A/N: A gift as promised! Chapter 10 for the New Year! Its shorter than the other chapters but I just couldn't put anything else into this chapter without making it awkward or to long. I hope you enjoy! This was one of the harder chapters to write as I know my writing style is better suited for dialogue and descriptions than it is for intense/action packed moments.

Although I would like to make a New Year's pledge saying I'll be better at posting, I unfortunately, for the time being, cannot. My work has just lost many important workers these last few weeks and we are now heavily understaffed. I will have to pick up a number of shifts; I will attempt to post when I can but I cannot and will not make promises until I know I can keep them.

Anyway, let me know if you see any major issues with this chapter as always! Hope to hear from you soon.

Have a wonderful and safe New Year everyone!

Best,

Cast

Key to Format

Characters speaking in "English"

Characters speaking in "Norse"

'Norse Thoughts, English thoughts'

Flashback

"Dragon"

"Magic"

Rushing through the stone hallways, Merlin nearly face planted as the castle shook. Grunting a thanks to the hand that helped steady him, he quickly continued his hurried pace. Hiccup and Toothless close at his side. A servant, attempting to move down the hallway, suddenly shrieked as she threw herself up against the wall. Merlin barely offered a glance as he turned a corner and began running up the tower stairs. The tower lurched as something massive struck it; Hiccup and Merlin bracing themselves on the wall until the floor settled.

"Think they're trying to tell us something?" Hiccup asked as he shoved off the wall and continued running.

"Morgana just likes to make grand entrances," Merlin responded, standing next to the tower wall and gingerly leaning over to peak outside the small window. The sight outside was chaos. Smoke was rising up into the sky as fire licked at the lower town. Though the sun had not yet descended, the dark smog was beginning to block out the light. "They haven't breached the city yet. Looks like they are just sending in projectiles from outside the walls," Merlin noted, glancing at the empty streets. The walls shook again, as something hit the castle out of Merlin's view. Grimacing, he glanced at Hiccup before nodding and rushing up the stairs. Once at the top, he pushed the wooden hatch open and quickly climbed up onto the roof of the tower. Merlin moved towards the edge of the battelemt. Looking through the crenels of the wall, he now had a full view of the surrounding woods. The sight was haunting. The woods beyond were not only smoking along with the lower town, but the people amassed spanned from the cities walls and ran deep into the woods. Eight large wooden catapults were lined along the forests edge. As they took a second to watch, one of the men, dressed in leather and furs, reached out towards the rock in the bucket only for the mass to erupt in flames. Slashing the ropes on the ground, the flaming mass was released towards the castle. Raising his hand, Merlin quickly tried to redirect the projectile before realizing the stone was not just on fire but also enchanted. Grunting, he braced himself on the stone parapet and sent out a wave of magic to instead send the rock flying back. He watched as the catapult was destroyed, the man quickly jumping and rolling to the side to escape the sudden explosion of rock, wood, and flames. The magic on the projectile had been stronger than he had expected. Regaining his breathe he prepared to do the same to the other catapults until he heard a voice behind him.

"That's the dragon hunters alright. They most likely have plenty of dragonroot arrows."

"Think you guys can handle them?" Merlin said, having been told earlier about the effects of the plant. He raised his hand again to return another flaming boulder, this time sending it towards a man who was clearly trying to stop whatever force was redirecting the projectiles. The cloaked sorcerer quickly dropped his hand and tried to scramble backwards as a massive rock fell where he previously stood.

"Think you can handle the sorcerers?" Hiccup shot back and Merlin heard Hiccup seat himself in the leather of Toothless' saddle.

"They are strong, but we're stronger," Merlin parroted Hiccup's words back. A chuckle was the only response before a gust of wind hit him in the back as the dragon and rider took to the sky. Merlin, pausing as the men tried to reload their catapults, quickly searched the sky for the white dragon. He watched Hiccup quickly shoot up into the thick black clouds. A sudden blur of movement from down below and Merlin watched as four other large shapes shot up into the smoke cover.

Feeling another shock rush through the castle beneath, he took a deep breath and turned back towards the waiting enemies.

