(This is the (partially) rewritten version of The Legend of Blade Arkmoar, a Nexo Knights story from the original LMBs. These events are now canon to Kingdomfall, the sequel to LOBA, still a work-in-progress and soon to be restarted here)
I fall to my knees, the town burning all around me. People were running and screaming. Chaos ruled. This was my home. My people. They were under my protection. I brought ruin upon it. And there was nothing I could do to save them. Once I was a proud Nexo Knight. I traveled in the Fortrex.I defended the kingdom from whatever evil could throw at it. But somewhere I went wrong. I became lost in the power I had at my disposal. I disobeyed the Knights Code. Nearly killed my friends fot the sake of power. And then the Nightmare came. “that’s him! Thats the Knight!” I turned to see a small group of villagers pointing at me. They were angry at me. The person who had shouted first continued speaking “you were meant to save us! To protect the town! To save us from the Nightmare! All you did was bring ruin upon us all!” Tears stream down inside my rusted helmet. My body feels immobile. All the training I had in the Fortrex suddenly means nothing. They were the last people in the kingdom who trusted me. “i…” my throat is dry and I can barely summon any words anyway “I was trying to…to protect you!” “PROTECT US!?” another villager roared as he pushed to the front “YOU TRIED TO PROTECT US? Look around you? IS THIS HOW YOU ARE PROTECTING US?!?!? BY BRINGING RUIN UPON US ALL?!” “You don’t…understand! I thought…the power…” “that’s what its all about, huh?” the villager replied “you want power? THEN LET US TAKE IT AWAY!” His fist slammed into the side of my helmet. Then the others came in. Strikes came from everywhere, sending me to the ground.my armor was torn off me piece by piece. I can hear shouts of “betrayer!” and “you were meant to protect us!”. I try to crawl away, but the crowd pull me back in before I can get to far. Then they stop and scream.the Nightmare has reached them. I don’t look. I can’t. My body is aching. I can barely move.im completely defenseless. Then I hear the voice from behind me. A quiet, hissing voice. “you can’t save them, Arkmoar. You have failed” “no…” I feel my body get lifted into the air. I close my eyes. Looking at the Nightmare was to destroy your will. I found that out the hard way. “trying to keep your spirit intact?” the voice said. My body is completely floating now. I don’t know whats happening or how far of the ground I am. “I can’t see much point in doing that considering how much damage it’s already taken. Admit defeat, Arkmoar. This is your end. Let the hopelessness consume you” As much as I hate to admit it, it’s right. This is the end of my story. I wont do it. I can’t. “I will never…accept…defeat” moments after I say that I can hear it laughing. “oh, you poor, poor boy. You were outcast for disobeying the Knights Code, yet you still live by it. What’s the point in that? Why can’t you accept you’ve failed?” It’s right. I did fail, but that was months ago. When it all went wrong. My name is Blade Arkmoar. And this is the story of my damnation.
“Hey, Blade!” I wake up. I’d fallen asleep next to a tree. I had been put on guard with Arrow Drakenheart: a bow-wielding Nexo Knight who had been my best friend for years. We’d been sent to retrieve a Nexo Power in the middle of the forest. Something to do with dreams, apparently, which made a lot of sense seeing it only came out at night. “What now?” I get to my feet. I activate my armor's diagnostics and the technology fitted to it washes away any remnants of sleep moments later. “Night’s falling” Arrow pointed to the sky. The sun had nearly gone down. The whole forest was covered in a strange orange light “Great” I started to walk forward “Now we can get going. That map show anything yet?” Merlock 2.0 had given us a weird map. I say weird because it doesn't actually show anything. Merlock hadn’t specified why it was blank or how to actually use it. Apparently he had more pressing things to attend to, primarily ferrying Clay’s team to wherever Jestro and the Book of Monsters would strike next. “No. Seeing its night now it should work, though” Arrow pulled the blue holoslate out from the bag strapped to his shoulder. it was still only blue glass. Then the twilight ended, night fell and the holoslate suddenly sprang into life. “Whats it showing?” I ask “See for yourself” I walk to Arrow and look at the map over his shoulder. “Its an arrow pointing to the left” I personally wouldn’t call it a map, it was more like a satnav, but it would do. Arrow turned left and the arrow swung around to face forwards. Then he unexpected broke into a run. I had known Arrow do this for a long time, however, so I started pursuing him moments later. Seeing Arrow had to get up to high places quickly for his role of sniper to really work, he had no problem swinging from overhead vines or leaping from trees as he ran. Me? I just run straight. After all, the point is to reach the location, right? “the maps changed!” Arrow shouted as he dived to the right. I turned around as well After about 10 minutes running, we finally arrived. It was a pink Nexo Power with a swirl as a symbol. I don't know why it looks like that, being related to dreams and all, but then again no one really understood Nexo Powers period. It was on a plinth in the middle of a clearing. “well, that was easy” Arrow said as he walked closer. I soon followed “more than a little too easy” I replied “keep an eye out for trouble” To be fare, I just wanted to get this over with. My legs were aching after the run and I was feeling sleepy, even though I felt fine a few moments ago. As we walk closer to the Power, I suddenly realize how tired I actually am. My heads heavy. My visions swimming. I feel like I'm going to… Hang on. Isn’t the suit meant to stop me falling asleep? I realize whats happening and turn towards Arrow. He’s looking pretty tired as well. “ARROW!” I shout with all of my steadily draining energy “yeah?” “you feeling tired?” “what do you think?” “you do know the suits meant to prevent that, right” Arrows eyes lit up as he acknowledged what was happening. He was always a quick thinker. “you’re saying the Power is trying to defend itself?” “Yep. I wont be able to reach it without falling asleep, but you can shoot it off the plinth with your arrows!” my legs buckle under me and I fall over. “and hurry!” Arrow pulled his long bow off his back and aimed. Being a Nexo weapon, the string was energy controlled by his hand, as was the arrow. i had never really known Arrow to miss, but due to the tiredness his aim wavers slightly. The arrow hits the plinth and disappears. “keep trying!” I shout as I desperately try to crawl to the plinth. I'm surprised Arrow is still standing. He fires again, but the arrow goes straight over the top of the Power. He succumbs to the lack of strength and falls to his knees. I'm almost at the plinth but my eyelids don’t seem to want to stay open. I see Arrow’s arrow strike the Power, but it doesn't topple. Then I hear a thud as he falls. I stand up as best I can, grab the power and rip it straight off the plinth. The armor starts working again and I suddenly feel fine. Arrow gets up too. “I honestly don’t know how that was so hard” he says as he walks over to take a look at the Power. “somethings not right about this” I say as I examine the power “none of them have this much power” “stop being pessimistic. We’ll check it in with Merlock when the Fortrex arrives. Everything will be fine!” I sure hope he’s right.
