41 Movie Mode Episode Five: Order Up! Part Forty-One: Battle for Sky City

"We've won!" cheered Magnus. He threw an arm around Petra's shoulders, his grin so wide his face looked as though it were in danger of splitting in half. "Good job, kid!"

Everyone was starting to make their way to the watching room, which had also become a meeting room of sorts. Magnus, Petra, Maya and Gabriel had met up at the bottom of the ladder leading to the attic, and were walking back to the watching room together. None of them were sure where the others had gone, but they were either still in the attic or had left before them.

Petra shrugged, lips twitching in a smirk, "I try."

When they arrived, Jesse, Reuben and Lukas were already there with Otto, who was writing something on a chalkboard. Petra stopped dead in her tracks, raising her eyebrows at the two boys.

"What the hell happened to you two?" she asked.

Jesse, it appeared, was covered in food. Cake was smudged into his hair and all over his face, melon juice was on his stomach, his legs looked as though they'd just walked through a river of mushroom stew and he was covered in some other things that Petra wouldn't even classify as food anymore.

Lukas wasn't as bad, but his shirt looked as though a Slime had decided to hug it.

"I got in a food fight with Nell," said Jesse, grinning sheepishly. Reuben, who's piggy snout was covered in cake, gave a happy snort.

Petra shook her head, lips twitching. She looked at Lukas. "And you?"

Lukas shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck, "A, uh, sheep had decided to lick Maya. She freaked out and I wiped it off."

Maya winced, laughing a little, "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Well," said Otto, placing the chalkboard on one of the couches, "You two best go find yourselves some clean clothes. There are some in the attic, aren't there?"

Jesse and Lukas looked at each other, then, shrugging, passed the others and began making their way up to the attic, Reuben trotting after them. Petra seated herself on the coffee table, Maya, Magnus and Gabriel sitting in their chosen seats.

"What are you doing, Otto?" asked Maya. The referee was placing the chalkboard on the wall, directly behind the couches.

"I have created a score board," Otto declared, stepping back to let them see, "So we can keep track of the wins."

The right side of the board said Team A at the top and, separated by a line, the other side said Team B. Beneath them both was a single X to mark a win.

"Nice," said Petra, "What game are we playing next?"

"The next game," Otto answered, "Will be a mental one. I have yet to decide what exactly, however."

"Good," they turned their attention to the door, where Isa was coming in, Benedict cradled in her arms, "I'd like to finish this episode."

"Of course," Otto smiled, "I believe it's about time we finished this one."

Jesse followed Lukas up the ladder into the attic, carrying Reuben beneath his arm like he's done so many times before in their treehouse. He'd never been in the attic before, and decided almost immediately that he didn't like it.

The place was covered in cobwebs and dust bunnies. The shelves were stacked with seemingly random things, like pumpkins, old helmets, he saw a skeleton head on one shelf, and chests. Small, non-killer spiders scuttled about in every direction.

"Wow," Jesse made a face, Reuben still in his arms, "This place is... nice?"

Lukas laughed, "All attics seem to be like this, don't they?" He shrugged, "Then again, this one's pretty big. I think it takes up the entier floor."

The blond led him a little further back, passed the spot they had been using as a Belgium, to a large chest in an alcove of shelves. Lukas knelt in front of it, propping it open and gesturing inside.

"Here we are."

The chest was, indeed, filled with clothes. Jesse spotted what appeared to be a clown costume poking out near the corner.

He sat Reuben down, the little pig beginning to sniff curiously at the clothes chest. Lukas began rummaging through it, glancing over his shoulder at Jesse. "What size are you?"

Jesse told him, and Lukas gave a single nod, returning his attention to the chest. He pulled out a pair of light brown pants, held them in front of Jesse's waist as though to compare size, then returned to the chest, this time pulling out some green suspenders and a black shirt. He handed them to Jesse.

"Here," he said, "Go try these on."

"Thanks," said Jesse. He glanced about, then made his way over to a bookshelf, slipping behind it. He sat the clothes on the floor and unclipped his dungarees, allowing them to fall to his ankles, and pulled off the t-shirt.

