Thank you so much for the reviews and support with this! Well, here comes part two!

"Merlin!"

"It's just the phone, Arthur. We spoke about this, remember?"

"I know what it is, Merlin, I'm not an idiot. What I don't know is why you aren't answering it."

"Um... because you are closer?"

"I…"

The hesitation in Arthur's voice finally persuaded Merlin to look up from the book he was reading and glance across at the Once and Future King. Arthur was chewing his bottom lip, looking anywhere but at Merlin as he scowled. Merlin knew that look, and found himself smiling fondly.

"You can't remember how, can you?"

"Of course I can, it's just…"

"Arthur. Pick it up. Hit the green button on the top left. Put it to your ear. Talk." Merlin had spent the last few weeks perfecting the tone of voice he needed for instructing Arthur on what to do. At first, the man had been so overwhelmed by everything that he had done anything Merlin told him to. But the warlock had known that it was too good to last, and as Arthur's confidence grew, he reverted back to his old ways of refusing to admit that he needed help. Now, Merlin managed to sound firm whilst calm at the same time, and it seemed to work for not riling Arthur up. It had not only made things peaceful, but saved a lot of crockery once Arthur had stopped throwing it in frustration. The idea of it being china and therefore breakable was a lesson that Merlin had given up on. His magic could be used to fix most of it, and, well, that old plate he had never liked anyway.

Arthur picked it up, and Merlin winced as he practically yelled a greeting into the receiver. It was obvious that although Merlin had explained how things worked, Arthur still didn't quite trust them.

"Jeez princess, could you shout any louder? I can hear you."

"Arthur, give me the phone." Rolling his eyes, Merlin held out his hand. He knew that Gwaine wouldn't be ringing to talk to Arthur. The man had been away for a few days now on his new assignment, and if he wanted a casual chat, he would ring in the evening. For him to be calling in the middle of the day meant that something was wrong, and Merlin hated the day when he had to break bad news to Arthur. After everything that they had been through, he knew that he was being overprotective, but he couldn't help it. Arthur, naturally, clung onto the phone that little bit tighter.

"Gwaine!" Yelling to make sure that he was heard, Merlin kept his hand out. "Who do you want, me or Arthur?"

There was silence for a beat and then Gwaine sighed.

"Give Merlin the phone, Arthur."

Arthur's previous scowl returned and Merlin knew that he was still trying to adjust to the fact that he wasn't in command of them anymore. For a moment, Merlin didn't think that he was going to hand the phone over, but eventually, Arthur chucked it at his head. Knowing how good the man's aim was caused Merlin to duck, only for his eyes to flare as he used magic to cause the phone to soar back into his hand.

"Gwaine?" Merlin felt himself blushing as Arthur stared at him, knowing the man was still trying to get used to Merlin having magic as much as he was the whole modern day life living thing. "What's up?"

"You'll never guess who I just got picked up by?"

"Some gorgeous blonde?"

"How about International Rescue?"

"Oh." Merlin fell back against the cushions, his eyes wide.

"Oh? 'Oh' is all you can say? You've had theories about these guys ever since they first emerged and all you can say is oh? Come on, mate, that's harsh."

"Gwaine, I'm sorry, it's just…unexpected. Did you see it?"

"What, you think that they carry it around for all of their victims to have a gawp at. No, Merlin, I did not see it."

"Do you think they have it?"

"I don't know! Look, I've gotta go, but just thought that I would give you the heads-up on these guys."

"Yeah, thanks, Gwaine." Clicking the phone off again, Merlin found that he didn't move for a few moments, just stared at the wall. Gwaine was right, Merlin had been thinking about International Rescue ever since they had first appeared. To have machines that could save so many people, to be the beacon of hope whilst disasters were shaking the world… There was only one thing that Merlin had ever seen do that before in all of his lifetimes, and the last time he had seen that thing, he had been throwing it into a lake after his dead king.

