Portals (A Minecraft Storymode Story) {{REWRITE}}

Torches in the Dark - Pt. 3

"Are. You. Serious!?" Petra's furious voice echoed around the cavern.

"Jesse!" Lukas cried in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay behind and watch our backs for Topaz."

Jesse's eyes widened and they scratched the back of their head. "Oh.. was-was I? I mean, I did do that at least!" they added, almost desperately. "I just... forgot I was meant to stay. She shouldn't come after us though. I said that the Professor told me to grab more clay for his... pot-thing, and when I went to the clay deposit there were several monsters. She ran straight off to see. Helps that I put a few axolotls in buckets around the place, so she'll be hearing weird noises for ages..."

Taysel gave a funny little snort and covered his mouth his his hands. Ivor normally would've found that pretty hilarious as well, but he and Lukas exchanged looks with eachother that contained so many words, Petra felt like she could practically write down their whole silent conversation. Something like: 

Ivor: I told you it wouldn't work, Blondie.
Lukas: What!? It should've worked! That plan was so simple...
Ivor: So is Jesse's mind right now.

Petra had to remember that he hadn't actually said that last bit aloud as she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Jesse was still watching them with anxious eyes, clearly hoping they weren't about to have a go at them or give them the look that said how clearly disappointed they were. 

Haven't seen that for ages, Petra thought with the tiniest spark of resigned amusement. Not since they were like a puppy getting under my feet.

At last, she shrugged. She couldn't stay mad at them forever, and it wasn't their fault really. "Jesse," she said, exasperated, "You're my best friend, and I'm glad you came, but at the same time I kind of wanna throw you off another ravine."

"YEET!" added Taysel helpfully behind her, making a gesture that clearly represented tossing Jesse off a ravine.

"Uh... sure, yeah, 'yeet'," said Lukas, sharing a raised-eyebrow look with Petra. Jesse grinned and rubbed the back of their neck again sheepishly, then trotted forward to join them. 

"Just stay with us and don't get lost," Petra advised as the group started off again. "It would really suck if you managed to stay alive this long just to get picked off by a zombie or something."

"I'm not that hopeless, Petra," Jesse retorted. 

The Professor made some weird little cough that sounded suspiciously like a quiet 'bull in a glass-shop', but Petra couldn't quite tell. 

"Whatever, fine." Petra sighed. "Just... stay out of trouble, okay?"

Jesse grinned. "You know me. Now, let's go and destroy that storm!"

Lukas and Petra exchanged glances. "The Witherstorm?" Lukas asked doubtfully. "We defeated that a year ago."

"Oh." Jesse's face fell. "Well then... Let's go catch us a White Pumpkin! That's... that's what we were doing, right?"

"Yeaaaaah... maybe just stop trying there, buddy," Lukas suggested gently.

The group continued on, now with one extra member. Jesse had brought the redstone torch from before, and although it wasn't really the best light source, it was still luminous enough to cast a dull, red glow across Jesse's face, shining in their eyes and almost giving them a demonic look. Or, it would have, if Jesse hadn't paired it with one of their silly grins.

"So, did we go mining often?" they asked talkatively, following them down a sloping tunnel. "Like, back in our world? Or did we do other stuff, like fighting monsters? Or wait, did you say we were treasure-hunters? And heroes? Did we end up here by some freak accident, or-?"