Sorry this chapter took a little longer, I've been pretty busy. Thanks again for all the support, keep posting those reviews, please! They really do make my day and I love them, even if they're short. I do not own Merlin. Enjoy Chapter 9! (should be wrapping this up around chapter 11 or 12)

Everyone jumped and immediately looked alarmed. It wasn't a yell of anger or aggression, but one of fear. Merlin was the first to react, jumping up from the chair and rushing to Morgana and Mordred. He was about to ask what was wrong as he looked around wildly, and suddenly saw that Mordred's eyes were open and they looked normal, but he wasn't moving at all, not breathing. His eyes were lively and full of life, but when Merlin put a hand on his neck, it was cold and his skin was a faint tint of blue.

He was dead.

Merlin frowned, looking at Mordred's eyes and shuddered slightly. The color was still clear, his eyes not glazed over like they would be if he was dead. Properly dead. But Merlin did judge that he was dead, his eyes would not change that.

"Oh Mordred….I'm sorry," Merlin said quietly. He reached forward to close his eyes for him, when Mordred's hand shot up to grab him around the wrist. Merlin gave a small yell. By this point, everyone was gathered around and they all jumped when Merlin did.

"Merlin?" his voice rasped quietly. He sat up slowly, his hand gripping Merlin's wrist tightly to help him sit up. Merlin was partly in shock and partly mortified.

"Mordred, you're dead," he said sternly. He didn't say it to be mean, but rather because he was very confused at this point.

"Am I?" he asked, observing his very slightly blue-tinted skin and frowning. He looked around just as slowly and everyone was just staring with their mouths slightly ajar. "The voices...they've gone," he spoke again.

"Um...good," Merlin replied, "I think that's good." Mordred nodded in his zombielike state, his bright blue eyes even brighter than perhaps they should have been. It was silent for another minute before there was a far-off bark from Bear. It made everyone jump again and soon Bear was tearing into the room. Gwaine yelped when Bear knocked into him and fell sideways, Percival catching him around the elbows and propping him back up.

Mordred observed the dog calmly. He didn't seem troubled by the fact that Gwaine's dog had its fur and haunches completely on edge and was growling aggressively at him. Percival stepped forward and slid his hand under the dog's collar to pull him back, but now he was up to his thigh and was almost stronger than he was. Bear didn't move, keeping his eyes locked on Mordred and kept growling and bearing his teeth.

"Bear!" Gwaine called sharply. The dog did not respond. Merlin frowned. He glanced at Mordred and back at the aggressive dog. Bear was one of the most affectionate dogs Merlin had ever seen, and he had lived a long time, and he loved Mordred, Gwaine, and Percival, and now he wasn't responding to any of them.

"Do not worry," Mordred murmured. He brought up a hand and waved it slowly in front of the dog's face. Bear stopped, straightening up, before his legs suddenly gave way and he fell the floor, eyes shut. Gwaine and Percival gave a yelp and ran to him, and Gwaine looked up and demanded,

"What did you do to him?" When Mordred didn't answer, Gwaine walked up to him aggressively and put a hand lightly around his neck and said, "I gave you another chance. I will ask you one. More. Time. What. Did you do. To my dog?" At this point he was growling in Mordred's face. Everyone seemed hesitant to stop him. Merlin put a light hand on Gwaine's shoulder.

"Gwaine, don't-" Gwaine smacked his hand away. Merlin went over to the dog and put a hand on his head, closing his eyes to listen. Gwaine tightened his grip on Mordred's neck, but he still did not respond.

"Gwaine, he's not dead, he's sleeping," Merlin called. Percival looked relieved and Gwaine released his grip on Mordred, but kept a steady frown as he stared at him.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked Merlin.

"I don't know, honestly."

"Well, find out," Gwaine growled, before grabbing Percival by the arm and lifting Bear by himself out of the room and into his own room. Merlin watched helplessly and then he looked at everyone else. Most of the knights looked disappointed, as if they had expected this to happen, but didn't want to believe it would. Gwen was comforting Morgana, who looked terrified and upset. Gaius was looking at Merlin expectantly, and so was Freya. Arthur didn't meet his gaze. Merlin glanced back at Mordred, who looked dreamy and not aware of his surroundings.

