Chapter 25
After nearly the three hour mark had passed us by, I then decided to use my somewhat-recovered status to talk to Merlina, as she was our captive right now and we'd left her magic staff and robe back in the volcano, very far away from us as of our current base of operations, Nimue's lake... AKA, Maria's mother's lake.
"Tell me something, Merlina. Why would you put the kingdom through all this pain and misery? What's your goal in making people suffer?" I asked, her frowning at me.
"That was not my plan. My plan was to make this kingdom eternal! So that nothing would know the pain of loss ever again! I... I just miss grandfather so much..." she said, me frowning at her. Sure, she was being truthful, but I had a feeling there was more to it than that.
"Your grandfather was the one that cursed Excalibur's scabbard, right? So why would you want to rule the world by making everything eternal when that'd most likely cause devastation? What aren't you telling me?" I asked, her frowning at me.
"I'm telling you the full truth," she said... dishonestly.
"You do know that these 7 rings grant me a bunch of abilities, right? And that the aqua ring allows me to see your lies, right? So tell me the truth. Who, what, or why do you want to make the world eternal for?" I said, her giving me a glare.
"Why does it matter anymore? You've already won. You've obtained all the 7 World Rings and will definitely undo the powers of Excalibur's scabbard... and when that happens, then the world will never know peace of mind... everything will continue to wither and die, just like my husba-" she was about to say in anger, before halting herself. And it was then that I realized what her deal was. Husba? As in, Husband?
"You're doing all of this... just to revive your dead husband?" I asked, her sighing and nodding at me through tears. "You do realize that I can revive him with the purple ring, right?" I asked, her frowning at me.
"No, it won't work. It only works for those who are fully human or fully Mobian. I and my husband were both half of both, despite our appearances looking more humanoid," she said, me frowning at her. She was, once again, being honest.
"Even then, I do know someone who might be able to let you get some clarity at the very least. Shahra could probably call his spirit back, even if it's just for a short time. Maybe he can talk some sense into you," I said, her frowning at me.
"You lie. Nobody can revive a crossbreed," she said.
"No, no, she's honest," said the voice of none other than Shahra, who appeared right in front of us and me being surprised at her... but also needing to stretch my back again because I needed to do so to prevent myself from falling over and sleeping. Pain from overstretching or pinching made it harder to fall asleep for me. "I am able to revive the dead, but I can only do so for 5 minutes at a time. Once those 5 minutes expire, I need to recharge for a good two days before doing so again," Shahra said, Merlina frowning at her.
"Then do so, if you claim you can," Merlina frowned.
"I can only do so if someone wishes for it. Such is the price of being a genie, even if I am free from my shackles," Shahra smiled at her.
"Fine. I wish you could somehow bring my husband, Medraut, back to life," she said with a sarcastic attitude. Shahra then waved her hands... and I smirked as Merlina's dead husband soon appeared. Though he was partly see-through, I could tell that the granddaughter of Merlin looked at him in shock.
"O-Oh my god... i-it can't be..." Merlina gawked, Medraut looking at her with a kind smile.
"Hello, my darling Merlove," he said, me smirking at that as Merlina then cried and went to hug him, me not being surprised that she could do so. She was magical, after all.
"It's true... they can bring the dead to life..." Merlina said with a tears in her eyes.
"For a brief 5 minutes, keep in mind," Caliburn frowned.
"Right, I need to say what I need to and it has to be quick," Medraut said, Merlina looking at him with sadness. "I know what ails your heart, Merlove... I do not shame it, nor do I disagree with it... but it cannot be done without hurting many lives in the process," Medraut said.
"B-But... I don't want anyone to go through this pain again... the pain of losing those close to you... I just want everyone to be happy! I want to correct grandfather's mistake and make the kingdom prosper!" Merlina said, her being visibly upset.
"You must understand, Merlina, that it would bring great catastrophe across the land... the living has to stay among the living and the dead have to stay with the dead. If they were to intertwine and everyone were to become immortal, the world wouldn't handle the spell that would cast it. Would you really want to make everyone immortal if it meant that the world died a slow and painful death?" Medraut asked.
"I... W-What would happen?" Merlina asked.
"The trees would perish, the waters run dry, and all the earth would tremble in pain. And that's just for the casting of the spell. The rest of the planet would follow suit, not even lasting for a century before collapsing in on itself. Because the only spell that could make everyone immortal would take all of that power away from the core of the planet itself. And when the planet's core runs out of power, the planet will come apart. And every immortal person would cease to be, having no planet to live on or draw power from," Medraut explained, me needing to keep myself awake via splashing some of the lake water on my face, as it was very cold.
