Thanks to: TeganL74, Boxerbee, The Reinbach Dragonlord, Revenge of the Red Pen, and Fawkes Flame for reviewing. I'm so excited that I'm almost at 100 reviews. You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer: IDOM

Chapter 22 - The Reality of Things...

Merlin's eyes shot open and all he saw was darkness. After a few moments of adjusting his sight, he found that he wasn't confined to his bonds anymore. Somehow though, this didn't comfort him. He didn't know what Anatol was planning to do, but whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good. He walked forward (or what seemed like forward) for a bit, footsteps echoing while he wandered in the darkness, looking for any sign of life. After a couple minutes, a faint light appeared to his right. Turning to follow it, he finally came to an oak door whose leafy carvings seemed to magically hum to him. Light was creeping through its edges from the other side and wanting to see where this door led to, Merlin pulled it opened.

The young warlock gasped. Sun shining, a vast green meadow lay before him, adorned with a variety of summer flowers. The breeze lifted some of them off the ground and they twirled in the air like a multitude of tiny dancers before flowing to the east. A crystal lake sparkled at the bottom of the meadow, it's clear waters reflecting the blue sky. The warlock just stared at everything, his breath taken away by its beauty.

"Merlin!" The young warlock was abruptly shaken from his daze at the all-too familiar sound of his name. Head snapping to his left, he saw the last person he expected to see.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. Everyone's been waiting for you, you idiot"

"Everyone?"

The prince let out a heavy sigh. "Please don't tell me you forgot about the picnic Gwen set up? She'll have your head if you did". Merlin gave a confused look.

"Gwen's here too?" What was going on?

"Yes she is, and the knights as well... Great, you did forget. No matter, you're still coming. Everyone's waiting" Arthur said before stubbornly dragging a dumbfounded Merlin by the arm. The warlock was about to protest, but his friend cut him off.

"How could you forget the picnic? Do you know how long it took Gwen to set this up? She wouldn't stop complaining to me about it. Whatever you do, don't tell her you forgot - we both wouldn't hear the end of it. Just say...you got lost or something. You probably would anyway" Arthur finished, grinning at his friend. Merlin couldn't help smile back despite his confusion but he didn't respond to the taunt. His mind was still trying to figure out how everyone got here.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the picnic sight. Just like Arthur said, the Round Table knights were all sitting on the grass, laughing and conversing with each other like the brothers they were. Upon seeing Merlin, they all shouted for him to come over.

"Merlin!" Elyan and Leon exclaimed.

"How's it going my friend?" Lancelot asked.

"Where have you been? It's been boring with just the princess to entertain us" Gwaine half-whined.

"The idiot got lost - only you Merlin would be able to get lost in an area you personally recommended" Arthur said the last part looking at his friend, willing him to play along with the excuse.

"Dollophead" he said to which the others laughed. Seeing Gwen, Merlin headed to where she was sorting the food.

"Come sit here and eat Merlin. Enjoy yourself." Gwen said, patting the blanket she was sitting on. Hesitantly, he made his way over.

"What's wrong Merlin?" Gwen asked, sensing the warlock's discomfort.

"Nothing. Um...this just..seems like a dream?"

"You're speaking jibberish Merlin", Arthur interjected, "of course this isn't a dream...you clot-pole of an idiot"

At the name calling, the knights roared in laughter causing Merlin to smile as well. Forgetting his past predicament, he grabbed an apple, sat in the grass by the knights and enjoyed their company. They talked about many adventures, told many stories (Gwaine did most of the story telling - his past travels around the five kingdoms made for many laughs), and just enjoyed each other's company. After eating, they all laid down and stared up at the clouds.

Merlin let out a deep breath. He had never taken the time to laugh with his brothers-in-arms before. It felt good just to relax instead of doing chores for Arthur and Gaius and saving Camelot from evil sorcerers. He closed his eyes to feel the fresh breeze when a painfully familiar voice startled him awake.

"Fight it Merlin!"

The warlock snapped his head to the right, but no-one was there. In fact, the knights, Arthur, and Gwen were no-where to be seen and the sky had unnaturally darkened.

"Merlin, my love, you have to fight it. Get out!"

Again, Merlin looked around at the sound of her voice. He would know that voice anywhere.

"Freya, is that you? Where are you?"

No answer.

"Freya!" he called again.

"Merlin...run!" Stumbling to his feet, he obeyed and ran back in the direction of the door. What was going on? Where did everyone go? Where was Freya? What's happening? Merlin had so many questions but right now, he knew he just had to leave. After what felt like an eternity of running, he finally caught sight of the door and judging by its size, he still had a ways to go before he would reach it. Hope sprang up until a hand roughly jerked him back. He turned around, only to meet the cold stare of Lancelot.

