To Monkey999Boy: But now, let's hit you with a lot of implications.
To Jason: Thank you! You can call me a monsieur.
To the kind Guest: I will be okay, and thank you for your support.
I put up an announcement recently on my tumblr about why this is late. I… almost committed suicide last February 18. Because of that, my updates would probably be longer than monthly. It would be erratic, but I assure you, the content will be at the same quality as I wrap up the stories. And possibly longer than ever. So the wait would still be worth it. Don't worry much about me. I've got help.
Enough of bad news. Good news is that S-hovel and K-night has gotten 13,000+ views!
More good news: Specter of Torment is out! And I did spoil myself before I wrote some of this, but don't worry. No spoilers ahead :)
And I'm going to start acknowledging the plot that happened in SoT, but I'll still keep my original interpretation here. Mix and match. Ignore some others.
V is for void is directly inspired by Biovyx's Phantom Striker head(?) headcanon. ;)
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V is for vegetable.
The Gastronomer slid a platter with a lid in front of Polar Knight.
"What is today's dish?" The gentle giant smiled to the cook.
"Today's meal is a healthy delight, and this dish will help your failing sight!"
The elderly knight happily took in the sight of spinach, squash, and kale on his silver plate.
Black Knight put down his fork. His face was scrunched up in a disgusted expression. "No, I'm not eating that. I want meat. I would like some roast chicken."
The cook simply laughed. "Today is Vegetable Thursday, my little friend with a shovel. If you eat meat today, you might end up drinking Troupple!"
"Well, fuck that! I want meat!"
Polar Knight harrumphed. "Language! This food helps your eyes. Eat vegetables while you're young."
"Absolutely not."
.
V is for violent.
Several knights and all of the Wandering Travellers sat on chairs on the Flying Machine's deck, waiting for the bride and groom, as well as several other guests. The ceremony still hasn't started. The Bard, or priest-yacht god, strummed his magical lute and played music.
Propeller Knight brought his legs up to the table. He stretched his back and arms and then yawned.
"Today is so boring." The captain of the ship complained, sighing heavily. "Anyone up for entertainment?"
Phantom Striker wasted no time. He picked up his fleuret, marched to the sleepy Frenchman, and pointed his weapon to the latter's neck. "Viens te battre avec moi si tu cherches un défi en ce jour monotone."
"You speak French?" Baz spat out his juice.
Reize shrugged, staring at his glass of water with wide, frightened eyes. "Well, when a man and a lightning bolt love each other… things happen. The lightning becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby Phantom Striker."
"Their nights must have been electrifying, then."
"Baz, what the fu-"
"Reize, you are still a child. Don't curse, or the butt eaters will get you tonight."
"But I'm a warrior-in-training! I can handle this! I should be able to curse every now and then! How would enemy warriors treat me if I'm twenty-six and still say 'frick frack'?"
Propeller Knight smiled widely. "Je ne renoncerais jamais une confrontation en duel mon ami." He slid off the chair and unsheathed his rapier. "One on one. Let's fight."
"Yes, yes..." He almost hissed, a bloodlust-y grin on his face. "Our rules?"
"Since we have different weapons, I think we should be able to strike anywhere. I will make sure I don't accidentally kill you with a stab to the liver." Propeller Knight snickered.
"I will make sure I do not electrocute you to death." He spoke in a low voice, and held his weapon up, the knob-point skyward. Dark clouds gathered.
"This will be good. Alright, then. This is going to be fun, fighting another fencer, and the lightning is a challenge, non? En g-"
The two fighters were immediately disturbed by a screech for one certain old dandy, whose longsword was already hoisted up and ready to rip headgear off of heads. The clouds dissipated without any warning.
"HAT, DO NOT DO IT!" Baz bellowed, but alas, it was too late.
"HAAATS!" Mister Hat shrieked in his fervor, attacking Propeller Knight first. Phantom Striker jumped in front of the airship captain and blocked by preemptively parrying the attacker's wrists and then fluidly directing the hat man around. He even had the time to shock the hat-obsessed lunatic a bit before letting go. Propeller Knight backed away slowly, hands up.
"This is fun." The stormbringer laughed. "Fight me, Hat."
"OF COURSE. I WANT YOUR HAT. SPIKY HAT! COME TO ME, MY LOVE!"
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V is for void.
"Please get off of Phantom Striker!" Reize begged as he pulled on Mister Hat's tailcoat. The hat man was on top of the stormbringer. Both of his hands were holding on two of the spikes, while Phantom Striker held on his helmet as hard as he could. His fleuret was lying out of his reach.
"I can't cannonball! I'll get killed by those spikes!" Baz turned around as awesome as he could and bellowed out at the other knights. "HELP!"
"Please, Mister Hat, please get off our lightning friend!" Reize tugged at the mad hatter.
"My love, my lovely hat… come to me."
"This is my helmet, Hat." He grunted and twisted his arms behind to shock Mister Hat with his hands. Sparks of electricity visibly crackled around his body.
"Ow! I don't care! This is going to be mine! Ow! Stop electrocuting me!"
"Hat, please stop, I'm just a kid and Baz isn't even yanking you away!" Reize shot Baz a death glare. The latter sheepishly walked back to the three, mumbled his apologies to the kid warrior, then did his job. Baz yanked the hat man away, but the latter's hands seemed to have been glued on the spikes of the helmet. And naturally, the helmet came off.
Phantom Striker let out an uncharacteristic yelp of shock. No, I cannot let them see my face! Hide!
Guests screamed and lost their collective shit.
Propeller Knight fainted almost immediately, a hand over his forehead.
Hoverhafts started spouting various curses along the lines of 'putain de bordel de merde' at the sight. Hover Meanies shrieked in terror and shielded their eyes with their hands.
Shovel Knight put his hand over his chest in shock.
Shield Knight raised her brow.
Polar Knight and Black Knight let out a thoughtful hum.
