Hey guys! So sorry about the wait. I just moved and I don't have WiFi yet so I'm uploading from my phone. If the formatting turns out weird, I apologize. I'll fix it once I can use my computer.
Enjoy!
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"Gwaine, Perce, you can go see Gaius." Leon pressed end call, slipping it into his pocket. "Apparently, we have someone running around putting people in comas. Arthur just opened a casefile for it, so I'm going to get that sorted. El, you're on--"
"--yes, working on the report now."
"Wonderful. So you two are free to go. Gwen will fill you in once you get there."
The once-knight ran a hand through his hair and spun his chair around. "Let's go, Percy!" He grabbed his keys off the desk, along with his phone. He shot off a quick text to Merlin, updating him, and snatched his coat off the back of the chair.
"I'll drive," Percival offered.
Gwaine tossed him the keys before he slipped on his jacket.
"Oi!" Elyan called. "Gwen wants two Starbucks! I'm telling her to text you the details."
"Gotcha!"
The two detectives slipped into the lift seconds before the younger one got the text from her. It brought them down into the parking garage, and they were quickly on their way.
"I thought things couldn't get weirder," Gwaine sighed, gazing out the window. Cars passed by, people trudged down the street, completely oblivious to the goings on of the bigger world around them. "And then there's a serial comatose inducer walking around."
"Magic?" Percival suggested. "Merlin dealt with a lot of magical sickness cases back in Camelot. And I'm sure more in the time he was waiting."
The younger shrugged. "Probably. But… These people are completely oblivious."
"Like we were in Camelot. Don't worry, I'm sure Merlin knows what he's doing."
"It's Merlin I'm worried about," he admitted. "It's always one thing after the other. If one thing isn't going wrong, something else is. And now this with Gaius. I mean, what if he never wakes up? Do you know what that would do to him? To finally have him back only for him to sleep through his fingers. Don't pretend you haven't noticed how quiet he gets if Gaius is brought up."
Percival sighed and scratched his head. "We'll get through this. Like we have everything else. " They pulled through the drive through and ordered Guinevere's drinks, along with two of their own, before pulling up. The barista handed them their drinks, but Gwaine wasn't paying any attention.
His attention was focused on a young man walking out of Starbucks. Gwaine could only see his shaggy jet black hair. It curled at the ends and was long enough to brush the collar of the equally dark floor length coat. But, still… There was something so familiar about him.
Percival began driving forward, and it was then that the young man turned around. Pale skin. Narrowed black eyes. A frown marred his unmistakable face.
Mordred.
Shock, awe, and anger all suddenly rushed through him. "Oi!"
Percy slammed on the brakes, startled. It jerked the once-knight forward and his eyes snapped shut. When he opened them, the young man was gone.
"What's wrong?" he snapped with concern. Gwaine's eyes narrowed and he continued staring out the window. After a moment, when he still didn't respond, Percival set his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Gwaine, what's wrong?"
There was fear in his dark eyes when he turned to his friend. "I just… I thought I saw… I mean. It's nothing. Probably nothing. I…"
"What did you think you see?"
The detective looked away. Surely he couldn't have seen him. It was just… He was seeing things. Right?
"I thought I saw… Mordred."
Percival's hand stayed on his friend's shoulder. "So you didn't see him?"
"I…I don't know. I blinked and he was gone. I'm probably just seeing things."
A car behind them honked and both of them jumped. Percival pulled the car up out of the drive through and parked. "Listen, if there's even a chance you saw him, you should tell Arthur and Merlin. Everyone else came back. There's a chance…"
"No, I don't want to worry him. He's already got enough on his plate. I'm sure I was just seeing things," Gwaine frowned. He grabbed his drink and took a long sip. "It's fine. Let's get to the hospital."
The detective's lips thinned with thought, but he put the car in drive and continued onto the hospital.
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"James Matthews. Apartment number… Five Twenty three," Arthur answered. He snapped the file shut after double checking the number. The apartment's spare key, given to him by the landlord, rested in his other hand.
Merlin led the way to the lift, and it rose several levels before slowly coming to a stop. They were fairly nice apartments. The hallway was rather plain, with light blue walls and tile floors, but it had been taken care of nicely.
"Alright, let's see what we've got," Merlin said once they'd found the apartment.
The detective stepped forward and inserted the key, twisted the door handle, and carefully pushed the door open. Merlin flipped on the hallway light that was above a table. Several sets of keys lay in a basket besides the door, along with a few more pairs of shoes. The apartment was long instead of wide, and to the left was the lounge and to the right was the kitchen. Behind the lounge was another hallway that presumably led to bedrooms.
"Nice place," Arthur commented.
There was a crash further into the apartment.
