They left that night, and two days later the group were entering Fort Brydon, Cairo. They were back home, and Lillian was glad. She thought that she smelt like sweat, and sand, and death. It was horrible. But as soon as they got back to Cairo, Lillian went to her apartment and grabbed all her clothes before joining the others at a hotel. She had unpacked all of her clothes into the drawers in the hotel room she and Evy were sharing. There were two bedrooms to it, and it was quite nice. She was enjoying the quiet, until it was interrupted.

O'Connell stared at her as she organised her shirts into a drawer with something akin to horror, though before he realised what she was doing, he had noticed that she was back in a shirt and trousers. He liked this look just as much as the crop top and long skirt combo. She looked more at ease now, though.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, moving in to the room, and looked pointedly at the empty trunks.

"What does it look like, O'Connell? I'm unpacking my belongings. I've already finished hanging up dresses, skirts and trousers, and now I'm putting away shirts and nightdresses." Lillian explained to him, ignoring the fact she knew what he was really talking about. Instead, she just stood up and began packing her underwear into a drawer.

O'Connell stormed into her closet, and grabbed a handful of her clothes, as Lillian watched. The white cat that belonged to her sister sat on top one of her empty trunks, and she stroked behind its ear. It was useless to get in his way, until she was certain this was just a regular hissy fit.

"I thought you said you didn't believe in fairy tales and hokum. Shoo!" He said, and she quickly lifted the cat before he could knock it over as he flipped open the trunk and dumped her clothes into it.

"I never said that. My sister said that, but encountering a 3,000 year old walking, talking corpse tends to convert one's beliefs!" Lillian protested, dropping the car into the lid of the trunk and seized her clothes and put them back where he found them. Rick was rooting through her drawers, lifting all the silk, cotton and lace out of them and carried them over to the newly emptied trunk and unceremoniously dumped everything in to it.

"Forget it. We're out the door, down the hall and we're gone." Rick said, and Lillian bristled as she picked her lingerie and nightclothes back out of the trunk, half-pissed that he had the nerve to touch her underclothes in the first place.

"You, sir, are not the boss of me. We aren't going!" Lillian protested.

"Yes, we are."

"Oh, no we are not. We woke him up, and we are going to stop him." Lillian said, dropping her clothes onto her bed, forgetting them for now as she stepped forward and stopped O'Connell from grabbing a collection of books she had brought on the off-chance she could find something in them to help them figure out how to stop the…mummy from causing any harm.

"'We'? What 'we'? We did not read that book. Your sister read that book. I told her not to play around with that thing. Didn't I tell her not to play around with that thing?" He said, as he stared down at her.

"Fine. 'We' as in Evy and I. Evy woke him up and I am going to stop him." Lillian insisted, grabbing his arm to stop him reaching out for the books again. Rick stared down at where her hand was lightly gripping his arm, before he raised his blue eyes back to her dark ones.

"How? You heard the man. No mortal weapons can kill this guy." Rick replied, trying to poke enough holes into whatever plan she was making so that she wouldn't go through with it.

"Then we are just going to have to find some immortal weapons." Lillian retorted, frustration pouring into her voice. She was being pushed, she knew. He was purposefully pushing her.

"There goes that 'we' again." Rick commented, staring up as though he was talking to someone else, before he moved around her and rested his hands on the rim of her trunk.

"Will you listen to me?" She questioned, slamming the lid of the trunk down, and it landed heavily on Rick's fingers. She paid no attention to the pain she had just caused him, and carried on talking. She followed him as he circled round the room. "Once this creature is reborn his curse will spread till the earth is destroyed."

"Yeah?" Rick questioned, raising his voice and stopped in the middle of the room, whirling around on her. "Is that my problem?"

"It bloody well will be, O'Connell, it'll be everyone's problem!" Lillian shouted at him, as she walked away from him, and this time he was following her around the room, as she straightened things up that he had messed up in his tirade.

"Lillian, I appreciate you saving my life and all," O'Connell said, quieter and softer this time, as he followed her around the table. Then he raised his voice again. "But when I signed on, I agreed to take you out there and to bring you back. And I have done that. End of job. End of story. Contract terminated."

