A cloud of dust hung in the air as the Doctor approached the lakeshore. He had correctly remembered the ship would land and the concrete tunnel led directly to the spot where the craft had come to rest, although both would be underwater in a few centuries' time.
The red glow of the ship's sides was fading but a heat shimmer still encased the bright metal. An interdimensional ship was a nearly impossible thing and the Doctor regretted not having been able to examine it more closely when he was last on board. Before he could begin his analysis, a hatch opened.
The section of smooth outer hull swung up without discernible workings of any kind: mechanical, electrical, or otherwise. A tall man exited the ship dressed in chainmail with a blue cloak on his shoulders and a silver helmet on his dark-haired head. He was followed by a similarly-dressed blond knight carrying his own helmet which reflected flashes of sunlight from its polished surface. Both were armed with sheathed swords and holstered laser guns.
When the blond knight's eyes fell on the Doctor, he drew his sword and pointed it at the grey-haired man's throat, putting himself between the stranger and his king.
"Ancelyn, always a pleasure," the Doctor said. "You must be King Arthur." He appraised the tall man who wore a sword with a red jewel in its hilt. "That looks familiar."
Already the sky above began to cloud over and the air took on a damp smell. The Doctor whipped out his sonic and scanned the sword, checked the results, then moved past both men to the ship and began taking readings. Several centuries of software upgrades were not giving him much more information than he had had before.
Ancelyn looked to his liege for instruction, uncertain how to react.
Four more knights stepped out of the damaged ship followed by one who was limping. His leg showed an ugly gash which had soaked his trouser leg dark reddish brown. The wounded man was bare-headed but the other four wore silver helms which concealed their faces. They paused and looked from King Arthur to the Doctor while their fellow sank to the ground next to the ship, one hand on his holstered laser.
"Who art you and whatsoever magic be that?" Arthur asked the Doctor.
"It's not a magic, it's a highly …" the Doctor began, "oh, never mind." He checked the last reading on the ship and slipped the sonic back into his coat pocket. "Your ship is dysfunctional, what brought it down? Other than magic?"
"We were vanquished by Morgaine of the Fey who seeks to reclaim her lost weapon." Arthur laid a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"You stole it and Morgaine wants it back?" the Doctor asked.
"It is a mighty weapon and a fine sword. E'en now Queen Morgaine devoutly wishes to lay her hand once more on the sword which was lost to her."
"Well give it back," the Doctor said. Time could be re-written. Give her the sword, send her back to conquer the worlds of her own dimension and never wreak havoc in this one, never cost Arthur his life.
"Alas, I cannot. But I will wield it with honour and in victory." Arthur set his shoulders back, one hand grasping Excalibur's hilt.
The Doctor's bushy grey brows drew together. "There is no honour in battle, only loss."
Arthur clapped a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "You are right, my friend, honour is in a fight well-fought, regardless of who the victor may be. But whosoever wields Excalibur shall vanquish any enemy he faces in battle. Morgaine conquered the Destroyer itself with this blade."
"What if the enemy had a sword like that? What if there were two of them?"
Ancelyn frowned at the Doctor's words. "I have heard tell that in fact Morgaine is in possession of a backup copy of this mighty blade, but Arthur shall face down the oppressor and win to victory in the end."
A shout of outrage came to their ears where they stood next to the ship's silver bulk on the lakeshore. At the bottom of the path that led to the half-built tower on the clifftop, Lord Sagramour stood flanked by a dozen soldiers wearing Vortigern's white dragon sigil, pointing toward the Doctor.
"Merlin consorts with the dragon and its familiars. As he prophesied, they are here to take arms against our rightful ruler and aid Ambrosius in his uprising. They are enemies of King Vortigern." Sagramour drew his sword and the soldiers with him followed suit.
"Merlin, be it?" Arthur said with a glance at the Doctor. "The battle is joined!"
Arthur drew the red-jeweled sword and at his action Ancelyn raised his own blade with a shout. The other four knights clasped their swords.
Sagramour and his soldiers raced forward and Arthur and his knights ran to meet them on the grassy area between the lake and the steep bank. Their booted feet weaved expertly among the fallen stones.
"Idiots!" the Doctor shouted.
Cries of pain replaced the shouts when the two groups met in a clash of metal blades cutting through chainmail and human flesh. In minutes, Arthur and Ancelyn together cut down four of their opponents while only one of Arthur's knights lay unmoving on the grass.
The knight with the wounded leg who had been left lying on the ground drew his laser pistol. The Doctor snatched it from his hand, then pointed it toward one of the largest rocks which lay in the grass not far from the area of combat. He fired once and the stone exploded, sending bits of rock flying in all directions and knocking down a few of the soldiers. The sound drowned out the noise of battle and captured the attention of those combatants who remained standing.
"Stop!" The Doctor waved both hands in the air.
Shocked at the sight and sound of the explosion, Sagramour and his men looked at him in horror.
"Sorcery!" one of them shouted.
"We cannot fight Merlin's dark arts."
Sagramour waved his sword in the air with his right arm, his left bloody. "Retreat!"
Vortigern's men turned and ran back toward the steep path up the cliff side leaving the dead where they had fallen.
Arthur frowned back at the Doctor. "You must practice your aim, for your shot brought down no enemy but a chunk of stone."
"I hate guns." The Doctor drew his sonic and hooked it into the side charging port to disable the laser in his hand. He threw the now-harmless chunk of plastic and metal to the ground.
The sky had darkened considerably and a drop of rain hit the gun and sizzled out of existence. The Doctor felt the next raindrop on his cheek.
At the same moment, one of Arthur's knights was struck by a laser beam which had come from the direction opposite where Vortigern's men had just disappeared from sight.
Ancelyn's eyes went past the Doctor and widened before they narrowed. "Mordred."
In the wooded area on the far side of the clearing, another knight stood with sword and laser pistol. He wore chainmail dyed black but no helmet on his dark hair; his chin was clean-shaven with a trimmed black mustache on his upper lip. Several more shots from the knights behind the black-garbed Mordred raked the area around Arthur and his companions causing small white explosions wherever the beams struck.
"Oh, for," the Doctor muttered.
Arthur, Ancelyn, and two of their knights took cover behind the largest fallen stones and returned fire, exchanging beams of light with Mordred's forces across the field. Stones exploded and sprays of dirt and grass were thrown higher than a man's height. Mordred ducked behind the disabled spaceship while his men held off Arthur's men. Two of his own knights and one of Arthur's had fallen, smoking holes cut through their chest armour.
Rain began falling in earnest, making it hard for the combatants to see each other.
The Doctor adjusted a setting on his sonic and aimed it at the grass between the two opposing groups of laser-armed knights. A wall of flame sprang up, obscuring Arthur's group from Mordred, his soldiers, the Doctor, and the injured knight still on the ground beside the spaceship. The firing stopped.
The rain intensified, further veiling the field. Water dripped from the Doctor's hair into his eyes and he blinked it away.
Mordred raised one arm to shield himself from the fire and keep the rain from his eyes. He turned to look closely at the Doctor.
"Whoever you be, peasant, you shall pay the penalty for aiding the enemies of the deathless, ageless, immortal Morgaine." Mordred raised his laser to point at the Doctor's chest.
"I hate guns," the Doctor said.
Mordred waved his troops forward and gestured to the barely-visible field where their adversaries had been. Their silver helmets kept the rain from their eyes, but they were back in moments to advise Mordred that Arthur and his knights had disappeared and there were no tracks to indicate where they had gone.
The worst of the rainstorm left with them, fading to a drizzle. Mordred gestured at the Doctor and two of his soldiers moved to stand guard as Mordred holstered his laser. The knight who had been injured in the ship's crash was relieved of his sword and dragged to his feet by two more soldiers, faces invisible behind their silver helmets.
"Where goest Arthur with the sword he stole? Where be his allies?" Mordred demanded.
The knight stared back defiantly.
Mordred turned to the Doctor who stood flanked by knights encased in silver mail, both with swords drawn.
"Merlin, they called you." Mordred put his hands on his hips and stared down his prisoner. "It would wise for you to speak truthfully in answer to my query: where has Arthur gone?"
"Camelot?"
Mordred smiled. "Where be this Camelot?"
"Well now, that's the thing," the Doctor said. "No one actually knows. Rumours put it in the south of Britain or in the north, possibly in France, if it existed at all, which at this point is pure speculation."
The dark-haired man frowned and one of the Doctor's guards prodded him with his swordpoint.
"Ouch." The Doctor shoved the sword away.
The soldier swung it right back.
"You will not display such insolence to my lady mother, Morgaine of the Fey."
Mordred gestured at two of his knights to enter the stranded spaceship. Between them, they dragged out a rectangular block of what appeared to be stone the size of a small table. The two men struggled to carry the rock to Mordred, finally dropping it onto the wet grass with a grunt. They both wiped at sweat which trickled from beneath their silver helmets.
Mordred drew the sword he carried which had a red jewel in its hilt like Arthur's and lifted it above his head.
"This we make the meeting place between two worlds, two realities, two universes."
One of the Doctor's guards and one of those supporting Arthur's knight joined the two who had carried out the stone. Each planted his own sword blade-first into the soft dirt an arm's length from the rock making a rough circle around the stone, then all four stepped back and the guards resumed their positions.
Mordred walked up to the stone. "By this sword I part the curtain of night."
A bright light ran from planted sword to planted sword to illuminate the stone in its centre.
"Across the abyss life calls to life, biomass to biomass, energy to energy, to Avalon I summon thee from beyond the confines of this universe!"
Cackling evilly, Mordred brought his sword down so the point slid smoothly into a slot on top of the rock. Smoke exploded upward. The red jewel lit up, beginning to flash. His laughter increased in volume.
"Laughing. I hate the laughing," the Doctor muttered.
When the ring of light around the stone expanded to encompass the red jewel in the sword's hilt, it began to pulse and Mordred stepped back. The ground shook.
In the middle of the square of light, a woman materialized. She was dressed in copper-coloured skirted armour that hugged her body and rippled and moved like cloth and on her long, red hair was a heavy copper crown with four tall points. She wore no other jewellery. Her cloak was made of a shiny material that reflected the luminescence around her. Her hands were uplifted with long, pointed nails at the ends of her fingers.
When she had fully entered the dimension, she turned to her son. He dropped to his knees.
"What is this place, Mordred?"
The corners of his mouth turned down. "A grey place full of savages."
"How goes the day?" Morgaine's tone, like her simple crown, indicated casual command. "Have you Arthur?"
Mordred's lips compressed. "No, Mother. The traitor has for the time escaped your righteous wrath, but two of his accomplices await you." He stood and turned slightly.
Morgaine's eyes fell on the knight who was supported by two of his captors. She nodded at one of the guards who yanked off the knight's silver helmet.
"Lancelot," she said. "Rest here and tell me, where has Arthur gone?"
Morgaine gestured again and the guards let go of the knight's arms but he refused to fall, bracing himself on his good leg and straightening to meet Morgaine's eyes.
"A true warrior." The queen gave him a nod of respect, then she reached out a hand in his direction.
A pained look crumpled Lancelot's face and his entire body twitched. Slowly his knees bent until he was kneeling before her outstretched hand.
"Where is Arthur?" Morgaine's voice echoed the power her hand wielded.
He twisted his neck painfully to look up at her. He gasped in a breath. "You will not find him."
She shook her head sadly. Then she stepped closer and laid the long, pointed nails of her right hand on his forehead. He screamed. When she stepped back, Lancelot slumped to the ground.
"Morgaine!" the Doctor shouted.
"He did not have the knowledge I sought." Morgaine looked at the knight prostrate on the ground. "He will die honourably." She stretched out a hand and a beam of energy shot from her fingertips to engulf the knight.
"No." Before the Doctor could take one step, his guards pressed their blades to his sides.
