Chapter 8: Earth

Groaning as her body smarted from the fall, Claudia looked around the area she had landed, and frowned.

"It's a Roman city," she realised, taking in her surroundings. "Something about this place...it's very familiar," she murmured, getting to her feet. It was then she realised how quiet it was. "Now where did those idiots land?" Claudia wondered aloud, and with a sigh, she shook her head. "I should stop calling them idiots," she muttered, starting to walk.

Unlike the main hall, the Asian exhibit was quiet and tranquil.

"This place..." Beth murmured as she looked around. "It's so beautiful," she smiled, and stood in front of a glass case with a scroll inside. A waterfall had been painted on the scroll, and the water painted flowed steadily. "It's just like the paintings in the Smithsonian, it's awesome," she smiled widely at the view.

"Beth, don't get lost again," Larry warned without looking up from his phone. Beth blushed furiously.

"One time," she grumbled, straightening up. She took another moment to study the scrolls around her, all coming to life, and rejoined the group. Ahkmenrah fell into step beside her, and she glanced up. He saw the wariness in her expression, and looked away.

"I'm sorry," he spoke quietly. For a moment, Beth didn't speak, keeping her gaze cool and ahead. Something stirred in his stomach at the action, unpleasant and full of fear. Then, she sighed, and caught his hand. Their fingers linked together, and Beth smiled softly.

"You're such an idiot sometimes," she told him. He blinked, surprised by her words. Beth laughed at the man who was still unused to insults. Before, nobody would have dared to do so, and even now very few did. Then, he smiled back at Beth, deciding he wasn't offended by her words. It was definitely the truth. She then reached up and kissed his cheek, before letting his hand go and walking on.

"It must be difficult sometimes," Merlin commented to Beth as she caught up with him. His eyes had been on Lancelot, who was talking with Nick.

"Huh?" Beth frowned, not understanding.

"Being in love with the Pharaoh who only lives at night," Merlin met her gaze, and Beth's steps faltered. She quickly caught herself and moved quickly to keep up with him. Merlin's smile was a little sad as he watched her.

"I..." Beth started, before shrugging. "I told myself from the start that it'd never work. I was stupid to let myself get too close, but here we are," she told him, and smiled. It was sad, but at the same time there wasn't any regret. "But I love him. I was lucky enough to find him again. I'm not strong enough to let go," she shook her head.

"Even if you'll age and he won't?" there was something in Merlin's gaze, a curiosity. "Even though you live and he does not?" he probed.

"Yes," Beth answered honestly. "Because I'm happy to have the chance to be with him now; a chance I lost a long time ago," she shrugged.

"Huh. Alright," Merlin smiled back at her, before they heard metal clinking towards them. A small winged figure blocked their path, speaking in a different language.

"Hey guy," Larry greeted. "We're just, just passing through," he explained. The creature looked in the direction that he had pointed, and quickly shook his head, speaking again frantically.

"It's a Garuda, from Tibet," Teddy explained.

"Garuda huh? It's a mythological bird god," Beth commented as she peered at it curiously. "It's been depicted as the God Vishnu's mount, supposedly large enough to blot out the sun," she said.

"How do you know that?" Nick frowned at her. Beth arched an eyebrow at him.

"What? I'm allowed to know things y'know," she defended, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, but normally your weird extensive knowledge is Egyptian deities," the boy argued. Beth shrugged.

"I branch out," she explained, and grinned. "And I have played a lot of video games too," Beth added. Nick grinned. Now there was something they had in common.

"Okay, hey Garuda, cool," Larry tried to walk past him, but the Garuda blocked his path, darting where he would step and continuing to speak rapidly. "Alright, you know what buddy? I gotta get through, I don't have time for this," Larry sighed heavily, quickly growing tired of dancing around with the creature.

"I believe he's warning us about the massive nine-headed snake creature that's sleeping in the next room," Merlin's casual words made them all stop, and look around. "I mean, I think that's what he said. My Tibetan is a little rough," he shrugged.

"Wait...what?" Beth blinked at him rapidly.

"What?" Merlin tilted his head.

"What was that...about an nine-headed snake monster?" Nick asked slowly.

