Disclaimers: Same as the last chapter. Celestia does belong to me, but
(if you're so inclined) you can use her if you say she's mine
Note: Again, same as the last time. I don't care if there are any reviews, I'll keep posting anyways. I have also been drawing pictures, so if you want to see what Celestia looks like, just contact me. And if there is any wrong information, please tell me and I will correct it (or at least try to). Sorry it took such a long time, but I was hindered.
Celestia heard a muffled explosion as she walked in the sphinx. She hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder and hurried to Rath's lab. The scribe was just picking himself up off the floor and she helped him. She then looked at the table he had been working at. There were shards of glass on the tabletop and some on the floor. At least nothing was on fire. The scroll he had been working from had rolled itself back up, as if it was protecting itself.
"Are you alright?" she asked Rath, who was pulling himself away from her.
"I'm perfectly fine," he replied.
"What happened?"
"I was conducting an experiment."
"Maybe I could teach you what I know about chemistry," she suggested. "So something like this doesn't happen again."
"What is chemistry?"
"It's a science that deals with how different chemicals and elements react to each other. I think it was called Alchemy around the time you were alive, but people have discovered more elements and exacted the science." She made a face. "It's also a required course this year. I could teach you what I've learned."
"I'll consider it," Rath replied coldly. He walked over to a shelf and retrieved a scroll from it. She peered over his shoulder, even though it was more like looking around his arm, to see what was on it. She saw the standard Egyptian hieroglyphs and shrugged. She moved around in front of him and looked up into his bright green eyes.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the scroll.
"That," he replied, "is the spell for making the amulets that we wear."
"Really? Her purple eyes lit up. "Well, I've been thinking about that and I've made some sketches. Want to see?"
He sighed. "I might as well. Especially if I want to do it right."
"Okay." She pulled her backpack off and set it on the table, crunching sounds coming from the glass. She pulled out one of her notebooks and flipped it open to a certain page. She showed the drawings on the next few pages to him.
"You are very detailed," he commented, still no emotion in his voice.
"That's just the way I draw. All my other pictures in there are detailed, too. You can look at them if you want."
"I only need these ones. Thank you." He turned back to the table and Celestia took that as her cue to leave. She went to the kitchen to get a drink and found Armon in there. He was looking through the refrigerator for a snack. She smiled and reached into her backpack, which was now hanging off one shoulder.
"Hey, Armon. I've got something for you." The large mummy turned around, sniffing the air.
"I smell." he started.
"Beefy Burgers. It's left over from my lunch, but there's only one. I thought you might like it."
"Thanks," Armon said, taking the hamburger in his hand. She grabbed a soda out of the fridge and went to the living room while Armon stuffed the burger, paper and all, into his mouth. She smiled once again as she sat on the couch Nefer-Tina was already in there, watching television.
"What are you doing?" the other woman asked as she pulled a book out of her backpack.
"I've got finals tomorrow and I have to study."
"You are still in school?"
"Yeah," Celestia replied, "but it's my last year. I don't have school next year. I can also move out of my house next year."
Nefer-Tina looked concerned. "What will you do if you move away from your parents' house?"
"I can come here to live with you guys." Celestia stayed there all night, studying. She finally left at around ten-thirty so she could get some sleep before the next day.
88
The next day, Celestia came to the sphinx and immediately collapsed on the couch next to Armon. She had a soda in her hand and took a swig of it. "Finally!" she said to no one in particular. "I'm done!"
"Done with what?" Armon asked
"School," she replied. "All I have to do now is wait for my report card to come in."
"Good," a voice from the doorway. Celestia turned to see Rath standing there. "Now you can learn magic like you wanted to."
"You'll teach me? Thank you!" She made herself stay seated so she wouldn't embarrass Rath.
"Do you have a certain necklace that would work well for an amulet?" he asked her.
She fingered the one around her neck. "Would this one do?
"Yes. I can enchant all of your jewelry so that it will become part of your armor."
"Really? Okay." She walked over to him, her necklace, bracelet, and armband in hand, and gave them to him.
"Now you can get your first experience in magic by watching me perform the spell."
"Will I have to participate?"
"Not at the moment. You do not know enough about magic."
"Okay, because I have to be home by eleven tonight."
88
Rath was waiting for her when Celestia entered the sphinx the next day. He was holding her jewelry in his gray hands. She had felt slightly naked without them on.
"Are they done?" she asked him.
"Of course. Why would I be giving them to you if they were not finished?"
"You know, you sound like a Vulcan," Celestia said as she put her jewelry back on.
"A what?" Rath was looking at her as if she'd sprouted wings or something else equally ridiculous.
"A fictional race of people whose entire society is based on logic," she told him.
"It might be better than being here," he looked at the walls of the sphinx that surrounded them.
