The situation was a little too grave to just wait for Kellie to come back. Merlin and Morgan le Fay only crossed paths a few times in the centuries after the fall of Camelot. Thankfully, Morgan no longer seemed to be bent on toppling kingdoms these days. But just because she wasn't aiming for lofty goals didn't make her any less dangerous or her acts less evil. If Morgan had interest in this timeline, Merlin couldn't afford to leave his ward unaware.
Merlin walked into Ann's house with little problem. Ann wouldn't even be aware that he was here. He headed up to Lisa's room, following the pull of Kellie's magic. He knocked for a moment before he heard Lisa say 'Come in'. Walking in, Merlin wasn't particularly surprised that Kellie was younger than he had last seen her. Obviously Katie's ring at work here, since Kellie left hers back home. Katie and Lisa were also here, which saved Merlin some time. "May I ask what's going on here?" he asked.
"Just some sister bonding," said Katie, "Before you ask, Lisa didn't force this on Kellie. She just wanted to show her what it was like to have a big sister since Kellie didn't have one in her timeline."
"Well, that's nice," said Merlin, "But I'm afraid we need to cut playtime short. We have an emergency to deal with." With a wave of his hand, Kellie was suddenly back to 16 years old and in her normal clothes.
"How did you do that?" asked Lisa.
"Because I'm Merlin," said Merlin, "Now can you call your friends, please? Just let them know I'll be picking them up."
==========
It took a lot quicker to summon Katie and Lisa's friends than they expected. Mainly because Merlin teleported them to his house as soon as Katie called them. The girls were rather surprised to be transported like this, but they were assured this was a particular emergency. Once everyone was gathered in the living room, Merlin said, "Thank you for coming. Now, before we begin, you should know I am Merlin." Before hands were raised, Merlin said, "Yes, that Merlin. I knew King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. A lot of stories you've heard are true, some are distorted by time. But there is one legend that's particularly true right now: Morgan le Fay."
Kellie knew the situation was important. Merlin never talked about Morgan le Fay unless he had to and never more than he needed. "What about her?" she asked.
"It would seem my old nemesis has taken an interest in this timeline, particularly in all of you," said Merlin, "She's manipulated a few times by now."
"How so?" asked Samantha.
"Well, you are the most mild example," said Merlin, "I'm sure you've heard by now that you weren't Samoan in Kellie's original timeline."
"She said it, but it's hard to imagine me be anything else," said Samantha.
"Well, Morgan sent your mother a bit of magic that made her meet your father," said Merlin, "Fortunately, your mother had better taste than Morgan was expecting. Morgan delights in taking the wishes of others and making the worst possible outcome happen. And in this case, while Morgan couldn't target you directly, she could target your mothers."
"What did she do?" asked Claudia.
"Well, apparently your mother wished your father were home more often and not deployed overseas," said Merlin. Claudia went pale as she realized what he was implying. "Yes, Morgan has a very cruel sense of humor."
"What else did she do?" asked Kumiko.
"Well, Mary Elise suffered the worst," said Merlin, "As you recall, her parents had a nasty divorce. Apparently Mary's mother wished her ex-husband was gone." The girls all looked shocked at that.
Eventually, Mika asked, "What did she do our mother?" Kumiko also looked grim at that.
"As far as I can tell, nothing," said Merlin, "Maybe your mother is content with what she has and doesn't make wishes. Though I'd still watch out for her." He turned to the other girls and said, "You should all be cautious. Morgan will probably be acting more directly from now on."
"What does she want?" asked Katie.
"Besides causing strife and misery, I'm not sure she has a specific goal yet," said Merlin, "But she seemed interested in making Mary her apprentice."
"Wait, you don't think Morgan is the same Morgan I aged down to be a friend to Mary, do you?" asked Kellie.
"I wouldn't think so. I doubt Morgan would allow herself to be changed by the Ring of Age," said Merlin, "But I'd still keep an eye out for Mary. Any chance of redemption she has would be squashed if Morgan gets her hands in her."
"How are we all supposed to be on the lookout and guard everyone?" asked Samantha, "We don't have magic."
"I'll be providing help with that," said Merlin, "Though some of you will be getting more extensive magical training to deal with her." He gave a meaningful look at Katie and Kellie.
"There's one thing I want to know," said Lisa with a grim look, "Did Morgan le Fay kill our mother?"
"She didn't say she did," said Merlin.
"You think she's innocent just because she didn't say it?" asked Lisa disbelievingly.
"No, but she does like to brag about her evil deeds," said Merlin, "Though if she did do that, my guess is that she didn't say so to me so she can tell you herself for full shock value."
"If she did, I'm going to make her pay," growled Lisa, clenching her fists.
"She has a lot to answer for," said Kellie. Even if Morgan wasn't guilty of that, she was still responsible for making Mary Elise into Misery. Kellie was going to make sure Mary wouldn't fall into Morgan's clutches.
"Good," said Merlin, "Now, we need to get ready before Morgan makes her next move."