Review Replies:

Japan AMERICUH: Heh, yeah, I'm alive, don't worry.

Bendu the Dancing Demun: Hey! So glad you're loving this story as much as I'm loving writing it ::D I'm not really a shippy person, although I do have a few favourites, and while I have nothing against Jetra, I just like sibling-relationships better. There's no Aidesse (that's AidenxJesse) or Lukesse in this, although I think you might just be referring to their relationships platonically. If so, I love writing those too! Oh, and the AidenxCassie ship is Aidassie or Cassaiden. I am seriously considering kicking out the YouTubers, as much as I love them, but I won't decide anything until the actual end of season two and I know exactly who's coming in and who's not. And thanks! I appreciate your patience. Don't worry, I'll be extra cautious with what I say about season two.

snort: *bats stick weakly* Nooooooo.

To other Authors: Oh, uh, are you okay? I would PM you, but you're a Guest and... yeah... well, I am a caring person. You can always message me whenever you want, okay? If not, then at least accept this chapter.

Chocobo5000: Heh, well, welcome back!

: Damn, I hate mistakes like that.

Guest: Thank you! You have no idea how happy it makes me to know I lit up your summer ::D Here's your chapter, sorry it took so long!

BionicFemme: Thanks so much!

MowsTrap: Haha, yeah, I do plan to go into season two! Although this could mean getting rid of some of the current guests to fit in new ones, but I'm not deciding anything officially until I've played all of the season two episodes, just so I know how many new characters there'll be. So glad you're loving this story, here's your chapter!

Guest: Heh, thanks. I like Jesskas too (Lukesse is with girl Jesse, Jesskas is with boy Jesse, a helpful fact), but their relationship in this particular story is entierly platonic. Of course, you could always just pretend that I'm hinting, but I'm afraid it won't be going any deeper.

the indecesive bird: Aw, thanks!

TheAmberShadow: Aiden's got his ways. I don't think Hadrian and Mevia would go far as to actually tortured her, but I think they might have tormented her or something. Lock her out at night and stuff like that. And yes, it was, technically, the animals.

TheLion: Your cat can read minds.

GrayRay: But, hey, look! You have, indeed, written a review! Whooo! Haha, thanks, I'm glad I did okay on the anxiety attack ::D

kdhorserider: I've had an anxiety attack myself, but only once and I've never seen it happen to other people. I have, however, read about anxiety/panic attacks and stories where a character has one. So thanks! Although I think I might have done better had it been from Cassie's perspective, because that's how I usually read them.

The Bronipegusisters Studio: Haha, yeah, where's the ring, Aiden? XXD I'm not claustrophobic myself, but I can definitely see why there are people who freak out in small spaces. Yay, character development and bonding! Whoo!

purplemint64: Wow, thanks! I always like getting people into stuff they weren't interested in before (fandom wise, anyway). And Cassie had an anxiety attack. A panic attack is random and unexpected, sometimes happening without reason, at least that's what I've read. I'm not exactly an expect, although I have read a lot about anxiety/panic attacks. So glad you liked the previous chapter, hope you like this one too!

LunarTheMooncake: Yay, Harry Potter! I'm in Ravenclaw ::3

TheSilentFury: Who ever said the animals were the ones to lock them in? *wink, wink*

Jesseromaeve: Damn, that sucks. I really hope you get better soon, you don't deserve that. That's actuall a really intesteting (and, as you said, sad) backstory, but Jesse didn't change his name or anything. Jason is still his name, Jesse's just a nickname that Axel and Olivia gave him for a reason that will, eventually, be explained. Still a really good backstory, though. Hope you start feeling better soon, friend!

Ariza Luca: Yaaaay, Cassaiden!

Wow. Okay. Two pages of reviews. 870 reviews in total. 54 chapters. This is by far the longest story I've ever written, and the most reviews I've ever gotten. You have no idea how amazing that is.


Movie Mode

Episode Six: A Portal to Mystery

Part Fifty-Four: Freedom's Calling


It felt like forever before the closet door opened to Jesse's wide eyed gaze, but in reality, it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes, half an hour at the most. The boy didn't question him as he helped a trembling Cassie out into the hall, to which Aiden was grateful.

"Do you want me to get Ivor?" Jesse asked, quietly enough so that only Aiden could hear, "He can give her a calming potion."

Silently, Aiden nodded. A calming potion sounded like just the thing Cassie needed.

Jesse nodded back, before he vanished around the corner in search of the potionologist. Aiden helped Cassie down the corridor, in the opposite direction Jesse had gone, towards the library.

He wasn't sure why, but the room had become a sort of safe haven for him, despite his poor reading abilities. The library was almost always quiet, and while many of the bookworms spent every break they had in there, Aiden had claimed a small secluded corner as his own. He was left alone in the library.

It was in this very same secluded corner, in a double seat beneath an arc of bookshelves against the far wall, that he sat Cassie. The girl swallowed, face a pasty pale, and pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Silently, Aiden sat next to her, being careful not to touch her even though all he wanted to do was pull her against his chest in a hug.

Jesse came back a few minutes later with Ivor in tow. The potionologist took one look at Cassie and dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out a sky blue potion and shoving it into her trembling hands, "Drink."

Cassie hesitated for only a moment, before she downed the potion. Wiping her mouth, she handed the bottle back to Ivor and curled into a ball, resting her chin on her knees. The trembling began to lessen.

The door opened, and Aiden's head snapped towards it. He blinked, frowning at the ginger architect that had appeared in its frame. Soren glanced at him, Jesse and Ivor, before promptly ignoring them and making his way up to Cassie, who seemed to be beginning to calm some. The architect's expression made Aiden blink in surprise; he looked worried.

