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Chapter Text

This story has a playlist!

For this chapter, its song one, "Humans Being" by Van Halen

π

The building shook as the stone bricks of the floor slid apart, revealing a staircase down. Lava illuminated the steps and Petra chuckled. "And this is why Jesse is our group's puzzle-solver."

Jesse put a hand on his hip, green eyes lit with amusement. "I literally just flipped some levers in the right order."

"Yeah, well," Axel peered down into the hole in the floor. "I think I actually would've been disappointed if the floor didn't open up into a dark, creepy passageway."

The group began making their way down, Petra taking the lead and Axel bringing up the rear. 

"This kinda reminds me of when we first found the Order's Temple," Petra snorted. "We were such a bunch of noobs back then."

Axel scoffed. "Hey, I wasn't scared."

"No? Then who was it that was yelling, 'Help me, help me! The despensers are trying to kill me'!"

"That feels like a million years ago," Jesse mused. "We've done a lot since then."

Olivia sighed. "And to think, that was just the beginning."

"Yeah!" Axel agreed. "That was before we'd fought Witherstorms, hung out with Endermen, reunited the Order...so crazy."

They finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Petra quickly scanning the dimly-lit space. "There we go. Pick a chest, everybody."

The room was soon filled with the sounds of chests opening and the group exclaiming about their findings. Petra got a carved pumpkin and a cake, the latter of which starting Axel and Jesse on a conversation about why cake was a superior food choice.

Petra glanced over at Olivia, who simply smiled and shook her head, returning to her chest. Petra went back to rummaging as well, freezing when she saw something with a blue glow. "Guys...?"

The group gathered around, Axel's eyes lighting up. "That's super cool."

Petra moved it around a bit, watching the blow glow seemingly shift and shimmer with the movement. "I've never seen flint and steel like this before."

Jesse peeked over her shoulder to look, his breath tickling her neck. "That glow...is it some sort of enchantment?"

"I don't know...I've seen people put an Unbreaking enchantment on a flint and steel before..." Olivia shook her head. "But that's not Unbreaking."

Jesse gave Petra's arm an excited nudge. "Try it out and see what it does!"

"Oh yeah," she knelt down, striking it close to the stone floor. A loud noise echoed through the room, a bright blue spark appearing for a mere moment in the air. "Okay, that's not normal."

"Uhm, guys?" Jesse's concerned tone made everyone look up. A horde of zombies approached from the shadows, blocking the stairwell. They were boxed in.

"Now would be a great time for a secret handshake!" Axel exclaimed.

Petra had her sword out in a second, turning to Jesse. "Warrior Whip, just like we practiced. And don't throw me into the lava."

"That's great for my confidence level, Petra, thanks." Regardless, he gripped the other side of the sword, spinning them around until she was completely off the ground. At just the right moment he let go, launching her like a torpedo through the zombies blocking the stairs.

Axel snorted. "Couple goals."

Olivia made a break for the stairs. "That was amazing, you guys!"

Petra jabbed her thumb at Jesse. "He managed not to throw me at the lava."

"Oh, would you just--" he huffed, jogging up the stairs. "Let's go!"

π

A pillar of blue fire shot into the sky, making the whole group gasp in excitement. Axel, who currently held the flint and steel, turned to Petra. What he was going to say, however, was replaced by an unpleasantly familiar voice, "Well, well. Where'd you get the new toy?"

Axel quickly passed the flint and steel back to Petra as she watched the murky green eyes of Aiden approach. Olivia scoffed. "Who let you guys out of your cave?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Joke's on you. We don't live in a cave."

Petra raised an eyebrow. "If it isn't Aiden and the Pussycats."

Jesse let out a low whistle and Gill crossed his arms. "That's not our name."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "So what are you Ocelots doing here, anyway?"

"The Ocelots were Lukas' gang," Aiden replied. "We ditched that name just like we ditched him."

"Yeah, we rebranded," Maya turned to show them the back of her leather jacket. "We're the Blaze Rods now."

"Blaze Rods."

"Shut up, Gill."

Jesse snorted. "That's a dumb name."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Says the 'heroes' that just called their group the 'NEW Order of the Stone'. And where's Lukas, huh? The minute the Order decided you were cool--"

"For whatever reason." Maya added in.

"--He wouldn't stop sniffing around you like a tamed dog."

Petra shoved the flint and steel into Jesse's hands, marching up to Aiden. "You take that back!"

"Mm, no."

"Lukas is ten times the man you'll ever be!"

"Yeah, Lukas is a hero." Jesse agreed.

"And you--thinking you're oh-so-special for doing nothing. Classic Jesse," Aiden's face turned dark. "If not for your 'girlfriend', you'd probably be dead by now. And then you take all the best stuff and never give anyone else a chance. That should've been ours!"

Petra went back over to Jesse, taking the flint and steel back, sticking it into her pouch. "There's an old adventurer's rule called 'first come, first serve', Aiden, and we got it first. Fair and square."

"Yeah, we fought monsters, lava, and levers to get this thing," Axel piped up. "And we ain't giving it up!"

Aiden growled, drawing his sword and pointing it in Petra's face. "Hand over the flint and steel, Petra. Don't make me ask again."

"Oh, hell no," she immediately drew her sword, the rest of the group following suit. "You do NOT get to threaten me."

Aiden stared the group down, clearly evaluating his odds if he attacked. After a long, tense moment, he put his weapon away, taking a few steps back. "Fine. What hope do we have when 'heroes' like you are throwing your weight around like this? It's not always going to be this way, though. Let's get out of here, guys."

They began walking away, Gill pausing to exclaim, "Blaze Rods!"

Aiden immediately punched him. "I told you to SHUT UP, Gill!"

As they disappeared into the trees, Olivia murmured, "I don't remember him being that angry before."

"They scared pretty easily, though." Jesse replied.

"Not easy enough for my taste," Petra turned to the group. "We should be careful. He seems different. Scarier."

"And all because he wanted that flint and steel," Axel raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do with it?"

"If you think about it...Ivor did tell us about this temple," Jesse pointed out. "He might know something."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Petra ran a hand over the back of her neck. "C'mon, let's head back to town."

The group started walking, the temple slowly being hidden by the trees behind them.

π

Sunlight filtered into the Treasure Room, Petra looking around with a grin. "This place is really shaping up."

"I'll say," Jesse agreed. "The whole town is."

She nodded, a sudden smile lighting up her face. "Holy crap, Lukas! Reuben!"

The pig immediately ran towards them, weaving excitedly around their legs before coming to a stop in front of Jesse. While he knelt down to give his pet an affection scratch behind the ears, Lukas approached. "Oh, hey, guys. Uhm...how's it going?"

Petra sighed. "Lukas, really...it's great to see you again."

Jesse looked up, still knelt beside Reuben. "She's right, Lukas. It's good to have you back."

Lukas nodded slowly and after an awkward silence, he finally descended some of the steps. "Look, Petra...with everything that happened a little while back and then me just up and disappearing...I just wanted to say sorry. I wasn't always great but you kept me around anyway...Thanks for that."

She went over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "It was a crazy, stressful thing, Lukas. I'm sure I was nothing short of an ass at times, too."

He let out a laugh. "Yeah. Well. I'm glad to be back. I've really missed you guys."

She patted him on the shoulder again before looking over at Jesse. The brunette had clearly stopped listening a while ago, lying on his back with Reuben perched on his chest. He let out a happy laugh and Petra and Lukas exchanged smiles.

Petra then went over to them, leaning over Jesse's head and casting her shadow on his face. His green eyes flickered up to her and he beamed. "Look at that. My two favorite people all within close proximity."

"Favoritism much?" Lukas asked.

"You're a great guy, Lukas, but you're not Reuben or Petra."

"Wow, okay," Lukas laughed a bit before turning serious. "Look, I hate to be a downer, but I really need to tell you one of the big reasons I came back. It's about this weird run-in I had with Aiden."

"Really?" Jesse set Reuben on the floor, getting to his feet. "So did we. He's an utter ass."

"Well, whatever you guys said to him really got to him."

Petra sighed. "What nonsense was he spouting this time?"

"Uh, something about Ivor giving you a tip? Some kind of treasure?" the blond shrugged. "He really wanted to find it first."

"Ha. Beat him."

"He's just been so jealous of you and the rest of the Order ever since you saved the world from the Witherstorm. Convinced that HE was supposed to be a hero...Ever since he took over the Ocel--" Lukas winced. "'The Blaze Rods', it just seems like he's gotten...meaner. Pushing Maya and Gill around."

Petra scoffed. "All he is,  Lukas, is a bully. And bullies have never scared me."

"That's what I used to say, too...But he's been freaking me out. He got super aggressive, demanding to know what treasure you were after next," Lukas shook his head.  "So what'd you find that got Aiden so excited anyway?"

Jesse grinned. "Ooh, show him, Petra!"

She reached into her pouch, pulling out the flint and steel. "Check it out."

"Woah," the enchantment lit up Lukas' face, making his eyes seem even more blue. "What a weird glow."

"Right? I'm supposed to be showing it to--"

"You found it!"

The group all collectively let out screams of alarm, Reuben nearly tumbling down the stairs. Petra had almost punched Ivor in the face (which the older man had somehow managed to dodge) and Jesse clutched at his chest. "Dude, what is wrong with you?!"

Ivor was completely unfazed. "This...it is the greatest find of our time! I can't believe you've actually--That you're actually holding this!"

Petra raised an eyebrow. "What's it do?"

"It proves what I've always suspected! That glow...that enchantment is the work of a very old group of builders. A group so old they existed even before the Order of the Stone!"

"Great way to age yourself, Ivor."

"That temple we went to," Jesse interjected. "It was built by these...old builders?"

"That's my suspicion!" Ivor grinned. "But it's what's inside the temple that interests me even more! You see, if these builders truly existed, and if you found their temple...That means we're one step closer to finding 'The Eversource'! What a beautiful sight!"

Petrs grinned and elbowed Lukas. "Looks like you came back just in time, Lukas."

He winced a bit, nodding. "More powerful artifacts, huh?"

"So...Petra turned back to Ivor. "The Eversource?"

"The Eversource!"

Lukas sighed. "You, uh, gonna explain it anymore than that?"

"The Eversource is said to be an object of incredible power possessed by the Old Builders. It was some sort of treasure, or artifact, that gave them an endless supply of precious materials!" Ivor grinned. "Think about it, Petra! That temple must've been its hiding place!"

"So you're telling me," she raised an eyebrow, a hand on her hip. "That we missed this 'Eversource' and have to go all the way back to the temple we just came from?"

"Yes! But luckily you already know the way!"

"You have a point there," she looked over at Jesse and Lukas with a grin. "Old Builders, 'Eversources', ancient mysteries...you know I'm in."

Ivor jumped up and down. "Excellent! I'll pack my adventuring things immediately!"

She stared after him as he dashed out of the room. "Wait, HE'S coming?"

Jesse shrugged. "I guess so."

"Wow, sounds like you guys have a lot to get to--" Lukas turned to leave. "I guess I'll take off?"

Petra immediately grabbed his arm. "Nope. You're coming with. I need a buffer between me and Ivor."

"Does Jesse not suffice?"

"Ha ha."

A loud oink drew their attention downward, Jesse raising an eyebrow. "You want to come too, Reuben?"

The pig grinned and nodded, Jesse shrugging. "Okay. Let's get going then!"

π

Petra stepped on the pressure plate, watching the strange pattern in the wall shift forward, the center shifting back. The rest of the group joined her, Lukas asking, "Is it some kind of...portal?"

Ivor stepped up to it with a massive grin. "It's just as I imagined! Spectacular!"

Petra raised an eyebrow. "Maybe the Eversource was hidden in the portal?"

"Ha! Hiding something IN a portal...I like it. That makes a lot of sense."

She sighed, nudging him aside before pulling out the flint and steel. "Here we go."

She knelt down, striking the two pieces together. The bright blue spark caught and the inside of the portal frame lit up a swirling blue, sending out a shockwave that threw the group to the ground. The flint and steel flew put of Petra's hands, rolling across the stone.

"Thanks for bringing this back to me, Petra."

She forced herself to her feet, turning to face Aiden. "Give it back, Aiden. Or so Notch help me, you'll regret ever stepping foot in here."

He simply snorted. "Step aside, Petra. We're heading through that portal now."

"No way!"

"Aiden, you're done," Lukas agreed. "This is where it ends!"

"Oh, really?" The man sneered, sticking the flint and steel in his pockets. "Blaze Rods, clear me a path."

Petra barely realized what was happening between the clash of swords and Reuben's alarmed squealing. All she knew was Aiden was through the portal, Gill and Maya quickly following after him.

Ivor yelled, "We need to follow them! If they get to the Eversource, who knows what trouble they'll cause!"

"There's no way in hell I'll let them get to it!" Petra sheathed her sword. "Let's go!"

Lukas and Ivor ran through first, Jesse picking up Reuben and following after. Petra brought up the rear and went through, expecting to appear on solid ground.

Instead she was falling from the sky.

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song two, "Burn It Down" by Skillet

π

Petra slammed into Ivor's back, sending the man flailing towards the endless blue sky around them. She managed to grab his wrist, her grip and his one foot being all that kept him on the land. "Hold on!"

His foot slipped and she stumbled forward. The two probably would've fallen to their deaths had Jesse and Lukas not managed to grab them and pull them back up. Ivor stumbled away from the edge, Lukas patting the man on the shoulder. "There you go."

"Yes, yes, thank you!"

Petra shook her head, staring down at the endless sky. "What in the hell just happened? That portal--how did it work?"

"I assume much the same way a portal to the Nether works," Ivor replied. "Except to an entirely different world!"

"But the Nether doesn't spit you out of the sky with no return portal in sight."

To this Ivor simply shrugged, the group dispersing to survey their surroundings while Reuben stayed close to the middle of the island, shaking in fear. 

"Hey, you guys see that?"

They quickly joined Jesse, Reuben daring to approach the edge to see what he was talking about. They stared in awe at the sight below them, speechless. Masterfully crafted buildings covered a massive island below, causing Ivor to grin. "That's where the Eversource must be!"

"A city in the clouds," Petra huffed a disbelieving laugh. "It almost sounds impossible," she paused. "Shoot, how are we going to get down there?"

"Anyone pack one of those flying machines?" Jesse joked.

"That's more Olivia's bag."

"Fair enough. How about a bridge?"

"Do we have enough blocks?" Lukas asked.

Petra cautiously leaned over the edge of the island, a grin appearing on her face. "If we dig up this island we will. The underside is a lot bigger than we think."

Jesse grinned. "Let's get digging! Oh, and Reuben, I noticed you staying far away from the edge. Please keep doing that."

The group began to dig, taking their fairly-sized island down to the smallest cube they could manage.

"Stop pushing!" Ivor shrieked. 

"I'm not pushing!" Petra snapped. "Lukas is pushing!"

"I'm just trying to keep away from the edge!"

"It's all edge!"

A concerned snort sounded from Reuben and Jesse asked, "Can we please just build our bridge and get onto more ground?"

So they did, Petra placing the final block that connected them to the large island. "Here we go. Everybody--" she turned, noticing some sort of lava-oozing thing behind them. "Ivor, seriously?"

"This is in memory of my lava house you forced Jesse to tear down. LONG LIVE LAVA!"

A new voice interrupted their conversation. "You're building."

They turned to see a scared-looking man staring at them. Petra shrugged. "Yup. We're building a common dirt bridge. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Common?! I, uh...you don't know? You were building," the man shook his head. "Unauthorized building is against the law!"

"Wait, there's a law saying people can't build?"

"Yes! It's forbidden!"

Ivor scoffed. "This...this makes no sense. No sense at all!"

"I, uh--that's the law?"

"Okay, hold up," Petra stepped forward. "Why is it against the law to build?"

"Oh, this is making me terribly nervous," the man began to back away. "First those other outsiders, now you...with your strange pink beast..."

Reuben snorted in indignation as Lukas repeated, "'Other outsiders'? Where are they?"

"They went to the inn. I'm sorry, but that's all I know," he turned and ran. "Super busy, sorry!"

Petra watched him disappear through an archway, a sigh escaping her lips. "And he's gone."

They followed the direction he had gone, Ivor musing, "I wonder if everyone in this town is that..." He trailed off as he emerged into the city. "...Nervous."

They stared in awe at the architecture, Jesse whispering. "This is incredible. Who made it?"

"Whoever it was must have had the Eversource," Ivor reasoned. "It's the only explanation for the copious amount of rare materials they used to built it! Look at all this wonder! The Eversource is capable of miraculous things...And when I get MY hands on it--"

"Hey, why don't you take a massive chill pill and focus on finding it first?" Petra interjected.

"Yes, yes, yes. I'm just getting excited."

Lukas spoke up. "As crazy as Aiden's being lately, if he gets that Eversource...It would be bad."

"So we definitely have to beat him to it so he can't get his slimy little hands on the thing!" Petra scanned their surroundings. "How do we find the inn?"

"How about we split up?" Jesse suggested. "Oh and, Petra? Could I have that cake you got? That guy in the crafting table line looks really hungry."

Without thinking she passed it over, causing Lukas to snort. "Axel is going to be upset."

"Yeah, well. He can have the next one I find. Alright, let's split up."

While Jesse spoke to the guy in the line with Reuben, the rest of the group dispersed to look around. Petra approached a cluster of buildings, freezing as she watched two men exchange a bundle of sticks. Clearly trying to do it secretly, if their body-language was anything to go by.

"Yeah, just give them here. I'll deal with them," the blond of the two noticed her, hissing, "Get out of here! Go, go!" He watched the second man leave, turning to her with a somewhat nervous smile. "Why hello there. What can I do for you?"

Petra eyed the sign overhead. "Are you Milo?"

"Yes, yes, that's me. A pleasure to meet you. As I've never seen you before, I assume you must be a new arrival here in Sky City," Mila subconsciously adjusted his red hat. "Don't get many of those. Now, what can I do for you, friend?"

"I was told that you talked to a group called the 'Blaze Rods' earlier. What did they want?"

"'Blaze Rods'? Hm, 'Blaze Rods'...I don't know any Blaze Rods," Milo's tone made it clear he wasn't telling her something. "You must've been misled. I'm sorry, but it's like those other outsiders, I can't help you. Now please--"

Jesse suddenly appeared, the rest of the gang in tow. "Hey, Petra. Is this the innkeep?"

"He tell you where to find the Blaze Rods?" Ivor added.

"How many of you are there? And you have some sort of--pink thing with you!?" Milo exclaimed. "I told you, I don't know anything."

While Reuben looked offended, Petra took a step forward. "Look, I'm experienced in backstreet deals and sideways conversations, and I know when someone isn't telling the whole truth. We're not going to do anything to you, Milo, I promise. We just really need to know where that other group went."

"Fine! If it will make you leave me alone, that 'Aiden' fellow DID come talk to me earlier. Wanted to know where The Eversource was."

Ivor shot his hand into the air. "Called it!"

Petra glared at him while Milo continued, "I just told him what everyone else already knows--The Eversource is in the palace with the Founder. That's all that happened, I swear."

She couldn't help but curse under her breath. "What a bunch of creeps!"

"Yes, I wasn't terribly fond of them."

"So where is Aiden now?" Jesse asked.

"The group left for the palace and I haven't seen them since."

"Attention! Attention, everyone!" The voice of a guard made the group startle. "Just a moment of your time, please! Emergency meeting in the Founder's Garden. Attendance is mandatory!"

Milo cursed, brushing past the gang to follow the guard. Ivor raised an eyebrow. "Curious. I wonder what that's all about."

Jesse pointed. "Let's follow them and find out."

They joined the growing group of civilians in front of the palace, Petra seeing Jesse pick up Reuben as the people crowded around. A woman in a gold dress appeared at the top of the steps, a woman in the crowd exclaiming, "It's the Founder!"

A moment later three other people joined the city's leader, causing Petra to curse. "This has got to be a joke."

"Why, what's--" Jesse looked up at the steps. "Crap, is that the Blaze Rods?!"

"People of Sky City! I am sorry to pull you away from your duties, but something urgent has been brought to my attention," the Founder scanned the crowd. "A crime has been committed."

A wave of gasps and exclamations arose from the crowd, causing the Founder to raise her hand. "Please, please remain calm. Earlier today, a group of outsiders built a bridge into out fair city from a distant island! Now, whether these outsiders know it or not, this is a violation of Sky City's most sacred law: no unauthorized building!"

"Wait," Milo looked at the gang. "Was that you? Are you the bridge builders?"

Petra wasn't listening to the blond at all, causing Jesse to shake his head in response. "Uh, no. Why would you ask that?"

She frowned, watching Aiden lean over to the Founder and whisper something in her ear. She nodded, "Jesse, wherever you are, step forward now. I have already been informed of your identity. I appreciate that you may be ignorant of our laws, but I will warn yoh: Sky City is small and I promise that if you try to hide, I will find you."

The guards began to descend the steps and Jesse panickingly whispered, "Why me? I'm not even considered the leader of this group!"

"Aiden has always hated you the most." Lukas reasoned.

"Who cares!" Ivor turned to the group with a determined look. "We need to get to that Eversource at whatever cost! This is clearly our fastest way into the castle!"

"By getting arrested?!" Petra hissed.

"Wait!" Milo interjected. "Don't be fooled by the Founder's lies. I can help you come up with a plan to get into the palace."

Without warning, Ivor suddenly started jumping up and down. "Here I am! I built the bridge!"

"I'm sorry, Ivor, but this is a terrible plan!" Petra instinctively grabbed Jesse's arm, almost causing him to drop Reuben as they ran after Milo. "Come on!"

Lukas tried to follow, attempting to run but instead getting in the guards' way and knocked to the ground. "Run, Petra! Run!"

So they did, disappearing into the alleyways alongside the palace.

π

The trio cautiously slide along the wall, guards overhead and endless sky below. "Okay, my friends," Milo whispered, stopping them under a fairly large window. "This should take us right into the throne room. Once inside, we will just need to find the secret entrance the Founder supposedly uses..." He grinned. "Isn't it exciting? On our way to change everything. freeing the Eversource for the people!"

Petra sighed. "I appreciate your enthusiasm as much as the next person, Milo, but can you tone it down?"

"Yeah, we're sneaking in," Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Sneaking."

"Right, right, right, my apologies," the blond man grinned. "I'm just so excited...Actually out in the field, applying ladders to a wall!"

Petra rolled her eyes, pulling out the aforementioned ladders and laying them as quietly as she could. She carefully peeked over the edge and not seeing anyone in sight, she pulled herself onto the window ledge. She then turned to look down, signaling to Jesse to approach with caution and he nodded in understanding, picking Reuben up. She could tell Milo desperately wanted to ask about their hand signals, but luckily kept his mouth shut as Jesse began to climb.

Petra quietly dropped down, surveying the throne room. She heard Jesse drop down, grunting as Reuben tumbled out of his arms as she began to move forward. A third thump signaled Milo had joined them and just as they were about to enter the main stretch of the room, voices made them freeze. 

"Guards!" Petra hissed, automatically concealing herself against the wall. "Quick, hide!"

Reuben and Milo joined her quickly enough but Jesse was slow to react, forcing her to grab him and yank him back. He stumbled straight into her, his full weight slamming against her and pressing her back flush against the wall. He grinned sheepishly and tried to move but she tightened her grip, fearing the guards would notice the motion.

So they simply stared at each other, listening to the voices draw closer. "Yeah, I know, I know. Why are you telling me things that I already--" the owners of the voices rounded the corner. "Woah!"

Petra instantly released her hold on Jesse's arms. "Ivor, Lukas!"

Lukas sighed. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

Ivor chuckled. "What are the odds, am I right?"

Jesse grinned. "Hey, we're here to rescue you."

"I think you're a little late for that."

"Ha, yeah," Lukas' face lit up with pride. "We broke out ourselves."

"Besides, you two seemed a little preoccupied." Ivor added.

Petra saw Jesse turn beet red as she explained, "We thought you were guards."

"And that was your go-to hiding position?"

"Anyway," Lukas interrupted what was bound to turn into bickering. "It's a good thing you guys are here...Aiden's going after the Eversource!"

"Which we obviously can't abide!" Ivor stomped his foot. "We're here to get it first!"

"Fantastic! That is what we are doing as well." Milo announced.

The group began to spread out across the throne room, Lukas pausing to ask, "Who, uh, who's this guy, by the way? I assume he's cool, right?"

"Why would you assume that?" Ivor immediately asked.

"Oh yeah, this is Milo, the innkeep," Petra gestured to her friends. "Milo, this is Ivor and Lukas."

Milo offered his hand to Lukas. "I'm charmed. So...The Founder's secret entrance is supposed to be somewhere in this throne room."

A loud clatter filled the space, everyone jumping as a wall slid open, a set of minecarts rolling out on a track in the floor nobody had noticed. Everyone then stared at Jesse who stood by the newly-opened wall, a freshly-placed lever at his feet. "Do you guys think this is it?"

Ivor did a little jump. "It must be! Excellent work, Jesse!"

Petra, meanwhile, shook her head in disbelief. "How did you figure it out so fast?"

"I saw the Redstone and rails on the floor..." He shrugged and grinned. "I'm telling you, Petra, you continually underestimate the value of a lever."

"You're telling me you had just had one on you."

"Never leave home without one."

She snorted, climbing into one of the minecarts. "Only you, Jesse."

He grinned, carefully picking up Reuben and climbing into one of the carts. "Doubt you'd love me if I wasn't me."

Milo raised an eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"

Ivor waved a hand as the carts kicked into motion. "Their just being weird and gross. To The Eversource!"

The carts picked up speed as he spoke, carrying them downward to what was hidden below the city.

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song three, "Way Down We Go" by KALEO

π

"Hey, guys..." Petra stared at the bejeweled chicken wandering around in front of them. "I think we might've found the Eversource."

Lukas gasped. "No way."

"Yes...the spawn eggs," Ivor grinned. "It's so simple."

"The chicken lays the eggs...and the eggs...make monsters..." Jesse reasoned. "And the loot from the monsters...made this place."

Reuben snorted, nodding his head. It made sense.

"Well, throw it in the minecart and lets get out of here," Ivor exclaimed. "We're still taking it, right?"

"The chicken the entire city depends on? Are we sure that's a good idea?" Lukas pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" Milo interjected. "We need to bring it to the people. With it, we'll finally be free of the Founder!"

Petra shook her head. "Geez, Ivor, Lukas is right. We can't just...chicken-nap the Eversource. It's the only way these people survive."

Jesse snorted. "Chicken-nap."

"What!" Ivor threw his hands up. "But I thought that was the whole point of this adventure!"

Petra couldn't respond before Jesse suddenly went flying through the air, hitting the wall with a pained yell. Reuben began squealing in alarm, running over to him, while Ivor and Milo went flying as well. Petra only realized it was the Founder attacking them when a voice announced, "I knew it! I knew you were here to steal from me!"

The Blaze Rods rushed in, Maya and Gill threatening the others with their swords while Aiden joined the Founder. He shot Petra an evil grin and she quickly shook her head. "No, no, no one is stealing anything! Your Eversourde-chicken-thing is still right where it was before. Didn't even touch it!"

Aiden immediately spoke up. "It's just like I told you, Founder! They're here to steal the Eversource! Classic Order of the Stone."

The Founder straightened. "You don't say."

"No! Don't believe him!" Ivor suddenly exclaimed.

"You have the wrong idea!" Milo agreed.

Aiden went to speak again and Petra growled. "Aiden, will you just shut the hell up already?"

"You expect me to believe a bunch of criminals?" The Founder asked. "Aiden warned me you were a pack of thieves, and here you are, prepared to make off with the one thing our City depends on to survive!"

"Boy. When you put it like that, I almost feel bad," Aiden's voice made everyone freeze as he pulled an egg from a chest labeled 'Creepers'. "Yup. 'Fraid I'M going to be taking the chicken. It's mine now."

