As Jesse entered the throne room, she happened to glance at Reginald. The Captain of the Guard scowled at her, so Jesse changed her gaze to look at Isa, who was looking down at the Blaze Rods, Maya and Gill having joined back up with Aiden silently. "For your service to Sky City," she said formally, "I grant you these gifts."

She gestured with her hand at a wall where some guards were standing. The spider hybrid tilted her head curiously, red-and-green eyes narrowing a bit in curiosity.

The screen switched to show a lever on the floor, one of the guards flicking it and making the wall open up, a trail of minecarts travelling down the tracks and coming to a stop.

"That minecart she summoned..." Ivor mused in a whisper, making the spider hybrid swivel back to look at the potionologist, whose eyes were narrowed thoughtfully as he stared at them, "it must lead to to the Eversource!"

"THAT'S what you're thinking about right now?" Mevia asked, arching her eyebrow incredulously.

Onscreen, Lukas seemed to share the same sentiment, 'cause his eyes hardened. "Really? That's what you're focusing on?!" he hissed back, tail flicking around in agitation, "I'd say we have bigger problems on our hands. Like Aiden."

The screen switched to show Aiden standing near the throne with a smug smirk on his face. "Look at him being all friendly with the Founder," Lukas continued in his whisper, "that's bad news."

Real-Aiden seemed to have taken a permanent interest in his shoes.

"Lukas is right," the spider hybrid agreed in her own whisper, "we need to figure out what Aiden is up to so we can stop him. That's what we need to stay focused on right now."

"I've got the feeling," Ivor stated, still in a whisper and ominously, "that I already know what Aiden is up to."

"Take your reward," Isa started talking to the Blaze Rods, who were looking at their gifts with blank faces, "and enjoy the bounty of Sky City's generosity."

The screen switched to show the Blaze Rods holding carrots.

Hadrian snorted loudly and twisted to look at Isa. "Carrots? Really?" he snarked.

"They're hard to grow in the dirt that we have!" Isa argued back immediately, "and there's precious little space or dirt to grow anything in Sky City. It's a very bountiful gift that we're giving them!"

Onscreen, Gill shrugged nonchalantly and bit into his carrot, chewing away. When Maya looked at him, he shrugged again, mouth full of carrot. "What?" he asked her, in a sotto voce. "I'm hungry."

Onscreen-Jesse and Real-Jesse both hid a smile behind their hands.

"Uh, we are honored, wonderful Founder," Aiden said, after a few seconds of awkward silence, giving the Founder a low bow.

"Of course. Now go," Isa dismissed them, leveling a glare at the three members of the Hybrid Order, "I have criminals to deal with."

Aiden put his carrot away, Gill still eating his and Maya following a bit behind Aiden. The dark-brown-haired boy came to a stop just in front and a bit off to the side of the spider hybrid and clapped his hand onto her shoulder, making her flinch a bit. "Good luck, Jesse," he said to her in a low voice, a nasty smirk on his face. "I hope you like being doomed."

Onscreen, Maya and Gill exchanged a hasty look, before Maya adopted her own smirk. "Totally doomed," she added, passing by.

"Blaze Rods!" Gill cheered in his own low voice.

Half the audience snorted at that.

Jesse frowned a bit at Aiden. "Aiden, you don't have to do this," she whispered to him, "we can work together and all go home without much trouble."

"I don't think I would've done that," Lukas said honestly to Jesse (although everyone else could clearly hear it), leaning forward a bit and tilting his head at the screen. "I mean, I try to be nice, but... once I'm betrayed, I find it really hard to trust that person again."

Maya and Gill both winced a bit at the comment. Aiden was looking at the two of them out of the corner of his eye, head still bowed forward from where he'd been staring at his shoes.

Real-Jesse shrugged a bit at Lukas. "I feel like everyone deserves second chances," she replied sincerely. "There may a circumstance or another factor that I'm not aware of. Besides, it's not really my place to deliver justice or to give someone what they deserve."

