Chapter 92: Control
Upon entering the throne-room in the newly restored ruins of Avalon's castle, Sonic found Merlina seated on an hourglass-shaped chair at the end of the hall. Her hair had gone from light pink to dark purple and her skin was paler than before. Even her robes had changed, which now took on a midnight blue color with white feathers along the sleeves and collar of her neck.
"Welcome to Avalon, Sir Sonic," Merlina said as she rose from her chair, staring at him with eyes that had gone from blue to gold. "I've been expecting you."
"Merlina, why did you do this?" Sonic said defensively. "Did my previous advice not mean anything?"
"I tried to live for the present after you left," Merlina said quietly. "But when my world finally came to its natural end, I felt bitter about not being able to do a thing about it."
"But that shouldn't give you the right to mess up this world, which happens to be my home in case you noticed!"
Merlina paused and then said, "You realize that is a contradictory statement, considering you're merely a spirit occupying a human host."
"Doesn't matter. It's still the same planet."
"But there are no animals with human-level intelligence and special abilities that are beyond scientific explanation. So in reality, Sonic, you and I are no different."
"No way!" Sonic snapped. "At least I'm trying to save this world. All you're doing is destroying it!"
"I haven't destroyed anything," Merlina said calmly. "I'm merely using the Scabbard's power to create an eternal twilight over this Kingdom, and eventually the world."
"Why? Just because you couldn't save your own world?"
"Exactly," Merlina nodded. "This version of your world will eventually end just as yours did eons ago. However, with the Scabbard, I will end the cycle of death and rebirth so that no one has to die again!"
"We can't live like that! A world without death would be an endless nightmare!"
"Then do you want to die? But if you do that, your host will perish as well. Let's hear what he thinks."
Reluctantly, Sonic changed back into Sonny. At once, Sonny charged at Merlina with Caliburn raised over his head. But she merely looked at him and an energy shield appeared around her. Sonny tried to penetrate the shield with Caliburn, but a bolt of electricity shocked him.
"Your efforts are futile," Merlina said as Sonny landed on his rear-end.
But Sonny got back up and charged at Merlina again. The shield appeared once more, and more bolts of electricity shocked him to the point of falling. Then before Sonny could get back up, Merlina summoned a colossal creature that looked like a spider with a large sword in its hand. It used the sword to strike down at Sonny, but Caliburn responded.
"Fool! A knight must stay on his guard!" Caliburn shouted as he blocked the sword from falling on Sonny's head.
Unfortunately, the sword the creature used was heavier and with a downward wave of Merlina's hand the creature's sword broke Caliburn in two.
"Caliburn!" Sonny shouted, holding the hilt up.
Caliburn's face did not move on the hilt's round surface.
Gritting his teeth, Sonny rushed at Merlina with the lower half of Caliburn still gripped in his hands. But the creature struck him down again and again. Sonny, now battered and bruised, wobbly rose to his feet.
"It's time to end this," Merlina said, and spread her arms out.
The creature now had a second sword in its other hand. With both swords, the creature beat Sonny around like a ragdoll till he fell to the cold stone floor. He heard distant voices calling his name, but their words were barely loud enough for him to understand.
"Sir Sonny! You've done enough!" said a voice that sounded like Percival's.
"No, Sonny! There's no point in continuing!" a voice like Lancelot's snapped.
"A knight…never flees…from his foe, right?" Sonny said as he got to his feet wearily.
"You fool! This no longer has anything to do with chivalry!" cried a voice that was reminiscent of Gawain's.
"Get out of there! Run!" shouted a voice that was like Nimue's.
"This has nothing to do with chivalry," Sonny said, facing Merlina who looked at him quizzically. "I'm just doing what I think is right!"
All of a sudden, Sonny was bathed by a golden light that came from above. He stared in wonder as he body was covered head to toe in golden shining armor that glimmered like sunlight. The sword that was once Caliburn had now reformed itself and was now golden-colored with a more elaborately decorated hilt than before.
"That's…the greatest of the Sacred Swords, Excalibur!" Merlina exclaimed as the golden light vanished. "I should've known it would be present along with the Scabbard!"
"Well, too bad for you!" Sonny said and charged once more as the throne-room disintegrated into a black void.
"I was just about to say the same thing," Merlina said as she merged with the creature that had the two swords in its hands. "As the Dark Queen, I shall destroy you!"
As Sonny charged at her, the Dark Queen parried him with her swords. Then once an opening appeared, Sonny slashed at the giant red eye that occupied the Dark Queen's chest. As she cried in pain, Sonny flew back. At a safe distance, Sonny held up the sword Excalibur as a circle of yellow light appeared around it.
