Here we go again. Chapter one in the third installment of the Legendary Friendship series. I think I've finally decided what to call this series. Yay! Anyway, warnings: This story is going to be dark pretty much the whole time. It's depressing and the characters are miserable, though, I promise I'll make them happy again eventually. Also, whump as usual with me and there will be some torture, though, I don't want to over do it since that's basically what the first story was about. Mild swearing; I probably won't have it very often, just when I think it's necessary because that's how I'd react in that situation. A couple of classic bad guys bent on doing something evil. You know, the usual.

Summary: There are times in life when misfortune takes us completely by surprise. And then there are times when we can see evil's storm clouds on the horizon and know in our hearts that something bad is about to happen. Merlin and Arthur both know something is coming, but despite that they will be completely unprepared for it. Merlin is going to go through something terrible and Arthur is going to have to rescue him, that is, if he still wants to after he discovers a certain secret. Evil casts a pretty long shadow and will Merlin and Arthur be able to find their way through the dark? But remember, the darkest hour is just before the dawn.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin and I have no desire to make a profit off of this story. This is all just for fun.

So read, remember that everything I do I do for a reason, and hopefully enjoy.

Chapter 4: The Tempest

Evil has left its mark on him, that is sure

For he does not deserve all he has had to endure.

When shadows fall and lightening strikes,

his light will not shine tonight.

For evil has surely taken hold

of the one of whom legends have been told.

...

Two people had dreams that night in the castle of Camelot and both of them were nightmares.

...

Arthur was running, running from something that he could not face. He kept dashing between trees and over hills and through valleys, but no matter how fast or far he ran it was never enough. He always ended up in the same place. Somehow, regardless of what direction he took, he always ended up...here.

Arthur came to an abrupt halt and panted heavily as his lungs felt like closing up. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the sight in front of him even though he desperately wanted to. It happened every time. He could never look away.

In front of Arthur were two figures, one kneeling and the other standing. And, as always, the sun began to rise and he was finally able to see exactly what he had been dreading. The standing figure drew his sword as Arthur tried and failed to move his feet. And then in one terrible moment the man plunged the sword into the chest of the one who was kneeling...Merlin.

Merlin gasped and choked and then fell, lifeless, to the ground, his dead eyes staring right at Arthur. And as the King stared in horror at the sight of his friend lying dead before him his murderer wiped his sword clean and walked over to him. The figure's face came into view and Arthur found that he wasn't as surprised as he'd thought he'd be.

The man, the one who had killed Merlin, was him. "You have to understand," the other, murderous Arthur said. "It had to be this way. He couldn't be allowed to live." His face and eyes were pleading but they had no affect on Arthur other than to make him angrier at this villain. "I did this for him and for us. There is no place for his kind in this world. I was merely sparing him the pain that was to come."

Arthur breathed heavily, his fists clenching in anger and hate. "You bastard!" he seethed. "He was your friend! Why would you kill him?" Tears formed into Arthur's eyes and his voice broke. "Why would you ever want to?"

The evil version of himself looked sad at this. "I know it's hard, but one day...one day you will thank me. This way you'll never have a chance to fail him. This way he won't have to suffer."

Arthur wanted to punch him, to kill him, but he still couldn't move. "So you think that you were doing him a favor?" he yelled in outrage.

The man just shook his head. "The clouds may be gone but the sky is still stormy overhead. You couldn't outrun seeing me kill your friend and you can't outrun fate. Are you really going to let it happen, Arthur?" he asked and the king felt confusion and surprise that this monster knew about the feeling of foreboding that had been hanging over his head lately. "Merlin has done so much for you and he is a greater man than our father, who taught you so many untruths and has created this vile world full of hate and pain. Don't you think he deserves a quick and painless death?" The man was imploring him now. "Don't you have to give him that? After all, you could never be friends with such as that."

"Such as what?" Arthur asked, a bit afraid to know. He should be ending the life of this hateful person, not chatting with it. If only his legs would listen to him...

