I'm sorry for the massive delay, I got this error when trying to update. Someone helped me out with it. So, in a mixture of "I'm sorry", "I'm starting to think my chapters are too short for once a week updates", and "this site is being ass", I'm tossing out 4 chapters.
CHAPTER 15: FLIRTIN' WITH DISASTER
-No, seriously, what the flying fuck WAS that? I just killed Demoman, Sniper, a bear, that one guy from my dream, and fucking Cultist-chan. If my average day was that random, me and Eggman would be competing for WORLD DOMINATION.-
Sonic walked merrily down the dirt and gravel road. Satisfied that he beat 3 people, one while on fire, and a demon, all within thirty minutes made him feel very satisfied. Behind him trailed Caliburn and Percival.
-Now to start my musical again.-
Sonic was singing quietly to himself. "I've got my pedal to the floor and my laugh was runnin' faster..."
"Sir Sonic," Percival spoke up, interrupting Sonic. -HOW ABOUT I SLAP YOUR SHIT?- "So... I'm going to be your... Slave?"
"You can put it like that, if you want." Sonic said. "I prefer 'indentured servant'. Kind of like a slave except mostly for work, and other than that, I saved your life, so you owe me. And since you reminded me I am going to tell you the rules."
"First off," Sonic began. "I am not a 'sir'. I work for a living, your moron. You will call me Sonic, and only Sonic. Second, you will follow my orders, unless I was fooling around at the time, then don't take me seriously. Other than that, you can do what you want so long as you ask, other than run away or try to kill me. You'd fail those, by the way."
There was a moment of silence. "And?" Percival asked.
"Oh, nothing else, at the moment. If I think there should be more, I'll add them, but right now I don't see a reason to." Sonic answered. "Could have been worse for you, you know."
Percival felt relieved. "Alright..."
After a short pause, Sonic went back to singing, this time a little bit louder. "We're flirtin' with disaster, y'all know what I mean. And the way we run our lives, it makes no sense to me. I don't know 'bout yourself, or what you wanna be, yeah, but when we gamble with our time we choose our destiny."
Percival raised an eyebrow, interested. -Since you don't normally see people singing southern rock songs in medieval times. Next thing you know, Bon Jovi wakes up in the Wild West and David Bowie is born in a farm pen and visited by three kings in 0 A.D.-
"I'm travelin' down that lonesome road, I feel like I'm draggin' a heavy load. Yeah, I've tried to turn my head away. Feel 'bout the same most every day..."
Sonic turned his head to Percival.
"Know what I'm talkin' 'bout?" Sonic asked.
Percival looked at him strangely, but then nodded.
-Alright, I'm done with the singing, for now at least. Oh, speaking of singing, did I ever tell you about how after I beat Chaos, we gathered around a camp fire, on the highway, told our stories, got into a huge argument over whose was true, but then I broke the argument by turning on the radio, and we all started singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody? Shit was as awesome as it sounds. The "Galileo" part was the best, followed by "Easy come, easy go, little high, little low."-
"Oh, and... that vambrace." Percival went on.
"Oh, you mean this?" Sonic said, bringing his arm up, to show it.
Percival jogged up to Sonic's side to get a better look at it. "There's a blade that comes from that. Saw you kill the bear with it. You didn't take it off during the fight."
"Yeah, I forgot." Sonic took a moment to make the blade come out. "Pretty dangerous to forget you have this thing. For example, I fought you with it on. But, I didn't use it, so it's like I never had it during the fight."
"But you did!" Percival argued.
Sonic retracted it and shrugged. "The reason it was fists only was because –well, other than because fistfights are awesome– so that you saw everything your opponent has. This thing is so hidden, I even forgot I had it. You weren't threatened by a blade flinging into your neck, I wasn't either, it didn't effect how you, or me, fought, and because of that, it slides."
Percival was ready to keep on arguing, and was thinking of asking for a rematch, but after realizing she'd probably lose again in a similar humiliating defeat she had the last time, and that he was fighting for a cause she supported, she grumbled and looked down at the ground.
They had walked back to the city, by then it was almost night. They were passing by the castle, when Sonic stopped to examine it. He saw underworld minions at the front door.
