How have you been lovelies? Things have been pretty hectic with work so I've been very scatter-brained. My focus has been so-so. Hopefully, things simmer down and I can write more. Life has been stressful and doing and sharing this... seeing ppl enjoy it makes me happy.

If you are looking for any fan art for this story I have some on Deviant Art, my new Tumblr, and P atreon (check bio for links)

The ride was a rather long one, leaving the group to have to semi-sleep atop their camels as they traveled on. Loke and Gajeel took turns staying awake to make sure no one fell from their ride or that they kept their correct course. It was uncomfortable but some rest was gained. As the sun began its peak over the horizon, the raven haired male nudged the siblings as he motioned just ahead of them. They approached an open area just beyond a huge sand dune, the air beginning to warm up already from the cold night. A gentle wind blew by, kicking up sand and irritating the camels as the group stood on standby per Gajeel's order. A bit the ways down, the other group from the boat arrived with Zoldeo at the lead. One of the trio called out, an evil grin plastered on his face.

"Hey Redfox!" The siblings glanced over at their guide, curious as to why they were speaking to him. They saw his expression seemed annoyed, refusing to look over at them as he kept his gaze forward. He tugged on the reins of his camel, leaning forward to scratch its ears. "We know you remember the bet, right?" Loke went to say something but was silenced by the other male, his glare causing any words to catch in his throat in pure fear. The trio snickered to each other, all three looking towards Levy. Not expecting the attention, she raised an eyebrow, looking back at Gajeel.

"I didn't agree to those terms…" She thought she heard him mutter.

"Gajeel?" He glanced over at her, seeing her worried expression. "They keep staring at me."

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Care of… care of what?" He kept looking ahead, seemingly ignoring her. "Gajeel?" He brought his finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet. She fumed until he pointed forward to the open area in front of them. She looked over, seeing only the hot sand, the heat shimmering in waves in the air. As if sensing something was going to happen, everyone's animals became twitchy, moving around and making noises. Levy leaned forward, rubbing the back of her camel's head while cooing to it. It seemed to soothe it, the animal settling down with a soft whine.

"Here it comes," Gajeel murmured, his tone and expression showing exhaustion. He really didn't want to be here. Flashes of men dying and being chased went through his mind, making him restless. He'd almost died here himself. However, the thought of dying had him glancing in Levy's direction, remembering why he was here again to begin with. His hand rubbed his throat without him realizing.

"What," Loke blurted, tugging his reins. Gajeel rolled his eyes, looking away while pointing towards their target. Only shimmers were visible, the sunlight playing against the sand and toying with their senses.

"We're here. This is Hamunaptra." At this statement, the heat waves began revealing structures, columns of stone appearing as if from out of nowhere. They watched in awe as the crumpling city came into view as though a veil had been lifted. "Get ready to race over there." Levy snapped her head towards him, her face scrunched in confusion.

'Perhaps there is a certain point in time needed in order to enter?' she mused, bracing herself to rush ahead. At the shout of one of Zoldeo's companions, everyone bolted forward. It was quite obvious that the camels were doing much better than the other group's horses, Gajeel's party gaining easy. Zoldeo was in the lead for his group, his horse coming up alongside Levy. He reached over, grasping her arm and earning a shriek until he was struck upside the head. Letting the blue haired girl go, Zoldeo wobbled a bit from the impact, looking over to find Gajeel glaring at him.

"Get your fucking hands off what's mine," he hissed, shoving him again and watching him tumble to the ground. From all the commotion, Levy's camel dashed ahead faster out of fear.

'Serves that guy. Trying to pull me off like that!' She steadied herself. 'Wait, did Gajeel just say "mine"?' Her thoughts were broken as she heard Loke cheering her on from a bit of a ways back, coaxing her to win the race. As they all gathered near the stone entrance of the city, Levy heard the men behind her grumbling miserably. 'Is it really that bad that I got here first?' She glanced over, seeing one of them, Daniels, walk up to Gajeel as he dismounted and began tying his camel's reins up to a post. He was sporting a small brown bag to which he grabbed the crimson eyed male's wrist above the metal bracelet and turned his hand out, palm up, depositing the money.

