Team Sonic was walking on the ocean floor with Tails, using his tracker to find the blue Chaos Emerald. Knuckles, being the lookout of the team for enemies. And Sonic, being his usual self, having been relaxed after being used to the ocean. The Commander has contacted Team Sonic about the blue Chaos Emerald somehow being in Azzam, the largest yacht in the world that sunk years ago.
"So, we're actually rooting for Merlina, right?" Knuckles asked Sonic.
"Well, we are rooting against King Arthur. What, you don't think Merlina can handle a beating from the King himself? I mean, she has trained under him after all." Sonic replied, reminding him of the tale.
"Well, the thing is, we don't know King Arthur's full power. So there's a good chance he might be manipulating our expectations." Tails warned.
"Definitely, if we knew what his full power was, all three of us, including the other teams, would've taken on that Knight right away." Knuckles said, filled with confidence.
"Well, we would've been killed..." Sonic retorted.
"Right... Anyway, since King Arthur's energy or magic or whatever managed to rival Gods, we have to find all the Chaos Emeralds before crap gets totally whack." Knuckles reminded.
"Well, yeah. We've been planning that the whole time and you weren't paying attention." Sonic gave Knuckles an unamused look.
"Wait, really?" Knuckles asked, surprised.
"Oh my god..." Tails facepalmed in frustration.
His tracker starts to beep slowly. He, Sonic, and Knuckles all can faintly see something huge in the distance. Team Sonic got closer to the object, and they see the Azzam superyacht covered in sea moss and rust. They stared at the sunken ship in amazement.
"Woah, that's what I call a Yacht!" Sonic spoke.
"That baby looks like it could carry dozens of people!" Knuckles exclaimed in excitement.
"It has! In fact, there was a huge party about finding some treasure before it sank!" Tails replied.
"Well, I'm glad the people made it out okay before that happened. But still, I can never imagine what it's like being inside that thing before the incident." Sonic commented.
"My tracker says the blue Chaos Emerald is inside the yacht somewhere! We'll have to swim inside and follow where the tracker is telling us to go." Tails instructed.
"Yeah, but who knows how long that'll take?" Sonic wondered.
"We're not wasting any time! We need to get in there now." Knuckles commanded.
Sonic and Tails agreed to Knuckles as they swim into the sunken yacht. Once inside, they noticed how the deck looked clean. There are no signs of fish or moss or any of the sort. Team Sonic instinctively knew something was suspicious about the yacht. They split up to look into every one of the rooms.
They looked into the drawers, beds, etc. They even checked the bridge where the captain went down with the yacht. They all felt horrible for the captain choosing to stay behind. They swam out of the bridge and into the very top floor, which was the only room they didn't check. They checked everywhere except for the last door.
"Uh, that door feels like it shouldn't be here. And why is the room in there glowing?" Knuckles had an odd feeling in his chest.
"Yeah, if anything, that isn't a room that was in the yacht." Tails scratched his head.
"Well, hopefully, it has the blue Chaos Emerald. No better place to check than in there." Sonic replied.
Knuckles was the first one to pull open the door, blinded by a golden light emitted. After they adapted to the light, their eyes widened in amazement at a large treasure chest that was already open full of gold.
"Holy crap! There WAS treasure down here! The people weren't kidding when they said they found it!" Knuckles exclaimed.
"Man, you could get a massive fortune with all this gold!" Sonic replied!
"My tracker is beating at the maximum rate possible! The Chaos Emerald in inside the treasure chest somewhere!" Tails held the tracker.
"Alright, but how are we supposed to get through all that gold?" Sonic asked.
"I"ll do it!" Knuckles dove into the treasure chest.
Knuckles dug through the gold with his strength. He hears a ringing noise near him. After short notice, he finds the blue Chaos Emerald at the bottom of the chest. He grabbed it and dug his way out of the gold. Knuckles tosses the Chaos Emerald to Sonic. They give him a thumbs up. Sonic and Tails began swimming out of the ship, but Knuckles looks at the treasure chest for a moment.
"Wait, Knuckles. Are you seriously going to bring the treasure with us?" Tails asked him.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I gotta get Rouge off my back at some point." Knuckles picks up the Treasure Chest.
"Wait! The treasure might have something to do with the yacht sinking! So there could be some kind of-!" Sonic gets cut off by a loud bang.
They looked back to see the door locked from the outside. Sonic and Tails tried pulling on the door but to no avail. Knuckles casually stood there as they both panicked, wondering how they should get out. Then Knuckles came the only solution that he knows what to do.
"Alright, guys. Stand back and let Good Ol' Knuckles open our way out." Knuckles pushed them out of the way.
Knuckles tenses his arm up that emits fire that somehow burns underwater. With one jab, he forces his fist onto the door and shattered it with his fists. Sonic and Tails' eyes twitched at Knuckles' usual problem-solving punch.
"You knew that was the solution to us getting trapped underwater?!" Sonic yelled at Knuckles in disbelief.
"What? I've been through that kind of trap multiple times already. Did you have a better idea?" Knuckles retorted.
