Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

TWENTY-NINE- If I Cannot Reach Heaven...

ok so here's the thing: this and the previous chapter were originally going to be the same chapter, but then it got messy and long and i changed it

so,, this one's really short, but at least it's an important one

also, this and the next chapter's titles are probably my favorite of like,, the whole book muahaha

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All she has to do is wait.

It's so unbelievably simple, she almost doesn't believe it. After just one conversation, she slipped effortlessly right into the quest, the young Prime doubting her no more than he does any of his other friends.

Was she ever so gullible? She doesn't think she was.

But on the other hand, why should he doubt her? Why should any of them? Essa knows how to lie. She knows how to mask her expressions, and how to play innocent. She knows how to fake sympathy and fear and concern for others and all the other emotions that died a number of years ago.

Things are already changing. She passed herself off as a seasoned explorer, and Jasper didn't hesitate to accept her advice when she recommended one action over another. This timeline is getting further and further off from the original with every new motion from the Prime, and she's loving it.

Nothing can stop her now. She knows exactly what's going to happen, and how she's going to deal with it. Even if the rest of the Primes try to stop her, there's no way they can.

When Jasper and Axel return with Magnus, and Olivia returns with Ellegaard, they'll all head towards Soren's mountain fortress, and end up separated and trapped in the secret room in the library. She considered changing that bit when she first mapped out her plan for being in this timeline, but decided against it. Going through the grinder is probably the easiest way to get to the End.

She sits near the edge of the map room, looking out at the sunlight casting shadows along the valley. She's waiting for someone, while this timeline's Lukas is on the lower level doing repairs.

He was one of the more suspicious ones when she met the rest of the group, but it didn't matter too much, since the others were fairly suspicious of him. Then, on the trip through the Nether, Essa had helped him fend off a Wither Skeleton, which earned her his approval instantly.

She smiles slightly at the memory. So naïve, all of them.

She and Jasper had met up in EnderCon, after he'd already been cheated out of the deal by Ivor. She'd told him she'd seen Ivor heading towards the Hall, and hadn't had any further problems sticking with the group.
This version of Olivia had seemed vaguely distrusting of her at first, but Axel and Petra had accepted her quickly. Not that she needs anyone's approval outside of Jasper's, but it helps keep things smooth.

Nothing can stop her now.

She has to admit it was mildly unsettling to meet the younger versions of the friends she'd lost so many years ago. She'd forgotten how sarcastically intelligent Olivia was, and how Axel's brashness didn't completely hide his gentle side. She'd forgotten how perfectly fearless and funny Petra was, and...well, nearly everything about Lukas.

He'd died so long ago, that, before she'd come here, so much of the witty, clever, nervous blond boy had completely dissolved from her mind.

But that doesn't matter. She will have him back soon, the real him, who never should have died when he did. She will have him, and all the rest of her friends.

She will have it all.

Her eyes lift to the horizon as a hint of motion catches her attention. Just as she expected, it's Petra, hurrying towards the ruins of the temple in that stilted half-jog of someone who's been running for a long time and can't quite manage it anymore but is trying anyways.