Requested by @RubyCakeUnicorn
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Petra's chest was heaving, her lungs screaming for air as she ran. Her throat stung, as dry as sandpaper. Sweat tapped down her face, strands of her red hair sticking to her pale skin.

She barely acknowledge how overexerted she was, just continuing to push herself on. Petra gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to glance over her shoulder as she ran. Focusing her attention on the dry desert landscape in front of her, the breathless gasps of the person running beside her, the heat of the sun baking down on them... anything other than what had just happened.

Jesse's expression voiced confidence, completely hiding the fact that she was probably terrified inside. Glaring ahead with determination, even though she had already lost, even though defeat was staring her in the eye.

"What-" Ivor puffed beside Petra, barely keeping up with her. "-are we... looking... for?"

"I don't know any more than you do, and you damn well know that!" Petra growled back at Ivor aggressively.

"Do what you want to me." Jesse sneered, an ever so slight quiver audible in her confident voice. "But I'll never tell you what I know." Her words resulted in a humming noise from the giant computer in front of them, followed by an angered face forming on the screen.

Petra's hands clenched into tight fists her blue eyes darting around anxiously as she tried to spot anything out of the ordinary. Harper did say something about a difference, after all.

"Jesse!" Petra called out anxiously as the chipped person tugged her in the direction of the machine.

"No! Let her go!" Jesse fought aggressively, trying to squirm free from the grip she was in. "It's me you want, my information! If you're going to be a coward and take the easy route, chip ME!"

Petra's step faltered slightly, nearly loosing her footing. She shook her head to herself, fighting off the memory that was replaying in her head. Forcing herself to focus on anything else than what had happened. She wasn't going to allow herself to sink into the clutches of the past, let it gnaw away at her hope.

"No, Jesse, no!" "Let her go!" "Stop! Please!" It was hard to tell which words belonged to who as Jesse's friend's fought against Pama's slaves. But there was nothing they could do but watch as their leader was forced in underneath the machine.

Petra gritted her teeth as she ran, trying everything in her might to push down the memory that kept resurfacing. The only reason she was still going, was because she hadn't let it get to her yet.

Petra could feel her heart racing, thudding wildly inside her chest as she stared at her best friend with fearful eyes. Jesse stared back at Petra lifelessly, eyes glowing read. And as Lukas was pushed beneath the machine as well, Petra began to thrash and kick again, fighting to get loose. But it was too late, even if she could still save herself, two of the most importantly people in her life had already been taken.

"Stop!" Petra called, suddenly digging her boots in and skidding to a stop.

Ivor was too slow to respond to her actions in time, running straight into the mural that was in front of them.

"Your lack of attention will get us killed if you keep this up." Petra hissed at Ivor as he staggered back from the painting, clutching his head.

He simply rolled his eyes at her, but didn't dare argue with Petra. She stepped forward, examining the painting. It was nearly similar to the horizon behind it, but not identical.

"So? Any ideas?" Ivor asked Petra loudly, making her glare back at him.

"Child's play." Petra muttered in response, turning back and gesturing with hand. "I'm sure even somebody with as little of a brain as you could figure this out."

"Well, how dare you!" Ivor scoffed, stomping after Petra as she ran towards a very specific cactus. "I'd like to see you handle a brewing stand! Then we'll see who's laughing!"

"One more word, and I'll make sure your in too much pain to continue annoying me." Ivor immediately shut up at that.

Petra knelt down, pulling open a trapdoor that was positioned at the bottom of the cactus. She reached in, yanking the lever inside upwards.

"Pama has to be really stupid if it hasn't figured this out yet." Petra muttered as she stood up.

The two of them watched a large area of sand cave in, revealing some sort of structure below it. They walked to the edge, peering down.

"Jumping down there would be suicide!" Ivor exclaimed.

"There's water." Petra responded bluntly. "Jump in that, and you'll live."

"That little tiny patch!?" Ivor asked in horror.

"Guess it depends on your aim." Petra responded with a shrug, before promptly jumping over the edge.

There was more than enough time for Petra to get herself into the perfect diving position in the air, completely turning around in a proper front flip before landing in the water. Jumping into water from high places was something she's done countless times in the past, and would even consider calling it a hobby. Her head breaking through the water again, Petra was quick to swim to the edge and pull herself out. Just in time as Ivor came flailing and screaming down, splashing into the water not even half as elegantly as Petra did.

"Show off!" He spat at her the moment he resurfaced.

"What would the point of skills be if you don't use them?" Petra pointed out as she took off her helmet, and shook some water out of it before putting it back on. She looked around, eyes coming to rest on a hallway. "Guess we only have one direction to head in from here-"

Petra was abruptly cut off as a zombie suddenly came plummeting from above, practically exploding on impact with the force it hit the ground with. Petra raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Yep, I was right. Totally not smart at all." She said triumphantly as more mobs came raining down to their deaths.

"Such wastefulness." Ivor grumbled in agreement.

