Percival

Trees passed by the van windows in a blur through the darkness, and Percival found himself trying to catch a glimpse of each one that flew by. He'd offered to go to Merlin's flat in an effort to get out of that house and do something productive, but sitting in the car wasn't much better.

Lancelot drove in silence, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles would occasionally turn white. Elyan was slumped in the backseat, his arms folded over his chest and his body as far as possible from the splatters of blood that had come from Merlin.

Even just thinking about how much blood their friend had lost already was enough to make Percival sick, but there was a piece of him that was focused on something more. He knew all the stories, had even seen that old, animated film about Arthur and the sword in the stone where Merlin was a very old, slightly mental, wizard. But that didn't mix with what he knew of Merlin from the old days, from his own past life.

Merlin hadn't had magic then. Or rather, no one knew he had magic. Percival was struggling to wrap his mind around all of that, around how powerful Merlin was even back then, and how none of them had known.

Glancing at Lancelot again, the man appeared to be glaring out the window, a tense frown etched into his stoney face. A part of Percival missed his old life, despite being with friends. Not his life as a knight, but as a bartender. He missed being plain old Percy.

He'd liked his job at the pub, his regulars that came in, even the irritating drunk who wandered in on every Thursday night trying to get free beer. He wondered if he'd ever end up back in that place, back to his normal life. Somehow he doubted he would.

Resisting the urge to scratch his arm, Percival glanced down at the dark tattoo that was his newest addition to the sleeve of ink on his left arm. In shades of grey and black was a house crest, one that had once emblazoned the back of his knight's cape, and now was a permanent fixture on his arm. The crest of the Pendragons and of Camelot.

"Am I the only one still unable to believe this is all real?" Elyan's voice cut through the silence, making Percival jolt from the sudden sound.

"I was just thinking the same. About how I never would have thought to find myself here even just a couple of weeks ago." Percival sighed, leaning back to stare at his friend through the rearview mirror.

Both of them looked at Lancelot, but the man remained stoic and silent, glowering out the window as the van slowed and the turn signal flipped on.

"You know what I can't believe? That two of my best friends have now become my brother in law!" Elayn's laughter started loudly, but when his joke was not well received by their driver, the noise died out.

"Good going." Percival muttered, side eyeing Lancelot whose grip on the wheel had turned deadly.

"Guys—" Lancelot began, only to be cut off by Percival who waved his hand around flippantly.

"Don't listen to him, Lance. He's an idiot."

"Hey, you try having your sister be with two of your best friends in two different lifetimes. I think I'm warranted a few jokes!"

"Shut up!" Lancelot snapped, his head shifting to look in the rearview mirror. "I think we're being followed."

All three of them fell silent at the man's words, and Percival looked out the window into his side mirror. Behind them was heavy darkness, but every time they passed beneath a streetlight the metal of a dark car glinted not far behind.

"You're sure?" Elyan asked, all humor gone from his tone.

"They've made the last three turns with us. Not to mention they have their lights out. They don't want to be seen, and they don't want to lose us." The tightness in Lancelot's voice was clear, and Percival frowned.

"How long until we get to Merlin's?"

"Not even five minutes."

"We've no choice then, we've got to try and shake them." Elyan declared, keeping his head down and leaning in towards the front.

"What are you doing?" Percival asked, looking down at his friend who had slouched forward and was resting his elbows on the middle console at the front.

"Hiding."

"What is this, some sort of spy film?"

"Might as well be." Elyan huffed, gesturing his hand between the three of them.

"Let's try one more turn." Lancelot cut in, flipping his signal on at the last moment and taking a side road. Not long after, the dark car behind them turned as well, the corner light reflecting off the windows.

"It can't be the police; they wouldn't follow someone they thought was a suspect that quietly. Not after a murder." Elyan remarked.

"I'm betting its Morgana." Percival huffed. "She probably knows where Arthur lives and is following us to find out where we're going."

"Damn it!" Lancelot cursed, his loud voice echoing through the van. "Merlin needs us to bring those supplies back, we can't worry about being caught by anyone, be it Morgana or the police."

The other two fell quiet, exchanging a look between themselves. When Percival turned back around, he caught sight of an old wooden fence with a hole, and an idea sprang to mind as he realized where they were.

"Alright, follow my directions exactly."

"What?" Lancelot glanced at him in bewilderment, but Percival just pointed towards the road.

"Just trust me. Take the next left."

