Chapter Text
Sonic rides Lancelot long into the night.
Well, partly. Halfway through their intimate session together, Sonic’s legs tire out, so Lancelot has to hold him for the rest of their flight through Camelot.
The icy wind stings the tip of his dark nose and the insides of his ears. It’s so cold for this time of the year, and the flapping of Lancelot’s wings brings with it wind so frigid, it burns. From up so high, though, Sonic’s able to bask in his kingdom properly, nestled up against his man.
Lancelot travels ten times faster than any horse or car back home. His wings are so powerful and his arms are so strong—why Arthur never bothered to acknowledge this side of his friend astounds Sonic. He holds a power in his draconic form that Sonic has never seen before. He’s seen Lancelot fight and has held him in his arms for hours now—while Sonic was recovering, they did little else. He’s lean and an inch shorter than Sonic, but like this, as his true self, he’s unmatched perfection, a one-of-a-kind speciality. He shines up here in the silver clouds, coasting for miles while carrying his king. While the ends of his kingdom were a sight to behold, Sonic much prefers this view.
Lancelot smiles knowingly. “I can feel you staring at me.”
“Am I not allowed to, as your king? You let me stare quite a bit when I was sleeping.”
“I was trying to sleep. You were incessant on doing…other things.”
“Come on. If this’s our last stand together, I’d like to at least enjoy the view.”
“This won’t be our last stand. We shall persevere.”
“Oh, yes, we shall.” With Lancelot’s arms occupied, Sonic takes his chance to leave improper kisses down the length of his muzzle.
He knows that they’ll win—he’s never failed at anything before, not entirely. But the chance that it might happen, that their rematch with Black Doom might somehow follow in Arthur’s footsteps, that lingers. Because it’s not just himself that he has to worry about, but his new friends, his new lover. He’s never faced off with Black Doom before, and given that new horde of Black Arms they faced a few days prior, Sonic suspects that today might really do them in for good.
But he can’t admit that, and kissing your loved one is one hell of a good distraction.
“My king, you are distracting the one person who’s holding you a thousand feet in the air. I do not wish to go down as the redeemed dragon hybrid who let the King of Camelot fall to his death.”
Sonic chuckles. “You’re right. I’d rather you be known in the history books for making me fall in a different way.”
Lancelot rolls his eyes but can’t keep the smile off his face. “You are so irritating.”
“Don’t you mean ‘venturesome’?
“Ridiculous.”
“You know you love it.”
A strong wind blows through the mountains and forces Lancelot east. They soar high above the mountains now, the forest a dark blanket beneath them.
“Are we close?” Sonic asks.
“Yes.” Lancelot tightens his grip on Sonic and begins his descent towards an unambiguous mounting crest. Sonic can hardly tell the summits apart from up so high, but as Lancelot orbits the crests, he spots it.
Glimmering jewels encrust the cave entrance like a sugar rimming a glass of hard liquor. They refract every color imaginable against the shine of the Moon, sprinkling prisms of rainbows across the nearby rocks. Sonic squeaks out a surprise laugh, not expecting the evil lair of Black Doom to be so colorful. Lancelot scowls as he lands them deep inside the mouth.
Their footsteps echo into an endless darkness. Pointed stalactites grow from the ceiling. Pools of crystal water shine amongst hundreds of tiny crystals. Sonic almost makes it to one before Lancelot gently guides him back to his side. His knight then pulls off his visor and scans the impenetrable darkness.
A pop of magic startles Sonic airborne. He reaches for Excalibur, then immediately sheathes it once he sees who just arrived.
Lady Nimue, Princess Percival, Sir Galahad, and Sir Gawain magically materialize into the cave. The floating fairies who helped guide them here flutter around Lady Nimue’s head, kissing her cheeks as they disappear. Lady Nimue smiles as she lets one dance over her knuckles before they scatter into the early morning wind.
“Made it in one piece?” Sonic asks.
“Yes,” Lady Nimue says. Though she’d warned Sonic that using such strong magic to travel a handful of people across the continent would wither her spirits, she seems spirited. She takes in the crystals as her free hand reaches behind her.
Princess Percival takes it in good faith. Her thumb grazes a silver ring on the hedgehog’s pinkie, enjoying her love for one quiet moment.
“So, are we ready?” Sonic cranes his neck towards the darkness.
“Uh, where’re the Black arms?” Galahad asks, peeking behind Percival. “Not that I wish for them.”
“They sure greeted us when we were no more than halfway up this mountain,” Gawain grumbles. “Now we’re here with no troops but ourselves, and there’s nothing. Do you think they can tell we’re here?”
