A Knight in Squishy Armor

"D-Doooooon't!"

The voice directs not just your attention, but Valentina's as well. For such a dire moment, it appears neither of you expected an interruption. You both suffer a look of confusion when glancing simultaneously to the room's entrance, in which a lone figure stands. A stout, short one actually. "D-Don't hurt her! You...st-stop that right now...!" A quaking soft voice demands apparently out of a doughy green pucker for a mouth, in which you immediately recognize the shortstack. It was the Caterpie from the guard lobby. While unintimidating, you avoided him all the same, and with some ease in fact. It was only until you were seen by Valentina that you took such a direct attention to the noise you were making. A quick glance to the wall you had slammed the Ariados to reveals the amount of sound you likely boomed from the door. You just alerted the guards...or at least...this one guard, if you were to call him that.

To call him a portly fellow was putting it mildly. His round cream-colored tummy swells and deflates, but the latter part hardly diminishes its rotundness. He was huffing, likely from hurrying to the room alerting him to danger, despite it being just down a hall for him. He was tuckered from just that bare moment of a jaunt? Were it not from the fear of the moment, he likely would've had drooped eyes. Instead, full golden dinner plates gaze upon you with the trepidation that a mere word out of your mouth was going to kill him. His eyes were far larger than your own as a Caterpie, and they had nothing but fear towards you. Clutched as either his weapon to attack you with, or as an excuse of a shield for any safeguarded hope, a wooden staff with a rock wrapped in leather at its peak as a makeshift mace. However, the thing was taller than his short size, meaning he couldn't wield it all that well.

Still, he aims it forward like a spear as he swallows the panic in his throat to join his absurd belly. "By uh, by the decree of the Golden Hive...you are under arrest for trespassing! And uhm, uh, and for **** against Trapsmith Valentina...! S-So you better surrender now..."

You were too dumbstruck by the display that your lifted paw hadn't even settled back down. With your hesitation, a wet sear sounds out. A tether of silk ropes out from Valentina's spinneret, latching onto the doorframe next to the Caterpie before whisking the spider along the floor. You grunt and stomp your paw down hoping to catch her in time, but the Ariados succeeded in taking the moment's advantage and flees too quickly, forcing your pads to miss and strike the wax between her open legs. You watch on as her body skids in a slingshot along the floor before colliding against the doorframe clumsily; her saving grace attempt not intended to be graceful, but definitely safety ensuring.

A snarl escapes your lips in missing out on such a definitive chance. Now she was all the way across the room, and with 'help' if you wanted to call it such. Valentina in the meantime grips at the frame to aid herself up, but the Caterpie by her offers his own fingerless palm to her. "Are you okay, Trapsmith Valentina? I-I know I'm not allowed in your workshop, but when I heard something crash, I assumed you hu-" The soft and gentle gesture is swatted away as she snarls down at him.

Her tall height rises and completely towers over the shortstack, leering with great disdain in spite of his efforts to help. Valentina's voice shows a greater frustration than your own. "Do not touch me, Guardsman Bertie! Or should I even call you of that title after allowing this mammal to intrude this room in the first place? Your failure today nearly had my life taken underfoot by that awful creature."

Bertie, as he's called, cowers more from the spider of his own ilk than of you now, gripping both hands to the staff for daring to help her up and trembling behind it as if the thin pole could hide his round width.

"S-Sorry! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't see anybody, I swear!" Bertie proclaims with pinched shut eyes and a shiver that just wobbles his soft, doughy hide. "Pl-Please, go while you can! You look injured my lady; I'll...I-I'll..." He opens his eyes towards you, being the problem in the room still, in which he pivots a firm stance in front of the Ariados to protect her. His staff aims ahead, hiding his fear poorly, but endeavoring to do so all the same, even if she didn't reward him for it. "...I will protect you! S-So uh...go somewhere safe and alert the others that there's an invader here, and I'll umh, hoh boy, I'll hold him off!"

It was a brave call to say that he could defend her from you, even if she's the one who picked the fight. You just wanted to get out of here with your friends, with the hope of getting other innocents out too and stopping the tyrant queen from raising any more maniacs; Jackal and Gold take priority though.

A puff of azure embers billow out from your lips as you do not take an aggressive stance. Her alerting any others of your escape would throw your efforts out in vain. It may make reaching the queen impossible, and the fate of your two companions in her hands. That would be rash. A bead of sweat runs its course down your head at the thought. Was this it? Were you all doomed because of getting caught before meeting up with your only hope?

Valentina doesn't budge either. If anything, she looks as concerned as you do too now. Her mouth heaves for air, but in her mind, she had no relief. Saved? Her? Trapsmith Valentina being rescued by this excuse of a guard, after failing to capture the prey for herself? She would be a mockery of the Golden Hive. She could lose her title. She could lose her Queen, in which the glory would go unto this fat wad of caterpillar chub. It only intensifies her anger as her fingers rake the doorframe she uses as leverage; a stomp of her hind cracks the floor to chalk up while her body swerves to better face you at the opposite end of the room. "No! No...he has...tarnished this room enough. I will defeat him here and now, after you interrupted my perfect trap I had laid out for him!"

