A/N: I just wanted to ask because I forgot to yesterday- I know in the series there are more character deaths (Uther, Freya, Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan etc.) and while I have killed off one, some I'm not really prepared to kill but I was wondering how you'd feel about another one dying. I've had an idea of where to go with it but it requires someone (I won't say who) dying and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Just let me know in a review. :D

Also- I know ferries and such are built to not flip but just go with it. Sorry if this is hard to follow, it was really difficult to describe what was going on in this chapter.

I hope this is living up to expectations! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Gwaine didn't see where Merlin had fallen. He was too busy trying to keep a hold on something as the entire ferry turned upside down. He realised pretty quickly that there was no way the boat would right itself again, so in a bid not to get crushed, he allowed himself to drop into the water. For now, his concern was not on his friends inside the passenger cabin. It was on him, and it was on Merlin. He reached the water just before the boat and immediate began swimming underwater to get as far away from where the boat would land. Unfortunately he wasn't quite fast enough and the decking soon connected with the surface of the water. Gwaine was trapped underneath the ferry, still quite far away from the edge where he could go up for oxygen. There was no way he could get out before running out of air. He cursed and punched the decking above him.

Arthur had been with Lancelot and Elyan when the ferry's movements became even more violent. Green-faced and with a swirling stomach, he got to his feet and ran to the toilets. As he was about to get to his feet after throwing up all his insides, the floor tipped and Arthur's head smashed into the rim of the toilet. He swore and looked around in confusion. No one had forecast a storm like the one currently battering the ship to pieces outside. It had literally come out of nowhere. He stumbled back to find his friends in the café area. They'd been on the boat for about an hour, meaning they weren't even halfway to the dry land of home. Everyone hoped the storm would pass quickly but it seemed far too severe to do anything like that.

In the café, all the cups and plates which had been on the tables were now smashed and littering the floor. Most of the chairs had fallen over, even a few of the tables were rolling around uselessly.

Arthur made his way clumsily to where his friends were all huddled in the corner, looking worriedly at the ceiling which now seemed to be dripping water. Percival had come down to join them, but he was completely soaked through. The rest of the group were also there.

"Merlin and Gwaine are on their way down," Percival told Arthur, "It's wild out there."

"Tell me about it," Arthur groaned, sinking into one of the few upright chairs and gripping his stomach. The boat did a few more horrible lurches.

"Was this on the weather forecast?" Gwen asked, slight panic in her voice.

"They wouldn't have run the ferry if it was," Leon pointed out, head jerking to the window as lightning struck outside.

"Could the ferry tip? Like flip over completely?" Gwen continued as they all tumbled to one side with the boat's swaying.

"It shouldn't," Lancelot said, "They're too big. Too stable."

"Look at the waves though," Elyan offered, "They could knock anything off balance."

"Let's not think about-" Percival began but was interrupted by the doors to the café slamming open and a river of water flooding in.

They all looked to the window and their eyes widened. The ferry was tilting to some very disconcerting angles. An announcement echoed through the boat.

"Attention all, attention please. The doors to the deck are now closing. Please make sure you keep your distance as it might be dangerous. Thank you for your calmness and patience. There is no need for panic."

"They closed the doors?" Morgana repeated, "That means Merlin and Gwaine must have got back in alright."

"I'll go and find them," Percival offered, "This ship is huge, they might not know where we are."

"I'll come," Lancelot offered, "I don't think anyone should be walking around alone when the ship's in this state."

"I'll come too then," Gwen took her husband's hand.

"Let me come," Arthur offered.

"No, mate. You're green enough sat down and not moving. We don't need your sick swishing around here too. There's enough to avoid as it is."

"We'll be back soon," Gwen promised.

The ice cold sea had shocked Merlin's body into complete stillness for a while until he opened his eyes. The salty water burned but he blinked away the pain and looked around frantically. He was deep beneath the surface of the water, slowly sinking further. Fighting down a rising, overwhelming panic, Merlin tried to keep his head clear. He seriously doubted he'd be able to swim all the way back up. He'd never been much of a good swimmer but since he lost his leg, he hadn't exactly had the chance to practice. At least he had plenty experience keeping calm in fatal situations.

