Shawn smiled. "Now this should be interesting. Magic? AWESOME!"
"You know dat's right!" Gus said with a grin, flicking his nose with his thumb in a manner he obviously thought to be cool.
Suddenly, the man in front of them whirled around. "SPENCER! What are you doing here?!"
"Your job, Lassie," Shawn replied nonchalantly, "As always."
"You-you! You can't be here! You were never hired as consultants on this case!" Lassiter spat.
"Whaaaat?" Shawn said innocently, "There was a case here? Dude, I was simply following a vision that told us to get some coffee!"
Gus nodded. "Don't just assume we're crashing this case!"
Shawn snorted. "Ridiculous."
"Hey Jules!" Shawn greeted his girlfriend as she approached them through the crowd.
"Shawn!" she cried, "It's great that you're here! Carlton was just telling me he had no clue how to start investigating with such nonsense!"
"O'Hara! Whose side are you on?!" Lassie whined.
"Seriously Carlton?" Juliet sighed, "Let them in on this case."
"Fine." He spat, "We have more important things to do anyways!"
Shawn and Gus did a fist bump. "Whaaat!" Gus cried, "We got a case!"
They began doing a happy dance.
"Stop it!" Lassiter cried, "That's so unprofessional! You guys!"
Buzz walked up. "Umm… Lassiter, Penny's ready to give a statement…"
Lassiter glared back at Shawn and Gus. "Just stay out of the way," he growled and stormed off with Juliet hurrying off behind him.
Shawn knew that approaching Penny at the moment for questioning was out of the question, so he and Gus set off in search of other sources for his "psychic" information. He scanned the coffee shop with his eyes, but this wasn't the scene of the crime, so it was hard to find any clues, except… there was a young man in his twenties sitting awkwardly in the corner, looking at his hands and trembling. He looked… different. It was instantly recognizable.
He had dark brown hair, cobalt eyes that appeared stormy with apprehension, and oversized ears that stuck out like an elf's. He wore a blue tunic, (What? Who even wears those these days?!) brown pants, a brown jacket made of some leathery material and a red neckerchief.
Shawn was immediately interested, and he knew that there had to be a connection to the case, especially when he saw the young man send Penny several frantic looks.
"Hey," Shawn said, "Gus," and waved him over to talk to the man.
When the two approached him, he jumped with alarm like a startled rabbit.
Gus shot Shawn a look.
"Hello, I am Shawn Spencer and this is my partner, Hocus Pocus." Shawn began.
Gus wiggled his fingers in a manner he believed to look "magic-y."
The man forced a weak smile, but it was obvious that he didn't get it. "I'm Merlin," he said in an adorable accent which was British with a hint of Irish. He extended a hand politely.
Shawn and Gus cracked up. "Oh," Gus laughed, "I get it! Like Merlin the sorcerer! Good one!"
"Merlin" looked absolutely horrified and took a defensive step backwards.
Shawn, not to be discouraged, extended a fist to give "Merlin" a fist bump and "Merlin" cringed, bracing himself as if afraid of being stricken.
Shawn dropped his hand and gave him a puzzled look. "You're a weird dude."
"Merlin" gave Penny, who was across the room, a desperate and terrified look, seemingly unsure of what to do.
Gus gave him an odd look and bent over to whisper in Shawn's ear. "Do you think he's alright in the head?"
Shawn shrugged and whispered back, "He's the only lead I've found."
Shaking himself off, Shawn turned to "Merlin" again. "So, 'Merlin', how are you involved in this case here?"
"I… uh…" "Merlin" blushed, "You guys are… police, right?"
Gus face-palmed.
"Yes," Shawn replied, undeterred, "I am the head psychic for the SBPD-"
"Merlin" leapt up and stared at him in alarm, eyes wide. "How can you trust a secret like that with a stranger like me?! You really need to be more careful or you'll end up on the chopping block! You-"
Shawn jumped back, hands thrown up in surrender. "Whoa, dude! What secret, and what do you mean 'chopping block?'"
"Merlin" looked back and forth quickly and walked off to the area back around the corner by the restrooms, beckoning Shawn over.
Shawn shrugged at Gus. "You keep investigating the scene, I'll talk to him."
