After much distraction, I have finally finished writing this fic! I'll be updating more frequently for the last few chapters, then there'll be a sort break until I can get into writing the next story in the series!

I hope you like it!


Chapter 11: Wandering The Grounds

Managing to escape the archives and get outside thanks to help from Claudia, Octavius worked on a plan to save Jedediah. The two looked around the peaceful night, curious of their surroundings.

"So," Claudia's soft voice earned the Roman General's attention. "Care to explain just what is going on here?" she asked, her hands behind her back as he looked around at her.

"Uh...well," Octavius cleared his throat. He was still baffled by the Roman woman dressed in soldier attire. "There's this...Tablet. It brings everything in the museum to life," he explained slowly, wondering if she'd believe him. It had been difficult to grasp at first.

"Oh," was all Claudia said as she looked ahead.

"I swear to you, my lady, I am telling you the truth," Octavius insisted loudly, throwing out an arm to stop her so he could face her. To his confusion, she just grinned.

"I believe you Octavius," she told him with a small chuckle. When he looked stunned, her smile widened. "I know what I am. For one thing, we are very small. For another, I know that Roman Generals were not female. At least from the era I have been crafted from," Claudia explained with a small shrug.

"Then...then how...?" Octavius stammered, still totally baffled.

"I believe I was crafted as a joke. Of course, I do not know who my maker was, but I at least know that much," Claudia replied. "Now come on, we are dawdling far too much. You wish to save your friend, right?" she glanced to him, and his expression changed to a determined look.

"Of course!" he declared. They nodded to each other, and increased their pace. Eventually they made it to large black gates that blocked off the White House, which compared to the two Miniature Romans gaping up at it, was gigantic.

"What is this place?" Claudia breathed in awe.

"They say a good man rules this union," Octavius explained. "I promised Jedediah I would bring help, and help I will bring!" he declared, and leapt down from the railings, into the grass.

"Oh great..." Claudia shook her head and followed him down.

"Charge!" Octavius bellowed, sprinting through the grass as he roared. Claudia sighed, and followed at an easy jog. Octavius ran for as long as he could, yelling the whole time, before he finally ran out of breath. He slowed to a stop, and doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Done already?" Claudia asked sarcastically as she caught up to him.

"Mis...judged the distance," Octavius whimpered.

"Idiot..." Claudia muttered, looking up at the huge building still a long ways off for them. She froze, as did Octavius, when they heard movement behind them.

"Who's there?" Octavius called as they turned around. Claudia drew her sword as the grass rustled, and a large furry creature with a bushy tail emerged. "Jupiter protect me..." he whispered in horror. Claudia made to move, but Octavius hissed at her. "No! Remain very still...they can sense movement..." he whispered to her. The creature chittered, and made a loud screeching noise.

"Apparently they can also hear you talking," Claudia muttered. The creature lunged at the two, and Claudia moved out of the way as it grabbed Octavius.

"I am not a nut!" he yelled indignantly as he flailed in the creature's grasp and it began to gnaw on his head, which was protected only by his helmet. He was then dragged back into the grass screaming, and Claudia sighed once again, following them into the grass.


Jogging through the grounds of the Smithsonian, Beth looked around for any sign of her friends. She kept looking back to the Castle, hoping that Jedediah would be ok. She felt guilty for leaving him there, but he was right; they couldn't kill him until Kahmunrah got the Tablet back.

As she neared the Air and Space Museum, Beth's eyes widened and she hissed a curse, diving behind a bush. She looked up to watch the French and Russian soldiers, along with several black and white gangsters, who were standing watch.

"Great Larry, you just had to come here, didn't you," she muttered irritably as she watched them. "You had to make it difficult," Beth complained. She ducked further behind the bushes when she heard a shout ring out, and glanced around to see more soldiers nearby. Those standing in front of the museum suddenly ran off, following the others.

"Beth!" she heard Larry hiss, and looked around to see him and Amelia hurrying towards him. "How'd you get away?" he asked as they crouched in the bushes again. "Oh man, what happened?" Larry noticed the already forming bruises on her face.

"Jed distracted Kahmunrah so I could get away," Beth explained quickly. "What are you doing out here?" she asked quietly, looking around to ensure no-one was sneaking up on them.

"Trying to decode this Tablet, but so far we can't even figure out what it says. We were going to see if the little Einsteins in Air and Space could tell us," Larry admitted. Beth frowned at him.

"Uh, hello? Give it over," she took the Tablet from him.

"Yeah, sometimes I forget," Larry admitted.

