"Jack..." Jesse hesitated, biting her bottom lip anxiously, before her shoulders relaxed a bit. "Believe me, if I could, I wouldn't ask. I don't want to drag up bad memories, but... this isn't something that we can just let go. I'm not going to leave this town- my town- in danger. If we can, I want to fix this. I want to keep everyone safe. And the best way we can do that right now, is if we all tackle that temple together."

Reuben tugged the back of her shirt. Jesse rolled her eyes, knowing what he wanted to ask without him even asking. "Yes, including you, Reuben."

Jace, Cassie, and Petra couldn't help fighting back grins at that.

Jack frowned at them, eyes narrowing. He turned around, back facing them with his hands on his hips, staring at the floor as he pondered this idea. Nurm carefully approached and made a soft sound in Villagerese. (Jesse had never been fluent at that. One time she'd tried trading a few emeralds for an enchanted weapon and ended up with a book called 'The Petals of a Bloody Rose' instead. At least it was a good book.)

Jack looked up at Nurm, who had a worried expression on his face. They couldn't see Jack's, but Nurm's hardened a bit as he nodded.

Finally, Jack nodded a bit and turned back to them, a determined look on his face. "You know what? You've inspired me. I mean, am I the Velvet Tornado or aren't I?"

Jesse grinned, perking up as her shoulders relaxed in relief. "Then yeah! That's the spirit!" she cheered gently.

"Yes." His grin widened a little bit as Nurm grinned behind them. Petra drew even, a huge grin on her own face, while Cassie looked relieved, Reuben was beaming (although that might've been from Jesse allowing him to come along more than anything else), and Jace was just grinning slightly.

Jesse tilted her head, a slightly confused look coming over her face. "Uh, you... are, right?"

Jack simply glanced over at the cartographer villager, a grin coming over his face. "Nurm? Time to get our adventuring things," and he spun on his heel and walked deeper into the shop, Nurm following not too far behind them.

"Guys- it's perfect. 'Structure Block'?" Petra whispered in a low whisper, her grin growing to almost maniacal proportions. "'Sea Temple'?"

"I know. It's amazing," Cassie whispered back, hopping a bit in her own excitement.

"Almost... too good to be true!" Jace whispered, but he was also grinning, and his tail was moving pretty fast.

Jesse managed her own weak smile, but truth be told... she was feeling quite bad about dragging up so many bad memories about the 'Sea Temple' for Jack. This trip to the Sea Temple... well, if just talking about it dragged up bad memories, actually GOING to the temple... it probably was going to be pretty upsetting for him, as well.

"Auugh, YES!" Petra exclaimed in a loud whisper, pumping her fist into the air and exchanging a big grin with the whole group.

"And Jack. Man. He is AWESOME, right?" Petra asked, grabbing Jace (nearest person to her) and giving his shoulder a little shake, her grin growing even bigger. If she kept stretching that smile she was going to end up cracking her face right in half.

Jace's smile, on the other hand, fell a little bit.

"I can't believe it- I'm going on an adventure with Jack. EEEE!" And she pumped her fist into the air again with the squeal.

Jesse gave a nonchalant shrug, gesturing with her big clunky glove. "I like him! Can't wait to see him in action out there."

"Yeah, I wanna see why Petra's fangirling," Reuben said, from where he was still perched on Jesse's back.

Cassie proceeded to laugh, snort, and press it back at the same time, making a very interesting sound. In the end she nearly choked. (Jesse patted her on the back with one of the arms NOT wearing a clunky gauntlet.)

"I was just thinking the same thing," Petra said, hopping up and down a bit in excitement.

Jace just gave a light shrug. "He seems pretty cool," he said lightly, and that was that in terms of what he had to say about the guy.

"Nurm, I told you-"

Jesse glanced over at Jack's voice, which had risen loud enough for them to hear. The man now had a diamond sword strapped to his back, and he and the villager were turned away and talking quietly. She approached, the voice getting louder as she got closer. "It's not the Admin's-"

Nurm made an angry sound. Jack started slightly, before letting out a loud groan. "UGH... fine."

"What'd he say?" Jesse asked, curiously, making Jack start around slightly.

"Nothin'. Villager stuff. Nurm here... wants to make a new map of this place what with the, uh, whole lava... volcano... incident," he said, managing to catch himself as he turned around. Nurm nodded slightly as everyone came up to the group. He began to talk rapid-fire in Villagerese, until Jack shook his head a bit, a tiny smile twitching over his face. "Easy, Nurmie. Don't blow a gasket."