"Oh, Arthur," his doppelganger said in an almost condescending tone as he grabbed him roughly by the shoulders. "It's time for you to come out of the shadows. You've been living in the dark for too long. The lies of lesser men have blinded you." He sighed. "And it is because of those lies that we could never be okay with him." He shrugged. "It's not our fault; it's just our nature. We were bred for exterminating the supposed evil." He started shaking his head emphatically. "And no matter how much you care for him you will never be able to look past that. It will destroy you to kill him, but in the end you will do it because a part of you still does consider him your friend and you can't bear to see him in so much pain." He looked truly remorseful. "You know that he didn't choose it, but you can't help your instincts. You want the best for him even though you know that you could never see him the same way again."

A cool rush flowed through Arthur's veins and in a second control of his body was returned to him. He threw his twin's hands off him and before he knew what had happened his own were around the killer's throat. "You murdered Merlin!" Arthur yelled.

But even as he choked the other Arthur said, "You will, too, in the end. You'll see that it's for the best." And then with a chuckle the man disappeared from Arthur's grasp. And then the king heard a body-less voice say, "You know it's coming, Arthur. If you truly think Merlin your friend you'll end it now. Now, before the tempest strikes."

Arthur woke up panting and gasping and drenched in his own sweat. His head was pounding and his heart was racing. He glanced around at his dark room and tried to calm himself. "It's just a dream, it's just a dream," he breathed in-between gasps of air.

Eventually his breathing slowed some and the king was able to shake the worse of the after-effects of the nightmare. Slowly, he got out of his bed and shuffled over to the large pitcher of water sitting on a nearby table. After pouring some water into a basin and then wetting a wash cloth he wiped his face and neck, imagining as he did so that he was washing away the awfulness of the dream.

Unfortunately, he had been having the exact same nightmare a lot lately. Ever since regaining Camelot once more from Morgana three weeks ago he hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep. Of course, for a while he had been sharing his bed with Gwen and that had helped to calm him upon waking, but after noticing the circles underneath her eyes and realizing exactly how much sleep he was keeping from her he had gently demanded that she sleep somewhere else. He had only had her next to him for a few nights, but he had already begun to get used to her comforting presence by his side. In truth, he missed cuddling up next to her after a hard day, but his own tossing and turning and anguished cries had been worrying her and keeping her awake. Arthur wasn't about to let his nightmares cause both of them to lose sleep.

What Arthur couldn't understand was why? He rarely ever had dreams and nightmares were even more seldom. And yet every night now he was having this same horrible dream in which he was always running from something he could never outrun. Though Arthur had trouble admitting it even to himself, he was scared.

Merlin shuddered violently in his bed. He was having another nightmare and the terrified actions of his limbs were actually shaking his bed and making it creak.

"No!" he cried out and cracks appeared in his walls as in the distance thunder of his own making boomed. "Arthur!" Merlin screamed and his back arched in pain and his bed literally rose off the ground. A ball of fire materialized over the warlock's head. "No!"

Gaius burst into the room and his eyes bulged as they saw the state of everything. Books and clothes were flying everywhere and flames were appearing and disappearing without any warning. More cracks were spreading through the walls and the noise all of this was making was far too much for someone not to hear soon. "Merlin!" the physician yelled. When Merlin didn't wake up and his magic became even more wild Gaius attempted to rush forward, but he gasped in pain as one of the air-born flames burned his hand.

As soon as Gaius gasped Merlin's eyes snapped open and he and his bed fell. Merlin jerked upright and stared in confusion and horror at the books and other objects flying around the room, not to mention the other magical anomalies. Merlin's irises were burning gold.

Lightening that was so bright that it hurt Gaius' eyes flashed outside and a deafening roar of thunder pealed. "Merlin!" Gaius shouted. "You have to stop it!"

Merlin's delirious gaze met his guardian's and understanding dawned in his eyes. He stretched his hand out and looked like he was concentrating. A few of the floating fires vanished and the books stopped flying, but the storm outside kept raging.

