The door to the throne room could be seen again, a guard strolling by through the window. Slowly, Jesse's upside down head poked through to peek through the window, red-and-green eyes scanning the scene in front of her. A few seconds later, the screen zoomed out to show Jesse gently pushing her way through the door, the wooden double doors creaking open. Jesse carefully did a flip and landed on the ground on all eights, showing that Ivor had been riding her much like a spider jockey.

Soren was barely able to keep from laughing. As it was, he had to repress a very loud snort. Magnus was silently shaking with laughter next to him, while Gabriel and Ellegaard were sharing amused looks.

Ivor huffed and blushed, doing his best to ignore the titters of the audience.

Onscreen, Jesse glanced around, before looking back up at Ivor. "Ivor?" she whispered, in a rather calm voice.

"Yes?" he whispered back, looking tensed up as Lukas padded into the room, carefully straightening back up into a standing position as he warily looked around the throne room.

"Could you not yank my hair? It's rather painful."

The Order's laughter grew more acute.

The potionologist quickly scrambled off of Jesse, legs unlocking and hands releasing her hair from where he'd been clutching it tightly, letting out a long sigh. "Right, yes. Sorry," he apologized, letting out a shaky breath.

Lukas glanced around the room. "Well, here we are," he said in a low voice, "back in the throne room."

"Keep your voice down," Ivor hissed, carefully shutting the door behind him and giving a little wince as it clunked shut. "We don't know if we're alone in here."

The spider hybrid gave the room another wary look, as if expecting Aiden or Isa or one of the Blaze Rods to suddenly pop out from behind something and try to give her a scare. Lukas spoke up again, coming to a stop and turning to them both. "I dunno," he said, letting his voice rise to a slightly higher volume, Jesse turning to look at him, "looks deserted to me."

Even as he said this, the screen slowly slid sideways to reveal someone creeping up behind Lukas, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Stampy squeaked and hid his eyes, while Olivia gasped. "Behind you!" she shouted at the screen, forgetting- once again- that the onscreen characters couldn't hear the audience.

"Lukas! Look out!" Jesse yelled in warning.

Too late. Lukas let out a strangled cry as the figure punched him on the neck, knocking the ocelot hybrid to his knees.

"Hey!" Jesse barked, charging at the figure.

"Wait, stop!" A familiar voice rang out onscreen.

A relieved grin spread over Jace's face, and the short boy excitedly tossed his hands into the air. "Petra!"

The redhead grinned and ruffled his hair.

Onscreen, the spider hybrid skidded to a stop just in the nick of time, seeing Petra flail her hands in surrender at Milo.

Isa's eyes widened. "Hey, wait- how did they get in there-?"

"Milo, easy! That's Jesse and Lukas!" Petra exclaimed, turning to look at Jesse with an excited grin coming over her face, sparks beginning to flit off of her. "Jesse- I can't believe we found you!"

Lukas winced from where he was on his hands and knees, looking a little winded. "I can't believe you punched me!" he gritted out.

Milo gave the ocelot hybrid an incredibly sheepish grin. "Ah, yes, I feel absolutely terrible about that, let me assure you!"

"I, heh," and Ivor drew level with them, "I thought it was pretty funny."

Lukas's half-playful glare at Ivor was ignored in favor of the petite black-haired girl's doubling over on herself and cackling. Reuben grinned and nuzzled her stomach, the black-haired girl's giggles growing more acute when Lukas reached out and playfully ran his fingers up her chin, making her squirm away and swat his hand.

Apparently, Jesse was somewhat ticklish.

"Where were you?" Jesse asked onscreen, her look mingling somewhere between annoyed and relieved.

"Yeah!" Ivor agreed, putting his hands on his hips.

"We were actually planning to break you out of jail," Petra replied, blinking a few times with that excited grin still on her face, "but, I guess you guys have that covered."

Onscreen, Lukas snorted, covering his mouth with one hand. "Haha, yeah, Jesse managed to talk her way out of the situation. Uh, this..." Lukas glanced at the blonde innkeeper again, a bemused and slightly annoyed look coming over his face as he rubbed the back of his neck, "who's this again?"

"Oh, yeah. Lukas, Milo. Milo, Lukas. Ivor, Milo. Milo, Ivor. Jesse, Milo, Milo, Jesse," Petra introduced, making a face at the long list of introductions. Jesse chuckled, before her eyes widened in shock, and the screen zoomed in on her again.

"Ivor, look!"

