Again, I apologise for the lengthy time in updating. Life kinda got in the way but as I have said before I fully intend to finish this story. Thank you all for being so patient and welcome to everyone who has Followed and Favourited in that time. :) I do appreciate it.

Slightly shorter chapter but very much an important one. Just a note that in this chapter I have referred to Lancelot rather than Aramis. This was because with the direction of the chapter I felt the character was leaning more towards the Lancelot side. I hope that it isn't confusing.

I hope you enjoy it. :)

Chapter Twenty – The Reason

'What are you doing here Lancelot?' Merlin asked slightly testily after the shock the knight had given him. He had forgotten how well Lancelot knew him.

'Waiting for you,' Lancelot smiled back in his chainmail with his sword at his hip as he stepped into the light. 'You're going to ask the dragon, aren't you?'

'I have no choice,' Merlin said as he opened the door that led outside. 'Go back.'

Lancelot merely smiled and walked through the door as well.

'Go back,' Merlin said more insistently. 'You can't abandon your friends.'

'I'm not abandoning them and I reckon they'll be far safer than we will,' for the first time since his return Merlin saw the true Lancelot staring back at him. It seemed that Aramis and Lancelot were truly the same person deep down. Aramis may be louder, more open and have significantly more facial hair but Merlin could see the emotional depth of the men was the same.

'It's going to be dangerous,' Merlin said earnestly and received a smirk in return.

'Well I didn't think it would be a leisurely walk considering that we have to get past the army in the woods so that you can call the dragon and keep your skill as a dragonlord secret,' Lancelot retorted. 'Oh, and we have to make it back to the castle unobserved and before anyone realises we were missing,' he added.

'We always embraced a challenge,' Merlin grinned.

'Yes, and most of them nearly got us killed,' Lancelot retorted as the men started making their way along the castle wall checking where Alined's troops were likely to be in the forest. They travelled for about a mile or so before the light from the campfires of Alined's men were no longer visible.

'This has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever done,' Lancelot mumbled.

'Really?' Merlin raised his eyebrows.

'I said 'one of' not the stupidest, not 'the' stupidest,' Lancelot smirked.

'Well you don't have to be here so you can go back,' Merlin said haughtily hoping to rile his friend slightly.

'Who would look after you?' Lancelot cocked his head to the side with a smirk.

'You mean I'll be looking after you,' Merlin smirked back.

'Whatever you say,' Lancelot sighed. 'Move.'

The warlock and the knight moved stealthily through the forest. In the distance they could see the lit campfires and the occasional shadow of the men that sat around them. They listened and could only hear the sound of voices as the men talked in cheerful moods. Thankfully, it appeared that no dogs had caught the scent of the intruders and they quietly made their way to the meadow that Merlin had used on many occasions to seek the council of the dragon.

'Drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd hup anankes!' Merlin called as he looked up to sky.

'So he can hear you anytime and anywhere?' Lancelot asked with slight bewilderment.

'Yes,' Merlin smiled. 'Although, it depends how far away he is for his time to arrive.'

'How many times have you done this?' Lancelot asked curiously.

'More than I can count,' Merlin said as they retreated to the trees so they couldn't be seen standing in the open.

'And Arthur has no idea?'

'None.' Merlin replied as he ducked his head slightly.

'He's King now. Surely you can tell him?' Lancelot's tone wasn't accusing, merely suggestive.

'How?' Merlin answered sounding lost. 'How can I tell him that I have lied to him for all these years?'

'Arthur is stubborn and rarely acknowledges he's wrong but he's not a fool,' Lancelot replied earnestly.

Merlin gave a derisive snort, 'Really?'

'He's bound to be angry but he will see the truth in time,' Lancelot assured his friend.

'I will. I just need to find the right time,' Merlin said trying to end the conversation.

'Don't leave it too late,' Lancelot recognised that Merlin wasn't about to continue this track but he realised his friend had heard him.

The sound of flapping wings floated across the meadow and a large flying shadow appeared in the distance. Within moments Kilgharrah settled himself down in the meadow as Merlin and Lancelot walked out to greet him.

