Chapter Three Title: Welcome Home Party

Three reviewers, that's a bit better. Thanks a bunch to Shann51, anais, and immortalwizardpirateelf-fan. To anais, you make a very good point. But I realized the complete opposite (I sort of put myself in their position). The reason Elizabeth hasn't yet told her parents about her being a slayer is because of all they've seen that would cause more problems and paranoia than not. I see Rick as the overprotective kind of father of his little girl, you know? Besides, it's more interesting to have them find out in the story.

--------------------

Elizabeth never thought she would be so happy to lay eyes on the stormy city of London. A violent thunderstorm was in effect, which was nothing out of the ordinary for London. After another near-death experience to add in her diary she was ready to get back to open cemeteries and good old-fashioned vampires and demons. She promised Roland, her watcher, that she would notify him as soon as possible of her return so they could resume their routines of training and patrolling. She also would have to relate to him of the recent events including her mother receiving visions and the strange dreams Elizabeth herself had been experiencing during the trip back.

Her dreams were, as usual, cryptic and scattered, but one image stayed in her mind after waking and long after. She kept seeing a twisted, deformed skeletal creature frozen in the middle of seemingly painful spasms molded into rock. It was positively gruesome and Elizabeth despised looking upon it, but it kept surfacing in her dreams. What was the deal with that?

She let her brother take up the privilege of carrying the bracelet in because as far as this slayer was concerned, she wanted nothing further to do with it. She had tried convincing her parents to leave the blasted thing in Egypt, but again they would not listen...rather her mother wouldn't, her father she thought was more on her side.

As soon as she entered the foyer she saw her mother head to the library with her father trailing after. The library in the O'Connell manor was enormous; two stories tall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled to the brim with dozens of books—the majority of which centered on Ancient Egypt—and the room was decorated with several ancient artifacts. She knew why her mother was going there.

"Honestly Mum, you should have been a watcher. They would have loved you," Elizabeth muttered following her parents.

She came upon her mother pawing through books and notes saying to her father, "According to research, that bracelet is some sort of guide. It leads to the Lost Oasis of Ahm Shere."

Oh please don't tell me she's thinking of going there, whatever the hell that place is. If her mother decided that they must go there then Elizabeth was obligated to go along to protect her family. Her father seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her.

"Evy, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. We just got home."

Her mother used that remark to her advantage. Clever woman. "That's the beauty of it! We're already packed!"

"You have got to be joking! Mum, we nearly drowned in Egypt. Can't you take a hint? I don't want to go traipsing off to some bleedin oasis especially if that damned bracelet is the one that leads to it!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

Evelyn didn't seem to see past the fact that her well brought up daughter had used a curse word. The girl had obviously spent far too much time around her father and uncle. "Elizabeth Nefertiri O'Connell! I don't ever want to hear you use such language again! You must set an example for your brother!" She glared accusingly at her husband. "This is all your doing."

"What?!" Rick said defensively.

Elizabeth had the grace to look contrite before saying, "I'm sorry Mother, but I believe there are more important things to worry about at the moment. Namely that fancy Bracelet of Anubis that you're so fond of, which, I remind you, nearly got us all killed."

"Evy, she does have a point. Give me one good reason," Rick said tiredly.

Evelyn sidled up to her husband with a seductive air about her. "It's just an oasis. A beautiful, romantic oasis."

Elizabeth groaned in disgust and walked upstairs to the second story. If this was how her mother was going to convince her father to go then Elizabeth might as well begin writing her last will and testament now. Her parents continued their little foreplay activity downstairs.

"Oh, you mean the kind with pine trees, a cozy beach, and cool water?" Rick said softly.

Evelyn nodded and nuzzled his neck.

As much as he enjoyed the nuzzling he knew he had to ask the next question. "All right, what's the catch?"

Evelyn replied sheepishly, "Supposedly it's the resting place of the Army of Anubis."

A sardonic snort from upstairs could be heard where Elizabeth was looking through some books.

Rick groaned. "See, I knew there'd be a catch. There's always a catch. And I bet this army is commanded by this Scorpion King guy."

"He awakens once every six thousand years," Evelyn confirmed as the two ascended the stairs.

"And I'll wager if someone doesn't kill him, he'll wipe out the world," Elizabeth drawled.

Evelyn looked at her daughter in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

Now this was bizarre. Her job and her personal life were being combined. Usually end-of-the-world discussions were had at her watcher's flat. She never thought she would be seriously broaching the subject with her family, but then stranger things have occurred. Although usually the conversations with Roland didn't include looking for an apocalypse to start.

"In 1150 B.C., Ramses IV sent the last known expedition to actually reach the oasis. He sent more than a thousand men," Evelyn informed them.

"And none of them were ever seen again," Rick replied in an ironic tone.

