| A princess and a Lich walk into a bar… | |
|---|---|
| Season | 1 |
| Season Episode | 5 |
| Air date | I don’t remember :D |
| Written by | Cheesypickles564 |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Indiana Jones vs. Jack Sparrow |
Next Griffith VS Berkut |
Hornet vs Specter Knight is Cheesypickles564's fifth Death Battle, featuring Hornet from Hollow Knight and Specter Knight from Shovel Knight in a battle between two quick and loyal knights.
Description[]
Hollow Knight vs Shovel Knight! Loyalty is a needed factor, especially when you are a respectable Knight. Will Hornet tie Specter Knight up, or will Specter Knight claim a new pawn for the Lich Yard?
Interlude[]
Puppy: Hornet, the spider princess of Deepnest.
Kitty: And Specter Knight, brutal enforcer of the Enchantress’ new order.
Puppy: Betrayed and broken, these loyal knights fight honorably no matter what.
Kitty: And now we’re having them fight to the death! He’s Kitty and I’m Puppy!
Puppy: And it’s our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle.
“Hornet Weaves Through Death Battle!”[]
(Cue: Hollow Knight OST- Greenpath)
Puppy: Long ago, in a kingdom inhabited only by insects and other small creatures, there were five tribes that all lived in plentiful harmony. The Hive, airborne tribes with society centered around honey. The Moth Tribe, which is essentially a cult following a glowing moth named the Radiance. The Mantis Tribe, respectable warriors with traditions dating before the kingdom’s existence. The Mosskin Tribe, lush, green warriors who live in underground solitude.
Kitty: [Cutting Puppy off] And the Mushroom Tribe, weird-ass warriors with annoying as hell battle cries!
Puppy: [Sighs] Moving on, the peace and harmony that existed before was disrupted by a wyrm who fell from the skies and into Hallownest.
Kitty: This “Great Wyrm” proclaimed himself king of everything in Hallownest, literally shunning all religions, beliefs and pre-existing society! That sounds like something my Ex would do.
Puppy: The Radiance, Hallownest’s former god, was angry, and by that I MEAN angry, at the wyrm, now titled the Pale King, so the moth spread a great infection across the kingdom, reverting everyone who came into contact with it back to their primal instincts and cause dangerous shenanigans.
Kitty: So the king- in desperate need of a way to stop the infection- used his wife as a BABY FACTORY to produce a child with no mind to think, no will to break and no voice to cry! This guy is like the P.T Barnum of bugs! Speaking of which, I’ve finally found a name for my pet ant!
Puppy: [Intrigued and furious at the same time] What?
Kitty: Be back in a jiff!
Kitty dashes into a room conveniently placed on the side of the research station, and walks out a few moments later, proudly marching with an ant farm in hand.
Kitty: [In a regal tone] I present, the Pale King! [Kitty hoists the ant farm into the air, with no ants visible]
Puppy: I told you to stay away from the alcohol for ONE day-
[To Puppy’s utter disgust, a mountain of smaller ants erupted from the top of the farm and were spread everywhere, including the hosts]
[It cuts back to the hosts, with Kitty and Puppy standing at the desk with awkward smiles and insect corpses splattered all over their bodies]
Puppy: [Clears throat] After multiple attempts, the perfect vessel was made, and was thrown into a cage. However, to seal the vessel away from society, the Pale King needed three “volunteers” to eternally seal the cage, with the volunteers being Lurien the Watcher, Monomon the Teacher and Herrah the Beast.
Kitty: The first two accepted almost immediately, but with a bit of seducing and wordplay, Herrah made a deal. The Pale King would, urkh, have… Puppy, am I allowed to say this? Are there kids around?
Puppy: If you won’t, I will do it. The Pale King would have sex with her, and after giving birth, she would offer up her soul to the cause.
Kitty: So after smashin’, Herrah would give up her life for the vessel’s containment. However, even with the vessel contained, the infection would continue to spread and eventually take the Pale King’s life!
Puppy: Only a fortunate few survived, and that few included the Princess of Deepnest and Herrah’s daughter, Hornet.
Kitty: Hornet trained for multiple years, honing her skills in a fashion to stop the infection. Little did she know, her half-sibling, The Knight, was also seeking the same goal.
