Disclaimer: Aw man, you called my bluff!

-Full-Summary: Things are not well at the museum when a new exhibit arrives. With a new artifact comes new curses, new magic, and new friends. At first, things are great, and the museum is more popular then ever! But suddenly things take a turn for the worst when three all-powerful ancient Egyptian gods get involved, wanting revenge on mankind.

Now it's up to Larry and the gang to stop these misfit deities from taking out everything and everyone in their path, all before sunrise!

A/n: Have you guys ever noticed how Octavius is Italian and yet he has a British accent? Am I seriously the only one (besides Thomas and Ben) who noticed that? Because that for some reason irkes me. And another thing: does anyone know if Octavius is supposed to be Gaius Octavius? Because I saw him as Augustas, Gaius's son. -facepalm- I've spent too much time on Wikipedia. CURSE YOU, MODERN INTERNET!

If there's a song for Anubis and Viola, it's gotta be King of Anything by Sara Bareilles. I swear Sara read my mind and wrote that song, just for me. Lol probably not, but it makes me feel all fuzzy inside when I think like that. And I'm really sorry, but I guess I forgot to introduce Vi's parents thus far. -sweatdrop- My bad.

Charlotte had been in pain for quite some time, afflicted by the only thing more powerful then Death: Love.

-Tonya Hurley, Ghostgirl

Viola woke to the smell of pancakes. She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow. After at least two minutes of tossing and turning, she realized that sleep was out of the question—she was up, and that was that. Viola reluctantly opened her eyes and rubbed them with the heels of her hands.

Light was already streaming in from her windows. She glanced at the clock before getting up. Nine o' five. Well, it wasn't that early. Viola untangled herself from the blankets and stretched. Then she headed out of her room and into the kitchen.

Nancy Miller, Viola's mother, was the one making pancakes. Viola cocked an eyebrow when she entered the kitchen; her mother hadn't cooked in a while. Maybe that was because she was always busy working.

"Mornin' sweetie," Nancy greeted cheerily. Both of Viola's parents were morning people. Nancy seemed to fit the part much better then Viola's father—she was blonde, had Viola's blue eyes, and was very perky. No wonder the college students who were in Nancy's classes stayed awake.

Viola yawned and plopped down in a bar chair in front of the table before responding. "Hey mom. Why are you home? Shouldn't you be at the college?"

Nancy put a plate down in front of Viola, already filled with pancakes. "It's Friday. I get Friday's off, remember?" She put a bottle of syrup down on the table, and pointed at it with her finger. "You need to eat—you're thin enough already."

Viola rolled her eyes but obeyed, grabbing the bottle of syrup and squirting some all over her breakfast.

"So," Nancy said causally, "what have you been up to lately?"

Viola stopped cutting up her pancakes.

Of course.

She knew this was coming. Whenever Nancy got suspicious, she would make pancakes and question you. It was an odd tactic, but it seemed to work. Viola guessed that Nancy learned about its effect when Bonnie was in third grade. Bonnie's class had taken a field trip to the zoo, and Bonnie had stolen something from the gift shop. Nancy made pancakes the next morning, and the next thing they all knew, Bonnie was spilling her guts out over how it wasn't her fault.

Now Nancy was wondering where Viola had been the past few nights.

Oh really no where, mom. I've just been hanging out at a museum that comes to life at night thanks to a dead Egyptian mummy who I ended up kissing a couple times. Oh yeah, did I mention that he's related to the gods? Well now they won't leave me alone, just because I got chased by a giant evil demon snake thingy. Other then that, how has your week been while teaching at the university?

"Um...well, I've been hanging out with Rosie," Viola offered. Not a complete lie. Might as well tell her about Jessie. "I met a guy, and I'm dating him."

"Really?" Nancy said, smiling. Viola felt relieved. "Oh honey, that's great! So what's his name?"

"Jessie."

"Hmm, he sounds like a romantic."

"Mom!"

Nancy raised her hands in the air. "I'm just saying. Have you been with him these last few nights? You've been getting back home pretty late."

"No, I haven't been with him. I've actually been at the Museum of Natural History." That wasn't a lie either. "It's actually really cool, now that they've got a new exhibit and everything."

"Oh I used to go all the time there when I was younger," Nancy said. They broke off into a conversation about how the museum had changed during both their lifetimes. All the while, Nancy couldn't help notice how jumpy her daughter was becoming. They eventually wove their way into silence, and Viola ate while Nancy washed the dishes. However, Nancy was surprised by Viola's sudden question.

