Beacontown been the final straw?

"I had some other arrivals at Champion City yesterday night." Stella said, crossing her arms over her chest, her voice rising a pitch of annoyance.

"Three Beacontowners who wanted to transfer to Champion City after what happened to Beacontown."

Radar clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing. He remember the words they had spoken to Jesse... the heartbroken look in her eyes, the obvious guilt in her voice, the tear streaks on her ash covered face...

"Chased them off." Stella replied. "Spoke of Jesse like she had blown up Beacontown herself, didn't seem to care at all that she had risked her life to save people.

I do not intend on housing people with that type of loyalty. If they turned on somebody like Jesse so quickly, they certainly wouldn't hesitate to do the same to me if Champion City ever ends up in a pickle. No traitors in my town, thank you very much!"

"As much as it pains me to say it, thank you." Radar said. "As much as I hate to get in a fight, I would gladly beat them up if they ever decided to return to Beacontown."

"I agree." Lukas replied. "Jesse does not deserve the things they told her, not after everything she did for her citizens."

As Lukas spoke, something caught Radar's eyes. He turned around, seeing that it was a piece of paper, fluttering in the wind against a tree-trunk.

"I'll be right back." Radar said, leaving Lukas and Stella in mid conversation and walking over to get the piece of paper. Seriously? The Beacontowners has been out here one night and they've already started to litter? Radar despised it.

He walked over and grabbed the piece of paper that was flapping uselessly against the tree's trunk. Radar was about to crumple it into a tiny ball, when the words caught his attention. Frowning, he straightened out the paper instead. After barely a few seconds of scanning the letter, Radar's eyes started widening his mouth opening.

"What you got there?" Lukas asked as he came walking up beside Radar.

Radar looked up at Lukas with wide eyes. "They were trying to kill Jesse." He breathed.

"What? Who? What are you talking about?" Lukas asked, sounding confused.

"Listen to this." Radar said, starting to read from the letter.

"You were incredibly lucky to survive today. The Order Hall is a stronger building than I thought, and I'm surprised it was able to protect you from the explosion.

But I am not done yet, Jesse. After what you have done to me, you are about to pay for your wrongs. The whole world loves you, but it's time everybody learns; The Wither Slayer isn't the Hero she makes out to be. You're a cruel and cold hearted person, and it's time the world found that out. Keep an eye out, Jesse.

I'm not resting until I've broken you."

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There's not as much going on here as I would've wanted to. It's mostly just dialogue and reflecting, but I kinda wanted to focus on how they were planning to recover from the attack on Beacontown, etc. 

I'm not sure if I will do another sequel to this some day. I like the idea of keeping this villian in the dark, so it can be up to your imagination! I of course have somebody in mind, but I like this mystery kind of ending. 
Although a part of me does want to write him breaking Jesse at some point....Hmm

I have way too many one shots I need to do once I'm done with this challenge XD

I hope you guys enjoyed today's one shot, I'll see you tomorrow with whatever the word generator spits out next!