Thanks for the reviews, and welcome new followers! I might not be able to update again until next week, so I'll apologize in advance for...well, you'll see. Feel free to comment at the end of this chapter :D This is, honestly, the real culprit of all the issues I'd been having lately with this fic, so I'm anxious to see your responses. Thanks again!

Oh, and if you just want to leave a face or something, because you don't know what to say...well, I'm not too picky hehe I pretty much love them all!

Beta'ed by Nance. I don't own a thing. *air kisses*

Nothingness. Black, cold and empty. A void of absolutely nothing. A thick wall of glass separated the pressurized interior from the infinite abyss outside. It still didn't make Arthur feel any more comfortable, knowing what he did now, than it had when he had first been brought on board the Prometheus back near Earth. If anything, it made him more nervous.

That ship had been destroyed. Back then, the Odyssey had been damaged, as had the Korolev. Even this ship, one of the Asgard designs and quite different than the Earth fleet, had taken fire and was now limping along through the vast expanse of space between the stars.

So far from home. So very far away, and now the person who had brought him here...the man who had brought the Knights of the Round Table back together again...was lost to them.

Arthur shut his eyes and tried not to envision what had happened, but the entire situation weighed heavily on his soul and the events replayed themselves behind his closed lids.

Leon's team called to them on the radio. In an upper level of a nearby building, they found a bridge. From below, it had been partially obscured by buildings, but its construction out of a translucent material made it nearly impossible to detect.

With less than five minutes until the rendezvous with the Asgard, the six of them started across the expanse to the central tower.

Merlin finally began to perk back up.

They had been close...so damn close.

Halfway there.

They didn't know where in the building Aithusa was, but they concluded that Aithusa was probably being kept in one of the lower levels. The timing was critical. Leon had a medium-ranged communication device out and had been trying to hail the Asgard to get them a few more minutes.

Then, all hell broke loose.

The sound of sonic booms shook the bridge. Ori fighters had taken to the air. The massive form of an Ori mothership loomed above them, and Leon heard a message from the Asgard.

The Asgard ship was taking fire.

The pounding footfalls of running soldiers came from the building they had just exited. Arthur gave the order to run.

Diving through the door on the opposite side, they slammed it closed behind them, ducking the blasts from the soldiers' weapons. Inside the room, Leon was frantically trying to communicate with the Asgard.

Everything went from bad to worse when the center of the room lit up, and transport rings shot up from the floor.

The light disappeared with the rings and Adria stood in the center, flanked by her warriors.

He wasn't sure exactly what had occured next. Everything seemed to happen at once.

Leon yelled out that the Asgard couldn't get a lock. Gwaine and Percival had begun shooting at the soldiers.

Arthur froze.

The others had told him about Adria and her connection to Morgana. Physically, there were some minor similarities. What held him captive, though, were her eyes.

They glowed with magic.

His mind reeled and he saw her standing on a boulder near the cliff face, commanding her Saxon warriors. Morgana's eyes had flashed with the golden fire. Each time, however, they had returned to their normal green right afterward. Adria's were a solid, unflickering light and it made his spine crawl with fear.

The last time he had seen her, before Merlin had run her through, was at Camlann. The day he had been destined to die.

The episode lasted no longer than a few seconds, but it was long enough.

He raised his sword and charged straight toward Adria. His blood pounded in his ears and his vision was red with the need to be rid of her.

A simple nod of her head and he was shot backwards. The sword fell from his hand when he hit the wall.

She stalked toward him with a haughty smirk. Then suddenly, her body was wrenched to the side and Arthur glanced up to see Merlin's hand extended - the magic fading from his friend's eyes.

The area of the Ring device was suddenly cleared. Percival's strong grasp lifted Arthur to his feet. They reached the center together - injured, but still alive.

Leon managed to obtain one of the wristband controls from a downed soldier. Gwaine helped Sebryn, weakened from her time of imprisonment, to the circle. The former Marine then turned to assist Merlin.

Merlin.

He almost made it to them, when Adria regained her senses. She made a motion of pulling something to her, and they had watched helplessly as Merlin had sailed backwards through the air.

Gwaine and Arthur both yelled his name and started forward.

The magic flashed in his eyes, as he activated the Rings.

