"Alright, Jesse," Ivor said, after indulging in letting the three girls try to stifle their giggles, "choose, quickly now!" And he pushed the two bottles at Jesse insistently.
Jesse's laughter immediately subsided, and her eyes flickered to the potions. "Ah, hm..." She stared at them for a moment, before looking back up and extending her hand. "I suppose I'll take the potion of leaping."
Real-Petra made a thoughtful humming sound. "Hmm, I guess I could see that working out... oh, especially with Jesse as a spider hybrid. That'll definitely get her over the mobs, and all..."
"And with the extra arms," Real-Jesse chimed in, eyes lighting up, "I don't even have to put down any redstone or buttons- I can just use the flint and steel to light it and drop it right on them!"
"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Magnus said, eyes lighting up. Axel's eyes had also started sparkling dangerously.
"No," Ellegaard, Olivia, and Mevia all chorused at once.
"I didn't even say anything!" Axel exclaimed.
Ellegaard sighed, leaning back into the couch and lying down on Magnus a little more. "At this point, it's really not hard to figure out what you two are thinking. Especially at the mention of explosions."
Onscreen-Ivor huffed, handing over the potion smoothly. "All right, all right, don't jump all over me."
Jesse paused, still looking down at the potion bottle in her hands, before looking up at Ivor with a tiny smirk on her face. "Did you just make a pun, Ivor?" she asked, mildly.
Lukas paled at that. Real-Jesse beamed. Seriously, it was so hard to imagine that she could do anything but sit there and look downright angelic. You could practically see a halo hovering over her head.
Onscreen, Ivor's cheeks seemed to be turning a darker shade of red, although it was kind of hard to tell since it was so dark. "What? I thought it was funny."
"No no, I didn't say it wasn't funny, but..."
"Oh no," Lukas whispered, putting his head in his hands.
"I know you probably could've made a better pun and blown our minds," the spider hybrid said mildly, that smirk on her face growing to nearly gargantuan proportions as she pointed at the block of TNT sitting by their knees.
Real-Lukas buried his head in Jesse's back. (Not that she was going to complain.)
The screen switched to show the two redheads looking quite a lot as though they were trying their hardest not to die of laughing, if that was in fact possible. Petra was doubled over and curled up on herself, weakly hitting the ground with one of her fists while trembling, and Cassie had buried her face in Winslow to try to muffle her laughter (which wasn't working), which in turn started making several members of the audience titter.
Ivor bit his lip, looking as though he were fighting back his own smile as well, before Jesse shook her head with a soft chuckle and uncorked the bottle with this little popping sound as the cork, well, popped out. "Hm. With this, I don't even need the redstone or buttons. I've got the flint and steel, so I can just light it and drop the TNT on 'em from the sky."
Onscreen-Ivor nodded, giving Jesse a soft pat as the two redheads finally recovered, dark blue eyes seeming to soften slightly. "Don't worry, Jesse. We'll be right behind you."
Petra and Cassie, now not looking as if they were about to die of laughter, quickly nodded in agreement. Even Winslow bobbed his head up and down in a nod at the statement.
Jesse smiled at the four of them (if you count Winslow), beginning to raise the potion to her mouth. "Thanks, guys." She looked at the potion, a more serious look coming over her face. "Okay, potion. Do your stuff." And in a single, fluid motion, she tilted her head back and dumped the potion into her mouth.
"This is going to look so cool," Nell grinned, bouncing on the couch a bit in excitement.
Real-Petra nodded in agreement. "Totally. Leaping potions are cool enough on their own, but with Jesse as a spider hybrid..." she grinned at Real-Jesse, who smiled back cheerfully with Lukas still having his head buried in her back.
The spider hybrid blinked immediately, glancing down as swirls of green began to dance in the air around her, indicating that the potion had taken effect. Standing up, she carefully walked to the other side of the wall, turning around to face the nearest building and dropping to all eights. Her eyes narrowed as her legs tensed... and then she launched herself into the air.
The jump, which she probably wouldn't have made completely before, even as a spider hybrid, sent her flying into the air, allowing her to do a little flip and land neatly on the roof, limbs skittering slightly as she caught herself. Quickly, she turned around, scanning the landscape.
Her green-and-red eyes caught a small gaggle of skeletons clattering along, and, without preparing whatsoever, the spider hybrid launched herself into the air again, body starting to do a slow, lazy flip as she whipped out the block of TNT in her hands. Quickly pulling out the enchanted flint and steel (which was the only flint and steel she had on her person right now) using her middlemost set of arms, she clicked it together, the spark catching into the TNT and making it flash white dangerously, much more quickly than a normal spark reacting with TNT would.
"Throw it!" Clutch shouted.
