A/N: Thank you Hodophile-Sandhiller, GuestM, Buckhunter, pallysAramisRios, and SnidgetHex for reviewing!

Oh, that's not even the whump. XDXD Also I posted a one shot yesterday in case anyone missed it.

Chapter 7

Lancelot swung both ends of the staff in successive ferocity, driving his opponent backward as they frantically fought to deflect each blow. He felt the swish of air behind him and ducked. A second wooden staff went sailing over his head, and Lancelot pivoted from his crouch to knock the other guy's legs out from under him. He followed through with a strike of his own staff across the man's chest, driving the air from his lungs. Then he shot one hand out and torqued his wrist, gathering a surge of wind and blasting the other opponent with it. Both men stayed down, and Lancelot slowly stood up.

"Excellent," Evaine praised with her usual stoic demeanor. "You are making significant progress."

Lancelot bowed respectfully at the generous compliment.

Evaine waved her hand for three new warriors to come forward. "Again."

Arthur stood in his council chambers, listening to various reports from the knights on the progress of their rebuilding efforts. It was going to be a long and slow process. There was a lot of debris to still clear from the lower town and construction to start before the townspeople could leave the refuge of the castle. Several of the fields had also been wiped out in the floodwaters, which was going to put a strain on their food supply.

"We've checked the castle stores, and fortunately only some of the grain was spoiled," Leon reported. "We should still have enough to feed everyone for a little while at least."

Arthur nodded. Food and shelter were the top priorities.

"We've received word from allies in neighboring kingdoms that they were also hit by the unnatural storms," Sir Geoffrey put in. "They've sent requests for aid."

"We'll have to respond that we suffered heavy damage too," Arthur said regretfully. "But once we have an accurate count of our resources, we'll send what we can."

A rumble erupted up through the floor, rattling the table and windows. Everyone shot their hands out for balance, but the earthquake settled.

"What now?" Arthur muttered.

Leon went to the window to look outside. "Nothing seems disturbed, Sire."

For now, Arthur thought. But no one came running in yelling about the next impending disaster, so there wasn't much Arthur could do except fret over what was coming next. He sent everyone back to their duties and made his own trip down to Gaius's chambers to check on Lancelot. He figured with that wound he'd received that he'd be resting, but Lancelot wasn't there.

"I believe he's helping in the great hall," Gaius told him.

Frowning, Arthur headed there next. Sure enough, Lancelot was helping Percival and Gwaine fit boards over the broken windows now that they'd aired out the dampness.

"Should you be up and about like this?" Arthur asked skeptically, though Gaius obviously already knew about it and so must have given his patient permission.

Lancelot stepped away from the board as Percival took over holding it up and Gwaine nailed it into place. "I'm fine, Sire. It was just a scratch."

"Oh." It hadn't looked like a scratch the other day, but Arthur wasn't a physician. "Well, that's good." He rocked in place slightly and cast his gaze around the room awkwardly. He still didn't quite know how to act around Lancelot. Nor did Lancelot, it seemed, who ducked his gaze to the floor.

Arthur frowned as he realized something. "You're still staying with Merlin and Gaius."

"Yes."

"A knight should have his own chambers. I'm sorry, I should have thought of it the moment you returned."

"You were rather busy," Lancelot acknowledged. "And it's hardly a priority now."

"We're making progress with the repairs," Arthur countered. "I'll have Merlin see to it."

If he was going to make sure every one of his subjects had a bed to sleep in, that was going to include the hero who kept saving them all.

Later that night, another earthquake struck, though like the first it didn't cause any damage. But after that they became a daily occurrence, plaguing the castle for days and setting everyone on edge. Arthur had asked Lancelot what he thought of them, but the resurrected knight had no idea what they signified.

Then a patrol returned with a report that a great fissure was opening up in the earth to the north, lava leaking out from the edges and a fulvous red glow emanating from within. They had been too frightened to get closer for a better look.

Arthur and the rest of his court listened to the report grimly. "First darkness, then water, and now fire." He looked to Lancelot. "I suppose this is the next broken seal."

Lancelot nodded gravely. "It certainly sounds like it, Sire."

"We cannot stand against this," one of the knights spoke up.

Lancelot stepped forward to face Arthur. "I am your sword, my king. I will go out and face whatever threat is coming."

Arthur's jaw tightened. "I appreciate your courage, Sir Lancelot, but I will not send one man out to fight alone, no matter how powerful he is." He turned to address his knights. "Half of Camelot's army will set out to investigate this latest sign, while the other half will remain here in defense of the city. Get ready. We depart in half an hour."