Merlin frowned at him, before pulling two objects out of his pockets and walking over to the dead Druid. He attached the magical inhibitors to his wrist, using both for extra precaution and then stepped back. Mordred did not protest, just looking at them curiously and smiling mindlessly at Merlin. Merlin eyed him warily and tried to send him a message in his mind. Mordred showed no indication he had heard and as Merlin tried to search for that connection, like looking for a contact on a phone, but found nothing. Mordred wasn't there. Something else had filled his head.

The lake was controlling him.

((()))

Merlin packed up a few necessities and tried to head out the door quietly. Gwaine had not protested when Mordred came in to sleep in their room again that night, but Merlin was next to positive he wasn't sleeping. This made him nervous, but Mordred had no power without his magic. As Merlin tried to creep out of the cottage to look for answers at the lake, he heard a floorboard creak behind him.

"Where are you going?" a voice demanded. Merlin hissed in dissatisfaction and turned around. Sure enough, a tall figure with arms crossed eyed him warily.

"Arthur," he hissed, "You're supposed to be asleep."

"So are you."

"I'm busy."

"With what?"

"I'm trying to help Mordred get better! Go back to sleep!"

"Merlin." Merlin heard a slight twinge of longing in his voice when he said his name, and he felt the same longing in his heart. He didn't want to be upset with Arthur anymore. But he needed to protect him.

"You can't come," he said firmly. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"You couldn't stop me if you wanted to."

"I have magic."

"You won't use it on me."

"Want to bet?"

"You won't."

"I have before."

"When my life was in immediate danger."

"It is in immediate danger, it is always in immediate danger as long as Mordred is like this." Arthur glanced around and said sardonically,

"Don't see any imminent danger now." He stepped into the moonlight closer to Merlin until they were about a foot away. Merlin looked defiantly at him, raising his chin, and Arthur looked down at him with a challenging gaze.

"Arthur….I'm trying to keep you safe," Merlin protested.

"And you're doing a great job, just like you always have," Arthur said quietly. Merlin's heart was pounding in his chest and he was sure Arthur could hear it. "And I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not. You always followed me into danger when I've told you not to so you could make sure I was okay. And now I'm doing the same for you." Merlin huffed loudly,

"Not this time. And you don't owe me anything, don't think you do."

"I owe you everything and think about it. Aren't I safer with you than here with Mordred?" Merlin whined slightly at Arthur's logic,

"Maybe, but...I'm going to the lake, that may be even more dangerous." Arthur's eyes widened.

"The lake? Merlin, you can't, it will control you-"

"I know that's a risk and that's why I don't want you to come. Besides, I'm aware it might happen now and I'm next to positive I can make sure that doesn't happen again."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Well that's totally not a huge risk then," he said sarcastically.

"Please," Merlin pleaded, "Please stay here and stay safe. Freya can protect you. She's controlled her transformation into a Bastet, so she can use it to her advantage." Arthur let out a disappointed breath. He really expected Merlin to give in. He looked down sadly at his hands.

"Alright," he said finally, "But you'd better not come back dead or possessed, or I will kill you myself!" Merlin smirked.

"Even if I'm already dead?"

"Even if you're already dead, I will find a way to kill you again."

"Okay, Arthur." Suddenly Arthur swooped down and pecked Merlin's lips lightly.

"Be safe. Have fun," he smirked. Merlin took a minute to recover, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Okay. I will," he squeaked, before heading out the door. He grinned widely when he left the cottage, his cheeks burning with emotion. He hoped he would come back soon. He hoped this wasn't a mistake.

((()))

Merlin stood on the edge of the island, staring at the water defiantly as if it might just pull him down with no warning.

"I know you're there," he said, his voice shaking, "Show yourself." He could have sworn he heard the water chuckle in light amusement. He watched it for another minute before he heard a trickle as the body of the lake started piling on itself to form a body. A woman walked out of the water, a figure Merlin recognized. She was just made of water and theoretically she couldn't hurt him, but he wasn't keen to test that.

"Emrys," she hissed, her eyes burning, but her voice cold and amused.

"Morgause," he greeted her, taking a couple steps back.

"You have taken my sister," she said simply, "Why?"

"She came of her own free will. She loved you, but she wanted nothing more than to be loved again."

