"Sorry I'm late Miss!" Merlin tumbled into the class, tie not quite done right, hair still mussed from sleep. It was only after the smoke had cleared that Gaius and Gwen had decided to tell him he had five minutes till school started.

At the back of the classroom, Gwen blushed and mouthed a 'sorry'. Next to her, Arthur smirked, Morgana pulled an expression of sympathy, and Lancelot grinned. Merlin wasn't sure what the rest of the class were doing. He didn't really care, though he wished Gwaine would drop Spanish already; then French really would be his favorite lesson.

Miss Claire simply raised an eyebrow and indicated for Merlin to take his seat, though there was no genuine anger in her soft brown eyes and he knew not to expect from her some sort of cruel and unusual punishment. He had to admit, it made it very hard for him to dislike the woman the longer he knew her. She smiled a little. "Il n'est rien, Merlin. In fact, your timing is perfect; just in time for the CLP broadcast."

A few of the posh yobs in the class gave exaggerated groans, but fell silent with a glare from Claire. For once, Merlin paid more attention than usual; he could see Lancelot doing the same, and, strangely enough, Arthur.

The broadcast's signature drum roll and fanfare came onto the radio, and then the voice of an American man came on. "Mornin' Britain, last night we had the first snow of the year, and I don't know about you, but I'm really starting to get into the festive spirit.

"However, just before we start celebrating, here's a few more updates for you from the Chinese Liberation Party; or, as we are more commonly known, the CLP. It really is much less of a mouthful, don'tcha think?" The man laughed, and Merlin couldn't help a small smile tugging at the corners of his own mouth.

"So, relations with the USA have gone downhill rapidly. China is considering declaring war on America after its agents came into Beijing and set off three bombs in the underground subway. The death toll currently lies at 970 innocent civilians; men, women and children. China did not want to fall into this situation, but nor are we willing to sit and allow this sort of thing to happen. Every life is of equal worth, and we will not allow our people's deaths to go in vain."

There was an almost frightening, fanatic quality to the man's tone, but barely anyone noticed. Arthur had his fists clenched; so did Lancelot, they were too distracted by the attack and their own sense of the injustice of it. After a moment, the announcer continued.

"So. Back to Britain. The CLP has sent out investigatory teams to private schools across the country in order to assess the treatment of so called 'scholarship' and 'benefits' students by both their peers and the staff. If there's corruption in your school; get in touch as soon as you can, just call our helpline or go on our website w w w dot CLP dot com.

"Finally, our organization, HEART UK; the Housing Estate Aid and Rescue Trust," Merlin, Lancelot and Arthur all looked up to meet Miss Claire's gaze. She gave them a small smile.

"At the moment we're doing all we can to help the victims of the recent bombings. We believe we may have some leads on the perpetrators, however, apparently a political organization's charitable trust is not to be taken seriously; instead we must beg you and anyone you know to be incredibly careful of who you trust. Have faith. We will save you. We will not give up the fight."

Merlin and his friends nodded, the drumroll and fanfare sounded. Miss Claire switched off the radio and clapped her hands, picking up a whiteboard marker. "Right then, so, today we'll be working on the subjunctive."

Claire stopped Merlin on his way out at the end of the lesson. Arthur and Lancelot, ahead of him, waited at the end of the corridor. Worry spiked through Merlin' heart as he noted the anxiety on his teacher's face.

"Yes Miss? What is it?"

"Merlin, we have a team which has been tracking Mori down. We finally got a lead, but…" Her big brown eyes watered, her eyebrows pulled up in concern. Merlin wondered how he could seriously have ever suspected her; she was so genuine.

"But what?" His voice was urgent but gentle. He knew her concern was for him; it was touching.

"He's going to meet your mother today, at four o'clock. I don't know what he'll do. Our team can't go to stop him; some of his cronies have been tracking them down and they've had to go into a safe house. We're not the police; mostly just volunteers. Look, I know, God, trust me I know that you're just a kid but…someone has to be with her. Because, I, I don't know what he'll do. I organized some money to be sent to her to pay off her debts, and some medicine to help wean her off the addiction."

Melrin's eyebrows leapt, and a wave of gratitude went through him.

"But that doesn't explain why he's going to meet her today. I'm sorry to put all this pressure on you Merlin, I really am, but…you need to get there before he does." Miss Claire bit her lip, looking utterly torn, half as if she wished she hadn't said anything.

