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The door opened as they walked out into the courtyard of the citadel with urgency in their step.
Arthur had just announced to his court the plan to retrieve their friend and loyal subject of Camelot back from the depths of the shadow world where he waits to be save
*your sure this will open the door to the darkness” Arthur asked as he walked
“yes sire, once you preform these steps the portal will open, but you must be aware Merlin may not be the same as he was” Gaius replied
Arthur stoped in his tracks and turned to his physician “what do you mean?”
Gaius looked down as he spoke “Merlin has been alone in there for the best part of a year, that place is the very heart of the darkness in our world its likely it has corrupted him”
Gaius met his gaze now “If Merlin has fallen to the darkness the only way to save him will be to beat him in battle, if you can do that Morgana should be able to cast the spell I’ve been helping her with which will repel the darkness”
Arthur began to scream internally under the weight that he may have to fight the man who sacrificed everything for him as Gaius continued “You’ll be able to tell if he has fallen by the colour of his eyes, they will not be his normal blue if he has been corrupted’
Arthur nodded as words seemed impossible as this moment, Gaius griped his shoulders as he said “your the only one who can save him Arthur, no matter what you feel no matter what he says this is the only way to save him, you have to beat him”
Gaius turned to leave as but just as he neared the steps into the castle he shouted “Bring merlin home Arthur”
“Count on it” he said as he began to rally his knights and sister to go save Him
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They stood in the Vally of the fallen kings to rest, the portal couldn’t be opened till sunrise which was hours away and the party would soon have to split
Arthur had hand picked the people who would accompany him and Morgana on this quest he’d chosen a small party that consisted of Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival and Leon though all the knights had voiced their desire to save Merlin, after all they had sworn an oath to follow him after Arthur and Morgana had fallen to their own darkness’s
“you sure we got everything we need for this princess” Gwaine asked
“once we retrieve the crystal from the crystal cave we will” Arthur replied between sips from his water skin
“So who is going to get that and who is staying here?” Percival asked
“I will stay here and prepare the area for the portal Leon and Lancelot I need you to stay with me for help” Morgana said as she rose from the fallen log “ that means Gwaine and Percival, will go with my brother to the crystal cave. We need a crystal cut from the heart of the cave”
“sounds like a plan” Gwaine said with a small smile as Percival just gave a short nod
“I'm going to get water for the horses” Arthur said clearly needing his own space as he left their group
They all watched as he walked off, all understanding the dread he felt as they all did, they had no idea what had happened to their friend after he sacrificed himself to save Arthur and Morgana from what they’d become
“i should probably explain the other danger of the cave which Arthur doesn’t know and can’t” Morgana said as all eyes focused on her
“During the dark years my brother and I did terrible things as you are well aware, however he doesn’t remembers any of what happened he only know what we did because you all told him” emotion began to seep it way in her voice but she continued “There is no physical crystal we need Arthur to be linked to Merlin so the portal can open to him and thus once Arthur goes into the cave he will see all he did towards Merlin and thus what Merlin did to save us”
“Why can’t he know this” Leon asked what they were all thinking
“if he knows what he will see, the crystal will not show it to him and then he won’t be linked to Merlin as it will not show what a person already knows and he will not see what he needs to”
A silence fills the air as none of the knights know what to say
“your jobs Ser Gwaine and Ser Percival is not to get the crystal for the portal, it will be to get Arthur back once he has been shown all that was done for both of us and then we can save our friend”
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Arthur sat on the bank of the stream, eyes closed as he focused on breathing in time with the movement of forest that surrounded him, this wasn’t the time to loose it. His whole life for the last year had been leading up to this, how many books had he read, how many Druids and sorcerers had he spoken too for any strand of a lead that could tell them how to save his manservant
Merlin, oh how he missed him, the world seemed empty without him beside him calling him stupid names and made up insults or complaining about how heavy the water was to carry up all those stairs
Tears began to fall from his eyes and he wiped them with one hand, tomorrow one way or another Merlin would be either with him or gone forever. Though it scared him, the thought he could lose Merlin it was also calming in a way to know that this chase to get him would end
Arthur stood ready to face anything to save the man he loved and began to walk to the group
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Gwaine, Percival and Arthur had climbed back atop their horses as Morgana approached
“We will save him you know” she said as she grab his hand and gently stroked it as she leaned against the horse but not looking up to his eyes
Arthur smiled as he place his hand on her cheek “we owe him that much don’t we” she looked up and nodded “we’ll get everything ready here so go get the crystal and try to stay in once piece” and with that she walked away back to the cleaning
They set off straight away heading directly to the cave as they were eager to get the last part they needed.
