Hi guys. Omg, I finally got this chapter done. I've been jumping around for a few days. (Damn you school...) Anyway, I have a long chapter up. My fingers hurt. (Oh gods, its The Matchmakers all over again. Lol!) So here is the next chapter for The Fountain of Time!

Disclaimer, I own nothing! (I also don't own The Mummy Returns)

The Fountain of Time

Chapter 4

Anzu woke up with a jolt, still in the dark cool hole with her sisters and the two cats. The cheetah, Tena, was purring softly while Kasmut had draped herself over Mana like a dangerous blanket. Kisara was resting against her shoulder. Gently pushing Kisara off, Anzu stood up and peeked out of the hole and could see that someone was standing in front of it, waiting for someone to come out. Anzu narrowed her eyes at the toes . . . the toe nails were like claws.

Bastet.

Anzu heaved herself out of the hole and quickly stood up to face the goddess who still looked beautiful . . . "Have you ever been to the future, my time?"

The goddess blinked in surprise at the question. "I have visited your time for brief moments."

"You should really be a model, because you would be extremely successful." Anzu said truthfully. The goddess laughed suddenly.

"Perhaps I may try it, but at the moment you and your sisters are in need of a dress change." Anzu frowned and looked at her outfit feeling a little sad that she had to part with it.

"Could I keep the boots?" she asked.

The goddess paused before she held out her hand that cupped and handful of gold powder. She blew on it gently, lifting the powder, covering Anzu. The next second she opened her eyes she was in something fairly familiar. Where had she . . . oh, this outfit had been on one of those women in the fighting scene in The Mummy Returns, only the skirt thing was a little bit longer. Her boots had been converted, somehow, to an Egyptian version. Still protected her feet but the leather was no longer as thick as it used to be. "There, you will at least be able to walk among the people with causing too much of a stir."

"What about Kisara?"

"What about me?" A sleepy voice said. Both the goddess and Anzu turned to see the pale young woman crawl out rubbing her eyes. The two cats and Mana followed. "Hello Lady Bastet," Kisara paused to look at Anzu. "Nice outfit."

"Thanks, now all I need are those sai blades to complete the look." Anzu giggled. Mana grinned and looked a little closer at her sister's new outfit and she realized something.

"Holy crap! That's real gold!" she squeaked. Bastet smiled and sprinkled a little gold powder over the girl's head. Mana looked down to see that her outfit her mother had bought her had been replaced with a white shoulderless, sleeveless top with ruffled straps around her upper arms, a white miniskirt, charmed bracelets around her wrists and ankles and matching necklace, belt and headwear. Mana looked absolutely giddy. "I look so cute!"

Kisara and Anzu laughed at their little sister. Bastet paused for a moment, watching the three girls. It made her wonder what it was like to feel for someone who was not a sibling by blood and yet to strongly call them sister or brother with such conviction that it made one look at them again, to be sure they didn't share any similar traits. She stepped beside the pale woman. "As for you, Kisara, I cannot give you a dress such like your sisters' since you stand out in ways that they do not." She said, waving her hand over the pale girl's head, replacing her outfit with a simple beige dress with sleeves. A small clean beige scarf covered her head, hiding the majority of her waist length white hair. "Your outfits coincide with your abilities."

They watched, slightly awed as the goddess pulled out of thin air twin daggers and a wand. The wand landed in Mana's hands while the daggers went to Anzu.

The wand was had a yellow crystal at the top of the blue staff with a smaller crystal ball at the other end. Bright pink bands were placed towards the yellow crystals. While Mana ogled her new wand Anzu was looking at the twin daggers as the fading light hit the dangerous blades. Wait . . . fading light. "Hey Bastet, you know it get's cold out here at night, right? You wouldn't happen to have some magical cloaks that will keep us warm, would you?"

The goddess grinned. "I was wondering when you would ask for such." She held a three folded cloaks, each a different color. One a pale blue, the other a dark green, and the last, a white one. "These will keep you warm during the night and cool during the day."

Mana took her cloak and wrapped in around her shoulders, already feeling slightly warm as the cold desert winds started to become more pronounced with the setting sun. She leapt forward and wrapped the goddess in a thankful hug. "Thank you so much, Lady Bastet!"

The goddess looked a little shocked but she smiled and patted the girl's head. Anzu and Kisara giggled softly, only Mana could get away with hugging someone like Bastet. "Good luck on your journey, young ones." She said and then turned to the cats that sat in front of their Lady. "As for you two, I wish for you both to protect them."