"Merlin, you idiot? Anyone home?"

Blinking, Merlin batted away Arthur's hand from where it was waving in front of his face, climbing off the sofa and heading into the kitchen.

"I'm hungry, you want anything?"

"You've just eaten."

"Oh come on, Arthur, like that ever stopped you in the past. So, food, yeah?" Merlin hated the fact that although he had spent years lying to Arthur, the man still knew him too well. Time had not detracted from that, and before he had gone more than a few steps, Arthur was in front of him. One hand rested on his hip and the other pressed forward to hit on Merlin's shoulder, stopping him from moving anywhere.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing."

"Really, Merlin? Lying to me again?"

Merlin almost seemed to deflate, running a hand through his hair. Shrugging off Arthur's grip, he moved past the man into the kitchen, absentmindedly pulling things down at random from the shelves.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. But can we get something to eat first? This isn't just something I can just blurt out."

"Is it because of what Gwaine said?"

"Yes and no. Look, Arthur, you were gone a long time. I had to find things to do with myself. So I began to look into what had happened back in Camelot, what all the legends are saying now about what they thought went on."

"Right…"

Merlin knew a prompt when he heard one. Instead of answering Arthur, however, he waved his hand at the kettle and immediately caused the machine to start boiling. Arthur seemed to realise that Merlin wasn't going to start talking until he was comfortable, so actually reached up and began to pull a couple of mugs down from the shelf. Merlin had a smile on his face as he fetched everything else they would need and, on realising that Arthur had been pulling biscuits down from the shelf, grabbed a plate to put them on.

Five minutes later, and the pair sat down. Merlin wrapped his hands around his steaming mug, staring into the depths of the murky brown liquid and finding that his mind was going blank as to how to explain this to Arthur. Even the others didn't know quite how strongly he believed in what he had found out, and they had known him for longer in this life. At least he wasn't hiding who he was this time.

"Merlin?" After his ex-servant had stayed quiet for long enough, Arthur none too gently kicked him under the table. "You were saying?"

"Oh yeah. So I've been searching all these legends. It started off as just something to pass the time, to find out whether people remembered your name." Merlin pointedly kept his eyes fixed to the table top as he felt a blush rising up his cheeks. Arthur didn't say anything, and when Merlin tentatively looked up again, it was to find the man had a small smile of fondness on his face. It seemed their last few moments of Arthur finally realising what Merlin had truly been doing all of those years had stuck with him whilst he had been dead, and he made no comment about the fact that Merlin had tried to ensure that his name lived on.

"Did you find anything?"

"Well, most people seem to think that I was an old guy that helped your parents get together." Merlin couldn't help but chuckle at the face Arthur pulled. His relationship with his father had always been strained, and Merlin knew that bringing up his mother was a sensitive topic. Even the idea of bringing them together meant treading on thin ice since Arthur had found out about the original Morgana's parentage.

"But some things are true. They have most of the facts about your final fight with Mordred right." Merlin didn't even dare say what else the legend had said about Mordred, especially not when it came to his parentage. He didn't think that Arthur would be able to handle that particular piece of information. Merlin knew he had to tell him one day - knowing Arthur he would stumble across the truth for himself. But right now, Merlin was sticking to things closer to the facts.

"That doesn't explain why Gwaine thought you would be pleased that he had met some of the members of International Rescue."

Merlin sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"It's not only the people that I've been looking up, Arthur. You remember your sword?"

"You made me pull it out of a damn rock; I'm not going to forget it any time soon."

"I don't suppose you heard the last words that I said to Morgana, did you?" Arthur frowned at him, clearly trying to think back. Merlin wasn't sure if he had heard or not, Arthur had barely been alive at the time and losing strength every second. For him to have been paying attention to the conversation might have been pushing it too far, but to Merlin's surprise, Arthur softly nodded.

