So glad to see that people are still out there! Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry it's a bit long, I didn't want to put in an awkward break. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own either Merlin or Bones.

The ride to the Temple of Assuard was not nearly as bad as King Arthur had thought it would be. Sure, Merlin and Gwaine were annoying with their jokes and tales as always, but the king couldn't help but laugh at their antics along with the other knights. The only problem with the ride was the uneasy feeling he had about the unavoidable battle that was to come when they reached the temple and the presence of their unwelcomed travel companion.

"Arthur, are you alright," Queen Guinevere asked her husband as the two rode next to each other. His face held onto a frown like he was a statue and worry grew into her heart as she stared at him looking so sullen.

He turned to look at her, his face riddled with anger and fear. Ugh, she thought with an angry frown appearing on her own face. This again!

"Arthur," she said exasperatedly while rolling her eyes. "Would you stop being such a baby about me coming along with you. Gaius said that it would be easier for you if a woman was present. I don't see why you are still pouting about it like a small child. You know I can handle myself, and that I won't get into the fight."

He narrowed his eyes and looked back to the back of his horse's head. He remembered what Gaius had said about the temple. It was made for a priestess and run by priestesses. In the past, such temples had magic traps surrounding them that, in the presence of a woman would not activate. It had something to do with only certain men being allowed to enter the temple and only with a priestess. He didn't really understand it, but Gaius insisted. And of course, it just had to be his wife, despite his protests and orders, who volunteered. Not like he could order her to do anything really.

He looked back to his wife and sighed as she smiled with her eyebrows raised. Why is she so stubborn?

He sighed again and returned her smile, before looking towards the trail in front of him.

"I'm just, he began to say, "worried about the battle. Morgana must know something of the temple, some magic or weapon or people who are there, and whatever it may be, it seems it'll only give her that much more of an advantage."

He turned back to Gwen, her lips pursed into a worried expression before she spoke. "I know, I fear what is to come as well. But I feel in my heart that everything will be fine, Arthur. We will be fine."

She ended by smiling encouragingly towards him and putting her hand on his shoulder. He smiled back. It was a nice moment until they were brought back to reality.

"Hey, Princess!" Gwaine shouted from behind them. He could hear Merlin stifle a chuckle at the name. Arthur looked back towards his knight and saw that he was pointing through the trees. "I think we are here!"

The king followed where the knight was pointing through the branches of the trees, there was a large stone building, covered in moss and jutting like a small mountain in the middle of the forest.

Arthur sighed again, before telling his horse to speed up towards the dangerous building.

Must stay alert was the only thought on Merlin's mind as they dismounted from their horses and walked up the stone steps to the entrance of the temple. He had spent the previous nights researching the temple in books to find out more information on it but found nothing more than what Gaius had already told him. It was a temple to the spirit of a high priestess who protected those with a pure heart.

That didn't tell him why Morgana, who was anything but pure of heart, wanted with the building. The thought that perhaps she just was rallying her armies here did not slip his mind, which only made him that more nervous. That would mean that it could be just a few knights versus a whole army, and those odds were not in their favor.

Going in with a lack of knowledge and not knowing what to expect was something that Merlin was no stranger to, but it did not mean he was any less anxious about it. He had to be ready to protect his friends at the drop of a pin, so his eyes were wide with anticipation as Percival and Elyan opened the wooden doors of the temple.

The group prepared a few torches, unsheathed their swords and walked through the doorway, down a long dark hallway and entered a grand room that was bigger than Camelot's Great Hall. Statues of a woman lined the walls. Unlit torches could be seen next to each statue. Off to the far left wall from the entrance hallway they were in was an even larger statue of the woman. It had such detail that you could see every hair on her head, every lash of he opened eyes and every tooth of her grin as she smiled towards the center of the room. Her stone hands were outstretched on either side and each held onto a small glass orb, their outsides marked with runes of the Old Religion. One had wisps of gold while the other had wisps of purple swirling from within.

The Camelot party was just getting used to their surroundings when suddenly a strong breeze filled the room, and the torches they were carrying went out, leaving them in total darkness. Not a moment passed before the torches on the walls roared with flame one by one, until the entire room was bright. Coming out of their sudden stupor, the group looked towards the center of the room to see a woman dressed in dark clothing approaching from another hallway across from them.

Morgana.

"Hello brother, dear," Morgana sneered as she entered the great room, heading directly towards the center of the room. Her eyes were locked with those of her half-brother's who glared angrily back. The sight filled her with rage and defiance which made her chuckle to herself. "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here?"

"Morgana, what do you want with this temple," Arthur asked, not trying to hold back the disdain in his voice. His eyes narrowed as she laughed, making him even madder.

"Well, I didn't realize that we've moved past the pleasantries already," she said with an angry smirk. She sighed and began walking towards the statue with the orbs, stopping in front of the purple one. "Tell me, brother, do you know of the Eyes of Statera?"