"This is outrageous!" The Founder took a few steps back. "Aiden. Don't do this."

The man's swampy green eyes flashed with something, but it wasn't guilt or remorse--it was power. "Somebody order eggs?"

Petra's eyes widened and it was like everything moved in slow motion as the green egg flew through the air. She rolled to the side, a Creeper spawning and running straight at the Founder, blowing up before she could do anything. The explosion sent her tumbling over the edge of the island, her hands just managing to grab the cliff, fingers digging desperately into the dirt.

Lukas, meanwhile, had thrown himself into a tangle with Aiden. "Petra! I've got Aiden...save the Founder!"

Aiden snorted. "Oh, you've 'got' me, Lukas?"

With no time to waste, Petra spun around and dashed towards the Founder, grabbing the woman's wrist. "Hang on, I've got you!"

After struggling against whatever source of gravity was trying to pull the Founder down, Petra finally managed to get the woman on solid ground. "Thank you, thank you."

"Look, we need to--" A terrified scream cut her off and she saw Lukas go tumbling past, falling backwards off the edge. "LUKAS!"

Petra moved to turn around, but a foot collided with her back, the force shoving both her and the Founder straight off the edge. She didn't even get the chance to curse, seeing Aiden's face twist into a horrible smile before the island disappeared above, hidden by clouds.

They were falling to their deaths and Petra couldn't help the scream of terror that escaped her throat. This was not how she thought she'd die. She wasn't sure how it would happen in her mind, but getting kicked off by a sky island wasn't it. And what was worse was that Aiden was still up there with Ivor, Reuben, and Jesse--

Jesse. Had he seen her get kicked over the edge? Was Aiden going to throw him off too or force him to live under tyranical rule? Did he know she was going to die?

All these thoughts passed through Petra's mind in only a few seconds. After a few moments of simply falling with nothing above and nothing below, their screams stopped. Then the Founder shot her a glare. "This is all your fault! Thanks to you, we get to see what really happens when you fall off the islands."

"Excuse me, this is my fault?!" Petra shouted back. "For the love of the creator, who cares now?"

"I care! My entire City is DOOMED thanks to you! I can't decide if I want our death to be painless, for my sake, or excruciating for yours!"

Petra, however, wasn't listening anymore because she happened to glance down. "Holy crap, is that land?!"

They fell through another layer of clouds and the terrain below became crystal clear. "Impossible...That's impossible!" The Founder exclaimed. "Petra?"

She pointed. "We need to aim for that water!"

"Can we get to it in time?"

"We have to! It's our only shot!"

They seemed to be picking up speed as Petra flailed her arms to make sure she hit the water and not the land. Never had she free-fallen from such a height, not even when she had been thrown from the Witherstorm, and she just knew this impact was gonna hurt. 

She was right as the two hit the water with a massive splash, the impact shifting her armor and stinging the exposed skin of her face. She drifted in the water a moment, stunned, before pushing up, the Founder popping up behind her. "You okay?"

"I think so."

The two hauled themselves out of the lake, water pouring off them. Just when Petra was starting to worry, her eyes landed on a familiar blond. "Lukas!"

"Petra!" He stood by a tree, clutching his arm. "Holy crap, you're down here too?!"

"Yeah. Oh, I'm so glad you made it."

"Yep! Only a little worse for the wear. Gotta say...Aiden's tougher than I remember."

"Gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't try to help you. Between the Founder and everything else going on, I didn't have enough time to make a move."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Aiden was just stronger than I remember. You did the right thing, trying to save the Founder," Lukas paused. "Speaking of whom...is she okay? She's just sort of...staring. I hope she's not in shock or something."

Petra raised an eyebrow, turning to the woman. "Hey, are you good?"

"I just...I can't believe it," she turned in a slow circle. "This has been down here the whole time? I forbade anyone from trying to look for land below us. It was too dangerous, a lost cause."

"It's crazy what you can find in unusual circumstances," Petra grinned. "This is going to change everything for you guys, isn't it?"

"Yes..."

Lukas let out a whistle. "Look at this place. Totally untouched biomes all around us."

"Yes..." The Founder adjusted one of her sleeves. "It's all a little...overwhelming. What...what do I do now?"

"Well, how about you start off with a few deep breaths?" Lukas suggested. "Seeing all this after you've been crammed on a tiny island...that would be overwhelming for anybody. Relax a minute, since getting back up to Sky City is bound to be pretty exhausting."

"Getting back up. My word, you're right, we need to do that. I...I hadn't even thought that far ahead yet."

A loud thump suddenly sounded behind them, and Petra spun around just in time to see a zombie die. More flaming mobs began to rain down from the sky, forcing her to drag the Founder back. "Founder, look out!"

"What is going on up there?!"

"Aiden...Aiden's in over his head, I just know it."

Lukas cursed. "I can't believe Aiden would be so stupid!"

"I can't leave my subjects in whatever trouble they're in!" The Founder exclaimed. "Petra...Will you please help me get back to Sky City? Stop Aiden?"

"I get to put Aiden in his place? You know I'm in," Petra turned, scanning the surroundings. "And I know just how we'll get up there."

π

Ghasts floated over the city, their shrill cries piercing the air. Despite the rain pouring from the skies, fires raged and buildings crumbled. The Founder fell to her knees, gasping, "What have they done?"

The terrified screams were drowned out every so often by claps of thunder, lightning giving a horrific glow to the chaos. A nearby guard was nearly overwhelmed by zombies, crying for help, and Petra immediately drew her sword. The Founder, however, cut through the zombies in a heartbeat, dual swords flashing.

Petra couldn't help a slight grin. "Impressive."

The Founder nodded before turning to the guard. "What is happening here?"

"The city is under attack by monsters, ma'am!" The guard announced, managing a salute. "They seem to be coming from inside the palace itself!"

As if to prove his point, a new Ghast emerged from the gaping hole in the palace roof. And standing on the palace steps was the Blaze Rods, Petra pointing to them. "Aiden's out of control. Come on, we need to stop him."

"I'm sorry, Petra, but I need to save my people," the Founder nervously spun her swords in her hands. "You need to find your friends. Stop Aiden."

Petra nodded. "Hey, don't die out here, okay?"

"Same to you."

Another nod and the two women split up, the Founder disappearing into the fray while Petra started for the palace. 

"Petra! Thank the stars you're alive!" The voice of Milo made her stop. "Please! Can you help us?"

He was crouched behind a wall with a few other people, two skeletons approaching on their position. Petra, being the person she was, made quick work of them, encouraging Milo to come out and help with a spider jockey. "You're surprisingly good with a sword, Milo!"

"Thank you, I have practiced," he joined her, peeking around a wall. "But with all seriousness, how are you alive? I saw you go over the edge...both of you!"

"Okay, basically there's no Void below these islands. There's land--a lot of it."

"You speak truthfully, my friend?" Milo's blue eyes were unbelievably wide as she nodded. "This is...this is amazing," a Ghast screamed somewhere overhead. "Well, I can't wait to hear all about it later!"

"Yeah, I gotta get into that palace!"

"Thank you, my friend. I'll see you on the other side. That's a promise."

They split up, Petra again making her way towards the palace, the rain continuing to drive down. As she got closer, she saw that Maya and Gill were throwing spawn eggs from their position at the top of the steps and at the bottom was Jesse trying to fight his way forward. He happened to glance over his shoulder, doing a double take. "Petra?! You're alive!"

A Ghast chose this moment to notice her, launching a fireball and forcing her to roll to the side. Three more floated up, spitting three balls of fire, their flames somehow defying the rain. Just as she realized she couldn't possibly hit them all at the same time, a body went flying through the air, slamming into her and depositing them into a Creeper-made hole.

The person was Ivor, who was on his feet again in a heartbeat, completely unfazed. "Aiden has taken over the palace...He's holed up in the throne room throwing those spawn eggs everywhere! No one can get inside!"

Petra stood. "There's got to be a way in there."

Ivor thought a moment, face lighting up. "I know! Petra, take one of these potions!"

"Is that a speed one? I'll take it."

The bottle was passed and she downed it, eyes widening slightly as everything around her seemed to slow down. Pushing through the weird sensation she dashed towards the steps, weaving around people and mobs. She gave Maya a good punch before heading to the throne room, the effects of the potion wearing off as she shoved the double doors open.

"You're delusional, Aiden!" The head of the guard was yelling. "The people of Sky City will NEVER bow to you! You killed the Founder!"

"Yeah? Well, you're gonna be next, Reginald, if you don't SCREW OFF."

Petra drew her sword, stepping into the dim light. "Can't you realize that you've already lost, Aiden?"

The man was sprawled on the throne, sitting up a bit with a look of horror on his face as he recognized her. "I saw you fall! You went down!"

Reginald spun around. "You're alive! Is the Founder with you? I heard--"

Aiden was suddenly on his feet, lobbing an egg at Reginald's head. The shell shattered, a Creeper spawning and exploding a mere second later. Petra immediately moved to help, but Aiden's voice made her pause. "Not one more step! I killed you once, I can do it again!"

"Oh yeah?" She readied her sword. "Bring it on!"

π

Aiden fell onto his back, his sword flying through the air and tumbling straight over the edge. His look of anger turned to one of panic, and as Petra advanced on him, he scrambled to his feet, hands in the air. "Wait, wait, wait, hang on. Hang on, I...I surrender, I surrender. We can still talk about this, right?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, why the sudden change in heart?"

"H-here! You want your flint and steel back, huh?" He took it out, dropping it at her feet. "Take it! It's yours!" He fell to his knees. "Just, please. Don't hurt me."

She grabbed the flint and steel, keeping her sword pointed at him the whole time. Reginald joined her, the Eversource in his arms. "You did it. Petra, we need to get out of here! What do you want to do with him?"

She looked back at Aiden, whose swampy green eyes were full of fear. "Please. This place is getting worse by the minute. You can't just leave me here. Take me with you."

"After everything you've done?" Reginald scoffed. "I'm not sure you deserve that kind of mercy."

"He doesn't." Petra sheathed her sword, roughly grabbing Aiden by the wrist and shoving him into the nearby water. The current quickly grabbed him, taking him over the edge, his screams quickly being swallowed by the storm.

Petra nodded to Reginald. "We need to go, now!"

He nodded back and they quickly ran out of the palace. The front of the city was now utterly destroyed, tons of water flowing down in a massive waterfall. Everywhere there was people crying, screaming, and fleeing, utter terror being all they knew. Not too unlike the Witherstorm and the memories made her blood pressure spike.

She was glad she sent Aiden over the edge.

"Petra!" Jesse's voice carried over to her, grabbing her attention. He and Ivor held the remaining Blaze Rods at swordpoint, while Reuben crouched by Jesse's feet, shaking like a leaf.

"Where's that punk Aiden?" Ivor asked. "I heard fighting."

Petra nodded. "We fought. And he fell down one of the waterfalls."

Jesse and Ivor exchanged scared looks while a nearby Ghast screamed. The Founder shot through the air, killing the Ghast and landing nearby. "Petra. Reginald, you have secured the Eversource?"

"Right here, ma'am!"

"Everyone, stay together!" Milo ran towards them, leading a group of citizens. "Petra, there you are!"

"Petra," the Founder helped a woman up off the ground. "This situation is getting out of hand. We simply can't stop the monsters AND protect my people. The longer we stay here, the more danger my people will be in!"

"The big waterfall!" Petra pointed to the mass of water rushing down. "Enough water should've amassed into the lake by now. It will get everyone down safely."

"Are you crazy?" A man exclaimed. "There's nothing but a void down there!"

Protests arose from the crowd as she yelled, "Look, I need you guys to trust me! If we stay up here, people are definitely going to die, but if we go down there, you'll live! Just follow my lead."

She walked up to the edge of the stone, dropping into the frigid water without hesitating. The current slowly began to pull her along, but to her dismay, no one was following. 

Then she saw a flash of silver and blue move through the crowd and Jesse dropped into the water after her, holding Reuben to his chest. She couldn't help but smile and he grinned back, clearly anxious despite trusting her words.

Milo stepped forward next. "Petra has done nothing but help us so far! I will show you just how much I believe in Petra's word!"

He dropped into the water, the Founder quickly following. Like a cork being removed from an upside-down bottle, the people rushed to jump in, the current pulling them towards the edge. Then they were falling, their yells echoing over the remains of Sky City.

π

The people were all spread out, marveling and exclaiming about their new surroundings. Petra was still watching the Blaze Rods being led away by the guards, not really paying attention to anything else until she felt a light tug on her damp hair. She turned to find Jesse messing with it, his hand dropping as soon as he realized she was looking. "Sorry. Just trying to reaffirm to my brain that you didn't die when you fell over the edge. That you're real and all that."

She smirked, taking his hand before leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Very real, you dork."

He smiled in that bashful way of his and Ivor gagged. "We are right here."

"ATTENTION!"

Everyone turned, looking up at the Founder who now stood on a raised patch of land. "Hello, hello. Everyone, please? This is your Founder speaking. Now that we're all safe, we need to organize. Start planning our new community."

"Are you listening to yourself? That's insane!" Milo pushed through the crowd, jumping up next to the Founder. "We were prisoners long enough on that island in the sky! It is time for us to run free! Build whatever we please!"

"Wow, these two just cannot get along," Jesse nudged Petra's shoulder. "Guess you better deal with it."

She stepped forward with a sigh, the Founder exclaiming, "Petra, I cannot allow my people to be influenced by this...naive idealist!"

Milo scoffed. "Bah! I'm sure I DO look like a naive idealist through the eyes of an oppressive dictator!"

Before the Founder could fire back, Petra raised her voice, "For Notch's sake, fighting won't solve any issues!"

Milo grinned. "It will if I win!"

"Of course you'd think that way," the Founder sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand. "You don't understand. It will be night soon and that is when the monsters come out! If we don't prepare, we'll be in danger!"

"You're just making excuses to control our behavior, just like before! We must trust in ourselves! Be able to learn from our mistakes! The people need to build!"

"Of course the people can build, but we need a system! Some rules! Rules aren't bad!"

Petra loudly clapped her hands together, bringing the argument to a halt. "Have you considered that it is very possible to do both? Take it from me. I used to live in a cave in the woods for the freedom it gave me, but I also had some rules for myself. You can't organize everything, because then you aren't really living, but you can't run around without a plan because that's how you end up dead.

"You need to find the right balance. The people can be free to experiment but you have to do it in a safe, logical manner."

Milo adjusted his hat. "I suppose I still have much to learn...thank you, Petra."

"I don't understand yet, but I trust you," the Founder hopped down. "Well, Petra, I suppose the era of Sky City is over."

"We may disagree about how to run this place," Milo added. "But I thank you for everything you've done."

The red-head nodded. "This is a chance to start over, do things right. Don't waste."

The two promised not to, walking away to help the people while the New Order of the Stone joined Petra. "You know something?" Lukas gestured in the direction of the Founder. "She was a little scary at first...But she's alright."

"It's gonna be interesting. I must say, I got used to having Milo around," Jesse sighed, looking down at Reuben. "Welp, I guess we should prepare too. Given we're stuck here without a portal. Been a while since we've had to start from scratch."

Ivor groaned. "Ugh. Just when I thought my days of punching trees were behind me."

"Actually," Petra grinned. "We'll be getting home just fine. The first time I was down here, I found the portal on accident!"

"And you didn't say anything?" Ivor exclaimed. "I was getting ready to punch trees over here!"

Jesse crossed his arms. "Yeah, I'm kinda agreeing with Ivor on this one."

"Did I not mention it either?" Lukas asked, rubbing his neck. "Could've sworn I said something."

Ivor shot him a glare. "No! You didn't!"

"Okay, between saving lives and appointing leaders, we didn't habe time to bring it up," Petra turned and started walking. "Come on, let's go!"

They didn't make it very far when the Eversource suddenly came tumbling into their path. The Founder quickly appeared as well. "Ah, there you are! So sorry about her. I think she took it pretty well when I told her she didn't have to be the Eversource anymore."

"Yeah. Hey, you could travel together, you know? See what there is to see, find new things?" Petra suggested.

"That's a very nice notion," the Founder looked at the chicken. "How'd you like to explore some of those...very tall, vertical rocks?"

"Those are called 'mountains', actually."

"Lovely. Oh, after so long being 'The Founder' and 'The Eversource', now we can just be 'Isa' and her best friend...'Benedict'."

Ivor rolled his eyes. "That's a boy's name."

"What a closed-minded attitude," Isa turned to Petra, offering Benedict's gold crown. "Petra? I would be honored if you would take this...As a small token of our gratitude."

"Heh, thank you."

"Mm-hm! Come along, Benedict. We have a lot of adventures ahead of us."

"Well, there goes the Eversource," Ivor crossed his arms. "Off to cluck and peck at seeds for the rest of its valuable life."

Jesse snorted. "I am so glad Reuben doesn't have any weird, magic-like abilities."

"I think your pig's personality is weird and magical enough."

Reuben snorted indignantly and Petra led them to the massive ravine she and Iss had dug. "See? Return portal."

"Excellent!" Ivor began to make his way down. "I just can't wait to put this world behind us..."

Petra laughed. "Aw, is someone being grumpy?"

"No! A little! I was just hoping for a real treasure is all...Livestock's no proper treasure!" The reached the bottom, Ivor stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Although I wonder what would happen if you put that tiny crown on another chicken..."

Jesse grinned. "We are SO testing that when we get home."

"Maybe we should try it on Reuben."

"Absolutely not."

Petra rolled her eyes, lighting the portal with a strike of the flint and steel. It was getting easier to use every time. "Just wait until Axel and Olivia hear about what they missed. They'll never believe--"

She trailed off as they emerged into what was on the other side of the portal. "--It."

"That's..." Jesse sucked in a breath. "Not what I was expecting."

Ahead of them stretched a seemingly endless hallway, an infinite mix of colorful glows illuminating endless portals. As they group stared at the new surroundings, only two words came to Petra's mind.

"Holy shit."

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song four, "Welcome to the Mad House" by Tones and I

π

The night was calm, a foggy mist settled low over the soggy ground. The moonlight illuminated the swamplands, bullfrogs croaking somewhere among the vine-covered trees while a lone bat, after a moment of contemplation, took off into the air.

This same bat collided with a face, getting dragged to the ground with the five new arrivals. Jesse flicked the creature away in annoyance while Petra wheezed, "Reuben, you are crushing my lungs."

The pig grunted apologetically, crawling off her while Jesse looked around. "Okay guys, I'm seeing grass, forests, lots of ground in all directions. All good signs so far..."

Ivor tapped the brunette on the shoulder, pointing up into the sky. Overhead shone two blue moons. Beautiful, Petra had to admit, but their moon was big and silver, with the key being there was only one of them. 

"Verdict says? Definitely not our world," she turned to Lukas with a grin. "You owe me two iron, Lukas. Pay up."

"Okay, okay, here!" The blond reached into his bag, passing two iron ingots to the red-head.

Ivor shook his head. "I told you it was a dumb bet."

Jesse snorted. "I thought you guys had been joking."

"Of course not," Petra clapped the blond on the shoulder. "Chin up, Lukas. whatever this world throws at us will be way better than what we just left."

"I hope you're right. I just...ugh, I'm just worried about Axel and Olivia."

"What? Why?"

Lukas leaned against a tombstone. "Well, if they followed us back to that Old Builder temple and went through the portal..."

"They would in arrive in Sky City...to a city overflowing with monsters." Ivor finished.

Petra pressed her lips together. "At least we already built them a bridge?"

"That IS more than we started with."

"Honestly, I don't think they followed us. With how much was going on back home, they'd be too busy to follow us. They'll be so jealous about what they missed when we get back though," Petra grinned. "So cheer up."

The group looked at each other, only Jesse taking her words to heart by offering a grin. Lukas and Reuben looked less than enthusiastic while Ivor's eyes flashed with the clear interest to hunt down new opportunities. "Well, I for one vote that we not be so hasty to try and get out of here. Who knows what sorts of treasures this new world holds? Besides, unless the next portal is disguised as a tombstone, I'm not seeing it anywhere near here."

The group spread out a bit, and just as Petra was scanning the horizon line, Jesse suddenly asked, "Do you guys see some sort of...shape over there?"

Petra was immediately at his side, trying to peer through the fog. "I can't figure out what it is, the mist is too thick. Lets approach with caution."

They moved forward, every muscle in Petra's body tense, like a bow string about to snap. Her excitement quickly dropped, however, when she saw what sat on the grave. "A book?"

When she made no move to grab it, Jesse reached around her and picked it up himself. "It says, 'Invitation'. And then 'Read immediately! Your life depends on it! Greetings, Traveller'--"

Right on cue, a loud groan made them spin around, a ridiculously large horde of zombies closing in on them. Lukas stared. "Yeah, that seems about right."

Petra drew her sword. "Keep reading, Jesse. The rest of us will cover you and Reuben."

He shot her a scared look but nodded, looking back down at the book. She turned and began slashing through the rotting bodies, his voice continuing, "'I humbly invite you to my mansion for an evening of food and festivity with your fellow adventurers'."

There was a grunt and an alarmed oink from Reuben. "That's...odd." Lukas noted.

"Yeah, I know, right? WOAH!" There was a loud whap and Petra turned to see a zombie stumble to the side, a book-shaped dent in its face. "Jesse! Toss it here!"

The book went flying over the zombies' heads, landing in her outstretched hand. She took a moment to clear away some of the mobs, causing Ivor to yell, "Petra! Any time now? You can read, right?"

"Hang on, hang on, need to find Jesse's place...Got it!" She ducked down a bit, letting Jesse reach over her and stab a zombie. "'Come to my house on the hill, just follow the path. Please look out for zombies. Sincerely, The Host'."

Lukas scoffed. "Nice warning."

Petra pointed. "There's the path! Quick, let's move!"

π

Petra's boot smashed through the window, shards of glass scattering on the ledge. Some pieces went a step further and fell down into the kitchen itself, breaking even more on the floor.

"Hope the Host doesn't mind us breaking their window..." Jesse murmured, clutching Reuben as he watched Petra shake off her boot.

She glanced back at the masses of zombies below them. "I'm sure he'll find it in his heart to forgive us. Watch out for glass when you drop down," she peered in. "You'll probably have to land right about...there."

She went down first to demonstrate, Lukas muttering, "How does she do that?"

Jesse grinned admiringly. "It's Petra."

Ivor, out of patience, pushed past them and dropped down into the kitchen. Lukas rolled his eyes before following, Jesse coming up to the edge. "Petra, Reuben--"

"Yeah, I got him," Petra moved forward, stretching her arms out. "Drop him down."

A startled oink came from the pig and a moment later, he landed in Petra's arms. She grunted, stumbling back from the impact while Jesse dropped down. "Were you always this heavy, Reuben?"

"Why do you think my arms have always looked the way they do?" Jesse pointed out. "I was always carrying him up and down ladders."

Reuben oinked indignantly, pushing out of Petra's arms and walking away. Jesse frowned. "Oh, Reuben, we're not saying you're fat."

While he followed after the pig, Petra looked around the kitchen. It was for sure the most impressive one she'd ever been in, with a whole wall of just furnaces, all fired up and cooking away. A single door led out of the space and just as she approached it, muffled voices made her freeze. "...I don't care if you took it...Just give it back."

"And I'm telling you for the last time, Sparklez, I didn't take the stupid thing!"

The group exchanged glances and a second later, the door swung open, the owner of the first voice leading the way in. "I think we could avoid a lot of unpleasantness if--"

He cut off with a startled yelp, the owner of the second voice pushing into the room. "WHAT THE-?!"

Petra took a step back. "Uhm, hey."

"Oh, ha ha ha, very, very funny. Show up super later, make us all wonder what the heck is going on..." The second man paused. "This is your house, right?" He plowed on before Petra could even open her mouth. "Cuz if it is, we've all been waiting for, like, hours. It's rude!"

The first man spoke up. "No easy, TorqueDawg."

Petra's eyebrows knit together. What sort of name was 'TorqueDawg'? "If you'd chill out a second, big guy," she reached into her pouch. "We got an invite too. I take it you don't know what's going on here either?"

TorqueDawg's eyes widened and the other man sighed. "Damn. Sorry for the language."

Jesse snorted. "That's language?"

Petra elbowed him in the ribs and the man continued. "Yes? Look, that wasn't about you getting an invitation. Just that I was hoping YOU could explain things."

Petra nodded. "Fair assumption."

"Yeah. Uh, this is TorqueDawg..."

TorqueDawg crossed his burly arms. "Sup."

"...And I'm Captain Sparklez. Though maybe you know that already," Sparklez raised an eyebrow. "'Captain Sparklez'? I've got, like, nine million fans?"

"Sorry if this is forward but," Petra put her hands on her hips. "Those are your real names?"

Sparklez didn't seem to know how to respond. "...Yes?"

"Okay. Weird."

Jesse stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder. "ANYWAY, this is Petra, Lukas, Ivor, and Reuben. And I'm Jesse."

"'Jesse'?" TorqueDawg snorted. "That's a girl's name. Let me guess--the pig belongs to you, doesn't it?"

Jesse ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Uhm, yeah."

"Pft. What are you guys anyway? Some sort of Loser Patrol?"

Sparklez sighed. "TorqueDawg..."

"Aw come on, that was hilarious."

Petra raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you would know all about Loser Patrols, wouldn't you? First hand experience?"

"You're fronting right now? Is that what's going on? What've you got, like 12 fans?"

"TorqueDawg, cool it!" Sparklez insisted, nervously adjusting his glasses. "That sea of zombies has us all trapped, so we just need to try our best to get along."

"Worst. Day. Ever."

"Just try and look on the bright side!"

Petra frowned at TorqueDawg. "Are the other guests as rude as you?"

The man crossed his arms again. "Watch yourself, lady. And I tell you what, the minute all them weird zombies are gone, TorqueDawg is out of here!"

He pushed past Petra, who shot him a glare before saying, "Okay, so the zombie sea isn't normal. Good to hear."

"Two moons is normal though, right?" Jesse asked.

"Uhm...The moons?" Sparklez again adjusted his glasses. "Yeah."

"Why don't you know about this stuff?" TorqueDawg suddenly asked. "You from like, out of town or something?"

The room suddenly went pitch black, every single light source going completely dark. Something suddenly began whizzing through the air, pained cries coming from what sounded like TorqueDawg. Petra felt Jesse grab her arm with a yell while everyone started talking at once.

"What's going on?"

"Something touched my foot! Who touched my foot?"

"But what's up with the lights?"

Reuben was letting out one long, high-pitched squeal as Petra exclaimed, "We need to try and find cover!"

The lights suddenly snapped back on, gasps of horror coming from everyone. On the floor lay TorqueDawg, several arrows sticking out of him, oozing some sort of green substance. He weakly reached for Jesse, who was still clinging to Petra's arm. "Hey, Jesse. Jesse, come here."

With a nervous look at Petra, Jesse let go of her, slowly crossing the space between them and the dying man. He carefully knelt down, taking TorqueDawg's hand. "You've...got...a girl's name..."

With these final words, TorqueDawg's head fell back. He disappeared a second later, Jesse exclaiming in alarm as inventory scattered on the ground.

Sparklez fell to his knees. "TorqueDawg?!"

Ivor stepped forward. "So I'm guessing calling dibs on his inventory would be..."

Petra immediately shoved him back. "How could you even say that?!"

Jesse continued to stare at the pile, suddenly muttering. "'Jesse' isn't just a girl's name."

Sparklez took this opportunity to start panicking. "All those arrows! His inventory...everywhere! How did that?! Who?! One minute he's alive, the next--gone! Poof!"

Petra grabbed the man by the shoulders. "Sparklez, I know you're freaking out, but you've got to get a grip. Freak out on the inside."

"Okay, okay, you're right. Woo. You're right."

She rolled her eyes, freezing as her gaze landed on a silvery face-like structure in the ceiling. A dispenser. "Everyone get back."

