Merlin Fic: "Are you there, Death? It's me, Merlin." Ch. 1/?
Title: "Are you there, Death? It's me, Merlin."
Summary: Merlin meets Death. Literally. And it's nothing like he expected.
Rating: PG for now.
Pairing: Eventual Merlin/Arthur.
The first time Merlin meets the strange cloaked figure is when he was poisoned by Nimueh. At first Merlin had thought it was all a ridiculous dream cooked up by his dying brain, but rather unfortunately, this was not the case.
The last thing he could remember were the terrible, wracking pains as the poison coursed through his system before, curiously, they stopped. Everything had stopped. Time flow was inconsequential as he drifted through the spaces between the worlds. He felt weightless and free, as if all the worlds problems had been lifted off his chest. Problems he didn’t realize existed.
Then, suddenly the sensation was ripped away and he quite literally fell to the ground with a solid, and painful, thump.
He groaned and decided that the floor was more comfortable than anything else at the moment and stayed sprawled across it until,
“Well get up, boy!” A raspy voice demanded. “I didn’t just grab you from the void so you could drown in your own spit!”
Merlin forced himself to look up and found that he was in a large room with a roaring fireplace. It was unlike any room he had ever seen. Odd objects were littered about the space and Merlin was fairly sure some of the boxes were moving…and making rather irritated noises. He stood to take in more of the mind boggling place and forgetting about the voice made his way over to inspect a large wooden table practically groaning under the weight piled on it.
He picked up a curiously shaped piece of glass. It was white, almost see through and he could see that was something inside. He then noticed the little yellow strip of parchment stuck to the base, that felt odd under his fingers that said, “The first light bulb: Given to me by Thomas Edison, after he almost shocked himself to death.”
“Please be careful with that.” The voice came again and Merlin fumbled with the object almost dropping it. “It is one of a kind.”
Merlin hastily put the thing down and turned to face the fireplace.
A cloaked hand gestured from one the enormous black chairs for Merlin to sit.
“Have a seat then, Merlin. While I have all eternity I don‘t relish wasting it all here.”
Merlin cautiously walked over to the seating area and slowly sat in the chair. He sank back into the strange seat and discovered it to be the most comfortable thing his arse had ever touched.
“There is a lever on the side if you wish to prop your feet up.” Said the amused voice.
Merlin’s head snapped up to study the owner of the insane room and demand what he was doing here.
The man, at least he sounded like a man, was completely covered in a huge black cloak. Not an inch of him was exposed and Merlin wondered what on earth he was hiding. At his feat was a large weapon that Merlin had never seen before. It was a long wooden stick with a massive, sharp, curved blade attached to the top. It looked horribly lethal and Merlin hoped the man wasn’t planning on using it.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. You’ve done a rather splendid job of that yourself.” He said dryly.
“What is it?” Merlin asked, speaking for the first time.
“It’s my scythe. Helps me look impressive and scary, no?”
“Er…” Merlin began, unsure of what to say. “Who are you?” Was what he opted to say.
“I am Death.” The figure said, impressively.
Merlin arched a disbelieving eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Yes, that is so, my malnourished friend. You are in the presence of Death. Try not to be afraid or wet yourself or anything. I just acquired these Lazy Boys,” He said patting his chair. “And leather is terribly hard to clean.”
“Right.” Merlin said with an eye roll.
The man shifted slightly and seemed to rattle as he did so. “Damn, bones,” he muttered. “Always shifting out of place.” He flicked his wrist to move the cloth from his cloak out of the way, Merlin was momentarily horrified to see that his hand was only bones, before he snapped one of his knuckles into place with a sickening CRACK.
“That’s disgusting.” Merlin said before he could stop himself.
Death shrugged. “It is what it is and I am what I am.”
“Oooook.” Merlin said. “So, ah…want to tell me what I’m doing here?”
“Hmm? Oh, no reason, I just wanted to meet you is all. You died and the stars and fates screamed bloody murder for a bit. Startled me so much that I messed up my painting.” He grumbled pointing towards a canvas depicting very familiar Lady in a rather suggestive-
“That’s Morgana!!” Merlin said aghast.
“Well, she is quite attractive for a human. Almost elf like…I’ll have to go back and check her history….what do you know of her parents?”
“Er…enough that I’m fairly sure that neither of them were elves.”
“Hmm…must be somewhere in her line, it wasn’t too long ago where elves went through a fairly odd mortal phase. Couldn’t move fast enough to bed one-”
“You know you can stop talking any time now.” Merlin interrupted with an icy glare.
