Merlin tensed, his fingers spreading instinctively, readying for magic as the door swung open. Gaius rushed through, locking it behind him quickly before a loud thud could be heard. The commotion on the other side of the door was as if a wild animal was desperately clawing to get through.

"Gaius, what is going on?" Arthur demanded, pulling his sword out to be at the ready.

"Everyone's going mad."

"What?"

Gaius stepped away from the rattling door towards the two boys. "One by one. The court was in session one minute, and the next a knight was lunging like a rabid dog at his neighbor. Then two, then three. Ladies of status, servants, it doesn't matter. One at a time a war is breaking out, and it's all our own people."

Merlin stared at the door wide eyed. "And that is-?"

"Sir Leon." Gaius confirmed gravely.

Merlin swallowed, trying to process this new information.

"Is this Morgana's doing?" Arthur asked.

"It would seem unlikely to be a coincidence." Gaius confirmed.

"But she was marching with an army… plans to lay siege. This is to what… weaken the field?"

"Magic like this… it takes conduits, it takes great power. I imagine the fact we haven't seen the army is likely the fact they are being used as pawns in this spell."

"Pawns… what do you mean?"

Gaius sighed. "Spells like this can be achieved on this scale, but you have to use a living human to channel the energy. You sort of burn through one mind to affect another… this many people, I imagine her army is the conduit."

"Why change tactics like this? She had enough men to overwhelm our army with ease…"

"Me." Merlin said softly.

"You?" Arthur asked, acknowledging his skeptic disbelief was likely wildly misplaced.

"She's afraid of Emerys." Merlin said firmly. "I can fight an army, but I can't fight this enemy... "

Arthur paled. "Gaius, you said the court went nuts, did you see my father?"

"When I fled he was still unaffected. He fought off an attacker and slipped out of the throne room on his own."

Arthur tightened his grip on his blade. "I have to go find him."

Merlin nodded slowly, but he felt the panic mounting inside him. His head felt flushed and his heart beat fast. This was something he felt wholly unprepared for. "Gaius, you need to get into my room and lock it behind you." He said, feeling detached from the words, as if someone else were giving the advice.

"Be careful." Gaius pleaded, not bothering to argue with Merlin on this fact. "You'll have to lock it from your side too."

The prince's brow creased. "Why?"

"Just in case he's next." Merlin finished softly. He followed Gaius to the room in the back of the study.

"Merlin, I mean it. Please be careful."

"I always am." Merlin said flatly, closing the door behind Gaius. The spell to lock the door in place was simple enough that the crystal's effect didn't slow him in casting it. He took a deep breath, turning and looking past Arthur towards the door, still banging with the sounds of Sir Leon desperately trying to get to Gaius.

"Merlin…" Arthur said softly. "How do we break this spell?"

"I don't know." He admitted softly.

"We have to find my father. And we can't kill anyone."

Merlin wanted to believe that was possible, but he had a sinking feeling they were gravely out of their depth here. He walked up to the door and looked back at Arthur, waiting for a ready nod before unlocking it and letting in the force behind it.

Leon looked almost unrecognizable as he lunged in. He screamed so loud the veins on his forehead looked as if they might burst. He charged forward, gunning for Arthur faster than the prince could react to, and he was knocked prone. "Leon, listen to me! You're under a spell!" But Leon did not seem to even hear him.

Merlin ran over, hauling Leon backwards, struggling against his strength, falling back and getting an elbow to the jaw. This interruption allowed Arthur to his feet and he managed to slam the hilt of his sword over Leon's head, and he cringed as he heard the crack of his skull and Leon crumpled to the ground as dead weight. He closed his eyes, just breathing as Merlin looked over him. "Is he-?"

"He'll live." Merlin confirmed, trying to pull the knight into some semblance of a comfortable position. "We have to go."

Arthur nodded, steeling himself for whatever they might find beyond the safety of Gaius' quarters. With one last look back at the knight laid out on the ground, Merlin closed and used the locking spell on the door to the castle, effectively containing one danger.

The hallways felt eerily silent after the struggle with Leon, and it did little to calm either boy's nerves. Arthur found himself instinctively taking the lead, beckoning quietly for his servant to follow. Merlin gladly walked behind him, taking care to keep his footfalls light. It was ages before they could hear the scuffle. Rounding a corner, they came upon two servants, rage in their eyes clawing at each other with their bare hands. Both were already fairly bloodied, and neither seemed to acknowledge the two approaching figures.

Arthur jogged forward, pulling the smaller of the two off the elder servant, struggling as she kicked and writhed to escape his grasp. "Merlin!"