The blonde's lips curled up into a small smile. "Aww," and he pulled the petite girl into a hug from behind, "my Jesse's a bigger person than I am."

Jesse stiffened, her face turning bright red. Lukas blinked at her and looked up to see most of the audience sending him teasing grins. He then realized what he'd just said and felt the blood rush to his own face. He pointedly directed his gaze back to the screen, attempting to ignore the soft giggles from his friends.

"Oh, we're way past that, Jesse," Aiden smirked, and let go of her shoulder, shoving it a bit in the process and making the spider hybrid stumble back a step or two as she blinked at him a bit, confused as to what he meant. He then shoved past Reginald, who'd been standing behind the group for the past couple minutes. "Outta my way, Reggie."

Both Isa and Real-Reginald frowned heavily at that, shooting the dark-brown-haired boy a look. His interest had returned to his shoes again.

Reginald scowled a bit at Aiden, the startled look falling off his face. "It's Reginald," he grumbled gruffly, before marching forward and coming to a stop at the base of the throne. "Come on, criminals. Time to see the Founder."

"Aren't they literally already standing in front of her?" Em pointed out. Nell elbowed her a bit.

"Jesse," Isa said, as the three of them stepped forward a bit, nervously, "and accomplices."

"At least she didn't call me Blonde Guy or anything," Lukas mumbled, shooting Real-Ivor a look.

Ivor grunted, sounding irritated. "That was one time."

"You have committed acts of wanton and illegal building, something specifically forbidden by our laws. Explain yourself," Isa said curtly, staring hard at the group.

The spider hybrid blinked up at the Founder, compiling what she wanted to say mentally. Ivor, who was standing just behind the shorter female, leaned forward and whispered, loudly, "This could still turn out okay."

Jesse was just shooting him a glance when Lukas hissed back, "Are you kidding? She does not sound friendly."

"Yes, she's definitely intimidating," Milo muttered, shooting the Founder a look.

She overheard the comment, noticed the look he was sending her, and glared at him. "And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that you're not exactly the best at being friendly to civilians-" Milo shot back.

"Why, I never-!"

Onscreen, Jesse rolled her eyes to heaven with a soft sigh, and rocked up onto the balls of her feet. She then pushed herself backwards a bit, making both Ivor and Lukas yelp in pain as she stomped on their toes, pointedly ignoring them.

Otto made a humming sound. "Clever... and efficient."

"Yes, and subtle," Soren said pointedly, shooting Ivor a wicked grin.

The potionologist very maturely stuck his tongue out at the Architect, to the vast amusement of the other members of the audience.

"We didn't know it was against the law when we started to build," Jesse spoke up, a faintly upset look coming across her face. "We were stranded! What were we supposed to do?"

"Ignorance won't get you any favors," Isa replied coldly.

"Yes, you're definitely being all warm and fuzzy there," Milo grumbled. He subsided when Jace shot him a look that screamed, CUT IT OUT PLEASE!

"Aiden told me all about you, Jesse," the Founder continued. "About how you're a tyrant back home. About how you use your mob abilities to terrorize innocent citizens. About how you and your- Order of the Stone steal all the world's treasures for yourself."

The screen switched to show Jesse's face growing progressively paler by the second, her shoulders starting to tremble. Real-Jesse's face had gone completely blank as she watched her onscreen counterpart's face turn nearly pure white. Real-Ivor opened his mouth to vehemently protest this.

"About how you're here to steal the Eversource from my city- a terrible act of treason."

Real-Ivor paused for three beats before shutting his mouth without a word.

"Founder, ma'am," the spider hybrid spoke up, still looking oddly pale, "that's actually not what the Order of the Stone does. Yes, we collect treasure, but they are all things that anyone could get if they put in the extra time and effort it takes to get the treasure. And yes, we are hybrids, but we used those abilities to save the whole world. We're not tyrants, or thieves. Aiden's a bit..."

"Delusional?" Petra suggested.

"Insane?" Ivor offered.

"... mixed-up, on that count," Onscreen-Jesse finished, after a few moments of hesitation.

