Merlin's eyes fought to stay closed. They liked the darkness, it was calming. But he pried them open and light blinded his eyes. It was one of the terrible corridor lights that the school had. So he was still lying on the on the hallway carpet, great.

"Are you alright?" he heard a voice say. It echoed in Merlin's mind. He was really out of it, until he saw the face.

"Mordred," said Merlin, sitting up in a rush.

"Yeah, it's Merlin right?" he asked. Merlin nodded and tried not to show the battle in his head. Was Mordred playing games with him? Was it possible that he remembered what had happened, and who he was? For all Merlin knew, he and Morgana could have already teamed up and be plotting the demise of Arthur. But then again, both could have no clue.

"Yes, it is," said Merlin, unable to hide the iciness from his voice.

"Well are you alright? You just dropped to the floor. I came over as fast as I could but it didn't take you long to wake up. Do you need a hand, or do you want to go to the nurse?" he asked with what could be viewed as genuine kindness.

"No, I'm fine thank you," said Merlin, Mordred's kindness catching him off guard.

"Ok you are sure," said Mordred. He stood up. "We should hang out some time Merlin, I feel like you and I have a lot in common," said Mordred before he walked away, leaving Merlin sitting on the floor. He slowly stood, clutching his stomach. He needed to get home and get magic into his system, these moments where, he suspected it was fate controlling him, drained him completely. Left him nauseated, faint and if he didn't act fast, it could lead to an outburst. He could go to the nurse in the hopes she let him go, but this nurse worked for Uther. So that was doubtful. With a deep breath Merlin started to walk down the stairs. There would be worse things to deal with if he didn't leave school, so a meeting with Uther would have to be the answer. Once outside he ran towards the gate, feeling the pain increasing. The problem with everyone being back, was that it had Merlin's emotions churning. It sounded pathetic but that meant he could no longer predict his magical abilities. He could do any spell he wanted sure, but that wasn't the problems. It was the ones he didn't want to do.

"Where are you going Merlin?" he heard Lancelot say from somewhere, and multiple people whisper similar remarks, but he ignored them. The gates were locked, like normal when no one had free periods. But a locked gate was no problem. Merlin ran at it and jumped high, grabbing ahold of the top of it and flipping himself to the other side. The yells and shouts were faint echoes soon, as he picked up his pace. His body began to tire but he pushed through it, not wanting to test the consequences. He flung the doors open and raced downstairs. Aithusa had clearly been asleep and he jolted awake when he heard Merlin's footsteps. Merlin raced in and grabbed a vial of the magic, shoved it into his arm and pressed down on the needle. The life inside of him was rejuvenated and he gave a sigh of relief.

"Care to share?" asked Aithusa, an undertone of worry in his voice.

"Oh nothing," muttered Merlin. "Just fate being a pain as always," he said rubbing his hand over the scales on Aithusa's nose.

"Right in that case there is another question you need to answer. Why are you not at school and how much trouble will you get in for this?" he said, snorting smoke out his nostrils.

"That is two questions," responded Merlin, backing away slightly. "But let's just say one was to avoid getting in trouble, the other is unknown," he murmured, contemplating the potential punishments Uther might dish out.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Aithusa. Merlin thought of fate's warning, of what would happen.

"I need to meditate," said Merlin. "In the Crystal Cave," he finished. And Aithusa did the closest to what a dragon could call a sigh.

"No!" he said after getting over the shock. "No! No! No! You sealed that place off for a reason, and it is my duty as your friend, as your brother in life, to stop you from going back in there. It is dangerous beyond belief, you taught me that!"

"I know," said Merlin, moving back towards Aithusa. "But I have no choice. I can't mess up like I did last time Aithusa, you know that. I will not get a third chance," he murmured the last words.

"Merlin, the fate that awaits you is something that you do not want to know," said Aithusa in a grave voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Merlin, his attention snapping up.

"I may be young compared to you, but dragons have a natural instinct no human could ever have, not even one of your great power," said Aithusa. "Merlin, trust me when I say entering those Crystal Caves will change you and not for the better. You will never be the same, you may not even be able to recognize the man who looks back at you," he warned. Merlin looked down at the ground.