“They do,” Percival says. “You can hear them underneath us. It’s faint, but they’re definitely there.”
“Then why aren’t they attacking, Princess?” Galahad asks. “We have six people today as opposed to hundreds. Surely we’re an easier target.”
“Maybe there is a reason,” Gawain mutters. “If we’re to finally talk about it now.”
“Gawain,” Percival hisses.
“If we’re to talk about it now, Princess, then let us discuss it before—”
A droplet of water reverberates in a pool deep into the cave. They all turn, silent as the stones.
Lancelot watches Gawain steadily. With his visor raised, Sonic can tell that his third eye conveys most of his emotions. It squints down at Galahad, twitching in irritation.
“W-why don’t we have the numbers we had a few days ago?” Galahad whispers, fiddling with his bow. “This doesn’t seem wise.”
“I can’t concentrate on the fight when there’re so many variables,” Sonic says. “I don’t know all of their fighting strategies and can’t focus on keeping them alive against a dragon horde. Besides, I have you knights who I can trust and defend with my life, my Knights of the Round Table. And I know all of you can say the same about each other, yes?”
Sir Gawain and Lancelot suddenly find interest in the crystals around them.
“Am I right?” he repeats. “Before we go in for this fight against our lives, answer me.”
“I-I can,” Galahad says. “I mean, I hope I can. I think I can.”
“And I can say the same,” Princess Percival says. “Even though the king I’ve come to know is entirely a different person, one who often vexes me, and surprises me, he is someone I can trust.”
“I concur,” Lady Nimue says. “How great it felt when my magic grabbed hold of you all those months ago. I thought you might’ve despised me for what I’d done, but it turns out, King Sonic, that I might’ve made the best choice for all of us.”
Lancelot’s hand tickles the free skin between Sonic’s armor and his glove, the sensitive bit where his skin and fur were thinnest. “I will dedicate the rest of my life to you, My King Sonic.”
“That has the nicest ring to it,” Sonic agrees. “Don’t you think, Sir Gawain?”
Said knight keeps his head down, unable to lie to his king’s face.
Sonic softens his tone, just a bit. “Gawain, just like how I’m not Arthur, Lancelot is not Black Doom. He was a boy when Black Doom struck Camelot Castle. You were both boys. That attack was not the fault of either of you. We cannot change the past, and we can hold our feelings and regrets for what we’ve done in that past close to our hearts, but we must move past this unbridled hatred, or else it will eat us alive. Gawain, why are you really so upset with Lancelot? Because he has connections to Black Doom? He cannot help that. And Lancelot, you fear what Gawain says, but you’re strong enough to stand on your own without his petty insults.”
He steps out in front of his friends and places his gauntlet hand in the center. “Can you all promise me something? One small request from your king.”
Lady Nimue places her hand first, followed by Lancelot, when he manages to find a way to keep holding Sonic’s hand. Then Percival, then Galahad, and soon, Gawain, his crooked tail tucked low.
“If we end up surviving this fight and going back to our respective homes, can we all promise to see each other for who we truly are? Without any armor, or walls, or facades? Just be ourselves, as friends? I know you were all friends once, but because of one matter or another that has no real bearing on today, can we please start over anew after today?”
“My King Sonic,” Princess Percival says, which makes Sonic comically frown from how it sounds coming from her, “You’re a credit to your position as King of Camelot, but I cannot possibly start over from what I started with my esteemed Knights of the Round Table.”
Smiling bashfully, Percival keels over and rubs her head against Lady Nimue’s. “I cannot give her up that easily.”
“Percy,” Lady Nimue says in a blush, but she doesn’t stop the princess from displaying her affection.
Sir Gawain flexes his thick fingers above everyone else’s. “I…I apologize for my dishonesty, Your Majesty. I’ve pledged myself to you, but I feel like…like I’ve failed you. I do hold hatred and…bitterness for many things, but…”
He lifts up his visor, revealing a pained expression built up over the years. “I hate myself the most, for that day I couldn’t save the people I pledged my loyalty to. And I took that anger out on…on you, Sir Lancelot. And that wasn’t right of me. I apologize.”
Lancelot bows his head once. “I understand. I wish I could’ve stopped him that day, too. But King Sonic is right. We must put the past behind us now and head forth into a new dawn.”
“Or a new afternoon,” Sonic says, and looks out to the continent. The red Sun peeks over the distant hills, signaling the start of their short window of opportunity. “Now, are we ready?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” they say in unison, and with that, Sonic and his Knights of the Round Table turn and walk into the crystal cave’s maw.
