The ground beneath them started shaking. Jesse and Petra exchanged anxious glances, Jack looking around the terminal dimension in confusion.

"What's happening?" He asked

Romeo heaved himself into a sitting position, his movements strained.

"This place is held together by my power." He said. "No more power, no more terminal zone."

A glint of pride was visible in his eyes as he chuckled darkly.

"We're doomed."

"We need to run!" Petra said, grabbing Jesse's arm.

But Jesse stood frozen, staring down at Romeo. She wanted to leave him. After everything he did to her, to her friends, to Beacontown... all she wanted to do was leave him to suffer a painful death.

But she was Jesse, she was selfless and caring. She wasn't one to leave somebody to suffer. No matter what Romeo did to her, she knew she had to give him a second chance.

"Jesse?" Petra asked anxiously, shaking her shoulder.

Jesse took a deep breath, and held her hand out to Romeo. He looked surprised.

"No one gets left behind." Jesse said, nodding at him to take her hand. "Not even you."

Romeo hesitantly took her hand, allowing Jesse to pull him to his feet. He didn't say anything, he just warily glanced at her.

"Jesse, are you sure about this?" Petra asked, clasping her hand around the helm of her sword threateningly.

"We can discuss this outside, let's just get out of here!" Jack insisted, breaking off into a run and taking the lead.

Jesse nodded in agreement, turning around and starting to run, Petra by her side. Romeo stayed right on their heels, still not uttering a single word.

"It's a clear stretch to the portal!" Jack called over his shoulder. "We should be able to reach it in time!"

"Jack!" Jesse gasped.

"Look out!" Petra called as well.

Jack's gaze shot forward again and he dug in his boots just in time, as a large prismarine colossus rose up beside the path. It growled voraciously, waving its arms at them. All four backed up, quite aware of the fact that one hit from the colossus would mean instant death.

"How are we going to get past him!?" Petra called out, visibly anxious. It wasn't a look you often saw on the warrior.

"There is no way! It'll crush us if we take one step closer!" Jack replied, a bead of sweat making its way down his face.

Jesse glanced around desperately, hoping to catch sight of an alternative route. But there wasn't one. The only way to the portal was blocked. They were doomed.

"Give me your sword!" Romeo suddenly said to Jesse, speaking for the first time since she's helped him.

Jesse gave him a questioningly look.

"There's only one way to get past this thing." Romeo insisted, holding out his hand for the weapon.

Jesse hesitated. She didn't trust him.

"We don't have a lot of time." Romeo said, extending his hand. Jesse warily took out her diamond sword, placing it in his hand.

Immediately Romeo darted back, deeper in the terminal dimension. Using Jesse's sword, he began to reflect the light directly into the colossus's eyes from the blade. The beast growled, trying to shield it's eyes from the light.

"Go, go, go!" Jesse called to Petra and Jack, gesturing wildly.

They didn't need telling twice, the warrior and the treasure hunter breaking into fast pace. Jesse kept to the back of the group, insuring her friends got out before she did. She didn't look back.

Romeo saw them advancing towards the portal. He saw Petra leaping in first, Jack right behind her. Jesse still had a few metres to go. So, still using the reflection of light to blind the colossus, Romeo started running towards the portal as well, as fast as his legs would carry him.

Jesse felt her heart lurch in relief the moment both of her friends were through the portal. She increased her speed, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart, before leaping straight into the portal.

Once more, she was engulfed in a flurry of vibrant colours, as she switched dimensions. It was disorienting, and slightly dizzying, but in the past few weeks Jesse had grown used to it.

She broke through the portal, landing perfectly on her feet. She immediately recognized her surroundings, the roof of the Admin's floating tower, the layer of bedrock above them disappearing.

Petra and Jack was there as well, both of them grinning broadly even though they were visibly exhausted as well. Petra was resting with her hands on her knees, Jack leaning slightly on his sword. They both smiled at Jesse, sharing the same look of relief on their faces.

"Jesse! Petra!" A familiar voice called. "You did it!"

They looked up to see Lukas running towards them. He wrapped his arms around both girls, hugging them tightly.

"I'm so glad you guys are OK." He said as they all finally pulled away from each other.

"Glad to see your OK too." Jesse replied honestly.

None of them noticed as another figure came through the portal, right before it faded into nothingness.

"I can't wait to hear how you did it." Lukas said, looking excited.

"We'd be happy to tell you!" Jesse replied with a chuckle. "As soon as we can get out of this armour and rest for a-"

She interrupted herself, gasping loudly as a shocking pain struck in her back. Jesse gasped for breath, unbearable pain surging through her body, as she stumbled forward.