"How did you know? Did you suddenly start reading my books?"

"I didn't know, but that's always how the story goes."

Evelyn seemed to be contemplating for a moment before saying, "Did I mention there was a gold pyramid?"

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, shamefully becoming intrigued.

"Alexander the Great sent troops to search for it."

"Stupid ponce," Elizabeth whispered to herself.

"So did Caesar," Evelyn continued.

"What a guy," Rick replied dryly, still unconvinced.

"And Napoleon!"

Rick sighed. She really wasn't going to let this go. "Yeah, but we're smarter than him." He paused and then added, "Taller too."

"Exactly! And that's why we're going to find it!" Evelyn insisted confidently.

Even though she disagreed with her mother Elizabeth had to deeply admire that fiery determination and confidence.

"Because we're taller?" Rick was a little confused.

Evelyn smiled indulgently and jumped from the ladder of the bookshelf into her husband's arms. "That's why I love you."

Below, Alex came into the library lugging the chest in with him. When Elizabeth saw her brother carrying the heavy object she winced. She could have at least carried it in. After all, the kid was only eight.

"Mum! What do I do with this chest? Sucker weighs a god-dang ton!"

"Alex! Watch your language!" Evelyn scolded.

Elizabeth cracked up when Alex tilted his nose into the air and mimicked the perfect imitation of upper-class English, "Rather weighty, this."

Alex set the cumbersome chest onto a small table. He heard a small clicking sound emanate from within and, in the manner of all curious eight-year-olds, bent down to listen closer. He couldn't hear anything now, but he had heard something. He was sure of it. Pulling the key from his pocket he began to open the chest.

The debate continued upstairs. Rick walked to a bookshelf and pulled down a book. Then he did something that stunned his wife and daughter—he opened the book and began to read it.

"Dear God, Mum. Dad's reading a book. I never thought I'd see the day," Elizabeth teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up," Rick retorted, still flipping through the pages. "Evy, your first weird dream was six weeks ago, right?"

Evelyn gave him a cursory nod as an answer.

Rick showed her and Elizabeth the page he was reading. "That just happens to coincide with the Egyptian New Year....the Year of the Scorpion."

This was definitely news to the two ladies in front of him. A sick feeling of dread began to form in Elizabeth's stomach. It was morbidly funny how accustomed to that feeling she was becoming.

Evelyn gulped and murmured, "Coincidence."

Rick sighed. "Maybe, all I'm saying is let's just be cautious.

Meanwhile, the youngest O'Connell was peering into the now open chest and looking upon the golden Bracelet of Anubis. Why was the bracelet open? That was definitely strange. Like his sister had days ago, he felt the power of the bracelet beckon to him. He felt its call to touch it and wear it and he knew he had to obey. He couldn't explain what he felt had he attempted. Unlike his sister, however, he had not the aid of the power of the Slayer to keep him from temptation. He glanced upstairs and assured himself no one was paying him any mind. His parents and sister were too caught up in a debate. Rolling up his sleeve he carefully placed the bracelet on his wrist. It automatically snapped shut and caught the boy by surprise. Alex stumbled backwards in astonishment.

"If anything ever happened to one of you, I would never forgive myself. You two and Alex are the only things that matter to me," Rick said softly, pulling his wife and daughter in close.

Elizabeth, seeing the direction that this had the potential in going, let her father hug her for a while before pulling away. There was no way she was being squished in between those shag bunnies. Perhaps she should check on Ebony and make sure her Uncle Jonathan was feeding her. In fact, she had better make sure Jonathan hadn't brought in any of his girlfriends and used her room for his..."extra curricular activities." It had happened before and she had warned him.

Evelyn snuggled up close to Rick and joked, "Well, the Bembridge scholars have been begging me to run the British Museum."

Her giggles were quieted when her husband kissed her lovingly.

Alex was beginning to grow frantic now and was about to call out for help when the library disappeared and he was on a great desert plain. Standing before him were three enormous pyramids and a colossal Sphinx. He recognized this place; he'd visited it with his family. This was the Giza Plateau. Except these giant structures looked brand new instead of weathered and chipped.

The boy was suddenly flying over the Nile River and then across the desert seeing it all from a bird's eye view. He kept on flying until he reached another location his family had visited, the Temple of Amen at Karnak.

The visions ended after that and Alex was staring at the bracelet in a new light. He wanted this thing off. Now. He searched for a clasp, but there was none. The links were practically fused shut; sealed onto his wrist forever.

After breaking off the kiss Evelyn smiled in contentment then sighed. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?" Rick asked mischievously.

"It makes me feel like agreeing to anything."

"Excellent," Rick replied and he tipped Evelyn as if they were doing the tango and was about to kiss her again before noticing the skimpy under-clothing hanging on a shelf.