"But—"

"Turn now!"

The tires screeched as Lancelot yanked the wheel to the side, throwing Elyan across the seats in the back as the van swerved onto a different street.

"Turn right." Percival pointed towards a darkened road where the streetlight was missing its bulb.

As Lancelot did as he was told, the man nodded to himself before pointing towards a service road. "Good, now turn left."

The wheel yanked hard again, the car rocking against the sudden motion as Elyan groaned from the backseat. "Disgusting! Merlin better not have any weird warlock diseases; I just stuck my hand in his blood!"

"Okay, now turn left towards that slope and shut the car off."

"What—"

"Do it!"

Lancelot gritted his teeth and followed the order, swerving the van one last time and slamming it into park before shutting the vehicle off.

Darkness and silence washed over them as all three men lowered in their seats and watched anxiously out the window. Two solid minutes passed before a dark car drove past their hiding place, not even slowing down as they moved to another street, the quiet sound of their engine fading to nothing as they grew further away.

"Incredible." Elyan stared, leaning between the two of them again as Lancelot turned in his seat to gape at Percival.

"How did you do that?" His friend demanded, both of them staring as Percival offered a sheepish grin in the darkness.

"When coming from that direction, the trees and fence block off this portion of the road from sight."

"And you knew this because..?" Lancelot pushed, and Percival let out a breath.

"Because the pub I work at isn't far from here, and after my shifts I would occasionally come here with a woman or two."

"Or two?" Lancelot gaped while Elyan patted the man's shoulder.

"You've got game, my friend."

Percival rolled his eyes, though he doubted his expression could be fully appreciated in the dark.

"Let's get to Merlin's, he's still counting on us for those supplies." Lancelot urged, reaching for the ignition before Percival stopped his hand.

"I know we need to hurry, but we should give it a few more minutes just to be safe."

A small sigh left the other man, but his hand lowered away from the key, and they continued to wait in tense silence. Finally, after another few minutes, Lancelot started the van back up and pulled slowly out into the road, maneuvering the vehicle through the darkness towards the warlock's home.

Lancelot

After being followed from Arthur's family home, Lancelot decided the safest option was to park two streets over from Merlin's flat. True, walking in the cold wasn't pleasant, but he figured if things took a turn for the worst again, they'd be better off not letting anyone know exactly where they were.

As the three men trudged through the night, Lancelot huddled into his coat and tried to ignore his friends idle chatter. It wasn't that he wasn't glad to have them around—being a knight in Camelot had been his dream come true after all—but there was a lot in his head that he was dealing with.

Between his past and current life colliding, he also had the unfortunate circumstance that was Guinevere. Not that he didn't love her—because God he loved her—but Arthur loved her too. And though he knew she loved the both of them, technically Arthur was her husband. Had been her husband. Thinking about their two lives gave him such a headache sometimes.

In their current life, Lancelot and Gwen had only been together for a year and a half. She'd been married to Arthur in their other life for, well, he wasn't even sure. He'd died long before they'd gotten married, and unsurprisingly that wasn't exactly a topic that Gwen wanted to discuss in their own bed.

All Lancelot knew was that she was sitting at home, waiting for his call. A call he was supposed to have made hours ago. A call that she had made, and he had ignored, four different times already.

He just couldn't do it. Lancelot couldn't tell her what was happening, couldn't share his fears of what was to come. Every time he even thought about it his heart broke a little more, and there was only so much he could take.

After all, a piece of him was well aware that when it came down to it, Gwen wouldn't pick him. Not with all of their history. And even if she did, he knew that a piece of her would always remain with Arthur, in their past, and that was almost as bad.

"Finally." Percival's voice came out in a hushed whisper, partially muffled by the thick scarf he'd wrapped around his neck.

In front of them was Merlin's darkened flat, as well as the ones around his that were dark as well. It was late, just after one in the morning, and Lancelot knew they needed to hurry. They'd spent too long trying to get rid of the person on their tail, and Merlin needed to make that cure.

As if in some sort of trance, the three of them crept silently up the stairwell, crouching low in the darkness until they reached his door. Digging into his pocket for the keys, Lancelot unlocked the door and slipped inside, the flat as dark inside as it had looked from outside.

"He said it's in one of the kitchen cupboards, right?" Percival asked, making his way towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, hidden behind something I think." Lancelot murmured, glancing around as light suddenly flooded the next room.

