Apologies for the awful delay on this chapter. I shan't waste your time with excuses, so let's get straight on to the story, straight after these messages.
Thank you to pocketwatchgirl, .Invisible Nobody., Persian huntress, Perfect Phantom, Aussie Heroine, 4evacrazy, jay5merlin, rubies'n'diamonds and the fates of love. You people are the greatest. And extra thanks to ellen 26 for getting me off my butt to write this.
Disclaimer: I do not own COTT, any affiliated characters, Robin Hood, Merlin or Owain the Green Knight. I also do not own the infamous "it's only a flesh wound" scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Finally, if any welsh people are reading this, and are offended by my description of the welsh language…tough. It's an odd language, live with it.
"You're good girlie, I'll give you that" the mysterious girl said. "But me," She shook her arm slightly, and a playing card appeared in it. "I'm magic!"
Wordlessly, the team fell into formation, like the greatest commando team ever known, all except Jay, of course, who was still busy clawing pink snot off his eyes.
"You've got exactly twenty seconds to tell us who you are and what you want." Archie yelled, raising his whip, and aiming it at the girl. Account for drag, she's slightly elevated so increase firing angle… Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Atlanta raise her crossbow. That thing really looks good on her; I should get her a spare one… Archie thought, bizarrely.
"Oh, you think you guys can take me? Well, I missed my work out today. Go on, do your worst." The Goth shot back, cockily, her voice full of a sort of hollow bravado.
Atlanta groaned in frustration. "Whatever. This freak's going down." She fired her crossbow twice and rolled behind cover.
The girl didn't move. She just waved her hand casually, and muttered some odd words, sounding like a cross between a garbage crusher and one of Hermes' griffins trying to cough up a fur ball. "Trawsnewid i wyfynod bach"
The blasts of energy transmuted into pigeons, which broke off, wheeled around, deposited some fecal matter on Jay's face, who had just managed to get the last of the goo out of his eyes, and flapped off to join the rest of their species in frenzied flapping round Trafalgar Square.
"Great." He spat venomously. "The next person that drops crap on my face gets a Xiphos through the gut." With those words, he grabbed his sword off his belt, and unleashed the blade, bringing it into a high guard, as if preparing to stab the pigeons. Theresa laid a hand on his shoulder, running it along his bicep.
"Easy there, Tiger. Put the sword down. I don't think this girl means any real harm." She grinned mischievously. "And I've got to figure out how to pull that spell…" As a visible show of trust, she put away her nun chucks. Of course, if Goth-Girl does turn out bad, my powers are a far better weapon against whatever mystic she's packing…and that excessive eye shadow.
"Good call." The Goth shot back. "I'm Merla, and we have to go. Follow me." With that, she turned, and sauntered off.
Archie looked quizzically at her, and then glanced at Jay. "Go ahead. We'll follow her, but watch her. This could be a trap."
"A Club? I thought this was some mystical rendezvous thing, not a drug deal!" Atlanta moaned, her temper foul. Being so utterly dismissed by Merla (if that was her real name) had really angered her, and she was spoiling for a fight.
"Can it, yank. We're here. Just go in the side entrance, say Merla sent you." She opened up the door, and waved them in. "And if you see a guy in green armour…" She shook her head. "Aw never mind, you'll figure it out."
They walked inside, and saw a guy in a dark green hoody with dark frayed denim jeans.
"So, you're the Canadians, eh? Wait...Theresa?" The boy dropped his bow, and it clattered to the floor. "Theresa, is that really you?" He rubbed his eyes comically, as if in disbelief.
"Sorry...have we met?" She asked, very confused, and more then a little bit disturbed. "How do you know my name?" She looked over at Jay and the other others for help.
"Terri, it's me. Robbie! It's been what, five, six years since we last saw each other. I think it was Lady Agatha's Garden Party, remember?" He crossed his arms, and waited for the tirade of memories to come flooding back. Theresa's reaction certainly didn't disappoint.
She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, before blinking rapidly. "Robert? I didn't recognize you. Gods, I haven't seen you since we were...12 right?"
Robbie nodded. "'Bout that, yeah. That being the age when I managed to stop my parents dragging me to all those ghastly functions around the country hosted my Lady Snootydrawers or Lord CouldIBemorestuckup. 'Course, it did mean I had to stop seeing you, which was a bummer..."
Jay's eyes narrowed considerably, not liking this boy's rather...close attitude towards Theresa. "Wanna explain who this is Theresa?" He growled, resting his hand pointedly on the xiphos, then angling the hilt towards the boy, Robbie.