The cats bowed their heads. Bastet turned to the three girls and with her hand pointed the way to civilization. "That way is where you all will find the home of Pharaoh Atem." Anzu and her sisters turned to the direction.

Anzu turned back to say thank you but saw no one. "Well, let's go. We've rested now let's go see to our 'destiny', hmm?" She grinned. Kisara nodded while Mana rushed forward.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Kasmut stayed close to the small girl while Anzu could help but share an amused grin with Kisara.

"Wait up silly!"

Atem sighed and leaned against his throne. He was bored, supremely so. Of course, one would be bored after the huge war he had come out of just only two weeks ago. Lord Zorc, a man with a thirst for power and greed, waged war against his father for a time, but pulled back only to send one of his powerful pawns, Bakura King of Thieves, on the day of Atem's coronation.

Through the hard days of getting report after report about how many soldiers they had lost, it had sickened Atem's gut just sitting through them and having to listen and then immediately debate on how they were going to replace those lost men. Finally Atem just slammed his fist down and said that he would march into the next battle, and much to his priests' horror, he kept his word. Atem closed his eyes as he remembered the days he practiced with his cousin and friend, Seto and Mahado. Swords and magic had been his weapons of choice.

The next battle Atem had fought tooth and nail, using every bit of his energy. It had been the fourth victory that had been the start of the many victories before he came face-to-face with the dark lord. Just thinking about that battle made Atem exhausted even now. It had lasted for three days. Three!

"Pharaoh."

Atem was forced from his thoughts has he jumped up from the throne. Mahado stood before him, along with his cousin, Seto. "Yes?" he asked stiffly.

Both priests bowed. "It has come to our attention that you are . . . dissatisfied."

Atem's brow rose. "Is that so? Then what do you suggest?"

"You walk among your people. It has been some time since you had done so."

Atem paused. It had been quite some time since he had made a trip to see how his people were fairing. He nodded. "As long as there is not parade following me, that is fine." He paused before grinning. "As a matter of fact, it shall be us three only."

His priests looked like they were about to fall to their knees and beg him otherwise but they paused, shared a few looks before sighing. Seto crossed his arms. "Fine."

Atem could not help but grin.

~o~

He slipped through the throng of his people with Seto and Mahado very close behind him. The homes of many of his people were still being rebuilt, the wells that had oddly dried so suddenly were now filling back up with water and his people were doing well considering what they had gone through. Atem came to the border of the village that surrounded his palace and took in the slightly cleaner air. He looked at the massive dunes that he could see over when in the palace but up close, all he wanted to do was make a mad dash up the dunes and slip into the shifting sands and follow the Nile, just to see where she went.

"Pharaoh." Mahado warned, knowing what his old friend was thinking as he stared at the massive dunes. They were getting worse. It seemed as though the sands of Egypt wanted to surround them and then swallow the people whole.

"Calm yourself, Mahado. Much to my dislike, I cannot leave. The people, and Egypt, need me." He said. Mahado shared a looked with Seto; both could hear what the Pharaoh sought to hide. The bitterness. Mahado could understand it. To be Pharaoh was not all that alluring. It was like being shackled in gold and silver and being tied down by the finest silks.

The priests had all become aware of the bitterness that their young King now held in view of the title as Pharaoh. Mahado was about to say something with a surprised squeak split the silence.

~o~

"I see the palace!" Mana yelled in complete joy. There was only a few more hours left of light and it was steadily growing cooler. Anzu sighed and scratched Tena's ear.

"That is probably the greatest thing I have ever seen." She said.

"How so?" Kisara asked.

"People!" Anzu groaned, making Kisara dissolve into a fit of giggles. Mana bounced to the top of a pretty tall dune.

"Last one down is a rotten egg!" she laughed and turned. Anzu's eyes widened.

"Wait, Mana, hold on for just a-"

She fell.

"Second." Anzu said. "After her!" they scrambled after their sister and made it to the top of the dune. Mana was heading straight towards a man with long brown hair tied up into a ponytail. Two other men were with him. They were dressed like the common people but the clothes didn't hide the air of command around them.

They all paused but just before Mana hit the guy with long brown hair and weird eye makeup one of the men rushed to try and pull his friend, she guessed, out of the way.

It was a fail.

Instead they both got knocked down, leaving the one man gaping in shock. Not that she could blame the guy. Anzu groaned and carefully slid down the dune. "Honestly, Mana. I told you to wait." she snapped, speaking in English as she got up to her little sister, Kisara not far behind. She watched as the man's eyes fluttered open and he looked down. He lit up like a lobster. Anzu had to keep herself from laughing as she walked over to the other poor guy. She held out her hand as she spoke, in Egyptian this time. "Sorry about our sister. She's a real klutz on the sand."

