OK, so here we go, another chapter, please let me know what you think, thank you.

"We have a major problem," Morgana said as she stepped off of the lift and in to the apartment where Merlin, Lance, Leon and Arthur were eating breakfast the next morning.

"Well hello to you too, dear sister," Arthur said sarcastically and Morgana glared, not in the mood to banter.

"Not funny Arthur, I'm serious," she said and turned to lock the elevator doors, keeping anyone else from coming up unannounced. "Nimueh escaped," she said, turning back and moving over to the kitchen before pouring herself a large cup of coffee.

"What?" Lance, Arthur and Leon had leapt to their feet, Merlin who wasn't sure who Morgana was talking about stayed seated.

"Yes, and she killed Aredian and three of his guards," Morgana went on, sitting heavily in the seat that Lance had vacated.

"She killed Aredian?" Arthur asked, running a hand through his hair, "how did that happen?"

"No idea, but the tower is on complete lockdown, no one in or out."

"Then how did you get out?" Leon demanded and she glared at him.

"I was already out, headed home when father called to warn me that he was assigning additional security detail. It seems he thinks that we are in danger so we will have shadows watching our every move."

"We can't have additional detail," Arthur denied, "I'm harboring two fugitives."

"And he's finally catching on," Morgana said sarcastically.

"Wait, who is Nimueh?" Merlin finally spoke up and the others turned to him, almost if they had forgotten he was there.

"You remember how I told you last night that there are evil sorcerers out there, well she's at the top of the list. My father has had her locked up since he overthrew the Council and started his crusade to wipe magic from Camelot," Arthur explained.

"So she's had years to plan her revenge, she'd just been biding her time it seems," Morgana went on.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Lance asked but before anyone could answer, the buzzer near the elevator dinged, causing everyone to jump.

"Shit, they're here already," Morgana said, standing and all turned to stare at the communication device as it dinged again. "We're screwed," Morgana speaking everyone's thoughts.

Gaius sat alone in his room, having heard the alarms but had no clue as to what was going on. Sighing, he picked up his book again but stopped when he heard the door behind him open.

"Hello Gaius," a voice he hadn't heard in a long while said and he sighed but didn't turn.

"Hello Nimueh," he replied and listened as she stepped inside.

"Isn't this just ironic," she said, sitting on his bed and leaning back, bracing herself on her hands and crossing her legs, "you're all locked up and I'm free. I missed you Gaius," she said, pouting, "I haven't seen you in so long."

"Yes, well Uther did not think it was proper for me to treat you any longer," Gaius said, finally turning to her, taking in her appearance. She was wearing a guard's uniform, one that was at least one size too large, her hair tucked up under the cap, strands falling down her back. There were patches on the chest that were torn, and other's that were singed and there was a gun at her hip.

"No of course not," she replied, her voice sickeningly sweet, "no Uther decided to hand me over to Aredian and his goons. Do you know what they did to me?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom.

"No, I do not, and I am sorry…"

"Oh, cut the bullshit Gaius, you never cared about me, you were just another of Uther's pawns, hoping to keep yourself out of a collar, throwing the rest of us to the wolves." She was on her feet now, hands clenched and leaning over him threateningly.

"I did what I could to help," he defended himself, refusing to back down from her, knowing that if he showed an ounce of weakness she would tear him apart.

"Right," she said, calming again and sitting on the table next to him, "like letting Emrys escape. Oh, don't look so surprised," she admonished at his startled look, "Kilgarrah told me about the legendary Emrys and how he was going to stop all of this," she said, waving a hand around the room.

"I don't know who you are talking about," he denied, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head when his air was cut off by a mere tilt of the woman's head.

"You do know who I am talking about," she said casually, as if she weren't choking him, "and you're going to help me find him." She kept her hold on his airway for a moment longer before releasing him and he fell forward gasping for air.

"What do you want with him?" he demanded, his voice strained.

"Oh, that's simple, I'm going to kill him," she said, leaning in close and speaking directly into his ear.

"Mr. Pendragon," a voice came through the speaker after the bell had rung another time, "sir if you don't answer, we will come up with force."