And then the dark haired, olive skinned beauty in front of him said something he hadn't expected her to.

"That's all I mean to you? A contract?" Lillian questioned, and he could see the tiniest bit of hurt in her eyes, before she masked it with anger.

"Look, you can tag along with me, or you can stay here and try and save the world!" Rick said, as they glared at each other. "What's it gonna be?"

"I'm staying. Like you said, you were paid to do a job, you've done it. You're free to leave whenever you want," Her voice was almost cold as she said those words, and he knew that he would come to regret saying that he was only here because of the contract between them. "And whether or not you're leaving Cairo, I suggest you leave my room, before I shoot you for upsetting me."

"Lillian-"

"Get out, Mr O'Connell. I am finished talking with you." Lillian said, turning her back on him, and moving away from him to re-organise her drawers. She heard the door close behind him, and let the air rush out of her lungs as she sighed in frustration.

That man was infuriating.

Lillian was walking with Evy, her sister's nose was in a book, and Lillian was playing bodyguard, though she really was the one who needed one. Her guns were holstered and loaded at her shoulders. She had two additional guns strapped to her legs, and her knife tucked into her boot. She had a few bullets in her trouser pockets just in case as well. She was a walking, talking, ammunition's station.

Every so often there was a crack of lightening that pulled Evy's nose out of her book, and she would exchange the same knowing glance with Lillian each time.

"Oh, Lillian! Evelyn!" A familiar American accent called from behind the two sisters, causing them to turn. Lillian regarded the man with a knowing glance, before she looked at her sister again, avoiding his eyes as he rushed towards them. He knew then that she was still angry with him.

"So you're still here." Evy said, greeting O'Connell.

"We've got problems." Rick said, as he came to a stop in front of the Carnahan women. And just as he said those words, lightening cracked, it started to rain and even worse….large, fiery meteorites fell from the sky. Rick, Lillian and Evy gazed up at them, before they unfroze from their frightened stupor. Rick pulled on Lillian's arm, and Lillian grabbed Evy's hand, towing her behind the two fighters as the man led them to safety as the fireballs burned and squashed people out in the open. They soon realised that they had no where to go, so stood and tried to pick out their best option.

That is until a very cowardly face tried to sneak back up some stairs behind them to avoid being seen. Rick grabbed Beni and pushed him up against the staircase wall, while Lillian only half-listened as she held Evy in her arms and winced as she watched people burning.

"Beni, you little stinkweed. Where you been?" Rick questioned, and was answered by a loud, familiar, inhuman growl. Beni ran past the two women, who looked up at Rick. Lillian let go of her sister with one arm, using it to pull out one of her guns, and Rick grabbed hold of Lillian once more and pulled her up the stairs by her arm.

They headed into the Americans apartment, and were horrified by what they saw. A body that could only have been Mr Burns had been sucked dry, with only one culprit, that was now standing in the fire and regenerating into something a little more human.

Evy gasped beside Lillian, who stared at the creature in front of her, absolutely terrified but completely, and ashamedly, fascinated too. The mummy turned and now looked a little more fleshy, and growled at them. Rick and Lillian raised their pistols at it, but glanced at each other nervously.

"We are in serious trouble." O'Connell said, and Lillian nodded, their eyes averted back to the creature in front of them.

Rick had both of his pistols out now, and as the creature advanced on them, he began to fire. Lillian grabbed Evy and moved to the side, allowing Rick to do what he had to do. Her priority was her younger sister, and he knew that. The bullets just ripped through the mummy as he kept stalking forward, and appeared to do little damage. Soon Rick's pistols were out of ammo, and the creature lifted him, and threw him backwards. The American landed on the other two Americans and Jonathon, who had just entered the room and were about to draw their weapons.

Lillian shoved Evy away from her, as the creature turned to her, knowing her sister wasn't what it wanted. She raised her pistol, but it knocked the weapon out of her hand, so she just backed away, until her back hit a bookshelf and she was boxed in.

"You saved me from the undead. I thank you." The mummy said, in ancient Egyptian, before he leaned in towards her. Lillian's eyes widened as he tried to kiss her, and she tried to turn her head away. But before the creature could defile her mouth, Evy's cat pounced on the piano and made its presence known.