All three kept their wits about them as the rode, ready for anything that could try and stop them so by the will of the world it would seem a group of bandits had tried to stop them and mug them. Unfortunately for the bandits they picked the worse day to challenge the king and his knights and they were defeated in mere seconds.
“Lets keep going” Arthur said as he remounted his horse as both Gwaine and Percival did the same and they began to ride towards the cave again
They approached the mouth of the cave and dismounted from their horses, after their encounter with the bandits they faced no further blocks and got to the cave as fast as the horses could run.
“It might be best if me and Percy guarded the entrance” Gwaine said as Arthur turned to him
“we can’t afford to waste anymore time and if more bandits turn up we need to keep them out” Arthur considered this for a moment “your right, you two stay here then ill be as quick as I can” Arthur said before entering the cave
“we’ll give him half an hour then were going in to get him” Gwaine said once he knew Arthur was out of earshot
Percival just nodded as he took the horses to tie to a tree
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It didn’t take long for Arthur to reach the crystals he had entered the heart of the cave, exactly where Morgana had said the crystal had needed to be extracted from but then a voice spoke to him
“hello there once and future king, what an honour it is to lay sight upon you” Arthur spun on his heels sword raised and then he saw someone who looked like “Gwen?” He asked
The person chuckled softly “No I am the crystal itself I took the appearance of the one you call Gwen as to you she is someone of wisdom and truth and you trust her”
“I do. Im here for the part of the crystal so I can open a portal to the darkness realm”
“I am aware of why you are here however you are not truly aware why you came here” the ghost of Gwen said as she turned towards the crystal at the centre of the cave
“you do not seek the crystal to take it, you seek the crystal so you can understand all he has done for you”
Arthur was lost for words, trying to work out wether what the ghost of the cave could be telling the truth
“You don’t trust me do you?, it’s only natural however you don’t have to trust me all you need do is gaze upon the crystal and all will become clear”
Arthur slowly walked towards the crystal as he looked at it he saw a something inside before a flash of light broke the crystal and he began to watch the vision inside of it.
He was no longer standing in the cave but in his own throne room, it was empty except himself sitting with his crown atop his head with his uncle stood to his right and Merlin stood in the centre
“Merlin you stand accused of the use of sorcery and committing treason. how do you answer these charges?’
Merlin scoffed as he replied “I am a sorcerer that part is true however treason is not what I would call exposing your beloved uncle for what he is”
Agravaine drew his sword but before he could take a step further he had been removed from the room along with Arthur and Merlin as they know stood in the courtyard
In the silence Merlin began the spell
“Return the power payed in blood
your essence now restored,
Revoke the strength that comes in floods
And rest forever more”
As his eyes turned gold as a blue shockwave released from the hilt of his sword passing through the room. The wave had no effect on Arthur but sent Agravaine to the floor as he lost the strength to stand
Arthur watched himself draw his own sword, the very same one Merlin had given him, excalibur, and used it to attack him with it
As they watched it was clear Merlin was no match for Arthurs many years of training and experience and even though Merlin managed to block the strikes Arthur threw at him it would only be a matter of time before one connected.
“I did this” Arthur said aloud as this horror played out in-front of him
Merlin crossed swords with Arthur but then he was kicked in his stomach and sent sliding on to his back
“Merlin for your crimes against me I sentence you to death” Arthur said
“no, no I couldn’t have” Arthur said now turning to the ghost “why doesn’t he use his magic to force me back?”