Gaius made his way over to his ward and put his hand on his shoulder. "Merlin, calm your magic."

Merlin squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm trying, Gaius," he said and the physician was surprised to hear that he sounded frightened. "I can't; there's too much of it."

Gaius felt his heart begin to race. Merlin never lost control of his magic like this. In fact, he doubted if anyone had a tighter lid on their magic than Merlin. Even when he was asleep he was always in control. "What do you mean, Merlin?" Gaius asked, afraid of the answer. If someone like Merlin lost his ability to keep a tight hold on his powers...

"It won't stop, Gaius!" Merlin said, clearly beginning to get frantic. The noise outside began to grow and wind started to howl like some terrible monster.

Never before had Gaius seen Merlin this unable to quell his powers. And perhaps even more surprising was the magnitude of the magic being displayed. The magic required to create a storm like the one outside, as well as nearly destroying Merlin's room, had to be astronomical. And that was all without Merlin consciously directing or driving it.

Something was clearly happening to his ward and Gaius was determined to find out what it was and stop it. But first Merlin had to put an end to this spree of uncontrolled magic.

Merlin had his hands clutching at his head and lines of pain and obvious effort were written all over his face. His breathing was becoming very erratic and Gaius guessed that the boy was freaking out right now. As scary as this was for him it had to be even more terrifying for the warlock who had never experienced anything like this. There was a good reason why Merlin refused to let his magic loose like this and it wasn't just to protect himself. The guardian and ward both knew how much damage his magic could cause.

Something clicked in Gaius' mind. More than anything Merlin's powers responded directly to his deepest fears and hopes and beliefs. In the end the boy's emotions would always win out.

Gaius grabbed Merlin and shook him, forcing him to look into his eyes. For a brief moment the pure gold that Gaius saw there distracted and frightened him, but he shrugged it off. "Merlin," Gaius said very seriously, "you have to listen to me." He could see that Merlin was paying attention to him and was pleading for something that would help him turn off his magic. "Merlin...if you don't stop, if you don't regain control," Gaius took a deep and steadying breath, "you are going to hurt people. Your magic is going to get people injured and killed."

He hated doing it. The old man knew all too well the guilt that weighed on the young boy's shoulders. And telling Merlin something like this would hurt him, but not as much as if this continued and someone really did get injured because of his magic.

Merlin's golden eyes turned pained and his shoulders seemed to deflate. Suddenly, the last few remaining objects that were in flight dropped. The booming and flashing outside stopped and the air seemed deathly quiet.

"Gaius...what's happening to me?" Merlin asked in a small voice.

The pain and confusion in his ward's tone felt like a knife to Gaius' heart. "I don't know, my boy," he answered, wishing he had something better to say.

Things had been getting worse for Merlin lately. He was getting even less sleep than usual and his magic had been strangely unruly when he did manage to get some sleep. Gaius had been especially worried for him these last couple of weeks.

"Gaius...I don't know if I can control it," Merlin said, fear reflected in his eyes. "Every day there seems to be...more of it." As if to emphasize his words his irises' turned a dull gold for a moment, though nothing in the room seemed to move. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. What could be causing it?" Merlin asked.

Gaius sat down on the bed next to his surrogate son. "I don't know. A spell, maybe? Perhaps one that Morgana cast on you?"

Merlin shook his head. "If Morgana knew I had magic she wouldn't cast just one spell or two." Merlin looked grim. "She'd do far worse."

Gaius inwardly sighed. There was another explanation that neither of them would like. "Maybe, Merlin, you're just getting stronger."

Fear flashed across Merlin's face. "What?! No," he began shaking his head so quickly that he looked like a dog, "no, no, no, no!" Suddenly candles flared and a chair in the room moved of his own accord and slammed into a wall.

Gaius reached forward and grabbed the warlock's hand. "Merlin! Calm down."

