Sonic in Between.
Author's Note: Welcome to story 5 of Sonic in Between! Update: I've replaced the previous chapter for this one because one, I realized it would take too long and two, it may one day be up and running again as a separate story still set within this universe, but it's hard to say. As of this moment, here's the replacement
Summary of Story 5-Part 1: Sonic and Tails are still on their Isalenna adventure, when the heroic blue hedgehog finds himself in another adventure, summoned to save another world by someone who needs him to save the land and it's king.
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Sonic's Camelot Adventure-Part 1.
In the distant land far away, of Medieval Times...
"Run, Merlina!" Shouted an armored King, sword in hand. For a king, he was rather short, a hedgehog like no other. His quills were covered in a styled golden helmet and armor. His mighty sword in hand, the Excalibur, pointed at a huge knight in black, riding on a black horse as it breathed dark mist from his mouth and coming out of his own helmet.
"Your Majesty, no! You will be taken over!" Merlina exclaimed. She was a young woman dressed in a wizard's robe, her hood up and her staff in hand. Her long violet hair tied in a plat, her eyes wide with worry. She and her king, having been forced to escape during the raid, were cornered by the black knight and his army of monsters that surrounded them, blocking their path.
"Merlina, please! You remember what the prophecy your grandfather had once said a while ago? You must summon a knight, swift as the wind, from another world, who is much like me, to save the kingdom! I must do this, as king, to risk my life!" The King told her firmly.
Despite her concerns, Merlina knew that the King was right. She hesitantly nodded, but gasped as the Black Knight laughed evilly, forcing the hedgehog king to turn back to his opponent with an angry glare.
"Do you foolishly believe a being from another world is much like you, King Arthur? If so, then he shall fall into the same fate as you!" The Black Knight cackled, his massive black sword in hand.
"He is our only hope, Black Knight! I believe in Merlin's words, and I believe in Merlina's power and courage! For the sake of my people, I will not surrender to you!" King Arthur declared, pointing his sword at his enemy. "He will defeat you, with the power of his heart! His beliefs to do the right thing as I have the same belief!"
The Black Knight chuckled. "You fool. You may be king because of that sword, but I bear it's scabbard, I bear it's power. You are nothing more than a child. You do not know how to rule as king."
Arthur grunted, even though he knew that the evil warrior was right. Being only fifteen, his birthday not coming for the next three months, the young hedgehog had only been king for four, almost five years, given the circumstances. Still, he followed his heart and dreams to become a knight, to do the right thing, to protect as many people as possible.
"Merlina...When you summon our savior, until the knight is defeated, if there is a way to save my soul and body, make sure no one mistakes him for me. I know it's too much of a risk, but you must at least erase people's memories of what I look like until our foe is destroyed. I know you can do it, have strong believe. Understand?" Arthur finally whispered, knowing what needs to be done.
While horrified over the king's decision, Merlina nodded and could only stand still while the King sped forward, his sword raised as he let out a battle cry and clashed heavily against the evil knight, his speed being swift as the wind while his Excalibur clanged against the huge massive black sword of Darkness until the Black Knight thrust it so hard that it knocked the Sword of Light out of the king's grasp, and flung him back, destroying his helmet and revealing himself to be a blue hedgehog with emerald green eyes. Arthur's sword clattered onto the ground at Merlina's feet as she gave a horrified shriek while her king and friend hit the ground hard, panting as he laid on his front.
"Now, Arthur Pendragon...your body shall be mine...and your soul...to be sealed away within your own sword!" The Black Knight declared, as Arthur glared up angrily, struggling to push himself up.
Before anyone, even Merlina who attempted to use her magic to transport herself and her King away, the Black Knight held his sword up high into the air, and a black mist vortex came out and engulfed both the horrified King who gasped, and his sword, screaming in agony as he was trapped and then lifted inside the vortex, feeling his insides burn and ripped apart, his very soul being forced out of his body.
"KING ARTHUR!" Merlina screamed in horror. But it was too late, as the mist faded, Arthur was gone. His body was being absorbed into the body of the Black Knight, while the Excalibur glowed before landing back in front of the distraught young wizard. She collapsed onto her knees, gently picking up the sword and began to sob. "Oh, King Arthur...I am so sorry."
The Black Knight in the meantime, laughed victoriously, before gazing down at the young girl, declaring. "At last. Camelot is mine...And now, you shall perish, granddaughter of Merlin the Wizard."
Hearing this made Merlina force herself to stop crying, slowly glaring up at the horrible Knight who has taken away her King, before she remembered what Arthur had told her. Nodding to herself, she set aside the sword, before thrusting her staff onto the ground, a magic ring forming all around her as she began chanting.
"Ifaras zaras yezaras, Ifaris zaris yezarik. O brave knight, swift as the wind, heed my call." Merlina chanted, as a huge pillar of light shot up into the sky, opening a portal to another world, to summon the hero of the wind.
All the while the spell was temporary erasing any memory of King Arthur's appearance, to protect the savior.
In Sonic's World, in the region of Isalenna...
A week passed since Sonic and Tails met up with Chris and Helen for the day, before the two Mobians continued their adventure in Isalenna, passing by and exploring more unfamiliar places. Right now, they were in Swordale Village, a cottage like village that resembled to that of the medieval times. It was once said to be one of the villages of Camelot, and as the blue hedgehog and his two-tailed fox best friend looked around, the fifteen year old hero of Mobius stretched out his arms upward with a smile.