Holding up the black shirt Lukas had given him, Jesse regarded it for a second, then, deciding it wasn't half bad, pulled it over his head. He stepped into the brown pants, which hung loosely at his waist a little, much like his blue ones did. Expertly, he clipped on the suspenders, then turned to regard himself in a dusty mirror.

Smiling at his reflection, Jesse picked up the food-covered dungarees and t-shirt and made his way back to Lukas. The blond had already changed his shirt to an orange one, his slob covered striped one hung over his arm.

At Jesse's approach, Lukas looked him up and down, and gave a small hum, "Not bad. What do you think?"

Jesse shrug, "They're not all that bad." He nodded to Lukas' new shirt, "You look good in orange."

Lukas smiled, "Thanks."

The two boys and pig closed the clothes chest and left the attic, stopping in one of the bathrooms to drop their clothes off in the laundry hamper to be washed later. Then, deciding that they had left the others waiting long enough, they began to make their way back to the watching room.

"So," said Lukas, "What do you think's going to happen next?"

"You mean in Sky City?" asked Jesse, "I'm not sure. The place is probably crawling with monsters at this point."

"Petra and Ivor think we died," Lukas realised, as though the thought had just come to him. They were nearing the bottom of the stairs now. "Now I'm kinda glad I fell as well. At least that way I know no one dies."

Jesse glanced at him, then to Reuben. Lukas must have noticed this, for he became mortified.

"Oh, uh... I-I meant..." he winced, shaking his head, "Nevermind. Sorry."

"It's alright," said Jesse, automatically. They turned, starting to make their way down the hall towards the watching room, which was just around the corner. "I know what you meant."

"I just-" there was a loud bang! and they spun around, just in time to see Gill barrelling out of a bedroom- Ivor's bedroom, Jesse noted. Upon spotting them, he skidded to a stop, eyes red and bulging in his skull, hands trembling and face the colour of oatmeal.

"Gill?" said Lukas.

"I-I-" Gill swallowed, looking over his shoulder at the door he'd just come from, then back at them, taking a deep, shaky breath, but it did little to calm him, "There's- There's som- som'ing-"

"Wow, wow, hey," Lukas cut him off, brow furrowed in concern. He walked towards him, hands held up to chest high. "Just take some deep breaths, okay?"

Gill did as he was told, sucking in a lungful of air. The trembling in his hands seemed to lessen, but didn't go away entirely.

"What the heck happened?" asked Jesse, more bewildered at his sudden appearance than anything else. Gill shook his head, still struggling to breathe.

"Gill?" said Lukas, placing his hands firmly on his old friends' shoulders, "Gill, can you tell us what happened? What's wrong?"

Gill gasped, still struggling to regain his breathing. H would have looked as though he'd just run a marathon from Boom Town to Redstonia, had his eyes not been darting to and fro in a wild panic.

"Th-There's-" he gasped again, placing a trembling hand on his chest, as though to relieve a pressure that wasn't there, "I-In the a-attic- I- I-" he stopped, forcing himself to take another deep breath, but the trembling did not stop, "A-A sign-"

"A sign?" repeated Lukas, "In the attic?"

Gasping silently, Gill nodded, "I-It's w-watching us."

Jesse stiffened. He shared a wide eyed look with Lukas.

"Watching us?" said Lukas, "Gill, what's watching us?"

Gill shook his head, unable to answer. Lukas and Jesse looked at each other again.

"We need to get to the others," Lukas said, "I think something might be wrong with this place."

Silently, heart having leapt into his throat, Jesse nodded. Lukas took Gill by the arm and they led him back to the watching room. Jesse trailed behind a little, but made sure not to stray far. His eyes darted from the walls to the ceiling to the floor to the paintings, and he couldn't help the way his heart stuttered fearfully in its rapid beats.

He clenched his eyes shut.

It didn't happen.

"What?!" screeched Maya, her voice going up a pitch. Jaw clenching, Ellegaard spun to face Magnus.

"Magnus, I swear to god, if this is some elaborate prank-"

"It's not! I swear, I've got nothing to do with this-"

"-This is insane-"

"-What do they even want with us?-"

"-Panic, panic, panic, panic, panic- !"

"-Stampy, calm down-"

"-Would everyone please shut up!-"

BANG!