Hastily, the spider hybrid drew her arms back over her head and chucked it over her head down at the skeletons, flashing even more rapidly than before. Immediately, she finished the flip, touching down on the roof of a near building. Behind her, a huge blast of smoke and sound erupted behind her, a few bones going flying in the explosion.
"Awesome!" Nell cheered, pumping her fists in the air.
"That looked so cool, dude!" Axel reached over and quickly enveloped Jesse (and Lukas, since she was practically leaning against the blonde right now) in a hug, before sitting back over again.
Jesse grinned at Lukas, the blonde returning the smile.
Quickly straightening back up, the spider hybrid used her uppermost set of arms to pull out a single TNT block. The screen whirled around to show two groups of creepers and a group of zombies approaching one another. Hastily, her middlemost set of arms clicked the TNT block together, even as she leaped into the air again. Looking down, the spider hybrid merely released the TNT block, before angling her body-
And slamming down on all eights, just shy of the creepers, which began to flash dangerously-
"Oh goodness!" Soren gasped.
The spider hybrid immediately kept scuttling in the direction of the door to the PAMA Core (hey, that rhymed), not looking back as behind her, the creepers exploded simultaneously and blasted the falling TNT in the direction of the zombies, the resulting explosion sending a huge plume of sand flying into the air and presumably leaving a rather large crater.
"Okay, that was pretty smart planning," Em admitted, a tiny smirk quirking over her mouth. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the burly girl might just be impressed by that just now.
The spider hybrid continued scuttling along rapidly, before tensing her legs and launching herself into the air without a pause, flicking out what looked like to be the last block of TNT, lighting it simultaneously, and, quickly releasing one arm from it, hauled it back before chucking it down at a huge horde of zombies that had started converging with another.
Suddenly, the spider hybrid's green and red eyes flashed a bit, widening in alarm as the screen suddenly slowed down to nearly glacial speeds, before sliding over to her left.
PAMA's impassive face stared back at her.
"Oh... I think PAMA might've noticed Jesse," Aiden winced.
"I mean, I'm pretty sure it would've noticed her regardless, what with all of those explosions just now," Hadrian pointed out.
"True."
The spider hybrid's gaze hardened slowly, before her head snapped back forward, time returning back to its proper speed, and she slammed to a halt on the ground on the other side of the screen, glancing back just in time to see the horde of zombies being blown apart, and she turned again and ran for the doorway Harper had showed her before.
"Is that you, Jesse?" PAMA called out, calmly as always.
"It literally just saw her. Who else would it be? Reuben?" Hadrian muttered sarcastically.
He winced as Otto dug his elbow into his ribs, once again. That bruise was starting to really hurt, at this point.
"Because this won't work."
"You don't know anything, you stupid computer!" Reginald found himself snapping, to his faint surprise. He glanced over at the Founder, but he could see that she had the same sentiment reflected in her eyes. And Milo looked pretty irked with PAMA himself.
"My forces will protect the Exit Portal."
Harper's eyes widened, and she jerked back a bit as if she'd been physically slapped. Real-Ivor winced, reaching out and taking ahold of her wrist in what he hoped was a comforting way.
Onscreen, Jesse actually skidded to a halt, whirling around to stare at PAMA with her eyes widening.
Around her, the telltale green swirls faded out of sight, indicating that the potion had worn off again.
"Well..." the narrator suddenly came back on, with a voice that sounded almost chagrined, but Jesse just looked so shocked that she didn't even react to the narrator. "That confirmed it. Harper got chipped."
Mevia's expression twitched. It was only for a second, and it was very minute, but Otto noticed it.
He decided not to say anything. Yet.
Over Jesse's shoulder, where she must've soared over earlier, was a group of chipped people putting together a portal. The archway looking like some sort of black material, lined with redstone, the arch hadn't been totally completed, but it looked like a good amount of progress had been made on it.
"Oh goodness, hurry!" Isa gasped, eyes widening. "If PAMA gets through the portal-"
Almost as if onscreen-Jesse had heard the woman, she dropped back to all eights and started scuttling towards the door to the Core again, eyes scanning the landscape. PAMA continued, as if Jesse was sitting and listening, "My friends have almost finished building our new Exit Portal. And then, I will make all other worlds, useful. Yay." A weird flickering sound came on, the screen moving to show that PAMA was now 'smiling'.
As Jesse came skidding around a corner, the red, glowing doorway could be seen.
"Alright, you're almost there!" Gabriel encouraged, slumping back and letting out a barely audible sigh of relief.
"Now to just dump water on PAMA's stuff and then yank out the Redstone Heart," Jesse said, sounding a bit relieved herself.
She paused a moment later. "... y'know, when I put it like that, it sounds a lot less important than it actually is."
Half of the audience hid grins at the thoughtful statement.
