Finally getting back into the rhythm of writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.

Hope you enjoy.

Get Up!

A haunting wind blew across the clearing, chilling Arthur to the bone. Arthur, Aida, and Jasper were standing in a grassy clearing in a forest. The door they had come through had immediately disappeared as soon as all three of them were through. Another shiver ran through Arthur's body. The inconsistency of the doors unsettled him, making him fear that they would soon find themselves in a room where there would be no doors. The feeling of being trapped was creeping over him, growing stronger the further they ventured into the labyrinth.

Their eyes were drawn to a small hill at the centre of the clearing where a beautiful twisted tree was growing. The silver leaves that hung from its branches glistened in the few rays of sunlight that peeked through the branches of the taller trees above. The twisted trunk of the tree on the hill had engravings carved into its bark, their golden colour contrasting against the darkness of the trunk. The tree's roots crawled out of holes in the earth, reaching across the hill, holding on tightly as it tilted at an odd angle.

Arthur had been so taken in by the mysterious beauty of the tree that he had not noticed that dark figure that stood beside it. Her head was veiled and bent as she looked down at a small piece of stone, a marker. Arthur had seen these kinds of markers before, usually used to mark out someone's final resting place. The young woman wasn't just staring down at a stone. She was staring down at someone's grave.

The sound of someone yelling pulled Arthur's attention away from the woman in black. There were two other finely dressed persons standing not too far away by three horses. They too were dressed in dark colours, but not as dark as the lady in black. The man wore a dark shade of blue, but there was a red cape thrown around his shoulders. Arthur recognized it as the ones that the knights of Camelot usually wore. The woman next to him had dark skin and was wearing a deep lavender dress and she had a dark blue cloak wrapped around her shoulders. The two of them looked at the woman in black with sad eyes.

The man cupped his hands around his mouth and called again, but Arthur could not hear what he said. The woman in black looked up this time, but Arthur still could not make out her face under the veil. She did not say a word, but only raised one of her hand, gesturing for the other two to give her just a moment longer.

"I thought you might find your way to this place," a dark, silky voice said behind them. Arthur's head whipped around, his eyes coming to rest on a woman standing in the darkness of the trees behind them. He recognized her right away. She hadn't changed since the last time he'd confronted her.

"Nimueh." The name tasted bitter on his tongue.

"Arthur." There was a wicked smirk on her face as she eyed the trio with her piercing eyes. "I see you've picked up a few strays on your way here, and the Runaways no less. They are considered heroes by many of the souls trapped here, but quite a few see them as betrayers, evil to the bone."

"Their hearts don't even come close to comparing to your dark heart," Arthur spat.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Arthur Pendragon, of all people, would stand to defend those with magic. If only you could do that in your own world." The smirk did not leave the high priestess' face.

"The magic in my world corrupts people," he argued.

"Does it now?" There was a secretive twinkle in her eyes. "I can guarantee you've met a number of kind hearted sorcerers."

"Nimueh," Aida cut in.

"My goodness, she speaks." She feigned surprise.

"You know who this Arthur is?"

"I hear many things down here. I hear the whispers." Nimueh winked at them. "There is a whole one among us, someone from the outside whose heart is still beating in his chest. I've been waiting for you, Arthur."

"How did you know I would come here?" Arthur asked.

"Let's call it a feeling."

"Where is here?"

"We're not too far from the lake of Avalon, but you wouldn't know where that was." Arthur could tell she was mocking him. "I'm guessing this scene is not familiar to you. This must've never happened in your world."

"What?" Her words made his blood run cold.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize them. They haven't changed that much." She gestured to the other three people.

Arthur looked at them closer, his eyes starting to pick out familiar traits, the kind of things that don't just disappear over time. He recognized the woman standing next to the man first.

"Guinevere?" He looked closer. There was no mistaking it now. It was her. As one of the pieces came to light, the others started to fall into place. The man next to her was blonde with a beard. Arthur tried imagining him without it.

"I always wondered why you let your beard grow so long." Nimueh tilted her head as she looked over at the older version of Arthur. "Carelessness was the only thing that came to mind."

"That means…" Arthur looked to the woman in black who had crouched down in front of the marker. She looked back to make sure the other two weren't looking. The older Arthur and Guinevere were caught up in a conversation, spoken in hushed voices. The woman in black turned back to the marker, slipping a small piece of charcoal from her cloak. She touched the end to the stone and began to draw something. The movement of her hand was fluid and without hesitation, creating the swirling mark.

"The Triskelion," Nimueh breathed. "How fitting."

"Who is she?" Arthur asked. None of the others needed to speak a word. The woman stood and turned, walking back over to the horses. She looked back at the grave one last time, lifting her veil from her face. Arthur's breath caught in his throat.