"Shit," Arthur said and moved to the plate and pressed the button, "I'm here, sorry I was in the bathroom," he responded.

"Right," the man responded after a moment, "sir, we need to come up, there have been some changes and your father has ordered extra protection, we need to come up and check your apartment."

"There is no reason for you to come up, I've been here all night, no surprises," Arthur said, trying to dissuade them.

"Sir, your father has told us that we are to search everywhere with everything that has been going on, and since you didn't allow your security detail up last night, this really is not up for discussion." With that the watched as the light above the lift lit up indicating that the elevator was moving.

"I thought you said only a few people had keys to that lift," Lance said, turning to Morgana who looked panicked.

"Yes, and my father is one of them, he must have given his key to them," she defended.

"What are we going to do?" Leon asked, trying to stay calm.

"I don't know, Merlin," Morgana started and turned to Merlin and Lance but was shocked to see them gone. "Where did they go?" she asked, looking around but it seemed that the two men had vanished.

"They were here a second ago," Leon said, also looking around but turned back to the lift when it dinged and quickly took his seat.

"Mr. Pendragon," the head of the security said, stepping off of the elevator first and looked around, followed by two others, another man and a stern looking woman. "I'm Lieutenant Rogers, this is Officer's James and Williams," he said pointing to the other two.

"Nice to meet you," Arthur replied watching them move further into the room, James and Williams moving towards the hallway, James heading upstairs, Williams searching the rooms downstairs.

"Second room has been slept in," Williams said, coming back, looking between the people there.

"Upstairs looks untouched," James said, coming down a moment later.

"And an additional plate on the table," Rogers said, looking around the kitchen.

"It's mine," Leon said pulling the extra plate to him and the officers narrowed their eyes at him.

"And I slept in the other room," Morgana spoke up and returned their glares.

"Something is going on here," Rogers said, looking between everyone, accusation in his gaze.

"Prove it," Morgana said, moving into his space and staring him down.

"Let's go," Rogers said a few long moments later when they had stared at each other, "we'll be downstairs and will be back here every two hours."

"If you're going to be downstairs, how will anyone get up here?" Arthur demanded and Rogers turned his glare on him.

"Every two hours," he snapped and turned on his heel, and moved towards the lift. The other two followed him, but Williams stopped and stared at a place near the couch.

The moment the three officers stepped off of the elevator, Merlin grabbed Lance's arm and dragged him towards the couch. They watched as the three officers moved into the house, walking past him and Lance, not seeming to notice them. When Lance opened his mouth, he elbowed him hard, not sure why this was happening but it seemed that no one could see them. He watched as Lieutenant Rogers snapped something to Arthur and turned to the lift but Williams turned towards them and stared.

"Williams!" Rogers snapped and the man turned towards his boss for a moment before he turned back and raised a finger as if to poke the air in front of him. As the finger inched closer to Merlin's nose Merlin sucked in a silent breath. "Williams!" Rogers barked again and the man in front of Merlin stopped and turned back and moved towards the lift, glancing back once. As the lift arrived, Lance sneezed, in the horrible clichéd way and Merlin cursed.

Leon, Morgana and Arthur watched as their security detail finally moved towards the lift, Williams, finally getting into gear when they heard a sneeze from near the couch and suddenly Merlin and Lance were there.

Before any of the surprised security officers could do anything, Merlin threw balls of energy at them, slamming them into the walls and knocking them unconscious.

"What the hell?" was Arthur's voice as he stared open mouthed at the two men who had appeared out of nowhere. "You can turn invisible?"

"I guess so," Merlin said, moving forward and checking to make sure the officer's were alive, feeling relieved when he felt sturdy pulses under his fingers.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Morgana demanded, looking around at the others. "When they wake, up they'll tell Uther that you were here, hiding, we'll all be in deep shit."

"No," Merlin said after a minute of thinking and they turned towards him, "you will come with me," he said looking at the siblings who stared back blankly. "You can be my hostages, Leon, you can say you had no idea I was here, I attacked you and them and took Morgana and Arthur."

"Merlin, you already have a price on your head, this is an insane idea," Morgana protested.

"If I already have a price on my head, I have nothing to worry about," he replied cheekily.

