Disclaimer: I own neither Merlin nor this song! All rights go to their respective owners!

Okay, this is the last part of the Rebirth one-shots. I've had a lot of fun writing these and using songs to create the storyline. Also, thank you for 1,600+ reads!!!!! It's so amazing!!!! Bro, I honestly never thought I get this far, thanks again. Please tell me if you have any requests, I'd be more than happy to write them. Also, I am SO SORRY FOR THE MASSIVE DELAY!!! I was having a serious writer's block on this part, but I got past it! I hope you guys love the final part, though the first few chapters might be a little choppy. Love you guys!!!

Previously:

Arthur had practically run to the secret tower as soon as he dismissed the council. The tears started to flow, and they couldn't stop. He stayed there, crying alone for hours, hating himself forever banishing Merlin. As he looked through the window with his teary eyes, he thought he saw something that almost resembled golden ashed go by. He dismissed it as blurry vision, but he thought he saw a dragon in those ashes that bowed to him and flew away.

"Oh Merlin..." he whispered, "where are you now?"

Present:

The kingdom fell into what seemed to be the Dark Ages for months. Even though it seemed everything should be at its prime, it just...died. The magic, the trade, and the people's morale. It seemed almost as a curse fell on Camalot after Merlin's death. Perhaps it was a curse. A curse to remind the people-and their king-what they lost when they banished Merlin. Oh, what fools they were! The whole citadel knew and loved the raven boy, and yet they cast him out without a second thought. Now, with the knowledge that the young warlock that was the only reason they all still had heads on their shoulders was dead, it seemed all of the lands were mourning. Even the birds chirped less, and crickets barely hummed anymore. However, there were some good things that had happened afterward. For one, the druids started to settle in Camalot, and (good) creatures of magic started to appear within Camalot's borders while (bad) creatures of magic started appearing less and less. Arthur had conquered several kingdoms as well as allying himself with many more. He became High King and named his lands Albion. He often thought of how Merlin would be proud of him. In fact, that's what he mostly thought about. He made sure that Merlin's name would be remembered in his success, and the druids were happy to help.

Arthur never forgot that night. The night Gwaine told the kingdom how the most magnificent man known to walk the Earth had perished, all thanks to their dear king. Every night, Arthur would climb to that tower and stare out at his kingdom below. Sometimes he would forget to go back into his own chambers, and Guinevere would have to drag him back. He loved Gwen, and having her in his arms was something he never took for granted. However, he longed to have a night to just cry. Not with Gwen, and certainly not with any of the knights. Just....alone, in the tower, where he doesn't have to explain or hear comfort. He sometimes felt as if the weight was slightly lifted at times, whenever he was with the druids, or for any unknown reason. It was like there was an invisible hand gently scooping up the unseen bricks on his shoulders and putting them away.

When the anniversary of Merlin's death came around, the druids started acting peculiar. Not in a shady way, but almost as if they were planning something....something big. And then came the dreams. He often dreamt of Merlin, yes, but it was usually the same nightmare over and over again, or perhaps an old memory of them together. But then he started to dream of ruling the kingdom, or hunting, or simply doing anything, and Merlin wasn't there. But his voice was. He started to hear Merlin's voice in his dreams, talking, yet Arthur could never really hear what he was saying. Instead, he just got that definite feeling that he was there. 

Until he was there.....

It was the fourth night before Merlin's anniversary of his passing, that he truly appeared in his dream. Not as a part of the dream, but rather his soul entered Arthur's mind and into his dream.

In his dream, Arthur had just finished up his duties for the night and went into the tower he held so dear to his heart. He was staring out of the window and into the starry night when he heard Merlin's whisper. It was calling to him like a siren to a sailor. And so he followed in the trance state he was in, following his siren's call out into the field below. When he made it there, his eyes were glued onto a warm golden light that softly glowed on the field. When Arthur finally stilled, so did the light, revealing, much to Arthur's surprise, Merlin, who was both seemed to be beaming as well as shying towards the young king.

