Chapter 7: Camelot's Visitors

The sun was beginning to rise as Sonic and Shadow were woken by Lancelot's roars.

"Lancelot! What's wrong?" Sonic and Shadow looked at Lancelot in shock.

"I...don't know...!" Lancelot let out one last roar as he began to change in front of Sonic and Shadow's eyes.

Lancelot's wings vanished, toenails and fingernails replacing claws. The horns and spikes retracted and the muzzle shortened as did his teeth, torso and tail. The scales on his body became fur and the leg muscles shrank, causing the dragon to stand up on two legs. Paws broke apart and formed hands and feet. The tail shortened and the dragon's eyes changed color to blue and became round. When the transformation stopped, Lancelot had reverted to his normal form.

"I...I changed back!" Lancelot looked at himself in shock.

So...it wasn't permanent after all, Shadow thought to himself.

"Alright! Good for you, Lancelot!" Sonic said, smiling at his knight.

Percival, Gawain, Galahad and Merlina ran into the courtyard.

"Sir Sonic! We heard roaring! What...happened...?" Galahad panted out as he caught sight of Lancelot. "Lancelot! You're back to normal!"

Lancelot groaned and stood up, nodding.

"Why did you change back?" Percival asked.

"None of us know." Lancelot replied.

"It's fine. We can discuss this inside; the other knights are sitting at the Round Table now ready for the meeting."

Lancelot nodded and followed Percival. Shadow had reverted to his normal form and was following also. He looked back at Sonic, wondering if the griffin was coming also.

"I'm coming Shadow." Sonic said. He walked forward with Shadow at his side.

Just as they were all about to walk into the castle, a portal opened behind them. Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Blaze and a silver winged horse fell out of the portal and looked around.

"Where are we?" Blaze asked.

"I think we're in Camelot!" Tails said. He saw Shadow and waved. "Hey, Shads! How are you?"

Shadow stared at Tails for a moment. "T-Tails? How did you get here?"

"I used my time machine to get here. Blaze, Knuckles, Amy and Silver are here. Where's Sonic?"

Shadow pointed to the griffin and Tails' eyes widened.

"He's a griffin? That's awesome. By the way, check out Silver."

"Hi Shadow, Sonic!" Silver greeted. He flapped his wings once.

"Silver? You turned into a Pegasus?" Sonic looked at him. "That's cool."

"It is pretty cool being able to fly. Anyway, Shadow, why are you still a hedgehog? Tails said that Eggman got you with the serum too."

"I turned into a phoenix but I can change at will, and I think it was because of the Chaos Emerald I had with me," Shadow stated.

"Sir Sonic? Who are these people?" Caliburn spoke up at this point.

"They're my other friends I told you about, from my time." Sonic said loudly.

"I'm Tails," the fox said. He pointed to the others. "This is Blaze, Knuckles, Amy and Silver."

"Greetings. I am Lancelot. The other knights are Percival, Gawain, and Galahad. That is Merlina over there holding Caliburn."

Silver, Blaze and Knuckles looked at their Camelot counterparts in shock. "Galahad could have been my twin if I was still a hedgehog!"

Galahad and the other knights chuckled.

"The resemblances are uncanny," Percival said. "We were just about to go inside to have a meeting on what to do now that King Sonic is a griffin. Would you care to join us?"

"Sure," Tails said. He turned to Sonic. "Did she just say you're the king?"

Now it was Sonic's turn to chuckle. "Yes, Tails, she did. Here in Camelot, I'm king. I pulled Excalibur from the stone."

"Well, let's go in then...Shall we?" Caliburn spoke out.

Everyone nodded and walked inside. Sonic heard his friends gasp as they saw the famous Round Table. Lancelot and the knights sat down and watched as Sonic walk up. Now that he was a griffin he was too big for sitting in a chair so he just stood behind Lancelot.

"Well, what has happened recently?" Sonic looked around at his knights as he asked this.