She looked back to see only a furrowed brow and a glare from Arthur, and she laughed. "Of course you wouldn't, our monster of a father burned the records of my kind in Camelot long ago."

"Do not speak of my father in such a way," Arthur growled pointing his sword towards Morgana. She only smirked, seemingly unfazed by the threat. Before she lifted the purple orb off the stone hand and grasped it into her own, twirling it around in her hands as she smiled at the wisps. She looked up to see her enemies staring at her intently. The sight made her smile more as she saw the look of fear, particularly in Merlin and Gwen's eyes.

"You see long ago, there was a powerful sorcerer who saw the injustices of the world and wished to put an end to them. After losing his wife and children to a tyrant king, not unlike Uther, he did something brash. He tore out his eyes," Morgana told the tale while holding the purple orb in her hand and staring at the others across the room. "Eyes are a tool of magic you see, and the sorcerer realized that he could sacrifice some of his own magic to help the world and ensure what happened to his family would never happen to anyone ever again.

"He used the magic his eyes contained and used them to create two orbs. In one contained dark magic which could harm the enemies of peace. In the other contained magic of the light to protect the innocent," she said looking down at the purple orb in her hand and towards the golden one still on the statue. She looked towards the others who all looked pale as they were catching onto what exactly was in her hands.

Oh no! Merlin was frantically looking towards the statue and the orbs, sensing that there was powerful magic radiating from the small balls. He didn't like the fact that Morgana had one that was screaming dark magic.

"You see despite what he wanted, men used the relics not to aid humanity but to protect themselves and abuse others. So the High Priestess of Assuard, wanting to protect mankind hid them away to keep them out of the reach of the greedy. But, dear brother, I am sure that she will not mind if I borrow this power to smite the son of the man who killed so many of her kind," Morgana said, acid seeming to drip from her tongue. She suddenly ran towards the group, causing them to go into battle stances as she approached and stuck the purple orb out in front of herself.

Purple smoke and light emanated from the object as the runes glowed gold. The smoke reached the group and pain was all they felt. It felt like they were being burnt from the inside out. All of them began to scream and drop to their knees, unable to do anything but feel the burn.

Merlin lay on the stone floor in agony as he watched Arthur and the knights try their best to stand and fight the pain. He looked to Gwen who appeared to be in a crumpled pile behind him. And then he looked towards the woman in the center of the room laughing as she watched them suffer. I must do something, but what?

He looked around the room for anything he could use to stop the witch, maybe knock the orb from her hands. His eyes moved to the ceiling and as quietly as he could muster, he whispered, "Laquearia ruinam."

His eyes flashed gold, but the ceiling remained where it was. Nothing caved in on the witch. What?!

He looked frantically towards the rest of the group to see what was happening with them only to see Arthur crawling towards Morgana, the knights trying to do the same, with a determined look on his face. Morgana only laughed at the spectacle before her.

"Come now brother, it'll all be over soon," she cooed as she took a step back, making the hem of her skirt just out of Arthur's reach.

No! Merlin got to his knees. I must do something!

He looked frantically around the room, realizing that perhaps the room was protected from magic. He thought about pushing Morgana back but he was growing weaker and didn't think he had such a spell in him. His eyes landed on the statue and the other orb in her hands. The eye of protection.

With the last of his will his eyes flashed gold, and the orb flew from the stone hand and onto the floor. It rolled along the stone floor before a gloved hand of a knight grabbed it. Percival held it up and its own runes began to glow and golden wisps and light emerged surrounding the group and blowing the purple smoke towards Morgana as she stared on in shock and screamed, "No!"

As the gold wisps drove away their pain, the knights and king felt their strength returning and stood, readying themselves for a fight. Percival passed the orb to one of the others as he struggled to steady himself.

"No!" Morgana shouted again; anger plastered on her face. Arthur smirked slightly at his sister's frustration, as he moved towards her with his sword. She screamed as more purple smoke emerged from the orb, but the golden wisps shot out in retaliation. Soon the room was filled with a mixture of purple smoke and golden light as a battle of magic rang on.

Merlin stood and ran to help Gwen into a sitting position as her face twisted into one of horror and amazement at the spectacle before them. The knights and Morgana stood in the middle of the magic fight, desperately trying to reach one another to make the fight even more physical.

Despite whatever magical warnings were protecting the temple, he felt the ground to begin to shake as the power of the orbs continued to be displayed. Suddenly a column crashed behind Gwen, blocking the hall they came from. Then the ceiling behind Morgana caved in, making half the room a pile of rubble.

Merlin stood to the side, unsure of what to do other than use his magic, but in order to do so, he would have to reveal himself to not only their worst enemy but the king and knights as well. But if he didn't use his magic they would all be trapped or worse crushed in this broken temple. His friends and he would die. My friends are going to die unless I do something!

