Chapter 19 Knights in Knothole
For the next few days, not much happened. They spent the days working on restoring the castle and the nights telling stories of what royalty was like in the castle and what Earth was like. At the end of the week, there was a large bonfire built in the center of the palace courtyards and they talked about what had gone on that week. The meeting went as all the meetings went until it got to the King, who had remained quiet until that point.
"Lately… Sonic M. Hedgehog had been on my mind for many reasons. As of late, I have seen him do many brave things in the past week. One thing I have seen him do this past week was I saw him rescue a group of children from falling into an underground mineshaft… I have seen him rescue people from burning buildings. I have witnessed him do many brave and heroic deeds while risking his life for the safety of others' lives. And, for this I would normally award him a Medal of Honor… but considering what all he has done for us… I shall award you the honor of Knighthood." King Max said, turning to Sonic. Sonic was speechless. The Queen stepped forward to the King and handed him his Royal Sword. Sonic knew what to do, for he had seen his Uncle Chuck get knighted when he was younger. Sonic bowed down on one knee before the King.
"Sonic Maurice Hedgehog, you have done many brave things in the past year and a half. And, for those, you have earned the greatest honor of all… Knighthood. As you kneel before me, I want you to think about this seriously… do you think you honestly deserve the privilege of being knighted? I want you to think about it hard. Along with your Knighthood comes a great line of responsibilities." King Acorn explained to Sonic. Nobody said anything for about a minute and then Sonic spoke up.
"Sire, I am honored that you would think I deserve to become a Royal Knight… but I don't feel that I deserve it. If anyone deserves it, it should be Geoffrey St. John. He did much more than I in defeating Robotnik. You do understand…" Sonic valiantly said.
"I understand and respect your decision. Geoffrey St. John, do you accept this honor of Knighthood?" Geoffrey could not believe his ears.
"Why, I'm honored. But, what did I do that would make me deserve Knighthood?" St. John asked.
"Dude, you led the full-scale invasion against Robotropolis. Without your tactical skills and persistence, we wouldn't have gotten the King's sword back. If we never got the sword back, we couldn't have gotten the King back and nothing would have worked. You are the true hero of the Kingdom!" Sonic explained.
"Sire, I accept my being knighted and all the responsibilities associated with it." St. John said.
"By the Royal Crown and Throne of the Kingdom of Acorn… I hereby Knight you, Sir Geoffrey St. John of the Kingdom of Acorn." The King said as he knighted Geoffrey. "In the morning, report to the training center. As for everyone else, good night and I'll see you kids in a couple months. Until I return, Princess Sally will be in charge of the Kingdom." The King said. At that, everyone went to bed.
That night, as Sally slept, she dreamt of the fateful night when she lost Nicole during the final battle. When the device went off, the energy from it consumed everything in the city. Unfortunately, Sally was in such a hurry to get out before the device went off that she dropped her computer. The energy field consumed Nicole and no trace was ever found of the small computer amongst the rubble that was left of the city.
While training Geoffrey St. John, the eastern Mobians started several riots. Being in the area, St. John and King Max tried to stop the riots. They were successful in stopping them, but it cost them the life of St. John. King Max suffered a dislocated spinal disc and ended up bed-ridden for the rest of his days. Three years later, Sonic and Sally finally married and had two kids a year later. The Freedom Fighters had disbanded with having no freedom to fight for. A year later, Sally found herself wondering what had become of Nicole. As Sally sat there braiding their daughters' hair, there was a great crash outside beyond the boundaries of the Great Forest.
"Children… you stay here. Sonic, come with me and get the others together. If anything happens… we'll wait with that part." Sally said. She and Sonic ran to the others' huts and got them together for perhaps one last time. They all gathered together and left for the crash site.
(End of Chapter 19)