When the light faded there was only a small mound of ash where Lancelot's body had lain.
As always, the Doctor channelled his horror into resolve as Morgaine faced him.
Her eyes moved up and down his white-collared shirt, black vest, black coat, black pants, and boots. "You are not dressed as a warrior." The queen's copper-coloured eyebrows rose toward the crown on her high forehead. "Yet you have the bearing of one."
The Doctor stared her down.
"What are you called?" There was a note of curiosity in Morgaine's commanding tone.
He stepped closer to her, fists clenched at his sides, ignoring the swords pressed to his side. "Leave this world."
Mordred frowned. "They called him Merlin, Mother." He turned to the Doctor. "Kneel before the Queen, peasant dog."
"If you leave this world now you will escape my wrath," the Doctor said, ignoring the blades poking his sides.
"I intend to reclaim that which is rightfully mine. Then I will decide whether this world is worthy of conquest." Morgaine stretched her long-fingered hand in the Doctor's direction.
The force of her attempt to make him kneel coursed through his body, churning his stomach and sending sharp pains through his knees. He felt drops of sweat form across his brow and between his shoulder blades, but he remained standing.
Morgaine's eyes widened. She lowered her hand. "You do not intend to willingly give me the knowledge I seek, either, dost you?"
The queen moved closer to him and laid her long, pointed fingernails on the Doctor's head. A blinding flash exploded behind his eyeballs and he thought he cried out.
Morgaine's arm fell to her side and she stumbled backward, one hand going to her right temple beneath the crown.
"Mother?" Mordred asked with concern.
She stared at the Doctor, her face pale. Slowly she regained her composure and stood straight. "He does not know Arthur's whereabouts but he has seen the sword, more than once. He may be called Merlin but he has had many faces and many names and goes where he wills." She smiled. "This savage world is indeed worthy of conquest. I will take this world and give my son, Mordred, dominion over Earth."
Mordred drew in his breath and set his shoulders back.
"I go to ready our army. Mordred, you remain here with your soldiers."
"Arthur still hath the sword and I know not his whereabouts." Mordred's hand lifted slightly in Morgaine's direction before he clenched his fist and brought it back to his side.
"Set your mind at rest, Son. If you hold his accomplice long enough, he will be make an appearance. He will not allow an ally to suffer on his behalf."
A look of worry rather than relief crossed the dark-haired man's face, but Morgaine had already turned her back on him.
"Morgaine." Spots no longer danced in front of his eyes but the Doctor felt a dull throb at each point where the queen's fingers had touched his forehead.
She faced him and raised one copper eyebrow without speaking.
"You are not welcome here. Return to your own dimension and leave this world alone."
"Merlin, you have many names, some of which strike terror into hearts across many worlds. But I am the SunKiller, Battlequeen of the Strax, Dominator of the Thirteen Worlds; do not stand against me." With those words the warrior queen stepped into the square of light around the sword in the stone and vanished.
After she was gone, Mordred retrieved his sword. The lights faded and his knights reclaimed and sheathed their own swords.
The looked to Mordred for orders but before he could speak, a beam of white light flashed on the chest of one of the Doctor's guards. He grunted and fell to the ground.
Battle cries arose from five throats as Arthur and his knights charged toward Mordred and his soldiers, swords drawn. With a cry of their own, the five remaining warriors rushed to meet them and the two groups came together with a clash of metal swords and grunts of pain. Ancelyn crossed blades with two enemies while Arthur went straight for Mordred who raised his own red-jewelled sword in defence.
In short order all five of Mordred's soldiers and three of Arthur's lay dead or wounded. Arthur stood with his blade pressed to Mordred's throat, the jewel in the hilt reflecting a spot of red onto his chin.
"Stop!"
Ancelyn, Arthur, and Mordred looked at the Doctor in surprise. None of them moved, staring at the livid, grey-haired, unarmed man.
"There has been more than enough killing today."
The Doctor shoved Arthur and Mordred apart and both fell back a step, still staring.
Ancelyn looked on without moving.
