"I think I know why you're here." Nimue said, greeting Percival in her soft voice without turning to see the knight bowing behind her. Being an enchantress of a skill higher than Merlina, Nimue can recognize each of the knights and easily figure out who has visited. "It is about Sonic, isn't it?"
And Nimue resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation at Percival's formal bow. "Rise, Percival, we've been family far too long to adorn such formalities." As she says this, Nimue only smiles sadly down at Percival after turning her head to gaze at the knight. Already knowing of the grief and desperation that pushed the lavender cat into searching for answers, help, anything to appease her accompanying grief.
Percival, on bended knee, could only make eye contact with Nimue for hardly longer than a few seconds - who has become a mother-like figure to each of the knights for most of their lives before she tears her gaze away. "Then you know I won't leave without anything."
"Join me for tea, there are certain topics I wish to relay to you." Nimue said. "You'll understand why for when we visit the reflecting pool afterwards."
When she rises back up, Percival's metal armor clinks and clatters as her joints bend and straighten. "But I haven't brought the sacred swords, and even so, Caliburn is lost to us. He was in sir Sonic's possession when-"
"-Don't fret. We do not need the sacred swords, and Caliburn is safe. Sonic on the other hand...he's returned to his home with his family that resides there. He is in their care now." In her soft voice is thinly concealed worry that Percival is quick to pick up on.
Sonic became their king formally, though he grew to become like her brother. Wild and carefree like the winds grazing the lands...that's what Percival would say to him. Of course when Sonic told the knights of his ill-awaited departure that none looked forward too, Percival was crushed.
She found it unfair, in a childish sense, that their family had become completed - only to be ripped apart from Fate. Yes. Unfair.
Though Percival put on a brave face. For Gawain's, Merlina's, and...and Lancelot's sake as well. It was no use for them to all suffer in their grief when Percival can push hers aside to comfort her friends. That is why she came here to Misty Lake for Nimue. Besides. The knights of the round table are strong, they will persevere through their trials. Percival intends to remain toughened - not in the name of chivalry, the honor bound code all knights follow.
She'll remain strong because that's what Sonic would do.
Sonic spoke of his friends and family in Mobius. A futuristic land of many technologies. Sonic became conflicted of his feelings regarding the knights of Camelot and his friends in Mobius Of how he missed them all dearly. But he couldn't bear to leave Camelot and Lancelot. He feared returning to face the ire of his friends should they figure out he wasn't trapped in Camelot - that Sonic chose to stay bound there with Merlina and Nimue's help.
Despite being scared to see them someday soon. Sonic did tell stories of them to the knights with a happy and wistful grin on his face.
Percival missed that grin. She's saddened to know that no more will they hear his bubbly laughter echo down the halls of the castle, that there will be no more stories from him to tell as they sit around the dining table, Sonic won't be there to spar out on the early mornings.
He's gone. It is as simple as that. He wasn't meant to stay as long as he did, no matter how much they all wished it so. It wasn't fair for him to stay when he had his family and friends back in his home.
She must be strong. For their family. She gazes at Nimue with a blank, hardened expression. Whatever it will take, Percival will be ready.
However...she can see the concern behind Nimue's eyes. It's unnerving to be honest. Nimue is always certain of all that she speaks of. Why would she be worried now? "What is troubling you? I haven't seen you look this worried in ages."
Nimue pursed her lips, "It is not what I worry about. It is who that is troublesome, my dear."
Percival shook her head. Whatever Nimue is greatly bothered about Percival knows she won't like it. "I'm afraid I do not understand."
"I'm afraid you will. In just a moment." Nimue said quietly, with the same worried tone again. Percival did not have the time to question the lady of the lake's vague words when Nimue waved her hand for the knight to follow behind her. "Come. Time waits for none."
. . .
"I'm going to speak to Shadow. I'll be back soon." Rouge said. Noticeably so without her regular spark of passion in her voice. Her wings drooped down and her fingers consistently fiddled with the edges of her gloves. She left the two alone, and when shutting the bedroom door closed, she had paused in step.
A lost expression overtook her features, where her brows pinched together in frustration, a heavy frown took away her natural grin, and her eyes narrowed. Overall, Rouge appeared to be seriously lost in thought.
Sonic's erratic and downhearted behavior puzzled the bat. He had episodes of grief and despondent moments where he had cried his heart out, only to fall into a sort of morose demeanor where he'd lay down and do nothing but stare soberly at nothing with a worrisome distant look in his somenly green eyes.
What was so different with Knuckles?
. . .
In his hands, Shadow's fingers brushed against the bold letters of the book he had taken from Sonic's bedroom, without thinking Shadow found himself holding the ancient looking book when he left. It did not weigh down on him as heavily as it should, almost like magic, and he found himself compelled to open it right away for no other reason than curiosity in Shadow's mind.
Shadow knew it was the right thing to do, at the time, to leave Sonic and Rouge alone after he talked explained to Knuckles the situation. It was not hard to pick up on Sonic's drastically grim and depressed behavior result because of Shadow's presence.
Knuckles became desperate for answers that Shadow did not have the heart to tell him to, and so the echidna had been quick to leave Shadow alone in search of Rouge and Sonic.
Though Shadow warned him - Sonic is not in the right mind and will need to be wary of overwhelming him like Tails had earlier. Despite his intelligence, Tails had been rebellious and childish against his friends wishes because he had been rash to have his brother back. And Tails was reckless, in Shadow's opinion, and shouldn't be around Sonic for the time being...just like Shadow isn't.
Since the rest of their friends were mainly hanging out in the living room or out in the dining room - they did not see Shadow slip past them and take refuge into the lab with the book for a number of reasons.