The ghost of Gwen looked at him with sympathy in her eyes “He loved you too much to hurt you, he would rather die then see harm come to you”
Arthur would rather he had blasted him away, he couldn’t watch himself sentence the one man who meant everything to him to his death
Just as Arthur began to walk towards Merlin who hadn’t moved from where he laid, raising his sword to deal the fatal blow a figure shot out from the darkness to their right and parried the blow with their own sword
The figure managed to push Arthur back before their Cloke fell of their shoulders
Morgana stood sword raised at Arthur “you need to stop, your not in control of your actions and your about to make the biggest mistake of your life”
Past Arthur scoffed at her “You would defend this traitor from the justice he deserves? You bring shame on the Pendragon name”
Morgana was unfazed by the insults “i won’t let you kill him” as she said this Gwaine and Percival came running into the courtyard Gwaine stood next to Morgana sword raised at Arthur
“Your back then?” Gwaine asked her but not Turning away from Arthur
“Thanks to Merlin, I am”
Percival helped Merlin the his feet once again before asking “so how do we save him?”
“i need you to disarm him and pin him down, after that ill handle the rest”
Before anything else was said both Gwaine and Morgana rushed at an unprepared Arthur, He managed to meet Gwaine’s sword but this gave Morgana time to kick the sword out of his hand
Percival ran towards them as he shouted “move” the pair jumped to either side as Percival tackled Arthur to the ground
“what did he mean about Morgana being back” Arthur asked the figure of Gwen
“like you she was under control by Morgause, Merlin had freed her mealy minutes before this fight”
Merlin approached Arthur who thrashed underneath Percival “GET AWAY FROM ME” he shouted
Merlin kneeled besides him and clasped his hands together
“i call the light to me
May its radiance repel that which opposes it
And may it anchor those lost in darkness to me
send the darkness away so light can prevail”
A light began to shine in the palms of Merlins hands as his eyes once again turned gold he gripped on to Arthur
The darkness fell off Arthur like a stream of water as it evaporated on contact to the hard cobbles beneath them. For a few seconds Arthur didn’t move or open his eyes, they all gathered around Merlin and waited.
“Merlin” Arthur Groaned as he begun to sit up
Merlin smiled “You still in there?”
“Why are we in the courtyard?” He asked puzzled
“it doesn’t matter, I’m just glad your finally back” Merlin said before he pulled him in for a hug, before long Morgana joined their hug as they sat their in each others embrace. Gwaine and Percival smiled as their efforts had not been in vain.
“its a shame your little spell didn’t kill me straight away” they turned to see Agravaine, a ball of purple fire in his hand “Now you can stay in the darkness forever” he said as it exploded.
Morgana, Arthur and Merlin were now in a sea falling deeper into the void below
Merlin summons his sword from the light as he said a spell but Arthur couldn’t hear what he said
Two balls of light flew from the same crystal in the hilt of his sword as they encased the Pendragon siblings and he watched as they begun to float back up to the surface. Arthur watched as Merlin kept smiling as his fell into the void and into the realm of darkness
He was now back in the cave, the vision had ended
“why didn’t he save himself as well, why only us” Arthur asked Gwen
“though Merlin is powerful he had a choice he could save himself or save both of you” she said as she approached him “you know now how he ended up in the realm of darkness and the debt you owe him, with this you’ll be able to open the door between the worlds”
She turned away now “I wish you luck once and future king” and with that she was gone leaving him alone in the cave.
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With the help of Leon and Lancelot an area had been cleared out big enough for the portal to fit.
Everything was ready all they need now was to wait for Arthur’s return
Morgana grew more impatient with each passing minute, the knowledge that they would finally get the chance to save Merlin was getting to her and she want to get on with it. However with nothing left to do she decided to go over the spell again and again to make sure she knew the words.
The sound of horses quickly became apparent as all three rose, ready to draw there swords incase of attack however they were not about to be attacked as Arthur, Gwaine and Percival came into the clearing.
As they dismounted Morgana walked over to Arthur “how did it go?”
