Every time I looked at my review count, it kept going higher and higher. So thank you: K (guest), Tolleren, IndiaMoore, Revenge of the Red Pen, brynerose, TheReinbachDragonlord, TeganL74, RavenWitch23, and .127 for all your reviews. You guys are just awesome and I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter.

Disclaimer: IDOM

Chapter 23 - Betrayals and Reunions

The sun had just set when all the preparations were made. Every knight, soldier, and guard - even the servants - were all ready for the inevitable attack. Now, every man, women, and child held their breath, waiting for the first signs of Morgana's army. It had only been a couple of months since her last takeover of Camelot - just when they thought they'd seen the last of her, the traitor had to rear her ugly head and attacks their homes and everything they held dear.

Arthur dispatched his knights strategically. The Knights of the Round Table stayed with him at the gates while the others were dispersed around various parts of the castle. Not that the other knights weren't good enough but his knights held a special place in the prince's heart. These were the men who helped take down Morgana when she attacked a couple months before. If he was going to face her again, he would do it standing by his most trusted men.

An eerie silence fell over Arthur and the knights. What was going to happen? How strong was the enemy?

Where was Merlin?

All of them were worried about him, especially Arthur. He didn't want to think of what they would do to him so he decided to concentrate more on the upcoming battle. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and stayed like that in pure concentration...and that's exactly how he was found when Gwaine interrupted him.

"Princess!" the prince jumped in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle his highness" the surly knight retorted.

"You didn't startle me, I just simply remembered something"

"What, that you are a prat?"

"Yes - no - I mean, that's Merlin's word"

"Yeah, I know". Both men lowered their eyes to the floor at the mention of their lost friend. Gods, they hoped he was okay. "I hope he's alright too princess"

"How did you...?"

"We're all thinking about him Sire" Leon said, joining them in their conversation. Percival, Lancelot and Elyan moved closer, nodding their heads in agreement. Arthur smiled at their loyalty and went back to his contemplative silence.

"...So..."

"Yes Gwaine?" Arthur said through closed eyes.

"So, Merlin's a were-wyvern?" Everybody nodded their heads. "But wouldn't that mean that he would only change on full moons, not every night?" At this everyone furrowed their eyebrows in confusion, except Lancelot who was shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Where did you hear that nonsense?" Arthur asked.

"Well..."

"Gwaine, Gaius and I have been through this already. A were-wyvern is not a were-wolf" Lancelot said.

"But it has the same name...kind of"

"Gwaine..." Lancelot said warningly.

"Alright, alright. Serious moment here, calm before the storm and all that - no-one wants to hear my charming voice. I get it but you guys could smile once in a while. It's not like we're gonna die or anything"

No-one bothered to reprimand Gwaine any longer. A blind man could see (yes, that meant Arthur too) that he was anxious for the upcoming battle as they all were. This was Gwaine's way of dealing with stress, no matter how annoying it could be.

All was silent once again. The darkness that the night sky overshadowed them with seemed to have calmed the group. Not a sound was heard, except for the slight rustling of leaves when the night breeze swept by. And it was in this eerie silence that the first light of a torch was seen midway in the cover of the trees.

Then another.

And another.

And another until decades upon decades of torches were lit, illuminating the forest like a hundred tiny candles.

The calm had passed. The storm had arrived.

Morgana was ready. After only a couple of days of desperate recruiting, victory would soon be hers. Camelot didn't stand a chance now that she had an army of sorcerers at her disposal. And the icing on the cake was the were-wyvern.

When Anatol and her guards entered the camp with a chained were-wyvern in tow, Morgana couldn't help but admit that she was excited. Not only did they have an extremely powerful creature at their command, but said creature was Merlin. Seeing him cursed and with no will to undermine her plans - it was the best form of revenge she could hope for.

"Anatol" Morgana greeted with a smile. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the were-wyvern following her like a dog on a leash. When the red-haired sorceress followed her line of sight and noticed what she was looking at, she smiled.

"Yes, I am proud to say that Merlin won't be giving us anymore trouble. The were-wyvern is fully under control". My control, she mentally added. To prove her point, she motioned for it to come forward. With all due haste, it stepped forward. "Now bow before the Lady Morgana" and it did. Morgana grinned at the idea of being able to command the were-wyvern.

"This is wonderful news Anatol" Morgause interjected while walking in to the group. "You have done well"

"Yes, indeed" Morgana added.

Anatol played along, ignoring the green-eyed sorceress' obvious fake smile. "Then at your word, we are all ready to attack"

Once the enemy revealed themselves, the battle had shortly begun. The night sky was lighted by the onslaught of fireballs being shot at the castle. Arrows rained down from over the walls of Camelot. Both sides were fiercely battling, trying to cut down their opponents with long range attacks.

