The Evermore Dissociate(Creek) - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

"Why do I have to be the princess?" Tweek bemoaned. His exposed arms crossed as he glared at his friends from where he sat on the rusty merry-go-round. His green eyes watched as Token innocently looked to his feet, gently kicking at the grass, while Clyde shrugged beside him.
"Cause we're knights," Craig replied, his little hands holding onto the bars to spin Tweek, running along side the merry-go-round until it was too fast for him to keep up. He abruptly stepped back to watch as Tweek gripped on for dear life. "And you're the smallest."
"That's not fair!" Tweek protested. "Kevin's the same size as me!"
"Miss Loffly's chart says I'm two inches taller," Kevin called over, swinging behind them on the swings, whilst Jimmy pushed him even higher. "And Token's already said that I can be the bad guy."
As the merry-go-round came to a squeaky stop, pointing Tweek away from the group, he huffed, annoyed with his so called friends who never allowed him to be a knight. He squinted up at the summer sky, feeling the warm heat as it met with the delicate skin on his nose. His small hand blocking the direct light from his eyes in fear of going blind. His hair was even messier than usual since Craig had trapped him on this specific ride for the past half hour, spinning it whenever Tweek tried to get off. So after a while, he just accepted it, not wanting to give Craig the satisfaction.
"How about, whoever dies first has to be the princess next? Would you do it then?" Clyde asked. He'd made his way around the merry-go-round to stand in front of Tweek, his fingers picking at the ends of his red jacket as he smiled encouragingly to his twitchy friend.
Tweek didn't want to smile, but the thought of any one of them being the princess made his lips twitch until a full smile spread across his face, shyly nodding back to the brunette standing before him.
Token clapped his hands together once in victory as he climbed onto the other side of the merry-go-round, standing up appose to Tweek, who refused to leave the seat. Clyde stepped back as Craig took ahold of the bars again, his little legs running tiredly, before jumping on next to Tweek, his vision blurry as they spun around. Tweek was feeling sick already, his stomach woozy, and though he was afraid to let go, his shaky hand gripped onto the back of Craig's jacket to stop him from falling off.
Moments passed with each of them shouting out for Clyde to push them. It wasn't until the other two came over that they came to a stop, all of them jumping off, and this time, Craig allowed Tweek to touch the ground. The pair of them stood beside each other as they watched the others huddle around.
"Okay so, rules are, once you're dead you can't get up. No teaming, and whoever gets the princess to the safe zone wins!" Kevin announced, rubbing his hands together with excitement, and even though he knew the chances of the bad guy winning was little, the thrill still coursed through his veins.
"Everyone s-spread out a-and f-find a stick." Jimmy said, looking to the other three knights. They all nodded, jumping into action as they ran into the trees in search for their latest weapon. "T-Tweek, go stand at the t-top of the slide."
Tweek grumbled to himself, turning away from watching the others comparing sticks in the distance as he walked over to the slide, it's paint chipped away over the years while the steps quaked under his shoes. He watched from the top as Kevin came running over, stopping at the bottom of the slide to defend his prisoner, whilst the others spread out before the battle began.
The playground soon filled with the war cries of children as they charged across the field, sticks raised above their heads to mimic swords that glinted against the sun. Clyde panted as he ran, his legs feeling like jelly as he repeatedly had to stop himself from tripping over the long grass. Token was the nearest in his sights, and by the wicked look on the darker boys face, it was clear he was targeting Clyde.
Clyde roared as he charged at Token, squeezing his stick in his hands as he brought it down, colliding against Token's with a vicious wham. Token withdrew his stick, rounding on Clyde as he stared into his eyes challengingly, striking once again, yet Clyde was fast to block the attack. They both growled, taking their roles a little too seriously as they stood in their defensive positions.
"You're no match for me, Knight of Spire!" Clyde stated, taunting his opponent, causing him to strike again, and miss.
Token pointed his stick in warning, squinting as he curled his nose. "You are unworthy of the princess!"
"I'm not unworthy!" Clyde broke character, feeling offended by his friends statement, but Token didn't care as he lunged forward, his stick jabbing Clyde in the belly and causing him to wail in pain and defeat. During the midst of his surprise, he'd managed to stab Token at the same time, the two of them looking to one another, clutching their imaginary wounds as they fell to the ground.
Their eyes shut as they accepted death, laying in the grassy fields beside one another while the battle continued without them. "Dude, I totally stabbed you first." Clyde whispered.
Token frowned with his eyes closed, he seemed to recall it happening differently. "Shut up, we're dead." He hissed. "But I stabbed you first."
