Act I – Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Before we start, I'm just going to say that I am re-writing this because after looking through the original version, I'm not so happy with where it is at, nor with the quality of the first few chapters, so I decided to just scrap it entirely, and re-write the story from scratch. This time, starting from the beginning of Season Two, rather than in the middle of Episode Two.

The original version will stay up purely for archival purposes. That being said, enough with the formalities.

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

I always liked stories where the hero has no idea that they're destined for greatness. The sort of heroes who are living their lives and assume that nothing exciting will ever happen to them. Those are the kind of heroes in this story. They started as just a bunch of friends in a tree-house, looking up to their idols who had come before them.

But when disaster struck, and an evil monstrosity threatened to destroy the world, those friends discovered that heroes can come from the most humble of beginnings. They travelled the world to battle that monster, facing obstacles and sacrifices every step of the way. It wasn't easy, but they had each other. And working together, they struck it down and saved everyone.

Soon, they were the most famous people in the whole world. And their legend, their fame, just continued to grow as they explored more worlds, venturing into the great unknown.

"And that's how those five friends, plus the bravest pig in the world, took their place in history as some of the greatest heroes who ever lived," finished Lukas, reading his book to everyone. He had bright blond hair, and he was wearing a purple-white striped t-shirt with a leather jacket over it and jeans. Jesse was listening in attentively, with a broad smile on her face. She had long black hair, held back by a yellow hair clip and was wearing a red and white t-shirt, with overalls.

Meanwhile Axel, a tall, muscular griefer who was wearing a green flannel jacket with fingerless gloves and a t-shirt with a skull logo on it, had fallen asleep. Olivia, a dark-skinned redstonist, wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and boots, elbowed him awake again.

"Ah! Whowahuh? What part are we at? Am I being awesome?" Axel slurred, still half-asleep.

"We thought it was great, Lukas. Although… not always technically accurate," critiqued Olivia.

Lukas rubbed his head, giving a sheepish look. "Yeah, I mean, well, I definitely exaggerated here and there, but it was for the drama,"

"I mean it made us sound cool, and that's a good thing," Axel pointed out.

"Yeah, but it might make people think we did stuff that we didn't actually do," reasoned Olivia.

"It's all fair game if it's helping you to tell a good story," said Jesse. "It's not like you're lying to, like, trick anyone."

Lukas brighted up at that statement.

"Yeah! That's exactly what I thought."

"If you're planning on including schematics, we should talk though," Olivia added.

"...I think I'm okay. I had been hoping to have it ready to read at Founding Day, but, uh… next year."

"I can't believe it's Founding Day already. Sneaks up on me every time," Olivia said.

"Congrats buddy – I'm proud of you for finishing it. That took a lot of work," Jesse congratulated.

Lukas grinned, nodded and said "I'm glad you liked it. You did so much, Jesse, you're a real hero."

"But… we all did, right?" asked Axel, slightly unsure.

Jesse turned her glance to Axel.

"Yeah. We were ALL there," Olivia answered, in a slightly doubtful tone.

"For, uh, most of it anyway."

Jesse stood up on her feet, turned to the group and said, "Hey, come on guys. We all did it together. We're the Order of the Stone, after all,"

"It is a good note though," said Lukas, writing something down in the book. "I'll keep that in mind when I'm editing.

"Well, this has all been really helpful feedback, guys. Once Ivor and Harper get back from their adventures, I can add a chapter about them… and then it will finally be done."

"Man, they've been gone a long time," remarked Axel.

At that moment, the Order Hall door opened up, to reveal a lone figure, wearing a hoodie over a beige shirt, and a blue tie. He was wearing large glasses.

"Jesse. Your intern," said Olivia.

Said intern; Radar, walked into the order hall.

"Jesse?"

"Oh! Hey Radar," Jesse greeted.

"Oh. Gosh. Wow. I didn't know all of you would be in here," Radar said, with a nervous chuckle upon seeing Jesse's friends. "Olivia, ma'am. Axel, sir. Lukas, sir. So sorry to interrupt everyone."

"Aw… he is just adorable," cooed Olivia.

"My deepest, sincerest, utmost apologies if I've caused any inconvenience."

Jesse shook her head, and slowly stepped down from the steps towards Radar, trying once again to get him to drop the formalities.

"Radar, don't be so formal," she said. "Cut it out with all the sir and ma'am stuff."

"Right-o! Right. Awesome."

"I kinda liked it," muttered Axel, Jesse shooting him a look.

Jesse turned back towards Radar and asked, "So… what's up?"

"I got a message from Petra that she's on her way to the mines. For that adventure you scheduled?" Radar reported. "If you hurry, you should still have time for that and your Founding Day duties."

"Oh nice! We should get going!" Jesse said, springing to her feet towards the door. When she saw that her friends weren't following her, she turned around and looked at them. All three of them had apologetic looks on their faces.

