Hi everyone! I have absolutely loved playing Shovel Knight and the DLC Plague of Shadows. Despite the success of the game though, there is a saddening lack of Shovel Knight fanfics on here. This needs rectifying. So I'll start off with a one-shot mainly about Plague Knight. Pretty much inspired by GenericDude really; he's got some awesome Shovel Knight fanfics.

Reviews are appreciated as always. Happy reading!

Edit: thanks for pointing out the error, Jason! It's been fixed now. :)

Heart's Desire

Plague Knight was on a quest. And not just any quest but surely the most significant quest of… this year. (People went on quests all the time in this region.) It was a quest that was noble and true. It was a quest that would bring him his heart's desire. It was a quest that was turning out to be a teensy bit more difficult than he anticipated.

Plague Knight grumbled to himself. Going through the Explodatorium should have been the easiest section of this entire quest – he only wanted to nip back to the lab and grab some supplies – but some idiot had lost the key to the back entrance which he had been specifically entrusted with and now there was apparently some intruder rampaging through the entire place looking for something… or someone. So now Plague Knight was having to go through the Explodatorium the hard way and the hard way meant picking his way through numerous traps and pitfalls. Honestly, one could clearly not get the minions these days. They were running riot in here for goodness sake! Did they not know how dangerous the place was? Addle-brained! At least that was his next experimental subjects decided. He'd put them in their place. But still, all this hard work was worth it and he would do more than that if it would take him even a little bit closer to his goal.

The alchemist sighed. Never had he wanted something so badly in his life before now. Having Mona as his alchemical partner had been a dream come true and the scientific progress they had made together was utterly magnificent even if the entire thing was vastly underappreciated by the cretins that were the general populace. Mona had not only advanced Plague Knight's experiments greatly, she also brought many of her own new, exciting ideas to the table as well. The ability to turn invisible, the ability to shoot lightning bolts, more efficient fuel sources, ichor that could cure the common cold and more. Oh, the possibilities! For the glory of science! They would change the world together!

To say that she was the only competent person within his employ would have been a grave insult to her; she was far more than that. They were undoubtedly on the same level, spoke from the same page. She was witty, she was dedicated, she was determined. That she was of course extraordinarily beautiful as well added to the wonderful package overall. And she could dance. Plague Knight had watched Mona dance numerous times when she thought she was alone. If only he could dance with her…

Mona was probably the only person who never belittled him either. The minions obviously didn't count of course; they were minions after all. But when he was constantly told that he was a weakling, a coward, a party magician that only used cheap tricks, he had to wonder… were they right? When so many said such things, did that make it all the more true?

Plague Knight shook his head. He had no time to think about such things. His mission was to gather Essences to make the Ultimate Potion, a potion that would raise him higher than before, give him all that he desired. Only then would he be strong enough for Mona. Only then would he be good enough for her.

Hee, maybe I should have made something that lets me bypass all this when I'm in a rush, Plague Knight thought as he traversed the Explodatorium's passages with its giant flasks, escaped monsters and occasional flamethrowers. Maybe I should have made an off switch or something. Ahhhh, why did I install so many traps and pits? Ahhh! Vat! Vat! Phew… thank goodness for these Arcanas. I swear I did not have so many monsters as this hanging about. I told those fools to shut of all my equipment! Thank goodness for the Float Burst though. Another one of your brilliant ideas, Mona.

The alchemist threw numerous bombs against a number of Slimulacra and briefly wondered why he had made so many of them and indeed, why he had actually made them in the first place considering they appeared to be ghostly copies of Shovel Knight, the enemy of the Order of No Quarter. Some sort of security thing wasn't it? Might as well make copies of someone who had great skill even if he was technically the enemy. And an extraordinarily determined enemy he was too, going about on his own quest. Plague Knight could admire that considering there was a similarity of sorts between their goals. Not that he'd admit it to the blue knight of course.

Plague Knight reached his secret lab and was satisfied that this at least had eluded discovery. What a person could do if they found all his secrets! Everything appeared to be fine; nothing had been disturbed. He exited the secret passage and dropped down into a large, empty area used for conducting the more volatile, explosive experiments. The bigger the explosion, the better the alchemist, as the saying went.

