England February 1940

BAM!

Kat slammed the letter down on the mahogany table, unable to look at it any longer.

"So…not good then?" Rick asked, looking up from cleaning his gun on the other side of the room.

"My cousins are out of school now! They had to pay for all the damage done to their store and now my cousins can't go to German schools. They are allowed- 'ALLOWED' to keep their bookstore for now, but for how long I don't know! Their neighbors got kicked out to make room for more 'Aryan' tenants. I asked them to come for just a visit and they said they can't, do you know why? Because they got their driver's licenses revoked! And they think it was just a misunderstanding!" Kat yelled, fists clenched at her sides.

"We going to get them?" Rick asked as Evie walked into the room, looking around.

"What's going on?" Evie asked.

"They still don't want to leave! They think it's just going to blow over! Do they think I'm stupid? I've been listening to the radio, and in Berlin especially they're arresting Jews-just for being Jews. Do you know what the rumors are?" Kat shouted, shaking all over.

Rick and Evie looked at one another, their expressions slightly concerned. Kat didn't pay attention as she continued, "Work camps! The rumors are they are arresting Jewish men and sending them to work camps! And they still don't want me to come and get them!"

Rick raised his eyebrows, "Kat-"

"-And how am I supposed to get into Germany now, I ask you? Do they think it's going to be easy when they finally decide things have gotten too bad? Do they think they are just going to be able to waltz out of there without a license?"

"Kat-"

"-What about me? They're rounding up Jews and sending them to work camps, do they really think that their daughter is going to be let back into Germany now?"

"Kat!"

Kat stopped talking, breathing heavily and looking up at Evie and Rick.

"Calm down, we've got a plan worked out, remember that idea we discussed?" Evie said.

"…Which one?" Kat asked, watching them as her body shivered with adrenaline.

"The one with the museum. We've already donated some of our collection to be put on display in Berlin. We're going to get your family, me and Rick." Evie said.

Rick holstered his gun, standing, "And the sooner the better."

Kat shook her head, feeling tears well up in her eyes, "It won't work, they're stubborn, they won't come with you."

Rick and Evie exchanged a look.

Kat frowned, sensing a hidden message between them, "What?"

Evie smiled, "Well, we've been thinking a lot about that and it was actually Jonathon who came up with an idea on how to fix that."

Kat blinked, they found a way to fix it?

"How?"

Rick smirked, "Well…it's not very conventional."

Evie nodded, "You're going to have to die."

Kat stared.

"Not in reality of course," Evie explained quickly, "but Jonathon was thinking that if your family thought you were dead, they'd come to your funeral…out of the country…for an extended period of time…and then wouldn't be able to get back into Germany."

Kat thought about it, her being dead would probably be enough to get them to leave, and if they were travelling with the O'Connells the entire family could be smuggled out. It could actually work, except….

"They won't believe you." Kat said.

"Why not?" Rick asked, looking up at Evie, "We seem like pretty truthful people, don't we, hun?"

"No I mean, they'll be expecting a ruse like this. They know at this point that I'd do anything to get them out of there. And they know we're friends." Kat explained.

"Then what can we do to convince them?" Evie asked, brow furrowing in thought.

"Well…we could maybe…they wouldn't believe just anybody but they would probably believe a Rabbi." Kat mused.

"So…we'd have to smuggle a Rabbi into Nazi Germany?" Rick raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm sure any spiritual leader would probably do." Kat thought.

"Oh, what about Father Paul?" Evie asked, "He'd probably be willing to do it, if it meant saving your family."

Rick nodded, "Worth a try."

Kat frowned, watching them, "…I didn't think you knew any spiritual leaders." The O'Connells were a very religious family the entirety of Kat having known them. Evie grew up learning about Ancient Egyptian beliefs, Rick was raised some sort of Christian but he was never practicing and Alex had always ever gotten anything religious from Kat's own Jewish upbringing.

Rick looked up at Evie, "Well, we had to do some re-thinking of things lately."

Kat turned to Evie, who gave a small smile, "I had some questions that needed answering after our little trip to Ahm Shere, Father Paul was able to help me."

