AN: GUYS.

I'm sorry! I must drive you all crazy, because I'm almost always obnoxiously excited about something… but yesterday I got a call from one of the universities I applied to. The professor was really enthusiastic, in her words 'very impressed' with my statement and my undergraduate record, and my writing sample. She even talked about flying me out for a visit. Basically... I think they want me... and I am thrilled out of my mind that someone was interested enough to call me in January. Decisions aren't made until at LEAST April! KDFJLKDJLKFDJSLKFJ...

ANYWAY… enough about me. I got you one more chapter before signing off for the spring! As usual... a bit rushed. However, I have actually written MOST of the next chapter as well, and I realized something interesting… February 16th will be the 2nd anniversary of my starting this insanely large project. In other words… that's the day I published chapter 1 of Legacies. So in a moment of nostalgia, I came up with the idea of posting C18 on that date… I know. I'm ridiculous. I shall try—for all of you amazingly patient people who are sticking with me in this very slow process! At least I'll give you a mini/preview chapter… or something.

AS REGARDS THIS CHAPTER, you'll have to allow me a touch of license with the politics. I am half-Danish, so I know the Danish parliament system quite well, and I'm banking on its being very similar to the British one. Also, there is of course no such thing as a 'Moderate' party currently. I borrowed that from a TV show I watched. But hey, this is set in the future... so look for them in the parliament 60 years from now. ;)

I've put enough text here at the top, so to the two awesome guests who reviewed, I've put my responses to you at the end of the chapter. And a little sign-off.

"Can't it wait?" Arthur demanded. Gwen tore her eyes from the window where she'd seen Merlin disappear and put a hand on his arm.

"Arthur, I'm sure it won't take long."

"Rodor would like to see them as soon as possible," Leon responded, shaking his head.

"She needs to see Gaius first," the blond insisted stubbornly, ignoring her protest.

"I told you, I'm fine. I was only held for a few hours. No one even touched me. You ought to be more worried about Lance and Percival."

"Guinevere…" Arthur frowned anxiously at her. "That's why they're seeing Gaius. And you walked halfway to Camelot without food or water—"

"Just figured that out, did you?" Elyan chimed in deadpan. Make that two overly protective companions. Gwen sighed. Elyan hadn't forgotten Arthur's family background and that his father was the one who condoned their father's arrest years ago in Camelot. But he hadn't been there to watch Arthur change since Merlin arrived in Camelot. It was over four years ago now that Elyan had left Camelot to join the military.

"There were places I could stop to get water," she said firmly. "Arthur, I'm not made of glass!"

"I don't mean…" Arthur looked chagrined. "Guinevere, I'd be tired after that too."

"He's right." Gwen turned on her brother a look of exasperation. "It can't hurt," Elyan reasoned. "And you look tired."

"Yes, I'm tired, not hurt. Gaius has other people who need his attention more," she responded. Her eyes strayed to the door. Gaius might also have other people to worry about more than her. Merlin had looked easily as tired as she felt, and she'd scarcely had a moment to speak with him except to tell him a piece of news that clearly upset him. Arthur's attention followed her gaze.

"He'll come back. Gwaine's gone to talk with him," he said. She opened her mouth. "Don't change the subject on me again," he intervened.

"Alright," Gwen acquiesced. "I'll go see Gaius, if it'll convince you to stop fretting." She leaned sideways against Arthur's shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her again. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"I don't know… I hadn't realized he and Freya were that close," he said. He shifted. "As long as he doesn't do anything… stupid."

"I think thanks to you Merlin knows better than to try walking out the gates without permission," Leon observed mildly. Arthur scowled at his bodyguard, and Gwen turned to give him a questioning look.

"I'll talk to Rodor," Arthur said.

"He won't allow Merlin off the base any more than you," Leon said.

"No, but maybe he can check with the police if they've had any sightings of Freya since the ad went up." Arthur turned a worried look on Gwen again. "Oxford was… You didn't run into any of Cenred's men, did you?" Gwen shook her head.

