14. The Return of...Well, Almost Everybody
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Summary: A reincarnation fic set in the "Bernicia" universe. Ensemble cast, including OCs.
Mordred came back, decades after Andor, and Arthur met his end at Camlann. People died, kingdoms fell, magic retreated into secrecy, and Emrys waited.
Because the Once and Future King's return had been prophesied just as his death had.
Arthur had not yet risen from his centuries-long slumber when others from Camelot of old began to make appearances. Merlin supposed it was fitting that the first he saw was Gaius.
The former court physician was a respected doctor in a busy London clinic. When Merlin took his sweet old landlady (even warlocks needed someplace to stay, and wilderness got lonely on any continent) in for her checkup, he nearly cried out when he saw his mentor, looking many years younger than he remembered.
Gaius didn't recognize him. Merlin, sorrowful and a bit angry, refused to set foot in that clinic again for six months. After that, he began lurking around the place every so often, just to make sure Gaius (his first name in this life was somehow the same, but his last name was Herb, which Merlin found funny) was okay.
He also felt in the mood to look like his young self rather than his middle-aged or old self for the first time in two hundred years or so.
To an immortal sorcerer, five years was not a very long time, and it was about that long after first seeing Gaius that Merlin turned a corner in a store to find a surprisingly young Gwen and Elyan bickering over whether or not Emil (Elyan) needed a new shirt or three. (Gwen, as it turned out, was still called Gwen.)
Merlin wondered if he should walk away, but instead he approached the siblings, introduced himself, and offered his services as a mediator. They were wary at first, naturally, but before long he had their phone numbers and had met (or, rather, re-met) their father Thomas.
As more time passed, Merlin began to notice that a lot of people seemed familiar...as in, he'd met them over a thousand years earlier. The young man laughing and stumbling around outside a bar with his friends looked like Sir Kay, a knight in the later days of Camelot. He could swear that the new waitress in the cafe Gwen frequented had been a farmer's daughter in Ealdor. While watching a movie he didn't know much about, he nearly fell off his sofa when he recognized the lead actress as Princess Elena of Gawant. And he was almost certain that he'd glimpsed George dressed as a hotel porter.
"What do you think it all means?" he asked a fully-grown Aithusa when he took a quick trip to Greenland to visit her. "Is everyone going to come back? 'Cause I'd rather Uther didn't...None of them seem to remember...What does this mean for the prophecies? For Arthur?"
"The old religion works in mysterious ways, Emrys," Aithusa rumbled in response.
"Please stop talking like Kilgharrah used to," Merlin said with a groan. Then, "I just suppose we'll have to wait and see..."
But when he returned to Britain, he started actively looking for his old friends.
Geoffrey was still Gaius's friend...and a terrifying librarian.
Lancelot (or just Lance) had gone to college with Gwen and had recently moved back into the same area she lived in. Merlin watched them flirt and wondered if he should do anything about it. If...When Arthur returns…
He decided to let things take their course. Besides, Lancelot was still a great friend, even if he didn't remember Camelot.
Yet.
Morgause was a socialite with the first name Melissa, and was rumored to be influencing various politicians behind the scenes. Merlin decided to keep a watchful distance. I won't let her try to ruin things again...Though I suppose this means Morgana might come back, too…
He wasn't sure how to feel about that.
As Merlin was apparently everyone's confidante, he was the first to hear about the strange dreams. Not everyone seemed to be having them (Tom, for instance, never did), but Gwen, Lancelot, Elyan, and even Gaius (if Merlin's information gained from snooping was correct) were.
It was a bit exciting.
When Merlin located Leon (who had originally outlived everyone in the old crowd from Camelot save Emrys), the blond man sighed in relief and actually hugged the warlock. "I've remembered everything for years, Merlin, since I was seventeen! Which was the same age I was when I first began serious knighthood training in Camelot itself...Do you think I'm cursed or something?"
"Um, I actually think you might be blessed, in some way. You did seem to survive a lot..."
"I'm not sure if that's better or worse. Anyway, who else have you found?"
"About that..."
When Gaius left work the day he first remembered, he found Merlin waiting by his car with a broad grin. "Hello, Gaius."
Gaius's first reaction was to slap the warlock upside the head. His next move was to engulf the younger man in a hug. "It's been too long, my boy."
"You've never been more right."
Merlin, have you found Gwaine yet? I liked him.
Not yet, Aithusa. I'm sure he'll turn up soon.
On the upside, Lancelot remembered next and was glad to hear that Merlin had eventually been able to use his magic freely.
On the downside, the noble knight became more serious overnight and distanced himself from Gwen. She didn't understand and was hurt until a few weeks later, when she remembered everything on the same night as her brother.
It was nice to see at least two-thirds of that enchanted bracelet business cleared up at last.
Lancelot had once worked with Percival (or Percy, as his family called him now) in a different city, and he, Elyan, Gwen, Leon, Merlin, and even Gaius took a day trip to visit the towering man.
The door was answered by Haralda Barclayn (now Hannah Barclay), who didn't remember them. Percival, however, did, and was overjoyed to see them all.
