Merlin's bleary eyes appeared to quake. His hands, balling repeatedly in and out of a tight fist, finally rested to a fragile net. His tunneled vision focused strictly on the intertwined fingers resting between his spread knees. The rain had refused to recede, forcing showers of ice to pelt down and chill the cobblestone. The sky erupted in a cry of electricity; luminous blue serpents tore apart black clouds mercilessly. Bumps had risen across his skin hours ago and chiefly still they remained, pressured to dwell a little longer by the droplets which hung from his damp hair and nose. Those same droplets threatened wordlessly to freeze to his skin, sending a shiver with the power to destroy him from the inside out raking through his nerves. The suffocating blackness of the night crept upon him like predator to prey. His blue eyes searched his surroundings and found nothing. The nothingness, however, greeted him as a friend; the hollowness it carried like a crushing weight was familiar enough.

Susurrous sheets of rain whispered carelessly. The sweet song it murmured in quiet comfort would only be interrupted by the occasional growl of nefarious thunder, for even the shallow breath which kept Merlin alive seemed mute. It was only until his remorseful thoughts were interrupted by a faint rustling sound that his attention returned to the reality around him.

"What are you doing?" a faint voice, plagued by the harm of pity murmured.

For a short moment the rustling had ceased, as if hesitant. A tension disturbed the quiet between the two of them. The fragile air hung delicately, perched on the edge of an unforgiving cliff. However, as quick as the daunting calm had come it then passed, for Arthur had settled upon the ground comfortably, the skin of his cheek pressed to the cobblestone.

Merlin sighed, his shoulders slumping dramatically. "Look, I'm sorry. I know that there's nothing I could really say to make any of this better, including any sort of apology, but I wanted to let you know that I apologize. It was a stupid mistake. I thought I had fixed things, so that this wouldn't happen, but I was wrong. Okay? Is that what you'd like to hear? I messed up. Bad. But I'll find us a way back, I promise."

Arthur rose slightly, resting to a lean on his outstretched forearm. His once warm, compassionate eyes burned like hot fire. "It's not so much that we're destitute in a foreign time period," he started, "and that we're surrounded by unfamiliarity. It's that you knew, Merlin. You knew this was going to happen, but you ignored what you'd seen and did as you pleased regardless."

"I thought I had changed that."

"Well you thought wrong."

"Sometimes..." the blistering flames of those cold eyes brought hot tears to his own. He inhaled sharply, hoping to will them away, "sometimes I can change what I see inside the crystal, okay? If I play my cards right, I can get things to happen differently. This felt like one of those things."

"I don't want to hear it, Merlin."

With nothing left to say, the young warlock did as he had been. His jaw clenched until his mouth felt sewn shut. The blood in his cheeks felt like it was boiling, but the only thought in his head was that he had failed his prince. It was his fault that they were there, it was his fault that they had no way back.

Somewhere in the distance and through the veil of rain came a piercing noise, one powerful enough to rattle Merlin from his trance and Arthur from his sleep. The prince's shoulders stiffened, and his head snapped from side to side, eyes scanning their surroundings tirelessly. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure," replied Merlin, who also took to searching the area around them, "some kind of bell, perhaps?"

"I don't think so," Arthur shook his head haphazardly, his light brows pulled together in concentration, "if it was a bell then where's the resonance?"

Merlin shrugged, now on his feet as well as the other.

"I'll go look."

"Arthur, no. I already feel bad enough about bringing us here, if anything were to happen to you I would never forgive myself. I'll go."

"And what defense do you have? Your magic's gone. How do you expect to fight should you have to? Are you going to bore them to death with your incessant talking?"

"...We'll both go."