The spider hybrid smiled, folding her arms behind her back. "Well, that's awesome, Nurm. Welcome aboard!"

Nurm made a sound that sounded suspiciously like "woohoo!" and grinned at them.

Jack shrugged a second later. "He says 'woo hoo.'"

Reuben and Cassie both started giggling, the pig hybrid having to bury his face in Jesse's shoulder to muffle it, while Cassie pulled Winslow off her shoulder and buried her face into him. It apparently pleased Winslow, because he just purred a bit.

"Yeah, I figured that out," Jace responded flatly.

"So, uhh..." Jesse spoke over the giggling Reuben and Cassie, "that mean we're off to the Sea Temple?"

Jack scratched his head, an awkward look coming over his face. "Don't you think some of you are looking a little..." he paused for a moment. "... squishy for that?"

"Seriously?" Jace exclaimed, frowning at the other man, "you're wearing a vest."

Jack shrugged at that, beginning to take on a slightly announcer-like tone. "The Vest of Five Fists. Gifted to me by the Singing Clerics of Port-"

"Okay, yes, Jack, we get it, it's a cool vest," Cassie interrupted before he could get a little too interested in his spiel (although it did sound interesting. Maybe after this whole thing was over they could have a chat about it).

"C'mon," Jesse said lightly, gesturing with her gauntlet hand, "I just need to make a quick pit-stop, and I can show you all some real armor."


The door to the Order Hall slid open, to show Radar furiously polishing the Redstone Heart with his sleeve. He spotted Jesse a moment later, Reuben still perched on her back (Jesse still hadn't put him down and he still hadn't asked her to do so), and came skidding over to the shorter but older girl. "Ohhh Jesse I'm so glad you're here."

"Hey Radar-" Jesse began, and that was all she got out, because Radar pulled out a notebook and started flipping through it rapidly.

"There is a LOT going on." Radar started rattling off a huge list of things that needed to be done in such a fast voice that Jesse could barely keep up. Or get a word in edgewise. "Someone still needs to finalize the ideas for the Founding Day banners, the Cake-Baking Team can't agree on what color to make the front of their shop, the Wool-Maker's Guild isn't super happy about their booth being next to the Firework Union- understandable- the delegate from Boom Town left word that she wanted to make a speech at the parade. Very odd? Blue hair? Smells like sulfur?"

"Radar," Jesse gently interjected, keenly aware of the pained look on Jack's face, the confused one on Nurm's, the way Petra was facepalming, Jace starting to rub his temples, and Cassie trying to keep Winslow from jumping on the poor kid.

"Speaking of which you should probably work on your Founding Day keynote address. Oh, and rehearse it!" Radar kept plowing on, unaware of Jesse's interjection. "Why didn't I factor in rehearsal time? Stupid STUPID."

"Radar?" Jesse said, a little more insistently.

Radar continued rattling things off, eyes fixed on the notebook now and reading so fast that Jesse couldn't sworn his eyes were blurring. "I'm sure I can shift a few things around, maybe push back your lunch with the Followers of Soren again... they're very strange anyway. They'll understand. Maybe. And did you know Lukas left another draft for you to look at? I said you'd try and give notes when possible but not to get his hopes up. Annnnd then I left a general-"

"RADAR!" Jesse threw her arms into the air, having to shout at the poor boy to get his attention.

The young man recoiled a bit, hastily flipping the book shut. "Ahhh! Sorry. Got in the zone there. What's up, boss?"

Jesse decided not to correct him on him calling her 'boss', walking a little further into the room. Radar looked around at Jack and Nurm. "I see you brought friends...? And a new accessory?" And he tilted his head to look at the gauntlet on her arm.

"Short version?" Jesse asked, frowning. "The town's in danger. I stopped it for now, but I think this-" She held up her gauntlet-clad arm as demonstratoin. "Can help me fix it permanently. I'll be gone for a little bit."

Radar immediately looked anxious. "G-gone, but- Jesse- what about Beacontown? Founding Day is right around the corner and and if it's really, in-in-in danger who will protect everyone? There's no telling what could happen!" He squeaked tugging at his hair a little bit. "And I have so few details, I am very nervous about this-"

Jesse set her hands on his shoulder, being careful not to press down too hard and jolting him out of his little nervous rant. "Why don't you try leading them, pal?" she asked, softly.

"What?" Radar asked, an excited smile coming over his face. "Me?! That's- this is-!"

"Try not to explode," Petra interjected quietly, but she was interrupted by an excited squeal as the young man threw his arms into the air, beaming.