He contemplated it for all of a second before he reached out his hand and shouted, "Salvosque pretium interficietur!"

Arthur turned confusion on his face, towards the shouting to see Merlin's eyes go from the blue he'd been accustomed to, to a vivid gold that burned as wisps of blue shot from his palms and reached towards Morgana.

Then the world went still. Literally.

No one moved or blinked or breathed. The wisps of magic and smoke stopped moving as well. Everything was locked in position and time, except for Merlin.

He lowered his hand and looked around very confused. What have I done?

"You haven't done anything, Emyrs," a woman's voice stated calmly from the left of the room. Merlin's eyes darted towards her. Standing where the statue had been was a woman in a red and silver gown, with blonde hair and golden eyes. She looked around his age. He instantly recognized her as the woman the statue was of. She smiled as she made her way towards him, walking around the frozen people in the room.

"I am the High Priestess of Assuard, Aasha, and I have frozen your friends," she spoke softly as she looked him in the eyes. His face held confusion and concern.

"Why," he asked.

"Because it is my duty to protect those pure of heart," she said with a smile.

"Arthur," Merlin whispered, looking towards his friend who's frozen face was still looking towards him. His stomach twisted when he saw the look of shock.

"No," she said bluntly, but still with a soft voice. He looked back towards her, with an even more confused look. She giggled in return. "Your friends all share good in their hearts Emyrs, but they are not the ones in danger. You are."

"What?"

"You will die here in this battle if I do not intervene," she said nodding towards the fight going on behind them.

"How do you know that?"

"It is one of two possible futures I have seen. One where I help and one in which I do not. Since I am duty bound to save those pure in soul, then I must make the second outcome occur."

"So, you will help us defeat Morgana," Merlin asked pointing with his finger towards the dark-haired woman. The priestess smiled up to him.

"No," she said and his face fell. "I cannot harm the living."

"Then what will you do," Merlin asked a bit annoyed.

"I can give you a fighting chance."

"How?"

"I cannot aid only one side in this battle, it is against my nature, but I can make it so the battle must begin again," she said moving towards her original spot along the wall.

"You are going to turn back time?"

"No, but I can make it so in the future the battle will have been forgotten and can begin in a different way if at all."

"I am confused," Merlin said waving his hands towards the woman, almost pleading her to make him understand.

"It'll make sense when you wake up."

"When I wake up?"

"Yes. When you emerge from the stone, you, your friends and your enemy will all wake with you. No one will remember anything but you of what has occurred here. I shall watch over you to ensure that the stones are intact while you sleep," she said as she stood against the wall, a smile on her face.

"Stones? Sleep? What are you talking about," Merlin was more confused than ever.

"When the battle is done, return the eyes, and you and your friends shall return to this place only a day from when we are now. This is my gift and the gift of the Old Religion to the caretaker of magic," she said as she stretched out her hand.

"Wait!" Merlin stepped forward, still unsure of what she was doing. She smiled back at him.

"Return the eyes, Emyrs," she said before her eyes glowed a bright gold and Merlin was surrounded by darkness.

It seemed to only be a few moments later that he awoke to the bright lights, the strange room and the odd woman looking at him.

"What has happened Merlin," Arthur asked, sounding a little annoyed that the answer wasn't given sooner, as Merlin was lost in his memories of the event.

Merlin looked at his friends and the strangers, all of whom except an older man to his right had gotten closer and were watching him intently as he revealed the tale. He left out the parts of his magic and said that the priestess had actually told all of them what was to occur. He told them he didn't know why no one else remembered, but they needed to find the eyes and even more so, Morgana.

Everyone was silent as they stared at him. Arthur looked like he was contemplating what was just revealed, trying to wrap his mind around it when his attention was brought to the strangers in the room.

"So," Dr. Hodgins began as he stepped closer towards the group, a smirk on his face. "You're really King Arthur?"

Arthur looked at the excited man pointing at him and nodded, concerned for the reason behind the man's excitement.

"That's so cool dude," Hodgins said with a giant grin on his face. He then pointed towards the knights. "And you guys are the knights of the round table?"

Percival, Leon, and Gwaine shared looks with each other before nodding, also wary of the man as their king was. Hodgins nodded while still grinning.

"And if what I have heard is true," he said looking at Merlin, "then you are Merlin, as in 'The Merlin'."

Arthur's eyes narrowed as did Merlin's. Both had the same thought. What does he mean 'The Merlin?'

Hodgins saw the confused looks he was getting so his smile faded as he tried to explain better.

"You know, advisor to the king of Camelot? The grand poobah of wizards?"

The looks of confusion only grew. Advisor to the king? What's a wizard? Poobah?

"You know the really famous magic guy," Agent Booth added, sensing that his friend was not conveying the idea properly.

Merlin immediately paled and felt like he was going to faint.

See you in the next chapter!