"Coming of the Ice King"

Chapter 11

"Wildlings, White Walkers and a giant bear."

"W-White Walkers?" Mycroft asked as he was being dragged to where the terrified youth saw said enemies. "Forgive me, as I'm going to sound incredibly ignorant, but..." He dodged a branch from a tree that nearly made a nice mark on his face. "What the bloody Hell, is a 'White Walker'?!"

Finn didn't answer, only pulled on his arm harder and increased speed.

The other Ex-Night Watchers were not far behind, though they also offered no explanation.

Frowning in irritation the fox-haired man suddenly dug his heels into the ground, making the blond warrior nearly fall on his arse.

"Woah!" Finn yelled as he barely avoided losing his balance. "What are you doing?! We have to run! Quickly!" He emphasized his point by grabbing Mycroft's arm with both his hands, and pulling.

"No." But Holmes was having none of it, expertly getting his arm out of the younger man's hold with an Aikido technique.

"But-!"

"Not until you tell me what we're supposedly running from." Mycroft then crossed his arms over his chest to signal that he will not be convinced otherwise.

Jon swallowed, looking around.

"The White Walkers are… the dead, risen back to life by some kind of dark magic."

Mycroft blinked.

Then blinked again.

'Did… did I hear right?' He thought, a bit dumbfounded. 'Did he just describe... zombies to me?'

Is there anything that this world doesn't have?!

"Are you talking about dead people… that walk?"

"Yes!" Cotter screamed, before grabbing his hand and forcing him into a run. "And there is no known way to stop them completely, so we need to run before they swarm us!"

Holmes's head was spinning, as he clumsily followed the younger men through the forest.

'Zombies' He thought, bearly ducking under a tree trunk. 'Out of all supernatural things… why did it have to be the Undead?!'

Mycroft was so lost in thought, that he bumped into the blond-haired night watcher's back.

"D-Damn it! We're surrounded!"

Immediately the small group gathered close together back-to-back, weapons in arms, ready to defend themselves.

It didn't take long for their attackers to show themselves, pushing through the bushes and trees, and looking as decaying and grim as their counterparts in Mycroft's world.

The only glaring difference between them being: the frost covering their bodies and the unnaturally sapphire blue eyes.

Feeling the other men shake against his back, freed the former British Government out of his stupor.

'Alright.' The fox-haired man rolled his shoulders, preparing for the upcoming battle. 'Do not panic. If memory serves, zombies aren't monsters known for their speed in battle. You should be fi-'

He didn't get the chance to finish, as the nearest White Walker gave a roar and slashed at his chest with blinding speed.

Mycroft's reflexes screamed as he staggered backwards just in time for the slash to not end up deep enough to cause concern.

Holmes countered, pushing the sword away with his dadger, ice-blue eyes wide and heart thundering with shock and adrenaline.

He stared at the walker, brain still trying to work around the new development regarding the the monster's speed in movement.

It grinned at him, unnatural blue eyes shining with glee and lips pulled back in a teeth-showing smile.

They're lost for a second.

Man and Monster locked in their own little world.

...before everything goes crashing down when the others join in.

An arrow whistled inches away from his cheek.

"H-Holy-"

"Get back!" Gared pulled him by his collar, blocking another arrow from piercing Mycroft's chest, with his shield.

The red haired man shook his head, the world exploding in a blur of movement and clashing steel.

His information...

It was wrong.

The problem with geniuses is that, they trust their minds with their lives.

So, if doubt is cast upon the reliability of said mind...

It might end up killing them.

Dodging the flurry of attacks coming from all directions using reflexes and muscle memory alone, Mycroft struggled to rearrange his entire knowledge regarding Zombies to fit the present situation.

'They're fast and Intelligent enough to use weapons in combat.' He dodged another slash at his head, then retaliated with a swift backstab.

The monster didn't stop, didn't even flinch as the blade pierced it's skin. It simply turned around and continued the assault.

Mycroft grit his teeth.

"How do we stop them?!" Carter yelled from somewhere behind him.

"I don't know!" Finn yelled back, kicking one of the Zombies away. "They don't stop no matter what I do!"

It was clear that if something isn't done fast they'll get overwhelmed and killed.

"Break their legs!" Holmes called out.

"What?!" The ex-Nightwatchers called out.

"Even if it doesn't stop them completely, it will slow them down and limit their movability considerably!" Mycroft responded, nimbly dodging behind a walker and kicking it hard in the knee, dislocating it. "Get rid of their legs!"

He couldn't see if the others listened to his advice, he was too busy either dodging or crushing limbs.

'We won't be able to keep this up for long.' The Red-haired man thought, already huffing.

'I need to… get them out of here.'

Gritting his teeth, he rolled to the side and let out a shrill whistle to gain the attention of the Undead.

"Hey!" He yelled, waving his arms up and down. "Come get me!" He dropped his daggers. "I'm unarmed!"

The Undead immediately turned towards him, completely ignoring the surprised yelps of the rest of his group.

"No!" Mycroft could hear Jon scream. "Mr. Holmes!"

"Don't do this!" Carter.

"Damn it! No!" Finn.

"Stop!" Gared.

