Now, Sonic was trapped, foolishly balancing on the head of a roaring dragon. He had managed to struggle and slide his way up the emerald neck without opposition and Gawain had almost dared to believe that the King would accomplish his fool's errand and defeat the monster with a few well-placed blows. The moment the second dragon landed, Gawain realised he would be lucky to see that foolish hedgehog alive after the battle. Whilst climbing the dragon's neck may have been a decent hiding place when there was only a single monster to contend with, dragons were famed for their powerful eyesight and Gawain knew that the ruby beast would have little trouble sighting the small blue mammal amongst the green scales. Indeed, no sooner had Gawain finished his thought, amber eyes narrowed and a jet of almost black flame shot into the air, it missed the King but created enough force to send the blue hedgehog rolling back down the broad green neck, to the centre of the emerald beast's back… and straight into the line of sight of both pairs cold, burning, fiery eyes. To give Sonic some credit he had tried to prevent his fall by jamming Caliburn into the dragon's mountainous neck, but the blade had simply made a deep slash through the emerald scales which had done little to stop the King's decent and done a great deal in enraging the dragon. At the sight or scent of blood gushing down its ally's neck, (Gawain did not know which sense was more powerful) the crimson dragon reared, its wings cutting the air above the green scaled back to try and dislodge the hedgehog. Violet eyes struggled not to close as Gawain caught sight of his king, the hedgehog was pressed almost flat to the first dragon in an effort to avoid the slashes, Caliburn held weakly above his head as he attempted to drive the attacking dragon back.
With a weary sigh, Gawain rose to his feet, his twin blades pressed tightly in his hands. The echidna strode openly across the clearing, hopeful the glinting of the sun upon his armour would make him a more tempting target than the currently imprisoned hedgehog. As Gawain predicted the large, green dragon took its focus off Sonic entirely to assess the new threat that was so boldly striding towards the beasts. The red monstrosity would not be so easily deterred but, as Camelot's strongest knight came ever closer, the speed at which the crimson wings sliced slowed to a crawl. Both dragons were warily waiting to see if Gawain would be the bigger threat. Gawain saw his opportunity and, in a single powerful motion, the echidna drew back one of Galatine's blades and sent the weapon hurtling towards the eye of the crimson beast. The blade failed to blind the monster, as the dragon turned its head away and drew its wings about its face for protection, sending Gawain's blade diving into the grass across the clearing. Suddenly, Gawain felt a hand tighten around his arm, the king returning from his own attack, and he was dragged back to the safety of the rock where the young Blacksmith was waiting… moments before two powerful jets of flame struck the ground. The roar of flames eclipsed all other sound but, despite the blinding light dancing of the metal plating of their armour, Gawain saw the Blacksmith's mouth open, in surprise or fear. With deliberately exaggerated movements, Sonic pulled the young fox closer to him. Gawain nodded his approval at the King's concern for the newest knight. Even behind the stone the heat was making it hard to breath and Gawain paused to wonder what would happen first; that he would literally bake to death within his armour or that the dragons would destroy the only shelter in the entire clearing. After several minutes of blazing assault, which had sent even the Fastest Thing Alive into a bout of sweating, the dragons paused to take a breath. Ominously, the beasts had not moved any closer whilst the knights were incapacitated. What this meant for the knights was unclear. To try and understand the beasts' plans, Gawain glanced around the clearing. As his violet eyes scanned the air above his head through the slots in his visor, he caught sight of the overhanging branches above their shielding stone. The red furred knight allowed himself to smirk, perhaps the dragons were reluctant to leave the clearing's open field and draw closer to the woods in case the branches obstructed their wings. It was a welcome form of relief to know that they were at least safe from those deadly teeth for a while. Whilst Gawain was observing his surroundings, Sonic was glancing round the very base of the stone, trembling with anticipation as he watched the powerful beasts close their enormous jaws. Before Gawain could stop him, Sonic shot off again. A reptilian cry filled the air and Gawain could only assume that Sonic had struck one of the beasts with his blade as he ran passed. The wall of fire which collided with the stone seconds after Sonic dived behind the rock seemed to confirm that theory. Cautiously, the blue hedgehog held out Galatine's second blade to Gawain and the echidna frowned,
"You shouldn't take such risks for a sword, Sire." The older knight growled weakly as he reclaimed the blade.
