Sonic in Between.
Author's Note: At last, the final chapter of the Camelot Arc is here! Here comes the big finish before we can move on back to one-shots for Sonic in Between! Here we go!
Until thing, I hope you do enjoy the rest of the story.
Summary of Story 5-Part 6: The truth is out. Merlin the Wizard, Merlina's grandfather and King Arthur's mentor who is the counterpart of the late Dr. Eggman, has revealed his true colours and begins his plot to plunge the Kingdom into chaos. Now Sonic, the King and the Knights must face him in the final battle for the fate of not just this world, but also Sonic's world as well!
I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. I only own the OCs.
Sonic's Camelot Adventure-Part 6.
Merlin watched as Sonic, Arthur, Gawain, Lancelot and Percival stood ready to face him in amusement, chuckling at the five young warriors who were steeling themselves to fight him in an futile attempt to defeat the evil dark wizard.
"Fools! Do you all really think you can defeat me? I am supreme, I am all powerful, I am the true ruler of Camelot!" Merlin bellowed in laughter.
"Yeah, yeah. You're all powerful and mighty, blah, blah, blah, you're gonna recreate everything, blah, blah, blah! I've heard that sort of thing one to many times and those times for the enemies I've fought in the past, it never worked out for them!" Sonic angrily mocked, holding a tight grip on Caliburn, sick and tired of hearing those words from evil opponents.
Arthur, the Knights and Caliburn all sweat dropped at the Knight of the Wind's choice of words and mockery which the hero of Mobius noticed and shrugged slightly in embarrassment.
"Sorry, couldn't help it." The blue hedgehog muttered with a wary grin. He then turned serious again and glared up at the evil spiritual wizard and declared. "Here we go!"
He charged along with the King and the other Knights, their swords high up above them as they made to strike, but Merlin had other ideas as he held up his hand and magically created a shield which repelled the three hedgehogs, echidna, and cat before they were all pushed back by the force field and cried out before flipping and landing, even though King Arthur winced which worried Sonic and the others, before they realized that the restored king was still weak from his body being used by the Black Knight and didn't have time to regain his strength yet.
"Are you okay, your majesty?" Sonic asked, ignoring his own injuries.
"...I'm fine. We have to stop Merlin and save Merlina." Arthur winced, standing up and glared up at the wizard whom he once trusted, while everyone else glared up at the evil ghost.
"Your efforts are futile!" Merlin retorted.
"We'll see about that." Lancelot hissed darkly, charging once more and leaped before chanting. "Chaos Spear!"
Yet even with the black hedgehog's attack, it was repelled as well. Gawain charged and split his sword into two once more and attacked while going for the right side as Percival went for the left, her flames conjoring up and she thrust them out by covering her sword with them. Sonic then went to try and attack from behind by rapid slashing at the binds that held Merlina, followed by Arthur who, attempting to ignore his fatigue and injuries, surprisingly copied Sonic's Sword Spin attack by going for Merlin's back while the evil wizard was distracted by the Knights of the Round Table.
While Merlin found that the swords of the Knights did make a bit of an effort as he grunted before sensing movement behind him, wincing as he felt the pain of Gawain and Percival's attacks, the red echidna slashing repeatedly by the Knight of the Sun's strength and the Knight of the Grail's fire abilities when she attempted to use her fiery tornado without harming her king and allies, while the Ultimate Knight thrust and parried heavily, the evil wizard growled before pulsing with dark energy and threw everybody back, causing all five of them to scream before crashing onto the ground hard, hissing in pain and Sonic didn't even make a dent in cutting the binds that held Merlina captive and still draining her magic.
"No way..." Sonic muttered, wincing as he tried to get up quickly, hissing at the blast he and his friends had felt.
"I...We can't give up!" Arthur winced, standing up once more with Excalibur held tightly in his hand.
By then Merlina screamed as she felt herself being drained even more, while her powers are seeping into Merlin's spiritual form as he laughed evilly. Lancelot then attempted to thrust at the evil wizard once again, and Gawain again thrust his swords at the foe, while Percival spun around creating her fire tornado with fire balls raining down at the wizard. But Sonic and Arthur both raced to try and at least protect Merlina while using their swords to block Merlin's own attack as he flared out another wave of dark winds despite that the two blue hedgehogs tried to attack again. Even with everyone's efforts to catch the evil wizard off-guard while Sonic tried to break Merlin's hold on Merlina, Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table thrusting and slashing, surprisingly cracking the shield along enough for the hero of Mobius to then try and attack Merlin from behind.
"Enough of this!" Merlin roared, again throwing everyone back as they screamed before hitting the ground hard again.
"Oh no! Merlin's powers are too strong!" Nimue exclaimed in horror, unable to do anything even with her own powers. Even as a ghost, the evil wizard was too strong for her.
To make things worse, the evil wizard then used his dark magic to combine himself with Merlina's and fused himself while his skin turned paler, his eyes glowing all yellow before he began to morph into a terrifying monster while absorbing the younger wizard who moaned and gazed at both Arthur and Sonic with a sorrowed and resigned look. When the two blue hedgehogs and the others gazed up while struggling to stand, they all gasped in horror when they saw the young girl vanish before their eyes.
"NO! MERLINA!" Arthur screamed in anguish, reaching out for his dearest friend.
"Stop!" Sonic screamed, horrified.
Everyone was then forced to watch on in horror as Merlin's new form changed into that of a large creature that resembled to the Black Knight but with many tentacles filled with dark energy and the darkness began to spread through out the area and slowly out of the Island of Avalon. Sonic and the others tried to shield themselves, but even as the three Knights of the Round Table raised their swords to block the attacks from the tentacles that Merlin in his new monstrous form sent out, Lancelot, Gawain and Percival were forced back and screamed before hitting the ground, landing in craters.
