Knight Saber: The Adventures of Carter Holt #1

QB1 Publishing

Proudly Presents

Issue 1: "The Sword is Drawn"

Written by Marc Quill

---

University grad Carter Holt, all-around swell guy and endless dreamer (that's me!), got himself involved in some really dangerous business and died heroically protecting his friends Shal Coleman and Deb Zacchiareli from these evil space mercenaries called Red Aegis.

Then our dashing genius was miraculously brought back to life thanks to his grandpa Thomas's prized heirloom that's actually the robotic squire to a legendary cosmic hero called the Knight Saber. Crazy, huh?

Indeed I am.

You're saying that you're crazy, Kay? Also, what are you doing on my recap of Issue Zero? Need I remind you whose name is in the title of this series?

Just providing you some needed backup, Sir Carter Tristan Holt, as a loyal squire should.

I thought I told you to just call me "Carter".... Okay, anyway... as the new Knight Saber, that brave dreamer Carter Holt took up the sword that his Grandpa Thom left for him. Then he fought Red Aegis and sent them running with his awesome new moves and powerful V-Saber sword. That Echo Zero guy was no match for the Celestial Finish.

Not to mention the brilliant tactical prowess of the Saber's dutiful and brave squire.

Look, let's get to the first issue and see where the adventure takes us, alright?

---

Skycarrier Valor - The Approach to Avalon

The last few hours or so of Carter Holt's life were as unexpectedly tumultuous as they had ever been., yet the twenty-three year-old somehow found time to be at peace with himself through all this... 

"What the heck is Avalon?!" fretted Carter, who was very much not as at peace as he seemed to be a minute ago, especially as the reality of the situation started to dawn upon him.  

When Carter agreed to take up his grandfather's mantle as the newest Knight Saber, he certainly didn't expect to be abruptly shot into outer space en route to some sort of medieval castle in the stars that was presumably billions of lightyears away from Earth. That small wrinkle gave Carter a bit of a pause, but there really wasn't much he could do about it at this time. All he could really do was go with the flow, whether he wanted to or not.

"Sir Holt, Sir Holt... if you could just be patient..." Kay tried to keep his new liege calm. "I promise that everything shall be explained in a timely manner."

"I thought I told you to stop with the 'Sir Holt' stuff..." Carter threw up his hands in frustration as he tried to take some deep breaths to calm down. "Okay, okay... I'm just kind of a bit on edge, I don't mean to be so short-tempered. Don't hate me, please?"

"It's quite alright, Sir." Kay replied right away. "I understand that the past few hours or so has elicited a range of emotions within you, Sir Carter Tristan Holt. But I assure you, once we reach Avalon, everything will become quite clear."

"Let's hope so." Carter conceded with a lamentative sigh.

Carter never did react well to plans suddenly changing on him on such short notice, so getting used to potentially spending the rest of his life on some far off world maybe billions of lightyears away from Earth was a bit of a struggle for him, especially because it meant having to leave everyone and everything he knew behind.

While it was initially Carter's idea to leave Earth in order to protect Deb, Shal, and his family from danger, that didn't make the decision any easier for him -- especially when homesickness and a longing of being with his friends was starting to settle in for Carter.

Carter's anxiety shot up immensely as his mind lingered on the happy memories he had with his friends before everything for him got flipped upside down by this Knight Saber business. Idle memories of staying up way too late with Shal to study for exams at the last minute and long summer nights looking at the stars with Deb, sharing romantic poems and overtures with one another.

In a rare moment of vulnerability, Carter broke down and started to cry, tears of sorrow streaming freely from his eyes down across both his cheeks. The untenable situation that Carter was forced into seemed to have finally done a number on him emotionally. The initial excitement of accessing the powers of the Knight Saber gave way to endless tears, partially due to Carter missing his friends and partially because he felt bad about being such an emotional wreck. 

"It's quite alright to be feeling this way, Sir Carter Tristan Holt." Kay tried his best to comfort his liege. "It takes courage to feel these feelings that you are experiencing. It means you have the biggest and bravest heart of anyone I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. That's something you should be proud of, Sir Holt."

That bit of motivation from Kay was enough to pull Carter out of the anxiety attack he had been experiencing. The twenty-three year-old felt a bit of shame for letting his emotions get the best of him for an all-too brief moment, but hearing Kay's words of encouragement did help center Carter's emotional state back into some semblance of normalcy, which was more important than ever as the final destination of Avalon was in sight.

The Valor began making its final approach towards what appeared to be the Knight Saber's fortress known only as Avalon. This fortress looked like a castle complex situated right on top of a meteor, almost covering the width and length of the rock completely.

Avalon's exterior was a unique combination of a traditional medieval castle with futuristic elements complimenting the overall aesthetic. The battlements and rampart of the Avalon castle was lined with a rare metal known as Cobaltonium that made it virtually indestructible. At the center of the castle was the keep, marked with a banner that bore the Knight Saber's eight-point star styled as a coat of arms on a blue and gold banner. The keep, in matching with the rest of the medieval-future look, was sleek and also protected with Cobaltonium, which gave it a distinctive blue hue.

As the Knight Saber's advanced starship made its landing on an airstrip just outside the Avalon castle, Carter stepped out of the Valor right away and looked on in awe at the sight that had awaited him.

"My goodness..." Carter couldn't even begin to process this new environment he had been thrust into, remaining speechless while Kay hovered around him. Everything that had happened since his "rebirth" felt like a strange blur that all kind of blended together.

The drawbridge to the inner walls of Avalon opened, which allowed for Carter to finally enter the hallowed halls of the Knight Saber's fortress, but not before the young twenty-three year-old took one last gander at the infinite stars that covered the skies above Avalon.

Carter stopped right in front of the entrance of Avalon's keep, taking a deep breath as he glanced upwards to the large banner with the Knight Saber's symbol on it. That star emblem had become seemingly burned into Carter's memory as the importance of the legacy his Grandpa Thom left behind as the first Saber beginning to sink in.

"This... feels like home." Carter resounded to himself, feeling a sort of familiarity with Avalon even though he had only heard about it through his dad's stories of Grandpa Thom.

As a kid, Carter always seemed to be enamored by the idea of Avalon as a fortress of heroes, as it was the Knight Saber's home. Getting a chance to live out that fantasy was something that naturally impressed the young man. Carter walked into the Saber's keep and finally let himself be immersed in what Avalon truly represented.

The keep's great hall was massive, with its centerpiece being a large Knight Saber statue -- which gave Carter some serious deja vu to the "neural transfer" that Kay administered to him. The statue that Carter was looking at now was an exact match for the one that his mind had conjured up within the mindscape of Kay's neural transfer. Carter didn't want to dwell on it for too long, lest he be reminded of the unpleasant feelings of those strange, disturbing images of the Saber that invaded his mind during the transfer. (Carter endured these dark visions last ish in Knight Saber #0 -- MQ)

Carter made his way past the giant Saber statue and saw two sets of stairs leading towards an area that had mulltiple screens and computers, along with a square table right in the middle of it all. The young man ascended the left side of the stairs and made it to the very top.

