Chapter thirteen
Merlin smiled through his tears at the remark. Even though he felt far from sure about what he had to do he admired Ianto's determination and leap of faith. For the younger man to become immortal while he knew what it meant showed that he believed in the same values. Humanity and especially those with magic were to live another day because he stepped up to take over from Merlin.
Handing Arthur the phone Merlin nodded to his father. "My choice is made. This is how it must be."
Balinor smiled his approval. "As long as you believe in it you are doing the right thing, my son." Merlin saw his image flicker, which made him understand that his father was called back to the spirit world. "I am proud of you", came the final words as Balinor faded away.
"Goodbye father", Merlin whispered into the air, afraid that it would be the last time they were ever reunited. With effort he gathered himself together before he wiped his tears away. Making up his mind to wait no longer he turned to Arthur and Gwaine.
"This isn't goodbye", Gwaine said while he pulled him into a tight hug. "I refuse to believe it is all over." Letting go with clear reluctance the former knight stepped back to make room for Arthur.
"So do I", Arthur smiled as he gave him an awkward clap on his back. "We will not let go of you that easy, old friend."
Grinning at the nickname Arthur insisted on using since he had come to this time Merlin pulled him in for a hug. With a wordless gesture he told Gwaine to join in, and to his happiness the former knight hurried to do as told. "You two are the best companions I could have on any quest. Watch each other's backs after I am gone", Merlin said before he pulled back to walk further into the cave to be among the crystals.
"Is that phone still working?" He asked as he stood between the brightest and largest crystals.
Arthur met his eyes, unafraid for once to show his tears. "It is. Good luck, Merlin. We will see you on the other side."
The refusal to say goodbye was still there Merlin noted and he could only smile at the sign of friendship it was. "I can't make that promise for this is not without risk", he warned. Holding up his hand to stop Gwaine from taking another step towards him Merlin shook his head with an upset sigh. He needed to get on with it, or he'd loose his nerves altogether and there was no way that he could let it happen.
Taking a calming breath he spoke up loud enough so that the others listening in on the phone would hear him too, "Everyone, the time is now. Be ready for the wave of magic. Martha, have your people launch the missiles in about half a minute."
"I will, Martha out." Her short answer told him that she was already on her way to make it happen. In a few more moments they would know if the vaccine worked.
"We are ready too", Gary's distant voice came on his mind. "Good luck, Emrys." His words were simple, but Merlin heard the worry laced in his voice.
"Thank you", he answered just as direct in his mind's voice, while he conveyed all of his emotions of thanks for the druid's quiet presence throughout the day.
"Merlin… I don't know what to say", Gwen faltered.
Merlin smiled when Jack took over in his unique forward style. "It has been an honour, Warlock. This world owes you one huge favour. Well, at the very least a full month's worth of sleep I say." The Captain grinned before he continued, "Let us save the world and be done for today. Coffee at the Hub in the morning. I will see you all there."
Shaking his head at the Captain's words Merlin looked at his two best friends for one final time. There were no words he could think of to tell them how he truly felt about them in his last few minutes. Everything he wanted to say would hurt too much and so he simply nodded before he turned away from them in regret of all the years they were parted. Merlin took a deep breath to calm down his feelings. It didn't quite work, but he wasted no more time and shutting down his turbulent thoughts he began to concentrate on the power of the crystals.
Merlin felt his magic rejoice at the connection with the crystals. Merging together they burned brighter than ever before in his long life. The thrill of the power rushed to his head, but Merlin pushed the exhilaration back down. This was not for himself, none of it would be of any use to him. Sadness filled his heart while he pushed on to gather all the magic he could feel around him. It rushed in his veins, brighter and brighter until finally he reached the point where he knew he had to let it go and spread out across the world.
Still Merlin held on, because it wasn't time just yet. The power of the cave and his immortal presence as the one to guard it needed to be handed down. His blood also ran in the veins of another human being. His only great grandson still alive, who had the gift and determination to take it on. Ianto… where was he? Merlin sought the Pen-y-Fan in his mind and the single stone cairn standing just below the top. There it was, the top of the barren hill and the two men who sat shivering in the cold wind.
"Ianto", he whispered and he felt a confused presence receive the call. Too tired for more words Merlin touched the young soul's mind to hand down the duty he had never taken lightly. He knew it was done when he felt Ianto fall to his knees in acceptance.
Letting go of the image in his mind Merlin opened his eyes, though his golden eyes saw nothing but bright white light. "Albion's hour of need… it ends here", the words fell from his lips before he could even stop them. He was unaware of how his words echoed inside the cave and even through the sky via the mobile phone Arthur was still gripping too firm in his hand. Tears fell from his friends' eyes, but he could not see this either. Nor did he hear Ianto's shout of pain as the added magic rushed inside him like a flash flood.
