Hey-o. So, I'm taking a break from The King's Secret- I AM NOT ABANDONING IT! I just had this idea stuck in my head for a while and decided to write it. I'm stuck on a certain part of TKS that I don't wanna half-ass, so I'm writing other things to get me back in the mood.

This particular venture into fangirlism is a crossover between Merlin and another favorite show of mine: Doctor Who! Because, oh my god, can't you see Merlin and the Doctor being bros? They can snark at each other, be badasses, and still giggle at stupid jokes together! So I wanted to write a prelude to an idea for a crossover episode I had, which may or may not end up on FF. net.

*This takes place shortly after S2E1 of Merlin (The Curse of Cornelius Sigan) and the end of S6 of Doctor Who (after The Wedding of River Song). I don't own either of these shows, btw.

Enjoy!

The Doctor had long since stopped asking the question, "How did I get into this mess?"

It was an irrefutable fact that trouble followed the Timelord wherever he went, whether he liked it or not. All he wanted was to swing by medieval England and explore a bit, that was all! After all, it had been such a long time since he visited the age of knights and chivalry; he had a time machine, he could go wherever he damn well pleased. He spent a good twenty minutes lamenting this, and his poor fortune, and another twenty thinking back on what had happened. You know, to organize his thoughts.

He had tried landing the TARDIS in a remote area, where he wouldn't attract any attention. Well… He landed in the middle of the Court of Camelot. Mind you, he was quite confused to see King Uther Pendragon and his son, Prince Arthur, staring him in the face like he was a madman. Then again, he supposed, any man who materialized out of thin air would be rather suspicious. Before he could utter a syllable of explanation, the King shouted "Sorcery!" in an accusatory tone and he was hauled towards the dungeons without trial.

From what he could gather, sorcery was not welcome in this version of Camelot. Which was pretty upsetting. Really, what was Camelot without magic? He could only imagine what poor, boring job this Camelot's Merlin was stuck with. Did they even have a Merlin?

"Excuse me?"

The Doctor looked up from his (not so) comfortable spot on the cell's floor to find a young man staring at him through the bars. He held a plate of food in his hands.

"I, uh, have some food for you."

The alien blinked once and stood up. "Oh, good, thank you! I was starting to worry this place had no hospitality at all." He reached through the bars and pulled the plate through.

The man smiled. "They figured they might as well feed you, seeing as how they want to interrogate you later."

"Interrogate?" asked the Doctor, currently chewing through an apple (which was still rubbish, but hey, he was making do). "For what? I just got here."

For this the man gave him a strange look. "… You faded in out of thin air. Shocked the King quite a bit. So they want to know what you're up to."

The Doctor swallowed. "I'm not up to anything. I just wanted to visit. And let me tell you, this is not the Camelot I was expecting… Oh. I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"The… Doctor?"

He nodded. "Just that." The Doctor stuck his hand through the bar, making the man jump back as if he were attacked. "No, no, I just want to shake hands. And you are…?"

The man took a minute before letting out a short breath of laughter and returning the Doctor's gesture. "Merlin," he said. "I'm Merlin."

At once, the Doctor's jaw dropped, causing 'Merlin' to let go of his hand and look at him strangely again. "Merlin?"

"Y-Yes?"

"As in, the Merlin?"

"I'm sorry, have we met before?"

Quickly the Doctor shook his head. "No! I mean, probably not, I just… Wow, really?"

"Yes… It was the name I was born with."

"Well. It's nice to meet you… Merlin."

"You as well, Doctor. I think."

The Doctor laughed, earning a small grin from Merlin. Suddenly he leaned forward, almost pressing his face against the bars; the guards were far out of hearing distance, he noted with glee.

"So, Merlin," he began. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions? I'm new here, you know."

Merlin leaned forward as well, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I know. But I'm not the one who's supposed to be interrogated. In fact, I shouldn't have stayed so long."

"Well, a few more minutes won't kill you!"

"You don't know how strict Art- the Prince is on schedules. He'd throw me in the stocks if I was late again."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Merlin shrugged. "He's not exactly the best prat to be manservant to."