"Are you alright?" Soren asked, voice surprisingly soft. Cassie looked up at him, nodding slowly.

"Y-Yeah," she cleared her throat, "I'm good."

Soren shifted, as though he were about to put his hand on her shoulder, but seemed to decide against it. Awkwardly, he dropped his hand back to his side, hesitated, then turned to Aiden.

"What happened?"

"We got locked in the closet," he explained, trying to hide his surprise at the man's concern for someone he'd just met (he almost snorted; he was one to talk), "She, uh, panicked."

"Claustrophobia," said Jesse in realisation. It wasn't really a question, but Aiden nodded anyway.

Ivor looked from Jesse to Soren to Cassie to Aiden, then snorted, turned on his heel and marched out of the library, muttering something Aiden didn't catch. Jesse blinked after him, lip between his teeth.

"You sure you're okay, Cassie?" he asked, after a moment. Cassie looked almost as though he'd just given her an electric shock, eyes wide behind her glasses. When she didn't say anything, Jesse shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting to where Ivor had vanished through the door.

"I'll, uh..." he cleared his throat, "I'll be going, then."

He hesitated, looking from Aiden to Cassie, before turning around and following after Ivor. They watched him leave, the door closing softly behind him.

An almost awkward silence came upon them. Cassie and Soren were looking anywhere but at each other, Aiden's eyes snapping between them.

"Okay," he muttered, after a moment, "Do you two... know each other?"

"No."

"Yes."

Cassie and Soren blinked at each other, startled, before they turned back to Aiden.

"Yes."

"No."

Aiden's frown deepened, "Uh... alright."

A faint tint of pink covered Cassie's cheeks. She turned her head away.

"I'll, uh," Soren cleared his throat, "I- I do believe Gabriel had, uh, had asked for my assistance," he glanced away, "So..."

"It's fine," Cassie said, a little too quickly. Something odd flashed across Soren's face.

The architect was silent for a moment. Then he sighed, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder and giving it an almost comforting squeeze. He pulled away not a moment later and vanished through the doorway.

"What was that about?" asked Aiden. Cassie shook her head.

"Not important."

He raised an eyebrow at her, not buying it. She wouldn't look at him. Aiden sighed.

"Alright."


In all honesty, Jesse wasn't surprised when Aiden argued at the suggestion of Cassie being kept in her makeshift cell while they continued with the episodes. The boy fought tooth and nail, and was somehow able to convince them to let her stay, as long as she was kept away from any potential weapons and kept under a watchful eye.

Jesse himself didn't trust Cassie, but he didn't hate her, per say. Lizzie, Sparklez, Stacy, Dan and Stampy had, understandably, been rather upset when they agreed to let Cassie stay. Lizzie and Stacy had stormed away, while Dan and Stampy attempted to console a terribly pale Sparklez.

He spotted Aiden saying something to Maya and Gill. The two seemed reluctant, but nodded, Maya saying something back. Aiden left them on the couch, dragging what had been Milo's armchair over to Cassie's, where he sat next to her. She sent him a shaky smile, but it was quick to fall from her lips as she turned away. Aiden sent her a concerned glance, but said nothing of it. Winslow curled up in his owner's lap, purring loudly as she tangled her fingers in his fur.

Jesse joined his friends on the floor, ignoring how they were sending the redhead weary looks, while Petra was outright glaring. Axel was sitting to the far left, acting as a human barrier between Cassie and his friends. Behind him, Magnus snatched up the remote and jabbed it at the screen.

It came back on to show Stacy standing next to a seated, purple-haired Dan, as behind them Jesse, Petra and Stampy exited the secret passage. They turned to face them, Stampy glancing at Jesse, "I'll go round everyone up."

With that, he ran ahead and vanished down the stairs. Stacy and Dan watched him go with raised eyebrows.

"What's going on?" asked Stacy.

"Yeah," said Dan, as they moved to stand in front of the two, "You were gone an awful long time. What's going on here?"

The real Stacy scowled, crossing her arms and sending Cassie a not all that concealed glare. Dan curled his fingers around Stampy's, giving it a comforting squeeze. The other boy squeezed back.

"Did you even find anything?" Stacy questioned.

"We found the White Pumpkin's lair," Jesse explained, hands going to his hips. Behind him, Petra crossed her arms. "Right beneath us."

"What?" Stacy gasped, sharing a startled look with Dan, "Really?"

"Yup," muttered Petra.

"Yeah," their heads snapped towards the stairs so fast their hair whipped, Cassie appearing with an almost blank look on her face, Winslow at her feet, "Very interesting."

The real Jesse squeaked when Axel's arm wrapped around him, having been too invested in the screen to anticipate it. He loved his friend, but he was seriously wondering if he should have sat on the other side of the blanket instead.

Onscreen, Jesse's eyes slipped over to the open secret passageway, a sore thumb against the wall. His eyes hardened as they returned to Cassie.

"No sign of Cassie," Stampy said, abruptly reappearing, "But-" he squeaked upon spotting the redhead directly in front of him, jumping back and almost tumbling down the stairs. Lukas and Ivor appeared behind him.

"I hope this goes down well," Ellegaard muttered, only loud enough for the original Order to hear, "Who knows what she's capable of outside her traps?"

Magnus gave a quiet snort, "She's probably useless at fighting. All brains and no brawn, know what I mean?"

"Don't be so quick to underestimate her," Ivor hissed, "You saw what she did to Reginald."

"Ivor makes a fair point," Gabriel hummed, "They may still be in tremendous danger."

Soren bit his lip, looking away. Ivor raised a small eyebrow in his direction.

Cassie had, almost accidentally, ended up in the middle of a small circle. Her face was still mostly blank, nothing but a small eyebrow raised as she regarded them. Jesse took a step forward.