Mole Knight couldn't see things. He was sitting on a chair and people blocked his view.
Tinker Knight saw things for once. He was standing on a table.
Anart was too busy playing with a cat, and got knocked over by a guest who had stepped backward and made him trip unfabulously.
Reize let out a whimper, stepping back. Tears flooded his eyes and his lips quivered.
Phantom Striker had an amorphous cloud under his helmet, instead of a human head with long messy hair. The other Wandering Travellers shuffled. Mister Hat put down the spiky helmet and fussed over the young man, patting him on the shoulder and hugging him. Baz looked at Phantom Striker with a look of disappointment. The cloud-headed stormbringer stood up, put on his helmet, and walked to the kid.
Reize began to bawl into Mister Hat's fancy coat, screaming into his friend's arm and chest. "I'M GONNA HAVE NIGHTMARES!"
.
V is for village.
"I miss home." The young girl tugged at Cecille's cape. The new First Knight looked down at Roman's child.
"Ophelia… you know that your home is overrun with the undead?"
"Yes… I miss home. I want to go home. Can you please… help me go home?"
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V is for value.
Treasure Knight, still dressed in his disguise, put up the gem against the light. He held a magnifying glass between the gem and his left eye. He breathed in calmly. It was a purple amethyst cut with a teardrop shape, and was faceted. His breath was held in intense concentration.
After some time, Treasure Knight sighed.
"The gem… is a little cloudy." He murmured to the elderly bird person. "But cloudiness is still beautiful with amethysts."
The bird person sighed. "I might want to sell that… I'm running out of money in my business. That's… my late wife's favorite gem. She died last year. I've sold everything you see on the shelf that isn't yours." He shrugged.
The bounty hunter pursed his lips.
"Let me guess, young man. You lost someone, too? I'm sorry for bringing it up."
"I had a puppy. He was beaten to death."
The elderly bird man smiled sadly, his beady eyes serene despite his pooling tears. "I loved my wife. I'm sure you loved your... puppy dog." He shrugged.
"I did." Treasure Knight sighed, cupping his chin in his hand. "I loved my dog so much."
"You know, young traveller, do realize there is still more to live for. I'm an old bird. But I still want to live." He laughed, and cocked his head to the right. "I kind of want to hire you. I could use some company around here. I'm an old avian that can't do much."
"I would be able to visit… but I believe none shall hire me."
"Of course, young man. I don't mind if you want to wander the world, too. And thank you for assessing the value of the gem. You are a good person there. What do I call you, if ever you come back here?"
Treasure Knight didn't even think about a cover name. He thought of the money he got from a thousand leagues below, and started calculating in his head. "Anthony. Call me Anthony. And don't worry about your business. I am sure it will get better. I promise."
.
V is for visitor.
The Cogslotter held up two young girls. Their wrists were bound by rope. One of them was mute and the other was beyond noisy, her voice powerful and sonorous. Tinker Knight growled to himself. The noise was his worst enemy. There was already thunder coming from the Tower of Fate, and this girl's endless shouting wreaked havoc in his poor ears.
As if the thunder from the Enchantress' ugly tower was not enough. The deafening yells of the young girl caused a migraine in the inventor's tiny head.
He found himself appreciating the silent teenaged child and her quiet attitude.
"Sir, we found these two young kids stealing books from your library."
"Knowledge for the knowledge god!" The yelpy girl screamed and thrashed in her binds. "Let us out! We only want to read books! It's full of knowledge we want to know!"
"Wait. You seek books in engineering?" The inventor's fury and annoyance was thrown out the window and replaced with genuine happiness.
"Anything for knowledge!"
"Well, young ones! You can get literary books and engineering books from me! And if you need help, call on me!"
"Can you teach us engineering, little person?"
Tinker Knight's eye twitched at her blunt uttering of the words 'little person' to refer to him, but he shrugged it off with a heartfelt smile. "Of course! I am the best in this world! I'm a pioneer! I am your best bet!"
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V is for volante.
"Maman!" The toddler raised his paintbrush up and flapped the paper he had drawn on. On it was a beyond crappy drawing. The picture resembled a giant boat, but it was not on water. It was floating high above the land, joining the puffy clouds that drifted in the wind. It sailed across the sky with a smiley face drawn in its port side. "Maman!"
His mother smoothed the skirt of her silver gown and smiled at her toddler son, now jumping up and down and giggling. She tickled his sides and chubby arms, and the little noble boy laughed.
"Yes, my little… laughing heir?" She picked her son up and held him aloft. "What is it, my baby boy?"
"I want a machine volante! And I want to fly in the beautiful sky!" The toddler raised his arms up and cheered. The mother spun around, her gown flowing as he turned.
"One day, my little prince, you will fly in the heavens. For now, up you go!"
/*eleven years later*/
"Here is your machine volante, my son."
The young and arrogant heir of Eastern France's war-torn lands had his jaw on the floor. The magnificent ship was repurposed with propeller blades, allowing it flight in the skies. On its sides were brand-new cannons, avant-garde in design and polished to the point that the metal glimmered so intensely in the noon sun. Its walls were thick, and the Flying Machine, in its first iteration, looked a little bulky with the flight mechanisms too large and heavy. But nevertheless, the young teenager happily took in the sight of his father's first gift to him in his entire life.
"Machine volante!" The heir held his arms up, shook his hands, and smiled widely. His hazel eyes were full of brightness and joy at the big flying-ship. Not all boats are for the water now!
"You wanted one when you were four years old."
"I wanted one? I don't remember!"
"You were four. You are fifteen now. You were overly enthusiastic about it when you w-"
"I love it! I want to live in it!"
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V is for vector.
The Alchemy Academy (name still open to suggestions) wasn't exactly full of students. Sure, it had a student population of around fifty people, but with only two willing teachers working full time, and students dropping out, the Academy was in serious trouble of closing.