Isa just quirked one eyebrow slightly. "Really."

After a few more moments of silence, Isa simply stood up. "Jesse, it's clear that you're the little ring-leader," she spoke directly to the black-haired girl, "so how about you come with me."

It was not phrased as a question.

Milo muttered a bit under his breath but didn't actually voice whatever he was thinking.

One guard came up and set a hand on her shoulder. Jesse looked at him as he started steering her in the direction the Founder was walking off in, before looking back forward, her eyebrow going up. "Um... okay?"

Ivor huffed. "I guess we'll just wait here, then," he grumbled, crossing his arms. The ocelot hybrid next to him looked at the floor awkwardly, wringing his tail with his hands.

"Don't be salty, Ivor," Jace told the man.

Magnus doubled over laughing, nearly knocking Ellegaard off the couch and making Jesse and Jace start violently and turn around to look at him. "Hahaha! Whoo, that's gold!" He ignored the way Ivor was glaring at him, straightening back up when Ellegaard rolled her eyes with a tiny smile on her face and nudged him in the ribs. There was a pause.

"Salty."

Magnus probably deserved that pillow that was chucked at his head half a second later.

Onscreen, Jesse looked back over her shoulder for a moment, before turning back forward to see Isa standing outside, facing away from Jesse. The screen switched to show that Isa was standing at the edge of the sky island, staring out at the sky. The guard stayed back, allowing Jesse to meekly draw level with the Founder, although she did keep a few steps away from the Founder.

"Tell me what you see," Isa said quietly.

Jesse blinked out in the direction Isa was looking, before looking back at Isa with a confused look. "I... don't see anything?" she said, slowly. "It's just..." The spider hybrid's shoulders raised in a shrug, making her shudder slightly as all six of them raised and fell in the shrug.

"Precisely," the Founder stated softly.

There was a few moments of pure silence both onscreen and in real life. Even the sound of breathing seemed to be absent from the room as most of the occupants held their breaths.

"As you can see," Isa said crisply, the screen switching to show the scene from above. The clear blue sky descended for who knows how long, and Soren made an odd gulping sound at the sight of that, "nothing exists below us. Only the Void." Isa stepped away from the edge, turning away.

The screen switched to show Isa's composed face slowly falling into a tired one. Tired and sad.

Everyone blinked. This was a side to the Founder that none of them had seen before, and that included Reginald and Milo.

After another moment, Isa turned to face the spider hybrid again. "Resources- every kind- are incredibly precious," she said quietly, drawing out a cobblestone block, "and when something falls..." She extended the hand holding the cobblestone block out over the edge, hesitating for a few seconds, before releasing it, letting it fall down... down... down... until it disappeared into the endless sky below. "... it is gone forever."

"What?!" Milo nearly exploded, "I get arrested for accidentally dropping a dirt block over the edge, but the Founder tosses a stone block off the edge on purpose and nobody bats an eye?!"

Reginald looked a bit uncomfortable about this as well.

Isa blinked at him, before a faint, awkward smile came over her face and she gestured at the screen. "Er... I mean, there is a cobblestone generator not 20 feet away..."

Petra snorted at that.

Milo didn't share the amusement, grumbling under his breath angrily.

Onscreen, Isa moved away again, pacing the ground with that tired look on her face. "It is why building only happens when I dictate it. People only receive materials when I allow it. Otherwise..." The corner of her mouth ticked and then sagged. "We could collapse back into chaos."

"Whoa," Stacy blinked, "dramatic."

"It is my duty to keep my people safe," Isa told Jesse seriously, the spider hybrid blinking at her, "and the only way I can do that is if our laws are obeyed."

Jesse stood there for a few seconds, staring at Isa and blinking slightly. "I... guess that makes sense," she said after a moment, thoughtfully. "How would you get anything new up here?" She waved her hands furiously after half a second. "Not- not like materials like redstone or wool or anything, but stuff like dirt and wood and stone. Those aren't monster drops."

"She has a point," Ivor murmured thoughtfully.

