Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wasn’t meant to look like this, was it?

The ominous hum of the terminal. It was deafening. The silence was cutthroat, like a sharp blade against my ears. I could feel the thump of my shoes against the glassy like texture of the pathway toward the center structure. Every step I took, I felt heavier, like quicksand waiting to swallow me whole. It was.. terrifying.

“What’re we even doing all’is for anyway? We should’ve been protecting Beacontown.” Jack groaned, his hands jammed into the pockets of his distressed jeans as we waltzed along the wall-less corridor. Lukas, he looked nervous, but hopeful. Like everything ahead was unpredictable, but would all be worth it in the midst of the end. The walls surrounding us hummed with an echo unrecognizable in comparison to anything I’d heard before. I glanced over at Jack, almost in disbelief that he was still even asking about what our goal was here–even after everything we’d been through collectively. “I need you guys with me. If I get ambushed, I can’t have another doppelganger situation on my hands..“ I muttered, a hint of sarcasm but drama behind my voice. I didn’t really want them to be here, to be truthful. I don’t want either of them to get hurt. But, it’s true that if I’m captured, or at the worst killed–I can’t die knowing that Admin could be out there hurting those I hold so close. I fidgeted with my hands around my waist, loosely crossed. I wasn’t so much uncomfortable, just.. on edge. The Admin could appear at any moment. I heard rapidly succeeding footsteps, like someone was running up from behind me. Turns out, it was just Lukas speeding ahead of the two of us, gracefully spinning around to face us and walk backward toward the terminal, his expression a mix of ‘I am TERRIFIED.’ and ‘I’m gonna explain something mildly useful for the next 30 minutes.’ “Where do you think we put the word of passage? Oh, oh, what if it’s in some super-top-secret compartment up ahead? Do you think there’s a redstone contraption?!” Lukas rambled on excitedly, his eyes pulsating with a youthlike excitement as he glanced at me for approval. I don’t have the heart to extinguish his enthusiasm, so, I nodded along with a defeated smile. “Lukas, I’d love to fantasize about what could possibly be ahead, but I think we have a job to do.” I laughed. His face twisted into a playful disappointed pout, but he eventually smiled as the joke dissipated and turned back around, striding at an even pace ahead of us and chatting. “Suit yourself, I still think that there’s some kind of cool puzzle ahead.”

He was right. Of course he was. Eventually, Jack, Lukas and I reached the terminal itself. Blocks, a chest, item frames.. What does it all mean? I sat there and cracked the code, with Lukas’ enthusiastic commentary boosting me along the way, and Jack’s sarcastic but secretly intrigued smirk. He wouldn’t admit it, but this is a LITTLE cooler than some of the stuff he’s bragged about to Petra and I. Eventually, Fred appeared behind us, with Lukas turning with a jump like a cat, and me and Jack more focused on his startled reaction than the fact that it was Fred himself.

“Xara, hi. If you’re seeing this recording, well.. I guess the worst has happened, and you just put the Word of Passage into the Primary Terminal. I wish the Terminal could just take away Romeo’s Admin powers. It’d be easier that way, but making this gauntlet.. was the best I could do.”

My eyes wandered Fred’s face like he was worth millions. I could hardly believe that he.. predicted this? What happened between these people? I glanced back at Jack, and Lukas. Both equally puzzled as I was. I couldn’t help but stare and listen a little longer.

“Put your hand into the pedestal to receive the gauntlet. It’s got the power to make Romeo.. normal, again. It might take a few hits to remove his powers away entirely, but it’ll get the job done. Do you understand?”

I sighed with a new heavy weight on my shoulders as the task placed what felt like a bounty on my head. I glanced back up at the hologram of Fred, mourning someone I never knew. I nodded. I knew what I must do. My eyebrows furrowed as I locked eyes with the slot I’d been directed to. I’d hardly taken a few mere steps, and yet, as I approached I was quickly halted by the sight of the exact thing I was afraid of: The Admin. He’d appeared, in true, admin fashion, his arms wide as his eyes with fear and concern. “WHAT do you think you’re doing?!” He screeched, his voice heightened in pitch with rage. He glared over at Fred, jolting back with surprise and shock. “What’s.. happening?” I furrowed my brows at him in return. “We’re here to stop you, Romeo. Once and for all.” I muttered coldly. He slowly turned to face me again, and before I knew it—I’d dashed full speed toward the slot I'd been directed toward and slammed my fist into the gauntlet. The metal was cold, ice like against my fingertips as I slowly retreated and pulled the heavy gauntlet out with my hand, as Romeo stood ahead of me and my friends. Lukas backed up in shock, reaching for his bow carefully, hesitantly, and Jack stood tall and proud firmly, like a shield made of the strongest obsidian. Despite not having much in his arsenal exactly, Jack’s the type who wouldn’t go down even if a BOMB was landing. Hardly thinking, I sprinted full speed toward the Admin, the gauntlet heavy in expensive material and blessed powers granted upon me by Fred himself. I struck him, as hard as I could possibly think of, and felt the withdrawal as I recoiled back. 

