It was madness and chaos and death. Morgana kept telling herself that Merlin had to have survived this. He had to still be alive. But as the druid army pushed further and further into the city, it grew harder and harder to actually believe it.

Elaine and she skirted the battles, weaving through back alleys. Once inside the city walls, Morgana had pulled them aside and once more summoned her raven of smoke, and now they followed it as it made its way to Merlin. If Merlin still lived...

They were nearing the castle now, there was furious activity all around. Men pouring back through the streets and towards the castle gate for one final stand. Morgana and Elaine had managed to cut behind the most concentrated areas of fighting, which was now several streets back below them in the city, but it was coming this way and fast.

The raven soured through the castle gates, over the heads of the retreating men.

Elaine moved forward to follow but Morgana grabbed her arm.

"We'll never be able to get through. Even in this chaos I'll be recognized."

"We don't have time to find another way in!"

"We need a distraction then. Be ready to move." Morgana pulled her hood up, raised her hand and sent a blast of force across the street, hitting the building across the way. Rocks exploded, debris shattered down onto the street, men yelled, and two figures slipped through the chaos into the courtyard.

The doors burst open to the council room and Merlin hurried in. A large gash in one shoulder had left his shirt damp with blood, while grime caked his hair and face.

Guinevere turned an anxious face to him. She was dressed to fight, a sword at her waist.

"The druid army is only streets away. Relveer…has fallen. We need to collapse the last escape tunnel and the room that leads to it. No evidence of any of it can be found."

She allowed one fraction of a moment to process the news, to realize that truly the end was now at hand, and then turned to Leon. "Go. It's time."

He leaned forward urgently: "My Queen, I must once again beg you to reconsider. You can still escape through the last tunnel before we collapse it-"

"No!" It came out harsh, but she softened it with a smile the next. "You know as well as I do that I must be found in this castle, alive or dead, or Mordred will never stop hunting for those who remain. This is Camelot's final hour, and I will stand with it till the end. Go Leon, light the fuses. Our people depend on you." There was the sound of a nearby explosion and Guinevere's tone grew more urgent: "Go!"

And with that Leon hurried out of the room.

Merlin was about to follow when her voice checked him: "Merlin?"

"Yes?"

She looked at him, torn, as if she did not know that she truly wanted the answer to her question: "Arthur? Lancelot? Have you seen them?"

He shook his head. "Not since the battle began. But if anyone can make it through this, it's those two. They could fight anything alone. Put them together? They've unstoppable."

Suddenly, as he spoke, a raven, made of smoke and shadow flew into the room. He turned to it, expecting some sort of message...but it said nothing, only dissipated and vanished.

"What was that?" asked Gwen, the worry clear in her tone.

Merlin shook his head, confused. That had definitely been Morgana's bird and yet...why had she sent it with no message? "I'm not sure." It worried him. But there was no time to consider it now. He was needed in the battle. "I have to go. They'll reach the castle any minute now. I'll gather a small troop and send them up here. They won't reach you easily."

"But what is gained by me dying here in this room? I have asked a great many people to fight and die today. I never intended to ask any less of myself." Gwen smiled a little wistfully. "Thank you for everything Merlin. For being my friend through all of these years. We've made a good fight of it." She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. Let's end this together, shall we? It would truly be my honor."

He hesitated. He couldn't quite believe, even now, that this could be the end. Arthur was back, surely, surely he couldn't have come back now, at the final hour, just to die alongside the rest of them? And yet the dragon's words of warning kept swirling in his head, and Lyonesse had as good as fallen...

But Guinevere stood before him, proud and brave and every inch the queen. And if this was the end, surely there was no better way to end. He nodded.

"Yes. Together." He chuckled. "We've come a long way, haven't we? From the first days we met in Camelot."

"A very long way. Who'd have known I'd be queen and you a powerful mage?" She shook squared her shoulders. "Shall we?"

The sound of footsteps met Merlin's ears, coming quickly down the hallway, and in the next moment a woman appeared at the doorway. "Merlin! Thank goodness I've found you." And Morgana pushed back the hood of her cloak.

"Morgana!" Gwen's tone might be shocked, but she drew her sword just the same.

Merlin instinctively stepped forward.

