// 3rd Person POV //
Everyone was now in his Living room sitting down and watching Sonic and Sir Lancelot as they both stood beside each other being the complete center of attention.
Sonic cleared his throat to hopefully quickly gather their attention off of Sir Lancelot, "Okay, uhm.." he started, finding it hard to explain the strange man in armor in his living room to his friends, especially the whole counterpart situation that came with having to explain Lance's mere existence and home. "So! This is Lance— Sir Lancelot," he quickly corrected himself as he looked toward Lancelot who was staring directly at him, "he's tried to kill me once," he chuckled before pulling the scroll out of his quills, "and he's brought me a letter from a person whose also tried to kill me, talking about how Eggman is trying to destroy/take over their world as we speak!" he grinned awkwardly as they stared at him in shock.
The knight stared at him through his visor, hearing his poor description of himself and his home. He smiled, though it wasn't visible as he remembered their less-than-favorable first encounter.
"Let's see.." Sonic whispered to himself as he turned to face Lancelot, "Lance could you please—"
"I do as you please." Without another word Lancelot removed his helmet, his face and quills now fully visible.
"You-" Sonic sighed before deciding against telling his knight for the hundredth time that he has free will and is able to defy his orders if he so pleased knowing Lancelot wouldn't listen regardless of what he says. "For simplicity's sake, there are alternate versions of all of you in his dimension!" he smiled, "And before you ask, no Tails there isn't an alternate version of me in his dimension, he died.." he stood there silently having drawn a blank while trying to remember how long it'd been before turning to face his knight who patiently stood beside him for help.
"He passed two decades ago Sire." Lancelot replied with his helmet in hand.
"And— a few months in his dimension is equivalent to a few weeks here!" Sonic grinned deeming his explanation to be 'good enough.'
Everyone turned to look at Shadow who looked like he was seconds away from ripping Sonics head off and his double who looked as calm as ever for someone whose home is mere moments away from being destroyed.
"You mean to tell me, that he." Shadow pointed to Lancelot, standing up before continuing, "Is me from another dimension?" his eye twitched extremely irritated by not only having been dragging to this event but also having to find out that Sonic was all buddy-buddy with a different variation of himself. He wasn't sure why the thought of someone else who shared the same face as his own being friends with Sonic enraged him so much but it did.
"Youre acting like there aren't hundreds of Shadow bots somewhere in this world-" Sonic snickered before being interrupted,
"That's not the point!" Shadow yells drawing closer to Sonic,
"Then what is the point Mr I'm the Ultimate Lifeform?" Sonic argued back with both hands on his hips, eyes narrowed and fixated on the ebony figure.
"You—" Shadow said moments away from lunging at Sonic before being stopped by Sonics Knight.
"Back up." Lancelot spoke through gritted teeth, sword in hand ready to defend his King if necessary,
"Woah woah Lance!" Sonic shouted as he quickly tried to drag Lancelot away from Shadow before things escalated, "you can't just wield a sword against my friends!"
Lancelot shrugged absentmindedly momentarily forgetting about his world as he replied, "What happened to having free will and being able to defy you if I so please?" he calmly asked, putting the sword back in its original position.
"Wait you actually listened when I?-" Sonic asked dumbfounded that Lancelot actually listened to his speeches on free will and whatnot before shaking his head and continuing, "I'll be going with Lance back to Camelot and—"
"On your own?" Shadow scoffed at the mere thought, "Definitely not."
"I can take care of my King just fine." Lancelot scowled,
"You call that impulsive idiot king? He pounces at anything he deems a threat without thinking, the fight will be over before it even gets a chance to start!" Shadow shouted, "And by the end of it you'll wind up shopping for a new king."
"You-" Lancelot barely took a step forward before Sonic stopped him.
"Fine were doing this in groups then!" Sonic shouted over the two of them, "Tails, And Shadow you're coming with us, and Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles will stay back to ensure our worlds safety. How's that?" he asked sarcastically
"That's actually not a bad idea!" Tails added, Sonic hadn't even noticed he'd been standing beside him until he'd started talking.