"No, no. You don't understand, Gaius," Merlin said frantically. "You have no idea how long it took me, how much effort, to learn to tame the magic I do have." He leaned forward earnestly. "There was a time, Gaius, when I was young that I had trouble controlling my magic. It was only after a long time and a lot of pain that I finally managed to learn how to suppress it." He glanced at all the cracks in his walls. "But if my hold over it vanishes then a lot of people could get hurt." Merlin looked back at his mentor. "Gaius...if it grows stronger then I can't promise that I'll be able to stop it."

"Was there any damage?" King Arthur asked. Arthur was sitting on his throne with Gwen by his side. He had finally had his sleep returned to him last night, only to be woken up a few hours later. He had been very surprised to learn that there had been a vicious storm in the night that had roused half the castle. Apparently his nightmare had been so captivating, in more ways than one, that it had kept him under all through the terrible racket of the storm.

From what he had been told he knew that the tempest, a word that reminded him of his dream and made him shudder every time he heard it, was second only to the magical storm that had plagued Camelot a few years ago.

Though Arthur himself had neither seen nor heard it, he knew enough to realize that he was just one of hundreds to have had a bad night. The people could use some reassuring that events weren't repeating themselves. Of course, in order to convince everyone of that he himself would have to be sure, which was why he had called this meeting.

"No, sire," Gaius said, "we believe that the storm was mostly kept overhead in the clouds. Some people are a bit shaken up, but no one was hurt."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "Good." The king's eyes strayed to Merlin. His manservant had been acting weirder than normal as of late and right now he almost looked scared.

Ever since these bad dreams had started Arthur had been extra concerned about Merlin and he had kept a closer eye on him. If past experiences had taught Arthur anything it was that he needed Merlin to be alright all the time. Unfortunately, recently Merlin had been acting different and edgy and more tired than usual, which was causing Arthur to go throughout his day in almost a constant state of worry.

But Arthur couldn't think about Merlin right now. He had a whole kingdom to assure. He turned his attention back to Gaius. "And would you say it is likely that magic caused the storm?" he asked.

A loud clattering and clanging sounded from behind him and Arthur twisted in his throne to see a small table and some dishware that had fallen over. Huh, Arthur thought, that's weird. No one is even near that table. Are the legs uneven, perhaps? Arthur mentally shrugged and turned back around and focused on the physician.

Arthur noticed Gaius' careful and professional mask falter for a brief moment, but it was back in place again before the king was able to identify the emotions lying beneath. Out of the corner of his eye Arthur saw Merlin turn even paler, which truly came as a surprise because he hadn't thought it was possible to get any whiter, but he chose to dismiss it. He could trust Merlin and Gaius and if this was some sort of uncomfortable subject for them or they were hiding anything he doubted it was anything that he needed to know for the sake of the kingdom. He respected Gaius too much to delve into his personal life, a trait he must have gotten from his father, and Merlin, well, considering how odd he had been acting, Arthur was sure that there were bigger problems than some storm. He would let their strange behavior go.

"It is possible, sire," Gaius answered, "but since there was hardly any damage I would not think it likely nor treat it as a threat. Though storms like the one last night are not common in Camelot, they are possible and I don't think that there is any reason to suspect magic."

Arthur felt his heart lighten at that. He really didn't want to deal with another magical threat right now. "That's good news, Gaius, thank you." He nodded gratefully. Sometimes he thought he'd be lost without Gaius in situations as these. Of course, Arthur depended on Merlin even more and if Gaius were to die or even just leave Camelot and retire then it would surely break Merlin. Arthur didn't just need Gaius for all things medical and magical, but also to keep his best friend and the person he relied upon the most to always be there afloat.

Arthur was in his room looking over some papers and absent-mindedly fingering his wedding band. Ever since that ring had first taken residence on his finger Arthur had been turning and playing with it whenever, even if it was in the back of his mind, he thought of or missed Gwen. Hardly an hour went by without him touching the ring and smiling as it reminded him of his love.

