A/N: Getting started is hard. It took me forever to figure out how to open this chapter, but once I got going… well, my fingers are kind of sore now. We're almost to the end! This chapter is, I think, the climax of the entire story. I hope to goodness that it makes sense, and doesn't feel out of place.

Welp, here we go!

Tramping through the woods for a few hours in the dark of night would've been unpleasant regardless of circumstances. Being forced to do so under threat by Morgana, then, was doubly unpleasant. Neither king nor manservant had said much on the trek so far. Morgana was actually the first to speak.

"I take it the journal was informative, was it?"

Arthur jumped, and looked at Merlin before answering. "I can't say. I didn't read it."

"So it was Emrys, then."

"Yes," Arthur told her.

"Does he still have it?"

"No, he left it in Camelot."

"Good," Morgana smiled. "The delay might give us time to get there in time."

Merlin didn't like the sound of that. "In time?" He asked. Morgana tossed him a mock innocent look.

"Well, we don't want them to get started without us, would we?" She turned back around so they could only hear the smirk in her voice. "We'd end up missing all the fun."

Emrys was sweating. He'd weakened his magic once or twice, and had even spent enough times in those damned dampening cuffs to know what it felt like to be powerless. But never once had he faced Morgana le Fey without magic. Never once had he lost complete control in the face of such darkness. And yet, here he was now, powerless, without the slightest idea of what the hell was going on.

"Come along, then," Morgana herded them both down the stone halls, which were beginning to look more and more like they'd been hewn by human hands instead of nature, "best get started before it starts to get… testy." She glanced at the staff she still held, and it gave a slight sizzle, as if the magic inside was just itching to get out.

The narrow hallway opened up into a huge, tall cavern that glowed with crystals of varying sizes. They weren't natural, Merlin realized. They were spaced evenly along the walls with intentionality - sconces. Morgana stepped forward into the cavern, leaving her captives behind. She looked up at one wall, the tallest of the room, which was incredibly smooth and unblemished in comparison to the bumpy waves of stalagmites and natural furrows that covered the rest of the room.

"What is this place?" Arthur asked quietly. Morgana turned.

"Did you read Eornan's journal?" She asked smugly. Arthur shook his head.

"I did," Merlin told her, the pieces slowly clicking together. He looked around the room, noting how the floor sloped down and smoothed as it neared the tall wall, and how it was the most well-lit part of the cave. His eyes caught on a small raised pedestal near to where Morgana was standing, and the circular well that sunk in the middle. "The lock, I take it," he said, eyes flashing in the dim lighting to look up at Morgana.

"And the key," Morgana said, glancing at the staff meaningfully. "You haven't lost your touch, Emrys. Now, give me the journal, and we can get started."

Merlin pressed his lips together. "I don't have it," he said.

"You what?"

"I don't have it. It's in Camelot." He said. Then, feeling a rush of cheekiness that might've been compensating for his missing magic, added, "Oh, did you forget to grab it on your way out? I didn't know you'd be needing it, I was a bit busy being kidnapped."

She glared at him. "Kidnapping is the least of your worries, Emrys," She marched up to him until they were standing nose to nose. Arthur was watched wide-eyed but silent, more or less helpless to do anything at this point. "Now, I happen to know that of all the people in this world, Emrys, you have a remarkably stubborn memory that doesn't like to forget much. So tell me, what exactly did Eornan say about this place?"

Merlin was taking great pains to straight ahead, anywhere but at her. "It is the place where he hid the secrets of time travel. He believed that they were too dangerous to leave in his journal, so took the final pages and hid them in a place where no one could find them, except the one who possessed enough power to use time travel properly."

"Very good," Morgana said, and brought the elder staff between them, sizzling with energy as it was. "And what of this, then?"

"A key. To unlock what he hid here. The knowledge of time travel."

Morgana began to smile, and then, she laughed. Behind the two sorcerers, Arthur would frown at the sound. It was nothing he recognized, not at all the laugh he'd enjoyed growing up. It was the first time he'd feel real sadness over Morgana. It wouldn't be the last.

"And to think I resented you for tagging along in my little quest. You've done it again, Emrys. Meddling in affairs that aren't your business. But this time, you're done playing the hero. This time, you'll help me be Queen."

