Author's Note: Well, this is pretty exciting! It's my latest story and a crossover between two of my favorite TV shows. For Merlin and Arthur, I imagine this would take place during the season 3 timeframe, and for the Doctor and the Ponds I imagine it takes place somewhere during the second half of series 6(after LKH). It was fun to write! I hope you enjoy it! Please be kind and send a review, it would make my day:)
Note! This has been updated and improved since its original posting.
A sea of darkness devoured the young man.
Unconsciously shifting his threadbare blanket atop his forehead, as if for protection, the trembling warlock tried to rid his mind of the horrifying images that haunted his dreams night after night.
Even as the beads of sweat damped his pitch black hair, his body continued to surge with an indescribable terror.
"No please…stop it…leave me alone!" The young man's yelp of desperation echoed throughout his chamber, and far into the reaches of the night.
His face was now soaked with glistening droplets, for he could not control the torrent of emotions that had been induced by the terrifying nightmare.
Suddenly, drowsy Merlin's eyelids unfolded quickly, his dark irises popping open, bringing him into a conscious state.
"It…it was just a dream. But, it felt so real." The last of the dragon lords muttered to himself, perhaps a bit too loudly.
Although he remained completely entangled by the intense aftereffect of those images, Merlin seemed momentarily unable to recall precisely what had triggered his current turmoil.
The only truths that he seemed to recognize was the fact that his pulse was fluctuating madly, and his breaths were low and gruff.
It was as if the recent sights of his nightmare had fleeted as soon as he had woken up.
Now, he was equally frightened by the prospect that whatever had caused him such agony now evaded him, for his mind was burdened by an sensation of blankness that theoretically should have been impossible.
Despite his growing uncertainty, the young warlock was still aware that some sort of menacing force of evil or perhaps dark magic had tampered with his mind, regardless of whether he could remember specifically what had caused this.
"Oh, why can't I remember? My mind feels so blank…so empty…but I know something came over me because I have that terrible feeling that only comes when evil sorcery is at work…oh, no…Arthur…I think he's in danger…" Merlin's convoluted doubts urged him to fumble himself out of bed in a panic.
Hastily clothing himself in his typical work attire, the young man soon pranced out of the room.
By then, Merlin was fully intent on venturing off directly toward the prince's chambers, though he expected that Gaius would interfere with his plan and force him to eat a well-balanced breakfast and admit the reason behind his paranoia.
If he was going to be truly honest with himself, Merlin was secretly hoping that his guardian would force him to discuss the overwhelming horrors that still lingered in his mind like an afterimage.
Veering into the main room, the warlock maneuvered his eyes in the direction of Gaius's cot, only to discover that it was seemingly empty. The thick sheets that shrouded the tiny mattress were scrunched into an untidy position, which raised the possibility that Gaius had gotten up in a hurry.
This unusual prospect caused an uncanny sense of restlessness to stir from within the young man's bones.
Merlin stiffened, his knees buckling in fear.
Call it just a misguided premonition, but Merlin had the oddest inclination that the cause of his friend's mysterious disappearance was perpetrated by some manner of evil.
As much as he wished to ignore his probably irrational hunches, the last of the dragon lords seemed incapable of denying the unthinkable scenario that was presently surfacing in his mind.
Gaius never does this, it's so unlike him. Something must have happened…and I have a bad feeling that it has something to do with Morgana and her dark magic. If that's the case then I need to warn Arthur and try to find Gaius before this happens to someone else.
Finally developing a conclusion on the matter, Merlin frantically rushed towards Arthur's chambers, remaining completely oblivious to the alarming sight of a small, smeared knife that had inconspicuously fallen across the tattered floorboards.
O-O
Clumsily journeying in the direction of the prince's room, the young sorcerer was slightly befuddled by the fact that the city was encompassed by an odd stillness, such as that he had never in all his days witnessed before.
Merlin stopped briefly, his eyes trailing around the all-too-familiar surroundings.
The differences were subtle, but even in his confused state, Merlin was vaguely aware that someone was missing, whether it was a typical townsperson or one of the king's guards, however, was not a deduction that he had any time to work out.
Ignoring his instincts, the warlock continued on, wanting to avoid the usual banter with Arthur about 'the importance of being on time,' as the prince called it.
When the Merlin reached his destination, he softly pounded his fist against Arthur's door.
Merlin was relieved; he supposed his frightening dream had ironically served a useful purpose, because for the first time in his life, he was not tardy.
A familiar, deep voice tainted with both annoyance and drowsiness caused the young warlock to cringe inwardly, as he proceeded to enter the room.
"Gosh—who is it? Can't you see that I am trying to sleep? Oh, Merlin…of course…" The nobleman rolled his eyes, before releasing a sigh of irritation.
