Based off the Improbable History episode: King Arthur from Mr. Peabody's Improbable History, with a little movie twist in it. Enjoy :D
It had been two weeks since Sherman had discovered his father's power and heritage. He smiled to himself as they talked about royalty in class. At the moment, students were debating on King Arthur. Some said he was real, others disagreed. It was certainly an interesting subject.
Sherman didn't seem to have any problems with his powers, so long as once in a while, he could fiddle with an icepack he had in his lunch box. He explained it was like a stress toy when asked about it by the teachers, and they didn't bother him for it. He was usually a good boy who studied very hard just like the other students.
"Hey, Sherman, what do you think?" Sherman looked up to see his blonde haired friend, Penny looking at him with those large blue eyes of hers. "Was King Arthur real? Or just a myth?"
Sherman put a hand to his chin while he thought about it. "Ya know, I'm not sure. I'll ask Mr. Peabody tonight and see what he thinks about that tonight. I don't think we've met King Arthur, but we might have and I was too young to remember it."
"Wow, Sherman, just how long have you been traveling?"
Sherman thought about it. "Since before I can remember… I'm not really sure how long, only that Mr. Peabody built the WABAC after he had adopted me." Penny nodded. It made sense.
*BRING*
The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Sherman and Penny walked outside and found Mr. Peabody was talking to Penny's dad, Paul, already. Mr. Peabody turned his head as his son came towards them. "Ah, Sherman, did you have a good time today?"
"Sure did, Mr. Peabody! We learned about King Arthur today. Now everyone's debating whether or not he's a myth though."
"Ah, a question that has been bugging people for centuries."
Paul gave a smirk to his canine friend. "Yeah, but I'm sure you'll soon find proof to put a stop to that, huh, Peabody?"
The beagle looked up to the human with a grimace. "Maybe so, but after Sherman's done with his homework. Come along, Sherman, we better get going."
"Right, Mr. Peabody. See you tomorrow, Penny!"
"See ya, Sherman!"
*~*Mr. Peabody and Sherman*~*
Mr. Peabody had already started to set the coordinates for the 6th century when Sherman had finished his homework. "Where are we going today, Mr. Peabody?"
"Camelot if we can, Sherman. We'll be heading to the sixth century to see if we can find out if there really was a King Arthur." Sherman wagged his tail as he sat down in his chair.
After a few minutes through the swirling time stream, they landed in the forests behind a large castle in England. A set of tubes came down upon them to put the proper attire on the two. Sherman found himself in a set of simple squire's robes while Mr. Peabody found himself once more in princely garbs. He frowned as Sherman snickered and set the WABAC to give him a professor's robe instead, to show he was a man of science, or rather, dog.
The two walked towards the castle, surprised that the drawbridge was down. "What do you make of it, Mr. Peabody?"
"I'm not sure, Sherman. At any rate, we'd best be careful." The two entered the throne room without any problem to find a blonde king sitting upon his throne.
"At last you are here!" The king exclaimed with joy at the two. Sherman and Peabody looked at each other confused for a moment and then back to the king. "Which of you is the doctor?"
Sherman looked to his father, wondering if he should answer. Mr. Peabody shook his head slightly and then looked back to the king. "Why, is someone ill, your majesty?"
"Not yet, but there will be. There always is on Black Tuesday." Sherman noticed Mr. Peabody wince as the king put a hand to his forehead dramatically.
"Black Tuesday, sire?" Sherman asked slowly. He knew a little about the black plague and was concerned that it had something to do with that.
"Yes, Once a year, Merry Old England breaks out in a rash of plagues and floods. It always happens on a Tuesday, he he, and you couldn't very well call it 'White Tuesday', could you?" The king explained.
Mr. Peabody sighed a slight bit of relief. He, like Sherman, had been worried about the Black Plague, but that had been a continuous thing. This sounded like a once a year problem. "Have there been any disasters yet?"
"Oh yes, all sorts…"
"Such as?"
"Well, taketh for instance, my singing sword?" He unsheathed the weapon and held it high in the air. A flat little tune that sounded like a fly or kazoo came from it.
"Looks alright to me." Sherman noted as the king showed the young man.
"Well it may looketh alright, but today it singeth flat!" King Arthur, as it now seemed evident that he was, then sheathed his sword away.
Mr. Peabody rubbed his temples. "What else has gone wrong, your highness?"
The king glanced towards a poor old man who was muttering something to a crow. He put a hand near his mouth to whisper towards the dog, so as not to let the man know he was gossiping about him. "There's Merlin, the Magician. One hour ago, he developed a case of amnesia." The king proceeded to point to his head to make his point.