He looked up, giving Anzu a good look at his crimson eyes. Wow was he hot. Black spiky hair tipped with violet with blond bangs framing his face. Would have looked horrible for a lot of guys but somehow this man managed to pull it off. He was well built with an air of command. He blinked at her hand for a few seconds before Anzu's brow rose. That seemed to catch his attention real fast.

"Want to take my hand so you can stand up or is the ground really that comfortable?" she asked mockingly.

~o~

Atem had seen the girl rolling down the dune at a rather shocking speed. Atem had turned to pull Mahado out of the way but instead both got hit by the girl and ended up on the ground.

He heard someone approach, Seto probably, but instead a woman spoke harshly in another language. Atem was a bit baffled by the way the strange noises seemed to slip out of her mouth. He'd heard and knew many different languages but this one was new.

"Sorry about our sister. She's a real klutz on the sand." The woman said. He looked up and was blown away. Dark blue eyes that glowed like sapphires in Ra's light. She was slightly pale compared to him but her skin still had a healthy warm glow to it. She wore a skirt that reached her knees, her top only covered her ample breasts and she was wearing some interesting sandals. Her brow rose then and a sly mocking grin spread across her face. "Want to take my hand so you can stand up or is the ground really that comfortable?"

He blushed and immediately placed his hand into her offered hand. He had been staring at her and by the look in her face, she knew it. Her grip was strong and firm, reminding him of his mother somewhat when she was very serious. Once he was standing she turned to the other woman just behind her and grinned, speaking in the strange language again as she pointed to Mahado and her sister.

Atem was about to look at Mahado when he did a double take on the other woman. She was pale. He could see it in her white skin that seemed to reflect the light, making hard for him to almost look at her. Her eyes were a soft laughing blue white her hair a pure white mostly covered by a scarf. Atem looked over at Seto and nearly laughed, his cousin, so it seemed, could not look away from the pale one.

The woman with the sapphire eyes crouched down with a playful smile on her face. The smaller woman was now coming around; in fact, she immediately looked into Mahado's eyes before blushing darkly. The woman spoke, making the one on his priest hop up and hide behind the pale woman. Mahado stood up, brushed himself off but for Atem, this was a little bit too good.

The sapphire eyed woman turned to him. "Sorry about that." She gave him a slightly nervous smile before turning to the dunes. "Kasmut, Tena!" Atem blinked. There was more?!

After a few seconds he changed his mind. A lioness and a cheetah sauntered over the dunes and joined the girls. As Pharaoh he had many cats he hunted with when he was actually in the mood to go on one of his hunting trips, but these cats looked to be slightly bigger not to mention it was a lion and cheetah, cats known not to get along well at all.

He had actually once seen a combination on a hunt with his father once and it had been an unforgettable memory. The cheetah, a cat by the name of Kha, had driven the antelope towards the lion, letting the bigger cat kill the prey. They must have been amazing trainers just to get those cats to walk side-by-side.

They were about to leave and for some reason, Atem couldn't have that. "Wait!" the small group paused, and the woman who'd helped him up looked over her shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Your names?" he asked.

They all shared looks before they spoke. "Anzu." She said. Atem blinked at the name. He'd never heard of a name like that, but then again, the fashion of names changed every day. The small girl smiled.

"I'm Mana."

The pale one gave a slight bow. "Kisara." She said softly. He smiled. They all looked very nice but there was something about Anzu that he liked. Guilt hit him square in the stomach. Already he was looking at another woman when Tey had died just yesterday afternoon.

"Hey."

He was forced from his thoughts as Anzu stepped forward. "Do you know where we can find a hotel of sorts?"

Atem felt confusion slither through him. "Uh . . ."

"Taverns, resort, bed and breakfast?" she continued on, looking at him like he was an idiot, and he felt like one too. He remained silent, very sure he still looked bewildered. Anzu snapped. "An inn? Lodging?"

Oh, she was looking for a place to sleep. "You could have said that." He muttered under his breath. He noticed that her left eye was twitching and her cheeks turned to an interesting shade of red before she snapped at him.

"I did! Maybe you're too old to hear shit!"

This time heat flooded his cheeks. "I am not old, I am twenty years old!" he growled. Anzu snorted and rolled her eyes.

"So what, still a young man as far as I can see." She sneered.

