Chapter Twenty

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Arthur kind of wished Merlin had kept the whole "Nimueh's in another castle" thing to himself, because it was a bit of a distraction from the swarm of enemy soldiers that confronted him and his sixteen comrades as they stormed into the castle's main courtyard. The glimpse he got of Merlin's current predicament only told him that about a million giant ravens were keeping Aithusa occupied while Merlin hurled spells at someone else out of sight. Hopefully he takes them out soon...

"Form ranks! Let me or the magic-users engage any undead!" Morgana and Gwaine both planned on fighting with swords and magic. "Hold fast! Don't give them an inch!"

He didn't have time to give orders after that. Thankfully, he didn't have to.

His knights, those reincarnated and those not, all fought as well as any he had ever seen.

The clamor of battle rose to deafening levels. Arthur fought with every ounce of skill and instinct he possessed, bringing down enemy after enemy as dozens surrounded them. Very few seemed to be undead; those who were Morgana and Gwaine managed to confront and force towards Arthur with magic. Excalibur made short work of them.

As the battle raged on, however, it became clear that Merlin and Aithusa were still occupied outside.

We're on our own.

Things happened almost too quickly to comprehend. Arthur ducked to avoid mace aimed for his head; the soldier had fallen before he could straighten. Ruby gave him a brief nod before launching herself back into the fray. As Arthur caught his breath moved to do the same, Morgana whirled past him, blocking a strike from an opponent with her sword before throwing him against the nearest wall with a shouted spell. Percival wrenched two enemies off a downed Haralda and slammed them together hard enough to break both their necks. Haralda returned the favor by leaping up with her axe and beheading a soldier charging up in Percival's blind spot with a spear. Leon battled a near-giant of a man with no sign of flagging. Lancelot tore a swath along one side of the enemy ranks with Elyan close behind, picking off any stragglers. The Barclayn twins, looking far more like their adult selves than still-growing teenagers, fought back-to-back in perfect rhythm. The newer knights were scattered throughout the courtyard, some clearly injured but none defeated.

We can do this.

Arthur threw himself back into the action, fighting with renewed energy.

Until several things happened almost simultaneously to make him falter.

First, at least a dozen of combatants, both Anglesey and enemy, went flying from an unfamiliar spell. Next, someone with long golden hair went charging up a staircase into an open door opposite the destroyed front gate.

Finally, over the incessant clanging, shouting, and screaming, Arthur heard Gwaine let out a roar of pure rage.

Shit .

He only needed to see Gwaine running towards the staircase, tossing anyone in his path aside with magic, to know his fears were true. Nimueh's not here, but Morgause is.

"Gwaine!"Without thinking, Arthur rushed after his friend alone, shoving through any opposition as the battle continued to storm around him. Up the stairs he sped, through stone corridors, following the sounds of spells and crashes.

When he charged into what looked like some kind of throne room that had been converted into a museum then back again, the first thing he saw was Gwaine's crumpled form off to the side. He froze, and the next thing he heard was the doors behind him swinging shut. Trapped.

Morgause faced him squarely, her heavy breathing audible across the room. She wore a shimmery blue cloak over a simple dark tunic and leggings instead of armor, but that did nothing to minimize her aura of powerful magic. A massive stained glass window was lit up by the morning sun behind her, bathing the room in shades of red and gold.

Red skies over a bloodstained plain…

Somewhere outside, he thought he heard Aithusa let out a bellow of pain or anger, he couldn't tell which. Please let her and Merlin be all right...

"Arthur Pendragon." Morgause's voice rang as clear and cold as it had the day she took Uther's crown from his head and gave Camelot to Morgana. "Your friend here is even more hotheaded than you."

He glanced towards Gwaine again. I think he's still breathing…"Not surprising, considering that you pretty much caused the death of his wife."

She snorted. "Despite that, he's given me little trouble. I don't think you will, either." Taking a few steps forward, she lowered her voice and hissed, "All this time, all this waiting, all the plans that fell through...It's come to this. You Pendragons and Emrys took everything from me...you've even taken my sister this time."

"She's my sister, too." Arthur gripped Excalibur's hilt, knowing that it was useless in this fight. I wish Merlin were here…

Morgause's beautiful face twisted into a snarl. "You never deserved her, none of you." Shaking herself, she raised her hand. "Now, Arthur, you die. For good this time."

The door behind Arthur opened with a bang, and he barely had time to register the shocked look on the sorceress's face before he automatically turned.

Standing in the doorway, gray eyes blazing, Morgana spoke a single word. "No."

Then she thrust out her own hand.

Morgause went hurtling backwards, her scream cut short as she went crashing through the giant window and hurtling down towards the ground below.

