PAIRING: Merlin/Arthur from the Television Series: Merlin.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the TV Series. I am not making any money. This is for entertainment only. This did not happen. This story is slash fan-fiction. Slash means that the main characters are Gay. If you don't like this sort of story, don't read.
SUMMARY: Rating MA. Angst/Humor Romance/Danger Merlin is body swapped to a future Merlin from a different world. Can he get back to Camelot or will Future Prince Merlin from another Timeline drive Arthur mad? Will Merlin be able to figure out how a toaster works?
RATING: MA
AUTHOR: Rufferto9 (rufferto9 )

Reviews greatly appreciated! ;) I'm so new to this fandom! Ack. This thing took on a life of its own. I'm not sure 15 chapters will be enough to finish the story. We'll see. Depends on how much I can write for each chapter!

CHAPTER 11 of 15

It was some time before Lancelot managed to convince Arthur to stop. Lancelot had forced him to for Prince Merlin's sake and the sake of their own wounds. Arthur was hell-bent on getting to that cave. Seeing Merlin and not being able to touch him was a kind of pain that seared in his brain like someone had drawn blood from a wound that would seep blood until the end of time. He cared only for moving forward until Lancelot had finally pulled him out of it and berated him until he relented.

Merlin stirred and groaned. His body ached and his head pounded.

"He's waking up." Lancelot said softly. "Try to be nice."

"Hey." Arthur offered Merlin a drink.

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Merlin rubbed his throat. "What happened?" He drank thirstily and looked between Lancelot and Arthur. His hands shook slightly. "It felt like my body was ripping apart."

"I think, Merlin. That was the result of magic you don't have any control over." Lancelot explained softly. "It was running wild through your body. Just take it easy for a little bit."

Merlin took a few deep breaths and calmed his nerves down. He'd acted like a complete girl and been a coward during the whole fight because he couldn't get his magic to work. Then the stones and he remembered Arthur and the other Merlin in his real body, and that kiss. He forced himself to look at Arthur carefully. Arthur looked terrible, his eyes were dark and stormy and his jaw line was set grimly. Even he could tell that Arthur's emotions were barely in check and that just about anything could set him off. He glanced at Lancelot who gave him a kind look.

He realized that he was going to have to make a decision then and there. He had to take the situation seriously if he was going to get himself out of this. No more games. He'd seen real pain and anguish and it had hurt. He'd never get anyone to look at him the way Prince Arthur had looked at the other Merlin. No matter how powerful wealthy or good-looking he was. He would never have a love like this. It was a love he didn't know that he'd ever be able to understand and a love he'd never have. He knew finally that he had no right to try and seduce this Prince or to hurt him. Something crawled inside him and he knew it would be the worst mistake of his life if he kept trying. He was jealous, and it hurt and he wanted Arthur for himself but he knew he couldn't continue down that path but why should he be left in the cold?

It registered in Merlin's brain finally that he had seen another Arthur on the other side. And Lance, Lance was there. Lance who he hadn't seen in five years! How was another Arthur there? Arthur Pendragon... His brain clicked finally. "Bloody hell!" Merlin swore under his breath. "My step father has a son, Arthur, older than me. How could I have forgotten? He died, or went missing or something. Was that him? He looks just like you!" He glared at Arthur suddenly as his equilibrium was restored.

"He's fine." Arthur snorted. It had not missed his notice that another him was there with Merlin. It was unsettling to say the least and part of the reason why he was having difficulty keeping the emotion in check. What was going on there? He would kill anyone who touched Merlin. Merlin was his! The fact that it was himself didn't matter. The other him better not try anything. If he was himself it would be hard not to. "Oh my god..." Arthur looked very much like he wanted to punch something just then.

Lancelot watched Arthur carefully. He couldn't imagine what the other was going through. He also had his own odd sensation seeing a future version of himself staring back at him. "Quit it, both of you!" He ordered. Someone had to ensure that they both didn't drive themselves crazy thinking about what was going on elsewhere they had no control over.

"Going crazy about it isn't helping anyone and it certainly isn't helping resolve this." Lancelot glared at them both. "We have to rest a little before we continue. Merlin..."

"Prince Merlin." Merlin reminded him sulkily.

Lancelot sighed, "Prince Merlin. I suggest you practice a little, practice your magic, I mean. Arthur, you need to calm down."

Merlin shook his head, "That's no use." He was honestly afraid of the magic inside him. "How about you both let me do something useful instead of that?" He looked between them and gestured towards the various wounds they had received in the recent battle. "You guys are hurt worse than me and you need to be at your peak if what Gaius said about the monster in the cave is true." He explained as he looked between the both of them. Their wounds were bound but still bleeding. "Arthur, are you alright enough to let me take care of you? You both have wounds that really should be cleaned and stitched before we carry on." He was surprised at himself when he realized he meant emotionally and not physically.

