Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.


According to historical records, the city of Alexandria had housed some of the greatest wonders of the ancient world, but when the time travelers and their hosts arrived at the city's harbor, it was clear the records had vastly understated things.

The city sprawled across the shores of the Nile Delta all the way to the coast, where sailing vessels from every corner of the world were coming and going, ships of every size and make and model… Although the ships bearing the Roman flag were forced to weigh anchor rather further out to sea and were only allowed to send small delegations to port for business, and even those were regarded with a great deal of suspicion. Egypt and Rome were technically at war at the moment, after all.

The Pharos lighthouse, one of the Wonders of the World, towered above the harbor, one of the tallest buildings in the city, glowing hieroglyphics and depictions of Ra lining its square sides as it rose up in two sections before terminating in a cupola with a gold winged statue of Ra at the top over a massive ball of energy made of hundreds of layers of interlocking hieroglyphics, an artificial sun providing light at all hours of the day and night.

(It also apparently served as an incredibly powerful defensive weapon, inspired by Archimedes' fabled heat ray.)

The well-maintained buildings making up the royal capital looked to be a mix of classical Egyptian and Greco-Roman architecture, though there seemed to be less of the latter than the former, with workmen and Ushabti tearing down or redesigning numerous structures and temples to fit the new/old aesthetic. Many of the buildings were covered in hieroglyphics which, due to being (relatively) fresh or least well maintained, still had all their colors, the vibrant paint making the images of gods and pharaohs and ancient battles depicted really stand out and come to life – sometimes literally, where magic or technology was involved.

Towering obelisks rose up at numerous intersections, often paired with elaborate fountains providing fresh water for all, channels dug into many of the streets allowing the water to flow freely, with water lilies, lotuses, frogs, and even tamed crocodiles floating in them. In some streets, closer to the sea, these channels were big enough to form canals, with water taxis ferrying the passengers back and forth.

While people dressed in styles from all over the ancient world could be seen everywhere – this was a port city, after all, as well as the capital of Egypt – the majority of the populace were made of dark-skinned dark-haired Egyptians, with garment ranging from simple kilts, loin cloths, and shifts, to far more elaborate dresses and jewelry which flashed in the sunlight. People of both sexes war a significant amount of makeup, to the point it was often difficult at first glance to tell male from female, with Cleopatra informing her guests that in her kingdom quite a few people did not identify as either sex, or changed between them freely, and there was no stigma about it.

She was rather alarmed to hear that that wasn't necessarily the case in the future.

While most of the Egyptian citizens were human, a significant number were 'children of the gods' like Nefer. While many had cat heads like herself, there were plenty of others with the heads of Falcons or Eagles or ibises, hippopotami, crocodiles, beetles, and snakes. These demi-humans seemed to occupy every level of society, with humans of all classes interacting freely with their animal-headed countrymen with no visible prejudice. In fact, in many cases, the humans deferred to their allegedly semi divine brethren.

Children ran through the streets, pretending to be Cleopatra and the Egyptrangers fighting the Roman legion, doing parkour, or playing a game which involved Ushabti moving about massive stone slabs which manifested illusory monsters which did battle with one another, much to Ariel's excitement. Sprawling outdoor markets sold fruits, vegetables, jewelry, clothes, and Ushabtis, with merchants and customers haggling and arguing and sometimes getting so incensed they came to blows, but from the smiles on their faces it was clear this was how it was supposed to be done.

Everyone seemed happy and content, with no sign of fear from the looming danger of the Roman Empire or the dark forces of Set, lurking in the shadows and waiting for the mortals to finish waging their petty wars against each other so he could once again step forward and take back his role as the greatest existential threat the kingdom had ever known.

They certainly seemed happy to see Cleopatra and the rest of the Egyptrangers, the populace lining the streets and leaning so far out the windows of the surrounding buildings they ran the risk of falling out, cheering enthusiastically as the royal procession marched from the Library of Alexandria, dancers and musicians and trained animals cavorting before and behind the mobile pavilion carrying the Queen, her companions, and her guests from the future. It was somehow even more ostentatious than the one she'd first appeared on out in the desert – that had been her "travel" pavilion, apparently – and everyone marveled as Antares, once again, pulled the entire structure by himself, looking as if he was actually breaking a sweat this time. He flexed his muscles and waved to the crowd, knowing from his time as a gladiator how best to work the populace and elicit cheers.

"WITNESS ME!" He roared, causing more people to laugh and applauded.

"I can't remember the last time I've seen him this happy," Aranea said with a hint of sadness, observing her bodyguard from high atop the platform. "He hasn't had a lot to cheer him up in a while." She smiled. "It's nice to see him like this again. This is… How he used to be, all the time. Before…" She faltered. "Before the Swarm."

"… Don't worry. We'll give him reason to be like this more often," Nushi assured the Princess, bringing her smile back.