Puppy: And after meeting in Greenpath and dealing decisive blows to each other, the Knight emerged victorious against it’s sister and pursued it’s goal even more. However, Hornet was curious and followed the vessel.
Kitty: After another battle between each other and multiple hardships, Hornet came to the rescue in the end and helped her sibling defeat both the Hollow Knight and the Radiance, destroying the infection, but at the cost of the Knight’s life.
Puppy: Hornet’s main weapon is thread, initially used to throw her needle long distances and spiral it around herself, creating a weaponized shield of sorts.
Kitty: Hornet’s other weapon of choice is her needle, which is sharp, ‘cause, well, it is a needle- but it is very durable, as it can’t be broken by the Knight’s nail, which, in its weakest, destroyed a wall about 4 times the size of the Knight!
Puppy: She also has the Pimpillo, a small red explosive which, as the game describes, “Explodes on contact when ignited by its fuse. Dangerous to friends and foes alike.”
Kitty: Hornet also has a throwing knife, which has two main uses; throwing and knifing. [Shallowly laughs, but turns around and sees that Puppy is not laughing]
Puppy: And taking her father’s wasted funds into hand, she can also call buzzsaws to attack her opponents at will.
Kitty: Now, for starters, Hornet is fast enough to outpace the Knight. At first, that seems like an easy feat, but the Knight can actually move fast enough to dodge beams of light!
Puppy: The Princess of Deepnest is also strong enough to break the Hollow Knight’s shell, which could tank the Knight’s attacks and come out nigh-unscathed. Now, keep in account that the Knight has to have had multiple nail upgrades to have made it that far, and yet Hornet could do what the vessel couldn’t. Pretty impressive if I say so myself. The vessel could even survive a bridge being smashed, coming out to 0.02 tons of TNT!
Kitty: And to add on to speed, Hornet is capable of moving faster than the Hunter’s eyes could track, and is able to set up traps whilst in a fight with the Knight, who as we said before, is faster than light!
Puppy: But, as all characters, the Princess of Deepnest is far without weakness. Her silk is not unlimited, and enough hits can stagger her and leave her unconscious for a small amount of time.
Kitty: And if you are to face her, follow her words and “Git Gud!” Wait, did she actually say t-
Hornet: “I know what you are. I know what you’d try to do. I can’t allow it.”
“Specter Knight Claims Death Battle’s Soul!”[]
(Cue: La Danse Macabre)
Puppy: Across the lands, multiple adventurers and pillagers seek to seize either treasure, fame and power, and make a place in the world.
Kitty: And Donovan and Luan, two fellow adventurers and best buds, set out to make their stake by stealing the most meticulous treasure EVER- an accursed locket planted in the Tower of Fate.
Puppy: Luan was attempting to get the locket to save his son from harm, but when Donovan and Luan arrived at the Tower of Fate, a Knight named Shield Knight told them to go no further, but Donovan’s need for power caused him to go into a blind rage and fight Shield Knight, as well as harm Luan enough that he was soon put on the brink of death.
Kitty: And after Donovan’s need for power subsided, the Tower eventually gave in, and Donny tumbled down, where he would be stuck in between life or death as well.
Puppy: Soon, out of nowhere, a dark, magical entity known as the Enchantress swooped down and saw Donovan, before giving him a choice. Either a choice of new life, at a cost, or the eternal slumber of death. Donovan chose life, and was soon transformed into the specter of torment, Specter Knight.
Kitty: And Donny was given a purpose. To recruit some of the most teeth-gritting, fearsome and intimidating knights in the land to bring about, as The Enchantress puts it, order. But Specter Knight had a secret sidequest- to redeem himself and protect Luan’s son, Reize.
Puppy: Soon, at the Enchantress’ order, Donovan would go and recruit some of the most noble, and, as said before, intimidating knights in the land.
Kitty: And by recruiting, my friend means that he would go and beat the shit out of said knights, and afterwards ask them to join the Enchantress’ cool kids club!
Puppy: And as an aftermath, the Order of no Quarter was formed.
