=========================================SEASON 1, EPISODE 8STUNNED IN AMAZEMENT========================================= Harp kept on yelling at his horse, but he felt that the poor animal was struggling to keep up with the pace. He needed to go to the battlefield as fast as possible.
The Order was at war, and he was forced to do everything in his might to stop it. Seeing Tom, covered in blood... that was shocking enough. But he knew that a lot more blood will be spilled if he won't make it in time.
***
Rock turned his attention back to Tom.
"Tom...?"
Hagen coughed up blood. "I'm going to die here. There is nothing you can do."
"No, you'll make it! You must!"
"Look. At. Me." Tom hissed.
Glass in the body, broken bones, blood everywhere...
"I appreciate the fact that you wanted to stay. I do. But you must help Harp. Put an end to this"
Rock was speechless. "But... but were Pete brothers. The First Hunter..."
"Oh, for Christ sake!" yelled Tom, even though it hurt like hell. "There is no First Hunter! Pete is just a character from The Book of Walking Dead. Just get over it!"
These words shocked Rock. "You didn't. Pete is--"
"I like him too, but he's no god, dammit! Don't make him one!" continued Tom, albeit weaker than before. "Now stop with this shit... and..." he was having trouble breathing and his eyelids felt heavy, too heavy. "...and help... Harp..." and with that, he was gone.
There was a silence. Rock didn't know what to do. Suddenly, his expression turned into the one of anger. He stood up.
"God fucking dammit!" he waved his staff at everything he could see. Each strike of energy caused the explosion in the castle walls.
"He was fucking right!" yelled Rock, destroying everything around him "Pete, you fucker! You let this happen! And I praised you! I treated you like a god!" he swinged his staff in the air, causing the entire tower to crumble.
"I wanted you to guide me!" screamed Rock, as loud as he could. "And you didn't!"
Suddenly, the sky turned dark. The storm seemed to appear out of nowhere. The lightning bolts fired up the sky. The clouds started forming some sort of bright shape...
Rock looked up, surprised. He saw a lion in the clouds, looking proud, eyes closed.
"Simba... you have forgotten who you are. Look inside yourself, Simba. You must take your place in the Circle of Life"
"What?" asked Rock, stunned. The lion opened his eyes and looked at him.
"Wait, you're not Simba. Who the fuck are you?" yelled the lion.
"I could ask you the same question" Rock responded.
"How dare you to address me like that--!" the lion stopped abruptly. Rock heard a shot - somewhere up in the sky. It narrowly missed the lion's head.
"Oh shit" said the lion and ran away.
Then, Rock heard the muttered voices. He recognized them in an instant...
"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your aim steady while shooting?"
"I know. Stop treating me like a kid"
"You behave like one all the time. We could have taken that lion down"
Two people came into view in the sky...
"Pete and Nick!" yelled Rock.
They didn't seem to notice him at first.
"Oh, hello, son", said Pete.
***
The army of House Wellington was waiting behind the hill, ready to attack at any moment. Walter scouted ahead, prepared to give them a signal for TKA's arrival.
Even though everybody seemed relax back at the castle, some people were getting slightly nervous.
"So I guess this is it" said Brotato.
"Yeah, I think so. Never thought we'll be going against one of our own" muttered Zyphon, a bit distant.
"Do you think... do you think we'll all come back?" Brotato said, a bit unsure.
Zyphon cracked a smile.
"Scared, Bro? Maybe you want to go back to the castle and hide like a little girl?"
"Go fuck yourself" said Brotato, annoyed. "I'm never afraid of the fight. It's just that this isn't some random skirmish like the ones before."
"Well, I am absolutely sure of my skills, so I intend on coming back and drink until I'm out. Victory, no matter who we'll have to kill, is always worth it."
"I'll give you this one" said Brotato, relaxing a bit. "I wonder how Harp, Tom and Rock are doing. I mean, Rock is a sorcerer, but destroying the entire castle on their own--"
"They're here!" hissed Walter. "They're about to enter the graveyard!"
"Get ready!" ordered NFTS. "Once they awaken Carlos, we're going in"
Everybody stood up and checked their equipment.