"Guess you won this one, Redfox," he sneered, clearly not happy. Gajeel glanced at the satchel in his hand before shoving it into the man's chest as hard as he could, knocking the guy down on his ass. The force he used had his hair falling into his eyes and one of his sleeves unrolling as he pointed down at the man, his lip curled in a snarl with his fangs exposed.

"You can take your damn money! I never agreed to any of this!" He turned his heated glare to Zoldeo and Loke, pointing at them, "This was all between them!" She was even more stunned when he pointed back at her without looking, "You wanna tell her what ya did?" Ok… now she was really curious. She carefully climbed down from the saddle, hanging off the side before landing in the soft sand. She wobbled a bit, her arms flailing out to balance herself as she heard the men continue to argue in the background. Her brother and this Zoldeo, however, didn't say a peep. Their silence made the red eyed male even angrier as he whipped around and waltzed up to her, lifting her up, his arms holding her around her back and under her knees in a bridal style.

"G-Gajeel, what-?"

"I'm getting you away from them," he spat, leaving the others alone. She struggled against him a bit at first until she felt him squeeze her against his chest. Once she finally settled and accepted that this was happening, she peered up at him. Even though he wasn't directing it at her, his icy glare made her shiver. Feeling they were far enough, Gajeel set her down, muttering as he busied himself by checking the pistols in his holsters. "Stupid… no good sons a bitches… no fucking loyalty..." She bit her lip, playing with the fabric of her dress as she watched him fume to himself.

"Gajeel? What's wrong?" She saw him stop, looking at her with his hands on his hips. He dusted off his shirt, beginning to fix one of his sleeves that had come undone from pushing Daniels. She waited patiently, afraid that anything she said might set him off again. The sun began climbing higher in the sky, the heat becoming unbearable. He finally focused on her completely, his face showing discomfort and anger while biting his lip.

"I shouldn't be the one to have to tell you this since it was their idea but those guys made a bet. Clearly our side received money if we won. What they wanted if they won… was you."

"Me?" she blurted, her eyes bulging out of reflex. He watched her eyes move about, as though going over everything in her head. Suddenly, she glanced up, her brown orbs looking at him with relief and… respect? "You… were protecting me?" He shifted his weight uncomfortably, not liking being called out like that. The moment those men even suggested Levy, he wanted to back off and forget ever bringing any sort of bet up to begin with. He never imagined they would be like that and he didn't want to think what they were planning for her. He could see why with how other women in this land were. Levy was much more pleasing to the eye with her lovely blue hair, full lips, wide hips, generous a… He shook his head, his eyes raking up to meet hers.

"I wasn't going along with that bull. I didn't like your brother as it was, now… heh…," he glanced upward, bringing a hand to his chin as if in thought, "You better not leave us alone in any of these tombs, all I gotta say." To his surprise, she let out a small chuckle, her arms gently crossed over her chest as she leaned to the side.

"I trust it won't be a quick death either," she replied, her expression showing slight amusement as she moved closer to him without him realizing. He shook his head, his hair wisping about.

"Doesn't deserve it. I don't -" he halted, finding her right beneath him with her arms behind her back. Not expecting her so close, he couldn't help the slight blush that creeped over his face as she leaned into him.

"You are a lot nicer than you make people believe you are." A small giggle escaped her as she heard him gulp loudly. Her eyes suddenly shifted over, a scowl coming over her face. Noticing the change in mood, Gajeel glanced over his shoulder, taking all his willpower not to draw his gun as a certain orange haired brother cautiously made his way over to them. "Loke, you- you!" she began, pushing by Gajeel and into her brother's face. He raised his hands up, trying to calm her down.

"Now, now, I can explain!"

"What's there to explain exactly," she crossed her arms as she seethed, jutting her hip out which did not go unnoticed by the red-blooded male behind her. "What is wrong with you?" He opened his mouth to reply when she held up her hand to stop him, "Better yet, just tell me what's right… I don't have all day." Behind them, Gajeel snickered, enjoying how feisty she was being. Loke gave a nervous chuckle, his eyes constantly shifting between his sister and their guide.

