Chapter 11: The Road To Camelot

Those who were out late in London shot the group odd looks, surveying the odd costumes that most of them wore, along with the monkey that was currently on Beth's shoulder, and the flowers all over Merlin.

"Man, how can it be even more miserable out here?" Nick complained as he looked up at the sky. Rain drizzled from the dark clouds in the sky, and a cold wind blew through the air.

"It is winter, yknow," Beth shrugged, but pulled her hoody even closer around her.

"You would be a lot more mocking if you weren't so sad looking," Nick told her.

"You know I hate the cold," Beth grumbled. Nick grinned at her discomfort, but it faded as he saw her eyes changing colour. They would turn silver, then back to brown, slowly, but the silver was dulling to more of a grey. He frowned, before realisation finally hit him. How had he missed it?

He knew Beth had a connection to the Tablet. She'd told him about it when she and his dad had returned from the Smithsonian, how it had allowed her to use all of her powers. That was why she'd lost control of her Earth power when the others had lost control in the British museum.

"Damn," Nick muttered under his breath. The power was fading from the Tablet, and just like the exhibits of the Natural History museum, Beth was getting weaker and weaker. If they didn't restore the Tablet, she'd die too. He clenched his fists tightly. It was his fault. He was the one who had trusted Lancelot, and the man had used him to get the Tablet. If he hadn't been there, Lancelot couldn't have used him. And he wouldn't have been there if he hadn't been rebelling against his dad and thrown that party.

A hand rested on his shoulder, snapping him from his self-deprecating thoughts. He glanced up at Ahkmenrah, who smiled at him weakly. His skin was turning greyer by the minute, and he looked about ready to collapse. But he remained standing, and kept up with the rest of the group of oddballs.

"It's not your fault, you know," his voice was quiet to spare Nick and embarrassment.

"How..."

"I know the look of guilt when I see it. I've seen it in my own expression many time," the Pharaoh admitted. "I do not blame Lancelot either. We could have told him the truth before, but instead we let him continue his delusion under the belief that he was alive. He has been pushed far in his search for this...Holy Grail. He simply led his beliefs drive him too far," Ahkmenrah told the boy.

"Right...but if I wasn't here-"

"We may not even have gotten this far," Ahkmenrah finished for him. "You helped fight off that snake creature before, with the bravery I've seen in you since you were small and riding on the back of a dinosaur skeleton through Central Park," Nick couldn't help but laugh at the memory of his first night with everyone.

"Thanks, Ahk," he grinned to his friend, who nudged him lightly with his elbow and continued walking.

"Hey, you lads already missed Halloween!" one person called out, laughing to himself as if this was the funniest thing they could hear. Beth rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, that one's real funny. At least, the first thousand times you hear it," Beth muttered, irritated. Sacagawea suddenly strode forwards and crouched by a newspaper that had been left on the ground, damp from the poor weather of the evening.

"He came this way...travelling four leagues per hour," she said as Larry crouched beside her.

"Ohh, lookie here!" a female English voice cooed, and they looked up quickly, just in time for several large statues of Angels to land in front of them. "How cute!" one giggled, moving around Nick as he followed her, eyes wide.

"Well, he's definitely been this way," Ahkmenrah spoke dryly as the Angels giggled.

"Hey, ladies, sorry, but we're kinda in a hurry, so-"

"Yeah, go on then," one made a shooing motion at Larry, barely even looking at him as she smiled at Merlin. "But you can stay, right?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at the Wizard.

"Well..I suppose..."

"Merlin!" Beth exclaimed, hands on her hips. She then found herself being pushed out of the way as the third approached Ahkmenrah.

"How about it, cutie? Let's ditch these freaks," she giggled at him. He blinked back, taken aback and not quite sure how to react.

"Excuse me, but we kinda need to-"

"Yeah, yeah, you're in a hurry, we heard you," the Angel interrupted Beth, not even looking at her. "So get going," using her stone wings, she batted Beth away. The young woman stumbled into Larry, before letting out a growl.

