Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own anything, nor do I get paid for it.
A/N Here we are the end. The final chapter of this story is being posted exactly a year after I first published the first chapter of this story. I cannot believe it has been that long. Thank you for sticking with me.
Happy Reading!
The Wizard of Camelot: Le Morte d'Arthur
"Guinevere," said the Doctor gently. The Queen did not look away from her husband's body; in fact, it seemed as if she hadn't even heard the Doctor.
The Doctor seemed to realise it too, and he looked at Rose for help, rather aware that they had a very short time to do everything that the Doctor knew he had to do. Unless they were very quick now, they would send the timelines spiralling out of control.
Rose saw the impatient look from the Doctor and sighed to herself before touching Guinevere's shoulder gently.
Guinevere jumped rather sharply and looked up. "I have to send for Ancelyn. The Knights need to know, and there are arrangements to be…"
"Guinevere, stop," said the Doctor gently. "Things are not that simple. Morgaine has declared war on Camelot and your kingdom. We need to be careful with how we proceed."
"I am aware," said Guinevere. "Our numbers are larger than Morgaine's forces and we shall defeat her. I shall not dishonour my husband's memory by losing to Morgaine," her voice had taken on a fierce turn by the time she reached the end.
"You won't dishonour him," said Rose comfortingly. "Just give the Doctor a chance to explain, yeah?"
Guinevere took a few deep breaths and turned to him. "Well, Merlin? How do you suppose we ought to proceed?" she asked.
The Doctor nodded gratefully. "Morgaine is powerful, and even with lower numbers, she can cause a lot of harm. It will not help the morale of your knights and your kingdom if you tell them of Arthur's death," he said.
Guinevere's eyes widened. "I can hardly keep it a secret!" she said, looking at him like he had lost his mind. "I-I cannot...Oh!" she exclaimed, realisation spreading across her face. "You speak of the time of restitution."
"Yes," said the Doctor, at once. "Yes, that is exactly what I am talking about."
"What's the time of restitution?" asked Rose curiously.
"It's when King Arthur rises from the lake at a time when he is needed the most," said the Doctor.
"But.." said Rose, trying not to be disrespectful and point out the obvious.
"The time of restitution is known among our myths," said Guinevere with a sad smile at Rose. "Arthur would get dreams of being asleep under a lake. Merlin is right, I cannot tell the people that Arthur is dead. But I can tell them that he shall return when the time of restitution comes."
"Thank you, Guinevere," said the Doctor.
"I cannot lie to them forever," she pointed out.
"You won't have to," he said earnestly. "I give you my word. Everything will work out as it should."
Guinevere stared at his sincere blue eyes and nodded. "I believe you, Merlin, and I shall entrust you with my husband's last rites," she said.
He bowed to her. "I shall handle it with the greatest respect," he said.
"What about Morgaine?" asked Rose. "She won't just leave Camelot alone, will she?"
"Leave Morgaine to me," said Guinevere. "She is my responsibility."
"You don't have to shoulder it alone, though," said the Doctor gently. "I might have someone who will help you get rid of Morgaine temporarily, until she faces me again."
"Who?" asked Rose, as Guinevere looked equally curious.
The Doctor just grinned and tapped the side of his nose.
Ancelyn moved his broadsword with well-practised ease as he fought three of the grey knights at once. He would not sink to their level and use energy weapons just yet. The battle on the field of Camlan was still tame compared to the battles that Ancelyn had seen before, but he knew that it would only get worse from here on out.
He defeated the three knights he was fighting and stalked off to find Mordred. He happened upon him just as he was thinking about the pleasure he would gain when he would crush his broadsword through the smug coward's chest.
"We meet at last, Ancelyn," mocked Mordred when he saw him approach. "I had heard of the inept knights of Camelot and I know why, now that I have seen you."
"Fighting words for a mere boy who still snivels at his mother's magic," taunted Ancelyn, watching the scowl on his face with enormous satisfaction. "You needed to bribe peasants to poison the King, you dishonourable swine."
Mordred glared darkly at Ancelyn and drew out his broadsword. "I am not a coward!" he roared.
Ancelyn smirked and prepared to fight him when he felt a telepathic call from Merlin. He was staggered by how powerful Merlin's mind felt to him, and he nearly lost his footing at the intense strength of the simple message which asked him, only him, to return to the palace at once. He could see Mordred waiting to fight him in single combat but the urgency of Merlin's message could not be ignored.
With great reluctance, Ancelyn sheathed his sword, to the astonishment of Mordred. "I will not face you today, Mordred," he said. "But by gods, I shall slay you one day."
Mordred laughed at him. "Do you run from me, Ancelyn? Ancelyn the Craven, I should call you."
