Jesse hummed after a second or two, looking the machine up and down appraisingly. "Hmm. Redstone blocks, some pistons... wonder what this thing's supposed to be?"
"Hello? Anyone?"
Jesse immediately turned at the sound of the familiar voice, eyes widening. "Olivia?" she called out in the direction it'd come from.
Sure enough, Olivia turned the corner, Reuben trotting along at her feet. Olivia's eyes lit up, and the Enderman hybrid teleported over to Jesse and enveloped the much-shorter female in a hug. "Oh man, am I glad to see you! I thought Reuben and I'd be lost in there forever!"
"Oh, good, Olivia's there," Gill spoke up, "she should be able to help you figure this thing out."
Real-Olivia's lips twisted together doubtfully. Jesse and Axel were the only two to notice.
Onscreen, Jesse returned the hug happily, before releasing her taller friend with a grin on her face. "It's good to see you, too." Kneeling down, she went ahead and fondled her little pink pig's ears.
Olivia's grin faded as she looked back at the maze, before saying quietly, "This maze... we don't have time for this. I mean, the clock's ticking... yet here we are, stuck in this elaborate puzzle."
"I know," Jesse nodded in agreement, before adding, "I mean, I like puzzles, but... I know when the time is that we can do them." Olivia chuckled a bit at that. Jesse grinned, before her smile faded and she looked back at the maze herself. "And we really need to figure out what happened to the others."
"I wonder if they found a way over this pit," Olivia mused thoughtfully.
The two girls turned in unison to look at the huge, gaping chasm, remaining silent. It was almost as if they were paying tribute to it, in a way. "I think it goes down forever," Olivia spoke up, at last.
"It... actually, it probably does," Ivor said thoughtfully, tapping his lip.
Jesse looked over at the machine next to her. "What about this thing? Could it get us across?"
Olivia looked over at the machine as well, crossing her arms and staring at it thoughtfully. "Hmmmnnnn... it's some kind of flying barge." She pressed one hand to the side of the machine, carefully examining it. "It would probably get us to the other side... but it's in pretty bad shape. And it's really complicated."
"I'm sure you'll be able to work it out, Olivia," Petra said casually. "You're pretty much one of the smartest people I know."
Olivia gave Petra a rather weak smile. "Thanks, Petra... but that doesn't really fix the fact that I might not be able to figure this thing out."
"You can fix it though, right?" Jesse asked, tilting her head at Olivia.
Olivia's lips twisted together, and she ran one hand through her hair. "I don't know. I think it's out of my league. I wish I'd had more time to study with Ellegaard. She could probably have fixed this right up."
"Considering I built it, probably," Ellegaard pointed out, but her lips twitched and made it clear that she was joking. Instead of cheering Real-Olivia up, which was probably the intention, Olivia just slumped a bit tiredly.
"I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out," Jesse said cheerfully, smiling up at the dark-haired girl. "You're one of the smartest people I know. I'll help you."
Olivia stared at the machine, then at Jesse, a hopeless sort of look entering her eyes. "How can you help me when I don't even know where to start?" she asked, sounding hollow. "This layout doesn't even make sense. I mean, what was Ivor thinking?" There was a pause, before she slumped over a bit, staring at the flying machine hollowly. "Or maybe it's just me."
Jesse arched her eyebrow at Olivia, although only slightly. "You studied with Ellegaard at the age of five or six. And, like I just said, you're one of the smartest people I know. You can definitely do this."
"How are we supposed to do this if the Order can't?!" Olivia snapped, making Jesse automatically recoil a step. "They're the Order of the Stone, Jesse, the Order of the Stone, do you-?" The dark-skinned girl sighed and threw her hands into the air as she turned back to the chasm, Jesse watching her friend in quiet bewilderment. "Soren and Ivor are always at each other's throats. Ellegaard and Magnus argue all the time. Ellegaard nearly died. The 'greatest warrior of all time' can't remember his own name. How are we supposed to do this?" Olivia repeated, hopelessness entering her voice. "We're nobody."
Jesse simply shook her head once. "All I know is, the world is depending on us."
Olivia crossed her arms and turned away. "Then maybe the world is trouble, Jesse!" she snapped again, glaring at the chasm as if she wanted to throw something into it. "They defeated a dragon, Jesse! Can you even name one thing that we did correctly?"
Jesse walked around so that she was meeting Olivia's eyes, craning her neck back to make eye-contact with the girl. "Well, we reunited the Order of the Stone, didn't we? You got Ellegaard. Axel and I got Magnus. We both played a part with Soren."
Olivia blinked at Jesse, considering this, before slowly nodding, her glare softening. "Yeah... I guess that's true."
Jesse looked expectantly at the Enderman hybrid, putting one hand on her hip. Olivia paused. Jesse waited. Olivia paused. Jesse waited. Finally, Olivia shook her head and rolled her eyes, a soft laugh emitting from her mouth. "Agh. Alright. I'll give it one more try."
