"Gwen, move!"

Gwen ducked behind a nearby tree where from behind there was a loud explosion only a moment later and she felt the ground shake. Gun in hand, she waited, listening for footsteps, that, when they came, were faint; her stalker was trying to be stealthy. But Gwen was better, faster, stronger, and, most of all, she had a cause.

She pulled a pink shard from her pocket, struck it against her gun, inhaled the smoke, and faded into the tree.

Bonding with a tree is probably the weirdest thing Gwen has ever done. She could see, but not like before. Now, her eyes and ears were the leaves and the roots, and the vibrations in the air and the ground, and it took a few seconds for her to regain her bearings, but Gwen was smart, and she adapted fast.

The attacker silently walked around the tree, invisible and quiet, and as long as he stayed slow silent, his enchant would remain in effect. He chuckled to himself as he thought he had the upper hand. Knife drawn, heart racing, mind calm and confident, he leaped behind the tree, popping out of his invisible state and ready to deliver the killing blow... until he felt a blunt sting and a large hard stick against his back, which pushed against him so fast that it carried him up into the air, launching him across the forest floor. He landed limber enough but quickly found roots coming out of the ground, tangling his feet and holding him to place.

Gwen felt herself return and she phased out of the tree, gun in hand, walking confidently to the man bound in wood. She held the gun up to his head. "Game over." she said. The attacker's eyes were cold and unnerving and he closed them just as she pulled the trigger. A large ball of plastic expelled from the tip of the gun, which hit the man square in the forehead and splattered red paint all over his face.

"Ouch! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" screamed the masked man. "Oh my God, that huuuurts!" He pulled his mask of to reveal himself. His hair was short and brown, and his face was tan but his European background was still there, hidden under the tint of hard outdoor labor.

"I'm sorry," Gwen mocked. "Did I hurt you?"

Gwen and Lance had been working on training—Gwen for almost a year now. She had come a long way; she wasn't the broken fragile girl she had been just after Morgana had left her. Now, she was tough. She was dedicated, strong, and of course, she was passionate.

The roots around Lance's feet became loose and Lance stepped out of them to walk towards Gwen.

"You did really, really well," Lance congratulated, and he looked at Gwen tenderly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to do fine on the test. Seriously, that was... I've never seen anyone use a Bond crystal like that." He placed his hand behind his head and shrugged, and Gwen replied with a cocky smile.

Dear Diary,

It's been exactly one year since I left Gwen. I still think about her every day. I'm going to America soon. There is word of a man who can help me over come this... creature... this monster inside of me. I can feel her getting stronger each day, and that scares the shit out of me. I've learned of an organization that helps with magical people like me, people who are having issues coping with the trauma that magic can bring to those who are... iono too old? I guess. His name is Gaius and he's arranged to meet me in three days. I haven't told him everything yet, I don't wanna scare him off. Oh Lord, I probably sound like I'm mad.

I'm scared. I'm really really scared.

Love,

Morgana

Gwen stood in front of a small group of people—the Council—which consisted of maybe two or three people barely younger than fifty. They all wore long ceremonial cloaks and didn't show any sign of emotion, any sign of humanity. The room was dark and damp, and the only light came in from a skylight at the very peak of the room that was more than fifty feet up. It gave an ominous and intimidating haze.

Gwen had been waiting for this, ever since Morgana had left, ever since her magic manifested and her alter-ego "Morgause" had taken over here, ever since her heart shattered. And she had been waiting—waiting for so long, and so patiently. If she made it into the Knights, she would have access to limitless resources, weapons, magic, and people who could reconnect her with Morgana.

She pulled out her necklace, from which an engagement hug from the end. Gwen had found it, left behind in Morgause's wake. It had been meant for her, and it gave her strength. She kissed the jewel for good luck, and watched as one of the members walked up to her.

"It is time." he said.

