Chapter Fifty-Six: Domestic Disputes

"You're joking right?" Sunny gasped.

"Nope."

"You mean the March Hill Crusaders are back?!" Sam yelped.

"Yup."

"And they're trying to take over the Council?" Daniel looked concerned.

"Absolutely."

"And REVOLVER and MARION saved your necks?!" TJ couldn't believe it.

"Believe it."

Chuckles and Giggles had returned to the hideout at the tip, and were instantly swamped by the Knights of the Last Order (minus Webster, who was still snotty with them).

"This is bad." Tammy sat back, thinking hard.

"You think? You wouldn't believe what they have. They have the Mystic Eight Gun and the Dragon Scale Scythe, which are like the nastier versions of the Lucky Seven and the Lions Claw." Chuckles pulled off his bandanas, becoming Charlie Begly again.

"The whatta?" Petunia asked.

"I didn't get it either." Belle shrugged off her Backpack. "Charlie knows more than me."

"I found out when I was in Awesomica that the Lucky Seven and the Lions Claw had cousins." Charlie went on to explain. "I ran into the guys who had the slightly inferior versions if you will - the Palatable Six Gun and the Stingrays Tail Whip. I guess that means there's more of those weapons out there."

"Hmmm..." Belle began to think. "I think I might have read about something like that in one of my history books."

"Are we going to hear about it all day every day for the next month?" Charlie asked dryly.

Luckily for him, Belle is too short to strangle him. Unfortunately, she could still kick his shins.

--

The March Hill Crusaders were back with a vengence. Over the next month they raided every bank in the city, attacked the school, robbed each of the shopping centres and antagonised the Death Valley Mobsters at every opportunity. Between the crimes and the gang-war, Chuckles, Giggles and the Noble Knights of the Last Order found themselves exceptionally busy.

"This is insane. I seriously don't know who I am some days!" Belle complained to her father. "Yesterday we helped the Crusaders stop the Mobsters from stealing some valuable paintings that were being transported through town, but the day before we were helped by the Mobsters to stop the Crusaders from killing the City Counsellors!"

"Be grateful none of the other crime families have come back." Peter said dryly. "I'm as confused as you are."

"At least there's no chance of them teaming up together, there's a LOT of bad blood between them; Master Revolver hates Crusader Mark with a passion, and Mobster Marion isn't that fond of Crusader Roger. I haven't even started with how much trouble Demon and Ruby are causing." Belle was slumped back on the couch next to her father, who was also exhausted.

"The return of the Crusaders has seen a spike in my work." Peter groaned. "I haven't had this much work since before the Mob and the DVG merged."

"Hey, you're just prosecuting, I'm prosecuting AND protecting the city!" Belle poked her father in the ribs.

"Well I'm prosecuting AND taking care of your scrawny arse!" Peter tickled her back, and the pair laughed.

Just then, Maddy walked in with Tate. She looked upset and Tate looked ropeable.

"Is Lara around?" Maddy asked.

"What happened?" Peter asked as Belle went to hug her friend.

"Webster happened. We had a fight. A really big one." Maddy began to cry. Belle sighed.

"Was it about you-know-who again?" She asked.

Maddy nodded. "He refuses to hear even the slightest bad thing about her, and if I try to talk about us he shuts down."

"This is getting beyond a joke." Peter shot up the stairs to get his wife, while Belle tried to comfort Maddy and the young Tate, who was still too young to understand what was going on, and what her namesake had done.

"Hey Tate, you wanna come and see my new scooter?" Ozzie came flying back down the stairs. Belle could have hugged him.

"Sure." Tate ran off after her older friend.

"I have the best little brother in the world." Belle grinned at Maddy, who smiled back.

"I have two older sisters and three younger brothers. They drive me insane." She tried to laugh. Soon Lara was downstairs and the three were digging into a bowl of ice cream together.

--

"THRUST! PARRY! THRUST! PARRY!" Yelled Daniel.

"I really don't think this is how swordfighting works." Sunny watched as TJ and Sam thrusted and parried respectively at the tip.

"I KNOW this isn't how swordfighting works!" Webster rolled his eyes. "You ever see Charlie restorting to this sort of tomfoolerly?"

"You are SERIOUSLY starting to get on my nerves." Petunia scowled.

"I honestly don't know how you guys aren't dead yet. Your weapons and armour are seriously flimsy and outdated, you have ZERO training and you don't take it seriously at all!" Webster groaned.

"We learned on the job. Best sort of training there is!" Tammy fired.