Still mesmerized about the ground he now stood on, Carter took a look back at the landing that overlooked the great hall on the first floor. Above it was a skylight that was, of course, in the shape of the now-familiar eight-pointed star symbol of the Knight Saber.

"Impressive, isn't it, Sir Carter Tristan Holt?" Kay snuck up from behind his liege, hovering right next to his head. 

"Yeah... it sure is." Carter nodded in approval with an expression of contentment on his face. "Can't believe Grandpa Thom was a part of all this."

As his thoughts turned back to his grandfather once more, Carter couldn't help but let himself be swept up in a wave of emotions once more. That just came second nature with being so empathetic in spite of being a genius. The many stories about Grandpa Thom and the mysteries that surrounded his disappearance were things that never left Carter's thoughts completely. 

"We are presently approaching Albion's airspace at our current advance," Kay pointed out.

"Once we are directly over Albion, we can head down to survey your new surroundings, Sir Carter Tristan Holt."

"Though, I advise keeping a low profile, given the Throne of Albion's present consensus on the Knight Saber."

Carter seemed to be already on top of things as he rummaged through a chest filled with random clothing. He stopped to see some familiar initials on the chest: "T.H.", which Carter immediately recognized as standing for "Thomas Holt". This chest was Grandpa Thom's wardrobe chest that was inexplicably left behind in Avalon even long after his disappearance.

Once Carter found some clothes in Grandpa Thom's chest to wear, he looked like he was ready for a little field trip.

---

Enigma XenoTech Multiversal Headquarters - Planet Xenos

The so-called Multiversal Headquarters for Enigma XenoTech stood as a symbol of the corporation's excesses and vices in just about every facet of reality, being based on a formerly hospitable planet that was now deemed property of their corporation. That was quite evident in the planet being christened after its takeover as "Xenos", in reference to Enigma XenoTech itself.

Inside the Enigma headquarters' so-called Board Room stood a figure who wore a golden skull mask and an equally-gilded crown on his head. The figure wore a black robe with golden accents as he loomed ominously over the Board Room. This man was "The Baron", a ruthless tyrant and the current "Chief Executive Overlord" in charge of Enigma XenoTech. 

The Baron was surrounded by a group of armoured guards in matching golden armor with their helmets bearing a similar gold skull design as him. These guards stood silently while The Baron stood firm and looked out the window that overlooked the whole of Xenos itself.

The operatives of Red Aegis, Enigma's elite mercenary force, entered the Board Room at The Baron's behest and remained in formation. They had just returned after their mission on Earth turned topsy-turvy on the account of the return of the Knight Saber throwing a wrench in their plans.

"Echo Zero, you were given an assignment to return to me the Knight Saber's beacon," The Baron spoke as if there were many voices speaking as one. "And you failed in that mission."

"The Saber's return impeded our progress," Echo Zero defended himself. "His power was too much for me to deal with. It will not happen again."

"I did not come here to listen to your excuses," The Baron condescendling admonished the Red Aegis leader and his operatives. "The Saber has chosen to re-emerge from the shadows and he made you and your elite force look like a bunch of rank amateurs." 

"We must attain the powers of the Knight Saber. By any means necessary. Albion's Throne are amassing their legions soon and will seek the Saber's power for themselves. I cannot allow that. I will not allow that."

"Give me another chance to take on the Saber," Echo Zero demanded. "I will make sure that the victory he earned against me was nothing more but a fleeting glory."

The Baron, on the other hand, had other ideas for Echo Zero and his task force. Their failure to defeat the Knight Saber was still fresh on The Baron's mind, and he was ready to take care of the problem at hand on his own.

"You will do no such thing, Echo Zero." The Baron responded harshly. "Your inability to capture the Knight Saber armor has made me reconsider our approach."

"In order to attain the best results imaginable, it takes a corporate touch. And that is what I'm about to examplify for you."

The Baron gestured towards a gilded circular platform that had the Enigma XenoTech logo on its base. Within moments, the platform began to power on as it crackled in electricity for what seemed like forever. The Baron himself also was crackling in electricity, as he was drawing upon his own lifeforce to activate the platform.

As the platform began to power down, a strange figure appeared within it. This figure was a monster who resembled a centaur wearing gladiator armor, and whose head was a frightening skeleton with fiery red eyes.

"Behold, the Centaurion." The Baron introduced his latest creation. "The fiercest and most dangerous gladiator in existence. He will make short work of the Knight Saber should he show his face once again."

"In the meantime, though, I think it's time we sent a message to the Throne of Albion that Enigma XenoTech will always get what we want, one way or another."

---

Albion's Core - A Night on the Town

On the advice of Kay, Carter opted to take a walk around Albion's downtown area to better acclimate himself to his new environment, albeit with the caveat of maintaining as much of a low profile as possible. That meant rather than remaining in his drone form, Kay was transformed into his Saber Bracer form, being safely worn on Carter's wrists.

This downtown area, informally known as "The Core" amongst the locals of Albion, was where the culture and commerce of the colony of Albion lived and breathed. The streets were filled with market stalls that sold items ranging from ancient baubles, futuristic gizmos, and most especially, food.

It was evening in Albion, with the skies as clear as ever and stars beginning to shine over The Core, which made it feel all the more special for the citizens that were choosing to spend their evening downtown.

While it was Kay's idea in the first place to head out for a night on the town, it was completely Carter's own idea on how he wanted to be dressed for this occasion after going through his Grandpa Thom's wardrobe back at Avalon.

Carter wore a button-up grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows along with a non-descript blue vest, a look that Kay couldn't help but compare to something that Thomas Holt loved to wear when he wasn't out being the brave hero. Despite the change in most of what he wore, Carter opted to keep wearing his worn down white running shoes, mainly for comfort above all else.

As he traversed through Albion's downtown area, Carter couldn't help feel like a stranger in a strange land, because Albion was certainly a far cry from the modern urban jungle he once called home back in Toronto. One thing that didn't change, on the other hand, was just how busy the city could be, something that Carter was all-too familiar with.

Albion's buildings were mostly a hybrid of old-world medieval sensibilities combined with a futuristic touch as neon lights and digital facades littered these buildings. Albionites got around the city either by foot, hovercycles, or small cars that looked no bigger than a single cab.

The clothing that the denizens of Albion wore mirrored the unusual blend of medieval and futuristic aesthetics. Carter compared his own clothing to the random Albionites he happened to be just taking a small glance at. The difference was as stark as ever and it made Carter feel somewhat inadequate in his own mind.

