This is a story from a long time ago.
A forgotten story the legends of old will never know about. It could be that this story never really happened. Time can be re-written. Time can be un-written. Past, present, and future.
This story is one from the Doctor`s future. His potential future, should he survive what was coming.
All is timey-wimey with the madman in a box.
The king was dead.
This is what the Knights of the Round Table thought grimly. King Arthur`s lifeless self was on the ground, his face oblivious to the world. The mysterious wizard named Sir Doctor of Gallifrey was beside him, using his signature metal-wand to perform healing Magecraft.
It all began when the exalted knights traveled to battle against Arthur`s archenemy yet sister, Morgan le Fay, the vengeful witch-queen of the Lake. Arthur himself was wounded despite the protection of his scabbard, Avalon, after being stabbed in the head. When all hope appeared to be lost, the Doctor unexpectedly materialized from nowhere. He scattered Morgan`s forces before facing the witch herself, single-handily making her retreat with a strange weapon called 'excessive pyrotechnics'. After everything was over the madman quickly ran to the aid of the king.
"Your Majesty will be fine, lovely dear - er...chap he is." the Doctor finally declared. "I bandaged him under a medical-coma, a little rest will fix everything up." He looked at the sovereign`s warriors. "Who is in command with the king asleep?"
A handsome knight stepped forward. "I am, Sir Doctor." Sir Lancelot responded gallantly.
"Oh, for the last time. No need to call me 'Sir'." the Doctor admonished. "Okay, Merlin sent me using a teleportation spell after he wanted someone to check on the king. Camelot is about an entire day`s journey away. I have no TARDIS, unlucky me, therefore we have to travel on foot after our forces have recovered. For the moment, everyone should prepare to stay the night here. Understand?"
"Quite a wise man your are, Sir Doctor." Sir Bedivere, the knight nicknamed the Shining Argetlam, answered.
"Oi! What did I say about the 'Sir' thingy!?" the Doctor snapped.
All the Knights of the Round Table smirked.
Everywhen the Doctor traveled to, the moon was shining down upon him.
"Lunatic old madman, eh?" he looked upwards at the night sky.
The end of Camelot was coming. The Battle of Camlann where Artoria`s downfall shall transpire will happen in more than a year. There was already chaos underneath the Round Table with many knights beginning to drift away from the king. Although he had defeated Morgan, the witch will one day return. The scars of old wounds will re-open. Camelot will be destroyed, the noble dream scattering to become merely a memory. There was nothing the Lord of Time could do to stop this, everything was a fixed point in history.
Although the Magus of Flowers asked the Doctor to secretly protect Artoria until that time comes. It was a mission he was unable to run away from, watching the King of Knights ever-slowly bring upon her end. "I think a Time Lord lives too long..." the madman sighed reluctantly. Artoria was still on the ground beside him, sleeping calmly. This was such a lonely little girl...
"Doctor?" a voice called.
The Doctor watched a young boy wielding a round-shield come up to him. "Ah, Sir Galahad! Lovely night, eh?" This was the son of Lancelot, the saintly knight who symbolized the ultimate protection with his shield, Lord Camelot (Fortress of the Distant Utopia). The one that stands in the place of calamity, defending the will of Britannia. He would make a good Shielder-Class Servant one day...
"Indeed it is." Galahad smiled kindly. "You guarded the king for long enough, please rest. I will watch him."
The Doctor stood, heading over a small bonfire where the rest of the knights gathered.
A radiant armored knight was the first to notice him. "Greetings, Doctor." This was Sir Gawain, the Knight of the Sun, carrier of the sister-sword Excalibur Galatine (Reborn Sword of Victory). The incarnation of the sun itself. "I am grateful for what you have done to save our king."
"No need to thank me, Solar-Guy." the Doctor smirked, reaching for a cup-a-soup in his pockets. "Terminal pastime of mine."
"These are strange names you give us for a wizard." a somber red-headed man muttered. "Although quite interesting at least..." This was Sir Tristan, Knight of Lamentation, archer of the bow Failnaught (Fantasia of Lamentation). The musician of the Round Table, bit of a killjoy only the Doctor had made it a personal mission to lighten him up with the magic of 'electric rock'.
"Anybody remotely interesting is mad in some manner..." the Doctor acknowledged.
"A madman like you, Doctor?" A dark warrior in the shade glared. This was Agravain, the Knight Who Knew No Wounds. The secretary of the Round Table, yet secretly an assassin targeting Arthur at her downfall. Of all the members of the Round Table, he was the only one who had animosity towards the Lord of Time. "After all these years, we still have little knowledge of your identity. You claim to be a wizard from a faraway northern kingdom no one has ever heard of too..."
"Oi! Gallifrey is quite a lovely kingdom, despite me never going back there!" the Doctor countered.
"A wizard who failed to return to the place he was raised." Agravain sneered. "What a sad story."
A strange look materialized on the Doctor`s face. Sorrow? "Doctor...are you okay?" the other knights noticed.
"I...I`m fine. All okie-dokie! No need to mind me..." the Lord of Time quickly walked away. All these years after the fall of Gallifrey...although he had re-discovered the planet in a previous incarnation, the regretful memories of the Last Great Time War continued to haunt the lonely man. He could never return home after traveling this long throughout the multiverse, he will never belong there. It was a never-ending wanderlust that continued to give him a reason to live...
The Doctor sighed dishearteningly, awaiting the sun to rise.
When morning came, the king`s warrior`s continued the journey home.
The Doctor personally watched over Arthur as time passed, still thinking to himself about memories of long past.
When early twilight arrived, everyone stopped to rest at the center of an empty plain. "Camelot should be reachable by midnight." Bedivere declared as their forces settled down. "Doctor, what of our king?"
"Asleep to the world. Sad, the world can use his smiling face." the Doctor hesitated, observing something happening in the background. Sir Mordred was silently sneaking away from the rest of the knights. Where was he going? The madman began to follow him alone towards a desolate field.
Mordred would become known in Arthurian legends as the Knight of Treachery, for he will be the one who shall lead the rebellion in the destruction of Camelot. The antagonist who tarnished the glorious story in the end... Although...
A strange thought came to the Doctor. Mordred is the secret son of the king, birthed by Morgan herself to overthrow him when the time comes. Only since Arthur was a girl in this universe...who was the father? The alien-madman blinked, trying not to think too much about Mordred`s ancestral origins. A little unsolved mystery is good for one`s curiosity...
A moment later, Mordred arrived at the edge of a small lake. After checking no one was around he knelt down for a drink of water, removing the helmet that obscured his face to reveal underneath was...
"Ha! I knew it!" the Doctor jumped up from his hiding place victoriously. "You are a girl after all!"
Mordred whirled around, a look of absolute shock on her face.
"Although I was not expecting you to look like a tomboyish-version of Artoria..." the Doctor noticed Mordred was coming at him with a blade, eyes screaming bloodlust. "Oopsies."
"You. Die!" the Knight of Treachery gave an inhuman shriek, striking forward to silence the man.
The Lord of Time quickly disarmed her with the sonic-screwdriver. "Oi, calm down! Your secret is safe with me, I suspected it long before - argh!" the Doctor gave a grunt of pain as Mordred unexpectedly leaped on him, sending them crashing onto the ground. The knight-girl scratched at his face like a berserker until the Doctor threw her off using Victorian baritsu. "Clarent (Radiant Brilliant Royal Sword)! You want to steal Clarent from Camelot`s armory when you rebel against Arthur!" he exclaimed desperately, previous knowledge of Arthurian legends in mind.
Mordred froze in absolute bewilderment. "What...? I only thought of stealing Father`s Clarent yesterday, where did you - "
"Oh, you call Artoria your 'Father' too? Quite lovely! ...As to the answer to your question, spoilers." the Doctor grimaced, his face covered in bloody marks. "The rule of do not meddle in the affairs of wizards is where I know it from. Only to think such a formidable knight was hidden as a girl all this time..."
"Never call me a girl." Mordred growled childishly, radiating enough killing intent to make the Doctor pause. "Otherwise I will not be able to restrain myself anymore. Understood?"
"...My apologies." the Doctor calmly backed off. "Er...rebellious one, aren`t you? I was a renegade in my kingdom too. Once overthrew the ruler there only you are a little overkill when it comes to the - "
"Quiet!" Mordred sulked. "The crown of kingship will be mine! Father is leading the kingdom to a meaningless future, he has done nothing to accept my identity! After the rebellion is over, I will pull out the Sword In The Stone for all of Britannia to witness who is the one for the throne! Are you going to stop me?" She prepared a combat stance.
The Doctor thought carefully before answering. "...No. I don`t think it is my place to identify who shall be king. Although...is this what you really want? You father has suffered on the inside ever since drawing the Sword of Appointment. He only behaves like a cold-hearted machine to fulfill the weight of ruling Camelot. I`m certain under another circumstance, he would happily accept you as his son. It is not because of who you are..."
Mordred continued glowering, about to respond when -
An explosion sounded in the distance.
A behemoth winged-creature was flying overhead, attacking the distant Round Table forces. "A...dragon!?" the Doctor observed. The ultimate of the supernatural Phantasmal Species. A Mystery of the World known to humankind since its beginning. Artoria herself battled against one before ascending to become king named Vortigern the Usurper, the chaotic avatar of Britannia`s darkness itself.
"Worse." Mordred studied the sky-demon distastefully. "It is a Magical Construct made to look like a dragon. I suppose Mother created it as a backup, revenge for you defeating her yesterday. After slaughtering everyone here, it will head for Camelot - " The knight`s helmet was thrown towards her. "What - ?"
"What are you standing there for?" the Doctor returned her sword too. "Onwards, time to defeat the baddie. You do want there to be a throne remaining after this, eh?"
The knight hesitated, thinking about back-stabbing this obnoxious wizard for a moment. No... This was indeed a time where she could manifest her future leadership by protecting Camelot when the king himself was unable to.
"Watch me, Father." Mordred ran after the Doctor.
The explosions became deafening on the battlefield.
The finest of Camelot tried counter-attacked the 'dragon' courageously with little effect.
Morgan had created the ultimate supernatural war-machine. The dragon`s artificial form was covered in steel-metal, like an otherworldly behemoth. Its claws stabbed through all defenses, its wings blasted hurricanes with the shock of its tail a thunderbolt. It was indeed death to all of Camelot`s soldiers.
"Oi! Cheers love, the cavalry`s here!" the Doctor arrived. "What do we have, a robot dragon? A Cyber-Dragon, basically? Plain sad, I was quite looking forward to facing one in a dungeon too - "
"Doctor, watch out!" Lancelot jumped backwards as the dragon blasted a stream of fire. "Sir Kay is unconscious, we cannot deplete our forces any more. The other knights are assaulting the beast yet none of our blades are effective. It`s too dangerous here for your madness! "
"I`m quite a dangerous fellow when I don`t know what I`m doing." the madman responded sagely. "Where is Arthur?"
Lancelot pointed towards the still comatose king hidden beside a tree, with Bedivere guarding her. "We have to move him away before this place is ignited by flames. The retreat - "
A battle cry sounded as Mordred leaped on the dragon`s back, stabbing her sword into its wings. Strange drops of ebon liquid flew from the creature, yet it was more furious than hurt. "What is that?" the Doctor observed. "Artificial blood?"
"Crystallized darkness, a creation of dark Magecraft used to give life to Constructs." Lancelot answered grimly. "I do not know much about it, although it is mentioned by Merlin only the miracle of light originating from the earth can nullify it."
A lightbulb went off in the Doctor`s head. "The miracle of... I thought of something, yet I will need some time. Continue distracting big baddie dragon thingy, eh?"
"What do you think I`ve been doing!?" Lancelot warded off the creature as it approached.
The Doctor quickly ran, assisting all the other valiant Knights of the Round Table in defense before arriving at Artoria`s location.
"Doctor? What is it?" Bedivere asked when the scratch-covered wizard pulled Excalibur from the king`s sheath. "You shouldn`t be - "
"I know! Never would be king, only this is not the time!" The madman began to conducting a medical diagnosis on Artoria, preparing her for an emergency awakening.
Galahad unexpectedly appeared, raising his shield to protect the king from another inferno blast. "Doctor, do what you need to. We will defend the - !" he called before the sky-demon`s tail knocked him away.