"We're here!" yelled TKA, unawared that he was being watched. "Boys, here's what we're going to do. We received some information that about the half of Wellington's army is patrolling Howe's cementery. We're going in there, take them down, and march straight to Wellington itself."
"That fucking traitor" cursed Walter.
"They're here somewhere, let's go!" ordered TKA. He and he's army entered the graveyard.
"Oh, now you're going to get it" smiled Walter deviously.
TKA addressed his soldiers. "You'll check this side of the cementery", he then turned to mercenaries. He was in luck, they stumbled upon his castle and he hired them mere two weeks ago. "You'll take this one. Kill every traitor you'll find"
Walter was a bit taken aback. "Traitors?"
TKA looked around suspiciosly. "Now, where the hell are they--"
He was cut of by a mighty roar that echoed throughout the land. TKA saw dead bodies getting out of their graves - there were thousands of them. Some started to tear out their limbs and assemble them together - hand to hand, leg to leg...
"WHO DARES TO CROSS THE THRESHOLD OF THIS PLACE?!" He saw an enormous ghost enter the pile of limbs, becoming corporeal. The hooded figure had bright green eyes. "WHO DARES TO INCUR THE WRATH OF THE KNIGHT GOD?!" hollered Carlos.
TKA was speechless. The God of the Order... and he woke him up. This was a trap.
Carlos waved his hand at House Kenneth's army.
"Kill them. Kill them all. Rip them to pieces"
The army of the dead, wielding rusty swords, axes and maces launched themselves at unsuspecting soldiers, who were dying with fear. There were sound of flesh being torn apart and weapons killing everyone they could reach. Everything turned into chaos, and before TKA coudl do anything, someone hit his horse with a sword. TKA fell down, but quickly got up again, engaging in the fight. It was too late to turn away now.
"The battle has started!" yelled Walter.
"GO, GO, GO!" urged NFTS. Everybody climbed the hill and run down towards the cemenetery, yelling and chanting.
Carlos sensed the presence of someone else. He knew who it was.
"NFTS!" he said. NFTS heard him through the sword Carlos gave him all these years ago. "Some motherfuckers dared to wake me up!"
"I know, and I'm here to help"
"Atta boy, I knew I can count on you!" roared Carlos and resumed the fight. "I've seen him. It's TKA. He's mine"
"Whatever you wish" yelled NFTS. His army reached the graveyard and joined the fight.
Brotato hit the first soldier with his shield, cracking his skull. "You're welcome"
"Wiseass" yelled Zyphon. The were fighting off TKA's soldiers, arm in arm.
***
"What... what are you doing here?" asked Rock, still in shock.
"You called me. Although I can't say you did it in a kind way" said Pete.
Rock was embarassed. "Sorry sir"
"Don't worry, son. Sometimes people get carried away, I understand that"
"Really?" interrupted Nick. "You're never understanding when it comes to me!"
"Because you act like a spoiled child. You don't know what you want. Grow up", said Pete calmly.
"Stop telling me that!" warned Nick. "Know what, I don't have to listen to this." He walked away, disappearing from the view.
"That stupid kid... but he's a good boy, I know that" said Pete with a warm smile. "But now... what do you want from me? Unless you wanted to chit chat. Know this - I don't have time, so make yourself scarce"
"I just..." started Rock. He was numb. "... you know, The First Hunter--"
"Don't call me that, you're embarassing me" said Pete.
"Uh, okay, Pete. It's just that... my friend here, Tom..."
"Okay, I get it" said Pete and snapped his fingers. Tom's body was glowing, the shards of glass disappeared as his insides tied themselves back together. His eyes opened quickly.
"Wh... what?" he watched the scene in front of him. He was shocked.
"Rock? What is going on?" he checked himself; he didn't have any wound. "Pete?"
"Now look at you, son" laughed Pete, before turning back to Rock "I bet that the moustached guy wouldn't be able to do that. It's a pity that we didn't get to meet, I'd teach him a lesson"
Tom didn't look amused. "If this was so easy, why didn't you resurrect Jake? You could've helped him, but you didn't - and now he's dead!"
Pete raised his eyebrows "You might want to check your facts on that"
Rock and Tom exchanged concerned looks.
