Arthur was, indeed, late to work. He ran in, fearing his coworkers' wrath (he slacked off enough as it was), but they acted as if nothing had happened.
"Are you ready to start filming?" Morgana asked. He wasn't, not really, but he didn't have a choice.
"Yes."
Of course it had to be the reunion scene. Arthur held Vivian's (or rather, Sophia's - he needed to stay in character) hand up and kissed it. "Milady."
"My lord." They weren't, of course, not even in the movie, but Sophia and John - that was Arthur's character - believed in chivalry and all that old-fashioned nonsense. Arthur honestly didn't know why he had agreed to do this. He needed to focus. He had a line to deliver.
"I've missed you so much." He hadn't, really. He couldn't stand Vivian; it was only his superb acting skills that stopped him from looking like he wanted to strangle her. "I thought I'd never see you again." Wouldn't that be wonderful, he thought. But he couldn't quit. Father would have his head. "I'll watch over you, I promise. I can't bear to lose you again." Arthur's thoughts drifted further, as he remembered a certain man who was lost. A man who was rather good-looking...
Vivian was staring at him. Oh, shit. This was when he was supposed to be kissing her. He couldn't, not when the thoughts of another person kept drifting into his mind. He looked at Leon, the cameraman, and shook his head.
"Cut! Let's try that again."
"No... I can't."
"Why not?"
"I'm sorry." Arthur walked out of the room. He was in no state to work today, but it wasn't as if he could actually walk out. Morgana approached him a few minutes later.
"Arthur, you're the star in this film. They need you there to shoot it."
"Yeah, sorry."
"What happened anyway?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Mercifully, Morgana didn't push him.
"Do you think you can film another scene?" Arthur nodded, hoping it was true, and they walked back in. "What do you think you can handle?" Morgana asked.
"How about the soliloquy? After I find she's gone?" Morgana nodded, and they got all set up. Leon nodded to show that the camera was rolling, and Arthur began.
"Sophia... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't realize what was happening, and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry I didn't know how to help you, and I'm sorry I didn't help you. But I'm not just sorry; I want to help you. I still don't know exactly what's happened or where you've gone, but I swear I will find you. Whatever it takes. I don't care how much it hurts or how hard it is, I will find you. I will search the whole earth if that's what it takes. I will beg my worst enemies if that's what it takes. I will die for you if that's what it takes. I will do anything to get you back. I love you, Sophia, and I can't live without you."
"Cut! That was brilliant, Arthur!" But Arthur wasn't listening. He was running out of the room, tears streaming down his face. He reached the sanctuary of his office and slid down in his chair, unsure of what to do next. A few minutes later, he heard a knock at the door.
"Arthur?" It was Gwen, his PA. "Can I come in?" Arthur sighed and unlocked the door.
Arthur had finally stopped crying, though his face was still red. "What's wrong, Arthur?"
"Nothing. I'm fine." Gwen gave a look that clearly said she didn't believe him, but she decided not to pry and instead walked back out with a concerned, sympathetic expression.
A few minutes later, Gwaine walked in. "What seems to be the matter, Princess? Gwen may leave you alone, but I won't." Arthur said nothing. "Come on, I'm not leaving until you answer me. What's up?" Arthur sighed.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me." Arthur logged on to his computer and entered the chat room he'd used earlier. "Are you ignoring me?"
"No, I'm answering."
Fortheloveofcamelot has entered the room, Albion Chat
Fortheloveofcamelot: Anyone here?
"'Fortheloveofcamelot'? What kind of a name is that?"
"Shut up, Gwaine."
Imthegreatestwarlock: I'm here
Lady_of_the_Lake: Me too
Druid_boy42: What's up?
Fortheloveofcamelot: I'm talking to a friend and he asked about you.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Really?
Fortheloveofcamelot: Well not directly, but to answer his question I have to mention you.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Who is he?
Sexiestmanalive has joined the chat
Sexiestmanalive: Hi there.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Oh gosh, that's him. Gwaine, don't harass these people.
Druid_boy42: Especially not Freya.
Lady_of_the_Lake: He's right. Don't mess with me or my friends.
