Once Upon A Time... (EddMatt)

Confrontation

Matt couldn't stop his hands from shaking. This was probably the most dangerous thing he had ever done, but even though the prince was scared, he forced himself to be brave. Matt would do anything to get his beloved Edd back.

Their little ragtag group had decided to suit up, and prepare for attack. Patryk told them that he had seen Edd with Tom, and assumed they went back to Edd's room. But when he found out that they hadn't come back at all, the former soldier knew that there was only one other place Tom would have taken him.

At first, Matt was extremely confused. Tom was part of some huge secret organization? And he was one of its leaders? Jon and Edwardo had a easier time accepting the truth, seeing as they barely knew Tom. Jon had been very young when Tom was Matt's guard, and Edwardo hadn't even been hired yet.

Needless to say, It took Matt a lot longer to process the information.

And now here they were, sneaking up on the headquarters of one of the most elite forces in the kingdom. Patryk had led them to a back door and was about to break it down, when Matt stopped him. If there was one thing Patryk didn't have when he was panicked, it was subtly.

"Here." Matt whispered. "Let me."

The prince reached up into his hair and grabbed one of the many bobby pins from it. He slid the pin into the lock and began to work his magic. A small click let him know that the deed was done.

Matt smiled back at the rest of his team. Both Patryk and Edwardo seemed mildly impressed, while Jon was looking at him like he was the coolest thing in the universe.

"Nice." Patryk complimented, patting Matt on the shoulder. Edwardo just gave him a small nod as he and Jon followed Patryk through the now open door.

Once Matt stepped inside, he had to stop himself from almost hyperventilating. The walls of the room they had enter into were covered floor to ceiling in sharp weapons and other dangerous looking objects. He glanced over at Jon to make sure he was ok, and saw him clinging to Edwardo's arm. In that moment, Matt really regretting bringing the younger prince.

"This way." Patryk whispered, motioning at them with his hand. "The prisons are in this direction."

Matt could tell that Patryk was nervous, probably because Paul's life was on the line, but he hid it very well. Unlike Matt who was shaking like a leaf the whole time.

The small group began to creep their way through the base, only pausing to wait for guards to move out of the way... But something seemed off.

Matt knew that there was something wrong, but he kept his mouth shut. This place was supposed to be home to an elite group of highly trained soldiers. How were they, two princes, an angry knight, and a former soldier, sneaking into it without raising any kind of suspicion?

Matt shouldn't have mentioned it, because right at that moment, Patryk had bumped into a very intimidating looking woman with blue hair and tons of tattoos. A man with messy orange hair and an eye patch stepped out from behind her, an amused smile on his face.

"Welcome to the base gentleman." The man spoke. His words gave Matt chills, almost as if four separate voices were overlaid to create his. "Red Leader has been expecting you, although I must say you're a bit early."

Matt's gaze shifted nervously between the two of them. He felt Jon scoot a bit closer.

"But that's ok." The woman said harshly, as if she talked that way all the time. A small smile appeared on her face. "Because either way, we'll rip all of you limb from limb."

Matt gasped as the woman let out some kind of battle cry and pulled out a sword, charging Edwardo. He quickly drew his own sword and raised it, ready to fight.

"MATT! WATCH OUT!!" Was all Matt heard Patryk shout as he flew back into the wall. Pain blossomed in his head where is had bounced off the stone wall. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get rid of the fuzziness in his eyesight. It went away just in time for Matt to look up and see the orange haired man standing over him.

"Stay back!" Matt cried, clutching his sword.

The man just chuckled an placed a hand on his eye patch, flicking it up to reveal nothing underneath. Instead of an eye, his socket was completely black and hollow, almost like Tom's in a way. All Matt could do was gasp.

The man suddenly spun, blocking a surprise attack from Patryk with his sword. Matt quickly kicked him in the shin as the man let out a curse, and scrambled up next to Patryk.

"Please Redd. I don't want to fight you." Patryk pleaded.

"Too bad." Redd growled, swinging at the both of them. Matt barely ducked it in time. "You made your decision when you picked them over us."

"I'm sorry it had to come to this." Patryk replied, slightly bowing his head.

Redd lunged at Patryk, and he blocked, shoving him backwards into the wall. Matt could only watch in amazement as the two men fought, Patryk slowly but surely gaining the upper hand. He fought the urge to cheer when Redd slumped onto the ground, unconscious. He was about to congratulate Patryk on the win, but stopped himself upon seeing his face.

Matt let Patryk have a bit of alone time, as he rushed over to where Edwardo and Jon were just finishing off the scary lady. Apparently, Jon had jumped on her like some kind of squirrel and hung on for dear life, throwing an occasional punch or kick in there. Edwardo had landed a few precise hits while she was distracted and they eventually took her down. Apparently she was all talk, no action.

"I'm actually really impressed." Matt stated, smiling down at his brother.

"Really!?" Jon had stars in his eyes.

"Yep! Who knew you could fight so well?" Matt replied, ruffling his little brother's hair.

"At least he's not dead." Edwardo grunted, crossing his arms.

Matt just rolled his eyes as Jon began to scold Edwardo for being so rude. He walked over to Patryk, who was wiping some leftover blood from his mouth.

"You ok?" Matt asked, trying to approach him carefully.

"I'll be fine." Patryk replied, staring at something in the distance. He shook his head and turned to look at Matt. "We should get going."

"Alright." Matt nodded and motioned at the other two to get going. "Let's go save our friends."

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I am back! I just wanted to thank everyone for the love and support I've been shown. Thanks for reading! 😄