"No, Arthur. I was well out of Oxford by the time they were sighted there. Elyan picked me up two days ago. They reached Oxford at the same time as your search party, didn't they?" Arthur's expression darkened.

"It wasn't my search party. I wasn't allowed to leave the base. I should have been out looking for you."

"You'd have been no help. They would have killed the moment they saw you," Elyan pointed out. Gwen bit her lip.

"It doesn't matter. We're all here now," she said firmly, eager to change the subject. "I saw your speech yesterday. It looks like you set a lot of things in motion from here anyways." Arthur looked discomfited.

"I toppled what remained of my father's cabinet and made an enemy of the leader of the Liberals."
"You didn't—" Gwen started, but Elyan beat her to the protest, and to her surprise there was a trace of laughter in his voice.

"You've done a sight more than that," he said. "The party leader of the New Moderates is all but touting your name as their party line and giving the other parties hell. The only question now is whether Odin or Drust* convinces her to back him as prime minister. A word from you could probably turn the tables for one or the other."

"You must have internet access here, Arthur. Your name spread like wildfire," Gwen added. Leon smiled.

"'We stand with Arthur Pendragon.' Yes, we've heard it. People from other countries and institutions across the world are using it to voice their support for England." Arthur dropped his gaze to the floor and shrugged.

"I think I'll leave the politics to the politicians from here. I've done enough damage for now." Gwen scoffed and elbowed him deliberately in the side.

"Don't be modest, Arthur. It doesn't suit you," she teased. That coaxed a small grin out of him. He put a hand on Gwen's back.

"There's Percival. I'm sure Gaius will have a moment to see you now." Gwen turned to look, and just as she caught sight of the broad-shouldered man, somewhere out on the base, an alarm went off.

Every head in the room turned. Arthur tensed beside her.

"Oh, hell… Merlin didn't—"

"He wouldn't have," Leon cut in dryly. "He knows that happens if you try to slip out past the gate." He touched Arthur lightly on the shoulder as he stepped past the blond. "Wait here."

"Merlin—"

"Will be fine. I'll send him in if I see him," Elyan said. "It's best you stay out of the way, whatever is going on." Elyan turned, and he and Leon both joined the many uniformed personnel outside.

"The alarm went off earlier this week and nothing was wrong. Could just be a drill or something minor," Arthur suggested.

"I doubt it," Percival put in, crossing the room to join them with a frown. "Not the way everyone's running about out there… something's going on." Gwen bit her lip again anxiously as her brother vanished out of sight past the window.

The door swung forcefully open, and Merlin turned past them to sprint down the hall.

"Gwaine!" Arthur shouted. The American, just on Merlin's heels, stopped in the doorway. "What happened?" Gwaine shook his head.

"I don't know, but I think Merlin does."

"What?" Gwen's eyes widened, but Gwaine was already on his way down the hall after Merlin.

The hallways opened up like a map before Merlin's vision. His eyes shifted—flickering rapidly from gold to blue as he turned his head from one to the other doorway. He skidded, turned a corner, and felt a jolt of mixed relief and anxiety on spotting the person he was looking for still inside the building. He turned on the man following close behind him.

"Gwaine, find Gaius," he ordered. Gwaine didn't ask any questions and vanished round the corner again.

Merlin lingered a few feet from window where his friend's rigid form was outlined in the light. What did she do to him… is he even still there?

"Lance…" He took a step closer. The man turned his head, just enough that Merlin caught a glimpse of that hollow look again. Soulless, empty… His chest ached at the thought. Please don't be gone… please. "I am so sorry for what they did to you." A frown flitted across the other man's face.

"You should stay away from me," he said tersely, and for a second Merlin saw a gleam in his eyes again. Maybe… maybe he was still there. He swallowed.

