The moment they entered the dark passage into the depths of Humunaptra, Evy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She had been in this God awful city enough times, on its surface, and in its deepest dungeons (or so she had believed at the time). As she looked down into the darkness, Evy wanted nothing more than to turn right around and leave.

"You aright?" Rick whispered, gripping her waist and giving her a worried glance. Evy pressed her lips together and nodded. It was no use standing there prolonging the inevitable. Raising her chin, Evy stepped forward into the darkness, Rick producing a torch to light the way. The group was silent as they worked their way down. The tunnel was devoid of sunlight, making it cold, much colder than one would have expected for being in the middle of the desert. They travelled downwards for so long that Evy lost track of time. She was about to inquire to Imhotep if he had in fact found the right spot when the dirt walls slowly transferred into dark stone.

Mist rose from all their lips as they ventured down farther, the cold growing thicker. Evy glanced behind her to make sure they were all still together. Ardeth pulled up the rear, glaring at the back of Imhotep's head. The Mummy himself stared ahead into the darkness, looking far too calm in Evy's opinion. Lazarus was next, an arm wrapped around Amunet's waist, trying to control her shivering. Amunet's nose, ears and cheeks were a bright pink from the cold. She let out a sneeze that echoed around the solid stone walls. She looked very pale, earning Evy's concern. She did not look well at all. She supposed the toll of their mission was weighing heavily on her.

Turning back around, Evy started to observe the walls. There were so many inscriptions, they didn't have the time to look through all of them before the Westings were on top of them. Biting her lip, Evy grabbed Rick's arm to stop their group. Turning around, she tried to make herself as tall as possible as she look Imhotep in the eye.

"Alright," she said, making sure there was no shaking in her voice. "Where exactly are these inscriptions? We don't have much time so I suggest you direct us there as soon as you can." Imhotep looked down at Evy, his expression growing cold. Evy wasn't sure if it was the temperature or his stare, but a shiver ran down her spine.

"The inscriptions are all along the passage that lead towards the Vessel Chamber," he said simply. Amunet let out another sneeze, making Imhotep glance down at her for a moment, eyes narrowing.

"Yes, but what we need specifically is how to separate the Vessel," Evy pressed. "There are miles of these walls!" Imhotep turned his attention back to Evy.

"You are the scholar, are you not?" he snapped. Evy clenched her jaw, Rick pulling out his gun, pointing it right at Imhotep's forehead.

"Don't play dumb," he snapped, cocking his pistol with a click. "We didn't come all this way just for you to be vague."

"Enough," Amunet piped up, reaching forward to drag Rick's gun down. Evy had to admire her dislike of weapons. They both shared that passion. "How c-could he possibly know where a particular inscription is?" she said, shuddering. "If you want real r-results, we should sp-split up."

"That is a terrible idea," Rick stated, raising his gun again. Amunet sneezed multiple times, launching herself against Lazarus.

"Are you alright?" he said, gripping her shoulders. He rested his hand against her forehead. "You are burning up." Amunet stepped away from him, blushing even though her skin had lost its pallor.

"Of course I am not alright!" she cried. "My home has been destroyed, I have been dragged all the way across the country, nearly killed multiple times, and am now in the city of the dead!" A few tears stung her eyes that did not go unnoticed, but she quickly brushed then away. "All I want is to free Lazarus and let this all be over." With this, she turned to look Imhotep right in the eyes. He took a step back, obviously not expecting her to look at him with such determination.

"Do you know the location of the particular inscription Evy needs?" she asked. Imhotep blinked, watching her brown eyes. He collected himself and set his jaw.

"No."

Amunet looked at him for a long time before turning back to look at Evy and Rick with a new found determination. "He does not know where it is," she said, trying to speak through her obvious lack of breath. "So instead of wasting any more time, let's start looking!" The group was silent at this and Ardeth began to speak, earning a glare from Amunet.

"And if you are worried about Imhotep dragging Lazarus off to the Vessel Chamber, don't be," she snapped, pointing at him with a shaking finger. "I will go with Imhotep and leave Lazarus in your capable hands." Ardeth closed his mouth, dark eyes glaring at Amunet. Although he might not have admitted it, he approved of the idea. Lazarus however, did not like it at all.

"No, Amunet it isn't safe," he said, gripping her arms and looking at her with worry. Amunet bit her lip and turned her head away, embarrassed that this was going on in front of everyone else.

"Lazarus please," she whispered. "You know they want to keep you safe."

"And I want to keep you safe," he pleaded. Amunet sneezed, hoping to cover up her blush.

"Lazarus…I need time to think." She glanced up at him through her lashes, giving him a meaningful look. Lazarus blinked, understanding her and reluctantly let her go. Amunet nodded her head in a silent thanks before turning back to the O'Connells. "Does that sound like a plan?" Rick, who hadn't taken his gaze from Imhotep, lowered his gun.

"Alright then," Evy said with a shuddering sigh. "Let's get started." Rick made another torch for Ardeth and one for Amunet, which she handed to Imhotep, her shaking hands not allowing her to hold it without the fear of dropping it. They moved down in the passageways, the three groups eventually branching off and vanishing into the darkness. Imhotep and Amunet were the first group to branch off, walking into the darkness until the sight of their torch vanished. Lazarus watched after them, worry etched across his face.

"It was wise for her to go with him," Ardeth said. Lazarus' jaw clenched and he glared at his mentor.

"You say that because you dislike her." Ardeth glanced at him, eyes narrowing at his tone.

"I do. She reeks of death Lazarus. Your affection for her will get you killed."