"On me!" Arthur yelled through the noise of battle. His knights came to his side immediately, creating a triangle of defense with the prince at the front. The prince was right to assume that Morgana's army would attack with a mixture of sorcerers and soldiers. Assessing his individual knight's strengths and weaknesses, he strategically split the group to fight the incoming enemy. So when the enemy broke through the gates in the lower town, Arthur and his knights charged their way to the middle of the army before splitting up into groups, cutting down all who stood in their way. Percival and Leon took down their enemies with ease while Lancelot and Elyan, who weren't as strong as the previously mentioned knights, used their agility and smaller frame to take down the men who dared challenge them. Though it pained Arthur to admit it, Gwaine was the best knight to match up with him. His unique style of swordsmanship made him a skilled fighter - added to Arthur's experience and the two were an unstoppable pair.

It wasn't until a bolt of lightning barely missed the prince that Arthur had his men retreat. It turned out that the these men were just the first round, sent in to test the strength Camelot had to offer. It was a good plan on Morgana's part - after all, it had been three months since she had been in the white city and many things had changed, including the security.

"Fall back!" the prince's voice rang through the noise of battle just as another fire ball was shot at the group. Once every knight had safely passed through, the gates to the lower town were tightly closed.

"So what's the plan princess?" Gwaine said through ragged breaths.

"We need the archers to position themselves facing the gate" he said to Leon, who left immediately to inform the archers. "We will finish off those who manage to get by them. As for the sorcerers, we'll have to deal with them later. We have no-way to attack them without exposing ourselves. Let's deal with those we can kill before dealing with something out of our reach"

At that, everyone broke off to prepare themselves for the next part of the siege. Not one person got far when a sudden BANG filled the area. Everyone froze.

"What...was that?" Lancelot asked to no-one in particular.

A moment of silence.

BANG!

"Sire", Leon shouted from one of the ramparts, "they're ramming the doors!"

"Brace the gates!"

BANG!

A mass of guards rushed to secure the wooden door while the rest scrambled to get into position. Arthur stood in the midst of the confusion and took the scene in. All hell was going to break loose. There was nothing he could do to stop it.

Morgause and Morgana looked on with malicious glee. Their plans were going perfectly and soon Camelot would be theirs once again. Gathering the remaining members of her army, the green-eyed witch turned to announce the next phase of attack.

"Camelot will soon fall and once we reclaim it, you all will finally be free!" The crowd gave a loud roar. "Now once the gates are opened, my foolish brother will try to lead a counter attack, but we will be ready. All we need to do is..."

"Follow me" At this, everyone turned to look at the only one brave - and possibly foolish - enough to interrupt. Morgana was fuming at the familiar voice while Morgause stepped out and stood by her sister's side.

"And you have something better in mind Anatol?"

"In fact, I do" she said pointedly before turning to the army. "Morgana plans to send all of you in while she sits back and lets you do the hard work. Do you really want to take the chance of dying when she promises each of one of you freedom? If you follow me, no-one will have to worry about dying"

"Anatol!" Morgause exclaimed, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Oh, this is the moment I take over" she said smugly. Enraged at the betrayal, Morgause swiftly raised her hand at her traitorous friend. "Astrice!". A powerful force hurled its way at the red-haired sorceress...but it didn't hit its target.

Anatol's eyes flashed blood red and before the spell could hit, the were-wyvern intercepted it, barely making the black beast flinch. In the blink of an eye, it rushed at Morgause. She tried the spell again, but the results were the same. Before she knew it, the were-wyvern snapped at her raised hands, causing her to trip and fall backwards. Coming to her sister's aid, Morgana unleashed a burst of raw energy instinctually. To her dismay, the were-wyvern set its sights on her. Menacingly it slowly walked towards Morgana despite the spells being frantically flung its way.

"Stop" Anatol commanded with a raised hand. Only a few feet away from the witch, the were-wyvern halted in its tracks. Morgana calmed herself and shot a death glare at the traitor. Anatol ignored it and looked to the shell-shocked crowd.

"You need not fear. I am in complete control of the were-wyvern. With its power, I can ensure victory over Camelot without any deaths on our part... unlike Morgana and Morgause" The crowd filled with whispers as every soldier and sorcerer began to weigh their options with their comrades.

"And how do you plan on doing that? Everyone knows that war is not without sacrifice" Morgause challenged as she picked herself up from the ground.

"I'm so glad you asked" and with a redden flash of her eyes, the were-wyvern flew to her side and roared to the sky. All fell silent until the trees behind rustled. Flocks of birds fled from the safety of their homes, trying to escape the approaching predators. All of a sudden, a group of wyvern flooded the camp site, roaring and encircling the panicked army.