On a large holographic billboard that directly overlooked the walkway, an advertisement for a news program called "Albion Tonight" promised news on the Knight Saber's return with the headline "THE SCOURGE RETURNED?" underneath. Carter was already fully aware on how the Throne of Albion perceived his new heroic alter ego, but he took it all in stride.

"You weren't kidding, Kay..." Carter held up his left wrist close to his mouth and spoke into his Bracer to communicate with his squire. "...this place really has it out for the Saber."

"My granddad was a hero, and yet there's many, many people who've been misled about him. And I'm not sure what I can do to change their minds."

"These things take time, Sir Carter Tristan Holt," Kay answered right back. "The people of Albion have been conditioned for a long time to believe that the Knight Saber is a threat to their way of life. It takes patience and a lot of hope in order for these people believe in the Saber as a force of good."

Carter did his best to fit into hustle and bustle of "The Core", but found himself kind of overwhelmed by it all, to the point where he was just left waving meekly at people passing him by. It felt like the first year of high school all over again for Carter, where he often felt like a very small fish in a very big pond, which was something that left him with a lot of mixed feelings. 

"Uh... hi? I'm, uh..." Carter could barely even properly introduce himself to a citizen of Albion dressed in a fancy green dress. "Oh, jeeze... "

Carter seemed to stumble with his words and looked nothing like his usual confident self as he was not handling talking to these Albion citizens as well as he had hoped.

The elegant Albionite and her friend just walked off, apparently chuckling to themselves at Carter's failure to talk to them properly.

"Sir Holt... you seem out of your element here." Kay couldn't help but have a bit of a laugh at his liege's inability to socialize. "I have to ask, have you ever spoken to a person of the opposite gender before?"

"Just... trying to get used to being in some weird futuristic medieval floating space city, that's all." Carter sheepishly tried to play it cool, to very little success. "God, Shal would never let me hear the end of it if he saw me now..."

"I'll let you have a moment to recollect yourself, Sir Holt." Kay concurred.

Still largely overwhelmed by The Core's massive size, Carter decided to just look around for a moment so he could find himself better acclimating to these new surroundings. He stood in place on the sidewalk and just let himself be lost in what The Core had to offer.

Carter’s concentration (or lack thereof) was interrupted when the sound of a crying child got his attention.

The young kid was in tears and looked unconsolable for whatever reason. Of course, that didn't stop Carter from trying to empathize with this young Albionite kid that he had never met before.

"Hello, there." Carter bent down so he could talk to the kid a bit better. "Everything alright?"

The young kid could barely even answer Carter's question beyond the crying, but the terror in his eyes was quite clear. Whatever it was that made the kid cry, it was something that Carter couldn't help but empathize with. He had, after all, been in the same position as this crying kid once before.

Elementary school had always been a bit of a struggle for Carter, even as he got to show off his smarts. His rather unique outlook on life and vivid imagination made Carter a frequent target of bullies as a kid, which made him feel like an underdog and an outcast most of the time. It also helped keep Carter relatively grounded in how he saw the world.

"Wanna see somethin' cool?" a wild idea popped into Carter's head while he looked at Kay safely wrapped around his wrists in Saber Bracer form.

With a snap of Carter's finger, Kay separated from his wrists and transformed back into his drone form, which naturally had the young kid mesmerized. Seeing the kid with a big smile on his face naturally made Carter feel good on the inside. He was glad to be able to connect with at least one person on this new planet he found himself on. 

"Neat, huh?" Carter brightly gestured with his thumb towards the transformed Kay as the kid he was comforting looked suitably impressed by this little trick of his.

"Woowwwww, mister. That's an awesome trick," the young boy applauded as the crying stopped soon enough. "S-sorry 'bout my crying back there. It's just... my friend Gwydion. I dunno where's gone off to. We were playing hide and seek just outside the city and he ran off like an hour ago and I haven't seen him since... y'gotta help, mister."

"Tell you what," Carter reassured the boy. "I'm kinda good with helping out people. Let me see what I can do in finding this friend of yours."

"R-really, mister?" the kid squeaked. "You'd do that just for me?"

"Yeah." Carter nodded and gave a reassuring smile to the kid he was speaking to. "I'm Car... erm... Tristan. Tristan Carter. If there's anything else y'need, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to help."

For some reason, Carter felt compelled to give himself a fake name derived from his first and middle names reversed, perhaps on the assumption that using his family name of "Holt" would invite too many questions, given his Grandpa Thom's status as an apparent figure of infamy in Albion.

"Thanks so much. My name's Gareth." the kid happily chimed. "I appreciate your help, mister Carter, sir."

Gareth unexpectedly gave Carter (or at least his legs) a hug, which the young man was more than happy to return in kind with a hug of his own.

"I promise that I'll find Gwydion and when I do, I'll be sure to visit you guys." Carter promised with the utmost sincerity to young Gareth. "Maybe we can have a playdate or something."

Satisfied with what he heard from Carter, Gareth walked off to join up with his friends at a nearby playground.

Kay looked impressed with Carter connecting and getting along well with Gareth, which was a complete 180 from his rather awkward attempts to strike a conversation earlier on.

When Kay glanced towards him, Carter simply shrugged with a confident smile on his face.

 ---

Back on Earth...

The mood was a bit more understated on the drive back from Bruce Peninsula National Park for Shal Coleman and Deb Zacchiareli, especially after the night they had gone through last night.

Shal and Deb were grateful to have survived a chance encounter with hostile beings from a world different from theirs. One thing, however, was still fresh on their minds after all that: the fate of their friend, Carter Holt.

The last that Shal and Deb saw of Carter, was of him trying his best to protect the two from the wrath of the otherworldly mercenaries known as Red Aegis. They had been told by their friend to make their escape after that encounter, so Shal and Deb obviously had no knowledge of what happened afterwards.

Still, the two tried their best to maintain hope about Carter's survival, but the fact that he seemed to have vanished without warning was starting to make the unfortunate reality sink in for Shal and Deb, even if they tried their best to refuse that the unthinkable was inevitable.

"Hey Deb, y'don't think that Carter..." Shal's fears of his best friend potentially being dead lingered on his mind. He and Carter were so close as friends since elementary school, and the fact that the one guy Shal could count on no matter what was gone just like that was a sobering thought that scared him more than anything else in the world right now.

"N-no... he's out there somewhere." Deb kept the faith when it came to Carter's fate. She knew that even if the chance was slim, that her closest friend was still alive. "If I know Carter Holt as well as you and I do, then I know that guy's as stubborn as a moose."

Shal realized that maybe Deb was right and there might've been more to this than the two thought. He always knew just how much of a fighter Carter was and that bit of faith in his best friend kept him from giving up.