Ivor, Petra, and Cassie skidded to a stop near Jesse as she whipped back to her feet, Cassie quickly pulling Winslow off of her head and wincing slightly painfully as her beanie came with it a little bit. Cassie was awkwardly maneuvering her axe around to avoid hurting herself or Winslow as she pulled him off, having taken it out earlier, and Petra's sword was out and pulsing with light, although it hadn't ignited yet.
Jesse sighed, looking sheepishly up at them as she rubbed her head a bit. "Agh. I think PAMA might be onto me. I don't know about you guys, but definitely me."
"Really?" Petra snarked, looking more nervous than annoyed, "you don't think the explosions had anything to do with it?"
"Ooh, nice," Ivor remarked, giving Petra a strange sort of smile- it looked a bit as if he were slightly afraid himself.
"Now's probably not the time for sarcasm," Dan said, making a slightly funny face. "You should all probably hurry."
"Hurrying sounds like a good idea. Let's go with that idea," Stacy almost squeaked a bit, nervously.
"The townspeople are already building the Exit Portal," Jesse continued urgently, choosing to diplomatically ignoring the sarcasm, "we've got to shut down this oversized hunk of metal and redstone before it can send its chipped forces through it-!"
"I will find you, Jesse," PAMA interrupted the comment.
Onscreen-Jesse let out a irritated sigh, putting a hand to her head. "Rude..."
"I have lots of friends."
"I think Jesse might have more than this computer does," Real-Ivor suddenly grinned a little bit, having suddenly been amused by the thought. Harper smiled a bit herself, although it seemed fainter than usual.
"True."
Jesse let out a very loud, very annoyed groan, skin going a shade paler, as the screen whirled around to show a horde of zombies and skeletons, all marching in perfect sync, searching the landscape for her. "Oh no," she muttered, before racing towards the doorway.
Instead of following, Cassie just extended her axe forward defensively, gaze hardening as Winslow started hissing dangerously. Ivor smoothly pulled a sword out, keeping the blade low and almost waiting for an attack. Petra twirled her sword, a circle of fire immediately flaring to life around the three of them defensively.
"What are you puny people doing?" Facemeat wondered.
Petra was about to turn to him and reply that she wasn't puny. In fact, she got to the part where she turned to look at him, and doing so reminded her that this guy towered about a head or two taller than Axel, and compared to him, both height and body size-wise, she probably was kind of puny.
So she just shut her mouth again.
Ignoring the comment, Cassie gave her shoulders a little shrug. "I... do not know."
The spider hybrid skidded to a halt just outside the door, eyes slightly wide in shock. "Guys!" she shouted back to them.
Petra glanced back at Jesse, before reaching into her pocket and fishing out a flash of metal that reflected the heat of the firelight- just for a second- before winging it at Jesse, the spider hybrid's lower arms shooting out and catching it, the metal clanking a bit as it hit her hands and sent a small bit of water sloshing out over the edges.
Ivor looked back around at Jesse himself, reaching into his own pocket and hurling it to Jesse, who caught it again, water spilling out over the edges again.
"Don't worry, Jesse- we'll hold them off!" Cassie shouted, swinging her axe around in a wide, whistling arc, smashing it straight into a nearby zombie and making it puff into a plume of smoke immediately.
"Go finish this and save Lukas!" Petra added, giving the more petite girl an encouraging, almost dangerous grin, "you can do this!"
"Guys..." Jesse trailed off, her green eyes shimmering with some emotion that was hard to discern. Gratitude? Relief? Maybe even hope?
She didn't say anything for a few moments.
She didn't have to.
"... thank you."
Onscreen, Jesse returned the grin herself, eyes hardening with resolve, before she turned on her heel and charged through the doorway, Petra whipping back around to the mobs with a yell.
The screen switched to show Jesse skidding to a halt above what looked like a large hole, lined with glowing redstone and throbbing with a strange, eerie type of light. Taking a deep breath, Jesse looked down, stepped forward-
And dropped out of sight.
The screen went black.
The entire audience let out gusty breaths of relief that they hadn't even realized they'd been holding. "Well, now that you're there," Stampy said, trying to stay optimistic, "I'm sure it won't be easy, necessarily... but you're almost certainly going to be able to do this." And he gave Jesse an encouraging smile.
Jesse looked at him for a minute, before her gaze softened a little, and she let a shy, happy smile come over her face.
It was nice... to know that she had people to watch her back. To have a feeling of just plain security.
Even if it was only temporary.
A/N: LONG TIME NO UPDATE, HUH?
Yeah... after updating Composite, I might go AWOL for at least a week. I've got all of the main and secondary characters of Phantasmagoria's designs completed, and I'm still receiving background characters for the contest! It ends on August 31 at 12:01. I will most likely include everyone's characters, since I didn't receive as many as I needed, but only 10 will have speaking lines in the final comic. The final decisions for these background characters will be made via a small panel of 'judges'- about three or four of my friends.
