The two carriages arrived at the castle grounds. Maria and her company exited first and were led to the right by the driver of that carriage. The others continued down the path. Both Sonic and Miles stared deeply at the castle. It was a tall one. The stone walls made Sonic bend his neck too far as he titled his head back. From what he observed, there were five towers. The biggest one was in the middle. That was the body. The other four towers surrounded the middle tower. They weren't as tall as the middle tower, but close enough. The towers had red tiles at the tip with a flag pole on each. He couldn't make out the design from here.

Amy led them into the castle. They were greeted by the staff. Sonic didn't recognize any of them as he expected. They were all animals, no humans. The hedgehog waved as he followed his queen. The interior of the castle was striking to him. The marble castle had a red carpet for the main pathways that one should take. The stained-glass windows let in delightful rays of colored sunshine. The doors were large and beautifully designed. The party walked straight down the hall until they got to a set of double doors. They were much larger than all doors passed before. This appeared to be the throne room. To the left was a desk. To the right were two doors. Straight in front on top of some stairs were two thrones. They were equal in size. Amy walked up the stairs and sat in the right one. The ceiling had a dazzling chandelier hanging from it. The large window behind them wasn't made of stained glass. It was normal and gave the queen a great view of her land whenever she felt like looking at it.

"Blaze, would you fetch General Knuckles," she asked.

Blaze bowed and exited the room.

"Wait, General Knuckles," Sonic blurted out. He was trying to hold his laughter in. "I can't wait to see this."

"Yes, I want you to become a knight. You will be directly under his command."

"What about me," Miles inquired. Nothing was said about his purpose for being brought along yet.

"I planned to have you repay me for letting your clan stay here. What can you do?"

The fox was caught off guard by her question. His friend tried to help him out.

"Miles is a very smart intellectual. I'm positive that he could be of use during battles. He's great at creating plans."

He shot Sonic a look. Obviously that was a lie. Amy couldn't read the atmosphere so she went along with it.

"So you both will be joining General Knuckles. That's good to hear. I feel safer with you two around."

The doors to the throne room swung open. General Knuckles entered the room. Sonic felt disappointed. He looked exactly like the Knuckles he knew except for the robe that covered him. It was red and had the design of Amy's crown on the back of it. He bowed and greeted the queen. He then stared hard at Sonic.

"You were the one that took down that dragon yourself," he asked with his hand on his chin.

"Yeah, are you impressed?"

"I don't believe it. You look like such a weakling."

"What was that, you medieval idiot? No matter what time period it is you will always remain dumb."

The queen got out of her throne and attempted to stop this squabble.

"I think you two could work well together, especially if Sonic is as strong as Blaze said he is." She put herself between them.

"I'd never work with that dummy," the hero replied. He turned his face away.

"I'm sorry your highness, but there's no way this rubbish here could have defeated a dragon by himself. Just look at him. Such an insolent barbarian could never wield such power."

"Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you."

"Is that a challenge?"

She sighed and sat back in her throne.

"Do it out back, not in here."


Knuckles's grin had a sinister feel to it. He threw off his robe. Sonic finally got to see something interesting. The general had a sword! It was red in color and quite large. Not as large as Sonic's sword, but still quite big. The handle was a dark green, similar to the color of leaves on an evergreen tree. The hedgehog's signature cocky smile took shape. He jumped out of the open window behind the thrones and the red echidna followed. Miles walked up and stared out the window. Even though she was annoyed, Amy also got out of her seat to turn around and watch.

The venue of the battle was the castle's courtyard. There was a cobblestone path leading to a white gate. On both sides of the path were benches. Behind the benches were beautiful flowerbeds. The assortment of plants was a breathtaking sight to behold. In the opposite direction of the gate was a fountain which the path made a circle around. This is where the two fighters stood. From the many windows along the wall, one could see that they amassed an audience. Blaze was among this audience along with one other face that was familiar to Sonic but he wasn't introduced to her yet.

"Listen up," Knuckles ordered as he pulled out his sword. "I'll never work with the likes of you. You'll have to defeat me here and now to prove your worth."

The challenger stood there. He tilted his head and said, "You're not important enough for me to please. I'll need a bigger incentive."

The general's demeanor remained unstirred. "If I win you must leave this place."

"What if I win?"

"Then you shall become general and I will be your second in command."

"I like the sound of that, but if I become general you and Miles will share second in command."

"Yes, yes, just pull out your sword so I can send you back from whence you came."