"Those knickers are not mine," Evelyn said in confusion.

Rick's sky blue eyes narrowed and he growled, "Jonathan."

He released his wife and went to find his troublesome brother-in-law. Without looking downstairs he yelled, "Hey Alex, behave yourself for a couple of minutes, okay?"

Alex slammed the chest shut and stood in front with a look of perfect innocence. "Uh, you betcha!"

He picked up the chest and gasped when he realized how light it was. Thinking quickly he grabbed a small statue nearby and dropped it inside before slamming the lid shut again. Hopefully he could get this bracelet off soon and no one would have to know he had put it on in the first place.

His mother walked downstairs and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Happy to be home?"

Forcing himself to smile he said, "Couldn't be happier!"

--------------------

She was the perfect girl. She was beautiful, charming, had an impressive chest size, a dancer, and best of all: a complete flake. Jonathan Carnahan walked down the hallways of his sister's house with one arm around her and the other grasping a gold scepter. Part of how he had charmed the dancer was to exaggerate on his past escapades. This one being the time he and his sister and his sister's husband, Rick O'Connell, had fought the resurrected mummy, Imhotep, at Hamunaptra over fifteen years ago.

"Then I killed the mummy and all his minions and stole his scepter!"

The blonde dancer giggled. "You're so brave," she cooed.

The pair skidded to a stop at a bedroom door—his niece's bedroom of all bedrooms; she was going to kill him if he went in there—when men wearing red turbans blocked his way. That was odd. There weren't any red turbaned men the last time he was here.

"So sorry, we must be in the wrong house," he said, backing away.

"I thought you said this was your house!" the dancer pouted in confusion.

"No I didn't," he said as the men grabbed him and pulled him away from the dancer.

"Call me!" she cried out.

The men dragged him into his niece's room and slammed the door. They forced Jonathan into a chair and surrounded him with cruel expressions on their faces. Suddenly Jonathan wasn't caring about what his niece might do if she caught him in her room again.

A heavy-set old man walked towards Jonathan. He was the Curator from the British Museum although Jonathan would never have remembered such a fact.

Jonathan could think of many reasons why armed men might show up at his door, the problem was he couldn't figure which one was the this case. He didn't think that chap in front of him fit into any of the reasons.

"You're not Shelia's husband, are you?"

"No."

"Uh, if you work for Johnny, I was going to pay him back on Tuesday," Jonathan tried.

"I do not know this Johnny," the Curator replied evenly.

Damn. Jonathan could not for the life of him place this man or figure out why he was here.

"We're looking for the Bracelet of Anubis."

So they were looking for a bracelet. What the hell did they want him for then? "Oh! Good for you! Good thing to have, the old Bracelet of Anubis!"

"Where is it?" the Curator asked, his voice impatient.

Jonathan frowned. "You're looking here for the bracelet? Ah, well, you see, I actually have no idea what you're talking about."

The Curator sighed impatiently. Not a good sign. "Mr. O'Connell you try my patience."

Jonathan's hazel eyes widened. "Mr. O'Connell? Wait a minute! Hold on! Now you've got the wrong man—"

Jonathan's pleas were cut off by the knife one of the red turbaned men stuck under his throat. Jonathan chose that it was best for his health if he lied to these men. "Oh, that bracelet! Yes, now I remember. I...ah...lost it in a card game."

The Curator leaned in so close he was almost breathing down his neck. "For your sake, I hope not." His eyes traveled to the gold scepter Jonathan held in his hand and they widened considerably. He grabbed it and said in disbelief. "It cannot be."

At this moment another person stepped into view. She was dressed in a black gown that was coated with jewels and she held a wooden box in one hand. She caressed Jonathan's cheek seductively causing the man to shiver.

"Well, hello," Jonathan breathed.

"Where is your wife?" the woman, Meela was her name, asked.

"My wife? Oh you mean Evy! Uh, I think she went to Baden-Baden or Tibet or something. The girl's a free spirit. Did I mention that I'm single now?" Jonathan answered, putting on some of his trademark charm that had served to subsequently get him into and out of trouble on occasion.

Setting the box down on a nearby table Meela opened it and pulled out an asp. Jonathan made a whimpering sound. He didn't know what would kill him first: the snake, those men, or his niece if she ever found him in her room with these people.

Meela kissed the top of the asp's head and smiled at Jonathan. "Egyptian asps are quite poisonous."

Jonathan began to squirm underneath the hold of the two men keeping him in the chair. "All right I'll tell you! It's in a safe downstairs! The combination is, uh, three, twenty, fifty-eight..." he trailed off as Meela put the snake to his throat. "Hey, wait! I told you where it is!"

"And your point is?" Meela said.

"My point is that I told you so you wouldn't kill me!" Jonathan cried.