"Morgana." The last time he'd seen her she'd been holding a dying Merlin in her arms, but these two Morgana's weren't the same. The Arthur here hadn't forced her to change and become someone who would have to run a sword through his heart to stop him.

"It seems that one is always destined to have a hard life." Arthur could have sworn that he'd seen another emotion in Nimueh's eyes, but it was gone before he could put his finger on what it was. It was almost as if the witch understood Morgana's pain. Nimueh shook her head. "It feels like I've seen this scene a hundred times. Sometimes I think the Old Mother is trying to make me feel regret. Who knows, maybe another hundred times and I'll start to feel something, but I don't really know what regret feels like. I never felt it in life."

"Who killed you?" Arthur found himself asking.

"It wasn't you, if that's why you're asking, and why do you assume someone killed me?" She shot him a look.

"I just don't see you dying of natural causes."

"True," she admitted. "I wouldn't go down without a fight."

"So, how'd it happen?"

"That's a very personal question to ask a ghost, Pendragon." Some of the ice had melted from her eyes. "It's a secret I will take to the afterlife, not a story I'll be sharing around the campfire, sorry."

Arthur shrugged. It was worth a try. He found his eyes wandering back to the centre of the clearing. "And the grave?" Part of him already knew the answer, but still he needed someone to tell him. Someone would always have to tell him before he could start believing it.

"You have a very loyal manservant." It almost sounded like Nimueh was trying to console him. "His death was noble."

"Was it you, did you kill him?" There was hatred in Arthur's eyes when he looked at the witch.

"Yes, and no." Her smirk was returning to her lips.

"He didn't deserve to die." His voice rose in volume, echoing in the silent forest.

"Not many do." She shrugged.

"You…"

"I didn't let him die just for the fun of it." Anger tainted her words. "You insult me. I am a high priestess and we have honour. I kept the promise I made. Merlin was the one who came to me to negotiate the trade. I am a woman of my word. He offered his own life in exchange for yours. You were dying, again, but somehow this time it was different, and he couldn't save you on his own. I agreed to take his life and bring you back breathing. I don't murder people without thinking of the consequences."

"You tried to kill me once," Arthur pointed out.

"I didn't know your importance yet." She shrugged. "I was just out for revenge. I eventually got it, but it wasn't by killing you."

"Did you think of the consequences when you tried to kill Joone?" Aida's voice was low and cold. Arthur had almost forgotten that Jasper and Aida were even there.

"Joone was a threat to magic." Nimueh turned her cold eyes on the girl. "She was an abomination."

"She was your cousin, your family!" Aida looked like she'd been waiting a long time for this. "You're the one with the monster inside."

"You weren't the only one who mourned my cousin's death." Nimueh narrowed her eyes. "She never stopped being family. I was doing what I saw to be right."

"Well, your version of what's right has always been a little twisted," Jasper cut in.

"No disagreement there." Nimueh pursed her lips. "But this isn't the time for us to have it out with each other. I've heard what you're trying to do, getting rid of the Old Mother and all."

"How?"

"I told you before, whispers, and if I've heard about it then so has she." She looked around as if she could see someone watching them. "You're moving too slowly. If you want to stop her then you have to move faster. I can get you back to the hallway, but after that you're on your own."

"You're helping us?" Arthur was confused.

"Hey, I want that old crone gone as much as you. I don't like being restricted here. I don't do well with confined spaces."

"How are you so sure you can get us there?" Jasper was wary.

"Even here I have a certain level of influence." She grinned. "I can get you through the door, but that's as far as I go." She waved her hand and an ordinary door appeared next to them in the grass.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Arthur eyed her.

"Because you don't wave a choice," she snapped. "It's either this or the Old Mother will keep making you run around in a circle and you won't get anywhere. You won't have noticed, but she's already started manipulating your path. Just getting you here almost drained me. Now get going before her shadows show up."

"Thanks, I guess." Arthur took the door's handle and pulled. The door took a few good tugs before it finally relented and opened to reveal the familiar hallway on the other side.

"Didn't I say I was a woman of my word?" She smirked. "And something else you should know. You'll know you're getting close to the centre of the labyrinth, and her, when the whisperings get louder."

Jasper and Aida were the first through the door. Aida shot Nimueh a look that was less then kind before going through, but the witch stopped Arthur before he could follow them.

"This doesn't make us friends, but I know you're looking for your Merlin." Her voice was no more then a whisper. "And I can tell you that you're getting close, but I warn you that you may not like what you find. The Old Mother will never let you have the advantage."

"What are you saying?"

"Sorry, times up." Nimueh subtly glanced over at the shadows the trees were casting. Some of them had started to move. "Go. I'll hold them off."

"Nimueh."

"I said go!" She pushed him through the door and turned to face the shadows. The door slammed behind him.

"Did Nimueh just save us?" Jasper was shocked.