They had made it...but, it was without Merlin.

In an instant, the world around them changed. They found themselves on board the Ori ship.

The Ori ship's shields were down and a brief moment after they had materialized, they found themselves engulfed in a wave of light that transported them to the waiting Asgard vessel.

Still taking fire, the commander of the ship ordered his crew to engage the hyperdrive and quicker than Arthur could blink, the stars outside the viewport had blurred.

Arthur raged, as did Gwaine. He ordered the Asgard to turn around. The alien blinked stoically at the former king with his large, black eyes before turning back to his controls and beginning the process of managing repairs to his ship.

Leon spoke to the slender alien in a language that Arthur didn't understood. Responding in the same tongue, the commander shook his head.

"Their shields, weapons, and some life support systems have been seriously compromised." Leon explained to the others, as he leaned exhaustedly against a nearby bulkhead. They were all exhausted, as was normal when the adrenaline rush of battle wore off. "This ship would be probably be destroyed by another attack from the Ori."

"But, we need to go back for Merlin!" Gwaine shouted and pounded his fist into wall. His eyes darkened with anger and grief.

"I know that. They know that. But, if we go back now, everyone on this ship would be in danger. The Ori followers are on alert. They know we're here in their galaxy. It would be absolute suicide." He blew out through pursed lips and ran a hand through his hair.

Percival frowned and calmly asked, "What can we do?"

"Our only hope is to find someplace to lay low for a few days, while the repairs are being made and try to come up with some other plan of attack, as we had agreed."

"...And, in the meantime...what?! They'll likely kill Merlin..."

"No."

The argument paused. The men glanced down at the petite girl who had spoken the one word with such strong conviction.

"He's a Furling. They'll torture him. Try to find out where the rest of my people are. But, they won't kill him...at least, not intentionally. On the plus side, he might have an easier time finding his drakkon. Being in close proximity to her should help them both."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, suddenly interested in what Sebryn had to say.

"If the Furlings who went to Albion haven't developed the cure that we did, then being separated would end up killing them both." She went into an explanation about genes and how the innate powers of the dragons worked.

She had successfully lost Arthur in the first five seconds of her ramblings. He had been grateful to see that Leon seemed to grasp the concept. All of it was too far over his head to comprehend. He only knew they had escaped, but it didn't matter since they had lost Merlin.

He held up his hand to stop her. "In layman's terms, please?"

Gwaine was the one who answered, "It's almost like a piece of taffy. When Aithusa left Earth with Morgana, it began stretching their bond until it nearly broke."

Leon continued, "When the Supergate opened, it had been a violent reaction of the two pieces being shoved back together, which caused Merlin's collapse."

Arthur was finally beginning to grasp what they were saying. He'd been fascinated by the taffy pulling machines in the storefront windows of candy shops. It had since become one of his favorite treats in the modern world. "If I understand you, then the two of them being close..."

"...Will start to work together again and become one." Sebryn said with a hopeful smile.

"Frack."

"What is it, Gwaine?" Leon's eyes narrowed. He did not like the tone of Gwaine's curse.

"Sebryn," he asked, ignoring Leon. "What would happen if one of the sides had been messed up by something like dark magic?" Gwaine's mind drifted back to the surgery when Carolyn had removed the sword piece from Arthur's chest. He explained to Sebryn how Merlin had tried to help with his magic, but the shrapnel, created by a sword burnished with Aithusa's magic, had been repulsed.

The young Furling woman bit her bottom lip. She shuffled her feet and drew her arms around herself.

"What is it?" Percival asked, noticing her apprehension.

"If her genetic code has been changed by the Ori, or something else...your friend's will be, too."

That conversation had taken place what seemed like hours ago to the former king. He didn't know enough about magic or modern science to help come up with a plan. Staring out the window at the blackness of space, he felt more lost than he ever had before.

Guinevere and the children...at this moment, he wasn't sure if he'd ever see them again. He was thankful for the time he'd had with them.

"Hey."

He turned away from the window and gave Percival a nod.

The larger man held out an open flask. "I nicked this off of Gwaine."

