Ivor was practically making anime eyes at the portal. Anime eyes. "It's just like I'd imagined," he nearly cooed with excitement.

Jesse glanced at Ivor onscreen, a playful smile playing on her lips. "Once you're done fanboying," she said, sounding more amused than anything else, "do you know where it leads?"

Petra and Lukas sniggered at the black-haired spider hybrid's comment both onscreen and in real life. Real-Ivor huffed, blushing faintly.

Onscreen, Ivor cooled down a bit, regaining his usual composure. "I don't know. This portal..." he looked the gold-framed doorway up and down for a few moments, a frown creasing his features. "... it's not like anything I've ever seen."

Jesse glanced at the portal for a moment, staring at the gold thoughtfully. "Ivor... maybe that treasure-"

"The Eversource!" Ivor corrected. Jesse nodded absentmindedly, waving that fact off as she stared at the doorway in concentration.

"-yeah, that. Maybe those old dudes hid it... in a portal?" the spider hybrid suggested, straightening up and looking at Ivor curiously.

Mevia spluttered a bit. "Old d- that's even worse than Old Builder!"

"If it bothers you so much," Jace asked, twisting around to look at the scowling Mevia, the frowning Otto, and the angry-looking Hadrian, "would you prefer us to call them 'Those Guys'?"

Petra let out a snort, slapping her hand over her mouth a second too late in an attempt to muffle it. Her laughter increased as she noticed the disgruntled expressions on their faces, and the faintly annoyed one that came over Harper's as she turned to glance in the mocha-haired male's direction. (The irritation seemed to increase when they spotted the teasing grin on Jace's face that meant he was joking.)

"Well, why don't we call them Forgotten Fabricators or something like that?" Lukas suggested, trying to nip his own laughter in the bud before it could get too out of control.

"Forgotten Fabri-what-tors?" Axel asked, twisting to look at Lukas in confusion.

"Okay, so maybe not that."

"Ooh, or Classic Constructors?" Lizzie piped up, bouncing in her seat a bit in excitement.

"Seems a bit long. Archaic Architects?" Ellegaard suggested.

"What does 'archaic' even mean? Did you make it up?" Magnus asked the redstone engineer, quirking his brow at her. She huffed and smacked him on the shoulder.

"No I did not, it means 'very old'!"

"So basically we're calling them 'Very Old' Architects?" Magnus asked with no tact whatsoever. He smirked a bit when he heard Mevia spluttering in the background indignantly. Ellegaard smacked him.

"What about Ancient Architects?" Jesse offered meekly before the redstone engineer and the Rogue could start arguing.

A short silence as everyone considered the name, before Isa hummed a bit. "Actually, it's not bad."

"Sounds much more elegant than 'Old Builders', at least," Mevia huffed, crossing her arms at the name.

"Alright, so from now on, just so that they stop cringing, we'll stop referring to them as 'Old Builders'. I mean- we can't help the name on the screen, but in real life," Jesse said authoritatively, before shrinking back and looking around the room meekly. "I mean- if that's okay with everyone."

There were several nods and agreeing sounds, before they all turned back to the screen.

Ivor's eyes had lit up. "Ah! Hiding it in a portal... I like it! It makes sense," he praised the spider hybrid, patting her on the back with a smile.

Jesse smiled back, taking out the flint and steel in her pocket and carefully approaching the portal. "Well- here goes nothing," she said mildly, before leaning down a bit and clicking the flint and steel together.

A shockwave of cyan energy sent the group flying backwards onto the floor. The portal frame was no longer empty, cyan and azure swirls swirling to life inside the frame. The flint and steel had slipped out of Jesse's hands, and were now clinking as they rolled across the floor, before clattering to a stop near a set of feet.

"Oh no," Reginald mumbled.

Jesse tilted her head backwards to see who it was, before letting out an irritated groan. "Oh, great. You're not any less unpleasant upside down than right side up," she sighed, flicking her finger to send a strand of string to the ceiling, before retracting it and using the speed and upwards lift to flip herself back into a standing position.

