Hardly an hour had passed since the caravan of carts had started it's trek across the plains. All of the knights were on their toes, watching the villagers and ensuring their safety and comfort were always relevant. Gawain marched next to one of the carts boldly, proclaiming his strength with every step like a personal guard to the people. His thoughts were set on the task at hand, the only thing on his mind was completing the journey successfully as their king had commanded of them. A soft, sweet voice humming caused his thoughts to waver, and he lowered his powerful demeanor a little as he turned to the source of the mystic tune. That one little girl, all clothed in pink, swayed her head gently to a rhythm as she went about humming. The red knight was hesitant to smile, but something about the song seemed heartwarming, his curiosity was starting to get the best of him. "What tune might that be that you are performing, young lady?" he asked with a gentlemen-like tone. The girl looked up at him and giggled, "It's a song that my Mama taught me. She says that it's very very old-- Even older than Camelot!" she threw her hands up for emphasis. Gawain raised an eyebrow under his helmet, "My, that is old, isn't it?" he looked up towards the amused mother of the child, rolling her eyes as she smiled at the knight. The girl nodded, "Yes Sir! Oh, and it's got words, too." she added with another giggle. "What is it's title?" the echidna now had his full attention on the young maiden. With a few seconds of thinking about it, the girl squealed as she quickly remembered, "It's called 'I Will Give My Love an Apple' and it's words are very old, too!" Sir Gawain chuckled, "You don't say?"

Sir Sonic was a few miles ahead, walking at a very relaxed pace as he whistled. He held Caliburn on his shoulder, the well-polished blade flashing as the sunlight reflected off of it; A small sign letting the other knights know that he was still near. The hedgehog's spirits were high as well as his pride, his recent display of work was probably some of the greatest he had done since he had arrived in this storybook land. Of course, he didn't seem to care as he waltzed forward with his little tune. Gathering several horses and carts was difficult and boring, but nothing that the hedgehog would continually be proud of. Nothing adventurous about that. His whistle slowed and dragged out a few notes before coming to a stop, along with his feet. "Is something the matter, Sonic?" Caliburn asked as the blue knight flicked his ears, listening carefully. He waited in silence, not moving as he stood like stone, his eyes scanning the area around him. His breathing was slow and calm, so quiet the hedgehog could hear his own heartbeat. Thirty seconds passed with no results. Nothing happened, not a sound was heard, Sonic lowered his guard as he sighed. "My mistake." he turned around and started back towards the others just as he heard a thunderous roar behind him. He whirled around, slicing thin air with Caliburn as he saw a row of Dark Legions marching towards him. "I knew something was up!" he leaped towards them with a smile on his face as he began swinging his blade furiously. His strikes were like lightning, amazingly fast and strong, piercing the enemy soldiers and slicing clean through them. He hadn't always been so coordinated with his weapon before. When he had first been introduced to the idea of battling with swords he hardly had a clue of what he was doing. He was very frustrated with it, like he had to learn to fight all over again. But he was a fast learner.

He took out dozens of the evil knights within only a minute, only causing his cocky grin to grow even wider. "You guys are so slow. Don't you ever get any exercise down in the Underworld?" he taunted as he brought his sword down, splitting one of them in half before reversing Caliburn and thrusting it behind him, taking out another. The hedgehog's gaze lifted ahead of him just as a long line of smoke appeared, allowing more Dark Legions to step onto the battlefield. They each held a long lance, incredibly large and very intimidating. They pointed them towards the blue knight and charged forward, giving him just seconds to leap over the row before another materialized behind the first. Sonic's smile vanished as he saw the first line of soldiers proceeding away from him, heading towards the traveling cart train. The reality of his situation suddenly slapped him in the face as he realized what was at stake. He quickly ran after the enemies, hoping to reach them before they reached the unsuspecting townsfolk.

"Make haste, and catch up with them!" Caliburn shouted, though Sonic was already moving at high speeds. He ran straight into the back of the line of enemies, swinging his blade furiously to take out as many as he possibly could. He continued ahead of the soldiers, knowing he wouldn't have time to take them all out before a few of them reached the villagers, he stopped in front of the train and waved his arms. Percival yanked back on the reigns, the whole line of carts reacting as each horse stopped abruptly before running into the one ahead of them. "Sir Sonic, what's wrong?" she asked. Sonic pointed behind him, not even looking back as he proceeded to look for the other two knights. "We've got company." he sighed just as Lancelot and Gawain approached, their weapons already unsheathed and ready for battle. Lancelot raised his single-edged sword, Arondight and pointed it towards his enemies, daring them to take another step closer and risk his ebony blade tearing them in half. Gawain held Galatine, two small blades in his fists, both almost the size of an ax, he sliced the air ferociously as he prepped for the fight ahead. Percival rose up from her seat and drew Laevatein, her rapier, it's thin, elegant blade as sharp as a pin as she held it close, ready to stab any who intended to harm the innocent townspeople.