── ⋅ ⁺‧₊˚ ༓ ⋆ ♛ ⋆ ༓ ˚₊‧⁺ ⋅ ──
“No, but seriously—why aren’t they attacking us?”
Their steps and shadows bounce off the jagged walls of the cave. Sir Gawain holds out a lantern for ample light, and Percival and Lady Nimue provide flickering flames stemming from their magical hands. Lancelot leads just in front of Sonic, their hands close enough to touch. Sonic would’ve continued holding Lancelot’s hand if not for the threat of danger lurking beneath their feet.
He can tell creatures are watching them. The cave is too quiet, the sense of danger dripping down his back quills. Percival’s sixth sense about the Black Arms proves true as they walk deeper into the caves—not even a bat crosses their paths.
“They can sense Lancelot’s new form,” Gawain says. “They know they can’t attack us.”
“You’re kinda like a prince to them, aren’t you?” Galahad asks. “That’s so cool, Sir Lancelot.”
“A prince, huh?” Sonic muses. Ideas on how he could play with that word flood his mind.
“I don’t consider myself of noble birth,” Lancelot says. “I’m just one of his many spawn.”
Sonic sighs, feigning a swoon. “A draconic prince. A king and a foreign prince courting one another. How improper.”
Lancelot doubletakes Sonic. “That is not—we are not—”
“Wait, the two of you are courting?” Galahad asks. “I didn’t know you made it official, Your Majesty. Congratulations!”
“E-enough.” Sir Lancelot walks farther ahead, hands pumping at his sides, tail swishing. “No more talk of this. Surely the horde will hear us.”
“Do you not want to be courted?” Sonic teases. From his recollection, courting just meant dating, and he figures their relationship more than suited the word.
“I cannot court you, King Sonic,” Lancelot says. “Our statuses don’t align like that. You…you would have to court me, if you so chose.”
“Has he not already?” Gawain asks. “Do not mock His Majesty’s affection, Sir Lancelot. It’s quite obvious to everyone here that he’s already chosen you as his significant other.”
Sonic can’t take it and laughs off his nerves. These knights and their ethics and morals. Couldn’t someone date and be done with it? Why put so much pressure on a simple word or action? He catches up with Lancelot and unconsciously runs his rings around the ends of his tail, trying to catch it.
He hears a smile in Sir Gawain’s next words. “Surely His Majesty wouldn’t debase himself by courting a member of his Round Table without the intentions of marrying said knight, would he?”
“Woah!” Sonic whips his head around to see all the members of his Round Table stifling their laughter. “That’s a pretty hefty word to be thrown about so casually, knucklehead.”
“Is that not what you plan to do?” he asks. “You said so yourself.”
“O-okay, I think you’re planting words in my mouth here. I—“
“Sonic.”
Sonic stops rambling about his upcoming prospects with Lancelot and follows his knight’s hushed word.
Lancelot has one hand out in front of them to stop their progress. His ears twitch left and right. Sir Gawain tenses. Sir Galahad reaches for his bow. Lady Nimue and Percival, listening to his body language, dim their flames from bright yellow to a dull blue. The flames, while less bright, burn twice as hot.
Up ahead, a hiss leaks out of a snarling mouth. Gawain quickly lifts his lantern, and Sonic spots a pair of red eyes squinting back at them.
Lancelot pins his ears back and cocks his head to the side. He takes a step forward. The beast takes a step back, shifting the rocks behind it to get farther away from him.
Lancelot quickly steps forwards and hisses loudly, his ferocity echoing off the crystals. The sound jumps Gawain’s hand, and his lantern catches the beast’s full form.
The Black Arms hisses as it wedges itself into the corner of the cave. It claws at the rock behind it to keep back from the advancing Lancelot. When it has nowhere to go, when Lancelot sizes it up like he’s ready to attack it, it shoves itself between the forming crystals and disappears into smoke. Lancelot watches it retreat, eyes unblinking, then motions for everyone to follow.
They all stop talking after that and stay close to Lancelot’s tail as they continue onwards. The cave tightens up like a closed throat. At times, they have to follow Lancelot single file, their armor grazing against blue crystals.
Deeper in, they uncover more life hidden within the cave. Bats screech and flap their leathery wings at the disturbance. Lizards flick their forked tongues and scatter across the floors. Sonic swears they look just like baby Black Arms, but in this limited light, he can’t call it.
Red eyes watch them from the corners of the cave. True Black Arms hiss and bow their elongated heads to their prince, who keeps them in line with his own hissing. Sonic can only touch Lancelot’s black quills, amazed by the natural power oozing off of him. He can call himself whatever he wishes, but Sonic can tell true noble power when he sees it.