"Levy, I'm sorry. It was just so tempting," he replied, pulling out the satchel that Gajeel had denied. The dark hair male went wide eyed, knowing for sure she was going to kill her brother now.

"And dare I even ask how much my life is worth?" She waltzed up, leafing through the contents a moment. "Only $500?! You-!" She moved to grab at him when a pair of arms grasped her around the waist, lifting her slightly and pulling her to the side. After a bit of wiggling, the dark haired male became weary of this whole mess, hauling her over his shoulder. Loke watched with shock until Gajeel snapped his fingers at him.

"Box." Being caught off guard, Loke nearly dropped everything to fumble through his jacket, procuring the desired item and handing it over. All the while, Levy demanded she be let go, pounding her tiny fists on Gajeel's back. As soon as the smooth metal touched his hand, the crimson eyed male turned and stalked off, still ignoring Levy's insisting to be released. Once they were quite a ways from everyone, he spanked her tush, earning a small scream. "Oi, calm down." He put the box in his pocket, letting her down. "Didn't you want to explore this place?" That got her attention, watching her inhale a deep breath to relax. She moved to fix her blue curls, her face flushed from anger and embarrassment.

"That insufferable… of all the," she continued muttering, her eyes scanning the area for where to start. She froze at seeing Gajeel staring at her, his red eyes blazing.

"Don't stress it. I wouldn't have let anything happen." The wind picked up a bit, the hot air swishing the sands around them. It was then he noticed her hands were behind her back as she watched him.

"You don't seem any better," she murmured. He threw back his head, laughing as he realized she was covering her tush with her hands. After a moment, she fiddled with her veil, covering her face again to hide her blush. Taking the chance, she turned to a nearby wall, examining the faded markings on it until a muscled arm blocked her path. Turning towards him, she realized she was indeed again trapped in his arms, an almost evil grin on his face that showed his fangs as he leaned forward.

"Ya know ya liked it." She pressed her back against the wall, her eyes darting elsewhere in embarrassment.

"I… I mean…"

"Gihee, something wrong?" His grin vanished when he heard the smallest 'no' from her, her head downward and turned away from him. At his silence, she dared to glance at him, finding an amused look as he leaned in more. "I thought you didn't want to bother with such a rude, unkempt, rowdy guy like me?" She frowned at hearing her own words, glancing away.

"I can't help it if you drive me crazy," she whispered. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Is that so?" He leaned in, his hair falling into his face as he peered down into her wide, hazel eyes. "Is it a good crazy?" As he moved closer, she could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage as though it were trying to escape. What was it about him that made her so weak-kneed and short of breath? Using his other hand, he gently push a small strand of her bangs away, her reddening face making him chuckle. A loud shout in the distance had them jolting back to reality, with Gajeel leaning back. Levy remained still, her body pressed firmly against the dusty wall. At him clearing his throat, her eyes focused, blinking a bit as if to clear her thoughts.

"Um… I… I should… be getting to work," she mumbled, still in a daze. Beside her, Gajeel had his sights on the men in the distance, wondering what they were up to to be yelling like that. "Oh, it seems there is an opening over here." He turned back to find her knelt down, having gone along the wall away from him. "We should have some equipment still in order to get down here." Before she could even ask, he was already walking away, shouting a 'be right back' over his shoulder. She watched his retreating figure as she remained on her knees by the hole, feeling her face heat up far warmer than the sun could have done.

As he approached her with the climbing gear, Gajeel noticed Levy was cleaning what looked like a mirror. Her focus was completely on her task, not once looking up he began setting things down. He watched as she worked, her veil taken off again and completely gone, clearly having been in her way. A black headband was back in its place, pulling her hair back and along the side of her face as it was when he'd met her.

"Hey, sis…" they both looked up, finding Loke with his hands in his pockets. His gaze remained on the ground, waiting for the verdict on what the pair might say or do to him. "I wanted to apologize." Levy leaned on her side a bit, her hand on her hip as she watched him a moment. The silence was eating away at him but still he refused to look up. Finally, she walked up, thrusting another rag in his arms.