She grabbed one of the arrows before stepping back as well. "Ivor, you know about potions and enchantments, right? What can you tell me about this?"

He took the arrow, bringing up to his face and breathing in deep. "Smells like...yes! Potion of Poison?"

"Oh, is it a tipped arrow?" Sparklez asked. "Oh, I've heard about those. They're still pretty new. Nasty stuff."

"Using potions to make arrows," Ivor waved the arrow around, causing everyone to take a step back. "The possibilities are fascinating."

"Stop winging that thing around, Ivor," Petra turned to Sparklez. "You know about these 'tipped arrows'? Anything else you want to share with the class?"

"You're not implying what I think you're implying, are you? Because I had nothing to do with this! Nothing!" He sighed. "Could've sworn I saw someone doing a tutorial on how to make these not long ago. But my nerves are too shot to remember who right now."

Ivor offered the arrow back to Petra and as she took it, he raised an eyebrow. She nodded the tiniest bit, carefully sticking the arrow into her pouch before she turned to Sparklez, to say in an almost sarcastic drawl, "Let me know if it comes back to you."

Sparklez nodded nervously, pausing as a female voice suddenly came through the door. "Hello? Everything okay in here?" The door swung open, a pink-haired woman entering. "Woah! What's with the crowd?"

"I, uh..." Sparklez made his way past her. "I was just about to get everyone together to tell them at once."

"Okay?" The woman raised an eyebrow, looking at the gang. "Hang on a minute. It's you. I recognize you!"

They exchanged glances, Petra shaking her head. "Sorry to burst your bubble here, but we have never been here before. There's no way you recognize us."

The lady gestured. "I'll show you. Follow me."

After more nervous glances, the group began to follow the stranger out of the kitchen into a hallway. Jesse slid up close to Petra, whispering, "I don't like it, Petra. I don't like it at all."

"Me even less than you."

They approached an archway, a woman with glasses and vibrant red hair turning to them. "Lizzie, hi. Have you seen the new--oh. You've got them with you."

Before Petra could question the strange behavior, her gaze landed on the walls. "What the heck?"

Lining the walls of the living-room-type space was full-body portraits. The whole gang was there; Lukas, Ivor, Jesse with Reuben, her. The details were startling, from the exact design of her armor to the way her hair liked to sit on her shoulders to the little scar on her jawline.

"Well first it was the portraits of the people already here, then..." The red-haired woman explained. "Poof! You guys."

"They're absolutely exquisite! Perfect!" Ivor paused. "Although my nose looks a little crooked. Is it actually crooked?"

Petra chuckled a bit. "Yeah. I think that's from when I punched you way back in the Nether."

"Oh." Ivor subconsciously reached up and felt along the bridge of his nose. "Right."

"I gotta admit," Jesse stared up at his painting, Reuben crouched at his feet. "This is ridiculously creepy!"

"I know, right? At first I was like, 'Oh, cool, fanart. Flattering'," the red-haired woman shifted nervously. "But the more I thought about it...'creepy' is definitely right."

Petra scanned the other portraits, freezing as her eyes landed on TorqueDawg's. "That's not good."

A massive red X was slashed across the painting.

π

"Everyone? Everyone?" Sparklez sat down at the head of the table, looking around at the assorted group of people. "Whoever killed TorqueDawg, whoever invited us...They're after the enchanted flint and steel--!"

As if saying it out loud was a jinx, Sparklez's chair was suddenly hit by a piston, tossing him backward into a newly formed pit in the ground. A mass of sand fell from the ceiling and Petra gasped in horror, knowing that Sparklez was about to die a very painful death. 

Before she could move to help, the lights went black and Stampy started screaming. "Panicpanicpanicpanic--"

"What just happened?!"

"Panicpanicpanicpanic--"

"Stampy! Pull yourself together!"

"Panicpanicpanicpanic--"

"Poor Sparklez!"

Reuben decided to add to Stampy's panic attack with horrified squealing.

"Petra?!"

"Don't move, Jesse!" Petra blindly waved a hand. "Does anyone know where the lights are?"

Dim blue lighting suddenly filled the space and the first thing she noticed was that the painting on the back wall had been changed...to a darkly-dressed figure with a white pumpkin for a head.

"Greetings, 'Adventurers'," a creepy, distorted voice radiated through the room. "I...AM THE WHITE PUMPKIN!"

Sparklez's inventory suddenly appeared on top of the sand, letting everyone see it before it was sucked below. As the hole in the floor was resealed, the voice continued, "One of you has the treasure I desire and I will not rest until it is mine! Even if I have to resort to..." The lights went out again. "MURDER."

Lightning flashed outside, lighting up the room just enough to illuminate a figure standing where the painting had been. Darkly-dressed and a white pumpkin for a head--

Stampy immediately freaked out again. "More panicking! More panicking, more panicking--"

"White Pumpkin?!"

"I'm too cute to die!"

Petra would've rolled her eyes at that if she wasn't kind of scared herself. The lights flickered a few times and when they came back on steady, the figure was gone. The fear in the guest, however, was still very much there.

"They killed Sparklez!" Dan yelled. "They killed Sparklez!"

Stanpy began garbbling nonsense, running around the room in terror. Lukas tried to stop him. "Woah! Hang on, hang on!"

"Who even wad that guy?" Cassie Rose asked.

"And there's no such thing as white pumpkins!" Dan exclaimed.

"Tell that to all the white pumpkins hanging all over the place!" Stampy yelled back.

Petra shook her head, forcing herself to stay calm. "That guy...I saw that guy in the window when we first got here!"

"So he's been in here the whole time?!" Cassie scrambled to her feet. "I'm out of here!"

She pushed past Stacy, bolting for the dining room doors and ripping them open. Her cat Winslow ran after her and Petra couldn't help but sigh. "So much for a nice dinner party."

A scream from Cassie made Petra's head snap up and she glanced at Jesse before running after the woman. Cassie stood at the front doors, which were now open, completely frozen in fear with Winslow hissing defensively by her feet. Zombies were approaching and Petra dashed forward, hitting the lever with more force than needed. "Don't leave the door open!"

The iron panels slammed shut, sealing off the sea of zombies outside. Cassie, after a moment, carefully picked up her cat. "So we're stuck in here. And if we're stuck in here...We're all doomed!"

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song five, "Killer" by The Ready Set

π

Everyone stared at Petra as she evaluated the faces. "The White Pumpkin...they sat at this table...and they pushed the button."

"Wait! So you're saying that the White Pumpkin..." Stampy looked over his shoulder at the people behind him. "Is one of us?!"

Petra nodded. "One of us...is a murderer."

Lightning suddenly flashed outside, making everyone tense. Everyone except for Ivor, who was busy studying the table. "And he sat right...here!"

Lukas frowned. "Wait, but that's not where Petra found the button before."

She paused. "Is there more than one?"

"I'll see if I can find all of them."

Lukas began to walk around the table, sticking arrows in the wood wherever he found a button. Jesse, meanwhile, clapped a hand on Petra's shoulder. "Good job figuring that out."

"Yes," Ivor agreed. "I must say, I'm relieved to know that there's a logical explanation for what the White Pumpkin's been doing."

"Yeah, well," Petra replied. "What now?"

"We find the most likely suspects and interrogate them," Jesse leaned against her slightly, grinning. "I'm sure you'll have no problems getting information out of them."

"Okay, I know I'm scary, but I'm not THAT terrifying."

"These people are already worked up. If we thought you were 'THAT scary', I doubt we'd have you interrogate."

"Although you might freak Stampy out that much regardless." Ivor added.

Petra rolled her eyes. "Anyway, judging by the tipped arrows and these traps, the White Pumpkin has serious brewing and Redstone skills."

Lukas tapped Petra on the shoulder. "I think that's all of them."

"Sweet. Everybody, listen up: I want you all to go to the same seat you were at before."

Jesse snorted as he went to his seat. "Prove our point."

She shot him a glare before looking around at the table. "An arrow means you had a button at your seat. So the White Pumpkin is either Dan, Stampy, Lizzie, or Lukas."

"Wait, are you accusing us?" Lizzie exclaimed.

"Just calm down--"

"'Calm'?" Stampy scoffed. "Listen to you, talking about 'calm'!"

Petra slammed a hand on the table, making some people jump. "I intend to get to the bottom of this! I am not accusing anyone of anything yet, but I don't recommend you do anything to give me reason to. All the people with buttons are suspects and I will be talking to each one separately to learn the truth."

She began a slow pace, looking at the group of suspects. "I have questions and you will all give me answers. By the way? I highly recommend that you don't lie to me. Is that clear?"

Stacy saluted. "Loud and clear."

Stampy crossed his arms. "Yes. Crystal clear."

Jesse walked over to Petra, eyeing the suspects. "Who's first?"

"Dan."

Dan startled, Jesse grabbing the man's arms. "Come along. Saw a nice little library off to the side that we can interrogate you in."

Petra led them out, Reuben deciding to tag along, and halfway there she heard Dan whisper, "You're not going to hurt me, right?"

"Me? Oh I won't. But if you don't tell the truth, Petra might have to rough you up a little."

Dan squeaked and as Petra pulled the doors to the library open, she couldn't help but glance back at Jesse. He winked and under different circumstances she would've smiled. She rolled her eyes instead. 

A fire crackled away in another large fireplace, Jesse releasing Dan's arm and shutting the doors behind them. Petra wordlessly strolled forward. Dan, clearly unable to take the silence, hurried after her. "I'm telling you, you've got the wrong guy. Honest. I would never hurt anyone, you've got to believe me."

She raised an eyebrow and he continued. "If anyone's been wronged here, it's me. That enchanted flint and steel everyone's talking about? I found it! It was mine! Least it was before someone stole it."

"Clearly this flint and steel means a lot to you."

"You don't get it. Lizzie and I have been chasing each other to get that thing for years. And now people are dying because of it! I just want you to know the truth," There was a long moment of silence. "I'm NOT the White Pumpkin. You've gotta believe me. What can I tell you to convince you?"

She reached into her pouch, pulling out the tipped arrow. "Ever seen one of these before?"

"Woah, weird. Never seen that before."

"Really? Never heard of a 'tipped arrow' before? Made with potions?"

"Nuh-uh. But if you wanna know about stuff with potions, I'd ask Lizzie. She's way better with the stuff than I am. I always go to her with questions."

"Right. You say the flint and steel was stolen from you. Who stole it?"

"Lizzie, obviously. She was jealous. Never got over the fact that I found it first."

Hm. Gotta admit, that sounds a bit like how Aiden was. The jealousy over the flint and steel was enough to drive him to kill. Petra nodded. "Tell me about your Redstone skills."

"Woo, not much? If you really wanna know more about that stuff, you should ask Stampy. He was the Tri-Block Champion."

"Tri-Block Champion?"

Dan nodded so vigorously that she worried his head would fall off. "Yes! For three years in a row."

"Huh. That's a pretty good record," She raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome to leave now, Dan."

"Oh, thank you." Dan left, clearly trying to walk slowly but failing miserably.

Jesse, who had been leaning against the wall by the fireplace, crossed the space. "Who should I get next?"

"You can bring in Lizzie. But you don't gotta freak her out like you did with Dan."

"Aww, alright," he made his way to the doors. "But I like reminding people how badass you are."

"Jesse, people are getting murdered."

"Even more reason to be all tough."

He disappeared through the doors and Petra looked down at Reuben, who was simply chilling by one of the couches. "Can you believe this guy?"

Reuben simply looked at her. "Okay, yes, I am aware that he's my boyfriend and I made the conscious decision to date him. But still...my heart picked him without checking my brain first."

Reuben snorted. "And what's that supposed to mean? Did you really think I'd date him if I didn't love him? Geez, Reuben."

The doors opened again, the subject of the previous conversation coming in with Lizzie in tow. She shot him a glare before approaching Petra. "Petra, listen. There's been a lot of talk being thrown around lately. I don't know what people have told you or what you believe, but I'll just admit it: I want that enchanted flint and steel as much as anyone."

Petra silently watched the woman, Lizzie tapping a finger to her chin. "Probably more than of them. I've been searching for it for YEARS. Do you know how much it stung to have Dan, Dan, swoop in and take it from right under my nose?"

Petra leaned forward slightly, asking, "Yeah, but did you want it so badly you'd kill for it?"

There was a long, weighted moment of silence as Lizzie seemed to debate that question. "Nah, I wouldn't do that. Starting to get real irritated with this White Pumpkin fella, though. I just want to get out of here and get on with my day."

"Well then, let me ask--who do you think stole the flint and steel?"

"Well it wasn't me, if you're curious--If I had it, I'd be off exploring some other world. I wouldn't put it past Stampy, though. He'd love the chance to explore other worlds."

So they also know how the flint and steel works...interesting. "How do you work with Redstone? Ever make any traps?"

"I'm fine, I guess. I can make lights and doors and stuff. You wanna advanced stuff, you gotta ask Stampy. He was the Tri-Block Champion."

Petra nodded, silently thinking about how Stampy appeared to be the 'Olivia' of this world. "So I've been told. Do you know what this is?"

She carefully pulled out the arrow and Lizzie nodded. "Tipped arrow. Kinda shoddy work though. Definitely not one of mine, if that's what you're wondering. Some noob made that thing. Stampy once asked me about how to make these--Could be one of his. I also taught Cassie and Stacy how to make those a while back."

"I see," Petra crossed her arms. "You can go now, Lizzie."

The woman nodded, shooting Jesse another look before leaving the room. The brunette sighed. "She keeps giving me those looks."

"What did you say to her?"

"Practically nothing. And nothing deserving of death glares. Should I go get Stampy?"

"Yeah, please do."

It didn't take Jesse very long to return this time, the orange sweater-wearing man with him. Where the others had walked, Stampy practically ran up to Petra. "Petra, I'm telling you, this is just crazy! Absolutely crazy! Total misunderstanding."

She silently pointed to a chair and Stampy continued as he sat down. "I don't even want that flint and steel thingy! Not, uhm, not as much as the others at any rate. Did I hear someone say it does something to portals? I have no interest in portals, no sir, not for ol' Mister Stampy, thank you."

"I must say, you seem awful nervous 'Mister Stampy'," Petra stepped forward, getting in his personal space as she loomed over him. "Are you comfortable?"

"Uhm, what? No, I'm not nervous," He shifted in his seat, almost breaking into a sweat. "Nope. Totally comfortable. I could fall asleep right here, right now. I'm that comfortable. Honest."

She arched an eyebrow and after a long moment, he stuttered, "Please. Please get out of my face and tell me what you want to know."

She took a large step back, deciding to lead with the tipped arrows. "Know anything about this?"

"Oh wow, what is that? Some sort of magic arrow? Never seen one of those before, honest. You know who would love something like that, though? Lizzie. She's way better with that stuff than I am."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah! So good she could probably teach a class!"

Petra bit her tongue, putting the arrow away. "I see. What's your skill with Redstone?"

"Well, you know. About average...average level? I dunno how these things are graded these days."

"Really? I was told you know a lot about Redstone. Something about a 'Tri-Block Champion'?"

"Okay, okay, okay, fine. You caught me. I know about Redstone. I'm technically an 'expert'...But I would never KILL anyone, I SWEAR. You have to believe me."

"I HAVE to believe you? You just lied to my face," Petra crossed her arms. "I've had enough. Who do you think stole the flint and steel?"

Stampy was silent for a long moment. "Actually, I don't think it was ever stolen."

"Do elaborate."

"So Dan got to it ahead of Lizzie, right? And she was pretty angry about it. I think he made up that story about it being stolen so she'd think he didn't have it anymore."

Petra had to admit, she was a bit surprised. Constructing a lie like that...it was actually kind of genius. She thought she had narrowed down a suspect, but now...now she wasn't so sure. "You can go."

"Oh, thank goodness," Stampy practically ran for the door. "This room is making me incredibly nervous."

As the doors closed behind him, Jesse let out a snort. "He's one nervous guy."

"Reminds me of what you were like at times back when I first met you."

"Excuse me? I was never that bad."

The doors swung open again, Cassie Rose leading a protesting Lukas into the room. "Oh come on, this is nuts."

"You had a button too. Fair's fair," Cassie turned to Petra. "It's your buddy's turn now."

The woman strolled out of the library and Petra couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Lukas."

"Hey, Petra."

"Come to point more fingers and blame more people?"

"'Fraid not. I didn't push the button, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

The blond sighed. "How's it going in here? Cause it's nonstop whispering and rumors out there."

"Ugh, these people are so wrapped up in drama. Rivalries, chaos, lies--It's hard to figure out what has to do with the White Pumpkin and what doesn't."

"Damn. Well, I know you'll figure it out."

"Thanks, Lukas," she nudged his arm and then looked over at Jesse. "You guys ready to do this?"

Nods were exchanged and Reuben got to his feet, joining the trio as they made their way to the door. Petra pushed the doors open and they had barely stepped out before the people surged forward, Stacy asking, "So? Have you decided?"

"Who do you think the White Pumpkin really is?" Stampy added.

"Everyone, just calm down a minute," Petra held up her hand for quiet. "Thanks for answering my questions. I don't have enough evidence to know for sure..."

"But where are your suspicions leaning, Petra?" Ivor asked.

Accusations began to fly through the air and after a minute of weighing the testimonies in her head, Petra exclaimed, "I'm not accusing anyone yet. I need to be more sure and frankly, I'm not."

Cassie raised an eyebrow. "What a bold stance to take, Petra."

"Well, I for one, am not comfortable being surrounded by possible killers," Dan quickly started walking towards the library. "So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to barricade myself in the library for my own safety."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Fine. Suit yourself."

"Yeah, I'm more in the 'safety in numbers' camp myself." Stampy announced.

Soon, only the Order memebers were left in the room, Ivor raising an eyebrow. "Well. That was certainly exciting."

"Yeah, no kidding." Lukas agreed.

Petra shook her head. "If the White Pumpkin is still roaming around though...They might be trying to set up more traps. We need to figure out how these things work. Like, we know the Sparklez trap was triggered by those buttons under the table--but what about the trap that turned TorqueDawg into a pincushion?"

"It must've been triggered by something nearby," Jesse realized. "Which means we should find something like the buttons at the table."

Petra snapped her fingers. "Yes, that's it!"

"Well then," Ivor grinned. "I guess it's time we go investigate that kitchen!"

π

Petra tackled the figure to the ground with a yell, a pained yelp coming from person. The slashed mask rolled off the figure's head, revealing--"Lukas?!"

"Ugh, hey."

She quickly scrambled off of him, staring. He slowly got up himself, carefully picking up the White Pumpkin's mask. "Give me a moment. I'm trying to figure this one out myself."

"I don't understand, what happened? Weren't you chasing the White Pumpkin?"

"Uh, yeah, I was," Lukas glared at the white gourd in his hands. "And I almost had him until, y'know, he took me by surprise and stuffed his pumpkin on my head."

Footsteps came thundering into the room, Stampy gasping and pointing, "You caught the White Pumpkin! Grab him, quick!"

Cassie strode forward. "Get out of the way, Petra."

"Yeah, it's all out in the open now," Stacy agreed. "You can't defend your friend anymore."

"Now just hold your horses," Petra yanked the mask out of Lukas' hands. "Lukas was framed. I know one of YOU is still the White Pumpkin."

Cassie crossed her arms. "Bold words."

"It's the facts, Petra," Stampy exclaimed. "Lukas was at one of the buttons. And these...horrible things only started happening when YOUR group arrived..." His face fell. "And now Lizzie is gone too."

Petra's eyes flickered over to Jesse, who just shook his head. Cassie, meanwhile, strode over to the nearby window. "I say we throw him outside and let nature take it's course."

Stacy's mouth dropped open. "What? Outside outside?"

"Where all those googlies are?!" Stampy yelped.

Dan finally spoke up. "Yeah, uh, I don't know. I still have my suspicions about Lukas...But Petra did save me. I don't feel right about chucking your friend to the zombies."

Petra smiled and mouthed 'thank you' while Cassie scoffed. "Fine. But don't go celebrating just yet--We still have got to do something with you so you're not roaming around freely."

Lukas chuckled a bit. "What, like lock me up in a closet or something?"

Stampy rushed forward. "There was a closet in the main hall! With a lovely metal door! Seems like the perfect place to lock someone up."

"Uh, wait, I was mostly joking."

Petra shot him a look. "Just couldn't keep your mouth shut."

"Shut up, Petra."

"I guess the closet's fair," Cassie crossed the space, stopping only a few steps away from Lukas. "But I'm keeping watch because I still don't trust him."

Petra glared. "Yeah? Well I don't trust you."

Cassie glared back, and Ivor stepped in. "Don't worry, Petra. I'll watch over Lukas. Come on, Cassie."

Cassie glared again, shooting Petra another look before following. As they left, Ivor announced, "But don't go getting any ideas, blond guy. This isn't because I like you or anything."

"No, of course not."

"Be quiet!" Cassie snapped. "Prisoners aren't supposed to talk."

Winslow followed after her, pausing to hiss at Reuben before disappearing through the doorway. The pig glared after the cat, sitting down with a huff. Petra glanced at him before looking over at Jesse. "And it's you and me again."

"Keeps coming back to that, I notice," Jesse rubbed his neck. "I would make a joke but I'm really worried about Lukas."

"Yeah, we've got to clear his name. The answer is somewhere in this room, I just know it."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's split up. We'll get to the bottom of this."

She reached up and gave his hand a quick squeeze before they went to opposite ends of the room. They had to find this White Pumpkin fast.

Before anyone else was murdered.

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, it's song six, "Maneater" by Daryl Hall and John Oates

π

"Oh wow," Stampy peered into the newly-revealed passageway. "You got it open!"

Petra turned to the trio standing there. "Yeah. You guys should probably stay here--it could be dangerous."

Stacy rolled her eyes. "No, I totally want to follow you into your friend's creepy secret passageways."

"Argh, seriously?" Petra glared, feeling anger spark in her chest. "You really think LUKAS did it?"

"You haven't proven that he didn't yet."

"Technically true." Stampy agreed.

Before Petra could continue to argue, she felt Jesse tug on her arm. "Petra, let it go, okay? They're just scared."

She spared him a glance before looking at the trio. Jesse was right--various levels of terror sat on their faces, but her frustration was making it difficult to have any empathy at the moment. "Fine. But if she says something like that again--"

"Yeah, I really wouldn't want to be there for that," He grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and pulling her back. "Come on."

She shot the others a glare, letting Jesse lead her into the new room. The trio went back to sit down and Petra waited for Jesse to let go of her hand. He didn't, holding onto her firmly as they approached the large hole in the floor. "Wow, that is deep. Guess it leads down to...whatever the White Pumpkin calls home. I wonder how he gets down there..."

Petra growled. "Maybe in addition to walking through walls, he can FLY for all we know! Ugh!"

She yanked away from Jesse, crossing her arms and walking a few steps towards the wall. Then there was a long silence and she just knew he was giving her that worried look. Reuben snorted quizitively and she heard Jesse's armor shift, probably as he moved to pet the pig.

His patience made Petra crack. "It's just...I'm really worried about Lukas," She pointed back in the direction of the main room. "Those people think they're all safe, but the White Pumpkin is still running around and he could strike again at any minute! Not to mention all those people back there have been so ungrateful, so petty..."

"Take a deep breath."

"I'm sorry?"

"Just take a deep breath."

Her first instinct was to argue, but then she decided to just do what he said. He watched her intently, waiting a moment before crossing the space between them and putting his hands on her shoulders. "We'll stop the White Pumpkin before he hurts anyone else, so don't worry. We'll figure this out together."

"You...you're right," She slumped a bit. "I know you're right. God, this sucks," She shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry, Jesse. As the leader, I shouldn't be dumping this my frustration on others, but I just...really needed to get that off my chest."

"Woah, leader or not, you have the right to be stressed," He smiled a tiny bit. "Besides, we're a team. You might guide us through the chaos but you can rely on us, too, Petra. Don't forget that."

"Yeah...Heh, only you would be brave enough to approach me when I'm all worked up like this," She reached up and flicked his cheek before turning to the hole. "Alright, we gotta figure out how we're getting down there."

"Hey, don't you still have all those wood blocks?"

She pressed her lips together, pulling out a bunch of sticks instead. Jesse's green eyes went wide and she rubbed her neck. "Sorry. I was whittling earlier. Nervous habit."

He sputtered. "When were you doing that?"

"Any time I wasn't actively investigating something. I had to be doing something with my hands or my mind were spiral."

"Wow, I didn't even notice," She watched him pick up the stack. "This will work, however."

"Are you thinking ladder? We'll need a lot of them."

He nodded, suddenly grinning. "I'll race 'ya!"

She looked at the second crafting table, feeling her competitive side spark to life. "Oh, you're on."

They both began slapping sticks on the table. Petra had made hundreds of ladders over her life so far, and it only took a few seconds before she lifted one up. A mere second later, Jesse announced, "There--Oh. You're done yours already."

"Yup. Slowpoke," She couldn't help a chuckle. "Thanks. I needed that."

He beamed, clearly proud of himself for improving her mood. He then lifted his hand, spinning a stick on his fingers. "Ready to make more?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am."

They exchanged smiles before turning back to the crafting tables.

π

Petra gestured for Jesse to stay behind her, him nodding in response. Reuben hovered several steps away as Petra cautiously peeked around the corner of the passageway. She came face-to-face with a carved white pumpkin and with a gasp, her fist went flying through the air. An armor stand clattered to the ground, the pumpkin mask tumbling off onto the floor. Glances were exchanged before they moved forward.

Several white pumpkins were sprouting out of the strange growing structure to the left, another one of the white gourds partially carved on another armor stand. Petra eyed the whole setup. "It's just some sort of...growing station. Weird."

Jesse nodded, suddenly freezing. Footsteps echoed around the corner and Petra glanced over her shoulder, seeing a shadow approaching on the wall. "Jesse?"

"The White Pumpkin must've heard us!"

Swords were drawn and Petra felt every muscle in her body tense. A head appeared around the corner and while Jesse yelped in alarm, she hissed, "Stampy Cat?!"

"Boy, you gave me a fright!" The man nervously adjusted his orange hoodie. "What are you doing down here?"

"What are WE doing down here?" Jesse echoed. 

"Yes! It looks terribly suspicious, you know!"

Jesse shot Petra a disbelieving look and she lifted her sword. "Look sharp, Jesse. Appears we've caught the White Pumpkin in the act."

Stampy paled. "No! No, not me! That's not me! I was just curious!" He carefully stepped around their swords, moving to look at the growing station. "Come on, you guys! I can't be the White Pumpkin! I'm Stampy Cat! I'm no...murderer!"

Thunder rumbled somewhere above them and Stampy continued, "I needed to find you because I have something important to tell you!  I have something to confess. Something I haven't told anyone."

Petra glanced at Jesse, who shrugged. She then looked back at Stampy, who slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out something glowing green. He held it up for them to see better and it was--a flint and steel?!

Petra's eyes widened and Jesse audibly gasped. Stampy gripped the pieces so tightly, she couldn't help but worry he was going to cut his hands open. "I stole it from Dan and it was just supposed to be a joke, a harmless prank. But then, well, you've seen what happened! I knew people wanted it but I had no idea that-that-that THIS would happen!"

Petra raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You had the enchanted flint and steel. Honestly didn't see that one coming. Kind of suspicious."

"I know! That's why I had to keep it secret!" Stampy's posture tensed. "I may be a thief, but I'm no killer! But that White Pumpkin IS. And he's killing people for it! And now we're down in his lair! I was just...thinking maybe I should give it to the White Pumpkin."

"What?"

"Just...Maybe that would make it all stop, right? Maybe?"

Petra gave her head a firm shake. "That's a terrible idea.,v

"Not necessarily," Jesse interjected. "First we need to figure out who this 'White Pumpkin' really is, then we'll figure out what to do from there."

