The Random Adventures of Cream and Marine: The Sword and the Aegis

by SparkTheCat23

After the dimensional jump, the girls find themselves in a world that resembles some old tales: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, excepts for a small detail: Sonic had been here before! Follow Cream and Marine on this new adventure as they search for a way to get back home and get into troubles knight-style.

3. Chapter 3

Hey... It's me again...

It has been a very long time, but at last, the next chapter! Whew, what a relief. At some time I got completely stuck with the story. I barely could write three paragraphs straight and the things just weren't feeling right. But at this weekend I felt filled with determination and got the chap done. From now on I intend to focus more on the battles. Enought slow pace and investigation. Anyways, for the dear readers that still believe I can do something right, here's the next Chapter!

Act 2 Checkpoint Start

After the whole crisis at the castle gates was subdued, the great gate was opened again and the guards helped the people returning to their homes at the town, while they gathered medics all over to see if they were completely sane and healthy. Even the household of the castle received orders to treat any injuries the citizens could have suffered. But inside the walls of the castle, another problem was starting to form.

After the uprising was stopped Merlina was asked to meet the council in order to discuss both what just happened and the situation of the kingdom, concerning this menace that she foresaw. At the council meeting room were the councillors responsible for administrate the many areas of the kingdom: commerce, economies, legislation and so on. There were also some generals of the royal army and the minister of war.

Once Merlina entered the room, she felt all the eyes falling over her with not so friendly intentions. To be honest, she was used to it ever since the whole deal with king Arthur ended and she took in his duties, but today she was specially nervous because of the previous events. The tension at the room was clear and this could be a trigger to the effects of the stains. She walked by the room and took her seat at the head of the table, with the others doing the same. She made her best not to hear what these politicians were murmuring between themselves, she just wanted to get over it as soon as possible, so she just sitted silent while she waited for the knights to show at the meeting. Speaking of them, the group entered the room and took seats at the sides of Merlina. With that, the doors were closed and they began the discussions.

"Very well lady Merlina, I think I speak for everyone when I ask what was that ruckus at the gates about?". All the other councilors agreed nodding their heads. Merlina took a deep breath in anticipation for the upcoming argue and started.

"My estimated members of the council, I believe you all remember of the threat I foresaw sometime ago. As I said before the nature of it was unknown, just as it's origins. After a long research travel performed by Sir Percival and today's events, the former has been confirmed. What we witnessed is the strong influence of this hidden force, which caused the uprising of the citizens"

"Until now there was little to none proofs of said threat, and all of a sudden it makes its way to Camelot and strikes the town's people"

"Are you implying something, Councilor of Commerce?". Percival asked in a peaceful yet serious tone.

"What she means, I dare to say, is that it is too convenient"

This earned the looks from all the knights towards the councilor of lands. There was a brief moment of silence, knowing what he was implying.

"Yes, indeed this sequence of events was pretty unexpected. But the reason for that is that this force crawled under my vision, literally. It advanced underground much further than it did above it"

"So we have a breach in our defenses. How do you plan to fix the hole you made?". That was the statement of the war councilor.

"Excuse me, what-"

"It is your duty as the Royal Wizard to protect the kingdom and its people from any kind of threat magical in nature. You didn't exactly excel at it as I can see, just like your attempts to fulfill the place of ruler of this lands"

"She has been trying her best seeking for everyone's well care". Lancelot said, his voice a little bit higher.

"Lovable, but still not enough. I agree with the war councilor. Maybe if she just focused on her main task, things would not come to such a breakpoint"

"Well, then how about-"

"Thank you Lancelot, but that's enough. They do have a point. But I must say, if not me, then who should take the place left by the former king Arthur? He did not left childs,so the royal bloodline ended on him. How do you, the council, think the population would react?"

This silenced the members of the council for a while, which made the knights smile inwardly. Even before king Arthur got corrupted, these elders always managed to find and point out the smallest of the problems as if they were the end of the world. Everything could be used to create a scene, maybe to show that they were needed, in an attempt to keep their privileged positions. That said, these elders would not keep shut for much longer.

"Then what about the actual state of the kingdom. No matter how you look, things had been going downhill. It is just a matter of how fast we are going to sink"

"Wizard, you said that there was a force behind the events of this morning, but was it the only reason? It has come to my ears that you have a witness of the beginning of it all"

"Indeed, my lady. She is a maid of the castle and witnessed these events. She was the one that warned us about the uprising, minutes before they reached the gate"

"May we hear the complete story from her?"

Merlina motioned for the guard at the door and he opened it, calling for Alicia. Once she entered, she met with all the eyes focused on her, which made her nearly faint from nervousness. Walking with her head low, she stood aside Merlina. The wizard asked her to tell how things happened and so she did, after taking two or three long breathes. As Merlina expected, they would exploit every single detail to make their decisions prevail.

"As far as I can see, the population was affected by this said curse, but there was already a mood of dissatisfaction"

"Well, yes. My theory is that the Shadow Stains, as we decided to call it, feed on negative emotions and-"

"Very interesting Royal Wizard, but that bring us back to my point: you are not doing your job either fulfilling the duties of the ruler of the kingdom. We need a real royal image. The people demands it"

"The people are in DANGER". Lancelot got a bit exalted with what he was hearing. "She is doing her best to protect everyone in the kingdom seeking for the answers behind this mystery, and that alone is more than you all do, sitting on your frivolous meetings while the people suffers"

"Bend your tongue, knight. Do you think you are better than us? You may have served to the king, but you are not above the army. As a general, I must remind you, knight Lancelot, who do you must pay obedience"

"I listen to no man! The Sacred Knights serve to the kingdom and its people. This is who I am! This is our duty!"

"Blasphemy! No man should be above the laws established by us from the council. We represent the will of the people!"

Now Percival stood up too, with a calm yet serious face.

"Don't talk as if you heard what the people say. I have been traveling and then farther I went from this castle, more the people looked abandoned and forgotten"

Now the elders of the council also stood up with angry looks on their faces. The rest of the knights stood up besides Lancelot and Percival, while Alicia hid behind Merlina, who just kept on her place, her elbows leaning on the table and the fingers of her hands intertwined, the thumbs pinching the bridge of her nose. Her head was slightly down and her eyes were closed, as if she was meditating, even in the middle of that heated discussion.

"It is about time the Sacred Knights get put on their deserved places. You all cannot have that type of freedom"

"I dare you to try! Sir Gawain won't kneel before a lot of lapsed elders!"

"This only shows that your lack of restraint has turn you all into a bunch of rebels! Defending that false wizard is the maximum proof!"

"Why you old woman-"

"ENOUGH!"

The voice of Merlina echoed at the room like a thunder, surely a spell casted by her. Still with her eyes closed and having silenced everyone, she finally stood up, now facing both the council and the knights with the most serious of the looks. It could be another spell, but the simple fact of her glare hover by the crowd made them shudder. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again.

"This meeting went as well as I thought it would, but rest assured that it is not a doing of Shadow Stains. Now, I am well aware that I do not have the right to take the role king Arthur left, but there is no better option since I was the closest person to the king. It may rise suspicions, but until this crisis is over I'll let them slip from my mind, and so should you councilors. As for the lurking shadow crawling under our vision, we have found an effective way to fight back"

With that Merlina motioned for the guards at the doors to open them and let whoever was waiting out there enter. And then the girls entered the room, with nervous looks since they heard the heated 'discussions'. They walked all the way to Merlina's side, where they lined up with Alicia. Though they really wanted to manifest their disbelief in the change two young girls could do, the elders of the council kept silent and remained at psychological pressure, staring intensely at them.

"Members of the council, these two are the responsibles for the victory over the Shadow Stains this morning, Cream and Marine. They are foreigners, but promptly helped us at today's incident"

The girls made a small polite bow for the group of elders before them, but still they could feel the glares and suspicions all over them. This was probably another thing to get used to on their dimensional travels. Merlina motioned for them to speak and so they did, explaining everything that happened, from the moment they found the sword and the shield to the point where Cream discovered how to cast the power of the sword. Of course they omitted some details involving their home world, like the AP generator, the tPhone and how exactly they ended here. This question would be raised anyways but the more they could avoid it, the better.

The elders listened to everything with their typical sceptical faces, probably trying to hide any amusement behind the stern expressions. Despite that, after the facts that occured, they had no other choice but accept it.

"Well then, now that we have a way of fight back this threat, what is the course of action Wizard?" The elder lady asked with a slight tone of irony. It was very subtle, but it was there.

"This is the kind of situation where it is needed to cut out the root of the problem, and that is what we are going to do". Her face now had a confident smile, one that even managed to give those stubborn elders some hope. "This thing came all the way after us. Now, we are going to hunt it down to its origin"

The meeting ended and everyone got dismissed and left the room, the knights being the last ones. As they walked through the hallways back to the library where they met Merlina, Percival got to know the story of the girls better and found herself very impressed with how much they could do for such a young age. Marine then walked a little bit slower, falling behind the rest of the group. Cream and Percival also slowed down, until the three stopped in the middle of the hallway. The raccoon had her face looking at the red carpet for some reason, which made the lavender cat curious.

"Is something concerning you, Marine?"

Her arms tensed against her body and she held her breath a little, before letting it out slowly. Marine then looked up at Percival's eyes, her own eyes starting to get full of tears.

"It's just that... that I miss you so much…". The young raccoon then hugged the knight with all the force she had at the moment. Marine knew that this wasn't the Blaze she knew, but still the mere resemblance was enough to put her on that state. Now she understood how Cream felt when she saw Vanilla on the previous world. It was a confuse mix of joy and sadness because she could see, talk and hug her dear friend, and at the same time none of this was really possible.

Knowing their backstory, Percival quickly understood why the girl was at this state, so she did the best she could and embraced her in a warm and sincere hug.

"I know it won't be the same for you, but I really wish that I can make you feel a little bit better"

"It does. I am much better now, really". Marine said, holding her sobs and tears.

Cream also hugged the knight, feeling the same way Marine felt. Percival then got her into the hug, holding the two girls like they would vanish if she let go. For some reason she quickly felt attached to the girls and she was really happy that in another world out there a version of her got to know such wonderful friends.

After recovering from the touching moment, they quickly joined the group at the library to discuss how they would proceed with their plan. Now, according to the info Percival got while she was travelling, the extension of the area already affected by the Shadow Stains went to the borders of Camelot, but in fact there was a branch that crawled underground and made its way to the capital. The Stain that Cream vanished probably was just a tendril of the main branch, which meant two things: one, there were more of these things scattered around the castle and two, if they kept eradicating the Stains they would find the main branch and by that, its point of origin.

"That sums up the plan. As for the tasks, Lamorak and Galahad, your speed will allow you two to cover more ground. Your mission is to find the spots where the Shado Stains are accumulating"

"As you command, my lady"

"We will cover the ground with the wind on our feet"

"Gawain and Lancelot, your fame among the masses can work to keep them tranquilised, hopefully preventing the effects of the Stains. Maybe a session of duels could keep them entertained. While you are on it, try to detect any strange rumors among the crowds"

"Very well. Think you can keep up, Gawain?"

"You, my friend, will finally feel the bitter taste of defeat by the hand of Sir Gawain. Hahahah!"

