Hi.
thank you, Empire501st, Guest, DaFlameDF, The Sorrowful Deity and TheAmberShadow for your precious reviews. They are amazing. I can't thank you guys enough.
POV: Lukas
Lukas felt useless as he stumbled around helplessly trying to do as much intense research as he could on Wither. There was just one problem, there wasn't much on the disease he didn't already know.
"Health potions and milk dim the symptoms and can lengthen the victims life... but (eventually) the virus will become immune to the treatment(s)," "its the deadliest disease on the map… no one knows how survivors of the disease… survived." "(Wither) is a medical mystery." All stuff he already knew and memorized.
After he deemed his search hopeless, he curled into the bed he was using before he found out his inevitable death, and thought hard about how he was supposed to say or do anything with this knowledge. (All the while trying not to cough.) What would he do about Jesse? How would she react? She was already going to be angry that Axel left to grab Magnus with Lukas doing little to try and stop him...
Reuben, the loyal piggy, sat with him when Lukas felt like crying and contemplated death. Reuben whined and grunted, snuggling closer to his male owner. The piglet didn't want him to die either.
"What are we going to do, Reuben," Lukas mumbled. "What are we going to do?" Reuben oiked several times signifying he didn't know.
Lukas wished he had time to figure everything and anything out, but he only had enough time to make as many health and regeneration potions as he could, one a day for each (one at night and one in the morning) was what he found to be the best solution. He also went out and milked a cow dry. During that time, he told Reuben over and over again, "When Jesse gets back you can't let her know somethings wrong with me. You can't let anyone know, we have enough on our plate." Reuben oiked in protest at first, but eventually he oiked a promise to obey.
After that, Lukas laid in bed and did nothing but hug his girlfriends piglet close to his chest.
POV: Petra
It is interesting how terrifying it is being out in the middle of nowhere without any tools, plan or armor or… anything; just yourself, your clothes and whatever just so happens to be attached to the ground.
Petra had been on adventures and journeys before but nothing like this: going in blind without the any equipment or food. It. sucked. The poor women had to create all the tools she needed from scratch. All her day was digging into the ground to find the one thing she needed only to not have room in her inventory for it by the time she found it, and (the worst part) throwing away something she ended up needing (or more like begging for) later on. A prime example is when she threw away every last block of cobblestone, dirt and sand into a stream, and then about five hills later she came across a giant mountain that she needed to climb.
She really regretted that moment especially. And it kept happening, over and over and over, again and again.
By the end of the second night, Petra was afraid to get rid of anything in her inventory, even the pointless rotten flesh. She was petrified hat she will drop it, run out of food and starve to death before she got to The Orders temple.
That is, if she could even find it! No one, (repeat, no on) knew where The Orders Temple was and she definitely didn't have enough time to ask Gabriel The Warrior where it was, as he could barely get out "Go to The Orders temple!" before he was disintegrated into The Monster Withers skin. The only thing anyone knew that was it was near Soren's Mountain.
Petra wished she had just ran inside the Nether Portal when she had the chance. But, she got cornered, and then the Wither Monster destroyed the portal. She had no other choice but to run.
Honestly, she doesn't remember how she escaped the Giant Wither, it was simply a miracle she left with her life. The only thing she could complain about was the Wither followed her for about two days before it changed courses in the opposite direction. She didn't really think about it.
The trip from her small village to the Base of Sorens Mountain was four days, a really long time. By the time she made it, she felt dirty and was covered in an inch of dirt and sand, she also was just very tired. (Petra was thankful the Wither Monster stopped following her two days before, she managed to run a lot more ground.)
Petra was disappointed to be at the place that took days to travel to, and still not have what she was looking for. She walked for half a day, looking for The Orders temple, she knew it was around somewhere, she just couldn't see it.
Right when she was about to call it a night, she looked up and saw a dirt hut built on top of a small hill. Petra stumbled over, dropped stuff in her inventory as she went along. She had a feeling she wouldn't need any of it anymore.