"You can start by helping me with these," she said simply, no sort of particular emotion in her body and voice. While it seemed like being neutral to Gajeel, Loke seemed to perk up. Clearly he was used to this sort of thing with her, smiling as he began cleaning another mirror. "Remember that you are meant to catch the sun with that." Studying them both for a moment, Gajeel went over to the female, tilting his head in interest at what she was doing.

"So what are these old mirrors for?"

"Ancient mirrors," she corrected, angling it while glancing at the one Loke was working on. "It's an ancient trick. I'll show you when we get down there." He merely nodded, his twitchy motions causing her to stop and stare at him. He leaned forward, holding out a parcel.

"I, uh… I know we lost most of your stuff. Thought maybe you could use that." Taking it, she gave him a smile, watching his face light up red just before he turned away. She pulled the parcel open, an array of brushes, chisels, and small hammers greeting her. Her brown eyed gaze looked up to watch the raven haired male as he walked away, a small giggle escaping her as she watched him feign he would strike Loke for his staring. He checked the rope he'd tied to a nearby column to make sure it was secured before beginning to climb down into the pit. Satisfied with the way the mirror was set up, Levy moved to follow with Loke close behind her. Upon reaching the bottom, the dark haired man began squinting, frowning at realizing he'd lost his lighter on the boat. "Ah fuck, this should be fun…" A sharp cry of pain caught his attention, looking up in time to see Levy slip a bit from the rope. "L-Levy!" There was the sound of fabric shredding before she screamed and slipped, falling into Gajeel's arms. "Gotcha!" She grasped around his neck, her eyes squeezed shut. "Oi… you ok?" Her entire body relaxed, her eyes opening to look up at him, tears forming at the corners.

"Levy!" her brother shouted.

"Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you," she whispered, staring into his eyes. Loke touched the ground, picking up the dropped parcel that Gajeel had given her, dusting the sand off it.

"Dark as hell down here," the orange haired male answered, looking around. Placing her down, Levy walked over to a similar mirror to the ones outside, her shaky hands shifting it so it caught the light and spread it to other mirrors throughout the room, illuminating the entire thing. Once it was set, she turned towards them with her hands on her hips, a look of pride on her face. Gajeel let out a chuckle. "Good job, sis. Still works like a charm." She beamed a bit before turning to view the room they discovered. Offhand, Gajeel felt this was once a place of torture, various stone that looked as though it has at one time held many a man down as something gruesome occurred. To confirm suspicions, he edged over to one, lightly nudging the rusted iron clamps designed to hold down one's wrists. A small gasp escaped their female companion, her eyes widening as her hand came over her mouth. Gajeel felt his face heat up at noticing that her dress had spilt down her right side from the hip down, showing her leg now.

"This… this is sarneche." His eyes darted back up at her, seeing her examining the room with marvel.

"What?" came the reflexive reply.

"This is where they prepared people for the afterlife," she whispered, her eyes scanning the area. Loke spied a torch, yanking it free from the wall and using his lighter to set it up before igniting a second and handing it to Gajeel. He took it, noticing the man was very excited about their find.

"Mummies, my friend. This is where they made the mummies," he clarified as he pushed his glasses up his nose, walking ahead a bit. They found a hallway, keeping close to each other as they cautiously walked through, Levy's warning of traps fresh in their minds.

After a while of exploring with the occasional strange noise disturbing them, the trio stumbled upon a room with a half buried statue within. Gajeel frowned at seeing it being the same image as the one he'd seen the day he'd almost died here, giving him a strange feeling in his gut. He glared at it, the torch flickering in his grasp as he began a staring contest with the inanimate object. Meanwhile, Loke handed over the parcel back to Levy as she began examining the statue. She glided her hand over the stone, sand particles falling free at her delicate touch.

