"Do you really think you can just beat all the other teams by yourself?" Em scoffed.
Jesse looked around, noticing some of the teams watching her and whispering. They started a bit when they saw her looking.
Harper winced. "That... is a pretty tall order... even for you, Jesse."
"What are you talking about, Em? She isn't going to be alone; I'm helping my sis," Jace said, sounding affronted.
"You're on my team!"
"Then help me help Jesse!"
"Well," Jesse said loudly, before the situation could get out of hand, "it's not the first impossible situation I've had to talk myself out of..." And then she rolled her eyes. "I can make a pretty good speech when I need to..."
Cassie patted the spider hybrid on the back. "Notch knows THAT'S true enough."
Jesse gave the red-haired girl a weary thumbs up, before Lukas started, letting out a soft hiss. "Whoa. Looks like we've got a little bit of an audience here."
Members from the other teams were starting to crowd around Jesse and the others, murmuring and whispering as they looked at Jesse. Petra cupped her elbows and looked at them all warily, while Jace moved to stand near the green team, Jesse's friends moving towards the front of the crowd that was forming.
Jesse looked from Em and Jace, to Lukas and Ivor, to more of the people, and then over at Petra and Cassie as the Blaze-hybrid whispered, encouragingly, "I think that's your cue to do your thing."
Jesse blinked at Petra, before taking a deep breath and stepping away from most of the people in the crowd, to try to look at all of them. "Well, I think all of you know that tomorrow is the last day of the games. Tomorrow, if we all work together, we can all win together."
"But Jesse, you're not on my team," a girl on the yellow team spoke, "see, my jumpsuit is yellow."
Jesse rolled her eyes. "I'm not one for following rules all that much, if you haven't noticed," drawing several titters from the crowd. "Not that it makes much of a difference if I do follow the rules- Hadrian keeps twisting and turning and changing the rules on us, to help him out. I say it's high time for us to change the rules on him to help us out."
"What's the point?" Em asked, sounding tired, "Hadrian will still have all the power. He'll just make up some new rule."
Jesse shrugged. "I thought you wanted to go home," she said quietly, stepping onto the platform with Tim's face on it.
"I do," and Em drooped a bit, "more than anything... but... nobody beats Hadrian at his own games. Nobody."
"Hey!" the blonde from the yellow team said loudly, pointing at the picture on the platform Jesse was standing on, "Tim did!"
Jesse awkwardly tugged at her hair, as the blonde raved, "That's the only thing keeping me going in here!"
"Oh yeah, because if it wasn't for Tim, I probably would've given up a long time ago."
Jesse's hand moved and slowly rubbed the back of her head, an awkward look on her face. "Well... actually... Tim's... not real," she said, weakly.
The entire crowd gasped loudly, except for Harper. She just blinked.
"That's... no way," the yellow team blonde said, weakly, "of course Tim's real. Look at the banners!"
"Are you sure?" Em asked, gruffly.
"Yeah," Jesse said, softly and a bit awkwardly, combing her fingers through her hair again, "Hadrian told me."
Lukas hissed even as there were more gasps, drawing Jesse's attention to her blonde ocelot hybrid friend, who was starting to growl. "I knew it! All of that stuff about him seemed so.. implausible."
"So Tim's made up?" Jace said, sounding a bit angered. His tail wasn't wagging anymore- just sitting there like a tail.
"Of course it is," Jesse said, fists clenching, "it's all about how the Old Builders keep their control over everyone."
Cassie swore from where she was standing in the crowd.
"But we can beat them!" Jesse said, putting her lower hands on her hips, a determined look coming onto her face.
Em groaned, making everyone glance at her. "The Old Builders already controlled everything else, of course they control the games. Why should I even try anymore-"
Jesse gave the girl an incredulous glance. "Are you just going to quit?"
"Yeah!" Nell contributed, "Quitting is like, for quitters, dude!"
Em scoffed. She did that a lot, now that Jesse thought about it. "I'll be sure to remember that the next time I've got a gladiator aiming for my head with an enchanted sword."
"She's got a point, sis," Jace said sheepishly, "those gladiators are really, really tough."
"Yeah, they're totally OP," Nell put in.
"It's called move out of the way before they smash your face in, Em," Jesse shot back sarcastically. There were a few giggles in the crowd, but Jesse kept speaking. "Yeah, the gladiators are tough, but so are we. We might not have enchanted weapons, or be as strong as they are..."
"Where's Jesse going with this?"
Jesse clapped her hands together and grinned at Cassie, whose cheeks turned pink as Winslow sniggered from where he was perched on her shoulder. "I'm glad you asked, Cassie! If we work together, and combine all of our abilities- because let's face it, we do have abilities, we're not just sheep- and stuff- we could be even tougher than the gladiators!"
"Oh I get it," Ivor said softly.
Jesse grinned at them all. "We can do this. You guys don't need Tim to be motivated. Because, c'mon, making it this far? Not getting thrown into the quartz mines? Working with these people even though you don't know them all that well? You guys are Tim!"
There was some cheering, although it was rather muted, which Jesse was very grateful for- she did not need her eardrums to be blown out.
"Look, it was a nice speech," Em said gruffly, as Jesse came back down from the platform and rejoined the others as most of the crowd dispersed, "but strength doesn't come from speeches."
"No, you're right," Jesse answered promptly, making the brown-haired girl look slightly taken aback, "my strength comes from my friends. We're all always there for each other."
Jace grinned and threw an arm around his sister, as Ivor agreed softly, arms crossed, "Jesse's never given up on any of us. Not even me. And I used to be a bad guy," and there was a soft chuckle.
"Well, you are my dad," Jesse said, a wide, beaming grin on her face, spreading her arms wide. Ivor returned the grin.
Em looked at Jesse for a moment. "Maybe." And then she walked off.
"Man, some crowd," Lukas said to Jesse, making her look at him, "think that got through to them?"
"Sure hope so," Jesse said, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"I think after today, you need some sleep," Petra declared, giving the spider hybrid a good pat on the back.
Jesse blinked. She felt like someone was rubbing handfuls of sand into her eyes. "Actually, that would be rather nice."
"Sleepover!" and Jace bolted into the dorms.
"Come on, Jesse," and Ivor put a hand on her shoulder with a soft smile on his face as Petra and Cassie giggled and Lukas rolled his eyes with a grin, "let's get to bed."
Jesse rubbed her eyes again, a sleepy sort of smile coming over her face. "Thanks, dad."
Ivor smiled at the spider hybrid, eyes going softer as they all trotted inside. "It's no problem, Jesse."
A/N: Awww :3
Next chapter is another fluffy filler chapter :)
We're getting really close to the end of Episode 8... I'm both excited, and kinda sad :/ Wow, a lot of you want to murder Hadrian and Mevia xD You guys are going to need to get into a long line. Maybe I'll sell tickets, too xD
rebekahtpe: Oh please don't die 0-0 And you'll see what my plans are when it comes to it!
NoItsBecky: Lol xD
RapidSammi: Naw thanks :3
LittleAngelbun: (looks at the ceiling)
MissyMattingly: Aw thank you!
angelwings: Lol xD
NinjaCat: About like 7, 8, or 9
Choco: Sure, get in line xD
Guest: Yes... yes he is xD
ChoyofBonk: Heeheehee :)
x.X. A.L. X.x.