"Merlin," Lance tried but Arthur interrupted him.

"He's right, it's the only way to explain what he was doing here without implicating ourselves."

"Arthur how are we going to get out of here?" Morgana demanded, her hands on her hips.

"The same way we got in," Merlin responded and she rounded on him. "I suggest we pack up some food and clothes and head for the city limits."

"How do you expect to get past the city guards?" Lance demanded this time and Merlin smiled grimly at him.

"I'll try the invisibility trick again and if that doesn't work, I'll just have to subdue them," he said and ignored the other's stares as he turned to enter his room. He didn't want to face them, he was afraid that they would be able to see his fear. He was telling the truth when he said that he didn't know he could turn invisible, he'd never done it before. He had just thought that it was something he needed to do and it seemed to work. The attacking the officers had been out of desperation, he'd never attacked someone and was grateful he hadn't killed them. He had never had this much power before, his power seemed to be twice as strong as it had been and it frightened him.

"Are you ready?" Lance's voice pulled him from his musings minutes later and he looked up and nodded and followed the other man into the living area where the others were waiting.

"Ready?" he asked looking at Leon who took a deep breath and nodded. Summoning up his power Merlin flung another energy bolt, this time not as strong and Leon flew into the table.

"He's fine," Arthur said who had been the one to check on his friend and Merlin nodded, sending the unconscious man a silent apology.

"Let's go," Morgana said impatiently and they stepped past the unconscious officers on to the lift and watched as the doors closed.

"Come on, open it," Nimueh said pushing Gaius at one of the entrances to the tunnels that ran through the building but the man refused to cooperate. "Open it or I'll slaughter this pretty little thing," she said pulling a young witch towards her, one hand in her hair.

"Open it yourself," Gaius replied, and Nimueh sighed before using her magic to snap the girls neck and the older man stared in horror.

"Oh don't look at me like that, I warned you," Nimueh said, "hopefully you will take me seriously now. Plus, you know that I can't open these," she said, waving at the wall, "Kilgarrah sealed them from me, the son of a bitch. Now open it," she snapped and Gaius placed his hand on the hidden door and it slid open. "Wonderful!" Nimueh praised and pushed him ahead of her as they entered the hallway, the door sliding shut behind them.

"Would someone like to explain to me how my son and daughter ended up kidnapped by the man we are searching for?" Uther Pendragon asked, pacing in front of Leon and the three officers. His voice was a low growl and it had the three officers shaking, having never had to be in front of the man, much less to answer for his children disappearing. They were currently in his personal study in his home, having moved there for safety, sitting on the other side of the large mahogany desk, Uther's secretary sitting against the far wall, taking notes.

"I'm not sure," Leon spoke up, he had dealt with Uther before, never in this capacity, but he felt calm. "He was just suddenly there, I'd never seen him before," Leon said, shrugging.

"Get out of here," Uther snapped at the three officers, "you're on suspension until further notice, do not leave the city, in fact do not leave the building." With that the three were up and out of their chairs and racing out of the room. "Go over it again," Uther said turning back to Leon.

"This morning, everything seemed normal, Morgana had spent the night after staying late, we woke up, made breakfast and then those three showed up. They forced their way up in the lift, without permission from Arthur, as soon as they arrived, the sorcerer suddenly appeared. He threw me against the table, knocking me unconscious and I'm not sure what happened after that. Next thing I knew, I woke up to find those three standing around seeming confused and Arthur and Morgana were missing."

"Do you think Williams, Rogers and James were in on it?" Uther demanded as he made his way around his desk to sit down.

"I'm not sure sir, but that sorcerer didn't show up until they did." Uther opened a drawer and pulled out a small bottle, quickly popping a small blue pill into his mouth.

"My children are missing, Nimueh is somewhere in the tower, running loose, when the hell did this all fall apart," he said from where he had placed his head in his hands a moment before. Leon stayed silent, knowing that this was a rhetorical question and almost felt bad for the older man, almost. "Go, get out of here, but I want you at the tower we need all the extra security we can afford," he said, looking back up and Leon nodded and stood.

Once Leon was gone, Uther turned to his secretary who looked back waiting for his next instructions.

