Shorter chapter this time, friends. :)


Merlin slept fitfully. His dreams were of his mentor and of Camelot. Gaius teaching him how to make a potion. Gaius teaching him how to set a bone. Gaius teaching him what part of the plant was best for what kind of solution. The dreams were detailed, and it felt so real, as though they really were back in Camelot and the past fifteen hundred years had just been a bad dream.

But the last dreams warped. Gaius was now a young man. Merlin wasn't there physically. It was as though he were just an observer, disembodied. The now-young physician went about his work, but a shadow overtook him. And then Gaius cried out, there was nothing the warlock could do to stop it.

Abruptly, he woke up, feeling almost just as exhausted as when he laid down.

Iris nudged up to him, butting her nose against his arm. Absent-mindedly, he scratched her head, allowing his eyes to close again. Merlin took a deep breath and let it out through his nose.

"Merlin? Merlin, are you up yet?"

"Sort of?"

Gwaine peeked his head in and shook his head. "Still laying about, are we, Merlin?"

The warlock chuckled. "You sound like Arthur."

"I deeply apologize. C'mon, lazy bones, the princess sent me to get you."

"I am fifteen hundred and twenty eight years old. Why can't I have five more minutes?"

The once-knight gave a hearty laugh. "Grumpy old man."

Merlin groaned but flung the covers away. The sudden cold stung his bare chest, and he noticed his friend grow still. "Gwaine?"

The detective's eyes were drawn to his abdomen. "It's been over a year and I'm still not used to seeing that scar on you."

The warlock's fingers unconsciously brushed against the scar tissue, his mind traveling back to the night Morgana shot him in the park. He'd been shot before. Several times, in fact, in his past, but none of them had been as terrifying as this one. Before, he'd been immortal, so even if he was shot, he knew that he would live. But the bullet that had been made from Mordred's sword, on that had been begotten from a dragon's breath, had ended the warlock's curse. It had made him mortal again. And it had nearly killed him. It had been the first real brush he'd had with death since before the battle that had ended Arthur's life.

It was on the same night that all of his friend's had gotten their memories back.

The scar was a reminder of all of that. Bittersweet.

Merlin slipped a tee shirt over it, nodding at his friend. "Honestly, me neither. Scars would usually heal when I did. Is everyone else up?"

The once-knight yawned, though it must have been late into the morning if the sunlight streaming in from the windows was any indication. "Yeah. Leon, El, and Perce are at headquarters trying to find a link between the three. Rylee popped off to see Gaius. She's a feisty one, isn't she? I think I'm beginning to like her," he smirked.

"I'd be careful if I was you," the warlock responded. There was a humorous glint in his eye but also a measure of seriousness. "We still don't know what she knows yet, and if she and Gaius are close, you might have to face Gaius' wrath when he wakes up. You remember the 'pep talk' he gave to Arthur when he and Gwen started courting."

Cringing, Gwaine chewed the inside of his cheek. He certainly remembered hearing it from the knights, who'd heard it from Merlin, who'd heard it from Arthur. "That… is very true."

The aged warlock laughed and clapped his hands. "C'mon, Iris. Let's go, girl. Can you tell Arthur I'll be there in a few minutes? I gotta take Iris out."

"Sure thing. Call me 'Errand boy.'"

"Thanks, Errand boy."

Gwaine glared at him but there was amusement in his eyes as he ducked back into the main room of the apartment. Merlin followed him and slipped a leash onto the lab's collar. She bounced excitedly and barked as he guided her out.

It was beautiful outside. The air was fresh and the sunlight warmed his skin. His dreams forgotten, he took a deep breath, feeling a little better.

"Let's go to the park real quick, okay? Arthur can wait a few more minutes."

Merlin guided her down the street and into the park. They walked for several minutes through the park, stopping briefly at the pond. Multiple families filled the park. Children laughed and darted this way and that, laughing. A few men stood knee deep in the pond, fishing.

The warlock plopped down in the grass, sighing. Iris shoved her face into his, giving him slobbery kisses as Merlin fell backwards.

"Iris!" he laughed. "Knock it off!"

She backed away, and Merlin scratched her head.

"We'd better get going, silly. The King's gonna have a heart attack."

He slipped her leash around his wrist and they headed back to the apartment building. They were walking along the main road when suddenly the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A shiver went down his back and he stopped abruptly as apprehension rushed through him. Something was very wrong. He frowned and looked around him.

Then he saw him.

The Druid was standing on the other side of the road, simply staring at him with blank eyes. His hands were shoved into his jacket, but Merlin couldn't help but picture him in chainmail and battle armor.

A wave of panic hit him, and he dropped Iris' leash, running across the street and paying no heed to the cars that honked at him or the brakes that screeched in protest of their abuse. A cab barely slowed quick enough and the front bumper hit Merlin, throwing him into the hood of the car and taking his attention away from Mordred.

The warlock jumped away from the vehicle and looked back at the spot where Mordred was, only to find that he was missing. He'd gotten away. Merlin rushed to where he'd been standing only moments ago, looking up and down the street for the young man.

"Hey! Are you alright? What the heck were you doing, kid!" the cab driver yelled. The older man, seeing Merlin almost wholly unaffected and distracted, threw his hands up. "If you're fine, then I'm leaving. This isn't my fault anyway."

"Yeah, yeah…" Merlin trailed off. His mind was elsewhere. His hands were shaking, and it wasn't because he'd just been hit by the car. His breath came in short gasps and there was a pain in his chest. The warlock tried to take a deep breath to stave off the panic attack, clutching at his shirt. It took him several seconds to recompose himself. Iris barked continuously from across the street. More carefully this time, Merlin crossed the street to retrieve her. He picked up her leash and started walking again.

Mordred was here.

Why? What was he doing here?

Was he the cause of these comas? Was he the one attacking others with magic? Did he attack Gaius?

The anger in Merlin's gut made him clench his teeth. To think that Mordred could have been the one to attack his friend.

Was he here for Arthur? Or his other friends? He'd killed Arthur once already, and just the idea of Mordred coming back to do this again caused his magic to flare up within him.

He shoved it back down as the elevator took him back to his floor. Merlin shook his head. He had to think logically about this. If Mordred was here for any of them, why wait? It was clear that he knew who he was, so why hadn't he made himself known before this?

Merlin went straight to his friend's apartment, where Arthur, Gwen, and Gwaine were all sitting around eating their breakfast. But one look at the warlock's startled face and the panic in his eyes, all three of them stood, holding their breath.

"Merlin?" Gwen asked. "What's wrong?"

"Mordred's back."