"Nothing much," Gawain said. "We've just been doing our duties while you've been gone; there haven't been any threats or anything like that lately. What we've been wondering and want to ask is about you, Shadow and Lancelot becoming mythical creatures. The knights have been talking about it and we find it very interesting."

Silver cut in just as Sonic was about to answer. "Wait, Lancelot turned into a mythical creature too?"

"He became a dragon last night," Gawain said. "But turned back this morning. We don't know why. Does anyone have any ideas?"

Sonic suddenly thought of something and screeched to get their attention. He opened his beak and spoke. "I had something similar happen to me awhile ago, in my time. Every night I would turn into a wolf that me and my friends started calling the Werehog. During the day however, I would change back to normal. Lancelot, your transformations may work the same way; when I first changed into the Werehog, I had been zapped with energy from the Chaos Emeralds. That's why I think that you will also change back and forth. However, since Shadow thinks that the energy you absorbed was carrying the effects of the serum, there is a chance that the transformation will become permanent."

Lancelot sighed at that. "If the transformation does become permanent, I will not mind."

"You like being a dragon, then?" Tails asked.

Lancelot nodded.

"What about you, Sonic? Do you and Shadow like your new forms?"

"I like my new form," Sonic said with a smile.

"Same here," Shadow agreed.

"That's awesome," Tails said. "So, are you coming back with us? Or are you an Shadow going to stay here in Camelot?"

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, knowing what they were thinking. The two had grown to like Camelot and since they were mythical creatures now, the land seemed to fit for them. Sonic already knew the answer to that question and looked at Tails, wondering how his friend would react.

"We're going to stay here," Sonic sighed.

Tails hesitated before nodding. "That's fine, Sonic. You and Shadow will fit in here; it is your kingdom and since you two are mythical creatures now, the environment seems perfect."

"Thanks for understanding Tails...actually, you can visit can't you? With your time machine? You'll always be welcome here!" Sonic looked at him hopefully.

Tails smiled and nodded. "Yes, we can do that. What about Silver? He's a mythical creature now too. Would he like to stay here also?"

Sonic looked over at Silver. "Well Silver, what do you want to do?"

Silver looked at Blaze.

"It's up to you," Blaze said. "If you decide to stay here, I won't mind. You do look pretty cool as a Pegasus, anyway."

"I guess I'll stay here then. If I go back home, who knows what might happen once I'm seen." Silver sighed.

"That's true," Blaze said. "Okay, then; it's settled. You, Shadow and Sonic will stay here in Camelot for good. I guess we can stay here for a bit before going back to our time." She looked at Tails. "Is that okay?"

Tails nodded. "That's fine. I want to stay here for a bit and hang out with Sonic, anyway."

"That sounds good." Sonic nodded agreement.

"Awesome," Tails said. "So...what are we going to do while we're here? You have duties to do as King, I assume?"

"Yes, I do have duties. Hmm...Would any of you like to go on a patrol with me?"

"Sure," Gawain said. "Where would you like to go, my King?"

"Has there been any trouble in any areas of the kingdom?" Sonic asked.

"No, not really. As we said before, there haven't been any threats since you left. We have heard rumors of a sorceress named Morgan Le Fay in the kingdom but we don't know if she's here or not."

"She was once a magician of King Arthur," Percival told Sonic. "But she stole the Scabbard of Excalibur from him and corrupted it with dark magic, throwing it into the lake where the Lady lives."

"The Lady?" Amy spoke up now.

Sonic looked over at her. "She is the Lady of the Lake. Her name is Nimue. She guarded Excalibur and its Scabbard. Not to mention she looks exactly like you." He turned back to Gawain and Percival. "So Morgan Le Fay's the reason that the Black Knight was created...where did these rumors start? If there is a chance she has returned to the kingdom, we must make certain if it is true or not.

"They started in the Black Forest," Percival said. "We could go there and take a look around."

"Alright then. We will set out at once. Percival, Gawain, and Galahad, you'll come with me. Shadow and Lancelot will stay here with my friends to guard the castle."

