Chapter 20: Lamorak's Request
Morgana appeared over the forest and turned her sharp eyes toward the castle. The hawk smirked and landed on a branch in a tree overlooking the castle, and could see people walking around. She narrowed her eyes and could see that it was Sonic, Percival and Lamorak. Suddenly a loud howl could be heard and she turned around, shocked. She gasped as she saw two crimson eyes in the dark and suddenly a large red wolf lunged for her.
She screeched in shock and flapped her wings, just barely avoiding the snapping jaws. Knuckles snarled at her. She flapped her wings and flew away but the werewolf kept snarling, saliva dripping from his mouth, and pursued her hungrily.
Morgana looked down at the wolf and screeched at him. The wolf stood his ground and snarled at the hawk, growling menacingly. He took a step forwards and lunged at Morgana, knocking her to the ground and putting a paw on her wing. Morgana screeched in pain as she felt her wing break and glared at the werewolf. Knuckles lowered his head towards the hawk and opened his jaws to kill.
Morgana screeched and struggled.
Knuckles was about to kill her when Morgana scratched his stomach with her talons. The wolf howled and backed away as his wounds healed instantly, causing Morgana to stand up and teleport away.
Morgana appeared high above the forest, her breathing quick and labored. She couldn't believe that she had almost been killed by a wolf! Morgana screeched in pain as she felt her broken wing, then sighed as she looked at Castle Camelot; she would have to try again later. The hawk closed her eyes and teleported back to Avalon.
The Black Knight and Mordred were shocked by Morgana's sudden appearance.
"What happened?" The Black Knight asked.
"I was attacked by a werewolf," she said, transforming back to her anthro cat form. "Don't worry, I haven't been bitten."
The Black Knight's eyes widened.
Morgana nodded. "I have a feeling it is one of the knights."
"What should we do?" Mordred asked.
She looked at the Cerberus. "We will wait until the full moon is over, and then we shall attack."
Mordred and the Black Knight nodded. The cat grinned and chuckled, knowing that their plan was worth it.
Sonic had explained all that had transpired recently to Lamorak, who said nothing. When the griffin was finished speaking, Lamorak nodded in understanding.
While Sonic had explained everything, Knuckles was roaming the forest. The werewolf was upset that he had not killed the bird but he could always hunt other animals. He sniffed and caught the scent of a deer and snarled, tracking the scent for a few minutes until he saw the deer. He snarled and leaped at the deer. The deer had no chance to react as the wolf pounced and tore its throat out instantly, decapitating the deer. Blood covered the ground and Knuckles raised his head to the full moon and howled, then stripped the deer of meat.
When he finished he meal, he let out another howl and ran deeper into the forest. The werewolf continued to hunt until his stomach was full, then lay down next to a tree and fell asleep. The next day, Knuckles woke up and groaned.
"Oh...what happened last night?" He asked himself, and looked down at his body, shocked to see that he was covered in blood. His eyes widened as he remembered what he did last night and stood up, running back to the castle.
Sonic and the others had gone to sleep. Lamorak had offered to keep watch, he was standing on one of the towers. The sun had just risen. He heard a shout an looked down to see Knuckles running toward the gate. The knight looked at Knuckles and was shocked to see blood on his fur but overlooked it as he knew why. He walked towards the werewolf knight and nodded.
"Hey," Knuckles said. "I'm Sir Knuckles. Who are you?"
"I'm Sir Lamorak. I'm also a Knight of the Round Table. I stopped you from biting Sir Galahad," Lamorak told him.
"Thanks," Knuckles said. "Sorry about that...I couldn't control myself."
Lamorak nodded, and followed Knuckles inside. Knuckles went to the bathroom and washed the blood off of his fur then came back out into the great hall and grabbed his armor, putting in on. He looked at the knight. "Where are the others?"
"They're speaking with Merlina," Lamorak told him.
Knuckles nodded and walked off to see the sorceress with Lamorak walking beside him.
"What do you think about some of the knights and the king being transformed into mythical creatures, Lamorak?" Knuckles asked.
Lamorak looked at Knuckles. "I think it's amazing. I was actually thinking of looking for a way to become a mythical creature as well; I would be much more helpful if I did. Sonic told me of how Lancelot, Percival, Tails and Blaze were transformed by the Chaos Emeralds. Do you think I could...?" Lamorak looked at him hopefully.