Gus nodded, but replied seriously, "Be careful, Shawn, that guy's crazy or something!"
Shawn nodded back. "I've got this." Then, he walked over to "Merlin."
"Okay, what's up?" Shawn asked.
"Merlin" smiled a strained little smile. "It's okay, Shawn. You got lucky. You slipped up, yes, but I won't tell anyone. I promise, your secret's safe with me. Just be more careful."
"What secret?!" Shawn cried in exasperation.
"Merlin" sighed. "It's okay; you don't have to hide your powers from me! I understand- look!"
"Merlin" extended a hand towards Shawn seriously.
"What are you d-" Shawn began to ask, and then he froze. "OH MY GOD!"
"Merlin's" eyes had turned from cobalt to a liquid gold, and now a small flame sat flickering in his palm.
"You-You…" Shawn whispered, and then in amazement, "You used magic! How did you DO that?!"
"Merlin" frowned, "You should know, you just told me you use it yourself!"
Suddenly, Shawn understood, and quickly made to cover up his story. "I said I was psychic not magic!"
"Still," "Merlin" said softly, "The two are closely linked and dangerous to have."
Shawn stared at "Merlin's" hand, still holding the flame. He suddenly felt very ridiculous, trying to pass off his hyper-observant talents as psychic powers while this guy had actual power… and power that made fire! How cool was that?! But still, cool as it was, it was also suspicious…
"Who are you really?" Shawn asked darkly.
The younger man looked taken aback. "I told you, I'm Merlin."
Shawn's eyes grew wide, making the connection. "Wait a minute… You weren't kidding then? That's actually your name?!"
Merlin nodded, slowly. "Yes, of course…"
Shawn smiled with amazement. "Then- then… If you're actually Merlin, and you actually have magic…" He looked at him, "Dude, are you actually the Merlin or were your parents just trying to be really ironic?"
Merlin looked confused. "I don't quite understand what you mean by the Merlin, but I… I'm not exactly from your time so I suppose that might be possible…"
Shawn pumped his fist in the air. "YES! I just met the actual Merlin, and he doesn't even have a white beard!"
"Okay," Merlin said quickly, and nervously, "Question! How does everyone know my name and how do they know I'm a sorcerer and how do they know about Dragoon the Great?!"
Shawn frowned. "Dragoon the Great?"
Merlin sighed, "That's the name I use when I go undercover using an aging spell- you know, white bearded guy?"
Shawn laughed, "Merlin, everybody knows your name because you're that famous wizard guy from Arthurian legend! You-"
"WHAT?!" Merlin cried, "Arthurian legend? You mean as in legends about Arthur Pendragon?!"
Shawn frowned, "I don't know…King Arthur! You know, sword in the stone and all that…"
Merlin looked suddenly both really excited and truly terrified. "I put Arthur's sword, Excalibur in a stone…"
Shawn jumped up and down in excitement. "DUDE! You're him! I met somebody famous!" Shawn pulled out a piece of paper. "Autograph? Please?"
Merlin knocked the paper out of his hand. "Shawn, this is serious. And please quiet down. Neither one of us needs to be executed for using magic right now!"
Shawn looked puzzled. "Executed? Whatever for? We don't execute people for using magic!" Then, upon further thought. "Well… actually, not a lot of people have magic. And upon further thought, they might dissect you. But at least that's in the name of science, eh?"
Merlin face-palmed. "Shawn, this is a really big deal. I just arrived in your time and I have no clue what's going on! You have to help me-" His eyes filled with tears which he quickly wiped away with his sleeve. "I-I-I'm really scared. This was a bad idea, a really bad idea. The dragon was right-I'm a FAILURE!" Merlin gave up on wiping his eyes and just let the tears flow.
"Merlin…" Shawn said slowly, deciding that now was not the time to ask about said dragon, "I really would like to help you… Can you just give me some more information? I need to know what the situation is or I cannot help."
Merlin sighed. "You're a psychic; surely you already know some of it?"
Shawn frowned, and began searching for clues. He noticed Merlin's hands and where he had muscles. Well, if he was from medieval times… He put his hands to his head in psychic position. "You're a servant. You sometimes fight with a sword, but, pardon my saying so, you aren't very good."