"Manservant?"

"Why are you so shocked at everything I say?"

"Never mind that, but manservant?"

"MERLIN!" Another young man's voice echoed off the stone walls. The guards immediately went rigid, but Merlin's shoulders slumped in a defeated manner.

"Speak of the devil…" he muttered.

As if cued, a blonde dressed in fine garments descended the stairs, wearing an expression that was a cross between angry and annoyed. Mostly annoyed.

"We sent you down to deliver food ten minutes ago! What the hell is taking you so long?"

"I was just-!"

"Don't tell me you were talking to the prisoner?" The man, presumably Prince Arthur, rolled his eyes, like he was used to 'idiotic' behavior from Merlin. The Doctor frowned. This Camelot's Arthur was… as Merlin put it earlier, a prat.

"Actually," he interjected, raising his hand like a schoolboy, "I was talking to him. He's polite, you know, didn't want to just blow me off."

"I wasn't talking to you," Arthur scowled. He turned to Merlin. "Come on, we're supposed to start training." Merlin opened his mouth to reply, but the Prince stopped him. "And as penalty for being late, you can hold the shields up while we spar."

Merlin groaned. The Doctor spotted a guard giving Merlin a pitying look, but he quickly righted himself before the Prince saw.

"Now hold on, he was what, ten minutes late? That's a bit harsh." the Doctor crossed his arms and glared at Arthur. "Do you always treat him like that?"

Arthur seemed affronted that a prisoner would dare talk back to him. "How I treat my manservant is none of your business, sorcerer!"

"Oh, and just because you're a prince, that means you can treat everyone else like dirt? That's not a good quality in a future ruler!"

Arthur stepped closer. "You do realize we could just skip the interrogation and execute you right now?"

The Doctor retorted petulantly. "Because that's the kind of King everybody wants; a child who executes anyone who doesn't like him."

The Prince's jaw dropped; Merlin was holding his hand to his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing. Without another word, the Prince stormed upstairs in a worse mood than when he came down.

Merlin's smothered laughter finally died down. "That… was incredible!"

The Doctor grinned, fixing his bowtie in a proud manner. "Thank you. You shouldn't let him walk all over you, though."

"He's the Prince; besides, he's actually quite decent when he's not being a clotpole."

"A what?"

"Never mind," said Merlin, but both men ended up smiling at each other. "I should get going, though."

"Ah." The Doctor raised his hand in a mock salute, though he knew the other wouldn't get the modern gesture. Nevertheless, Merlin nodded and turned to leave.

"Good luck!" he shouted behind him. In a few seconds, the boy was gone up the stairs.

The Doctor exhaled, the lingering remains of a smile still on his face. He sat back down in his corner, replaying the scene that had just transpired over in his head. All the details were still iffy, but he could gather this much; he was in a Camelot much, much different from the stories, and any version he experienced. Magic was taboo and the great warlock Merlin was now just a servant to an unbearably arrogant Arthur. Oh, and the Doctor was at risk of being executed, but he supposed he was used to that by now.

He laid his head back against the wall and sighed. "Oh Doctor," he said aloud. "How are you going to get out of this one?"

A few hours later, the Doctor heard multiple footsteps coming down the stairs. He stood up, as the noise disturbed his counting of all the pieces of straw in his cell (currently 358), and saw an older man dressed in black glowering at him. He was backed by a knight and another man, much older than he, in red robes. He immediately knew the first man to be King Uther, as he was the one who shouted to throw the Doctor in the dungeons in the first place.

"Hello," said the Doctor, much too energetic to be someone stuck in a dingy cell. This attempt at civility, however, only spurred Uther to frown even deeper, creating deep lines in the King's face.

"You," he growled out. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor, pleasure to meet you. You must be King Uther?"

"Yes, I am. And if you know that, then you certainly know why you're down here?"

"Well…" The Timelord scratched the back of his neck. "Not really. Normally people get thrown into dungeons because they've committed some sort of crime, but I wasn't doing anything."