They all surrounded her slowly, forming a circle around her and pulled out their weapons of choice: a book, a knife, a cane, a wand, a gem; but Gwen was ready. She needed to do this, to stop the purge, to stop the end of the world, to save her. She placed her goggles down on her face, gave her ring one last kiss before tucking it under her shirt, and pulled two sais from her back. She crouched in position, ready. Time to dance.

Morgana found herself suddenly hesitant. The rain was cold, but the potential future felt colder, and the old door produced her with a realization. What if he couldn't help? What if he couldn't save her? Morgana clenched her fists, her mind racing back to the past, to when she was happy, before this magic, before Morgause, before her life ended as she—

The door opened suddenly and Morgana jumped back, almost falling down the slippery stoop.

"Well, my child," Gaius said. "Are you going to spend all your time here outside in the rain?" He lifted one eye brow and gave her a curious look. Morgana looked shocked and cold. Gaius stepped back and waved his hand inward, inviting her in. She gave him a peculiar look and cautiously walked into the bring room, happy to get out of the rain.

Morgana sipped from the small white china. The tea was refreshing and helped calm her down and warm her up. Gaius finished mixing his own tea and sat down, across the table from her. He gazed at her, thinking. Morgana could feel the hairs on her back stand up, she wasn't a power witch, by any means, but she could feel the magic that Gaius had inside him, it was crippling, like being submerged miles under water.

"So, my child, why are you here?" Gaius asked.

But Gaius didn't really need to ask, because she could see Morgana's aura—there were definitely two distinct different wavelengths, as different as night and day, yet as codependent as a baby and its mother. Morgana took another sip of her tea and set it down on her coaster and cleared her throat.

"I have... a-another person... uhm, ahem," Morgana took another sip of her tea before continuing, "living inside of me."

Gaius raised an eyebrow and sat back in his seat.

"She manifests sometimes, but not always, and she's very powerful," Morgana confessed quietly, feeling her eyes well up with tears. It felt good to talk to someone about this. Morgana's mind gently faded to Gwen and their old life, and she took a deep breath and sighed.

Gaius leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together. "Tell me everything."

Gwen recoiled hard, flying back. She dropped her legs and used the friction from her shoes to slow her down, leaning forward and placing her hand on the ground to steady herself and regain her balance. Her eyes darted around the dark room. It had been so long since they started, and she was starting to feel herself breaking. Blood dripped from her lip, her eye brow, and her left arm, which was horribly disfigured, and whispers surrounded her, falling from the shadows into her ears.

"Give up."

"You won't win."

"You can't."

Gwen felt a sharp pain rocket through her back. She turned to see one of the Council standing, arm extended, hand flat and parallel to his body, a gentle wisp of smoke rising from his palm. Gwen fell to her knees. Her body was fading, but she couldn't fail now, she couldn't. She waited, and they surrounded her, they seemed tired too—a few of them were limping, and one was hunched over, holding his stomach.

Gwen had put up a good fight, and a brave one.

"It's time to give up."

"Surrender to the darkness."

Gwen started to laugh; she sat back on her heels and laughed into the sky. The Council looked at her confused, exchanging glances between each other, but Gwen spread her knees and laughed even harder. Her eyes were alive with passion and lust. The Council looked down in horror as they realized that there was, hidden under her, a small orange crystal, blinking rapidly, indicating its peak in power.

"Check mate," Gwen whispered.

Gwen leaped into the air and threw a sais down at the crystal, shattering it. It was forced to explode and the fire engulfed the Council members, knocking them all back and fully illuminating the shadowed chamber. Gwen watched as the fire roared upward at her.

She closed her eyes, and let the flames wash her sins away.

Gwen's eyes shot open. She lifted up out of the bed in the same instant, only to find that Lance was sitting next to her, sleeping in the bedside chair. He looked unwashed and dreadful. She reached her hand over and touched his leg, causing him to jump in his sleep. He looked around, dazed, before laying his eyes on Gwen. He got up quickly and knelt beside her, taking her hand in his.

