Sonic and the Black Knight (Rewritten)

Chapter 15: Fight the Knight: Part 2

"You're... me."

Sonic's counterpart of the Arthurian world, the one they all wondered who it could be, was now revealed to be the corrupted King Arthur himself. The armor and crown he wore remained the same, though now fitted to his smaller form. The dark energy still crackled around him, but it seemed more controlled, more focused in his hedgehog state. His yellow eyes gleamed with malice as he regarded his counterpart, calmly responding in a British accent:

"Thou shouldnst be surprised. You were able to removeth the traitor from the stone."

The sacred swords realized everything by that one hint, remembering that only the king could pull Caliburn from the stone. It was a sign that had been staring them in the face since the beginning of their journey - Sonic was not just chosen by fate, but was intrinsically connected to this realm's Arthur.

"Do thoust remembereth now? Old friend?"

Caliburn's eyes widened at Arthur's words, a flicker of recognition passing through them.

"Hmmm... You look familiar somehow..."
"Have we met before?" Sonic asked the talking sword.
"I cannot recall, but thy face seems familiar."
"Hey, hath you seen that hérisson bleu before?"
"What do you mean?"
"He somehow feels... Very familiar. Like I hath already knew him, but, I canst seem to put my finger on it..."
"Vous me semblez vaguement familier... May I have your name, Aprentice Knight?"
"Pourquoi a-t-il l'air si familier?"
"Cette présence... Elle me semble vaguement familière..."
"Thou reminds me of someone..."

For some reason, all the encounters with the blue knight had left a lingering sense of familiarity in everyone's minds - a feeling that perhaps they had crossed paths before, in another time or place. The sacred swords and their wielders exchanged knowing glances, the pieces of the puzzle slowly coming together in their minds. Now, facing Arthur's true form, those scattered moments of déjà vu suddenly made perfect sense.

"That's why you seemed so familiar." Caliburn spoke to Sonic, who looked almost as shocked as him. "You are practically him!"

"Indeed." The black knight chuckled in amusement. "I knew from the moment I saw thy face, that thou would pull the sword from the stone and use it against me, his former wielder."

"You are nothing but a mere shell of what he used to be! You put me back in that cursed stone for trying to reason with thee! Reason!"

"You deemed him a traitor... just for reasoning?!" Balin exclaimed in disbelief.

"Before making us swear to be nothing more than mindless weapons..." Pin muttered, making Jet growl angrily at all the king made their sword friends go through. Nell meanwhile, was too stunned to utter a word.

"And going so far to even FORBID our wielders to even ACKNOWLEDGE our sentience!!" Arondight yelled, her righteous anger shared by Shadow, who's chaos energy was crackling intensely around him. The dark hedgehog's crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as memories of his own experiences with manipulation and control fueled his growing fury.

"How, DARE you!" Knuckles roared, his Sacred Swords glowing with intense fury that matched their wielder's rage.

Laevatein also shown his anger, his priestly demeanor darkening.
"You unholy fiend! How far thou has fallen from the king we were forged to serve!"

"Yeah!" Sonic agreed. "It's all because of that stupid scabbard!"

Arthur scoffed at Sonic's accusation, his yellow eyes flashing with dark amusement.
"The scabbard has helped me to defeat my enemies. It gave me the power to control on what was thought impossible. And with it, my reign shall be eternal."