"Forget what? That she can read Egyptian?" Amelia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, moreso the fact that I'm the reincarnation of an Egyptian entertainer who lived 4000 years ago," Beth grinned. The wax figure of Amelia Earhart gaped at her as Larry rolled his eyes.

"Well? What's it say?" he asked. Beth's grin widened, and she moved to see the Tablet in the light.

"It's funny, I've spent so much time looking at this, but never actually reading it," Beth mused to herself, studying the familiar hieroglyphics. "'You will find the combination you seek, if you figure out the secret at the heart of Pharaoh's tomb'," she translated. "Huh. Weird. I didn't think Merenkahre was big into his riddles," she looked up at the pair, who looked just as blank as she did.

"Let's get to Air and Space, those Einsteins are bound to know something," Larry decided, and the three hurried into the museum.

When they stepped inside, they found that everything had already come to life; bustling around talking to one another.

"Oh this is awesome," Beth gushed, going to follow the Astronaut bouncing away, before Larry grabbed her arm.

"Seriously, stop wandering around, you're going to get lost again," he told her with a raised eyebrow. Beth blushed, and nodded in agreement.

"Probably for the best," she agreed. "This is so cool though..." Ari murmured as she looked around them, following Larry and Amelia.

"Miss Earhart?" they looked around as the Tuskegee Airmen approached them.

"Yes?" Amelia smiled at them.

"I wanna say thank you," the leader of the small group told her.

"What for, Captain?" Amelia asked, confused by his words.

"A lot of people didn't think we could fly either," he explained. "Thanks for clearing the runway, ma'am," Amelia swelled with pride as Beth grinned at the interaction. "Race you to Paris?" the man challenged her, and Amelia's eyes gleamed.

"You're on!" she accepted, and made to follow him before Larry stopped her with a shout.

"No! Not now! We gotta..." he gestured to the Tablet in Beth's hands.

"It's just a quick jaunt over the pond..." Amelia mumbled.

"Come on, we gotta go, we don't have time!" Larry gestured.

"He's right, we gotta save Jed and the others," Beth sighed. "As much as I'd love to wager on you easily beating the Tuskegee Airmen," she grinned, and Amelia smiled at her.

"Sorry, it's in the blood," she told them, following them to where Larry had seen the Einsteins earlier that day. "There she is, Mr. Daley, Miss Beth," Amelia smiled when she spotted her plane. "Old Bessie, the old family bus...that gal took me across the Atlantic!" she told them proudly.

"It's awesome," Beth smiled at her.

"Ok, I think the Einsteins are over here though," Larry gestured, wandering away. Amelia walked over to her plane, while Beth followed Larry over to a now empty display case. "Where'd you go?" he frowned, and glanced to Beth. "Where'd they go?" he asked, and she shrugged, before all hell seemed to break loose. Planes, jets, and even the rocket ship started preparing to take off, and Larry rushed off to stop them as Beth watched him from the side.

"He really does always look freaked out. It's kinda funny," she commented as she sat on the counter where the bobble-heads had once been located. Larry yelled at the command centre who seemed to be setting everything up for takeoff, and even Amelia got into the feel and jumped into her plane, starting the engine up. "This is amazing," Beth commented, grabbing the space food and taking a bite. It wasn't pleasant, but she was suddenly very hungry.

Hearing a chirp, she looked beside her and smiled at the Capuchin monkey standing beside her. "Hey there Able," she greeted him, seeing the little name patched into his space-suit. He chirped again, holding out a hand. "Awww, you're so sweet," Beth shook his hand gently. "I'm Beth," she introduced herself to the monkey that was far more polite than Dexter. Suddenly, Larry's voice echoed over the intercom, and the commotion began to die down. "Aww, I was looking forward to that," Beth complained.

"Oh shut up Beth," Larry grumbled irritably, making her grin even more. Able scampered over to Larry as Beth tossed the half-eaten snack aside, deciding she'd rather starve, and continued to study the hieroglyphics on the Tablet she held.

"Mr. Daley! I found your Einsteins!" Amelia called suddenly, and Larry sighed, following her as Beth leapt down from the counter and walked after them, waving to Able. The three approached the reception desk, where multiple bobble-headed figures of Einstein were talking amongst themselves. "Gentlemen, we're trying to crack the combination of this tablet doodad, and the writing here says..." Amelia trailed off, looking to Beth.

"You will find it if you figure out the secret at the heart of Pharaoh's tomb," she recited. She wondered why Merenkahre had never said told her anything about the Tablet when he had decided to make her its guardian. One if the Einsteins climbed up onto the counter, groaning until another helped him up, and he laughed lightly.