"Alright then," Kat said, not really caring much who they got as long as it meant her family would be getting out of Germany, "we'll go ask Father Paul."

Germany

Imhotep looked up as the candle blew out, darkening his work space. There had been no draft in the room.

He sat up stiffly, forgetting the work he had started on the contractors he was assigning to build a new factory in Munich.

It was happening again.

Suddenly hundreds of claws were scraping his legs, like dogs frantically pawing. Imhotep stood quickly, knocking his chair backwards. He brushed at his legs, but it made no difference as the clawing continued. A pig squealed in the distance, then louder and louder until it was as if it were right in front of him. Imhotep covered his ears to block the sound, grimacing. Dark shadows crept around the edges of the room, their black shapes contorting and twisting as they stalked around him.

Imhotep quickly took a hand off one ear and dug into his shirt, taking out an amulet of Anubis. He held it up, chanting.

The invisible pig squealed louder and louder.

Thump. Thumpthumpthump.

Blows like fists started to pound into his back. Wincing, he chanted louder but the pig squeal kept rising in volume and the blows started to get stronger.

THUMP!

"Argh!" A blow hit him so hard he dropped the amulet and stopped chanting as he staggered on his feet trying to keep his balance.

Then everything stopped. Imhotep looked around, his legs tingling from the sensation of the claws stopping, ears ringing from the squealing. The shadows had disappeared and he was alone again.

Imhotep panted, digging a kerchief out of his pocket he dabbed at the cold sheen on his face.

It was getting worse.

Slowly he hoisted the chair back up and sat down in it. He relit the candle and took a deep breath with eyes closed, frowning. He knew what was doing it.

He had always invited the underworld to share part of his body, it was how he had acquired the power he needed. It gave him foresight and success. Letting the darkness possess him made it possible to continue to keep coming back from the netherworld, at least that's what they told him, but it came at a cost.

And the cost was growing more heavy as his power was becoming less.

He shook his head, feeling silly, all the priests of Anubis faced this. Because of the curse of the Hom Dai it was that much more pronounced for him, but possession was just one of the hazards every Egyptian priest or priestess faced at one point or another.

He took up his pen, clenching it tightly in his fist. It was only going to get worse.

Many priests had even been killed back in ancient times from the beatings or suicides that resulted from it. He shook his head again, focusing back on the papers in front of him. It didn't matter to him, there was no cure anyway once you had given yourself to the blackness, and he wasn't sure he wanted one. The Egyptian spirits had promised him power and they would bring him back if died anyway, and hadn't they? He was alive now because of them, what did he have to worry about outside a few beatings every now and then?

Imhotep smiled, thinking himself silly. He was wasting time thinking about it, he had work to do.

His face drained of color as he saw another shadow twisting and creeping in the corner of his vision. He promptly scooted his chair to one side, back facing it, and tried to focus on the work in front of him.

England

"Hello, Father Paul!" Evie greeted as they stepped into the office room.

"Howdy Father." Rick nodded.

"Ah, O'Connells, very glad to see you, very glad! I got your message. This must be Kat?" A short, skinny man wearing all black with a traditional white color stood up from his desk, smiling.

Kat smiled politely. He reached out a small hand and Kat shook it, unable to stop herself from thinking that this little man couldn't have been more than 90 pounds sopping wet, and he was going to be the one the O'Connells thought would save her family, "Nice to meet you."

"Now I've been filled in on the situation for Rick and Evelyn here, your family is stuck in Germany and you'd like some help getting them out, correct?" Father Paul asked, sitting back down.

Kat resisted the urge to check under the desk to see if his feet were even able to reach the ground from the chair, "Well, not exactly. They don't want to leave, and now they can't. We were hoping that if they thought I was dead they'd be willing to leave the country and then wouldn't be able to get back in and well, they'd listen to a religious leader otherwise they'd know I was faking."

"Hmm…you say they live in Germany? Are they aware of what is happening around them?" Father Paul asked.

"They're in denial." Rick said.

