"Say it, Sonic."

"I will not bolt head-first into dark caves."

"And why is that?"

"Because I can't see and I might fall into inconveniently placed lakes."

"That'll do." Far wetter versions of the two brothers sat at the edge of Misty Lake, watching as the setting sun cast the body of water in various shades of pink and orange. Sonic's thin fur shed the water relatively quickly, but Tails' thick pelt was not so easily dried, and was still dripping wet thirty minutes later. Sonic had received a severe tongue-lashing from the kit, who was quite unhappy at having to dive in after the hedgehog, especially since the lake mist refused to allow the fox's fur to lose the water.

Sonic laid his ears back, feeling slightly ashamed at his inability to avoid the lake. A lake. He avoided eye contact with Tails, since the fox had a very pitiful look about him. Instead, he gazed at the sword, supposedly a replica of the famed Caliburn. The hilt was made of ivory, and the tip was plated in gold. There was a gold and bronze circle where the blade attached to the hilt, and two gold "wings" emerged from it. A fake ruby was cut and placed below it, while a bronze stabilizer, carved with intricate designs, extended into the blade itself. At the tip of the blade was an embossed symbol, somewhat similar to the infinity sign on Mobius, with two dots on either side. Sonic fingered it carefully, wondering what it meant, if anything.

Merlina finally caught up with the duo. Her expression was serious as she walked up to them, convincing both hedgehog and fox that silence was the best option. "I thought the Legendary Blue Hedgehog would be a bit more cautious," she stated, the disappointment in her voice cutting Sonic to the core.

Sonic winced, forcing a guilty smile. "Sorry. I didn't realize the lake jut into the cave like that."

"I can tell. I thought you'd be more observant. However, that is not our problem right now; retrieving Caliburn is." Tails nodded in agreement, and Merlina glanced at the kit for the first time. "Oh, Tails," she laughed. "Here." The wizard removed her cloak and placed it around the kitsune's shoulders, which put an end to the shivering he was beginning to experience.

"Th-thanks," he murmured, his sapphire eyes reflecting his gratitude.

"Of course. Since Sonic obviously needs you to navigate successfully--" Sonic laid his ears back again. He was not going to live this down anytime soon. "--we'll wait here until you're dry."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah… you do that. I'll be back in a minute." Grabbing his Caliburn replica, Sonic bolted into the woods near the shore, hoping to regain his normally highly acute senses. What's happened to me? I'm never that unobservant. My reflexes are much faster than that, too! Somewhat worried that he had lost his edge when he came to King Arthur's world, he pushed the replica point-first into the ground before running full speed towards a tightly-packed knot of trees.

With speed that the wind would be proud of, he skillfully avoided contact with all the limbs and twigs, breaking the sound barrier while he was at it. He skidded to an abrupt halt and turned around, only to repeat the exact same obstacle course over again. The trees were completely unharmed, and nothing was out of place. He returned to his sword and removed it from the ground, gazing at it before taking off towards the knot again. The first thing he noticed was that picking up speed was far harder, and maneuvering with the sword in his hand was extremely difficult. When he finally reached the opposite side of the knot, he was covered in scratches and bruises, and the trees were in shambles. The replica had leaves stuck to its dull blade and had gained numerous chips.

With a yell of frustration, Sonic threw the replica into a tree. The dull blade made it impossible for the sword to penetrate the wood, and it instead fell to the ground. It was the last straw, and Sonic broke into a shouting fit: "I can't do this! Swords are impossible! For the love of Chaos, why do I have to use a frickin' sword?! I work better without it! I won't do it!" Sonic was completely oblivious to his surroundings, at least until he felt a familiar hand touch his shoulder.

"Sonic?"

His breath caught, and glanced behind him into Tails' concerned, bright blue orbs. "Yeah, li'l bro?"

"I… I'm sorry if I hurt you. You know, when I made you say not to bolt into caves and stuff. I really didn't know you were that frustrated. I thought you were doing great with the sword."

Sonic rolled his eyes, looking away again. "It's fine, Tails. I'm just not ready to use a sword, is all. I'd rather use my spines."

"Merlina said you'll learn more with Caliburn," stated Tails.

