Hello! I'm back! did you miss me? I'm sorry. I have no excuse but extreme writer's block. I could not find for the life of me how to throw Elyan in there. He had had to be introduced, but how. I'm not fond of this chapter but here. I promise I will make it up to you this weekend. So short little recap in case your like me and put story alerts for a million things and cant remember which is which. So... wow not even I can remember I suck. Oh, right, I remember. Artemis was approached and found out Ava and Everett were being held captive. She and Arthur and others went to rescue them. They were caught. They escaped. They went back to Camelot and Artemis informs Arthur she will be gone for a week and a half with Gwen on 'vacation'. Make a note that in this chapter Artemis is a bit of a damsel in distress but hey equality people. Arthur saves Artemis as much as Artemis saves him. Also much breaks. Anyway, enjoy. =D
Sweet. She said it would be sweet. Well, it definitely was not. The Valley of Telmore had changed since the last time Artemis had been to the 'fantastic hot springs.' Over the last five years, the once prosperous Valley of Telmore had fell on hard times. It was filled with bandits and thieves. The hot springs were nothing more than green murky water that bubbled with heat, but Gwen was persistent. She refused to go without Artemis having some sort of relaxing time.
"We came all this way," Gwen said. "You need to relax even if it kills you." She was right in a way. It had taken two days to get there. Might as well pretend like a vacation was still possible, but of course Artemis had to be difficult.
"How can I relax when I'm surrounded by thieves and murders?" she asked in a hushed tone looking around the inn. There were plenty of shady looking people around the bar. Gwen shrugged.
"It's not that bad," she tried assuring Artemis. Artemis rolled her eyes and shook her head. Gwen was clearly lying to herself.
"A waste of a vacation," Artemis said. Gwen couldn't help but inwardly agree. It was a failed attempt at getting Artemis to relax. She was just as stressed here as she was in Camelot. "Though, it is my fault for not realizing that the Valley of Telmore would change," she admitted. "Let's get some rest and see if there's anything around to make this vacation worth it." Gwen agreed and together they went to their room before sleeping.
Artemis awoke and was extremely disoriented. She was definitely not in the same place she fell asleep in. She was in a grand bed though it still didn't feel homely. It was dimly lit and there were no doors visible. Gwen was no where to be found. Artemis stood and stumbled to the wall I a panic. There was no door. So had did she get I here? Who brought here? What the hell's going on?
"Hello!" she asked banging on the wall. "Hello!" She banged on the wall louder. The opposite wall opened into a small door like opening. In walked two men and one woman. One was an older man. He had sharp hawk-like eyes and slicked back hair. It was mostly gray but had some streaks of his original black color. The other was a younger man with brown hair and brown eyes. He was an average man. The woman was also very average. She was blonde with gray eyes. They each wore the same clothing. They wore all black robes with the outline of a crown woven about their hearts. She could sense strong magic in them, stronger than hers was. "Who are you? How did I get here? Where's Gwen?" she demanded. The man stopped in from of Artemis.
"Calm Ambrosine. I am Loki. This is my right hand, Thoth," he said. The boy bowed to her. "And this is my other right, Taika." The girl bowed. "I am the head of the Masters of the World. We took you here in the night. You're friend is safe in another room."
"A dungeon?" Artemis asked suspiciously.
"No, no, of course not."
"Who are the Masters of the World, and why am I here?" she demanded.
"The Masters of the World firmly believe that they must rule the world. Without us as leaders, humanity will fall. Ambrosine, we want you to join us on our conquest." Artemis looked at him surprised.
"To say something like that… you truly are a fool. Humanity will not fall if you do not lead; they will fall if you do."
"Are you so sure? Humans are not fit to rule. They are selfish loathsome creatures."
"Are you saying you are not human? What makes them so different from you?" she asked.
"People like you and I are Master of Life."
"You are no Master of Life. If you were, you would not have these foolish ideals. Now, I demand to released and for my friend Gwen to accompany me."
"You will be release, but not to the streets. You are threat to us. You will not be allowed to return from where you came. Thoth, Taika." Artemis stood ready to fight them if she had to, but she immediately felt magic in the air. She could do nothing. Her magic was still shot. She collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Artemis, Artemis. Wake up please," she heard someone begging from the darkness. Artemis opened her eyes slowly to see Gwen looking down at her. Artemis sat up. "Thank God."
"Where are we?" Artemis asked looking around. They were in the a dungeon.
"I don't know," Gwen told her. "I woke up in here. What's happening?"
"I'm sorry, Gwen. This is my fault," Artemis admitted. She stood shakily. The door to the dungeon creaked open. Artemis prepared to fight, but there was no one there. Artemis carefully looked out the door. There was no one there. Artemis was suspicious, but they couldn't just stay there all day.
