Title: Same Fight Different Century

Pairing: A/L, implied G/G

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize I borrowed.

Summary: There was a prophecy that King Arthur and his knights would rise again to protect Britain once again but this time Arthur will be facing someone he thought he already beat.

Warning: Slash

Prologue: The Beggining

Arthur Pendragon smiled at the beautiful summers day and the acres of empty countryside he had all to himself.

Finally after a year of hard work at a boarding school in London, he loved the city but his summer respite to their country house was always welcome, Arthur could just relax and have no worries for the two months of summer vacation.

The sixteen year old had just arrived at the country house the day before and except for the help who never bothered him, he was alone for at least a week until he was to be joined by his father, step mother, and half sister Morgan.

He left the house right after breakfast. As a young boy he had loved to explore the extensive grounds of the Pendragon's country house (mansion was a much better word) right outside London. He would map out certain places and have imaginary adventures and games. Now, even though he had outgrown his imaginary games, Arthur still liked spending whole days outside walking around the grounds.

That day he decided to avoid the open fields and instead wander into the woods. Humming some random tune he breathed in the fresh air and let his mind drift.

School was going good, he was captain of the rugby team, the class president, and well liked by everyone. The work was hard but not unbearable, his father had actually been finding time to spend with him, Morgan seemed to have temporarily outgrown her spoildness, and his step mother was getting less and less horrid.

Life was good.

Then, tripping over a branch he was forced to become aware of his surroundings. Recognizing nothing he realized he may be lost. "Shit," he cursed.

Too busy looking around, he didnt see a second branch that caused him to lose his footing. He stumbled off the path and tried to grab for a tree but instead slipped on something and went tumbling thru the bushes and down a hill.

Once he reached the bottom of the hill with a thud he opened his eyes and grabbed at his ankle which hurt like hell. Rustling caused him to shoot up into a sitting posistion, and Arthur found himself staring at a woman.

She was standing a few yards away from him, smiling kindly. Her long pale blonde hair fell just down to her waist and she wore a simple white dress. Wise blue eyes met his and she was soaking wet from head to toe as if she was just caught in a downpour or went for a swim with her clothes on.

"Oh, uh hello." Arthur greeted quickly jumping to his feet and pushing away the feeling that he knew her.

The mysterious woman turned away for him and began to walk away, raising her hand to motion for him to follow.

Against his better judgement Arthur limped after the strange woman, following her into the dark woods.

He followed her to a clearing in the middle of the forest where there was a large lake Arthur had never seen even though he was fairly certain this was still part of his property.

"Excuse me? Mam who are you?" Arthur asked awkwardly.

Ignoring him the woman just continued walking towards the lake, not stopping when she reached the water. Arthur was frozen in shock and curiosity as she kept on walking into the lake until finally her head disappeared under the water.

"Jesus Christ?" he whispered. Finally he pulled himself together when he realized that it had been a few minutes and she hadnt come up for air.

Kicking off his shoes, he didnt bother wasting time taking off his shirt and shorts, Arthur ran for the lake disregarding the freezing water as he dived in.

Feeling around and straining his eyes trying to look into the murky waters Arthur found nothing. He came up for air before diving back down. This time he did see something down in the dark depths. Swiming down towards it he ignored the burning in his chest from lack of oxygen.

Water flooded into his mouth as he gasped when a hand grabbed his wrist. Bubbles came out of his mouth and the hand pulled him down deeper.

Arthur came face to face with the mysterious woman, pale hair floating around her head and eyes the same color as the water.

She still had one hand holding him down by the wrist, and in the other she held an eerily familiar sword. Thrusting it into his arms she released him and he blacked out just as he was somehow floating to the surface.

Air flooded into Arthur's lungs as he coughed the water out and memories flooded into his head.

Memories of fire and death and Rome and knights and fighting and woads and Briton and of a pair of dark brown eyes.

Green eyes opened wide, head aching with memories from two lives trying to come together and fit into one head so everything would make sense.

And it hurt, not just the feeling that his brain was frying, but all the emotional pain from his other life cruelly twisting his chest. Curling into a ball he grabbed his head and screamed, "Oh God what's happening?"

Finally after a few moments the pain subsided a little and everything became clear enough so Arthur could get up and see where he was.

He was lying on the grass right next to the lake and was fairly dry which proved he'd been lying there for quite a while. There was no sign of the woman but next to him lay excalibur.

Excalibur? Why do I know that swords name? He wondered but then realized that it is his sword, and before that it had been his father's sword (or at least his first father's sword).

"God what's going on?" he muttered to himself then stopped and was shocked to realize he hadnt spoken in English but Latin. "This is fucked up." He decided.

"I do suppose you would like an explanation." Someone said behind him.

Spinning around Arthur saw the woman sitting behind him on a rock. She was carefully wringing the water out of her hair and smiled at him.

"Nimue," he said, finally figuring out who she was.

The lady of the lake just laughed, "Oh Arthur I'm touched you remember me. Actually now a days I've been going by the name of Vivien."

Arthur shot a look at her that would make normal people run away in terror, but Nimue was everything but normal. "Tell me what is going on here!" he growled, unsheathing excalibur.

She laughed, "Oh Arthur always the commander. You should know what's happening, you've heard the legends."

"There's a lot of legends Nimue, some more foolish than the others." he said wincing at some of the ridiculous stories he had heard as Arthur Pendragon.

"And some hold truth." She then paused dramatically and Arthur rolled his eyes impatiently "It is said that King Arthur and his knights shall rise again to protect Briton in it's time of need."

Arthur just looked at her, "So has this happened to me before? I mean Britons been in peril many times before why now? And will this happen again in like a hundred years? And when to I have to go fight? Who...which knights?"

Lancelot Arthur thought, suddenly filled with hope, and the image of the familiar and much missed face flashed in his mind.

"No Arthur this hasnt happened before. This is different, this involves someone you've faced before, that is why you specifically are needed. And no I do not know who it is." She said, answering Arthur's question before he even asked it. "They don't tell me much." Nimue complained and Arthur didnt bother asking who they were. "And no, I'm pretty sure this is a one time thing. You do not have to fight now, I don't know when this will happen, but you will know." Then she paused and looked into his eyes knowing what the most important question was to him. "I do not know which of your knights will be returning to you Arthur, you have had many and I imagine only a select few will actually return." Then she paused, feeling awful for what she was about to say but knowing he deserved to know the truth. "From what I've understood the knights that will be joining you would be who served under you when you were king."

Arthur felt all hope leave him. Lancelot served as his knight when he was a commander, not king, he had died before he could do that.

Nimue saw the look on his face and got up, walked to him, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "But again Arthur I'm not told everything. You never know."

"No, its okay it was foolish of me to bring my hopes up." He pulled away and looked out across the lake.

"So this is where Bedivere threw the sword." Arthur said quietly remembering his last words to the loyal Bedivere.

Nimue nodded, "It was by great chance that he chose the very same lake that your...first great grandfather 'found' the sword in"

Arthur nodded, remembering how his father had told him the story of how his great grandfather had said he was given excalibur by a lady in a lake (back then they all thought he was just embellishing his tale).

He remembered how Merlin had introduced Nimue to him and she told him she was the one who gave his great grandfather the sword. She also told him that when he died to return the sword to a lake. "Well I suppose I should be glad I listened to your advice."

Nimue just nodded, "It made my life much easier instead of having to go around and search all the lakes in Britian." She gazed out across the lake as well.

Arthur sighed tiredly, Well I guess this is what they mean by old soul. He laughed quietly to himself feeling so tired by the weight of all these memories making him feel so much older than his sixteen years, you are technically much older than sixteen I suppose, he told himself. "What do I do?"

Nimue looked at him sadly, "Try and live normally, keep up your fighting skills you will need them, but other than that just try and live. I'm sorry this had to happen now. Although whatever your needed for will not happen for a good amount of time we couldnt just 'reawaken' you and expect you to fight right away. We needed to give you time to prepare and get used to it, know I see that may have been a mistake. Don't brood Arthur, and don't do that to yourself again over him. I didnt know him but I do know he would want you to live." While she was talking Nimue had wandered down to the bank.

"Oh," she mumbled to herself, "I almost forgot." He looked down at her and saw she was suddenly holding a long box. "You were buried with these, kept them with you always, I thought you may want to continue holding on to them." She opened the box to reveal two identical twin swords, Lancelot's. Arthur stared down at them, feeling his eyes begin to get wet. Placing excalibur on the ground he reached out and took the box.

"Thank you." he whispered gently touching one of the swords.

She nodded, "I have to go, this human body I'm using, her nephew or something is coming to live with her it'd be a bad idea for him to walk in and find her in a trance." She laughed at the idea. Then she stopped and said to him seriously, "Remember Arthur, live."

Arthur just nodded numbly and turned his face up into the fading late afternoon, sun closing his eyes and gripping the box.

"I'll see you again Arthur, you'll know what to do when the time comes." she tells him and then there is silence.

Arthur finally opens his eyes and sees that Nimue has vanished, leaving only a few ripples on the lake's surface. Her words, remember to live, still echoed in his head. How could he be expected to live when he had no idea who he was anymore. No longer was he just Arthur Pendragon or just Arthur Castus, he was a mix of the two, all alone and full of grief.

The gardener, two maids, and one cook had seen Arthur return from his walk, haggard looking, hair a mess with leaves and twigs stuck in it, pale, limping, eyes empty, and carrying long box in one arm and a big broadsword in the other. Usually one to always great the servants and be very friendly, Arthur just walked past everyone as if they weren't there. If any of them thought this strange, which they defiantly did, no one said anything.

They didnt have to because eventually everyone noticed the change in Arthur after he had gotten back from the woods. He had always been a quiet and private person but now he was that to the extreme and spent much of his time alone thinking. Arthur remained cordial and friendly but he barely smiled or joked anymore. For the rest of the summer he either disappeared into the forest with that sword, locked himself in his room, or was in the library surrounded by piles and piles of books.

When school came around again he remained class president and the rugby captain. However he isolated himself and dropped most of his friends.

He buried himself in work as if he were trying to just forget something or someone. Nightmares had begun to plague him, some so violent that half the household would be awakened by his screams.

It had been half a year and Jonathon Pendragon had long given up trying to figure out his son's problem on his own, Arthur had already been to five doctors. None knew what was happening, some called it post traumatic stress but no one knew what the cause of it could be. One or two suggested it was maybe something from a past life and that they hypnotize him, and they were right, but Jonathon just scoffed at the idea and fired them

Arthur knew what was wrong with him, but kept silent about it, dealing with it as best he can all by himself.

TBC...please review!