Real-Isa stole a look at Jesse, who gave her a cheerful smile in her direction. It might've been the black-haired girl's imagination, but Isa seemed to give her a grateful smile before returning her attention to the screen.

Onscreen, Isa smiled as well, looking pleased, her tired appearance softening for a moment. "I appreciate you trying to understand our world." She let out a sigh and paced away, coming to a stop at the very edge of the island. "People act as though I want things to be this way."

Milo blinked a few times at that.

"Allocating the limited resources... risking my life every day..." The Founder trailed off, lost in thought as she stared out into the endless sky.

Jesse's eyes widened. "Wait... 'risking your life'...? Is the Eversource dangerous?" she asked, voicing the thoughts of several members of the audience.

Isa turned to Jesse, the tired look on her face standing out in sharp relief once again. "More than you could know..." she said, quietly, making an ominous mood hang over the two of them.

After a moment, the dark mood that had been settling over her lifted, only slightly. "I'll have you know that before I... found... the Eversource," there was a slight pause on the word 'found' that most of the audience didn't notice, "this world was nothing more than a cluster of pathetic islands in the sky." Isa turned to Jesse, a hint of almost desperation in her eyes flickering into being. Desperation for someone- anyone- to understand exactly what she was going through, exactly how tiring and taxing of a job she'd taken on. "I do this for my people. That... that is why I do what I do."

Milo's lips pressed together, and he snuck a glance at the Real-Founder. Isa's shoulders had slumped a bit, and for the first time in real life, there was a brief hint of the exhaustion that she must battle every day from the weight that she'd placed upon her own shoulders that showed through her formal demeanor.

"But you don't have to do it alone," Jesse said immediately, stepping forward a bit. Her green-and-red eyes shone with sincerity. "We could help you. We could work together!"

Isa's shoulders slumped even more onscreen. "Being the leader of this city... it is a tiring burden..." She held that position for a moment, before she took a deep breath and composed herself again, straightening up, the Founder of Sky City returning. "But no... this is my city. These are my people. And it is my responsibility."

The spider hybrid regarded her with a concerned expression. Isa turned away, hiding her face from view. "I think I've heard quite enough." And she walked back into the throne room, Jesse trailing after her with a guard's hand on her back, guiding her in.

Ivor looked up from where he was standing, his scowl lightening. "Good. Now that you're back, maybe we can talk properly."

"Reginald," Isa announced to the Captain of the Guard, who turned to look at the Founder, "I've made my decision."

Was it just the audience's imagination, or did she look almost sad in that moment?

"While I'm not convinced that you are here to steal the Eversource," Isa said to Jesse, the black-haired girl tilting her head back to look at her, "the fact remains that you constructed a bridge of dirt without authorization."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going," Lizzie mumbled.

"That is why you and your companions are to be detained-"

Onscreen-Jesse gasped a bit, eyes widening, while Ivor and Lukas started a bit in surprise. "- until I can discern the full truth of the matter."

"Fair enough," Real-Jesse said mildly.

When everyone looked at her, she just shrugged, looking surprised that the others were, in fact, surprised. "What? We did break their most sacred law. Besides, at least she didn't say we're being arrested."

"... true," Petra mumbled, turning back to the screen.

"Reginald," Isa said coolly, "please remove them."

"Yes ma'am!" Reginald nodded, walking towards them.

"What?!" Lukas gasped, backing away a step automatically, before two guards came up to him and Ivor and began leading him away, Jesse turning around and staring after them, mouth hanging open in surprise. Reginald looked at the spider hybrid, who finally closed her mouth, still staring after her friends in shock. He looked back at the Founder, whose face was filled with a sort of grim sadness, before back at Jesse again.

Jesse finally looked back at the Founder, along with Reginald, to see the Founder's eyes close and the woman bow her head forward slightly in silence. After a moment, Jesse turned away and started walking, Reginald's hand steering her along.

"Sorry, outsiders," Reginald said, in a more sympathetic voice, "Founder's orders. No changing her mind now."

