Chapter 2: In The Dark Of The Night

Ianto hammered his foot on the brake his heart hammering wildly. "What the hell! Jack are you..." His words slipped into nothingness as he turned his gaze to the dead Captain, the Welshman unable to stop the pointless grief that welled within him, god he hated it when Jack died. Slowly his eyes trailed the body he knew so intimately stilling when they took I'm the sight of a large sword sticking from the mans chest.

"Now that one has got to hurt." he winced. The archivist unbuckled his seatbelt and sat upon the dashboard to gain leverage as he gripped the handle of the sword. "I hate this bit" he muttered as he tightened his hold and yanked back, grimacing as the sharp blade sliced it's way from Jack's corpse. "You'll thank me when you wake up."

Strange, this isn't of alien making, at least not one I've catalogued before. He ran his hand over the hilt taking in the markings. Gold plated, expensive then,someone of importance but definitely not anything like he'd ever seen in the archives. But who's?. His blue eyes span to the smashed windshield gazing curiously at the two mysterious men stood a small distance away. The first a tall blonde man, muscular in build covered by an elaborate amount of amour. He stood defensively in front of the second, this one a younger brunette dressed in loose hanging clothing, his stance tense as if ready to drag the larger man behind him should necessity arise.

Merlin gripped the blonde's arm and span him around."Arthur! What are you doing?! Calm down. You can't just throw a sword at things without thinking, remember the unicorn incident?"

"The thing was heading straight for you Merlin! It would've killed you!" The king protested, his heart still racing from the sudden arrival of the large black object. "I had to keep you safe..." He coughed awkwardly and turned his gaze back to the SUV. "...who else would clean my armour"

"Dollop head" Merlin muttered as he too turned back to the strange metal object, wincing as the lights coming from it blinded him for a moment before his eyes adjusted to the light. "Oh god...Arthur...I think you've killed someone".

Arthur's gaze shifted to the body slumped over within the car. "Oh no...Merlin, fetch help! Fetch Gaius!"

"I don't know where we are Arthur. Let alone where Gaius is." But God how I wish I did. Something feels wrong here...things aren't right. He glanced up just as Arthur began to rush to Jack's aid.

"Stay away from him!" Ianto yelled, quickly slipping out of the car with his gun raised high, the sword grazing the ground in his other hand."Stay back or I will shoot". He had no intention to of course but he'd found on more than one occasion the threat worked. He kept the muzzle pointed at the blonde man as he shifted into a defensive position in front of Jack, pointless but something he felt was necessary.

Despite the curious situation and his concern for the injured possibly dead man in the car Arthur couldn't help but snort at the man, what damage could the strange object do. "I beg your pardon strange fellow but it would be unwise to threaten me"

"Arthur no is not the time for showing off who you are" Merlin chided as he locked his gaze upon the a angry brunette stood just ahead of them, ready to defend Arthur as always...not that he'd ever get the recognition.

"I'm warning you". Ianto glanced at Jack. Come on, wake up he urged silently to the lifeless man. He cursed and turned back to the men. What would you do Jack...hmmm maybe that isn't a good train of thought to follow, plan B then, improvisation. He turned the gun to the side slightly and pulled the trigger.

The king jumped back his eyes wide with shock as the weapon shot clean through a large tree just to his left. "It's some sort of arm cannon!" He cried out, worry and astonishment mingling in his voice.

"We mean you no harm sir" Merlin raised his arms up in front of himself, as with many times before it seemed capture would be the best way for them to learn of the strange man's plans. He turned his gaze to Arthur widening his eyes just a little in a bid to sognal him to do the same. Magic would be the easier option but wouldn't take he risk of revealing himself not when he suspected that their current predicament was the work of Morgana. "We just want to help your friend"

"He'll be fine" Ianto assured them as he lowered the gun and backed up to Jack's side.

"I have some background in medicine sir, please allow me to help you" Merlin pleaded, despite his belief that any medical aid would be useless.

"It's alright. Just...stay there". With difficulty Ianto slipped Jack out of his seat and down onto the road below, pulling open his shirt to check on the healing rate of the wound.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Arthur murmured softly. "It was not my intention to kill him, i did not realise your strange transport contained life within. Please, I offer you food and refuge at Camelot whi-"

"He'll be fine" the Ianto repeated as he knelt down beside Jack, keeping his gaze flicking up cautiously every few moments. He carefully lay down the sword beside him to take a grip of the Captain's hand. "I'll be able to repair your coat at least, don't think I've every sewed up a stab wound before though" he laughed.

Arthur turned his gaze to Merlin. "I think the loss has driven him insane, we need to get him back to Gaius, maybe he can help..."

Merlin's attention diverted away from his king, his gaze widening in shock. "I don't think there will be any need..."