[Team One] an ancient sort of magic
~2200 words of g-rated Kingdom Hearts / Merlin (BBC) crossover fic featuring mostly implied sora/riku and merlin/arthur. A "what if everything was the same except the Merlin in Kingdom Hearts was the same the Merlin from BBC's Merlin." (Or basically I wanted Riku and BBC's Merlin to chat and this was the best way to go about it XD)
“Nothing some pancakes can't fix,” Merlin promised as he moved towards the stove, the burner igniting with barely a glance. “Food always makes the world seem brighter. Don’t you worry, my boy.”
“Hmm,” Riku sighed, dejectedly. “If you say so.”
There hadn’t been a single sign of Sora in all the worlds. Kairi was still asleep. Terra had mentioned that he, Aqua, and Ven were going to continue searching the Dark Realm, but there hadn’t been a single trace.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Riku had memories of Sora locked in his heart- sealed with a vow that Riku only remembered in his dreams now- it would be as if Sora had never even-
“He’s still out there, you know.”
Riku was startled at the voice. He had nearly forgotten about Merlin’s cooking.
Something was bumping his hand and he glanced down to find a rather persistent plate of pancakes nudging for his attention. Beside the plate hopped a bottle full of maple syrup, the amber liquid threatening to spill out. “Oh. Sorry… hang on just a moment little guy.”
The plate settled in front of him, followed by a fork and knife. Then Riku nodded at the maple syrup bottle and the bottle tipped over in excitement.
“That’s a bit much,” Riku murmured, a small smile on his lips. Great, now he was seeing Sora’s personality in the breakfast condiments.
“Oi there, save some for me,” Merlin reprimanded.
Obligingly, the syrup righted itself before hopping over and pouring a bit on Merlin’s plate as well.
“That’s better. I hope you keep your wits around you when Arthur gets back.”
“Hmm?” Riku glanced up, his mouth already full of pancake. Merlin was right- pancakes really did make things better. “Arthur?”
He had heard the story from Leon- or rather, an abridged fantastical story. Something about a sword in a stone. “Is that the kid from your world? The one you helped be king?”
Merlin laughed- a genuine young-sounding laugh- not at all like the elderly cackles Riku had heard during his previous visits.
“Oh, I forgot that’s the story I circulated here,” Merlin leaned in consipiratorily. “When Arthur does show up, you have to let me be the one to telll him. He’s gonna kill me.”
Merlin sounded way too amused about his supposed murder.
Riku obliged his humor though. Elders were weird sometimes, Mickey included. “Alright then. I suppose that’s not the whole story though.”
Merlin shrugged, scraping his plate of maple syup in a way that reminded Riku of Sora. “It’s been so long now- like any story certain things were mythologized or made up entirely. In all honestly, Arthur was only a year or two older than me. But people expect the wizard in a story to be old-looking. I haven’t exactly helped that stereotype, now have I?”
He looked at Riku, clearly expecting an answer.
Swallowing around the last of his pancakes, Riku nodded. “They do say with age comes wisdom.”
“Arthur certainly seemed to listen to me more when I was in my disguise,” Merlin muttered. “Atleast, when he wasn’t threatening me. The prat.”
Startled at the statement- so unlike the eccentric old wizard Riku had come to know- Riku laughed, though part of him was a little on edge.
Merlin glanced up at him.
Riku suddenly realized Merlin’s eyes were blue- flashing gold when he picked up his teacup. Steam began to rise, the team warmed by a spell Merlin hadn’t even needed to speak.
“Your magic…” Riku began. “It works differently than anyone else. Even different than, uh- Maleficent’s.”
Merlin huffed and rolled his eyes, “That fairy. I warned her amplifying her powers with Darkness would lead to her ruin. But what does an old man know?”
With a sigh, Merlin continued, “But yes, my magic is older than many of the spells that are taught now. I was born with pure magic a very, very long time ago. And like everything else, magic has evolved.”
Riku took a sip of his own tea. “How… long ago?”