Nodding, heart beating hard in his chest, worry for his mother coursing through him, Merlin gave his teacher a small smile. "It's ok. I've..dealt with this kind of person before. Thankyou."

Beaming, Claire shook her head, openly staring at him. "You are so ridiculously brave Merlin. Honestly, those who've…who've treated you poorly, they have no idea."

Blushing a bit, Merlin ducked his head, turning to leave. "Um, cheers Miss."

"Oh, Merlin!" Claire's voice made him turn again and he watched as she went into her desk, pulling out something quite small and black. A gun. Merlin's eyes widened, and she saw the fear and shock on his face, but she shook her head. "No, no it's ok; it doesn't have bullets." She did something to open the barrel, and withdrew a small, dart-like syringe. "They're just tranquilisers; the worst they'll do is knock someone out for about 5 hours. Just in case, ok? I shouldn't be giving this to you…but I don't want you to get hurt. Not on my account."

Flattered, Merlin gingerly took the weapon, checking the safety before slipping it into his back, and nodding sincerely at Miss Claire. "Thankyou."

She smiled softly, big brown eyes sparkling. "Not a problem."

"So we still get to meet today then?"

Gwaine and Lancelot grinned at their friend as Merlin served them their food. He smiled. "You know her name's Hunith, not '.' "

Gwaine shrugged, taking his tray. "Yeah. But Mrs. Merlin is so much catchier." Merlin grinned.

"Alright, well, either way we are going to see her; we'll head off about three, ok?" Worry darted over his brow, and his jaw tensed as he saw Gwen and Morgana come into the lunch hall. "But…I'm not sure if Gwen should come this time. Ok?"

Lancelot frowned at him, but Merlin's attention was pulled away by the next pupil waiting to be served.

Sitting down next to Gwaine, Lancelot raised his eyebrows at his friend. "What do you think that was about?"

"Beats me. Arthur said something about your French teacher having a word with him?" Gwaine didn't sound particularly interested as he began to dig into his roast. Lancelot nodded absently, poking at his food.

"Yeah, she kept him behind, gave him something. You know, in the CLP broadcast this morning they made a note of mentioning corruption in schools."

Gwaine snorted, rolling his eyes. "Listen to you, you sound like a bloody fanatic; who cares what they put in their broadcasts?"

"I do. You know, they have a lot more political weight to throw around than they did a few months ago, especially with all these bombings. Some of us don't think equality is that overrated." Lancelot's tone was defensive, and Gwaine held up a hand in a show of apology.

"Alright, alright, well, if corruption in schools is what they're worried about, then this place is going to become an institutional metaphor for the titanic."

Lancelot looked troubled, thinking about an envelope, and a voice recorder, and Arthur. "Yeah…I know."

It was at that point that the blonde prince and Gwen decided to sit with them; Morgana never ate lunch during the normal time any more, instead she skipped lessons to have it with Merlin. None of them were sure if this was a protest against the system, or just resulting from the fact that the couple seemed almost inseparable.

"Hey Gwen." Gwaine said, cheerily. Arthur gave him a look and he chuckled. "Woops, sorry, hi Arthur. Did the little prince feel left out? Did he really? Awww, poor little prince." Arthur went red and Lancelot chuckled. Gwen gave Gwaine a pointed look and the boy went silent.

It didn't last long. "Oooh, Arty, do you need your girlfriend to protect you? Not like you, big strong prince needing a girly to stick up for you." Gwaine was laughing, so the edge was off his words, and after a few moments of trying to stay serious, Arthur grinned, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Alright Gwaine, shut up. You coming to training today? Maybe planning on turning up on time for once?"

Gwaine yawned. "Nah, being on time is overrated, besides, me and Lance have an appointment to keep."

Lancelot nodded, trying very very hard to ignore the questioning look Gwen gave him when they left her out. Arthur grimaced.

"Ugh, that means I have to put up with Kay and his lot. God, thanks guys, what happened to loyalty?"

"We all have to deal with our demons at some point Arthur." Lancelot said, smiling. Arthur raised his eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, but there's a difference between demons and the greasy, stuck up version of a human mosquito." Gwaine burst out laughing, and Lancelot and Gwen grinned. Getting out his phone, Gwaine punched in a quick text.

"Merlin has to hear that one."

A few moments later, Gwen got a text as well, cautiously getting out her phone while the boys continued to tease each other. It was from Gwaine.