The screen switched to show Aiden holding the flint and steel, Maya and Gill just behind him. "Thanks for bringing this to me, Jesse. I knew you were good for something."

Real-Jesse frowned. Lukas's arm tightened around her protectively.

Onscreen, Lukas's eyes narrowed angrily, his tail twitching sharply as a soft hissing noise emitted from him. Petra glared as well, Blaze Rods beginning to form around her and sending sparks dancing through the air. Ivor also crossed his arms, a glare directed in Aiden's direction.

Onscreen-Jesse simply sighed. "Gee. Thanks. I feel soooo flattered."

"Your little adventure is over. Step aside, Jesse," Aiden sneered, the other two members grinning nastily at the other members of the Hybrid Order, "we're going through that portal now."

"Like heck you are!" Petra snapped.

"Oh, NO way!" Onscreen-Petra barked back, immediately all fired up (Real-Jesse smirked a bit at the unintentional pun).

Lukas's claws unsheathed with a sound remarkably like a sword being unsheathed. "Aiden, you're done," he nearly hissed in agreement, "this is where it ends!"

Aiden didn't look afraid. Didn't even look annoyed. "Fine," he said, putting the flint and steel away carefully. "Blaze Rods! Clear me a path!"

"You've got to be kidding," Milo muttered, scowling at the screen. "Such cowardice..."

The other two drew their swords, pointing them at the Hybrid Order.

Petra's own sword came hissing out of its sheathe, igniting the moment it was leveled at the Blaze Rods. Lukas's body slumped down into a fighting position, pupils narrowing into slits, as Jesse flicked out her sword and leveled it at the Blaze Rods, both eyes starting to glow red.

Gill charged at Jesse and lashed out at her head. The spider hybrid threw herself backwards into a sort of crabwalk, the other boy staggering as the blade met with no resistance (although she'd only dodged it and missed getting her head cut off very narrowly), before Jesse whipped back up to an upright position and spun around to face him again. Behind her, Lukas darted forward and clanged his claws sharply against Aiden's blade, Petra rushing forward to engage Maya with her own flaming blade.

"All right, more action!" Nell cheered.

Gill grimaced at Jesse a bit. "Sorry about-" He paused, before gesturing at the screen.

Jesse waved dismissively. "It's fine- like I said earlier, we're not friends in that version," she said comfortingly, giving him a faint grin.

Gill sighed a bit in relief.

Onscreen, Gill lashed out with his sword again. Jesse flung the sword up, and the bearded boy's sword clanged violently into Jesse's. The two of them pushed at each other, the blades trembling and moving first one way, and then the other, before one of Jesse's lower arms reached into her pocket, she flicked out an axe, and brought it up to clang against her sword.

Gill struggled to keep the sword straight, but it was starting to waver back in his direction.

Then Jesse's arms lashed out, and she knocked Gill backwards onto his back, the axe at one side and her enchanted diamond blade at the other. She hesitated for a moment, a reluctant sort of look coming over her face.

Which ended up costing her as Gill kicked out and knocked her to the floor, the axe skittering just out of arm's reach.

"What is it with them and kicking us?" Axel grumbled.

"Let's go!" Aiden ordered the other Blaze Rods, before he raced forward into the glowing portal. Gill raced in as well, and Maya dodged under Lukas's somewhat halfhearted swipe and slid into the portal.

"We've got to follow them!" Ivor shouted, rushing over and helping Jesse up, before turning to help Petra.

Real-Petra blinked and glanced in Ivor's direction, but the former Order member had his head turned away to watch the screen.

Onscreen, the redhead snatched her arm away and mumbled something incoherently about she was fine. Ivor continued, turning back to Jesse, "If they get to the Eversource... who knows what trouble they'll cause!"

"Yeah. I don't usually like agreeing with Ivor," Petra jerked her head at the man, "but he's got a point. Who knows what kind of trouble he could be causing in there."

Real-Aiden clenched his eyes shut, letting out a nearly inaudible sigh.

He was wondering much the same thing.

Real-Jesse hesitated, before giving a slow nod, eyes hardening. "We're going after Aiden. After all," and an uncomfortable expression came over her face, "we can't let him actually hurt someone."

