Hello everybody, DaveMan1000 here with my first official story. This story is a collaboration between JediRhydon501st and myself. The original story was done by him, but after extensive editing by myself, it has become what you are about to read now and he has given me permission to submit it here while he posts the chapters on his deviantART. Credit for the story material goes to him, I'm simply spreading it around to more people.

Contains elements from the BBC series Merlin.

This story is rated 'T' ('12' where I'm from) for some scenes of violence, bad language and sexual themes.

Thomas & Friends © HiT Entertainment & Mattel

The Railway Series © Rev Wilbert Awdry

Merlin © Shine Limited & Shine Group

Thomas & Friends: The King Returns
- Written by JediRhydon501st & DaveMan1000 -

- Prologue -
The Beginning and the New Generation

Camelot, 600 BC

Downstream from Astolat and surrounded by plains and forests, the City of Camelot stood proud and mighty; with its bright and bustling town full of people going about their day to day lives, along with guards on patrol, the city's inner sanctum, where all the higher ranking citizens reside and the grand centre of the city, Camelot Castle; home of King Arthur Pendragon, his wife Queen Guinevere Pendragon and the Knights of the Round Table. The thriving capital of the kingdom was truly and beautiful and wondrous city.

At least, until the attack.

Camelot was under terrible fire from invading forces; the heavily fortified walls were under constant barrage from giant fireballs tossed by catapults and the Knights of Camelot were stationed in a defensive barrier outside the entrance to better combat the approaching army.

From the view of the castle's throne room balcony, a tall man with sapphire blue eyes, cobalt blue hair and dressed in royal blue garments complete with silver and yellow details, a red cape and a scabbard attached to a belt around his waist, watched with anguish as the kingdom burnt and the enemy continued to storm the city walls. The man, King Arthur himself, knew that despite the resistance of his bravest knights, there was no chance for Camelot, or anyone affiliated with the majestic city, to survive this onslaught. Especially since he knew that the one spearheading the attack was none other than Sir Mordred, one of his former knights, who had the advantage of knowing all the city's weak spots inside and out. Arthur had a hunch that this would be his final battle, but he wasn't going to allow the grand legacy that he and his knights had built together be undone by a man who once wore the Pendragon sigil.

*CREEEAAAK*

Arthur snapped out of his thoughts as the door to the throne room opened, and entered a woman who was slightly taller than him, with stunning gold eyes, golden blonde hair and was wearing a deep pink gown with jewelled gold details around the bust area and all along the hem of the dress, along with a pair of golden slippers. Arthur smiled at the woman; his beloved wife Queen Guinevere.

Behind her, he saw his trusty royal wizard Merlin, who had goldish yellow eyes, brown hair and was dressed in a dark brown garments and boots that were covered up by a dark grey cloak. Merlin's wife Nimue, who had light purple eyes, short black hair with yellow highlights and was wearing a black dress with yellow details and black slippers. Next to them was his older sister Morgana, the tallest of the three women; she had bluish green coloured eyes, long emerald green hair and was wearing a deep green sleeveless dress with dark gold details, complete with matching evening gloves and slippers.

Joining the rest of the group were five of Arthur's most trusted Knights of the Round Table, all of them decked out in their battle armour with different colour details. In the centre was Sir Lancelot, the shortest of the five knights, who had teal coloured eyes, bright green hair and matching colour details on his armour. Next to him was Sir Elyan, who was quite tall and lanky and had brown eyes with bright blue hair and armour details. Sir Gawain was next, who was as tall as Elyan, but much more stronger looking; he also had brown eyes, but dark red hair instead and splendid red armour details. Flanking Lancelot on the other side was Sir Percival, the tallest and toughest of the knights, who also had bright blue hair and matching details on his battle armour, as well as dark blue eyes. Finally there was Sir Leon, who was almost as big and bulky as Percival and had hazel coloured eyes, along with deep green hair and pure green armour details.

Seeing all his closest allies safe and sound brought a sense of happiness to Arthur, something that he needed more than anything at the current time. He approached the party of people that stood before him and embraced his wife in a hug. After pulling away, Arthur faced the rest of the group.

"My friends," he began solemnly. "I fear that our moment of defeat is upon us."

For each of the Knights of the Round Table, hearing their king make such a statement was a severe blow to their morale. It was especially disheartening for Guinevere to have to hear her husband say that, along with Merlin, Morgana and Nimue.

Arthur continued, "There is, however, one thing that we can do to right this wrong. A plan to eventually restore the proud legacy that we've all worked hard to build."

Everyone looked at Arthur, eager to hear his plan.

Arthur sighed and stated, "The nine of you must take the sword Excalibur, and hide it on the Island of Avalon."

This shocked the fraction of Arthur's court, as they did not expect to hear such a thing from their beloved king. Excalibur was King Arthur's greatest weapon, he never went into battle without it, and now he was sending it away with them, during Camelot's greatest and possibly final battle?

Guinevere was horrified. "Arthur! You can't ask me to take your sword and run, leaving you vulnerable to Mordred's attacks!" she exclaimed as tears began to form in her eyes. "Please, don't ask me to do that, I'm begging you Arthur."

Arthur gently wiped away a tear from his wife's face. "I don't want to ask this of you Gwen, believe me. But there's no other option."

Lancelot stepped forward. "Arthur please, I agree with Guinevere, you can't just ask us to turn our backs on Camelot and allow everything that we've all worked for be torn down by that traitor."

"Lancelot is right sire," Leon added. "It would be a stain on our honour if we left Camelot in its darkest hour."

"Not to mention the fact that it doesn't send a good image to the ladies," Gawain threw in, to which Percival responded by smacking him on the back of his head.

Ignoring the comment by Gawain, Merlin walked up to Arthur and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Arthur, over the years we've faced countless enemies and threats, each of them worse than even Mordred." Everyone muttered in agreement. "And now, after years of defending Camelot, years of having Excalibur by your side, you want us to just take it and leave you here alone? You won't stand a chance against Mordred without it!"

"Merlin's right!" agreed Nimue.

"Please brother," Morgana begged. "Doon't make us do this."

"You'll die without it!" Eylan exclaimed.

"It's your best sword sire!" Percival added.

Arthur listened to the plight of his friends; he had expected them to all object to his plan, but he knew it was the only choice he had.

"EVERYONE PLEASE!"

The strength of his voice caused everyone in the room to fall silent. Taking a quick breath to recompose himself, Arthur continued. "I know you're all concerned for me, but it must be done if our legacy is to survive."

Arthur then unclasped the belt that held the scabbard with Excalibur and handed it to Guinevere. "Take Excalibur and go to the Island of Avalon; Vivien the Lady of the Lake has assured me that you will be safe there.

"But why your majesty?" Nimue asked. "Why do you want us to take your sword to Avalon specifically?"

Arthur hesitated; though knowing his reasoning was ludicrous, he decided to just state it as it was. "Because last night, I had a vision in a dream. In the vision, I saw that one day, each of us will be reincarnated, and that our reincarnations will find a way to return to this time and aid us in our darkest hour."

All of Arthur's court were quite perplexed by his answer, but before he had a chance to explain further, the castle buckled as it was hit by a fireball. Lancelot rushed to the balcony to inspect the damage; seeing a portion of the castle aflame as well as incoming enemy forces.

"Mordred and his men are getting closer to the castle!" he exclaimed. "If we don't leave now, then Excalibur will fall into Mordred's hands!"

Arthur looked around at everyone; seeing the fearful expressions of his wizards and the worried yet determined sights of his knights, but paused when he saw the outright terrified expression on Guinevere, who was visibly shaking while holding Excalibur close to her chest. Arthur walked to his wife, his queen and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking deep into her eyes.

"Don't worry about me Gwen; I know what I'm doing." He then brought her face to his and kissed her deeply, which she quickly returned. Eventually, the two broke apart and Arthur pointed to the door. "All of you, go now!" he ordered. "Lady Vivian will be waiting for you at the canal."

As Guinevere, the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, Nimue and Morgana started to leave, Arthur grabbed Lancelot and pulled him aside.

"Lancelot, you are my best knight and my closest friend, so I'm entrusting you with a task that I would give to no other person but myself."

"Yes sire," Lancelot responded. "Anything you ask, consider it done!"

Arthur placed his hand on Lancelot's shoulder, "If I don't make it, I want you to take care of Guinevere and protect her with your life."

Lancelot's eyes widened, but he continued to listen. "I know she's going to be afraid, so I need someone who I can trust to take care of her. She is the love of my life and I need her to be strong if I'm not around. Can I count on you Lancelot?"

Lancelot was silent. This was a tremendous task that Arthur was asking of him; not only to protect the queen, but also to personally look after her the way Arthur did. Lancelot didn't know whether he would be capable of carrying out such a request, or if he was even worthy of it. Eventually, after much deliberation, he gave his answer.

"Yes Arthur. I promise absolutely no harm will come to her majesty. On my life."

Arthur then embraced Lancelot, who returned the gesture. "Thank you, my friend."

The two friends soon released each other and Arthur spoke, "Now you had best be going, I will do what I can to hold off Mordred and his men."

Lancelot saluted his king and quickly left to catch up with the rest of the court. Now alone Arthur approached the weapons rack that sat on one of the walls of the throne room and picked up a sword. He then proceeded out of the throne room to the outer wall overlooking the canal that opened out to the river. Arthur watched as his knights, wizards, sister and wife slowly but gradually rode of along the water; in eight days they would reach the sea and be able to make it to the Island of Avalon. As he watched, he turned his head slightly, hearing two slight but distinctive sounds; a pair of armoured boots and a cape blowing in the wind, something he had heard many times before.

Arthur spun around and raised his sword in time to block the blow aimed at him. Standing before him was a man about the same height and was clad in black armour that perfectly reflected the flicker of the torches lining the walls and a pitch black cape. His face was covered up by his helmet, with only small holes showing off his bright green eyes.

Arthur smirked. "So Black Knight, we meet again. How long has it been, six months since you were removed from your position as a Knight of the Round Table?"

The Black Knight remained silent, and just stared at Arthur through the visor of his helmet. Taking the chance, Arthur broke the contact between their swords and began to assault his opponent with strike after strike. But no matter how many times Arthur tried, the Black Knight managed to counter each of Arthur's strikes. As the two fought, they didn't know that they were being watched by another figure in black armour.

As Arthur and the Black Knight continued to fight, Arthur was beginning to back up towards the edge of the wall; due to not fighting with Excalibur, he found the Black Knight beginning to gain the upper hand over him, but still he fought on despite his situation. The Black Knight smiled to himself, knowing his opponent was losing focus. As Arthur kept fighting back, he soon saw an opening, as the Black Knight seemed to be getting tired. Arthur raised his sword, preparing to deliver the final strike to his adversary.

However, before he could make the blow, the Black Knight quickly struck Arthur in the side of his abdomen. Since Arthur had been wearing his normal tunic instead of his armour, the Black Knight was easily able to impale his sword into Arthur's waist.

"AAAHHHH!"

Guinevere looked back at the castle; as she and her companions were still close to Camelot, Arthur's scream of agony was easily heard by them. Fear instantly grabbed her as she clutched Excalibur tightly.

"ARTHUR!" she shouted, turning to the knights. "We have to go back and help him!"

"Your majesty, we can't," Leon said solemnly.

"Leon is right sister," Elyan confirmed. "Arthur's orders were specifically clear, we can't turn back now."

"I don't care!" Guinevere exclaimed. "I can't leave Arthur to die!"

"Gwen, you know that there's nothing you can do to help him," Merlin said sadly as Guinevere looked back at Camelot, tears streaming down her face. "All we can do now, is follow Arthur's final orders. Keep rowing!" he shouted to the others.

Guinevere knew her companions were right, especially Merlin. She clutched Excalibur closer to her chest, as she knew that the mighty sword would be the only thing she had left to remember her husband, the man she loved above all else.

Arthur hissed in pain as the Black Knight's sword dug into his waist, blood beginning to pool out. Without a single word, the Black Knight pulled his sword out and Arthur dropped to the ground, his hands clutching his wound to try and stop the bleeding. The Black Knight then grasped Arthur by his collar and forcefully propped him up against the wall. In spite of his pain, Arthur gazed up at his opponent with a small smile on his face.

"So Black Knight, this is how it ends huh?" Arthur remarked, to which the Black Knight didn't respond. "Nothing?" Arthur chuckled. "Mordred would've had something to say if he were here. Maybe a long winded speech about how he's the superior ruler, or a stupid one-liner to mock my defeat, heck maybe even just a good ol' fashioned gloat." Still the Black Knight remained silent as Arthur continued, "You know, if I were to ever die protecting my kingdom, I expected my death to be dealt by his hands, not yours, and I don't even know your name, or what you look like."

It was true, neither Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, nor anyone knew the Black Knight's true appearance, as he always wore his helmet everywhere he went. When he used to sit at the Round Table, or whenever he was within Arthur and Guinevere's presence, he never removed it. No one even knew the Black Knights true name, he was always simply called or referred to as the Black Knight. He was a man of mystery.

"Black Knight," Arthur began. "If this is to be my final moment, grant me one request before you end my life." The Black Knight stood intently. "Remove your helmet and show me your face."

The Black Knight stared down at Arthur, silently contemplating his request. Slowly, he sheathed his sword into his scabbard and placed both hands on his helmet. With an audible *click*, the helmet came loose from his armour and he smoothly removed it, dropping it to the ground once it was off. Arthur's eyes widened at the sight of his opponent's face; from the stories he had heard about what the Black Knight looked like, and the reason why he never took his helmet off; many of which included the Black Knight being horrifically scarred in battle or horribly disfigured, Arthur now saw that none of them were true. The Black Knight was quite a handsome man, around Arthur's age, with black hair and green eyes that didn't look so sinister without his helmet; he had but only one scar that went over his left eye.

"Forgive me sire, I didn't mean for this to happen."

Arthur was shocked, not only by the Black Knight finally speaking, but also by his request for forgiveness.

"There is no ounce of honour in Mordred," he continued. "I only wish I had realised this sooner and remained by your side."

Arthur pulled himself up into a more comfortable seating position and looked into the Black Knight's eyes; expecting to see hints of deception, theatricality or even pride in his victory over him.

Instead, he saw only remorse.

"If that how you feel," Arthur said with a cough. "Then all I ask of you now, is to grant me a quick, painless and honourable death."

"But sire, I can get you out of here, Mordred will never know!"

"It's too late for that," Arthur coughed again, blood seeping out of his mouth as he did. "The wound you have inflicted upon me is fatal. Even if I was able to escape Camelot before Mordred found me, I wouldn't be able to get far before the wound kills me."

The Black Knight knew Arthur was right and that what he had to do wouldn't be easy. Arthur was, in many ways, his true king, not Mordred. Mordred wanted the throne of Camelot and Arthur's sword Excalibur, but that would never make him a true king. A true king, like Arthur, led with his heart, not with his rage. Mordred was, if anything, a false king.

The Black Knight picked up his helmet, and replaced it back over his head, covering his face once again. He then drew his sword out of his scabbard and readied himself to deliver the merciful killing strike.

"For what it's worth sire, I am truly sorry," he said sadly.

"It's all right Black Knight, all is forgiven," Arthur said through his coughs. "From what I've witnessed while you served me to our encounter now, you truly are an honourable knight."

The Black Knight then raised his sword, aimed directly at Arthur's heart. "Long live the King!" he declared, seeing the content, even happy look on Arthur's face.

But before the Black Knight could deliver the strike, the blade of another sword impaled his armour from behind. The Black Knight gasped in shock as he looked down at the blood stained weapon protruding from his chest, dropping his own sword. Arthur's content expression turned to one of horror.

"NOOO!"

The unseen attacker drew back his sword from the Black Knight's body, causing him to stagger forward towards the edge of the wall. The Black Knight leaned on the stone and looked down at Arthur, who's eyes never left the sight of his former ally.

"Forgive me your majesty, for I have failed you."

And with that, the Black Knight slipped over the edge of the wall and fell to the river below. Arthur used whatever strength he had left to pull himself up to the edge and watched as the Black Knights body fell to the water.

*SPLASH*

Arthur fell back to the ground and looked up at the face of the man who had cowardly killed the Black Knight. He was much taller than Arthur, he sported an ochre coloured tunic with tan details. Stocky dark brown armour covered up his chest, arms and legs, which had incredibly sharp spikes sticking out from the hinges and on his head stood Arthur's crown; no doubt stolen from his throne during his duel. He looked down at Arthur was a smug look on his face as he wiped away the Black Knight's blood from his sword with a cloth.