Merlin was in the room with him, cleaning, For a while now he had been debating whether or not to say anything to Merlin about his his recent behavior. Normally he would just ignore it, but with these dreams he had been having he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with his friend.

Arthur's vision blurred a bit as his eyes lids drooped. He sighed and straightened up from his slouched position looking down at his table of paper work and rubbed his face. He was so tired. But no matter how exhausted he got the dreams still came and he still woke up tireder than ever.

"The nightmares again?"

Arthur glanced over at Merlin who was looking at him with concern and sympathy. He had obviously noticed how beat he was. Arthur nodded resignedly. "They're getting worse, too." Merlin was one of the few people who knew about his difficulties sleeping. It wasn't something he exactly wanted people to know, and yet, oddly enough, he had told Merlin even before Gwen. Then again, despite his love for Guinevere and his desire to share everything with her, he just wasn't as used to opening up to her as he was to Merlin, a fact that he now found really very sad. He gazed at Merlin. As much as he hated to admit it Merlin was a very good listener and was very caring. "I just wish they'd go away so I could get some sleep," he said, trying to ignore the voice of prattiness in his head that told him telling all his problems to Merlin was girly.

Merlin put down the brush he had been scrubbing the floor with and stood up. "Maybe you need to talk to someone about it," he suggested, genuinely trying to be helpful, "perhaps talking them through would make them go away."

Arthur scoffed, not in mockery or dismissal, but rather because he didn't dare hope that would work. "If only things were that simple, Merlin. But if even Gaius' strongest potion didn't keep them from tormenting me then I doubt talking about it would help." He gave his friend a grateful look. "But perhaps hearing about someone else's problems would solve everything. What about you, Merlin? What's your excuse for not sleeping? Bad dreams or do you have too many chores?"

Though the words had sounded fine coming out, Arthur found himself stunned when he realized what he had said. Not only was he genuinely asking and caring about what was going on in Merlin's life, but he had also implied that the jobs he placed on the servant's shoulders might be too much and was even willing to lighten them if that were the case. In the past he would never admit that the workload he gave Merlin was too much because he couldn't handle the idea that he might be overworking his servant. But since these nightmares had started he had been remembering more and more how much Merlin mattered to him. Plus, the very thought that he could responsible for any problems in Merlin's life in anyway scared him because it was a reminder of that image he kept coming back to in his dreams. The image of him killing Merlin.

But as surprised as Arthur was by what he had just said, Merlin was even more so. The boy's mouth was hanging open like a fish and the look on his face was that of a child caught doing something wrong. It was almost as if Merlin was afraid to answer. "Um, no," Merlin stammered out. "I'm fine. But what about you, Arthur?" he eagerly changed the subject. "You're the king. You have to get the sleep you need. You never know, talking about it might work."

What is wrong with Merlin? Arthur found himself thinking. Doesn't he get that I just gave him a chance to get out of some of his chores? Who in their right mind would turn that down? Arthur studied Merlin's face for a moment. Is he afraid of something? Is he...afraid of me? Arthur wasn't sure what was going on with his manservant. He was acting shifty and nervous and it was almost as if he was in pain. He was tense and it seemed like he was putting all his energy into something difficult, and it wasn't washing the floors. He looked depressed and the circles under his eyes rivaled even Arthur's own.

Maybe Arthur had to reach out to him further. Perhaps if he told him his dream then maybe the idiot would stop looking so...ill. "Perhaps you're right."

Merlin looked at him as if he wasn't he knew who was standing in front of him. "W-what?"

Arthur smiled a little to himself. If there was one thing he could count on Merlin for it was that he was bound to have interesting and funny reactions to pretty much everything. "So you're deaf, now? I said that maybe you had a good point. Besides, I know my bad dreams are worrying Gwen and since I'd do anything for her, I guess talking about them isn't that stupid of an idea, even if you came up with it." Merlin gave him a scowl. "And since I know you're such a good listener that you probably won't hear a single thing I say," Arthur continued, "I might as well tell you."

