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Knight of the Moon:Chapter 15

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Chapter 15
Beast in the Castle

(Sonic's POV)
Sonic awoke to find himself once again lying in one of the hospital ward's white beds; and once again besieged by an aching migraine. He moaned then sat up in bed rubbing his quills. This is starting to get annoying. How come I can't just have a nice quiet nap without waking up feeling like my head is gonna explode? The last rays of the sun were shining through the window on the opposite wall. How long have I been in here? Sonic thought back to what had happened to him. He remembered being with Percival; they had almost gotten out of the forest. The hedgehog pulled the covers off of his body so that he could examine his left calf. The wound was tightly bound in linen wrappings and blood had partially soaked through. His fight with the hunters came flashing back, as did a small twinge in his calf as he could almost feel the arrow piercing his flesh again. Irritation filled the hedgehog at the knowledge that he wouldn't be running for a little while. I wonder how bad it was. Sonic gently pinched a corner of loose wrapping with his thumb and forefinger, then slowly peeled it off. Surprise replaced his annoyance as the injury was revealed. Would you look at that! Other than a spot of dried blood, there was almost no sign of an injury save for a scar at. Sonic flexed the muscle experimentally and smiled when it moved as it should without any pain. I think we're good to go! A quick jog before dusk wouldn't hurt. Actually, I should be right on time for dinner. Sonic spun his legs off the side of the bed and pushed himself off. He slipped his feet into the red running shoes that were sitting right were he usually leaves them before sleeping; then searched for his familiar gloves. Now, where did they put…Ah! There you are. Two white gloves sat on the nightstand next to his bed. He slipped them on and squeezed his hands a few times. Merlina or Cosmo must have brought made me a new pair since my other ones got shredded. The sun dipped below the horizon and night crept from the shadows of day. Something stirred deep in Sonic's chest as he watched the sunset; and to him it felt good. He sighed. "Perfect night for a jog!" Sonic stretched out his legs and arms for good measure enjoying the feeling as the muscles creaked and pulled. But, a guest interrupted his preparations. Sonic turned as the ward doors opened to admit his buddy the Blacksmith. Sonic grinned wide at the fox, but didn't get a return smile. Instead, Tails' mouth dropped and he rushed over to the standing hedgehog.
"Sonic, get back into bed! You shouldn't be up and moving yet! That arrow tore your calf muscle and chipped bone. So stop standing there and…how are you even up!" exclaimed the yellow fox.
Sonic shifted his left leg and twisted it so that Tails could see the back of his leg. He almost laughed at his friends expression. The fox ducked down and grabbed his leg, then probed the area where the wound had been. Actually, Sonic gaped a little when he saw that the scar was now gone as well.
"But…that's im…impossible," mumbled Tails. "No anthro or human could heal that fast without the aid of magic. And yet, no one would no that you had been shot." Tails looked up in wonder at Sonic. "How?"
Sonic shrugged. "I don't know. You and Merlina are the experts at this kinda stuff. Speaking of Merlina, where is she? I kinda want to talk to her; she did great with these wrappings. Heck, maybe she did the healing for me!"
"Sonic, Merlina couldn't have healed you because she hasn't made it back yet. Apparently the sickness that started in the village she went to has turned into a plague and now most of the people are ill. It could be some time before she makes it back," he told the hedgehog.
"Well, what happened after I passed out?"
"Percival tried to fight off both the hunters but was beaten. Then, Bedivere showed up and thrashed both of those bullies."
Sonic looked quizzically at Tails. "Who's Bedivere?"
Tails waved off the question. "You'll meet him later. Anyways, Bedivere and Percival brought you back to the village unconscious where Gawain and Lancelot were waiting. Lucky for you that you were incoherent, Caliburn ranted on and on the whole way back to the castle; in fact he insisted that he be here when you wake up so that he could have your full attention as he…well you know Caliburn." The Blacksmith rolled his eyes and smirked. "You arrived back at the castle roughly three hours ago and they put you in here. The poison had taken its toll. That's another reason why I'm surprised to see you up. It had been a rather potent Toxin causes a total collapse of the immune system making it easy for any disease or infection to finish the job. Considering that wound, we were worried that an infection would set in."
