Chapter Written by eternal-eloquence

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 "Behind you!"

Lukas heard Petra's exclamation of alarm right in the nick of time. He darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the potion that the witch had thrown in his direction. He breathed a sigh of relief, recollecting his composure and looking back at the others to see if they were okay.

He spotted Petra by the witch, her sword's blade still spurting blood from where she had plunged it into the witch's chest. He only barely saw her gag at the amount of blood coating the blade when he saw another figure by the hut's window. Oh no.

Oh no.

He rushed up to Jesse, gripping her arms as he supported her. Her eyes had a strange glow set on them, the usual dark green of her iris morphing into more of a yellow color to match the potion and staring bug-eyed at nothing in particular. Lukas had his eyes fixed on hers in worry, and he didn't need to rip his gaze to know that Petra was by his side in an instant.

"Jesse? Jesse, wake up." Petra placed a hand on Jesse's shoulder, trying to snap her from whatever daze the witch's potion had placed her in. It was rare, but Lukas could place that faint inkling of concern that lingered in Petra's voice whenever she was worried.

And now was quite the time to be. "Jesse?" Lukas muttered, gripping her arms tighter. Jesse's head lolled to the side, leaning on her left shoulder as her eyelids fluttered shut.

Without warning, her knees gave away and she slumped to the ground, helpless and unconscious. She dragged Lukas down with her slightly, causing him to stagger and let out a faint "Whoa!" before regaining his balance and staring at the unconscious bundle of armor and limbs in his arms.

"Crap," he heard Petra mumble, staring at where the two of them had collapsed to the ground. "We better get out of here fast."

Lukas gestured to Jesse in his arms by jerking his head to the side. "Uh, hello? What about Jesse?!"

"Can't you like—carry her or something?"

"What?"

"Come on, Lukas, she's small. She's light."

"That's not what—"

"Now's not the time!"

Lukas huffed angrily, trying the ignore the faint blush that was growing on his cheeks. He reluctantly hoisted Jesse up bridal-style, making sure her head was nestled safely into the crook of his arm before nodding at Petra to signal that he was ready.

Of course, something like that would never escape unnoticed by Petra. She suppressed a smile, deciding to discuss the matter when the situation wasn't so dire.

"We'll have to go quick. It's still nighttime."

The only response Petra got from Lukas was a swift nod, as he prepared to exit the witch's hut, still carrying Jesse. Petra held the trapdoor open for him, watching as he treaded down the ladder carefully. She climbed into the trapdoor herself, scanning the hut one last time before lowering the trapdoor slowly over her head.

The moment they were spotted by mobs, they were swarmed. The mob spawning rate was highest during the late hours of the night and would gradually decrease as daytime neared. But it was just their luck that they'd decided to set off into the late evening.

The concentration of mobs, Lukas noticed, was most near the large red gates of Beacontown, much to their annoyance. He sighed and picked up the pace, Petra on his heels, as he occasionally had to stop for Jesse's sake or for being cornered. Petra sliced through them in an instant, briskly darting through the vast plains and towards the tall red gates.

The city was a blur as he whizzed by, the world reduced to nothing more than a few blotches of paint on a canvas. Thankfully, they didn't attract much attention. The late hours of Beacontown were usually quiet ones, all the citizens having retreated back into their homes to bed down for the night. The only greetings they received were the whispers of curiosity from behind closed windows or what remained of the usually crowded streets of Beacontown.

Lukas could only hope that there wouldn't be any rumors by sunrise.

And as he zipped through the emptying streets, the image of that potion was still fresh in his mind. The sickly sweet smell that had hung in the air...that was certainly new, let alone that strange golden color. He doubted that even Ivor could name that potion.

The throbbing in his legs and the muscles that screamed for a rest were clear evidence of the marathon he'd just run to get his friend to safety. Petra hauled the door open, clearing a path for Lukas. He rushed inside without a second's hesitation, heaving exhausted breaths.

After they had successfully fled from the vast terrors that the night offered, Lukas placed Jesse gently onto a couch in the Order Hall, Petra closing the doors behind him. She pulled down the blinds of the windows, taking off her helmet and raking her fingers through her hair. Jesse stirred in her sleep, groaning softly as she turned her head away from them.

"What do we do?" Lukas asked between pants, staring at Jesse's limp form in concern.

