It wasn't often anymore that Merlin was caught off guard. When one had been alive for as long as he had, it was difficult to pull one over on him. However, here he was with his jaw practically on the ground, and he was seemingly unable to close it.

Merlin had had the suspicion because of Leon's strange behavior that something else was going on, but he hadn't fully let himself believe that Gwen would really be here, alive again. With Arthur he understood. The knights, while strange, he could sort of understand as well. But Gwen? In none of the legends he'd looked into did it mention her coming back as well.

There were too many things about everything that was happening that didn't track, and Merlin's mind was reeling from it all. It didn't help that Arthur had missed their opportunity by spilling the water everywhere, but the warlock supposed he couldn't really blame him for that.

"Can we help you guys with something?" Lancelot questioned, eyeing the two of them as if they were crazy. Which, to be fair, Merlin was certain they looked the part.

"Actually, we just—" Anything the warlock was trying to say was abruptly cut off by a war cry that began to come closer, growing in volume as all four of them turned their heads.

Racing in from their right was Gwaine himself, holding a bucket up over his head while he continued to scream, running straight towards them.

"What the hell?" Lancelot stared, gripping Gwen tighter as the knight kept his pace up until he was only a few feet away.

Slowing only slightly, the man threw the bucket towards them, sending water flying all over the couple and soaking them immediately.

"What the hell!" Lancelot yelled, jumping away from Gwen and wiping water off his face as Gwaine lowered the bucket and looked at Arthur and Merlin with pride.

"Leon told us where you were," He explained. "Said that you might need some help, and that we should come prepared."

"So, you decided to bring over a massive bucket of water?" Merlin gaped, staring down at the old fashioned bucket that dangled from the former knight's fingertips.

"Sorry, we tried to stop him." Percival apologized as he jogged over, eyeing Lancelot expectantly.

Somehow though, Merlin didn't believe him. If Percival had wanted to stop Gwaine, the warlock suspected he was probably the only one who could have.

"This was not what I meant when I told him that." Leon spoke quietly as he approached the men himself, and when Merlin looked over his shoulder, he spotted Elyan staring hard at his sister.

Lancelot and Gwen were still sputtering and upset, wiping away the water and demanding answers. Well, Lancelot was demanding answers. Gwen was busy fussing over the man, tugging away his soaked scarf and pushing away the textbook that was already half drenched.

All the while Arthur just stared. Merlin could see he was tracking their every movement, from Gwen's fingers brushing away the water on his face to Lancelot tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear. It had to be killing him.

"What game are you people playing at?" Lancelot demanded, slamming his hand down on the table while he grimaced, lifting his other hand to his head as Gwen mimicked his movement.

"Sorry, Mate. Just doing what has to be done." Gwaine called out before Leon grabbed ahold of his arm and tugged him back.

Gwen spun around then, obviously ready to start yelling herself, when her eyes landed on the blond and all the fight drained from her face. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, and the way she spoke his name was like a breath finally being let go.

"Arthur?"

No one moved, no one spoke. The three of them stood like statues, all staring at one another and seemingly oblivious to the rest of their audience.

"We should let you guys talk." Merlin finally broke the silence, backing away from Arthur and catching Elyan's eye.

Giving him a questioning look, the man gave a small nod before the two of them began ushering the others away. Things had become infinitely more complicated for Arthur, and Merlin doubted he wanted them all there as they reunited.

"Where did you get a bucket?" The warlock asked a moment later, walking beside Gwaine who swung it back and forth loosely in his hand.

"Drama department. Figured the bigger the better." The man shrugged as Merlin looked at it closer.

"It's funny, but that looks eerily similar to the ones we had back in the day."

"Yeah, it should," Gwaine nodded. "They're doing a play based around the Sword in the Stone."

"Really?" Merlin stared as the knight nodded, a grin overtaking his face.

"Trust me. I made out with Gwen." The warlock tripped over his feet as he said that, and he heard a choking noise behind them that sounded suspiciously like Elyan. "The actress who plays her, I mean." Gwaine clarified, glancing back with a devious smile.