Arthur was trying to understand what he should do next. He couldn't hand Camelot over to Alined but Gaius had no way of defeating the phoenix. Just to make matters worse, Merlin had disappeared and nobody seemed to know where he was. Arthur even had Gwaine check the tavern!

Arthur decided that Lancelot would likely know as Merlin was closest to the knight. Lancelot's death had hit Merlin hard but there were definitely secrets that those two kept for each other. Secrets that Arthur would love to know but realised he probably never would.

Arthur knocked on Lancelot's door and received no answer. He knocked again and still the same. Arthur quietly opened the door to find the room empty but he soon realised Lancelot's chainmail and sword were gone.

'Problem?' D'Artagnan's voice made Arthur jump and both men laughed at his reaction.

'Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you,' D'Artagnan apologised.

'No, it's alright,' Arthur waved away the apology. 'Do you have any idea where Lance-, I mean Aramis, is?'

'No,' D'Artagnan looked around the empty room as if Aramis would appear from thin air. 'He came back with us but I haven't been out of my room since. We can check with the others.'

They knocked on Athos' door and he told them, like D'Artagnan, that he hadn't seen Aramis. Porthos said the same.

'This is ridiculous!' Arthur exclaimed. 'Where are they?' Leon and the knight's came around the corner just as Arthur was venting his frustration.

'We've checked the whole castle,' Leon announced.

'They're not here,' Percival sighed.

'Then where the hell are they?!' Arthur roared to no-one in particular.

'I hope they haven't done anything stupid,' Elyan said quietly with concern in his voice.

'Let's hope they're alright,' Gwaine muttered.

'Alright?' Arthur turned on Gwaine. 'If they are now they won't be when I've finished with them!' Arthur stormed off leaving the knights sharing exasperated glances while the musketeers looked slightly shocked at the turn of events.

'This has happened before, I take it?' Athos asked the knights but clearly he already knew the answer.

'Yes,' Gwaine sighed. 'Merlin disappears, quite a lot actually.'

'And often Lancelot disappeared with him,' Percival finished Gwaine's thought.

'Those two were incredibly close,' Elyan said with a sigh.

'It seems that nothing has changed,' Leon said with a glint of amusement.

'Or maybe, when it comes to helping a friend,' Athos started.

'Aramis isn't much different than Lancelot,' Porthos finished.

'Let's hope they're ok,' D'Artagnan reiterated Gwaine's thought. 'But this is Aramis...'

Worried looks passed all around as an unhealthy, nervous feeling developed in their stomachs.

'You know why I've called you,' Merlin stated as the dragon eyed him beadily.

'Yes,' Kilgharrah replied. 'You need to know how to defeat the phoenix that is under the control of Trickler.'

'You know how, don't you?' Lancelot asked.

'I do, but no magic can help you here,' the dragons stated calmly.

'What?!' Merlin exclaimed. 'There must be something! I cannot let Camelot burn!'

'Sometimes you do not listen, young warlock,' the dragon chastised quietly. 'The solution to this problem is a magic as old as the earth itself, therefore even your great power cannot penetrate it. It is the power of life and death. The phoenix is reborn from its own ashes in cycle that never ends. As you and I are kin, the phoenix can only be brought out of Trickler's spell by its own kin.'

'We need another phoenix?' Merlin asked looking confusedly at the dragon.

'No,' Lancelot's voice penetrated Merlin's thoughts and the attention of both the dragon and Merlin turned to him. 'You need someone who has died and lived again. That is why I'm here.' Lancelot looked to the dragon who slowly nodded.

'Only you know the feelings of being born again,' the dragon said with his focus on Lancelot. 'The phoenix is a creature of emotion. Love, hate, desire, rage and those feelings are ever present. It cannot exert control as humans can as it does not possess the will to do so. That is why Trickler can control it as it is unable to fight back.'

'How do I stop it?' Lancelot asked.

'Be warned there will be a price to pay,' Kilgharrah said seriously.

'If it saves Camelot I will pay it gladly,' Lancelot replied earnestly making Kilgharrah smirk.

'Again you have proven you are the bravest and noblest of them all,' the dragon said warmly. 'You do not even know the price and you are already willing to pay it.'

Lancelot looked slightly abashed and Merlin shrugged as if to say, 'I told you so'.