The blonde appeared to agree, for he motioned for Merlin to follow after him whilst stealthily stalking toward the noise. The alleyway which they had sought refuge in was bleak and dreary, but it shielded them from the world outside that felt far too unusual for them to feel comfortable in. Now, as they tiptoed toward the main road, where the moonlight wasn't so suffocated by black clouds, and where steady light poured unto the ground from the same buildings they sat against just minutes before. A sense of trepidation in its purest form seemed to rise with each step they made, and before long its peak was reached when they had finally met the doorway to the open world. All seemed quiet enough, save for a few others walking aimlessly across the pavement. Arthur's shoulders relaxed, a held breath escaping his lips. Merlin did similar, but his eyes still searched as if he were on guard. His hair clung to his forehead with cool rain and nervous sweat, and he was sure that Arthur's had done the same.

"See? There's nothing. All's well," Arthur argued, mainly with himself, as he took a few careless steps into the road.

Two white, parallel lights filled the air around them in a flash and made Merlin's eyes burn. Instinct told him to grab for Arthur, but when he discovered that the prince wasn't within arm's reach, the heavy weight of panic which he had just seemed to get rid of returned tenfold. It didn't take long to find the stunned-stiff royalty, and he lunged forward to retrieve the inert Pendragon from the line of fire. With the sudden rush of adrenaline and fear, Merlin felt as though he stood in a vacuum, all sound being far-off and muffled, but he swore he had detected the same strange sound from minutes before, only this time it was far more deafening and even closer. What remained in its wake was the unfamiliar screech of tires and the rumble of an engine. Above all else, however, he could pinpoint the telltale sound of heavy breathing, though he wasn't sure if it was his own or his friend's.

"Arthur?" an unnerved voice cried, "are you alright?"

"Yes, Merlin, I'm fine. Let me go," the prince replied, his arms shoving off a countering lanky pair, "What the HELL was that thing? Some form of sorcery? It has to be sorcery. Doesn't it? That's the only explanation. Right?" he looked to Merlin for assurance, to which he received a shaking head in opposition.

"I would have felt it. I told you, the Old Religion is dead, and sorcery along with it. Or at least all forms of sorcery which I know. That's why I can't use my magic here."

"Are you absolutely sure? I mean, if it wasn't sorcery, then what was it?"

"I can't say for certain. Probably just something they have...now."

Arthur looked between his servant and the spot in the road where he was nearly hit, his head snapping from side to side several times before he finally pointed at the street and exclaimed, "I could have been killed by that thing!"

"Good that I grabbed you, then."

"This time period is awful!"

"It's probably not so bad, if you're used t-"

"Oi! You two!"

"Yes?" Merlin countered, his hand holding Arthur back from a confrontation. It took a moment for his eyes to find the man addressing them from behind the blinding torch, but soon enough he could make out the outline of a tall, burly figure, poised in an authoritative stance and clad in a navy blue uniform.

"Have you two been drinking?"

"What makes you think we've been drinking?" Arthur inquired, his chest puffed in defense.

"No," Merlin offered in a more calm and polite response, "we haven't been to the tavern at all."

Arthur went to step forward, but lost his steady footing on a loose and wet stone, tripping. Merlin was quick to catch him, but the slip did not go unnoticed by their arrogant pursuer.

"Right. I'm going to have to ask you boys to come with me back to the station," he stated plainly, moving to direct the two of them.

"Station? What's that?" the prince asked, reluctant but walking with the others nonetheless.

"You must have drank a ton. You're just going to have to stay in the cell until morning. Can't have you getting yourself hurt on my watch, not after I saw you nearly get hit by that car."

"Car? So that's what it's called," Merlin murmured to himself.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Arthur stopped in his tracks and stood tall, "Are you arresting us? You can't arrest me, I'm the prince!"

"Arthur, I don't think you're the prince here anymore," a warning tone advised.

"Of course I'm the prince, don't be ridiculous! And you sir, you'll have to answer to your royalties! H-Hey! Unhand me! You have no right to shackle me! Let us go!"

Wild and belligerent protests became hushed in an instant to the officer by the slam of a door.