Everything is happening in fast-forward.
Jesse knows what she needs to do. She knows what she's going to do. But she isn't sure if she can.
The entrance to Gabriel's temple slides open, and she follows her friends as they all dart in. An unlit Nether portal waits inside, and Jesse retrieves the flint and steel from her inventory. She's only got one chance at this, and she knows it.
One of the snaking tentacles follows them inside, and Gabriel pauses to buy them time. "Hurry!" he orders. "If you can get through the portal, you'll be safe!"
Jesse wastes no time in lighting the portal, not waiting for anyone to remind her like they did the previous loop.
"Everyone, get in! Now!" Petra exclaims. Axel lifts Reuben and runs through, but Jesse grabs Olivia's shoulder before she has a chance to disappear. Instead, Lukas goes through, vanishing quickly into the purple.
Jesse's breath hitches. This is her last chance to back out.
Olivia gives her a questioning look, but doesn't have time to say anything before a loud shout from Gabriel catches their attentions. The Witherstorm has temporarily disabled him, throwing him violently to the ground and ridding him of his weapon.
"Gabriel!" Jesse calls, running over. Olivia follows, apparently without even thinking.
Another Wither limb crashes through the ceiling in front of them, and both girls have to hurtle over it to help Gabriel. Petra begins attacking the black tentacle, distracting it to buy them time.
Olivia begins trying to pull Gabriel out of the Wither arm's grasp, but Jesse knows better by now. She pulls her sword from her inventory and sinks it deep into the black mass. Above, the Storm roars mightily, releasing the hero immediately.
"Don't even try to mess with me this time." she growls under her breath.
Gabriel has gotten back to his feet, brushing himself off and recollecting his sword. "Thank you." He says to Olivia, though it's shadowed by a concerning frown. "I can't stop this by myself. We need to find the others."
Jesse remains quiet, and she's surprised when Olivia echoes, "Others?"
"Soren's been missing for years. But the others...you must seek them out! Take this amulet, and guard it with your life!"
The hero pulls the amulet from his inventory, the teal section glowing vividly. A zing of unrealistic surprise jolts through Jesse as she gets a sudden sense of deja-vu. The last time she saw the amulet, Gabriel had been handing it to her after she and her friends had been crowned the New Order.
"What does the amulet do?" she asks automatically, already knowing the answer.
"It will help you locate the other members of the Order of the Stone." Gabriel explains quickly, handing it to her. "Take it through the portal, and-"
A tremendous crashing noise interrupts him, as yet another Wither tentacle breaks into the fortress. At the same time, Petra is thrown back by the one she was fighting, and Jesse turns towards her on instinct. She slices at it as it swoops towards her, landing a solid enough blow to make the Storm roar in pain or anger again.
Petra leaps at it, slashing wildly with her gold blade. The tentacle retracts with another vicious roar.
"You and Olivia need to go through the portal and meet up with the others. I'll stay here and do whatever I can." Petra orders.
Jesse draws herself up to her full height. "No you will not. Staying here will only lead to more trouble, for everyone." she snaps. Petra hesitates, taken off-guard by the surety in Jesse's tone.
Ask me if I'm sure, I dare you. Ask me how I know. Jesse thinks, furrowing her brow defiantly. Last time, her insistence didn't make a difference to the older girl. But this is different- Jesse's not letting anyone get left behind this time.
"The gang needs you, Jesse. Go through the portal." Petra starts. It's some of the same words, but her tone is different. "If anything happens, I'll meet you guys at the temple."
Jesse's ready to put up a fight, but a shrill holler from Olivia catches her attention. "GABRIEL!"
Both she and Petra turn, just in time to see him being lifted up by one of the Witherstorm's violet tractor beams. Jesse tenses- this is what she's been waiting for.
Petra runs, intending to save him, but another tractor beam appears out of nowhere, trapping her as well. She shouts in alarm, rising off the ground.