"I'm sorry," he repeated quietly, and he stretched out a hand. "Swefe nu." Lance dropped in a heartbeat. Merlin's eyes glowed again, and he let his magic guide Lance's body gently to the ground before he crouched beside his friend's head. Kilgarrah's presence was far, far away. He had no chance of reaching the dragon in time to do any good. But Arthur had been cursed too, if with very different effects. He had to try at least to break this curse. Surely the spell that saved Arthur from Nimueh's curse would help here as well? He spread his fingers over the unconscious man's chest. "Gelácne ádligne lybcræft." A shock ran from his fingers up through his arm, wrapping itself round his throat and torso like fine, invisible wires of energy. Merlin tried to jerk his hand back with a flood of sudden alarm. This hadn't happened with Arthur.

Hello, Emrys, a voice whispered in his mind, and the floor dropped out from under him.

He couldn't see or feel anything. In his mind he heard a crowd of voices, but not like those he'd heard at the Druid refuge by Spinster's rock—all ages, casual, idle, chatting idly with one another. These were sharp, purposeful, and intent, all adults, and all with a hostile presence. He redoubled his efforts to retract his hand, now pinned to Lance's shirt. Someone was watching him—at least observing him with keen attention, a forceful presence in his mind. Blood roared in Merlin's ears.

You won't take him back, the voice said gently, now becoming more clear—young, feminine, with a trace of curiosity. The only one who can break this spell is the one who cast it. Merlin was being crushed. He felt the several other presences—some familiar, but many others which he didn't recognize; Morgana's among them. But the voice, and the power trapping him… this was Morgause with her full strength unleashed. He'd sensed her before when she confronted Arthur, but this time, she wasn't holding back. She was powerful—more powerful than he had guessed, and he'd never fought another magic user face to face. Merlin couldn't breathe. He struggled, tried to lash out instinctively with his own magic, but her strength was twining itself around him, gentle but firm.

I only want to speak with you, Emrys. It must be you, mustn't it? I'd heard from the Druids that you chose to protect Arthur Pendragon, but I hadn't believed it until now. Who would have thought it after all? A powerful sorcerer like you, following at the heels of our greatest persecutor's son. Merlin clenched his teeth, trying to repress his mounting panic. He didn't know where he was, why he couldn't see or move—what she was doing to him. But he felt the other presences of sorcerers. They were closing in, likely with Cenred and his armed men at her side. He didn't have time to be trapped like this. Come, Emrys, you must have grown up like us, oppressed, hated—living always in the shadows, in fear of yourself, your own body betraying you. What good does this do you—to stand with the Pendragons? Would you see us trampled into the dirt again? To live the rest of your life unknown, unrecognized—you who have such power?

"Merlin!" Someone was shaking him. The contact seemed miles away, as did Gaius' voice in his ear—disconnected from the mute battle in his head.

You've made a mistake, Emrys. Arthur will never recognize you. He would cast you aside at a moment's thought if he knew who you were. With us you would be honored, respected. Together we could set our people free—have the world appreciate your greatness. Stop the madness that Arthur's father began. Bring justice. He will kneel at your feet, Emrys.

No! That wasn't what he wanted. Merlin projected his response forcefully. He fought with every scrap of his magic at the force restraining him, struggling for breath, feeling consciousness begin to slip away. Then he wasn't alone. Warmth flared in the darkness, the hand on his shoulder tightened, and he felt it… and the restraints bound around him were rapidly withdrawing.

The contact broke with a force that jarred Merlin to the bone. His eyes snapped open, and Gaius was crouching over him, eyes lit golden to match Merlin's.

"Merlin!" Merlin gulped in a lungful of air. His vision blurred.

"Gaius, I c—I can't…"

"Alright, Merlin, alright. Breathe." His uncle's eyes shifted back to gray. He was supporting Merlin with an arm around his back. "Are you alright?" Merlin nodded and clutched at his uncle's sleeve to pull himself upright.

"Wh-what was that?" he gasped. Gaius shook his head.

"Possession. I didn't believe there were any sorcerers left in this country with the skill to do that… " Merlin's eyes flitted to the prone figure on the ground.

"Lance. H-he's..."

"I know." Gaius steadied him. "I'm so sorry, Merlin. I shouldn't have ignored you."