"You... are a crazy stupid woman you know that? You've been bed ridden, healing for almost a week," Lance scolded. His eyes were full of fear and anxiety. Gwen had never noticed how deep his eyes seemed to go; it was like looking to a well, or the night sky, infinite. She turned away to look at her body. There was not a single burn on her. She lifted her arms and checked the rest of her skin.

"They were able to fully heal you," Lance explained, reading her mind. "You were lucky—over ninety percent of your body was covered in burns. Your legs had been burned to the bone, you had no eyes, no ears, no nose," Gwen reached up and grabbed her nose, "and no fingers." Lance gave her a you-know-you're-really-crazy look. "You also managed to severely injure one of the Council, and by severely injure I mean you actually made him have to swap to a new shell, which is impressive from someone with absolutely no magic in her blood. They liked you so much that they're going to give you special training, so you can be an officer like me in half the time." Lance shook his head in disbelief. "You never cease to amaze me, Gwen."

A small and beautiful smile broke out on his face, his skin wrinkling and folding just right. Gwen moved closer to him and pulled him close, gently resting her lips on his. The kiss was brief but it was powerful, and Lance pulled back and his smile extended even farther.

Gwen gave him a proud and cheerful look, the first she'd given anyone in a long time. Morgana's ring and her necklace had been removed when she was being healed and, normally, she would have noticed, but something about Lance made her forget about everything else, something about him made her feel like it was okay, it was time to move on.

Morgana sighed and she turned her head away from Gaius, feeling ashamed. She had just finished explaining everything: Gwen, Morgause, about her magic, and about her insanity. Gaius had listened intently, but he did not speak. She'd figured out that he liked to be cryptic like that; it added flavor and style to his reputation.

"You are not crazy," Gaius stated, as if reading Morgana's mind. She looked at him with a bewildered expression before her eyes dropped to the table, then to her cold tea. Morgana had been so paranoid as of late, she couldn't help but want to make things right inside herself, to be whole again, and do it all without Morgause killing someone or draining her bank account or without Morgana waking up the next morning with someone she had never met.

"It will take a lot of time to overcome and control Morgause, but you are not crazy," Gaius explained. "It is not for a woman of your age to develop an alter-ego when magical powers begin to show themselves this late in life. She is not, however, your enemy, you can defeat her, and, over time, control her as if she was your own. She will always be a separate consciousness, but you will no longer find her taking control of you, unless you want her to, of course."

Gaius took a sip of his tea and Morgana nodded her head eagerly. "You will stay here for the next few months," he said, and he stood up, beckoning her to follow, "I will teach you everything you need to know, my child."

Morgana felt the weight of the world lift from her shoulders. For the first time in a really long time, she felt like she had a chance, a real chance at being "normal" at being "happy". She thought of Gwen, of her love, of her soul, and thought about getting back to her. She felt like letting go for so long, but no anymore, she couldn't. She needed to get back to her.

Two realities unfolded, as Morgana worked to control Morgause, Gwen trained to be a better Knight. The more Morgana worked to get back, the more Gwen worked to move forward, and the stronger Morgana's magic became, the stronger Gwen's love for Lance became. As time moved on Morgana was closing in, ready to get back to Gwen, ready to be hers again, and Gwen was kissing Lance on the podium of the chapel, ready to walk down the aisle as his wife.

A year passed, and Morgana walked up to Gwen's doorstep. She knocked quickly, and stood patiently, a stark contrast to her first visit to Gaius.

"I got it!" Morgana heard a man yell, and her heart sank into her stomach. She watched the door open and Lance stood there. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Morgana hesitated. She noticed the ring on his hand, and she felt scared and confused. Of course, of course Gwen had moved on. Morgana felt stupid and silly. This wasn't a fairy tale. She shook her head. "No... No I think I got the wrong address," she lied.

"Who the fuck is it?" Gwen asked irritably as she walked up from behind Lance. She froze at the sight before her.

"M-M... Morgana?"

