Eve and Morph had little time to absorb the beauty of the world below the twelve princesses' castle. Lana was still appreciative of it, but the others didn't leave her much time to consider it again. They got into the boat and rowed to the other side of the lake. Going into the castle, they met with no resistance and were left entirely alone.

Lana stopped them at a door and motioned to it. "The dungeons are down there," she told them in a whisper. "Gwaine must have stumbled on it while looking for Will. I didn't tell him where it was."

"We'll figure it out," Morph said, which wasn't really an answer to what she was saying.

Lana used her string of keys and opened the door. "It wasn't locked before," she said, her concern evident.

"If Gwaine was found snooping around and thrown into the dungeon, that makes sense," Eve replied, trying to keep her friend calm. There was little point in panicking when they knew Gwaine was in Nimueh's hands.

Emrys shifted over Morph's shoulder and groaned. Eve eyed him nervously. "Is he alright?" she asked.

"Maybe? I don't know," Morph admitted. "I've never used up all my magic like he did. He could be fine, he could be dying. I have no idea."

"That's comforting," Eve muttered. "Maybe you should stay up here with him."

"Never!" Morph insisted vehemently. "I can carry the kid and fight as well. What do you take me for?"

"She just wanted to make certain," Lana interrupted quickly, stopping an argument between them. "We're glad, of course. We'll feel safer with you around."

Eve thought she was pushing it, but Morph didn't seem to mind. He gave a sheepish grin and went down the stairs ahead of them. After sending Lana a look like, Really? she followed Morph down the stairs.

They reached the dungeons without incident. Lana was clutching the back of Eve's shirt and Morph seemed tense. The air in the dungeons was heavy and oppressive. It felt suffocating. Lana pointed down the tunnel with a shaking hand. "He's down there," she whispered.

He had to be at the very end of the tunnel, Eve thought sourly. If possible, it was even darker and creepier down there. "Of course," she muttered.

Morph shifted Emrys down into his arms from his shoulders with a barely muted groan. "He's getting heavier," he complained softly.

"I thought you said you could handle him," Eve said, raising her eyebrows.

"I did. And I can. But he keeps shifting around and he's getting hot," he said.

Eve felt Emrys's forehead and pulled away immediately. "He's burning with fever," she said worriedly.

Lana shrieked and she was pulled away from Eve. She and Morph spun around to see a haggard old woman hunched near the bars of one of the cells. The woman had thrown Lana against the back wall and knocked her unconscious. "Hello, my pretties," the woman cackled. "Lady Nimueh said you would be coming!"

"Gothel!" Morph said. Eve could see his wings twitching anxiously from beneath his cloak. "Get out of my way, woman, or I swear—"

Eve cried out in horror as Gothel extended her hand and yanked it back, pulling Eve to her. She tossed Eve behind her, bringing her crashing to the ground. It was extremely painful, and Eve was fairly certain she'd broken something. She couldn't even move.

"Stop it!" Morph yelled, his voice breaking. Eve had never heard him lose control so terribly before. "Do you take such pleasure in hurting people who have no way of defending themselves?"

"I take pleasure in hurting those I despise," Gothel sneered. She extended her hand and squeezed it into a fist. Morph gasped, going stiff as if she had her hand wrapped around his throat. "And you, Andric, I hate. You and all the rest of you slimy Guardian-spawn. Not that I have to worry about Guardians anymore."

"What do you mean, you hag?!" Eve recognized the voice from the cell as Gwaine's.

Gothel smiled, displaying her missing teeth. "I think your demigod friend knows," she said.

"Morph?" Emrys's voice was sleepy and confused. His eyes were half-open as he eyed Morph nervously. "What's going on?"

"I wish I didn't know," Morph answered, wheezing. Gothel's choking grasp had gone away temporarily. He looked horror-struck. "You're lying."

"Trust your instincts, little boy," she cackled. "It's true. Nimueh's done the impossible."

Gently, Morph set Emrys on his feet again. "I'm sorry," Morph said, looking horrified still. "I don't know what to say."

"Why don't you tell us what in the world is going on?" Eve groaned, trying to pick herself off the ground. She may as well have been trying to rise with a ton of bricks on her back. From the expression on Morph's face, it wasn't anything good; she almost didn't want to know.

Gothel advanced on Morph, pushing him back and pressing him against the wall. Emrys stood there, looking befuddled and half-asleep still. "Tell them, little one," Gothel urged Morph in a falsely sweet voice.

"Emrys, I'm sorry," Morph choked out, his face turning a light blue as the breath was choked from him. "Your father ... Rapunzel ... she's telling the truth."

Emrys stared at Morph. "N-no," he stammered. "You—she's not—he can't be—"

From inside the cell, Eve heard the worst possible sound she ever could. It was Rampion's muffled, heartbroken scream at Morph's words.