"Merlin!" Even with the raging battle, Arthur's voice still managed to carry over the castle. Rolling his eyes as he sent another projectile soaring at a catapult, Merlin waited a moment before leaning over the parapet to look into the courtyard below. Arthur stood at its center, ordering a few of his Knights towards the East gate. Deciding that the air force could handle the rest of the catapults, Merlin rushed from the tower. He made it to the top of the steps just as half of the gathered Knights began heading out. Leon, rushing up to Arthur's back spoke into the King's ear before receiving a nod. As Leon turned to go, he looked up towards the castle and Merlin caught his gaze. Merlin raised a hand in greeting as he rushed down the steps. Leon returned the gesture before regaining Arthur's attention.

"Glad to see you still upright," Arthur joked.

"Glad to see you able to dress yourself," Merlin noted, looking Arthur's armor up and down quickly though in truth only to check for any indistinct injuries. Satisfied, he looked back to Arthur's face to see a partial glare that soon gave way to determination as a rush of noise from above broke their discussion. The three men quickly looked up as four dragons descended from the air in a diamond formation. They surged across the sky towards the forest line. Screams from the lower town were barely heard as the dragons were finally spotted by the few people who chose to remain with their livelihoods. Merlin watched as a burst of flame suddenly came blasting from the forest towards the formation. As it did, the formation suddenly broke and a black blurr originally hidden by the dark cloud cover, dropped from the sky. A blast of purple light shot upwards just as the fire passed over, exploding the ball of fire.

"Looks like our support is doing their part; time for us to start on our end," Leon said, he gave a quick respectful bow before hurrying off.

"How was it looking?" Arthur said as he quickly followed behind his head knight. Merlin took two long strides before he was keeping pace with Arthur.

"As we expected they probably number about 800 Saxons. They had eight catapults," Merlin saw his use of the past tense had not been lost on Arthur as a smirk graced the Monarch's face.

"How many did you take out?"

"Three before their sorcerer's started taking notice. Then another two immediately after that."

"How many sorcerers?"

"Two were directly trying to combat me from what I could see. Otherwise, I'm not sure." Arthur nodded once as Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, and Mordred came rushing up from the other direction. While the first three were dressed in their normal armor, Mordred had a simple green robe covering his own.

"Any news?"

"They are holding position so far at the forests edge. We have men stationed at all gates but so far it seems like Morgana's main force is centered at the North Gate." Elyan gave a quick debriefing. Arthur nodded before turning his head to the other magic user present. Mordred stood just a part from the gathered men, his right hand barely pressed to his right temple and his eyes half lidded.

"Anything?" Merlin asked, causing Mordred's eyes to open fully before he blinked owlishly.

"I haven't been able to contact Iseldir yet," he said, the unease clear in his voice though he did his best to hide it. "I don't know where they…" Arthur's hand landed on the much younger man's shoulder, stopping any further words.

"We will find them, once we deal with the current threat," Arthur promised and Mordred gave a strained but grateful smile in return.

"What about…" Merlin continued only for him to stop at Mordred's expressions.

"I went out as close as I could but couldn't get a good count. They number at least 50 from what I could tell." Mordred said gravely. Merlin nodded his thanks. He had been against sending Mordred out first amongst the enemy to get a better count of the magic users they faced; however, he had seen Mordred's point when he had first made the suggestion.

"You did well," Merlin said from beside Arthur, glad to see a smile slightly break out on his pupils face.

"Aithusa?"

"No sightings." Percival said, his eyes jumping to the sky as if to prove his point.

"Time to move out, princess?" Gwaine said, flicking his sword in a clear mockery of Arthur's move.

"Our objective is to find Morgana and Aithusa…" Arthur moved to grab his own sword only for a sudden burst of wind to come buffeting from above. Looking up, the group watched as a large form zipped across the sky from the forest. A moment passed before a second, far larger form seemed to follow after only to stop overhead and descend. The large wings nearly pushed them off their feet as the massive body of the Great Dragon landed in the courtyard of Camelot. The other Knights in the area quickly moved their weapons to the ready but, to Merlin's utter surprise, did not advance. One Knight, a Sir Bors, on the other side of the courtyard took a hesitant step closer with his sword but halted when no one else moved to do the same.

"I did tell them we had additional allies you know," Arthur said a bit loudly from his left. Turning his head, he caught Arthur's amused look and quickly returned his own gobsmacked look to neutral.