"And you as well," Ariel added.

"… Thank you. Both of you," Aranea said softly.

Mibojin frowned and crossed her arms. "Is this pageantry truly necessary? It is taking us far too long to reach our destination like this. The spy will have heard of our approach and been given plenty of time to find what they're after and escape."

"The Library has been completely locked down," Thotep assured her. "Incredibly powerful and ancient magic will keep anyone from entering and leaving until we say so."

"And I understand your apprehension, but this 'pageantry' is necessary for morale," Cleopatra added. "The Roman Empire is the most powerful civilization in the world at present. We managed to drive them off once, but that does not mean we will win the next time if they bring all their forces to bear, or Caesar succeeds in finding the Eyes of Alexander. We are the heroes of the people of Egypt. Their champions. Their gods made flesh. By being visible, by being present, we remind them that we are here for them, fighting for them, protecting them. And by making a big show of it, we can help them keep their minds off their troubles and allow them to smile."

"And, since we have the power of the gods," Gozim added. "If they have faith in us, if they believe we can win, then we will. Belief has always been one of the cornerstones of divine might, after all."

Ariel nodded in agreement. "Very true. And I fully agree with making a big show. That's why I do magic shows back home. The people of Hive City have lost a lot and lots of people they care about are fighting and dying millions of light-years away. If I can help them smile and laugh and feel happy and safe… Then it's as much a victory as going out and actually beating a monster, as far as I'm concerned."

"Hey, mom, do you think we should start putting on parades like this?" Philia asked her mother, excitedly waving at the populace, who were fascinated by the visitors from the future.

"It… might not be a bad idea," Apista admitted. "I suppose it might be nice to have a pavilion like this one. It's very comfortable."

"Should you really be destroying so many of these buildings?" Goro asked with a frown as they passed by a Roman-styled bathhouse which was being dismantled by a sizable work crew, the laborers pausing to bow and wave and cheered Cleopatra, except for the Ushabti, who kept working. "I mean, I'm all for reclaiming of cultural identity, but…"

"It is a necessary step to remove the taint of foreign gods from our soil," Gozim explained with a rasp. "While of course we allow worship of other deities, and have a number of shrines and temples in the foreigners quarter, the Roman gods have been digging their tendrils into our kingdom for far too long. Only by destroying what was erected in their name can we allow our land to heal, and our gods to regain their full glory."

"Those buildings were an eyesore, anyway," Nefer said with a yawn, purring as Cleopatra petted her.

"Probably a good thing Cart stayed behind with the ShinLiner, I'm pretty sure a lot of these buildings weren't supposed to be torn down for another few centuries," Shin murmured.

"The poor thing had a conniption when she saw that pyramid," Ariel said sympathetically, nodding at a massive golden crystal pyramid which dominated most of the city skyline, a massive glowing eye of Horus set in its gold-capped peak with a beam of light rising towards the sun, glowing hieroglyphics and circuit lines running down the sides.

"Why?" Asked a confused Akilah.

"I don't think that pyramid exists in our timeline," Goro replied.

"It doesn't," Shin confirmed. "Alexandria never had any pyramids."

"Huh. Weird," Nefer commented.

"It's probably for the best she stay with the train, repairs will go a lot faster with her there," Shin said.

"I hope you aren't in a hurry to leave us," Cleopatra asked with a small frown. "You've a time machine, after all. Doesn't that mean you can simply leave whenever you wish and get back whenever you please?"

"More or less, but I'd rather said time machine be functional as soon as possible for peace of mind if nothing else," Shin replied. "It is our best way of getting home, after all."

"Well, you may feel free to enjoy my hospitality for as long as you're here," Cleopatra promised.

"For which we are very thankful, your Majesty," Apista replied, bowing her head.

"Of course, before we can take you up on your offer, we must recover Masaru Aso, deal with the spy in the library of Alexandria, and thwart whatever this Caesar's planning," Aranea reminded everyone.

Cleopatra's frown deepened. "Yes… There is that."

"I can't believe a spy has somehow made it into the library," Thotep said, once again. "It's one of the most secure places in the country. The Silver Centurion's information has never been wrong before, but… I just don't see how it's possible."

"I suppose we'll find out for ourselves soon enough," Goro said.

Mibojin nodded in agreement. "No fortress is impregnable, after all."

"And hey, maybe if we take care of this quickly enough, we can actually browse the library," Ariel pointed out chipperly. "Just think of all the ancient knowledge lovebug could find, or the lost secrets of magic I could learn!"

"I do love ancient knowledge," Nushi admitted.

"I shall learn the lost magic as well, and prove my worth as your number one apprentice," Philia vowed.

"And Luna and I will learn as well, and surpass you and become Ariel's apprentices together!" Aki promised.