BANG! It was the sound of door clanging shut. Merlin and Arthur both jumped, but Morgana only turned. She listened attentively as several set of footsteps echoed down the hallway. Hastily, she waved her hand across her face and a black veil fell into place, obscuring her features.

"My lady," the Young Morgana's voice called as she came into the large cavern, "I was able to capture the time-traveling Arthur and his idiot servant at the rim of the forest."

"Ah, good," Le Fey told her. Prince Arthur frowned, because she was using a different tone than before, more high-and-mighty than when she'd been talking to Merlin and Arthur. He looked between Le Fey's veil and the Young Morgana's face, and his frown turned into a look of astonishment and hurt when he realized: Morgana didn't know. She didn't know that she'd been working for her older self this entire time. Le Fey's voice snapped through his thoughts, "were they alone?"

"They sent their party on a wild chase to the west, milady. They won't even think of looking for us until at least dawn. Even then, they will have no way to find us." She looked proud.

"Good." Le Fey waved a hand, and Morgana pushed Young Merlin and King Arthur forward until they were lined up shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts. "Now. Time for the show to begin." She brought the staff forward once again, waved it in front of Emrys' face tauntingly, and then turned with it toward the pedestal. It hissed with electric anticipation, and she held it aloft right over the welled pedestal. A loud hum grew in the room, and she let go. The staff floated mid-air atop the lock, and slowly sunk into place as the humming grew louder.

The noise in the room grew and gathered at an ear-deafening pitch, and blue-white bolts branched out around the staff like lightning. At last, the light and the sounds halted all at once. For a split second, all of them froze. They took a breath. In. Out. In.

And then, the world exploded again.

The smooth wall in front of them erupted into color, a dancing pool of blue and gold. Everyone had their eyes turned away, everyone except Emrys and Le Fey, who simultaneously realized what had just happened.

"A portal," Emrys breathed.

"A portal," Le Fey spat, and spun around, looking. "No! Where are the notes?" She looked all around the pedestal, across the bare room. "Where are the secrets to time and space? He said-"

"Nothing, actually." Emrys interrupted her calmly.

"What?" She rounded on him.

"Eoran never said anything about hiding the rest of his journal. He merely said he'd hidden the secrets. This, it seems," He gestured up at the yawning portal in front of them, "is his answer."

"The secret of time travel," she spun around to the portal again. "A portal…" She stared at it, then slowly, stepped forward, extending her hand out towards it. For a horrible moment, Merlin thought she was actually going to step through, but she pulled away suddenly. "No, I think not. Not me." She turned suddenly, and although they couldn't see her eyes past the veil, Emrys knew that she was looking at him.

"Getting lost in time wouldn't help me in the slightest. You, on the other hand, have served your purpose." She raised a hand and beckoned him forward. After a heartbeat, he stepped down towards her.

"No, Merlin – please, take me instead," Younger Merlin stepped forward. King Arthur grabbed an arm to hold him back. Emrys sent his younger self a thankful smile where Morgana couldn't see, but his eyes told him to stay.

"You'll get your chance, Merlin, don't you worry, you just can't go first. If I were to lose the younger to the jaws of time and space, then the older would perish with you. But if I first sacrifice the elder," her eyes turned to Emrys, "I have at least two tries to get it wrong." None of them felt better about it for the fact. Emrys could hear her smiling, and imagined her to have that crazed look in her eyes when she said, "Go on, then. I have an appointment to change destiny," she said. Merlin glared at her. Not if I change it first, he said, eyeing Younger Morgana, who was making a show of being stoic off in one corner.

Merlin cast a last glance at his younger self. He was utterly without magic. Whatever awaited him on the other side of the portal, he would be defenseless. Worst come to worst, his younger self would be responsible for getting Arthur to safety. He need to make sure the younger Merlin understood this. He nodded, and slowly, fearfully, Young Merlin nodded back.

Resolving himself, Emrys turned around, stepped up to the portal, and, ignoring the sudden protests from Prince Arthur, stepped through.

If Merlin had had a year to compile a list of what he might expect a portal through time to be like, or of any possible destinations, he would have never, ever come up with this.