Emerald eyes darted to the towering shapes by the cave's entrance, "I have a feeling we're going to need all our weapons for this fight Gawain."
The King turned to the Blacksmith, ready to offer an apology or words of advice but froze, mouth open to speak and tilted his head in surprise.
"What are you doing, buddy?" The hedgehog finally offered the fox.
Curiosity got the better of Camelot's strongest knight and Gawain peered round Sonic to catch sight of the young fox. The Blacksmith had created a pile of the surrounding rubble and was clutching a slingshot, the fox had discarded his helmet and stared firmly at the dragons.
Before Gawain or the King could speak again the Blacksmith cut them off, "I know how this looks but I've been doing some thinking," the young fox's tails twitched as he spoke, "I don't think my sword will be much help to you in this battle, even your sacred swords seem to be struggling with the dragon's hides, but I can still help you in this fight. If I aim for the dragon's eyes it might allow you the openings you need to injure the dragons."
The echidna sighed and cautiously caught the King's eye.
Suddenly the hedgehog grinned, "Great idea! I knew you'd think of something."
The young Blacksmith blushed under the King's praise but his blue eyes were still fixed upon the dragons. Unable to think of a better plan, Gawain moved to the far side of the stone.
"All right, Sire, since it plays to your strength you attack one dragon up close and I'll attack the other dragon from a distance, it should allow us to do the most damage in the shortest time whilst the Blacksmith incapacitates the beasts."
The King grinned wildly, "I like the sound of that."
With no other option, the Blacksmith moved closer to the opposite side of the stone of Gawain, the king moving to join the youngest knight. As the roaring heat began to die, the young fox threw all of his weight behind to rock he launched towards the eye of the crimson dragon, the more aggressive of the two beasts. With lightning reflexes, a towering ruby wing was jerked before the amber orb. For a second the dragon was blind. That was all the opening the King needed. In a blaze of light he tore towards the dragon's foot, Caliburn already completing a powerful arc in time for the blade to collide with the scarlet scales, drawing blood and a cry of pain from the dragon as Sonic pivoted on his heel and made it safely behind the rock once more. As the dragon's emerald counterpart turned to examine its companion's distress, Gawain sprang into action. Both of Galatine's blades boomeranged their way to strike the leg of the beast. The joint cries from the dragons sent nearby trees tumbling, the very ground shook from the deafening cries which sent all three knights covering their ears in pain. To Gawain's dismay some of the smaller stones in the clearing shattered, he doubted their own shelter would survive much more of this battle… perhaps it was a punishment for using such a dishonourable trick to wound their foes, though against a pair of dragons, Gawain was forced to admit this battle had become a test of survival not honour. Wincing even against the dying cries, the echidna and Sonic moved to peak round the edge of their protective boulder. The injured dragons seemed more enraged than ever before, the trees trembled as the crimson beast stepped closer to the knights' hiding place. It seemed the dragons were no longer willing to avoid being incapacitated by the trees. The green dragon seemed mildly more hesitant but still followed its companion. Sonic and Gawain darted back behind the towering stone, if the dragons chose to attack at this range fire would no longer be their only weapons, a well-positioned swipe from a wing or tail and the battle would be over. Without any discussion, the King and Gawain placed themselves either side of the young blacksmith, whilst it would do the fox no good in the event of the attack, Gawain at least hoped it might provide some comfort. A crimson head peered over the boulder, amber eyes narrowing as it caught sight of the three heroes. With a deliberate sense of leisure, the beast began to open its blazing jaws. Although Sonic was certainly fast enough to get clear of the beasts and Gawain and the Blacksmith would be capable of reaching the wood, fleeing from the dragons now would lead the beasts in the direction of one of the citizens of Camelot's many forest villages regardless of the route taken. As knights, Gawain knew none of the three would willing endanger the defenceless villagers to such a fate. The orange light flickered at the edge of Gawain's vision and the knight raised his blades, knowing the swords would do little to protect him from such a close range blast. Every breath the dragon took echoed in the clearing, a steady countdown to destruction, the heat rising with every pulsing moment as the flame grew in strength. At last the dragon pulled its head back, its jaws widening to unleash the inferno within. Gawain refused to close his eyes, he would meet his destruction head on like any other valiant warrior… and that was when he saw the dragon's neck whip to the side, the jet of fire shattering a portion of the stone but leaving the trio untouched.