Lukas grabbed her by the arms to keep her from falling. She could hear everybody calling out, shouting her name, but it all sounded distant.

Jesse's knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed into Lukas' arms. She looked back, trying to see through her fuzzy vision.

There was Romeo. Petra and Jack had grabbed him, Petra holding her sword against his throat. She was yelling at him, but Jesse couldn't hear a word. By his feet lay Jesse's sword, stained in blood. Her blood.

Everything went black.

------------------------

Betrayal.

The word was scattered throughout the headlines of newspapers from Beacontown, all the way to Champion City.

The story of the Hero In Residence who had saved the Admin, despite of everything he had done, only to be stabbed in the back less than half an hour later. Literally.

To everybody's great relief, Jesse was wearing her strongest set of armour. The wound was deep, but not life-threatening. After a few weeks of intense hospital care, she was able to go home again.

Romeo on the other hand, he wasn't getting any second chances. Beacontown wanted him dead.

But, despite the fact that every word she spoke brought her pain at the time, Jesse had stepped up and refused. No man was going to die at the hands of her citizens. Not even Romeo.

Once again their hero's selflessness left the people speechless.

That of course didn't mean that Romeo was going to be let free. What he did to Jesse, after she's shown him kindness and forgiveness, couldn't be forgotten, nor forgiven. He was locked up in Beacontown's dungeon, on the underground level, maximum security. Most people said he would never see the daylight again.

As for our heroes, most of them returned to their normal lives as Jesse started recovering. Axel and Olivia returned to their home towns, Boomtown and Redstonia. Lukas returned to his cottage outside of town, with the promise to come visit frequently.

Petra still had plans to go on adventure, but decided to wait for Jesse to fully recover. The two of them had promised to stick together after all, and she wasn't going to leave without Jesse.

What about Jesse though?

At that very moment, she was walking down the hallway in the house. She was walking with a visible limp, but didn't seem to care at all.

Jesse held out one of her arms, feeling along the wall with her hand. It was late at night and she wasn't going to turn the light on, and risk waking Petra.

She bit her lip as she thought of the conversation the two of them had the previous evening.

"We can't just leave Romeo here." Petra had said determinedly. "If he manages to break free from that prison, just imagine what he's going to do to your town."

She had taken Jesse's hand in hers, her expression sympathetic, yet firm. "Jesse, I think it's time we consider executing him."

Jesse had looked away, avoiding eye-contact with Petra. "No." She had whispered under her breath.

"Jesse, that man doesn't the deserve another chance." Petra had insisted. "After what he did to you, he deserves the death penalty."

Jesse had stood up very suddenly. The sudden movement made her injured back ache, but she ignored it.

"Maybe he does." She had said in a low voice. "But I'm not giving you permission to kill him."

Petra stood up as well, putting a hand on Jesse's shoulder.

"I won't." She said softly. "If you don't want this, then I won't do it." She had taken a deep breath before speaking again. "But take some time, and ask yourself – Why?"

With those words, Petra had given Jesse's shoulder a comforting squeeze, before leaving the room. The question haven't left her head since.

Jesse knew Petra wouldn't approve of where she was heading tonight, which is why she snuck out. Jesse didn't blame her friend. All Petra wanted to do was keep her safe, and she respected that. But for once, Jesse wasn't going to listen to her friend's advice.

Jesse reached for the doorknob, carefully and silently opening the door. She slipped outside and closed it behind her again.

Everybody in Beacontown was asleep, meaning no fans were flocking Jesse as she walked down the street. Her back was sore and she had a headache, but she refused to turn back. She had somewhere to be.

At the sight of their leader, guards stepped aside, allowing Jesse into the large building. Her footsteps lightly echoed around the room, the sound bouncing off the walls.

Slightly using the wall as a prop, due to her injury, Jesse slowly walked down the staircase. By the time she reached the bottom, Jesse's breathing was laboured and her face red.

She stopped for a second, taking a moment to breath in deeply a few times. Opposite her was a large prison cell. Covered in two rows of iron bars, with a flickering redstone lamp for light. A figure was sitting on the floor, his back turned to her.

"Leave us." Jesse said to the guard that was standing watch in front of the cell.

"But ma'am, I have direct orders from Petra-" He started, before Jesse interrupted him.

"Yes, and now you have direct orders from me. I want ten minutes alone with the prisoner, please." Her voice was firm.

The guard nodded, leaving the room. Jesse stood quietly as she waited for his footsteps to fade away completely.

