Hello Readers! If you're still there that is. I apologize for my lack of updates, but school has been tough (and when I say tough, I mean I no longer have free time). I wish I could have gone back and made this chapter longer, but the longer I waited, the longer I realized this was good enough for you guys :D Anyways, a recap since most of you don't remember the story probably.

Story: Arthur and Merlin were able to break into Camelot and have made it to where Morgana was holding Uther. After some stalling by Arthur to get Lancelot and Leon back to fighting strength, Morgause arrives and unleashes a spell on Arthur. Now that we are all caught up, let the games begin!

Uther awoke to the peaceful sound of the birds chirping. The light came softly through the window curtains. It must have been early morning by the golden hue of the sun. He had never felt more comfortable than he did right at that minute. Everything was peaceful once again in Camelot. He remembered there were problems in the past, but they seemed distant as he slowly stirred in his bed.

"Uther? You awake?"

The voice startled him slightly. It was sweet and loving, a sound that he had tried so hard to not forget, but that time seemed to have erased.

He turned and looked at the woman standing by his bedside. She was radiant. There were no more words to describe it. His heart felt like it was going to explode with joy. His darling Ygraine just smiled as he sat down on the bed.

"I-I can't-" Uther couldn't speak. His wife stood in front of him like she had all those years ago, before the purge, before everything. He reached out to touch her, his hand trembling that she was going to vanish, like in every other dream, but she didn't. She was real.

"I am here my love. I swear I am." She reassured him, kissing his hand softly.

He grabbed her in his arms and held her tightly. "I can't lose you again. I just-" His voice was cracking.

"I know my love, but it is not your time yet."

Uther pulled away slowly. "Am I dead?"

"No love," she just held his hand in between hers. "You are in a world in between world. Close to death, but not dead. It is not your time yet."

"How do you know that?"

Ygraine sighed. "I'm awaiting someone else. You were not supposed to awaken, not yet anyways."

"Who were you waiting for then?"

Suddenly all the memories came back to Uther. Morgana had betrayed him. His own daughter-

Ygraine looked towards the door and began to get up. "It was never supposed to be this way." There were tears in her eyes as she turned away from her husband.

"Ygraine…what happened?" Uther felt a cold feeling creep up through his body. His stomach felt sick. "What is going on?"

A piercing scream broke through the silence. It started out quietly, but slowly began to build in crescendo. Ygraine began to race out of the room and down the corridor. Uther followed closely behind her, with each passing second, the sound getting louder. At a point, it stopped being a scream and became a rumble. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn Camelot was being destroyed around him.

"It's just a dream. Just a dream," he kept mouthing to himself, but for some reason, with each passing second, he began to doubt it more and more. Magic had forced him to see Ygraine before, maybe this was another hallucination.

He cursed under his breath. Damn that Morgause. He had taken from him what was most precious, his darling daughter, and turned her against him. She would pay for it, he would make sure. He would defeat this enchantment. He would wake up. He wouldn't let death take over him.

Ygraine stopped in front of a door. She opened it, and the sunlight fell once again on her bright golden hair, illuminating her in a halo. There were tears in her eyes, but she wiped them off quickly. It took a moment for Uther to register where in the castle they were. He was here so often that he hadn't thought anything of it.

A shadow blocked the sun for just a second, and stood at the door, before embracing Ygraine tightly.

No, stealing Morgana wasn't the worst thing that Morgause had done. He understood that.

Ygraine looked at her husband, her eyes begging for forgiveness. In her eyes, she was pleading with him, telling him that it wasn't her fault this had happened. Fate was just a cruel mistress.

Uther felt himself slipping away from this world, not knowing whether his eyes were blurry from the tears he was fighting back, or from the darkness closing in.

He fought with his mind to keep his eyes open, to stay in this world with them, yet when he opened his eyes, he was back in reality.

He was lying on the bed in one of the castle towers, the vial that Morgana had given him still in his hand. His body felt heavy and numb. The room itself was destroyed. The furniture was shredded to pieces, and there was debris all over the floor. He looked up and saw that the canopy of the bed itself had partially collapsed but had managed to keep him safe during the wave of destruction.

"Your highness," Lancelot said, running over to the king. Uther recognized the man. Arthur had been right. This man was loyal, even if he had lied about his noble blood.