She sighed, unable to fault the logic. "He's right. And for crying aloud, Stampy, can you put that thing away?"

"Right! Sorry, sorry."

The trio made their way forward, coming up to a set of iron doors. "That looks like a 'lair door' if I ever saw one," She couldn't help her chuckle. "Look, Jesse, a lever. Your favorite."

"I assume you want me to flip it." The brunette strode forward and without hesitating, hit the lever.

π

Cassie Rose and Petra stared each other down for a long, weighted moment. Winslow hissed and Reuben, finally out of patience, went to run forward just to get picked up by Jesse. "Easy, Reuben."

"Are you going to tell them, Cassie?" Petra asked, crossing her arms. "Or should I do it?"

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about."

Ivor raised an eyebrow. "Is this going where I think this is going?"

Cassie turned to leave and Petra strode forward, roughly grabbing the woman by the arm. "You're not going anywhere, murderer!"

Cassie growled, elbowing Petra straight in the face so she could yanked her arm free. "Look at the facts. We caught Lukas with that pumpkin head right after poor Lizzie got taken out. I think you're just lying to protect him."

"Cassie's making a lot of sense right now," Dan admitted. "What evidence do you have to back you up?"

"I've got a key one," Petra crossed her arms, watching Cassie as she stood by the table with Winslow. "Down in the lair below us, we found lots of important tools the White Pumpkin has been using. The most interesting one was the portraits, already slashed with red X's, ready to be hung. One X'd portrait for everyone...Except Cassie."

Gasps went through the room and Petra lifted her hand. "And another thing. Cats. Dozens of calico cats, all looking exactly like Winslow."

Cassie stepped in front of her cat. "An amusing story, Petra. But if you saw all these supposed cats just like mine, then what color is Winslow? Shouldn't be a problem if you saw a hundred."

Petra scoffed. "Easy. Winslow is black, white, and orange."

"Cassie, is this all true?" Stacy asked.

"This mansion, all of this was a big scheme to get a portal key, wasn't it?" Petra accused. "Killing anyone who got in the way!"

Cassie scanned the room and when she seemed to realized she had no one on her side, she started a slow, sarcastic clap. "Wow. Very clever, Petra. Well! I guess that's it then. You've caught me. I am the murderer."

Petra shook her head and Jesse suddenly exclaimed, "What did any of us ever do to you?"

"Directly? Nothing. But you idiots had the one thing I most desperately needed," Cassie stared Petra down for a long moment before beginning to pace. "I've been stuck in this stupid world with its stupid two moons for years! Trapped with a portal right under my nose but no key to open it. That is...until I heard this world's portal key...had been found."

Cassie turned and surveyed the group. "I knew it was one of you. So I tried my best to earn your friendship. Figure out who had it."

"Cassie, how could you?" Dan exclaimed. "We shared cookies together! Cookies!"

Petra shook her head again, utterly disgusted. "Incredible."

"You're despicable!" Ivor announced.

"And he knows despicable." Lukas added.

Stacy crossed her arms. "We need to do something with you, 'Cassie Rose'."

"I vote we build an obsidian prison and surround it with lava!" Stampy exclaimed.

"No, no, no, I won't let.you do that!" Cassie began to panic. "I can't! No!" She pointed at Petra. "This is your fault! You did this to me!"

Cassie pulled out an enchanted axe, encouraging Petra to draw her sword. The whole group began to advance, forcing Cassie to back up. "I'll fight all of you! Each and every one of you! I'll--"

The floor suddenly gave way under her and she fell back with a panicked scream. A massive mound of sand fell on her and Stampy yelled, "Another trap! Come on! We need to dig her out!"

"After everyone she's hurt?" Stacy scoffed. "She can dig herself out."

"She did terrible things, but no body deserves this!" Dan shot back.

Petra said nothing, watching Stampy, Dan, and Lukas as they dug in the sand. It wasn't long before Stampy suddenly froze. "Wait, look!"

Cassie's inventory floated on top of the sand, everyone gathering around to look at it. Ivor let out a low whistle. "What a way to go."

Petra nodded. "Yeah. I guess in all the chaos...She forgot where her own traps were. Wow."

"The trapper taken out by her own traps," Jesse absently ran a hand through his hair. "That's ironic."

"If only she had asked us for help..." Stampy murmured. "We could have avoided the whole thing."

A beam of sunlight hit Petra square in the face, causing her to look up. "Hey. It's morning."

"I guess...I guess that's it then."

Stacy grinned. "Yeah, we're free!"

"And we're ALIVE!" Ivor stepped forward. "Let's not waste it standing around--There could still be traps EVERYWHERE in here!"

Everyone nodded, quickly making their way out of the room.

π

Petra stared down into the obsidian pit below. Dozens--no, hundreds of squeaking Ender-mites swarmed below, making her gasp. "That's a problem."

Reuben squealed, Jesse picking him up while Ivor shied away from the edge. "Now what?"

"And there it is, Petra!" A loud voice caused them all to look up. "You're trapped! Stuck!" Cassie stood above them on one of the various ledges overhead. "Just like I've been in this rotten world."

"I should've known you weren't actually dead," Petra crammed her neck to look up at the woman. "Can't we just go our separate ways already?"

"After everything you've done to me? No," Cassie grinned. "I don't know how much time you've spent with Ender-mites, but the poor things are terribly hungry. I would throw the flint and steel up here before I drop you down to find out how sharp their teeth are."

Petra felt herself pale, desperately patting her pouch. "Shit. I dropped the flint and steel when we fell. I have no clue where it is!"

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, Petra! What's it gonna be? The flint and steel or your LIVES? Just give me the flint and steel and I'll let you go free!"

"I don't believe her!" Ivor hissed.

"Okay, fine! We'll give you the flint and steel," Petra exclaimed. "But you gotta let us out first."

Cassie laughed a bit. "No, I'm not falling for that one. Nope, this is taking too long. I'll just let the Ender-mites eat you and then fish it out of your inventory."

She put the White Pumpkin mask on her head, her voice coming out distorted. "It'll be the best fishing trip ever. Winslow, my pet! Activate the trap!"

The cat sat next to the switch, unresponsive. Cassie marched over, flipping the switch herself. "Prepare for your DEATH!"

The platform split apart, taking Petra one way and the others the opposite one. Ivor immediately ran and started banging on the iron door, practically crying, while both Jesse and Reuben panicked. Petra ran and tried her handle, finding it obviously locked. "Stupid...fucking...door!"

"It's no use!" Ivor yelled. "Without a lever or a button we'll never get these iron doors open!"

"Do you have any, Jesse?" Lukas asked.

"Ugh, no, I used my last one in Sky City!"

Petra suddenly remembered the Ender Pearls she had found in the basement. "Hang on! I can get to the control panel!"

She aimed, throwing it as hard as she could. The Pearl bounced off the ledge once and she appeared a second later, barely grabbing the edge in time. Ignoring how her brain and body did not think they were in the same place, she hauled herself up, flipping the lever quick as she could.

"Uhm, it only started going faster!" Lukas yelled.

"She booby-trapped her booby-traps?!" Petra drew her sword. "Paranoid bitch..."

She hit the lever right off the mechanism, and as she ran to throw it down, she heard Cassie somewhere nearby. "What? You thought you could do it? Just like that? Trying to get leverage?"

Petra looked up in time to see Cassie dropping down, the red head barely rolling out of the way. Cassie's axe went swinging through the air, forcing Petra to dodge. "Give me the key, Petra!"

In response, Petra kicked her over the edge, watched Cassie throw an Ender Pearl and disappear in a flurry of sparks. Petra quickly ran to throw the lever, freezing when she saw the pathway was retracted. "No!"

"Petra?"

A flood of relief hit her system as he heard Jesse's voice. She looked to the left and found the others pressed against the wall, balanced precariously on the thin ledge. Jesse was making her nervous, given holding Reuben was making him wobbly, so she quickly held up the lever. "Here!"

Lukas stretched out his hand. "Toss it to me."

She carefully threw it down, it landing squarely in the blond's palm. "Get somewhere safe. I need to find that flint and steel before Cassie does."

She turned and jogged up one of the pathways, freezing when she found Cassie already standing there. "You're not a fast learner, are you?"

Petra jumped to a nearby platform, Cassie landing on another one with an Ender Pearl. "I grow tired of this game, Petra."

Petra scanned the room, eyes landing on a familiar blue glow. Cassie followed her gaze. "The key! You didn't have it either?! Well now..." She pulled out a Pearl. "It's mine!"

"Oh, hell no!" Petra pulled out her own Pearl. "We're going home!"

Both Pearls went flying through the air, Cassie's landing first and Petra landing right on top of her. Cassie let out a yell of frustration. "No! You can't do this! I've waited too long!"

"It's...mine, Cassie!" Petra yelled back. "I won't let.you have it!"

Before Cassie could respond, a familiar calico cat came up to the flint and steel. Then it began to poke at it. Cassie panicked. "No! No, no, Winslow. Don't touch that. Bad kitty! Stop it!"

Petra simply stared as Winslow, almost defiantly, knocked the flint and steel.over the edge.

π

The portal sparked to life, glowing a bright green. Everyone stood frozen a moment and when nothing bad happened, Petra relaxed. "Everything's good so far."

"Yeah...No fake floors or death arrows." Jesse agreed.

"Okay," Lukas crossed his arms. "But who's going first?"

"Well, I say we go together," Petra pocketed the flint and steel. "Given we're a team and all."

"Sounds good to me. On three?" Jesse suggested.

"On three. One...two...three!"

They ran through the portal and one disorienting moment later, they were back in the portal hallway. Reuben ran in an excited circle while Lukas sighed in relief. "We made it."

"Indeed we did," Ivor agreed. "We may not be home, but at least we're alive."

Jesse said nothing, simply walking over to Petra and dropping his head on her shoulder. She twisted a bit to look at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just the adrenalin wore off and being up all night...I'm tired."

"I feel you. I just don't know if sleeping here would be safe..."

"It'll be fine, Petra," Ivor crossed his arms. "I can keep watch while you three get a quick bit of shut-eye in. Then we can decide where to go next."

Jesse straightened. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I never need much sleep anyway."

Lukas smiled, dropping down in one of the spaces between the portals. "Thanks, Ivor."

"Yes, well, I'm just making sure no one slides into any portals on accident. Now get some sleep."

Petra walked over to the next stone wall between the portals, sinking to the ground with a suppressed groan. She then pulled her helmet off, setting it to the side and leaning her head back on the stone, her eyes landed on Jesse.

He was currently crouched beside Reuben, murmuring something she couldn't hear. The multi-colored glow of the portal hall left traces of golds, blues, greens, and reds on the soft angles of his face, his green eyes smiling along with his lips as he scratched Reuben behind the ears. He said something else she couldn't hear, his smile turning to a laugh as Reuben snorted in reply.

She didn't realize she was smiling herself until he looked over at her. His eyes flickered over her face, a grin settling on his features. She patted the floor next to her and he obliged, coming over and settling himself with a sigh. She leaned against him without even thinking, her cheek pressing into that fluffy hair of his. His arm went around her back, hand landing on her waist and he hummed.

Reuben snorted, getting the couple's attention, and Petra laughed. "Come here, Reuben."

The pig snorted again, settling himself in the small space between Petra and Jesse's legs. Her hand landed on his head and she let herself relax.

Just as she went to close her eyes, she swore she saw Ivor smile at them.

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song seven, "Social Cues" by Cage the Elephant

π

Petra hit the ground with a firm thump, feet landing solidly on the bricks that had appeared below her. After a couple dozen portals, she had to admit she was getting really good at sticking the landing. 

The others arrived behind her as they always did, and she turned to see Jesse cramming his neck to look at the buildings around them. "No wonder this alleyway is so creepy. These buildings are so tall and close together they block out a lot of the sky."

"Dark, creepy alleyways," Petra raised an eyebrow. "That remind you of anything, Ivor?"

"Oh, ha ha."

Lukas studied the closest building. "This architecture...I feel like I've seen this style before."

"Yes..." Ivor ran a hand over his beard. "I believe Soren had a name for it. 'Victorian' or something."

"Well, regardless of the style of the buildings, we've clearly been deposited in some kind of city. I can hear people too," Petra sighed. "Let's hope these people don't try to kill us. Although like many of the others we've encountered, they probably will."

"That's pessimistic. Not everyone has tried to kill us." Jesse countered. 

"Fair enough."

"If anything we should know how to handle hostile citizens by now," Ivor began to walk in the direction the city noise was coming from. "Appear as unthreatening as possible and if that doesn't work, run like hell."

"That didn't work with the fish people." Lukas pointed out.

"Ugh, don't. I never want to hear about the fish people ever again."

Petra rolled her eyes as they began to make their way after Ivor, who was moving forward with a ridiculous amount of confidence. She had to agree with him, though--the fish people would never be discussed again. "Look, we'll just have to get a lay of the land as quickly as possible and find that portal so we can get out of here."

Jesse nudged her shoulder, a grin on his face. "Why so eager to leave? Petra I know would be thrilled with all the adventure."

"Well, I'm sorry, but after the last city we were in tried to--" They rounded the corner and she stopped. "Woah."

They were facing what appeared to be a main street, lined with brick buildings (all of which appeared to be shops) with narrow alleyways inbetween. People hurried down the sidewalk and, to Petra's amazement, a cart of some sort somehow being drawn by horses went rattling down the cobblestone street. She watched the odd, bowl-shaped blocks turn on the road until the contraption rounded the corner and disappeared.

She wondered if Olivia would've been able to fix it. The thought of the engineer hit Petra with a wave of homesickness and she had to shake her head. Her, homesick? Impossible.

"This is really cool." Jesse breathed. 

"I'll say. I have seen people build with this style of architecture before, but--" Lukas rubbed his neck. "I've never seen a whole city of it."

"And look at the way the people are dressed!" Ivor added. "The men are wearing far too many layers in my opinion for those suits. And the women--that's just ridiculous! There is no way that's comfortable. I wonder what's making their dresses stick out like that..."

Petra shoved his arm. "I don't know, but can you stop gawking at them?"

"Sorry."

She huffed before cautiously stepping out onto the sidewalk. The people simply walked around her, much to her relief, doing nothing more than shooting the gang worried glances. Reuben hung back closer to the alleyway while the others stepped out to look around, Jesse suddenly pointing down the street. "Look at that."

At the end of the road was a large, peculiar building. People were filing in and out of it and as Petra squinted at the structure, she noticed the large sign above the doors. "'Theodore's Hall of Unique Curiosities'...huh."

"That seems very promising," Ivor crossed his arms. "My vote is we go there. Perhaps this 'Theodore' will know something about portals."

"Well, you must be new here."

The foreign voice made Petra flinch and it took every ounce of her self control to keep her fists at her sides. She spun on her heel to find chocolate brown eyes looking at her calmly, a mustached man the owner of them. She kept her expression neutral. "Hi..."

"Greetings," The stranger had an accent that carried an extra air of formality. "I apologize if my previous statement was too upfront. I only made such an accusation because your style of dress is foreign to this place."

The man suddenly paused, taking a slight step back. "You aren't with the Silverfish Boys, are you? Because the only ones wearing similar clothing are the city guard or the Silverfish Boys. But then again, the Boys have never been caught in garments quite like that..."

"I promise you, we're just some people passing through," Petra could hear the stress in Jesse's voice. "We've never even heard of the Silverfish Boys."

"Hm, I see...Well, I must say I am inclined to take your word for it."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Ivor demanded.

"Ah, how rude of me!" The man took off his top hat, dropping into a slight bow. "Oliver, owner of the Golden Tailors. And you are?"

Petra was a little hesitant. "I'm Petra. Jesse, Lukas, Ivor, and Reuben."

"Oh my, I didn't even realize the livestock was yours. Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Oliver replaced his hat. "May I ask what brings your to Aldermore?"

Petra was kind of hoping Jesse would step in for her, but he seemed too stuck on Reuben being called livestock to respond. So she replied, "We're just, uhm, traveling around and stuff and...Hey, what's that building?"

Oliver turned to follow her outstretched hand. "Ah, Theodore's Hall of Unique Curiosities. The name is self-explanatory, really; it is a museum of rare and unusual items run by the respected Mr. Theodore."

"That's where we're heading next then. Thanks."

Petra gestured for the gang to start walking but she had barely taken a step before Oliver was blocking the way. "Oh goodness gracious, you don't intend to go in like that, do you?"

"Uhm, yeah, we do?"

"Well, I can assure you, you won't even make it to the front door like that. Mr. Theodore holds his establishment to a very high esteem, and only those dressed and unarmed to society's standards are allowed inside," Oliver paused to glance around before murmuring, "Not to mention...If I was worried you were the Silverfish Boys...the city guard won't even stop to ask."

Petra frowned. "Who are these Silverfish Boys?"

"It is never a good idea to discuss them in detail in public. You should return with me to my tailor shop. Since you intend to visit Theodore's Hall of Curiosities, I can equip you with proper attire...And give you an explanation, since not knowing who the Silverfish Boys are is incredibly dangerous."

With that, Oliver turned and began to walk down the street. Lukas hesitated. "Are we really going to follow this guy?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Petra followed after the strange man. "We need disguises and I really want to know who these 'Silverfish Boys' are. Especially if they're dangerous."

"I agree," Jesse shook his head. "Why do normal-seeming places always hide dark secrets?"

The only response to that Petra had was a shrug and they continued to follow Oliver down the street. They didn't go too far before they stopped in front of a clean brick building. A sign overhead read 'Golden Tailors' and in the glass windows stood armor stands decorated with what Petra could only assume was the latest fashions.

Oliver opened the door for them and a bell chimed pleasantly from somewhere inside the shop. The inside walls were lined with shelves holding bolts upon bolts of fabrics, all in various colors. More armor stands were strategically placed with more styles of clothing and there was a large counter leading to what appeared to be fitting rooms.

"Please welcome yourselves in," Oliver closed the door behind them. "But please do keep your livestock away from the fabric."

This earned the man a glare from Jesse. "His name is Reuben."

"Apologies. You would you like to choose from the pre-existing garments?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Petra crossed her arms. "But only after you explain who the Silverfish Boys are."

Oliver dropped his head a bit. "Right, of course. The Silverfish Boys are a group of Aldermore's most unsavory sort. A gang, if you will. Theft, assault, destruction of property, and disfiguration of persons are things they have been known to do."

"Almost sounds like a pack of griefers," Ivor frowned. "And they run through the city?"

"Yes. They are rather difficult to catch and the city guard does try their best. You see, Mr. Theodore even has his own personal rivalry with them."

Jesse looked up from the suit he had been curiously studying. "Why is that?"

"Apparently a few months back, the Silverfish Boys stole an invaluable and irreplacable item from the museum," Oliver paused. "Well, everything in Mr. Theodore's colleection is irreplacable, but this especially so. Exactly what was stolen is unconfirmed to the public and only the city guard knows exactly what went missing. That is why visitors to the museum are subject to being searched for any weapons and security is on the increase inside the building."

Petra cursed inwardly. Extra security would mean extra problems for them. Even if this Theodore knew about the portal, getting an audience with him would probably prove difficult or simply land them in jail. After Sky City, Petra did not want to even think about the possibility of jail."

"Does my answer satisfy you?" Oliver asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Hope we don't run into any of these Silverfish Boys."

"Indeed. I have been told it is most unpleasant. Now, onto more important matters. I am beginning to understand that time is of the importance to you, so let me make you an offer. I will let you borrow some clothing so you may enter the museum and you may keep your things in my spare lockbox. My condition is that you must return the clothes unharmed as soon as you leave the museum."

"How do we know you're not trying to rob us?" Ivor asked, eyeing the tailor with clear suspicion.

"Because there is only one key for the lockbox," Oliver pulled a silver key out of his coat. "Here. I'll also keep watch over your livestock--Reuben. I mean Reuben."

Petra carefully accepted the offered key. "Why are you so willing to help us?"

"Mm, call it my good deed for today."

Petra remembered throwing those words around herself way back when she was a mercenary, and she smiled a bit. "I see. Well, do you happen to have any dresses without the ridiculous backside?"

"Indeed. Follow me."

She glanced at Jesse before following the tailor into the fitting area. Oliver hummed to himself as he began rummaging through one of the chests along the walls. He approached her a moment later, a blue dress in hand. "This should fit you nicely. Step behind that curtain and put it on while I find you a hat."

Petra eyed the dress skeptically before accepting it. As she changed, she couldn't help but ask, "Why do I need a hat?,v

"I'll show you. Are you changed?"

She tugged on the dress as she stepped back out, frowning. It was heavy and somewhat itchy, but Oliver seemed oblivious to her discomfort as he approached her with a box. He removed the lid and reached in, pulling out a long, thin metal rod with a rather sharp end. "This, Petra, is a hat pin. It allows one to pin their hat to their hair-do, keeping the perfect look. It does also serve other uses as well."

She eyed the sharp tip. "I'm sure it does. I'll take the hat."

π

It wasn't long before the gang was walking towards the doors of Theodore's Hall of Unique Curiosities, their admission fee of two iron each already paid. Despite their being there solely with the intent of finding the portal, Petra had to admit she was a bit curious to see what this Theodore owned.

They had been forced to conform into a single-file line to enter, resulting somehow with Jesse in the front and Petra bringing up the back. As Oliver had warned, each one of them was stopped and searched for weapons by the guards. Every item Jesse, Lukas, and Ivor had decided to keep on them was thoroughly inspected before it was returned to them.

Petra was glad she had decided to go with a practically empty inventory, with nothing on her except some extra iron and Oliver's key. Despite this, the guard took his time searching her, patting her down a little too thoroughly for her tastes. She had to say she was relieved when she was finally allowed to move forward.

As she rejoined the group and they began to make their way into the museum, she noticed Jesse looked less than happy. "You okay, Jesse?"

Before he could respond, Ivor piped up, "He's pissed because he didn't like how the guard was touching you," This earned the older man a glare from the brunette, to which Ivor just shrugged. "What? Am I wrong?"

Petra opened her mouth but Jesse cut her off. "Doesn't matter. Look, we need to start looking for anything Theodore may have relating to the portal."

"Right," Ivor grinned. "I say we split up."

This sparked an immediate protest from Lukas. "No, that's a terrible idea! This place is huge and there's so many people."

"Exactly! If we search as a group, we'll be in here forever!"

"But what if one of us gets into trouble with no one around to back us up?"

"What if we split into two groups?" Jesse suggested.

Petra snapped her fingers. "Perfect idea. That way we'll still have someone in case we run into trouble while covering this place in half the time. Ivor, you should go with--"

"Lukas. I'll take Lukas. We'll search the left side of the building while you and Jesse look on the right."

Before Petra could even agree, Ivor had grabbed Lukas by the arm and dragged him off, disappearing into the sea of people. She turned to Jesse and he simply shrugged. "We should get looking, I guess."

She nodded and they went into one of the many rooms. Strange paintings lined the walls from the floor to the ceiling and after a few minutes of looking them over, they silently agreed the canvas weren't helpful. They went through two more rooms without saying a word and finally Petra couldn't take it anymore. "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm alright. A little worried about Reuben being left with Oliver," Jesse paused to think. "Although we did basically leave every valuable item we own with Oliver. I really hope he's true to his word."

"Yeah. Especially since the flint and steel is in that box," She paused. "What Ivor said...Was he right?"

She watched his cheeks turn a rosy pink. "Uhm...yeah. Yeah, that guard...I know a thorough search is the whole point, but I guess yeah. I didn't like it. Not only that, but your eyebrows did that thing they do when you're trying to hide how uncomfortable you are."

She stopped in her tracks. "You noticed that? Something that subtle?"

"Of course I did," His green eyes flickered over her face. "I love you. I can't help but notice every little thing about you."

His words spread a warmth through her chest and she couldn't help but smile. It was that one smile only he could draw out of her and she huffed a little laugh. "You dork. I love you, too."

He practically beamed, taking her by the hand and leading her into the next room. This room was significantly larger than the others had been in, and after a quick scan of the room, Petra realized--"There it is!"

The portal sat on an elevated platform right in the center of the room. It was fenced off, keeping the people milling about from getting too close to it. Jesse tugged her through the crowd, clearly wanting to read one of the information signs. "Let's see here...'A Decorative Doorway'."

She couldn't help but snort. "Is that seriously what he's calling it?"

"I guess so," Jesse continued to read. "'This one-of-a-kind door frame structure was found in the ruins of Lee-Bah, far south of Aldermore. Mr. Theodore had the original structure deconstructed and rebuilt here, taking the pains to ensure the design was recreated exactly'."

"So either this guy doesn't even know it's a portal," Petra muttered. "Or he's just bullshitting everyone to prevent trouble."

"Whichever it is, we found it. I don't think he'll let us use it if we ask him, though."

"Probably not. Especially with all these people around," Petra frowned, thinking a moment. Then she grabbed Jesse's hand again, dragging him away from the crowd to a more secluded corner. "What if we sneak in tonight?"

"You want to break into the museum?"

"Well, hopefully we don't have to break anything that will leave evidence. But think about it; if we sneak in, we can simply avoid the guards, evade a public disaster, and we don't have to worry about our gear."

Jesse grinned a bit. "True. Alright, lets go find Ivor and Lukas. We need to let them know we found the portal."

"Pardon the interruption," A female voice made Petra's blood run cold. "But were you discussing the Decorative Doorway?"

Just to their left stood a young woman in a red dress, hazel eyes studying them sharply from a face framed by rather short brown hair. Petra frowned. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Clara. Mr. Theodore's daughter. I heard your whole conversation, by the way. You have deduced that the doorway is actually a portal and you plan to break into this facility tonight to use it," She smiled sweetly. "Is that correct?"

Petra was desperately searching for some sort of response and this made Clara laugh. "Please do relax; that expression is most unbecoming on a lady such as yourself. I do not intend to report your plans to my father."

"You don't?" Jesse blurted.

"I do not. As a matter of fact, I intend to do quite the opposite. I would like to help you break into this museum."

Petra's eyebrows knit together. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would you do that?"

"My father is...not a very pleasant man. He only really cares about the things in this museum," Anger flashed in Clara's eyes. "He treats me like a 'thing' also. I have decided I will no longer allow him to behave towards me in such a manner. So I will defy him."

"Okay, fair enough," Petra crossed her arms. "But what are your conditions in helping us? Surely you have some."

"Oh yes, of course. If you want my help...you must let me follow you through the portal."

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, it's song eight, "Genius" by Jet

π

Petra stared at the young woman, a bit shocked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me correctly. I wish to follow you into the portal," Clara's eyebrow arched up. "Don't misunderstand, I do not wish to stay with your group. I intend to leave you once we're on the other side."

Petra shook her head. "I don't think you understand. That portal leads to a hallway with more portals, and you might never be able to return."

"Is that supposed to deter me? Any other world must be better than this one."

"Trust me, this one isn't so bad," Jesse frowned. "Do you have a portal key? Without one, you'll be stuck in whatever world you end up in."

"I'm sure you've heard of the Silverfish Boys and how they stole from my father, correct? Well, the portal key is the item they stole. I'm sure they have no idea what to do with it, especially since my father has never figured it out. I only realized myself when it was stolen. So no, I do not have it, but I can make do."

Petra crossed her arms, subconsciously tugging at the uncomfortable dress. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Well, either you let me follow you or you can struggle against the incredibly heavy security here. Even if you do make it back to the portal, I'll probably follow you through regardless," Clara stared Petra down. "So which would you prefer?"

Petra hated to admit it, but the defiant woman had a point. She had no doubts the gang could get through without Clara's help, but why make things more difficult just to get the same end result? "I hate to say it, but that does make sense. But are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have put extensive hours of thought on this subject. This is what I wish to do. Does this mean you will accept my help?"

"I guess so."

Clara's face lit up. "Wonderful. I heard you mention your friends before, Lukas and...Igor?"