'What do I need to do?' Lancelot asked.

'As Merlin and I share the bond of kinship, you must do the same with the phoenix,' the dragon stated. 'You and you alone know the emotions of living again and you must use those emotions to reach out to the phoenix.'

'How?'

'You must talk to it,' Kilgharrah said simply. 'Tell it how you felt when you realised you had lived before. The phoenix will respond with your connected emotions and eventually will come to you. You must touch for the bond to be secured. Then you will control the phoenix and you can stop its attack.'

'That's it?' Lancelot asked with a sigh.

'What's the catch?' Merlin asked as Lancelot realised he had forgotten about the 'price to pay'.

'The phoenix is pure emotion,' the dragon explained. 'The bond works both ways. Your ability to control your emotions is shared with the phoenix allowing it to make decisions and control its own emotions. However, in doing so it will transfer its slavery to emotion making it harder for you to control yours. This will last for eternity and every life you and the phoenix may live. You must consider the effects of responding to emotion with a reduced will to control it.'

'You mean that when I return with the musketeers I will still be bound to the phoenix?' Lancelot asked.

'Yes.'

'I was brought here to stop the phoenix. I cannot return until the phoenix is tamed, can I?'

'No,' the dragon replied simply.

'Then I have no choice,' Lancelot gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. 'Camelot must be saved. Besides, humans are able to learn more restraint and I will have my brothers to help me.'

'I wish you luck, young knight,' the dragon said as he spread his wings. 'Remember that you can control your emotions but you will feel all emotions more powerfully than before. You must take heed so that your emotions do not cause you to find trouble.' The dragon flew into the air leaving Merlin and Lancelot to watch after him.

'No pressure,' Merlin smirked.

'I'm beginning to understand how you constantly feel,' Lancelot shot back with his own smirk.

'Should we go and look for 'im?' Porthos asked Athos and D'Artagnan. They had congregated in Athos' room after the knights had returned to their own rooms.

'Where would we start?' Athos asked as he rubbed his forehead.

'We don't know the area well enough,' D'Artagnan agreed.

'They must have gone to the dragon,' Porthos said and the other two nodded.

'But we can't mention that to anyone as it would expose Merlin,' D'Artagnan sighed as he rested his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

'We have to hope that they know what they're doing,' Athos leant back in his chair. 'Aramis is rather skilled with a broadsword, thanks to his past as Lancelot, and Merlin is surely powerful enough to defend them if need be.'

'So we just wait?' Porthos asked with his concern for Aramis evident.

'It's all we can do,' Athos said with an air of hopelessness.

'Well, at least I now know the reason why I was brought back,' Lancelot said with fake cheeriness.

'It's not exactly a good thing,' Merlin said sullenly.

'You're saying you're not happy to see me?' Lancelot raised an eyebrow.

'No,' Merlin huffed. 'Merely that I'm aware that as Aramis you are already far more in tune with your emotions. Lancelot was never as ...'

'Frivolous?' Lancelot suggested.

'Well, yes,' Merlin agreed. 'Controlling our emotions is what makes us human and you'd be giving a part of yourself away.'

'True,' Lancelot sighed. 'Aramis is far more likely to respond to his emotions and combining with the phoenix will only make that worse. But I do have friends that can keep me in check.'

'Will that be enough though?' Merlin looked worried. 'Defeating the phoenix is one thing but trading your control is another.'

'You heard Kilgharrah, we both know I have no choice,' Lancelot reached out and gave Merlin's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. 'I can't get my friends my friends back to where they belong unless I do this. They don't belong here.'

Lancelot speeded up and walked ahead of Merlin who was trying to decipher what was wrong with Lancelot's last words.

They moved quietly through the trees but soon realised that they were closer to Alined's camp than they thought. They would have to be extra careful.

'This is dangerous,' Lancelot whispered.

'We just need to get far enough away,' Merlin mumbled.

The continued to sift their way through the trees until they finally managed to find their bearings and headed towards the castle.

'That was close,' Merlin said with an unsteady breath.

'Too close,' Lancelot shook his head and he took some deep breaths.

'Close enough for yer,' came a voice from behind them making their blood run cold.

A/N: I will update this when I get a chance. Thank you for your patience. :)