Last and final chapter! Thank you so much to all of you who have followed/reviewed this. A massive thank you to Bee for being an awesome beta again, despite the trouble we had with this story!

Hope you like the last chapter!

"…good, now put in the time. No, not there... DON'T TOUCH THAT! This one here, you put in the numbers there, you see…"

"What are they doing?" Morgana glanced quizzically at Merlin. The warlock looked around from the mirror where he was still trying to get soot off his face and grinned. The new house was even better than the old, bigger and more adept to their needs.

"Percival has decided that it is time Arthur knew how to use the oven without the risk of blowing everything up. I think he has been on edge ever since the fire, especially as we still aren't sure how it started."

"Actually…"

Merlin turned completely at the sheepish tone in Morgana's voice, frowning at her when she didn't seem to want to meet his gaze.

"Morgana…" One could only hear the warning note in Merlin's voice when they were listening for it. It didn't seem to matter that they were on the same side in this lifetime, Morgana was the one person who reacted to that warning. She knew what Merlin could do; she knew what he would do in order to protect those he cared about. Merlin also knew that she was fully aware that if she gave them any reason to doubt whose side she was on, they would cast her out before she could so much as protest. She had caused too much damage in the past for them to take any risksnow.

She blushed slightly at Merlin's stare and Merlin forced himself to soften it slightly. "I think I might have started it," she eventually admitted, her voice soft and low.

Merlin blinked at her, trying to think back to the events of that day. It was almost a month ago now. The return flight from Tracy Island had been one of the most harrowing and hilarious Merlin thought he had ever been on. Arthur had been distracted when they had sneaked over there, there were other dangers to keep his mind off the fact they were flying. But with Gordon happily chatting away about nothing in particular, the ex-king had been utterly terrified over the fact they were suspended in the air with absolutely nothing between them and the ground apart from a lot of space. Of course, in true Arthur-style, he hadn't admitted how scared he had been and just had taken to snapping at everyone who could hear him, including an amused Virgil when Gordon made contact to check weather conditions.

It was harder to say who had been more relieved when they had finally touched down again, although Merlin had believed Arthur's fists were never going to unclench again.

But after a night's sleep, Merlin knew that Arthur was beginning to take his new responsibility seriously. He still hadn't spoken about what the sword had made him feel when he had first held it and Merlin knew not to push. He knew that Arthur would come clean eventually and until that happened, nothing would make the stubborn man open up about why he believed he'd come back from Avalon. Even with Arthur keeping quiet, though, Merlin knew he had agreed to a plan in order to try and help International Rescue.

Naturally, they had told their friends almost immediately. Their words were met with doubt and suspicion considering the secrecy that surrounded the rescue organisation, but eventually they managed to get them to believe that they truly had been on the island and they now had a duty to try and help out. Merlin had taken Morgana to one side, the pair talking quietly for hours about her dreams and how she might be able to channel them in order to identify potential rescues that Merlin and Arthur could handleto take some of the load off the Tracys. Merlin knew they were never going to be able to do much, they didn't have the mobility to get around in the same way, but there were still some things they can deal with. They could still help.

But two days after that, a cheque had arrived in the post. Arthur had almost fallen over when Merlin had explained in Camelot terms how much it was worth, but they both knew who it was from. It was enough for them to buy some equipment themselves, albeit it only the basic things that they could buy from the local shops. They had made themselves known to the local emergency services as a starting point and spent out on any supplies they needed. By the time they were done, Merlin knew they were as well-prepared and connected as they were ever going to be. Percival had offered some training about the best ways to tackle fires (although Merlin was sure he was really hoping it would teach Arthur how to handle electrics safely) and the rest of the team had joined in when they realised what was going on.

Between them, they had a wide enough skill set to cover some of the basics that might be needed to help out. After spending so long walking the earth alone, Merlin had forgotten the thrill of learning something new, but he did draw the line when Gwaine offered to teach them how to defend themselves. Arthur's eyes might have lit up, but Merlin knew how attached to his sword the man had become since they had brought it home with them. The last thing that he wanted was for Arthur to learn how to use a gun. Merlin had a feeling their problems would have only just been beginning if that was the case.

But despite being set up and ready to go, they still had the issue of knowing where they needed to be and actually managing to get there in time to help. For the first few days, they had come skidding onto the scene in Gwaine's car just as the Thunderbirds were leaving, and Merlin had been able to sense how frustrated Arthur was that they weren't managing to make a difference at all. They would have made it if Gwaine and Percival hadn't decided to argue about which route was quickest and cost them precious time trying to get there. International Rescue had clearly heard the calls continuing to come in and realised they were needed after all.

Then Morgana's magic had grown stronger again. Merlin had spent night after night sitting by her side, helping her to channel the visions until she could focus on what they needed rather than meaningless images that helped them in no way. The first time they managed to control a fire that the emergency services couldn't get a hold on – Merlin knew they were never going to admit that they were using magic to control a blazeand if Arthur had taken this long to be comfortable with the use of magic, then what would the rest of the world be like? – it had been a feeling of success, a feeling of purpose. Merlin had almost watched the weight lift off Arthur's shoulders as they managed to actually make a difference and Merlin knew it had something to do with whatever it was that had caused Arthur's return. He just hoped the man would come clean and admit what that was any day now; Merlin had never been the most patient of people.

But right now, Merlin moved across the room and sat down next to Morgana. They had just got back from another fire, and Merlin was beginning to feel like they were finally getting the hang of working together in order to not only deal with the incident, but make sure that no one was asking too many questions about how they were able to do it when others weren't. The magic helped, but Merlin couldn't do it all by himself, he needed the others. They tended to be enough of a distraction for no one to see his eyes flaring gold. After all, he had gone through one lifetime hiding his magic, why should it be so different this time? But with Percival distracting Arthur in the kitchen, Merlin knew that Morgana had been waiting until it was just the two of them to explain about the fire; he could see it in her face.