"Are you going to tell them?" he asked, "Or should I just do it?"

Almost terrifyingly convincing, Cassie crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one foot, and gave Jesse a deadpan stare, "I've got no idea what you're talking about."

"We'll see about that," muttered Lukas, eyes narrowing on the screen. Jesse glanced at him from where he was squished against Axel's side.

"Jesse," said Petra, voice hard and arms crossed, "Go on."

"Is this going," Ivor said, the gears in his brain spinning as he stroked his beard, "Where I think this is going?"

"Probably," answered the real Ivor, earning an amused look from Gabriel.

"Well, Jesse?" prodded Cassie, ignoring the potionologist. Jesse shook his head.

"Go on, Cassie," he said, "Tell them."

Stacy shared a look with Dan, frowning, "Tell us what?"

"It sounds like Jesse's trying to make you think that I'm the White Pumpkin," declared Cassie, as though the mere idea was preposterous. Although no one voiced it, the audience couldn't help but think of how terrifyingly good she was as this.

Maya glanced at Aiden, then Cassie. As though it had abruptly decided it wanted to be a rock, Maya's heart dropped to her stomach. She knew Aiden liked her, and had suspected- before it turned out she was the White Pumpkin- that Cassie had liked him back, but now...

She was just too good an actress. Maya couldn't tell when she was lying or telling the truth.

She just hoped Aiden didn't get hurt in the crossfire.

"That's impossible," Dan declared, shaking his head and giving a small laugh, as though he were waiting for someone to jump out and say this was all a big joke, "No way. Nooo way."

The real Dan suddenly found himself unable to look at the screen. His heart was tight in his chest, his grip on Stampy's hand white-knuckled and possibly bruising, but he couldn't bring himself to loosen his grip. Stampy's own knuckles were starting to turn white as well, and, at the back of his mind, Dan registered his nails pricking his skin.

He couldn't bring himself to care.

"Yeah, Jesse," said Cassie, arms still defensively crossed, "I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that. Look at the facts: we caught Lukas with that pumpkin head," the screen momentarily switched to Lukas and Ivor, the former wincing at the reminder and the latter shaking his head, almost glaring at the accused redhead, "Right before poor Lizzie was taken out."

Lizzie grimaced, face going a few shades whiter. Stacy sent her a worried glance, wondering if Dan still had that spare bucket on him in case the other girl threw up. She certainly looked like she was about to.

Onscreen, Cassie walked out from the semi-circle that had been formed around her, standing by the couches as Winslow jumped up onto a bush to be head-level with her, "I think they're just lying to protect him."

"This again?" scowled Petra.

"Cassie's making a lot of sense right now," Dan said, Jesse doing that thing where one arm was crossed over his chest while his other tapped his bottom lip beside him, "Do you have any evidence to back you up?"

"At least someone's keeping a level head," muttered Isa. Reginald nodded in agreement.

"There's something that's been bothering me for a while now," Jesse admitted, starting to pace in a small circle, the others gathered around him, watching, "Something that happened in the Great Hall shortly after TorqueDawg was hit with that trap."

Olivia blinked, "Really? You never mentioned anything bothering you."

"When does he ever?" asked Lukas, just loud enough for Jesse to catch it. He wisely decided to ignore him.

"What's that?" asked Cassie.

"Go on, Jesse," said Lukas, giving his friend a reassuring smile, "You've got this."

"Where is this going?" Stacy asked.

"Sh," Ivor hushed her, "Let Jesse finish."

Magnus gave a small snort, keeping his voice low so only Ellegaard could hear, "He sounds like a teacher or something."

Ellegaard's lips twitched, "I think it's something a little more than that."

He shot her a questioning look, but the engineer simply shook her head, still smiling, and gestured to the screen.

Onscreen, Jesse came to a stop in front of Cassie, finally ceasing his walking in a circle, "Cassie Rose was already in the room. No one else there. And TorqueDawg's picture was somehow crossed. out."

Stacy and Dan's eyes widened at the declaration. Their heads snapped to Cassie, who scrambled to reply, "That- That doesn't prove anything!" she jabbed a finger at the blonde they'd decided to lock in a closet earlier, "Lukas is still way more guilty looking!"

"A bit quick to reply there, wasn't she?" muttered Gabriel. Ivor nodded in agreement. Soren very carefully kept his eyes on the screen.

"Well," said Jesse, starting to do his pace-in-a-circle thing again, "What about what came next?"

"Huh?" Maya blinked, "What came next?"

"The..." Petra cocked her head to the side, brow furrowed, "Interrogations?"

"Secret passageways?" Isa suggested.

"When we were down in the basement, we found some very interesting items."

"Oh, nevermind," said Isa.

"Items for the White Pumpkins evening..." Jesse paused in front of Cassie again, probably trying to think of the right word, "Festivities."

Hadrian snorted at the word choice. Otto shushed him.

"And there was one," he was back to pacing, "Very significant detail."

"There was?" asked Milo. Then, blinking, "Oh, yeah, there was."

"What was this evidence?" asked Lukas, more to himself than Jesse.

"Sh," Petra, this time, hushed him, "I think Jesse's about to tell everyone."

"Why is everyone sushing everyone?" whispered Axel, as though afraid someone would sush him. Jesse shrugged, lips twitching.

"The White Pumpkin had portraits all read to go, pre-X'd out," Jesse explained, "One for each of us..." he came to a stop, eyes hard, and pointed an accusing finger at the redhead, "Except for Cassie."

Gasps erupted around the room. Ivor looked as though he'd just read a massive plot twist, "Ooh, that's good." Petra, grinning and arms crossed, nodded in agreement.

"You're doing great, Jesse," she whispered to him, "Now go in for the kill," she faltered, "Metaphorically."

