They reappeared in the dungeon of Arthur's castle. They heard a great deal of loud snarling and growling. They looked and in the very dim light they could make out the forms of Kay swinging his sword at a gigantic monster that looked like a cross of a dragon, an alligator, and a hippopotamus. Kay was apparently trying to cut it's neck but it kept moving to and fro and away from his strikes and also made motions that looked like it was trying to bite off his head.
"Look!" exclaimed Arthur. "It's Kay! And what is that thing?"
Merlin squinted in the darkness and then lit up his wand with a candle-light glow and saw the beast Kay was in the midst of battling. His eyes went wide with realization and shock. "Oh my word!" he gasped. "It's the Hippolagotorgon!"
"Is that a bad thing?" asked Arthur fearfully.
And just then Kay finally managed to make a small cut across the monster's chin and a small bit of blood trickled down from it. The beast let out a mighty roar that echoed through the dungeon's walls and shook them. It then made another snap towards Kay's head.
"Kay! Look out!" exclaimed Arthur. Then just in time, Kay leaped out of the way of the beast's jaws.
"Kay, you fool!" exclaimed Merlin. "Don't try to slay the Hippolagatorgon! It has to tough flesh and bones to be sliced through, and if you hurt it like you just did you will only provoke it into eating you!"
Kay seemed to heed Merlin's warning as he lowered his sword and slowly backed away from the behemoth.
"What are we going to do about it?" asked Gwen fretfully.
Merlin thought a moment and then he seemed to have a bright idea. "I think I know!"
He stepped cautiously up to the Hippolagatorgon and reached out touched the tip of his wand to the cut on its chin as he whispered, "Heal-ios!" and then the cut was instantly healed.
The behemoth then seemed to calm and feel at ease around Merlin. It made a low growling sound and leaned its face closer toward Merlin's as if in gratitude.
"You are a very remarkable creature indeed, you are," Merlin said coaxingly. "And very rare, too, I must say." He reached up and patted the behemoth's head as near as he could.
He then aimed his wand at it once again and whispered, "Uno-stan-o!" And the the beast blinked suddenly as if it were seeing for the first time, and then it spoke to Merlin in a very deep, and gravelly voice.
"Why, you must be a wizard yourself. Though I must say you are much better one than Lord Dragmore because you are showing me kindness. He was always hulling me around and beating me with a whip and forcing me to carry him from place to place on my back without hardly ever even giving me anything to eat or drink."
"I see," said Merlin thoughtfully. "Well, Lord Dragmore is gone now, in a manner of speaking at least, so now you are free to go wherever you want to go."
The great beast looked suddenly enraptured at this. "I can! Really? I can home to my island! Was it you who defeated Lord Dragmore and set me free?" Merlin nodded proudly and the beast exclaimed, "Oh thank you, good wizard!" It then bent forward and gave Merlin a rather big and sloppy kiss.
"Now, now! None of that! Just be glad you can go home," Merlin said hastily.
Merlin then apparated them all out of the dungeon and into the courtyard. Then the Hippolagatorgon spread it's huge scaly wings and took off through air with a great gust of wind that nearly swept them off their feet, and flew away.
"Wow, Merlin!" Arthur said amazement. "How did you know just what to do?"
"It's easy if you know all about rare creatures like the Hippolagatorgon, as well as a little magic to go with it," Merlin replied humbly.
Merlin then turned to face Kay and said, "Now Kay, I trust that since we found you where we did that you now know what has been going on all this time as well as we do?"
Kay nodded very solemnly while frowning dejectedly.
"Good," said Merlin. "So now do you have anything to say for yourself and to Arthur?"
Kay sighed and said, "I'm sorry, you lot. Really I am. That old hag appeared to me as my guardian angel and made me think I should be King. Now I see how foolish I have been all this time and that you, Arthur, are the only true King of England. And," he added a bit sheepishly, "If you're offer of being your knight is still open I'd be honored to have it."
"Of course, Kay," Arthur said in a forgiving tone.
"Well," said Merlin. "Now that that's all over with, why don't we all go into the castle and celebrate our victory?"
To this they all agreed. Merlin looked at Arthur with Gwen and thought they made an even nicer couple as humans than they did as squirrels and hoped they would enjoy a bright future with each other, whatever may come.