Merlin ran forward and tried to put his hand up to restrain them, his eyes flashing, but nothing happening. He frowned and shook his hand putting his hand up and reciting an incantation. Again, he could feel the magic pull under the surface of his skin, as if fleeing their unfamiliar master.

"Merlin." Arthur grunted through clenched teeth again.

Merlin swore under his breath and bridged the gap, reciting a far simpler incantation and placing his hand on the unrestrained woman's head. She fell from his grasp into a deep sleep, and he turned to do the same to the younger.

Arthur eased her down gently before moving back to lean against the wall and catch his breath. "What just happened?" He asked. "The crystal is stopping your magic, isn't it."

"Yeah." Merlin said softly. "Stronger spells anyway."

They heard the clattering down the hallway and the scream and Arthur was alert and heading towards it again, no hesitation.

Merlin jogged after Arthur, suddenly feeling regretful he did not have a weapon as Arthur did. He felt somewhat defenseless.

In the room at the end of the hallway, the shrieks were coming from a closed wardrobe as a knight beat on the unrelenting wood with his shield. Merlin pushed past Arthur roughly and placed his hand on the back of the knight's head, letting him fall away. He staggered back, feeling suddenly weak.

Arthur came forward and pulled the wardrobe open. He was greeted with the sight of Gwen, fresh blood on her head and tears in her eyes. "Gwen!"

"Arthur!" Gwen fell forward into open arms, feeling her breath catch in her throat at the relief.

"What happened?"

"Everyone's lost their minds." She took a deep breath. "I couldn't stop them… I just ran…"

"That was the right move." The prince insisted firmly, trying to lessen the guilt he could see written on her face.

"Theres something else-"

"Everything is going to be okay."

"Arthur-" Gwen stopped him. "I think Morgana has something to do with it." She blurted out, feeling herself flush hot as the words left her mouth. She gripped Arthur's arms, looking into his face and preparing herself to explain or defend her accusation.

"I know. We know." Arthur said gently, pulling her back into a hug. "You're okay now."

Gwen let tears run more readily as she was comforted yet again. "She said… I didn't know what she was talking about… but she said I shouldn't worry, my mind was mine for… for my years of service… I didn't know what she meant, but then everyone started attacking each other and…"

Arthur pulled away from her, keeping his hands on her shoulders in a form of comfort and protection. "Do you know where Morgana is now?"

Gwen shook her head. "I was in the kitchen when things started. I hadn't seen her in hours."

"Okay. We'll find her." He pulled her back in for one more hug, and turned his head to take in Merlin who was leaning dramatically against the post of the bed in the room. "Merlin?" He released Gwen, and she turned to look at the servant for the first time. Arthur frowned. "Merlin, are you alright?"

"Yeah." Merlin said, sounding oddly out of breath. "That just took a lot more out of me than I was expecting." Fighting the crystal for the most basic of magic was exhausting, which was a problem he hadn't anticipated. "Doesn't change the plan."

Arthur seemed to snap to his senses, and cool to the urgency of the situation. "Gwen, we have to find my father."

"I'll come with you."

"No Gwen." He touched the cut on her head, the source of the blood on her face and she winced. "You're injured. Stay here. Barricade the door behind us. I'll come back for you when this is done."

"Arthur!" She grabbed his sleeve, stopping him for a second. She bridged the gap, kissing him, not caring that Merlin could see, though she suspected he already knew. As they parted she looked him directly in the eyes. "Be careful."

"You too." He turned before he could lose the will to, and headed from the room, Merlin steeling himself and following behind. The door shut as they left, protecting Gwen from the fray.

The closer to the throne room, the more grim the scene became. No more struggles nearby, though fighting could be heard further away from multiple directions. Around them however lay the bodies of those who did not survive the first wave of the fighting.

Arthur looked carefully at every face both searching with dread for his father and taking count of who this fight had cost him. He looked back to check on Merlin, the sight stirring many thoughts at once. Merlin had a complex expression, but with his newfound knowledge, Arthur could actually accurately interpret it for once. Merlin had seen so much death before, and yet every time he had so much respect and sympathy for those who had fallen. The prince used to think it was softness, him being too unused to death to handle it. But Merlin had likely seen at least as much death as Arthur. This look was regret. The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and every person in the kingdom who fell was his responsibility. Arthur recognized the look as one he had been trained to lock away inside where no one could see. But despite his stoic demeanor, that regret was something he felt all too often.

Merlin did not stop to look at him, and when the prince had paused to make his observations, the young warlock simply moved passed him through the throne room.

Following the most likely path towards the King's quarters, Arthur was partially relieved to not find his Father's corpse amongst the rest. Reaching the closed door, they found six bodies cut aside, surrounding the entrance. Merlin and Arthur exchanged glances before Arthur's hand touched the door handle before throwing his shoulder's weight into busting it open.