Merlin looked surprised and nodded. "Yeah! That's right!"
Shawn thought for a moment, back to when Merlin had flinched when he'd tried to give him a fist bump. He clenched his eyes shut as if receiving a sign, "Someone bullies you and sometimes hits you… Perhaps your master?"
Merlin let out a little laugh, "Yeah, sort of…"
Then, thinking back to their earlier conversation, Shawn took a step back and moved his hand dramatically along the wall, then laid his hand across his forehead. "And that master is… I'm getting A… R… L, no T. Is it… Arthur?"
Merlin smiled, wiping away his tears. "He is my master. And an overbearing prat of a master too!"
Shawn snorted, opening his eyes. "That's all I've got. How did you get to this time, anyways? Reincarnation or something like in Avalon High?"
"Huh?" Merlin asked, confused again.
"Sorry," Shawn laughed, "I forgot, you guys don't have TV!"
At Merlin's even more confused expression, he muttered, "Just forget it."
Merlin shrugged it off. "Well, as for your question, I got here using a spell that takes you through time and space-"
Shawn gasped. "Awesome! Take me to see some dinosaurs- now!"
Merlin frowned. "Why does everyone want to see dinosaurs? If I had that much control over the spell, I'd go home. I only have it mastered well enough to travel to a random place not a specific one. I'm still learning, you know."
Shawn returned his frown. "Okay. Four questions. One: Who wouldn't want to see dinosaurs?! Two: Why did you leave home? Three: If your powers are supposed to be kind of amazing, how are you 'still learning?' And four: Dude, why are you learning magic in the first place if they'll execute you for using it?!"
Merlin sighed. "Okay. First of all, you wouldn't want to see dinosaurs either if you lived in a land where you're forced to talk to irritating dragons all the time. Second of all, I may have an incredible destiny, but that doesn't mean that I'm all knowledgeable, nor does it imply that I've reached my peak power. And as for learning magic in the first place? It wasn't exactly my choice. I was born with it."
Shawn nodded slowly. "Point taken. But you still haven't told me why you left your time."
Merlin shrugged sadly. "That's a really long story."
Shawn shrugged. "I've got time. It's nice to be able to keep a key witness away from Lassie for so long, at any rate."
"Who's Lassie?" Merlin asked.
Shawn shrugged. "Big shot head detective."
Merlin looked puzzled.
"Sorry," Shawn said, "Ummm… highest ranking knight in police?"
Merlin blushed. "Sorry, I'm still getting the hang of all this…"
Shawn shook his head. "I get it."
Merlin looked at him, "Why do you want to keep a witness away from him then, if he's the… head detective?"
Shawn shrugged, "He's Lassiter; it's kind of what I do."
Merlin looked briefly puzzled, but didn't ask. "Well, I can try to explain why I left, but honestly, it spans years. I was given this stupid destiny years ago that required me to protect Arthur so that he can become this great king and unite the land of Albion. I became his servant, although how is another story, and was immediately thrust into this existence of constantly fighting some creature or person with magic in order to save his life. Unfortunately, magic is illegal, so I couldn't tell him or he'd kill me. So, I just worked my butt off with no thanks from the dollophead for either the chores I did as a servant, or the life- saving I did as a sorcerer. And you weren't that far off with your vision about him bullying me either- he is always messing with me, and although it's all in fun, horseplay, he calls it, it really does hurt when he hits me or throws things at me or…"
"Sounds like a real jerk," Shawn snorted, "Is that why you left?"
Merlin sighed. "He's not actually that bad- he's my friend, and he's actually pretty loyal, with a good heart, he can just be so… arrogant. And such a prat! But, no, that's not entirely why I left."
"Why then?" Shawn asked.
Merlin shrugged. "Lots of reasons. There was a dragon constantly insulting me and telling me I was a failure, Gaius always had me doing something whenever I had free-time off…" then the sorcerer averted his eyes. "Okay, fine. I wasn't that upset by all that. The truth is… the dragon was right. I am a failure and it's my fault my mother is dead.I guess I just wanted to escape all that."
Shawn was silent. Then, finally, "If you don't mind my asking, how did she die?"
Merlin didn't look at him. "Murdered."
Shawn winced. "But not by you, right?"