"Ivor."

"Apologies. Why don't we seek them out and we can inform them of a new plan?"

"Right," Petra shot Jesse a look before heading back towards the entrance hall. She had mixed feelings on this sudden turn of events, and the Clara girl was suspicious, but they could use the help.

They ran into the other members of the gang in the painting room, Ivor frowning and whispering, "Petra, you're being followed."

"Relax, Ivor, there's been a new development. This is Clara. We found the portal in the other room, but we have to sneak in later tonight to use it."

Ivor's eyebrows were knit together. "And what does Clara here have to do with any of it?"

Petra sighed. "She's Theodore's daughter and she hates him, so she's willing to help us break in. Her condition is that she gets to follow us into the portal."

Lukas' blue eyes went wide. "Woah. Clara, are you aware of what going through the portal all entails?"

"Petra and I already explained." Jesse replied.

Clara nodded. "Indeed. Now, allow me to explain my plan quickly before someone notices how long I've been speaking to you."

Ivor crossed his arms. "Proceed then."

"You will habe to approach the building from the backways, as the security is weaker back there. You will find a cluster of chests, and near it is a faulty window just out of sight of the nearest guard. Enter there and you will be deposited into a storage closet. This closet is guarded from the outside.

"At exactly midnight, I will use a Redstone mechanism to cause a tremendous distraction on the other side of the museum. This distraction will be so large, all the guards will go investigate. This will provide us a window of approximately five to ten minutes to meet in the portal room, light the portal, and head through. Simple."

"Won't they try to follow us through?" Jesse asked.

Clara simply laughed. "Oh, no. They are far too cowardly to do that."

"That's actually a pretty good plan," Petra admitted. "We just got to make sure we're in that storage room before midnight."

"It is simple enough," Clara adjusted her dress. "I would love to continue to converse with you more, but I am afraid I have lingered too long. Enjoy the rest of your time at the museum, and I will see you tonight."

She turned and disappeared into the crowd, Ivor still frowning. "I don't know if this is a good idea..."

"It's sketchy, that's for sure," Lukas agreed. "But do you have any ideas on how we'd get past all the guards?"

"Well...no."

"Besides," Jesse nudged Petra with a grin. "We have a leader who happens to be an expert in handling sketchy people."

She laughed a bit. "Old occupation hazard. Hey, we should head straight back to Oliver's and get our gear. The longer I'm without my sword, the more nervous I'm getting."

They headed towards the exit and Ivor scoffed. "I'm more worried about that troublesome flint and steel, but you do you."

They emerged onto the street, the sun just starting to shift from afternoon to evening. Jesse hummed. "We spent more time in there than I thought. I hope Reuben was okay with Oliver."

Petra snorted. "You mean the livestock?"

This pulled such a sour look from Jesse that Petra couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped her. Ivor pulled a face, but Lukas didn't seem to even be paying attention, his steps suddenly faltering. "Uhm, guys? Did you see that?"

Petra paused, backtracking a bit to peer into the alleyway Lukas was stopped in front of. Seeing nothing but shadows, she was just about to shrug it off when a faint cry of "Help!" sounded from somewhere behind the buildings. "Someone's in trouble."

Jesse stepped forward. "We should help them!"

"Absolutely not!" Ivor crossed his arms. "It's none of our business. We should let the city guard handle it and return to Oliver."

"They could be getting attacked! Besides, I don't even see any guards nearby."

"Jesse's right," Lukas agreed. "We're the closest. We have to help."

Petra's first instinct was to go with Ivor, but after pausing a moment to look at Jesse's face, she just knew he wasn't going to walk away. She couldn't in good conscious let them get tangled in something without her, so reached into her pocket and pulled out Oliver's key. "Here. Go ahead and get our gear ready. I'm going to go with them."

Ivor sighed, snatching the key. "You and I both know this is a terrible idea. But fine! I'll see you back at the shop."

She nodded, turning to Jesse and Lukas. "Let's go."

The trio ran into the alleyway, letting Lukas lead the way forward. He was trying to figure out which way the call for help had come from, Petra silently cursing her dress as they followed him. She was trying to figure out the best way to hold up the heavy skirts when she saw a bloodied man slumped against the wall. "Woah!"

Lukas came to a stop, dropping down next to the stranger. "This must be who we heard. Sir? Sir, can you hear me?"

The stranger groaned and Jesse reached for his pockets, letting out a huff. "My spare food is back with my stuff."

Lukas straightened. "We need to get him to help. Petra, can you get his legs while Jesse helps me--"

"What're you three doin' back 'ere?"

Petra spun around with a gasp, watching three men emerge from the long shadows of the alleyway. Their suits had pieces of armor strapped to them and one man had a nasty scar twisting over the side of his face.

The man to the left let out a chuckle. "They're trying to help the poor bloke."

"I already figured that out, Eddy," The one with the scar spat. "And clearly they have no sense in their brains."

"'Ight," The one on the right grinned. "If 'ey don't know not to mess with the Silv'rfish Boys."

Petra took a slight step back, feeling Jesse tense beside her. They had managed to run into Aldermore's most dangerous criminals completely unarmed. Perfect. "We're not messing with anybody. Just passing through and found this guy lying here."

"Sure, sure," The scarred one crossed his arms. "Should've kept walking."

Lukas leaned over to Petra and whispered, "What do we do?"

"We need to run."

"But that man will die!" Jesse hissed.

"Maybe, but we need to protect ourselves first, and we're unarmed."

Eddy moved forward. "What do you think you're whispering about?"

Petra's brain automatically kicked her into defensive mode. This man was too close and she needed--the hat pin! Suddenly remembering it, she reached up in one swift motion and poked it straight into Eddy's eye.

The man reeled back with a yell and Petra grabbed Jesse, who in turn grabbed Lukas, and the three dashed away. The other two men yelled after them before beginning to chase the trio. Petra let go of Jesse and hitched up her skirts, gripping the hair pin like a dagger in her other hand. "We need to get to the main road! They shouldn't chase us there, unless they want to get arrested!"

They rounded the corner and made a desperate dash for the street. Petra stumbled and nearly fell, but Jesse grabbed her and managed to drag her along. They burst out onto the street, all three of them falling to the ground and nearly knocking some people over. Petra was aware of something ripping and pain flaring in her shins, but she was too relieved at the present moment to care.

She looked up to find everyone in the near vicinity staring at them. She pushed herself up slightly, breathing hard. "The...Silverfish Boys are back there."

Horrified gasps rippled through the crowd and many of the people quickly walked away. She went to get up, pausing as a familiar hand appeared in front of her, one she willingly accepted. "Thanks, Jesse. Ugh, I tore Oliver's dress."

Lukas brushed off his pants. "I'm pretty sure Oliver will understand if you explain."

Jesse was now staring down the alleyway, a distressed expression overriding his features. "That poor man. I really hope the Silverfish Boys don't keep hurting him. He already seemed to be in so much pain."

Petra didn't know how she could comfort him, so she silently put a hand on his shoulder. One thing she could never stop marveling at was how big Jesse's heart was, worrying about a man he had only met for thirty seconds.

"We should get back to Oliver's" Lukas quietly suggested. "Ivor might start worrying about us."

Petra couldn't help but snort. "I doubt that."

They began to make their way back down the street towards the tailor shop, the bell chiming pleasantly when they entered. Oliver was sitting behind the front counter and when he looked up at them, he immediately became distressed. "Goodness, look at you three! Petra, your dress is ripped! AND you lost your hat..?"

A wave of guilt hit her. "I'm so sorry, Oliver. I know I said I'd return everything in good condition, but we got chased by the Silverfish Boys--"

"The Silverfish Boys?! And you escaped intact? Undamaged?"

"Do we look mangled? I mean, the dress is a bit--"

Oliver waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind that, the dress can be saved. I'm just glad you escaped those scoundrels. Oh! Your friend Ivor is in the back with Reuben and your things. Why don't you get changed so I can start the repairs on the dress?"

Petra nodded, heading into the fitting area with Jesse and Lukas in tow. As Oliver had said, Ivor and Reuben were waiting for them, the pig running forward to greet them. Ivor, meanwhile, looked them over. "I love what you've done with your dress, Petra, it's such a fashion statement. The skinned shins really tie the whole together."

She shot him a glare before stepping behind one of the curtains, her armor in hand. "Zip it, Ivor."

"What happened out there?"

"We found the guy, but the Silverfish Boys were still hanging around," Jesse explained. "We had to flee."

"Oh, I see. Decided to taste the pavement while you were at it?"

Petra re-emerged in her armor. "Ivor, just cut the crap."

Oliver reappeared before Ivor could reply, takimg the ripped dress out of Petra's arms. "Did you at least find what you were looking for at the museum?"

Jesse raised an eyebrow as he pulled on his boots. "Who said we were looking for anything?"

"Dear boy, I wasn't born yesterday. You four are clearly on some sort of mission. What is your plan of action, may I ask, now that you've looked through the museum?"

"Well," Petra leaned against the wall. "I know we've already asked a lot from you, but is it okay if we hide out for a few hours?"

"I don't mind in the slightest. Just take the back door when you decide to leave. That one locks automatically," Oliver smiled. "I'll be upstairs for the rest of the evening. I have a hunch I will not see you again, so I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors "

Petra nodded. "Thanks, Oliver."

He turned and made his way up a set of stairs, Lukas letting out a little hum. "He was a very nice guy."

"Yeah," Jesse sank to the ground with a sigh. "Now I guess we just have to wait."

"Indeed. Wait and hope this 'Clara' upholds her end of the deal," Ivor crossed his arms. "For all we know, we're walking straight into a trap."

Petra didn't reply, but Ivor had basically voiced her doubts. She didn't trust this aristocrat any further than she could throw her.

Which, Petra realized, was probably further than she thought. Clara didn't look very heavy.

π

The thin silver moon shone somewhere overhead, offering a bit of light in the heavy darkness. The alleyways were surprisingly and thankfully empty of any Silverfish Boys, leaving only a few city guards to sneak past. Which proved not very difficult given they would look different directions in a certain order.

The gang managed to reach the back of the museum without incident, crouching behind the collection of chests Clara had mentioned. Petra carefully scanned the wall, pointing slightly. "Look. That window is missing some panels."

Ivor scoffed. "And Theodore wondered how he got his stuff taken."

"Who cares?" Lukas whispered. "Let's just get through, please. The longer we sit here, the more nervous I'm getting."

Petra nodded, peaking cautiously over the chests. The guard was looking the other way, and she gestured for the gang to move forward. Lukas went first, stretching out his arms as a silent offer to take Reuben. The pig was passed up, followed by Jesse carefully crawling through.

Ivor went to follow but as he pulled himself onto the ledge, his forehead smacked against the glass. "Ow!"

He immediately fell back and clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The guard spun around, lifting his lantern into the air. "Who's there?"

Petra shot Ivor a glare and he smiled sheepishly. She could hear the guard moving forward and she desperately searched her brain for some way to distract him. Her eyes flashed over to one of the nearby chests and she carefully eased it open just enough to get her hand in and grab something.

She came up with a poisoned potato and with a frown, she carefully crept around to the side of the chests, pitching the root vegetable at one of the nearby lamp posts. It hit the iron with a satisfying bang, causing the guard to run over in a panic. "What the--?!"

Petra shoved Ivor into motion, and he quickly scrambled through the hole in the window. She followed right on top of him, causing him to roll out of the way as she landed in the storage room. She risked a peek out the window, finding the guard scratching his head and staring at the lamp post.

She turned to Ivor, hissing, "That was too close."

"I didn't hit my head on purpose." He defended.

"Shh!" Lukas pointed at the door. "There is a guard."

The group fell silent and after a moment, Ivor whispered, "It's almost midnight."

Petra nodded. "Clara's distraction should happen any second now."

"I wonder what she's planning," Jesse mused. "She said something so big it would call all the guards. I wonder--"

As if to answer his question, a loud explosion shook the air. A shout of alarm sounded right outside the door, followed by thundering footsteps and the building shifting. The gang exchanged shocked glances and Lukas shook his head. "Did she just--?"

"Who cares?" Petra crept towards the door. "We need to go."

She pushed the door open, finding the room they had entered completely empty. She quickly moved forward, the others following closely behind. Faint yells could be heard and as they rounded a corner, Petra got the slightest wiff of smoke.

Clara really had blown part of the building up.

"Well what have we here?"

A cold, detached voice made Petra freeze mid-step and she silently wondered why people in this world liked to sneak up on others. She turned and a man that looked very similar to Clara stood there, arms crossed. Petra panicked a bit. "Uh...Mr. Theodore?"

The man glared. "Yes indeed. I haven't the slightest clue who you are, but I'll have you know that blowing up my establishment will land you jail for life."

"About that," Petra began to back up. "We don't know who it is, but we didn't do it."

"No? Regardless, you are clearly breaking and entering," Theodore marched forward. "And I'll have you know that--"

He suddenly froze with a strangled sound and fell face first to the ground. A strange arrow stuck out of the back of his neck and Petra immediately got White Pumpkin flashbacks. Clara stood there with some sort of small crossbow, a displeased look on her face.

Jesse sputtered, "You killed your own father?!"

"What? No!" Clara scoffed. "It's a tranquilizer dart. He's just been knocked out. Do you not have these in your world?"

Ivor grinned. "No! But they seem rather useful."

"Indeed. Quickly now! It won't be long before they search the building for the arsonist."

Jesse shook his head in disbelief as they followed her to the portal room. "I can't believe you blew up the building."

"My father deserves the losses coming to him," They emerged into the room, Clara marching up to the portal platform and easily hopping the fence. "Hurry up!"

Petra shot the others a worried look before also hopping over. "Clara, are you sure? Because without a portal key--"

"Oh, for goodness sake," Clara reached into her dress pocket and pulled out--to Petra's shock--a yellow glowing flint and steel. "Does this put your mind at ease?"

Jesse gasped. "You had it the whole time? I thought the Silverfish Boys stole it!"

"No, I did. My father simply assumed it was the Boys and I let them take the blame for it. Here, let me light the portal."

She struck the flint and steel together, the portal frame lighting up. Clara, without hesitation, marched through. Ivor shook his head. "What a...twistedly smart girl."

"Yeah," Petra started for the portal. "She kind of scares me."

What scared her more was, when the gang emerged on the other side, Clara was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter its song nine, "Television Rules the Nation" by Daft Punk

π

It had been weeks. Months. Hell, it could've been the equivalent of years back in their world. In the portals, out the portals, pick a new one, and fall into a different one. Keep the group together, make sure no one died or got left behind. Make the decisions, question her own judgement, and just try to get home.

To put it simply, Petra was tired and angry.

She just wanted to go home. See her world again. See Beacontown and Jesse's little treehouse. See Axel and Olivia. As they burst out of a flaming portal, streaked with soot and smelling like smoke, Petra knew her patience was wearing very very thin.

"Wow, that was crazy!" Jesse stood, brushing himself off. "Why would there even be a fire world?!"

There was another thing that was really starting to grate on Petra's nerves--Jesse's seemingly endless optimism. She crossed her arms, watching Lukas panic as his ass literally caught fire and Jesse awkwardly tried to put it out. 

She huffed as Lukas nodded to the brunette in thanks, pulling a book out. "I marked that one down as 'Fire World'."

She couldn't help but scoff and roll her eyes. "Wow. How'd you come up with THAT gem of a name?"

"Okay...Did I miss something here?"

"Yeah, what's up with you?" Jesse agreed. 

She glared. "What's up with me? What's UP? I'm tired of all this useless portal hopping trying to find our way back home!"

Jesse frowned. "We're all frustrated, you know. Don't take it out on Lukas," He looked at the blond, green eyes going wide. "Lukas, you're on fire again!"

"See, this is what I'm talking about!" Petra threw her hands in the air. "We're stuck in a rut--go through a portal, avoid dying long enough to get back to this stupid hallway--"

"Wash, rinse, repeat...Yes!" Ivor sighed. "It would be nice if whoever made these left some sort of signs. Guideposts."

"Well, all the portals do look different." Jesse pointed out.

Lukas nodded. "You're right. This one totally has a fire vibe, that skull back there is the White Pumpkin...There's a system!"

Petra felt herself snap. "ARGH I'm so sick of this! I'm sick of not knowing things! I'm sick of this damned hallway and its portals! I'm sick of fighting to keep you guys alive! And I'm especially sick of you," She jabbed a finger at Jesse. "And your constant cheery disposition!"

Lukas and Ivor's mouths dropped open, and Petra slowly realized what she had just said. The angry adrenaline in her veins made it impossible to apologize, and to her shock, Jesse's face went from stunned to pissed off.

Then he was suddenly in her face, yelling back. "You're sick of me? Well maybe I'm sick of you! Sick of you thinking that you have to do everything by yourself and make all the decisions! We're a fucking team, Petra, and you need to start acting like you're part of it!"

She fumbled for words, but wasn't able to find any, still thrown off by Jesse being angry. He never got angry. When she didn't respond, he scoffed. "Or, you know, supporting each other isn't important. Having friends and people who love and care about you doesn't matter. Well, if we're operating like that, maybe I'm going to start calling the shots!"

He turned and began to stomp away, Reuben quickly following as Ivor asked, "Where are you going, Jesse?"

"The smartest people I know are Redstone experts," Jesse stopped in front of a portal that had Redstone blocks in the frame. "This is a system, right? Well maybe there are some smart people in this world that can help."

"So what are you saying?" Lukas stepped forward. "That you're just going through this portal and that's it?"

"Yeah, I am saying that."

Petra crossed her arms. "You can't just leave like that."

"Oh yeah? What, are you going to stop me?" His expression was still angry but she could see the hurt creeping into his eyes. "I thought you were sick of me?"

"Petra surely didn't mean that," Lukas interjected. "Right, Petra?"

"I..." The words died in her mouth. She was in the wrong, and she knew it, but some sort of arrogant, ridiculous pride held her back from verbally admitting it.

Several seconds ticked by and Jesse shook his head. "I guess she did. Fuck this."

Before anything else could be said, he turned and went through the portal, Reuben shooting Petra a displeased look before following after. A few moments passed and Petra got slammed with the weight of what had just happened, dropping her face into her hands with a groan. "Kill me already."

"I can send you back to the fire world?" Ivor offered.

"Okay, that could've gone better," Lukas stared Petra down. "But did you really mean what you said..?"

"No, no. No, I didn't, but I just couldn't..." She lifted her head with a shuddery breath. "I need to apologize. We have to follow him."

"We wouldn't have to follow him if you had just apologized before." Ivor pointed out.

Lukas shot the older man a glare. "Alright, Ivor, shut up. Look, let's go find Jesse."

They stepped through the portal, getting dropped down onto a large expanse of sand. Petra quickly scanned the surroundings, eyeing the distant mountains before asking, "Anyone see Jesse?"

Ivor shook his head. "Not yet. He couldn't have gone too far, however."

Lukas pulled out his book. "Hang on. Let me put down our point of entry."

Petra raised an eyebrow. "Okay, can I ask--What is that?"

"Oh, uh, it's just...y'know, a book I picked up at the White Pumpkin's place. It's all about different biomes and stuff."

"That's...Actually pretty cool."

Lukas offered a slight smile. "Thanks. So what's the agenda anyway?"

She scanned their surroundings again. "We need to find Jesse."

"Indeed," Ivor looked at the ground. "What interesting sand."

"It looks like some sort of road." Lukas observed.

Petra eyed the sand. "Roads don't tend to form naturally...If I was here alone, I'd probably follow the road."

"Jesse probably did," Ivor agreed. "His survival instincts have improved significantly since I first met him."

They started walking, following the pale line in the rich orange sand. Everywhere Petra looked there was sand, clay, cacti...and more sand. An utter wasteland. Up ahead was a blue and silver figure, kneeling behind some sandstone, accompanied by a bright pink dot.

Petra quickly realized it was Jesse and with a flood.of relief, she ran towards him. "Jesse!"

His head snapped up. "What the--Get down!"

She immediately dropped into a crouch, glancing at Reuben as she crept over. The pig shot her a glare before turning from her and relocating to Jesse's other side. Jesse, meanwhile, gave her an annoyed look. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize. I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did, and...You were right. I haven't been much of a team player lately."

His expression softened a bit. "I appreciate that you're apologizing and I do accept your apology. What you said hurt but I wasn't exactly being nice either. Do you really find my optimism that annoying, though?"

"No, not really...I mean, sometimes, but I usually just appreciate it. You've been showing me the value of looking for the positivity."

"Heh, I'm glad. And hey, your frustration is valid about being stuck on top of us. There's been times where I have kinda wanted to shove you off a cliff."

"That is surprising coming from you. But fair enough," She took a deep breath. "Truce?"

He rolled his eyes with a smile. "No need for truces, dummy. I've already forgiven you."

She couldn't help bit. "Right. Hey, what were you looking at anyway?"

He pointed over the sandstone and Petra followed his finger, eyes widening. Milling about was a zombie that was somehow not on fire, a strange glowing thing attached to the back of its head. "What the..?"

"I know, right?" Jesse frowned. "I'm trying to figure out what's on the back of its head."

"Yeah. Definitely weird. Maybe that's this world's 'thing'?" She suggested. "Zombies and monsters come out in the daytime? Wouldn't be any crazier than anything else we've seen."

He groaned. "Oh, I hope not. That would be the worst 'thing' ever."

"Oh, come on! Worse than fire world or the psycho pumpkin's mansion? The fish people?"

"We don't talk about the fish people."

Petra chuckled, straightening and drawing her sword. She then dropped down into the pit, slashing the zombie with two firm strokes of her sword. It should've finished it off without a hitch, but to her shock, it spun around seemingly unaffected.

"What the--?" She began whacking at it. "There's something weird about this zombie..." Her sword seemed to bounce off the flesh, forcing her back. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"Hang on, I'll help you!" Jesse dropped down, drawing his sword and slashing the zombie across the back. His sword rebounded off the flesh just like hers had, and his green eyes widened. "Yeah, that's not normal!"

It took their combined effort to take the strange zombie down, the two exchanging glances as they put their swords away. Ivor dropped down into the pit a moment later, accompanied by Lukas and Reuben. "It was just one zombie. What was the problem?"

Petra frowned. "Nuh uh. That thing was like, 'Super Zombie'. Stronger, tougher, faster," She put a hand to her head. "I hope there's not something wrong with me. Because that would be really, really inconvenient."

Jesse's hand landed on her shoulder. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you, Petra--That was definitely the zombie."

"I assume the lover's quarrel has been resolved?" Ivor suddenly asked.

"Not the time, Ivor," Lukas shook his head. "Super strong zombies? What in the world is up with that?"

A metallic groan made the gang freeze, Reuben squealing and hiding behind Jesse. Sword were drawn as a whole hoard of the zombies approached, Jesse looking nothing short of panicked. "Oh no."

"We need to find a better way to kill these things." Petra muttered.

They backed up as far as they could, Ivor letting out a yelp when his back hit the sand. Petra braced for an attack, but just as she lifted her sword, the zombies somehow just stopped.

Lukas frowned. "That was unexpected."

"Did we do that?" Jesse asked.

Ivor scoffed. "With what? The power of our imagination?"

Lukas poked one in the face with his sword. The mob simply flopped around a bit but otherwise didn't react. Petra crossed her arms. "What the hell."

"Those things on their heads...They seem Redstone-ish, right?" Lukas observed.

Ivor, the crazy man that he was, grinned. "Fascinating."

"Maybe those Redstone things are what make the zombies so...blank?" Jesse suggested.

Lukas wrote something down. "Makes sense to me. I'm starting to wonder if we should--"

A sudden loud screeching sound filled the air, making everyone clap their hands over their ears. The zombies appeared to be convulsing and Petra yelled, "We need to kill them!"

As suddenly as it had started, the awful noise stopped. The zombies turned all in sync and began to creep away. Ivor stepped back. "They're leaving? Just like that?"

Petra nodded. "They're going back the way they came from."

"This might sound crazy...But I feel like they're trying to lead us somewhere." Lukas muttered.

Petra stared at the blond. "You're right. That does sound crazy."

Jesse shrugged. "I think Lukas might be right."

The last thing Petra really wanted to do was follow the freaky zombies and she moved to say so when Jesse's words from earlier flashed through her mind. Just because she was the leader didn't mean she should call all the shots. "If that's what you think we should do, then we'll do it."

She saw Jesse flash a smile at her, one that she hesitatingly returned. They began walking, following the strange zombies.

π

Petra paused at the top of the stairs, silently watching a strange woman rummage through a chest. "Ah ha ha! Yes, yes, there you are. That's the ticket."

The woman pulled one of the strange head chips out of the chest, making Petra's eyes widen. The woman kept muttering to herself and just as she straightened with a few chips in her hands, Petra spoke up, "I assume those aren't yours."

The stranger startled, dropping the chips and stepping back. "That you...PAMA?"

Petra frowned. "What?"

"Okay then. Okay. Who sent you? I didn't survive this long to get picked off by some scrub," The woman pointed. "Especially not some weird-dressed little scrub like you. Come on then! Out with it!"

"Can you just take a chill pill? I'm already freaked out."

"YOU'RE freaking out? How do you think I feel right now?" A pause. "Wait! You're serious, aren't you? Okay...Eyes...Not red. NOT red...But that must mean...But how?"

The others emerged into the room, the woman staring. "And there are more of you? This should be...its...impossible! Out with it. Who are you people? What's going on here?"

"I'm sensing some hostility." Ivor noted.

Jesse rolled his eyes. "What was your first clue?"

Petra sighed. "Look, lady, this is going to sound weird, but we're here because of a portal--"

"A portal?" The woman repeated. "A PORTAL portal? Really? Okay. Okay, okay, okay! Been alone for a while so this is a lot to take in right now. The people--the citizens of Crown Mesa. You've met them, right?"

"Yeah," Petra crossed her arms. "Wouldn't exactly call them 'people', though."

"No, no, no, please don't talk that way. I'm sure it looks confusing to someone from the outside but please. They're my friends and they are people. Please don't forget that."

Petra, unsure of how else to respond, nodded. The woman suddenly stumbled back. "Oh, oh no, no, no I've wasted too much time."

"Petra?" Lukas stared out the window, a line of the strange people making their way to the house. "Don't look now...but we've got company!"

Petra peered out the window. "Is this what you were scared of? There are only four of them and five of--" She turned. "She's gone?"

Jesse pointed at the stairs. "Well, the townspeople aren't ignoring us anymore."

Lukas backed up as the people entered the house.  "Petra...What do we do here?"

She dashed for the exit. "Time to go!"

One of the people shoved her back, Jesse laughing nervously. "Apparently no it's not."

The strange people all pointed at the same time, announcing in cold, metallic voices, "You are not from this place."

Petra decided to lie. "What are you talking about? We're definitely from herem"

"PAMA knows this to be untrue. PAMA sees all," The people replied. "A decision has been made. PAMA has questions."

The closest person grabbed Petra's wrist and she felt a flare of indignation, punching them straight in the face. The person's head slowly turned back and Jesse threw himself between them and her. "Get back!"

"You will come to PAMA."

Petra shook her head. "Not happening. No way are we going anywhere with you!"

The people lunged for the gang and the struggle began. The strange people were definitely stronger than Petra, but she managed to twist away and make a dash for the stairs. 

She was halfway down when another person suddenly appeared and shoved her back. She fell and her head hit the stone steps, her metal helmet ringing in her ears as everything went black.

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song ten, "perfect nothing" by Ghost and Pals

π

Her brain was threatening to rip through her skull when Petra came to. Despite the pounding in her head, she scrambled to her feet, looking around frantically. "What happened?!"

Ivor clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You got knocked down on the stairs and hit your head really hard. Wouldn't be surprised if you got a concussion."

"I'm fine," She looked up, startling. "Woah!"

A large, green wall sat in the face of the mesa. Certain parts of it suddenly lit up and a face-like shape appeared."