Merlin jerked. "You're going to tell me?"

Arthur smirked condescendingly in the way that only he could. "Good to see that you're getting better with that whole 'hearing sounds' thing." As soon as the words came out Arthur started mentally kicking his own butt. It was far too easy for him to fall back into that same of routine of theirs. But none of his prattish words meant anything. The problem was that these days Merlin hardly responded at all when he showed him kindness or expressed any hint of friendship. It was almost as if the two of them had traded places. But his recent dreams had made him frighteningly aware of exactly how much he would regret were anything to happen to Merlin. So whether Merlin accepted it or not Arthur was going to treat Merlin the way he wanted to.

Arthur cleared his throat. "In a way it makes sense to tell you. After all, you're in my nightmares."

Merlin looked shocked at that. "I-I am?" he asked and Arthur couldn't help but wonder what was up with Merlin today. He was constantly repeating and questioning everything he said. Maybe he really was going deaf.

Arthur pulled up a chair and sat down. "Yeah, you are. It's the strangest thing. My dream begins with me running form something. I'm not being chased by anything, I simply can't face what's behind me. But no matter how far I run I always end up staring at the very thing I didn't want t see."

Merlin had sat down as well and was gazing at Arthur intently. "What is it?" he asked quietly.

As Arthur thought back to the numerous dreams he had had and the images that had been burned into his mind he felt tears come to his eyes. The tears that he desperately wanted to shed in the dream, but had never been able to. But Arthur swallowed them back. It was just a dream, he told himself once again. "I saw someone kill you, Merlin," Arthur answered and watched as a look of confusion, surprise, and pain overcame his expression.

Arthur got to his feet and walked over to a window. Dredging up the memories were harder than he had thought. They were always so vivid and his emotions so strong that just thinking about them made him dangerously close to breaking down and crying.

Merlin still hadn't said anything and Arthur got the feeling that the manservant had no idea what to say. Arthur didn't blame him.

"But the worst part," Arthur said, leaning his forehead against the unusually cold glass of the window, "the absolutely worst part is that...I can't stop it." Arthur voice broke and he paused for a second. "I've had this dream dozens of times now and every time, no matter what I do or how far I run...I can never, never stop it. You die every time and I am always powerless to stop it." Arthur turned around to look at his friend. If anything was going to make Merlin open up to him and stop acting so skittish then it was this confession. Just saying those words had been nearly too much for Arthur, but if perhaps he could get Merlin to trust him then it would be worth it. "Do you have any idea what it's like to know that someone you care about is going to die...because of you and to know that nothing you do will ever change that?" Arthur asked. He didn't really expect an answer.

But Merlin, for his part, looked like he had seen a ghost. He was unbelievably pale and and he seemed scared. One hand drifted up towards his head as if it was paining him.

Merlin was really starting to worry Arthur. The servant wasn't looking at him, in fact, he didn't seem to be looking at anything at all and tears were streaming freely down his cheeks. "Merlin? Merlin, what's wrong?" Arthur inquired as he tentatively took a step forward. "Okay, fine. If you really want me to stop telling you stories then I will," Arthur joked without truly meaning it, but still hoping to get a response from Merlin.

Suddenly, every window and mirror in the room shattered in a burst as Merlin clutched his head and screamed.

...

And will the daylight break again?

Who can say?

Over him evil has no sway.

But his heart lies vulnerable and weak

because he is afraid that he will never have what he seeks.

And so in these days as he remembers

evil will come to snuff out his light like dying embers.

So...first chapter. I guess I'm jumping back into to this again. Actually, I've been writing this chapter on and off for a couple of weeks, so in some ways it's like I never left. I hope everyone who liked my last story will like this one and I just want to say thank you again to everyone who has reviewed my works. Please enjoy, comment on anything and everything, and I'd like some reviews, because I'm a writer and we're always seeking approval for our work.

"For I have overcome the world."