Jesse smirked at Hadrian, who was gaping at her, lower arms holding the Heart, upper arms crossing. "I present..."
"The Redstone Heart," he gasped. "Seems like just yesterday SOMEONE took off with that and vowed 'never to return with it'."
He glared at Harper.
"My respect levels for this woman have shot through the roof," Petra stated, raising her hand.
"Where were they before?"
"Still pretty damn high."
Jesse smirked at that, Harper looking pleased at the compliment. "Technically," she said, trying not to outright grin, "I didn't bring it back. Jesse did."
"Thing's no toy, slugger," Hadrian said, looking at Jesse, examining the Heart, "how about you just hand it over, huh? It can be, ha, pretty dangerous is you don't know how to use it."
"You mean a killer computer could come out and mind-control everyone, making everything 'useful' and taking control of my friends," Jesse deadpanned, "been there, done that. And yeeeahhhh... no. You are not getting one finger on this thing here until you give me my friends and get us home."
"I'm not a big fan of haggling, Jesse," Hadrian said, drily. "Here's the way my offer works: You give me the Heart. You and your friends go back down to those portals. I never look at your insignificant face again."
Jace growled softly.
Jesse arched her eyebrow. "That is easily the worst deal I've EVER heard. And that includes the time one of the scientists promised me a piece of yarn if I went to take one of their stupid tests."
Petra snorted, and even Cassie looked faintly amused, from where she was standing with her arms crossed.
"Okay, look, maybe," Jesse said, more calmly this time, as she put the Redstone Heart back in her pocket, "things got a bit out of hand. So why don't we start over, and try to reach an agreement?"
Hadrian arched his eyebrow and shrugged a bit. "Okay, okay... fine. I can always appreciate someone trying to be reasonable. Well... you need the Atlas. And I... need competitors. After your unexpected intrusion, I seem to be short a team. So how about this- you play in the games, with restrictions on your power-"
"Absolutely. Not."
Jesse looked at her brother in surprise, his tail ramrod straight and green eyes both glowing bright red. "If you let me use my powers, it won't matter if you let two more people use theirs. It's still a... like, what, ten to one ratio. If you try to restrain their powers or ban them, so help me, I will do everything in my power to get them back out."
Hadrian put up his hands in surrender, shooting the wolf hybrid a disgruntled look. "Fine, fine," he grunted, glancing back to Jesse, "You play in the games, and if you win... the Atlas is yours to keep. It's a good deal, Jesse. Trust me."
Jesse trusted him about as much as she could throw him (and to be fair, she was VERY curious to see how much that was), but she crossed her arms, giving him a look that promised that she'd sic Cassie Rose on him if he broke this deal of theirs. "Can't wait to see what the other games are," she said, sarcastically, "sure hope they're fun."
Hadrian grinned almost sadistically. This worried Jesse. "Well, there you have it! A deal has been struck! To the games!"
"All right then," Otto said calmly, "I suppose that means we can carry on with the official addendum-"
Hadrian waved him off, stepping in front of the green-clad man, "Ugh, Otto, enough, add it on your own time." And then he seemed to start a bit. "Oh, but there's one other thing I want. If they lose... Harper and Cassie have to go the mines, too."
Cassie serenely said something so rude it did not bear repeating.
"Oh, gravel," Harper said flatly, with an annoyed sigh.
"Harper," Hadrian said, lightly, "wanna be a friend and show our new competitors where they'll be staying?"
"Yeah, c'mon, Harper," Jace said, eyes lighting up a bit as his tail wagged cheerfully, "we can play fetch!"
Harper let a wry smile come over her face. "All right. You come with us too, then, Jace." And they all turned around and started trotting out of the room.
"Jesse," Harper said, smile falling as they turned around, "this was not part of the plan. Wrapped up in one of Hadrian's 'deals'... ugh. He's not one to let other people get the upper hand, ya know."
Jesse crossed her arms, giving the Old Builder a hard look, Petra and Jace engaging in a conversation as Cassie trotted along behind them, still looking incredibly serene. "Harper, how bad is this gonna be, give it to me straight..."
Harper sighed, rubbing her brow with an agitated expression. "Well, it's not gonna be a cakewalk, that's for sure. I'm... I'm sorry, okay? I really am. Lemme show you where the competitor village is."
Jace nodded, still fidgeting with his beanie. "Yeah, it's nice! You'd like it! I think. Would you like it? I actually have no idea, but I like it, so you might like it, so-"
"I get it, I get it," Jesse teased, giving her twin a little shove and making him stick his tongue out at her playfully, whereupon she went and scratched him behind the ears, making a soft sound come out of his throat. "I didn't know wolves could purr," she joked, green eyes soft.
The two redheads behind her shared a knowing sort of smile as Jace let out a sound that sounded remarkably like a purr. "I'd totally claw you for that... but I won't hold it against you... if you keep petting... especially if you move a little lower..." And his tail wagged even harder than before as they trotted out the door.
A/N: I love how I made Cassie know how to swear worse than a sailor xD And how Jace loves being petted xD I just love this whole fic, actually.
Okay, next chapter some stuff's gonna go down! I sure hope I don't have to play through it myself again... that'd be annoying (makes a face) Especially since it'll take longer.
ChoyofBonk: Yeee :)
MidNightTwist: Thanks!
GuestPerson13: Mayybe (wriggles eyebrows) And oh my god, lol xD
rebekahtpe: Yeah I'd prefer being up at night :) and aww, thanks :)
RapidSammi: Thanks!
DemonCatLady: That WOULD be cool... d'you mind PM-ing this comment to me, actually? (fetch and catch the light, and the caught in the web thingy)
Toni42: Lol xD
J.M.M.: Oh! Thanks!
angelwings: Lol x3
Choco: Heehee (insert Lenny face)
Luna96: That is for me to know, and for you to find out (Lenny face)
x.X. A.L. X.x.