Magnus snorted, "I like how you have to actually tell him not to kill her."

It wasn't intended to be vicious, but the words made Cassie flinch anyway. Aiden gnawed nervously on his lip. It was Jesse. The most merciful guy he's ever met.

He wouldn't kill her. Punish, yes, but not kill.

Right?

"But it was the last piece of evidence, dear friends" Jesse continued, after giving Petra a small nod as he continued his circle, "That helped me really figure out who we were dealing with here."

"Oh?" hummed Otto, intrigued. He considered, briefly, if he should add something like a murder mystery to the games, but, glancing at Soren, Lizzie and Sparklez, decided against it.

"Cats," declared Jesse, as Winslow cleaned himself off to the side, "Dozens of calico cats. And they all look just..." hard eyes met Cassie's green- almost strangely red- ones, "Like," he came to a stop in front of her, "Winslow."

A heavy silence came upon the room, as tense as the strings of a guitar. It was as though they were underwater, no one daring to breathe. Suffocating, to the extent of dizziness, hearts tight in their chests and backs so straight you'd think metal rods had replaced their spines.

No one breathed.

Glancing at Winslow, onscreen Cassie inched to the side so that she blocked him from view, face as passive as always, an almost blank mask that could have been mistaken for calmness, "An amusing story, Jesse. But if you saw all these supposed cats just like mine... then what colour is Winslow?"

Simultaneously, as though they were one, the audiences heads turned to the calico cat nestled in Cassie's lap. He didn't seem to notice their stares, chest rising steadily with each breath, curled into a loose ball with his owner's fingers buried in his mismatched fur.

Jesse shared a look with his friends. It was a bit of a desperate move on Cassie's part, her whole murderer secret resting on Jesse remembering the colour of her cat. Surely even if Jesse doesn't give them the right answer, they'd just be able to take them down in the lair to show them.

But that would waste a lot of time, and who knows if they'd even be willing to go with them? Cassie would probably find a way to place the blame on Lukas again, or even Jesse himself, or all four of them.

No. They had to convince them.

"Shouldn't be a problem if you saw a hundred."

"Cats?" said Lukas, slowly, looking as though he couldn't believe this was where their current topic of conversation was going, "Really?"

"Sh!" Ivor hissed. Lukas defensively held up his hands, almost flinching away in surprise.

Honestly, Magnus was snorting a lot during these things. Ellegaard shushing him in an almost exact replica of Ivor's onscreen shushing almost made him burst out laughing.

Onscreen, Jesse crossed his arms, "Winslow is black, white and orange."

Eyes, having at some point drifted back to the screen, once more snapped towards the cat in Cassie's lap. Axel couldn't keep the grin off his face when he realised Jesse was right. Soren swallowed bile and closed his eyes.

Cassie stepped away, revealing her cat as he licked at his white paw with an equally white mouth, the left side of his face orange, while the right side black. Stacy and Dan looked at each other, eyes wide.

Then Dan's eyes narrowed, jaw clenching as he crossed his arms to send his once-friend a hateful glare. Stacy stepped forwards, face desperate, begging, voice almost cracking, "Cassie... is this all true?"

The real Stacy closed her eyes, because yes. Yes, it is. And she was just too stupid to see it.

"This whole thing," said Jesse, stepping up so that he was almost right in Cassie's face, who's blank mask was starting to crumble, "Has been about your crazy scheme to get a portal key, hasn't it? Killing whoever gets in your way!"

His voice was creeping on the verges of a shout by the end. He was glaring, a heated glare that was hardly ever on his face, the one that he only reserved for those that truly deserved it.

Lukas bit the inside of his cheek. He's been seeing that glare in these episodes far more than he liked.

Everyone was glaring at Cassie now. Dan, Stacy and Stampy looked as though someone had stabbed them just short of the heart and left them to bleed to death. Ivor, Lukas and Petra looked victorious, almost smug.

Jesse didn't smirk. He didn't tilt his head to the side and tell her she was a monster. He didn't draw his sword and run her through like an annoying zombie that had come too close to the gate.

His face was hard, his glare heated, and yet void of hatred.

Aiden shook his head. Only Jesse would ever be able to pull something like that off.

Onscreen, Cassie's eyes darted to the side, before darting back to meet Jesse's. She looked panicked, scared, like a trapped ocelot about to run. Then the expression melted from her face like snow next to glowstone, her muscles relaxing, that blank, blank, blank sheet of paper that covered her face (or was that just her face?) back in place.

Panicked red dulled to blank green, never looking away from the heated glare that turned to surprised, wide eyed green. Cassie raised her hands, slowly, and began to clap. A slow mantra that was so loud it hurt their ears, goosebumps prickling upon skin.

Abruptly, Soren realised he couldn't breathe.

"How very clever, Jesse," said Cassie, voice as dead as her dead, dead eyes. Faces were paling, both onscreen and offscreen, a chill settling in the room despite the sun's ever beaming gaze from the window.

"Well, I guess that's it, then," Cassie said, as though commenting on the weather, turning around so that her back was to them, "You caught me. I am the murderer."

Lightning flashed and thunder cackled, casting Cassie's blank face in shadows. She shifted her weight to one foot, crossing her arms, back still to the people who had up until this point considered her their friends.

"I just don't believe this," Stacy muttered.

"I know," Stampy said in a hushed voice, as though they were kids talking in class when they weren't supposed to- or maybe because he was afraid Ivor would shush him, "I was shocked too."

"I'm relieved," Lukas admitted, "But... also surprised."

"Always the quiet ones," Ivor muttered.

Magnus glanced at him, registering at the back of his mind that he was holding Ellegaard in a death grip. Although that wasn't to say she was holding on to him just as tightly.

