And next chapter, wasn't that fast^^ hope you like it and thanks again for the lovely reviews! =D

Just to clear something up, which I think got kind of lost, Uther thinks Merlin will study magic in the future, so right now he still is the dumb, useless servant, he's nevertheless suspicious about him but for now there is no reason to kill him…yet

Beta'd by goodythreeshoes =D

Disclaimer: Still don't!

Enjoy...

Chapter 6

The next morning anyone who had anything to say in Camelot was gathered in the council chambers to discuss recent events. Uther also used this opportunity to once again ensure that his son understood the vile nature of magic. This time, however, that discussion proved rather difficult. Before Arthur had always accepted his word and agreed dutifully… but now he hesitated, just the tiniest fraction of a second, and yet it was enough. Whatever had happened in the meantime between him and the visitors from the future, it had changed his perceptive and that Uther could not tolerate.

However, before he could launch into his usual speech the door to the chambers burst open and Galahad came rushing in. He walked swiftly over to Arthur and without saying anything, fixed two of those new, runed arm-guards over his wrists.

"Hey, what are you doing?" exclaimed Arthur indignantly.

"Sorry Sire, just readjusting," replied Galahad, while adding on a strange necklace around Arthur's neck. "And please don't take those things off. It would also be best if you wouldn't leave the citadel without me or Emrys in the foreseeable future," he continued.

"Why?" inquired Uther.

"Uh, just some minor…inconveniences, nothing to worry about." If a whole army of bad guys is minor, he thought.

"Where's Mer…" seeing his servant glance up at him, Arthur corrected himself. "Where's Emrys?"

Galahad acknowledged all the expectant looks, but only said, "he's busy."


Hundreds of miles south of Camelot Emrys walked out into the middle of what would be an inconspicuous looking field, were it not for the trampled grass and the numerous footprints leading away from it. From the looks of it an entire army had appeared here last night; and judging by the prints it was not only their human adversaries that had come through, but also several different magical beasts.

Sighing heavily, Emrys buried all his hopes for a little problem and uncovered his worst case scenarios from where he had stuffed them before they had undergone the time travelling. And yes, this was number one.

Being in the past. Having no real magical defence placed around the citadel. No King Arthur. No experienced knights, who had been trained to fight against magic-real training, not what Uther had his knights do. And a huge army of foes…

Suddenly a thought struck Merlin and he started to grin widely.

"Oh, I am so brilliant," conveniently ignoring the voice in his mind, (which sounded suspiciously like Arthur, and was saying yeah right, you- brilliant? Haha, moron.)

Swatting away that thought,(which definitely indicated that he was spending entirely too much time with Arthur and should take some time off soon,) he returned to his former thoughts. Observing the field again he roughly counted the new arrivals and compared the numbers to what they knew about the enemy.

The end result was much like he had anticipated, they'd all come, well nearly all. Just a few were probably still in the future, so almost the entire army had been transported to the past. Therefore none were left over there, which meant he could get reinforcements as well.

So it seemed the battle for the future was going to be fought in the past.


Back in Camelot even the most clueless person would have noticed that something was going on. Merlin figured that it was all connected to that thing he had felt yesterday, but all his tries to find out what exactly was going on had been blocked by Galahad, who of course wasn't answering any questions. As expected Uther was seething that he couldn't get any straight replies out of him, and even Arthur, who was now under constant watch by the blonde knight, was getting quite frustrated.

They all wanted to know what was going on, but apparently there would be no answers till Emrys had returned to Camelot. And even then it was questionable if they would receive an explanation.

Merlin was on the one hand still excited and thrilled that he'd met his future self, but at the same time he wished he'd trust himself a little more, if that made any sense… like all the others he had been left in the dark and he didn't like it one bit. Usually he was the one who knew all the secrets, and soon he would again.

Having snuck away from his duties for a little while, Merlin snatched up his magic book and plopped onto his bed. It was time to find a spell which would help him uncover some information.

.

Hours later he finally found a spell that could resolve his clueless state, but just when he was about to use it, there was gust of wind behind him followed by his own voice.

"You really shouldn't do that."

Startled, Merlin yelped and jumped of his bed, whirling around to face himself.

"I know it's maddening to not know what's going on, but just this time, it would be best if you just waited a few years."

"Oh come on, just a little?" Merlin pleaded, holding his thumb and index finger up with only a small space in-between.

Laughing for the first time, Emrys said, "all right, all right. As it happens I could use some help."

"I knew it! What is it, what can I do? Uh, can I do some fancy magic- or can I pretend I'm you and lecture Arthur real good, or, or…"

"Slow down, slow down, as much as I'd like to give you a shot at scolding Arthur, there is something we need to do first. And it's quite advanced magic at that."

"Okay, can I do the others later?"

"Why not? Now come on. We have lots of preparation to do."

Together the two Merlins left the citadel and headed to the empty, dark training grounds, where Emrys immediately started to draw runes on the ground using some kind of powder. Merlin, the younger, only watched- intrigued and yet completely clueless. He really couldn't wait till he was that knowledgeable.

Apparently finished with the drawings Emrys once again turned to his younger self.

"Good. So now, we're going to combine our magic, so that the spell is completed in a tenth of the time it usually takes."

"A tenth?"

"Yeah. For me alone the time is already shortened considerably, but with the two of us combined, let's just say it's like child's play." Nodding in comprehension Merlin joined hands with Emrys and dutifully repeated the spell the other chanted.

.

What felt like an eternity later they could feel the hum of magic in the air, which preceded the opening of an enormous portal. Just like a few days earlier Merlin watched as the figures within the sphere slowly took form and finally materialized in the field.

"Missed me already, Merlin?"