Merlin was so tired. He'd been alive for so long now. So, so long. So long that he wasn't even sure how long it's been. The earth had crumbled to dust, and the human race had scattered among the stars. And Merlin had been forced to go with them. The Earth, his home, his last link to Arthur and Camelot, gone. Magic was mostly gone. Most civilizations prefer technology and mathematics to spells and rituals. It was seen as a myth. Merlin had been worried that when the earth was gone he'd lose his abilities. He already had to live without Arthur, he couldn't bear the thought of losing his magic as well. He hadn't. And so he wandered for millenia, with his magic, but no Arthur. Until the day the last shuttle departing Earth was leaving, the Earth scheduled to be destroyed the next day, Merlin had waited by that lake, living in the town as an old hermit when it formed, keeping watch for Arthur. Every year on their anniversaries, when they first met, Arthur's Birthday, the day they first kissed, and of course Arthur's death, Merlin would create a bouquet of flowers, and float them out onto the lake just as he had Arthur. Merlin would grieve for eternity, the pain of losing the man he loved never fading.
After ten thousand years, several world wars, a handful of plagues, and other disasters, Merlin finally realized Arthur would never come home. And after spending five entire years trying to find a way to join Arthur in Avalon, he had cried even harder. Realizing that not only could old age not kill him, nothing could. Realizing that he would never die, Merlin felt as if he had lost him all over again. And he had sobbed and mourned for years. And yet he couldn't bring himself to leave that lake. It was the last place left that had memories of him. Memories that made Merlin sad, but memories nonetheless. Arthur was buried here. He couldn't leave him. And when the earth was being evacuated because of its scheduled destruction, Merlin had to be dragged away by law enforcement. Sobbing hysterically as he was forced to leave his other half behind completely, and then watch the planet where he was laid to rest, be destroyed. Now all he had left was the sigil. He never took off the sigil that we wore around his neck. Having it helped him feel somewhat reassured, the sigil was a physical symbol of Arthur's love for Merlin. He never took it off. He'd use his magic to keep it polished and intact. Some days, he'd hold it in his hand and sob as he had the day Arthur had died, and sometimes even harder than he had then. And Every night since the day Arthur died, he prayed to the universe that he wouldn't wake up the next morning.
In order to avoid questions Merlin had to allow himself to age, live a life, and when he was old enough he'd disappear, tell everyone he was retiring to somewhere and then return himself to a young age. If he wanted a job or money, he needed a history. He'd turn himself to be about 8 years old, and eventually get caught by the intergalactic child protective agency, give them a new name and be placed with a family. Sometimes they were wonderful and loving, other times not so much. This set of parents were the latter.
Biff and Valerie Cane. Making him Jethro Cane. Merlin did not like them. Merlin was not a normal person. And despite his extremely long life, he was still just as clumsy as always. He still talked back, and was smart with people, he treated everyone how he thought they deserved to be treated no matter what position of authority they held. He was still sarcastic as well, and enjoyed using his magic to play small pranks. Mr. and Mrs. Cane did not like that. Nor did they approve of his "imagination." Merlin often told stories of Camelot and Magic to the other kids. He had enough friends, and he liked them well enough, but no one knew who he really was. Val and Biff would often scold him for telling these stories, scold him for his clumsiness, how he talked back to everyone, for all of it. But Merlin refused to change. These were the things that Arthur had loved about him. And Arthur had made him promise to never change. So he wouldn't. His so-called parents insisted that he must become a scientist or a doctor, but Merlin wanted to write. He finally wanted to tell the story of Camelot, the true story of Arthur and Merlin. But they would repeatedly try to squash this dream, saying it wasn't a real job and he needed to get a real job. They were also the sort that got angry at cashiers for things out of their control. Or called the cops because their neighbor won't mow their lawn. The police had gotten rather fed up with them by now. Once, Merlin had seen Biff yell at a homeless man for sitting under the awning of a bus stop when it was pouring outside. Biff wasn't even taking the bus. In response Merlin decided to go Emo. All black, the hair that falls in your face, leather wrist cuffs, he even painted his nails black. They hated it. And Merlin loved that they hated it. They had tried grounding him, demanding he stop dressing like a freak, going so far as to throw his clothes away. Merlin simply went out and bought new clothes, the same clothes. Finally they gave up.
