Hey guys! Been working on this Merlin fanfic for ages! It's set 1,500 years after Arthur's death, in the modern day. It's not AU, as all the stuff in the 5 series have happened, just a very long time ago :P It IS Merlin/Arthur, but that doesn't happen for a while, and if you don't like Merthur/what's implied, don't read it :) and please don't hate. Anyway hope you enjoy it! I have LOADS more to come! I have been posting parts of this on the facebook page 'His Name Merlin', as Admin Mara :) Hope you like it!

-*Disclaimer, I do not own the BBC characters or the previous series storyline etc, just writing what I think happens in the future.*-

"Merlin, are you listening to me?"

"Hmm? Oh…yeh!"

Kerry sighed. "No you're not! You always go like this when we come here! It's just a bloody lake, you've seen it loads of times before!"

Merlin turned and smiled at his best friend. He had been here loads of times…not that she knew howmany.

"Sorry, Kerry…you were saying?"

She sighed and shook her head, an affectionate smile on her lips as she looked at his weary expression. "I was saying that for the project, the students should do it in pairs or groups and have a presentation between them?"

"Sounds good…" he mumbled, zoning out again.

"Merlin! Urgh right! Let's get out of here and talk in a Starbucks or at home or something! I'm just not getting through to you whilst we're here and we really need to get this done."

He looked apologetic. "Sorry…I just…this lake spaces me out, you know?"

Kerry laughed and rose to her feet, holding her hand out to him. "Yeh, I know alright!"

Merlin smiled up at her again and took her offered hand. They made their way back to the car park like that, hand in hand.

Any strangers who saw them may have thought that they were a couple but the truth was that they were actually just very good friends, nothing more.

In fact Kerry Mason and Merlin Emrys shared a three bedroom house (in a totally platonic way). Their families had known each other forever! The Mason family had always been friends with the Emrys family, but Kerry could only vaguely remember Merlin's father. He'd been friends with her parents, but had gone away travelling whilst she was a toddler and then several years later, his son had moved to the town. Kerry could never quite get over how alike father and son were, in terms of character and looks.

It was through university and long days in the library that Merlin, Kerry and her step-brother Sam had become friends, Merlin had helped her out with her essays, his extensive knowledge of history being a great help, but no romance had ever blossomed between them (as all the other students had imagined it to). And Merlin and Sam were good friends, though he wasn't as close to Sam as he was with Kerry.

After graduating and having the odd job here and there, Merlin and Kerry now worked together at the university, teaching extra classes that were just for the sake of education, and not part of a degree. Merlin Emrys taught extra history classes (his knowledge of the history of Great Britain had no equal in the entire country) and Kerry also helped with extra history, but did some geography too. What was odd about Mr Emrys was his young age. He was only 26 yet he had such an extensive knowledge of history already, and to be tutoring classes at a university level at his age, well, people gave him lot of respect.

About a year or two later after getting their jobs at the university, they lived and worked together as friends and were now collaborating for a project that they were both doing with the students.

"So what legends should they work on?" Merlin asked in an attempt to focus his mind.

"Oh I dunno…Greek, Celtic, Roman, Arthurian-" Merlin's hand tightened in hers a little.

"I like the idea of Roman or Celtic." He said, trying to smile. Kerry glanced at him. She'd never understood his strange Arthurian aversion. Merlin knew a lot about the topic, this she knew, yet he never liked to speak about it. Maybe he just didn't believe in it and thought it was a children's story. Funny though as he was named after the famous Arthurian warlock, a fact she'd once teased him about. He'd not liked that. At all.

"Fine, Roman or Celtic it is…" she sighed, letting go of his hand to rummage in her bag for her car keys.

Merlin folded his arms and leant lazily on the bonnet, looking back at the lake they'd just been sat by. Children ran around playing tag or some such game, whilst parents queued by the little ice-cream shop. Couples lounged against each other in the shade with books and snacks in hand as a bunch of hikers trekked past. Lake Avalon was a popular tourist attraction, as it had been for a number of years now. Merlin could remember decades back, when the money-spinning potential of the beautiful lake had been realised. Initially he wasn't too keen on the idea of his precious lake becoming a tourist attraction, but then after several years of its growing popularity he thought that as long as they did nothing to the actual lake, Merlin didn't mind how popular it became.

Since he and Kerry had become friends, they'd spent one Saturday a month (if they could find the time) at the Lake. She knew he grew quiet and ever so slightly morose whenever they came, but this was the one thing he ever asked to do, and he was such a good friend to her that she couldn't refuse him.