"You mean I'll learn the magic and teach it to you later," Luna said wearily. "Since, as usual, I'll wind up doing all the research while you waste your time reading comics."

"They're very good comics!" Aki protested defensively.

"Would they even have comics in the Library of Alexandria?" Galacta wondered.

"Why not? A library is a library," Cutaros pointed out.

"Yes, but did comics even exist at this point in time?" Galacta persisted.

"I'm pretty sure comics, or something like them, have existed since the dawn of time," Shin said. "Heck, you might even consider cave paintings to be the first real comic!"

"Maybe so, but I'm sure an institution and center of learning as distinguished as the Library of Alexandria has more important things in their stacks then comics-" Nushi started.

"No, we have comics," Thotep interjected. "A whole wing, actually."

"Cool!" Most of the children (and Ariel) cheered as Nushi deflated.

"There is also a sizable collection of prophecies, legends, and texts on magical artifacts," Cleopatra informed Aranea. "If whatever relic you seek exists within my kingdom, you will find its location here."

"Oh? That's… That's great, thanks," Aranea and muttered, her gaze fixated on the overjoyed Antares, who was smirking as several men in the crowd swooned at his display of strength.

The Bugrangers exchanged horrified looks. Nushi touched Aranea's shoulder, startling her. "Aranea, are you okay?"

"What? Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" The Princess said quickly.

"You just missed a prime chance to brag about your destiny and how you're going to rule the universe like you've been doing every few minutes since we got here," Neycombe told her.

"What? I haven't… I haven't been bragging… Have I really been talking about that much?" Aranea asked, dismayed.

"Yes," everyone said, causing her to cringe.

"Although to be fair, Mother did provoke you more than once," Kagami admitted.

"I have no regrets," Mibojin said flatly.

"I… My apologies," Aranea said, bowing her head. "It was not my intention to be obnoxious. I will try to be more careful with my words in the future."

"That's all well and good, but… Is something wrong? Aside from the fact that you have been going on about it a bit more than usual today, your reaction to Cleopatra's offer just now…" Apista trailed off.

"I… I'm sorry, I just have a lot going on right now," Aranea muttered, looking embarrassed.

"Like what?" Ariel asked in concern.

Aranea bit her lip, then glanced at Cleopatra. "Your Majesty, I apologize if this seems rude, but… Could my lovers and I have a moment to ourselves?"

Cleopatra nodded magnanimously. "Certainly. If this is a personal matter, go right ahead."

Smiling gratefully, Aranea quickly wove a spell of silence around herself, Nushi, and Ariel, so that nobody would be able to hear what the three of them were about to say.

Well, except for their Divine Insect and Arachnid partners, who of course were included in the spell.

And everyone in the Hive, who was listening via the Buzzing.

And everyone in the Ascendancy, who was listening via the Web.

(Okay, so it wasn't actually that private a conversation, but it was the thought that counted, right?)

"So. What's up?" Nushi asked Aranea, a worried look on her face.

Aranea opened her mouth and hesitated, unsure how to start.

Arachne beat her to it. "Her mother's condition is getting worse."

"Arachne!" Aranea hissed.

"What? Someone had to say it," the Divine Arachnid said unsympathetically.

"Your mother? What are you talking about? Apista is recovering, a bit slower than we'd like, but-" Ariel started.

"She's talking about her other mother, Queen Hera," Lepidoptera interrupted. "Who has been in a coma ever since the destruction of the Arachide home world."

"Ohhh."

"Hera's getting worse?" Coccinella asked in dismay.

Aranea nodded reluctantly. "Yes. She was very badly wounded in the invasion, and we lost many of our finest Weavers in the destruction of the Ascendancy. She is in hiding, and in our current state, lacking the resources for proper treatment. I recently got word that she's taken a turn for the worst, and… There is a very, very good chance that I may be forced to become queen sooner than I thought."

"That's terrible!" Ariel cried, hugging her, to her delight.

"It is," Nushi agreed, hugging her as well. "I'm sorry you're going through this, Aranea. You should've said something."

"Perhaps I should have," Aranea admitted, relaxing as she hugged them back. "I just… I feel like I'm under a lot of pressure lately."

"What do you mean?" Ariel asked.