The family was on vacation. They had decided to go to a planet called Midnight. It was made of diamonds and the sunlight was so powerful that if you step outside, you'd be incinerated in less than a second. They were staying at a place called the Leisure Palace. The windows there were fifteen feet thick, and there were no doors to the outside. To get in you had to take a special shuttle from a station up above that docked the same way early spacecrafts had in the 21st century.
Merlin found it boring.
A week in and his parents decided they wanted to go on an expedition to see the Sapphire Waterfall. It was a four hour journey one way. And of course, they dragged Merlin along with them. They were the second ones to board the bus. Before them a woman had boarded, older, blond, dressed in a pantsuit. They sat towards the back, his parents sat next to eachother on one side. Merlin sat on the other side. Merlin noticed a man get on board. He was a normal-human looking man, his hair was brown and sort-of stuck up in the air, he was dressed in a pencil suit, tie and everything, a brown trench coat and red converse high-tops. Merlin hadn't seen those since he still lived on Earth. They must have cost the man a pretty penny. But then, Merlin noticed the energy.
There was something about this man, this energy it almost felt like magic, but… not quite. It wasn't active like magic was, swirling, humming beneath the skin begging to be used, no… the energy in this man was calm, quiet, and dormant. And the man's eyes, he recognized those eyes. They were the eyes of an old, tired man who had lost absolutely everything. A traveler who had fought wars and battles, but had lost the one that was most important to him. A traveler who had seen more than anyone else in the universe. Merlin suddenly realized this man was far older than he looked. Perhaps Merlin could travel with him, they could be immortal together, never having to watch someone close to them age and then die. Someone he could finally tell the truth, and be himself around. His heart would always belong to Arthur alone, even though he will never see Arthur again, but a real, true friend would be more than Merlin could ask for.
The man sat down, an old white heavy-set man boarded, followed by a young, black girl with glasses. He quickly gathered that the man was a scientist named Hobbes, and the girl was his assistant, DeeDee. The Professor was rather awful to his assistant. She was doing her best, but he acted as if she was doing everything wrong. The Hostess began making her way down the rows with a cart. She handed out a multitude of items, Merlin didn't accept any of them. Val asked him why he was sitting all the way over there. Merlin had replied with "Because I want to."
"Don't be silly. Come and sit with us. Look, we get slippers." she tried to convince him,
"Jethro. Do what your mother says." Biff chimed in,
"I'm sitting here." He exclaimed, frustrated
"Oh, he's ashamed of us, but he doesn't mind us paying, does he?" Biff snarked, Merlin had no money, and they were legally his guardians. They had to pay. Not to mention they forced him to be here, so obviously Merlin isn't going to pay if he doesn't want to go. Merlin had been about to retort.
"Oh, don't you two start. Should I save the juice pack or have it now? Look, peach and clementine." Val said, effectively distracting Biff. The Hostess put the cart away having finished passing out all the complimentary things. She stood at the front of the bus.
"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader Fifty. If you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors."
Right on cue the shuttle doors closed. "Shields down." This time the windows.
"I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace." she explained, "Also, a reminder. Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first. Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe." a male voice came over the intercom,
"Driver Joe at the wheel. There's been a diamond fall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map. The journey covers five hundred kliks to the Multifaceted Coast. Duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for traveling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll." The shuttle shook a bit, indicating their departure. The hostess began to speak again.
"For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retro vids of Earth classics." tvs came down from the ceiling, it was some disco song from the Earth 80s or something.
"Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein." The lights went out and a projector started rolling, displaying some sort of abstract art on the walls.
"Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat. The Animation Archives." A projection of a cartoon Merlin actually recognized as Betty Boop went onto a screen in front of the drivers cabin door.
"Four hours of fun time. Enjoy." No one enjoyed. It was a loud chaotic mess with all the noise piling on top of one another. Suddenly it all stopped. The music, projection and cartoon all stopped.
"Well, that's a mercy." Hobbes exclaimed, the Hostess began running towards the front,"
"I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We seem to have had a failure of the Entertainment System."
