AN: I read that the language in ancient Pompeii was Latin, not Italian so hopefully I'm in line with Milo, Cassia and Corvus not knowing what the archeologists are saying at first.

AN2: Thank you so much to the whole four or so people who have favorited, reviewed, etc. It's awesome to hear from you guys even if it's just a click of the button at the bottom of your screen! You are all fantastic and even though I didn't get to send each of you a pm to say thanks, just know that you're the only reason I made the time to update when I did!

Cassia's vision and hearing suddenly cleared. She looked down, taking stock of her body. She wiggled her toes, flexed her feet, and continued to move all the way up her body to be sure everything worked properly. When she was satisfied that she would be able to run again, should the need arise, she cautiously sat up and looked around.

The first thing she saw and heard a strangely dressed man who screamed and dropped something on the floor.

It didn't matter that he and suddenly many other people were screaming though, because her gaze had continued to travel to...'Milo!'

She leapt off the table, almost falling as it rolled under her shifting weight, and rushed into his arms. Somehow they'd made it. She didn't understand it, but the volcano, the lava...everything was gone and they were safe together.

Milo wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her body as he breathed her in.

Unfortunately the embrace didn't last long. They were pulled apart by a man speaking excitedly to them in a language they didn't know. The man, still with one hand on each of their shoulders, looked up and began talking to the others in the room. Whatever he said had a calming effect after only a few minutes but he gave Milo and Cassia no time to even say a word to each other. He gestured to a man who promptly left, letting both of them know who was in charge of all these people.

The leader made more gestures, obviously asking them to sit back down on the tables they had been lying on.

Cassia glanced at Milo and he nodded. "Until we know what is going on the best thing to do is as they ask." Milo put his arm around Cassia and led her to the table she had been lying on. There was nowhere else to sit anyway. "We'll figure this out together," he said after they had sat. "Perhaps they can tell us how we survived the volcano."

Corvus awoke to the acute awareness of his weapons being gone. He sat up, feeling completely drained of energy, and the sound of screaming made him feel nauseous. If only they would shut their mouths! Then maybe he could open his eyes and find a way out of this before... His eyes snapped open. He wasn't in the streets anymore. There was no fiery, heated death coming his way. Only screaming people and...Cassia.

Rage filled his body when she flung herself into the arms of that slave. She had a Senator right at her fingertips and still chose a lowly, filthy slave! Every instinct in him wanted to squelch the man in front of him. But without weapons, well, he wanted better odds before picking up the battle again. He needed to find out where he was and how he could use it to get rid of the man and sway Cassia.

The screaming had finally stopped so he could wait. He sat quietly, patiently while a man ordered the others about and led Cassia and the slave to a table just like the one he sat on. He missed nothing. He noticed the people in white clothes, still filled with fear, but beginning to pick up items from the floor with shaking hands. He took in each and every face, took in their movements and knew only one of them was a fighter. He knew the dimensions of the room and how long it would take him to get to any of the doors. Every detail was in his mind within seconds.

It didn't take long for the man who had left to come back in the room with a new woman. She didn't wear the same clothes as the others. The clothes were odd but he could see that they were perfectly tailored to her body. In most circumstances he would have taken special care to let his gaze roam over her - even at her age - but during this new situation, the fact that she had a very nice body was just one more fact to add to all the other confusing information he was picking up. Now it was just a dim knowledge and he didn't even quirk an eyebrow when she came in.

"I'm telling you," Declan said excitedly. These people were encased in pumice in Pompeii. They were perfectly preserved and after it was all removed..They. Woke. Up."

Maria, a beautiful forty-ish year old woman, just looked back at him, clearly unbelieving, with her arms crossed over her chest and raised her eyebrows. She said nothing.

Exasperated, Declan huffed and swung his arm around the room, gesturing at all the other archeologists and said, "Just ask them. They're still scared out of their minds!" He grabbed one of the students' arms, and pulled her to himself as if she weren't a living being at all. "Look at her, Maria. She's shaking after what she's seen!" Then he pointed at the three people who lived over 1500 years ago in Pompeii. "Better yet, ask them. It's why we asked you here anyway. You're the only person who speaks their language."

Maria still didn't move. Although, she did feel bad for the student who was still in Declan's firm grip, completely forgotten.

"Fine," she gave in. "I'll talk to them. But don't think for a second that I believe you. There is no way for this to be possible." Maria turned toward the lone man first ,who was on the left side of the lab, nearest the wall, whereas the couple were directly across from him on the right beside the bank of windows showcasing the hallway.

"My name is Maria. I spent a large part of my life studying the events of the volcano disaster in Pompeii. May we talk for a while?" she asked him in Latin. She noticed all three of the supposed ancient people startle when she spoke in a language they understood.

Maria spoke to Corvus, Milo and Cassia, who had all introduced themselves to her in their 'interviews' with her.

She spent hours grilling them on every fact of ancient Pompeii she could think of, which were many, and she watched the surveillance video as they woke up. She hated to admit it, but she found herself almost believing their stories. They were even able to give her some extra insight into what life was really like, proving or disproving theories. They only problem she found that kept her from complete surety of them was that none of the three could tell them how they survived so long underground in the pumice without food, water...air. And it drove Maria crazy to hear them consistently tell her that if the people who brought them out had no idea, it had to be the gods.

Which was just ridiculous.

But the story they had told her about life before the volcano was epic. She couldn't imagine a perfected line to sell it. And to hear three so complete sides of the same story was incredible. Every fact matched up, the senator had even admitted to the more horrific things Milo and Cassia accused him of, with his own reasons of course. Maria was astounded that he seemed much more interested in finding out what had happened to them and was so compliant when she tried digging into his mind.

Okay, who was she kidding? Maria completely believed them. She just found it hard to admit it to herself.

Declan shook with sheer happiness in the enclosure of the of the small bathroom down the hall from the lab after the interviews. He couldn't believe the story those three had told. And he was going to be credited with finding the proverbial fountain of youth! He would help those three survivors find out what it was that saved them, preserved them, and he would spread it to the world.

He would be famous. He would be rich. He would go down in history just like one of the pharoahs or Greek philosophers.

He bent over the sink and splashed water over his face, his smile unwilling to fall.