(Y/N)'s POV
Oh gosh. Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh. What are they going to do to us? I hope we're not in trouble. . . . We didn't do anything wrong! I mean, we did, but we didn't know! Plus, what kind of stupid law is that, anyways? At least I have Aiden with me, I guess. That'll keep me from being alone. And Faith and Ivor. Although, I don't know whether I'd rather be with more of my friends, or just be alone with Aiden. . . .

We walk along a corridor into a room—the throne room, from the looks of it. Founder is seated atop a tall throne, Olivia and Axel at the foot of it.

"As a thank you for your services to Sky City," Founder says to them, "I present you with these gifts."

A trail of minecarts appears from someplace inside the walls.

"There, see!" Ivor points excitedly to the former secret doorway. "That must be where they keep the Eversource!"

"That's what you're focused on right now?" Aiden hisses. "I think we have bigger problems here. Like being arrested!"

Oh. I almost forgot about that.

Founder hands her "gifts" to Olivia and Axel.

"Carrots? Really?" Axel scoffs. "I was hoping for cake. . . ."

"He means 'thank you'," Olivia says.

"Of course," Founder says. "Now go! I have criminals to deal with."

I'm a criminal now. . . .

Olivia and Axel walk by us, Olivia flashing a smirk.

"Come on, criminals," the guard who brought us in here says. "Time to see the Founder."

"(Y/N) and accomplices," she says. "You have committed acts of wanton and illegal building, something specifically forbidden by our laws. Explain yourselves."

"I— We— We didn't know!" I say, tears forming in my eyes and threatening to spill.

"Yeah, how were we supposed to know?" Aiden cuts in. "We were stranded! What else were we supposed to do?"

"Ignorance won't get you any favors," Founder says. "Olivia and Axel told me all about you. About how you're all a bunch of bullies back home. About the 'Order of the Stone' and how you steal treasures."

"We aren't like that!" Aiden snaps. "We may collect treasure, but they stole from us! Plus, we saved the world! We aren't bullies or thieves!"

I'm kind of glad that Aiden's brave enough to speak up, because I'm surely not feeling it right now. All I feel is fright. Although, it seems like I always do. That and love. . . .

"Really . . . ," the Founder says. "It appears that you're the little ring-leader, so how about you come with me?" She starts towards Aiden.

"No, I am," I say, mustering up just enough courage to get Aiden out of whatever she has planned.

"(Y/N), what are you—?" Aiden starts.

"I'm the leader. I'll go with you. Just leave Aiden and everyone else alone," I say. Hey, I'm not lying. I am the leader.

"Well then, you come with me," Founder says. One of the guards grabs my shoulder and leads me outside the building to where the Founder walks off, leaving my friends behind.

"Tell me what you see," Founder says, staring off into the blank distance.

"Blue," I say. "Lots and lots of blue. And . . . nothing else, really."

"Precisely," she says. "As you can see," she says, looking down below us, "nothing exists below us. Only the Void."

My heart skips a beat, realizing once again how high up we are. It's times like this when I wish Aiden were here. . . .

The Founder averts her gaze back to the palace with a longing look in her eyes. "Resources—every kind—are incredibly precious." She holds a block of cobblestone. "And when something falls. . . ." She drops the stone into "the Void". "It is gone forever. It is why building only happens when I dictate it. People only receive materials when I allow it. Otherwise, we would collapse back into chaos. It is my duty to keep my people safe, and the only way I can do that is if our laws are obeyed."

"Oh, I guess that does make sense," I say, still a little shaken up. "You can't really get anything new up here, after all."

"I appreciate your trying to understand our world," she says. "People act as though I want things to be this way. . . . Allocating the limited resources. . . . Risking my life every day. . . ."

"What even is it?" I ask. "The— the Eversource, I mean."

"It is my burden," she says. "My curse. I'll have you know that before I found the Eversource, the world was nothing more than a cluster of pathetic islands in the sky. I do this for my people."

"You don't have to do it alone," I say sympathetically. "We could help you. We could work together."

"Being the leader of this City. . . . It is a tiring burden. . . ." She shakes her head. "But no. This is my City. These are my people. And it is my responsibility."

"I think I've heard quite enough," she says. She motions for me to come with her back inside and a guard ushers me in.

"Good, now that you're back, we will—," Ivor starts.

"Reginald?" Founder interrupts. The guard—Reginald—turns his head towards her. "I've made my decision. While I'm not convinced that you are here to steal the Eversource, the fact remains that you constructed a bridge of dirt without authorization. That is why you and your companions are to be detained until I can discern the full truth of the matter. Reginald, please remove them."

Detained? Like, arrested? Oh, no. . . . Oh no, oh no, oh no. . . .

"Yes, ma'am," Reginald says. Guards once again grab onto the four of us.

"This isn't fair!" I complain. "I was nice to you! You can't lock us up!"

"I believe that you'll find that I can," Founder says, being all high-and-mighty on her throne.

"Sorry, outsiders," Reginald says, leading us away, "Founder's orders. No changing her mind now."