Merlin looked alarmed. "Why would you even suggest that?!"
"Well, you said it was your fault!" Shawn cried, secretly relieved. He liked this guy and was glad he wasn't a killer.
"It was my enemy, Morgana, and the baby dragon Aithusa." Merlin said quietly.
"Then how is that your fault?" Shawn asked.
"I'm a dragonlord," Merlin whispered, "I could've stopped them… And Arthur was trying to tell me we needed to go to Ealdor, I just wouldn't listen and…" He started to cry again.
Shawn sighed. This dude cried way too often! "What is a dragonlord and what is an Ealdor?"
"Ealdor is the village I grew up in," Merlin sniffed, "and a dragonlord is someone with a special kinship to dragons, who can order them around if he speaks in their language."
Shawn looked surprised. "Whoa, you're a sorcerer and a dragonlord? That's so-!" Then, noticing his expression, he coughed. "That must be hard. I, uh, assume that's illegal too?"
Merlin nodded.
Shawn took a deep breath. "Okay, well, that doesn't sound like it's 'your fault,' it sounds like you take way too much responsibility upon yourself. You can't be everywhere!"
Merlin smiled slightly, "Thanks."
Shawn shrugged. "But Merlin, uh, just so you know, my psychicness is NOT illegal, in fact, I try to make it really obvious, okay?"
Merlin looked at him. "Huh? Why would you-"
Shawn shook his head. "Never mind. Just… Please, don't use magic, or talk to dragons here. It's not illegal, but it'll scare people, and people don't react well when scared."
Merlin nodded. "No difference then but-"
"SPENCER!" came a cry, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY WITNESS?!"
Shawn winked. "There's Lassie. Compose yourself, or he'll accuse you of attempted murder and shoot you!"
Merlin looked alarmed and leapt to his feet. "What?! I didn't even see any bows and arrows-"
Shawn face-palmed. "Okay, I was kidding! And nowadays there's this thing that shoots and kills people called a gun-"
Lassiter walked over and Shawn shut up, not wanting to arouse suspicion of his new friend.
"Head detective Carlton Lassiter," he told Merlin, who looked very worried about being discovered, "SBPD."
"I'm Merlin," Merlin said quietly.
Lassiter frowned. "Now is not the time for jokes young man. I carry a gun, and I will use it if you won't answer straight-"
Merlin looked scared. "But I-"
"My senses are detecting he's dead serious Lassie," Shawn interrupted, "And the spirits say to shut up and leave him alone."
Lassiter frowned. "I am busy interrogating a witness Spencer," he growled, "so if you wouldn't mind taking your senses and spirits elsewhere…"
Shawn crossed his arms and smirked. "I do mind. You hired me on behalf of the department, remember? I'm here on a case!" He was up to his old rivalry with Lassie again, but it was more than that this time. Shawn hated to admit it, but a wizard lost in time was a… (Dare he say serious?) problem. He was worried about poor Merlin, and didn't want to leave him lost, petrified, and confused with Lassiter, who was easily the scariest person on the force for a magic using time-traveler to face. Shawn could just see Merlin breaking down under the pressure of Lassie's questioning. Lassiter, of course, would see that as a sign of guilt and poor Merlin would be even more trapped than before: In jail. Shawn could not let that happen to his new friend. As immature as he was, Shawn still had a heart, after all.
Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't interfere, Spencer, this is my investigation!"
"I guess we're doomed then," Shawn snorted.
Gus approached them. "How'd it go?" he mouthed, nodding towards Merlin.
Shawn gave him a thumbs-up.
Gus looked relieved. "I didn't find anything!" he whispered, "I mean, this isn't even the crime scene.
"Well, I certainly found something." Shawn assured him, "And that'll be next. That guy's still unconscious, right?"
Gus looked surprised. "You haven't heard? He got away. Slipped by the cops like a snake."
Shawn frowned thoughtfully, and then turned to observe Lassie's interrogation of Merlin.
"Penelope Lee says that you were the one who rescued her?" Lassie asked.
"Yeah, I guess I was," Merlin said quietly, a guarded expression on his face.
