A/N: This is my first (published) story for this fandom! I guess I'm testing the waters. See end of story for inspiration and notes, except for this one: As I'm sure you all know, MCSM is tailored to the choices you make. My Jesse will read a little or a lot different from yours, depending on the way you do your story. Please enjoy this brief look into the way I do mine.

Standard disclaimer: Regretfully, these characters are not mine; everything belongs to Telltale Games and Mojang. I own nothing.

MINECRAFT: STORY MODE

The Help

The gates were open. People from all over the world streamed in, and he among them, visiting for the very first time for the fifth annual Founding Day celebration. It was a huge deal. The whole Order of the Stone would be back together for the party for the first time in years. He was enamored with the whole Order, of course—who wasn't?—but he, Radar, was there to meet his own personal hero: Jesse the Builder, chief of Beacontown, leader of the Order of the Stone, and by every account the greatest hero their world had ever seen.

Jesse was having one of her meet-and-greets today, where she would introduce herself to as many visitors from out-of-town as she could—as if she needed introduction—and Radar would be there. He had to be. Founding Day was tomorrow, and he might not get another chance to meet her in person. He only hoped he'd arrived in time.

The big red gates stood wide open, and for the days surrounding Founding Day, they would continue as such from dawn to dusk as people from everywhere Radar could imagine came and went for the party. Radar, buffeted by the crowd, stepped through and followed the flow toward the center of town, where the famous Rainbow Beacon lit the square in brilliant colors. And speaking of colors…

Beacontown shone with vivid color everywhere Radar looked. Bright concrete and dyed terracotta comprised a majority of the builds within the walls. Posters lined the streets, bearing the colors of the Order of the Stone, and the image of its famed amulet. Several posters pictured an iron pickaxe: an everyman's tool, but also Jesse's personal symbol. The posters pointed to this spot, in front of the Order Hall… but Jesse herself was nowhere to be seen. Radar looked around frantically, searching for some sign of her. Had he missed the meet already?

"Hey," said a voice behind him. "You seem lost. Are you looking for someone?"

Radar turned around, and almost fainted.

"Omigosh."

Jesse chuckled at him.

Say something impressive! Radar thought to himself.

"Y-you're—" he stammered. "You're you!"

He smacked himself in the forehead.

Jesse nodded, grinning.

"Yes I am," she said.

"You're my hero," Radar admitted.

Jesse smiled at him kindly.

"Thank you," she said, with the tone of someone who says something a lot, but actually means it. "That means a lot to me."

She looked at him appraisingly.

"You don't look familiar," she said. "Oh man—did you come for the meet-and-greet?"

Radar nodded silently.

"Darn!" said Jesse. "I'm really sorry. I thought I got to everyone."

"It's okay," Radar assured her, a little confused, but relieved all the same.

"Well, you're here now," said Jesse, looking thoughtful. "Tell you what, I'll make it up to you. I've got some work to do around town, but if it's not too much trouble, why don't you come with me? I'll show you around."

Is this really happening? Radar thought, dumbfounded.

"Yes!" he practically shouted. "I m-mean, of course. I'd love to come with you."

"Cool!" said Jesse, moving away down the street and beckoning him to follow. "I'll try not to bore you, but it's mostly Founding Day preparations."

"N-not a problem," Radar insisted.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot. What's your name?"

"I'm R-Radar," said Radar.

"Nice to meet you, Radar," she said. "I'm Jesse."

She smacked herself in the forehead.

"You know that already."

"I know," Radar nodded, grinning a little. "You don't… get used to it?"

Jesse sighed.

"Not even a little," she admitted. Then she held out a hand, and Radar shook it. "Welcome to Beacontown."

Radar followed Jesse to the city's western wall, where a team was assembling a fireworks dispenser—the biggest one Radar had ever seen—led by Axel the Griefer. Axel was the new king of Boom Town after Magnus was lost in the fight against the Wither Storm. Many of the members of his team were clearly Boom Town natives, come to help with the Founding Day preparations in the Order's hometown.

"Axel, Radar—Radar, Axel," Jesse introduced him. "He's visiting from out-of-town and missed the meet-up, so I decided to show him around."

"That's cool of you," said Axel, and then he looked over at Radar. "How're you liking Beacontown so far?"

"It's—it's—" Radar stammered, "There are no words."

"Yeah, it's pretty great," Axel agreed, with a grin.

"So, how goes the build?" said Jesse. "You guys need anything?"

"Actually, we are short a few dispensers," Axel admitted.

"Hm," Jesse hummed. "I'll take a look at the inventory in the Hall later. I've still got to check on the catering for the parade, and meet up with the miners."