"So," he chuckled; it sounded forced, even to his own ears, "Does that mean you're a murderer too."

Ellegaard dug her elbow into his ribs.

"But what did any of us ever do to you?" Jesse asked. Cassie turned around, face still terrifyingly blank, and shrugged, as though he'd just asked her if she thought it was going to rain today.

"Directly? Nothing," she said, "But you idiots had the one thing I most desperately needed," she moved so that she was in Jesse's face, so close their noses were almost brushing. She was taller than him by at least three inches, and Jesse's back straightened almost unconsciously.

"Axel," Jesse muttered, as his friend's grip on him, once more, became rather painful and, well, breathtaking wasn't exactly the wrong word. However, Axel seemed to have gone temporarily deaf.

Then, all at once, the blank sheet of paper was gone. Cassie's face twisted, eyes flashing red, and was abruptly out of Jesse's personal space entirely, "I've been stuck in this stupid world, with its stupid two moons," she spat the word as though it were a swear, briefly getting in Stampy's face, who flinched away before she marched away, "For years! Trapped. With a portal right under my nose but no key to open it."

She passed Stacy and Dan, meeting their glares head on, before returning to her previous position. She'd circled Jesse, as discreet as it was, and no matter how unintentional it seemed, Petra couldn't help clenching her jaw.

"That is," Cassie continued, "Until I finally heard that this worlds portal key had been found," she turned, facing them again, the anger gone and replaced, once more, by the blasted, blank sheet of paper, "I knew it was one of you. So I tried my best to earn your friendship. Figure out who had it."

"You've been planning this."

It was said so quietly that, had the room not been so deathly silent, no one would have heard it. Cassie turned, slowly, to meet the gaze of a pale faced Capitan Sparklez. He looked sick, as though he were about to fall over at the weakest burst of wind. Something settled on Cassie's chest, something that weighed about a thousand pounds, but when she looked down there was nothing there.

"You've been planning this from the moment we met you," Sparklez said, taking a deep, shaky breath. His friends shot him looks of concern, and Stacy put a steadying hand on his shoulder. "From the moment you came to my party and- and shook my hand-"

He gasped, as though he couldn't breathe, eyes glistening. Cassie tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Cassie, how could you?" Dan asked, eyes wide with disbelief, "We shared cookies together!" he looked at Jesse, as though the meer thought was gut-wrenching (it was, when you think about it), "Cookies!"

"You really think that's an excuse?" asked Jesse, hands moving to his hips as he and Cassie glared at each other, "You're pathetic, Cassie. It doesn't excuse all the horrible things you've done."

The real Cassie tore her eyes from the screen, blinking rapidly. She knew.

By god, she knew.

"Spoken just like a person who has no idea what it feels like to be stuck somewhere you don't belong!" Cassie snapped.

"They're trying to get home too, you know," whispered Aiden, the redhead stiffening next to him, "Jesse would've helped you."

"He's not the only one to pass through," Cassie whispered back. Aiden waited for her to elaborate. She didn't.

"We need to do something with you, Cassie Rose," said Stacy, saying her name almost mockingly, like it was an insult, or a lie itself. Maybe she was questioning everything- even her so-called 'friends' name.

She was a good enough liar, after all.

"I vote we build an obsidian prison and surround it with lava!" declared Stampy. The real Cassie's breath hitched in time with onscreen Winslow's sudden hiss.

"No, no, no, no," Cassie chanted, trembling as she backed away from him, terror flashing across her blank sheet of paper, "I won't let you do that- I can't- no!"

"Cassie," Soren whispered, heart clenching. Ivor glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

The murderer's head snapped towards Jesse, a look of pure hatred crossing her face, "This is all your fault!" she screamed, "You did this to me!"

Jesse gasped involuntarily, a small intake of breath that was a lot louder than he was comfortable with. Reuben twisted in his arms to look at him, snorting with big, concerned eyes. Axel's arm tightened around him, smothering half his face in the other boy's side. His friends were sending him worried, wide eyed looks.

"Jess?" Axel murmured, bowing his head slightly so he was closer to his friends face, "You okay?"

He tried to answer, but his tongue wouldn't respond. Jesse snapped his mouth shut and nodded, throat tight. His friends shared a look.

Onscreen, the group of seven was slowly advancing on Cassie. Winslow hopped down from the chair and dashed out of sight with a meow as his owner backed away, face contorting in her rage. Cassie reached over her shoulder and drew her axe, enchanted diamond casting a faint blue glow on her fact, held in both hands and raised in front of her. Jesse drew his own sword in response, his own enchantment more of a blue-purple, where as Cassie's had a white tint.

"I'll fight all of you!" Cassie declared, almost hysterically, still backing away, "Each and every one of you! I'll-" she gasped, as the rug beneath her fell away, arms flaying as she fell, although a firm hold remained on her axe. Not a moment later, sand fell from the ceiling, burying her.

Sparklez's face, impossibly, went a few shades paler, mouth popping open and eyes so wide they didn't look like they belonged on his head. Aiden gasped, on the edge of his seat, coming very close to leaping out of it. Soren froze, heart stopping and breath catching. Isa covered her mouth, hand tight around Milo's. Otto and Mevia's mouths were wide open, their eyes meeting. Hadrian leant forwards.

"Another trap!" yelled Stampy, already by the wall of sand, fingers digging into the grains, "Come on, we need to dig her out!"

Dan and Lukas were already doing the same, Ivor and Petra nowhere in sight. Stacy scowled, "After everyone she's hurt?" she scoffed, turning away and crossing her arms, "She can dig herself out."

"Stacy!" gasped Stampy, "She'll- She'll die!"

Stacy glared at the floor, "Maybe she should."