All awareness of life around him faded as Merlin released every fibre of his magic and that of the crystals onto the world in one powerful wave of golden light. Yet each time it touched another awake being with the gift of magic somewhere in the world he felt them touch his mind as they pushed his power to heal onwards. Their belief and presence encouraged him to keep it up, even though he sensed that he was slowly falling into darkness himself. "Please, let it end", his exhausted mind screamed at him in pain while he pushed it to the limit to ensure they covered every mile of the planet. He ignored the scream until the point where it all became too much and he felt forced to let go…
Above the world in a sharp contrast to any sort of warmth Zamira rose from her throne to stare out of the window in stunned confusion. A strange golden glow erupted like a cloud in the dark sky. Her nanites protested at the sight, as if they knew what was going on before she could even begin to form a thought on the strange phenomena. Was this a normal thing for the planet, or had humanity made a final stand after all? No, it couldn't be… could it?
Angered she turned to a nearby soldier. "Find out what's going on", the order was followed by the woman in question pushing the button of her communications device.
A soldier who had beamed down to the surface answered, panic and confusion in her voice, "The humans. They are waking up, commander. Women, men and children alike they have all opened their eyes. I can no longer sense their nanites. Commander, what should we do?"
Zamira narrowed her eyes in growing anger. "Beam them back up here. Then send down the cubes for a second wave of nanites. Hurry!" Her order was met with soldiers jumping into action and secondary orders shouted across the bridge.
Waiting for anything to happen Zamira watched them work for a while. Less than a minute passed before the soldiers turned to her with looks of utter confusion. "Empress, the cubes… they will not launch", one said while another added, "The particle gun went down and it is failing to re-engage."
A third talked into a communications device and after she was done she turned to Zamira shaking her head. "The other ships report the same failures…" Her voice faltered at the end when the empress shouted out her frustration.
"No! How can this be? Who let this happen?" Zamira's questions were met with bowed heads and looks of defeat. "Alright, that is it. We will have to win this war the old fashioned way. Ready the weapon platforms on all ships. If this planet will not bow it will have to be destroyed." Her voice was cold as she sneered out her final orders.
Jack was glad to have solid ground below his feet again. Standing in the snow with Ephram at his side he shook his head at the unusual sight in front of him. Not only was he blinking into the sunlight he also found himself staring at an infamous building with a roof that seemed to be made out of white shell formed shapes. "I am in Sydney?" Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance. Man, this was going to be a long flight home…
Putting the phone back to his ear Jack heard someone sniffle. Was it Arthur?
"Wait… we must not disturb him." Gwaine sounded sad and reluctant.
"But Gwaine, he's in pain…"
The two men's upset voices faded before Jack could ask what was going on. The words formed on his lips, but the sight in front of him made him stop from speaking. Across the water of the harbour a wave of gold, spiralled swirls came crashing towards him. They were barely visible in the sunlight, but Jack knew what they were the instant he saw them appear.
Ianto had once tried to explain what it was like when Merlin healed him from the cube virus. None of it made any sense though, that was until now. Swirls of beautiful golden dust glimmered in the air as they blew forwards rapidly. One touched Jack on the cheek and he felt its warmth spread through his body. Smiling he watched it move on. In the corner of his eyes he saw how higher up in the air a missile exploded. The vaccine!
Jack let his eyes fall upon a family lying asleep in the for Australia foreign snow. The father of three was the first to blink open his eyes. Startled he sat up to shake his wife awake. The red haired woman with freckles smiled widely at her husband, though she was equally as confused to why they were lying on the street. Their kids' laughter soon announced that they were awake as well. They jumped up and down, while the girl began to shout, "Mummy… snow."
Jack grinned when he saw her run off, closely followed by her two older brothers. "Be careful", the mother shouted after them as she brushed the rapidly melting snow from her bare arms. Of course, Jack realised, it was the middle of summer now on the southern hemisphere.
One by one the awake people of Sydney stared up to the sky. "Crikey, what is going on?" A man shouted in a heavy Australian dialect. Some women began to panic and they ran off. Others people looked wary and nervous, but they were too intrigued to go just yet. Jack looked up into the sky with them, awaiting the Zoganian's next move.
The not quite unexpected series of loud explosions told Jack all he needed to know. His decision to give the Zoganians only one chance at retreat had proven to be the right one. The cold hearted soldiers had aimed their weapons and they were now paying the price for their war faring nature.