Lancelot stood in the courtyard as the knights assembled, ready to march out on their king's order. Arthur was at the base of the steps, having a private moment with Guinevere before they departed. She gave him a tearful kiss, and then he reluctantly pulled away and signaled for them to head out.

Lancelot started after them but paused in front of Gwen. "I will protect him," he promised.

Her brows pinched in distress. "The last time you said that, you were the one who didn't come back."

"That was different," he assured her. "I didn't come this far to fail now."

With one last encouraging nod, he followed the train of knights out of the citadel. Merlin fell into step beside him, a sword hanging from his hip.

"I don't suppose that's the fancy sword forged in dragon's breath," Lancelot commented.

Merlin quirked a confused look at him, then shook his head with a grin. "No, Arthur carries that now. Though he doesn't know where it came from. He thinks it's an ancient sword pulled from a stone of destiny."

Lancelot furrowed his brows. "You'll have to tell me that one when we get back."

Merlin grinned wider. "Deal."

They marched north for a ways before the knights from the patrol reported that the fissure was just up ahead. Lancelot could see the steam rising into the air, and when they crested a small knoll, they found a long, jagged chasm, edges sticking up in the air like pieces of splintered bone. Half cooled molten rock bubbled at the base, and the air wobbled and glowed with the heat radiating up from the depths.

"So," Gwaine said, breaking the silence. "What now?"

"We need to close it, like with the Darkness," Lancelot said, and he shot a covert look at Merlin.

"And can you do that?" Arthur asked.

"I can try." The trick was how he was going to get Merlin's help without revealing the warlock's secret.

The earth suddenly shook violently, knocking several people off their feet. Steam spewed from the fissure as it groaned and widened. And then from deep within the bowels of the earth came a high-pitched screech.

A shadow rose up along one side of the rift as a hideous creature came crawling out. It moved on four legs, claws digging into the rock for purchase. Igneous flesh covered sleek muscles cracked with fiery veins, and its eyes glowed red as though lit with fire. It leaped from the rock cleft and landed on the grass, its footsteps singeing the grass and leaving blackened paw prints in its wake. Opening its maw to let out a vicious roar, it broke into a lope toward the knights.

Lancelot drew his sword and ran forward to meet it, swinging his blade straight at the creature's chest. It leaped over the arcing blade and landed behind him, spinning sharply with a snap of its jaws. Lancelot pivoted away and slashed at it again, scoring a gash across its flank that sent orange ichor splattering the ground with a sizzle. It screeched and lunged again.

Lancelot twisted out of the way and spun around to stab at its hindquarter. The demon howled. Lancelot cast his senses out for water but couldn't detect any nearby. Which was unfortunate, as that could have helped in a fight against a creature seemingly made of fire. He summoned up a gust of wind instead that flung a bunch of dirt into the beast's eyes. It reared back, thrashing its head, and Lancelot moved in to stab his blade through its chest. He then yanked it back out and danced away from the splashing embers as the creature fell dead.

"Lancelot!" Merlin shouted.

He went rigid as his senses registered movement behind him, and he turned to find several more demons climbing up out of the fissure, each one a hulking, snarling mass of sulfur and brimstone.

There was the screech of steel as the rest of the knights drew their swords from their scabbards.

Arthur let out a battle cry and led the charge.

Lancelot spun toward the new arrivals. Weaving his hand out to the side, he shoved a gust of wind at them, pushing several back over the ledge and into the crack. But many more were crawling out from the sides, and the knights of Camelot surged forward to meet them.

Lancelot threw himself into battle, cutting and slashing with the speed and relentless ferocity he had been trained in. But for every demon he cut down, two more emerged from the crevice. They had to close it.

Lancelot started pushing his way to the edge. Hot blood splashed his face and neck and burned, but he ignored it. He reached the top of the cleft and looked down into a gaping chasm that delved as far as the eye could see into fulvous fires far below. And as far down as he could see, demons were scrambling up the cliff sides to reach the surface.

Merlin appeared at his side, breathing heavily, and looked into the pit as well. "Is that the seal?" he asked, pointing to a glowing seam visible several feet down.

Lancelot nodded; that had to be it. He turned to his friend. "I'll lead you in."

Merlin gave a staunch nod, and they plunged into the crevice.