Meela laughed. "When did we make that arrangement?"

As the snake's fangs got closer to Jonathan's throat everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to the person who had slipped into the room and cleared her throat with a loud, "Ahem!"

--------------------

Evelyn showed the book her husband had recently looked through to her son. "Look at that, it's the Year of the Scorpion."

"Cool," Alex said.

"Thought you might like that."

She walked over to the chest and asked Alex for the key. Knowing that it was not the Bracelet of Anubis that lay in the chest, but instead one of their statues he was reluctant to hand it over. So he replied that he didn't have it.

"What do you mean, you don't have it? Where is it?" Evelyn demanded.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Elizabeth has it."

"Alex, it you've lost that key then you're in big trouble!" Evelyn said sternly.

"I haven't lost it! I just can't find it!" Alex insisted, then he added, "There's a difference."

Evelyn almost smiled at her son's cute impertinence. "Well, you better start finding it."

"I will, Mum!"

Bigger problems than the lost key to the chest walked into the library at that moment. A group of heavily armed, red turbaned men led by a big, dark-skinned man named Lock-Nah faced Evelyn and Alex.

"The chest, give it to me now!" Lock-Nah, the dark-skinned leader, demanded.

--------------------

Standing in the doorway, looking extremely incensed, was a teenaged girl with dark brown hair dressed in slightly damp travel clothes. Jonathan never thought he would have been so happy that his niece caught him in her room without her permission.

Elizabeth had no idea just what sort of kinky sex game her uncle was playing and she did not really want to find out. All she wanted was for him to get out and stay out of her bloody room! Was that too much to ask? Why did he always seem to bring these things to her private quarters? Granted the only part of this equation that seemed to fit was the woman in the slinky black dress. The snake she was holding and the armed, red-turbaned men did not fit at all. Perhaps this wasn't a sex game after all. Or it was just a really weird one.

"Uncle Jonathan," her voice was tightly controlled, "remember what we talked about? Keep your...games...out of my room. Honestly, what is so bloody fascinating about my quarters? We have plenty of guest rooms, in case you failed to notice that with your liquor-addled mine. I don't know what particular game this is supposed to be nor do I care to find out. Just take it to another room, preferably one far away from my own."

"Honey, what's going on—whoa Jonathan! What are you doing?" Rick asked, joining his daughter in the doorway.

"Jonathan brought his mates into my room!" Elizabeth declared indignantly and then added, "Again!"

"No, Lizzie this isn't what it looks like!" Jonathan defended himself. "They dragged me in here! I don't know them at all!"

Taking a deep breath Rick strode into Elizabeth's room and said, "Okay, knowing my brother-in-law he probably deserves whatever you're about to do to him."

"Thank you very much!" Jonathan sputtered indignantly.

Elizabeth snorted in agreement. She loved her uncle, but he was too much sometimes.

Rick continued, "But, this is my house and this is my daughter's room. We have certain rules about snakes and dismemberment. So, how about we take this somewhere else?"

In response the woman in the slinky dress threw the asp right at Rick who promptly snatched it out of the air and saucily replied, "Nice asp," as he held it behind its head. One of the men drew his pistol and aimed it at Rick. Rick flung the snake at him which tangled around the man's neck and bit him in the face. The man fell to the floor convulsing in agony.

"Hey! There will be no bloody snake throwing in my room! Get out!" Elizabeth demanded, beyond pissed off.

The man holding the knife to Jonathan's neck started towards Rick and Elizabeth. Jonathan, taking advantage of his temporary freedom, took the scepter back from the Curator and flung himself backwards to topple the chair.

Rick was rendered somehow immobile when a red turbaned man hurled a knife at his daughter. Time seemed to slow down as he watched what he thought would be the death of his firstborn child. But she completely surprised him by bringing both her hands up the moment the sharp point of the knife was within centimeters of her face and trapped the hilt between her palms. When had he ever taught her that?

Elizabeth calmly took the knife in one hand and threw an irate glare at the man who threw it. Her dark blue eyes darkened with annoyance and ire. "Oh, that is going to cost you."

She hurled the knife back at him. Instead of aiming to kill, she aimed for the man's groin, a part of himself that would definitely cause him quite a bit of pain. Her aim was true and the all the men in the room including her father and uncle cringed as the man doubled over and fell to the floor rocking back in forth in a fetal position while moaning piteously.

--------------------

Evelyn glared at the men who dared barge into her home and order her about. The nerve of them.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"

"Give me the chest!" Lock-Nah reiterated, his small amount of patience beginning to waver.

She ran to the wall and yanked a Roman sword out of its stand and walked back to stand in front of Alex protectively. She eyed the men with no trace of fear, only anger and determination.

"Get out of my house," she ordered coolly.

