Headed by a Snake

"Wait! You can\'t kill her!" Tycon yelled. He stood amongst the enemy, but he wore their uniform.

"Pale! Pale... What do we do?" Taree whispered as quietly as she could. The pair were crouched down, hiding behind the shop\'s low shelves.

"We get into position," Pale narrowed his eyes and concentrated. "And we wait for a signal..."

"Okay, I got it." Taree nodded... "I sure hope Boss can save that person."

Pale quietly nodded, "Me too. Go get closer, Taree, I can attack from here..."

"And WHY in the SSSSSEVEN HELLLSSSSSS NOT?!?" Nagini shrieked.

Tycon scratched his head, "Well, the girl has symmetrical features, thick glasses, and large breasts, so I... desire her romantically?"

One of the guards groaned, "Come on, man. Be serious."

Another guard piped up, "Yeah! Everyone in Merylsward knows she\'s dating another woman"

Nagini put his face into his palm, "You tessssst my patienccccce."

Tycon cleared his throat, "Well, I\'ve always supported and respected her decision, so I\'ve never been able to profess my *checkerboard* love before."

A female guard raised her crossbow, "Huzzah! A man of quality!"

Another guard offered a closed fist, "I know how you feel, man."

Nagini furrowed his brows beneath his snake helmet, "Checker... board?"

Pale stood up from his hiding place, in the middle of activating a scroll, "Checkerboard!!"

Taree emerged from the shadows as she grabbed the back of a guard\'s head and drove her knee into the base of his spine, "Checkerboard!!"

Nagini pointed at Tycon in recognition, screaming, "It\'sssss YOUUUUU!!!"

Pale\'s spell completed, and the guard holding Vivienne blinked his eyes heavily, before releasing his grip and succumbing to a standing, magically-induced sleep. Quickly, she dove behind a counter for safety.

The snake-helmed warrior hissed in anger, "Kill him! Kill him! KILL HIMMMM!!!"

Tycon\'s body convulsed, "Help... I\'m... being mind-controlled!!"

The approaching guards hesitated. "Crap! Get the wizard!" "The wizard can cast mind control!" "Geek the mage!"

Tycon whipped out a crossbow and fired it at a guard, "I\'m SORRY! I can\'t control myself!!"

Nagini stomped on the floor, "NNNNOOOO!! I wantttttt that one DEADDDD!"

One of the guards snapped back, "That\'s why we\'re dropping the wizard, you stupid snake!"

The guard struck by Tycon\'s crossbow bolt fell to the floor, frothing at the mouth.

"Crap, Pierre is down!" "Someone disarm that guy!" "You\'ll pay for this, Wizard!"

Pale adjusted his hat so he could see forward and he began to wave a cheap-looking wand, "Firebolt! Firebolt! Firebolt!"

One of the guards was unlucky enough to be blasted away by the magical flame, while the others began to take cover.

...The boy had terrible aim.

Nagini took a heated blast to the back, "Arrrgh!!"

\'But at least he hit the leader,\' Tycon thought.

"I\'m sorry!! I\'m mind controlllllled!!" Tycon hooked a crouched guard\'s neck with his arm and tucked the back of his head underneath his elbow. Using his momentum, he lifted the man up, suplexing him into a hard table. Half of the table cracked, its hard edge finding the man\'s ribs as a point of impact.

Taree leaped up, uppercutting a guard in the chin with solid accuracy. Kicking off of his chest, she grabbed another man\'s collar, the momentum taking him down, "Consecutive Stone Punches!!"

Vivienne shot up from behind a counter, wielding a gnarled staff, "You\'ll pay for this, Nagini!! Royaaaaal CRASH!!"

A thunderous explosion of glass and wood debris hammered into the center of the shop, another two of the guards crashing to the floor as if crushed by a tonze of bricks.

Out of the dust and debris, an injured Nagini hurdled over a low shelf towards Tycon, "You!! I will END you, SSSSSOLDIERRR!!"

"Uh oh," Pale grabbed a wand previously protected by a glass case. He speedily inserted his mana into it, mentally forming a rudimentary understanding of the spell it held inside.

He used his staff to vault up onto a table and pointed it at Nagini and the remaining guards, "Chain Lightning, (Lesser)!!"

The boy was launched backward as a jolt of electricity surged forward.

The remaining guards twitched and convulsed, falling to the ground. Taree had leapt deftly out of the way and Vivienne had hid behind cover.

Nagini was hit, but flexed his muscles and continued to step forward. Tycon had taken a knee to the ground, lamenting Pale\'s terrible, horrible, cursed aim.

"Give up, Nagini!" Vivienne yelled from her hiding spot, "I\'ve already sent a Message spell to the City Watch! They\'ll be here any minute now!"

"Then they\'ll only find a DEAD MAN!!" Nagini smashed a kick at Tycon\'s fallen form, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

With a savage running kick, the snake warrior struck at Tycon, but he turned his body in order, tanking the hit in the gut, "Errgh."

"DIE WITHOUT A FULL CORPSSSSE!!" Nagini raised his wicked sword up to the ceiling.

"Seven hells," Tycon swiped his sword up in an arc.

Slowly struggling, Tycon stood up and resheathed his sword. He glanced at the chaotic state of the Royal Robe, "Tss. Plan C! Fiddle!"

Vivienne was distracted, staring at the standing, motionless Nagini.

Pale took the opportunity to run to Taree. He grabbed her hand and the two escaped through a broken window.

Tycon took off his helmet, letting it fall to the ground, as his green hair flowed from the outside breeze through the broken windows. He placed his sword and crossbow to the ground and kicked them away before raising both of his hands into the air.

Vivienne stood up and approached him curiously and cautiously, "Sir Tycon?"

Blood began to spray in a pink mist from Nagini\'s throat as the tall dark-skinned man collapsed to his knees and to the floor.

Tycon smiled in embarrassment at Vivienne, "I surrender?"

...

"Wh-why are we running, Pale?" Taree sprinted alongside her spearman friend. She was glad Boss bought her the higher-quality maid outfit. Any of the normal ones would have torn under the stress of her run.

Pale turned down an alleyway, climbed up a fence, leapt up and kicked a wall to climb onto the roof. Taree followed with ease.

Pale placed a long ear against the building stone, so Taree held her breath and remained motionless.

After waiting several moments, he relaxed, taking a deep breath.

"Plan C is to run. So we ran," Pale shrugged.

"But... there was still that snake guy?" Taree shook Pale lightly. She was winded, as well, but still worried.

Pale shook his head, frowning, "Sir Tycon will be fine. He gave the order for plan checkerboard-- attack to disable, and not to kill. So he probably had us escape in case he needed to use lethal force."

Taree pouted, "But do you think he\'ll be okay even after you hit him with lightning?"

Pale collapsed, pressing his forehead against the ground. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.

"Pale? Are... are you okay?" Taree pulled at his robe.

"Yeah... Y-yeah, I just... had a bad feeling." Pale sat up, trying not to cry.

"So what happens now?"

"Well," Pale crossed his legs and held his chin, "Sir Tycon said to find... the fiddle?"

Taree tilted her head with a smile, "Teehee! I know where to go. Follow me."