To begin with, Merlin tried just to swim up towards the black silhouette he was sure was the ferry. He had been wondering how he'd managed to sink so far in so little time. Pretty quickly once he began to try and move his body up through the water, he realised why. Merlin's prosthetic leg was old, metal and heavy. It wasn't made for sports or swimming. Just the ordinary everyday life that Merlin tended to lead. One or two walks but then sitting on an office chair for the rest of the day at work. Now, it was weighing him down. Not so heavy that he was plummeting down uncontrollably but just heavy enough so that it was ensured he'd never get to the surface with it.

By then, his lungs were screaming. After the accidents he'd been through, most of which had caused some sort of damage to his lungs in one way or another, the organs were scarred and weak in certain places. Not ideal for situations where Merlin had to hold his breath.

Ignoring the fire in his chest, Merlin tried his best to bend forward and remove his prosthetic. His fingers slipped and fumbled, ridiculously numb from the cold. The longer it took him to remove the limb, the smaller his chance of getting back up for air. The water around him ripped violently and he glanced up to see waves rolling out from around the ferry. It seemed to have flipped after all.

Merlin's first thought was of Arthur, then the rest of his friends. Gwaine had been up on deck with him. Had he managed to get himself inside safely or was he somewhere nearby sinking to his death just like Merlin?

The passenger cabin was slowly but surely filling with water. There was screaming and crying coming from all around the ferry. The four friends left in the café area were up to their hips in sea water and being thrown around everywhere, colliding with tables. The windows were starting to bend and crack from the pressure of the sea which was now around them.

"We have to get out!" Elyan managed to shout and he battled his way over to Arthur, Morgana and Leon.

They were all momentarily sucked underwater as the ferry rocked but resurfaced coughing and spluttering.

"Stay together," Leon advised, "Let's find the others."

The four of them made their way into the hall outside the café, part swimming, part stumbling and part being thrown.

"Over here!" a stranger shouted to them, "Come on! Quickly!"

Leon leading them, they headed over to the man who had a bit of wood stuck in a wound on his arm. "There's a window on the other side of the ship. It's mostly above the surface of the water. People are using it to climb out. Go!"

"We have to find our friends!" Morgana shouted to them.

"They're probably already out. The longer you stay here, the less chance you have of getting out. Anyone who meets your friends will tell them the same if they're not already out. Go on!"

Moving anywhere was practically impossible. The water was very nearly now up to the ceiling- or floor, seeing as the boat was upside down- but the floating objects from all over the boat meant no one could swim anywhere efficiently without stopping to clamber over a broken bench or dodge a till from one of the gift shops. Navigating a ferry which was upside down, underwater and completely destroyed was not as easy as it might sound.

Gwen gripped onto Lancelot tightly. He'd been knocked out just a few minutes ago when the boat had rocked particularly aggressively and he'd been thrown into the wall. Gwen and Percival were very disorientated. It was difficult to tell which way was up thanks to a combination of the water surrounding them, the fact the ferry was no longer upright and way it kept lurching suddenly from side to side.

The noise of the storm outside was deafening. Or it had been before it had been replaced by the sound of seawater gushing in through every available gap.

"Hey!" a woman shouted from beside them. She was holding a crying child of maybe about three years old. "Look here!"

There was a hole in the wall of the ferry and the only water coming through it was a gradual drip from the rain.

"We can get out!" the woman said.

"The water out there will be lethal!" Gwen called, "We'd never survive!"

"We'd have a better chance than in here," Percival said, "Come on." He took Lancelot from Gwen and they swam over to the woman. She'd attracted quite a big crowd, shouting to everyone nearby.

"I'll go first," a man offered, "See if it's safe to hold onto the bottom of the boat above water.

"Be careful, mate," another man said to him, clearly his friend.

"I'm a strong swimmer," the first man assured him, "I'll make my way back once I've checked it out and help you with your friend." He gestured to Percival.

"Thanks," Percival said, "Look after yourself."

