Wow. This is the end. This fic is now complete. It's been a while since I initially posted this, but I've finally finished it. Thank you to all readers, new and old, for sticking with it. And thank you for choosing this to read. Please review with your favorite part about this fic and anything you'd like to see in the future, be it Merlin or whatever :)

Green grass, blue skies, a yellow sun. It looked right. It felt right. It—

"This isn't right."

Arthur frowned. "How can you be sure?"

"The," Merlin gestured around helplessly. "The air. The sky. It's not right. I can feel it."

Arthur couldn't feel anything different, but he wasn't the one with magic either. Or a ship that could travel through time and space. "So then, where are we?"

Biting his thumb, Merlin took a few steps forward, brows furred in concentration.

"Not where, when. We're on earth, that's clear. And we can't be too far off. Though the distance is enough to make me feel it. Question is, did we go too far back or not far enough?"

Suddenly, he gasped. "Arthur! Come here!" he hissed, quickly falling onto his stomach.

Arthur was lying beside him in seconds. "What is it—oh."

Down below, walking along a path in a valley filled with green, were bright red Camelot knights. The most regal looking knight was a young Uther. On the horse with him was an even younger Arthur.

"Definitely went too far back," he muttered, watching his younger self in awe. He seemed to be laughing as he pointed toward different things, appearing to be calling them by name. His father was looking down at him. He was smiling, that was sure, but Arthur couldn't help but grimace. He remembered Uther's smiles. They were fatherly, full of (what he hoped was) love, but there was also a great sadness. Almost a tinge of regret. Of course, it took years for Arthur to actually realize those were the feelings his father held for him, but the way those feelings manifested were seared in Arthur's mind forever.

"I do believe you're right. We'll leave as soon as they've passed us," Merlin said quietly. Then, even quieter, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Arthur pushed himself back and rolled over so he could face the blue sky. He closed his eyes to shield them from the blaring sun.

"I'm alright." It didn't sound like a lie. It wasn't a lie. But it also didn't quite sound like the truth. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he didn't quite know how he felt.

"He looked happy with you," Merlin whispered. His voice was much closer now; he must've moved away from the cliff's edge as well.

Opening one eyes, Arthur saw just how close Merlin was. He was lying on his side, his face several inches away, but close enough that Arthur could see his eyelashes. Merlin stared at Arthur, his face soft and open, as if he was saying, It's okay, I'm here, we can just sit in silence if you want.

And they did. An hour passed by before either of them moved. The wind whistled by them and the animals chatted with one another. It seemed so much more peaceful here. Arthur tried to imagine a life where things could be different for them. Perhaps he and Merlin grew up similarly, maybe even together, in an alternate world. He wasn't the prince there, taught to fear and hate magic from such a young age. Or maybe, he still was the prince, but his mother lived and magic flowed through Camelot as the wind did; free and welcome.

Finally, the chatting of Camelot knights and clobbering of horse's hooves was a distant memory. When Arthur opened his eyes, he realized Merlin had fallen asleep.

"Of course." He laughed quietly. "I wondered how you stayed so quiet all this time."

For a moment, he didn't want to wake him. As traumatic as it was, it was easy to forget that Merlin almost died barely a fortnight ago. He was always so lively and focused, and Arthur didn't want to remember his friend bleeding out in his arms. He didn't want to remember how limp and fragile Merlin had been. That's not the Merlin he knows. He knows the fire in Merlin's heart, the strength in his spirit, and now he even knows the gold in his eyes.

"Merlin," he whispered. "Wake up."

Other than the rising and falling of his chest, there was no movement.

"Merlin." Arthur gently shook his arm. "Merlin, it's time to wake up."

This time, he grumbled something unintelligible, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. His shirt rode up enough for Arthur to see his belly button.

"Hmmm." Merlin rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Time to go," Arthur answered, tearing his eyes away from the exposed skin. "Merlin, what are we going to do about our clothes?"

Looking down, Merlin frowned. "Shite, I hadn't thought of that. I suppose we don't need to change to stop Lolloc, but—"

"But showing up in Camelot in a dragon T-shirt and jeans won't be very good," Arthur finished.

"No. No, it wouldn't." Merlin sighed. "I really like this shirt, I don't want to wear those scratchy things again."

"Couldn't you just," Arthur waggled his fingers. "Spell the clothes to be soft?"

