Disclaimer: I don't own Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, the Black Arrow, the Prince, or anybody else you recognise. The plot is mine, and that's it. Oh, and forgot to mention this earlier; the demons aren't mine either. I got their descriptions from both Angel and the DC Green Arrow storyline 'Quiver'.
Feedback: Is Skinner slightly annoying? Of COURSE I want some!
Sean Molloy-1: Was this fast enough for you?
Kaudrim: I can assure you the characters themselves will be interesting ones, and I hope you enjoy their introductions, although there's only around three or four members in the Fellowship besides Robin.
The Fellowship of Extraordinary Men
After the skull centipede had continued to struggle and kick for some while, Little John concluded that this approach wasn't going to win him the battle. Evidently, no matter how strong he was, he couldn't squeeze the life out of a demon that was practically a large bug; its skin was far too strong.
So, changing tactics, he dropped the skull-centipede down onto the ground, and then, before it could do anything else, he drew his sword from his belt and slashed at the monster, making a small gash near its centre.
Growling, the creature looked up at Little John, its eyes flashing red. Little John drew back his sword, and dived onto the bug, desperately trying to get through its armoured hide.
Marian was having a slightly easier time of it than Little John was. The creature she was fighting may have had a hide that was just as strong as the skull centipede's, but it was a lot slower than the aforementioned demon, Therefore, although Marian couldn't hope to overpower it, she could stay one step ahead of it no matter how strong it was, which did give her a couple of advantages.
The only question was, as the creature continued to swing its fists at her, were her current advantages going to remain advantages for much longer?
As she narrowly managed to knock one of its punches back with her sword, a feat that required her to exert all her strength, she decided that this fight would not be over in a matter of minutes. She'd need to try harder if she was going to survive this fight.
As Sir Edward struck and parried the blows dealt by his demonic opponent, he finally began to understand why the King was so worried about these creatures. Up until now, all he'd heard about them was based purely on rumour and what the local villagers had seen. But now that he was actually trying to fight one of these creatures, well...
They were a lot stronger than he'd ever imagined they would be. The creature may look like it had been made entirely out of mud and then baked into one shape, but it was incredibly difficult to even scratch it, never mind actually do any lasting damage to it.
However, no matter what the odds were against him winning this fight, Sir Edward would not go down without a fight.
Robin couldn't believe how much of a fight the bug-like creature was putting up. Every blow it threw at him had a remarkable amount of strength behind it, and its front legs seemed to him to almost be a match for the swords that the sheriff's men had used against him when he had been an outlaw.
The only reason it hadn't struck a killing blow already was that his reflexes, honed to near-perfection, were managing to react to the creature's blows before they could actually land on him. However, that advantage couldn't last forever; he'd get tired eventually, and how did he know this creature wasn't able to keep fighting for a lot longer than any human, no matter how well-trained?
Looking around at his fellows, Robin noticed that Marian and Sir Edward had managed to drive their opponents out of the hall; in fact, he caught a brief glimpse of Marian's legs before she moved on down the corridor and out of his line of vision. However, Little John was still struggling with his bug-like demon in this room,
Deciding he might as well try and even the odds for his friends, Robin launched a desperate kick at the bug- creature's chest, followed closely by a desperate slash at its face.
It succeeded in its objective; namely, knocking the bug back long enough for Robin to pull out his bow and launch an arrow at the skull centipede that was attacking Little John.
It was a bulls-eye.
The arrow struck the thin line that connected the demon's head to the rest of its body, burying itself deep inside the creature's head and striking its brain before it could even finish its current attack on Little John. The creature turned, looked at Robin with a glare in its eyes, and then fell forward onto its face, dark purple blood leaking from the wound.
Little John looked up at Robin and nodded his thanks. Then the two of them charged at the remaining bug demon, their swords drawn, and they began to strike at it with renewed strength and energy. The bug creature tried desperately to parry the blows from the two former rouges, but it was impossible for any creature to hold out for long against two swords, no matter how strong its legs were.