A sliver of light cut across the sky as the spinning blade boomeranged back to its owner, the hawk grinning wildly from his perch in a tree.
A jet of flame was sent hurling towards the dragon's eye by the lilac cat at his side, forcing the dragon to step back away from the knights. Though Percival's flaming blast fell short of the mark, the dragon recovering from the blow from Lamorak's sword too quickly to give the female knight a clear shot, the crimson beast reared back in alarm, its large wings striking at the air and catching the side of the other dragon. The green beast roared in panic and the two dragons became entangled with each other, granting the knights a moment of respite in which to regroup.
Lamorak took advantage of the dragons' keen eyes being turned elsewhere and quickly glided down from the branches to join Gawain, the King and the Blacksmith.
The avian knight gave a low whistle, "Well Sire, you certainly have a talent for find… interesting situations."
Percival seemed more hesitant to join the group, rubbing her side softly, clearly recalling the injuries she sustained with the previous battle, "Gawain, is everyone alright?"
The echidna nodded, "Thanks to Lamorak's intervention."
The feline smiled ruefully, "My brother seems to be enjoying the prospect of testing his skills against two mythical beasts."
The ground shook suddenly as the emerald dragon appeared to decide the knights were too much of a threat for its crimson companion. The five knights quickly pulled out their blades as a long emerald whip cracked through the boulder they were sheltering behind. As the green dragon loomed over the group, its companion appeared to recover from the shock of the blow it was dealt by Lamorak. A fierce snarl tore from the lips of the emerald dragon, echoed by a deep growl from the crimson monster. The beasts reared, large claws gleaming molten red and onyx as they crashed down on the ground of the clearing. They would have crushed the knights if Sonic had not been so fast, jerking Gawain and the Blacksmith to the side before the mighty weapons found there mark. Lamorak and Percival were bowled into by the trio and all five were sent tumbling into the open. As Gawain scrambled to his feet, Sonic and Percival were already up. Even as Lamorak untangled himself from the Blacksmith's thrashing tails, the dragons began to contort their massive forms to return to attacking the knights. Abruptly, two spears of light crashed into the soft membrane of each dragon's wing from the opposite direction and the beasts' heads shook wildly as they tried to identify the new threat. Out of the darkness, visor up to expose the eyes gleaming beneath, Arondight drawn with its eternally sharp blade pointed towards the battle, stepped Lancelot, his lips thrown back to expose his fangs in a murderous snarl. Despite the seriousness of their situation Lamorak nudged Gawain.
"Suddenly the two dragons seem like an easy fight." The hawk muttered.
Gawain sighed, "I would not be surprised if the dragons think so too."
The sound of crashing came from Lancelot's direction and Galahad stepped out to join his father. The young hedgehog was almost doubled over panting, clearly the Ultimate Knight had not slowed for anything on his way to the battle.
Sonic grinned, a wild manic grin which Gawain had already come to associate with pain, usually a headache, and laughed, "Looks like Camelot's knights are back together again."
Lancelot's eyes narrowed so much that he resembled a dragon himself with his cold glare.
Whether the blue hedgehog had failed to notice the reptilian stare, or simply chose to ignore Lancelot's fury, was a mystery as the king continued talking; "Time to show these dragons what we can do."
Well it's been a while so here are two more chapters. I promise we're reaching the end of this fight soon... just in time to go back a see what Percival has been doing during the start of Sonic's battle with the dragon.