Sexiestmanalive: If you insist. So, what's all this? Apparently, you all are the reason my friend here is incapable of work and looks like he's been up all night?
Imthegreatestwarlock: Only since 3AM.
Fortheloveofcamelot: And I did get a couple hours of sleep.
Sexiestmanalive: Just get to the point. What's going on here?
Imthegreatestwarlock: I... well...
Fortheloveofcamelot: Just tell him.
Imthegreatestwarlock: I was um...
cursed by an evil witch to be stuck on a TV channel. He... I don't actually know your name!
Fortheloveofcamelot: Arthur.
Imthegreatestwarlock: And your last name?
Fortheloveofcamelot: Pendragon.
Imthegreatestwarlock: You're kidding.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Nope.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Arthur Pendragon. That's insane.
Fortheloveofcamelot: You're one to talk, Merlin.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Prat.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Idiot.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Dollophead.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Clotpole.
Imthegreatestwarlock: That's my word!
Fortheloveofcamelot: It suits you perfectly.
Sexiestmanalive: Um, guys? I'm still here.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Sorry, where was I?
Lady_of_the_Lake: You were mentioning where Arthur comes in.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Ah yes, the insufferable prat. How could I forget? Anyway, despite his shortcomings, he took pity on me and contacted my friends who managed to put a message on the channel, and now we're all trying to rescue him.
Sexiestmanalive: And how will you do that?
Druid_boy42: We need a million people to be watching Merlin's show at the same time.
Lady_of_the_Lake: I don't suppose you'd be able to help?
Sexiestmanalive: Well, I do work in advertising...
Fortheloveofcamelot: Gwaine, you're an actor.
Sexiestmanalive: I help out in advertising, too. Honestly, don't you pay any attention to what goes on in this building? Anyway, what time does the programme air?
Imthegreatestwarlock: 3AM.
Sexiestmanalive: That does complicate matters somewhat. Not many people get up at 3AM to watch TV. Except for Arthur, apparently.
Fortheloveofcamelot: I couldn't sleep!
Sexiestmanalive: Yeah, right. What I'm saying is, it's going to be hard to find viewers.
Druid_boy42: Not to mention how hard it is to find the channel.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Wait, what?
Druid_boy42: Most people have their favorite channels and just punch in the number for that channel. We call it channel 5 for the sake of convenience, but Merlin's channel is technically 5.5, which is impossible to type on the typical remote. To make matters worse, the channel disappears when there's nothing airing. Currently, it shows Merlin's programme from 3:00 to 4:00, then Will and Freya's message from 4:00 to 4:30, and finally Kilgharrah's message from 4:30 to 5:00. At all other times, it ceases to exist, at least as far as the public is concerned.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Any chance you can put other programmes in?
Sexiestmanalive: Maybe, but if this channel is as strange as you say it is, it might be rather complicated. What is Merlin's show about?
Fortheloveofcamelot: Freya?
Lady_of_the_Lake: Will and I have been brainstorming. Let me check in with him.
Entertainment_at_Ealdor has entered the room
Sexiestmanalive: You must be Will. I could provide you with some "entertainment" ;)
Entertainment_at_Ealdor: Who let this pervert in?
Fortheloveofcamelot: I did. Sorry. Gwaine, you promised not to harass these people!
Sexiestmanalive: I didn't promise for this guy! Fine, I won't bother him.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Will, Freya, what did you come up with?
Entertainment_at_Ealdor: We were thinking of showcasing Merlin's magical talents.
Imthegreatestwarlock: I have a feeling I'd get in trouble for that. Magic can be very dangerous, and many believe it is unequivocally evil.
Sexiestmanalive: Besides, most people would just think it was good special effects. You'd need a plot to supplement it.
Lady_of_the_Lake: Scratch that. Did we have anything else, Will?
Entertainment_at_Ealdor: No, that was it.
Druid_boy42: I've got an idea, but I don't know if it will work.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Now's not the time to be picky. What's your idea?
Druid_boy42: I was looking up spells with Gaius, and I might be able to move your programme to a different channel.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Great! What's the catch?
Druid_boy42: Your programme will need to have similar subject material to the programmes on the channel I move it to.