“No need to be so embarrassed, my hormonally repressed friend! Why by this time next year you and the Prince will be-”
“Isn’t it against some law that you’re not suppose to reveal the future?” Merlin snapped, praying there was such a law.
“Ah,” Death said. “So there is. No matter, you’ll find out sooner than you think about you and your Prince.”
“I know about the destiny lark, ok? That bloody dragon has made that perfectly clear.”
Death cocked his head at him and Merlin winced as he heard several bones crack in the process. “Dragon?”
“You know the whole two-sides-of-the-same-coin-Arthur-is-you-destiny-and- you-must-protect-him-it’s-all-up-to-you-Merlin-the-world-is-doomed-if-you-don’t- succeed-so-you-better-listen-to-me-Dragon.” Merlin babbled.
“Hmm, its very impressive you can say all that in one breath.” Death said in an off handed voice. “Anyway, yes I know the destiny that you speak of….” He trailed off. “You know hundreds of years from now humans will remember all of your names but get the story horribly, horribly wrong.”
“Uh yeah, that great and all…but can I go back yet? You know to Camelot?”
“Yes, yes, in a moment. My you are impatient aren’t you?” Death said airily. “We have as long as we want. I can send you back at any moment I want. You could even send yourself back. Being an Immortal and all you have that power.”
Merlin opened his mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about but Death just continued on. “But if you insist I suppose I might as well send you off. Knowing you, you’ll break one of my lovely collections.”
“Now, wait just a minute!” Merlin demanded. “What do you mean, I’m an Immortal?
Death sighed and rattled as he did. “Does no one tell you anything? Good lord, no wonder you end up in these situations…”He thought for a moment. “Well, my poorly informed friend, I think I’ll make it my mission to help you. Being me can be terribly boring and repetitive, but I can’t be there ALL the time…” He trailed off again and was silent and still for so long Merlin wondered if he had dislocated something important.
“AH HA!” Death cried making Merlin start as Death jumped to his feet with astounded dexterity for being a bag of bones. “I know just who can help you…” He said moving off to the left side of the room and rummaging through one of the squawking boxes.
“There you are, you grumpy bird.” Death said as Merlin approached from behind.
“I say! Be careful!” Shouted an irate voice as Death yanked a pair of clawed feet out of a large wooden box.
Merlin was shocked to see that the voice belonged to a humorously small, scraggly owl.
“Put me down, you bony blockhead!” It cried, flapping its wings, angrily.
“Oh do calm down, Archimedes.” Death said dryly. “I have a job for you.”
“And what makes you think I’m going to do anything for YOU?” He snapped.
“Because if you do what I ask the curse will be lifted and you can move on to Avalon.”
The owls eyes widen. “Well, all right then. What is it this time? Does your cloak need washing? Scythe need cleaning? Or do you want a new game for your Wii?” He asked in a rather insulting tone.
Death shook his head. “Something much more important and noble than that, my feathery friend.” He said. “You shall go to the mortal world and help this young man reach his potential.”
Archimedes looked at Merlin for the first time. “Who the hell is this then?”
“Erm…I’m Merlin.” He said, warily.
“Eh? You? You’re Merlin? THE Merlin?!” He asked and Merlin nodded before the bird burst into a fit of laughter.
“Hey!’ He said, indignantly. “What is so funny about that?”
“I’m afraid Archimedes has a terrible sense of humour.” Death said. “You’ll get used to it.”
“How am I supposed to keep him?” Merlin asked. “A talking owl is kind of blatant sorcery. Especially one so loud and obnoxious.”
Death chuckled and rattled some more as Archimedes squawked incredulously.
“I’m sure the two of you will figure it out.” Death said searching through another package before he pulled out a massive metal bird cage out of a box half its size. “In you go, then. I’ll send you to Merlin’s room.”
“I will NOT get in that cage.” The owl snapped. “Nothing in this world or in any others could make me-”
Death sighed. “Merlin if you would.” He said gesturing towards the ranting bird.
“Gladly.” Merlin muttered before his eyes flashed gold and Archimedes was stuffed into the cage with a huge padlock clicking shut.
“Nice touch with that lock, Merlin. They may be hope for you yet.”
And before Merlin could say another word he felt himself being yanked, unnecessarily hard, from behind and falling endlessly before he was chucked back into his disturbingly cold body.
The next thing he knew, Gwen was kissing him and a horribly loud squawking noise could be heard emanating from his room.
Merlin groaned and flopped back on the bed.
What on Earth had he gotten himself into this time?