The hut was new, there was no grass on the top of any of the blocks. There was also faded track prints in the dirt, most of it obscured by other tracks of wild life, but still human tracks.
Petras heart fluttered. (Not that she would ever admit that.)
She followed the tracks as closely as possible, sometimes veering off the beaten path to see if she could find the unknown place she was looking for quicker.
Her luck payed off.
Petra found The Orders temple, a ruined, beaten down, destroyed place of broken stone brick, eroding quartz, cobblestone, pumpkins, moss and crumbling glass. As awful as it sounded, the place around the front entrance was cleared up unlike the rest; some of the blocks lacked dust and grime the others had and there was stains in the grass from where a rock used to sit. There must have been someone nearby.
Petra all but jumped down from the hill she was standing on, then ran up to the door to start banging against a fresh and shiny iron door.
"Hey!" Petra shouted, her voice slightly hoarse from all the shouting she had done over the last four days and maybe something a little more. "Hey! Let me in! Hello! Anyone home!"
Footsteps scuffed across the floor, (it sounded like a zombie was coming to open the door,) and a pair of pale, bright blue eyes peered through the holes in the door.
Lukas.
The door was unlocked a second later. Sure enough, Lukas was on the other side.
Petra collapsed on the spot into Lukas' shocked arms. For the first times in days, Petra was safe.
Lukas was shouting things at Petra that she was too tired to hear.
She hadn't slept in so long and she felt so happy to be safe again. Her bones felt like lead.
Petra might have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew Lukas was serving her a health potion. Her bruises and cuts healed, but her energy wasn't given back.
The young blond didn't give her the whole health potion, though. He left about three pixels high at the bottom of the bottle.
Lukas pulled out a speed potion and poured about two pixels high inside. He swished it around, then put the bottle up to her lips.
Petra had never mixed potions before, it was unheard of. It was… never thought of, to be honest. It scared her. Was there a risk in mixing potions? Surely there must be.
"Come on, Petra," Lukas said. He forced the bottle into her mouth and she choked down the rest.
Petra bolted up coughing and gagging. Forget the fact it tasted like pie… wait, it tasted like… pie?
It was really good. Like… stupidly good. Petra would have drank a whole bottle willingly is she knew it tasted this good.
"Don't get any ideas," Lukas' voice broke through her trance. "The speed potion is special…" He stopped to cough. "Only able to mix with health potions... it taste great but if you mix normal ones…" Lukas shook his head. "Lets just say, TNT will look like a firecracker dud. Also, I'm not teaching you the special way either. Energy Potions especially are extremely addictive, and… has been outlawed almost everywhere… you are lucky I know how to mix potions." Petra was almost too disappointed to notice she felt… better.
Almost.
Petra was energized again, and only just a bit tired. She didn't need a long nap anymore, it was fantastic.
"I can't believe your alive," Lukas stared at her with awe. "We thought you were dead. I was starting to think the Witherstorm got you."
Witherstorm, it had an intriguing ring to it.
The next few moments went by in a mindless blur. Petra just knew it involved a lot of talking in whispers, grateful sighs and smiles, it was very awkward and neither had any idea what to say, they were simply grateful the other was there.
It was during her conversation with Lukas when she noticed just how awful Lukas looked. Almost like a corpse.
She would have said something, if Axel didn't just so happen to come banging on the front door entrance.
POV: Jesse
Ellegaards Dome of Concentration was much larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. Or maybe it just felt bigger. Either way, the place made Jesse feel small and insignificant.
The place went high into the dome shaped ceiling, but also went down far below into the ground, tubes of glass that carried materials covered walls and the floor far under the bridge Olivia and Jesse were forced to walk across. (Jesse could only image the room under the giant single room she was in that was filled with chest.) Finally, just about every redstone trail was on top of a hanging mini-bridge up in the atmosphere.
The place was literally glowing with redstone, and the place was drenched in the smell of the red, metallic dust.