"Stop that! Turn it off!" He yelled, running forward as Elyan shut the switch off and plunged them all into darkness once more.

"I can't see, how are we expected to find anything?" Percival complained, letting out a huff that stirred the air.

"Whoever was following us won't take long to realize where we were headed, especially if they suddenly see light in here at one in the morning."

"Alright, no light then." Elyan said, placing a hand on Lancelot's shoulder in a calming manner.

"This is going to go great." Percival muttered, shuffling off as Lancelot pulled his phone from his pocket and lowered the brightness to the lowest setting possible.

Shining it around the small kitchen, the former knight took note of the six cabinets in the room. They would have to check each one to find the potions, but if he were Merlin, where was he most likely to hide something?

The smallest cabinet was near the fridge and half the size of the others, using up the last of the space between the wall and the appliance. When Lancelot opened it, he found a box of tea, two mugs, and a stack of marble coasters.

The cabinet looked innocent enough, but the man wasn't fooled. It was a frequently used cupboard given the contents, but it was also far too small. Everything inside had been pushed together at the front and took up nearly the whole space. But what about how deep it should have gone?

Pulling out the few items and setting them on a counter, Lancelot propped his phone to shine its dim light inside as he poked and prodded until he felt the back of the cabinet give. Pulling the piece of backing free, Lancelot set it on the floor beside him before peering back inside, smiling to himself at the carefully organized potions and supplies crammed inside.

That was the Merlin he'd once known; the one hiding his magic. Reaching inside, Lancelot rummaged around and pulled out a small vial with a bright green liquid that seemed to almost glow. Holding it up, it fit easily between his thumb and first finger, only a couple of inches tall. Beside it was another vial that was round, with a darker green liquid sloshing inside when he grabbed it.

"What exactly was it he needed? I don't remember." Lancelot sighed, pulling away from the cupboard as another light shined in his eyes and Percival stepped forward with his own phone.

"Grab that bag, will you?" He asked, gesturing towards a reusable grocery tote that Lancelot held open.

After a moment Percival dropped a tall blue bottle inside, followed by two smaller vials that were filled with lavender liquid, and then finally a white bag of herbs with the letter G stitched into the front.

"That should be it, right?" Percival asked, his question barely out of his mouth when the sound of glass shattering threw them both into silence.

"Elyan, was that you?" Lancelot hissed, praying he was wrong about the bad feeling growing in his stomach.

"Afraid not." His friend spoke quietly from behind, and the former knight had to refrain from cursing.

All three men fell silent again, with Percival taking the bag from Lancelot's hands and wrapping it up tightly to keep the glass from clinking together. In the silence that followed, more glass crashed from another room, followed by a heavy thump.

"Someone else is here, we need to leave." Elyan whispered, his voice barely audible as the other two nodded in unison.

Shutting off their lights, the other two started to move back through the flat. Lancelot began to follow before pausing, his eyes flickering back to the cabinet. They didn't have time to fit the false wood back into place, but he had the feeling that the potions would no longer be there when Merlin returned if they left them now.

Before he could think twice about what he was doing, Lancelot snatched several of the smaller vials in one hand and two of the herb bags in his other fist before shoving the contents into his coat pockets. Shutting off his phone light and creeping back through the flat after his friends, Lancelot turned towards the shadow on his right that hulked like Percival.

The problem was, it wasn't Percival, and instead, something large and heavy struck Lancelot across his right shoulder, sending the man crashing towards the floor. As he fell, Lancelot's arm caught on the edge of an end table, the sharp corner gouging into his bicep and causing the man to cry out in pain.

As the shadow climbed on top of him, Lancelot threw out his fist, punching his attacker in the jaw and forcing them to the ground beside him. A light from a torch was shining from the bedroom where the attackers must have come from, and Lancelot saw Percival in the shadows of the bathroom yanking the supply bag out of someone's hands.

As he did, the other attacker's fist flew out and connected with Percival's face, sending the giant of a man staggering back a step. To their left, near the front door, Elyan had grabbed an umbrella and knocked a third attacker over the back of their head.

"Come on!" He yelled, kicking the offender out of the way and yanking open the front door. As he did, bright blue lights flashed from the road below, and Elyan hurried to slam the door again.

"Who called the police?" The man hissed, reaching for the attacker at his feet who was just starting to get up. "We're screwed because of you." Elyan growled, hefting the offender up just as they hit him in the sternum.

