Chapter 1 - Moonlit Arrival

They awoke one after another. The Knight of the Lake rose first, Bedivere last. Seven bodies had been lying on the ground, at the outskirts of a forest. They would have remained in a deep slumber until morning, had a light rain not stirred them awake. Now, six of them stood, bathed in moonlight, but one did not move still. The body of Arturia Pendragon, King of Britain, lay motionless before her knights.

Concern and confusion gripped the gathered men as they formed a circle around their King. On her face was a pained expression, accompanied by ragged and shallow breaths. They knew not what to make of this. Not of their surroundings, not of their slumbering King. Perhaps they would have held council then and there if not for the rain and the darkness of the night bearing down on them. Though it was only natural for the knights to be distraught, the confused glances they shared with one another betrayed the deeper "wrongness" they felt, beyond even the condition of their King. They were not in Camelot, they were not in the Throne of Heroes nor were they on Earth. Perhaps more intriguing than just that they were in a place unknown to them, they did know what to call it. Earthland. Alongside that name came some of the knowledge the Grail would impart upon a summoned Servant. Chief among those was the mastery of the spoken tongue, but also an understanding of history, culture and civilization, though not as in-depth as Servants would expect. Perhaps it was as it should be. Being granted incomplete knowledge for a world that was completely alien to them, unlike Earth which most Servants experienced in their lifetime in one form or another prior to their summoning. But, this clearly wasn't a Holy Grail War to begin with. They had no masters before them, nor did they feel as though it were the Grail which had pulled them into existence.

Still, the knights were granted enough insight to know of the kingdom they found themselves in and to be aware of the fact that magic, although not commonplace among the populous, was an accepted and integral part of life. Possessing that knowledge did little to ease their worries however, as the land was still ultimately foreign to them and their King was no less in peril than before.

They moved with purpose and grim silence shared between them. Leaving the forest behind, it did not take them long to discover a coastline and move along it, aiming to find civilization on the shore. Their plans bore fruit surprisingly quickly. A town, modest in size and without walls, but filled with plenty infrastructure and even a massive church, though from what knowledge they had of the world the knights knew that Christianity did not exist. As such the very first idea they had, to seek refuge and help at the church fell through, as they did not know the disposition of those who inhabited it, even if they were to find any clergy present at this hour of the night. They also knew better than to knock on the doors of random houses, it would at best arouse suspicion and at worst have them branded as vagabonds.

For a second time on this odd night, luck seemed to favour them however, as the third option that presented itself to them was a feasible one. It was an abandoned and dilapidated, if grand building. Not on par with the splendor Camelot had to offer or even a modest fort, but it did stand out among the more pedestrian buildings which surrounded it. Perhaps under different circumstances the group of knights would have questioned the nature or the history of the building, but given pressing nature of the matter at hand, they gave it no second thought as they settled on the building as their shelter for the night. Once out of the rain and inside the building they would hold council and decide what course to take.

By morning they'd be gone.

"And so it would seem that a disheartening situation has been thrust upon us. Or perhaps, it'd be more apt to say that we were thrust into a disheartening situation ourselves." Agravain finished surmising their situation with the rest of the knights nodding along in agreement with his assessments. Agravain had taken to leading the meeting from the very start. Although the other knights had little love for him, none of them had interest in taking charge themselves, and Agravain was after all the one with the most experience in matters of this kind.

Their King had been laid on a table and the knights had gathered around him. Their only source of light was a couple of candles they had found in this building, which to them seemed no more than an oversized tavern from the inside. They discussed their situation and shared the knowledge they had amongst themselves. It didn't take them long to come to the understanding that their experiences and insights were the same. Bedivere was the only one who found himself nodding along a bit more reluctantly. Something was wrong to him. Not just about the situation or the world they were in, but about his companions as well. They spoke of Camelot, they spoke of the war and of what happened to King Arthur… yet they did not speak of the Holy City, the Lion King or Rhongomyniad. Bedivere was convinced these were the same men he had met and fought in the Singularity, yet none of them seemed to recall. He glanced at his side for a moment. His eyes were met with the empty space rather than the glimmer of Airgetlam. Indeed, he was the same Bedivere he was in life. Even the King laid before them had the form of the one he knew and followed rather than the godlike entity known as the Lion King.