The doors slam behind us as the Founder disappears from view.

*~*~*~*

"I'm a criminal. I'm a crook. I'm a culprit. I'm a felon. I'm a fugitive. I'm a gangster. I'm a hoodlum. I'm a hooligan. I'm a lawbreaker. I'm a mobster. I'm an offender. I'm a thug—"

"(Y/N)!" Aiden interrupts my ranting. I jolt my head out of my knees. "You aren't any of those things!"

"Yes, I am!" I counter. "I'm in jail! That's a place for criminals, crooks, culprits, felons, fugitives, gangsters, hoodlums, hooligans, lawbreakers, mobsters, offenders, thugs—"

"You still aren't any of those!" he says. "You didn't do anything wrong!"

"He's right, (Y/N)," Faith says. "You aren't a criminal, crook, culprit, or whatever else you said."

"If I didn't do anything wrong, then why am I in jail?" I ask, rocking back and forth.

"(Y/N) . . . ," Aiden says, clearly aggravated with me.

{This scene is brought to you by thesaurus.com.}

"I'm scared," I say, totally breaking down in tears.

"No, (Y/N), don't be scared," he says.

"Why not? I have the perfect right," I say.

"What he means is that we will get out of here," Faith says.

"I don't even want to be in here to start," I sob.

"We know, (Y/N)," Aiden says. "We don't either."

"I hate this," I say. "I really, really do."

"Hey, you want to know something?" Aiden asks. "As one of my closest friends—someone very, very wise—once said, 'So many things could go wrong. But if we don't try, nothing could ever be able to go right.'"

I smile, but keep my head buried in my knees to hide it. I remember back when we were fighting the Witherstorm, and everything was falling apart—just like it seems to be now. Maybe this is a similar situation—it feels like we can't do it, but we really can.

I still can't help but cry. Another thing similar to that stupid Witherstorm. History repeats itself, huh?

"Hey, why don't you sing something?" Aiden suggests. "That always seems to calm you down."

I take a deep, shaky breath and basically choose the most depressing song I know, which doesn't really help lighten the mood, but sure does describe it. "Two AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake. 'Can you help me unravel my latest mistake? I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season.' Yeah, we walk through the door. So accusing, their eyes. Like they have any right at all to criticize. Hypocrites, you're all here for the very same reason.

"'Cause you can't jump the track. We're like cars on a cable and life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button, girl, so cradle your head in your hands.

"And breathe, just breathe. Oh, breathe, just breathe.

"May he turns twenty-one on the base at Fort Bliss. 'Just a day,' he said down to the flask in his fist. 'Ain't been sober since maybe October of last year.' Here in town, you can tell he's been down for a while, but, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles. Want to hold him, but maybe I'll just sing about it.

"'Cause you can't jump the track. We're like cars on a cable and life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button, boys, so cradle your head in your hands.

"And breathe, just breathe. Oh, breathe, just breathe.

"There's a light at each end of this tunnel. You shout, 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out. And these mistakes you've made—you'll just make them again. If you only try turning around. . . .

"Two AM and I'm still awake, writing a song. If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me, threatening the life it belongs to. And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd, 'cause these words on my diary, screaming out loud, and I know that you'll use them however you want to.

"'Cause you can't jump the track. We're like cars on a cable and life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button now, so sing it if you understand.

"And breathe, just breathe. Oh, breathe, just breathe. Oh, breathe, just breathe. Oh, breathe, just breathe."

"You know you have an amazing voice, right?" Aiden asks, squeezing me in a side-hug.

My cheeks flush pink. "Thanks."

"Feel better now?" he asks.

"Yeah." I lay my head on his shoulder. I yawn.

"Tired?"

"Mhm. . . ." Within minutes, I fall asleep on Aiden's shoulder, glad to actually be able to get some rest.

Who knows what adventures this one could get us into?

{The author, yours truly, that's who.}

❤️A/N❤️
Important; Please Read! :)

So . . . hey :) I, uh, don't know how to start this. . . . This is awkward. . . .
But! I have decided that, when we get to episode six, instead of using YouTubers, I'm going to put some of y'all in the story!
Basically, just PM me or comment what YouTuber you'd like to replace! You can be DanTDM, StacyPlays, StampyCat, or LDShadowLady. I'm not totally sure about CaptainSparklez yet; I asked my CaptainSparklez-addicted friend if he wanted to replace him, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. If you'd like to replace TorqueDawg, you probably can, but you wouldn't be in the story for very long (considering TorqueDawg is killed off in his first scene). Just make sure that if you want to replace Dan or Lizzie, you're okay if you're one of the victims. I'm not totally sure which one's going to die yet :)
If you're interested, please PM me or comment. I love you all so much! <3
Also, I'm going to try to start doing every other chapter in Aiden's point of view to even it out more :3
Word count: 2,034
Oh, and one more thing—I'm going to camp again for three weeks, so I might not be all that active. But, this one is only from nine to three, so I'll have more free time, plus weekends, so I should be able to update regularly, but if I don't, you'll know why :)