"Oh." the strange man with the old eyes said, Merlin is gonna call him Red for now, cause of the red shoes.
"But what do we do?" Val asked, Merlin wanted to roll his eyes.
"We've got four hours of this? Four hours of just sitting here?" Biff added, Red turned in his seat to face them.
"Tell you what. We'll have to talk to each other instead." he said.
About 45 minutes later Biff and Val were telling that story that they told everyone.
"So Biff said, I'm going swimming." Val went,
"Oh, I was all ready. Trunks and everything. Nose plug." Biff added on,
"He had this little nose plug. You should have seen him."
"And I went marching up to the lifeguard. And he was a Shamboni. You know, those big foreheads?"
"Great big forehead." Val was laughing hysterically.
"And I said, where's the pool? And he said"
"The pool is abstract." His parents said in perfect sync,
"It wasn't a real pool." Val said between bouts of laughter,
"It was a concept." Biff finished for her,
"And you were wearing a nose plug." Red asked,
"I was like this." he squeezed his nose with his fingers in demonstration, "Ooo, where's the pool?" They were laughing.
Red made his way around the bus, talking to everyone in turn. About an hour and a half later, professor Hobbes was giving a lecture, why he brought all that gear with him, Merlin didn't know.
"So, this is Midnight, do you see, bombarded by the sun." he pointed it all out with a pointer stick" Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide." the slide changed, "It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see," he sits in a chair facing them, super serious tone, "the history is fascinating. Because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing." Merlin may not like the man, but he had to admit, he gave amazing lectures.
"But how do you know? I mean, if no one can go outside." he couldn't help but ask, Val scoffed.
"Oh, his imagination. Here we go."
"He's got a point, though." Red defended him,
"Exactly." The professor exclaimed, "We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it." suddenly there was a rattling and grinding noise.
"We've stopped. Have we stopped?" Val asked,
"Are we there?" Biff asked,
"We can't be, it's too soon." DeeDee responded,
"They don't stop. Crusader vehicles never stop." Hobbes stated, the Hostess stood from where she had been sitting and made her way towards the front
"If you could just return to your seats. It's just a small delay." she calmed,
"Maybe just a pit stop." Biff suggested
"What's going on?" The hostess asked into the intercom,
"There's no pit to stop in. I've been on this expedition fourteen times. They never stop." Hobbes stated, very sure of himself,
"Well, evidently we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it." The blond women identified as Sky pointed out, Merlin couldn't help himself, he chuckled
"We've broken down." he laughed,
"Thanks, Jethro." Val stated sarcastically, Merlin looked directly at her
"In the middle of nowhere."
"That's enough. Now stop it." Biff instructed, The Hostess returned,
"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We're just experiencing a short delay. The driver needs to stabilize the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats." she explained, she ensured everyone sat down. Red stood up and walked towards the driver's door. The hostess tried to stop him.
"No, I'm sorry, sir, I. Could you please?" she politely requested, Red flashed a piece of paper in a leather folder. Psychic paper, Merlin realized. That was rare nowadays.
"There you go. Engine expert. Two ticks." he stated confidently, he opened the door and walked in.
"I'm sorry, sir. if you could just sit down. You're not supposed to be in there." The hostess insisted before the door shut in her face. The passengers waited for him to return, eventually standing up again and pacing. Red returned after a few moments.
"What did they say? Did they tell you? What is it? What's wrong?" Sky asked,
"Oh, just stabilizing. Happens all the time." Red assured her with a nonchalant shrug.
"I don't need this. I'm on a schedule. This is completely unnecessary." She complained
"Back to your seats, thank you." The hostess instructed, DeeDee approached Red,
"Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micro petrol engines, aren't they?" Oh so he was a doctor,
"Now, don't bother the man." Hobbes scolded, Merlin really did not like him. DeeDee pressed on,
"My father was a mechanic. Micro Petrol doesn't stabilize. What does stabilize mean?"
"Well. Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out." Red again tried to assure her,
"So it's not the engines?" Hobbes interrogated,
"It's just a little pause, that's all."