Somehow, it didn't surprise Arthur to find out that the roguish man had brought along a bit of alcohol. Normally, Arthur would have simply smiled his thanks and passed, but instead, he took a hefty swallow from the flask. It warmed his throat on the way down, serving its purpose of taking the edge off his mental anguish.

"Sebryn managed to contact her people. They've agreed to give us safe harbor, while the Asgard make their repairs."

"What about going after Merlin?"

Percival shook his head. "They only said it would be discussed when we arrive."

Arthur knew what that meant, especially during times of war. He took another drink. "Gather the other two and Sebyrn. I need all the information I can get, if I am to convince them to aid us."

"You're going to get them to help?" The knight asked hopefully.

"Of course I am, Percival. I might be a little out of practice, but while you were all out on the training fields and patrols, I was the one still in Camelot hosting neighboring kingdoms and creating treaties. Even in this strange place, people are essentially the same - they want what is best for their own. I plan to give it to them, and gain their support for our cause in the process."

"Yes, Sire." He grinned and bowed before setting off to find the others.

Arthur's bravado faded the moment his friend left his sight. Leon's words resounded in his brain. It would be suicide to go back in now. He knew that, and yet he would gladly face anything that was thrown at him to save his men...especially, Merlin.

Getting the Furling Resistance to assist them was a last ditch effort, a Hail Mary as Gwaine would call it.

In all honesty, he had never managed the negotiation of a treaty with a completely unknown faction, without either Merlin or Guinevere at his side. He hoped he wasn't fooling himself into thinking he could.

"Time to wake up." The soft, melodic voice tempted him back into consciousness.

When he didn't respond right away, Adria slapped Merlin's face. The shock of the blow brought his mind into focus.

"You shouldn't have come here." She scolded him. "You aren't part of the Resistance against the Ori in this galaxy, or even part of the Stargate. You perplex me. I knew you were coming, but I don't understand why or who you are. I should tell you, however, that the weapon failed."

He tasted the metallic tinge of blood in his mouth and spat it out on the floor. He carefully glanced around. The room was large and bare, like most everything in the city. Across one wall stretched elaborate metal fencing with a gate in the middle.

Merlin had seen such metalwork made out of wrought iron at various estates back home. Even his own manor had some, but the metal of these swirls weren't made from iron. He couldn't tell what they were made of, though he knew he had seen and felt something like it before.

Behind the gate, flames appeared to roar, but yet were silent. He wondered for a moment if it was a hologram.

Adria followed his gaze and smiled. She walked over to the gate and caressed the intricate metal dowels. With extreme care, she slowly opened it. "These bars were made eons ago...meant to keep unworthy men from touching the power of the Ori and seeing the truth beneath."

"The Ori..." Merlin hissed out, feeling the power suddenly unleashed. He realized that the metal had been holding back the energy, like the chains that Morgause had once used to bind him, and also the ones that had kept Kilgharrah captive below Camelot. If he hadn't already guessed that it was the Sidhe who had given the knowledge to Uther that kept the dragon prisoner, he now had confirmation of where the knowledge originated.

Her voice carried on in the deceptive sing-song quality of an innocent, young lady. "The cleansing flames of their power rise up from the pit below. It is glorious to behold, is it not? Those who gazed upon its magnificence...the power of the Ori...and who were found worthy become the teachers of the path. The Priors. Those who are not...they burn."

She began to pace around the room. He could see the flames now surrounding and cloaking her. The power emanated off of her in waves that threatened to suffocate what little magic he had left. How many times had he seen religious zealots like her, he wondered. Whether it was a single person, a village, or an entire planet, it never got any easier to witness.

Merlin had always wondered how long it would take for fate to catch up with him. He'd dodged the pyre his entire life.

Reaching out with his senses, he felt Aithusa nearby. So close...but, she was weak, and so was he.

If he didn't get Aithusa away from here soon, they both would die. He sent the message silently to the dragon.

Merlin jerked back. He felt her desire to be done with the hardships and suffering.

Adria was circling him...smirking at him. "I know you're here for the creature-"

"Aithusa." He managed to say out loud, cutting her off. "Her name is Aithusa."

"You say that like I should care that the beast has a name. It is her duty to protect and serve her creators, the Ori." Adria sighed, "But, she seems to resist any of our attempts to bring her into our care."