Especially with the former Supreme and Venerable Society of Pridemoor's Children, the resistance group that almost attained victory, looming over the former Knights of the Order of No Quarter.
Well, until Tinker Knight became an instructor.
"Alright, class, today we are going to tackle vectors and their subsequent applications in simple motion." Tinker Knight climbed up the ladder and wrote the word 'vector' in large letters.
The class paid attention, their wide eyes on their tiny teacher. Two girls, one of them mute and the other the mute girl's friend, sat in front, right before the teacher's table and absorbed everything Tinker Knight said. She noted down every single pun Tinker Knight had uttered. One boy with glasses wrote mechanically on his notebook. A small boy, no higher than his own desk, watched the equally short Knight blabber on about physics, and marvelled at his intelligence.
Tinker Knight was a good teacher.
Meanwhile, in Plague Knight's classroom, things were just different.
"Nitrogen triiodide and cluster powder can actually be stabilized by using a- what?!" The little alchemist squawked upon turning to his class. Every single future alchemist had their heads on their notebooks, books, or arms, fast asleep.
He had to detonate the tenth noise bomb that same day.
Tinker Knight retaliated by letting his students set up a giant kazoo and a giant vacuum machine.
Of course, there was still a third teacher working in the same institution. The green-skinned woman sighed, blew her bangs away from her eyes, and put on a nasty scowl. She put down her piece of chalk and then picked up the tiny Dynamo Decanter sitting on her desk.
"Class, I may have to leave you for a moment. Your other professors are being very noisy. I will be back in precisely seventeen minutes."
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V is for Valentine's Day.
The day of love was a spectacular day.
The Bard may or may not be responsible. He continued strumming his orchestra lute as the day around him went on. Couples of all kinds went about, giving each other roses, chocolate, oats, straw, sticks, feeds, seeds, and sometimes the occasional knife. The knife was not used for stabbing cheating partners, do not worry. Knights gifted each other daggers and swords and praised each other's valor.
The minstrel laughed to himself. Valentine's Day was a thing in his world, not this one.
/*Flying Machine*/
Albrecht was soundly sleeping in his quarters, buried under his blanket and numerous pillows. His ears did not register the happy shouts as the other crew members opened their personalized presents from the captain.
He dreamed of his little baby quintuplet brothers and sisters all grown up in his twenty-year absence.
His peaceful dreams were interrupted by a very loud and annoying Frenchman. Propeller Knight kicked the door of his quarters open, hollering all the way while making as much noise as he could with his heavy footsteps. The captain held a yellow parcel with a blue ribbon wrapped around and tied in an elegant bow.
"Wake up, ami!"
"Go avay. I haff been dreaming about my siblings."
"But today is the day of love, ami! The Bard has said that today is a day of love, and I am romance incarnate, so entertain me! Come on! Everyone else is awake! You're German, you should have been up the earliest!"
"Hnn. I am anti-romance incarnate."
"But only for one minute, s'il te plaît." Propeller Knight bounced up and down on the mattress while tapping on his best friend's back. "Please? I promise."
Albrecht sighed in defeat, and then sat up. "One minute."
"Just open it! I spent ages working on everyone's gift! I gave Pierre a small eagle stuffed toy..."
Albrecht tuned out his superior naming everyone in the airship. He memorized all our names, what a nice boss, he thought to himself, as he started untying the ribbon. He let his friend drone on about his gifts full of love to literally everyone on the Flying Machine. Even the mousers got gifts.
He started unwrapping the present.
"... and- oh, you already unwrapped it."
Albrecht held up the present with a scowl on his face. In his hands was a black knitted jacket with what looked like tiny red polka dots sewn on it. He narrowed his blue eyes and looked at the little red and yellow dots.
The red dots were actually very tiny flowers. Some of them were shaped like daisies, tulips, roses, and poinsettias. The yellow dots were little leaves.
"Zhis is not my type." Albrecht muttered lowly.
"Flowers make Germans constipated, I know." Propeller Knight giggled. "But look! I made this with my own hands! A black warmer, because black is your favorite color aside from blue and you are drab. And I put roses and other flowers on it because I l-!"
"It looks varm, zhough."
"Try it on! For me!" Propeller Knight shoved the jacket to his best friend and bounced excitedly.
"Alright. All for you."
/*Village*/
"Good morning, knight with a shovel!" Farrels nodded happily. "I have heard you have defeated King Knight!"
"Yes, and I shall reach the Tower of Fate in no time!" The cerulean knight saluted, and smiled up at the younger guard. "I am getting closer to my objective."
"And what is that, if I may ask?"
"I must save my beloved from the Tower. I wish to see her once again."
"Ah, good luck, wanderer!" Also, who is this guy again, Farrels thought to himself, something like Shuffle Knight? The guard scratched his nose and looked at the shovel. "You need plenty of luck. The Enchantress has been cruel to my cause. We fight for our freedom, for the kingdom! Sadly, we only can defend our posts… we cannot retake any more and our progress has been halted."
"Halted?"
"A few moons ago… there had been a surprise attack on our camps. Sad to say that our troops have been reduced from hundreds of thousands to the mere thousands."
Shovel Knight glanced aside. So that's why they have been less in number…
"We are still leaking our wounds, little knight with a shovel. We had aspired to be the liberating force of the Valley if there were no champions. Our founders decided it was time for the people to be its own champion."
"I am back, and my actions shall save you."
Huh, who does he think he is? A legend? Farrels narrowed his eyes at the tiny blue knight, but shrugged anyway. "But we have been severely weakened. Win this war for everyone, little knight with a shovel. You look promising."
The memory of her, in her shining red armor, flickered in his mind before Shovel Knight raised his unorthodox weapon up. "For the Valley. And for Shield Knight."
Shovel Knight strode in the Village, giving Farrels one last salute. Farrels stared at him long after the tiny blue knight entered the marketplace, thoughts about his childhood in mind. He narrowed his eyes at the shovel blade.