The detective reached inside his jacket and pulled his gun, aiming it at the ground as he crouched against the wall. Merlin's eyes narrowed, and he stepped around Arthur, his palm down. He glanced at his friend, and though he saw reluctance in his blue eyes, Arthur allowed him to take the lead.
"Be careful," he hissed. "It could be them."
Merlin crept through the living area towards the bedroom; his friend was close behind him. There was more rustling, and the warlock ducked behind the adjacent wall as someone walked out of the bedroom. Merlin unconsciously held his breath; his body tense and rigid. In seconds, he jumped out across the hall and shoved the woman against the wall, his forearm lining her collarbone.
She screamed and her eyes went wide. Her dark hair was strewn across her face. The young woman's hands clawed at Merlin's arm, but one she saw the detective's gun, she stilled, her breaths coming in gasps.
"Who are you?" Arthur barked.
"Ang--Angela. My-my name is Angela. James is my fi-fiancé."
"Let me see some ID."
Her eyes went to the bedroom. "My purse is in there. On the bed."
"Merlin."
The warlock took a hesitant step back, gently removing his arm from her chest. Once he was sure she wouldn't dart away, he slipped into the bedroom. Her purse was sitting atop the queen bed, and he fished out her wallet before going back out. "Angela Fisher?" Her name matched and her photograph matched up. "It's her."
"Sorry about that, Miss Fisher," Arthur said, holstering his gun. He pulled out his own ID as she took several breaths to calm herself. "Bradley James, Scotland Yard. Colin Jones," he said, pointing at the warlock beside him.
Merlin handed the woman her purse and wallet. "We thought you might have been the person who attacked him. Are you alright?"
"Fine, thank you," she snapped. "I'm just not used to men breaking into my fiancé's apartment and shoving a gun in my face." Her eyes suddenly snapped to his and she stood straighter, rolling her shoulders. "Wait, how do you know he was attacked?"
The warlock glanced between his friend and Angela. "New evidence suggests so. We have a few questions, if you don't mind."
She sighed and walked past them into the living room. Angela threw her purse on the couch, sitting down next to it. "Well, you've already scared me out of my wits."
"You have magic."
"Merlin."
The woman took a sharp gasp and didn't answer. Her left hand crept over her engagement band.
"Do you understand the meaning of subtlety?" Arthur went on. "Geez."
"There's magic here," the warlock said. His eyes were focused on the woman. "James has it… And I suspect that you have it too."
Her eyes narrowed. "And you?"
Merlin's eyes flashed with gold, and while nothing happened, it was enough to prove to the woman that he did, indeed, have such abilities. "You should be able to sense it."
"No," she countered. Smiling down at the ring, she continued. "My magic isn't strong enough for that. James' magic is much stronger than mine."
"Do you understand the cause of the coma?" the detective asked.
Angela sat a little straighter "You found out why? When? What is it?"
Arthur looked to the warlock to explain, given his magical knowledge.
"It seems that a part of his magic is… missing. Because of this, his body shut down and he fell into the coma he's in now," he said softly.
"How-how do we fix him? How do we get him back?" Angela said. Her voice quacked. "And why would they target James?
"We're working on that," Merlin answered. "But I need you to tell me, do you know a Claire Bennett? Would James?"
The woman bit her lower deep and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I… It doesn't sound familiar. Why?"
"She's another coma victim," the detective said. "Along with his uncle."
Angela's eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Thank you. Arthur, did you have any other questions for her?"
"I don't think so. Miss, could we have your phone number in case anything else comes up?"
"Of course."
They took her phone number and left. Once they were in the car, Merlin let out a strangled growl. He seemed to age years before the detective's eyes.
"We're no closer to finding out what's happening than we were this morning! Neither of their families knew anything! Rylee doesn't know anything! I don't even think she knows about Gaius' magic! How the heck am I supposed to help them! They're relying on me, and I can't do anything!"
Arthur sat patiently beside his friend, watching as he pressed the flat of his palms into his eyes. He's been waiting for this. Because Merlin wasn't Merlin unless he was wracked with guilt about things that weren't his fault.
"Hey, who's the one who figured out why they were comatose in the first place? You gave us our first lead, Merlin." He set his hand on his friend's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Give yourself more credit. We'll figure this out. We always do. It'll take time, but we'll figure it out. Do you suspect Morgana's hand in this?"
The warlock sighed, laying back in his seat. He'd considered Morgana. Several times, in fact. It would be easy to blame her for this. He took several deep breaths before speaking. This time, more calmly. "I don't think so. She's been dormant for over a year now. Morgana's always done something if she was able to benefit from it herself. She hasn't anything to benefit here."