Dawn was breaking as The Fortrex rolled to our aid. The drawbridge opened Clay walked down it to greet us. “This is the power?” he says as he snatches it away from me and examines it. “What else would it be?” Arrow asks as he walks into the Fortrex “The Power bypassed the anti-sleep thing we have in our suits” I say “We…” “…You” Arrow corrects. “I want to check it out with Merlock before we use it” “seems like a good idea by your standards” Clay says as he walks into the Fortrex.i follow him in as well. “seeing its your’s and Arrow’s mission, I’ll let you take it to Merlock” “im guessing that’s part of the Knights Code. Or is it the Honour Code that no one cares about any more bar you?” its well known that Im not a great follower of the Knights Code. Clay’s complete subjection to it is the only thing that really gets him the title of greatest knight in the kingdom, and theres a definite rivalry between me and him because of it. “if you’d follow it more then you’d be one of the strongest knights the Kingdom’s known” he says as we walk up the stairs to the invention lab. “And that’s what makes you the strongest, huh? Dosnt matter that he couldn’t beat an idiot Jester and a book so long as he follows the code” I definitely struck something there. He pulls the sword of his back and holds it near my neck “be aware I could smash you before you even know you’re being attacked”. “I think we both know the better warrior out of the two of us is me” I draw my two-handed sword off my back. “Er..guys?” Arrow moves between us “Now might not be the best time for fighting with the uber-dangerous Nexo Power and all” “Know what? You’re totally right!” I say in the most sarcastic way possible as I lock the sword back onto my back “Thank you Arrow for preventing a fight” “You got lucky this time” Clay says as he locks his sword onto his armour as well “Good luck with the Power, by the way” he hands Arrow the Nexo Power, purely because he dosnt trust me. Then he walks off. “He really dosnt like you, does he?” Arrow says as we continue walking up the stairs “The feeling’s mutual” I reply as we reach the door to the invention lab. I knock and Ava opens the door “We’re here to see Merlock about the Nexo Power we were meant to receive” I say “Of course!” Ava says and beckons us in “He’s been expecting you!” The yellowish projection of Merlock 2.0 greets us as we enter. Ava shuts the door behind us. “im glad you’ve arrived!” the hologram says as he looks down at the Nexo Power “I was very much hoping to examine this. Well…Robin and Ava were going to do it for me” Robin mumbles something about life being easy for a hologram while pouring over some blueprints for another invention. “We found that the Power managed to bypass our anti-sleep things” arrow said as he laid the power down on a table. “That’s because…well…” Merlock seemed to not want to say it “this isn’t a power” I snorted “looks like one to me” “That’s the point!” Robin said as he got off his chair and walked over to us “The reason this is more powerful than the other powers is because it isn’t one. Its just made to look like one” Robin then looked at Merlock “Do you want to tell them about…whats in it?” “Provided they don’t tell the other knights” “Well we wont be telling Clay at the very least” I mumble “1000 years ago” Merlock began “While the Book of Monsters was locked away, the lands were plagued by a being made purely of terror and suffering. A monster of pure evil and darkness. It was said that to even glimpse it was to destroy your very soul. It was called the Nightmare. It controlled the kingdom, until the great wizard Valder and the Force Valiant, the predesesors to the Nexo Knights, led an uprising. they won, but at great cost. Valder was forced to contain the Nightmare within him, and barely survived for as long as he did. Then the first Nexo Power came into existence and Nightmare was sealed away withen this one, hopefully forever. However, with the coming of Jestro and the Book of Monsters, I think it’s a good idea to keep it safe in the Fortrex” “Agreed” Arrow said. Then he turned to me “You wanna go rest for a while? I’m sure the others wont mind if we took some time off after what we did…well, Clay might but the rest will be fine with it” “Ok then” I turn to Merlock “Do you want to keep the Power here, or do you want us to take it to the Hall of Powers?” Robin sighed “did you not hear his speech about how it’s not a power? we’ll be keeping it here” “fare enough” I say as me and Arrow leave.
Merlock’s fooling you, Arkmoar. “Who are you? Where am i?” Merlock is keeping the Dream Stone for himself, to use its power for personal gain “I don’t trust you” What reason do you have not to?
I wake up in a cold sweat. What the brick was that? Me and Arrow had given the Power, or as this weird dream called it the Dream Stone, to Merlock this morning, yet now im being told he’s using it for personal gain. “Stop thinking about it” I tell myself “Merlock wouldn’t do that. Plus, probably just a weird dream”. My dreams are normally so weird not even the great minds of Robin and Ava can work out what they mean. I try to go back to sleep, but I can’t. so in the end I just go to the training room, where who should I find but the person who probably wouldn’t have anything to do without training. “Clay” I say as I walk into the training room. He’s hacking away at a hologram of Sparkks. “still can’t get over the fact he beat you?” “At least I get to beat him again. For all your self-proclaimed ‘greatest warrior in the Kingdom’ stuff, you just get to run around getting powers”. I would have retorted and told him about Nightmare, but I remember what Merlock told me and don’t. “why are you down here anyway?” he asks as the hologram deactivates. “Can’t get to sleep. Keep getting these weird dreams that tell me Merlock’s betraying us” I put on my armour and draw my long sword “Anyway, at least a fight with you will get it off my mind” Clay smiles “bring it on” he draws his sword and shield. The shield gives him a slight advantage. But I can easily parry with my long sword. Of course, being as headstrong as he is, Clay charges first. I move out of the way seconds before he would have hit me. He skids to a halt, turns and swings his sword all in one. Impressive, but im fast enough to parry the swipe and launch my own attack. He blocks it with his shield, but I go for a kick while he’s open. It sends him flying back but he gets his footing quicker than I expected. This time, I charge, but he sees it coming and knocks me back with his shield. However, im still in range and I swipe at him with my sword, but he sees that coming too and parrys almost perfectly. I go for a kick again but he knew it was coming and blocks with his shield. I use the shield as a stepping stone and leap backwards, spinning in mid-air before landing. Had no effect on the fight, but hey, it looked cool. Clay lunges in like a fencer and goes for a stab, but he misjudges the range and I knock the sword out of his hand. he uses the shield to backhand my sword away as well. “hand to hand?” I ask as I get in a fighting stance. “of course” Clay says. He then precedes to kick me in the chest. I pretended to look like im really hurt so he’ll follow up. Sure enough he goes for a punch to the ribs, but I block it and launch my own punch. He blocks it with his shield hand but I knock the shield away in the process. I follow up with a hook kick to the head and this time it connects, knocking him to the ground. He rolls and gets back up again. Unfortunately, before we can continue Macy runs in “Jestro’s attacking a village” she says as me and Clay pick up our weapons “me and Arron are ready, but everyone’s asleep except for Arrow and Lance, who seemed to have disappeared entirely” “knowing Arrow he’s probably there already” I say as we walk towards the door. “Lance, on the other hand…” “Don’t worry about him” Clay says “He’ll probably be sitting in a hot tube in Knightonia or something” We get close to the drawbridge and I see Arron already floating there on his… Jestro…you are seriously worried about fighting him? I leap back in surprise “did you guys hear that?” “What, you’re hearing things? Dude,your going crazy!” Arron says as the drawbridge lowers. “im not going crazy!” I retort. “Shut up both of you!” Clay snapped “Get ready to fight!”
The drawbridge lowered to reveal what we were faced with. It was the classic ‘Jestro and the Book of Monsters pillage a village with a hoard of monsters’. So unimaginative. Why do you even bother with him? Something about this attack, though, was off. something was obviously wrong in some way, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. “Nexo Knights, charge!” Clay shouts. Me and Macy follow Clay forward, with Arron flying ahead and blasting down the monsters with his bow. “Leave some for us!” I shout as I draw my longsword off my back. Macy and Clay draw their weapons to. Soon we’re in the thick of battle, cutting through goblins and scurries. Something was certainly off, and its blatantly obvious, yet I still cant figure out what it is. You cant see the obvious? You should be more intelligent than that. Theres a break in the attacks and I decide to abide by the creepy voice in my head. I look around, checking anything and everything. “Keep fighting!” Macy shouts from somewhere to my left “Somethings not right about this!” I shout back “Does it matter?” “I’ve got a feeling it does!” She dosnt understand anything other than combat. How do you stand this incompetence? I continue swiping at the endless swarm of monsters, but continue looking around. The scurries were fine. The goblins were as normal as monsters could be. The houses were burning, but that isn’t surprising for an attack from Jestro... Jestro? Where the brick is Jestro? “Jestro not here!” I shout, panic seeping through my voice “This is a trap!” “You sure?” Clay shouts back “Looks like an average assault to me” Fool. “Use your eyes, you idiot!” I shout back “Can you see a massive chariot with a book rambling away?” “Blades right!” Arron shouts back from above “we need to ether get ready or fall back!” “we don’t have much choice!” Macy says.the last goblin is down.no doubt Jestro’s next assault will come momentarily. “if Jestro arrives now he’ll know we’ve been” “Merlock?” I radio in to the Fortrex “prepare a Nexo Power for us. Stronghold of Resolution recommended. Or maybe Ice Dragon. That one’s more fun” “there’s not a tonne we can do before the attack” Clay says. “we don’t know where their coming from so we can’t attack beforehand” Fool who fails to see the obvious. Finally putting the weird voice in my head to use, I look around. the villiage is in a clearing in the forest. The Fortrex is blocking off the only ro… The Fortrex. Thats what they want. I radio into Merlock again “Merlock, I think Jestro’s going to attack the Fortrex. move it in to the villiage...and next time, find a better parking spot” Clay looks over at me “you sure that’s a good idea?” “Best case scenario: Jestro realises we know he’s coming and calls off the attack. Worse case scenario: he attacks anyway, but we can still fight him off. Overall,win win” Clay seems to agree with me, and tells the others to defend the Fortrex. Why do they worship him? You are far superior. Then we start to wait. It starts to rain slightly, but not enough for Jestro to call off the attack. 10 minutes later we think he’s called it off anyway. Then we hear the order to charge. The monsters got a lot more than they bargained for, though, when they were fired upon by a forward-facing Fortrex. No one except the fast moving Arron assisted the cannons. The monsters pretty quickly fled in panic. It was almost laughable After about 5 minutes they’re all gone. We head back in to the Fortrex with another battle won. I head back to bed instead of going back to training with Clay. I soon start to fall asleep. Do you trust me now, Arkmoar? Im starting to think I might.
Someone knocks on my door moments after I wake up. No other weird dreams had come to me that night. I’m rather surprised that no voice had come into my head yet. I open the door and find Arrow standing there. “where have you been?” I ask. He’s in full armor and looks tired. “I’ve been finding out more about the Nightmare guy Merlock mentioned. Lance decided to come with me but got side tracked by ‘being famous’” “he gets side tracked by ‘being famous’ mid battle, let alone when he randomly decides to get off the Fortrex. What did you find out, anyway?” “hardly anything Merlock hadn’t told us. I did, however, find out that it tries to corrupt you by gaining your trust. It does it differently for each victim, so you might not know its happening. It might be happening to me or you right now” “I think I’d know if I was being corrupted” “the whole reason I'm telling you this is because you can’t tell. And even if you can, it clouds your judgement so even under those circumstances you can’t” “if that’s the case, then tell Merlock if you think anythings wrong with me” “And you tell him if anything goes wrong with me” “Deal” We shake hands while pretending to look as stern and posh as possible. Then we break down laughing. Arrow’s sense of humour matches my own. When we first met in weapons class back at knight’s school, we saw massive similarities between us. We were friends in that instant. A few hours later, after getting my armor, training a bit with Macy and wandering about the Fortrex for about half an hour, the rolling castle finally halted in Knightonia. While Clay and his team got congratulated for what is rightfully my achievement and the Fortrex was refueled and re armed, me, Arrow and the other 20-ish Nexo Knights got to wander around a bit. Arrow went to the knight’s school to see if he could help out there. I personally went to the news building. One of the robot reporters there was a friend of mine. Whenever we stopped in Knightonia he’d update me on recent events. I knew most of them first hand, though, seeing the Nexo Knights were the only thing you’d hear about these days. It was more to see how the media portrayed everything. They mentioned Clay’s group almost all the time, yet never mentioned me, Arrow or the others. Whether the adventures of Clay were more newsworthy or Halbert just wanted Macy to get seen, I don’t know. We usually chat in the lobby, seeing theres not much point going to a coffee shop with him being a robot and all. “There was a battle in a village” I say “my planning saved the day and the monsters were gunned down by a forward facing Fortrex. Did you get that?” “Yeah, we did” he said “But we said Macy came up with the idea. The footage was edited so that Axel was in” “They didn’t edit it so Lance was in?” “The footage team tried to avoid shots of you as much as possible” “But I was still in it?” “For about 3 seconds and covered in Goblins? Yeah, sure” we both laughed, despite the unfairness of it all. “Anything else?” “A few things about battles and where Jestro was likely to strike next. We plan to interview you and the other less famous Nexo Knights so we can talk about something other than vicious attacks on the kingdom. Other than that, nothing” “Well, it’s been nice seeing you again. Keep out of trouble, right?” I turn round and walk out of the building. “I’m a robot reporter!” he shouted back “its against my programming to get in trouble!” For all the rubbish robots get, they’re actually really nice people. Next port of call: the knights school. Not to see Arrow, though: he drops into tactical classes. The students know who he is, even if the media doesn’t care. Most of the students there will be Realm Knights or Knighton Guards. To be an actual Nexo Knight was a grand dream that few fulfilled. So when a Nexo Knight, even one as obscure as me or Arrow, drops in, everyone is simply ecstatic. I dropped into weapons classes when I had any spare time in Knightonia. Not for the sake of fame, but because it just gives me and the students a buzz that really can’t be matched. The domed arena was currently being used by a class of about 30 students. All of them had completed their first 3 months of training and had chosen a weapon that they will train with for the next 2 years of training. The two-handed sword had been an obvious choice for me, and its good to see the majority haven’t been influenced by recent events. There are a few more maces and two-handed axes than my time, but the number of shortswords has gone down since I last visited. “hey, guys!” I shout over to the class in the middle of the large arena. Everyone turns to see who was there, including the teacher. Then they all (except the teacher, of course) shout with joy. I walk over and shake their hands. Their all about 14, but they’ve still been taught eticate from their noble households. “so” I say, as the teacher steps back in an ‘over to you’ kinda way “whose chosen what weapon?” “I’ve taken the spear!” one of them says I walk over to the girl who said it. “The spear handles pretty unequally. Why did you choose it?” “Im defensive, so I block attacks with the handle and then go for the stab” “with your shield that may change. But its still a very good choice” I look up at the rest of the class “Who took one of the weapons Clay’s group are using?” About 13 people put their hands up “Who choose it because it was wielded by one of Clay’s group?” 12 people. I sigh “I'm not saying that’s a bad choice, but its not the best. Continue on with the training, but next time you get a choice like this, follow your heart. Don't follow anyone else's. Even if it’s a trend, if its popular, that’s following someone else’s path which should rightfully be walked by them and only them. And that goes for all of you. Anyway…” I pull my sword of my back “Who wants to duel?”
The school bell rings for change of lesson and I leave. Arrow is waiting outside the school. “Took your time” he says “It was weapons class. It’s me. What do you think would happen?” We continue walking back to the Fortrex, having been given the call back 5 minutes ago “How was tactical class, anyway?” “Fun. Someone decided head-on assault on a fortress with squirebots was a good idea” “I’m pretty sure we actually do that. At least 12 people picked their weapon of choice because of Clay’s squad. I then gave them a fairly awful lecture on following your heart and then declared a mass duel, which was way more fun” “if Nightmare is corrupting you then I find it very hard to believe” We got to the Fortrex and got on board. Macy was nearby and briefed us on what was happening. “We’ve found a pattern in Jestro’s attacks” she says “We think he’s going to attack the village of Gronlem. It’s a mining village and home to a large gold supply. We don’t know why a book wants gold, but we need to defend it” “I smell another trap” Arrow says “You might be right” Macy says “but after Blade and Clay got us out of the last one, it may be ok” Clay did nothing but order the Knights around. Why does he deserve the most recognition among them? Because he follows the code? Because he pretends to be the strongest? Why does everyone believe he overshadows me? I’m stronger than him, yet no one seems to accept it. I’m stronger than all of them, yet they cant bring themselves to… “You ok?” I hear Arrow say “you look like you’ve been hypnotized” “im fine, Arrow” I say “just…it’s nothing” I honestly had no idea what had just came over me. I had a few thoughts like that in Kightonia, but they wernt major and I ignored them. None were as long or as blatantly prideful as that. “Remember what we said?” Arrow replied as he went off to the Hall of Powers “I’ll be watching out for you. Tell me if anything’s wrong. If you don’t…I’ll tell Merlock anyway” That may be very helpful considering my current condition We wont be at Gronlem for another 2 hours so I have some time to kill. I decided to have half an hour training. Axel is there, with Clay whacking away at robots in the corner. Axel is also fun to duel because he’s a much bigger opponent than Macy or Clay. I have to change my fighting style in order to land a hit on him because my longsword is suddenly a short sword compared to his massive axe. He still can’t match me, though. I am still superior to them all. Plus, he dosnt hold back. There was definitely one time I dueled him I ended up with a broken hand, although with Merlock and about 15 healing-based Nexo Powers, it didn’t really do a lot. I would have just slept for the rest of the journey, but with weird voices in my head, that’s really not a good idea. So I just go and take a look at the Nexo Powers in the Hall of Powers. The knights that come here are usually the ones who plan battle tactics, not head-on assault warriors like me, hence why I don’t come here often. Arrow comes here, but merely because he has nothing better to do. There’s another person in the room, and the only one who loves battle more than me. It was a project Robin was working on his spare time. An advanced robot wielding immense and experimental weaponry. The only reason that it wasn’t used in fighting Jestro was because Merlock was worried about what it would do, it was still in the field testing stage and had a stupidly long charging time. It was humanoid and sleek, lacking any sort of human features other than its shape. we called it Warmonger. It snapped its head around towards me at a speed (and angle) impossible for any human to do without risking serious neck damage. “Hello Blade Arkmoar” it said in a nigh emotionless voice. Ava had added a few voice changing things to make it sound more friendly. Even with that it still sounded like it was about to smash me. “You come here at irregular intervals. May I ask why you have come down here now?” “Sheer boredom” I said, still cringing at the way the robots head had turned “Why are you down here?” “Robin requested me to scan the Nexo Powers and store information based on what I find” “Did Robin not program you to speak more…normally?” “Is that an offensive comment?” “Oh, no, not at all!” I say, looking nervously at the shoulder mounted crossbow and the various weapons strapped to its back “Just wondering!” “Good” it snapped its head back round to a vaguely normal position. Arrow walked over to us. “You two aren't usually down here” he said “Why are you here?” “Boredom” I said “I have been requested to retrieve data for Robin” Warmonger said “Well, I’ll leave you two to it” Arrow said as he walked off Night was falling when we finally see Gronlem from the battlements. What we saw was scarcely what we expected. It was a massive pit with a few houses near the edge. We couldn’t see that far into the pit, but from what we could see there were houses built into the side of the pit and wooden walkways connecting them. We didn’t know how far it went down. The next thing that got our attention was an army of monsters charging through the forest on the other side of the village.
It was rare occasion when all of the roughly 20 Nexo Knights fought as one. We had just got a horrifying image from Arron’s helmet cam: a massive army of monsters, bigger than any army the Book of Monsters had created before. Half of the the monsters weren’t even filed. I’m pretty sure Robin is trying to convince Merlock to use Warmonger. We arrive moments before the monsters do, and deploy at an insane speed. Baracades are set up directly in front of where they’re charging. Squirebots arm heavy weaponry and vehicles. I can’t see Warmonger yet, but I can see Robin running around setting everything up.
Then they charge.
A storm of red flies at us and we surge to meet them. I slash at basically anything that comes in my way. Massive monsters try to smash me down and I send them back to their stupid book. A battle finally deserving of my abilities. I look around to my fellow knights. Lance is using his robotic horse to smash through the endless hoards. Clay is effortlessly cutting through the monsters, his blade whirling at an immense speed. Axel is duelling some dog-like giant. Macy is helping the squirebots getting the villagers out the way, but would soon be back in the fight. “they’re coming out the pit!” I hear a shout from Arrow, who’s shooting from one of the rooftops. He’s looking down at the intersecting walkways of the pit. “We can afford to lose this part of the village!” Macy shouted “move into the pit!” “You sure that’s a good idea?” I shout back. The majority of the Nexo Knights were jumping onto the walkways now “they’ll get the higher ground!” “We’ll fire on them from afar!” said Arrow, who stayed where he was. I don’t blame him “we’ll hold the other side of the pit with the artillery!” He’s right. I abide and jump down the pit. I land on one of the lower walkways. The pit is about 2 miles deep, so my armour can resist the impact. I look down to see weird drilling monsters coming out the ground. I leap down again, falling to the bottom of the pit and slamming my sword into one of them, sending it back to the Book of Monsters. Artilary hammers the ground around me, blasting apart any of the monsters breaking through. I jump up to another walkway, grabbing the edge and quickly pulling myself up. The monsters were breaking through the walls of the pit, charging down the supporting walkways, with me now standing on a crossroads with two streams of monsters coming at me. Arron flies above one of them and blasts them apart. “Way to spoil the fun!” I shout back, as I cut through the Goblins coming in the other direction “Well, sorry dude!” I hear Arron says as he flies up through the twisting walkways. The entire pit is caught in vicious combat. Even the squirebots are having to help out. The artillery at the top of the pit is keeping most of the monsters at the top joining the ones coming out the bottom, but it means they can’t help us now. A fist slams into my back and I fall to the ground. Sparkks had caught me off guard. I get up and swing my sword. It slams into his arm but doesn't hinder him to much. He reacts with a punch that sends me off my feet and crashing into the wall. My longsword goes skidding off the walkway into the pit. I can’t win in single combat against him. However, I notice something he doesn't. A humanoid robot with two longswords drawn and a shoulder mounted crossbow pointing in his direction. The crossbow fires and blasts Sparkks in the back, but not harming him much. He turns to face the newly arrived Warmonger. His fist goes flies towards it but the robot deflects it with it’s longsword, going for a stab with another. Again, it hits Sparkks but doesn't damage him much. The monster kicks Warmonger and it goes flying back, but quickly finds it’s footing. I jump down back into the bottom of the pit to see multiple goblins pouring out of new tunnels, the old ones having collapsed due to artillery fire. I punch my way through them, but their skin is tough without my sword and they start to wear me down. I can hear Warmonger’s whirring gears as it fights against Sparkks, but I have no idea whats happening. I grab my sword, swing it around and tear down the goblins in one fell swoop. Sparkks has his back turned to me as he’s so busy fighting Warmonger. I jump back up to the walkway and stab Sparkks in the back, sending him back to his book. “Good work, Blade Arkmoar” Warmonger said. It didn’t sound the least bit like a compliment, but then again it doesn't sound the least bit like anything. “You to” I say. I dash up the stairs to a higher platform, Warmonger using jets in it’s feet to fly up to the top of the pit, probably to help the artillery. I start slashing through the monsters on that platform, with Macy assisting from a few meters away. The battle was looking pretty equal right now, and even if it wasn’t the arrival of Warmonger would turn the tide in our favor. Even then, though, we weren’t doing well. “Hey, Macy!” I shout over to her “wanna power up?” “If it smashes through these pests, then yeah, sure!” she said, her mace smacking a small dragon-like creature off the platform. “MERLOCK!” I shout to no one in particular, bringing my comns to life “requesting Nexo Power. Under these circumstances, Solar Sabre is a good pick” “Commencing Nexo Scan!” I hear the wizard say, followed by multiple beeps in my helmet. Because I don’t have a shield, a bracelet that links into my armour goes orange instead. “MACY!” I shout to her. We’re fighting back-to-back now “you want in on Solar Sabre?” “Sure!” she says “Merlock, get me in on that countdown!”. Her shield goes orange as well. The countdown stops. “I love this part” I say. Then my blade is set alight.
I don’t use Nexo Powers as excessively as Clay and his team. I see them as a last resort to turn impossible odds in our favor, but only if the situation demands it. Hence I love the feeling I get from it more than the others. My adrenaline gets a massive boast. I feel strong enough to destroy towns. And then of course my blade gets set alight. Solar Sabre.Power #756. I prefer to use it if we’re faced with a huge hoard of enemies I can take out in a few strokes of my fiery blade. Now, for example, is a brilliant time to use it. I swing my sword and devastate the monsters charging at me. Macy slams her mace on the ground and unleashes a wave of fire at her end. “right choice?” I ask “right choice” she replies I jump off the platform and dive down to the bottom of the pit. New holes were being opened and new monsters were rising from them. I slam into the ground blade first, sending a massive wave of fire across the pit, wiping them out. The tunnels collapse as a result. I jump between the platforms to one where Axel is fighting. The only reason we normally don’t use Solar Sabre is because Axel is the better alternative. I do a spin attack, smashing the monsters near me and unleashing a wave of fire to destroy the rest. Arrow must have got in on the countdown, as I then see a rain of fire coming down on us. the other knights are starting to power up, and fire is spewing everywhere. Then I see him. Jestro. He was entering some house at the end of the walkway I was on. Looks like its up to me again. I charge at him, but he notices me. He points his staff at me, quickly followed by Sparkks crashing down on me from above. This time, however, my sword is on fire. I defeat him quickly and easily. I follow Jestro into the house. He’s panicking, knowing I'm on his tail. We’re in a dinning room of some kind, with a table and four chairs, all wooden. The rest of the room is modern, though. Odd considering the houses we saw elsewhere in Gronlem. “its over, Jestro” I say “you cant escape this one” “I can!” he shouts over. He’s trying to be menacing but failing desperately “I always get away! Because im bad!” “you’re so delusional. Why do we even bother with you? You are nothing but a fool, trying to prove himself when he has nothing to prove he has” “But…im good at being bad!” “You are good at nothing, Jestro. you’ll always be a nobody. A stain on a perfectly white canvas. A fool who believes he’s worth…wait, what?” Jestro dashes away into the living room. I follow him. He’s searching through drawers and on mantelpieces like it’s the last thing he’ll do. Whatever he’s looking for I don’t know, but he’s scared of me after what I said. Good. That's when he bows down to me. I enjoy the fear that comes over him. I use it to my advantage. He points his idiotic staff at me . “back off!” he says, trying desperately to be brave “don’t make me use this!” I laugh “why would I be scared of that staff of yours? You barely know how to use it. All you do is wave it over that book of yours” “that’s why you should be scared of it!” “prove it” “wait...what?” “prove your evil. Do something. Shoot some evil bolt at me. Show me your superior” “no…you’ll just deflect it with that flaming sword of yours!” “its not that you have to worry about” I walk over to him and smack the staff out of his hand. It goes flying across the room. “It's me. I'm stronger than you in every respect” I kick him to the floor and point my sword at his neck “you…you wont kill me!” he says. His tone of voice isn’t striking terror into me. It's making me laugh “you cant! The book of monsters will take revenge and…and…” “and WHAT?”I push the sword closer to his neck. He’s nearly crying now “that book wont come and save you. You’re on your own” I raise my swordwhat am I doing?he’s actually crying nowstop itbegging for mercy. I wont give it to himstop ithe will pay like the cowering idiot he isSTOP THIS NOW! I drop the sword. He staggers away from me, through the dining room and up the stairs. He must pay for his crimeshe dosnt deserve it!how many people have been lost to his monsters?he’s not responsible for what he’s doinghe’s a fool and deserves toHE DOSNT DESERVE ANYTHING!THEN WHY DID YOU FOLLOW HIM? I fall to me knees. Its the Nightmare. I know it is. He’s corrupting me. I hear a drilling sound from upstairs. Jestro’s got away. Next time he wont be moving anywhere.
-last edited on Nov 5, 2017 13:33:53 GMT by junior-chan
Post by junior-chan on Nov 5, 2017 13:30:28 GMT
I'm on my knees. Jestro is circling me. Laughing at me. Looking upon a Knightonia in ruins. “see!” he says “I'm good at being bad! I'm better than you! You called me a nobody! You called me a fool! Well who’s the one on his knees?! Who’s the one with the fallen kingdom?!” I hear another voice. A hissing voice. “Why do you bow down to him? Why do you let him destroy your world?” A sword appears in my hands. And then the voice appears again. “Why do you let him live?”
I wake up before anything else happens. I fell asleep on the sofa of the living room I was in. Then I realize Warmonger is standing over me like some stone sentinel. “Warmonger?” I groan as I get up “How long have you been here?” “3 hours and 23 minutes” it says “however, diagnostic scan prove that you have been sleeping for 5 hours 38 minutes. I was not, however, able to identify your dreams” I suppose that’s a good thing. “whats going on now?” I ask. We leave the room to find Gronlem bustling with Squirebots and villagers. The platforms are scorched from Solar Sabre and a few of them have collapsed, but otherwise everything seems to be fine. “Jestro left with something from the room you were sleeping in. We believe it is a stone able to free a monster of unknown power, most likely very dangerous” “sounds like him” “you and Arrow have been chosen for a recon mission” “why him and not Arron?” “Arron was knocked out in combat. He would be an inefficient tactical choice” “why not you?” “I am on 4% battery” “fair enough” We climb multiple stairs to the Fortrex. All the artillery is being packed away. Warmonger disappears into the Fortrex as Arrow comes down the drawbridge “Took your time” he says “We need to get moving” I say “we have no idea where Jestro’s going but we have a vague idea of where he is” “He’s got to have surfaced by now” Arrow says as we walk off into the forest “he shouldn’t be that hard to find”
An hour after we’ve started, we find tracks. According to Arrow, Jestro surfaced a few miles away from where we are now. “The tracks are fresh” Arrow says “he can’t have gotten far” “you’re right. He hasn’t” A voice from above. I look up. There was someone in the trees. A girl, around my age, covered from the neck down in skintight brown leather, worn and dirty. She had a green hood, with a cape attached to it. She jump down from the trees with feline agility. “Been a long time since I’ve seen you two” she says “Jade Daggerfall” I say. I know her name because she had been at Knights School with me and Arrow. While everyone else had come from lines of noblemen and warriors, she had come from a lineage of ruthless assassins. She had become a Nexo Knight like me and Arrow, but had found life dull and tedious without Jestro keeping us busy. She abandoned the Fortrex 5 months after she became a knight, instead turning her battle knowledge to lead a group of mercenaries called the Gryer Rouges. She doesn't fight for money, though: she does it for the sheer fun of it. “whose side are you on?” Arrow asks. Its obvious the Rouges are watching us, but I don’t know from where. “Depends...” she says “what are you doing? And how fun is it going to be?” “We’re hunting Jestro” “that fool? He went north to the Temple of Calvora. Apparently some ancient monster is trapped there…” “We think Jestro’s trying to free it” I interrupt “can you take us there?” “well, glad to hear its fun” she says “follow me” Another hour of walking brings us to a clearing. I can’t see any of the Gryer Rouges, but their almost certainly stationed around the outside of the clearing. In the middle of the clearing is a massive stone temple. It was more of a ruin now, though, with large chunks of the roof and pillars missing. There were monsters surrounding the temple. They noticed us pretty quickly, and charged towards the three of us. Then the Gryer rouges leaped out of the treetops and we charged.
I like combat. I don’t train to get good like Clay. I train because I enjoy fighting. The adrenaline. The speed. Its joyous. However, I fight not because I enjoy it, but because im assisting the cause of righteousness. To save the kingdom. Jade never embraced the ‘save the kingdom’ bit. She did it for the pure joy of it. Hence now, she’s laughing. The Gryer Rouges were facing the monsters who hadn’t charged at me, Arrow and Jade. We’re facing the majority of the monsters, and Jade wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s kicking monsters apart and stabbing with her dagger with unparalleled speed and elegance, and enjoying it at the same time. Arrow isn’t enjoying this, though. He’s a sharpshooter, he dosnt fight up close. He’s fighting the monsters by smashing his bow into them. I’m somewhere in between: I'm enjoying this, but I want to get to Jestro and fast. I don’t know what he wants to do, but I don’t want to find out! The Rouges are closing in on the temple, and are starting to assist us. More monsters are charging at us and the Rouges now, so Jestro’s obviously noticed are appearance. “We can use the Rouges as a distraction!” Jade says “we can get to fight that idiot ourselves!” “He’s not that fun to fight” I reply “but it’s a plan” Jade whistles and her troop surrounds us. They fight at speeds faster than even the implacable Warmonger. Then there's a break in the attacks and we break from the Gryer Rouges. They keep fighting while we dash into the temple. Storm clouds were gathering above the temple as me, Arrow and Jade entered the ruined building. And there he was. Waving his staff over some weird book in the middle of the temple. Its not the Book of Monsters, though, that’s being carried by a monster beside him. Unfortunately, he notices us. “Jestro!” he shouts, despite the jester being right next to him “we’ve got company!”. Before he can conjure up any monsters, Arrow shoots him and he flies off towards the edge of the temple. “no!” Jestro shouts, starting to panic “not now! I’m almost done!” “Jestro!” I shout “its over! You can’t win this!” “I can! Just…give me a few minutes!” “give you a few minutes?” I stride over to him.and grab him at the collar. He drops his staff. “how does that make you evil and not foolish?” “because im a distraction!” “wait, what?” I look over Jestro’s shoulder. He’s right. He never needed the book. The storm clouds were gathering above a small area at the end of the temple. A creature was appearing. Bigger than anything I’d seen or faced. Towering above the temple, tearing apart what was left of the roof. I drop Jestro “So” Jade says “What were you saying about this bit not being fun?”
I’ve never seen anything like it. A giant stone monster, with white liquid flowing through it’s joints, spewing out lightening at every possible moment. It’s eyes mouth were cracks in its head, which in itself was bigger than me. It has four spear-ended tendrils coming out of its back, created by some sort of living lightening. I look at Arrow. He’s as terrified as I am. I look at Jade. She’s grinning like it's her birthday. I switch on my com link “Merlock, we need the other Nexo Knights. And a Nexo Power. And the Fortrex” all that comes out is static. “The thing’s blocking radio signals!” Arrow says “the Rouges are the only thing that can help us now!” “I wouldn’t have it any other way” Jade says as she dashes towards the monster. I hesitate, but I soon follow her. Arrow is already firing a barrage at the monster. I hear the Book of Monsters say something. “all hail the Destroka!” “Could you not think of a better name for it?” Jade replies as she kicks the book out the way. Jestro’s more terrified than I am and his staff is a few meters away from him. It’s just us and that thing now. Rain starts to come through the roof. Good. I like fighting when the weather adds atmosphere. The tendrils come crashing down but Jade dodges them all like it was part of a dance routine. I simply side step them as they attempt to strike us. She dives between the creature’s legs and stabs the dagger right in a crack. It seemingly had no effect. “I like fighting” she says “but not when you can’t win!” I shoulder barge into the Destroka’s other leg, and hear my shoulder armour cave in. “Aim for the cracks!” Jade shouts. Arrow is doing the same and it isn’t doing much good either. I decided to do the same, yet It still doesn’t help at all. I hear the Greyer Rouges advancing closer, but what help could they be? None of us are even scratching it. The monster notices Jade between its legs and kicks her away. The force is strong enough to send her crashing into Jestro, who rather ironically was trying to get to his staff. It tries to kick me, but I see it coming and dive under tithe tendrils are coming down on Arrow now, and he’s having a hard time dodging. The rain was pouring now, which only made things worse as it pooled in the cracks in the floor. Then I hear something come through on my com link. “Blade…can you hear me?” “Merlock!” I shout “how are you getting through?” “we’re moving towards your location. We were told by some bandit near the Temple of Calvora” “we’re fighting with Jade Dagger fall and the Greyer Rouges. Well…” I look over at Jade’s unconscious body piled on top of Jester “we were” “I’m going to send you a Next Power” Merlock says “Stronghold of Resolution” The countdown starts and the power activates for both me and Arrow. I strike the Destroka again. This time it chips it, but still nothing major. Arrow is letting off at least 10 arrows a second but still isn’t hurting it. A tendril comes down and bats Arrow into a pillar, knocking him out. I can’t hear the Greyer Rouges fighting anymore. “Arrows down!” I shout “the Power isn’t helping!” “then...if the other knights can’t do anything…then by my calculations…” “what is it?” “this is the end, Blade” Merlock said “we can’t win”
“What?!” What Merlock had told me sank in. We couldn’t win. This is the end of Knightonia. “We can't win, Blade,” Merlock said again “No matter how hard we try” I try to think of things we could do. New weaponry, upgrading armies, Nexo Powers… That’s it! “Merlock!” I say “Is the Dream Stone able to work as a Nexo Power?” I could feel Merlock’s anger at this sudden question irradiate through my com “Yes, but with the Nightmare in it it’s too unstable!” “we don’t have a choice! It’s the only thing strong enough to fight this thing!” “I won't let you! The power will tear you apart!” “It’s me or Knightonia!” “Fine,” The com line faltered for a moment. A tendril dives for me but I dodge out the way. Then Merlock calls again. “Power ready,” He says. I hear the countdown in my helmet. “Wait a minute,” Merlock says “I never said it was called the Dream Stone.” Then the power hits. I feel stronger than ever before. My very being radiates power. I can sense everything. Fights happening around Knightonia. The Fortrex coming closer. A tendril flying down to stab me. It hits me and I absorb the electricity, discharging it into the ground. Shadows coil around me, denting the ground as I walk. I turn one of the shadows into a hammer and send it flying at the Destroka. It smashes him in the face and knocks him back. It brings it’s fists down on me, but I parry it with my sword. I wield it with one hand now. Daggers fly from my hand and hammer its chest. Doesn't affect him much, though. Shame. Lightening spews out of his mouth. I feel the heat as I stride through it but don’t feel the pain. I’m above pain now. Shadows coil around my sword, making it massive. I swing it up and it strikes the Destroka in the lower jaw. The rock there splits and white liquid shoots out. A shadow javelin appears in my hand and I through it into the crack. The lower jaw explodes as the beast dives at me, now willing to play dirty. The mouth comes down but a huge blast of shadow from my hands stops it reaching me. I summon up my shadow sword again and swing it through its leg, reducing it to liquid.
