Parallels- an MCSM AU [COMPLETED]

TWENTY-FOUR- Closed Universe

nnngh my motivation kinda died during this chapter so it's not very good

luckily i managed to pull myself out before I got too stuck in a pit of writer's block, but it still slowed me down pretty badly

life as an author, amirite??

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I was up and ready to go early the next morning, heading down to the storage room shortly after the sun rose. I'd already warned the others last night that Julia and I were leaving again, so at least I didn't have to worry about freaking anyone out with a surprise disappearance. Olivia was planning to head back to Redstonia later in the morning, and would probably already be gone by the time we got back.

Julia had a point- we really didn't know enough about the timelines, and Ivor was the only person that we knew of who could help us.

It just seemed typical, somehow, that our only hope had apparently disappeared off the face of the earth.

But Julia said she had a plan to find him, which was good enough for me.

The other Prime was waiting in the storage room, closing a chest just as I walked in. I considered making a remark about her stealing my stuff, but I didn't really have the energy. She grinned at me, looking more eager for the next leg of the journey than I was.

"You ready?" she asked.

I nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this over with."

We headed into the treasure hall, which was one of the only rooms I was comfortable making a gate in since the ceiling was so high. I didn't know why the gates had to take up so much space, but they did.

Radar walked in right as Julia began forming the symbols that would open the gate. He was known for being an early bird, so I wasn't exactly surprised to see him.

He gave me an apprehensive glance, but didn't say anything other than, "Please, try not to be gone forever this time?"

I shrugged. "It's not like I tried to disappear for days. It just sorta happened."

I was rewarded with an unimpressed look. "You know what I mean, Jess. That also goes for making decisions that could lead to you being trapped somewhere for days."

"Sure, yeah, I'll do my best."

As always, the downward slash of Julia's sword opened the brilliant ivory gate, flooding the room with light. She gave me a brief over-the-shoulder glance, before stepping across the threshold.

"Good luck." I heard Radar quietly say as I followed her.

The abyss of white faded quickly as I stepped out the other side into the In-Between. It looked nearly exactly the same as it had last time, though the cracks in the blocks seemed larger. Always a good sign.

Julia was already heading towards her gate. She was strangely reserved this morning- although she'd seemed energetic as normal, she was unusually quiet.

She made an inviting motion towards the gate, but I shook my head. "You should go first, so you can visualize where you want us to be." I said.

Julia smacked her open palm against her forehead. "Right, of course! Well, then I guess I'm going. Just...don't go investigating any 'monsters' this time." she admonished playfully, referencing the lie I'd told the day before.

My eyes widened, and I wanted to kick myself. I'd never told the others about the interaction with Essa! I'd been so distracted by Olivia, and Julia had been the one to tell Radar, Lukas, and Aiden about the 'control' timeline, so I'd completely forgotten!