"How much air have we got?" And there is was, the worst question to ask in a situation like this.
"Professor, it's fine." Red was getting frustrated,
"What did he say?" Val began,
"Nothing." Red said again,
"Are we running out of air?"
Merlin saw the Hostess come back into the compartment.
"I was just speculating." Hobbes tried to calm her down
"Is that right, miss? Are we running out of air?" Biff now asked the Hostess,
"Is that what the Captain said?" Would those two just please shut up and sit down?
"If you could all just remain calm." she began,
"How much air have we got?" Val demanded,
"Mum, just stop it." Merlin tried,
"I assure you, everything is under control." The Hostess said, being interrupted once again this time by Biff,
"Well, doesn't look like it to me."
"Well, he said it." Val pointed at the professor, DeeDee tried to say something but his parents wouldn't let her get a word in,
"He started it"
Then people were talking over each other trying to get answers, Merlin couldn't tell what anyone was saying,
"Everyone! Quiet!" Red shouted, everyone fell silent and looked at him, "Thank you. Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee." Eyes turned to the girl, who stood as if answering a question in class.
"Oh. Er, it's just that, well, the air's on a circular filter, so we could stay breathing for ten years."
"There you go." Red sighed, "And I've spoken to the Captain. I can guarantee you everything's fine."
Thump, thump.
"What was that?" Val asked,
"It must be the metal. We're cooling down. It's just settling." Hobbes tried to explain,
"Rocks. It could be rocks falling." Deedee suggested,
"What I want to know is, how long do we have to sit here?" Biff demanded the entitled ass that he is.
Thump, Thump but this time on another part of the hull.
"What is that?" Sky demanded, tension was rising again
"There's someone out there." Val stated, and this time she wasn't saying stupid things.
"Now, don't be ridiculous." the professor scoffed,
"Like I said, it could be rocks." DeeDee tried to once again reassure,
"We're out in the open. Nothing could fall against the sides." The hostess revealed, the fear level went through the roof in half a second
Thump, Thump. On the wall this time.
"Knock, knock." Red mused,
"Who's there?" Merlin responded, Red gave him a little smile,
"Is there something out there? Well? Anyone?" Sky demanded
Thump, thump.
"What the hell is making that noise?" sky demanded, good question. Merlin decided to find out,
"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic. That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside." Hobbes stated, Merlin reached out with his magic, feeling for whatever or whoever was out there.
Thump, thump.
"Well, what the hell is that, then?" The woman demanded, clearly scared out of her mind,
"Sir, you really should get back to your seat." The Hostess began, Red took out a stethoscope and began using it, placing the part that normally goes on a person's chest against the wall.
"Hello?" he asked
Thump, thump. Quicker now. As if it heard the man and was trying to say Yes, I'm here!
"It's moving." he pointed out. Then he found it. His magic found it. It was familiar. So familiar. It was a soul. A human soul, without a body. It was cold, so cold, and alone. It was so lonely. Suddenly it reacted, it felt him. It moved again. The emergency exit rattled.
"It's trying the door." Val exclaimed fearfully,
"There is no it. There's nothing out there. Can't be." Hobbes insisted,
"Well evidently there is, unless you think rocks can move and open doors." Merlin scoffed, getting annoyed with the man,
"Jethro." Val scolded, but the emergency exit kept rattling, then there were two more thumps on the roof, and then two on the entrance door.
"That's the entrance. Can it get in?" Val asked,
"No. That door's on two hundred weight hydraulics." Deedee stated,
"Stop it. Don't encourage them." the Professor exclaimed,
"Except their right. Something is out there. Someone." Merlin stated, "And honestly Professor, you should treat her with more respect. She does everything for you and clearly does it well. And unless you have something useful to add, why don't you sit down and shut up, no one needs to hear your useless exclamations." Everyone stared at him,
"JETHRO!" Biff yelled at him,
"Oh I like you." Red told him, with a proud smirk on his face,
"What do you think it is?" DeeDee asked him, Merlin wasn't sure yet, his magic continued examining the soul. It knew him, he knew him. The soul was reaching out for him, it desperately wanted Merlin to help him.