Uther huffed, making him seem more like an impatient father rather than a hostile King. "You showed up in the middle of Court out of thin air! Try and tell me that's not sorcery!"

"Okay, it's not sorcery."

If it weren't for the metal bars separating them, the Doctor was sure the King would've mauled him.

"Then what, pray tell, is it?" This came from the older man behind the King. His tone was more polite, endearing him more to the Timelord.

"Science." The Doctor did jazz hands as he said the words, grinning at the man's bemused expression. "Specifically, it's your basic materialization sequence from a Type 40 TARDIS. I had planned to land in the forest somewhere, but I must have hit the wrong button on the control console and ended up in your castle. Sorry about that by the way, was anyone hurt?"

All three men stared at the Doctor; he was quite tired of the staring by then. Then Uther shook his head and turned around.

"He's clearly mad."

"I concur," said the older man, eyebrows raised. "What do you plan to do with him, Sire?"

"What I do with every sorcerer. He'll be burnt at the stake tomorrow morning." The King made his exit, the silent knight following close behind. The older man sighed and gave the Doctor an apologetic look before leaving as well.

'Well,' thought the Doctor. 'That could've gone better.'

It took another hour for the Doctor to realize he didn't have his sonic screwdriver on him at that exact moment, making him curse his luck; he was also upset that he didn't think of his handy little device earlier, not that he could've used it. It was currently lying on the console of the TARDIS, and god knows where she was. The Doctor was in the process of hitting his head against the wall before someone coughed nervously in front of his cell.

Merlin was standing there, smiling sheepishly.

"Hey. Uh… Are you alright?"

"Just marveling at what an idiot I can be. What are you doing back here?"

"Well, you did say you had questions for me. I have some for you, too."

"Oh. What about the…?" The Doctor peered as far as he could to spot the guards, but all he saw was their slumped forms against the wall. He looked back at Merlin, bewildered.

"I'll explain that later. What questions did you have?"

The Doctor took a minute, still contemplating how a tiny thing like Merlin could knock out two trained guards, before he spoke again. "Right; firstly, do you know where my TARDIS is?"

"Uh…"

"The big blue box?" he added impatiently.

"Oh! Yes, they took that and stored it in one of the vaults; it's where they take all stolen magical objects. What is that thing anyway?"

"She's not a thing!" said the Doctor indignantly. "She's my TARDIS."

"… Right… And… What's a TARDIS?"

"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space!" he announced. Merlin still looked confused. "She's my mode of transport, if you will."

"Okay… Next question."

"Uhm…" Really, his TARDIS was his only concern. "Wait, why are you telling me all this? For all you know, I really could be a crazy sorcerer! You'd be helping me escape!"

Merlin crossed his arms and smiled amusedly. "You'd be one terrible sorcerer if you haven't just used your magic to break out already. Besides," he added softly, "you don't seem like a bad guy to me."

The Doctor took this in and beamed at the servant. Then his smile turned sour. "If only your King thought the same way. He's having me roast to death tomorrow."

"Already? That was quick," commented Merlin. "I thought I'd have more time…"

"For what?" asked the Doctor, curious.

Merlin looked both ways, ensuring the guards were still knocked out. Then, he grinned at the Doctor and pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. The Doctor laughed.

"You naughty thing!"

"Consider it thanks for putting Arthur in his place earlier. He didn't make me hold the shields, you know."

"Hmm, he's redeemable yet."

With the air of camaraderie between them, no further words were exchanged as Merlin unlocked the cell and let the Doctor out.

"Thank you, Merlin," said the Doctor sincerely. "But… why? Regardless if you think I'm good or bad, setting someone free isn't going to get you a lot of respect from anyone."

"If they catch me. Which they haven't, so far." The boy had a cocky grin on his face. "Now come on, I'll show you where your… box is."

"TARDIS."

"Right."

The Doctor followed Merlin, creeping past the unconscious guards and making their way upstairs. He led the alien through corridors of the elaborate castle, finally coming to a stop at a corner. Peering around the edge, they saw another guard posted in front of a set of double doors.

"Is that the vault?" asked the Doctor quietly. Merlin nodded.