"I don't understand. There were guards here earlier," Gwen said. Artemis nodded. They quietly walked down the hall. Hall after hall there was no one. Artemis wasn't as relaxed as Gwen was becoming. They made it to the front door. It failed to open. Artemis frowned and tried again. No luck. Footsteps were heard. Artemis pulled Gwen around the corner.
"Sh," she told her putting a finger to her lips. The stranger got closer and closer. Artemis pulled out her sword, which was stupidly left to her. "Ah!" She yelled ready to kill the man in front of her.
"Wait!" Gwen called stopping her. The man looked at Gwen. He had dark skin and hair like Gwen. "Elyan?" she questioned.
"Gwen?" the stranger asked. They hugged each other. Artemis tilted her head remembering where she had heard the name Elyan before from Gwen.
"Your brother?" Artemis questioned.
"Yes… Elyan, this is my friend, Artemis."
"And how do I know you are not the enemy in disguise?" Artemis asked raising her sword to his throat. She was naive. She would not be fooled easily. "How did you get here? Start talking."
"I was in a tavern, and I heard these two men talking about killing some man… Gwyn… Gwhy…"
"Gwydion?" Artemis asked.
"Yes, that's the one, and they noticed I was listening to next thing I know I woke up in a dungeon."
"We have to get out of here," Artemis said in panic. Master Gwydion was in danger. The Masters of the World must be stopped. They would reek havoc and cause war and destruction.
"Where is here?" Gwen asked. All three held blank looks of uncertainty
"Help me up," Artemis said. Gwen and Elyan gave her a boost up. She looked at the window. The world was blank. There was nothing but grey. There was no sky or ground. They floated in the infinite grey. Artemis frowned. They dropped her. She landed on her feet easily. She hd read about something like this. This was definitely not good. "We're in trouble."
"Why?"
"We aren't in the real world. We're… our minds are trapped in a sort of dimensions. It's a cruel technique. They trap their prisoners souls and minds in another world and then execute the bodies. It saves them the struggle."
"Why not kill us all right away?"
"A lot of the time when groups don't want to be known, they will place the bodies in the middle of a soon to be 'natural disaster' to make it seem normal. In actuality, they usual are the cause of the disasters. We have to get out of here before they kill us. Are there any more people, Elyan?" she asked. He nodded.
"This way." He lead them to a war room. There was about two dozen inside of the room conversing. They looked scared and confused. "This is my sister, Gwen, and her friend, Artemis." They nodded to them in respect. Artemis sat in a chair at the table thinking.
"Artemis," Gwen said under her breath. "What do we do?"
"Breaking magic like this is hard," she admitted. "However, I once heard that if you can find a way out of the castle your mind and soul automatically go back to your body."
"But there's no way out. They sealed the doors."
"Right… unless… there is a way out they don't know about," Artemis said.
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.
"Dimensions like this is modeled after buildings. However, the building they model it after retains it's original features. If the person creating the dimension is unaware of an exit then they can't seal it up. It leaves a hole."
"So we find an exit they know nothing about, and we can get out?"
"Exactly." Artemis looked around. "Listen up!" Artemis said standing and getting everyone's attention. "We need to get out of here soon, or we're all going to die. So, I want everyone to spread out and looking for an exit. Try every door, trapdoors, cracks in the walls. Note everything that could be an exit." The people stood, and they all went in separate directions. An hour without luck. Artemis went back to the war room. Everyone else was back. "Well?" Nothing. They had found nothing. Well, that was a dud and a waste of time. It seemed the creator of the dimension knew the building inside and out. Artemis knew it was a long shot though.
"What now?" Gwen asked.
"We rest until I can think of another way to break this." Artemis leaned against a pillar as everyone slept. Artemis shut her eyes. There was no other way to break it not even if she had magic. If someone found her on the outside, they could use magic to free them, but that was a thousand to one chance, and yet… there was no more powerful bond than between blood and magic. Would Merlin be able to hear her? He was able to still hear her even when she was sure she could do nothing else.
'Merlin…?' she question trying to flow magic into it. 'Merlin, damn it. Answer, please?'
Miles away in the actual world, Merlin was sitting up scrubbing Arthur's armor.
'Merlin…?' a voice questioned. He knew Artemis's voice to well. She was speaking to him telepathically. 'Merlin, damn it. Answer, please?'
'Did you just say please?' he replied.
'Merlin! Thank the Gods!' Her worried voice put him on alert.
'What's wrong? You're supposed to be on vacation.'
'I'm in trouble. There's no time to explain, but I need you to somehow find my body.'
'How am I suppose to do that?'
