A/N Hello everyone, thank you for being patient with this story after a few personal problems i have started writing for my stories again , I'm afraid I'm a little rusty but i do hope this is someone entertaining and that you at least know whats going on. Few things to remember this is not Arrow , just a few of the plot points and also Merlin cannon counts . I'm trying to be as vague as possible until i get further into the story , would love some guess's though .

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed , Favorited or followed .

I have no beta , and although i have re read multiple times grammar isn't my strong point so sorry for any mistakes or jarring sentences.

Homecoming

Chapter three

Alleyway inside the city of Essitier…

He couldn't believe it, he was home….. Or at least he hoped it was as his eyes surveyed the dank and cold alleyway he was currently standing in. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had been gone; it wasn't like he was counting, not when you had been spending most of your time fighting for your life.

The first thing he noticed was how cold it was, but as he gazed down he realized that could be something to do with being shirtless , his only clothing being a thin pair of faded and tattered trousers and some scuffed up boots. Not to mention it was currently raining hard, but after all he had been through in his time gone, the scars that covered his body serving as proof of the trials he had endured….. The feeling of rain hitting his face as he stood on solid ground was a welcome one at that.

Remembering something important he quickly looked around the crater he had created upon his arrival, looking around the broken rubble he noticed it was gone. Running his hand through his long black hair, he growled in frustration, but before he lost his temper he closed his eyes, taking a few deep breathes he then centered himself allowing his mind to clear until he felt it. As soon as he felt a pull, much like a homing beacon he knew exactly where to go, so with that he climbed from the crater he currently stood and took off into a run down the cold and dreary alleyway, passing boxes, dumpsters and even one confused and very drugged out man who without even realizing it had witnessed the return of the missing billionaire Balinor's Ambrosious's son, Merlin Ambrosious….

Merlin came to the end of the alleyway, entering out into the streets of his currently unknown position. Almost immediately the blinding lights of cars passing by struck him in the face, bringing his run to a stop.

It had been quite some time since he had even seen a car , the shining light of the cars headlights reminding him he was no longer there , no longer in that place.

Trying to ignore the bright lights he began Glancing around the dreary street he was standing in, taking everything in trying to gage where he currently was. He wasn't sure , while the many high rise building towers could of been from the more powerful cities such as Camelot or Essitier , everything seemed so run down and un-lived in he couldn't imagine it happening to any of those locations.

Realizing he had something more important to deal with first then to simply stand around gawping, he once more cleared his mind allowing the pull he had felt once more tug at him. Following his senses he started to walk at pace along the street road ignoring onlookers who could only stare at the half naked man, with unkempt hair and a scruffy beard walking topless in the rain. They instantly gave him a wide berth, thinking the man might not be right in the head. That suited Merlin just fine, when he had been in Camelot, he was always surrounded by people or paparazzi on the streets, trying to hound him about his father or trying to find out who his latest fling was, he wasn't sure how many times he had to tell them he had already found the woman of his dreams in Morgana Pendragon.

Just thinking about the dark haired beauty brought a pain to his heart, he was gone so long he could only assume she had moved on, or at least he hoped she had someone new in her life, he wasn't sure she would even want him anymore though, not if she knew the things he knew, or the thing's he had done. While he was away though, there wasn't a day she hadn't crossed his mind, his love for her was as normal to him as the rise of the sun in the morning, if anything the mere thought of her kept him going and spurred him on, although the same could of been said when he thought of his Friends and family. Arthur, Gwen, lance, his mother and father not to mention his crazy old uncle Gaius. He wondered though, how these people would even take to the new person he had become, that was a question he was afraid to find the answer to.

Eventually after walking for a few minutes, he was pulled down another alleyway, this one even more depressing then the last. Broken glass, used condoms and needles scattered aimlessly all over the concrete floor. Blocking out everything around him, he kept walking until he came upon another crater in the ground much like the one he had climbed back out off on his return. This one much smaller in size.

Relief washed over him when he realised no one had noticed the small hole in the ground or the large black wooden box lying inside hole for that matter.

"There you are" Merlin whispered a small smile gracing his lips , upon his re-entry back home , he could only assume he had let go of his prized possession causing it to cast off in a different direction, luckily it hadn't gone too far.

With his box now in hand, it was time to find out where he was...

20 minutes later...

This is Essitier? Merlin thought to himself as he know stood atop an old church roof. He had climbed a top of it so he could get a better look at what had happened to his home Camelot's neighboring city , having worked out where he was from walking past Essitier's Central bank.

Apart from the business district where the high towers stood and the rich dwelled, all the city streets where people lived looked run down and uncared for... Like the people living in these areas had been forgotten about... Merlin couldn't help but wonder how everything had come to this... He knew his primary goal upon his return and it was a goal he would achieve even if it meant his life but it seemed he had something else he would have to deal with, if Camelot was anything like Essitier appeared, he knew the citizens would need someone looking over them.

One hour later...

