Disclaimer: Sonic and co. are the property of SEGA.

CHAPTER ONE:
THE DECIEVER OF DEMONS

The Ancient Shrine of Mephistopheles the Dark - Exact Location and Date Unknown

Merlina, granddaughter of the great wizard Merlin and the current and corrupt ruler of Camelot and indeed, the realm eternal in its entirety, wrapped her cloak tightly around her small frame as the ferocious power of a chaotic snowstorm assaulted her with gale-force winds and thick volleys of snow that only seemed to grow more and more powerful as she got closer to the shrine of Mephistopheles, oh how she wished she could just teleport inside the shrine, but such a thing was not possible.

She would have to physically open the doors to the shrine in order to phase shift the inner sanctum back into this continuum, Merlina's determination to reach the shrine grew alongside the storm, matching it every step of the way to keep the young sorceress from being discouraged. Within the shrine itself, Faustus was already making preparations for his nighttime prayers at the alter; soon he would light the proper incense and begin reading aloud from The Book of The Black just as did he every night before allowing Morpheus to take him into the realm of dreams.

Or so he thought…the loud, creaking sound of the shrine's gate opening for the first time in Chaos only knows how long dramatically altered the only future Faustus had ever known these past few millennia. Change was in the air and it smelled like Carnations, which made it only that much harder for Faustus to process what was going on.

"Greetings, guardian of the shrine. I have come this night seeking an audience with the great Shadow Demon King Mephistopheles!" Merlina said, adding a somewhat dramatic flare to her words to make her entrance seem grander than it truly was. It didn't matter one way or another, however, because Merlina had already succeeded in blowing the speechless Faustus' mind just by entering the shrine.

Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, Faustus floated over to Merlina and began inspecting her, which made the young sorceress rather nervous. "A human female…and she can talk, how intriguing." Faustus mused in a hushed tone.

"Ahem." Merlina cleared her throat, gaining Faustus' attention.

"Oh, yes, of course. Where are my manners? You wish to speak with the Lord Mephistopheles, correct?" Faustus asked, to which Merlina replied with a nod. "Then go to the alter and place your offerings of tribute to the dark lord upon it while I go and retrieve The Book of The Black."

Merlina nodded again in silence and pulled out a small urn containing the wailing souls of dead heroes from the folds of her cloak. After placing it upon the alter, Merlina sat on her knees, waiting for Faustus to return. Less then a moment later, Faustus arrived with a large black tome, which he placed next to the offering and opened up. The written contents of the book had been composed in a language Merlina did not recognize in the slightest

Merlina's ears perked up at the sound of Faustus chanting the summoning spell. "…Mephistopheles Gaszaszh Nyirh…FTAGHN! MEPHISTOPHELES FTAGHN!" The shrine began to shake violently as a pool of darkness began spilling out of The Book of The Black, consuming both it and the urn of souls Merlina offered up as tribute. Merlina took a few steps back as the black goo began to take on a physical form.

The form of a hedgehog, to be exact, one that bore some small resemblance to Sir Lancelot but unlike him, the "crystalline" demon had dark blue fur with light blue quills, a white muzzle with no nose or mouth, reptilian acid green eyes set against a bright hot pink/dark red sclera, boot-like light-blue feet and skeletal-shaped hands with razor sharp light blue claws. "It's been a long time since I last set foot in this continuum, I thought I would never see it again after the purge took place. But here I am and who, may I ask, do I have to thank for opening the doorway to freedom?" Mephistopheles asked, fixating his eyes on Merlina.

"I am Merlina, Dark Queen of The Grand Kingdom, and granddaughter of the great wizard Merlin. I have come to make you mine." Merlina grinned darkly as ribbons of blue energy erupted forth from Mephistopheles' chest and started wrapping themselves around his body.

"What are you doing? Release him this instant!" Faustus boomed as he charged at Merlina. Merlina, still sporting that dark grin on her face, fired off one of her more potent fire spells and sent him crashing into a wall, knocking the old boy out. Mephistopheles looked at Faustus for a moment and sighed once he realized that the old man wasn't going to be getting up any time soon.

"The Cerulean Bands of Chaos…the most powerful and effective binding spell in existence…and you hid them in your offering of souls. How clever, you certainly know your way around magic." Mephistopheles said, boring those acid green eyes of his into her brown ones. "So, your highness, now that you have me…what do you planning on doing with me?" He asked.

"You'll see, Sir Mephiles…" Merlina replied as she grabbed a hold of the demon and pulled him through a portal leading to Camelot's armory.