Living to Death (Part 2b of "Different Ways of Living")
Title: Different Ways of Living (2b/3)
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Merlin, Gwen/Lancelot
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: The shows Merlin and Doctor Who are both property of the BBC.
Summary: Upon his return to the present, Merlin learns some alarming news from Lancelot, which leads him to the angel statues, angels who weep...
To take one breath in 2011 and the next in 1920 is a strange way to start a new life...
Series summary: Merlin is reincarnated as a puppy in his first reincarnation - 1500 years after the days of Camelot. Despite not knowing his true identity, he is compelled to seek out Arthur’s reincarnation. Arthur takes Merlin in as a pet. And then things get interesting...
Previous parts: The first reincarnation was peculiar, to say the least and A Dog's Life
Different Ways of Living: Reincarnation (P.1) || Living to Death: Part 2a
~ * ~
The eagle just stood there in front of them with an undeniable look of recognition on his face. His talons clutched a bag full of something. And the bird was, without a doubt, the very same golden eagle Merlin had seen in his vision.
“Oh, there he is,” the blonde woman had said in his vision…and then, his future reincarnation called the eagle an “old friend.”
The eagle then squawked at them, clearly on a mission, prodding the two dogs and cat to head down the stairs.
He flew down ahead of them.
“Who is that?” Lancelot wondered as they walked down the stairs. “That has to be a reincarnation…of someone. Don’t you feel it, Merlin?”
“Yes, I believe so,” Merlin answered shortly. He felt that his vision was deeply personal, and he wasn’t quite ready to tell anyone else of it for the time being.
Guinevere appeared curious as she observed the eagle. “Oh yes, I feel it as well,” she noted.
Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, the eagle flew to where the angel statues were.
And then…
“The eagle says we should stand back,” Merlin told the others.
“It talked to you?” Lancelot asked. “I can’t get it to talk to me. Guinevere?”
She nodded. “The eagle isn’t responding to me.”
“I don’t know why he’s - the eagle is male - choosing not to talk to either of you. He’s not saying why. He certainly can communicate with me. And the eagle is definitely a reincarnation as you thought, Lancelot,” Merlin confirmed.
Lancelot turned suspicious and he looked like he was starting to figure things out. But he couldn’t voice his conclusions when, from his place near the ceiling, the eagle abruptly turned the bag upside down over the three angels.
What looked like black tar or maybe oil descended upon the angels, covering the grey statues in the sticky, thick liquid.
The black liquid seemed to swallow up the weeping angels until the thick liquid was on the floor. The dark fluid then started moving of its own accord to different points throughout the house - smaller pools of liquid breaking off from the big, main blob. Fortunately, the black, rather smelly liquid avoided the animals, intent on seeking something else.
Guinevere made a face at the odorous smell and she couldn’t resist hissing in annoyance at the foreign substance. But she relented when she realized that, at least, the liquid wasn’t out of control, that it wasn’t touching them. She had just cleaned her paws after all. She liked to keep them clean, thank you very much.
Lancelot turned to Merlin as the eagle, task completed, flew to perch himself on the stair railing. He proceeded to preen his feathers.
The chocolate Labrador said, “The black whatever it is just destroyed the angels…Merlin, the eagle - can you ask him to explain?”
Merlin did just that, trying not to roll his eyes at the golden eagle’s smugness. If there were any doubt in his mind before, there was surely none now. This eagle certainly was a future reincarnation of Arthur, likely from the same life that corresponded with his future human self he had witnessed in his vision. Even as the eagle explained to him what he had done, the bird still refused to say who he was - like he was teasing Merlin by not saying so. According to the eagle, it was simply because the eagle didn’t feel like telling Merlin who he was. The prat. His voice even sounded like Arthur’s - maybe a slight difference, but not much - so it was absolutely ridiculous that…
“Merlin?” Guinevere’s mildly concerned voice shook him out of his thoughts.
“Oh, er...sorry about that,” Merlin muttered and then he relayed to the other two what he had learned, “The eagle said that the black liquid is called anti-time, that the substance is poisonous to the weeping angels. So the anti-time will destroy the angels, eating them whole, and the liquid will kill any of the angel statues inside of Wester Drumlins. That’s why the anti-time is moving of its own accord around the house. While I’m sure sealing up the house with my magic would have worked just as well, at least this way is a more permanent solution.”
