Chapter Text
"Sir Sonic, for the last time–"
"Caliburn, you know how I roll. I didn't do this for any reward, and I don't wanna deal with all the hassle of being king."
"Sir Sonic! You are the one I chose, the only one who is fit–"
"–To rule, yeah, yeah, I know."
Sonic sighed deeply and sat down on the stone step in front of the throne of Camelot Castle. Caliburn, propped up beside him, went silent for the first time in the half hour they'd been arguing. Outside, the Knights of the Round Table murmured amongst themselves.
Ever since the knights bowed their heads to him, things had gotten hectic. All the staff in the castle down to the cooks were putting pressure on him to become king. Merlina spent much time huddled up in the room Sonic randomly designated her, reflecting on her life and working hard to formulate a spell for Sonic to return home.
"I've been a hero," said the hedgehog. "Kicking butt is what I do best. Bad guy shows up, I beat him, then I go on with my life. Heck, you named me "Knight of the Wind", and I kinda like it. I wanna be free to do what I want. Being a king is..."
After a long silence, Caliburn spoke. "Like it or not, everyone looks up to you. You may have been summoned here against your will, but you took up the sword and saved everybody. You destroyed our kingdom, and for good reason. However, it is now your responsibility to see it rebuilt."
Sonic grimaced and sighed again. Then, he stood and grinned weakly. "I'll be back. I think I need to go for a run."
Left behind, Caliburn cried, "Wait, Sir Sonic!"
The hedgehog was gone with the wind. Caliburn closed his eyes in exasperation.
Sonic sped past the knights who had been waiting for the duo to emerge from the room. After the residual gust of wind died down, Gawain said, "Was that Sir Sonic?"
Percival shrugged.
Already approaching the castle town, Sonic reveled in the harsh breeze which came with his natural speed. He headed towards the Blacksmith, rushing past crowds of villagers walking the streets. Before he could think about it, he burst in and said, "Heya!"
Not-Tails turned around from the workbench he was hunched over. The sight sent a longing pain through Sonic's heart. The blacksmith smiled. "Hello, Sir Sonic! How can I help you? I see you don't have your sword with you."
"None of that 'Sir' stuff, just call me Sonic. Actually, I don't think I ever caught your name with all the craziness going on; sorry about that."
"It's no problem. My name is Griffin. Now, is there anything I can do for you today?"
Sonic shook his head. "Nah, I just wanted to hang out. That okay with you?"
"Oh, um, sure? Though I don't understand why you'd want to spend time with me of all people. I'm hardly interesting..."
He's even insecure like Tails, Sonic thought. "Don't say that; you make swords for a living, that's so cool."
Griffin laughed shyly. "Thanks. You're the first person who's ever really talked to me like this."
"Why's that?"
The fox glanced at his tails, which told Sonic all he needed to know. "Hey, never let anyone think your tails aren't the coolest thing ever. You know, I have a buddy like you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he has two tails and he can fly! It's all in how you look at it. Hey, maybe you can fly too."
Griffin gazed at Sonic as if he hung the moon. "That would be amazing, though I doubt it. But...thanks."
One step at a time, Sonic thought. "No problem, buddy."
A blood curdling scream broke out. Griffin jumped in his seat. Sonic stiffened and said, "Uh, be right back." He then ran outside, only to see a familiar flying beast in the distance.
"Aw, darn, I forgot Caliburn," Sonic said to himself. "I thought I beat that thing before. What's it doing here?"
The dragon roared ferociously and flew closer as each second passed. Forget it, thought Sonic, I need to get everyone out of here! "Everyone!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Run towards the castle and take cover! I'll take care of the dragon!"
Screams filled the air as Sonic sped back into the blacksmith's shop. "Hey, Griffin?"
"H-huh?"
"This might be sudden, and I'm really sorry to put this on you, but could you help get everyone to safety?"
"M-me? I-I can't, I'm not someone they'll listen to, and I don't know how–"
Sonic put his hands firmly on Griffin's shoulders and looked into his bright blue eyes. "I know you can do it. You can help save these people, and I can't do it all alone. Please, Ta—Griffin. Their lives are in danger."
After a long moment, Griffin's panic faded into resolution. "Okay. I'll try my best. Though, I still don't know how I'm supposed to help..."
Sonic grinned. "You'll have to fly."
Griffin blanched. "What?!"
"C'mon, no time to lose!" Sonic grabbed his new friend's wrist and dragged him outside. "Alright, I'm gonna throw you up in the air and I want you to spin your tails as fast as you can."
