Chapter 24
When I got back, it was within the final 4 minutes, which made Lancelot and Gawain pretty beat from all the running we did. But we had managed to get to the lake within the one-day time limit, which got the group that was there to look at me with smiles.
"You have shown courage, compassion, courteousness, and strength. And for that, I now declare you are a true knight," Nimue said, me smiling at her and kneeling down to her... but then, Elise pulled something out of her pocket and proceeded to hand it to me. I looked at her in confusion before she then knelt down, and I saw what it was... it was a ring! The aqua ring from Secret Rings!
"Elise?... What's going on?" I asked, her smiling at me.
"I was told everything, Cheryl. And I do not blame you for never telling any of us... I just wanted to thank you for saving me and my kingdom from a convoluted plot," Elise smiled as she then placed the ring over my wrist, me gasping as I felt it. Intense pleasure... and by that, I mean that it was filled with pleasure in the form of love. I felt it for Elise, Blaze, all of my girlfriends... but for Elise the most... and then, after 10 seconds, I sighed at the end and Elise smiled at me.
"So... that means we're engaged?" I asked her. "But... wait... what do you mean you were told everything?"
"I mean that I was told everything by Meryl. Everything that was supposed to happen that you changed," she said, me then gasping as my eyes went wide, which caused Shahra, Gawain, Lancelot, and Sticks to look at me in surprise.
"Wait... you knew everything?" Gawain asked, me sighing at that.
"Y-yes... so did I, but only because I was the only one she told," Maria said with a sigh.
"Well, what do you know, then? Because I want to know what becomes of this kingdom!" Lancelot said, me sighing at that.
"Well, what I can tell you is that this adventure we're in as of current is the one that's been screwed with so much, that literally nothing is the same as it was when I saw it... for example, Lancelot was supposed to be Shadow, Gawain was supposed to be Knuckles, the blacksmith would've been Tails, Nimue would've been Amy, and there would be no Meryl, only Merlina," I said, that making my group from my timeline look at me in surprise.
"Whoa... that much changed?" Shahra gawked.
"Oh, also, the Secret Rings wouldn't be in this world. Only in the book of the Arabian Nights... so. You guys want the truth? The truth is this. Yes, I did know everything that was supposed to happen, but just from me being here, tons of stuff have changed drastically. And most of the instances in this current adventure I didn't even have a hand in changing. The only one I went out of my way to change everything in was our last adventures including Blaze and Elise. I basically skipped over two adventures," I said, that making Sticks sniff me in response.
"You knew everything... what else do you know? Is it because you're a government girl?" she asked, me shaking my head no.
"No, that's not why. It's because, back in my original world, every single adventure we've had thus far has been a series of video games. You know, the devices that go beep beep boop at our place," I said, Sticks gawking at that.
"Really?... Mind blown..." she gawked.
"So... what do we do next, then?" Gawain asked. I then looked at Nimue with a frown.
"Could you explain it, please? I don't want to be used as a fortune teller for the future," I frowned. Nimue simply smiled and nodded.
"The only way to overcome the immortality of Excalibur's scabbard is to surround it with the four Sacred Swords that are used by the 3 Knights of the Round Table and your Caliburn. Once that is accomplished, you can defeat the accursed King Arthur. But beware of Merlina. She is currently holding the most dangerous of the Sacred Rings, the green ring of hatred. It allows her to cast nearly perfect illusions that fool everyone. She's sure to try and find you before you can use those rings to destroy the scabbard," Nimue said, me gawking and nodding. Merlina had the most dangerous of the Sacred Rings? That might make things more difficult.
"Nothing that we can't handle! So, let's get going!" I smirked.
"And this time, I shalt join thee along with Meryl. Her magic should be able to assist me to the next location," said Queen Elsa, me smiling at how her voice had now completely recovered since being resurrected.
"Let us be off then!" Caliburn said, me nodding at that.
"Indeed, let's go and burn some Cals, right?" I smirked.
"What do you... oh, wordplay? Greeeat," Caliburn groaned, that making the other girls snicker.
"You'll get used to it at some point," Tikal smirked at the talking sword, me nodding as we proceeded to run the whole way there, or fly in the form of Gawain, Shahra, Meryl, and Elsa, the latter being because of Meryl's magic. And once we finally got to the molten mines, we sped past the entire area while destroying any demonic monsters that came in our way. But we also had to avoid the lava that was all over the place.
But then, when we finally reached the end of the mines, we saw... a woman in knight armor that was colored blue while her hair was scorching red. She had the red ring of Anger on her neck while holding her Legendary sword in her left hand, not her right. And then, when I heard her voice through the armor?
"So, you've finally arrived, wielder of Caliburn. I've heard of your exploits as of late... it'll be my pleasure to defeat you in battle!" the voice said... and it was then that I realized that this was SALLY ACORN! Or... an ancient ancestor of her in the form of Percival!
"Whoa... ahem... sorry, you just looked very familiar and then your voice made me know one thing," I smirked.
