I'm so sorry everyone! You really don't deserve to have to wait for so long between chapters! But I want to thank you all for being so patient with me regarding this story. Thanks to that, as well as the small pushes I got from more recent reviews, my sparks of enthusiasm and inspiration for this story (and pretty much all things fanfiction) have finally started to properly return to me. I don't want to make any promises, but I have a feeling chapters should start coming out more quickly now. I'm just sorry that you had to wait so long, and I hope that this chapter (as well as the rest of this story) will go towards making it up to you. Also, feel free to torture me in whatever ways you see fit (although I would suggest leaving my hands and the fanfiction part of my brain alone).

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Chapter 24

The world once again erupted into a magnificent web of gold, shimmering as it made it's way over Camelot, it's various strands separating into different colours and binding themselves to almost every heart littered around the vast Kingdom. Merlin sent a small burst of his own magic out to meet it- using where the palm of his hand met Paige's shoulder as a conduit so that he could connect with the web with relative ease. The young girl, he noticed distantly, was doing quite well considering the circumstances they were under- she seemed to have blocked out a large portion of her fear, and was instead focusing on what Merlin himself was doing, trying to get a hint about she could control her own power herself in the future.

Moving quickly, Merlin pushed his magic further. Faster and faster it sped along the golden strands, until it was almost impossible for his mind to keep up with it. Eventually, using the magic he had sent into the web the previous day to guide him, he found the first part of what he had been searching for, for his magic appeared to be in the presence of whatever- or rather, whoever- was the source of the spell. He didn't dwell on this triumph though, but instead moved on, splitting his magic into several glittering specks at this point. Each speck he sent down a single one of the multiple threads which were connected to the source, zooming as fast as he could get them to move towards the glows in the distance which he recognised as being the vessels. It was an extremely difficult task, to split his own mind into so many separate beings, but it was necessary. Speed was off the essence, and he couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that the source had somehow detected his brief presence. Not that it made any difference to the young Warlock's speed anyway- he already knew just how fast he needed to work if he wanted to have any hope at all of sorting out the mess they had found themselves in.

And then, after what seemed to him like an age, the specks of his magic finally arrived at their intended targets and began to settle themselves. He felt some of the vessels stir in surprise as they felt the foreign magic enter them, planting it's seeds deep within their minds. Each seed held a single message- a simple reassurance that help was on it's way if they could just remain calm and follow the instructions they would become aware of over the course of the next few minutes.

His task done, it was then time for Merlin to withdraw. He sped back along the threads, his mind dancing lightly along the beams of light as though it was something he had practised every day of his life- and, in a way, he supposed it was. As he passed the point of the source, the pieces of his magic gathered together once more, pirouetting once before rushing off on the last dash home.

It was at this point that he realised he was being followed.

Not registering the surprise on Arthur and his other companions' faces as his eyes snapped open in shock back in his body, Merlin redoubled his mental efforts. Hopping lightly to one side, he darted speedily down a random thread of light. Time and time again he hopped, from thread to thread, from shining string to shining string. And all the time he felt his pursuer just a short distance behind him- ready to attack should Merlin let his guard down for even a single second. The other mind- what he sensed of it anyway- felt vaguely familiar. Not in the way of someone he had known for a long time, but more in the manner of a niggling sensation that he had at least passed this person at some point quite recently.

Suddenly, he was struck with an idea.

Drawing to an instantaneous halt, Merlin grabbed at a tiny sliver of his own magic, and used it to thread a single wire between the thread he was currently on and one far off to what his magic told him was the left. Before his pursuer even had time to register what had happened, Merlin was moving along the new wire- his speed increasing tenfold by the fact that he was travelling now on his own magic, and not some untrained stranger's. And as he moved, he erased the thread behind him, reeling it in so that it was once again part of his collected bead of magic. This way, there was absolutely no way for whoever had been chasing him to find him. Not without expending a great deal of time and effort.

Within just a few more short moments, he had traced his way back to the start of his journey. Guiding his magic back through the palm of his hand, and blinking a couple of times to clear the golden web from his vision, he shot his companions a goofy grin.

"I did it. In about five or so minutes, they'll each become aware of a message explaining the basic details of what's happening, and asking them to meet us." He ruffled Paige's hair affectionately. "Thanks a lot Paige- you were a great help."