Gothel seemed to find the whole situation amusing. "Isn't it wonderful? After everything you've done, only to find that the people you seek to rescue are beyond anybody's help." She broke off with a screeching laugh.

Looking into Emrys's eyes, Eve felt something she'd never felt for him before. The horror was battling with something that she'd never seen in anyone before. Pure, intense rage and hatred. It was frightening and didn't belong on the face of someone so young. "You foul hag!" Emrys yelled. His words were mirrored only a split second behind by Gwaine.

"Silence!" Gothel shrieked. Gwaine's words were cut off with a choked cry.

If possible, rage overcame all other emotions on Emrys's face. "YOU DON'T HURT MY BROTHER!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. A pure blast of energy shot out of him, striking Gothel and sending her flying backwards.

Eve managed to scoot out of the way before the old woman could land on top of her. Morph had fallen to his knees, also unable to move, and Lana was thoroughly unconscious. Emrys was the only one standing in Gothel's way. The hag stood up, sneering. Blood oozed from her nostril. "You little swine," she snarled. "I'll kill you!"

They shot blasts of energy at each other at the same time. The explosion blew them apart, slamming them into the opposing walls. Gothel rose quickly. Emrys stayed down, groaning. The old woman raised her hand above Emrys, dark energy surrounding him. He started screaming in pain as she pulled his life from him.

There was nothing Eve could do. Gothel's spell was still holding her down, and Morph seemed to be in the same position. No matter how hard she tried to rise, there was nothing she could do. Emrys's screams were getting quieter and weaker. The sorcerer was dying before her and there was nothing she could do. "Emrys," she whimpered. She couldn't just let him die!

He tried to blast a spell at Gothel, but he was already too weak. He may as well have been a fly buzzing around her head. The darkness was blackening his skin, rotting it from the inside. It was terrible to watch, and tears of helplessness fell down Eve's cheeks.

Then a stream of grasping red hair flew from the bars of one of the cells. They wrapped around Gothel's neck, pulling her backwards, off of Emrys. The sorcerer rolled onto his side, retching and gagging, as Rampion increased her grip on Gothel. As she squeezed the life from the hag, Eve felt the spell lift from her slowly. When Rampion released Gothel, the woman sagged to the ground. Feeling ill, Eve felt the old woman's neck for a pulse and found none. "She's dead," she reported with mixed feelings.

"Serves her right," Rampion snarled. "The monster. The hag. She ... she helped kill my—my—" She stopped, breaking off with a heartbroken sob.

Morph went to help Emrys to his feet, but the sorcerer pulled away, curling into a ball. He was crying, clawing at the ground with his fingers. The only one who wasn't completely stunned, Eve went to Lana and found the keys in the bard's pocket. With shaking hands, it took her a few minutes to find the right key to open the lock. Once it was, she managed to get Emrys on his feet to remove the chains from Gwaine and the third prisoner, who must have been Will Scarlet.

When Gwaine was free, he threw his arms around Emrys, and the brothers embraced, tears flowing freely as they shared in their common grief. They wept over their lost father with no remorse, unable to come to terms that he was gone.

Morph knelt beside Will, laying his hand on his forehead. Eve had an arm around Rampion's shoulders, trying to soothe the sobbing girl. After her murder of Gothel, Rampion seemed like a normal child, crying for her departed mother. Eve tried not to picture herself in the same situation—losing her mother.

"I can't wake him." Morph's voice was dull and emotionless. Looking at him, Eve could see the shattered look on his face. Why was he taking this so personally? It wasn't like it was his parents who had perished. "He won't wake up."

If he'd expected the news to rattle them further, he was mistaken. None of them even reacted. How could they? The worst possible news in the world had been delivered to them. They had failed everyone. The Guardians, The Story ... and their parents.

Oddly enough, it was Emrys who spoke up, pulling away from his brother. "We need to go," he said, his nose congested. "There's still Mother to think of ... and Rachel Andric."

"But ... we already failed," Rampion said dully.

"Em is right," Gwaine put in, his voice unsteady. "There are still people to save—and Nimueh to be stopped. We must stop her, before she ..." He trailed off.

"Agreed." Morph grunted as he lifted Will into his arms. If Emrys had looked uncomfortable in his arms before, the lanky redhead was even more so. He was taller than Morph by a lot and resembled a scarecrow with his limbs sticking out at awkward angles.

"But if Merlin wasn't powerful enough to stop her, how can we be?" Eve asked.

"Because we'll do it together," Lana answered. She was clutching her head, but looked stubborn, as if she expected the others to argue. "And if we fail, then we're not losing anything. Nimueh won't let us survive anyway."

"Optimistic," Rampion muttered.

Emrys opened a Story door, staggering a little from the effort. "We have to save your father, Rampion," he said. "Hopefully someone through here will be able to help him."

Rampion stared at her feet. "At least we can save him," she mumbled.

"Alright, let's go," Morph said. "We don't have much time before Nimueh turns her attention to us."