It took enormous effort on Ancelyn's part not to turn around and tackle Mordred to the ground. Forget the broadsword, he would use his bare hands to kill him, but he had his orders and he had to obey.
It was with a heavy heart that he returned to the castle. He found Merlin in the King's chambers with the Queen and Lady Rose. It only took him a moment to realise the atmosphere inside the room was one of mourning, and he nearly stumbled as he gazed upon the King's still form on the bed.
"No," he whispered and knelt next to the bed.
"I am sorry, Ancelyn," said the Doctor gently.
"Ancelyn, the King has not left us completely," said Guinevere, her voice strong despite the lie she was telling. "Merlin assures me that he shall rise when the time of restitution comes."
Ancelyn looked at the Doctor with budding hope in his eyes. "Is it true, Merlin?" he asked.
"Yes," he nodded.
"Then, we must hurry," said Ancelyn. "How can I be of help?"
"Good thing you asked," said the Doctor with a small smile. "I need your help getting Arthur into my ship. I will keep him safe, I promise," he added when Ancelyn hesitated.
"And what of Morgaine?" asked Ancelyn as he nodded.
"Ah," said the Doctor and turned to Rose. "May I have that pendant, Rose?"
Rose's brow furrowed in concern but she took off the chain around her neck with the ruby pendant and gave it to the Doctor. He, in turn, handed the pendant to the Queen. "Call for Morgaine and face her in the open. When the time is right, open the heart of that pendant and hold up the ruby to the sky. The mighty Baden shall rise and imprison Morgaine for twelve centuries."
Rose gaped at the Doctor, and even the Queen and Ancelyn exchanged bewildered looks. The Doctor smiled reassuringly at them. "Just trust me on this one," he said. "Now, let us get Arthur to my TARDIS."
Getting Arthur into the TARDIS turned out to be quite simple, since the castle was mostly empty due to the ongoing war in the field of Camlan. People of Camelot were inside their homes, praying for the safety of their loved ones who were fighting Morgaine's forces.
The Doctor asked for the King to be dressed in full armour, including the legendary sword, Excalibur. Rose was rather quiet as the Doctor made his requests and the Queen and Ancelyn hastened to obey them. She still wasn't sure of how the pieces were meant to come together, or what the pendant was supposed to do, or who Baden really was.
Finally, the Doctor and Ancelyn had situated Arthur's body inside the TARDIS. The Doctor gestured to Rose that they needed to leave fairly quickly and it only left time for a quick goodbye to Ancelyn and Guinevere, both of whom wished them good fortune and asked them to look after Arthur.
When the doors of the TARDIS had closed, Guinevere turned to Ancelyn and smiled tiredly. "Call for a ceasefire, Sir Ancelyn," she said. "I do believe it is time I faced Morgaine."
"So, you gonna explain?" asked Rose as the Doctor busied himself with the controls.
"In a moment," he answered. "I need to navigate through to the home universe."
"Is that even possible?" asked Rose, surprised.
"Not usually, no, since the Time Lords have sealed us away from the rest of the multiverse. But we did fall into this universe, so it means that there are still certain gaps in the walls dividing the universes," he explained.
"And where exactly are we going?" asked Rose.
"Lake Vortigern, England, 8th century," he said. "Hold on tight."
Rose grabbed onto the metal scaffolding, but to her enormous surprise, the TARDIS moved seamlessly through the gaps and landed without a single hitch. "That was uneventful," said Rose. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, better than okay, in fact," said the Doctor, with some surprise.
"So, we should go outside, yeah?" asked Rose, excited despite herself that she was back in her own universe.
The Doctor chuckled a little. "Not unless you want to flood the TARDIS," he said and showed her the monitor.
"Blimey," said Rose, her eyes going wide. "We are under the lake."
"That we are, Rose Tyler," he said, grinning at the look on her face. "Arthur will sleep under the lake, remember?"
"We are not just gonna toss him out there, are we?" she asked, concerned.
"Of course not," he said indignantly and took her hand, leading her deeper into the TARDIS. "Come, I'll show you where Ancelyn and I put him."
They walked down the hall and the Doctor opened the fifth door that they came across. To her greatest surprise, it looked like the interior of a spaceship, but with organic green walls instead of metallic ones. In the middle of the small room was a stone altar. Arthur's head was resting on the altar while his body was positioned to be kneeling next to it.
Rose looked at the Doctor in shock. "What's going on?" she asked.
"This is a ship," he said unnecessarily. "Not exactly Time Lord in nature, but they did have a big hand in making it. It's part organic, just like the TARDIS."
"And what are we doing with it?" she asked.
"Leaving messages for myself and Ace to solve the other end of the timelines," he said and drew out the Excalibur from his coat. He unsheathed the legendary sword and admired it for a moment. Then, he winked at Rose and stabbed the sword into the altar just next to Arthur's head.