I hear footsteps, Plague Knight thought to himself and hid himself from view with a smoke bomb. It must be the intruder. I'll make sure to give him a warm welcome, hee hee hee!

A figure soon dropped into the pit and Plague Knight gave a startled cry. "Hee, leave me alone!" Oh, this Shovel Knight is sure persistent. The rest of the Quarter didn't even slow him down! I wish I had a minion like him.

"Show yourself, Plague Knight!" Shovel Knight called out. "Your trickery will not stop me."

"Trickery?!" Plague Knight replied from the blackness. Why did alchemy get such little respect? Was brawn the only thing people really respected? "Hee! The fruits of my research are no mere trick!" Wanting to surprise the knight if only for his own satisfaction, he reappeared behind him with a small boom and puff of smoke. Shovel Knight, however, did not flinch. "Now let's have a lesson, shall we? I promise… hee! It will be enlightening!"

Plague Knight tried to get the upper hand by throwing a Cascade Bomb in Shovel Knight's direction but his opponent battered it to one side with his trusty weapon. "I haven't time for such games," he stated. "The others have not stopped me and you will not stop me either, Plague Knight, from getting to the Enchantress. Stand down and make it easy for the both of us."

Why should I stand down? Has he asked the others that? Or does he think I'm a weakling too? "Hee, go to the Enchantress if you must," said Plague Knight brightly, "but give me your Essence in return and then we'll call it equal!"

"And what would you do with my Essence?" Shovel Knight frowned. "Along with the Essences of the others no doubt." Plague Knight froze. What did he know about his grand plan? "I heard a few of the other knights are most grieved about you and your little plot. And I believe you have visited the Armour Outpost and Pridemoor Village more than once? You do not seem particularly concerned about my quest to stop the Enchantress. If you do not aim to aid her, what then is your reason for your present actions?"

I guess he's got brains as well as brawn; what a rare combination indeed. If only I had the latter as well. "I bet that Black Knight let loose information did he not? I'll make sure to seal his lips permanently!"

"He and I were companions once before he joined the Order of No Quarter. But he found it fit to mention there was a traitor in the midst who would threaten the safety of the Enchantress. I presume he was talking about yourself."

"I'm no traitor!" Plague Knight snapped, aware that he had completely lost the upper hand that he ought to have had by being on his own turf. "The Enchantress bears no threat from me and I do not care for ruling the world if that is what you think. The Ultimate Potion will give me my greatest desire and I will take your Essence from you by force or otherwise! You will not stop on your quest. Neither will I!"

Shovel Knight held his shovel carefully, cautious that Plague Knight could attack him at any moment. Clearly the fellow was unhinged but, if he took his words to be true, at least he did not aim to do what he wished with the world. Still, he was an obstacle and now he wanted his Essence too. "So… if you do not plan to take over the world, what then is your motive? What is the Ultimate Potion for?"

Ooooh! Why was the knight asking these kind of questions?! Really, he ought to blast him into oblivion right now and take the Essence; it would certainly be of a better quality than Black Knight's anyway which he hadn't actually got the chance to take. Whatever. He only needed that from those truly in the Order of No Quarter and Shovel Knight.

Plague Knight suddenly stopped. Funny. The others hadn't asked what the potion was actually for and they were supposed to be his comrades of a sort. And this Shovel Knight did essentially have the same quest, right? There was a reason he had set out to destroy the Enchantress and it wasn't just for ridding the land of evil either. He was looking for a certain beloved. Plague Knight was trying to secure the affections of a certain beloved. Would it make any difference if he did say something?

"It will give me my desires of course! It will, uhhh, it will… uhhh… there's a… you know… the usual thing. I have my reasons; don't question them."

"Is there… a lady involved?" Shovel Knight asked carefully.

"Lady? Lady?" Plague Knight said. "What lady? I never mentioned a lady. There is no lady. I don't know what you're talking about. No ladies would ever go for me anyway, weird alchemist that I am. Why am I even mentioning this?"

"Is it the Magicist?"

