You may not understand what is going on in this at first, but it might make sense later in a different story. Enjoy nevertheless! Note: the names are from Sonic and the Black Knight.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters
Awakening Darkness
A small breeze blew some fallen leaves into the air as a full moon hung high in the silent night sky.
The moon shone brightly on a mighty palace that was placed in a lush green valley.
A river snaked around the valley, making the valley a lush paradise.
The silence was suddenly broken when several cries echoed through the valley.
"Pathetic."
Several unmoving bodies were lain strewn on top of the palace with many slash marks on their bodies.
Blood pooled around the fallen bodies as a small black figure stood on top of a nearby tower, the moon outlining its figure.
The moon reflected off the figure's armored helmet as its sword glistened in the moonlight.
"There is no one who is any match for the Ultimate Life Form!" the black hedgehog said in a dark voice.
A young woman with short red hair with white feathers in it, dressed in a white dress with gold lining on the chest area walked out onto the moonlit path and let out a sigh.
"He did it again after I told him not to." Elise sighed as a pink hedgehog dressed in a light blue hoop skirt with a golden hair band in her hair came up behind her and patted her on the back.
"He's only thinking of your safety, Princess Elise." Nimue said.
Hearing their conversation down below, the black hedgehog gave an annoyed grunt.
He jumped down and landed in front of Elise and Nimue with a look of annoyance on his face.
"I am just doing my job, hime. My duty as a knight of the royal family is to protect you and that is exactly what I am doing."
"Sir Lancelot, I told you to refrain from needless killing. There could have been another way for you to take care of those assassins without killing them mercilessly." Elise said as Shadow looked away stubbornly.
Elise started getting a little frustrated with his attitude but spoke in a calm voice.
"By doing so, you only prove to be just as heartless as those assassins."
Lancelot lifted his helmet, revealing narrowed crimson eyes. "Those assassins and I have a completely different reason for killing. They wanted to kill you because they were paid to do so, while I kill to protect."
"Even so..."
"If you don't like how I do my job, deal with it." Lancelot said harshly while turning his back on her and walked away.
"Lancelot..." Nimue said softly as a silver hedgehog came rushing to Elise's side.
"How dare you talk that way to Elise-hime!" a silver hedgehog shouted.
"Be at peace, Sir Galahad. It's all right." Elise said as Galahad's shoulders relaxed.
Elise watched Lancelot walk away, wishing he would listen to her words for once.
Lancelot was indeed loyal to her, he just carried out orders differently from how she would want them.
Princess Elise was very grateful to Lancelot because of all the times he had saved and protected her from the enemy assassins, but wished he wasn't so stubborn.
"Man, Lancelot sure totaled them this round." Sir Lamorak, a green hawk, said looking over the dead bodies.
"Nevertheless, we must all stay on guard when more choose to strike." Percival, a purple cat, said calmly.
"I don't see what the big deal is. Lancelot just killed a bunch of assassins to keep her highness safe. If you ask me, those guys were asking for it." Sir Gawain, a red echidna, said folding his arms.
Princess Elise walked back inside the palace and sat down wearily on her thrown.
"Princess, maybe you should get some rest. You look exhausted." Nimue said in concern.
Elise shook her head. "No, I'm fine."
"It's just that... Lancelot..." Elise sighed.
Nimue gave her a concerned look before coming up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Just remember, Lancelot is only thinking of you and your safety." Nimue said before leaving her to rest.
Elise watched her walk away as her eyelids started getting heavier and heavier.
Lancelot stood on top of the tower, looking out towards the horizon.
A cloud passed over the moon, hiding its light.
Lancelot let out a sigh as he closed his eyes.
'I don't understand... Everything I've done was to keep her safe and this is how she shows her gratitude?' Lancelot said to himself opening his eyes and looked lazily up at the moon.
(Flashback)
"Elise, this is Sir Lancelot. He is the royal family's most loyal knight." a man with graying hair introduced Lancelot to a little girl who was clinging to the man.
"He looks scawy." Elise said clinging closer to the man.
"Elise, dear. He's not going to hurt you. Go and say hello." the man said ushering Elise forward, but she hid behind him.
Lancelot knelt down to her height and looked at her intently. "Elise-hime, I'm won't hurt you. I'm here to protect you."
Elise hid a little farther behind her father as he gave her a concerned look, though Lancelot didn't seem phased.
He just softened his expression and said, "I'll keep you safe no matter what. I won't let anyone harm you, I promise."
Elise looked at him with uncertainty as the man chuckled.
"I'm sorry, Sir Lancelot. She just needs to get used to you, that's all." the man said with a well-humored smile.