"Oh, uh," Merlin's brow furrowed a little. "I think the Garuda was saying about it, that's why he won't let us pass," he gestured to the golden creature, who nodded, continuing to speak. "Xiang...liu?" he repeated slowly. He then shrugged again. "No clue. Like I said, I'm rusty," he smiled. Larry frowned, and moved around the Garuda, peering in. His eyes widened when he saw the snake-like creature sleeping, but when it moved, he turned quickly, gesturing to the others.

"Get back," he hissed, and they ducked behind the walls.

"A dragon!" Lancelot's blue eyes shone with excitement.

"Oh no," Merlin groaned. "Lancelot, it is not a dragon," he told the man firmly.

"Xiangliu..." Beth read the information beside her. "Oh, it's a mythical snake demon. No wonder Garuda here was warning us," she glanced to the small creature, who nodded, chattering.

"What's he saying now?" Nick asked quietly.

"At least one of you is smart," Merlin translated. Beth giggled.

"Thank you," she said to the Garuda, who spoke again.

"Especially smarter than that-oi! That's rude," Merlin scolded, looking insulted. The others hushed him as the Xiangliu moved a little.

"Well, whatever it is, it looks like a dragon," Lancelot spoke up again. "I say we kill it," he decided.

"What? No!" Larry frowned at him. "It's asleep," he pointed out.

"You're right. It's not very sporting to kill it while it's asleep," Lancelot accepted with a shrug. His eyes lit up again. "Let's wake it up, then kill it," he suggested. "I shall go first, and I shall take the boy," Lancelot glanced to Nick. Merlin put a hand to his face.

"Great, he's found his new Galahad," he muttered irritably. Nick frowned at the idea.

"What do you-no! You're not gonna take the boy," Larry hissed.

"Why not?" Lancelot frowned at him.

"Because he's a boy!" Larry argued.

"Larry, there comes a time in every man's life when he must slay his own dragon," Lancelot told him seriously.

"Lancelot, I don't think this is a good idea," Merlin spoke quickly, raising his hands. "Things aren't as you know them here, Nick isn't-"

"Oh, of course you object," Lancelot rolled his eyes. "Never one to do the deed and slay a dragon. You were always one for using your fancy tricks to run away from the battle," he complained. Merlin looked insulted, his smile fully vanishing for the first time.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to keep following Dex's signal," Beth spoke up before Merlin could speak.

"She's right. We're gonna go around, now come on," Larry moved around the wall and around the Xiangliu. The others followed as quietly as they could. With a huff, Lancelot followed too, clanking in his metal armour.

Claudia wandered through the miniature city, looking around for signs of anyone.

"Was this assembled with no miniatures? Where is everyone?" she wondered, folding her arms as she glanced into a building. Hearing a noise, she immediately drew her sword. "Who's there?" she called, her dark eyes scanning the empty streets.

"Don't hurt me," the shaky voice spoke, before a small child peered out the window. "Please," he pleaded with her. Claudia frowned, before returning her sword to her side. She smiled, crouching.

"It's okay, I won't. Come out," she coaxed, and after a moment, the dark haired young boy emerged, sniffing. Tears lingered in his grey eyes. "What's your name?" she asked him.

"Cassius," he whimpered, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Okay, Cassius, I'm Claudia," the General smiled at him. He managed a shaky smile back at her. "Can you tell me where we are?" Claudia asked as he approached her.

"Um...Pompeii," his answer made her freeze.

"Oh...of all the places," she groaned, looking up. In the distance, she spotted a massive volcano, and it was smoking violently. "Come on," she grabbed the little boy and lifted him into her arms. He cried out as she sprinted through the city, and clung to her. After a moment, she spotted two others standing looking around.

"Hey!" Octavius waved to her when he spotted her.

"Oh, you survived?" Jedidiah arched an eyebrow.

"Just to spite you, I assure you," Claudia spat when she reached them.

"Who's the kid?" he asked with a frown.

"Forget that. We need to move," Claudia shook her head quickly, making them frown.

"What? Why?" Jedidiah demanded, not about to obey the woman who had been fighting with him since they'd met. She was arrogant, and acted like Octavius before they'd started to get along. Plus, he didn't really appreciate being called an idiot all the time. Claudia groaned.

"Because of where we are!" she gestured behind them, as the ground began to shake. They looked up, just in time to see magma burst from the volcano.

"Oh...Pompeii," Octavius realised, glancing to Jedidiah. Claudia sighed.