"Nothing that we're aware of. I'll have Leon check on her whereabouts just in case. Merlin," he said more firmly, drawing his friend's eyes. "We'll get through this."
"I hope so."
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"Doctor! I need a doctor in here!" A nurse ran out of the room grabbing the door jam and shouting it again before she ran back inside. "Ma'am, please, I need you outside."
Mrs. Bennett collapsed into her husband's arms, tears streaming down her face. "Claire! Oh, Claire, please!"
"Ma'am!"
"Claire!" The young boy was held back only by his father's strong arms. "Claire, wake up! Wake up!"
Several more nurses rushed into the room, ushering the family out into the hallway just as the young woman began convulsing. Her whole body spasmed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
"Please, save her!" her mother screamed.
Doctor Ulrich ran into the room, snapping the door closed behind him. He felt a twinge of guilt at shutting the family out, but he couldn't have them distracting anyone. "What's her status?"
"No pulse."
"She's stopped breathing!"
"Hold her down!"
Before the doctor could think to do anything, however, the girl suddenly stilled. Her eyelids snapped shut and stayed that way. The heart monitor stayed silent.
"Adrenaline," Ulrich snapped.
There was a syringe in his hand in less than ten seconds. The doctor shoved it into the girls arm, pressing down the topper. There were several seconds of absolute silence as they waited.
And then took a sudden breath in.
"Oh, thank god," a nurse gasped.
Claire Bennett's heart monitor beeped steadily again; her breath regulated.
"Still comatose, sir," another nurse informed him.
Ulrich was scribbling down notes on a pad, double and triple checking the machines that monitors that showed her life signs. "I want her in the lab in twenty minutes for a CAT scan. Take blood for testing. We need to figure out what caused that. Get moving!"
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Gwaine pressed himself against the wall as several nurses carted a young lady in a hospital bed down the hallway. A man in a lab coat walked behind her, looking down at a clipboard. The poor girl lay prone on her bed, every bit as still as Gaius. The mother watched her daughter be carted away and pressed her face against Mr. Bennett's chest. Young Daniel sat in a chair, staring into his hands.
He fidgeted with the drink holder in his hand, pressing his lips together. He set it down on the table beside the child and grabbed a drink.
"Hot chocolate," he said softly. The once-knight gently pressed the drink into Daniel's hands and watched as gooseflesh crawled on his arms. "And I have two large coffees. One regular, one decaf."
"Thank you," Mr. Bennett said.
Mrs. Bennett pulled away from her husband. "Yes, thank you so much. That's so sweet of you. Mr…"
"Gwaine," he smiled. "Just call me Gwaine. And it's no problem. I'll leave you guys be, but I'm just down the hallway if you need me."
They nodded at him, and it was as he was heading back to Gaius' room that Merlin and Arthur came round the corner. They both looked tired; Merlin looked downright exhausted.
"Guys!"
The warlock's eyes found him and a small smile pulled on his lips until he saw passed him. A frown suddenly marred his face and he jogged past Gwaine, giving him a quick clap on the shoulder in passing. An apology. Gwaine watched as Merlin began talking to the family, shaking hands with the father and comforting them.
"How is he?" Gwaine asked, turning back to the detective.
Arthur met his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. He sighed. "How's Gaius?"
"No change," he breathed. "C'mon. Gwen's eager to see you."
The once-knight led the way back to the room. Gwen was sitting in a chair reading a book. Rylee was laid out on the futon by the window, sleeping. A blanket had been thrown over her. Percival was dozing in a chair on the opposite wall. Night had fallen. The detective folded his hands over his wife's shoulders, leaning down and planting a kiss on her temple.
"Hey," Guinevere breathed.
He smiled against her hair. "Hey. How're you?"
"I'm okay. You?"
"Okay."
"Gwaine, how's the family?"
The young man stood on her other side, looking down at his old friend. Young friend. It was all so confusing now. They were all back. And now the great physician of Camelot was back. Merlin's guardian and uncle. He could definitely see the resemblance between the two of them now. It was nearly uncanny.
And he was in a coma.
Besides that, not only was he in a coma, but also two other young people whose families were scared to death.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They're as strong as they can be."
Merlin suddenly ran into the room, panting.
"Merlin!" Arthur yelped. "What's wrong?"
He ignored him and set his hand against Gaius' face. Merlin closed his eyes and Gwaine watched as the warlock held his breath. His eyes pulsed with gold and a second later, he gasped and stumbled backward. A hand flew to his mouth and his eyes were glossed over.
"Merlin?" Guinevere slowly stepped forward, setting a hand on his arm. "Merlin, what's wrong?"
His tumultuous eyes met hers, and in a broken voice, he said, "G-Gaius… he's… He's dying."