"And I thank you for the reprieve, King Arthur," Kilgharrah's voice rang through the courtyard, silencing any quiet conversations that may have been occurring. Some of the towns people who had been moving towards the safety of the castle stood shocked as the dragon then preceded to bow its massive head before the small entourage of King, Advisor, and Roundtable Knights.

"What news do you bring?" Arthur continued. Instead of answering, Kilgharrah turned his head to Merlin and lowered his massive neck. The atmosphere suddenly grew cold as the eyes locked onto his Lord.

"I cannot sense the hatchling as I once could. I fear what the witch may have done to her…"

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked even as dread pooled in his stomach.

"I fear that even you could not reach her in her current state, young warlock." Kilgharrah said, a sadness in his gaze. Merlin paused before realizing Kilgharrah's meaning and almost immediately closed his eyes. He reached within, passed his inner magic to the more feral, instinctual energy that surrounded his soul. His dragonlord connections were like live chains of energy, ones he could follow with his magic and soul in order to reach the dragon at the end of the link. His connection to Kilgharrah, bright and hot and as gold as the dragon that stood before him, was strong and bold. He could easily follow the chains of gold to feel Kilgharrah's presence. However, as he reached for the connection he normally was able to feel with Aithusa, he suddenly was pushed away. Grunting, he focused on his inner soul until he could visualize the connection only for his eyes to snap open in shock. The connection was withered and black instead of the usual white chain. When he tried to follow the black energy, he hit a wall.

"I… I can't feel her at all," he said, his words sounding far away and blurry to his own ears. Kilgharrah's silence made the dread surge.

"What can be done?" Leon asked. Merlin knew everyone was looking at him in concern but he was too focused on the connection he could no longer feel.

"You must break whatever hold the witch has on her," Kilgharrah said before his head suddenly swung towards the group of Knights. "For any dragon to lose their connection to their dragonlord, is both painful and dangerous. Unless it can be reacquired, she will forever be lost to us."

"What might this do to her?" Arthur asked.

"The connection between the dragons and dragonlords are what allowed us to remain connected to humanity. We are magic of the old religion, without that connection to humanity, we will again simply be that." Thinking briefly of the Berk dragons, Merlin couldn't help but feel like he was beginning to see those consequences.

"But the dragons of Berk..." Merlin tentatively tried.

"…Are not returned to their truest form. Magic is not black and white; it is a balance of the good and the evil, of the tamed and the feral. Aithusa and I are the only dragons who remain still created out of that balance. Though the dragons of Berk have begun to recreate their bonds, they still lack balance. Now, you must hurry. Vortigern's revenge is nearing," for a moment, Kilgharrah seemed to look at nothing before he blinked his massive eyes and raised his head. His wings opened as if to return to the air.

"What does that mean? Is Vortigern's revenge happening today?" Merlin asked, bewildered and stalling Kilgharrah's departure. Blinking, the large head bent back down.

"It was said that Vortigern's weapons would one day return. That dragon's blood would run white and red." Merlin had half a mind to repeat his question but knew he wouldn't get a clear answer from the dragon. Instead, he asked another question that would annoy the dragon even more.

"Mind taking me up?" True to his thought, the Great Dragon grumbled under his breathe, though to the Knights and Arthur, it sounded more like a snarl. Without any other word, Kilgharrah dropped his body down to the ground.

"I wish to help," Mordred quickly stepped forward, forestalling any of the arguments about to break out from the King. Another sound from the Great Dragon, though this time Merlin knew it was a snarl, was heard and Merlin shot the dragon a glare. He knew Kilgharrah still distrusted Mordred for his possible future and while the vision still tormented Merlin, he couldn't reconcile the Mordred from his vision with the one that stood before him. He looked to Mordred before nodding his head. Though Arthur and Gwaine began to voice their complaints, Kilgharrah's wings shot out and he leapt into the air before any more could be said. Merlin watched his friends quickly disappear from view as he held onto Kilgharrah's back with Mordred seated behind. Suddenly twisting out of the way of a massive, obviously magical, fireball, Merlin nearly fell from Kilgharrah.

