A/N: Now that that is out of the way, OMG ONLY AN HOUR UNTIL MERLIN RETURNS! I am bouncing around my room right now, and have bribed my family in to remaining silent and leaving me alone throughout the airing. You would have thought they would of learnt by now.

Uni kept distracting me and now that i have a job (FINALLY!) I'm going to be even more busy, but i will still find time to write this. I have had this chapter ready for a couple of days but was determined to post it today as a celebration. Things are really heating up now for our favourite Warlock and Knights. My lovely beta Kripkeisgod seems to find this chapter mean for some reason but whether you agree with her or not is up to you loyal readers.

I once again want to thank all the lovely people/humaniods who have read/reviewed/favourited/alerted or any combination. You have been my rock.

Now on with the show!

Chapter 8

Arthur rode slightly ahead of his knights, listening to their chatter. The Knights selected to accompany the King on this search party were all friends of Merlin and members of the round table Knights.

"...and then he jumps on the table and starts to dance. Man when Gaius told me Merlin couldn't hold his ale I had no idea he was understating." Gwaine's voice boomed over the laughter of his knights. They had been at it since they had left Camelot, telling stories and tales of the missing manservant. Of his clumsiness and low alcohol tolerance, of his hatred of hunting and insolence. Of the time when he 'accidentally' locked George in a storage room after the week Arthur had ordered him to teach Merlin as punishment? Hrm Arthur hadn't heard that one before.

The royal was startled by Gwaine addressing him.

"So Arty, do you have any stories to share. I'm sure Merlin's got up to all sorts when it's just the two of you." When all he received from the King was a scowl at the name, Gwaine continued. "Aw come on, don't be a spoil sport."

"Did it ever occur to you that I did not want to join in with your childish story telling? That I was looking for clues to where that Idiot could have gone instead of gossiping like little girls." Arthur's reply sent the knights into silence.

After a few minutes of tense silence, that seemed to last an eternity to the warriors, Leon nudged his mare to approach Arthur. The noble had known the young man the longest, and was familiar to pre-Merlin moods, when the then Prince was more arrogant and less free with his emotions. "Arthur, Sire. We miss him too. Gwaine is just handling his disappearance in a different way."

Arthur forcibly exhaled, running a hand over his tired eyes. "I know, it's just..."

The King was cut of by a horrifying scream that echoed from the east. Disturbed by the sound, Arthur drew his sword, the same one pulled from the stone during Morgana's last takeover. This move was mimicked by his Knights, who nervously looked around them, as if expecting what ever made that terrible sound to come crashing towards them. The worst part was that the sound, whilst frightening and unexpected, seemed familiar to the warriors, as if a dear friend was in pain and crying out for help.

"That was not a Pheasant." Gwaine mumbled. It was a testament to how disturbed the group was that not one member said anything or even looked at the hidden noble. Another scream echoed. "I cannot tell if that is human or an animal, although I'd say it was more the latter than the former."

"Well whatever it is, we better go see what's going on." The blonde royal turned his mount towards the east and rode onwards, this loyal friends behind him, all ignoring the silent 'Should we really be going towards something that sounds like that?' that should of been uttered by the missing man who none the less would be riding faithfully at his masters side.

The first thought that ran through Merlin's head as he came to awareness was that he was that he was going to murder, or at least severely prank, either Arthur or Gwaine, maybe both. He was sore all over, the kind of sore that only occurred after one of the clotpoles dragged him to into training or drinking.

The second thought was that the first thought was stupid. He was in a cave that much he knew, even without opening his eyes, an idea that seemed less and less attractive as time went on. The same cave he had been living in for the last month before the random and unprovoked pain attack.

The third thought was that he was actually having these thoughts largely interrupted. Oh sure, Merlin could feel the feral personality in the back of his mind, grumbling and demanding that they find the thing that hurt them and rip it to shreds, but the warlock could easily ignore that, proving that he was once again the dominate personality. Merlin could dance with joy, if there wasn't a lingering ache that ran down his body, from his snout, over his wings, to the tip of his tail.

Merlin froze as he ran that last notion over again. Snout, wings, tail! The warlock eyes snapped open as he rose up, whacking his head on the cave ceiling as he tried to stand on two legs. Startled he landed heavily on all fours, shaking his head and growling at his stupidity.

After the throbbing head had subsided a bit, Merlin looked down towards his hands. Instead of pale, long fingered human hands, large claws, covered with black scales that gave off a blue sheen in the light and a long golden talon sprouting from each toe was presented to him instead. The dragonlord stared, blinked then stared some more when the image did not disappear. Vaguely aware of what his meant, Merlin sighed before slowly raising his head and looking behind him, already knowing what he would see, but still hoping, praying that he was wrong.