The creature gasped loudly at the sight of the white cat, and turned itself into sand and escaped the room, leaving Lillian breathing heavily, scared out of her wits.

Rick pushed himself upright further, and said what each person in the room was thinking, "We are in very serious trouble" and Lillian slowly lowered herself to the floor, and breathed slow deep breaths in an attempt to stop her body from shaking. Jonathon had already clambered to his feet to check that Evy was okay, and Rick noticed how scared Lillian still was, so he crawled over to her, and pulled her towards him.

Lillian reluctantly accepted the comfort that O'Connell was willing to provide. She felt weak being so terrified by the creature, when everyone else wasn't. She wasn't used to feeling that way. She was the strong one. Lillian comforted others, not the other way around. But here she was, crashing down from a near panic attack, after almost being kissed by a member of the undead. Yet she felt herself getting closer to a calm state of mind as she nuzzled her face into the American's neck, wrapping her arms around his neck, as his were wrapped around her back.

After another moment, she started to get embarrassed so pulled away from him, crawling over to her gun, grabbing it before she climbed to her feet. She cleared her throat, and pushed past O'Connell to get to the exit, rushing out because she needed air.

Rick moved to follow her, but Jonathon put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Give her a minute, old chap, she needs to collect herself."

When the four men and Evy joined Lillian outside, she had a grim smile on her face, the red rims around her eyes the only indication that she had just been terrified mere moments ago. Rick stepped towards her, but she took a step back. She was distancing herself from him because she was ashamed of her behaviour, but he thought it was because of him. Yet Rick let it go anyway. They had bigger problems.

"We need to visit the museum. There's got to be something about Hamunaptra, the mummy and this curse there. Let's get moving." Lillian said, setting off without looking back to see if the others were following her. All she heard was someone say "Here we go again" and then heard five pairs of footfalls behind her. They needed answers quickly and they were going to get them, even if it meant that Lillian had to read every book in that damn library. She was not going to nearly get kissed by some gooey mummy again.

"He seems to like Lillian." Jonathon commented casually, as they followed his two sisters who were almost on a rampage through the museum. Lillian stiffened slightly as she walked, but made no acknowledgement of her brother speaking at all.

"Yeah, what's that about?" Rick questioned, but was once again ignored.

"What's this guy want?" Daniels asked, and this time Evy actually gave the American an answer.

"There's only one person I know who can possibly give us any answers." She said, as she and Lillian turned the corner and stalled. The curator was standing right in front of them, with the leader of the Mejai, who stared at them all with surprisingly little anger or hate. Lillian heard the drawing of guns behind her, but didn't draw her own. If he had come here to kill them or attack them, he would have brought more men.

"You!" Evy pointed at the man in black, with a voice that should have sounded angry, but came out surprisingly soft. Lillian eyed her sister, and then the man, both of whom were sharing the same expression. Attraction. Lillian sighed, and nudged her sister.

"Miss Carnahan. Miss Carnahan. Gentlemen." The curator greeted them in turn, smiling genuinely at the two women who appeared to be calm, and then giving a sardonic look towards the men still pointing their weapons at his guest.

"What is he doing here?" Lillian questioned, though not with any anger or suspicion in her tone.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" The curator questioned, and Lillian cast a look backwards at O'Connell, eyebrow arched as if to say 'well?'. He was a smart man, but a little slow on the uptake. She turned back, but heard him holster his pistol again.

"After what I just saw…I'm willing to go on a little faith here." He said, and the corners of Lillian's mouth twisted up in a small smile, which disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived.

The group of six moved into the room, and they all tried to get as comfortable as possible, whilst waiting for the curator to explain the presence of a man who had tried to kill them once. Lillian leaned against a wall, near the exit, her eyes constantly roaming over each individual and the other exits, but they would pause a little too long on O'Connell for her liking. He was sat in a chair, near to where her sister stood, and sometimes their eyes locked before she quickly averted hers. Then they both focused on the old man as he finally began to explain himself.

