Here's Book Two of the series A New Adventure. I also wrote this one with the amazing author xXTheDragonRiderXx (you should check out her stories!) Hope you enjoy, please read and review! ;)
The black haired boy -man really- frowned at the younger man -boy- and slowly raised an eyebrow. "That was a very bad joke Percy." He said in utter confusion. "And no, Unicorns are not pink and sparkly." At that moment the flap of the tent they were in opened, "He thinks what?!" Cried Arthur in disbelief; giggling came from behind him and Annabeth, Thalia and Nico followed him into the tent, "Do we need to explain to him the time I killed a Unicorn and brought drought and starvation to the land?!" The laughter stopped abruptly.
"What happened?!" Percy asked, turning to Arthur, a look of confusion on his face.
"When I was Prince, Merlin and I were out hunting, I killed a Unicorn. Merlin tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. Soon after all the crops in the Kingdom rotted, the people began to starve and not long after the water in the well turned to sand. Anhora, the keeper of the Unicorn's told me I could lift the curse on the land if I completed several tasks, in the end I had to travel to the Labyrinth of Gedref, where I was unknowingly followed by Merlin. We were sat at a table and were told, of the two chalices upon the table, one had poison and the other a harmless liquid, we tipped both liquids into one cup and I ended up distracting Merlin and drinking it; I survived because it wasn't poison but a sleeping potion. So when we got back to the city we found everything as it was before, the crops were back and so was the water. We were very lucky."
Merlin snorted, "We were lucky?! My God Arthur if it weren't for you, none of that would have happened!"
Arthur growled, "That's not what I meant-"
Merlin glared at him for a moment before a thoughtful face formed. "There are so many. How about the Fisher King Quest?" He paused for a moment then said, "I'll tell you. You know the beginning. You decided on the Fisher King quest to retrieve that Golden Trident so that you could prove your right to the throne. Anyways, remember the bracelet Morgana gave you?" At Arthur's nod he continued. "Well, that was the Eye of the Phoenix, which weakened and almost killed you. After I discovered that, I went after you but got found Gwaine and we were running away from... I can't remember now... anyways, we saved you from two wyverns and got rid of that Amulet. You believe that quest was yours, but I got separated from you and Gwaine and I met the Fisher King who, for some reason, told me that I'm the chosen one. Then he gave me a bottle of water from the Lake of Avalon-"
"What?" Arthur said staring at Merlin. "But..."
Merlin rolled his eyes, "Lake of Avalon. Bottle of water. Morgana taking over Camelot the first time. Ring any bells?"
Arthur just gaped at Merlin.
"Anyway he told me to use it when Camelot was in peril. And that's the end of it. Well, almost. Gwen found out that Morgana isn't good."
Arthur finally closed his mouth and Percy stared at him. Merlin started to fidget. "What?"
"Merlin, I think you might have saved Arthur's and Camelot, more times than I have saved the world from, Titan's, Gods and Giants!" Annabeth elbowed him in the ribs and whispered something in his ear, causing him to look sheepish and began to blush.
Changing the subject, Thalia interrupted the awkward silence that had enveloped the tent, "They have found Octavian's body," She said, "But whatever you did Merlin they, luckily, haven't connected us. Unfortunately, the once teddies have gone on a killing spree, if it weren't for Terminus they would of already destroyed New Rome and have instead attacked a near by city."
"But won't the mist stop the humans from seeing giants murdering teddies?" Asked Percy, looking to Nico.
Before he could reply though, Arthur interrupted, "The mist? What's that?" He asked.
"It like a veil that stops ordinary mortals from seeing monsters and the like, you can see through it though, because you're a son of Athena, Merlin on the other hand, I have no idea." Answered Annabeth.
"He's a God." Came a familiar voice from outside the tent flap, which then opened to reveal Chiron, "And what do you mean, you had something to do with the death of poor young Octavian?"
As soon as Chiron spoke up heads turned, "Chiron! What are you doing here?" Percy half-shouted.