Lancelot leaped from foothold to foothold, slashing at demons so that they lost their purchase and went falling back into the pit. Merlin followed more precariously, sliding down rocky slopes and struggling not to lose his balance. Even though these creatures were made of fire, Lancelot still reached out to mentally grasp hold of the molten rivers and send them flying at the demons. The splash of lava also served to knock them free from their climbing and send them plummeting.

Merlin reached a ledge just above the broken seal and stretched out his hand, his voice reverberating with magic and eyes flaring gold. The ground shook under the forces, and Lancelot swung his arms wildly to keep from falling. The demons screeched in response and climbed faster as the sides of the rock walls began to slowly move back toward each other.

Lancelot leaped over Merlin to cut down a demon launching itself at him. He then spun back to ward off another. Others were frantically trying to escape out of the crevice before the gap sealed, and Lancelot could only hope Arthur and the knights could handle them.

The glowing edges were almost touching when one last demon leaped through the split. Lancelot pivoted to meet it, but the fusing of the seal sent a shockwave through the earth, and Lancelot finally lost his balance. The demon slammed into him, knocking him down and sending him rolling off the ledge. He grabbed the edge at the last second, elbow snapping taut as he stopped his fall. The rift to the underworld may have been closed, but there was still a gaping abyss stretching for miles beneath him.

Lancelot dangled, sword still in his other hand. He heard the skittering of claws on rock as the demon spun around to come at him again.

Merlin yelled a spell that sent it flying into the sheer rock face and plunging limply to the black pit below.

Lancelot gritted his teeth and struggled to lift himself with one arm. Merlin appeared at the top of the ledge and seized his wrist, pulling hard. But the rock walls above them were now beginning to collapse in on themselves, shards of rock and granite raining down around them.

"Get out, Merlin!" Lancelot shouted.

"No!"

Lancelot struggled to get his sword into its sheath so he could use his other hand to climb up, but his body was swinging too wildly. He could see the earth crashing down on top of their heads; there was no time.

And then a massive gust of wind hit Lancelot from below, propelling him upward. Merlin yelped as he was swept up too, and they were both sent flying up and out of the crevice a split second before it all collapsed in on itself, burying the chasm. The wind dropped them on the ground in a jolting tumble and tangle of limbs. Lancelot blinked dazedly, the sounds of fighting still going on around him.

Then the wind picked up even further, swirling up into a cyclone that spun around the battlefield and sucked up all the remaining demons. In a seething mass of blue and red, it then veered out toward the great sea, leaving everything still and silent.

Lancelot pushed himself up with a grunt. "You all right?" he asked Merlin.

Merlin groaned as he lifted his head from the ground. "Yeah."

They both looked toward the fissure. The soil and rock were in shambles, but the rift had been closed.

Arthur sprinted over, followed by the other knights. "Did you do that?"

Lancelot wasn't entirely sure which part he was referring to, but he decided to cover everything with one simple answer. "The elemental did that."

"I thought they were the enemy," Gwaine said.

"They're not evil," Merlin replied. "They were just angry because Morgana had enslaved one of their own. And since we set it free, I guess they figured that meant they owed us."

Everyone looked a bit too bewildered to question it.

"Are any more of those things going to start bursting out of the ground?" Percival asked warily. His bare arms were covered in several minor burns.

Lancelot looked back at the solid earth. "I think we've won yet again."

"Thanks to you," Arthur said.

Lancelot inclined his head, though the praise grated on him still. He turned to Merlin and lowered his voice as Arthur moved off to check on his other men. "You're the one Arthur should be thanking."

Merlin shrugged blithely. "It's not like I could have done it without you." He smiled. "We make a good team."

Lancelot smiled back. It was good to work with a partner again.

Morgana paced agitatedly, seething. Each of her attempts to destroy Arthur and Camelot had been thwarted, which should have been impossible! She didn't give up part of her soul in exchange for ultimate power for nothing. And yet here she was, swallowing the bitterness of defeat yet again. And not even because of Emrys, but because of Lancelot, back from the dead and possessing a magic she'd never seen. This shouldn't be happening. She was not going to stand for this commoner knight to ruin her plans.

She moved off through the woods until she came to the edge where she could see the knights of Camelot heading back to the city after their battle with the demons. That had been an unexpected development, but one that hadn't affected her plans. In fact, it had kept everyone busy while she prepared for her latest move.

She kept to the shadows, watching, waiting. When Sirs Gwaine and Percival stopped at the stream, her lips curved upward. Percival was carefully scooping water over his bare arms, taking his time with it and letting the train get ahead of them.

Morgana waited until they were isolated just enough and then made her move.