Maybe I should ask Hiccup to make me a saddle…

"You will do no such thing!" Merlin, though unsettled that Kilgharrah had managed to hear him due to their physical connection, couldn't help the laugh at the dragon's alarm. The projectiles continued and Kilgharrah suddenly banked to fly over the castle to use it as a momentary barrier. However, as they crested over the back battlement, Merlin was nearly unseated again as Kilgharrah was hit from below. The air buffeted him as Kilgharrah spun and twisted in his sudden dive as he tried to right himself. Picking up his head from Kilgharrah's back, he first noticed that they had fallen quite a distance before looking up as a shadow moved above. Aithusa suddenly opened her maw and a jet of flames soared down towards them. Merlin quickly stood, raising both hands above his head, palms up.

"Scildan!" Merlin roared, his shield barely forming fast enough to stop the fire from hitting. His sleeves began to chare until a secondary shield suddenly formed just below his, keeping the rest of the fire at bay. The jet of flame suddenly stopped and Kilgharrah wheeled back up into the sky. Merlin sat back down while sending Mordred a mental thanks.

"You need to try and reach her," the words sounded harsh in his own mind but Merlin knew Kilgharrah spoke out of desperation.

"Mordred, focus on defending us. I need to try and reach for Aithusa." Merlin knew Mordred got the message when another shield was constructed as a blast of green energy shot towards them from above. Closing his eyes, Merlin quickly found the withered chain. Forcing his way along the connection, he pushed back against the barrier that formed along its surface.

"Emrys…" the name nearly broke Merlin's focus. The voice was so young and childlike in tone and it hit Merlin that he had never heard Aithusa speak, even through mind speech.

"…black…dark" Merlin could feel the dark energy around the connection, could feel it pushing as he surged deeper and deeper. Though it was all internal, he felt himself nearly suffocating within the power that radiated around his soul. Suddenly, a barely visible white light shone through the dark energy but before his soul could reach and touch it, a sudden blast of energy expelled him. His eyes snapped open as it felt as if he got punched in the gut. Gasping for breath, he looked up to see Arthur and Leon standing over him with looks of mirroring horror that was quickly replaced by relief.

"What…" his mouth felt dry as though he had just removed a ton of moth balls. Before he could even think the rest of his question, two hands gripped his shoulders and hoisted him up onto his feet.

"Never do that again!" Arthur's harsh voice said to his right. Blinking, he turned to look at Leon to avoid Arthur's angry face.

"You just fell from Kilgharrah," Leon said, and had Merlin not been leaning on the man, he would have missed the shaking of both Leon's voice and body. A moment passed before he understood.

"I…Wha…" he head snapped up to see Kilgharrah still battling Aithusa. "How… how did I…"

"Luckily, Hookfang was nearby," Arthur said, his tone calmer again after taking a deep breath. Arthur gestured with his free hand to the left and Merlin caught sight of Hookfang sending out a jet of flames through the East courtyard gate.

"What about Mordred?" Merlin said as he regained his balance.

"Kilgharrah managed to catch him," Leon said, eyes still focused on the dragon fight above. Merlin looked back towards Hookfang to see Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan standing at the ready behind the red dragon, swords at the ready for any stragglers who made it through the blazing heat. Regaining his breathe, he pushed away from his two holders.

"We need to stop Aithusa," Merlin said out loud for Arthur and Leon's benefit but focused on projecting it to Kilgharrah and Mordred. "I can almost reach her when I was next to her but Morgana was able to push me back out."

"A physical connection would make whatever the Witch did stronger. If you can remove the witch from her back…" Merlin looked over at Snotlout who had just landed nearby via Barf and Belch. The twins, having literally dropped Snotlout to the ground in a heap, high fived before promptly returning to the sky. Ignoring Arthur's call of his name, Merlin ran towards the fallen Viking.

"I need a lift," he called as Snotlout was returning to his feet. The shorter man suddenly swung out with his axe. Merlin managed to duck out of the way while giving a silent thanks to Arthur for their previous 'training' sessions. Gasping, Snotlout quickly dropped the weapon to his side as he noticed who he nearly decapitated. Snotlout went to apologize only for Merlin to hurriedly repeat his statement. Snotlout turned towards the East entrance and gave a single nod.