"Nice place. Isalenna rocks." Sonic remarked happily as he and the eight year old kit walked along the pebble path.
"Yeah, everywhere you go, this place is beautiful. I'd love to open up another workshop here. Or at least come back to visit." Tails agreed with a beaming, adorable smile.
"Bro, you just read my mind." The cobalt hero smirked, placing his hands behind his head, before looking down as he admitted. "Though, since Tesrod Village, things have been a little bit quiet. Not to say that I'm not happy that Mobius is finally saved, and I'm having tons of fun hanging out with you, buddy..."
"You miss the action, don't you?" The young fox cub correctly guessed with a smile.
"Sort of. But hey, I'm sure we'll find tons of stuff to do while we're here. Swordale Village does look like a really cool area to explore. It's almost like we've traveled back in time or something." Sonic reassured warmly. Still, there was something in the pit of his stomach that something was about to happen. Something that...he couldn't quite explain, but he felt that, ever since seeing this place from afar, he felt like something was calling him.
From somewhere really far away.
Suddenly, as though he was proven right, the winds began to pick up which caused both Sonic and Tails to pause in their steps, and as they wondered what was happening, light began to form underneath them and they looked down to see. Their eyes widened in shock as it grew bigger and bigger, they felt the ground begin to vanish underneath them. Instantly the blue speedster knew that he had to get his little brother out of the way, fast, even if he may not make it himself.
"Tails, look out!" Sonic shouted, pushing Tails out of the way just as he then fell through and was swallowed up by the portal, screaming.
"NO! Sonic!" Tails cried out, after recovering from being pushed back, and raced over to try and save his older brother. But by then, it was too late as the portal closed before the eight year old could make it. Horrified and devastated, he fell onto his knees and began to sob, believing that the blue hedgehog was gone.
Unaware that Sonic was taken to another world.
Back in the other world of King Arthur...
The portal opened up into the sky, and as Merlina looked up when her spell was completed, the summoned knight came calling falling down; Sonic, who was still falling after being swallowed by the portal, screamed and flailed his arms as he descended, before crashing into the ground face first in the same way he unfortunately always ended up, his legs sticking up in the air, and his head partially stuck in a small crater done by his crash landing.
Recovering and on his knees, Sonic pulled his face out and wobbled a bit before placing his hand onto his head and winced.
"Ow...Man, that was some fall. I haven't had a crash landing like that since Dark Gaia." The blue hedgehog grumbled, rubbing his head to try and numb the headache.
He then noticed that the air seemed a bit chilly, and looked around fully, finding that he was no longer in Swordale Village, but on a field plains of a soil footpath. The area had rocks and dead trees, the sky was cloudy and grey, and from his right he saw a dark castle in the distance.
"Hey, where am I?" Sonic asked, puzzled as he felt a case of deja vu wash over him.
"Being from a distant world. Please forgive my abrupt summons." Merlina spoke up, causing the teenage hedgehog to glance over his shoulder, as she approached, removing her hood to reveal her face, her hair over her shoulder, having pointy, elf like ears, yet she looked and had the same height of a young human woman. She held not just her staff, but also King Arthur's sword.
Confused on who this person was, and why he was brought to another world, Sonic then finally noticed the army of monsters, a group of hideous creatures, and then looked in front of him and saw the Black Knight. As Merlina crouched down to his height level, the blue hedgehog then felt the deja vu grow stronger and the fact that the two of them were surrounded, plus he felt the aura of darkness in the man in the black armor on the horse, wielding a ridiculously thick heavy sword, almost instantly knew the reason why he was brought here.
This world was in a crisis and it needed a hero; a hero like him from another world as the last resort. A smirk grew on his face as excitement build up in his body. Finally, some real action, one that didn't involve Eggman's plot, or giants.
"Oh! I get it." Sonic said, before replying easily to the girl. "No problem. I'm used to stuff like this."
Before the young wizard could say anything, the blue hedgehog sped around and right through the entire army blocking the way back and within mere micro seconds, a burst of wind blasted into the monsters and caused Merlina to crouch down to brace herself before it stopped. When she slowly looked over her shoulder, she let out a startled gasp of surprise, her hand going partially to her mouth to find that the monsters were instantly gone. She turned around just as Sonic reappeared in front of her as he skid to a stop, posing heroically with his eyes closed and a confident smirk on his muzzle.
Merlina was speechless. This boy really is a knight of the wind, only he had taken out the Black Knight's army like they were merely flies. His speed matched that of King Arthur's. Not to mention that, unaware to the hero of Mobius, he was identical to the king; same blue fur, same style of his quills, same face, and the same emerald green eyes. The only differences being was that he wore unusual shoes and casual white gloves.
'Heh. Piece of cake. These guys were easier than Eggman's robots.' The blue hedgehog thought to himself, before staring up at the Black Knight who remained silent, glaring at him through his helmet, his sword ready.
Sonic's smirk faded into a frown, his eyes narrowing as he, for once in his life, eyed his next opponent carefully. 'This guy on the other hand...he looks like he means serious business. Must be the one behind whatever's goin' on. Or one of the main bad guy's top soldiers or something.'
While never having used a sword before, the blue hedgehog couldn't just stand there and let this guy cause anymore problems. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he had to at least try. So the fifteen year old stood preparing himself, while the Black Knight prepared to strike. Sonic knew he had to strike first, so he made to attack, when Merlina, realizing what he intended to do without a sword, quickly grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.
