68This chapter is uber-long, but I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Her Father's Daughter
"You have been convicted of treason," Morgana said, her pale face and green eyes expressionless. "There is only one sentence I can pass."
Merlin felt the words like a blow. He saw Gwen briefly close her eyes, but Arthur stood unmoving, his head held high.
"Morgana, please stop this," Merlin murmured.
Morgana's fingers clenched, but she made no other indication she had heard Merlin. She waved her arm, and the guards pulled Arthur forward.
Taliesin's warnings flowed through Merlin's head. Could he really save Arthur if he killed Morgana?
Only one way to find out.
Merlin could no longer watch Arthur's stoic walk to his own destruction. He had to act now, but if Morgana realized what he was doing-disguising deep breaths as hopeless sobbing was not easy.
Merlin inhaled and exhaled shakily a couple more times. He heard a splash as Arthur disappeared into the pool.
It's now or never. He took a breath and focused his energy on the air inside him. He hadn't really thought about the process behind firebreathing when he had done it in the Earth Kingdom-he had felt so angry at Arthur it had just happened-but now Merlin could feel the air inside him heating up as he prepared to expel and ignite it.
He panicked for just a second. Was he really going to set Morgana on fire? Would it even work?
Arthur had been underwater for too long. He had to do something.
The guard holding Merlin grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?" the guard hissed. He yanked Merlin back by his chained hands and punched him in the stomach. Merlin doubled over, all the breath whooshing out. He could hear Morgana yelling, but it was hard to concentrate over the pain. He hadn't had the wind knocked out of him like that since his first training session with Nimueh.
There would be no deep breaths now. Merlin closed his eyes in despair, and now his shoulders shook with real sobs. He hoped Arthur had at least lost consciousness by now. It was about the only hope he had left in him.
"-worth ten times your miserable life-"
Merlin blinked tears out of his eyes and watched the guard cowering and apologizing at his side. A murmur of curious voice drifted up from the courtyard.
"I should have you drowned," Morgana snarled.
She whirled around. "Throw the next one in!"
Gwen was next. Merlin could hear Elyan pleading for her even from the balcony.
The ground shook. Merlin stumbled as the balcony swayed.
All eyes turned on Gwen, accusing, but she looked down at the ground with her eyebrows drawn together.
The pool exploded.
Soldiers and citizens screamed and backed away as water rained down on everything. Waterbenders streamed out of the dark pool, blue clothing wet and glistening.
Two of them held Arthur's limp body. One stayed behind to tend to the Fire Prince, while the other was on his feet and decapitating soldiers before anyone could react. Merlin saw a white-haired waterbender cutting Gwen's bonds. Alice? It had all happened too fast for him to comprehend.
The ground trembled again. Green-clad earthbenders broke through the cobblestones at every side, knocking firebenders onto their feet and trapping them in the stone.
Morgana roared in frustration. "Get him away!" she screamed at the guards, waving her arm in Merlin's general direction. "Get him to the cells!"
"No, wait, please!" Merlin yelled, tripping on the chains connecting his ankles. "Morgana!" The fight slid out of his view.
Flames flickered on Morgana's lips as she threw herself from the balcony. Merlin struggled again, his breath coming too fast to even think of firebreathing.
Merlin dropped to his knees and twisted. He was able to kick one guard's legs out. The other guard backed away, which was the worst possible idea; Merlin kicked a huge gout of flame at him, then scrambled to his feet again. It was hard with his hands manacled behind his back and his feet chained, but he managed to make it most of the way to the staircase leading down to the courtyard below.
Pain exploded through his whole body, and he fell. He could not move. He could not blink. He could not even breathe.
Great thundering dragons, I forgot about Morgause!
Merlin could hear the bloodbender approaching from behind, her footfalls barely audible. "Why are you running, Merlin?" she said softly. "Don't you want to watch us destroy this insurrection? Don't you want to watch your friends die?"
A thousand snarky comments rose to his lips, but he couldn't get them to work. He thought desperately of Anhora. Come on, come on, come on! Avatar State, yip yip!
Nothing happened. Pain flared through his body again as Morgause forced him to sit up, then stand.
"You may be the Avatar, but you are weak and untrained," Morgause snarled, "just like when you came to the Fire Nation. Nimueh always complained how hard it was to teach you firebenders. All of you had been trained by earthbenders; you didn't take to the firebending ways. You thought about truth and mercy and all that, but none of you thought about doing what needed to be done. How can you be the Avatar if you won't even do what needs to be done?"