"Oh, you have to be kidding me," said Rose as she saw the sword in the stone just like the legends had described.
He grinned at her and pointed at the hilt of the sword where a red gem was resting. "This is Morgaine's tracking device that she implanted on the Excalibur when she first gave it to Arthur," he explained. "This is how she will find her way here."
"And what about this ship? We leave it under the lake?" asked Rose.
"Yes," nodded the Doctor, drawing a thick parchment-like paper and a biro from his coat. "It's organic, as I said, so it will continue to grow and fight off anybody else who might try and stumble upon it until Ace and I encounter it in 1997."
"1997? Gosh, I must have been 11," said Rose. "There really was an Arthurian fight at that time and I had no idea?"
The Doctor grinned a little. "UNIT did a great job of covering everything up," he said and gave her the paper and biro. "I need you to write me a note."
"What do I say?" asked Rose.
"Dear Doctor. King died in final battle. Everything else propaganda," he told her and Rose wrote it down quickly. Once she was done, the Doctor took the biro from her and signed his name at the bottom. "I think that is all we can do over here," he said and stuck the rolled up parchment inside Arthur's armour.
"Doesn't seem right to just leave him like this," said Rose, gazing upon Arthur's form sadly.
The Doctor touched her shoulder in comfort. "He lived a full life and he ought to have died in battle as the legends described, but reality rarely lives up to the fantasy," he said.
Rose nodded sadly and let the Doctor lead her out of the room. The door closed behind them, and the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to fiddle with a panel on the door. "I need to set the voice command," he said to her questioning look.
He cleared his throat a few times and Rose jumped in surprise when it was his predecessor's voice that came from his mouth. "Open up, it's me," the Scottish voice said and the green light on the panel turned to red.
"There, that's done it," said the Doctor, in his normal voice much to Rose's relief. "It will only open for me now."
"How do we get it out into the lake then?" asked Rose but the Doctor just pointed as the door slowly started to shrink until it was all but invisible. In moments, it was as if there hadn't been a door there at all, and the Doctor grinned triumphantly. "There, that's done it," he said. "Only one more thing left to do."
"What?" asked Rose.
He held up the scabbard that had previously held the Excalibur. "We need to leave breadcrumbs for Ace and I to follow."
"Face me, Morgaine!" called Guinevere as she stood proudly in the middle of Camlan, dressed in her finest armour. The Knights of the Round Table stood behind her, ready to defend her at less than a moment's notice.
Mordred and the grey knights stood on the other side of the field, curious about what was to happen next. Morgaine appeared in a puff of smoke and walked to the middle of the field with a smirk on her face.
"You dare call for me, adulteress?" said Morgaine, looking at Guinevere with contempt. "You, who had a man more beautiful than the sun as your husband whom you betrayed?"
Guinevere swelled in anger but refused to rise to the bait. "Arthur is no more for now," she said and she could hear gasps and exclamations of surprise from the soldiers and people around them. "He shall wake only when the time of restitution is upon us."
Morgaine laughed cruelly. "And you wish for me to stop the assault on your precious Camelot until Arthur comes back?" she asked.
"If you leave now, then my knights shall not attack your force and defeat you, Morgaine," said Guinevere evenly.
"You could no more defeat me than be a faithful wife, Guinevere," said Morgaine contemptuously. "My army shall take Camelot by force. If it is a battle you want, it is a battle you will receive."
"Remember, Morgaine," said Guinevere as she drew out the pendant. "I did give you a chance." She opened the gold heart encasing the ruby and held it to the sky just as Merlin had told her.
For a moment, it seemed as if nothing had happened and Morgaine opened her mouth to taunt Guinevere when a shadow fell upon Camlan. Everyone turned their gaze to the skies, and saw a large-winged creature descending towards them, the likes of which their Earth had never seen before.
"The mighty Baden," said Ancelyn in awe as the creature flew over the field. It was enormous, with a wingspan large enough to cover a spaceship, and the most peculiar shrieking sound as its call. It circled the field a few times and then as if she was its favourite prey, it swooped towards Morgaine.
She tried to cast her magic at it, but to no avail as the creature encased her in its wings and vanished completely, taking Morgaine with it. Guinevere swelled in triumph and looked back at her knights.
"Defeat her forces," she ordered and the knights as one drew their swords.
The final battle of Camlan had started.
When the TARDIS landed again, Rose was surprised to see that they had just moved from under the lake to the shore. "What are we doing?" she asked again.
The Doctor lugged out a small canister of what proclaimed itself to be insta-quick concrete that hardens in 1 microspan. He knelt to the ground and poured the concrete into a perfect square. Before it could dry, he drew some Gallifreyan symbols on it and the concrete hardened as soon as he had finished writing it. With a triumphant grin, he dropped the scabbard on it and covered it with dirt.