At the same time, Merlin and Arthur shouted: "I'm/He's a what?" Merlin paused and frowned then added, "It's Leon who has an immortality complex. Not me!"
Chiron regarded Merlin and Arthur with amusement then raised an eyebrow at Percy. "What do you mean Percy?" Percy opened and closed his mouth like a fish and Annabeth (sighing) whacked him.
"Seaweed Brain." She mumbled under her breath then she smiled at Chiron and Merlin (still unsettled) thought inappropriately of Morgana. Yes, Merlin, go ahead and think that... "What Perseus-" Percy glared at Annabeth "-means is how in Hades are you like... here? Here, here. As in why are you here, because you're at the Roman camp. And you're not supposed to be. And you're the leader of Camp Half-Blood. And you're Chiron. And the Romans don't like centaurs. And you're a centaur. And- Ouch! Thalia!" Merlin bit back a chuckle as the girl turned to glare at the Huntress and now he was reminded of Gwen.
"Kelp Head, do you want to duel?" Thalia asked and without waiting for a reply grabbed Percy and pulled him up and also took Nico's ear and dragged them to the training arena.
Chiron turned to the three remaining campers/leader (possibly). "In answer to your ramble Annabeth, I am here because Lupa invited me. And you're a God. Not you Annabeth, Merlin."
Merlin and Arthur slowly looked at each other and their eyes traded a conversation within two seconds.
He's crazy, no way am I a god. No. No, no, no.
Yes, you're too much of an idiot to be one.
Hey!
"He's too much of an idiot to be a god!" Arthur protested and dodged Merlin's attempt to whack his head (because Merlin had finally found out that in America no one was above the other in station and he was taking full liberty of that).
Chiron raised an eyebrow at their antics. "What happened to Octavian? I'm pretty sure I heard Thalia say something about him..."
Merlin paused and bit his lip and traded glances with Arthur and Annabeth. "The teddies came to life to get revenge on Octavian."
Chiron raised an eyebrow but was distracted when two wet and zapped demigods appeared. All three of them turned to look at a grinning Percy, a frowning Thalia and an annoyed Nico.
"I won. Finally." The grinning Percy announced.
Annabeth turned to Thalia and Nico, both of whom were glaring (in annoyance) at Percy. "Aqua Man." Nico mumbled finally under his breath.
"You broke my arrow!" Thalia said indigently.
Percy rolled his eyes. "And you nearly burned me into a crisp. Besides, you have plenty more arrows in your quiver."
Thalia harrumphed. "That was the only arrow I could use to make lightning with. It was made out of a soft gold, which was a good conductor of electricity. Of course, I could always use a key... then I can fry you..."
Merlin looked at Annabeth and she rolled her eyes before whispering into his ear. "They've been having a war for the last two years. Thalia would always win, but I guess Percy won this time..."
Nico rolled his eyes and stomped his foot and the ground cracked open and swallowed Percy and Thalia up. He grinned happily and disappeared.
Annabeth, Arthur and Merlin looked at each other and then at the cracked ground. "Well... Nico might win this time..." Annabeth amended. "At least Percy and Thalia won't be hurt to badly... hopefully... wait... I want to see this."
Arthur and Merlin both turned to look at Annabeth and she looked at Merlin pointedly. Merlin rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm then raised an eyebrow at Arthur who also took his arm and they jumped.
Once the dust had cleared from Merlin's eyes he was shocked by what he saw, not the fact that Percy was walking on the water while Thalia and Nico were locked in combat and trying to knock Percy over at the same time, he'd seen that a lot; but by the fact of where they were, or by the looks of it when they were. "Percy!" He shouted over the ragging wind that was swirling around Percy, "Stop! Get away from the water. Now!" Surprisingly he did as he was told and Thalia, noticing, stopped fighting with Nico, who froze as well.
"What's the matter?" She asked confused, but Merlin couldn't answer, because it was that moment that Arthur gasped in recognition of a half remembered memory.
