Jesse's eyes fluttered open. It was dark, so it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Eventually, she started to recognize things around her. Walls, floor, door, and a really tiny window. But other than that, there was nothing in the room. Jesse then realized her hands were hanging above her head. She tried to bring her hands down, but she couldn't. Jesse looked up and saw her wrists were cuffed and the cuffs were attached to chains which hung from the ceiling. Her feet were still touching the ground and weren't cuffed, thank goodness. Jesse tried to shake her hands to test out how strong the attachment between the cuffs and the chain was. But, sadly, they were brand new, so she wasn't escaping without a key. Or maybe an arrow to pick the lock. She sighed. What had happened to her? Jesse tried desperately to remember what happened and maybe find out a way to escape.

Jesse quickly ducked. Her opponent punched nothing but thin air. Jesse tried to grab her opponent's arm and succeeded in doing so. "JESSE!" someone shouted. Jesse turned to the voice and saw Lukas try to throw her her sword. Jesse reached a hand out and grabbed the sword, but in doing so her grip on her opponent was loosened and he managed to slip out of her grasp. "So we're playing that game, huh, Jesse?" he asked. He grabbed his sword and ran toward Jesse, his snake-like green-yellow eyes narrowed. Jesse put her sword up and blocked the attack, but just barely. She dodged another attack and got in an attack of her own, but her opponent managed to block her attack. It went back and forth, back and forth like this for about a minute. Jesse then heard someone cry out in pain. She looked over her shoulder and saw Lukas holding his side as his gloved hand started to stain red. "LUKAS!" Jesse shouted. She pushed her opponent away from herself and turned on her heel before running as fast as she could to Lukas.

He was desperately trying to block all the attacks coming at him from his two attackers. They both had enchanted diamond swords against Lukas's enchanted iron sword. Lukas had to hold one hand over the wound on his side to try to slow the blood flowing from it, which meant he only had one hand to wield his sword. The bad part was Lukas is a righty and the wound was on his left side, meaning his right hand was the hand over the wound while his left hand wielded his sword. One of his attackers managed to slice another cut on Lukas, this time it was his right shoulder. His left hand flashed out to hold the new cut while still holding the sword. The attackers then knocked Lukas down to the ground and held their swords up. "NO!" Jesse shouted. She rammed into the attackers and knocked them to the ground away from Lukas. The two attackers started to stand up but Jesse punched both of them, making them fall unconscious. She then turned to Lukas and ran back to him, kneeling beside him.

Jesse immediately looked through her inventory for some cloth. She didn't find any so she instead ripped off the sleeves of her T-shirt that she was wearing under her armor. Jesse then gently moved Lukas's shirt and jacket just a bit to reveal the wound on his side. She gently placed the cloth on his wound which made Lukas wince. Jesse gently pressed on the wound with the cloth, causing Lukas to stiffen to stop his winces. It was night in the middle of a storm, making it increasingly difficult to help Lukas. Jesse was so focused on making sure the wound stopped bleeding, she didn't hear the grass lightly crunch as someone crept up behind her. Lukas looked behind Jesse just as lightning split the sky, lighting up his surroundings, including the person behind Jesse. "Jess! Look out!" he tried warning. Jesse turned around just in time to see a fist swinging to her face, making everything fade into nothing but blackness.

(Longest flashback ever, I know)

Jesse opened her eyes. So that was what happened. That explained why she was in a prison. But where was everybody else? Ivor? Petra? Milo? The Founder? Lukas? If they harmed a single strand on anyone's head they would pay. The door creaked open, making Jesse look up at who entered. Her eyes narrowed as she saw their face. Those snake-like green-yellow eyes shone in glee in the darkness of the dungeon. "Why it looks like Jesse is finally awake," he said. "What do you want, Aiden?" Jesse asked. "Why, I only wanted people to know my name, act like I was a ruler of the world. Then you took that away from me, and I heard about how there was another world accessible by a portal key, otherwise known as an enchanted flint and steel. So now, I rule Sky City," Aiden replied. Jesse's eyes widened. If Aiden ruled Sky City, that means he could do whatever he wanted to her friends and get away with it. "Where are my friends?" she asked angrily. "Your friends? I didn't know you had friends," Aiden replied.

Jesse was getting really angry now. "You know who I'm talking about. Petra, Ivor, and Lukas, where are they?" she asked again. "Oh, them. Well, after I knocked you out, the redhead and old guy ran into the throne room and the redhead took me on while the old one took Lukas away. Haven't seen any of them since," Aiden replied smugly. Jesse felt relieved her friends were safe from Aiden. "Honestly, I could've killed you. I still can. I want to kill you. But you're still alive. Do you know why?" Aiden asked. Jesse started to think about why Aiden would keep her alive. There honestly was no reasonable explanation, especially since Aiden wanted to kill her. "Well, I figured if people thought I killed you it would keep them in check. So when I want your friends in my dungeon, everyone will listen to me," Aiden replied. Jesse's eyes widened. Everybody thought she was dead?! "You're a sick person, you know that, Aiden?" Jesse spat.