Fortheloveofcamelot: And what do the channels that you might move it to show?
Druid_boy42: Only channels 5 and 6 are available. That is, if we pay lots of money.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Money isn't a problem. What's on channel 6?
Druid_boy42: News. Not actual news, just gossip and the like. You know, the kind of stuff you find in magazines.
Imthegreatestwarlock: I'm not doing that. What about channel 5?
Druid_boy42: Soap operas.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Kind of hard to do that with one person.
Druid_boy42: Let me see if there's anything I can do about that.
Modern_physician has entered the chat
Modern_physician: I think I may have a solution.
Imthegreatestwarlock: What is it, Gaius?
Modern_physician: I can send more people into your programme. That way, you can produce a more entertaining show.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Soap opera... okay, I can do this. Send Freya in.
Entertainment_at_Ealdor: If you send her in, she can't help me write the scripts. And you know how rubbish I am at putting my ideas on paper.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Fine. But then who'll be my romantic interest?
Sexiestmanalive: Arthur is a very good actor.
Imthegreatestwarlock: I don't think I could survive alone with that prat.
Fortheloveofcamelot: You're running out of insults.
Imthegreatestwarlock: No I'm not, coxcomb.
Fortheloveofcamelot: Gwaine's right though, I am a good actor.
And I wouldn't have to act, Arthur thought, though of course he didn't say that.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Fine. But don't we need a supporting cast?
Sexiestmanalive: I'll take care of that. Percival and Elyan are free at the moment. George never has anything interesting to do, so he'll jump at the opportunity. Gwen is Arthur's PA, so she may as well join him. Elena and Mithian are just wrapping up a programme, so they'll be available, too, and this is exactly the sort of thing they go for. I think that's enough for now.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Alright.
Sexiestmanalive: How are you filming the programme?
Fortheloveofcamelot: Currently, Merlin's programme is just a blank room with a camera facing him. No pans, cuts, or anything like that.
Druid_boy42: I might be able to control the camera through magic.
Sexiestmanalive: Okay, you can be the cameraman then. Are you familiar with the techniques for taking videos and all that?
Druid_boy42: Yeah.
Sexiestmanalive: Then it's settled. Mordred, you record the film of Merlin. I'll take some clips of Arthur's and merge them together with video editing to make some ads. After the ads are created, I'll send them out to various companies, channels, etc. We'll advertise for a week, then Mordred will change Merlin's programme to channel 5, and Arthur and company will join Merlin. By then, Will and Freya will have some scripts written (which they can send via this chat room). When the programme isn't airing, the actors and actresses will be rehearsing and memorizing lines. The programme will air, it will become popular, and Merlin and everyone else will become free.
Imthegreatestwarlock: Sounds like a good plan.
Sexiestmanalive: Anything I should know about the show? For the purpose of making the ads.
Lady_of_the_Lake: The show will about two lovers, Merlin and Arthur. Keep the actors' names because then we can call their meeting "destiny". The synopsis will go something like this. "Merlin and Arthur. With those names, it seems as though they are destined for each other. They disagree. After a particularly painful breakup, Merlin is disinclined to trust anyone. It certainly doesn't help that Arthur is a self-righteous prat. Arthur has yet to come out of the closet, as he knows his father wouldn't approve. The appearance of a man he wants but can't have is antagonizing him to no end. It seems the two would be better off ignoring each other entirely. Or would they? With a little help from some over eager matchmakers, Merlin and Arthur come to realize that maybe they should be together after all."
Sexiestmanalive: Sounds good.
Fortheloveofcamelot: I can do that, no problem.
Imthegreatestwarlock: We have a deal. Will, Freya, get started on that script.
Entertainment_at_Ealdor: Roger that.
Entertainment_at_Ealdor has left the room
Lady_of_the_Lake has left the room
Sexiestmanalive has left the room
Imthegreatestwarlock: Arthur?
Fortheloveofcamelot: Yes, Merlin?
Imthegreatestwarlock: Thank you.
Fortheloveofcamelot has left the room
"Come on, now," Gwaine said. "You've got to film as much as you can before you leave." Arthur nodded, smiling. He was ready. Anything to get him to Merlin.
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