Shrugging, Merlin stood up, offering a hand to Arthur. "I could, I suppose, but it takes away a bit of the pre-technology charm."

"There's nothing charming about it. Not after seeing your world." Arthur followed Merlin back to the ship.

"There's plenty charm in yours, Arthur. You just have to look for it. And have someone to appreciate it with you."

"I'm sure." He sat down in the seat next to Merlin. "So what will you do about our clothes?"

"I suppose I'll just conjure some up." He pressed a few buttons. "Would you say you were six?"

The change in topic didn't catch in Arthur's brain yet. "What?"

"On the horse. Would you say you were six?"

"Oh." He thought about it for a few seconds. "Yes, I suppose I was."

Merlin grinned, pleased with himself. "Good. Let's go stop Lolloc." He flipped a lever.

x~xXx~x

"Is that what the back of my head looks like?" Arthur whispered. "Strange."

They'd arrived about a little less than an hour before the ordeal occurred. It was surreal. The trees, the wind, the sky… Arthur almost questioned if he ever did go to the future. Of course, he looked behind him at the giant space ship and knew that there was no way his mind fabricated the event. Especially when he remembered Pygmy. She was strange even for Merlin; and don't get him started on Jack Harkness.

"A-Arthur, please. I ca-an explain!" Merlin's terrified voice jarred Arthur back to the moment at hand. He glanced at Merlin, the one beside him, but his face was painfully blank.

"No time!" Lolloc was saying. "Edwendu!" His manic grin was just as Arthur remembered. He vowed to never smile like that. "Goodbye, princeling! Goodbye, Emrys! Edhwierft cýþþ!"

The other Arthur and Merlin disappeared in a green blast.

Merlin moved quickly, coming out from their hiding place.

"Nice try, Lolloc! But you can't get rid of us that easily!" With gold in his eyes, Merlin raised his hand and the ground underneath Lolloc's feet came to life, binding the sorcerer in place.

"What? No, im-impossible!"

Arthur followed after Merlin. "Didn't I tell you many have tired yet none have succeeded? You're just another number Lolloc. Another failure."

"But! But you should hate him! He has magic, princeling! He's Emrys!"

"He's my friend," Arthur corrected. "And he's the best man I know." Dammit he blushed. He did not mean to blush when he said that. His eyes drifted to Merlin unbidden, who was blushing too.

He needed to focus.

"Surrender now, Lolloc," he shouted. "You'll find a more lenient punishment than if you try to continue your doomed quest."

For a moment, it looked as though the sorcerer would take Arthur advice and give up. But then he sneered.

"I am Lolloc! I will be the first to take over Camelot! I will be—!"

A tree branched stopped any more words from leaving the sorcerer's mouth.

There was a brief moment of silence, before:

"Really, Merlin? A branch? That's rather anticlimactic."

Merlin shrugged, but his grin was blinding. (Arthur's finding that Merlin's grins were almost always blinding to him.)

"Well, sire, it worked didn't it?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, but he couldn't stop his lips from stretching into a smile. "He's definitely not trying anything now. But what will we do with him? We can't leave him like this. Especially looking like me."

"Good point." Merlin thought for a moment. "You know, Arthur," he began, his tone sly. "I think I remember the cook complaining about mice. The kitchen could do with another set of paws."

It took everything in Arthur to be as serious as Merlin was feigning. "I do believe your right, Merlin."

For a few seconds, they managed their façade, but all too soon the quiet evening was punctured by boisterous, care-free laughter.

As they walked back to the castle, with conjured clothes on their backs, a feisty, fat cat in Merlin's arms, and the sun setting behind them, Arthur finally felt settled. Everything was now right; they were in the right time, the right place, and Merlin was right by his side.

"So, I was thinking," Merlin started cautiously. "That maybe instead of hunting breaks, we could go on, um, space dates—breaks. Instead of killing deer, we see the starts. Would you like that?"

Arthur refused to think about how adorable Merlin's reddened ears were. And his heart definitely did not flip-flop at Merlin's stumbled word. It did not.

"You mean, go back in that space ship of yours, go to different times and planets, maybe see that Doctor man, and then be back in Camelot before barley a second has passed here?"

"Um. Yes."

Arthur flashed Merlin a blinding smile. "I'd love to."