"There was nothing we could do." Merlin said hoarsely. He cautiously withdrew from Gaius' support and staggered to his feet on hearing footsteps in the hallway.

"Merlin!" Arthur appeared around the corner and stopped as his eyes flitted over the scene. Gwen, Elyan, Percival, Leon, and Gwaine arrived close behind him, and Gwen brushed past the others with a soft gasp.

"Don't." Merlin held up a hand. Gwen stopped, and Arthur at her side narrowed his eyes silently at the warlock. He swallowed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable as he became aware of Leon's attention on him as well. He was treading on increasingly thin ice, but this time Gaius came to his aid.

"He's cursed, Arthur. Morgause used him to find you." Arthur's eyes widened, and Merlin felt guilt twisting deep in his chest at the distressed look on Gwen's face. Her eyes darted from Lance's prone figure back to Arthur.

"The base is under lockdown," Elyan said. "They won't reach him."

"Rodor and the others won't be able to stop them." Merlin shook his head emphatically, spurred on by the sense of urgency still nagging relentlessly at the back of his mind. "They have magic. We need to get Arthur away from here now." Maybe he'd told Gwaine more than he should have. The American's expression was more than inquisitive—not suspicion… something else. But it was the look on Leon's face that concerned Merlin the most—the keen, scrutinizing look he'd seen in the eyes of many Patroni before, but none who knew him so well as Arthur's young bodyguard. Merlin swallowed.

"How do you know that?" Arthur demanded. Merlin lifted his chin and looked Arthur in the eye as he tried to crush his apprehension. Despite himself, the customary banter he shared with Arthur won out over his sense of caution.

"A funny feeling?" he offered with a trace of pointed irony. Why, he wondered bitterly, could Arthur never just trust him? For the space of a breath, Arthur looked levelly back at him, then as abruptly as it had come on, the alarm stopped, and with it the lights shut noiselessly off. Merlin's breath caught in his throat. It reminded him eerily of his and Arthur's narrow escape from the riot on the train at Didcot Parkway. A new light came on—a small torch in Leon's hand—and seconds later mobile phone light from Percival as well. The broad shouldered man lifted his phone to illuminate Merlin and Gaius standing opposite him.

"I'm with Merlin on this one," he said quietly. He turned to look at Leon, and the Patronus nodded brusquely.

"Rodor should have sent someone to secure Arthur by now. Something's wrong here."

"Lance—" Arthur began.

"I'll take care of him," Gaius said. Merlin opened his mouth, blinked, and his heart dropped into his shoes.

"No… Gaius." Gaius rose and put a hand on Merlin's shoulder to silence him.

"You know Lance can't go with you," he murmured close to Merlin's ear. "Someone has to stay with him." Merlin shook his head.

"I can't leave you behind," he whispered. Gaius' grip tightened. He didn't need to answer. Arthur and Gwen. There was no way Merlin could leave them right now.

"Gaius, surely…" Arthur blinked and trailed off, shaking his head.

"There's nothing we can do for him?" Percival finished for him.

"You can stay safe and out of Cenred's hands," Gaius said. Gwen made a soft sound of distress, and Arthur wrapped an arm around her shoulders, murmuring something in her ear.

"Arthur. We need to go now." Leon moved to the blond's side, insistent, and Merlin was silently grateful for his intervention. Percival was the last to follow them, his face lined with worry when he finally tore his gaze from Lance's unconscious figure. Merlin swallowed the lump in his throat as he turned to go. Emrys… He couldn't be Emrys. Surely an all-powerful warlock could have found a way to break a curse… to protect his friends and family. Instead he felt like a traitor with every step he took further from Gaius.

The silence outside the building was eerie. Merlin followed close on Leon's heels, trying to extend his senses beyond his surroundings cautiously, without letting a sheen of gold show in his eyes. Leon moved to the edge of the building and held up a hand, signaling them to stop. The warning sense of magic nearby washed over Merlin with such force it almost made him feel sick. He felt Gwaine's hand on his shoulder, perhaps to steady him, and closed his eyes, waiting. He didn't need to see the passers by to know that they were some of Morgause's lot—possibly some of Cenred's too. Or maybe those two groups were now one and the same. It was hard to tell any longer.