"You!" Arthur seethed.

"'ello sire, long time no see," Mordred said nonchalantly.

Arthur scowled in response. "So this is it huh," he asked rhetorically. "You're just going to stand there and watch as I die a long, slow and painful death?"

"Hmm, as tempting as that is," Mordred said. "I don't really want to pass up a perfect opportunity to kill you with the very sword you swore to project your pathetic kingdom with." Mordred then picked up the sword that Arthur had used to fight the Black Knight. "And now, with Excalibur in my hands, not only will I end you, but I shall rule all of..."

But Mordred suddenly stopped and took a close look at the sword in his hands. His eyes quickly widened in surprise and fury.

"This isn't Excalibur!" he exclaimed, grabbing Arthur by his collar roughly pulling him up to his own face. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"You're too late... Mordred," Arthur wheezed. "Excalibur is... long gone now... safely somewhere you will never find it."

Mordred's angry grimace soon turned back into an evil smile.

"Oh is that so?" he asked. "Let me guess, you had your most trusted knights, your wizard, and your queen take it to the sacred Island of Avalon, didn't you?"

Arthur's smile vanished and Mordred laughed, knowing he had figured out his plan.

"Hahaha, I knew it! Always so predictable little puffball." Mordred released his grip on Arthur, letting him fall to the ground in pain. He then picked up his own sword and stood over his fallen enemy.

"Looks like I'll have a lot of riding to do, but I might as well kill you before I leave."

Mordred raised his sword, preparing to deliver the killing blow to Arthur. But to his surprise, Arthur rolled out of the way just in time, causing his sword to hit the wall. Taking the opportunity, Arthur pulled a hidden dagger out of his tunic and stabbed Mordred into his side where the armour was open.

"AAAHHHH!"

The dagger had been buried deep into Mordred's abdomen, all the way to the hilt. There was nothing Mordred could do, as he collapsed onto his arms and legs, gasping in pain.

In spite of his own pain, Arthur grasped Mordred by his own collar and slowly pulled both of them up, propping himself against the wall for balance. "If you think, that for one minute that I am going to let you hunt down my wife and the people I assigned to protect her as they take Excalibur to Avalon, then you are very much mistaken!"

"No!" Mordred spat.

"Come on Mordred, let's finish this the way we started," Arthur said, grasping hold of the dagger wedged into his enemy's side. "Together!"

With the last of his strength, Arthur threw both Mordred and himself over the wall.

"NOOO!" Mordred screamed as they fell.

Arthur released Mordred the minute they went over, knowing that their deaths would come soon. As Arthur listened to the screams of Mordred, he looked down towards the rushing water and closed his eyes, prepared for the end.

Billinton Manor, Present Day

"AAAHHHH!"

Bolting up from his bed screaming was a sixteen year old boy, with sapphire blue and cobalt blue hair. He panted heavily, trying to calm himself down from the nightmare, just as a knock came from his door.

"Thomas? Are you okay?" asked a soft yet concerned female voice.

The young boy, Thomas Billinton knew that voice anywhere. The door opened and he saw his girlfriend, sixteen year old Lady Stone; wearing a magenta coloured nightie with gold highlights on the collar, cuffs and along the hem. She was truly a sight to behold; her golden blonde hair flowed down to her shoulders, her stunning gold eyes sparkled like stars and her nightie didn't hide her glorious figure or her C-cup sized breasts; puberty having blessed her immensely. Thomas considered himself to be the luckiest boy in the world to have someone as majestic as Lady as his special someone.

As Lady stepped inside, following her were Thomas' twelve year old twin sisters, Annie and Clarabel. While Annie had blue eyes, the same as Thomas, Clarabel's were a pure brown; both girls had orange coloured hair, with Annie normally seen wearing two red bows and Clarabel wearing three, to better distinguish them and both were wearing their respective sleepwear; light brown pyjamas with some gray details. He remembered that his sisters had convinced him to invite Lady over for a sleepover the previous day, which explained why she was in his house at such a late time. His parents, Payne and Marie were just behind them. Payne had blue hair just like Thomas, only his was more darker and had the same eye colour as his son and daughter Annie. Marie had pure brown eyes like Clarabel and slightly darker brown hair than her daughters.