"I think so." Arthur looked around. The hallway didn't look any different then before, but he knew it wasn't the same. Aida ran her hand along the wall of the hallway, eyes closed, taking deep breaths, as if listening.

"Can you hear anything?" Jasper asked.

"Sh." She snapped. Her hand came to rest on the handle of one of the doors. She opened her eyes. Arthur and Jasper watched with bated breath as she slowly turned the handle, pulling this new door open. Arthur peeked over Aida's shoulder. It didn't look like a room at all. The space was completely white, and then Aida started to scream, falling away from the door.

"Aida!" Jasper knelt down, taking her into his arms. Her eyes were wide.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"Close the door!" he ordered.

"What is it?" Arthur asked again, closing the door to the strange whiteness.

"It was gone. It was all gone," Aida muttered, eyes unseeing. Jasper tightened his hold on her, his eyes filled with concern.

"What was that place?" Arthur didn't like being left in the dark.

"That place wasn't anything." Jasper's voice was quiet and Arthur could almost hear a slight quiver in it. "It wasn't anything at all. Whatever used to be there is gone, completely."

"What happened to it?" Arthur didn't like where this was going.

"She happened. We souls aren't just here for her entertainment." Jasper looked up at Arthur. "When she's done watching us run through our misery, when she's done breaking us she…she consumes us." Aida started to cry.

"Consumes?" Arthur thought things couldn't get any worse, but he was wrong, oh was he wrong.

"She eats up our entire existence, and then it's as if we never lived at all." Aida's voice was so small Arthur almost didn't hear her. "And that's what it looks like when she's done with us."

"Nimueh was right. We're running out of time. We have to stop her before she destroys anyone else." Arthur gripped his sword at his side.

"You sound so noble when you say it like that," a sweet voice said beside him. "To think that witch actually puts her faith in you."

Arthur slowly turned, fearing whom he would see. The girl looked the same as she had just before the shadows grabbed her, dragging her through a door and back to her room where she would die over and over again.

"Jay?" The surprise in his voice was obvious.

"Hello, Arthur. I heard you got to see the moment of my death." The innocence was gone from Jay's eyes, now replaced with something much darker. "Quite a spectacle, wasn't it?"

"I don't understand. How did you get out of your room?"

"Same way as you got these two betrayers out of theirs." She eyed Aida and Jasper with a cold eye. "I used a door. You shouldn't have brought them with you. They'll just end up stabbing you in the back. They're just trying to save their own skin."

"That's not true," Jasper snapped, still holding Aida.

"You were going to leave the rest of us behind," Jay spat. "You were going to escape and leave the rest of us in our eternal torments."

"We would have saved you if we had known how," he tried, but Jay wasn't listening.

"Enough of your lies. The Old Mother wants to see you." The girl took a step towards Jasper and Aida. "She says you two have been very bad, and she's not happy about it. You've disobeyed her for the last time."

"You're working for her?" Arthur gasped.

"Always was." Her smile was cruel. "And you fell right into her trap. I did warn you, but neither of you listened."

"You betrayed us," he seethed.

"Very good," she giggled. "You're finally catching on. You were always so oblivious to the obvious. I knew tricking you would be easy, but when even Merlin fell for it, well."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid I don't have time to swap sob stories. I have a schedule to keep and she doesn't like to be kept waiting." Jay walked over to Jasper and Aida. Arthur tried to stand between them, but she just walked right through him, sending a rocking shiver through his body, forcing him to his knees.

"You should have taken Nimueh's warning more seriously." Jay knelt down to whisper in Arthur's ear. "The Old Mother will never let you have the advantage." Arthur couldn't move, almost like he was frozen in fear. She got to her feet, laughing.

"You stay away." But Jasper's words were useless to stop her. The last thing Arthur heard was her cold laughter. There was a gush of wind and then she was gone, taking both Jasper and Aida with her.

"No." This was his fault. He had been the one who convinced them to leave their room and help him. He'd put them in danger, just like Merlin, and just like his friend, they had been taken away from him. Arthur feared what would become of them. He felt alone, betrayed, and lost, not sure where to go next.

"Get up!" someone yelled at him. "You have to get up. You can't let her win." Arthur looked up, spotting a dark figure standing further down the hallway. It was the one with the bird's mask that he'd seen before, the one who had saved him from the two faced girl. They almost looked like they were made of smoke, their image wavering.

"Get up!" they yelled again and then disappeared through another door, leaving it open behind them. Arthur knew he had to follow them, and somehow he found the strength to drag himself to his feet. He breathed in, filling his lungs. He could do this. He could stop the Old Mother. He could save them all.

All he had to do was get up.

Thanks for reading and please take a minute to send a quick REVIEW. I'd love to hear what you all think.

Big thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited so far!

Hope you stick around for the next chapter, especially those who liked my story Buried.

See you then.