"Ugh…you're such a lousy servant Merlin…any considerate person would let me sleep at least a few more minutes!" Arthur scolded the young warlock in the way that he frequently did.
"Morning to you too, Sire," Despite his dire need to speak to the prince on a matter of great urgency, Merlin found himself unwittingly resorting to his normal defensive antics.
Groaning, the somewhat arrogant man with the dirty blond hair shuffled upward, and drifted out of his elaborate bed.
"Come on, now Merlin, don't just stand there. Fetch me my clothes! Do something useful with yourself!"
Prince Arthur's stern demand caused his loyal servant to gallop over to a dresser perched in the corner.
Rummaging through the prince's unkempt drawers, Merlin obediently selected an outfit.
Normally he would have easily disregarded Arthur's orders, but because Merlin remained unnerved by the previous events of the day, he was inclined to heed the prince's words.
"Here you go, Sire," an uneasy Merlin carefully adorned the prince with a crimson robe.
Following that remark, a wave of silence shrouded the room.
"What is it, Merlin?" The blond furrowed his brow.
"Nothing." His answer came out shakily, which only served to increase the tension between the two.
"Merlin, it's obvious that something's upsetting you." Arthur's tone was becoming more serious.
"Why do you say that?" Merlin was quick to respond nonchalantly.
"Because you're pale as a ghost, and for once you're not talking my ear off. You're quiet, and as much as I would love to relish this moment of peace, I know that this isn't a good sign. You're only like this when you're really worried about something. Now, as I said before, tell me what's troubling you."
"I told you already, Arthur, I'm fine…" the mumbling servant could not seem to conceal the shakiness of his voice.
"Don't give me that. If you don't tell me what's bothering you I'll make sure that you are assigned the lovely duty of mucking out my horses for the entire month!"
Merlin's mouth opened and closed like a fish, as he prepared to protest. Before any word escaped his mouth a stern voice called from outside the room.
"What is it?" Arthur barked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Sire, the king requests your presence immediately, I'm afraid it's a matter of great urgency." A man's tone was serious.
Knowing it would be in his best interest to heed his father's demands, the prince quickly ushered for his servant to follow him, before making his way towards the king's whereabouts.
"Tell him that my servant and I are on our way."
With that, Arthur and Merlin briskly exited the chamber and followed the king's messenger.
As much as the servant attempted to remain calm, he could not help but assume that Uther's reasons for summoning his son were undoubtedly linked to magic and possibly even Gaius' disappearance.
Within moments, the two men had halted at the entrance to the king's court.
Another servant inched out from the room, relaying a message intended for the prince.
"Sire, the king would like to see you now- in private." The old man eyed Merlin indicatively.
"Of course. Merlin, stay here and wait. I will be out shortly. No ease dropping!" Arthur commanded, before entering his father's presence.
After the door closed suddenly, Merlin cautiously leaned against the wall.
Because Merlin hadn't yet informed Arthur of the situation, he was incredibly nervous. Trying to focus his energy, the warlock listened intently to the conversation.
The muffled dissention that reverberated from the room was difficult to comprehend, but the young warlock managed to decipher a few words.
" I am afraid that there have been reported…disappearances throughout Camelot, as of this morning."
Uther's voice quivered as he spoke.
A chill rushed down the Merlin's spine, for he feared his assumptions were being fulfilled.
Before he could ponder that thought too deeply, Arthur suddenly burst into the corridor his eyes smoldering with a mixture of anger and uncertainty.
Though he greatly wanted to inquire of Arthur regarding the true nature of the situation, Merlin followed his better judgment and remained silent.
As the two distanced themselves from the king's chambers, the prince soon admitted the reasoning behind his foul mood.
"Apparently there have been a series of recent disappearances throughout the kingdom. My father refuses to let me take any course of action. He insists that I remain in my chambers for my own safety, after I send a message to Gaius."
That final word rang in Merlin's mind.
"Gaius?" The voice of the young warlock trembled.
"Yes, my father requests his presence." Arthur commented somewhat disdainfully.
"But…he…he's not…" Merlin muttered, unable to explain the gruesome reality.
"He's not what, Merlin?" The prince was beginning to understand his servant's recent behavior.
"Well, he's…erm…disappeared."
Merlin looked at the ground sheepishly, thinking he probably sounded ridiculous.
His eyes were etched with something—fear, even, and Arthur knew without a doubt that his servant told the truth.
"Oh, that explains everything. No wonder you're so bloody paranoid, Merlin!" The eyes of the future king grew warm and empathetic. "That settles it then. Merlin, retrieve my horses from the stables and gather the supplies."
"What? What are you doing?" Merlin inquired, despite knowing full well what Arthur was intending to do.
"We're going out."
"B-But, I thought your father said…"
"I cannot stand by and watch my people suffer without taking action. I will gladly defy my father's orders for the sake of Camelot."
The ginger propped herself against the bulging outline of the TARDIS console.
