A/N: Hi guys! This is my first (Posted) fanfic, so please give me feedback, both good and bad. Constructive criticism is accepted gratefully, so please leave a review. Thanks!

As I'm sure you all know, I DON'T OWN MERLIN.

"Hello Emrys."

No. It couldn't be. Merlin spun around. "Mordred," He growled, eyes hardening.

The renegade druid smiled unsettling. "Long time, no see. Tell me, what have you been up to these past few months? Pining after Arthur? Because I promise you, he won't show any forgiveness. He never did for me."

Eyes filled with a cold fury, Merlin spat back, "You wouldn't know. You were too busy mourning for Kara after Arthur killed her."

Mordred snapped at that. His eyes burned gold, and Merlin was thrown back several meters before coming to a painful halt, groaning. "You can't stop me, Emrys!" Mordred bellowed.

Merlin slowly stood up. "And why's that?"

Mordred smirked. "I am powerful, Emrys. More powerful than you are now, and can ever hope to be. Together with my friends," At that, Mordred gestured to the trees, where 50 or so fairly powerful sorcerers emerged, awaiting their instructions, "I am unstoppable."

Merlin merely sighed. "Do not try me, Mordred. I could stop you and your... friends without breaking a sweat."

Mordred drew his sword. "You and what army?"

The warlock waved his hand, and in it appeared his Sidhe staff. On his shoulders, a midnight-blue cloak wrapped around him, the hood casting menacing shadows on his pale face and over his eyes. His eyes barely glowing, Merlin made the staff emit a strong blue light. "You know perfectly well," Merlin started. Some of the sorcerers took a step back, much to their leader's anger. Eyes glowing bright gold, Merlin grimly smiled. "I don't need one."

All of Mordred's army and Mordred himself felt the mighty Emrys's power as the warlock unleashed his magic upon them. It was now or never. Mordred and his army charged forward. It was now or never. The battle had begun.

By the time Arthur got there, it the battle was almost over. Merlin had single-handedly majority of the enemy sorcerers, but Mordred was nowhere to be seen. Arthur drew Excalibur to join his friend... well, friend was a loose term. They were more like brothers... and Arthur had betrayed his brother. It was time to make that right. Arthur rushed into battle, and the two fought as if they were born to fight together. But honestly, Merlin was doing most of the fighting. The warlock was fighting at a speed Arthur had never thought him capable of, blasting sorcerer one after the other with deadly bursts of magic. With Arthur's aid, they were soon all dead.

Merlin finally seemed to register Arthur's presence, and a look of deep regret overtook his earlier powerful eyes. Gazing around the carnage he had caused, Merlin whispered, not expecting Arthur to hear him, "Dear gods... what did I do?"

But Arthur heard. Not knowing exactly what he was doing, Arthur placed a gloved hand on his friend's shoulder. "You did what you have to do. You stopped Mordred."

Merlin shook his head. "It wasn't right. I could've found another way. You... you shouldn't be here. You banished me. You should leave me... oh no... Mordred."

Arthur was confused. "What about him? You didn't... Mordred isn't... oh no." He stammered, reaching the same conclusion as Merlin. "It was a trap. Mordred set you up," he breathed. "Merlin, do you know where he might've gone?"

The warlock shook his head. "He could be any...where." Merlin suddenly pushed Arthur back. "Arthur run! NOW!"

But it was too late. Arthur felt an invisible force knock into him and he flew back, grunting in pain. When his head stopped spinning, Arthur saw Mordred grab hold of Merlin, drawing his sword as he did so. Merlin struggled against his hold as Mordred began to speak.

"And so it begins...or is it the end. Here you stand, with the mighty Emrys at my sword and The Once And Future King kneeling beneath me. And I'm about to kill both of them."

"Fuck you. Fuck you to hell. You go anywhere near him, and I will make sure it's the last thing you ever do," Arthur growled, desperately trying to save the friend he had just hot back. "Merlin- You are the most powerful warlock to walk the very EARTH! I know that now. You are DESTINED for greatness! So FIGHT! FIGHT!" But Arthur could see that Merlin was resigned to his fate. Merlin had already given up.

The warlock bowed his head as Mordred carried on his victorious speech. "It seems, Emrys, that we have reached the end of this...Circle of Fate, shall we call it. For once I have killed you, I will kill Arthur, and everyone else you love. You may be destined to be Morgana's doom, and I Arthur's, but it looks as though I will be yours too."

Mordred drew his sword back, preparing to run Merlin through, as Arthur cried out, in a final attempt to save Merlin, "NO! NO- YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

The warlock raised his head and met his desperate king's eyes. "Arthur...please. Don't try and save me. I'm...I'm sorry I never told you about my magic. It was the hardest thing I had to do and I wish I could've told you. But you know now, and you've accepted it. It's all I could've asked for. Thank...thank you."

Arthur shook his head in denial. "No. I won't let you go. I CAN'T LET YOU GO! I won't let you say goodbye."

Merlin smiled sadly. "Thank y-" Merlin never got to finish the word. His eyes closed as Mordred's blade entered his torso.

"NO!" Arthur was crying as he watched Merlin perform one last bout of magic. Mordred was tossed back like a rag doll and his head struck stone, where he lay, dead. Arthur sprinted forward and knelt at his brother's side, desperately looking for a heartbeat. But there was nothing. "No..."Arthur whispered, shaking as he wept. He hadn't even been able to thank him for all that he had done. "Come back..."

Arthur sat there, mourning his lost brother, begging him to come back. Until... there was a tiny movement in Merlin's chest. Arthur scrambled over his friend's body, sure that it wasn't real. But it was. Before Arthur's eyes, Merlin took a breath.

So, what did you think? Next chapter, I'll go into the reveal and how it happened. Sorry about the cliffy. Please leave a review and tell me how to improve. It would really help. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Edit: It's come to my attention that many of you have found this slightly confusing- don't worry, it has all been done deliberately. All will be explained in the next few chapters.

Maggie :D