Sonic finds himself settling into the view and watching the way Lancelot traverses these cave systems. Does he remember these paths? Does he know the way to go after so many years away? He doesn’t give any indication that he’s lost and even traces his hands along some of the crystals like he’s remembering the way. At one point, he snaps off a crystal and puts it between his sharp teeth. Sonic goes to question the behavior before hearing the hard crunching of rock between molars. He chews the rock thoroughly and swallows without any problem.
Sonic has to back away from him, not understanding why seeing that excites him so much.
“We’re close,” Lady Nimue says.
Just as she speaks it into existence, the cave system expands. The air becomes easier to breathe and the temperature cools to something less stifling. Water droplets drip into Sonic’s ears. The crystals grow larger, thicker, mirroring them as they pass. Sonic takes a fleeting look at himself covered in gold armor, carrying a sword he’s grown accustomed to this week. He has his visor up to see all angles of this new world, and he swears his eyes, once his normal green, look dark as coal. He nearly stops and stares—his eyes must be tricking him down here—when a low rumble steers him back.
Lancelot stops them with another protective hand. Before them, the cave opens up into a wide cavern illuminated by glowing gemstones. Pools of water collect around the rocky edges. Bones of animals or other beings lay beneath perfect facets of green and blue. Sonic admires the high ceilings and maps out what parts of the ground he can see. Where they stand seems to be the only exit and entrance.
Lancelot raises his hand slightly, in warning, in wait. His ears flick every which way, trying to listen for movement.
A low wind blows through the cavern. Sonic squints as it makes contact with them—it’s warm. Too warm, like it’s coming from a nearby forest fire.
Lancelot’s ears fold down as a snarl escapes from the corner of his mouth.
A deep laugh echoes through the cavern, rippling the puddles of cave water. “My son, you’ve returned yet again.”
All of Sonic’s knights draw their weapons. The voice is low, dark, and as inhumane as a nightmare. It chills Sonic’s bones and grounds him where he stands. It comes from somewhere before them, but Sonic doesn’t see a beast big enough to own such a voice. He sees no Black Arms, hears no hissing coming from the cave other than Lancelot.
Sonic reaches for his sword but doesn’t yet draw it. “Black Doom, I take it?” he calls out. “I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but I take it you’ve already met a version of me plenty of times.”
The laughter stops, chilling the space with eerie quiet. Galahad readies his bow, aiming into the pitch black, and Percival angles her rapier.
Heavy booms shake the cavern walls. Pieces of the ceiling crack and fall all around them. The darkness shifts like smoke. It announces two heavy footfalls of a scaled, monstrous beast.
Black Doom stands over fifty feet tall, his head nearly reaching the ceiling’s longest stalactites. His tail is double the length of his body and is covered in pointed spines, and each of his three red eyes glow like low-lit fireplaces. His wings resemble Lancelot’s, but his are massive, ripped at the edges, and could probably knock out a whole village with a single takeoff. Chains hang around his neck like broken necklaces, and one thick string is laced with jewels that catch the glowing gems of the cave.
Sonic’s eyes laser-focus on the seven Chaos Emeralds around Black Doom’s thick neck. All he needs is to get that necklace off his stupid neck and transform into Super Sonic. How dare he wear them like they belong to him, like they’re an accessory?
Black Doom lifts his giant head up to look down at Sonic and his friends. Three red, glowing eyes dilate on him. “I thought I vanquished you, Hedgehog, yet here you stand. How do you still live?”
“I got a lot of extra lives,” he says. “You, on the other hand, only have one, and I’m here to take it.”
“Curious.” His long tail treads the rocky ground, stirring up dust and black smoke. “You look like the young kingling, yet your demeanor, your…soul is different. Weaker. Why, son, are you mingling with this inferior lifeform?”
Lancelot steps in front of his king, sword in hand. He brandishes it against his father with the will to plunge it into his black heart. “I will not allow you to besmirch my king’s name in front of me.”
Black Doom laughs. His back teeth are as long as Sonic’s longest quills. “How quaint. Just earlier this year, when you came to try and fight me, you barely spoke to me, let alone vouched for your king. Here I thought you were here to join me in my conquests.”
“Never. I have no interest in living out a life of misery. You never showed me kindness, or love. You have no heart with which to welcome me.”
“And what has a heart blessed you with? Rejection. Loss. Ridicule. You do not belong with these creatures. Your old king knew that and tried to smother who you truly were. You belong with your own kind, with me.”
“He is allowed to choose his own life,” Sonic declares. “We all do. And we’ve chosen to take back what belongs to my kingdom.”
