A/N: I've been reading up on some spoilers and had an idea. What if I could create a story out of them? That's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to give one or more factual spoilers per chapter as a brief summary. Then I'll create a one-shot out of it with some real spoilers involved. I'll put on my version of how I think the Merlin episode/scenes would be and what would happen next. Maybe even add in a bit of drama just for fun. :)

I called it, Spoil-Opilous because it just seems to fit my creation. "Spoil" stands for "spoilers" and "Opilous" kind of reminds me of the word "mania". It's like a synonym, I suppose. So the title is fairly straightforward.

Also, this is a friendship fic but it could be seen as slash because it's based on season 4 spoilers, which are very similar to the episodes. People easily pick out slash in the Merlin episodes, so why couldn't they here? It's for any kind of person, but I wrote this based on friendship so don't worry friendship-stories-only-people. This is the right fiction for you. :)

I must warn you, do not read this if you don't want spoilers for season 4; it comes out in the UK in September or October 2011. I, myself can't wait!

(I~I)

Chapter One: The Rock Fall that Led to a Hug

Here is the spoiler for today:

Scene from episode 6 – season 4:

Arthur and Gwaine are searching for Merlin whilst joking about with each other. Up ahead, something moves in the muddy grass; Merlin staggers out from a canopy of tree branches. Arthur dismounts from his horse and embraces Merlin. He says that when the rock fall happened, they thought that they'd lost them.

Go to my profile for a part of the script from 4x06 (where I get some of the dialogue from). The script is all involved in this spoiler.

My one-shot version (half fictional and true for episode 6 – most of the dialogue from the second scene is correct):

"Merlin, do not move another muscle." commanded Arthur as he stood frozen.

"I'll be careful…" said Merlin as he slowly began tip-toeing underneath a large pile of rocks. The warlock couldn't make one false move. It would lead to catastrophic events.

"I want you to stay still. We'll find another way – I'll go even."

"No way. I haven't been protecting your royal ass all this time to let you die now. Besides, I'm lighter than you." reasoned Merlin as he looked above himself again. The rock forms created a dangerous, 15-foot passageway. Short but deadly.

The men were in a large crevice – approximately two metres wide. The two walls on either side of themselves were both tall rock faces. Loose slabs of rock were wedged dangerously between the walls. Shaking the insecure stones beneath their feet could cause the rocks above, to fall. That would lead to serious injuries or even death.

"There must be another way, mate…" Gwaine was also determined to keep Merlin from harms reach.

"If you're suggesting climbing back down to face the bandits that chased us up here, forget it." Merlin paused, "There is more of a chance making it through this way. Do you even realise how many armed men are down there?" He turned his head to face the men behind him.

"No, Merlin. I won't let you. You can't." said Arthur firmly.

"Arthur's right –" Unfortunately, Gwaine or Arthur's words of wisdom had no affect on Merlin as he'd already started slowly making his way through the wide crevice.

The man gradually placed one boot-covered foot in front of the other over the uneven stone – he was now a third in.

Merlin began to get overconfident; he took less care with every step. "See, I'm doing fine – whoa!" The man got distracted and tripped over an uneven rock. He smacked face first onto the ground shaking everything around him.

Everyone froze solid. This was it, or was it? Nothing was happening; nothing was falling.

"Ha-ha!" Arthur sounded of maniac laughter that was created by pure happiness. His friend was okay! Wide smiles crept onto everyone's faces. Arthur's hysterics reminded the warlock of the time when his master thought he'd killed the dragon.

Everyone's glee didn't last long though. The sound of Arthur's loud voice had caused a rumbling from the rocks. Bits of dust and rubble were now showering lightly from above.

"Merlin… RUN!" shouted Gwaine. The warlock didn't need to be told twice. He jumped from the ground and sprinted with the occasional stumble to the end of the passageway. Large rocks and pebbles rained from above – just narrowly missing him.

Arthur and Gwaine watched with horror as everything around Merlin collapsed until – wham! A large boulder dropped in front of the men obscuring their view of Merlin and vice versa.

Seconds after, a harsh scream emanated from behind the gigantic rock. A scream that sounded exactly like the warlock's.

"MERLIN!" roared Gwaine and Arthur synchronized - but no sound replied. All was silent.

(I~I)

"Personally, I like to know I've done well." Gwaine paused for a moment as he looked into the other man's blue eyes. "A pat on the back at least." He gestured his hands in the air as he spoke; soon quickly placing his sweaty hands back on the reins of his horse.

"Is that why you're helping me today?" asked Arthur with amused interest. The two men continued trekking through the shin-deep mud as they talked. They were positioned next to each other on their brown-coated horses as they plodded through the many swamps.

The men had both managed to climb down from the high rocks and get their horses back once they'd found out the bandits had disappeared – most likely expecting they were dead from the rock fall.

Now the knights' were on a quest in search of Merlin – that was if he was still out there… Unfortunately, the two men had to travel around the cliffs to get to the other side because it was blocked off with fallen boulders. This meant that they had to journey through swamps.

"No. I'm helping you because we've got to find Merlin." Gwaine tore his eyes from Arthur's and stared to the ground ahead of him. His mop of sweat-slick curls bouncing softly as his horse trudged through the thick bog.

"And finding him will be reward enough?" Arthur raised his eyebrows, as he looked left to Gwaine's turned head.

The brunette-haired knight nodded as he smiled. "Exactly."

"See, you're not such a bad person." Arthur and Gwaine tried to keep their personalities light and cheerful – they aimed not to think of what could have become of Merlin.