"No! You mustn't!" She cried out, while Sonic ran, but he wasn't moving, making him stop as he glanced at her questioningly.
"Say what?" Sonic asked, puzzled, before the evil knight's chuckle caused him and the young wizard to look at the enemy with glares.
"You fool. You are no match against me." The Black Knight declared, his sword ready.
"Oh yeah!? Says who?" The blue hedgehog responded.
"We must leave." Merlina interrupted, holding onto Sonic's arm while magically shrinking the Excalibur into the size of a badge, handing it over to the blue hedgehog who gently caught it in his free hand, confused. She then summoned a wind of vortex which surrounded both of them.
"Hey, lemme go!" Sonic cried out, struggling to pull himself free. By then, he and Merlina had vanished and teleported away.
'Foolish wizard. You have summoned a boy who is too much like the fallen King, who's body now recognizing me as such. With his body fused with mine, only you and the king's soul bear your true memories.' The Black Knight thought to himself as he put his sword away, before rearing his horse to fly up to a cliff, where three knights, the Knights of the round table, one resembling to Knuckles, another resembling to Shadow, and the third, the only one unfamiliar, was a purple female Mobian cat with yellow eyes, waited and, their minds twisted vaguely due to having arrived too late and now believed that the Black Knight was King Arthur.
As soon as he came to a stop, the trio bowed before him as he gave his command. "I shall give chase. Spread out and go after them. Slay them on sight."
The three knights nodded, before 'King Arthur' vanished to find both Sonic and Merlina.
"Let's go." The cat knight, known as Percival, declared as she and the Shadow-alike knight, Lancelot, stood.
"Must we?" The Knuckles-alike knight, Gawain, questioned with some doubt, and, being loyal to both the King and Merlina, he felt that something was off. "She is the royal wizard after all."
"The King's orders are absolute, Gawain." Lancelot stated firmly.
"I know, but..."
"Without loyalty to the king we are nothing." Percival told him, agreeing with Lancelot who nodded, while Gawain, hesitant, knew there was no other choice. So he too nodded and stood up before walking away with the black hedgehog knight, yet the female knight couldn't help but voice her own concern. "Still, the King...He has changed, and this kingdom..."
All three knights were unaware that the only thing they saw in the Black Knight was that the real King Arthur's body was within the evil knight's, while the king's soul...was with Sonic and Merlina.
Somewhere in the misty forest beside a river, the vortex reappeared and Merlina and a dazed Sonic, who yanked his arm out of the girl's hand, emerged.
"Why'd you stop me? I was ready to fight him." Sonic demanded, before holding up the shrunken Excalibur. "And why'd you shrink this sword and gave it to me? How'm I gonna use it if I have to start learning how to use one?"
"You do not understand. He cannot be wounded." Merlina told him softly.
That caught Sonic by surprise, as he asked. "How can that be? Who is he?"
"He's only known as the Black Knight..." King Arthur's voice suddenly spoke from the tiny Excalibur, which startled both Sonic and Merlina.
"Whoa!" The blue hedgehog yelped, nearly drop the sword before clumsily catching it with both hands as it laid on his palms, staring at the tiny weapon, dumbfounded. "Uh...you can talk?"
"...Your majesty? You can hear our words?" The young wizard asked, stunned. She had known and saw that the King's soul was within the sword, but she didn't think that he could hear and communicate.
"Yes, and I must admit, being inside the Excalibur is strange. It's like I'm in a misty area with no ground or trees, almost like a dream." The trapped Arthur responded from the sword, and Sonic couldn't help but think that the king sounded just like him.
"Hey, wait a second...I think I've heard that name before?" The blue hedgehog muttered about the Excalibur, thinking hard on why it sounded so familiar. "Umm...Lemme see..."
"Excalibur is King Arthur's sword, which is what you are holding now." Merlina helpfully supplied.
"Oh yeah!" Sonic realized, snapping his fingers in recognition, being one to have read most versions of the legend, before his eyes widened as he gazed at the sword once more, and muttered. "So that means...You're king Arthur, right?"
Arthur couldn't help but chuckle. "Correct. I am Arthur Pendragon. Welcome to Camelot, Knight of another world."
"Woah...Heh, nice to meetcha, your majesty. I never thought I'd get the chance to actually meet you in person." The teenage hedgehog greeted, before asking. "But, how'd you end up in your sword? Was that black knight guy responsible for this? I don't remember reading anyone about that in the stories."
"Let us go. We can talk along the way." Merlina suggested, lifting her hood back up, before adding. "Let me introduce myself. I am Merlina the Wizard."
Despite the weirdness happening, Sonic smirked with his trademark thumbs up while introducing himself. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."
With introductions made, Sonic followed Merlina through the woods while carefully carrying the tiny sword that held the King's soul trapped inside. With so many things going on, the teenager felt sorry for Arthur. Being inside a book in the Arabian Nights was one thing, and being trapped inside small capsules to have the Hyper-Go-On energy drained was another, but being magically trapped inside a sword with no freedom to move or windows to look out to the outside world, that was twice as bad. If the Black Knight was capable of doing that, plus Merlina's movement to shrink the Excalibur for easier carrying, Sonic would've thought the king would be going stir crazy almost immediately.