Lancelot and Arthur looked at each other and had to admit Merlin was right. So they allowed him to tend their wounds and he was actually good at it.

"I was going to be a doctor but ... things happened." Merlin shrugged as he finally finished the last stitch on Arthur. "I dropped out of that program." He didn't have any scissors so he leant forward and just cut the chord with his teeth. "There." He helped Arthur get his armor back on wordlessly and went to work on Lancelot.

"Thank you." Arthur said grudgingly. He'd calmed down a bit and was starting to reign in his emotions.

Once he was done with Lancelot the Knight smiled at him. "You need to practice your magic. Just try a bit." He suggested.

"I have a splitting headache." Merlin shook his head. "I think I've had a headache since the first time it happened. The only time it when away was when Arthur gave me a massage, but that's not happening tonight." He seemed pretty firm about that. Arthur gave him a questioning look and he just shrugged. "You're a mess of emotions, Mate, they are spilling out your ears and kind of just creating a big pool of mush for everyone to see. It's really kind of pathetic. Cute but Pathetic. Honestly, helping me isn't going to help you at all. Maybe between now and the cave we'll run into some more mercenaries and you can let off more steam."

"I think you're wrong." Lancelot interjected. "Touching Merlin always calmed him down before."

"I think in this case I just make him mad." Merlin half grinned. He glanced over at Arthur and fought to contain a fond expression. He'd actually grown to /like/ the man.

"I'm right HERE." Arthur glared at both of them.

In any case, they did not end up being within touching distance of each other for the few hours they set aside to rest. Merlin had dipped his neckerchief in cool water and used that to cool down his head. They were ready to move again after a few hours of rest.

"How's your head?" Arthur asked him softly as they walked. His temper was improved and emotions now firmly in check. The break had done them all good.

"I'll be fine. I used to get migraines a lot in the future." Merlin forced himself to smile. He didn't want Arthur to worry about him. "Let's just save our breath. Keep moving."

So they did. It was a long, grueling walk the rest of the day and the weather was hot. Merlin's feet hurt and his head was killing him. He didn't want to be nice anymore. He wanted his beautiful comfortable bed and some ice. Oh, god what wouldn't he give for ice. It hurt so much.

And just like that a cool breeze wafted through the air and the river began to chill.

"Ice..." Merlin stared as he watched the water of the river start to swirl and mold up and up. Lancelot and Arthur jumped out of the water to the shoreline while Merlin remained where he was.

The river had been a constant up until this point, flowing down from the hills and providing a convenient way to mask their trail. The water shifted and swirled and began to rise from the river. Bewitching lights twinkled in the droplets as they danced about in front of the astonished men. It was magic at its most beautiful and terrible. The fish in the river sputtered and flopped helplessly in leftover pools while the river formed its Castle of Ice. Great spirals created towers and buildings and twisted around and around until the city came to life...and it didn't stop there.

amelot, as shaped by the river, a sculpture pulled from the very earth itself. The water continued to twist and thrive and it wasn't just buildings now. There were people. People so absolutely perfectly sculpted they looked almost alive.

Arthur drew his sword. Lancelot stilled him.

Camelot was a happy place, but not for long. Merlin cried out in terror as water formed into great magical creatures all set to charge upon the city lead by an evil woman Arthur knew all too well. Nimue, , the woman who had killed his mother. A woman Merlin seemed to know and stare at, horrified. "You?"

Each face of each ice figure had so much detail. Gwen, Morgana, Leon, even Uther. All people Prince Merlin wasn't familiar with.

And yet he couldn't stop it, it kept forming, sucking all the water out of the river and into the sparkling, eerie sculpture. The magical creatures rushed the castle in a furious battle.

"Nimue." Arthur gasped.

At the sound of her name, the ice began to burst into little cracks and flakes and finally... the whole ice sculpture shattered and bits of ice fell upon Merlin's head and into his clothing. The water rushed back into the river and bowled him over onto his rump.

Merlin wiped his forehead with a trembling hand and met Arthur's horrified gaze. "You know Nim?"

Up ahead they heard the screech of a creature. The cave was close and whatever was within had felt the charge and release of magical energy.

"How do you know Nimue?" Arthur put his sword at Merlin's neck. "Are you in league with her!? This is all a trick!"

Lancelot immediately got between Arthur and Merlin and shoved the sword away. "Arthur! Settle down."

"Certainly not, I broke up with her a long time ago. She was a pushy bitch." Merlin picked himself up and glared at Arthur sharply. "Hot, great in bed ... but a pushy bitch, she has large..." He made a gesture with his hands and grinned at the memory.

"You're not helping." Lancelot shot back at him.