"Hey mom, do you know anything about the...Greek gods?"

Nancy blinked and turned around slowly to face her daughter. "Um...yes, I suppose. But why do you want to know about them?"

Viola laughed nervously, playing with one of the buttons on her pajama top. "Oh, you know...Um, I don't really know...they just kind of spiked my interest!" She laughed again.

Now even that wasn't fully a lie. True, ever since Thoth had told her the story of her...death, Viola was starting to become terrified of the gods—Roman, Egyptian, and Norse. Apollo had killed her, Loki was ranting on about the end of the world, and Anubis had caused her hand to grow two extra fingers; not to mention that Viola was caught right in the middle. It seemed like the universe wanted to drive her insane.

Nancy raised an eyebrow, walked around the table, and sat down on a chair next to Viola. Viola had been lost in her thoughts, wondering if she should break it to her mother that she was a reincarnation or not. She felt Nancy gather her dark hair and twist it up into a loose ponytail on her back. Her mother used to do this to both Bonnie and Viola, but ever since Bonnie grew into the "teenage rebellion stage" (or at least, that's what Viola's father called it), she never let Nancy do it anymore. Viola was surprised by the gesture, but somehow found it comforting.

"You know," Nancy said slowly, "you can talk to me if you want, honey."

"I know," Viola said, not looking at her. But I can't talk to you about everything.

It had taken Nancy some convincing, but she finally let Viola go out for the day. Her mother had said that they needed some mother-daughter-bonding time, and Nancy was going back to work at the university the next day.

Viola had also been forced to promise not to stay out so late every night. Which meant that she couldn't stay at the museum. Which also meant that she didn't have to face Ahkmenrah.

Letting out a sigh, Viola ran her fingers though her hair as her eyes scanned the bookshelves once more. She was at a half-price bookstore, looking in the non-fiction section for anything that involved the Romans.

She didn't really know why she was becoming so obsessed with the god who had killed her in her past life. Then again, she didn't know why she was hiding from Ahkmenrah. She hadn't been to the museum last night, and she wasn't planning on visiting tonight.

Viola banged her head on a bookshelf.

Why was she avoiding Ahkmenrah? He had been really nice, minus the fact that he thought that she was his friend from his life in Egypt. Not to mention that he was a really good kisser—

Oh God no! She couldn't think like that. At least, not now that she was dating Jessie and actually knew his relatives more then she would ever want to. Speaking of his relatives, Viola had also been checking over her shoulder all day for any sign of the really-handsome-jerk-with-the-attitude-Anubis.

Viola jumped at the sound of her cell phone ringing. She nearly knocked down a stack of books, and smiled sheepishly at the others in the store who gave her strange looks.

"Hello?"

"Ok, Sears is having a sale and you are coming there with me," Rose's voice said on the other line. Viola was about to protest, but then spotted the title of a book written on its spine. Rome—from then to now.

She honestly felt like slapping herself. Rome, Romans? What did they have in common? There was a small detail that she had been overlooking.

"Octavius!"

"What?"

Viola flushed, realizing that she was on the phone. "Um…never mind, sure I'll go, but just give me an hour."

"...Sure…?"

"Thanks Rosie!" said Viola, hanging up on her friend before hurrying out of the store. She didn't necessarily sprint, but she did fast-walk down the sidewalk and up the stairs to the museum. When she walked in the door, she passed Rebecca.

"Hi Rebecca," Viola said as she passed. "Bye Rebecca."

Rebecca blinked, and turned her head to follow Viola, but she didn't notice.

She thankfully remembered the way to the Hall of Miniatures. She knew that they weren't awake yet, but maybe there was a way that Octavius could hear her while frozen during the day. When Viola got there, she loomed over the Ancient Rome display. Octavius was standing in the center of the little display kingdom, looking as if he was ordering some of his men around.

"I'm hoping you can help me out here, Octavius," Viola whispered. Her eyes swept the display before landing on the Coliseum.

"Why else do you think that the Romans built the Coliseum and tore people apart for the fun of it?"

Viola suddenly felt sick. Did Octavius ever...? No, no he was nice. Plus he was a wax miniature in a museum. Even if someone got torn apart, the museum's day guards would notice and would fix the little miniature right up.

However, Viola moved back a few steps and fell back on the bench.

CRACK!

