"This is still the forest. Just outside Camelot." Arthur groaned as he looked out the door. "We haven't moved." The Doctor chuckled before nodding to Amy, who dragged the third man along as she darted from the mysterious box. "C'mon, Rory!" she ordered gleefully.

"You're right, Arthur, we haven't moved," the Doctor replied, "but we have gone to a different point in time. I know this may be a lot to take in, but you need to stay with me if we're going to save Merlin."

"Where are we then?" Arthur asked excitedly. "The day before the execution? Or the day of? Maybe I can save him!" Arthur bolted from the TARDIS and ran past the scrawny couple waiting just outside.

"Hey!" the redhead yelled. "Where are you going?!" "To save Merlin!"

"Arthur, wait!" the Doctor cried vainly, watching as the blond prince disappeared through the trees, sprinting for the walls of Camelot. Arthur tripped a few times, but didn't pause to dust himself off. He just ran. He'd been given a second chance. He'd stop the execution. He'd save Merlin, and then- Arthur stopped, one foot still raised to take the next step. Before him were the walls of Camelot, crumbled and worn, their color faded and the stones covered in vegetation. Camelot had long since fallen. Arthur ran into the town. What was happening? Where was everyone? Making his way to the castle, he found a strange building in the middle of it, made of a foreign material. He cautiously entered, peeking his head through first.

What he found was a massive library, books stuffed onto shelves that stretched to the ceiling. There were rows upon rows of bookcases, and a giant wooden table stood guard in the middle of the room. What was this place? Why had the Doctor taken him here? And what did any of this have to do with saving Merlin? The door behind him slammed open as the 'ponds' and Doctor joined him. "What is this place?" Arthur asked.

Panting, the Doctor replied, "The Camelot records..." -pant, pant- "It's...the entire history...of Camelot."

"Why bring me here?"

"We need to see...what changed in history." The 'pond' girl piped up.

"What do you mean, 'what changed'?"

"If Merlin dies, then he and Arthur never change the century-history itself is changed." The Doctor set himself at one of the many seats positioned around the large wooden table. "We need to find out what changed specifically and why."

Arthur was curious as he looked around the library. If what the Doctor said was true, then everything that happened to everyone he cared about was chronicled in these tomes. He looked at the spines. The language was slightly different than what he was used to, but he was able to figure out what they said. (These titles need to be italicized) Beginnings: The Origins of the Kingdom of Camelot. Victims of the Witch Hunts. King Uther, a Biography. He reached up to grab the last one, but his hand was swatted away. "Spoilers!" the Doctor warned. "You can't read any of this." He steered the prince to a chair and pushed him to sit. "You-stay here. We''ll find out what we need to." Miffed, he watched as the others weaved through the stacks.

He stood a bit when the Doctor gave a cry of frustration. "This is why I hate time changes! Nothing is where it's supposed to be!"

Amy poked her head around a shelf. "What are you on about?"

The Doctor pointed accusingly at the shelf behind him. "There are no books mentioning Merlin at all. All of them-POOF!" He grumbled for a second before picking up The Life of Arthur Pendragon. "Grab whatever you can find about Arthur and his father. Meet me at the table."

Arthur sat in his chair, bored out of his mind as the other three skimmed through the stacks of books on the table. He wanted to see what had changed in Camelot-explore the ruins-but curiosity kept him there. Occasionally, he found himself trying to peek in a book. One of them would notice and put a stop to it, but that made his desire to look grow. Why couldn't he read them? If they were his history, he deserved to know. His hand was inching towards another book when Rory burst from the shelves with a small, leather bound book held over his head. Arthur recognized that book. There was absolutely no way it was here...

"Look! I found King Arthur's journal!"

"How could- Why- Where did you get that?!" Arthur stammered.

Rory nervously replied, "I, uh... I found it on the- um, the shelf." The Doctor ripped the book from Rory's hands, twisting and turning it as he studied the outside. He even licked the cover before finally opening it. Arthur cringed as he saw the leather cover shine with the man's saliva.

The doctor flipped through pages, sometimes smirking or giggling. "What's so funny?" Amy asked, smiling before eagerly jumping to his side to read along.

Arthur listened to the three of them giggle furiously and blushed crimson, mortified. "That's my personal life, thank you!" he barked, snatching it away from the Doctor's grip before holding it close to his chest.

"So right about now, you've realized you've got 'the hots'-" He held up his hands, making quotation marks around those words "-for Merlin, yeah?" the Doctor asked, trying to can his laughter. "You've, um, dreamt about him-"

"Alright, I get it!" Arthur interrupted. Anything to stop that man from revealing his innermost thoughts.

"According to your diary-"

"Journal!"

"Sorry," the doctor grinned, "according to your journal, you married Guinevere, who stole your throne after putting the people under the assumption you were a traitor. I don't know how she managed that, but...Hold on. Had a thought, need to check something! Come along Ponds, Arthur."

They ran back to the TARDIS, filing in one by one just as the large blue crate starting making its funny noises again. Buttons flashed and he gripped at the rails for dear life. When the noise finally faded, the doctor grabbed the male Pond and pulled him to the door. Arthur and Amy followed curiously. They were in a strange land now. Glittering building rose high above their heads, taller than anything Arthur had ever seen. There was no grass, no trees, but hard black ground underfoot. Giant, colorful beasts roared past. They didn't seem interested in leaving their path or attacking any of the people. Everyone around them was dressed in clothes as strange as the three by his side. His attention was caught by a woman holding a rectangular blue stone to her ear. She was talking to it. Somehow, the world had gone mad in the few seconds he had left it.

The Doctor grabbed the attention of a young lady before pulling Rory into his arms and planting a firm kiss on his lips. That sent the woman into hysterics as people yelled at them. Some pushed against each other, trying to get closer. These people were grouping in an intimidating fashion. "Okay..." The Doctor started backing up. "I think we should run. Yes. Yes, run!" he screamed as the now mob of angry people chased them back into the TARDIS.

"That's it!" The Doctor exclaimed, rather irritated.

"What's it?" Amy asked, as she helped Rory wash his mouth.

The Doctor frowned, "Without the calming influence these two began, then... being gay would be equivalent to being an abomination. And civilization is way behind. Did you see their cars? Totally fifty years ago!"

Rory sighed, looking at the Doctor. "Did you have to kiss me again? Arthur's right there; why didn't you use him?"

"I don't know him well enough!"

"You kiss strangers all the time," Amy reminded him, leaning her hip against the control panel.

The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe because he's taken. I don't know! Don't ask me these things when I'm busy." Once again, he set the blue box to moving. "Aright, here's the plan. We're going to go back to the point where history changed. Not only do we have to find out what that crucial moment was, but we have to avoid Arthur's past self."

The doctor turned to face the small crowd of companions grinning, "Any questions?"