A/N: Should I be working on Minecraft Hide and Seek Mode? Yes. Am I going to? Yes. After I get to the point Different Outcomes was at when Scorching Puppet Strings finished. Then it shall be on hold until I'm done with Minecraft Hide and Seek Mode. And then I might work on Charade once this is done.

Jesse came to with her wrists and feet tied to the arms of a small, metal chair. Her upper arms and back were pressed harshly against the back of said chair, meaning certain back pain later. Joy. Her feet were tied to the front legs of the chair, which of course is never a comfortable affair. Although, at least she wasn't thirsty anymore.

Her arms had that familiar prickly feeling that meant pins and needles. She tried to wiggle her limbs, but got nothing at all. Great. Her limbs were going to fall asleep soon. She sighed and looked around the room she was in, her eyes half-lidded.

She was in this room made completely of Obsidian and lit by torches, the dark black stone smooth and shiny. She was sitting in front of a wooden table placed in the center of the room. For a moment, her brain suddenly summoned the image of sitting at the head of the table on her birthday, and she had to actually bite back a giggle. Two or three chairs surrounded it, one occupied by-

Jesse's lungs had the air whisked out of them.

Axel?

Axel was leaning back in his chair, snoring slightly as his hands dangled lazily by his sides. Jesse was about to open her mouth and say hello, but she stared at her green-clad friend, trying to figure something out.

Something was off.

No, it was NOT the fact that she was tied up like a pig for slaughter, although that DID play a pretty big role in it. No, it wasn't the throbbing pain in the side of her head from where Olivia had smacked her earlier.

No, it was just the fact that he looked different.

Her Axel even sat and slept differently than her Axel. Her Axel had black hair, pale skin, and his fluffy green hoodie that he'd sometimes smother her with when she was annoying him. This one had greasy, almost... gray hair, sunburnt skin, and wore this green armor. He wasn't even wearing his usual half-grin, which definitely made Jesse's stomach squirm uncomfortably. She didn't see her old friend, but a friend who'd changed.

And it looked as though he might've changed for the worse.

"Axel?" she asked, slowly.

The reaction was immediate.

Axel shot out of the seat like a cannonball, fists shaking, looking around wildly with eyes brimming with fear and rage. Jesse felt a shiver run down her spine. She'd never seen Axel acting so... paranoid before. Not even during April Fools' Day two years ago. He seemed to snap out of a fearful haze when he spotted the bewildered black-haired girl.

"Don't scare me," he hissed, like a wildcat, "I have orders to kill you if you attack, and I can make it look like you attacked me first."

Jesse blinked at him again. "... uh, okay. I didn't mean to scare you, you know. I was just kinda wondering, you know, why I'm tied to a damn chair." And she made a slight face as she tried to wiggle her limbs again, but failing. "And why you let my legs fall asleep, Notch..."

Axel's mouth twitched for a second as he stared at her, before letting out a harsh bark of a laugh. "You know, you know why. Don't play dumb." His sarcastic laugh stopped as abruptly as it had started. "You know perfectly well."

"No, not really," Jesse said mildly, making the boy in front of her twitch a bit at her mild tone. "I'm not sure what's going on. I assume you carried me here after Olivia gave me a thump on the head. Can you at least tell me why?"

He glared at her. "Because you're an asshole."

Wonderful reasoning. You should be a logician.

"That's, uh... that's not really much of a reason, Axel," she responded.

He twitched at the mention of his name and frowned at her. "I think it is. It matches your personality perfectly, doesn't it?"

"Nah, I prefer to think I'm more of a 'tiny annoying mouse'," Jesse responded, barely able to keep from rolling her eyes at the memory of when the two of them had first met. She'd been watching Axel timidly from a tree when he'd suddenly and very loudly announced that he did not like 'tiny, annoying mice' before looking up at her tree. Needless to say, she'd squeaked, toppled out of said tree, and managed to land squarely on top of Axel. She smirked faintly at that memory.

In hindsight, probably not the smartest thing to do.

"SHUT UP!"

Jesse jumped violently as Axel slammed his fists onto the table, a bang echoing throughout the obsidian room and the sound of wood splintering slightly as cracks appeared in the violently trembling wood. He was downright glowering at her now, hatred and sentimentality battling in his dark eyes. "Just... shut up."

Jesse gave him a sad sort of look, before nodding simply.

Axel glared at her for a minute longer, before anger suddenly turned to loss and he slumped back into his chair with his head down and arms crossed.

Jesse watched him for a moment. She knew Axel. He was one of her best friends. He was destructive, temperamental, and hated it when they ignored him. He was protective and could be incredibly sentimental when he was friends with someone. He did anything to protect his friends, and usually avoided arguing with them. This Axel acted pretty differently from her own, but he still had faint parts of him that Jesse recognized. She could see the fury and sadness mingling in his eyes when he looked at Jesse.

So this Jesse and this Axel must've been friends, great ones, until something happened. Something bad.

Judging from the way he was acting towards the black-haired female, it was all her fault.

A/N: ... yeah.

RapidSammi: Aw, you scared off Aiden. And I make no promises (nah I'll finish it, I just want to get some more of this out).

rebekahtpe: Lol xD

angelwings: I know right? I did too!

The Ender Pickaxe: Thank you! And here is more (bows while looking very pleased)

x.X. A.L. X.x.