“turns out we didn’t need the crystal itself I just needed to see the vision inside of it”
He watched her, expected to see a shocked reaction but she just stood there waiting for him to continue “but you already knew that didn’t you?”
“I did but, I couldn’t of told you otherwise you wouldn’t of seen that vision”
Arthur knew that this should annoy him at the least, that information was kept from him but at this point all he wanted was to get on with it “so what’s left to do?”
“we have to wait till sunrise” she turned at looked up to the sky “which is probably and hour or so away, once the time is right you’ll need to take your sword and cut the fabric between the world”
“and how do I do that?”
“the vail between the realms should be so thin here that slashing the air will create the portal”
“right” Arthur began to feel a sense of anticipation build soon they would enter the realm of darkness, the very heart of the worlds darkness as Gaius had described it
“is there any battle plan sire?” Leon asked
“no, we have no idea what’s going to be in there or if we’ll even have to fight Merlin however if we do only I can fight him otherwise we won’t be able to save him” Arthur replied looking at one of his longest serving allies
“This will all be worth the last year once we get him back” Arthur now said to the whole group “so let go finish this and get Merlin home” Everyone around him nodded as they started their final preparations
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As the sun rose in the east of the sky Arthur stood in the clearing of the woods. He unsheathed Excalibur as it seemed to glow gold in the light he slashed the air in-front of him
They watched as the air ripped creating a dark hole leading to the realm of darkness
“once we enter we’ll only have half an hour to get out again before the rip seals its self” Morgana said as they all walked towards the portal and through it to the other side
The realm of darkness was as Arthur had expected, a lifeless wasteland. It looked like the colour had been drained from everything in there leaving a black or grey behind. They stood on the shore of what seemed an endless sea, its waters dark and uninviting with no waves was unnerving. There were many rocks which formed a small cove like structure however the black rocks had streams of purple flowing through them, this place was so alien compared to their world
The group stood together taking in the sight in-front of them falling to see the swarm of black barrelling towards them.
It incased all of the knights and sent Arthur and Morgana flying as they landed in the grey sand a trail of their weapons littered the sand
Most of the knights had fallen unconscious due to the rough landing as the swarm incased them, Arthur and Morgana had managed to stay conscious but it was clear the attack had left them shaken
A figure covered in shadows burst out of the swarm they all watched as it walked over to one of the dropped swords, the once Gwaine had welded
“This emblem” The figure said as the shadows began to fall away
“Is it him?” Morgana asked as she rose and regained her sword
“Arthur, Morgana” The figure said as it turned to face them “Your too late”
Merlin stood in-front of them but the time he had spent here had left its marks, his eye were a dark yellow, his hair greying at its ends. The clothes he wore were ripped in many places and parts of his skin had turned purple
“Merlin? What happened” Morgana asked even though she knew it was him, his transformation shocked her
“You abandoned me that’s what happened” Merlin said raising the sword he picked from the ground “you left me in this shadow prison for more than a decade”
“But its only been a year” Arthur said still comprehending this new version of Merlin
“For you maybe, but in here time looses meaning and there is only darkness in its place” Merlin turned away now and began towards the water “ I reached this shore after endless wandering, waiting for ever for help to arrive but no one ever came”
He reached the edge of the water and continued but instead of sinking into the water he walked across its surface “you should have known I was stranded. Do you have any idea how lonely it is here? How frighting it is to have no one?”
Merlin now stood in the centre of the cove facing away from the shore. Arthur and Morgana stood on the edge of the shore, swords raised as Merlin continued “All that’s left in my heart is misery and despair” He spun around now facing Arthur and Morgana “And now you can share it!”