"Eh, let's see if you can get me to use it first."

He ran at his superior. In his signature fashion, he leaped into the air and rolled into a ball as he descended towards his target. Knuckles stuck his sword out in an attempt to block. Sonic took note of this and stopped his roll before reaching Knuckles. He landed on his head and jumped off behind him. The angered officer charged at him blindly. This is exactly what Sonic wanted. Now he had a chance to show off his speed. Every swing of Knuckles's sword met with the air as they were all dodged. This weakling was avoiding all attacks with a smile on his face, a smile of malice, at least that's how he saw it. Sonic began to grow wry of this game of tag. He ran towards Knuckles and attempted to disarm him. He became a bit too complacent. Knuckles countered with a dodge to the right and an elbow to the back. This caused Sonic to jump back.

"You are very quick," he retorted with a look of confidence. "But such tactics will never work on a hero of war."

The blow Sonic took to his back did hurt, but it wasn't enough to stop him. Despite being hit first, his pride wasn't shaken.

"Well, I'll just have to try something different."

He spun into a ball and leaped into the air while in that state. He flung himself towards the echidna at incredible velocity. He blocked Sonic with his sword. His quills meeting with that metal created a flurry of sparks. Even though Sonic was deflected, he remained in the air and flung himself right back at him. He repeated this five times. Each attack was denied entry, but it was taking all Knuckles had to deflect them. He kept being pushed back bit by bit. The hedgehog landed and rolled up into a ball once more. He charged up then shot himself forward like a dart. That one final push was all he needed. The backs of Knuckles's shoes met with the tip of the fountain. He fell backwards and created a splash of water. Sonic laughed uncontrollably and so did the onlookers. From out the window, so was Miles laughing at the spectacle. Amy, on the other hand, had a look of concern. She was fretting over why her new knight wasn't using his sword.

"I've had enough of your horseplay," the wet general shouted. His voice echoed throughout the land. He grabbed his sword and jumped out of the fountain. "You will be destroyed, now!"

"You couldn't come up with a better line than that," Sonic asked. He was not amused as he slowly pulled his sword out. "I must admit, you are a tough opponent. It's a shame I have to use this, but I can't separate you from your sword."

Just then, the fox noticed Amy's eyes. They were wide open and fixated on that sword. Her breathing was short. He tapped her.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you know about his sword," she inquired as if she was in a trance.

"All I know is that he doesn't like using it. I've asked him why in the past but he has never explained. He really doesn't like the sword."

"I see."

The blue warrior gripped his sword with both hands. A strange event occurred. The blade began shining brightly. Its colored changed from silver to a very deep blue, similar to the color of the Chaos Emerald he had on him. He didn't notice. He was focused completely on his target, but everyone else did and was mesmerized by what their eyes have just witnessed. While the general did notice, he didn't care and charged on. Sonic charged at him as well. His sword emitted a trail of wind. It was so strong that it was visible. When the two clashed, a gust of wind formed that was so strong it blew Knuckles through the fountain and smashed him on the wall. That finally made his white, gloved hand drop that sword. He slid off of the wall and landed directly on his face. The winner stood there in astonishment. He stared strongly at his sword. He could see what appeared to be gusts of winds moving through the blade. This confused him to no end. He sheathed his sword and walked over to the loser. The general was unconscious. Sonic picked him up and carried him inside.


A member of the castle's staff took Knuckles off of Sonic's hand and carried him down the hall on his right to the infirmary. The hedgehog returned to the throne room. He was greeted by a speechless audience of Amy, Miles, Blaze, and that one person he saw earlier. She had long ears. They drooped over the back of her head. She had a small, white, fluffy tail. Her attire was familiar. It was similar to the clothes of the driver from before. Her face was very youthful with a charming smile and large eyes with a small, black nose in the middle. Her light, brown fur complimented the white color of her outerwear. It was obvious that this girl was very young. She was the one to break the awkward silence.

"Amazing," she congratulated him with enthusiasm. "I'm Magistrate Cream. It's nice to you meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," he replied. Seeing someone similar to Cream made him at ease. The gang was all here as far as he was concerned. This made him a bit more relaxed.

"Magistrate Cream is my closest friend and second in command," Amy explained. "She accompanies me from time to time and likes to drive my carriage."

"So you were the driver," Miles confirmed.

"Yes I was," she replied with a nod. She then switched the topic of conversation. "You didn't hurt General Knuckles too bad, did you?"