"Lancelot! Gawain! Percival!" Sonic and Arthur both screamed out in dismay, while Nimue gasped in horror before she hurried over to the three fallen knights, and attempted to use her powers to try and heal them.
"Fallen and left in ruin. Just as the prophecies predicted." Merlin chuckled darkly, before turning his attention to the two horrified cobalt hedgehogs. "Now for the boys."
'This is awful.' The hero of Mobius thought in his mind, which began to make him see memories of certain things he didn't want to remember, especially at a time like this. 'This is just like...like my nightmare where Eggman fused with Yacker's Mom when she was a giant Nega-Wisp...and like when Erazor Djinn used the world rings to transform into a monster...'
When the Wizard-turned-monster aimed his tentacles at Arthur who made to block it, Sonic quickly stood in front of the King and blocked the attacks even as Caliburn attempted to help the Knight of the Wind to hold it off.
"Sonic! Caliburn!" Arthur exclaimed, shocked and horrified that they were risking themselves for his safety.
"Run, King Arthur!" Sonic grunted as he and his sword were strained to their limits, especially when the hero of Mobius knew that this was a battle not even the King should get involved in right now. The blue hedgehog felt terrible for allowing his new friend to fight against the other blue hedgehog's former mentor.
"I won't leave any of you!" The teenage King protested, shaking his head rapidly.
The cobalt speedster hissed as he tried to keep his guard up, while Caliburn grunted. "Sonic! A knight must always be on his guard!"
Sonic was about to respond that he knew, but the next thing that happened made him, the King and the knights completely horrified. Not only Merlin increased his strength pushed the fifteen year old back, but his tentacle became so strong that it cleaved straight through Caliburn's blade as the spirtual sword gave an agonized cry which echoed a bit before fading. The silverly white blade in the meantime was then broken in half. Sonic stumbled back and accidentally landed into King Arthur's arms as the latter caught him, but when they quickly looked to ask if Caliburn was alright...the sword was lifeless.
"No..." Arthur whispered as he and Sonic felt their hearts sink, horror filling their senses. Caliburn...was destroyed. The blade, which it's other half scattered onto the ground, was broken. And his face...it was dull and grey, eyes were closed and mouth was gone.
The others were just as horrified as Nimue covered her mouth, tears forming in her eyes.
"It's hopeless..." Gawain muttered in despair, lowering his head in crushing defeat. It was no use. They cannot defeat Merlin now.
"Have we been reduced...to this?" Lancelot questioned with a haunted look on his face, clutching his fist.
"Caliburn...has been destroyed. We have lost." Percival whispered, closing her eyes in mourning and hoplessness.
"C-Caliburn?" Sonic stuttered, his throat and eyes full of tears. His sacred sword, who was also one of his new friends...was gone. Caliburn had helped to protect himself as well as his counterpart, sacrificing himself in the process. Tears fell freely from his eyes as did from Arthur's eyes. "No..."
But their moment of mourning was interrupted when they both heart Merlin laugh darkly and manically, prompting the two blue hedgehogs to then glare up at the evil wizard who had caused this nightmare and had taken their friend away from them. Right there and then, they both felt fury rage inside them, but for different reasons; for Arthur, it was the betrayal and loss, while for Sonic, it was for losing a friend and bring brought into this, but for both of htem, it was because other people's lives being put into grave danger.
"Nooooooo!" Sonic screamed in rage as he charged with the broken sword, refusing to give up and to avenge Caliburn as well as protect his friends and keep fighting until Merlin is defeated. It was just like the time when Shahra sacrificed herself to protect him from Erazor Djinn.
"MERLIN!" Arthur screamed in fury, his own sword raised as he joined his counterpart and friend to attack.
Both blue hedgehogs attacked with every slashes and Sword Spins(though Sonic's was now half of that due to Caliburn being sliced in half) and parries they could hit with but the barrier their evil enemy held up was still too strong and they are both knocked back once more.
"It is time to end this. Farewell, Arthur Pendragon and Sonic the Hedgehog." Merlin declared darkly, thrusting his tentacles at the duo despite that Sonic tried to protect Arthur again by shoving him out of the way. The teenage hero of Mobius was then coiled by one of the tentacles and squeezed before being held up high in the air.
"SONIC!" Arthur exclaimed, his eyes wide in horror as he and everyone else that were still took weak to fight could only watch helplessly, while Sonic struggled to free himself, wincing at the hurting discomfort of being trapped within the tentacle's grasp.
"Ugh...! Let-Let me go!" The Knight of the Wind grunted, feeling like he was being squeezed to death. Then he was tossed up into the air as he cried out in alarm.
Merlin laughed manically as he then attacked the helpless teenage hero with thicker tentacles he created.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sonic screamed in agony as he was badly beaten and thrashed by the tentacles before he crashed onto the ground, heavily injured even though he still held the broken Caliburn in his gauntlet hand.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The King of Camelot screamed, before narrowing his eyes as he used his own speed just as Merlin was about to finish off the helpless hero of Mobius. But Arthur tried to block the tentacle with Excalibur, much to Merlin's bewilderment before the evil sorcerer narrowed his eyes, as Arthur growled. "You stay away from him, you foul betrayer!"
"Still defending this child, Arthur? He is your counterpart from another world, and you are nothing more than a peasant. You were never a true king. You were both part of my plan!" The evil wizard grunted in disappointment.
