Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.

A/N Thanks for the amazing response on the interlude. We are finally at the last adventure in this story. Don't worry, there is a sequel to it!

This adventure will act as a prequel to the Seventh Doctor episode 'Battlefield' which you should see if you haven't done so before. It isn't necessary to have seen it to understand this adventure. As always, feel free to ask any questions.

Happy Reading!


The Wizard of Camelot: Terra Nova

"You look nervous," said Rose quietly, so as to not startle the Doctor.

He jumped a little regardless, since he had thought that she was still asleep. "Not nervous," he said, kissing the hand that he had been caressing. "Pondering, maybe."

"Oh?" asked Rose, turning on her side to face him. "What were you pondering about?"

His fingers traced lightly over the bare ring finger of her hand as he picked his words carefully. "The future," he said vaguely.

Rose's eyes softened a little. "You do realise that you don't have to, right?" she asked, wanting to make sure he knew it.

His lips quirked up into a smile. "What? Think of the future? I am afraid that it is an inevitability for a Time Lord to do so," he said.

Rose didn't share his amusement. "I mean it," she insisted. "Like I said last night, as long as it is you and me, it doesn't matter. Everything else is just...immaterial."

"That is what you think now, Rose," said the Doctor, slightly melancholically. "Perhaps, one day you would…"

"Oh, would you stop?" said Rose as she rolled on top of him and straddled him. "I am not changing my mind and you ought to get it through that thick alien head of yours." Her eyes softened. "I am not going anywhere, Doctor. You are stuck with me."

"Yeah?" he asked with a slightly hopeful look in his eyes.

"Yes," she said firmly.

"Well, in that case," he said and rolled them around so that she was on the bottom. "We still have three hours until the morning," he winked, peeling the duvet away from their tangled bodies.


Fitz looked up in surprise when there was a knock on his door. "Hiya, Rose," he said with a small smile, when he saw her standing in the doorway.

She walked into his room and looked between his half-packed bag and him. "The Doctor said you are leaving," she said.

Fitz sighed and gave a nod. "Just for a little while," he said, zipping up the bag. "Maybe a week or so."

"Where will you go?" asked Rose, concerned.

"Back to 1963," he answered. "New York, to be on the safe side. I've always wanted to go, so why not now, eh?"

Rose smiled sadly. "You sure, though?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I don't deal well with death, Rose, I don't think I ever have. I am scared that I am getting used to it, or worse that I have somehow stopped caring. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about travelling with you and the Doctor, but me coming with you happened so quickly, that I don't think I gave it all a proper thought. I think I should take a step back, just for a little while."

Rose squeezed his shoulder and then pulled him into a hug. Fitz smiled and buried his face in her neck. "I'll miss you, however long you are gone," Rose whispered to him.

He pulled away and kissed her cheek. "I'll miss you too, doll," he said. "But I'll be back before you know it."

Rose smiled at him and linked her arm with his as he picked up his bag. The two of them went to the console room where they found the Doctor about to land the TARDIS.

He looked up when they arrived in the console room and gave a smile. "September 1963, New York City, as promised," he announced as the TARDIS started materialise. "There, perfect landing."

Fitz nodded at him with a small smile. "Thank you, Doctor," he said sincerely.

The Doctor nodded gently and then reached into his coat. "Something for you," he said and gave Fitz a blank, silver plastic card. "Unlimited credit card," he said to his questioning look. "Don't spend it all in one place."

Fitz chuckled and slipped the card into his pocket. "I won't," he promised.

"Also, this," said the Doctor and gave him a mobile phone. "It's got the TARDIS number in it. Call us when you are ready."

"Won't this arouse suspicion?" asked Fitz as he pocketed the phone.

"Not if you're careful with it. Keep it in your bag and use it only if you need it," said the Doctor.

"Alright," said Fitz and extended his hand to the Doctor. "See you soon, then."

The Doctor ignored his outstretched hand and hugged him warmly. "Till we meet again, Fitz," he said.

Fitz smiled at him and Rose, and left through the doors. The Doctor and Rose watched on the scanner as he walked out onto the busy New York street and turned the corner, after a wink at the police box.


"Rose! Rose, where are you?"

"Pool!" came the answering shout and the Doctor turned to go towards the pool. The TARDIS was being whimsical again, and their usual pool room had been turned into a desert oasis with warm sand and date trees all around the blue pool. Rose was floating in the water on her back, sans her bathing suit. She smiled at the Doctor when he sat down on one of the rocks in the sand. "Have we landed somewhere?" she asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "We're still in the vortex. I wanted to ask you if there was somewhere in particular you wanted to go," he said.

Rose shook her head. "Anywhere you want," she said as she swam towards the ladder.

The Doctor spied a towel tossed on one of the rocks and he handed it to her as she climbed out of the pool. "Let's see," he considered. "We could go see Shakespeare. He does exist in this universe, you know, though he never wrote Hamlet. Such a shame," he murmured. His voice brightened again. "Or, we could bungee jumping on Phobos. That is rather fun."

"What's Phobos?" asked Rose as she dried herself.

"It's one of the two Martian moons. Deimos is the other one. That one isn't as adventurous as Phobos, mind you," he said.

"Phobos sounds nice, if a little foreboding," said Rose with a grin as she got dressed. "Shouldn't we be steering clear of trouble for a bit?"

The Doctor's grin widened. "Would you like us to steer clear of trouble, Rose Tyler?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Rose laughed and tossed her hair into a ponytail. "God no," she said immediately.

The Doctor snatched up her hand as soon as she had finished buttoning up her blouse and straightening her skirt. Rose laughed as she ran after him barefoot. "Shouldn't I get my shoes if we are going bungee jumping?" she asked in amusement.

"I want you to see Phobos from orbit before we land," he said with a grin, but before he could touch the controls, the TARDIS gave a lurch, sending them both sprawling to the floor.

"What the bleeding hell!" shouted Rose, more shocked than hurt.

The Doctor tried to work the controls but the TARDIS kept groaning, like a pitiful moaning child, tossing her occupants around roughly. "I can't control her," he said, trying to unstick the jammed controls.

Rose pulled herself to her feet and held on tightly to the metal scaffolding around the console. "Why? Is it the Time Lords? Are they messing with the controls again?" she asked.

The TARDIS landed with a loud thud, nearly throwing them both down again. "No," said the Doctor, checking the controls. "It can't be."

"What is it?" asked Rose as she walked over to him.

"We have left the parallel universe," he said, surprised beyond belief.

Rose's eyes went wide. "Are we...back in the home universe?" she asked.

The Doctor took a moment to check a few readings. "No," he said regretfully. "This is another world altogether."

"How is that even possible? Wasn't the parallel world sealed off?" asked Rose, alarmed.

"We appear to have slipped in through a gap," he said. He started searching through his pockets and came upon a small ruby encased in a gold heart. He threaded the delicate pendant through a gold chain and gave it to Rose. "Here, put this on," he said. "It will contain the radiation temporarily so that we don't affect the web of time."

Rose took the chain from him and put it around her neck. She didn't feel any different after she had put it on, but it did stop her from worrying. "Is the scanner working? Where are we?" she asked.

The Doctor activated the screen but it appeared pitch black. "It's not calibrated to this universe. We have to do this the old-fashioned way," he said.

Rose nodded but then her eyes went wide. "Doctor, why is it getting darker in here?" she asked.

The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him as they ran out of the TARDIS through the doors. He slammed the doors shut behind them. "The TARDIS was shutting herself down. The old girl's had a rough ride through the void," he said, patting the outside of the blue box fondly.

Rose glared at him. "Could have let me grab my shoes before you rushed me out, you know," she said, looking down pointedly at her bare feet that were now slightly muddied.

"Ah," said the Doctor sheepishly and then looked around. "We appear to be in a forest. Looks like Earth, feels like Earth, even if it is a parallel Earth."

"You sure about that?" asked Rose, as she stood next to what looked like a rosebush, except it was as tall as Rose herself and had vines circling the bright red flowers that were the size of her fists.

"Rose, get away from that!" said the Doctor.

"What…?" Rose screamed in shock when she was yanked off her feet. Somehow, one of those vines had wrapped itself around her ankle when she had been standing next to it and was digging the thorns into her ankle.

The Doctor knelt to the ground and sent a bolt of sonic energy at the vine around her ankle from the sonic screwdriver. The plant retreated at once, and Rose could feel the blood starting to flow from her ankle.

The Doctor lifted her into his arms at once, but before he could take her into the TARDIS, they heard the unmistakeable sound of the TARDIS dematerialising. The two of them remained stunned as the TARDIS vanished right before their eyes.

The Doctor's jaw tightened and he placed Rose down on one of the rocks nearby. "Doctor," said Rose gently as he lifted up her ankle and started cleaning it with a disinfectant pad he found in his coat.

"I have to stop the bleeding and bandage it," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on her ankle. "It's the best I can do for now."

