Chapter one:

Stonehenge, England.

Tiny pin-pricks of light shone through the silky blackness that was the night, the new moon offering no light for the traveller; he was dressed in expensive looking trousers, shoes and a fur collared coat.

He walked casually up to the large circle of stones, his cane making a noise each time it struck the ground. He stopped beside one shorter stone and carefully removed his hat, placing it on the pointy part of the stone and revealing dark hair, thick brows and a carefully trimmed beard/moustache accompanied by a round face and a hawk like nose.

He walked out into the middle of the circle of stones sans hat and stopped dead in the center. Flames sprung up suddenly, a torrent of red rising and stretching in each cardinal direction. The traveller extended his arms, palms facing downwards and slowly raised them; with them raised a coffin of onyx.

Soon the onyx coffin was above ground entirely. The traveller stepped forwards and inserted a small pentacle pendant into the left side and waited as a small sound came when the pentacle slowly rotated in its hole.

Once it had completed its round, the lid popped open with the hissing sound of air being released. The traveller reached out a gloved hand and slowly pried it open the rest of the way. Horvath smiled cordially when the inhabitant opened eyes as black as the stone they had been encased in.

"Welcome to the twenty-first century, Highness."


Manhattan, New York

David Stutler, the Prime Merlinian, released a small yelp as he was struck in the chest with a plasma bolt and sent sprawling backwards. He struck the hard ground of the sub way/lab/training area with a groan, grateful for the padding he wore for taking the brunt of the strike.

Balthazar Blake, Sorcerer of the 777th degree and Dave's master, smirked returning his attention to the book on his lap.

"I told you to pay attention." He stated simply as the younger man scrambled to his feet; Dave returned to Merlin's circle with a frown.

"I was paying attention." Dave defended, straightening the oversized tan padding ruefully, as if it was solely responsible for his inability to perfect the magic he had undoubtedly displayed that night in the park.

"Then what did I say?" Balthazar countered and when Dave didn't answer, his master cast him an 'I-told-you-so' smirk over the top of the book.

The younger man groaned again and flopped where he stood. "Can't this wait until after my exams? It's not like Morgana is expected to make a comeback." He muttered.

"It's not Morgana you should be worried about. Or did you forget about Horvath and the other Morganians out there?" The older Sorcerer asked, finally closing the book he was reading to regard his apprentice critically. Dave looked down at his hands sheepishly.

"You do have a point..." Dave agreed reluctantly. The older man nodded in satisfaction at having won another argument and reclined in a more relaxed position in the chair.

"Do it again. And focus this time."

The Prime Merlinian cautiously got to his feet.

At least this time he had enough foresight to duck as a plasma bolt sailed towards him.

Balthazar rolled his eyes. That wasn't what he had had in mind for defence.

Pinching his nose, he formed another bolt.

"Again. And no ducking this time. Actually use your magic."

Nearly an hour later, Veronica came down with a tea tray and some cookies she had dug around for. (She still hadn't managed to figure out the stove).

She found Balthazar standing in a half relaxed, half impatient stance as he waited for a heavy breathing Dave to get to his feet. The younger man was sweating and wiped it from his eyes with a shaking hand. Veronica sighed and decided to swoop in, wearing her medieval attire because she felt slightly more comfortable in it than the modern fashion.

She walked over to Balthazar and placed a kiss on her lover's cheek. "Good afternoon, love." She greeted. She placed the tray down on the already cluttered desk and glanced at Dave, who looked at her gratefully.

The young apprentice had taken a liking to her. Though she too was strict about her magic, she understood the importance of realizing that nothing was perfect on the first try. She smiled at him and he returned with a grimace as he began working the stiffness out of his shoulders and Balthazar poured himself a cup of tea.

The master turned to Dave with the steaming cup in his hands.

"We'll call it a day. Go home, shower and get some rest. Tomorrow at eight we'll start up again." He ordered and Dave paused in the process of removing his padding.

"Um...I, er, can't do eight." He stated hesitantly.

Balthazar blinked. "Why not?"

"Well, I started tutoring a few physics students and eight is our meeting time. After that I'm meeting with Becky." Dave replied growing uncomfortable and shifting from foot to foot.

Dave watched as his master looked up at the ceiling momentarily."Dave," He began while crossing his arm over his chest.

Dave raised his hands in a mock surrender position. "I know, I know. Magic is important-" He began.

"I was actually going to say we can compromise," Balthazar interrupted and smirked at the shocked look that covered his charge's face. He continued, not allowing Dave the time to retaliate. "Come at nine-thirty, no later." He ordered curtly, waving his hand. Veronica chuckled secretly to herself, covering it with her hand.

Dave closed his gaping mouth with a clicking sound and nodded mutely. "O-Okay, sounds good...Um...thanks?" And with that, the young man was scrambling up the steps, lest his master change his mind.

Once Veronica and Balthazar were left alone, the woman walked over to him and put her head on his chest. "That was very kind of you, Balthazar." She remarked, her tone half teasing.

Her words were rewarded with a snort as Balthazar wrapped an arm around her waist, the tea in his other hand.

"Ever notice he resembles a fish when he's surprised?" The sorcerer opted for instead, and sipped his tea promptly, causing Veronica to shake her head fondly.

"I've noticed quite a few things." She responded cryptically, grinning at Balthazar's blank stare.


"That is he." Horvath pointed with the tip of his cane towards the young man emerging from the abandoned subway exit; the cloaked figure beside Horvath smirked.

"He looks nothing as I expected. This may be simpler than I had first thought," The figure stopped talking as Dave vanished from sight around a corner. Then their attention was directed towards the entrance of the abandoned subway. "We remove the mentor first. The Prime Merlinian can't defend himself if he's never taught how to." The smirked slowly turned into a sadistic grin.

"And the woman..?" Horvath asked an undertone of dread in his voice. The cloaked figure waved a long hand impatiently.

"What do you think you fool?" the figure snapped and Horvath nodded, bowing his head slightly in dreaded acceptance then he righted his stance.

"Shall we, Highness?" Horvath smirked as he held out his elbow. The sadistic grin returned as the long hand slipped gracefully into the villain's elbow as they advanced together towards the entrance.


A/N: *Hides* I'm a little nervous about characterization...This is my debut and I'm still grasping the strange formatting process...Thanks for reading and I hope someone's enjoyed it thus far.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Sorcerer's Apprentice and all rights go to the respective owners. I am in no way making profit with the production of this fanfiction.