"Percival, since you just arrived from your travel you can rest for some time, but after recovering your strength I want you to search in the underground network for any signs of the Stains"

"Yes my lady"

"If you find any Stain, report immediately and we shall send our young friends to vanish it"

"Understood miss Merlina"

"You can count with us!"

"Before we initiate anything, I would like to visit the place where you found these artifacts. Something tells me that there are some answer there"

With that they got dismissed, leaving the great round library while Merlina went to a small bedroom to get some well deserved rest. This plan would need her on her best state. As for the knights, they had some time before the begin of their missions so they went to the kitchen. They ended skipping lunch because of the meeting with the council.

After eating, chatting, taunt each others and fight a little, they moved back to the Armory, where they would gather whatever they would need in their tasks. The girls accompanied them all the way along and were having a great time. They discovered a side that none of the people in the kingdom knew, the friendship that they had. It went much further than just the Code of Chivalry that they sworn to follow. Each one of them trusted on their friends with all their hearts, and that included Cream and Marine now.

As they were heading for the Armory, Cream noticed the tapestry hanging on the walls of the hallway the were.

"Miss Percival, those on the walls are true stories?"

"Oh, yes. Good perception. This hallway in specific has many of ours adventures recorded in this beautiful form of art"

"This one tells about one of our first searches for the Holy Grail". Galahad pointed out to a tapestry that showed Percival, Galahad and another knight on what seemed to be a dense forest.

"Ah, this is one of my famous tales, when I defeated the green knight". Gawain pointed to another tapestry where he clashed swords with a knight in green armour.

"Do you have any tales, Sir Featherly Knight?"

"Why you little- ahem. In fact, THIS one tells about the time I crossed the Shrouded Forest carrying a rare medicine in only a half morning"

"Well, I guess that's something"

Lamorak really wanted to twist Marine's pigtails in a knot but he decided to take the disguised compliment, while he forced a small smile.

"And you mister Lancelot? What are you tales?"

" Ah, have not heard them before". Lancelot had a serious yet strange face, as if he was waiting for her to ask it.

"Please Lancelot, not the Crystal Cave again". Percival pinched the bridge of her nose but she also had a smile on her lips.

"But the Crystal Cave is a classic! It would be a shame to pry them from such an epic tale"

"Go ahead. Do fill us in for the umpteenth time about how Sir Lancelot became a legit dragon slayer"

"Gawain! Don't ruin the story!"

The girls laughed at the antics of the knight, so contrasting with his normally serious behaviour. It seemed that Lancelot cared a lot about his adventures, enough to have asked for a three carpet panel illustrating his battle with a great red dragon. Lancelot seemed to be a professional storyteller, emphasizing each word, and the others just rolled their eyes or looked at the ceiling while the mighty knight promoted himself.

He kept going on the story while they walked, getting to the the very minimal details, which was okay for the girls since it was the first time they heard it, but for the rest of the group it was kind of a mental challenge. Then, for a second, Cream's attention drifted away to the walls and she had to look again at what she found, breaking the narrative of the black hedgehog.

"Wait a minute. Is that… mister Sonic?"

All the knights stopped on their tracks when they heard that name, and they looked surprised at the rabbit while she faced a red tapestry with an image of a blue hedgehog with a gauntlet and holding a sword. Percival approached Cream and kneeled to look at her on eye level, putting her hands on the rabbit's shoulder.

"How do you know him, Cream? Depending of your answer, we might have a problem". She asked with the most concerned face, something Cream didn't understand. What was the big deal? Everyone knew Sonic. Then again, another dimension.

"He is my friend. At least, in my world I suppose"

"What is the problem". Marine, also confused, asked nonchalantly. Once again the knights got surprised. That meant that the two of them knew Sonic.

"No one was supposed to know about Sir Sonic. At least for a fact. Merlina cast a spell upon all the land to cover his passage by the kingdom. Besides us, every single person remembers him as an old tale". This got the girls kind of off guard.

"It could be your version of Sonic, Sir Lancelot"

"I, Sir Gawain, saw with my own eyes when Sir Sonic fell from the skies, coming out of a portal that Merlina conjured"

"Well Cream, looks like Sonic got there before us"

This brought something to their minds, something that right now seemed too important to be ignored.

"Girls, do you have any means of contacting him?"

"I suppose. The tPhone sometimes works and we get to talk with our friends back home. I don't know when will it connect us again…"

"Why the sudden question, Galahad?"

"If you manage somehow to contact him, please, we need him to return to Camelot"

"What? Why?"

"With Sir Sonic here, the commotion among the people would subdue. Maybe even between the council"

"I'm not following ya. What does Sonic has to do with anything here"

"Sir Sonic… is the legit king of Camelot"

Both Cream and Marine looked at Percival with their eyes as wide as they could be. Sonic was the king of an entire kingdom? That was quite the deal to not tell anyone about it. If it wasn't for the really serious look on the knight's faces, they would dare to ask if it was a joke of some sort.

"How mister Sonic became the legit king? He has no royal blood"

"By wielding the legendary sacred sword, he earned the right to rule the kingdom. But he preferred to return to his home world. We are glad that he freed this lands from the evil grasps of the Underworld, but I must agree with Galahad on his point"

"Maybe lady Merlina could bring him again, like she did last time"

"I am afraid that this won't be possible, Gawain. I asked before and she said that the nature of this spell does not allow to open another portal for a very long time"

"Are you sure about it, Percival?"

"She assured me that, unfortunately". If the girls knew Percival for a long time like the knights they would notice that she seemed a little bit sad about these news.

"Well, I guess that means we will not be able to go home either. At least by the easy way…"

"I believe that you two will succeed on your journey"

"Thanks Percival"

With that they kept walking towards the armory. The knights asked the girls about their world and about Sonic was. Well, the last part was mostly Percival asking. She walked close to the girls all the way to the armory. Reaching the large room, they retrieved whatever equipment they needed and dismissed themselves for their respective bedrooms for some rest before departing on their missions.

At the next day, pretty early in the morning, Galahad and Lamorak left the castle to scout the lands around it. Lancelot and Gawain were the next ones, ordering a group of messengers to spread the word about the event: a series of duels between two of the mightiest knights of the kingdom. They would perform while they travelled, searching for any signs of the Shadow Stains. Percival was still sleeping, making the best of her brief day off.

As for the girls, when they woke up Eliza greeted them and lead them, after a well served breakfast, to the round library where they met Merlina. The wizard let them in and dismissed the maid, then moving to the smaller room. She let out a yawn, a sign that she didn't get much sleep since last night. Once they were inside her research room, she turned to the girls.

"I hope you had a good sleep. We'll need you at your best shape for the next days"

"Surely, but I think you should do the same, miss Merlina"

"I guess you are right. But something took away my sleep last night, the nature of the weapons you carry. I simply cannot figure out how they posses these powers"

"Well, for me they just work and that is enough. I never liked that kind of complicated stuff"

"Indeed Marine, but if I understand the nature of these powers and the origins of the Stains, in the future I'll be able to prevent such things from happening again"

"Oh, now I got it"

"Do you have any idea of what are looking for?"

"I didn't have a single lead until you two came. As I said yesterday, I feel that there are some answers within the Shrouded Forest, and I want you two to come with me"

"Umm, I don't know if it is a good idea miss Merlina"

"Yeah, about that trip, we kind of prefer to avoid the Forest…"

"Don't worry about the mystical features of the Forest. I can cast a counterspell with the snap of my fingers"

This encouraged the girls and then they left the room to get ready. On the way back to the guest room they met with Eliza again, and another known face, Miles.

"Hello Cream, Hello Marine. It's good to see you are all fine"

"It's good to see you too Miles"

"Did you heard about the fight at the gates of the castle? We were right in the middle of it!"

"Fight? What fight?"

Before Marine could open her mouth again, Eliza looked at her with a warning glare and the raccoon stopped almost immediately.

"She is talking about the first of the duels between Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot. It was a warm up"

"Oh, this I wanted to see. Good for you two. Well, I guess I am going back now. I just wanted to see if you two were okay. Of course you would be, being in the castle and all"

The fox waved a goodbye and turned around but he barely took ten steps, a known voice called him and he heard fast steps approaching. A shiver ran down his spine, knowing exactly who he would encounter once he turned around.

Alicia was dusting off the armours on the hallways when she looked to the side and saw not only her friend Eliza but her new friend Miles, and she just had to go and talk to him. There was a lot she wanted to say, mostly concerning the whole deal with the angry crowd chasing her yesterday. But, in what seemed a mind read, Eliza faked a cough, drawing the attention of her energetic friend.

"Ahem. Alicia, I believe you have a task to complete, right? How many hallways did you clean already?"

"Well, two… and a half?"

The look on the cat's eyes said enough. Alicia went back to her task, her ears dropped down and her head facing the carpet. Eliza had instructions from Merlina to keep the facts of yesterday hidden. Apparently after having the Stains purged, the citizens lost all memories of the events, including the discussions that started the uprising, and Merlina preferred to leave things like that. As Alicia left to do her chores, Marine and Cream went after her.

"Wait a minute miss, you are the maid that warned us about the crowd yesterday, right?"

"Oh, yes. It it a honor to talk to you, my young ladies"

"Don't mention it, sheila. Say, do you have to clean ALL of the hallways everyday?"

"Well, not everyday, but is a necessary task and we from the cleaning team pick a random name all the times to be fair. I just don't have much luck on these things…"

"I know how you feel…"

"But please tell me, what brings you here today. I see you met with Eliza"

"Well, we're actually going to a mission, miss… umm…"

"Alicia. Alicia Bokwoorm"

"Right, miss Alicia"

"Oh, that is so fantastic! Can you tell me about it? No no, let me guess, it is a secret mission and you had to swear silence! Oh, such a dramatic measure!"

"Wow, calm down girl, it is way more simple. We are going with Merlina to the Shrouded Forest investigate about the Stains and our weapons"

"The… Stains?"

"The Shadow Stains. That is how miss Merlina decided to call the dark purple thing that affected everyone yesterday"

"Oh, I see… and you said weapons. What are they for? Are they important?"

"You bet. Cream here purged all the Stains from the crowd with the sword, and I can create an invincible shield"

"Are you sure it is invincible?"

"As far as I can see, Cream"

"Hmmm… such weapons… and the Shrouded Forest… it remembers me of a nice story about-"

"Bokwoorm! I hope you have already cleaned this section if you have time to chat!"

"On my way, Chief Maid! Forgive me my ladies, duty unfortunately calls…"

As Alicia went back to her task, the girls returned to the guest room. They got the sword and the shield and two small backpacks, prepared by Eliza in advance.

"Do you think Alicia knows something about those things?"

"She indeed seemed to know something. Hmm… we can ask her later, Marine!"

"Sure. Then let's go. Merlina must be already waiting for us at the stable"

They moved to the stable, guided by a butler that was passing by one of the hallways. In there they found Merlina. She just finished putting the saddle on a dark brown, almost black furred horse. She ran her hand along the mane while she gave her a couple of carrots to eat. Noticing the girls behind her, she turned around with a gentle smile on her lips.

"Her name is Gardenia. She comes from the same lineage of horses that my old grandfather had and is with me since I was a kid"

"She is very beautiful miss Merlina"

"And very fast, I assure you. Yours are not far behind too". The wizard said as she pointed to a light brown horse, already saddled and eating some chunks of hay. This made Marine quite uneasy.