"You," the Doctor pointed at Mordred, "leave now. Go back to your mother. You two…" The Doctor's thick grey brows drew together. Where could they go? Their ship was disabled.
A smile broke across Arthur's face. "We will join forces and toast our victories past and yet to come."
"There is nothing to celebrate about killing," the Doctor said. The screams that he locked inside turned his tone to ice.
"A battle fought bravely and well is to be honoured," Ancelyn said.
Arthur lowered his sword and bowed slightly to Mordred. "We will meet again."
Mordred's sword had been knocked from his hand. Slowly, with his eyes fixed on Arthur, he bent to retrieve the weapon and sheathed it.
"Til next time," Mordred said before he glanced once more at the Doctor and made his retreat.
Arthur and Ancelyn waited until he disappeared into the trees which bordered the grassy area around the lake before they cleaned and sheathed their own swords.
"We must honour the dead, then can we share meat and mead," Ancelyn said to the Doctor.
Before he could refuse to remain in the company of the two soldiers, a renewed shouting came from the path up the steep hill to King Vortigern's camp. A large group of the king's soldiers and Saxon warriors came charging toward the three men. No. Not another battle, not today.
He drew the sonic and aimed at the block of stone Mordred's soldiers had removed from Arthur's spaceship. Another wall of fire flared up, this time completely obscuring the oncoming warriors from the three by the ship and preventing Arthur and Ancelyn from meeting the attack.
A crossbow bolt whizzed past the Doctor's ear as he took Ancelyn and Arthur each by the arm and sprinted for the woodlands at the far edge of the grassy area around the lake. Another quarrel thudded into a tree trunk in front of them as they reached the forest cover. Ancelyn tossed a silver canister with a flashing red light in the direction of the enemy soldiers. An explosion sent up a fountain of dirt and grass and no further shots chased them into the forest.
The three of them took cover deep in the wooded area. Ancelyn had another silver canister in hand, waiting for sounds of pursuit.
In the moment of stillness, Arthur looked at the Doctor. "What of Lancelot?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Morgaine killed him."
"Did he die bravely?"
"Yes, but he's still dead." The Doctor eyed the red-jeweled sword. "That leaves only you two against Mordred and Morgaine and their army. Give it back to her."
"I cannot." Arthur looked down at the blade in his hand, slowly turning the hilt to examine it. Instead of victory-hungry eagerness his tone indicated regret.
The Doctor frowned and moved close enough to face him down. "You have involved Earth in a war which does not even belong to this dimension. You must give it back."
The tall man cocked his head. "Should I do as you ask, what dost you believe Morgaine would do with such a weapon?"
"The same thing she would do without it but with less bloodshed in this world."
Arthur's dark curls brushed the edges of his beard as he shook his head. "It is the source of her power, the seed of her victories, the harbinger of doom for those who stand against her."
"Her son has a duplicate copy," the Doctor reminded him.
"Ah, but it is Excalibur she believes in. She will not rest nor continue her plan of conquest in my world while I have this sword."
"As long as you have it here, you put this world and this entire dimension in danger." His jaw clenched as he gestured around them at the planet hurtling through space in a galaxy spinning and stretching in an ever-expanding universe. "I cannot allow you to keep it."
Arthur gave the Doctor a lopsided smile. "But you see, my people are Morgaine's next target. I cannot allow her to regain the weapon which will assure her victory and their defeat, even if it means I can never return."
A pang of sympathy for the expatriated king who would never see his homeland again choked some of the Doctor's anger.
"Come." King Arthur and Ancelyn moved quickly further into the woods, Arthur with a hand clasped on the red jeweled hilt of Excalibur. The Doctor looked back in the direction of the TARDIS, but Vortigern's men were between him and his ship and he had probably worn out his welcome with the current High King. Besides, he had to babysit two interdimensional warriors fate had landed in this time and place, one of whom carried a sword which would embroil Earth in a war and cost him his life. With a sigh, the Doctor followed the interdimensional visitors, hoping he could rewrite the ending to this story.