Petra facepalmed again, while Jace gave a slow, playful roll of his eyes. Cassie just hid a small smile. She could see why Olivia found this guy so cute. (In a platonic sense, since Olivia was technically, like, 10 years older than he was.)

"Jesse." Radar adopted a more serious manner, giving his 'boss' an even look. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," Jesse said softly, giving him an encouraging smile.

Radar perked up, saluting to her with an excited grin. Behind him, Jack grinned a little bit. "Good luck, boss! Beacontown will be waiting for you when you get back." Radar turned to leave, but happened to move in the direction Jack was facing. The older man grinned and made a sort of intimidating stance, making the boy yelp and start back. "Gah!"

He recomposed himself. "Um. Goodbye." And he started walking out of the hall.

Jesse shot Jack a look, a smirk playing on her lips. "Was that really necessary, Jack?"

"Nah, but it was funny. You said it, though. Can't believe that's your assistant."

"Intern," Jesse softly corrected.

"He's more wound up than a pack of parrots with a jukebox. Or a... creeper in a herd of cats. Or a... squid in a, I don't- a box or someth- I anyway, he's real nervous is what I'm saying," Jack said quickly, gesturing in Radar's direction.

Jesse gave a shrug, smiling after the young man who was her intern. "Eh, we were all kids once. He's a little nuts... but his heart's in the right place."

The door came to a grinding halt behind them as Jack glanced over his shoulder, Radar disappearing behind the massive door. "If you say so." And he gave her a grin to show he meant no harm. "So... where's this armor of yours?"

Jesse turned and started leading them down the carpet, Jack looking around at all the things on the wall and the stuff floating on the pedestals. "Oh wow. You've got some pretty cool stuff here. Stuff I've never-"

Petra grinned at the rest of the Order, all of them grinning back a bit as the redhead started doing a little dance as they walked along.

"- er... probably only seen, y'know, once or twice."

Nurm gave his friend a grin as well.

"Not as cool as MY stuff, obviously, but, you're well on your way," Jack continued, continuing to look around at all the treasures. "Definitely on your way to becoming a big hero like me. Not as big of course, but, uh, y'know. A real- real great swing."

Jesse held up all of her hands except for one that was keeping Reuben from toppling straight off her back in the direction of her friends. "It's just like I always say: couldn't have done it without my friends."

Petra, Jace, Cassie, and Reuben all grinned (or beamed, in Reuben's case) at her and returned her high-five cheerfully as Jack gave a sort of wistful chuckle. "Yeah. Friends are the best. Love..." His voice faltered a bit. "Having friends..."

Now Jesse felt bad again.

They walked up the stairs, Petra looking around and quirking her brow a bit. "Hey, wait- is this not where you keep your armor anymore?" she asked, frowning a little bit.

Jack glanced around. "Yeah, I'm not seeing any armor..."

"Oh, nah." Cassie grinned, exchanging an excited look with the others. "Olivia and I decided to install a little upgrade while she was in town. Jesse, would you like to do the honors?"

"Hmm, I've done it a few times during the test stage. I think I'll let Reuben have a go." Jesse reached behind her and lifted the pig hybrid over her head, holding him out so that he could reach the lever without having to jump up. "Ready, kiddo?"

Reuben beamed and reached up, grabbing ahold of the lever and slamming it down.

"Initiating Armor-Up Sequence," Olivia's voice intoned, and immediately a glass panel in the floor slid aside to allow one of the suits of armor to rise out of the floor. And then another. And slowly, the other armors began to rise up too, a loud mechanical grinding drowning out all sound for a bit.

"Pfft... yeah, I've got one of those too," Jack said, but he was obviously staring wide-eyed at the whole thing, a fascinated expression on his face. Petra's eyes were wide as she goggled at the whole thing as well, gold eyes glowing with admiration.

Jesse chuckled a bit, stepping over to the armor and glancing over at Jace and Cassie. "You guys should probably pick the normal ones. Reuben, none of these fit you, so you're going to have to just wear the armor you have on now."

"Okey!" the little pig hybrid beamed. I'm fairly certain he was just glad to come along.

Jesse smirked a bit, strolling over to behind the main display of armor and pulling out an older-looking set that looked a bit more battered and worn. With a quick dusting, she pulled it into the light.

And there it was. The old armor Ivor had designed specifically for her, looking just as it had the day she'd first seen it, albeit with a few more scratches and dents.