The portal itself was a little under-stated for its imposing size an appearance. Stepping through wasn't entirely unpleasant- a little weightlessness, a pause, and then it was like stumbling through a curtained doorway into pure white that melted away to form the scene of…

…A cabin. A very messy cabin, that smelled of hickory and spices, and dust and… was that a barricade in the center of the room? Taking a tenuous step forward, Merlin surveyed the massive wooden table that'd been set up on its side and the variety of miss-matched chairs thrown around to support it. He'd expected to feel sick in some way after falling through the vastness of time and space, but he felt fine as he stepped forward. His boot heels thudded on the floorboards, loud in a room devoid of sound save for the lonely clock ticking away in a corner. He came to a stop some feet in front of the odd barricade when he saw a trembling sword tip emerge over the top.

Then, hair. Messy hair. Eyebrows. Eyes.

"AH!" The man yelped, and leaped back behind his barricade. Merlin blinked, utterly nonplussed. "Whoever you are, whatever century you're from, I swear I'll help you, just please don't get hasty and blast me to bits!"

"Um," Merlin would later wish he'd come up with something more momentous to say upon entering an unknown time, "Eoran?"

The eyes poked back up over the barricade, and then a round nose, and then a hand that pushed a mop of brown hair back from his face. It looked even more wild for the effort. "Um. No. Well, I mean, yes, I know who that… that is, you must've found his journal to come here, but no, I'm not him." The man stood, and he was a lanky, disheveled person, short and wiry with a presence that made Merlin look like an emperor. He hauled up the sword he'd been brandishing.

"S-s-sorry about the uh, the sword," He said, hand trembling too much to sheath it in less than three tries, "your portal appearing there gave me quite a fright." He chuckled uneasily, and Merlin turned to see where he'd just come from. The portal was smaller on the wall of the house, but just the same colors as before. He turned back around as the rather shaken man was climbing past his barricade.

"When I set that thing up last week, I never expected anyone to come through so soon. If I may ask, are you from, very… very far into the future?"

"That depends," Merlin said, and the man looked just slightly thrilled to hear this time traveler speak. "What year is it, now?"

"The year two-hundred and ninty-six," He said. Merlin's eyebrows rose. "And, eh… when are you from?"

He blinked. "Five hundred and twenty-four," he said.

The other man looked a bit pale. "Five hundred and… oh my stars…" he trailed off.

"Well, I mean, that's when I was when I came here. I'm actually from a bit further forward – Five hundred and thirty-nine, I've had a bit of a mix up and… are you alright?" He looked to the other man.

"Yes, yes, fine, fine, I'm… fine." He was covering his mouth and trying very hard not to smile. "It's only… two and a half centuries. You're from two and a half centuries from now. That's really quite something, isn't it?"

"Have you not travelled through time before?" Merlin asked with a frown.

"What? Oh, of course I have. But I always choose where I go, don't I? This, this is entirely new. I don't know who you are, or why you're here, or what you've been up to, and… oh, oh dear." He frowned. "I haven't introduced myself, have I? How rude of me. Sorry." He stepped forward and extended a hand. He was still shaking a bit. "My name is Earnan Golcar."

Merlin's face cleared into recognition, and he couldn't help but to smile back. Earnan. Eoran's younger brother. You brother talked about you quite a bit, did you know? He took Earnan's hand warmly. "It's an honor, Earnan. My name is Merlin."

"Merlin! Nice to meet you, do they name many people after birds in the future? Oh, gracious, did I say that out loud? Sorry. But eh, if I may ask, your name is Merlin… Merlin What, exactly?"

Merlin opened his mouth, stopped, and eyed Earnan. He was a druid, wasn't he? Did they have prophecies like that back in this century? This could be interesting. "Emrys. Merlin Emrys."

Apparently they did already have those prophecies, because if Earnan was pale before, he looked fit to faint now.

"Emrys…" He squeaked, and blinked. "Why not. Emrys. Of course. Emrys, in my house. Well, we've had enough momentous surprises today, why not make it an utter gobsmack? It is a true honor, Sir," he said, reaching to shake Merlin's hand again.

"Please, just Merlin," Emrys smiled.

Earnan eyed him and smiled. "Merlin, then. Um, care to tell me what you're doing here? That is, you obviously found my brother's journal, but what is it that drew you to come here – that is, to the cave, to find me?"