"Hang on Sonic! I want to come. I want to see what this time is like since I'll be staying here." Silver spoke up.

Sonic looked over at him and Nodded. "Alright Silver, you can come."

"How long will you be gone?" Tails asked.

"King Sonic will be gone for about an hour. The Black Forest isn't too far away from the castle." Lancelot answered Tails' question.

"Okay," he said, nodding in understanding.

"Sir Sonic, if I may: wouldn't it be better if Shadow went with you since he can transform into a phoenix? I can stay here." Percival asked.

"Hm...Alright. You may stay. Shadow, are you alright with this?"

Shadow nodded. "I'll transform in the courtyard."

"Well then. let's get going. We talked for quite awhile. It's the afternoon..." Sonic was interrupted as Lancelot gave a moan of pain.

"Lancelot? What's wrong?" Gawain asked, worried.

Lancelot stumbled out of his chair as he answered Gawain.

"I...think I'm transforming...but why now? It's not sundown yet..."

Lancelot screamed and fell to his knees as he began to change.

His fur hardened and turned into scales as they covered his body and his chest deepened as scutes covered it. His legs and arms thickened with muscle; the arm and knee joints reversed themselves, forcing him to fall on four legs. The hands and feet became paws and his toes merged together, becoming three digits, the five fingers becoming four. His fingernails and toenails lengthened into sharp, thick black claws. Wings sprouted from his back and his neck elongated and his face pushed out into a muzzle, his mouth becoming great, gaping powerful jaws as Lancelot's teeth lengthened, sharpening into fangs. Horns pushed out of the top of his head and spikes ran down the length of his back, ending at the tip of his now long, thick tail. His muscles twisted and rippled across his body, growing across his body and becoming stronger. Lancelot continued to grow larger in height until he reached a gigantic size. His eyes moved slightly to the sides, narrowing into cat-like slits but stayed a red color, and his ears became three spine fans.

"Lancelot! You okay?" Galahad asked worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine Galahad. Are you going to ask me that every time I transform?" Lancelot gave a small chuckle.

Sonic's friends were shocked.

"Why did he transform if it isn't night?" Tails asked Sonic.

Sonic sighed. "Just as I thought. The transformation is becoming permanent. And it's happening much quicker than I thought it would."

"My transformation will probably become permanent eventually as well." Shadow spoke up.

"We should head out," Gawain said.

Sonic nodded and crouched down. "Climb on, Gawain. We'll get to the Black Forest faster in I carry you there. Silver, will you take Galahad?"

"Sure, if it's alright with him." Silver looked over at Galahad.

"Ok." Galahad walked over to Silver and climbed on his back; Gawain hesitated but did the same with Sonic.

Shadow concentrated and began to transform. His fur turned into black feathers, covering his entire body. Shadow's arms widened as feathers covered them and they turned into wide wings. His feet thickened and his toes merged together, becoming three razor sharp talons, yellow and rough in texture. A sharp pain struck his lower spine as his tail fanned out into three long tail feathers. His neck extended upwards and he felt his face starting to change as it hardened and grew outwards into a downwards pointed beak that was razor sharp at the tip. Finally, flames burst from his feathers and covered his entire body.

Gawain gasped. "That's awesome," he said.

Shadow gave a small smile at the compliment.

"Cool." Silver said quietly.

"Well then, let's go!" Gawain said.

The griffin, Pegasus and phoenix flew up in the air, talking to each other telepathically.

Lancelot, we'll be back soon, Sonic told the dragon.

Be careful, my King. If the rumors are true, Morgan Le Fay is very powerful and could corrupt even you, the dragon responded.

Lancelot, you do realize you're talking to Sonic right? He's NEVER careful, Shadow cut in.

Hmph...we all know that, Silver said.

"Good luck! Come back safe, Sonic!" Amy called out from where she was standing in the courtyard as Sonic, Shadow and Silver banked and flew towards the Black Forest.