The potionologist obediently looked over in time to catch the face Jesse was making at him. He laughed and ruffled a hand through her hair. "Very nice, Jesse," he told her, shaking his head in amusement.

Little-Jesse giggled, before her smile faded into a more confused look. The screen switched to show a smiling Ivor, before it faded into Jace, the top of his head still somewhat blurry. He giggled at the face she was making. "Stop making faces at me, Jesse."

Jesse and Jace exchanged looks.

"Bleeeeehhhh," and Jesse made an even sillier face, making the boy roll his eyes and giggle at it, before the screen faded back in to show Ivor, his own smile having faded as well.

"Jesse? Are you okay?"

The little spider hybrid vigorously bobbed her fluffy head up and down, clasping her hands to her chest.

"Mmhm. I'm fine!"

The screen zoomed back out to show Jesse staring blankly off into the distance, before blinking twice and focusing her gaze back into reality, to see that the group was staring at her expectantly, and a bit in concern.

She made a nonchalant waving motion with her hand and mouthed "I'm fine" to them. They relaxed, although they still looked a bit wary about the whole thing.

"Hello again, Jesse," Milo added when the awkward silence stretched a few seconds longer, giving her a small grin. "It seems fate has destined our paths to cross once more."

Hadrian snorted, subsiding when Milo and- to the blonde innkeeper's surprise- Isa- shot him a glare.

"Uhm," Jesse began, a faintly amused but faintly irritated look on her face, "maybe look at someone's face before blindly punching them next time. Pro tip." And she gave him a dry grin.

Milo looked over at Lukas, rubbing his head awkwardly. "I am terribly sorry about that, friend."

Ivor arched his eyebrow. "What are you doing here anyway? I don't see any inns that need keeping."

Axel snorted, making Olivia twist to give him an arched eyebrow. "Imagine an inn that's just sitting in this fancy palace," he suggested, amused.

Most of the audience was seized with a small fit of the giggles.

Milo blinked at them, before putting his hands on his hips. "In actuality, I am the leader of a group that wants the same thing you do."

The three of them stared at him blankly.

"It's a rebellion," Petra clarified with a grin.

The blonde innkeeper casually got off the couch again upon noticing Isa's darkening expression.

"And you got this rebellion to help you?" Jesse asked, her eyebrow going up and a faint smile twitching at her lips.

Petra tilted her head thoughtfully, before saying in a rather light voice, "Let's just say there's a reason it took this long to convince them to help me save you guys."

The group on the floor all turned to stare at the redhead in perfect unison, identical amused looks fixed on their faces.

There was another long pause before Milo continued, "It is a long story. In short, my people want to free the Eversource from the Founder's clutches so that everyone may use it."

Isa made a strangled choking noise, gaping at the screen before swiveling her head to glower at Milo. Reginald vaulted to his feet, drawing his sword and storming at Milo again. "All right, that is it-"

Milo let out a loud squeak and tripped over his feet again, landing on the floor next to Jesse and Lukas. Jesse glanced at Milo, eyes wide, then at Reginald, who looked pissed, before she launched herself at Petra.

"?!"

Jace ducked out of the way as Jesse's hand dove into Petra's pocket, fumbling around before whipping out the stone sword that Petra had been keeping in there. (Petra had to wonder how Jesse knew that was in there before realizing that Jesse easily could've been reaching for the pickaxe that she'd been keeping in there as well.) Whirling on the spot, but still sitting, Jesse clumsily thrust with the sword, obviously unaccustomed to the weapon.

The idea from earlier flashed through Petra's head again, and the redhead thoughtfully touched her lip.

Jesse's sword clanged against Reginald's sword, the clumsy thrust enough to knock the tip away from Milo and thud harmlessly to the floor, the jarring impact rattling Reginald's arm and making him go 'oof' in surprise. Gabriel leaped to his feet as well, Em shoving herself off the couch (and making Nell bounce around on her seat), and the two of them hauled Reginald away from Milo as far as they could without dislocating something.

Jesse discarded the sword, Petra scooping it up a few seconds later, and scrambled to her feet. (Cassie had paused the episode by now in favor of dealing with this new situation.)

"This man is a fool!" Isa fumed, setting Benedict on the couch next to her and stalking towards Milo angrily. "He has no idea what-"

"Spare us your lies!" Milo snapped back, regaining his composure, "you may have fooled them onscreen, but just because building's risky doesn't mean that everyone else shouldn't be allowed to do it-"

"How dare you," the Founder nearly snarled. "How dare you."

"Um, maybe we should-" Jesse began, timidly.

