Jesse straightens up as she reaches the top of the hill, looking down at the wrecked entrance of the Order's temple. Though it must be said, it isn't quite as wrecked as it had been before. The gaping hole of an entrance is patched messily up with cobblestone and dirt blocks, which Jesse takes to mean that Axel and Petra have returned before them.
"Well! That's certainly something." Ellegaard remarks. Jesse doesn't bother saying anything, jumping down to the lower ground where the temple starts.
Lukas seems to have drawn the same conclusions as her. "So, at least we know Axel and Petra are here...but did they succeed in getting Magnus? And is...has Olivia made it?"
Jesse shakes her head. "I don't know." she mutters.
This has all been so much harder without Olivia. Not just the adventuring bit, though that's been difficult enough. She and Lukas managed to get to Redstonia and find Ellegaard fine, though things were a little patchier since neither of them had much knowledge of Redstone.
No, the hardest part is living with the guilt. The knowledge that she's made a massive mistake, and that the effects of it aren't going to just go away.
She's still clinging on to the hope that Gabriel and Olivia will somehow make it to the temple. She knows the probability is low, considering how much she's thrown out of balance, but that little slice of hope is all she has at the moment.
They walk into the dim interior of the temple, and Jesse is hit with a strong wave of deja-vu. Last time, Lukas had opened the door for them, and Petra had been just inside, waiting for them to return.
There's no one there now.
"My goodness. This place has certainly seen better days." Ellegaard comments, looking forlornly at the dilapidated entryway.
"It's been a long time since you were here, huh?" Lukas asks.
The Redstone engineer nods, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "Yes, it has. I've completely lost track."
Jesse catches herself before she mutters something damning about how time has a mind of its own in that way. She grits her teeth as they head down the stone hall and up the flight of stairs to the second level.
The beginnings of sunset casts a warm yellow glow through the wall-less room, but Jesse isn't in the mood to appreciate the sights. She glances quickly around, and her shoulders slump with relief when she sees Axel talking to Magnus at the far end of the room.
Petra, who was sitting on the long table that all the levers rested on, jumps up and hurries over to them. "Hey, guys! You made it!"
"Why wouldn't we?" Lukas asks as she pulls him into an immediate hug.
"Oh jeez, I dunno, maybe the Witherstorm?" she shoots back good-naturedly.
Axel and Magnus hurry over, and Jesse says, "Well, we did have a run-in with the thing. It...kinda destroyed Redstonia. But we managed to make it out. Obviously." she finishes, feeling somewhat lame. She wants to ask if there's been any sign of Olivia or Gabriel, but can't seem to form the words.
Ellegaard and Magnus eye each other distrustingly. Jesse was more careful this time, making sure to warn Ellegaard that the other member of the Order was going to be there. She'd instructed Axel and Petra to tell Magnus as well, and they apparently had. Even though he didn't exactly look happy, at least it wasn't a surprise.
"Oh, hoo-ray! It's Ellie. And here I was just starting to enjoy myself." Magnus says dryly.
"Hello, Magnus. Your voice is exactly as pleasant as I remember. Which is to say, not at all." is her biting response.
The renowned griefer presses his hand dramatically to his chest. "Ow, my feelings! Is that the same wit you're going to use to save the world?"
"Why, you here to tell me how to do it better?" Ellegaard snipes.
Jesse intervenes here, unable to take it any longer. "Alright, enough. Hi there. My name's Jesse, and I'm here to actually try to get things done." she says to Magnus. "I know the feeling of running into old rivals- trust me, I don't like it any more than you do. But let's focus on the big picture here- which, might I add, appears to be the end of the world."
Both the Order members are silent for a few moments, giving her surprised looks. "Well. Hard to doubt you with that attitude." Ellegaard says. Jesse pauses, unsure if it was an insult or not.
"The arguing isn't going to fix anything. We need a solution." Lukas says in a considerably more patient tone than Jesse.
"In my opinion, if we're gonna stop that thing, we're gonna need some serious firepower." Axel contributes.
Magnus kicks absent-mindedly at a loose piece of rock. "I dunno if you've had a chance to poke around this place yet, but it's preeeeetty much stripped bare." he snaps. "Plus, if what I heard from these two is to be believed, it would take a mountain of TNT to kill that thing." This is followed by a dismissive gesture towards Axel and Petra.
"I hate to say it, but...you have a point." Ellegaard says slowly.
Jesse finds it somewhat strange how similar this conversation is going, despite the fact that they're missing a key player. Trying to stamp down her guilt and fear again, she asks, "So, what are we going to do? How are we going to stop it?"
Her emotions must spill out into her voice, because Ellegaard gently says, "Well, let's not panic, first of all. That's a good first step."
"Even if we had all the TNT from miles around, I don't know if it would be enough." Magnus is quick to add.
Jesse knows that Ellegaard is about to say something about Soren, but she's interrupted before she has the chance. A familiar male voice lifts up from outside, catching all of their attentions.
"Hello? Hello, is anyone there?"
Jesse turns around so fast, she almost trips over her own feet. "Gabriel?!" she breathes in hushed disbelief.
If Gabriel is here...could Olivia be, too?
It's not clear who bolts for the stairs first, be it Axel or Petra or Jesse herself, but Petra is the first to rush outside to greet the two newcomers.
Yes, two. There's Gabriel, standing tall and strong as ever in his shimmering blue armour. And there's Olivia, pale and tired-looking, but still alive. She smiles, clearly relieved to see them, though it's small and halfhearted, almost more of a grimace than an actual smile.
"Gabriel? It is you!" Ellegaard calls, having quickly followed them out.
His eyes widen, clearly surprised to see her here. "Ellegaard? H-how did you...?"
"Well, you told me to find the Order." Jesse puts in. He laughs slightly. "True, but I didn't expect you to manage it so fast!"
"After you guys went through, the portal went dead. Gabriel managed to get me away from the Witherstorm, but we couldn't follow you." Olivia says. Her voice matches the rest of her right now, quavering and uncertain. She clears her throat experimentally before continuing. "It took us so long to get here on foot...I wasn't sure if you'd still be here when we got here."
"Ahh, we wouldn't leave without you!" Petra assures her. Her arm is slung over Olivia's shoulders, though she's clearly restraining herself from a more boisterous greeting. Even she can tell there's something not quite right about the other girl.
"What happened after you guys left? Did...did the Witherstorm leave anything behind?" Lukas asks, sounding somewhat like he doesn't really want to know the answer.
Olivia ducks her head. "It's kind of all a blur now, but...no, not really." she murmurs. "Everything...it's all in ruins. The Storm destroyed everything it could, which is...pretty much anything. It's all gone."
They're all silent for a few moments, before Axel mutters a quiet "...oh."
"But at least it didn't get you." Petra says, obviously trying to stay optimistic. Olivia offers another weak smile. "Yeah. It didn't get me." she echoes.
Jesse turns back towards the temple entrance. "Let's head inside, and finish figuring out what we need to do." she suggests, raising her voice so the members of the Order will hear her too.
She heads inside, not fully hearing the various assents through the noise in her own head. What's going to happen now? They've got Olivia back...but now Gabriel's here too. This isn't anything like what happened the first time.
She drags in a deep breath as she leads the way back to the map room. Whatever happens, she'll figure it out. She'll get it back on track.
She doesn't want to know what might happen if she doesn't.
===============
apparently I like torturing Scorpio
(lol apparently nothin I've got like 4 notebook pages of Scorpio torture planned fffff)
but yeah I'm gonna be writing a lot about this particular run c: