Srry for not posting in a while. I've been jugling things again, whihc is what caused the downfall of my 2 previous stories. -_- I'm juggling this story, another story for Xair's contest, a drawing for Xair's contest, school, and my boss bios. XP

Try to expect a new update the day after tomorrow, and be sure to check my boss bios for new stuff! :D

TL;DR: This is a shameless bump. Bump.

EDIT: And Spy, I haven't figured out what kind of pet you get. But you will get one, ever fear! Oh, maybe a Snarby cub... it only makes sense, one guy has a vog, another a skolver, all that's missing is a snarby! :)

New chapter. Not one of the better ones, though. XP

Necro Intro

It was that time of the year again. You know, the time when you go and gather an army of Void monsters to siege the Core with. This should be fun.

I’ve had the honor of being the first ever Knight to fall under the lead of the Swarm. It’s not really that bad, you know. I even got to become the general of the Swarm army. Probably because I’ve been trained for battle much more than any of those other monsters.

Being infected by the Swarm has unlocked multiple new possibilities for me. Abnormal speed, strength, intelligence, the works. I can use Swarm Seeds as portals, something that no one else can do, plus much more.

I suppose that I should have felt some kind of panic or something because I was infected by the Swarm, but I didn’t. Must be something the Swarm does to prevent its soldiers from going crazy.

I stood in front of my massive Swarm army, gazing at them. Wolvers and Gremlins and Slimes, oh my! I even had hundreds of Ironwood Sentinels at my command! Apparently, they had disappeared from the Clockworks because they were called by the Swarm. I supposed that the same thing had happened to the Tortodrones, but I hadn’t seen any sign of them yet.

The one thing that set them all apart from other monsters of their kind was that they were all black and red. It made them seem pretty intimidating. I, too, was turned black, with glowing red eyes. In my opinion, I looked really cool.

The clamor cause by my army was deafening. I raised my arm to signal silence. They quieted down.

“Men! That day you have been waiting for is here! Our enemy, Core, lies right below our newest stronghold. With our help, we will be able to breach the defenses, and destroy him!” My soldiers cheer, roar, screech, whatever. They seem as excited about it as I was.

“Now, many of you will not return. The power of Core and his army is mighty. But I am sure that we will be about to defeat him, once and for all! Then, we can rule this planet. All who oppose us will despair!”

The noise is much louder now. I grin. I grab my Khorovod and Jalovec, and use them to slash a rip in the air. It opens into a portal, one large enough for an army.

“Now, we march!” I step into the portal, my army following. It is time to conquer.

Chapter 7 - The Crimson King

Kozma cautiously approached the Great Colony. After receiving a telegram from Umbra, a knight who had been missing for some time, the coordinates of the Gremlins’ home were now known. It had taken some time to get there, but it would hopefully be worth it.

With her was Feron, lieutenant of the Spiral Order, Vaelyn, the Knight working to open the Core, and Brinks, Kozma’s best friend, and a skilled diplomat. They were heading for King Tinkinzar’s palace, in hopes of creating a treaty. None of them truly thought they’d be successful, but they had to try.

They were nearing the entrance to the Great Colony. Several guards were blocking off entry, and at the sight of the Knights, they charged forward, drawing out their weapons. Brinks put up his hands.

“Hold on a second, friends! We are here to see your king. We will not harm you.” Brinks said. One of the Gremlins snickered.

“But we will harm you.” He retorted in the Spiral Knights’ language. He pointed his Polaris, brimming with electrical energy, at the Knights. “You Knights cannot be trusted. Leave now, or die.”

Brinks tried again. “Please! We are in urgent need of his assistance. If we do not speak to him, this planet will be destroyed!” This caught the Gremlin’s attention.

“Destroyed, you say?” The Gremlin lowered his weapon. “Most ridiculous excuse I ever heard. You Knights are already destroying Cradle.”

“For Vog’s sake, just let us in!” Feron exclaimed.

“You aren’t allowed to use Vog’s name like that. You are not of the Clockworks. Now LEAVE.”

“I don’t have time for this.” Feron stepped forward, and before the Gremlin could react, he swung his fist at the Gremlin’ face. It impacted with a crunch, and the Gremlin collapsed.

In an instant, all the other Gremlins’ weapons were pointed at the Knights.

“Slick move, Feron.” Kozma muttered out of the corner of her mouth. “Beating up one of the soldiers of the guy we’re here to negotiate with. I’m sure that’ll score us some points with him.”

One of the Gremlins stepped forward. He turned and looked at his comrades, and spoke something quickly in an unintelligible language. There was a short discussion between the Gremlins, and the one who had stepped forward nodded.

He turned to the Knights. “All right,” He said, switching back to a language the Spiral Knights could understand. “We’ve reluctantly agreed to let you guys in. Tinkinzar will probably have our hide, but he’ll probably have yours too.” The Gremlin grinned wickedly, his sharp teeth showing.

“May I ask why you’re letting us in?” Vaelyn questioned. “I’d have assumed we’d have absolutely zero chanced of getting in after my friend here punched your guy in the face.” She shot a dark look and Feron. He shrugged.

“Guy was getting on my nerves.” Feron said. “And we need to get in.”

“I fail to see how getting ourselves killed will get us in.” Vaelyn muttered.

“It’ll work. Just watch and learn.”

The Gremlin looked at Vaelyn. “It takes guts to punch someone in the face when his comrades are right next to him, and there’s a city full of Gremlins behind them, if you catch my drift. You guys must be really desperate to even consider doing something like that.” He looked down at the body of his unconscious comrade, who was now sporting a rather bloody face. “We should probably kill you guys for that, but I think Tinkinzar will appreciate the sport of doing so himself.”

He pointed at two of the Gremlins behind him. “You two. Take him to the infirmary back at the barracks.” He pointed at the bloodied Gremlin. The Gremlins he’d pointed at obliged, and picked up their fallen comrade before heading into the Great Colony.

The Gremlin looked at the Knights. “Let’s go. But don’t try any tricks, you got that? Else, you’ll end up with a blade in your guts.” He told the other Gremlins to surround the Knights, and walked into the Great Colony in the lead of the party.

Vaelyn looked at Feron.

“Told you it’d work.” Feron said.

The Gremlin soldiers herded the Knights through the gates of the Colony, shoving them brutally with their weapons. Gremlins within the city stared at the Knights with immeasurable amounts of hatred. Brinks inwardly cringed. If looks could kill, the Knights would be dead several hundred times over by now.

Suddenly, a Gremlin charged at the Knights, waving a Thwack Hammer. He yelled, and threw it, smashing Feron on the head with it. He dropped to the ground, clutching his head. The Gremlin pulled out another Thwack Hammer, still running at the Knights.

The Knights’ Gremlin escort blocked the attacker, keeping him from getting to the Knights.

“Lemme at ‘em!” He snarled, spittle flying from his lips. “I’m going to kill them!” One of the Gremlins escorting the Knight shook his head.

“That’s exactly why we aren’t letting you near them. They have a message to deliver to our king.” Said the lead Gremlin.

“Knights killed my brother! I want revenge!”

Several other Gremlins overheard what he said, and joined in on the conversation.

“My parents were slaughtered by Knights in cold blood!”

“They killed my sons! All six of them!”

“I lost my right arm and leg defending a Deconstruction Zone! Now I’m crippled for life!”

More and more voices entered the clamor. A full-scale riot was about to erupt, if someone didn’t do anything soon.

After helping Feron back up, the Knights looked at the growing crowd, despair growing in their minds. All around them, Gremlins were waving weapons, cursing at them and throwing rocks. Everyone seemed to have suffered a loss at the blade of the Knights.

A few young Gremlins, dressed in dirty rags, stood by the side. Tears were streaming down their faces as they remembered their parents who had been killed without mercy.

The lead Gremlin sighed and placed his face in his hand. “See what you guys have done now?”

Their Gremlin escort pushed their way through the crowd. They eventually managed to get to the palace gates, and were pushed inside. The gates closed, and the mob disappeared from view. But their cries and shouts could still be heard.

After some walking, the lead Gremlin pointed them in the direction of a large building. “The Throne Room is that way. I advise you to leave your weapons here. King Tinkinzar does not take to Knights very kindly, and will see any Knights wielding weapons as a threat.” He pushed them in the Throne Room’s direction. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.” He let out a nasty laugh before walking away with the rest of his group.

The Knights looked at each other. As much as they knew they should leave their weapons out of the throne room, they also knew it was foolish to face Tinkinzar defenseless. Brinks shrugged and walked toward the massive doors of the throne room, the others following suit.

The inside of the Throne Room was smaller than the Knights had imagined. A simple red carpet led to the throne. King Tinkinzar sitting on it. Several robot statues lined the walls, but experience told the Knights that they were most likely inactive Constructs, waiting for the order to attack.

King Tinkinzar looked much like an ordinary Gremlin, although a bit taller than normal. He was wearing simple crimson robes-

“What is it with the Gremlins and the color crimson?” Vaelyn muttered.

-and a bronze crown sat atop his head, which seemed to be made up of various mechanical parts.

King Tinkinzar saw the Knights, and roared. He rose from his chair, and shouted loudly, although with the accent of a ruler.

“WHAT IS THIS?! YOU MEASLY KNIGHTS DARE ENTER MY THRONE ROOM?! AND WITH WEAPONS?!” King Tinkinzar’s face was one of twisted rage, hatred, and several other mixed emotions. None of them were pleasant ones.

His words alone intimidated the Knights, making them step back. They hadn’t intended for their meeting to begin like this.

Brinks, always the diplomat, timidly stepped forward. “Um, excuse me your highness, but-.”

“I DID NOT GIVE YOU THE PERMISSION TO SPEAK!” Tinkinzar roared. “NOW, WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? HOW DID YOU GAIN ACCESS TO MY PALACE IN THE FIRST PLACE?! NOW SPEAK BEFORE I CRUSH YOU!”

Brinks bowed low. “Terribly sorry, your majesty. Of course one so high and powerful as you-.”

“FLATTERY DOES NOT WORK ON ME!”

Brinks looked quite flustered now, and coughed, clearing his throat. “Very well. We have been sent here by our Spiral Order, in hope of negotiating a treaty between your kingdom and the Knights.” King Tinkinzar looked even more enraged.

“WHAT???!!!” The shear force of his words literally blew the Knights backward. King Tinkinzar grabbed a long mace that had been strapped to his back. It looked very mechanical, with gears and dials all over the length of the shaft. The end was pointed with an iron tip, probably used for stabbing fallen enemies. The head of the mace was a large silver gear, encased in a large shard of Crimsonite, which surrounded by two silver blades. The Knights froze. It was generally a bad sign when people began to take out weapons. Maybe it was a good thing they’d brought in their weapons after all.

“YOU DARE ASK FOR PEACE?! AFTER ALL YOU’VE DONE TO MY KINGDOM?!”

“I’m sorry, but we-”

“YOU’RE SORRY? YOU’RE SORRY? THOSE WORDS DON’T MAKE UP FOR THE THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT GREMLINS YOU’VE KILLED IN THE PAST TWO YEARS!!!”

“We-”

“DON’T TRY TO DENY IT!” King Tinkinzar lowered his voice, obviously trying to control himself. “We were all living peacefully, and there was no trouble. Until you came.” He spat the words with pure malice and venom. “Like any wise ruler would do, I set up a few defenses, wondering if you were friends, or foes. We were willing to extend the hand of friendship, and become allies. But you declined.”

“But…” Brinks could find nothing to say.

“You attacked us, even though we did nothing to you! Since then, thousands have died! No Gremlin here has not suffered the death of a loved one at the hands of you Knights! Friends, parents, family…” King Tinkinzar’s volume grew quieter. “And my own son…”

The Knights could begin to see tears streaming down Tinkinzar’s face. They felt shocked.

“Tinkinzar has a son?” Kozma whispered.

“I wasn’t even aware he had a queen.” Replied Feron.

“This could complicate things…” Brinks muttered.

Tinkinzar, ignoring the tears on his face, stepped forward.

“You have cost my empire dearly; no security, no happiness, no heir to the throne! You have caused more pain to us than our own many millennia of civil wars!” His voice abruptly grew to a shout. “WHY SHOULD WE HELP YOU AT ALL? YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT US, AND YOU HAVE PROVEN THAT YOU ARE EMEMIES OF THE GREMLIN EMPIRE! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOUR INSOLENCE, TRYING TO NEGOCIATE WITH ME AFTER SO MUCH DEATH! I SWEAR, I SHALL MAKE YOU PAY!!!”

The robot statues suddenly flared to life, jumping off their pedestals. They brandished their weapons, pointing them at the Knights.

Brinks blinked. “Um… Well, I suppose we should be going now. Awfully tight schedule, unfortunately…”

“GET THEM!!!” Tinkinzar roared, pointing his mace at him. The Constructs, ranging from Mecha Knight to Retrode to Scuttlebot, charged at the Knights.

Feron swore loudly and unsheathed his Leviathan Blade from his back. Kozma did the same. Vaelyn drew her two Final Flourishes, although she knew they’d be next to useless against the machines. Brinks took out a Fang of Vog and Polaris.

Then they ran.

Rushing towards the door, Feron cut down a Mecha Knight that was in his way. It sputtered for a moment before crumpling to the ground, its head severed from its body. Brinks fired off several shots at a Retrode, which was charging up its laser to fire at them. The explosive bullets blew the Retrode into the wall, where it was smashed to pieces.

King Tinkinzar slowly stepped off his throne, his mace glowing. The color of the crystal changed, flashing turquoise, and he pointed it at the Knights. A laser, not unlike the ones the Roarmulus Twins shot, fired out of it. Kozma held up her blade and reflected the laser with it, the beam of energy soaring up and scorching the throne room’s ceiling. But her sword melted, the liquid metal bubbling. She threw it to the ground in disgust and drew a Valiance.

As they reached the door, still combating the various Constructs, a group of Gremlins charged in. Nine Gremlins, all wearing robes of crimson and masks, looked at the Knights in surprise before drawing their own weapons.

“The Crimson Order!” Vaelyn gasped.

“We’re really screwed now.” Said Brinks as he swiped his Fang of Vog at a mob of Scuttlebots.

One of the Gremlins took a massive war-hammer off his back. Feron swore again.

“Seerus.” He spat.

“So we meet again.” Seerus said, his voice muffled from underneath his mask. “Last time we met was during your pathetic siege of my Grand Arsenal, was it not?

Feron fumed. He was still having nightmares about the sudden rain of rockets obliterating his forces. But that’s a story for another day. He quickly vented his anger out on a Mecha Knight, using the pommel of his sword to smash its head in and then stabbing it through its body.

“But, of course, that was then and this is now.” Seerus continued. “And speaking of now, I’m about to blow your brains out, just like you did to so many of my soldiers.” He tossed a ticking black bomb at the Knights. “Catch!”

The Dark Retribution exploded, shadowy orbs appearing and rotating through the air. The Knights dove away, trying to avoid getting hit. The orbs disappeared after a few seconds, allowing the Knights to get up without getting hit.

Feron got up again just in time to dodge Seerus’ hammer smash. He used his Leviathan Blade to block his next smash, but only just. He grunted as the smash drove him to his knees. Kozma saw that he as in trouble and fired off several Valiance bullets at Seerus. They hit his left arm, burning through the sleeves of his robe and scorching his fur. Seerus cried out in pain, momentarily dropping his Rocket Hammer. Feron took this chance to get up off his knees.

“Move it, guys!” Vaelyn yelled as she used her swords to parry one of the Gremlin’s sword swipes.

“No need to tell me twice!” Yelled Brinks. He kicked out at a Scuttlebot, the huge mob still trailing him. The Scuttlebot flew into the air, nearly hitting one of the Crimson Order. The Gremlin cursed and lifted a massive Flamethrower into the air, melting the Scuttlebot into slag.

“I don’t appreciate it when you destroy my creations, Herex!” Seerus shouted.

“Shut up!” Herex replied. “I’ll do what I want, when I want!”

The Knights, disengaging their opponents, quickly ran forward and out of the throne room’s gates, the Crimson Guard right behind them. Another laser fired past them again.

“COME BACK AND FIGHT, YOU COWARDS!!!” Tinkinzar roared.

“He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.” Feron quietly muttered to himself, one of the mantras that had been pounded into him while he’d been a young Knight, training in the Spiral Academy on Isora. He hated the concept of retreating as much as anyone else, but this wasn’t simply retreating. They couldn’t win this fight. This was pure survival.

Somehow, they managed to stay ahead of the Crimson Guard and the pursuing Constructs. At the gates to the palace, the group of four Knights plowed through the surprised Gremlin guards and into the street of the Great Colony. Fortunately for them, the Gremlin mob had scattered, leaving them a clear path to their exit. Some Gremlin citizens saw them being chased, and jeered. Several of them threw rocks at them, but stopped when the Crimson Guard rushed out into the streets. They didn’t want to risk harming their own forces.

The Knights quickly reached the gates of the Great Colony. Once again, they simply pushed right past the surprised Gremlin guards, and rushed out into the wilderness. They heard shouts of alarm behind them, but didn’t turn back to look.

They quickly realized that the Crimson Guard had stopped following them for some strange reason, but they could still hear the loud bellows of King Tinkinzar.

“YOU CANNOT RUN! YOU CANNOT HIDE! I SHALL CRUSH YOU, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO! DO YOU HEAR ME, KNIGHTS? DO YOU HEAR ME? I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE! I DECLARE WAR ON YOU, AND YOUR PUNY ORDER! DO YOU HEAR ME???!!!”

The Knights eventually slowed to a stop, gasping for breath. They looked at each other. Only Brinks had the nerve to say what they all thought.

“Well, that didn’t go very well.”

does no one post? C'mon, people, I added the new super chapter thing 2 days ago. :(

Sorry for not posting in a while. I was working on another super chapter. XP But it's done now.

Super Chapter #2: Chps 10-13

CHP 10: Dyrus Intro

I dashed through the Wildwoods, cleaving through the foliage. My fur was streaked, my ears pressed flat against my head, and my eyes narrowed as I closed in on my prey. It wasn’t going to escape me this time.

I closed in on my target. 30 feet, 25 feet, 20 feet, I kept reeling in as if my target was standing still. I finally caught up to him in a small clearing, maybe about the size of the Snarbolax’s den. I launched into the air, curled up, spinning and throwing embers everywhere. Unfurling, I shot a huge blast of fire at the Gremlin.

The Gremlin dropped and rolled to one side, my flames singeing his robes. He pulled himself up and turned to face me, screaming at me for the umpteenth time.

“FOR TINKINZAR’S SAKE, WILL YOU STOP TRYING TO KILL ME? I’M THE ONE WHO’S SUPPOSED TO BE TRYING TO KILL SOMEONE!” He brought out a Sentenza, and shot a series of shadowy projectiles at me. I touched down to the ground, and zigzagged toward him, dodging the bullets. He unsheathed a Wild Hunting Blade using his other hand, preparing to try to make mincemeat out of me.

Just then, a large bullet shot out of the trees behind the Gremlin. It seemed to be aimed for the Gremlin, fortunately, but he smashed it out of the air with his sword.

He knelt to the ground and picked up the smoking bullet. Gremlins have tough skin from doing hard labor every day, so he didn’t burn his fingers. “Trademark bullet of a Magnus…” He muttered to himself. “That means that Knight is here…” What Knight, I wondered? Forgetting me momentarily, he shot a series of bullets into the trees. I could see a figure running and hiding behind trees to escape a quick death. It must have been the Knight the Gremlin had just referred to. He shot back with his Magnus, apparently aiming for me this time. I leapt into the air again, spinning, and shot two streams of fire at the Knight, melting his bullets out of the air. I was certain that I’d roast him, but a freezing blast of ice hit the air, neutralizing my flames. The Gremlin looked surprised.

The Knight ran into view, shooting with his gun. Putting away his gun, the Gremlin charged the Knight, all the while easily dodging the Magnus bullets. While dodging the Knight’s bullets, I noticed the source of the icy mist that had destroyed my fire.

A small, blue Wolver ran speeded alongside the Knight. At first I thought that it was an ordinary Frostifur, but I looked closer. The verdict surprised me. It couldn’t be… but it was.

“Ka-ley?” I barked, confused. “What are you doing back here?”

Chapter 11 – Ka-ley: Fire and Ice

I stared back at Dyrus, my eyes narrowing. I remembered well what he had done to me, and the after-effects. I couldn’t say that I had exactly maintained my friendship with him after what had happened, but a bit of me was curious as to what he was doing here.

The Knight was engaged in combat with the Gremlin, leaving me and Dyrus by ourselves, so I figured that I had some spare time to speak with him. “I could say the same thing to you.” I retorted.

Dyrus looked puzzled. “Well, this is the Wildwoods, so I’m supposed to be here. I can’t say that about you, though. How’d you get here?”

Dyrus’ friendly attitude made me drop my aggressiveness. I couldn’t stay mad at him for forever, could I? “Well, Sir Knight over there saved me from that raging Gremlin. I’ve been with him ever since.” Dyrus shrugged.

“Can’t say that’s not an interesting story.” There was a silence for a few moments. I looked over at the battle. It seemed to have come to a stalemate. The Gremlin and Knight had their blades locked together, a Leviathan Blade against a Wild Hunting Blade. Neither seemed to have the advantage; the Knight was more strong and powerful, but the Gremlin was smaller and agile, able to dodge the Knight’s blows with ease.

“So…” Dyrus broke the silence. “Should we try to help the Knight fight the Gremlin?” I shook my head.

“The Gremlin hasn’t really done anything to me, other than chasing me around. We should leave him be.”

“Well, the Knight tried to shoot me… That should count against him.”

I thought for a moment. “But weren’t you trying to kill the Gremlin in the first place? Why would you try to help him?”

Dyrus looked surprised. “How’d you know?” I chuckled.

“I could hear your barking and flames, and his shouting. I put two and two together, and figured that you two must have been trying to kill each other.”

Dyrus looked mildly embarrassed, although for what reason, I didn’t know. He was about to say something, when a large explosion suddenly occurred. Leaves and dust flew everywhere, stinging my eyes. More and more explosions kept happening.

Dyrus and I instantly rose up onto all fours, turning our heads back and forth. Where were all the explosions coming from? Soon, the air was thick with an impenetrable curtain of dusk and smoke.

We could still hear the Knight and the Gremlin scuffling, but just barely. The explosions drowned out most of the noise. Had the Gremlin unleashed an arsenal of powerful explosive? Had we triggered a secret minefield?

Out of the blue, Dyrus yelled out a “Look out!” I turned and several explosions blew up right in front of my snout. I was blown backwards and into the hard trunk of a tree. Then my vision went black.

Chapter 12 - Umbra: Dueling

I quickly brought up my Wise Owlite Shield, blocking several savage blows from the Gremlin. His Archeron rose and fell, leaving black marks all over my shield. I held firm under the onslaught, but I knew that I couldn’t keep it up for long.

As he raised his sword again, I struck out with my own Nightblade. The Gremlin cried out, and staggered away, clutching a bloody wound in his side. The shadow infused within my sword began taking effect, and the wound began to darken. The Gremlin winced from the growing pain.

I put away my Kilowatt Pulsar, planning never to spam it like that again. The noise had been deafening, and the explosions had blown up dust everywhere, making visibility zero. I hoped that the Skolver was all right. The explosions would have frightened her, and possibly injured her. I didn’t care much for the Vog, for he had attacked me. Although that was probably because I had shot at him in the first place.

I advanced on the Gremlin, who was backing away. He was still clutching his side, which had turned dark purple. I went in for the kill.

I jumped forward, bringing down my Nightblade in an overhead cut. The Gremlin parried with his Acheron, but staggered under the force of my blow. I swung my sword at his wounded side, and the Gremlin barely managed to dodge my blow.

I continued hacking away at the Gremlin for a few more moments. It became obvious that, although wounded, the Gremlin would be able to deflect or dodge all of my sword swings.

Swinging my blade once more, it connected with the Gremlin’s. We held them locked against each other, neither one of us yielding. Noticing I still had my left hand free, I drew my Kilowatt Pulsar from my belt, and pulled the trigger. I saw the Gremlin’s eyes widen momentarily before the point-blank explosion blew him, as well as me, away.

I quickly got back up, and looked around for the Gremlin. He was lying on the ground a few yards away from me, struggling to get back up. His Acheron was lying a few feet away from him, and his Wild Hunting Blade was snapped in half. He was defenseless.

I slowly walked toward the Gremlin, also looking around for the Skolver and the Vog. They had disappeared. I guess I could always look for them later. Reaching the Gremlin, I held my Nightblade, pointing it at his throat.

“Say goodbye, little beast.” I muttered. But just when I was about to stab down, I looked into the Gremlin’s eyes. I saw a twinkle of mischief and victory. Then I noticed his ever-growing smile. Too late did I realize the danger.

The Gremlin lifted his right hand. In it was his Sentenza. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I struck down at the Gremlin, but he rolled out of the way, and flipped himself up, all the while blasting away with his gun. I could see the bullets spin through the air, getting closer and closer and closer. I tried to bring my shield up, but the bullets struck all over my body. Two imbedded themselves in my left leg, another in my sword arm, and several others in my shoulder. I screamed and fell to the ground.

Chapter 13 – Spyash: Battle Wounds

I chuckled to myself. The Knight was writhing in the ground in pain, shadowy bullets all over his body. I was still alive, although in pain.

My wound wasn’t as bad as it seemed, although it was still pretty painfully. It was one of those old tricks I had learned; pretend you’re more damaged than you are, and have your enemy drop their guard. Then stab them in the back. I couldn’t believe it had worked.

I contemplated whether to kill the Knight. My real goal was to capture that Skolver that he had picked up, although a side dish of dead Knight wouldn’t be too bad.

I looked down at the Knight, he was facing me, breathing heavily. I could tell he was in a lot of pain.

“H-… How?…” He gasped. I smirked.

“You Knights think you’re all so amazing, don’t you? You have all your traps and sneaky techniques and powerful weapons. Has it ever occurred to you that a Gremlin might as well?” I spoke in his language. The Knight didn’t reply.

“You know, I probably should kill you,” I said, walking around the Knight, “Since you’ll probably try to kill me later. But I’m feeling a little nice today, despite this little cut you gave me.” I gazed down at my wound. Still black. I hated shadow damage. So painful. Why I used shadow damage weapons was beyond me.

I picked up my Acheron, and the remains of my Wild Hunting Blade. The jagged blade had snapped in half. I frowned. It could always be repaired, but at a hefty cost. Maybe I should steal the Knight’s Crowns to help pay for the damage he had done.

I sheathed my Acheron, and dropped the pieces of my Wild Hunting Blade into a pouch. Then I bent down, and ripped the Knight’s moneybag from his belt. I heard him grunt in weak protest, but he didn’t do anything else. I attached his moneybag to my own belt.

I smiled wickedly at the Knight. He looked at me with extreme hatred. “I’ll leave you with your weapons. You might need to defend yourself sooner or later.” I turned away, and began walking toward the trees. After a few paces, I turned my head around. “But I doubt you’ll be in shape to use them.” I mocked the Knight. I heard him curse loudly.

I tromped back into the trees, looking for any Skolver tracks. With the Knight out of the equation, finding the Skolver would be much easier now.

YAYZ. One post. :)

Oh yeah, in case Dyrus or Skolver is worried, there will be battles between the two of you. Nasty ones. >:)

Next chapter will most likely be about CGU #0000somenumberthatItotallyforgotbecauseIforgotandit'stoolong.

I'm done... I think. Yeah, I am.

Kaji, I'll accept you. Although tha means I'll have to add another chapter the "Core Wars: Prelude" for you. XP

Chapter 14 – CGU #000201361 Intro

Activating internal heaters.
Activating heat sensors.
*VHMMMMMMMMM…*

A small group of crimson robots, about 100 strong, marched through the icy wind, heedless to the freezing air and the growing mounds of snow piling around them. The sound of wind and the falling snow were the only noises heard, other than the commanding words of the robot in the lead.

“I believe that we’re almost there, men.” The Mecha Knight called out in a surprisingly normal Knight voice. “Just a little bit further!” Behind him, he could hear the grumbles of the other Mecha Knights.

“He’s been saying that for hours…”
“We’d better be almost there. My bio-receptors are frozen over. I can barely see a thing!”
“I swear, if we don’t get to that outpost in five more minutes, my joints will fall off.”

CGU #000201361, or Commander 361 for short, sighed, his mouth exhaling a cloud of fog that quickly whipped away in the wind. Perhaps the emotion chip should have been left out of their programming.

“Trust me on this one. If you check your holo-maps, we should be just about there. About a mile left. And turn on your internal heating systems if you’re cold.” Behind him, he could here the surprised remark of a Mecha Knight.

“We have heating systems? That would have been useful information before I froze every circuit in my body.”

They marched on for a few more minutes. Suddenly, a figure dashed between two snowpiles in front of the group. C. 361 held up a hand, signaling for the others to halt. The other CGUs behind him stop dead, their only movement being their one eye looking around for the hidden threat. There was a long, tense silence.

A CGU suddenly screeched out, “UNIDENTIFIED HOSTILES AT 6’o CLOCK!”

“BATTLE FORMATION TROJAN! ENGAGE LIGHT EDGES!” Commander 361 ordered. Instantly, the Mecha Knights turned, and locked their shields. They brought out long, silver blades, pressing something on a wristband that activated a glowing sheath of yellow plasma on their swords.

The leapt forward as one, smashing into the enemy with their glowing swords. They withdrew and relocked their shields.

The attacking Spiral Knights looked bewildered. They had expected a mass of messy Mecha Knights, not a group of highly trained killers. They had just lost 8 men in a split second. Perhaps they should rethink their strategy.

There was an uncomfortable silence, as each side dared each other to make the next move. The Knights had already lost 40% of their strike team, and couldn’t afford another attack like that. They hated being at the mercy of their enemy.

A CGU suddenly tossed a disc at the Knights. It landed on the snow. The Knights screamed.

“GERNADE!” They leapt out of the way, diving into the snow. But nothing happened. The CGUs began chuckling.