Wait, is that Shovel Knight? I think I heard of him when I was little. Oh shitbucket. Does that shovel qualify as a weapon?
/*Lich Yard*/
Specter Knight could have twiddled his fingers in nervousness and dread if it weren't for his status as Reaper of the Valley. His claws did not hold his large weapon, and instead he held a small basket in his hand. There was nothing in the basket except a small white pillow he had taken from one of the houses in his domain. The winds have been stronger. His form ached from all the fighting he had to do.
She was watching him fight and fail. Her Dragon, her supposedly most loyal servant, her lackey… was just a failure of a warrior. But it's not as if he never rebelled against her.
Isn't that my true weakness? To fail at everything I do? And never get my humanity back?
The day of love in the peaceful mortal village was going to be his day of dread. He looked around to see if there were spirits wandering nearby, sat down on a ledge, took out the pillow from the basket, and wrapped his arms around it.
I expect a punishment from her very soon. What would it be this time? Last time, I was subjected to so much light magic from all of those light wands…
He clutched at the pillow and thought of his grave mistake…
No more love for me… for the rest of eternity.
/*Coastline*/
Treasure Knight, dressed in the white and brown garb of a lowly peasant, knelt before the small cairn. A small spirit barked at him and tapped at his foot, tail wagging happily.
"It has been a long time, isn't it?" The large man sat down beside the pile of flat stones and removed each stone one by one. "It's time for you to be moved to a quiet place, now. Somewhere more beautiful. Somewhere grander. I now have the money to buy entire castles. I can relocate you to a guarded tower, and I'll decorate it with your favorite colors…"
/*Clockwork Tower*/
"Yes, just hand them the rose." Tinker Knight almost growled. Fuck this 'day of love' thing.
"So, boss, I just give my partner a bouquet of roses?" The Cogslotter asked for the millionth time. Tinker Knight wanted to somehow rip his own arms off.
"If you can't do the steps I gave you, why are you here to work for me?" The engineer held his arms up on his sides. "Just give them that. Now go out. I have things to do."
TInker Knight nudged at the Cogslotter's legs and started to push the latter out of his workshop. Even if the knight couldn't actually push an object half his own weight, the large man just went along and walked towards the door.
"I'm a little nervous."
"They all are." Tinker Knight hoarsely muttered. What is the point to this day anyway? "Now get your huge self out of here."
Once they reached the door, they bumped into a Gear Wizzem. The poor Wizzem was knocked backwards. His own bouquet of roses fell to the floor.
Tinker Knight was a bit stupefied when the Cogslotter caught the Wizzem, and then offered his roses to the latter. Both minions stared up at each other's eyes.
The tinkerer turned around on the ball of his foot, shut the workshop door, and silently pondered on how the wedding should go.
/*around the Explodatorium*/
Plague Knight skipped around happily. He enjoyed the snow and wind, and it was one of those rare times that playing in the snow didn't feel like a bad idea at all. The latest experiment resulted in a tiny blizzard that happened only around the Explodatorium.
The feeling of the cold snow on his covered feet felt a little moist. The heat in his tiny feet left and went towards the snow, but he did not mind his chilly toes. The sun was too hard on his eyes and skin, and the moon was too dark. Cloudy days and snowy days were the best. He especially loved the white little specks that fell daintily down from the heavens above.
He held his arms up and watched the snow fall lazily down from the clouds. Under the beaked mask, he had a small and content smile.
Plague Knight looked to the left.
Then looked to the right.
The glanced over his shoulder to check.
He paused for a short moment.
Plague Knight giggled and held his arms up, to imagine two hands holding his own. He closed his eyes and moved his feet and arms. The Troupple King was kind enough for a dance lesson…
The tango was a dance of love and passio-
The little dancing alchemist tripped over a rock jutting out of the chilling blanket of snow. He tumbled down with a surprised squawk. He managed to twirl around and land on his front. Before he landed, he squeezed his eyes shut for yet another hug for the earth.
Thud.
"Argh." He let his body go limp for a moment to absorb the snow's judging cold, before opening his eyes.
A lone flower, colored bright yellow, greeted him. Its petals were still fresh and it stood out from the boring white backdrop.
Plague Knight quickly sat up and examined the flower very closely. He pulled off his mask and thrust his face close to it.
A tiny, yet pretty flower standing out in the winter. Even in the harsh and pressured conditions of the environment, beauty still prevailed.
Like Mona.
/*Lost City*/
"Free hugs! Hugs for love day!" Mole Knight chuckled as he glomped a laughing linguist. "Everyone is doing so much and we couldn't have gone this far without all of you working hard on this expedition!"
"Hugs, bro! Great job!" A Mole Minion patted his fellow Mole Minion on the back as they shared a lovely hug. "We got the entrances guarded, and we better keep it up!"
"You too, buddy! We're gonna keep it up!"
"Hug! Hug!"
"Hug!"
"Will you go out on a date with me?"
"Ahh! I will! I love you!"
"Ice! Ice for those who are tired!" A young voice called out, and every adult turned to the direction of the young to-be-anthropologists.
The students walked in carrying bags of ice brought from the Explodatorium.
"Plague Knight had a blizzard problem earlier and he said we can get all the ice we want!"
"A blizzard?" One of the Mole Minions raised a brow. "What?"
"Yeah!"
Mole Knight smiled. "You know, we could use a break from all this heat. Who wants a snow party for love day? Who wants to disturb Plague Knight? Let's prank him, haha!"
/*Hat Shop*/
Phantom Striker stared out to the sky as he clutched his blue cape close to him.
"Mother, today is the day of love. I believe someone is in love with me. What steps shall I take? I am… uneducated in the art of roma-"
"Striker!" A young man jumped between him and the window, dragging along a large man with him. Reize waved a bouquet of roses in front of the stormbringer with a giant smile on his face. "Wanna come with me to the Lich Yard? I just want to check with my friend there! And then I'm gonna give this to the girl I like because Plague Knight wouldn't let me get a love potion. I gotta woo her the old classic way..."