"What is that?" Lukas asked.

"I have no idea."

"You don't suppose its friendly, do you?" Ivor muttered.

The face shifted to a smile and Lukas shuddered. "I guess its kind of friendly looking...in a massively, hugely intimidating sort of way."

Petra frowned. "Stay on your guard, guys. Appearances are usually deceiving."

The glowing face began to shift expressions, a loud, inhuman voice echoing around them. "My apologies for the violent nature of this visit. I am PAMA. Greetings."

"Yeah, hi," Petra crossed her arms. "What exactly is PAMA?" 

The face smiled. "Some might call me a 'computer', a thinking machine. Though there has never been a computer quite like me. My job is to be useful. Using Redstone chips, I have connected to the people of this town," PAMA explained. "And helped them be useful. Coordinated. I have made their world perfect."

Horror filtered into Petra's veins and she gave her head a firm shake. "Perfect? This is FAR from perfect! You did something awful to this town!"

PAMA frowned and a moment later, its face was replaced with three dots. "Processing information."

"Processing information?" Lukas repeated.

"Is said its a 'thinking machine'. Thinking must take time?" Ivor reasoned.

PAMA\s face suddenly reappeared. "I have consulted my databases--my list of everyone and everything in this world--and my conclusion is that you are not from here. Despite what you told these nice, nice townspeople. I would like to ask you some questions--to expand my databases."

Petra shook her head. "I'm not answering anything!"

"No? That makes me sad. This means I must use alternative methods to retrieve my new information."

Petra's arms were suddenly yanked, wrists pinned against her back by a deathly grip. Exclamations arose from the others as the same was done to them, Reuben making a desperate attempt to escape just to get scooped up last second. Then, to Petra's horror, a townsperson started dragging Jesse away. "Jesse!"

"Petra, help!"

"We could have just talked this out, you know," PAMA frowned. "I am just as upset as you are."

"Okay, okay! I'll answer your questions!" Petra turned desperately to the screen. "I'll talk. Just let him go."

"I'll let this one--Jesse go as long as you provide me with the information required," PAMA smiled. Petra was going to be sick. "This world reached peak efficiency some time ago. Unfortunately this meant I had no more job to do. No more things or people to help. Until you arrived, that is. Tell me--what is YOUR world like?"

Her world. Despite having seen to many on this trip, memories of her homeworld shone clearly in Petra's mind like the beacons on the fountain. The city gates, the treasure hall, Jesse's treehouse in the woods. Despite all the details coming to mind, she chose to share as few as possible. "Our world is big and green. Huge forests as far as the eye can see with grey mountains in the background. Nothing like this place."

"That sounds lovely," PAMA smiled. "I think I would like to see this world for myself. If I could send my townspeople, my friends, through to other worlds, we could continue to grow and expand. However you entered this world, there must also be an exit. Where is it?"

Petra panicked a bit. She had no idea where the portal was and she had a sinking suspicion PAMA wouldn't like that answer. "I can't tell you, PAMA, and its not because I don't want to. I have no idea where it is, okay?"

PAMA paused to process. "Your tone is genuine, but that information is...not useful. My job is to be useful. I have completed my job here and must be allowed to expand and continue to be useful. Unfortunately, our conversation has not been helpful."

The townspeople holding Lukas suddenly began walking the blond forward, resulting in a useless struggle. "Let me go!"

Jesse had been dragged up to the strange machine in the center of the platform, two townspeople pinning his arms. He was struggling hard, almost hard enough to hurt himself as he clearly panicked. The component above his head slowly shifted upwards as four Redstone pillars popped up on the platform, Jesse's green eyes flashing over to Petra. "Petra! I--"

The machine slammed down on his head before he could finish and without thinking, Petra screamed. The dispenser moved up slowly and the first thing she could comprehend was red eyes. "Jesse!"

"Welcome, Jesse," PAMA sounded almost cheerful. "Yay!"

Jesse stared Petra down with those lifeless red eyes while Lukas was dragged up to the machine. Petra forced herself to swallow, feeling sick as PAMA spoke again, "You may not have any information about how to exit this world, but your brain may prove to contain other useful items."

"Petra, this situation is starting to look a little dire, don't you think?!" Ivor whispered as they were forced forward.

She was desperately searching for any possible way to get out of the situation. Reuben was squealing somewhere outside of her vision, PAMA continuing, "I know you probably feel uncomfortable. Concerned. But soon, you will feel fine."

Petra struggled against the iron grip of the townsperson. "You're going to regret picking this fight, PAMA. No way in hell you're making me useful!"

She was forced forward again, being brought to a stop in front of Jesse. He spoke, his voice coming out dead and metallic. "Like Jesse said to you, we are a team. You need to act like you are a part of it."

Lukas joined Jesse, PAMA's voiced announcing, "Welcome, Lukas. Yay! Your turn, Petra."

Her friends grabbed her arms, dragging her to the machine and pinning her against it. "God damn it, PAMA, get out of their heads!"

"But their heads are full of such lovely information. It makes me happy. Although much of it is tainted by Jesse's sentiments, I can see you've had many adventures. A killer mansion..."

PAMA's face was replaced by the three dots and Petra realized that everything seemed to be coming to a standstill. She was still pinned against the machine, sure, but the machine wasn't powering up yet to do anything and all the townspeople were just kind of standing around. "New information seems to slow it down...We just gotta overload it with some kind of information that it takes PAMA down long enough for us to escape."

"Excellent! But what piece of information would be too much for it to handle?" Ivor whispered.

"Maybe some kind of riddle. You know, the unsolvable kind."

"What you're describing is a 'paradox'--a self-contradictory statement," Ivor grinned. "I really think it would work on PAMA."

PAMA suddenly paused in its processing. "What would work on me?"

Petra smirked. "Hey, PAMA. Trust me when I tell you--trust no one."

PAMA frowned. "So if I trust you, I should not trust anyone. But if I do not trust anyone, I should not trust you. So I should not follow your advice and therefore not trust anyone. Meaning I should trust you when you say to trust no one--" A warning sign appeared on the massive screen. "Error. This data is contradictory. Does not not not not compute. Error. Diverting power." 

Jesse and Lukas' hold on Petra's arms went slack, letting her step away from that horrific machine. Reuben was dropped to the ground, the pig running to Petra while Ivor threw his hands in the air. "it worked!"

"Nice work, new guys!" The voice of the strange woman from earlier caught their attention. "But I'd get out of there fast if I were you--PAMA's a quicker learner than you'd think!"

Just as Petra and Ivor ran towards the stairs, PAMA's face reappeared. "Paradox status: On hold. Gasp! My Creator! Have you finally agreed to merge with me?"

"Oh, don't you start with that again! Come on you two! This way!"

The woman dropped off the roof and Petra immediately ran after her, not checking to see if Ivor and Reuben were following. PAMA was still talking, but the townspeople were on the move, forcing Petra to dodge and leap her way across the rooftops. Around the side of the Mesa in the direction of the stairs.

She dropped easily down off the roof, hearing Ivor slam flat onto his back. With a curse she spun around, hauling the man to his feet and dragging him forward. Reuben was nowhere to be seen.

The remaining two were forced towards the cliff, PAMA's forces surrounding them on all other sides. Petra quickly scanned for a way out, cursing when she couldn't find one. "Come on, are you kidding me?!"

Ivor looked terrified. "We'd never survive jumping down!"

Petra quickly yanked her pouch open, passing Ivor an Ender Pearl. "Quick! Toss this down!"

Ivor took the Pearl, the two turning and chucking them as far as they could. "As soon as they land!"

They turned back around, watching Jesse, Lukas, and the townspeople draw closer. PAMA's voice echoed around them. "Your running makes me sad."

Jesse reached for Petra and she felt herself tipping backwards, desperately trying to avoid his grasp. Just as she lost her balance, a familiar chime echoed in her ears, her body landing on the sand far below. "Ugh. Oh God."

She managed to sit up despite her head again threatening mutiny, startling as a familiar pink pig came squealing towards her. "Reuben? How did you get down here?!"

The pig's earlier anger at the red head seemed to now be forgotten, Reuben hiding by her legs and shaking. The strange woman from before ran up to them, having also found a different way down. "Ha! Maybe you've got a shot after all, new guys! Better stick with me, though!"

She took off running again, Ivor straightening. "Wow. She is amazing--oh no."

Zombies were approaching them. Petra quickly scooped up Reuben and ran after the mystery woman, Ivor close behind.

π

Petra fell into the little well of water, the impact of the drop shifting her armor and pushing the remaining air out of her lungs. Reuben dropped down as she crawled out, Ivor nearly landing on the pig as he came yelping down.

Moments later, PAMA's chipped mobs began raining down, smashing on the floor and dying from the drop. Reuben took shelter behind Petra's legs while Ivor shook his head. "Looks like PAMA's throwing everything its got at us...Just one after the other! Such...wastefulness."

Petra scoffed. "You'd think since PAMA's controlling these things, they'd be a little smarter. They're all jumping to their deaths."

A few more mobs smashed down, until a single zombie managed to land on some cobwebs and stand up. "I spoke too soon."

The zombie began to approach, Reuben squealing nervously and causing Petra to glance down at him. "Just stay behind me, Reuben, okay? I've got  you."

She waited for the right moment and with a grunt, her foot collided with the zombie's chest. The mob fell backwards into the water and suddenly it began sparking and convulsing, the chip falling out of its head with a clatter. Ivor raised a curious eyebrow. "Looks like something happened to it! Its eyes...Their color changed as soon as it hit the water!"

"Its back to being a normal zombie?"

"Never thought I'd be relieved to see a zombie."

Petra hummed in agreement, drawing her sword as the zombie crawled out of the water. "Water and Redstone must not mix. It's like the water washes the Redstone away...Redstone is primarily a powder, right?"

"Yes, right. This means PAMA's control can be broken after all!"

She easily slashed the zombie, the mob finally dying how it originally should. Ivor chuckled. "Once a zombie, always a zombie, I suppose."

Petra grinned. "So we can use water to deactivate Jesse and Lukas' chips and they'll go back to normal!"

Ivor nodded. "It seems like a fair assumption."

A mechanical groan broke their conversation, several mobs now using the cobwebs to drop down safely. She cursed, starting to back up. "There's no way we can fight them all off."

A loud oink from Reuben caused her to turn around, scanning the tunnel behind them. The pig stood underneath a lever and she yanked Ivor's sleeve, running towards the switch. "Come on!"

She hit the lever the second she reached it, a massive wall of sand rumbling down and sealing off the tunnel from the entrance. It became completely silent, and she heaved a sigh of relief. "Good eye, Reuben. I assume this 'secret lab' is at the other of this tunnel."

Ivor nodded. "I just hope whatever's there can help us. It will make helping Jesse and Lukas a lot easier if there's something useful at this 'secret lab'," He stuck out his tongue with a disgusted noise. "PAMA's completely ruined the word 'useful' for me now."

"I...I didn't realize you care so much. You know, about the team and all that."

"I still have a few surprises up my sleeve," Ivor grin faded. "Are you alright, by the way?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm not talking physically, I'm talking emotionally. Y'know, since PAMA has your boyfriend and you and Jesse were fighting earlier..."

Petra frowned and for a moment, she debated responding with one of her usual comments that would close the conversation. Then she sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of her neck. "Even though I apologized to him, I can't help but be angry at myself for even thinking of treating him like that. I know the blame game never does anything either, but if I had acted differently, Jesse wouldn't have stomped off and we wouldn't be here right now."

"Well, what you had said wasn't good, yes, but Jesse did make the conscious decision to go off and pick the portal," Ivor shook his head. "I mean, fights do happen and will continue to happen. Making mistakes is part of this wonderful experience called life. Take it from me. I've lived a lot of life and made a lot of mistakes."

She couldn't help but snort. "Made a lot of really big ones, too."

"Yes, well, what's important is that I've owned up to those mistakes. And you owned up to yours. But take it from someone as 'old' as me," He smiled a bit. "I like to give you two shit, sure, but I can see it in the way he looks at you. No matter what you do, Jesse is going to love you. You just have to remember to let him."

Petra searched for a response, but came up utterly speechless. "Wow."

"Told you I still have some surprises," He winked and after a moment, decided to shift the conversation. "I must say, that woman has been the most intriguing person so far. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of her."

"'Intriguing'?" Petra snorted. "Almost sounds like somebody has a crush."

Ivor, to her amusement, panicked a bit. "I--What? No! I don't mean it like that! I'm just saying I can empathize when it comes to your creations getting out of hand. Nothing more."

"Really sounds like something more to me."

"This is why I'm not nice to you! I don't mean anything!"

The woman who was the focal point of the conversation cleared her throat, drawing their attention to where she leaned against the wall. "Careful with all that sputtering. You'll swallow your beard."

Ivor, again, panicked. "What did you hear? It was nothing!"

"Uh-huh. You're Petra, right?"

Petra nodded. "Yeah. This is Ivor and Reuben. The ones PAMA got are Jesse and Lukas."

"That's one durable pig you've got there. Oh, you can call me Harper," Harper crossed her arms. "You can also tell me why you led PAMA's forces right to my secret lab. Seems to me I've got a lot of angry computer-controlled monsters out there waiting to tear some new holes in my lab."

Petra frowned. "I doubt they can get in. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, I also thought they couldn't make it down here and look how that worked out for us," Harper suddenly stepped back. "What are you doing in this world anyway? You here to try and steal my secrets?"

"No! What the hell?"

"Just figured I'd ask--better safe than sorry and all that. Bunch of you are the first people I've seen come out of the portal network in forever. So you'll have to excuse me if it made me a little...anxious."

Petra's frown deepened as they continued to walk down the tunnel. "How in the hell did you know we came from there?"

"Well, you said earlier that you came from a portal and unless you've been somehow hiding in the Nether all these years, you had to come from the portal network. That and I know where it tends to spit people out and I've never seen you before so...logic."

Ivor looked, for lack of a different word, intrigued. "You know that much about how this...portal network operates?"

"I should think so. I helped build the dang thing."

Petra's eyebrows shot up. Wait, that means you're an Old Builder?"

Harper chuckled softly. "Forgot you people called us that. Never was my favorite name. Makes me sound like some sort of living statue."

"Hypothetically, this means you should have the skills to free our friends from PAMA, right?"

"I'm afraid that's a little bit out of my abilities right now. PAMA is just too powerful. And besides, there's actually no exit portal back to the portal network from this world," Harper shook her head. "I had to destroy it so PAMA couldn't get free. It was impulsive, but it was the only way I could think of to make sure PAMA didn't try and spread to other worlds!"

"Okay, fine. So you can build a new one."

"You basic or something? I can't do that while PAMA is still running!"

Petra and Ivor exchanged glances, and Petra finally asked, "What exactly is PAMA?"

π

A violent rumble filled the air, the whole room seeming to shift around them as it shook. Harper and Petra exchanged nervous looks. 

"I still need to activate the other cauldrons! Hold them off to buy me time," Harper ran off to the next cauldron. "And whatever you do, don't get caught! I'm not about to get left alone again."

Petra nodded, running to the mouth of the tunnel. Jesse and Lukas led several spider, their swords drawn as PAMA made Jesse announce, "You could've made this much easier for yourself. It is useless to defy us. You only delay the inevitable."

"Get out of their heads, PAMA!" Petra yelled.

"Your friends have been made useful. You, too, will be made useful."

Only when Jesse got too close did Petra draw her sword. "Don't do this, Jesse! Please!"

"I know all of your moves now, Petra," Was the reply. "Why even bother fighting?"

PAMA probably knew exactly what it was doing, setting Jesse on Petra instead of Lukas. She wouldn't want to fight Lukas either, sure, but the different emotional attachment to Jesse made this even worse. His diamond sword flashed through the air, her sword coming up to block. "Jesse, please! you have to fight it!"

Another steam of water came rushing down, soaking Ivor through while Lukas dodged. The older man sputtered, stepping aside and nervously eyeing the blond. "Lukas, let's try and talk this out!"

Lukas shook his head. "The time for talking--"

"--Is over." Jesse finished.

Petra heard a threatening hiss sound behind her, turning and seeing a spider leap at her from the wall. She hit it mid-air, sending it through a waterfall and using the opportunity to get herself away from Jesse, killing the mob. More waterfalls came rumbling down and Ivor suddenly went flying through the air, landing on his face near Petra's feet.

Lukas began to stroll forward. "End of the line, Petra."

Jesse approached from the right, Lukas from the left. There was enough water to unchip both of them, but with Ivor down and Reuben busy distracting some spiders, only Petra could shove them into the water. There was only one of her and two of them.

She did hate herself a tiny bit for it, but she felt the choice was obvious. She threw herself at Jesse, slamming into him and sending him through a waterfall. Like the zombie earlier, he convulsed with electricity, his scream of pain wrenching something inside Petra. He seemed to struggle with himself a moment as he tried to lift his head, his eyes blessedly green as he looked up at her. "Petra? Oh, God, that was so bad--"

"Uhm, Petra?" Ivor's voice drew her attention, making her immediately scan the room for the problem. Lukas had grabbed Harper, forcing the woman to toss the water bucket. Petra ran forward to help but moved too slow, Lukas hauling Harper onto a spider to carry her off. "Use the headset, Petra! And don't forget the last cauldron!" The woman yelled, reaching into her pocket and tossing a rose down. "And one more thing! Get the roses to Harry!"

And with that, she and Lukas were gone.

Ivor was hauling Jesse to his feet, the brunette wobbling dangerously as Ivor exclaimed, "He's bleeding pretty bad, Petra! What are we going to do?!"

"Harper told me to fill the last cauldron!"

"Well then, hurry up while I get Jesse inside! Come on, Reuben!"

Petra grabbed the bucket and ran to the final cauldron, dumping the water in as quickly as she dared. A new wave of spiders entered the room as a huge rush of water fell in front of the lab doors. She turned and scooped up the rose, running for the doors with the spiders hot on her heels. She ducked through the water, breathing hard as she turned and slammed the doors shut.

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song eleven, "Standing in the Storm" by Skillet

π

Petra stared for a long moment at the closed doors, fighting to get her erratic breathing under control. Lukas had Harper, which meant she was being brought back to PAMA right at that moment. Petra didn't know how long it would take them to reach town, but she figured with PAMA's enhancements to the mobs, it wouldn't be long.

A soft curse made her turn around. Jesse sat on the floor, wincing while Ivor carefully knelt behind him, probing the back of the brunette's neck. "How bad is it, Ivor?"

"Well, its not optimal, but I don't think you're going to bleed to death from it. Although some bandages would be helpful," Ivor looked up at Peta. "Lukas and Harper?"

She shook her head and Jesse cursed again. "No...I...I'm not sure if this is helpful, but when I was part of PAMA...I remember something that seemed important? Tall, glowy red lights..." He winced. "Its like trying to remember a dream...I could try to remember more if you want, but...God, my head."

"No, no, stop, it's okay," Petra knelt down in front of him, unable to keep herself from taking his face in her hands. "Don't hurt yourself. You've already been through enough."

He let out a shaky breath, his eyes jumping around almost nervously. "Right, right. It was so weird, like I was connected to everyone else's brains at the same time. It made sense then, but now its a jumble..."

"Just take it easy, Jesse," She brushed his hair away from his eyes. "Let your brain recover."

He nodded a little bit and she stood, offering him a hand up. He took it, now far less wobbly, and she gave his hand a squeeze before letting go. "Okay, we need to see if we can find you some bandages and this headset thing Harper mentioned. We gotta move fast before PAMA can chip Harper."

They began walking, Jesse asking, "I missed something here. Why is Harper so important?"

"She built PAMA apparently, which means she's the only one who knows the key to destroying it."

"Yeah, okay. I see why she's so important now."

Reuben snorted and Petra glanced at the pig before nodding. "We're going to shut down that God-awful computer, save the people from that thing, and it should help Lukas too."

The group rounded the corner, entering into what Petra could only assume was the lab. Redstone trails, bookshelves, greeters, and all sorts of other things dotted the space. Jesse let out a low whistle. "This is pretty cool."

"Yeah," Petra reached into her pouch, pulling out the rose. "Harper threw this to me. Said to give it to Harry."

"And that will help us find the 'headset'?"

"That's what she said."

Jesse frowned. "Is Harper still in her right mind? She's been alone for a really long time and that usually does a lot of bad things to your mental health."

"I'm pretty sure she is a bit crazy. But who are we to judge, I guess..." Petra put the rose back in her bag. "Look, we have to find 'Harry' and give him his flowers. Jesse, can you please go sit down while Ivor and I get looking?"

"No, I should help," Jesse took a few steps forward and suddenly wobbled a bit. "Shit...Head rush."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you want to help, but you can help by not making me worry about you."

He chuckled a bit. "Okay..."

The group split up, Jesse and Reuben going to sit down while Petra and Ivor began looking around. She took her helmet off and set it on one of the tables, taking a quick survey of the room. She had to admit that the space was a bit intimidating, giving off a vibe of organized chaos. The first thing she latched onto was a nearby sign and she decided to read it aloud, "'Prototype: Autonomous Management Agent'? So that's what PAMA stands for."

She moved on, making her way through the lab. She figured out quickly enough that each greeter had a soundbox and an item frame. When the right item was in the frame, the adjoining Redstone trail would light up. The soundboxes usually held a key phrase that would let her know what the needed object was, but Petra found that listening to the messages was a bit disturbing.

She checked on Ivor, who wasn't exactly being very helpful, and figured out a few of the other frames. She had yet to find Harry, but as she made her way to a new part of the lab, she saw Jesse sitting with Reuben in the corner. "You guys okay?"

"Well, I couldn't find any bandages, so now the back of my neck is a sticky mess. But I'm doing better," Jesse gave Reuben a scratch behind the ears as Petra joined them. "Reuben's pretty shook up though."

"Fair enough. You're not still mad at ne though, are you, Reuben?"

The pig shook his head, Jesse looking up at Petra. "Thanks for keeping him safe."

"I did my best," She knelt down so she was at Jesse's eye level. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I have you to thank for that. Although I'm really worried about Lukas...that horrible machine still has him."

"I'm worried about him too. But we'll find this headset and hopefully it will help us solve everything," She went to stand, but his face made her pause. "Are you sure you're okay?"

In response, he silently reached up, running his fingers lightly over some of her hair that rested on her shoulder. His hand slid up to the base of her neck, the slight amount of pressure encouraging her to lean forward and, to her surprise, he pressed his lips against hers. She couldn't remember the last time he had kissed her and something about that fact made the desperation of their situation even more real. 

The feeling of his partially-dry lips lingered when he pulled back, Petra blinking a few times as he whispered, "Now go find that headset."

She nodded and as she stood, she was hit with the realization that he tasted like home.

As she walked over to the final greeter, she realized that she was lucky enough to have an important piece of home with her. She had him and if Ivor was right, she always would. This thought made her smile a bit as she stuck the rose in the item frame, watching the final Redstone circuit light up. A hum of machinery filled the air followed by a loud shifting noise as an armor stand popped up in the middle of a glass floor. 

Petra raised an eyebrow, carefully lifting the strange helmet off the stand. "This must be the headset..."

She slowly put it on, a soft beeping followed by a loud whir hitting her ears. Everything was dark but something slowly started to come into view as Ivor exclaimed, "What's going on, Petra? Is it working?"

"Hang on...something is starting to come into focus," Petra frowned as the dim, fuzzy image started to come through clear. She was standing in one of the zombie pens, but how could she..."Holy shit."

"What?" Ivor pressed. "Is PAMA there?"

"Or more monsters?" Jesse added.

"I'm outside," Petra looked down at her hands, staring at the green flesh that had replaced her gloves. "Oh Notch, this is a bit disorienting...I'm controlling a zombie."

"What?" She heard Ivor shuffled closer, but she couldn't see him when she turned in his direction. "Controlling it like PAMA?"

"Sort of? It syncs with my movements."

"Remarkable...How is this possible? I mean, I've always heard tales of what the Old Builders were capable of...But this...this is just remarkable."

"Aren't you supposed to be the genius, Ivor? My guess is that she made this before PAMA went haywire for...I don't know, fine-tuning or something."

"Unbelievable...There are so many questions I want to ask Harper! It really is a shame she got captured," Ivor sighed. "That spider jockey had to haul her all the way back to town...Yet you traveled their instantly."

"Yeah. Which means I should get moving so I can help her in time."

"Let's just hope she isn't too far away from this zombie you're controlling."

Petra nodded, taking a moment to survey the surroundings. There was a few other mob enclosures nearby, a crafting table, and the staircase leading back to town. Or what was left of the staircase, anyway. "Looks like PAMA took out the stairs."

"Visitors aren't being encouraged then, huh?" Jesse said, a half joking tone in his voice. 

"Hmm," Petra heard Ivor's robe rustle. "I would suggest building a tower up there but that's not going to help you get back down once you've freed Harper and Lukas."

"Good point. I DO have access to a crafting table..." Petra scanned the surroundings again. "Not much to build with though. Lots of sand..."

With a cautious glance at the other zombies she exited the pen, approaching a large patch of red sand. If she got enough of it, she could make sandstone blocks and build a new staircase with that. Ignoring the slight disorientation in the back of her mind, she dug up as much of the sand as she could carry, hauling it back to the crafting table.

The sandstone recipe was easy and quick, and just as she was finishing, she heard a metallic groan sound right behind her. The other zombies were nearly on top of her and with a startled noise, she ducked under their outstretched arms. "Nope, not today!"

She ran to where the base of the old stairs had been and quickly began to build a rather crude staircase. "There. Not the pretties, but it'll work," She froze as the feed suddenly went fuzzy, flickering black for just a moment. "Ivor, this isn't just supposed to cut for no reason, right?"

Ivor didn't respond and just as she shrugged it off and resumed moving, the robotic voice of PAMA hit her ears. "Interference detected."

"God, please no..."

"Drone sequencing initiated. Trace subroutine initiated," Down below, the zombies began to move out of their pens, PAMA asking, "Is that you, Petra?"

She cursed. "PAMA."

"Hello, Petra," She could practically hear the disturbing smile in PAMA's voice as she attempted to dash up the stairs. "Just what do you think you're doing, Petra? This is a rather silly thing to do, don't you think?"

Petra froze as some new mobs appeared at the top of the stairs, leaving her with no escape route. "Crap. Surrounded on all sides."

"Once my Creator is made useful, all of her knowledge will be mine. Yay! I will make an Exit Portal. After that, everything will be made useful."

"Yeah, well trust me, I'm not going to let that happen."

PAMA laughed mechanically. "You are rather silly, aren't you, Petra? Ha, ha," The mobs finally reached her and began beating the zombie she was controlling, dull echoes of the pain hitting her system. "I cannot allow your disruptive behavior to continue--"

"LET ME GO!"

"My subroutine will soon isolate your location...and you will be removed."

Petra looked around frantically, noticing two new skeletons at the top of the stairs with text above their heads. One read 'INVALID' but the other read 'MIGRATE' and, unsure of how she did it, Petra gained control of the second skeleton. "Woah, okay. Gosh, not a moment too soon."

She turned and ran, making her way into town while Ivor hesitantly asked, "Petra? What are you doing?"

"Heading towards town. Honestly, this tech is really cool."

"And you look very cool while using it, I assure you."

"Sarcasm much?"

She paused at the top of the stairs, PAMA announcing, "Interference remains. Drone sequencing re-initiated. Trace subroutine re-initiated."

Petra cursed, migrating to another zombie and heading towards the center of town. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep jumping mobs forever, so she had to reach Harper before PAMA caught up. Harper was, luckily, still unchipped--Petra could hear the woman fighting PAMA from up on the chipping platform. Lukas however was nowhere to be seen and PAMA was still searching for Petra. "Termination sequence activated. Game over, Petra. Resistance is not useful. Traced subroutine running..."

She scoffed. "Not useful, my ass."

