A few moments later, Jesse tilted her head back and squinted up at the graying sky. "We should get back up," she remarked quietly.
Isa started, dark green eyes widening. "Getting back up... my word, you're right, we need to do that. I hadn't... even thought that far ahead yet," she murmured, tilting her head back as well.
Jesse stepped forward and stared at her reflection in the water, a thoughtful look coming over her face.
The image faded to show Jace again, holding both his clenched hands out to Jesse with a beaming grin. "Your turn!" he chirped happily, his ears pricked up- his wolf ears.
Jace's eyes widened a bit in surprise at the sight of the brownish-gray wolf ears sitting on his head, no longer blurry and out-of-focus. Axel blinked in surprise, Olivia let out a little gasp, Jesse made a 'hmm!' sound, and Lukas put one hand to his mouth in realization.
Petra just let out a low whistle and leaned on him a bit, shaking her head. "Well, well, well. Looks like we don't only have one Jesse who's a hybrid."
Onscreen, the spider hybrid considered his two hands, tapping her lip with a thoughtful look. "Umm... I pick-"
Light suddenly spilled into the dim room as the door creaked open, making both hybrids flinch a bit before turning to look up in the doorway.
Two backlit silhouettes stood there, one of them tinged purple, the other tinged a painful white. The white one walked into the room, the light fading a bit- enough to show that he was some sort of scientist. "Let's see... well, we can probably spare this one." And he adjusted his path so that he was walking straight for Jace, to both the two small hybrids' and the audience's near horror. "He's usually a pretty good pup-"
"No! Leave me alone!" Jace yelped, dropping whatever he'd been holding and darting away so that he was behind Jesse.
Little-Jesse looked at him, before getting back up and shaking her head. "Why do you need him?!" she demanded.
The scientist didn't give an answer, simply continuing to walk towards the two. The little spider hybrid's eyes were beginning to turn red, anxiety in her expression. "D-don't come near h-h-him-!" she commanded, but her voice was wavering, and she was beginning to tremble in fear.
"I don't like the look of that," Ivor said, quietly.
The scientist sidestepped Jesse and picked Jace up as if he was a rag doll. Jace started snarling, flailing his his limbs frantically as he tried to twist himself out of the scientist's grip, snapping suddenly sharp canines near the scientist's face and just barely missing before-
SLAP.
Jace's eyes widened.
The little wolf hybrid was whimpering a bit, rubbing his rapidly reddening cheek where the scientist had just delivered a vicious backhand blow. Meeting no resistance now, the scientist flung him unceremoniously over his shoulder- almost like a sack of potatoes- and began walking back to the door.
"No!" Axel protested. "Jesse, you have to stop that guy!"
"I'm sure I'll try," Jesse said quietly.
"Did you forget that they can't hear you?" Ellegaard asked, sounding faintly amused by that.
"As if you haven't forgotten that fact yourself before."
The spider hybrid raced towards the scientist, who turned on the spot and began reaching into his pocket. "Give him back!" she shouted, desperation making the pitch of her voice rise dangerously.
"Go, Jesse!" Nell crowed, cupping her hands to her mouth as she shouted at the screen.
Jesse was almost upon them when there was a sudden bzzt! and a dazzling flash of lightning flung her backwards, smoke rising off of the little girl's body.
"JESSE!" half the audience yelled. Maya was biting her nails now.
Jesse slowly struggled so that she could see Jace, who was reaching out for her. "Noo... Jesseeeee!" he cried, tears beginning to spill out of his eyes. "Ahhhhhh!" The childish wail that had begun erupting from his mouth was growing to a nearly hysterical pitch.
"I'll come find you!" the spider hybrid tried to scream, but she was shaking so bad and her vision seemed to be blurring in and out that it came out as more of a croak. "I... promise!" And she crossed her heart and covered her eye, hand shaking so much that it actually took her almost ten seconds to do it.
The scientist handed the crying wolf hybrid over to the other backlit silhouette, before turning back and withdrawing a gray remote with a buttons on it. "Hm, I've been wondering if these chips that she made work."
"'She'...?" Otto wondered.
And then the scientist pressed a button.
Jesse grabbed at her head, dropping back to the floor with a gasp of pain. "I-it hurts!" she cried out, tears beginning to force their way out of her eyes, pouring down her cheeks, dripping onto the floor, and this scene was so emotionally painful to watch that several members of the audience were turning away from the scream, but that wasn't stopping the audio of the episode.
Too bad there wasn't a volume control on the remote.