“Your kingdom?” Black Doom arches his back and spreads out his wide wings. “You said the same thing last spring, albeit more eloquently. Let us see how long it will take me to kill yet another king of Camelot.”
Sonic grins and unsheathes his Excalibur. At least he’s being seen as a king to this stupid lizard. He’ll take the win. “Let’s go, asshole.”
Black Doom’s roar tries to destroy their morale, but Sonic just smiles. He isn’t afraid of a dragon any more than he was afraid of the countless other monsters and villains that’ve been thrown his way. And to this day, he still stands, and he knows he’ll stand again as king tomorrow.
He runs headfirst into the crystal cave. His friends follow suit, either taking the high ground on elevated gemstones or keeping close to the cave walls. Black Doom turns his body and roars, and Sonic has enough time to swoop in under his leg and cut.
Excalibur grazes his thick skin. His black scales are sheets of metal and throw off the blade like it’s a blade of grass and not the strongest weapon in the kingdom. Sonic slides, turning to examine the beast’s hindside. Multiple scars cut across his thighs and the topside of his tail. One in particular is thick and cuts deep into the backside of his knee. He puts the least amount of pressure on it, holding himself up with a subtle limp.
“Gotcha.” Sonic jumps off the crystallized wall and runs up the length of Black Doom’s tail. To his left, Percival and Galahad have found their perches. Galahad’s arrows strike close to Black Doom’s third eye but don’t hit their intended targets. Percival’s flames surround herself like a barrier before fireballs burst in his face. Lady Nimue’s fairies flitter through the space. Their sparkles keep Sonic smiling.
Black Doom screeches too close to Sonic’s ears. Gawain has struck one of his legs. His wings flap, scattering crushed gemstones, and Sonic is thrown off his back and down across his leathery wing.
“Man, you’re squirmy.” Sonic flips around and tries digging his sword into his wing. He needs both hands to press deep down into the flesh, but still, it doesn’t cut. The wing isn’t even that thick. This should be working.
As Black Doom strikes the ground near Gawain, Sonic is flung off the wing towards a bundle of crystals.
Two arms catch him midair. Sonic’s stomach drops and he’s sure he’s about to fall onto Black Doom’s spines when he smells a familiar, beautiful fragrance behind him.
Lancelot holds Sonic close before dropping him behind a heavy crystal jutting out from the rock. He pants, all fangs and tongue.
“You okay?” Sonic breathes.
Lancelot grunts and flaps his wings. He’s airborne again. Flying much too close to Black Doom’s head, he takes his claws down the side of his enormous head to make him pay attention to him and him alone.
Fire erupts on both of them, and Sonic ducks from the heat. He shouts Lancelot’s name, but he quickly finds that he’s uninjured.
The fire spews out of his mouth. It’s bright purple and pink, and burns Black Doom’s temple, causing the monster to cry out and blindly strike the air. The fire pushes Lancelot back, but he holds firm until he has to break away to keep from getting struck. He ducks and spews more fire down his father’s ribcage.
Sonic needs to get to his neck. He can’t ask Lancelot to lift him because it’ll leave him defenseless and slow. Lady Nimue could magic him up, but he couldn’t drain her so early into the fight.
He keeps attacking what he can: the legs. He runs circles around his treetrunk ankles and strikes hard. His sword catches. Purple blood coats the metal.
Black Doom stomps down hard. Sonic screeches to a stop but not in time—a chunk of his shoulder armor goes flying, and his cape tears from his back quills. He checks himself for any damage, then continues his onslaught. He tries to run up his legs, but how he moves and the formation of his smooth scales keep him grounded. He jumps only to be smacked in the face by a wing of a swinging necklace—
“There!” Sonic grabs for the metal. He’s so close. He just has to climb. The hanging metal chains cut into his gauntlet as Black Doom thrashes. It slices through the metal, then his glove. A second chain is close and snaps against his cheek.
Sonic sees stars. He’s airborne. The strike knocks the senses out of him, but he still has enough to keep hold of the chains. His fingers go numb. It hurts. Something’s broken. He climbs, flies. He reaches for color.
“Sonic!”
Sir Gawain swings Sonic back down and takes hold of the whipping chain before it can hit him again.
Sonic falls to his knees, mouth permanently open. He touches his sliced visor with trembling fingers. His face burns. Heat oozes down his jaw and onto the floor, red and slick. His eye stings even though he can still see from it. He tastes hot iron between clenched teeth.
“Sonic!” Lady Nimue runs over. Her quills are spilling out of her ribbons. She pushes them back behind her ears. “King Sonic, are you alright?”
“He’s been struck in the head!”