Her loyal husband was perched to her left, and she leaned in the opposite direction toward a floppy haired man in a bow tie.
"So, Doctor, where are we goin' today?" Amy Pond fluttered her eyelashes and pursed her lips in question, much to her best friend's annoyance.
Leaning over to the raggedy man, Rory Pond apologized in advance, his voice becoming a low whisper.
"Sorry, Doctor, she seems to be a bit…ah…impatient today…but then again, she's like this every day, isn't she?" The Roman muttered very quietly, causing his curious wife to raise an eyebrow in question.
"Rory, did you say something?" the red head inquired accusingly.
"NO." The two men spoke in perfect unison, which increased Amy's frustration all the more.
The feisty ginger began to drop her jaw, as if to speak, until suddenly a fiercely unexpected force surged through the rogue time machine.
Amy and Rory tumbled to the floor, hitting it full force.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" Amy Pond's gut wrenching yelp exploded throughout the TARDIS.
"I don't know!" Cringing, the man in the bow tie tugged on a nearby railing, his forehead contorting into tiny folds.
As fear began to serve through Amy's body, she entangled her fingers in those of her husband.
Within a matter of seconds, the big blue box screeched to an untimely halt.
Regaining her composure, Amy Pond beckoned her husband to follow her towards the place in which the raggedy man had situated himself.
Recognizing the intensity of the ginger's eyes, the Doctor found himself grinning. He then jumped to his feet without any sort of struggle.
"Come on, Doctor, tell me where we just crashed!" Amy's fiery scrutiny demanded an answer.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure… because I sort of… put the TARDIS on randomizer…" The Last of the Time Lords muttered quietly.
Rory's eyes widened.
"What? Doctor, you said you were never going to do that again! Remember what happened last time?" A perplexed Rory Williams conveyed his distaste.
Instead of providing a half-decent response, the Doctor trotted in another direction, and proceeded to open the TARDIS doors.
Knowing their best friend was engrossed in one of his typical fixations, the Ponds decided they had no choice but to follow.
"Amy and Rory Pond, I give you a land of infinite impossibilities!" After stepping out of the police box, the alien's finger motioned toward an astounding sight.
Taking the hint, the young woman set foot into the brilliant sunlight, her loyal husband within close proximity.
Carefully scanning her surroundings, Amy's mouth gaped wide as her hazel eyes locked onto the wondrous shapes of the twisting evergreen trees, which seemed to raise upward endlessly to a endless blue sky.
Cropped beautifully atop the grassy horizon was a brick castle, situated so erectly and elegantly that the ginger would've easily believed she was dreaming.
"Wow, that's…beautiful. Doctor, have we gone all medieval…again?" Amy Pond grudgingly recalled the latest experience she had had with a castle, which was pretty horrible, considering it was actually a 22nd Century factory which the Doctor had purposely visited despite his supposedly 'random landing.' In the end, Amy had discovered that her precious mind and soul had been nestled for months within a flesh doppelganger, while her fully pregnant physical body had been stolen away and hidden at Demon's Run.
She shuddered, never desiring to relive such an experience ever again.
The Doctor's old, kind eyes compassionately locked onto her, sympathizing with her growing fears, and deep down, she knew that he understood, perhaps more than she could even imagine.
"Don't worry, Pond, I assure you that you're really here and this is actually part of the Medieval Era…well, at least, I think it is," Her raggedy man attempted to assuage her doubts, but even when masked with a façade of confidence, the subtle traces of uncertainty in the Doctor's voice were not difficult to detect.
"So, we're on Earth, then, Doctor?" The sandy haired man asked curiously of his friend.
"Earth? Um…Yes…yes…right, definitely Earth." His voice remained tinted with confusion.
Digging her slender fingers more firmly in her husband's strong hand, Amy Pond gazed upon the enchanting setting in further awe.
"This is it then…Medieval Times…The age of knights, kings, queens, romance and chivalry…" Amy's voice trailed off.
Her best friend was currently shifting his gaze to the ground, though neither the Ponds could only wonder what was going through that brilliant mind of his.
Before Amy, Rory or their beloved Doctor could utter another word, a piercing scream of unspeakable terror permeated the thickening air.
Rummaging through the pocket of his tweed jacket, the man in the bow tie relinquished his sonic screwdriver.
As he applied pressure to a small button, the whites of the Doctor's eyes suddenly became increasingly visible, for his dark pupils had dilated due to a terrifying reason unbeknownst to anyone but him, or so he assumed.
Off the scale…I'm afraid this is worse than I thought…
Note: So, I hope you're liking it so far. Please let me know in a review if you are enjoying this story and would like to read more. I definitely have more planned, and will update if given enough positive feedback. In the meantime, you may also be interested in checking out some of my other stories(posted on my profile).
Have a wonderful day:)