Sully yelped, jumped backwards, and unconsciously clung to Ahkmenrah. He would have flushed if he hadn't been surprised as well. Kahmunrah jumped slightly. A young boy with dark black hair and brown eyes had just popped up in front of them. He was dressed in regal robes, simpler yet somehow more elegant then the ones that Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah wore. He was glaring at them, but it wasn't an angry glare. It was more of a curious glare.

"Who are you?" the boy asked quickly. "You aren't gods, you don't smell like them. Well, actually you two do, but you don't." He pointed his finger at Ahk and Kah, then Sully. Sully let go of Ahkmenrah.

"Um...No, they aren't gods—"

The boy cut her off. "So are you mortals?" He let out a small gasp. "Mortals aren't allowed here!"

"Yes, we know—"

"Why are you here, then?" the boy demanded.

"We came here by accident," Sully replied quickly, fearing that he would cut her off again. "We just need to find the Tablet and—"

The boy's features suddenly lit up with realization. "I recognize you now! Aren't you Isis's mortal sons—the Half-Bloods?"

"Yes," Ahk answered. It sounded like a question. He knew that this boy must be a god, but he didn't know who. Sully seemed to know, but the boy god kept cutting her off.

"Correct me if I am wrong," Sully said, catching the boy's attention, "but aren't you...Ahy?"

The boy nodded and cocked his head slightly, as if finally realizing that Sully was there. " Hey, you're cute."

Sully blinked, her face slowly turning red. Ahk's eyes narrowed. Kahmunrah stepped in.

"Do you know where the Tablet is?" He cast a glance at Sully, "or if it's even here at all?"

"No," Ahy answered simply, "but I bet Thoth will. I think he's around here somewhere—"

"No!" Sully cried. Ahy looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I...I mean, you cannot let anyone know that we are here."

"But then why are you here in the first place?"

"We came here by accident, and now we need to get back to the Overworld. We need to find the Tablet, but you cannot let anyone know that we are here."

"Oh, I get it now!" Ahy's face lit up with a grin. "It's like a game!"

Sully blinked again. "Um, yes, it's a hiding game. And we need to not be found by anyone here. Do you think you could help us play?"

"Yes of course," Ahy said happily, "but don't blame me if Anubis finds you first! He's really good at finding wandering souls, so you will be easy for him!"

And before Sully could say anything else, there was a loud CRACK, causing the trio to jump again. Ahy was gone.

"A game," repeated Kahmunrah. "Good thinking, Sully," he said sarcastically, grabbing her and ruffling her already messy hair, making it more spikey and jagged if possible. Sully broke away from him, flushed.

"He is only a boy god. And technically, he is your nephew. But now the gods know we are here."

"You said that before, so what is your point?"

Sully bit her lip. "We are going to be in big trouble unless we find the Tablet and Gate soon."

Viola really hated these memories or flashbacks or whatever the hell they were. They kept creeping up on her, taking her by surprise. Which was why she nearly ran into wall at the mall with Rose.

"Are you ok, Vi?" Rose asked.

"Just great," Viola said, flashing a smile. The two were walking around the mall, Rose clutching shopping bags, Viola attempting to not let her mind wander. It was so hard.

"So how's Jessie?" Rose asked.

"Great," Viola answered.

Rose pouted, "I wish he had a brother."

Viola laughed. "Well if he did, then I would give you my blessing."

"Since when do I need your blessing to date a guy?"

"Since now."

"Whatever," said Rose, sticking out her tongue. "Hey are has he been planning to do anything for you for your birthday?"

Voila shook her head. "I don't think so."

"What? But that's like, the most romantic thing a guy can do for a girl, taking her out somewhere special for her birthday, getting her flowers, kissing her passionately on a balcony that overlooks the whole entire city when it's lit up at night..." Rose trailed off, and her eyes had a dreamy glaze in them. Viola snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face, and Rose snapped out of it.

"Hey, this isn't your fantasy, Rosie."

"I wish it was. Seriously, you're lucky you've got him. If he was mine, I would be the happiest girl on the face of the earth!"

Viola opened her mouth, but Rose cut her off.

"So, back to your birthday. It's tomorrow and if Jessie doesn't do something special, then not only am I going to have to kick his butt, but I'm gonna have to do something for you instead."

"Oh no, you're not," Viola said firmly.

The girls continued to argue, but Rose wanted to stop and get a pretzel from the food court before they left. Viola was sitting at one of the tables in the eating area when Anubis stalked over.

Loki impatiently tapped his finger on the mall's balcony ledge. The balcony was overlooking the food court, and was a restricted area, meant for only mall cops and security guards. The blonde had easily broken in, and was now glaring through the tinted glass down at a certain jackal god and a freckle-faced mortal.