"I loved her!" Morgause hissed again, "Mordred loved her too, and Agravaine!"

"Not the way she wanted to be loved," Merlin answered as if teaching her a school lesson, "She knew she was being manipulated by all of them."

"I did not manipulate her! She shared my will and tried to help me carry through with it." Morgause sounded furious.

"So this is partly about Morgana then," Merlin said, trying to make his voice stop shaking slightly.

"Yes…." Morgause growled, "You took her from me!"

"She did that herself."

"You deceived her into thinking you loved her, but you do not."

"Not me, perhaps, but Gwen and Arthur did at one time, and are trying to do so again," he said casually, "So what do you want?"

"We told you what we want."

"And I told you, you can't have it. So why the sudden interest? You never bothered us before."

"You….disturbed us." Merlin frowned.

"I did not mean to. How?"

Morgause grinned as if triumphant all of a sudden.. "You brought your friends back to life."

"Not on purpose! You were controlling me!" he protested. She shook her head.

"No, Emrys, we did not possess you. You wanted it with your whole being, but you knew the consequences. So we gave you the willpower to do it in a moment of weakness."

"So what are you saying?" Morgause shook her head, still grinning.

"I cannot help you. Nimeuh is coming, she wishes to speak to you." Merlin frowned and gave a sharp intake of breath when the water form changed into the form of Nimeuh. She smiled with her cold smile that always gave Merlin shivers. She was his first real opponent.

"Well hello, Merlin," she said, "What brings you here?" She smirked. She knew the answer, and she was acting as if she had just told a funny joke.

"I killed you, Nimeuh," he said boldly, "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you."

"Ahh yes," she replied, not wavering, "You were young and clueless as to what you were doing."

"I knew exactly what I was doing," he hissed, "And it was the right decision."

"To save Gaius, yes, perhaps," she said, "But you made a mistake in bringing him back again."

"That's what Morgause told me. What is the significance of bringing them back? What has it done?"

She giggled. "You have awoken us and disrupted the balance of the world. No one died in their place. Freya was right to tell you something was wrong, Merlin, and you should have listened." Merlin's eyes widened.

"So what does that mean?" he demanded, "What do I do to right things again?"

"Well I can tell you," she said smoothly, "But you're not going to like it, or do it, really."

"Tell me," Merlin demanded. Nimeuh looked thoughtful for a minute before responding.

"You must send your companions back from whence they came,

Or you must once again fear the wrath of Arthur's Bane."

"Send them back…? But I can't…" Nimeuh laughed, the cold tone chilling his bones.

"'Tis the only way, Merlin," she chuckled. She paused before a sudden expression of fear came over her and she doubled over in pain, screaming,

"I am sorry! I thought he was to know! It was told it was told! I am sorry, he was to know!" Merlin covered his eyes as her water-based figure exploded and water slapped him in the face. He was careful not to touch it if he could help it, but where it touched it, it burned him. He clenched his teeth together, feeling the remaining spirits pulling at him, trying to kill or control him. He let out a loud shriek that he only used in emergencies, and all presences within the perimeter of the lake were either obliterated or blown away. The lake was silent after that, the water just slapping the shore lightly.

Merlin walked back across the lake, careful not to touch the water by levitating slightly above it, and found himself at the lakeside again. A bush rustled when he got there, and he stuck his hands out in defense before he saw a familiar head pop up with a familiar glare on his face.

"Arthur!" Merlin hissed in indignation, "I almost blasted you! You scared me!" Arthur looked like a deer in the headlights as he pointed at the island.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, sounding incredibly worried, "You were talking and talking and talking and then lightning came down and blasted something and shocked the water and you were screaming, I could hear you from here and I called out for you and you didn't hear me and I tripped and the water hurt me!" he narrated quickly. Then he stuck out his arm for Merlin to see an angry red burn down his forearm. Merlin reached out to put a finger on it, but Arthur pulled it away.

"I'm trying to heal it, you clotpole!" he snapped, "You weren't supposed to be here, I told you to stay home!" Arthur rolled his eyes and let Merlin heal it. Only a long thin white scar remained when he as finished.

"Yeah, like I was going to let you go alone. Come on, Merlin, even you're not that thick." Merlin held his ground.

