Evie's scream suddenly pierced through the night, snapping Irene out of her reverie. She spun around towards the location of Evie's voice, her eyes widening in horror at what she saw. Evie had fallen over the side of the dirigible!

"Evie!" Rick screamed, on his foot at once. He raced to the front of the dirigible, barely able to hold on himself as he leapt over to catch her.

"Rick!" Irene cried desperately, just as Jonathan lunged for him.

For a few terrifying moments, the two dangled in midair, an inch from falling to their deaths. Irene squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bring herself to keep watching.

Only with Ardeth and Jonathan's help were they able to pull Rick and Evie back into the safety of the dirigible.

Rick collapsed onto the ground, breathing out a sigh of relief, and Irene flung herself on top of him in a tight hug. "I don't want to lose you, Rick," she whispered, and he squeezed her back just as tightly. I just want Rick and Ardeth to be safe. Is that too much to ask? she wailed silently, hoping that the gods of Egypt could hear her plea and watch over the two she cared about the most.

"I know. Sorry for worrying you, Rena," he murmured into her hair. He pushed himself up and offered her his hand. "Come on."

Irene followed Rick, joining the others as they gathered together. "Evie, I know you haven't exactly been yourself lately, with all these dreams and visions - " Rick began, but she quickly interrupted him.

"No, no. They're memories from my previous life," she explained with excitement. "Honestly, I'm not losing my mind. It all makes perfect sense now," she reassured Rick as he stared at her in disbelief.

He still looked unconvinced. "And it's the reason we found the bracelet?"

She nodded. "Exactly. I was its protector."

"And now do you believe, my friend? Clearly, you were destined to protect this woman," Ardeth put in from his seat next to Irene and Jonathan.

"Right. She's a reincarnated princess and I'm a warrior for God," Rick bit back sarcastically. Irene couldn't blame him for not wanting to believe something that sounded so surreal, but it couldn't help make her wonder. What would her previous life have been like, if she ever had one? If she did...was Rick part of it? Ardeth?

She lowered her voice so that she could speak to Jonathan. "Do you think we had a previous life, too?"

Jonathan winked at her. "If we did, I hope we were in a relationship," he joked.

Irene slapped his arm, rolling her eyes. Only Jonathan would come up with that sort of response.

Ardeth let out a soft chuckle at their banter - to which Irene flushed with embarrassment - before turning back to address Rick. "And your son leads the way to Ahm-Shere," he explained, unfazed by Rick's remark. He had been around Rick long enough to learn to ignore his snide comments. "Three sides of the pyramid. This was all preordained, thousands of years ago."

"And how does the story end?" Evie asked curiously.

Ardeth shook his head, unable to answer. "Only the journey is written, not the destination."

Rick shot Ardeth an annoyed glance. "Convenient."

"How else do you explain Evie's visions? That it is your son who wears the bracelet," Ardeth pointed out patiently. "How do you explain your mark?"

"Coincidence," Rick insisted.

"My friend, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate," Ardeth said, his seriousness making Irene shiver. His tone meant the end of the argument, to which Rick sighed in defeat.

Irene wandered off to one side, giving Rick and Evie time to discuss the night's events. She looked up to see the moon shining brightly, as though it was watching and guiding them to their destination.

This same moon watched over the earth three thousand years ago, she realized. She was so lost in thought that she did not hear Ardeth's footsteps join her until he spoke. "Are you worried by what I said earlier, Rena?"

She turned at the sound of his voice "A little," she admitted guiltily. She couldn't help but think that there was something special to the love that her brother and Evie shared. They had been together once, and again, thousands of years later.

"This is what I think," Ardeth murmured, "but the chances of meeting someone only once in their lifetime, compared to two, is even less. That is what makes you so special to me, Irene." He reached out to take her chin with his hand, tipping her head up to meet his eyes.

Irene flushed at the intensity of his words. Somehow, no matter how terrible she was feeling, he was always able to make her feel better. "If we both did live once, I think I would be Evie's attendant," she decided, a small smile forming on her lips as she imagined herself in a place so different from the world she knew now.

Ardeth smiled too, playing along with her story. "And I would be a Medjai guarding the Pharaoh."

"I like the sound of that," she agreed, grinning. "One evening, Evie would suddenly crave for apples and send me out to the night market to purchase some."

He looked at her questioningly. "Apples?"

"They're her favorite!" she protested. "Stop criticizing the story, Ardeth! You're supposed to be helping me."

He leaned down and lightly brushed a kiss to her lips. "Very well. Then...I would be training out by myself, because I wanted to become a stronger Medjai."

Irene nodded. "On the way back to the palace, a thief tries to steal my money. He trips me and I end up falling onto the ground."

"That's when I hear the commotion and come to see what is wrong," Ardeth murmured. "I am about to come to your rescue, when you pick up one of the apples and throw it at the thief."

"Would I do that?" Irene wondered, glaring playfully at him. She didn't think she would have such good aim.

Ardeth laughed. "Yes, you would. You always do things that fascinate me."

Irene bushed involuntarily. There was something about his laugh that was so captivating. "When I see you standing there watching me, I would shout, 'Don't worry about me! Make sure the money is fine!'"