Morgana's presence seemed to be a distant memory, when he looked into the eyes of the woman taunting him. If she was still in there somewhere, he no longer had the power to draw her out, at least not alone.

"That's what you get for enslaving a magical creature who doesn't like to listen."

"Magic?" She giggled, "There is no such thing as magic. I am certain the power of the Ori must appear to be magic to someone as simpleminded as you, though."

"Magic is real. You know that, Morgana." He said, in a desperate attempt to reach out to the woman buried deep inside. Merlin sent his words out with his mind, as well. If he could just reach Aithusa, then he might have a chance.

He searched for a way to keep her talking. With each minute that passed, he felt some of his strength returning to him. Although, it was difficult with the energy emanating from the flames. His training with the monks in Tibet began to come back to him, and he found a place deep inside that allowed him to anchor his mind.

"Why do you call me that?" She asked innocently. "You called me that name on the planet where Merlin was found."

"I am Merlin."

Clicking her tongue, she shook her head as if to admonish him. "Merlin? No. Merlin gave his memories to Daniel Jackson. He failed, by the way. Merlin and his weapon. He knew I was going to use it against the Ancients. But, if he knew he was going to send it through the wormhole and try to use it here, I don't understand why he would have made it to fail.

"We have the schematics now, in my ship's database. It won't take long for us to rebuild and reconfigure the weapon before we send it back through. The Ori will soon rule over both galaxies. Their power will be endless and the people will see the truth."

Suddenly, Adria paused, "You were there, though...when the real Merlin gave Daniel his memories." She moved over to the dark-haired man and crouched down in front of him. "I suppose it might be possible that he somehow cloned his memories and implanted them in you both.

"It is strange, however, I don't really sense that about you. There is something else, though. You were the one responsible for the time interval I had lost on that world." She looked at him curiously. Her soft features disguising the monster beneath the surface. "Tell me, what did you do to me?"

Merlin gazed at Adria with grim determination, challenging her to try and pull the answers out of him. She obviously remembered something. If she did, he thought he could use the opening to get back into her mind. All it would take would be a crack, and he hoped it would allow him to break through to Morgana's consciousness buried deep inside.

Unfortunately, Adria didn't push him.

"Well, you will tell me soon enough, I'm certain. I have plans for you."

She shifted her path and moved behind him. It sounded like she had picked something up off the ground, but Merlin continued to stare ahead of him, attempting to focus his tumultuous mind. He was out of practice, even though he had begun to meditate again recently.

"Your friends seemed to find it amusing to try and escape. One of them had the gall to try to use a rather primitive weapon against me. They were easily captured."

A sword point grazed the skin of Merlin's neck. He flinched as it bit into his flesh. Shifting his eyes to the side, his heart sank. The Rings had taken his companions out of the room when Adria had appeared. After that, he didn't know what had happened.

Arthur's sword appeared out of place in her slender hand. He could feel trickles of blood running down his neck from the small cut, but he had to school himself to hide the small bit of relief he finally felt.

Kilgharrah's magic always did that to him. He found himself missing the old dragon, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Such a pity that a blade so beautiful, is so useless." Adria moved the point away from Merlin's neck and thrust it awkwardly in the air, like a fencing blade and not the way it was meant to be used. "Your friends will be given one last chance to accept Origin, or they will perish."

Merlin's chuckle caught her off guard. She had no idea that the magic in the blade had helped to clear his mind. He had reached out through the city and smiled when he couldn't sense his friends anywhere.

Adria had lied about capturing them, he realized with relief. "You are as deranged and insane as the one whose DNA they molded you from."

"I don't understand..." She said, completely confused by the change in his demeanor.

"Clearly, you don't. The Ori made a mistake in creating you. I knew Morgana, before she went mental. Her soul still resides within you, though it is weak and fleeting. The Ori mistook her for a Dragon Lord. They thought that by creating you from her, they would be able to control Aithusa, but you can't even remember her, can you?"

He pushed himself off the floor, silently gathering his energy. He felt Aithusa attempt to lift her head, as she heard the name of her mistress spoken. It wasn't much, but the small spark of hope in the dragon gave him something to work with.

"Do you know why I am here? Do you have any clue why you haven't killed me yet?"