"So, um, how you doing in there, your majesty?" Sonic asked, awkwardly.
"Honestly? I feel as though I am in a place worse than a dungeon. I'm familiar with magic, but this is ridiculous and uncomfortable. I may end up losing my mind if I remain in here!" Arthur couldn't help but complain.
"I can imagine. If I were inside your sword, I'd go stir crazy too." The young hero chuckled sympathetically. In retrospect, he felt like the king was a bit like him. Though given what he's used to, this was another world, another version of the legends he heard for a long time ever since he was a child. "Which reminds me, what happened?"
"King Arthur is a wise and just ruler. He was blessed with noble knights and praised by all, even though he...is very young. Close to your age, I believe." Merlina explained.
"Say what!? You mean you're..." Sonic trailed off, staring at the sword in disbelief. "...How long have you been king, if you don't mind my asking?"
"...Um, about...almost five years. I became king at the age of eleven. I pulled the Excalibur from the stone and ruled the land since then...with some reluctance. But I learned to get used to it." Arthur explained, sounding quite embarrassed.
"Really? That's pretty cool. In my world, I started being a hero when I was eleven years old, too. Same year time-frame since it's almost been five years for me." Sonic stated, amazed how much he and Arthur had in common. "Except I had no swords to pull. Just my speed to help me save the day most of the time."
Arthur sounded surprised himself as he spoke. "Wow...! Oh, if only I could have seen you fight without a sword. But still, the Black Knight...you will have to start learning how to use a sword, Sonic. He is very dangerous and powerful."
"Hmmm...Considering how he managed to trap you inside your sword, I see your point. But where did he come from?" The blue hedgehog agreed after a moment of thinking.
"Long ago, my grandfather, Merlin the mighty wizard, who five years ago tutored king Arthur in his youth, foretold a prophecy that a Black Knight, an evil spirit who was sealed away within the Underworld, would return and steal the scabbard of Excalibur, his strength becoming stronger by it's dark power. He became immortal, summoning legions from the Underworld. He is plunging the kingdom into a world of horror and chaos." Merlina explained.
"He also said that the Black Knight would steal me away and I would fail to stop him. The only way to combat against him is to summon a knight from another world, swift as the wind, to save us all. I did everything I could to fight him, before he mind controlled my knights of the round table, and forced us to flee, but he cornered us and...stole my body and sealed my soul within the sword." The trapped King added.
"And that's where I come in, since I'm the only one who's fast enough to take him down, right?" Sonic realized as this made a bit more sense. He was still surprised, though. Who would've thought that he'd be chosen to come save this land? Then again, Shahra had come to him since he was the legendary blue hedgehog to save the Arabian Nights and his world from Erazor Djinn.
"Yes. Merlin, and another, Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, both directed me to the Excalibur. But even then...I failed the kingdom. I am deeply sorry for having to pull you into our fight, Sonic." Arthur explained and sighed, sounding very guilty, which made Sonic feel even more sorry for him.
He knew what it was like, failing to save your home and caught unexpectedly which made things worse. The blue hedgehog mentally shuddered over the memories of how Eggman summoned Dark Gaia by tricking him, luring him into a trap and draining him of the power of the Chaos Emeralds. That failure, while he finally found it in his heart to forgive himself for that, still haunted him slightly.
"It's not your fault. You did the best you could. I know what it's like being caught off-guard. But things will work out in the end." Sonic reassured with a soft smile, before asking. "But then, taking out the Black Knight? What about the immortal thing?"
"Beyond this misty lake, sleeps a sacred sword." Merlina directed, pointing to the left along the path of the said like they all paused. Sonic stared at it with one hand over his eyes to try and get a better glimpse. "With that sword..."
Knowing that the sacred sword, one that was a bit like Excalibur he guessed, was at least one clue in stopping the Black Knight, Sonic nodded and interrupted as he made to take off and find it. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go get it. Be back in a flash!"
He was about to hand the tiny sword back to Merlina, but she gently pushed it back to him, much to his confusion. "It's best if King Arthur's sword stays with you, under your protection. You will both soon see."
"You sure?" Sonic asked, blinking as he stared at the tiny sword in his hand. He then asked uneasily. "What if I lose him?"
"I have faith you will be able to keep him safe, Sonic. If anyone can protect the King now, it's you, oh brave knight of the wind." The young wizard replied, bowing her head slightly in respect, which made Sonic feel embarrassed.
"Heh. Guess I'd oughta get used to being a knight while I'm here." The blue hedgehog shrugged with one arm, just as Merlina then magically created a chain and protective case around the sword, forming into a necklace with the sword inside.
"It's for an easier way to keep him safe. Wear this necklace, and you and King Arthur will be side by side until the Black Knight is vanquished, and he will be free and return to his original state." She told him boldly.
"You got it. I'll make sure the King stays safe with me, and I'll set him free when I beat that Black Knight. I promise." Sonic vowed, slipping the necklace over his head and quills where the sword now hanged around his neck and just over his chest.
"One more thing." Merlina said, magically creating a silver gauntlet with jewels that resembled to the Chaos Emeralds, and slipped it onto Sonic's right hand and over his glove. The teenager let out an impressed whistle at how cool it looked. "It marks you as a knight in training. Good luck."
Sonic winked, before speeding off to find the sacred sword.