Going back to why I might go AWOL, I've got 22 designs to complete and draw for reference, and I'll try to knock all that out as soon as possible. It should also be noted that I will post the final character designs, but some may not be as extensive as others due to me not wishing to spoil the comic. In total, by the time the comic designs are all completed, I will have almost 50 designs and at LEAST 37 speaking roles for the comic dub. (Yes, I will initially be making a comic dub before making the animated version, if I do indeed decide to make the animated version. I'll post that project when I'm into the actual drawing phase, which still might not be for... another 6 months, at least. I work fast.)
Okay, back to not Phantasmagoria stuff! Didja like the chapter?
Also, updates WILL get significantly slower, since I am going into my junior year of high school, AKA the busiest year. So, updates might be slow, but don't worry! I will do my best to get chapters out at least once a week! (And knowing me when I say that, I'll still be updating every two days or so...)
Next chapter will be fun as well. x3 And by fun I... actually mean fun. xD
RQTC: Do you guys want me to make a theory video on my YouTube? (I have a lot of YouTube videos planned, and I'll post them all regardless, but I'd just like to see your opinions.)
Responses to reviews!
Lunar the Mooncake: (laughs) I'm glad you like it, I sometimes think I have a really bad sense of humor. xD / (laughs) I like the thing as well. / Oh, don't worry about that. As long as it's not something I told you directly, lemme know. xD
homeworkoverload: (laughs) Same here, dude. / Hahahahahaha very true xD / CURSE THE SHEEP xD
andie: Ahh, I see. / Haha, yes, I love showing the redemption. They have room for redemption in the actual Episodes, especially Mevia, who we actually didn't see that much of. Which sucks, I like her! xD / Hey, did you read the next reply I gave you on Composite? I'm not sure if you saw it or not, since you didn't reply or anything. xD
ChloSky: I don't know. I just paused the game and laughed for a minute straight. Stella amuses me for some reason.
ShiningHopeBeast: RIGHT?! xD / Aaahhh, I see! / (laughs) I find everything funny as well.
AquaK13: Yay! / Heheheheh xD She makes a small return this chapter, as well. / Yeah, Jesse knows a lot of pick-up lines. Her dad, when not being mad at her, flirts openly with women in front of her. Father of the Year, here, folks. -_- / Hehehehe, he knows it too xD / Yus! / Ooooh, yes! Permission to use this sometime? xD / Nah, it's fine. xD I hope you've played it!
LegoGirl794: (grins) Oh, believe me, neither do I.
LittleAngelbun: AHAHAHAHAHA xD Your mother has good taste.
ThatJackaboy: Nope, I haven't seen any of 'em. / Awww. (pats you on the shoulder) / Yeah, true, although I just couldn't stop laughing when he showed up in his snowman form. / Yes, do you want me to post 'em on YouTube in a theory video?
Kaos Ruin: I'll just eat them so...
J.M.M.: ?
RavenBlaze4850: Huh, cool. / (laughs) Yep, Jesse is a storm indeed. xD / (laughs) / Ahhh, yes. I loved that part myself. And they are all dorks. None of them want to admit it, though. xD / (laughs) I'm glad you like my sense of humor. / (chuckles) Well, you might be right about that... / I'm actually following my playthroughs of S2 to write Composite, so, I'd say so, yes xD / That would be lovely. xD / Yeah, they started recording the voiceovers for Episode 4 pretty recently. / (Hmm, maybe.)
Mikaza1498: (laughs) I'm glad you found this so funny! I generally think my sense of humor is rubbish, so it makes me happy to hear that people like it. xD / (laughs) / Here is a (very late) update! / Yes, yes he is xD
PoptartCrumbs: Aww, sorry to hear that. / (laughs) Yes, Plan J!
Darkbeast Dend: 0-0 / Yes, a few times.
Rabbits rule: (chuckles)
Crystal: I love writing them too, so it's pretty good you like it. / (chuckles) / Ah, alright. (thumbs up) / Nahh, you'd have to be SERIOUSLY weird for me to be scared off, and 'seriously weird' is REALLY weird.
RWBYSTRQ: (chuckles) Glad you liked them.
giriri: ? / Oh, you didn't spot that before?
Infernius Flashfire: Yes! and YES :)
endie789: Okay, look, I appreciate you sending in your characters, but once is enough. Also, the less detailed you are about appearance (like just stating hair length, skin color, and eye color) and personality (a few traits that summarize a character), the MUCH more likely that you'll be picked as one of the characters that speak in the comic. / Also, I've played Episode 2 three times over by now, so I would definitely say that I know all this. Please do not post spoilers in the comments if you can, because while I will not be spoiled, other people might not have played it, and it's not good to spoil people.
Well, that's all for today, and perhaps for a week as well. See ya, so long, and g'bye!
x.X. A.L. X.x.
