The year: 2023

Oadley,
Albion

[Marty's POV]

If anyone had told me a month ago that I would be traveling to the past to make sure that Albion had a future, I would have called them barking mad and suggested they visit my psychiatrist. But now that I had done exactly that, it felt like it would have been too harsh. 

Everything felt like a dream within a dream. Some of it was like a nightmare, especially when I had to cut down the magnificent oak tree that has seen hundreds if not thousands of seasons change. As an advocate of the initiative, 'Save trees. Save lives,' the act felt criminal. I would have dwelled over it more if I didn't have more pressing matters that needed my attention. 

For instance, my friend (the jury is still out on that part) Dwight was possibly possessed and held captive in the Pendragon castle (somewhere underground.) However, according to the blueprint Meenakshi had sent earlier, no such place existed. Upon trying to call her for an update on Dwight's situation, she hadn't picked up. 

Before returning home, The high priestess had enlightened me about the great destiny the fates had entrusted the Wyllt family to fulfill. She had even revealed secrets my masters knew next to nothing about: the art of life force manipulation. 

Armed with the knowledge of the past and the crash course I had received in magic- not only from my official masters but everyone who knew more about magic than me in Lastshire- I braced myself for entering the Pendragon castle. 

Of course, I was not going alone. With the same trick that the high priestess had used when she had transferred consciousness of Master Merlin from the past into my amulet so that I could draw on his knowledge of magic when I was short on mine, this time around, I did the same with both my master's and mistress's consciousness.

After being holed up in the mortal realm as mere voices in the form of my coffee table for eleven hundred years, they were excited to leave the café and venture into the streets of Albion as it was now in 2023. Joining me on my quest to find Dwight, to be honest, seemed like an afterthought on their part, but it didn't bother me. 

As the consciousness of the duo made itself comfortable inside the stone of Erer, aka my amulet, I wondered whether we would be rescuing Dwight or getting rid of him. 

'Marty, you seem awfully concerned about this man's well-being.' Mistress observed, reading my thoughts. 

"Hum." I hummed, lost in thought. 

'Lad, I understand you have forged a bond with him, but duty comes first. I hope for the sake of your friendship that he is just a pawn and not the one pulling the strings.' Master Merlin said solemnly. 'If you don't, we will have to get rid of him,' went unsaid. 

I sighed, truly hoping that the one close friend I had made was not the villain of this story, and hailed a cab that would leave us at the gates of the Pendragon castle. 

Surprisingly, when I reached the castle's entrance, everyone ignored me. It was like I was invisible. 

'You are invisible to them, you idiot!' Mistress whispered from within the amulet. 'Merlin, scoot over, will you?'

'My apologies, ma'am.' Master mimicked me, and the two chuckled like kids who had gotten a free pass to skip school. 

'How do these people breathe? Even without lungs, I feel like I am inhaling poison.' Mistress wondered. She sounded positively distressed. 

I noticed that I could physically feel their discomfort. The way things stood at the moment, I concluded that I was almost sharing my body with them while keeping my conscience separate. 

I followed the path Meenakshi had described and marked on the blueprint and found myself at the foot of the stairs that had taken me at least half a kilometer under the palace. 

The place looked untouched by time; it was not much different from the cave depicted in the show Arthur and Merlin (where Akurra, the ancient serpent, was kept shackled). It struck me again how similar the story premise was to the reality that my masters called their past. 

"Welcome, to my humble abode, Marty Wyllt." A voice I had heard almost every day of my life- from the mouthpiece I called television- echoed throughout the dimly lit space. I turned and found King Gregory in all his glory, standing a mere few feet from me. 

I bowed. It was a force of habit more than a show of respect (which I had none of to spare for a loser of a king); getting straight to the point, I asked, "Your Majesty, I have reason to believe that a man named Dwight Peyton was brought to this place without his will by your assistant Jared. Do you know anything about it?"

I knew I was not following proper etiquette, nor was I giving a damn about the code of conduct to be followed in the presence of royalty, but I did not care. 

'The king is possessed!' Master Merlin whispered, making me back away a little.

The sound of a metal door bang shut bounced off the walls just as the stone of Erer warmed up. This time it did not scare me. I knew this was the 'peril' Master Merlin had mentioned at the start of my training. I was a sorcerer with a great destiny. Coming face to face with mortal danger was part of the job description, right? 