Sonic simply stared at the fox, he had hardly comprehended anything out of that story, one: some if it was Tails' famous techno babble that he didn't get, and two: the hedgehog's mind was already beginning to stray and slip as night drew closer and the moon had started its ascension. Sonic put a hand to his head as a sudden bout of dizziness came over him.
"Sonic, you don't look so well. You should get back into bed and rest. I can have a servant bring something up to you."
"Nah, I'm fine. Shouldn't have stood up so fast," said Sonic.
"Uhhhh. Ugggg."
Sonic spun around at the sounds of the groaning. He spotted a bed in the corner of the room where a shifting figure hid under a mass of blankets. Tails followed Sonic's gaze.
"It seems you were right about an infection. After returning from the village yesterday, Galahad developed a fever and we put him in here. The fever broke this morning and he is slowly recovering, but he is delirious at the moment. He keeps ranting and screaming about illusions and images that he is seeing. Cosmo believes that the images are things from his nightmares and his memories." Tails shuffled his feet a little and he looked down at the mention of Cosmo's name. Sonic smirked then winked at the little fox but didn't pester him about Tails' secret crush. The Blacksmith continued. "I'm still at a loss for words on how you sensed the infection, or smelled it or whatever you did." He looked up at Sonic expectantly waiting an answer.
Sonic though had sat back on the bed cradling his head. What is it with these flipping headaches!" His head felt like it was shearing in half as two opposing forces pulled at his mind and the tension kept building; even his body didn't feel quite his own. The fox quickly buzzed over to the king's side.
"Sonic? What's wrong?" asked Tails with evident concern on his face. Tails layed a hand on Sonic's shoulder, but drew it back as the hedgehog whipped around to look at Tails. The fox slid away hurriedly, almost falling off the bed. The look in Sonic's eyes had scared him.
The hedgehog shook himself out of it and drove off his migraine, at least for now. He managed a smile. "You know what buddy, I think I'll take your advice and sleep for a little while. Don't bother sending anything up, I'm not that hungry," he lied. I'm not hungry, I'm starving!  Looking at his friend's expression frightened him. When Tails had touched him, he had felt a desire to attack him. It had been a slight one, but it had been there.
"Okay, I leave you to rest," said Tails as he stood up from the bed. He walked back over to Galahad's bed first, and checked his forehead for a temperature.
When Tails' back was turned towards him, Sonic held up his arms, which had begun to burn. His eyes widened as he saw dark fur sprouting from his peach skin and spreading up to his shoulders and down into his gloves. Sonic threw back the covers of the bed and buried himself into the blankets so that only his head was visible. What the hell is this!?! The hedgehog had forgotten about his other two transformations so in his mind; he didn't know what was happening. The changes had already begun under the covers and Sonic could feel his body altering itself, painfully. It took every ounce of his strength to keep from crying out. Tails got done with Galahad and headed for the door. He turned around to look at Sonic.
"Just holler if you need anything?"