Gwen sighed into her hands and looked across the fire to Merlin and Arthur. Arthur looked bored, but Merlin had tears flowing down his face. Gwen glanced over to Lance then up at Morgana, who was watching as Merlin started to cry. She rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't that bad," she said bluntly. "We were foolish and life just had... different plans for us."

Merlin still couldn't help but cry at how horrible and depressing the tale was. Is this what he and Arthur were destined to have? A lost love, a lost life?

Arthur looked at Merlin and punched him in the arm. "Stop crying you big baby," he teased.

Merlin looked at him, confused, "Why—why did you punch me?" he asked, rubbing the spot where Arthur hit him and he gave Arthur a look of irritation and pain.

"It's... you know, supposed to cheer you up," Arthur replied lamely, if not a little guiltily. He hadn't meant to hurt Merlin.

Merlin rolled his eyes and Gwen rolled hers as well. "Well," she started, "that's enough story time. Morgana has given us important information about the Drinkers. They're going to perform a ritual to release the dragon, and then shoot it out of the sky." She looked to the entire party. "At first light, we'll move to sabotage them. Morgana has powerful magic and will help break us in. If we do this right, we can have the dragon on our side and stop them from harvesting his power. It's a double win, understood?"

Everyone nodded their heads. It was time to take action.

Merlin slept in the same tent as Arthur and Gwen with Lance, Morgana sat out by the campfire that night, lamenting over her past mistakes. Everyone was happy. Why wasn't she? She leaned her head into her hand and thought more about Gwen and their old life, the life she would never get back. She heard rustling and saw Merlin exit his tend, walking towards her. He stopped a few feet before the camp fire and looked down at her.

"So... the plane thing?" he asked quietly. He looked concerned.

"Just me fucking with you," Morgana replied, chuckling, "Gaius asked me to keep you in check so I figured why not have a little fun?" She gave him a wide smile before patting the empty space next to her with her hand, a signal for him to join her.

"Oh... okay," Merlin said, pleased with his answer. He walked around and sat next to Morgana by the campfire. "That was kinda mean, you know."

Morgana didn't say anything, the fire cackled and dwindled down, Merlin tossed a new log on it and watched as lighter than air sparks filled the area above the fire, millions of little sparks, of little hopes, of little dreams. The time passed, and Merlin was the first to break the silence.

"So... you and Gwen?" he asked.

Morgana chuckled. "Yeah... It was the best time of my life."

Merlin watched her and could see regret and sorrow fill her. She looked to Merlin and then suggestively to his tent, her eyebrows raised. "What about you and Arthur? You, uh, tappin' that?" Merlin blushed a bright red and Morgana bellowed a loud laugh, she was positive that she was going wake someone but she didn't care; it had been so long since she'd had a good laugh. She let her laugh die and placed a hand on Merlin's head, ruffling his hair. "It's obvious that you care for him."

Merlin looked to his shoes, "He doesn't feel the same way..." Merlin confessed.

Morgana reached around him and pulled him close, Merlin rested his head on her shoulder and she ran her fingers along the side of his face. "It's alright, Gwen doesn't feel the same thing about me anymore either."

They sat there, Merlin resting, finding sanctuary in her touch. It was good to know that he wasn't alone; that he wasn't the only person who's love didn't love them back.

Morgana brought her arm back and nudged Merlin with her shoulder and gave him a shallow smile. Merlin looked to Morgana's face, then to her shoulder, then to her face again, and then nudged her back harder than she had before. They shoulder shoved each other playfully before calming down and appreciating the company of each other, the warmth of the fire and the gentle blanket of stars in the sky. They looked at each other and shared a smile, a smile that said more than words ever could, pain, suffering, the agony of love, the terror of losing, and the regret of time. It was Morgana's turn to rest her head on Merlin's shoulder, enjoying the soft comfort of a friend. Together they let the essence of night over take their turmoil, just for a second, and spent the rest of the night talking.