"And how is that?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure, but Merlina seems trustworthy enough. If she thinks you should use a sword, then you probably should. She would know, living with King Arthur for so long."

Sonic smiled slightly. "I guess you're right. We'll just have to get rid of this tyrant of a king and move on, right?"

"He was not always this way, Sonic." The hedgehog and kitsune turned to face Merlina, who had followed the two. They gave her questioning glances, which she brushed off. "I'll talk along the way. Grab your sword. You ran quite a ways from Misty Lake, so now we have to make up a lot of lost time to reach Caliburn before dark."

Sonic shrugged and shouldered the replica, then followed Merlina and Tails down the forest path back to the lake. "Well? What about the King?"

"He was once a wise and just ruler. He was blessed with noble knights--"

"The ones who are probably trying to kill us now?" interrupted Sonic.

Merlina glared at him, immediately receiving silence. "Yes. And he was praised by all. However…"

The wizard's lack of continuation urged Sonic to finish her sentence. "…he got a little side-tracked?" he blurted, the sarcastic undertones blatantly obvious.

"Yes, you could put it that way. Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, gave him Excalibur. He was bewitched by the power of immortality its scabbard bestowed. He became immortal, summoning legions from the Underworld. He is plunging his kingdom into a world of horror and chaos!"

Tails seemed to grow fearful. "You mean like a big haunted house?"

Sonic brightened. "This'll be cool! It'll be like Halloween all year long!" he laughed, suddenly very eager.

His statement did not impress Merlina. "Maybe so, but there would be no one left to enjoy it. If you can enjoy demons stabbing you with swords, anyway." Sonic looked down at his feet, feeling ashamed of himself for the second time that day. Merlina sighed. "It doesn't matter. We must act now!"

Tails interrupted the two's conversation: "You mean overthrow King Arthur?!" he exclaimed.

Sonic quickly agreed. "Yeah, what about that whole 'immortal' thing that stopped me from fighting him in the first place?"

"You need the power of a Sacred Sword. You need Caliburn! He lies in a stone on the other side of Misty Lake. With Caliburn--"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go get it. I'm sick of this old rusty thing anyway. Be back in a flash!" Sonic prepared to take off back to Misty Lake, but he was stopped by Merlina grabbing his hand.

"Wait! Sonic!" She looked at Tails, smiled, then nodded. The fox kit immediately lit up and pulled out a silver hand gauntlet. The wrist guard was made of inscribed gold, and an expensive ruby glowed brightly from its firm plantation on the guard, adding to the royal look of the armor. He handed it to Sonic, who placed in on his right hand. He whistled slightly at the extravagance, then grinned. "Good luck," whispered Merlina. "The fate of our kingdom rests in your hands. Do not fail us."

"You can count on me. I mean, stuff like this happens to me all the time!" Sonic winked at her, before taking off with Tails following close behind. Bluebells were shredded as the hedgehog bolted away, leaving blatant evidence to confirm they had been there. Within seconds, he had reached the bridge that crossed over an inlet and back to Misty Lake's centre. Sonic sighed as more targets appeared, and forced himself to pull out the replica Caliburn and slice them apart.

He followed the land bridge through the water, slicing targets left and right. After a few routine practices, a human-looking one appeared. Assuming he was supposed to hit all targets, Sonic sliced his sword down, destroying it. Merlina's voice echoed soon afterwards. "No, Sonic! Avoid killing the villagers!"

"That was a villager?! Looked more like a zombie to me." Tails snickered at his brother's shock, but the hedgehog recovered easily. The land bridge ended at a brick ivory wall, and Sonic nearly came to a halt, when he noticed a metal rod extended around the castle. With a whoop of ecstatic joy, he leapt onto the rail. "Grind rails!" It was not until he was too far out to return to land that he realized the lake, whose bottom was too deep to see, was directly under him.

Grinding smoothly along the rail, Sonic assumed he was safe, until a target appeared in his way. His back was against the ruins and in front was more of the lake, so he had no choice but to jump over it. Sonic glanced up to see a roof was annoyingly placed just low enough to prevent that. "Tails? Ideas?" he asked, hiding his concern.