"Besides, he wasn't my follower. If I recall, you're the only one who dared to go with Rock's ritual"
Tom didn't know what to say.
"I know what you're going to say right now" continued Pete. "From there, I can see the past, the present, and the future. I know you want to stop the war and you sent your friend, Harp, to do it. I'm afraid he won't make it. He'll be imprisoned before he delivers your message"
Rock turned to Tom. "We have to go there. Now."
"Wait!" Tom stopped him. "Pete... we won't make it in time. We'll be there as soon as possible... but you have to go there and stop them. That's all we ask for"
Pete laughed. "I already brought you back to life, and you say 'that's all we ask for'? I'm no Santa Claus. Besides, that's out of my reach"
Rock gazed at him. "You helped Tom escape death, but you can't stop the war?"
"I can't separate them. I may speak to them, but that's all I can do. My power has limits" said Pete.
"This is just stupid. All those limitations..." Tom shook his head. "But do it anyway. If Harp is bound to fail, then please, do it."
"Well..." Pete didn't look convinced. "Okay, I will. But I can't guarantee anything"
"Thanks" said Tom. He and Rock got on their horses, ready to go.
"You know..." Rock looked at Pete. "You helped Tom, and now you'll try to stop the war... that's kind of unbelieveable set of coincidencess, don't you think?"
Pete grinned at him. "Yes, it does. If this was a story, I'd say that this was the moment when it jumped the shark"
"Pete, please" said Tom. "If this was a story, then it would jump the shark before it had even begun"
And with that, Rock and Tom drove away, while Pete vanished from the sky.
***
"Not so smart now, eh?" yelled Brotato to Zyphon. They were slaying TKA's forces without mercy. "You look like you're getting tired, maybe I should help you?"
"Yeah, right!" laughed Zyphon, slashing a soldier's throat. "Just like the old times, bickering about who's a better fighter"
"You said I was afraid, but I think I killed more people than you today!" Brotato noticed four soldiers running towards him. "Look how afraid I am!" he swinged his sword with a mighty roar, cutting down four heads at once. The blood was spilling everywhere. Zyphon looked at him, dumbfounded.
"RELEASE THE CRACKMAN!", they heard NFTS, yelling.
"I guess shit gets really serious" yelled Zyphon.
Crackman unsheathed his swords and seeing the locks being opened, he stormed out of the gate and ran like a wild dog right into the chaos. He saw soldiers who wore proper House Kenneth armor, but some of them had an emblem with a letter K sewn into clothes, probably in haste.
Zyphon picked up a mace from the ground and smashed it against a mercenary's head. Brotato, just like Crackman, noticed the symbol on the clothes. Except...
"That's them!" yelled Brotato, angry. "We thought it was an aleph, we didn't realize it was K! That's the fucking symbol which was worn by the guys who shot me a year ago!"
Zyphon kept on fighting off the attackers. "So it was TKA all along!" He was about to pierce another fighter, but missed. The mercenary kicked him, but Zyphon was quick to respond, hitting him with a sword at the top of the mercenary's head.
"Guess I'm a better swordsman after all!" yelled Brotato, killing another soldier.
"Go to hell, I'm way better than you will ever be!" said Zyphon. "Besides, fighting is not everything!"
"Oh, right!" laughed Brotato. "You know, when I was attacked and stayed at Tom's, his servant took care of me. A sweet, blonde girl" he cut off someone's hand "so, as a 'thank you', I took care of her. I am quite accomplished when it comes to my sword. Can you say the same?" grinned Brotato.
"Oh, you smug son of a bitch!" laughed Zyphon. "Don't get me started on that. Keep fighting!" he started waving his sword, slashing anyone he could see. "That is, if you can keep up with me!"
"I think I already did that" Brotato threw a knife at one soldier, slashed open the second one, and cut of a leg of another - all in the matter of seconds.
"Yeah, I could do that with closed eyes" Zyphon brushed it off. "Want to see a special trick?"
He thrust his sword forward, impaling two soldiers at once. "Double kill", he said in a low tone.
"Jesus, that was so corny" smiled Brotato. "Check this out!"