'Mer sez u cnt cum 2day. Dunno y. sorry luv. Xx'

Gwen frowned, not noticing Arthur glancing over her shoulder. A little put out, she slipped the phone back into her pocket, before glancing over at Merlin, still behind the counter. He looked up, feeling her eyes on him, and gave her a wide beam that seemed just a little forced before turning back to his 'duties.'

She loved Merlin, she really did, he was one of the greatest friends she'd ever had. But…sometimes it was just so hard to know what was going on in that head of his. She only hoped it was nothing serious. She only hoped he'd be safe.

Arthur, in the mean time, thought about what Miss Claire had said; about not giving Merlin all the facts. He thought about the only reason Merlin would leave Gwen out of something at such short notice; to protect her. And he thought about what he would do if Merlin got hurt and he could have done something about it.

Glancing over to his friend, Arthur made a decision. And it had absolutely nothing to do with avoiding Kay and his cronies.

Later that afternoon, Lancelot and Gwaine stood outside Gaius' house, waiting for Merlin to get the door. After a few moments he did, pulling a black coat over his long, skinny limbs. He smiled when he saw them, then paused, rubbing his hands together. It hadn't snowed again, but what was left from the night before had frozen, and the cold had deepened.

Merlin paused, looking at his friends. Part of him very badly wanted to tell them to go home, or go to training; to stay out the way and keep safe. Another was starting to realize that learning how to rely on them was progress.

"Ok, my Mum…she's got a drug addiction. And her dealer; her new dealer, goes by the alias 'Mori.' He's already attacked her twice, and Miss Claire told me this morning that he's coming to meet her at four o'clock, in spite of the fact the CLP has helped her pay off her debt, so he has no reason too. The CLP can't send assistance because things have gotten complicated, so she told me. She gave me this gun; it's just got tranquilizers in though, no bullets. So…I'm going to help my Mum. You guys can do what you like; but you ought to know that this Mori guy is dangerous."

Gwaine grinned. "Well, you know I'm coming. I owe him a bump on the head from our last encounter. Besides; there's no way I'd let you go by yourself."

Merlin turned to Lancelot, who just raised an eyebrow, disbelief written across his handsome face. "Merlin, what do you think I'm going to say?"

Beaming, Merlin nodded. "Ok, well, I got these, just in case you said that." He reached behind him, getting two hockey sticks from the doorway. "Gaius knows where we've gone, so we've got to be back by evening or else he has serious cause to worry. Also," Merlin dropped his voice a little, "also, I've been practicing some spells that should help out if things get really messy."

Wiggling his eyebrows, Gwaine laughed. "Makes me wonder why you need us at all." When Merlin opened his mouth to reply, he held up a hand. "It's only a joke Mer, I get you're powerful and everything, but it's not like you've had much time to control this stuff. Now then, shouldn't we head off? Wouldn't want to miss our appointment."

Trepidation sat heavy in the bellies of all three, but they didn't share that; they knew it, they didn't need to put it into words. Instead they smiled at each other, heading off to the estate. They didn't notice Arthur, way behind them, standing outside his house, a cricket bat in hand, or Gwen and Morgana in the window of the Pendragon's house, watching with worry in their eyes.

In Morgana's room, Gwen looked to her friend, about to speak when the Pendragon stopped her. "I know what you're going to say, but first we've got to stop Arthur."

With that, Morgana ran from the room, jumping down the stairs two at a time, Gwen hot on her heels. Arthur had already started off by the time they flung the door open, so Morgana grabbed the closest thing to hand; one of her shoes, and lobbed it as hard as she could. It bounced off Arthur's head and he made a sound of annoyance, turning back.

"Arthur!" Morgana shouted. He took a few steps back towards them, glancing over his shoulder to where Merlin, Gwaine and Lancelot were already heading out of sight.

"What is it? Look, Merlin needs my help; I have to go."

While her brother was talking, Morgana was pulling on her shoes and grabbing a coat. It didn't take Gwen long to catch on and do the same. Stepping outside, Morgana locked the door, ignoring Arthur's irritated protests.

"Listen, if Merlin is in trouble, then I'm coming too."

Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Look, Morgana, that's touching and everything, but it's too dangerous."

Gritting her teeth, Morgana flung an arm back at Gwen, who was a few feet away. "If it was Gwen, what would you do?"

"Yes, but Morgana, this is a fight, and in case it escaped your notice, you're a girl."

By this point, Gwen had reached them, and her eyes widened in surprise, brow pulling down in annoyance when she heard Arthur's words. "And in case it escaped your notice Arthur Pendragon, this is the 21st century, and we are perfectly capable of looking after ourselves."