His plan to show little Viola that he meant business had worked...sort of. He had released Apep from the Egyptian's territory in the Underworld. It wasn't hard to cross the borders of either the Roman or Egyptian territory—he had done it so often it was now child's play for the Norse. However, every once an a while a stray soul or demon would cling to him, but he would only kick them off—hence the hiking boots. (He supposed that it was the very same reason that Anubis wore them as well in his mortal form.)

And speaking of Anubis...

Loki had at least hoped for Apep to break Viola's tiny little body in half. If nothing else, to bite her at least. When Apep bit a god, the wound would heal over relatively quickly. When Apep bit a mortal, however...they normally died, but if not then they would become paralyzed.

However, neither had happened because those two idiotic Egyptian's had to step in and save the little brat. Loki supposed it was because Viola was in love with the Half-Blood. Either that, or they took pity on the girl.

Messing with Hathor's love spell was easy. Messing with it while two powerful gods were practically breathing down his neck...?

Well, it would be tricky.

Loki liked tricky.

Loki could work with tricky.

He felt rather then heard Apep's presence. That and Apep stunk like all the rest of those damn Egyptians did. But the demon was quieter then a shadow, Loki would give him that. However, he never really could blend in with the mortals.

That was the problem with demons. They always looked somehow wrong to the mortals, even to the ones without immunity.

Not to mention that Apep in his human form had purple hair and fangs.

"You let me down," Loki stated simply.

"The girl would have been mine, if not for the gods," the snake spat, his voice a low and raspy sound.

"It did seem that way," said the blonde mildly. "Unfortunately, because we are now dealing with more then one god, attacking spontaneously won't be enough anymore."

"What?" hissed Apep, his lip pulling back over his fangs.

"Little Viola is being protected by them all, even if she doesn't know it. They care about the Half-Blood, and because he cares about her, they have to make sure that he's happy. Otherwise, he'll go crying home to Isis. So we need something quick, something that will surprise the hell out of them."

"What do you suppose we do?"

Loki glanced at Apep, then back down at Viola, a smirk growing on his face.

"Do you work well with dragons?"

"Do I have to explain the whole 'getting-killed-by-Apep' scenario again?" was the first thing that came out of Anubis's mouth when he stalked over to Viola. She frowned.

"No, I've got that."

"Then explain why I have to consistently hunt you down," he said, sitting down on the chair across from her. He leaned the chair on it's two back legs, resting his boot-clad feet on the table.

"Hey—"

"Vi!" Rose's voice made Viola jump slightly. She had just walked over with a pretzel and a drink. Her eyebrows shot up at the sight of the god and she set down the bag and drink on the table before turning to Viola.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Rose asked, using a far-too-polite voice. Viola nearly winced. She glanced at Anubis, who's face remained stock, before getting up and following Rose away from the table. Once they were out of hearing range, Rose put her hands on her hips and glared at her friend.

"What the hell Viola?" snapped Rose. "What happened to Jessie? Are you cheating on him already? And how come you find all hot guys?"

"Okay, first of all, I'm not cheating on Jessie. Er—at least not intentionally. Second, he isn't even my friend! He's this...jerk who keeps stalking me!"

"If he's a jerk, then I wish I had an asshole to stalk me," said Rose, looking back at Anubis.

Viola punched Rose in the arm.

"I'm serious!"

"So am I! How'd you get him to start stalking you anyway?"

"I...,"—made out with his little brother and got chased by a snake—"can't remember." Rose opened her mouth, but Viola cut her off. "Look, give me like five minutes, and I'll get rid of him. Then we can go."

Before Rose could protest, Viola walked back over to the table where Anubis was. She frowned again and put her hands on her hips. Again, his face was blank, as if an artist had sculpted it out of marble, but hadn't decided yet what expression to carve. Viola could see where Rose was coming from—if Anubis wasn't a god, and if he wasn't a jerk, then she definitely would be starstruck.

"Can you just go away?" Viola asked.

"Believe me, I would if I could," he answered flatly, "but I can't."

"Sure you can! Just do that...popping thing that you did the other night—"

"You mean teleporting."

"Yeah, just teleport outta here! No more stalking me, no more tearing me away fro my friends, and you don't have to 'watch'"—she used air quotes—"me anymore. Everybody wins," said Viola, holding up her hands.

