Episode 050 Previous Episode	Next Episode
“Are my eyes really blue?” Rick Blain, Casablanca “What’s this about?” Sydney asked as she headed towards Everett’s front door. “No idea,” Roland said as he and Edgar walked behind her. “Ev sounded pretty upset. You know, as upset as he gets anyway.” “This better be good,” Edgar said as Roland knocked on the door. “I don’t like missing House.” “I know; this was supposed to be a good episode too,” Roland lamented. Armand opened the door, a worried look on his face. “Come on,” he said, leaving the door open for them. Sydney glanced at Roland, getting an unsettled look in exchange. The three knights stepped inside to find Ledger and Everett around the coffee table, looking through a set of manila folders. “What’s going on?” Roland asked, shutting the door. “Remember when Alan was here?” Everett said without looking up. Resting his hands on the pommel of his ninjato and his chin on his hands, he stared at the papers before him. At the top left corner of the page, a photo of Alan stared back at him. He held out two folders towards the newcomers. “Read up on who was with him.” Roland took the two folders with concern and opened the first page. A blonde-haired man looked back at him with a confident smile. “Matt Thompson,” he read. “Hey, I know this guy. This summabitch blocked my knee to his nose.” “Can you blame him?” Armand remarked, sitting down on the floor on Ledger’s left. “You were trying to knee him in the nose,” he said as he returned to his own file. “Given the way the bastard was acting,” Ledger mumbled, turning a page. “Jesus,” he whispered suddenly. “What?” Everett said, looking up. “This woman,” he said. He held up the photo of Ryoko. “She’s won more martial arts tournaments in Japan than any other person. Ever. Man, woman, doesn’t matter.” He looked back at her file. “She’s a monster.” “Who?” Edgar asked, stepping past Roland to look over Ledger’s shoulder. “The…” Everett started to say before noticing that the three were still standing. “Guys, grab some chairs.” “That’s why,” Ledger suddenly concluded. “What?” Roland asked, bringing over two chairs from the dinette set. “She trained under Rick Brent,” Ledger explained. “Says here that she spent two years studying under him on the first all-girls high school mixed martial arts team in Japan.” “The first what?” Armand asked. “Japan is the world’s leading export of weird,” Edgar explained as he continued to read. “Who’s Rick Brent?” he asked Everett. “The Greatest Mixed Martial Artist You’ve Never Heard Of,” Sydney answered, taking part of Ryoko’s folder from under Ledger’s gaze. “Guy’s won more tournaments in more countries than most people have even heard of.” “Then how come he isn’t in the UFC?” Armand asked. “The Ultimate Fighting Championship is not the end-all of martial arts,” Edgar said, bringing his own chair over. “Besides, I think he had a feud with Ken Shamrock back in the day,” Ledger said. He looked up. “Or was it Tito Ortiz?” “There’s a big difference there,” Everett said absently. “Yeah,” Roland nodded. “One’s good, one’s not.” “Which one?” Armand asked. “Tito,” announced two. “Shamrock,” exclaimed three. “Well, that just settles it, doesn’t it?” Armand said with a bewildered look. “All of these guys are…” Everett’s vocabulary failed him. He sat back and breathed out. “I’ve flipped through all the folders. Each of these guys are seriously capable in fighting and in strategy. They’re all exceptional students and they’re all sparkling examples of knights.” “Meaning?” Edgar asked, beginning to flip through Dante’s folder. “Meaning if this does come to blows, it could be bad,” Ledger concurred. “And by bad, you mean bad in italics and underlined,” Roland agreed. “And in bold,” Ledger added. “Do we really think these guys are looking to start trouble?” Edgar asked. “And if so, what are we going to do about it?” “First the Rose, now these guys,” Everett said, sounding anxious. “The Blue Knights were convinced these guys were up to no-good, but they wanted us to, I don’t know, infiltrate them or something.” “So we’re going to side with the European Knights?” Ledger asked, not liking the sound of it. Everett shook his head. “How did this happen?” he asked. “How did knighthood get so complicated? How, all of sudden, were there always these factions?” “They’ve always been there,” Edgar sympathized, his attention divided. “We’ve just not felt their presence before.” “What are we going to do, Ev?” Armand asked. He looked down at the folder, the picture of Alan capturing his attention. “These guys are no joke, and they’re here for a reason,” he concluded. “Whatever they want,” he said, “it can’t be good.” “The Blue Knights, then,” Ledger said. He took a deep breath, readying himself. “We’re siding with the Europeans on this.”
Previous Episode	Next Episode