"I DON'T CARE!" Arthur snapped angrily, tears of frustration and desperation filling up his eyes, while Sonic weakly pushed himself up, shocked to see the other blue hedgehog now trying to protect him when it was supposed to be his job. "What you're doing is horrible, twisted and cruel! King or not, I'm going to stop you and protect my dearest friends! Sir Sonic, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Lady Percival, and Lady Nimue, and save Merlina, and together we're going to save the kingdom-no, together we're going to save the two worlds, even at the cost of my life!"
"K-King Arthur..." Sonic grunted, unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing. 'He really is like me...'
"Then you will BOTH PERISH NOW!" Merlin declared, thrusting his tentacles at both hedgehogs to which Arthur, with renewed determination, blocked each attack as quickly as he could despite still not at full health and even managed to slice up three which vanished into particles of darkness, but one managed to sneak around attack him.
"Look out!" Sonic cried out, wincing as he forced himself to ignore his injures and blocked it with his broken sword but was captured again along with the King who, to his horror, lost his sword which was then smashed into six pieces and completely destroyed. The two blue hedgehogs were then tossed roughly to the ground once again, while the Knights of the Round Table, seeing this, screamed out the duo's names before charging once again, but they were blocked and then captured and held behind Merlin who bellowed in laughter.
"AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Soon Camelot will bow down to me and you fools will be sent to the deepest abyss of the Underworld for all eternity! There's no use in continuing this fight, Arthur and Sonic!" Merlin declared in victory, thrusting his tentacles at the two weakened hedgehogs who looked up and gasped.
"LOOK OUT!" Gawain screamed out, struggling against the coils of the tentacle he was trapped in, as were Lancelot and Percival.
"Sir Sonic!" Arthur exclaimed, just as Sonic was about to try and protect the king again, only for the former to shield the latter and like the hero of Mobius, he was thrashed repeatedly and screamed in pure agony. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"NOOOOO!" All four of the Knights screamed in despair before the attack stopped and Sonic weakly caught the heavily beaten up King into his arms and cradled him.
"Why...? Why did you...? I-I promised that I'd...that I'd keep you safe...!" The cobalt teenager whimpered, tears of guilt and sorrow filling his eyes, his heart sinking as he felt deja vu fill up his mind; the cases of Shahra and Yacker, both dying in his arms before being revived. He didn't want to go through this, not again, not with King Arthur this time. "I'm sorry...I-I failed you..."
"No, Sir Sonic...You didn't fail..." The weakened King winced, but softly smiled at his counterpart, his friend. "You-You saved me, restored me, and p-protected me in your quest. Now...it is my turn, to protect you...my dear friend..." He gently placed his gauntlet hand to caress the tearful Knight of the Wind's left cheek as tears ran down his counterpart's face.
"This is all my fault..." Sonic whispered, and as much as he tried to hold it back, he began to cry.
"Shhhh..." Arthur gently placed a finger onto the teenage hero's lips to calm him down. "I'm alright...I...I'm not giving up yet..."
When the blue hedgehog gazed at the king, he could tell that while they were both severely weakened, the latter wasn't giving up without a fight and realized that now wasn't the time to be crying, especially when Merlin loomed and leered over them. Forcing himself to calm down, Sonic nodded before he and King Arthur both glared up at their enemy with renewed determination, and then the former gently laid the latter down and hissed in pain while he tried to stand up, shakily so and pushed beyond his limits.
"Sir Sonic! You've done enough!" Percival exclaimed pleadingly, knowing that this was a fight to be lost. But to her and the other two knights' shock, Sonic didn't listen as he barely managed to kneel on one knee, struggling to stand up but stubbornly refused to stay down.
"No Sonic! There is no point in continuing." Lancelot exclaimed.
"A knight never flees from his foe, right?" Sonic weakly reminded, remembering what Caliburn told him a few days ago, which didn't amuse Merlin at all.
"You fool! This no longer has anything to do with chivalry! Get out of here! Run! Take King Arthur!" Gawain screamed out in frustration and desperation.
But Sonic shook his head, narrowing his eyes as he finally managed to stand up, the broken sword grasped tightly while behind him, Arthur made to stand up as well with determination, the former declaring with pure honesty. "It was never about chivalry for me. I've just gotta do what I've gotta do, and keep to my promise. That's all."
"As do I." King Arthur agreed, surprising the hero of Mobius who was stunned to see him stand up as well, with similar struggle and without a sword, but he stood by the other teenager's side. "I will not bow down to fear or to Merlin. My dream was to become a knight, to do the right thing and protect the people. I will not give up my vow to protect the innocent!"
"Sonic! Your Majesty!" The three knights exclaimed.
"I have had enough of your foolish beliefs, children! TIME TO DIE!" Merlin declared, only to stop when suddenly a golden glow from Sonic's necklace surrounded both Sonic and Arthur which in turn surrounded the broken Caliburn and the three other sacred swords, much to everyone's shock and surprise, forcing the evil wizard to drop his captives who fell to the ground, and shield his eyes. "Gah! What now!?"
"The long lost light of the scared sword..." Nimue whispered, her eyes widening as she realized what this meant, before exclaiming to the Knights of the Round Table. "Quick! Your swords!"
While not understanding what the Lady of the Lake was saying, Lancelot, Gawain and Percival shared glances and nodded, before tossing their sacred swords straight towards Sonic and Arthur who were both covered in a golden beam of light, much to their awe, before both hedgehogs were lifted up into the air and they shared a glance with a nod, quickly realizing that this must be the true power Nimue talked about.
"Ready, Sir Sonic?" Arthur asked, holding out his hand to his friend who nodded with a determined smirk.