"It is my destiny to reassemble the Loom of Fate, mend the rift in the universe, and oversee the fate of all beings," Aranea said, as she had many times before, but this time there was more than a hint of melancholy in it. "I am the culmination of millions of years of prophecy. The hopes and prayers of my family, my species, my entire civilization rests on my shoulders. Only I can set things right. Only I can mend what has been rent asunder. Only I can restore our broken worlds and bring back those who we have lost and make it so Antares can once again smile as freely as he has been since we got here and restore both my mothers to their full health and make it so that you, my sister, and everyone else I love can live happy, safe, prosperous lives. And while I know that you want to help me in any way you can, to some extent, this is something only I will be able to do in the end. And…"

She paused, trembling. "I'm not afraid of my destiny. I do not seek to escape it. I have known since I was very young that this would be my fate. My purpose. My inevitable, inexorable future. And I would be lying if I said I'm not looking forward to it. However…"

She closed her eyes and sagged into her lovers' embrace. "Everyone is counting on me. Everyone is hoping and praying that when the time comes, I will succeed in my preordained task and bring the prophecy to fruition. If I've been going on about my destiny a lot lately and the inevitability of fate, it's… It's because I have to believe my fate can't be changed, because the prophecy says I will succeed, and if I allow myself to entertain for even a moment the possibility that my destiny is not absolute, that there is even the smallest chance of failure, I…" She choked back a sob. "I fear that I will break. And that is not something any of us can afford right now, or ever."

"Aranea… You're not alone in this," Arachne said gently. "I am with you, always."

"As are we all," echoed the rest of the Web, both her personal one and the species-wide one.

"So are we," Nushi said firmly, kissing away Aranea's tears, and the spider was surprised to realize she was crying. "You had a vision of the three of us together, ruling the cosmos together, remember? We are part of this too!"

Ariel nodded in agreement, nuzzling into Aranea's shoulder. "We know a thing or two about being the subject of huge world-shaking prophecies as well, remember? My people also believe in the power of destiny, but we also believe that all the best prophecies are self-fulfilling. Whether or not fate is immutable, believing in your destiny and acting to make it come true is one of the surest ways to make it come to pass."

Sniffing, Aranea wrapped all her limbs around them. "Thank you… Both of you. I am certain now that our destinies are truly intertwined, and come what may, we will face it together."

"That's very touching," Apista said warmly. "But I think you might want to drop your spell of silence because we've arrived."

Indeed they had. Their procession had come to a halt in front of the Library of Alexandria, a massive rectangular edifice several stories tall with a pillared front with immense statues of Thoth in his myriad forms supporting a frieze depicting the God writing in a scroll which unfurled to turn into the river Nile and the rest of Egypt. Statues of sphinxes – no, wait, actual sphinxes – sat before the entry doors, which were currently sealed shut. A large plaza was set before the building, with a row of obelisks on either side of a massive reflecting pool, acacia trees planted all over the place with benches and tables placed beneath their shade. Ibises and monkeys strutted about like they owned the place, with large statues of either animal placed here and there. The roof was a layered, almost pyramidal structure with a great tower rising from the center of it, looking like a mix between an obelisk and a sealed scroll.

"Behold!" Thotep declared. "The library of Alexandria, the greatest repository of knowledge in the known world!"

"It's beautiful," Nushi gasped, eyes wide.

"I can smell the magical knowledge!" Ariel gushed.

"And the ancient Egyptian comic books!" Aki cried.

Luna rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to correct her on the 'ancient' part?" Scarabella asked Thotep.

The scribe shrugged. "No, many of the comics are quite ancient, dating back to the founding of the kingdom."

"Ah."

"Nerds," Cutaros grunted, rolled her eyes.

"You want to see the comics too," Fuuka pointed out.

"Which doesn't make me a nerd!" Cutaros insisted.

"That is debatable," Shitsuki stated.

Antares frowned in disappointment and reluctantly removed his yoke as he gazed up at the building. "We are here already? But I was just getting warmed up!"

"You can pull us again on the way back," Aranea promised him as the party descended from the platform, which cheered him up.

A number of guards, both Ushabti and mortal, bearing shields with a scroll and Quill device, banged their spears against their shields and knelt before Cleopatra. An old man with the head of a baboon in robes resembling parchment rushed down the stairs leading up to the front entrance of the library and quickly knelt before his mistress. "Your Majesty! You honor us with your personage."

"Rise, Ogdoad. What do you have to report?" Cleopatra bade her servant.

"As soon as I got your message, I immediately initiated the lockdown protocol," the baboon man explained as he stood back up. "Every entrance and exit from the library was automatically sealed, all of the forbidden and restricted sections were temporarily shunted to the Underworld, and magical wards raised to keep anyone from getting in or out of the building."

"Then how did you get here?" Goro asked skeptically.

Ogdoad removed an amulet from his robes resembling an ibis with a quill for a beak and parchment for wings. "As Head Librarian, I am able to freely pass between the interior and exterior of the library during lockdown. This amulet works for me and only for me, and does not activate under duress, meaning I cannot be forced to take anyone in or out. The amulet will also only teleport me between two fixed points, with the exterior one heavily guarded at all times. It's right over there," he said, nodding at a small domed pavilion nearby surrounded by a dozen armed guards with a glowing circle inscribed with hieroglyphics within.

"Oh, cool!" Ariel gushed. "I can sense some pretty powerful magic at work!"