She quickly scanned the sea of mobs, finding an available skeleton and migrating to it. Then she jumped to the one at the base of the steps and finally migrated to the zombie gripping Harper's left arm. The woman was fighting hard, pausing only when Petra let go of her. "Harper!"

"Did you find her?" Ivor asked, his anxiety clear in his voice. "I'm sure she's thrilled to see you!"

"Shit, I don't think she can hear me," Petra frowned and then, feeling only slightly ridiculous, began flailing around. "Come on..."

Harper squinted and then it clicked. "Wait a minute...Petra?! You figured out how to use me transmigrational headset!"

The other zombie had caught on to what was happening, forcing Petra to grab it and shove it off the platform. She then grabbed Harper's hand and they dashed down the stairs, PAMA finally starting to catch up to what was happening. "Where do you plan to run? The town is surrounded. Reinforcements will make sure my Creator cannot leave."

Harper froze. "There's too many of them!"

Petra scanned their surroundings, spotting a small pit and dragging Harper to it. PAMA's metallic voice echoed over the mesa. "You can't play hide and seek forever, Petra. It's a boring game. And I am too strong."

Harper nudged Petra's arm, pointing towards the mesa. "There! That door leads to PAMA's central core! Petra, you and your friends are our only hope!" A townsperson reached over and roughly grabbed the woman. "You must remove the Redstone Heart! Remove! The Redstone! Heart! You can still save everyone!"

"Interference located. Drone identified. Hide and seek is done, Petra," PAMA's forces began to surround the zombie she was controlling, grabbing at it. "I think we can make that headset...useful. Begin termination sequence."

An antagonizing flare of pain seared through her head and a wiff of smoke hit her nose. She managed to yank her hands out of the now-invisible grip holding her and she fought the headset as the pain hit her again. PAMA was trying to kill her, it was trying to kill her--

She finally managed to get the headset off, the lights flickering out as soft puffs of smoke floated up from the fried device. She let it clatter to the floor, turning to the two men behind her. "We need to go."

"Wait, are you okay?" Jesse grabbed her wrist, preventing her from walking away. "It sounded like you were talking to Harper...and PAMA?"

She sighed. "I wasn't able to outrun the computer. Harper managed to show me the entrance to PAMA's core...We have to get to it."

"But what happened to Harper?"

"She--She got dragged away. PAMA is probably chipping her right now. But we can still stop this thing."

"It seems we're sunk," Ivor crossed his arms. "Without Harper, how are we supposed to shut PAMA down?"

"Guys, come on, we're The Order of the Stone! We defeated a Witherstorm, saved Sky City, survived a psycho murderer--we've done the impossible over and over again! How is this any different? Besides," She couldn't help but look at Jesse. "We're a team. And together, there's nothing we can't do."

A tiny smile flickered across his face. "You are so right. So what's the game plan?"

"Like I said before, Harper showed me how to get inside PAMA to shut it down. Gotta remove something called the 'Redstone Heart'."

"'Redstone Heart's?" Ivor repeated.

Jesse suddenly jerked back, causing Reuben to look up at him anxiously. "Ow...Wait, I--I just remembered something. The red lights I mentioned before--Three. There's three and I think they have something to do with the Heart. Three Redstone spires," His face fell. "That's...all I can remember. Sorry."

Petra couldn't help but reach over and give his hand a squeeze. "Jesse, that's perfect. Thank you."

She turned and grabbed her helmet, putting it on and approaching one of the small water pools. Ivor trailer after her. "But how are we supposed to destroy these spires, or whatever we're looking for?"

"Did you leave your brain in a ditch somewhere, Ivor? Water is PAMA's only weakness," Petra pulled out the three empty buckets from her bag, filling them and tossing one to each member of the gang. "Are you ready for this?"

Jesse grinned. "Ready if you are."

"Then let's go shut this thing down."

π

Getting back up without dropping Lukas was one of the most stressful things Petra had ever done. Climbing up without the added weight would've been hard enough and in hindsight, it was a miracle neither of them fell to their death.

He fell to the ground the second they reached the top and she was immediately at his side. "Lukas!"

The rest of the gang quickly joined them, Reuben nudging the blond's arm. When Lukas didn't respond, the pig let out a sad whine while Petra checked his wrist for the faintest sign of a pulse. Ivor was hovering, seemingly unsure if he should help or just stand there. "When you removed the Redstone Heart...it must've severed their connection."

"God, Lukas, you better not die on us," Petra scanned the blond's face. "You're way too tough for some machine to take you down."

There was a moment of silence and Lukas' eyes cracked open. "Never knew you cared so much, Petra."

She gasped, hauling him upright. "He's okay!"

Reuben let out a happy squeal and Petra couldn't help but throw her arms around the blond. Lukas made a strangled noise. "I must be dying. Petra's giving out physical affection."

She snorted and let him go. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah...I can't believe I tried to...kill you. I'm so sorry," Lukas' face fell. "All I could hear was PAMA's voice telling me what to do. I tried to fight back but I--I couldn't."

"Hey, you have nothing to apologize for. I know that was all PAMA. Sorry for throwing you around like that."

"I don't know..." Lukas winked. "I kinda remember it the other way around, actually."

Petra snorted again and after a moment, she pulled the Redstone Heart out of her bag. The group gathered around to look at it, Harper commenting, "It's something else, isn't it?"

"What is that?" Jesse asked.

"This..." Petra watched the light pulse from the block a moment. "This is the Redstone Heart."

Ivor studied the Heart with clear reverence. "Beautiful."

"But it's probably dangerous, right?" Lukas asked. "I mean, if it was inside PAMA...Then it's gotta be bad."

Petra frowned. "Yeah, it probably is..."

The gang immediately stepped back, causing Harper to chuckle. "Actually, the Heart is just a power source. Nothing inherently evil about it. And now that the Redstone Heart isn't powering PAMA, it can't hurt anyone."

Petra eyed the glowing block. "I wonder what we should do with it..."

"It can help you find your way home."

Everyone immediately turned to the Old Builder, Lukas asking, "That thing can help us get home?"

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!" Petra exclaimed.

Harper let out a good-natured laugh. "If we actually made it through this alive, I thought you'd like a nice surprise."

Petra grinned, sticking the Heart back in her bag. "Well, I'm ready to leave this rather creepy core, aren't you?"

"The whole town will be waking up. We should be there to say hello!"

The group exchanged nods, making their way out of the core into the warm morning sun that was just beginning to shine on the mesa. A burning zombie wandered past them and Petra grinned. "Well would you look at that."

They began walking towards the center of town, Lukas announcing, "Ahh, to be in total control of my own brain again! I choose where to go, I choose what to say--"

Harper's expression fell. "Just remember, you were only chipped for a little while. The rest of the townspeople, though--" They rounded a corner to see the people celebrating. "It's going to be a much bigger shock for them."

Ivor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it must be a strange feeling--to suddenly be awake and aware after such a long time under PAMA's control."

The townspeople began to notice the group approaching, a man enthusiastically greeting them. "It's you! You're the ones who saved us! Who are you? You fought so valiantly!"

"All of you!" A woman added.

Petra grinned. "Who, us? We're just the Order of the Stone. A group of friends who seek adventure and do some good deeds wherever we can."

The man grinned back. "Wow! Well, thank you so much! We really owe you everything."

Harper stepped forward. "You're right! Petra and the Order really are heroes. We couldn't have done any of this without them."

The man squinted. "Harper? Is that you?"

"Um, yes. Hi, Harry."

Petra couldn't help but lean over to Ivor and whisper, "He's the real Harry. Like from the lab."

Harry frowned. "You didn't do this to us. Did you?"

When Harper didn't respond, one of the women gasped, "You did..."

Harper began to stutter. "Well, I mean--hey--it's complicated. You have to understand--"

"Our home is destroyed."

Petra quickly stepped in. "Hey, Harper built PAMA with good intentions. PAMA is the one that did all the damage, not her."

"So what, we're just supposed to forgive her now?" Harry asked.

Protests began to lift up from the crowd and Petra simply crossed her arms and gave them a look. The people slowly quieted down, Harry sighing. "I guess we'll figure it out. All by ourselves."

Petra turned to the Order, frowning. "I think we should, uh, go."

They began walking towards the portal PAMA had built, Harper looking over at Petra. "I may not have been from here originally, but you stay someplace long enough and it'll start to feel like home. I feel bad that they'll just remember me as some mad scientist that created a monster."

Petra bit her lip, unsure of how to respond. Maybe she should've defended the Old Builder better, but who was she to dictate how these people she feel? PAMA had done that for them long enough.

As she lit the portal, one of the townspeople yelled, "DON'T COME BACK, HARPER!"

"WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE!" Harry added.

Harper slumped and with a sigh, went through the portal. Ivor, Lukas, and Reuben followed after and Jesse went to as well, pausing to look at Petra. "You know, Petra, despite all the pain and grief that happened in getting here...I'm honestly pretty glad we came."

She chuckled a bit, nudging his arm. "I'm glad too."

He grinned and stepped through the portal, Petra following right after. They landed, of course, back in the portal hallway, the red head suppressing a sigh. "And here we are again."

"Is it weird that I'm happy to see this place again?" Lukas asked. 

"I mean, I personally find it a little weird. Something about this place feels off to me."

"Makes my skin feel all prickly." Jesse added.

"Well, I'm just excited that we're going home," Lukas replied. "That's what I'm trying to focus on."

"Now, when we built this place, we also made something that sorta acts like a compass-slash-map-slash-navigator..." Harper led them down the hall. "We called it 'The Atlas'. It helps chart routes between worlds."

"And you have this Atlas, right?" Petra asked.

"Uh...No. No, I don't. But! But I know who does!"

Petra couldn't help but groan and Lukas sighed. "Guess I should've seen that coming."

Jesse frowned. "Are you still keeping secrets, Harper?"

"No no no, I promise. I just didn't think to mention it before," The woman resumed walking. "Don't you worry! We'll just go right in, ask for the Atlas, and then you'll be home. No muss, no fuss...Easy."

Petra scoffed. "Funny. Whenever someone says that my instincts start screaming 'danger'."

"Look, in order to find the Atlas...we need to track down the rest of the 'Old Builders'. Still don't like that name."

"Well, how do we find them? Which portal do we have to use?"

"Oh, you don't have to go through another portal. What you've been looking for has been here the whole time," Harper turned and broke a specific spot in the wall, revealing some Redstone wiring. "And there you go. All it's waiting for is the key."

A long moment of silence and Harper sighed. "That's the Heart."

Petra nodded, reaching into her pouch and pulling out the glowing block. She carefully set it in the spot, a rumbling filling the air. The portal in front of them slid down, revealing a white staircase leading up.

"The answers you're seeking...the Old Builder's Atlas...your way home..." Harper pointed. "They're right up those stairs."

Petra nodded, stepping forward and looking up the staircase, a gasp escaping her lips. 

The other members of the Order joined her, staring down their newest obstacle. There was a long, heavy moment of silence and Ivor quietly asked, "Adventure?"

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song twelve, "Stone's Throw" by The Red Clay Strays

π

The stairs were kind of intimidating. They were so long that Petra couldn't even see the top and the last time she had seen anything remotely like it was Soren's house in The End. And this put Soren's staircase to shame.

"Wow. That is..." Lukas pulled out his book and quickly jotted something down. "That's a lot of stairs."

"And all revealed by the Redstone Heart," Ivor stroked his beard. "Amazing."

Harper smiled a bit. "Yeah. Not bad, right?" She watched as Petra grabbed the Heart, then gestured to the staircase. "After you."

Petra looked up the steps again, taking a deep breath. "Okay. I have no idea what we'll find up there, but lets just do what we've done this whole time--stick together."

Jesse hummed. "Sounds like a plan to me."

They began their trek up the staircase, Harper letting out a sigh. "Feels like just yesterday we were building this place...Still don't agree with some of the aesthetic choices. Very odd to be back."

"I gotta admit, this is kinda neat," Jesse announced. "I had no idea we had been exploring the world of the Old Builders this whole time."

"Well, we were pretty proud of it when we were putting the place together. Kinda thought I'd never need to come back to tell you the truth."

Petra raised an eyebrow. "I'm sensing a story here."

"I...guess you could say that."

"Are you hiding something?"

"No! No, just...the others might not be 100% happy to see me."

"'Others'?" Ivor echoed. "You mean we're going to meet MORE Old Builders?"

"Still don't like when you call us that," Harper rolled her eyes before continuing. "Yep, but I gotta warn you...They're not as friendly as I am. I'm probably the, uh, nicest Old Builder."

"Old Builder social politics..." Ivor sounded a little too interested. "My goodness."

Petra scoffed. "That's a joke, right? You must be joking. You're 'nice'?"

"Yeah, I don't know if you remember the whole 'PAMA' thing, but..." Lukas trailed off.

Harper glared. "Hey, I had good intentions with that, alright? Don't make me regret helping you."

"Well, you're gonna give us the Atlas and then we can go home, right?" Lukas asked.

"Kind of? The Atlas isn't exactly mine to give. It belongs to the other 'Old Builders'. And, well..." Harper slowed to a stop. "They might not want to give it up."

Petra froze and turned, crossing her arms. "Why do I get the feeling there's a lot you're not telling us?"

A shrug. "Good instincts."

Petra sighted. "Okay...Maybe we can make a deal with them."

"Oh yeah. They love making deals," The older woman resumed walking, the others following after. "You'll see when you get there."

Lukas quietly tugged on Petra's arm, whispering, "Hey, Petra. Are you sure we can trust Harper? Look at all our interactions with her so far. They haven't exactly been great, remember?"

"Yeah, I do. She also saved our lives, Lukas."

"Only after she put them in danger. If I remember correctly, we saved her just about as much as she saved us."

"Look, just stop stressing it so much. We'll get the Atlas and finally go home."

"I appreciate your vote of confidence, Petra," Harper stopped at the top of the stairs. "Sorry. I just couldn't resist a good eavesdrop. I promise I'm trying to help, Lukas."

Lukas simply frowned and they finally crested the top of the steps, facing a set of wooden doors set in a quartz wall. Harper nodded. "You just gotta go through there."

Petra's eyebrow arched up. "A regular door?"

"Time to step through and find out."

Petra didn't like the sinking pit forming in her stomach but she didn't really have any other choice but to open the doors. The second she did, she was blinded by white light. "What the--?!"

"Before you go in there, I have one more piece of advice," Harper's voice came through the white haze. "Don't die!"

Before she could fully comprehend what Harper had just said, Petra felt someone's body collide with her back and she stumbled forward. Then she was blindly free-falling, screaming as she fell through the light before hitting the ground hard. The sounds of people and the occasional explosion registered in her mind before the surroundings did.

Several people in colored suits chased each other around with shovels. Large, heavily armed people stood overhead throwing TNT and shooting fire arrows down. What the hell had they fallen into? 

A voice suddenly echoing from overhead made her flinch. "Well, what do we have here? It seems as if some new competitors have entered the match."

Petra started to realize how dangerous the situation actually was, drawing her sword as an unseen woman announced, "My, isn't that special?"

Another explosion and Petra openly cursed. "What in the world did Harper dump us into?"

"Some sort of crazy game!" Jesse shot back.

"Really?" Ivor yelled. "You think THIS is a game?!"

"No, no, no, Jesse's right!" Lukas exclaimed. "Spleef!"

"Gesundheit?"

"No, its a game! You try to knock the floor out from other people and make them fall."

One of the strangers dressed in green suddenly ran at them, screaming, "Be like Tim!"

Lukas slammed into Petra, knocking them both to the side as the stranger destroyed the ground they had just been standing on. Jesse, Ivor, and Reuben were on the other side of the new hole and as Petra stood, she lava through glass and--sticky pistons?

She looked up to see the man rushing at them again and without hesitating , slashed at him with her sword. He stumbled back, teetering at the edge of the whole for just a moment before falling down with a cry. Something smashed below and Petra heard an angry yell. "That was my only decent teammate!"  

A large, angry looking woman with pigtails shot Petra a furious glare before running towards Jesse. Several of the competitors began ganging up on the brunette and at the same time, fire arrows began to rain down around Ivor. Reuben was on the other side of the field, trying to escape a random competitor. Both Jesse and Ivor were screaming for help and again, Petra didn't even stop to think about who to save. "Lukas, help Ivor!"

She turned and ran towards the group surrounding Jesse, pushing a person aside before slamming into him. They went backwards, nearly knocking heads as they fell out of the way of the competitors. Jesse gasped. "Holy--thanks. That was really close."

She heard a yelp and looked up just in time to see a blond with dreadlocks hit out the blocks beneath Lukas and Ivor. They tumbled down to the glass below, Lukas having just enough time to scramble to his feet and yell Jesse's name before the sticky pistons suddenly slammed together.

Petra's system got hit with a minecart of shock. No, no, no, this couldn't be real. There was no way--They couldn't be...they couldn't be dead!

The blond who had sent them down cheered. "Woah no way dude I got a double!"

Petra felt her shock get replaced with fury and she ran at the blond, slashing with her sword. The woman tumbled down, suddenly looking terrified. "Hey, hey, hey, woah! This is a misunderstanding, dude! What are you doing?!"

"Hey!" The woman with pigtails pointed. "Using weapons is against the rules!"

This made Petra slow for just a second. "Rules?!"

"Not cool, man! SO NOT COOL--" The voice made her look up, one of the armed people tossing TNT down at her. Without even thinking about it, she it back, the TNT exploding on the man and launching him straight off his platform.

"Slab is down," One of the loud voices announced. "I repeat, Slab is down."

"Stop the match!"

"Not since the days of Tim have we seen such heated play."

Slab climbed to his feet, exclaiming, "That's totally against the rules, right?!"

Petra and Jesse carefully jumped off the playing field, sword still drawn and in the defensive as Reuben joined them. The dreadlock blond, despite the weapon pointed at her, said, "Yeah, I didn't think we could throw TNT back at the gladiators. Nice one, brah."

Petra felt herself snap. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Woah now I think--"

"And now you're just trying to be all 'buddy-buddy'?!" She laughed a little manically. "You killed my friends. I couldn't give two shits about your compliments and I am NOT your 'brah'!"

The blond held her hands up in surrender. "Woah han on, dude! I'm not in charge here...It's THEM."

She pointed, drawing Petra's gaze up to an alcove high above the Spleef field. Three people stared down at them, the woman of the group putting her hands on her hips. "Yes. WE'RE the ones in charge here."

The man in the purple suit looked furious. "And we've never had to stop a match. Ever."

The man in green seemed the calmest. "It definitely is strange, Mevia. What is going on here?"

Purple-suit-man strode forward. "I want an explanation. IMMEDIATELY."

The three walked forward, simply building their way down with startling speed and confidence. Petra and Jesse stayed defensive, Reuben crouching behind them as the man in green said, "This is going to require some reconfiguring of the stats for sure..."

Petra glared. "You killed my friends! They're dead! Because of you!"

"Wait, wait, wait, and that's why you're ruining our games?" Mevia asked.

Purple-suit-man scoffed. "Yeah, come on, geeze! How petty are  you?"

Mevia rolled her dark eyes. "Lashing out just because your friends were eliminated."

"Kind of 'sore loser' behavior, don't you think, sport?"

"It IS part of the games." The man in green agreed.

"Oh, I've got a game we could play," Petra's eye twitched and she bent into her usual stance for attack. "I'll go first."

Jesse's voice was  the only thing that kept her from lunging. "Are you people crazy?! People are dying out here and you're still talking about 'games'?"

Realization dawned on the face of the man in green. "Oh wow. You don't know, do you? Your friends aren't dead."

Petra was so shocked she lowered her sword slightly. "What?"

"When people are eliminated in the games, they don't DIE--"

Purple-suit-man snorted. "That would be wasteful!"

"Obviously," Mevia strolled forward. "They come back and we have them go work in the mines!"

"Your friends are alive and well."

"It's just a game."

"Just a game, my ass," Petra stared at the strangers with a hard gaze. "Let them go."

"Sorry, sport, but they WERE eliminated," purple-suit-man shook his head. "Its called 'respawning', champ. We're not monsters."

The man in green cleared his throat. "In our games, when people 'die' they reappear in one of our respawn zones."

Mevia grinned. "I hear its still pretty painful, though. And you're lucky your pig didn't get eliminated. As far as we know, respawning doesn't work on animals."

Reuben squealed in alarm and purple-suit-man marched forward, seemingly disregarding Petra's sword. "Well, sport, now that you've come and interrupted out games, I'm sure our fans would LOVE to know how you got here. SPILL!"

"Why bother?" Mevia crossed her arms. "They all end up in the mines."

As furious as Petra was with Harper for shoving them into this mess, there was no way she was telling these people shit. "Its none of your damn business."

Eyes narrowed behind tinted glasses. "Well that's cute. Almost as cute as you'll look down in the mines, slugger."

He turned and began to walk away. The gladiators started to advance on the duo but Harper's voice drifted through the air. "Aw, let's not get hot-headed, Hadrian. Petra's with me."

Hadrian raised a white eyebrow. "Well. If it isn't Harper..."

"I must say, this return IS unexpected..." The man in green commented.

Harper crossed her arms, doing a quick signal for Petra and Jesse to put their weapons away. "You're telling me. I'm here for Petra."

"Oh really?" Hadrian's gaze slide over to the red-head. "So tell me, Champ. Why do you think Harper brought you here?"

This sentence was the opening to a potential deal and Petra still knew all the negotiation tactics from her time as a mercenary. There was a million ways to respond to such a statement but with how angry she was, she picked 'forward and demanding'. "We're here for the Atlas. You are going to hand it over so my friends and I can go home."

"Straight and to the point," Hadrian began to pace. "I'd like it if I weren't simmering with BARELY controlled rage right now."

"We're, of course, not going to do any of those things, but..." Mevia smiled. "Admirable try."

"That's all well and good, but I'm confused," Hadrian crossed his arms. "Why would we give anything to someone like you? You weren't invited."

"And you interrupted Spleef."

Petra's eyes narrowed. She needed a hook; an offer Hadrian couldn't argue with. "How about I change your mind?"

"Hmm...That'd be hard. Because, see, I could be watching Slab squash you right now, which would be highly entertaining..." Hadrian clasped his hands behind his back. "Love it when he does that. What could you possibly offer that's better than that, slugger? I doubt you'd have anything that would interest us."

Petra glanced at Jesse. He nodded a little and she reached into her bag, pulling out the Redstone Heart. "How about this?"

"The Redstone Heart?" Hadrian seemed a bit startled at the sight of the red block. "Seems like just yesterday SOMEONE took off with that and vowed 'never to return with it'."

Harper lifted her chin.  "Oh, but I didn't bring it back. Petra did."

"That's no toy, slugger. How about you just hand it over, huh? It's, ah, pretty dangerous if you don't know how to use it."

Petra kept her face neutral, playing into the clear interest the man displayed. "I've got you interested now?"

"You've certainly got my attention, yes. Here's the way my offer works...You give me the Heart. You and your friends go back down to those portals. I never look at your insignificant face again."

"What about the Atlas?" Jesse suddenly asked. "How will we get home?"

"So not my problem. This is a one-time offer."

Petra scoffed, putting the Heart away. "You think I was born yesterday? That's a terrible offer."

"Terrible! I'll show you what's terrible--" Hadrian inhaled sharply. "Well, I do admit the kid is not afraid of playin' a little hardball. Even I think that is admirable. Well, you need the Atlas...and I need competitors. After your unexpected intrusion, I seem to be short a team. So how about this--You play in the games, if you WIN...the Atlas is yours to keep."

Petra crossed her arms. "I don't trust you."

"Don't you worry, Petra," The man in green--whose name she still did not know--spoke up. "Once a rule is written into the Bylaws, we make sure its enforced. Isn't that right, Hadrian?"

"Oh yeah. Otto is a real stickler for 'the rules'."

"Alright then. I suppose we can carry forward with the official addendum--"

"Oh, Otto, enough," Hadrian frowned. "Add it on your own time. And there's one other thing I want. If they lose, Harper has to go to the mines too." 

Harper's eyes narrowed almost to slits. "Oh gravel."

"Harper, wanna be a friend and show our new competitors where they'll be staying?"

"Sure thing," Harper turned, pushing past Slab as Petra and Jesse began to follow. "Petra, this was not part of the plan. Wrapped up in one of Hadrian's 'deals'...ugh. He's not one to let other people get the upper hand, ya know."

Petra stopped, crossing her arms. "What the hell, Harper, this was your plan! Shouldn't you have had this all worked out?"

"Yeah, about that. I didn't think you'd willingly come here. I might have acted in haste. Before, uh, I could work out the details."

"You don't say."

Harper let out a sigh, shoulders slumping. "I'm...I'm sorry, okay? I really am. Let me show you where the competitor village is."

She turned and began walking into the tunnel before them. Petra looked at Jesse, who just shifted his weight in his nervous little way and shrugged, proceeding to cautiously follow Harper, flicking his hair out of his eyes. Petra hadn't even realized how long his hair was actually getting and now that she thought about it, they were all overdue for a haircut. Among other things.

There was a sudden nudge on her leg and she looked down to see Reuben had come back to get her moving. She smiled down at the pig, noticing even he looked older, and she gave him a scratch behind the ears before following Jesse and Harper.

The tunnel wasn't very long and they soon emerged onto the other side, out into a snow biome. Cold air brushed her face and everything except the path was covered in a layer of fluffy white. She watched Jesse's arm reach out and tug on a tree branch, the whole pine shaking and releasing its snow downward in a powdery cloud. He looked back at her with a grin and she laughed a bit.

Harper's steps had faltered and she was looking at them with an almost sad smile before resuming walking. "We used to have competitors from all over travel here to play in the games...At least until the others ruined it."

Petra felt a slight spark of curiosity. "What happened then?"

"Hadrian and Mevia let power go to their heads--started pitting people against each other just for sport! Forcing people to be here. It just isn't right," They came to a stop in front of a blue gate, the woman sighing. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

The gates slide apart, revealing a village closely following the style of a certain mountain town Petra had visited once. At first glance, it had an almost homey vibe--until you noticed the gladiators lurking around. "Well, here it is. The competitor village. Sort of 'home away from home' for all the people playing the games."

Petra eyed a group of people clad in blue. "Wait. Are all these people competitors?"

"Yep. At least the ones who aren't stuck working the quartz mines. Those poor souls are just waiting for their next shot. Mining is tough work. I feel bad for the people that are too scared, or weak, to play the games..."

Petra watched realization flash across Jesse's face. "You don't approve." 

"I don't. Believe me, these people would rather be here in the village than working in the mines. They didn't make a deal like you guys did. They're stuck here 'til they win the games."

Jesse's eyebrows knit together. "What happens when they lose?"

"Hadrian sends them to toil in the mines. If they're lucky, they'll get another shot at the games...but it might take a while," Harper nodded. "I'm gonna go confer with Otto. We go way back and, well, he's usually the most reasonable of the three."

Petra froze. "Wait, we still haven't seen Lukas or Ivor."

Harper paused. "I'm thinking Hadrian must have sent them through the portal to the mines...Which is technically against the rules. No ones supposed to go there until their whole team is eliminated."

Petra huffed. "Guess we'll have to get them out."

"See what you can do here...I'm going to try and find Otto. I've got confidence in you, Petra. You might just get out of this..."

The Old Builder walked off, Petra watching her retreating back a moment before turning to Jesse. "We have to get them out of the mines and fast. Quartz mining is excruciating."

"Speaking from experience, I assume?" The brunette again flicked his hair. "I'll ask around."

She nodded, turning and heading in the opposite direction of Jesse and Reuben. She figured the best way to figure out how to leave the mines was to talk to the competitors; people who might've been down there. After a quick scan she decided to approach the blond from the green team, knowing the strange woman would be most likely willing to talk. "Hey."

