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Romeo was defeated.
And the sky over Beacon town was clearing rapidly, the light blue color piercing everyones eyes after living in a dark hell for so long. The bedrock above the skies dissapearing into nothing-
There was just a calm wind.
It moved gently through the rooftops, rustling banners that somehow survived the chaos. It brushed across cracked stones and shattered glass. It lifted the dust left behind by a fight not everybody fully knew about yet.
People were celebrating, like they should be. Theyve been through enough already.
Citizens clapped each other on the back, hugging, tears of happiness escaping their eyes. Some others though, like Radar, were already planning on directing repairs.
Jesse stood in the center of it all
Yet, she wasnt cheering
She wasnt smiling
Her hands still trembled faintly from the last strike against Romeo. Her muscles ached. There was a blood stain on her sleeves and a thin scratch across her cheek she hadnt noticed until the wind hit it.
Across from her, Petra stood.
"So", Petra said- just one word.
"What now?"
Jesses stomach tightened.
The question wasnt about Beacontowns reconstruction.
It wasnt about Romeos fate-
nor was it about Olivia, Axel and Lucas
It was about everything that came next.
Petra made it clear before all this, before Romeo twisted everyones reality, that she couldnt stay. Not forever. Not in one place. Not watching the world move while she stood still.
She had talked about a self-finding journey. About not knowing who she was anymore, what her "purpose" was- when she wasnt fighting for her life, or saving the world with the jesse.
And Jesse had listened- back at the cabin.
But she hadnt answered.
Because answering meant choosing, even if it hurt Petra.
Hitting the road meant uncertainty, freedom. But what was she going to do with the whole town, every person depending on her to lead the way. Sure Radar was capable- but Jesse hadnt made up her mind about it and frankly, there wasnt time to think.
Jesse opened her mouth.
The words sat heavy in her throat.
"I.."
Nothing came out.
Fireworks cracked faintly, somewhere near the Order Hall. Petras jaw tightened- subtle, almost invisible.
"Dont worry", she murmured. "Its alright."
"No-" Jesse carefully stepped forward. "Its not that I dont-"
"Dont what?" Petra interrupted her, her tone sharp.
Petra exhaled slowly and glanced toward the gates, growing impatient.
"Im not forcing you, you know? If you want to stay in beacontown thats fine. Ive told you this before-".
Jesse had always known what to do in battle, in chaos, in crisis. But this? This wasnt a world ending threat. It was personal. And personal had always felt harder for her.
Petra shifted her weight and took a step back.
Jesse felt panic spike in her chest
"Petra, wait!"
She moved without thinking, boots scraping against broken stone as she closed the distance. Her hand shot out and grabbed Petra’s black sleeve.
“Please!” Jesse’s voice cracked slightly. “Just give me a couple of days to think about it.”
For a moment, she just looked at Jesse’s hand gripping her arm.
“I can’t decide like this,” Jesse rushed on. “Not with everyone watching. Not when everything just happened.”
Petra’s gaze flicked past her to the town.
Then back to Jesse.
“Okay,” she said after a long pause.
Not warm.
Not cold.
Just resigned.
“Take your couple of days, Mayor.”
The title felt like a wall slamming into Jesses stomach. Petra gently removed Jesse’s hand from her sleeve. And then she walked away. This time, she didn’t look back.
.
.
.
She just walked.
Past the half-broken wheat fields. Past the outer watch towers. Past the forest line where torches thinned and the sound of rebuilding faded into nothing but wind and leaves. The celebration behind her blurred into distant noise, like it belonged to a different world.
Her boots knew the path without thinking. They had walked it years ago, back when she had been younger, cockier, going into the nether and making trades. Cold air wrapped around her instantly.
It smelled like damp stone and old moss. Torches still burned along the walls, faint, stubborn little lights. She had lit them a long time ago, before the responsibilty to save the world layed on her chest.
This was her cave.
The one where she’d first met Jesse properly. The one where Jesse had been so obviously terrified of every shadow and sound but had tried so hard not to show it.
Petra let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh.
God, she had thought Jesse was such a dork.
All wide eyes and nervous determination. Over-explaining herself. Pretending she totally wasn’t scared while holding her sword just a little too tight.
And somehow…
Somewhere between the Witherstorm, Pama, The Old Builders and being stuck under bedrock while Romeo roamed freely, pretending to be her.
That dork somehow become the strongest person Petra knew. Jesse never cracked, she was stable as if she was meant to be a hero.
Petra sank down against the cave wall, sliding until she was sitting on the cold stone floor. She pulled her knees up without thinking, resting her forehead against her sleeve.
"What now?"
The words replayed in her head, but not Jesse’s hesitation, her own voice. The way she’d said “Take your couple of days, Mayor.”
Mayor.
She shouldn’t have said it like that.
She hadn’t meant for it to sound bitter, really.
But it had.
The New Order of the Stone wasn’t what it used to be. Axel had his own life. Olivia had hers. Lucas stayed in his little cottage house with his animals, rewriting their stories, like he always did. Radar was growing into something solid and capable. Jack and Nurm already had the maps of their new planned adventure, on which she decided not to go to anymore.
Everyone was finding their direction.
And Petra’s direction had always been.. nothing really.
That thought sat heavy in her stomach.
What if she was just… attached?
