Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

THIRTY-FOUR - Know Your Enemy

this chapter!!! we are finally on this chapter!!!

you do not want to know how long i've been planning this reeeeeee

also! art at top was done by the wonderful mr-mcstorymode! :D

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The night was still and silent, almost unsettlingly so. It was just past midnight, and I was the only one awake in the Order Hall. I slipped soundlessly out the secret back door, not wanting to risk being seen or heard. There would be too much explaining to do if I was caught now, and none of my friends would let me go through with my plan if they knew what I was up to.

I headed around the back of the Hall, careful to stay in the shadows even though I knew no one else was around. Drawing my sword, I closed my eyes to envision the symbols of this timeline's exit code.

The white shapes appeared just as always, and the gate opened with the familiar strange flash sound. I quickly jumped through, hoping that, if anyone heard the noise, the threshold would close before they managed to investigate.

It took longer for the In-Between to form, my eyes slowly adjusting to the horrible sight. The sky was still the same grey and red, looking like stone splashed with blood. The cracks in the ground had gotten even deeper and wider, forcing me to be careful where I stepped. They weren't nearly wide enough to fall into yet, but I wasn't willing to risk it.

The ugly gap where Jo's timeline used to be was hard to ignore. My eyes kept drifting towards it, drawn to the empty space in the otherwise perfect circle of gates.

I felt suddenly as though I was being watched, and spun fully around. I didn't see anyone or anything, but the instinct persisted. Part of me wanted to write it off as just being paranoid, but...that didn't feel quite right. There was something here.

Still on my guard, I walked outside of the circle. The strange shapes bursting up from the ground had gotten larger and more numerous, but nothing moved. There wasn't another being in the In-Between...at least not one that I could see.

"Hello? Is someone there?" I called experimentally. There was no answer, of course, and I still felt very uncomfortable about the whole situation.

I dragged in a deep breath, for the moment deciding to put it out of my mind, and walked steadily towards the smallest, dimmest gate, which I could swear was looking slowly brighter by the second. I had to get my timing exactly right on this- there wouldn't be another chance until it was too late.

I watched the white slash of light carefully, paying close attention to the image flashes as they became more chronological. From the look of it, the Prime hadn't gotten past Soren's End fortress...but that didn't give me quite enough detail. I needed to know for sure that Essa was alone before I dared go in.

Remembering what Jo had said about being able to sense other Primes in their timelines, I hesitantly stretched out a hand and let my fingers brush the white abyss. Sparks of light jumped out where my hand made contact, but I didn't feel them as they touched my skin.

"Essa." I whispered. "Where is Essa?"

A slight shudder rippled through the In-Between, so faint and swift that I wasn't sure it had really happened. I stiffened, glancing nervously around as the gate began to change.

Instead of just being a white smear, it now showed a life-size image of the tall, dark-haired Prime. She was in a room I didn't recognize, searching carefully through a chest. As I watched, she closed it and stood up, and I caught a glimpse of the dark-skyed End through a purple stained-glass window.