Work Text:
It all started when he was walking into the main lobby of the HQ, just wanting to show some old family photos to his siblings. He wasn't expecting to run into a giant portal though. He's definitely seen weirder things, but it still wasn't something to take lightly. So, without thinking, he rushed into the portal.
Once arriving there, he was relieved to see his siblings and friends there, unharmed. But as he looked around, he realized that might not be the case much longer. Sitting on a throne at the back of the room was a man wearing all black. He had a sinister grin plastered on his checkered face, and Elijah knew that this couldn't be good, not at all.
"The King of the White Tower," The man announced, "I challenge you to a game of chess."
"I don't know who you think we are," Shiloh explained, "But there's no King of the Tower here."
The mysterious man chuckled, his powerful voice echoing throughout the large throne room, "Oh, but there is. He's right there."
The man lifted his right hand, pointing his index finger directly at Judah. Elijah stood there in shock for a moment, before the puzzle pieces clicked in his mind. Judah and the others had rescued him from the White Chess King after Elijah had foolishly gone by himself and challenged him to a game of chess. He had been stuck in a small concrete cell, barely taller than him. Judah had beaten the chess king, and won the white crown, also saving Elijah from being the evil king's prisoner.
Everyone had thought that they wouldn't have to beat an evil chess king ever again, but here they were.
Elijah looked at the chess king, "Why did you call us here," began Shiloh, "How does this benefit you?"
The evil king smirked, "It is my birthright as King of the Dark Castle to challenge the King of the White Tower for his right to rule this land. It is my destiny to strike you and your pathetic team down, take over this land, and lead this kingdom into a new era of darkness."
Once the dark king finished speaking, Shiloh led the team into a group huddle. "Looks like we're gonna have to play... again. Judah, can you take him?"
Judah glanced over his shoulder, getting a quick look at the dark king, before turning his head back to the group. "Yeah, no."
Michelle, with an obvious worried tone in her voice, asked, "But you're better now than you were last time, right?"
"I haven't actually played chess since last time." Judah replied.
"What?!" Yelled the whole group in unison.
Elijah thought to himself, well the chances aren't very good, but at least I'm here to guide him this time. Elijah and Judah used to always play chess together when they were younger, but Judah always lost. Elijah assumed that Judah didn't want to play with him anymore since he always lost, so he went to Marcus's kingdom to find someone new to play with. The two brothers had gotten things cleared up during the game, but since then they haven't played together. Judah was still a little scared to play since the incident, as whenever he looked at the queen, he felt a rush of guilt for when he had accidentally gotten his sister taken out by one of the opposing team's bishops, and she had been captured. It was a low moment for Judah, and he didn't want to relive the trauma of the experience.
Elijah, on the other hand, wasn't as scared of playing as Judah, and he still practiced from time to time with random members of M.O.M.
"It's okay guys," announced Elijah, "I can help Judah out with the decisions. Between me and Judah's chess knowledge, this guy doesn't stand a chance."
"Wait. You," The dark king roared, "You were not called here, which means you're trespassing in my kingdom."
Elijah felt a dark gust of wind engulf him, blocking his senses. Everything went dark for a moment, but it felt like an eternity. When he opened his eyes, he was in a small room that was in the walls. There was a panel of what looked like magic blocking him from the others. He could here their desperate cries, them calling out his name, but at that moment, the only thing he could focus on was the excruciatingly cold feeling shivering throughout his whole body. That wasn't the only thing that was wrong though. He also had a tiny voice in the back of his mind. He couldn't quite hear what it was saying, but he felt... empty. Like he was worthless, that he couldn't do anything right. He finally looked ahead at his family, seeing their horrified expressions, and desperately wanted to tell them that everything would be okay, but he couldn't get it out of his mouth.
His attention was drawn to the booming voice in the throne room, "Don't worry, you'll get him back. If you win."
"Guy's... something's different this time. Something's-"
"Silence." Interrupted the dark king.
With that, he waved his hand, shutting the window to the room, and leaving Elijah alone.