"You can 't just….what happened if you….what about…" he stammered, "I wouldn't be able to bear it if you were killed, Arthur! They want you!" Merlin glared at him and Arthur looked hurt.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. But you're my friend and we should always be together," he said firmly, "And nothing is going to convince me otherwise. You always followed me around to the point where I was willing to throttle you, and yet you did it anyway."

"That was different! My destiny is to protect you!" Merlin protested.

Arthur raised an eyebrow and reminded him, "You said we're two sides of the same coin. Doesn't the same apply to me for you?" Once again, the logic of Arthur Pendragon won Merlin over and he replied,

"Okay, I guess. But don't scare me like that again! At least tell me you're still going to follow me!" Arthur smirked.

"Alright. Idiot." He ruffled his hair affectionately as Merlin mumbled,

"Clotpole…" Arthur pulled him into a headlock and noogied him.

"Shut up, Merlin."

"Never!" he laughed, trying to swat Arthur away.

((()))

They walked back to the cottage, Merlin's hand entwined in Arthur's. As they rounded the corner to the cottage, Merlin heard a loud scream and barking from Bear. The two looked at each other in mutual fear and they hurried into the house, releasing each other's hands. A yell of rage came from within and Merlin quickly located the source of the problem. It came from Morgana's room. Merlin found the hallway clogged by people trying to get into the room, the door shut by magic, it appeared. Gwaine turned and saw Merlin, fear and anger in his eyes.

"Merlin! Mordred's gone nuts, he's locked in there with Morgana and Gwen and both of the girls are freaking out! I don't know what's going on!" He gave the door another good shove, but it didn't even shudder. "Get our weapons," he hissed at Merlin. Merlin hesitated for a minute before rushing to the chest where he had put a magical seal on the weapons. He opened it quickly and with Arthur's help, they hobbled into the hallway and the knights grabbed their swords. Freya was working on the door with her own magic, but it wasn't helping, and it threw her backwards every time she tried. There was only one person Merlin didn't see.

"Lancelot, where's Gaius?" Merlin asked his friend.

"I think he's in the room with the herbs, making sure he has some to help. And he's also trying to figure out what happened to Mordred. It's not as simple as it seems, he said." Merlin nodded and went to go find his old mentor. If he knew what was wrong with Mordred, he could try to fix him. The knights behind him kept trying to hack at the door uselessly.

"Gaius!" Merlin exclaimed as he sprang into the room, "Do you know what it is?" Gaius glanced at him.

"Oh good, you're back. One second. I'm still working on it. But I fear…." he trailed off, flipping pages back and forth in his book.

"What is it?" Merlin asked anxiously. Gaius gestured him over and informed him quietly,

"I fear it's too late for Mordred, for one thing. He's gone. It is not him attacking Morgana and Gwen, it is something else living inside him."

"I figured that much. I hope wherever he is, the real Mordred is happy. He really did try to save us," Merlin replied a little sadly.

"Well, yes, but here's another thing," Gaius continued, "You'll need that sword of Arthur's again. I think the rest of the century is rather lacking in swords forged in the dragon's breath, what about you?" Merlin nodded and replied,

"Oh wait. But Freya isn't in the lake which means….I can't get to the sword without going in there. Gaius, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. But if you don't go and get it properly, it will come out its proper age and basically be dust. So summoning it won't work, you'll need to get down there yourself. Or appease the spirits long enough to."

"Brilliant," Merlin muttered, "Totally easy. Everyone who's ever hated me is in that lake, you know. I'm sure they'll just let me pass."

"Well is there anything you can give them?"

"Ah yes, brilliant, Gaius. I shall hand them Arthur's soul and then they'll leave us alone and I won't need the sword in the first place. Absolutely novel idea."

"Anything else?"

"Well...Morgause said something about Morgana, but they can't have her either." Gaius made a face. "I can't just throw her in there! That's not fair to her or us!"

Gaius continued making the face at Merlin. The face that said, 'You'd better not screw up, Merlin. You should do the right thing, Merlin.' "Gaius!" Merlin protested. Gaius stopped, but sighed.