Merlin chuckled without much humor. “My boy, I’ve been around longer than keyblade warriors have crossed the lanes between.”
“So… before the worlds were separated then?” Riku was surprised. “But then- how are you still even- er- around?”
Merlin chuckled again. “Magic this old tends to stick around. You should ask your mentor Yen Sid how old he is some day.”
Yeah, probably not.
“Anyway, my destiny isn’t quite done yet, so I suppose I’ll be sticking around until he comes back.”
“He?” Riku tilted his head.
Merlin glanced back, his head tilted as he seemed to contemplate something. Then he came to some sort of conclusion with a nod.
As Riku watched, the years seemed to slip off of the Merlin he knew. The eccentric but kind elderly man grew a few inches, his white hair giving way to dark curls cut close to his head. His robes became a tunic and pants, both made of coarse material, and his hat disappeared entirely.
Part of Riku was instantly on alert at the sudden appearance of a stranger, and one hand stretched out to call on Braveheart at a moment’s notice.
But when he looked closer, Merlin’s eyes were the same. Still kind and full of a wisdom that came from centuries of living.
“Like I said, they always expect the wizard in the stories to be old,” the young man before Riku grinned.
“So you became what the stories expected,” Riku said.
Merlin shrugged. “And because sometimes it’s nice to look your age. But… talking about Arthur always seems to… put me back to when I lost him. Like a reset button.”
He turned back to Riku. “I think you’d know a bit about that, huh?”
Riku understood what Merlin meant. It had been nearly a year, but Riku had refused to let his hair grow longer, and he kept his clothes in the eact same condition.
Who knows ho wlong it would be until Sora came back, but Riku wanted to keep himself the same until he did. He couldn’t stand the thought of Sora losing anything else to time.
“Arthur… you lost him. Like how I lost Sora?”
Merlin looked away but nodded. “Centuries ago now- Not that i think Sora will be gone for that long! The situations were vastly different.”
“Still…” Riku let out a deep sigh. “How’d you… do it? Keep waiting?”
“I have hope that he’ll return,” Merlin grinned. “I have destiny and a prophecy on my side afterall. Doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
“Does the hurt ever…” Riku placed his hand over his chest, clenching it into a fist. “Everyday, the hurt is still fresh. Like a new wound. I know it should be healing but-”
“You learn to live with it. Like how your wrist aches when there’s a storm rolling in.” Merlin nodded at the brace on Riku’s arm, now well hidden under the gloves he wore. “You just cant… let the wound fester. Or get infected.”
“Speaking from experience?”
“I had a rough century about a millennium ago. I got better but… it was not a good time. Yen Sid and Fairy Godmother are actually the ones who helped pull me out of it.” Merlin waved his hand, and the tea refilled itself. “It was around that time I started to spread different versions of our story. Just… trying to keep him alive, even in stories.”
Riku grinned, “Well… maybe you can tell me the true story. What was King Arthur like?”
Merlin’s smile took over his whole face, so much like Sora it almost hurt Riku anew. “I told you, he was a prat. The biggest clotpole in the universe.”
“Clotpole?” Riku chuckled. He had never heard of such a word.
“Look it up in the dictionary. Guarantee you’ll find a picture of Arthur right next to it. Oh, but he was… brave too. Courageous. And smart when he stopped being an idiot for two minutes. He got… better as he got older. Less arrogant and more thoughtful.” Though there was still hurt in his eyes, he still laughed.
Riku hummed, looking down at the table where now two of Merlin’s spoons were fighting, clashing together while the other cutlery gathered around them, appearing to cheer on the fight.
“Oi, you lot, that’s enough of that.” Merlin’s eyes flashed gold. The fighting stopped and the cutlery became inanimate once more.
Riku chuckled. “Why do they do that? Your plates and stuff- and the books. They act like they’re alive, but they’re… not right?”
He would feel terrible the next time he dropped a plate. But they didn’t act like how Sora had described the people in Beast’s castle when they were under the curse.