"Contact Cenred, I want Morgause brought here," he said finally and Caleb opened his mouth in surprise.

"But sir," he said, finally able to get his mouth to form words, "Morgause is…"

"I know what she is, but she may be the only way to stop all of this," Uther snapped and Caleb shut his mouth and nodded.

"I'll call them now sir," he said and stood, making his way out of the office.

"Ok, here we go," Morgana said as they approached the city limits and the guards who were standing there. She glanced in the rear view mirror and was a bit disconcerted that Merlin and Lance had disappeared when they were there a second ago.

"Ms. Le Fey," the guard who approached them said, sounding surprised as he looked through the back windows, "Mr. Pendragon," he said to Arthur who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Good morning Thomas," Morgana said sweetly, a flirty smile on her lips.

"Where are you headed this morning?" Thomas asked turning back to Morgana and returned her smile.

"You know that I visit the Children's Hospital every week, today is that day," she replied.

"But you usually go on Thursday, today is only Tuesday," Thomas reminded her and she fought the urge to grind her teeth.

"Yes, well I'm not going to be able to make it Thursday so I switched it to today and Arthur volunteered to come along. He has no life you see," she said the last in an exaggerated whisper and winked at the guard. Thomas laughed and waived them through, both Morgana and Arthur calling a thank you as they went.

"Where are we heading?" Morgana asked after traveling for some time, having left the bigger city, they were now passing field after field of wheat and corn.

"Ealdor," Merlin replied decidedly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Arthur asked from where they were parked two blocks away from Merlin's childhood home.

"No, it's probably a horrible idea," Merlin responded, making to get out of the car, "but it's the only thing I can think of."

"Wait," Lance said, grabbing Merlin's arm and pulled him back just as they saw a Camelot Security cruiser pass and stop outside Merlin's home. Two women and a man climbed out of the car and approached the front door before knocking. Merlin felt his heart lurch in his chest when he saw his mother answer the door and proud when she refused to budge. They were obviously too far away to hear the exchange but they could see Hunith becoming angrier the more they spoke.

The man had been talking and became more agitated the more he spoke to the Hunith until one of the women put her hand on his arm and said something quietly to him. The man didn't respond right away, but he eventually stepped back and let her move forward. It took nearly ten minutes, but eventually Hunith sighed and moved back to let them in.

"Fuck," Merlin said, sitting back and pulling the door closed and leaned his head back against the headrest.

"What now?" Morgana asked but didn't receive a response.

"I guess we move on," Arthur finally ventured after twenty minutes of silence.

"No," Merlin replied, "I have to see my mother, let her know that I'm ok."

"Merlin, did you not see those Camelot Security officers enter your house?" Morgana asked, turning in her seat to look at him.

"I did, but I have an idea," he said and exited the car before any of them could respond.

"Oh well, that makes it all better," she said, watching him through the rearview mirror as he slipped behind a building to their left. "Should we go?" she asked after a minute and received twin glares in response. "Jeez, it was just a question," she muttered and turned to watch Merlin's house for any sign of him.

"For the last time," Hunith said, glaring at the three people in her kitchen, "I haven't seen Merlin since you assholes dragged him out of here."

"And for the last time, it was not us that took him," the man said, he had told her his name when they knocked on the door, but really, she couldn't give a fuck.

"No, but you seem to think you own him, which I do not agree with. And besides, what the hell is Camelot doing here, you have no jurisdiction in Ealdor, we're in Cenred's kingdom."

"We have authorization to seek an escaped slave-" one of the women, the redhead, the other was blond, started to say but stopped at Hunith's glare. "I mean a fugitive," she corrected herself, "whether it is in our kingdom or any other."

"Well I can tell you now, if I did know where he was, I wouldn't tell you so you might as well fuck off," she snapped and turned when the tea kettle whistled and poured herself a cup. Once she was done, she turned and poured the rest of the water down the sink, making sure that the other three occupying her kitchen couldn't have any.

"Mrs. Emrys," the blond, the one that had schmoozed her way in to Hunith's kitchen said, she was trying, and failing, to be the peacekeeper of the group, "you know that aiding him is a crime and we can arrest you." At this, Hunith snorted inelegantly.