Kitty: [Pulls out a trumpet and plays a short song before throwing it to the side] Mole Knight, the guy that likes to dig! Polar Knight, the Viking who eats icecubes! King Knight, the regal bastard who won’t shut up! Tinker Knight, the short inventor with a huuuge robot! Propeller Knight, the French flight enthusiast! Plague Knight, the lovesick bomb-tossing doctor! And finally, Specter Knight, the guy we’ve been talking about.
Puppy: But after Reize, Luan’s aforementioned son arrived to face the Enchantress and ultimately failed, Specter Knight had a change of heart and fought the Enchantress as well, as he promised to protect Reize.
Kitty: Sure, Speccy kinda failed, but later, Shovel Knight, a hero I don’t think we actually mentioned earlier, defeated the Enchantress, who afterwards, was revealed to be Shield Knight, who was corrupted by the amulet. Together, Shovel and Shield brought down the Tower and ended the reign of the Enchantress.
Puppy: The force needed to topple a tower of that size is, at it’s greatest, 423.13 Tons of TNT. And Donovan is comparable to Shovel Knight!
Kitty: And Shovel Knight’s not the only impressive foe Speccy’s fought! He’s battled the Phantom Striker, a rapier wielding Knight capable of moving as lightning and the Enchantress, who caused an earthquake!
Popup: What’s also impressive is that Specter Knight could dodge the Phantom Striker’s lightning in their clash.
Puppy: Just like every Shovel Knight character, Donovan is no slouch in the arsenal category, with his pockets housing multiple Curios.
Kitty: Wait, does he even have pockets- erhm, I mean, the Throwing Sickle, the Dread Talon, the Will Skull, the Skeletal Sentry, the Barrier Lantern, the Spider Scythe, the Shadow Mirror, the Chronos Coin, the Hover Plume and the Judgement Rush. Damn, this guy’s arsenal could give Mario a scare!
Puppy: Donovan is also in possession of multiple cloaks that provide different tactical advantages- the Cloak of Clemency, a cloak capable of saving money after death, the Striker’s Shawl, a cloak that allows Donovan to unleash strikes more devastating than before, the Raiment of Risk, which greatly boosts his strength, but slows down his use of weapons in turn, the Ghostly Garb, a rather ornate cloak with no use except for show, and finally-
Kitty: The Rail Mail! An advanced, smooth, silky silver cloak that when the down button is pressed, Donny can hit the half-pipe and use his scythe like a freakin’ skateboard!
Puppy stands there, unamused.
Kitty: Oh, puh-lease! You’ve gotta admit it’s pretty cool!
Puppy: Ok, fine, it’s “Pretty cool.”
Kitty: I knew you were still an acceptable person! Anyways, Donny is nowhere near without fault, just like literally everyone we’ve analyzed!
Puppy: His vast arsenal of attacks, however impressive, is limited to a force called ”Darkness” which can be obtained by repeatedly attacking opponents. Specter Knight also feels guilt towards his actions, and is willing to lay his life down on the line for Luan’s son.
Kitty: Even if Donny isn’t the most evil person around, he still proves himself a formidable foe, willing to do anything for what he (or the Enchantress) sees just!
Specter Knight: This is no place for the living, mortal. You shall be summoned when it is your time.
Intermission[]
Puppy: Alright, the combatants are set, and we've run the data through all possibilities!
Kitty: So grab your bug spray and call the Mystery Gang ‘cause it’s time for a Death Battle!
Death Battle[]
The darkness of the nighttime spread slowly across the land, with the sunset slowly falling away from sight and darkness blanketing the skies above. At this hour, no lights can be seen except for one rather abnormally tall tower, with an ethereal purple glow glimmering across the tall citadel. This was the Tower of Fate.
Sitting on one of the towers’ many pillars was a figure clad in golden armor with a red cloak draped over his scalp. This figure was staring into an open locket and seemed to be reminiscing.
After a few moments, a dark figure grazes the locket’s surface, obscuring the entire trinket, before the locket’s original glow had fully faded. This was, however, a reflection of another figure. The first figure, also known as Specter Knight, turned around and bowed. The second figure, the Enchantress, cleared her throat and gave orders to the reborn adventurer.
”An unknown being has pierced our Tower’s outer defenses, Donovan. It will be required that you investigate it, and stop it if it proves to be trouble.” The figure said in a tone balanced between orderly and calm.
