Come daydream with me in closed loops and future-proof cardboard

[unwaning]

There were times Merlin thought people just got more and more cracked in the head with time, rather than the other way around as one might have thought. He'd seen many, many stupid things in all the years he'd traveled, but this had to be one for the lists. At the top, no less. Only someone with something to prove would dare to build anything on an active volcano.

Rubbing at his cheek with exasperation, Merlin--Emerson to everyone else nowadays--grit his teeth and sought more people out. The energy coming from the ground in Mount Teide was difficult to ignore, even when he muted his connection to the Old Religion. Merlin tried not to lose his temper as he was turned away again.

They didn't have much time left. Mind racing, Merlin looked out from the observatory deck, out to the imposing, twisted shapes in the crater. He could use magic, he realised. He wasn't above a little magical persuasion, if that's what it took to save a good chunk of the island's population.

Comments

[comeonthensexy]

Once River had been dropped off, the Doctor was left wondering what now. He felt drained, exhausted, had an aching, gaping hole left in his heart that he knew would stay there for a very, very long time, if it would ever disappear before the next regeneration.

Once the TARDIS was floating in outer space because he had no goal decided, he slumped down onto the arm chair next to the console and... nodded off.

But only for about an hour, and he jerked awake as the lever that controlled the dematerialisation was pulled and the TARDIS sent itself back into the Time Vortex. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he was quickly back on his feet and stumbled to check the coordinates. Ah...

"Back to Earth again, is it?" he muttered, took a deep breath and looked up at the column. "Needed somewhere, old girl? You're lucky I like you."

Once they materialised, he patted the column before he pulled the doors open and stepped outside. He sniffed the air, licked his finger and held it up, and frowned. There was an observatory in front of him, and this was... a volcano.

As he took off towards the observatory, he dug through his mind and there was something about one of the biggest volcanos erupting... But that was an important point in history, a fixed point in time, wasn't it? So it couldn't have anything to do with that. No, there had to be something else. The TARDIS wouldn't send him to a fixed point in time just like that, that would be ridiculous.

There was a gathering on the observatory deck and he slowed his pace, looked over at it with a raised eyebrow and-- Wait.

Did that man just say that the volcano...

Oh, really, Sexy? This was too much. It had to be that volcano, then. Mount Teide. He knew very well that he should turn away from fixed points, had learned that already, and yet... She also knew very well he couldn't stay away from those things.

And, so, once the other people dismissed it and walked away, he approached the young...looking man. Hm. There was something about him...

"What were you saying about the volcano?" he said as he peered over the man's shoulder.

[unwaning]

"Would you listen if I actually told you?" came the sharp reply, followed by a tired sigh. He was high-strung, vibrating with the tension that came with knowing the horror the island would be facing in the very near future. But that didn't mean he had to take his anger out on this man, especially when said man was actually volunteering to listen.

Merlin turned and gave him a once over. Pinstriped suit, bowtie, suspenders...odd wardrobe it was, not that Merlin had the room to judge what others were wearing, with his well-worn button up shirt and jeans. More importantly, he hadn't seen the man in the observatory before--he would have remembered if he did.

"The volcano's still active, and it's going to erupt within the day," he said as quickly as he could. "I've been trying to tell the white coats up there that their equipment's faulty, but no one's even willing to run a check to see if it's true."

[comeonthensexy]

"Is that so..."

There wasn't any doubt in the Doctor's tone, or anything mocking or condescending. It was thoughtful, and where Merlin had looked him over quickly, the Doctor outright examined him, looked him up and down and studied his features.

What was it about him?

"Within the day. December twenty-first? That's not something you just predict, especially not if no one here has. How do you know?"

It didn't make sense. Not unless this man was a time traveller. Or something else that the Doctor couldn't figure out yet.

[unwaning]

Oh bother. The most Merlin had prepared for before he came rushing over to the observatory was the flimsiest of cover stories. In no way was he able to give a thorough, believable explanation to someone who possibly knew the subject. Merlin was no seer like Morgana had been; it'd only been chance that he'd even divined the disaster that was about to happen. A dart thrown at the map had brought him to the Canary Islands, and noticing the note of wrongness running through Tenerife island in particular had taken care of the rest.

Merlin's eyes darted to the side, then back again. "It was--I had equipment of my own," he said haltingly. "I thought something looked off in the readings, so I came up here to explain it to them...

Anyway, something's got to be done, or everyone on this island's in danger."

[comeonthensexy]

That was such an obvious lie there might as well have been a sign that said it was. The Doctor didn't really understand what the point in that was, unless the truth was just something that most would assume no one would believe anyway.