"Jay, Archie, Atlanta, this is Robbie. He was my, well that is to say, we were friends when we were little kids. We used to meet up at all the parties our rich families used to bring us to..."
"Brought you to. Dragged me to." Robbie interjected.
"Yes, so you never got tired of saying to anyone who would listen at those parties." Theresa shot him a look of amusement, like that of a couple enjoying an old private joke. Jay was surprised by the large spike of envy that look elicited. "Anyway, about six years ago, Robbie here managed to get out of the damn things, and I never saw him again."
"Of course, had I known that Theresa was going to grow up into such a beautiful charming girl, I might have reconsidered my attendance of those things. I hope you'll forgive my shortsightedness, my lady." He dropped to a knee, and kissed her hand softly, eliciting a blush from Theresa's cheeks.
Archie and Atlanta exchanged a glance before simultaneously placing a hand on each of his shoulders, preventing him from stepping in between the two, and getting in Robbie's face.
"Look, not that this isn't fascinating, but precisely why are you here? I mean, it seems a bit suspicious that out of all the people that could be here in some kind of enclave of what I'm guessing has a mystic origin, you, a former friend of one of us, would be here. I mean coincidences are a dangerous thing, and for someone who says a lot, you don't seem to have much to say." Jay's conspiracy generator was working overtime now, he was certain this boy was a risk, a danger to the team, and there it would be a cold day in Hades before he let this...this...person harm Theresa. Or the rest of the team, he thought, as a barely acknowledged afterthought.
"Okay, you want answers. Fine. That makes sense. You'll have to prove yourself though. You want to know precisely what's going on, go through that door. You will receive further instructions within." Robbie replied, grinning now. He was clearly enjoying this, and seemed only about two steps away from chanting "I know something you don't know" repeatedly in a high pitch.
"Why should I have to prove myself to you, "Robbie"? I've faced down Gods and monsters, what makes you think you have a right to demand I prove myself. You obviously know who we are, so who are you?"
"I'm Robbie." He lifted his bow, drew an arrow he obviously hidden in a secret quiver beneath his jacket and fired it in a lazy arc across the room. Then, he made a series of further shots, piercing the arrow three times in mid air, before splitting it down the middle. "That puts us on equal footing. at least for now. As for why I've got a right to know your worthiness? Well, this is my home country. Home court advantage has to count for something now, doesn't it?" He recrossed his arms defiantly, his voice had been level and calm, but his eyes certainly weren't, blazing at Jay, full of anger.
"Fine. I'll take, and pass, your little test. Then you'll explain what the hell happened to my vacation?" Jay asked.
"You ask, I'll answer. Can't guarantee you'll enjoy the answers, but I'll tell the truth."
Jay entered the room, and looked around. It was empty, the walls were blank, white, unassuming. All except for one thing. Another door at the opposite end of the room, and a man of at least 5"10 dressed in a full green armor.
"None Shall Pass!" The Knight decreed, drawing his Axe, a vicious double-headed affair from his belt.
Normally, Jay would have tried negotiation. But he was tired, angry, jealous, and he really wanted an explanation, so wordlessly, he unsheathed his Xiphos, and brought it up to a high guard.
"How do you English say? Bugger that!" With those words, he charged, slashing like a deranged madman. A deranged madman with the swordsmanship of a hero, albeit. His first slash rebounded off the hilt of the axe, leaving his side wide open for the Knight to slash at will, but the Knight didn't take the opportunity.
Allowing his bodies momentum to carry him forward, he span, and slashed through the arm of the knight, severing it between the gaps in his armor plating. It fell to the floor with a wet splash.
"Alright, back off and I won't hurt you any more." Jay said, sheathing his Xiphos.
"Any more? You haven't hurt me yet!" The Knight cried, indignantly.
"Your arms been cut off!"
"No it hasn't. It's just a flesh wound." The Knight lifted his Axe with his other Arm, before Jay slashed again, removing the arm.
The Knights only response was to begin kicking out with his right leg. It fell to the floor with a wet, sticky plop.
"Come on!" The Knight screamed. "You afraid, is that it?" As Jay went to walk past him.
"You've only got one leg!" Jay yelled back in exasperation. What the hell is going on with this guy?
He removed the final leg, and the Knight dropped to the floor. He looked up at Jay, then looked at his limbs, lying across the floor. "Alright. We'll call it a draw." Jay walked past the Knight, and through the door.