"As per protocol, all the visitors and researchers to the library were transported to our largest auditorium," Ogdoad continued. "All of them were subjected to interrogation under truth spells, and we have confirmed that none of them were spies. Well," he admitted. "Not Roman spies, and certainly not after the location of the lost tomb of Alexander the Great."

"Then how do we know one of the staff isn't the spy?" Mibojin said sharply. "The fact that you and you alone can activate or deactivate the lockdown and transport freely between the outside world of the library makes you suspect."

Ogdoad gaped at her, shocked. "How dare you! I would never betray my oath!"

"Lots of people say that, and you'd be amazed by how many would do just that," Mibojin said flatly.

"While my mother could've put that a little more delicately," Kagami said, frowning at her mother.

"No I couldn't," Mibojin retorted.

"She has a point. How can we be certain that none of the staff are spies? Not you, of course," the young ninja said quickly. "But perhaps a new hire? Maybe even a disgruntled former employee…?"

"I'm afraid that's quite impossible," Thotep spoke up as Ogdoad huffed. "Head Librarian, if you would…?"

Scowling, the baboon man rolled up some of his robes, revealing an incredibly complex hieroglyphic tattoo on one arm. "Whenever someone joins our staff, no matter how high or low they are in the hierarchy, they receive a tattoo like this," Ogdoad explained. "It represents our oath to the God Thoth, and our commitment to safeguarding and sharing knowledge for the good of all. It is literally impossible for us to break the oath, for Thoth would know in an instant and strike us down for our betrayal. And even if a member of the staff should leave our service, the tattoo remains, to keep them revealing secrets which should not be heard by the wrong ears."

"Can such a tattoo be faked?" Aranea wondered.

Thotep shook his head. "The tattoos are administered using special ink by senior members of the staff and have an unmistakable magical signature. If someone tried to fake a tattoo, they would be found out at once."

"And even if that weren't the case, both I and the staff have also undergone questioning under true spell, just to be safe," Ogdoad added. "None of us is the spy. However, if Your Majesty would like to question me again…?"

"I'm sure that won't be necessary-" Cleopatra started, only for Ariel to clear her throat.

"Um, sorry? Your Majesty? I don't mean to impugn the honor of you or any of your staff, but… Do you mind if I give it a shot?" She pleaded, an apologetic look on her face. "While your magic is clearly very powerful, well… I'm from thousands of years in the future, and while we've forgotten much, we've found even more. It's possible, though unlikely, that I might be able to find something you missed?"

Cleopatra glanced at Ogdoad. "Is this acceptable?"

The baboon man nodded. "If it will clear up any doubts, certainly."

Ariel nodded in gratitude, produced her wand…

Then hesitated and glanced at Philia. "Hey, birthday girl. Want to take a crack at it?"

Philia's eyes lit up in excitement. "Would I!"

Immediately calming herself down, she produced her wand, pointed it at Ogdoad, and chanted a quick spell under her breath. The baboon man's eyes flashed, but other than that there was no visible effect.

"Ogdoad. Are you a spy?" Cleopatra asked.

"I am not, Your Majesty," he replied calmly.

"Is it possible that you or any member of the staff are spies?" Cleopatra continued.

"I cannot see how they possibly could be. However, if you wish to ask them yourself, I would be more than happy to take you and your party into the library," Ogdoad offered.

"We'll probably need to do that anyway, considering that if this lockdown really is as secure as it sounds, the spy is still probably trapped in there," Goro commented.

Akilah nodded in agreement. "It's possible they missed someone."

"Again, I don't really see how," Ogdoad admitted. "We were very thorough. We performed half a dozen magical scans to make sure we got everyone. If there is a spy, I don't know how they could possibly have evaded us."

"Looks like I'll have to check for that, too," Ariel decided. "Also, Philia, good work. That was a perfectly executed truth spell."

The princess squealed in delight at this praise from her teacher.

Nushi frowned "… Your Majesty, not to question your friend or anything, but… How can we be sure there even is a spy? We just have his word that one exists."

"I would trust Mark Anthony – I mean, the Silver Centurion – with my life," Cleopatra said firmly. "He would not lie to me."

"Could he have been misled?" Aranea suggested.

"Unlikely," the Silver Centurion said, dramatically revealing himself atop a nearby statue. "My source heard it directly from Caesar himself."

"Hi Mark!" Nefer cheerfully waved to the extra hero.

"I'm not Mark Anthony!" Silver Centurion yelled.

Nobody believed him.

"And who is the source?" Mibojin asked.

"I can't tell you, because it would risk his safety," the Silver Centurion denied.

"It's himself," Gozim muttered flatly to everyone. "I really don't understand why he insists on this farce, nobody's buying it."

"Is it possible that Caesar was lying to you – I mean, your source?" Apista inquired.

The centurion shook his head. "No. Caesar would not lie to me – I mean, him. There is a spy, we just haven't found them yet."