"What about—" Radar cleared his throat. "Um, what about Olivia? You mentioned on the way here that you need to check on her music machine. She's closer, and she probably has a few spare dispensers, right?"

"That… is a really good idea," Jesse nodded. "Okay, I'll check in with Olivia next and see if she can send some dispensers over."

"Thanks, man," said Axel, and he went back to work.

Jesse led Radar back across town, where a section of the square was cordoned off for a DJ's stage. At work behind the fence was Olivia the Redstone Engineer. Olivia still considered herself Ellegaard's apprentice, but she taught as a professor in Redstonia these days, and like Axel, had brought a few of her promising students with her as part of her Beacontown team.

She promised to send Axel some dispensers when she was finished, but she seemed to be having complications of her own.

"We're a little low on redstone blocks," Olivia said, when Jesse asked how they were doing. "Could you talk to the mining guild?"

"Sure thing," said Jesse. "I've got to head down there to see Petra anyway. Radar," she turned to him, "the mines can be dangerous. You don't have to follow me for this part if you don't want—we could meet up when I'm done."

"N-no, no," Radar shook his head, "it's fine. I want to come."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you," she said, grinning, and led the way toward the main gate, where a statue of two crossed diamond picks marked the entrance to the mine.

"Put this on," she said, passing him an iron chestplate from a chest outside the mine.

"You think we'll run into t-trouble?"

"Not really," said Jesse, "but better safe than sorry."

"You're not wearing armor."

"Yeah, but it's not me I'm worried about," Jesse grinned, patting him on the shoulder. "C'mon."

Radar followed Jesse down into the mine, where they found a cluster of impatient-looking miners gathered around Petra the Warrior her-freaking-self.

"There she is," said Petra. "I told you she'd be here."

"Sorry I'm late," said Jesse. "As per usual, I know."

"We weren't going to start without you," said a miner. She looked like the one in charge.

"Thanks, Lucille," said Jesse. "After this, I need to talk to you about redstone for Olivia's team, but let's get going. I don't want to hold you up any more."

"Who's the squishy one?" Petra muttered to Jesse as they moved out, deeper into the mine. Radar blushed, and Jesse chuckled.

"This is Radar," said Jesse. "He's helping me with my Founding Day stuff."

"I wouldn't say helping—" said Radar quickly, "I'm really just shadowing her."

"He's helping," Jesse insisted, setting a hand across his shoulders, "and he's keeping me company, which is help enough as it is."

Radar's heart soared.

"Okay, but he's your responsibility," said Petra, grinning at her.

"Don't worry about it," Jesse assured her. "I'll look after him if there's trouble."

Petra shrugged, and carried on ahead.

"Um, Jesse?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"You… uh, you said earlier that you were late 'as usual.' Can I ask what you mean?"

"Oh. Heh," said Jesse, rubbing the back of her neck self-consciously. "Well, I guess if I seem a little disorganized, it's just—"

"—it's just because she's really disorganized," said Petra, eavesdropping.

Jesse glared irritably at the back of Petra's head, but then shrugged at Radar.

"What she said," Jesse grimaced. "I mean, you'd think after five years of running Beacontown this would get easier."

"It seems like a lot to do on your own," said Radar, thoughtfully.

"It is," said Jesse, "and it's hard. But… it's for Beacontown."

"So it's worth it?"

"Every minute."

"You really are my hero."

Jesse blushed, and squeezed his shoulders gently.

"So, um," he began, after a moment, "what are we doing down here, exactly?"

"Oh, right, I guess I didn't explain," said Jesse. "Well, Petra and I come down here and help the miners light unexplored cave systems to make them safe. Usually, it's fine, but sometimes there are monsters, and we protect the teams until we can map the whole cave."

"Here we are," said Lucille. "It's through there."

Jesse stepped forward toward a single-block opening in the cave wall, where Radar could see nothing but darkness.

"Stay behind us," she said, to Radar, "and stay alert. You understand?"

Radar nodded.

Jesse took out an iron pick and mined through the cobblestone block that protected the entrance, pulled out a torch, and led the way into the dark.

Radar peeked around from behind Jesse into the dimly-lit cave—only it wasn't a cave. It was a corridor, cut cleanly into the stone, supported every few blocks by wooden fences and beams.

"Whoa," said Petra, peeking from Jesse's other side. "It's an abandoned mineshaft."

"Yeah," said Jesse. "You know what this means, right?"

"Cave spiders," said Petra, irritably. "I hate cave spiders."

"What's the difference between a cave spider and a regular spider?" Radar wondered.

"Cave spiders are greenish-blue, about half the size," said Jesse, "and they're poisonous."

