Past and Present Danger

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! We are heading towards the end now. I reckon maybe three or four more chapters, but, as I said before, I really can't say for sure. Anyway, please review!

Chapter 29

Merlin clung onto the King tightly, watching his older self shout for Kilgharrah. It didn't sound exactly like he remembered when he'd heard the call in the clearing, but it felt close enough; like a familiar hum in his chest. They all looked expectantly into the sky and then suddenly his older self shouted a warning. His hands flew up in the air, conjuring some sort of shield into life just as several of Morgana's lightning strikes flashed towards them; he cried out, desperation in his voice. The shield, however, seemed to withstand the strikes, but Merlin felt the whole of the ground begin to buckle under the pressure.

Merlin felt the King's arms around him loosen slightly and then tighten suddenly as the ground lurched under their feet, finally succumbing to the force of the lightning strikes. The lip of the gorge, the place where they were all standing, began to crumble. Merlin didn't have time to even begin to think of what they could do, but the King was quicker. Merlin felt himself being flung through the air towards more sturdy ground, saw the King doing the same to Prince Arthur and then watched as the man finally grabbed his friend and hauled them away from the edge. Just before he hit the floor, Merlin saw the ground where they had been standing plummet into the river far below.

He hit the ground hard; attempting to use his hands to steady himself, but they buckled uselessly underneath him. A split second later he felt the coarse grass and the sharp pieces of grit which littered the ground scratch across his face and he closed his eyes, worried that he would damage them. It took several seconds for the ground to stop trembling beneath them as the gorge rock cover adjusted to its new shape and weight. For a terrible moment, Merlin thought that maybe the whole of the hillside would collapse into the river and all he would feel was pain, panic and then nothingness. But then everything was still again and he heard the King shouting. With effort, Merlin rolled onto his back, lifted his head and took in the scene.

Morgana was where she had been before –down by the tree line, far below them- her expression one of victory. One glance at his older self told him why. The man lay on the ground, his eyes sluggishly looking around; his body barely moving. The King was at his side, calling his name and urging him into action, but he was exhausted, unable to go on; the shield had been his last stand. If there was any energy left in him, Merlin knew the warlock would be protecting them.

He looked over at the Prince Arthur, who was only a metre or so away from him. The boy had pushed himself back into a sitting position, his focus entirely fixed on the two men.

'Merlin!' the King was saying, an unmistakable edge of panic in his voice. 'Get up,' he told him firmly. 'Now!' The sorcerer made an attempt to do as he was told and the King quickly moved to wrap an arm around his back. But it was useless. His strength was spent and both he and Arthur sank back to the floor, the King having been unprepared to take the entirety of his friend's weight and unwilling to accept that he would have to.

'I'm sorry,' Merlin heard his older self whisper to the King. 'I'm really sorry Arthur.' It was final. Clear. Resigned. Merlin couldn't look; he couldn't watch, so he turned away, only to find the Prince looking at him. His face was pale and his eyes were strangely bright. He inched closer to Merlin, stopping an arm's length from him. He took a breath.

And suddenly Merlin realised what he was going to say. Knew that the same words that had just spilled from his counterpart's mouth were about to leave the Prince's. And, he realised, he didn't want to hear them.

He had been so angry with the Prince; had even hated him for some time back in the cave, but then the boy had jumped in front of a knife to protect him and it had been undeniably clear the he had believed it was going to kill him. Merlin hadn't known what to think, and then Morgana had been there again and everything had spun further out of control.

And now here they were; all four of them. Two versions of two people; separated by time and life and understanding, but still here in the same place, facing the same thing, and -so it seemed- experiencing the same desperation to put things right and say what needed to be said: his older self to tell his friend and King that he would have protected them all if he could, and the Prince to let Merlin know just how much he regretted what he had done in leaving him at Morgana's mercy. Things needed to be at peace before they all died. For that was what was about to happen. He could see Morgana out of the corner of his eye, far away down the hill, preparing her final strike -whatever it would be- wanting to enjoy and cherish the moment.

'I'm-' the Prince began, but Merlin shook his head.

'It doesn't matter.'

'But-'

'Arthur,' Merlin continued, smiling at the blond haired boy, 'it doesn't matter. You saved my life.'

'But that isn't good enough if we're about to die,' he replied, anguish cutting through his tone.

'We're not just yet,' he said firmly, 'I want to fight for a bit, if I can.'

With that, Merlin struggled to his feet, helped the last few inches by the Prince who jumped up quickly, evidently confused at what he was doing, but wanting to do what he could. Merlin felt the boy's arm slip around his waist and hold him upright, while the other hand gripped the one that Merlin had slung over his shoulder.

'I just need to get a bit closer,' Merlin told him. They struggled forward until Merlin could see the entrance to the gorge. Looking down, he spotted a few bits of rock that had fallen onto the ground there rather than plummeting the rest of the way into the river. At Merlin's instruction, Arthur lowered him to the ground and took up sentry beside him. Glancing over at Morgana, Merlin saw her watching them with an amused expression. She extended her hand and sent a strike of magical power towards them, but the Prince jumped in front and absorbed it, as Merlin had known he would.