Merlin looked the exact same as Arthur remembered, yet so much different. He was standing tall, with eyes that still held the weight of worlds yet somewhat core cleared. As if he knew all the secrets of the world's shadowing corners, but he had a burning fire of purpose that was keeping him in the light once more. He wasn't wearing his servant-clothes, but rather a fine tunic of such whiteness Arthur didn't know how it was possible. He was also wearing fine brown sandals that wove upwards and ended a few inches below his knee. What had Arthur's attention though, was Merlin's face. His hair wasn't the short mess as it used to be, but rather slick yet wavy black hair that reached his shoulders (Think Gwaine). There was a simple crown upon his head, made by two silver strands loosely woven together and met with a fierce golden jewel in the middle. Merlin's eyes were the true beauty of it all though. They weren't light blue, but instead a swirling gold that never seemed to settle. Arthur kept loosing himself in Merlin's eyes, trying to note every detail. There also seemed to still be flecks of blue in his eyes, but they were overlooked by all of the gold.

"Hey Arthur," Merlin began softly. Arthur couldn't find the words to respond, for what could he say? "Hey, Merls, nice to see you in my dream. Oh, by the way, aren't you dead?" Merlin simply smiled and continued talking, voice light as a feather as if he may scare Arthur off.

"Before I explain why or how I'm here, I just want you to know," Merlin looked straight into Arthur's eyes who only then realized that this was real, yet still in a dream, "I forgive you." Arthur didn't know how to think at that point. 'How,' Arthur thought to himself, 'how can you forgive me so easily?' As if Merlin had heard his inner thoughts, he answered with a sad, knowing voice.

"I know why you banished me, and I forgive you. I must apologize for my actions of avoiding you, even when you would have knelt on your knees and begged for my forgiveness. I grew distant, cold, a shell of the once-powerful and caring man I once was. I couldn't see who I was anymore, my days were spent wilting away in my father's old cave. I was alone, and I was broken. When Gwaine and Percival finally found me, it was too late. I was fading in and out of being alive, and then simply living. When I passed, I was finally freed, and Destiny finally started to fix its broken strings."

"You don't ever have to apologize to me, Merlin," Arthur finally managed to whisper. "It was I who caused you to be like that in the first place."

"Which is why I'm telling you, I forgive you. I know you could never forgive yourself no matter what others told you unless you heard it from me." Merlin seemed to pause, before continuing with a renewed confident voice. "I've been watching over you, helping you, and freeing you of your guilt in quick simple ways. And I will continue to do it until I can find my way back to the world of the living."

Arthur had so many questions swimming in a pool of even more questions in his head. In the end, all he could muster out was a shaky, almost pathetic, "how?"

Merlin chuckled before turning towards the moon, which was close to touching the horizon as dawn approached. Softly, Merlin began to speak, and his confidence grew with each word.

Merlin:

"In the light that falls at moonrise

In the rhythm of the rain

In the miracle of ordinary days

In the hush of night, I will be in the whispers of lovers

Everywhere, you will find me there

In the rustle of a curtain

In the bustle of the world

In a thousand little unexpected ways

When you lift your gaze, I will be like the shimmer of one small star-

Out there, shining everywhere

I will be there, beside you, through the lonely nights that fall

So close your eyes, remember my embrace

I will be there like mercy; I will find you through it all"

Arthur found himself waking up as the world around him grew both darker and lighter. He only just barely heard Merlin's last sentence before waking up:

"This do I swear, I will be there"

When Arthur woke, he knew it wasn't an ordinary dream, that it was genuine, and Merlin was alive. Well, not alive per se, but his soul was still with them. Suddenly so many things made sense, like how the crushing weight on his shoulders would be lifted by what seemed by nothing, but there was always something. And their star. Oh, how he was transfixed on that little star every night. He never really looked at the stars before Merlin was banished, and even then he never looked at them. It was only after Merlin's death and his visits to the tower increased did he spend his time gazing at them. There was this one star too, that he always looked for, though he never noticed it until Merlin had mentioned it in the dream.

'I wonder if that star is Merlin's soul...' Arthur thought to himself. He didn't ponder on it for long, for he started planning. He started to work on a plan that will help him get his brother back. And he will need help, which was a good thing he knew exactly who to talk to.

"Aglain," Arthur called as he walked towards the druid leader later that day, "May I ask you something?"

Aglain respectively bowed before answering Arthur in a mirrored tone. "What do you wish to know, your highness?"

"Merlin visited me in a dream, and I was wondering if you knew about it. The druids have been acting a little unusually lately too. May you tell me why?"

Aglain seemed to study Arthur for a moment before smiling. "I see," he stated certainly. "The time for Emrys to be reborn is nearer than we thought. We have been preparing for his return, milord. It seems that Destiny will be remended and forged once again through Fate's fires."