"We DO take it seriously, we just know how to have a laugh at ourselves!" TJ snapped.

"And our weapons have served us well thus far, why mess with the classics?" Sunny finished.

"No wonder Belle gets exasperated with you lot." Webster shook his head.

"At least she has a sense of humour." TJ frowned.

"Why do you even bother with us if you think we're so inferior?" Daniel threw himself up to his full height, which rivaled Charlie. "There's nothing forcing you to join us, you could easily do what Izzy and Lizzy did and form your own crime-fighting group."

"Because I thought you guys knew what you were doing! Instead, you're constantly getting your backsides handed to you requiring Belle and Charlie to come flying in to the rescue!" Webster groaned.

"Not entirely true, there's been plenty of occassions when we've jumped in to save their skins!" Daniel told him. "And we're the ones who kept this city safe while they were on hiatus!"

"And you did a brilliant job at that." Webster muttered.

"What's going on here?" They jumped at a voice coming from behind a pile of rubbish.

"Just this idiot being...well...an idiot." Daniel scowled at Webster, who sneered back as Belle and Charlie joined the fray.

"I wouldn't push your luck, Maddy told us what you said to her - telling her she's not your best friend and never will be was a low blow." Charlie frowned at Webster. "You seriously suck as a boyfriend."

"And this all because I won't marry her?!" Webster bit back, his face beginning to colour with rage.

"NO, because you're an absolute prick to her! How come you keep bringing up Tate? Didn't Pleasantville University get destroyed because YOU chose Maddy over Tate?!" Belle immediately launched into an offensive (well, the Masters Code does stipulate that a Masters shouldn't hold back). "Surely you would think that you loved Maddy enough that you wouldn't need to bring Tate up again every five seconds!"

Webster let out a low growl. They didn't understand. Tate had been more than just his friend, she had been...

"You don't know anything, so quit acting like you do. You're all still just kids." Webster turned on his heel and made to leave. Belle made to go after him, when her phone rang.

"You're joking right?" She said as Bill politely informed her that there was ANOTHER gang war going on over Lake Pleasant. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Got ya. Love you too!"

"Another turf war?" Sunny groaned as Belle hung up the phone. "Why don't we just leave them at it?"

"We try to, unfortunately they tend to pick battlegrounds where there's a wealth of civilians around for them to kill and injure." Belle shrugged off her rucksack and pulled out her Giggles attire. "Are you going to join us or are you sulking?" She scowled at Webster.

"I'm coming." Webster scowled back, getting his Sir Hedgehog gear out of his bag.

"Well, it's nice to know that we'll have team unity on our side." Charlie joked as he clipped on the Arm Scythes.

--

"Why is it when ever there's a turf war I seem to get caught dead in the middle of it?!" Peter Masters whined as a battle raged in the streets around him. He, Lara and Maddy were hidden under a market stall near the shores of Lake Pleasant.

"Chuckles and Giggles should be here soon." Lara said hopefully.

Maddy looked down. If Chuckles and Giggles were coming, then it meant the Knights of the Last Order would be with them.

Webster would be with them.

Chapter Fifty-Five: Rise of the Crusaders

It was time. A time for long-held rivalries to be renewed. A time for long-forgotten battles to be re-fought. A time for old wounds to be re-opened.

"THAT WAS SO NOT OUT YOU CHEATERS!"

It was time for a game of cricket.

"Earth to morons, if you don't want to be run out, stay in your crease!" Sunny snapped at an irate Daniel.

"I WAS in my crease thank you, I was MILES inside my crease!" Daniel yelled back.

"Not from where I'm standing." Petunia piped up. "You were no where near it!"

"It was a run out fair and square!" Belle agreed.

"Of course YOU'D say that!" TJ glowered.

"What are you accusing us of?" Belle fumed.

"You're cheaters, plain and square!" Charlie stalked over from his wicket, throwing down his bat.

"Them's fighting words!" Sunny prepared for an altercation.

"You're on!"

"Are you guys seriously going to get into fisticuffs over a stupid game of cricket?" Webster looked amused at his younger friends.

"YES." Was the resounding reply.

"It's great to see that maturity is a pre-requisite for joining the Last Order." Webster rolled his eyes.

"Well go home then if you're too good for us!" Sam folded his arms. "Maddy says you haven't been around much anyway."

"And what would you know?" Webster frowned at the younger man.

"I might be going through a teaching degree and trying to save the city, but I can still make time for my friends and family." Sam replied snarkily.

"Sam has a point." Sunny agreed. "Patrick and I have a great relationship, we're even getting properly married in autumn."