What if she kept pulling Jesse towards her because she didn’t know who she was without her? What if she was the selfish one? What if Jesse really did belong in Beacon Town, in the Mayor’s office, leading people, being needed?
Petra squeezed her eyes shut.
She didn’t want to force her.
She didn’t want Jesse to choose her out of guilt.
But the idea of walking away alone again felt like a stab in her chest.
Back in Beacon Town, Jesse couldn’t focus on the cheering.
She tried. She really did.
She smiled at a few citizens. Nodded at Radar when he waved from across the square. Let someone clap her on the shoulder and thank her for saving them again.
But her mind was already somewhere else.
Walking toward the Order Hall. The doors creaked as she pushed them open, the familiar interior greeting her with relics of every life she’d lived.
The Redstone Heart fragment.
The Prismarine shards from the ocean monument.
An Ender Pearl from the first time they’d gone somewhere none of them understood.
Each item was a memory. A version of herself.
She moved slowly through the room, fingers brushing over glass cases.
When had this become a museum?
When had her life become something displayed instead of lived?
Being Mayor had felt right once. After everything, she had thought maybe stability was what she needed. Maybe leadership didn’t always have to mean swinging a sword.
But during the fight with Romeo, during the chaos and the danger and the desperate scrambling to survive, something inside her had sparked awake again.
The adrenaline.
The freedom.
The feeling of being on the edge of something unknown.
She had missed it.
And that realization filled her with guilt.
Because Beacon Town needed her.
Didn’t it?
“You look like you’re about to punch that display case,” Lucas’s voice said gently from behind her.
Jesse didn’t jump. She’d learned not to.
Lucas stepped up beside her, hands loosely folded behind his back. He followed her gaze to the artifacts.
“Hard to believe we survived all that,” he said.
“Yeah,” Jesse replied quietly. Her glance shifting to reubens grave.. guess not everyone surived it.
He studied her for a moment. Lucas had always been observant, noticing the things people didn’t say.
“You’re thinking about leaving.”
It wasn’t a question.
Jesse sighed. “Is it that obvious?”
“To someone who’s done it before? Yeah.”
He didn’t say more than that, but the implication lingered. Lucas had left to find himself once too.
“I don’t know if Beacon Town still needs me,” Jesse admitted. “Or if I just… like being needed.”
Lucas considered that. “Radar’s grown. A lot. You saw him out there. He’s not the same person anymore.”
A small smile tugged at Jesse’s mouth.
“He could be a good mayor,” Lucas added carefully. “If you let him.”
She looked at him sharply. “You think I should leave.”
“I think,” Lucas said gently, “that you’ve never been someone who stays still for long. And I think Beacon Town deserves a leader who wants to be here. Not one who feels obligated.”
Was that what this was?
They talked a little longer, circling the topic without naming it too directly, until Jesse finally said she needed air.
Alone.
She didn’t overthink it after that.
She went to her room. Packed her armor. Her sword. A stack of torches. Enough food for a night or two.
The sun was dipping low when she slipped past the gates.
The forest greeted her with familiar sounds rustling leaves, distant skeleton rattles, the low groan of zombies somewhere in the dark.
Speak of the undead.
A small pack shuffled into view between the trees, interested in the slightest movement and sound.
She drew her sword, cutting through them without effort, but more kept emerging. With a quiet curse, she darted toward the nearest cave entrance she could see- already lit by torches.
That was odd.
She ducked inside, boots splashing lightly against damp stone.
The cave felt familiar.
Too familiar.
Her steps slowed.
And then she saw her.
Petra was sitting on the cave floor, curled inward, shoulders shaking. Torchlight flickered over her red hair and the dark fabric of her sleeve pressed against her face.
Jesse stopped.
In all the years they’d known each other, through monsters and admins and worlds ending, she had never seen Petra cry like that.
Not like she was breaking.
Something in Jesse’s chest tightened painfully.
She approached slowly, softer than she ever had in battle, and crouched down beside her.
“Hey, Petra.”
Petra had alredy heard her, she could tell it was Jesse by her soft steps but didn’t look up.
Embarrassment radiated off her.
Jesse didn’t push. She just sat down next to her, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched.
After a moment, Petra sniffed and muttered, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to… you know.”
Jesse leaned her head gently against Petra’s shoulder.
“I know.”
“It was wrong of me,” Petra continued quietly. “I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. I don’t want you choosing because of me. If you want to stay… that’s not a bad thing. Being Mayor isn’t a bad thing.”
Jesse closed her eyes for a second.
“I know,” she repeated softly.
They sat in silence, watching moonlight spill across the cave entrance in a pale silver line.
After a while, Petra huffed weakly.
“Remember when you were scared of caves?”
Jesse groaned lightly. “Oh my god..”
“You were such a dork,” Petra said, voice steadier now. “All trying to act brave while basically fangirling over how cool and mysterious I was.”
Jesse nudged her side. “Ha. Ha.”
Petra’s shoulder shook with a quiet laugh.
Then silence fell again.
“So,” Petra said eventually, not looking at her. “Did you think?”
Jesse stared at the moonlit entrance.
She thought about the Order Hall.
About the artifacts behind glass.
About the way her heart had pounded fighting Romeo.
About the way it pounded now, sitting here.
“I did,” she said quietly.
Petra went still.
“If you think your place is out there, then so is mine.”