Chapter 11 – Tails' Redemption

"Can't you go any faster Bedwyr?" shouted Tails as he propelled ahead of him. It was about midnight as Tails and Bedwyr were closing in on the Cauldron to claim Laevatein in Sonic's honor. The temperature had dramatically risen regardless of being night-time and the atmosphere had a dark red-orange glow from lava starting to ooze out of fissures formed long ago in the rocky terrain.

"Sorry Tails," responded Bedwyr as he did his best to keep up with the determined kitsune in Cavalier-Form, "Even though my special element is Water and should beat Fire, I feel like my power is lower than usual. What about you Aquarion?"

"The feeling is mutual. It appears the lack of water in this area can be the cause, but that's no excuse to complain. Nimue requested us to obtain Laevatein and we must muster our full power to do so."

During their quick travel through the Molten Mine and Cauldron Tails & Bedwyr had to deal with the remaining Egg Knights, Paladins, and Cavaliers that covered Camelot. "This must be Eggman's last stand huh?" asked Bedwyr.

"Yeah, Sonic tells me that if it gets this crowded that it must mean something big is either going to happen or very close to it."

"I'm just wondering here, but why do you call Sonic your brother?"

"We've just known each other for so long that he's become like a big brother to me. At first I wanted to be cool like him, but then I learned from him that I can do things on my own… Lately I've felt that I've slipped back into just being on the sidelines instead of helping on the battlefield, so I want to prove that I still have what it takes to be a strong without depending completely on him!"

"If that's not brotherhood, then I don't know what is, and I'm sure Sonic thinks that you've already proven that but if that's your cause then there's no reason to mess with it."

"Hm, Nimue said that the Barrier Stone was at the bottom of this spiraling lava pit correct Bedwyr?" asked Aquarion.

"Yeah, but I don't see any enemies… Tails, do you see anything?"

"Uh, you may want to take a look at the lava itself!" exclaimed Tails.

"Why… Oh for Arthur's, Nimue's, and Merlin's sake what is this?" questioned Aquarion. As Tails & Bedwyr looked at the bottom of the lava pit they saw a lump start to rise. With a huge gust of ember-filled wind a large red dragon similar to the one Sonic fought in the Dragon's Den rose. However, this time the dragon had metal gadgets on its wings, back, and head with lava pumping through it simulating blood. The back had steel spikes protecting its spine, and its helmet on its head had none other than the Eggman Logo. Aquarion spoke somewhat sarcastically, "Are you satisfied now Bedwyr? There's your dragon's fight!"

"Oh ho… Huh? What's this?" said Eggman through a speaker on the dragon's helmet, "It's only Tails and the Turtle Knight? Boring…"

"HEY!" shouted Bedwyr, "The name is Sir Bedwyr the Second, Knight of the Sea and heir to the Camelot throne! In the honor of the true King Arthur and new friend Sonic, I'll face you in battle! … Tails?"

At this point Tails had his head lowered and his hand clenching his sword harshly. As he raised his head and sword he proclaimed, "This time you've gone too far Eggman! I WILL defeat you for what you did to my brother Sonic with all the strength I have!"

"Oh how touching," mocked Eggman, "It's about time you've manned up! Well this new creature, the Lava Dragon, should far more of a challenge. As wonderful as Merlina is, she made a mistake I've made one too many times and that's depending on quantity, not quality!"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Tails, "I've had enough of you! First you drag me to a new world with which I'm still learning to cope with. Second you find a crush of your own which is by far one of the most revolting things I've heard! And lastly, you've caused my brother, who's helped me find out a lot about myself and what I can do, to be severely hurt and now I'm going to dismantle your machine even if it's one screw at a time!" Tails immediately flew up and lunged towards the Lava Dragon's head, only to be thrown against a rock wall by a smack of one of its wings.

"Tails!" shouted Bedwyr, "Ok, let's end this quick Aquarion… Ultimate Soul-Surge: Misty Torrent!" Bedwyr focused his power to summon the Cyan Wave that saved Sonic's trio when he first met them, but upon arrival the wave puttered out and barely splashed the Dragon's feet.

Eggman laughed heavily as he taunted Bedwyr by saying, "Is THAT the best that the 'heir of Camelot' has? What a joke, I expected more than just a puddle…"

"Damn, it's bad enough I'm still shaky on that move but the lack of water-essence in this lava pit just seems to put an extra strain on that…" thought Bedwyr.

As Bedwyr was thinking about what to do next, Tails recovered and took to the skies again, "I won't give up Eggman, not without a fight!" Tails feigned another strike to the head, but he dodged at the last second and landed a blow on a wing gadget, causing a 'lava vein' to rupture and trickle out lava on Tails' hand. He flinched for a second but continued his attack by calling out his Tornado Dual-Slash Soul-Surge and tearing both wings to shreds, forcing the dragon to land.

"What?" said Eggman, "It appears all that traveling with Sonic & Knuckles has made him tougher… Fine, I won't hold back!" At this point the lava blood pulsed towards the dragon's head, followed by a lava-fused flamethrower. Bedwyr countered by shooting out an Aqua-Cannon, but the difference in power was obvious by the flames forcing the water to retreat.

"Ugh, my Aqua-cannon won't last much longer since its becoming steam…" thought Bedwyr, "Wait a second, steam! Maybe this'll be enough water to help…" "Alright, Aquarion, let's try it again. Ultimate Soul-Surge: Misty Torrent!" This time the Cyan Wave developed faster and hit the dragon head on, causing all the gadgets to crack and ooze lava.

"What? This can't be?" shouted Eggman.

"You say that every time!" shouts Tails. "But yes, it CAN be, and it is!" Tails started to glow a bright white & yellow-orange color when he called out his own special move, "Ultimate Soul-Surge: Tornado II Barrage!" Tails flew high into the air until only a faint shadow against the background of the moon was visible. A split second later Tails dove straight for the dragon's head with his sword spread out as in his normal Soul-Surge, but this time as he dove the dragon was enveloped by a massive tornado. Bedwyr caught on to what he was doing and added to the tornado's power by shooting another Misty Torrent, effectively turning the tornado into a hurricane. As Tails impacted the dragon's skull the hurricane exploded with massive energy, turning the dragon into mist due to Bedwyr's extra effect. As Bedwyr looked down into the lava pit as the mist cleared, he found it hardened into thick rock as Tails kneeled down with his sword on the brink of fainting. "I… Did it… I wonder if Sonic would be proud…"

"Of course he would be!" shouted Bedwyr as he leaped down into the hardened pit.

"For that sort of power to be summoned without the use of a Sacred Sword is truly the work of a Swordsman Prodigy!" exclaimed Aquarion, "It appears it's close to dawn… Sirs Tails & Bedwyr, we must claim Laevatein and return to the Misty Lake immediately!"

"Wait a second," said Tails.

"Did you just call us Sir?" asked Bedwyr.

"Well to defeat a dragon with that kind of skill is certainly a rank of a Knight."

"Kinda ironic since Sonic was said to be knighted by Caliburn near here isn't it?"

"I suppose, but no more delay! We must head out immediately to meet Nimue's deadline!"

Author's Note: I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter and Tails' new fighting spirit. Another school year nears but I'll do my best to keep updating! I've also got an idea or two brewing for new stories so offer your input and keep reading!