Chapter 11: Merlin
In the darkness of night, a battle was brewing. In the royal gardens behind the castle in Camelot three powerful groups emerged with the goal of freeing Merlin and defeating the other two. The first group was from Storybrooke. Glinda, David, Hook, Taj, Rafi, Mr. Gold, Will Scarlet, and Anastasia stood in front of the tree in which Merlin was imprisoned. They were holding two of the dragon swords (red and yellow), which had the power to free Merlin. However, they were opposed by King Arthur and his knights who were standing across from them. To the left of them were Zelena and the magical people under her control: The Dark One (Emma Swan), Jafar, and Merida. The three groups stood in a triangle formation.
"Emma!" David and Hook yelled at the same time.
"She's not the Savior anymore." Zelena said. "When I'm done with her, you won't recognize her. Her heart will be so black that nothing will ever bring her back to the light."
"Don't do this Zelena." Glinda said.
"There's nothing else for me to do." Zelena said.
"Emma." Hook said. "You can fight this. Come back to us."
"I can't." Emma said. "I want to, but I can't. It's the dagger."
"Isn't magic fun?" Zelena said with a smirk.
David quickly grabbed the yellow sword out of Rafi's hands and aimed it at the Wicked Witch.
"I'm not afraid to use this." David said.
"You don't know how to use it." Zelena said. "You don't have magic."
"I do." Taj said as he grabbed the yellow sword from David's hands. "I have the power of the gods. My power is already greater than yours and the Dark One's. Now just imagine what I could do with this."
"Let's all keep our heads here." Arthur said.
Suddenly, a bright flash of yellow light appeared in the center of the triangle. Its glow illuminated the area under the black sky. When the glow disappeared, it was replaced by a young woman with brown hair and golden armor. She was holding a bow and wearing a pack on her back that contained dozens of golden arrows. This woman was a goddess. Artemis had finally finished her hunt. She turned to Jafar.
"I am the goddess Artemis." She said. "I was sent by Zeus to capture the dark sorcerer Jafar and bring him to Olympus to face justice for the murder of Poseidon."
Taj and Rafi suddenly both got very nervous. They had killed Hades, Zeus' other brother. Were they being hunted by the gods as well?
"No." Zelena defiantly said. "I'm using him."
"It is unwise to defy the will of the gods." Artemis said. "I'll tell you again. Hand him over."
"No." Zelena said.
"Leave!" Arthur said. "I command you all to leave my castle at once. Knights! Arrest them."
Artemis then turned towards Arthur and waved her arm. Instantly, Arthur and his Knights fell to the ground asleep.
"Now that they're out of the way, let's get back to business." Artemis said as she drew and arrow, locked it in her bow, and aimed it at Zelena.
"Don't hurt Emma." Hook said.
Artemis turned to see who was talking. She was surprised to find her cousins Taj and Rafi, who were also wanted on Olympus as criminals.
"Taj and Rafi." Artemis said. "How did you escape Ares and Athena?"
"What?" Rafi asked.
"My father wants you both to face justice as well for the murder of Hades." Artemis said.
"We're not going anywhere." Taj said.
"I will be leaving this place soon." Artemis said. "When I do, I'm taking Jafar, Taj, and Rafi with me. The only question is whether we do this the easy way or the hard way."
Will Scarlet knew that none of them could fight a full fledged goddess like Artemis. Even Emma wasn't powerful enough to do that, but maybe there was someone who was. The myths described his power as god-like and he was undoubtedly the most powerful wizard who ever lived. He was also the only one who knew how to get the darkness out of Emma. So, Will took the red sword that he was holding and stabbed it into the large tree next to him. Once he did, the entire tree started to glow bright red.
"What's happening?" Merida asked.
"It's Merlin." Jafar said. "He's coming."
Suddenly, the tree disappeared in a red light and was replaced by a young man with dark skin and golden robes. Merlin had finally returned.