A moment later, the three were running from the lava, screaming loudly.

The Xiangliu snored loudly, curled up in the middle of the room as the group crept around it. They were about halfway through, when an eerie green light filled the room, coming from the Tablet. Ahkmenrah suddenly found himself unable to breathe, and slumped back as Larry turned, barely catching him.

"No, the..." Beth stopped, putting her hands to her head.

"Beth?" Nick frowned, seeing her reaction. She glanced up weakly at him, and he found her eyes had turned green. She tried to speak, but only a whimper escaped as her head pulsed. The ground began to tremor, making them all stumble, before Teddy started to yell.

"Beth, Teddy!" Larry yelled as Merlin stumbled and fell to the ground, tripping as the ground continued to shake. Behind him, Attila waved his hand in front of Sacagawea's face as she froze. Beth sank to the ground as she struggled to regain control, but the harder she tried, the more it slipped away. Her head pulsed with pain, and the ground visibly shook. The Xiangliu could sleep through it no longer, and lifted one head. Attila, seeing this, screamed in fear.

"Attila! Teddy!" Larry yelled, struggling to hold Ahkmenrah up. Still screaming, Attila ran to cling to Larry, and the Xiangliu uncurled, revealing all of its heads.

"Fantastic, it's awake!" Lancelot grinned, drawing his sword. "Now we can kill it!" he declared. He ran to attack it, but not only was it metal, but the shaking ground made it hard to keep standing.

"Dad!" Nick yelled, ducking to avoid one of the heads that snapped at him.

"Nicky!" Larry managed to untangle himself from Attila and carefully lowered Ahkmenrah to the ground.

"I'll get the boy!" Lancelot ran to Nick as Larry was caught by one of the snakes, which wrapped around him and hauled him through the air.

"Larry!" Merlin got back up and lifted his hand. A purple light that sparked lit up his palm, and flew at the Xiangliu. It hit the snake, which hissed loudly and dropped Larry, only for another to catch the man. Merlin frowned and held his hand up again, only for another to lash out at the wizard. He quickly changed spells, calling on a forcefield that the snake hit and bounced off. It hissed loudly at Merlin, who grinned, before the ground shook and suddenly moved beneath his feet. "Beth, stop!" Merlin pleaded as the ground lifted him into the air and he stumbled.

"I'm trying!" Beth cried, and put a hand to her mouth as nausea ran through her. Her power over earth ran rampant, taking control of her instead. Merlin cried out as his forcefield shattered with his movements, and Pegasus reformed in front of him. Merlin stumbled, and with a shriek, the constellation slammed into him. Merlin hit the wall, and sank to the ground beside Ahkmenrah and Attila, his head lowered. Pegasus then shattered into stars again, and swirled around, butting Lancelot and almost making him hit Nick with his sword.

Beth felt hot tears run down her face as the pain continued in a constant stream, and the tug of the earth continued in her stomach; a low rumbling feeling that overwhelmed her.

"Beth!" hearing Larry's yell, she looked up, and found a snake staring at her. It darted at her, only for Larry to leap onto it, knocking it off course before it moved away, hurling Larry through the air.

The miniatures ran through the streets of Pompeii as lava filled it, trying to find a way out.

"This way!" Jedidiah yelled, turning down an alley, only to skid to a stop. He stumbled backwards to avoid the lava seeping towards him, and they backed away from the lava, finding themselves trapped.

"Move!" Claudia pulled Jedidiah away from the lava spilling down another street, and they backed away into a doorway. Cassius whimpered, burying his face into Claudia's neck.

"Looks like this is the last roundup, best slap on the barbecue sauce boy," Jedidiah gulped, unable to find a way out. Hearing a roar above, they looked up to see a figure emerge from the smoke.

"Dexter?" Claudia frowned. He grinned at them, and their eyes widened.

"No...no, no, no, you wouldn't!" Jedidiah yelled in horror. Dexter's grin widened.

"He must," Octavius sighed.

It felt like Beth had been out of control for hours, just like with her fire power. Every time she thought she'd regained control, it slipped farther out of her reach. The ground around her was warped, almost surrounding her completely. Nearby, the exhibits were completely overwhelmed by the Tablet, and Pegasus seemed to be determined to get Lancelot killed by the Xiangliu.