The man nodded and placed his hands on either side of the hole above him, forcing himself out of the water and then twisting so he could reach onto something else on the hull of the boat. He clambered out of sight, leaving everyone else floating uselessly inside.

After a few minutes of gradually getting further away from solid ground beneath them.

"It's safe!" the mans voice called and his feet dropped into view, "It's a bit slippery underfoot but there's plenty to hold onto at the top and it's definitely stable."

"Ok, then," his friend shouted, "Make your way up one at a time. Quickly as you can. We help each other, yeah? Is anyone else hurt?"

Soon enough, there were dozens of people climbing up the bottom of the boat, keeping their heads down against the wind and rain which was, a little too late, lessening a bit. Those who were injured were being supported by others. Percival and the man who'd been brave enough to get out the boat first were carrying Lancelot. That was, until Percival caught sight of someone in the water, "Gwaine!"

Gwen followed Percival's gaze down into the sea. It was difficult to make anything out properly but there was definitely someone getting thrown around by the waves.

"I have to get him," Percival said to her.

"Be careful." She took his place holding onto Lancelot while still keeping her grip on the boat as Percival clambered back down the boat. She tried to keep watch on him, but her arms were burning with the effort of keeping herself rooted on the boat securely. She didn't see him lose his grip and tumble down into the sea.

Arthur was now trying to swim while also helping Elyan who had been knocked full force into an oncoming piece of metal and was suffering from an injured leg. Leon and Morgana were battling through the water together, finding it increasingly difficult to hold onto each other. There was barely even an inch of space between the top of the water and the ceiling/floor above them.

"How long can you hold your breath?" Arthur asked everyone.

"Not long enough," Morgana said, glad that the water everywhere was disguising her tears.

"We'll all be fine, ok?" Arthur reassured, "Think of everything we have to get back to, yeah? Fight for that. Don't take a huge breath, it doesn't help. Just a normal one, then duck your head under and we move together. We're not far now."

Morgana and Leon quickly kissed each other and Arthur forced himself not to think about Merlin. He was safe, he had to be. Lancelot had found him and they'd got out the escape route together. Arthur just had to get to him. They were all craning their necks to keep their mouths and noses out the water for as long as possible.

"Ready?" Leon asked them all, gripping Morgana's hand one last time before they'd have to let go to swim properly.

"This is no problem," Arthur said quickly in the last few seconds before they'd be submerged, "It's not far away."

With one last inhalation of air, the four went underwater once more. Leon and Morgana went ahead pretty quickly, while Arthur helped Elyan. At least with everything being underwater, the items floating around them were moving a lot slower.

By some miracle, Arthur finally managed to guide his friend to a huge hole in the ferry where there were still a few people clambering out. Leon and Morgana were nowhere to be seen, Arthur presumed that was because they'd got themselves out. They poked their heads out the hole and gasped for air. The rain had completely stopped but the wind was just as strong.

"You alright?" Arthur asked Elyan.

"Yeah. Come on, let's get out of here."

Arthur pulled himself out and turned so that he was in a position suitable to help Elyan too.

"Arthur!" Leon's voice yelled.

"Arthur!" Gwen's voice sounded.

"Have you seen Morgana?" Leon asked.

"You have to help them!" Gwen shouted.

Arthur looked around frantically, trying to figure out what was going on. "Here," he said quickly to Elyan, "Can you pull yourself up?"

"Sure. Thanks for the help."

Arthur made sure Elyan was safely on his way up to the highest point of the boat above water and then looked at Leon who was holding on desperately nearby. "What's wrong?"

"Morgana never made it out. I thought maybe she was with you!"

Arthur shook his head.

"Look, I'll go back in. You have to speak to Gwen."

"You can't, Leon. Everywhere is completely submerged."

"She has to be along the way somewhere. I'll find her. She's your sister, Arthur. And my wife. I'm not going to leave her. Please. Help Gwen."

"What's happened to Gwen?"

"Nothing. But Lance is hurt and Percy and Gwaine are in the water. Someone needs to get them out."

"Where's Merlin?"

"I haven't seen him," Leon admitted.

Arthur sighed.

"One thing at a time, yeah?" Leon said sympathetically, "Let's deal with the things we know how to deal with first."