"Enough! Get out of here!" her eyes turned silver and a gust of wind kicked up, battering the angels and making them shriek.

"What a freak!"

"Let's get out of here ladies!"

"Yeah, I think I saw an even cuter guy at the pub!" the three took to the air despite their heavy stone bodies and wings, and the winds died down. Beth groaned as her vision swam, and she sank to the ground.

"English Angels...wow," Nick murmured, watching them go.

"Yeah...wow..." Merlin smiled dreamily.

"Yeah. Wow," Beth repeated in a flat tone.

"Are you alright my dear?" Teddy and Ahkmenrah helped her up as best they could in their weak states.

"Urgh...dizzy," Beth groaned, her eyes closed.

"You need to be careful," Merlin told her as she stood, a hand still to her head. "Your powers are dwindling, and to use them unnecessarily-"

"Okay, since you were pretty much a drooling mess the moment they landed, you don't get to speak," Beth snapped at him,and Merlin took a step back in alarm at her glare. "Let's just find the idiot," she sighed heavily.

"But where the devil could he be?" Teddy wondered. Larry frowned, looking around, before his eyes settled on a sign nearby at a bus stop.

"Come on!" he shouted, leading the way. When they saw where he was going, both Beth and Merlin stopped.

"Oh, you're kidding," both chimed simultaneously.

"Just follow me!" Larry yelled back at them, hurrying to catch the bus before it left.

"I hope we have enough change," Merlin muttered.

If her headache hadn't been growing steadily worse, along with the nausea and exhaustion that came with the Tablet losing its power, Beth might have laughed in disbelief at their situation. She looked out the window of the bus they were travelling on in their attempt to find Lancelot, barely taking in the sights as people tried – and failed miserably – to pretend that they weren't staring at the odd group.

The awkward quiet of the bus was broken as a loud sneeze made Beth flinch. Feeling something in her hair, she sighed as she pulled a marigold free, and frowned at the man sitting next to her.

"I thought you were losing your powers like me?" Beth asked Merlin in a quiet voice, trying not to sound as irritated as she felt. He pulled a red rose from his sleeve, admiring it in the artificial light.

"I am," he confirmed with a nod as he smelled it and sighed almost wistfully. "First is the loss of control, as you'd know," Beth glanced away. "And Lancelot's little tap to my noggin didn't help me with that at all," Merlin complained, before smiling and offering the rose to a pretty girl who was trying not to stare. She blushed deeply, and mumbled her thanks as she took it. Her blush grew, spreading to her ears, as he winked at her.

"I can't believe this. The dying Tablet has been stolen by a knight from legend who believes he's real. We're on a bus trying to find him, and you're picking up women," Beth muttered in a dry tone.

"Well," Merlin shrugged as he didn't take his eyes off the girl. "This might be my last night alive. Excuse me for trying to live a little," he defended, turning a smile on her instead. Beth rolled his eyes at his choice of words.

Everyone jumped, and a couple of people shrieked, when the stars that were settled around Larry's head, suddenly moved and changed form. Pegasus whinnied as he tried to stretch his wings and failed miserably, before changing back to star form at Larry's hiss.

"Seriously man, just stay still for a little while longer," he scolded the constellation, which shimmered in response. His scowl faded a little as he realised that the stars weren't shining as brightly as they usually did. In fact, they were starting to become dull, and were slower in movement. When he met Beth's eye, he knew he wasn't the only one who had noticed this. He then sighed heavily, and realised two kids were openly staring. "What's up?" he greeted. The two kids didn't answer, instead they continued gaping at them, singling in on the three miniatures that were holding onto the bar on the top of the seats.

"We're just as God made us," Jedidiah called. Again, greeted with silence and stares. "Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer!" he goaded, growing irritated. Claudia punched him, and he yelped. "Hey!"

"Don't start fights with kids!" she snapped, before hearing an audible click. Beth put a hand to her face, seeing one of the kids taking pictures on her phone. Larry raised an eyebrow at the two, before a quiet hiss from their mother had the two kids turn to face the front quickly. However, before long, they were turning back, and resumed their open staring.