"Try," she said, glaring at them over the rim of her cup. The man opened his mouth, probably to read her her rights but was interrupted by a knock on the door. The three guards stood with their hands on their weapons but Hunith ignored them and opened the door.

"Will," she said, taking in the sight of the young man that had been Merlin's best friend since they were children, "how are you my boy?" she asked pulling him in to a hug which he returned. Since Merlin had been gone, Hunith had seen more and more of Will, he told her that Merlin had made him promise to look after her if anything happened to him. She and Will's own mother, June were best friends now and spent a lot of time together, they helped when her grief became too much.

"Hello Hunith," he replied and kissed her cheek, "I have that order you made last week."

"Order?" she parroted, knowing that she hadn't made an order and had planned to make one tomorrow. Will and his family owned a small grocery store that made home deliveries to those who needed it. Though Hunith didn't need it, she did occasionally order things when they insisted and they delivered it for free.

"Yes, you remember," he encouraged and Hunith could see an earnest look on his face, "you made it last Wednesday."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry," she said, deciding it was best to go along with it, "it slipped my mind."

"We'll need to take a look at those," the man said, coming forward and Will's eyes narrowed at them.

"Like hell I'm going to let you go through my groceries," Hunith said, spinning on them, "you'll probably bruise the fruit."

"We'll be careful," the blond replied and Hunith opened her mouth but a hand on her arm stopped her and she turned to Will.

"It's ok Hunith," he said, "I'll keep an eye on them, make sure they don't make too much of a mess." Hunith knew he was trying to convey something to her, but couldn't put her finger on it.

"All right, as long as you keep an eye on them."

"You stay here, just in case," the man said to the redhead who nodded and turned back to the kitchen, and as the other two pushed past Hunith and Will, they didn't see the young man's distressed face.

"Back shed," Will whispered as quietly as he could and turned to follow the others to his truck. Hunith didn't waste a minute, telling the redhead that she needed to get something from the shed, she turned and tried to walk as calmly as she could. Her backyard was small, mostly consisting of a garden where she grew her own tomatoes and squash and a small shed stood in the far right corner. Taking a quick look around, she made sure she hadn't been followed before opening the door and stepping inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the low lights, the only light coming from windows that were above most people's heads. As she looked around the potting supplies she heard a footstep from her right and turned.

"Mum," was all she heard before her arms were full of her son, his arms wrapped around her back tightly.

"My boy, oh my boy," she cried, nearly crushing her to him, tears streaking her face as she held him, vowing to never let him go now that she had him back. A few moments later, she pushed him away, just enough to look over him. "Are you well?" she demanded and he nodded, though she could see there were dark circles under his eyes and he had lost a lot of weight. "You need a haircut," she said, tugging on his long hair, he had always kept it short, but it was obvious he hadn't had a decent cut in a long time.

"Are you alright?" Merlin asked, evading her comment, hating that his hair was so long.

"I'm fine Merlin, so much better now that I have you back," she said and pulled him back in for a hug. When he stiffened, she refused to let him go, knowing that he wasn't back for good.

"Mum, they're looking for me," he said, his head still resting on her shoulder, though he had to bend down to reach it. Even though his undernourishment had stunted his growth, he was still a few inches taller than her.

"Can't you stay, just for a bit longer?" she begged and felt him shake his head.

"I had to see you, let you know that I'm all right," he said and pulled back reluctantly.

"Are you?" she demanded, "are you all right? Because you are thinner than I remember, and you've always been thin, but this is much more so."

"The camps weren't the best place," Merlin replied, not willing to go in to detail, "but I'm better now, I'm with people I can trust." Hunith searched Merlin's eyes and seemed to be satisfied with what she saw there and pulled him back in.

"What are you planning to do?" she asked.

"I have to find the last dragon," he explained.

"Kilgarrah is dead," his mother pointed out and he shook his head.

"There's another, I have to find her," he explained.

"But why you?" she demanded, "it is a dangerous business dealing with dragon's, they aren't the kindest of creatures."

"Because I'm the last Dragon Lord," Merlin explained and was surprised when Hunith's complexion went pale.