"So, you want your friend back, I see." King Gregory stroked his brow dramatically. "Is Merlin with you? I can sense him," he sniffed the air, "Old friend, won't you come and greet me? We have much to discuss, you and I, as peers...as brothers." 

'Lancelot!' my master exclaimed in my mind, and I blurted out, "You are Lancelot!"

The possessed king stepped towards me; sneering, he asked, "Merlin, did you tell the boy everything, or did that witch, Nimueh?"

It felt like the king had not insulted the high priestess but me, "Don't call her that!"

The king ignored me but stepped closer, "Lady Morgana, how sweet of you to tag along. I am sure sharing your privacy with a low-born like Merlin must have bothered you. Fear not. I have it all planned. You will be free soon."

A muscle in his jaw ticked, "Jared, bring me the captives," he commanded to someone standing in the shadows behind him and pressed on, "The stone of Erer, how I have waited to get my hands on it. I can smell it on you, boy."

'Marty, do not give him the stone. You must fight to protect it.' Master instructed. 

"Suakmakile!" I threw my palms out. A purple bolt struck the king in the chest. 

The king staggered and fell back. But just before he collapsed, his lips turned up in a triumphant smile.  

"Damn it! Master, is he dead? It was just a stunning spell." I asked as thick, dark smoke rose from the king's body and slipped into one of the tens of tunnels Meenakshi had mentioned over the phone. 

A mighty roar pierced my ears, and from the tunnel where the dark trail of smoke had disappeared emerged a giant serpent with a disfigured face and red, crusty skin. Its tail swished over my head, missing me by inches. 

'You set him free, you idiot.' Mistress Morgana groaned in my mind. 

Shit! 

'Take cover, you fool, or you will get yourself killed!' Master Merlin yelled. 

I did as told. After all, my masters had faced more dangerous situations than I had. I ducked, rolled, and did everything I physically could to avoid the next attack. As luck would have it, my clumsiness saved my arm when the thorny tail came for me. 

'He is playing with you, Marty. Use your mind, not your body!' my mistress suggested. 

I really was an idiot, wasn't I? How could I forget that I was a sorcerer! I closed my eyes and transformed myself into a rock. 

I watched the serpent land on the cave floor; nostrils flaring, he asked, "I didn't know Merlin was teaching you, boy," it swayed on its tail and cocked its ugly head. "Never mind, you can hide all you want, but you can't leave," his eyes scanned the cave walls, "Anyway, all this moving about is tiring. Akurra's body is useless."

I could sense his eyes on me, but I stayed put. I felt like Akurra (or, should I say, Lancelot) sounded very much like those two-dimensional villains from mediocre movies who start out good but turn bad due to either (or all) of the three: wealth, love, or power. 

My observation proved correct when, not a moment later, Lancelot, the serpent, glanced up and sighed, "Merlin, you were never grateful for what you had. Parents that loved you, immense power thanks to your witch of a mother," he glanced in my direction.

Neither of my masters reacted to the insult; taking the hint, I followed suit. 

"You never realized, did you, Merlin, that the Pendragon whore loved you?"

How could he talk like that about my mistress!? Anger coiled in my stomach, but just as I was about to speak, calm washed over me, and once again, I held my peace. 

The rattling of chains from somewhere to my right caught my attention. Shortly after, a skinny boy emerged from one of the tunnels, dragging three heavy-looking bundles toward the serpent. 

"I told you to be gentle with her!" The serpent reprimanded the boy, breathing fire that burned the hem of his rag of a shirt. 

The boy, who I presumed was Jared, bowed and untied the first bundle. 

Meenakshi emerged from the confines, bound, gagged, and unconscious. Had it not been for the silencing charm placed on me by my mistress at the right moment, I would have given us away. 

The serpent's eyes turned fond. "Guin, my love, why did you try to escape with the hostages, huh?"

'Master, it looks like Lancelot has lost his mind. He is sprouting nonsense.' I said, hoping it would bring joy to my masters. It didn't. I felt restless all of a sudden. It was not me but my two masters. They seemed to have figured out something, but I was still in the dark. 

"Let our guests see who we have in bag two and three. Jared, do the honors." The serpent cooed, reminding me of TV show hosts from a decade ago. 

"So, Marty, did you enjoy the show that I created especially for you?" the giant creature laughed, "For a kids' show, it was pretty cruel, was it not?"

