Arthur once more felt his body return to him, but he could also hear a voice. One that sounded somewhat familiar, but also a voice that sounded otherworldly.
"Anymore complications since the previous episode?"
"No master, only the one brief episode of cardiac arrest, but the body has recovered per specifications after several administrations of Gene solution as well as -redacted-."
"Good, good. Life signs appear to be growing. This is already better then I feared."
It was strange to listen to such a garbled voice, but it was still hard to even understand the two speaking. It was some strange language he had never heard before and he wondered if he was in the heavens as he'd feared.
Arthur took a moment to feel his body again, but there was no great weight this time. No searing pains racking his body. Just a somewhat dull pain in his stomach where he assumed his wound had been. He felt far better then the last time he woke and tried to move. He was able to flex his fingers slowly, but his arm wouldn't truly lift. It only shook at his side. But soon that incessant chirping started again and the voices seemed to grow flustered at the sound.
"Subject has exhibited physical motion of conscious movement. Possibility of Subject being aware sixty percent, possibility of subject subconsciously reacting to stimuli ninety percent."
"Shut up, turn off that alarm. You majesty, Can you hear me? No wait....uh....old language.....
'~Your majesty can you hear me?~`" Martin adjusted his tone and language to speak the ancient celtic words of the Britons that had not been truly uttered for over a millennia. And Arthur heard them with shock and clarity.
He struggled to open his mouth, but the action slowly came back to him easier then before and he called out in question asking, "'~M....Mmmm.....erl...in?~'" Asking if it was truly his close friend and adviser. No wonder there was so much strangeness around him if Merlin was taking charge of his care. The old wizard certainly had strange but powerful methods that were hard to understand. So strange languages almost made sense to him.
"'~Yes your majesty, it is I. I am glad you are once more conscious, and am here to aid you in your recovery.~`" Martin's or Merlin's eyes sparkles as he once more heard his King's voice, even as weak as it sounded, it was still better then staring at a preserved body.
"'~G..oood. W...where?`" He struggled to ask, smacking his lips as his mouth still felt dry. But he quickly felt a cup placed at his lips and a slow, cool liquid enter his lips that felt like the most refreshing drink he had ever had and he eagerly tried to drink it down.
"'~Don't worry my king, drink this first and know you are safe. Though, we are a long way from Camelot and further explanation will require a long time. You have suffered a long time under this injury and must slowly recover. But it is already a great sign that you can move and speak.~`" He held the rehydrating solution carefully to Arthur's lips and made sure he drank slowly as his first true drink after such a long time without digestive intake.
Arthur listened and felt a modicum better at Merlin's words, but still worried for his people and kingdom if they had been without their king for so long that he was in a place where such an odd language was spoken. Perhaps across the seas to the great empires that the filthy Saxon's had fled from in the past.
His body slowly felt calmer and cooler thanks to the drink. His mind no longer buzzing with the sound of his own pulsing blood. HIs lips and mouth having a tinge of life back in them though his muscles still felt somewhat out of his control. He tried flexing his jaw and felt it weak, but still working. Arthur took in a fresh breathe of cool air and asked, "~How bad....is it? Will I still be able...to fight?~" His voice still sounding weak, even with the new hydration.
"~Do not worry Arthur. It will take some time, but you will make a full recovery. In fact, I have found a number of ways to help you gather even greater strengths then before. But you must rest a while longer. The medicine is still working its way through your body. Once it is done, we have much to talk about, but you should be able to get up and walk around by then.~" Arthur could feel a slight brush of the old man's hands across his brow, and shade his still closed eyes before another bout of drowsiness hit him and unconscious dreams once more welcomed him.
"Oros,, continue monitoring the King's body for side effects. The regeneration was a success, but the secondary serums appear to have a mixed effect. Perhaps so many in such little time has cause an unforeseen reaction with the regenerative serum acting as catalyst. With that sleeping spell and the natural sedatives in the hydration solution, he should be out until dawn. I need to be there when he wakes to prevent unforeseen shock effects." Martin quickly spaced a few spells out with a flick of his wrist and levitated Arthur behind him out of the hospital bed and into the next room. He quietly placed him in a large soft bed to make him more comfortable.
"I'll be in the lab until then. I need to make sure the serums are stabilizing in his cells, even without my magic helping to bind them."
"Of course master. Setting timer for eight hours and observing the subject. However, it has been three days already. You have twelve messages from a number of employees requesting communications."
"Ignore them. I'm on 'vacation'."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He felt as though he was drifting softly on a sea of clouds. It was so soft and warm and wondered if that had just been a dream before his true death. Surely only heaven could provide such comforts. He naturally turned in the bed to feel the brush of the softness on his cheek, and wondered how it was so nice as for his beard to not prick him at its touch. But he wished to see the light around him and opened his eyes slowly. To his surprise he saw his hand in a dimly lit room atop an incredibly soft bed and squeezing the thin sheets in his fingers. As a king he was used to fine living, but this was a next level comfort that made his body feel almost hugged.
His hand looked much thinner and weaker then when it had last grasped a sword in hand, but that was to be expected if he had slept across a continent to be well. But, now that he saw his hand and flexed it, he wondered what else was here. He pressed himself up groggily, no longer feeling near death, but still plenty tired. Looking around the room he saw little else but dark dim walls. Somehow, the room seeped light in, but he saw no windows. There was no sign of Merlin, but the room was at least three times as large as the massive bed, so he felt he was at least being treated as a noble person with such accommodations, even if there was no window.
He crawled towards the edge of the bed, and slid his legs out and over the side, seeing them skinny and pale in appearance, though much of them were covered by the strange gown he wore that only stretched to above his knees. A small twinge of pain came from where he thought his wound still lingered and he couldn't stop his hand from hovering over it, before gently pressing against it. He felt no blood or hold beneath his fingers, but a low radiant ache stayed just below the skin all the same.
"~Nnnn...now...to find a light.~"
And suddenly one of the walls began to slowly light up. But it wasn't just lighting up. It was like it was disappearing as he could suddenly see the sun's huge glow on the horizon as it slowly turned from a dull dark grey into a beautiful purple and blue of an early sunrise. He couldn't help but stumble out of the bed as the wall disappeared and he looked out over the clouds and on an endless sky. Maye he was dead.
He stared in shock at such beauty. He'd only ever seen such a scene prior on a particularly foggy day from the top of the mountains near Camelot in his childhood. The cool wind on his face and the morning sun slowly warming his skin after the cold night. He couldn't truly feel the sun's kiss though. It still felt the same, just a comfortable warmth, even as the wall was left empty before him.
Then, a swish of wind from behind caught his attention. He tore his eyes away from the heavenly scene and saw an older man in a white coat walk into the room. At first, he didn't recognize him, but then looking at those sunken deep blue eyes that he remembered and asked ,"~Merlin? Is that you?~"
"~Yes Arthur. It is I.~" He bowed at the waist, hand on his heart towards his king. He showed the same loyalty, and had the same voice, but from Arthur's memory he was completely different. His skin was much darker. His body taller, the previously lengthy and proud beard replaced by an ugly stubble. A strange pair of wear sat across his face, and he was dressed nowhere close to the ancient robes of the scholar's of Briton. Let alone the great robes of a high sorcerer. It was so strange to see him this way, that if he weren't saluting him, he'd be sure that it was a different person.
"~Why are you so different? I have many questions. But could you give me something for my throat? It still sounds as though I can't speak correctly.~" He brought a hand to his neck, but then, he felt no beard, no muscles, no real hair at all. He was completely shaven, and practically as smooth as a woman.
"~Yes...well, we will have to discuss many differences my lord. First, you may wish to take a seat.~"