"I can't do that. I-I've never done that. I don't even know if that's possible; the amount of strength I'd have to–"
"I believe in you," said Sonic. "Now you just have to believe in yourself. Just try, and I promise you'll be okay."
Griffin glanced between Sonic, the chaos around them, and the threatening shadow in the sky drawing ever closer. "Aghhh! Fine! I'll...I'll do it!"
"Atta boy!" Sonic took hold of the fox and hoisted him up. "Here we go!" He tossed him in the sky and the fox screamed in terror, nearly forgetting to spin his tails. Griffin shut his eyes tight and waited for the pain of impact. Seconds passed, yet there was no pain. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Sonic far below, smiling up at him.
"Way to go, buddy! Now lead everyone to the castle and warn the knights!"
Griffin took a moment to process everything. Another roar from the dragon snapped him out of it. "G-got it!" He nodded at Sonic.
Sonic nodded back and yelled over the villagers’ screams, "Everyone, follow the flying fox!"
In their panic, nobody questioned the bizarre sight in front of them and did as their king told. Assured that Griffin would get the job done, Sonic turned away to face the incoming threat, which was now mere seconds away from him. "Looks like I'll have to beat you the regular way."
As if in response, the Mist Dragon roared, then landed on the ground and shook the earth beneath. Sonic did some stretches and waited for the dragon to make the first move. He couldn't rush in as usual; he needed to stall for time. The beast growled. The moment was long and tense, and as much as Sonic's feet itched to run, he forced himself to settle for circling slowly around it. The dragon's head followed him.
Finally, it pounced. Sonic dodged out of the way, then took the opportunity to spin dash at its lowered head. He bounced right off and didn't seem to have caused any damage. Sonic landed easily and backed up again.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?"
The dragon swiped at him and he dodged once more. This pattern continued for some time. Eventually, Sonic was blown back by another roar. He jumped forward, prepared to attack, when the dragon struck him with its claws and sent him flying.
The blow to his chest sent waves of striking pain throughout his body, and he hit the ground hard. Sonic coughed and groaned as he attempted to get back up. The dragon took the opportunity to go after him with its jaws wide open.
"Wait, I don't make very good dinner!"
Of course, the dragon paid him no attention. As Sonic began to dread his fate, a loud CLANG sounded mere inches above him. He marveled at the sight of Gawain knocking the dragon's head back with his swords.
"Sir Sonic, we're here to help!" called Percival from behind him.
He looked back just in time to see her toss Caliburn at him. Sonic caught him with ease and laughed. "Hey, guys, talk about timing!"
"You fool!" Caliburn scolded. "Never abandon your sword!"
"Heh, sorry. I didn't expect this to happen."
Instead of retorting, Caliburn rolled his eyes. Sonic and his two companions banded together and faced the beast in front of them. "Now this is what I'm talking about."
The three of them charged forward. This time, they overpowered the large creature and it howled out as it took blow after blow. Soon enough, it was overwhelmed and flapped its large wings to escape.
"We have to go after it!" said Gawain, who was about to give chase.
Sonic blocked him with his arm. "Wait,"
"Why are you stopping me?"
"There's no need. It's going back home."
"But it could come back and cause destruction,"
"Or it might stay where it is. If it comes back, we'll just have to beat it again."
Gawain was too bewildered to respond. Caliburn rolled his eyes but smiled. Percival gazed at Sonic with consideration.
"We should look around and make sure nobody got hurt."
Gawain and Percival bowed their heads and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Before he could respond, the two of them ran off to search the town for casualties. Sonic gaped after them.
With a smirk, Caliburn said, "A king, indeed."
"Shut up."
Being the fastest thing alive and whatnot, Sonic joined the search. Thankfully, it looked like everyone had escaped. As Sonic prepared to leave for the castle with Percival and Gawain, a distant cry stopped him.
"Now what?" Sonic complained. He peered through the fog and saw a villager running towards them from the woods. Sonic ran to them. "What's wrong?"
The villager was scratched up, and blood stained their clothes. "Th-the village, please...in Deep Woods. You have to help. E-everything is...is gone!" They promptly burst into tears.
Sonic's expression became serious once more as he took in their messy state. "Gawain, please take them back to the castle, and send Sha—I mean Lancelot over when you see him. Percival, come with me."
The knights nodded and did as told.
"I fear the worst," said Percival. "This all seems too suspicious."
"I believe so as well," said Caliburn. "The Mist Dragon has never left its home before. Someone must have drawn it out on purpose."
"Sir Sonic, are you sure it's not the sorceress?"
