Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🔥 Liquidation [3/8] 🔥

Sir Blanco's POV:

We had no time to waste.

The ivy was closing in on the Northwynd palace, and fast.

I sprinted through the overgrown corridors, slashing through the plants that blocked our path.

Sir Snowstorm ran beside me, holding an unconscious Sir Whitecap in his arms.

With the two of us carrying cargo and being in the lead at the same time, it wasn't easy trying to escape the hostile battlefield.

"We're almost there!" Snowstorm called to the rest of the group, slicing through a thick tendril of ivy. "Keep pushing forward!"

Channeling my weight into my blade, I used it to guide more force into each swing, cutting away at more of the plant as we ran.

"Get outside!" I bellowed, catching a glimpse of the grand double doors. "We're not far from the exit!"

Suddenly, I heard a panicked voice screech from just out of my field of vision. "DON'T MOVE ANY FURTHER! IT'S NOT SAFE!"

I skidded to a stop, recognizing Tia, who was wrestling with the ivy.

"Tia!" I exclaimed, watching her writhe in its grip. "Ye' need help?"

"Blanco, get back!" She hissed, a stream of frostbreath dribbling down her chin. "The thing is sentient; It knows you're here! There's two opponents on the field, and more that you can't see!"

A tendril of the snake-like plant slithered around her throat, promptly constricting her neck.

My eyes widened in horror as I realized she was choking. "TIA!"

The captain struggled in the ivy's grip, her face tinted a slight shade of red. "For all you know, I could be fine with this..."

For a brief moment, even the plant seemed to take a pause.

"That's still not okay!" Sir Subzero cried out, clearly oblivious of what she was implying. "You need help!"

Tia groaned, blasting a jet of frostbreath and dropping from the withering plant. "I'm not a damsel in distress, I can fend for myself."

I lightly tapped the smaller knight in the side, wordlessly asking him to hold Sir Nyx for me.

Once he had the injured knight in his hands, I jogged over to Tia, sheathing my blade and scooping her up in my hefty arms.

She didn't struggle, which was a clear sign of the trust we had established over the few weeks since we had met each other.

"Rest for a bit, you've done a lot." I breathed, patting her on the back. "Give yer' corgi legs a break."

The captain gave me an indignant snort before tucking herself into my arms, shielding her body with her tail.

I have to admit, she was very cute.

"Sir Blanco!" Subzero was waving his hand in front of my face. "Hello, Lunarift to-"

"I'm here, kid." I chuckled, patting Tia on the back. "We've all got our own cargo. Let's head out."

Once we got outside the castle entrance, we stood on the marble stairs, greeted with the sight of our kingdom burning before us.

The second the captain sensed the smoke, she started fighting to break free from my grip.

"Woah, easy, polar bear." I mumbled, shifting her weight so her thighs were resting on one arm. "Take a breather, yer' going to overexert yer tiny body if you keep this up."

"It's not overexertion if I haven't worked out in like, a week!" She protested, headbutting my helmet. "Lemme go, Blanco!"

Before I could stop her, she wriggled out of my grasp, landing on the floor in front of me.

Luckily, I managed to get a decent grip on her tail fluke, yanking her back. "Ah, no. Lil' missy, ye' need to rest."

I unfortunately got bit.

She whirled around, jumping onto me and clamping her jaws around the already dented-up armor around my neck.

I sucked a breath in through my teeth, letting out a quiet (and hopefully soundless) whimper.

Two things.

One, she definitely heard me.

Two, she seemed... Satisfied.

"Tia, what in the world are you doing?!" I recognized King Arthur's exasperated sigh, growing louder as he approached us. "We have fires to sweep and people to rescue; Save your snacks for later."

As he walked off, I noticed the cocky grin on the king's face.

Tia had went beet red; She was blushing hard.

I'm either too dense to understand why, or I lack a couple braincells.

"Yes, uh, Your Highness." The captain stammered, charging more frostbreath in her throat.

Her mentor rolled her eyes at her, giving her a chuckle before gently prying her off of me. "Not everyone's a dog toy. C'mon, let's go use that energy for something more productive."

She didn't argue as he carried her off.

"Anyways," I began, turning to the rest of the knights. "Anyone have ideas on a plan?"

"Nope, you won't have enough time." A raspy, ancient-like voice echoed through the hallways. "I recommend sending a prayer or two to Heaven... Maybe he'll listen."

We all turned around in unison, drawing our swords and getting into formation.

Even though the enemy appeared to be one singular target, I knew there would be more to fight ahead.

The spirit, who Tia had recognized as Blackthorne, silently hovered over to us.

He donned the dilapidated version of Northwynd's royal guard uniform, kept together by tendrils of ivy that tied them in place.

"Remember me, Nyx?" the former knight smiled, his face partially visible under his broken helmet. "How you and King Arthur schemed against me and took me down... Such a traitorous act. Don't you feel ashamed of yourself?"

"You idiot, he's resting." Sir Subzero snapped, adjusting his grip on the injured knight. "He doesn't have time for your silly questions."

"I wasn't speaking to you." Blackthorne growled, wielding what seemed to be an obsidian blade. "Sir Nyx, are you still alive? It'd be a shame if you just passed away before you even had a chance to create your legacy."

"I'm very much alive," The ivory knight groaned, slowly shifting out of Sir Subzero's arms. "What do you want?"

The ghostly dark knight laughed, his voice a deep, husky chuckle. "You want to know what I want? Is that really even a valid question at this point?"

I aimed my sword at his translucent chest. "Come any closer and we'll attack ye'."

Blackthorne gave me an amused look, levitating over and lowering my blade (which surprised me; I didn't know spirits could move objects, but apparently, they can). "Ah, baby boy Blanco. Ever since you joined the royal guard after you were done being a merchant, you've never known the bad blood Nyxie and I have over here."

The ivory knight glared at the husk of his former teammate. "Nyxie? Are you kidding me?"

"At least I'm still referring to you in the present-tense." He grinned, his tone a mix of charismatic and sinister. "I'll give you, my wonderful fellow knights, a simple warning..."

"Surrender now and I won't have to hurt you."