Jesse glanced over her shoulder to see Isa slowly put her head into her hands, and looked away again, a faintly frightened look coming over her face.

There was a sort of shocked, grim silence hanging over the audience as they watched Jesse walked through the doors, Reginald's hand steering her along, before the doors swung shut behind them, the screen blacking out as the sound of the doors thudding shut echoed through the room.

Soren finally broke the silence, speaking in a rather hushed voice. "What do you all think will happen next?" he nearly whispered.

Otto shrugged a bit, still staring at the screen. "Well, I suppose we'll find out in a minute."


A/N: Welp, looks like this chapter's done! I hope I wrote it well (scratches head awkwardly)

The teaser for the comic series will be posted after the A/N and all the review replies :3

RQTC: What's the weirdest ship in MCSM?

Male Jesse x Female Jesse.

Just...

Why?

LunarStarsMoons: (grins) Yep :3 / Yep! / Okey :3

Emily The Avenger: (laughs) Alrighty. / I'm postin' it anyway, I updated the teaser a bit xD / YAY!

S4SH4L4SH4theGaMeR101: Okay! / Cool :3 / Yeah, that was fun to write xD

RapidSammi: Yep xD / I was giggling in the school library while I was writing that part, got a lot of weird looks xD

AquaK13: Yep xD / Yeah :3 / It's not a fandom. It's original (heavenly chorus sings) xD / Ahh xD

homeworkoverload: Oh thank god xD / Yeah, I know how ya feel fam xD

Darkbeast Dend: The original chapter in Hybrid had a similar response, so... not sure what you're talking about. But no, not rude at all :3 / (scratches head) Well, it depends...

LittleAngelbun: Ahhhh xD

Rabbits rule: Where on earth did that come from? xD / Yeah xD / (blinks) Well, yeah, now that you mention it... / (laughs) No, not at all.

Guest: Ahhh :3 Good luck!

CrystalTearsofFaith: Cool, I'll let you know when it's up :3 / Hehehe xD / (grabs you by the collar and yanks you forward) I WILL READ YOUR STORY. xD / (laughs) Yeah, I cracked up at that part too.

RWBYSTRQ: I don't think I'll use it simply because it'd just be too distracting, but thank you for the idea!

RavenBlaze4850: Yeah, it's the thought that counts xD / Okay! I'll put it up. / Gotcha.

the indecisive bird: Never played it, but now I'm tempted xD / Hehehe so do I xD / Okay, the teaser goes at the bottom. Lemme know what you think!

NinaNaranja: Well, all eyes. xD I'm not saying a word xD / Nope, had no idea xD / It's at way over 2k views already, do you mean reviews? xD

J.M.M.: Ah, alright. Cool :3

Beli0304: (winks) / Alrighty :3 / Sure thing!

LegoGirl794: The only horror I can handle is fandoms that have copious amounts of fanmusic made for them. Then I stop being scared, though I do jump a bit xD

SofiaTheWriter88: Yeahh, she does :3/ Okeydokey!

x.X. A.L. X.x


Islesbury.

A small town with population 12,000, a modest high school, and nothing much of note. The only noteworthy thing in the whole town is the hotel standing at the east end of town.

The hotel was built in 1798. It's a beautiful hotel, that has had the honor of checking in famous stars, scientists, the upper crust of society, for vacations. But the people who've stayed there have reported strange happenings in the hotel. Paranormal, almost.

Now the Islesbury High school's junior history class is taking the students on a week-long stay at the hotel to study the history that has taken place in the hotel. Unfortunately, this week-long stay happens to coincide with a murder that was committed only a few days before.

When a strange occurrence brings three students from completely different 'cliques' within the school together, a supernatural entity is taking interest, and the murderer is rumored to still be in the hotel, the mystery of the century will start clicking into place.

Murder.

Mystery.

Intrigue.

Death.

Dreams.

A possible romance.

Visions.

All of these things and more tie together in a single story that you've never heard before and may never hear again.

Welcome...

to The PHANTASMAGORIA Hotel.