Chapter 87: Loyalty
After Caliburn had been sharpened, the Blacksmith relinquished control over Miles' body and passed on to the afterlife. This in turn left Miles with a splitting headache which forced him to lie down on the cot that served as a bed in the shop. As he groaned loudly, the fox ears and tail that were Tails' signature features appeared for a brief second before Miles sighed with relief.
"Are you okay, man?" Sonny asked as Miles sat up in the cot.
"I think so," Miles replied wearily and looked around the smithy in confusion. "How did I get into this Blacksmith shop?"
"You were temporarily possessed by the spirit of a Blacksmith from a world where the story of King Arthur is real," Sonny answered.
"Wait, I had two spirits inside me?" Miles shook his head briefly. "No wonder Tails' spirit was acting up."
"Yeah, I noticed."
"So what brings you to the Kingdom of Camelot? Is Eggman back?"
"I wish," Sonny huffed. "Do you know Merlina Camelot?"
"Sort of," Miles replied. "She's the current president of The Blue Blur Fan-Club, but I haven't really talked to her. Why do you ask?"
"Because she summoned me here."
"How?"
"With magic. She's the host for a spirit called Merlina the Wizard who comes from the same world that the Blacksmith did."
"Is she a friend or an enemy?"
"Merlina the Wizard seems to be a friend, but Caliburn doesn't think so."
"Who's Caliburn?"
"I am," Caliburn said and floated up to Miles' eye-level.
Miles blinked for a few seconds before speaking. "Did that sword just talk?"
"Of course I did!" Caliburn exclaimed. "I am a Sacred Sword, after all."
"Just when I thought my life couldn't get weirder," Miles muttered to himself. Then he turned to Sonny. "Why did Merlina summon you?"
As Caliburn continued to levitate, Sonny replied, "She wants Sonic to rid the kingdom of this guy called the Black Knight who was apparently King Arthur."
"Are you referring to the legendary figure or the current ruler of Camelot Kingdom?" Miles asked.
"I'm referring to the latter."
"What is he doing?"
"According to Merlina, he's summoning dark creatures from the Underworld and allowing them to run amok through the kingdom. In fact, Camelot Castle is currently overrun by such creatures and you're the only person I've seen in this whole place."
"That's awful, but it seems strange that King Arthur would be acting so villainous in the first place. He seemed like a nice guy when Professor Pickle and I met up with him yesterday."
"Well, apparently, King Arthur's been corrupted by this magical item called the Scabbard of Excalibur which caused him to transform into the Black Knight."
"The Scabbard?" Miles scratched his head. "No, it can't be."
"What?"
"A few days ago, Professor Pickle unearthed this artifact from the ruins of Avalon which he called the Scabbard of Excalibur after a legendary blade that mysteriously disappeared from this kingdom long ago. Amelia and I were there to witness it, and so was King Arthur. Then yesterday he asked Professor Pickle if he borrow the Scabbard for a day. Seeing no harm in doing so, Professor Pickle allowed Amelia to give the Scabbard to King Arthur before he took off with his chief-advisor Merlin and a girl with a long braid of pink hair."
"That sounds like Merlina," Sonny noted.
"It might've been," Miles agreed, and then he continued. "So this morning, Professor Pickle, Amelia, and I arrive in Camelot Castle hoping to get the Scabbard back from King Arthur but we were told that he and Merlin were absent. Suspicious about this, Professor Pickle ordered Amelia to analyze the altar in the Deep Woods and me to stay put while he went off to look for King Arthur."
"You know he doesn't have a cellphone, right?"
"Yes, but even if he did there's no Wi-Fi in this kingdom so he wouldn't be able to contact me, anyway."
"It's almost evening now. Do you think he might be in trouble?"
"That's what I'm afraid of."
"Then we should go find him."
"Wait, Sonny, we still have to find Nimue," Caliburn said.
"Nimue? As in the Lady of the Lake?" Miles said with disbelief.
"Do you know her?" Caliburn asked.
"No, but I read the story of King Arthur a lot when I was a kid. Is she real?"