On a whim, Deb turned her car onto the side as an idea popped right into her head. Deb wasn't really one to act on instinct, but when it came to the matter of her friend's fate, her emotions got the better of her.

"Wh-what are you?" Shal queried.

"We're going back to the park," Deb quickly answered. "There's gotta be something back there that can prove that Carter's still alive somewhere."

"If there's one thing I learned from that stubborn old moose I call my boyfriend, it's to never give up on anyone, ever."

"Well, you're drivin', I'm just here for the ride," Shal concluded, not having much say in the matter as Deb drove her car towards the entrance to Bruce Peninsula National Park.

---

The Outskirts of Albion - Hide & Seek

For Carter, saying that he'd find Gwydion was one thing, but actually doing so was another thing entirely -- especially with how expansive Albion's outskirts were.

The area outside of the city was a vast environment of rolling green hils and nature unmoored by the specter of progress that consumed Albion throughout the centuries. This made searching for Gwydion a lot more of an issue than it needed to be.

Still, Carter wasn't deterred at all by the daunting task ahead of him. He wasn't sure if Gwydion was in any danger or if the boy had just gotten himself lost unexpectedly, but he was as determined as ever to find Gwydion to keep a promise made.

"Sir Holt, I have to ask you," Kay tried to strike up a conversation with Carter to gain some

insight on his new liege. "when that child Gareth was crying, you felt like it was your sworn duty to help him despite having never known him as an acquaintance of yours. Why is that?"

"I think it's just how I think of myself as a big dreamer," Carter elaborated upon his reasons for stepping up to help Gareth with finding Gwydion. "My one dream is that people are happy and free to be who they are. I'm ready and willing to do anything to make that dream come true. Even if I have to fight for it.”

"I know I've never met Gareth before, but I could feel the pain he was feeling because that was me once. It just kinda helped me sympathize with him better, y’know? I hope this makes sense, Kay.”

"The more and more I get to know you better, Sir Carter Tristan Holt," Kay responded instantly. "The more I see your grandfather in you. He was as every bit as compassionate and considerate as you aspire to be. He believed in the power of dreams as much as you do."

Carter felt that warm feeling again when he heard Kay compare him to Grandpa Thom once more. He was trying his damnedest to live up to the ideals Thomas stood for, so it made Carter feel good that he was doing well on that front so far.

"Kay, could you do a scan of the area or something? Maybe we can get a sense of where Gareth's friend might be?" Carter queried.

"I'm on it, Sir Holt." Kay chirped cheerfully while he began to emit a radial pulse around him that swept through the immediate vicinity of where he and Carter were presently standing.

"I have an onboard radar function that allows me to scan the surrounding area for any signs of life."

"That's a good start." Carter nodded. "Tell me what your radar thing can find."

Kay hovered upwards to the sky in order to get a better view of the Outlands and its surrounding area, as the radial pulse continued to emanate from his robotic frame.

"About 35 kilometres northwest of our current location, Sir Holt," Kay informed Carter. "I have identified two lifeforms within proximity of one another. It is unclear if one of them is this 'Gwydion' we are searching for, but..."

"Worth a shot, though." Carter took Kay's suggestion to heart and wanted to act on it. "Just point me where and let's cross our fingers one of them is Gwydion."

Following Kay's coordinates, Carter walked northwest to see who the lifeforms that were identified were. The idea of having to walk such a long distance would've been something that Carter wouldn't be up for until recently due to his injured knee. That was, of course, before his literal death and rebirth last night. Now, Carter felt energized enough to be walking the longest of distances, so 35 kilometres was no sweat for him.

--

After about half-an-hour or so of walking, Carter finally made it to the coordinates that Kay gave him. This portion of the Outlands was even more hillier than usual, which made navigating all the more tricky for the twenty-three year-old.

However, Kay's analysis was right on the button, as Carter soon found out for himself.

On top of one of the large hills, Carter spotted a young boy wearing clothes with a rustic flair to them. The boy had brown hair that was cut into a mushroom style and looked to be in decent shape. It didn't take Carter long to figure out that the young boy he was looking at was Gwydion.

Carter's undivided attention was on Gwydion being menaced by a weird centaur monster, who was the second lifeform that Kay had detected. This was Enigma XenoTech's Centaurion, personally created and sent by The Baron to cause as much chaos as possible. And now he had the perfect target in sight to start his path of destruction.

"Don't even bother running, youngling." Centaurion spoke in a menacing low growl towards the terrified Gwydion. "I will make this as quick and excruciating on you."

Hearing Gwydion's panicked cries in the face of the monster menacing him was enough to set Carter off in a fit of righteous rage. Nothing enraged Carter more than seeing bullies going after the innocent and this centaur monster was a bully of the highest order that needed to be put in its place.

Again acting on complete instinct and perhaps a little bit of impulse, Carter dove to protect Gwydion from the centaur monster's attack. With an agile leap upward, Carter hit Centaurion in the face as hard as he could with a jumping spin kick before he retrieved Gwydion and rolled along the grassy knoll close to them. That gave the two a bit of a breather while Centaurion shook off getting hit by an unexpected kick.

At the bottom of the knoll, Carter quickly dusted himself off and immediately checked up on Gwydion to see if he was okay. The boy was slightly less terrified, but he was going to be alright.

"You alright?" Carter turned to Gwydion and asked about his safety.

"Wh- who are you?" Gwydion had a question of his own for his savior. "I I was just playin' hide 'n seek with Gareth and his buddies and this big bull monster started chasing me."

"I'm just... a brave dreamer passing through," Carter replied to Gwydion's question. "Tristan's my name." 

"I came to find you because your friend Gareth was lookin' for you."

Gwydion looked relieved to be at least temporarily safe from the oncoming attacks of the monster that was chasing him, thanks to Carter's bravery.

The increasingly loud sounds of Centaurion's roaring clued Carter in on the monster making its way to where he and Gwydion were currently hiding.

"Kay, get Gwydion out of here. I'll try to... uh... steer the centaur away as best as I can." Carter bravely proposed, clearly not putting a lot of thought into his plan. 

"You're fully aware that you won't be able to transform into the Knight Saber without me, correct?" Kay warned Carter of the risks being taken with this strategy he was proposing.

"Haven't thought that far ahead but.. yeah." Carter freely admitted. "All I care about right now, though, is getting Gwydion somewhere safe and back with his friend."

"Well, Sir Hol.. erm... Sir Tristan Carter, if you think you have this handled, then I respect your decision." Kay said in the calmest tone possible. 

"Just... trust me on this." Carter said with a bit more confidence in his hare-brained plan of his. He wasn't sure if this was going to work, but Gwydion's safety was the only thing on his mind, even if it was potentially going to be at the cost of his own well-being.

Almost immediately, Kay led Gwydion away from the scene and to safety, which left only Carter with his monstrous opponent to face, with only hope and a prayer on his side.