"The people should be allowed to build!" Milo shot back angrily. "Just because it's risky or dangerous doesn't mean people shouldn't be allowed to do it. No one ever learns that way-"

"Maybe we should just-"

Isa got right up in Milo's face, her green eyes brimming over with rage. "And did it ever occur to you," she hissed, enraged, "that I might be trying to protect you from it? The Eversource is dangerous-"

Milo let out a humorless laugh. "Oh, of course! So that's why you're such a control freak-"

"Guys, fighting won't solve anything-!"

"It will if I win!"

Isa glared at him, seething with anger. "Oh, of course you'd think that-"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Both Sky Citizens jumped, Reginald's furious face falling into a shocked one, most of the audience starting a bit, and all of them turning to see-

Jesse, who was glaring at them both, green eyes brimming over with repressed anger that she'd finally let out and gleaming brightly. Her hands were clenching and unclenching into fists, shaking all the while, and while she was easily at least a head shorter than both of them, in that moment she seemed to be crackling with energy and towering so that her height was nearly level with the ceiling.

Jace and Lukas exchanged wide-eyed, silent glances, before looking back at Jesse.

Most of the members of the audience were just now realizing how they may not have ever seen her truly pissed off before this point, both onscreen and in real life.

"BOTH OF YOU, TAKE FIVE GIANT STEPS AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER RIGHT NOW!" Jesse roared, stepping so that she was standing right next to them, and then shoving her arms out so that they were both shoved apart, Milo falling onto his butt and Isa tripping before falling to the floor, both of them gawking at the petite girl.

Isa opened her mouth to say something, but Jesse made a cutting motion with her hand and cut her off. "Shut up!" she boomed, voice going off like a thunderclap in their ears, "both of you, shut up and don't say a word until I've finished!" she snapped, glaring at them both as if daring them to contradict her.

Milo's mouth had opened a bit as well, but upon seeing the thunderous look on her face his mouth shut rapidly with a small clop!

Satisfied, Jesse put one hand on her hip and shook her finger at them, making several of the audience members hide a smile despite themselves- Jesse looked as if she was scolding a pair of small children. "Look," she began again, in a much calmer but still loud voice, "I don't know exactly how your world works. None of us- except for maybe Reginald- can know exactly how it works.

"But right now, we're not in your world. We're in a different one where we're watching a story unfold- a story that may have nothing to do with the one that may or may not happen in our world. So, at least for the time we're here, could you please just get along with one another?"

Jesse paused, before adding, in a slightly quieter voice, "And if you can't get along with each other, can you at least peacefully co-exist in the same space?"

This definitely prompted several smiles from the other members of the audience.

Isa and Milo leveled still-slightly-shocked looks at one another, a reluctant, cold look coming over their faces as they stared the other down. But neither of them wanted to make a flippant comment and possibly piss Jesse off again- the first time was scary enough.

"I suppose..." Milo muttered reluctantly, after a few seconds.

"Fine... but just for now," Isa mumbled.

Satisfied with this deal, Jesse crossed her arms, staring at the two of them. "Good. Now shake on it."

Isa opened her mouth to protest, paused at Jesse's raised eyebrow, and finally huffed. Reaching out a reluctant hand to Milo, she stared into his eyes, a look that was barely containing her utter disgust for this man leveled right at him.

Milo regarded her hand much like one person would regard a piece of rotten meat, but after a few seconds he took ahold of her hand and gave it the briefest shake he could, though it didn't stop Isa from squeezing his hand so hard that his face tightened in pain that he refused to show.

Jesse relaxed upon seeing that, and simply gave a nod. "Good," she told them.

Then she flopped down next to Lukas, looking exhausted by the whole ordeal.

Once everyone had quietly climbed back into their seats, Reginald and Isa glaring at Milo hotly and the blonde innkeeper returning it gladly, Cassie pressed the play button again. The screen loaded, since it had been paused for a couple minutes by now, before it started moving again.

Milo walked towards the Founder's throne onscreen. "If Aiden and the Blaze Rods steal the Eversource, we'll just be trading one tyrant for another and I won't allow that."

Jesse coughed, giving him an apologetic look. "Well, I don't think she's a- tyrant, exactly-"

Lukas stepped forward, a moody look on his face. "Yeah..." he frowned, cutting Jesse off by accident, "Aiden's gotta be stopped."

"If we work together," Milo reasoned, "we can find it first!"

The spider hybrid thought about it for a few seconds, regarding Milo with her luminous green-and-red eyes, before a smile twitched over her lips, and she inclined her head in a nod. "Milo, I'm happy to have you aboard," she told him lightly, "welcome to the team."