"No. Why does everyone think I'm in love with the Magicist when I'm in love with—oooh! I see what you're trying to do, Shovel Knight! Hee hee! I'm wise to tricks and my tricks are no mere parlour tricks!"

This certainly was odd, Shovel Knight thought to himself, but if it meant that they didn't need to fight, then all the better. He did not take part in fights unless they were absolutely necessary and in any case, he needed to save as much energy as he could for later events. He saw Plague Knight twiddling his fingers until the latter noticed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Look, I'm sure you know all about impressing ladies and that's all very fine and dandy but I don't have that skill. My skill is in making things and making other things go boom. I'm going to great lengths to impress a certain someone and I will not let anyone stop me from undertaking this quest."

"And stealing Essences is the only option available, is it?" Shovel Knight said, raising an unseen eyebrow. "There are more suitable ways to impress a lady and—what are you doing?"

"Hee hee hee! Taking notes!" Plague Knight grinned, brandishing a pad and pencil. Coming from a knight, these romance tips had to be better than those given by the infernal horse-man Percy. "A proper alchemist always takes notes relating to their research."

Shovel Knight shook his head. "There is no need for notes. It's supposed to come from the heart."

"Ah, yes. I am aware of that of course. But I'm still doing research." Plague Knight noted that Shovel Knight had planted his weapon into the ground as they were conversing. How shovelarous, er, chivalrous of him. Course, that meant Plague Knight would be able to get the first hit in if need be.

"To impress or woo a lady," Shovel Knight began, "it helps first of all if you have confidence."

"Hee hee! I have loads of confidence," said Plague Knight breezily. Nevertheless, he wrote down this step.

"Perhaps towards others but to the lady in question? Have you told her anything besides details to do with your work?" Shovel Knight privately wondered why he was doing this when he had his own extraordinarily important mission to be getting on with. But… maybe doing this would make Plague Knight less of an enemy towards him which could only help in the long-run. Besides, it was his duty and nature to help others out, especially if it involved these kinds of circumstances. Shield Knight would surely approve.

Ah, Shield Knight. I'll be reunited with you soon no matter what.

"Hahaha… well, maybe you could mention the next step?"

"You must be sensitive and caring and you must certainly respect her."

"I do respect her!" Plague Knight was quick to say. "Seriously, I can't think of anyone else I respect more."

Nor I to Shield Knight. But if only I had been quicker or stronger or if I had taken the attack instead. What would be the situation now if I had been on the one in the Tower of Fate? If only I could have done something more…

"Um," Plague Knight prompted. "What else?" Huh. Shovel Knight appeared to be in a world of his own. Thinking about his quest no doubt and the object of the quest. He wondered how the two had actually met; the exploits of Shovel and Shield Knight were well-known throughout the land. If only he could obtain that kind of love, that kind of devotion. Obviously it was because Shovel Knight was strong whereas he, Plague Knight, was not. But he would become strong and he would become worthy. Yet a few extra tips wouldn't hurt, right?

"Hmm? My apologies. Find something you can bond over and—"

"Hee hee! Alchemy obviously."

"—and try to be spontaneous. Do something different. Learn something new."

Plague Knight had to consider that one. What could he learn without failing badly at it? Alchemy was his greatest talent and the only one he could be absolutely confident with. Mona was certainly enthusiastic about the Ultimate Potion project even though she did not know the ultimate goal to do with the potion but maybe she would also be impressed if he did something other than alchemy?

"Like what?"

"Like dancing," Shovel Knight said. "It is a good skill for a knight to learn."

He remembered the time when he first learnt how to dance. Two left feet, not like Black Knight; he had always been better at that kind of thing. He who could wield a Shovel Blade without thinking about it and he crashed into a table, knocking all the tankards onto the floor while trying to do some complicated move. Everyone had laughed. Even Shield Knight had laughed but she was far more sympathetic about it and soon Shovel Knight had ended up laughing about it as well. She showed him how to do it properly later on and more. How he missed those carefree days full of laughter, full of joy…

Dancing, huh? Well, he had seen Mona dancing in the Potionarium when she thought she was alone. Very lovely dancing it was too. He could have sat on top of that torque for ages watching her dance and he did in fact do so even though he had been half-afraid that a minion would suddenly burst in on him and ask the boss if he needed anything.