The Dark Legions charged forward, forming a half-circle around the front of the train of carts and keeping a safe distance away from the Knights of the Round Table. Tension rose as all the knights, both good and evil, stared each other down, anxiously waiting for one to make the first move. Some of the evil soldiers growled in deep tones, their breath the color of smoke as they exhaled, releasing a stench of rotting flesh into the air. Gawain drew in short breaths, sweat beading down his face as he looked towards the blue knight for guidance. "Do you have a plan?" he called out, his muscles tensing around his dual blades. "Yeah," Sonic's eyes narrowed, "Attack!" He leaped up high and curled into a ball, holding Caliburn straight out as he spun like a blender. He soared over several of the Dark Legions, taking them out as he continued his spin dash. Sir Lancelot vanished from sight in a bright flash of green, then reappeared in front of a few of the soldiers, slicing his blade in a horizontal arc and eliminating three of them in one swing before disappearing to do it all over again. Lady Percival, unlike Lancelot, didn't have the element of surprise on her hands. Instead she did what she was best at by boldly charging into the crescent of enemies and igniting a small flame on the end of her sword. "Time to do this." she whispered before her entire body was engulfed in the blaze. She twirled around like a fiery cyclone, steering herself into the Dark Legions and burning them to a crisp. Sir Gawain, gliding over most of the battle, landed right in the attack range of one of the biggest evil soldiers there. He barely managed to doge as the Giant One brought it's gigantic ax down, slamming it into the ground and causing the earth to shake. Gawain leaped upward, gliding towards the Giant One with his dual swords gleaming. He dropped down on top of the enemy, plunging his weapons into it's head, leaving nothing but smoke of the once so-powerful legion.

Sonic gracefully ran his blade through another Dark Legion before his spines stood on end at the sound of an ear-piercing scream. He spun around to see one of the evil knights threatening to push over one of the carts as the villagers within screamed in horror, scrambling to escape. The blue knight growled deeply, bearing his teeth viciously as he rushed over and tore through the beast. The townsfolk cheered as Sonic straightened the cart out, being sure that it was in no danger of tipping on it's own. "Why are these guys so bent on harming the innocent people?" he asked out of irritation as he spun around and twirled Caliburn into another enemy. Lancelot suddenly appeared next to the blue one, standing back to back with his King as the two hedgehogs continued swinging cold steel. "I do not know," the ebony knight snarled, "But it has to be something significant. Why would they face up against all of the Knights of the Round Table just to attack these same villagers?" Sonic bit his lip, he'd never thought about the possibility of the Dark Legions being after specific people. It was a sickening thought, maybe there was something he didn't know? Something that attracted the Knights of the Underworld to these villagers... He shook his head, focusing on the current task at hand. Most of the enemies had been defeated, leaving only scattered remains of the once intimidating army. Sonic smirked, "Alright, I need everyone to stand clear!" he shouted as he held Caliburn high into the sky. The Knights of the Round Table quickly stepped back, heading near the train of carts as they watched their leader curiously. Caliburn was soon enveloped in a mystic, blue glow, and for Sonic, all time seemed to stand still. The other knights only had a chance to blink before all of the enemies surrounding them were dissolving into smoke with Sonic standing in the same spot, a smile spread across his face and Caliburn's edge still ringing in a melodic chime.

Gawain blinked a few times, lifting his helmet to make sure he was seeing things correctly. "How did he just do that?" the red knight stared on in disbelief. Percival also raised her metal protector from her face, "Perhaps it's a power of the sacred sword?" she suggested. Lancelot laughed once, clearly unsurprised by the blue hedgehog's display of speed. "No. That was Sir Sonic's doing. There's more to him than meets the eye." he stated coolly. Sonic walked towards the group, though he wasn't smiling as they had seen just moments ago. His expression was firm, concerned even, as he looked towards them and then began pacing up and down the line of carts while clutching Caliburn. "I need everyone's attention!" he announced with an air of dignity, "This is the second time these goons came after you guys. It wasn't your land that they wanted, it wasn't your goods; It was you." A young boy gulped audibly as the hedgehog held a serious gaze. Sonic continued, "I'm not blaming any of you. I don't believe it's your fault that the Knights of the Underworld are going after you. But if any of you know something or even think you do, I need you to tell me. It's extremely important." All of the villagers remained silent, some of them looking towards each other with worried glances while others only wished they knew what the Dark Legions were wanting. Sonic sighed, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"They may not have any clue as to what could be so alluring to the Dark Legions." Caliburn said, "But I am sure that it will become clear in due time." The other knights nodded in agreement, giving their support in the slightly discouraging moment. Sonic gave a small smile, "I know it will! In the meantime I need you guys to keep an eye on these people." the blue hedgehog gave a wink and ran up the path, racing out of sight before the knights had a chance to protest. Gawain crossed his arms, "Where is he going this time? I wish he would at least tell us how long it will be before we can expect to see him again." he grumbled in a very irritated tone. Lady Percival sighed, wanting to say something to lift Sir Gawain's spirits, but the pleading gazes from the townsfolk caught her attention. She turned to them and raised her arms as if to calm them, "Don't worry, Sir Sonic will return soon. You still have us three to protect you during his absence." The people exchanged glances with one another, then settled back into their carts, waiting to resume their journey. "Well then," Lancelot stretched his arms, "Let's get moving. We'll see how far we can make it before the King gets back."