"Apprentice!" the Yellow Leader called, looking for the steve who had been right behind him just a second ago.
"Right here, sir." He answered, coming out from behind the throne. "I just went to look for a book on war strategies - y'know, maybe I could be of some help to the other yellow steve kingdoms where the darkness sightings have been reported."
The Yellow Leader smiled a bit, trying to reassure him once again that he's still young and doesn't have to take on so much responsibility. Truth be told, he was proud of his assistant. He learned quickly, paid attention to his people and overall seemed to be a great future leader.
"Moving on, I need to pay the Green Leader a visit, to let him know that darkness has been spotted around and to keep an eye out for it. I should be back by sunset. Until then, you're free to do as you want. Maybe hang out with your friends again, I haven't seen you with them in a while. Okay?"
"Alright, sir. See you later, I guess."
With that, the Leader left.
His assistant waited some more, until he was sure he was alone, and teleported away in a flash of light. Knowing he only had a few hours, he quickly grabbed a few colorful potions and chugged them down. Strength, resistance, regeneration... he counted in his mind, double checking that he hadn't missed anything. He then turned towards the sink and washed his face, the yellow paint dripping off and revealing the black scars that showed his corruption... no, his collaboration with the darkness. No need to hide them anymore.
Sighting, he picked up a weapon lying on the stone floor. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this - yet the countless attempts at convincing the leader that the darkness could be useful turned out to be in vain. Maybe he could talk some sense into him if he gave it another try...
The yellow steve shook his head. It was too late to back out now. Using both the crystal and the darkness, he could become powerful enough to protect his people from anything. It would take a long time for them to see it, but he was doing what was best for everyone.
Shutting down the chaos in his mind, the steve summoned the familiar lightning that brought him face to face with the two guards protecting the crystal.
"Greetings- SIR, Y-YOUR FACE!" one of the guards shouted, unsheathing their sword.
They didn't even have time to lift it in the air before a surge of power sent them flying and into the abis beneath the pathway. The other guard attempted to jump the corrupted Steve, only to find himself the target of a dozen lightning strikes, leaving him to fall to the floor.
"Pride of the King's Army, you two.(Someone pls get the reference)" The leader's assistant laughed with a hint of disappointment.
Walking over the guard's body, he stepped into the room and took the crystal from the pedestal. Just then, his now former leader showed up, most likely alerted by the guard standing next to him.
"What. Are. You. Doing. Assistant." He asked, sparks of energy appearing in his hands. Unfortunately for him, the traitor had seen this coming. A blast of electricity, and the snitching guard was gone.
"I have both the darkness and the crystal, dear king. So how about this: why don't you take your leave peacefully, and I will consider... not burning your people to a crisp. How does that sound, hmm?" He asked, a smirk plastered on his face.
"You will pay for this." The steve in front of him whispered, visibly forcing himself not to attack right there and then.
But they both knew those were empty words. The traitor's grin widened as he held his hand out. With a soul-piercing glare, the King took his crown off and gave it to him, then turned to leave. He only stopped to tell his former assistant one more thing.
"It's only been a minute and you're already a king of nightmares."