Olivia hurries to Jesse's side as she sheaths her sword. "What do we do?!"
"You go for Gabriel. I'll save Petra." Jesse orders, not wasting a second.
She gets a running start and leaps as hard as she can, jumping high enough to wrap her arms around Petra's waist and bringing them both down. Releasing her friend, Jesse crash-lands on the hard floor, wincing.
"Thanks, Jesse." Petra pants, sitting up. "Is Gabriel-"
"Olivia's got him." Jesse interrupts, praying it's true. She whirls around, shoulders slumping with relief as she sees Gabriel and Olivia picking themselves off the ground as well.
I did it.
"Go! Get to the portal!" Gabriel yells. Not wanting to risk Petra's stubbornness, she grasps the other girl's wrist and begins towing her towards the portal. By some miracle, Petra decides not to put up any more of a fight.
Almost there, almost there. I did it. Jesse's hopeful mind chants.
But...
The monster roars, and Olivia screams. Jesse pivots, almost tripping over her own feet.
The Wither arm that chased them in through the entrance is back, coiling around her friend like a pitch-black vice.
"NO!" Jesse screams, drawing her sword again.
But her luck, it seems, has completely run out. Yet another tentacle swings down from one of the holes in the roof, swinging back and slamming against her, sending her flying backwards into Petra.
She barely hears Olivia screaming, "JESSE!!" before they both are flung through the Nether portal.
The Netherrack scrapes her skin as she lands on the ground of the hellish dimension, but that's nothing compared to the bleeding cuts that have just been clawed across her heart. They may be metaphorical, but that doesn't make them hurt any less.
There's no point in going back. She shouldn't have tried to change things that drastically, shouldn't have attempted to bend the rules.
Dimly, she hears Lukas asking, "Wait, where's Olivia?"
"Whoa whoa WHOA!" Axel shouts, wrapping his arms around Petra and lifting her off the ground as she makes a mad dash back to the portal. "What the hell are you doing? You can't go back! That monster's still up there!"
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO AXEL I SWEAR I'LL RIP YOUR ARMS OFF! SHE'S UP THERE! SHE'S STILL UP THERE! PUT ME DOWN!!" Petra roars, almost as loud as the Wither Storm itself.
"Wh-what? Jesse, what happened?" Lukas asks worriedly as she slowly picks herself up off the ground.
"I made a mistake." she rasps, almost too quiet to hear.
Not relinquishing his hold on the still-screaming Petra, Axel asks, "What are you talking about? Because it doesn't sound like..."
What, exactly, it doesn't sound like, she'll never know. At that moment, the portal sparks, shimmering as though someone's coming through.
"Is that her?" Lukas asks hopefully, and Petra goes temporarily quiet. Jesse can't even manage to pretend to be optimistic, stepping mutely away from the portal in preparation for what's about to happen.
A familiar man in a green robe falls through the portal, leaping to his feet with surprising quickness. There's no time for anyone to react, though, because Ivor isn't alone.
A giant Wither tentacle reaches through the portal, swinging wildly as it searches for something to grab. With a shout, Axel dives out of the way, pulling Petra with him. It lunges towards Jesse, but she instinctively drops to the ground out of its reach.
Its prey having been lost, the limb wraps instead around the obsidian frame, and with a sound like heartbreak, crushes the whole portal to bits. Petra screams again, as the tentacle vanishes into nothing just seconds before the gateway is lost.
There's utter silence as her friends get to their feet and process what just happened, but Jesse can't move. She stays folded on the ground, bringing her hands up to hide her face.
She never should've done this. She shouldn't have tried to change fate, not without knowing the price.
Because oh, what a steep price it is.
Olivia is gone.
Her best friend is gone, and it's all her fault.
====
Yeah so at this point this AU is literally just. Jesses repeating their lives and making worse and worse mistakes. This is a particularly bad run for Scorpio not gonna lie c: