Foreword: Just a small sidenote, but for the rest of the fic, I've decided to have a little something odd. Before each chapter, I'll feature a "selection from the soundtrack," or a song that either: A) inspired a major part of the chapter, or B) would be on the soundtrack if this was an actual anime. (The prologue's selection was "Where is the Love?" by Black Eyed Peas, by the way. Would have been the opening theme, I guess.)
Soundtrack: The ending theme to Alien Nine. ("Rebirth"? Cookies go out to whomever can find out what this is called! ^_^;) I imagine something like this as the "ending theme" to each episode. ^_^
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[Chapter One: Awakening]
=Present day=
A towering oak, black, yet still standing in the middle of a great forest, loomed in the gray evening. Not a single creature wandered past it; not a single Pidgey nested among its branches. It was the stillest tree rooted to the earth.
As the sun began to kiss the horizon, a crack appeared in the black bark. The opening grew wider and wider still until an old man with silver hair and a matching beard stepped from the abyss within. He stretched out and shook the dust off of his old, blue and purple robes before scanning the scene with his distant, blue eyes. With this, he sighed greatly.
"Vivien. Nimue. My treacherous dear, you've set my plans back a few centuries," he said, partially to himself. "Now, however, you are not around to stop my plan from continuing. Now is the time for the fellowship to be reestablished."
He picked up a nearby stick and used it as a staff as he began walking out of the forest.
"Hmm... I'm in the mood for pheasant," he muttered to himself. "I do hope they still prepare meals with that..."
---
The jingle bell attatched to the glass door rang softly as the door was pushed open. The clerk, a middle-aged man with a stern look etched in the wrinkles of his face, looked up and smiled, pulling the wrinkles in his face back.
"Good afternoon, Bill," the old man greeted upon seeing his new customer. "May I help you with anything?"
The dark-haired youth returned the smile with his own and shook his head, flinging curls of his hair across his eyes.
"No, thank you, Mr. Yoshimura," the customer responded politely. "I know what I need."
The young Englishman walked down the aisles of the small store, looking at item after item until he found what he was looking for. From the shelves, he pulled off the items listed on the small piece of paper in his right hand and placed them in the basket hanging over his right arm. After a few minutes, he looked at the list, then at the items in his basket, and finally back at the list. At last, he turned and went to the front of the store, placing the basket on the counter as he waited for the clerk to return.
When all was done and paid for, the young man took both of the bags of items and walked out of the store, into the blue-skied afternoon. He sighed in happiness, thinking in contentment that his life couldn't be any better. He had a career he loved, a family who loved him, success, fame, money... everything. Not a single thing was imperfect in his eyes. He was what he was and where he was, and he couldn't be happier.
As he walked down the street in Cerulean City, he couldn't help but notice a large gathering in the town square. He stopped with his grocery bags in hand and attempted to peer over the heads of the many men who were gathered there, but he couldn't see a thing. Apparently, it was something rather exciting, judging by the deafening cheers emitted from the lot of them.
"Excuse me, sir," Bill finally asked a nearby man. "What's going on?"
"Go away, kid," the man snapped. "This is a contest for REAL men! Manly men who can perform great feats of strength, not weaklings like you. Look at you! You don't even look like you have any muscles on those scrawny arms of yours!"
Bill frowned and rubbed his left arm with his right (and only free) hand. On the other hand (no pun intended), the man's comment wasn't too far from the truth. Bill never DID pride himself in athleticism.
"Bah. I don't have time for this," he muttered to himself as he looked at his watch. "I had better get home and put this all away before it gets too late for me to fit in any sort of research."
With that, he walked away, unaware that an old man in blue stood at the window on the second floor of a nearby building, watching him depart.
"Where do you think you're going? Is there no desire within your heart to become something great?" the old man muttered (again, partially to himself) as he watched Bill leave the square. "Even the smallest of ants possess great strength. Perhaps you have the potential you didn't know you had..."
He let his voice trail off as his blue eyes fell upon the middle of the square, where a buff man attempted to pull a sword free from a stone as the crowd cheered on.
---
It was dark when Bill entered his lighthouse. With a sigh, he closed the door and went to the kitchen to put away his groceries. He no sooner placed the bag on the counter when a cell phone rang. He jumped, startled by the sudden break in silence as his hand when into his pocket. He figured it was his cook, calling the wrong number (again) to call off work (again), rather than just bothering to call his home phone. With that, he exhaled slowly to maintain his patience. At last, he pressed a button and brought the cell phone to his ear.
"McKenzie residence," he answered politely as he began to draw items out of the bag and put them away.
There was a small period of silence. Bill stopped.
"Hello?" he muttered. "Who is this?"
"Who is THIS?" an old voice inquired at the other end. "No matter. May I speak with the master of the household?"
Bill sighed and continued putting groceries away. "You're speaking to him. If this is a telemarketer--"
"Bill McKenzie?" the voice interrupted.
Bill stopped again and closed his eyes. "Speaking. As I was saying, if this is a tele--"
"I've heard you're rather knowledgeable with Pokémon and Pokémon medicine," the voice stated. "I was in a battle with a youngster when her Hypno used Poison Gas on my Rhyhorn. I don't have any Antidotes, and all of the stores around are closed..."
Without thinking too much about the matter, Bill finished putting the groceries away quickly and darted into his lab where he grabbed a few PokéBalls and two Antidotes and stuffed them in his pockets.
"Wait right there," he instructed. "I'll come to you with medicine. Where did you say you were?"
"I didn't," the old man on the other end responded. "Cerulean City Square."
"Right," Bill said. "Give me fifteen minutes. I'll get there as fast as I can."
"Thank you, sir!" the old man exclaimed before hanging up.
Bill shoved the cell phone into his pocket and bolted out of the lighthouse.
---
It was pitch dark when Bill finally entered the city square in the heart of Cerulean City, the place that was swarming with men just hours before. He looked about, trying to use the light of the full moon (when it wasn't obscured by clouds) to find the hurt Rhyhorn the old man had described in the call. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the PokéBalls he had brought along.
"Blissey, help me find Rhyhorn," he murmured.
The happiness Pokémon appeared, gave a small cheer, and ran off to find the Rock type. Bill looked around and stepped forward into a shadow. He looked down at the dark patch, then up at its source to see a sword rising out of a stone pedestal like a monument. He figured this was why there was a crowd in the square earlier that day and so examined the stone in his curiousity. His hand reached up to touch the words carved into the stand as he read them aloud.
"He who pulls this sword from this stone shall be deemed fit to lead all to salvation." He leaned forward to read the tiny letters engraved just below. "Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword Of This Stone Is Rightwise King Born Of All England." He paused as he tilted his head. "Vaguely familiar, but... Odd..."
(A/N: The message about the king of England was actually part of the Excalibur legend. And, alright, I copied it from the DVD extra about Excalibur on my copy of Camelot... capitalization style and all. ^_^; )
"BLISSEY!" Blissey cried behind him.
He whirled around in time to see Blissey behind him, receiving a Karate Chop from a Machamp. Bill ran forward to help Blissey. However, halfway there, he took a Rolling Kick to his side, causing him to fly off course and slam into the ground a few feet to the right. Upon impact with the ground, his other PokéBalls spilled from his pocket and rolled away, just a few feet beyond his head. He pulled himself to his hands and knees painfully and crawled towards them, ignoring the throbbing feeling surging through his side. He reached out to grab one, only to be blocked by a purple body, and at this, he looked up to see an Arbok towering over him, ready to strike. He gasped, pushed himself into a sitting position, and pulled himself away until his back ran into something. He looked up to see a Hitmonlee's face staring down at him; he had run into its long, coiling legs. Quickly, he stood up, only to be knocked over again by a Quick Attack from a Hitmontop to his right side. He stood once more as a Hitmonchan in front of him struck him in the gut with a Comet Punch, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to collapse again.
Defenseless, he struggled back into his a sitting position and pushed himself backwards, away from the three Hitmons and into the monument. He glanced up at the sword, then at the advancing monsters, wondering if a scare would drive them off. Without thinking, he quickly pulled himself onto the monument and pulled the sword out of the stone, then glared down at his assailants. To his relief, the five Pokémon bowed low to him and backed away.
"Young man! What is your name?"
Bill nearly fell off the stone pedestal, startled by the voice. He turned his head to see an old man in blue and purple robes. A grin was just visible above the elder's long, white facial hair.
"I want to know the name of the man who pulled the sword from the monument I set up," the old man said.
Bill looked at the sword in his hand and let out a startled gasp.
"I-I'll put it back!" Bill stuttered as he tried to push the blade back into the stone. "I-I-I'm s-so sorry, s-s-sir!"
The old man chuckled and bowed as low as the Pokémon.
"Never mind that," he replied. "...Your Majesty."
Upon hearing how he was addressed, Bill stumbled off the pedestal, dropping the sword in the process.
"Y-Your MAJESTY!?" he gasped in shock.
"That's right," the stranger responded as he rose to his feet. "I am Merlin, the court magician of Old Camelot. I put an enchantment on that sword so it would never rise from the stone unless the right hands clasped its hilt. Those hands belong to the man who carries within him the spirit of the great King Arthur... And those hands are yours, my young friend."
"K-king Arthur?" Bill stuttered before shaking his head. "N-no! This is insane... a dream! Yes, I'm asleep right now! This isn't real!"
Merlin grinned. "The classic cynic. I see you've changed when you were reincarnated from dear Wart..."
"You... I... There..." Bill scrambled to his feet, leaving the sword on the ground. "There must be a mistake!"
"No mistake," Merlin answered. "Out of all the able young men in Cerulean City, the very city where I remembered seeing the very person I was looking for, you were the only one who didn't even attempt pulling out the sword this afternoon. You have no desire for fame or glory; the only desire you had in your heart just now was the desire to protect yourself and others. You are indeed like the Arthur of long ago.
"Now, since you don't want to give me your name, I assume it's Bill McKenzie, am I correct?"
Bill couldn't speak. He only gave a vague nod in response to the question. In response, Merlin's face wrinkled up into a smile as he dropped both of his hands on both of Bill's shoulder, causing the youth to jump a bit.
"My boy, you are about to embark on a great journey," Merlin told Bill with a tone of great enthusiasm. "During that journey, you will see things you can never imagine and experience things beyond your current understanding. The first step on your ascension to the throne will be taken tomorrow, Your Highness. Go home and get some sleep. You will need all the rest you can get."
Dazed, Bill gave another vague nod before picking up his PokéBalls and recalling Blissey. With that, he began to stumble home. Merlin grinned but sighed as a Rhyhorn came to his side.
"I see this will be quite a challenge," Merlin murmured to himself as he watched Bill stagger into the night.
---
It was mass chaos in the courtyard. There were countless people crowded in the open space, hollaring incoherently as they kept away from a circle in the center. In the heart of the circle was a pedestal of wood with a thick, wooden pole jutting up from its center.
Bill sat on a balcony over the scene. He looked about, trying to figure out where he was. All he noticed really was that next to him stood a knight in black armor...
Just then, the crowd's cries became united, though their message was still garbled to his ears. Bill looked back at the courtyard to see two more knights leading a rather pretty young woman in green to the post. As they tied her to it, she lifted her head to gaze at the balcony. Red curls fell back like curtains, allowing her tear-filled, brown eyes to fix themselves on Bill with a pleading glance.
A priest and a man in black approached, carrying a Bible and a lit torch, respectively. The priest opened the book in his hands and began reading to the woman, praying for her to help her gain entrance into salvation and into Heaven. The executioner and the woman both looked up at Bill, waiting for an action from him. The crowd's cries to "burn her" seemed to diminish in volume as the woman screamed to him.
"My lord! My king! My love!" she called. "Pardon me! I beg you! Forgive me for my sins!"
"Jenny," Bill heard himself murmur.
The knight next to him chuckled. "Let her die, and your life will be over. Let her live, and your life will be a fraud. What will it be?"
Bill gripped the armrests of the throne he sat on. "I won't let Jenny die!"
"So, you deny your ideas of 'civilized justice'?" the knight questioned.
"No!" Bill shook his head vigorously before lowering his gaze. "But... I can't kill... Jenny..."
"'Might for right... and right for right,'" the knight recited in a taunting manner. "Will you be a hypocrite or a traitor... Your Highness?"
"I..."
Bill paused and thought for a long while. At last, he raised his hand to give the signal. He hoped for someone to come, but when he looked up to see the commotion below, that person wasn't there to save Jenny as the executioner brought his torch closer.
Bill jumped to his feet as his eyes closed.
"NO!"
Silence.
(A/N: Okay, so that WASN'T exactly how it went. Let me be a little creative, people!)
He opened his eyes to find himself sitting up in bed (though he couldn't remember ever GOING to bed in the first place), drenched in a cold sweat as he gasped for air. He sighed and fell backwards, rubbing his face with the palms of both hands.
"Just a dream," he muttered. "But what a strange one...!"
He removed his hands and stared at the ceiling for a long while. His head turned to look at the glowing numbers on his digital clock. 4:16 in the morning. He blinked slowly and turned his head back to the ceiling.
"Oh, to think I would ever have someone's life in my hands like that." He closed his eyes and scoffed. "How absurd!"
---
He opened his eyes again and looked at the clock. An hour had passed, and not long after, the sun would rise, signalling the beginning of his day with the first morning duty of a lighthouse keeper, turning off the beacon. Groggily, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, staggering over to the light switch of his room until he tripped over something in the middle, sending him sprawling out onto the hardwood floor.
He raised an eyebrow as he murmured, "What the bloody...?"
His hand reached out into the darkness to feel what he had tripped over. Something hard... and thin... and wrapped in a cloth. No, not just one layer of cloth. Many, judging by the feel of it. He stood up, taking the thing with him and judging its weight by how it felt.
"What is this?" he asked himself.
Quite carefully, he made his way over to the light switch and turned on the lights to examine the thing clearly. And when he did, he found that he held the wrapped blade of a sword. And not just any sword. The one he pulled out of the stone in Cerulean City.
With a startled gasp, he dropped the sword, allowing it to fall to the floor with a clamor as he backed against his bedroom door. He fumbled for the knob and turned it before giving the door a small push, causing it to creak open. With that, he stumbled out, not bothering to turn off the lights as he rubbed his face with his right hand. He placed his left hand on the wall for guidance as he stumbled away from his bedroom.
"This is all just a figment of my imagination," he told himself. "Just some strange dream that will go away once I'm fully awake. Yes, I'll make myself a cup of tea. That should wake me up."
He walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights, not noticing any other soul present in the room. Without a thought, he picked the kettle off the stove and took it to the sink where he filled it with water. His mind was clear and peaceful as he placed the kettle back on the stove and turned the burner on before turning to the refrigerator to hunt for tofu to eat for breakfast. (His cook, being on vacation once again after all, left him to go back to his diet based solely on tofu... again.) He opened the refrigerator door and leaned forward to look beyond various furry foods.
"Good morning, Your Higness," a voice greeted behind him.
Bill literally jumped, smacking his head off the edge of the refrigerator. He gave a small yelp and held his head before closing the door and slowly turning around. Behind him, sitting calmly on a stool next to a counter, was the man who had called himself Merlin just last night.
"Dreams aren't supposed to hurt, are they?" Bill partially grumbled as he rubbed his head wearily.
"No, sire, they aren't," Merlin replied with a small smile on his lips. "This isn't a dream."
"Right," Bill muttered. "This is a hallucination."
Merlin chuckled. "No, it isn't that either."
Bill frowned. It was much too early for this sort of thing. At least, it was for him.
"Then I suppose I should call the police and tell them that a madman had broken in," he suggested.
Ignoring this, Merlin continued, "So, you want proof, do you?"
"Proof of what?" Bill asked, still a bit too tired to comprehend much.
"Proof that you're King Arthur, of course!" Merlin chuckled, as if it was a simple idea.
The kettle whistled, giving Bill an excuse to why he wouldn't reply. He took the kettle off the burner and made a cup of tea for himself.
"Would you like some tea?" he finally asked, deciding not to be rude.
"No," Merlin responded. "Finish yours and get dressed. I have something to show you."
Bill turned around and raised an eyebrow before blowing on his cup and taking a long sip. He stared into the red-brown liquid for awhile and grinned.
"Really? It wouldn't happen to be Camelot itself, would it?" he asked sarcastically.
Merlin overlooked Bill's sardonic tone and replied, "It's even better."
"Really?" Bill scoffed before taking another sip. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Mr. Merlin, but I'm VERY busy. I have no time for trivial things such as chasing after..." His eyes travelled from the tea to Merlin. "...Whatever it is you think I should see."
"Trivial things!" Merlin exclaimed. "You will become a king, and you call it trivial! Your Highness!"
Bill's eyes went back to his tea, but he still stared at Merlin from the corner of his eyes. With his silence, he sipped thoughtfully until there was nothing left of the cup. His hands curved around the ceramic for awhile as he concidered things before he finally placed the cup in the sink nearby.
"Alright. I'll go with you," Bill finally agreed. "Then you will see that you have made a mistake in thinking that I am King Arthur."
"Good!" Merlin beamed. "Get dressed, and wear something casual."
Bill smirked as he turned and walked away. He shook his head in disbelief, suppressing a laugh.
"Crazy old bat," he murmured under his breath as he walked to his room.
---
Merlin led the young researcher through the woods as the sun filtered through the eternal fog. Bill couldn't recognize the part of the forest they walked through, but then again, they had left the path he usually travelled hours ago.
"Where are we going?" Bill asked for the third time on that walk.
"We will arrive soon, Wart," Merlin responded once again. "Have patience. It should be around here somewhere. I recall I found it-- Aha!"
Merlin pushed a pair of tree branches apart, revealing a small path. He walked through the branches, leaving Bill to stand there in uncertainty. Realizing that his companion hadn't followed, Merlin poked his head out from between the branches and motioned for Bill to tag along.
"Come, Your Highness," Merlin beckoned. "Meet your destiny."
Reluctantly, Bill followed Merlin into the thick tunnel of branches and ivy. There was complete silence between and around them; not even a Taillow was heard in the branches above. It was like that for awhile until Merlin disappeared from before Bill. The youth walked forward, looking around in confusion before his foot slipped out from under him due to mud, causing him to slide down a bank and into water.
"Now you see why I told you to dress casually," Merlin said as he offered a hand to help Bill up.
Bill graciously took it and pulled, standing up in the ankle-deep water. He looked about him, through the lifting fog to find himself at a lake fringed by trees. In the middle of the lake, he saw a silver-haired woman in a flowing white dress stand patiently. In her arms, she carried a black sheath which encased a sword with a beautiful, jewel bedecked hilt. Bill found himself staring in surprise; though there was still a thick layer of fog, he could still make her out as if it was a clear, sunny day.
"I knew it!" Merlin cried with happiness. "She wouldn't appear with it if you weren't the one!"
Bill gave Merlin a curious glance. "Who is 'she,' and what is 'it'?"
Merlin looked at him with a smile in response. "I'm sure you know the answer."
Bill looked at the woman again for awhile until the answer came to him.
"The Lady of the Lake and Excalibur," he nearly whispered.
"Go," Merlin said quietly. "She's waiting for you, Your Majesty."
Bill stared at Merlin for awhile in doubt before looking forward, breathing deeply, and exhaling slowly. He walked forward gradually until he stood in waist-deep water before the smiling lady. There was a moment's pause between them until at last, the woman bowed and presented the sheathed sword to him. He stared at it for awhile before halfheartedly taking it into his own hands. She straightened up and smiled at him.
"Thank you," he murmured with a bow.
He looked up to see the woman curtsy, not allowing her crystal-blue eyes to tear away from him.
"I wish you the best of luck, Your Majesty," she said. "I know for certain that your idea will work in this lifetime."
"Thank you," he muttered again with a flustered look on his face.
"Bill!" Merlin shouted from the shore. "Look out!"
Bill looked over his shoulder in time to see a black blur heading straight for him. He gasped and pulled the lady down to the waters as he ducked low.
"Merlin!" Bill called, not noticing that the lady had disappeared completely below the waters. "What was--"
He was cut short by a strike, knocking him into the water. He looked up to see a giant crow, much too large to be a Murkrow of any kind, making a circle in the sky before heading back towards him.
"Bill, use Excalibur!" Merlin instructed.
Bill, however, could only hear a strange pounding in his ears as his body froze in pure terror. The crow swooped down, placing both giant claws on Bill's chest and forcing him underwater in order to drown him. The waters were disturbed as Bill struggled before all fell silent and still.
"Bill!" Merlin shouted.
There was a moment's pause before the crow squawked and took flight without a foot and a large amount of blood. Bill rose from the waters with his back towards the shore, watching the crow swoop in again to get revenge. With a leap timed at the perfect moment, Bill narrowly escaped the bird and proceeded to decapitate it with Excalibur. The bird's head and body fell into the lake with a great splash, coloring the waters red. Another pause emphasized the moment before Bill turned back to the shore. He began walking back to the shore as he cleaned Excalibur with the lake waters and sheathed it, all while he kept his head down and his eyes hidden. It wasn't until he stood in ankle-deep waters, feet from Merlin, when he raised his head at last, revealing pale, blue eyes.
"Arthur," Merlin muttered as he bowed low. "Welcome back, Your Highness."
King Arthur (or rather, Bill, if you prefer) smiled and responded with a deeper voice, "It is good to be back, my friend."
With that, he closed his eyes and groaned with his normal voice before he collapsed into the water. Merlin watched him do so before frowning and glancing up to a point across the lake. There, he saw her, a woman in a flowing, red dress and raven-black hair. She glared at him for awhile and turned away, walking into the woods as the sunlight fell upon the silver, snake-shaped barrette in her hair.
"So, Vivien," Merlin mumbled as he watched her leave. "Your dangerous treachery continues even now..."
---
It seemed to take much longer to get back to the lighthouse than it did getting to the lake. There was silence between the wizard and the king-to-be as Bill tried to sort through the confusion that plagued his mind. The fingers of his left hand ran over the leather of the sheath that held Excalibur, as if it would help. He didn't notice as Merlin stopped to sit on a rock.
"Your Majesty, let us rest," Merlin said, snapping Bill back into attention.
He stopped, gazing at Merlin with startled eyes before he too sat on a nearby stump.
"So, I'm King Arthur," Bill stated as he stared at Excalibur with an unseeing gaze. "Now what?"
Merlin took a deep breath. "Now begins your journey to reestablish the order you had during your reign. But before you do, you need to know the truth of things. First off, how much do you know about Camelot?"
"I've read Idylls of the King," Bill responded. "Other than that, not much at all."
Merlin scoffed. "Idylls of the King! Bah! Tennyson didn't know what he was talking about. Though there WAS corruption in the kingdom, it wasn't a bleeding circus. Tennyson only found a way to talk about the dark side of Camelot, and he exaggerated it while he was at it. What he didn't let the world know was that there was an abundance of joyous times during your last reign. So don't you dare let a stuffy poet like him make you forget that!"
"Well, then I'm sure YOU could tell me what Camelot was like," Bill suggested.
Merlin grinned. "My boy, I LIVED during the greatness of Camelot. Of COURSE I can tell you about it!
"I'm sure you probably know how the rise of Camelot went; it was the only thing Tennyson was able to accurately retell. That is, to say, with the help of Lerner and Loewe. In your past life, you were the young squire to your cousin, Sir Kay after King Pendragon of England died and left no one to succeed him and nothing to decide who would, save for a sword rising out of an anvil in the middle of a London square. Countless men who have seen the thousands of battlefields of the warring kingdoms of that age had tried to pull that very sword free, but none of them succeeded. At last, a great tournament was held on New Year's Day in which the greatest knights of England competed for the title of king of all England, and among them was none other than Sir Kay. However, once he and you arrived at the tournament location, he had realized he had forgotten his sword and so sent you to fetch it. Along the way, you passed the square with that very sword in the anvil and, thinking that it would only save you time, you pulled it free, only to be crowned king of England not long after. Do you remember that much, Your Highness?"
Bill shook his head. Tennyson hadn't actually mentioned that. Perhaps Merlin had gotten a bit confused...
"Mmm. Nothing is helping you regain your lost memories. Not yet, at least..." Merlin scratched his bearded chin and continued. "During your reign, you had established an order like no other -- 'might for right,' as you had said. With your queen, Guinevere, you ruled over the possibly the best years in the history of England. You and the knights of the Round Table introduced the idea of fair trials and justice for all, not just justice for the nobility. However..."
"Guinevere and Lancelot fell in love, and that led to the downfall of Camelot?" Bill suggested.
Merlin raised an eyebrow at him. "You remember?"
Bill shook his head. "No. That's simply what Tennyson had touched upon."
Merlin snorted. "Hidebound little..." He cleared his throat and went on. "Indeed, the affair between your queen and your most loyal knight WAS one of the factors that led to the downfall of Camelot, but it was also the betrayal of your nephew, Modred. As you rode off to stage a reluctant battle against the knights of Joyous Gard, Sir Lancelot included, Modred assembled an army and waged war against you in order to seize the throne."
"Yes, Tennyson mentioned that as well in the last idyll," Bill said with a nod.
Merlin was getting rather irritated by then, but he continued on. "It was during both battles that the death toll became incomprehensible, leaving all but Sir Bedivere, Sir Modred, and yourself alive. The final battle between you and Sir Modred alone was long, with neither side likely to die or surrender. Then, at last, as Modred's blade crashed through your helmet, you cut his head off, ending it all at last.
"The wound was fatal. There was no one around, not a single person to save the great king of England. And so, Sir Bedivere fufilled your final wishes and watched as your life began to slip away. Not long after, you were sent to Avilion to die."
Bill stared at the hilt of Excalibur for a long while in silence. Merlin studied his face during that time as a smile drew across his.
"However, it seems that the world still needs King Arthur," Merlin commented.
Bill lifted his head sharply as he gave Merlin a curious glance.
"You were reincarnated for a reason, Your Majesty," Merlin stated. "The world needs you to reestablish the order that you had set up countless years ago. They want the Round Table back. They want the peace back. And the world knows that the best man to bring it to them... is you, Arthur."
"M-me?" Bill stammered as all color drained away from his face. "Reincarnated? For a... reason?"
"Yes!" Merlin's eyes twinkled. "You are destined to lead the world into a new age of truth! You hold in your hands Excalibur, the symbol of that period, and with it, you will point the way to an era of greatness and glory! Seize it, Your Highness! Take us all to the utopia you dreamed of!"
Bill stood up quickly, allowing Excalibur to fall to the forest floor.
"Now, hold on!" he exclaimed with a great amount of annoyance in his voice and on his face. "Just today, you've told me that I am--" Bill made a motion with his right hand, as if the idea was just full of air... among other things. "--I am the REINCARNATION of King Arthur -- which I highly doubt is true if I can find proof that this is all simply a stage gag. But now...! Now you expect me to be a WORLD LEADER!? I couldn't even handle class presidency when I was in high school!"
Merlin chuckled. "No, Your Highness. I don't expect you to be a world leader, per se; I expect you to be..." Merlin paused for emphasis as he gave a small smile. "...A savior to us all."
There was a long period of silence as Bill stared at Merlin blankly. Just after a hollow breeze blew past, Bill broke down in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He got such a big kick out of the idea in his mind that he had to sit back down on the stump to avoid falling over on the forest floor and rolling about the dead leaves, clumps of soil, and groups of mushrooms.
"What? It's true!" Merlin protested. "You are meant to save us all from the darkness that is international war, just as you had done when you were new to the crown!"
"I'm... I'm sorry, Merlin, sir...!" Bill apologized between laughing and wiping away tears from his eyes. "It's just... the idea of ME... being ANY sort of savior... is just... is just..." Bill stopped to continue to laugh until at last he calmed down and finished what he had to say. "The idea of me being ANY sort of savior is just absolutely ridiculous! Unless, of course, you don't mind a few hundred deaths to accompany that salvation."
"Everything has its price," Merlin responded wisely.
"Right..." Bill stood again and began walking in the direction of the lighthouse. "Why don't you and Samara--"
"The Lady of the Lake?" Merlin questioned as he tilted his head. (He couldn't figure out why Bill had called her "Samara.")
"--Right. Why don't you and the Lady of the Lake take... 'Excalibur' and find someone else to bother?" Bill inquired as he put his hands behind his head. "I apologize, Merlin, but honestly! For a moment there, you had me convinced that I was a barely real character glorified by faerie tales. Now, you have indeed wasted my time, but I'll still be polite to you. Please go find someone who is much more gullible than I am."
With that, Bill disappeared into the woods. With a sigh, Merlin stood and took Excalibur. Carefully, he weighed it with his hands, feeling the warm, tingling energy pulsating through the sword. At this, he frowned.
"He hasn't got the faintest idea of what he's capable of," he said to himself. "Ah, well. I suppose it will take time for Wart to fully awaken..."
Soundtrack: The ending theme to Alien Nine. ("Rebirth"? Cookies go out to whomever can find out what this is called! ^_^;) I imagine something like this as the "ending theme" to each episode. ^_^
------
[Chapter One: Awakening]
=Present day=
A towering oak, black, yet still standing in the middle of a great forest, loomed in the gray evening. Not a single creature wandered past it; not a single Pidgey nested among its branches. It was the stillest tree rooted to the earth.
As the sun began to kiss the horizon, a crack appeared in the black bark. The opening grew wider and wider still until an old man with silver hair and a matching beard stepped from the abyss within. He stretched out and shook the dust off of his old, blue and purple robes before scanning the scene with his distant, blue eyes. With this, he sighed greatly.
"Vivien. Nimue. My treacherous dear, you've set my plans back a few centuries," he said, partially to himself. "Now, however, you are not around to stop my plan from continuing. Now is the time for the fellowship to be reestablished."
He picked up a nearby stick and used it as a staff as he began walking out of the forest.
"Hmm... I'm in the mood for pheasant," he muttered to himself. "I do hope they still prepare meals with that..."
---
The jingle bell attatched to the glass door rang softly as the door was pushed open. The clerk, a middle-aged man with a stern look etched in the wrinkles of his face, looked up and smiled, pulling the wrinkles in his face back.
"Good afternoon, Bill," the old man greeted upon seeing his new customer. "May I help you with anything?"
The dark-haired youth returned the smile with his own and shook his head, flinging curls of his hair across his eyes.
"No, thank you, Mr. Yoshimura," the customer responded politely. "I know what I need."
The young Englishman walked down the aisles of the small store, looking at item after item until he found what he was looking for. From the shelves, he pulled off the items listed on the small piece of paper in his right hand and placed them in the basket hanging over his right arm. After a few minutes, he looked at the list, then at the items in his basket, and finally back at the list. At last, he turned and went to the front of the store, placing the basket on the counter as he waited for the clerk to return.
When all was done and paid for, the young man took both of the bags of items and walked out of the store, into the blue-skied afternoon. He sighed in happiness, thinking in contentment that his life couldn't be any better. He had a career he loved, a family who loved him, success, fame, money... everything. Not a single thing was imperfect in his eyes. He was what he was and where he was, and he couldn't be happier.
As he walked down the street in Cerulean City, he couldn't help but notice a large gathering in the town square. He stopped with his grocery bags in hand and attempted to peer over the heads of the many men who were gathered there, but he couldn't see a thing. Apparently, it was something rather exciting, judging by the deafening cheers emitted from the lot of them.
"Excuse me, sir," Bill finally asked a nearby man. "What's going on?"
"Go away, kid," the man snapped. "This is a contest for REAL men! Manly men who can perform great feats of strength, not weaklings like you. Look at you! You don't even look like you have any muscles on those scrawny arms of yours!"
Bill frowned and rubbed his left arm with his right (and only free) hand. On the other hand (no pun intended), the man's comment wasn't too far from the truth. Bill never DID pride himself in athleticism.
"Bah. I don't have time for this," he muttered to himself as he looked at his watch. "I had better get home and put this all away before it gets too late for me to fit in any sort of research."
With that, he walked away, unaware that an old man in blue stood at the window on the second floor of a nearby building, watching him depart.
"Where do you think you're going? Is there no desire within your heart to become something great?" the old man muttered (again, partially to himself) as he watched Bill leave the square. "Even the smallest of ants possess great strength. Perhaps you have the potential you didn't know you had..."
He let his voice trail off as his blue eyes fell upon the middle of the square, where a buff man attempted to pull a sword free from a stone as the crowd cheered on.
---
It was dark when Bill entered his lighthouse. With a sigh, he closed the door and went to the kitchen to put away his groceries. He no sooner placed the bag on the counter when a cell phone rang. He jumped, startled by the sudden break in silence as his hand when into his pocket. He figured it was his cook, calling the wrong number (again) to call off work (again), rather than just bothering to call his home phone. With that, he exhaled slowly to maintain his patience. At last, he pressed a button and brought the cell phone to his ear.
"McKenzie residence," he answered politely as he began to draw items out of the bag and put them away.
There was a small period of silence. Bill stopped.
"Hello?" he muttered. "Who is this?"
"Who is THIS?" an old voice inquired at the other end. "No matter. May I speak with the master of the household?"
Bill sighed and continued putting groceries away. "You're speaking to him. If this is a telemarketer--"
"Bill McKenzie?" the voice interrupted.
Bill stopped again and closed his eyes. "Speaking. As I was saying, if this is a tele--"
"I've heard you're rather knowledgeable with Pokémon and Pokémon medicine," the voice stated. "I was in a battle with a youngster when her Hypno used Poison Gas on my Rhyhorn. I don't have any Antidotes, and all of the stores around are closed..."
Without thinking too much about the matter, Bill finished putting the groceries away quickly and darted into his lab where he grabbed a few PokéBalls and two Antidotes and stuffed them in his pockets.
"Wait right there," he instructed. "I'll come to you with medicine. Where did you say you were?"
"I didn't," the old man on the other end responded. "Cerulean City Square."
"Right," Bill said. "Give me fifteen minutes. I'll get there as fast as I can."
"Thank you, sir!" the old man exclaimed before hanging up.
Bill shoved the cell phone into his pocket and bolted out of the lighthouse.
---
It was pitch dark when Bill finally entered the city square in the heart of Cerulean City, the place that was swarming with men just hours before. He looked about, trying to use the light of the full moon (when it wasn't obscured by clouds) to find the hurt Rhyhorn the old man had described in the call. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the PokéBalls he had brought along.
"Blissey, help me find Rhyhorn," he murmured.
The happiness Pokémon appeared, gave a small cheer, and ran off to find the Rock type. Bill looked around and stepped forward into a shadow. He looked down at the dark patch, then up at its source to see a sword rising out of a stone pedestal like a monument. He figured this was why there was a crowd in the square earlier that day and so examined the stone in his curiousity. His hand reached up to touch the words carved into the stand as he read them aloud.
"He who pulls this sword from this stone shall be deemed fit to lead all to salvation." He leaned forward to read the tiny letters engraved just below. "Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword Of This Stone Is Rightwise King Born Of All England." He paused as he tilted his head. "Vaguely familiar, but... Odd..."
(A/N: The message about the king of England was actually part of the Excalibur legend. And, alright, I copied it from the DVD extra about Excalibur on my copy of Camelot... capitalization style and all. ^_^; )
"BLISSEY!" Blissey cried behind him.
He whirled around in time to see Blissey behind him, receiving a Karate Chop from a Machamp. Bill ran forward to help Blissey. However, halfway there, he took a Rolling Kick to his side, causing him to fly off course and slam into the ground a few feet to the right. Upon impact with the ground, his other PokéBalls spilled from his pocket and rolled away, just a few feet beyond his head. He pulled himself to his hands and knees painfully and crawled towards them, ignoring the throbbing feeling surging through his side. He reached out to grab one, only to be blocked by a purple body, and at this, he looked up to see an Arbok towering over him, ready to strike. He gasped, pushed himself into a sitting position, and pulled himself away until his back ran into something. He looked up to see a Hitmonlee's face staring down at him; he had run into its long, coiling legs. Quickly, he stood up, only to be knocked over again by a Quick Attack from a Hitmontop to his right side. He stood once more as a Hitmonchan in front of him struck him in the gut with a Comet Punch, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to collapse again.
Defenseless, he struggled back into his a sitting position and pushed himself backwards, away from the three Hitmons and into the monument. He glanced up at the sword, then at the advancing monsters, wondering if a scare would drive them off. Without thinking, he quickly pulled himself onto the monument and pulled the sword out of the stone, then glared down at his assailants. To his relief, the five Pokémon bowed low to him and backed away.
"Young man! What is your name?"
Bill nearly fell off the stone pedestal, startled by the voice. He turned his head to see an old man in blue and purple robes. A grin was just visible above the elder's long, white facial hair.
"I want to know the name of the man who pulled the sword from the monument I set up," the old man said.
Bill looked at the sword in his hand and let out a startled gasp.
"I-I'll put it back!" Bill stuttered as he tried to push the blade back into the stone. "I-I-I'm s-so sorry, s-s-sir!"
The old man chuckled and bowed as low as the Pokémon.
"Never mind that," he replied. "...Your Majesty."
Upon hearing how he was addressed, Bill stumbled off the pedestal, dropping the sword in the process.
"Y-Your MAJESTY!?" he gasped in shock.
"That's right," the stranger responded as he rose to his feet. "I am Merlin, the court magician of Old Camelot. I put an enchantment on that sword so it would never rise from the stone unless the right hands clasped its hilt. Those hands belong to the man who carries within him the spirit of the great King Arthur... And those hands are yours, my young friend."
"K-king Arthur?" Bill stuttered before shaking his head. "N-no! This is insane... a dream! Yes, I'm asleep right now! This isn't real!"
Merlin grinned. "The classic cynic. I see you've changed when you were reincarnated from dear Wart..."
"You... I... There..." Bill scrambled to his feet, leaving the sword on the ground. "There must be a mistake!"
"No mistake," Merlin answered. "Out of all the able young men in Cerulean City, the very city where I remembered seeing the very person I was looking for, you were the only one who didn't even attempt pulling out the sword this afternoon. You have no desire for fame or glory; the only desire you had in your heart just now was the desire to protect yourself and others. You are indeed like the Arthur of long ago.
"Now, since you don't want to give me your name, I assume it's Bill McKenzie, am I correct?"
Bill couldn't speak. He only gave a vague nod in response to the question. In response, Merlin's face wrinkled up into a smile as he dropped both of his hands on both of Bill's shoulder, causing the youth to jump a bit.
"My boy, you are about to embark on a great journey," Merlin told Bill with a tone of great enthusiasm. "During that journey, you will see things you can never imagine and experience things beyond your current understanding. The first step on your ascension to the throne will be taken tomorrow, Your Highness. Go home and get some sleep. You will need all the rest you can get."
Dazed, Bill gave another vague nod before picking up his PokéBalls and recalling Blissey. With that, he began to stumble home. Merlin grinned but sighed as a Rhyhorn came to his side.
"I see this will be quite a challenge," Merlin murmured to himself as he watched Bill stagger into the night.
---
It was mass chaos in the courtyard. There were countless people crowded in the open space, hollaring incoherently as they kept away from a circle in the center. In the heart of the circle was a pedestal of wood with a thick, wooden pole jutting up from its center.
Bill sat on a balcony over the scene. He looked about, trying to figure out where he was. All he noticed really was that next to him stood a knight in black armor...
Just then, the crowd's cries became united, though their message was still garbled to his ears. Bill looked back at the courtyard to see two more knights leading a rather pretty young woman in green to the post. As they tied her to it, she lifted her head to gaze at the balcony. Red curls fell back like curtains, allowing her tear-filled, brown eyes to fix themselves on Bill with a pleading glance.
A priest and a man in black approached, carrying a Bible and a lit torch, respectively. The priest opened the book in his hands and began reading to the woman, praying for her to help her gain entrance into salvation and into Heaven. The executioner and the woman both looked up at Bill, waiting for an action from him. The crowd's cries to "burn her" seemed to diminish in volume as the woman screamed to him.
"My lord! My king! My love!" she called. "Pardon me! I beg you! Forgive me for my sins!"
"Jenny," Bill heard himself murmur.
The knight next to him chuckled. "Let her die, and your life will be over. Let her live, and your life will be a fraud. What will it be?"
Bill gripped the armrests of the throne he sat on. "I won't let Jenny die!"
"So, you deny your ideas of 'civilized justice'?" the knight questioned.
"No!" Bill shook his head vigorously before lowering his gaze. "But... I can't kill... Jenny..."
"'Might for right... and right for right,'" the knight recited in a taunting manner. "Will you be a hypocrite or a traitor... Your Highness?"
"I..."
Bill paused and thought for a long while. At last, he raised his hand to give the signal. He hoped for someone to come, but when he looked up to see the commotion below, that person wasn't there to save Jenny as the executioner brought his torch closer.
Bill jumped to his feet as his eyes closed.
"NO!"
Silence.
(A/N: Okay, so that WASN'T exactly how it went. Let me be a little creative, people!)
He opened his eyes to find himself sitting up in bed (though he couldn't remember ever GOING to bed in the first place), drenched in a cold sweat as he gasped for air. He sighed and fell backwards, rubbing his face with the palms of both hands.
"Just a dream," he muttered. "But what a strange one...!"
He removed his hands and stared at the ceiling for a long while. His head turned to look at the glowing numbers on his digital clock. 4:16 in the morning. He blinked slowly and turned his head back to the ceiling.
"Oh, to think I would ever have someone's life in my hands like that." He closed his eyes and scoffed. "How absurd!"
---
He opened his eyes again and looked at the clock. An hour had passed, and not long after, the sun would rise, signalling the beginning of his day with the first morning duty of a lighthouse keeper, turning off the beacon. Groggily, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, staggering over to the light switch of his room until he tripped over something in the middle, sending him sprawling out onto the hardwood floor.
He raised an eyebrow as he murmured, "What the bloody...?"
His hand reached out into the darkness to feel what he had tripped over. Something hard... and thin... and wrapped in a cloth. No, not just one layer of cloth. Many, judging by the feel of it. He stood up, taking the thing with him and judging its weight by how it felt.
"What is this?" he asked himself.
Quite carefully, he made his way over to the light switch and turned on the lights to examine the thing clearly. And when he did, he found that he held the wrapped blade of a sword. And not just any sword. The one he pulled out of the stone in Cerulean City.
With a startled gasp, he dropped the sword, allowing it to fall to the floor with a clamor as he backed against his bedroom door. He fumbled for the knob and turned it before giving the door a small push, causing it to creak open. With that, he stumbled out, not bothering to turn off the lights as he rubbed his face with his right hand. He placed his left hand on the wall for guidance as he stumbled away from his bedroom.
"This is all just a figment of my imagination," he told himself. "Just some strange dream that will go away once I'm fully awake. Yes, I'll make myself a cup of tea. That should wake me up."
He walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights, not noticing any other soul present in the room. Without a thought, he picked the kettle off the stove and took it to the sink where he filled it with water. His mind was clear and peaceful as he placed the kettle back on the stove and turned the burner on before turning to the refrigerator to hunt for tofu to eat for breakfast. (His cook, being on vacation once again after all, left him to go back to his diet based solely on tofu... again.) He opened the refrigerator door and leaned forward to look beyond various furry foods.
"Good morning, Your Higness," a voice greeted behind him.
Bill literally jumped, smacking his head off the edge of the refrigerator. He gave a small yelp and held his head before closing the door and slowly turning around. Behind him, sitting calmly on a stool next to a counter, was the man who had called himself Merlin just last night.
"Dreams aren't supposed to hurt, are they?" Bill partially grumbled as he rubbed his head wearily.
"No, sire, they aren't," Merlin replied with a small smile on his lips. "This isn't a dream."
"Right," Bill muttered. "This is a hallucination."
Merlin chuckled. "No, it isn't that either."
Bill frowned. It was much too early for this sort of thing. At least, it was for him.
"Then I suppose I should call the police and tell them that a madman had broken in," he suggested.
Ignoring this, Merlin continued, "So, you want proof, do you?"
"Proof of what?" Bill asked, still a bit too tired to comprehend much.
"Proof that you're King Arthur, of course!" Merlin chuckled, as if it was a simple idea.
The kettle whistled, giving Bill an excuse to why he wouldn't reply. He took the kettle off the burner and made a cup of tea for himself.
"Would you like some tea?" he finally asked, deciding not to be rude.
"No," Merlin responded. "Finish yours and get dressed. I have something to show you."
Bill turned around and raised an eyebrow before blowing on his cup and taking a long sip. He stared into the red-brown liquid for awhile and grinned.
"Really? It wouldn't happen to be Camelot itself, would it?" he asked sarcastically.
Merlin overlooked Bill's sardonic tone and replied, "It's even better."
"Really?" Bill scoffed before taking another sip. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Mr. Merlin, but I'm VERY busy. I have no time for trivial things such as chasing after..." His eyes travelled from the tea to Merlin. "...Whatever it is you think I should see."
"Trivial things!" Merlin exclaimed. "You will become a king, and you call it trivial! Your Highness!"
Bill's eyes went back to his tea, but he still stared at Merlin from the corner of his eyes. With his silence, he sipped thoughtfully until there was nothing left of the cup. His hands curved around the ceramic for awhile as he concidered things before he finally placed the cup in the sink nearby.
"Alright. I'll go with you," Bill finally agreed. "Then you will see that you have made a mistake in thinking that I am King Arthur."
"Good!" Merlin beamed. "Get dressed, and wear something casual."
Bill smirked as he turned and walked away. He shook his head in disbelief, suppressing a laugh.
"Crazy old bat," he murmured under his breath as he walked to his room.
---
Merlin led the young researcher through the woods as the sun filtered through the eternal fog. Bill couldn't recognize the part of the forest they walked through, but then again, they had left the path he usually travelled hours ago.
"Where are we going?" Bill asked for the third time on that walk.
"We will arrive soon, Wart," Merlin responded once again. "Have patience. It should be around here somewhere. I recall I found it-- Aha!"
Merlin pushed a pair of tree branches apart, revealing a small path. He walked through the branches, leaving Bill to stand there in uncertainty. Realizing that his companion hadn't followed, Merlin poked his head out from between the branches and motioned for Bill to tag along.
"Come, Your Highness," Merlin beckoned. "Meet your destiny."
Reluctantly, Bill followed Merlin into the thick tunnel of branches and ivy. There was complete silence between and around them; not even a Taillow was heard in the branches above. It was like that for awhile until Merlin disappeared from before Bill. The youth walked forward, looking around in confusion before his foot slipped out from under him due to mud, causing him to slide down a bank and into water.
"Now you see why I told you to dress casually," Merlin said as he offered a hand to help Bill up.
Bill graciously took it and pulled, standing up in the ankle-deep water. He looked about him, through the lifting fog to find himself at a lake fringed by trees. In the middle of the lake, he saw a silver-haired woman in a flowing white dress stand patiently. In her arms, she carried a black sheath which encased a sword with a beautiful, jewel bedecked hilt. Bill found himself staring in surprise; though there was still a thick layer of fog, he could still make her out as if it was a clear, sunny day.
"I knew it!" Merlin cried with happiness. "She wouldn't appear with it if you weren't the one!"
Bill gave Merlin a curious glance. "Who is 'she,' and what is 'it'?"
Merlin looked at him with a smile in response. "I'm sure you know the answer."
Bill looked at the woman again for awhile until the answer came to him.
"The Lady of the Lake and Excalibur," he nearly whispered.
"Go," Merlin said quietly. "She's waiting for you, Your Majesty."
Bill stared at Merlin for awhile in doubt before looking forward, breathing deeply, and exhaling slowly. He walked forward gradually until he stood in waist-deep water before the smiling lady. There was a moment's pause between them until at last, the woman bowed and presented the sheathed sword to him. He stared at it for awhile before halfheartedly taking it into his own hands. She straightened up and smiled at him.
"Thank you," he murmured with a bow.
He looked up to see the woman curtsy, not allowing her crystal-blue eyes to tear away from him.
"I wish you the best of luck, Your Majesty," she said. "I know for certain that your idea will work in this lifetime."
"Thank you," he muttered again with a flustered look on his face.
"Bill!" Merlin shouted from the shore. "Look out!"
Bill looked over his shoulder in time to see a black blur heading straight for him. He gasped and pulled the lady down to the waters as he ducked low.
"Merlin!" Bill called, not noticing that the lady had disappeared completely below the waters. "What was--"
He was cut short by a strike, knocking him into the water. He looked up to see a giant crow, much too large to be a Murkrow of any kind, making a circle in the sky before heading back towards him.
"Bill, use Excalibur!" Merlin instructed.
Bill, however, could only hear a strange pounding in his ears as his body froze in pure terror. The crow swooped down, placing both giant claws on Bill's chest and forcing him underwater in order to drown him. The waters were disturbed as Bill struggled before all fell silent and still.
"Bill!" Merlin shouted.
There was a moment's pause before the crow squawked and took flight without a foot and a large amount of blood. Bill rose from the waters with his back towards the shore, watching the crow swoop in again to get revenge. With a leap timed at the perfect moment, Bill narrowly escaped the bird and proceeded to decapitate it with Excalibur. The bird's head and body fell into the lake with a great splash, coloring the waters red. Another pause emphasized the moment before Bill turned back to the shore. He began walking back to the shore as he cleaned Excalibur with the lake waters and sheathed it, all while he kept his head down and his eyes hidden. It wasn't until he stood in ankle-deep waters, feet from Merlin, when he raised his head at last, revealing pale, blue eyes.
"Arthur," Merlin muttered as he bowed low. "Welcome back, Your Highness."
King Arthur (or rather, Bill, if you prefer) smiled and responded with a deeper voice, "It is good to be back, my friend."
With that, he closed his eyes and groaned with his normal voice before he collapsed into the water. Merlin watched him do so before frowning and glancing up to a point across the lake. There, he saw her, a woman in a flowing, red dress and raven-black hair. She glared at him for awhile and turned away, walking into the woods as the sunlight fell upon the silver, snake-shaped barrette in her hair.