"Swing your sword, Sonic!"

The target was coming closer, and Sonic glanced down at the water below him. If he swung and lost his balance, the plummet downwards would result in another dip he would rather avoid. Even worse, Tails could not see him very well from his position outside the overhang, and might not be able to rescue him if he fell. Sonic glanced back up, almost directly in front of the target. He squeezed his eyes closed and swung.

Like he expected, his balance was thrown off. However, as he wobbled precariously on the rail, he managed to compensate the movement and regain an upright position. Sonic breathed again, glad to have found a way to grind and use a sword simultaneously. Much to his relief, there was not another target. The grind rail came to an end at a wall, but a gust of wind blew him up to the next level before he had time to worry about a collision.

Now grinding high above the lake, and with many ruins and nets of ivy between him and the water, Sonic felt a lot more confident in his sword swings. It showed. As the targets came, he easily cut them in two and remained perfectly balanced. Merlina's awed voice echoed in his ear: "Are all creatures from your world as coordinated as you?"

Sonic snickered as Tails answered for him: "You've seen me, haven't you? That should make it pretty obvious."

Merlina laughed as well, and Sonic could not help but give his trademark cocky grin. A blue light in the distance marked the end of the grind rail and a high-speed gush of wind. Sonic crouched, looking to see where the wind would take him. It was angled towards the castle opposite, but the angle was too sharp to catapult him to the top. There were no windows, no jutting rocks that would allow for a foothold, just the column of stone. Running out of rail, he called out to Tails: "Hey! See anything for me to jump onto up there?"

"Yeah! The top of the castle's overhang should work as a grind rail, Sonic!" replied the kitsune, flying high above the ruins and serving perfectly well as a lookout.

Sonic nodded, then sped towards the wind. He braced himself, and once his feet made impact with the castle tower, he launched off of it and onto the nearest column, and from there to the overhang Tails had suggested he land on. It was all done in a flash, barely allowing Merlina to keep track of the hedgehog's location. Still, she managed to make more targets appear in front of him. Sonic noticed they were sparser now, and chuckled to himself, pleased that he could outrun Merlina's magic.

The overhang ended relatively quickly, but a firm strand of ivy, far thicker than any reasonable climbing plant, extended the makeshift grind rail. Following it diligently, Sonic tensed as it twisted and turned directly over Misty Lake, until he landed safely on the opposite side. "Whoo! What a rush!" he exclaimed, panting and glancing back at the successfully traversed deathtrap. Sonic looked around to see he was in a tunnel, and could not help but be surprised at the continuous ruins throughout Misty Lake.

"Are these still the flooded archives?" he inquired.

"No. Most of this is the top portion of Nimue's realm," replied Merlina.

Tails' eyes widened. "Nimue? The Lady of the Lake, who gave Excalibur to King Arthur?"

"The same."

Sonic shrugged. "Hope she doesn't mind trespassers." He continued his run, leaving the tunnel and emerging again into the fading daylight. The second he stepped foot on the old wooden bridge, he regretted doing so. Three wild boars, larger than most and most definitely not normal, began charging him.

"Quick, Sonic! Do something!" cried Tails.

"Yes, defend yourself!" added Merlina.

"With what?!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Your sword, silly!" snapped Merlina. Sonic glanced down at his replica of Caliburn. He knew he had it, but for whatever reason, using the rusty blade against three wild boars did not seem like a smart idea. Yet time was running out, and he had no choice. In one desperate attempt, Sonic placed his hand on the flat of the blade and set it across his chest, successfully forcing the boars out of the way. The boars came in two more sets of three before Sonic could finally cross the bridge.

Sonic began to run, noticing the crimson seeping from between his thumb and index fingers. Huh… guess I'll have to be more careful next time. If this dull replica can cut, then I'm sure this "Caliburn" can. Following the shoreline, Sonic destroyed more targets, while still trying to get a grip on the fact that the villagers and townspeople were not zombies, and they did not need their heads lopped off.