"Whoa, Mum, maybe that's not the best idea," Alex cautioned nervously.

"Give me the chest now and I will spare you and your son," Lock-Nah replied, grinning evilly as each of his men withdrew a huge scimitar.

Alex, who was holding onto the chest, gulped in fear. "Definitely not the best idea. I think we should yell for Dad now."

"Alex, get back there!" Evelyn ordered.

Lock-Nah was through being polite, or as polite as a man in his profession and of his temperament could be. "Now I will kill you and take it anyway."

"I think not."

The group in the library was joined by another man, this one dressed in all black with a black cape. His face was handsome, tanned, and tattooed.

The red turbaned men gasped. "Medjai!"

Medjai were desert warriors who were staunchly dedicated to protecting mummies' tombs to ensure that no one unleashed the evil powers trapped within. This particular man Evelyn recognized. Ardeth Bay, leader of the Medjai, had first tried to kill them in prevention of awakening the mummy, Imhotep. He later fought and nearly died with them. This was the first time she had seen him in nearly sixteen years.

"Ardeth, what are you doing here?"

Not taking his eyes off the red turbaned warriors he replied, "Perhaps explanations are best kept for later."

Evelyn saw the logic in that and didn't argue the desert warrior's words.

Lock-Nah seemed crossed between anger, amusement, and anticipation. "Ardeth Bay."

Ardeth nodded his head and said, "Lock-Nah."

With the gratuitous introductions out of the way, Lock-Nah and his men attacked.

--------------------

Jonathan crawled over the moaning man Elizabeth had impaled in the groin trying to find an escape, but the Curator grabbed him by the foot.

"Give me that!" the man cried, trying to grab the scepter.

Jonathan appropriately responded by bringing the scepter down crashing on the Curator's head. He resumed crawling towards his niece's private bathroom figuring he would be safer in there.

Two of the red turbaned men charged at Rick and Elizabeth. Rick moved to defend his daughter, but she was a tad bit ahead of him on the defensive. She did a graceful pirouette lashing out a foot to give the charging man a good solid kick in the abdomen causing the man to go flying backwards and smashing against her wall. He slumped to the floor, unconscious. Rick was stunned speechless at that feat along with everyone else in the room. He had taught his daughter how to fight and shoot, but he didn't recall ever teaching her those moves. And he knew a fifteen-year-old girl wasn't supposed to be strong enough to kick a man across a room. He didn't even know if he would be able to pull something like that off. He made short work of the other man charging at him by stabbing him with his own scimitar only to be besieged by another.

"You wankers are messing up my room! Now you've made me angry!" Elizabeth cried, punching another man in the face. She didn't kill them although she would be perfectly within her rights to do so since it would be in self-defense. Slayers were forbidden to kill human beings and she was slightly afraid of what the consequences would be if she ever did slay a human. However, if it were necessary to end the life of a human in order to protect her family then so be it.

Rick watched in between his fights in amazement as his daughter dispatched everyone of her attackers with a skill, grace, and speed that was almost inhuman. Those fools that came for her had no chance whatsoever. He remembered her protests to bringing the bracelet home and even opening the chest in the catacombs of the temple. Was that somehow all connected? When he saw the woman nod, he instinctively ducked and yelled to Elizabeth to do the same right as a man entered the room firing a machine gun.

Oh God. My room! They're completely wrecking my room! And where is my cat!? Elizabeth cried silently as she rolled to the side to end up beside her father. The bullets ripped across Elizabeth's bedroom tearing into her wardrobe, the radiator, her bed, and her wall. Steam rose up from the damaged radiator and Elizabeth prayed it wouldn't blow. She and Rick dove into her private bathroom and Rick slammed the door shut.

--------------------

Ardeth Bay leapt forward to confront Lock-Nah while kicking other men away. Evelyn's body seemed to know what to do without her even guiding it as the men with scimitars assailed her. She did a cartwheel backwards as one man came at her, artfully kicking him in the face. Then she crossed swords with an attacker much to the surprise of herself and her son who was standing by the bookshelf holding onto the chest.

After she sliced the beard off one's chin Alex piped up, "Whoa Mum! When did you learn to do that?"

Evelyn continued, wide-eyed, to parry and feint with her blade at the two red-turbaned men attacking her. After she dispatched one she replied, "I have no idea!"

As soon as she had composed herself another attacker came barreling into her and slammed her against a wall. Alex cried out in horror, "Mum!" as Evelyn gasped for the breath that had been so rudely knocked out of her lungs.

The man grinned a rotted grin at the lady of the house and she smoldered. She drove her knee into his groin causing him to double over and taking advantage of his new position, Evelyn kneed him in the face. She knocked him unconscious with a right punch and he toppled to the floor.

To Alex she said, "That I learned from your father!"