Concentrating on the rubble instead, leaving Arthur to defend him, Merlin focussed on his task. The plan, he knew, was doomed to fail. There was no way that he would be able to cause any sort of damage to Morgana, but all he needed was a bit more time. Just a minute; maybe even less than that.

Because his older self's call to Kilgharrah had not gone unnoticed. Merlin could sense, somehow, that the creature was hurtling towards them as fast as his wings would allow him. In the distance in the sky, a black dot was quickly becoming bigger and clearer; hidden from Morgana by the trees, but perfectly visible to himself and the Prince from their higher vantage point.

With what little magical strength he could muster, Merlin picked up one of the boulders that lay on the ground and flung it at Morgana. He couldn't deny that it was a pitiful attempt. The boulder was no bigger than his head and flew at Morgana so slowly that only a flick of her wrist was needed to shatter it into a thousand pieces, metres from where she stood. Above them, the magical storm had lessened considerably as Morgana enjoyed playing with her victims.

'My, my,' she crooned, 'the little Prince and the little warlock are trying to play grown up.'

'We will beat you!' the Prince shouted back. She laughed and sent a strike towards the ground by their feet. Dirt sprayed towards them. Arthur blocked the majority of it, but some slipped around him and caught Merlin's arms; compared to the effects of his starvation, however, the impacts were barely noticeable.

Merlin tried again, sending several rocks towards her, but each one shattered further and further from her, until at last she seemed to tire of the game and just disintegrated any remaining rubble into fine dust where it lay. Merlin glanced behind them; the King was still trying to keep his friend awake. Part of his focus was on the exchange between Morgana and the boys, but Merlin knew he had picked up on their plan because his eyes flitted frequently to the sky.

'Enough,' Morgana called; her tone had lost its amusement. It was as cold and emotionless as Merlin remembered it being during his captivity. 'You can not beat me. What do you hope to achieve with your childish tricks?'

'Just a little bit of time,' Merlin called back to her, his voice dry and croaky.

'For what purpose?' she sneered.

'This one!' the Prince shouted.

Kilgharrah's roar echoed all around them, almost making the ground tremble as much as Morgana's spell had, but the land beneath them held firm.

Merlin watched with fascinated awe as Kilgharrah climbed high into the air and then dived towards Morgana. Her face flicked from disbelief to fear in less than a second and the storm above them vanished completely as her focus changed to the dragon that was rapidly approaching her. She raised both her hands towards him, preparing to attach with her magic, but before she could, an intense burst of flames issued from the creature's throat.

They enveloped her instantly, like a waterfall of fire and blood cascading onto her. Inside, Merlin could see her dark outline, could see her upraised hands and the thin shimmer of magic around her that was protecting her from the intense heat. The flames disappeared suddenly as Kilgharrah climbed once again. It seemed to take several seconds for Morgana to realise that she was no longer being consumed, but by the time she had moved to try and counter the force of the flames, Kilgharrah was diving again; wrath and fury spewing from his mouth and consuming her.

This time, Merlin saw her dark silhouette begin to crouch, and when she was given another brief respite, she made no effort to counter, but instead tried to flee. Black twists of smoke began to clothe her and Merlin sensed that she was going to try and transport herself to somewhere far away. But Kilgharrah was relentless. He landed with a shuddering boom and released another spray of fire. Her spell was cut off and this time the flames didn't relent. Behind where she stood, the trees began to blossom with violent red leaves, while she began to shrink under the dragon's onslaught.

Maybe it was because her magic still wasn't at its full potential; maybe it was because his older self's attacks had actually injured her in some way or maybe it was because she had been taken by surprise. Whatever the reason, it was evident that they no longer had anything to fear from her. They knew it, Kilgharrah knew it, and the desperation of her crouched silhouette told him that Morgana knew it as well.

Merlin looked away. He could see her shield failing, could just about hear her screams through the roar of the flames. He looked at the Prince instead, but the boy had given up on watching the attack seconds before. He had sunk down next to Merlin, his knees tucked to his chest, his forehead pressed against them and his hands covering his ears. It was only then that Merlin remembered that for the Prince, Morgana was a friend and, as they had found out in the last few days, his sister. Merlin looked behind at the King, but he didn't seem as moved by the horrific end that she was facing. He didn't remember her as anything other than the enemy.

That seemed wrong to Merlin somehow, although he knew it wasn't the King's fault. He turned back to the Prince and put an arm around the boy's shoulder. The next time he looked up, the only flames left were those that were ripping through the trees. Where Morgana had been there was nothing but black ash that was quickly being scattered into the air and out of sight by the wind.

Arthur shook Merlin's shoulders again, willing the man to wake up and say something…anything. But he remained still, his breathing shallow and his face turning a frightening grey colour.