"It's over, now!" Sonny cried, and flew at the Dark Queen through a ring of golden circles. "Legend says Excalibur can cut through anything, including you!"
As Sonny flew right through the Dark Queen, he emerged out the other side unscathed. Seconds later, a trail of black blood flew from the Dark Queen's mid-drift. Then as she exploded in a dark purple energy blast, the void disappeared and the throne-room reappeared in the ruinous state it was in prior to Merlina's redecoration. While Sonny was back to normal without the armor, Excalibur was gone along with Caliburn and Merlina was back to the way she was before with the Scabbard being apparently gone as well. But as Sonic approached Merlina, he noticed that her ears were no longer pointed and her clothes had changed again from medieval-style robes to a modern-looking blouse and knee-length skirt that were the same shade of magenta.
"Merlina Camelot?" Sonny asked in bewilderment.
"Yes," Merlina said and tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry. The wizard Merlina took over me after I fell into shock when I saw King Arthur – I mean, the Black Knight, kill my grandfather in front of me. He took us into this very room, a few days ago, claiming that the Scabbard Professor Pickle gave him now made him invincible. Not believing him, my grandfather tried to take the Scabbard away from King Arthur causing him to transform into the Black Knight and slay his own advisor. He tried to kill me too, and so I gave the wizard Merlina control of my body. I didn't know she was going to kill King Arthur, nor betray you and the other Knights and use the Scabbard's power to take over this Kingdom. I just—
"You didn't know," Sonny interrupted, helping Merlina to her feet. "That's all I needed to hear."
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Later that day, Sonny and Merlina found the others at the lake in Deep Woods. Seeing the lack of animal ears and tails as well as armor and swords, everyone was back to normal including Amelia who was no longer wearing the blue dress but the pink one instead. All of them stared at Sonny and Merlina with confused and baffled looks.
"Sonny!" Amelia cried out. "You're alive!"
"What is she doing here?" Shawn said, approaching Merlina.
Frightened, Merlina hid behind Sonny.
"Hey, chill out, Shawn," Sonny said holding Shawn back. "This isn't Merlina the Wizard. She's Merlina Camelot, the host."
"How do you know that?" Shawn asked.
"Look at her," Sonny said, standing aside so Shawn could see her in full profile.
"She's no longer wearing the robes," Shawn noted.
"Her pointed ears are gone," Chuck said.
"And she doesn't have that magic staff," Blake added.
"What happened to the spirits?" Sonny asked.
"They suddenly left us, and so did the swords and armor," Shawn answered.
"And the dress," Amelia said.
"It's possible that when Sonny defeated Merlina the Wizard, he destroyed all her spells," Miles suggested. "So that means Lancelot, Percival, Gawain, Nimue, and the Blacksmith didn't originally immigrate from their home-world when it was destroyed. They were brought back from the dead by Merlina in order to serve their intended purposes which resulted in her obtaining the Scabbard of Excalibur."
"But it also apparently led to her own demise as well," Sonny said.
"She's not dead," Merlina said causing everyone to stare at her. "I can still feel her presence within me."
"Then wear these," Shawn said, taking off the Inhibitor Rings around his wrists and giving them to Merlina.
"Shawn!" Blake exclaimed.
"The rings will keep your spirit in check and possibly from taking over your body again if it's weak enough," Shawn said, placing the Inhibitor Rings on Merlina's wrists.
"Why are you doing this?" Merlina asked. "I don't deserve any kindness considering what I've done."
"Don't mistaken this for kindness. I'm just trying to keep your spirit from causing anymore trouble," Shawn answered. "Now you'll have to come with me, Blake, and Chuck back to G. U. N. headquarters so the Commander can hear your side of the story and not blame you for what happened here."
"I see," Merlina said, lowering her head. "Then let's go now and get it over with."
"A wise choice," Blake said.
As Merlina, Blake, and Chuck gathered around Shawn he held out his hands so they could grab them. Then he said, "Chaos Control!" and the four of them were gone in a flash of light.
"Well, that's that," Sonny said, turning to Amelia who scowled at him in response. "Amelia? What's wrong?"
"You are coming with me to Llundain, Albion's capital city, and taking the first available flight back to Central City," Amelia said taking Sonny by the arm.
"But Amelia, I don't have any money for a plane ticket," Sonny pointed out.
"That's fine. Professor Pickle will pay for it," Amelia said glaring at Professor Pickle.
"Yes, yes, of course," Professor Pickle said sheepishly. "One mustn't completely dismiss one's studies."
To be continued…