The Horror of Cauldron

A few minutes after traversing the gridded streets of Moltar, they finally were in sight of the town's gates. Standing in front of the wooden gates were Estrella, Harlan and a black panther. The large cat was in between the wolf and the owl, hands outstretched as it kept the arguing duo at bay.

"Look Harlan, I can care less what you say, I'm going with other knights to put an end to the Black Knight once and for all." The blue owl yelled, her voice echoing through the desolate streets. Her golden eyes flared with disdain at the wolf a few feet in front of her. The blue feathers were puffed up angrily, making her look taller, but the panther holding her back still loomed several inches above her.

"It is my duty given by your parents to make sure that you are safe. I've already dishonored the promise by letting you trick me into letting you come here, going straight to the Black Knight's stronghold, you have to have a death wish to go there." The wolf retaliating, his brown fur bristling up, matching the height of the owl as the blue eyes of the wolf darkened in frustration. A small growl from the panther stopped the argument from going any further and quickly gained the duos attention. Its dark blue eyes narrowed in annoyance as he directed their attention to the approaching mobians.

"Hi everyone." The blue owl announced as she straightened herself up, a smile on her face. Harlan huffed slightly as he crossed his arms against his chest, a frown set on his face.

"Hey, Estrella." Sonic said as he glanced between the owl, the panther, and the wolf, "What's wrong with him?" Estrella rolled her eyes slightly as she replied.

"Oh nothing, he's just ruining my fun as usual." Harlan growled in response as he took a step forward.

"It is my duty to make sure you're safe from harm's way and going on this journey will most surely kill you." The brown mammal growled out as he glared at the bird. Estrella turned to face him, a similar expression on her face. The panther sighed quietly as it crossed its arms against its gray chest plate and watched the argument continue.

"And if I don't go, everyone in Camelot will either be killed or enslaved once more by the Black Knight. Anyway, I'm going with Sir Sonic and he beat the Black Knight once alone, with a group we'll make sure he never returns." Estrella replied smirking as the wolf could only open and quickly close his mouth, having nothing else to say.

"Alright," the blue hedgehog replied with a raised eyebrow at the arguing duo, "so that now we got that straight, could anybody tell me who the panther is."

"Oh sorry," Estrella replied, "This is Sir Bastion, he is one of the knights that protect Cauldron, or had protected it. He came here after the ancient monster of Cauldron was freed by the Black Knight a day after Blackwing's attack."

"Hello." Bastion said. He easily loomed over the cat, his blue eyes staring at her with arrogance. He wore a gray armor that dully glistened in the midmorning sunlight. On his head was a gray helmet, the visor held up to give an easy view of his face. A rounded kite shield was placed on his back and a longsword was held in its belt slot.

"Yeah, he's more the silent type, and can be very arrogant." The blue owl replied as she faced the gate, "Alright, what are we waiting for, Cauldron here we come."

~ Castle Dungeon ~

The yellow fox sat against the wall in boredom. Charles was able to give him more freedom by unchaining the hand cuffs which allowed him to at least walk around, but was still forced to wear an even sturdier ankle cuffs. He chuckled slightly as he heard the shouting of King Arthur echoing throughout the prison. He heard the sound of clinking metal approach his cell. The chiming of keys and angry mummers were easily heard outside seconds before the door open to reveal an angry blue hedgehog and Charles dressed in his Underworld armor. He hadn't seen his best friend doppelganger since a few weeks after his imprisonment. He still couldn't shake the fact that this was Sonic's King Arthur version, no pun intended, in this world.

"What's wrong, things ain't going your way?" Tails smirked as green emerald eyes glared downward at him. He had no time to react as he was quickly hoisted into the air, King Arthur holding him tightly by the neck.

"It would be wise for you to shut your mouth pest. The only reason why you're still alive is to get rid of Sonic. Once that is done, I'll put you in the worst torture you can even imagine and feed you to the Hydra, which is if it is not full from eating your friends." The blue hedgehog chuckled before dropping the fox to the ground. The hedgehog turned and headed for the door, but stopped right in front of the once prince, "I want you to make sure the fox doesn't escape or else you'll be the one to be lunch for the Hydra."

"Yes sire." The bee replied as King Arthur exited the room, slamming the door behind him.

"So, he's leaving." Tails asked as he stood up, brushing the dust and dirt off of his tails. The bee lifted its visor, a smirk clear as day on his face.

"Yep, Operation escape will commence once he and his army are a good few miles from Cauldron. Found some more people who are still resisting his dark magic, but we'll still be outnumbered even after he leaves so we have to be sneaky to get out of here." Charles answered.

"And what is this Hydra, I've only heard of such things in legends." The fox asked, having only heard of what a Hydra could do, but never had to time to look up its appearance. He could visibly see the bee shudder in his armor; a slight cling sound could be heard.

"The Hydra was supposed to only be a Greek Myth, the one that was defeated by Hercules, and we all believed that no such thing could exist. That was until a couple of weeks after Cauldron was founded, a miner was digging near the molten area where a volcano once stood. As he dug, the rocks above him begin to collapse, not enough to cause a cave-in, but made a slight rock slide. He was able to dodge it as the rocks fell into the magma. What he didn't know was that near the top of the magma was the Hydra, befallen into a deep sleep. After several hits, the Hydra awoke, its serpent head rising slowly out of the magma, unbeknownst to the miner. Two other heads popped out of the magma and several more later on. They each hissed the first opened its mouth slowly; its poisonous venom glistened on its long fangs. The miner had turned around, but didn't even have the time to even be scared as the first head quickly ate him. The miners closed down the mine and forced a large cave-in to trap the Hydra inside. A few days ago the Black Knight ordered for the very same cave to be opened, and seconds later the Hydra came out. The Black Knight used his dark magic and now had control over the beast." The bee replied.

"Is that why the Black Knight want to lead Sonic and the others there." Charles nodded a grim expression on his face.

"Yes, it said that Hercules could barely defeat the Hydra, so now your friends are in terrible danger."