The world changed in a second. The sun sputtered out, screams rent the peaceful afternoon in a second. How could that happen? And so quickly? One moment, they were bringing back a long-lost friend, the next, they condemned many others to a fate unknown.

Merlin's tears hissed with energy as they spattered on the rocks, boiled as they were whisked away by the gentle tide of the lake, as he tried to comprehend that damage he had done. Haphazard thoughts chased each other around his brain in time to the cadence of his spell, but all thought faded into panic as the light of day was completely swallowed up, and the sounds of people screaming and the smell of impending death was all there was.

He started and let out a strangled cry as a hand grasped his upper arm.

"Oi! Watch the face, mate!" yelled the Doctor, hoisting Merlin to his feet. If Merlin squinted, he could make out the glint of the Doctor's green eyes, as they stared at him in crazed confusion. They stood there for a beat of time, feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. Then, the Doctor started to yank Merlin toward the TARDIS.

"What are you doing?!" screamed Merlin, trying to resist the Doctor's iron grasp. "We have to help them!" He gestured wildly toward the town, where screams and panicked calls were carried to them by an angry wind.

"We need to get out of here, figure out what's going on! We can't help them if we don't know what we're helping with!" Merlin ignored the Doctor's reason, and continued to strain toward the village. "Oh, for goodness sake," the Doctor sighed, and let go of Merlin. He tore towards the town, but before he could get far, he heard a strange whirring noise inside his head, he felt his knees buckle, and his face hit the rocky lake bed. He lay there for a moment, and he supposed the world would look blurry if he could see it. He heard the Doctor's approaching footsteps just before he collapsed to the sound of his fluttering heartbeat.

The first thing Merlin heard when he woke up was the gentle purring of the TARDIS on standby. He groaned as a dull ringing buzzed to life inside his head, accompanied by a skull-splitting headache. He cracked his eyes open to see that he was laid haphazardly on a small cot in the TARDIS control room, with the Doctor worrying over the controls, muttering to himself once again.

He looked up when he heard Merlin groan, and was by his side in a second.

"You alright, mate?" he asked softly, and his words reverberated painfully inside his head.

"What's it look like?" Merlin rasped, laboriously sitting up. He put his face in his hands and closed his eyes as a renewed wave of pain overtook him. As he stared at the colors swirling across his vision, the ringing morphed into the screams of terrified people. His eyes flew open as he recalled the events of that day, and looked about at the calm interior of the TARDIS.

"Where are we?" he asked, fighting back the horror that threatened to engulf him.

"The middle of space," the Doctor answered.

"And why are we here?"

"I thought that would be obvious."

"Obviou--"

"Shh!" The Doctor clamped a hand over his mouth. Merlin glared daggers at him until the hand was removed, and when it was he prepared to yell until his voice was gone. But before he could say anything, the Doctor intervened. "All I meant was, there was a wave of the most evil beings in creation tearing towards us, and that we ought to get out of its way."

"And what about the people? What about, I don't know, the entire world?"

"Listen--"

"No! After what you did--"

"What I did? I would have worked if you had worded the spell differently!"

"What do you know about magic?! You found out about magic yesterday."

"Well, I know myself, and this entire evil thing is against my nature." Merlin froze then, incredulous and hurt.

"And you're saying it's not against mine?" The Doctor's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, probably to apologize, but Merlin cut him off. "Right. Arguing is getting us nowhere. I still think we should go back and help those people to the best of our ability." The Doctor closed his mouth, and looked down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs. "Well?" Merlin asked expectantly. "Turn us around."

"I can't."

"What do you mean, 'I can't'?"

The Doctor looked up at Merlin, anxiety coloring his features.

"I don't know where we are." Merlin stared at the Doctor, uncomprehending. How could they be lost? The Doctor had been through his paces when it came to navigating the universe: he was no novice. Merlin could see star charts and maps depicting planets he never knew existed, computer systems developed for the express purpose of exploring, and copious notes dedicated to the exact position of every planet ever discovered, present and future, down to the last second of the earthly year. So, Merlin wondered, how exactly could they be lost?

Merlin asked the Doctor this very question, to which he answered, "After you released the -ahem- things, I pulled you into the TARDIS, the full force of the wave hit, and as we were taking off, it blew us off course."

"Well, where do you think we are?"

"I told you-"

"But you must have a hypothesis." The Doctor sighed, and got tiredly to his feet. He trudged over to the TARDIS doors, and threw them open. Merlin was expecting the fabulous array of galaxies and lone stars, but instead, he saw only a vacant darkness.

"I don't think we're technically anywhere," the Doctor muttered, a slight tremble in his voice. It seemed as though a fist of ice had closed itself around Merlin's stomach as he spoke.

"Are we dead?" He had never even considered being dead, he just assumed he never would. He had never been afraid of it, and some of the time he wished it would come and take him in the night, but now, as the possibility loomed before him, it scared him. Scared him more than anything ever had.

"No, you numpty, would you have a concussion if you were dead?" the Doctor snapped. The ice in his gut melted a little, but wasn't completely thawed.

"Don't patronize me, it was a natural assumption," he sniffed back.

"No, we're not dead, but I think we're in The Empty. It's--"

"The Empty? What is it?"

"Well, if you would let me finish, I might tell you."

"Sorry. Of course. Just nervous. Continue," Merlin stuttered. The Doctor stared quizzically at him for a moment, before looking back out at the darkness.

"I don't even know if is is The Empty, I mean, it was just a myth among Timelords and humans alike. At least, maybe it was fact. I don't know. But according to mythology from many different time periods, religions, and dynasties, from both planets, it's the ultimate Hell. The Hell for demons, and twisted creatures of the dark. Instead of the stereotypical Hell, where damned earthly souls go, with torture and screaming and all that good stuff, this is just wandering aimlessly through nothing for the rest of eternity. No nourishment, no refuge, no anything to look forward to. This is where monsters go, the ones too evil for Hell to contain. They go insane, lost in their own bloodlust and lack of all things that make them what they are. This, this, is for the damned demons. The damned angels. The ultimate end to everything."