"...Gwen." Morgana stared at her. So much regret, and guilt and loss weaved itself around her voice, her expression, the way she took a half stepped forward and then stopped...

Gwen seemed to waver, a thousand conflicting emotions buffeting her. It was war, and an enemy who was at least partially responsible for so much of the fighting of the past years had burst in upon her as she prepared for a final stand...

And it was also quite possibly the end of her life and a dear friend she had not seen in so very many long years was standing before her once again, an opportunity for one final gift in an ocean of loss.

"Morgana was the one who warned us the attack was coming today," said Merlin quietly.

"What?" Gwen's attention snapped towards him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew we could trust her warning. But I was afraid if I told you were my information came from the council would be so caught up in arguing if we could trust it that we'd lose precious time. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "I understand." She looked back towards Morgana. "I don't know what to say now. It all seems...like there's much too little time."

"I know." Morgana whispered. "But maybe we can fix that. Maybe we can make time. Maybe this doesn't have to be the end."

She turned slightly and a second figure emerged from the shadow of the doorway. Merlin tensed, ready for a fight, and then he blinked, his memory struggling to reach through time to place the face before him...

And then shock hit him. "Elaine?"

"Emrys!" She stared at him with desperate, naked hope. It felt wrong to see her there, looking at him as if he were her savior when all he felt at the sight of her was a rush of furious rage.

He'd felt loss before. He remembered flickers of anger at Uther's injustices. He remembered what it felt like when he'd been thrown in the dungeon and tortured for actions that were not his own. He remembered trying to explain how much Arthur meant to him, that he'd never hurt him, that he was desperate to find him too. He remembered feeling angry then, but nothing to this roar of fury directed at the woman who with one action had wrecked so much damage and taken the hope of Camelot. He felt his power building up inside of him-

Morgana, seeming to sense some shift in him, stepped forward quickly, placing a hand on his wrist. "Merlin, Elaine isn't the only one who is back. Arthur is as well," she said meaningfully as if trying to communicate some secret thought to him.

But he blinked, focused, and pulled himself back. He felt as if he'd been on a precipice, a precipice of fury and vengeance that many a man had flung himself over before. He was startled to find how close he'd come to following them over that edge.

Merlin met Morgana's eyes. He thought he saw understanding there. He sighed.

"I know Arthur is back. He's out in that battle."

"He can't be!" He was surprised how alarmed she sounded. "We have to find him before it's too late!"

"Too late for what?" Guinevere demanded. "It's already too late, Morgana!"

Elaine spoke now: "Emrys, this was not the future I intended. Shalott has fallen. It was supposed to be a new beginning. We were supposed to follow you into a new age."

"No," said Merlin firmly. "You were supposed to follow Arthur into a new age. That was your mistake. That was what you were too blind to see. And you took away the one man who could have led us into the age of Albion. And I was supposed to follow him there," he added, his voice suddenly breaking.

"No Emrys! Listen to me and it might not yet be too late! If you'll only see the truth. The Pendragons would never lead us anywhere but to damnation! They are of the age of persecution! They have spilt too much blood and caused too much hurt! All they are capable of is hate and vengeance."

"You don't know Arthur. You never took the time. I know exactly what he's capable of. He was never his father. He really and truly loved and cared for his people. He supported peace with magic. He was wise and kind. When you took him out of time, you took the only hope we had of peace."

"There could never have been peace with the Pendragons! They had no right to rule! We had the right! We have the power! We have always had the power! Druids! Wizards! Mages! It is in our hands to shape the world, but we need a strong leader!"

"Look to your leader!" snapped Merlin, pointing towards the window. "Look out there! There he is! His name is Mordred! Not Emrys! And only death follows him!"

"But you could be different! You have wisdom! You could guide us into a different life! You could save Shalott and my people!"

"Shalott is already long dead and gone!"

"But it doesn't have to remain that way. We can rewrite these years!" She slipped her hand into the pouch at her side and when she drew it out again, she was holding shards of glass. "This is what remains of Orb of Cronus."

Merlin stared at it. Suddenly the room seemed to stand still, everything was focused on those bits of glass in her hand...

"She thinks we can use it again," said Morgana quietly. She met Merlin's eyes and then Gwen's.