"You never have your priorities straight, Rena," Ardeth said disapprovingly. "But I would get the money from the unconscious thief anyway, then turn and see that you have injured your ankle during his surprise attack."

"That sounds painful," Irene grimaced, unconsciously leaning down towards her ankle. "Though I'm sure you would carry me back to the palace on your back, Ardeth."

"After helping you gather the apples," he murmured. "On the way back, you would tell me about yourself and the princess."

"Yes! And you would tell me stories about the Medjai," she went on dreamily.

Irene closed her eyes, trying to picture the scene as though it had really happened to them, but not before letting out a yawn. After the training she had done with Ardeth during the day, she was exhausted.

"That's enough for now," Ardeth said, noticing her exhaustion. He led her back to the chairs, helping her settle down for the night. Jonathan was already snoring in his chair.

Ardeth bent down and kissed her forehead gently. "You have worked hard today."

"You too," she agreed. "Thank you for earlier, Ardeth."

He smiled warmly. "You do not have to thank me, Rena."

That night, her dream was filled with images of a small Egyptian girl wandering in the street with a basket of apples under her arm, and a forbidden love between a lowly attendant and a warrior for God.

The dirigible landed at their first destination the following day. Rick and Ardeth headed towards the parked train with guns in hand, while Irene followed Evie into the ruins.

"Do you think they're still here?" Irene asked doubtfully. The place was so silent that she could hear the wind echoing inside.

Evie shook her head, unable to answer. The two walked deeper inside, and that's when Irene saw something dangling on an ancient statue. "Evie, is that - ?"

At once, she dashed towards where Alex's tie hung on the statue, almost as though it was a signal calling out to them. "Rick!" Evie screamed for her husband as she grabbed the tie, and the two men quickly ran over to join them.

"Alex left us his tie," Evie told them, pride evident in her voice. Irene too was pleased that Alex had learned so much. "And...he made us a little sandcastle. It's the Temple of Philae. They've gone to Philae."

"That a boy, Alex," Rick praised, gesturing at the others to return to the dirigible.

They flew on towards Philae, and this cycle continued on as Alex led them towards their next location, and the next. Soon, they were flying in a gorge with a powerful river flowing beneath them.

"That's the Blue Nile down there," Rick remarked. "We must be out of Egypt by now."

Irene followed Rick's gaze, the deep drop making her brain whirl. She clung tightly onto the railing to steady herself, remembering how terrifying the plane ride to Hamunaptra had been. "Try not to look down," Ardeth advised her.

"In ancient times, all this still belonged to the Upper Kingdom," Evie explained. "The oasis must be around here somewhere."

"Don't worry, he's a smart kid. He'll leave us a sign," Rick added. Irene didn't know whether he was trying to reassure Evie, or himself.

Alex, please be safe, she begged.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a strange roar from somewhere behind them. They gathered together, staring ahead, when Izzy screamed out "We're in trouble!" from his post.

Irene spun around to see a curtain of water flying right at them. Imhotep's face appeared within the water with a smug look in his eyes, almost as though he was mocking them from afar. You can't stop me.

"Oh no!" she gasped, her eyes widening in panic. This was just like last time. And Winston had lost his life...

"Horus, fly!" Ardeth called to the bird, letting Horus lead the way out of the gorge.

Rick followed the bird's movement with his eyes. "Izzy, come hard right! Starboard! Starboard!" he screamed at the pilot, desperately pointing in the direction that Horus had gone.

Just as Imhotep's mouth was about to swallow them whole, Izzy set the dirigible to full power. It zoomed away from Imhotep at an incredibly fast speed, sending Irene toppling forward. She was barely able to grab on, but luckily Ardeth was there to hold onto her.

What felt like a lifetime later, the dirigible managed to escape from the gorge, but not before Imhotep's water showered them.

Irene struggled to stand, her pale dress drenched in water. She could see that the others were not fairing so well, either. Ardeth wordlessly offered her his hand, to which she grabbed onto gratefully as he hoisted her up. Irene held onto him tightly, not wanting to ever let go again.

"Is there a little something that you forgot to mention? Hmm?" Izzy asked sarcastically, pulling himself up from the ground.

Irene couldn't blame him. She felt just as shaken, and if Ardeth wasn't holding her back to support her then, she probably would have never wanted to get up again.

"Uh, people," Jonathan's awed voice came from somewhere behind her.

They turned in the direction where he was staring at to find a vast forest within the desert, complete with beautiful waterfalls and a perfect rainbow.

"Ahm Shere," Ardeth breathed, just as awed.

Rick took Izzy's telescope to get a better look. Before they could celebrate, Imhotep's attack came once again from the gorge behind them.

"He's back!" Izzy groaned. He once again fired up the dirigible, sending it flying in the direction of the oasis. Unfortunately, that was when the fuel ran out, and the dirigible jerked to a stop in midair. "Well that's not good," Izzy muttered.

"Hang on!" Rick yelled, just as the second wave of water struck the dirigible in full force. Irene screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as she hugged onto Ardeth for dear life.

The last thing she remembered was the cold water pouring down onto her before they crashed towards the ground.

A/n: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter! Here is another chapter as promised :)