Merlin drew a breath, and sighed it out again. "You don't suppose we might sit down somewhere for a bit? This… will definitely take a while."

Earnan smiled, like the idea was an utter treat. "Please," he said, waving a hand. His eyes flashed and at once, the table and chairs barricade became a neatly-set dining area. "I'll put the kettle on."

Merlin wasn't sure how long it'd taken to explain everything to Earnan, but they'd finished an entire teapot and a plate of biscuits by the time he reached the point in the story when he'd walked through the portal.

Drawn out of his initial surprise by hours of conversation, Earnan was listening with rapt attention, frowning at some of the details of Merlin's tale. At long last, he bit into another biscuit and leaned back in his chair. Merlin sighed, and the two sat in silence for a few moments, recovering from everything they'd said and heard.

"That is quite a mess you have there," Earnan said.

"Mmm. What I don't understand is, how did Morgana manage it? Time travel, that is. She traveled fifteen years into the past without consulting any of your brothers' studies. Is that possible?"

"Possible? Oh, yes." Earnan told him. "But at a gruesome price, I'd wager. I try not to dabble into anything involving the dark arts, so I know very little, but Eoran always said there was a dark version of every magick under the sun. Time travel surely has such parallels. If this Morgana is as far gone as you say, it is probable she bartered with the dark forces of the world to cheat through time. It's an unhealthy way to travel, of course, which is why you were injured for tagging along. Speaking of, how are you feeling these days?"

Merlin shrugged. "I was fine, but I'm afraid I spoiled that again a few days ago. No magic to speak of."

"Hmm. I may be able to help you with that, but we'll get to that later. I understand, your main goal at the moment is to get home, is it not?"

"Without letting Morgana tamper with time, yes."

"Oh," Earnan scoffed, standing, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's just a matter of figuring out how. Which, obviously, you will." He took the dirty cups they'd been using and took them to the kitchen.

Merlin wasn't exactly sure what he'd meant by that, but chose to ignore it. "So, what do you think we should do?"

"Well, go back in there and kick out the dark magic, of course. This is your story to live out."

He wasn't sure what Earnan had meant by that, either. "I'm not sure I can," he said. Earnan gave him an evaluating look.

"Where did you find a key, Merlin?"

"I made it."

"With your magic."

"With the magic of the Crystal Cave."

"It's the same thing, you know."

And Merlin actually did know, but he blushed because those kinds of lofty thoughts embarrassed him.

"Your magic is not gone, you see, it just needs a little kick-start." Earnan stood again, and stepped over to the mantel piece above the fireplace. "Here," he said, turning and handing a bundle of something to Merlin. "This is what my brother used to open the first successful time-space portal. I still use it for the same purpose. It contains powerful magic."

Yes it certainly did, because Merlin could feel it already through the cloth. He unwrapped it, and an unassuming rock fell into his hand. It was incredibly heavy. "What is it?"

"A moonstone. A meteorite, to the more science-y folk. A piece of another world." Earnan was looking at it fondly. "I do wish I could visit such worlds."

"Maybe you will, someday…" Merlin trailed, his voice fading off when he touched the rock. It was like warmth flooding into an ice storm, seeping life into his cold bones. Earnan was smiling at him.

"You just hold on to that for now, alright? You'll feel better in no time. Now," Earnan sunk back into his chair, "once you get back to the cave, the first thing you'll need to do is take that staff of yours out of the lock. It should come easily enough for you, that little fellow there will give you enough energy to override the forces holding it," Earnan pointed to the meteorite, "That will reset the portal. After that, it's up to you to keep this Morgana in check, subdue her, if possible. You'll want to take her back to her time as well, obviously. Then…" He sighed. "You'll want to leave as soon as you can. It's for the better of everyone. I have something you'll need for that." He stood and left the room. When he came back, he held something in his hand.

He spread it out on the table. It was a small piece of paper. "This is the spell that makes the portal take it where you want to go."

Merlin peered over at it and touched the corner reverently to read it. He frowned. "But it's in two parts," He said, shaking his head. "This one's a transportation spell, but the first bit is…"

"A memory spell," Earnan said, and he sounded sad. "Yes, yes it is." Merlin looked up at him.

"To make them forget," he realized out loud.

