It's been days since the incident between Jesse and Petra. Physically, the warrior was doing really well after the attack. Emotionally, it was obvious what happened took a toll on her.

The search for Jesse had gone on until rest of the Order eventually called it off. Wherever she disappeared off to, she didn't want to be found again. She hadn't so much as returned to the Order Hall for supplies. It was like she vanished into thin air completely.

And finally, Jesse's friends lost hope.

"I want to head back to Redstonia." Olivia said seriously. "There is nothing left for me here in Beacontown, and I'd rather return to my people now."

The three members of the Order, as well as Radar, were gathered around the dining table in the Order Hall together. Lunch stood untouched, everybody facing each other with grim expressions.

"So do I." Axel said, crossing his arms on the table's wooden surface. "Boomtown hasn't seen me since Romeo whisked us away."

"What about Beacontown?" Radar asked softly, not looking up at he gazed down at his hands. "We're without a leader now. What will we tell everybody?"

"Jesse's left Beacontown in your hands so many times, and entrusted you with the place more than anybody else." Lukas said, reaching across the table and resting a hand on Radar's arm. "I think if anybody's suited for taking leadership, it's you."

Radar looked up with wide eyes, Lukas's statement clearly taking him by surprise. He seemed to be at a lost for words.

"Really?" He asked in a small voice after a few moments, looking between them.

"You know this place better than any of us." Olivia said, smiling at him. "Beacontown will be in good hands."

"Are we going to come clean about what really happened to Jesse?" Axel asked before anybody else could speak.

"No." Lukas said immediately, shaking his head. "No matter what she did, we're still going to respect Jesse's wishes. She never wanted Beacontown to know what happened in the terminal zone." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "I think we need to give her credit for her last actions as their Hero in Residence, however. Beacontown needs to know that she sacrificed her life in there to save her people."

Everybody nodded, agreeing.

"I'm going to head back to my place in the woods." Lukas said, sitting upright in his chair again. "And I'm going to take Petra with me. A quiet place away from prying eyes is what she needs to recover right now. Besides, she's always loved it out there. Maybe it can take her mind off what has happened."

"That sounds like the best plan we got." Olivia said, looking between the others. "Hopefully this is the end of this whole situation."

The end. Lukas thought bitterly, sitting back in his chair again. It may be the end for Olivia if she was planning on going on like nothing's changed, but it definitely wasn't the end. Whether they denied it or not, Jesse was still out there, and no doubt still suffering mentally. Not to even mention how far from over everything was for Petra, hell, her whole life had been thrown upside down.

"I think the sooner we announce this to the town, the better." Axel spoke up. "Let's get out there and explain the situation. We can be well on our way home by sundown."

"How is it this easy for you?" Radar asked in exasperation. "You sound almost eager to announce to Beacontown that their leader's gone! That Jesse's gone!" He sounded close to tears.

"I have to agree." Lukas said softly. "Even if Jesse did horrible things as the admin, she was our friend before that, our best friend. You can't tell me you don't miss her as much as I do."

Both Axel and Olivia looked down, admittedly appearing somewhat ashamed.

"There's too many painful memories laying here." Olivia finally said. "I want to grieve the loss of my childhood friend at home, in Redstonia where nothing is reminding me of what she was like before all this shit."

"I guess you have a point." Radar said softly. "Though I can't imagine leaving the place where I got to know Jesse and became her friend."

It was quiet around the table.

"Alright then." Lukas said, pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. "Let's get the Beacontowners together then. This is going to be... devastating, to them.

The lack of preparation in the citizens' bright eyes as they were gathered around, made it so much more painful. They weren't expecting the horrible news they were about to receive, and they weren't ready for it at all. But there was in fact no point in delaying the news any longer.

Lukas took a deep, somewhat shaky breath as he, Axel, Olivia and Radar stood on the edge of the beacon together. Behind them the five colours of the order shone into the sky brightly, as they've done for eight entire years, since the witherstorm battle all that time ago.

Radar walked up to stand behind Lukas, nervously adjusting his glasses. Axel and Olivia both stood back slightly, giving them the spotlight.

"People of Beacontown." Despite the confidence in his voice, Lukas's heart was beating wildly inside his chest. There was a reason Jesse always did the public speaking.

"As you all know by now, a few days ago Jesse put an end to the reign of the Admin, who had been torturing this town under her identity. However she hasn't made a public appearance since."

The Beacontowners were beginning to murmur among themselves. Still, they appeared awfully unprepared for what was to come. Lukas took a deep breath, picking his next words carefully.

"It was Jesse's own decision not to spread any panic, until we knew what was set in stone."

In the distance, far behind the crowds, a figure hid amongst the shadows on Beacontown's wall. Watching the scene from afar, holding her breath.

"The truth is, that Jesse was gravely injured in that battle." Lukas went on, guilt pulsing through his veins at the lie. "The last week, she has been fighting for her life."

The murmurs were growing louder, concern now tainting the Beacontowners' expressions. Lukas closed his eyes, wishing more than anything that he didn't have to speak the words that came next.

"It breaks my heart to say, that this was one fight Jesse couldn't win. She drew her final breath only hours ago."

For a moment it was completely silent, as if nobody could register what Lukas had said. Only to be followed by sharp inhales of horror, cries of heartbreak. It took everything Lukas had to remain standing as he watched the citizens of Beacontown crumble before him. Even Radar bowed his head, tears freely running down his face.