Cassie flinched so hard Winslow jumped, raising his head and meowing blearily. Aiden ground his teeth, not wanting to glare at Stacy and reluctantly settling with glaring at the screen.

Stampy's mouth opened and closed. Dan placed a hand on his shoulder. After a moment, the boy sighed and slumped against the purple-haired guy's side.

"She did terrible things," Dan said, digging alongside Stampy, "But no one deserves this!"

Jesse glanced at Stacy, before shaking his head and rushing over to the dwindling pile of sand. Gloved fingers clawed at the grains, digging, digging, digging, until Jesse suddenly came to a halt, eyes widening.

From the remaining sand rose an arrow, a lever- Stampy and Dan stopped too, the boy with the cat hoodie gasping as he jabbed a finger at the floor, "Wait, look!"

The diggers straightened, Petra and Ivor running over. An Ender Pearl, a pufferfish, a small pile of redstone dust- they hadn't finished digging.

"Oh my god," muttered Maya.

Aiden shook his head, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. He reached over the small space between the two armchairs and pulled a stock-still Cassie into a bone-crushing hug, her blank face shifting into one of surprise. Perhaps she would have returned the hug, had her arms not been pinned to her sides, although she told herself otherwise. Winslow raised his head, annoyed.

Soren swallowed thickly, blinking rapidly. He ducked his head, ignoring Ivor's eyes drilling into the side of his head, and had to resist the urge to leap to his feet and pull his- the girl into a hug similar to the one Aiden was giving her.

She was dead. She was going to die.

He could have done something.

"I can't believe it," murmured Stampy, "She's gone."

"What a way to go," said Ivor, tilting his head to the side. Petra let out a long breath.

"Yeah. Guess in all the chaos she... forgot where her own traps where. Wow."

Hadrian had a slight frown on his brow. His eyes flickered from the screen to Cassie, still getting her bones crushed by Aiden. Odd. How very, very odd.

He couldn't see her axe.

"That's awful," Lukas whispered.

Cassie's eyes darted over to the real Lukas, shock making them widen. Why was he... she'd tried to accuse him of murder. She'd locked him in a closet. She would have killed him without a second thought- was planning to kill him from the moment she spotted him from the window.

What the hell was wrong with him?

"Poor Cassie," Jesse sighed, "She did some terrible things... but no one deserves to be trapped away from home like that."

Aiden pulled away, looking almost as surprised as Cassie herself. The girl was gaping at the boy as though he'd grown two- no, four heads. And maybe a few extra pairs of arms. And eyes.

Hadrian's eyes glinted almost curiously. Otto glanced over at him, dread spreading through his chest. Mevia was very carefully keeping her eyes on the screen.

Gabriel huffed a small laugh, nudging Ellegaard and gesturing with his head over to Ivor. The potionologist's lips were tilted upwards in an almost fond smile, although it fell the moment he realised they were smiling at him- Magnus snickering, while Soren didn't even seem to notice their antics. Ivor glared.

"If only she'd just asked us for help," Stampy sighed, eyes flashing with regret, "We could have avoided this whole thing."

Cassie's jaw clenched, eyes studying her trainers. She could feel Aiden's eyes boring into the side of her head, but she didn't look at him, nor Soren.

She's asked for help before.

Onscreen, Jesse's eyes were drawn to the large windows, the sky slowly turning a light purple as a pinkish-red lit the bottom. "Hey," he said, softly, "It's morning."

Olivia let out a long, relieved sigh, "Finally."

Jesse jumped up onto the table in front of the window, Lukas hopping up to stand beside him. The two boys watched as, down bellow, the sun lit the monsters on fire, bodies spasming as they groaned loud enough for them to hear. One by one, they puffed into dust.

"It's over," Dan whispered, slumping against Stampy in relief, "It's over."

"Yeah," Stampy muttered, burying his face into Dan's shoulder, "Looks like it is."

Jesse and Lukas got down from the table, Stampy looking around at the room's occupants- the only survivors, "I guess... I guess that's it, then."

"Yeah," Stacy gave a small, relieved laugh, "We're free."

"And we're alive!" Ivor exclaimed, "Let's not waste it standing around. There could be traps everywhere in here!"

Quite a lot of faces paled at the prospect. Axel's arm, which had slackened slightly with the coming of dawn, immediately tightened. Jesse grit his teeth, but didn't protest.

Nodding, the group began to filter out of the room, steps hurried. The screen panned down to the half dugout trap, the enchanted axe still out of sight.

With a small sigh, Olivia slumped against Jesse, as though all the energy had abruptly been sucked out of her. Petra scooted closer, moving so that she was behind the slightly shorter girl, and leaned against Axel's broad shoulder, pulling Lukas towards her and wrapping and arm around him. Jesse buried his face into Reuben's neck, closing his eyes and letting himself just breathe.

It was over. His friends were alive.

Guilt gnawed at his chest, having been forgotten, which only caused it to increase.

If only he could say the same for a few others.

The top of the mansion appeared, the pink-tinted clouds drifting lazily overhead. The screen came down slowly to reveal the back of the mansion, burning zombies puffing out of existence, leaving behind only a stack of charred, rotten flesh.

The twin iron doors burst open, Jesse leading the way out onto the balcony. The sun, big and orange in the early morning, painted the sky in a hue of pink and purple, chasing away the darkness of the night.

"Ah," Ivor sighed, "I've never been so happy to smell rotting flesh."

Bellow them, more zombies fell over and poofed.

Magnus chortled, "Well, that's not something I'd ever thought of."

"Yeah, that is," Jesse grimaced, pinching his nose, "Yikes, that is pretty rank."

"I feel bad thinking about the people who aren't here to smell it," Dan sighed, announcing his, Stacy and Stampy's presence, "TorqueDawg, Sparklez, Lizzie... and Cassie, I guess."