Fury surged once again through every fiber of Arthur's being. Nimue was planning to attack Camelot! The Ice was showing a great host of creatures amassing in the forest, waiting. That was this was all about! She had created this whole thing to distract him and now he was caught up in it and the cave was so close. He had to see it through. This was his only chance to get Merlin back but if he did he would cost him valuable time. Camelot needed to be warned and prepared. She had put him in the awful position of choosing between Merlin and Camelot.

"Arthur." Lancelot said firmly. "You need to get Merlin. I'll ride for Camelot."

"My father won't listen to you."

"I'll take that chance."

They both gripped each others' arms and nodded.

Lancelot smiled at Prince Merlin who still looked dazed by the whole thing. "Remember what I said." He laid a hand on the other's shoulder. "Good luck."

"And you." Merlin found himself saying, and meaning it. He hugged Lancelot just then because... well who knew if he was ever going to get the chance again?

As Lancelot started to run, Arthur grabbed him by his shirt collar and roughly pushed him forward.

"Move." Arthur said abruptly.

"Get off me!" So they were back to that now, Merlin sighed. What had he ever seen in that guy? He wondered petulantly as they started towards the mouth of the cave. He glanced back over his shoulder more than once at the furious Prince.

Nimue growled in frustration. She had a tremor under the earth that no one without magic would have been able to feel. Something had happened. She picked up her cellphone to dial Mordred.

"Find out where Merlin is. He should be staying at Albion but I don't think he's there." Nimue told him. "My crystal isn't showing them anymore. They are shrouded from me."

"Leave it to me." Mordred told her shortly. "I'll hack into their security footage." He didn't like conversations with people, people were jerks. He'd be happy if he was the only person left in the world, really.

"I knew I could count on you, dear." NImue smiled in a way that made his skin crawl.

He didn't like working with her but HIMSELF had told him to and he trusted himself after all. He grunted at Nimue which was somewhat noncommittal but she took that as a good sign. When she finally hung up he fired up his laptop and hooked up a couple of other things to it. His apartment was just as messy as it was before.

Hacking, as it happens, isn't instant no matter what anyone tells you. It's a long, difficult process and not exciting unless you're a programmer. He read a book while he waited for the program to cycle through the servers to a vulnerable point. Once it did, and he was countered he threw a couple of other programs in to fight a counter-measure and then sent in his final attack.

It was a long process, wading through security footage and it was around two in the morning when it was finally done. Now he had to wade through the security footage for the past 48 hours. Just needed to find the moments he needed another long and annoying process.

An hour later he finally had it. Merlin and Arthur down the elevator just before dinner the following evening. The security camera on the street caught them going over to a van. He had to zoom in to get the license plate number. It was one of those with a built in gps that was handy. Now he would have to hack somewhere else to locate the owner and ping the GPS.

More time passed and it was dawn when he finally located the owner and found they were in Oxford. He texted the information to Nimue and she smirked when she received it.

"Well Done." Nimue texted Mordred back gleefully. "That will get you a bonus."

He checked his account and grinned as he popped open another can of spagettios, one step closer to his goal. He opened a line of communication to HIMSELF who smiled back but that was all. Mordred just laid back and stared at the ceiling. Eventually, he slept.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked Merlin gently after they had all checked in to a hotel suite next to Oxford. Lance was talking to Gaius and they had a moment alone together. He'd been silent ever since they saw their other selves and a plan was put together to have them stay at Oxford.

Gwen had decided she would tell their parents that Arthur had uncovered something of the past five years in Oxford and they needed to check it out. They didn't want paparazzi so it was best if they were there anonymously. Somehow she'd convinced them that it was best to not have anyone know where they were. She itched to send a security team but Lance had talked her out of it given that they didn't want Nimue to know where they were.

"No." Merlin shook his head miserably. He was most certainly NOT alright. He was the farthest thing from alright that he could ever be. It was a tiny bit ok, though, because he wasn't alone. "I feel sick."

Arthur put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm here if you need me." Merlin turned and buried his face in Arthur's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around him and held him there. "It's ok." He said softly. "Just let it out." He let Merlin cling to him and sniffle again for a few more minutes and soothed him by stroking his hair gently.

Lance and Gaius had wisely stepped out of the room into the main area and closed the door to give them privacy. They were having their own discussion.

"It's not fair to you." Merlin whispered softly after a while. "I know it must hurt you and it would hurt him if he knew you were holding me like this."

"Somehow I don't think he'd want me to let you be a pile of emotion on the floor." Arthur said gently. "Don't worry about me, Merlin." He was gentle but firm. "All that matters is getting you back. Prince Arthur needs you. You know that, right?"

"I know." Merlin looked up. "But you need me too."

"Merlin," Arthur laughed humorlessly, "I said don't worry about me. Let's just focus on getting your magic up to par so that we can handle whatever is thrown at us when the time comes. You need to be ready and you need to be clear-headed." There was something in his eyes that told Merlin not to press further about what he did or did not need. He brushed at the younger man's dark locks.

