ffffff me? using Digital Daggers lyrics as chapter titles?
...more likely than you might think
anyways, dun dun dun here's another wtf-is-going-on-with-the-new-timeline chapter, which is honestly just a transcription of episode 3 lol lol lol
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Jasper doesn't fully know what to expect from the End, so he's somewhere between surprised and indifferent when his feet hit the pale-yellow end stone.
He straightens up and looks around, eyes widening as he takes in the strange obsidian shapes springing up from the ground. It's dark, the kind of dark that presses down on your eyes like a tangible thing, but his vision is gradually adjusting.
"Whoa..." he murmurs softly.
There's a strange noise, and Lukas appears nearby, holding the amulet. He mimics Jasper's motion, staring curiously around. "Oh. Great. It just keeps getting better." he grumbles.
Olivia and Reuben appear next, then Essa. The tall woman doesn't seem nearly as shaken up as the others, simply brushing herself off as she glances calmly around. She's impossibly composed, which helps Jasper keep his cool in tense situations as well.
He's noticed that she hasn't been as talkative as when they first met, preferring to observe and follow rather than say too much of her own. This is helpful, actually, since the others seem to be good enough at starting fights on their own.
Petra has just materialized as well when Olivia asks, "Where's Axel? He was right behind me."
As if her saying this has magically summoned him, Axel suddenly appears in midair, landing on Lukas with a "Whoo!". The amulet flies out of Lukas's hand, rolling over the end stone.
Jasper goes over to pick it up as Axel says, "Ha! See, I told you I'd pay you back."
"Get off." Lukas snaps, pushing the larger boy away. He glances away, and suddenly gasps. "Oh...oh, jeez."
He continues whimpering, covering his eyes. Jasper pauses, unsure of what's going on. "...Stop crying."
"What? No, I'm not crying, just look!" Lukas returns quickly.
Essa glances over her shoulder at where Lukas is indicating, then looks away just as fast. "Actually, don't."
Jasper looks the same way, to see a tall, unstoppably eerie Enderman strolling past like it owns the place. Which he supposes it does.
"Hide!" he murmurs. The others quickly shield their eyes as well, hoping against hope it won't decide to come after them. Are Endermen more hostile on their home turf? With a chill, Jasper realizes he doesn't know.
"We should move." Essa whispers. She leads the way towards one of the tall black structures, hiding in the shadows.
Lukas peers out from around it. "So, what do we call that? A herd of Endermen? A flock?"
"A 'haunting' of Endermen, I think." Jasper puts in haughtily.
"We might wanna hold off on the grammar lessons until later." Olivia snarks. Jasper sighs inwardly.
Essa looks around again, then asks, "Which way are we headed, Jasper?"
He retrieves the amulet from his inventory, and the white bit glows brightly for a second before flickering and going dim. Frowning, Jasper shakes it a few times, with no result.
"Stuff like that doesn't work in the Nether- probably not the End, either." Petra contributes. Jasper glances over at her as she says this, and almost immediately wishes he didn't. She looks so bad, her skin and eyes discoloured beyond belief. The Withersickness is hitting her hard, and it makes him feel ill to know she may not be able to hold on for much longer.
Lukas lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Great. Whoo, man. So we were trapped, and now we're lost. So we go from, uh...a death machine, that almost drowns us, and we land here. In the End."
His voice is sarcastic, almost mocking, and Jasper's frustration rises. "Are you saying we should've stayed?"
"No. I'm saying we should've known where we were headed before we left." The blond boy continues tartly.
"We do know where we're going. Towards Soren." Jasper counters bluntly. Lukas just glares.
Petra cautiously steps between them. "That's enough." she says firmly.
Lukas sighs, sounding a strange mix between tired and irritated. "Face it, Jasper. We might never find this guy."
"There he is." Axel interjects suddenly, pointing. Jasper turns, for the first time noticing a tall staircase leading up to an unknown. It's built with very few supports, and looks like it would be a great pain to climb.
And yet, marching easily up those stairs, is a vaguely familiar man with fluffy orange hair that's noticeable even from their considerable distance.
"Did...that just happen? I can't believe that just happened." Lukas mutters, seeming like he's mostly talking to himself.
Jasper gives him a pointed look, gesturing to the towering staircase. "See? That's where we're headed."
"That's got to be him." Petra agrees.
Soren disappears from view, heading into the dark shape that the stairs lead into. "We've gotta go!" Jasper implores.
"Everyone, follow me." Petra orders, stepping to the head of the group. "I'll get us to the other side. Just stay behind me, and we'll...we'll be fine."