"You said something about it being forged in the breath of the dragon? That's why you could kill her. I didn't know what you were talking about, how you could have got a dragon to forge it, but I never got the chance to ask about it."

"It was forged in the breath of the dragon. It can kill things that no ordinary weapon can. It was forged for you, Arthur, only you could wield it."

"You killed Morgana with it."

"Don't remind me. After you had di… After you had gone, I knew that I had to make sure that no one else could find it, so I threw it in the lake." The look of disbelief that Arthur shot him made Merlin shift slightly in his seat. It was exactly the same look Arthur had always used to give him when he said something that the then-king had thought stupid. Of course, Arthur hadn't known at the time that it tended to be Merlin talking about something magical.

"I don't get what this has to do with International Rescue."

"I'm getting to that. The sword gave you the ability to protect your people."

"You think they are using it?"

"Not as such." Merlin found that he was biting his lip as he thought about how he was going to explain this. He had no proof that his theory was the slightest bit correct, but through following various news reports and keeping close tabs on anything new that came up in regards to the legends surrounding Arthur, he knew that the sword was no longer in its resting place.

"I think there is more to the magic of the sword than I realised. I don't think it just gives the ability to protect, I think it gives the urge to protect. They probably don't know what they've got, it might not even be with them anymore…"

"But you think that at least one member of International Rescue has been in contact with Excalibur and that is why they set up the organisation in the first place? The magic of the sword gave them the urge to protect the people of this land?"

"Not just the land, Arthur, the world."

"That's what I meant." Arthur's dismissive attitude at his incorrect terminology broke the hush that had been falling around their excited whispers. There had been a sense of awe, of wonder, building in the room, but the spell was broken as Arthur sat back. Merlin still couldn't stop his eyes from shining in excitement.

"I just want to talk to them, see if I can detect anything from the magic. What else would give them such a drive to risk everything in order to protect people? It's exactly the same as you and the knights used to do."

"But only I had the sword. The knights' desire to protect…"

"Came from you leading them. Don't you see, Arthur? The leader of them must have been the one influenced, and his desire to protect must have influenced those working with him. If this is true, the sword can still do good, even in today's world!"

"One thing I don't get, though." Arthur took a sip of his tea, one leg folding over the other as he gazed at Merlin. The man was flushed and his eyes were gleaming in excitement, and Arthur knew that this was something that he had clearly been wanting to tell him about for a long time.

"What?"

"How are you going to get close to them?"

Merlin's face fell, but he suddenly found himself studying Arthur closely.

"One thing I don't get," he echoed, looking as if he was trying to figure something out. Arthur raised his eyebrows expectantly, gesturing for Merlin to continue.

"I never told you Excalibur's name. How did you know?"

"Maybe you're not the only one who has been looking things up," Arthur muttered, flushing slightly. "But what the hell was with the one where you kept bursting into song and turning us into fish?"

"Arthur… Have you been watching Sword in the Stone again?"

Arthur's blush deepened as Merlin began to laugh, but the phone ringing again cut them off before it could go any further. At Merlin's glance, Arthur rolled his eyes but stood up to answer it. Merlin didn't need to ask who it was, he could tell by the way Arthur's shoulders stiffened that it was Morgana. The others had all had time to get used to the fact that she was on their side. Arthur was still adjusting.

He didn't say anything, but simply thrust the phone at Merlin.

"It's…."

"Morgana, I know."

"She's upset. Babbling something about that damn sword as well. What is it with you and swords? I could never get you to keep mine clean and now it's like you have an obsession with them."

Merlin shook his head, not believing that Arthur deserved an answer to that, but reached out and took the phone from him.

"Morgana? What is it, what's wrong?"

"I had a dream…"

"A dream? But… you can't, your magic…" Merlin found that he was sharing a startled look with Arthur as the man turned back around. Morgana shouldn't still be having the dreams, and judging by the way she simply broke down in sobs, Merlin knew that it was unnerving her as much as them.