"Ah!" Kerry exclaimed then, "found the little bugger!" and she produced the car key with a flourish. Merlin, with one last glance at the lake, trudged round to the passenger seat and waited till the door clicked open before climbing in.

Several boring weeks passed. It was mid-March now and the students had been getting on with their projects very well; the weather, as usual had been consistently rainy when Merlin started having headaches.

At first they were only the odd niggling ones that came and went. He found that the modern medicines like paracetamol helped a great deal, that was one thing Merlin loved about this century – the medical advancements.

But as days became weeks they intensified, so that the average painkillers didn't even mute the pain. It was becoming a problem in class as he found he often had to pause to sit down, rub his temples and squeeze his eyes shut for a few minutes. Kerry was concerned and forced him to go to the doctor, who just prescribed some stronger painkillers, which helped initially but after a few days stopped muting the agony that just seemed to keep growing. Merlin, somewhat annoyed and reluctant, was referred to specialists who after many tests, could find no physical fault with his health and couldn't tell why Merlin was plagued by these splitting headaches.

To his great displeasure, the university ordered him to take some time off work and allow Kerry to substitute his classes. So every morning Merlin was left lying immobile on the sofa or in bed for the entire day with his eyes shut, blinds down and everything that made any sound whatsoever turned off, until Kerry came home and coaxed him to nibble some sandwiches and drink tea.

What disturbed Merlin the most, and what he could tell no one about, was that his magic felt like it was going haywire! Some days he could feel it crackling at his fingertips ready to burst out, and other days it seemed to ripple through his whole body, making him feel nauseous. But the worst was when the pain was concentrated right behind his eyes, so that he daren't open them at all for a whole day in case he couldn't control a sudden outburst of power, which only added to the feeling of trapped magic inside of him.

After two and a half weeks of being stuck indoors feeling like death, Merlin asked Kerry if she'd take him to the lake. In the few hours he'd been able to sleep; his dreams had been bursting with images of Arthur and the old days, filling him with a deep sadness and heartache, but also an odd yet intense craving to be at the lake. It was like he had to go there; he needed to be at the lake.

Not entirely convinced that a trip out was good for Merlin's health especially in the awful weather, Kerry, after a lot of feeble persuasion from her ill best friend, reluctantly agreed. Merlin was relieved; he had to get to the lake and he was in no fit state to drive himself.

That weekend, when Kerry had no classes, they set out to Avalon. It was only about a five-to-ten minute journey by car to the lake and Kerry nearly turned round to take Merlin back home when he moaned with pain from the loud engine and the pelting of rain on the windows which were torture to his ears. But he begged her not to, and shaking her head with worry she continued.

Pulling up in the empty car park, Kerry switched off the engine and looked out through the rain.

"There is literally no one here…I think this is the first time I've ever seen it this quiet." She spoke, slightly awed.

Merlin grimaced, Kerry assumed it was due to the pain, but in actuality he was thinking about the many lonely times he'd been here when there wasn't even a town nearby, let alone tourists.

"I'm going to…just going to head over…to the shore…" he mumbled rubbing his head.

The throbbing in his head right now was the worst it had been since the headaches had started. Every part of his body begged him to ask Kerry to drive them back home so he could crawl into bed, but his mind was screaming at him to get to the lake-side. As for his magic, Merlin could almost feel something physically tugging him out of the car.

"Merlin, I don't think you should get out. Just stay here! Or at least let me help you over, then we'll come straight back!"

"No, Kerry. I'll…I'll be fine I promise! I just need to see it! I'll be back soon okay? Just…stay here."

Kerry frowned. "But it's pouring with rain! You'll catch a cold and that will be two lots of illness!"

Merlin who was already slowly climbing out of the car turned back and smiled.

"Please, Kerry? I'll be okay."

Kerry sent a glare back at him but grabbed her bag from the back seat and pulled a book out. Merlin sensing this was her giving in, heaved himself outside and shut the door, wincing at the loud noise.

Staring round he saw that indeed there was nobody around. This was the first time in decades that the lake had been completely devoid of human life. Not even any hikers were out battling the elements, as he had seen on occasion. Slowly Merlin began hobbling down the path towards the lake, already wet through from the heavy rain.

Everything around him was spinning as the agony and magic building up inside of him grew unbearable. He glanced behind, but he was far enough down the path so that the car park was out of sight.