Alex smiled in admiration at his mother, but it quickly changed to a cry as a large man tried to snatch the chest away from him. Since Alex was only eight and the man was considerably larger and stronger than him the boy lost his hold on the chest. Before the man could run off, however, Ardeth Bay stabbed the man in the heart from behind and the chest plopped to the ground. Lock-Nah attacked Ardeth Bay again and the Medjai warrior had no time to retrieve the chest.

Blocking Lock-Nah's attacks, Ardeth yelled to Evelyn, "What's in the chest?"

Blocking her own opponent's attacks and knocking the man into a glass case she shouted, "The Bracelet of Anubis!"

Ardeth gasped in surprise and cried, "You must get to the chest! Get it now!"

"But—"

"Hurry! They must not get the bracelet!"

Evelyn cursed and dropped her sword to run over to the chest. She heaved it up at the same moment a man came at her. It all happened so fast that Evelyn didn't have time to react before the man had scooped her and the chest up and carried them out of the room with the woman kicking and screaming.

"Evelyn!" Ardeth roared in anger.

"Mum!" Alex cried, horrified.

Lock-Nah slashed Ardeth in the chest and pushed him backwards before the desert warrior could go after the woman. The dark-skinned man saw Alex cowering in a corner and flung his knife at him, which lodged into the wall right over top the boy's head. Then he swept from the room with his surviving servants.

--------------------

Trapped within his daughter's bathroom Rick looked frantically for an escape. It would not be very long before those people got in here. And he really didn't want to be around when that occurred.

"Where's Jonathan?" Elizabeth asked, breathless.

"Jonathan!" Rick yelled.

A form came dripping out of the bathtub, which was filled with bubbles. Elizabeth pulled him out and glared at him in fury. "What did you do now, Uncle Jon? Did you hear what they did to my room!?"

"Me?! I haven't done anything to anybody!" the man insisted.

Bullets tore through the top half of the bathroom door and everyone dodged out of its way. A bullet grazed Elizabeth's shoulder and she gasped in pain, but quickly pushed it down deep inside herself like her watcher taught her to do. It wasn't the worst wound she had suffered anyway and slayers had the largest pain thresholds of any mortal on earth.

Jonathan added meekly, "Lately."

Rick grabbed his daughter and brother-in-law and they busted through Elizabeth's bathroom window. It was not a way Elizabeth usually snuck in and out of her quarters, but it would do. With glass shattered all around them the three fell heavily to the ground. With her slayer stamina, Elizabeth wasn't fazed by the fall and stayed on her feet, her legs absorbing the impact easily. Her father and uncle nearly blacked out on the ground and Elizabeth hurriedly helped pull them upright. She and Rick dragged Jonathan across the lawn as a man appeared at her window and began shooting at them. When they reached a corner they huddled against the wall until the gunfire stopped. The two men and the girl released breaths of relief.

Well, with all this excitement I hardly needed to go patrolling, Elizabeth thought sardonically.

Rick looked his daughter and hugged her close. "Are you all right, honey?" He saw blood on her shoulder and paled. "You've been hit! Why didn't you tell me?" He grasped the wound.

"Dad, it's only a scratch. The bullet grazed my shoulder. I'll live. And I was too busy trying not to be hit fatally when it happened," Elizabeth replied, unperturbed.

After Rick looked at the "scratch" he was assured that it was not serious, albeit a little deeper than he would have liked. It was just seeing a fair amount of blood on his child after being assailed by gunfire was very scary. But the bleeding had already slowed to a light trickle and he could have sworn it was already beginning to close. It didn't seem to bother Elizabeth too much just like that jump from her bathroom window didn't seem to bother her as much as it did him and Jonathan. Rick was still feeling that fall.

"We should check on Mum and Alex," Elizabeth said quietly, looking over the corner. Not feeling the presence of anyone other than the two men with her and not seeing anyone she said, "It's clear."

Although he didn't know why he trusted his daughter's judgment because he was inarguably the more experienced in these situations, he sprinted across the lawn to find his wife and son and make sure they were okay. Elizabeth was running right beside him with Jonathan loping behind. A limousine pulled out of their driveway and Elizabeth and Rick watched it leave. The curtains on the rear window spread apart and familiar face appeared, screaming for help. It was Evelyn.

Simultaneously Rick cried out, "Evelyn!" while Elizabeth yelled, "Mum!"

They ran after the car, but it was already too far gone and they needed to check on Alex if he was still there. The problem of the missing eight-year-old was solved when a frantic voice cried out, "Dad! Lizzie!"

Elizabeth released a breath of relief as the boy jumped into his father's arms. Rick hugged his son tightly.

"Alex, are you all right?" Elizabeth asked.

The boy nodded and gasped when he saw his sister was bleeding. "Lizzie! You're bleeding!"