"Percival, here's a test." Sonic said, pointing at the two beings. "Find a small blue and yellow... thing, I'm not sure what you'd call it, it can fly, they have these dots over their heads-"
"Chao?" Percival suggested.
Sonic chuckled. "Oh, we call them the same thing where I come from. Convenient. Anyway, I want you to find a light blue and yellow chao, named Riley. Think he's held up in there. Bring him out to me, and I'll bring you to the Blacksmith's place. He's a nice kid, gives me a place to sleep, sure he'd give you one too."
Percival nodded. "Alright." She began to march over there.
"But," Sonic continued. "Only if you come back with Riley. I'll leave when I get bored out of my mind, and you must stay in the castle if I leave without you."
"... And this is a bad thing? Sleeping in the castle?" She joked.
"Actually, no," Sonic said, turning on his sarcasm. "Tonight you will sleep in a castle full of enemies that pop out of nowhere, randomly, after you just took one of their hostages, all lead by your king which probably knows you're fighting alongside me now. Go do that."
"Alright alright, I get it. I'll be back in a few minutes."
And with that, Percival dashed off. She made short work of the underworld knights at the doorway, and dashed in. Sonic casually walked up to the spot where the monsters were and began to wait.
"You're not going in with her?" Caliburn asked.
"No. The good thing about risking your life for the greater good is that you can persuade people to fighting something you don't want to all by saying 'fine, next time I won't do anything'." Sonic answered, resting his back up against the bridge's wall. "If they have the guts to fight. 'Sides, she's getting a taste of vengeance." Sonic arched his back, cracking it loudly. "And I'm not getting in the way."
"Hmm. That's not bad at all. Earlier, I thought you were going to make her your se-"
"Get your mind out of the gutter, you cock-mangling maggot."
…
Percival bursted into the cellar, and found cages and cages of men, women, a few chaos, and chests with all their belongings. Percival slashed all the cages open, and the chests, and allowed the crowd to collect their things. Percival was roughly pushing her way through the crowd, looking for the chao.
"Riley? Riley?" Percival called.
"Yeah?" Riley answered.
"I'm looking for a chao named Riley, not you."
"Oh, sorry. Hey, someone took my money!"
With the crowd becoming much harder to traverse, with fights starting over people accidentally grabbing other people's possessions, Percival was quickly losing her patience and focus. She kicked something, and it jerked back.
"Sorry," Percival apologized to a person she kicked.
"What for?" The citizen looked down, and Percival followed her eyes. She saw a chao, looking back up at her with a sad look..
"Finally..." Percival sighed in relief, grabbing the chao. She began to fight her way out of the crowd. "Thank you!"
As the knight walked away, the citizen stood there confused.
As Percival climbed out of the cellar and joined the crowd of people leaving the castle and into the city, she looked at the chao.
"Ooo?" Riley let out.
Percival couldn't help but think it was cute. She tickled it's stomach a bit, giggling. It curled up, and flew out of her hands. It began following her from above.
They made it out the door, and walked over to Sonic, who was sitting beside Caliburn on the wall of the bridge.
"I see you didn't only get Riley, but everyone else. And, it looks like you got them their stuff, too. Nice job." Sonic hopped off the bridge wall. "Now, let me show you to the blacksmith's place."
They began walking through the streets, and immediately the town seemed much more alive. Parties were thrown to welcome back the captives, underworld begins were being beaten senseless by mobs of twenty people, and people began to play music. It was fun for Sonic just walking through the crowd filled streets. -Again, I love this city. When I'm done having fun with my life and settle down somewhere, I want to live in a place like this, a bunch of oil-rig-like buildings, or a cyberpunk city.-
Eventually, they made it to the Blacksmith's place. Sonic knocked at the door, and waited. No answer.
"Hold up," Sonic said, handing Caliburn to Percival. "Smithy's probably asleep. Kid works hard."
Sonic jumped onto the window sill, and began to climb to the roof.
"He lets you do that?" Percival asked.
"Yeah." Sonic answered. "Not sure about what I'm 'bout to do though."
Sonic climbed onto the roof, and pulled open the door that was on the roof. He climbed down the stairs and shut the roof. He was brought into his bedroom, which the blacksmith was not there. He climbed downstairs, and the blacksmith was not in the living room either. Shrugging off Leon's absence, Sonic unlocked the door and opened it.