You scoff. Now you see her game from your end. Her pride kept her in the room, and because of it, you see a second chance to beat her once and for all. You flex your fingers and prepare a proper sphere of aura between your palms to build, ensuring if Bertie tried to run, he'd be the first to torch. The Caterpie gulps loudly, almost daring a step back...but he braces himself forward all the same, ready at the defense. "Th-Then...I'll be your support, m'lady! Please let me fix what I messed up, and I promise we can stop this guy..."

He fell for her excuse without so much as a blink from his face. You couldn't blame him entirely, if he was a pushover in looks and prowess. Still, your fight was with her, and even with her body fatigued from your last strike, she was still standing and still a danger. You'd consider the fight an unfair two versus one, but Bertie didn't concern you nearly as much. Both you and Valentina feel the aches of your battle get to you however, making this a challenge no matter what.

The Ariados appears to have conniptions on allowing the Caterpie participate at all; the smart thing to do is to let him alert others in the first place, yet her pride gets in the way of that as well. Alone, you nearly defeated her. If she were alone again, even briefly, you may deliver that decisive struck you were robbed of earlier. The Trapsmith did not want to risk that end, and simply uses her leg to shove the Caterpie's back to stumble Bertie forward, "Then deal with him already!"

"Whau--!" Bertie staggers heavily, almost tripping up and rolling over, but he keeps the momentum and just runs forward towards you. He raises his weapon on-high and huffs, "D-Don't resist arrest! Y-Yaaahh!"

You grunt with some dismay. He just charges you directly, right in the path of your readied Aura Sphere, whether he knew you could just blow him away instantly. You were certainly going to, but you see Valentina weave off to the left, going for your flank. Your eyes dart back to the oncoming Bertie and foresee an issue. You could waste the powerful amount of aura by launching it at him, but he was absurdly close that the explosion could send you back some. Perhaps nothing too damaging, but it'd likely create the opening Valentina would want thanks to the sacrifice of her Caterpie knight.

A disapproving noise growls out of your throat when dissipating the sphere and retain most of the aura into your arms, keeping a flaming glow to them as the Caterpie launches his obvious attack. He swings an overhead of his stone weapon, only to see it thud to the wax floor when you simply sidestep out of the way of such a sluggish attack. Your leg retracts and delivers a swift kick to his cheek, sending the fat bug off and away. "Whuh...? Hlghk!" The caterpillar literally rolls out of view as you direct yourself the oncoming spider banshee. The Ariados comes at you with the carving knife she had been using to cut the food for her 'willing' patrons. She must have whisked it in her flanking dash.

"You will not...win...this...day, dog!" The spider screeches when sweeping the small blade about; your figure having to quickly backstep and evade the swipes. Your eyes follow her arm, away from her crazed eyes and instead zero in on her momentum. Wide arcs slash by, daring to at least cut your fur but miss with your leans, steps, and pivots. Her fury was blind, but you await a specific gesture that finally comes--her arm hooking up and behind her shoulder harshly. Knowing how she'll swing, you finally bring up your flaming hand as she instinctively makes a chopping motion with the knife. Her effort to slash you is met with the sudden hot grip of her forearm in a thudding catch. You restrain her midswing and launch your free fist directly into her stomach. The spider lurches over forward in a stricken expression of surprise, coughing spittle from her mouth as you drill the fiery fist in firmly, twisting it as a launch. You chip just the under her jawline when arcing it upwards, arcing her entire body up and over backwards. She smashes the ground in a stream of blue embers and a soot patch left to her slim abdomen, crashed onto back out flat. Her legs curl up in the gesture, but in a surprising show of ****, she leans up forward and spits a sudden projectile.

The fast dart, you cannot avoid, and feel it prick right into your shoulder even as you attempt to quick-lean away. The sharp sensation certainly hurts, but it was a far less problem than he other attacks.

Though as you pop the pin out and toss it aside, you find your hand to sluggishly fumble it. A sharper sensation surges in your arm and collarbone, in which you smear the wounded dot to see a smear of purple trail at your large finger. Poison. More of it after she already clawed your back. You managed to hold your own before, but now with a proper injection, it only added to the ache of your back, now assaulting your shoulder and left arm.

"Gch...you don't know when to quit." You utter and keep at least your right fist ignited.

Valentina pries her legs apart to aim her spider-abdomen up and spit a tether at the ceiling, acting as a lifeline for her hands to reach and grasp, pulling herself up to a spindled stand. "And you, mutt, don't know your place." She hisses.

You could say the same for her, just as Bertie from behind charges again--staff raised up high again and yelling. Without even a glance, you simply kick your leg behind you, thudding the paw directly into his belly to cushion the blow in a wide squash, but it sends him right onto his back. "Gwuh!"

Your pads meet the floor again, and once more, you are at a stand-off with Valentina. As much as you would've liked to have just charged her, your handicap of an injured leg and a now poisoned arm convince you to play things safer and plan your next maneuver...