The two Time-traveler's oversensitive ears picked up the wizard's mutterings. "Abra… abra…a… abra, oh, I wish I could recall how the rest of that go-eth…"
"You see?" The king asked the two, drawing their attention back to him. "One calamity after another, huh-uh, and who knows what's next."
Unfortunately for them, it didn't take long to find out. A page ran in, knocking the door flat to the ground as he rushed to bring the news. "Sire, we are doomed! Camelot is Doomed!"
The king rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Of course we are dear boy, its Black Tuesday."
The page continued in panting breaths. "It's the drawbridge, sire! There's a dragon down there!"
Sherman's eyes widened while Mr. Peabody slapped a paw to his face. 'I would find a way to show him a dragon while trying to meet a king…' Sherman and King Arthur were already at the window. Sherman had, thankfully, enough sense to keep his head low so that he was barely noticeable from below, and yet still able to see the dragon. "I suppose there really is a dragon down there, Sherman?" Mr. Peabody asked as he walked towards the window.
"Yes, Mr. Peabody. It's a big, mean, green one. It looks like it could swallow all of us whole!"
"This, then, is it!" The king exclaimed in a droll voice.
Mr. Peabody looked at the dragon, and then to the king. "Why not fight the dragon?" He knew that if there were dragons, there had to be knights in shining armor to fight them. It was a classic story plot that had been done too many times to doubt.
"Yes, but what with?" Mr. Peabody blinked and stared at the king incredulously. 'This man is supposed to be a brilliant leader? Must be the Black Tuesday nonsense… I hope.'
"What about your knights?" Sherman asked, having also the similar idea that Mr. Peabody was having.
"Restless, lad, restless, can't sleep a wink."
This left Sherman in a semi annoyed look that seemed quite humorous to his father. Mr. Peabody saved the boy from explaining further by doing so for him. "Sherman was referring to the armor type of Knights, your majesty." The King turned towards the beagle and listened intently. "You know, Galahad? Lancelot?"
"Oh! Them! Yes, that's a good idea!" He then called out, "Summon my knights!"
The buglers sounded the call and soon the clanking of armor could be heard. "Mr. Peabody, doesn't that sound a little off to you?" Sherman whispered as the knights walked out. The beagle nodded while suppressing a groan.
"Rust! It is the thing we feareth most!"
"What just happened?"
"Well, Sherman, it appears that the knights decided to take a bath with their armor on."
The king looked at Mr. Peabody like he was insane. "Well of course they did! How else would you expect a knight to be ready to go-eth, even when trying to get clean?"
Sherman opened his mouth to answer, but a quick shake from his father's head silenced the boy's comment. Mr. Peabody then looked out the window and noticed one knight, who was returning from a quest, come about and face the dragon.
"I am Arthur's most valiant knight, Sir Round." He certainly looked the part, "Be gone, oh Dragon, or I shall run-eth you through!" The portly knight raised his fist and shook it.
Mr. Peabody's eyes widened as he predicted what would happen next. "Sherman, get down!" He said to his son, who had been watching as well.
Sherman didn't question it as he heard the dragon's fiery blast upon the knight. Mr. Peabody concentrated on the Knight's armor with his icy powers so that, though the armor would melt away, the knight and horse would be fine. Thankfully, no one noticed anything save for Sir Round's heart colored boxers. His horse took it from there as the knight shouted, "Gadzooks! I've been barbequed!" The knight was still alive, thanks to Mr. Peabody's quick thinking.
Infuriated, the king drew his singing sword, and waving it around carelessly, he proclaimed, "Out of tune or not, Excalibur and I shall cut the beast to ribbons, hehe!" But the only thing he cut was a bell cord, which proceeded to knock him out with the small red bell overhead.
Sherman did a quick check of the unconscious king to make sure he was still breathing. Once satisfied, he turned to his father and asked, "Well Mr. Peabody, what now?"
Mr. Peabody scratched his head. "It would seem, Sherman, that the responsibility falls to us."
"Yeah, but how do you handle a dragon?"
Mr. Peabody couldn't help but smirk. "Preferably with asbestos gloves."
*~*Mr. Peabody and Sherman*~*
Mr. Peabody and Sherman slowly walked out of the castle, Sherman had noticed that his father hadn't asked him to grab a single weapon. He was curious as to what trick the canine had hidden in his fur to help them. "We don't have any weapons, Mr. Peabody…"
"We don't need any, Sherman. Now just stay close to me, and keep a tight concentration on that power of yours. It can be used as a shield at the last second if things get out of hand. Now, if you'll empty your pockets…" He glanced at his nervous boy as they were now in front of the dragon. "Your pockets, remove the contents and place them on the ground."