"No," she said, pulling back and shaking her head, "you weren't supposed to have that curse."

"What?" Merlin asked, confused as she moved further away from him when he reached out.

"You're father promised me," she said, pressing her hands to her face.

"Mum, what are you saying?" Merlin demanded and she looked up at him, new tears on her cheeks.

"Your father was a Dragon Lord," she finally said and he stared at her, he had not known about this, "he said he was the last of them, that you wouldn't become one."

"Is being a Dragon Lord so bad?" he asked.

"Yes!" she cried and Merlin pulled back in shock. "When he died, Kilgarrah the dragon disappeared, I should have known that wasn't the end of it. That must be why you are a carrier," she said, glancing down at his abdomen, "to continue the line." Before Merlin could respond or she could go further, they heard a voice call from outside the shed.

"Hunith?" it was the redhead and Hunith realized that she had been gone too long.

"Merlin you need-" she started to say and turned to find that Merlin was gone. "I love you Merlin, please be safe," she said, hoping he could somehow hear her before she wiped her eyes and left the shed.

Arthur, Morgana and Lance were having a heated discussion on whether they should leave or not, Morgana had brought Lance around to her side but Arthur refused to go.

"Don't you think, that if he had been captured, you would see him being dragged out of that house?" Arthur was pointing to Merlin's home where the man and woman were finishing up searching through what looked like food.

"Well, where else would he be?" Morgana demanded, debating on whether she should just start the car and drive off, Arthur be damned.

"Here," Merlin's voice said as the door opened and closed without them seeing anyone but a moment later Merlin revealed himself holding a bag of something. "I have a car waiting," he said, holding up the key to said car.

"We have a car," Morgana pointed out and Merlin shook his head.

"They'll be looking for this one, it's big and bulky and I'm sure on every security system's scanners, they'll spot us from miles away."

"Where did you get a car?" Arthur demanded and Merlin grinned at him.

"Friends in high places," he replied.

"And what do you say we do with this one?" Lance asked.

"Like I said, friends in high places," Merlin said, stepping out of the car and the others could see a group of about five young men standing about ten feet away. "Kanan, it's all yours," he called, "Morgana, keycard please."

"Who are these guys Merlin?" Arthur asked, pulling his bag out of the back.

"Local chop shop," Merlin replied, "they found me and I offered them the car in exchange that they don't tell anyone that I was here and they get rid of it."

"You want to chop my baby?" Morgana demanded, coming around the side of the car and glaring at the group.

"Morgana, it's that or they turn us in and take your car anyway," Merlin pointed out.

"What do you mean turn us in, Arthur and I are just innocent bystanders," Morgana pointed out and Merlin stared at her in shock.

"You did not just say that," Arthur accused and Morgana shook her head as if coming out of a daze.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just very attached to this car," she said and laid a hand on the rear window.

"I'm sorry Morgana," Merlin replied, still feeling a bit shaken at what she had said, "but it's the best choice."

"I guess," she said before she leaned her head against the car, whispered a quiet 'I'm sorry' and tossed the keycard to the man in front of the group.

"You never saw us right?" Merlin demanded of him and the other man grinned.

"For this piece, saw who?" he asked and Merlin nodded as the group moved in on the car.

"You're kidding me," Arthur said when Merlin had led them to their new car.

"What?" Merlin asked, looking over the old Mustang that was a bit rundown around the edges, the paint was chipping and there were rust spots but it ran like it was brand new.

"You said inconspicuous," Arthur pointed out.

"This is inconspicuous," Merlin defended and tossed his bags in the back.

"Merlin, this thing still takes petrol," Morgana pointed out, she was standing five feet away from the car and refused to come closer.

"Yes and you'd be surprised at how many cars out here do, we can't all be rich and live in Camelot," Merlin said sardonically and opened the driver side door. "Get in."

Ok, so I don't know what is going on with Morgana, that will unfold interestingly I have a feeling. I have most of the main characters planned out in my head, what happens with the supporting cast, kind of comes up on a whim, so it should be interesting. Lance is loyal to Merlin, but he's also weary of him and being caught. Oh and Morgause, hehe