"Always, King Arthur!" Sonic replied, clasping his gauntlet hand onto the King's left hand, and they both glowed brightly before glowing brightly in golden light.
Then something incredible and mysterious happened. Both hedgehogs then became fused into one being, their souls within the same body that merged together and a brand new armor covered them. Replacing the King's golden armor and Sonic's gauntlet, transforming into a cyan-blue colour that was glowing, complete with a helmet, an jade-green cape, and Caliburn being reborn, his blade extending and restored with the light exploding, becoming a larger, more beautiful white-silver blade.
Deep within the new body merged by the two blue hedgehogs, their souls could see everything as their eyes widened, astonished.
"Whoa!" Sonic murmured.
"I see...we have become one to defeat the darkness of Merlin!" King Arthur said, unable to believe it. "If I'm right, this is only temporarily and we need to make it count."
"Well then, let's make it up for lost time!" The hero of Mobius declared, and the King nodded in agreement. "Let's do this!"
Outside of the temporary spiritual realm, the newly formed blue hedgehog knight, Excalibur-Arnic, landed on the ground as he/they glared at the flabbergast Merlin who was unable to believe what he was seeing.
"WHAT!? HOW CAN THIS BE!? WHAT HAVE YOU TWO DONE!?" The evil wizard exclaimed in disbelief and horror.
"We are one and the same of two different worlds." Sonic/Arthur announced, their voices combined and speaking in an echoed unison. "For this, we will defeat you, Merlin. In this form, we are Excalibur-Arnic! Your regime of terror is over!"
Despite still being in shock that both Arthur and Sonic have merged their bodies into one, Merlin then grinned wickedly. "You fools! You have just made it easier for me to destroy you both! Now that your bodies have become one and your souls are trapped within this form, you are to die!"
Excalibur-Arnic then smirked Sonic's trademark smirk, saying in the hero of Mobius' confident voice. "Ha! We'll see about that, Eggman-Wanna-be!"
He then spoke in King Arthur's more noble, determined voice. "You will never win, Merlin! Sonic and I will make certain of it!"
That didn't please Merlin at all, as he then transformed into a more monstrous form of his current body, using Merlina's magic as the young wizard within him was struggling to hold on despite her will-power fading, but she didn't want to give up hope, not give up on her dear friends.
Excalibur-Arnic then flew over to Merlin who then fired a large purple beam at him/them, but he/they dodged the attack quickly similar to how Sonic would when he would transform into Super Sonic via the Chaos Emeralds. The transformed hedgehog then thrust and thrashed the newly restored Caliburn at the tentacles that were thrown at him/them.
"Here we go!" Excalibur-Arnic bellowed, performing a powerful Cobalt-Sword-Spin, attacking Merlin who attempted to block it but to the latter's horror, the force field began to then crack and break almost easily. Still, the evil wizard managed to push the blue hedgehog back, but he/they managed to quickly reposition himself/themselves and flew back to avoid numerous dark spheres of energy thrown at the blue hedgehog(s), clashing with Caliburn to block the other attacks.
"BURN IN THE UNDERWORLD!" Merlin bellowed, attacking with now energy-pulsed tentacles, but to his shock, Excalibur-Arnic made a very powerful slash at them as Caliburn glowed brightly in a mixture of golden and cyan-coloured aura, obliterating the tentacles which faded into nothing. "WHAT!?"
Upon the impact of Excalibur-Arnic's attack, the light seeped deep within the evil wizard's current form and spread right into the chains were Merlina was trapped within, arosing her from unconsciousness, making her able to see past through her grandfather's dark form. There she saw a blue hedgehog, but two transparent souls deep within determined to stop Merlin and save her as well as both worlds and everyone in them.
"A-Arthur...? Sonic...?" Merlina spoke weakly, but loud enough for Excalibur-Arnic and Merlin to hear, much to their shock, before the blue hedgehog's eyes widened as he/they realized what just happened.
"Merlina..." Arthur muttered, his heart rapidly beating in shock, worry yet hope and relief.
"We managed to get through! We've broken Merlin's hold onto her!" Sonic exclaimed in realization. "We gotta keep going and save Merlina!"
"Indeed." Arthur nodded in agreement, as he and the hero of Mobius' eyes narrowed with determination.
"Foolish children! I am immortal! No one can defeat me!" Merlin roared, attempting to regain his control over his grandfather, but to his horror, even though she was weakened, Merlina managed to regain some control and with whatever power she had left, she chanted a spell which only he knew off and then felt his very soul began twitchy and frozen. "Gah! N-NO! U-Unhand me, Granddaughter!"
"Merlina's fighting back!" Excalibur-Arnic exclaimed with Arthur's voice, then shouted in Sonic's as he/they narrowed his/their eyes. "We're coming, Merlina! Hang in there!"
Despite not wanting to hurt Merlina in the progress, Excalibur-Arnic knew there was no other choice. So the blue hedgehog(s) flew straight towards Merlin as this was their only chance to end this once and for all. Merlin, seeing this, managed to regain some control, but ended up firing very small and weak dark energy balls which the hedgehog dodged with ease while the hold on Merlina became weaker and weaker, until they could hear her voice.
"Sonic! King Arthur! Use the sword to strike at his very soul and heart!" Nimue called out as she too could see what was happening while she and the other Knights, who had been unable to believe what transphered, backed away to safety just in case.
"RIGHT!" Excalibur-Arnic acknowledged, speeding faster with their combined strengths and broke through the dark barrier at last, Caliburn glowing more brighter than ever before as he/they aimed right at the horrified and now helpless Merlin's chest.
