Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

TWENTY-TWO- Uncharted Regions

for some reason it took me like 45 years to come up with the title for this one and i don't know why

if anyone has random suggestions for chapter titles,, i need them lol

and i know i've said it before, but holy shit the mcsm soundtrack is some hella good writing music

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Julia and I were both awake bright and early the next morning, and ready to leave only a few minutes after getting up. I felt sufficiently rested, which was a relief after the last few tumultuous days.

Our trek continued for several hours, drawing nearer and nearer to this dimension's version of Beacontown. Or Dreiton, as it was apparently called here.

I was more than a little worried about what we would find there. Were we in the past? The future? What would the Prime be like? Would the Prime even be there?

Julia was uncharacteristically quiet as we hiked, giving me the idea she was thinking similar things. We chatted idly now and then, but not consistently.

I wondered what was going on back at home. I was sure Radar would be worried out of his mind, and I knew Lukas was going to give me hell for acting so impulsively again.

I hoped Aiden was alright. I didn't know what Essa or her sidekick had done to him, but from the brief look I'd gotten at his injury, it hadn't been pretty. I hoped Radar had gotten him a Healing Potion in time.

We passed by a few other towns like Taswell during our journey. We didn't go through them, just nearby, but we could see they were all just little settlements. This struck me as being very strange, since I was certain none of them existed in my world.

When I asked Julia what she thought about it, all I got in reply was an uncomfortable shrug. Either she didn't have a clue, or her theories were alarming enough that she didn't want to say them aloud.

I couldn't think of a reason why these little towns would be in this timeline but not in my own. What could possibly be so different?

Finally, around midday, I got the beginnings of an answer.

I checked the map again, confirming that yes, this was indeed the town we were looking for. The familiar silhouette of the mountains loomed behind it, further cinching it.

But this place didn't seem anything like Beacontown. Not even close.

There was no protective wall, for one. No wall, no colourful gate. And no floating tower, so we weren't in some convoluted future.

There were no hot-air balloons, no jungle-tree-supported bridge that hung over the main street. There were no extravagant builds, layered with dyed wool or glazed terracotta for no reason other than aesthetic effect. There were no multicoloured beacons shining up to the sky. There was no glass, quartz, and gold Order Hall.

There was nothing that made this place stand out in the slightest.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was where Beacontown was supposed to be, I was sure of it.

But this was not Beacontown.

Cautiously, hesitantly, Julia and I made our way into the strange town. It was all so...plain. It reminded me of what the place had looked like a few months after the Witherstorm, but even more unadorned.

Most of the houses were fairly small and uninspired, made primarily of different kinds of stone. Businesses looked very similar, though they at least usually had stained-glass windows and other small attempts to stand out. The streets were of polished andesite, lined with the most basic lamps you could imagine. Just carved stone brick and torches- not even glowstone, for gods' sake.