Baz pointed to his flower crown. "And I will give flowers to my bird coworkers. Ha ha! Hummingbirds love flowers. Want to come, Striker? We can give you a flower crown too! Hat crafted them. Works with the spikes." He pointed to the spikes on his garb. Tiny flowers were taped on them.
"I will never set foot in the Lich Yard again until Specter Knight has been evicted."
"But Striker..." Baz pouted.
"No."
"Why not?" The large warrior insisted. "We can punch through the Lich Yard's forces. And Specter Knight is Rei-"
Phantom Striker grumbled under his breath. "No. Specter Knight is a dishonorable-"
"Hello, Phantom Striker…" Mister Hat drew out the last syllable as he entered the room. His helmet was off and he had a small smile on his face. In his hands was a flower crown. "Your hat deserves flowers… I love your hat."
"Gods, Hat, you sound creepy." Baz shrugged. "Are you in love with Phantom Striker?"
Mister Hat reeled back. "N-no!"
"Hat, this helmet is mine. I love my helmet. It is spiky, intimidating, and helps with my power. It loves me back. And no, I do not-"
Mister Hat plopped the flower crown on Phantom Striker's head. The crown fit the spikes snugly. Reize giggled and wrapped the fencer with his arms. Phantom Striker's body tensed, unused to hugs. Baz captured the other three (carefully maneuvering his body as not to accidentally impale himself with a spiky helmet) in a tight bear hug and laughed. Reize chuckled at his friend's affection. Mister Hat blushed bright red and looked away.
After a moment, three of the warriors felt a painful but tiny electric shock, causing the group to jump away from their lightning fencer.
"You know, we wouldn't be bad as a group!" Reize smiled. "Let's call ourselves… the Wandering Travellers!"
"A group I can be in?" Baz grinned.
Reize beamed. "Of course! And we can train each other to be honorable and decent warriors!"
"Hats, too?"
"Yes. Hats."
"New group hug!" The largest man picked everyone up and trapped them in another bear hug.
It took an instant for Phantom Striker to shock everyone another time. Poor guy didn't understand what hugs were.
/*Pridemoor Keep*/
"Your Majesty… in order to show my undying love and loyalty to you, I have created a golden cape for you." A man in torn and smelly rags hoisted up his wonderful work for the pretender king to gaze upon.
"Yes, yes, this gift is absolutely marvelous." King Knight smiled warmly at the golden fleece cape held by the tailor. The latter's shoulders dropped, and he sighed deeply. The cape was adorned with stained glass in the form of jewels.
"Thank you for your kind words, your Majesty."
"Wonderful, wonderful, now put it on the left pile." The usurper gestured to the piles behind his throne.
The tailor half-strode towards the pile and carefully dropped the cape with fake fleece and fake gems. The pile, full of anything gold or anything that glitters, was separated from another pile of flowers, fruits, read, cuckoo clocks, and every other gift.
"Next!" King Knight called out as soon as the tailor scurried out and away.
/*Stranded Ship*/
"Do you think this… shirt... looks nice?" Polar Knight held up a knitted shirt. It was blue with green stripes. He allowed the Tundread to take a nice look at it before he pulled the shirt inside out.
"How nice." The spear-thrower spoke in a flat voice.
"I made it in such a way… that the inside would have blue-green-blue..." Polar Knight pulled it inside out again, "and then green-blue-green."
"Amazing."
"I would like to give my son-in-law this shirt…"
"He would not mind. You have grown with him."
"That is true." The Stalwart sighed, his shoulders dropping. "I am unsure if he would still respect me."
"The day will come, sir."
.
V is for view.
Whenever the reaper wanted or had to converse with his personal assistant, he made sure not to let his gaze fall further down the end of her skirt. Finding her lower legs fade away gradually until it reached her ankles was something that gave Specter Knight the worst chills in his undeath.
She also had a tendency to appear around corners without warning, in a rush and her skirt lifted up by her hands. She would yelp loudly and greet him nervously while he tried not to shout his surprise and look up at the sky and not at her.
Her feet are gone. I do not want my feet cut off.
He pressed form to the wall and peeked out to make sure there were no scary maiden ghosts. And there she was. Mitzi was not exactly running to his direction, but was floating above a patch of sinking soil. She was careful as to not touch the ground. She had her frilly skirt bunched up. He watched curiously from a distance, listening intently to her voice.
The souls tied to the red earth groaned and shook their chains but the ghost girl only shushed them.
"Please, friends, look. I promise I'll do my best to convince the master to let you out, okay?"
The trapped spirits all let out small groans.
"I'll work for him, don't worry, okay? Then one day I'll ask him to let you out."
The apparition let out a small sigh. He looked at his servant with a soft gaze(while keeping his gaze away from her footless legs) and floated over to her. He lowered his scythe and approached. Everything abruptly became silent as he approached the spirit girl.
"H-hello, master…" She stammered out, and bowed in front of him. She bent her body so low that Specter Knight briefly thought of himself, kneeling before her-
"You should not bow that low in front of me." He spoke softly, maybe too softly.
Mitzi glanced sideways, and looked at her buck-toothed friend and her bespectacled mentor. They gave her a crooked smile and wiggled at their chains. She bowed even lower, and Specter dropped his scythe (to the chagrin of the souls forced to live as sinking soil) to put his hands on her shoulders.
"No, I order you. Do not bow that low."
"I have to please you to help my friends..."
He squeezed his eyes shut at the traumatic memory taking form before his very eyes. The burning on his arms and face started stinging him once more.
"You will have to please me to earn back my trust, you worthless failure. I know of your lingering desire to be human again. Remember that you squandered your chance to live once more. If you do not wish to join me, I will cut you apart, piece by piece, and burn your soul until you are erased from the universe. Your agony will be worse than hell. And you shall be eradicated from the fabric of existence."