"And we're going to be the bridesmaids!" Belle, Petunia and Tammy started dancing happily.

"So this is what this is about. You think I should give in and marry Maddy." Webster scowled.

"Mate, we just want you to start being a family with her again!" Charlie groaned. "It's been nearly five years since Tate was born-,"

"Don't." Webster snapped. Belle rolled her eyes.

"You are NOT still wrapped up over that petty criminal you used to call a best friend, are you?" She asked.

"Tate wasn't a petty criminal!" Webster was now fired up. He narrowed his eyes at Belle.

"Easy mate, Belle has a point!" TJ pointed out. "Sure she might have done a few good things, but that doesn't make up for the fact that she went completely psycho and tried to kill a University worth of people."

"She had a few issues but there was nothing that couldn't be fixed!" Webster protested.

"Why are you still protecting her? It's not like you loved her." Tammy said.

Webster grimmaced, before turning on his heel and storming off.

"I really don't know why he decided to join the Last Order, he really doesn't get along with us at all." Daniel frowned.

"He probably thought we were all scholars like Belle." Charlie rolled his eyes.

"It wouldn't hurt you guys to follow my example every once in a while." Belle narrowed her eyes at him.

"He'll figure it out." Sunny shrugged. "I know Patrick and I had a lot of issues when we first had Melody. Trying to balance being a Knight and a parent is hard work, and it took us the best part of a year to sort it out."

"Yeah, we remember." TJ smirked.

"Anyway, let's just ease off him for a while." Sunny continued. "He's only been a Knight for what, six months? Give it some time."

"I agree. Webster gets in moods sometimes." Belle added. "I lived with him and Maddy for four years, trust me, I know."

"If you say so." Petunia shrugged. "Now are you boys going to bowl or what?"

"THAT WAS NOT OUT!"

--

"WHY HASN'T HE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM YET?!" Mobster Marion wailed.

"Will you stop it already?!" Daryl Jones groaned, sitting at his fathers desk, feet resting next to the monitor. "I don't know why your stupid boyfriend won't propose."

Mobster Marion pouted and flopped onto the sofa. "Where's your father anyway? My best henchmen are in prison and I want them out."

"He's busy at the moment with a few of his other projects." Daryl checked his phone.

"You're an absolute brat, you know that don't you?" Mobster Marion scowled at the younger Jones. "Tell Arnold when he gets in that I want to see him."

"Toodles." Daryl waved half-heartedly as Mobster Marion stormed out in a huff. He continued playing with his phone, not paying attention to anything that went on around him.
Suddenly, he felt a knife at his throat.

"Hello Daryl. You're giving the Ruby Suit to us." Said a voice behind him.

"Oh am I just?" Daryl grinned lazily. "You really think I'm scared of a  little knife at my throat when I've been on the wrong end of the Lions Claw Blade?"

"Given the Lions Claw is currently wielded by a simpering idiot, I think you should be paying the knife at your throat a bit more respect." The voice said, a note of anger coming through.

"I recognise you from somewhere...ah yes. When Marion tried to blow up the theatre, you declared her a psycho and left the Death Valley Mob." Daryl spun around in the chair, his foot narrowly missing his assailant.

"My name is Mark if you must know. Crusader Mark, to be more precise." The man stood up at full height, knife still pointed in Daryls direction.

"Crusader?" Daryl looked confused.

"You would be too young to know of the March Hill Crusaders, they've been underground since before your father was born." Crusader Mark told him. "We used to rule Pleasantville until the Mobsters of Misneach got too strong."

"And now you want your throne back?" Daryl smirked.

"If you don't mind." Crusader Mark smirked back.

"And you thought my father would give a damn if I was killed?" Daryl rolled his eyes.

"We just want the Ruby Suit. It's a powerful weapon, and too potent to be left in the hands of a moron like you." Crusader Mark told the young man in front of him.

"If you think insulting me is going to get me to hand it over, then you're wrong." Daryl put his feet back up on the desk. "Besides, I don't have it here."

"Liar." Crusader Mark pulled out a large revolver. Daryls eyes widened.

"Is that the Lucky Seven Gun?!" He asked warily. "How'd you get it off Giggles?"

"It is NOT the Lucky Seven Gun, as nice as it would be to have it. No, this is the cousin of the Lucky Seven, the Mystic Eight Gun. There are seven guns in total, each with a weapon of some sort as a brother." Crusader Mark rolled his eyes. "For example, the Lucky Seven and the Lions Claw are brothers. The Trinity Three and the Tigers Tooth Scimitar are another set, as are the Palatable Six and the Stingrays Tail Whip."