"Hey! Hookfang! Merlin needs a lift!" Snotlout shouted over the fighting on the otherside of the wall and the roaring fire. Hookfang blinked and closed his mouth, swinging his head around and nearly hitting the much taller Percival with it as it swung by. The dragon looked at its rider, then looked over his shoulder to Merlin. Suddenly, Hookfang stormed pass Snotlout, nearly sending the Viking to the ground. The fire almost immediately subsided and Merlin had a moment to watch the Knights begin to take up fights with the incoming Saxons when a massive red body took up his vision. Without thinking, Merlin put his hand out. Barely a moment passed before a snout was pushed into his palm. Grinning widely, he began to move to the sadle when he noticed a large jagged line across the dragons side. Running his hand gently along the body, he felt his hand touch a sticky wet substance. As he pulled his hand back, he felt the dragon tense and shudder. His hand was red and slick with a deep red crimson. Growling under his breathe, he was about to put his hand out to try and heal Hookfang when an actual growl met his ears. Looking over his shoulder, he came face to snout with the red dragon. Merlin felt a presence in the back of his head again, much like when he had first met Hookfang on Berk. He watched as the dragon's eyes narrowed and though he knew the dragon was trying to convey something, Merlin could not understand. After a moment, the dragon snorted in what Merlin could only describe as annoyance. Hookfang's eyes flickered to his own side, where the injury was, followed by a curt jerk of his head toward the sky. Merlin realized that the nudge in his head was a feeling of urgency.

"Are you sure?" Merlin hedged. "I could try and heal..." Hookfang roughly shook his head. Merlin sighed and quickly moved around and pulled himself towards the sadle. "Fine, but afterwards you are letting me look at it," he stated and got only a sense of feeble acceptance as the presence in his mind vanished. "After you," he said before taking off into the air.

The ascent took mere moments. Once in the air, he took a moment to survey the surrounding woods. The catapults were all destroyed, which left the warriors to finally take to the streets of the city. Knights and Saxons were fighting all through the lower town and up to the gates of the castle's courtyard. Turning Hookfang, he addressed his own problem. Kilgharrah and Aithusa were hovering over the south side of the Castle, hundreds of feet above the forest at a stalemate. With the dark cloud cover and distance, he could just make out Mordred's outline on the back of Kilgharrah and Morgana's form perched on the White dragon's back. The two continued to circle each other in the air. Flashes of light spread through the air only to dissipate against a blue shield.

"So what's the plan?" A voice called out from behind. Merlin turned his head as more wing beats reached his ears. Toothless appeared hovering on his left while Stormfly appeared on his right.

"We need to get Morgana off Aithusa's back…" Another strike, this time the attack a mix of Morgana's powerful fire magic and Aithusa's own fire, which quickly shattered Mordred's shield. The young Warlock had to quickly throw up another one but not before Kilgharrah lost more altitude. "…And quickly. I don't think Mordred can fend Morgana off much longer."

"Leave that to us." Hiccup said.

"What about the dragon hunters?"

"The twins are distracting them right now," Astrid added, gesturing behind them. Merlin could just make out a large shape moving back and forth across the forest's edge, diving down before flying back up again. A sudden flash of fire told him the twins were probably enjoying it a bit to much. "We made sure to tell them not to burn the whole forest down," Astrid added with a smirk, which didn't lower Merlin's unease.

"The twins can handle it for a little while. Now, for Morgana; think you can cause a distraction?"

"Me? Distract Morgana? Give me a harder job why don't you," Merlin grinned at Hiccup before telling Hookfang to move. Merlin was glad he could speak telepathically as the nuances of how the dragon riders communicate with their dragons was still lost on him. He had Hookfang bank to Morgana's left before surging forward and placing himself directly between Kilgharrah and Aithusa.

"Well," the voice carried clearly over the distance, filled with a sweet tone laced with venom. "If it isn't Merlin. Strange seeing you, and on such a creature," the smile she directed was not pleasant. It hit him that she probably knew, given the circumstances.

"I should have told you…" he tried, cautiously as he baited for time. Not knowing exactly what she knew but figuring it would anger her all the same.

"You should have done many things!" She thundered, Aithusa losing a small bit of height in altitude in a brief moment of unease.

"I know… but I had…"

"You had to protect Arthur, Uther's son!"