The watching room silenced, heads snapping to look at Hadrian. The white-haired man raised his fist slowly from the coffee table, fingers uncurling, and sent them a smile.

"Now, then," he said, "I believe that's enough of that." He stood, striding over to the couch and plopping down, stretching over it comfortably, as though he owned the place. He gestured to them, still smiling.

"There is nothing watching us," he assured, "This is all just some prank the kids decided to pull."

Most of the younger watchers made an 'are you kidding me?' face at him. The older ones looked from a trembling Gill to Hadrian, then to Jesse and Lukas, and promptly decided that this man was not bright. At all.

Gabriel shook his head, turning to the three boys, "Alright," he said, "Tell us what happened."

Gill took in a shuddering breath, trying- and, once more, failing- to stop himself from trembling. He swallowed thickly. "I-I was looking about the attic," he began, "For, you know, the escaped Hiders. We were hoping to capture some before time ran out."

He glanced at Maya, who nodded encouragingly. Gill took another breath, his voice becoming slightly stronger, but not by much.

"I couldn't find anyone," he continued, "But I did find another t-trapdoor. I went down it."

Jesse and Lukas shared a worrying look, Gill seemingly taking a moment to regain himself. He raised his palm and pressed it to his forehead. His eyes, Jesse noted, were slightly glazed. As though he were struggling to remember a fading dream.

"I-I was in a room," he said, "It- It was dark. There weren't any torches. But there- there was a window," he shook his head, slowly, "I went further in, a-and there was a s-sign." The trembling returned with a vengeance. Gill almost looked as though he were vibrating.

"Gill?"

That was Aiden. He was standing near the back, his eyes the size of saucers. With a start, Jesse realised he was actually concerned. Worried.

Lukas stepped forward, taking Gill by the elbows, "Gill? Hey, it's alright, it's fine," he said, "Just tell us what happened next."

Gill's eyes seemed to become less glazed, but the trembling didn't stop. He focused on Lukas' face, taking a deep, shaky breath, "I-I read it," he explained, "A-And, Lukas, I-I could have sworn..."

He trailed off, gasping silently. Maya stepped forwards, standing next to Lukas.

"Gill," she said, gently, hesitantly, as though almost afraid of the answer, "Did you see anything else?"

Slowly, looking as though he were in a daze, Gill nodded. He opened his mouth, closed it, and frowned, as though confused. "I... I think..."

He shook his head.

"I didn't happen."

Jesse's back went ramrod straight, as though his spine his somehow been replaced by a blaze rod. He wasn't sure why, but he made eye contact with Ivor, who's face had turned the colour of tea or coffee with too much milk.

Lukas and Maya shared a confused frown.

"What?" said Lukas, "What do you mean it didn't happen?"

Gill, still looking scarily similar to a zombie, shook his head slowly, "The hands... it didn't happen."

The audience sported either a concerned frown or a bewildered look. Slowly, Ellegaard turned to look at Ivor.

"Maybe you should... take a look at him," she suggested, "He could have been hit by one of those potions."

Ivor seemed to take a moment to register her words, but once he did, he nodded. Without a word, he marched over to the doors and gestured for them to bring Gill. Maya and Lukas looked at each other, nodded, and then followed on either side of their friend, a hand on his elbows.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jesse saw Aiden about to follow, but then hesitated. After a moment, he shook his head and stepped back, although that odd look in his eye didn't leave. He looked genuinely worried.

Jesse wasn't sure what to think of that.

So he didn't.

They talked quietly for the next half hour. Ivor, Lukas, Maya and Gill returned, and the bearded Ocelot insisted that the sign hadn't even been there at all, nor had there been any 'black hands.' Lukas and Maya, seemingly convinced it was some sort of hallucination potion, were content with this answer.

Ivor, oddly enough, stated that he wasn't sure. But he pushed no further, and the subject dropped from everyone's mind as Soren claimed the remote. Everyones but Jesse's.

His attention was directed to the screen as it flickered to life. He forced what had just happened to the back of his mind.

It didn't happen.

Onscreen, the sky had darkened, rain pouring in fat droplets. From the clouds came Jesse and Isa, still stacking blocks of dirt at an inhumanly fast pace. Above them loomed the dirt bridge they had created, the lava pouring from Ivor's dirt skull bright in the dark. It must have been a handy guide.