He expertly waved his sword above Zyphon's head. He cut some of his hair, but didn't hurt him.
"Now THAT'S a trick that can be useful. I told you some time ago that you should go visit a barber" Brotato killed another soldier while he was speaking. "Now, don't you look nice with a shorter hair"
Harp felt as if someone was trying to tear his lungs out, he was running that fast. He ditched his horse some time ago; the poor animal fell down and couldn't even bring itself to get up. He never rode so fast in his entire life, but stakes were to high for him to dawdle.
"Come on... you can do this!" yelled Harp to himself, even though he felt weaker and weaker with each step. "Dammit, I can't... fail Tom... or Rock..."
Running up the hill, Harp's thoughts drifted back to that moment at the headquarters of House Kenneth. He was walking down the corridor when he heard the glass breaking somewhere in the distance. He immediately went outside, and what he saw horrified him - Tom, sprawled on the ground, blood everywhere.
Unbeknownst to Harp, Tom was fine, on his way to the battlefield along with Rock.
He finally reached the top of the hill. The view in front of him was truly apocalyptic - bodies lying around, soldiers fighting, blood splattering everywhere... He couldn't tell most of the fighters apart, though he did notice Brotato killing one of the enemies and yelling something towards Zyphon, though Harp couldn't tell what it was because of all this noise around.
Zyphon was half angry, half amused. "I know this trick. Harp showed it to you" Zyphon approached Brotato. "But I was the one who invented it in the first place and taught Harp how to do it".
"I'm not sure I believe this shit" laughed Brotato.
Crackman opened his eyes really wide and bared his teeth. His voice sounded like a hiss of a snake.
"I'll rip of your dick, shove it down your throat and fuck you with it until you'll be squeaking and crying like a little bitch, begging for more" he said without blinking. "...and after that, I will make you eat it, motherfucker!"
Before he made the cut, however, he heard something nearby. He recognized the voices, but couldn't make out initially what they were saying. He raised his head.
"...you motherfucker!" yelled Zyphon angirly and waved his sword at Brotato, narrowly missing him. "I'll fucking make that grin of yours disappear once and for all, you son of a bitch!"
Crackman heard the voice inside his head. It was a woman's voice - it was calm and soothing. "Your friend is in danger" the voice said. "Zyphon... he's the traitor. He must be stopped." Crackman knew that everybody thought he was mad - maybe he was - but it was the first time he heard a voice inside his head, guiding him. He realized that this woman - whoever she was - was right. Brotato was in danger.
Crackman started running towards Zyphon.
Brotato wasn't laughing anymore. He saw that Zyphon cut his hair too.
"Now, don't you look like a little girl" Zyphon was laughing.
"Motherfucker..." said Brotato under his breath.
He then noticed Crackman speeding towards them. "Crack!" he yelled.
And that's when he realized what was about to happen. Crack lost it. Again.
"Crack, no!"
But Crackman already raised his sword, and with a bloody roar he stabbed Zyphon repeatedly in the chest. A second or two passed, blood was pouring out everywhere and Crack kept on screaming.
"No!!!" yelled Brotato. This wasn't happening...
Before he could do anything he noticed Walter running amid the crowd and piercing Crackman's head with his sword so that his blade was sticking out of Crackman's mouth. He pulled his sword out and Crack's lifeless body fell to the ground, next to Zyphon.
"And thus, another legend ends" said Walter, tired. "He'll be remembered as Crackman The Barmy"
"He lost it again. I knew we should have left him in Wellington!" yelled Brotato. "Zyphon!"
He knew it was too late. Zyphon's eyes were empty. But Brotato couldn't shake off that feeling. His friend was dead. People were screaming around, fighting, but he didn't care. He just stood still. Walter approached him.
"Bro... we have to fight. We're sitting ducks here. I know you feel... because he was one of Us. But we have to keep going. We'll have time to mourn later" urged Walter.
Brotato knew he was right. He raised his sword, and with a mighty roar, he run towards his enemies, killing more of them than ever before.
Carlos watched the whole scene from afar. He saw anger glistering in Brotato's eyes. He wanted revenge.