Glowing himself/themselves, Excalibur-Arnic stabbed the sword right through Merlin's form and struck straight into his heart and soul, a burst of dark energy spreading out and fading rapidly, the evil wizard's hold now completely broken, the chains around his granddaughter fading away as she gently feel before emerging freely from the monster's body and softly landed on the ground.
"It's over, Merlin! Begone to the Underworld...Forever!" Excalibur-Arnic declared, before he/they flew straight through and out of the monster's body which began to twitch and bend over in dying agony as Merlin came to a horrified realization that he had lost, his soul was forever doomed to return to the Underworld, all of his powers lost for the rest of eternity and he will never escape back to the mortal realm ever again.
"NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Merlin screamed for the last time before a dark portal opened up underneath him and as his monstrous form exploded and the darkness that he spread out were sucked right back into the vortex, his soul, returning to normal, was then grasped by dark tentacles from within and made a futile attempt to escape. It wasn't long before he was sucked in completely in a dying scream which echoed and he vanished while the portal sealed up closed.
With that and Merlin now gone, the sky returned to it's normal blue, the dark spell he cast across the land broken and everyone who witnessed this, including the young Black Smith, looked up in awe and wonder while Smithy, now his full memories back, hoped that both Sonic and King Arthur, which he realized to his great confusion that they were identical, were alright.
Back at Avalon Island, Excalibur-Arnic gently descended and landed on the ground, before he/they glowed into pure light, separating into two before the lights faded and both Sonic and King Arthur returned to normal, their injuries surprisingly healed during the battle, while Caliburn also stopped glowing, returned to normal, his blade restored, and to their amazement and relief, his face reappeared as well.
"Caliburn!" Both Sonic and Arthur exclaimed in relief and happiness.
"King Arthur. Sir Sonic. You both did well." The sacred sword muttered, smiling at the two blue hedgehogs, only to yelp in surprise when the hero of Mobius pulled him into a hug, laughing happily and tearfully.
"Caliburn! You're okay! Thank goodness! It's a miracle!" Sonic exclaimed, holding his sword close to him. "For a while, I thought we'd never see you again..."
"It is a relief to see you alive and well, our friend." Arthur agreed as he joined his friends' side and joined in on the hug, with tears leaking in his eyes as well.
"Indeed. It is thanks to both of you. I am not certain how you both succeeded in doing so, but it was your will power and determination to do what is right for both worlds and their people. You really are two sides of one." Caliburn agreed, deciding to not borther in lecturing the two teenage heroes for this moment, and frankly, he really liked this reunion.
The hero of Mobius sniffled, whispering. "Welcome back, old buddy."
"Indeed." The King agreed, before the trio reluctantly moved apart and then they heard a moan close by.
Looking up, Sonic and his friends saw Merlina, also restored to normal but her hair untied during the crisis and quickly hurried over to her. Arthur then knelt down beside the young wizard's side and gently shook her by the shoulder.
"Merlina? Merlina?" The fifteen year old king gently whispered.
Thankfully, the young woman's eyes slowly blinked open as she gazed up to see the two blue hedgehogs and the sacred sword, her blurry vision clearing up before she whispered out to the king. "K-King Arthur...?"
Arthur began to tear up, but managed to hold it back mostly as he nodded, helping her to sit up. Still, as Merlina gazed at him, she lowered her gaze in guilt and sorrow, much to his, Sonic and Caliburn's concerns.
"Your Majesty...I...am sorry. I have failed you. I could not go up against my own grandfather's dark evil magic, nor am I able to forgive myself for his mistakes and actions. I...I am so ashamed to be a wizard, after what he has done." The young wizard began to tear up.
"Merlina, you are not to blame." Arthur whispered, gently lifting her chin to make his friend look at him, as he held a soft smile. "It's not your fault. Neither you or I were aware of Merlin's trickery and as Sir Sonic said, everyone makes mistakes. That does not mean we can't learn from them, the same way he did. I may not be a true king, but we can still set things right for the kingdom, with or without magic, with or without royalty. In a way, I was more afraid of losing you. You did not fail. You saved my life, you saved us all and I am still blessed to call you my dearest friend. You are the sister I never had. I love you, and I always will."
"Arthur..." Merlina teared up, before she threw her arms around the blue hedgehog's body and began to cry on his shoulder, while he hugged her back longingly, silently crying himself but held back most of it for his adoptive sister's sake.
"Shhhhh...It's alright, Merlina. Everything will be alright." The young King whispered soothingly, tears sliding free.
Sonic and Caliburn both watched the two reunited close friends emotionally, as the former teared up once more, wiping away his tears as the hero of Mobius sniffled.
"What is the matter, Sir Sonic?" Caliburn asked, seeing the teenage hedgehog silently cry himself.
"N-nothing. It's just, I've always been a big fan of happy endings." The fifteen year old responded. "Plus, I learned to open up a bit more, even if I don't like tears or crying, and it's kinda embarrassing, but hey, even heroes have to crack up."
The four of them remained silent for a few more moments until both Arthur and Merlina stopped crying as they let go of each other with warm, happy and very relieved smiles despite of what the elected-king had learned, just as the Knights of the Round Table and Nimue approached the group, relieved that everything was finally back to normal.
"Well done, Sir Sonic." Percival praised warmly.
"Heh, thanks to you guys." Sonic shrugged with a smile.
"You can say that again." Caliburn chuckled.
"It's a relief that you are all safe and sound." Nimue said happily, only for her and the Knights including Sonic to frown in concern when Arthur lowered his gaze in sadness.