Miles below the Castle the Dragon awoke with a start as he felt destiny shift.
Summary: Merlin meets Death. Literally. And it's nothing like he expected.
Rating: PG for now.
Pairing: Eventual Merlin/Arthur.
The first time Merlin meets the strange cloaked figure is when he was poisoned by Nimueh. At first Merlin had thought it was all a ridiculous dream cooked up by his dying brain, but rather unfortunately, this was not the case.
The last thing he could remember were the terrible, wracking pains as the poison coursed through his system before, curiously, they stopped. Everything had stopped. Time flow was inconsequential as he drifted through the spaces between the worlds. He felt weightless and free, as if all the worlds problems had been lifted off his chest. Problems he didn’t realize existed.
Then, suddenly the sensation was ripped away and he quite literally fell to the ground with a solid, and painful, thump.
He groaned and decided that the floor was more comfortable than anything else at the moment and stayed sprawled across it until,
“Well get up, boy!” A raspy voice demanded. “I didn’t just grab you from the void so you could drown in your own spit!”
Merlin forced himself to look up and found that he was in a large room with a roaring fireplace. It was unlike any room he had ever seen. Odd objects were littered about the space and Merlin was fairly sure some of the boxes were moving…and making rather irritated noises. He stood to take in more of the mind boggling place and forgetting about the voice made his way over to inspect a large wooden table practically groaning under the weight piled on it.
He picked up a curiously shaped piece of glass. It was white, almost see through and he could see that was something inside. He then noticed the little yellow strip of parchment stuck to the base, that felt odd under his fingers that said, “The first light bulb: Given to me by Thomas Edison, after he almost shocked himself to death.”
“Please be careful with that.” The voice came again and Merlin fumbled with the object almost dropping it. “It is one of a kind.”
Merlin hastily put the thing down and turned to face the fireplace.
A cloaked hand gestured from one the enormous black chairs for Merlin to sit.
“Have a seat then, Merlin. While I have all eternity I don‘t relish wasting it all here.”
Merlin cautiously walked over to the seating area and slowly sat in the chair. He sank back into the strange seat and discovered it to be the most comfortable thing his arse had ever touched.
“There is a lever on the side if you wish to prop your feet up.” Said the amused voice.
Merlin’s head snapped up to study the owner of the insane room and demand what he was doing here.
The man, at least he sounded like a man, was completely covered in a huge black cloak. Not an inch of him was exposed and Merlin wondered what on earth he was hiding. At his feat was a large weapon that Merlin had never seen before. It was a long wooden stick with a massive, sharp, curved blade attached to the top. It looked horribly lethal and Merlin hoped the man wasn’t planning on using it.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. You’ve done a rather splendid job of that yourself.” He said dryly.
“What is it?” Merlin asked, speaking for the first time.
“It’s my scythe. Helps me look impressive and scary, no?”
“Er…” Merlin began, unsure of what to say. “Who are you?” Was what he opted to say.
“I am Death.” The figure said, impressively.
Merlin arched a disbelieving eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Yes, that is so, my malnourished friend. You are in the presence of Death. Try not to be afraid or wet yourself or anything. I just acquired these Lazy Boys,” He said patting his chair. “And leather is terribly hard to clean.”
“Right.” Merlin said with an eye roll.
The man shifted slightly and seemed to rattle as he did so. “Damn, bones,” he muttered. “Always shifting out of place.” He flicked his wrist to move the cloth from his cloak out of the way, Merlin was momentarily horrified to see that his hand was only bones, before he snapped one of his knuckles into place with a sickening CRACK.
“That’s disgusting.” Merlin said before he could stop himself.
Death shrugged. “It is what it is and I am what I am.”
“Oooook.” Merlin said. “So, ah…want to tell me what I’m doing here?”
“Hmm? Oh, no reason, I just wanted to meet you is all. You died and the stars and fates screamed bloody murder for a bit. Startled me so much that I messed up my painting.” He grumbled pointing towards a canvas depicting very familiar Lady in a rather suggestive-
“That’s Morgana!!” Merlin said aghast.
“Well, she is quite attractive for a human. Almost elf like…I’ll have to go back and check her history….what do you know of her parents?”
“Er…enough that I’m fairly sure that neither of them were elves.”
“Hmm…must be somewhere in her line, it wasn’t too long ago where elves went through a fairly odd mortal phase. Couldn’t move fast enough to bed one-”
“You know you can stop talking any time now.” Merlin interrupted with an icy glare.