"Biff, don't." He heard Val say,
"Mister Cane. Better not." Red agreed
"Nah, it's cast iron, that door." biff shrugged them off, he knocked three times, and got three thumps in reply.
"Three times. Did you hear that? It did it three times." wow way to state the obvious mom,
"It answered." Merlin stated,
"It did it three times!"
"All right, all right, all right. Everyone calm down." Red instructed.
"No, but it answered. It answered. Don't tell me that thing's not alive. It answered him." Sky exclaimed,
Thump, thump, thump.
"I really must insist you get back to your seats." the Hostess demanded, but Merlin could hear the fear in her voice.
"No, don't just stand there telling us the rules. You're the hostess. You're supposed to do something." The blonde demanded. Meanwhile Red knocked on the door four times. There was a long pause before he got the four thumps in reply. It desperately just wanted them to help him. He was so scared, cold, and lonely. Suddenly Merlin came to a realization. He pushed his magic out further, wrapping it around the soul, Arthur? Merlin remembered that Arthur and the knights had had this knock, they'd use it when they needed to send messages secretly. Someone would knock on the door in a specific pattern to relay a message. The messages were things like You're being watched, or the spy is right next to me, or messages to meet at specific times, always in the same place. And when he and Arthur had gotten together Arthur had come up with special knocks that meant things like, I love you and run, someone knows of your magic. They were unique to them. Now he knew how to find out if it really was Arthur, the soul felt like him, but Merlin needed to be sure before he let that thing in. He raised his fist against the hull.
"Jethro, don't you dare." Biff ordered,
"Shut up." Merlin told him plainly, he began knocking on the entrance,
Thump, thump-thump. Merlin tapped. That was only the first half of I love you. He waited, everyone waited with baited breath,
Thump, thump-thump, thump. Merlin felt the tears rise,
"It was different, it added a thump."
"How'd you know it would do that?" Red asked him,
"Cause I know him." Merlin responded plainly. He turned towards Red, and he knew the man saw the tears about to fall, "we have to let him in. We have to help him." He went to the fire exit,
"Jethro what are you doing?" Biff demanded,
"I don't think that's a good idea Jethro," Red added. Biff actually tried to grab him and physically stop him from getting to the fire exit, the only one that would open while without letting all the air out and killing everyone. Merlin glared at him. With the fury of a man who lost everything. Biff actually stepped back.
"Jethro don't" Val instructed, "I forbid it." He'd had enough. He used his magic and forced everyone to sit in a chair, not allowing them to move.
"What is happening?" Sky cried,
"Relax. I'll let you go when I've done what's needed." Merlin replied. He went to the fire exit and knocked their I love you knock. Then he added the one that meant I'm here for you always. Praying Arthur understood.
"I'm here, Arthur." He yelled, using the language they spoke back then, there were confused gasps from the other passengers, "I'll let you in but you've got to come here. This door." He felt Arthur move. He made his way to the door Merlin knocked on, then repeated their I'm here for you knock. He pushed his magic out.
"Arthur, can you hear me?" Merlin yelled, "Once for yes, twice for no if you can hear me." There was a single knock. Merlin gasped in joy.
"Listen to me. I'm going to open this door, but it won't stay open for long, you have to jump through it as soon as it opens. I'm going to use my magic to help you, but you have to be fast." He told him, "Do you understand?" a single knock.
"What language is that?" Val asked, Merlin ignored her.
"Everyone brace yourselves, my magic should hold you in place but just to make sure, hold on to something."
"Magic?" he heard Red ask, Merlin ensured his magic was wrapped around Arthur in a sort of tether, ready to pull him inside, and he pressed the emergency exit button. The door opened with a whoosh and Merlin yanked on the tether as Arthur jumped, and a silvery white mass landed in the bus, the air seal gave and Merlin used his magic to make sure they didn't get sucked out, and the door closed.
Merlin examined Arthur. He had no body. If he had one, it had probably been burned away by the sun, but why was his soul still here. More importantly, how was Merlin going to get him his body back.