"Yes, except...I'm not a real king, or of royal blood. I'm just an orphan who had been used as a pawn for Merlin's dark desires for revenge. He lied to me, making me believe I was the heir to the throne. Excalibur never truly existed. The royal family line has been gone ever since the true king died. I...I'm not sure what to do now, or how to tell everyone in the kingdom that I was just a fake replacement, but...they deserve to know the truth." The King confessed.
Closing his eyes, Arthur then sorrowfully declared. "Once that is done, I will officially surrender the crown and learn of a way how to help the kingdom, without the false title as king."
"To think, Merlin used you all this time for his evil desires for revenge." Gawain sighed, folding his arms in guilt, not sure what to do since Arthur was giving up the crown.
"The Knights of the Round Table must now disband." Lancelot sighed, then gazed at Arthur as he said with a soft smile. "But that does not mean we will part ways. If you will still have us."
Blinking in surprise as Lancelot, and even both Gawain and Percival, who realized that the black hedgehog had a point, gave the blue hedgehog reassuring and warm expressions, Arthur's eyes widened before he smiled emotionally.
"Lancelot, Gawain, Percival...All of you, Merlina, Smithy, and now both Sonic and Calibur, you are my dearest friends. I would be lost without any of you." The young King replied, before wiping away his tears, then gazed at Nimue and said. "And Lady Nimue, I cannot thank you enough as well, for being there."
"Hey, it's what friends are for." Sonic said reassuringly, placing a hand onto his counterpart's shoulder. "Even though I'll have to go back home, I'm always here with you guys in your hearts, just like you all are within mine. I'm no king or anything, but sometimes you don't need to be royalty or a knight just to do the right thing. It comes from the heart itself."
"Thank you, Sonic." Arthur nodded, which earned him a wink from his counterpart and a thumbs up.
"What foolishness is this?" Caliburn on the other hand spoke up, confusing almost everyone else except for Nimue.
"I'll say." The pink hedgehog agreed, smiling brightly.
"Huh?" The two blue hedgehogs blinked in confusion, which was shared by the other knights who had no clue on what the two were talking about either.
"What are you saying?" Percival questioned curiously.
"Have you forgotten who I am? I am the sacred sword Caliburn." The sacred sword pointed out, gazing at both Sonic and Arthur. "I am who decides who is worthy of the crown. Through the counterpart of the one who was destined to pull me, the spirit of the true king is to wield me once he has been restored and to fight alongside the hero of another world, because both worlds have counterparts that are the same in bodies, but different with souls, names and lives."
"Uh...Say what?" Sonic asked, dumbfounded.
"I don't understand. Merlin said he lead me down the wrong path after he found me, and even tricked Lady Nimue. I'm not of the royal blood." Arthur pointed out, just as bewildered as the hero of Mobius.
"It was what Merlin believed, but what he did not know was that the orphan he picked to lead down the path was the true heir to the throne." Nimue spoke up, causing everyone else to gaze at her as the lady of the lake continued. "In the time of the war, your mother, who was unfortunately dying, under your father's orders, the king's orders, fled to find me as I knew of Merlin's tricks. So I protected you when you were just an infant and disguised myself after she passed away as I could not heal her wounds, and placed you under great care hoping you would find Caliburn one day, as he is the true Excalibur."
The pink hedgehog then sighed. "Of course, I had to pretend he tricked me and I couldn't stop him from finding you, but all at once, you were lead down the path, until you would spiritually be there when Caliburn was pulled, by your own counterpart who is also the chosen one of another unique kind of power in his world. I am sorry to have no told you this, Arthur, but you have always been the true heir to the throne."
Everyone was stunned to hear what the Amy-look-alike was saying, but none more so than both Arthur and Sonic who shared amazed and disbelieved expressions.
"So...I really am...the true king?" Arthur almost couldn't believe it. He had been sworn to give up his title under the belief from Merlin that he wasn't, but to hear from Nimue that he had been the true heir all along even without the great powerful wizard even knowing...he wasn't sure what to think right now.
"I guess that means Merlin made a total slip on his part, your majesty. I knew you were the real king." Sonic on the other hand, smiled happily before, along with the stunned but very relieved Knights of the Round Table who all smiled, bowed before the teenage king who gazed at the four knights, as the blue hedgehog of Mobius said. "And who better to wield Caliburn than you?"
"Indeed. Through Sonic and by your teachings as well as mine, you are the true king, having made right decisions from the very beginning. I am proud to serve you always, your majesty." Caliburn agreed.
"As am I." Merlina added, bowing as well.
"Everyone...I..." The young blue hedgehog king smiled, feeling like his confidence had returned once more, wiping away his tears and gazed at all of them. "Thank you so much. I could not have done this without any of you."
He then declared with full confidence. "And as your king, I will work hard for our kingdom's brighter future and continue what we all have been doing for the last almost five years. I know future trials will not be easy to accomplish, but I promise that we will do our best, and continue to do the right thing."
"You go, King Arthur!" Sonic praised happily.
"But first, there's another thing I have to do." Arthur continued, turning fully to the hero of Mobius while taking hold of Caliburn in his hand. "Sonic the Hedgehog, you have shown great bravery, courage, determination, strength, speed and compassion for these last few days. The Kingdom owes you many thanks for your heroic accomplishments, saving the lives of many including my own, and while I know you have to go back to your own world and it would be selfish of me to wish for you to stay, but your name will forever be heard and written through our world's generations."
The King smiled proudly as he gently tapped the tip of Caliburn's blade onto Sonic's shoulders, declaring. "From this day fourth, I officially dub you Sir Sonic, Knight of the Wind."