Sonic sighed in disbelief. Suddenly, the ship starts shaking with ear-deafening vibrations.
"Guys, the ship isn't stable anymore! We got to get out of here!" Tails yelled.
"Use your super speed!" Sonic yelled to them as he charges his Spin Dash.
"Never had to tell us that!" Knuckles spat back.
They use their Spin Dashes to break through the glass windows. They watch as the yacht immediately collapsed onto itself slowly. When the Azzam yacht disappears after collapsing on itself, Team Sonic stared at each other with relief for a moment before they swam back to the surface. Once there, they looked behind themselves and found the battleship that sent them down into the Pacific Ocean earlier.
When they arrived at the deck, the President and the Commander were present.
"Hey, Mr. President! I assume you allowed The Resistance to join G.U.N.?" Knuckles asked.
"Indeed, Knuckles. With those wacky weapons your troops have at their disposal, King Arthur's minions wouldn't know what happens next." The President nodded.
"How are they doing right now?" Tails asked.
"They're doing fine. The armies already took out a few waves of enemies. But I know things will only get worse than here." The Commander replied.
"Well, do you have the blue Chaos Emerald?" The Commander asked.
"We got it right here. Do you want us to give it to you?" Sonic showed it to them.
"You know the Chaos Emeralds more than we do. So you can keep them. While Teams Dark, Rose, Chaotix, and Dimension were finding 4 of the Chaos Emeralds, we found out that two more teams are looking for the remaining 2." The Commander gives some intel to Team Sonic.
"Who on earth could those two teams be?" Sonic asked.
"We don't know for sure. All we know is whoever these two teams are, either to collect the Chaos Emeralds for their own gain or to protect the universe." The President replied.
"We'll see who these people are. Right now, wait inside the battleship and wait for the other teams." The Commander said.
"Oh, and uh... We'll take the treasure you just found." Commander awkwardly said to Knuckles.
"You got it, sir." Knuckles puts down the treasure chest.
The President starts feeling uneasy as he felt his heart rate go up.
"What's wrong, Mr. President?" The Commander asked.
"I feel something that isn't pleasant. Don't you guys feel that?" The President feels his heart rate from his palm.
"Now that you mention it, we do feel it. It must be magic we're feeling." The Commander replied.
"This magic feels so malicious. More so than King Arthur's magic!" Sonic quivered.
"Who in the omniverse can emit such a murderous aura?!" Knuckles asked, being shocked and trembled.
"Man, I hope Merlina isn't fighting someone else..." Tails said worriedly.
"Which leaves the question. What is going on between King Arthur and Merlina?" Sonic wondered.
King Arthur throws some boxing punches, which Merlina dodged causally and smiled confidently. She then does an ax kick to knock King Arthur upward and performs a sledgehammer move on him, sending him down into one of the unpopulated islands and shattered it, sinking into the sea. Merlina stares down at the sinking island with her Dark Magic radiating through her body.
King Arthur rises from the sea and utilizes his magic to summon all types of weapons made from Dark Magic. He launches the swords and fires the guns at Merlina, blasting and stabbing her. Merlina did not stagger as she lunged at King Arthur with a bash to the Helmut. King Arthur becomes staggered, giving Merlina enough time to use her next move.
She unleashes a flurry of low kicks and high kicks, ending with one that knocks him higher into the air. King Arthur screamed in agony as Merlina gave him another sledgehammer move into another island. King Arthur gets to his feet as Merlina hovered down to him. Fear and disbelief were apparent based on his movements.
"This... can't be real. You cannot be this strong in magic! Nothing about this makes sense!" King Arthur yelled at her.
"Oh, really? When was the last time you believed I stopped training in Dark Magic?" Merlina spoke to him with a grin.
"You told me that you would never use Dark Magic! And yet you decided to use it against me! Don't you understand, Merlina?!" King Arthur berates her.
"What I understand is that I'm gonna pound you so hard, even the strongest couple on Earth would feel inadequate!" Merlina replied.
"Oh, you think you are cute!" King Arthur growled.
"Hah! I'm adorable!" Merlina spat back at him, grinning like a jackal.
King Arthur charged at her, to which Merlina responded with a fist to his midsection. She then kicks King Arthur in the groin as payback for earlier. King Arthur groaned in pain as he became incapacitated from the kick. Merlina grabs the incapacitated king with her arms and legs as the king was upside down. She then uses her magic to send them both diving down into the island. King Arthur screamed in horror while Merlina grinned madly.
When they slam into the island, a gigantic explosion occurred in the center of the remaining islands. The people who are in those islands screamed and ran for their lives as debris falls on some people. When the dust settles, Merlina rises from the sea with satisfaction. King Arthur climbs onto yet another island with horror and disbelief.
"Merlina...!" King Arthur spoke her name weakly.
"The dark magic is affecting your mind..." King Arthur spoke.
"You have to stop using the dark magic, Merlina!" King Arthur called out to her as if he cares for her.