"Yes."

And suddenly, not remembering made sense. But… after all that had happened, after all they'd said and done… it hurt. "But… why?"

Earnan looked down for a moment. "It's something I had to come up with on my own." He looked back up. "You never asked why Eoran isn't here, you know. Not that I really blame you for not noticing. It's a small detail amongst it all, of course."

Merlin was almost afraid to ask. "No, I didn't. …Why isn't he here?"

Earnan sighed. "Years ago, when my brother finally achieved time travel for the first time, it was completely uncharted territory. We explored it together, and had fun with it. We interacted with people centuries beyond our lifetimes," Gaius, Merlin thought to himself. "And we never had any problems sinking back to our time with no one the wiser. For the first several years, we would travel together, to the far future and the far past, but never too close to home. Eventually, Eoran demanded to go on more trips, and I grew exhausted from the travelling. I let him go on his own." He paused, and looked into nothing for a moment before continuing. "He'd grown bored with the far-off times. He began travelling nearer to our own lives. I'm not sure where all he'd gone when he stumbled upon it. He'd been spying on himself and me, for the fun of it. He never told me about it. And I'm not sure how far into the future he got, but sometime, he traveled to the time when I will die."

Merlin couldn't help it when he tensed up.

"I don't know when it is, or how," Earnan said, fiddling with his fingers, "But my brother came back a changed person after that. I'd never seen him so determined about anything, not even time travel. He grew obsessed with the idea of changing the future, of making sure I didn't die that day. When he wasn't travelling, he would watch me like I was already dead.

"The trips he took after that were part of a long and painful revelation: it is impossible to change the past. Or the future. Things must be as they have always been, and will be. Some things are bound to fate. Destined, if you will."

Merlin was staring at him, blood pulsing through his head condemningly. Morgana, his heartbeat chanted at him, Morgana, Morgana, you failed her, you failed her, again, again. He didn't want Earnan to see that there were tears coming into his eyes. "Destiny…" He said with bitterness in his voice. "But… how do you know? How do you know it can't be changed?"

"Because he tried. Good god, did Eoran try. He must've travelled hundreds of times, and it never helped. He didn't like telling me about it, but I know he always failed to save my life. It drove him mad – completely, utterly mad. He'd grown so obsessed with saving me in the future, he forgot how to love me while I'm still around. And in doing so, he lost me sooner, because he withdrew himself from everything but my impending death." Earnan looked away. "He's in the madhouse, now. Looked after. Cared for. His mumblings don't mean anything anymore." Earnan paused again, and his face no longer looked like an accomplished magician, only like a sad little brother who had never really stopped mourning. "He doesn't recognize me when I go to see him." Eventually, he looked back over at Merlin and said, very quietly, "Bad things happen to those who meddle with time, Merlin."

Merlin stared, heart dropping steadily to his feet. He sank back in his chair.

"That is why I made the memory spell to attach to the portal's magic. The portal itself pushes magic through all of space at a particular time – all encompassing, so you don't end up with just a patch of the future or past, you get the whole world of a particular time. The memory spell uses this burst of power as a booster. It's simple, but potent. Just specify a time frame, and it will fix the memories of everyone in the world to forget you were ever here."

Forget. Merlin was staring off into space. He was angry. Was this it, then? All of this? All of this pain, and puzzling, and agony over changing things, and then not changing things, and then wanting to change things for Morgana, and all the talking with Young Merlin and Prince Arthur… and now, it just all went away for good, and was supposed to be alright with that?

He shook his head. "Then…. Why?" He asked, angrily. "Why bother? Why is time travel even possible? If I'm just supposed to make everyone forget, if I'm just supposed to… to leave, then why on earth is time travel even possible? No. No, I can't just… I can't abandon her again, I-" He realized what he'd said and stopped, biting his lips. Earnan was looking at him gently.

"You found something that you wanted to change?"

"My biggest regret," Emrys said pathetically from where his eyes were trained on the table. Earnan reached across and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

"But why?" Merlin insisted again, voice breaking, unable to meet the other man's eyes.