"I... I never knew... I... I'm sorry... I just... I don't want to see you go again..." Merlina said with sorrow on her face.
"I know, Merlove... I don't want to go either... but unfortunately, I only have a minute left until I have to return to the afterlife..." Medraut said with a sad look on his face.
"Please let me know one thing... is it nice on the other side?"
"Extremely so. It's a plane of existence where all spirits for all things go to when they die. We can even come back to the earth to see loved ones, just invisible to the world," Medraut smiled. Well, I guess it was different than what I learned in bible school.
"So... all this time... you've been watching me?" Merlina asked.
"Any time you've ever felt a draft indoors or have felt a sudden gust of wind, I've been there," he smiled. Merlina cried a bit more and fell onto her hands and knees.
"I feel like a fool... it's bad enough that I'm a foot tall... but knowing you've been watching me do these things... I feel so ashamed..." she said... and Shahra then simply waved her hands around and surprised all of us when Merlina gained her height back to normal, while also giving her a new outfit to cover herself with. And even though she did notice her height return, she was still coated in tears.
"Merlina," Medraut said, holding his fingers under Merlina's chin. "You don't need to feel ashamed. Just look forward to seeing me again... it will take a long while, but one day, we'll be reunited in the sky. Never forget that... and never forget that I'm always with you in spirit," Medraut said as I saw his form start to leave us.
"I... I will, Medraut... I'll never forget..." she said, me smiling as they then shared one final kiss on the lips before the husband returned to the afterlife. Shahra then took a knee and started to pant a bit, me feeling a bit more awake after that exchange, but still drained.
"So... uh... full disclosure here... you promise that you're not going to use the scabbard for your plan, right?" I asked, Merlina frowning at me and sending water at my face.
"I feel the need to say this, that was just as much a buzz kill as my statements," Caliburn pointed out.
"I agree with the talking sword," Sticks frowned.
"But it is a question that does need answered. And I also have a question. What will become of our king when the scabbard is destroyed?" Percival asked with seriousness.
"Here is my answer to both. I do not plan on using the scabbard. And the only way for it to be destroyed is with a powerful force that embodies courage, wisdom, and power... and as for King Arthur, I'm afraid even I do not know where the real one is at... but that monster... that beast that holds the scabbard of Excalibur... he is not King Arthur," Merlina said, that making Elsa gasp.
"M-My beloved king... where's my real husband, then?" Elsa asked in seriousness.
"He went into hiding ever since the betrayal of Merlin, who created the illusion of King Arthur based off his own soul, filled with evil and malice... all I can say is that the true King Arthur is somewhere in this world, awaiting the day when the curse has been lifted from that accursed scabbard before he can reign again," Merlina said.
"And uh... I'm just asking out of curiosity, what does he look like?" I asked.
"He's a Mobian hedgehog colored a deep blue, with just a slight trace of human left inside of him. I should know, as we had some children together... before all this stuff happened," Elsa said with a sigh.
"Peh, Sonic..." Elise frowned, me looking at her in confusion.
"What's up, Elise?" I asked her.
"That description makes me think of Sonic. I absolutely detest him to no end... to think that, in another timeline, I'd be kissing his corpse to bring him back to life," she said, me smiling at that. At least she wasn't afraid of being blunt and serious.
"What is she talking about?" Merlina asked.
"Something from a timeline thousands of years ahead of this one. Meryl brought my group of girls here from the future to assist the dark times we're in," I explained.
"She's such a good girl, isn't she? I trained her myself, under the queen's tutelage," Merlina asked, me smiling at her. Truthful.
"And yet she was the first to stand against your plans," Blaze smirked smugly.
"Don't remind me... I just want to start over... but I don't know what I could do in this world without my husband around... what do you suggest I do, Cheryl?" she asked, me looking at her in confusion.
"Uh... I don't know. Ask the others," I said, her then looking at Blaze and her smirking.
"Well, you could run away with us to our timeline in the future. We could give you a home to live at and we could have some f-" Blaze was about to say before I hushed her.
"Never mind, I should've stayed quiet," I groaned.
"Oh, I see what it is. You like girls," Merlina said, me sighing, blushing, and giving a thumbs-up. "Well... if you say you can assist me in getting away from the cavalry that will inevitably chase me for association with Merlin... I can stay with you. But I will let you know if I'm interested on my terms, not anyone else's," she said, me smirking at her.
"Just so we're clear, I never force anyone into it. That's deplorable and despicable... I'd rather be the one to wait for the other girl to make the move," I smiled.