Tears ran from the corners of his burning eyes as he struggled to blink, to talk, to move anything. His vision flashed white and black from lack of air.
Morgause stood very close, her golden hair trembling as she struggled to hold Merlin completely still. "Are you prepared, Merlin? Do you even know what being the Avatar means?"
Even if Merlin had had the breath and brain capacity left to answer, he wouldn't have had time. Two figures darted out of the stairwell, one raising a sword to slice Morgause in half.
She darted back just in time to dodge Gwaine's blow. Merlin fell to the ground, gasping and pulling in as much air as he could. Elyan was at his side in an instant, yanking at the manacles. "What-?" Elyan gasped when they wouldn't break. "Platinum-" He sucked his teeth. "I hate that stuff." He slung Merlin's arms, still chained, around his neck and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, we gotta go, we gotta go."
Gwaine and Morgause were fighting. Morgause's bloodbending was useless against Gwaine. She pulled water from the air into a circle around her and punched strands of it towards him; he avoided every blast. He knew her fighting style, but she knew his as well. In that moment, each moving seamlessly in a careful dance without choreography, Merlin finally believed they were brother and sister.
"Come on, Merlin!" Elyan said, dragging him back towards the stairs. "She could use us against him if we don't leave."
"I wanna help . . ." Merlin muttered through numb lips.
Elyan looked back. "You can't help him right now, Merlin. You're needed elsewhere."
"Arthur," Merlin suddenly remembered. "What happened to Arthur?"
Elyan pursed his lips. "I don't know."
They both almost fell down the staircase trying to get Merlin's chained, exhausted self down it. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves face-to-face with a tall, dark-haired Fire Nation soldier Merlin knew.
"Pellinore?" he asked as their eyes met.
Elyan didn't wait. He stamped on the ground and knocked Pellinore to his knees.
"Wait, wait, please!" Pellinore yelled. "Please, I'm not here to hurt you."
"Listen to him!" Merlin said, almost strangling Elyan as he tried to pull him back with his manacled hands still around the metalbender's neck. "He's a friend."
Elyan pursed his lips, but pulled back the jagged rock he had raised.
Pellinore raised a trembling hand. "I think you're gonna need this," he said.
He held the key to Merlin's chains.
"What, that's it?" Elyan demanded disbelievingly. "You're just gonna give us the key?!"
Pellinore bristled, then flinched as an explosion came from behind him. "Look, take it or leave it! I just thought you'd like the Avatar on your side for this madness!"
Merlin unslung his hands from around Elyan's neck. Pellinore had always been kind to him, and, unlike many other Fire Nation citizens, he had no personal beef against Uther or Arthur. They would need to take the chance.
Elyan snatched the key from Merlin's hands and began unchaining him.
"Oh, and Merlin?" Merlin raised an eyebrow at Pellinore. The guard raised a finger, managing to look threatening even rumpled and weaponless. "If you lose, I'm not the one who gave that to you, alright?"
Merlin bit back a smile and nodded. Pellinore swallowed and disappeared up the stairs.
Elyan watched him go with a raised eyebrow. "Smart man," he admitted.
Merlin shrugged. "He's friends with everyone."
"And it looks like he has his fingers in many pies," Elyan said, then surveyed Merlin's unchained state. "You ready?"
Merlin answered by striding the last few steps into the teeming courtyard.
Madness reigned. The Fire Nation soldiers had started to give way to the waterbenders and earthbenders, but reinforcements poured in from every side. The ground was cluttered with dead soldiers and citizens.
Elyan let out a gasp and Merlin turned to see what had caught his attention.
Leon was facing off with one of Morgause's waterbenders. After so many days of Leon being gone, it was a shock to meet him back in the Fire Nation.
The bender tossed a strand of water around Leon's hand, encasing it, and yanked him onto his stomach. The water turned into ice and Leon yelled.
Merlin flexed his fingers. He didn't need to be the Avatar to deal with this. Igniting a flame in his hand, he leaped forward and sliced his hand down. The ice flashed instantly into steam and the waterbender lost control. Leon yanked his hand free as Merlin attacked the waterbender. He recognized her as someone Morgause had been trying to train in bloodbending, but thankfully she didn't try that on him.