"What on earth is that?" Hobbes demanded,
"This is a soul." Merlin explained, "Somehow his body burned away but his soul, his consciousness remained on this side of the veil." Red immediately rushed over. He took out some sort of silver stick. He pressed the button, the tip lit up and it made some sort of whirring sound as he waved it over Arthur, then he'd hold it up and read something on the side. He could feel Arthur get nervous.
"It's alright Arthur, he isn't going to hurt you." Merlin told him. The soul couldn't speak, but Merlin could feel him calm down,
"And he isn't going to hurt anyone" he said to the people on the bus.
"What language is that?" Deedee asked,
"Old English, the dialect spoken in 2nd century Britain on Earth." Merlin told her,
"How'd you come to learn a language like that?" Red asked, pausing in his examination of Arthur,
"I grew up there." Merlin told him. "I'm, well I don't even know how old I am, but millenia I'm guessing. I was born in the year 103 I believe."
"Impossible." Hobbes stated, Merlin turned and glared at him,
"You have no idea what's possible Hobbes." Merlin told him, "Magic can do many things that science can't."
"Magic?" Deedee asked curious, Merlin smiled at her,
"Yes. Magic." Merlin smirked, "see my name isn't actually Jethro." he told her, "It's just that to avoid questions I have to age myself down every 80 years, pick a new name and start a new life. Otherwise I'd stop aging at 90 and people would eventually notice."
"Jethro." Val whispered harshly, "Enough of your stories. I am your mother and you will do as I say."
"You are NOT my mother." he told her darkly, "My mother's name was Hunith. And she was the best woman I ever knew. Don't you ever compare your spoiled, entitled, arrogant self to her." He turned back to DeeDee and the Doctor,
"That would make you nearly two and a half million years old." Red said, "what is your real name if you don't mind my asking?" Merlin smirked,
"Only if you tell me yours, I never caught it. I've been referring to you as 'Red' in my head because of your shoes."
"I'm The Doctor." he said,
"That's not a real name." The Hostess exclaimed, but Merlin understood. This man was unique. It's possible that wherever he is from, you only tell your name to the people closest to you, and pick something to be called by everyone else, not unlike the Pharaohs of Egypt.
"Well Doctor, my name is Merlin." The doctor's eyes grew wide,
"No it's not. Is it?" he began, "No, because I have traveled a lot in all my years and never have I come across Camelot or anyone from there." he was ranting a mile a minute. "Time-Locked!" he exclaimed, "It must be time-locked." Merlin shrugged, turning back to focus on Arthur, desperate to help him. He could still feel him, he was still so cold.
"Doctor," he asked, "you have lived a long life, and seen much. Do you know of any way to get Arthur his body back?"
"Arthur, like King Arthur?" Hobbes demanded, Merlin was starting to get frustrated, he just wanted to save Arthur, he needed to save Arthur and these people wouldn't let him.
"Yes, professor, King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot."
"This is ridiculous, I demand you stop this nonsense at once Jethro." Merlin turned towards Biff, his eyes burning bright gold, his body was also glowing,
"Do not speak to me that way again, Biff," he spat the man's name as if it was disgusting, "you are not my father." he felt Arthur reach out to him, comforting but also wanting answers.
"He's just being an arse. But I'm also asking the man in the red shoes if he knows how we might be able to get you your body back." Merlin told him, he turned to the Doctor, "Please you have to have some ideas to help him." The doctor was lost in thought, he was pacing back and forth. Then he stopped.
"I have an idea."
They were on board the Doctor's TARDIS. Which apparently could travel through space and time. Merlin had asked if he would be able to bring them home, but the Doctor had said no.
"Camelot is time locked, I cannot get in there and even if I could, the reign of King Arthur and his death are such significant events, changing them even if you just went back to the time after his death and picked up where you left off, it could cause all of reality to collapse." He had said, "I'm sorry."
"Is there really no way they can go back?" Donna asked, the Doctor shook his head sadly. Merlin liked Donna, she was from 21st c. Britain, and she was caring, blunt, to the point, honest, and demanded respect despite not thinking very highly of herself. Merlin found her to be fun to be around.
The timer went off.