"This is Anubis, the God of Death." At that, Gajeel turned his gaze upward to look at it, scoffing and shaking his head at the irony. His eyes moved down to watch Levy use one of the brushes he'd gotten her to remove debris from the stone's surface. What she wasn't aware of was that he'd stolen it from one of the guys with Zoldeo. He wasn't entirely sure whose it was but the thought had him grinning, proud of his work. Being absorbed in observing her, he nearly missed the noise of something approaching, grabbing both his pistols as the torch hit the sandy floor. Beside him, Loke drew his weapon as well, their three coming face to face with a group of men aiming their weapons towards them. Levy let out a small gasp, jolting and pressing her back against the statue as the clicking of guns cocking sounded.

"Jeez, Redfox, you scared the shit it of us," the one named Daniels hissed, his weapon falling to his side in relief. Gajeel's studded brow came down in anger, hating to admit it but they startled him just as bad.

"Likewise," he murmured, pulling back as well. The man with the glasses seemed to spy what Levy had tucked under her arm, walking forward a bit and provoking everyone's weapons up again.

"That's my tool kit! Ok, maybe not," he whimpered at staring down Gajeel's gun. He eyed the barrel of the pistol, feeling a drop off sweat beading up in fear. The third of the rowdy men from the card game, Henderson, grasped at Burns' shoulder, tugging him back slightly.

"Easy, Burns, let's not make everyone twitchy again." She glanced at the tools a moment, her eyes watching Gajeel for confirmation to which he seemed to deny, his gaze never breaking from the men before them. Loke and Gajeel remained frozen, their glares heated as they continued holding their ground against easily triple the amount of firepower looking back at them. Levy took a hesitant step forward, hoping to settle this without any sort of bloodshed.

"Well, gentlemen, it was lovely to see you again but we have work to do," came her sweet voice, hoping everyone would disarm. This only proved to heighten tensions as the egyptologist behind them snipped at her.

"Piss off, this is our site. We were here first," he seethed. She glared at him in response, trying to search her mind for his name again. She's seen him before when the curator she worked for had new items to display.

''Dr. Chamberlain, if I recall,' she thought as she took a step back as they men in front of him pointed their weapons again. Beside her, she could hear Gajeel. 'Is he… growling?' She snuck a glance, finding a look of pure rage on his face, his red eyes flashing dangerously. She found herself thoroughly distracted, surprised to find herself getting warm over his display of dominance.

"Seems you are out of your league here, Redfox. You see, there is only three of you and fifteen of me," Zoldeo crooned, referring to the hired diggers behind them even though they had no weapons to use. Gajeel pointed both his guns at the thin man, watching him freeze at the attention.

"I've dealt with worse," he hissed.

"Same," came a response from Loke, earning a slightly surprised look from the man beside him. As Levy moved to stop them, her foot knocked some loose stones, hearing a faint click as they fell through the floor in a crack. She raised an eyebrow curiously, tapping another one and listening. There was a room directly beneath them. Suddenly, both men on her side were nearly crashing into her as they jumped back, the others threatening them if they didn't leave. Levy took the chance to lunge between them, earning protests from everyone. "Levy, what are you doing? That's dangerous!"

"I can't take it. You're all being ridiculous!" She turned towards Zoldeo, her glare taking them off guard, "If you hurt my boys, I'll kill you myself!" Loke noticed Gajeel flinch, his eyes wide and blinking slowly. Letting out a sigh, she turned to her brother and guide, giving them a smile, "I'm sure there are other places to dig." Gajeel moved to protest but her stare stopped him, realizing she was signaling him with those big doe-like eyes of hers. He put the safety on his pistols before holstering them, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Tch, I guess I'll let it go this time," he muttered, eyeing Zoldeo who was shifting comfortably regardless of the handgun he still had trained on the man. He knew more than most that even without weapons, Gajeel Redfox was a dangerous man. Perhaps moreso due to at least having an idea of what would happen if he had one. An eerie silence fell over everyone, either side nervous about making any sort of move. The tension was so thick it almost could have formed between them. Rolling her eyes and readjusting the tool kit under her arm, she walked up to the studded male, curling her around his bicep, taking him a tad off guard.