"This is the most redstone… stuff I've ever seen in my life." Jesse told Olivia.
Jesse was more concerned than she was impressed. As much as she hated to say it, (in the words of her mother,) "some people have way too much time on their hands." A group of people building this is one thing, but Ellegaard didn't sound to be the, "Group Construction Project," type.
Olivia didn't agree.
"It's amazing!" Olivia exclaimed, wide eyed and jumpy. "Come on. We need to keep moving!" Olivia jogged in front of Jesse, who chose to walk.
Olivia ran through an a weird 6 block by 2 block tunnel in the middle of the bridge. Next to either side of the tunnel was a box made of obsidian, or something of the like, and there was several redstone pieces sticking out of the box's that attached themselves to the tunnel.
Jesse was instantly concerned about it.
Olivia wasn't and barreled through the tunnel. She turned around to wait for Jesse, but the the two blocks in the middle of the tunnel slammed together with pistons. The blocks pulled apart for less than a second before slamming back together.
"Yikes!" Jesse jumped back. She was not exactly expecting that but she didn't know what she was expecting either. "What is this?"
Of course, she knew what it was. It was a death waiting to happen. A bad one at that.
The blocks parted.
Olivia shrugged.
The blocks slammed together.
The blocks parted.
"I don't know," Olivia shouts quickly. SLAM! Open. "breaking things up." SLAM! Open. "Keeping out intruders." SLAM! Open. "There's lots of explanations."
Jesse had doubts about both of those options.
You don't have the repeater that makes your security system work, exposed and right next the entrance to the area you want people to stay out of.
Jesse pulled the repeater lever all the way back, making the contraption practically useless.
She walked through the contraption to stand next to Olivia.
"There's nothing to break up here, and this is the worst security system I've ever seen." Jesse was slightly bitter and annoyed. It could be one thing, it could be a combination of lots of things but she was slowly losing her mind.
Maybe it was the fact Oak City was right across the water. Maybe it was because she didn't have Reuben or Lukas near her. The fact Lukas was sick the last time she saw him and she wasn't there to take care of him. Or the people of Redstonia that always annoyed her, even when she was used to dealing with them back when she was a teenager. Maybe it was just that everything here was so unimpressive or stupidly overthetop (to the point where it felt… plain). Or, who knows, maybe it was just the fact getting here was too easy with little challenge and no action. Whatever it was, Jesse wanted to leave, quickly.
Olivia shrugged, still looking like she had died and gone to the Aether.
"Then I'm sure there is a logical explanation, like…" The redstone expert looked around the domed room. "she's moving a lot of different ingredients around this huge building. She might've just… not had time to fix this up."
Jesse was sure that was the case.
"Maybe," Jesse took one last look. She pulled Olivia forward towards a lava curtain. (Odd for a place of invention…) "Again, I'm no expert but that seemed to defeat the purpose of a security system."
Olivia punched her arm. It wasn't playful, but it wasn't serious either.
"Why are you so cynical, Jesse? Just appreciate it for what it is!" Olivia twirled in a gleeful circle. Her eyes were literally popping out of her eyes with childish wonder.
Jesse had been trying. But Redstonia was becoming less nostalgic and more and more boring.
Now that she thinks about it, she hated her field trip of Redstonia.
What was she thinking!
"I think that Ellegaard is amazing, Olivia." Jesse responded honestly. Olivia nodded, she knew that. "I just think she's better than this, you know?" Olivia had nothing to say.
The lava current was easy to get past, just a lever pull in the middle of the bridge from Olivia did the trick.
Behind it was a wall of chiseled quartz and more redstone contraptions.
Olivia and Jesse took a look at the two tall strips of quartz.
Olivia pushed the closest button.
Turns out, it was a Zipper. A redstone machine that was supposed to be a subtle temporary doorway to rooms. The Zipper was pistons that always stayed on and when a button is pushed and they turn off. It causes the pistons to pull the blocks back, one at a time in a quick zipper like affect.
