Lancelot pulled up to Merlin's house just as Merlin walked outside dressed in modern day clothes. The men unsteadily climbed out of the car and stumbled toward Merlin, who took one look at them and snapped his fingers. Instantly, they were sober. Now that their brains were working fully, they lined up out of habit and started to wonder where they were.
"Ah, I see you've met Andrew," Merlin said. They all wondered how he knew him already.
"So you are Merlin!" Andrew exclaimed. Merlin just grinned. "And these are the real knights of Camelot. Just like the stories."
"And soon enough you will learn your part in it all. I'm glad you have come to believe it yourself."
"I had been trying to figure out the clues you had left in my family history and then when these guys came into the bar and started drinking, it was too real to not be true. Some of the stuff they talk about when drunk is too crazy to be made up." Merlin laughed.
"Come on inside," Merlin said to the group at large. "There are some things I must tell you before we go any further." They walked inside Merlin's small house. Unlike the cave it held no signs of magic just in case people in the village stopped by to pay him a visit. They all sat down at the table and Merlin began explaining the basics. This was the future, it was their destiny to come back to help Arthur save England when the country was in peril, etc. No, he hadn't found Arthur yet. Yes, Mordred was here and they could trust him again. And obviously they should have listened to Merlin before. Leon filled them in on the occurrences in Camelot up until his own death and Percival finished the last bit of history. But then Merlin could avoid the touchy subject no longer.
"How come you know so much about the future?" Leon asked. "Lancelot said you had taught him to drive the horseless carriage and do other things." Merlin heaved a great sigh and looked at Andrew.
"You have it figured out, do you not?"
"Yes," he said simply.
"I never died," Merlin said quietly. "I have magic." He searched their faces to see how they would react. Shock first, as was expected, but none of them outright defied him. Leon nodded slowly.
"Gwen knew didn't she?" he asked.
"She figured it out and asked me about it before Camlaan."
"She acted a little strange whenever the subject of magic came up afterwards."
"How powerful are you?" Percival, all about the strength.
"The most powerful sorcerer who has ever lived!" Andrew declared before Merlin could be humble. The knights raised their eyebrows in skepticism. Merlin nodded in confirmation.
"That's my good friend! The best sorcerer around!" Gawaine reached over to smack Merlin on the back. "I always knew there was something different about you."
"You've saved our lives before haven't you?" Leon asked. Again Merlin nodded.
"Thank you for all of those times then, Merlin," Elyan said. "How many people knew?"
"It seemed like everyone we ever met in the forest knew who I was. Any one even close to a sacred site knew me instantly. Mordred knew, he is a druid and as weird as it sounds, they tell their children stories about me. Lancelot here figured it out. Gaius. He taught me a lot actually." Merlin smiled. "There was a reason you guys healed so fast. Then Morgana eventually found out that I was Emrys and that I destined to kill her."
"Wait, so were you the old sorcerer we chased through the castle after insulting King Uther?" demanded Gawaine.
"And who used us as steps to climb his horse in the woods?" Percival asked.
"Yes." Merlin grinned and shifted his appearance to be that of the old man that had infuriated the knights so often. "The one and only." He shifted back.
"I hate you." Merlin only laughed.
"Ahh, but without me and my disguises, you would not have lasted a week in Camelot. There was a reason I always insisted I come along on dangerous missions."
"I think we could have lasted a lot longer," Percival put in. Lancelot snorted in laughter.
"You all think I had slain the griffin, but it was only because Merlin enchanted my lance that it did any damage." Lancelot looked around the table at his fellow knights. "How many tasks have you completed that seemed nearly impossible? Remember when we were chasing those shadows that caused people to freeze up and Merlin was hit? When I took him to the nearest river for the night on the way back to Camelot, the river spirits healed him. They said they owed him. If that doesn't give you an idea of how much he has done for us, I don't know what might." The knights were beginning to look at him in awe as they were slowly putting the pieces together.
"The dragon; that was you?" Leon asked. "Even though the last Dragon lord had died?"
"He was my father. I am the last Dragon lord." His voice was tinged with sorrow.
"So when you and Arthur rescued us from Morgana's caves and you said you would deal with the dragon, it wasn't stupid at all." Gawaine added. "You really could deal with it."
"Yes. The dragon is named Aithusa." Merlin smiled. "I watched her hatch. She is the last dragon."
"You saved Gwen didn't you?" Percival asked. Merlin nodded again. They thought about this for a while as each remembered other times when an enemy seemed to trip over nothing or when a lethal blow went wide.
"Did Arthur know?"
"Not until the very end."
"Where did you bury his body?" Leon asked. "We assumed it might have been buried by the rocks or taken by the enemy but I see now that you took him away.
"He was still alive and I tried all I knew to heal him. Nothing worked. Kilgharrah warned me that nothing would work." Merlin noted their confusion. "The great dragon. He was the one who told me that Arthur would come back one day. So I buried him somewhere no one would disturb his rest. I knew that if anyone knew there would be a constant flow of people there."
"Is that why we are all back?"Gawaine asked.
"I suppose so. It does make sense that if Arthur is needed to save England, he may need his finest knights and friends at his side."
"Then that is what we shall do." Elyan stood to his feet. "Take us to Arthur."
"Not quite so fast." Merlin motioned for him to sit back down. "Arthur has not yet awakened. You have some time yet to continue training with Lancelot and Mordred. Both your knightly training and learning the ways of this world. Then there is the matter of Andrew." The knights turned to look at the boy they had forgotten in all the excitement. "Andrew, what do you know of your family history?"
"Not too much." He thought for a moment. "I did a family history project in secondary school once. Err; I learned that no one in my family has ever had a sibling. We are all only children. We are an old family, dating back to the, wait." He looked at Merlin, with realization in his eyes. "No way! That's why you have been always near our family isn't it? I can't believe it." He glanced around at the knights. "No wait, I can believe it."
Merlin noted the knights' confusion and explained: "He is Arthur's direct heir."
"And we found him in a bar, celebrating his 21st birthday. Alone." Percival was amazed. Merlin laughed.
"Destiny has a way of making sure things come together. Trust me on that. Fate is a cruel mistress. 21st birthday you said? I lost track of the year in all this commotion." He stood and retrieved a package from a back room in his house. "Your mother asked me to give this to you today. It has been passed down for ages in your family." Andrew unwrapped the small box and opened it to find an old ring sitting on a small cushion. He looked at it curiously and slid it on to his finger. Leon looked at Merlin.
"That's Arthur's ring. Gwen had it last."
"She asked me to make sure it got passed down if anything happened to her. As Andrew could tell you, I have always been keeping an eye on the Pendragon family, making sure they stayed safe so that his line would continue." Merlin stood again and placed their cups in the sink. "On to our next order of business. I need to get you all to Avalon. I'll explain on the way."