As soon as the footsteps faded away, Leon beckoned them forward and they moved around the corner.

"This is ridiculous. They couldn't have taken the entire base without firing a shot. We need to go back," Elyan hissed. He looked half-panicked, and Merlin could hardly blame him. The warlock could feel his own heart pounding in his chest so hard he was all but certain the others could hear it.

"I've seen sorcerers do worse," Leon said grimly. His tone made Merlin shudder. Leon was a good eight or nine years older than Arthur. He didn't like to think what things Leon might remember from the Purge. The bodyguard scowled at his communicator then handed it and his handgun to Arthur. Arthur took them with a bewildered look, and Leon scaled the fence quietly and strapped the razor wire flat to the top with his belt. "Come," he ordered, beckoning. Elyan looked hesitant, but he asked no further questions and hung back to watch behind them as one by one they scrambled as quietly as possible over the fence.

Merlin followed second to last before Elyan, tense and wary as he searched for Morgause somewhere nearby. Sunlight was streaming through the gap between the two buildings where they stood, making it difficult to see. Merlin followed close behind Arthur and Gwen, still watching and listening with a racing heart.

"Someone's coming!" he warned abruptly, catching at Arthur's sleeve as Elyan dropped to the ground on the opposite side of the fence, taking Leon's belt with him.

"What?" Arthur stared at him, but Merlin ushered the others urgently backwards, around the corner of the adjacent building.

"We need to get out of the open," Leon said, drawing them back further.

"Here!" Elyan waved them over to the fire escape, and with careful step, Merlin led the way up the levels of the metal stairway.

"Get down!" he warned, instantly aware of the moment the two sorcerers turned the corner of the building. Gwaine crouched low against the wall, and Merlin huddled near him, watching the two men approach, silhouetted in the setting sunlight between the buildings. Merlin held his breath as they advanced down the alley. Neither of them spoke. The moment seemed to stretch into hours where he tried to breathe without sound, prayed that the others wouldn't make a noise… Please don't look up. Please don't look up… His heart was hammering until the men turned the corner and headed back towards the street. There are more… Merlin backed up a step from where Gwaine crouched and his fingers traced the outline of the window.

"Gwaine," he hissed. The window lock had clicked open quietly under his hand. He pushed it open. Gwaine beckoned to the others as Merlin ducked inside, and Leon followed last, pulling the window shut behind them before another figure rounded the corner.

The building was quiet. Inside the room was a maze-work of cubicle panels and desks, empty now: an office building, most likely past closing hours. It was almost dark outside already. As Merlin stepped further into the room, the lights came on. His breath caught until he saw the blinking motion sensor across the room. He breathed in and tried again to steady himself. His senses were still screaming danger—imminent and even closer than before.

"Where to now?" Percival asked. Leon crossed the room swiftly and shut the light off in case anyone should see it from the alley.

"Up," he concluded, turning to retrieve his belt and gun from Elyan and Arthur. "The gap between this building and the next is small. We can jump it and climb back to the ground on the next fire escape. With luck we'll be out of their search area, and we can reach a safe place to stay until we reestablish contact with Rodor."

"A safe place?" Gwen echoed worriedly.

"Arthur's uncle lives nearby," Leon said. "He'll give us a place to stay off the street while we make contact with the military again." Aggravaine. Merlin nodded quietly. He had a vague memory of the man from a Christmas some time ago. Leon opened the door to the hallway and scanned it, then beckoned them after him, and the five followed him still in tense silence.

The second they stepped out into the hall, a silent warning surged through Merlin's mind, stronger and sharper than before. Leon had his weapon in hand as he approached the corner, and Merlin lunged forward.