More ruins were visible in the distance, and at the speeds Sonic was traveling at, they were soon reached. The crumbling stone tunnel led to yet another land bridge, which only held one scraggly tree struggling for survival. A lone apple grew on the top, obviously ready to fall and be with the rest of its brethren, who were strewn along the ground below. Sonic smirked, lowered his upper body, and then leapt to the very top of the tree. He swung his Caliburn replica, and expertly cut the apple down, then in half. When he landed, he turned to look at it: the apple's star shaped centre could be seen perfectly, and the cut was clean and straight. Pleased with the progress in swordsmanship, Sonic snatched up the halves, threw one to Tails, and then ate the remainder as he raced off down the rest of the land bridge.

"Your ability with the sword has grown so quickly, I can hardly recall the time before you held it!" praised Merlina, knowing the encouraging words would find their way to the hedgehog's ego.

"All this is too easy. Don't you have anything tougher? I'm falling asleep!" Sonic beamed at the sarcastic retort, and Tails gave him a quick thumbs up. He crossed another bridge of ivory, this one linking back to the mainland's shore. There were more targets to be destroyed, villager-zombies to be avoided, and boars to repel. As he ran along the shoreline, Sonic noticed a significant increase in the targets, but nothing more difficult. Silently, he was somewhat grateful. Those cocky statements tended to get him into tough situations, but more targets was something he could handle easily!

Coming up to some more in-tact buildings, Sonic leapt up to the higher level of ground, pleased to find himself at a straightaway without targets. He pushed himself harder, eager to break the sound barrier this time around. His heart was pumping faster and faster, pushing the adrenaline through his veins and giving him more confidence and ability. He was so close, so very, very close to breaking it! Just a little faster.

Suddenly, Merlina's voice interrupted Sonic's train of thought. "Very well. Why don't I give you something a little more challenging?" Sonic slowed down slightly, but changed his mind and sped ahead. He was almost at the key speed when a large, jade dragon with a sapphire horn dropped out of the sky, landing on the ground and roaring at him with a ferocity Shadow could only dream of. Sonic was forced to come to a screeching halt, the adrenaline still screaming at him to shatter the barrier of sound, but the dragon in front of him preventing it. Tails had landed safely on a nearby ivory column, his eyes wide with shock and his twin namesakes twitching with anxiety. "Behold! The ruler of this lake: the Myst Dragon!"

"Uh, I'm not sure I want to," whimpered Tails.

"Don't worry, li'l buddy!" Sonic called. "I got this!"

"Now, Sonic! Swing your sword!" cried Merlina. The Myst Dragon's muzzle was directly in front of Sonic, allowing for a direct hit. With a determined battle cry, Sonic launched himself at it, swinging his sword in a spin dash style, as Tails had suggested. Adrenaline increased his confidence as the dragon reared back, only to shove its muzzle at him again. Confused, Sonic simply retried his former attack. This time, the dragon jerked its head away, screamed in frustration, and still placed its head in the exact same place.

"What the heck is it doing?!" he exclaimed. The second he spoke, the Myst Dragon reared its head back and slammed it down. Sonic yelped and leapt to the side, glaring at a dragon's muzzle where he had stood seconds before. Taking his chance, Sonic lunged again, slicing the blade down across the dragon's maw and leaping onto the bridge of its nose. With one swing, Sonic sliced through the sapphire horn, and the dragon shrieked in agony before flying off. Sonic landed in a crouch, smirking. Tails flew down to meet him with a grin plastered on his face.

"I think I know why it was acting so weird. To tell you the truth, I don't it could see you, Sonic. It would explain why it attacked after you spoke," he explained. "It used sound to locate you."

Sonic winked at the fox before speaking to seemingly thin air. "How was that, Merlina? Did you see my real power?" he asked, knowing the wizard could hear him. Then he made the mistake of looking at his sword. It was covered in crimson, and the occasional drip would fall and stain the ground. His emerald eyes widened, and he gently caught some of the blood in his hand: dragon's blood. Sonic knew Merlina spoke to him, but what was said was completely lost on him. He had injured something alive; something that could feel pain. He had not even noticed it. Sonic remembered the adrenaline of the moment, and the surge of power when he realized the sword gave him a significant advantage: one that caused blood to spill. With a shudder, Sonic hid his emotions and cleaned the blade, still disturbed by the fact that he had lost his sense of self-control, even if only for a few minutes. He would have to keep check on that rush of energy.

