A/N: Thank you GuestM, Buckhunter, PadrePedro, and pallysAramisRios for reviewing!
Chapter 10
Merlin stood on the sidelines of the training field next to Arthur, both of them watching Lancelot. He'd finally come out to join them and was currently showing the others some of the hand-to-hand combat styles he'd learned in his afterlife, taking care to go slowly and not actually demonstrate on anyone. Gwaine made a comment about it looking goofy; Elyan purposefully tripped him with a move he'd just learned and then he and Percival guffawed at the boisterous knight's expense. Merlin smiled. It was just like old times.
There were still several knights who kept their distance and watched Lancelot with open mistrust. But they were also of the same ilk who hadn't approved of commoners joining the ranks in the first place, so their behavior wasn't anything new. Merlin just hoped they'd fall in line and stay there.
"King Arthur!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing as Leon hastened across the grounds, freshly back from patrol.
Arthur immediately went to meet him halfway. "What is it?"
Leon was out of breath, like he'd run straight from the courtyard. "We went to check on outlying villages as you ordered. We found…"
Arthur clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Take your time."
Leon shook his head and barreled on between heavy breaths. "The people were terrified. They said their dead had climbed up out of their graves. We saw the disturbed grave sites for ourselves with the bodies missing. And it was every village. We followed the trail…" Leon's throat bobbed. "They were all headed to Camlann."
Merlin tensed and shared a taut look with Lancelot. Camlann was a mass grave site after Lancelot had returned and defeated Morgana's army. If the dead were rising…
"We were afraid to get too close," Leon confessed. "But we saw them—an army of the dead coming in from all directions, not just those who fell at Camlann." He took in another shuddering breath. "And Morgana was there."
Merlin felt a chill of foreboding run up his spine.
"Then she is likely planning her next assault on Camelot," Arthur said gravely. "We must ride out and meet her before her army can reach the city and surrounding villages."
"An army of the dead," Gwaine put in. "How are we supposed to fight against that?"
Arthur looked grim. "I don't know, but we will nonetheless. Muster the knights!" he ordered.
Everyone started hurrying away from the training ground, but Lancelot snagged Merlin's arm and pulled him aside.
"Your time has come, Merlin," he said in a low voice.
Merlin grimaced; he thought Lancelot might say that.
"I will be at your side," his friend promised.
Gwaine and Percival hung back and made their way over.
"You two have a plan?" Gwaine asked.
Lancelot nodded. "Merlin. Or I should say Emrys."
"You're asking me to go up against Morgana in front of everyone," he hissed. "In front of Arthur."
"Morgana knows who you are now," Lancelot pointed out. "If you do not reveal yourself, she may do it for you. And we cannot allow her to continue making attacks against Camelot. Her quest for vengeance and power has nearly broken the world; it's time to stop her once and for all."
Merlin knew he was right, but it still made his stomach cramp with dread. All these years he'd managed to remain hidden, managed to protect Arthur and Camelot without giving himself away. Now all that was about to change, and he didn't know what would happen after.
Gwaine clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, mate, we've got your back."
"I don't know whether to be more afraid of facing Morgana or Arthur," he huffed.
"Yeah, well, Lancelot can have your back with Morgana." Gwaine gestured between himself and Percival. "We'll have your back with the princess."
Merlin cracked a fond smile. "Thanks."
"We should go," Percival put in.
Indeed, they couldn't let the army leave without them.
The knights already had their chainmail on for training, but Merlin had to track down a mail shirt for himself, not to mention grab a sword from the armory. Time he should have spent preparing Arthur's horse, as he suddenly realized when he hurried out into the courtyard and Arthur shot him an impatient glower as he adjusted the tack on his own steed.
"Sorry," Merlin muttered.
Arthur gave him a once-over, noting the armor and sword belt. "You don't have to come with us, Merlin."
"Since when?" he lobbed back.
Arthur regarded him soberly, then nodded.
Lancelot had the foresight to bring Merlin a saddled horse. With the rest of Camelot's army mounted up, they turned to ride out once again to the plains of Camlann to meet their enemy in battle.
They arrived before Morgana's army had set out, but only because it seemed she was still amassing it. Rows and rows of risen corpses stood in lines ready to march as yet more decrepit bodies lumbered in to join them. Merlin wondered how far and wide she had summoned them all from. There were so many that he couldn't even see Morgana, though he could feel her presence even from this distance. After getting up close and personal with the Darkness that had been inside Lancelot, Merlin was keenly aware of its signature.
Arthur dismounted, signaling for the rest of the knights to do the same. Camelot's army moved forward on foot, but as they reached the edge of the field, Morgana's voice rang out loud and clear.
"Here we are again, knights of Camelot."
A row of dead shifted slightly to let her pass into the open. Her eyes were solid orbs of black pitch as Lancelot's had been. She turned that eldritch gaze toward Merlin, and he tried not to fidget in trepidation of what she might say.
But she merely smirked and went on to look at Arthur. "Neither Lancelot nor Emrys can help you defeat this army. You will all perish!" She swung one arm up to signal their advance, and the risen dead began to move forward. Those who'd fallen at Camlann carried weapons, but many more shuffled on bare, skeletal feet, peasant garb fluttering in tatters around them.