"C-cool," said Radar, trying to sound braver than he felt.

"Not cool," Jesse assured him. "Cave spiders are more trouble than they're worth, if you ask me. But abandoned mineshafts mean exposed ores that our teams will want to get to."

"You got that right," said Lucille's voice, from behind them.

"Come on," said Petra, stepping out in front of Jesse and gesturing to the tunnel which stretched into the dark on either side of them. "We'll light more ground if we split up. I'll take Lucille and half the mining team, and you take your buddy and the other half."

"I don't like splitting up," said Jesse, and Radar heartily agreed. "But you're right. Let's go, everybody. Torches out, and call at any sign of movement."

Jesse led her half of the team down the right-hand tunnel, and Radar hovered close behind.

"Still glad you came along?" said Jesse quietly, torch held out ahead of her as the mining team systematically lit the way behind them.

"Um…"

"It's okay if you're scared," she said, kindly. "I know this probably isn't your idea of a good time."

"Are you kidding?" said Radar. "Adventuring with you is literally a dream come true. I'm just worried I'll embarrass myself."

"Well, if it's any consolation, you're doing great," Jesse said, and Radar sighed.

"You are seriously the coolest person in the world."

"That's nice of you. Most people think I'm a huge dork when they actually get to know me. Ask Petra."

"That's what's so cool!" Radar insisted. "I'm a huge dork and a nervous wreck, but you treat me like I'm as good as anyone else. Do you know how many people in the world would do that? Not a lot, let me tell you."

"You are as good as anyone else," Jesse assured him. "Don't let anyone tell you different. Heck, you've been great for me today—"

Jesse held up a hand, and the mining team halted and hushed behind her. Radar set a hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"Shh…," she said. "Listen."

In the distance, Radar could just hear the patter of many legs on stone, and a low hissing.

"Spiders?"

"Spiders. Stay close."

Radar inched closer to her as Jesse pulled an iron sword out of her inventory and held it out in front of her. But when they next heard the sound, it came from behind them. A miner screamed.

Radar and Jesse both jumped in surprise, and Jesse leapt into action, moving to dash back to the group, but a spider jumped down from the ceiling and advanced on them rapidly.

Jesse backed up, holding one arm out in front of Radar, protectively. The spider jumped, and Radar ducked, flinching in fear—but Jesse caught it in midair with the point of her sword, and it went up in a puff of dust.

She slid past a miner, swiping one spider off his back with her sword, and took out a third which had been climbing up the wall to avoid her.

Radar hurried to catch up.

"Everyone okay?" Jesse asked, glancing around at the mining team, and the miners nodded, a bit shellshocked. "How did they get past us?" she demanded of nobody in particular, staring around the cave in confusion.

Radar did the same, until he spotted a single, block-wide opening in a dark corner near the cave ceiling, behind them along the path.

"There!" he said. "They didn't get past you—they came in from above."

Jesse squinted into the dark corner he'd indicated.

"Good eye," said Jesse, impressed, and Radar preened. He'd always prided himself on his attention to detail. Jesse walked over to the opening, and set a cobblestone block in front of it.

"Better block this up for now," she said. "We'll find out where they came from some other day."

Then she went back to the front, and Radar fell into step close to her again.

"Y'know, I might not let you go when this is over," said Jesse, patting him on the back and grinning. "You're too useful."

Radar giggled.

"So, how did parrots get all the way to Beacontown, anyway?" Radar wondered as they climbed the steps out of the mines and back into town.

"That's a long story involving two separate incidents with jungle temples, lots of trial and error, and lots and lots of seeds," said Jesse, grinning. "But, I mean, parrots are so colorful. They definitely belong in Beacontown."

"I can't argue with you there," Radar agreed.

Radar emerged with Jesse and Petra from the mines near the town gate. At once, Jesse noticed something amiss.

"It's after sunset," she observed. "Why are the gates still open?"

That was problematic, Radar recalled. There was a very good reason that Beacontown closed its gates after dark.

"That might have something to do with it," said Petra, pointing to a commotion that was going on at the gate.

A crowd of pigs was clustered around a booth in front of the gate. The booth had an item frame above it which indicated that it would be distributing carrots during the festivities the next day.

"Jesse!"

A farmer called to her, wading through the pigs to where Jesse was running toward the ruckus.

"I don't know what to do about this," he said. "They've eaten almost my entire inventory!"

A woman was struggling to keep a pair of pigs away from a chest inside the booth.

"I'm sorry!" she said. "I didn't know this would be here already—I thought it was safe to move them this afternoon!"