Aiden roughly grabbed her chin and looked her in the eyes. "You do not speak of me that way. Otherwise, when your friends are in my dungeon, they will suffer, understood?" Aiden asked. Jesse glared at Aiden. Aiden released Jesse's chin, shoving her head back against the wall before turning around and walking out of the dungeon, slamming and locking the door behind him. Now that he was gone, Jesse allowed the tears she hid to fall down her cheeks. For one of the first times in a while, she felt fear. Aiden would make her and her friends suffer for the rest of their lives. They would never get back home. They would never see their town or friends ever again. The thought hurt Jesse. To her, family and friends were one of the most important parts of life. She herself never really knew her family since her parents died when she was young and her twin brother disappeared. That only made her friends all the more precious to her. Now, she would lose them or be forced to watch them suffer.

A few weeks passed, Jesse didn't know how many exactly. She would get only one meal a day, so she had really lost a few pounds in the past few weeks. One night, Jesse was trying to sleep when she heard noises outside the door. She had grown accustomed to the random noises in the night, so she thought nothing of it. That is until she heard voices. "Alright, so we're in here, where are we gonna find Aiden?" a voice asked. "He's bound to be here somewhere. You know he never leaves the palace," a second voice replied. "But where is he?" a third voice asked. "We'll just have to find him," the second voice replied. "I suggest we split up, we'll cover more ground that way," the first voice suggested. "Okay. If you find Aiden, don't attack him. We'll meet up in the throne room and then head out to get Aiden," the second voice said. "All right, let's go," the third voice said. The voices stopped and Jesse heard the sound of tiptoeing feet walk away. She sighed. Was it just some guards Aiden sent to taunt her?

But the more Jesse thought about it, the more she realized she recognized the three voices. It was right at the tip of her tongue but she just couldn't place her finger on it. Almost half an hour later she heard the door open. In walked the familiar, hated face of Aiden. "Well look who decided to show up. It's a bit late for a visit to your prisoner, isn't it?" Jesse innocently asked. "Shut your mouth!" Aiden shouted, gripping Jesse's chin as he made her lock gazes with him. "Now listen here, I'm tired of waiting for your friends to show up. So I'm telling you tomorrow morning, I'm going to hold a public meeting. Everyone will be there, including you. I'll show them all that you are alive. And I'll announce that if your friends don't turn themselves in, I will kill you," Aiden hissed. Jesse glared at Aiden. "I'd much rather you kill me a trillion times before you hurt a single strand of their hair," Jesse spat. Aiden's eyes blazed like fire as he punched Jesse. She coughed as a thin trickle of blood trailed down her lip. "You better shut your mouth otherwise I'll torture your friends for hours then kill them right in front of you!" he shouted. Before he left Jesse he unlocked the cuffs that bound her wrists, almost as if to taunt her that she would never escape. Due to lack of leg use, Jesse fell to her knees on the ground. With that he turned around and slammed the door shut, forgetting to lock it. Jesse looked at the ground. She didn't want her friends to get hurt because of her.

She didn't look up as the door started to open again.

The person stood in the doorway, their eyes widening at seeing who was kneeling in front of them. The person could only stand there as they stared at Jesse in horror. "J-Jess....?" he whispered. Jesse looked up at the person. The person took a step back. Jesse's normally sparkling emerald eyes were now a dull, murky green. Her face was covered with bruises and a thin trail of blood fell down her lip. Her armor was slightly dented and scraped, most likely from her battle with Aiden a few weeks ago. Jesse could only see the person's silhouette, but she could tell some things about them. First, it was a young man because of his body shape and hair length. Second, this person was obviously an adventurer, as based upon the parts of the silhouette that looked like adventuring gear. The person also knew her, but if somebody didn't know who she was on Sky City, then that would be craziness and Jesse would be worried they had amnesia. Her eyes eventually adjusted to the dim light in the room and she began to make out features on the person's face. The person suddenly ran toward Jesse and wrapped his arms around Jesse tightly. "J-Jess......" he whispered through tears. Jesse's eyes widened as she finally recognized the voice. 

