The Kingdom of Camelot

Chapter 11

Nine days had passed since the meeting of the round table. The Green Knight had sent word that he would not be able to make it when the battle started, but that he would join them later, as it would take him some time to ride to Camelot.

Nearly 100 men had joined the forces of the city, all others being evacuated. With the Dolorous guard, this brought the total soldiers in Camelot to 118, plus six knights, one king, and one living sword. Merlina had been sent away with the evacuees, having no power left to defend herself in battle.

The knights and their men camped in front of the castle town, ready to meet the first wave of enemies as it came. Sonic laid restlessly in his tent that night. He went outside, looking up to the stars, wondering if he'd be able to defend his home. That's when he realized that, at some point in the last six months, he had begun to see Camelot as his home. Upon this revelation, he found his thoughts drifting to Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and the others. Were they alright? Was Shadow able to fight back against Eggman without Sonic there to help? Sonic consoled himself with the knowledge that Shadow had mastered the Emeralds. If nothing else, he had the standard ace in the hole. He heard rustling behind him, and turned to see Percival stepping out of her tent, staring at him. She walked beside him silently, and joined him in pensive stargazing. Without a word, Sonic knew that she feared that one of them might fall in the coming battle. Silently, he took her hand in his. Neither said anything as they stood in the field, looking to the sky, until finally, they decided to return to their respective tents.

Dawn came to find Sonic standing, against the protests of his knights and soldiers, as the sole member of the front line of Camelot's army. He was the king, and he should be in the back, protected. Nevertheless, everyone knew full well that he would be more than capable of protecting himself, if not through his skill, then with the help of his scabbard and sword.

The army of hell finally appeared over the horizon, and instantly, Sonic charged forward, cutting a swath down the center of them, his blade clashing through steel, cutting down the armor and leaving it empty behind him. Deep in the heart of the enemy army, he swung furiously, before his arms began to feel heavy, and he ran back, tired, bleeding from dozens of wounds, all of which healed quickly. He raised his hand, then let it fall, as the small collection of archers let fly their arrows onto the enemies. They did their best to slow down the enemy as Sonic recovered his strength after the use of the Scabbard's power. Finally, the time came. Sonic stood, and held Excalibur over head.

"CHARGE!" he shouted, attacking the first enemy he laid eyes on. Percival flew past him as he cut through nearby foes, spinning in a vortex of flame, burning away everything she came in contact with. Soldiers stayed near the back lines, not having the skill or strength of the knights. Lamorak leaped into the fray, screaming loud, unintelligible swears as he carved through foe after foe. Gawain repeatedly threw his blades into the battle field, cutting down rows of enemies. Pelleas charged into the battle, then ducked down, letting blade after blade shatter against him, but then realized that even his natural armor couldn't take such a beating. Staring at the unarmed knights, he began cutting them down, one after the other. Finally, Galahad and Lancelot nodded to each other, moving instantaneously to the center of the battle field. Lancelot let loose an enormous surge of energy, decimating twenty foes, then more as Galahad, hovering above the blast, used his power to send more and more flying directly into the blast.

Sonic swore, pushing away an enemy's sword and thrusting into him, as he saw good men falling under the onslaught of the dark army. Several soldiers fell to the ground, bleeding, screaming, dying, and now the knights were beginning to fall back. They were all exceptionally powerful, but none of the knights had power without limit. They regrouped at the gates of the castle town, half their own number cut down, and the enemy still at least 8000 strong. Sonic quickly surveyed his knights. Pelleas' back was cracked, blood slowly seeping from it. Percival tried to ignite a spark at the least to help her burn down more of her foes, but doubled over, clutching her chest in pain. Gawain had lost his swords somewhere along the hundreds of wild meteor strikes, but had managed to take a pair from fallen enemies. Lancelot stood proudly, giving no acknowledgement to the wounds in his shoulder as he pulled arrows from them. Galahad breathed heavily, coughing up a bit of blood under his helmet, feeling the strain of using his psychokinesis to such extents. Lamorak, the little berserker that he was, still stood in the middle of the battle, bleeding heavily, but with no intent of giving up, until Sonic rushed in, grabbed him by the back of the helmet, and dragged him to the others at high speeds. The armies were charging at them, and they fell back into the middle of the town.

"We've got some time before they track us down, so rest while you can, guys." Sonic said, staring back towards the gates of the town, dropped shut in front of the enemies, though they would not hold for long.

Suddenly, the enemies turned around, and began charging in the other direction. Sonic dashed up to a tower on the gate to try to get a view of what was going on. A small group of warriors was battling against the enemies, an enormous green axe wielding blur leading their attack. He returned to his men, and sat down for a moment, smiling.

"Well, Gawain, looks like your Green Knight bought us some time..." They waited for only a few moments. They knew they were needed in the battle, and that the Green Knight, massive and powerful though he was, could not hold the enemy's attention for long. Ten minutes of rest for the knights, and twenty more for their soldiers, and they were back in battle. They wore down at a much more noticeable pace this time, still hurting, still weak from the first strike, but their courage, their honor, and their love of the kingdom kept them going. They fought long and hard, slowly wearing down the enemy's number, until they realized that those they'd cut down were getting back up.

The sky grew dark. A large cloud of evil hung over the battle field, sending souls back to the fallen knights of the underworld, and standing silently, bringing them to life, floating in the air, was Mordred himself, ready to lead his army.

coming up next: EXCALIBUR SONIC VS. HELLFORGE MORDRED!