Adria glared at him and took an unconscious step back.

"I am here to free her from you, and from Morgana's ghost. I let it be for too long, thinking that if I just gave her space that eventually we would come to terms someday.

"The Ori stole their power from the dragons long ago. I will not leave here without her. This time, I shall not stand by idly while she is tortured for the whims of evil."

Adria scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'd like to see you try."

Merlin summoned his magic to him, drawing from the web around him. He was tired of the games she was playing.

Before, when he had met her, she hadn't seem like the type to drag out a situation. She was young and impatient. Now, she appeared to relish her attempt at verbal torture.

He wondered if she had any inclination of what was about to hit her, when he suddenly let loose a powerful burst of magic.

It hit the shield created by the pendant around her neck. She brought up her arms instinctively to protect herself. The sword dropped from her hand and skittered across the floor.

The waves of his magic cascaded around her - forcing her backwards. But, the flames that she wore like a cloak mingled with his invisible magic and burned it away before it could truly touch her. Whether it was the proximity of the Ori's power, or that her subconscious had learned how to protect her from his magic, he didn't know.

"You are powerful, I'll give you that." She snarled, dropping the innocent demeanor and smoothing down the front of her gown. Her eyes hardened for a moment, before she smiled cooly. Her gaze shifted to something behind him.

Merlin was tempted to look, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of her. From the corner of his eye, he caught something moving. The moment a hand clamped down on his shoulders, he grabbed it and spun around, his leg striking out in a roundhouse kick into the midsection of the man behind him.

Allowing his centuries of training to kick in, his movements became automatic. Soldiers surrounded him and he fought them off, catching a glimpse of a door that had been behind him. His options were limited, as his mind quickly raced through the possibilities.

Breaking through the Ori's followers to the door, and a potential escape, was the simplest...even with Adria at his back, and an unknown host of possibilities beyond.

Another soldier fell from Merlin's flying fists, taking down the man behind him, as well. He managed to dodge a blast from one of the weapons, ducking as it hit the wall above him and left a mark on the previous pristine surface.

The gate stood open with the flames of the Ori raging beyond. If he had any inclination of what was actually below, he might have been willing to take a chance to break through in that direction.

He spun around and leapt over another man, using him like a shield to take two blasts in the chest. Training and sparring with his friends had finally taught him to avoid such weapons, and he sent a silent word of thanks to Leon for the hard lesson learned.

Then, a glimmer caught his eye.

The sword.

Arthur's sword.

It laid on the floor, discarded and forgotten behind Adria. She still had a smug look of superiority on her face, though her men were dropping like flies.

Merlin didn't know if her shield would protect her from a physical attack. It hadn't in their past meeting, but she was obviously much more powerful this time.

Taking a chance, he began to make a path away from the door. He had to get the sword.

The look of incredulity on Adria's face was priceless, as he shoved her aside and somersaulted toward the blade.

His fingertips touched the hilt, but that was as far as he got before an invisible wave forced the sword further away from him.

He cried out in disbelief as it shot through the gate, and balanced precariously on the edge of the platform over the pit of flames.

Pain radiated through him. His muscles spasmed and cramped as Adria's power suddenly began clawing at his bones. Merlin's vision blurred and he found his strength leaving him. She had recovered faster than he had anticipated.

He was only mildly aware of arms circling his biceps and hauling him roughly toward the edge of the precipice.

"If you were to accept Origin into your heart, you could be with your creature. You are powerful, more so than I ever could have imagined. Perhaps you are the real Merlin. You could rule at my side and we could mold the entire universe to our whim." The Orici's voice offered seductively. "All you need to do, is to look upon the power of the Ori and be found worthy.

He closed his eyes tightly, refusing to look into the flames. Aithusa cried out in his mind.

A strong hand sank into the hair on his scalp. The pain radiated into his skull and his eyes opened instinctively.

At first, he saw nothing, but then a face began to form in the dancing orange flames. It called to the depths of his soul, reflecting his desires, and offering peace.

Thoughts of his friends and family were stripped from his heart, consumed by the power, and he watched as they burned away into nothingness.

Everything he'd held onto for so many centuries disappeared in the flames, and the darkness within him rejoiced.