Suddenly one zombie managed to get caught on a cobweb, breaking its fall. Petra quickly unsheathed her golden sword as the mob came staggering in their direction. Just before it could reach her, she leaped forward and kicked it back. The zombie fell backwards into the small pond of water. Immediately sparks of electricity rippled throughout it's body, causing the mob to screech in pain. And then the chip flew off it's head.

"The hell?" Petra frowned in confusion, lowering her sword.

"Ha, would you look at that!" Ivor said, his voice raising a pitch in excitement. "Pama's control can be broken!"

Petra's eyes widened, a suddenly weight lifting off her shoulders. It was possible to save somebody chipped by Pama! Jesse and Lukas weren't truly gone!

The zombie, now back to normal, growled as it began to clamber out of the water. Shaking herself from her train of thought, Petra leaped forward and impaled her sword into the mob's chest, killing it on the first blow. But then another one came down, falling on the cobweb once again. Followed by another. And another.

"And they figured it out." Petra groaned in frustration, tightening her grip on the golden sword. "We just can't catch a dang break!"

"How do we get out of here without this horde stampeding after us?" Ivor asked as they began to slowly back up.

Petra's eyes darted around, anxiously searching for another solution. Her gaze came to rest on a lever against the wall, just a little bit deeper into the tunnel. Quickly her eyes followed the redstone circuit up to the sandstone ceiling above them, more specifically a load of sandblocks support by pistons.

"See that lever?" Petra called to Ivor, gesturing with her sword. "Pull it, I'll keep the mobs at bay."

"How will you get in?" Ivor asked Petra in shock.

"Don't question it and do as I say!"

Ivor hesitated for another second, before turning around and running in the direction of the lever – at a painfully slow pace, in Petra's opinion. She slowly circled the mob of monsters, trying to get them to just follow her away from the entrance, instead of actually fighting. Even Petra knew that fighting would be unsuccessful in that situation.

"Now!" She called, seeing Ivor hesitate at the lever.

He grabbed it and yanked it down. Petra broke away from the mobs, flat out sprinting towards the tunnel as everything rumbled around them. The sand came down just as she reached the tunnel, the warrior dropping to the ground and somersaulting through the gap before she could be crushed beneath the sand.

"I have never seen a person move like that." Ivor mused, unable to hide the fact that he had been impressed.

"Let's go." Petra simply responded, not keen on hearing any more of what Ivor had to say.

"Now that we know about the water, we can finally get Jesse and the blonde guy back!" Ivor said as he and Petra began moving down the hallway.

"They're priority." Petra said with a firm nod. "Screw everything and everybody else, our goal is to save them."

Ivor seemed surprised at her words, turning his head in Petra's direction. He began opening his mouth, only to close it again when Petra shot him a deadly glare.

"Well that was quite the show."

Petra and Ivor's heads shot in the direction the sudden voice came from, Petra even ripping her sword out. It was the same woman who had instructed them to run earlier, leaning with her back against the wall.

"You again." Petra muttered, sheathing her sword. "You can be glad we need you to help us get our friends back, otherwise my blade would have already been in your chest."

"Petra!" Ivor exclaimed, making the redhead roll her eyes at him.

"Hostile, I see." The woman responded, as she pushed herself off the wall, walking closer. "Well you're pretty right when you say that you need my help, and that's not just with getting your friends back. Name's Harper."

"Petra." Petra responded bluntly. "And the idiot beside me is Ivor." He scoffed at her words.

"Get to the point, how can we save Jesse and Lukas?" Petra insisted, narrowing her eyes at Harper.

"It's complicated." The older woman responded. "Follow me to the lab, and I'll explain everything."

The whole walk to the lab was testing Petra's patience. Harper had to constantly be prompted for information, and she way too cryptic for the warrior's taste. And to make matters about ten times more frustrating, Ivor thought she was the next best thing.

Harper lead them to the entrance of her lab, that had a very complicated water-based security system on the door. Petra didn't bother paying the slightest attention to how it worked, just wanting to get inside and get a plan going. But she soon realised that was going to go as smoothly as she had hoped.

The entire sandstone cave unexpectedly began rumbling, hundreds of Pama's chipped monster slaves coming down the hallway. Harper instructed Petra and Lukas to hold them off for her, while she finished activating the waterfalls that would seal them in. Petra and Ivor both unsheathed their swords, ready to fight – until two very familiar faces came into sight.

Jesse and Lukas were walking beside each other, their swords raised, a hideous red glow pulsing in their lifeless eyes. Petra couldn't remember the last time she felt her sword quiver in her hand the way it did at that moment, reluctance making the weapon heavy in her grip. She was about to go up against her oldest friend and her best friend, two people that genuinely meant something to Petra.

"You could have made this much easier for yourself." Jesse's voice was hollow and robotic as she spoke, barely recognisable.

"No." Petra growled under her breath. "I will not let this monstrosity control my friends any further!"

Raising their weapons, Jesse and Lukas charged at them. Ivor and Lukas's swords clashed, while Petra's did with Jesse's.