"You are a fool," Lazarus spat. He snatched the torch from him and took off down a separate tunnel. Ardeth gave out a deep sigh and followed, leaving the O'Connells to continue on alone. Evy cocked an eyebrow at Rick who shook his head.

"We have enough on our hands without getting involved in any romantic drama." He said, sweeping the torch across his view to remove some cob webs.

"Isn't that what got us here in the first place?" she said, trying to lighten the mood by referring to her being mistaken for Imhotep's dead lover after raising him.

"No, you were reading from something you shouldn't have been," Rick said, giving her a pointed look. Evy rolled her eyes and kept close to her husband, the cold closing in around them. They continued to walk down the deep tunnel, stopping every once in a while to let Evy peer at the hieroglyphics only to have her shake her head and move on. They walked for what felt like forever before a shout made them stop. Evy gripped onto Rick, eyes widening.

"What was that?" she whispered, shivering in the cold.

"I don't know," Rick said, cocking his gun and keeping it ahead of him. The crept along, the shout still echoing off the walls. More shouts joined in until the walls rang with them.

"The Westings found their way in," Evy hissed. "And we still haven't found the inscriptions!" Rick grabbed Evy's hand, pulling her along at a speed that did not allow her to properly look at the walls. "Rick, we have to find the inscription!"

"No, we need to find the others and get the hell out of here!" Evy opened her mouth to protest, but the shouts would have drowned anything she would have said. They ran faster, kicking up dust and making it hard to breathe as well as cold. Evy felt her heart beat faster and faster until she felt like she might faint before they rounded the corner and ran into someone.

Rick yelled and nearly shot Ardeth in the head, had he not ducked in time. Lazarus had ducked as well, grabbing his mentor. "By the Gods, you are trigger happy!" Lazarus yelled, earning a hush from Evy.

"The Westings found their way into the tunnels," she whispered.

"Yes, once we heard them we thought it best to come find you," Ardeth said, not at all fazed about nearly being shot.

"Did you find anything?" Rick asked. Lazarus' shoulders sagged a little as he shook his head. Ardeth felt his disappointment and looked at Rick.

"We cannot leave. Not until we know how to free Lazarus from his bond to Anubis."

"Look, I want to end this as much as you, but we don't have the time to look for one lousy rock with the Westings hunting us like dogs!" Rick said, trying to keep his voice down.

"They will not let us return here if we leave now!" Ardeth pointed out, beginning to sound desperate.

"Boys!"

The three men turned to find Evy kneeling on the ground, hand pressed against a line of hieroglyphics, a grin on her face. "While you were bickering, I managed to find something rather useful." Lazarus' face brightened and he leaned down.

"What does it say?" he asked, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes.

"No time to say now," Evy said, holding out a hand to Rick. "Darling, hand me my charcoal and paper please." Rick fished out the required items and handed them to his wife. She quickly pressed the paper to the wall and started scribbling, making indents into the paper, leaving a copy of the letters. "There, we have what we need."

"What if there is more?" Ardeth inquired. Evy opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes shifted and what escaped was a scream. Ardeth, Lazarus and Rick whirled around to find the leader of the Westings standing in the passage, gun loaded and ready. Before Rick could probably react, the gun went off, hitting him in the shoulder.

"Rick!" Evy screamed. Rick stumbled, backing into the wall. More Westings appeared around the corner, chanting and yelling loudly. Ardeth pulled out his sword and sent it hissing through the air, stepping in front of Lazarus. Evy grabbed Rick, looking at his wound. Ardeth was quickly subdued as Westings surrounded them, spears pointed, wild chanting filling the room. The Westings leader stepped forward, his arm bandaged. He glared at Rick, taking his foot and stepping down on his gunshot wound.

"No! Stop it!" Evy cried, but she was pried away by two other Westings. Rick grunted in pain, glaring up at the lead Westing.

"An eye for an eye," the Westing said, his voice gruff and deep. Rick spat at him, writhing against the pain.

"Stop! Let them go!" Lazarus yelled. The lead Westing turned his head, one dark eye peering out from his head wrappings. He removed his foot from Rick's wound to step towards Lazarus. "It's me you want! Take me and let them go," he begged, pulling against his captors.

"No Lazarus!" Ardeth yelled, earning a punch in the stomach that knocked out his breath. The Westing squinted at Lazarus for a moment before grabbing his throat and squeezing, watching as Lazarus gasped for air, his eyes widening in pain.

"You are nothing but a bug under my shoe boy," he snapped. "You have nothing to bargain with, unless you tell me where the Vessel is!" Through the pain and gasping for air, Lazarus looked confused.

"I…am…the Vessel," he rasped. The Westing gave a disgusted expression before ramming Lazarus into the wall, his face inches away from his.

"Do not play games with me!" he snarled, his fingers digging into Lazarus' throat. "Where is she?! Where is the golden haired Egyptian?!" At these words, the entire group froze, the words ringing in their ears.

"Oh my God."

The Westing look at Evy, who was still being held. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at the Westing and Lazarus.

"Are you…talking about…the girl that was with us?" she asked, her entire body going limp.

"Yes!" The Westing snapped. Evy's gaze shifted from Rick, to Ardeth, to Lazarus, all whose eyes grew wide in shock and horror. Lazarus stop struggling against his captors, his face shocked and full of pain.

"We've made a horrible mistake. Lazarus isn't the Vessel," Evy whispered, her voice cracking.

"Amunet is."

((This Chapter's Question: Didn't see that coming, did yah?))