"I think you should do whatever you think is best, Merlin," he told him, "Just make sure it's best for everyone else, too." Merlin huffed impatiently and went out to find the rest of the party. The door was still firmly closed, but in a small flare of rage and frustration, Merlin blasted it open. Mordred was there with Morgana and Gwen. Morgana had her arms out in front of her in defense and her eyes glowed gold as she tried to use magic against him, but it made little difference. Mordred was being held back by Gwen, who was trying to keep him away from Morgana, but it wasn't helping much either. Merlin gestured for Morgana to get out and for Gwen to back away slowly and then run away too. All of the knights rushed at Mordred the second that the girls weren't in danger and clobbered him with everything they had, but also with little effect. He was already dead, he couldn't get much dead-er. He tried to advance past them until Freya suddenly shook her head and transformed into a Bastet. While she couldn't kill him perhaps, she could certainly pin him down for a while. With a huge paw the width of a man's whole chest and then some, she pushed Mordred to the floor easily and bared her teeth at him, growling aggressively. Mordred did not look worried by this at all.

Merlin walked away from the scene was Mordred was contained by his own magic plus Freya watching over him in her Bastet form, and grabbed Arthur and Morgana by the wrist, steering them away into a secluded room. Morgana still looked terrified and Arthur just confused. He tried to comfort her on the way to wherever Merlin was taking them, but with little success.

"Merlin, what happened?" both of them asked at the same time.

"Working on it," he mumbled, "Sit down." Without further delay, he pushed them down on the couch behind them and he sat on a chair across from them. He put his hand on his forehead and started, "Okay, look…."

"I spoke to the vengeful spirits from the Lake and they told me something….I didn't really want to hear. You two are the most important for this besides Mordred, but he's out to lunch, so you two'll just have to do." He paused before continuing, "I accidentally brought everyone I was closest with back to life, including you, Morgana, and Mordred." Morgana looked calmer at this point, but she was drinking in his words, as was Arthur. "Morgause was there. She, ah, she told me that it was a mistake. That wasn't meant to happen."

"Wait-" Morgana interrupted, narrowing her eyes, "Wasn't this what you were arguing with Freya about?"

"Excuse me?"

"She didn't tell me, per say, but she was upset the other day and I kind of coaxed her into telling me what was wrong."

"Morgana," Merlin reprimanded.

"Well, is it?" she pressed.

"Yes, but that's not really-"

"My business? Since when have I ever butted out?" Morgana chuckled, "You know me better than that, Merlin." Merlin felt the corners of his mouth want to curl up, but he kept the scowl on his face as best he could.

"Let him finish, Morgana," Arthur interjected. She nodded and gestured for Merlin to continue.

"So then Nimeuh showed up and told me something I don't think they liked. They said that to put the spirits to rest again, I have to kind of re-balance out the universe because no one died when you guys came back…"

"So you're telling us we have to die again," Morgana cleared up.

"Not exactly...well, yes. I mean, Arthur's supposed to be here. The rest of you….aren't. It's not really my choice," Merlin apologized. Morgana raised an eyebrow at Arthur.

"Quite frankly, I think if you'd had a choice, you'd choose him over us any day," she told him. Merlin frowned at her.

"I would not! You don't know that!" he told her. Arthur looked solemn, but Morgana snorted,

"You would so." Arthur looked torn between denying it as well or asking Merlin silently to say he would and reassure him.

"It doesn't matter who I would pick, it's not my decision," he argued. Morgana rolled her eyes and leaned back against the couch, flicking Arthur's hair with her fingers, making him jump.

"Why are you so tense, brother?"

"Don't," Arthur snapped. He looked too serious for Merlin's liking.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked him with concern.

"I'm fine. Besides the fact that we're being attacked in our own home and we have to go kill our friends to make sure the bloody lake is happy. But other than that I'm perfectly alright," Arthur snapped again. Merlin let out a hesitant hiss and said,

"You haven't heard the worst part yet." He told them about how sending Morgana into the lake might save the rest of them.

"So you're not even sure this will work?" Arthur asked.

"Not really, no. There's a good chance, but it's not for certain." He looked at Morgana, "It's completely up to you, I'm not going to force you to do anything."

"I don't want to - I can't go back there with them anymore. Not after I've come back to you guys. They'd make sure my spirit disappeared or something," Morgana said slowly, her voice shaking at the idea.