"Oh, running away are you? Oh, that's rich! Coward!" The Knight screamed, hysterically.
Through the door, sat the rest of his team, the Goth, Merla, and him. The cocky upstart was sitting entirely too close to Theresa for his liking.
"Alright. I passed your little test. Now please explain what the hell is going on?" Jay asked, frustrated.
"Right. Certainly. Absolutely. Merla, go put Owens arms on please?" Robbie asked, batting his eyes in a most ludicrous fashion.
"Fine. But you're doing it next time. You owe me for this!"
"Sure thing, doll. I'll explain thing to knuckles for brains here." He winked. "Just kidding, mate. You want answers, then sit down and use those lug holes on the sides of your head, capish?"
Jay said nothing, but sat down. His knuckles turned slightly white as his hands clenched.
"Alright, before we begin, there's a few facts I'm gonna lay on you, it'll be a lot easer if you just accept them, and let me get on with the story. Okay?" He waited for Jay to nod, sullenly. "Alright, Fact Number 1: You guys aren't the only descendants of heroes out there. Fact Number 2: Cronus is not the only big bad loser out there that escaped some prison using power harnessed from that planetary alignment. Fact Number 3: Yellow jumpers went out of style…hell, they were never in style. Seriously, what were you thinking?"
"If you're just here to insult my fashion sense, we'll be leaving." Jay growled.
"Speak for yourself, Jay. I wanna hear the story!" Atlanta laughed. "Now sit down and let the guy talk.
"Anyway, what you need to know, is that there are four of us in Britain, descendants of the greatest heroes these fair isles have offered history. You've met 3 of us so far, my dearest Merla is a descendant of the great Merlin, I myself am a descendant of Robin Hood. To be honest, that one wasn't a surprise, aristocracy bloodlines aren't exactly some big secret. I was just the first descendant of Robin to show any real resemblance to the dude."
Archie cut in. "You mentioned a third member? I don't remember meeting another."
"Well, you haven't, but your fearless leader has. Ah, here he comes now." Striding into the room purposefully was a broad shouldered boy of about 16, his green armor splattered with blood, and his hair tousled like he'd been wearing a helmet. This wasn't the first thing that struck the teens about his hair however. Their first impression, was that it was bright green
"Hey boyo, tha' sounds like it's my cue. I'm Owen." The boy said, extending a gauntleted hand to the group. Archie shook it, looking the boy deep in the eyes. There was something odd about him, Archie could feel it. And it wasn't just because of the Green hair. Hell, mine's purple, who am I to judge?
"Owen here is from Llanbobl, in Wales. He's a direct descendant of Owain, the green Knight."
Jay jumped from his seat. "But…I just chopped your legs off! And your arms!"
"Yeah, invulnerability's a bugger that way, isn't it? Still, I couldn't miss a chance to emulate John Cleese, now could I?" Seeing the look the group gave him, one of utter lack of comprehension, he added. "A comedy actor from the 70s." He extended a hand towards the group.
"A pleasure." Theresa said, drolly, taking the hand. "That's all well and good, but you've still not explained how you know about us, or how you knew we were in this country."
"That's easy hun," Merla replied. "We've a friend, goes by the name of Lady G, that's in touch with your mate Odie, they've been swapping data on each other for months. I'm a little surprised he didn't tell you about us, tell the truth."
As if on cue, Jay's phone started ringing. "Hello, Jay here. Odie, that you?"
"Yeah, it's me Jay. I just remembered, while you're in Britain, there's someone you might run into." The computer experts laid back voice sounded a little guilty; clearly this was something that Odie had forgotten to mention.
"Let me guess, a group of other hero descendants that you COMPLETELY FORGOT TO MENTION?" Jay half screamed down the comlink. "I mean, it didn't occur to you to mention ONCE that you were sharing team secrets with some girl you met over the internet?"
"S…sorry Jay…" Odie stammered.
"We'll discuss this when we get back Odie. Have a good vacation, cause once we're back, I'm recommending Ares gives you double training sessions for the next 3 months!" He slammed the comlink down. "Sorry about that little display. Anyway, fine, you've told us who you are. Now where are we, and why are we here?"
"Well, that's another story entirely. You guys might wanna sit back down."
Well, that's it for another fantastically overdue chapter. I'm hoping you enjoyed it, and can forgive me for my terrible lack of updates. Reviews are loved, and really appreciated.
Thanks for reading.