A/N: You should all thank 'ivefoundmygoldfish(melonpanparade)' for correcting my many mistakes!This would be unreadable without her...THANKS FOR BEING SO FAST!

WARNING: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Coming Home

To their surprise Tristan greeted them in the plane cargo. The dark-haired agent looked tired, his suit battered and dirty, but not much worse for wear. The only traces of V-Day were a few bruises on his arm and a cleaned cut on his forehead.

"Tristan!" Merlin greeted the older agent, clearly relieved to see him. "You made it back!"

"Well, I found myself in Dublin amidst dead and wounded people with no idea what had happened, but a very clear memory of the fight that had broken out. Thought it might be a good idea to return to England as soon as possible." Pointing over his shoulder with his right hand, he added, "You do realise there's a dead Arthur sprawled over the table in the dining room at the shop, don't you?"

Merlin grimaced. "Ah, that. I'm afraid the King has been overthrown after having sided with the enemy."

Tristan just raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Never liked that man anyway."

Behind Merlin, Eggsy and Roxy alighted from the plane, carrying cases containing weaponry and the suit Roxy had used to destroy the satellite. They came to a halt beside the wizard, flanking him from both sides. "Ah, the new Lancelot." Tristan smiled, laying a hand on Roxy's shoulder in a congratulations. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last. Though the circumstances are less than good."

Roxy acknowledged him with a nod and Tristan turned to Eggsy. "And you must be Eggsy. Galahad has been speaking very highly of you."

Pain coursed through Eggsy at the mention of Harry's name and he blinked twice to keep his emotions in check. The knight must have noticed the change in the mood, because he shifted his attention to look at Merlin sympathetically. "Speaking of which, I was very distraught to hear about Kentucky. I hope you're holding up well."

"I'm fine," Merlin answered, a bit too fast. "Let's get inside so we can update you on what happened."

"Yes, please." Eggsy could swear he saw Tristan perk up at that. "I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting story."

~oOo~

The feeling of cold water splashing on his face was the first thing he was aware of upon returning to his senses. Seconds later, pain ripped through his body, strong enough to nearly make him pass out again. He bit down on his lip and drew blood while trying to stifle the urge to scream, not willing to give whoever was holding the bucket the pleasure to witness his agony.

Judging by the pressure on his wrists he guessed they were tied behind his back in a very uncomfortable manner. He was also unable to move his feet which meant they were probably tied to the chair as well. He tried opening his eyes and regretted it immediately, the harsh light making his eyes water.

His eyes snapped open, however, when a hand slapped him hard across his face. He blinked and an ugly face came into focus, coated in with what looked like a mixture of blood, sweat, and dirt. A cruel smile played along the man's lips.

"Wakey, wakey," the man with the ugly face rasped. "You've slept long enough, it's time you answer some questions."

He reached out to run a finger down the middle of his victim's face, grinning at the pain it obviously caused his him. "What a lovely scar you have their," the ugly man sneered, tugging at the torn fabric of the prisoner's shirt to get a look at his chest. "Someone must have had skill to get it this straight. And it seems to cross your chest as well. What did you do to make someone so angry they tried to cut you in half, he?"

Still too dazed from the painful ache of his body, he didn't respond. As a result, he was immediately met by a fist connecting with his jaw. He spit blood and doubled over, willing his lungs to suck in air through all the blood and spit in his throat.

The man hovering above him made no move to help the violently coughing victim to his feet. Instead he gestured to another figure lurking in the dark corner of the empty room that wasn't lit by the dirty lightbulb hanging from the damp ceiling. The figure stood, took a long object from a wooden table – the only other piece of furniture in the room – and handed it over. As he stepped into the dim light, a long scar that ran from his left eye to his hairline became visible.

The ugly man accepted the piece of metal and weighed the iron bar in his hands. Satisfied, he turned back to the chair with a smile that made the prisoner's blood run cold. "Now then," he spit out. "We'll start easy. What's your name?"

As if the sight of the bar wasn't enough to prove the seriousness of the question, he then made use of it. The noise of metal crushing bone echoed through the room, followed by the owner's cry of pain.

Without a name, without any idea who he was or how he'd landed himself in this situation, he endured hit after hit. Nothing hurt in comparison to the longing in his heart he couldn't place, the certainty that he'd forgotten something very vital, something more important than life itself. He slipped into unconsciousness, a pair of glasses and a blonde ponitail being the last thing he thought of.

~oOo~

"Quite an adventure you had there," Tristan remarked, sounding as if he was congratulating someone on a well played adventure game. Eggsy imagined he treated missions in the same way, like an overgrown child who enjoyed playing Hide & Seek in the woods.