"Yeah, about that..." Lukas began.

Olivia got to her feet.

"We've actually got our own founding day stuff we need to prep for," she explained.

Jesse blinked.

"Yeeeah, I need to get back to Boom Town. I'm judging a TNT Rally in the morning," Axel added.

Jesse felt a slight tinge of annoyance and frustration, her friends never seemed to have any free time these days. She decided to put on a friendly face regardless.

"Aw, that's okay – I get it," she said. "You have your life and so do I."

"Thanks Jesse," sighed Olivia in relief.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Petra'll never let you hear the end of it though," Jesse added in a warning tone.

Axel walked towards her and said, "Tell Petra I said next time for sure, okay? I can't wait to see how that sword of hers is coming along."

"Yeah, I'll tell her."

They began to walk towards the door.

"I can't believe I'm walking out of the Order Hall with the Order! Ha!" Radar exclaimed.

"Ahh, so freaking cute!" exclaimed Olivia, in a tone very similar to Petra.

Outside, they saw the colourful sprawl that was Beacontown. Ranging from floating cow-heads to lava-houses, Beacontown had a massive variety of creations, that it was almost hard to tell which part of a build belonged to what.

"So, the other towns have Founding Day celebrations, huh?" Radar asked.

"Of course! We were all part of taking down the Wither-Storm. Redstonia even hosts a whole dance in Ellegaard's honor," said Olivia.

"Yeah, it's mostly TNT and fireworks in Boom Town. Magnus let me help design the firework finale this year."

"Well, I promise I will try and stop by. It was awesome to catch up with you guys," Lukas promised.

"Totally!"

"Won't be the same without you guys," Jesse lamented.

Axel gave Jesse a sad look. "Aw, buddy, you're gonna make me sad."

"Thanks again guys," Lukas said as Axel and Olivia walked off. "I'll let you know as soon as I'm done with the revisions."

"Ohh. Cool. Can't wait," Axel remarked sarcastically.

"Axel," scolded Olivia.

Lukas turned around and walked off with Axel and Olivia.

"I tell ya, I am just the luckiest," said Radar.

Jesse turned towards Radar, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah! Getting to work with you, hanging out with the Order," Radar listed. "And living in the coolest town in the whole world; Beacontown!"

Jesse took a look around at the various builds that were scattered across Beacontown. She saw Ivor's lava-house, the two floating cow-head and burger buildings on top of the Order Hall, and in the distance, she saw what appeared to be a recreation of her build she did at the Endercon Building Competition all those years ago; a giant Creeper. Unfortunately the original was destroyed when the Wither-Storm broke out. Her eyes followed a red coloured Parrot as it passed by various different parts of Beacontown.

"I realise that some days you'd rather be out adventuring with your friends, but I'm really glad you're our leader," Radar admitted. "You just make this place awesome."

Jesse placed her hands on her hips, sighed, turned around and said, "Yeah… I just wish I could've hung out with my friends more. We're all so busy now."

"That is hard," agreed Radar. "But at least they come back to visit a bunch? That's pretty awesome. I know that Petra is waiting for you in the mines, but I bet people would really appreciate you helping set up for the celebration."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Jesse, walking off. She first stopped at what appeared to be a Tiki head. "I bet one of those would look awesome on the Order Hall's front lawn."

Radar hummed, not really following what Jesse was saying, before continuing on. Jesse followed Radar to a build of a purple colored Octopus.

"You craving seafood?" Jesse asked.

"Always, why?"

Jesse shrugged.

"JESSE DUDE!" A voice exclaimed. Jesse turned around and saw Nell, waving her arms at her. She was wearing a sleeveless surfer outfit, which greatly resembled her competitor jumpsuit that she wore back when Jesse took down Hadrian.

"Nell! I thought you were out seeing the worlds!" Jesse greeted, surprise in her voice.

"Did that! Righteous times! Thought I'd try settling down for a while, though," said Nell. "Like, I love danger and derring-do as much as the next person, but sometimes you just wanna have a place to store your junk, okay?"

"I can't believe you settled down," said Jesse disbelievingly. "I thought you were all about the wandering, the adventure!"

"Augh, you make it all sound really good again when you put it like that."

Nell's expression faltered slightly.

"Between you and me, I'm worried that I won't, like, fit in here… So many rad builds, awesome people… I really want to make, like, a good first impression you know? Which I thought might be helped if my front yard had a statue by the one and only Jesse?"

Jesse gave a sheepish grin.

"Not sure if I have time, but I'll see what I can do."

"Hey hey hey! This is gonna be so cool! Scoop up that clay over there and let's get to business!" Nell instructed.

Jesse scooped up the clay, and spent the next few minutes building a statue. She didn't know exactly what she was building, but eventually, she decided that she was happy with what she built.