Shawn was stricken by how reserved he was, how careful when he answered any question, no matter how simple. He realized how painful it must have been for Merlin to be forced into constant hiding, constant lies. Shawn had to cover up only a single lie about himself, but Merlin effectively had to remove a tremendous chunk of who he was and bury it so deeply inside that it could never be found. He had to live his whole life in constant fear of being discovered and slaughtered, like a rabbit stalked by a determined fox. It disturbed Shawn. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.
Lassiter nodded but then, looking uncomfortable and more than a little skeptical, he asked the question all three were dreading: "How?"
Merlin's eyes grew wide, showing Shawn that he clearly lacked a cover story. He fiddled uncomfortably with his neckerchief and opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. "The tavern?" he cried desperately.
"What?!" Lassiter, Shawn, and Gus all asked together.
Shawn face-palmed in exasperation. Obviously, Merlin had not been thinking clearly enough in his panic to find a plausible cover and had just grabbed some random excuse.
Then, Shawn looked up. "He used magic Lassiter. Didn't you hear the witness?"
Merlin looked at him in horror at his betrayal, wide-eyed and hands held palms up at his sides preparing to defend himself with his powers.
Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Spencer, there is no such thing as magic! It's more unlikely than psychics!"
Merlin exhaled, but glared at Shawn, who shrugged innocently. He'd known what Lassiter would do. He was in no way wrong.
"Okay, fine," Shawn said slowly, "It only looked like magic, because Merlin has super awesome ninja skills! Like me when I do karate!"
"That's Wu-Shoo Shawn," Gus told him, "And if he was anything like you they'd both be dead!"
"You're just jealous," Shawn chuckled, "Because you don't have my mad skills!"
Gus rolled his eyes. "You took three lessons, Shawn!"
Merlin looked confused, but faintly amused.
"Shawn's right," he interrupted, "It looked like I used magic, but I really just pushed the guy," he paused, "Weird angle and all… After all, Detective Lassiter-"
"Lassie," Shawn corrected him with a smirk.
"NO." Lassie said firmly. "You should be glad that your friend here is so much more polite. He could teach you some manners!"
Merlin and Shawn both snorted at that ridiculous notion. Shawn could not imagine anyone getting a message like that across to him.
Lassiter shook his head. "Never mind. Enough from you, Spencer. Now, Mr.… Merlin, what is your last name?"
Merlin looked at Shawn slowly and said nothing, stuck.
Clearly, Merlin's status was not high enough where he came from to have a last name. But he had to have one here.
"Yes, what is it Merlin?" Shawn asked loudly to tip him off, "Because it'd be weird if you didn't have one…"
Merlin jumped. "I… uh… Emrys?" He looked at Shawn for approval, who shrugged. "Um, yes. My name is Merlin Emrys." He smiled a nervous little smile.
"Okaaaay then." Lassie replied, confused by the amount of time it'd taken him to answer. He turned to Shawn. "Is this guy sane?" he whispered.
Shawn gave him an overly offended gasp. "Of course! He's just not from here. He is having some difficulties with the language barrier."
"Oh really?" Lassiter asked suspiciously, "Where's he from?"
Shawn blurted out the first place that came to mind. "England! Um, yup. He's from England. Right Merlin?"
"Er… right." Merlin replied quickly.
Gus frowned at them. "But people from England speak English, Shawn!"
Shawn swore mentally. Whose side was Gus on, anyways?
"Yes…" he said slowly, "But the accents, guys, the accents! He can't understand your thick American accents."
Gus and Lassie gave Merlin a funny look.
"Yes," Merlin commented defensively, "They're very confusing."
"I didn't know there were problems with that," Lassie mumbled. "I should apologize, Emrys."
Merlin nodded. "Thank you. It can be so hard to be understood in this place!"
"Okay, moving on." Lassie began, "Can you give me a description of the criminal?"
Merlin thought for a minute. "Tall, pale, dark hair, dark clothing. Brown eyes. "
At least that wasn't utterly useless. Shawn thought.
"Well, I think that'll be about all, Emrys. I see no reason to suspect you, so unless you want to help out on the case with your mad ninja skills…" Lassie snorted at his own wit.
But that gave Shawn an idea. "Why don't you help, Merlin? You could be useful solving the case."
Lassiter turned seriously towards him. "That was a joke, Spencer," he warned.