Lancelot, who’s flying around his father’s horns, distracting him, faltering midair. “Sonic?”
“I have him.” Lady Nimue kneels to Sonic’s side and touches around his hammering head. Her fingertips glow with healing light. She gasps. “Oh, Sonic…!”
Sonic stays grounded with the help of the Chaos Emerald between his legs. A low light emits from deep within its facets, pulsing with power.
“You got one,” Lady Nimue announces.
“One down.” He, with Nimue’s help, hides away the Emerald within his quills.
“Good work, Your Majesty,” he hears Gawain say. “You’ve even landed a few hits to his neck. Well done.”
“Did I?”
“You did, but we’re not done yet.” A distant distraction takes his attention away from his king. He protects Sonic and Nimue with his sword drawn as seven Black Arms crawl out from the shadows. “Are you still able to fight?”
Sonic braces and forces on a smile—it hurts to keep. “Course I am.”
“Good. Then prepare yourself.”
── ⋅ ⁺‧₊˚ ༓ ⋆ ♛ ⋆ ༓ ˚₊‧⁺ ⋅ ──
He loses track of time. Without any sunlight and the constant barrage of attacks, Sonic can only keep his sword raised and find his way to that beast’s rotten neck.
Hours. Maybe three. Maybe more. He can’t keep thinking about it, but with every dragon he kills, with every smattering of blood from Black Doom that hits his chest, every Chaos Emerald he’s able to touch but not slice off his necklace, his endurance withers. Excalibur weighs heavily in his hands as he cuts and slices, runs and jumps. He takes back four more Emeralds, each one guarded by Gawain, Nimue, Galahad, and Percival for him, but that still leaves two more needed to complete the set.
And Black Doom, still standing, still laughing at them, shows no hint of exhaustion.
“This is pathetic,” he roars. “King Arthur had more stamina than you. Is this your attempt at humor, to gift me his kingdom on your hands and knees?”
“It’s my kingdom.” Sonic pulls Excalibur out of a Black Arms’ heart. Purple blood stains the cavern’s floor and all of his armor, coloring him a dark shade of mauve. His breathing tastes like blood. His knees ache, begging him to rest for a second. He tries drowning out Black Doom with another round of fighting, but how long can he realistically keep this up? Electric pulses fry the last of Sonic’s nerve endings. His arms buckle from the weight. His eyes beg to close. Man, he’s tired. He wants to rest, to throw out his arms and declare himself done with being the savior everyone needs.
He continues on, bumping into Percival, who now fights on the ground with them, and Lancelot, whose wings now wilt from fatigue. More dragons creep out from the darkness and attack with teeth and claws. His bloodied armor looks no better than the state it was in when Sonic first awoke in it, but he has to keep going. He must, as king, as a friend, as a hero.
Sonic falls to one knee. Excalibur clatters to his side. His head hangs parallel to the bloody grounds as he stares at his reflection.
Black Doom presses one shoulder against the cavern walls, rumbling his laughter into Sonic’s knees. “Are you finally ready to admit it now? How impertinent. You don’t even give me the satisfaction of killing you off myself, just giving up now while your friends continue to fight?”
Sonic swallows back what he hopes is spit. The look in his reflection stares harshly back at him, judging him for showing any type of weakness to the enemy. But everything hurts. He can’t stand. He can’t do it.
“Get up!”
A scream wrenches his brain back to the fight. Lancelot has fled to the cavern ceiling and blows a sputtering flame at Black Doom’s face. Black Doom turns away, squinting to keep his three eyes safe, and Lancelot teleports quickly left, then right. He goes so quickly, Sonic can’t keep up with him. He defies all logic in this world.
He pushes himself up, knees locked. His chest feels like it’s about to cave in, but all his worries funnel into Lancelot.
In his hand is not one, but two Chaos Emeralds. With their unlimited power, he uses Chaos Control like Shadow and manipulates time and space to his bidding. Black Doom doesn’t seem to put two and two together and tries to look down at his neck.
“I told you not to disrespect my king in front of me,” Lancelot growls, and disappears from the cave entirely. Black Doom turns his massive body, three eyes scanning to locate his traitorous son.
Sonic takes his chance and takes hold of Excalibur once more. His limbs shake, but surely he can still fight. His friends need him. He needs them.
In a spark of magic, Lancelot reappears directly in front of Black Doom. With his sword in hand, he plunges the blade straight into Black Doom’s third eye.
The beast wails in pain. His tail cracks the cavern walls and sends fragmented crystals across the floor. One piece slams into a horse of Black Arms, poofing them into dust. Sonic ducks and rolls to keep from getting impaled. Sir Gawain shatters one with his fist.