"That's enough" said Carlos to himself. "It's time to finish this"
He saw TKA nearby, fighting off Wellington's soldiers.
"You fucking traitors! I'll kill you all!" he yelled.
Carlos slowly approached him. The soldiers stood out of his way, while TKA stopped fighting them, watching The Knight God coming towards him.
With burning corpses lying everywhere and soldiers fighting until their very last breaths, Carlos growled, terrifying TKA.
TKA had to admit - for the first time in his life, he was afraid. He, the mighty warrior whose brave deeds were known in the distant lands. He raised his sword; the gesture resulted in Carlos bursting into a mighty laugh.
"Do you really think you can stand a chance against me?", mocked Carlos.
The adrenaline was pumping through TKA's veins. Oh no, he won't let anyone laugh at him. At him - the might leader of House Kenneth of the OTWDF Order. He didn't care that Carlos was more powerful than him - or that he should glorify him instead of fighting - but it wasn't important at the moment. TKA charged at the other knight, waving his sword.
Looking again at the battlefield, Harp scanned it for a tall, hooded figure - as Carlos, being rather... characteristic, was a lot easier to find - and soon enough, he spotted him at the the opposite side of the area, fighting with TKA.
TKA rolled on the ground towards the knight and raised his sword again, hoping to cut at his legs, but, once again, Carlos stopped him with his own sword.
"Better try a new trick. This one got old a long time ago", said Carlos, smiling slowly.
And then, before TKA could do anything about it, Carlos rose his sword and whisked it, breaking TKA's blade in two.
Harp knew that he had seconds to do something. He reached to his pocket for the exploding potion he received from Rock, but retracted his hand. He didn't have enough strength to throw it and expect that it would reach Carlos or TKA. He grabbed one of the arrows from the quiver and aimed his bow to... to do what, exactly?
"Aren't you the bold lord..."
And then Harp saw it. In a blink of an eye, he saw what TKA intended on doing: he still had a hilt in his hand, and with Carlos leaning towards him, he didn't notice the broken blade, about to pierce Carlos through the neck. Harp quickly aimed his bow again, this time at TKA, and released an arrow. Soon after, Harp felt a heavy blow to the back of his head and blacked out.
He was dragged away by a tall figure, an the sound of gears working was heard...
The arrow hit TKA in the hand. He released the hilt, screaming wildly. Carlos was surprised by the shot and took a step back.
"What the hell is going on?" he said.
TKA ripped the arrow from his palm and clutched it. "My hand!" he yelled.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light which blinded everyone on the battlefield. When it. After a second, they all saw something that stunned them... Pete and Nick, high in the sky.
"I am here to deliver a message from your friends" said Pete.
"Wow" said Nick, looking around. "You couldn't pick a better time, uncle. Look at all these bodies"
"Shut up and go practising. If you let that lion get away again, I won't take you hunting ever again."
"Don't talk to me like that. I'm an adult, I do what I want" and with that, he walked away.
"Nick has a thing for theatrical exits, I guess" said Pete. "Anyway... your friends, Tom, Rock and Harp want you to know that this war is pointless. It was staged from behind the curtain by the dark forces, not TKA. He's innocent"
Everybody, including NFTS, Brotato and Walter, looked at TKA, shocked.
"Well, I guess that's where I get off. You'll figure out the rest. Nice meeting you" and with that, Pete vanished, never to appear again.
"What did he mean by saying that you're innocent?" NFTS pointed his sword at TKA. "You wanted to wipe us out because of our acceptance towards Borderlands and Thrones. You prepared a surprise attack on Wellington, that's far from innocent!"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" TKA got up from the ground. "You were the ones who wanted to get rid of me, because I wouldn't fully acknowledge the new books in our Codex!"
TKA continued angirly, "I intercepted the message for your allies. It clearly stated that you're planning to attack me! You wanted to get rid of the only person who opposed to changes!"
NFTS looked at him dumbfounded. "What message? We didn't send any message. It was you who called you allies to fight us two weeks ago!"
"I did it because I wanted to get rid of you before you could get rid of me!" yelled TKA.
"It looks like we were set up." said Walter. "So we would fight each other.
"Looks that way" said NFTS quitely.