"And what about Apep, hmm? What happens when he shows up? Will you run like you did before?" (At this, Viola blushed. Anubis slowly rose from the chair and went on.) "If we hadn't been there to step in, he could easily have broken your body like a toothpick. He might also kill your red haired friend over there—Rose was it? What would you do if that happened?" Anubis's bored gaze had turned into an furious glare—Viola felt like she was choking underneath the intensity of it. Viola had also forgotten how tall he was—he was looming over her like a dark shadow.

"You could nothing. That's why I can't leave."

Viola may have imagined it, but for a second—for a brief second—his eyes had changed colors from black to red. They wasn't red like Rose's hair—they were crimson red, like the kind monsters would have in horror movies.

But then the god blinked and looked away, making Viola question her sanity once more that week.

"Anyway, even if I did, I would get complete hell from Thoth," added Anubis, almost airily. Viola blinked and she realized that he wasn't looming over her anymore, but as far away from her as earshot allowed.

How'd he do that?

"Well look," Viola said, gesturing around her, "Apep isn't here. In fact, I think that you can go tell Thoth and all your buddies down in the demon-world—"

"Underworld," Anubis corrected dully.

"—whatever. Go tell them that nothing is going to happen, and you are just overreacting."

Anubis was in front of her again, and roughly grabbed her arm.

"Do you think that this is some kind of a game, Sulipica? That all of this will go away if you blink? The second you stepped into that museum for the first time, events were already set in motion. I'm telling you now that if you don't wise up and use your head, things are going to get a lot worse," he snarled. His face was an inch from hers, and his grip on her arm was cutting off the circulation.

"Hey!" Viola heard Rose shout, and Viola heard Rose walk over. "What the hell? Who do you think you are? You can't just come outta no where and start beating up my best friend, no matter how hot you are!"

Anubis's grip on Viola's arm went slack, but he still didn't let go. He wasn't looking at Rose either. He was staring off into space, and a small and almost invisible crease appeared between his eyebrows.

Viola squinted—his human form faded out of view for a moment, and was replaced by the godly one. The jackal that Viola had seen previously wasn't snarling anymore. Its ears were back, and the rest of his body was in a sort of rigid crouch.

Something was wrong.

"Hello? I'm talking to you!" said Rose sharply, putting her hands on her hips.

"Someone opened a portal," the god breathed.

Before Viola could say, "What?" he had let go of her arm and sprinted off. Both teenagers stared blankly after him.

"Wow, you're right," said Rose, "he is a jerk! Why'd he grab you? Was he trying something? D'you want me to call the police?"

Viola shook her head, "No, I'm fine Rosie...hey call your mom...I'm gonna go see whats up."

"Are you sure you don't want backup?" asked Rose. "Because if you do I really can call the cops on this guy—"

"Rose!" Viola snapped. "Just...stay there. I'll be right back."

Before Rose could protest, Viola started off in the direction that the god had just gone in. She heard Rose call her, but Viola didn't turn around. She turned a corner where she thought Anubis had went, but it was completely deserted.

Wait.

Deserted?

It was Friday! The rest of the mall was crowded with bustling people! It just didn't add up—

The hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood up and Viola blinked. Where one second there was nothing, the next there was Apep in his human form at the end of the hall. Viola's mouth went dry and she took a step back.

The left corner of his mouth curled upwards in a smirk. Viola turned on her heel and ran.

She wanted to take everything that she had previously said back—she couldn't hear anything but the blood rushing in her ears, but she was sure that Apep was chasing after her, and Anubis was no where in sight.

Or maybe that was just her. All the hallways of the mall were now vacant. Where did everyone go? Was it just the adrenaline?

Viola rounded another corner, but came to a skidding halt and screamed. Standing in front of her was a fifty foot tall fearsome creature—its scales were dark red and glittery, its tail long and powerful looking. Its head was as big as a minivan, and it had fangs and talons that looked about as long as she was tall. Smoke was coming out of its nostrils, and it seemed to notice Viola for the first time. Its eyes were dark, but alert.

It's a dragon, Viola realized. Every muscle in her body froze despite her brain's command to run.

It was is if it was wondering whether to attack or not. Or it didn't see her. Viola had learned once that if you didn't move, a T-rex couldn't see you. (She supposed that this rule didn't apply to Rexy, though, considering the fact that he didn't have eyes anymore.) Maybe dragons had the same concept? They were evolved reptiles, right?

She was trying to reason with herself about dragons?

"Oh, God," escaped her lips before she could stop it. She really was going crazy, wasn't she?

Apparently dragons weren't deaf, because the second her words were out it opened its mouth and literally blew fire. Viola's muscles reacted and she screamed again and ran as the fire just barely missed her.