"I said this spell fixes the memories of those it touches. I never said I knew exactly how." When Merlin looked up at him with an utterly bewildered look, he smiled a bit. "I did say it was a simple spell, didn't I? It affects everyone a little differently, I suspect. We can't change things about the past or the future, not really. But even when we do our best to make it easy for everyone – stay out of sight, erase memories, remove all trace of our presence, there is a part of the world that neither space nor time nor magic can touch." He reached out and planted his index finger against Merlin's chest, right at the end of his sternum, to the part of his core that ached for the loss of Morgana. "Just here," He said. "There is a hidden something in the world, in all of us, that answers to something far greater." He withdrew his hand. "And I'm not sure how it works, and I'm not sure I ever will be, but even time travel has its purpose in destiny. Even if we can't change the events of history, I believe we can change… something."

Merlin was frowning. "What?" He asked, afraid to raise his voice above a whisper.

"I'm not sure," Earnan straightened up. "But I'll let you know if I ever find out."

Merlin let out a humorless laugh, and dropped his head into his hands. It was a long silence before either of them spoke again.

"I'm surprised she hasn't sent the younger me in after by now," Merlin said, his voice a bit raw.

Earnan actually laughed. "Of course not," he tapped a finger to his nose. "Time travel, you see. I pre-spelled that portal to bring you here with the intention of having a good sit-down with anyone who stumbled through with the intention to go time-travelling. A safety brief, if you will. But, I figured I didn't want to steel any time away from you for the inconvenience, so I made sure it's a non-parallel time-link."

"A what?"

"Basically, when you pop off through that door, you'll end up in the cave just a few minutes after you came in."

Merlin stared. His eyebrows rose. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Headache? Yeah. Sorry. It is rather confusing, now that I think of it. Now, come on," He gently pried Merlin up out of his seat. "I'll take this back, if you don't mind," He took his meteorite back and put it in a pocket. "And here," He pressed the folded page of spells into Merlin's hand, and carefully closed his hand around it. "Use it wisely with that staff of yours." He looked into Merlin's eyes and nodded. "You may not be able to change anything, Merlin, at least, not in the way you want to. But you can do good by what's right in front of you. You understand?" Hesitantly, Merlin nodded back. Earnan smiled. "Good man." He patted Merlin's hand. "Now, go on." He sniffed, and nudged Merlin to the portal.

"Don't lose those spells, or I shan't ever forgive you. Memory one first, transportation second. Give a time frame for the memory one, and a date for the transportation one. To pinpoint the second, draw on your memories, focus on being there. It'll make the landing softer."

"Right," Merlin said, somewhat numbly. He wiggled his fingers, and felt his magic sing back to him. It was fainter than normal, but there.

"It's been a true honor to meet you, Merlin Emrys. I should've liked to get to know you better."

"Well, who knows?" Merlin put on a smile. "Maybe someday you will." Earnan laughed and nodded, and Merlin smiled back, genuine this time. "Thank you, Earnan."

"Good luck."

Merlin turned away toward the portal, taking a deep breath. Could he do what he had to do? Would his magic be strong enough? Was all of this really worth it?

"Oh, and Merlin?"

He turned.

"You'll be fighting a Dark Magic when you get back, Dark Magic that's stolen my brother's hard-earned research. Do me a favor?"

"…Yes?"

Earnan smirked. "Kick its ass for me."

Merlin gave him a small smile. "I'll do my best." He disappeared through the doorway and the portal closed behind him.

Alone in his cabin, Earnan sniffed and patted the meteorite in his pocket. "Five hundred and thirty-nine," He mused to himself.

A/N: WOW. This chapter is freaking LONG. The story is just shy of 5,000, and with the A/Ns it's even longer.

Time travel is a really complicated thing, and I hope I've done it at least a little bit of justice in this story. I've been asked if I'm using the Back To the Future model or the Prisoner of Azkaban model or the Doctor Who model, and truth is, I wasn't really thinking of any one of them in particular when I was writing this, but if any, mind is closest to Prisoner of Azkaban, because it is honestly the most logical structure of time travel out there. Still, I'm hoping I've put my own spin on things.

Only one more proper chapter left, and then the epilogue, which I've already written.

Hope y'all have enjoyed this chapter! We're almost done!

P.S. After proof-reading this, I started getting some serious Nazi-in-Raiders of the Lost Ark vibes from Morgana in the first half. Y'all will have to tell me if you agree on that one or not.