“No need to be so embarrassed, my hormonally repressed friend! Why by this time next year you and the Prince will be-”
“Isn’t it against some law that you’re not suppose to reveal the future?” Merlin snapped, praying there was such a law.
“Ah,” Death said. “So there is. No matter, you’ll find out sooner than you think about you and your Prince.”
“I know about the destiny lark, ok? That bloody dragon has made that perfectly clear.”
Death cocked his head at him and Merlin winced as he heard several bones crack in the process. “Dragon?”
“You know the whole two-sides-of-the-same-coin-Arthur-is-you-destiny-and- you-must-protect-him-it’s-all-up-to-you-Merlin-the-world-is-doomed-if-you-don’t- succeed-so-you-better-listen-to-me-Dragon.” Merlin babbled.
“Hmm, its very impressive you can say all that in one breath.” Death said in an off handed voice. “Anyway, yes I know the destiny that you speak of….” He trailed off. “You know hundreds of years from now humans will remember all of your names but get the story horribly, horribly wrong.”
“Uh yeah, that great and all…but can I go back yet? You know to Camelot?”
“Yes, yes, in a moment. My you are impatient aren’t you?” Death said airily. “We have as long as we want. I can send you back at any moment I want. You could even send yourself back. Being an Immortal and all you have that power.”
Merlin opened his mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about but Death just continued on. “But if you insist I suppose I might as well send you off. Knowing you, you’ll break one of my lovely collections.”
“Now, wait just a minute!” Merlin demanded. “What do you mean, I’m an Immortal?
Death sighed and rattled as he did. “Does no one tell you anything? Good lord, no wonder you end up in these situations…”He thought for a moment. “Well, my poorly informed friend, I think I’ll make it my mission to help you. Being me can be terribly boring and repetitive, but I can’t be there ALL the time…” He trailed off again and was silent and still for so long Merlin wondered if he had dislocated something important.
“AH HA!” Death cried making Merlin start as Death jumped to his feet with astounded dexterity for being a bag of bones. “I know just who can help you…” He said moving off to the left side of the room and rummaging through one of the squawking boxes.
“There you are, you grumpy bird.” Death said as Merlin approached from behind.
“I say! Be careful!” Shouted an irate voice as Death yanked a pair of clawed feet out of a large wooden box.
Merlin was shocked to see that the voice belonged to a humorously small, scraggly owl.
“Put me down, you bony blockhead!” It cried, flapping its wings, angrily.
“Oh do calm down, Archimedes.” Death said dryly. “I have a job for you.”
“And what makes you think I’m going to do anything for YOU?” He snapped.
“Because if you do what I ask the curse will be lifted and you can move on to Avalon.”
The owls eyes widen. “Well, all right then. What is it this time? Does your cloak need washing? Scythe need cleaning? Or do you want a new game for your Wii?” He asked in a rather insulting tone.
Death shook his head. “Something much more important and noble than that, my feathery friend.” He said. “You shall go to the mortal world and help this young man reach his potential.”
Archimedes looked at Merlin for the first time. “Who the hell is this then?”
“Erm…I’m Merlin.” He said, warily.
“Eh? You? You’re Merlin? THE Merlin?!” He asked and Merlin nodded before the bird burst into a fit of laughter.
“Hey!’ He said, indignantly. “What is so funny about that?”
“I’m afraid Archimedes has a terrible sense of humour.” Death said. “You’ll get used to it.”
“How am I supposed to keep him?” Merlin asked. “A talking owl is kind of blatant sorcery. Especially one so loud and obnoxious.”
Death chuckled and rattled some more as Archimedes squawked incredulously.
“I’m sure the two of you will figure it out.” Death said searching through another package before he pulled out a massive metal bird cage out of a box half its size. “In you go, then. I’ll send you to Merlin’s room.”
“I will NOT get in that cage.” The owl snapped. “Nothing in this world or in any others could make me-”
Death sighed. “Merlin if you would.” He said gesturing towards the ranting bird.
“Gladly.” Merlin muttered before his eyes flashed gold and Archimedes was stuffed into the cage with a huge padlock clicking shut.
“Nice touch with that lock, Merlin. They may be hope for you yet.”
And before Merlin could say another word he felt himself being yanked, unnecessarily hard, from behind and falling endlessly before he was chucked back into his disturbingly cold body.
The next thing he knew, Gwen was kissing him and a horribly loud squawking noise could be heard emanating from his room.
Merlin groaned and flopped back on the bed.
What on Earth had he gotten himself into this time?
Miles below the Castle the Dragon awoke with a start as he felt destiny shift.