AN: so, here's the second chapter! woo :) thank you all for your feedback, follows, and favorites! This bit follows Merlin instead of our favorite boys. Only one more chapter left!

To the guest reviewer:

Thank you for your feedback! You'll find out about Dean's fate in the next chapter, so I don't want to give anything away just yet...so you'll just have to wait and see ;)

Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and he felt his magic bubble to the surface, rising instinctively to protect. The serket flew backwards, away from the two men he had found bumbling in the cave. Idiots. He thought. Just who did they think they were? Exploring strange caves, especially after finding dead bodies in it? Merlin almost snorted in disbelief. And Arthur had called him an idiot. Well, he supposed he should probably save the idiots now.

Merlin turned his attention back to the two. The taller of the two was crouched next to his fallen comrade, trying to hoist him up. "Take him and leave the cave, now- it'll be back, serkets always travel in packs. And when you get outside, be careful. They like to surround and circle their prey." He saw that the taller idiot was about to object, but with another glance at the wounded one stopped his objection before he could voice it. He nodded once, and started making his way back to towards the entrance.

Now to take care of the rest of the serkets, Merlin thought. He strode towards the one he had pushed back with his magic, and with another murmured spell and a flash of gold, the beast caught on fire, hissing and squealing in its death throws. Merlin felt a pang of pity for it- it was a creature of magic, a creature of the old religion after all. But he couldn't leave them be, they had died out centuries ago for a reason, and their existence now set off the precarious balance that the old religion demanded.

Merlin proceeded into the depths of the cave with caution, remembering the sheer numbers these things traveled in- he had to make sure he got every single one. As he walked, his mind wandered back to his reason for being here.

There had been a group of people in the nearby town who fancied themselves druids. They weren't actually druids, naturally- but they had managed to find some of the lesser known rituals and tomes of the druid people. As far as Merlin could gather, they had accidentally summed a serket during one of their "bi-weekly rituals", the problem being that they didn't really have a clue what they were doing. Realizing their error, the druid-cult called out to Emrys for guidance. At the time, Merlin had been taking a stroll around the lake by his cottage, but when his druidic name was invoked, the old religion called out to him, luring him to America.

By the time he got there however, the druids had tried to take matters into their own hands and seek the serket out on their own. Little did they know how quickly it multiplied, hiding in a cave deep in the local forest with its spawn. The poor people hadn't seen their error 'till it was too late, and Merlin felt a wrench of sorrow tug at his heart, even while the old religion seemed partly satisfied with the exchange- the life given to the serkets traded for the life of their summoners. It was a cruel master, the old religion was- but only if it was manipulated against nature. And serkets here and now were most definitely against nature.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, resuming his search of the cave, no matter how much Merlin wasn't looking forward to meeting the one that had first been summoned. By now, it could easily be the size of a horse, or larger. The cavern soon gave way to a larger cave, and Merlin slowed as he heard the scuttle of legs and hissing of many creatures milling about. Taking a deep breath, the centuries old sorcerer jumped into the entrance to the new cavern, and before the many creatures inside could react, he raised his staff and shouted "Forbærne yfel!" A ring of fire encased the cavern, surrounding the serkets. They hissed and clacked their large front pinchers, but Merlin saw that they were all backing into the center, away from the flames. On Merlin's silent command, the flames grew, nearly engulfing the cave, and as their squeals got louder, Merlin shouted once more, "Miere torr sweoloþhat!" With a flash of light, the ring of fire exploded, sending shudders through the cave walls, and quickly engulfing the contents of the room. Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and as the cave shuddered and collapsed around him, the rock met with an invisible barrier around the warlock, leaving him safe from the collapsing ceiling.

As quickly as he could, Merlin made his way out of the collapsing cave, eyes flashing as fallen rocks moved out of his way or hit his invisible shield. Just as he stumbled out into the fresh air of the forest, he felt the ground beneath him shudder one last time, and the mouth of the cave collapsed behind him.

Wasting no time, Merlin made his way over to the two figures at the tree line- one on the ground, and the other wordily watching over him. With a speed more befitting a twenty year old that a centuries old man, Merlin soon arrived at their side.

"We need to hurry, come on. The serkets have been taken care of, but their venom in extremely potent. Come on." He bent down and hoisted the wounded idiot up, supporting one side with his shoulder, while his tall companion did likewise on the other side.

"Do you know how to help him?"

"Yes- but we haven't much time. Hold on to him tightly, we need to go somewhere else, since I haven't got the right materials here." Before the other man could reply, Merlin started chanting under his breath, and channeled his power in the staff in his hand.

He could feel it as the magic flowed through him, brushing just under his skin, a feather light touch that had the power of a raging river. It welled up inside him, and through his arm, into the sidhe staff where it could be focused. It was a spell Merlin was hesitant to do, especially with two companions, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

He felt a huge gust of wind, which smelt not of the forest around them, but a different one- one that Merlin called home. And then, with the wind howling in their ears, drowning out all other sound, their eyes closed to protect against it, and the only sensation that of the wind whipping against their skin and the warm bodies next to each other, Merlin forced the last bit of magic into the staff, and with a flash of light, the wind vanished.

The old warlock opened his eyes to the welcome sight of his cottage, and though he felt pleasure that the spell had worked, a wave of exhaustion hit him. He shrugged of the weight of the wounded man, and leaning heavily on his staff, hobbled his way over to the front door. Merlin felt as though he could feel the wear and tear of all those centuries in his bones now, as he always did after the truly exhausting feats of magic.

He unlocked the door with a wave of his hand, and glanced behind him before walking in, only to see the two idiots still standing where he had left them. Or rather, the ridiculously tall idiot standing there looking at him as though he had suddenly sprouted another head, and the wounded idiot leaning on his companion's shoulder, slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Well, what are you standing around there for? I haven't got all day! If you want him to see another day, you'd better hurry up!" And with that, Merlin harrumphed, and proceeded into the house, not glancing back again. He felt a faint stab of regret for his harsh tone but really, why was the tall one just standing there when his companion so obviously needed help? Merlin couldn't fathom it- had humanity learned nothing since the dark ages?

AN: Thanks for reading! So, Merlin isn't quite the Merlin we all know and love; but I'm attributing that to the fact that he's about fifteen hundred years old, and that he just had to fight a swarm of serkets. Please leave a review! Constructive criticism is always welcome!