Petra shared the same expression as him. "I'm not—I don't know. Maybe we should get her a glass of milk for when she wakes up?"

"What? Why would she need milk?"

"To reduce the effects of the potion, dummy," Petra said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh. Right." Lukas took his armor off, laying it down at the end of Jesse's couch.

"She should be fine after that. I mean, it was only one potion. It shouldn't be too serious." Petra walked over to the couch opposite of Jesse, kicking off her armored boots and revealing a pair of plain white socks.

"You didn't see that potion, though," Lukas pointed out, eyes trailing over to the ground as he recalled seeing the mysterious-colored liquid. "It wasn't—Petra, it was gold."

"And?" Petra shrugged, unfazed by the question. She slumped down on the couch she was sitting on, arms draping over the cushions lazily.

"And?" Lukas echoed harshly, earning a confused glance in response. He headed over to her, eyes blazing in a mix of startled bewilderment. She awkwardly tensed up at his actions, and subconsciously inched into a proper sitting position. "That potion was no ordinary potion," Lukas continued. "Seriously, Petra, not even Potions of Poison knock people out on impact. I wish I never suggested going monster hunting in the first place."

"What! Now you're overreacting. We all love monster hunting, Lukas!"

"So what if we love it? That doesn't mean it's safe."

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Petra asked, her eyes narrowed mockingly. "You're being ridiculous. It was just a potion."

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Yes, I did. And the reason it knocked her out was because it wasn't a poisoned potion."

"Seriously?"

"It probably just knocks out the witches victims so they could kill them with a potion of harming," Petra explained. "The worst that could happen is just unconsciousness."

"Or," Lukas protested, "the worst that could happen is that it could seriously injure her?"

Lukas was set into a raging rampage, furious at the thought of what might happen to Jesse all because of his idea of entertainment. "What if it kills her? What if she dies?"

He panted slightly, only then realizing that that his voice had increased in both pitch and volume as his sentences progressed.

"I just wish we could go on one adventure, do at least ONE thing together without having to worry about being traumatized, thrown into a situation that we had nothing to do with...I just wish we could come out of one—just one—adventure unscathed."

If Petra's furrowed eyebrows weren't enough of an indication, then her open jaw did the trick. She wasn't very impressed.

"Lukas. Relax. It's a potion. If you told me that a potion would get the best of Jesse, then I'd personally force her to relinquish her title as leader of the Order. Now go get that glass of milk." She didn't comment on the last bit of his outrage, which, although she'd never admit it, proved that she wholeheartedly agreed.

Lukas sighed, treading off into the Order's kitchen. He pulled open the door of the fridge in search of a carton of milk.

With a fresh glass of milk in his hand, he emerged from the kitchen into the hallway and entered the living room.

The first thing he became aware of was that Petra wasn't where he last had seen her, which was on the couch. She had shifted from her couch to Jesse's, staring at her friend worriedly while she stirred in her sleep.

It wasn't a peaceful sleep, he noticed. Her breathing was fast, the already heavy bags underneath her eyes had darkened, and her hair was a mess, as if she'd been asleep for a whole night already. Her eyelids were constantly switching between relaxed and tightly squeezed shut, and her muscles were tense with effort.

Whatever she was going through, it didn't look like a blast.

"Petra? What happened?" Lukas exclaimed, loosening his grip on the glass and nearly dropping it. He absent-mindedly placed it on the surface nearest to him and rushed over to Jesse, dropping to his knees beside her.

"Don't know," Petra replied in a small voice. "The second you left, she just started muttering like crazy. I couldn't make out anything she'd said, though."

"You think that the potion gives her nightmares?"

"Not sure, but that's always a possibility."

Lukas splayed his hands out as if to say 'I told you so!' to the redhead in front of him. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"It's not too serious, though, right? At least it doesn't have any physical effects?" she tried in an effort to keep her argument from failing.

"I guess," Lukas admitted, "but we don't want her to be suffering either!" It was true. While the potion effects were certainly less severe than the ones he'd imagined, nightmares weren't much of an improvement either.

"You know what? Here." Petra placed her hand on Jesse's shoulder, gently prodding her awake. "Jesse?"

"Jesse?" Lukas tried. "C'mon, wake up..."

She did the exact opposite.

After many repeated attempts of trying to get her to wake, Petra hung her head defeatedly. Lukas stood up next to her, eyes still fixed on sleeping Jesse. "Well, that didn't work."