Was it him who was mistaken? Were all those memories a dream? If so it would have been a truly strange dream. Thinking about it even for a moment, Bedivere regained his confidence and banished all doubt from his mind. He didn't have all the answers yet, but he was certain that they had all come from the Singularity. Besides him there were five more knights, Lancelot, Gawain, Mordred, Tristan and Agravain. All the Knights of the Round Table he had met in the Singularity.

Furthermore, there was something about his companions that made them seem more mellow than usual, their personalities which set them apart and at odds with one another at times were muted somewhat. Perhaps it was a side-effect of having spent a long time under the Lion King's control. In any case it was a fortunate change as it made cooperation easier. Although Agravain was incredibly competent at unifying the knights, without King Arthur's voice to guide them Bedivere feared old animosities would surface again. For the time being at least, it seemed like a worry that he could put to rest.

However, there was a far more pressing difference which existed between him and the other knights, one that couldn't be ignored or put off for later so easily. It concerned what their course of action would be in this strange land. Everyone else gave sensible if somewhat general suggestions. Find shelter, ensure the King's safety, find a way back. When Bedivere thought about it, they all seemed more akin to wishes than concrete plans. Glancing at Agravain, he seemed to think so too, but even if he did, their de facto leader did not voice his thoughts.

Lancelot, Gawain and Tristan had already spoken, and now it was Bedivere's turn to speak his mind. The one-armed knight took a deep breath and spoke. "I think we should find Avalon."

Of course he was met with confused looks almost immediately. Not only did the suggestion not make sense to his companions, considering just where they were right now, it was also rather unlike Bedivere to suggest something like that so bluntly. In truth, the declaration seemed so unlike Bedivere, because the words he spoke were not his.

The other knights had said that it was rain that woke them back in the forest. Bedivere had nodded along then, but that hadn't been quite the truth of it. He was the last of the knights to regain his senses, and rather than rain it was words which had awoken him. They were spoken in a familiar, almost infuriating, voice which any of the knights present would have recognized. Though he had not seen his form, Bedivere still remembered Merlin's voice echo in his mind.

"Seek Avalon. That is all the guidance I can offer for now."

Seeing the confused and questioning gazes of his companions settle on him, Bedivere quickly continued. "Before I woke up in the forest, Merlin came to me in my dreams and told me that we should do so." he shared the advice he received with the other knights, who all immediately sunk into thought, all except Agravain who responded to Bedivere almost reflexively.

"Bedivere, do you claim to speak for the Magus of Flowers now?" though the words were those of an innocuous question, Agravain's tone was one of admonishment. It was sometimes difficult to tell what words would set off the King's adjutant and Bedivere's explanation had apparently just done so. Agravain had not simply lashed out because of the claim Bedivere made, but also because the sliver-clad knight had kept the information to himself up till now.

"N-No, I was just-" Bedivere fumbled, if it had been his own plan to begin with perhaps he would have had a defense ready, but being caught off guard on a subject he himself did not fully understand made it all too difficult to bear the weight of Agravain's judgment.

"Agravain, has Bedivere not always been true and loyal to us all? Not just as a friend, but as a fellow knight? His dedication to the King is second to none among us." the man who spoke up in Bedivere's defense was Tristan, and although he was the only one speaking, the rest were nodding along, even Mordred did not deny it. "We all had our faults in life, we had our differences, and we all know how it ended. Let us not repeat mistakes so fresh that they still sting like wounds. I am saying that we have no cause to mistrust a word that comes from Bedivere's mouth. Perhaps this is our chance to mend some things which were broken, recover what was lost. To this day I call each and every one of you my friends still. If you cannot do the same, then I beg of you at least make due until we can return where we belong and until His Majesty is safe." as Tristan finished silence gripped the group. It barely took a moment for the group to erupt into murmurs of agreement. Bedivere breathed a sigh of relief as the scene unfolded. For the first time since they had arrived in this world there seemed to be some levity between them.