"I can do my best to protect you from that, but I can't promise anything," Merlin said seriously, "But you do have a good amount of power on your own, you may be able to fend them off until you're safe." Morgana sucked in a breath.

"I'll think about it," she said to them. Arthur nodded approval, but then asked,

"So what's our plan B if this doesn't work or she doesn't want to do it?"

"We'll improvise, like always," Merlin said brightly, "It always works!"

"Almost always," Arthur reminded him, "Almost. And we can't afford an almost." Merlin rolled his eyes and shooed them. He then went to find Freya.

((()))

Merlin found his friend still watching over Mordred.

"Freya?" he whispered. She was biting her lip and she jumped when she heard him, evidently not expecting him to be there.

"Merlin, hi!" she said quietly. Mordred was encased in glass at the moment, but heavy duty enough to hold him or at least keep him confused long enough to contain him. "He hasn't, uh, done anything," she cleared up.

"I'm not here about Mordred, I wanted to say sorry."

"What for?"

"Oh please, you've been waiting for me to say it haven't you?"

"….Sure, whatever makes you happy."

"Okay, so I'm sorry for not believing you about everyone being back as a bad thing."

"Right...who've you been talking to?"

"Why would you assume-?"

"Merlin, you don't apologize for no good reason."

"….Nimeuh told me on the island when I was looking for answers. She gave me the one I needed. You were exactly right."

"Thanks, I thought so too. Listen to me next time?" Merlin smirked at her.

"Maybe." She smiled and hugged him, her head meeting only his shoulders because she was so short.

"Friends again?"

"Friends," he affirmed, "I can keep watch for today if you want."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking worried, "You already look so tired…" And he was, quite frankly, exhausted. Hopefully this would be over soon.

"Of course," he assured her. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Merlin," she said sweetly.

"No problem," he said, leaning back against the wall.

Sleep came over Merlin quickly, after being out all night, faster than he wanted to, and he awoke with a familiar curve of another body next to him. He opened his eyes to see Arthur, faithful as ever, sitting next to him watching Mordred.

"Ah, nice to see you awake," Arthur said sarcastically, "Did you have a nice sleep? Sleeping on the job? Not that that's never happened before." Merlin smiled. Those were good times.

"Yes, I did. I have to say it's more comfortable here than in horse dung," he replied snarkily.

"Good for you. So while you were sleeping, I was watching the dangerous Mordred creature," Arthur snapped.

"Thank you," Merlin squeaked, resisting the urge to call him 'sire'. Arthur snorted,

"I'm going to nap, we had a long night last night at the lake." Merlin nodded, but then pulled him back down when he stood.

"Stay here, its not so bad," he suggested. Arthur gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Merlin, not now. Being around Mordred now makes me feel...funny."

"Funny haha or funny how?" Merlin asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Not sure. Just eerie, I guess. Anyhow, I'm sure I'll have nightmares, even with you here. I can't."

"Okay. I'll see you later then," Merlin said, slightly disappointed. He felt safer with Arthur by his side, but Arthur was right. He needed to sleep and Merlin didn't want him to have nightmares. He didn't want him to end up like Mordred.

A familiar face rounded the corner and saw Merlin sitting by Mordred's container.

"Leon!" Merlin exclaimed brightly, "I haven't had much of a chance to talk to you, how are you doing?" Leon smiled and nodded at him, walking over to sit with him.

"I'm okay, Merlin," he sighed. He was still very handsome, his light curly hair flipping over his face a little and the beard still scraggly as always. "I'm actually worried about Gwaine." Merlin glanced at him.

"What's wrong with Gwaine?"

"Nothing, I hope. I just think this is hard for him. Harder than it is on the rest of us. Mordred always went to him first for help or guidance, and Gwaine loved him like a little brother. I mean, we all did. But Gwaine was probably the most fond of him. But Percival says he's barely talking, which is incredibly unusual for him. He's also drinking more, which is more like him, but usually he shows some type of control," Leon confessed, "I'm just worried and I'm not sure what to do." Merlin nodded.

"Why aren't you talking to the other knights about this? What can I do?"

Leon scratched the back of his neck uncertainly and replied, "I don't know. You're one of his best friends, to be honest. You and Gwaine are very close and he'll do anything for you."

"He'd do the same for any of us."