Gabriel rolled his eyes at the reminder, although Soren merely grinned. He glanced to the side at Ivor, and was startled to find that the man appeared lost in thought. Probably thinking of whatever potion had caused Gill to hallucinate, he gathered.

Jesse and Isa levelled with the bridge, and the leapt from the towers. Immediately, with Jesse in the lead, they began sprinting towards the gates of Sky City. Then Jesse skidded to a stop and gasped.

Ghasts hovered above the floating island, explosions igniting, lightning striking. The screams of the civilians could be heard even from there.

Real-Isa gasped, face going three times paler. Reginald, who had been fiddling absentmindedly with the hilt of his sword, realised that his mouth had dropped open. Milo was covering his own.

"Oh, no," breathed Jesse, Isa coming to a stop beside him, "We need to get in there. Now."

Not taking the time to converse on this, they began sprinting again, even faster than before. The cry of Ghasts shimmered above the patter of the rain.

"Go, go, go! Don't stop!" shouted Jesse, not looking back at the Founder.

"Oh, god," groaned Olivia, "Everything's destroyed."

"They're wrecking my kingdom," said Isa, softly, as though she couldn't believe her eyes, "They're killing my people."

Aiden flinched. He looked like he was about to cry.

A Ghast hovered right in front of them, eyes opening to reveal blazing red orbs. Jesse gasped, it's mouth opening and shooting a ball of blazing fire. "Look out!"

He ducked down and rolled, Isa hurriedly doing the same. The fireball soared passed them narrowly, blasting the bridge where they had been only seconds before.

Lukas let out a relieved sigh.

Jesse and Isa reached the entrance, coming to a stop. Jesse, panting a little, looked back at Isa, "Whoa, that was crazy! You okay?"

Despite what was happening, Real-Isa managed a small smile.

Onscreen, however, she hardly seemed to register the question. Isa stepped forwards, horror crossing her face, and fell to her knees. "What have they done?!"

Sky City was a portrait of chaos. It reminded Jesse, vaguely, of Boom Town. But with a hell of a lot more monsters.

Rain fell from the sky, fires ablaze despite it, people running and screaming as they were chased by all and every kind of monsters. The garden, which a guard had told Jesse was off limits when he had first arrived in the floating city, was like a bone fire in the town centre.

"Holy Notch," breathed Petra.

A Ghast spat a ball of flame, the screen swirling around to show it blasting a hole in the floor, normal citizens and Build Club members alike running to and fro with screams of terror. The blast sent a man flying, and then another man- Phillipe, from Milo's Inn- went darting passed the crafting station. Someone else ran out of it, a creeper flashing behind them, and was knocked to the ground by the explosion.

Stampy winced, shrinking in his seat, "Oh, that's a lot of googlies."

Dan gave an agreeing nod, unable to tear his eyes from the screen, "Yeah."

Another Ghast hovered passed a man by the fence around the garden, who was trying to climb to his feet but was having trouble. They passed the Ghast, showing the other side of the garden, revealing another person standing on the other side of the fence, a woman darting along the passed with a scream. Another explosion went off.

Then, closer to the gates, a defenceless guard was backing away from a hoard of zombies, "Back!" he yelled, "Back, you monsters!"

The closest zombie whacked him, causing the guard to flash red and fall to the ground with a yell, "Help me!"

"I can't watch," groaned Maya, covering her face. Her eyes glistened with tears.

"He needs our help!" Isa exclaimed.

Eyes narrowing, Jesse drew his sword, the enchanted diamond glowing faintly. Behind him, Isa drew her own iron blade, just as Jesse charged.

The zombie that had knocked the guard down turned to him, groaning like the rumble of a starving stomach, but Jesse didn't allow it to get any closer. He slashed, knocking the monster to the floor in a flash of red, quickly followed by a puff of smoke as it blinked out of existence.

"Go Jesse!" cheered Axel.

The guard clambered to his feet, but didn't have time to say anything, for a cry of rage tore through the air. They turned, watching as Isa flipped over the garden's fence, dual swords in each hand. One blade tore through the rotting flesh of a zombie, immediately emitting it to dust, and in quick succession, she did another flip, so fast it was hard to keep track of, and spun, her twin swords tearing the rest of the hoard to shreds of flesh.

