SCOP'S NOTES:
Okay, so I finally gave in. I've been trying to write the next chapter of "The Consequences of a Bright Night", and after the third re-write of the chapter, I made the mistake of watching the Doctor Who episode "Midnight". This story plopped itself in my brain and wouldn't go away. I think it was a rebellion to the serious tone "Bright" was taking.
Being a long time Doctor Who fan and an HUGE Merlin fan, this story was inevitable, but when this particular twist on things popped in my mind, the story wouldn't let go. Other's in this vein may follow.
So, here it is, one of many Merlin / Doctor Who crossovers.
With any luck, I'm going to write a sequel to this using the same version of the characters at Hogwarts, but first things first...
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Doctor Who. Thank you much to those that do, though :)
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Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
Prologue
There were consequences to immortality, the kind Merlin had chosen for him and his friends anyway. True immortality of the body was impossible. Body's decayed, so unless one was prepared to steal someone elses, the only option left was to bind the memories of past lifetimes with your future. Souls reincarnated, they were naturally immortal anyway, but the memories usually didn't survive, they were what died when one passed through the vale separating the land of the living from the land of the dead. Unless, of course, one had mastered he power of Life and Death.
Arthur's body lay across the dais in the main courtyard on the Isle of the Blessed, all but dead from his final battle as King of Camelot. Merlin had slowed the passage of time round Arthur soon after the fatal blow was delivered, unable to stop the act itself. But Time was still ticking for the Once and Future King. Even in his slowed state, he had continued to ebb closer to death as the trio ushered Arthur away from the battlefield and the dead friends who had fallen there. The concentration of Power the Isle, so close to the thinnest part of the Vale, was the only thing keeping Arthur alive.
"I'm sorry," Morgana said. "I didn't realize-" The Vision had sapped the joy of victory from her the moment the sword entered Arthur's body. The moment she had waited for so long as youth faded to years spent seeking Camelot's demise. Morgause had led her to believe she was the one to lead Albion to it's glory, but the Vision told her otherwise. Albion laid waste, turned to ash after centuries of warfare, it's children's eyes glowing cinders of hate which dwarfed anything Morgana had felt, even for Uthur. "Is this really what you wanted?" Merlin had asked her at the time. No, it wasn't what she had wanted as all.
"Be sorry later!" Merlin snapped at her. "We only have one chance at this." To say he wasn't happy with Morgana at the moment was an understatement, but he had seen the same vision she had. He needed to borrow her power if he was going to pull this off. For better or worse, she was going to travel with them into the future, their destinies doomed to be entwined as long as life breathed in the universe. She could seek redemption or revenge all she wanted in that future. All that mattered now was Now.
The Caleich approached the small group. The trio and the dying man were all well past their youth, their faces showing the wrinkles and grey of a life well lived, full of grief as well as happiness. "Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked. "The Forgetting is a blessing, that you may start anew in your new lives, making different choices with no scars to bear from the past. Are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes," Merlin spoke first, and without hesitation.
"Yes," Morgana said. Not as quickly, but just a confident in her decision.
"Yes," Gwen said. "And as wife, I speak for my husband as well."
Under the full Midnight moon, the Caleich nodded. She cast her eyes upwards to the face of the creature who towered above them. "And you, you who are old enough and wise enough to know better. Are you sure as well?"
"Yes," Killgarah said. "It is the only choice possible now."
"Very well," the Caleich said. "But know that this decision does not come without consequences. With the wisdom of your memories comes responsibilities. Your destinies will be tied by the Old Magic to the protection of the land and it's descendants throughout time."
"So what else is new," all three of the humans muttered at the same time.
"It is the only way to mitigate the damage done by our failure." Merlin said. "There will still be war and other troubles in the future that is to be. But there will also be compassion and their will also be hope. Through it all, the memory and the striving for the ideals of Albion will continue, until the time is ripe again for it's return."
"So be it." The Caleich sat down, joining Merlin, Morgana, and Gwen in a small circle around the Cup of life.
Merlin levitated Arthur's body to join them in the fifth spot of the star shape etched long ago inside a circle of runes in the center of the courtyard, atop the spot where several major ley lines crossed. Thus their powers were combined. The spell that needed to be cast was an ancient one, a Dragon spell. One which only a Dragonlord could cast. But the power needed to cast it was even beyond Merlin's. Only by joining all their powers could he even hope to achieve it. Even the small, scant power Gwen possessed, as all living things did, which allowed her to breathe and move in the flow of life, would not be wasted.
"Focus on the Cup," The Caliech said. "Fill it with your intentions. Let them be as one vibration, a unity of thought."
Merlin felt the strands of magic weave together. The energy swirled amongst them and through them. It mixed, until he could no longer tell from where any of the strands originated. He lifted his head as the ancient word rose forth from within him. "Apo ayto to shmeio pros ta empros, oles oi mellontikes zwes. Molis to standar einai etoimo, tha aykshthei apo to stelexos!"
With the words spoken, the cup glowed brilliantly, a light emanated from it, engulfing completely the five figures who sat there. When all Killgarrah could see was a glowing half sphere of light, it was time for his part of the ritual. With a concentrated belch he let out a stream of white fire, hot enough to burnish the souls of his friends sat beneath it.
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The awakening had been earlier than usual this time. It usually waited until Merlin was an adult, unless it was an emergency. The True Nature of the Old Magic was not so selfish as to unleash the responsibility of their destinies until they were old enough to first understand who they were in their current lifetime... unless it was an emergency. The only time he had awakened earlier was during the late 20th century when he was still a student attending Hogwarts Academy of Magic and Witchcraft. But that was another story. Then, as now, the trigger was a traumatic incident in which the Old Magic called upon him as one of it's few agents in a position to prevent a grievous wrong.
Now was the 52nd century. Now his name was Jethro Cane, the sixteen year old rebellious son of Biff and Val Cane. Now he was sitting in a Crusader vehicle which had broken down somewhere outside the Leisure Dome on a diamond planet called Midnight on the way to see the Sapphire Waterfall. He found it funny, in a morbid sort of way. But as usual, no one got his humor, especially his parents. They were just so vacuous.
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Next Chapter's going to be about Jethro and his parents before the awakening. Trying to cross what we have of Jethro with Merlin was fun. The writing of the character just sort of flowed, though, so I went with it.
Subsequent chapters will have Merlin talking with the Doctor on the trip back. Oh, and I will address Jack's Immortality eventually as well. Yep, even magic said it couldn't be done.
Enjoy.
A/N: The Immortality binding spell Merlin uses is "From this point forward, all future lives are one. Once the bloom is ready, we grow from this stem." I cheated, it's modern Greek. I translated it from English, but all the translators out there I found translate to the Greek alphabet. This site translates the Greek letters to Latin ones:
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SCOP OUT