"Then let's get into the library and root them out!" Akilah suggested, grinning fiercely.

Cleopatra nodded. "That seems to be our best choice of action."

Goro turned to his wife. "Kari, I'm afraid this could be dangerous. You, Her Majesty, Mira, Kagami, and Scarabella are in charge of the kids while we're gone."

Kari smiled and nodded. "I understand. Go get them, darling."

"Wait, we can't come?" Mei protested. "I want to see the library!"

"You find libraries boring," Shitsuki pointed out.

"I wanted to read the comics!"

Most of the children nodded in agreement at this.

"You can see the library once we've taken care of the spy," Nushi said. "It's possible that we're going to get in a fight, and it would be easier for everyone if you all weren't underfoot."

"I haven't lost a single kid on one of my time tours yet, and I don't intend to break that streak now," Shin said firmly.

"But we can help! Like we did before!" Philia protested.

"You really shouldn't have been that close to a fight at all, and if we could've avoided putting you in danger, we would have," Ariel said apologetically. "But that's something we can do now. I understand you want to help, but…"

Philia's antenna drooped. "I'm too young. I know."

"So we have to wait here?" Aki complained.

"I'm afraid so," Goro said.

All the kids groaned in disappointment, except for a very relieved Jun and Veila.

"It's okay, Philia," Fuuka told the Princess reassuringly. "Maybe we can go on a tour of the city while we wait for them to finish."

Neycombe lit up at this. "Oh, that's a wonderful idea! We could go shopping, some of the markets we passed on her way here had some clothes and jewelry which would look positively ravishing on me! And Philia, of course."

"Shitsuki could use a new ax," Shitsuki agreed.

"And I'm sure we can find a few magic stores," Luna consoled Aki.

The other witch perked up. "Yeah, and maybe we can find out how that cool game with the tablets and illusion monsters works! For some reason it feels weirdly similar to a children's card game I've heard about…"

"We could see what kind of sports they play here in Egypt," Scarabella suggested.

"And maybe find out if there's a connection between zyumans and these children of the gods," Mira added.

"Would that be all right, Your Majesty?" Kari asked Cleopatra.

"But of course," the Queen said magnanimously, clapping her hands and summoning some servants and Ushabti. "My servants will show you some of the sights while we are rooting out the spy. If that is all right with your other parents…?"

Goro and Mibojin nodded. "Sounds good to me," the soldier said.

"The further the other children are from here, the better I will feel," Mibojin agreed. "Of course, I'd be perfectly fine if Kagami accompanied us, but I doubt she wants to leave the others behind."

"I do not," Kagami confirmed, much to the delight of Mira and Scarabella.

"Then it is settled," the Queen said confidently. "I hope you enjoy your tour. If all goes well, we will be with you soon."

"It probably won't, though," Shin pointed out.

"It probably won't," Cleopatra admitted.

"Oh, and Kari, make sure the kittens don't adopt anything or anyone," Goro added just before the two teams of Sentai headed over for the teleport pavilion. "We already have too many ancient and/or alien golems, robots, or living weapons back home as is."

"Don't worry, darling, we won't get any," Kari assured her husband.

"You do realize there is absolutely no way she's going to keep that promise, right?" Ariel asked Goro as they headed for the pavilion.

Goro sighed wearily. "Yeah, I know. Guess it's a good thing our quarters at the palace are so roomy and can get bigger…"


In a flash of light, Ogdoad, the Bugrangers, the Arachrangers, and the Egyptrangers appeared inside the library.

"Welcome, foreigners," the baboon announced, spreading his arms to take in the architectural marvel before them. "To the great library of Alexandria!"

'Great' was an understatement. The interior of the library felt as if it were much bigger than the outside, with columns practically the size of skyscrapers holding up a ceiling very, very far above them, spiral staircases wrapped around their exteriors with bridges, catwalks, and walkways extending out from every level to connect with other columns, balconies, terraces, and running along the tops or sides of the towering shelves which took up the majority of the space, each towering wooden structure riddled with thousands of holes containing scrolls, parchments, tablets, and other written media. The chamber seemed to extend for what felt like miles in every direction, with numerous colossal statues of Thoth in his numerous forms rising from the floor here and there, a monolithic sculpture of the deity rising almost to the ceiling in the center, the glowing sun disk on its head providing most of the illumination, though there were numerous other lanterns, wisps, and artificial suns drifting about and providing light. The party had appeared on an ornate hieroglyphic circle just inside the sealed main doors, with walkways going off in either direction along the walls and a sweeping staircase stretching down to the floor far below, where hundreds of tables and couches for use by readers and researchers were scattered about in the shadows of the towering accumulated knowledge of the ancients.

"There's so… Much of it," Nushi gushed, eyes wide.

"It's even bigger than the Heavenly Archives in Magitopia!" Ariel exclaimed in awe.