"And what would that be?" Percival asked.
"I have to find a descendent of yours when these lands are rescued, that's what! Sally Acorn's ancestor is Percival. So awesome," I smirked.
"What are you talking about?" Percival asked in annoyance.
"It'd be wise not to ask any questions. You'd just get more confused by her stories," Caliburn said.
"Very well, the talking sword is right. State thy name and thy master!" Percival said with seriousness as the others watched from the sidelines.
"I am Cheryl, Knight of the Rings! I have no master, as I carve my own path!" I said with seriousness.
"Very well, then. Cheryl, Knight of the Rings, I hope you're willing to fight with all your heart and soul. Because I sure will," Percival said as we then proceeded to rush at each other. Percival proceeded to send a deluge of flames at me, which I countered with the aqua ring's ice powers, making a bunch of mist to conceal my presence, me then rushing through to smack my foot against Percival's torso, her flying backwards and then getting back up. We then proceeded to have a sword clash, me being patient and slashing effectively until I saw the opening I needed, me then punching her directly in her chin with an uppercut, causing her helmet to fly off in the process. And... yep. It was Sally Acorn.
"S-So... this is the strength of the chosen one... of Caliburn..." she gulped as she backed up... and then I gasped as I saw that she had lost her balance and started to fall!
"PERCIVAL!" I shouted as I jumped down the same cliff, using the powers of the Ring of Water to make the lava completely made of rock underneath us, me then grabbing hold of Percival's hand and then forcing ice to form beneath my feet. We then found ourselves back on solid ground, the group in front of us being surprised. "Whew... you're lucky I had these rings on me, Percival. Otherwise, your acorns would've been fried," I said, her blushing at me, which made me smile.
"I... am grateful to thee... clearly, it was incorrect of the king to say thou were to be killed. To rescue me, who wanted to kill you, and to do so without any haste... I am indebted to thee, Lady Cheryl, Knightess of the Rings," Percival said as she knelt to me, me smirking at her.
"Save the hugs and kisses for later?" Caliburn asked, me then looking at the talking sword and frowning at him.
"Would you stop with the buzz kills? We now have almost all the 7 Rings and we have all 4 Sacred Swords. We can finally defeat the corrupted king and drive Merlina out of hiding," I said with seriousness.
"Hmph. Indeed. And you have mastered the art of chivalry. I find you completely worthy of wielding me, Lady Cheryl," he said with a smile, me rolling my eyes.
"He completely changed attitude like night and day. What's up with that sword?" Sticks asked in confusion.
"Agreed!" Keese said with a mischievous smirk.
"Then if we're done with discussions of the oddball kind, we must make haste to Avalon. There is where King Arthur resides. We must destroy the powers of Excalibur before slaying him. And then, after that, we find out where Merlina is hiding and revoke her green ring of hatred," Meryl said, me nodding at her as we then proceeded to rush our way out, but not before Percival gave me the ring around her neck.
"Here, I feel that only you could use these effectively. But be careful and be ready to experience a lot of anger," she said, me nodding at her as I grasped the red ring. And when I did, I gasped as I felt it. All the anger for everyone I'd had issues with in the past. All the bullies in my school, all the teachers who ignored me and favored the bullies, even the squabbles I had with my own family when I was younger. And then, after all of that, I gasped as 10 seconds finished and I felt a little drained afterwards.
"Oogh... that one was the toughest one yet... all the anger from all the bullies and all the issues I had in my past... it leaves ya drained, y'know?" I said, Percival nodding.
"I had the same issues when I first grabbed that ring. But now that you are attuned with it, you can effectively use the power within that ring. You can now control the entirety of light itself, whether it be fire, sunlight, or any kind of light-producing object. It should really help out when finding Merlina, as her illusions from the Green Ring are broken when exposed to bright light," Percival explained, me then deciding to test it out.
"Just because I'm unsure if she's already started tricking us, I'm going to do it now," I said, before then emitting a bright flash of light, almost like a camera flash, caused by the sun above us! All of my allies were surprised by the light excursion... but I smirked at how none of them were Merlina, not even Meryl.
"Ow, my eyes... dammit, how about more of a warning next time?" Blaze asked, me smirking... before I saw something near Elise. I saw that, hiding behind a rock close to her, was the wizardess that had the green ring! And she looked like she was about to issue a spell at Elise!
"DUCK AND COVER, ELISE!" I shouted, her then diving immediately... and just in time, too! Merlina sent forth a blast from her scepter to try and hit Elise, me then rushing in and protecting the next in the line of fire, that being Meryl from the blast with a mirror shield made of pure ice! I managed to blast it directly back to sender, the wizard girl gasping at me doing this and me seeing something shocking happen. Her entire body, minus clothes and scepter, had shrunk down to be roughly a foot tall! I then approached her shrunken form and she looked like she was frozen to the spot in fear. And not only that, but the green ring was sitting there, right next to her.
"Hehe, looks like someone just got their comeuppance," I smirked as I then picked up Merlina's naked form and she then tried to frantically kick and shout in retort.