It seemed like overkill that this complicated machine was used to hide a water elevator.
"It's a water elevator." Jesse stated the obvious. She wished she didn't sound as cynical as she knew she did.
"Wow." If Olivia heard it, she ignored her. "I've never seen one before. How does this even work?" Olivia turned to Jesse with questioning eyes.
"You jump in and swim up." Jesse explained, pointing to the top. "The signs have the floor number and you just jump off at your stop, but looks like this only has one exit."
"This is so cool!"
Jesse wanted to agree as she entered the elevator.
It wasn't even that tall, only about thirty blocks tall. But the room it led to luckily had Ellegaard in it. Jesse didn't know what she would have done otherwise.
The room was dome shaped and was the exact same material as the rest of the building, quartz, clay and iron. Unsurprisingly, there was chest lining the walls with buttons, levers and picture frames hanging above the chests (each picture frame had one material in it.).
Across the room was Ellegaard, pacing back and forth in front of a wall of four pistons and four crafting tables. She was mumbling to herself about the machine behind her.
Olivia gripped Jesse's arm with a silent gasp.
"This is just how imagined it!" She whispered, shaking her arm violently. "Entering Ellegaards lab. Seeing her… right there! She'll ask me to be her apprentice, and the next thing you know we'll be changing the world together!" Jesse smiled kindly and rolled her eyes. She pushed Olivia's hand off her arm.
"Why don't we start by saving the world first?" Jesse advised a slightly hyperventilating Olivia. "Excuse me! Ellegaard?" She walked swiftly up in front of the old hero, trying to fight off how nervous she felt.
She tried to remember everything that bored her about this place.
Ellegaard jumped at the sudden appearance of Jesse.
"Woah!" She gasped. "Didn't see you sneaking up on me! Just, don't touch anything, okay?" She motioned to the area around her. "It's all supremely fragile and genius." Jesse frowned.
"Did Calvin send you?" Ellegaard asked. She was not afraid. She was very casual about everything. "Are you my new assistants?" Ellegaard looked at Jesse up and down. Her dark black eyes analyzing every square pixels of her.
Olivia gripped Jesse's arms again. The latter shrugged the former off.
"No, we-" Ellegaard cut the young women off.
"No time for specifics, I'm afraid." She interrupted in a hurry. "We must get to work! You, Goggle Girl, switch on that T-Flop circuit to activate the delivery chutes. And you, Non-Goggle Guy, grab me a blaze rod and an iron block."
Jesse was stunned silent. She was not expecting Ellegaard, the maps smartest individual, to be so airheaded.
Olivia was also frozen with shock, for a completely different reason.
"She wants me to do something for her." The young, dazed redstone expert mumbled. "What if I screw it up? What if I…" She began to sway on her feet. "oh, I feel… lightheaded…"
Olivia collapsed backwards onto the ground.
Jesse snapped out of her still state to see her friend fall.
"Olivia!" She took a knee next to her fainted friend to see if she was alright. Olivia seemed fine but unconscious.
The Redstone Engineer looked at her two new 'assistance' with a stare of distaste.
"Wow," She grumbled. "I need an assistant to help with my assistant." She turned to Jesse. "Think you can handle it on your own?" Ellegaard turned around and walked away.
Jesse felt the anger rise in her stomach.
"What!" Are you kidding me! "Hey, wait! Help me wake her up!"
Olivia's hero continued to saunter to her machines.
Jesse knew if she had the choice she would throw something at the Engineer.
I came all this way for Ellegaard! And for what!
Jesse shook her friends shoulders and hit her cheeks a few times.
"Olivia!" She whispered. "Olivia! Olivia! Come on!" Jesse knew it was stupid, but she did it anyway. She brought out a piece of redstone and waved it close to Olivia's nose. "Smell the mental. Let it lure you back to the land of the awake." Olivia's eyes blinked open, then she sneezed.
