Episode 3, Chapter 3: Follow My Lead

Lukas was not as easy to convince as the others had hoped. Truthfully, Jess wasn't even sure they had convinced Jack and Nurm, but their reactions in the lounge seemed to prove that they had done something right, at least.

"Are you sure you wanna go through with this, Jess?" Lukas had his back against the shelves, hands up as he was surrounded by the others. "I mean, if this goes wrong, we're all stuck in the Nodes, and you've once again screwed everything up."

"You don't trust me?"

"Did me taking the Amulet from you while we were in the End not prove that?"

"That was years ago! What about in Sky City, what about in that mansion, or with PAMA, or-?"

"You made me fall off the edge and break my arm! You nearly got me killed because of things I didn't do, you let me get chipped and then didn't unchip me , and YOU LET ME GET SENT TO THE QUARTZ MINES!"

"I didn't have a choice-"

"YOU DID! YOU FUCKING DID!" Lukas screamed. "And in EVERY choice you had, YOU CHOSE SOMEONE ELSE! I mean, fuck, I bet if it were me and Reuben there in the Witherstorm's core, YOU WOULD HAVE LET REUBEN LIVE."

That struck a chord with Jess. Did he… really bring Reuben into this? Of all the times… "You listen to me." Jess growled. "You do not get to use my pet as leverage for what you had to go through. Petra had combat experience, knowledge of how to get out of sticky situations."

"And I didn't?!"

" You had a book you wouldn't shut up about."

Lukas' hands clamped around Jess' shoulders, spinning them around and slamming them against the bookshelf. "Gee, SORRY I WANTED TO-"

"Is there a problem, 3120?" A woman's voice interrupted their fighting. Lukas slowly turned around, revealing a woman leaning in the doorway. She had wine red hair, with a pink streak of hair covering the right side of her face. "Romeo heard you getting loud and thought to send me in to check up on you guys."

"Th-th…" Lukas put Jess down, sighing. "There's no issue, Xara. Not… not at all."

"Good." She said sweetly. "I wouldn't want to have to send you off so soon after your arrival, you know!"

As quickly as she appeared, she touched her lapel and vanished again. Lukas sighed, placing a defeated hand on Jess' shoulder.

"I don't think Petra or Radar made it with us." He looked out the window, the center courtyard in full view. "As far as I know, it's just you, me, Jack, and Nurm."

Jess nodded. "Yeah, I've only seen you three so far. I'm pretty sure there's two more in the Nodes or wherever that we can get on our side… but that still leaves Petra and Radar unaccounted for."

"Well, where else would they be if not here?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "I mean… you'd think that the Admin would send us all here…"

"Well, that's not entirely true." Lukas put a hand on his chin. "I mean, they had vanished with Jack, but the Admin said something different about Radar - and, if he was to be believed before sending us all here, Petra was going to be his champion anyway… whatever that means."

"It means that he took them both with him." Jess said softly.

"So what's our plan?" Jack asked. The three sat down next to the shelves, sat close together to speak in hushed voices.

"It seems like, first things first, is getting ourselves sent to the Nodes - but how?" Jess replied, "If that Xara lady was anything to go by, it seems that if you attack a Servant… that alone is grounds to get sent away."

"But what then? We don't know anything about the Nodes."

"I know… something, kind of?" Jess closed their eyes in thought. "Romeo said something about there being a drawing, and the loser has to report to some 'Redd' guy to patrol the Nodes."

"So… with you being a Servant…" Jack grinned. "I think I know our plan now. We wait for you to get assigned to the Nodes, then when you get there, we cause something to get sent down there…"

"Then we grab Sammy and Vos, then break out… any means necessary." Jess nodded.

"Makes sense." Lukas shrugged. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"Romeo said I wouldn't be assigned Nodes for 'a while', but how long that is… who knows?" Jess sighed softly. "I don't know."

"Hey, we've got this." Lukas nodded.

"...Do we. Do I? " Jess softly gripped at their hair. "After... I dunno. I just don't. I always think I do, but you're right. I've been…"

"Jess." Lukas' voice was firm, a hand on their shoulder. "We don't need to worry about that right now. You're going to be okay."

"I'm not." Jess' voice was… oddly quiet.

"You will be, though." Jack nodded. "Sure, you're going through a lot right now - I mean, you're single-handedly keeping three people from completely ignoring you. But you can reflect on what you've done later, when we're done saving our friends."

"Our friends." Lukas smiled. "Who, contrary to what the other Servants think, are your friends too."

Jess nodded. Slowly at first, but gaining confidence as they stood up and put a hand on their chest. "Then let's make this work."