"Stop hurting her! Stop hurting my sister!" Little Jace screamed, his voice hysterical and raw from sobbing, "stop it!" And Jesse was crying too, sobbing her eyes out, clawing at her head and futilely trying to stop the pain, and Jesse wasn't even watching herself on the screen anymore, she was curling up into a little ball and clamping at her ears and that horrible keening noise was starting up again, and Real-Jace was shaking as well, shaking and shaking and shaking so bad that Petra, her arm still around Jace's shoulders, was also vibrating with how hard he was shaking.
And suddenly, there was a soft, electrical hum, and Jesse's body jerked, before her head collided with the ground, the screen going black almost simultaneously with an echoing scream the only sound that lingered before fading away altogether.
Slowly, Sparklez unclamped his hands from his ears. Real-Jesse was slowly uncurling from her ball, Lukas's hands wrapped around her wrists from behind as she lifted her head to look at the screen.
Finally, the screen faded back in to show Jesse struggling back upright, one hand holding her head painfully. She touched her face and watched with almost detached interest as tears dripped down her fingers.
"Where..." Jesse looked around the dark room, as if this was the first time she'd ever seen it. A moment later, she slowly corrected her statement.
"Who... am I?"
Suddenly, the screen zoomed out to show the older spider hybrid jumping a bit as a loud groan and a poof sound rang out loudly behind her. She twisted around in time to see a flaming zombie slam into the ground and burst into smoke, Isa jumping a bit as she also turned to look at the spot.
"Wait- they're not going to elaborate on what the heck that was?! What's that about?" Magnus complained, looking a bit shaken by the scene he'd just witnessed and mopping his eyes before anyone could get a good look at his face.
"Someone took Jace away from Jesse, and erased her memory..." Ellegaard spoke slowly, squinting at the screen as if that would help her piece together what was going on.
"Hey, that explains that first scene we saw! Remember how they all suddenly collapsed? They must've been using the memory chips or something!" Cassie exclaimed, snapping her fingers in realization.
Soren's eyes widened as he processed Cassie's exclamation. "You're right... and that would explain why Jesse had no recollection of Jace before that moment!"
Jesse and Jace exchanged wide-eyed glances.
Onscreen, Jesse and Isa exchanged bemused looks at the fact that a zombie had just fallen from the sky, before both of them slowly tilted their head back and up to see a flaming skeleton- accompanied by more and more falling, burning monsters- falling right at them.
The spider hybrid lunged forward, grabbing ahold of Isa's arm, and yanked herself and the Founder sideways as the skeleton came crashing down right where the two of them had just been, barely missing hitting the both of them.
Isa let out a relieved sigh. "It looks like I'm going to owe you quite a bit in the future, Jesse," she sighed, one hand over her heart from where it was rapidly fluttering in fear.
"No problem, happy to help," Jesse said quickly in return, smiling at Isa. "You don't owe me a thing."
Onscreen, Jesse let out a relieved sigh and looked up to watch for more falling, flaming monsters. "I've heard of it raining cats and dogs before, but I've never heard of it raining zombies and skeletons," she said breathlessly, her attempted joke falling flat from how outright frightened she sounded.
Isa looked up as well, fear creeping into her expression. "What's going on up there?" she asked, the fear invading her voice as well.
Jesse frowned thoughtfully. An expression of realization slowly dawned on her face, but not the good kind of realization- rather, it was the kind of realization you get when you realize something awful. "Aiden must be going crazy with all those spawn eggs..." she whispered in realization.
Aiden flinched a bit.
"... monsters everywhere," Isa finished, her face going about twenty shades paler. And she was already pretty damn pale.
"This is going to be bad. This is going to be very, very bad," the spider hybrid said, one hand going up to her mouth in worry.
"We can see that," Ivor muttered sarcastically, but he was getting quite nervous too, if the way he was fidgeting with a loose thread on the couch arm was any indication.
"We can see that," the narrator mumbled, making Jesse's eyes flicker up to glance at the sky.
"Hey, I just said that."
Thankfully, the narrator didn't echo this statement, or else that would've just been really weird.
Lukas glowered at the ground. "I can't believe Aiden could be so..."
"Crazy?" Petra suggested.
"Schizophrenic?" Mevia added.
"Delusional?" Ivor snarked.
"Angry?" Jesse meekly interjected.
"- stupid...!" Lukas finished, looking irritated.
"That works too."
"I can't leave my subjects in whatever trouble they're in!" the Founder exclaimed, another tone of anxiety creeping into her voice, staring into the sky, before whipping around to look at Jesse, fear shining in her eyes. "Jesse, will you please help me get back to Sky City? Stop Aiden?"