"Ugh—" Jesse settled her head in her hands. "This is probably my fault. I didn't take the booth into account when I said you could bring your pigs in today instead of yesterday." Then she seemed to steel herself. "Doesn't matter now. We have to get the pigs out of the way and close the—"

"Jesse—!" Radar grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her down, just in time to avoid a strike from a zombie creeping through the open gate. Petra's enchanted golden sword beheaded the monster a moment later. Jesse pulled out her iron one and backed up, once again holding her arm in front of Radar, protectively.

"Thanks, buddy," she said. Then, to the farmers, she added, "Get these pigs moving! We'll hold off the mobs!"

Petra ducked a skeleton's arrow, and then leapt forward to cleave it into dust.

"Jesse, how do we hold off the mobs and close the gate?" she asked.

"Creeper!" Jesse shouted, but her iron sword sunk into it a moment later anyway. "I… don't know. Radar, you should get to safet—Radar?"

Radar was making a dash for the switch house in the wall beside the gate.

"Radar!" Jesse shouted. Radar looked back just in time to duck an arrow from a spider jockey skeleton, and watch as Jesse threw her sword into its head.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe that just happened," Radar said to himself as he reached the switch house. Trying not to freak out about watching his hero in action as she protected him, Radar threw the lever.

Pistons fired, and block by block, the gates of Beacontown closed, before they slammed shut with a loud, dull thud.

"That was amazing!" Radar shouted, no longer able to help himself as he dashed back over to Jesse and Petra, finishing off the remaining mobs. "I can't believe I just saw that!"

"I can't believe I just saw that!" said Jesse, and to his astonishment, she lifted him up by the shoulders. "That was awesome! You were awesome, Radar!"

"I-I mean, I just… pulled a lever," said Radar, a little hysterical at receiving such praise from Jesse, oh my gosh she thinks I'm awesome—

"You closed the gates for us!" Jesse insisted, finally setting him down. "You were perfect. Thank you."

"N-no problem," Radar stammered, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

"Don't pass out," said Petra, with the tone of someone who says something a lot, and never gets over it.

"I won't," Radar assured, getting his footing back after a few deep breaths. "So… um… pigs?" he asked tentatively, now that the danger had passed.

Jesse sighed, smile fading a little.

"Pigs. Carrots. I thought we'd do a… uh… theme, this year. For the celebration."

"Oh," said Radar. Then, realizing what the theme referenced, repeated, "Oh."

"Yeah," said Jesse. "No big deal, but I guess I got the planning a bit mixed up. As always."

Petra patted her on the back, consolingly, and Radar nodded.

"It seems like a lot for one person to keep track of," he said.

An idea struck him. But would she go for it?

"Um," Radar started, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking on his feet anxiously, "m-maybe—maybe I could help?"

Before Jesse could respond, Radar hurried on, rambling.

"I'm really good at organizing," he assured. "I mean, if scheduling and inventory management is what you need, I'm your guy. I—"

"I can't ask you to do that," said Jesse. "You're—I mean, you're a visitor in my town. You're here to join the party, not to plan it—and you've already done so much to help me today. I… I couldn't."

Radar tried to hide his disappointment.

"Oh, I… I understand," he said.

"There you are, Jesse," said a voice, and Radar looked up to see none other than the author himself, Lukas—the fifth member of the Order of the Stone. He looked around at the crowd of pigs that were finally moving down the street, the busted carrot booth, and the little piles of monster drops surrounding the gate. "Whoa. What happened here?"

"Hey, Lukas," said Jesse. "It's… a long story. Call it a scheduling conflict. What's up?"

"A couple of builders want to set up that bookshop before tomorrow," Lukas explained, "but they can't find the building permit you gave them."

Jesse groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"That would be because I haven't given it to them yet," she said, frustrated. "Ugh. For all I know it's still on my desk in the Order Hall."

"Well, I mean—" Lukas started, but then he met Petra's eyes as she rubbed Jesse's back sympathetically. He stepped over to Jesse and set an arm across her shoulders. "Hey… are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jesse started to wave him off, but stopped, and sighed. "No. I need help."

Radar bounced slightly on his feet, biting his lip, hopeful.

Jesse eyed him fondly.

"Okay," she said. "You win."

Radar squeaked in excitement.

"Yes!" he exclaimed gleefully. "I'll have you fixed up in no time."

"I'm counting on you."

"I won't let you down!" He saluted her, and he knew he must look ridiculous, and she chuckled at him.

"Wow," said Petra. "I think this is the first time we've been ready to go ahead of time since… ever."

"Let's do this," said Jesse.

Radar watched from close by as Jesse climbed up onto the Rainbow Beacon and addressed the crowd, hands on her hips.