"Well….yes and no. He'd apply logic to trying to come and save any of us, for you he'd just blunder through blindly and make sure we got there as fast as possible and figure out a plan once we got there."

"Okay, so then how does that help me help him?"

"I don't know, but I think you need to talk to him. I'll hang out here and holler if there's a problem."

"Thanks, Leon."

"INo problem, Merlin..."

((()))

Merlin knocked on the wooden door to Gwaine and Percival's chambers. He heard nothing but silence.

"Gwaine?" he called, nervous as to what he might find, "Gwaine, it's Merlin. Let me in." When there wasn't a reply, he sighed and unlocked the door with his magic. He poked open the door and it creaked as it did so. He saw Gwaine lying on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed he and Percival owned, his eyes just staring at the ceiling. His chest rose and fell slowly and he had a scowl on his fac.e

"Hi," Merlin said awkwardly. He walked over to where he was lying and sat on the bed next to him. "Hey come on, Leon's worried. Everyone's worried. Please tell me how we can help you." Gwaine groaned and glanced at him.

"I have a hangover, Merlin, that's all," he grumbled. Without warning he sat up suddenly and leaned over a bucket by the bed and vomited into it. Merlin grimaced and waved his hand to wipe it clean magically. "You and your stupid magic…" Gwaine grumbled, turning over. Merlin frowned and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him back towards him.

"Leon says it has something to do with Mordred," Merlin suggested.

"Remind me to give Leon a good smack, will you?" Gwaine replied grumpily.

"I won't; you and Leon are like brothers."

"And brothers fight and brothers do stupid things."

"So is this about Mordred?"

"No, I have a hangover, I told you," Gwaine answered stubbornly.

"Gwaine," Merlin demanded firmly, "Please talk to me. I'm your friend."

"So was he," Gwaine started to give in.

"So it is Mordred."

"Would you quit asking that?"

"Well-"

"Yes, it is. He's an idiot and I shouldn't have let him do stupid things."

"This has nothing to do with you, you know. Mordred made his own choice."

"What if I'd helped him back in Camelot when he was trying to escape with his girl? Maybe he wouldn't have joined Morgana and then come back like this and then get into all this trouble."

"That's a lot of maybes. You can't know that for sure."

"But maybe!"

"Yeah and maybe you would have been branded a traitor as well as him."

"Arthur wouldn't do that."

"He would have had to."

"Well then what about now? How did he even get like this? Everything was great! "

Merlin inhaled sharply. "He, uh, well the lake spirits took hold of him when he didn't expect it and I tried to help him, but….well it made it worse and ultimately it's put him this way. But I'm not sure it could have been avoided."

"Losing him once was enough. Losing him again like this just sucks donkey balls."

"Donkey balls?"

"I've been in this century too long."

"Obviously."

"He's like family to me."

"I know."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"It's….it's fine, it's not your fault."

"You think it is."

"I don't. I understand."

"Okay, Gwaine." Merlin sighed and sat him up slowly. "You need to start acting normally again, then. We can mourn for him later, but for now, we need to get out of danger." Gwaine looked at him sadly.

"I'll try," he replied softly. Merlin gave a tight smile and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I'll see you later, okay? Seriously, feel better, Gwaine. I am sorry." Gwaine nodded and put his head in his hands. Merlin left him like this and hoped to God he would be okay.

((()))

Merlin walked down through the town by himself, just to think. He caught sight of Elion, Leon, and Lancelot bopping around looking relatively happy and he smiled when they saw him. He caught up with Morgana and Gwen eventually, and when they turned to see him, he saw they both looked worried, and rightfully so.

Morgana looked relieved, but also scared when she saw him. She put a hand on his shoulder, as if afraid that he would leave.

"Merlin," she said quickly, "Gwen and I have been talking and I've, ah, I've made my decision." She stopped talking and he asked,

"So what is it?" She swallowed, looking down at her hands, and then looked back up at him and answered,

"I'm going into the lake. If it can help everyone else survive, I will do it." She held her head high, as if trying to prove to someone that she wasn't scared, but Merlin could tell she was terrified. Merlin widened his eyes.

"Really?" he asked incredulously. She nodded and fidgeted with her hands, her eyes fearful, and opened her mouth to ask,

"I just have one question. What are they going to do to me, Merlin?"