"Jesse?" Olivia muttered in between sneezes.
Jesse smiled.
"Hey, you fainted for a second." She brushed a hand comforting through her friends hair. "Are you okay? How's your head?" Olivia rubbed the back of her head for bumps or bruises.
"I don't think I've ever fainted before." Was her response. Jesse had never heard Olivia sounded so disappointed or embarrassed. (Which was saying something.)
"It's okay. It happens to the best of us." Jesse reassured. Olivia's lips twitched thankfully.
Some footsteps smacked hard against the ground, like a person does when angry. The footsteps got closer until they stopped just behind the two friends.
Jesse helped Olivia up, not caring about who she knew it was.
"Excuse me? Non-Goggle Guy?" Ellegaard sounded annoyed. "I need a blaze rod pronto!"
Jesse faced The Old Hero. She crossed her arms.
"I am not one of your assistance!" Jesse snapped. Her face was slowly starting to flush from Ellegaards ignorance.
"What?" The legendary hero jumped back, her hand jumping up to protect her chest. "Then who are you?" Jesse's scowled deepened.
"I'm Jesse from Oak City," Jesse pointed to Olivia with her thumb. "this is Olivia from Beacon Mines. We are not here to be your assistance, we are here to ask for your help! There is this giant thing called a Witherstorm-"
"A Witherwhat?" Ellegaard snorted, as if she didn't believe the other two girls. "What are you talking about! Who sent you!" Ellegaard paused for a second. "Was is Calvin?" Jesse smacked a hand to her forehead.
"Gabriel sent us!" Jesse exclaimed. Olivia put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The young brown haired girl instantly relaxed, but she was still pissed.
Ellegaard face morphed into one that made Jesse think she finally understood how serious she was being, but instead she said, "Gabriel… oh! Then…" Ellegaard walked over to a pipe in the corner of the room. She kicked a button on her way there. After a few moments of waiting, she pulled out Gabriel's amulet from the stream. "You must be the ones who sent me this. It just showed up in my office, no note, no explanation."
Jesse pushed Ellegaards neutral and practically emotionless voice to the side. She was excited that Ellegaard was taking them (slightly) seriously.
"Yes, we sent that!" Olivia shouted behind her a bit too excited. Her eyes sparkling with glee.
"Can I have it back now," Jesse held out her hand to take it back. Ellegaard handed it over without hesitating.
She then took a step back, crossed her arm and squared her shoulders.
"Look, you both seem like very pleasant people (who are prone to fainting)," Olivia shrunk in on herself. "but I simply don't have the brain-power for this. I'm in the middle of my greatest project to date; a powerful block capable of altering reality itself!" Jesse smacked her hand to her forehead once again.
"A command block, yeah, we know." Jesse deadpanned displeased.
For once Ellegaard showed some concern when she stumbled back.
"Wai-"
"And it's an awful idea!" Jesse shouted. She threw her hands up in the air with frustration. "It sounds well and good now, but you don't know what that thing could really do." Jesse stressed. "It's dangerous!"
Ellegaard looked around the floor, her hand over her heart, her face showing that she was hurt. Jesse thought she had finally got through Ellegaards thick head.
"How do you know what a Command Block is!" Ellegaard finally shouted in a panic. Deflating all of Jesses' hope. "Not to seem bewittling, but we are talking something that even I haven't figured out how to perfect!"
"This man named Ivor had one," Olivia explained while Jesse was stunned.
Jesse knew Ellegaard was a genius, and she knew she was kind, she respected her greatly, but something about her attitude was starting to make her rage.
"He used it to attack Gabriel at Fey Falls' Endercon, and he created the Witherstorm. We managed to escape with a few others, and Gabriel told us we needed The Order of the Stone."
Ellegaard lost (or hid) the panicked look and replaced it one of unease.
"Sorry to bust your circuits but the Order isn't really 'together' anymore."