.
V is for volatile.
"Why were you playing with volatile liquids, Tinker Knight?" Mona spoke with a soft tone, fishing out a bottle of green glowing substance from her sack.
The devious engineer bit his lip and hissed as Mona lathered his burn hands with minty liquid.
"I never knew you as not being cautious. Why did you try to meddle with explosive substances? Not to mention nitroglycerin and cluster powder! What are you scheming this time?"
"I remembered that Plague Knight once had an entire wing of the Explodatorium blown off by accident. I wish to replicate its effects."
"You do know that large amounts of it would level your own tower, too?" Mona shut her mouth immediately. The Serum Supernus…
"Yes. I have calculated. This is an accident I do not wish to repeat."
"Why are you trying to replicate this combination?"
"The Enchantress possesses a human body. Its form is fragile." Tinker Knight spoke flatly, staring into the floor. "She is only a spirit. And I plan to get rid of her physical connection. Mole Knight spoke of her origins as he found in the Lost City. She is a fraud, a demon. And we work together. What do you think?"
Mona shrugged. "We have our own goals. But in my opinion? It would be a good alliance. The three doctors of the Order of No Quarter, all together."
.
V is for venerable.
"The Armor Outpost is ours!" Wallace announced, raising his saber up and watching as his forces fought the Liquid Samurai. His soldiers, while slower than the fluid and nimble samurai, successfully drove the Enchantress' goons away.
Wallace smiled in triumph when his men started to cheer for their imminent victory. He remembered when his village was attacked by these liquid men, who can turn into small inert blobs and reform into humanoid abominations. He remembered the way they crashed into the windows of his house when he was still a helpless child and slaughtered his father and older brother.
That was eight years ago…
But now Wallace was part of the Society that wished for the freedom of the Valley in the absence of its champions.
"The Armor Outpost has now been liberated!"
.
V is for vacation.
"This Order of No Quarter thing is so stressful…" Propeller Knight removed his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair.
"All play, no work." Specter Knight grumbled from beside him.
The Frenchman hissed. "Well, if you just didn't force us to join, I would still have a youthful face. I looked in the mirror this morning, and I found a wrinkle!" He pointed to a corner of his mouth, showing off an imaginary wrinkle. "I'm going to look old at this rate! I'm still young! I'm supposed to be sexy!"
"If you do not focus much on your looks, you shall find yourself less burdened."
"Well, I know you're handsome, but not as sexy as I am. Maybe that's why you died too early."
"Quit it." Mole Knight buried his face in his claws. "I'd kill for a tropical island vacation now."
"That's it!" The Frenchman's scowl instantly lightened up into an enthusiastic face. "A vacation! I can arrange for a trip!"
"I want a vacation." Plague Knight raised his tiny green hand. "Vacations for the win, hee."
"I would like to experience the sun." Polar Knight muttered softly.
"I want to surf a big wave." Tinker Knight chuckled.
Propeller Knight clapped his hands and beamed. "Ouais! Let's go to a tropical island and sunbathe! I will send for one of my ships to transport us safely!"
/*Some time later*/
"Please tell me we are not… being punished. Hee." Plague Knight laughed nervously at the elegant airship, which was on fire. On purple fire.
"This is YOUR fault!" King Knight shoved the poor bird man to the floor. "You set our ticket out of this hell on fire-"
Polar Knight grabbed the usurper's cape and held him up off the sandy ground. He stared right into King Knight's eyes. "No. Arguing." He let go of the terrified king, and crossed his arms. "You are aware that there is a storm coming."
"Aaaah! Mes dieux! What 'as 'appened to my ship?!" Propeller Knight exclaimed, his hazel eyes wide in sheer horror. "My ship ees rueened!"
"That is not the poin-"
The Frenchman fell to his knees, steady tears streaming down his eyes. "My ship!" He cried out in despair, his hands shaking at the sight of his airship burning down helplessly.
"Shh… we will get out of-" Tinker Knight attempted to comfort the captain, but he was interrupted by the latter's hysterical screaming.
"All of our zhings were in zhere! Remember? We all put our zhings zhere!"
.
V is for vacant.
Albrecht painfully sat up, coughing into his hand and staring at the splotches of blood on his palms. His hands shook at the sight of his palm and fingers coated in red. There were globs on his hand that were not quite like blood.
"Hey, you shouldn't sit up!" A Hover Meanie with a cross armband on his arm protested loudly, gently pushing the guard back down. "The boss wants you to rest, and he will be disappointed if you don't!"
"To hell vizh zhat." Albrecht grunted, and the Meanie gasped at the blood on his lips. The latter grabbed a tissue and wiped the blood off his face. He dunked his bloodied hand in a basin of water.
"None of the stubbornness now, Albrecht." The Hover Meanie sternly spoke while fixing his pillows and blanket. "Propeller Knight would be upset. You are his best friend now. You dying will affect him more than you think. You're dying."
"I am aware." He stared up at the ceiling with a stubborn look on his face. His brows were slightly furrowed and his lips were pursed. "Do somezhing for me. Get me normal Hoverhaft armor."
"What are you planning to do?" He narrowed his eyes at him, despite the German using his icy stare. "I have been authorized to stop you from anything else and do whatever I could to make you stay here. I quote, 'he has been keeping secrets from me. I want him quarantined and temporarily demoted to conscript'. Does that sound like a military order? Because it is."
Albrecht did not respond.
"You are too weak to fight for a long time. For now, antimony for you. You need to rest and heal from this illness."
Defeated, the second-in-command sank in his mattress.
"He has been keeping secrets from me."
He could almost hear his superior's dejected tone in his mind.
.
V is for violet.
Propeller Knight ripped open the violet envelope in his hands and frowned as he read the newest letter.
Come home, my son.