Celestia was looking down at her arms, turning them to see if there were any switches or buttons on the jewelry. "How do I work these?"
"Just say 'With the strength of Ra' and they will transform."
"With the strength of Ra," she aid to the air, feeling somewhat foolish. A flash of light blinded her momentarily. When her vision cleared, she saw that her clothes had morphed into armor. "It's perfect. Just like I imagined it."
"I would hope so. You were the one who designed it, after all."
She just shook her head and reached back over her shoulder. Her hand soon found the hilt of a sword and she pulled it out of its scabbard, the scrape of the metal sounding in her ears. She moved the weapon through the air in front of her, the artificial light glinting on the golden blade. Her head felt heavy from the weight of her headdress. She went to find a mirror and, surprisingly enough, it wasn't long before she found a full-length mirror. She looked herself over from head to toe.
Her headdress was shaped like a snake head, but not a cobra as Rath's was. The eyes of the snake were purple as was the diamond on the top of its head. Her necklace had stretched and shifted to that it was not only the neckline of her chest plate, but the edges of the armholes as well. The tail of the snake served at the bottom boundary of the chest plate which was purple in the middle, but faded to ice blue in varying stripes of colors. The part of the tail that extended past her chest plate wrapped around her legs and unchanged skirt like a cat would wrap it tail around its body. Instead of one armband, she now wore two, one on each arm. Her bracelet had turned into two gauntlets, one on each arm, with purple, fingerless gloves that had a snake head design on the back. She had golden guards on her calves that were reminiscent of Greek armor. Her boots had turned into sandals with a gold strap down the front of her foot and one behind her heel. Six straps held each sandal together. The top two were purple and held the front strap to the one on the heel. The next two were royal blue and held the front strap to the sole about where the arch of her foot was. The last two were sky blue and connected the front strap to the sole at the toe.
Suddenly, Rath's talisman started beeping and it flashed.
"What does that mean?" she asked as she followed him through the halls.
"The prince is in trouble," he replied as he headed for the garage. "With the strength of Ra!" he shouted, transforming as he ran.
They reached the garage and saw that everyone else was already there and in the Hot-Ra. Nefer-Tina sat behind the wheel with Ja-Kal next to her, and Armon was in the backseat, leaving the middle two open. Rath and Celestia vaulted into their seats seconds before Nefer-Tina closed the canopy.
She must have had the pedal pressed to the floor since Celestia got dizzy watching the scenery whiz past as little more than a green-and-brown blur. Soon, the car came to a screeching halt and Nefer-Tina retracted the canopy. Celestia disembarked with the rest of the guardians.
Celestia saw that there was already a wall of shabties in front of Scarab. Presley was a constant blur of movement as he tried to loosen Scarab's hold on him. She pulled her sword back out of its sheath and stood next to Rath, taking up a fighting posture. She started out by playing defense. She only slashed at the shabties that came into range. Then, she started getting more aggressive, chasing after the stone men. She slowly fought her way forward, trying to reach Presley and Scarab.
"You again?" Scarab hissed when he saw her. "You were enough of a nuisance last time!"
She threw him a mischievous smile. "I'm sure I was. Now, I'll be even more of nuisance." She hit his hand with her sword, which was angled halfway between the slicing edge and the broadside. All it managed to do was take of a layer of skin, or two.
"You really think that will stop me?" he asked disdainfully, taking one hand off of Presley and holding it above his head.
She saw an energy ball form in his hand and tried to move, but it was too late. It hit her and she stumbled to the ground, hitting her head. Her view grew dim and she blacked out.
"No, but this will," Rath called to Scarab, summoning his own energy. It didn't do much harm to Scarab, since he was already dressed in his armor, but it did scare him off. He flew away into the dark night.
Presley ran over to the downed woman and knelt next to her, leaning over her. The four mummies also gathered in a group, waiting for Celestia to wake up.
Celestia fought her way back to consciousness and forced herself to open her eyes. When she did she saw that everyone was standing over her. "Aren't you guys supposed to be off fighting the evil villains of the galaxy?" she asked in a dry voice, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Why would we do that?" Rath asked. "Our job is to protect the prince."
Celestia saw that he and the other mummies all had confused looks on their faces and burst out laughing. Presley laughed with her, enjoying he confused looks on the mummies' faces.
88
"A little bit of this, a pinch of that," Scarab muttered to himself, standing over a pot of boiling liquid. He stirred it. "A tablespoon." he trailed off, concentrating on the mixture in front of him.
"What are you doing, Boss? Making soup?" Heka asked him, slithering into the room.
"No, I'm making a potion that will ensure that girl is no longer a threat to us."
Heka's eyes widened slightly. "You're going to kill her, Boss?"
"No. It's going to be your job to make sure she takes this."
"Of course, Boss," Heka said before slithering away again. "I never learn," she muttered to herself. "I always have to go into his lab when he's working I."