"Leon!" He reached for the Patronus' arm. Leon jerked backwards the barest split-second before the gunfire started. Merlin barely had a second to wonder how the hell Cenred had known where they were before fire seared through his leg, sharp, unexpected, and debilitating.

"Get back!" Leon was shouting. Another gunshot went off near Merlin's head—Leon's handgun—then several more. Merlin reached for the wall, stumbled a couple of steps forward, then crumpled to the ground, clutching at his leg just as the man in front of him simultaneously dropped and fell face forward, shot in the chest. Then a wall of live flames erupted behind him.

Someone was shouting Merlin's name. Perhaps several people were. Merlin clumsily reached for the wall, trying to pull himself up, and a cool hand touched his face.

"Hello, Merlin." The fingers cupped his cheek and turned it gently. Merlin gritted his teeth. A pair of brilliant sapphire-blue eyes smiled at him. He clenched his teeth and tried to jerk away from her, then his body was lifted from the ground like a ragdoll. He bit his tongue over a strangled cry. His leg was burning like fire, and his vision swam with dark spots. And damn Kilgarah… he'd sworn that Nimueh and Morgause wouldn't be working together…

"Arthur…" His voice was choked. He struggled as she looked passively up at him.

"Your precious Pendragon won't hear you young one. Don't waste your breath," she said gently, and she dropped him.

Merlin's leg buckled instantly. Blood roared in his ears and he squeezed his eyes shut.

"You know…" Nimueh's voice pierced the haze of mind-numbing pain. "The remarkable thing about you, Merlin Astur, is that you're always in the way." Nimueh's mocking voice returned close to his ear. She took his chin and tilted his head up. "But not this time." Merlin tried again to push himself up with his hands on the wall. "Oh no." A small burst of magic shoved him back against the wall gasping and struggling again. "Don't get up on my account." She flicked her hand carelessly and Merlin slumped to the floor shaking as she turned to go. The curtain of flames parted for her. No… Merlin managed to push himself up just enough stretch out a hand towards her and reached for his magic. The pain in his leg faded a little as it thrummed through his body, and the flames blazed to life, a veritable bonfire in her path. Merlin clenched his teeth, and as Nimueh turned slowly to face him, he pulled himself to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall, and looked her in the eye. Nimueh's expression was anything but afraid.

"Learn a little party trick, did you, Merlin?" she asked, turning her head with a lilt of condescension as though she were addressing a child.

"Stay away from them," Merlin snarled through his teeth.

"You think you can stop me?" The laugh burst from Merlin's throat before he could stop it. He was tired, in pain, and he couldn't see any way out of this that spelled good fortune for him. But that… that he could manage.

"I know I can." He didn't even need to move. Merlin stretched out a hand, palm open, and as Nimueh's laughter died on her lips, the hallway vanished in a melee of fire, wind, and debris. Arthur was yelling… at least that was what it sounded like. It was the last thing Merlin was aware of before the structure around him crumbled and consciousness flickered out along with the flames.

AN2: HA! You thought I'd let you go without a cliffhanger? You thought WRONG... sorry...

Guest, you make a fair point about Arthur. I didn't do him justice. I cut his conversation with Gwen short, because the chapter was from Merlin's POV, so we'll assume that he asked Gwen about what happened after Merlin left the room to talk to Gaius? Anyway… I'll be making up for lack of Arthur & Gwen interaction in the next couple chapters, I hope.

Sonia415353, welcome to the waiting room! :P Sorry I make y'all wait so long, but as you say, it's sandwiched in between my crazily busy life. Thank you so much for your review! As you can see, my writing changed quite a bit from the beginning of this story. From Mordred's entry and onward I decided to take my own path a lot more rather than so much doing a retelling. :) And by the way, you will be seeing Mordred again very soon…

And to everyone, thanks again for being so patient and sticking with me! IN CASE YOU DON'T HEAR FROM ME AGAIN BEFORE MAY... here's wishing you all an amazing spring! Here's to a hopefully successful and productive last semester... and to my bachelor's degree which I'll officially complete on May 19th!

HAPPY 2015!
Yours,
Sandyy