He leaped and twisted to avoid the ice spikes she sent from every direction, while she was forced to dance back and forth to avoid his powerful blasts.
The ground shook and gave under Merlin's left foot. He danced away as the rocks and stones melted into red-hot lava.
Mouth agape with horror, the waterbender fled. Mithian stood there with arms outstretched, the lava lighting her face from below in a way that was demonic.
"Sorry, Merlin," she said conversationally. "I'm still learning how to control this stuff."
He grinned, taking another step back from the lava. "No apology needed, Your Highness!"
Elyan finished off one opponent and turned back. "Leon! Where'd you come from? How did you know-?"
"The White Lotus! They knew about old lava tubes running under the city!" Leon yelled over the din.
"The White what?" Elyan asked, baffled. Merlin could have cheered. It had never occurred to him to wonder where the water in the pool came from, but lava tubes? He almost laughed. The pool that had almost been Arthur's destruction had instead been his salvation.
Mithian turned to face a new threat. "Just ask Alice; apparently all old people know each other!"
Merlin blinked. "What?" but the princess and the Dai Li agent had already disappeared.
A blast of heat threw Merlin off his feet, and he landed painfully on his side. Soldiers surrounded him, fists and swords raised. Merlin flinched; he had never fought so many soldiers alone before.
Elyan was fighting his own battles, unable to help. Merlin raised his fists and widened his stance.
The soldiers attacked. Many of them were men and women Merlin had served side-by-side with. He clenched his teeth and whirled his arms to push them back with a wall of flames. The firebenders made it through, of course, but the non-benders were forced to back away, hands held up like that could protect them.
Merlin punched at two incoming firebenders and ducked to avoid a third. His sleeve momentarily caught fire, but he pulled the fire off and expanded it to attack a fourth opponent.
Merlin felt more than saw a blow coming from behind, a tell-tale movement in the air that had him leaning over and kicking his attacker in the chest before she could land a blow. He was too slow to stop the next firebender from punching him squarely in the face, however.
Merlin fell heavily, blinking stars from his eyes. The firebender backed up to bend properly. Merlin tried to push her back with a blast of flames, but the soldier simply threw it aside.
The other benders surrounded Merlin on every side. Merlin raised his hands sharply to blast them aside without warning.
Before his flames reached them, the ground rocked and cracked. Jagged stones pushed at the firebenders from below, forcing them back and away.
Merlin froze. He could not breathe. Had he done that? Had he gone into the Avatar State? Had he lost control again?
Gwen darted into his field of view, and Merlin relaxed. She had done it. He had not lost control.
A hand landed on Merlin's shoulder. His jaw dropped when he saw Freya, her bright green eye deeply slitted in the sun.
"Merlin, are you alright?!" Freya cried. "Are you hurt?"
"Freya?"
With her help, he sprang to his feet. "You shouldn't be here-" he objected, trying to grab her arm and push her back. She didn't seem to hear, turning away from him to block a firebender's blow.
The firebenders closed in around them again, but Merlin had Gwen and Freya by his side now. He was not afraid.
It was a six-to-three fight. These are much better odds, Merlin thought as he blasted one opponent into a wall while fending off the other. Out of the corner of his eye, Freya threw looping curls of water at her two firebenders, forcing them to jump around like lemurs to avoid capture.
Gwen had gone into close quarters with her opponents, which was good for her bending and terrible for theirs.
Another firebender ran up towards Gwen, a young recruit Merlin had not gotten to know yet. Gwen's eyes rose to meet the young firebender's. Her eyes widened.
Her opponent saw an opening, raising her arms and bringing them down. Blazing curls of flame rushed towards Gwen, who had no time to step aside.
The young firebender's eyes widened. "Look out!" he yelled, darting towards Gwen. He threw himself in front of the earthbender and pushed the blast away.
Gwen's attacker fell back with mouth agape. "Owain, what-" She was forced to defend herself against his sudden attack, falling back into the crowd as he pursued relentlessly.
Merlin and Gwen watched him go with open mouths. She smiled slowly. "I guess one good turn does deserve another," she said.
Merlin didn't bother asking what that meant. "Where's Arthur?" he asked without preamble. His heart thumped loudly in his chest.
"I pulled him from the water," Freya assured him. "He's alright, I promise." Merlin closed his eyes in relief. "Merlin, what's happening with Morgana?"