Arthur. That was when he looked past the debris and realized his dream, if he could even call it that, had been right. Leon was standing next to Merlin, as they checked on the lifeless body of his son.

"How great of you to join us father in this most tragic of occasions," Morgana said, with that ever cool grin plastered over her blood red lips.

Merlin and Leon looked to the inside in disbelief. Leon ran in and attempted to attack Morgause, but her beast easily pushed him away.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he ran into the room. There was no way that Morgause was going to get away with this. He just began to shout all the spells his mind could think of, he even came up with some, but nothing helped.

Within seconds, Arthur had fallen unconscious on the floor. At this rate, within minutes he would be dead. Merlin just tried to think of more spells, but his mind came up blank. Nothing he knew could counteract Morgause's magic. He hadn't had enough practice with dark magic. He couldn't control those forces.

He attempted to work on instinct. The silence was what terrified him the most. Lancelot and Leon were now by Arthur's side. They attempted to revive him with just as much desperation as Merlin through conventional methods, but it nothing helped.

One minute had passed. Merlin attacked Morgause. He used all his magical skills, and actually caused some damage to the witch. He assumed that if she maybe lost concentration, the spell would be undone. It was false.

Two minutes passed. Morgause was now on her knees, bloodied, but spell continued. Merlin's untapped potential was beginning to rise up. The walls of Camelot had begun to shake out of his sheer power, yet he could not undo the spell.

Three minutes passed. There was a small crater where Merlin stood created by the strength of his magic. Still, nothing.

Four minutes passed.

"Merlin, stop." It was Lancelot who spoke. His voice calm, as always, but tinted in melancholy. Merlin understood what the tone meant. He looked over and saw that Lancelot had two fingers to Arthur's wrist.

There was no pulse. Lancelot let go of Arthur's hand, and it fell, limp on his side.

"No…no…"

"Poor dear brother. If he had only accepted me as his Queen, then maybe his life could have been forgiven," Morgana said, her arms crossed, as she walked over to him.

"He can't be dead! He must fulfill the prophecy!"

"Don't be ignorant Merlin. You think I didn't know about the prophecy?" Morgause asked, weakly. "Prophecy's don't always come true. Destinies can be changed. Magic can change fate, as it has done tonight."

Merlin couldn't hold his power any longer. He screamed, releasing a shockwave of energy so powerful that it destroyed most in its path. Glass shattered, the furniture chipped, and the rock walls began to crumble. Morgana and Morgause were knocked off their feet, and Lancelot and Leon used their shields to protect themselves as well as Uther and Arthur.

His body was being consumed by anger. In a matter of minutes, he had lost all that he had been fighting for in the past years. He had lost Camelot. He had lost his destiny. He had lost his best friend. Merlin had failed.

"Merlin," a voice called out from the darkness. The great dragon was calling out to the young warlock. "Calm yourself. If you continue, you will kill not only the witches, but your friends and the innocent people of Camelot."

Reassurance flowed from the dragon's words. The ripples of anger were disappearing, and their void was being filled by pain.

"This is supposed to happen for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Do not lose hope yet young warlock."

There were tears swelling in his eyes. Lancelot and Leon lowered their shields once the energy stopped. Merlin walked slowly over to where Leon and Lancelot stood. He knelt by their side, to honor the fallen prince.

Morgana got up from the floor. Her clothes were damaged, and it looked like she was bleeding slightly. She had protected herself with magic, but it hadn't been enough. Morgause was lying unconscious on the floor.

It was at that moment when Uther awoke from his trance.

The great dragon had been flying around Camelot waiting for the moment. The prophecies where as old as time, and unfortunately, in order for Arthur to achieve his great destiny, he had to lose much.

The dragon would have told Merlin, except that the young warlock could not have understood at the time.

The dragon landed on the roof of the tower, astonished that it could hold its weight after the damage Merlin had done. If it hadn't been clear that this boy was the strongest warlock to ever walk the face of the earth before this, it was now.

"You must finish Morgana and Morgause now young warlock." The dragon spoke to Merlin's mind. "Once they are gone, we can deal with the prince himself."

"Can we save him?" Merlin asked, almost hesitantly.

"Yes, but not while the witches are still standing."

I know...short and a cliffhanger. I will try my best to make it so I update sooner, but please bear with me if I can't. :D As always, if you liked something/disliked something, review! That way I know how I'm doing :D

Love and Peace

~Pendragon Alchemist~