He wasn't. Large, extremely large, wings were flared behind him, almost as black as the scales on his body but slightly translucent, taking an edge of the darkness. Golden spikes ran down the spine of the scaly body, becoming smaller as they wound down a lengthy tail.

He was a dragon. He was a dragon. He was a Dragon. No matter how many times Merlin said it to himself, the man ... err reptile could not fully comprehend it. Where was Kilgharrah when he needed him? No matter that the feral voice was growling that they didn't need that overgrown lizard, that they were perfectly capable of fending for themselves and the other dragon just wanted their territory, Merlin wanted his mentor because he was confused and slightly scared.

A sudden nose caused Merlin to whip around to the entrance of the cave. Scents carried by the breeze assaulted him. As the transformed man was reeling from his new senses, the feral side whispered in his ear, interpreting what his nose was telling him.

'Horses and Men.'It whispered. 'Five men to be precise. All smelling of metal, worry and fear. One who smells of fire and metal, more so than the rest. Another reaks of bear and chicken, of muscle and kindness. The third has the scent of ale surrounding him that is masked slightly by the scent of freedom, nobility and strength. The fourth is of death, touched by its cold hand many times but yet escaping by the fierce willpower and belief that hangs from him like a fog. And the last. He reeks of courage, of greatness. He smells faintly of magic, not as strong as a sorcerer but touched noneless. It is familiar, dancing around him as if protecting the man. It is ours, our magic that clings to him, that claims him of ours to protect. This man is OURS!'

Merlin reared back in alarm at that final statement. What was that about? Before he could consider it any further, five figures walked into view, proving his other self right about there being five men. As Merlin got a closer look at the newcomers he couldn't help groan in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

The Knights rode swiftly towards where they felt the sound had originated from. Bursting into a clearing, the warriors were confronted by a cliff face that was littered with caves of all sizes. The men dismounted and drew their swords, still unnerved by the scream.

Arthur had just signaled the Knights to start searching the area when a muffled thump and growl emerged from a large cave to the far left and about a third of the way up the face of the cliff. As one, the knights turned and stared, searching for a way up.

"There." Elyan whispered, pointing to a path that seemed to wind its way upwards.

"That was lucky."

Arthur had to agree, it seemed that his good fortune had once again made itself known. He had noticed that he was extremely lucky. He had secretly labeled Merlin as his good luck charm, as when the Manservant was around, things always seemed to go there way. Hope flared inside the king at this thought. Maybe this stroke of luck means Merlin is alive and not far away.

Swiftly, the Royal started the trek up the path, his loyal friends behind him. At the mouth of the cave, he held up his hand. Seeing that his companions had stopped, Arthur inhaled and poked his head around the corner. It was too dark to see anything other than a large lump at the back of the cave. Steeling himself, Arthur nodded at the knights and entered.

It didn't take long for the lump to become definable and when it did the men of Camelot froze. Distantly, Arthur heard Leon curse, and the blonde man could not blame him, feeling the urge to copy him.

There in front of the five Knights was a creature out of their nightmares, a member of a race that had once almost razed Camelot to the ground.

There was a Dragon.

It was smaller, and possibly younger, than the beast that had attacked Camelot all those years ago but, and Arthur hated to admit it, was just as magnificent, although there were differences between the two. It's scales where black, a raven colour that shimmed blue although the larger, tougher plates that made up its chest and underbelly were more ebony. Curiously a large triangle at the base of his neck that thinned as they circled around the back were a Pendragon red, drawing the eye and strangely reminding the King of those ridiculous scarf's Merlin was so fond of. Large, webbed flap things sprouted from its head (were those it's ears?), and the same translucent webbing covered strong bones and created the impressive wings that flared behind it. Deadly golden talons sprouted from wicked claws, the unusual colour matched by the horns of its crown and the spikes that ran down the length of its spine to the tip of its tail. But what really drew Arthur were its eyes. Topaz flecked blue started out at him, fear and confusion swimming in familiar orbs.

What happened next was the icing on the cake for the king. The dragon, opened his mouth and spoke in a gravelly voice.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

A/N:As it's a good day you can have two Jokes of the chapter. First an Arthurian themed

What do you call it when all the knights trade places at the round table?

The KNIGHT shift

and a magic one

What happened when the magician got mad?

He pulled his hare out