"You missed the whole point!" Jesse argued. She decided to stop hiding how bitter she was becoming towards the engineer. "There's a unstoppable monster out there and we need to stop it!"
Ellegaard considered this. Then she turned around towards her crafting table contraption.
"All the more reasons why I need to finish my Command Block! I can use it to fight your Witherstorm or whatever." She waved her hand around, dismissing what Jesse was saying. She turned around to face them confidently, arrogantly. "Necessity is the originator of invention; that monster is my necessity for inventing, of which I am the originator."
"No!" Olivia finally decided to argue against her hero. Which was obviously difficult for her. "You can't make another Command Block!"
"Your Witherstorm was created by a Command Block, yes? That means a Command Block could be the way to beat it!" Ellegaard stepped up to Olivia. Her eyes had dramatically softened. "Will you two help me make one?" She asked specifically Olivia.
Jesse thought that was a low blow.
The young engineer looked down at her feet.
"I don't thin-" Olivia was quickly interupted.
"Excellent!" Ellegaard clasped her hands together.
"No!" Jesse separated Olivia and Ellegaard without touching either. She didn't want to come off as too disrespectful. "Have you lost your mind! A Command Block started all this, and a Command Block isn't going to fix it! It will just cause more harm than it ever will do good! Maybe not now, maybe not in fifty years, but one day."
Ellegaard wasn't affected by her alarming promise.
"If this monster is as deadly as you make it out to be, this could be our only way to stop it. We need to get to work right away." Ellegaard turned around once again.
Jesse ran in front of the hero, both hands out to block her from moving forward.
"I will not let you figure out how to make a Command Block. Fighting fire with fire in this case will make a bigger fire."
Jesse and Ellegaard had a glare off.
Ellegaard wavered, then backed down.
"Alright." Ellegaard finally agreed. Silently and awkwardly, the three exited out of the building. When they got to the only exit, Ellegaard broke the silence, "But I still have no idea why this is so important. How bad-"
The three heard a roar from ways away. Across the sea, the Witherstorm was flying in Redstonia's direction. It's four massive tentacles searching over the ocean surface.
People were already screaming and sobbing in a panic. The more selfless people were crafting boats for the residents to take.
The purple lights from the Witherstorm eyes scanned over the island, picking apart the buildings and scooping up people just like it did all the back in Fey Falls Endercon.
Ellegaard was stunned frozen as ice.
Jesse gripped both Olivia and Ellegaards arms.
"Let's go already!"
The ride through the Nether back to the temple was completely silent and awkward. None of the three girls wanted to talk. And who could blame them?
Olivia was upset such a wonderful place like Redstonia was now destroyed, and she also felt a little responsible.
Jesse and Ellegaard were quiet for the same reasons. They were afraid and scared for the cities they loved and cared for.
Jesse couldn't help but think of her family that still lived in Oak City. Her younger siblings, her older siblings, her parents, grandparents and childhood friends. The very thought of them all getting devoured by that monster made Jesse want to break down and sob in a darkened cave. She could only hope that they would get out of the city in time, because she couldn't go and save them and boy did she want to try.
Jesse got used to the lump in her throat about halfway through the minecart ride.
Please, please be okay. Jessa, Jace, Jack, Jan, Jean, Mom, Dad, Patrick, Huelia, everyone I haven't mentioned… please be okay.
By the time the three women were out of the Nether it was turning dusk, mobs were starting to come out and Jesse had learned to not look like she was about to burst into tears.
Olivia led to way to the Orders Temple with Jesse in the back. Eventually they were staring at the temple from the top of a nearby hill.
Ellegaards eyes turned even sadder.
"Wow," Ellegaard breathed in a single breath. Her hands clenched and unclenched like a cat retracting and releasing its claws. "this is… ruins." Her lower jaw flexed between each pause, as if she was holding something back. "I guess that's what happens after a decade of never coming home."
Jesse eyed Ellegaard from the opposite side of the hill.
"Home?" Huh? Jesse thought.