Specter Knight sighed and put the locket away, before reaching his hand out and his scythe immediately took form in his grip. After a few more moments, the knight was gone in a flash.
We cut to the forest underneath the Tower’s overlook, with Specter Knight cutting through various overhanging vines to pursue his goal. Suddenly, a whispering voice came from the trees.
”Pitiful, you hide your ambitions from the one you act as a servile nimwit to.” The voice slowly said. “I shall have no pity in the death of a weakling.”
”Show yourself, fool!” Yelled Donovan, slightly enraged by the disembodied voice’s insults.
Specter Knight stopped to listen for any more whispers, before trotting slowly down the forest, searching for the intruder. With a quick “twing!”, a small thread shot from one of the trees and grabbed a log. Specter Knight’s unknown assailant pulled the thread back, and the log shot at Donovan, who was able to cut it down with his scythe in time.
“You may prove to be more of a match.” Said the voice once more. The leaves in another tree shook, and a figure fell down and landed on it’s feet. This was Hornet, the Princess of Deepnest. She pulled out a large nail and darted towards Donovan, who jerked back and blocked Hornet’s hit. The battle had begun.
FIGHT!
(Cue: The Lich’s Thread | Death Battle Fanon Track)
Donovan immediately tried to take the upper hand by tossing his ghastly scythe at Hornet, who parried it with her nail and launched it back to where it came from, except into Specter Knight’s face.
The resurrected warrior ducked as the scythe flew past his noggin, eventually getting stuck in a tree. The Princess of Deepnest bounced over to Donovan and unleashed a deadly strike, which Specter Knight wobbled past to dodge and grabbed his scythe from the tree.
With his weapon freed, Donovan engaged in a swordfight with Hornet and quickly gained the upper hand, disarming Hornet and sending her above the treeline.
“You seem to be holding back.” Donovan retorts. Hornet, still in the air, fires thread at the nearby trees, creating a slingshot. She yanks on another piece of string connected to her nail, sending it flying from the ground towards Specter Knight. He swings his scythe and blocks it, only for Hornet to use the slingshot and launch herself at Donovan, catching the knight off guard and making him lose his balance.
“You seem to be more of a challenge than expected.” Hornet says as she calls a Pimpillo to her hand. “You are holding back as well.”
The princess tossed the bomb at Specter Knight, who had just regained his balance. The explosive ignited as soon as it hit Donovan, creating a thick layer of smoke around the knight.
Hornet fell to the ground and held her weapon close. Her opponent wasn’t attacking- something didn’t feel right.
As soon as the thought came to Hornet’s head, Donovan appeared out of the smoke and swiftly levitated towards Hornet and unleashed a devastating Judgement Rush. Deepnest’s princess was very fortunate, however, as she somersaulted over the blow, causing the scythe to slash at a tree, causing it to split down the side.
Hornet landing behind Donovan and charged him, nail pointed at his chest, but Specter Knight swung his weapon behind his back, blocking the blow. He turned around swiftly and was now wearing gauntlets of some sort.
Specter Knight slashed at Hornet with the Dread Talon and the princess dodged, before following up with another strike. Hornet’s blow missed, but she swung her blade in a circular rotation, causing the thread on the bottom to catch the unsuspecting Specter Knight and send him into the air. Donovan spiraled in the air before descending, leaving him exactly were Hornet wanted him. She held her nail back, and swung full force, throwing the knight further into the forest, trampling every tree in his path.
Donovan stood up and saw the collapsed forest, before calling his scythe back to him. He was outsmarted, but he wouldn’t let it happen again.
Hornet ran towards Specter Knight with two spiked balls in her hands. She tossed the spike traps at Donovan, who Dash-Slashed through each spike trap, splitting the balls in half and destroying them instantly.
Hornet, panicked at the destruction of her spiked balls, dashed away and leapt on the side of a tree and threw her nail at Donovan, who grabbed the weapon and held it in the air to mock his opponent, but Hornet pulled the thread back and Donovan, confused at how he was outsmarted again, was pulled towards Hornet. Before the princess could deal another blow, however, Donovan let go of the nail and threw two skulls on the floor. From the bottom of the skulls, bodies would soon sprout and after a few moments, two moldy skeletons with not so pleasant smells were sitting right in front of Hornet.