Merlina came up to him, then pointed far into the distance. Sonic turned, confused. Upon seeing what she was pointing at, he understood: a large outcropping of rock rose at least a hundred feet from the lake's surface, forming an island. An oak tree determinedly struggled to grow at the top, and directly in front of it, a sword stood in the stone, half its blade resolutely embedded in the rock. Sonic grinned, dropped the rusty replica on the ground, and quickly leapt over to the island and raced up to the Sacred Sword. Tails followed, flying to the top and gazing at the magnificent weapon. It glowed slightly, casting a soft golden light; a feature the replica obviously lacked.

Tails fingered the hilt, only to jerk his hand back sharply. He yelped in pain, holding his hand and shaking it a little. "Tails?"

"I-I'm fine. Just a shock, is all. I can't touch it, Sonic."

Sonic watched Tails a little longer, ensuring he was alright, before returning his gaze to the Sacred Sword. "This must be it, then." Sonic grabbed the hilt with both hands, bracing himself for electrocution. The shock never came. He prepared to pull the sword out of the stone, but Merlina interrupted him.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready?" echoed Sonic. "Ready for what?"

Merlina sighed sadly before continuing. "If you remove Caliburn and defeat King Arthur with it, you shall forever be the worst of knights! Slayer of kings!"

Sonic glanced down at her, then back at Tails. The only thing on his mind now was the crimson blade, stained with the blood of the dragon. He had already hurt once, what difference was it if he hurt again? This time, something that was truly evil? Something he would not feel guilty for hurting later? He laughed, covering his whirlpool of indecision with sarcasm and confidence. "Guess I can't be the hero every time!"

Gripping Caliburn tightly, Sonic jerked it out of the stone. It came surprisingly easy, as if it was simply a fork stuck in mashed potatoes. Sonic would have laughed at his comparison, but the blinding golden light made him wince and look away. He yelped slightly. Surprised at the brightness, he quickly moved one arm to shield his eyes. When it faded, he was able to gaze directly at the sword. It was exactly like the replica, except it was brighter, had no rust, and the ruby in the centre was not a fake. Sonic could not help but whisper in awe: "The… the Sacred Sword…"

He fingered the edge of the blade, only to find it was just as dull as the replica. He snorted. "It's kinda sorry-looking."

"Fool!"

"Yaargh!" yelped Sonic, jumping back and dropping Caliburn. Unlike what he expected, which was for the sword to clatter to the earth, it hovered slightly in front of him. The bronze piece that held the blade lowered, and two green eyes and a mouth were now visible against the ivory. "Wh-what?!" Sonic carefully grabbed the hilt again, so Caliburn was not forced to hover.

"You are the Chosen One? You are but a squire!" he exclaimed, glaring at Sonic.

Tails immediately leapt to the defense of his brother. "Oh yeah?! Says you!" he snapped. If he had been thinking clearly, he would have berated himself for talking to a supposedly inanimate object.

Merlina smiled, then explained: "Caliburn has a mind of his own. He selects his bearer."

Sonic frowned, displeased with the turn of events. "Yeah? Well it's got a pretty smart mouth on it for a sword."

"Hmph!" snorted Caliburn. "The impertinent one is you, knave. Brace yourself, for I shall train you until you are worthy! Worthy to bear the Sacred Sword: Caliburn!"

"Sonic!" The last portion of Caliburn's speech was lost to the hedgehog as Tails cried his name, pointing desperately behind him. Sonic swung Caliburn around, grinning at the sound of metal scraping against stone, which he thought only added to the epic feel of the motion. In the distance stood King Arthur, sitting triumphantly on his black steed, preparing to charge the hedgehog and the kitsune, blade drawn.

Sonic lowered his head and glared at the corrupted king. "Alright, professor." He transferred Caliburn so he was held in both hands, pointing directly at his enemy. The king's steed leapt high into the air, and he raised Deathcalibur above his head, preparing to bring it down on the brothers. "Work your magic!"