Sonic didn't trust his voice to work so he just grunted his reply. The oak door shut with a squeak as the rusty hinges protested the movement. "Ahhh! Garrrr!" Sonic rolled out of the bed pulling the sheets with him. He looked down at his body hidden by the blankets and could see his form shift and grow as his bones doubled in size and stretched. The hedgehog rapidly grew from being just over three feet in height to being well over six foot now.  Then his hands swelled and within his gloves and he pulled them in tight against his chest, pushing inward to counter the pressure building on the inside of hi ribs as the organs ballooned. Sonic threw off the covers so that he could see the process. Now, his muscles started their expansion and he watched in wonder as well as horror as his slim, and now stretched out, runner's build slowly and agonizingly filled out. His stomach shifted and his abs swelled, followed by his upper torso and chest. The muscle in his back also filled out and swelled lending his torso the shape of a large , upside down triangle with his hips being slimmer because there isn't a lot of muscle there to grow. He arched his back off the floor and hissed as his ribcage popped and grew outwards adding even more size to his now bulging chest. The growth of his muscles spread to his limbs, feet, and hands and he could feel both his shoes and gloves growing tighter. Not wanting them to rip off, he slipped off his shoes and the gloves letting them fall to the stone floor. Just in time two as the growth sped up. His usually thin arms were now as thick around as his head used to be, and they those muscle were still growing. All the extra bulk on his body had made his thickening legs look stocky since they hadn't stretched as much as the rest of his body had. The sleek blue fur had given way to a knotted and heavy pelt of dark grey fur. Sonic's hand's had been clutched into fists as they grew; then his fingers jerked open as long claws sprung out of the ends. He then reached up and covered his face as his jaw widened out somewhat and fangs grew in, then his brow lowered a little giving him a more wolfish appearance. At last the transformation subsided with a few more loud cracks and pops. Sonic lay unmoving though because half way through the transformation, he had lost focus on what was happening to him as something besieged his mind trying to tear it away from under his control. New instincts melded with his mind forcing his mentality to change, along with his memories. As the werehog's urges and needs became his own, so did all of his memories of the past two transformations; it was too late though for the hedgehog. Sonic fought back against these feelings knowing what would happen if he gave in to these primal drives. His wolfish instincts assaulted his memories first and began to tear them away, but Sonic resisted. NO! I…I can't…let it w…win! I'm Sonic! Sonic the hedge…hedgehog!The werehog rolled around on the floor grasping his head in his massive hands growling and whimpering, he ended up bashing his forehead on the leg of one of the ward beds. This isn't…isn't me…I…I'm a hedge…. His hope that he could beat this crumbled as he realized that he was fighting an unwinnable battle against himself. But, he fought on.

Across the ward, Galahad had awoken from his slumber hearing the sounds of screams and groans, along with other horrible noises akin to torture. The silver hedgehog was now sitting up in his bed as best as he could manage in his current state. He had been passed out when they'd brought Sonic in earlier so he didn't know who was making the noises. Sonic's transformation was hidden from Galahad's view because of the beds. Fear though replaced his initial curiosity when a peach colored arm came up over the edge a bed. His eyes widened as the arm transformed then sunk back out of view. The disgusting noises stopped and all he could hear were whimpers and heavy breathing of some massive beast. Then, the beast rose up slightly and Galahad could see it's back over the top of a bed that was hiding it. The furniture could no longer hide the thing's bulk.

While Sonic struggled to keep his identity form slipping, his memories of friends were torn away. Noticing this, Sonic turned his attention to these and went through the names. Tails, Lancelot, Merlina, Gaw…Gawain,…Perc…Pe…the cat. NO! She's my friend! It was useless. His mind shuffled them around form friends and tagged them as prey despite Sonic's battling against it. Suddenly Sonic' improved sense of smell detected another organism in the room with him. His body shook with excitement as he took in the scent of fear and flesh. With horror at what he was doing, Sonic covered his nose to cut off the scent and threw himself up against the base of the wall; the movement knocked over his nightstand. That's Galahad! He's wounded and sick! If I hurt him at all, he might not pull through the infection. He shuddered to think of what could happen if he even drew a nick of blood. I wouldn't be able to stop myself! I've already hurt one of my friends…I won't….I won't do that again! They're my friends not…not… Sonic made the mistake of removing his hand from his nose allowing the scent to hit him again. A new though occurred to him. If he's wounded, I would be doing him a favor by killing him. Won't swift bite to the throat. He won't even feel any pain. I must feed! NO…I can't! The sounds of Galahad's uneven breathing and the faint beating of his heart entered Sonic's ears. That was the final thread and his instincts overtook his willpower. NO! NO! They're my…my…mm….PREY! The werehog growled and stood up to his full height then