Do or Die

Do or Die  is the fifteenth part in Loaded March series. It was published to Archive of Our Own on August 14, 2015. It consists of 196,023 words. Here is the link . 
==Summary ==
It's time for war.
More than anything, it's time for the war to end.
The men of Excalibur are soldiers above all. They know every time they leave the base, every time they leave each other's line of sight, it might be the last time they see each other again.
Their lives is a sacrifice they're willing to make if it will mean peace. But it's love -- love for their families, their friends, their brothers and sisters in arms, and for each other that drives them to the end.
==Plot==
IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED, THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD!
Hostage situation at the Commons
Olaf secret agent stuff--Sorcerers, Walsh, and Diplomacy
Uther is a dick and there is a portable prototype. Julia and Mickey are pretty great reporters. 
ooOOoo 
It begins with reporters trying to get the scoop on a hostage situation. There are several flashbacks of Arthur planning and setting up the mission with some brass in the army (and dragons). Excalibur now renamed the Red Team embark on a rescue mission at the Commons. The efficiently take care of the guards and win a brief fight. Merlin overpowers Cornelius Sigan and discovers (with the help of Morgana) that he is possessed. Then Merlin, Mordred, and Kay (!) put Sigan's soul in a crystal and rescue poor little Neil. 
- 
Later, Olaf takes Will and Merlin to MI5 headquarters. Olaf tells them about the theft of several artifacts. The one that is most concerning is a staff that can raise the dead, and now Nimueh has it, so not good. On the way back, Will and Merlin run into some sorcerors. Luckily reporter Michael O'Reilly and his camerawoman Julia are there to capture these two Red Team members on film being BA and diplomatic. And then Cedric Walsh's team comes and he is a douchecanoe. We find out that, yes, we can hate him even more. 
- 
There is a war council/meeting where they discuss magic and how it could be used in the army. Uther is a prejudiced dick. Arthur reports on what he learned about the stolen staff/spear from his anonymous source (Gaius). We find out that there may be a zombie apocalypse. Uther is condescending. 
Then Uther sends his own 'Men in Red Team'. They set off a portable prototype EMP bomb thing and they also kill children. Mickey and Julia can't don't believe that they are the real Red Team. 
-- 
Kay and Merlin, after scoping out Uther's team, run into Gilli. Surprisingly, Gilli is sorry about how he behaved and warns Kay and Merlin that Bayard is calling the Directory back and then dismissing or reassigning them. Merlin and Kay return to the team and they discuss this. Communications are cut at the FOBs. Merlin ends up finagling with Mickey, the reporter's, phone and tells them to drive to a certain place where it will than activate and set off the bomb alarm things. merlin also has communications send out messages in morse code to other FOBs. There is also a creepy humpty dumpty song. As Red Team is evacuating FOB, they run into another SAS team, Riptide. Their Captiain is a marvelous bloke, Evan. He deduces who they are and tells his team to guard them. 
-- 
The teams run into witches. They subdue them. Sorcerers are headed to Islington Cemetery. After waiting for back up, Red Team heads to the cemetery. Mordred, Merlin, Kay and Lucan head into the cemetery to destroy the staff while the rest of the team tries to hold back zombies. Mickey and Julie had seen the team and followed them. They found themselves at Pendragon Consulting, and with Morgana's help, they are given access to the building so that they can better film Red Team. They meet Zack, an employee at Pendragon's. 
-- 
Merlin, Mordred, and Kay run into Tristan who decides to help them and create a distraction by burning corpses. Merlin then summons a Goddess. Mordred and Kay help to subdue Nimueh and break the staff. Meanwhile, dragons are on their way to add to the chaos. Merlin ends up rushing to Arthur's aid and is pretty BA with the dragons. Then Kilgarrah (in dragon form) comes to help. Julie and Mickey swoon. 
-- 
Back on base, the team watches the footage, pretending they don't know anything about it. There is a meeting in the War Room. Arthur is pretty awesome. Uther is not. Then Arthur has a run in with Cedric Walsh. Arthur refrains from pulverizing him. Then Uther tells Arthur that he is proud of him and that he knows that Arthur is the leader of RedTeam. Arthur pretends he doens't know what he is talking about. 