As Sonic made his way towards the sacred place where the Sacred Sword was, he discovered ruins of a castle and sped along there, taking out enemies with his speed before eventually finding himself at a disturbing sight, making him skid to a stop. In the middle of a grassy plains and buildings, leading towards a stone wall with a hole in it that may be where the sacred sword rested, was like a graveyard of skeletons of fallen knights, their armor still on, all slumped and apparently burst into flame in many ways. Swords and weapons laid all over the place as well.
"Whoa...If I didn't know any better, I'd swear they'd all been cooked by a dragon." Sonic remarked uncomfortably, suddenly on edge and on his guard, slowly walking past the dead knights.
"Sacred places like this are guarded. Only those worthy can pass through. Not even the bravest and strongest of knights would survive, and I always shudder in failing if I ever came to this place in my body." Arthur said, sounding just as nervous.
"Yeah, go figure." The blue hedgehog agreed, gazing at the skeletons nervously, before pausing as he looked around carefully. "If these guys are here, having been burnt to crisp, then there's gotta be a dragon around."
"Agreed." Arthur replied, before asking. "Sonic, have you ever fought dangerous giants and monsters before coming here?"
"Yeah, almost all the time. Most of the time it's, well...things that aren't magic but still gigantic, created by a power-mad evil guy who made them without using magic. Back at home, everything's more...ahead of this world, per se." Sonic replied, adding. "I even fought monsters before too during that time when I'm not facing Eggman."
"Eggman? That's an unusual name." The trapped King remarked, sounding puzzled.
Sonic laughed, "I called him Eggman since he's shaped like a name. His real name is even more unusual. Anyway, my last two adventures, I fought a colossal sized monster of darkness with the help of a being of light, fighting off his army that Egghead tried to control to rule the entire world, which backfired on him, though it's no surprise. Before that, he unleashed a monster made out of water that was so angry because of a past event that made him become furious. I had to use a special power I use most of the time to get him to calm down."
"This Eggman fellow sounds like a man who never gives up on his evil goals." Arthur stated.
"Got it in that one, your majesty." Sonic responded, before sighing. "My last adventure before taking a vacation with my best friend and little brother Tails, which I have a feeling is worried sick about me by now, Eggman's plot backfired on him so hard that he...got eaten by a gentle giant being that was corrupted by anger, and like before, I had to use my power to return her to normal, while I was saving her kids who are just as friendly. Heh, and very cute."
Arthur felt very surprised by how much the heroic hedgehog had gone through. "You must have been on a lot of adventures."
"Yep. I've been to a lot of places, too. My dream is to explore the entire world, make tons of friends, meet new people. I'm a guy who loves adventure, being free to go wherever I want, to be who I wanna be, and at the same time, I do what I do because it's the right thing to do." Sonic admitted.
"...Wow. I never knew how much we have in common, even if my dream was to be a knight and to do the right thing." The imprisoned King thought, amazed.
Sonic found himself smiling warmly. He understood all the legends he heard for most of his life, plus what Merlina told him earlier. Despite the whole royalty thing, he always admired King Arthur's kindness and courage. To think he was on a quest to protect the king's soul and find a way to restore him and put an end to the evil Black Knight's terror, it was an experience of a life-time. Maybe there was a chance the blue hedgehog can actually be the king's friend.
Suddenly a roar filled their ears, making Sonic freeze up before gazing upward and yelped. He jumped back and out of the way as a huge monstrous dragon, about the size of two-story house, swooped down before landing onto the ground with a quaking thud, roaring which had the blue hedgehog shield himself with his arm. As he looked up, his eyes narrowed at the massive beast before him.
"Well, here's our dragon." Sonic remarked calmly, standing his ground as he prepared himself to fight.
"Wait, Sonic. This may be a good time to teach you how to wield a sword." Arthur stated, even as the teenage hedgehog leaped back as the dragon snapped it's jaws at him but it was unable to engulf him.
"I don't think this is a good time, your majesty, but it's your call." The cobalt hero replied, quickly glancing around and spotted a discarded but still intact sword right next to him. He was confident that his usual skills can handle this, but at the same time, he knew that the rules of fighting here were different. So he picked up the sword and held it out. "Show me how to do this, King Arthur!"
"All right. Be careful!" Arthur replied.
The dragon stared down at the new apprentice-knight who glared back, it gave out another roar and licked his lips for an easy meal. Sonic gritted his teeth, holding a tight grip on the sword. "You don't scare me, lizard-head!"
It felt insulted by the young hero's taunt, before it made to stomp forward and chomp him again, but Sonic was too quick as he leaped high up into the air and at Arthur's instruction on how to swing the sword, the blue hedgehog thrust and parried at it's face, on it's snout, between the eyes, and when he noticed it's horn glowing, decided to attack that. True to his suspicion, the massive beast roared in agony and reered it's head back, forcing Sonic to leap off and land onto the ground safely into a safe distance.
"Looks like I've found it's weak spot." Sonic stated, staring at the horn on it's head. "Keep attacking the horn and the dragon should go down."
"Keep it distracted and stay alert." Arthur instructed.
"Yes sir!" The blue hedgehog replied, speeding close to the dragon who, recovering and now furious, unleashed it's fire breath. But the teenager easily dodged and, deciding a risky new trick, held the sword with both hands and leaped up before forming his Spin Dash which, combined with his quills and the sword, sliced through the dragon's tough skin and spilled some black blood. Landing onto it's back, Sonic then raced up quickly before, under the King's guidance, attacked the horn with careful listening and quickly found that this was a lot easier than he thought.