"I went easy on him," he answered. He noticed the chair by the desk. He pulled it out and sat in it. "I don't know about becoming general of the army. I think he was just saying that to get me to fight him."

"But you clearly outmatched him. After being humiliated in front of everybody, he would have no choice but to resign," Blaze chimed in. "Besides, he's a very stubborn person. He will always see his words through."

Sonic pulled out an apple he was saving. He took a bite of it. "But I don't know the first thing about being a general."

"You don't have to," Cream remarked while she looked up at him. "We don't have an army. It's just a title, more like a "the first person to put his life on the line for the queen" type thing."

This made Sonic spat out the piece of apple he had in his mouth. "Why there's no army?"

The queen tilted her head down in sadness. "The previous war depleted more than half of our forces. The remaining soldiers resigned because the result of us losing the war meant we had to give up some of our land and sign a peace treaty. Since we signed a peace treaty with the only neighboring kingdom that has attempted to attack us in recorded history, it was determined that there was no need for an army. We never tried to rebuild and only Blaze's task force remains."

"Well what do you need me for?"

She knew that question was coming. "Because I'm expecting a visitor soon. I was informed by a note that visitor will be the king of the country to the west. The king would like to take over the land completely and he's planning to do so by asking for my hand in marriage."

"Sounds like you don't want to do it."

"He's a despicable king. If I refuse it will most likely start a war. That's where you come in. I need you to protect me. I had no clue that such a strong person existed in my kingdom. You must be my sword."

He glanced at her face. Her eyes were teary. Her expression was one of despair. It was virtually impossible for him to turn her down. "I'll do it under one condition."

"What is it that you desire?"

"I want apples. Bring me as many of them as you can find."

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all. What else you thought I wanted?"

"You are a very nice person. I could never thank you enough."

The chat in the throne room was disbanded. Queen Amy and Blaze went their separate ways.


Magistrate Cream lead Sonic and Miles out of the throne room and down a hall on their left. At the end of the hall was a set of spiral stairs. At the end of the stairs was a door that led to the second floor.

"This is the west tower," she explained with her eyes closed and her index finger of her right hand pointed up. "This tower is used to house some of the more important members of the castle staff. You each have a room at the far end of the hall."

Sonic ran down the hall leaving that blue streak behind like he always does. At the end of the hall he opened the door on the right. The room was small, but still quite luxurious. To his left was a door which he opened to reveal a closet. On the right was a desk. A wooden chair with red cushions was placed by the desk. The back wall had a window. The glass wasn't stained. The window was huge and in front of it was bed. The bed was also big, much larger than a single person would need. The sheets were white. The headrest was tastefully decorated. The pillows seemed large comfy. He wasted no time jumping in this bed. His soul melted away once he got into a good position. Miles's room was similar. He came back to the hallway after inspecting his room then talked to Magistrate Cream who was still in the hall.

"Where was my clan escorted to?"

"The eastern tower. Would you like me to lead the way?"

"Yes if you don't mind."

Sonic heard the footsteps moving farther away. He was finally at peace for once. He removed his sword from his shoulder and propped it up against the wall. He buried his head in the right pillow and was about to drift off to sleep, but was interrupted by a knock to his door. He sat up. Amy entered the room carrying a basket. She placed it at the foot of his bed. She then sat down on his bed.

"That basket contains fifty apples. If you need more do not hesitate to ask."

The blue hero grabbed one and went to work on it. She finally decided to open her mouth on what's been bugging her.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me more about your sword?"

He finished the apple he had then grabbed the sword. "I hate this thing. I hate all weapons in general, but this sword in particular really gets to me. Where I came from there was no need for this thing."

"No need for a weapon. Is there not war in your time period?"

"Not really. I don't know if you could call it war. It's more like justice."

"A place without war. I'd like to see it myself one day." She leaned over his lap and stared Sonic right in the eyes.

Sonic looked away while blushing. "So about the sword. When I first appeared here, I was running through a mountain. In a cave on that mountain, I ran across someone who looked similar to me. He was impaled by this sword on the wall in the cave. I pulled the sword out. He opened his eyes and muttered a few words to me before parting. "You must be careful when using this sword. If used for anything other than self-defense, it can bring great misfortune upon you and you might end up like me." That was his words before passing."

He felt something wet hit his leg. Amy was crying.

"What's wrong," he asked.

"Y-your sword belongs to the royal family. I-it belonged to my father."

"What?!"