"The Chaos Emeralds have been drained of the energy that caused them to transform," Knuckles told him. "However, I am sure that you could find another way. Maybe Merlina could help. Sonic, Shadow and Silver weren't transformed by the emeralds, though, they were injected with a serum that caused them to transform."
"I'm guessing that there is no serum here."
The knight shook his head. "No, there isn't. The serum was injected by Sonic's enemy, Dr. Eggman, when he was in the present before he came here; same with Shadow and Silver. If you want to become a mythological creature, Merlina might help."
They had just reached Merlina's chambers. "I'll ask her then." Lamorak nodded his thanks to Knuckles, then he knocked and opened the door.
Merlina, Sonic, and the knights looked at them.
"I see you've returned, Sir Knuckles," Percival told him.
Knuckles nodded and came in, followed by Lamorak, who stood in front of Merlina.
"Lady Merlina, I wanted to ask you for a favor," Lamorak said.
"What is it?" Merlina asked.
"I want you to turn me into a mythical creature."
Merlina blinked in surprise, as did Sonic and the other knights. "Of course," Merlina said. "What mythological creature do you want me to transform you into? And may I ask why?"
"Well, anything would do really. I want to be of more help in battle." He told her.
Merlina nodded and closed her eyes. She said a spell and cast it at Lamorak. The knight tensed up as the spell touched him. Then he began to transform.
Lamorak grunted in pain. He noticed that his feathers were getting harder until they turned into hard blue scales. He fell on all fours as the muscles in his body grew and his arms and legs snapped back, reversing themselves. His hands and feet turned into webbed paws. Large spikes grew from his back and his tail lengthened until it was five feet long, and also was spiked. He felt his face change, elongating into a muzzle that looked like it belonged to a cat. His teeth lengthened into sharp fangs and his neck lengthened, growing longer. His body also grew bigger too, and his eyes turned into slits.
Lamorak looked over himself. "This is neat!" He looked over at Merlina. "What did I turn into?"
Merlina smiled. "You transformed into a Mishipizhiw, also known as a Great Lynx or a Underwater Panther."
He smiled at her. "Thank you Merlina."
Merlina smiled and nodded. Suddenly Lamorak felt a strange sensation and turned back to normal.
Lamorak looked at himself in shock. "Why did I turn back into my normal form?"
Merlina shrugged and then Lamorak felt the sensation again, and doubled over in pain. is fur turned into black feathers, covering his entire body. His arms widened as feathers covered them and they turned into wide wings. Lamorak's feet thickened and his toes merged together, becoming three razor sharp talons. 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. The last thing he felt was himself growing bigger.
Lamorak had turned into a Roc. He opened his eyes and looked at himself in shock. "I changed again?" He looked at Merlina. "Why...?"
"I'm not really sure," Merlina said. "Maybe it has something to do with the spell."
Lamorak was about to respond when he felt himself change back to normal again and sighed. He waited for the changes to begin. Green scales covered Lamorak's fur; his hands merged with his body and his legs and feet pushed together to form a tail and his face pushed out into a muzzle with the teeth sharpened into long, poisonous fangs. Lamorak's ears disappeared and his eyes changed color to a reptilian yellow and narrowed into slits. His body grew bigger until he resembled a large sea serpent.
He looked at himself in shock. "I'm a Leviathan now?"
"That's pretty cool," Knuckles said.
Lamorak nodded and a thought came to him. He closed his eyes and felt himself turn back to normal, then closed his eyes again and felt himself turn into a Roc. he did this again and changed into his Mishibizhiw form. A grin came to his face and he turned back to normal.
"I can change at will! This is great!" He said excitedly. "Thanks Merlina!"
"You're welcome," Merlina said.
Knuckles stepped forward. "That's pretty awesome that you can transform into not one, but three mythical creatures," he told Lamorak.
Lamorak nodded and smiled at the knight. "Thanks Knuckles," he said warmly.
Sonic stepped forward now. "I agree. Actually, Knuckles, Tails wants to tell you some things he knows about werewolves," Sonic turned to Knuckles.
Knuckles looked at the Kyuubi. "What is it?"
Tails grinned. "I wanted to tell you that I found out something interesting about werewolves. Apparently they can transform at will and have control over their wolf forms when there isn't a full moon. During the full moon, however, they will still transform and have no control."
"That's awesome," Knuckles said.
"That's great Knuckles!" Lamorak told him.
Now it was Knuckles' turn to smile and nodded at Lamorak. "Thanks," he said, and turned to Sonic. "So, any news on Morgan Le Fay?"
"None so far. Most likely she and the others will attack soon," the griffin said.
