Knight of a Whim

This was...strange.

Not exactly "good strange," such as when he'd gone Super for the first time. Not exactly "bad strange," such as when Gerald Robotnik announced his death sentence for every living thing on Earth. And although it came close, the situation wasn't exactly "strange strange," either, such as being pulled into a world of fiction made reality.

Which Sonic the Hedgehog had of course. But having visited the Arabian Nights beforehand and having spent days saving Camelot, he'd kind of got used to it...mostly.

I wish Tails were here. He could have surely come up with some kind of explanation...

Gripping Caliburn tighter than the blade cared for, Sonic quickly discarded that notion. Not only was there a version of his two-tailed friend in this realm (thankfully one whose personality hadn't been thrown into a blender) but science rarely seemed applicable to fantasy. Sonic doubted that science could explain why practically everyone he met in fantasy worlds seemed to be copies of those he knew in the real world (then again, what was real?). And while an Amy not trying to strangle/hug him was a plus and that King Arthur wasn't a fat moustached man who wanted world domination made a nice change, that wasn't to say the transition was entirely reader friendly...

"Well done Sir Sonic..." said Percival slowly. "I can see why Lancelot and Gawain fell to you..."

Gripping his blade even tighter, Sonic wasn't sure what to make of that comment. He wasn't too fond of being called "sir," although it was still far better than "knave." And that said comment was coming from this world's equivalent of Blaze the Cat, standing in for a male character somehow...well, it was strange. Because while Gawain/Knuckles had the whole "failed in my duty" thing down to a fine art and Lancelot/Shadow was still the epitome of angst, Blaze was...was...

Cripes, I barely know. Is it natural for princess cats from alternate dimensions to wield blades in active volcanoes? Or is this just another case of poetic license?

Sonic didn't know, and for once, that bothered him. For while not knowing things allowed uncertainty that made his adventures more enjoyable, not knowing about Blaze all of a sudden made him guilty. He'd met the cat two times and while the first was brief, the second should have allowed him to gain insight into her personality. Yet here he was, faced with Sir Percival congratulating him on his swordplay, and he didn't even know whether that was natural or not.

Then again, he wasn't so much in the dark as to assume that stepping backward off a cliff overlooking a river of lava was natural...

"No!" yelled the hedgehog, diving after the knight who irritatingly placed honour above her life. "I'm not losing you!"

Not the most eloquent of wording, but when someone seemed intent on committing suicide by incineration, words weren't needed. And factoring in that Sir Percival (or was that Dame Percival? Damnit, he'd have to talk to Merlina after this...) was still holding the last Sacred Sword, Lavietein...well, that made things slightly more urgent. Urgent enough even to grab Percival's left hand with his own while using his right to stick Caliburn into the cliff face to ensure that neither of them ended up...blazing.

Shuddering at such a lame pun, Sonic was glad his earlier wording hadn't been too eloquent. He might have actually said that aloud and Caliburn gave him enough crap without criticizing his manner of speech.

What right would a talking sword have to do that anyway?

Ignoring the sword's protests at being stuck in rock that was hard, Sonic kept his eyes fixed on Percival, who in turn had her eyes on him. Unlike the many other individuals who the hedgehog had saved over the course of his life, no words of gratitude came out. No tears, not gifts...just disbelief. And while Sonic was glad not to be having to keep his grasp on a rabid fangirl, the silence was still eerie.

"Whew...," said the appointed knight in an effort to bring a...spark to the situation. "That was close."

More simple words, but ones that summarized the situation entirely. Certainly they seemed to make Percival fully aware of the situation, that it was only through the hand of her enemy that was saving her from a fiery fate. As such, her subsequent words were perfectly understandable.

"Why?" asked the cat softly. "Why did you...?"

Sonic shrugged as best he could given how his two arms were pointing in opposite directions. "I guess you could say that whim is my other master."