"We can fix this Emrys," said Elaine eagerly. "Together. We three, you, me and Morgana have enough power to make the orb work again. You can take your rightful place. And I am prepared to do whatever it takes, to pay the price, for that reality to be made real. For the world to be as it should. For things to be made right."

"My place has always been with Arthur. Supporting him."

"But you are the one with the power! You're the one who should lead us all!"

"The ones with the power are so often not the ones who should rule! Look again to Mordred. Look where unfettered power leads!"

"But you are not Mordred! You can lead us to peace!"

"It's too late!"

"Not with the orb! We use the orb. We send you back!"

Back.

The word reverberated around the room.

"Or," said Morgana, her voice cool, turning to face Elaine, raising a hand, power crackling between her fingers, "We send Arthur back."

Elaine blinked, staring at her. "That was your plan all along. You ended to help me here today."

"No. The world fell apart because Arthur was removed from time. We send his soul back and none of this ever happens. Uther doesn't go mad. The dragon does not destroy Camelot. I never lead the druid army. Mordred never rises. The peace talks continue. All of this pain and loss and death...all of that is undone...even Shalott is saved. The orb requires a soul sacrificed to make it work? I offer my own."

"No! We send Emrys back! Now he sees why he must rise to lead!"

"I will never see that Elaine," Merlin snapped. "I will never take the throne from Arthur. He is my king. And should he fail, I will follow my queen. But I will never take power. That is not my destiny."

There was a loud echoing boom, and the very castle seemed to shake around them. Guinevere looked round: "We don't have much time."

Morgana sighed. "Time. Time has truly been our enemy throughout."

Merlin took a step closer to Elaine. "Those shards...we can send Arthur back. Everything Morgana says is true. We can stitch this world back together. Your people will be saved. If that is really what you want, if everything you've done has been for Shalott, for magic, for the people who have suffered most, then this is how we help them. If your goal has been nothing but selfish vengeance...then you've had it. The last of the Pendragons and the remnants of Camelot will die today. Today should be the proudest day of your life. Magic will take the final step towards power as Mordred's vision is complete. But it won't last. Because tyrants never do. And one day he will go the way of Uther and the cycle will continue."

Elaine wavered; her doubt clear as day...

There was another shaking boom.

"Emrys, please…"

"I refuse to be sent back. It must be Arthur. You need my help and my magic to make those shards work or else you'd have already used them. You only have one chance...and you also need a soul."

"Merlin?" It was Gwen now who looked uncertain.

"The orb requires the sacrifice of a soul to make it work. I was told once that my destiny was to help Arthur unite the land of Albion, that without me…he couldn't succeed. Perhaps this moment is why. Perhaps my destiny was actually to never see it for myself."

"No!" All three woman spoke at once.

"You're not sacrificing yourself for this," snapped Morgana. "If anyone is sacrificing their soul to fix this mistake, it's me! After everything I've done."

"It can't be you. With your soul destroy, Arthur would go back and you might be gone. I don't know with time magic, it's all so…difficult and murky. But what if you were? How do you think Uther would react to that? He cared about you deeply, no matter what fractures your magic had caused between you both. No. It has to be me. My death he would accept. It has to be me."

Suddenly Gwen raised a hand, silencing them all. "Someone's coming."

It was true. There was the sound of heavy footsteps and labored breathing, coming down the hallway.

Morgana and Elaine both drew back, deeper into the room, and in another minute Arthur came through the door. He was all but carrying Lancelot, whose feet practically dragged along the floor, blood seeping from a wound in his chest, his deathly pale, his breathing sharp and jagged.

"Lancelot!" Gwen rushed forward, and Arthur stumbled to the ground, letting Lancelot down as gently as he could. His body was shaking from his exertion, blood smeared across his armor.

Gwen reached out a shaking hand to take hold of Lancelot's.

Lancelot stared up at her, a weak smile playing across his lips. "I didn't think I'd get to see you again."

"Shhh, you're going to be all right."

"No. I'm not. But at least I see you at the end." He tried to raise his other hand to her face but dropped it again, with a grimace of pain. "My love. My wife. My queen."

His head fell to the side, his grip on her hand slackened, and the next moment he was gone.