Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

EIGHTEEN - Pause

back to Lukas's pov!

hhhhhh it hasn't been from him since chapter ten what is wrong with me

anyways. here is the content you've been waiting all week for.

this is,, hooooo this is a big chapter.
and by big, i mean important and long

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Essa.

She'd caught up to us. And not only that, but she was blocking our way home.

This wasn't good.

Jess drew his diamond sword, and Radar pulled his shield from his inventory. Essa made a small sound that may have been a laugh. "Relax, I'm not here to fight."

"No? Just to trap us in another obsidian prison?" Julia snapped, balling her hands into fists.

"Well, I certainly hope it won't come to that." Essa said, sounding vaguely amused. This made me very uncomfortable, for reasons I didn't know how to describe.

I glanced around, wondering if either of her lackeys were here as well. I thoroughly hoped not, since I was much more confident knowing that she was outnumbered. Besides, it had been utterly, unstoppably creepy to talk to that broken and twisted version of my boyfriend, a version who thought I was dead.

No, scratch that. He didn't just think I was dead. In that timeline, I actually was.

That in itself was too disturbing for words.

"Listen. I fear some mistakes have been made, and all I want to do is correct them." Essa said smoothly. "We started off on the wrong foot. You came at a bad time, and my choices were limited. But I've come to the realization that apart from me, you four are the first people to discover the timelines in, well...a long time. Therefore, I believe we're better off as allies than enemies."

She's lying.

The instinct hit me like a thrown brick as I mentally recounted all the things we'd heard about her from Jack. Even if she did want to team up, there was no way we could. Not after seeing firsthand all the damage she'd done to her other allies.

The haunting memory of seeing my own name etched on a gravestone resurfaced in my mind, and I shuddered involuntarily.

"I know Jack revealed some of my secrets to you, and he shouldn't have done that." She continued. "Many bad things have happened to me in my life, and I wish he'd had enough respect to let me explain them on my own. He doesn't understand why those things happened...or that all I'm trying to do is fix it all."

That sounded very ominous to me, but I didn't get a chance to say anything about it before Julia snarled, "I don't think it really matters why they happened. The fact is, you've gotten basically all of your friends killed, in some way or another. So no, we're NOT going to be your bait- oh, sorry, I meant allies."

Essa didn't move. "I'm not the enemy here, Julia. You know I will be if I must, but at the moment I'd rather not. I'm just looking for peace, like everyone else in this universe. The world has taken a lot from me, and I'm just trying to get it back."

I glanced over at Jess. He was scowling, still brandishing his diamond sword. I did not like all her talk about fixing things, and I expected he didn't either. This was way, way too suspicious.

"Alright then, Essa. How are you getting it back? How are you 'fixing things'?" Jess asked in a calm voice.

Her eyes crinkled above the bandana, and I had a feeling she was smiling smugly. "That's the kind of thing you'll get to learn if you're on my side."