Merlin had stood calmly upon the church's roof for an hour still taking everything in, it was after the fourth different police siren he had finally had enough . With a shake of his head he carefully climbed down from the church roof with the agility of a cat, one hand gripping the handle of his black box. He landed on his feet with well-practiced precision, before he headed off towards his next destination.

While he wasn't ready yet return to the city of Camelot, he knew one place he was ready for. He just hoped his crazy old uncle Gaius still resided in Essitier; after all he had something important he needed to show him…. Something life changing.

Five years ago…..

"Merlin"….

"Merlin"…

"Who's there…..this isn't funny anymore" Merlin shouted his heart beating nervously as he once more heard the strange whisper calling his name .

Having just awoken in a strange forest after the section of the plane he had been in had nosedived into blood colored clouds and what he could only of assumed the last moments of his life, he was instantly met by an eerie sounding voice whispering his name, at first he had thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, that mixed with the slight breeze brushing through the large tree's greenery that surrounded him. But the voice persisted even when he slowly walked through the forest in an attempt to get away from it.

He had hoped it would have faded and he could concentrate on finding his crashed plane, after all it couldn't have been too far, plus how hard would it be to find a crashed plane in a forest? And maybe as he had been lucky enough to survive without being hurt then one of the cabin crew or pilot's might of as well. But instead as he trudged through the forest still dressed in his suit, the voice only became clearer.

Eventually he came to a clearing in the forest, the tall trees circling around a large patch of mud and grass that had three long logs of wood scattered around the middle. It was as soon as he stepped into this clearing that the voice stopped , thankful for the peace he started to carry on walking until the voice was replaced with another one , this time the voice wasn't a low whisper , instead it sounded like a little girl .

"Look …..Look mommy I made a butterfly"

Merlin quickly turned around glancing each way he could, trying to spot where the voice was coming from until another one started to speak as well , this time the voice belonging to an older sounding woman.

"I'm sorry baby but we've got to go right now"

Merlin stood still, thinking he was losing his mind as the conversation continued to play out even though no one was around.

"But mommy my butterfly"

"Oh no he's already here….."

The conversation stopped only to be replaced by the sounds of screams and cries for help.

Merlin placed his hands over his ears trying to keep the sounds of people in pain out but it didn't stop as the screams continued running through his head.

"This isn't real" Merlin said under his breath as he did the only thing he could think of …..Run.

With his legs moving as fast as they could possibly take him, Merlin sprinted through the forest , all the while trying to escape the cries for help rattling through his mind .

"Please help me"

"Save me please..."

"NOO NOT MY SON TAKE ME INSTEAD"

As he ran aimlessly , jumping over fallen trees and running through puddles of mud trying to escape the voice's in his head, he could only hope he was about to wake up and this was all a dream or some strangely vivid nightmare. He didn't though, instead he ended up not seeing a large Stick laying in front of him, his foot becoming caught sending him to the floor his face crashing into the ground , mud covering his face as he did.

Groaning in pain he placed the Palms of his hands on the floor using them to push him up off the floor. As he was slowly climbing back to his feet, the ebony haired billionaire's caught sight off flames flickering in the distance.

"Survivors" Merlin whispered in hope to himself as he started walking towards the flames, trying his best to ignore the voice's that still plagued his mind.

A few minutes later, the flame disappeared, but not one to be deterred Merlin continued in the direction the flames once were.

Nightfall….

It seemed like hours he continued to walk, following the direction the flame had been, until finally he came to the end of the forest, it seemed as soon as he found the exit of the forest the voices stopped, much to Merlin's relief not to mention his sanity.

He didn't dwell on why he could hear the cries of people asking for help, or the sound of people lives being ended, even though for some reason each voice seemed to strike a nerve, each voice giving him the feeling of guilt, like somehow he should have been there to help them but that was crazy, after all, how could he help people he couldn't even see.

Walking out from between the trees, he ambled out onto vast green fields that seemed never ending. With it being night time now, he decided to keep walking for a little while longer before eventually stopping for the night to get some rest and re group in the morning.

Twenty minutes later...

"Grass ...Grass...oh more grass" Merlin muttered to himself in annoyance as he continued to walk through the never ending greenery.

"Where the hell am I?" He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face before glancing around his surroundings. The only thing he could see each way was fields of grass and nothing more. Deciding to stop and take everything in, he stood where he was and gazed into the distance.

It was eerily quiet, not even the sound of crickets could be heard, and it was almost peaceful. That was until, out of nowhere a loud roar was heard, a roar louder and more fearsome then any animal Merlin had ever heard. Quickly turning towards the direction the chilling noise came from, his heart thumping in his chest, he looked towards the sky as in the light of the moon he saw two large wings flapping in the distance.

Whatever that thing was that had let off a cry that could wake the dead, it was heading closer, so for the second time today Merlin did the only thing he could...he ran.

A/N Well what do you think?

Next chapter well see a very different side to Merlin , a visit to an old man and some more from 5 years ago