"So what's the brother of that one?" Daryl couldn't help but ask.

"Never you mind. The Ruby Suit please?" Crusader Mark cocked the gun. "I won't ask again."

"Nope." Daryl replied.

"Fine. You die then." Crusader Mark prepared to fire the Mystic Eight Gun.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Mark."

Crusader Mark groaned. Standing at the door was Demon Jones with a small posse of Emerald Mobsters.

"Who are you with?" Demon Jones glared at Crusader Mark.

"I've gone through enough exposition with your son, I'm sure he can fill you in later during a timeskip." Crusader Mark replied.

"Lazy." Demon Jones scowled. "Get out of my office."

"Hmmm...I think not." Crusader Mark smiled. "I quite like it in here."

"You're completely outnumbered and outmatched; what makes you so certain you're going to get out of here alive?" Daryl glared at his attacker.

"You REALLY think I came in here alone?" Crusader Mark began to laugh. "I have Crusaders throughout the building, there's no way I'm leaving without the Ruby Suit."

"And I told you, I don't have it here. Even if I did, you'd never be able to get it off me." Daryl replied coldly.

"So be it." Crusader Mark pointed the Mystic Eight Gun at Daryls head. "Good-bye Daryl."

Daryl flinched as a gunshot rang throughout the room. Crusader Mark screamed.

"It's YOU!" He pointed at the now broken window, his other arm now dripping with blood.

"Yeah, it's me. You're lucky I know people who work here Demon, otherwise Daryl was a goner." Standing in the broken window frame stood Giggles. "It seems the March Hill Crusaders have taken over the building."

"Well, I never. Giggles coming to save little old me." Daryl sneered at Giggles, who replied by flipping him the bird.

"I'm here to make sure no one gets killed." She aimed the Lucky Seven Gun at Crusader Mark.

"Oh really?" Crusader Mark aimed the Mystic Eight Gun back.

Downstairs, Peter Masters was hiding under his desk as Crusader Roger stood with the Dragons Scale Scythe against Chuckles and the Lions Claw Blade.

"So you're the ones who murdered all those people over 90 years ago." Chuckles glared at Crusader Roger.

"That was my great-grandfather." Crusader Roger said proudly. "It wasn't like YOUR little 'protest' last year where you all escaped. WE made sure that Damon and Pythias didn't live to continue to cause trouble."

Chuckles growled angrily. His hands gripped the Lions Claw Blade tightly.

"You're out of your league Chuckles. Why don't you just drop your weapon and scurry off home where you belong?" Crusader Roger continued. "I might even be inclined to let you live if you do."

Chuckles ran at the Crusader and swung at him with the Lions Claw Blade, but it was blocked by the blade of the Dragons Scale Scythe. "I'll never surrender, I'll fight until the end."

"How cute." With the slightest of movements, Crusader Roger blocked another blow from the Lions Claw Blade. "I'm sure your bravery will be remembered...for a little while."

Chuckles continued to try and get a blow in, but Crusader Roger was far too smart and strong. Upstairs, Giggles was having the same problems with Crusader Mark.

"If you could actually HELP that'd be great!" She snapped at Demon Jones, who shrugged and continued to polish his boomerang.

"I'm too busy enjoying the show." Was the reply.

Giggles cartwheeled out of the way of another bullet. The Mystic Eight Gun seemed so much more potent than its smaller cousin, it might have been completely psychological but Giggles was hopelessly outclassed.

"And THIS is why you don't take on those who are better than you!" Said a voice that Giggles could scarcely believe was coming to her rescue.

"Master Revolver?!" She yelped.

"Marion!" Chuckles cried as Mobster Marion blocked a deadly blow from the Dragons Scale Scythe with her sword downstairs.

"You're out of your league kiddo, get your little buddy upstairs and get out." Mobster Marion warned, an iciness to her voice that Chuckles had never heard before. "My forefathers wiped these punks off the map and I intend to do the same."

Chuckles stepped back. He didn't want to hand this fight over to his sworn enemies but it didn't seem like he had a choice.

"You've done what you've needed, you've saved the innocents, now GET OUT." Master Revolver growled at Giggles. "This isn't your fight."

Giggles groaned, but she knew he was right. She quickly flew out of the building and tapped on one of the downstairs windows. Chuckles motioned to Peter and the other Council Workers.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He said. They all rushed out of the doors, where Giggles grabbed Chuckles and they flew off to the tip.