Turning back around, Merlin stared out at Lake Avalon for a few moments before he felt a strange jolt like an electric shock go through him. With a cry he fell to his knees. Upon opening his eyes, he saw that his hands were emitting a strange glittering gold light, but he had uttered no spell. Shakily he rose to his feet and stumbled forward to the lake's edge, pain and magic coursing through his entire being. Just as he reached the shore he collapsed into the mud again, the rain pouring over him.

Cold water seeped through his clothes until he felt like his bones had turned to ice. With a grunt of effort Merlin lifted himself onto his knees. The intense rainfall had raised the lake's waters ever so slightly and without noticing, Merlin's knees were submerged in the lapping water. Thunder boomed across the sky and lightning struck in the distance. He looked out across the lake, but couldn't see much with the rain blurring his vision.

The island looked more mystic than usual, with fog beginning to envelope it. Another wave of pain surged through him and he cried out as he raised his head to the sky. Then, as the rain fell onto his face, he felt it.

Something was coming. Something big.

Gradually he became aware of his magic; he could feel it welling up inside him at his fingertips and behind his eyes.

And then he felt something snap inside of him. Lifting his hands to the dark sky, he felt the magic brim over and practically explode out from him. Such power was flowing through the ancient young warlock and into the air, the lake, the rain, the ground. Words from the Old Religion, words he'd never uttered before poured out from his mouth; he had no control over it. His normal quiet and gentle voice was now almost a roar, a cry to the gods, an unearthly yell that contended with the thunder and lightning booming around him.

He could feel himself calling back through the past to Arthur, visions of his best friend and king assaulting him as his voice continued shouting into the storm.

And then as quickly as the thunder and lightning had arrived, it seemed to stop, as did Merlin's voice.

A ray of golden sunshine gleamed through the dark clouds, bathing Merlin, the lake and the island in warm light. For a moments all grew still and peaceful as the sun warmed his damp skin. Silence fell; the only audible sound was of Merlin's own ragged breathing. He looked around in confusion and ran a hand through his damp black hair, still in shock. The headache was gone, his magic felt normal, in fact everything about him felt great! But what the hell had just happened?!

Merlin sensed rather than knew that something important had just occurred. And he'd never wished for Gaius's or even Kilgharrah's advice more than at that moment.

The lake was still and calm and the island seemed completely normal, the unsettling mist gone. Merlin's rapid breathing slowed down and he rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand, images of Arthur still burned into his retinas.

Standing up slowly, he looked around. It looked like nothing had happened, except a great downpour of rain. He squinted into the sun, and then back at the lake. There was still no one there. Heaving a sigh, Merlin turned and trudged back to the car park, utterly mud-covered and soaked…and very confused.

Kerry was standing by the car waiting when a very wet and cold looking Merlin rounded the corner.

"Oh Merlin! I told you!" she ran round to the boot of the car and grabbed a blanket from inside before jogging over and wrapping it round his shivering frame. Oddly enough he had one of his endearing smiles on his face.

"I feel so much better, Kerry. My headache's completely gone!"

She blinked at him. "Gone? Wh- what do you mean 'gone'? It can't just go...can it?"

He winked impishly. "Apparently so!" and with that he climbed into the car, leaving a slightly confused Kerry standing outside.

Back at the house Merlin felt good, really good! He took a quick shower before turning on some music and dancing round the kitchen. At one point he was singing (rather loudly) along to one of his favourite songs, 'You're the Voice' by John Farnham, doing all sorts of little actions whilst he made some lunch for them both. He made Kerry sing the 'woooah's with him before he let her have her meal. Shaking her head, slightly baffled, she ate the rather lovely Caesar salad. What on earth had happened to him at the lake?

"Let's go into town this afternoon! Or go for a bike ride! Or paint the spare room! Or visit the castle ruins up on the hill!"

He was so wired, his entire face grinning excitedly like a little kid. There were several things she'd needed to do to prepare for the classes next week, but having Merlin back to his old self again and so happy, changed her mind.

"Why don't we do them all?"

Astonished that she so quickly agreed, Merlin blinked once before breaking into another large grin.

So during the next few hours, Merlin and Kerry cycled to the castle ruins, then into town, bought some paint at a DIY shop and arrived back home in time to paint the room and have a paint-fight in the process.

By eight o'clock in the evening, Kerry was covered in paint and giggling like she was five years old. She announced she was going to take a long bath.