The attacker took off running as Elyan hunched over, and Lancelot turned just as they crashed into him. Stumbling, a couple of the vials fell from his pocket to the floor, and the attacked swiped the green one as they fled.

"That's right, run!" Elyan wheezed, clutching at his chest as Percival started after them as they disappeared back into the bedroom.

"Leave them! We don't have time to keep fighting." Lancelot scowled, glancing to the window where the blue lights were flashing brightly. Elyan was right, they really were screwed.

Elyan

His heart was racing, pounding so hard against his chest that Elyan was half worried it would burst free right then and there onto Merlin's carpet. Before he'd been hit, all he'd seen of his attacker were dark eyes that were too young and too afraid. Not someone experienced, not like the person he had seen trying to take on Percival.

Of course, there was a piece of the man that was thrilled, too. The adrenaline coursing through his veins; he felt high on the energy. He'd missed this. He'd missed the adventures, the danger, the comradery.

"We need to get out." Lancelot hissed, clutching a hand to his arm where his coat sleeve was ripped. As he spoke, the light from the other room vanished and glass crunching beneath feet sounded from the opposite room.

"Looks like our friends had the same idea." Elyan grumbled, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.

"Front is out. The police are getting closer, I think they're going to breech." Percival spoke, having moved to the front where he was peering through a slit in the blinds.

"If nothing else, our friends provided us with an exit. If they got in, we can get out." Lancelot pointed, storming into Merlin's bedroom as the other two followed after him.

They were on the second story, but a large tree that looked to be half dead towered next to the building, with one of the branches not too far of a jump from the window.

"They jumped?" Elyan gaped, glancing down at the broken glass on the floor. "How'd they manage that?"

"Magic, I'd guess." Percival muttered, sounding weary as light from a streetlamp outside illuminated a portion of his face that was an angry shade of red.

"We're running out of time, let's go." Lancelot said, buttoning up his coat and grabbing the open window frame carefully, knocking loose another shard of glass.

Without hesitation the man leapt from the window and caught hold of the tree limb with both hands, his body swinging back and forth. Finally he let go, dropping quietly to the ground before brushing off his hands and gesturing for them to follow.

"You'd better go next, my luck I'll break that limb when I try." Percival frowned, ushering Elyan forward.

"Always wanted to try this." He said dryly, tightening his coat around himself.

The tree limb was a few feet away and a bit lower than the window itself, which made him question again how exactly their assailants had managed to get inside. He wasn't given the time to really think about it however, as he followed Lancelot's move and climbed up through the windowpane and launched himself forward, grabbing for the limb as he fell.

Bark bit into his fingertips as he made contact, and he slid a few inches until he was dangling from the limb. The drop wasn't too far, and once he was clear, he motioned for Percival to follow.

The giant of a man was less corradiated than they had been, nearly losing his grip on the branch as he hit the trunk of the tree with his feet, making the branches shake around him. Once he'd dropped down next to them, the three hurried to hide around the back in some of the shrubbery, brushing themselves off and listening as heavy footsteps stomped up the stairwell.

Within a minute of Percival joining them, they heard Merlin's door crash in and the police storming into his flat. Lancelot didn't speak, instead he pointed to a back alley which would lead them to the van Elyan was now glad they had parked further away.

Hurrying through the night as quietly as possible, the three knights climbed quickly into their van on the dark street that was oblivious to the police raid happening just two roads over. As Lancelot turned the car on and flipped the headlights off, Elyan leaned back and sighed.

"I can't believe we made it out of there without being caught." He said, letting out a relieved laugh that caused the other two to stare at him. "What? I'm glad we made it out!"

"Maybe, but the police will take everything in that place. All of Merlin's keepsakes, all of the things he salvaged and kept safe from Camelot all those years." Lancelot said, his voice grim as Elyan's expression sobered.

"Oh, right. Well, it's a good thing he has a tangible piece of Camelot in us then, right?" He asked, meeting Lancelot's eye and smiling again as his friend offered a weary grin in return.

As they pulled away from the curb, Elyan settled back into his seat and rubbed at his scraped fingers. Yeah, he'd definitely missed all of this.

A/N

I couldn't resist the urge for this bonus chapter after all. I don't ever write for these guys, so I'm sure it's not totally in character for them, but I wanted the experience, and I felt like the guys needed a bonding adventure! Plus, poor Merlin, losing all his journals..

I hope you guys enjoyed this one! We should only have four, maybe five chapters left! I hope you'll continue to stick with me until the end!