'Kilgharrah!' he yelled. He looked down the hill to where the dragon was now standing, Morgana having been killed. Arthur knew he was meant to feel something other than relief at her death, but he couldn't remember what it was and right now he didn't care. Looking at Prince Arthur, he knew that the boy was feeling it for him. The boys were sat next to each other: Arthur upset and shocked, Merlin doing all he could to offer comfort: an arm around the Prince's shoulder. They looked, for all the world, like children who had grown up together, been friends together and knew and loved each other.

Arthur looked down at the man who was supposed to be his closest and most loyal friend and felt the sadness of his missing memories consume him like a physical grief. He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember Merlin or anything about him other than what he knew from the last few days.

If he…if he died now, even if they miraculously managed to get the boys back home without him, Arthur would forever have to live with the knowledge that at the moment Merlin left this world, neither of them would have any recollection of who the other truly was. It was almost too terrible to think about and so he didn't. Instead, he got to his feet and, with effort, managed to pick Merlin up. He turned to take him down towards the tree line; he doubted the gorge could take the weight of a dragon after the battering it had just taken.

'Merlin, Arthur,' he said as he stumbled past them. He indicated that they should follow. The Prince got up and helped Merlin, who looked as weak as ever. Together, the two of them made their way down the hill towards Kilgharrah. Arthur didn't bother checking on them; they'd be fine together.

Breathing heavily, Arthur finally reached Kilgharrah and set Merlin down at his feet. The great creature lowered his enormous head, his scales like polished metal. Arthur could still feel the heat radiating off him from the attack he had just unleashed.

'What can you do for him?' Arthur asked.

'He is gravely injured.'

'I know that,' Arthur snapped. 'What can you do for him?'

If Kilgharrah was offended by his tone, he didn't say anything and that, more than anything, convinced Arthur that things looked very, very bad for Merlin.

'Anything, please,' he began again. 'Once we get him back to Camelot a physician will look after him. I just need you to help him survive the trip.

'My magic is not so straightforward as to be able to heal.'

'Then just stop the injuries from worsening. Please, Kilgharrah.'

'I will do what I can.' Arthur closed his eyes briefly and then stepped back, allowing the dragon to work. He moved even closer to Merlin's form and then breathed onto him, moving up and down the length of Merlin's broken frame. The air seemed to shimmer and haze as he did.

Once it was done, Kilgharrah beckoned all of them back over.

'I have done what I can, but you must also treat the wounds.'

Arthur nodded and set to searching through the bags that were still packed onto Kilgharrah's back. Most were spell books and food, but there were some bandages and healing salves as well.

In silence the three of them began to tend to Merlin's wounds until it became obvious that it wasn't just one Merlin who was in dire need of medical attention. The dark haired boy quickly seemed to deteriorate as they worked. The Prince's alarmed cry was what brought it to Arthur's attention. He looked at the Prince and an unspoken agreement passed between them.

So while Arthur tended Merlin's wounds, the Prince did the same for his Merlin. They worked in silence, communicating only through gestures and nods when they needed to use some of the supplies. While the Prince got some water and food into the dark haired boy and gently cleaned and treated the cut on the boy's face from Morgana's ring, Arthur saw to Merlin. His task was more arduous. The injury on Merlin's head was still bleeding heavily and Arthur made little attempt to wash it, knowing that stopping the bleeding was more important. And so he bandaged his head tightly, stuffing extra padding on top of the gash to try and stem the tide of blood. That done, he moved onto the man's ankle, which was horrible swollen and bruised. There was a make shift splint around it that looked as good as any Arthur could have made and so he simply strengthened and neatened it, knowing that he could do little else. After that, a quick inspection of Merlin's torso showed Arthur a deep purple bruise forming across the man's chest. It stretched from one side to the other and, frighteningly, seemed to incorporate several of Merlin's ribs. Arthur gently felt along them, but he was no expert. He had no idea whether or not they were broken. To be on the safe side, he used the last of the bandages to bind them. With those things done, Arthur quickly cleaned and put salve on the dozens of smaller scrapes and cuts that Merlin had acquired.

He had thought he might feel some small amount of relief with the job finished and Merlin as aided as he could be, but he didn't. Merlin had not moved or made a sound through the entire thing. Looking over towards the boys, Arthur watched as the Prince gently and encouragingly continued to offer Merlin food and water. The boy took it thankfully and seemed to rally somewhat; enough to walk over to Kilgharrah mostly unaided when Arthur indicated that they needed to go. With the Prince's help, and Kilgharrah lying as low to the floor as he possibly could, they managed to load an unconscious Merlin onto the dragon's back. Arthur then tied him very securely to one of Kilgharrah's neck spikes using some rope that had been in the supply packs, trying not to bind his chest too tightly in case he woke up and injured his ribs further by moving.

All that was left was to help the boys onto Kilgharrah's back. The Prince needed little help, but Merlin struggled immensely and, just to be safe, Arthur secured both of them in position as well not wanting to watch either of them plummet towards the ground, not when they were both so close to getting back home. If only Merlin would wake up. Arthur finally took his place on Kilgharrah's back. As the dragon leapt into the air, Arthur had the terrible feeling that after everything they had been through, they were still a long way from putting everything back to the way it should be.

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