"I know your in there!" Petra said, merely using her sword to block Jesse's attacks. "Come on Jesse, you're too strong for Pama to use you like this!"

"There is no more Jesse!" The robotic voice sounded out from her friend, as the diamond and gold blade met again.

Petra bit her lip, ducking out of the sword's way as Jesse lunged at her again. Her eyes searched anxiously for a way to get Jesse underneath one of the waterfalls, break the connection.

"Petra!"

Her head snapped in Ivor's direction, seeing him shield himself from Lukas behind one of the waterfalls. His stone sword lay far out of his reach.

At that moment, Lukas turned his head in Petra's direction as well. Abandoning the mission of trying to get Ivor out from behind the water, he focused on the new target.

Petra backed up, finding herself face to face with Jesse and Lukas heading straight towards her. Waterfalls positioned right behind them, almost exactly perfect for Petra to push them in to.

Suddenly she was faced with the choice of having to chose which of her friends to save from Pama. Lukas, the guy she's known for practically her entire life, who she's been friends with for years. Or Jesse, the leader and foundation of their group, but also the person who's been the most accepting and understanding of Petra out of them all.

There was no choosing, Petra reacted on instinct. She bolted forward, barrelling straight into Jesse and sending the two of them straight through one of the waterfalls. Electric currents erupted throughout Jesse's body as she screamed out in agony. But when her eyes flickered open, the hideous red glow was gone, two familiar copper irises staring back up at Petra.

"What... happened?" Jesse croaked out, her voice breaking away and her expression tightening in pain.

Petra's instincts were going haywire at that moment. Despite everything going on around her, she wanted to pull Jesse to safety more than anything. But Lukas was still out there, and he was still chipped!

Petra didn't get a lot of time to think, hearing a desperate cry ring out. Looking up to see Lukas had gotten a hold of Harper, and already had her on the back of a spider.

Harper was too far away from where Petra was for the redhead to make out her words, but she caught onto something about activating the last waterfall and roses, right as Harper tossed them a wilted red flower.

"Ivor!" Petra called out to him as she hauled Jesse to her feet. "Follow Harper's orders, fill up the last cauldron and grab that flower on your way back! And don't mess up, or I swear I'll leave you a scar to remember your mistakes!"

Only waiting long enough to make sure Ivor heard her instructions, Petra wrapped an arm behind Jesse's back to support her, draping the shorter girl's arm over her own shoulders. Ivor activated the last waterfall right as Petra and Jesse struggled into the lab, all the chipped mobs halting outside the wall.

Petra carefully lowered Jesse down onto the ground, before promptly flopping down beside her. Jesse had her eyes closed, rubbing her forehead. But then she opened them, glancing over at Petra.

"You saved me." She said breathlessly, managing a weak smile.

Petra didn't have a a chance to reply as Ivor came running through the water as well, clutching the flower Harper had thrown at them. Petra internally groaned, wondering why Ivor couldn't be the chipped one instead of Lukas at that moment. That would just make things so much easier, for her at least.

"Lukas got Harper." Ivor said longingly as he glanced back over her shoulder. Petra just rolled her eyes, still frustrated to the maximum by Ivor's new obsession with the Old Builder.

"And we'll get them back." She said matter-of-factly. She turned her head towards Jesse, mustering a smile of her own. "We're more than just a step closer now, we have Jesse back on the team." Their leader smiled weakly at Petra's words.

"Now that we're at this point, getting Harper and Lukas back should be a piece of cake."

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I'll be honest, I'm not a 100% satisfied with how this came out xD

I was really excited when I began writing this, but something kinda happened to my motivation for it during the writing part and I ended up really pushing myself to finish it. But I hope the final result didn't come out too bad, and that you all still enjoyed reading it!

Admittedly, I had a blast writing Petra and Ivor, insults flying left and right-

Anyway, another thing that was kind of bugging me while I wrote this, was how similar the concept is to Control from my old challenge book, that I was planning on rewriting. I know people specifically asked for Control to be rewritten, but I think I will have to pass. I just have a feeling that the two one shots will be too similar to each other, even if there are changes - like Control having Jesse swapped out for both Petra and Lukas. So for the sake of not getting too repetitive, I'll leave that idea sitting for one day when I know how to make it a one shot on its own!

I was also very torn at the end of this, between Jesse and Lukas. Originally it was going to be a cliffhanger-isk ending, the one shot stopping moment before Petra could make her choice. But I decided to have her pick, and pick Jesse at that, with the hope of discouraging the request of a sequel. I feel a little bad for doing this, but hear me out xD That final battle with the remaining chipped person inside Pama's core is just so heavily overused in one shots, I honestly don't want to join the crowd and write it too. Don't get me wrong, there's some really good versions of it out there! I just wouldn't know how to make it original, and I can already tell mine would be meh. Sorry if anybody were hoping!

Anyway, before this A/N becomes longer than the actual one shot, let me end things here!

I hope you all enjoyed this one shot! Feel free to leave me more requests, whether they're prompts, actual plot lines or sequels/prequels to previous one shots I have done!

Remaining requests pending: 4