"We are part of an ancient secret society. For over 3,000 years we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world." The curator said, but before he or the man in the black robes, who had yet to give a name, could continue, Lillian interjected something with her usual brand of casual sarcasm.

"Yet, you couldn't stop a small librarian from raising him from the dead. You gentlemen are really upholding the standards of your ancestors." She sniped, as she crossed her arms over her chest, and smirked at them. Both men gave her a dark look, before speaking again.

"And now, because of you, we have failed." The tribal man said simply.

"And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?" Evy questioned, and Lillian rolled her eyes.

These ancient societies were often full of lunatics, and her sister asked that question? Sometimes Lillian really had to question how naïve her sister really was.

"To stop this creature? Let me think," The curator started, and then both he and the man in black continued in unison, "Yes!".

Evy stared at them for a moment, before walking across the room, clearly bothered by their answer. Lillian's eyes followed her younger sibling before they were drawn to her -though she wouldn't ever be stupid enough to admit it out loud - favourite American.

"Question," O'Connell said, raising a hand in the slightly in the air to gain their attention. Like a school kid. "Why doesn't he like cats?"

"Cats are the guardians of the underworld. He'll fear them until he's fully regenerated." The curator explained.

"Then he will fear nothing." The Mejai leader said, clearly angry at the very thought of it.

"You know how he gets himself fully regenerated?" Daniels questioned.

"By killing everyone who opened the chest." Henderson said, quietly. Lillian pitied them, though she didn't show any remorse. They had brought this curse upon themselves, and right now, she was slightly more worried about her brother and her sister, and herself as selfish as that was.

"And sucking them dry, that's how!" Daniels almost shouted, and Lillian felt the need to interject.

"In any other situation, I would say a smug I told you so, but I don't think that's entirely applicable to this certain situation." Lillian said, giving Henderson a meaningful look, which he shook his head at. He knew that she had told him that this would happen, but by the time she had given her warning it had already been too late.

"Stop playing with that," Evy snapped at Jonathon, as he played with a bow on the back of a life-size model of Seti's chariot. "The creature has shown a odd fascination with my sister. Why is that?"

Everyone in the room turned their heads to stare at Lillian, as if the answer would come to them just by gawping at her. Lillian sighed in frustration, breathing slowly to get a handle on her anger. She couldn't for the life of her understand why she was angry, but she was.

"At Hamunaptra, he called me Anck-su-namun. And just now, in Burns' quarters, he tried to kiss me." Lillian explained, and watched with narrowing eyes at the curator and the black robed man exchanged a look.

"It's because of his love for Anck-su-namun that he was cursed. Apparently, even after 3,000 years…" The curator trailed off, and the Mejai leader continued for the old man.

"He's still in love with her."

"Well that's romantic and lovely and slightly obsessive and everything, but what does that have to do with me?" Lillian questioned, glaring at the two men who had all the answers, waiting for an answer.

"Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead." The dark haired man suggested.

"And it appears he has already chosen his human sacrifice."

Lillian's eyes widened, and her body stiffened. Evy, Jonathon and O'Connell had all frozen, their eyes lapsing onto Lillian in concern. Lillian pinched the bridge of her nose, seemingly exasperated, before she let out a small nervous giggle.

"Oh, this is just fantastic. 'Let's go see Evy, spend some time with my baby sister', I said. Now I'm the object of a 3,000 year old mummy's misplaced affections!" Lillian chuckled darkly to herself, running a hand across her head, before she sighed and slid down the wall.

"Bad luck, old mum!" Jonathon said to his sister, though he was slightly more concerned then he let on. His little sister could end up being a human sacrifice! That certainly was not what his father had meant when he had asked Jonathon to look after his baby sisters should the worst ever happen.

"On the contrary, it may just give us the time we need to kill the creature." The curator enthused, ignoring the glare that the Carnahan's and O'Connell were giving him.

"We will need all the help we can get. His powers are growing." The Mejai soldier said, his eyes turned upwards towards the roof. They all moved towards him and followed his gaze, watching as the moon eclipsed the sun.

"'And he stretched forth his hand towards the heavens…and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt'." Jonathon said, quoting scripture once again, as the darkness descended upon them.