Immediately, some sort of effect washed over me. I felt my head begin to feel like a balloon, and I was a little fuzzy in recalling what I’d do next, but quickly recovered and stepped back. He tried to snap us out of existence, and for a moment I thought it hadn’t worked and we were toast. But, surprisingly enough, it didn’t work. I blinked in confusion, remembering what the gauntlet was meant to do, but didn’t have any idea just how much power it took in one hit. He glared at me, vexed beyond belief, and one of the most dramatic duels of my life occurred. One by one, punch by punch, I was teleported and transported through multiple memories, and yet with each punch I landed, I felt the weight of my memories lighten. By the end of the battle, I’d had one more shot left to make, and my head was pounding with a pulse too strong for me to comprehend. Like I’d been electrocuted and the waves just kept coming. I managed enough strength to finally land a blow, dragging the gauntlet back with a tiredness I’d never felt before, huffing as I stumbled back. Who even.. was I hitting? I shook my head with confusion, trying to piece together the reason I’d been doing this. The man ahead of me crawled back, sprawled on his elbows with a desperation in his eyes that read guilt like never before. I felt my vision blur and the surroundings begin to spin, and I stood ahead of this guy as he spoke in a worried tone–like he had no more time to spare. I huffed with breathlessness but tried to pull myself together enough to listen to what he had to say. Everything he’d said was muffled, like water that had muted the soundwaves to my ears. I heard someone behind me, their voice panicking and approaching rapidly.

“Jesse! Come on!” They bursted, as I felt their hand come around my forearm, in a desperate attempt to drag me away. Who.. is that? I wondered. I felt almost bad, because they spoke like they were about to lose their whole world. I hazily looked up. This guy, whoever he was, looked great. Strong shoulders, a cozy blonde tone in his hair, and his voice was soft with empathy but had a sense of importance and urgency behind it too. I blinked at him in surprise. His dark blue eyes stared into mine as I looked at him confusedly. His gaze pierced mine with a confused impatience. “Jesse? Why’re you looking at me like that? Come on, we have to go!” He calls, his voice firm but hardened at the same time. It confused but intrigued me. I tried my hardest to recall who he was, with no avail. The man, the one with the red hair infront of me, muttered something unintelligible to me. I blinked slowly, trying my hardest to focus on either of them, until my inner strength finally gave up, and the last thing I recalled was the golden glove I had fading off of my fist, dissipating into nothing. I heard a few voices yelling, one worried, the other two a mix of confusion and anger, and everything faded to dark.

Who.. am I?

Chapter Text

“..Jesse! y..okay?..”

“..What happe..him..”

I felt my face burn against the cold ground, like lava meeting water and neutralizing the temperature. The sky was bright against my eyes, a black, stony like textured block covering a lot of it but gradually moving outwards and away the longer I looked. I heard several voices surrounding me, many fading into the distance at a quicker pace like they were running, but three voices in particular staying the same volume and seemingly right next to me. I stirred slightly, trying to shake myself awake to gain back enough of my conscious to see what was around me.

[II: THIRD PERSON]

“G-Gosh, how did this even..” Lukas stammered, stood over the half conscious Jesse who lay beneath him on the pavement. The portal still, unmoving, and the hum of the air from being so high up deafening between the gaps of them all. Jack stood with his arms crossed, in quite a shock from the string of events. “Poor kid could hardly stand up.” He comments, his voice lowering in sympathy as he looks down at him also, before glancing back up at Lukas. “What e’en happened to him? He punched that ol’ admin and then ahh.. stared at ya.” Jack blinked, his speech slowing down as he recalled the event. WHY did he turn around? He could’ve just grabbed the Admin and gone. Lukas, half listening to Jack, stared down at Jesse going in and out of consciousness on the floor, before glaring back over at Romeo, increasingly slowly.

“Y o u .”

He murmured, his voice low with fury and little to no forgiveness. Romeo cleared his throat, looking upon them all with a guilty childlike expression. “I-I know this looks bad, I promise..” He chuckled nervously, standing up. Lukas stomped toward him angrily, riling up enough of his built up anger. “This is YOUR fault, I just know you poisoned him or some—“

“WAIT!!!”

A squeakier, more higher pitched voice broke out, desperate to stop Lukas in his tracks before a fight broke out, stumbling toward the two with urgency, eventually standing between the two of them, arms spread apart filling up the gap between the two as he squeezed his eyes shut. Lukas glared with intensity, ready to pounce and tear Romeo apart. Romeo stood scared, smiling awkwardly with his hands held up in a silent surrender. In the midst of it all, was Radar.