"Umm, are we really going to travel like this?"

"Surely. It is the fastest way to reach the Forest"

"Yeah, I guess so… but I don't know how to… drive a horse…?"

Merlina let out a soft laugh.

"There is no need to be nervous. He is very well trained. You will be running across the meadows before you notice"

"If you say so… have you ever ridden a horse before, Cream?"

"No, but I think it'll be fun!"

"Oh, here we go…"

With some help from Merlina, the girls mounted on the tall animal. Their things were tied to the sides of the saddle and the butler lead the horse to the gates by the leash. Once outside, Merlina waved the leash and Gardenia started to canter. Cream, who was on the lead, tried to copy her and the horse started to canter too. The sudden move startled Marine, who held around her friend's waist, slightly knocking them off balance.

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry, I'm still getting the hang of it"

They followed Merlina through the town, the sound of the hooves hitting the stone pavement echoing across the still empty streets since it was pretty early in the morning. Once they reached the last houses of the town, the stone road ended and they went gained on the same dirt path the girls once followed when they were searching for a power source. Merlina hit the sides of Gardenia with her heels and gave a light whip on the leash, going from a canter to a gallop.

"Come on girls, don't fall behind"

"Easy for her to say… we barely reach the sides of this horse!"

"Let's see if I got this right…"

Cream did her best to hit the sides of the horse, but maybe too gentle. She tried again a little bit harder and waved the leash, but the horse just kept at his steady pace. Marine was already getting tired of sitting on the saddle and hit the horse herself.

"Can you just move faster alread- whaa!"

The horse suddenly changed to gallop, almost making the girls fall back. Cream held on the horse's neck and Marine held on Cream. They passed by Merlina really fast and screaming, barely controlling their mount, which startled Merlina. She sped up and got side to side with them.

"Hold the leash back and he will slow down"

Cream did so and the horse slowed down back to a canter. Both girls let out a sigh of relief, which earned a light laugh from Merlina. Not only that, she could not contain herself while she watched the young girls bouncing up and down on the saddle with each step of the animal. This reminded of herself when she was still learning how to ride. In time they would get used to the sore feeling of the saddle.

With some practice, Cream learned how to guide the horse and Marine gained more balance, so now they were following Merlina at fast pace towards the Shrouded Forest. It only took about half an hour for them to get there, instead of the entire morning that the girls spent by foot. Once in front of the dirt path leading inside the Forest, Merlina stopped and so did the girls. The wizard put her hands together and whispered some strange words. After casting her spell, her hands glowed with a faint bluish color and she ran one of them over Gardenia's head. With the other hand extended to the girls, the faint glow flowed through the air, covering both the girls and their mount.

"There is no need to worry about the aura of the Forest now, even though… it seems much milder than I remember"

They entered the forest at a steady pace. Having experienced the influence of the place, Cream and Marine were pretty surprised with their surroundings. Everything was at the most complete normality. The forest surely was pretty, but not even close to the mesmerizing views they saw before. Not only that, they reached the point where the path ended much quicker. They hopped from their mounts and tied them to a trunk, grabbing the backpacks after.

Now Cream and Marine were on the lrad, doing their best to make something out of the blurry memories of the path they took through the trees and bushes. After some effort making their way, Marine recognized some stones on the ground and a little bit ahead they found the path full of fireflies that lead to the cave. Once they reached the clearing, Merlina looked from afar at the entrance to the cave and already felt some kind of energy flowing. Be it because of the situation they found their weapons or just for precaution, Cream reached the sword and so did Marine to the shield. Merlina then held her staff and headed towards the entrance with the girls at her side.

They descended the stone stairs and the further they went, more anxious the girls got, looking around and trying to sense any possible hidden danger.

At the base of the stairs, they entered the cave and Merlina looked in awe at it. She looked up at the crystals, sensing a lot of energy flowing from them. Not only that, the entire place was overloaded with positive magic, something unexpected since they were in the middle of the Shrouded Forest.

"This is incredible. Instead of the elusive aura natural of the Forest, this place is like a mana pool, spreading the he overflowing positive energy through its surroundings. This is why the aura of the Forest is so weaker now"

"Miss Merlina, when we found the weapons, there was a ghost here. Maybe it was some kind of guardian"

"Hardly. The Forest has its ways to keep a balance, but I never heard of an undead guardian. Those belong to the Underworld domain"

"So it should not be here? That's what you are saying?"

"Precisely, Marine. I wonder how it appeared here…"

Merlina moved to the stone table at the center of the cave and leaned her hands on it, closing her eyes. She casted another spell and after a few seconds a faint white light path formed, making its way to one of the walls of the cave and entering through a small crack. Another spell casted and Merlina made the crack open up to a hole they could pass by. It lead to a narrow tunnel that went down for a few meters. At the end of it was another tunnel, this one much bigger. As they landed inside it, Merlina casted a light from her staff and what they saw completely shocked them.

The walls of the tunnel were completely impregnated with Shadow Stains, to the point where some kind of vines formed, pulsing slowly as the Stains where pumped along it. Though pretty concerning, Merlina also noticed another detail. The part of the tunnel right under the cave had little to no vines on the walls and the Stains didn't completely cover them. In fact, she could see that they were slowly shrinking.

"Oh boy, this is going to take us forever to clean up!"

"So this is how the Shadow Stains reached the town without being noticed, right miss Merlina?"

"Indeed. It literally crawled underground, diminishing the effects on the land. But I think there is already a solution"

"What is it?"

"Look closer at the section right under the cave. The Stains are much weaker there. I think that the mana pool is washing the Stains away just like it did to the natural effects of the Forest"

"But can we make more of this magic fountains?"

"I am afraid that not. These are natural nodes that concentrate natural energy and converts it in a magical energy flow. The Forest is trying to reach balance again so in time the flow will clean the tunnel, but it may be too late for us"

"Do you think it has any connection to the sword being able of purge the Stains? I do feel different when I use its power"

"Maybe the intense exposition to the aura rich in magic imbued it with the same energy, making it capable of purge the Stains. That is my guess"

"Shouldn't Cream purge the Stains that are stronger?"

"It would be too much effort with little results. We don't know the extent of this tunnel, neither if are others. The priority right now is cleaning the most critical areas, near the population"

That said, they crawled out of the tunnel and got back to the cave. Merlina kept looking around for some time, searching for any hints of the missing parts of this puzzle. She didn't knew where the Stains came from exactly, only that they came from out of the kingdom. They were weak against the energy flow on that cave, which could explain the cleansing power of the sword, but not the auto repair property. Plus, the aura in the cave was different from the aura of the Shrouded Forest, and she was pretty sure it wasn't here before. The more she discovered, more questions came up.

After some time they got out of the cave and made their way back to the horses. Merlina now knew a possible source to the powers of the weapons and how did the Shadow Stains reached so far in the kingdom. She made some progress, but it wasn't enough to say she had a way to fight back this mysterious plague. It was around noon when they came out of the Forest. Once they left the shadows of the trees, the bluish glow appeared again and washed off them. On the way back to Camelot, Cream practiced more with her mount, now easily controlling it at fast pace. Even Marine got the hang of how to keep steady and at some point they changed places and Marine tried to guide the horse. Seeing the way the girls were at ease made Merlina feel a little bit less concerned about this entire situation. Deep inside she was sure that the girls had a reason to be here.

They arrived at the castle by lunch time. Crossing the gates of the castle they found the lavender knight training with a tree trunk. The girls went to her side while Merlina lead Gardenia back to the stable. Percival heard the sound of hooves so she turned around and a smile formed on her lips when she saw the girls coming to her side.

"Impressive. It took you two this little time to learn how to ride a horse"

"Hello miss Percival! Isn't it great?"

"Yeah, we totally got this, though this saddle could be softer"

"You will get used to it after some time, but I agree with you. So tell me, how was your trip with Merlina? Did you find anything?"

"Yes, but miss Merlina can explain it better than us"

"She will probably call everyone for a meeting after collecting her thoughts. Well, I bet you are hungry. Since I have been training for some time, what do you think of eating together?"

"Yay!"

"Ripper!"

"Oh, right. Marine, let's wait after lunch time!"

"Oh, I got it. Shall we call Eliza too?"

"Wait, girls, why wait after lunch, and who is Eliza?"

"She is a friend of us and we have a secret, so you can't tell anyone"

"Okay… you have my word"

And so they waited for everyone at the castle to eat, royalty, members of the guard and household. After, the girls lead Percival to the maid's kitchen where they used the small door at the corner that lead to the royal kitchen. In their way they encountered Eliza, who almost panicked when she saw Percival, one of the Sacred Knights, and thought that she had been discovered. After calming down, they went to the pantry's door and Eliza used her password. The door opened and they met with the wide smile of Cathy, who had to hold a scream once she saw the lavender cat.

"Is she-"

"Yes"

"And she went to-"

"Yes, we all came to eat, if you don't mind"

"... Oh my, such a critical guest… hahah…"

"Please don't be nervous. The girls brought me here"

This made Cathy be mora at ease, but still she felt pretty motivated to cook her best recipes. The ones that didn't took much long, that is. Soon Cathy made their meals and everyone took a bite. Percival's ears perked up once she tasted her food. It was different from everything that she had ever eaten before. She ate her food with gusto, complimenting Cathy for her talent and skills at the kitchen, which made the panda a little shy.

They chatted some time before leaving the kitchen. Cathy had to clean everything before the chief cook and the team arrived at the afternoon. Carefully leaving the door on the maid's kitchen, Eliza, Percival and the girls crossed the big room and walked through the hallways.

"So, say Cream, you and Marine are from Sir Sonic's home world, right?"

"Well, technically I'm from another dimension too. It just happens that I was with Cream when we got into world hopping"

"Oh, you mean that you know another version of Sir Sonic?"

"Not really, but there's another 'you' were I came from"

"Oh. This is… very awkward, in reality"

"Yeah, it was kind of shocking to see our alt versions"

"You two also have other personas?"

"Excuse me, but I am lost. What do you mean by 'other you'?"

"Oh, it goes like this miss Eliza. Out there exists a practically infinite number of worlds, some similar to this one and some completely different. Marine here comes from a world where miss Percival counterpart is a princess, for example"

This caught Percival completely off guard while Eliza struggled to understand the very concept of alternate worlds.

"Y-y-you said a princess?! Really?!"

"Yeah, but you never gave that much importance, though"

"How could I not, Marine?". Percival held Marine by the shoulders and slightly shook her back and forth. "I cannot even fathom what is to be part of a royal family"

"Sheesh, calm down girl. You totally got this. I mean, Blaze did. She's not only a princess, but also the protector of the kingdom. Actually, you two are pretty much alike"

While she let this sink a bit, Cream kept trying to explain the 'Many Worlds' Theory the best she could to Eliza. The maid cat kind of got the main idea but she just could not accept it completely. Sure, Merlina was a powerful wizard but even her had some limits, and she thought that many worlds that looked like this one, but slightly different, was pretty much off limits.

"Forgive my boldness, my lady, but that sounds like a child's story. Seriously, Alicia always had a book of fairy tales with these kind of things"

Cream expected this kind of comment. After thinking a little, she had an idea and held Eliza by the hand, leading her through the hallways. Percival and Marine looked curiously and followed them. Cream stopped sometimes at the hallways intersections but she remembered the way back to the hallway with the tapestries.