"That is some sweet work – Noice!" Nell appraised, before engulfing Jesse in a hug. "Ooh, Jesse dude – Thanks!"

"It was my pleasure!"

"Well, it is an honor, mi amigo, and don't be a stranger, okay?" Nell said as she walked back inside her house. She switched on a jukebox and began to blast some music.

"Well she is a… fascinating woman, isn't she?" Radar remarked. "Very free-spirited."

"Heh, yeah," agreed Jesse. "Kind of reminds me of Petra back in her early days. Speaking of whom… you said she's waiting for me at the-"

"-mineshaft. Mmhm."

Moving on, Jesse went to take a look at the recreation of the Creeper build, to be ambushed by an ecstatic, barking puppy.

"Whoa!"

"Oh! Wink! Get back here! Leave Jesse alone!" A female voice scolded. It belonged to Stacy Plays, who was wearing a blue-white striped shirt. Next to her, was Stampy Cat, who was wearing a cat-hoodie, with the hood pulled up.

"Hello there Jesse! I was wondering when we'd run into each other!" greeted Stampy who, along with Stacy were Wink's owners.

"Thought we'd give this town of yours a try," said Stacy.

"It's quite lovely!"

"Yeah, and I can't believe how many people are here!" Stacy agreed.

"Well it's so great to see you! We need to hang out!" said Jesse, still being circled by Wink.

"That sounds wonderful!"

"Yeah totally!"

Jesse saw Radar come up behind her.

"Radar. This is Stacy Plays and Stampy Cat," she introduced.

Stacy noticed Jesse's predicament.

"Oh Wink! Here, Jesse. Give him a bone and he'll calm right down."

Jesse held out a bone to Wink.

"Here Wink, nice tasty bone?"

Wink took it excitedly, making a whining sound as it did so.

"Aww, see? He likes you."

"Ha, yeah!" laughed Jesse nervously. "You want the rest of these back?"

"Nah, hang onto them. I've got TONS. You never know when you're gonna need to tame a wolf."

"Well, thanks."

"I imagine you're terribly busy, so we won't keep you. But you should come and see what we're working on because, it's pretty cool," Stampy added.

"Yeah, what Stampy said. Anyway, our place is by the gate," Stacy pointed.

"Will do! See you guys later!"

Jesse and Radar continued on past the Creeper statue, to greet a dark skinned citizen on the other side of the street.

"Oh wow. It is really you! My friend told me this was a recreation of your first big build, way back before the Wither-Storm, before all that stuff. Is it true? You have got to tell me more about it. I can barely even picture it! I have devoured everything Lukas has written about you guys in those days, but I still have so many questions."

"Ha, alright. I love talking about the good old days."

"Yes! I'm just so curious, where does your inspiration come from? Was there a deeper meaning? Oh, or like, a critique of the world maybe?"

"I draw my inspiration from my friends – We were a team. It was a group effort," answered Jesse.

"Oh, classic Jesse. I love that. The build I really wish I got to see was what you built to take down the Wither-Storm. Now that must have been terrifying. The world coming apart at the seams, tentacles everywhere."

"Well, it's like I said about drawing inspiration from my friends – We all gave each other strength during that fight," Jesse repeated.

"Amazing. I hope I have friends like that someday. Oh, you are just the best. Oh, and thank you so much for taking the time to stop and talk to me."

"Not a problem. I'll see you around alright?"

Jesse saw Radar standing by Reuben's memorial, and a pang of sadness swept up inside her. Even to this day, she still misses him.

"Best pig that ever lived," she said. "Miss ya buddy."

"Aw man… I wish I could've met Reuben. He sounded amazing," Radar said. "I read Lukas' book the other day. That chapter about Reuben almost got me crying right there..."

"Yeah, he was my best friend," agreed Jesse solemnly. "Still miss him."

"Aw..."

"Ohmigosh it's you!" An ecstatic citizen exclaimed, behind him were three pigs.

"Oh, yep, it's me. What are you doing here?"

"Oh wow, this is actually perfect. For Founding Day this year, we're picking a pig to play the part of Reuben on the float!"

"Oh, that's really cute," Radar cooed.

"Right? Would you be interested in… maybe helping me pick? I mean, who knows Reuben better than Jesse, right?"

"Yeah, talk about knowledgeable casting," agreed Radar.

Jesse glanced at the three pigs, shrugged and said, "I would love to! Seems like the least I could do."

"Oh that's fantastic! Thank you so much!"

Jesse took a look at the pigs.

"Alright, let's see 'em!"

"Okay piggies, show Jesse your good side!" The citizen instructed. "That's Estaban, Smushy Cutecheeks… and Lord von Thunderpork VI."

Jesse continued to look at each of them.

"Tried my best to bring the pigs that felt the most… Reuben-esque. Hm?"

"They're all adorable!" Radar whispered.

"Raised all of 'em myself."