Sonic trips backwards and slams into a large piece of crystal. It’s the size of him and glows a faint blue. He checks the back of his head with his hand, making sure he isn’t bleeding and that his Chaos Emerald is still in one piece. He never had one shatter before, but this world is full of unexpected, magical surprises.
He hears Lancelot shout, and Sonic wants to rush to his side, but the crystal freezes him in place.
His reflection. All this time, he thought he was seeing things, catching blurs of his new self adorned in another man’s armor.
He rubs his tired, sore eyes, making sure that this reflection isn’t also lying to him.
“Get up!” he—Arthur—yells. He slams his gauntlet against the crystal facet. The late king matches Sonic’s royal attire almost perfectly. He even wears his old crown, as if his last fight with Black Doom never occurred. He still owns his scars from the fight and eyebags underneath his eyes, but this’s the most active Sonic has seen him, like he never left this cavern to begin with. “What’re you doing? Get up! Quit stalling and finish this!”
“What?” Sonic exhales.
Another scream and Sonic breaks free from Arthur’s hold on him.
Lancelot is on the ground, pinned down by his father’s giant, clawed foot. Black Doom presses down on his son, Lancelot’s tiny head poking out between his thumb and forefinger. Draconic claws dig deep into the earth. Just within arm’s reach lie the two Chaos Emeralds, dropped from being attacked.
“Lancelot!” Lady Nimue runs to his side, but as she reaches for the Chaos Emeralds, a pair of Black Arms corner her against the wall. The rest of his knights are brought against the same wall, the creatures’ numbers doubling.
“No!” Sonic will kill him. He swears on his kingdom’s very name, if anything happens to his knights and he loses the one good thing that kept him in this world, he’ll burn down this whole goddamn world.
Black Doom’s jaw unhinges. “I told you,” he hisses. “Love cannot grant you victory. In the end, it will always lead you to your destruction.”
Lancelot shouts, grunts. He struggles in vain to free himself from a 200-ton monster of a father threatening to kill him for fun.
“You will all die here, together,” Black Doom promises.
“Sonic,” Arthur says through the crystal facet. “Get the Chaos Emeralds. I’ll take care of Black Doom.”
Sonic can’t tell if he’s gone insane or not. He’s not thinking. He doesn’t know if he’s ever thought during a battle like this. He can barely see straight. His head injury is depleting him of rational thought.
What brings him back, what restarts his heart, is Lady Nimue throwing her staff across the cavern. It spins and arches across the heads of the Black Arms, their primitive brains unable to tell the difference between a distraction and a potential new toy. With the immediate threat subdued, she lifts up the hem of her dress and rushes to Lancelot’s aid.
“Nimue!” Arthur slams his fist against the glass. “Sonic, stop her!”
He can’t, not in any way that matters. She’s already jumping over Black Doom’s feet. She skids around reaching talons and kicks aside one of the Chaos Emeralds.
“Get them!” Lancelot screams.
Lady Nimue picks up and hurls both Chaos Emeralds to Sonic. Then she throws her own.
“Your Majesty—!” Gawain throws his own Emerald. Then Percival and Galahad, all seven gemstones glittering like fallen stars Sonic’s way.
Sonic runs on numb legs and scoops up one, two, three Chaos Emeralds. Four, five, six—
“No!” Black Doom slams his body against the cavern. Rocks and crystals rain down, striking down dozens of his own mindless drones.
Sonic skids in a half-circle and faces Black Doom. Seven. He double-counts them. Seven. He has all seven.
Time seems to slow. Crystals continue raining down in the cavern. The Black Arms rush in from all sides. Sonic slowly turns back to Arthur’s reflection.
Lady Nimue screams. She and Sonic’s knights are trying to cut Lancelot free. She has a blue barrier bubbled over them as Black Doom tries attacking them with his free hand. Purple fire bubbles from the corners of his mouth as he readies a fiery explosion their way.
Arthur is gone. Lancelot screams as he coughs up purple blood from his father’s increasing strength. Black smoke pours from Black Doom’s mouth. He opens up wider. He angles his head downwards, and—
He bellows. He lifts the foot holding down Lancelot as blood pours from a now missing finger. His thumb lies on the ground, severed at the joint, freeing Lancelot from his hold. The knight does not move, only turns to his side as his lifeless wing falls over his body, and Lady Nimue and Percival cry out as the beast begins to fall on them.
“No!”
A bright yellow light bursts between them, a star or a chemical explosion unleashed. Sonic turns and keeps the Chaos Emeralds safe.