"I'm fine, it's only a scratch," she assured him.

Rick saw the man behind them and flatly said, "Ardeth Bay, long time no see." He grabbed the man and said angrily, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Before Ardeth could answer Rick said, "No! Scratch that! I don't care. Who the hell were those guys and where did they take my wife?"

Elizabeth held Alex close, assuring herself that he was unharmed. Alex, having been thoroughly terrified and slightly traumatized by everything that was happening clung to his elder sister tightly trying his very best not to let tears of fright and despair flow.

Elizabeth stared at the tanned, desert warrior talking with her father in acute fascination. So this is the famed leader of the Medjai. He's rather fetching. Not only had her parents talked about him she had also read about Medjai warriors in the books her watcher had. It truly was an honor to finally meet one.

Ardeth Bay pulled a photo out of his robes and calmly showed it to Rick. It was a picture he had taken while posing as a workman at the dig site in Hamunaptra. It showed the Curator among other nameless faces.

"My friend, wherever this man is, your wife will surely be."

"That's the man that was in my room," Elizabeth noted.

Alex looked at the picture and recognition clicked in his mind. He snatched the photo and said, "I know him! He's one of the Curators at the British Museum!"

"Are you sure?" Ardeth Bay asked.

Rick nodded. "Yeah, you better believe him. He spends more time there then he does at home."

Instantly they were on the move walking quickly to the garage. Stomping across the driveway Rick said, "Okay, you're here, bad guys are here, Evy gets kidnapped. Let me guess—"

Ardeth Bay grimly confirmed Rick's suspicions. "Yes, they have removed the creature from his grave."

With a groan Jonathan said, "Not to point fingers, but isn't it your job to make sure that doesn't happen?"

Ardeth replied shortly, "The woman who is with them knows things. She knows things that no living person could possibly know. She knew exactly where the creature was buried."

"Ah, the harlot in the black dress," Elizabeth remarked, reminiscing to ten minutes ago. "I really hate her."

As they climbed into Rick's 1933 Beauford beauty the Medjai contiuned, "We were hoping she would lead us to the bracelet. She did and now they have it."

Before getting in Alex sheepishly confessed, "I wouldn't get too nervous about that."

Pulling up his sleeve he revealed that he was wearing the bracelet. Elizabeth gasped and moaned at the same time of her foolishness in letting her brother handle the chest. Ardeth Bay examined his wrist fervently.

"When I put it on, I saw the pyramids at Giza, then whoosh! Straight across the desert to Karnak," Alex informed them.

Elizabeth was starting to feel sick. What had she done? Ardeth Bay then explained exactly what she had done.

"By putting this on, you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the Apocalypse."

Dammit!

Rick clenched his fists. "You," he said to Ardeth, "lighten up. You," to Alex, "big trouble. You," to Jonathan, "get in. You," to Elizabeth, "big explaining to do."

Elizabeth grimaced. She should have known exposing her fighting skills like that was going to have consequences. Yet that seemed so small in comparison to her lack of insight into what she had exposed her brother to. She had left him alone with the bracelet, let him carry it inside, knowing what that thing was. She knew it was evil. She knew putting it on wouldn't have a positive outcome (although she never expected an apocalypse was one of those outcomes), yet she selfishly stayed away from it. Alex was only eight, he didn't have the inner strength of the Slayer that she did.

--------------------

Rick's car careened down the sodden London streets amidst the rain and flashes of lightning. The atmosphere in the car was tense, distraught, and fearful. Each person in the car was temporarily entrenched within his or her own entourage of troubling thoughts and emotions. Ardeth broke the eerie silence.

"I'm sorry if I alarmed your son. But you must understand, now that the bracelet is on his wrist, we have only seven days before the Scorpion King awakes."

Turning a corner Rick replied in disbelief, "We?What we? I just want my wife back."

Elizabeth wished she could go just do that as well, but her sacred duty to mankind would not allow it. She would be obligated to eradicate this Scorpion King chap whether her father wanted it or not. Besides, she felt more than partly responsible for the impending apocalypse.

"If the Scorpion King is not destroyed, he will raise the Army of Anubis."

Dammit!

Jonathan leaned forward. "I take it that's not a good thing?"

"Oh, no. He'll just wipe out the world," Elizabeth replied casually.

"Ah. The old wipe-out-the-world ploy."

Ardeth Bay rambled on, "Whoever kills the Scorpion King can send his army back to the underworld." Oh, well that's not too bad. "Or use it to destroy mankind and rule the earth." That is bad.

"So that's why the dug up ol' Imhotep. He's the only one tough enough to take on the Scorpion King."

The Medjai agreed. "That is their plan."

"Bloody hell," Elizabeth muttered, shaking her head. She just wanted to sleep for a while.