"Hey, Beacontown!" she shouted, to a deafening cheer. "I'm sure I don't need to remind everyone—but I'll do it anyway—that we're here to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the founding of Beacontown, and the new Order of the Stone. All our friends from far and away have come home for the party this year—Axel, from Boom Town, Olivia, from Redstonia, Lukas, from—well, not very far at all, really—and Petra, from… well, whatever adventure she was conquering last. You know her."

The crowd laughed and cheered for each member of the Order of the Stone as they stood up on the beacon beside her. Petra punched her lightly in the shoulder as she passed.

"We have so much cool stuff planned for you today," Jesse continued, "but before we get started, I want to give a shoutout to a new friend of mine, who helped me put all of this together for you."

Radar froze. Jesse was holding a hand out to him. His brain was numb, but he managed to take her hand, and she pulled him up onto the beacon beside her, holding him close by the shoulders.

"It's thanks to this guy that this party is going on today," she said. "I'd like everyone to give a big, Beacontown welcome to my good friend, Radar."

The crowd obliged with a round of applause. Radar was sure his whole face was red.

Jesse turned to Axel.

"Would you do the honors?"

"Way ahead of you, dude," said Axel, hopping down from the beacon and flipping a lever at the edge of the square.

The sky exploded into life as a shower of fireworks blasted off overhead. On the other side of the square, the music began to play.

"Let's get this party started!" Jesse shouted, and the crowd erupted in cheers and dancing.

Radar followed Jesse as she stepped down from the beacon and moved a little away from the crowd while her friends joined in the festivities.

"Man, I owe you one," she said. "Founding Day has never been this cool."

"You did all the hard stuff," Radar insisted. "I'm just the scheduling guy."

"For me, that is the hard stuff," said Jesse, grinning, but then her smile faded a little. "It's really too bad you're leaving town. Are you going home tomorrow?"

"Well…," Radar began, "it's… kind of complicated. I'm sort of between homes at the moment."

Jesse perked up.

"You looking for a place to settle down?" she wondered. "'Cause I think Beacontown's got your name written all over it."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah! Plus, I mean, it's not this busy all the time, but not a day goes by that I couldn't use a hand around here, if, well, if you're looking for a more permanent situation."

Is she saying what I think she's saying?

"Are you… offering me a job?" At Jesse's mild, affirmative shrug, Radar squeaked. "You're offering me a job!"

"I do know a nice building in the Aquatic District that's still filling apartments," she nodded, thoughtfully. "I'm sure we could work something out."

"Oh my gosh, this is the greatest day of my life," said Radar, to a giggle from Jesse. "Jesse the Builder, chief of Beacontown, leader of the Order of the Stone, is offering me a job as her assistant. You are my favorite person in the whole world."

"Can I take that as a yes?" Jesse asked, grinning.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

The Beginning.

A/N: So, useless fluff, I know, but… I love Radar so freaking much. It's been noted that Radar reminds Olivia of herself with Ellegaard, and there's a serious parallel between Petra and Jack's relationship and Radar and Jesse's, where we get to see the potential difference (depending on how you play Jesse) in how Jesse treats Radar as her almost-protégé, and Jack tries to impress Petra and Jesse. No spoilers, but I was so proud of Radar in S2E2. My Jesse is a real nurturer—she wants to protect Radar and look after him, and help him become the hero she knows he can be. Jesse and I both know that there are big things in store for little Radar, and all we want is to make sure he's ready when they come... and from the looks of it, they're coming fast.

I love that Radar loves and idolizes Jesse so much. In a world where she's by all accounts the greatest hero in history, he gives her something to live up to, and someone to strive to be, even if she's already there in a sense. I made sure that Radar has one of his "I won't let you down!" moments. It seems to be his 'thing,' if Jesse chooses to trust him and express how proud she is. I love it, because it's pretty ironic. Radar is always so concerned with proving himself to Jesse, but if you play Jesse that way, he never needs to—she loves him just the way he is.

All that said, writing the story of how Radar meets Jesse for the first time was easy. He's nervous, hyper, and can't freaking believe that he gets to spend a whole day with his hero and watch her work, and Jesse is… well, Jesse is Jesse. My Jesse respects people who are open and honest about themselves—basically, people who let their dork show—so Radar is a perfect fit. She gets to learn what it means to have a protégé, and he gets to learn what it's like to be treated as an equal. Everybody wins.

So! Let me know what you thought (please). I have a couple much longer stories in the works, as well as a kind of novelization of my ideal playthrough of the game, so if there's any interest in seeing that, call! out! in the reviews.

Happy crafting, may your base be creeper-free, etc., etc.. Peace!