But Mycroft didn't care.

All that mattered, was getting the younger men out of harm's way.

"Run!" He called out, as he turned tail and bolted in the direction of the camp where they left Caramel. "I'll lead them away and meet you on the other side of the forest!"

Without waiting for a response Mycroft quickened his step, hoping he'll get to Caramel before one of the walkers manages to kill him.

He needn't have bothered.

The brown horse suddenly appeared a few meters before him, kicking away the undead fools that tried to get onto his back.

"Caramel!"

The horse immediately started running to him after hearing his voice.

Once he was close enough, Mycroft jumped onto his back.

'Now...' He grabbed the horse's reins and twisted them so that Caramel run towards the swarm surrounding the ex-Nightwatchers. 'To rescue the four foolish boys.'

As they rushed towards Jon and his group, Mycroft found a walker that held a large spear, and got a brilliant idea.

Jon and his friends were losing ground rapidly and they knew it.

They didn't run like Holmes told them to, they couldn't just leave him to fight this swarm on his own.

So they stayed behind.

"Keep pushing them back!" He called out to the rest, slashing at three walkers to prevent them from getting any closer.

"There is too many of them!" Somewhere behind him, Gared called back among the clashing of steel and wood.

They were being pushed closer together, ending up back-to-back.

The young Snow could feel his friends' backs shiver from exhaustion and cold.

"Keep fighting!" He tried to encourage them, but even his hands were beginning to shake under every hit he blocked.

They're not getting out of this one...

Not without a miracle.

Just then, his shield was knocked out of his hand and he was left open to attack.

Everything slowed down...

"Jon!" He heard Gared scream from behind him.

"Damn it! Duck!" Finn yelled, trying to push his way to him only to be attacked by another walker abomination.

Jon could see the blade heading right for his heart, he closed his eyes.

'Is this... really how my story ends?'

Jon thought reading himself for death...

Death that, ultimately, didn't come.

Instead he heard Carter yell something excitedly, and the thunder that he previously took for his maddening beating heart, turned out to be horse hoofs.

"Apologies for butting in..." A familiar voice said. "But I believe you were in need of assistance."

Shocked Jon opened his eyes only to be greeted by a grinning Mycroft Holmes on top of a horse holding a long spear that had at least five walkers impaled on it, including the one trying to kill Jon not too long ago.

He was speechless.

"Mr. Holmes!" Finn called out to Snow's left. "You're back!"

"Of course I'm back." The red-headed man scoffed, pulling on the reins to turn the horse around. "I had to make sure you four get out of here safe and sound."

He then turned away from them and kicked Caramel into a gallop, forcing the walkers he impaled to move along with the horse, before thrusting the whole spear into the nearest tree, trapping them.

"Has anyone seen my weapons?!"

He bellowed jumping off of Caramel's back and immediately dodging an attack by a white walker.

"We couldn't get them!" Carter called out, whacking a walker in the head. "We were a bit busy fighting our own share of walkers!"

"That's alright!" Mycroft then attacked the nearest monster, his movements fluid and graceful, practically dancing around the walking-dead human, as he snapped the thing's neck and took it's sword and shield. "I'll just… borrow this fellow's weapons."

Jon shook his head with a smile, before slashing at two other walkers that tried to flank him.

This man… never fails to surprise him.

"Holmes!" Gared yelled out. "How do we get out of this mess?!"

"We do what many before us did in this type of situation!" Mycroft yelled back, cutting off a walker's head with his new sword. "We run!"

"Run?!" Finn cries out. "A true Night Watcher does not run!"

"I case you've forgotten, Finn," Carter responded, huffing and puffing as he dodged a slash at his legs. "You're not a watcher anymore!"

"But-"

"Just run already!"

Suddenly Mycroft was there, pushing him away from the White Walkers and towards the direction he wanted him to go.

They all began to run as fast as they could, letting the Red-haired man take the lead.

"Where are we running?!" Jon called out, being the closest to Mycroft.

"Preferably out of the forest, but I'm open to suggestions!"

There were none, so they just followed the original plan.

That's when Gared noticed something that the Walkers were doing.

"Everyone! They're gathering troops on both our sides!" He called out, quickening his step. "I think they're trying to flank us before we can exit the forest!"

Jon could hear Mycroft curse in a language he didn't understand.

"Everyone prepare your weapons!" He called out, pulling his shield in front of him. "We're going to have to push our way thro-" Suddenly he stopped, making Jon run into him nearly knocking both of them over.

"Wha-" before Snow could ask what's wrong, Mycroft threw his arms sideways to stop the others in their tracks before they run into whatever he avoided.

"Oof!" The rest grunted as they collided with the outstretched arm.

"What's the big deal, Mr. Hol-" Finn started, before getting silenced by Mycroft's hand on his mouth.

"Shhhh..."

Before anyone else could inquire why he wanted them to be quiet...

A loud growl could be heard from before them, and a giant White Bear slowly made his way out from behind the trees, blocking their way.

The group stood frozen, wondering if the animal would charge at them before the White Walkers catched up.

But then, the bear roared and started attacking the incoming White Walkers. Making the group ponder if they got an unexpected new ally...

Or just another enemy.