His core hardened as he stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "Has any young man you know watched as all four of his children die along with his wife?" he snarled. He expected her to back down but Kisara and Mana were slowly backing away, along with the cats . . . ?

Instead of her doing what he expected she did the unexpected, and got right in his face. "So you are a man. I was starting to think you were pussy." Atem's jaw dropped. He didn't know this term 'pussy' but it sounded insulting, so it was no doubt an insult towards his gender. She gave him that cruel all-knowing smile that he could only associate with her even though he barely knew her. "In case you don't know what pussy means, it means I thought you were a woman. In fact, I was almost positive."

Atem heard something pop and snap. His hand swung out with lightning speed but her hand caught his, her strong fingers gripping it before she twisted his arm behind his back. Atem was now facing his shocked priests, his arm felt numb. Snarling her swung his leg out behind him, making her let go of his arm and land right on her ass.

He spun around with a grin of victory when suddenly his own legs were kicked out from under him. The moment he hit the earth she grabbed his hair and gave a good tug. "Ow!" he yelled and rolled them both until he was on top, straddling her as he forced her arms away from his head. Once he had caught his breath he sprang away and watched as she went back to her own feet, eyes narrowed dangerously.

Screaming she flung herself at him. Atem grabbed his dagger just as she was pulling out her own. The small but strong blades met above their heads, a spark jumped between the two daggers but it was as if some invisible source had trapped their weapons right there.

Anzu was putting all her strength into her weapon, trying to force this dumb ass wise guy to back down. She'd won every small 'battle' she'd had in school; no one could scratch her or hurt her too badly but with this guy it was a different story. It was as if he could read her mind or even worse, his abilities matched her own.

Atem's thought process was pretty much going through the same thing. This woman had skills that matched his own, and he was willing to bet that she liked to get the last word in a fight too.

She kicked him then, sending him to the ground. Called it.

He glared at her as she smirked and walked away, speaking in her odd language again. Atem spotted a fairly small, but big enough, rock. He picked it up and threw it at her. She yelled something and spun around, her eyes locking with his. She unclenched her hand that held two rocks, she hit him once in the arm and when she went for the second throw he'd already had his own rock.

They both threw the stones at the same time. Anzu could have sword time slowed down just for a second as she watched her stone collide with his; the forces acting on the stones smashed them into tiny bits and dust.

Atem and Anzu stared at each other in shock their effort to have the last 'word' had become a tie, which only made them both look childish. She snarled and turned away, muttering something under her breath. Atem stood up and spun around. Seto and Mahado were still watching him. "What?!" he snarled and headed back to the palace.

Isis and the rest of the priests were waiting in the throne room, all worried for their Pharaoh. A loud commotion made them all jump. Turning, they saw their king walking into the throne room, a dark look on his face and a dark aura surrounding his person. He walked up to the throne and sat down, not even acknowledging his other priests. She looked over to Seto and Mahado who looked to be in slight shock; as if they had seen something they never thought to see before.

"My Pharaoh . . . ?"

"What?" he growled.

"Did something . . . happen?" Isis asked carefully.

"No." he said tightly, never looking right at her, but she could tell that Seto and Mahado knew something. Isis was quite determined to discover what.

~o~

When their king retired for the night Seto and Mahado told them, everything down to the tiny little details. Teana was blinking rapidly before she turned to Isis. "I always thought that our king was a little bit in control of his temper when it came to such matters?"

Shada, Karim, and Shimon were still blinking in shock. Isis was slightly confused. The only time she had known Pharaoh Atem to become violent was with the death of his daughter but this was a far different side that she had not heard of. "I . . . I truly do not know what to say about this, and he let her go?" she asked.

Mahado nodded. "Yes. I think he did so because they both ran into a tie of sorts. No one had the last word."

Teana grimaced. "Something tells me that we will be seeing this black mood for a few days."

Seto actually had the nerve to grin at the thought of his cousin throwing small fits. "No doubt." He smirked.

Oh isn't it funny how love starts out sometimes? As far as I know, love has started for even stupid reasons, so I decided why not a childish fight between Atem and Anzu. I always wanted to write something like that so I got my wish, I made Atem look slightly childish. (Along with Anzu. Lol.)

Anywho, you all may be asking why didn't I write our ladies into the palace. That's because there should be a few more . . . childish fights. (Lol this is going to be fun.) For others, they might ask, "How are you going to make fluffies when Atem and Anzu are fighting?" Well, my answer to that... ;3 You all shall see. (Mwa ha ha ha ha!)

And just to be sure, and so I don't get sued, I again don't own anything, nor The Mummy Returns.

Thank you for reading! :D