"Doctor," said Rose insistently, knowing that he was avoiding the obvious problem. "What about the TARDIS?"

His jaw clenched, though he continued to bandage her ankle as gently as possible. "We'll find her," he said determinedly. "There, that's done it."

Rose flexed her ankle a little and bit her lip to stop the wince when pain shot up at the action. The Doctor didn't miss the action though, and he helped her up, keeping a firm grip on her. "Don't try to put too much weight on it," he said. "Despite the large rosebush over there, I am positive that we are on Earth. There must be someone nearby that we can ask for help and then see what we can do about getting the TARDIS back."

They tried to start walking, but without shoes and one foot throbbing with pain, Rose was finding it more and more difficult to walk. She tried to keep her pain quiet, though she was certain that the Doctor was aware of it which was why he stopped walking and knelt before her. "What are you doing?" asked Rose as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

"Numbing the pain for a while. It will hurt later, but I am hoping we find the TARDIS before then," he said. "Is that alright?" he asked her.

Rose nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure," she said.

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at her bandaged foot but turned around sharply when the bushes behind them rustled. "Who's there?" he demanded, getting to his feet.

A man in a black knight's garb emerged from the bushes, holding his broadsword in front of him. "I should be asking you that," he said sternly.

The Doctor's eyes went wide. "Ancelyn? Is that you?" he asked.

The knight looked taken aback. "Do we know each other?" he asked.

"Evidently not. Not yet, anyway," said the Doctor. "Oh, it does explain where we are."

Ancelyn's eyes narrowed at the Doctor. "Are you a sorcerer?" he asked.

The Doctor beamed at him. "Indeed, I am," he said. "I am Merlin, and this is Rose Tyler. We could use some assistance, you see. Rose has hurt her foot."

Ancelyn looked at Rose, who smiled a little at him. "Very well," he said still looking a bit suspicious of them. "Merlin did you say your name was?" he asked.

"Yes, but you can call me the Doctor, if you want," said the Doctor.

"You're a healer?" asked Ancelyn, sounding much more interested.

"If need be, yes," said the Doctor. "Is someone ill?"

"How can you not know?" asked Ancelyn incredulously. "I thought the news of the King's illness had spread far and wide."

"Ah, you see Rose and I have only just arrived here," said the Doctor.

"Oh, you are off-worlders," said Ancelyn, nodding understandingly. "It must be your craft that we intercepted then. A blue box, wasn't it?"

"You have it?" Rose asked, relieved.

"Oh yes," said Ancelyn. "It was a precaution, you understand. You can have it back whenever you want. Will you be able to help the King though?"

"I'll do what I can," said the Doctor, smiling widely. "I have much better equipment aboard my ship."

"Excellent, excellent," said Ancelyn and then whistled shrilly. Two beautiful mares emerged from the bushes and stood before him. "Come along, then. You can get Lady Rose's foot some proper attention too."

"Thank you, Ancelyn," said the Doctor gladly as Rose beamed at the knight. He helped Rose up first and then climbed up behind her. Because of the short skirt she was wearing, Rose chose to sit with both her feet on the same side, and was glad for the Doctor's firm, reassuring hold behind her. "Lead on."

As soon as they set off, Rose turned to the Doctor. "Wanna tell me what's going on? Merlin," she said, stressing the last word significantly.

"I have met Ancelyn before. In my Seventh life when Ace was still with me," he explained in a low voice. "This is a parallel Earth where technology and magic have grown up side by side. Don't let the medieval appearances fool you, they are a highly advanced civilisation."

"Yeah, gathered that when he talked about spaceships and off worlders so casually," said Rose. "Why Merlin, though?"

"That's what he called me when he met me. He knew I could change my face, and that I had a ship that travelled through time and space. A most wonderful young man," said the Doctor fondly.

"And they're humans?" asked Rose, astonished.

The Doctor nodded. "They have an advanced telepathic sense, but they are essentially human," he explained.

Rose was quiet for a moment. "So, if you are Merlin, then does that mean that the King is…?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "King Arthur, the real King Arthur, yes," he said and then nodded at her to look in front of them. They had emerged through the forest and were looking upon a magnificent town in front of them.

"No way," gasped Rose, looking at the castle that stood tall and proud.

The Doctor beamed at her. "Rose Tyler, welcome to Camelot."


A/N End of Part 1. So, what did you think?

I have stuck very, very close to canon with this one. Hope you like it. Part 2 will be up soon. See you then!