As the ship above him shattered to pieces Jack saw the shock in Ephram's eyes before he fell to the ground with a groan of pain. Jack knelt at the former slave's side and grimaced at the lack of life there. The nanites had killed the man they'd owned for the years they turned him into a slave. It seemed they were set too deep in his being for him to be cured by the magic enhanced vaccine. Well, at least Ephram had died in freedom; Jack tried to warn himself off on any other emotions he felt rise. All the same he walked away from the scene with pain on his far too scarred heart.
Gwen stared at her computer screen while she listened to the confused chatter of her friends coming over the phone. All along the last few hours she'd logged onto the cctv of the Hub and stared at the spaceship threatening her home town and the husband she was forced to leave behind on the couch. She kept wishing that her team would be successful, even though she had her doubts. She worked hard to get the network up and to keep her friends connected. All the running around in the small hospital room kept her mind busy; without it she would have sat down in despair some hours ago.
The calming presence of Gabriel at her side was part of what kept her going. In some ways he was a bit old fashioned, but in other ways he knew a lot of modern technology. With ease he helped her set up the network. They talked for a while about his pregnant wife and the boy they took into their home, because his birthparents were afraid of his gift. He spoke of magic with passion and she smiled at the beauty of it. Ianto had been right all along to trust in it, she thought as she saw Gabriel's love and warmth. Slowly she began to believe Merlin would beat the odds.
Then came the twist in what Merlin felt forced to do. Her heart fell at the deep dread she picked up on in his voice. When she heard his goodbyes to his friends she almost felt like an intruder. Their friendship ran so deep it was almost as if it was somehow more than that. "It is their shared destiny", Gabriel had explained how it was written down in the ancient druid prophecies. Even so Gwen could see in his eyes that he too felt uneasy at the big ask of the three men.
When Ianto spoke up for himself and he offered Merlin a way to maybe walk away alive Gwen felt her heart swell in pride. Of course Jack complained, because he had seen so much in his far too long life… but still she could hear the barely hidden longing in his voice to no longer be alone. It was why she intervened and she knew Martha had picked up on it too.
In the tense moments which followed Gwen watched as Cardiff Bay got lit up in a golden light, chasing the darkness of night away for a handful of seconds. As the gold left the air a missile exploded above England, or so Martha reported with a shout of "yes!". When the first citizen awoke and others followed in his a wake Gwen laughed away the tension as she whooped at the sight. "Merlin… you did it. It is working, people are waking up."
Silence was her only answer on the telephone. As the people around the world awoke her friends connected through the network fell silent. What was going on out there? "Jack, Ianto, Arthur, Martha… anyone? Please, let me know if you are alive."
While to her astonishment the spaceship above Cardiff shattered to pieces Ianto began to speak. "It is done…", the words sounded solemn. His teeth chattered as he continued, "We can't stay up here for much longer, so we are about to walk back down."
A second passed when Martha and Jack started speaking at once, "I am still here. We are done. All missiles were launched successfully. The vaccine has spread."
"The world is safe", Jack repeated the words he spoke at the same time as Martha. "The Zoganians have made their choice. I am coming back home now", he sounded far more tired than he would ever admit. Between his words Gwen heard a hollow sadness as well.
"You blew up the ships, didn't you?" The lack of answer to her question rang loud and clear.
On the other end of the line she heard Martha sigh before she said, "It needed to be done Jack. These aliens had no mercy and we would have never beaten them any other way. I am sorry that you were the only one up there…"
Before the captain could react a torn voice shouted over the network, "Merlin!" There was a rush of footsteps as the phone thudded to the ground.
It was a wonder it still worked, Gwen noted when she heard unintelligible voices in the distance. They all listened, waiting for someone to pick up the now damaged phone. Worried Gwen started pacing as she listened to Jack mumble under his breath, "Let him live." Sharing his prayer she stared at the computer, urging it to bring forth any of the three men's voices.
When finally Gwaine picked it up her frayed nerves shattered. "We need help here, a healer, or druid… whatever."
His unsure, heartbroken voice faltered before Arthur took over. "Send a healer to the beginning of the hidden path. We will get Merlin there. I doubt any doctor of this time can help. Send someone with ancient knowledge, someone who knows of healing magic. He asked for Gary as he collapsed. Get him too, if you can." The line went dead in the trust Gwen and Torchwood would come through for him.
A quiet voice at Gwen's side offered, "I can help him. Take me there." Gwen looked up into Gabriel's blue grey eyes and saw the calm worry there make place for determination. "I am both a magical healer and a doctor. If anyone can help Emrys…"
Gwen wasted no more time. Her headset fell to the ground as she grabbed her coat and ran out of the door, closely followed by her druid helper.