The sentries began blasting at the princess, and no matter how hard she tried to evade them, both skeletons’ blasted her into another tree, sending a loud shaking noise throughout the forest.
Hornet groaned and forced herself away from the tree, and now with newfound strategy, she evaded the blasts and sliced the skeletons up, before coming blade to blade with Donovan once more.
Hornet bursts into a volley of slashes, each one hitting Donovan until eventually disarming him. Hornet leapt backwards and tossed one of her spiketraps at Specter Knight, but the weapon narrowly passed the front of his face and missed.
After dodging the attack, Donovan weaved threw the other spiketraps before tossing a Throwing Sickle at Hornet, who shielded her head with her weapon. Specter Knight threw multiple sickles at Hornet, who dodged them and whipped out a Pimpillo. Once Specter Knight hit Hornet, the bomb detonated and sent both fighters barreling in opposite positions.
“It seems I may have underestimated you.” Said Donovan as he slowly stood up. Hornet bolted towards Specter Knight at a rate where she couldn’t even be seen moving, but unfortunately for her, before she could deal another blow, Specter Knight chuckled and slowly held out a coin. Hornet’s blade was inches away from Donovan’s throat, but time seemed to have slowed.
Specter Knight was not affected by this, as he slowly moved out of the attack’s way, with his cape fluttering in the wind.
Specter Knight carefully creates a strategy in a span of five seconds, before readying his scythe.
“SHING!”
Time sped back up. Specter Knight stood still, and Hornet impaled the tree that Donovan was standing in front of.
Suddenly, Hornet’s right arm cut free from her body, and with an immense groan of pain, the princess of Deepnest fell to her knees.
“GRAAAAH!” The spider clutched her wound with darkness spilling out and creating a puddle on the floor. Donovan leapt into the air and descended with his scythe, but Hornet rolled out of the way and Specter Knight cut through multiple trees.
Hornet stood up and clutched her blade harder than before. She had to win this. The princess unleashed a fearsome barrage of strikes at Donovan, who couldn’t beat them and launched the scythe out of his hand. He dropped two Spider Scythes to the floor, which rolled to different locations. Hornet scoffed and kicked Donovan to the floor, with her foot on his chest. She rose her nail in the air and thrusted it downward.
Suddenly, the two Spider Scythes rolled onto Hornet and disarmed her, with her blade flying into the air. Hornet shook the scythes off and snatched the nail once more, but Donovan had escaped her grasp.
Hornet turned around, trying to find her opponent, but Donovan leaped from the bushes at a blinding speed- but not fast enough to hit Hornet, as the princess blocks the blow.
”I will not lose to you, ghoul!” Yells Hornet as she strikes Donovan’s arm to no avail, giving Specter Knight the time to knock her back with another Dread Talon.
Donovan blitzes the opponent backward before ascending into the air with a hover plume and gaining the territory in the trees.
”I am not a mere ghoul, princess! Allow me to strike down the weakling between us both!”
Specter Knight tosses multiple Throwing Sickles at Hornet, who effortlessly guards herself with her nail, before bolting at Donovan and striking at his midsection. Donovan narrowly eluded the slash before knocking Hornet into the dirt.
”I will not tolerate any more of your heretics!” Yells Specter Knight, whom was clearly enraged. “I will strike you down, in the name of the Enchantress!”
Both prepare their weapons before darting towards one another. Now, only silhouettes of the warriors placed upon a red backdrop cleaving throw each other.
Both pause for a second, before Specter Knight is revealed to be the one who took the damage, clutching the wound on his forehead. With a loud scream of pain mixed with the blood rushing down his noggin, it would be ideal to stop fighting. But Donovan refused to die.
”Allow me to put you out of your misery!” Hornet yelled as her nail conceived an ethereal glow, glowing light yellow. She dashed up to Specter Knight and plunged her weapon into his wound, piercing his thoughts and sending her into Donovan’s mindscape.
Inside the ghoul’s mind, there stood nothing but a cloaked figure and white emptiness. A gateway pierced the void, however, and out came Hornet. She saw the figure and pulled out her weapon to finish it off.
She plunged her nail downwards, but a blade protected the figure and knocked Hornet off balance.