I really love you. Please come back. Please fly home safely and back here at home. I'm so worried for you. I know in my heart that maybe you aren't coming home because you are being held captive by the Order of No Quarter. Perhaps you are forced to stay. I am your mother and I love you so much. But please… if you read this, please fight, for me. And come home.
"I'll fight, but I will never come back to you." He muttered to himself with clenched teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. He tore the paper and crumpled it into a ball before tossing it overboard through the window. He did not even look at it as it fell from the heavens and to the earth. He breathed in deeply, biting back tears at the memory of the last time he ever laid eyes on his home- no, simply the place he was born was almost twelve years ago.
The ball.
The ladies all wearing extravagant dresses for the night, their smiles beautiful and their charms unique.
The gentlemen who showed their chivalry and respect, men in power.
The lovely food and lively music.
And the dreaded betrothal.
His thoughts wandered to the girl he had rejected. Was she alive and well? Married? Hopefully married, he almost said out loud. Hopefully married, no more hassles and I'm truly free. But I don't care about her, or my mother, or my father.
Propeller Knight unconsciously balled his hands into fists.
I'm never going back there. Home is where the heart is. My heart is with the skies.
"Captain? Are you alright?"
He put on a chipper smile and whipped around to flash his 'happy' face at the Hover Meanie before him. The Meanie twiddled his fingers and bit his lip as he spoke to the captain. Propeller Knight recognized the platinum blond hair and the violet eyes, and the Meanie's name immediately popped in his head.
"Ah, Pierre. I am alright."
"You were muttering to yourself earlier, you seemed angry. You threw away your mother's letter."
His smile immediately dropped. "Oh."
"I saw. I think I know why… you were engaged in marriage against your will. I remember."
"Sometimes I wonder why time passes by so fast. I was nineteen then. I am… so old now."
"But y-you look young and handsome!"
"I am still a bit old, but yes, I am very handsome." He closed his eyes and chuckled mirthlessly. "Pierre. You were a soldier before. But you have an injury that almost crippled you. That was so long ago. But I helped!"
Pierre glanced down at his fake leg with a smile. "Yes…"
"I know all of you onboard. I know your names, your families… your dreams."
"We are your family, captain."
Propeller Knight held his arms open and wide. "Here's to my true family. Hug me!"
Pierre smiled, and accepted his embrace. He approached his captain and wrapped his arms around him. "Yes, here is a hug."
"Yay!"
"Ah, captain… when are we going home? Everyone… has been wondering when we can go home to France."
The captain's brows furrowed again, and he sighed out.
My crew needs me to be their captain… and I am obliged by my duty to bring them back home.
"Soon, Pierre. Soon."
.
V is for volcano.
Mole Knight gave the littlest sick student one last warm hug and sweet smile. He pat the tiny teen's back gently and then tucked him to bed.
"Everything is alright. I'll check the lower level right when you get to sleep. If something goes wrong, I'll wake you up." The knight forced a wide smile on his face. He stroked the boy's hair and pulled the blanket up to his waist.
"But I've been hearing some rumbling sounds."
"It might just be us clearing some bedrock."
"But it's so near and it's going gululugululu."
"Shh, it's fine. I'm here to protect you from any harm."
"Okay…"
"Now, go to sleep. I'll look into it. Good night."
The boy sighed, and then closed his eyes. Mole Knight tapped the little mole-shaped glowing lamp beside the bed, and the organisms inside started to glow once again. The bright light was blue, maybe a little green. He stood up and quietly walked to the door, claws clasped together.
As soon as he closed the door, he turned around only for lots of magic glitter to be thrown onto his face through his visor's holes. Unfortunately for Mole Knight, he had already breathed in, so his lungs had to take in lots of particulate and shimmering matter.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" A certain sorcerer held his hands up and did a futile attempt to hit the archaeologist's back.
Both of them were busy fussing and coughing to hear one of the students sit up and tiptoe towards the door.
/*after coughing out sparkling dust*/
"So… your name is Anart."
"Yup." The scraggy gentleman idly played with the vial full of water hanging around his neck, a grin plastered on his stubbly face. "That's me! Anart of the woods! I'm a gentleman, and I sell clothes!"
"Okay. My students are hearing lava bubbling up right below their room." Mole Knight spoke as the two of them descended down a flight of stairs. Anart raised a brow.
Both were not aware of a feeble figure following them in the shadows.
"I turn fire into water, not lava into water." He picked his nose, and then produced a long straight white wand out of his nostril. He smiled at it eerily while Mole Knight stared in shock. "But I can always try. I'm the greatest sorcerer in the world. Not even the Enchantress could-"
"That's not the point. Yes, before I start, I know this is a volcano we are in. And I know that sorcery bends the fabric of time and space to its user's will. But you know that in nature, all things have a source."
"Yes, yes of course, but where's the awesome stuff?"
"Okay." Mole Knight sighed, and threw his entire speech detailing the laws of nature and the laws of magic in an imaginary trash can. "When we get down the stairs, the exciting part happens. But first, look at this." He then effortlessly punched the wall to his right. A hole formed without any pain on the knight's fist. He moved a little to let Anart see the sight below.
A peculiar pond of fire had formed, pinkish lava bubbling and shooting out purple-colored orbs. The odd lava was steadily but slowly rising, and Anart's already creepy smile widened even more. His eyes glowed a slight yellow and Mole Knight found himself briefly weighing his options to punch him or to run away, and regretting that he even contacted the nutjob in the first place.
"Enchantress…"
"Anyway, if you look under it-"
"I want to bathe in her blood…"
"If you look under the lake," The archaeologist repeated with a more stressed and exasperated tone, "You'll find that it's not even connected to any magma chamber-"
"I'll turn this into a lake of water…"
Mole Knight sighed in vexation. "It's not connected to a magma chamber, and there is something wrong. Do you know what is wrong?"