He hesitated. He had failed to kill her on the balcony, but he would have to try again.
Alice saved him from answering. Even as old as she was, her arms windmilled in near-perfect circles as she herded two soldiers through the crowd. Freya smiled, lines pulling at her eyes and mouth. "We would have been lost if it weren't for Gaius, Alice, and their contacts in the Fire Nation. I thought you were joking when you said there were people here who supported Arthur, but it's true!"
Merlin nodded, flexing his hands. "Arthur doesn't believe it either, but it's true."
Morgana was avoiding him. Arthur was sure of it. For what felt like hours (perhaps it had been; time flowed fast during battles), he had been chasing her through the crowds and bodies and blood, fighting his way towards his half-sister and enemy. But whenever it seemed like he would get close, she would dispatch yet another opponent and slip away into the crowd.
She didn't want to face him. To be fair, Arthur didn't really want to face her either.
His hand clenched around Excalibur's hilt. It comforted him more than he could say to have the sword back in his hand. After Freya had dragged him from the dark waters in the pool and cut his bonds, she had shoved the sword at him with a reproachful "I didn't give you this sword so you could lose it, Arthur."
Eventually, he found himself fighting side-by-side with Mithian and Percival. There was no time to inquire about where she and the other benders had come from-or where, for heaven's sake, she had learned lavabending-so Arthur didn't even try. He simply gave the two a curt nod and gripped Excalibur more firmly as yet another soldier came at him.
Arthur's opponent fell, and the prince looked to his left. Gwaine was there, struggling against a huge Fire Nation soldier. The Tribesman had locked swords with the soldier-perhaps an unwise decision in retrospect-and was almost on his knees as the bigger man bore down on him.
Arthur did not hesitate. He darted forward and sank his sword through the soldier's back. Gwaine pushed the body aside with a groan. Arthur was alarmed to see he was blinking heavily.
"I suppose I should say thank you," Gwaine grunted as Arthur helped him to his feet. "Good to see you, Princess. Princesses, I should say," he corrected himself as Mithian came up from behind.
"What have you been getting yourself into, Gwaine?" Mithian fretted, taking in Gwaine's appearance.
"You need to be careful," Arthur warned, eyeing the fight around them. "You're still injured."
"Never mind that," the Tribesman insisted. "Where's Morgause? I lost her!"
"You can't fight Morgause like this!"
"And who's going to fight her, Princess?" Gwaine snapped. "You?"
Arthur did not respond. He knew from experience that he could not fight a bloodbender.
"Thought so," Gwaine said. He hoisted his sword up and started to move away.
Mithian grabbed his arm. "Let me come with you! I can help."
Gwaine's eyes widened. "No, Mithian. She'll use you against me! I can't-don't. Just . . . stay here. Even this fight is safer than facing Morgause."
Gwaine disappeared into the crowd. Mithian watched him go, eyebrows drawn together. Arthur shook her shoulder.
"We'll see him again," he said. In some condition.
The battle had moved beyond the courtyard, soldiers spilling into the palace, up staircases and down hallways. There was no way to tell which side was winning.
Arthur knocked a firebender solidly on the side of the head. The bender fell, unconscious, and suddenly, Arthur was face-to-face with Merlin.
"Oh, uh-!" Merlin sputtered.
Arthur grabbed Merlin's collar. "Get down!"
A rock hurtled right through where Merlin's head had been, slingshotted by some rogue earthbender. Arthur pulled Merlin upright again, holding his trembling arms until the Avatar-and didn't it feel weird to think that?-felt steady again.
"You alright?" Arthur shouted. Merlin nodded, gulping.
"I'm fine. What about you?"
Arthur felt someone coming up behind him. He turned swiftly and raised his sword in an upstroke. Excalibur clanged against Percival's knife.
"Whoa, Arthur!"
"What's the plan?" Mithian asked, coming up on the waterbender's other side. "Do you have a plan for subduing all these firebenders?" She swept her hand around, raising an earthen wall to protect them from two sparring firebenders.
"Plan?" Arthur asked. "What plan? I thought I was going to die today! I didn't have a plan beyond that!"
Merlin stepped closer, biting his lip anxiously. "We need to find Morgana. As long as she's still around her soldiers will fight. And Morgause-I haven't seen her, but she was fighting Gwaine last-"
"We've got to find them right away!" Mithian insisted. "If half the stories I've heard about Morgause are true-"
"What about Mab?" Arthur asked.