"How would you have been able to start it? You were right there with us."

Morgana studied the floor for a moment before taking a deep breath and meeting Merlin's eyes.

"We were talking about Excalibur, weren't we? We were talking about something from our past. My magic had only just been beginning to come back again and I felt it react to the fact we were all talking about our past lives. You remember how I think I started a blaze the first time I found out I had magic? I think I might have done that again. Then as we panicked trying to get out, the magic lost control and started more fires."

Merlin had to admit, that made sense. They had made the most of their new contacts in order to try and establish precisely what had happened that day, but nothing had been revealed. There had been no one near the house, nothing had been found to show that the fire had been started maliciously and Merlin knew he had sensed something magical that day. But what scared him was how strong Morgana's magic had been. He hadn't been able to douse the flames; he had only just been able to stop them all from being killed.

Some of his thoughts must have shown on his face, for Morgana leant forward and clutched at his arm.

"I didn't mean to, I swear, it just happened, I…"

"You saw Excalibur being stolen?"

Morgana snapped her mouth shut and nodded. Merlin could see the question in her eyes, though. Arthur had assumed that what she had seen had been when Scott had taken hold of the sword. She hadn't been able to describe the person in her vision, so they had all taken it in the same way she had; someone stealing the sword rather than someone helping to get it back to them. Merlin frowned, thinking hard.

"I think your magic was trying to force the dream to come true. If you hadn't have seen it, we wouldn't have gone and Arthur wouldn't have got it back. Your magic hasn't been that strong since and I don't think it is going to be again. But I think it knew what mine didn't and knew that destiny needed a helping hand this time."

Morgana didn't respond, but Merlin wasn't surprised. She had never really had a destiny in the same way, just prophecies predicting who would be her downfall. Seeing that she still looked worried even as he stood up, Merlin squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Thank you. If we hadn't got it back and it had somehow revealed itself to them, there would be no telling what would have happened." Merlin wasn't going to admit that he didn't think the sword would have revealed itself if they hadn't been there, but his words still did the trick and Morgana relaxed.

"Who's happening when?"

Merlin turned to see Arthur walking into the room, looking pleased with himself. The warlock's eyes slid behind him to where Percival was following and he could only just bite back a laugh. To say that the man looked exasperated was an understatement and Merlin was sure he wasn't imaging the slightly singed look to his clothes. It didn't matter how many lifetimes Arthur lived, Merlin had a feeling he would never be able to operate anything in the kitchen. If he was honest, Merlin wouldn't put it past Arthur to be doing it on purpose just so he never had to cook. But right now, his attention was distracted by the way Arthur was looking at him so expectantly. Cursing the fact that he had managed to maintain his kingly stare and make Merlin feel like he had to respond, the warlock proceeded to explain what they had just been talking about. Arthur looked thoughtful, for once seeming to agree with Merlin's idea that Morgana's magic was trying to force events into taking place.

"Are you going to tell us why you are back yet?" Aiming for a casual tone, Merlin knew it had been lost as Arthur shot him an amused look. His every attempt to find out why Arthur had returned had resulted in less subtlety every time and now he sounded nothing short of rude. To his surprise, Arthur smiled.

"I suppose it is about time you found out."

"You'll tell us? Really? What is it? What do we have to do? Where do we need to go? It's to do with the sword, isn't it..?"

"Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

Merlin suddenly realised that he hadn't exactly been giving Arthur a chance to explain why he was back. He blushed and fell silent, but just as Arthur opened his mouth, the phone rang.

All four of them glanced at each other for a moment. To Merlin's surprise, Arthur was the first to get up. He moved across the room and picked up the phone, staring at it in concentration for a long moment before hitting a button. Merlin snorted in amusement when he heard that Arthur had managed to put it straight onto the loudspeaker, but then scrambled up himself when he heard Scott's voice through the phone.

"We need your help."

The rest of the phone call was lost on Merlin as Percival took the phone and began jotting down information about where they needed to be. Morgana looked apologetic that her dream hadn't picked up on this particular rescue, but Merlin grabbed Arthur's arm.

"Why, Arthur? Why are you back?" A few more seconds wasn't going to make any difference to when they arrived at the scene, especially since Percival was still on the phone. Now Arthur had said that he was going to actually tell them, Merlin was making sure the moment was not lost. He needed to know, for without knowing why Arthur was back, he had no idea what he was supposed to be working towards himself.

"This," Arthur said simply, tilting his head towards the phone.

That was not the answer Merlin had been expecting and there was only one thing he could say to it.

"Huh?"

"The sword showed me something," Arthur continued, his voice soft even as he watched Percival taking down notes. "It showed me a world being consumed by flames and water. It was dark, Merlin, everything was dark and the only thing I could hear was screaming. But then we appeared. We came through the flames, and the Tracys were with us. I think this is what I came back for. This world is being torn apart right now, and its saviours are struggling to find the strength to keep saving. We can change that, we can help them. I think that is why I'm back. We're going to save the world, Merlin."

As Arthur walked off in order to get himself ready for whatever rescue it was that they were about to be sent on, Merlin found himself grinning. He had thought his destiny had pressed down on him enough when he had been helping Arthur become the Once and Future King.

Now, apparently, he had to help him save the world.

Merlin felt his grin widen as he took off after Arthur, not wanting the man to even attempt to drive the car himself. He had never done things the easy way up until now.

Why should Arthur's return make that any different?