"Ever the one for big platitudes aren't ya Tristan?!" Mordred laughed while slapping the only Archer among them on the back. In any other context it would have looked like Mordred was mocking him, but given their unique situation Bedivere could tell the knight meant well. Their up till now grim expressions were replaced with faint smiles. Of course Agravain's visage was as neutral as ever, but the other knights knew him well enough that even he approved of Tristan's words.

Bedivere thought back to what he had considered before, how the characters of his friends had been numbed by the Lion King's gifts and how that was the reason that they managed to tolerate one another at the moment. Perhaps he had been wrong. He might have underestimated his lifelong friends and he might have underestimated how cynical his outlook was at that moment. Maybe it really was as Tristan had said, this was another chance for all of them to undo the harm they caused, both to each other and to their King.

They agreed that come the morning light, they would set off on their search to find a path to Avalon. Hopefully the Kingdom of Fiore would treat them with courtesy as knights of another kingdom. Gaining such support would go a long way in helping them with their search.

The knights remained gathered around their King, content to spend the night in conversation with one another.

It was unbecoming of him to sneak out in the night. He was far too old for this sort of thing and his position would hardly tolerate it, he was setting a bad example after all. But what other choice did he have? Macao Conbolt, 4th Guild Master of Fairy Tail left the guild building in secrecy and made his way through the empty streets of Magnolia. Though his magic could be used to light the way, he did not use it. The moon above was just bright enough and Macao knew the way he was taking all too well. This was not the first time that he was sneaking out of the new guild building under the cover of night. With the small tavern serving as their headquarters being on the outskirts of the town, it took Macao a while to get to his destination, doubly so because he wasn't in a hurry.

He paused for a moment when he arrived in front of Fairy Tail's old home. The building was older than even their old Guild Master, it had been home to so many generations of great mages, yet now it stood abandoned and forgotten by those who once knew it as the strongest guild in all of Fiore. Macao blamed himself of course, those who were left had chosen him to be their Guild Master, and it was under his leadership that the guild crumbled. Of course everyone assured him that it wasn't his fault and that it was only natural for the guild to falter when so many of its members disappeared. Whatever the incident at Tenrou Island was, it surely had marked one of Fairy Tail's darkest days.

Macao visited the old building for two reasons. The first one was wholly personal, a sense of nostalgia and longing for the good old days. He admitted, it was weak, shameful, pathetic even, but he did it all the same. The other reason was the one which gave some dignity to these secret visits of his. Although Makarov had never officially passed the title of Guild Master onto him, the old man did tell him some things from time to time. Macao knew that Makarov's first choice for a new Guild Master was always going to be Gildarts, but he wasn't around often enough to reliably take care of some of the day to day operational tasks a guild was concerned with. Chiefly among them was paperwork of all sorts, but there had been something else, something far more crucial. Makarov once told Macao, in a voice far removed from his usual joking suggestions and teases about making him the next Guild Master, that if something were to ever happen to him, Macao had to make sure the guild building did not fall into the wrong hands. At first Macao had thought it an obvious thing, the guild was their home, of course they would never allow it to be occupied by someone else. Yet, Makarov's warning was one made out of fear of, rather than simple sentimental concern. There was something at the old guild building. Macao did not know what, but he understood well enough that no one could be allowed to find it.

And so he made regular visits to the building which stood in front of him. Making sure it was still abandoned and forgotten and that nothing was out-of-place.

"One day we'll get it back…" Macao whispered to himself as he entered.