"Very pleased to be involved," Milo replied, giving the girl a grin, before tilting his head thoughtfully and looking around, moving away with a bemused look on his face. "The Founder's secret entrance is supposed to be somewhere in this throne room..."

Jesse and Lukas's eyes widened in perfect sync, and they both swiveled their heads to look over their shoulder at the minecart tracks from earlier. Jesse walked over to the tracks, a redstone trail leading to the wall, and looked up at the wall.

"Er," Stampy said, grinning sheepishly, "maybe you shouldn't have the redstone trail in plain sight if it's supposed to be a 'secret'."

Dan repressed a good-natured snort at that, and had to work doubly hard to do so upon spotting Isa's faintly disgruntled expression.

"There was a door here before," the spider hybrid said onscreen, sounding a bit breathless as she looked up and down the huge wall, "with a minecart."

The ocelot hybrid narrowed his cyan eyes at it as he drew level with the group. "Yeah... wonder what happened to it."

"I bet the Founder removed the lever that powers this redstone circuit so nobody could sneak in at night," Jesse mused, pointing at the redstone trail on the floor.

"You'd be right about that," Isa responded, almost as if she'd been in the middle of an hour-long conversation, "it's just a precaution to avoid thieves trying to take the Eversource," and she shot Milo a glare.

The blonde innkeeper gladly returned it, as onscreen-Jesse continued, "so we just need to make something to activate the circuit again... there's gotta be something in here that we could use."

"Like a lever," Ivor spoke up from where he was standing near the throne, making both of them look over at him, "if you can find one of those bad boys we'll have that secret door open in a snap," and he gave them a quick grin.

Jesse returned the grin and regarded the floor for another moment, thoughtfully, before moving away and starting to walk around the throne room.


A/N: I'm doin' my best to space everything out for the special. If we keep going at this rate, and if I slow stuff down a bit, we might be able to get to the 100-chapter special before- well- you know.

Also, expect the narrator to abruptly return in the next few chapters xD

RQTC: What will you guys do after this story is finished?

S4SH4L4SH4theGaMeR101: Good! :3 / Reginald would say you're welcome, but he can't hear you unless I break the fourth wall again. That'd be a bit weird, considering we've already got a breaking of the fourth wall within the story. / Hehehe xD

RapidSammi: (rubs ears) xD / Sort of but not really, but feel free to go ahead xD

CrystalTearsofFaith: It actually is. It's literally the definition of 'narcissism'- falling in love with oneself. 0-0 huh. / Hehehe xD / (squeals with you) Maybe (winks)

LittleAngelbun: (grins) / Hahaha xD Netflix must wait, I guess.

the indecisive bird: Yay! / Okay, good, I was ninety percent sure, but it never hurts to be certain. :3 / I might not have seen that then xD / (laughs)

NinaNaranja: Hehe :3 / I try, but I'm not very good with it xD / Ahahahaha xD that sucks.

Guy101: I can't really, because Jesse accusing one of them triggers a flashback and that one gives information pertinent to the Hybrid storyline. Sorry!

Emily The Avenger: (shrugs) ... wait what really (checks number of reviews) HOLY-

RWBYSTRQ: Tell you what, I'll include it in the Hybrid Oneshots story I'm planning on writing after this :3

Rabbits rule: Spraining your wrist does hurt... / Thanks! / (blinks twice)

LunarStarsMoons: Glad I made you laugh. / (laughs) I didn't include it for a few seconds and I had to add it in at the last minute xD / Yay!

AquaK13: But so is Milo. xD / (cracks up) / Uh, please, don't jump into the lava pit... ahh, too late. / Heehee x3

Beli0304: (grins sheepishly) / (grin turns mischievous)

homeworkoverload: Woo! / (laughs) / Yep! Lots and LOTS and LOTS of projects. xD / Yay! / Hahaha, being an Author does not get me out of school, unfortunately. / xD Oh well.

RavenBlaze4850: Aiden's already sitting right NEXT to Cassie xD / (blinks twice) Er... okay? xD / We are at Chapter 96, so it'll literally be at a pause in the middle of the episode xD

J.M.M.: You are very welcome, good sir. :3 / Okay...?

Guest: Ahhhh. That sucks. Why'd you go to Apple, though? DS is Nintendo. / Ahhhh. / (laughs) Well, it's coming.

sailor . mikuchan: Good!

Darkbeast Dend: (blinks) ... cool, I guess.

x.X. A.L. X.x