"Caliburn's referring to her reincarnation, who may be able to tell us how to negate the Scabbard's power," Sonny answered.
"Then you two should look for her. I'll go and find Professor Pickle," Miles said as he got out of the cot.
"But Miles, shouldn't we wait till tomorrow?" Sonny said anxiously.
"We don't have time for that," Miles replied irritably. "Professor Pickle told me the Scabbard grants its user immortality but at the cost of corrupting the user's soul with dark energy to the point where that person becomes no different from the monsters he summons from the Underworld. So the longer we wait, the more threatening King Arthur becomes and if Professor Pickle really is in danger then he might die unless I find him soon."
Before Sonny could stop him, Miles transformed into Tails and ran out the entrance to the smith shop. Sonny tried to follow him, but Tails was already flying above the filthy streets of Camelot Castle before the dark creatures could touch him. So the monsters turned their attention to Sonny who in turn transformed into Sonic as Caliburn flew to his side.
"Let's get out of this crazy town and head for Deep Woods," Sonic said as he slashed through the creatures in a matter of seconds. "If the Blacksmith possessed Miles because he's Tails' counterpart from the World of Camelot, then Nimue's spirit has probably taken ahold of Amelia due to being Amy's counterpart."
"That would make sense," Caliburn agreed.
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As Sonic ran through Deep Woods, the sky had gone completely dark and there were faint traces of moonlight. At a bend in the path Sonic was taking, he saw a tall figure standing near the trees. He wore dark gray armor that covered his whole body and his head was protected by a helmet that shielded his face while the back of his head was unprotected, revealing spiky black hair with red highlights and a pair of noticeable hedgehog ears.
"Hey, Shadow!" Sonic cried, waving his hand to get the figure's attention. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"
"My name is not Shadow," the figure said, drawing a curved blade from his side. "I am Sir Lancelot, a Knight of the Round Table. You must be the hedgehog-eared boy who helped Merlina escape from my king."
"Some things never change," Sonic said wearily, and lowered Caliburn to the ground with both hands. "Look, Lancelot, I don't want to fight you. The man you think is your king is false. I'm Sir Sonic, the Knight of the Wind and the true King Arthur."
"So you think you're my king? Then let's see if you fight like one!" Lancelot said, and charged at Sonic with his sword raised.
As he struck down, Sonic blocked Lancelot's blade with Caliburn. The two stuck and parried each other's blades for several seconds, until Sonic finally managed to strike Lancelot's blade from his hand. Then before Lancelot could reach for it, Sonic pinched the tip of Caliburn to Lancelot's throat. At that moment, Lancelot's knelt before Sonic.
"My liege," Lancelot said, looking down at the ground. "How did I not recognize you?"
"I look different from how I appeared when I came to your world, so I'm not surprised you didn't realize who I was sooner," Sonic replied.
"I'm deeply sorry for attacking you," Lancelot replied, positioning his head underneath Caliburn's blade. "If you see fit to cut off my head as punishment, please do so now."
Sonic hesitated, and then he withdrew Caliburn. "No, I won't take your life. But I would like to know what you're doing in your current body. Are you one of the spirits who migrated from the World of Camelot to this one along with Merlina, Merlin, and Caliburn?"
"To be honest, my king, I do not know," Lancelot said. "I remember being in a white void, and then the next minute I find myself in this body with my armor and sword already on my person."
"That's odd," Sonic responded. "Do you know if Sir Gawain and Percival have reincarnated too?"
"They have. We all awoke in the Avalon ruins together, and were told by the man who called himself King Arthur that Merlin tried to take the sacred Scabbard of Excalibur away from him. Thus, he killed him and branded Merlin's granddaughter Merlina a traitor. So King Arthur pursued her down that road you appeared on while we stood nearby in case King Arthur's life was threatened. Then after you and Merlina escaped, King Arthur ordered the knights and I to continue the pursuit."
"I see." Sonic then picked up Lancelot's blade and gave it to Lancelot. "Search for the other two knights and tell them what I told you."
"I shall do as you ask," Lancelot said and rose with his sword in hand.
While Sonic continued down the path one way, Lancelot went the other.
To be continued…