"Okay, okay, take a deep breath. Tell me from the beginning, what was this dream about?"

-X-

"Right boys, that's all for today. Go and get cleaned up and get some rest before the next emergency is called in."

Virgil blearily peeled his eyes open, nudging Gordon. Scott still looked slightly alert, but his two younger siblings had dropped off to sleep during the debriefing. It hadn't helped that they had been going through more than one rescue, and Virgil was getting to the point where he no longer knew what had happened in which incident. Gordon opened his eyes to glare at his brother, then made a show of staying where he was.

Virgil sighed, but hauled himself off the sofa all the same. Scott reached out a hand and helped him up, looking as if he didn't trust that Virgil would stay standing unless he helped him. Stumbling towards the stairs, his brother on his heels, Virgil wearily trudged his way up them. Despite being utterly exhausted, he knew that he was still riding on the adrenaline rush that every rescue – no matter how big or small – gave him. There would be no sleep for him for a few hours; he just hoped that nothing else was called in whilst he began to unwind.

Judging by the fact that Scott made no comment when Virgil made his way to his brother's room rather than his own, the artist knew that he was clearly thinking the same thing. Flopping down on Scott's bed, he begrudgingly moved his feet when his brother batted at them before sleepily watching Scott take the chair.

"So…"

"Yeah."

Virgil lay back, looking at the ceiling for a long moment. "Ever wondered why we do this?"

"Virg…"

"I know why we started. But the way things are at the moment? We don't have anything left of our old lives anymore, it's like the end of the world."

"So what would you do? Let it happen, go down without a fight?"

"Course not." Grabbing hold of Scott's pillow, Virgil threw it at the man, showing that he would never stop. Whilst there were people out there to be saved, then that was precisely what Virgil was going to be doing.

"So what happened with that soldier guy? Gordon said that you seemed pretty unnerved by it?"

"Unnerved is the wrong word, he was just a funny one. Kept going on about his mates called Merlin and Arthur of all things."

"You never know. People call their kids stupid things these days.

"Why the hell did you look at me when you said that?"

"You're the only one in the room, who else am I going to look at?" Scott seemed to be leaning back on his chair, almost as if he was worried about what Virgil was about to do as his younger brother sat up. But before the artist could even support his own weight, their watches vibrated. Glancing down, Scott saw that it was John wanting to contact them both. Considering it was just them and not the rest of the family, he knew it was for nothing more than a chat. Leaning over, he flicked on the monitor of his computer, hit a few buttons and connected the line through there instead.

"Hey, John. What's up?"

"Me."

"That got old after the first thousand times, bro." Virgil finally sat up properly, scooting forward until he was lying on his stomach. Cupping his chin in his hand, he propped his head up as he stared at his brother. "You okay?"

Virgil felt that he had good reason to ask, for John looked remarkably close to simply bursting out laughing. As things had been so strained lately, Virgil found that he was slightly worried his brother was about to burst into hysterics. Sharing a worried look with Scott, Virgil decided to let the older man do the talking.

"Johnny? What's going on?"

"You know how I can pick up any call that so much as mentions us as a way of keeping an eye on security?"

"Yeah?"

"You would not believe the phone call that I've just overheard. It was coming from somewhere over in England, close to Wales, I think, if I can pinpoint it right. One of the guys was called Merlin."

Warning bells instantly went off in Virgil's mind and he jumped up, fully aware that Scott was watching him closely, a slight look of alarm on his face. Running a hand through his hair, Virgil stared at John.

"What did they say? What did they say about us?"

"Woah… clearly I'm missing something here…"

"Virgil, stop being dramatic and sit down." Scott reached out and grabbed the back of Virgil's shirt, pulling his brother down until he was once again on the bed. "Ignore him. Go ahead, John."

"Right… anyway, as I was saying. One guy was called Merlin, and from what I could make out, the woman was called Morgana. What do you reckon, think their parents knew each other when they were still expecting? Anyway, I only picked up the conversation once we had been mentioned. I thought I must have caught the end of that conversation and tuned into their new one, because they spent the whole time going on and on about a sword."