"Aithusa, I have no choice," said Merlin with a somber expression. He ignored the few more protests Aithusa made and moved upstairs. On the opposite side of the house was a stone spiral staircase that Merlin had not climbed in a very, very long time. The wooden hand rail had begun to rot. He reached the top, a solid stone wall. He pressed his palm against the wall and let his magic flow through his body and into the breaks. They slowly parted to reveal a short walkway which Merlin covered in three long strides. The light shone from the center of all the crystals, each with its own heart. Merlin's heart thudded faster as he stepped into the cave. He had sworn never to step foot in here again, ever. He sat on the floor, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them they fell on the nearest crystal.

Aithusa struggled to stop from crying as he heard the screams of his old friend. He used his tail to cover one ear and pressed the other hard against the ground trying to block it out. The screams pierced through still.

Merlin's eyes fluttered open from the darkness for the second time that day. He needed to stop making a habit of this, it was no doubt bad for his health. Beyond belief. He closed his eyes to ensure he didn't look at any more of the crystals and stepped out. His shoulders were so weighted down with what he knew, he slumped in his walk. The wall solidified once more and Merlin slowly moved down the stairs. Gaius waited at the bottom.

"What time is it?" he asked Gaius, who looked at Merlin with a worried stare.

"I heard what you did," he said.

"Well Aithusa can be over concerned for my wellbeing," responded Merlin, avoiding the topic.

"Its four thirty," responded Gaius, accepting the fact that when Merlin wanted to talk he would talk.

"I have to get back to the school, I left my bag there," Merlin felt his pants pockets and luckily his phone was there. He pulled it out and checked it. Two messages. One from Lancelot and one from Gwaine. They both said the same thing:

Not sure where you went, moved your bag to the drama locker rooms. They close up at five.

Merlin looked at the time.

"I have to go get my bag," said Merlin. "There is things in there that I prefer not to leave alone. Can you watch over Aithusa?" Merlin asked. Gaius nodded and Merlin darted off. If there was one thing Gaius knew, it was when Merlin needed to be left alone. Merlin walked out the door and headed towards the school grounds.

The moment he entered the school something was wrong, he could feel it. The air tasted of death, metallic and with a hint of gunpowder. Merlin looked around quickly, someone had been shot. Who though? Who? Merlin saw a shadow fall to the ground as another ran away. Breaking into a sprint Merlin reached them just as the person hit the ground.

"You!" they spat, blood leaking from their wound. "You ruined everything I built, you tore my castle apart," Merlin looked down at Uther's soon to be lifeless body.

"So you remember," muttered Merlin back.

"You are a wizard, one who ruined, destroyed my legacy," coughed Uther.

"And you plagued my life and my kind. You killed thousands of us, and you never regretted it. Your son was a greater ruler than you ever could be, and it was him who deserved that throne, not you. Your death offered us a chance to restore peace to a land you left in chaos. And Arthur worked towards that. You were a curse across the land of Albion, and I watched you rule an unfair and unjust system," said Merlin, anger seeping into his words.

"Save me," spat Uther. "If you could survive this long, you are powerful. You can save me," he continued. And in that moment Uther sealed his fate.

"You ask me to save you. To show you mercy," Merlin looked into Uther's eyes and menace glistened in them. "You deserve none. If I saved you, you would not hesitate to take my kindness and kill me without a second thought. I could do it, I have done it before. But I will not," he said, standing straight over Uther. "Arthur was hurt by your death, that is true. But he had a chance to grow and become his own person. Uther I will not be responsible for having lives on my head, not more than I already do. You deserve death," said Merlin, the built up anger he had towards Uther finally releasing itself.

"I will have my vengeance!" yelled Uther with his dying words.

"No Uther. But you will get what you deserve," finished Merlin as Uther breathed his last breath. He stopped moving and Merlin didn't regret his decision. In death, Uther had shown no repentance for what he had done, no regrets. He had been given a second chance but had not changed. Merlin did not think he deserved a third. Looking around Merlin realized that he needed to get out here, and fast. He ran out and cast up a cloud of mist around him, so that people wouldn't see him. The moment he stepped in, he fell to the floor. Merlin had witnessed a lot of death over his time, but he had never adjusted to it, it always made him woozy. Whenever a revolution happened or a coup might happen Merlin ran. He wasn't proud, but if he got invested in it, he would cause more death than anyone else.

"Merlin, you look pale," said Gaius.

"Uther is dead."