"Clear!" looking up, she saw Larry land on the base of the Xiangliu with a defibrillator. Electricity blasted through the snake-like monster, making it roar in pain.

Pushing Claudia behind them, Octavius and Jedidiah took the full brunt of Dexter's pee, which caused the approaching lava to cool and harden.

"We must never speak of what happened here today," Octavius said. As they went to move, they were sprayed again.

"Come on! That wasn't necessary!" Jedidiah yelled up at the monkey, who smiled innocently. Cassius giggled, a little more relaxed now that the threat was over.

"That monkey has real issues," Claudia grumbled.

"You didn't even get hit," Jedidiah grumbled as Dexter scampered down to meet them.

"Right..." Claudia's brow furrowed. "Thank you, for that," she nodded, and set the boy in her arms down. "Go find your family," she encouraged, and the little boy smiled brightly at her.

"Thank you!" he hugged her around the waist, making her stiffen at the sudden contact. She awkwardly patted his head, and the little boy ran off. Jedidiah snorted.

"You'd have thought the kid was gonna come at you harder than a buffalo stampede, the way you carried on," he taunted, and Claudia's eyes narrowed. Instead of responding, she punched his arm hard, making him yelp in pain. Without a word, she stalked over to Octavius, missing his grin.

The Xiangliu spasmed as electricity ran through it, before collapsing, unconscious, as Larry finally lifted the paddles he had in his hands.

"These things really do save lives," he commented softly. Nearby, the Garuda chittered, jumping about and pretending to be electrocuted before falling over. As it got up and shuffled away, the ground stopped shaking. Beth, finally feeling her rampant earth power fade, was able to catch her breath, and slumped over, exhausted. The Tablet stopped emitting the eerie green glow, and the others came to their senses.

"Are you alright?" Teddy asked, helping Ahkmenrah to his feet. He nodded silently, staring at the Tablet in his hands. "Are you alright my dear?" he turned to Sacagawea, who hummed a weak confirmation.

"Bloody hell, that hurt," Merlin complained as he woke, putting a hand to his head. Pegasus snorted as he reformed beside him, and the wizard scowled at him. When the winged horse snorted and putted his head gently to his, Merlin sighed and patted his neck. He then sneezed suddenly, and flowers exploded around him, taking Pegasus by surprise. "Whoops, thought I had a handle on that," Merlin commented. Pegasus snorted again and butted him lightly, making Merlin smile softly. "It's alright, I forgive you," he told him. Pegasus shattered into stars again, and floated over to where Ahkmenrah was helping Beth up.

"Are you alright?" he asked her softly. She shook her head, gripping his arms as she tried to remain standing.

"My head feels like I stuck it in a vice," Beth complained, and let him go to put her hands to her head. "Larry, I'm sorry-"

"Forget about it, it wasn't your fault," he shook his head, raising a hand. "You're in the same boat as these guys. Nobody was hurt, it's okay," Larry said as Beth still looked guilty. He jumped down from the still smoking statue, and looked to Nick. "You okay?" he asked the boy, who nodded.

"Yeah, thanks," he grinned, out of breath after having helped Lancelot. Larry frowned, seeing the blood trickle from his cheek where Lancelot had caught him, having stumbled due to Beth's out of control powers.

"You're hurt," Larry approached him, and Nick quickly wiped away the blood.

"It's nothing, just a scratch," he insisted. The boy jumped when Merlin suddenly leaned in close, studying it.

"Yep, just a scratch," he confirmed. He then poked it, making Nick yelp.

"What the hell, man?!" he demanded, putting a hand to his cheek. "What kinda crazy pokes a guy's-oh," he realised that the stinging sensation was gone, and lowered his hand to show the cut was gone. Merlin grinned at him and strode off to speak with Attila, who was surprised that he spoke the same language.

"Maybe I should have stayed in New York. Maybe I should have stayed in the van...I'm just putting everyone in danger," Beth muttered, tears in her eyes. She knew Nick's injury was her fault.

"Bet, with that logic, we all should have stayed behind," Ahkmenrah pointed out with a smile. She frowned, knowing he was right. "You are this Tablet's guardian, and we will find find out the answer together," he told her confidently. Beth sighed, shaking her head, before smiling back softly.