A fit of coughing interrupts her words, and Jasper pauses. The thought of leading the way through the ominous black shapes and scattered Endermen is a daunting one, but he's not sure that his ailing friend is up for the task, either.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Essa says gently.
The others hesitate for a moment. Olivia gives Jasper an encouraging look, but it's Lukas who speaks up. "Actually, you know what? I'll just go."
He strides confidently forward. Jasper doesn't move, their recent argument spinning through his mind, and Lukas glances partially over his shoulder. "Give me a chance." he says quietly.
"Okay. We'll follow you." Essa agrees before Jasper can make a decision. Lukas gives her a gratified smile. "And let's try to pick up the pace, okay? I'd rather not be around these Endermen any longer than necessary." she murmurs through a slight shudder.
Jasper trails behind them, his arm covering his eyes and Reuben hurrying at his heels. He agrees with Essa- this place is way, way too creepy to just be hanging around in. But he's not sure if he's willing to so easily hand power over to Lukas.
The Endermen make ominous chittering noises as he passes, and Jasper tries to hurry by as quickly as he can. Ahead of him, Lukas and Essa have already stopped near the base of the stairs.
The tall black monsters seem to be avoiding the light, which is immensely relieving. Jasper brings his arm away from his face, watching as the others dash over as well.
"Nice moves back there, Lukas." Petra says.
He smiles, blushing ever so slightly. "Thanks."
Jasper gives them both a knowing look. It seems impossible that they can be so perfectly oblivious of their mutual crush, but here they are.
Essa has stepped forward, examining the bedrock-surrounded End portal. She brushes her fingers along the top of one of the black-streaked blocks, looking down into the blank void of the portal. A strange expression crosses her face, and Jasper kind of wishes he could ask what she's thinking.
He doesn't, though, instead leading the way to the base of the steps. "Let's go." he prompts, beginning the climb.
He's already slightly out of breath just by the first turn in the stairway. He's just not used to this much exertion- the last few days have been nothing but action, and it's taking a toll on him. Almost all of them seem a little winded, and there's still so much more to go.
"I hope that someday I love something as much as Soren seems to love stairs." Axel grumbles.
The stairs go on and on and on, further and further into the dark sky of the End. They're layered in such a way that it's hard to tell how much farther they have to go, which is more than a little disheartening.
"Jasper...can you give me a sec?" Petra asks quietly from behind him.
He turns as soon as he hears his name, seeing her lagging more than a little way behind. "Need a hand?" he offers gently.
"No...no, I can manage, thanks." she replies quickly, though she doesn't sound overly confident. He gives her a concerned, 'are-you-sure' kind of look, and she tries to smile. "Really, I'm fine."
Another moment passes, and she straightens her shoulders. "I'm good, I'm good. We can keep moving."
Jasper turns back around to see Lukas waiting just a few steps ahead, wearing a dubious expression. He doesn't say anything as Jasper passes him, but he can feel the other boy's blue eyes trained on him as he goes ahead.
He already knows that Lukas is suspicious of Petra's condition, and for good reason. He just hopes that Petra will tell him herself, instead of Jasper having to do it. Things between him and Lukas are tense enough as is.
Jasper makes it to the next landing, where Axel and Olivia are sprawled out, both trying to catch their breath. Essa is waiting there as well, bent over with her hands on her knees as she sighs, "Does this ever end? My legs are dying."
"So many stairs..." Olivia complains.
Jasper looks up to the next flight of stairs, noticing that their destination is finally almost within reach. "There's a...ladder."
"It better not be a long one." Axel contributes bitterly.
Jasper hurries up the stairs, trying to peer up to see where it leads. All he can see is a trapdoor, with faint light shining through the gaps.
"Whatever this is, looks like that's the way in." Petra says.
Essa gently brushes past Jasper, lifting a foot onto the first rung. "Here goes."
Jasper tries not to let his expression betray how glad he is that he's not being expected to go first. He doesn't mind being the technical 'leader' of their little group, but he wishes more of the others would step up sometimes. Well, Lukas is sort of trying, but he doesn't seem to get that he can be helpful without taking over.
At the top of the ladder, Essa pushes the trapdoor open and disappears from view. There's nothing but silence, which is more than a little unnerving.
"Essa?" he calls up.
"What do you see?" Lukas asks at the same time.
"Please don't say more stairs." Petra implores, sounding downright miserable.
Jasper takes ahold of the ladder, beginning to pull himself up right as Essa's voice echoes down. "I think I must be...seeing things. There's something weird going on."