Arthur didn't really process the last but that Again said, but he did notice the small detail about Aglain knowing about Merlin and him returning. "Wait wait wait, you knew?!?" 

The druid only nodded and answered calmly, forgetting the high king's small outburst rather quickly. "Emrys is magic, and magic is Emrys. Anyone and anything with any amount of magic can feel the static in the air. Our magic...it's almost excited...if that's the correct word to use. Magic can sense its lord and son readying to return from Avalon."

Arthur didn't really understand, but he accepted it as his answer and nodded. "So," Arthur started with a new hope slowly building up in him, "how do we get my brother back home?" The elder druid leader smirked and started to tell him the ritual......

(okay I didn't exactly know how to explain this in the story but basically this is Arthur speeding to his way to Avalon and also singing/saying to himself that he will be there for Merlin this time. Sorry!)

Arthur:

In a language never spoken

Live the promises we've made

In the endless love that owned me; Heart and soul

In the certainty, I will always be true

And as near as my next prayer, you will find me there

In the echo of the ocean

In the haunting of the wind

In mysterious extraordinary ways

Through the darkest sky, I will be like the shimmer of one small star

Out there, shining everywhere 

I will be there beside you through the lonely nights that fall

So close your eyes, remember my embrace

I will be there, like freedom; I will find you through it all

This do I swear, I will be there

Arthur reached the lake of Avalon and almost forgot why he was there, for all he could process was the unveiled beauty of the lake. It was...magical. Aglain was there, along with what seemed to be almost fifty other druids.

"So glad you could make it," Aglain stated. Arthur huffed. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." The druid laughed lightly. "A good thing too, because I don't know if the world would've forgiven you if you decided to drop out."

Arthur didn't exactly know what that meant, but then again he never really understood anything the mysterious druid leader said. It was just like him. Almost like Merlin with his rare, almost wise moments. Merlin...

"Right, what do I need to do?"

"Stand in the water, your highness, and reach for him when the moment is right. We'll do the hard work."

Arthur did as he was told and waited for the spell to commence. He was as ready as he'll ever be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you ready, Merlin?" Freya asked. Merlin turned to her and held her close.

"As ready as I'll ever be, my love," Merlin replied as he caressed her cheek softly before giving her a kiss.  He looked into her eyes before turning towards the Gates of Avalon. He began to walk before he turned to look back at her. "Come with me, Freya. Let someone else take your sacred duty and come with me."

Freya smiled sadly before declining his offer. "You know how much I want to, Merlin, I know you do. But we both know I can't just simply leave." Merlin frowned before sighing and nodding sadly. "We separate now, but I promise you I will find a way to bring you back so we can be happy, and living." 

With one final goodbye, Merlin crossed the Gates of Avalon and waited to be lifted into the world of the living...into the world of his home, family, and brother. He was happy in the Land of the Dead, he was with Lancelot, Freya, his father, and so many more. But it was time for him to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(If you get confused here this is when the enchantment is being done and Merlin & Arthur are like...in sync, I guess? Like, their souls are getting excited about being reunited and it's showing. I'm sorry, I have it all in my head but can't explain it, aH.)

Arthur:

In the harbor quarter

Merlin:

In the stone and mortar

BOTH

In the star that we both share

Arthur:

In the sound of laughter

Merlin:

Now and ever after

BOTH

Look for me, I will be there

I will be known, beside you through the lonely nights that fall

So close your eyes

Merlin:

Remember my embrace

I will be there

Arthur:

Remember my embrace

Yes, will be there

The water started to swirl in front of Arthur, and a golden mist started to cover the entire lake. In just a few seconds, Two broken sides of a coin were about to meet once more and merge back into one, whole, golden coin.

BOTH

Like justness; I will find you through it all

Merlin:

This do I swear, I will be there

Arthur:

This do I swear, I will be there

BOTH

This do I swear, I will be there...

There was a flash of white light, and everything stilled. It was like Time itself was holding its breath in anticipation. When Arthur opened his eyes, he was almost too scared to believe it was true. For right in front of him, was a dead man, yet alive. In front of me was the most powerful warlock to have and ever will live, as well as lord of the magical and kin to dragons. Most importantly, standing in front of Arthur was his friend and brother. And as they embraced each other in a suffocating embrace with tears rolling down their eyes, they knew...they knew everything was going to be alright.

The End