"You dare step into the arena and face the might of the Centaurion?" the centaur monster spoke ominously. "Then come face me, and see if you survive."

"Oh, shit." Carter uttered as reality started to set in for him with the massive centaur monster coming towards him, axes fully in hand and ready to cut him down.

In complete desperation, Carter held up his robotic left hand and used it to punch away one of Centaurion's axes that came dangerously close to cleaving him. The force of that block managed to knock that axe away from Centaurion's hand, sending it flying far.

"Whoa..." Carter looked at his robot hand in amazement at his unexpected non-Saber feat before he got brought back to reality by the gutteral roar of Centaurion.

"That was my favorite axe!" Centaurion seethed in anger. "I am going to kill you even worse than before."

"Whoops!" Carter yelped as he avoided another attack from Centaurion and began to run. Perhaps, going into battle with nothing more than luck on his side wasn't such a great idea after all.

That, of course, didn't discourage Carter in the slightest. He was going to press on regardless, even if it meant foolishly putting himself in harm's way once more. He was simply trying to buy some time for Kay to get Gwydion back through Albion city limits.

Using a large rock as a platform, Carter leapt onto Centaurion's back and began to ride on the monster, rodeo style. He was hanging on for dear life and trying his best not to get thrown violently off. In the midst of holding on while Centaurion was bucking aggressively, Carter managed to kick away at an important component of the monster's titanium-plated skin almost on complete accident.

After a long struggle, Centaurion was able to shake Carter off his back, sending the young man rolling down a grassy hill in the process. 

"Sir Holt, the boy has been safely escorted back inside Albion's city walls," Kay communicated thru Carter's earpiece. "What's your status?"

"Good." Carter simply responded. "Because I think it's time for a strategic retreat." 

"Hm?" Kay questioned Carter's line of thinking. "Running away from a battle is unlike you, Sir Holt..."

"Just trust me, I've got the winning strategy down... I think." Carter spoke with confidence on whatever he was planning with this strategic retreat. "I'll explain back at The Keep."

Kay hesitantly obliged Carter's request and activated a teleportation sequence to get his liege back to Avalon in a quick flash of light.

Centaurion raised his hands in apparent celebration of his victory, his laughter growing louder and louder as his voice bellowed.

---

Bruce Peninsula National Park - Finding Carter

It didn't take long for Deb and Shal to retrace the steps they took last night during their encounter with the hostile Red Aegis mercenaries. The two made it back to Campsite 83, where they had stayed at and tried their best to remember what had happened last night.

"When those space army guys captured us, do you remember where they took us?" Deb quizzed Shal. "I remember we both left the campsite to get water and we got captured. Then Carter showed up to save us?"

"Y-yeah... mostly." Shal admitted. "Everything just kinda became a blur when Carter told us to get to somewhere safe, or maybe I just had one too many beers... who's to say?"

"Shal! Be serious!" Deb admonished angrily. "For all we know, Carter is somewhere around here. We can't waste any time with any nonsense."

"Alright, alright... yeesh." Shal jabbered back. "Was just trying my best to lighten the mood."

The two friends walked from Campsite 83 towards the Marr Lake trail that led to Boulder Beach. It took about a good fifteen minutes, but Shal and Deb reached the rock-filled Boulder Beach and their search for anything and everything useful as it related to Carter's whereabouts began once more.

The remnants of the Red Aegis mercenaries' operations remained on the beach, despite the group having been long gone. Dishevelled cargo boxes and even some of the group's weaponry were all just strewn about along the rocks of Boulder Beach.

Shal saw one of the weapons lying on the ground and immediately recognized it as he picked it up. It was some sort of blunt weapon with two bladed edges on each side. Shal rememebered that Carter had used this weapon to break him and Deb free from the cuffs that the Red Aegis mercenaries had locked them up in.

"Hey, Deb!" Shal called out to his friend while he held the strange bladed weapon in front of him. "Does this thing look familiar to you by any chance?"

"Shal, put that thing down!" Deb scolded. "Those space soldiers might come back to get us!"

"What? This sword thingy?" Shal hollered back in response. "Dontcha remember when Carter used it to save us from the space guys?"

"Maybe we can use it fo-- hey, are you even listening?"

Deb's attention seemed to be away from Shal and the weapon he had found, mainly because of a discovery that she had made. The young woman looked down on the ground below her and saw something that certainly caught her eye right away. She picked up the object wedged between two rocks on the ground and held it closer to inspect it. Her worst fears seemed to be confirmed once Deb realized what she was holding in her hands.

"Oh no..." Deb despaired when she realized that she was holding Carter's cellphone in her hands. The phone had definitely seen better days, with the screen wrecked completely. The fact that Carter's phone was in the shape it was in gave Deb a lot of pause. Her mind naturally that the worst had happened to her dearest friend in the almost-traumatic events of last night.

Shal walked over to where Deb was standing and got a chance to see Carter's destroyed phone first-hand. He tried his best not to freak out about the phone and the implications about his best friend's fate, but Shal was barely holding it together.

Miraculously, even through the damage sustained from last night, Carter's phone was still barely functioning. Through the shattered screen, the lockscreen was still somewhat recognizable -- a picture from last summer of Carter and Deb kissing under the sunset at Elora. There were two battery bars remaining on the phone, which in itself was a miracle like how it survived being thrown by Carter during his skirmish against the Red Aegis mercenaries last night.

Seeing the rather romatic lockscreen on Carter's phone for that brief moment in time seemed to restore some hope in Deb that the man she loved was indeed still alive somewhere. That small ember of hope was burning once more in Deb's heart, which was enough to spark an idea within the recent TMU graduate.

"This is going to sound completely insane, Shal, but..." Deb held Carter's phone in her hand and gave it to her friend. "I'm gonna need you to put that cybersecurity degree to good use and see if you can hack into Carter's phone."

"Um... that's an oddly-specific request, but sure." Shal approved of Deb's plan. "I've been waitin' for an excuse to use all that hacking stuff I bought as a grad gift for myself back at home."

---

Avalon - A Brilliant Genius, A Brilliant Hypothesis

Inside the nerve center of the Knight Saber's keep, Carter sat in front of multiple screens that showed Centaurion fighting him earlier and studied the battle video as closely as possible. 

Carter never liked the feeling of losing, but he knew better in that the best way to deal with defeats was to adapt to the situation rather than cry over spilled milk. This strange new environment he had gotten himself into was no different in that regard. 

Right next to the chair Carter was sitting on was a whiteboard that was covered in numerous mathematics equations, something that the young man quite enjoyed doing whenever he felt bored.

It was clear to Carter that trying to fight Centaurion without the Knight Saber powers wasn't going to work, so a new approach was going to be needed. 