Jesse glanced back at Cassie and Jace, both of whom were standing in front of their own respective sets. Cassie was standing in front of the Adamantine Impervium armor. She grinned when she saw Jesse raising her eyebrow with a small grin at the red-haired girl. "Y'know, I always was pretty sure this was one of Ivor's favorite sets."

Jesse and Petra glanced at each other, an amused grin quirking over their faces. "Honestly," Petra began.

"I think Dad just liked the name," Jesse finished, the two of them high-fiving flawlessly without even looking at each other. At this point, they knew each other that well. Just like how Jace and Jesse had their mental 'twin' thing going on, Jesse had an almost psychic connection with a ton of her oldest friends. It was almost funny.

Jace poked the Tim armor, giving Jesse a sheepish look when she smirked at him. "I mean, this is some really nice armor. Diamonds, gold... I don't really agree with Hadrian or Mevia much, but, seriously- they went all out on this armor."

"Yeah, a lot of hype for a guy who didn't even exist," Cassie mumbled, reaching over and gently tapping the armor. "I actually think this armor would suit you, Jace."

Jace grinned, tail starting to wag a bit. (Petra scowled a bit at that for some reason.) "Well, it's a loss for the nonexistent guy and a win for me."

The spider hybrid allowed a smirk to sneak over her face. "Well... let's get suited up, then," she said lightly, gently lifting Reuben down to the floor (to the pig hybrid's slight disappointment.)

She lifted the armor off the stand, quickly pulling it on in a single fluid motion. She tugged up all the gloves from the lowest set of arms up, giving them a good tug so they stuck to her arms. Hopping into the boots quickly, she gave them a quick shake as she flipped her hair out of the armor.

Glancing over at Jace, the boy was giving a slight grin to his sister as he tried to figure out how his tail would work out, but otherwise he looked quite impressive. Cassie looked pretty good too, the red-haired girl's, uh, hair complementing the outfit she had on.

The former White Pumpkin was now adjusting her glasses as she set the cat on the ground, disentangling Winslow from her shoulders. "No, you can't come, kitty..."

The quiet rumbling of a piston alerted Jesse to one last minor detail. Turning smoothly on the spot, she walked over to the enchanted diamond swords that were set in an interlocked state and slowly rotating in place on the last pedestal, which had just risen into place. In a fluid, effortless motion, Jesse flicked the two swords out of place and twirled them into place on her back, turning on her heel as she sheathed them neatly.

Even as she casually walked back over to her friends, she couldn't help the smirk growing on her lips.

It was good to be back.


A/N: Ahh, this was a fun chapter to write, but I don't think I did a good job at the end.

AH WELL xD

Fun fact: Jesse's personality is based a little off of the actual Jesse's and a little off of my own personality. I'm way too nice for my own good sometimes. xD

ALSO EPISODE 2 IS GONNA BE OUT AUGUST 15!

UM

YAY!

Responses to reviews!

NoItsBecky: No spoilers. :) / No spoilers, but I will say you missed one of the things in the code.

Rabbits rule: ... I see.

Boggie445: (laughs) That will be a very interesting moment, I agree.

LunarTheMooncake: (chokes) (starts laughing) / I don't know, dude, I'm not your computer xD / No spoilers. x3 / Uh, yep. xD

EmLee: Hehehe, indeed. And yeah, that was a fun moment to picture for me. I might try drawing it sometime. / (laughs) Yeahhh, it was not one of his better moments. / Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it. I actually usually update really fast, but for some reason I got kinda out of it these past few weeks.

TheAmberShadow: (shrugs) Cool. / (chuckles) / (laughs) Yes, little kids are indeed weird. And oh really, how old is he? / Who? (Dr. Trayaurus, not DanTDM lol xD) / No, it was not on the phone. / (grins)

Toni42: Mmhm. / Yeahh, I felt really bad for him. At least he got Vos back :3 / Thanks, Toni-kun!

Emily The Avenger: Nice! I don't think I even had to hint at it for you x3

MooncakeT: Nope, nothing to do with Phantasmagoria whatsoever. Completely wrong universe.

S4SH4L4SH4theGaMeR101: He was just saying that to tell Jack "she is mine, go away." But I'm not gonna say if they're actually engaged or not.

AquaK13: (laughs) / I'm not saying anything~ / It's worse than being a 'total ass', tbh. / Yep! / Yeah, spicy food is still pretty lit though. xD

Infernius Flashfire: (laughs) / (LAUGHS)

RandomFangirl: Yep! And I know it wasn't difficult, but you'd be surprised how few other people got it.

Welp, that's all for this time, I think! See ya, sayonara, and g'bye!

x.X. A.L. X.x.