"Thank you, King Arthur. I am proud to have served you by your side, as your knight, and as a friend." Sonic replied with a nod, and was given permission to stand up along with Lancelot, Gawain and Percival. He then admitted sheepishly. "Though when we both merged together into the same body for a little bit, it was kind of weird and I don't think I'll get used to it."
Arthur laughed in agreement. "It was very strange for me too, my friend. But we all joined forces to save the kingdom."
"Indeed." Caliburn agreed, as everyone except for Lancelot who held a small smirk all joined in the laughter.
"Sir Sonic, I know that things are alright now, but it's time for you to return home." Merlina spoke up after the laughter ceased.
"Hmmm...I was kind of hoping to stick around for a bit longer for the party, but Tails must be worried sick by now." Sonic admitted, folding his arms and shrugged with a sad smile forming. "Can't leave my little bro' waiting any much longer."
"Huh? Who's Tails?" Gawain blinked in confusion at the unusual name.
Sonic and Arthur both blinked before sharing a glance and shrugged sheepishly.
"Actually, Sonic. You won't have to worry." Merlina said, confusing the hero of Mobius as she continued. "Time runs the same when our worlds do not interact, but when one or more counterparts arrive in either world, time stands still until they return to their world and even then, the events still occur at the same time. Time travel if you will, yet you yourself would not have aged even by a day."
While the fifteen year old from Mobius was still confused, Sonic then said as he tried to understand. "So, basically, I'll be sent back home through time and space travel to when I first got here and by the time I get back home today, my future-self is already there? Is that how it works?"
"In a way, yes." The young wizard nodded.
"Huh...That makes sense." The blue hedgehog said thoughtfully even though he, and pretty much almost everyone else were still confused by this but they decided to let it slide. He was admittedly sad to leave before the celebration ball, but now that he thought of it, he really did miss his home world and he definitely missed his friends and family. In fact, this reminded him of when he returned home from the world of the Arabian Nights.
"Sir Sonic, I know that we've only known each other for a few days, but I will deeply miss you." Arthur said, smiling in sadness.
"Same here, King Arthur. Don't forget on what I told. I can't thank you or Caliburn enough for helping me out along this adventure." Sonic replied, shaking hands with the king before pulling off his gauntlet and gave it to Arthur. "This is to remember me by, since I won't be needing it anymore."
Arthur nodded, gently taking the Knight of the Wind's gauntlet, but when the cobalt speedster made to take off his necklace, which was now empty and simply cyan blue like a crystal necklace, the king shook his head and stopped him, confusing his counterpart.
"You may keep that necklace, Sonic. To remember us by as well. Think of it as a gift from us all." The King informed him.
Sonic blinked, before smiling and had the necklace remain on his neck, before the two blue hedgehogs surprisingly hugged but they welcomed it since it was the last time they would see each other ever again.
"Is he allowed to do that?" Gawain asked Lancelot and Percival about Sonic hugging the King. The black hedgehog simply scoffed while the purple feline giggled, while Nimue beamed happily and both Caliburn and Merlina smiled warmly yet with sadness.
Once both hero and king departed, Sonic turned his attention to the sacred sword and gave him a gentle hug, whispering. "Take care of yourself and King Arthur, old pal. I'm gonna miss you."
"And I will miss you, Sir Sonic. You are indeed a true knight and I hope that your world will remain in peace." Caliburn replied, finding himself deeply sad that the hero of Mobius was leaving, but it was for the best.
"And you're the best sword in the world. I hope that everything will remain peaceful here too." The cobalt teenager replied back before letting go, and said to everyone else. "I'm really glad that everything's okay now. Thanks for everything, guys."
The Knights of the Round Table nodded as they all shook hands with their new fellow knight, and Sonic bowed his respects to Nimue who gave him a curtsy in return, and then shared a final hug with Merlina as the young wizard thanked him for everything. After a moment of that, they parted ways before nodding.
"Well...I'm ready." Sonic declared.
Merlina nodded, before chanting a spell which opened up a portal above everyone as the blue hedgehog was then lifted off the ground, giving a final look and wave to everyone of Camelot.
"Sayonara, King Arthur." Sonic whispered to the King, waving a goodbye to him and everyone else before being carried up to the portal of light to return home to his time and dimension. Once he was through and vanished, the portal closed up and the sky returned to normal, leaving King Arthur, his knights, new sacred sword, wizard and lady of the lake staring up where their hero of another world had vanished.
"Farewell, Sonic the Hedgehog." King Arthur whispered, sad that his newest knight was gone, but he knew it was for the best.
Now, it was a matter of restoring the Kingdom to it's former glory and continue to work hard for the future, peace and happiness for it's people.
Back in Sonic's World: Immediately after Sonic disappeared...
"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.
Just then, to his great confusion and alarm as something lit up underneath him, the portal suddenly reappeared and, startled and frightened as he had no idea what was going on, the two-tailed fox cried out and backed away, only to hear a familiar scream fill the air which became louder and louder from the portal when Sonic just popped out of it, glowing slightly before returning to normal.
"AH!" The fifteen year old yelped as he flew up slightly, while the portal closed up and he flailed his arms and legs before landing in a short drop onto the ground on his butt which he rubbed as he winced at the unexpected ride and landing. "Omph! Ugh...Ow...Gotta have a bit more warning next time."
"Sonic!?" Tails exclaimed, shocked yet quickly relieved to see his big brother suddenly alright and back, which caught the blue hedgehog's attention as he looked at the younger Mobian in surprise.
"Tails?" Sonic responded, before smiling brightly upon seeing that it was indeed his little brother and not Smithy, happily hugging the young kit who threw himself into his arms as the two hugged, while he did a quick look around and found that to his delight he was back in Swordale Village...