No one spoke for a moment. Merlin bit his lip.
"I haven't seen her since the airship," the firebender said slowly. "I have no idea where she is."
Arthur clenched his jaw. The spirit queen could make things very difficult for them if she showed up suddenly with reinforcements.
"She doesn't have an army though," Merlin added, as if he had read Arthur's mind. "Very few of her subjects are in the physical world." He opened his mouth like he wanted to add something else but then closed it again, looking troubled.
"We should still find her, thought," Mithian concluded. "She would make a valuable prisoner."
Percival backed away, his eyebrows coming together. "You and I can find Gwaine. Merlin, Arthur, I think-"
He never finished. The ground shook, and Arthur was almost blinded by a flash of white light. Thunder cracked all around them, and he put his hands uselessly over his head to protect it. Excalibur clattered to the ground.
When his eyes cleared enough to see, Percival was lying on the ground, clutching a smoking wound on his chest. Merlin fell at his side with a cry. Faintly, Arthur heard the waterbender growl. "-Stop hitting me with lightning-"
Mithian's hand clenched on Arthur's arm, and he finally looked at who had shocked Percival.
It was Morgana. Obviously. She did not even seem to notice the battle or Mithian or Perciva or even Arthur as her eyes met Merlin's.
She raised her hand, sparks flickering on her fingertips, and Arthur knew by her twisted mouth she was imagining stopping Merlin's heart with one bolt.
Merlin let Percival rest back on the cobblestones and raised himself to his feet. "Try it," he growled, his whole body trembling. "Just you try it, and I'll kill you just like I killed Nimueh."
Morgana's smile did not falter, but the sparks went away. She crooked two pointed fingers at him. Come hither, those fingers said, and we'll end this.
Merlin came. Morgana's fire blazed out in an uncontrolled rush, roaring down the cobblestones to meet him. Merlin raised his arms up and then down, a focused blast of fire that cut neatly through her burn.
Everyone scattered. Arthur backed up several steps. He had never gotten in the middle of two firebenders fighting before, but this was Merlin and Morgana. He had to help!
Then again, it was Merlin and Morgana, the Avatar and the Firelord. Perhaps he was better off elsewhere.
Fire Nation soldiers rushed out around their Firelord, ready to defend her flank. One of them was Thomas, and the way he fought and kicked his way towards the Fire Prince told Arthur he meant to end this, one way or another.
Thomas sent flames sweeping down on Arthur, and the prince dodged, all of Gaius' anti-firebending lessons scrolling through his brain on endless repeat. "I don't want to kill you, Thomas," Arthur panted as he sidestepped another blow.
"You're gonna have to if you want to live," was all the firebender said.
Arthur dodged closer and grappled with Thomas, one hand holding Excalibur and the other pushing Thomas' arm back. "We can work together! I want to make the Fire Nation a better place!"
Thomas elbowed Arthur in the nose, and he almost dropped Excalibur stumbling backwards. "I'm not allying with the man who killed my mother!" His wrist twirled as he aimed another spurt of fire at the Fire Prince. Arthur gasped as it almost got him, but he swung his sword, forcing the firebender back. He kicked out at Thomas' knee, and the other man fell.
Arthur latched one arm around the firebender's elbow and the other around his neck, squeezing tight. Thomas pulled, struggling, but he could not bend if he could not breathe. "Please, let me help you!" Arthur wheezed, feeling like he was the one choking.
Thomas elbowed Arthur, hard, in the stomach, loosening Arthur's grip just enough for the firebender to slip away. He still gasped for breath, and he had to fight Arthur with fists for several tense moments. Arthur raised Excalibur, but Thomas kicked it away.
Sorry, Freya, Arthur thought, ducking one blow and knocking Thomas to the ground with arms latched around the firebender's waist. They struggled against the stones for a moment, Arthur trying to pin his arms, but Thomas had gotten his wind back. The prince was forced to throw himself to the side as Thomas ignited a vast fire in his hands and threw it.
It missed Arthur, but Morgana was right in its way. She barely saw it coming and put her hands up. The flames broke around her, and she was forced back several steps. The edges of her formal robes burst into flames and she beat at herself with a cry.
For just a second, Merlin had a perfect shot.
He took it.