Sonic grinned as he wrapped an arm around Tail's shoulder and held Lancelot's wrist and tugged him back so they were all standing in one straightish line.
Rouge chuckled from under her breath as she lightly nudged Knuckles and pointed at the trio and then Shadow before whispering in his ear, "what could go wrong?" she asked sarcastically. Knuckles chuckled before covering her hand with his.
-
Sonic quickly packed the essentials, some clothes for Tails, a spare sword for Shadow and a large case that he kept Caliburn inside of. It didn't take them long before they started saying their goodbyes to Rouge, Knuckles and Amy seeing as the longer they spent here the worse it got in Camelot.
Soon they arrived at a rather large portal hidden by a waterfall and rocks. Lancelot had arrived using Merlinas magic but he had seen the portal Sonic would occasionally use to travel to his world and then back to his own but Sonic banned every living being from going through it wich is why he had to get creative.
Sonic groaned, he hated going through the portal, not because it was time consuming but it was agonizing. He knew he had to go through but he really didn't want to. This is the first time Shadow had ever seen him be so reluctant but he quickly dismissed it not wanting to thing too much into it.
"Alright.." Sonic started, "I need each of you to listen VERY carefully." he said pointing a finger to each of them, "It doesn't matter what I say or what I do you will all stay behind me. Got it?" he smiled,
Lancelot and Tails nodded having full trust in him while Shadow looked confused but agreed regardless. Sonic was the first to step through the portal and the rest of them followed a few seconds after.
Rather than having immediately teleported to Camelot, they were now in a very dark hallway with a bright white light shining at the end of it. Sonic signaled them to walk behind him. The first few minutes of walking through the portal nothing happened, everything felt normal, though it didn't last long. He quickly started feeling the agonizing effects of taking this route into Camelot.
"Stay far behind me!" Sonic yelled before running slightly farther away from them to ensure they wouldn't get too close. The three looked at each other confused but silently followed from far.
"So.. How'd you meet Sonic?" Tails asked smiling at the Knight that stood beside him, "he said you tried to kill him?-"
Lancelots eyes softened as he turned to look at the young Fox that stood beside him, "I challenged him to a duel," he smiled slightly, "To keep it simple, I got careless and with a bit of luck Sire won."
Shadow listened in, he didn't dare comment or ask questions knowing he probably wouldn't like whatever answer came out of Lancelot's mouth.
"Are you not allowed to call him by his name?" Tails asked curious as to why after all that time together he hadn't once called Sonic by his name and only referred to him using 'Sire', and 'Your Majesty'.
"He insists on me calling him by his name but for his sake I must keep myself grounded for we are not on the same level." he replies as he goes back to staring at Sonic's back whose legs seem to be shaking though he chooses not to question it knowing his King wouldn't be happy if he were to interfere.
"Same level?-" Tails asked before hearing an ear-piercing scream that came from In front of them interrupted his thoughts,
Sonics entire body was shaking violently as he wrapped his arms tightly against himself to help soothe a bit of the pain.
"SIRE?" Lancelot Shouted quickly running up to his king before coming to a halt.
"DON'T..." Sonic said, his voice shaking as he heaved, remembering to push forward. "interfere."
Tails and Shadow had quickly made their way toward Lancelot who stopped the two of them in their tracks to ensure neither got too close to his king.
"What are you doing help him!" Tails Shouted at Lancelot who had a sword drawn against Shadow's neck and gripped Tails' wrist to ensure neither of them would try going any closer as they walked forward.
"What the hell is wrong with you help him god damn it!" Shadow yelled.
Time seemed to slow down as Sonics screams only became louder and sounded worse as they walked forward that it was becoming increasingly hard for Lancelot to not just drop his sword and aid his King despite his clear orders not to.