“Anti-time…hmm, that does make sense. Anti-time as poison to creatures who feed off Time energy,” Lancelot mused. He pawed at the anti-time substance, but the liquid shied away from his paws so he couldn’t find out what it felt like. He nodded at the eagle, whose sharp eyes were watching them as if they were the most fascinating creatures ever.
Or, as Merlin believed, Arthur was pretending to find them fascinating. After all, this Arthur was a future reincarnation - he had seen them all before in these animal forms. Not so exciting, Merlin bet.
“Hey, Merlin. Can he tell us who made the substance?” Lancelot asked.
A moment later, Merlin shook his head. “He says that he forgot, but he also sort of laughed at me. He probably knows, but won’t say,” he said, glaring at the eagle.
“Oh goodness, the eagle is a bit rude, isn’t he?” Guinevere remarked.
“Bit of a prat, yes,” Merlin contributed. Arthur left the railing at flew down toward him, nipping him in retaliation with his beak.
“Ow,” Merlin cried out. It didn’t hurt too much, true, but still…it was certainly not pleasant.
The eagle landed in front of them and looked at each of them in turn. Then he returned to face Merlin, his expression serious now.
“All of you should go. The house will be destroyed along with the angels,” Arthur told him. “The destruction will happen in ten minutes, so you must leave now.”
“Wait, are you going to destroy-?” Merlin had to know.
“No, you know who is behind this, you idiot. The vision you had, I know you had it. That was a few months ago for me, back when I didn’t remember who I was. But I remembered not long after seeing you, my Merlin. You know what I mean. You had the vision.”
“Yes, but do you mean…am I the one who --?”
But Arthur interrupted him hurriedly. “Go! For gods’ sake, tell the others to leave!”
“No, but Arthur, what about you?”
“This isn’t my time. I don’t belong here,” The eagle said to him exasperatedly. “I’m leaving a different way. Don’t worry about me. You won’t survive if you remain in the house when it’ll be destroyed. So, go already!” He said urgently.
The eagle flapped his wings at him, forcing Merlin to move back.
“We have to leave the house. It’ll be destroyed soon according to the eagle.”
“Why?” Lancelot asked.
“Extra precaution?” Merlin ventured. Arthur didn’t give a reason why and considering his impatient look at them, he didn’t appear to be in the mood for explanations now.
“See you, Merlin,” Arthur suddenly said.
A moment later, the golden eagle disappeared in a swirl of wind and golden dots of lights.
Merlin sighed. He’d recognize his magical handiwork anywhere.
He told Lancelot and Guinevere to touch him, so that he could magically transport all of them a safe distance away from Wester Drumlins.
The house wasn’t destroyed in the expected fashion - not in a great blaze of fire. Instead, it was rather anti-climactic. The Wester Drumlins house simply disappeared and all that was left was the ground it had been built upon.
“Goodbye, Wester Drumlins,” Guinevere said cheerily.
“Merlin, if the weeping angels are gone, then they won’t be able to retaliate if I do visit Sam in the past. I know that she can’t return to our time because some people will cease to exist if she leaves, but…” Lancelot looked to Merlin hopefully.
“There may be other weeping angels present outside the house, all over the world, maybe. They could still be monitoring things. But I’ll take you back when I feel ready for it. I think we could risk one visit…” Merlin promised him, unwilling to deny him now after turning him down before.
Lancelot was grateful for the promise.
And on that note, the three of them headed home.
On their way home, Merlin did tell Lancelot and Guinevere that the eagle had been a future reincarnation of Arthur - whether in the next life or after, he didn’t know.
Lancelot was glad that his conclusion had been confirmed. He had recalled how, back in Camelot, Arthur had once told him that he often wondered what it would be like to be a bird, to fly as one.
Guinevere, still without her memories, found the reveal a little amusing. She did note that Arthur made a very pretty golden eagle. Merlin then told her that he could just imagine the grumpy look on Arthur’s face if Guinevere ever called him, ‘pretty.’
It was not long after that when they parted ways to their respective destinations.
~ * ~
Arthur came home from work not long after Merlin returned.
When Arthur was beginning to tuck into his dinner, he told Merlin, “There’s this strange hum in my head, Merlin.”
Arthur peered at his dog curiously.
“Maybe you’re going mad,” Merlin replied, as he usually did.
He didn’t expect Arthur to hear him. Though now, of course, that he remembered his identity, Merlin wished for more than anything to properly talk to Arthur.