Though with the dragon moving it's head repeatedly in pain, Sonic had a bit of trouble holding on before he was thrown off and screamed. But then he flipped and landed safely on the ground and spun around just as the dragon, it's horn almost cracked and sliced off which drained it's energy, weakening it, lunged forward to engulf him when a crazy idea formed in his mind. Despite having gotten over his fear of the Werehog, and having experienced in being swallowed by a giant whale, he was scared that this idea might not even work, but it was a risk he had to take, and plus there were other swords around the area, so if he could manage this, it can work to his advantage.
"Hope you're able to hold on right, your majesty. I'm gonna do something crazy." Sonic warned.
"Wait! You're not thinking-!" Arthur protested, feeling like he knew what was going to happen.
"Yep..." The blue hedgehog gulped. "Like I said; crazy."
Without anymore thoughts, and moaning as he wished he didn't have to do this, Sonic then raced forward and as the monster had it's mouth wide open, he leaped and jumped right in, holding a tight grip on the sword in his right hand and as soon as he landed on it's massive, long tongue, the giant dragon slapped it's jaws shut, trapping him inside. Holding back the urge to scream and panic, he wasted no time as while keeping his balance and avoid the dragon in flipping it's tongue and gulp him down into the throat, he thrust the sword skyward and stabbed into the mouth chamber's ceiling as hard as he could, it's pointy blade straight through and poking out of the nuzzle.
The dragon roared a high-pitched pained wail, which forced it to open it's mouth and Sonic, almost losing his balance and falling over which would be the end of him, immediately spun and Spin Dashed right out quickly, escaping just in time while the monster opened and closed it's mouth repeatedly. Landing back on the ground, the blue hedgehog knelt on one knee with his gauntlet hand supporting him and placed his left hand onto his chest, panting as he attempted to calm down from his traumatic experience.
"Remind me to never do that again." Sonic panted, visibly shaking as his heart still founded, the image of being temporary trapped inside the closed mouth, and the very thought of just how dangerously close he'd become in being swallowed whole.
"...And Gawain says I'm mad." Arthur remarked, sounding shaken himself.
Recovering mostly from the terrifying ordeal, the teenage hedgehog turned around as the dragon was still in agony and while he felt terrible for having to do this to a living creature, he knew he didn't have a choice. Taking hold of another discarded sword, Sonic spin up before leaping up high into the air and with a loud battle-cry, he thrust the sword right at the horn, slicing and smashing it off completely. The dragon gave a massive roar of agony and while Sonic jumped off and landed safely, the huge beast roared one more time before collapsing onto the ground with a thud, defeated and dead.
"Phew...I'm not a knight, but you gotta admit, that was intense." Sonic sighed in relief, wiping his forehead. "For a moment there, I thought I would mess up and be dragon food."
"That was a very reckless thing to do, but...I can't deny that you're very brave. You handled those swords with ease. Is everyone in your world this coordinated?" Arthur replied.
"Not everyone. Just some of us." The blue hedgehog shrugged. "Sorry about that."
"What's important is that you have dealt with the dragon no other knight has done before, in spite that you are a knight in training. You truly are a knight of the wind, Sonic." The king replied, brushing off the reckless part.
'He's really forgiving, just like me. If I didn't know any better, we could pass on as twin brothers.' Sonic thought to himself, before deciding that it was time to find that sacred sword.
Speeding off once more and leaving the dragon's corpse behind while relieved that his corpse wasn't among the real knights that had fallen before him, it wasn't long before Sonic found what he was looking for. On the other side of the cave, was a cliff-side where a sword was stuck on the ground.
"This must be it." Sonic remarked. Nodding to himself, he easily jumped his way off the cliff sides before reaching the top, and turned around at the sword. It looked golden around the hilt, with a round circle in the middle. Not sure if this was like the Excalibur, the blue hedgehog then carefully grasped it just as Merlina appeared at the bottom.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"Ready for what?" The cobalt teenager asked.
"If you remove that sword, there is no turning back. This journey will be difficult." Merlina replied.
"Not the first time. I can't even count how many times I almost died." Sonic shrugged with one shoulder. Without further hesitation, he grasped the handle with both hands and with an surprisingly easy yank, he pulled the sword out of the stone, light glowing as he did before it faded.
Sonic's eyes widened in shock, and even King Arthur made a sound of surprise, before the teenager held the sword in his right hand, gently holding the blade in his left where it's flat side rested in his palm.
"The sacred sword..." He whispered in awe.
"It does by the name of Caliburn." The young wizard informed.
The blue hedgehog stared at it, before noticing how blunt and rusty it was, plus covered in dirt after years of being on it's own. "It's kinda sorry looking."
"As was Excalibur." Arthur admitted.
"Fools!" A voice suddenly grunted front Caliburn.
"Whoa!" Sonic yelped in fright as he dropped the sword which spun before catching it by the handle once more, and even Arthur gave out a cry of alarm. Excalibur, the teenager could understand due to the king's soul being trapped inside it. But this...?
"You can talk!?" The hero and the king asked simultaneously in disbelief.
"As can you and...the little sword necklace." Caliburn remarked, a face appearing in the circle; two blue eyes and a mouth, before scoffing at Sonic. "You are the chosen one? You are but a squire!"