She stopped in front of the one with Sonic stamped and then she reached the tPhone, searching something on it. She swiped through some images while Eliza and Percival stared curiously at the mysterious device on the young girl's hands. She found the one she was searching and then turned to the maid, showing a photo of her and Sonic hugging and making peace signs. The high definition picture let the two medieval ladies baffled. Cream gave the tPhone to Eliza, who kept her eyes glued on the small screen.

"This one is a picture of me with mister Sonic back on my world, and here he is stamped on a tapestry. From what I heard from miss Percival, he has been on this world before"

"... I am speechless…"

"Well, keep it that way. Lady Merlina decided that the best to do was erase the memories of him from all the population, making them believe it was just an old fairy tale"

"Surely. So, the legend of the Knight of the Wind is true… Alicia would faint if she discovered that"

"This Alicia girl, she is part of the household, right?"

"Yes, my lady. Alicia got transferred to the cleaning team"

"And where she was before?"

"On the library team. It happened because she loves books too much for her own good, at least as a maid"

"Oh, I know. Alicia seemed to know something about the sword and the shield! What about we going talk to her now, Cream?"

"Good idea. Do you think you can take us to her, miss Eliza?"

"Umm, she must be in the middle of her chores right now, and if she stop to talk about these topics…"

"I beg you to make an exception on this case. Every information we can gather is valid"

Since Percival herself asked, there was no other way. Eliza let out a sigh, knowing that this would be a very long day with her friend. She looked at the hallways, trying to see if they were already clean, in order to find Alicia. Once she saw some dusted armours, she entered that hallway. Alicia probably was going to pass by this one, or at least she should do so.

As Eliza lead the way, on the back of the group, Percival kept talking with Cream about Sonic and her homeworld. But right now her tone of voice was much lower, as of she didn't want to be heard.

"So, back at your world Sir Sonic is a hero…"

"Yes, a world famous hero. Basically someone has heard or seen him in every corner of the planet"

"And he protects the whole world alone?"

"Oh, no. There is also mister Shadow, and Knuckles. Amy, Tails and even me help them sometimes"

"And what kind of dangers threats your world?"

"Well, most of the time it's doctor Eggman with some evil scheme"

"I don't get it. Shouldn't a doctor help the others to heal? Why would he cause trouble?"

"Hahahah, he is not that kind of doctor. Actually, one time Tails said something about his doctorate being questionable, but then they entered on nerd mode and I couldn't keep up"

"So, Sonic fights an evil doctor that can endanger the entire world. But couldn't he simply get rid this mad man?"

"Well, it is true that the doc is very stubborn, but mister Sonic would never hurt him like that. I believe that sometime he will get tired of losing"

"Sonic beats him all the times?"

"Yes. Almost on a daily basis. Every time the doctor comes up with another crazy robot or plan to make his Eggman Land"

"So he is also a dictator?! I would definitely put an end to his evil actions"

"This is just how nice Sonic is. He tries to forgive even his enemies"

This made Percival remember of the first time they met. On that time they were enemies, with her having orders from the King to stop him at every cost. And still, after winning the battle, he came to her aid when she almost fell on a lava pit. He didn't know her and didn't have a single reason to do it, but he still risked his life to help her. Anyone with some common sense would think twice before doing it, after all, she could just attack him again once she got safe, but that showed Percival that this blue hedgehog wasn't anyone.

Her mind wandered from those memories to when she met with the other knights. While they thought only about obeying the King's orders, Sonic stood up to what he believed, truly following the code of Chivalry. He, an foreigner who just initiated on the ways of a knight, made them remember of a simple yet important principle of the knights: helping those who were in need, protect the kingdom and its people.

At the very end of the hopes, standing against a much greater force, he didn't retreat. She and the other knights knew as they watched that Sonic could not match the powers that Merlina had after casting her spell, but he still kept trying, never giving up. This lead him to archive a whole new power level, which allowed him to fight against Merlina and save this land and the wizard herself.

All those traits, his somehow naive benevolence, his true and sincere heart, his brave and unbreakable spirit, made Percival admire and respect Sonic like she did to no other people, even to the King. Well, he WAS a king, technically. But deep inside Percival knew that it was more complex and strong than respect and admiration, what she felt towards the blue hedgehog.

"...Percival? Earth to miss Percival. Do you hear me?"

Percival got startled as she was thrown away from her thoughts as Cream called her name. She shook her head slightly and turned to her young friend who had the most curious expression plastered on her face.

"Is everything alright? You zoned out to a really far place…"

"Oh, it's fine. I just lost myself into some thoughts, don't worry. So, say Cream, is sir Sonic… popular in your world?"

"That is an understatement. The "Official Sonic Fan Club" is one of, if not the biggest one on the world"

"A… fan club?"

"It's like, ummm, a legion of followers"

"Oh, an entire legion? I am… amazed. Bug, does he has, you know, more personal relations?"

"Not really. It is pretty hard to keep up with Sonic. But that doesn't stops Amy, thought"

"Amy? Who is Amy?"

"Amy is one of my best friends, and she is just head over heels for Sonic. He would deny it until the world ends, but they make such a cute couple!"

While Cream let out a light laugh remembering all the times Amy tried to marry slash date Sonic, mostly by the use of force, Percival had a blank expression and her face seemed to pale a bit, in a state of shock. She recovered from it when Eliza called Alicia and the dog maid came running all the hallway to meet her friend.

"Eliza, what brings you here today? Oh wait, did the chief maid said something? Because I swear, that armour at the seventh hallway was completely loose from the stand and-"

"No, actually we came to ask you some questions,. After that you can tell me more about that 'loose armour'..."

Alicia scratched the back of her head with a shy smile, then she noticed the others accompanying her friend. She waved for the girls and quickly bowed when she saw the Sacred Knight just standing there.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are the maid that encountered us on the day of the uprising at the gates of the castle. Alicia, that's it?"

"Yes, my lady, Alicia Bokwoorm. How can I be helpful?"

"There is no need to such formalities. As for the help, we heard from your friend that you are very fond to old tales and stories. Do you think you remember of something about the sword and shield that the girls here carry?"

"Oh, right. I really remembered of something when they mentioned it earlier, but I can't get all the details…"

"Anything could give us a lead or some clues about them. Care to share it with us?"

"~gasp~ Really?! Oh, I gladly will tell you all that I know!"

Eliza's ears dropped a little as she saw her energetic friend getting excited. "Well, here we go again…"

Alicia tried her best to contain her joy, but the smile on her face and the tone of her voice completely showed off how much she was enjoying it. She told the group about an old story, not very popular among the kids or adults, but that she, of course, found marvelous.

A long time ago, maybe three or four centuries, an wandering wizard found an strange source of power, completely unknown. It was pure and very powerful, so much that it changed everything around it. But in a try to harnesses its power, the wandering wizard broke some kind of balance, turning the pure source into an malicious thing. The source of malefic energy threatened the entire place it was and it would spread and consume all the lands. In order to prevent that catastrophe, an guardian of the forests used the last of the pure energy from the source to forge a sword and a shield, which could stop the evil force from spreading.

"There are much more details, but I can't remember now. I just read this book three or four times…"

The rest of the group deadpanned at the implicit affirmation that reading the same boom three times was still not enough for the maid.

"There is no problem. In fact, it give us at least a hint of how the weapons were made. Maybe there are some records or notes about it on the Wizard's Library. I suppose lady Merlina would like to talk to you"

"Oh my goodness, you really think so?"

"Pretty much. As I said before, any lead can give us an advantage against our problem"

"Miss Alicia, do you think you can find that book in the library?"

"Oh, I guess so, no, I know I can! But I cannot just enter there, heheh…"

"That can be arranged"

Alicia turned to Eliza with her eyes big as dishes and full of sparks.

"Really Eliza?"

"I will talk with the Chief Maid. It is an emergency, after all"

Alicia let out a squeal of joy, quickly covering her mouth after, but she still couldn't help but jump in place due to her happiness. She hugged her friend and bowed quickly to the knight before leaving to clean the rest of the hallways while Eliza talked with the Chief Maid. She better have all of her chores done by the time her boss heard about that daring idea.

After that Eliza dismissed herself and left, leaving the girls and Percival alone. The trio then moved to the Armory, lead by Percival. Merlina assigned her to search in the underground network but she couldn't keep still for long, even more now that she heard of a possible source of information. The lavender cat wanted to start already and make some progress on her task to gain as much advantage as she could, even though the girls insisted that she should take the entire day to rest.

Getting her armour and her Sacred Sword, she left the Armory and headed towards the underground tunnels initiating her search for any traces of Shadow Stains. cream and Marine headed to the Wizard's Library and there they stood with Merlina while she made some more tests and researches with the sword and the shield. A week or so went on that routine, with the wizard receiving messages from Galahad and Lamorak reporting whatever they found. At first look the lands seemed to be okay, but a closer inspection would reveal that some areas near the Shrouded Forest were starting to being affected by the Stains' influence. As for Gawain and Lancelot, their duels surely heightened the spirits of the people, the fights being quite the spectacle to watch. As for their reports, nothing seemed off, besides the normal agitation the lack of a legit king caused. Percival didn't find any traces of the Shadow Stains so far on the underground network, but there was still a lot of ground to cover.

At the end of this week, the knights returned to the castle, not finding anything much abnormal. This could be good or bad news, depending on the point of view. The Stains could have just reached the Castle by one way, or maybe they were even deeper on the underground so they kept hidden from them while they spread through the lands.

Such possibilities were in Merlina's mind and while she hoped for the best, she had to prepare for the latter. So, gathering all the knights and the girls back at the Wizard's Library, she was going to decide the next step on their quest. She didn't make much progress on her research with the sword and shield so she had high expectations with the possible clues that she was told about.

"Welcome back, Knights. From the reports given during the last week, I can guess the Stains didn't spread much further, even though it's advancement is clear. Right now I received the news from Eliza. Apparently, her friend found something at the library"

"My lady, do you think there will be any reliable information to be found? From what I heard, it all is revolving around old tales"

"I understand your point Galahad, but keep in mind that most of the tales have a real background that inspires them. Take for example our dear Knight of the Wind"

"I see… so, shall we go now?"

The group moved to the Royal Library, where they found Eliza standing by the door while she waited for them. She made a polite bow and greeted them, leading them inside afterwards. There they met with the librarian old lady, who then pointed out the section Alicia was. Apparently she spent the last day in an very old and dusted section that even she didn't remember clearly.

They headed through the tall shelves, getting deeper and deeper on the library. The more they walked, more dust appeared, and some really thick tomes started to appear here and there over some of the round desks used to reading. On one of the last shelves they noticed a tall pile of old books almost falling to the ground. Turning on the section they found the book lover maid, surrounded by what seemed to be a wall of old books, like she was a princess in a castle. She was really concentrated on whatever she was reading so she didn't even acknowledge the arrival of the group, causing her to nearly fall on the ground when Eliza called her name. Unfortunately, the poor structured wall of books didn't endured the sudden move and crumbled half over the maid dog, who now wanted to bury herself on the pile of books.

"Hello Eliza. Didn't see you coming…"

"I noticed. So, did you find anything?"

""Anything? Eliza, I found everything! So many books I didn't even knew about! I never got to this section while I was at-"

"Alicia, about the mysterious weapons…"

"Oh, right. Oh, my lady, knights, sorry for taking so long. I kind of got sidetracked…"

"There is no need to apologise, dear. So, what did you find about that old tale?"

