Thanks to Hurricane Irene this may be my last update for a little while. I will try to get another in before we lose power but I'm not sure I will finish it in time. Also just a warning this chapter is a complete turn around in feel from the last one. I hope it's not too sudden. Enjoy.

Warning: Merlin may completely lose his marbles in this chapter so expect him to be ooc.

Merlin put a barrier around Arthur and said, "Stay there." He turned back to face Kilgarah and smirked eerily again. He held up his hand and a bolt of lightening shot out of it directly at Kilgarah. The dragon jumped into the air and just barely managed to dodge it. Arthur couldn't believe how fast the giant creature had moved.

As Merlin attacked again, a storm began to form above them, the black clouds boiling and churning with an almost conscious ferocity. Merlin set the ground below the dragon alight with white hot flames, forcing Kilgarah to fly higher and closer to the storm. He looked up at the sinister clouds in fear, making it clear to Arthur who the one creating them was. The dragon landed at the edge of the clearing to avoid the flames as well as the lightening that was now cracking and ripping through the clouds. He winced as he was forced to nock down several trees to land. Merlin created a path through the flames to get to Kilgarah His blue eyes were chips of ice as he drew his sword. Why aren't they gold? Arthur wondered. The amount of magic he is using must be extraordinary. The golden magic may not have been behind his eyes but it was perfectly visible. The gold swirled across the surface of his skin, visible wherever his skin was.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Kilgarah questioned, the fear creeping into even his voice.

Merlin did not reply. He was still smiling that creepy smile though. That smile was so completely unlike Merlin that Arthur almost didn't recognize his friend.

The man's eyes glowed gold, and not just his irises like normal, but his entire eye. "Bregdan anwield gafeluec." He said, and his sword burst with blue energy.

Arthur recognized it as the spell Merlin said had been used to kill the griffin during his first year in Camelot. What is he doing? All Arthur knew for sure was that Kilgarah looked absolutely terrified. "Merlin stop!" he shouted as loud as he could, trying to make himself heard over the roar of flames and the crash of lightening.

Merlin turned to face Arthur, who was still protected by the barrier he himself had put up… and then Merlin stopped. The flames died down, the sword went back to normal, the clouds began to dissipate, no longer producing lightening, and the barrier around Arthur disappeared. The gold faded from Merlin's eyes and skin. He now looked like the Merlin Arthur knew, but he was clearly dazed and confused.

He shook his head as if trying to clear it. Arthur stood and began approaching Merlin slowly. Half of him was terrified of this sorcerer and the other half was concerned about the well being of his closest friend. Kilgarah too looked concerned now that the danger was apparently passed. He walked out of the trees and closer to Merlin, to a more comfortable position.

Arthur was now close enough to touch Merlin. He reached out his hand, but the man flinched away from him, terror in his eyes. Arthur dropped his hand, unsure of what to do.

Merlin sat heavily on the ground, clutching his head, his eyes closed. "What just happened?"

Arthur was almost happy that he didn't remember because it meant that it hadn't really been him. "You were having a mock fight with…"

Merlin cut Arthur off with a glare. "I don't need an instant replay Arthur. I don't need to live through it again. What was I thinking, why did I do that?"

The colour drained from Arthur's face. He did remember, it was Merlin who had done all that. Arthur was left with the same question Merlin had. "Why?"

Merlin shook his head again, trying to think. "It was like…I had all the power in the world, like I could bring an entire kingdom to its knees." He glanced shamefaced at Kilgarah. "I knew that I could kill even the Great Dragon with hardly a thought." Now the creepy smile came back to his face and an insane light glinted in his eyes. "I wanted to do that. Don't you see? I could destroy our enemies with ease, you and I could rule over everything, Arthur…" Arthur didn't know what else to do so he punched him, knocking him unconscious. He caught Merlin as he fell back and laid him gently onto the ground.

Arthur looked to Kilgarah, who looked as fearful as he felt. "What is wrong with him Kilgarah?

"I have no idea. He seemed fine when you first arrived. The change was so sudden." He looked deeply saddened. "There is nothing in any of the prophesies that speaks of anything like his happening. Have you noticed any changes in him, any signs that his powers might be growing or he might have less control of them?"

Arthur thought about this carefully before replying. "He said that his power has been growing steadily for a while now and as for losing control, the only indications of that have been a nightmare he had last week-when he woke up he broke the window- and today in training he used magic without realizing it."

Kilgarah frowned. "I'm not sure what to think about this. We must keep a close eye on him. I fear that his magic may be controlling him instead of the other way around. It has always been a concern really. It has happened to sorcerers with far less raw power than he."

"How is that possible? He has always been fine in the past. Are you sure it isn't a spell, someone controlling him?" Arthur questioned. He had trouble believing that this was his friend's own doing.