"I don't get it…" but Sherman followed his father's orders. He dug into his pockets from his actual pants and pulled out some lint, a few toy cars, his slingshot that he had been working on, and a large piece of gum.
"The dragon will, my boy." Mr. Peabody smiled as he spotted the large pink piece of gum. "Ah, that's what I was looking for. I believe you call this…"
"Bubble gum!" Sherman exclaimed excitedly, wondering just what bubble gum was going to do to save Camelot. "Double Bubble, Bubble Gum."
The beagle grimaced at his son's excitement. "Eh, yes…" He carefully unwrapped the object, placed the trash in his robe's pocket, and threw the gum onto the ground. "Now we will leave the, eh, bubble gum here, and return to the castle."
"Do you think the dragon will let us, Mr. Peabody?"
Mr. Peabody started pushing his son back towards the castle, "Like anyone else, dragons are curious." Sherman nodded and proceeded to walk with his father by his side. Mr. Peabody noticed how much Sherman was shaking. "Are you cold, Sherman?"
The boy shook his head. "No, just worried that the dragon will breath fire on us too." Mr. Peabody nodded. It was a logical fear.
"Understandable, Sherman, now, how about we hide behind this rock for a moment?" The two waited and watched as the dragon inspected the gum. He decided it was edible and quickly chewed it. Mr. Peabody waited for a few more moments before coming out from behind the rock. "Come, Sherman. It's safe now."
As the two walked back up to the dragon, Sherman's fear kept nagging at him. He shook his head. His father said it was safe, so he had to believe that he was safe. After all, Mr. Peabody had never let the boy get into danger before without a way out of it. "Gosh, Mr. Peabody, I still don't understand." The dragon glared at them while it continued chewing its gum.
"Watch..." Mr. Peabody walked right up to the dragon, making sure that Sherman was a few feet away from him, and called up towards the beast, "We've been quite patient with you, and so I suggest you return to your home, or else we'll be forced to resort to violence."
Sherman's eyes widened as the dragon reared its head back. "Look out, Mr. Peabody, he's going to breath fire on you!" He was about to raise an ice shield when he suddenly noticed that the thing coming out of the dragon's mouth wasn't fire, it was a bubble! A pink bubble gum bubble to be exact!
Mr. Peabody saw his son's surprised expression and chuckled. "You forget, the bubble gum." The two then proceeded to stare at one of the most ridiculous things that either of them had ever seen. A dragon flying by bubble gum power. "You see, the gum's bubble mixed with the dragon's hot breath acts like a hot air balloon."
"Wow… that's … that's pretty fantastic, Mr. Peabody!" They smiled as they saw the dragon sink slowly in the west, never to bother anyone again.
*~*Mr. Peabody and Sherman*~*
When the two returned to the castle, King Arthur had awoken. "Magnificent display of courage, hehe! I would knight-eth you both if we weren't so busy with the termites." He grimaced.
Sherman looked at the king with confusion. "Now it's termites, sire?"
"Look…" He gestured to a large square table.
'I think I can see where this is going.' Mr. Peabody raised an eyebrow as the four corners of the table started to fall away and disappear. 'Curious that they don't eat the whole thing though… I wonder why…'
"This is terrible, Mr. Peabody." Sherman exclaimed, not yet understanding the significance of what had just happened.
"Oh, I don't know…think of it this way, if it weren't for the termites, King Arthur and his knights might never have had a round table." Sherman blinked in surprise and looked at it.
"Oh... heh… I guess you're right…"
*~*Mr. Peabody and Sherman*~*
The two stayed for another day just to make sure that everything was alright. It turned out that the kingdom also became dumber on Black Tuesday and when the two awoke on Wednesday morning they were happily surprised to find that the intelligence expected of the king and his castle was now showing.
Mr. Peabody and Sherman said goodbye to their new friends and went back to the WABAC, and back to the moment they had left. "For a trip to the dark ages, that was quite enlightening." Mr. Peabody smirked at his own pun.
"Heheh, I still don't get it, Mr. Peabody." The red head grimaced. He was only partially able to understand his father's puns now, but at least he knew when his father was trying.
The next day at school, Sherman told Penny and his class what he had learned without mentioning the WABAC to them. The argument on King Arthur was then dispersed as it was now proven fact rather than myth.