“L-Let’s all calm down,” He nervously chuckled, looking over at Lukas. Lukas could hardly hold his impulsive anger, before Radar then ushered him away from Romeo, hand tugging at his sleeve as he spoke quick and anxious. “I don’t think Jesse would appreciate you beating the guy he used the last of his strength to save..” Radar murmured, his hand releasing his sleeve slowly and carefully to make sure he didn’t go lunging back. Lukas took a deep breath, sighing and glancing over at Radar shamefully. “You’re right. Sorry, Radar.” He chuckled through his embarrassment, his voice lowering in tone as he tilted his head down at Radar. Adjusting his posture, his adjacent arm to Radar came up to place his hand on his own hip and rest it. “Why don’t you go check on him? I need to think.” Lukas suggested with a nod, ushering Radar along and entrusting him with the task of watching over Jesse in such a vulnerable state, which understandably caused him to be a little hesitant, but he took the order with grace. Radar carefully approached beside Jack, blinking periodically as he hovered over Jesse’s body. “S-So.. how is he?” Radar cleared his throat nervously, looking up at him for a response. Jack glanced over at him in return, smiling softly as he pat his back aggressively–but not to hurt him. “Ah, he’s alright, kiddo. He just seems to ‘ve not taken the fall so great..” He responds with a laugh behind his voice, but is also seemingly hesitant about something. The two chat and look over Jesse, till eventually.. He stirs awake.

“Whhh..” Jesse whispered, his voice raspy with weakness as everyone but Romeo huddled around, with Lukas huddling over first as soon as he became audible enough to hardly understand. Radar noticed how his eyes softened, and his tense shoulders dropped into relaxation. He noticed the way he carefully took his arm, treated him like he was made of the most delicate glass. But something in Jesse’s eyes was different.. Nothing like he’d seen before. And once he finally mustered up enough strength to say anything, Lukas inquires. “Hey, Jesse.. How are–”

“Who.. are you?”

The entire world came to a halt. Everyone, everything went still. Lukas’ eyes widened with concern turned hurt, Radar's hands came up to cover his lips, and Jack's smile gradually, very slowly faded in horror. “W-What do you mean? It’s me, Lukas.” Lukas eventually stammered out, his voice broken in confusion and a broken laugh, praying internally this was a joke. Jesse’s eyes were blank. He felt nothing, like he’d never encountered this person before. His eyes scanned Lukas’ as he spoke, like he was expecting something more.

“Nice to meet you..”

The plain was quiet, everyone still as a board as they tried to mentally process just what was happening. Jack still believed it was temporary amnesia, that this would go away and they’d all be fine, but the longer the silence dragged, the less he believed so. Radar sat in silence, petrified as he watched the two of them crumble in each other's embrace. He watched as Lukas fell back slightly and get up as his expression read nothing but shock and disarray. His movements conveyed that he was trying to put together the pieces of what he was understanding to hopefully get on the same page. And yet Jesse sat, oblivious as could be. “So.. where am I, exactly? Are you guys okay?” He hummed, his voice a soft innocent laugh as he looked up at Jack and Radar. Radar felt his face begin to burn with embarrassment. Jack simply chuckled. “All good ‘ere, Jesse. I’m sure you remember your good ol’ apprentice ‘ere, right?” Jack played along, his voice playful and amused by the situation at hand, still in mild denial. Jesse glanced over at Radar, squinting his eyes hard to focus on him, then slowly shaking his head. “N-No, I’m sorry, I don’t.” He laughed reluctantly, like he knew he wasn’t meant to be saying that. Radar’s eyes widened slightly, like a child who was rejected by their parent. Sadness filled his pupils, as he blinked and backed up slightly. “I’m sure he just needs time..” Radar whispered to himself, his voice rasping slightly as he mentally exited the conversation. Lukas stood over Jesse, his eyes blank with dissociation as he mentally processed that all memory Jesse had of him was gone. The WitherStorm. PAMA. The Games. He sighed, his voice soft as he looked down at Jesse, holding out a careful hand, painful but kind in his speech. “Let me.. help you up.” He offered solemnly, anguish hidden behind his kind smile that he couldn’t help but offer Jesse anytime, everytime. Jesse on the other hand glanced up at him, smiling gratefully as he took his hand. “T-Thank you, sorry, I’m a little disoriented..” He murmured, his voice a light chuckle as he stood up carefully and rubbed the back of his head. “What happened here? Where ARE we?” Jesse coughed out, looking around curiously as he tried to piece together any thoughts about what could have occurred. Lukas’ eyes only saddened the longer he spoke. Jack chuckled heartily once more, waltzing up to him and placing an aggressive dad-hand on his shoulder. “Jesse, you should know, sh’nt you? We’re in Beacontown, the town you founded, n’ we just escaped the scary Admin terminal, the one that ol’ ROMEO here bothered ta develop for reasons unknown t’us, and..” Jesse waved his hands in front of his face in timeout, chuckling nervously as he looked at Jack with confusion.

“I-I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

It was about that point where Jack had realized his memories weren’t going to return. Jack and Lukas looked between eachother, their eyes wide with shock and genuine grief, before looking back over at Jesse. Jesse smiled awkwardly, trying to determine what they were feeling by just looking at them, but was confused nonetheless. Lukas sighed slowly, looking down at the floor as he approached Jesse carefully. “Jesse, you’re our friend. You’ve.. been the hero, the mayor to this town for the last several months, I-I knew you when you were just some.. nerd at the build competition for Endercon.” Lukas explained sadly, looking into his eyes as if looking for some kind of spark, some kind of reassurance that Jesse were still there, the one they knew and loved. Yet nothing sparkled. Nothing revealed itself, and all he could see was the soulless void of the memories confiscated unwillingly.

Jesse Miller was gone.