She turned back to the machine.
Lukas patted Jesse on the head. "You're inspirational," he teased her kindheartedly.
She rolled her eyes at him very maturely, but she was still grinning.
Jesse waited as Olivia examined the machine, before her eyes widened. "Wait a minute... wait a minute... I think I see what he was trying to do here!"
"See?" Stampy spoke up, making the audience look at him, "you ought to have more confidence in yourself."
Olivia blinked, before turning back to the screen with a slow smile spreading over her features.
"See? Told you you'd figure it out!" Jesse beamed at Olivia, who grinned back gratefully. Standing up, she handed the spider hybrid a piston, rattling off, "Jesse, take this piston, craft a sticky piston, and then place it on the other side of the barge, along with a redstone block."
Jesse nodded, grinning at Olivia. "Got it."
She trotted over to the chest, Reuben tagging along behind her, before setting the piston down carefully and rummaging through the chest. "Hm... a slime ball... and some redstone dust. Oh, and a flint and steel. Huh," she mumbled, each arm pulling out one of the aforementioned items, juggling the items slightly to avoid dropping them, before heading over to the crafting table.
Her hands quickly placed down the necessary ingredients, crafting a sticky piston and then a redstone block in rapid succession. She lifted both items off the table, looking between them with a grin. "Alright, we're done with that!"
She headed back to the machine, Olivia kneeling next to the machine and doing some work on her own side. Heading over to the other side, Jesse placed the redstone block in place, before pausing. "Mmm... alright, let's try it right here." She pushed the piston into place, just as Olivia called out, "Done!"
The redstone lit up, beginning to emit a soft, red glow.
"Hey, we did it!" Olivia exclaimed, giving Jesse a high-five from where she was still kneeling next to the barge.
"We did!" Jesse agreed cheerfully.
Olivia paused before shooting Jesse a grateful smile. "Oh, and, Jesse... thanks for everything you said earlier. It really helped."
Real-Olivia shot Jesse a grateful look herself. Jesse spotted it and gave the dark-skinned girl a small smile.
Onscreen, Jesse gave a small nod and set her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey, no problem."
The two of them stood there for a moment, before the moment was suddenly shattered by a shout of, "It must be this way!"
"Gabriel?" Olivia asked, standing up and sounding bemused.
"Run!"
Jesse's eyes widened. "Lukas!"
Not even a full second later, Soren, Gabriel and Lukas skidded around a corner, followed immediately by a large horde of zombies. Reuben let out a terrified squeal.
"Good thing they finished the barge in time," Otto muttered under his breath, although it was still clearly audible to several members of the audience around him.
Harper nodded mutely in agreement.
"Everyone, get on! Onto the barge!" Jesse yelled, pointing at the machine. Olivia bleeped herself into sight on one side. Soren, Lukas and Gabriel scrambled into the barge as well, and Jesse literally scooped Reuben up and tossed him aboard before seizing the flint and steel from earlier and clicking them together. The pistons started to move, and the barge slowly started moving forward.
"Wait- Jesse, you have to get on!" Maya gasped.
"Logic would demand that, yes," Ivor murmured, arching his eyebrow at Maya.
Jesse looked over her shoulder to see the zombies practically arm's length behind her. The spider hybrid tensed her knees before springing into the air. She seemed to hover in place for a moment, before her hands slapped into the edge of the boat. One slipped off, but the other managed to get a good grip, leaving Jesse literally dangling by one hand over the bottomless abyss.
"Pull her up, pull her up!" Jace chanted, nearly dragging Petra forward with him in a hot excitement.
Lukas gasped. "Oh sheesh," and he quickly leaned down and grabbed one of Jesse's free hands. Her feet kicked furiously until they found purchase on the side of the machine, and she managed to scramble into the boat before she could fall in.
Nell let out a little "whew".
Looking back, they watched as a zombie stupidly walked straight into the abyss.
"Well, at least that wasn't one of you," Reginald said, in an attempt to be optimistic.
"Well, at least that wasn't one of us," Lukas panted, sounding relieved.
"Hey, I just said that."
Lukas's tail was up in the air, and it was rather bushy now, quivering from where it was ramrod straight. Jesse patted him absentmindedly, leaning over the edge to check the abyss, before sitting back with a gasp of relief. "Yeah," she agreed. "That was- that was close." A short pause as the whole group tried to catch their breath. "Is everyone okay?"
Soren's eyes fixed on the lab, his hands tight on the rim of the boat. He was staying perfectly rigid. His mouth opened slightly, barely opening wide enough to utter the words that came out of his mouth next. "For the moment," he said, still not removing his eyes from the lab ahead.
Magnus sniggered. Soren sent him a withering glare.
Magnus managed to survive without being too terribly withered.