"The were-wyvern is able to control all the wyverns I secretly captured. Why sacrifice our men when we these creatures can do the fighting for us? Arthur and his men wouldn't stand a chance" Anatol said to the crowd.

"You cannot do this Anatol" Morgause argued. "These are magical creatures - they should be respected rather than used as mere tools"

"Then what do you call these men who are fighting your battle? Aren't you using them?"

The blond witch fell silent and her sister took her chance to speak her mind. "I knew I never should have trusted you from the start Anatol. Stop this right now. I am your rightful queen and you will obey me or..."

"Or you'll what, Morgana? You have no power over me...either of you" Anatol said, motioning her head to the other witch before looking at the crowd again. "What say you? Join me and know victory will follow or die fighting for Morgana and Morgause?"

The crowd went silent for what seemed like eternity. Finally, a brave soul stepped from the crowd and bowed to one knee, his right hand balled into a fist placed above his heart.

"I fight for us. I fight for Anatol"

Prince Arthur was confused. One moment, he and half the guards were bracing the gates and the next, the enemy just gave up. It didn't make sense one bit. Hell, if he was the enemy, he would've continued with the attack...so why stop now?

"Leon, what's going on?" he asked.

"Sire, the army is retreating to the forest. It seems that they've just given up"

"No, something's wrong. I know Morgana and she never gives up"

"What do you want us to do Sire?" one of the guards who was previously barricading the door asked.

"Secure the gates. I don't know what Morgana's planning, but it can't be good and I won't take any chances. Nothing gets in here" he said out the last part out loud to his men.

Everyone went to work immediately. There was a good fifteen minutes of silence until a roar rang through the whole castle.

"What the hell was that?" Gwaine asked.

"Leon?" Arthur asked looking up at the older knight.

"I can't see anything Sire...wait, it looks like some sort of black cloud is approaching"

"A black cloud?" the prince said to himself before quickly running to stand next to Sir Leon on one of the shorter ramparts. Indeed, there was what looked like a 'black cloud' heading their way from the forest but something felt wrong. There was no other cloud in sight and the weather didn't hint that it was going to rain. On top of it, the 'cloud' was approaching quickly...too quickly to be normal.

All of sudden, the cloud seemed to disintegrate into smaller, shapely chunks that spread in the sky. It wasn't until they moved closer that the prince noticed the all too familiar red eyes piercing the night sky.

"That's not a cloud Leon," Arthur said, slowly backing himself and his knight away from the edge, "those are..."

"Wyverns!" a knight yelled. Immediately, the cousins of the dragons swooped down and began attacking the knights before flying back into the air.

"Archers, aim for the sky" Arthur yelled while running back to the ground level. A wyvern snatched a young knight and began taking off but was stopped by a dagger in the chest. After falling to the ground with a loud thump, the knight looked and nodded his thanks to the young prince. After finally making it to ground level, Leon and Arthur began fighting their way to the other Round Table Knights.

"Princess, so nice you can join us" Gwaine said before slashing at the neck of the sixth wyvern he'd fought.

"Manners Gwaine? It suits you" Elyan said before blocking a claw aimed for his chest.

"I don't think this is really the time guys" Lancelot interjected.

"What are your orders Arthur?" Percival asked.

"We need to fall back and rethink our strategy" Arthur said. "Fall back!" he yelled above the noise of battle.

Not being needed to be told twice, Camelot's army retreated. While Arthur and his knights were trying to retreat, the wyverns began circling them from the ground and in the air, creating what looked like a three-dimensional sphere around the group.

"This isn't good" Gwaine stated as the circle of angry wyverns closed around them.

"Tell us something we don't know" Lancelot said.

A blood-curdling roar suddenly reverberated against the stone walls. The wyverns, strangely enough, stopped their attack and, whether in the air or on the ground, backed away from the prince and his knights.

Before anyone could question the action (or what the hell made that roar), a black figure emerged from the forest and dramatically landed in front of the prince. Arthur and Lancelot's eyes widened in horror as the familiar black wings folded itself against an even blacker body, its white eyes glowing eerily in the late night.

"Arthur, that can't be..."

"Yes Gwaine...that's Merlin"

Spell Translation

Astrice - Strike severely

Yep, Merlin and Arthur will fight again but this time, something interesting will happen. I guess you guys will just have to wait and see (laughs maniacally).

For those of you who noticed, yes I did take the 'black cloud' reference from Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring) when the black cloud of birds approaches the group to spy on them for Saruman. I just couldn't help it with the new Hobbit movie coming out (squeals in excitement). XD

Also, I've just realized that next Saturday it the Season 5 premier for Merlin (squeals again), so I'll probably update this Sunday instead of Monday. Please review and share your ideas on how this will end or what will happen next.

Until later,

-STL13