Alicia got up and dug up some books on the pile and put them on the desk, opening them on some of the marked pages. She also pulled out a small note block where she registered any info she came across in other books.

"About this tale, it is very old and at first I found some diverging versions, but I managed to determine the closest to the original by the structure of the text. It is very unique and characteristic from the northern lands, somewhere near the outskirts of the Shrouded Forest, which kind of makes sense since there seems to be a connection. My guess is that it is part of a collection of tales written by an old author that-"

"Alicia, dear, could you be a little bit more direct to the point?". Merlina had to stop her before she entered on her mumbling mode, as Eliza warned her. The maid dog scratched the back of her head with a small nervous smile and then flipped through her notes until she found the reference she was looking for, then looking at the books.

"Here. The tale goes back to an almost ancient time, I guess three centuries or so…"

There is no registries of the origin of it, but by that time an mysterious source of magical energy was found. The nature of it was unknown and so were its properties. Apparently, it was capable of changing the environment around it in such a way that the very essence of the energy imbued materia and living beings around it. Since it was so powerful the expectation would be that soon the source would dry out, but most to the surprise of the observer, it only grew in size and flow.

"Speaking of which, do you know who wrote this?"

"Interesting question, Sir Galahad. I have indeed came across some notes of an old traveller, and using them as a comparison base, I managed to localize other books that may be of his authorship"

"So…"

"Yes, the observer was a real person. In fact, it made me ponder about other things like-"

"Alicia, focus". Eliza had to keep her friend on the main way, otherwise, judging by the enormous quantity of scattered books in this section, they would definitely not hear the end of her stories. Focusing back on the books, Alicia kept reading and explaining.

The observer, identified by Alicia as a nameless Wanderer, was some sort of wizard, but not like Merlina, who studied the old enchantments and followed the lessons of her grandfather. The Wanderer probably was someone with great magical potential, but little to no instruction, so whatever knowledge it had was obtained by try and error or synesthetic experiences, like it learned on its own. But there was a limit to how far one could go this way, and by the notes found in other books, that limit had been reached. This is where the source entered, allowing the Wanderer to tap into raw magical energy and increase its natural skills. Such enhancement gave it the tools to grow in experience and knowledge to the point it declared to freely bend the raw energy the source emanated.

"This seems to be an old sorcerer of some sort, but I haven't found a single line about this person on the Wizard's Library, which is far older than this acerve"

"I have a theory, my lady. I think that the Wanderer is prior or completely segregated from any order of mages that ever existed. On the notes I found there is little to no points in common regarding methods or rules that we find in the Wizard's Codex or any guild registries"

"So it was an outcast… kind of explains the lack of information, but still, such a powerful source should not pass unnoticed by the wizard orders"

"Well, I don't know about these orders, but someone did notice it…"

Back to the tale, at some point a being described as the embodiment of light appeared to the Wanderer. The being was concerned about the source and the Wandered, warning that it was toying with forces beyond its comprehension. Taking it as a dare, the Wanderer went further on exploring the limits of the source and itself, to the point where once again a barrier was encountered. As the time passed, said barrier proved to be really hard to transpose, and the lack of progress frustrated the Wanderer. In a reckless attempt to tap deeper into the power source, the Wanderer threw something out of its balance, making the spell it casted 'break' the source. But instead of stop flowing, it became a fountain of negative energy, completely opposite to the pure positive energy it was before.

Said negative energy dominated the Wanderer and corrupted what once was filled with pure energy. The result was an always spreading stain of dark negative energy that infected everything it touched, altering the environment and the living beings on it. Possessed by the same energy, the Wanderer got corrupted as well, going deeper into the shadows and increasing in power, until it started to melt and merge into the source. It's very ambition to achieve power and knowledge consumed its soul and fueled the source even further with some kind of desire to reach its forming tendrils to the borders of the world.

The tale also told that before the great fountain of dark energy expanded much further, the light being casted a powerful spell, summoning all the light around to purge the monstrous puddle of shadows. But even after erasing it, a lot of damage remained, as if everything it touched became impregnated with it's malefic influence. So in order to clean it out she casted another spell, solidificating the first sun rays of the dawn into a sword and the bright white shine of the full moon into a shield. With them, the impregnated locals and living beings were cleaned out.

"Wait a minute girl, how can we be fighting the Stains if some magic light dude got rid of it already?"

"I asked myself that question too, miss Marine. No matter how much I search I always find many interpretations and versions of this tale, some more alike and others quite divergent"

"This tale doesn't explain much further about the Shadow Stains and the weapons than we already know"

"I am afraid so, Sir Gawain. There are lots of blank spots and conflicts that I didn't resolved yet, but I am still trying"

"You still somehow discovered a estimated time when it could have happened and even found out that this 'Wanderer' was a real person. I must say I am impressed"

"Thank you lady Merlina. I intend to keep searching until I find the truth behind this tale. That is, if the Chief Maid allows me…"

There was a small laugh shared between them, except for Lancelot who had a thoughtful face, which got noticed by Cream.

"Mister Lancelot, is there a problem?"

"No at all. It is just something that got stuck on my mind. You said before that this tale came from the northern region of the Shrouded Forest. How did you concluded that?"

"Well, basically there are some patterns in writing that are likely to origin from that region. After some more research, I found out other sources that used this tale as an inspiration, all of them from the same locality. It was just a normal conclusion"

"Is this a big deal?"

"Maybe. It makes me think if SHE doesn't knows anything…"

"She?". The girls and the maids inquired the black hedgehog and since no one else did the same, it should be a common sense that they were unaware of.

"You think she has any knowledge about this situation?"

"To be honest, I doubt that she didn't take at least a protective measure, given the nature of this threat"

"Wait, wait. Who is she?"

"I didn't even think about asking her since she can be quite reserved. From what I remember, she is very likely to forget about the world outside"

"Miss Merlina, who is this person?"

"I know about that, but I am sure she will listen to me"

"Alright, not a single word before you answer me! Just who is this mysterious sheila?". Marine at first got answered with a massive 'Shhh', after all they were inside a library. After that Percival answered the agitated raccoon with her usual tranquility.

"She is the Lady of the Lake, and Lancelot's mother"

There was a minute of silence as the group of four absorbed the information. Marine and Cream were still quite confused about the relevance of Lancelot's mother in their problem, while the duo of maids had their eyes wide like saucers. Alicia, of course, was the first to speak.

"Oh my goodness, is it really true?! I can't believe it! Oh, sorry but do you think you can present me to her, as in, seeing her in person, or does she require a test of honor so only the pure of heart- mmffffmffm"

"Calm down Alicia. I am as shocked as you are but we have a mission to accomplish. I must convince the Chief Maid to allow your permanence here further so YOU can keep on the research"

"Mmmm… I know…"

"I thank you for all your effort, young miss. It gave us a precious lead to solve the problem at our hands, and I hope that you can help us furthermore in the near future"

"It is an honor my lady"

"Now, my dear knights, girls, I think we know our next step: we shall pay a visit to Misty Lake. Would you care to lead the way, Sir Lancelot?"

"Not in the slight, my lady. We shall depart tomorrow by dawn"

"Are we going to use horses again? The soreness just waved off…"

"I suggest that one of you stay here and the other can go along with lady Merlina and Lancelot. I could use Cream's help in the underground network while you go to Misty Lake"

"What do you think Cream?"

"Sounds like a plan"

"Then we are settled. Take the rest of the day to rest, my knights. We are taking another step to solve this problem"

With that they left the library, thanking the old lady for her patience. They spent the rest of the day resting as Merlina suggested. At least, in the terms of a knight since they used the free time to spare and train their swordsmanship. At the courtyard, Lancelot and Gawain spared with each other while Percival trained her aim and reflexes slicinc flying objects thrown at her. Lamorak just trained his stances and Galahad focused on his physical strength. The girls just watched their new friends, amazed with the tremendous skills they had. It was really hard to say who was better than who, even thought they were told Lancelot had the title of best knight. If there was a difference it was very, very minimal.

They got thrown out of their thoughts by a familiar ringing. Cream then reached for the tPhone, which she almost forgot she had with her. Looking at the screen, the call identifier showed no name, but she answered it hoping to hear a familiar voice.

"Hello?"

"-bzzzz- hear me -bzzz-"

"Oi, I think they are trying to communicate again, Cream!"

The knights heard the unknown noise and stopped their training to come closer and see what was that about. Cream and Marine looked at the device on the rabbit's hands with much expectation, also holding it as if their lives depended on it.

"The signal is cutting. Say that again, please"

"-bzzzzzzz- me? It's Tails. Do you hear me?"

Joy filled the young girls as they finally heard the voice of their friend with little static but at least without any cuts. The knights were surprised and wondering how did they manage to make that small box emit sounds like a voice. Maybe it was some kind of spell.

"You don't know how good is to hear your voice again, Tails"

"Again? But I just set up a comm link, rather improvised one. I barely left my lab on the last three months…"

"Three months?!"

"But Tails, we just reached a month or so away"

"Well, that was expected. The time can stretch and shrink while you travel. I should keep an eye on it…"

Tails started murmuring pretty technical something, along with lots of scientific and complicated words, which made the girls lose their focus. Just like that, Gawain snatched the phone from Cream's lap and held it with his fingertips in front of his face. He then proceeded to talk really loud.

"Greetings! Sir Gawain, mighty knight of the Round Table, asks the name of the voice from the magical box!". On the other end, Tails flinched at the sudden noise piercing his quite sensitive ears.

"Cream, who the heck is this guy?"

Cream got up and retrieved the phone from the confused echidna, switching to the speakers so everyone could hear.

"Well Tails, believe it or not, this is one of the Knights of the Round Table. Incredible, isn't it?"

"For real? Man, I totally owe Sonic an apology now…"

"Oh right, Sonic has been through here before"

"He said that one time he ended in the King Arthur's world, but I just said he had a really real dream. I mean, one night and he comes up with a story like that? I thought that… well, you get me Marine"

"Yeah, I get it. Hard to believe we are here either"

"Umm, excuse me. May I ask what exactly is your relation with Sir Sonic?"

"Well, you can say me and 'Sir' Sonic are best friends. Pretty much brothers, mysterious miss whom I never got the name"

"Oh, my name is Percival, and I am also a Sacred Knight"

Cream then proceeded to turn the phone to each of the knights, as if she was presenting them to Tails, even if the call didn't have a live video feed.

"Allow me. Tails, this is Sir Lancelot"

"Greetings"

"Sir Gawain, which you already heard of"

"Good day for you, little box"

"Sir Galahad"

"It's an honor to know one of the King's family"

"And Sir Lamorak"

"Hello, mister spell box"

"Wait, wait, did someone said king?"

"Oh yeah, would you look at it mate? Sonic's a king around here"

"Wow. That sure is big news. Anyways, I'm happy that you two are okay. Things around here have been less than pleasant, with you two gone missing and all… I… it's really good to hear your voices again"

"Same here, Tails, but we also have some problems to deal with here"

"Really? What kind of… -bzzzzz- hit! The signal is getting wea -bzzzz- rea! Marine! I'm gonna fix -bzzzz- get you back ho -bzzzz- promise! -bzzzzzzzzz.

