A/N: Thank you GuestM and Buckhunter for reviewing! And everyone else who did along the way. ^_^

Chapter 3

Arthur followed Lancelot through the tunnel and into the Sanctuary where they momentarily pulled up short at the chaos unfolding below. People were running and screaming as Uther and several of his knights stormed through the compound, setting fire to the buildings.

Lancelot bolted into a run, and Arthur followed suit, his heart lurching into his throat as flames devoured everything in sight and cloying smoke billowed into the air.

The baby dragon and unicorn colt went scrambling in terror, and Arthur saw the moment his father spotted them. Eyes filled with blazing hatred, Uther raised his sword and went after Aithusa. Arthur ran forward and intercepted him. Uther's jaw went slack in shock.

"Arthur? How did you get here?"

"It doesn't matter." He lifted his sword in preparation to fight.

His father's nostrils flared with fury. "You dare raise your sword against your king?"

"What you're doing is wrong!"

"You are a traitor," Uther spat. "After everything I have taught you, you choose these abominations over your own people?"

"They are my people too!" Arthur declared. "Everyone in Camelot, not just those you decide deserve to live."

Uther let out a raging bellow and swung his sword. Arthur threw his up to block, and they began the fiercest duel of Arthur's life.

Not far off, Lancelot was fighting the other men. He slid sideways, narrowly avoiding a stab through the gut. Wrapping his arm around the knight's elbow, he pinned the man's sword arm. Another knight came at him, and Lancelot delivered a brutal kick to the stomach, doubling him over. He then spun his first opponent by his locked arm and flung him into two other charging knights, bowling them down. Another came at him from behind, and Lancelot deftly spun to parry a blow at his back. Aithusa darted in and snapped at the soldiers' ankles.

Arthur parried strike after strike from his father, holding his own but unable to make himself go for a severe blow.

All while smoke filled the air and the Sanctuary continued to burn.

Leon had crept down along the edge of the battlefield without drawing attention. Wearing Camelot's colors helped him not be identified as an enemy. But he couldn't get past the ring of fire to warn Merlin and the others about Uther having breached the Sanctuary.

The griffin suddenly landed beside him, startling him so badly he nearly fell over.

"Um," he said nervously, not knowing what it wanted.

The griffin chirped and angled its back to him. His brows rose sharply.

"Oh, uh…" Leon glanced back at the fire he couldn't cross and guessed what the griffin was offering. Pulse racing, he tentatively moved closer and put his hands on the creature's back. It shrieked at him almost impatiently.

Taking a shaky breath, Leon clenched his jaw and climbed up onto the griffin. He nearly fell off when it flapped its wings and lurched into the sky. Leon grasped fistfuls of fur and leaned forward over the griffin's neck as it flew him up and over the fire into the middle of the battle that was waging inside. That fight, however, was beginning to die down as the hunters slew more opponents and the army's reinforcements were trapped on the other side of the fire.

"Uther's inside!" Leon yelled as soon as the griffin touched down, and he hastily slid off in an ungraceful manner.

"What?" Gwaine snapped.

"Arthur and Lancelot went after him."

All of the hunters looked ready to rush back inside the mountain, but then a catapult rolled across the fire, breaking the solid line and creating a narrow bridge for soldiers to begin charging through.

"Keep fighting!" Merlin ordered and turned to run for the Sanctuary.

The hunters reformed their line, and Leon drew his sword to stand with them.

Merlin dashed into a face full of smoke as he entered the Sanctuary. He coughed and squinted against the cloying brume in confusion before he came far enough in to see the compound burning. He bolted into a run, spotting several slain knights sprawled across the ground. As he reached the center, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Lancelot among them, lying in a pool of blood.

Merlin scrambled over and dropped down beside him. He was alive but seriously wounded. There was the clang of steel nearby, and a high-pitched shriek that sounded like Aithusa. Chest constricting, Merlin tore himself away from Lancelot and rushed toward the sounds of fighting. He found Arthur facing down Uther, and one of the soldiers holding Aithusa by the throat.

"They all must die," Uther was saying, and the knight began to twist the little dragon's neck.

"No!" Merlin yelled with a blast of reflexive magic that slammed into the knight and threw him through the air. He landed hard enough to not get up, and Aithusa flapped and limped away. "Run!" Merlin shouted at her.

He jerked his attention back as Uther came storming toward him, sword raised.

"You have corrupted my son," he snarled.

Merlin shot a hand up in warning. "Don't make me do this." He didn't want to kill Uther in front of Arthur.

Uther lifted his sword high, but before Merlin could hit him with a blast of magic, Arthur was jumping in front of him to block the strike. With a few delivered blows, he drove his father back.

Uther's expression was livid, his eyes full of madness. "You are no son of mine."

Arthur let out a raging cry and swung, and the two became locked in combat.

Merlin let them go at it and whirled toward the waterfall, casting a spell to bring the water from the pool up in a giant wave to douse the fires. He was still in the middle of extinguishing the blazes when he heard a grunt and turned to see Arthur had tripped and was now on the ground, Uther's sword poised over him for a death blow. Merlin didn't have time to stop it.

Then Gaius came out of nowhere with a sword, which he plunged into Uther's back. The king arched at the blow, his body instantly going limp and falling to the ground, slain. Arthur just stared up in shock.

Merlin rushed over, concerned Arthur might snap into a rage of grief and attack Gaius, but Arthur just pushed himself up and crawled over to his father, pulling Uther's head into his lap.

Gaius gazed down dispassionately. "That was for Alice."

Merlin reached out to take the sword from him. He seemed to be in equal shock as Arthur, so Merlin gave him a tug. "Lancelot is badly wounded."