"Little things... Just try and concentrate on moving water or something." Arthur suggested as he unwound himself from Merlin. The others were about to come in, after all. "Try this cup."

"Arthur is quite correct." Gaius approved. "Start small, work your way up."

Merlin smiled around and forced a brave expression. He took courage from Arthur's smile, Gaius' approval and Lance's presence and began to concentrate. They were right, he needed to control the magic here.

Lance hung out by the door, keeping watch and saying nothing.

Arthur's smile was plastered upon his lips but his emotions were anything but calm. He could feel Gaius' eyes on his back even when the older man was supposed to be watching Merlin. Somehow, that old man knew. He looked back at Gaius and shook his head. They exchanged the same look with each other and he knew Gaius wouldn't say a word. It was the last thing Merlin needed to hear.

"Come on, Merlin." Arthur grinned at him. "Show me what you can do."

Merlin's eyes lit up and he started to play with the water in the small cup. It began to swish and swirl and dance out like it had a mind of its own. The water became a series of dancing stick figures, sparkling and glistening in the lamplight and he turned it into a little scene as he attempted to control stretch the water and add more water.

Lance opened the curtain when he thought he saw movement outside. While Gaius, Arthur and Merlin were completely entertained by the pretty dancing water figures his mouth fell open. "Merlin!"

They didn't immediately hear him. He drew the curtain open wider. "Merlin!"

As it happened, the hotel they were at had a swimming pool, as did many other houses in the neighborhood. Swimming pools, bird-baths, public ponds and the water was out of them. The water was in the air. There were thousands of watery stick figures dancing and playing in the streets of Oxford... and creating well... havoc as they tried to involve people. Oxford wasn't exactly a sleepy little town in the evening.

Merlin stared. Arthur jumped to his feet. Even Gaius was stunned. Lance shook Merlin's shoulder. "Stop this!"

"I can't!" Merlin cried out. He tried desperately to pull back the magic but it seemed to have wildfire tendencies in this world and the watery figures just kept multiplying and getting more and more creative. Pretty soon, you could see the faces of people who he knew in Camelot. Knights rushing around on watery horses, jousting, maidens dancing, jugglers, jesters..."Oh god..." He covered his ears and eyes. Cars stopped... there were countless fender benders...People were screaming, running. It was chaos out there. Good thing it wasn't in the middle of the day or rush hour. "I can't make it stop!" It gradually began to escalate every moment that passed.

Water burst from bathroom sinks and became little figures running around in kitchens chasing dogs and cats.

"You can, Merlin!" Arthur commanded him suddenly. He strode over to the Sorcerer and held both of his arms. "Focus!"

Merlin's head spun and he couldn't get a grip on what was happening. Everything was out of control around him until something happened that completely and utterly grounded him. It rooted him to the spot and held a shield against his power with a will of its own.

For Arthur it was the only thing he could think of to do and so, he did. He hoped, prayed that he could make it right later but if he didn't do something now the entire city of Oxford was about to get swamped by their own water.

He grabbed Merlin by the waist and pulled him close. "Focus on me."

And he kissed Merlin. It wasn't a chaste kiss or anything like he'd done the day before. This was a true, honest kiss. It took the sorcerer completely by surprise and invaded every sense he had. It took control and sought dominance like ... just like... Merlin's heart began to beat rapidly and he clutched Arthur's shoulders. He had been kissed like this before many times. There was only one man who kissed him this way, only one man who knew exactly how to draw sounds like that from him.

One man.

And he was in the past.

Merlin gasped when their lips parted and suddenly all the water began to rush back to where it was meant to be. Merlin managed to harness his power and guide everything back as he stared at Arthur's eyes. All the water that had risen fell exactly back to where it was meant to be. This of course didn't mean that still panic, chaos and confusion wasn't still going on outside... and they had probably just advertised to Nimue exactly where they were.

"Arthur." Merlin stared at him, confused. "Y-ou. But..."

"Yes and no." Arthur nodded simply and shrugged as if he didn't quite understand it himself and wasn't ready yet to explain it. "I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do. ..." He sighed, "When you arranged the stones, I got back the last five years. You also have to understand." He stepped away. "I am NOT your Prince Arthur. You have to get back to him. That's all that matters. Not me, not anything else."

Merlin searched the other's eyes and finally nodded.

"I think we've got company." Lance interjected when he saw several black hummers roaring towards the motel.

"So much for practice" Gaius muttered. "Listen you three, you don't need me, I'll delay them. I've given Lance the directions to the cave that I believe your other selves are headed. Go!"

"Nimue's people!" Merlin's heart quickened. "But she gave me two days..."

"If she felt you get your magic back I don't think you have two hours, Merlin." Gaius snapped. "Now, get going."

They grabbed their things and rushed to Lance's van, hell bent on getting out of there before the hummers cut them off.

***TBC***