"Why would I not help you? You're the Founder. You care about your people, you risk your life everyday to get materials for people, and you built the entirety of Sky City itself without help. The people- your people-" Jesse corrected herself, "need our help." She glanced up, anxiety creeping into her voice a bit. "I hope my friends are okay, too."
"I'm sure we're fine," Petra said, gently (GENTLY) clapping Jesse on the back.
"Yes. Petra's a Blaze hybrid and a member of the Hybrid Order of the Stone, while I used to be a member of the Order of the Stone. We can handle ourselves," Ivor nodded from where he was sitting.
Real-Jesse smiled worriedly. "I know you guys can handle yourselves. But... I'm not sure you can handle yourselves and the citizens of an entire city," she said at last, voice growing smaller.
"Yeah, Peets," Jace said to Petra, who flicked him gently on the head and murmured something about not calling her that. "I mean, I know you're strong, but... you're not that strong."
Real-Isa was looking more and more distressed as this conversation went on.
Milo reached out and patted her on the shoulder, making her head snap to his. Reginald narrowed his eyes and touched the sword on his hip, but Milo, for once, was regarding the Founder with an almost kind expression. "I'm not the only one who knows how to fight a little in Sky City. Between those two-" he jerked his head at Ivor and Petra- "Reginald, some of the members of the guard, and the few citizens who do know how combat works, I'm sure the people will be alright for the most part."
Isa slowly managed a weak smile in his direction, her lips trembling a bit in fear. Milo gave her an encouraging pat and sat back, turning back to the screen.
Onscreen, Isa looked grateful and a bit relieved. "Thank you, Jesse," she sighed.
Jesse gave the Founder a nod and a small smile, before scanning their surroundings. The screen switched to pan around, before stopping on a small tower of dirt nearby. It looked like a makeshift beacon. A small smile crept over the spider hybrid's face. "Hm... that'll work."
Soren squinted at it, before nodding. "Yes... enough dirt, and it just might work."
"What might work?" Reginald asked.
Hadrian was nodding grudgingly as well. "Not bad," he uttered.
"What's not bad? What are you talking about?" Isa asked, looking around at the other members of the audience, who were starting to nod and make affirmative sounds.
Lukas drew level with Jesse, following her gaze, before nodding a bit himself, smiling slightly. "I see what you're getting at. Nice."
"Well, would someone care to explain it to me, please?" Isa asked, looking a bit disgruntled that she couldn't catch their drift.
Jesse gave a dry chuckle as she turned back to the Founder. "You'd better get ready to build something huge. Maybe one of the biggest things in your life. We're building a tower of dirt all the way back to Sky City." Jesse started jogging towards the structure, the other two following. "Grab as much dirt as you can carry!"
The screen sped up as she and Isa- Lukas was still clutching his arm, and she actually stopped him during the sped-up portion- mined dirt away at a prodigious rate, so much that soon, Jesse's inventory had to have been filled with dirt, her sword, dirt, the pumpkin, dirt, and dirt. Did I mention dirt?
"Mmmmkay, that should do it," Jesse decided as the screen slowed back down, scooping up one last dirt block.
Isa had her head tilted, staring at something past Jesse. "Jesse... what is that?"
Jesse turned to look, the screen following her gaze... to show a golden structure that matched the one back at the temple to a T, albeit a bit dirty and muddy but otherwise standing as proudly as the one in the temple.
"Oh, hey!" Stacy exclaimed, "it's the portal out!"
"Yeah, I was kinda wondering how the heck you were going to get out of there after you were done," Magnus nodded, squinting at the screen.
Jesse approached it, Isa following as Lukas came down to see what they were looking at. His lips twitched into a smile, and he gave his head a slow shake. "Just... wow, what are the odds?" he murmured with a chuckle.
"Well, what is it?" Isa asked curiously, and perhaps a bit crossly.
The spider hybrid turned to Isa, grinning a bit. "It's... the other half of the portal that brought me here," she said, a low chuckle sounding in her throat as she turned back to them fully.
Lukas nodded. "Yeah, what a relief. I mean, once you get that flint and steel back, it should just be a straight shot home, now."
"Very true," Gabriel hummed. "That'd probably be a bit nice. I mean, that WAS an exciting adventure, but I imagine you four must want to get back home now."
Onscreen, Jesse was climbing out of the hole to the tower of dirt, twisting to look back at the other two. "Well, guys, you ready for this?"
The Founder nodded a bit, shakily. "Y-yes, I- I think so."
Lukas winced a bit as he slowly moved his hand away from his arm, letting it slowly drop back into place at his side. "I, um..."
"Oh no... what is it now?" Maya mumbled, low enough so that only Gill heard it. The bearded member of the 'Blaze Rods' just winced.