They were gathered in Central around Merlin's work station. While Eggsy and Roxy had told Tristan about Valentine's SIM-cards and how they thwarted his plans, Merlin had contacted the foreign offices to get an impression of the world's condition. Apparently, it had quite literally gone to shit in one single day. Lots of people were dead or wounded and the governments and economies were shattered. Communication and traffic were still partly down as well, but it seemed people were trying their best to return to their normal lives.

Eggsy was standing up, leaning against the desk with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I won't deny having had a bit of fun, but we ought to do more than that. This world ain't gonna rebalance itself without help. Loads of bad people are going to take advantage of the chaos and try use it for their own benefits."

Merlin looked up from where he was sitting at his desk, swivelling around in his chair to face the three of them. "Yes, of course, but I'm afraid we'll have to reorganise ourselves first before we are anywhere near able to assist in rebuilding. We may be four agents, but I dare say all of us are nearly slumping over in our seats..."

As if on clue, Eggsy yawned widely. He felt exhaustion creeping into his bones and lulling his thoughts. After all, they hadn't even had minute's rest since the dog test, a bit over 24 hours ago.

"Well, I'm fine," Tristan interjected brightly. "Took a nap on the flight back from Dublin."

"You said four agents…" Eggsy remarked, looking at Merlin. He was a bit nervous now that Tristan was present and could easily smash his hope of becoming an official agent.

"You've proven yourself worthy of becoming a Kingsman. I see no reason to test you again, but as I said, I can't decide upon your fate on my own, of course."

"Actually, I think you can," Tristan argued, grinning at Merlin like a child who had found the hidden cookie jar. "As quartermaster – and the only person capable of handling a handful of overactive spies – it is only logical that you take command until a new Arthur is selected."

Seeing the uncertainity on the wizard's doubtful face, Roxy nudged Eggsy and nodded in agreement. "Tristan's right."

"No one's better suited than you," Eggsy added, rubbing his shoulder absently. Roxy had to bite back a smirk; he could be such a softie sometimes.

"Fantastic," Tristan proclaimed, slapping one large hand on Eggsy's shoulder. He sobered up, though, before continuing in a much softer voice "Welcome to Kingsman, Galahad."

Eggsy swallowed hard, but didn't comment. It was only logical that he'd take Harry's position, regardless of his personal feelings. And he was determined to make himself deserving of the title, to make Harry proud.

Except for the way Merlin frooze for a second, he concealed his feelings remarkable well. His voice was cold, though, as he once again looked at Eggsy and Roxy. "Well then, my first act will be to send you two home to catch some much needed rest."

"But – " Roxy and Eggsy both protested.

"No buts. You ought to check on your mum and sister, Eggsy. And you, Lancelot, have earned a break as well. Go home, take a nap, and rest your head. I'll meet you back here tomorrow morning."

The two young agents still didn't look too pleased, but Merlin would have none of it.

"Understood?"

They nodded reluctantly and left the room grudgingly.

Tristan followed the two young spies with his eyes, feeling the slightest bit of sympathy. They resembled their mentors a lot more than they thought, both in character and mentality. A deep chuckle escaped his chest at the thought. Remembering where he stood, he turned again to give his colleague a thorough look-over.

"You should get some rest yourself, Merlin."

"I'm fine." Funny, he'd said that once already and it still sounded ridiculous.

"Look, quite a lot has happened, especially Galahad's – "

"I said I'm fine!"

"Bottling this up won't help, you know." Tristan was losing patience. He knew the wizard could be bloody stubborn, but this was ridiculous.

"I'm not bottling anything up!" Merlin had raised his voice and was hitting the keyboard keys with far more force than necessary.

Tristan sighed, moving to stand beside his friend and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but we've done what we can for now. When was the last time you had a shower?" He didn't wait for an answer; the wizards longing face was confirmation enough.

"Let me stay here and I'll overlook the progress. As soon as I here from either Gawain, Lamorak or Bors I'll contact you."

Merlin knew the older agent was right. This was a one-man job after all. They couldn't work properly before the networks and traffic were back up anyway. Any attempt to search for the missing agents or even assist them would be more wasteful than useful. All they could do now was slowly locate the Kingsman employees and hope they were still alive.

Merlin stood up, defeated by his own arguments. Thanking the other agent – who'd already made himself comfortable in his chair – with a grateful nod he crossed the distance to the door. His rumpled form had almost disappeared out of sight when the wizard suddenly halted midstep on the threshold. "Someone has to go to Kentucky to collect the body…" he whispered, not meeting Tristan's eye.

"I'll arrange a flight and take care it. I'll go personally, if that's alright with you..."

"Yes." After a small pause he added, "Thank you, Tristan," and then disappeared.