When he opens up his eyes, he sees himself placed between his friends and Black Doom. The dragon’s hand, which was about to crush them all, stops in place, held up midair by a glowing Excalibur.
Arthur stands tall, Chaos Energy burning gold throughout his body, as he defends his friends. Excalibur holds back the strength of the dragon and cuts deep into his flesh. Sparks of electric energy spit off his body and bounce off their friends.
“Arthur?” Lady Nimue asks, breathless, hand to her heart.
Arthur’s boots dig into the cracked crystal. “I will not let you have them,” he grunts. “I failed them once. I will not fail them again. This, I swear to you, beast.”
“Accursed hedgehog!” Black Doom angles his head back down and fires. Purple flames jet out and heat up crystal and rock. Sonic runs back with the Chaos Emeralds. He can’t make sense of what he’s seeing. It doesn’t make sense.
He doesn’t allow logic to stop him any longer. Breathing in, then out, he throws out all seven Chaos Emeralds. They levitate around him, spinning, whirling alive like an energy reactor. His tired feet lift off the ground as the energy rushes through it. It burns for a second, like touching a hot stove, and then it engulfs him.
His vision cuts out. The energy eats away at his body to make it more whole. For a fleeting moment, he’s gone, apart from the world, and then he comes back piece by piece, rushed together, melding back into his perfect self.
Pure, unaltered energy obfuscates his senses. He flies with speed he can’t control and crushes his fist against Black Doom’s jaw. He throws him back effortlessly, his power nonexistent to Sonic in this form. Taking his horn by the hand, Sonic keeps him still and buries his knee into his temple, cracking bones. Again and again, the purple blood spilling off his golden body like oil. He can’t tell where his friends or other self stand below him, but he has to trust the late king with protecting them.
“Black Doom!” he hears Arthur shout, and Black Doom roars in pain, slamming his head against the stalactites, crushing his own kin beneath him. “This’s for everything you’ve ever done to us! All the people you killed! For my twins! For my mother! For my kingdom!”
Arthur has thrown his sword aside. He takes the dragon in his own hands, ripping apart bone from flesh. “For me, and the childhood you stole from me! For the happiness you stole from everyone!”
“Arthur!” Lancelot tries crawling over to the late king, his legs and wings not working properly. “Stop! Get away!”
Arthur screams and heaves Black Doom aside. His power tosses Black Doom off his hefty legs and he falls with a roar. His tail sweeps against the walls to the ceiling. He crushes his wing and shatters crystals as his knees dig into the ground, trying and failing to keep him up.
Pervical tosses aside her rapier and grabs both Galahad and Nimue to keep them safe. Gawain, who’s still fighting the Black Arms, pauses his tirade to save Lancelot and his limp body. He scoops him up easily, careful about the wing that’s now broken. Sonic arches his back to watch his knights safely retreat, to see Arthur keeping them safe.
To see Black Doom’s tail swing wildly towards Arthur.
“Arthur!”
Sonic’s voice doesn’t reach him in time. The tail’s sharp spikes run across the cavern floor and bury straight into Arthur’s stomach. His golden body flickers, powers shutting down, and he grips his tail to keep it from flogging any of his friends.
His head snaps up, blood streaming down his mouth. He locks his dark eyes on Sonic’s. “Finish it!” he screams.
The royal order awakens Sonic. He pulls back his head, powers flowing too quickly into him. He has a mission, and he will not fail. Not with his friends looking up to him.
He doesn’t know where Black Doom’s heart resides in his vile body—he doesn’t know if he has one—but he does know what will stop him from hurting any more innocent lives.
Black Doom’s head crushes like a rotten apple against Sonic’s fist. He falls hard and slow, too slow for Sonic’s liking. He hits once more, then again, watching the blood pour from his eyes and ear holes. One last cry follows the dragon until he collapses in his own cavern, dust puffing out from his sagging body.
Sonic drops to the ground. He can keep going. He’ll keep attacking until he knows for certain that this creature will never stand up again. All of his friends, his new family, Arthur’s old family, his kingdom, Percival’s kingdom. To keep them safe, he’ll…
His eyes flutter. A redness blinds his right eye. When he tries to rub it out, a coldness bleeds through his hurting body. He wavers, legs unstable.
“Sonic!”
He looks up, vision doubling. Arthur has been thrown against the wall. His body, broken, bloodied, flickers in and out of reality. He doesn’t move. But Sonic can.
Until he can’t. Someone calls for him, lulling him like a lullaby, and he falls to his knees, spent. The Chaos Emeralds reappear and clatter around his feet, and his fur returns to its natural shade of blue.
“Sonic!”
What a nice sound to fall asleep to.