Kilgarah looked doubtful. "It is possible, but it would have to be an extremely powerful spell. The way he is acting, coming in and out of it and remembering everything in-between, it is inconsistent with any spell I have ever heard of."

Merlin emitted a groan and shifted. Arthur glanced down at him in worry but Kilgarah's voice made him look back up.

"But there is something that does give me hope. He was holding back. I could sense multitudes of power boiling inside him, but he didn't access it. He managed to keep some control of himself."

"No, I didn't." Merlin said, pushing himself up. "I held nothing back against you Kilgarah. I wasn't even able to try."

Kilgarah looked saddened and confused. "But I could sense it. There were volumes of magic that you didn't even touch."

Merlin pointedly ignored him and addressed Arthur. "You knocked me out."

Arthur hardened in preparation for Merlin losing it once again. "You deserved it."

Merlin didn't appear angry, but intensely focused. "Thank you." He said.

"Come along," Arthur coaxed, worried that anything might set Merlin off. "We should probably head back to Camelot and I am sure that Kilgarah could use some time to recover."

Merlin nodded and allowed himself to be led back to the horses. He hopped agilely into the saddle and waited for Arthur to mount his horse. They rode side by side as they headed back to Camelot.

"Do you want to explain what happened to you back there?" Arthur asked gently.

"I'm not entirely sure myself Arthur. It's just the power." That insane glint came into his eyes and Arthur worried that he might have to incapacitate him again but the man shook his head, trying to clear it and brought himself back. "This has never happened to me before Arthur and I'm scared." He admitted. "All my life I have had magic. I have never been without it. In recent years I have come to realize how much stronger I am than most but I never really gave it much thought- the prophesies, after all, predict it." He shook his head. "Recently though it is as if some part of me I didn't even know existed has realized that power inside me." Arthur could see tears threatening in his friend's eyes. "It has been whispering to me, urging me to use that power. It is getting harder and harder to ignore it Arthur. It is feeling less and less like a foreign part of me and more like I am denying myself. Then back there I let it take over. I couldn't stop it, it just happened, and I liked it." He pressed his hand to his forehead and took a deep breath, clearly trying to keep control of himself. "I feel like I'm going insane Arthur. I think I am losing my mind."

Arthur reached over to him and rested his hand on Merlin's, the most he could really do while they were both riding horses. "Don't worry Merlin, we will figure this out. Just try to hold on until we do."

Merlin nodded but was silent for the remainder of the ride. It was well past dark by the time they reentered Camelot. After putting the horses back into the stables and making sure they were fed Arthur escorted Merlin back to his room in Gaius' chambers. He hoped to talk to Gaius about Merlin once the man went to sleep. He did not want to trigger any more incidents that night, especially not within the city. The people were still wary of magic and the last thing that was needed was the most trusted warlock in the kingdom losing his mind and burning the place to the ground.

Arthur opened the door to Gaius' rooms and led Merlin inside. The court physician was sitting in a chair facing the door. As soon as they entered he stood up and walked over to Merlin. "Merlin, you know better than to be out so late, what were you thinking?"

Arthur could see Merlin already fighting to hold on. He tried to signal to Gaius to stop but the man clearly didn't see him.

"I expected more from you Merlin. You have great responsibilities now. You should have seen how worried everyone was when you and Arthur weren't back by sundown."

"Gaius stop!" Arthur shouted before he ran forward and wrapped Merlin in a bear hug to stop him from physically assaulting his guardian and mentor. However Arthur's move didn't stop Merlin's magic from lashing out. Merlin's eyes glowed briefly and a red line appeared across Gaius' face. It began bleeding almost immediately.

The smile was back on Merlin's face and Gaius' stepped back in fear, realizing this was not the boy he knew. "I could destroy you with naught but a thought old man," he sneered, "and you dare to chastise me?"

Arthur released him and began rubbing Merlin's back as he might when trying to calm down a toddler having a temper tantrum. "Merlin, stop. I need you to focus for me okay? This is Gaius. He is like a father to you. You don't want to hurt him, do you?"

Merlin grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut. Arthur was able to tell when the Merlin he knew came back to him because he relaxed noticeably to the hand that was still on his back. He had an expression of intense focus and pain on his face as he reopened his eyes.

"Would you like to go to bed now?" Arthur asked gently.

Merlin nodded so Arthur slowly led him up the stairs into his own small room and helped him lay down. He pulled the sheet over him since Merlin didn't much look like he could do it himself.

"We will figure this out okay? I promise. Now you just get some rest so you will be ready for tomorrow.

Merlin nodded again so Arthur quietly left the room and shut his door. As soon as he was down the stairs Gaius grabbed his arm and led him outside of his chambers.

"You need to tell me what is wrong with Merlin," he said.

Arthur sighed heavily. "Of course Gaius, but I believe that there are others who need to hear it as well."