"Camelot," Was all he said, and it was enough for Annabeth to realize what was going on. "Yes, and that is the Lake of Avalon, the gateway to the afterlife." Merlin replied, and Percy gasped, but not just because of this new information, spinning on his heal Merlin turned to find a cold, pale hand, begin to immerge from the water, The Lady of the Lake was here, "Freya," He sighed.
"What?" Annabeth asked, "I thought Nimueh was the Lady of the Lake? Who's Freya?"
The girl's voice answered, "I'm Freya." Suddenly Merlin was wrapping his arms around her and Annabeth was left speculating the rest of the Legend as she knew it, Was it all wrong?
"There is a lot you don't know, and there is a lot I don't know," Arthur said to her seeing her face as it frowned in concentration.
Arthur seemed to be looking at the girl in recognition and his face was one of dawning horror and pity. Percy turned to the young king and raised an eyebrow in concern, "Arthur, are you alright?"
Arthur bit his lip, a habit that he had received from Gwen. "I... I think I might have killed her." He whispered to the Son of Poseidon. The girl -Arthur really needed to start calling her Freya- looked up at him as if she had heard him.
"Yes, you killed me." Freya said her voice soft but not accusing. "But you were only protecting your home." Arthur bit his lip harder.
"There's no time, for explanations; what part of the timeline are we in?" Merlin butted in, directing his question to Freya.
"It is the eve of the battle of Camlann," She answered sadly, "You can't not do anything to help," She told Arthur, as the idea popped in to his head, "Only until after the battle can you aid them. First you will- must save Strength from Morgana's wrath and then you, young Nico, will reopen the portal to send the Arthur and Merlin of this time to the future, where the past versions of yourselves will heal them. You can then go back to the time in which you just left, leaving this Merlin and Arthur," She gestured to the men, "Here to continue Albion's legacy." Freya finished brightly, smiling at all the confused faces.
"So what are we to do while we wait for the end of the battle," Asked Annabeth, who seemed to be the only one not phased by what Freya had said.
"You wait!" She replied happily, before leading them to a cave leading deep underground, "There is a cavern beneath this cave, in which you will find beds, food and drink. Gwaine must be saved in the Darkling Forest two evenings from now, from then you will know what to do, goodnight!" She said before pecking Merlin of the cheek and receding back into the Lake.
"Well it looks like we've got some waiting to do!" Said Percy before walking in to the dark cave, closely followed by Annabeth. "Allons y!" Muttered Nico leaving Arthur and Merlin confused and Thalia trying to explain Doctor Who.
Two days later, just before lunch, they found themselves travelling to where Merlin said Gwaine was going to be, Annabeth turned to Merlin. "I thought Nimueh was the Lady of the Lake."
Merlin turned to the Daughter of Athena and raised an eyebrow. "Good gods no, I hate her. First she tried to poison Arthur, I ended up drinking it to save his royal backside, then she poisoned the water supply with an afanc. After that a questing beast bit Arthur and I ended up going to the Isle of the Blessed to trade my life for his and she took my mother's instead. So I went back to the Isle but Gaius got there in front of me and she took his life and I got mad and I ended up blasting her with lightning." He said all of that without taking a breath.
Annabeth blinked but Nico seemed to get what Merlin was saying. "What's he's saying is that he ended up killing Nimueh because she tried to take Gaius's and his mother's lives. Hey, are the gods real in this time?"
Merlin looked at Nico and even Arthur turned to him. "Of course they are," Arthur said rolling his eyes. "Well, at least the fates are real."
Thalia suddenly spoke up, "I hear something."
Merlin tilted his head frowning slightly before he heard a very... human... scream. "Gwaine," He and Arthur gasped in sync and ran; Thalia, Percy, Annabeth and Nico following close behind.
Reaching the clearing from where the screams had come from, the group found an unpleasant sight; Gwaine was tied between two tree stumps, limp. Percival was kneeling in front of him crying silently, but a cough from Arthur alerted him to their presents.