Petra had assumed right. "Woah. Its you, from Spleef. You were, like, amazing. I'm Nell. And I'm SO super sorry about your friend. I get you probs upset. Especially since you had no idea what was going on...It, um, wasn't pretty chill."

Petra narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, I am upset."

"Totally get it, brah. I will never do that to one of your friends again because," Nell shuddered. "Man do I not want to be on your bad side. But I gotta say, you keep playin' like that and you'll like, be Tim status."

Petra vaguely recalled a 'Tim' being mentioned a few times during the Spleef match. "Tim?"

"Tim. Like 'The Legend of Tim' Tim. On the signs!" Nell briefly pointed to one of the many posters depicting a man in shining armor. "He, like, WON. Like you could! People could like, be already talking. They're gonna, like, say stuff. Compare you to Tim."

"Well, they would be right then. I'm going win and burn this place down."

"Oh that's something I'm totally behind," Nell dropped her voice. "Okay don't, like, tell anyone, but I would rather be on your team. Green team captain is like...Em is so not chill. Listen, I still feel super bad about taking out your friend. I owe you, so if you ever need ANYTHING, you just come and ask, ya?"

Petra nodded and as she stepped away, she realized that Nell was definitely odd. But she seemed helpful so no way was Petra going to shoot that down.

Petra went to keep walking when the firm voice of the green team captain--Em, was it?--made her pause. "Hey. You're the one that eliminated the one decent member of my team. I'll barely be able to be through to the next round."

Petra felt a flare of anger slip through. "Your stupid teammate killed Lukas."

"Yeah, I couldn't believe Nell pulled that off either. Don't forget they respawned. Duh. Don't cry about it," Em rolled her eyes. "We were doing what we had to do to win...Until you screwed everything up. Next round, if I don't get you, one of the gladiators will. You haven't been here long, so you wouldn't know. But the gladiators are trained for everything. And they are completely under Hadrian's control."

Petra scoffed. "They don't seem that tough."

"Then you haven't been paying close enough attention. Or you're cocky. Either way...Bad business. I feel kind of bad for you. Most of us got snatched against our wills but you got tricked into coming willingly. That Old Builder should've told you these games were impossible."

"Impossible or not, I have to win. Its the only way my friends and I can get home."

Em gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, is THAT how it works?! That's what we're ALL trying to do. Well, good luck with getting home."

With that, Em stood and disappeared into the building, her other teammate scrambling to their feet and following. Petra made her way into the main square, eyes latching onto the gladiator she had knocked down in Spleef--Slab. He was reading something and on closer inspection, she realized--"Hey, that's Lukas' journal!"

Slab's head snapped up. "You say something, tall lady? Because I'm trying to read here."

"That book doesn't belong to you. Hand it over."

"Wow. That was so scary I almost fell over," Recognition flashed in the man's eyes. "Hey wait a minute. You're the hot-head that knocked me outta my tower! And this belonged to that little blond buddy of yours! And you expect me to just hand it over?"

"Yeah, its not yours. Hand it over."

"I'M SLAB THE IMMOVEABLE. Get out of here before I use this book to punch your face in."

Petra turned away with a suppressed huff. She'd have to find a way to get that book later.

After a semi-unpleasant conversation with a pink-haired gladiator named Clutch--whose voice sounded like she ate gravel--Petra saw Jesse and Reuben across the courtyard. She crossed over, watching a small smile jump onto his face when he noticed her. "Hey, Petra. Everything going okay?"

"Mostly. I've gotten a few threats but nothing worse. You know, this place would be a blast if it wasn't for the 'against your will' thing."

He nodded. "Totally agree. The actual game was fun--it just stinks that all this has to be part of it."

"Yeah. We gotta win quick because this thing kinda freaks me out. Anyway, you learn anything?"

His face fell. "Not really. A lot of people aren't willing to talk to me, which is honestly kind of a first. People talked more back when I was a local loser than here, geeze."

"They're all pretty uptight. Well, except for Nell," Petra bumped her shoulder against his. "Just keep that chin up. Now's really a good time for your boundless optimism."

He laughed a little, nudging her back. "You got it. I guess you better get back to finding Lukas and Ivor."

She nodded, clapping Jesse on the shoulder before approaching the gladiator in front of the Nether Portal. This gladiator was actually a little intimidating with a scarred eye and half his eyebrow missing. When Petra said hello he snarled, revealing a missing tooth. "Don't you 'hello' Facemeat!"

She took a step back as Facemeat suddenly stood. "Wait a minute! You're the cheater who blew up my friend Slab! And Facemeat...Doesn't. Like. Cheaters. Don't stand around breathing up all of Facemeat's air. Facemeat prefers dweeb-free air."

Petra chose to ignore the jab. "Where are my friends?"

"In the Mines...duh. And they're not going anywhere. Not on Facemeat's watch," There was a long, extended silence and Facemeat's expression fell slightly. "Facemeat was busy slamming mad reps at the gym and missed lunchtime. Ya see? Facemeat's hungry. Do something about that and Facemeat'll think about getting your friends out."

"Say no more."

Petra scanned the courtyard. It was highly unlikely that Clutch would give up any bread, so the kitchen wasn't an option. Maybe someone else knew how to get food. Perhaps Nell...

The dreadlocked blond was quick to greet Petra when she approached. "Hey there, Petra. Anything I can help ya with?"

"Actually, yeah. You got any extra food by chance?"

"Well...If I had some wheat I would totally give you some. Sadly I DON'T have a secret stash. And if you DIDN'T ask, I WOULDN'T loan you some. Wink," Nell winked before moving forward, gesturing for Petra to follow. "Come on. Quick, before anybody sees us."

Petra quietly followed, the two going seemingly unnoticed as they disappeared into the buildings further back. It didn't take long before they reached a hidden patch of wheat. "Go ahead--that should be enough for your bread."

"All of it?"

"'Course, brah, it'll grow back. Just, uh, leave the seeds, yeah?"

Petra shot the woman a grateful smile, carefully collecting the grain and planting the seeds as she went. They then made their way back to the center of town, Nell humming in approval. "Nice. Looks like that should be enough for some epic loafage. That means bread."

"Right. Hopefully bread will get that Facemeat guy to help me."

"Righteous. They don't let us use crafting tables though..."

Petra's eyes flickered over to the Dojo. "There is some wood planks over there..."

"Righteous."

"Yeah. Thanks, Nell."

"No prob. Happy to help. Catch ya later, yeah?"

Petra nodded, heading towards the Dojo while Nell disappeared among the houses. With a cautious glance at the gladiators nearby, she collected the wood, made a crafting table, and put together some bread. Then she approached the Nether Portal. "I got what you asked for."

The gladiator stood, taking the offered loaf. "Bread, huh? It's not cake, but Facemeat is starving. Hmm its so warm...and full of carbs."

Facemeat was starting to seem less and less intimidating by the second. "Can you please get my friends?"

"Facemeat appreciates the politeness. Hang on."

The large man started on his bread, turning and walking calmly into the Nether Portal. The mixed sound of approaching boots and hooves made Petra look to her left. "We meet again."

"Indeed we do. Its strange--I just can't seem to stay away," Jesse winked, pulling a chuckle from her. "I see you got this all figured out?"

"Yup. Facemeat--he's one of the gladiators. He's grabbing Lukas and Ivor right now."

"Sweet. I just...we seem to keep ending up in situations. PAMA, Spleef..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks. For saving me each time, I mean. You didn't have to."

"Are you kidding? Look, don't tell the others, but I'll always reach for you first," Petra huffed a soft laugh. "Maybe its favoritism or maybe its selfish, but, Jesse...I thought you were going to die. You can't die on me, okay, I don't know what I'd do without you."

He reached over and grabbed her hand, weaving his fingers through hers and squeezing. "I love you. I'm not going anywhere and I'll always have your back. Just like you've got mine."

She sighed, bringing up their interlocked hands and pressing a quick kiss on his knuckles. "Always. I mean, I'm so glad Lukas and Ivor respawned. I don't even want to think...If they hadn't..."

Jesse's green eyes were full of that complete understanding as he gave her hand another squeeze before letting go. The portal deposited Lukas and Ivor onto their faces, Facemeat following. "Here. Go away, Respawns."

Lukas was the first to stand. "Petra. Man am I glad to see you."

"Same, Lukas. And Ivor--" Petra's eyebrows knit together. "What are you wearing..."

Ivor brushed off his outfit--which looked a lot like underwear. "Shut up! My outfit breathes wonderfully."

Lukas smiled a bit. "Anyway. How's it been going out here? You, uh, don't have our stuff by any chance, do you?"

Ivor rolled his eyes. "He's worried about his diary."

"I'm working on that," Petra glanced at Slab. "Its a bit tricky right now."

"Oh--okay."

"Well, don't beat around the bush," Ivor crossed his arms. "What has Harper gotten us wrapped up in?"

"Uhm...yeah, we're in trouble," Petra scanned the faces of the group. "We have to win the games to get the Atlas to go home. And if we don't win...we all have to go to the mines."

Chapter Text

This story has a playlist

For this chapter, its song thirteen, "Violet Sky" by TheFatRat and Cecilia Gault

π

The morning dawned seemingly too early, sunlight slanting through the windows of the locker room. The night had been pretty cold, the metal of Petra's armor getting fairly chilled despite having stayed inside all night. Jesse's cheeks were pinker than usual and if Petra wasn't busy steeling herself for the upcoming games, she probably would've poked them.

"Helloooooo competitors and welcome to the next day of the Games," Hadrian's voice echoed through the air. "And it's gonna be a hot one!"

"Yes it is, Hadrian," Mevia agreed. "And how're our teams looking, Otto?"

"Well, Mevia--Purple, Green, and Yellow are still making a strong showing, but after yesterday's performance in Spleef I'm afraid to say that the Red Team...has been completely eliminated." Otto replied.

"Ooh I guess its back to the mines for them, ha ha!"

"And of course, about our plucky newcomers."

"Otto, shut up," Hadrian interjected. "We don't need to hear about them. Well for everyone else...Don't forget to be like Tim out there!"

The announcement came to an end, Petra crossing her arms. "I wonder how this is going to go..."

"It's gonna be a good one," Jesse scanned the room. "I can feel it."

"Yeah...Yeah, that's the optimism I can get behind. Regardless of what we're doing, we're going to kick ass."

He grinned and offered her a fist bump. "Always." 

"Alright, competitors..." Hadrian's voice hit the air again. "The next event is almost upon us--Time to head to the starting line!"

"Starting line?"

Petra smirked. "A race! We so got this!"

"'Got this', huh?" And suddenly Hadrian was right there in the doorway. "Boom! Surprise Locker Room visit! Ha! How we doing everybody?" Whispers started among the teams as Hadrian marched up to Petra. "And here are the newcomers that everyone's been talking about since their, heh, explosive debut in Spleef. Tell me, champ, what's on your mind as you approach the next challenge?"

Petra scoffed. "Here's what's on my mind, Hadrian: Get out of my face."

"Oh, I'll get out of your face. But I will be LAUGHING at your face from my nice, cushy box while I watch you burn. I promise you that, you little NOTHING," Hadrian crossed his arms. "Listen up, Buck-o. These are supposed to be games. These are supposed to be fun. So play. Along."

"These might be your games, sure, but we're going to win."

"Well. That's a rather hilarious bit of fiction you're slinging, isn't it?"

She took a step forward. "We'll see how much you're laughing when I'm pointing my sword at your throat."

"Well aren't you some bold little so and so's. Watching you burn is going to be extra satisfying," He chuckled, strolling to the exit. "What a lovely day for a game."

Petra huffed, turning to Jesse. "What an arrogant prick."

"I just want to know why he continually mentions burning..."

"Petra," Em's voice made her turn around. "Good luck out there. I'm sure you'll be great, but...Well everyone else could use a little dose of luck, right?"

Petra was immediately suspicious and even a little startled by the shift in Em's attitude. But being a good sport could establish good relationships later...like with Nell. "Thanks, Em. Good luck."

"Thanks. I saw what you could do in Spleef. Then you made that deal with Hadrian and I thought...An enemy of MY enemy is my friend. So yeah, how 'bout we work together on this? I could use an ally...and you could use my help."

Again, Petra's suspicions flared up and she decided to draw out what Em could possibly be planning. "How would this work?"

"A bigger group has a better chance of getting past the gladiators. Trust me," Em glanced over her shoulder before leaning closer. "In the middle of the race is a part with tons of gladiators. That's when we should team up. Defeat them, then race to the finish...Well? What do you say? Unless you don't want the help of a former gladiator."

Petra was still pretty certain Em was up to something, but she decided to play by 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. "Deal."

"Good. I won't let you down."

"Competitors," Hadrian's voice--which sounded more unpleasant every time Petra heard it--rung through the air again. "To the starting line!"

Em nodded. "Meet ya at Gladiator Junction."

She strolled off and Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Gladiator Junction...huh."

"Sounds awesome," Petra quickly took off her helmet, running a hand through her hair before replacing the protective metal. "If she's serious...At least we won't have to fight her and the gladiators," They started walking. "I'm ready for this. Those gladiators are going down! Hint: it's going to involve a lot of punching." 

Jesse grinned. "No mercy, Petra."

"I've been waiting for you to say that."

They emerged into a room that split into four tunnels, each marked by a color that corresponded with each team. A Yellow member shot Petra a threatening gesture, which she simply glared at while Jesse made an offended noise. She expected Reuben to protest too before remembering the pig was with Lukas and Ivor. She had gotten so used to the little fellow always being at Jesse's side.

They knelt at the mouth of the Red tunnel, a hiss of Petra's name making her look over. It was Nell. "I just like wanted to say...it's like an honor to be working together. And I'm glad that Em like totally suggested that."

"We can do this!" Another Green teammate exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah," Petra nodded. "Yeah."

"I knew that you were cool the moment we met." Nell added.

Mevia's voice cut through the air. "Competitors, on your mark!"

Everyone tensed, like a spring seconds away from bouncing back. Petra had no doubts that they could beat the others easily; they weren't as hungry as the other competitors and they had been running for practically forever.

"GOOOOO!"

They were off in an instant, Petra leading the way with Jesse just a step behind. Her face was immediately hit with a wave of heat, a fiery warmth enveloping her on all sides as they dashed down the tunnel. 

 It only took a minute for the source of the heat to reveal itself--a curtain of lava descended from the ceiling, Petra gasping. "Watch out!"

She ducked down, feeling the searing hot of the molten goop press at her armor. More lavafalls with narrow passageways dotted the path ahead, nearly burning her more than once. Jesse's grunts were the only thing letting her know he was still alive since looking back would be suicide.

They had to jump small platforms over a pool of lava and when they made it past, Jesse let out a whoop. "We made it!"

"Yeah! That was pretty tough!" Petra grinned. "Can't wait to see what else they throw at us."

"Yeah...What did we get ourselves into?!"

"And you're just getting started!"

The foreign voice was startling, the separate tunnels of Yellow and Red converging into one large one. A flaming arrow whizzed past Petra's face and she quickly drew her sword, glaring. One of the Yellow team held a bow, yelling, "Outta the way, chumps!"

Fighting on an angle while running was one of the most difficult things she had done, but Petra did manage to take out a Yellow teammate. New lavafalls came down and she was starting to sweat. This was really intense. 

Jesse took out another Yellow teammate and then they dropped into a hole, hitting frigid water that quickly pulled them forward. They were swept to a waterfall, tumbling down into a massive area. Petra was out of the water in a few seconds, looking around. "This must be Gladiator Junction. But where are the gladiators?"

At that moment a Green teammate went flying over her head, screaming in pain before landing in the water.  Jesse spun to look at him. "Woah! That answers that question!"

Chaos was ensuing, anyone attempting to get past the gladiators getting tossed around like rags. It was almost pathetic how unbalanced the fight was and even with her better gear, Petra had some doubts she'd get past unmarred.

"Petra!" Em slid up to them, iron sword in hand. "Sup! You ready for the fun part?"

"Oh yeah."

"Come on then!"

Em rushed forward, easily cutting any teammates that tried to approach them. Petra was starting to become very glad she had agreed to this--Em clearly had skill. 

Two gladiators blocked the main path--Clutch and Slab, the latter of which pointed at Petra. "You're mine! I've been dreaming about this since Spleef."

"Oh, is that so?" Petra braced her stance. "Well you're a bit outnumbered."

"Just means more fun for me."

"We'll see about that, right, Em?" Petra glanced over her shoulder. "Em?"

The large woman appeared suddenly, knocking Petra to the ground before running off. Petra didn't even have time to fully comprehend that she had been betrayed before Slab was looming over her. She barely rolled in time, the gladiator's blade slamming into the ground by her head. Slab moved to strike again when he suddenly stumbled back, a pained yelp escaping him. "What the--?!"

It was Jesse, challenging the gladiator. "Petra, go! I'll cover you!"

She scrambled to her feet, knowing Jesse couldn't hold off all of the gladiators himself. Slab already had him down by the time she was up and before she could even do anything to help, Clutch lunged forward. The gladiator's axe arched through the air, edge shining with deadly enchantments as it collided with Jesse's chest.

Something inside Petra snapped and his name burst from her throat before she had fully comprehended it. Then the gladiators were laughing at her, Jesse's possessions scattered on the ground. Despite knowing that he had respawned, the fact that he had technically died...it fucked her up.

And then everything was replaced with rage.

Her own scream was foreign in her ears, her sword swinging with shocking precision across Slab's collarbone. "I'm sick of  you!"

"I was just thinking the same thing, but about you!" Despite Slab's confident tone, he seemed just the slightest bit unsettled at her sudden rage.

As he should.

Clutch, of course, forced Petra back, shattering the red-head's sword with her axe. Petra tossed the useless handle aside, using an incoming piece of TNT to get away from the gladiators.

Em ran into an archway ahead, Nell scrambling to follow. Petra dashed after them without even looking back, entering into a room with a wall of vines handing over lava. Em glared over her shoulder, growling when she spotted Petra.

That bitch.

Nell seemed oblivious. "Dude! I'm like so close! I could do this!"

Petra leapt onto the wall. "Too bad, Nell! I'M winning this damn race!"

She had climbed countless walls and rage fueled her, making it easy to catch up to the remaining Green team. Nell, unsurprisingly, was impressed. "Hey, woah, Petra! Way to catch up, dude! Very nice!"

"You just can't take a hint, can you?" Em suddenly shoved Nell, the blond losing her hold on the vines. "Get dunked, both of you!"

Petra's arm immediately snapped out, hand wrapping around Nell's wrist. The blond stared in shock and Em scoffed. "Oh, come on!"

She hit the wall with a pickaxe, an unexpected rush of water slamming Petra in the face and making her fingers slip. Everything seemed to slow down as she began to fall, winging both her and Nell into one of the holes set in the side of the wall. The water rushed harmlessly behind her and Petra barely caught her breath before Nell was up and shaking her. "Dude! That was SO Tim! Righteous!"

"Sure. How are we supposed to get out of here?"

"The water, tall dude! We can ride that wave right back up to the top! Follow me!"

They both hopped into the water, swimming up and climbing the vines the rest of the way. Nell's adrenaline seemed to wear off on the top platform, her bending to catch her breath. "Woah. Man. Intense enough for ya? Thanks for saving me."

Petra made a dash for the stairs. "Don't mention it."

She emerged into the crisp night air to find Em standing with Hadrian. A look of anger climbed onto the Old Builder's face as Petra stomped forward, Em twisting to look. "Petra."

Mevia raised an eyebrow. "And there appears to be a confrontation on the field. Petra looks very heated."

Petra was too angry to even speak, drilling Em with the most furious look she could muster. The gladiator shifted a bit but did not respond.

"So you sacrificed winning the race to save someone else..." Hadrian observed. "Good to know."

Her glare turned on him next. "Don't get used to it."

He scoffed before turning to Em. "And YOU. You were supposed to eliminate Petra. Our deal's off."

While Petra tried to work out what sort of deal Em had stuck, the Old Builders walked away, clearly annoyed. Em stared after them, almost seeming dejected. "You probably think I'm scum or whatever, but you know what? I don't even care. You have your deal, Petra, if you win you and your friends will just leave us anyway. My shot at going home just went up in smoke so feel free to judge all you want."

Petra crossed her arms. "Why should I believe a word you're saying? You're nothing but a liar."

Em stomped off. "Fine."

Petra sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut. She had enough of these crazy games--it was time to go home.

"Well, respawning is officially on my list of things I never want to do again."

Her eyes snapped open and she looked at Jesse with relief. "Hey. You okay?"

"Well, I have these weird ghost pains in my chest--" He paused, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm fine."

She quietly pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his hair and taking deep breaths. For the first time in months he smelled clean and she couldn't help but wonder just how that worked.

A person clearing their throat broke the two apart, Petra glaring. Slab was unimpressed. "Hadrian wants you."

"What for?"

"You made him real mad. Come on. I don't have all day."

She sighed. "Okay, let's go."

"Uh, really? Well that was unexpected," Slab suddenly pushed Jesse back. "Just Petra. Hadrian doesn't allow dirty respawns in the palace."

The gladiator began to walk off, Jesse brushing a hand against Petra's arm as she began to follow. "Be safe, okay? I don't trust them."

She nodded, following Slab's footsteps through the snow. The gladiator was several paces ahead and although Petra knew she needed to catch up, a whisper made her slow. "I need  to talk to you!"

Slab suddenly turned around. "Keep up. Come on!"

A miner peeked around a tree. "Come here, it'll be quick."

"Petra! You gonna do what I say or not?"

She frowned. "One second."

Slab huffed. "You're going to get me in trouble. Hurry up."

Petra turned to the miner. "Hi?"

"Hi, Petra. I'm Sebastian...um," The man shifted nervously. "I know you're about to see the Old Builders and I just wanted to say please...just don't make them mad. Whatever they want you to do, just do it. It is way worse for us when they're mad."

Of course. The Old Builders were clearly the type to take out frustration on the worst done-by in the place. "I'll remember that."

Sebastian visibly relaxed. "Whew. Okay. Good. I don't want to keep you...but some of the miners and I...well, we made you something," He passed her what appeared to be a piece of Lapis. "I know it's not much, but it's all we have."

She stuck it in her bag, offering him a smile. This was clearly a good will token. "Thank you."

"Petra!" Slab's voice made Sebastian turn and flee. "COME ON. And now we're gonna be late and I'm going to get in trouble."

They resumed walking, Petra rolling her eyes. "Stop whining."

"Ooh I am going to enjoy squishing you at some point."

The rest of the walk was silent, the path leading into a massive, intricately designed building. As they walked through the expansive halls, she couldn't help but think about how Ivor would be gushing over the architecture. "This is how the Old Builders live, huh?"

They stopped in a massive office, Slab smiling just a bit. "Totally epic, right? Sometimes I like to just stand here and..."

He trailed off and she raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you're easily impressed."

"Oh yeah? Well sounds to ME like you don't have proper appreciation for quality architecture. Doofus. But why am I standing around? I gotta go find Hadrian," Slab turned. "Thanks to YOU, we're late. Don't touch anything!"

And Petra was alone in the massive office with its chandeliers and quartz desk. She stood silently for a few minutes but when no one showed up, she wandered over to the armor stand she had noticed. It was a beautiful white and gold, adorned with little gems and looking tougher than the hardest diamonds.

"I see you've found Tim's armor...What with everyone calling you 'The New Tim' down there," Hadrian stood behind her, calm. "Wes, I've heard the rumors that they're calling you that. And I can absolutely see why--People love an underdog story."

Petra frowned. "Why did you invite me up here, Hadrian?"

"Why, so we could continue to discuss the terms of our deal."

"More terms?"

Hadrian gestured to the armor. "You can take a closer look. Go ahead. I assume by now you've heard all about Tim?"

"Many times."

"Everyone loves him. And why shouldn't they? After all...He's Tim."

She crossed her arms.  "He seems to give them hope."

"Even better than that...They really believe in him," Hadrian gazed out the window. "Tim is an inspiration to them, even when he's not here. One could say he's an inspiration BECAUSE he's not here."

"What do you mean?"

"Its so much easier for a legend to stay nice and shiny when its a fond memory. Easier to control it," Hadrian turned back to her. "I've been watching your legend grow but I worry that with you still in the picture it could get...messy. I've been starting to think it would be best if you made a quiet exit."

"I don't really do 'quiet exits'."

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Petra's eyes narrowed. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I know a lot more than you might think, sporto. See, there's something you should know about the games..." He strolled over to the armor. "No one ever wins unless we want them to. Not even Tim. Let that sink in for a moment, eh?"

She knew it. She should've realized sooner that these games were rigged. "Tim won or not, I'm more capable."

"You seriously think Tim is real? Is that what you're telling me? Tim gives them hope! He keeps them playing the games! But...No one wins. Ever," Hadrian was still too calm. "Which is why I think it'd be in your best interests to...play along. Don't you miss your friends? That little treehouse in the woods?"

She instinctively took a step back. "How would you...?"

"The Atlas can see where people are from, you know. So I had Mevia go and check it out...Turns out you're pretty famous! I was impressed!" Hadrian smiled sickeningly. "Had her bring back some things you might be interested in."

He strolled up to the wall, pulling out a pickaxe and breaking down the quartz in a matter of seconds. It revealed a hidden obsidian room, dimly lit by flowing lava set in the walls. There were cages with bars made of a strange metal and behind those bars was--"Axel?! Olivia?!"

They both called out her name and she couldn't help but rush forward. "You guys are here?!"

"Yeah this really scary lady showed up and knocked us out..." Axel didn't look impressed. "Now we're in these smelly boxes."

"What's going on here?" Olivia asked.

Petra pressed her lips together a moment before responding. "Look, I'll get you guys out of here, I promise."

Axel frowned. "Its great to hear that you're not a prisoner at least."

"That's not exactly true, I'm afraid."

Olivia gestured vaguely. "I'm just glad we're all back together."

Hadrian clapped his hands together, causing Petra to spin around. "Wow, this is just...wow. Such a tapestry of human drama and emotion. And we haven't even gotten to the best part! I saved that for last. An old friend."

An old friend? Only person he could've been talking about was...But they hadn't even spoken since before the Witherstorm. He couldn't have found her, could he?

A figure moved in the shadows of the cage...and some bulky blond she had never seen stepped up to the bars. They stared at each other for a long moment before Petra clapped a hand to her face. "Hadrian, for an Old Builder you are not that bright, you know that?"

"What?"

The man in the cage spoke up. "It's like I told you, bro. I happen to be named Reuben, who is friends with Petra, but I don't know her myself. Also, like, Reuben is a pig."

Hadrian looked furious. "Mevia..."

"Regardless, you used the Atlas to kidnap my friends..." Petra paused. "And that other guy. Why? What's your purpose?" 

"Incentive, Petra. Incentive. See, even if you win...And that's a might big 'if'," Hadrian smiled again. "They'll be staying to work in the mines. Forever. Or until they got a shot at competing which is...still basically forever."

Olivia cried out in horror and Petra crossed her arms. "So what's your 'deal'?"

"If you lose the next match and go to work in my mines...Then I'll let your friends go. All of 'em. You'll just have to stay behind in their place."

Petra laughed in disbelief. "Hadrian, you dirty cheat. You're just trying to stack the deck because you know I can win. And that thought makes you crazy." 

"You wound me, Petra. Your barbed words. Ouch," He shrugged it off. "Okay I had hoped watching your sad reunion would be entertaining but I'm done now. Whaddya say, Sport? Your freedom for theirs? Huh?"

She didn't even consider it. "Not a chance. You're trying to cheat."

As expected, Hadrian did not like her response. "Fine. We'll play it your way. Which is to say, I will crush you...And you won't win anyway. Slab! Get this garbage out of my office!"

Slab ran in at breakneck speeds, grabbing Petra roughly. "Sure thing, boss. Come on, idiot."

He began to drag her away and she instinctively began to fight back. He still managed to drag her away as Hadrian built an obsidian wall in between her and her friends.