But to him, this wasn't really all that believable either. "No way to show them the readings?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

No, really, why did the TARDIS take him here? Fixed point. He couldn't do anything, no one could, so why? There had to be something else to it, and he would have to figure that out. But how...

[unwaning]

Merlin grimaced, not too surprised the man had completely seen through him. What else was there to be said? Magic had faded into something that very few people genuinely had nowadays. Something most people wished existed, but knew to be only creations of the fantasy realm.

"No," he answered shortly. There was nothing for it; he'd have to stick with his story for now, lest the man write him off as some madman. "Don't have them with me now, and they wouldn't look even if I did."

[comeonthensexy]

This man didn't have any instruments, but he could still tell that something was going on. That wasn't right, that was strange, different...

Interesting.

And the Doctor wanted to know the truth. So he silenced for a while, tilted his head and eyed the man up and down again. He couldn't figure out what was different, as obvious as it was that there was something, and that was interesting too. The only thing he could tell for certain was that those eyes had the weariness of age, not unlike those of his own. Also interesting.

He folded his arms.

"What's your name?"

[unwaning]

It didn't take much to see how skeptical the man was at the moment. Merlin didn't blame him; the story was so riddled with holes, even Merlin had trouble believing it.

There was something to be said about this man, however awkward their meeting was. Only he had taken his warnings even a little seriously, staying long enough to ask for evidence, while the others had simply waved him off. Even if he couldn't do anything to help Merlin, he was grateful just for that.

Before he answered, Merlin let a small, sad smile cross his lips. Merlin. "It's Emerson," he said, suddenly all business again. "And you?"

[comeonthensexy]

"The Doctor." Taking a brief notice of the sadness to that smile, he continued before Emerson had the chance of wondering about the name - he seemed like the kind of person who would. "You don't have any equipment, you're not a geologist or anything like it, so I don't know how you know it's going to erupt, but, honestly, that's not important right now."

He couldn't stop the eruption, but he could still save some people. Not everyone died, right? Not everyone was there when it happened. But if they thought it didn't...

Was he meant to be here?

Frowning, he looked down at the ground again.

"We need to make them run those tests. Or run the tests for them without them knowing so they can see for themselves."

[unwaning]

Just like that, the Doctor had Merlin's full attention, and he was even willing to set aside the inevitable questions about that title. An odd wardrobe, and an even ooder odder name to go with it. Though Merlin very dearly wanted to know more about this Doctor, they were short on time as it was.

His eyes brightened with something like mischief, despite the gravity of the situation. "A diversion, maybe? One of us could draw their attention, while the other gets to the equipment and starts the tests."

Merlin turned, taking stock of the building. The observatory, while large, didn't have that many people at this hour, which was lucky for them. Fewer numbers meant less panic, and less chances for a mob to form. Human instincts often pushed people into doing horrific things when they were frightened, and that wasn't something Merlin wanted to deal with right now.

[comeonthensexy]

The Doctor glanced at Emerson, his lips twitching with something like a smile. It didn't quite get there, but smiling was strangely difficult right now, despite what had happened. He wasn't used to struggling to smile, because it covered things up.

"You seem eager," he said with the slightest hint of amusement, though. "Have an idea?"

[unwaning]

"Not eager--in a hurry," Merlin corrected with a touch of sheepishness. Causing mischief was a trait he'd never quite gotten rid of, even after a millennium, though he did try to stay out of things as often as he could. "Try" being the operative word. Arthur would have despaired of him.

If Arthur were still alive.

Before the anguish could begin to eat at him again, Merlin abruptly turned back toward the observatory, where he could see the main lab room. "I can get the equipment to start--you think you could distract them by knocking a few things over? They're bound to have a fit if you do."

He didn't feel quite as guilty suggesting this since most of the equipment would be destroyed by the volcano anyway.

[comeonthensexy]

Nope, definitely eager. But the Doctor only gave Emerson a knowing look and didn't say anything about it. And while he was usually the one to get equipment going... Well.

He could keep an eye out. Might as well see what this Emerson could do. Knocking things over sounded oddly fun, actually.

"Just make sure you're not too close to it once they calm down," he said and moved towards the observatory. "Or they'll know you started it and have a fit over that too."

[unwaning]

Merlin had to roll his eyes heavenward for that one. "I'd hope they would have a fit, but not because I touched their precious equipment. Let's just hope they don't lapse into denial when they see the results."

A quick jiggle of the door--thankfully not locked--and they were in the building. While Merlin had to pause and remember where everything was for a second, they made good time walking through the halls until they arrived at the lab.

Merlin stopped with one hand on the door. "Ready?"

[comeonthensexy]

Denial. Humans tended to be very good about that, especially when they had something to be scared about. But, honestly, what did people expect when they built things on top of a volcano like this? With an active volcano, that was always a risk and it was best to wait until it was completely dormant. Dead.