"Where are you going Merlin?"

A shiver ran down his spine. Something about Lancelot was off. There was no love, no compassion - nothing in his eyes. There was only cold and death. Not able to answer, he staggered back a couple feet and turned to leave, only to come face-to-face with Gwaine.

"What's the rush mate? Everyone's waiting for you" he said. Again, it wasn't the fun-loving knight he knew. It was something else. Merlin stumbled away from Gwaine and Lancelot as they moved towards him. He tried to go left, but Percival and Leon suddenly blocked his way. He turned to his right, but Elyan and Gwen prevented him from passing - all of them wearing the same dead expression.

Seeing everyone surrounding him, Merlin weaved between Elyan and Gwen and took off. No-one made a move to stop him, so the warlock can be forgiven for assuming that they wouldn't follow. Hi assumption was proven wrong when he ran into the giant form of Sir Percival. The knight grabbed Merlin tightly around his left wrist.

"Merlin, where are you going?"

His touch was unsettling - a dark pulse rippled through his arm making his magic itch. The warlock just wanted to get away. "Percival, please let go" he said, clawing at the hand latched around his wrist.

"Where are you going?" he repeated. Merlin, fear evident in his eyes, used all his strength and wrenched Percival's hand away. Swerving around, he took off.

That was close. How did Percival get in front of me so soon? There's no way he could..., Merlin's train of thought was cut off when he saw the familiar forms of Leon and Gwaine. Spotting a large boulder with a tree to its right, he hid behind it, trying to make himself as small as possible. Both knights walked in his general direction and the warlock tried to steady his breathing. Thunder clapped over head, giving the rain permission to begin its downpour. Closing his eyes, Merlin let the rain calm him down and he focused on his surroundings. Eventually two pairs of footsteps drew closer. One continued but the other completely stopped, as if searching for something that wasn't supposedly there. To the warlock's dismay, they headed in his direction, the footsteps making a splatting sound as they crushed the wet leaves strewn on the ground. Please don't find me, please don't find me, please don't find...A few moments of ominous silence and the footsteps suddenly continued on their way. Merlin quietly let go of the breath he was holding and carefully peeked around to see Leon walking away. Taking in a deep breath, he readied himself to make a run for the door (he thanked whatever deity that he remembered where it was). Another clap of thunder and two arms shot out and held him in place, one wrapped around his waist and the other around his neck, and began dragging him back.

"Come on Merlin, don't you want to stay?"

"G...Gwaine..." Merlin said, struggling to breath.

"Why won't you stay with us?"

"I...can't...breathe..."

"Why won't you stay with us Merlin"

"Gwai...let...go!" he said before biting on the wrist in front of his mouth (Merlin would later reflect on the irony of his action). Surprisingly, the knight let go and Merlin sprinted for his life. He didn't look back until he was sure he had reached the door. After spotting his only chance of escape, the warlock renewed his efforts and made his way to it as quickly as possible. It was only when he was about to grab the handle that he heard it.

"Merlin, why are you leaving us?"

Quickly turning at the sound of Gwen's voice, the warlock saw, to his horror, that everybody was there. All of them spoke at once, wanting, asking, begging him to stay. The sound grew louder and louder, unnaturally so that the warlock was forced to cover his ears in hopes of stopping the pain. The group slowly came closer, dragging their feet through the muddied, wet ground. Thunder clapped over head. With each step they took, Merlin stepped back until he had his back to the door. Not wanting to turn around, he frantically fumbled with the door knob and after precious seconds of not budging, it finally clicked open.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry Merlin?" The warlock yelped in surprise to see the prince standing in the opened doorway.

"Ar-Arthur?!"

"Come on Merlin, you know it's rude to leave without saying goodbye" Arthur said before shoving the warlock harshly to the ground. Merlin tried to get up but the thick mud latched onto him like thousands of hands, refusing to release their prisoner. The downpour seemed to thicken it more and the more he struggled, the more he seemed to sink, his clothing now fusing with the muddied ground. This can't be happening!

"Oh but it is Merlin...it is" Arthur said, as if reading the warlock's mind. Looking around, Merlin was completely surrounded. The knights, Arthur, and Gwen came closer, tightening the circle around the warlock like a noose. Seeing no-other option, Merlin searched for his magic and unleashed it on the group - except nothing happened. He tried again...and again...and again.