The line went dead. The girls just stared at the device constantly emitting that white noise, remembering that they were pretty much alone. They had made new friends, sure, but their travel was still a lonely one, far away from home and from the ones they held dear. The silence fell in the down mood.

Then, Lamorak got down on one knee and looked at the small sad faces staring at the ground.

"Hey, look. You two are pretty annoying, and also very stubborn. But in a way, those are good points to have. Don't lose your hopes yet, there has to be a way to solve this thing okay?". And this, ladies and gentlemen, is Sir Lamorak trying to lift the mood up a bit.

The girls looked at the green hawk and both had a small but genuine smile forming on their faces.

"Now, that is more suitable for you two. Two boring and simple smiles plastered across your faces"

"Oh, shut up, you green duster". Marine and Cream let out light laughs, and even the green hawk let out a snicker escape his beak.

Now Percival approached, trying herself too to get the girls' spirits high.

"Oh, I have an idea. What do you two think about learning some of the ways of a knight?"

"~gasp~ Really miss Percival?"

"Surely"

"Indeed, it could bring a lot of benefits, making you two more capable of defending yourselves. Not that we intent to let you two fight actively". Lancelot said. The girls' eyes lit up with gleam hearing this.

"So it is settled then. I, Sir Percival, shall teach you two on the basics of what is to be a true knight"

"If you forgive me, why should you be the teacher instead of me?"

"Because". Percival turned to Lancelot with a somewhat daring look on her eyes. "You are the best knight of the realm, but not the best teacher. We all remember the last time you tried to 'give a lesson'". She said that part looking slightly to Galahad, who now was laughing nervously.

"Okay, then"

Percival also cut Gawain before he could even speak. It was simple: the echidna would either ramble nonstop about his great feats or keep the poor girls under a spartan training for no apparent reason.

And so, she proceeded to pick up a wooden stick, around the size of a short sword, and a wooden round shield, similar the magical shield. She handed the 'weapons' to her new pupils and took another stick for herself, longer than the other and slightly thinner. The girls looked at it with confused looks.

"Umm, shouldn't we start with the real ones already, Percival?"

"Only when one becomes a true knight, it shall be given the right to raise a sword"

"But miss Percival, we already fought and all and-"

"And by the time you did so, you were not knights. Now, let's see how do you move"

Percival readied herself in a defensive stance, holding the stick in front of her slightly inclined. Her face was peaceful and her body seemed pretty much relaxed, but seeing her like this kind of made the girls nervous, as if the knight emanated a menacing aura. Reading themselves too, the girls dashed towards the lavender cat, Cream taking the lead and Marine making a quick turn to flank Percival.

The plan was pretty simple: part ways and strike at the same time. If she blocked Cream, Marine could hit her on the sides. If she blocked Marine, she would be open and Cream could hit her. It was easy and simple to understand. In fact, a rather good plan, except for it was Percival they were attacking.

Cream held her stick above her head. Just as she expected, Percival was paying attention to Marine, so it would be easy to strike her, without much strength, that is. But in a single swift move, Percival defended her strike and evaded from Marine, making the rabbit and raccoon crash into each other.

"Lesson number one: don't rush at your enemy. You will only show him your intention"

The girls got up and went for another attack, this time running side by side. Another vertical strike from Cream while Marine aimed at the legs. Percival just took a step back, dodging easily, and lightly knocked on their heads.

"Lesson number two: always keep your guard up. Your moves are too wide and open"

Somewhat annoyed, the girls went for another attack, this time just trying hit Percival a single time at least. They were swinging wildly and throwing punches, which Percival evaded with ease almost no effort. Soon enough the girls began to feel tired, their breath short and heavy. They had to stop due to all the sudden exercise, holding on their knees and panting.

"Lesson number three: sometimes you don't even need to fight"

"It seems… we have a lot… to cover, right Percival?"

"This is much harder… than hitting… those transformed citizens"

"That is mostly expected. This is the difference between an opponent with raw force and another with proper training. You can overcome the enemy with skills, no matter how strong it is"

The girls stood in awe looking at the lavender cat. Percival seemed like an old wise master, and maybe, just maybe, they could be the chosen ones. It would be pretty cool, if it wasn't such a cliche. Anyways, Percival was pretty motivated to teach them and they were looking forward to it.

During the remain of the day they learned about the basics in a sword fight: attacking, defending, balance, footwork, and even some battle strategies. Due to the large amount of new info, along with a equally large training, at the end of the day Cream and Marine just fell on their beds at the guest dorm. If being a knight involved doing this every single day then the Sacred Knights seemed much cooler now. They wondered how did Percival managed to do it, then again, maybe she was at it since she was a kid, not to say that this was another world, one that probably wasn't so peaceful like back at home, ignoring the weekly threats of Eggman, but that didn't count that much, thought.

On the next day, pretty early in the morning, Eliza woke up the girls so they could get ready. Still sleepy, they changed into their normal clothes and went to the maid's kitchen, passing by the small door and meeting with Cathy, who cooked a double breakfast for them. After, they met with Lancelot, Percival and Merlina at the stables.

"We shall depart soon. I wish you luck in your search, Percival, Cream"

"Good luck with the Lady, miss Merlina"

"Well, what are you waiting? Get up in the horse"

"Do we really have to go by horse?". Marine winned, already feeling slightly sore. Lancelot just shrugged and put the raccoon on top of his horse, climbing up after.

"This is the fastest way. Besides, you should get used to it, as a knight in training"

"Wait till you guys discover what a car is…". Marine said while she waved Cream a goodbye.

The trio left the stables and as soon as they crossed the gates, they went at full speed, heading to the Misty Lake, much to Marine's dismay. As for Cream and Percival, they walked to the Armory and got their respective swords, then walked through some hallways until they reached a small door inside a tiny room. That door lead to a staircase, dark and apparently infinite, going deep into the roots of the castle. They descended calmly, Percival leading the way with a small flame she summoned on the tip of her sword, and Cream following right behind. Soon they reached the underground network of tunnels and the cat knight walked to the last section she investigated. She moved through the maze of narrow corridors as if it was a daily route, which Cream doubted was the case.

As they reached the last seen section, Percival and Cream started to look with more attention at the surroundings, trying to hear and sense anything that should not be there. Corridor after corridor they wandered through the shadowy maze, the only ones down there, or at least that was what they expected. The silence was broken when Percival decided to say something, rather ask something to the young rabbit following her.

"So, say Cream, that voice coming from the, what was the name...?"

"The tPhone? That was Tails"

"Yes, that's how you call it. Well, this boy is a close friend of Sir Sonic. Is there other ones… umm… close to him?"

"Well, I guess everyone is a close friend to mister Sonic. He is very friendly and nice"

"I am sure about it. Can you tell me more about your friends? how is your home world like?"

"Mmm, where to start...? Tails is like a brother to mister Sonic, they are best friends. Then there's mister Knuckles, who looks like Sir Gawain"

"Really? Like Gawain?"

"Yeah, he even has a similar personality, but he is even more a hot head"

"Someone worse than Gawain… incredible"

"He is really nice, though. Mister Knuckles don't show that a lot but he cares for everyone. Oh, there's mister Shadow too. He looks like Sir Lancelot!"

"Oh, and let me guess, he also has a 'small' problem containing his ego"

"Well, he does say things about being the Ultimate Lifeform, but that is more like a joke now… Oh, there is Amy too!"

"Amy? Who is Amy? Is she her a younger sister? Maybe a maid or something like that…?"

"What, oh no, she is my best friend"

"Oh… nice"

"And she is also mister Sonic's girlfriend"

Percival stopped on her track. And turned around slowly with a slightly anxious face, which Cream didn't notice due to the poor lightning around.

"A… girlfriend? Is it like… a fiancee…?

"Well, not that serious. At least not yet"

"I-I see…"

"I know I said girlfriend, but the truth is that this is more a one-sided statement. Amy really likes mister Sonic, but he doesn't want to date her"

"You mean… she is forcing him to-"

"Oh no, this was years ago. Amy is much more level headed now, most of the time… She never gave up on running after him, though"

"But if Sir… if Sonic doesn't want to engage in this type of relationship with this lady, doesn't that mean that he doesn't feel the same way?"

"One can say that at first sight, but I know that he likes Amy too. He just would not openly admit it. I think it is kinda cute"

"Sure… Sir Sonic has… a very pure soul"

"Yeah, he's really a nice guy. The best of them all!". Cream laughed lightly at the thought that she sounded like one of the thousands of girls from his fanclub. If she could see better in the dark, she would've noticed that Percival seemed a little down, like, demotivated or something. The search went on with little chats here and there.

Deer Woods - heading to Misty Lake

Meanwhile, with the other group was already crossing the Deer Woods and Marine was already sore from the hard saddle and the fast pace of the mounts. She really wished to be back at her home world, where to get anywhere you had to use a ship. Nothing about giant stubborn horses, hard saddles, and most importantly, no jumping up and down at each step. Just the gentle and salty breeze of the ocean and the slow back and forth of the waves hitting the hull. Man, she really missed her ship right now.

Speaking of right now, she was tempted to ask if they 'were there yet', but she found better not provoke Lancelot since he seemed pretty annoyed when she asked for the seventh time a little time ago. She could not help, she was bored to death, and becoming equally sore by the minute. Not only Marine woke up too early, even for Blaze's standards, the landscape around here, grasslands and some trees every ten meters; a beautiful view as the sun rose up in the horizon, but still quite boring.

She held herself as much as she could, but she was on the verge of succumbing to the urge of just sleep, so she decided to risk and ask the dreaded question. But before she could say it, Merlina cut her to it.

"Are we there yet, Lancelot?"

Lancelot didn't manage to hide perfectly that he was pretty tired of hearing that question, but it came from Merlina so…

"We will arrive soon, my lady"

Marine let out a relieved sigh after hearing this, as she kept her eyes on the horizon. Soon, the white fog that constantly surrounded the place came into view. Lancelot lead them without hesitation, even though they couldn't see much ahead of them, as if he had the whole place memorized. While following on a canter through the mist, the raccoon looked around, paying some attention to the old stone buildings and the apparently dead trees, completely lacking leaves and having the trunk and branches contorted in many ways. Even though the landscape could be considered somehow scary, she was really at ease.

A couple more minutes and they arrived at their destination, a great lake covered by a thin mist. The water had a very faint bluish glow and at the center of the lake was a small piece of land, with a round stone table in the middle and a dome over it. In the middle of the stone bridge that connected it and the margin of the lake stood a figure wearing a long dress with light and dark shades of blue. The pink haired lady also wore a pair of black and white arm warmers and a sky blue headband with golden circles at the ends. She waited at the bridge with her hands overlapping each other, resting in front of her, and a gentle smile crossing her face. They halted their mounts and then waked to meet the lady.

"Greetings, Royal Wizard, Lancelot, and a new friend, I suppose"

Marine wasn't sure at first, mostly because of the mist, but once she got near enough to see her, she instantly recognized the familiar face.

"Wow, that sheila looks exactly like Amy!"

"Marine, could you please have a little more decorum?". Lancelot said with a not so friendly tone in his voice. The lady laughed lightly as the raccoon scratched the back of her head in nervousness.

"Well, I surely would like to meet this mysterious lady one day, if possible. That said, if you made the same assumption HE did, my guess is that you have something related to Sir Sonic, am I correct?"