"Smithy ain't here, probably out doing something, but come on in." Sonic invited. Percival came in and gave Caliburn back to Sonic, who immediately put him against a wall.
"When he comes back, we'll tell him that we found Riley, but when his girlfriend comes along, – you listening, Riley? – he'll say he fought the underworld knights for him," Sonic went over to the Blacksmith's workbench, pulled a drawer, and pulled out the bronze dagger. "with this. Alright?"
"Chao?"
"Good. I don't know about you, Percival, but I beat up three people and a demon in thirty minutes today, one while being on fire, and I am going to drop like a sack of rocks in a few minutes." Sonic walked downstairs to where the mercenaries stayed. He looked at all their previous possessions, admiring the thousands of rings they managed to get by smashing pottery. After taking off his armor and putting it in a corner, the blue hedgehog fell into one of the cots.
"Sonic, where do I sleep?" Percival asked, looking at the unlit fireplace.
"In here, there's a bunch of cots."
"... No privacy, I take it?" She said with a frustrated sigh.
"Nope. I'd rather not have you woken up by Smithy with a knife in his hand for sneaking into his house and sleeping in his living room, and I'd rather not sleep on the floor again."
Percival went and got ready for bed, sitting on a cot across the room.
"You know," Percival began, flicking off a metal boot. "You are a wicked person."
"Is that a compliment?" Sonic said, his voice muffled by the cot. "Any specific reasons?"
"You killed one of my friends, made the other start hiding in a shed for a whole year, killed, and before that, probably angered, your mercenaries, since they attacked us, and enslaved me."
Sonic silently chuckled. "I'm sorry, I made Gawain a monk?"
"Yes." Percival answered plainly, being serious.
"Well," Sonic began. "That will be a problem, with my plans. Oh, and about the mercenaries, that's whatcha get for double-crossin' me."
"I don't think you can get double-crossed over a bar bet." Caliburn commented from the workshop.
"Gah, shut up." Sonic laughed.
And so they laid there, for about thirty minutes, when Sonic, just about to fall asleep, heard Percival rustling.
"Can't sleep?"
"The noise they're making... Gah."
Outside the workshop, the city was still celebrating the return of the hundreds of civilians. They had began a festival in the middle of the streets, and could be heard from inside. -Sure, start a party at TWO IN THE MORNING WHY DON'TCHA.-
"And I wasn't even tired, really..."
"In the bag in the middle of the room, there's a couple hundred rings, plus some other stuff you could sell. Left over things from the gang I got."
"... You looted their possessions?"
"You never know what you might find. Anyway, if you can't sleep, go out, do... something, I don't know what you people do in your spare time." -Seriously, what did they do in their free time, other than play 'don't catch the plague'?-
Percival sat up in her cot, looking across the pitch black room.
"If you plan on pulling an all nighter, here's tomorrow's orders. First, go get the former Knights of the Round Table, tell them the truth. Then go tell Gawain you beat me, and are going to Avalon to kill the King. If he doesn't join, light his house on fire, then take him out of there."
Percival stood up, and snapped her fingers. A small flame rose, like a candle, lighting up the dark room slightly. She saw the bag, and began to scrounge in it. "Burn down his house? Really, Sonic?"
"He wants to meditate inside that house for a year, right? Well, it's not going to last that long, and you can't just sit in a pile of ashes for a year, so he now has the choice to leave. While you're doing that, I'll see what I can do about getting you guys a ride to Avalon. I'll be wearing my armor, something Gawain hasn't seen, so if you see me, don't blow my cover. Find the boat I'm worked my magic on, and ship off. There, you and all of your friends will attack the king. Once you've attacked, I'll be ready with my own plan."
Percival had grabbed a few dozen rings, and stood up.
"Understood." She replied quietly. Sonic pried his attention from her to think of music he liked. She began walking to the stairway, stopped, and turned around. "And Sonic..." She began.
Sonic paused his internal MP3 player. -~Tonight, the streets are red, the lights are bl-~- "Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Percival shook the flame away from her finger, and began walking up the stairs. -...~-lue and blinding, no sign of the good doctor...~- Sonic then began to drift off into sleep.