"This is us," Larry quickly stood as the theatre came into view.

"Thank god," Nick sighed with relief, also clearly over the awkward bus ride. Beth hummed in her agreement, and the group quickly departed the bus full of gaping strangers. Beth, however, did not miss the girl with the rose slip Merlin her number as he passed her, and he pocketed it with a wink and a confident smile.

"Well, that would have to be the worst bus journey of my life," Beth declared, pulling flowers from her hair still. She shot Merlin a half-hearted glare. "I can't believe you took that girl's number," she muttered.

"You got a girl's number?" Nick asked, sounding mildly envious.

"When you've got it...you've got it," Merlin gave a casual shrug that reeked of arrogance.

"Careful, you're getting like Lancelot with that cocky attitude," Beth warned him. That quickly deflated the wizard's attitude. "Where to now, Larry?" she turned to the man after.

"Yeah, are you sure he's even here?" Nick nodded, looking dubious at the theatre.

"Take a look at what's showing," Larry pointed to the sign, which read Camelot in bright lettering. "Lancelot said he was riding to Camelot when he took the Tablet," he explained.

"And you think he would come here. That's not bad reasoning," Beth nodded in agreement. "But we can't be entirely sure he would actually-"

"Mystery!" Merlin shrieked suddenly, taking off as the others jumped in alarm. He ran to a beautiful white horse that stood nearby patiently. "The bad man didn't hurt you, did he?" Merlin cooed, hugging the horse around the neck. Mystery snorted and let him as Beth and Larry signed in exasperation.

"He's way too attached to that horse," Larry commented. Beth hummed her agreement. Pegasus changed to his winged form suddenly with a snort, and butted Larry with his head. "Not that it's a bad thing!" Larry said quickly, stumbling as Beth smiled tiredly.

"Aw, he's jealous. Quick Larry, give him a hug," she teased. Pegasus snorted again as Larry glared at the girl.

"Later, okay? Merlin, deal with your separation anxiety later, we have to find Lancelot!" he shouted to the wizard, who was talking to Mystery as if he were a small child. Mystery nudged Merlin, snickering, before munching on the daisies conjured for him.

"It'll be sugar cubes for you once we get the Tablet restored," Merlin promised, before hurrying back to the group.

"Let's go," Larry nodded to his friends, opening the door and leading the way inside.

Hurrying through the foyer, Larry heard screams of alarm, and spotted a nervous looking usher peering through a doorway.

"Excuse me!" he called, making the boy jump. He whirled around, and Larry found he didn't look much older than Nick. His eyes went wide when he took in the group.

His eyes darted from the American who spoke, wearing a security guard's uniform, to the boy beside him with a monkey on his shoulder, to the massive man who had an intense look in his eyes, wearing armour that only boosted his size. Behind them was a woman in native American garb, helping to support a man who resembled Teddy Roosevelt, who appeared to be having problems with his arms. They were held out awkwardly in front of him, and didn't seem to move at all.

Beside them was a skinny young man in a tunic, muttering something about a tool stealing his horse, as the pretty girl beside him rolled her eyes. She would have seemed the most normal of the group, if not for the strange, dim lights that surrounded her. Not to mention how she was helping to support a young man who appeared around the same age, wearing Ancient Egyptian robes and a crown. His skin was ash grey, and he looked as sick as the others. None of them looked like they should be running around in the middle of a rainy night in costumes.

"Y-yeah," the boy finally found his voice as he realised he was staring at them.

"You don't happen to have seen a guy running around in armour? Blond hair, blue eyes-"

"Completely insane."

"Bit of a twat," Larry shot Merlin and Beth another glare at their input. They looked innocent, before hearing another scream.

"Uh...you don't mean the guy freaking out on stage and scaring the audience, do you?" the usher gulped, pointing to the door. "I'm so fired," he groaned as more screaming echoed. The group moved, with Larry pulling the boy out of the way just in time to avoid the mass exodus of people.

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