“Theres no need, got my own of both” Arthur replied as he heard his own voice once again ‘merlin for your crimes against me I sentence you to death’ Arthur drew his sword and begun to walks towards Merlin who stood with his own sword poised to attack in the middle of the water
“You would still raise your sword against me after everything I’ve done for you” Merlin taunted him as he approached in a malicious tone that the real Merlin did not posses
“I do this to save you from the shadows” Arthur said another voice in his head ‘Arthur, no matter what you feel no matter what he says this is the only way to save him, you have to beat him’ Gauis told him this and that alone made him sure
Merlin burst forward as their swords collided again and again
Merlin moved around the cove using the shadows to appear and re-appear in different locations. He shot orbs of light which where surrounded in a purple hue at Arthur who dodged everyone
Merlin slashed towards Arthur who met the strike with his own sword but before Merlin moved in the shadows this time Arthur Managed to strike Merlin directly the tip of the sword connect but didn’t pierce but caused Merlin to fly back before disappearing into the shadows again .
Merlin now stood in the centre once more as he drew his arms in as light broke off him “THIS ENDS NOW” he shouted as the onslaught begun
Merlin summoned clones and using his magic his sword flew in front of him following the motion of his hand. He rushed Arthur who couldn’t match the amount of blows coming all at once and began to feel the hit of the hilt and side and tip of each sword connect with his body
“Shield” Morgana shouted as her eyes flashed gold as a light flew at Arthur incasing him inside a hexagonal sphere blocking all of the strikes coming at him, the very same shield that Merlin had used to save them from this place in the past.
Whilst Arthur and Merlin fought Morgana had managed to get the swarm away from the knights, most of which were now fighting the swarm to keep it away from Arthur and Merlin.
Arthur watched from inside the shield as Merlin and two clones begun to spin around as large crystals formed above them. They met surrounding the shield “FAREWELL” Arthur heard Merlin shout as the crystals exploded and the shield broke into hundreds of pieces
Arthur was prepared though and as soon as the shield broke he tackled merlin to the ground pinning him there. Merlin struggled underneath but that last attack had left him weak and he was unable to get Arthur off him
Morgana ran towards them now as she kneeled next to them and began the spell “I call the light to me” Arthur suddenly had a flashback this was the same spell Merlin had used to free him and for some reason Arthur knew the words and so he said them too “May its radiance repel that which opposes it and may it anchor those lost in darkness to me, send the darkness away so light can prevail!” They both shouted as Arthur leaned in and kissed Merlin as they both a light shone in the darkness from where they connected
The shadows flowed off him intwining with the dark sea below them and Merlin was freed from the darkness his hair return to is brown, his clothes were retuned his worn leather jacket looked like it did before he entered the realm. And his eyes were once again blue
Merlin fell unconscious and laid in Arthurs arms as he picked him up
“Is he alright?” Gwaine shouted, all the knights were once again awake and Arthur watched as Percival impale the last of the creatures from the swarm with his sword
“The darkness has gone from him” Morgana replied smiling “now lets get out of here before the portal closes”
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Merlin awoke to a blue sky the sun was still rising as the trees above him swayed in the breeze then he noticed both Arthur and Morgana standing above him
He sat up and looked around he was still tired and it was taking a minute to absorb everything around him “this is the Vally of the fallen kings” Merlin said aloud
“yes it is” Arthur said above him as tears spilled from his eyes
“Why is it in the real of darkness?” Merlin asked as he stared at one the trees in the distance somewhat absent from the conversation
“Merlin, your in the realm of light” Morgana said smiling at him
Merlins head snapped back towards them “ Wait, your, it's really you Arthur?”
“yes you absolute clotpole” Arthur said as the tears streamed down his face
Merlin began to cry as well “you came back for me” he said as Merlin kissed Arthur
Finally ending with the whole group embracing Merlin as he was home.
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Merlin entered the throne room, which was filled to the maximum limit with people as he walked down the centre, blue cape following him as he approached the throne of Camelot
He saw all the knights as he walked and after each person he passed they got down onto one knee for him
He saw Morgana on the left of the thrones standing with Gwen and once he neared they too both got down onto one knee
Arthur stood in-front of the thrones his crown of gold shone in the light, by all accounts he looked radiant
Merlin now knelt down in-font of Arthur as all around the room stood once again
A crown of silver was placed on top of Merlins head as Arthur spoke “Arise Merlin of Ealdor, Champion of Camelot and King Consort”
Merlin stood as his faced his people before turning to kiss Arthur as the room erupted into applause.