"Oh yeah!? Says you!" Sonic replied, glaring back with a sweat drop, still finding it hard to believe he was talking to a sword, before adding as he pointed at the shrunken Excalibur in his necklace. "And this 'little sword necklace' is Excalibur, holding King Arthur's soul trapped inside, no thanks to the Black Knight!"
"He speaks to truth, and Sonic the Hedgehog is a brave hero." Arthur added, sounding annoyed with Caliburn himself. "I am Arthur Pendragon, and I will not tolerate in you looking down on this fine knight in training."
"Ah...begging your pardon, your majesty. Greetings, King Arthur and...Sonic the Hedgehog. I am Caliburn." The talking sword replied, respecting the king.
'Yeah, Merlina told us.' Sonic thought to himself.
"The sword has a mind of its own. It selects its bearer." Merlina explained.
"It's got pretty smart mouth on it for a sword, that's for sure." Sonic grumbled, annoyed.
"Hmmp. The impertinent one is you, child. Brace yourself, for I will train you until you are worthy." Caliburn warned.
The blue hedgehog was about to respond when he sensed something coming from his right, the same aura of darkness he felt since arriving here. Turning sharply as he heard the winds back up, he saw, to his, Arthur and Merlina's shock, was the Black Knight who rode on his black horse, ready to kill them. Quickly getting into defense with Caliburn in hand, Sonic glared at the evil knight who brought out his sword from the cursed scabbard.
"All right professor, work your magic!" Sonic declared.
"You bear the weak king's soul in Excalibur." The Black Knight remarked, staring at the teenager's necklace. "Give it to me and I shall spare your life."
"No! I won't let you take King Arthur's soul!" The hero of Mobius declared.
"Then you will die!" The evil knight growled darkly.
Sonic glared harder, unafraid and ready for his first real sword fight. The Black Knight struck first, but the blue hedgehog was too fast for him as he leaped out of the way. At both Arthur and Caliburn's instruction, he sped forward and clashed hard and fast against the evil warrior's massive sword, blocking and thrusting under their direction(mainly Arthur's due to his experience with a sword which helped Sonic more than Caliburn's instructions), dodge-rolling out of the way and used a combination of his speed and rookie-leveled new swordsmanship skills.
The Black Knight was surprisingly fast, and most certainly strong, but Sonic was determined to defeat the villain and save both King Arthur's body as well as the kingdom. He managed to knock the knight off of his horse even if the strong warrior blocked his attacks. The blue hedgehog then eyed the scabbard and as he blocked the huge sword with Caliburn, struggling to hold the black knight back, he seized his chance to kick the scabbard off from the belt which distracted the Black Knight long around to notice and lose his guard.
"What!?" The Black Knight exclaimed, shocked. He failed to notice that Sonic then pushed the black sword out by kicking the man's arms, causing him to grunt in pain before the blue hedgehog then slashed cleanly right through his opponent, sending him slumping to the ground as the immortal knight grunted in pain, in a kneeling position.
To Sonic's dismay as he leaped back to a safe distance while catching his breath, the Black Knight was still alive. "This could go on forever."
"As long as the Scabbard is whole, I do not think even Caliburn can defeat him immediately." Arthur stated, as the Black Knight, in his injuries, grabbed the scabbard which then healed his wounds.
"Ha! A fool of a knight. Not even worth slaying." The Black Knight scoffed, standing up before summoning his horse. "Mark my words, child. I will destroy the foolish king's sword and claim this land, as long as you bear the Excalibur in it's weakened state."
"The only one weak is you!" Sonic shouted back. "You use that scabbard to cheat!"
"Hmph. You do not know your worthiness, boy." The Black Knight grunted, before riding away into the sky.
"Coward." The blue hedgehog glared hard.
"Sonic. You did better than I have on your first battle against him. I am very proud of you." Arthur admitted, feeling rather guilty for not having been able to defeat the Black Knight or even knock away the scabbard the first time.
"Well, I..." Sonic trailed off, embarrassed by the compliment, scratching the top of his head.
"Well, I am disappointed in both of you." Caliburn grumbled. "Sire, I'm afraid that you are too young to fully understand the situation, and the young knave lacks fighting skills."
"Well, it's your fault. You're a sad excuse of a teacher. The king taught me how to handle a sword and I took down a dragon on my first try!" Sonic argued angrily.
"He's right, Caliburn. The Black Knight is unstoppable unless we do something about the scabbard. Even with your help, we need to learn more how to stop him." The imprisoned king agreed.
Caliburn let itself loose from Sonic's hand and glared at both the new knight in training and the trapped king within the shrunken sword. "Hmph! I beg your pardon, sire! What do you see in this knave?"
"He's our only hope in saving the kingdom! Sonic may be new in handling a sword, but he's very brave and has his own fighting skills!" Arthur argued.
"You heard the king, Caliburn!" Sonic added, holding his arms. "Just wait, I'm gonna be a knight before you can even blink, and I'm gonna save him and the kingdom!"
"King Arthur is right." Merlina spoke up, stopping the argument. "For as long as he bears that scabbard, we may never be able to defeat the Black Knight."
"So what are we gonna do?" The blue hedgehog asked.
"You must ask the scabbard's former owner how to hinder its power." Caliburn offered.
"Nimue...Of course!" Arthur realized, and if he was still in his body, Sonic would've been certain the king's eyes would have widened. "We must go see the Lady of the Lake!"