The warlock's fearful eyes widened as the circle slowly tightened around him. When they were several feet away, they stopped in their tracks and just stood there. Moments passed until the group laughed in unison, their voices melded into a higher, unsettling tone. "I told you once, and I'll tell you again. There's no hope of escape now" Those words! Realization dawned on him a little bit late. Suddenly, his friends, like salt when touched by water, dissolved into grotesque shadowy figures, all disfigured and snarling like wild animals. After a piercing scream, they rushed at the warlock. Darkness consumed him and before he could blink, he was back in the dark abyss, arms outstretched and chained in the same position he was in before.

"Hello Merlin" Anatol greeted, walking out of the shadows.

"Where am I?" Merlin asked after catching his breath.

"Oh, this is your subconscious...well, at least what's left of it. Soon though, all of it will be under his control... and effectively mine. So I guess this will be your prison now...tough luck" she said before moving her head to something behind her. Merlin craned his neck to see what she was motioning to when a black figure walked out. He gasped in horror upon seeing the were-wyvern.

"You see, in order to get complete control, I needed to tear down the walls you put up that blocked the were-wyvern's dark influence. I must say that they were quite impressive and I should thank you for giving me enough time to do so - if you hadn't left to socialize with your imaginary friends then I would've had a much harder time"

Merlin mentally berated himself. All of this was a trick from the start and he fell for it like a gullible fool.

"Now then, I think it's time to wrap things up here" Anatol said before disappearing entirely, leaving only the were-wyvern standing directly in front of Merlin, its white eyes gleaming in the darkness. The air around him became heavy and the witch's voice resonated through Merlin subconscious. "Drýcræft sylfum deorcnes wiðinnan forjjclipung. Ic i béo þín mandryhten ond þu manest níedhæs. Ymbféheþ hine in deáþscúfa. Ymbféheþ hine in déaþ. Ymbféheþ hine in cwealm. Befylge mín bebýt. Nú drýcræft sylfum deorcnes. áríseeþ!"

At that moment, the were-wyvern leaned forward and touched its forehead to Merlin's. Pain flared everywhere, the dark magic inside was fighting for dominance - drawn to the beast's familiar magic - and unfortunately for Merlin, it was winning. He pulled on his chains in a futile attempt to escape. Proving too much for him, the warlock screamed to the dark abyss and was lost to the darkness.

As soon as she started incanting, Merlin's back arched from his kneeling position in the candle-lit room. It was like he was hit by a tidal wave, its power knocking the breath out of him. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. The chains that bound him felt like they were tightening, slowly choking what life he had left. He felt himself slipping, struggling to hold on to control. His right shoulder was an explosion of pain that spread throughout his entire body. He felt the were-wyvern's will (the culminated wills of Sáwol and all those who came after) rising to overpower him. His Dragonlord abilities did nothing to suppress the raging beast within. At the end of the enchantment, Merlin felt his body slump to the floor. He fought with all his might but like Anatol had told him earlier, there was no hope.

When Merlin had finally lost consciousness, Anatol stepped back and let out a sigh of relief. The spell itself was strong magic - added to the fact that she destroyed the boy's will, Anatol was drained. She had to hand it to him, Merlin had a strong will ('had' being the operative word). Evening had not yet come so she waited patiently to make sure that the spell worked. No need to get Morgana angry again.

It was only about a fifteen minute wait until Merlin began shifting. A black aura shrouded the warlock and within minutes, black wings sprouted from his back and surrounded him completely. A few moments later and they lowered themselves to reveal the were-wyvern. Immediately, it began thrashing in its chains, which in only a matter of seconds were very close to breaking. The guards, not being able to restrain the beast, quickly moved themselves from the imminent threat. Cowards. Stepping forward, Anatol faced the were-wyvern and with authority, she shouted, "Stop!"

The reaction was instant. The were-wyvern went completely still the moment the words of her command left her lips. Smiling, she tested her power over the beast again. "Now, bow before me". Not wasting a second, the dark creature, in its chains, bowed its head deeply to its master.

Anatol grinned at the obedience. All was ready now and soon, Camelot would be hers and hers alone. She nodded to her guards to come closer and with a flash of gold and a few choice words, Anatol teleported them to where Morgana's army waited for her arrival. They would attack Camelot and all the wyverns she had secretly captured would be at her command. Not even Morgana's army could stop her now.

Okay, so that was a little mean of me. In the words of Katie McGrath, 'Poor Merlin'. So next time, the battle for Camelot will begin.

I'm almost done writing the story. Hopefully, it will be soon and when it's done, I will post a little more frequently.

Spell Translation:

Dark magic within come forth. I am your master and you will obey. Envelope him in shadow. Envelope him in death. Envelope him in pain. You will follow my commands. Now, dark magic. Arise!

Who will be the 100th reviewer? Or the 101st...or 102nd (and I can keep going). No seriously, thanks again guys for all your support and I hope you enjoy how everything ends.

Until later,

-STL13