Sonic shook his head resolutely. "No, it can't be her. Merlina wanted to protect the kingdom, even if she went about it the wrong way. Whoever did this is trying to hurt us."
Soon, they reached the village and stared in shock at the scene in front of them.
Everything was burnt to a crisp. The Mist Dragon had razed the whole place to the ground. Black smoke stung their nostrils and embers floated all around. They could see some people struggling to walk and help each other up, while others laid still on the ground. Whether they were dead or not remained to be seen.
Sonic's gut churned unpleasantly. "Let's go." They made their way through, helping everyone they possibly could. While they found a few bodies whose souls had passed, most were only unconscious from injury and exhaustion.
A certain black hedgehog sped towards the town and approached Sonic, then kneeled and bowed his head. "Greetings, Majesty. There are more soldiers on the way with medical supplies."
Out of all the knights, Lancelot was definitely the most stubborn about formality. Everyone else was starting to warm up to the idea of treating him more casually, even if they couldn't let go of calling him "Sir" or other various titles. This formality from Shadow's counterpart made him the most uncomfortable.
"Stop doing that, geez. You can talk to me like a normal person, I'm not even your king."
Lancelot stood back up silently.
Sonic sighed. "Thanks for the backup. Just do what you can to help."
Lancelot almost bowed his head again but thought better of it. "Yes, Sir." He stood there silently for a second, unsure of what to do. Then he left to aid his fellow knight.
"You look at that one differently," said Caliburn. "From what you told me, each of the Knights have counterparts in your world. Yet it seems like Sir Lancelot is the one who gives you the most distress."
Sonic looked away from the sword, only to stare at Lancelot’s back and think of the black hedgehog who loved to compete and banter with him. "Psh, you're just seeing things."
———
Generally, Sonic left all the thinking to his friends. He had his own ideas of course, and rarely did what others told him to do, but he was confident enough in his abilities to get away with it. For the first time in a long time, Sonic had a headache.
He currently had a castle packed full with injured and hungry villagers and soldiers, as well as a few medical staff frantically running around. He and his knights occupied the meeting room, where they would decide how to proceed with taking care of this disaster.
There were a few knights Sonic had yet to meet; apparently, they were stationed outside the kingdom while the previous king ruled. Now, with their old orders voided, they were called back. As Sonic looked around at all of them, he had to stop himself from laughing in disbelief. Of course, they were all alternate versions of friends from his world.
"I think it's time for a proper introduction," said Percival, who was shaping up to be Sonic's advisor more than anything. "Before we begin, you should know who you're in charge of."
Sonic grimaced.
"...Who you're working with," she amended. Sonic nodded. Percival continued, "There are five more Knights of the Round Table. Sir Lamorak,"
Jet the Hawk gave him an openly scrutinizing look but bowed his head shallowly.
"Sir Bors,"
Mighty smiled at him and knelt down. "At your service, Your Majesty."
"Sir Tristan,"
Of course, standing close by Bors, Ray nervously knelt down but kept a beaming smile. "P-Pleased to serve!"
"Sir Geraint,"
Whisper the Wolf knelt and bowed deeply. As her name—or her original self's name anyway—suggests, she whispered, "At your service, Majesty."
"And finally, Sir Galahad, son of Sir Lancelot."
Silver, clearly the youngest of them all besides Tristan, knelt along with (almost) everyone else and placed his hand in front of his heart. For some reason, when he looked at Sonic, he seemed to be in pain. "At your service, my...king."
Sonic's brain short-circuited. Wait. "Lancelot's son?" He blurted out. Lancelot looked away with arms crossed and Galahad's chest puffed up slightly with pride.
Percival gave him an odd look. "Yes, though we can discuss that later. I believe it's time we talked about what to do with our present issue.
Oh, I'll definitely be bringing that up later, Sonic thought. Externally, he nodded. Right as he was about to speak, someone interrupted.
Lamorak squawked, "Putting aside our new 'king', who put you in charge, Percival?"
Percival gasped and Caliburn said, "How dare—"
Sonic stood abruptly, the screech of his chair calling for silence. "Alright, alright, before you all go at each other's throats, let me make a few things clear: first, none of that formality crap. If you absolutely have to, you can call me 'Sir', but I'd really like it if everyone just calls me Sonic. I'm really...not any better than any of you."
Lamorak snorted while everyone else glanced at each other questioningly.
"Second, I haven't actually, uh, accepted the position. I have a home I want to get back to ASAP, but if I'm needed here right now, I'll do what I have to do. Just keep in mind that this won't be permanent." I really hope it won't be. "Lastly, Percy is a wonderful advisor and I won't let anyone speak badly about my friends. Capiche?"