"What are we waiting for? Let's go pay her a little visit." Sonic declared, smiling as they had another lead to solve this crisis.
"It won't be easy, Sonic. The journey ahead is perilous." The King advised.
"Not to worry, your majesty. I'm ready to take on any challenge." The blue hedgehog reassured.
Caliburn rolled his eyes, "Reckless young fool."
"Who asked you?" The teenager grumbled.
"Never mind. Onward, my young knave."
"Stop calling me knave! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic grunted in irritation.
"Very well." The sword deadpanned. "I shall call you Knave the Hedgehog."
Sonic groaned, before grabbing the sword and stomped away across the bridge, grumbling. "Whatever, you oversized letter opener."
Even King Arthur was growing tired of Caliburn's attitude as he groaned. "I wish this sacred sword didn't talk. It's almost like the time when I first met Gawain."
Merlina, following the young Mobian, sighed as she placed a hand onto her face, pleading to herself. "This is going to be a very difficult journey."
A little while later, Sonic, Arthur, Caliburn and Merlina left the sacred grounds and journeyed through the forest on their way to the Lady of the Lake, when the annoying talking sword glanced down at his blade.
"Hmmm...I suppose something must be done about this." He commented, causing Sonic and Merlina to pause.
"What're you talking about?" The blue hedgehog asked, raising an eyebrow.
"My edge has grown blunt. Being in that rock for so long has taken its toll." Caliburn said.
Sonic smirked and teased. "Ha! Not the sharpest tool in the shed, huh?"
"That's because a gentleman shouldn't have such an edge."
"Who're you calling a gentleman?"
"I know a Blacksmith in the castle town who can help." Arthur piped up. "My oldest and closest friend. Sometimes I would sneak out of the castle to spend time with him."
"Sounds like you two guys are really close, and given how swordsmanship, I'd say he's the best in the kingdom, right?" The blue hedgehog stated.
"Indeed. You could also say that...we're like brothers. I've known him and his magical skills for years." The king replied.
"I get what you mean. Another thing we have in common." Sonic realized, his hands on his hips with a soft smile. "Cept with me and Tails, well...he builds and fixes things that would normally take ten people to do."
"Well, if the king has his trust in this blacksmith, then we shall go to him. I must be presentable when we meet the Lady of the Lake." Caliburn declared.
Sonic nodded, before turning to Merlina who, to his surprise, held a somber look. "Merlina?"
Merlina held her staff close to her, gazing at it's orb in shame and guilt.
"What's wrong? Why are you sad?" Sonic asked softly, approaching the young wizard.
"Forgive me, Sonic. It's just...I promised grandfather I would be by King Arthur's side and protect him...and I failed. I could only heed his wishes until the Black Knight is defeated. I am not a powerful wizard as I promised I would be." The young girl sighed, sad and self-disgusted.
Sonic couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and he knew what failure was like. Wanting to cheer her up, he gently plucked a beautiful flower and held it out to her, much to her and Caliburn's surprise.
"Merlina, I understand how you feel. Once upon a time, two and a half months ago, I failed to stop an evil man from summoning a giant monster and the only way to save my world is to defeat it. For two months I lived in guilt, and no matter how hard I tried, that feeling just wouldn't go away. It took my friends to help me realize that I did what I could, and in the end things worked out okay. Sometimes magic and power can lead people astray and forget that not everyone is immortal." The blue hedgehog explained.
He then gently placed the flower into her hand which made her surprised, before Sonic continued with a wink. "The fact that you protected King Arthur's soul by giving him to me and then summoning me under his request to set things right is the start of learning from it. Everybody makes mistakes, but you shouldn't let your guilt, fear, anger and sorrow overcome you. If you do, you're only letting those negative emotions swallow you whole. That fact is that you did your best, and you still have a chance to set things right. You're not alone in this, Merlina. With me around, everything will be okay. I promise."
"Sonic is right, Merlina." Arthur agreed with the same soft voice. "You are also my very close friend, and I trusted you to summon the chosen one like in the prophecy and you have summoned the right one. I made that decision to protect you. As king, it's my duty to protect everyone in the kingdom, including you. Please don't be sad, my friend. There is still hope."
Merlina stared at both Sonic and the sword that held the King's soul within, touched by their kind words. It soothed her heart and soul, before she nodded. "Thank you, your majesty, and Sonic. But, I'm afraid I will be recognized in town. I shall remain behind in hiding, as I fear the Black Knight's magic will have everyone against me."
"All right, then I guess it's so long for now." Sonic waved.
"Be safe, Merlina. We will see each other again soon." Arthur farewelled.
"Yes...may your journey be safe." The young wizard nodded, waving as Sonic and his current companions headed off towards the castle town.
As she watched them leave, the young girl gazed at the flower the blue hedgehog had given to her, smiling softly. "Sonic is very much like King Arthur."
For the first time in ages, she knew, despite the situation that was happening, that she made the right choice.
To be Continued!
A/N: As you can see, this arc is based on "Sonic and the Black Knight" with my own ideas put in. In this series, King Arthur is real and is, unknown to most at the moment, the counterpart of Sonic. Sonic doesn't know of Blaze's existence, so when he meets Percival, like with Merlina, she will be new to him. I also changed Merlina's role to being a full supporting character.
This will probably be a four or five-parter, but I was struggling with the second part of the Sun Stone arc, which I will get back to eventually. Just not now.
See you later!