Merlin's arms twirled, gathering heat in front of him, then pushing it sharply towards Morgana. What hit her was not flames, however, but simply air. She was blasted off her feet into the nearest wall.
Merlin looked at his hands in consternation. Arthur rolled his eyes. Of course, the one time Merlin wasn't trying to airbend, was the time he did. Typical Merlin.
Arthur and Thomas swung to their feet at the same moment and circled each other. Arthur snatched Excalibur from the ground where it had fallen. Out of the corner of his eyes, Arthur could see Gwen and Elyan fighting synchronized like they had in the past, Lancelot flying overhead, soldiers struggling to hold the last bit of ground they could against the earthbenders and waterbenders. And the dead. Everywhere, the dead. So many dead.
"Thomas," Arthur said, "help me stop this. All this killing can end."
The firebender clenched his jaw and opened his mouth to respond, but someone else cut in.
"Listen to him, Thomas!"
Thomas looked out of the corner of his eye to see who had spoken. It was the young firebender who had been kind to Arthur on the airship. He stepped closer, hands held out beseechingly.
"Listen to him," the young man repeated. "He's come to help us! He's the true Firelord; we should be helping him!"
Arthur's mouth dropped open. Thomas' lips curled.
"Have you become a traitor too, Owain?" he snapped. "Was Merlin not enough? This man destroyed our kind! Murdered us! And you would defend him?"
"I've seen enough to know I'll give him a chance," Owain replied. "Him, and his allies. Unless you'd rather let Morgana send us all into an unending war."
"Stop this, Owain!" Thomas ordered. "Kill him! Stand by me!"
Owain step his jaw. "No."
"You can't disobey me!" Thomas roared, clenching his fists. "I'm your commanding officer!"
"Be that as it may," Owain admitted, "my answer is still no."
"Help me put a stop this, Thomas," Arthur whispered. "Help me stop the killing. I want to help, but I need to know how I can help you."
Tears dripped down Thomas' face, but he kept his fists up and ready. "You can't make this right," he choked. "You can't bring the dead back. You can't pay for what you did."
Arthur stopped and lowered Excalibur. "There's hope for the Fire Nation still! The world doesn't have to fear us any longer-not because of Uther, not because of Morgana, and not because of me!"
Thomas' jaw clenched. "You can't change the past!"
He threw himself towards Arthur. Owain leaped forward with a cry, and Arthur reluctantly raised Excalibur.
Another body crashed into Thomas before he reached Arthur, throwing him to the ground. The two landed with a crash of armor and a flash of fire. Arthur saw it was an older Fire Nation soldier, not a bender, with long gray hair. Owain darted forward and helped her to her feet.
Thomas scuttled backwards on his hands. "You too, Valdis? Is everyone ready to betray the firebenders?"
Valdis drew herself up, and with a start, Arthur recognized her. She had been in the Fire Nation's guard before the coup, an old veteran in combat. "I'm ready to admit that everyone makes mistakes, Thomas," she returned. "I know Arthur Pendragon, and I'd be more quick to trust him than that Firelord we have now."
"We stand with you, Pendragon." This came from an man behind Thomas, a blond soldier with a scarred face. "I've been waiting for you to come back. We've been waiting for you."
Arthur gaped.
Thomas got to his feet slowly, surveying the three rogue soldiers before him. His face looked wet, and now just from sweat. His shoulders stooped. He knew he could not win. "You can't change the past," he muttered again.
"But I can change the future," Arthur countered. The battle went on around them, fierce, fiery, terrible. The three soldiers circled around to flank him. "I despair of the past as you do, but I have hope for the future."
And he realized that he actually did. Up until that moment, he had not believed that anyone in the Fire Nation save Merlin would support him. Three soldiers was a far cry from the whole country . . . but it was a start. It was more than he had dared to dream of. It was more than he had dared to hope for.
He gave Valdis a weak nod. Her lips twitched and she nodded back.
Thomas bowed his head. "Perhaps you have hope . . . Firelord. But I have none."
He rushed Arthur, his last fires blazing even under the sun. Owain darted forward. Arthur flinched back, but he defended himself. Excalibur, already soaked with the blood of firebenders, cut through Thomas's chest, and Arthur's other hand, also soaked with the blood of hundreds-thousands-past, clasped the firebender's shirt.
Thomas fell slowly, still impaled. It took him only a moment to die.
