And here comes the next/last chapter! Sorry for making you wait again. Hope you'll like the chapter anyway and the story is basically finished with this chapter, but I'll maybe write a short, fun chapter, as an epilogue. haven't decided yet though.. ;D anyway sorry for any mistakes (unbeta'd)

Oh and thank you for all your lovely reviews throughout the story and for alerts and favourites! Really appreciate it! =D

Enjoy!

Chapter 17

Arthur and a dozen of his best men gathered in front of the main gates and prepared to engaged the remaining enemies. Aware that it would not be an easy fight against the magically armed sorcerers Arthur checked that all wore their enchanted armguards and amulets, which would protect them from most spells. When he was satisfied with the preparations Arthur took his position at the front and ordered the gates to be opened.

The gate garrison hastily complied and the heavy doors swung open. When the doors reached a sufficient opening for his men and him, Arthur strode through confidently, knowing that his knights were right behind him. After the whole contingent of knights was on the other side of the walls the gate was closed and secured once again. Normally the gates of Camelot would remain open during a battle, for reinforcements and to carry the injured to safety, but due to them being in the past it was better to seal the castle off. Of course, it was unlikely that one of the sorcerers or even Morgana would just walk past King Arthur and his knights, but one could never know. Best to play it safe than to regret it later. It would be disastrous if the young Arthur or Merlin were to be harmed.

The knight formed a loose line in front of the wall and Arthur took his place slightly in front of them. And then he simply turned his back on the enemy. Facing his men Arthur said jovially, "I'll try to leave some for you to fight, but knowing me...it doesn't look good for any of you." Laughter emitted from the ranks. When the last snickers died down he continued seriously. "All of us have waited a long time for this day. For Albion to finally be at peace, without looming enemies or threats. It has taken quite some time, but today we face the last of our foes and tomorrow we will celebrate our victory in the halls of Camelot." Arthur had gotten progressively louder during his little speech and at the end of it his men were cheering and shouting for victory. All of them, before and atop the battlements.

"For the love of Camelot!" The familiar battle cry was picked up immediately and echoed by all. Raising his sword above his head Arthur charged forward and his men followed.

All the while, the sorcerers had watched the contingent warily, knowing that their spells would have little to no effect on them, thanks to the amulets Emrys had provided them with. Bereft of their magic they would have to fight with swords and spears, weapons few of them had ever bothered to master. Morgana obviously knew how to wield a sword, but she wasn't planning on doing it, as it would put her at a severe disadvantage. Contemplating her next move carefully Morgana retreated further into the shadows and decided to let her pawns fight for now, while she would prepare her brother's doom.

Not to be outdone by their opponents half of the sorcerers started forward with an unintelligible war cry of their own. The two sides met shortly after and the sound of swords clashing filled the field. True to his word Arthur fought like a berserk and disabled his attackers swiftly. On his sides his men too fought valiantly and had no problems cutting down the enemy.

The sorcerers, who had remained behind, supported their friends by aiming lethal spells at the men in red-cloaks. While most of their spells bounced of invisible shields, as soon as they came to close to a knight, it was only a question of quantity rather than quality. After a number of hits the shield would start to waver and subsequently it would collapse. The affected knight then had to evade the magic by ducking or dodging, which sometimes proved to be impossible due to the swordfights he was involved in.

Even so, the battle was going well for the knights. The sword wielding sorcerers became less and less and some knights could move on to the magic wielding ones. Including Arthur, who had the best chance at getting to them, because his armour would not allow any spells through, no matter how many hit him.

From the shadows Morgana watched in rage as the rest of her army was picked off. Her plan had been perfect! It could have been so easy, if only her men had killed Arthur the second they manifested in this time, like she had instructed them to. She should have gone herself to make sure they finished the job. But she had been stuck in a futile effort to occupy Emrys, while her men prepared the time travel. If only she had known that the infuriating warlock would sense the beginning magic immediately and run to the rescue. She'd have ..oh what did it matter anymore, at least he was dead now.

"Boo!" Startled by the sudden voice behind her, Morgana yelped and whirled around. There to her horror stood Emrys, grinning madly. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist."

"You're dead," Morgana mumbled faintly. "I-I killed you."