Note: Again, same as the last time. I don't care if there are any reviews, I'll keep posting anyways. I have also been drawing pictures, so if you want to see what Celestia looks like, just contact me. And if there is any wrong information, please tell me and I will correct it (or at least try to). Sorry it took such a long time, but I was hindered.
Celestia heard a muffled explosion as she walked in the sphinx. She hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder and hurried to Rath's lab. The scribe was just picking himself up off the floor and she helped him. She then looked at the table he had been working at. There were shards of glass on the tabletop and some on the floor. At least nothing was on fire. The scroll he had been working from had rolled itself back up, as if it was protecting itself.
"Are you alright?" she asked Rath, who was pulling himself away from her.
"I'm perfectly fine," he replied.
"What happened?"
"I was conducting an experiment."
"Maybe I could teach you what I know about chemistry," she suggested. "So something like this doesn't happen again."
"What is chemistry?"
"It's a science that deals with how different chemicals and elements react to each other. I think it was called Alchemy around the time you were alive, but people have discovered more elements and exacted the science." She made a face. "It's also a required course this year. I could teach you what I've learned."
"I'll consider it," Rath replied coldly. He walked over to a shelf and retrieved a scroll from it. She peered over his shoulder, even though it was more like looking around his arm, to see what was on it. She saw the standard Egyptian hieroglyphs and shrugged. She moved around in front of him and looked up into his bright green eyes.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the scroll.
"That," he replied, "is the spell for making the amulets that we wear."
"Really? Her purple eyes lit up. "Well, I've been thinking about that and I've made some sketches. Want to see?"
He sighed. "I might as well. Especially if I want to do it right."
"Okay." She pulled her backpack off and set it on the table, crunching sounds coming from the glass. She pulled out one of her notebooks and flipped it open to a certain page. She showed the drawings on the next few pages to him.
"You are very detailed," he commented, still no emotion in his voice.
"That's just the way I draw. All my other pictures in there are detailed, too. You can look at them if you want."
"I only need these ones. Thank you." He turned back to the table and Celestia took that as her cue to leave. She went to the kitchen to get a drink and found Armon in there. He was looking through the refrigerator for a snack. She smiled and reached into her backpack, which was now hanging off one shoulder.
"Hey, Armon. I've got something for you." The large mummy turned around, sniffing the air.
"I smell." he started.
"Beefy Burgers. It's left over from my lunch, but there's only one. I thought you might like it."
"Thanks," Armon said, taking the hamburger in his hand. She grabbed a soda out of the fridge and went to the living room while Armon stuffed the burger, paper and all, into his mouth. She smiled once again as she sat on the couch Nefer-Tina was already in there, watching television.
"What are you doing?" the other woman asked as she pulled a book out of her backpack.
"I've got finals tomorrow and I have to study."
"You are still in school?"
"Yeah," Celestia replied, "but it's my last year. I don't have school next year. I can also move out of my house next year."
Nefer-Tina looked concerned. "What will you do if you move away from your parents' house?"
"I can come here to live with you guys." Celestia stayed there all night, studying. She finally left at around ten-thirty so she could get some sleep before the next day.
88
The next day, Celestia came to the sphinx and immediately collapsed on the couch next to Armon. She had a soda in her hand and took a swig of it. "Finally!" she said to no one in particular. "I'm done!"
"Done with what?" Armon asked
"School," she replied. "All I have to do now is wait for my report card to come in."
"Good," a voice from the doorway. Celestia turned to see Rath standing there. "Now you can learn magic like you wanted to."
"You'll teach me? Thank you!" She made herself stay seated so she wouldn't embarrass Rath.
"Do you have a certain necklace that would work well for an amulet?" he asked her.
She fingered the one around her neck. "Would this one do?
"Yes. I can enchant all of your jewelry so that it will become part of your armor."
"Really? Okay." She walked over to him, her necklace, bracelet, and armband in hand, and gave them to him.
"Now you can get your first experience in magic by watching me perform the spell."
"Will I have to participate?"
"Not at the moment. You do not know enough about magic."
"Okay, because I have to be home by eleven tonight."
88
Rath was waiting for her when Celestia entered the sphinx the next day. He was holding her jewelry in his gray hands. She had felt slightly naked without them on.
"Are they done?" she asked him.
"Of course. Why would I be giving them to you if they were not finished?"
"You know, you sound like a Vulcan," Celestia said as she put her jewelry back on.
"A what?" Rath was looking at her as if she'd sprouted wings or something else equally ridiculous.
"A fictional race of people whose entire society is based on logic," she told him.
"It might be better than being here," he looked at the walls of the sphinx that surrounded them.
Celestia was looking down at her arms, turning them to see if there were any switches or buttons on the jewelry. "How do I work these?"