Was he talking about my show, Arthur and Merlin!? 

"You did, didn't you? I loved it too. I made it so that Lancelot was portrayed as a good man, the best man. A man who truly deserved Guinevere." he stole a glance at Meenakshi, "Alas… "

I was just about done putting two and two together when something about the size of a grown deer emerged from the second bag.

I crept closer to catch a better look. Skarla! It was the ussa that I had saved and returned to Lastshire. How did it end up here… like this?

Before I could come up with a reason, Jared opened the last bag. A man with fair skin and golden hair that reminded me of the sun fell out and winced. He appeared weak. The stench of stale blood permeated the air. 

My heart sank. Had the serpent stooped as low as to murder a human!? 

"ARTHUR!" The voice was mine, but I had not said them. 

The serpent's eyes zeroed in on me. "I knew you would show yourself…Merlin."

Without my knowledge, Master Merlin and I had swapped places. With my consciousness replacing his inside the stone of Erer, I felt suffocated. I realized belatedly that not only my voice, I had lost control of my body to my master as well. 

All I could do now was to see and feel all that Master Merlin could. 

'Master! You will get us killed!' I warned but to no avail.

Master rushed over to the wounded man and pulled him in his lap, "Arthur. Arthur." 

Dwight!?

The man that my master had addressed as Arthur was none other than Dwight, a golden-haired Dwight, but it was him, nonetheless. 

I felt a sting in my eye followed by wetness on my cheek. 

"Arthur, can you hear me? Wake up, my lord." 

I understood at this moment what it was to be him, to live like him: in pain and bearing the guilt of letting his friend down. At that moment, the man sobbing with Dwight in his lap was not my master. He was just Merlin, Arthur's Merlin. 

"Your descendent messed up, Merlin. The concealment charm he placed on the Pendragon blood was not watertight. I, being a Wyllt, recognized him before he did. Imagine my surprise when the first day I summoned him and saw Arthur's soul reflected in his eyes." Lancelot threw his head back and laughed, mocking us. 

"What did you do to him?" Merlin asked, smoothing out Dwight's hair and flattening the wrinkles from his bright red shirt. 

"I stabbed him, of course."

"Why? He never did anything to hurt you!"

The serpent lowered its head, slithering closer to Dwight. "All I had was Guin. She was the one person who cared for me. Given time, I am sure, she would have come to love me." The creature hissed; its eyes glowed. "He took her from me while you watched and did nothing. What was I to do? I needed Guin in my life at all costs. When a chance presented itself and the old man revealed who I truly was and what I deserved, I took the chance to rid Guin of Arthur."

Who was this 'old man' Lancelot had mentioned? Was he someone I knew from Lastshire? He couldn't be! The guy sounded positively evil. But then, why had the high priestess never mentioned him till now? 

"Guinevere loved Arthur, not you. She was carrying his child, did you know that? You were her friend. You were my friend. You betrayed all of us." Merlin bit back, breaking my train of thought. 

The serpent circled us, and ignoring Merlin's words like they didn't matter, he fixed Dwight with a curious gaze, "This lad, he was a tough one to control. After I looked into his mind and saw that he had delivered the package to you, I tried to possess him. But it didn't work like I wanted. I couldn't find what I needed at your home. I realized then that the boy must have links to magic. Left with no choice, I changed my plan and placed a concealment charm I had created in your home. It hid his visits from you. Every night, I summoned him and looked into his mind to see what he had found." 

Lancelot raised his head, his eyes settled on me. "Look at them now. They are just like how you and Arthur were," he said as if it was a joke. Like we were a joke. 

While Merlin and the creature continued talking back and forth, Skarla's shriveled-up form inched towards us. 

I could sense its life force ebbing away. It must be Lancelot's doing, I concluded. I wanted to save the long-suffering, innocent creature, but I knew it was almost impossible now. 

If only I could control my body, I could have at least tried. However, before I could think of a way to regain control of my limbs, I got distracted by a whiff of rotting flesh. I realized that it was coming from the serpent.

The possessed creature leaned down, "Tell me, Merlin, which of the Pendragon siblings did you love more."

"Shut up! Just shut up. Don't mention them with your vile tongue. Just tell me what you want." I could feel my master's anger in my bones and his resolve in my heart. 

We were in trouble.