'I don't know.' Artemis started to cough in her dimension. Blood came up. She was using too much magic. This wasn't good. If her spirit is hurt, her body would be a hundred times worse. 'Merlin… I'm going to die. I can't keep this connection any longer. Help me.'
Her voice faded.
'Artemis?' he questioned. There was no answer.
"Gaius!" Merlin yelled entering the physicians room. He was sleeping in a bed when Merlin bursted in.
"What?" he asked drowsy waking a bit startled.
"Artemis is in danger."
"It's not that easy, Merlin," Gaius said after Merlin had explained what had happened. "You can't just want to find someone. You can trail someone using potions, but just finding someone is impossible. It's like trying to find the answers to everything using magic by just pulling it out of thin air."
"Then what can we do?" Gaius thought for a moment.
"Talk to Ajax and Jack. They know more magic than I do. From what Artemis has told me they know more about this kind of thing that I couldn't even hope to know." Merlin, following his advice, went straight up to Jack and Ajax's room.
"There has to be something on her person that we can track her with," Ajax said. They sat together in Ajax's room brainstorming. "What about the coin?"
"From what I hear, she gave it to Arthur," Jack said. Merlin confirmed this seeing Artemis's old lucky coin on Arthur's person at all times.
"… Think… what's on her possession that's magic," Ajax said to Merlin. He thought.
"There's this bracelet… it matches Morgana's. It was used to track Morgana and sense when she uses magic."
"Do you think..?" Jack asked.
"It can be reversed," Ajax said. "We need that necklace."
Merlin crept down to Morgana's chambers. He opened the door slightly. She was sleeping. He walked in, and crept to her jewelry box. He opened it, and picked up the amethyst necklace. Morgana moved slightly making him jump. He closed the box and started to scurry out of the room when he crashed into a trunk. Morgana awoke immediately. Merlin hide behind a screen quickly.
"Who's there?" she questioned. Merlin didn't answer of course. He could hear Morgana get out of bed. She slowly moved toward him. Merlin used magic to move a chair near a different door. Morgana turned and went toward the sound. Merlin took the risk and ducked out of the room. He let out a breathe of relief, but it was short lived. He was caught.
"What are you doing here so late?" a voice said. Merlin froze to the spot. He quickly slipped the necklace in his pocket. He turned to face Arthur. "And in Morgana's room?"
"Why are you up so late?" There was silence. "And wandering the corridors?"
"I couldn't sleep," Arthur said. "I had a strange dream about Artemis. Why were you in Morgana's room?"
"Great because Artemis's in trouble," Merlin said saying the only thing that would make Arthur drop the Morgana thing.
"What?" Arthur asked ready to get into lover/soldier mode. It worked. Merlin knew it would.
"Come on," Merlin said dragging him.
Merlin handed over the necklace to Ajax as Jack distracted Arthur. Ajax muttered several spells.
"We have to go now," Ajax said in panic. "We don't have a lot of time."
Several bodies lined on the shore of small lake. They were half way in the water already. They were all unconscious. They were a few days ride from Camelot. Ajax jumped down. Arthur spotted Artemis immediately. She laid unconscious next to Gwen.
"Artemis," he muttered. "Wake up."
"It's going to take more than that," Ajax informed him as Merlin and Jack gather around her as well. "We have to hurry. This lake turns into a maelstrom every once in a while, and it's due any moment." Ajax leaned down. "Go make sure everyone around the lake is alive," Ajax said. "I can give her something." Arthur nodded. He put a hand to his head. He muttered a few spells. "Hopefully, her soul can handle it," he muttered.
In the dimension, Artemis could here a voice talking. He was muttering a spell. Violently, she was ripped from the dimension causing her to let out a scream. The world faded, and she fell into a mix of color and scenery. It was nauseating and suffocating.
The scene solidified. She was looking up at Ajax. Everyone around her started to wake as well. Realizing this, Arthur went to Artemis and embraced her. A deafening whistle was heard.
"Everyone back up!" Artemis yelled standing weakly and pushing Arthur back. They moved back as the lake turned into something like a giant drained. It last for a few minutes before stopping. There was no time to celebrate. "Ajax!" Artemis yelled turning to him. "We need to go to the Servants of the World base now! Gwydion is in danger!" He looked surprised and uncertain at this. "Don't give me that look! Now!" He nodded. He looked to the others. Gwen, Elyan, Arthur, and Merlin stood around her. She looked sick as if she hadn't eaten or slept in days. Her skin looked untouched by the sun, and her face looked haggard. She had a slight insane look in her eyes.
"Artemis," Jack said. "Are you sure? You look a little-" He moved to put a hand on her shoulder. She slapped it away.
"Don't treat me like that," she said sharply. "I know what I know. Do as I say." Ajax took a breath and nodde.d
"Ready for another trip?" he asked the others.