Valdis released her sword from its sheath. "Shame. He was a good soldier. I would have liked to have him by my side."
"He said I killed his mother," Arthur said numbly. He hardly knew what was coming out of his mouth.
"Mary Collins," Valdis confirmed. "She was one of the last to be executed, before the coup."
Arthur closed his eyes and bowed his head. "He's right," he murmured. "I can't make things right. But I can be a better Firelord than my father was."
"Now all we need to do is deal with this Firelord," Owain said, rolling his wrists in preparation. "She's still fighting with the Avatar. Tricky."
"I'll distract her from behind," the other soldier decided; Arthur still didn't know his name. "I've got the most chance of surviving. Then Arthur can come up and take her out."
"Good plan, except I'm the most experienced," Valdis objected. She started forward, having made up her mind. "I'll engage. You lot stay behind me."
She made it four steps before Arthur's hand shot out and stopped her. She raised her eyebrows at him. "My lord?"
Arthur was watching Morgana. She had not even noticed her soldiers defecting. She and Merlin were intensely focused on each other, detritus and bodies burning around them. Her pale skin and formal robes were dark with ash.
Arthur looked down at Thomas' body. "We can't kill her," he whispered.
Owain stared. "What? She's killed so many! She tried to kill you!"
"We've got to stop killing each other," Arthur insisted, louder this time. "I promised Thomas I would change the future, and I will. Starting today. Starting now."
Sweat rolled endlessly down Merlin' back and face, the sun beating down on him, the fire slowly raising welts on the skin of his hands and arms. He dodged and deflected blast after blast, hoping against hope that Morgana would eventually tire.
Merlin had only sparred with Morgana once before. He wished he was more familiar with her style. She fought with sheer power, like any good firebender. Her blasts rarely hit anywhere close to their marks, but their size and force pushed Merlin back with every move she made. He had hoped an earthbender's rock-solid defense would work, but she was too powerful.
Morgana's eyes narrowed with triumph. She could tell she was winning. A blast of flame twirled her up in the air, and then she rocketed down.
Merlin crossed his arms to block her blow, ducking his head down behind them. He readied himself for another blow, but it never came. Instead, Morgana twisted, a wall of flame blasting out behind her. Arthur had tried to sneak up on her. He managed to jump to avoid it, but the shock wave threw him to the ground. He did not move.
Merlin yelled and threw himself towards Morgana. She raised her hands to defend herself. Two walls of flame from both Merlin and Morgana blasted soldiers from all sides out of the way. Red flags and banners hanging in the courtyard burst into flames, mirroring the curling emblem on the cloth. Stones and swords blazed red within seconds. Sweat vaporized instantly.
The heat was so intense Merlin could only stand it for mere seconds. He released his blast and dived out of the way. Morgana released hers as well, tears of pain glistening in her eyes. Her hands were red and swollen. Merlin's hands hurt so badly he could barely push himself into a standing position, but there would be no stopping now.
He threw himself at her, and she blocked, returned a blow. They were matched now, flame for flame, blow for blow.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw three Fire Nation soldiers crouching at Arthur's side. They were checking if he was alive. Then what would they do? Finish him off?
The world slowed. Flames twisted around Morgana's form. Merlin could feel the heat of them. He could feel just how easy it would be to pull the fire away and use it for his own purposes. Air and water swirled around him. Earth pulsed beneath him. Fire within him. All for him to command.
Step closer to her, someone said, and Merlin obeyed. He could feel the ground trembling with footsteps, heartbeats, voices.
Feel the life, came a whisper in his ear. Raise the stones. No, not there-yes, there. Knock her from her feet.
Morgana's eyes flickered up to meet his. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, all so slowly, so slowly. He felt her foot lift, felt her center of gravity shifting away from her. He didn't need to think to know exactly which rock to shove up, which one would knock her off-balance.
Morgana fell on her back with a yell. Her cry was lost in the wind roaring around them.
Where did the wind come from? Merlin thought vaguely as he advanced on her. She was scrambling backwards, her breath coming out in pants. It was calm before.
We called the wind.
Don't you remember, Avatar?
We raised it.
The wind will blow her fire away. It will keep us safe.
Destroy her. Take the elements.
She enslaved our people.
She destroyed the balance.
We will restore it.
Merlin thought: Who is we?
"Merlin! Snap out of it!"