"Just say 'With the strength of Ra' and they will transform."
"With the strength of Ra," she aid to the air, feeling somewhat foolish. A flash of light blinded her momentarily. When her vision cleared, she saw that her clothes had morphed into armor. "It's perfect. Just like I imagined it."
"I would hope so. You were the one who designed it, after all."
She just shook her head and reached back over her shoulder. Her hand soon found the hilt of a sword and she pulled it out of its scabbard, the scrape of the metal sounding in her ears. She moved the weapon through the air in front of her, the artificial light glinting on the golden blade. Her head felt heavy from the weight of her headdress. She went to find a mirror and, surprisingly enough, it wasn't long before she found a full-length mirror. She looked herself over from head to toe.
Her headdress was shaped like a snake head, but not a cobra as Rath's was. The eyes of the snake were purple as was the diamond on the top of its head. Her necklace had stretched and shifted to that it was not only the neckline of her chest plate, but the edges of the armholes as well. The tail of the snake served at the bottom boundary of the chest plate which was purple in the middle, but faded to ice blue in varying stripes of colors. The part of the tail that extended past her chest plate wrapped around her legs and unchanged skirt like a cat would wrap it tail around its body. Instead of one armband, she now wore two, one on each arm. Her bracelet had turned into two gauntlets, one on each arm, with purple, fingerless gloves that had a snake head design on the back. She had golden guards on her calves that were reminiscent of Greek armor. Her boots had turned into sandals with a gold strap down the front of her foot and one behind her heel. Six straps held each sandal together. The top two were purple and held the front strap to the one on the heel. The next two were royal blue and held the front strap to the sole about where the arch of her foot was. The last two were sky blue and connected the front strap to the sole at the toe.
Suddenly, Rath's talisman started beeping and it flashed.
"What does that mean?" she asked as she followed him through the halls.
"The prince is in trouble," he replied as he headed for the garage. "With the strength of Ra!" he shouted, transforming as he ran.
They reached the garage and saw that everyone else was already there and in the Hot-Ra. Nefer-Tina sat behind the wheel with Ja-Kal next to her, and Armon was in the backseat, leaving the middle two open. Rath and Celestia vaulted into their seats seconds before Nefer-Tina closed the canopy.
She must have had the pedal pressed to the floor since Celestia got dizzy watching the scenery whiz past as little more than a green-and-brown blur. Soon, the car came to a screeching halt and Nefer-Tina retracted the canopy. Celestia disembarked with the rest of the guardians.
Celestia saw that there was already a wall of shabties in front of Scarab. Presley was a constant blur of movement as he tried to loosen Scarab's hold on him. She pulled her sword back out of its sheath and stood next to Rath, taking up a fighting posture. She started out by playing defense. She only slashed at the shabties that came into range. Then, she started getting more aggressive, chasing after the stone men. She slowly fought her way forward, trying to reach Presley and Scarab.
"You again?" Scarab hissed when he saw her. "You were enough of a nuisance last time!"
She threw him a mischievous smile. "I'm sure I was. Now, I'll be even more of nuisance." She hit his hand with her sword, which was angled halfway between the slicing edge and the broadside. All it managed to do was take of a layer of skin, or two.
"You really think that will stop me?" he asked disdainfully, taking one hand off of Presley and holding it above his head.
She saw an energy ball form in his hand and tried to move, but it was too late. It hit her and she stumbled to the ground, hitting her head. Her view grew dim and she blacked out.
"No, but this will," Rath called to Scarab, summoning his own energy. It didn't do much harm to Scarab, since he was already dressed in his armor, but it did scare him off. He flew away into the dark night.
Presley ran over to the downed woman and knelt next to her, leaning over her. The four mummies also gathered in a group, waiting for Celestia to wake up.
Celestia fought her way back to consciousness and forced herself to open her eyes. When she did she saw that everyone was standing over her. "Aren't you guys supposed to be off fighting the evil villains of the galaxy?" she asked in a dry voice, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Why would we do that?" Rath asked. "Our job is to protect the prince."
Celestia saw that he and the other mummies all had confused looks on their faces and burst out laughing. Presley laughed with her, enjoying he confused looks on the mummies' faces.
88
"A little bit of this, a pinch of that," Scarab muttered to himself, standing over a pot of boiling liquid. He stirred it. "A tablespoon." he trailed off, concentrating on the mixture in front of him.
"What are you doing, Boss? Making soup?" Heka asked him, slithering into the room.
"No, I'm making a potion that will ensure that girl is no longer a threat to us."
Heka's eyes widened slightly. "You're going to kill her, Boss?"
"No. It's going to be your job to make sure she takes this."
"Of course, Boss," Heka said before slithering away again. "I never learn," she muttered to herself. "I always have to go into his lab when he's working I."