"The water is on fire and it's pink."
"No." Mole Knight shook his head patiently. "It's rising. Slowly. And it does not have a source of lava. There is an underlying problem here."
"Magic."
"Exactly. I wasn't also expecting you to show up because you said you're trapped in the western woods."
"I found a workaround! I was able to steal so much money out of your groupmates and gave them to the resistance group, and isn't that nice? I got in a group on my own! Ahaha!"
"I highly doubt that."
"And I mean, I'm a gentleman trapped in a forest, all alone but with friends outside! It's more exciting than it looks like. And you know what else is exciting? This! This is endlessly exciting! Her magic is here! I can feel it radiating in this cavern!" Anart looked to the side and smiled at the tiny black figure with tiny pinprick eyes eyes that only he could see. "Can you feel it too?"
Mole Knight blinked at the sorcerer. "Huh. It's all okay, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." Anart stretched his hand out towards the lake of fire. His hands glowed green and his smile grew even wider. Demonic voices in his head chanted and sang, and he laughed.
The peculiar lava bubbled violently as he recited his spell.
Mole Knight watched blankly as the lava violently reacted. Streams of fiery liquid shot out from the surface, and its color rapidly shifted from pink to purple to blue to green. Finally, the lava turned into the normal bright red and orange color. Anart whooped and jumped up and down in celebration, his face beaming.
"So… it's all good now?" Mole Knight raised a brow. Am I right for trusting this guy?
"Haha! I turned the magic lava into normal lava. So tell me, are you interested in buying some of my silken coats?"
"I supp-"
Rumble…
The knight and the mage exchanged puzzled glances.
The lake of lava bubbled violently and a stream of fire erupted from it. The flare was colored deep purple and it shot out in midair, going straight for the hidden boy that watched from the shadows.
The student let out a terrified scream as the unholy fire flew straight towards him. Anart's smile disappeared as he saw his nemesis' magic failsafe attack the young, innocent boy.
Poor Mole Knight froze on the spot, horrified at the sight of the Enchantress willingly attacking a child. The image of the horrified student, eyes wide and body frozen in hear, was burned into the knight's mind. So many thoughts raced in his head, only to be interrupted by a second shower of sparkles.
"Enchantress! You're not harming a potential sorcerer!" Anart's permanent smirk as replaced with a dark scowl.
A wand had appeared in the mage's hand, ribbons of bright green magic coming out of its tip and swirling around the orb of darkness. The orb became encased in his spell, until it faded away eventually into thin air. Anart glanced over to the shocked Mole Knight, and cackled.
"Well, phew. That was a bit hard to do, but didn't I look awesome?"
"Erm, okay, yeah." He approached the student slowly. "Are you alright?"
The student inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, then nodded. "Yes."
"That's good." Mole Knight smiled under his visor.
"Is that the thing going gulugulugulu?" The young student pointed at the lava.
"Yeah." Mole Knight's shoulders dropped. "I'm sorry for lying to you. I just didn't want you to worry."
"It's okay. I understand."
"You must be a perspective child, aren't you?" Mole Knight chuckled and lifted his giant hand to gently pat the frail kid on the back.
"Okay, so, little one, you want to be a sorcerer one day?" Anart grinned.
The student stepped backwards and hid behind the stout form of the knight-anthropologist, shaking his head as hard as he could.
"Okay, so, you want to buy clothes from me? For free? I'll also make the gulugulugulu lava shit go away, for the price of free! Well, I already did it. So, you have all these services, no interest, no payment at all-"
Some force slapped him on the butt. His happy grin was immediately replaced with a surprised scowl, and he angrily turned around to shoot whatever thing that was with his water-powered magic. But there was nothing, and he was wrapped in ribbons of green and violet flame. The bands of fire engulfed him while he screamed in agony.
Mole Knight thought quickly, and turned to the child. "Run up. Tell the Mole Minion to bring us water!"
.
V is for villain.
"You disappoint me."
Specter Knight closed his eyes, and told himself that the pain would start soon, but his rebellion also begins anew.
"Why have you always been so defiant to the power I possess?" She sneered at the apparition. "You are already my knight. I wonder why you still resist me."
He refused to look at her, clenching his shrivelled fist.
"You pretend to be alive and mingle with the living. You are in an Order of ruthless knights, and whenever you can, you still show mercy. The entire Order of No Quarter disappoints me by their small acts of mercy, but you disappoint me the most. I revived you, and gave you untold power. You formed this Order, and you as a role model have failed. Perhaps this is why all my knights are incompetent and have plans to foil me, because you are this way. Perhaps this is why Shovel Knight is trespassing my Tower!"
"I never joined. You bound me to it." He finally spoke up, his voice dripping with the venom of his pent-up pain and fury. "My loyalty was never to you. My loyalty has always been to myself, and myself only."
"Fool!" The purple flames lighting her hall flared up in her rage. "You dare? You dare question the power I wield?"
"Yes. I do. I dare fight you again." Specter Knight clutched his scythe. "I dare call upon my true power and expunge you from this sacred earth, you vile demoness!"
"What stops you from being a demon? You have spilled blood, Specter Knight. You have killed so many people, and you are deserving of such a title."
"I still have my humanity. I am not a demon. You have wiped out the soul of the knight you possess. And you deserve to be banished back to hell."
She snarled at him, before pausing all of a sudden. He watched with furrowed brows, fearing what may happen next. She hovered upwards, looking up at the sky with a twisted soft smile.
"You know, Specter Knight, you may just be one of the kinds of demons that need a little more… hand holding. Let me show you how it is to be powerful."
Up next: W is for- wait, what the actual fuck just happened and why are the knights women now?!
Translations:
Viens te battre avec moi si tu cherches un défi en ce jour monotone. - Come and fight me if you're searching for a challenge on this boring day.
Je ne renoncerais jamais une confrontation en duel mon ami - I'll never turn down a duel, my friend.