She nodded at Morgana, who grinned and dug around in her pocket, withdrawing two cans of pepper spray and a short bar of metal. She flicked it and it lengthened to about a foot. Chucking the pepper spray to Guinvevere, Morgana smirked at her brother's shocked face. "Well, what are you waiting for Arthur? At this rate we're going to lose them."

She started to head off, Arthur and Gwen following not far behind. Somewhat remorseful for having irritated Gwen, Arthur went to her, taking her hand. "Look, Guinevere, I don't mean any offense, it's just, I really really don't want you getting hurt. Won't you please go back?"

Gwen rolled her eyes, dropping his hand and looking more fierce than he'd seen her yet. "Look, Arthur, if you're too scared, that's fine by me, but shut up. I'm going to help Merlin, and there really is nothing you can do to stop me."

With that, she walked off, dark curly hair pulled up in a ponytail, a black leather jacket wrapped tightly around her. Arthur shook his head, his worry momentarily overridden by a very deep, sincere respect as the image of his queen, dressed in a long red cloak, marching off to prove how brave she could be swam in his vision.

Grinning, he sighed, jogging a little to catch up, putting his arm around her waist when he did and murmuring in her ear.

"Guinevere, I bloody love you."

Gwaine was the first to spot Mori; unsurprising really, since he was the only one who'd actually met him. Quickly, he grabbed Merlin and Lancelot and kept them just out of the drug dealer's line of sight.

"That's him, in the playground, on the phone."

Merlin nodded, peering round the corner, eyes dancing through the litter-strewn area before they rested on a long, wiry figure with a ponytail, dressed in black and draped lazily over one of the swings, spindly fingers delicately balancing an expensive looking phone against his ear.

A burst of anger went through him. This was the man who'd attacked his mother; who'd frightened her; who'd scarred her. He'd pay. The swing Mori was on quite suddenly swung, hard, apparently of its own accord, throwing the dealer into the air. Mori contorted his body in mid-air, landing cat-like on his feet. Merlin raised his eyebrows, ducking back behind the wall when the tall man spun round, searching the playground for something.

"Ok, he might know we're here." Gwaine and Lancelot frowned.

"How do you-" Lancelot began, when a knife kissed Merlin's throat. The raven-haired warlock stiffened, blood running cold, and his friends froze.

Cold, thin hands wrapped hard around Merlin's wrist, twisting his arm behind his back. Hot breath tickled his throat and the cold flesh of thin lips tickled his ear. "Hello Mr. Emrys. I'd hoped I'd get the chance to make your acquaintance."

Merlin shuddered. The few people who knew of him didn't tend to wish him well. He grit his teeth, hoping that Lancelot and Gwaine would just leave. "What do you want, Mori?"

A thin, mirthless chuckle shook the air against Merlin's cheek, and the knife pressed a little deeper into his throat, drawing a stinging crimson cut against his skin. "Oh no, , I think I'll do the talking. Lancelot, Gwaine," He sounded amused as he said the boy's names; though whether it was the names themselves or the boys' shock that amused him, none of them could be sure. "If you want to be sure of saving your lives, leave now. If you want to stay with your little friend, we'll be going left."

There was the rustle of fabric behind him, which Merlin imagined to be Mori jerking his head in the right direction. He glanced left, but all he could see was a garage; the door was closed, rusting and covered in graffiti. Merlin grit his teeth. It didn't bode well.

Mori started dragging Merlin towards the garage, and without a moment's hesitation Gwaine and Lancelot followed. Mori paused about halfway. "If you two are coming, you better drop your weapons." There was a clatter of wood, and Merlin grimaced; they didn't know what they were up against. Though he appreciated his friend's loyalty, he wished they'd just leave. He didn't want them being hurt on his account.

Mori knocked on the garage door three times with his elbow, and it began to roll upwards with a screech. A group of men and women in similar black apparel stepped forward, making short work of grabbing Gwaine and Lancelot and binding their hands with plastic ties. Gwaine turned to Merlin, giving him an attempt at a brave grin. "Well, looks like we've fallen into a bit of bother."

One of the masked figures grunted. "No kidding." And then Gwaine fell to the ground, eyes rolling back into his head. Merlin's eyes widened, opening his mouth to shout for his friend when something thin and cold bit into his wrist. He had a precious second to recognize the all too familiar rush of liquid into his bloodstream, and then consciousness slipped away from him like smoke in the breeze.