Arthur nodded, "You get Morgana. I'll get Gwaine and Percy. See you soon."

"Good luck."

Arthur flashed a thumbs up to Gwen, then dived straight into the sea.

Merlin hadn't taken a breath in for at least five minutes. He'd managed to get his prosthetic leg off and that was now sinking to the depths of the sea, never to be seen again. He was now desperately swimming upwards, entire body burning and freezing simultaneously. Honestly, he didn't know how he'd managed to keep going for so long without air. Merlin wondered vaguely what the world record for holding your breath was. Surely he must be near that by now.

He was so close to the surface now. Pretending his vision was only blurry because of the water and not the black spots dancing in front of them. Hoping his arms were strong enough to cope with a few more strokes to get him to the fresh air. The higher he swum though, the harder it seemed to get. At the surface the storm was agitating the water, throwing everything about violently.

Merlin felt like it could only have been a combination of every miracle on the planet that his head finally broke the surface of the water. He barely had energy to keep himself there, though. His brain was spinning so quickly it must have been breaking a thousand speed limits. The rest of him had no strength left to move anywhere. And staying above the water was harder than getting there. It didn't occur to him that the rain was stopping because he was being bombarded by water from all directions anyway.

While Merlin had been making his way up to the surface, he'd been paying attention to nothing else. And now, he was really far away from the tipped ferry. He could see at least a hundred people clinging desperately to the parts of the boat that were above water. But those parts were lessening. Because the ferry was definitely sinking. Merlin looked up as best he could. His heart soared to see helicopters surrounding the destroyed vessel from above. How they were going to get anyone out, Merlin didn't know. But at least help was there. He could only hope that Arthur was one of the people on the boat.

Gwen wished she could see what was happening properly. Even without the constant movement, there were people in the way, water splashing everywhere, and her head was clouded with panic. All of that and she still had to keep hold of Lancelot and watch out for the rest of her friends. Her brother was slowly making his way towards her through the terrified crowds but his movement was reduced because of his injury. Arthur had leapt straight into the sea after catching sight of Gwaine and Percival down there. Gwen was fairly sure she'd seen Arthur guide Percival back to the side of the boat where he was now clinging on desperately but not climbing up. He was waiting while Arthur brought Gwaine.

Gwen hadn't seen where Leon went. She thought she'd seen him emerge from inside but he wasn't anywhere near her now so maybe she'd been mistaken. There were a lot of people around. One of them must have looked like her friend. She must have just been mistaken. Leon was somewhere else on the boat, with Morgana, keeping their hold on everything and perfectly safe.

"Gwen!"

"Oh, Elyan. Are you alright?" she asked shakily.

"I'm fine, don't worry. How are you holding up?"

"I'm terrified."

"Look up, Gwen," Elyan said, "There's help here."

Gwen glanced to the sky and nearly fell off the side of the ferry all together. Helicopters were littering the sky, people in high-vis jackets being lowered down already. "I didn't even notice."

Elyan smiled, "What happened to Lance?"

"What happened to your leg?" Gwen asked at the same time.

Elyan nearly laughed, "My leg is fine, don't worry."

Gwen did her best to hug her brother whilst also holding onto both the ferry and her husband.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked.

"Arthur's helping Percy and Gwaine. Leon went back to find Morgana."

"Where's Morgana?"

"We don't know," Elyan said sadly, "We were all together but she never got out."

"And Merlin?"

Elyan shook his head, "No one's seen him."

"Gwaine was in the water," Gwen said, "He must have fallen off. So that means Merlin must be around here."

"Unless he fell off too," Elyan muttered.

"We're all split up," Gwen said sadly, "Bad things always happen when we're split up."

"This is going to be fine. It's also always fine."

"Everyone is either hurt, lost or looking for someone who is hurt or lost!"

"We're not on our own, Gwen," Elyan said, "It's not up to us to look after everyone this time. Everyone is in danger this time. So, for once, it's about looking after ourselves as a priority."

"Tell that to Arthur," Gwen looked down again.

"Has he found Gwaine?"

"I think so. But it looks like they're hurt."