Knight of the Wind...that's what Sonic had been called a few times and one that unlike "blasted rodent" or whatever Eggman called him, he actually appreciated. But there were other things the hedgehog appreciated as well, among them that while "knight of a whim" was perhaps not the worst pun in the world, it was also a bad lie. Because he knew that something more than just whim had caused him to jump after Percival. Something that, as he looked into the cat's yellow eyes, he began to understand...

"I do hate to interrupt," said Caliburn, not sounding sorry at all. "But can we save the hugs and kisses for later?"

Looking up to face the sword and thus missing Percival's blush, Sonic glared at the blade that, while allowing him to stay alive, was steadily diminishing his gratitude for that fact.

Sanctimonious piece of metal. What would he know about hugs and kisses?

Then again, Sonic didn't know much either. Usually he tried to avoid them...

"What?" asked the hedgehog to the talking sword. "You jealous or something?"

"For a knave, such as you?" Caliburn exclaimed. "Ridiculous!"

"Enough with that knave stuff already..." Sonic murmured.

Under normal circumstances the hedgehog would have been surprised to hear Caliburn relent. Under normal circumstances, the 'knight' would have been surprised to hear the sword acknowledge him as such. But in his current situation, holding on for dear life, his circumstances could hardly be described as normal. So while he was genuinely grateful for Caliburn's comments, he quickly followed up with a far more pressing question...

"How do we get back up?"

Caliburn snorted. "Knight of a whim...a worthy title indeed."

Yet another stab at his ego. But given that it had been for a certain lavender cat...

Sonic didn't regret it.

It had taken several violations of the laws of gravity for Sonic and co. to get up that ledge, followed by several more plot twists that weren't in the original story of King Arthur and, having escaped from said story, several whacks on the head from Amy for missing his date with her. And while Tails was more believing of his story and his explanation as to why he had an icepack with him, that didn't make his request any less strange.

"An artificial zone portal. Something I can use to visit Blaze."

And now, having gone through a device that ruptured a hole in the space-time continuum by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, Sonic had arrived.

Sonic could tell that he'd reached his destination, though couldn't help but shake the feeling that it might be his final one. Because while he'd indeed landed in a throne room with a certain cat seated at the end of it, the chamber also contained a large amount of guards of various species. Guards that promptly hauled him to his feet and only released their hold at the bidding of their ruler.

"Sonic..." said Blaze slowly, walking down slowly to him. "It's...good to see you."

The fastest thing alive winced at the comment. The ruler of this world's tone was formal, but whether that was the result of keeping to regality or a mask for hostility was hard to say. Certainly Sonic was glad to see her, but glancing around the walls of the throne room and the burn marks on them, he couldn't be certain if Blaze felt the same way.

"Err, sorry about that," said the hedgehog sheepishly. "I'd hoped to land outside the palace walls rather than in them but-..."

"Don't worry about that," said the princess airily, waving a hand dismissively. "Marine conducted one of her experiments here a few days ago. The results were...well, you can see that for yourself."

Sonic briefly wondered what that experiment entailed. Briefly, because not only did he consider it best not to know, but when Blaze suddenly asked him what brought him to her world, his train of thought went down a different track. Because truth be told, he didn't know the answer. All he knew was that how little he knew about his friend and that his adventure in Camelot had made him realize that. Made him realize how much he missed her. Made him realize how impetuous he could be...

Even impetuous enough to kiss her. Quickly and swiftly, leaving him ready for whatever consequences there might be. But regardless of what they were, Sonic knew in his heart that he didn't regret them. After all, whim was his master.

And blushing as brightly as the magma of Molten Mine, it seemed that Blaze appreciated that fact as well.

A/N

This was the result of a request for a SonicxBlaze story. Truth be told, while I accepted, I didn't have many recorded ideas to choose from, at least in regards to this pairing at the time. Most of the STH pairing ideas I have are SonicxSally and one-sided SonicxAmy and pairing ideas involving Blaze usually involve her with Silver. Still, I guess Sir Percival came to the rescue in the end.

Or Dame Percival. Whatever.