”You dare bring me back to my accursed mind?” Says the figure as he walks closer to Hornet. He suddenly turns more visible and the figure appears to be… a human form of Specter Knight!
”I only serve one master, and that master has ordered me to strike you down.” Says Donovan as he slashes at Hornet, but the princess leaps back and throws her nail at Donovan. The treasure hunter hops over the weapon swiftly, before returning to the ground. He bolted to Hornet and delivered a slash across her chest, knocking her off guard and giving her a serious wound.
The Princess and the Treasure Hunter both ran to each other and mercilessly cleaved at their opponent, not stopping until they were struck down.
Donovan gained the upper hand, however, and slashed at Hornet’s chest once more, making the wound larger.
The camera pans farther out as Hornet and Donovan go in for the final blow…
“SHINK!”
“KLANK!”
“SLASH!”
Both silhouettes of the fighters are on the other side of their opponent again, but Hornet is the unlucky one in this clash. Her remaining limbs slip off and finally, her head pops off like a cork.
Back into the real world, Hornet’s death in Specter Knight’s mind had effected her in reality, killing the princess off. Once Donovan regains composure, he stands up and wields his blood-soaked scythe high into the air. He lets out a vigorous scream before reciting a short sentence.
”Luan, I fought for you.”
KO!
Ending Screen A: Specter Knight is seen sitting on the overlook of the Tower of Fate, reminiscing on his past and praying for forgiveness- as he had just ended another innocent life.
Ending Screen B: Hornet’s corpse sits in the forest. The Knight approaches it, and spies it. Despite being emotionless, Hornet’s sibling sits down and mourns.
Results[]
Kitty: Wait- what was that? Did her head just come off like the cork on a New Years wine?
Puppy: This was a tricky match to decipher. Both combatants held multiple advantages against each other.
Kitty: For starters, both were pretty strong, but let’s look at each combatant’s respective strengths! Hornet is comparable to the Knight who could smash a bridge, and Specter Knight could take down the Tower of Fate! Now, let’s go to my nerdy friend to see which feat is stronger.
Puppy: The Knight’s bridge feat is calculable to 0.02 Tons of TNT and Hornet is comparable and superior to the ghost, which is nothing to scoff at, sure, but Donovan just blew her out of the water! Taking down the Tower of Fate, is, at it’s very least, 169 Tons of TNT! With the whopping 168.98 ton difference, Hornet just couldn’t deal enough damage to beat Donovan in this category.
Kitty: Speaking of the Tower of Fate, Donovan is also comparable to Shield Knight, who survived the whole thing crashing on her! That also scoffs at Hornet’s best durability feat, taking hits from the Knight!
Puppy: Now for speed, a much closer category, Hornet is comparable to the Knight, who could dodge light, and Donovan is comparable to Shovel Knight and King Knight, with the former dodging lightning and the latter dodging lasers! Though, with how slow the lasers that King Knight dodged went, this category goes to Hornet.
Kitty: But Donovan also took Arsenal- and quite handily as well! With his multiple Curios up his sleeves, Hornet just couldn’t predict what the ghoul could dish out at that point!
Puppy: Hornet was more experienced, however, having trained for multiple years with great warriors such as Hive Queen Vespa.
Kitty: Though that category wasn’t as large of a distance between the two’s capabilities as the other categories, however, as Donovan has had multiple years of treasure hunting under his belt.
Puppy: Hornet was a fine warrior- one of the best, actually, but she couldn’t stand up to Specter Knight’s superior strength, durability and arsenal.
Kitty: Hornet had a chance, but it was Don-over for her and she was left hanging by a thread.
Puppy: The Winner is Specter Knight.
Next Time on Death Battle...[]
“All this time! All the effort! What has it all been for?! Tell me, Uncle... Duma... Someone...TELL ME!"
“When I cut you, you bleed. That means you can be defeated."
Trivia[]
- The connections between Hornet and Specter Knight are that they’re red-cloaked, quick-slashing indie game antagonists, who are actually on the good side. Both also have spin-off games where they’re the playable character.
- This battle would be in hand drawn, true to Hollow Knight’s miraculous hand-drawn style.
- The soundtrack for this battle would be called “The Lich’s Thread”, referring to Specter Knight’s position as the leader of the Lich Yard and Hornet’s use of thread in combat.