I know what you're all thinking "Where have you been, RSF? What's with the hold up? Are you trying to make us track you down and demand a new chapter? Because we will." And all I can say is, "Hey, here's a new chapter."

So, yeah, this is like uber late because I'm a failure. Also, NerdBurger is to thank for this because she encouraged me to push through my laziness and actually work on my fics.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who patiently waited for this chapter. Thanks doubly to those who reviewed, alerted, and/or favorited. Here's hoping the next chapter (and prompt) is updated a lot sooner than this one, and drop me a comment if you can.

I don't own anyone and thanks for reading.

Bye!

The moment Gwaine and Merlin burst into Gaius' chamber, the older man knew something had happened. He gave them both a critical glare, took one look at the glowing ball in Merlin's hand, and sharply asked, "What did you do, Merlin?"

"Why is this automatically my fault?" Merlin asked, forgetting, once again, that he's in Gwaine's body, and Gaius raised an eyebrow, silently asking for an explanation. "This," he gestured between himself and Gwaine, "is all his fault."

"Since when?" Gwaine protested incredulously. "If I recall correctly, I agreed to take responsibility in the event of our deaths. We are still alive, mate, therefore it is not my fault."

"Well…" Merlin gaped wordlessly for a brief moment before closing his mouth, looking away from Gwaine. His turned his gaze to Gaius and held up the ball. "Can you tell us what this is?"

"It depends." Gaius looked between the two men, knowing he wasn't going to get through his reorganizing today. They exchanged a quick look before recapping the events that led them to here. Afterwards, Gaius just huffed, crossed the room to take the glowing ball, and carried it towards his books.

"Where did you find it?" he asked flipping through the nearest book.

"Aren't you going to help us fix this?" Gwaine gestured between Merlin and himself.

"No," Gaius answered without looking up from his reading. They got themselves into that mess, they can get themselves out. "I think I've seen this crystal before." He set the ball down, moving away from the open book, heading across the room to a bookshelf. He grabbed a few more books, carrying them back to the first, and immediately began flipping through the top one.

"Well, what are you waiting for," he barked turning a page. "Come help me."

The two younger men scrambled across the floor and soon the room was full of the crinkle of papers and soft breathing. Gaius glanced up at the ball, noting how it pulsed, and he narrowed his eyes at it. He looked back at his book, something niggling at the back of his head. He'd seen this before, he knew he had, but he can't, for the life of him, remember where.

Then it clicked. Before Uther purged Camelot of magic, Gaius had had a friend named Serge who specialized in prank magic. While Serge had long since been gone, having been one of the first to get burned by Uther, he had written all his secrets in a journal and hidden it away in the castle. Someone must have found the book; someone who had no business doing magic.

"This is quite a simple fix," Gaius said picking the ball up. Merlin and Gwaine looked up from their tomes, curious looks on their faces, but they morphed into horror when the eldest man hurtled the ball at the ground, letting it smash into pieces. A bright, blue light filled the room, vanishing just as quickly, leaving the area pitch black.

"There," Gaius said snapping his fingers to relight all of his candles. "The spell's broken." At their questioning looks, the sorcerer added, "Sometimes the solution isn't as complicated as you make it." He shrugged when they continued to stare at him, crossing the room to open the door. "Now go fix your mess."

"Are you kicking us out?" Merlin asked incredulously.

"I am politely asking you to go away," Gaius replied gesturing outside. "And fix whatever you've done."

After a few seconds hesitation, the two men got to their feet and walked out of Gaius' chambers. He waited until they were truly gone before closing the door, crossing the room to his books again. He flipped through the pages for a summoning spell, needing to ask Serge where, exactly, he had hidden his book. Then he planned to put a stop to this prank magic.

Honestly, some people should not have magic.

MERLIN

The spell, surprisingly, wore off after twenty-four hours. Merlin woke the next morning as himself, with a crick in his neck from where Gwaine had fallen asleep in a chair. He stood, turning his head side-to-side, glancing over at Gwaine. The knight was passed out on Merlin's bed, snoring loud enough to wake the dead, and the warlock decided to leave him be.

He left his chambers quietly, intending to get some breakfast from the kitchens, but he froze when he heard Arthur call, "Oh, Merlin."

"Yes, Arthur." Merlin turned in the blonde's direction, offering him a pleasant smile.

"Just wanted to say," Arthur started fixing his friend with a hard stare, "that if you ever switch places with Gwaine again. Do try to keep it better under wraps." He then patted Merlin on the shoulder and walked away, leaving the warlock standing wordlessly by his chamber door.