"I can trust you, right, Doctor?" he whispered.

Confused, the Doctor responded, "Of course. You've helped me enough, why shouldn't you?"

"Then watch this." Merlin stared straight at the guard and held his hand out towards him. The Doctor did watch, amazed, as Merlin's eyes began to glow gold. "Swefe nu!" the boy chanted under his breath, and suddenly the guard dropped to the floor, fast asleep.

Now he knew how Merlin took out the other two guards.

"Yes!" The Doctor almost shouted, but he kept his voice at an excited whisper. Merlin looked at him, confused.

"I knew you had to have magic! I knew it!"

"How did you…?"

"I mean, what's Merlin without magic, am I right? There's no way you could've just been Arthur's servant, I mean seriously!"

"Doctor!" The Timelord ceased his babbling at Merlin's stern tone. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'll explain it to you later. Brilliant old you. Hah!" The Doctor, with a jaunty sort of skip in his step, walked around the corner to the doors. Merlin, still bewildered by the strange outburst from the former prisoner, followed.

The Doctor tried opening the doors, but to no avail. "It's locked," he groaned.

Merlin sighed, looking directly at the lock. "Allinan." A distinct click came from within the wood. The Doctor pointed at the boy warlock.

"That," he exclaimed, "is so cool!"

Merlin smirked and pushed the doors open with ease; they both entered and saw a trove of strange artifacts laid out before them. At the very center, though, was the blue box.

"Aah, there you are my darling!" The Doctor crossed over to the TARDIS and embraced it, ignoring the look he as getting from the warlock. "I'm so sorry I let them put you in here!"

"Doctor…?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, this is Merlin, he helped me find you! He's absolutely amazing!"

Abruptly, the warning bells began ringing, signaling the Doctor's escape. Both men looked at each other, alarmed.

"You've got to get out of here!" ushered Merlin.

"No problem! … Hold on, what about you?"

"It's fine, I've gotten away with much more."

"No, I mean… Come with me."

"… What?"

"Come with me, in the TARDIS! Trust me, there's more space than it seems!"

"I… I'm sorry, I can't."

The Doctor's face fell. "Why not?"

"I can't leave Arthur. Look, it-… it's complicated."

"But aren't you tired of the way he treats you?"

"Like I said, he's not all bad…"

Trying to persuade him, but aware of the time limit, the Doctor continued. "Did I mention this was a time machine?"

"A what?"

"I can take you anywhere in time and space, and get you back here before anyone notices you're gone!"

This seemed too great a concept for the warlock to comprehend. "R-Really?"

"Yes! Pleeeeease?" The Doctor pulled his best puppy dog eyes that everyone (sans River, sadly enough) fell for. Fortunately, Merlin was not an exception.

"I… I guess a day off wouldn't be so bad… But only if you promise it won't be for long!"

"Merlin, it'll be like no time passed at all." The Doctor, a full-blown grin on his face, held out one hand to Merlin, and used to other to push the TARDIS door open. Cautiously, Merlin took his hand and let himself be pulled into the box.

It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

A golden hue overtook the entire space, which was much grander than he expected; indeed, the box was… well, it was…

"It's bigger on the inside!"

The Doctor closed the door behind him, hiding his delighted smile from the warlock. "That it is!" He waltzed up the steps to the large cylinder in the center; the console. "And that's not even the best part!"

Merlin watched the Doctor pull knobs and levers of all sorts, amazed at the lights and sounds they produced.

With a theatrical flair, the Doctor rested his hand on one such lever and leveled Merlin with a cool look.

"Next stop: anywhere!" He pulled it, and though Merlin couldn't see it happen, the blue box materialized out of the vault and into space. And little did either of them know the drastic changes their adventures would cause to Merlin's destiny.

So, what did you guys think? I hope the characterizations are alright; it's really hard coming up with witty, Doctor-ish things you'd hear in a typical Who episode.

Also, I thought Arthur was a huge jerkass in the first two seasons. There's gonna be a lot of that.

I'm still working on TKS, don't worry. This is just a little side thing going on.

R&R!