"And that's why I like you," Blaze smiled at me. "You care for everyone while also being very courteous to even enemies. If it were me in your shoes, I would've made Merlina burst into flames for daring to fool us. I can learn a lot from you in how to speak to and talk to others," Blaze smiled, me smirking at her.
"Are we done with the mushy stuff? I'm getting itchy for a fight!" Lancelot groaned.
"At ease, Lancelot. We have to wait for the 5 hours to conclude. How much more time do we have, Knightess Cheryl?" Percival asked. I then looked at my watch and saw that we still had one more hour.
"63 minutes and 20 seconds... Shahra? I wish we had a deck of cards to play go fish with," I said, her smirking and poofing up the entire deck of playing cards minus joker and rules card. "Anyone know how to play go fish?" I asked.
"Art thou being serious? T'is a favorite pastime in the royal house," Elsa smirked.
"Then let's have a few rounds. It'll keep my brain working," I said with a grin. I was a great player with a great memory, so I felt I would trounce these chumps.
It took a lot, but I managed to finish the 5 full hours just in time for the others to return. And the others were surprised at how Merlina was simply sitting down, which Meryl looked at me in confusion at.
"Why isn't Merlina detained as of current?... And normal size?" Meryl asked in confusion.
"Well... we've reached a bit of a compromise, so to say," I said, still feeling a bit cruddy, but much better since first gaining the green ring's strengths. "She only wanted to make the kingdom eternal because she wanted to make sure no one felt the same pain she felt when her husband died because of Merlin's trickery. But with some help from Shahra, she got some levity and said she'd rather live in my timeline when we're done with taking care of the demonic King Arthur," I said with a small smile.
"Sounds bogus, but I don't care," Gawain frowned at us.
"So are we ready to go to Avalon? To defeat the demonic king?" Maria asked, me smirking at that.
"Yes, I'm ready. I still feel a bit tired, but I can still fight," I smirked as we then proceeded on foot to the area in question. Of course, the cursed king had to raise the drawbridges, so we had to rely on other tactics, me using the powers of the green ring and seeing that any illusion that I cast was able to be walked on without issue! I was just like Infinitely Wasted Potential, only with tons of potential!
"This is so cool! We're walking on a fake illusion!" Gawain gawked before giggling when walking over it. So what was the illusion? A rainbow bridge that led us around the drawbridge to the side of the castle in the center.
"The power of the Green World Ring is not to be trifled with. The only thing that could rival it is something called the Phantom Ruby, but even then, it's just mere folklore that nobody has ever found," Merlina said, me frowning at that. So that definitely meant that Sonic Forces would happen, as much as I hated it. But I didn't say anything, as we had already gotten into the castle and I then made my presence known by shouting a word that the cursed king would probably never know.
"Alomamola!" I shouted, that making my group confused.
"What the hell kind of word is that?" Lancelot asked.
"Probably something only she knows about," Meryl smirked. And it was then that me shouting that word out loud managed to make the king of darkness appear on his demonic steed, me smirking at him.
"Hello, demonic scabbard. Would you like to witness the power of the Knight of the Rings?" I asked, Arthur looking at me with sternness in his blank face.
"You forget that you are a fool of a knight. You can't hope to compare to the immortality of this scabbard," he said as I then proceeded to focus... I focused very hard on all 7 of the rings... hatred, sorrow, suffering, joy, anger, pleasure, and dreams. All of them flowed through me as I then became calm, yet powerful. Like the calm before the storm in a way. And I then saw that the scabbard looked to be quivering in the grasp of Arthur.
"Now let's fight," I said with seriousness as I then rushed forward and sliced Caliburn through his entire torso! I'd managed to completely slice the foul, cursed King Arthur in half! And not only him, but I'd also managed to slash through the scabbard of Excalibur whilst doing so! And I saw that the darkened avatar then disappeared into nothingness... but the scabbard? It had other plans.
"I... SHALL... NOT... DIE!" the scabbard shouted in a completely demonic voice as I saw that it had manifested itself into a giant demon of darkness! And it looked at my friends, which I then protected with some of my strength. He tried to attack them with hordes of foul minions, but they disintegrated into dust if they so much as got within 6 feet of them! "WHAT?!" he shouted in shock before I then jumped up and plunged the sacred sword of Caliburn into his torso, the sacred sword of Arondight into his arm, the sacred swords of Galatine into both of his knees, and then I slashed the Sacred Sword of Laevatein into his other arm, which I could tell was making him suffer greatly!