"I think I've actually gotta sit this one out, Jesse," the ocelot hybrid said, apologetically. "I'm still not 100 percent after my little 'duel' with Aiden."
Aiden winced. He'd been doing a lot of that lately.
"Not sure I'm up to towering all the way back to Sky City." Lukas shook his head, looking absolutely dejected. "I'm really sorry."
Jesse shook her head, reaching out and giving his shoulder a squeeze with a concerned smile. "Hey, it's fine. Make sure you're okay... okay?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Can do." Lukas scowled a bit. "Make sure to hit Aiden for me."
"Can do, chief," Jesse said, grinning at Lukas and helping him lean back against a tree. He grunted a bit when he accidentally put some pressure on his bad arm, but otherwise was quiet.
"There ya go," Jesse said, smiling at him and patting him on the head. The ocelot hybrid closed his eyes with a soft purr, a pleased smile coming over his face.
"Yes, thank you... for trying to help," Isa told Lukas gratefully, "it was very noble of you."
Lukas glanced back at Isa. The black-haired woman gave him a grateful smile when she spotted the glance.
He returned it with a smile of his own.
Onscreen, the ocelot hybrid raised his eyebrow at them with a soft chuckle. "What's with the 'last goodbye' tone? I'll see you guys when you get back."
"If they get back," Hadrian muttered.
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
The spider hybrid nodded at that and gave his good shoulder a squeeze. "We'll be back before you know it. I promise," and her childish voice seemed to echo along with her real one, making the girl falter, before giving him a smile and straightening back up. She turned to look directly at the Founder, a small smile making its way across her face.
"C'mon. We've got an epic climb ahead of us."
A/N: Yes, I am still alive xD
RQTC: What social media (if any) do you have?
Let's see... YouTube, DeviantArt, Quotev (does that count?), Twitter (which I don't really use), and... that's it.
I'm planning on posting a blog for my original projects, or my own website. What do you guys think?
Kaos Ruin: xD
LunarStarsMoons: Okey :3 / Yes indeed. The Narrator is a horny little bastard. (So, not me. xD I will give a hint to who it is, though; you don't know the person because I haven't introduced 'em yet. The Authors from TFG (with maybe the exception of Gamer) should know who it is, though; they have showed up on the chat a few times before. ... okay, once.) / Yes, AquaK13. I thought it was the most perfect thing I'd ever seen xD / Thanks!
S4SH4L4SH4theGaMeR101: I've literally memorized your username at this point xD / Lol, I do too. Sometimes xD
RapidSammi: Ahh. It's really cool, check it out x3
Emily The Avenger: Lol go ahead if ya want xD / YES IT IS xD / Bai!
sailor . mikuchan: Heehee xD
RebekahTPE: Ahhh, that sucks xD / Thanks! And don't worry, you're just fashionably late. x3 / Heehee / Green. Green all the way. (ALL THE WAY, FEELS GOOD TO BE A WINNER, EVERY NOW AND THEN- lol, sorry, Jacksepticye is a thing xD)
AquaK13: (cracks up) Yeah, that was my reaction to that part as well, tbh xD / I haven't done anything xD / Yes, it is! / Heehee xD / It's good, you should check it out :3 / x3
the indecisive bird: It's soooo good, I'm planning a MCSM crossover with it after this story's done. Just... add that to the very long list of projects I have to work on after HCM xD
giriri: Very true x3
Immapotato101: (cracks up) Aww, I'm sorry I got you in trouble, but I'm glad to hear you liked that part xD / Thank you!
CrystalTearsofFaith: (nods) / IT'S AMAZING / Lol, nice x3 / (cracks up) / Oh GOD (jk I love puns)
RavenBlaze4850: Very true x3 / Oh my god, I should totally put that as the reason for the rating xD / The Narrator is just there to be an annoying little presence to Jesse xD buuuuut... there might be some helpful info later (totally innocent face) / Very true xD and also Jesse is badass. Snow White just sings and cleans. / I'm not spoiling it, go read it. I will say that the sass is real xD
RWBYSTRQ: Lol same here xD And I'm the one writing this. / Ahhh xD
Jack638: CHECK IT OUT IT'S AMAZING / I know, right? / (smiles)
SofiaTheWriter88: Such a dramatic name xD / Thank you!
homeworkoverload: Nope, not quite. x3 / Lol same here.
InsaneAcrobat: Isa was kind of pissed at Jesse and then trying to apologize... I don't think she would've been able to work in a "Oh by the way, my name is Isa" in there xD
See y'all next chapter!
x.X. A.L. X.x