"It's ready!" the Doctor exclaimed. Arthur had been floating in his soul form next to Merlin the entire time they were there. Merlin had translated the important bits for him when the Doctor had explained the plan. Merlin would need to use his magic for it to succeed, but the Doctor seemed confident. And Donna had told him that when the Doctor was this sure in a plan, it always worked.
They went down to the room. It wasn't a specific type of room, it was just a room. But there was a machine. It was creating something called a "ganger" essentially a body without a soul. Normally they were controlled using a type of harness allowing people to work in dangerous environments without risk to themselves. They could also be very dangerous if not done properly. The Doctor had tweaked the design so that the nerve endings were fully functional, and to ensure that it would come to life on it's own. Thanks to Merlin's magic it looked exactly like Arthur had when he was around 26 years old. Soul Arthur had been slightly disturbed seeing his naked body lying on a table. But now comes the difficult part. Soul Arthur moved so that he was touching the body (well as much as a being made up of pure energy can touch something) and Merlin began. His entire body began to glow, and tendrils grew from it. The golden tendrils wrapped around the silver mass that is Arthur's soul, and pushed him into the body. Almost as if knowing what to do the soul took root, shaping itself to the body, waking each nerve and jump-starting every neuron. Merlin ensured that the body would not reject Arthur's soul, and then he let it dissipate. He watched Arthur. His chest was rising and falling as he breathed, but he wasn't waking.
"Why won't he wake up?"
"It's like when the body is asleep. The body sleeps in order to heal, organize memories, process events, settle emotions. He is sleeping right now because his new brain needs to process a few decades worth of memories." The Doctor explained, placing a calming hand on Merlin's shoulder. "He will wake Merlin."
They laid a blanket over him so that he wouldn't be completely naked when he woke up. While they waited, The Doctor and Donna asked him a million questions. What was Camelot like? How does his magic work? What were the knights like? What is Arthur like?" Merlin had answered every question they asked, happy to be able to tell someone these things without them thinking it was just a story. Donna had been shocked at how different Camelot really was from the stories. Guinevere had been of African descent! And a commoner! Arthur and Gwen had gotten married so that Arthur wouldn't have to marry someone he didn't know or trust, who expected him to sleep with them and bear his children. This way he could be with Merlin. Merlin and Arthur, a couple. Donna had loved that. For hours Merlin told them stories about Camelot, the Knights, Arthur, as well as his own childhood. A groan sounded from the table. Merlin shot to his feet and rushed over. Arthur, eyes still closed, raised a hand and rubbed his forehead. He froze, then began wiggling his toes, then slowly flexing his muscles, wiggling his fingers, clenching fists and unclenching them. He was getting used to having a body again. Merlin leaned down,
"Arthur, my love. Everything is alright now. Open your eyes for me." Merlin whispered, Arthur's eyes blinked open, and after a moment focused on Merlin. He frowned and raised a hand and began wiping away tears that Merlin hadn't realized were falling.
"Why are you crying my warlock?" he asked, voice hoarse from having never been used, Merlin smiled brighter than the sun and he kissed his king. His prat. His clotpole.
"I'm so happy you're back." Merlin sobbed into Arthur's neck when they pulled apart. "I missed you so much."
They sat there for a while, just relishing the feeling of being together again. There were many things they needed to talk about. How Arthur ended up a soul without a body on a different planet, why he was back to begin with since Albion was gone, what would they do now since Camelot doesn't exist anymore, so many questions they needed to discuss. Merlin could worry about Arthur dying again later he decided. For now he was being held by his other half for the first time in nearly two and a half million years. That was enough for now.
"Merlin?" Arthur asked after some time of just holding each other, "as much as I appreciate the blanket to preserve my modesty, could I have some trousers?" Merlin laughed, and nodded. After Arthur had some trousers they went to the control room, The Doctor and Donna had gone there to give the two some privacy. He led them to a room for them to share, while they were there, and bid them goodnight. They would try to figure it all out tomorrow, and he would help them. Merlin thanked the Time Lord, and said goodnight. Despite having slept for hours just earlier, Arthur easily fell back asleep, and Merlin laid down resting his head against Arthur's chest and allowing his heartbeat to lull him to sleep.
For the first time in a long time, Merlin didn't hope to not wake up.