After only a couple of minutes, Robin managed to get in a strike at its chest while it was occupied with preventing Little John from cutting off its head, running the creature right through before it could even cry out in pain.
Robin pulled his sword out of the creature. It was covered in a light green fluid, which he wiped off on his trouser leg, before looking up at Little John.
"Thank you for your assistance, John," he said, nodding at his friend.
"As far as I am concerned, I am still in your debt," Little John replied, before indicating the door that Marian and Sir Edward had left the room by while fighting their demons. "Shall we assist them?"
"We shall," Robin replied. "You got to Marian; you possess the greater physical strength of the two of us, and she shall definitely require that against her opponent." He put an arrow to his bow and drew it back, looking at Little John with a determined glare. "I shall assist Sir Edward in his fight. If all goes well, return here once your foe is vanquished and wait for me."
He began to walk down the hall, but Little John grabbed his arm before he could go too far down the corridor.
"And if all does not go well?" he asked his friend.
Robin looked back at Little John with a melancholy expression. "Then I shall be dead, and you shall have to confront this monster as best you can," he said, regretfully. "If that should happen, promise me you shall care for Marian in my absence."
Little John nodded, and then the two of them dived down the opposite ends of the corridor, heading for their friends.
Desperately, Marian kept on ducking and weaving away from the creature's powerful fists, desperately trying to find a weak spot in its armour-like skin at every available opportunity. However, it wasn't easy; every time she got in a blow that at least had the potential to be fatal, the creature blocked it with one of its arms and knocked her sword back.
Just as Marian was starting to think that she'd continue to fight this thing until it gave up and died, something charged into it and hit it from behind, knocking it to the ground at once.
Before Marian could even register what had knocked the creature down, she had automatically driven her sword through the transparent helmet around its head, and pierced the creature's brain. It screamed once, then died, purple blood leaking onto Marian's sword.
Pulling her sword out of the creature's head, Marian looked at the form that had tackled it to the ground, recognising it as Little John.
"Thank you," she said to her old friend.
Little John smiled. "I would do it a hundred times over, Marian," he replied. "I once made a vow to protect all women of noble ilk, and you are one of the noblest I know."
He smiled at Marian, and then his smile faded and his face became more professional. "We must go. Robin will be waiting for us in the hall once he has aided Sir Edward."
Marian nodded, and the two of them headed back towards the main hall.
Robin hadn't had as much luck with finding Sir Edward as Little John had had with finding Marian. The knight had unfortunately been forced down into one of Locksley Hall's more confusing corridors, which had so many doors on either side that is was perfectly feasible for Sir Edward to have taken the fight into one of them in order to protect any of Robin's servants and friends getting hurt.
Eventually, however, he managed to find the knight, trapped in one room of the hall while he struggled with the large purple demon.
Instantly, Robin launched his arrow at the creature, striking it in the back of the neck. It didn't pierce the creature's hide, but it did serve its purpose; it stopped attacking Sir Edward and turned around to face Robin, baring its massive mouth at the skilled nobleman.
Licking its sharp teeth with a massive purple tongue, it roared at Robin and charged towards him. However, in the few seconds available to him, Robin had pulled out a second arrow, loaded it to his bow, and fired it right into the creature's mouth.
The creature screamed in pain and swung around in pain, allowing Sir Edward to get in another slash at the creature's hide. Unable to withstand this blow after all the other damage it had sustained, the creature collapsed onto the ground, blood bubbling from its mouth.
Robin looked at Sir Edward, and nodded his thanks.
Sir Edward nodded back in reply. "So, Robin of Locksley," he said. "Now that you have encountered these creatures that we have to deal with, will you accept our request for your services?"
Robin nodded. "I am with you," he said. "Simply let me bid farewell to Marin and Little John, and I shall be ready to leave."
"Excellent," Sir Edward smiled. "Now, pack your bags; you teammates will be waiting for you."