"That's an easy one," he told them. "The answer's in the question!" the Einstein bobble-head explained.

"What does that mean?" Larry frowned, not understanding.

"'Figure out', it' a figure! I.e. a number," Einstein explained. "And the Pharaoh's tomb, i.e. the Pyramids," he continued on. All three looked blank. "Don't you get it kid? You're looking for the secret number at the heart of the Pyramids!" he told them. Instantly Amelia snapped her fingers.

"Well whistle me Dixie, the answer's Pi!" she exclaimed.

"Pi?" Larry frowned.

"3.14159265," all looked at Beth, who blushed. "What? It's basic maths," she rolled her eyes. "Now come on, we've gotta save Jed," Beth indicated for them to go.

"Thanks guys," Larry called to the Einsteins as he and Amelia followed. "We've got about ten minutes to get over to Jed," he told Beth, who nodded. Gripping the Tablet tightly. She would rather hit Kahmunrah around the head with it than give it to him to unleash an army from the Underworld, but to save Jed and the rest of their friends, she may not have any other choice.

"I think we make a good team," Amelia said. "Perhaps more than a team?" she suggested, making Beth look around in surprise. She saw that Amelia had stepped in front of Larry, preventing him from continuing on. She frowned. They needed to move quickly.

"Wait, ok, wait," Larry seemed to become nervous, and Amelia's smile dropped.

"What's the matter? You didn't like kissing me?" she asked, looking hurt. Beth put her hands to her mouth to stop her laugh of disbelief.

"No, I did, it was great," Larry said quickly. "I mean, the slapping hurt a little bit-" Beth raised an eyebrow, "but..."

"So you don't like me then..." Amelia seemed to look even more hurt.

"Of course I like you! You're incredible," Larry told her, and went red at his own admission. "You're...it's just there are certain issues that would prevent us from...I just...you're not," he rambled, and Amelia raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not what, Mr. Daley?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Ok, you're made of..." he trailed off as Beth stared, wondering if he would really say it.

"Made of...?" Amelia repeated. Larry sighed.

"Wonderful things," he told her softly. "You're made of good, wonderful things," he said in a low voice, sighing. "Come on," he turned, glancing to Beth briefly. His expression was guilty, and he looked away quickly, before stopping as he spotted those hunting them coming into the museum.

"You guys go," Beth sighed as they backed away.

"What? But Beth-"

"Take this back. I'll hold these guys off," she shoved the Tablet into Larry's arms. "Do you guys remember the combination?" Beth looked to the pair.

"No, I don't!" Larry shook his head.

"I remember it," Amelia nodded. Beth smiled at her.

"Good. Now go, find a way to escape," she told them, and ran off. "Larry run! I've got the Tablet!" she yelled as she darted past Ivan. Larry frowned, at first not understanding what she meant when he held the Tablet, before seeing the large group chasing Beth.

"A diversion! Excellent!" Amelia smiled, grabbing Larry's arm and pulling him away. Beth sprinted through the museum, followed by the large group, before skidding to a stop as she reached a dead-end.

"End of the line doll, now hand it-" Al Capone stopped as Beth turned to him, smirking. "She don't got it!" he yelled.

"That's right, doll," Beth taunted, and waved her hand. A gust of wind slammed into the group, knocking them to the ground. With a laugh, Beth launched herself into the air.

"Get up!" Ivan yelled. "After her!" he ordered. Beth flew through the air, manipulating the winds to escape them.

"Beth come on! Hurry!" Larry yelled to the girl as she turned and blasted the group of men chasing her again.

"Larry go on ahead! I'll be fine!" Beth shouted back to him. Amelia pulled him along as the Tuskegee Airmen helped block the way. Beth landed behind them as the men began to fight, and she looked around to see her friends climbing onto an old airplane that hung from the ceiling. "Now that's not the escape I had in mind," she mused, turning and creating another gust of wind that battered at those still giving chase that managed to get past the blockade.

"Stop her!" Ivan shouted, barely managing to hold onto his hat. Beth kept going, but she had never used her powers for such a thing, and so was struggling to keep them all back.

"Watch out!" she heard Larry yell, and looked around just in time to see the plane flying overhead. She dove to the ground, as did the others as the plane flew away. She gave a laugh, watching as they flew off, before getting to her feet. Seeing Ivan and his men getting to his feet, Beth turned to run, only to run straight into someone.

"Hello doll," Beth looked up just in time for the butt of the Tommy Gun to hit her, and everything went dark.


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