But the brunette knight seemed to be enjoying the conversation regardless.

Gwaine smiled with closed lips while looking extremely pleased with himself. His smile was then wiped off his face as he considered something else. The knight's eyes narrowed broodingly as he thought.

"Actually, I'm kind of hoping he'll say 'thank you'." he paused thoughtfully, "Or something along the lines of 'Gwaine, you must be the best knight alive." the knight put on a poor imitation of Merlin by heightening the pitch of his voice considerably. "You trekked three miles of muddy swamps, you fought off countless mercenaries, you rode the fastest man has ever ridden and you still look good'."

Gwaine's changed his voice back to normal, "Yeah, something like that." he nodded his head thoughtfully.

Arthur gave a sigh at the knight's sense of humour; he relaxed deeply into the saddle on his horse. Minutes later, he quickly perked up again when he saw some curious movement in the long muddy grass, about 20 feet ahead. It was still light out but the dark colours of the swamp made it difficult to distinguish exactly what was going on.

If Merlin were okay, then he would attempt to make his way back to Camelot, which would involve coming through this way but in the other direction.

Arthur brought his horse to a stop and raised his hand to silence Gwaine. The knight followed the silent order and slowed his steed's movement noticeably.

The two men slowly began inching forward, very aware of the potential dangers that could be surrounding them. They prayed that it wasn't those vicious bandits they'd only just managed to escape from earlier.

The figure moved again. Everything was quiet. There were no birds chirping anymore or was there any movement in the tall trees. The only thing noticeable was the sound of Gwaine and Arthur breathing softly as adrenaline pumped through their blood furiously.

Arthur unsheathed his sword; the sharp sound emanated through the warm swamp. He pointed the long weapon at the movement.

"Declare yourself." He stated boldly.

The bushes moved again and shock threw itself onto Arthur as he stared. There he saw a muddy, bog-ridden Merlin stagger from the canopy of trees.

"I declare you 'bog man'." commented Gwaine as he smiled merrily. It seemed he was the only person noticing his crack about Merlin because Arthur and the warlock seemed to make some kind of unknown connection when they saw each other.

Merlin's blue tunic was ripped in places; showing painful bloody wounds and grazes. His face was an unnatural pasty colour with large dark smudges beneath his eyes. The warlock stood with a lethargic posture – he seemed ready to collapse at any second.

"Ar-rthur…" Merlin croaked out as he reached forward with a feeble arm. The man slowly edged forward and Arthur noticed that he had a sizeable limp in his step.

Merlin's left leg had a mangled look; he was practically dragging it along behind himself. Even through his pant-covered his legs and boot-covered feet, the injury was so obvious that it was difficult not to notice. The lower limb seemed bad; it had a deformed look to it. A falling rock must have crushed it. The man's foot was twisted abnormally to his left, while the rest of his leg stood straight and usual.

Arthur sheathed his sword and speedily dismounted from his horse. He wadded through the thick mud and over to Merlin. Luckily, where the warlock was standing, only a thin layer of sludge covered the ground. Arthur couldn't imagine pulling that tender leg through squelchy muck.

When the man reached Merlin, he pulled him into a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms securely around the other's body. The warlock was surprised at first but he soon melted into the warmth. His arms were stuck to his sides tightly as Arthur hugged him. Sweat and blood mingled together as the men moulded together like brothers – Arthur rested his chin on the other's shoulder while Merlin's cheek was pressed above Arthur's armour-covered chest.

"When the rock fall happened, I thought that we'd lost you." said Arthur softly with his eyes closed, as he held the man before him.

"I-it's n-not an easy t-task getting rid of me, Arthur. Y-you should know t-that by now." said Merlin in a husky voice as he put on a weak smile – he too had his eyes shut.

Arthur was amazed at how easygoing his servant was. It looked as if he'd been through hell, yet he was still cracking jokes.

"When you two girls' have finished, I'd like to get going." said Gwaine loudly as he smiled at the sight before him. Those men could be so cruel to each other at times, but at the end of the day they'd always be there for each other. "The tavern can only wait so long. I hear it calling to me."

"Right." said Arthur coming to realisation. He pulled away from Merlin feeling slightly awkward as he gazed at the man before him. Merlin clutched onto the tree next to him to keep from falling over – his ankle really hurt. "If you ever—" Arthur dragged out the third word, "—tell anybody," he paused, "about what just happened, I'll make your life hell." His eyes were wide with seriousness.

"D-don't you already do that?" The warlock raised an eyebrow and put on a poor effort of what you'd call a 'serious' face. He almost immediately found himself cracking up into laughter.

Arthur soon joined in laughing with his friend. Even though it hadn't been that long, he'd now learnt once again, to never take that stunning smile for granted.

Arthur also cursed mentally as he soon realised that his servant had just pulled the same phrase on him again – but oh well. He was Merlin, and Arthur loved him for it.

Well, that was exciting! Should I make it a two-shot about Arthur and Gwaine caring for Merlin and more explanations on how everything happened before moving onto the next spoiler? Or should I just leave it be and move onto another?

Take your pick; just review :) Also, can you please review about what you thought of the whole spoiler one-shot for season 4? I want feedback.

By the way, that first scene was entirely mine – I only got the idea from the spoiler. And most of those Gwaine jokes were mine like, "The tavern can only wait so long. I hear it calling to me."

Basically, I made up everything by using that one paragraph stated above. I created the whole "Merlin has an injured leg scenario".

Anyway, thanks for reading guys! Please review!