Percival blushed while Galahad looked at him in confusion. "Ca...piche? What—"
"Good," said Sonic without letting him finish. "Now, since you're all experienced with this stuff, I'd like to hear your thoughts on what to do."
Bors spoke up first, "I think our first order of business should be to rebuild the villagers' homes and get them back on their feet."
"I like the way you think, B," Sonic said with a grin. "What else?"
"Wait, I think it would be better if we took care of that dragon," said Gawain. "Building homes won't matter if it's all going to be burned down again.
Sonic shook his head. "I don't think the dragon is the problem."
Caliburn chimed in from his place on the desk, "Sir Sonic is right. We believe there is a sinister force behind the scenes."
"Someone controlling the dragon?" whispered Geraint.
"It makes sense," said Lancelot. "With the old king usurped and the kingdom in disarray, it's the perfect opportunity for someone with ill intentions to strike."
The room fell silent for a moment.
"Th-then, w-what do we do?" Tristan said.
"If you're sure the dragon won't return and there's someone else we need to worry about, we may as well go ahead with reconstruction, as that is the more pressing issue," said Bors.
"Agreed," said Sonic. "There's no kingdom without its people, right?"
Caliburn smiled. "Well said."
"If I may," interjected Percival, "perhaps we should divide the knights. Those who want to investigate form one group, while the other group helps with the villagers. You'll have to stay, though, Sir Sonic. The people need their leader with them."
"Aw yeah, Percy, you have the best ideas…though I'd rather run around." Sonic sighed. "Everyone cool with that? How about half-and-half?"
"Then I will help the villagers, of course," said Bors.
"Me too," said Tristan.
"I would like to investigate," said Gawain, unsurprisingly.
"I as well," said Geraint.
"And me," said Lamorak. He muttered something under his breath.
"I suppose I'll stay," said Percival.
"Sounds great! Two left, huh? How about it, Lance? Galahad?"
The two of them looked at each other, having a conversation with their eyes. In the end, Lancelot sighed and Galahad beamed. "I'll go with the investigation," said the younger hedgehog.
"Looks like you're stuck with me, Shads."
"'Shads'...?"
Sonic noticed his slip-up too late and tried to laugh it off while his heart pounded. "I-I mean Lance, haha, silly me. Anyway, just do what you guys do. Team Reconstruction, let's go see how everyone's doing."
A chorus of various affirmations ranging from formal to informal resounded.
Once they left, Sonic remembered something. "You guys go on ahead," he told his group. "I'll catch up." He didn't wait to hear their responses and sped through the castle until he reached Merlina's makeshift room. He knocked on the door. "Merlina?"
No answer.
"Sir Sonic, what are you doing?" asked the sword at his back.
"Just wanna ask a question. Merlinaaa," he called again. Silence. He tried turning the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked. He entered the room but saw no wizard. Where she should have been sitting, a note sat on the table. Sonic opened it and read:
Dearest Sonic,
Forgive me for not saying goodbye, but I have decided to embark on my own journey. I have much to reflect on and improve. In addition, I would not be able to find a way for you to return home merely with the books in the castle. I promise to make your issue my top priority as I travel the world. Don't worry, I shall return before long.
Have fun being king. I'm sure this will turn out to be an interesting journey for you as well.
Best wishes,
Merlina
Sonic couldn't help but smile. This would be good for her, and all the better if she could also find a portal for him to return home. He folded the note back up and put it away.
“Are you sure this is all right?” Caliburn said warily.
“Of course,” said Sonic with confidence. “She’s changed.”
He ran back to his team, which had just arrived at the grand entrance where a lot of people were resting. It was utter chaos; soldiers and medics were still running around to provide aid, and dozens upon dozens of people were laid out on the floor. This wasn't even counting all the other occupied rooms.
"We'll need to employ outside help," said Percival. "Someone should travel to the other towns."
"Um, I-I'll do it," said Tristan. "I'm the fastest o-one here."
Sonic smirked. "Aside from me right?"
Tristan grinned back at him. "I-I don't know, we'll have to-to s-see."
"Oh, you're on, little guy," said Sonic.
"Later," said Percival with a small smile of her own. "Go on then, Sir Tristan."
"I'll return soon," said the squirrel, who then took off at a lightning fast speed.
Sonic whistled, impressed. "Looks like he really can book it. Still not as fast as me, though."
Bors smiled at him. "I don't know, my friend could give you trouble. Don't underestimate him."