"Arthur? Merlin?" He cried in disbelief, "Is this a trick of my imagination? Some doing of Morgana's?" He asked.
"No my friend," Arthur replied, "It's a long story for another time, but right now we need to save Gwaine. Merlin?" Arthur questioned him, as he examined the knight.
"I can heal him, but it may take a lot out of me, I've never really been good at healing spells..." He muttered, turning back to Gwaine.
"Healing spells?" Percival questioned.
"Another time, but for now all you need to know is that Merlin has magic, and has saved me more times than I can name." Percival was saved the reply when Merlin began to chant.
"Wel cene hole!"
A moments silence and suddenly the air was filled with groans and strung together words, coming from the man at the centre of the glade. "Whattheblazinghellareyoulotdoinghere? Andwhotheblazinghellarethey? Merlinhasmagic?"
"All in good time my friend, all in good time!" Arthur said patting him on the shoulder.
Gwaine just gaped at Arthur, who seemed to be perfectly fine with the fact that he seemed to be fine with Merlin. He was about to open his mouth and demand answers when there was a loud pop and six people appeared.
Merlin and Arthur gaped, Gwaine whimpered (which Merlin carefully patted his head to calm him down) and Percival and the other four strangers drew out swords. Okay, so two of the strangers drew out swords, the girl who had crazy black hair drew out a bow and arrow that was cackling with electricity and the other (blond) girl drew out a knife. "You!" Arthur and Merlin shouted at once.
"Mordred!" Percival shouted in sync.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Arthur added.
"All of you?" Gwaine rasped out.
"Duh, but Octavian here made us alive." Morgana spoke up arrogantly.
Merlin glared at her but it was Percy who spoke up. "You're here?"
Suddenly Annabeth spoke up, "Of course! It all makes perfect sense! Morgana and Mordred are from the future, the Octavian we killed must have helped their reincarnations to remember the past, and the Octavian we see before us is from this time!" She completed looking triumphantly around.
"How the hell did you work all that out?!" Exclaimed Percival, amazed.
"Well I-" Morgana cut her off, "Well done, well done, but can we get back to killing you now?!"
"Um...no?" Percy tried.
"Wrong answer." They charged, swords clashing, magic lighting up the darkening clearing and Thalia's arrows flying through the air, knocking down black, demon like wolves that had appeared. After what seemed like an age, only Morgana and Mordred were left, Octavian having been brutally murdered by Percival.
"Leave already," Merlin yelled, "Why continue terrorizing us, you want power? Go abroad, I'm sure there's somewhere in Asia you can rule!"
Morgana began to laugh, smirking at the same time (how she did that Merlin had no idea), "I will never rule Asia! Chinese is sooooo hard to learn. No, if I want to rule somewhere it will be... Florida! Or Maine! Nice warm, tropical Florida or cool, rugged Maine. Of course... England would be nice as well..."
Merlin looked to Percy who gave him a brief nod; and all hell broke loose. Lightening and water flashed around Percy in a swirling tornado, while Merlin was engulfed in a golden haze. The others stood paralyzed with awe, as they watched their enemy crumble to dust; Morgana Pendragon and Mordred were no more.
Three Months Later...
Camp Half-blood, Long Island...
The demi-gods were celebrating, they had recently returned from the roman camp with the news of peace between the two camps. It was only a matter of time before they received news that the giants were planning their next move, but for now they savoured their victory, for they may not be much in to come in the future.
Camelot, England...
Arthur had been back on the throne with in beloved wife beside him about three minutes before he yelled for the court to gather. As soon as everyone was assembled, he had began, "I have no time for formalities, the band on magic is to be lifted and my friend, Merlin to be promoted to Court Sorcerer and First Advisor to the King." And with this he summoned over Merlin and knighted him without a second thought.
Now Merlin walked through the corridor, heading for the one place he was always destined to be, Arthur's side.
The End!
Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated! ;)