Lancelot let out a sigh as he stood up. "It doesn't matter if she likes me or not, as long as it doesn't interfere with my line of duty."
Elise stared at him, unsure of what he meant but dismissed it.
"Well, I trust you to keep your word." the man said as Lancelot nodded.
"You have my word, your majesty. I will protect her with my life."
Elise widened her eyes at this as Lancelot turned and left the room.
~A few months later~
Elise was sitting in front of her father's grave sobbing, pleading for him to come back.
'Where did she go?' Lancelot said to himself while looking for the little princess as he walked briskly through the forest.
He finally found her in front of her father's grave crying.
Hesitantly, he walked over to her side. Elise looked up at him before looking away, eyes filled with tears.
Lancelot sighed as he knelt down beside her and stared at the grave without saying a word.
"Why... Why did he have to go?" Elise mumbled while hiccuping a little.
Lancelot looked off to the side a little so that he couldn't see her. "He was thinking what was best for the kingdom and all the people living in it... He did it for you."
Elise put her head in her arms while her body started trembling with emotion.
Lancelot wasn't too familiar with consoling others, but felt that he should try, for her sake.
He gingerly reached out and touched her shoulder before pulling back a little, then finally placed his hand on her shoulder.
Elise looked up at him in surprise as Lancelot stared back at her.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Elise swatted his hand away and jumped into his arms, crying into his shoulder.
Lancelot was caught off guard and widened his eyes in shock, but let himself relax as he wrapped his arms around her small body.
"Father... Father!" Elise cried, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
Lancelot let out a soft sigh before picking her up and started walking her back to the palace, occasionally rubbing her back soothingly.
"Don't worry. I'll look after you. I won't let anything happen to you," Lancelot said reassuringly as Elise hugged him tighter. "I promise."
"T-Thank you..." Elise muttered through her sniffling.
(End of Flashback)
Elise snapped her eyes open, realizing she had dozed off.
Her expression softened, remembering Lancelot's promise to her.
She smiled softly as she brought a hand to her chest.
Lancelot was very kindhearted, though he usually masks it with indifference and a serious, cold exterior.
A crash came from the other room as the sound of broken glass falling to the floor followed.
Galahad and Percival rushed into the thrown room, their swords ready.
"What happened?!" Galahad demanded in alarm.
"I-I don't know. There was suddenly a crashing sound coming from the back room." Elise said as Galahad and Percival quickly made their way down the hall.
Galahad burst through the door to see broken glass scattered across the floor and fallen shelves.
A flicker of movement caught Galahad's eye as he looked towards the window but only saw the moon.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
Galahad and Percival whirled around to see a man dressed in black with jet black hair holding a knife to Princess Elise's throat.
"Release the Princess now!" Percival shouted while pointing her sword towards the intruder.
The man grinned while pressing the knife closer to Elise's throat. "Heh, you're in no position to be making demands, kitty cat."
Percival narrowed her eyes as Galahad shone pure rage in his.
"Now, put the swords down on the ground or else the Princess here dies!" the man said as Elise whimpered slightly.
Percival and Galahad reluctantly dropped their swords as the man gave a triumphant smile.
"Very good. Now I'll just be on my way." the man said as he held up a certain item.
Percival's eyes widened in horror. "The Scepter of Darkness?! No! You don't know what that thing is capable of!"
"Peh, who cares? All I know is that this will go for a high bid." the man sneered.
"You filthy-!" Galahad cursed through gritted teeth as the man slowly made his way out of the room, still holding the knife to Elise's throat.
"L-Let go of me!" Elise cried as the man dragged her to the second level of the palace and brought her outside onto the roof.
The man grinned. "Hm, you seem to be worth a bit yourself..."
Elise widened her eyes in horror and looked away, not wanting to look or think about what was going to happen to her.
"Get your filthy hands off her."
Elise snapped her eyes open and looked over to see Lancelot standing not too far away.
"Lancelot!" Elise cried in relief.
The man glared at him as he held the knife up to Elise's throat again.
"You better keep your distance or else." the man threatened as Lancelot's expression didn't change.
"I'm warning you!"
Lancelot took a firm step forward as the man took one step back.
"Aren't you worried about your dear princess?! One false move and I can easily slit her throat open!" the man spat as Elise looked at Lancelot in bewilderment.
Lancelot's gaze moved to the item the man was holding in his other hand, causing him to narrow his eyes.
"One false move... Then I won't make one." Lancelot said flicking his sword with his wrist before disappearing before the man's eyes.
"What-?!"
Lancelot suddenly reappeared in front of the man and knocked the knife out of his hand.
Before the man could retaliate, Lancelot got behind him and hit him in the back of the head with the back of his sword.