"When I remembered, I figured you'd show up eventually...I expected Merlin at least...I hope she'll remember, too...Her parents and her cousin Garth's...Gwaine's, that is; I've seen pictures; it's him...all died in a freak car accident a few years back. Alan...Aldwyn...got in a fight with a drug addict or something and got stabbed to death...After all that, Hannah needed some space...Anyway, the rest of them are living up in Edinburgh. I guess Gwaine and Elen are taking care of the kids."
So in this life, Gwaine's the responsible one.
As relative ages in these new lives seemed more or less consistent to the old, Merlin did some quick figuring and decided that the twins were about fourteen or fifteen now. "Well, I'm going to Scotland. Who's up for a longer road trip?"
That night, Haralda had a dream that woke her up yelling swear words. At a group breakfast in a cafe the next morning, she confirmed that she remembered, too. "I'm going to hit Gwaine when I see him."
"For what?" Lancelot asked while the others exchanged looks.
"For outliving me, of course. Then he'll hit me back for the shit I pulled in this life, and we'll be even."
"Before you ask, Lance, she was always like this," Elyan said with a grin.
"No," said Leon. "I think she was worse."
"I can still throw things with accuracy, you know."
They actually found Elen (Helen) first...snogging Hayden Wyverndomitor in the empty waiting room of the animal shelter they both worked at. Apparently, their memories had only come back that very day.
"I'm just going to blame you for that, Emrys," Elen said, before she stepped over to Haralda and slapped her. "Never run off again. I had enough of that with Gwaine the first time around."
While that conversation was continuing, Hayden grinned at Merlin and the others. "It's great to see you all again."
"Likewise," Merlin said with a smile.
Percival said, "Please tell me you don't have wyverns in this life."
"No, sadly I do not. But I do have an iguana...and several bearded dragons...and a few geckos..."
Evan, Ethan, and Heidi (Everard, Elwin, and Hertha) were at school when the company got to the Barclay house. Gwaine was out front, engrossed in the mechanics of a motorcycle.
The others hung back while Merlin and Elen approached. "Um...Garth?" the warlock ventured.
The former knight glanced up, shared a look with Elen, and got to his feet, wiping his hands on a rag. "Merlin, mate," he said with a broad smile, "What took you so long?"
The veritable feast they had that night was boisterous and joyous. Yet, though the table was more than full, almost everyone (maybe not Heidi/Hertha, who still didn't remember her past life or really understand where all these guests came from or what they were talking about) felt a conspicuous absence.
"So the Princess hasn't returned yet," Gwaine said quietly to Merlin at one point.
"No, not yet."
"Any idea what threat he's supposed to be facing?"
"No." Merlin sighed, then brightened. "By the way, Aithusa's still alive, and she'd love to see you..."
The next year was both wonderful and not. Most reincarnated souls did not seem to remember their past lives, yet it was somehow comforting to know they were all there.
Merlin was elated to have all his friends back. They all made a point to keep in close contact, even though they had to continue their modern lives. Magic, both good and not so good, kept popping up around the world. Morgana emerged, a lonely woman with a young illegitimate child and with powers she couldn't understand or control. Vowing to do better this time around, Merlin helped her and young Mordred (even though it was so hard to get past Camlann), and when Morgana's memories returned (Mordred's, thankfully, remained dormant for the time being), it was a struggle, but they all managed it together. Gwen, with her boundless kindness, was invaluable during that time.
In a less arduous twist, both Elen and Gwaine developed some magical talent in their new life, which annoyed them to no end.
Yet even for those not weighed down by past evil actions faced difficulties when balancing memories of two lives. Merlin could see it in all of them. Friends had been regained, but many people had been lost.
Percival loved Haralda, but missed his first wife from before and their son. Hayden and Elen were inseparable, and yet mourned their long-dead children (Merlin suspected Hayden also mourned the long-dead wyverns, though probably not as much). Elyan had endured some terrible torture during his lifetime and had died painfully in a skirmish, and the reemergence of those memories did nothing to help him mentally. Gwen longed for her husband and child. Everard, Elwin, and Hertha (who did regain pieces of her past life as the year went by) all struggled with years and years of adult memories at the ages of fifteen and eleven, respectively. Some of the friends from Camelot had returned family members who lived longer and better lives than before, but the Barclayn clan had lost Harlan, Aldora, Goddard, and Ela even sooner in this life than they had in the last one.
"It's probably just as well," Gwaine told Merlin with a ghost of a smile. "If Uncle Harlan regained his memories now, he'd be breaking expensive electronics left and right."
Despite everything, Merlin was happier than he'd been in centuries, and kept himself well-prepared for any evil that might need to be defeated.
Now, if Arthur would just show up…
The dire time did draw nearer, and Arthur, young and strong as he had been in the first years of his reign, rose from the lake to find Merlin waiting for him. After an embrace and a quick explanation of the others' returns, the king said, "Have I and the rest been brought back to save the world?"
"It seems so. And I bought a castle so we could all stay together and plan when we need to."
"Right. You bought a castle." Arthur frowned. "Did you do some magic to make that happen, or..."
"Shut up, clot-pole."
"Idiot."
"Prat."
It felt so good to laugh with Arthur again.
The king's "welcome back" at said castle was a joyful occasion, and Merlin was not the only person with tears in his or her eyes.
However, when Arthur had properly greeted his wife, knights, and close friends (including a reformed Morgana), he turned to the remaining people in the room and groaned. "Seriously, Merlin? Why did the magic have to bring back most of the Barclayns, too?"