Merlin blinked. His hand was raised over his head, a spear of ice poised to impale Morgana through the heart.
Arthur was the one who had yelled. He was sitting up with Mithian and the three soldiers at his side, clutching a burn on his arm. His eyebrows were drawn together.
He looked afraid.
It took Merlin a second to realize what had happened. Water cascaded over him as he lost control, soaking him from head to foot. From the back of his mind, Merlin thought he heard the fading echo of a thousand voices crying out to be heard.
Everyone was watching him. Mithian gaped. Gwen's gaze was sad, and Freya clutched at her arm.
Arthur started to his feet, hand reaching out to Merlin. Trying to reach him. To warn him.
Merlin barely reacted in time. Morgana blasted him backward with a shriek. He managed to block most of the flames, but he flew at least ten feet before rolling to a halt against a wall. Arthur yelled Merlin's name. He heard Freya scream.
Swiping at the flames on his chest, Merlin struggled to stand up. That he was covered in water had probably saved his life. All his limbs shook with the effort. Morgana advanced on him, smirking.
"Even after all your betrayals," she murmured, "you still can't kill me." A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "I have no such compunctions."
Merlin swallowed and lifted his chin. "I don't have to kill you, Morgana," he breathed. "I just have to distract you."
The tip of Arthur's sword pressed against Morgana's spine, and she froze. Her green eyes glittered as she glared at Merlin. For a moment, the three did not move: Merlin and Morgana staring at each other, and Arthur behind his half-sister, Excalibur poised to thrust home.
"If you're going to kill me, Arthur," Morgana breathed, "do it."
Do it, Arthur, Merlin pleaded inwardly. Please don't make me kill her.
"No."
Merlin blinked and looked over Morgana's shoulder at Arthur. The prince's face was hard and unyielding, but he lowered his sword. The others, panting but recovering, watched with wide eyes. Gwen's hands were clasped in front of her.
"No," Arthur repeated, "I'm not going to kill you." Morgana made a hissing sound. "I didn't come here to kill you. I came here to save the Fire Nation."
"I swear you'll regret it if you leave me alive, Arthur," Morgana snapped. Merlin agreed. Hadn't Taliesin warned him to kill her? "You'll regret it to your dying day."
Arthur lowered his sword, shaking his head. "I-"
Gwaine came flying backwards through the doorway next to Arthur. The two fell into a tangle of limbs and weapons. Morgana whipped around to strike at Arthur, and Merlin launched himself forward. He caught her around the legs, and they both sprawled on the cobblestones. Gwen clenched her fists and raised a wall between Arthur and Morgana.
Morgause skidded through the doorway after Gwaine. Everyone, even the Fire Nation soldiers, collectively flinched away from her.
Morgana kicked Merlin away. Both of them were too exhausted to summon so much as a candle flame.
Morgause flicked a whip of water at Merlin. He rolled away with a groan. Gwaine staggered to his feet, raising his sword and blinking, but Morgause had wrestled Morgana to her feet. Gwen, Leon, and Mithian approached cautiously.
Morgause waved her arm, and the air in the courtyard turned dry and hot as she sifted the water out of it. She whirled her arms around her, spreading the water out into a wave-
Merlin threw his arms over his head just in time. The wall of water crashed into him, rolling his body over and over and over.
Trembling, shaking, Merlin raised his head. Arthur was sitting up on his knees, soaking wet, watching where Morgana and Morgause had been standing. The two had vanished.
Merlin sat up painfully, every nerve and muscle stretching and screaming. Arthur got to his feet very slowly, looking first at where Morgana had vanished and then twisting to observe the crowd around him. Every eye was upon him. Fire Nation soldiers, some free, some bound and injured, watched him warily. Gwen nodded her head at him. Mithian and her earthbenders watched him patiently.
Merlin heard Arthur take in a deep breath in and then let it out. The prince turned his head to look at Merlin, who was still kneeling on the ground. He looked a little lost. Merlin wasn't sure what to say either, but he sat up straighter and watched Arthur with all the strength he could muster. This was the moment they had been waiting for.
Arthur turned back. "This fight is over," he commanded, his voice carrying over the murmuring crowd. "Let's help each other now."
Somebody-Merlin thought it might have been Pellinore-shouted, "Long live the Firelord!" Not everyone in the courtyard echoed the cheer, but for now, perhaps it was enough to hope for.
Only the epilogue left now :)