Fateful Encounter!

When morning came the knights of the black dragons and Gawain and his troops, along with Excalibur, set out for the north to find Lancelot and Dagonet's forces. Alive hopefully.

However, after their long travel instead of being met with the sign of fighting and warfare, they were offered instead a bloody massacre.

Bodies were strown across the fields for as far as the eye could, the ground was drenched with blood so deep that it came above the feet of the knights. And poor Jubilee was never more grateful to be wearing boots in her entire life.

" What happened here? What could have done this?" Betsy asked.

" Ah don' know. But Ah definitely don' want ta find out." Rogue replied.

" Guys, I'm officially scared now." Jubilee exclaimed.

" Jesus Christ." Gawain uttered.

" Jesus, don' have notin to do wit dis, homme. Gambit, ain't seen something like this in a long time." Gambit spoke. He was just as stunned as everyone else, even after seeing all the death he had, nothing seemed to spook him like this.

Everyone looked around at the carnage in front of them and all began asking one question.

" Captain, what the hell could have done this?" Gawain asked.

Poseidon shuddered as he looked around the carnage, not because he was spooked or even sickened by it. No, he had seen death many times in his life and some things were worse than even this. No, he shuddered because he knew exactly what happened. Or more specifically, who.

Poseidon looked around through the swamp of blood and suddenly felt something brush up against his leg. He reached down and grabbed the object from the thick pool and realized immediately what it was.

" What's that?" Betsy asked.

" It's Dagonet's cross. Each knight is given a different cross, to represent who we belong to. This purple cross, belongs to Dagonet, Knight Of The Round table and the leader of the purple salamanders." Poseidon explained.

" Damn. Dagonet wouldn't have gone down without a fight." Gawain spoke.

" No, he wouldn't have Gawain. But that's not the problem here. I know what did this. I know who did this." Poseidon stated.

" What? Who?" Gawain asked.

" Lancelot." Poseidon told the man.

Gawain gasped in shock and his eyes widened.

" What are you talking about? Lancelot wouldn't do something like this. HE'S ONE OF US!" Gawain exclaimed in defense of his friend.

" Yes. He is. Which is why this is even more shocking." Poseidon replied.

" What is it you know?" Betsy asked.

" You know the story of how I claimed my sword?" Poseidon asked.

" Yeah, apparently everyone does. So, what?" Jubilee asked.

" Well, there's more to that story. See, years ago... I did indeed kill that dragon. But what I didn't account for at the time was that the dragon had son... With a human woman. The boy had purple hair and piercing red eyes. His skin was hard, almost as hard as the dragons. At the time I didn't think nothing of it. But then the child woke and threw a temper tantrum. He began lashing out and clawing at anything he could. He even managed to cut me, even if only slightly. I thankfully managed to subdue the child without hurting him. But with his father dead and mother nowhere to be found, I needed to make a decision. And so, I did. I couldn't raise the boy in the kingdom and train Arthur. So, I ventured out to the forest and required the aid of the Lady of the Lake. For a hefty deal, she took Lancelot and raised him to control his dragon-side. And when he was old enough, I took him in and trained him alongside Gawain. And the rest is history." Poseidon took his time to explain to Excalibur and Gawain, Lancelot's history. Making sure to keep it down to a whisper so none of the other knights discovered the truth.

" So, has the dragon within broken free?" Gawain asked. " Is that why he did this?"

" Lancelot, has never had a problem controlling it before. It was one of the few lessons I actually instilled within him. Self-control. He wouldn't have let it free without good reason. There's something here we're missing. Something we don't know. And I fear the only way to find out what it is, is to find Lancelot." Poseidon explained. " Until then, reserve your judgement Gawain."

" Yes, boss." Gawain replied.

" Well, we know what we need to do, but what we don't know is where to begin." Betsy stated.

" Actually, we do." Betsy turned along with the others to see Apocalypse stalking towards them. Behind them was Sir Kay and his knights.

" Captain, here and ready for duty." Sir Kay spoke.

" Greetings, Sir Kay. I'm glad to see you and your men are in good condition." Poseidon replied.

" Of course, Sir. Thanks to your new friend, we managed to push back the demons with ease. At first we didn't believe him, but now that you're here I guess he was telling the truth." Sir Kay explained. " So, what the bloody hell happened here?" Sir Kay asked.

" A very dangerous beast has been set free." Poseidon explained.

" Apocalypse, you said you know how to track this beast?" Betsy asked.

" Of course, we just need to follow the bodies." Apocalypse explained. " I'm more than certain the further in this mess we go, the more likely we'll find your creature, Knight."

" What makes you say that?" Gawain asked.

" Because this was done maliciously, without care or concern. The creature was more than likely in a rage as it made sure to completely eviscerate any and everything in its way." Apocalypse explained to the man.

" Then, I will go ahead and find it. Gawain, our friends here want to put a stop to Morgan. Take them with you and the rest of the men to her castle and begin the siege. Make sure to send word to King Arthur and the Black Knight. You're in charge until I return." Poseidon explained.

" Wait! Are you sure you don't want anyone to come with you?" Gawain asked.

" Yeah." Betsy spoke up.

" No, this is my concern. I told you; you would have your troops and now you do. You don't need to stick around and help me with all of my problems. I can handle this." Poseidon told the woman.

" I'm coming with you. If this creature is that deadly, you'll need all the help you can get. And besides, I'm good at helping calm things down. You'll need me." Betsy explained.

" But what about your mission?" Poseidon asked.

" My team is more than capable of handling this without me. They'll be fine. And besides the sooner you and I get done, the sooner we can help take Morgan down." Betsy explained.

Poseidon stood quiet for a few moments, pondering her offer, before finally nodding.

" Very well. Gawain, lead the troops to the castle and begin your attack. Captain Britain and I will join you when we're done." Poseidon explained.

" Yes Captain!" Gawain bowed to the man and then, along with the rest of Excalibur and the knights, left for Morgan's castle to try and put an end to her vile deeds.

" I thank you once again, Betsy. But you should have gone with them." Poseidon told the woman.

" No man left behind, right?" Betsy spoke.

" While I appreciate the sentiment. Where we're going and what we're about to face won't give a damn about platitudes. I hope you're ready. because we're about to face the strongest creature I have ever trained." Poseidon told the woman.

" GRRRRRRRRRRR!"