"Sir...." Kay hovered towards where Carter was seated and tried to initiate a conversation. "I am happy to report that the child that you found named 'Gwydion' appears to have reunited with the boy you interacted with earlier in the day. Your strategy to use yourself as a human shield paid off."

"I'm glad to hear that." Carter was ecstatic to find out that his main "mission" of reuniting Gareth with his best friend Gwydion had been completed.

Knowing Gwydion had made it to safety thanks to his efforts gave Carter a bit of solace. Being a hero wasn't always going to be a cakewalk, but as long as lives were being saved as a result of his heroism, Carter knew he was doing right by his Grandpa Thom.

Kay, meanwhile, couldn't help but notice the maturity Carter was showing at the moment. It was becoming clear for the former squire of Thomas Holt on why his former liege saw his grandson worthy of being the new Knight Saber. The way Carter was handling his current situations was almost like a revelation for Kay in more ways than one as it was a total contrast to how Carter was acting on the way to Avalon. 

Carter kept his eyes on the Centaurion footage on the screens and had a sudden realization while studying a particular clip of the monster readying itself for one of his speedy charging attacks.

"I've got it!" Carter seemed to have a 'Eureka' moment of sorts as he enthusiastically lifted himself off the chair with a spring in his step and stood next to the whiteboard.

Feeling like he was back in university, Carter erased his previous equations on the whiteboard and began writing new equations on the now-blank slate. He drew a rather crude diagram of Centaurion as well as arrows pointing to the monster's weak points. Carter seemed to be using his knowledge in mathematics to good use, particularly in figuring out how fast Centaurion was galloping in that earlier encounter.

Just by looking at the crudely-drawn illustration of his monstrous enemy at full charge, Carter was able to visualize in his head just how exactly he was going to get the upper hand for the next time he'd encounter Centaurion.

Sure, having nigh-limitless powers on his side as the Knight Saber was good and all, but Carter found his true confidence in his smarts. He didn't think of himself as a "brilliant genius" for nothing, after all. If he was going to figure out a way to stop Centaurion's rampage, he was going to have to think with his brain rather than his heart to get that done.

"That thing seems to start his charge in a certain way..." Carter quietly thought to himself. "....his hind hoofs bends at a 80 degree angle before he takes off. Maybe there's a way I can take advantage."

"Kay, do we have anything that can match the centaur in terms of speed?" Carter asked while he turned away from his whiteboard to talk to his robotic squire.

"I thought you'd never ask, Sir Holt." Kay seemed to have an extra step in his hovering upon hearing Carter's request. "Come right this way... I have something to show you."

The spherical drone was all aflutter in leading Carter to an area of the Knight Saber's nerve center that appeared to be some sort of workbench with all manner of technology haphazardly lying about.

"Sir Carter Tristan Holt, your grandfather was quite prepared in anticipating you continuing the legacy of the Knight Saber," Kay began his explanation. "And as such, he left behind a lot of tech for you to specifically play around with, so to speak."

Naturally, Carter's attention piqued towards a set of small spade-shaped keycards just lying in a pile, left relatively untouched for a good while, as evidence by the dust they had apparently been collecting in that time.

"Those are Knightspade keycards, Sir Carter Tristan Holt," Kay elaborated upon the pile of cards that had his liege's attention. "Your grandfather crafted them as a means to better deploy the expansive arsenal of weaponry he used as the Knight Saber."

"He never got a chance to properly implement them for his own use, so perhaps this could be a proje--"

Carter didn't need Kay's urging to dig into the pile of Knightspade keycards in the hopes finding the perfect one needed to counter the threat of Centaurion. He trudged through the seemingly endless pile of keycards like an overexcited child on Christmas morning, which seemed to give Kay a bit of a laugh. 

While most kids his age in elementary and high school often lamented having to do homework every night during the school year, Carter was the type of kid who loved to do homework and any other big projects, so this new assignment with the Knightspades was just right up his alley.

"AHA!" Carter exclaimed cheerily as he pulled out one particular Knightspade Key from the small pile. "I think I've got it figured out, Kay!" 

Carter further punctuated that excitement by sitting back down on his chair and spinning around while he held the Knightspade card high in his hand, which did make him a bit dizzy afterwards.

"Kay, how fast d'you think you can work your magic with this?" Carter impatiently asked his robotic squire as he handed off the Knightspade Key in his hands. "I think I'm ready for round two against the centaur."

Kay's response was simple and to the point. "Give me five minutes, Sir Holt. I've got you covered quite handily."

---

The Outlands of Albion - Round Two

Still literally riding a high after his "win" earlier, Centaurion continued his rampaging across Albion's Outlands as much as possible. The Baron gave him new directives to breach the city walls of Albion in order to cause as much destruction as possible.

"Centaurion, it is time we taught the Throne of Albion a most painful lesson," The Baron spoke to his creation via a holographic visage. "Lay waste to the outer walls then let nothing stand in the way of your path of destruction."

From afar, Carter and Kay kept their keen eyes on Centaurion, doing some advance scouting before they could rush into battle.

"There's our guy... er... horse hybrid thing," Carter spotted Centaurion just about to breach the outer walls of Albion. "Gotta stop him before he gets into the city."

"Time I got his attention..."

"Sir Holt, what are yo--" Kay tried in vain to get Carter to clamp it down, but with no such luck. There really was no stopping Carter when he had his mind set on a goal, no matter how big or small or even how absurd it was.

Kay really had no choice but to let Carter work his magic, so to speak, on whatever this plan was going to be in dealing with Centaurion.

Carter cleared his throat and got up on his feet, ready to take the fight to Centaurion in his own unique way. Pulling a bottle of water from his small bag, he opened it and had a drink before he looked towards Centaurion.

"Hey, horsebreath..." Carter taunted Centaurion as loudly as he could, in the hopes of getting the monster's attention. It was probably an ill-advised move on Carter's part, but his goal right now was simply to prevent Centaurion from wreaking havoc in the city core of Albion, so he didn't mind being essentially a human shield once more. "You smell like a space cow and you're an uglybutt!"

"Hm? Back for more pain, knave?" Centaurion cackled. "I'll be happy to oblige you and make the suffering as excruciating as possible." 

Centaurion manifested two new sets of double-bladed axes in both his hands and licked his lips at the chance of perhaps finishing off his foe for good. Unlike the last encounter he had with this enemy, Carter faced down the monster with a look of cocksure certainty. He had a plan, and he was ready to put that plan into action.

"'You're an uglybutt?'" Kay was baffled with Carter's chidlish choice of insult towards Centaurion. "Seems kind of immature, no?"

"Look, spur of the moment, alright?" Carter rambled on while he saw Centaurion just about preparing to charge at him. That's the precise moment when Carter decided to get serious. "I have a plan. For real this time. Just trust me on this, Kay. Get yourself ready."