Gaius shifted a blank look toward him, then nodded, and they hurried back to where Lancelot was. Aithusa was there, mewling and yanking at his collar, but he didn't wake up.

Gaius knelt down to examine the wound in his abdomen. Even Merlin knew just by looking that it was a mortal blow. He'd buried the Cup of Life somewhere it would never be found, which meant there was no miracle save this time.

Then Aithusa moved closer and let out a long exhalation that billowed across Lancelot's face. He opened his eyes, and Merlin and Gaius gaped in astonishment.

Gaius urgently checked his wound again, only to find it healed.

Lancelot sat up and brushed a hand across his stomach, furrowing his brow. "How…?"

"Aithusa," Merlin replied. "Looks like we've just discovered another of a dragon's powers."

Aithusa chirped and bounded into Lancelot's lap, standing up to nose his face. He chuckled and gave her several elated pets.

Then the roar of a much larger dragon echoed outside, reminding them a battle was still waging, and now Kilgharrah had arrived. Merlin whipped his gaze around at the fires, but the Vilia were working to put the rest of them out.

"Go," Gaius told him, staying with Lancelot.

Merlin jumped to his feet and hurried back to Arthur, who was still sitting with his father's body. He hated to interrupt, but things weren't over yet.

"Arthur," he said somberly. "Help me stop this."

Arthur looked up, expression hollow, but then he slowly extricated himself from Uther's body and got to his feet. He and Merlin headed up the path and out the exit. The phoenix's fire defense had been fully extinguished, and the hunters were battling soldiers while the Great Dragon spewed whole columns of fire through the ranks in the middle.

Merlin sent up a flash of blinding light high into the sky, then projected his voice like thunder. "HOLD." He waited for the shock to create a lull in the battle. "Uther is dead," he announced. "Long live King Arthur!"

Arthur stepped forward. "He speaks the truth," he shouted. "Knights of Camelot, stand down."

The soldiers faltered in uncertainty but then began to slowly obey.

Kilgharrah swung around and landed on the side of the mountain. "Is this a deception or the truth?" he mentally called to Merlin.

"It is true. Your revenge is complete."

The dragon snorted through the mental link and stayed where he was, keeping watch as everyone laid down their arms.

Lancelot came out of the Sanctuary, and Gwen ran over and threw her arms around him. Merlin cast his gaze over the others, making sure they were all still standing. He found Freya, who was moving stiffly and had a cut on her forehead. But she broke into a radiant smile when their eyes met, and she rushed forward to embrace him. And Merlin kissed her.

Lancelot remained on the battlefield to oversee the aftermath while the others went to get patched up. Camelot's army lingered, tending to their own as well. With Kilgharrah still sitting atop the mountain, Lancelot wasn't worried about another attack, but the atmosphere was still tense.

Gwaine and Percival reemerged from the Sanctuary, bearing Uther's body. They carried it out and laid him halfway between the mountain and the soldiers, then backed away. Arthur came forward with a handful of men, who picked up their slain king and bore him away. Arthur looked on numbly as the army finally began its retreat to Camelot.

Gwen brought Aithusa out, coming to stand by Lancelot and flicking her gaze up toward Kilgharrah. Lancelot whistled sharply to capture the dragon's attention and waved for him to come down.

He detached from the mountainside and glided down, landing with a reverberating impact. It was hard to imagine Aithusa could get that large one day.

Gwen leaned close to Lancelot but bravely met the Great Dragon's eye. "This is Aithusa," she introduced. "She sensed your presence and wanted to meet you."

Kilgharrah lowered his massive head toward them, his yellow eyes glimmering with awe at the tiny dragon in Gwen's arms. Aithusa looked equally gobsmacked at his size. With an excited squeak, she climbed up on Lancelot's shoulders to stand on his head, trying to get higher.

Kilgharrah chuckled. "I suppose you are the ones she imprinted on."

"Yes," Gwen replied.

He hummed, canting his head in consideration of them. "I can think of no better guardians," he said.

As the army faded into the distance, the Great Dragon finally took his leave and departed as well.

Lancelot leaned over to kiss Gwen, and Aithusa squawked at them, her tail smacking them in the face. They shook their heads and turned to head back inside.

Arthur watched the knights of Camelot retreat into the distance. He'd put Leon in charge after ordering them back to Camelot until he would catch up. Even though his father had done terrible things, Arthur's heart was still shattered by his death.

Merlin approached him with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I would have thought you'd be happy he was now dead," Arthur said hollowly.

"He was still your father," Merlin replied. "And I'm sorry for the pain that causes."

He nodded. "And I'm sorry for all the death and destruction you've suffered at his hands." He lifted his head with solemn sobriety. "I am king now, and I can change the laws of the land, but changing the hearts of men will take longer. There's too much history of hate and fear." He looked at Merlin. "But I will work on it."

Merlin gave him an encouraging smile. "You will bring about a new golden age for Camelot," he said with conviction. "But in the meantime, I'll need to move the Sanctuary."

Arthur understood. "Where will you go?"

"I'm not sure yet." He reached into his pocket and pulled out another communication ring. "You can always call on us, though."

Arthur accepted the ring and slid it onto his finger. Then the two of them clasped forearms in mutual respect and friendship before finally parting ways, both setting off into the dawn of a new chapter for Albion.

THE END

A/N: And that's it for this AU. :') I'm so glad you all enjoyed it! This is also the end of my queue of Merlin fics. I do have more in mind to write, but I'm currently working on a Star Trek Picard AU set in the Warehouse 13 universe (if any of you are interested in that). Aramis(Lancelot) in space, only not space because it's Warehouse 13. XD