Not liking the sound of this, Jasper follows her as quickly as he can. He emerges into sudden light, blinking against the unexpected brightness.
It's like he's in an entirely different world. It takes his eyes a moment to adjust, and in that moment, he sees a perfect little scene from the top of a small hill. Trees, grass, and a picturesque creek flowing through it all. A massive wooden fountain stands on the far side of the creek, water flowing swiftly from the top.
As he looks closer, he realizes that there's something vaguely off about the whole thing. There's something wrong with the texture of the entire place, but he's not sure what exactly it is.
Lukas is right behind him, clambering out of the trapdoor as Jasper begins making his way down the rise. "So bright..."
The others quickly follow, though Jasper is still looking intently around at the strange place. Essa is frowning, looking uncertainly down at the red mushrooms that dot the ground.
Jasper shields his eyes to look up at the sky, when he hears Axel shout. He turns around just in time to see the larger boy trip and crash into Lukas again, sending them both to the ground.
"That's my body, Axel. My broken, battered body." Lukas says in a very defeated-sounding voice. This is at least the third time it's happened in the span of just a few hours.
"Hang on a second." Essa suddenly calls, regaining Jasper's attention. "Guys, it's made of wool! The trees, the grass...it's all wool!"
"What?" Jasper gasps. He reaches out to touch a nearby 'tree' and sees that she's right. The bright light had confused his eyes at first, but there's no mistaking it now.
Lukas picks up a green block. "You're telling me we've been resting all our hopes on this guy, and the entire time he's been building some...totally artificial Happyland?!"
"Well...it's real wool." Axel says.
"It's real evidence that Soren is whacked." Lukas shoots back.
Jasper glances around again. "Could it be that he just...missed home?" he guesses, wondering what could possibly validate this.
Lukas snorts. "If you miss home, you go and visit. You don't build an exact replica."
"Yeah, you've got a point there. Anyone who does something like this can't be all there." Essa comments.
The blond boy doesn't seem to hear her. "We came here for nothing!" he snaps, tossing away the block in his hand and stomping off. "What are we even supposed to do now?!"
"What's the matter with you?" Jasper asks, his voice coming out a little more hostile than he intended.
Lukas doesn't even look at him. "Just look around, Jasper! If the 'greatest builder of all time' has spent years working on this, what are the chances he's even gonna have that bomb, huh?! I've had enough crazy for one day."
The others watch him stalk off, still taken aback by the sudden outburst.
"What's his problem?" Petra asks honestly. "He seems pretty upset."
Jasper sighs. "I don't know." He doesn't want to flat-out say that Lukas is probably just worried about her and freaking out over it, but he's certainly thinking it.
The group slowly disperses. Axel and Olivia head off in more or less the same direction as Lukas did, though they're careful to avoid him. Petra slumps against a nearby 'tree', looking tired, and Essa walks in the opposite direction, seeming like she's trying to figure out the boundaries of the place.
Jasper looks around in dismay. There's not a clear exit, and he's not sure if he can find one without help. He suddenly notices a pattern of lit-up Redstone lamps set high in one of the walls, though they blink and turn off almost as soon as he sees them.
There's not much point in even trying to get out if we're all separated like this, Jasper realizes. He turns and walks over to Petra, who gives him a noncommittal "Hey, Jas."
"Hey. How do you think Soren managed to get out of here without leaving any clues behind?" he asks cautiously. He wants to know how she's feeling, but at the same time is a little too afraid to ask.
She shrugs, straightening up slightly. "He is the greatest builder of all time. If anyone knew how to put in the secretest of secret doors, it's him."
Jasper sighs again. "That's encouraging. So I'm probably looking for..."
"Well, to open a secret door, you need a secret mechanism. Maybe you should ask Olivia for help." she suggests.
"Probably a good idea." he admits. "In that case, I guess I'm gonna keep looking around."
Petra leans back against the wool structure. "Look away."
Instead of heading over to Olivia, though, Jasper looks around for Essa. On the other side of the strange room is another small wool hill like the one they came out of, and the tall woman is standing on top of it, her hands planted on her hips as she surveys the area.
Jasper heads over to her, and she meets him partway. "Hey, Essa. Have you found anything useful?"
She cringes slightly when he says the last word, then shakes her head. "Not particularly. I was hoping there'd be a hidden door or something back here, but...nothing. It's terribly frustrating."
Jasper runs a hand through his auburn hair. "I just don't know what to do. Everyone's kind of tense, so we're not working together, and I can't find a single clue on how to get out of here!"