"To be fair, since we left Hell, you have crossed so many lines I've lost count. And what do I do when you committed so many evil deeds? I use the same magic that I promised that I would never do!" Merlina replied.
King Arthur starts laughing for some reason, which broke Merlina's grin.
"As you already know, Merlina... I'm not even at my strongest..." King Arthur said, standing back up with his wounds healing.
Merlina growled at seeing the sight of King Arthur healing.
"It's been two days since you know about the meteor. And I think you know what the energy that protects and fuels the meteor, right? Well, that meteor is mine..." King Arthur cracks his neck.
"You... You fool! Do you have any idea what would happen if that Meteor hits?!" Merlina asked, horrified at the revelation.
"Of course I do. In 12 days, the meteor will hit the Earth, and everything, not just the planet, but the whole universe will vanish in the explosion..." King Arthur explained.
Merlina was in shell-shock at the image in her head.
"Now, before that happens, let's make our battle worth our while..." King Arthur smiled as he clenched his fists.
King Arthur screams as a purple aura emits around him. King Arthur uses as much effort to push his power beyond what it was before. His aura lances into the sky as his magic increases. Merlina tries to stop him from powering up, but the force of King Arthur's magic pushed her away as she did with him. Merlina watched King Arthur's aura bursts into a blinding light that surrounds the islands.
Once the light fades out, Merlina opens her eyes to see King Arthur now having an active aura. King Arthur draws Deathcalibur and lunges at Merlina. Merlina had barely any time to react as she gets impaled by Deathcalibur. Merlina coughs up blood as she gets slashed by King Arthur. Merlina staggered from the attacks as King Arthur grabbed her by the neck.
"You see, Merlina. I have more experience with Dark Magic than even you can fathom. And unfortunately for you, fathoming one's strength tends to be the hero's downfall. I wanted us to become family so we can rule our kingdom again, but you decided to turn against me and banished us, including the Golden Knight, to Hell." King Arthur monologed, having a slightly deeper voice himself.
"This won't change anything..." Merlina gasped.
"I'm sure it will..." King Arthur replied with another impalement to the heart.
Merlina's body went limp as King Arthur drops her into the ocean. Merlina loses consciousness as she sank to the ocean floor. Her magic was able to heal her injuries while being unable to drown underwater due to being immortal. Getting enraged by the thought of King Arthur destroying the Earth as punishment for his kingdom no longer existing in the present, Merlina's black aura emits from her body again.
Killswitch Engage - This Fire Burns (continued)
This is the proving ground! Misery begins to rise!
Turn away from yesterday! Tomorrow's in my eyes!
She flies out of the ocean, coughing up seawater, and proceeds to dash at the king. King Arthur swung Deathcalibur, which Merlina actively dodges. Merlina then lands a good liver blow, though he doesn't stagger. Merlina grabs out her staff again, empowers it with her Dark Magic, and whacks him around.
King Arthur throws Deathcalibur like a boomerang that almost hit Merlina. Merlina then retreats from the islands as the king followed her. She sees every city being attacked by King Arthur's Minions and defended by G.U.N. Merlina was unable to believe what she's witnessing. She suddenly gets elbowed in the face by the king and was tossed to a group of G.U.N. soldiers and drones, though Merlina flew upward without anyone noticing.
Nevermore to be held down by the wings of history.
Nevermore to be cast aside. This day is mine.
Even through the darkest days, this fire burns always!
This fire burns always!
Merlina meets her gaze with King Arthur, reminiscent of their final battle before banishing into Hell. She then screams as her aura was present for anyone to see. As she powers up, her muscle mass gains an increase that is larger than before. Her eyes start to glow, and her hair becomes much more longer. King Arthur senses her magic to be on equal footing with his.
"We will not abide by you, your Majesty..." Merlina spoke as her voice became much deeper.
"Then we're all doomed if no one shall retain my rule..." King Arthur spat back at her.
He and Merlina began dueling with their weapons, both strikes and blocks always being the outcome of each move. No matter what they tried, they couldn't land a single hit on each other. G.U.N. drones lock onto King Arthur as they blast at him. King Arthur's armor made the bullets deflect back at the drones, destroying them.
G.U.N. drones and Tanks fire at King Arthur, which Merlina immediately escaped. When she sees the G.U.N. army being overwhelmed, Merlina uses her magic to summon a wave of Dark Magic that incinerates all of King Arthur's minions in instant succession. When the soldiers looked up at Merlina in awe, they noticed Merlina's changes.
"Oh my God, she is hot..." A soldier pervertedly moans in pleasure.
Another soldier just knocks him out in response. Merlina and King Arthur both circle each other as they hold their weapons in their dominant hands.
"Believe what you will, Merlina, whether the world is better off without me. But for all intents and purposes, I'm willing to get rid of the meteor if the world governments can bow before me once more." King Arthur monologed.
"And be slaves under your feet?! You have some nerve!" Merlina responded violently, becoming more hostile from the Dark Magic.
"Without me, you will all suffer a gruesome fate..." King Arthur said, under the belief of the Earth is his.
They both wield their weapons as they charge at each other for another duel.