glared over at the bed-ridden knight who was now shaking under the covers now that the monster had come into full view. He covered the distance between Galahad and him in a few bounds then slid to a stop with his claws scratching into the cold stone. Sweat poured from Galahad's face and his covers were soaking and rank with the smell of salt. Sonic reached for the sick hedgehog's throat slowly and meaningfully with his huge clawed hand then squeezed his fingers around it. He lifted Galahad up from the pillows and stared into his eyes. They were glazed over and wide with delirium. The werehog inhaled the scent of the hedgehog's warm skin and drool began to drip from his mouth. His tongue ran across the row of fangs and then Sonic let out rumbling growl. He opened his jaws and was almost ready to strike when the stench of infection and sickness caught his nose making him drop the knight and back up a few steps. He growled in frustration knowing that this prey isn't suitable to eat. There is more to hunt here. Why settle for this shrimp of meat? The werehog backed away from the bed and moved towards one of the open windows. After throwing aside the shutters, he peered up into the young night sky where the moon floated high up. Sonic threw back his head and howled out over his territory ready to hunt. Without a sound, the beast threw himself out the window and fell three stories to the gravel below using his claws on the stone to slow his descent.

In the Knights barracks, a black hedgehog sat up swiftly in bed as he simultaneously drew a dagger from under his pillow. His ears pricked up as he listened to the final seconds of a wolf's howling. Lancelot's not a fool and knew right away that this wolf is inside the walls of Camelot. The howl was far to close to mistake it. Silently, the knight slid out of his bed and opened the hickory trunk at the foot of the bed. He dawned a set a suit of chain mail that hung at his knees and came with long sleeves and a hood. Over top of that, he put on a studded leather jerkin and gauntlets, followed by light leather boots made for swift movement. He wrapped his belt around his waist and buckled it along with his sword on. The last piece was his iconic helmet. There came a slight clang as he shut the visor, then the sound of steel sliding on leather as he drew the blade and crept out of the barracks barely making a sound.

It didn't take the werehog long to find a suitable meal that happened to be a large battle horse tied to a post. The creature's subtle and even breathing told Sonic that it was asleep. Using the shadows and his dark pelt, the werehog blended flawlessly into the background and snuck right up to the horse. He slid into a patch of grass in front of the stallion and tightened his leg muscles preparing for the strike. The horses nostrils flared he picked up on the predator's scent, too late. It managed a small whiney right before the werehog lunged for his throat, silencing any sounds of warning. The beast grabbed the horse's body and lowered it to the dirt to avoid any noises. A good kill. He plunged his fangs into the horses shoulder muscle and gorged his appetite.
Sonic picked most of the carcass clean or at least the main areas of muscle. A water trough sat nearby and he used that to wash down the feast of meat, as he gulped half of it's contents. The werehog stood up at full height with water running in semi-red streams from his mouth and onto his chest as the liquid picked up any blood along the way. Not a lot of sport in that hunt. A little challenge would be welcome.  Sonic still remained hungry, although less so now. He though about giving up and calling it a night, but then a sound came to him. His ears perked up and swiveled as they sought out the sound's direction. He faced towards the castle well, which sat in the far corner by the northern tower. The werehog slunk back into the shadows as he saw a small figure cross the moonlit courtyard. Judging by the high-pitched voice and how it moved, he figured this figure was feminine. Small in build and height, the figure would be short of three feet. Sonic hungrily licked his lips. I have room for a snack. She may even provide some entertainment. The female creature sung a soft tune while she drew water from the well. At the same time, the werehog steadily and stealthily moved across the castle courtyard using the buildings and the natural shadows and movements of the night to conceal himself. Finally, he found a dark spot hidden amongst a large creeper vine climbing the castle wall; there he sat and awaited an opportunity. He took the moment to further study this female. She wasn't an anthro; her scent was all wrong for that. It was strange to his nose and she lacked the smell of flesh and blood. Sonic sniffed at the vine in front of him and made a connection. She smelled much like this plant, meaning she was a plant. The werehog sunk back on his haunches in disappointment. I need meat! I'm not a cow. Still…she may still provide sport. The girl plant had finished filling her bucket and she hefted it with a small grunt trying not to spill. She directed herself towards the door in the base of the tower. The werehog grinned a little and chuckled deep in his throat as he watched the clumsy girl totter across the stone with the heavy bucket. One of the stones on the street stuck up farther than the rest, and it was on this stone that the girl's foot got caught. She stumbled and tripped sending water splashing all over the cobblestone road. The girl fell to her knees barely catching herself from face planting. The bucket rolled away from her, and headed right for where Sonic was hiding.