"Excalibur?" Scott guessed. He might not be as brushed up on his history as his brother, but he still knew how to put his legends together. John nodded, but Virgil leant forward again.

"What do you mean; you thought you have picked up the end of the conversation."

"Well, that's the funny thing. The way they were talking about it was like they thought that it was real. And that we had it."

"What?" Scott was unable to keep the laughter out of his voice as he shared amused looks with both of his younger brothers. John nodded.

"Yep. Apparently that is why we do what we do, because we are in the possession of some magical sword. How we would have a sword and not know about it, I don't know…"

"Dad's got a few display ones."

"Come on, Virg, he got them from Japan or something. Not from England and certainly not a sword that doesn't exist."

"There may have never been any proof that it existed, but there isn't any evidence that it didn't either."

"So you think Arthur and his knights existed as well? That some guy in a wizard's gown walked around calling himself Merlin and growing a long beard?"

"That's not what I said, John, and you full well know it. Besides, I thought you would be on my side."

"If it has evidence to back it up, then I'm a firm believer. Pure legend on the other hand? Even you have to admit that is a bit of a stretch, Virgil."

"I'm with John on this one, Virg, there is no proof."

Virgil huffed, but knew that his brothers had a point. Just because he had found it a somewhat interesting legend to read up on at school didn't mean that he was prepared to fight his brothers on it now.

"Was that all you were going to tell us?"

"Nope." John leaned forward, his eyes sparkling in a way that neither of his brothers had seen for years.

"Apparently, we have the sword, right? But get this… this woman – who, by the way, is practically sobbing hysterically by this point – thinks that someone is going to steal it. It can only be used by the correct person, you know." John added the last part in a deadly serious voice as Scott gave into his amusement and let a shout of laughter escape him. By the time Virgil looked up, both of his brothers were chuckling. He knew that John had only told them because he, too, needed a break from the amount of rescues they were undertaking.

"You could try and find the amusing side in it, Virg." Scott's elbow nudged his brother in the ribs and Virgil rolled his eyes, smiling all the same.

"I am. But I just…"

"Please don't tell me you are thinking of that guy again? You said yourself that he seemed mad."

"Guy? What guy?"

"Virgil here got the joy of escorting someone home today. You know the group of soldiers stuck on the cliff?" Waiting for John's nod, Scott smirked. "One of them was apparently talking about his friends. You ready for this? Arthur and Merlin."

"No way."

"Is anyone else seeing why I'm not quite finding this as funny as you two? That's twice today that name has come up – this guy seemed really interested in us, and now someone with the same name pops up in a call, talking about us."

"Virg, half the planet talk about us."

Virgil glanced at Scott and suddenly shook his head, smiling. He was thinking into this way too much. So maybe this guy did know the people that John had overheard. The chances were that these weren't even their real names and they were taking a game or something way too seriously. It was certainly none of their business and nothing for him to be worrying about.

"You idiot, Virg," Scott muttered fondly, clearly seeing his brother's thoughts playing out across his face. "You didn't really start thinking into it, did you?"

"Course not."

"Liar."

Virgil decided that there was only one thing he could do in order to respond to John's comment. He poked his tongue out, earning himself another shout of laughter as he did so.

"What do you think Gordon would do if he had overheard this?"

"Probably declare his undying love for the Lady of the Lake and try and move in with her?"

"And Alan?"

"Attempt to be a knight and end up hurting himself."

As the conversation drifted away from what had happened that day and onto what they would do if they could go back in time, Virgil forced himself to ignore the small, niggling doubt in his mind that there was something more to this than they were realising. They had rescues to run and people to save, so why was he even sparing a second thought on something that probably wasn't even real.

After all, Arthur and his knights were nothing more than a legend.

Weren't they?