To clear out his mind. Piece together the unraveled mystery of Sonic. And push aside his crushed emotions at seeing one of his trusted, and closest friends in such a broken state because of him. Sonic's face after crumpling into grief shocked Shadow. That had hurt Shadow greatly to know that he had been the cause of this grief to Sonic.
And Shadow's acutely aware that keeping this hidden from the Silver, Espio, Amy, Blaze, and Knuckles is wrong. But he and Rouge agreed for the time being that containing this and keeping the rest out of it, especially Tails, is a temporary option until they figure out how to tell them the truth. And how to understand Sonic's response to everybody since he's woken up.
"Lance...Lance...who is Lance?" Shadow said to nobody in particular, that thought had merely slipped out of his mouth in the form of quiet, almost silent words. It irked him to know that he wouldn't know the answer. That name was not familiar to him and Shadow is almost certain that any of their friends knew this 'Lance' character Sonic had been very...close to. Sonic, obviously so, was intimate with whomever Lance is and that had been an absolute surprise to Rouge and Shadow when he awoke...
And as if to answer his lost in thought question, Shadow could not quell his urge to open the book within his hands. His fingers pulled at the front cover of the fictional book and flipped it over to the title.
King Arthur and the Knights of the round table.
Handwritten in gold ink by skilled hands, Shadow's fingers traced over the pages in fascination. Only, that fascination had disappeared into alarm when the ink began to glow with light.
It's impossible!
What is happening to the book? Is Shadow losing it?
Yet no amount of rubbing at his eyes had stopped the glowing words and Shadow had seen the words rearrange themselves into another title.
Sonic and the Black Knight.
Shadow's grip on the book loosened and it fell from his hands, where it smacked onto the ground with a sudden crack like a lightning bolt. In alarm, Shadow took several steps backwards from the potentially dangerous book that had grown a mind of it's own, as it seems.
It's pages flipped frantically by an invisible force and the book opened wide on as it layed on the ground and Shadow's keen eyes caught the fast moving pictures being shown to him.
And even then he couldn't believe his eyes. Tentatively, Shadow stepped closer to the book, bent down and cautiously picked the book back up from the floor that Sonic had been earlier acquainted with. As if the book recognized Shadow's presence - it stopped it's fluttering pages and stopped in the middle of it's story.
Images of Sonic, illustrated in the book had appeared, the edges of these illustrations wiggled slowly until they faded off into the rest of the texts and words. Shadow's fingers flipped through the pages, skimming the book but eyeing the images in this book carefully.
Sonic appeared in almost all of them. As did some of their friends, Shadow noted to himself in surprise. And to be even more weirded out by this strange book, Shadow himself appeared in it as well. As did Blaze, Silver, Knuckles, and Amy. All of them stared up at Shadow as if they were alive like the book itself was.
"What the hell...?" 'There were too many shocks and surprises today...this is obviously a stress induced breakdown. I'm literally losing my goddamn mind.' Shadow thinks to himself numbly. Since all his senses had seemed to have left him.
Then Shadow noticed his lookalike adorned black armor and wielded a sword half his size. Knuckles character had bronze armor and two axe-like weapons drawn while Blaze's character appeared silver with a thin double edged sword gripped in her hands.
While the book Sonic had a crown, a sword literally taller than him, and was surrounded by Shadow, Knuckles, Blaze, and a young girl cloaked in purple with a golden staff at her side.
If to make it worse, the ebony hedgehog caught several key words from 'king Arthur', 'sir Sonic', 'sir Lancelot', 'Knights', 'Merlina', 'magic', 'enchanted', 'sacred swords', 'king Sonic', and Shadow slammed the book shut when these words began to form into full sentences and entire paragraphs he had been startled to read. 'Sir Sonic, knight of the wind and king of Camelot, takes control of the kingdom in his careful hands after the defeat of the Illusional Arthur and defeat of dark-magicked Merlina. It is with the help of the knights, Nimue, and the sacred swords that this was made possible.
'Merlina, in return for forgiveness for her actions, grants Sonic his desire to stay in Camelot with her magic. And helps rebuild Camelot after taking part in it's destruction in her failed attempt to immortalize it. Quickly, the wizard had regained the favor and trust of Sonic and the knights of Camelot. Though she does not resist her punishment of having her magic sealed away by the Lady of the Lake, Nimue for the time being.
'While king, Sonic forms a familial bond with his knights of the round table. Especially with sir Lancelot, his closest knight. The kingdom rejoices in the idea of having two brilliant rulers and thrives under king Sonic's rule.
'And after a year, the two had became engaged and held both a private ceremony together and their closest friends. Though they announced it and held a public ceremony all of the kingdom had been present for-'
. . .
Caliburn does not remember his time placed into the stone since the magic from the renowned Merlin had placed him into a dreamless slumber. One in which he woke after Sonic the hedgehog pulled him out of for the fight against the illusioned black knight.
He does not have many memories of the past with Merlin or Nimue as the years went by - his most recent memories are of Camelot as it was being rebuilt after it's destruction from Merlina. Though he is sure there are more memories from that point on that he cannot recall at the moment.
As an enchanted being himself. Caliburn can recognize the fading of a spell leave his being and he can feel himself regaining his fleeting memories. As they come back, it feels like he's been pulled out of the stone and awakened from his enchanted rest. Only when Caliburn opened his eyes and blinked, expecting to see the magical forestry surrounding them and the open blue skies.
Or even sir Sonic.
Instead of any of those. He saw the youngest of the knights of the round table. Galahad. The white hedgehog with his hands holding onto the hilt of Caliburn while he talked muffled words to another knight, known as Gareth.
Immediately, Caliburn tears himself away from Galahad's grasp and stands himself up as he gazes at the two, oddly gawking, knights in an unfamiliar surrounding. "Galahad, for where are we? Where is our liege at this time?"
"Holy chaos is the sword talking?!"