“For goodness sakes, it’s not a grenade.” Commander 361 announced, impatiently. “Our leader has a message for you. You can stop hiding now.”

The Knights poked their heads out of the snow. Snow was piled on their heads, and they looked rather ridiculous.

“King Tinkinzar?” One Spiral Knights asked. C. 361 nodded his head. The Knights pulled themselves out of the snow, and advanced cautiously, fearing another attack.

A CGU stamped forward, as if running up to attack. The Knights turned tail and dove into their snow piles again. The CGUs laughed out loud.

“Whatever happened to those Spiral Knights I always heard about? All I see are Spiral cowards.” A CGU questioned commented. The laughter grew louder.

The Knights rose back out angrily. One of them walked over and snatched the disc from the ground. He fumbled around with it, unsure how to use Gremlin technology. He eventually figured out how to activate it, and a hologram of King Tinkinzar popped out. The Knights gathered around the hologram, the CGUs watching them.

“If you are watching this,” King Tinkinzar began, “That means that you have engaged my Crimson Guards in battle. And failed.”

“Have you heard of the Crimson Order before? Big, scary group of Gremlin wearing bloody robes and armor? Well, this is the Crimson Guard, another group of elite soldiers, specially built to be as effective as my Crimson Order.”

“These are no ordinary Mecha Knights. These are top of the state pieces of technology. They have voice boxes, emotion chips, and a mind of their own. They have feelings like any old Gremlin does, a Gremlonium power source, and are capable of multiple things that any other robots in not. They are essentially complete organisms. They have a need to breath, in order to rid their body of those fumes created from using Gremlonium, and a need to feed, to power the Gremlonium.”

“But what completely sets them apart from other Constructs is something very special… an un-artificial intelligence. I won’t say much about this, but I can tell you this… this makes them more than 100 times as dangerous as the ordinary Mecha Knight. Believe me, I’ve done the calculations. They weren’t easy.”

“So, I advise you to run back home to your precious Spiral Order, and warn them to stay out of our way. You have most likely seen what these robots can do, and the same thing will happen to the rest of you if you interfere.”

The hologram blinked out. The Spiral Knights looked up at the CGUs surrounding them.

“Translation, please?” A Knight asked.

“In short, we are the Crimson Guard, or part of it anyway, and you cannot destroy us because of our many special and epic abilities. Tell your Spiral Order to run or die.” Commander 361 replied casually. The other Crimson Guard Units nodded and voiced their agreement.

The Spiral Knights looked at each other. Then at the army of red robots. Then at the bodies of fallen Knights.

“I think we’ll be going now…” A Knight muttered, and zoomed away. The rest followed suit. The CGUs began laughing again.

“Well, that solves that problem.” C. 361 told the others, watching the Knight retreat.

“But where’s the outpost? We should be able to see it clearly now.” Another CGU asked. Commander 361 shrugged.

Just then, a fierce wind blew up. The snow flew everywhere. A deep thrumming sound could be heard. A CGU pointed up at the sky. “Up there!”

A large platform was descending from the sky, massive propellers keeping it up. A massive building was atop it.

“It seems we found the outpost…” One CGU muttered.

“Or rather, it found us.” Another said.

As it drew closer to the ground, a large boarding platform appeared. The flying platform hit the ground, sending snow everywhere. A Gremlin came down from the boarding platform.

“Attention, citizens of… whatever this place is!” The Gremlin help up his arms, trying to look unthreatening. “Do not be alarmed! We come in peace!” The Gremlin giggled at his own little joke.

“Well, that said, welcome to the Frozen Fortress.” The Gremlin announced. “I see you’ve chased off some Knights, as well as killed some. The world becomes a better place with each dead Knight.” He motioned at the robots to come aboard.

Commander 361 gazed up at the massive flying machine as the others boarded, relieved to get out of the cold. “That’s amazing… How’d you do it?” He asked the Gremlin. The Gremlin chuckled.

“Lord Mechron came up with the idea. He always wanted to make a flying weapons platform, and this isn’t much different. Just a lot bigger.”

“Well, you should head up and get some rest,” The Gremlin told C. 361 as he started up the boarding platform. “Core needs you guys. He’s under siege. You’re gonna be on the front lines tomorrow.”

CGU #000201361 nodded and climbed aboard the massive ship. He heard the Gremlin call, “All clear!” and the ship took off again, flying into the clouds and beyond sight.