"Oh, you know Sonic too?"

"Yes. In fact, I helped him during his journey to become a true knight, and to fight with the old King Arthur". The lady didn't mention the last part of these events, but Merlina could not help but feel a little guilty deep inside because of all she had done before. Right now, the fact that Camelot didn't have a royal bloodline was because of her doings, so she was willing to do everything at her reach to protect the kingdom and its people.

"Judging by your looks, it isn't just a courtesy visit, right?". She said as she directed a gentle look to Lancelot, who flinched a little and directed his gaze to anywhere but her. "Don't feel guilty Lancelot, I know you have a duty to fulfill. Why don't we discuss your motivations with some tea?". The lady lead them to the table at the center of the lake, where a white porcelain teapot stood, along with four teacups. They sat around the table and the lady poured some tea to everyone. After sipping some of her tea, Merlina began to speak.

"Well, you are right. The situation at our hands hardly could be worse. Right now an unknown threat lurks beneath these lands and I think that the objective is to completely dominate the kingdom of Camelot"

"I see. Indeed, it isn't recent that I felt some foreign force trying to make its way into the Misty Lake"

"If you already saw it coming why not warn Merlina here sooner?"

"Marine, manners". Lancelot said, along with a glare and a pinch on her right ear.

"Ouch. I just made a question…"

"She does have a point. Even though I sensed its presence, there was little I could do since I cannot interfere directly"

"What do you mean my by that, miss, umm…"

"Nimue. Or, if you may stick to the formality, Lady of the Lake. Outside of the Misty Lake, my abilities are quite limited, so most of the time, I must elect a knight, someone willing to help and of a true heart, to go where I myself cannot reach. It has been this way for a long time, and it was what happened when your friend Sonic came to this world"

Marine was in a awe state after hearing that. It was really like those fairy tales she heard when she was a little kid. A wise and magic being that would call the righteous hero to complete a task that many would refuse to do in fear. The journey filled with obstacles, one after another and each time more challenging, until the hero had to face it's ultimate fate and confront the evil force that threatened the world. The chosen one was a light of hope for everyone around him or her. And Marine could actually relate to the present situation, not counting that 'chosen one' part, that it.

"Well, the Sacred Knights have a duty to protect the kingdom and its people, and that is what we intend to do. In order to do that, we came here to see if we can find a way to fight against that evil force". Lancelot then motioned to Marine, who then handed the shield to Nimue. The pink haired lady looked at it closely for some time and then put it on the table, closing her eyes and resting her hands over it. She calmly sipped some of her tea as a faint bluish aura, similar to the glow of the lake, emanated from her form.

"Ah, I see…" She said while the glow intensified a little. Another sip on her tea and she began to speak, eyes still closed and her features giving an absolute feeling of peace. "This brings back memories. Very old memories indeed"

"Have you already seen this shield, lady Nimue?"

"Not seen it, Merlina, but I have heard about it. A long, long time ago… I remember the stories my mother told me when I was just a child…"

A long time ago, before the birth of the Kingdom of Camelot, before the age of the kings and wars, at the Misty Lake resided an young lady, who had the duty to protect the balance of the lands and guard the Lake. She was a descendant of a lineage of fairies, so it was natural that she would inherit such a task.

At one time, the young guardian sensed a great shift in the flow of the magic, faraway from the gardens of the Misty Lake. She then parted on a travel to search for the source of this disturbance, something that no other guardian had done before. After some days she finally found the source of the disturbance, a single and massive wheel of raw magic, overflowing its energy all over the place and reaching far into the lands of what would be the kingdom of Camelot. Not only that, she also met an young and intriguing man, one that seemed to be learning how to harness the power of the fountain.

Wise, curious and bold, he didn't seem intimidated by the huge power in front of him, but quite the opposite, the presence of something that he could not understand completely compelled the man to keep his efforts in unfolding every mystery revolving that massive flux of magic.

At their first encounter, the man was clearly stunned by the almost ethereal figure that came to him, but as the time passed, he grew more and more fond to the young guardian, and so did her. The outcasted wizard was very intriguing and quite confusing most of the time, which made her wonder how much far he could go. She even helped him in some of his eccentric researches and experiences, which earned her a lot of respect and admiration from him.

Mutual respect and admiration grew into a partnership and a great friendship between the guardian and the outcast wizard, and from time to time she would leave the Misty Lake and travel to the deep forest where the source was, just to help out or make company to the man. And as he learned and improved his skills, she also learned more about it, adding a little to her own knowledge and skills. But the man was eager to find answers, and when he didn't found exactly what he expected, he would become very frustrated. Though she felt that this was a bit of an over action, she always supported him and comprehend his frustrations. But one day she noticed that this frustrations, along with a ever growing ambition, were starting to dig deep into the man. He would time and time test the limits of every aspect of the source, always risking something, even if at a low level.

This made the guardian be more wary about her friend, and that lead her to warn him about the dangers of dealing with a great unknown force. Unfortunately, this only fuelled his ambition, and he made a promise to completely control that unknown force, a promise made for him and for her too. This only made the guardian worry even more. Her friend would no longer spend some time with her, instead focusing all his time and energies tinkering with the source, refusing to eat and even sleep. He was slowly letting the research and his pride swallow him, which forced the guardian to take action.

She was decided to talk to him and convince him to stop, but when she found her friend, he was already conjuring a dangerous spell. He could not see it but she, having a fairy heritage, could almost see the fountain extending its branches around the wizard and engulfing his very essence. If he kept on this path, he would no longer exist, melting away into the source. She came to his aid and warned him about the time imminent danger, but that didn't caused the effect she expected.

To the outcast wizard, it sounded like another of the lectures the old wizards always gave on him. It felt like an insult to his skills, his work, his knowledge, and his very person. Caught up in his ambitions and pride, he kept tampering the source, each time going further, each time losing some part of his sanity, some part of himself. The guardian tried to force him out of there, but there was little she could do since he was directly attached to the source, thus becoming much more powerful. And then, a tragedy happened.

By means that no one could explain, the source came out of balance. The source of once pure energy now was emmanating an maleficent aura that contaminated everything it touched, including the man that studied it so hard. Lost in a swirl of reveries of greatness, swallowed by his own pride and betrayed by his uncontrollable ambition, the man succumbed to the flow of energy, forever vanishing from existence. The guardian didn't have time to mourn her loss. There was a really dangerous threat to these lands, and even to the world, and it was up to her to stop it. She retreated to the Misty Lake and searched in the ancient spell for something she could use, but nothing seemed to work. Then, as a last resort, and using what she learned from her gone friend, she decided to risk everything in a single new spell. It could do nothing. It could stop the evil source. It could be the end of her and of the world. She accepted the risk.

With a steeled resolve, she returned to the source, only to find that the once bright and livid forest that surrounded it was completely tainted in dark, malefic energy. This tore her heart into pieces, adding to her will in stopping it. And so she did her bet. Casting a powerful and completely new spell, she summoned all the magic she could and poured it at source as if it was the sunlight. It cut out the ever growing tendrils of the maleficent fountain and sealed it away, but a serious damage had already been done. Her friend was gone and the forest was completely marked, flooded in darkness. Using the very last of the spell she casted, a single shard of the sunlight that sealed the source away formed. Using it, she cleaned the forest from its stains, little by little. After that long task, her last action was to take the shard and make out of it two weapons: a shield, to protect from all evil force and every malignant intention that could be directed at it. And a sword, which would be used to clean every stain and purge the agents of the darkness.

These tools, she sealed into a cave, and crystallized as much energy as she could to keep any evil intent of reaching the place. In the future, whenever some new threat appeared over these lands, the sword and the shield would call a worthy and benevolent person to be the agent of light against the oncoming darkness. She wished to be sure that the darkness sealed would never return, but she witnessed its power, and knew that at some time they would return. This was her bet on the future generations. With that, at the end of her forces, she returned to the gardens of Misty Lake, where a new guardian waited to know her mentor.

"...wow…"

Merlina and Lancelot reflected upon what they heard, while Marine had gleam on her eyes.

"Nimue, that new guardian on the story, was that you?"

"No, my child. That was one of my ancestors. My mother told me this story when I was learning to be a guardian, her mother told her likewise, and so on. This is to remember us of the threats that lurk in the shadows"

"So the shield and sword were made to fight back the Stains… but still, we don't know why they got free again". Merlina tried to think of something. There was a missing piece in this puzzle, and it was crucial to understand that part in order to prevent another breakout. What if the seal was permanently broken?

"Did the Stains reach into here?". Merlina and Lancelot looked at the young raccoon as if trying to understand the reason for the question.

"The tendrils of the source didn't enter the gardens of Misty Lake, but they are growing around it like a vine crawling into a trunk"

"Really? I thought that the dead trees were because of the Stains"

"Here I can harness the power of the old spell once casted to seal the Stains. This way, spreading the effect across the gardens prevents it from crossing the limits"

"Hmmm… oh, I know. Merlina, what if we cast the spell back at the kingdom? This would buy us some time for sure!"

"It seems a good plan. Do you think you can teach me the spell, Nimue? Rather, can it be casted outside the gardens?"

"I must say it is quite complex and requires a lot of energy, but I am sure you can learn-"

"STAND DOWN!". Lancelot shouted as he pulled Merlina and Nimue under the table. Marine quickly reacted and did the same. Almost at the exact time a set of arrows crossed the air above their heads, some of them being stuck into the stone columns. Lancelot quickly got up, grabbed one of the arrows and got down again, avoiding another bunch of arrows. He inspected the arrow. It was completely black, about a meter long and it seemed to be covered into a thin layer of a dark viscous oil. He recognized this type of material, which faded into a dark mist after some time.

"Knights of the Underworld. How can they be here?"

Camelot Castle - underground tunnels

"Well, it seems we found it"

"I guess it's more like they found us, miss Percival…"

"One can perceive it this way too"

Some minutes ago and two levels above, Cream heard something echoing through a vent shaft and Percival decided to go further into the labyrinth, descending into the always dark narrow passages. Reaching the next floor, they went going into a straight line for some minutes before entering a larger room that connected multiple tunnels. The knight headed to a smaller entrance that lead to a spiral staircase going deep into the completely shadowed next floor.

Once on the next level, Cream tried to distinguish where the sound came from. It was similar to that time when she and Marine found the puddle of Shadow Stains, but at the same time it felt different. Until then she didn't felt the mysterious breeze so instead her focus was directed to her listening, and some kind of 'feeling', if she could guess.

It was hard not to get completely freaked out being into a place where the only light source was the light flame coming from Percival's sword and the only sounds were their breathing and footsteps. Sometimes, between a talk and another, the rabbit could even hear her heartbeat. But on the 'bright' side the lack of light made Cream stop leaning only on her eyes, making her others senses more keen. The air here was stagnant and humid, mostly because of the thin lines of water that ran through the ground and some cracks in the walls. More important, a very low sound came from the left tunnels connected to the room they were now. Approaching them, she could point out that it came from the one in the middle of the three tunnels. The shiver on her spine confirmed her suspicions that whatever was making that sound, it was at the end of that tunnel, or at least somewhere near it. The young rabbit could not decide if the feeling of something different was a good thing. They could not find another puddle, but what if it was something worse?