So far each one of his visits had been uneventful, safe for the first one when he ended up breaking down and crying, spending the night on the dusty floor of what used to be their home. He had never found something unusual and worrying however. At most he could hear the faint noise of rats and other similar animals which had made the abandoned building their home.

This night was different however, he could tell as soon as he entered.

Right in the middle of the main hall, there was a light. A faint one, produced by a small lantern or fire most likely. That alone was enough of a shock, but Macao not wanting to fumble convinced himself it was a couple of vagabonds who had taken refuge in the building for the night, nothing which had any connection with Master Makarov's warning.

"Hey! Better pack up and get lost, this isn't a hotel for vagrants! If you know what's good for you, you better scram." he yelled out as he approached the source of the light, spotting several figures gathered around it. Macao had one arm stretched out ready to use his magic. Of course he had no intention of injuring the intruders, but he had a feeling that a show of force would be needed to intimidate them, otherwise they were unlikely to listen to a middle-aged man who technically wasn't even the owner of the place.

"Who goes there?" a voice boomed back at Macao, exuding a lot more authority than he could muster, and in far fewer words than him as well.

When Macao got close enough to see the figures gathered around the light his jaw dropped and he simple stared. Six men in armor, the spitting images of knights, gathered around a seventh one on the table.

What a truly strange sight.

Somewhere in a world far removed from this one. Far removed from any other world perhaps an all too familiar and infuriating voice rang out.

"Ah, how funny it will be once they learn how close to the solution they were that night. But it's for the best like this. A journey's the best teacher after all."

Author's Notes

Well I can't believe I actually did it. Hello everyone, first of all thanks for actually reading this far. This is my first fanfiction ever and I wasn't quite sure how this first chapter was going to turn out. I've had ideas like this for a while, but this was the first one that really got me going about sitting down and writing it. A part of me is worried this might be a bit too overambitious for my first writing project, but we'll see how it goes. All comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.

This chapter is a bit on the shorter side since I really just wanted to get the set up and intro out of the way, without going into too much detail. I've got quite a few work obligations and I'm not sure how frequently I'll be updating this given that I like to plan stuff out but I'll do my best to keep the chapters going. The idea for the story went through quite a few iterations, in fact at first I was going to drop all of Chaldea into Fairy Tail but I've figured that it would be just a tad bit too much and I'd much rather work with a tightly knit group who all have a connection to one another. As I said, my primary goal here was to set up the premise, I hope the cues I've given about characters, where they are from/at and what the timeframe is will be sufficient to place everything. I'm primarily a Fate fan and if I keep writing fics beyond this one it will probably be various Fate crossovers. Fairy Tail I've watched in its entirety (safe for filler arcs), though I'm hardly as familiar with as I am with Fate, so if I make some mistakes about the setting please yell at me.

I have quite a bit of the fic planned out as is, so I can say that this isn't necessarily going to be a "nuke the plot" kind of story, but I do not seek to retell whole scenes from Fairy Tail word for word either, so feel free to consider this an AU to Fairy Tail in the sense that changes will be made even beyond those that come naturally from the presence of the Knights of the Round Table. And of course there will be some big changes that come about from the knights as well. Some changes are there to not retell scenes, some changes will be there to attempt and improve some elements of Fairy Tail I found to be lacking.

Either with the release of the second chapter or maybe even before that I intend to release Servant cards for the Knights since I don't intend to follow the Grand Order set up 1:1 for their abilities and NP.

Another thing that I want to do here is ask you all to cast a small vote (I considered making a poll but it feels a bit overblown). The voting can be done all the way up till I release the second chapter so don't be shy about doing it even if you're a bit late to the party.

The thing I want to know is whether or not you'd like to see other Knights of the Round Table make an appearance (particularly those we haven't seen in canon). I can say right now that at least one more knight will join the current cast (feel free to guess who it is though I imagine it's rather obvious), though there might be a poll connected to that as well at some point in the future. Anyway! For now I really just want to hear if people want more knights or if keeping it close to the current number is way to go.

Thanks again for reading.

Veleager