Back in Mobius.
'I'm home...' The hero of Mobius thought happily, and longingly held his best friend/little brother closer to him.
"Sonic! You're okay! How did you get out of there so quickly?" Tails cried, tears falling freely. "I thought you were...!"
"Shhhhh...It's okay, little buddy. I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere." Sonic whispered, gently rubbing the young fox cub's back to calm him down, even thought tears began to slide down his cheeks as well as he was so happy to finally be back home in his world where he belonged. "Oh man...I really missed ya."
"Huh?" The two-tailed fox blinked, wondering what his best friend/big brother meant as he leaned back to look at him. "Whaddya mean? You've only been gone for like maybe a minute or two."
He then noticed something around Sonic's neck and gestured. "And where did you get that necklace?"
At first startled that it was almost like he hadn't been gone at all, the hero of Mobius then realized the meaning of what Merlina said and, given that he had the necklace as evidence to prove his story, he shrugged. "It's a long story. Let's just say, I was sent back in time and space to get back home after a few days of another crazy adventure...in the near future I mean since that's actually just started right now as we speak in another world that needed my help."
"Um...You're going to have to elaborate to that." Tails scratched the top of his head awkwardly.
"I have a full tale to tell ya." Sonic chuckled as he stood up while helping his little brother up as well. "In the meantime, let's go find a restaurant to get a bite to eat. After what I've been through, I'm starving."
Still not certain on what his best friend meant, Tails decided to hear all of it once they would get a bite to eat and agreed.
Ten minutes later...
"So yeah, that's what happened." Sonic finished telling his story as he and Tails sat at a table in a cosy little cottage cafe near a river and a bridge, which reminded him more of a mixture of Lady Nimue's lake and Castletown, having just finished up delicious omlets and toast for lunch and were just finishing dessert of scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream. "To think, I was called in to be part of the tale of King Arthur and actually got to meet him. But I've gotta tell you. It was no picnic."
"I can hardly imagine on what you've been through." The eight year old fox finally responded, after listening to the blue hedgehog's story without interrupting.
"Like what? All the action? All the excitement down to the wire?" The hero of Mobius smirked. "But man who would have thought I was King Arthur's counterpart in that world?"
"I think it's more weird that that world's version of Merlin was the counterpart of Dr. Eggman and turned out to be evil too." Tails remarked, shuddering. "I'll never read up the story of King Arthur again without thinking about that."
Sonic thought about on what his brother said and cringed in realization over that too. "You know what? Me neither. But at least that guy's gone now too."
"In a few days, you mean?"
"That too, but either way, everything's fine. My past-self has things all under control and I get to be with you to catch up on our adventure I missed out without missing those said days. If you know what I mean. I'm just sorry that you couldn't be with me during that journey, Tails."
The eight year old cub shook his head with a smile. "That's okay, Sonic. At least I wouldn't have to be worrying myself sick for the next few days. I'm glad that Merlina sent you back home right after you left."
"Me too, buddy. In fact, I think I deserve a break from all the action for a little while." The fifteen year old hedgehog smiled back, relieved as he placed an arm around his best friend's shoulder. "We still got more of Isalenna to look forward to. Together, you and me."
The two leaned into each other's embrace, before Sonic gazed at his necklace and felt that it was a little unfair that Tails missed out and he didn't get anything. Sure it was a gift from Merlina and King Arthur, but he felt that, like Chip's necklace, it needed a safer place to stay before an idea formed.
"Hey, since you missed out and I don't have any souvenirs to give, I want you to have this." Sonic decided, confusing Tails before removing his necklace and gently placed around the latter's neck. "Here you go."
"Sonic...isn't this yours, though?" Tails asked, surprised.
"Yeah, but I'd feel more comfortable and happier if it was safer with somebody I know they can take good care of and that they deserve it more than I do, and who better than my best buddy and little bro?" The cobalt teenager replied with a shrug. "Besides, I've got memories of that place to keep me going, so I don't need any reminders. My greatest treasures are you, Mom, Dad, Amy, Knuckles, Cream and Cheese, Sun, everybody we know and love and care about so much."
The two-tailed fox stared at his brother before smiling happily and emotionally, more than touched by how much the blue hedgehog loved him.
"Thanks, Sonic. I promise I'll take good care of it. You're my greatest treasure too." Tails replied tearfully.
"Aw, bro...C'mere." Sonic gently pulled his little brother into another emotional hug, gently kissing him on the head. "I love you."
"I love you too." The eight year old whispered back, leaning into the blue hedgehog's embrace. "Welcome home."
"It's great to be back home." The fifteen year old hero replied.
While Sonic's adventures in Camelot was finally over, and he was back in his home world to continue his adventures in Isalenna with Tails, he was looking forward to continue this fun, peaceful journey and whatever other adventures in Mobius that lied ahead in this continent and in the rest of the world.
Sonic's Next Adventure Awaits...
A/N: Sonic's Camelot Adventure arc is finally complete! Now we can move on to whatever adventures Sonic and his friends go up against for the rest of the three-month gap, even though we'll be skipping the "Sonic and the Curse of the Sun Stone" story since that's a separate story itself, and the visit to Planet Wisp is already posted as a bonus chapter in "Sonic and the Power of the Wisps" which is set during the events of this story-mini-series.
Sorry that it took so long to get this finished, but it's been a struggle, especially for the final battle against Merlin. Meantime, please look forward to more mini-adventures of one or two-shot stories of Sonic in Between and also to stay safe and stay home during the world crisis that is happening right now.
See you later!