Jesse decided on Esteban.

"Definitely Esteban. He's got the most intelligent face."

"Really?" questioned Radar.

"Ah! I knew that's who you'd chose – Fantastic! Congratulations!" The citizen congratulated, hugging Estaban and smooching him. "Thank you Jesse. I'm going to go get him ready, and I'll see you at the celebration!"

"Bye!" Radar waved.

Jesse and Radar continued on, Jesse stopping briefly to take a little bit of sugarcane that she ran into. Eventually they found Stampy and Stacy again, who were in the middle of an argument.

"I am telling you, Stampy – it needs to be pumpkin pie!"

"But cake is the best!" Stampy argued. "And I would know, I have it every morning for breakfast!"

"There some sort of problem here, guys?" Jesse asked.

"Hello Jesse! We heard about this Founding Day celebration of yours and we thought we'd make some sweets!"

"Yeah, and now I'm trying to convince Mr. Stampy here to make the right decision and pick pumpkin pie," Stacy interjected.

"There you go with those leading presentations again!"

"Just… not everyone likes cake, Stampy."

"Oh and pumpkin pie is the universally loved food?" Stampy retorted sarcastically. "I think not."

"Why don't we have both?" suggested Jesse.

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea, but… we don't have enough ingredients," said Stampy.

"It's true. Here, you should just take the ingredients and decide for us," Stacy said, shoving a whole mountainful of ingredients into Jesse's inventory.

"Yes, I fear we're gonna be debating in circles all day otherwise, heh," Stampy agreed.

"You know, there might be some extra eggs and stuff around town. I bet you could find enough to do cake AND pie," Radar suggested.

Jesse glanced over at the mineshaft entrance, where Petra was supposed to be waiting.

"Hmm, don't have a ton of time. But I bet they'd be super surprised by that."

While Jesse was looking around for ingredients, she came across a citizen who seemed to be staring into the sky.

"Whatcha looking at, citizen?" Jesse asked.

"Oh! Jesse, wow. Hi," he stammered. "Just checking out my latest build from the ground. I'm worried it doesn't, y'know, fit?

"Is it putting the right energy into the universe? Is it the appropriate aesthetic addition to the tableau that is Beacontown?"

"How'd you even get up there? That's like… really high." said Jesse, giving the citizen a nervous wide-eyed look.

"Oh, getting up wasn't the hard part. Getting down was," the nervous citizen responded, giving a nervous laughter.

"Uhhh, okay then. We'll just leave you to it," Jesse responded, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She turned to Radar and asked "Is he okay?"

"No, I don't think so."

Jesse, remembering that she was supposed to be collecting ingredients for Stampy and Stacy, checked to see what she had. She needed an egg, which can be easily obtained from a chicken.

While Jesse was obtaining the ingredients, she checked out Stampy and Stacy's love garden, which had a build of a heart in pink wool in the middle of it. She also high-fived a fan and came across a machine, which had the sole purpose of punching anyone who stood on it's pressure plate. What was that thing even for anyway?

After doing some collecting, she finally had enough ingredients to do cake and pie, so she approached a crafting table and crafted the two. She approached Stampy and Stacy again.

"He said cake, she said pie… I said why don't we have both!" Jesse announced, showing off both pieces of food.

"Oh well, this is very surprising!" Stampy laughed.

"Yeah, that's awesome!" Stacy agreed. "How did you do that?"

"Found some extra ingredients around town. No big deal."

"Well that's fantastic Jesse, thank you so much!" Stampy said.

"Yeah thanks! This is perfect!"

Together, they set up the stall, which had banners of both Stampy and Stacy, along with the words 'CAKE AND PIE'. Jesse had a piece of pumpkin pie, while Radar munched on some cake. Jesse gave both Stampy and Stacy a high-five before telling them that she had to run, as Petra was waiting.

At last, Jesse and Radar reached the entrance of the mineshaft.

"And here we are at the mines!" Radar gestured.

"Nice, thanks for walking with me."

"Oh no, thank you Jesse," Radar said as Jesse grabbed an iron chestplate and placed it on. "It was a pleasure watching you work, it truly was. Stopping to help all those people, helping them prepare for Founding Day, very inspiring."

Jesse approached the stairs towards the mines.

"I'll, uh… keep watch on things here while you're gone. Off doing your… adventure-y things. Risking your life, spitting in fate's eye."

"Just stop worrying so much, would ya?"

"'Stop… Stop worrying.' I can do that. It's so simple. Just 'stop worrying.'" Radar said. "Am I oversimplifying it? I-I'll work on it."

Jesse began to walk down the steps.

"Bye! Have a good time!"

"Don't I always?" Jesse muttered.

Author's Note: Next chapter, things will start to deviate from canon Season Two, which is why I am posting this and the second chapter together. After that, updates should be once a week, every Friday.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.