"Well, I'm not so sure" said Brotato angirly. "If that's the case, then why TKA sent his people to attack me while I was travelling to continental rite?"
"I did no such thing!" TKA defended himself.
"Oh yeah?" asked Brotato. "I saw that symbol, but I didn't realize it was K back then" he pointed at the mercenaries. "A year ago, you sent them and they shot me multiple times! I barely made it out alive!"
"I didn't send anyone, you idiot!" said TKA. "And these guys were passing by House Kenneth. I hired them just recently. It's not my emblem, they already got it on themselves when they arrived"
Brotato grabbed one of the mercenaries and put a sword to his throat. TKA's and NFTS's soldiers rounded up the rest of them. "Tell me who are you and who are you working for."
The mercenary didn't say a thing. Instead, he smiled like an idiot.
Brotato was angry. "Those fuckers attacked me a year ago. Because of them, Zyphon and Crackman are dead. They appeared at House Kenneth at that precise moment when TKA needed army. It can't be a coincidence." NFTS nodded his head.
"We have to figure this one out. Someone was trying to destroy us from inside"
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out soon..." said Carlos, unsheathing his sword again, "but I'm taking TKA with me"
"What?" asked Walter, surprised.
"This war, set up or not, is not my deal. Nonetheless, he violated Action 68. He will die" with that, Carlos raised his sword, ready to attack.
He didn't hit TKA however. He saw that he was stopped by NFTS, who put his sword between them.
"The same sword I gave you all those years ago..." muttered Carlos. "And now you want to use it against me"
"This was a mistake. Waking you up" said NFTS. "You don't have to do this. Just be decent."
"Decent?" smiled Carlos. "I'm not known for being decent. I am The Knight God, for fuck's sake. And I don't have to do this, but I want to" his hooded figure was watching down on NTFS. He raised his new sword, and it burned with a bright, red light. "I guess... there can be only one."
And with that, he attacked NFTS, but the master of the Order was ready for this. He dodged the attack and swinged his sword just past Carlos's head. The God quickly spun around, waving his sword again. The blades connected and there was an awfuly loud bang heard throughout the battlefield. Everybody watched them fight.
With every swing and every time the swords hit each other, a thunder was heard and firebolts were flashing from the blades. Suddenly, Carlos thrust his sword forward and grazed NFTS in the leg. When he retracted his sword, NFTS noticed that the wound looked like it was burned, not cut.
"Getting tired?" asked Carlos.
NFTS used that moment of bragging to kick Carlos. He fell to his knees.
"Far from it!" responded NFTS and roared, swinging his sword and decapitating Carlos.
There was a loud bang heard and the body exploded, leaving Carlos only in his ghost form.
NFTS was breathing heavily, while Carlos looked sadly at him.
"You made me do this, I'm sorry" said NFTS.
"Don't be" responded Carlos. "I guess I just got carried away. And now, as a punishment, I have to pass away".
"Erm..." Walter interrupted. "You already were a ghost. You can't technically pass away again."
Carlos looked at him, eyes wide open. "Oh, you're right. I forgot." He looked embarrased.
"So what are we going to do now?" said Brotato. "Those fucks" he nodded toward mercenaries, "won't talk to us."
Carlos smiled deviously. "I think I can handle that."
He snapped his fingers. The walkers grabbed every mercenary and dragged them into graves alive. There were yells and screams heard for a short while, but soon everything went quiet.
"I hope they'll like it there, below the ground" smiled NFTS.
"So, I guess only one question remains" said Brotato. "Who tried to destroy us?"
Suddenly, they all heard someone from afar.
"Isn't that obvious? Right now, it should be"
NFTS, Carlos, Walter, Brotato and TKA turned around. They saw Rock and Tom coming towards them.
Both knights went off their horses and walked towards the group, saying in unison:
"It was Jake Sis all along."
***
Next time on TFTWL:
United and stronger than ever before, the Order uncovers the plot which lead to the schism and war between the Houses. However, when knights confront Jake Sis, they realize that nothing is what it seems when the main villain reveals himself in the first half of the season finale of Tales from the Wellingtonlands, "AND YOU DON'T - PART 1".