"Hopefully we'll get those answers from your...parents..." Beth's smile faded as she considered it. Nerves flitted in her stomach like butterflies at the idea of meeting them again. It had been a long time, and she doubted they were any less intimidating. When Ahkmenrah touched her arm, curious at her sudden change, she forced a smile. "Hey Larry, we really need to stop trashing other museums," she called over, looking at the mess around them.

"That was all you," Larry called back.

"Oh yeah?" Beth arched an eyebrow. "Who flew the plane through the window?" Larry blushed crimson, and didn't answer.

"Awesome work with the snake monster, dude," Merlin praised as he pulled Larry's flashlight from the jaws of one of the snake heads.

"I thought you were English. And from like, medieval times," Larry arched an eyebrow as he took back the flashlight. Merlin shrugged.

"You pick up some things. Besides, Ahkmenrah is Egyptian, and his English is flawless," he glanced to the Pharaoh, who looked up at the mention of his name, wondering what they were discussing. "Can't a guy pick up some slang once in a while?" Merlin grinned, but it faded a little when he saw Nick and Lancelot clapped their hands together in a handshake.

Dexter jumped down from his high-perch and ran to the three miniatures who remained, chittering brightly.

"Better let Larry know we're okay," Jedidah pulled at his soaked clothes. "Turn around," he ordered the monkey, and Dexter obeyed, sitting so they could use the phone on his back. "Larry and Beth are probably worried about us," the cowboy muttered. Claudia rolled her eyes and watched as the two opened the camera, and took a picture together.

"I say I should stop calling them idiots but..." she sighed.

"Anyone seen my phone?" Larry called when he realised it wasn't in his pocket any more. The others shook their heads, and they began searching for the device that allowed them to follow Dexter.

"His what?" Lancelot muttered to Merlin, who sighed.

"The thing he uses to find his friends," the wizard explained.

"Ah," Lancelot nodded, as if understanding. Merlin just watched him, waiting. Lancelot paused, and leaned in again. "And how does that work?" he asked. Merlin sighed.

"I miss Arthur," he complained under his breath.

"Uh, Larry?" Beth spotted the phone, and crouched to lift it from under the Xiangliu. "Problem," she held it out to him, and the man took it from her. He studied the smashed screen, and pressed the lock button, but it was completely dead.

"How are we going to find them now?" Ahkmenrah asked, seeing the state of the phone. Larry didn't reply, trying to think of something as Teddy approached.

"Lawrence...I fear we've turned a corner," the former president lifted his arm, and Beth put a hand to her mouth. "I'm becoming wax again son," Teddy admitted, and Larry paled.

"The Tablet, it's degrading faster and faster," Beth spoke softly. "At this rate...I doubt we'll make it to the end of the night," she warned.

"We?" Nick repeated with a frown. Larry watched Beth, taking in her paler than usual face. She looked sick, but he knew she wouldn't leave him to do it while she rested. He struggled to maintain a relatively calm expression as these things continued to pile up. Teddy, the first one to greet him; the one who helped him when he had first come to the museum, was turning back into a wax statue, and if they failed, he wouldn't come back.

And Beth. She had said it was only her powers that were connected to the Tablet, so she would lose those if the magic failed, but Larry could see that wasn't the case. She looked as ill as Ahkmenrah did, both pale and clammy. His heart pounded against his chest at the idea of her dying as well. He'd saved Beth's life from descendants of Kahmunrah's followers; he'd watched her become family to the exhibits of the museum. Family to him and Nick.

"Alright, we'll look for them later. We gotta get to Egypt, now," Larry turned away at last, inhaling quietly.

"Wait, shouldn't we keep looking for the others?" Nick frowned as they started walking again, stepping over the Xiangliu.

"Nick is right. A true knight never shirks his duties," Lancelot commented. Larry stopped, looking around as the others passed, following Beth.

"Yeah, well if we don't get to Egypt soon, we're not gonna save anybody," Larry warned them, turning and walking away. Merlin watched, worried, before glancing to Lancelot and Nick. He then hurried on, and the two followed behind them.

Hope you liked it! And to the reviewer who asked about who I saw as Merlin, I picked Gavin Free of the Slow Mo Guys and Rooster Teeth, a lot of Merlin's goofy nature, was influenced by him, as well as Merlin from Disney's Sword in the Stone.

Let me know what you think!

Please Review!