"I see. We've had problems with the Church there too, some priests are being taken to work camps under the accusations of anti-Nazi sentiment, along with many Jewish men. The Rabbis there are having even greater difficulties. It can be an easy thing to want to deny, but it is the reality." Father Paul said, shaking his head slightly.

"As for what you ask, I cannot lie to your family to get them to leave. And even if I did, what is to prevent them from trying to get back?"

"We'll convince them to stay, once they are out they'll be safe!" Kat said, standing up. "And so what if it's a little lie, if it will save their lives?"

Father Paul watched her quietly, as she stood clenching her fists above him. He turned his head and dug something out from one of his drawers, placing it on the desk in front of them, "I cannot lie, but then if you want my help, I will not have to."

Kat frowned, looking at the pamphlet on the desk, "…?"

"I cannot tell your family that you are dead if you are not. However, the Church has a long history of converting souls through the journey of growing closer to God, a process that can be termed 'dying to sin' or 'dying to self'. If you are willing to sit for some classes on the Catholic Church and what she teaches, I can truthfully write a letter bearing my seal that you are, in fact, 'dying'. If at the end of the lessons you do not wish to convert, that is completely up to you, but in order for my words to be truthful, this is the process I would most heartily recommend." Father Paul stated.

Kat looked down at the pamphlet, then back up at Father Paul, "…So…I wouldn't…I wouldn't have to convert if I did this, right?"

"Not unless you wanted to." Father Paul said, watching her carefully, "Evie has told me you are Jewish. We respect the Jewish people as the first people God revealed Himself to and hold that the Jewish people belong to the Community of the Church."

Kat slowly slid the pamphlet off the desk, looking at it, "And if I go to these 'lessons', you'll tell my family that I'm dying and they need to come?"

Father Paul smiled, his thin lips spreading wide, giving him the impression of a mischievous child, "Well dying to self should certainly be a family affair worth celebrating, I'd like them to get here as soon as possible for that, wouldn't you think?"

Kat inspected the pamphlet, it looked like they offered classes once a week. That wasn't so bad. And as long as she wasn't expected to convert at the end of it, and it would get her family out of Germany….

"Alright, fine. I'll respect that you can't lie if you're going to help us...if you'll respect I'm not going to convert at the end of this." Kat said.

Father Paul smiled, "God gave us all free will so as to choose to do what we believe is right, I can ask no more of others than to exercise that. Informedly, of course."

"So you'll do it?" Rick asked.

"Yes." Father Paul nodded.

"Great. We'll have to get everything ready." Rick said, looking at Evie, who nodded. They rose and shook hands with Father Paul. They exited the office but Kat lingered.

Father Paul lifted his eyebrows, "Something on your mind?"

Kat bit her cheek, unsure of how to say it.

Ever since that day she had been stabbed, things had gotten a little strange for her. She had tried to ask one of her Rabbi's about it in Italy but…that conversation hadn't turned out so good.

"What…what is your Church's stance on…reincarnation?" Kat ventured, uncertainly.

Father Paul watched her closely, "An interesting question, and one similar to another asked recently."

"The problems with reincarnation are manifold and dangerous. God tells us we can only truly die once and we are judged right afterwards. As in the case of certain individuals whose heart stops beating and then are brought back, they can claim to have been dead, but yet they were not judged. So what does this mean? Simply that our ideals of death differ from God's ideals. You may recall that Enoch and Elijah are still in a place of waiting until God brings them back for their mission here on Earth, they are not on Earth, but yet they are not dead. Lay faithful and Saint alike have testified at having seen spirits of those who have died back on Earth, though usually they have already been judged and are filling out their Purgatory time or have been sent back with a message for us." Father Paul explained.

"The reality of the matter is this: Reincarnation is not a reality that the Church recognizes as it involves the re-giving of a life after death, teaching that we are not to be judged eternally and there is no afterlife, but only this one that we would be constantly reborn into. Heaven help us all when a comet strikes or the Sun goes out if Earth was truly all we had. We believe in life after death and the resurrection of the body at the End of Time, which is different than being constantly reborn after dying again and again." Father Paul said.