"So, Vivien," Merlin mumbled as he watched her leave. "Your dangerous treachery continues even now..."
---
It seemed to take much longer to get back to the lighthouse than it did getting to the lake. There was silence between the wizard and the king-to-be as Bill tried to sort through the confusion that plagued his mind. The fingers of his left hand ran over the leather of the sheath that held Excalibur, as if it would help. He didn't notice as Merlin stopped to sit on a rock.
"Your Majesty, let us rest," Merlin said, snapping Bill back into attention.
He stopped, gazing at Merlin with startled eyes before he too sat on a nearby stump.
"So, I'm King Arthur," Bill stated as he stared at Excalibur with an unseeing gaze. "Now what?"
Merlin took a deep breath. "Now begins your journey to reestablish the order you had during your reign. But before you do, you need to know the truth of things. First off, how much do you know about Camelot?"
"I've read Idylls of the King," Bill responded. "Other than that, not much at all."
Merlin scoffed. "Idylls of the King! Bah! Tennyson didn't know what he was talking about. Though there WAS corruption in the kingdom, it wasn't a bleeding circus. Tennyson only found a way to talk about the dark side of Camelot, and he exaggerated it while he was at it. What he didn't let the world know was that there was an abundance of joyous times during your last reign. So don't you dare let a stuffy poet like him make you forget that!"
"Well, then I'm sure YOU could tell me what Camelot was like," Bill suggested.
Merlin grinned. "My boy, I LIVED during the greatness of Camelot. Of COURSE I can tell you about it!
"I'm sure you probably know how the rise of Camelot went; it was the only thing Tennyson was able to accurately retell. That is, to say, with the help of Lerner and Loewe. In your past life, you were the young squire to your cousin, Sir Kay after King Pendragon of England died and left no one to succeed him and nothing to decide who would, save for a sword rising out of an anvil in the middle of a London square. Countless men who have seen the thousands of battlefields of the warring kingdoms of that age had tried to pull that very sword free, but none of them succeeded. At last, a great tournament was held on New Year's Day in which the greatest knights of England competed for the title of king of all England, and among them was none other than Sir Kay. However, once he and you arrived at the tournament location, he had realized he had forgotten his sword and so sent you to fetch it. Along the way, you passed the square with that very sword in the anvil and, thinking that it would only save you time, you pulled it free, only to be crowned king of England not long after. Do you remember that much, Your Highness?"
Bill shook his head. Tennyson hadn't actually mentioned that. Perhaps Merlin had gotten a bit confused...
"Mmm. Nothing is helping you regain your lost memories. Not yet, at least..." Merlin scratched his bearded chin and continued. "During your reign, you had established an order like no other -- 'might for right,' as you had said. With your queen, Guinevere, you ruled over the possibly the best years in the history of England. You and the knights of the Round Table introduced the idea of fair trials and justice for all, not just justice for the nobility. However..."
"Guinevere and Lancelot fell in love, and that led to the downfall of Camelot?" Bill suggested.
Merlin raised an eyebrow at him. "You remember?"
Bill shook his head. "No. That's simply what Tennyson had touched upon."
Merlin snorted. "Hidebound little..." He cleared his throat and went on. "Indeed, the affair between your queen and your most loyal knight WAS one of the factors that led to the downfall of Camelot, but it was also the betrayal of your nephew, Modred. As you rode off to stage a reluctant battle against the knights of Joyous Gard, Sir Lancelot included, Modred assembled an army and waged war against you in order to seize the throne."
"Yes, Tennyson mentioned that as well in the last idyll," Bill said with a nod.
Merlin was getting rather irritated by then, but he continued on. "It was during both battles that the death toll became incomprehensible, leaving all but Sir Bedivere, Sir Modred, and yourself alive. The final battle between you and Sir Modred alone was long, with neither side likely to die or surrender. Then, at last, as Modred's blade crashed through your helmet, you cut his head off, ending it all at last.
"The wound was fatal. There was no one around, not a single person to save the great king of England. And so, Sir Bedivere fufilled your final wishes and watched as your life began to slip away. Not long after, you were sent to Avilion to die."
Bill stared at the hilt of Excalibur for a long while in silence. Merlin studied his face during that time as a smile drew across his.
"However, it seems that the world still needs King Arthur," Merlin commented.
Bill lifted his head sharply as he gave Merlin a curious glance.
"You were reincarnated for a reason, Your Majesty," Merlin stated. "The world needs you to reestablish the order that you had set up countless years ago. They want the Round Table back. They want the peace back. And the world knows that the best man to bring it to them... is you, Arthur."
"M-me?" Bill stammered as all color drained away from his face. "Reincarnated? For a... reason?"
"Yes!" Merlin's eyes twinkled. "You are destined to lead the world into a new age of truth! You hold in your hands Excalibur, the symbol of that period, and with it, you will point the way to an era of greatness and glory! Seize it, Your Highness! Take us all to the utopia you dreamed of!"
Bill stood up quickly, allowing Excalibur to fall to the forest floor.
"Now, hold on!" he exclaimed with a great amount of annoyance in his voice and on his face. "Just today, you've told me that I am--" Bill made a motion with his right hand, as if the idea was just full of air... among other things. "--I am the REINCARNATION of King Arthur -- which I highly doubt is true if I can find proof that this is all simply a stage gag. But now...! Now you expect me to be a WORLD LEADER!? I couldn't even handle class presidency when I was in high school!"
Merlin chuckled. "No, Your Highness. I don't expect you to be a world leader, per se; I expect you to be..." Merlin paused for emphasis as he gave a small smile. "...A savior to us all."
There was a long period of silence as Bill stared at Merlin blankly. Just after a hollow breeze blew past, Bill broke down in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He got such a big kick out of the idea in his mind that he had to sit back down on the stump to avoid falling over on the forest floor and rolling about the dead leaves, clumps of soil, and groups of mushrooms.
"What? It's true!" Merlin protested. "You are meant to save us all from the darkness that is international war, just as you had done when you were new to the crown!"
"I'm... I'm sorry, Merlin, sir...!" Bill apologized between laughing and wiping away tears from his eyes. "It's just... the idea of ME... being ANY sort of savior... is just... is just..." Bill stopped to continue to laugh until at last he calmed down and finished what he had to say. "The idea of me being ANY sort of savior is just absolutely ridiculous! Unless, of course, you don't mind a few hundred deaths to accompany that salvation."
"Everything has its price," Merlin responded wisely.
"Right..." Bill stood again and began walking in the direction of the lighthouse. "Why don't you and Samara--"
"The Lady of the Lake?" Merlin questioned as he tilted his head. (He couldn't figure out why Bill had called her "Samara.")
"--Right. Why don't you and the Lady of the Lake take... 'Excalibur' and find someone else to bother?" Bill inquired as he put his hands behind his head. "I apologize, Merlin, but honestly! For a moment there, you had me convinced that I was a barely real character glorified by faerie tales. Now, you have indeed wasted my time, but I'll still be polite to you. Please go find someone who is much more gullible than I am."
With that, Bill disappeared into the woods. With a sigh, Merlin stood and took Excalibur. Carefully, he weighed it with his hands, feeling the warm, tingling energy pulsating through the sword. At this, he frowned.
"He hasn't got the faintest idea of what he's capable of," he said to himself. "Ah, well. I suppose it will take time for Wart to fully awaken..."