With Centaurion coming at him at full speed, Carter dodged at the very last second using an acrobatic roll and crossed his wrists right next to his head while he was in a combat-ready stance.

"Knight Saber! Transform!" Carter invoked once more as Kay transformed into his Saber Bracer form, wrapping himself onto his liege's wrists on command. Upon doing so, both of Carter's hands started to glow in a piercing blue light. A digitized voice from the Saber Bracers announced:

KNIGHT SABER: 

DEPLOYMENT INITIATED

In an instant, the blue field of energy emanating from Skycarrier Valor surrounded Carter to begin his transformation into the Knight Saber.

"By Pendragon's grail, let Justice prevail!" Carter's voice thundered with every bit of determination he could muster within himself.

Centaurion tried to bulldoze through Carter's energy field mid-Saber transformation, but the energy field was impenetrable to all manner of attacks and kept the young hero safe from his monstrous foe.

DEPLOYMENT COMPLETE: 

KNIGHT SABER: SHINING DREAMER

The fully-armoured Knight Saber immediately rushed into battle and intercepted Centaurion with a one-footed forward kick that temporarily stunned the monster. He slid across the ground before assuming his battle stance.

"That never gets old..." Carter said to himself as he turned his focus back to Centaurion. He had been Knight Saber for such a short time, but he was embracing this role as efficiently as anyone ever could. Carter understood the responsibility that had been passed on to him by his Grandpa Thom and he was going to keep fighting to live up to the lofty legacy and ideals that Thomas Holt embodied as the first Saber for as long as he could.

"You got lucky...." Centaurion brushed off the Saber's attack with an arrogant sneer. "But you're not gonna get lucky again against the mighty Centaurion!"

As if he didn't just get kicked in the face, Centaurion readied himself once again with his twin axes ready to cut down the Knight Saber down to size. Showing an unbelievable degree of patience and intelligence, Carter assessed Centaurion bending his hind hoofs in the 80 degree angle that he had noted dilligently back at Avalon. That was the cue Carter needed to enact the counterattack he strategized so meticulously.

Just as Centaurion swung wildly with his twin axes, the Saber avoided the attack by leaping over each swing with great verticality in his jump. Despite the acrobactic dodging, Carter couldn't avoid a blast of laser fire from Centaurion's piercing red eyes. As the laser blast struck him hard, Carter tumbled onto the ground below him, landing quite painfully on his back.

"Your armour will make a great trophy for my mantle.... hahahahahahah!" Centaurion wickedly taunted Carter as he held the upper hand over the heroic Knight Saber for the time being. But, the funny thing about advantages is that they can be all-too fleeting, as Centaurion was about to find out.

"Sir Carter Tristan Holt, the Knightspade card to summon Valiant is ready for your use," Kay advised through Carter's Knight Saber helmet. "I believe the time to use it is now."

"Ugh.... y'don't have to tell me twice." Carter groaned while trying to get himself back on his feet after his crash landing. "Knightspade, deployed!"

In mere moments, Valiant's Knightspade card materalized in Carter's left hand in a flash of light just as he uttered that one invocation. Carter looked at this new addition to his arsenal and had that confident grin on his face -- which was naturally obscured by his Knight Saber helmet.

"Your Saber Bracer has a slot in which you can activate the Knightspade card, Sir Carter Tristan Holt," Kay dutifully instructed his liege as best as he could. "Once activated, your loyal steed, Valiant, will be at your side and ready for battle."

Following the instruction that Kay gave to him, Carter inserted the Knightspade keycard onto an empty slot within the Saber Bracer on his right wrist. Upon inserting the keycard, the Bracer's digitized voice spoke once again:

KNIGHTSPADE ACTIVE:

MODIFIER: "VALIANT" 

INITIATED

Yet another beam of light descended from the sky right near where Carter was standing. As it faded, a mechanical horse appeared, making a full gallop forward in Carter's direction. This horse was the Knight Saber's mechanical steed known as "Valiant".

Valiant's steel armor plating was adorned with the Knight Saber colors of blue, white, and gold, and its eyes had a perpetual light blue glow.

As the horse made its final advance, Carter leapt backwards in the air and made a dramatic seated landing onto Valiant's saddle in one perfect motion. Letting his natural predilection for excitement take over once more, Carter boasted triumphantly once he was seated on Valiant's saddle. 

GALLOPING GLORY

VALIANT: ON THE CHARGE!

"Your fancy new horse won't be able to crush me, Saber!" Centaurion scowled in anger. "You can't even match my speed! Just watch me leave you in the dust once again!"

"Oh yeah?" Carter quietly muttered to himself as Valiant began to catch up with Centaurion. "We'll just see about that, won't we?"

And with that, Valiant was on the charge, as it managed to keep up with the dangerously-fast Centaurion, with Carter guiding its every move by way of taking the reins. He had never rode on top of a horse ever in his life, but Carter was a natural at it -- mostly thanks to the Knight Saber powers giving him the knowledge to do so.

Valiant continued to effortlessly avoid Centaurion's various attacks, which seemed to further aggravate the monster the more he failed to actually damage Carter with his any of his attacks. During this salvo of offense that Centaurion unleashed, Carter began to notice something leaking out of the fuel cap on the side of his monstrous enemy. It didn't take too long for the Knight Saber to figure out that Centaurion was rapidly losing fuel after he had kicked at it in his earlier encounter with the monster.

"Hm.... that should do." the fuel that Centaurion was spilling certainly didn't escape Carter's astute observations. "Just keep coming after me, then, you big lummox..."

Oblivious to his own downfall, Centaurion maintained his aggressive assault against Knight Saber, but was noticibly getting slower due to the fuel loss hampering his efforts. The monster was unknowingly playing right into the Saber's hands the more and more he attacked.

"I don't know what you're doin' to me... but that trick ain't gonna... gonna... wor.... ugh....." Centaurion just couldn't motor on as he quite literally ran out of fuel. The monster dropped to the grassy ground and became virtually defenseless to whatever attack was coming his way courtesy of the Knight Saber.

As the Saber kept Centaurion in his sights, he visualized a circular graph keeping his monstrous enemy trapped, as another graph that appeared as a straight line directed towards Centaurion materialized inside Carter's head.

"Sir Holt, you can summon the Star Lance to finish this fight," Kay offered his advice to Carter. "it will give you access to the Charging Star attack that will achieve ultimate victory in your current battle."

"Star Lance! Activate!" the Knight Saber tapped the Knightspade keycard on his Bracer, which summoned a lance that perpetually glowed in energy. The Bracer's digitized "voice" once again spoke:

JOUSTING FINISH:

CHARGING STAR

As the Star Lance materialized in his hand, Carter's Knight Saber armour changed in appearance, with his helmet now sporting light blue wings that extended from each side, and the armor plating over his undersuit now having a golden lining mixed with the pre-existing blue design. The slots on the helmet Carter wore also hummed in a bright blue glow that matched the wings his helmet now had. His Knight Saber scarf was also bathed in the ethereal blue glow that the Star Lance was producing.