"Yeah, that didn't quite work out. Sorry...nah I'm not really, but hey at least I left you to it, for a few hours. And look there, you're about to lose all by yourself," Merlin stated quite cheekily.

Despite herself Morgana turned to glance at the battle field once more and saw that Merlin was right. Most of her followers were on the ground, unmoving, and the rest was surrounded by red cloaks. Even she could see that she had lost...for now. Narrowing her eyes Morgana surreptitiously reached for a crystal, which was hidden in her dress. The crystal was enchanted and would send her back into the future, once it was crushed. She had just put her hand on it when Merlin's voice sounded close to her ear. "Ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Sneering Morgana turned suddenly and pushed Merlin away from her, dropping the crystal in the same movement. It landed right in front of her feet and with a condescending look at her archenemy she spat, "This isn't over." before she stepped onto the crystal with enough force to break it. Only seconds later a vortex made of wind encased her and the last thing Merlin heard was her triumphant laugh.

As soon as she was gone Merlin pulled an identical crystal out of his pocket. He looked at it for a moment and just about glimpsed a black-haired woman, who appeared to be screaming. She was surrounded by forest and there was a small hut right next to her. Other than that there was nothing but trees and wildlife around her. Sighing heavily Merlin pocketed the crystal again and said, "You really shouldn't have destroyed it, because now you're stuck in there forever."

In all honesty, Merlin had never intended to activate that particular trap, but he had seen no other choice to finally get rid of Morgana. Even after all the sufferings she had caused Arthur was reluctant to kill his sister. So, it was for the best this way. Plus, he really didn't want her to escape again.

Merlin then returned his attention to see how his king was doing, only to discover that the battle was essentially over. There were only two sorcerers left standing and that was only because Arthur had granted his men the pleasure of disposing of them. The blonde was by now heading for the shadows, where he'd last glimpsed his rogue sister. Not wanting to worry his king further Merlin walked into the light and met him halfway.

"Is it done," Arthur questioned anxiously.

"Yes, my lord. The war is finally over." Merlin replied happily.

"Good." Arthur smiled serenely. The two walked back to the castle together. On their way Arthur made sure his men were alright and that the wounded were being treated. Fortunately, not one of his knights had died. Shortly before they reached the gate Arthur abruptly stopped and Merlin regarded him curiously. Arthur was looking at something to their right, so Merlin turned his head to find out what it was. His eyes widened comically as he spotted the herd of donkeys and knowing his king, he started to run right away.

Shaken out of his revenge plotting Arthur barked "Merlin!" and rushed after his cheeky friend. The on looking knights only laughed, quite used to their antics.

Some time later, after Arthur had exacted his revenge, they both returned to the courtyard, the only difference being that Merlin now spotted bright red ears. Unfortunately, to the everlasting disappointment of Gwaine and the others, the two remained silent as to what had happened after they'd run off. Some things, they both agreed, were better kept secret; like donkey ears and such.

Upon their arrival Sir Leon joined them and informed Arthur that all the knights, donkeys and every other trace of their being there had been collected and brought into the square. Nodding his thanks Arthur counted his men, checked their equipment (such as the magical armguards) and assured himself that all damage to the citadel had been repaired. Satisfied with what he saw he then returned to Merlin's side and found that the other had wisely already started with the spell that would send them home. Arthur, for one, could barely wait to finally be in his 'own' castle and to get to see his wife again.

Fortunately sending some one into their right time wasn't as difficult and time consuming as the other way around. Therefore barely an hour later the portal opened and transported them back into the future.

Though before Merlin let himself be sucked into the vortex, he smiled apologetically and murmured, " ic i ofergitole þæt fyrngeflit ond ácendede gemyndblíþeu." As he disappeared a wave of light encompassed the whole of Camelot and the people in their beds rolled over contently, released from the enchantment, which had kept them asleep. They would still sleep until the next morning though and upon waking none would remember what had taken place in Camelot for the last few days. All that would remain were memories of normal days and perhaps a small sense of loss.

Review? And thanks again for reading, hope you liked it! :D

A/N: the spell is as always not grammatically correct and the words probably all wrong, but it should mean something along the lines, "forget the old and renew happy memories"