Kat frowned, "Well…what if…what if…." She didn't know how to say it.

Father Paul cocked his head to one side thoughtfully, "What if someone had memories from an ancient time and place that couldn't possibly be explained in any other way than reincarnation?"

Kat blinked. Yes. That.

He smiled, "Hypothetically would this person have been reborn by a separate set of parents, or gone to a place of waiting like Enoch and Elijah without actually having been judged as they would have had they died?"

Kat blinked, she had been in that strange place, without a body, for a long time. The light place, with the music. But then, that didn't make sense, she had parents she was trying to smuggle out of Germany, didn't she?

"What if this person has parents in this time?"

"Biological? Or Adopted?"

Kat swallowed. It had never been a topic for discussion. "A-adopted?"

Father Paul nodded, "Well, this person would probably not have been born again, as opposed to awakened from their original body, if such a body was not taken up to a waiting limbo sort of place. I'd imagine this person's memories would have only started in this day and age after they woke up, maybe having some degree of amnesia about times before now? If of course we are talking about an event that happened in a similar way that I've recently ran into."

Kat stared. She had remembered growing up throughout the European countryside, but only after about what her parents deemed to be sixteen years old. Amnesia was an understatement, and something she had never shared with anyone outside her family. Whenever it was brought up, they said she had had an accident falling off a ladder and that was the end of it. She knew her earliest memory was of her family, but by then they had she was a teenager. She had roamed this world for really only a few years with actual memory of it in this time frame, just a few years before she met the O'Connells. Had she really been asleep before then? For thousands of years? How could a body last that long? Wouldn't she have rotted and turned to dust? Could her parents have lied to her about everything?

Father Paul was watching her, she looked up at him dazed. He sighed, giving her a half smile, "God works in mysterious ways, and not all are known to us. Fortunately, we know that He is Fair, Just and also Merciful, whatever and however He decides to allow things to be. Even if we do not always see how or why."

"This…this other 'event' that you mentioned. You're talking about Evie? She was a queen back in Ancient Egypt." Kat asked, her throat feeling tight and funny.

Father Paul nodded briefly, "It can be disconcerting to feel like you are two people living in one body, instead of one person with extra memories of how things were before you remembered yourself. But I can guarantee you that reincarnation is not a driving factor behind it, rather a poor explanation of the mysterious. And a rather dangerous one at that. Did you know that there have been demonic possessions linked to the belief of reincarnation?"

Kat frowned, "Demons are real too?"

"Quite. Possessions are of course different than mental illness, which the secular world seems to have confused it with. Actual possessions can be brought on by dabbling in things that would make one believe they have powers or insight into the future or reincarnation." Father Paul smiled, "But I don't want to scare you out of attending our lessons, if you wish to learn more I can certainly teach you, but perhaps we should save that for later, hm?"

Kat looked back down at the pamphlet, maybe there would be some interesting things in these lessons, if Father Paul was teaching them, "Yeah, sure."

Writer's note: Aaaand that's a wrap! So I know I've had a lot of different religious ideas throughout this story, but I think this explanation should tie things up the best. I wanted to clarify before things went any further in the story now that we are going to meet Kat's family soon, and now that Imhotep is back in the picture. As always I try to make my stories as accurate as possible and Exorcists have claimed that reincarnation beliefs can actually cause possession, and since I don't want my readers getting possessed because of me, I just want to make it clear what this story is about in terms of reincarnation: that it hasn't actually happened and is a dangerous thing. If it's something you personally believe in and take offense to I'm sorry to offend you personally, but I also personally cannot support that belief and hope we can still look past that to be friendly to one another. I love all my readers, but all my readers don't have to love me if they feel so inclined. So again, just to clarify, I do not promote reincarnation and this story isn't about it. It's more about possessions and a limbo world of waiting. I have also looked into stories of actual possessions and want to be as factual as I possibly can in terms of how they are described, so Imhotep is going to be in for a bumpy ride. This is actually a very pivotal bit of information for the progression of the story as well, and you will see why later on. I did, after all, warn you that it was going to take a darker turn ;)