Valiant's mane, tail, and feathering also began to pulsate in the same blue energy as Carter's Knight Saber armour, with its blue eyes glowing in an almost piercing light as well.

"Time to finish this with the winning formula." Carter's Star Lance began to crackle in electricity as he had Centaurion locked in his sights, unable to escape the fate that was about to befall him because he was all out of fuel.

"JOUSTING FINISH... CHARGING STAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!!!!!"" Carter really loved shouting his finishing attacks a great deal. Some might've found it silly to be doing this out loud, but Carter thought calling out his own attacks was something he had to do to complete the whole Knight Saber experience for himself.

With Valiant charging towards the evil centaur at full speed, Carter stuck out the Star Lance with his left hand and used it to impale Centaurion with the Charging Star maneuver, causing a huge explosion upon impact.

As Centaurion exploded in a ball of fire, Carter rode Valiant through the massive flames unharmed, making sure to strike a dramatic victory pose after stopping.

With the battle won once more, Carter disengaged his Knight Saber armor -- this time managing to do so without being on the verge of exhaustion -- as Kay reverted back into his drone form.

"Impressive, as always, Sir Holt." Kay spoke with reverence regarding Carter's latest victory.

"You appear to be getting the hang of these Knight Saber abilities quite well."

"However, I suggest we head back to Avalon before the Throne's forces get wind of our actions. I don't think I have to remind you of how the Knight Saber is public enemy number one in the Throne's eyes..."

Carter agreed with his squire, but had another idea in mind on top of it. "We will, Kay. There's just something I gotta do first."

"Just gotta keep a promise."

---

King Urian's Keep - The Throne of Albion

Inside the massive castle that served as the central hub for the monarchy that ruled over Albion benevolently -- so as long as the citizens didn't ask the wrong questions -- King Urian was as stoic as ever, even with the Knight Saber situation intensifying.

The King chose to keep a close eye on the Saber's return as he once again had his many consorts with him in the throne room

"My King," Seneschal Adriel stood in front of Urian's throne, bearing important news. "I think you should be made aware that the Knight Saber has been spotted in the Outlands."

"He was engaged with a creature borne out of Enigma XenoTech's dark dungeons, and I've been told that the Saber was fighting to prevent the creature from breaching the outer walls of Albion."

The King's brow furrowed upon hearing this news. He had been closely following the apparent resurrection of a figure who had been branded as the greatest threat to Albion for many years, He wanted to get on top of it as fast as possible, for the supposed good of Albion and its people.

"Do not line these walls with lies about the Knight Saber, Seneschal Adriel." King Urian refused to believe the Saber's good intentions in fighting Centaurion. "This new Saber might not be the turncoat Thomas Holt, but I will not allow him to turn my kingdom into his personal playground."

King Urian's descendant, the late King Uryan, was the first to encounter the Knight Saber when it was Thomas Holt under the helmet, so Urian's grudge towards the Saber was definitely a family affair.

"What are your orders then, my King?" Adriel inquired Urian about his next course of action.

"The time has arrived to call in the Vanguard, Seneschal." Urian asserted his royal authority. "The Saber has chosen to turn Albion into a war zone, I'll be more than happy to oblige him on that."

On King Urian's cue, two armored individuals stepped into his throne room. One was exceptionally tall with armor that was mostly red and silver. His helmet vaguely resembled a lion in design, echoing Albion's royal coat of arms.

Next to him was a smaller armored figure who sported a pink and light blue armor. Ths figure wielded a falchion with a hilt topped off by an ornate phoenix design. Their helm continued the phoenix theming with the visor resembling the beaks and eyes of a bird.

King Urian approached the two Vanguard Knights that stood in front of him and gave his seal of approval. He now had the weapons needed to fight the Knight Saber on his terms, and he was ready to deploy them to protect the sanctity of Albion.

---

The Core of Albion - A Promise in Playtime

After his victory, Carter decided to return to Albion's downtown Core to once again take in the sights and sounds of his new surroundings. More importantly, however, he was there to fulfill a promise made to a new friend.

In the town square right in the exact middle of the Core, Carter spotted young Gareth and his friend Gwydion happily reunited and playing a game of tag with their other friends. 

"Oh, look, guys... he came!" Gareth and Gwydion spotted Carter off in the distance and waved at him simultaneously. "Hey, Tristan, over here!"

Upon hearing his name being called out by Gareth, Carter ran towards his new friend, with Kay following suit by way of hovering. 

Gareth, Gwydion, and the other kids playing with them all ran up to Carter and looked quite excited to meet the man who bravely risked his own life to save them from the threat of Centaurion.

"Guys, this is the guy who saved me from the big bull monster," Gwydion happily introduced Carter to his friends. "He was all brave and fought the monster who was so big and scary and stuff..."

"You mean... like this?" Carter began to act a bit silly as he mimicked Centaurion's big booming steps with a chuckle. "RARRRRR! RARRRR! I"M A BIG BAD MONSTER! WHO'S GONNA STOP ME?"

Keeping up with the fun game, Gwydion imitated Carter as best as he could, puffing up his chest as he struck a heroic pose. 

Gwydion and Gareth ran into Carter to knock him onto the grass. Upon landing, the three shared a laugh as the other kids joined in on the fun.

"AHHH YOU DEFEATED THE BIG BAD MONSTER! I AM IN AWE OF A BRILLIANT AND AWESOME HERO!" Carter said in jest as he pretended to be defeated by the hands of Gwydion and Gareth's roleplaying.

Gareth, Gwydion, and their friends all then playfully jumped onto Carter while he was lying on the park grass. All the kids laughed in unison as Carter happily joined along with them.

Carter might've been in an unfamiliar environment as far away from Earth as possible, but he did find some joy in just having a little fun with these kids. That alone was worth it for Carter, even in these all-too-fleeting moments of happiness. He liked to believe himself as a brave dreamer, someone who'd fight to make sure others' dreams would come true, and getting a first-hand look of a dream he helped make come true was something that certainly put a smile on Carter's face. 

---

NEXT: Issue 2 - "Vanguard"

---

(c)2011-2025 Marc Quill, QB1 Publications, et al. “KNIGHT SABER: THE ADVENTURES OF CARTER HOLT”, plus all related characters, concepts, & stories mentioned are property of the author and may not be reproduced without prior approval. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons, and/or institutions in “KNIGHT SABER: THE ADVENTURES OF CARTER HOLT” with those of any living or dead or fictional person or institution is intended, and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental.

All rights in this work are reserved for purposes of laws in all jurisdictions pertaining to data mining or AI training, including but not limited to Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790. This work may not be used to train AI.