Another surprised look flashed across Cassie's eyes, gaze briefly darting over to Dan, who was very purposefully not looking at her. Sparklez and Lizzie were staring at their hands, sick at the reminder of their deaths.

"Aw," Stampy sighed, "That's a good point."

"Yeah," Dan winced, "I didn't mean to depress anyone. I just can't stop thinking about them."

"I tried my hardest," Jesse muttered, although he didn't look as though he believed his own words, "But there was nothing I could do."

Axel, Lukas, Petra and Olivia nodded in agreement. Jesse bit his lip, foddling Reuben's ears and not looking at them.

There was nothing I could do.

Liar.

"Oh, we all know that, Jesse," Stampy assured, "It's not your fault."

"Lucky for us that portal brought you here," Dan hummed.

"Speaking of which," Ivor butt in, coming up behind Jesse, "I have no idea how to begin finding our exit portal."

"Oh," Gill winced, "I'd forgotten about that."

"Well, Cassie said it was right under her nose, right?" asked Stampy, as Jesse moved away from the group to get a better look at the backyard.

"That's true," he said, thoughtfully, "Maybe it's nearby."

He looked around, squinting, and his eyes were drawn to the very back, across a short bridge- a golden archway, lit by twin torches, "Hey! Whaddya know, there it is!"

Mevia eyes narrowed, "That's... weird. I think there's something wrong with it."

"Wrong?" echoed Petra, eyebrows shooting to her hairline, "What do you mean?"

Jesse and the others descended the long staircase to the ground, the gleaming gold of the archway in the distance. Ivor grinned widely.

"A fabulous coincidence!"

"So," said Stacy, she, Dan and Stampy turning to face them, "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"Yeah," Lukas said, as he and the others turned to face them, "Just let us know if you ever accidentally find yourselves in our world."

"That's real nice of you," Dan smiled, "But I don't think we can really portal hop without a portal key."

Stacy, Dan, Lizzie, Sparklez and Stampy glanced at each other. The boy in the cat hoodie winced, shrinking into Dan's side.

"Oh, well," Jesse shrugged, crossing his arms and sending a small, pointed smile towards an abruptly nervous looking Stampy, "I think Stampy's got you covered there."

Dan frowned, confused, then his eyes widened in realisation, Stacy's eyes narrowed on the nervous boy beside her. Dan's head snapped towards Stampy, "You stole the portal key from me?!"

The real Stampy flinched. Dan pressed a reassuring hand onto his shoulder, hugging him closer.

"It was just meant to be a prank," Stampy ranted, pulling out the green glow of the enchanted flint and steel, "A harmless prank, and I am so sorry, so very, very sorry."

Dan crossed his arms, glaring. Stacy sent him a small, raised eyebrow, "Yeah, come on, it's Stampy. You know he would never actually try to hurt anyone.

"And so the drama continued," Ivor muttered into Jesse's ear, scowling, "Fascinating."

Ellegaard rolled her eyes, "Hey, I know you like those drama novels I leant you."

"You did no such thing!" Ivor bristled. Ellegaard's lips twitched.

"Of course. I must have hallucinated the whole thing."

"Most probably."

"Hey, it's cool, guys," Jesse said, "You can share it! Make, like, your own Order of the Stone."

The group blinked once, then again at each other. Dan tilted his head to the side, "Yeah, that... is actually a pretty nice idea."

"I guess," muttered Lizzie, scratching her neck, "We never actually considered sharing the enchanted flint and steel."

Sparklez grinned, the first actual grin they'd seen in a long time, and many of his friends felt a pang of relief at the sight, "Yeah! We can be the- the Order of the YouTubers!"

Ivor blinked, "The Order of the what?"

"That sounds so awesome!" Nell cheered. She faltered, "What's a YouTubers?"

Onscreen, Dan glanced at Stacy, then Stampy, a considering look crossing his face, "Yeah, alright. I guess I could live with that."

"Yes," Stampy gushed, "That's a wonderful idea!"

Jesse, hands on his hips as he surveyed the new trio, grinned. There was a pause, the two groups standing almost awkwardly. After a moment, Stacy cleared her throat.

"Well, I'm not great at goodbyes," she said, backing away, "So I'm actually just going to start walking home," she turned around, still looking at them over her shoulder and gave a small wave, smiling, "Thanks for everything."

Dan blinked after her, then turned back to the Order, "Yeah, me too. Travel safe you guys."

That said, he waved and began to followed Stacy. Stampy pocketed the flint and steel, grinned widely at them and waved, "Byeeeee!" Spinning on his heels, he dashed after his friends, arms waving from side to side in his joy.

The real Dan hid a smile in Stampy's hood.

"What a strange, strange bunch of individuals," Ivor commented, as Jesse, Lukas and Petra waved goodbye.

The new Order of the YouTubers looked at each other, before shrugging and deciding not to take it personally. In full honesty, they were too emotionally drained to care all that much at the moment.

The group turned and began to make their way to the golden archway, Ivor trailing after them. The run rose higher, as Dan, Stacy and Stampy left their line of sight.

"I take it that's it?" asked Lizzie, "None of us will be appearing again?"

"I don't know," Gabriel hummed, stroking his chin, "The Blaze Rods had only appeared in the very first episode, before you arrived, but they reappeared later on. Perhaps the same is for the rest of you."

"And us," Magnus pointed out, gesturing to Gabriel, Soren, Ellegaard (he pushed away the thoughts saying that he shouldn't bother counting her) and himself, "We haven't been seen since they-" he pointed to the group on the floor, "-became the New Order."

"Cassie whats-her-name was talking about being trapped here," Ivor said, as the group walked along the cobblestone path leading to the golden archway in the distance, "From another world."