"Oh no. I must learn to be more careful where I am watching," she scolded herself out loud. Then the plant girl resumed her melody as she skipped over to the where the bucket had disappeared into the vines.
In the vines, the bucket had rolled right up to the werehog's feet. He stared down at it not sure what to do. The girl was getting closer. He kicked the bucket back out of the vines and watched as the girl stopped singing as she saw the bucket seemingly return to her on its own. She looked up uncertainly at the vines.
"Hello. Is somebody there?" she asked.
Sonic decided to make his appearance. He stood up tall and shoved aside the vines and came into full view. The girl fell back onto the street and stared up at the massive creature before her. The werehog wanted to make a good impression so he flexed his arm muscles, rolled up his shoulders, and puffed out his muscular torso making himself seem even bigger. (If that's possible.) Then, he parted his lips revealing reddish stained fangs. Any normal person at this point would have run, but this girl was not normal. Instead she stood up to face the beast. It would have looked ridiculous to any watchers; a three foot tall plant girl holding her ground against a massive wolfish creature standing at over six feet in height. She walked closer to Sonic and the werehog shut his jaws and watched her in curiosity, He let his muscles relax and hunched over a little. Then, he actually took a step back as she kept advancing.
"Who are you?" she asked the werehog.
Sonic tilted his head in confusion.  No prey should act like this. She will regret her foolishness.  Still, something bothered the werehog. Those feelings he'd felt over the cat came back now and he hesitated instead of attacking the plant girl. He felt like he should know who this is. Her friendly demeanor sparked memory but didn't catch. So he was left stunned over what he should do.
"Do you speak?"
She was nice enough he thought, it couldn't hurt to at least acknowledge her questions. He'd have some fun a little later. Sonic growled a little and shook his head.
"Oh that's too bad. Do people talk to you often?"
He shook his head again. Why do I care about this! I'm wasting time with this creature. I can't even eat her!
"Why were you hiding in the vines? It does seem a little strange. Where you trying to sneak up on me?" The werehog didn't answer this time, he simply watched her warily awaiting any movements from her. She took a step towards him and he growled threateningly to warn her off. Her steps wavered a little but didn't stop.
It annoyed him that this creature was so bold and showed no fear of him. I can change that. Sonic shoved her over and dropped to all fours then crawled over top of her so that his emerald eyes were staring straight into hers. Fear showed only briefly on her delicate features but was replaced with something that the werehog registered as recognition. Those feelings pestered him again as he tried to recall where he'd seen this strange plant girl before. His thoughts were interrupted by the soft sound of leather hitting on stone. Leather boots. I have company. The werehog whipped around just in time to avoid an overhead cut by a leaping figure in leather armor. It was a black hedgehog. The hedgehog landed between Sonic and the girl still spread out on the ground. His helmeted head turned slightly without completely taking his eyes off the beast in front of him and addressed the plant girl.
"Are you alright Cosmo?" he asked quickly. She mumbled her answer.