"L-Let me go, foul wench! I demand you release me right now!" she said, me smirking at her.
"And why would I do that? You were about to shrink my fiancé, so why would I listen to anything you have to say?" I asked her.
"I was meaning to aim at you, but then you blew my cover," she said, me frowning at her. "Please... let me down? Make me normal sized again?... Please?..."
"You want normal sized again? How about instead, you stay like this until we can make sure Excalibur won't hurt anyone anymore? You and your grandfather have already done enough to this kingdom, ruining it with your twisted ideology of making everything live forever," Meryl said to her in anger, that making Merlina fuss and try to fight my grip even more, but she was too light to do anything.
"Let me talk to her. You guys go off for now. I can handle her on my own," I said, them looking at me and then around us... we were still in the volcano in the mines. "Fine, fair point, let's just get to walking towards Avalon. And you? You're coming with us," I said, storing her inside of my shirt, her trying to already fight back, but the only thing she was able to do was scratch and bite, but even then, it didn't do much to me. "Now for the main thing to do... one final test. The green ring of hatred... be still my aching vagina," I groaned as I then touched the green ring... and afterwards? I felt it. Like getting hit in the nards with all the hate I had in my body coming at me at once! I felt the hatred for Commander X, all the bastards in my own world, including the people in charge of certain countries, and the fact that they had a hand in making the world completely start over! This time, when the 10 seconds were up, I felt like I was almost ready to pass out. Sure, I'd managed to survive the final and most dangerous of the 7 Rings by far, but I was completely trounced in terms of energy.
"Cheryl! Are you okay?! Please tell me you're okay!" Blaze said with concern as she rushed to me and I simply groaned.
"Power levels low... need... recharge..." I groaned. I then felt Merlina get out of my shirt... and before she could escape, she was grabbed by Elise, who then simply stuck her in her own dress.
"Oh come on!" she exclaimed in annoyance. But I could barely see anything from me feeling like I had to sleep. Like, right now.
"Speak to me, hot babe! How many fingers?" Sticks asked as she held her hands in front of my face... but for the life of me, I couldn't see straight to save my life. You know when you get those kaleidoscopes? Imagine using one when you were wasted on beer.
"I see... 233... and that's only for one hand... hehe... ugh..." I groaned, feeling ready to just lie down and fall asleep.
""Don't you dare fall asleep on us now, Cheryl! If you pass out when under the Green Ring's effects, you can't wake up ever again!" Meryl shouted... and when I heard that? I then felt a bit of adrenaline... I powered through the pain and the urge to give up, managing to push myself off the dirt and for me to use Caliburn as a crutch in order to stand up, even though my knees wobbled like I were recovering from Polio.
"Oh... my god... t-that ring... it has got a kick to it... if you hadn't s-said anything... I'd... ugh... I'd be dead as... as a dead mouse..." I groaned.
"You're not even trying to be clever with your dumb jokes. That green ring must've been one that you could barely beat! You're sure you're okay to keep going to Avalon?" Maria asked in concern, me smirking at her.
"I-I'm fine... but it looks like I'm going to need a bit of recovery time before we take the fight to Arthur.,.. so we'll need a plan... especially with Merlina as our captive..." I groaned, Elise frowning at the scuffling of the miniature sorceress.
"Can someone please do something? Like, smack her?" Elise asked, Sticks coming over and giving a half-hearted smack onto the bulge in Elise's dress, which was more than enough for me to hear the wind leave Merlina's body.
"Thank you... now what are we going to do?" Elise asked.
"Guhuh... first, we need to get me back on my own two feet. But while I do that, we'll need to form a small distraction to keep King Arthur busy, as I'm sure he's using this spare time to summon more demons to add to his armies... Maria, Meryl, Shahra, Gawain, and Keese will go out and attack... any forces they can for the next few hours... Percival, Sticks, Lancelot, Elsa,... Blaze, and Elise, your job is to keep watch over myself and Merlina. Make sure she doesn't escape and make sure I don't kick the bucket... h-how long does the effect of sleeping forever last?" I asked in annoyance at how drained I felt.
"You have to go a full 5 hours before the effects of sleeping death can be avoided. And it's already been... 5 minutes," Meryl said.
"Oh joy... this is going to be the biggest test of your life, Knightess," Caliburn said, me frowning at him.
"For once, I'm in agreement with Caliburn... this is going to be the cruelest and most agitating 5 hours in my entire life... let the pains begin, I guess..." I groaned, needing to walk like an old woman before I was given a bit more adrenaline thanks to Shahra's magic.
"I cannot stop the effects of the Seven World Rings, but I can give a small boost if you need it," she smiled at me.
"Thanks... I need it big time," I chuckled half-heartedly as we then proceeded back towards the northeast. We had 5 hours, and I had to fight the urge to give up and lie down. Otherwise, I'd be the Sleeping Beauty of this tale and I'd never wake up again, even by true love's kiss.