"Wow!" gasped Nell, "That was awesome!"

Onscreen, not sheathing her swords, Isa turned to the guard, "What's going on here?"

Hadrian blinked, "You know what's going on here."

"The cities under attack by monsters, ma'am!" explained the guard, a tad unnecessarily, "Everywhere! They seem to be coming from inside the palace itself!"

They looked towards the palace, where Maya and Gill stood at the top of the steps. A chest was on either side of them, and they were tossing spawn-eggs into the crowd of fleeing people. Jesse's eyes narrowed.

Maya swallowed thickly, brushing the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Gill stared stubbornly at his shoes, still a little spooked from earlier.

Aiden just stared.

"Aiden," said Jesse, his voice uncharacteristically dark. He began to march towards the castle, sword still drawn. "Come on. We need to stop him."

"I'm sorry, Jesse," Isa said, causing the boy to come to a halt and turn to face her, "But I have to save my people."

"That's probably a good idea," admitted Harper, "They can't just leave the people to die. Even if they stopped Aiden within moments, they'll still have all the spawned monsters to deal with."

Onscreen Jesse must have realised this as well, for he nodded, "Take care of yourself out there, okay?"

"And to you as well," said Isa.

With that, Jesse turned, starting to run towards the palace. However, a shout caused him, once more, to skid to a halt.

"Jesse! You're alive!" Milo, waving a sword in his hand, held up inside a building off to the side with a few other members of the Build Club. Arrows zipped through the air, embedding themselves into the wall, the rattle of skeletal bones. "Please, can you help us?"

"There's Milo!" said Stacy, "That must mean Aiden didn't do anything with Petra and Ivor, right?"

Jesse blinked, having not even considered the idea. Brow furrowing, he shook his head. "Even if he tried to do something with them, they would have gotten away. There's no way any of the guards would have helped him, since he threw their leader into a seemingly bottomless abyss and whatnot."

"Hang tight, Milo!" said Jesse. He ran up to the skeletons, which turned to face him at his approach, and rammed into the closest one, knocking it into its friend.

Magnus whooped.

The skeletons got up again, but Jesse whacked at one with his sword, cracking the bones and leaving it to puff into smoke. Without missing a beat, he did the same to the other, knocking it backwards and sending it to dust.

The immediate danger gone, Milo ran out of the building, eyes widening when he spotted something else coming their way. It was another skeleton, except this time it was accompanied by a spider, riding it like a war horse.

"Watch out!" gasped Sparklez.

Milo ran at the duo, knocking the skeleton off its spider. However, the spider remained unphased, it's behind rising as it prepared to leap at Jesse. It sprang, and Jesse reacted, blade slashing hide and sending the monster to the floor in a puff of smoke.

Further away, Milo hit the skeleton- once, twice- and sent it to the ground.

"There's so many of them," muttered Olivia.

"And with every one we kill," said Lukas, grimly, "A dozen more take their place."

Grinning, Milo dashed towards Jesse, who had pressed his back against the wall of the building and was peeking around the corner, towards the palace. "You are very quick on your feet," commented the innkeeper.

"I've probably been doing things like this for a while now," said Jesse pointedly, his mind flashing to the beginning of the episode, when he and his friends had been hunting for treasure.

"But with all seriousness, how are you alive?" asked Milo, voice taking on a tone of disbelief, "I saw you go over the edge!"

"Quick version?" said Jesse, hurriedly, "You know how you all thought there was nothing but Void bellow you?"

Milo raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"Yeah, that was wrong. There's land."

"Way to put it bluntly," muttered Real-Milo.

"You speak truthfully, my friend?" breathed Milo. Before Jesse could answer, a ball of fire shot above them, soon followed by an explosion off screen. A Ghast gave its angry cry, hovering over them. This seemed to bring the innkeeper back to the situation at hand.

"Well, I can't wait to hear all about it later!"

"If there is a later," muttered Ellegaard, too low for anyone besides the rest of the Order to hear. Silently, Magnus discreetly took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

"I gotta get to the palace," said Jesse, glancing back over the edge of the wall into the chaos blocking his way. Milo nodded.