The young girl let loose a shyly proud smile, just as Arthur asked a question of his own.

"Do you think they'll come?"

Merlin paused for a moment, thinking back on the brief glimpse he had caught of each of the vessels' minds.

"I think so. None of them seemed malicious- I think they were probably just innocent pawns in all of this. They're probably all just as confused as Paige was over the matter."

The Prince nodded his approval. "And what about you? You weren't detected, right? We thought something might have happened for a moment there."

The young Warlock allowed a small frown to momentarily crease his brow. "The person acting as the main source. I had to pass him twice, and he ended up coming after me the second time. I think I managed to shake him off, but now he's definitely aware of my presence, even if he doesn't know who I am. We should probably move from here straight away, just to be safe."

"Very well. In that case, we better head right over to the meeting place." The place in question was something they had decided on before heading to the battlements- a large room in the older part of the castle. It had two advantages to it- the first being that it was one of the furthest points from the throne room as possible, and the second that it had been practically unused for years. There was a chance, however slight, that Morgana wouldn't even remember that it was there.

The group made their way towards the door, Gwen automatically taking hold of Paige's hand. Time seemed almost to slow for Merlin as Arthur's hand reached out towards the handle, as the faintest whiff of a magical presence swept through from the corridor beyond. The source.

"Get back!"

Instantly, everyone was on high alert. Kennard grabbed hold of the two girls, silently guiding them backwards and around a corner, out of sight.

Arthur and Merlin both took several steps back, preparing themselves to fight if necessary. Hopefully the situation wouldn't call for it, but with the way their luck was going, both of them were fairly sure that some sort of trouble was about to occur. Merlin had to bite back a sarcastic comment. If destiny really wanted them to create the perfect Kingdom, it sure had a funny way of showing it.

The door opened slowly. Cautiously. Merlin felt it when a small burst of magic came through the open slit, creating a protective shield around whoever it was on the other side. It didn't feel like Morgause, or even Morgana. But before he could put his finger on just whom he had felt that particular magic from, the question was answered for him.

A head of sparse ginger hair was the first thing to appear, followed quickly by the rest of the scrawny figure which proved to be Michael- the sorcerer who had sensed them in the cells. The man's cunning brown eyes turned instantly towards Merlin.

"So you're the one?"

Before Merlin could even reply, Michael attacked. With a mutter of 'nædl,' a wave of magic, formed into a thousand pinpricks, rushed through the air towards where he and Arthur were standing. Merlin lifted a hand in defence, the sheer force of the attack shocking him as it slammed into the shimmering haze of a shield now hanging between the two parties. Pushing forwards, he deflected the attack harmlessly to either side.

"Why are you doing this?" Even if this man did want magic to return, the young Warlock couldn't understand how he could turn to such drastic measures. But it seemed that Michael misunderstood the question, instead believing that Merlin was asking why the older man was attacking their group so suddenly.

"Because you're in the way! I don't know who you are, but there's no way I'm going to let you interrupt now! Not when I'm so close!" In an instant, he tilted his head back, raising his hands towards the sky, then forced them back down to point at Merlin, at the same time yelling out "líeg!"

A flash of flame-coloured lightning burst from out of nowhere. Merlin, who had expected the attack to come from above, was just an instant too slow in his counter. It seemed six months in a cell had somewhat slowed his reflexes.

Thankfully, though, this was not so for the Prince.

Arthur leapt forward, the magic of his tattoo jumping to his defence even as he dove into the path of the magic. At once, a burst of pressure slammed through the air towards Michael, forcing the lightning out of existence, as if it had never been there in the first place. If the ginger-haired man hadn't strengthened his shield just in time, he would have found himself lying, unconscious, on the floor. As it was, though, he simply flew backwards and off of his feet, landing about two feet behind where he had originally stood. He seemed about to retaliate, when the sound of a person struggling to get free sounded from somewhere behind Merlin and Arthur.

Michael's expression immediately rushed through about a million different emotions as his eyes flickered towards the commotion- shock and relief among the most prominent of them all. He suddenly looked extraordinarily vulnerable.

"Aveline..."

(p.s. The respective spells are 'needle' and 'lightning')