The blond’s eyes widened as he stared at Merlin. “I just - did you just - I heard you talk, Merlin. Maybe I am going mad…” He contemplated.
Merlin was surprised to find the mental communication channel open. Had he done something to be able to speak to Arthur without realizing it?
“No, I think you did hear me. We can communicate now… I don’t know how, but Arthur, Arthur - I just remembered who I am today. There’s so much I need to tell you,” He finished almost breathlessly.
Merlin wagged his tail in his excitement, and stood up to rest his front paws on the blond’s lap.
Arthur swore then, still trying to take it all in. “I can’t believe this is actually happening,” he uttered, shaking his head.
But Merlin saw that Arthur looked happy, very happy, in fact.
Merlin couldn’t think he could be happier than he was at that moment.
He hadn’t thought that it would be so easy for him to communicate with Arthur properly the very same day he remembered his past life. But luck was with him that day.
Later that evening, Merlin told Arthur about his day, of course not forgetting to inform him that Knight was really Lancelot reincarnated. With the chocolate Labrador having a name like Knight, Arthur wasn’t too surprised at finding that out.
Merlin also told him that Leon was a reincarnation too. If he was, in fact, once Sir Leon of Camelot, then the Bloodhound neither confirmed nor denied it.
Arthur was alarmed to learn what had happened to Sam and what these weeping angels were capable of doing. He was glad that Merlin had been able to take care of the situation.
In the end, Arthur went to call Sam’s friend, Cara, who had been at Wester Drumlins with her. He discussed who would take care of Knight and Leon now with Sam being gone.
That, “Oh no, it was perfectly all right. He didn’t mind adopting two more dogs. Merlin got along just fine with them. It would be no trouble at all…”
After Arthur finished the call, he pointed out to Merlin, “You’re awful, you know that? You and your puppy-dog eyes. And this time, it’s literally. The things you get me to do,” he muttered, shaking his head.
“I love you too, Arthur,” Merlin said cheerfully.
Arthur knelt down to pet him and scratched behind his floppy ears. “Love you,” the blond said. The words were soft and barely audible.
But Merlin heard him just fine.
~ * ~
There were some things that Merlin didn’t tell Arthur though. Simply put, he felt the moments were too personal to discuss with others, even Arthur, now. He didn’t tell him about going to the long ago past to visit his previous self so he could comfort him on his deathbed.
He didn’t tell him about his vision of the golden eagle, of his future human reincarnation at the beach with a blonde woman named Alice…
Though Merlin did not know it then, Arthur was already quite familiar with Alice and he could have shed some light for Merlin as to who the woman was.
~ * ~
A week after Arthur let Lancelot and Leon stay with him and Merlin, the old Bloodhound left.
It was only the next morning that Merlin and Lancelot realized that Leon had gone. He had to have left sometime in the night. It was odd of Leon, to be sure, as he wasn’t in great health in the first place. They didn’t know what could have spurred the Bloodhound to leave without telling either of them.
Arthur helped Merlin and Lancelot search for the missing Bloodhound.
They found him later that evening in a grassy field. Leon wasn’t moving.
He had died. They buried the Bloodhound in Arthur’s backyard. Merlin tried not to whine pitifully in mourning, but he failed miserably. Yet Arthur was there beside him, comforting him with a soft touch to the head. Lancelot just stared ahead of him, utterly lost in thought. He declined to talk about how he was feeling, preferring to keep it to himself. But Merlin could see the misery, the grief in the older dog’s dark eyes.
So when Lancelot asked Merlin a few days later if he could visit Sam in the past now, Merlin immediately agreed to it. If only to cheer Lancelot up a bit…this one visit could assure him that Sam was truly all right.
They visited a few years after Sam had first unexpectedly landed in the past. It was the year 1923.
They found out that her oldest son, still new to walking, was named Leon.
When they returned to their time, Merlin said to Lancelot, “Remember what Leon told me months ago when I first met both of you?”
“What?”
“That as reincarnations, we don’t ever truly die…”
“We get a second chance,” Lancelot finished, giving him a small nod. “It’s a nice thought.”
“We should watch out for flying squirrels then, maybe?” Merlin teased softly, coaxing a smile from the other dog.
“That sounds like a plan,” Lancelot agreed.
Fin
~ * ~
If you want to find out more about Alice, then she’ll be in the final part. There’ll be more of a focus on Arthur too (as he was mostly absent in this part, have to make up for it!).