"This is… immense," a dazzled Goro stammered. "How do you have this much?!"

"Egypt is an old country, with long memories," Ogdoad said proudly. "Though of course, we have knowledge accumulated from every corner of the known world here as well."

"Do you have anything from China?" Nushi asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know where that is," the baboon confessed.

"It's really far east of here… Yeah, you guys probably never made it that far," Nushi admitted.

"We have never seen anyone with your skin color or facial structure before," Thotep commented. "Of course, maybe now that we know something lies that far east, we should investigate?"

"I dunno, it's really far east of here," Shin said.

"And you have enough problems close to home as is," Mibojin added.

"Speaking of… This library is massive. Are you certain everyone is accounted for?" Antares asked Ogdoad, all business now.

The Head Library nodded. "Yes, we do headcounts by the hour and have spells which can keep track of the number and location of everyone in the building at any given time. Everyone who was here before the lockdown are still present, and all gathered in the auditorium."

"You mentioned that the restricted and forbidden sections were shunted to the Underworld," Mibojin spoke up. "Is it possible that someone might still be in there?"

Ogdoad chuckled. "Young lady, trust me when I say that if someone got caught in those areas when lockdown began, it is unlikely we will ever hear from them again. The Underworld is not a place for the living, after all."

"Okay, but could the spy have found what they were looking for and sent a message out before that happened?" Ariel asked.

Ogdoad considered this, then shook his head. "While I suppose it's possible, it's unlikely, especially because the location of the tomb of Alexander the great isn't even in any of the forbidden or restricted parts of the library."

"Wait, what? It's not?" Akilah asked, as surprised as the visitors from the future.

Ogdoad smirked. "Sometimes the best way to hide something is in plain sight. It's common knowledge that the library has restricted and forbidden sections. Therefore, any unscrupulous types will immediately assume that any illicit or confidential information they are looking for can be found there. And while indeed some of our rarest and most dangerous magical texts are contained there, in reality much of what's stored there are decoys. Fakes. Traps for the avaricious. A lot of the really sensitive material is hidden right here in the public areas of the library, deliberately shelved in areas almost nobody would ever have any reason to browse."

"A brilliant act of misdirection," Aranea said in approval.

"So the location of the tomb of Alexander is somewhere around here?" Nushi marveled, looking at the seemingly limitless rows of scrolls in renewed wonder.

Ogdoad nodded proudly. "It is indeed."

"Great, then let's go retrieve it to make sure that the spy can't get their hands on it-" Goro started.

"Yeah, no, we aren't doing that," Shin interjected. "That's a rookie mistake, Goro. If we head for the location of the map, the spy will just follow us and snatch it right before our eyes."

Ariel nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah, that happens all the time."

"But if we head right for the map, can we not lay a trap to catch the spy?" Mibojin suggested.

"We could," Shin admitted. "But it's always a risky gamble. If we can think of a way to catch the spy without risking the location of the map, we should try that first."

"But how are we to even do that?" A frustrated Gozim asked. "Every member of the staff and all the researchers and visitors are accounted for, all of them have been cleared of being the spy, and it is impossible for any of the staff to be a traitor. Ogdoad himself said that his scans have turned up nothing. Assuming the spy exists, where is he?"

"Are we really sure the spy even exists?" Akilah asked.

"He exists! I'm sure of it!" The Silver Centurion insisted.

"What if it's you?" Mibojin suggested suddenly. "You're the only member of the Roman army currently present in the library that we know of."

"That's impossible! I would never betray Cleopatra!" The centurion protested.

"Perhaps not willingly. For all you know, you might have been coerced," Mibojin pressed. "You may have been brainwashed into being the spy and not even know it."

"That's preposterous! Surely I would know if I'd been brainwashed… Wouldn't I?" The centurion asked, suddenly worried. "Wait, maybe I am the spy! Oh no! I had no idea! Cleopatra, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to betray you!" He wailed, prostrating himself before the startled, disturbed, and slightly aroused queen.

"If you betrayed me, I'm sure you didn't mean to," she murmured, blushing.

"Ariel, Aranea, can you see if he's been brainwashed?" Nushi asked.

The two sorceresses nodded and gently crouched down next to the sobbing Centurion. "If we may?" Aranea asked.

"Do it! Whatever it takes to determine whether or not I'm a threat to Cleopatra!" The centurion cried.

"Or us," Nefer prompted.

"Or you!"

Ariel chanted a spell under her breath, throwing sparkles in the centurion's face, while Aranea wove glittering threads around his head. After a moment, they shook their heads and glanced up. "He's clean."

The centurion sobbed in relief.

"But that just brings us back to square one," a frustrated Akilah pointed out. "Assuming Caesar didn't lie to Mark – I mean, the centurion's source – if there is a spy, how can we find them? How could they possibly have bypassed all the safety measures?"