She didn't mention it, and neither did Olivia. (If she even realized it.)
The small group slowly made their way down
When Axel and Lukas promised to fortify the place she didn't think they meant with cobblestone, old stone bricks and pumpkins. They got the job done, that's for sure, but the place looked like a disaster.
Jesse knocked on the only part that actually looked fortified, an iron door.
The group of three women waited awkwardly together outside the door. (What else was new?)
Jesse heard a few scruffs across the floor that sent shivers up her spine. It sounded like a zombie, but that wasn't possible…
Her fears were dismissed when sky blue eyes peeked through the door. In less than a second, Lukas threw open door and hugged Jesse, a little tighter than usual but Jesse accepted it. Jesse hugged him back with just as much force.
Just the sight of her boyfriend made Jesse want to cry and tell them about her family. She somehow managed to control herself.
Lukas pulled back with a grim smile. He could tell something was off about her.
"So good to see you again." He looked her up and down for injuries. Jesse smiled lightly.
Olivia scratched the back of her neck.
"Look we brought Ellegaard." Jesse turned to point at Ellegaard. Jesse cleared her throat when she realized her voice was cracking.
Lukas nodded.
"Fantastic," He gritted through his teeth. If Jesse didn't know any better she'd say he sounded displeased.
This time it was Jesse's turn to look Lukas up and down. He looked worse than when she left.
"You don-" Lukas pulled her inside without warning, then motioned for the other two to come in.
Jesse froze upon looking inside the hall.
"Quick, come in!" Lukas exclaimed excitedly. "Look who showed up while you were gone." Olivia looked at where Lukas was pointing. Her face lit up like a torch.
"Petra!" Olivia exclaimed.
Petra was sitting on the floor nearby, back against the wall. She looked weak, with purple bags under her reddish eyes, pasty pale skin and smudges of dirt all across her face. She looked like she'd been through the ringer.
Petra stood up on shaking legs to hug Olivia.
"Hey, everyone," Petras voice cracked. "How's it going." It wasn't a question, just a kind, awkward conversation starter.
"Notch, I'm glad you're okay." Olivia muttered to her friend.
"Thank you." Petra muttered back. Olivia pulled back, still smiling like it was the best day ever.
Ellegaard (who was standing awkwardly in the corner) pulled Olivia to the side with her so she could ask who Petra was and why she was so important.
Jesse could barely wrap her head around the fact Petra was here.
"We thought you were dead!" Jesse blurted when Petra turned to her. Lukas and Petra chuckled dryly.
Petra brought Jesse (who was still stunned) into a hug.
"It's great to see you too, Jess."
Jesse hugged her friend back before pushing her away. It was too weird. Jesse must have fallen asleep during the cart ride and this was all just a dream.
"How on the map did you escape!" Jesse asked. Petras dark brown eyes dimmed.
"I don't know," She answered without any emotion. "You pulled me out and then the portal to the Nether was destroyed and I just ran…" Petra wrapped her arms around herself.
Ellegaard and Olivia walked further into the temple on their own accord, leaving the other three behind. Petra and Jesse followed a bit behind, and Lukas stumbled after the rest.
"lets just say, it's a miracle I'm alive." Petra finished. Jesse set a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"How'd you know where to go." Jesse asked. Lukas turned his head in thought. He never asked that.
"Gabriel told me before," Petras voice cracked a bit. She cleared her throat with a quick cough. "the Witherstorm got him."
Ellegaard halted. She turned around, her eyes wide with distraught and grief.
"Gabriel?" She mumbled. Petra nodded sadly.
"The Witherstorm left nothing behind. Everything, everyone, is gone."
Ellegaard turned back around. The group of friends and the one Order member was in the temples library. Ellegaard was staring at the stairs that led to the Orders map.
"I wouldn't believe anything could defeat Gabriel if I hadn't seen it for myself." The old engineer muttered. "This is terrible." She sent her way up the stairs. Olivia and then Petra, Lukas and Jesse followed.