Petra nodded, before dashing through the portal, Lukas dropping to all fours and bolting in. Ivor charged in not a minute later, and Jesse waited for him to disappear through the glowing doorway before charging into it herself.

The screen blacked out for a moment, before it came back on to Jesse screaming as she reappeared in thin air, falling forward and slamming full-force into Ivor, who'd been standing at the edge of a sort of cliff.

Real-Jesse cried out in alarm, Lukas bolting forward with his eyes wide in shock.

"Whoa!" Ivor screamed as he toppled forward, twisting at the same time with half of his body going over the edge before all six of Jesse's arms lashed out and seized ahold of his arm. The wind was blowing loudly, making a low whistling sound and rustling their hair.

"Don't worry- I've got you!" Jesse shouted, digging her boots into the dirt as she struggled to pull him up in time. Ivor was staring down with an anxious expression, the screen zooming out to show that he was literally dangling over this bottomless drop.

"Oh boy," Harper sighed, leaning back and putting a hand over her thumping heart.

"That was way too close," Lukas gasped in agreement, Real-Jesse leaning into the blonde boy with a sigh of relief.

Ivor nodded as well, making a loud 'whew' sound as he tried to catch his breath.

After a few moments, Jesse managed to haul Ivor up far enough that he was able to get both feet on solid land, the two of them bending over to pant heavily from exertion and a bit of fear. "... you are surprisingly heavy," Jesse gasped after a minute, Lukas and Petra approaching from the side.

Ivor glared at her, although it seemed a bit lackluster. "I am... the proportionate weight for my height... thank you very much!" he huffed out, hands also on his knees, although he didn't really seem that annoyed.

Magnus snorted, making Ellegaard smack the Rogue on the arm and roll her eyes, turning away before he could spot the grin tugging at her lips.

Lukas came over, his claws resheathing, and patted Ivor on the back. "There ya go. Easy now."

Ivor sent Lukas a look that may have been a mixture of annoyance and... gratitude. "Yes, thank you, thank you!" he grumbled, sounding annoyed, but there was the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"Awww you have a soft spot for us," Jesse cooed teasingly.

Ivor grumbled and looked away, a pink blush dusting his cheeks. "I most certainly do not," he huffed, valiantly ignoring the way Jace was sniggering and several members of the audience were sending him smug looks.

"There's nothing but sky down there!" Onscreen-Jesse exclaimed shakily, hand pressed to her heart as she tried to steady her breathing. She gingerly stepped over to the edge of the 'island' and stared down, eyes wide. "Just... clouds, really, just empty- sky!"

"Welcome," Milo said dramatically, spreading his arms out wide, "to our world!"

The other viewers gaped at him.

"You live there!?" Olivia blurted.

"Great. Wow. You should be a poet," the narrator's voice cut in.

Jesse's head jerked up, and she glared up at the sky, being careful not to lift her head too much. "Shut up," she muttered, under her breath, before carefully stepping back a step to make sure that she didn't fall.

"I've travelled all over the world," Ivor murmured thoughtfully, "nearly to every corner... and there has always been land or water beneath me. You could just fall forever. And ever. And ever. And ever."

"That is, uh..." Sparklez rubbed his head. "That is not comforting."

Onscreen, Jesse gave a weak little chuckle. "Good thing none of us are afraid of heights, right?"

The others returned the weak chuckle, before Ivor touched his chin thoughtfully. "This... this might be an entirely different world. An island in the sky is... unfathomable, back in our world."

In silent agreement, the whole group split up to look around their small 'sky island', peering over the edge. Jesse made her way over to the other side, eyes widening in surprise as something did come into view.

Reginald's eyes widened. "I... I can't believe it. It's exactly the same as our version. It's almost like looking through a window of sorts."

Dan blinked in astonishment, instinctively rubbing his eyes a bit. "Uh- wow. What is that?"