Cassie scowled at the 'what's-her-name,' albeit half-heartedly.

"What if she was one of the Old Builders?"

The scowl fell from her face in an instant, a blink of surprise. She glanced over at Hadrian, Mevia, Otto, Soren, Isa and Harper, who had turned to look at her, before quickly returning her eyes to the screen.

"Portal keys, other worlds..." Petra shook her head, "It all adds up, I guess."

"I know!" Ivor grinned.

The real Ivor was looking at Cassie with a lot more interest now- a lot of people were, actually. But her face was a blank sheet of paper again, dead green eyes staring at the screen. Aiden bit his lip, wondering if anyone in the room would make a decent therapist.

"Man," said Jesse, "That's too bad, if it's true. Seeing as she turned out to be, y'know, the White Pumpkin and all."

"Yes..." Ivor murmured, "Hadn't thought about that."

"I just can't believe that we finally met someone who might be an Old Builder," said Petra, as they approached the archway, "And she's a pumpkin-wearing serial killer. Typical."

"Well," Ivor shrugged, gesturing to the archway, "Here we are. Would you care to do the honours, Jesse?"

"Old Builder or not," Axel said, speaking up for the first time in a while, "I'm just glad you guys aren't anywhere near her anymore. Or her Murder Mansion."

"Yeah," said Lukas, scratching his blond head, "I gotta agree with you there."

The group huddled in front of the archway, Jesse pulling out their own, blue flint and steel. He clicked the two pieces together and a column of blue flame sprang into life in the centre of the archway- only to vanish a second later.

All at once, the tension was back, like a blanket thrown over their heads. They shared weary looks.

"Uh... why didn't it light?" asked Milo, nervously. Harper shook her head slowly.

"That... is bad."

"Huh?" Jesse blinked, his smile falling away to a look of bewilderment. He turned to face his friends, who looked just as startled. "That's weird..."

A meow almost seemed to tear through the air, just as Winslow appeared at the top of the archway. Jesse's eyes widened, and he turned to gape at the cat, "Winslow?"

"That's strange," Ivor muttered, "I thought-"

The ground bellow them began to tremble and fell away, Jesse's hands flaying- and the flint and steel flew out of his grip and into the air, the screen slowing down, as Jesse began to fall, eyes wide and mouth open.

Then, all at once, it sped up again, and they fell down and out of sight. The flint and steel spun in the air, before following after them.

Winslow tilted his head to the side, meowing as he stood from his sitting position. Then he leapt after them, vanishing down the trap, the golden blocks of the fake portal gleaming in the rise of the sun.

Then the screen went dark.

The silence was suffocating. Jesse's mouth was wide open, his eyes watching the flashing circle at the bottom corner of the screen. He realised, abruptly, that he wasn't breathing, and that his lungs were burning, and gasped for air like a dying man.

The gasp was louder than he'd anticipated, and it shattered the silence so thoroughly that Cassie flinched and Magnus nearly conked heads with Ellegaard. Axel was on his feet, although Jesse couldn't remember him retracting his arm, hands tangled in his black locks.

"What the hell," he ground through clenched teeth, "Did you do?"

It was directed at Cassie, even though he was staring at the screen. The girl pushed her glasses further up her nose, staring at the floor. Axel's head snapped towards her, a furious look in his eyes.

"What the hell did you do?!"

She flinched again. Jesse was standing now, Reuben on a pillow at his feet (when had he got up?). He placed a hand on Axel's arm, eyes wide, "Axel, calm down-"

"Calm down? Calm down? She just killed you!"

"You don't know that!" Jesse insisted, "We don't know anything about the traps outside, we thought they were all just inside, it- it could just be a passageway or-"

"I'm alive."

The words died on Jesse's lips. He turned to face Cassie, who was staring at them, eyes wide, mouth open ever so slightly. She looked almost surprised, with all eyes on her, as though she hadn't meant to speak.

"I..." she swallowed, mouth suddenly dry, "I'm alive."

An odd noise came from Soren, who slumped in his seat as though every muscle in his body had decided to melt. Gabriel, Magnus and Ellegaard shared a concerned look. Ivor cocked his head to the side, not looking away from Cassie.

"You're alive," he repeated, as though for clarification. Cassie, for some reason finding herself abruptly unable to speak, nodded.

Ivor stared at her for a long moment. Then, with a heavy sigh, he sat back in his chair and gestured to the screen.

"Let's hope we are too, then."


What did you say when confronting Cassie? Let me know in the reviews!

Okay, okay, okay, okay, I know. It's been almost an entire month since I last updated, and I am so sorry. Really. But it's my last year of high school, I've got a crapload of homework, my online show-my-homework thing or whatever it is isn't working, I've got dog training and English (I hate annotation) and now that I'm almost sixteen I'm going to start doing my own laundry and Marvel is being marvelous and I want to read stories about Spiderman giving Iron Man mini heart attacks and my sister keeps taking the PC off me to play Minecraft and there's the new Story Mode episodes to save up for and play and... yeah...

Again, I'm really sorry this took so long. Next chapter will be the last of episode six, so yay! We're going on to episode seven! Harvor time!

Heh, so, yeah. Please don't rush me for updates, I really am trying. Heck, I hardly have enough time to go on Twitter for five minutes and talk to my friends. I decided to just finally sit down and get this chapter finished for you guys, but don't expect another update anytime this weekened, as much as I'd want to. I've got English homework *grimaces*

Anyway, I hope you guys are doing all good and I can't wait to see you in the next chapter! Byeeeeeeeee!

THIS CHAPTER WAS EDITED ON THE 16TH OF SEPTEMBER. ITALICS WERE CORRECTED.

Oh, and happy birthday, Lunar!