Elyan stepped up beside them with a snort and shoved his arm against Gwaine's. "Probably a good thing. Arthur is going to have enough trouble without a second of his knight's vying for his wife's attention."

The group fell silent at that, with Percival glancing away and Leon pressing his lips together tightly while the man glanced around him. "What? She's my sister, and technically he's my brother in law. I get to poke fun."

"It is an immensely complicated situation." Merlin stated, finally cracking the smallest of smiles.

"Is anyone going to ask why we're all here?" Percival spoke up, scratching the back of his head while Gwaine looked back in mock offense.

"Are you sick of us already, Percy?"

"It's not that, I just find it strange." He answered with a shrug.

"He's got a point," Elyan nodded. "Why are we all here?"

"And why are we the only ones?" Leon brought up, frowning in thought. "Is it because we were the ones who originally sat at the Round Table?"

At Leon's question, Gwaine suddenly perked up, his eyebrows lifting up high and his mouth dropping open. "The Round Table!"

"What?" Merlin asked as the man hurried a few steps forward and beckoned for them to follow.

"Come with me!"

"This can't be good." Elyan mumbled before begrudgingly following after him.

They walked through the courtyard and past two of the main buildings before Gwaine led them to a smaller one. Once inside, he led them down into a large auditorium. For a moment each of them stopped, staring in awe at the sets that had been created. The stage looked just like Camelot. Well, a campy version of it, but a version nonetheless.

"Through here." Gwaine waved, leading the troupe into a back room.

"What is all of this?" Merlin asked, dodging around a heavy piece of wooden framing.

"It's where they keep all their props." Gwaine explained, peering around and behind some of the larger items while Percival smirked.

"Is this where you made out with Gwen?"

"Actually, it is." The man winked, hurrying across the room.

"Are you just showing off where you take your conquests?" Leon asked, running his hand along the rim of an old well that Merlin realized belatedly was made out of Styrofoam.

"No, we're here because of this!" Gwaine exclaimed proudly as the warlock moved to get a closer look.

In front of where Gwaine stood was a massive, round table. It had been painted to look like stone and had a series of old wooden chairs pushed in and around it. It also had quite a few crushed energy drink cans and old crisp bags littered over the top of it.

"Beautifully made." Leon gasped, reaching out and touching one side of it in shock.

"Is this real?" Elyan stared as Gwaine shook his head.

"It's wood, but they painted it so it looks just like that table we first found."

"There's nine seats, enough for everyone." Percival noted.

"One extra, actually." Elyan said, counting on his fingers before his eyes fell to Merlin.

"Gaius is the one missing." Merlin mumbled, glancing away from his friends' stares.

"Do you think he's somewhere here too?" Leon asked, coming up and standing beside the warlock who barely shrugged.

"Gaius knew my destiny. Not every detail, but enough to know when the time came how it would turn out. I wonder now if he knew all of yours as well." Glancing around the room at all the former knights who had fallen silent, Merlin continued. "He often spoke of what I would have to do, those last couple of years after Arthur died."

Staring at the table where his fingers drifted over the painted stone, Merlin sighed. "He always said he was sorry he couldn't help. When he passed, he told me to be strong, and I think that was his way of saying he wasn't going to see me again."

None of the men spoke when he'd finished, and when Merlin lifted his head, he looked at each of them in turn. "Now, I think our priority should be getting back together, to build up the Round Table once more."

Slow clapping filled the room, and the warlock eyed Gwaine who lifted his hands to show it wasn't him. As the warlock's gaze shifted again to the other men, he found that none of them were the cause of the noise that continued to fill the air.

"So," A voice suddenly spoke as a figure pushed away from the shadows against one of the walls. "The team is back together again."

As he took another step forward, Merlin's breath caught, horror and disbelief surging through him as Mordred stopped a few feet away with a grim expression set on his face. "Which is fortuitous for me, because I need your help."

A/N

I'm still picturing baby faced Mordred for this and its really funny to me every time that I do.

I really want to work on other stories, but I'm forcing myself to finish this one since it's almost half over already, so bear with me! I hope you guys are enjoying it at least!