That name….what was that name again? The beast's eyes widened in shock as some of Sonic's memory broke through the instinct and drives of the werehog. He could remember these peoples' names. Cosmo and Lancelot! It's great to see some friendly faces and… He paused, Lancelot's face was anything but friendly, and Cosmo seemed to be terrified. What did I do to her!?! He couldn't remember hurting her, but then again he didn't know that he'd killed and eaten a horse. Sonic's mind reasserted itself and he lost the werehog's memories again. He watched the sword Lancelot brandished in front of him and knew that the hedgehog had every intent to stick that in Sonic's hide. I don't know if I can beat him in this form. I don't want to fight my own knight! Maybe I can give him the slip and wait till morning. Sonic whimpered a little and backed away from the knight.
"Turning coward already? You'll attack helpless innocents but you won't fight a real challenge," sneered Lancelot.
The werehog started to come back and Sonic had to fight off the urge to take on the hedgehog. Gravel crunched as he stepped back again, then Lancelot launched himself at the werehog with blade slashing through the air. Sonic couldn't overcome his defensive instincts and the werehog once again took control. It dove and weaved under the hail of blows from Lancelot and dodged every swing.
"Fight me! Come on, fight back!" screamed Lancelot.
Sonic planted his feet and with a well aimed grab, caught hold of Lancelot's sword arm then proceeded to jerk it forwards pulling the hedgehog closer to him. The tug on his arm dislocated it, but Lancelot didn't react much to the pain. Instead he took advantage of being closer to ram his fist up into the werehog's abdominal region. The hit simply bounced off the beast's muscled abs and he chuckled at the hedgehog's weak attack. Sonic hoisted him up and slashed across the leather jerkin with his free hand. The claws shredded the material like parchment, but failed to pierce the chain mail underneath. He roared at Lancelot and then flipped him upside down in his grip, and smashed him head first into the street. Lancelot lay in a heap on the ground unmoving. The werehog knelt closer to the hedgehog and realized his mistake to late. The hedgehog drew a short silver dagger from a sheath in his boot and slashed it across the werehog's left shin. The flesh around the slash burned as the silver made contact with it. Sonic howled in pain and rage at the hedgehog and his silver weapon. He slammed his fist on top of his head, knocking the hedgehog out cold. His chest swelled with pride in his victory and he called out. "AHHHWWOOOOOO!"  A new noise broke the werehog's joy. The sound of people shouting and warning bells ringing. While the werehog was fighting Lancelot, Cosmo had run off to raise the alarm. Sonic knew that he couldn't fight off a whole army, so the werehog reluctantly sank back into the shadows of night and hid himself completely form view.
He leapt from roof to roof dodging patrols of soldiers until at last he came to a stop on top of the building that he had started out from. Gargoyles lined the edges of the building and Sonic used these to help blend in better. He then tended to his wound carefully licking it clean. It was here that the werehog remained through the night as he waited for the light of dawn.

Sonic would have no memory of this night's events or any other night of being a werehog come morning. But now the heroes of the castle know of the beast that hunts in the night and suspicion will begin to change Sonic's life here at the castle forever.
Sonic once again wakes up in the hospital ward hours after he passed out. His injures have mysteriously healed and poison has lost its effectiveness. After a conversation with Tails, Sonic begins another transformation. Unfortunately Galahad is wounded and in the same room. Can Sonic fight off his hunger?

This is the third transformation of Sonic into the werehog. Give me some feedback on the transformations if they are any good or not. By now you'd think Sonic would realize he's a werehog again, but remember that every morning a sort of amnesia sets in and he forgets. That realization will come later in a few chapters. I'll work hard on the next few chapters and should have them up in a week or so.

This picture shows what Sonic the werehog looks like at this point in his curse. It was drawn by SEGAfan15. Thanks for letting me use it!

Sonic and all related characters belong to SEGA
© 2011 - 2024 ThrilloftheHunt
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spd243's avatar
ah so that's what the werehog looks like?