In the distance, Jesse breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Jesse was our leader, our best friend, and one of the most important people in our lives." Lukas gulped down a forming lump in his throat. "But most importantly, she was a hero. And she died saving everybody she loved."

Lukas glanced sideways at Radar, resting his hand on the younger man's shoulder. Radar looked up at him with tear filled eyes behind the fogged up lenses of his glasses, before facing the crowd as well.

"All of us here know, that if there's anybody on this planet Jesse would trust with Beacontown, it's Radar here. She always said she wanted him to lead beside her as Co-Hero in Residence. Jesse may not be here any more to follow that dream, but the least we can do to fulfil her last wish is to entrust him with her position as leader.

The rest of the Order will go our separate ways, like we did before the battle. But we know, Beacontown is in great hands."

Despite the tears running down her face as she watched, Jesse smiled. It broke her heart to see her people mourn her so called death, but the truth would have hurt even more. And Lukas was right, he couldn't be putting Beacontown in better hands.

While everybody's attention was still focused on Lukas and Radar, Jesse carefully stood up from where she had been sitting on the wall. She carefully walked across it, hopping down to the other side. Her feet met the ground with a soft thud, before she began walking away into the forest.

Stopping, Jesse looked back at Beacontown one last time. Tears pooled in her brown eyes as she took in the colourful buildings peeking over the walls, the large red gates, and the Beacons shining into the sky, one last time.

Turning away right as the dark blue beacon in the middle flickered, before going out and leaving the other four shining alone.

Lukas's feet dragged slightly as he walked down the empty hallway, his gaze sad and distant. He couldn't even begin to describe how much the goodbye to Beacontown hurt. It was clear just how much each and every Beacontowner loved Jesse. Losing her obviously crushed them.

Inhaling shakily, Lukas reached out and rested his hand on the door handle. Part of him still wished there was something more he could have done, but he knew he had to put the whole Jesse situation behind him. There was somebody who needed his help more at that moment.

Petra was awake when Lukas stepped into the room. Her gaze was fixated on the ceiling above her, subconsciously fiddling with her fingers. It was impossible to tie one emotion to her face.

"I missed it, didn't I?" She asked softly, before Lukas could say anything.

"What?" He asked, slightly surprised.

"The commotion was audible for miles." Petra said, still not even bothering to turn her head in Lukas's direction. "You told Beacontown, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry you couldn't have been there." Lukas said, walking over and sitting down on the side of Petra's bed. "You did say you didn't want anybody else to know about the attack."

"It's not that." Petra said softly, finally making eye contact with Lukas. "I just... Jesse really didn't want her people to know."

Lukas smiled sadly, resting one hand on Petra's.

"I know, and that's why I didn't tell the truth." He explained. "As far as Beacontown knows, Jesse died in that battle. Which isn't a complete lie, so I guess you could say we just left some details out. Important thing is, it's-"

"It's what Jesse would have wanted." Petra finished softly.

"It is." Lukas replied. "And Beacontown couldn't be in better hands with Radar in charge. After all, Jesse did mention wanting him to lead beside her."

"Actually, she was going to give him the title of Hero in Residence all together." Petra responded.

"What do you mean?" Lukas asked, frowning. "I don't remember Jesse wanting to step down from her position?"

"Our plans kind of went forgotten with everything that happened." Petra said softly. "But when we were still in the underneath, I told Jesse about wanting to leave Beacontown to go adventuring again. It was the hardest thing I've ever done up until that point, but..." Petra gulped slightly, her blue eyes growing sad. "Jesse told me she'd stick by my side. That if my place was out there, so was hers. She was going to leave Beacontown for me."

"I never realised." Lukas said softly. "I knew you missed adventuring but..."

"But I didn't want to leave all my friends." Petra responded, turning her head to face Lukas. She smiled sadly. "Guess it doesn't matter now. I'll likely never adventure again anyway."

"For what it's worth." Lukas said, smiling back at her. "If you had told me I would have been out there with you as well. I can write anywhere in the world, on horseback too if that meant not losing one of my best friends."

It was only for a moment, but for the first time since the accident, Lukas saw a true, happy smile on Petra's face.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked, her face falling again.

"Well, Axel and Olivia are heading back to Boomtown and Redstonia." Lukas said. "I was thinking the two of us could go back to my place, in the woods."

"Just a heads up, I'm not going to be a fun person to be around." Petra replied grimly. "I can tell you that already."

"Your my friend, and I'm going to help you no matter what." Lukas said, tightening his grip on Petra's hand.

"Thank you." Petra said softly, smiling again. "Honestly."

"Anytime." Lukas responded, returning the smile.

"I know it might seem like we have an unscalable mountain ahead of us, but we're going to get through this. Together."

___

It physically hurt writing that goodbye to Beacontown, not to even mention the scene where Jesse leaves for good. And things aren't going to get any brighter soon, because now that the worst is over, these characters have to find a way to cope with what they've just been through.

The next part is probably my favourite section of the book! I hope you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I wrote the last two chapters and the ones to come all in like, a week or two, I was that obsessed–

Anyway, feel free to leave your theories for what's to come! I'll see ya'll again next week!