"Well, we could just mine through the wool...but I'm not sure how much good that would do if we don't know what's on the other side." Essa muses. "I also think it'd be smarter to pull the group back together before moving onwards. Morale seems pretty low right now."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not totally sure how, though." Jasper says quietly. "Lukas seemed pretty upset. I'm a little afraid that anything I say will just make it worse."
Essa smiles gently, reaching over to touch his shoulder. "How 'bout this? You talk to Axel and Olivia, and try to find the way out, and I'll deal with Lukas. That way we can keep moving forward, without causing any more damage to the team." she suggests kindly.
Jasper lets himself relax, thinking again how glad he is that she's here. "Right. Thanks, Essa. You're the best."
"Thank me after we get out of here." she says in reply, with a slightly mischievous wink. She strides off towards Lukas, and Jasper heads towards Axel and Olivia with a new boost of confidence.
"What's up, Jasper?" Axel asks.
"Trying to find a way out of here. I need you guys's help. If we can just find the secret door, I know it's gotta open." he summarizes quickly.
Olivia nods towards a button that sticks noticeably out of the wall behind them, the same wall that the darkened Redstone lamps are attached to. "Well, there's that, but it doesn't seem to do anything."
"Then I guess we just have to find something that will make it do something. I've got a weird feeling about those lights up there- they were on when we came in, but they turned off. I think they might have something to do with the hidden door." Jasper says.
"Smart. We should split up and search the place until we find something." Olivia suggests.
Axel sighs. "More puzzle solving and searching for things?"
"Do you have a better idea?" Olivia counters.
Axel looks ready to keep arguing, but Jasper doesn't let him. "Good idea, Liv. Holler if you find anything."
They start off in different directions- Olivia goes back towards Petra and where they got in, Axel heads over to investigate the fountain, and Jasper continues searching along the wall. There's nothing immediately obvious, but when he leans close to the blue wool, he swears he can hear faint music.
Then he notices a lever attached to the trunks of one of the 'trees'. It's mostly hidden in shadow, and would probably have gone completely unseen if he wasn't already on high alert.
He wastes no time in flipping the lever, and is rewarded by the center of the lamp pattern turning on. "Cool! Guys, we're looking for levers!" he calls to the others.
"Got it." Axel replies.
Jasper glances over at Lukas and Essa. The blond boy is sitting slumped against one of the green wool blocks scattered around, with Essa crouched nearby. He can't hear what either of them are saying, but Lukas still looks upset, though his expression reads more sad than angry.
Essa says something to him that makes Lukas look up with a significantly more hopeful face. She stands, then reaches down to help him up.
Jasper is distracted by Olivia's voice letting out a shout of triumph. "Ha! Found one!" A moment later, the left side of the lamps light up.
"Nice!" he calls back.
Essa walks over to him. "Status?" she asks with a small smile.
"I think we've got only one more lever." Jasper says, looking up at the Redstone lamps again, two-thirds lit up.
She snaps her fingers, then points over in the direction she just came from. "Hey, there was a switch over where Lukas is! I think it's even on that tree he's leaning against."
"Thanks a million." Jasper grins, already heading over. Lukas gives him a questioning look as he approaches.
"Hey, Jasper. What do you want?" His voice isn't friendly, exactly, but at least he sounds calmer than earlier.
"I, uh...kinda need to get to that lever you're blocking." Jasper requests, somewhat awkwardly.
Lukas glances over his shoulder, then steps aside. Jasper flicks the switch quickly, watching as the rest of the lamps turn on. "Thanks." he tosses back as he hurries over to the wall with the lights again. "Olivia, try the button now!"
She does as he asks, and before any of them can move, an entire section of the wall disappears, revealing a dimly-lit passage into a large room. "Yes! It worked!" Olivia cheers.
"Way to go, guys! That's awesome!" Essa congratulates them. "Come on, let's check it out."
Jasper follows her as she strides confidently inside, feeling a great deal more optimistic than earlier. They all really do make a pretty good team, especially him and Essa. They've been through a lot of obstacles already, but they're so close to reaching their goal.
What else could possibly happen now?
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hehehehe
oohhhh i just love when innocent smol bean characters don't know what they're walking into, don't you? :]
sorry if this chapter was boring,, i realize that it's basically negative excitement for anyone who's played episode 3 (aka all of us), but i wanted to give a bit of an example how Essa was changing things 👀
anyways, next chapter in a week, and yes, we're going back to Jess again ehehe
word count- 3476