Knuckles nodded. "I bet they will soon. What should we do in the meantime?"
"Why don't you and Lamorak take time to train in your other forms? Then you will be able to fight more effectively when you change form," Sonic suggested. "Then, later, I want to go into town to see a certain blacksmith."
Lamorak spoke up. "Sir Sonic? My leviathan form is useless unless I'm in water."
Sonic looked at him. "There is a large lake near the castle. If the need arises, during a battle, we could fall back to the lake and you can use your leviathan form."
Lamorak nodded.
He and Knuckles walked outside of the castle and into the courtyard.
"So, what form do you want to try out first?" The knight asked.
"I want to try out my Roc form first." Lamorak said.
Knuckles nodded and watched as Lamorak closed his eyes and began to transform. His fur turned into green feathers that covered his entire body. Lamorak's arms widened as feathers covered them and they turned into wide wings. His legs also grew longer with three razor sharp talons. A sharp pain struck his lower spine as his tail widened into three long tail feathers. The knight's 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. The last thing he felt was himself growing taller. He opened his eyes and saw that he was at least fifty feet tall.
Knuckles looked at him in shock.
Lamorak screeched and flapped his wings, flying into the air. He wheeled above Knuckles, every beating of his wings sounded like a thunderclap. After a awhile, he landed beside Knuckles.
The knight grinned. "So, how do you like it?"
"It's amazing!" Lamorak grinned. "I want to try out my leviathan form next, climb on, I'll fly us to the lake."
Knuckles nodded and climbed on the Roc's back. Lamorak screeched before flapping his wings and flew to the lake. After a short flight, Lamorak landed by the lake. He crouched down and Knuckles slid from his back. Lamorak closed his eyes and reverted to his normal form. He grinned and looked at the lake, then at Knuckles.
"You're going to turn into a Leviathan now, right?" The knight asked.
Lamorak nodded and closed his eyes, willing himself to transform. Green scales covered his body as his hands merged with his body. His legs and feet pushed together to form a tail. The knight's face pushed out into a muzzle as his teeth sharpened into long, poisonous fangs and his eyes changed color to a reptilian yellow color and narrowed into slits.
He slipped into the lake, twisting and turning under the water. He swam down to the bottom of the lake, then powered straight up, shooting out of the water and startling Knuckles. The resulting splash from his landing drenched the unfortunate knight. He swam around the lake for a little while, enjoying the water sliding over his scales. Knuckles watched the Leviathan swim in the lake and smiled, knowing that Lamorak was enjoying himself.
Lamorak finally surfaced and managed to pull himself onto the bank, where he quickly changed back into his normal form. "That was great!" He told Knuckles. Why don't we both transform now, you into your wolf form and me into my Great Lynx form." He looked at Knuckles.
The knight nodded, a smile on his face. He closed his eyes and started to transform. Knuckles' fur turned dark red and grew thick. The muscles in his legs and arms started to stretch as they grew stronger. Bones fractured, snapping out of place before physically changing his legs and arms to a different posture and forcing him onto four legs. His hands and feet pushed against each other as they merged into three digits, becoming paws. Razor-sharp claws extended from his feet, curving downwards. Knuckles' body began to grow, affecting the muscles in his abdomen. They expanded and rippled across his body, strengthening in mass and density. Suddenly, his ribs started to grow as the bones split apart and moved forward a little. His tail grew outward, becoming broad with dense fur. His face started to change as it extended outwards and fused his mouth and nose together, forming a long snout. The knight's jaw ached as his teeth became razor-sharp fangs with more jutting out from his gums. His ears swiveled to the sides of his head and curved a little. The nose at the end of his muzzle turned black, and his senses and instincts heightened. Finally, the color of his eyes changed to a golden-yellow.
The wolf opened his eyes and looked at Lamorak.
"Wow...I didn't get a good look at you before, you're really big," Lamorak remarked "Alright, I'll transform now."
Lamorak closed his eyes again and began to transform. His feathers were getting harder until they turned into hard blue scales. He fell on all fours as the muscles in his body grew and his arms and legs snapped back, reversing themselves. His hands and feet turned into webbed paws. Large spikes grew from his back and his tail lengthened until it was five feet long, and also was spiked. He felt his face change, elongating into a muzzle that looked like it belonged to a cat and his neck lengthened, growing longer. His body also grew bigger too, and his eyes turned into slits.
He opened his eyes and stretched. "Let's go Knuckles!"
Knuckles barked and they ran off together into the forest.