Chapter 7 – Forgetting
Merlin raised his hand again and Morgana quailed. She was not strong enough, not nearly strong enough. Then suddenly the room was filled with light. Morgana shielded her eyes as did Merlin. When the light had died down, she saw that the room was filled with Daleks who had formed themselves into a ring and in the centre of the ring was Merlin.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" the Doctor shouted to Amy and Rory as they raced down a corridor.
"Oh where is Merlin when you need him?" Rory panted.
All three were brought to a halt however when they came round a corner.
River was stood there.
"Morgana," the Doctor spat angrily.
"No it's me, honestly," River replied.
"That's what Morgana said," Rory replied, "how are we supposed to know?"
"Yes because my sonic has been taken," the Doctor said, walking slowly towards River, "handy isn't it? So I can't tell."
"Oh for heavens sake!" River said, grabbing the Doctor by the jacket and kissing him. The Doctor waved his arms about in an awkward way for a moment and the he broke off, gasping for air.
"OK," he said, "definitely River."
Amy rolled her eyes.
"Do you know what's going on?" Rory asked.
"I saved Merlin but he's gone after Morgana," River said.
"We need the T.A.R.D.I.S.," the Doctor replied and led the way down the corridor as they raced towards the armory.
"Look at the great sorcerer now," Morgana hissed, getting up and standing between two of the Daleks.
"We have Emrys," one of the Daleks declared, "the universe is ours!"
Morgana did not seem finished however. She advanced forward and raised her hand. The golden glow of magic lit up her eyes and Merlin was thrown backwards across the floor. He skidded to a halt near a Dalek who looked down at him mercilessly.
He felt drained, his vision blurred and threatened to black out. Slowly he got only his knees and looked up to find Morgana stood above him smirking.
Merlin thought of the times when once they had been friends, when once she had been kind, caring, when she had loved Arthur, not wanted him dead. And now Arthur was dead. He could no longer fulfil his destiny … he had failed.
"Prepare to die," Morgana growled, raising her hand once more.
"No!" A Dalek had spoken out and began to advance. "We need him alive if we are to take his power."
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Morgana asked, he eyes flashing gold. The Dalek exploded. "You are nothing but slaves at my command," Morgana screamed.
"No you are our slave," a Dalek replied. Three different Daleks fired at once and for a moment Morgana was held in a greenish glow, her bones lit up by the light and then she crumpled to the ground, her final scream dying in her throat.
The Daleks began to advance on Merlin and he raised his hand, blasting them away one by one but there were too many of them and he felt his strength failing.
As he fell to the ground he heard the the mechanical whirring, grating sound that the T.A.R.D.I.S. had made when it had first landed in the armory.
"Merlin good to have you back!" the Doctor said. Merlin sat bolt upright, gazing round him in amazement. Somehow he had ended up in the T.A.R.D.I.S.
"But … but how did this happen?" he asked in bewilderment.
"We landed the T.A.R.D.I.S. in the very spot you were lying," Amy said, "you were safe inside the moment we'd landed."
"What about the Daleks? What about Arthur? Morgana? Gwen?" Merlin asked, getting to his feet.
"They're all very far away right now," River said, "back in Camelot."
"So where are we?" Merlin asked.
"On the Plain of Astrax," the Doctor replied, "we're about to stop a Dalek."
Outside the T.A.R.D.I.S. Merlin gaped as he looked across a desolate plain. The sky was red and a great fiery red-orange sun burned in the sky.
"Have we traveled through space?" Merlin asked, looking around him in wonder.
Amy laughed, "it's quite a lot to take in isn't it?" she asked.
"But what are we doing here?" Merlin inquired.
"We're going to stop the Dalek that you first met in Camelot," the Doctor said, "that way nothing that has happened will ever have happened. A paradox."
Confused Merlin looked to River.
"The Dalek that shot you when you met the Doctor, Amy and Rory was the one who released the Daleks into Camelot. If that one never makes it to Camelot then the Daleks will never will be able to arrive. Arthur won't be shot, Morgana won't be able to enter the castle, nobody will die, none of it will have happened," she responded.
"So Arthur will come back to life?" Merlin asked, hope leaping in his heart.
"Yes!" River replied.
Merlin smiled for what felt like the first time in days.
"We have to get the Dalek into the T.A.R.D.I.S. so the T.A.R.D.I.S. can sustain the paradox," the Doctor said.
"There it is!" Rory said.
"Run!" the Doctor shouted.
The Dalek was moving fast across the plain towards them and all five of them ran back toward the T.A.R.D.I.S., the Dalek following.
The Doctor opened both doors and stood back. The Dalek flew straight in and without a second's thought, Merlin blasted it apart with his magic.
It was like trying to hold onto sand or water. No matter how hard you try, it slowly slips away from you.
Merlin put a hand on his forehead.
"What's happening?" he asked.
The Doctor looked grim.
"This Dalek went to Morgana before it came to Camelot and it was she who made the T.A.R.D.I.S. land in Camelot, she used her magic to make it land there. Now, because this Dalek will never see Morgana she will never bring the T.A.R.D.I.S. to Camelot. You're forgetting, forgetting everything."
"I … I don't understand," Merlin stammered.
"You'll never have met us, we'll never land in Camelot," Rory said.
"We'll be off to Rome like we were meant to be," Amy added.
"None of it will happened, you won't remember it. You're going to forget, forget it all," the Doctor said.
Merlin panicked. The Dragon had been right. The Doctor would help him defeat the Daleks. But the Doctor was no man to trust. He had lied, deceived and tricked Merlin.
"But, I want to remember," he said angrily.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor replied. "I truly am sorry."
"Doctor, maybe he could do what I did, I brought you back," Amy said desperately, "I remembered you."
The Doctor looked at Merlin.
"You're going back to Camelot and Arthur's going to be alive, everything is going to be all right again. But if you want to see us again, you have to remember."
Merlin looked up at him confusedly. "Remember what?" he asked.
The next second everything went black and he knew no more.
Note: Ah! There's only one more chapter! I've really got into this story - maybe a sequel is needed :) So right now, what with the finale of Merlin coming up and general Merlin feels being around, things are a little crazy but I wanted to get this finished and so I had a whole afternoon writing and got this chapter done and the next will be on its way soon! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed followed etc. Merry Christmas xxx