Viola could still feel the heat, though. She had never liked fire, especially bonfires, because she would always end up getting burned somehow whenever she was around them. However, with this fire, it wasn't red or orange. It was blue. And it had to at least be a hundred and fifty degrees; the very closeness of it made Viola's skin feel inflamed.

She tore around the corner where she had previously ran, and was heading back the other direction—

Viola stopped so quickly this time she stumbled. A certain purple snake was there. And the dragon was behind her—she could hear it clumsily moving around.

Then it hit her.

It was a trap.

"If you don't come around to start believing in me, I'll be forced to use violent measures."

Before Viola could put it together, there was a loud BANG and Apep suddenly fell sideways, as if someone had punched the reptile in the mouth. Anubis stepped out of no where, his right hand extended and glowing.

"I thought I told you to—" Anubis said, but suddenly stopped short. His features, which one second ago had been etched with annoyance, were now blank with surprise. Viola didn't need to turn around to know that the dragon was behind her.

It roared.

Viola felt like her head was going to explode. Her ears were ringing, and she covered them while shutting her eyes, but it didn't help.

It took her a moment to process what was going on after that. Her ears were ringing, her vision was hazy, and her head was pounding. She did realize, however, that the dragon was no longer behind her.

Anubis's hand stopped glowing and he cursed.

The dragon was now going after him. Viola wanted to tell him to run, but he was already gone in another direction, leading the dragon away from her. The dragon's spiked tail however did catch Viola in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her while sending her flying back a few feet.

She struggled to catch her breath, but she was beginning to hyperventilate.

Viola had forgotten about Apep, but he didn't forget her. She realized this too, and clambered to her feet. She tried to run, but it was a poor effort.

Apep lunged at her.

He had missed her...wait.

No, he hadn't.

The snake had ended up sinking one of his fangs in her left shoulder.

At first, Viola didn't know what was going on. She felt pressure on her shoulder, but nothing else.

But then came the pain.

It started as a slight warmth. The warmth turned a bit more heated. Then it turned into a light burning sensation. The light burning then turned much more painful. It felt as if fire was going through Viola's veins. Ironically, at the same time, it also felt cold. So cold it would freeze her limbs off. Her veins were on fire, her body was encased with a demon chill. It felt like a thousand knives were in her shoulder, like they were puncturing her very soul...

Someone screamed. Viola later learned that it was her agonizing screams that she was hearing. She ripped her arm away, but only heard and felt the tearing of flesh.

She couldn't breath. She tried to run, but she was dizzy. Not slightly dizzy; she was so dizzy that the floor was now the ceiling and the ceiling was now the floor. She couldn't tell which was up or which was down. She was floating. She was falling. She was burning. She was freezing.

Viola collapsed, trying to breath, trying to stop the pain...trying to die. Death wouldn't be as painful as this...would it?

Maybe she was screaming. Maybe she was thrashing. Maybe she was already dead.

She thought she saw a bright light. Death. But she heard Apep's screech and the dragon's roar. They weren't dying too, were they?

Viola's vision was blurred with tears, but nothing made sense. With the world spinning around her, the only thing she could focus on was a pair of wide, brown eyes. There was a face, but Viola couldn't make it out.

The last thing she remembered thinking was, I hope Rose called her mom.

Ma'at tried to get a response from the girl, but had no luck. The mortal was barely breathing. She would be dead in a matter of minutes if they didn't do something.

"What happened?" Anubis asked, jogging back over, fitting his arm back into its socket.

"Apep bit her," Ma'at replied, her voice filled with concern. Without thinking twice, the goddess slid one arm under the girl's knees and the other behind her bleeding shoulders, and lifted her off the ground. The girl moaned. Ma'at bit her lip.

"He actually bit her?"

Ma'at nodded.

Anubis cursed.

Loki had watched the whole thing. Dragons were so hard to control, it was an understatement to say that he was thrilled as he watched Viola run from it and Anubis try to fight it. But of course Ma'at had to come in and ruin the whole damn thing—

It didn't matter. Apep bit Viola. It wasn't a total loss.

Which was why the god grinned wickedly and pumped his fist in the air.

A/n: Ok, another dramatic chapter! Yay! You guys have no idea how bad I wanted to just skip this chapter. The next one I can write so easily. This one, not so much. (Again, I'm not so good with action scenes.) I'm tired, so I'm gonna leave you guys now. I'll update sooner, I promise. Please review!