"Oh, Lassie," Shawn laughed, putting his arm around the taller man's shoulder, who quickly shrugged it off, "I don't think it was."
"Yes," Lassiter replied in a very annoyed voice, "It was, actually."
"Hey, Merlin, joke or not, he technically invited you to be a consultant, so, if you want to help us protect the streets of Santa Barbara…" Shawn smirked at Lassiter's infuriated expression.
"Absolutely not." Lassiter growled.
"I'd have to agree. Shawn, we work alone," Gus reminded him.
"And this is different." Shawn replied simply, "We're just letting the English fellow in on this one case Gus, once, and then it's just you, me, and all the pineapple and donuts we can eat for the rest of eternity. What do you say?" He held out a fist for a fist bump.
Gus stared at it. "I don't know Shawn…"
"Gus!" Shawn shouted, "Don't be a one-in a-billion Halloween lobster!" He turned to the young man awkwardly standing and watching them. "Merlin, you're hired!"
Merlin looked surprised. "I'm not quite sure I understand what I'm being hired for, Shawn…"
Shawn grinned and moved his fist over to be in front of Merlin with an immature "zoom" sound-effect before remembering that Merlin came from a time before fist bumps and trying to casually drop his fist back to his side. "Only a partnership on a case with the best detective agency in the world!" he enthused. "You're going to help us put that criminal behind bars!"
Merlin smiled. "Well, Shawn, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's rooting out criminals. Count me in! He'll be in the dungeons before you know it!"
Lassiter rolled his eyes and laughed sarcastically, "Dungeons? Really? I can see why you'd want to work with him Spencer. His maturity and wit about matches your own!"
Shawn laughed at Merlin's bewildered expression. What did I say? He seemed to wonder, turning a little bit pink.
"Tell you later," Shawn mouthed to the mortified young warlock.
Juliet ran up to them. "Carlton, I think we're about done here, let's return to the department."
He nodded, "All right, time for some research. Let's go!"
Shawn gasped, suddenly realizing a gaping hole in his clever plan to cover up Merlin's magic. "Uh… WAIT! Lassie, Jules! Stop!"
The two turned to him, "Yes Shawn?" Juliet asked.
He looked up at them and put his hands to his head in classic psychic position. "I'm sensing that looking Merlin up will be useless… I'm seeing, I'm seeing…. A terrible accident that destroyed his records…"
"What kind of accident?" Gus asked suspiciously.
Shawn glared at him, annoyed to lose the dramatic effect he'd worked so hard at perfecting for his visions. "I don't know, Gus, that's all I saw."
Gus continued giving him a suspicious look. "Right…"
Merlin looked away, embarrassed to be causing so much trouble.
Lassie looked at Jules, who shrugged. "Okay, we'll just be going now."
"Kay! Bye!" Shawn yelled after them, "See ya later Jules!"
Juliet waved at him and Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Come on, O'Hara."
When they were gone, Merlin looked up at Shawn. "What now?"
"Now…" Shawn replied, pausing for dramatic effect, "We investigate! To the Blueberry!"
Merlin looked puzzled. "We're investigating… fruit?"
Gus snorted, "The Blueberry is my car."
Merlin opened his mouth to ask, no doubt, what a car was, but Shawn shook his head. "Not now," he mouthed, "Just go with it."
Merlin nodded.
"Ready. Set. Wait for iiiiiiiiiit….. GO!" Shawn and Gus ran out of the coffee shop in a most undignified manner, racing each-other to the blue echo in the parking lot. Merlin stumbled along behind, about as graceful as a water buffalo. Shawn shook his head. How could someone with such powerful magic trip so much? Shawn pulled ahead by a nose and was the first to tap the blueberry.
"YES! VICTORY IS MINE!" he cackled as Merlin walked up to the car and stood awkwardly next to it, uncertain of what to do. Gus gave Merlin a funny look.
"Aren't you going to get in?" he asked.
Shawn perked up immediately. "I call shotgun!"
Merlin just looked more confused than ever.
Shawn made an obvious point of getting into the front seat first. "Let's go guys!"
Gus got in next, followed by Merlin who sat in the back, looking relieved to have figured the thing out without serious difficulty.
Gus nodded. "To the crime scene!"