"Yep. That's pretty worse"

At the end of the long tunnel, a big round reservatory, with many tunnels coming from the walls and ceiling, letting drip small lines of water. But the least thing on the reservatory was water. Instead, a great pool of Shadow Stains bubbled and steamed, impregnating the place with it's malefic energy. Not only that, the surroundings of the pool were filled with what seemed to be very exotic armours, which Percival immediately recognised as Underworld's knights, but their armours were completely black, with some bright purple lines on the edges of the armour's parts.

"How can it be? The gates to the Underworld were sealed!"

"Underworld? What is this place?"

"A place full of energy and madness, the origin point of those corrupted knights"

"And I suppose they are the bad guys"

"Indeed, they just want to spread terror wherever they pass by, but they should not be here, and they look quite different"

"They shouldn't? Why so? And is different about them?"

Percival didn't have time to answer thought, because the knights seemed to acknowledge their presence and instantly went for an offensive. She had to duck a dark purple energy blade launched by a knight using a greatsword. A quick analysis of the place and she concluded that they were pretty much in disadvantage, even if the knights were big and kinda clumsy. The best option would be to go back the narrow tunnel and lock them down here somehow. After that they could get help and clean that infestation later.

"Quick Cream, run back through the tunnel. we will lock them down here and call the others"

"Alright!"

"Don't fear, they cannot pass through this narrow-"

Watch out!"

Cream pulled Percival to the wall, barely evading a slash from a long sword being held by a floating gauntlet. It had a dark purple mist trail that lead to the room they found, and at the end of the tunnel the knights were climbing up and turning into mist, and making their way to them.

"Umm, miss Percival, did they always do that…?"

"I have never seen it either…"

Insert Music "Shrouded Forest" - Sonic and the Black Knight

Turning on their heels Percival ran out of the tunnel as fast as they could and went up the spiral staircase with a thick purple cloud after them. As they reached the floor above, the cloud made its way there too, dispersing around the room and then reforming into the Underworld knights, who blocked all the possible escape routes. Surrounded, Percival stood back to back with Cream, who was on a mix of fear and anxiety.

The words from the knight echoed into her head. she could have helped in the fight, but there was a clear difference between mindless monsters and skilled opponents, and she was currently facing the later. The grip on the handle of the magic sword was so strong she was sure her knuckles were getting white, and yet she could not stop her hands from trembling. No, her whole body was shaking in anticipation and fear. Her breath was short and her eyes didn't focused right, even though there was near to no light and she could only see the bright purple lines of the armours of the enemy. But on what seemed to be a mind reading, she felt Percival's warm hand rest over her shoulder.

"Fear not, for I am here by your side. The battle is already lost if you let yourself succumb to fear and doubt. I trust you can make it through"

Even with the poor light provided by the flame on the sacred sword, Cream could 'see' the smile on her friend's face. Right, Percival was her friend and she trusted her to fight by her side, so she would do her best to get them out of here. With renewed confidence and filled with determination, Cream took a stance as did Percival, who flared up the flame on her sword, providing more light on the room. From what she could count, there were at least thirty knights here, all of them basic frontline types. The room wasn't big enough to allow bigger knights, which was a good point. Pushing to the back of her mind the questions about how did the Underworld knights ended here, she readied herself, sensing the intention of her enemies.

"Here they come…"

In a second, all the knights dashed forward, letting out a sinister noise that seemed to be a metallic roar or something like that. It send a cold shiver down the rabbit's spine but she jumped into action anyways.

Percival casted a flame arc in front of her, temporarily blocking some of them, but she knew that down there in a closed room with limited air her powers could worsen the situation rather than help. She fended off two knights trying to flank her and engaged in fight with a third that made its way around the fire.

As for Cream, she tried to do her best in remembering the quick lessons Percival gave to her. Predict the enemy attacks to block or evade them, watch out with any possible ambushes and trying to find an opening for a decisive attack. But it was really hard to focus with so many enemies at once. She was starting to get nervous again, being overwhelmed by the pressure of a real fight, but then something clicked on the back of her head, as of a switch had been turned on. Suddenly all the nervousness vanished and felt more focused, her thoughts clear and her body steady.

A block in the left, another on the right. One step back and a block on her front, above her head. She slid the sword horizontally, knocking back the knight slightly, and with that opening she slashed the center of the enemy's armour. It wasn't very deep but it let a huge mark on it that emitted a purple glow. The glow then became white and much brighter, as the wounded knight let out what seemed to be a cry of pain. With that some cracks appeared in the rest of the armour, letting out the same glow, and the holes where should be it's eyes also shone with a bright white light. a second later the dark creature exploded into tiny bits of a purple crystal, that melted into Shadow Stains.

Both Cream and Percival were pretty surprised with the result. Apparently Cream only had to pierce their armours and the magic sword would do the rest. Quickly reacting to an attack from behind, Percival spun to avoid the enemy knight and slashed it on its back, creating a huge breach on the armour. She ignited her sword and pierced the knight through the breach and reaching the other side. The armour cracked and let out flames as the dark being burned from inside out. The armour dismantled on the ground completely void and no more black and purple, as a small puddle of Stains formed under it.

"It seems we can take them down. Let's go, Cream!"

"Right!"

Misty Lake - Nimue's Lake

Lancelot gritted his teeth in anger. The problems were coming one after another, first the Stains and now the Underworld forces. He even questioned himself if they weren't the responsibles for all this from the beginning, but he shrugged it off as right now there were more important matters he had to focus on, like protecting the ladies around him.

Insert Music "Throw It All Away" - Sonic Adventure 2

"Stay back here, I'm going to take them down"

"I'm going with you-"

"No, you are not. Stay here and protect Merlina and Nimue"

"But-"

Shooting a glare at the raccoon, Lancelot silenced her and jumped over the small stone table, already drawing his sword. A quick jump and he evade another set of arrows pointed at him. The archers were shooting at anything that moved. Deciding to take them down first, Lancelot dashed through the first line of knights, leaping above them and landing a vertical slash on one of the archers. He looked closer at the enemies around him and noticed the differences between the Underworld knights he fought before. These ones had those black and purple armours and they let out a purple mist out of some parts of them. They also seemed more powerful, if he could even feel the difference. But that was just a quick glance.

Without wasting time he dashed to the next archer, easily dodging a point blank arrow and slashing the opponent in half with a single powerful attack. He jumped and made an aerial maneuver, spinning his sword vertically like a saw blade and cutting through two more archers. Three more to go. He teleported to the next one, slashing it on the back of the knees and beheading it in sequence. Another teleport and the next one was pierced right into the skull, followed by a strong twist of the blade, which would completely crush the neck bones of a normal person. The last one received an upward kick on the chin, sending him up just to be impaled by three energy bolts launched by Lancelot using his sword.

While he fought the enemy, Marine, Merlina and Nimue watched from the distance. The raccoon was impressed, to say the least.

"Wow, he really IS the best there is, right?"

"Lancelot surely lives up to his title"

"He had been so dedicated to the sword fights since he was just a kid…"

"Well, I can see it. He just wiped out the- wait, Lancelot, behind you!"

The black hedgehog turned around and found the once defeated archers back into fight, the damage on their armours regenerating. Even the one he just impaled was getting back up. Not only that, the frontline knights were circling him and closing up.

"Curses. They didn't have this kind of ability before". He said as he found himself surrounded.

"Wait up, I'm going-"

"Stay where you are! I am more than capable of handling this, so keep guarding them!"

Lancelot took a defensive stance with his Arondight and watched his opponents' moves. On the first flinch he teleported behind one of the frontline types and sliced him in a vertical upward attack. Then he made a run around them, jumping and slashing one knight after another while he avoided the arrows shot at him, but as he defeated them, the knights kept coming back. Their numbers were far superior, about fifty knights with greatswords, maces and shields, which only made things harder. Lancelot would not admit it, but they would end winning by tiring him out, as he kept fighting.

Another run and he just cutted the last knight, only to find that the rest of them were already fully restored and coming after him. He changed his strategy to disperse them and then take down one after another in a chain, but that also didn't help the problem with the regeneration. even when he used his energy bolts they would keep coming back up. He was starting to run out of ideas and stamina, since that was the seventh time he took down the entire group.

Unfortunately, the knights ended too separated from each other and a little too away from Lancelot, so some of them changed their focus to the trio at the center of the lake. Lancelot instantly noticed that and dashed after the stray knights but was stopped by an arrow that almost had hit him from behind. Those knights would not let him go unless he took care of them. He had to act quick here and reach the other ones.

As the dark knights crossed the stone bridge, Merlina casted a barrier spell to keep them safe, but they just ignored it, passing through the barrier like it wasn't even there.

"How?! It should keep the Underworld beings away!"

"This confirms my suspicions. They are not simply knight of the Underworld. They have some foreign force imbued in them"

"Do you think it is the Shadow Stains, Nimue?"

"Maybe. But how did they do it would be a mystery equally big to the trigger of the Shadow Stains itself"

Insert Music "Crystal Cave" - Sonic and the Black Knight

They did not have anywhere to go and the dark knights just reached the small land in the middle of the lake. It seemed it was over for them, but Marine suddenly stood up and put herself between Merlina and Nimue, and knights. The wizard and the lake guardian could clearly see the young raccoon trembling, her knees shaking and her tail slightly fuzzled up, but still she stood tall over the stone table. Marine took a deep breath with her eyes closed.

"Keep calm, remember what Percival said, keep focused and don't let fear take over you. Come on, Marine, you can do it". She steeled her resolve and held her shield on her right forearm, taking a defensive stance.

A faint glow appeared as she held the shield up, but unlike the other times it was more like an extension of the small round shield, instead of the complete force field, which only made the girl more nervous.

"Ow, come on. Don't tell me this thing is low on the batteries!"

The dark knights finally approached the stone table and raised their swords for an attack. Upon seeing the ridiculously large blades, Marine took a step back by instinct and suddenly the glow flicked, seeming to disappear. She almost panicked but when the knights attacked Marine somehow managed to get it back on and defend the blows, but she was knocked back and almost fell from the stone table.

The knights kept swinging their huge blades with hacksaw-like edges over and over, creating more pressure with each attack. Marine was barely standing up as the shield didn't seem to be absorbing all the impact as it usually did. Her hopes were getting pretty low, but she had to protect Merlina and Nimue. That was what Lancelot told her to do, and that was what she would do, no matter what, even though now she highly doubted she would succeed.

Another conjunct strike came down and this time she didn't manage to sustain the impact. She lost her balance and fell backwards, the shield fading away in the process. The knights towered over her, Merlina and Nimue, ready to give a single and fatal strike, but at the last second a bright light shone and the next moment they saw the three knights separated in two halves in the middle of the torso. Lancelot struck the three at the same time with an energized attack of his sword. Marine let out a relieved breath she didn't know she was holding, but it didn't last much because suddenly an dark arrow pierced Lancelot through his right elbow. They all became paralyzed for a moment before understanding what just happened.

Act 2 Checkpoint

That will do for a cliffhanger, I guess. Well, the next one will start on the heat of the battle! Speaking of battles, whenever I am writing them, I put on some music that I think could fit well if it was a game or an animation scene of some sort, which is why I put the suggestions here and there. If it is too annoying I won't place them, it's just a personal thing anyways. You tell me, does it make any difference?

Well, see you guys in the next chapter, that I cannot really promise will come soon... -_-