The five of them gathered on Thomas' bed, all looking concerned for the blue haired boy.

"We heard you screaming son," Payne stated.

"Is everything alright honey?" Marie asked worryingly.

Thomas sighed, "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a nightmare, that's all."

"Are you sure Tom?" asked Annie.

"You've never screamed like that before," Clarabel pointed out.

"Honestly, it was just a crazy nightmare," Thomas assured. "Nothing to fret about."

"Okay then," said Marie. "We just worry about you Thomas."

"I know Mum," Thomas replied. "I'm sorry I woke you all."

Payne then stood up. "Well you just try to get back to sleep son," he said, patting Thomas on the shoulder.

"And if you have any troubles, you know you can talk to us," Marie stated as she wrapped Thomas in a hug and kissed him on the forehead, much to his embarrassment.

"Muuuum!" Thomas pouted. "Not in front of the girls!"

Lady, Annie and Clarabel giggled at his predicament, but stopped when Payne addressed them.

"And you girls best be back off to bed too, you've all got school tomorrow." Payne then left the room.

"He's right," Lady agreed, taking Annie and Clarabel's hands in her own. "Come on you two, let's go."

"Oh alright," both girls sighed, clearly in no rush for school. All three girls followed Payne out and Marie released Thomas from her embrace.

Thomas was still blushing from his mother's display of affection. "Did you really have to do that in front of Lady?" he asked.

"No," Marie answered with a smile. "But she didn't seem to mind."

"Go back to bed Mum!" Thomas ordered, pulling the covers over himself. "I'll see you in the morning."

Marie followed her son's request and made her way to the door. Before leaving, she turned back to Thomas and said, "I love you."

"Love you too..." Thomas grumbled from under the sheets, just loud enough for her to hear. With a smile, Marie quietly closed the door.

About thirty minutes later, Thomas heard his door open again. Peaking up from his laying position, he saw Lady once again.

"Lady?" Thomas yawned. "What are you doing back?"

Lady closed the door silently, walked over to Thomas and sat on this bed, right next to him. "You say that you're okay, but I don't really think that's true."

Thomas tried to look away from Lady, only to have her pull his face back with her hand gently on his cheek. Thomas could see the clear concern in her beautiful eyes. "This is the fourth night in a row that you had these nightmares Thomas, this one being the worst to date," she stated. "Are you sure everything's alright?"

Thomas paused. Lady was indeed correct about the amount of nightmares he had, but even he couldn't explain them. Thomas placed his hand gentle on Lady's cheek, "I honestly don't know why I'm having these nightmares, but it'll be alright, I promise." Thomas then brought Lady's face to his and kissed her; holding her close by her waist while she wrapped her arms around his head. The two kissed for a good solid minute before they break off to take in air.

"I never get tired of that," Thomas said, as Lady giggled. She then pulled the covers up and slid underneath, getting close to Thomas. He was pleasantly surprised, but also a bit cautious. "Lady, you know we might get into trouble if my parents find us like this, right?"

Lady smiled, "Oh stop worrying." She placed her hand on Thomas' chest, feeling his heartbeat calming down. "Besides we're in year eleven, we can be mature enough to not do anything stupid."

Before Thomas could answer, Lady pecked him on the lips again and rested her head on his chest. Her eyes began to close, as she began to fall asleep listening to Thomas's heartbeat.

"Goodnight Thomas," Lady yawned, before finally drifting off.

Thomas held her close as he caressed Lady's golden blonde hair, feeling the smooth silky feeling of her locks underneath his fingers. Soon he began to fall asleep as well, his eyes drifting close.

"Goodnight Lady." But as he closed his eyes, neither he, nor Lady heard what he called her. "Sweet dreams... Guinevere," he whispered in a different, more mature voice.

And there we go, the Prologue is out!

Why did Thomas have a nightmare about King Arthur's death? Why did he call Lady "Guinevere"? Where is the Island of Avalon and what happen to Queen Guinevere and Excalibur? Find out as we begin our journey in Thomas Friends: The King Returns.

Got something to say? Feel free to do so in the comments section and please no flames or bashing; constructive criticism is welcomed, rudeness isn't.

With that said, I'm DaveMan1000 and I'll see you all next time!