They reached the British Museum in record time Rick having flown across the slippery London streets. The rain continued to pelt down. The atmosphere it created was just perfect for the circumstances. Rick turned around in his seat and addressed his children.

"Okay, you two, I want you to stay here and protect the car."

Jonathan seemed to like that idea for himself. "I could do that!"

Alex glared. "Protect the car? Come on, Dad, just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Rick ruffled his hair. "I know you're not." He turned his gaze on his elder child, who was sporting a very familiar and unsettling gleam in her eyes. "Lizzie, watch out for your brother. I'm coming back with your mother."

"If you see someone come out running and screaming, it's probably me." Jonathan gulped.

Rick seemed to rethink something. "Jonathan, maybe you should stay here with Alex and Elizabeth."

"Now you're thinking!" Jonathan agreed heartily.

Elizabeth, though, had no intentions of obeying her father's wishes. She was going in there to get her mother back and make those bastards realize what it was like to anger the Vampire Slayer. She exited the car and went back round to the trunk where the Medjai and her father were loading up. In the trunk was a mini armory: a shotgun, a submachine gun, pistols, a rifle, and other weapons. Elizabeth shook her head. Her father was such a paranoid man. She had daggers sheathed on each side of both her boots, a sharp wooden stake in her inside pocket, and her long black travel coat effectively concealed the short sword sheathed at her back. So she was a little cautious herself. Her hands were itching for a crossbow and she wished she had gone back up to her massacred bedroom to retrieve it.

The two men didn't notice her at first but kept speaking in low voices.

"Want the twelve-gauge?" Rick offered the man.

Ardeth said, "No, I prefer the Thompson."

"I prefer a sniper rifle myself," Elizabeth spoke up, leaning against the car.

Rick looked up in surprise and frowned. "Where do you think you're going? Get back in the car."

Elizabeth sighed. "You've forgotten already how well I can handle myself? You wanted me to explain, didn't you? Well, I'll bargain with you. Let me go in there without protest and I will tell you everything."

Ardeth's onyx-colored eyes darted from the girl to her father patiently. He noticed the way the girl held herself and her sparkling dark blue eyes that were fraught with cold fury and fortitude. She exuded the aura of a warrior, a fighter, and it was extremely intriguing. He had no doubt that this girl was quite capable of holding her own in a battle. Yet it was not his place to intervene in this aspect.

Why was it that Rick figured she would go in there with or without his permission? Perhaps it was because of the way she looked so much like her mother. With her mother's dark brown tresses braided down her back and her cobalt eyes gleaming with determination Rick was hard put to say no even in a situation such as this. He remembered quite well how she had handled those attackers in her room like she had been born to fight. But she had already been wounded once and Rick was not going to let that happen again because the next time she might not be so lucky. Yet, the girl stood there: strong and deadly with her mother's eyes boring into him.

"Trust me Dad, if there are things in there other than humans—Let's just say, you'll like having me around," Elizabeth told him cryptically.

Rick gritted his teeth and let out a hissing sigh. He reluctantly picked up the rifle and handed it to his daughter. She smiled at him gratefully, Evelyn's smile. Rick felt his heart clench painfully at the thought of his wife. They had to get her back.

He reached for the machine gun and Ardeth Bay caught a glimpse of his tattoo. He smiled knowingly to himself and said to Rick, "If I were to say to you: 'I am a stranger traveling from the East seeking that which is lost'...."

Rick frowned is the invisible barrage holding back memories from long ago gave way slightly, the breach having been triggered by the Medjai's words. He murmured the last words almost robotically, "I would reply: 'I am a stranger traveling from the West, it is I whom you seek.'" He looked inquisitively at Ardeth as if the man would know how he knew that, which surprisingly he did.

Ardeth gave Rick an appraising grin. "Then it is true. You are a Masonic Templar."

Elizabeth was lost. "A what?"

Ardeth pointed to his tattoo and said, "You have the mark."

Elizabeth's eyes perked up to see her father's tattoo more closely. Come to think of it she might have seen his tattoo in one of her watcher's books. Yet, it was probably because she wasn't a real bookish type of girl, or at least the books that her watcher owned were not her type. She most definitely was one with a selective memory.

"What, this?" Rick jerked his hand away. "I got it slapped onto me when I was in an orphanage in Cairo."

"That mark means you are a Protector of man, a warrior for God, a Medjai," Ardeth informed him.

Protector of man, warrior for God; I wonder where I've heard that before. It must run in the family. Elizabeth's mind reached back to a little over a year ago when a man named Roland Deavers from the Watchers Council had rattled off a speech similar to the one Ardeth Bay was feeding to her father.

Rick stared at the Medjai for a moment before shaking his head, denying it. "Sorry. You've got the wrong guy."