Ah, maybe Mona knew someone who could dance. Maybe Mona knew someone who could dance and was confident and was caring and liked him and so on and so forth. Probably someone who was taller as well; that growth potion had never successfully worked no matter what he did with it. Ahhh! He needed that Ultimate Potion no matter what!

Shovel Knight made other suggestions. Take the lady out to dine, be gentlemanly, have a good sense of humour, be natural and be thoughtful. All this made Shovel Knight feel all the more how much he intensely missed Shield Knight. He needed to be with her beyond all else. He felt a familiar tightness in his chest and throat. He would be dreaming of her once again tonight, fighting off foes and catching her like a falling star…

"Anything else?"

Shovel Knight was itching to be gone. He had spent long enough time conversing and he did not wish to delay his quest anymore than he had to. "Be honest with her."

Plague Knight paused. Had he been honest with Mona, really honest? She was willingly helping Plague Knight out with creating the Ultimate Potion by not only developing the necessary equipment to contain the Essences but creating new bursts, cases and fuses that helped Plague Knight traverse the land all the quicker and thrash his opponents like nobody's business. What would she say if she found out? Why couldn't he just tell her how he felt?

Ah, that was impossible. Every time he thought about it, he would go all shy and start twiddling his thumbs which was no way to act for an alchemist. No doubt someone would interrupt him anyway just as he would about to make his speech like that idiotic Percy. He'd probably look and sound stupid anyway and as far as he knew about these kind of things, you only had one chance at it and he certainly did not want to mess up that chance. Hence the dire need for the Ultimate Potion.

But still, these were good tips. Maybe, just maybe, he'd get the chance to try them out for real?

"Thank you, Shovel Knight," Plague Knight said. "You've given me an awful lot to think about." He put his notes away. "This… business isn't so easy and there's a lot of hard work involved. But… there's still one more thing."

"And what's that? AHHH!"

"Hee hee!" Plague Knight had thrown a couple of bombs in Shovel Knight's direction. "Your Essence!"

"Confound you, Plague Knight!" Shovel Knight growled. So much for helping another. "You leave me no choice but to strike you down!"

The two knights fought long and hard and Plague Knight noted that his opponent was wielding a series of relics that he had himself had traded with Chester for items more appropriate to his position. For shame that trader! He was forced to constantly dodge Shovel Knight's furious, erratic attacks and attempt to restore his energy with some health tonics before they knocked to the ground. He knew this battle was going to leave him battered and bruised all over. Not the anchor again! No wonder this guy was feared!

Still, using his health-restoring Arcana and a variety of bombs crafted by his dear Mona, Plague Knight finally managed to get the upper hand but only just. Panting, he triumphantly extracted Shovel Knight's Essence and looked to store it safely. At least that was the intention. Shovel Knight suddenly jumped up, taking Plague Knight by surprise, and slammed him to one side with an almighty swing of his shovel before running off, taking his Essence with him.

"Hee, that's my kind of trick," Plague Knight mumbled before fainting.

The only sound that night was the crackling campfire. The sky was clear and filled with stars. It ought to have been a peaceful night for anyone but once again Shovel Knight slept fitfully, dreaming dreams about his lost beloved. He did not wake up to realise there was a certain figure creeping towards him.

"Hee hee hee! Thought you'd get away with your Essence, huh?" Plague Knight whispered. He rummaged around in Shovel Knight's kit and found what he was looking for. "Hahaha! Sleeping like a blue baby!"

He tucked away the Essence safely and began to creep away from the campsite. However, he stopped and turned to look back once.

I guess it must be hard to be without the one you love the most. I know I'd feel the same. So thanks for the advice. I still need the Ultimate Potion but… who knows? Maybe things will turn out better than I anticipate. I hope you find who you're looking for; I've no quarrel with you on that score. As for me… hopefully sooner rather than later, yeah?

With that, Plague Knight stole away into the night, not even realising that he would never need the Ultimate Potion at all for his heart's desire.