"Arthur is needed. For anything to happen…" Before he could finish his sentence, a scream rang through the air and a blast of fire burst from Aithusa's direction. Merlin had a moment to think about whether it had been solely Morgana who had released the attack before Hookfang opened his own maw. The attacks hit each other dead on, trying to gain strength but both at a stalemate. Suddenly, Morgana jerked forward, as a flash of blue moved around Morgana's back. Stormfly wheeled around from behind Aithusa, flinging her spiked tail at Morgana's back as she went. Morgana's own attack halted as she physically turned on the dragon to address the threat. With only Aithusa's flame to contend with, Merlin began to raise his hand, hoping to help his scaly comrade when a sudden ballistic noise rent the air. Looking up, Merlin just caught the sight of Toothless in mid dive as the dragon's mouth began to shine with a deep purple light. As Toothless suddenly pulled up, Merlin noted that he was riderless. Toothless let loose his attack only for Morgana to scream out one of her own. As the purple energy hit Morgana's flame, it ignited into a blast of fire. Jolted by the sudden blast, Aithusa dropped, Morgana almost falling from the dragon's back but holding on with a single hand. Before Merlin had a chance to blink, Toothless fell into another dive pass the falling Aithusa. Leathery wings flapped, once, twice, before Hiccup appeared out of the dark clouds, barreling into the side of Morgana as a second scream was stolen from her lungs. Dragon, rider, and witch began each their own free fall. Without another thought, Merlin urged Hookfang into a dive of his own. As his own mount began to fall, Merlin frantically called to Kilgharrah.

"Aithusa!" As he and Hookfang shot passed the struggling white dragon, he felt Kilgharrah's precence surge up from behind as he and Hookfang gained speed on the falling Morgana. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hiccup aiming for the falling Toothless ahead of him while Merlin reached down, nearly able to grab Morgana's hand. For a moment, the fear in her face hit his heart and he watched as her hand slowly reached out to grab his, only for her face to suddenly steal over. She pulled back and her hand fell out of his grasp. Hookfang suddenly pulled out of his own dive as Morgana disappeared into the trees of the forest below. Merlin's hand slowly closed into a fist before another roar pierced his ears. Turning, he saw Kilgharrah and Aithusa again in a stalemate. Merlin quickly closed his eyes. He felt for the connection again and quickly found the small white, blackened chain that connected him to Aithusa. He forced himself along it, towards the barely visible white light at its end before pushing against the barrier.

"Emrys…help…" he pushed one last time, drawing upon his own magic and felt the roar fill his ears and soul as the barrier cracked and slowly began to shatter. He suddenly found himself surrounded in white light, opening his soul to the energy around him, his magic surged forward and he felt, rather than saw, the dark spots shrivel from the light. As he pulled back a moment later, he was met with silence. Opening his eyes, he looked towards where he could feel Kilgharrah and now Aithusa. The white dragon, whose teeth were barred, suddenly blinked and shook her head. Looking up, her clear blue eyes met that of the Great Dragon before turning to face Merlin. Her eyes widened before her head dropped.

"No time for self-loathing, young one. We have work to do," The Great Dragon said. Though his tone was hard, Merlin could just hear a hint of fondness from the ancient beast. The White dragon, though not meeting his gaze, did not hesitate to follow as Kilgharrah turned towards the North woods and the stationed army.

Merlin looked down towards the woods, as if to catch sight of Morgana. He watched as a black shape surged up from the forest, its powerful wing beats quickly launching it back into the safety of the black clouds. Shaking his head, he told Hookfang to return to the fray. As they neared the edge of the lower town, Merlin could just make out a volley of arrows aimed at Barf and Belch. The two headed dragon was swerving back and forth over the remaining forces as Stormfly and Toothless finally caught up to regain the fight. Barf and Belch suddenly jerked mid air before beginning to fall to the ground. Kilgharrah's massive size suddenly loomed over the North woods and without hesitation, caught the much smaller, flailing dragon in his massive claws. Banking to the right, the Great Dragon swerved towards the Castle courtyard with his charges. Merlin allowed a brief smile as Aithusa released a fiery breathe to protect Astrid's back from a nearing arrow. Looking at the white dragon, he thought he saw the outline of a person on her back but shook himself once more when he realized it was a trick of the mind. The fight seemed to be diminishing and he could hear the call of the Knights below as they began to take back the lower town. Turning Hookfang towards the courtyard where he figured Snotlout still remained, Merlin only had a moment to think: who was Kilgharrah really talking to in that moment?