"A message," he explained to Rose. "It says Dig hole here. The ship will grow and one day build a concrete passageway from the ship to here."
"How can an organic ship grow concrete?" asked Rose.
"It adapts and replicates matter that it deems useful," he explained as he stood up and dusted off. "I have no doubt that it first grew an organic tunnel but replaced it with concrete later."
Rose nodded as they started walking back to the TARDIS. "And what about that pendant? What is it supposed to do?"
He grinned at her. "The pendant was accumulating the radiation you were affected by while you wearing it and the gold heart around the ruby was preventing it from infecting the web of time. Once Guinevere opens it, every creature in the vortex will be flying to it. My guess is, it would be a vortisaur that gets there first," he said.
"Vortisaurs are those huge things that look like gigantic pterodactyls, don't they?" asked Rose, remembering a story the Doctor had told her when he had ridden one of them bareback in his youth.
"Exactly," nodded the Doctor. "And once they got there, they would go for the oldest and the most temporally complicated person there."
"Morgaine?" asked Rose.
"She is ageless and deathless," he told her with a shrug. "They will not harm her, but they will keep her prisoner in the vortex."
"For twelve centuries," said Rose. "So, this Baden is a vortisaur?"
"That would be my guess, yes. I cannot be certain if that is what Mordred meant," he said as they entered the TARDIS together. "Now, Rose Tyler, I do believe we have done everything that we had to here."
"Think the Time Lords noticed this little excursion?" asked Rose. A mauve beacon lit up on the console, clear in their line of sight and they raised their eyebrows in unison. "Guess that answers that," Rose muttered under her breath.
The Doctor pressed the switch next to the beacon and read the message quickly. Rose read it over his shoulder and her eyes went wide.
One week.
"Does that mean what I think it does?" asked Rose.
The Doctor beamed at Rose. "It absolutely does," he said, starting to fiddle with the console. "What do you say, should we go and see your mum?"
Rose nodded eagerly, before her smile dimmed a little. "Hang on, what about Fitz?" she asked.
"Oh, we'll be back in the parallel world in a week and we can steer the TARDIS to the day he calls," said the Doctor easily. "For now though, let's see, Powell Estate, London, England, the 21st century."
"We're going home?" asked Rose, her eyes shining.
The Doctor beamed at her. "We are going home."
The four weeks that Fitz spent away from the TARDIS worked wonders for his perspective. He spent the first week in New York, exploring the city and hitting up jazz bars in the area. On one of his jaunts, he met a group of British travellers on their way to San Francisco and decided to go along with them to see California.
The next week in sunny California was like a dream for Fitz. Places he had yearned to see for years were suddenly open for him to tour, and he hardly realised the time as he explored. He hitchhiked his way back to New York, meeting some fantastic people on the way, and some of the quite terrible ones.
When he reached New York nearly four weeks after he had left the TARDIS, Fitz had made up his mind. He loved to travel and see new places, and the world that the Doctor had shown him made everything else pale in comparison. Death and sadness were parts of life, and they would be around whether he took a chance and dived into life or stood on the sidelines and just wasted away as years passed.
With a lighter heart than what he had four weeks ago, he stood on the same corner where the TARDIS had dropped him off and called the number in the phone. It rang twice before abruptly shutting down. Confused, he stared at the phone, wondering if he had used it properly or not.
But then he heard the sound of the TARDIS materialising, and he grinned and picked up his bag. The box materialised completely and Fitz halted in his steps when he saw that the police box was no longer blue, but black. Before he could think upon it any more, the doors opened and a man dressed all in black stepped outside.
"Ah, Fitz," he said, his smooth voice sending shivers up Fitz's spine. "So glad I caught you."
"Who the bleedin' hell are you?" asked Fitz, feeling his throat dry.
The man smiled, but his smile was cold and did not reach his eyes. "I am an old friend, Fitz Kreiner," he said. His smile widened. "But you can call me, the Valeyard."
THE END
Next to come in the sequel 'Turn the Page'
"Rose Marion Tyler, where the bleedin' hell have you been?" "Mum, I can explain."
"So, are they ghosts?" "Yes."
"This isn't really Earth, is it?"
"Twelve Doctors in one place? I'm surprised the multiverse hasn't imploded." "Yet."
"Just what we need again, the Master and the Valeyard teaming up."
"Miranda means someone worthy of admiration."
"Well, being married to Amy for five years will do that to me."
"I have three days to make a case for your innocence? Easier said than done."
"They're saying the Time War has started."
A/N Thank you so much for reading. This story would not have worked without all your wonderful reviews, alerts and favourites. Hope you enjoy this final chapter and wait patiently while I get ready to post the sequel.
Do let me know what you thought of this chapter. See you!