Petra's face scrunched up in annoyance. "Oh, really? How'd you come up with that gem of a—"

Suddenly, a faint rumbling noise drew their attention to the nearby bookshelves, cutting Petra off mid-sentence. Lukas narrowed his eyes, cupping a hand over his ear to amplify the sound, while Petra just stared at the wall, her previous irritated attitude forgotten.

"Do you hear that?"

Petra opened her mouth to reply, eyes still fixed on the wall. She whirled around completely as the rumbling grew louder, eyes darting around in a mad panic as she looked for the source of the sound. Even Jesse appeared disconcerted by the noise, made apparent by the increase of her tossing and turning, but she didn't wake up.

The sound grew louder, so loud that both Lukas and Petra had clamped their hands over their ears. In fact, Lukas believed that it could challenge the sound of a raging thunderstorm. He squeezed his eyes shut, the world fading into a dark oblivion.

And then, everything stopped.

He could no longer hear the buzz. Everything had gone abruptly silent. Removing his hands from either side of his head, he slowly opened his eyes.

The treasure room...it was gone?

No, that wasn't right. They were still in Beacontown, but outside of the Order Hall rather than inside it. Except, it wasn't night anymore. Far from it. Instead, the sun hung high in the cloud-free sky above Beacontown, a clear indication that it was midday.

"What..?"

A confused exclamation told him that Petra was still right next to him. She still hadn't acknowledged his presence. "Lukas? Where are you?" she yelled.

"Here. Right here."

She spun around on her heel, and relief instantly flooded her features when she spotted him. "Thank goodness. Where the hell are we?" she was quick to ask.

"Beacontown," he replied bluntly.

"I know that," she scoffed, "but how..? It was night, like, two seconds ago!"

"Something weird is definitely going on." Lukas scanned the area like he'd never been there before. "I just—what about Jesse?"

"I'd say we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"More important than Jesse?"

"Well, she's safe in the Order Hall, right? So yeah, actually."

"We're in Beacontown, Petra."

"It's the middle of the day!"

"We'll figure it out."

It wasn't the fact that they were in Beacontown that startled Petra, but rather the question that it sparked up. How in the name of Notch had they gotten there? And when had it switched to day?

She gazed around the towering buildings around them, each challenged with only the varying types of materials used to build them. There wasn't any noticeable difference that she could place, other than the fact that it was midday.

But somehow, he familiar town that she'd watched grow and expand under Jesse's influence was as no different to her than the labyrinth of the Sunshine Institute.

An oddly familiar but unexpected chatter of indistinct voices made Petra look over at a cluster of a group of people emerging from the entrance of the Order Hall, smiles painted on their faces and happy conversing voices streaming out of their mouths. It took a second for Petra to recognize their faces, but when she did, happiness flooded through her like a tidal wave.

Axel, Olivia...and who was that? Jesse. She was awake?

Usually, that would've been the first thing that crossed her mind. But at the moment, that wasn't Petra's immediate thought.

Everything seemed to stop at that minute. The only thing that registered in her head was the smiling faces of the people she'd grown to love, who were all supposedly going their separate ways in a few days' time. Although she refused to show it (the last thing she wanted was a repeat of that time with Jesse in Fred's cabin), the thought of possibly never seeing her friends again drilled a hollow hole of emotions, some she couldn't even name.

Regret? Sadness? Anger? Guilt? Loneliness? All of them mixed together?

Probably.

And opening up to Jesse in the cabin was one of the hardest things that she'd ever done. On the contrary, anger was usually her forte.

Petra rushed over to the three of them, a large smile on her face. How much she'd longed to see the five of them together and in one place, she couldn't explain. It was that very reason she'd grown to hold grudges against Axel and Olivia for never being around. She'd never show them her emotions the way she did with Jesse, and in her book, anger was the best alternative.

Poor Lukas was the one who had to witness it.

Speaking of, the thudding of footsteps behind her told her that Lukas was on her heels. She didn't bother toss a look over her shoulder.

"Jesse! Axel! Olivia!"

They each looked up at her exclamation, smiles growing larger as they caught sight of her. Petra came to an abrupt stop in front of them, feet skidding on the floor and nearly making her topple over in her excitement. The fact that this was very unlike her was the least of her worries at the moment.

Because, in all honesty, that time in Fred's cabin wasn't really like her either.