Withering World [MCSM Fanfiction]

PROLOGUE

Petra

Whether Jesse became bitter or not towards my departure from Beacontown was a troubling thought that clung to me since the start of my lonely adventure.

She knew well enough that we'd have no form of communication once I left, yet her sad, warm smile from two years ago flashes in my mind, reminding me she was genuinely happy for me to search for my own thing, anyway. Jesse reluctantly let me go.

"Bye, Petra," said the voice of the most caring, noble, selfless, understanding friend in the world.

Surely she hasn't suffered too much without me - she had Lukas and Jack and Radar and Nurm, though I know they could never replicate the fun I used to have with Jesse. Gosh, I just hope they haven't transformed her into an indifferent major since Jesse's easily molded by that kind of stuff.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her myself. In fact, I missed her tons. There wasn't one day where I thought about what would happen if she were with me, which is what I initially wanted, despite knowing how many more clumsy accidents we would've gotten into with her around. But I understood. Her people need her.

There's a chance she might not welcome me with open arms regardless of everything we had talked about. Jesse could have changed for all I know. So much can happen in two years.

Alas, the time I get in order to try to calm down has just run out, Beacontown's massive, red gates sneaking their way into my view. I feel like sprinting and bursting through with enthusiastic cheers, but now the guilt is settling in, and I traipse instead. Perhaps I shouldn't have left Beacontown.

The gates approach much faster than they should. All extremely tall and vibrant builds enlarge by the second as I tread the polished stone slabs. Beacontown's colors burst into my eyes.

I smile, in love with the fact that Jesse's town hasn't changed, meaning she probably hasn't either.

But the town has grown quite a lot. The concrete walls extend longer than I remember, and now I feel like a huge rock has slammed against my stomach - please, Jesse. You can't have invited Champion City to merge with Beacontown, even after Romeo has left it in nothing but ruins.

Oh, good. High, fancy, uniform and completely Stella-like skyscrapers behind me tell me that the snobby leader has rebuilt and retrieved her own citizens.

Facing my head back towards Beacontown, I realize that I'm already in front of the gates. They instantly swing open, and suddenly, it's like I'm seeing a premiering movie in a cinema for the first time. I find my fingers trembling. What will Jesse think? Showing up unannounced when she could be in the middle of sorting paperwork?

Apart from the squealing Beacontowners that gape at my arrival from a distance, I catch a glimpse of Jack emerging from Bad Luck Alley. He seems fed up with a crowd hyped up for someone else, specifically an adventurer that's not him, I suppose. Typical. So he looks in my direction.

With his unchanged raven eyepatch, usual dark vest and slicked-back sandy hair, he comes sprinting up to me to scoop up my already sore body into an embrace. He smells of The Map Shop's ominous incense, a subtle reminder of the time I first visited.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

I struggle to fight his grip. As much as I'm equally happy to see him, he's stealing my breath.

"Jack-"

Another eruption of oxygen inside my lungs interrupts me: another decides to join our hug, unwelcome. I'm aware that I'm enveloped in the arms of the smooth-skinned blonde I've also been dying to see all this time.