Merlin wandered back downstairs and grabbed himself a glass of water from the kitchen before opening the back door to let some cool air in.

Wind gently tossed his hair about and into his eyes as he peered out towards the setting sun. He was glad they'd got a house that wasn't completely enclosed by large, dark buildings. That would have suffocated him. Thankfully it was a nice area they lived in; average looking houses with decent sized back gardens, not too far from the university, not too close to student residences, and a short journey to the lake, which Merlin liked.

Inhaling deeply, his mind wandered to the events of the morning. What had happened? His magic was now back to normal, he proved this in the next few minutes by summoning his mobile from the kitchen to check the time. He lazily caught the device as it flew to him. After slipping his phone into his pocket, he downed the glass of water and sent it back into the house before leaning over and rubbing the dust and paint from his hair.

And that's when he heard it.

Emrys…

He stood up straight. What the hell was that? It couldn't be what he thought it was…could it? His ocean-blue coloured eyes darted about, looking to see if anyone was there.

"Kerry?" he called into the house but he could only hear the radio in the kitchen, no one else was around.

Emrys…

The voice on the wind came again. A bright image of Lake Avalon suddenly flashed into his mind, causing him to stagger in surprise. It was as if someone had sent him the vision, making him think of it and again he felt the need to be by the lake.

He jogged up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Kerry, I'm just popping out to er…get some stuff from the shops…"

Her muffled voice came through the door.

"Mm-kay. Ooh can you get me some chocolate? Pretty please?"

Merlin barely heard her as he already halfway down the stairs. He called back to her passively, "Yeh sure whatever, see you in a bit."

After grabbing his coat he went outside and climbed into the car. Soon enough he was speeding on his way to the Lake.

Usually Merlin never sped in a car, it caused too much hassle and as for handing his licence over to be checked, that caused an unnecessary feeling of guilt and panic; he hated that all his forms of ID were technically fake.

In all fairness they had to be, seeing as he'd been around since medieval times. It meant he had no legitimate birth certificate, no relatives and his original hometown no longer existed. The amount of lies he'd spun to gain ID hurt his head, especially when people asked him about his life and family. To anyone interested, his parents had died whilst travelling when he was young, he had no known relatives and his ancestors were from this town.

Apart from his travels round the globe over the years, Merlin had always lived in this area, moving into the town when it was built so that he could remain near to the lake, keeping himself to himself. But with Kerry's family it was a little bit different. He'd always been friends with them and had known them for a long time. In fact he saw it as his responsibility to look out for them.

However the fact that he was immortal meant that every several decades he would have to pretend to move away, or would sometimes fake his own death. Then, soon enough his 'long lost son' would return to his hometown years later. Of course he was the spitting image of his father...and grandfather. In fact Kerry had always assumed that the man standing next to her grandfather in the black and white photograph on their dining room wall was Merlin's grandfather. How could she know that it was actually Merlin himself?

Eventually Merlin pulled into the lake's car park. It was still unearthly quiet, as if no one had been near it all day which was odd, given the glorious sunshine that had appeared after this morning's downpour.

He cut off the car's engine and slowly climbed out, into perfect silence. No cars were passing on the nearby road, there were no planes flying overhead, in fact even the birds were silent. Running a hand through his messy dark hair, he glanced all around the empty space. With a shrug, he slowly made his way down to the lake, his trainers crunching against the dusty path.

Upon reaching the shore, Merlin immediately noticed someone had been there; there were deep footprints all around in the mud, recent ones, but not the sort of marks he may have left from the morning. These weren't made by trainers; they were bigger, wider and had no customary grip marks. Frowning, he knelt down to get a closer look. As he did so, he heard a noise from the trees nearby: the scuff of a boot against a rock.

Immediately he was back on his feet and moving cautiously towards the noise. He clenched his fists before flexing his fingers, ready to counter an attack, but no more sound came. After waiting in silence for about five minutes, Merlin decided that it had been nothing. With one more glance around at the lake, he moved away back towards the path.

Someone sprung out from the foliage and before Merlin could turn in surprise, an arm was suddenly around his neck holding him a locked position, causing his air supply to not be entirely cut off, but definitely become restricted. Then he felt something that he'd not felt for many many years. The point of a sword resting against his back.

"Who are you?! And where am I?!" an angry voice growled in his ear. Merlin felt his head spin and his vision blur for a second or two. The voice. The voice! He'd thought he'd never hear THAT voice ever again!

"Gwaine?!" he sputtered out. "What the hell?!"