The screech of several blades being drawn from their scabbards punctuated the air. Arthur raised Excalibur above his head.
"For Camelot!"
Despite the sword not being the most powerful weapon in Merlin's arsenal, he followed the charge with it. Lancelot's speed took him out into the lead by a wide margin, and he broke upon the wave of dead in a blur of glinting steel that cut a large swath through the bodies. The rest of the knights joined the fight, and the cacophony of clashing blades pealed throughout the air.
But even as Lancelot decimated scores of the undead, leaving pieces hewn across the field, Morgana's dark magic began to slither across the ground like mist, putting them back together to rise again. The only ones that stayed down permanently were those slain by Arthur wielding Excalibur. Merlin knew he couldn't put it off any longer.
He swung his sword and rammed his opponent, knocking the corpse to the ground, then stabbed it through the rib cage to impale it there. Backing away from its flailing limbs, Merlin turned his head toward the sky and mustered his courage. His deep, reverberating voice filled with the power of a dragonlord rumbled like thunder as he called for Kilgharrah.
"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted and leaped in front of him, clashing swords with an undead soldier. With a swing of his blade, he managed to decapitate it, but black smoke was already swirling toward it to reattach the body parts. Gwaine grabbed Merlin's arm and pulled him out of reach. "What exactly did you just do? Because no offense, it didn't look like anything."
Merlin grinned. "Wait for it."
A dragon screech echoed from above as the Great Dragon finally arrived. Kilgharrah swooped down and belted out a stream of fire on the heads of the undead, incinerating a whole swath of them. Unfortunately, his arrival made several of the knights cower away in fright, while their zombie counterparts barely paid any heed and continued to bear down on them.
Lancelot came darting through, flinging fireballs at the corpses overwhelming the knights. He paused long enough to give Merlin an encouraging nod before returning to the fierce battle.
Gwaine was sputtering dumbly at the dragon looping around for another go.
Merlin clapped him on the back. "I'll introduce you if we live through this."
Gwaine shook off his stupor in time to jump in front of Merlin again and fend off another dead soldier. Merlin spun around; he'd misplaced his sword. But he supposed the time for using it was over.
He caught sight of Morgana staring at him with those empty, dead eyes. More shadows burst out from her body and careened across the field, but they weren't heading for Merlin.
He snapped his gaze in the direction they were veering and spotted Arthur cutting down corpses. Lancelot was too far away to come to the king's defense, so Merlin had no choice. He thrust a palm out and uttered a spell, shooting a fireball to intercept the shadows. They collided with a crack and minor explosion, both dissipating on impact. And as the smoke cleared, Merlin found himself facing a slack-jawed Arthur gazing right back at him.
Merlin's throat tightened, and he dropped his hand. He couldn't read all the emotions in Arthur's eyes at that moment—shock, definitely, maybe some confusion. There really wasn't time for this, though…
An invisible force slammed into Merlin, throwing him several feet through the air. He landed on his back hard enough to knock the wind from him. As he lay gasping, he knew he had to get up, could feel the pulsing rage of Morgana's power as she stormed toward him.
He managed to prop himself up on one elbow and shoot a burst of magic back at her. She jerked violently from the impact but otherwise seemed unaffected and kept coming toward him.
Merlin struggled to his feet amidst the chaos, but he knew he had to focus his full attention on Morgana. As long as she was engaged with him, she couldn't be reassembling her army of dry bones. Shouting another spell, Merlin threw another burst of magic straight at her.
Lancelot felt it when Merlin called the dragon, felt it again when he used his magic, and he paused in his fighting to turn toward his warlock friend. Merlin was staring at Arthur, who was staring back. The secret was out.
And then Morgana hit Merlin with magic that sent him flying, and Arthur was still too stunned to notice the enemies coming up behind him. Lancelot bolted across the field and cut them down with one strike of his sword. He snapped his gaze to Merlin worriedly but saw him getting up to fight Morgana.
"Did you give Merlin magic?" Arthur asked tightly.
"No," Lancelot replied. "Merlin has always had magic. He has been your shield from the beginning, before I ever came to Camelot."
He spun to dispatch three more zombies, which seemed to snap Arthur out of his stupor, and he resumed fighting as well. Lancelot kept one eye on him and one on Merlin, who was not faring so well against Morgana's dark powers. She unleashed a wave of shadows that crashed over the warlock, swallowing him whole.
Lancelot summoned lightning down from the sky into his sword and then shot it through the shadows to Morgana. She screamed as she was flung backward, but Lancelot knew that wouldn't keep her down for long. He rushed over to where Merlin was lying on the ground, gasping raggedly after the darkness had tried to smother him. Arthur was right behind him.
"She's too strong," Merlin coughed.
Lancelot gripped his arm and pulled him roughly to his feet. "You can do this, Merlin. Albeit with a little help."
Lancelot pressed his hand to his own chest and felt the spark within his soul. His palm began to glow with opalescent brightness as he drew it out. Once he'd extracted it all, he then pushed it into Merlin's sternum.