"Hey- uh, you guys see that?" Jesse questioned, turning back a bit to look at the nearest person to her, which happened to be the ocelot hybrid. Lukas turned to look at her as she turned back to squint down at the structures beneath them. They were extremely elaborate, and even from the distant view they had of it, it was beautiful.

"What?" Lukas asked, trotting over as Ivor came up right next to Jesse. As he approached, he added thoughtfully, "I'm starting to think Ivor was right about this being another world."

"Wow... it looks like some kind of... city?" Jesse murmured, tilting her head to one side as she stared at the much-larger island below. Beside her, Petra put her hands on her hips and squinted down at it, while Ivor started jumping up and down with his hands clasped to his mouth.

"I think Beard-Brah's fanboying again," Nell whispered to Em, who laughed.

Ivor's head whipped around to gape at the blonde so fast that his neck cracked. "What- I don't- did you just- Beard-Bra?"

Upon hearing this, Jesse couldn't help letting a snort out, valiantly fighting the huge grin that was threatening to break out over her face. Stampy was starting to smile a lot as well, biting his nails in an attempt to stop.

It didn't work.

"That's it!" Ivor burst out onscreen, nearly cutting Jesse off, "that's where it must be! The Eversource!"

Isa made an uncomfortable 'mm' sound. "And here we are," she sighed quietly.


A/N: Oh boy. This next part's gonna get fun (grins evilly).

I just realized something totally random while playing through the Founder's Path (because literally, EVERYONE EXCEPT FOR TWO PEOPLE WANTED TO GO ON THE FOUNDER'S PATH, so we're literally just gonna go with that), which is that I really like the sound of Milo's voice. (shrugs) Don't ask me why.

RQTC: Have you heard the song 'Ways to Be Wicked'? I literally have the thing stuck in my head now xD

RapidSammi: (grins and glomps as well) / Okay! x3

S4SH4L4SH4theGaMeR101: (laughs) It didn't even occur to me to put it in until I reread that part and realized how dirty it might sound. xD / Alrighty, sure :3 / (goes crazy with you)

the indecisive bird: (laughs) Did it make you laugh? / (laughs) / What's that for? xD / Sure, I really like that path but I wasn't sure if I should do it since the original Hybrid didn't. Hence why I asked the readers xD

AquaK13: Yes, we are keeping him xD Unfortunately for Jesse. xD / Oh, indeed xD / It was a bit sappy, but I LOVE SAPPY (glomps you) / I went with Milo and Petra the first time, and then went back and played through the Founder's Path just to see how it went. xD

Meow Shadow: (grins) / Oh lord, I know, right? xD / Okay, Founder's Path xD

herpaderp: Okay!

NinaNaranja: Yes, Lukas gets arrested too xD

CrystalTearsofFaith: (grins)

Emily The Avenger: (laughs) Glad to see you laughed. / Sure thing!

Teddy Malfoy: (grins) Yeah, did you ever read the original Hybrid story?

Kaos Ruin: Well now you will :3 But, you know... edited to fit Hybrid xD

Guest: I know, right xD

homeworkoverload: (cracks up) Ehhh. I'm not sure they'd really be the type to do it, tbh.

Jack638: Probably not, no.

LunarStarsMoons: (laughs) / Oh I couldn't stop giggling when I thought of it xD / Yep xD / I think we've established that by now, lol xD

A-Problematic-Writer: Glad to hear you like it! (Um, I mean, I think you like it xD) / Also, sure!

Beli0304: Sure thing :3 / Yep! And, um... it was kind of dirty. Hence the following 'fifty shades of red' joke. (Reference to 50 Shades of Gray. Which is extremely smutty, from what I can gather of it. Never read the book before.)

Slayer88: Sure :3 / (points at the above chapter) How's that? xD

NoItsBecky: OMG you're literally one of the only people to choose this path xD

Raven: Okay!

Mel: Alright!

FireBallin17: And you win the prize for the being SECOND person to choose this path xD

Guest: No, not at all :3

ThatOneGuy: Okay!

Darkbeast Dend: (smiles)

MarcoDiaz: Okey :3

MasterDetective: Alrighty :3

Shadow: Hehe, I agree xD

x.X. A.L. X.x