When Arthur gets back to barracks, he snuggles with Merlin :) :) and the team talks. 
The next day, Walsh's team 'reveals' themselves as the Red Team. Merlin plays a prank on them. 
Balinor's team comes in. There is yet another meeting and this time, it is like an operation albion reunion. We also find out that Merlin is not the artefact. Arthur is. 
Merlin goes to talk to Balinor. He wants to find out more about this 'prophecy' and about his and Arthur's shared visions. All he really gets is a lot of riddles, but he does find out that Balinor didn't realize the artefact could be a person. Not until Merlin was born. Mordred is the one that tells Merlin what he can of the druidic prophecies he had heard growing up. Merlin and Arthur decide that they are NOT this king or sorcerer. They are there own men, and will not have their fate decided by the stories. 
Gwen goes into labor and Lance is sent off riding a dragon, which bears the banner, "Storks deliver babies. Dragons deliver Knights." The press rename Red Team to Knights. 
Bayard takes Merlin to Directory HQ. Merlin sees special sword, probably Excalibur. Merlin tells Bayard that he is not who Bayard thinks he is. He is NOT. Then they receive a message that the world is under attack by ghosy spirit things. Merlin begins to gather magical supplies, including Exaclibur, and heads in Arthur's and the team's direction. 
- 
The Knights (Red Team/Excalibur) are sent out to help protect citizens. They run into Mickey and Julia. Mickey reveals that he knows who they are. They decide that they are going to stick with Excalibur and interview them and such. Back at the makeshift base, Cennydd has arrived and Mordred is happy/relieved. Mickey gets brief introductions about the team. Oh, we also find out that Cennydd is MI5. 
Phantoms attack. Then creepy song is creepy. Then we find out that it is the baby Queen Dragon. The dragons go crazy. Julia sqeals over the cuteness of Merthur. On there way to their destination, J&M ask about Merlin. Merlin clams up about his past. Mordred speaks up and tells about merlin's accident/cock up from his own point to view. J&M are pobably going to eviscerate Cedric Walsh with their newsreporting. 
- 
Merlin summons dragons. They bow to Arthur and his kingliness. But shit is about to get real with Nimueh and the NWO. And then the dragons begin to split into two groups. Merlin goes off to save baby queen dragon. 
and then General Tachnather says: "You have your orders. Follow them to your best judgement. More importantly, do what you believe is right. Finally, until I return from fighting with my brothers and sisters in the air, I am transferring full authority of the British Armed forces to Captain Arthur Pendragon." 
Kay, will, and Merlin show up at correct place and rescue Aithusa from Borden. When they rejoin the team, Aithusa meets Arthur and Balinor tells Merlin that Aithusa has met her Dragonlord and they are gonig to be a happy little family. 'melts' 
and then they confront Nimueh. 
DUN DUN DUN 
Afterward, Mickey interviews Morgana and we learn a little bit about what Excalibur is doing. 
And Merlin and Arthur are still lovely. 
==Quotes==
Arthur glanced at Merlin with surprise. Merlin looked from the little girl to his Captain with a small smile and a half-shrug. He inched closer to Arthur and asked, "Do you want to go to Arthur, Aithusa?"
Aithusa let go of Merlin without hesitation, trusting both men to catch her if she should fall, and the fierce protectiveness in Arthur's eyes when he took her into his arms was more than Mickey could bear and he turned away.
"I think my ovaries exploded," Julia muttered.
"Mine, too," Mickey said, spreading his hands. "And I don't even have any!"
Arthur broke the kiss, leaning back enough to ask, "Lieutenant-Colonel Cabbagehead? Really? That's the best you could come up with?"
"I know, it doesn't have the same ring to it as Captain Prat," Merlin said with a grin. "Now, shut up, and pay attention to the hand down your trousers. Lance only gave me fifteen minutes, and you know he'll come looking if I'm late."
==Series Timeline==
Last Part: 	Followed By: 
Storm on the Horizon	At the End We Begin Again
Category:Parts