"Come along now," she murmured, giving a small smile as Gajeel obeyed with a dazed look. Loke still had his gun drawn, backing up slowly while eyeing the others to be sure they didn't pull anything. Once they were in the hallway again, Levy let go of the male, hurrying forward. "There's a room beneath this one, I saw it through a crack in the floor." Behind her, a pair of red eyes watched her with a hungry gaze, having enjoyed her body pressed against his in what he saw as her trying to make the others jealous of him. Zoldeo may have bragged about having fifteen on his side but none of them were women. His blood boiled at catching a few of them eyeing her up while the whole showdown occurred. He was still sore about the bet, his rage not yet quelled from the incident. What was it about this woman that had him so crazy? He answered his own question as she looked back at him over her shoulder, her eyes bright as she smiled and pointed, saying something about teaching those guys a lesson.

"That's brilliant, Levy, then we can take whatever it is out from under them!" Loke waltzed up beside her, ruffling her hair to which she protested with some scolding. He began speaking of having money and wooing women once they got home with Gajeel hearing Levy give an exasperated sigh over.

"There you go again, taking advantage of my brain," she said, shaking her head. Still behind the siblings, Gajeel watched her blue locks swish about with her head movements, the short strands dusting her shoulders while her longer bangs whipped out. His heated stare trailed down her spine, taking in her small waist until it billowed out to the swell of her backside. That dress was hugging her just right, her curves very pronounced through the cloth. He suddenly felt himself very protective of anyone else seeing her at all, his pace increasing to get behind her. Coming up on her right, he got an eyeful of her leg through the tattered dress, her dainty feet going faster than them to keep up.

"I think this might be it, Levy!" His attention was brought back at seeing her hurry forward to stand next to her brother. She stared down the ramp he'd found, examining the walls and stone floor. "What's wrong?" She seemed to ignore him, her hand on her chin in thought. Finally she checked the ground near her feet, finding a bit of stone that had crumbled from the wall. Tossing it down, she listened for anything, her hand along her ear to help. Loke went to say something else, causing her to shush him. All the while, Gajeel watched to make sure no one came up behind them, itching to shoot someone after all the nonsense earlier.

"I think it should be alright," she finally murmured, about to walk down when a studded arm crossed in front of her.

"I'll go first," he said, taking point.

"But I-" His gaze stopped her, a pout forming on her lips. "Just be careful please. Just because I did that, doesn't mean there aren't traps." Giving her a firm nod, he raised his torch, moving forward.

Traveling down the ramp proved uneventful as Levy had assumed, the trio finding themselves in what looked like a cave, the stone walls uneven. The girl raced up to the thin beam of light, glancing up to see the very tiny opening she had witnessed upstairs. With the ceiling being so high and it being so thick, they couldn't even hear the men above them, only occasionally seeing the light flicker from being blocked.

"Wow, how did you know this was here," Loke murmured, using his torch to explore the limits of the room. She placed the tool kit down, glancing around to size up the room.

"Nevermind that, this should be where the statue is." She pointed to the spot to the left of the beam of light, swishing her arm around to emphasize where the statue was. "If we can get through this, we should be right between his legs," she explained with excitement. The siblings missed Gajeel turn his head away, face flushed, making it look like he was checking the room as well. "We can get to whatever is here before them and they would never know!" Loke gave a wide grin, stabbing his torch into the soil nearby. He pulled his backpack off, taking out the required tools, handing Gajeel a pickaxe. "Oh how I wish I had my books. I know there was a passage about Anubis in them." She frowned at remembering the boat fire, pacing as she mumbled to herself.

"So right here?" She glanced up to find Gajeel pointing to confirm, earning a nod. Seeing him pull his arms back to swing, she scurried away some, turning back in time to see him strike the stone above. With his height, it was easy for him or her brother to reach. She kept her gaze on their raven haired companion, watching his arms and chest flex under his shirt as he continued to chip away at the stone ceiling.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys. Hope you are having fun with this. I know I am in writing it. Still unsure about characters later. Was talking to BanRedfox about some suggestions but still not sure. If anyone else has ideas, feel free. Would love to chat.

Be sure to check my bio for any info on locations for fan art.

Just so it's clear, I do love Loke its just I'm semi-merging him with Jonathan so he's more prone to being a selfish dummy in here. xD