"AAAUUUUGHHH! I CANNOT DIE! I AM IMMORTAL!" the monster shrieked before I felt tons of power completely overcome Caliburn as he then underwent the transformation. He had become the fabled sword of Excalibur! I then dislodged him from his current position before then slashing the giant monster all over the place with lightning-fast reflexes! And when the dust settled, the day had been won. The scabbard of Excalibur had completely lost all of its darkness and it had been drained of all power.
"That... was... incredible..." Percival gawked when she saw me as I then simply calmed myself and ejected the 7 World Rings from my body, them staying on me as I then simply had them go around my body in different areas. I put one on each limb as a wristband/anklet before then placing the other 3 firmly on my hands, with the one that Elise gave me being on my right ring hand.
"Thou art truly the greatest knight mine eyes hath seen... but where could my real King Arthur be?" Elsa asked, me then sensing it. Out of bloody nowhere, I felt the breeze get filled with the strength of the wind. And it was coming from the north.
"I think I can sense him. He'll probably be here in less than a second after I finish my sentence," I said... and just as I said, he had arrived in roughly half a second after, me seeing that he looked like the Beta movie version of Sonic, only with less uncanny-valley look to him. He had the Mobian traits of the big eyes and the cartoony mouth, but the rest of him was shaped like a normal human, only with Hedgehog traits.
"Um... wow..." Blaze gawked when seeing him.
"I take back what I said about Sonic before," Elise admitted as I saw that the real King Arthur looked at me and Caliburn with a smile.
"I thanketh thee greatly for rescuing mine kingdom from the threat of Merlin's curse, fair knightess... please, I must asketh thy name," he said, me smiling at how he had a voice of Ye Olde English as well.
"Cheryl, Knight of the Rings," I smirked at him. "And before you ask, I do not wish to be a Round Table Knight. This place is not my home," I said, him nodding at me.
"Such modesty for such a strong knightess... and I also thank thee for reviving my beloved wife... I knew thou were the chosen one when I saw you doest so," he said, me being surprised at his words.
"You saw me revive Queen Elsa? How?" I asked.
"I am attuned with the wind all across these lands. Even whilst in hiding among the citizenry, I could see every action thou hast done to save my kingdom," he said, me looking surprised at his words. "But never fear. Both Elsa and myself shalt keep the secret of thine origins even after death," he said, me sighing in relief at that.
"Thanks, I was worried there for a sec... so, Meryl? You want to send my group back to the future? Along with Merlina?" I asked, her nodding at me.
"Yes, I can. I promise that we'll meet again in the future for your birthday," she said, me smirking at that before then doing the summoning spell in the intro in reverse, me smirking at how the surroundings for me got coated in a bright light... and then, almost by magic, I was back in my room along with my girlfriends... and Merlina, who looked around the room in confusion.
"This place... looks so bizarre to me..." she admitted. I couldn't say I blamed her, since we were in the current castle of Soleanna, in Elise's master bedroom. But then, when she looked outside the window, she gawked when she saw the lake and the castle town. "W-We're still in Avalon?... But in the future?... This... this is incredible! Look how much has changed! And how clean everything looks!" she gawked, me smirking at that last bit.
How about we talk about the next part of the duties to do, at least until the Eggman situation becomes prevelant again?" I asked, the other girls looking at me with smiles.
"Mass wedding ceremony?" Sticks smirked widely.
"I want to be granted a wish from Shahra when that happens, if possible," Maria said, me smirking at that.
"What wish would that be, for future reference?" Shahra asked with a smirk. She was still drained of magic from the revival wish she did with Merlina's husband.
"To be able to have children, but still be a robot," she said, Shahra smirked at the wish.
"I believe that would be within my power range," she said happily.
"Then let's start the plans, get some dresses bought, a bunch of caterers, and we'll also invite all of our friends to join in, too," Elise smiled.
"And maybe we could get our fellow female friends to be the maids of honor?" I smirked, them smiling at that notion.
"Definitely bring Cosmo into the conversation, then. She'll probably also want to get married, since she was away on a small GUN mission when we were warped away," Blaze said with a small smile.
"Of course," I smirked. Boy would the alien girl be in for the shock of the century when we told her we were all marrying each other.
"Would you like me to be a maid of honor as well?" Merlina asked with a small, shy smile.
"You could be my maid of honor if you wanted. After all, since you used to serve the royal family, and I am a part of that same family, I'd be proud to have you be my MOH," she smirked, Merlina smiling at that.
"Thanks... Princess Elise, was it?" she asked, me nodding at her.
"Soon to be Queen Elise, though, right?" I smiled at her.
"Yes, but I'll always be your princess, girls," she smirked, me giggling at that.