"Thank you, my friend," he said, beginning to make his way back over to the other Build Club members, "I will see you on the other side!"

As Milo darted one way, Jesse darted the other. He dashed around the small pool, the cries of Ghasts and the groans of zombies filling the air, as though his conversation had somehow muffled it. Passed the garden, where the citizens had gathered when Isa had called after the Blaze Rods had told her they were criminals, Jesse came to a stop.

In front of him, at the top of the steps, was Maya and Gill. Maya reached into one of the chests next to them, pulling out a spawn-egg. Gill fist-pumped the air.

"Blaze Rods!"

"Boom! Egg!" said Maya, throwing the egg. It shattered at the bottom of the stairs, a spider popping out, directly in front of Petra.

Gill sighed, putting his head in his hands. He missed the Ocelots.

Eyes hard and burning with rage, Petra stabbed the spider, killing it. Feeling Jesse's eyes on her back, she looked over her shoulder, the rage immediately leaving her eyes to be replaced by shock.

"Jesse!" she screamed over the chaos, "You're alive?!"

"Wow," said Lukas, "She looked really mad there."

"I think you would be too, had you not been thrown over as well," Petra shrugged.

Before Jesse could shout back a reply, a Ghast appeared in front of him, blocking his view of the front entrance, eyes a blazing red. He gasped, startled, and it spat a ball of flame.

"Dodge!" screamed Lizzie.

Jesse jumped to the side, the ball of flame exploding upon contact with the fence, demolishing it and leaving a crater in the floor. He turned, eyes wide, only to find himself face with three Ghasts.

"Oh, come on!" yelled Olivia.

As one, the Ghasts fired, and Jesse stumbled backwards, raising his sword but too slowly to defend himself. Then someone slammed into him, knocking him to the side, and Jesse and Ivor fell into a crater as the triple explosion shook the ground.

"It's Ivor!" exclaimed Soren.

Ivor got to his feet, back facing the wall of the crater, peeking over where Petra was busy battling the monsters, "Aiden has taken over the palace," he said, turning his gaze to the front doors, where Maya and Gill were still throwing spawn-eggs, "He's hold up in the throne room throwing those spawn-eggs everywhere!" He looked back at Jesse, "No one can get inside!"

"Oh, well, that's... not good," Dan finished lamely.

"We need to stop him," said Jesse.

Real-Ivor rolled his eyes, "No, you need to sit down and have a cup of tea with him. Of course you have to stop him!"

Gabriel, Soren, Magnus and Ellegaard looked oddly relieved at his sudden outburst.

Onscreen, Ivor's eyes widened, "I know! Jesse, take one of these!" He pulled out three potions, a purple, a blue and a green.

"Potions?" said Lukas. Then, eyes widening, "Potions!"

"They're all locally sourced and hand-crafted," said Ivor, proudly, "I use only the best ingredients."

Jesse studied the potions for a moment, chewing on his lip. Then, sheathing his sword, "Got any potions of invisibility?"

"Here!" Ivor handed him the purple potion, grinning.

"This is going to be awesome," muttered Axel. Jesse nodded in agreement.

Pulling off the cork, Jesse downed it. Then, throwing away the bottle with a grin, he turned around, his body fading out of sight, "Can't stop what you can't see."

"We stopped Ivor in Soren's Fortress when he had an invisibility potion," Petra pointed out. Jesse shushed her.

He hopped out of the crater. Battles and monsters and people were all around him, Ghasts flying overhead. He ran, passing Petra battling a monster, and a woman who was running around in circles while being chased by a zombie.

Jesse ran up the stairs, shoving passed Gill on his way through. The bearded boy stumbled, looking around in confusion, Maya raising an eyebrow at him.

"He's through!" cheered Milo.

"Is he?" asked Slab, who still had bandages around his eyes, "I can only hear things."

Grinning, Jesse ran down the hall and into the palace, the invisibility potion wearing off as he ran. The two Blaze Rods unknowing of his passing.

The screen darkened.

"Alright!" cheered Nell, "This is going to be epic!"

"Yeah," muttered Aiden, too quiet for even Gill to hear. He leant into his seat, crossing his arms over his stomach. He closed his eyes.

"Yeah, it is."