"Bedivere, the back of my overcoat is a little ignited. I would appreciate something done." the Doctor calmly did not look up. The knight quickly used his cape to smother the flames. "Ah, the king`s heartbeat is abnormal. Please hold him steady, will you?" the Doctor pulled out a defibrillator. "Clear!"
A shock of electricity later, Artoria awoke. "I...Sir Doctor, what are you - "
"Good night, Your Majesty. Sorry about the waking up, only a little nightmare is happening." the Doctor pointed at the flying creature overhead. Artoria weakly tried to stand for combat only found her legs unable to move. "Temporarily paralysis from the coma, nothing to be anxious about. Although I will be needing your sword."
"You...Excalibur?" the king blinked in bewilderment as the wizard handed the Sword of Promised Victory over.
"I remember what its name is, don`t be sorry." the Doctor reached for his sonic-screwdriver. "All I want you to do is activate the blade`s laser-ability. You know, when you make it shine up before overkilling the enemy?" Artoria frowned before reluctantly raising Excalibur skywards into the air. Magical energy began to gather as the sword flared like a beacon. "Wonderful, cover your eyes!" the Doctor aimed the sonic-screwdriver, reversing the polarity of the solidified photo-electric light into overdrive.
The battle froze as the Sword of Promised Victory flashed brighter than the sun itself, covering the landscape with golden radiance. All the king`s forces looked away, their eyes blinded by the sheer luminescence. The dragon itself launched towards the defenseless king and the Doctor before shrieking in pain as its entire form began to burn. "You are weak to natural light originating from the earth, aren`t you?" the Doctor called. "Shouldn`t have attacked when a magical laser-sword forged from the planet itself was still around!" The dragon gave one last howl, the liquid darkness evaporating from its inside to drop lifelessly onto the earth, becoming nothing more than a heap of scrap metal.
A silence passed before a jubilant cry of victory came from Camelot`s forces.
"Doctor! You did it!" A slightly bloody Galahad smiled as the Knights of the Round Table gathered. "The king is awake too!"
"It was nothing, really." the madman smirked. "Oh...fine. A little gratitude wouldn`t irretrievably damage my ego. For tonight, everyone lives! My clever mind saved the day once more, with a little assistance from - "
"Enough, Sir Doctor." Artoria scowled, staggered up. "I appreciate what you have done, only our forces have been wounded too. Attend to them as I recover from what magic sleep you placed me in." The smiles on the Round Table faded to be replaced by quiet frowns.
Although the battle is over, Artoria continued distancing herself from others. She thought of herself living a fulfilling mission to save the kingdom, yet sacrificed all personal happiness to accomplish this to the point of becoming inhuman. At the end of the story the sovereign will only be abandoned on a field of blades, regretting who she became...
The Doctor sighed. "Would like like a jelly baby?" he asked Bedivere.
"...You...eat babies made of jelly!?" the knight responded bewilderingly.
After the battle, Camelot was in sight.
Although no one knew it, this memorable day will be the catalyst of many beginnings.
When everything was over, Morgan Le Fay acknowledged the Doctor was far too formidable of an obnoxious wizard to defeat. Therefore she never again approached Camelot in fear of facing the madman once more, focusing on readying the rebellion instead.
Mordred`s inner vengeance against Father rose ever more after the battle, for the king still failed to acknowledge her role in identifying the dragon`s weakness, rather pretending she was never there in the first place.
The other Knights of the Round Table recognized Arthur was not invincible, needing a wizard from another kingdom to help defeat the enemy. His cold-heartened response after the battle too caused the warriors to begin questioning the reason they remain as the sovereign`s protectors.
The only good to come from this was Camelot will survive to know the light of tomorrow...until the end comes.
"I have to admit, I would have never thought of using Excalibur like what you did." Merlin mentioned to the Doctor as they stood in the throne room.
"An old trick I learned from my universe`s version of King Arthur." the Doctor smiled, dusting off the TARDIS. "Lovely chap, although I was the lunatic who gave him the Sword In The Stone..."
"Oh?" Merlin asked. "I would never thought you are one who could wield a blade...a Knight of Temporality, aren`t you?"
The Doctor smirked. "Spoilers..."
Knight of Temporality indeed...