The first thing Merlin noted was that his glasses were off. Had they fallen in the struggle? Were they broken? It was hard to remember what had happened and his head still felt fuzzy as hell. His limbs had pins and needles throughout so Merlin tried to move but quickly found he couldn't from the bonds around his arms and legs. His back also ached which suggested he'd been there for a while.

He was sitting in a chair then. He could tell that much. Now his vision just needed some work.

He blinked rapidly and looked around the room where he was. Strips of fluorescent lights hung overhead and there was a table near him wrapped with several small bundles but he couldn't see what was in them. There was also a steel door in front of him and a camera in a corner but he quickly was focusing on the person that had just walked through the door.

God Merlin wished he was wrong. He wished that his assumption was way off but as her face became clearer the truth was undeniable. He tried to open his mouth to say something but his tongue wasn't very responsive and he ended up just spitting on to the floor from an excess of saliva.

"Oh don't worry, that'll pass. You're just still feeling the aftereffects of the drug," Lotta Carlstedt replied with a small smile. "So, how are you feeling….I'm sorry I can't remember your name right now. You just have so many."

Not responding, Merlin simply worked his tongue in his mouth as he tried to get that numbing sensation out.

"Was it Fergus perhaps?"

"I…despise that name," Merlin response in a slightly slurred tone. He felt like he was trying to talk with his tongue sticking out.

"Then what do you go by because I'm sure it's not the alias you used with me," Carlstedt replied, sounding rather hurt as well.

He didn't say anything.

"Now now I thought we were friends!" When he still didn't responded, she let out a frustrated sigh and muttered, "Well, apparently not any more. How disappointing. Anyways, I haven't come just to talk. That's just to boring. I have some playtime in mind."

Going over to the table, she began to role one of the bundles open. Merlin prepared himself to see the worst instruments of torture imaginable but instead only saw the equipment for a camera.

"The one in the corner not good enough?" muttered, his voice finally returning to normal.

"It works fine to insure that you're still in here," replied Carlstedt, "but I need a much higher quality one as well. Wouldn't want your partner to be unable to distinguish that beautiful face from all the blood that's going to be on you, now would we?"

His stomach curling in his disgust and horror, Merlin asked, "How are you going to send it?"

Carlstedt let out a rather annoyed sigh as she said, "I don't have a direct channel to your organization if that's what you're thinking. I honestly wish I did. But no, I'm going to have to do the simple honor of posting this to the web. I wonder if it'll become viral. Wouldn't surprise me in the least. Humans do love to view violence, especially when it's not being done to themselves."

"But why do this now?"

"Can we please stop with the questions? I'm the one who should be asking them," she replied in a singsong voice.

"What about your empire though? What about—"

"Don't talk to me about my empire!" shouted Carlstedt as she stopped what she was doing and drew closer. "You forced me to bring all of it down! I didn't know what you'd found out! I didn't know what you could foil! What might have been being cataloged! You forced me into this position!"

"We did nothing of the sort," Merlin replied coolly.

"Nothing of the sort!? You came charging in with your stories and your charm and then you turned your back on me! You betrayed me! I had to destroy all resources and information because you could have taken it! Everything I had worked for. My precious lines of trade and information, so perfect and neat and you stole them!"

"Then what about the Simba Tano?"

She looked surprised for a moment, stopping her rant. However, a smile of pleasure appeared on her face as she shook her head. "You people are good. I'm planning a takeover if you really must know. Its leader is so pathetic. He doesn't even realize that he's not in control. That double agent Margaret Cartwright is and if she has her way she'll tear him down worse than what you forced me to do. I'll be doing him a favor by taking over."

"Like I said. We didn't force you to do anything."

"Don't say that!" she screamed. "And after all I've done for you! I even warned you about your partner and this is what I get in return."

"We were undercover. It wasn't real," stressed Merlin.

"Perhaps but that doesn't change what I saw. If there is one thing I didn't get wrong it was him." Turning away, she finally went back to the camera and finished fixing it up.

"What about Philadelphia?"

"Hmm?"

"Our agent. You caused him to kill all those people and—"

"Oh that! I've been watching all my former partners and competition. When your two agents showed up and that metal detector went off, I just figured it would be a fun time to let him go homicidal and to also get rid of some evidence. Obviously didn't work but it was still fun to watch that young girl go through that pain. They were so confused. They didn't have a single idea of what was going on."

"But how did you learn all this?"

"You're not the only one who can place a convincingly hidden microphone. Now, I will admit that a lot of it was static but I did get just enough information to mess with that agent's head and to kidnap you. Don't you agree Merlin?"

"So you already knew."

"Yes and your partner's name is Harry. I'm assuming he has some form of a codename but I never heard it. Now, let's get on to the fun."

She clicked the camera on, checked its position and lighting, and then walked over while that terrifying smile appeared on her face again.

"Anything you'd like to say? Now, if you try to give any of the information that I shared with you I'll just cut it out so there's no point in trying that. However, I will allow you to send one last goodbye if you'd like." She waited but Merlin said nothing. "Really? I thought you'd at least—"

"Don't' fucking watch this Harry!" Merlin blurted out. "I love you so god damn much and if you watched this I'll come back and kick your ass!"

"Oh how touching," murmured Carlstedt as she sauntered over and in front of view of the camera. "It was so sincere. Honestly amazing! And you know what? He doesn't have to see this video. If you simply tell me everything you know about this mission, everything you know about Harry, the organization. I'll let you go. You'll be safe and unharmed and with him if you just do this."

"Fuck. You."

"I was afraid you'd say that." In one smooth transition, she grabbed his right hand and ripped off the ring fingernail with a tool that he hadn't originally seen.

"Shit!" Merlin hissed at the unexpected pain but attempted to keep most of it masked.

"Tell me what you know."

"No!"

"Tell me!"

"Never!"

This time he was rewarded with a sharp slap across the face which really wasn't that bad when compared with having your fingernail ripped off.

"Either you tell me or Harry watches you die."

"Well you better just kill me then because I'm not telling you shit!"

Clearly irritated and pissed off, she stomped away and pulled out something else from the piles on the table. Hurrying back over, she lifted up his shirt and then jabbed him with whatever she held. He expected something to pierce him and therefore was more thrown off when he felt the electric shock go throughout his body.

It stopped almost immediately after it had started but that didn't mean it hadn't hurt like hell. Merlin tried to remember if he'd ever been shocked like this before and honestly couldn't think of a single time.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the manic laughter from above him and suddenly felt the jolting pain again. And then it stopped. And then again. And then nothing. And then again.

Repeatedly she did it until Merlin couldn't tell if he was going into cardiac arrest or simply getting ready to pass out. He was more than simply thankful when he did so, his last thought praying to god and just about every other deity under the sun that Harry never saw this.

AN: Hmm. What to do next? Thanks again to everyone. Sadder chapter but hopefully you enjoyed it...even if that does sound a bit sadistic. Oh well! Thanks again! You guys are wonderful.