And then he stopped, Sonic stopped moving forward, his body leaned against another portal as he yelled for all of them to quickly run through it.
-
Sonic was the first to enter the portal and the last to exit. When he finally crawled out his entire body was shaking and his fur was stained with blood. The moment Lancelot spotted Sonic crawl out of the portal he released both Shadow and Tails who quickly ran toward Sonic without another thought.
Lancelot stayed back and leaned against the wall knowing his king would wake up soon. The aftermath was the only part Lancelot was familiar with. Whenever Sonic would come for his visits he'd wait for him by the portal entrance until Sonic finally crawled through the portal, blood would stain his fur but he'd be fine. He knew Sonic would be fine. He was just exhausted. And after seeing all of that he couldn't blame him.
"Sonic? SONIC!" Tails yelled as he lightly shook Sonics body, he'd never heard Sonic scream or ever show any signs of pain wich left him frightened. Shadow quickly examined Sonic for any injuries, his arms, legs, face, anywhere and everywhere he could think of he checked and Sonic seemed to be just fine.
It didn't take long before Sonic awoke. He sat up with help from both Shadow and Tails who seemed to be worried sick. Sonic gave the two of them a thumbs-up before opening his mouth, but nothing came out. He stood up he was perfectly fine, and he knew it. he found that walking through the portal always felt like that, wich is why he'd always try to separate his visits to Camelot as far apart as possible.
"I'm fine." Sonic finally spoke as he stumbled back almost falling face front but Lancelot quickly caught him before he could. "Just strained." he smiled.
"Explain yourself," Shadow spoke through gritted teeth, Although he was relieved to know that Sonic was alright he was angry that Sonic hadn't at all mentioned this before walking through the portal. "Now."
"are you okay?!" Tails yelled as he ran toward Sonic and Lancelot wanting to double-check that his brother was truly alright.
"Yeah. This always is normal don't worry about it!" Sonic smiled, "I don't have a clear explanation but every time I go through the portal I get a surge of pure agony until I've finally made it all the way through." he quickly inhaled before continuing, "I come out fine but I end up exhausted, trust me I'm fine." Sonic chuckled as he watched his brother run around him for any injuries.
"And the blood?" Shadow scoffed as he walked toward them, arms crossed.
"My eyes tend to bleed but I hardly feel it, like I said, I'm fine." Sonic repeated as he flashed Tails a toothy grin as he continued to fuss over him checking for any signs of harm.
"This is unacceptable." Shadow scoffed, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "You should of told us about this before." he growled, his frustration evident.
Sonic sighed, "I know Shads," he admitted, "I just didn't want to worry you guys over nothing." he said, kneeling down to Tails' eye level so Tails could further examine him knowing he'd be relieved if he could just check. "I turned out fine did I not?"
"Fine?" Shadow scoffed as he walked closer, "You were screaming and shaking violently for chaos' sake!"
"Shads please in fine, just look at me!" he said as he waved his arms around for dramatic effect, "I've felt worse trust me I'm fine Shads." he smiled, calmly standing up as he walked toward the ebony hedgehog.
Shadow's Expression softened, "fine." he replied begrudgingly, "But next time, tell us before you decide what's good for us."
"I promise." Sonics smile widened as he held out a pinky to which Shadow rolled his eyes but locked his pinky with his and shook.
One of the things he liked most about Sonic is his playfulness. He always seemed to know just how to brighten up a room despite how beaten and battered he may look. He always put others first which is why he'd always just spring into action refusing to even waste a second knowing what could happen if he waited. He knew the feeling of loss all too well, more than he'd care to admit. He didn't want that for anyone else.
"Alright lets get going!" Sonic yelled quickly letting go of Shadow and walking toward a small hallway that was dimly lit by torches.
-
Hey! This chapter turned out to be MUCH longer than I had expected— regardless I hope you guys enjoyed reading! Until next time!! (I finished this WAY faster than expected-)