Craig looked over his shoulder as he ran through the fields, looking back at his fallen friends with a smirk. The wind blew through his hair as he fought off the imaginary beasts trying to stop him from saving the princess, with his stick whooshing back and forth as he killed them one by one. His shoes scraped against the gravely grounds, breathlessly frowning at Kevin the Kidnapper, the baddest villain in all of Espar.
Kevin tilted his head back to laugh menacingly as he drew out his sword, directing it at Craig as he stepped away from the slide. "Stupid knight, you cannot defeat me!"
Craig bravely looked on, his own sword held tightly in his hands as he glanced up to the princess. Her golden locks blew in the wind as she stared back with distress. "Let her go!" He ordered, stepping closer to engage in battle.
"Never!" Kevin shouted, charging at Craig like a bull, swinging his sword back and forth as Craig dodged each attack.
Craig caught Tweek's eyes again, in the midst of the battle, he knew he had to be the one to rescue her. He came at Kevin with full force, blocking the odd attack sent in defence as the villain was backed up against the slide.
With one lucky swing, Kevin sliced at the blue of Craig's jacket. Craig scowled down at his arm, watching as the imaginary blood poured from his wound. He clutched it tightly, proceeding to attack Kevin the Kidnapper with only one arm.
"You're dead, Craig. I killed you!"
"No you didn't, it was just a scratch."
Fear struck in Kevin eyes as Craig lifted his sword high up to the sky, bringing it down to slap against the side of the villains neck, ignoring the little 'ouch' his opponent made. Kevin dropped his stick, holding onto his neck to stop the imaginary wound from bleeding, his scared eyes searching Craig's as he spluttered, "Why?"
Craig kicked Kevin's stick aside, watching as the villain dropped to his knees, gasping for air as he slowly died. The knight bent down, squatting as he stared into Kevin's half shut eyes. "Because, the princess is mine."
Kevin fell to his back with one last sigh, a smile tugging on his lips when he heard Craig stand up and step away. Tweek gripped onto the bars, his hair falling over his face as he smiled to Craig. The knight stood to his full height as he smiled back, yet his expression morphed into confusion when Tweek's eyebrow knitted together with worry, his eyes looking just past Craig as he pointed off into the distance.
"Look out!"
Craig didn't have time to turn around since within seconds of hearing the princesses warning, he was struck in the back with something hard, causing to stumble forward. He spun around, his stick ready as he pointed it to his attacker, Jimmy who emerged from the tall grass with only one of his crutches, a wicked smile on his face as he came closer.
"Not s-so fast!"
Tweek leaned over the edge of the slide, looking down as Jimmy and Craig met up in the middle, both of them holding a look of pure determination as they prepared for the final fight. Brother against brother, friend against friend, the ultimate destruction, as there could only be one.
"You." Craig hissed.
"It is I!" Jimmy announced, his stick waving in the air as he sneered. "Long have you forgotten m-me."
"I could never forget you, traitor!"
Jimmy scowled. That wasn't the direction he was going in, more of a forgotten hero, but now he had to roll with it. "M-my troubled past has l-lead me down a dark r-road."
"That's no excuse for killing all our people!"
"Just fight already, pussies." Kevin huffed from on the ground, laying on his side to watch the ending of their game. Both knights turned to frown at him, yet Jimmy quickly attacked, slapping Craig's stick from his hand with his remaining crutch.
Craig looked to his stick in horror as it hit the ground, while his finger throbbed from where Jimmy had hit them. He jumped out of the way when Jimmy charged. His only hope was to get his sword, if only he could get past the larva surrounding it.
Tweek watched eagerly, hearing Craig muttering to himself as he thought of his next move. Jimmy came closer to Craig, backing him up in the same way Kevin had once been. Craig swallowed as Jimmy held the stick to his throat, their eyes locked as the game met it's ending.
"I-it's over." Jimmy half whispered, his stick slicing against Craig's exposed throat as he looked away from his old friends eyes. The victor stepped away as Craig fell to the ground, lifelessly laying opposite Kevin.
Tweek slowly came down the steps of the slide as Jimmy held his hand out to him, the two of them meeting at the bottom, where Jimmy proceeded to attempt to carry Tweek bridal style. After a moment of struggling, he settled for holding the princesses wrist as he lead him away from all of the distruction.
Craig sighed from the ground, watching as Jimmy took Tweek to the safe zone, which in fact was just the swings at the other end of the playground. He watched as Jimmy cheered at his victory, raising his lone crutch in the air as Tweek dodged it. He slowly sat up, looking over as both Clyde and Token made their way over from the fields, still arguing about who stabbed who first, yet all Craig could think about was how he was supposed to save the princess.