“Well… when you’re alone alot of the time, you just start talking to things. And when you’re magic, those things just start… talking back. In their own way. It’s like when your a kid and everything just seems more… alive.”
Riku reached out to gently tap one of the spoons. The spoon hopped up and began to tap back. “Ansem the Wise said something like that once. About Sora- how he could find the light in anything.”
“I always liked him for a reason,” Merlin said, sharing a smile with Riku.
They continued to talk for a while, Merlin sharing story after story. Riku took it all in, interested in how magic worked on the area that became Merlin’s homeworld of Albion. He tried to understand it all, but knew if Sora was here he’d get it instantly. Surprisingly, Riku struggled a bit with regular magic, his Darkness sneaking in at in opportune times.
But Riku also loved the stories Merlin told of the battles and the other knights, and Arthur himself.
There was something in the way Merlin spoke of Arthur, something in his voice, and his gestures-
It was very reminisent to how Riku often found himself speaking of Sora.
Yeah, he understood the feeling of protecting his precious person at all cost. And the pain it felt to lose him anyway.
--
A little over a year later, just a few weeks after Riku had brought Sora home, Radiant Garden was abuzz with gossip.
“What do you mean Merlin just… left?” Sora asked Leon. “But what about his house and- everything!”
Leon shrugged. “He left a note saying that we were still free to use the house for Radiant Garden restoration committee stuff, but that he had some work to do on his homeworld. In the meantime though, his nephew and his friend would take over care of the house.”
“And get this!” Yuffie added. “His nephew is named Merlin as well!”
“Wow,” Sora laughed. “Must be a common name!”
Yeah, Riku didn’t think so.
Sure enough, when they met the ‘nephew’ Merlin just a few hours later, Riku was unsurprised to find himself face to face with the younger Merlin he had seen ages ago.
And the friend at his side-
Blue eyes regarded Riku and Sora with a bit of suspicion beneath a fringe of blonde hair. But he seemed to settle when Merlin reached out to squeeze his hand.
“Hi!” Sora happily ran over. “I heard you’re living in your Uncle’s shop. My name’s Sora! Your uncle taught me magic!”
Merlin grinned. “I’ve heard so much about you. I’m, uh… Well, my name is Merlin and this is Arthur.”
Arthur looked awkwardly between Sora and Merlin, clearly not sure what to do.
Sora, easy and eager to make friends, turned his grin onto Arthur. Then he seemed to notice the sword strapped to Arthur’s side. “Hey… you any good with that?”
Arthur only glanced at his sword briefly. “I’ve been training since birth.”
“Oh cool!” Sora’s grin turned a little competitive. “You wanna spar?” Sora summoned his blade in hand. Arthur flinched, though he quickly recovered from his surprise.
Sora didn’t seem to notice. “Riku and I were headed the Maw anyway. Would be fun to spar against someone new.”
“Oh, am I not a challenge anymore?” Riku teased.
Sora turned his grin back on Riku. “Of course you are… but we tend to get distracted by kissing now.”
Riku laughed, coving his smile with his hand.
Arthur had glanced back over at Merlin, not quite seeking permission, but more like guidance in how to handle this sort of social interaction. Merlin nodded slightly, and Arthur turned back to them. “Alright. Merlin comes too.”
“Of course! Do you know magic like your Uncle, Merlin? Riku needs to practice his.”
“Hey, I’m getting… better,” Riku grumbled.
Sora and Merlin both laughed, and slowly, Arthur’s aprehension seemed to melt away. He and Sora took the lead, Sora talking animatedly about the different shops and people they passed by, eager to share his knowledge with the newcomer.
Riku caught Merlin’s eye. “Faith, huh?”
“I figured since you had luck in going to search for Sora, I would try my luck as well.” Merlin looked a head at Arthur’s back. “Though it’s said that Arthur’s return would only happen when Albion needed him most.”
Riku shrugged. “Well, we knew something big was brewing anyway. We can use all the allies we can get.”
With friends like this, they could weather any storm.
Next up is Nichi with "With friends like this, they could weather any storm." I'll tag them on discord!