At the top of the stairs, Ellegaard turned in a circle, looking up at the caved in roof and torn up walls.
"Seeing this place so decimated… makes me feel…" Ellegaard moment of humanity and grief was quickly forgotten when she looked across the hall. There was Axel, who was talking to a stranger with a huge grin. "What is he doing here!?" Ellegaard whispered harshly, pointing at the stranger.
Jesse instantly recognized the man as Magnus the Rogue, one of Ellegaard old friends and Order of the Stone member. The hostility from the legend towards their former friend definitely surprised them all.
"Do you two not like each other?" Petra asked.
Jesse scratched the back of her neck. Childhood friends, friends for over two decades, team members for just as long, fellow legends, worked on dozen of innovative inventions together, but they hate each other? Something wasn't adding up...
"Sorry, forgot to warn you," Lukas butted in through his coughs. "Axel went on a little… adventure of his own while you... were gone... He just got back too." Jesse concerns grew.
"An adventure to get him?" Ellegaard spat bitterly. She turned to Jesse, who didn't feel like dealing with Ellegaards ego. "Did you know about this?"
"No, I didn't." Jesse shook her head, wondering why it mattered. "And why does it matter? N-"
"Why does it matter! I'm not working with the likes of him!"
Jesse crossed her arms, parted her feet and tilted her head up.
"Look Ellegaard, I didn't know. And from where I stand, this is a good thing. Now we have have two members of the Order in one room. You two could work together to figure this out." Like you did to create TNT, explosive minecarts, arrow dispensers, redstone chest, and many, many more!
"I am not working with that critin!" Ellegaard swore. Jesse didn't budge.
"You two worked together before, you could do it again." Jesse argued. Petra crossed her arms, glaring at Ellegaard too.
Olivia and Lukas were just standing to the side awkwardly.
The tension broke as soon as Axel came running to hug Jesse. He picked her up and spun her around while he laughed. Jesse was startled at first but then she broke out into giggles.
Axel put her down and they exchanged hellos. Axel hugged Olivia just as ferociously and sneered at Lukas. He didn't acknowledge Ellegaard.
"Guys! Look who I got!" Axel motioned gleefully at Magnus who had his arms crossed and a blank stare on his face.
"Well, this is unexpected." Ellegaard snarked before Jesse could introduce everyone to the Rogue.
"I'm not entirely sure what you mean," Magnus said, his eyes narrowing behind the black bandanna that went across his eyes. His voice was deep and was surprisingly about as smooth as gravel. "but I'm pretty sure, I don't like it."
Jesse smacked a hand to her forehead, something she was starting to get used to doing.
"Yeah, show Magnus some respect." Axel butted in.
Well this escalated quickly.
Petra groaned.
Lukas rolled his eyes.
"Axel, this is Ellegaard you're talking to." Olivia scolded.
"I don't care-" Axel continued but Jesse ignored him completely.
Jesse looked at Petra who was standing next to her.
"Can you referee?" Jesse whispered. Petra nodded equally annoyed.
"Yeah." Jesse nodded her thanks.
"Lukas, Reuben…" Jesse called to the both of them, then made her way down stairs to the library. Reuben, who had been resting at the top of the stairs the whole time and had just woken up (and was running around Jesse's feet) and Lukas followed to see what Jesse wanted to say to them.
I am so tired. So very tired. Today's AN is short and too the point. I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for the reviews, please leave a few. They are amazing. I'm sorry for all the mistakes, I didn't put this chapter through as intense an editing than I normally do. (You edit? Yes I know shocking...)
GUEST RESPONSES!
TheAmberShadow - I never liked Ellegaard either. But everyone chooses Magnus so I wanted to be differnt. Yes, Lukas has wither... I still haven't decided if Petra should. What's your thoughts?
Guest (chapter 10) - Thank you. I hope school is/was going well.
Empire501st- here you go...
nothing else...
bye.
-Kayla.