The figure in the cell chuckled.

"What brings you here?" He snarled.

"Look at me, Romeo." Jesse said firmly, stepping up to the bars. "It's time we have a few words with each other."

Romeo stood up, turning around to face Jesse. His hands were tied to chains that was fastened to the ground. Heavy locks kept them in place.

His right eye was lightly swollen and blue. Probably courtesy of Petra, before he was locked up.

"What are you doing here?" He snapped at Jesse. "Came to finally kill me before your redhead friend could do it?"

"I've not come to kill you." Jesse said, sitting down on a chair outside his cell. She preferred to stand, but her injury wasn't allowing it.

"I've come to talk about why you tried to kill me. After I gave you a second chance, forgave you for what you have done. You still tried to end my life. Why?"

Romeo glared at Jesse, walking up to the double set of bars. He stopped a metre in front of them, the chains holding him back.

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked. "You took everything from me."

"Power isn't everything."

"To me it was."

"Look at where it got you." Jesse said, crossing her arms. "Because of your power, this power that meant everything to you, you lost everything. You abused your power, you lost both your friends, you lost your freedom. And when I gave you one last chance at life, when nobody else would... you tried to kill me."

"Lecture me all you want, Jesse." Romeo snapped at her, stomping his foot on the ground in frustration. "You don't know what my life was like! Not when you lived like absolute royalty!" He turned around so he wasn't facing her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You were happy all those years back." Jesse said softly. "When it was just you, Xara and Fred. But something happened that tore you apart. The more you tried to mend it, the more you screwed it up.

That's where your path to evil started. When you didn't get what you want, you killed, you imprisoned. You did what was easy, not what was right."

"How would you know?" Romeo asked in a low voice, not turning around to face Jesse. "You have everything."

"Your wrong." Jesse replied. "I used to be happy. When it was just me, Axel, Olivia, Petra and Lukas, adventuring as we pleased. But life happened, it caused us to drift apart.

You may think I have a life of gold, but I don't. I've lost everything. Just like you."

Romeo turned around again. He was still scowling, but there was hint of confusion in his eyes now.

"Everyone likes you."

"But that isn't what makes me happy." Jesse said, standing up with slight effort. She walked over to the bars, looking into his eyes.

"You're the admin, I'm the Hero in Residence. We both had power, but it wasn't what we wanted. All we wanted, were the people we cared about."

Romeo didn't say anything.

"Look, both of us had lost something." Jesse said softly. "Just like there's no way you could've possibly brought back Fred, I also lost somebody I could never bring back.

But both of us were offered a second chance. In a few weeks, Petra's leaving for the great unknown and I'm going with her. It won't be what it used to be, but we'll have each other. No power, just friendship. We will be happy.

You had the same chance. I gave you a chance. You could've gone to find Xara in the Underneath. It wouldn't have been what it used to be, but you could've made up for what you've done.

But Romeo, you didn't take that chance. After what you did to me, nobody will ever trust you enough to let you step foot out of this prison."

"What are you trying to say here?" Romeo muttered.

"That no matter how different we seem, we're really the same." Jesse replied softly. "With the only difference being how we end our stories."

She turned around, ready to leave the dungeon. Before she did, she spoke softly.

"That's why I can't bear to kill you.

It may seem unlikely, that Jesse the Hero in Residence, and Romeo the Last Admin, could be so similar.

But sometimes, we have to accept that the truth hurts."

So, I actually had a request for another Romeo x F.Jesse one shot from @Mars2406. At first I was debating whether to do it or not, since I'm not very good at that type of writing. But, you know me, I'm not one to turn down requests. I drafted a bit, but had no plot lines in mind.

Yesterday I came up with this. So, this isn't exactly what you request, and I'm really sorry about that, but when I got this idea I couldn't resist. 

This is obviously based on the similarities between Jesse and Romeo. Because honestly, they're quite similar if you think about it this way. 

And I couldn't resists adding that twist with Romeo trying to betray Jesse. After all, a deep and meaningful conversation between enemies is so much more deep and meaningful if one of them is behind bars.

XDD

Also, just an update, the sequel to "Nothing" has been written, but I'm really not satisfied with it, so I'm going to take some time and redo it.

I still have that big one shot + video, project in progress. 

And I think I have 2 pending requests left. One of them is for the project mentioned above, the other one I'm still planning out. So feel free to stock me up on some more requests, whether they are plot lines, one word prompts, or continuations of previous stories.

Lastly, the next chapter of Secrets Beneath the Lies should be out this week.

See ya!