Her body must have just hit the ground when Morgana rushed to Arthur's side. "Arthur! Oh, gods...Are you all right? What..."

He cut her off by dropping his sword and crushing her in a hug. She yelped in surprise, but didn't resist, even returning the tight embrace after a few seconds.

Despite the circumstances, it was a relatively long hug. It had taken long enough for the siblings to get here.

"You and Mordred don't need to be followed by guards on Anglesey anymore," was the first thing Arthur got out as he let her go.

"I...okay, thank you, but…" Morgana's gaze fell on Gwaine. "Oh, no!"

They rushed over to him, and Arthur flipped over the bloodied knight Morgana sought a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief after a moment. "It's strong. He's alive, just unconscious."

"And with more than a few broken bones," Arthur said. "We should…"

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Everard, Elwin, and Leon burst in before Arthur could grab his sword. "What the hell...Where's...Gwaine!"

"He's hurt, but it looks like he'll make it," Morgana hastened to say, stepping back so the man's cousins could get close to examine him themselves.

Arthur turned to Leon. "The battle?"

"I think we won," the older knight said shakily. "Aithusa got into the courtyard about when we were able to follow you...She's taking care of the rest with the others...I don't think anyone's dead, just many injuries; Merlin's still outside the castle but it seems like he's got his opponent under control…"

"Okay." Arthur took a couple deep breaths and retrieved Excalibur. "Let's get Gwaine down to the courtyard, take stock and help the injured...Whoever is still in good shape should sweep the castle…"

It took a few hours to get things sorted out. The battle alone had taken longer than Arthur expected, and the sun was rapidly sinking towards the horizon before anyone could get any real rest.

When the king finally tracked down Merlin, the warlock was fuming. "She knew ," he snapped immediately. "Nimueh knew we were coming...She left Morgause to take you out and Sigan to distract me...That monster... She knew better than to underestimate us, predicted our movements...She also must have known that if Morgause killed you, I would've killed her...Would've done her a favor, get the other High Priestess out of the picture and all that... Damn it ! How could I have been so stupid?"

During their fight, Merlin had subdued and spelled into unconsciousness Cornelius Sigan, who again had taken up residence in the body of an angular young man.

Guess he had a type…

Aithusa had dealt with the army of enchanted ravens, and a few gargoyles to boot.

"If we don't get anything useful out of Sigan, I am going to be very disappointed," the dragon said with a growl as soon as Merlin stopped venting to take a breath.

Morgause was dead. As soon as it was confirmed, Morgana enlisted a couple non-reincarnated knights to help her with a simple burial. "It'll give me closure, if nothing else," she explained. Arthur didn't mind. Merlin did the same for Morgana at the Plains of Andor, after all.

Gwaine and the several others with major injuries would survive, though full healing would have to wait until Merlin was rested enough...and calm enough...to magically transport them all back. Aithusa flew off towards Anglesey as soon as possible, however; she would be able to relay the news of their victory within a few hours.

We'll be back home tomorrow morning. But the war's not over as we'd hoped.

Unable to sleep that night, Arthur joined Elyan on first watch at the remnants of the burnt castle gate. "That was even worse than Morgause's attack on Anglesey."

"You're telling me." Elyan shook his head. "I guess I didn't think Nimueh would be such a force to be reckoned with."

"She was always a formidable enemy of Camelot...even though I didn't know it back then." Arthur sighed. "Why couldn't she have just stayed and killed me herself?"

"She'll never kill you herself, Arthur," Merlin said as he stalked past on his way to goodness-knew-where. "You're one of her greatest creations. Me, on the other hand…" He disappeared into the shadows, muttering like the old man he was.

Glad that he didn't have to explain that comment...Elyan, like Gwen and several others, had known about Nimueh's part in Arthur's birth and how it led to the Great Purge for a long time...Arthur changed the subject. "Remember the day we fled London?"

"Of course." Elyan laughed wryly. "Earthquakes raging, buildings falling around us, everyone panicking except you as you led us into the countryside…"

"Oh, I was panicking," Arthur said with a laugh of his own. "I just wasn't showing it. Too petrified that I'd lose everyone else if I did, I suppose." He sobered, thinking back. "That feels like decades ago, doesn't it? The old days in Camelot feel closer, somehow."

"Same here." Elyan gave him a piercing look. "We're going to win this war, Arthur. It's just taking a little longer than expected."

Managing to smile back at his brother-in-law, Arthur said, "Thank you, Elyan. And you're right...We'll win this eventually."

We have to.

He kept repeated that to himself as the night wore on, and after, when Merlin performed another transportation spell to take them back to Anglesey and the weary king was able to practically collapse into his queen's arms among everyone's cries and tears of joy.

This fight is not over. We will win in the end. We have to.

For all who we've lost, and all who will follow.