"L-Lukas?" she whispered. "It's me, Jess. I'm right here," Lukas whispered back. Jesse wrapped her arms around Lukas. She buried her head into his chest as she cried. Her friends were there to help! The two pulled away after a few moments. Lukas gently caressed Jesse's cheek as his eyes sparkled with tears. "I'm so glad you're alive..." he whispered. "I'm glad Aiden didn't find you...." Jesse whispered back. They locked eyes, blue and green. Silence enveloped the room for a few moments. "Can you stand?" Lukas asked. "I-I don't know," Jesse replied. Lukas helped Jesse stand up but the moment he let her go, she started to fall. His hands flashed out in an instant and caught her. "I'm gonna take that as a no," Lukas said, earning a chuckle from Jesse. Lukas then gently picked Jesse up bridal style and carried her as he walked out of the dungeon. The halls were quiet and dark. "All right, now where are those two...?" Lukas muttered. He started to walk down the hall, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for anything.

They eventually came closer to the throne room where they started to hear the sounds of swords clashing together. Lukas gently set Jesse down on the ground, hidden behind some pillars, near the door to the throne room. "Stay here, okay?" he asked. "No! I want to help!" Jesse exclaimed. "Listen, Jess, you can barely walk, let alone fight. Stay here and stay out of the fight, okay?" Lukas asked. "No! I'm not just gonna sit behind some pillars while my friends are fighting!" Jesse retorted. Jesse tried to stand up to prove her point, but Lukas grabbed both of her arms and forced her to sit down. He looked her right in the eye. "Jesse, I don't want you to get hurt because I let you fight. I'd never forgive myself. So you stay here, don't try to follow me, okay?" he asked. "As if that's gonna stop me! I'm helping you guys whether you like it or not!" Jesse retorted. Lukas was starting to get annoyed by Jesse. And that was saying a lot. He normally is a very calm guy, hard to get annoyed.

Lukas gently pressed his lips to Jesse's. Instantly Jesse's green eyes widened. It was a single action that lasted for only a moment. Lukas pulled away and looked Jesse in the eye. "Stay here," he ordered before standing up and running into the throne room. Jesse was in shock as she moved her hand up to her lips, almost as if she barely understood what just happened. 'Did that really just happen?' Jesse wondered. It took a few moments before Jesse clutched her fist. She knew what she had to do.

Meanwhile, Lukas was helping Petra, Ivor, and the Founder fight the Blaze Rods. All three of them had gotten a lot stronger, and the fact that the Founder had been put in a dungeon and basically starved like what happened to Jesse and not much food getting through to the Order was really putting them out of favor. And that was just fighting Maya and Gill! Maya and Gill! Aiden was just watching the scene gleefully from "his throne". He knew he would soon overpower the Order and the Founder, and he would have them in his grasp. "Heh, torturing the Order will be fun," he said to himself. A shout came from above and Aiden looked up just in time to see a flash of black, light gray, midnight blue, and turquoise. He was punched out of his throne and landed not-so-gracefully. Aiden looked up to see the Order and the Founder all battling Maya and Gill, so not one of them could've done it. He turned around and rolled out of the way just in time before another punch came at him.

Aiden jumped up and grabbed his sword. "You! What are you doing?!" Aiden shouted. "Crashing your party," Jesse replied. She grabbed her sword and held it up. "JESSE?!" the Order and Founder exclaimed. Jesse ran towards Aiden, intent on defeating him not only for her friends but for Sky City as well. She raised her sword and brought it down, but Aiden blocked the attack. Jesse threw another attack at Aiden, which he dodged. Aiden threw his own attacks at Jesse, who dodged or blocked all of them. As they fought, they backed up onto a cobblestone bridge outside the throne room which hung off the island. The rain poured down, makingShe attacked Aiden again and again and again. They locked swords. Jesse used all of her strength to twist Aiden's sword down before flinging it into the air. The sword flew up. Aiden's eyes were on his sword, intent on getting it back. Jesse waited for a moment before launching herself onto Aiden's back, using it a pillar to launch herself off of. Time seemed to slow as the sword came closer. Jesse reached out her hand and caught it.

She landed on the wet cobblestone and slipped. Jesse fell down over the edge, but she managed to grab onto the edge of the cobblestone before it was out of reach. She looked down into the Void, quickly realizing if she let go, she would die. "Oh crap oh crap oh crap!" she exclaimed. Her sword was in her inventory as she held Aiden's sword with one hand while her other hand held onto the cobblestone for dear life. She looked up and saw Aiden standing over her, a gleeful smirk plastered to his face. "Well, well, look at what we have here. The mighty leader of the Order of the Stone, clinging to the edge of a cobblestone bridge for dear life. It looks like despite being called 'the greatest warrior the world has ever seen', she will still die in one of the easiest ways to die, falling to your death," Aiden said. He kneeled down and grabbed a hold of Jesse's hair, bringing her face closer to his. "Goodbye, Jesse," he said before letting her go.