"You haven't seen me in top form. I always leave everyone in the dust. Even..." Sonic looked over at Lancelot who was seemingly busy observing the villagers, but Sonic knew better by the direction of his ears.
"By the way, Lancey, when did you get a kid? Can't say I expected that from you."
Lancelot huffed. "Neither did I."
"Wh-what?"
Lancelot admitted, "I found him and his parents were not...around anymore, so I took him in."
Sonic hummed curiously and relented. Even if this Shadow was much more tolerant than his own, he could tell he was getting annoyed with the interview. "Huh. Well, good to know, I guess." His shoulders dropped the slightest bit in relief.
"Shall we go survey the villages?" asked Bors.
"Sure thing," said Sonic.
"Sonic!" called a highly familiar voice.
"Griff!" Sonic turned and cheerfully called back.
Griffin approached them with a tired smile. "I did it. I can't believe I did it."
"You sure did, buddy." Sonic ruffled his fur.
"This is...?" said Percival.
"Oh right, this is my best buddy, T—Griffin, the best blacksmith around. Griff, these are some of the Knights of the Square Table."
"Round Table," Lancelot grumbled.
Sonic snickered. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you look real beat. Go grab a room and sleep, okay?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, there's way too many rooms here, just take whatever one you want. You deserve a good rest."
"Thank you so much, Sonic!"
"Anytime, buddy."
On the side, Lancelot gazed at his king with consideration. The other two knights looked at each other. Then, A villager came running up to the group with a friend chasing him. He immediately flung himself onto the floor, startling the knights.
His friend pulled on his shoulders and hissed, "Get up, you idiot,"
"Your M-Majesty," said the villager shaking on the ground. "Please help us. I-I know you have already done much for us, Your M-Magnificence, but please find it in your heart to spare—"
"Hey, hey," Sonic said. "Calm down. And get up, you don't have to kneel, geez. I was already gonna help everyone,"
The villager looked up at him in shock. "What? I-I mean, thank you so much, Your Majesty, you are the—"
Before the villager could prostrate again, Sonic lifted him by the shoulders and laughed. "I get it, okay? Don't worry, we'll get everything fixed."
The villager's friend pulled him away at last, although she was also shocked by Sonic's kindness.
Sonic scratched his head and chuckled. "Man, is everyone in this world like that?"
"To be fair," answered Bors, "kings usually punish people as they see fit for the smallest things."
"Sir Bors," Caliburn chided.
"What? It's true, and Sonic has already proven that he's much different from other rulers."
Sonic liked this guy. "Exactly. All of you should follow B's example."
"B?"
"I like giving out nicknames, so get used to it."
"I see," said Bors.
"We need to stop wasting time," said Lancelot. "We have a kingdom to rebuild."
"You’re right, but you really need to chill out, Lancey." Sonic ignored the other hedgehog's glare. "Alright, gang, let's go."
———
Days later, Sonic received news of the knights' return. The castle town's reconstruction was well underway. Sonic and the knights once again congregated. As soon as Galahad saw his father, he walked over to give him a hug, which Lancelot easily returned. It was a weirdly adorable display, if only Sonic didn't know their counterparts in his world.
Geraint held out a shiny, familiar gem and whispered, "We found this near the Mist Dragon's lair."
"A Chaos Emerald?!"
"No," Gawain said, "this is a Havoc Gem."
Really? How original, Sonic thought exasperatedly. "Okay, so, care to explain that to me?"
Gawain nodded. "My ancestors were in charge of guarding these gems. We thought they had been lost to time, with only the Monarch Gem left and currently protected by my relative."
"You have one of those?"
Gawain glared at his rude interruption. "Yes, my Aunt Bedivere. She used to be a Knight of the Round Table, but retired some time ago."
"...Huh. Okay. So what else did you guys find?"
"There was someone else there," said Lamorak, arms crossed. "They left too quickly for us to see. I think they were going for the Gem as well."
Sonic turned the Gem over in one hand while the other tapped his chin. He then handed it over to Percival. "If this is anything like my world's Emeralds, evil people will always be out for them. There's seven of these bad boys, right? We better try and find them all first."
"A wise decision," said Percival.
"I must agree," said Caliburn.
Sonic grinned. "Heh, looks like this'll be just like any old adventure. We—"
KABOOM!
The entire castle shook and hundreds of screams tore through the air.
"What in the world is happening?" cried Gawain.
Sonic and the knights rushed through stone halls until they reached the area where the loud noise came from. Sonic gaped at the giant hole in the wall, revealing a small army outside. At the front of the horde was a single man.
Sonic couldn't help but grin.
"Eggman."