"Wait," Gabriel spoke up suddenly, "I remember something."
The Order immediately all perked up. The group on the machine seemed to have the same reaction, swivelling to face the man immediately. Gabriel continued, "Didn't Ellegaard build a machine like this once?"
Soren nodded, barely inclining his head to do so, hands still tight on the boat edge. "Once, in the Nether," he uttered.
Gabriel paused, tilting his head. "Hmm..." His still-discolored eyes widened. "And you were terrified of flying on it!"
"What?" Soren laughed nervously at that, hands tightening on the boat edge. "Stuff and nonsense!"
"Are you scared of heights, Soren?" Jesse asked, a dawning sense of realization coming over her.
"No," Soren said immediately.
"Yes," Magnus corrected, grinning wickedly at the architect.
"No I'm not."
"He's petrified."
"Perhaps a bit frightened of them."
"He's terrified of them."
"I'm not terrified-!"
"He thinks it's hiding under his bed-"
"That thing isn't even going to fit under my bed-"
"And when he's peacefully asleep-"
Ellegaard gently smacked him on the back of the head, grinning easily at the Rogue. "Magnus, let's watch the episode before teasing Soren about his fear of heights, shall we?" she teased.
Soren spluttered as Magnus grinned wickedly at her. "If you insist."
"No, no, I'm positive!" Gabriel insisted, the two men seemingly oblivious to the silent giggling fit the three hybrids were starting to have in their boat. "You spent the entire ride quivering in terror!"
Jesse managed to eke out through her laughter, "Soren-" A repressed snort here. "Is that true?"
"No, of course not-!" He was cut off as the barge rocked a bit, making his head snap back forward and his hands tighten even more on the boat edge. His knuckles were starting to turn white.
Magnus snorted.
"Well..." Gabriel chuckled slightly. "I might be mistaken."
"I liked you better when you had amnesia."
The screen faded to black.
Soren glared at Gabriel and Ellegaard jokingly. "I thought you were better than that, both of you. I know Magnus would stoop to such low levels, but I never imagined you two would."
"Oh, we would. No doubt about it," Gabriel replied instantly, grinning.
Magnus chimed in, beaming. "We have plenty of that stuff to blackmail you with."
A mischievous grin was spreading over Soren's face, eyes sparkling with pure mischief. "Oh really? Well what about that time when you nearly blew the kitchen to smithereens because there was a rat in the corner?"
"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again-"
Ivor chimed in, a faint smile on his face. "No, we didn't agree that. You agreed that," the man pointed out.
Gabriel pointed at Ivor, carefully disguising his laughter as coughing. "What he said," he said, through his soft fits of coughing.
Jesse carefully hid a grin behind her hand, and Jace developed an amusement in the black screen, the corners of his lips twitching.
A/N: Hehehe x3
No RQTC this chappie :3
LunarStarsMoons: (laughs) Yep, that was awesome to write. I love being silly. xD / True xD And yeah, that's true. xD xD xD But in her timeline, she doesn't have friends.
MissyMattingly: (thumbs up)
Emily The Avenger: Yeah, agreed :3 / (laughs) Reasons indeed. / Yes, I have actually! / ... awwww, thanks!
AmberRaptor: Haha, true. / Indeed x3
AquaK13: Yep :3 / Thanks. / Haha xD
Meow Shadow: Indeed it is xD / Ahhh. I'll fix it... if I remember... / (looks at the ceiling) No spoilers.
LittleAngelbun: (pumps fists)
NoItsBecky: Thanks, Becky :)
Beli0304: (laughs) Glad to hear that! / (nods) Alright, got it.
Raven: Thanks... :3
sailor. mikuchan: (thumbs up)
RapidSammi: Thanks :3 / (laughs with yo) / Ahh, that's a good point.
Rabbits rule: (nods) Cool. / (nods quietly) / Cool! And haha, Kylik xD / Coolio. / Alrighty, cool.
S4SH4L4SH4theGaMeR101: (thumbs up) Glad to know :3
rebekahtpe: (laughs) That's a good point, yes. / Yep, pretty much xD / Er, it's this pair of pajamas my grandma gave me last time I visited...
the indecisive bird: Thanks. :) / It's best for me to try to distract myself, but it's hard to do it. So that's why I keep trying to turn chapters out. / But noon is during the day xD
idon'tlikecheese: (thumbs up)
Darkbeast Dend: Not really. It's the author's choice to decide if they want to update things, or if they simply can't update. / (nods)
J.M.M.: I dunno. xD I don't really watch YouTube much.
DynamiteHunter6: Pretty close, yes. :/ / Nice :3
EthanDaCabbage: (laughs) Nice, dude.
mEEplePeoPLe: (laughs) True. / (hums) Eh. I have too many ideas already lined up, so I might never actually get to it, haha. xD
x.X. A.L. X.x