The man let out a grunt before falling forward off the roof, releasing his hold of the Scepter of Darkness and Princess Elise.
"Lancelot!" Elise cried as she fell towards the ground below.
Lancelot jumped to the ground and slid underneath Elise, successfully catching her just as she was about to hit the ground.
Elise slowly opened her eyes to find herself in Lancelot's arms.
"Lancelot... Thank you so much!" Elise cried as she hugged him, causing Lancelot's eyes to widen slightly in surprise.
"I promised you that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I'm merely keeping my word." Lancelot said as Elise smiled.
A loud crash was heard from behind and Lancelot whirled around and widened his eyes when he realized that in the midst of rescuing Princess Elise, he had forgotten about the Scepter of Darkness.
The Scepter of Darkness lay in pieces and it seemed as if it was pulsing with dark energy.
Lancelot set Elise down as he protectively got in front of her and slowly walked towards the broken scepter.
As he reached down to pick it up, Elise felt waves of darkness emanating from it.
"Lancelot!" Elise cried as Lancelot quickly backed away when a stream of darkness shot out of the scepter and high into the air.
"Princess Elise!" Nimue cried as she and the other knights were rushing towards them.
"No! Stay back!" Lancelot shouted but it was too late.
The stream of darkness came down from the sky and shot straight through Nimue and the other knights, sending them crashing to the ground, knocking them unconscious.
Elise covered her mouth in horror as they laid on the ground motionless.
The stream of darkness shot into the sky again before heading straight down towards Lancelot.
Lancelot moved out of the way just as the stream of darkness plunged into the ground right in front of him, seeping into his shadow that was shone by the moonlight.
Lancelot watched in horror as his shadow started moving on its own and a dark cloud suddenly swallowed his shadow.
Once his shadow was absorbed into the dark cloud, a dark figure rose from the cloud.
"M-My shadow...!" Lancelot said as the dark figure revealed itself to look almost exactly like him, except instead of red markings, the creature had grayish blue markings and crystal-like rings around its wrists and ankles.
The creature started chuckling as it looked up at Lancelot. "How ironic fate can be!"
"I never would have believed I would be resurrected through your shade." the creature said pointing at him before waving them in the air as it spoke.
Lancelot lifted an eye brow slightly, not understanding what the creature meant.
"I thank you, Sir Lancelot, knight of the royal family."the creature said bowing courteously.
"Who are you? And how do you know my name?" Lancelot demanded as fear shone through Elise's eyes.
The creature lowered his arms while keeping his head bowed as he slowly made his way towards Lancelot while swaying from one side to the other with each step.
"I am Mephiles... Mephiles the dark. What, did you forget me?"
Lancelot took a step back as Mephiles continued slowly approaching him and was now right in front of him.
"I owe much to you, Sir Lancelot."Mephiles stated while looking at him through slitted green eyes that looked liked a reptile's.
"Ah, that's right,"Mephiles said as he lifted his arm, causing Lancelot to jump back as a dark ball of energy appeared in Mephiles' hand. "What you gave to me, I now return to you... A one way ticket to oblivion!"
Mephiles raised his hand above his head as the dark ball of energy suddenly expanded, engulfing both him and Lancelot.
"Lancelot!" Elise cried as Lancelot struggled against pull of the magnetic field surrounding the dark energy.
Mephiles started laughing maniacally as both him and Lancelot suddenly disappeared.
-------
Lancelot snapped his eyes open as he quickly sat up.
A bewildered expression was plastered on his face as he found himself in an unfamiliar area. It seemed like he was in a deep forest unlike the green and lush kingdom he came from.
He slowly rose to his feet and picked up his sword that was lying beside him.
'What is this place... last thing I remember is...'
The memory of him rescuing Princess Elise from one of the assassins and the awakening of Mephiles came back to him like a ton of bricks.
'Mephiles the dark... What in the world was he? How did he know me?' Lancelot said to himself before shaking his head.
'It doesn't matter. I have to get back to Princess Elise.'
As Lancelot started walking deeper into the forest, he heard low growling noises coming from all directions, causing his ears to twitch.
'It seems as if I'm not alone in this forest.' Lancelot looked from the corner of his eye to see several glowing red eyes coming from the shadows.
Suddenly, hundreds of monstrous beings came shooting out of the darkness, growling and snapping.
Lancelot turned around and narrowed his eyes as he tightened the grip on his sword.
The demons came at him with nashing teeth and screeching as Lancelot pointed his sword at them.
"There is no strength in numbers... So move aside!" Lancelot said as he charged towards the oncoming swarm of demons.
Look familiar? It should in several ways. Hope I didn't confuse you too much, hope you enjoyed! Please Review!