"That's what I would like to know," a worried Ogdoad spoke up.

"… Maybe you weren't looking for the right things," Ariel said slowly, struck by insparkleration. "May I try something?"

"Certainly, I would be more than pleased to see more of your foreign magic," the intrigued head librarian said.

"As would I," Thotep added eagerly.

Ariel produced her wand and took a step forward.

"What are you doing?" Gozim inquired.

"From what I gather, it sounds like the librarians only checked for staff and patrons," Ariel explained as she started twirling her wand through the air, generating magical signs. "What I want to know is, did they think to check for all life signs?"

"What difference would that have made?" An intrigued Ogdoad asked.

"There's lots of magical animals that are small and intelligent enough to sneak into places even as heavily warded as this and retrieve sensitive information," Ariel explained, her eyes starting to glow, fur and hair billowing as magical energy emanated from her, much to Nushi's wonder. "Additionally, if our spy shrank themselves down somehow, they would similarly have passed beneath your notice. Quite literally."

The baboon gasped in horror. "I never even considered that!"

"Do you really think that could be the case?" A concerned Goro wondered.

"Well hey, there's tons of monsters that have had shrinking powers in the past," Shin pointed out.

"My people have used our spider drones for such purposes many times in the past," Aranea commented.

"And we Divine Insects-" Manti started.

Arachne coughed.

"And Divine Arachnids," the mantis grunted, rolling her eyes. "Have occasionally had to perform similar tasks with our previous partners. On more than one occasion, we have even needed to carry out assassinations."

"I always hate doing it, but sometimes it's unavoidable," Coccinella said unhappily.

"It's remarkable how, despite knowing we exist, most people seem to forget that we have our own agency and we can be pretty dangerous in our own right," Caelifer bragged.

"I do not know of any member of Caesar's Legion that has the power to shrink or turn into small animals, but given how many monsters are in his ranks and how much power he's been given directly by the gods, I can't rule that possibility out for certain," a worried Silver Centurion noted.

"Well, we're about to find out!" Ariel declared, belting out a few syllables which caused the room to tremble, a dome of magical energy blasting out from her and washing over the entire library, everyone flashing briefly as the wave of power passed over them.

"That tingled!" Nefer giggled.

"It was certainly… Something," Nushi murmured, blushing.

Ariel's lovely features creased into a frown. "All right… I'm picking us up just fine… And a lot of people all clustered together in one place, which I'm guessing are the staff and patrons in the auditorium… But I'm also picking up several dozen much smaller energy signatures scattered all over the library. So either you have a serious pest control problem…"

"We do not," Ogdoad whispered, face pale. "There are quite a lot of vermin which would find our parchment very tasty, so we employ powerful hexes to keep such pests out… And have trained cats just to be safe."

"Well, I'm definitely not sensing any cats, which means…" Ariel murmured, face grave.

"We don't have just one spy… But dozens," Cleopatra whispered, horrified.

"It only makes sense," Antares observed. "This is a massive library. One person can't possibly search this whole place by themselves. You would need a whole team!"

"Looks like we need to split up if we're going to find them all-" Goro started.

"Actually, that may not be necessary," Aranea volunteered. "You see, felines aren't the only predators good at catching noxious pests."

She sprang into the air, graciously springing from shelf to shelf and using web lines to pull herself higher and higher, eventually firing a strand directly at the ceiling and flipping upside down to dangle from it. She closed her eyes, then crossed all of her limbs across her chest and fired webbing in every direction, the strands branching out and multiplying as they stretched out from her body, forming a massive and insanely complicated web which seemed to encompass, if not all of the room, a sizable portion of it.

"By the gods," an astonished Thotep gasped.

"That's got to be the biggest web I've ever seen!" Nefer exclaimed.

Ogdoad moaned. "I hope she cleans that up, we really don't like cobwebs here."

Antares chuckled in amusement. "I would expect nothing less from my lady."

"Yeah," Nushi and Ariel both murmured, blushing.

All her eyes closed, Aranea shut off all external stimuli, focusing on her web, her magic and awareness woven into every strand of its composition, an extension of her will and consciousness. She waited, patiently, for her prey to stumble into her trap.

Off in the distance, one of her threads vibrated ever so softly.

Eyes flashing open, Aranea immediately pulledon her web, drawing it all back to her and leaving the library spotless, much to Ogdoad's relief. One bit was slightly thicker than the rest, wriggling desperately as it tried to break free, but Aranea's hand shot out and caught it before it could escape, squeezing it with her claws and forcing it to halt its movements.

Holding it close, she gently peeled away several layers of webbing to examine her prize…

And found herself staring into an eyeball.

She blinked, peeling away more of the webbing and discovering that the 'spy' appeared to be an animated, and clearly anxious, human eye.

"… Well that's new."