"When you are," he said, and actually did manage something like a smile, even if it was wry.

[unwaning]

"No time like now," Merlin returned, a ghost of a smile on his face. Then he pulled the door open, adopting the same harried look from earlier.

"If you would just listen to me--" With that, he grabbed their attention, some of them already standing up with protests at being interrupted.

All right, Doctor, Merlin thought uneasily. Your turn.

[comeonthensexy]

No time like now? Wasn't that oddly appropriate.

"Oh, look at this, you've got a lab, I love labs," he exclaimed to cut in a bit and moved over to a table. "Of course you have a lab, can't have a proper fancy observatory without one." He just had to exaggarate his flailing a little, and there went a couple of things down onto the floor. "Oh, sorry!"

[unwaning]

Merlin nearly gave them away, but he managed to choke back his laughter in time. Just as he'd predicted, the lab seemed to explode with noise and indignation once the shock had worn off. With everyone's attention on the Doctor and the mess, Merlin edged his way deeper into the lab until he found the right equipment.

While he was fairly proficient at technology--it seemed becoming a hacker on the side was the only way he could fudge his records nowadays--he wasn't familiar with the machines they had. A quick glance back to make sure no one was watching him, and Merlin fixed their faulty equipment with a flash of gold and a spark of magic. He stepped back, satisfied; that would save them a good ten minutes, at the very least. Now all they had to do was wait for the results.

[comeonthensexy]

"Ah, those are rather expensive, aren't they?" the Doctor continued as he sort of watched Emerson out of the corner of his eye. "Terribly sorry. But I'm sure you can just get new ones!"

He spread his arms out and thus down went another piece of equipment. This was... actually oddly fun. He wouldn't normally do this, because these were important things but he was thinking along the same line as Merlin; they were going to be destroyed when the volcano erupted anyway.

While the scientists flailed and protested around him, he couldn't help but smile and sent Emerson a few looks every now and then, trying to catch what he was doing. Which didn't seem to involve any poking... Hm.

[unwaning]

Finally, one of them had the good sense to call for the security, if the uniformed men coming down the hall was any indication. Or maybe they'd just heard the commotion and came to investigate.

Well. That wouldn't do at all. If they were allowed into the lab, Merlin had no doubts they would undo all the work he and the Doctor had already started.

Ducking his head slightly so that his bangs fell into his eyes, Merlin thought fýrbendum fæst, and lodged the locked in place. The doors rattled noisily when the guards tried to force it open, but they stayed firmly closed. Merlin turned back to the equipment and scanned the numbers being punched out, silently urging the machines to hurry along.

[comeonthensexy]

And that was odd.

The Doctor only sent one more thing to the floor and slipped to the side to let the scientists fuss over everything at their own pace. The tests were already running, so they only had to see there was something new and hopefully they'd let it run. Otherwise, he and Emerson could deal with that then.

But the doors. He didn't do anything, they certainly weren't looked before and there hadn't been any noise. It was just there, although he had felt something prickling along his skin and he frowned at the doors for a moment before he glanced at Emerson.

Really, what was he?

[unwaning]

Impatience welled up in him while the equipment whirred, and Merlin tapped his fingers against the table anxiously as he continued waiting. Just how long was it supposed to take, anyway?

Finally, there was a decisive click click as the machine spat out another set of numbers, then stilled completely. Heaving a sigh of relief, Merlin grabbed the lot from the tray and held it up.

"Oy, you should come and look at this!" He shoved the papers at the white coats, ignoring their hostile glares. They'd change their tune as soon as they had a good, long look at the results.

Meanwhile, Merlin returned to the Doctor's side, quirking a brow. "That went well."

[comeonthensexy]

Content, the Doctor slid his hands into his pockets and waited. He was itching to ask Emerson what he did and, again, how he could tell about the volcano, but it wasn't quite the time yet. But soon enough, hopefully.

"Mm, better than just letting them learn the hard way," he said with a bit of a grimace. Obviously.

[unwaning]

"You say that as if you've been in a similar situation before," Merlin said slowly, hands jammed into the pockets of his jeans.

He gave the Doctor another look, this time with more curiosity. "You just got talked into trashing several thousand quid's worth--well, probably more--of equipment, all on the word of a complete stranger."

Not that he wasn't grateful for the help, but it was rather odd, now that he had the time to think about it.

[comeonthensexy]

The Doctor exhaled something like a brief laughter through his nose and frowned just slightly as he watched the scientists. Well. What the hell.

He wouldn't just have ignored it even if he didn't know, but he wouldn't have been so keen on destroying expensive equipment if he didn't. And it wasn't a secret. So.

"I know it's going to happen," he said simply. "The eruption."