Episode 045 Previous Episode	Next Episode
“If you ain’t here to throw down, the hell you want?” – John Cena, WWE Raw From the floor, everyone looked taller than Armand. The youngest knight was still as he looked from Alan to the others, then to Everett. Behind him, Ledger carefully pulled Armand to his feet, ready for the others to move. “Ledger, Roland, Armand,” Everett introduced confrontationally, “this is Alan Vick, and company.” “We’ve met,” Alan said with an awkward but friendly nod to Ledger and Roland. He extended his hand to Armand. “Though we haven’t. I’m Alan Vick.” “Armand,” he said, shaking his hand carefully. “What brings you, all of you, to our place?” “We’d like your help,” Alan summarized. Roland sized up Alan for a moment before looking at the others. “What about the rest of you?” he asked. His eyes fell on Ryoko. “Especially you.” Ryoko made no reaction. “Dante’s my name,” said the black knight, standing up. “Good to see some brothers wearing red and black. That’s not all that usual.” He held out his hand to Ledger. Ledger didn’t even move as he stared a hole through Dante. Everett watched Ledger and Dante and looked at the others. “Alan,” he said, “I think it’d be best if you and your crew leave.” “Everett, I’m sorry to be rude, but we really need your help,” he said firmly. “We need you to say yes to this.” “Yes to what?” Armand asked, looking from the knights to Alan to Everett and back. “To joining them,” Everett said, his eyes locked on Alan. “Join them to do what?” Roland asked. “Hasn’t actually said yet,” Everett answered. “Data entry’s as far as he’s let me in on. What’s after that is still in the dark.” “We can’t risk letting our plan get out,” Alan ventured. “Anytime you’ve got a plan like that, it means that you’re up to no good,” Roland said, stepping around Armand to come between Everett and Alan. “Is that what you’re up to, Sir Vick? No good?” “I’m here in a spirit of cooperation,” he said, his voice growing hard. “No, you’re here in a spirit of conquest,” Ledger retorted at Roland’s elbow. “You’re just looking for us to be conquered without you having to do anything.” Silence descended on the ground. Carefully, the other knights with Alan got to their feet. Everett glanced at his ninjato across the room. “Those are a lot of very strong words,” Alan said solemnly to Ledger. “Yeah?” he retorted fearlessly. “I can sum them all up in one word: Villain.” In the flash of an eye, Dante snapped a punch at Ledger, but he parried it to the side and chopped Dante in the side of the neck with the ridge of his hand. Pushing him with the attacking hand, Ledger shoved Dante into Ryoko before she could draw her sword. Matt grabbed Ledger’s collar but Roland swept his hand down on Matt’s elbow, bending his arm and releasing his grip. Reaching over Matt’s head, Roland yanked his head down, at the same time bringing his knee up towards Matt’s nose. He slammed his free hand down on Roland’s knee, stopping the attack just inches from his face. Alan whipped out his cutlass as Armand drew his brand, both ready to fight. “STOP IT!” Everett yelled over the din of the fighting. Matt and Roland froze halfway through Roland’s second knee. Ryoko had drawn her katana as Dante was still trying to get his balance. Still seated on the couch, Eliot watched the whole exchange with a half-bored, half-amused look. Everett gave the group a tense few breaths to assure the stillness, then looked squarely at Alan. “Leave,” he said directly. Everett and Alan stood on opposite sides of the open door. Alan’s knights behind him waited to leave, while Everett’s stood behind him. “I didn’t want this, Everett,” Alan said honestly. “I didn’t want us to be enemies.” “We’re not enemies,” Ledger called over Everett’s shoulder, moving to step outside. “You wouldn’t be standing if we were…” Everett’s hand went out, blocking Ledger from stepping outside. Everett’s gaze sent Ledger back and he turned to Alan. “You are in my territory,” he said directly. “However,” he allowed, “you are also a knight. Stay out of our way and we will stay out of yours.” “Does that go for the Crimson Rose as well?” Alan asked. Everett didn’t move. “We know he’s one of yours.” “He’s not one of ours,” Everett insisted. “We have nothing to do with him; in fact, we’ve been trying to stop him.” “Oh, and we’re just supposed to believe you?” Matt barked at Everett. Everett’s jaw worked with anger but when he spoke, his words were soft but stern. “On my honor,” he said emphatically, “I know nothing about the Rose.” Alan nodded, slowly, stepping back. “We’ll do our best to stay out of your way, Everett.” Everett watched them head into the parking lot before he turned around. Stepping inside, he shut the door and collapsed against it. “Oh. My. God.” “Dude, next time, let me at ‘em,” Ledger said. “I’ll tear his punk ass apart.” “Hopefully, there won’t be a next time,” Everett insisted, rubbing his face. “Oh god, this is just getting worse and worse.” “What did he want?” Armand asked, getting water from the fridge. Everett stared at nothing through his fingers, then looked up. “Any of you ever heard of Knightspeak?” They looked amongst themselves, ultimately shaking their heads. “It’s some kind of…power, that Alan can use. I don’t know what it is. He says it’s tied into the Oath; he also says it’s a living language.” “Knightspeak,” Ledger said, trying the word. “No idea. What do you mean ‘it’s a power’?” Everett sighed intentionally. “He said this…gibberish, and I sat down. Didn’t even know I was doing it until he pointed it out. He said some more and I couldn’t move my right hand. At all. Couldn’t stand up either. Not until he said some more that apparently undid it all or something. But, I, no idea what it’s all about but, lord, whatever it was, it worked.” “Sounds like some type of parlor trick,” Roland said, sipping from a water bottle. Next to him, Armand suddenly realized he was drinking from his. He glared at Roland before heading back into the kitchen. “What did he want from us?” “He wants our help deciphering data he got from Solaritec,” Everett said. “Though that’s apparently part of a larger plan.” Solaritec,” Ledger asked. As the word slipped past his lips, his eyes went wide with realization. “Jericho.” Everett pointed at him. “Bingo. Apparently, Jericho was big into this ‘Knightspeak’ stuff, whatever it is, and Alan’s put together all his research and is trying to finish it or something. He wanted our help; said we had access to resources that would be useful. No idea what he’s referring to.” “Maybe the university,” Roland suggested, glancing at Armand as he rejoined the conversation. “With Sydney and Edgar, we could probably get access to anything on campus, even the mainframe super computers and stuff.” “I hope its something that mundane,” Everett said. “I hate the idea of going toe-to-toe with other knights, but I seriously don’t see this ending peacefully.”
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