Merlin staggered back with a gasp, frantically patting at his chest. "What did you do?"
"It's the last help I have to give you," Lancelot said with little time to fully explain. "You are magic, Merlin. No more hiding it."
Morgana was getting up and radiating rage. Lancelot pulled Arthur back, giving Merlin room as he turned to face her again. The next burst of magic he threw at her was stronger, boosted by the power of the spark Lancelot had infused him with. The extra light needed to match the Darkness.
The battle continued to rage around them, even with the dragon decimating chunks of the undead army. Lancelot and Arthur took up positions back to back against the unending onslaught.
Lancelot could feel his movements growing heavier, yet he pushed through. Three undead soldiers converged on Arthur, managing to knock him down. Lancelot spun and leaped between him and their blades, but his sword only managed to deflect two of the strikes. The third slid past his guard and pierced his stomach. With one mighty heave, Lancelot cut the heads off all three.
The offending blade slid out of his abdomen, making him stagger. Lancelot inhaled sharply and shoved the pain down. The battle was far from over.
Over the din of clanging swords and dragon roars, the explosions of colliding magic sent shockwaves through the air.
"You can't do this!" Morgana shrieked. "I am more powerful than Emrys!"
Merlin held up his hand toward her, looking grieved as he uttered his final spell. A blazing sphere of light burst from his palm and soared through the air to strike Morgana in the chest. It swallowed her in a nova and her scream was cut off with an explosion, and a concussive force of energy shot outward, obliterating the last of the risen dead into dust. Lancelot threw an arm up to shield his face against the buffeting gusts. And then everything was quiet. Morgana was gone, reduced to obsidian ash that floated away like chaff.
Everyone looked around in stunned stupefaction. The battle was over.
Arthur moved first, making his way across the field toward Merlin, his expression set in stone. Lancelot saw Gwaine and Percival moving closer as well, no doubt to come to Merlin's defense if needed. Leon and Elyan were as shocked as everyone else.
Arthur stared at Merlin hard. "You have magic."
Merlin nodded, eyes glistening. "Yes."
Arthur started shaking his head in denial. "No, it's not possible."
"I use it for you, Arthur," Merlin said, pleaded. "I always have."
"You lied to me," he bit out.
"I didn't lie," Merlin protested weakly. "I just…didn't want to get executed for something I was born with."
"Not all magic is evil," Lancelot reminded Arthur. "In fact, it has been defending you and your kingdom since the beginning. If you could accept my return with magic pledged to your service, surely you can accept your best friend for the same."
Arthur's jaw ticked. Lancelot knew it was a lot to take in, and he had every faith that Arthur would see reason, even if he needed a few pointed nudges.
But it seemed Lancelot wasn't going to be involved in that, for pain flared in his stomach and he pressed a hand to his side just as his legs gave out. He dropped to his knees with a jarring thud, a wave of dizziness making everything spin. His hand came away coated in blood.
"Lancelot!"
Merlin reached his side just as he completed his fall to the ground. The warlock's eyes widened as he spotted the blood, and then he was yanking Lancelot's jerkin and tunic up to get a look at the source. He blanched at the sight. "I thought you magically healed from wounds!"
Lancelot sucked in a harsh gasp as another shock of pain wracked his body. "That was from- the spark- the order sent back with me," he admitted.
Merlin reeled back in horror. "The spark you gave me?" he exclaimed.
Lancelot nodded, face scrunching up. It had been a long time since he'd felt the sting of mortal pain.
"Why did you do that?" Merlin shouted, clearly distraught. He bunched up Lancelot's cape and pressed it firmly to his stomach to staunch the bleeding, and Lancelot couldn't hold back a small cry as he reflexively tried to arch away.
"This battle- was always- yours," he explained breathlessly. "I know everyone thought- I was- to be their savior. But I never was. I was only meant to- pave the way for you." Lancelot smiled despite the burning pain in his belly. "I'm proud of you, Merlin."
Merlin shook his head furiously and pressed harder on his stomach, eliciting another choking gasp.
Arthur knelt down on Lancelot's other side, and Lancelot lolled his gaze toward him.
"Please extend the same kindness- and understanding to Merlin- that you did to me. Merlin has been loyal all these years."
Arthur squeezed his shoulder. "Save your breath," he said sternly. "You both can explain everything later."
Lancelot rolled his head against the ground in the negative. His stomach was on fire but the rest of him was beginning to feel cold. "I completed my task," he breathed. "You and Camelot are safe. And you have Emrys now."
"No!" Merlin snapped. "You did not come back from the dead just to die again." He straightened on his knees. "And if I'm the great and powerful Emrys, then I'm going to save you."
His eyes flared gold as he summoned up his magic. Lancelot's vision was blurring, though, and that and the sun cast his friend in a radiant halo. He felt at peace. This had always been his destiny, with the Veil and now—dying for those he loved. And he was proud of that.
He wondered if his soul would return to the hidden valley or not, though part of him thought an eternity of rest at this point sounded nice.
"Lancelot!" Arthur was shouting, and Merlin's magic was pulsing. But Lancelot was fading.
"I'm sorry," he murmured as darkness claimed him.