Previously:

Naomi blinks. "Maybe we should wait outside."

"The library!" Ally squeals suddenly. "All books, wooden shelves..." She points out to Naomi, who looks back at her dubiously.

"Yeah, cuz nothing could happen there, Miss I Only Read A Book," Naomi says sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest.

--

The Great One is put out. "Treacherous Takenouchi! You shall be punished." He mysteriously heaves Naoki to his feet and turns him to face the others. "You shall now have the pleasure of watching your family be annihilated." He raises an arm towards the Nine. "Destroy!"

Pizoku has little to no time to react. He can only make out the rush of movement in front of him as he feels heat of fire hurtle towards him. He thinks he sees Jilan. He hears his mother screaming. The sound of rocks cracking and exploding with loud booms takes over his senses before the darkness settles in instead.

Episode Ninety-Eight

"Dust to Dust"

Naomi looks up and down the quiet aisle of books in the library. She's never seen so many that go so far and so high. She glances to her right. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" Ally asks. She's looking as many places as she possibly can.

"Twitching," Naomi points out. She takes hold of Ally's tail and holds it still. "Stop it."

"I can't," Ally admits. She vibrates a bit. "I'm too excited."

Naomi eyes the shelf next to them as it sways a bit. "You're gonna make the dust waft," Naomi hisses in warning. "And then you're gonna sneeze again."

Ally pouts. "I will not." She pulls her tail out of Naomi's hands and pads ahead a few paces.

But Naomi stops and listens to the noise behind them. "Someone's coming."

Ally swirls around. "Really?" Her brown eyes go big and wide.

"No, not excited kitty time." Naomi grabs onto Ally and pulls her off towards a corner by the wall. "Hiding time." She looks around quickly until she spots a small nook in the books. "Over here."

Ally glances at the small space warily. "Bad idea!" But Naomi pushes her in first anyway then squishes in beside her.

The sounds of foot steps come closer and closer. Naomi's heart pounds within her chest as the sound gets nearer. She peers warily out from behind the book beside her and she can make out a pair of feet peeking out from what appears to be black Hogwarts robes. She starts when she feels a pull on her arm. "What?" She looks to Ally. "What is it?"

But it is too late. Had she noticed the massive amount of hidden dust in the little nook she surely would have chosen a different hiding spot because her worst fear was about to occur.

"A-choo!" The violence of the sneeze once again triggers a tremor of equal intensity that rocks the castle. And the shelf. Books and pages and dust pour out into the air as the shelve shudders so intensely that all the materials on it shoot out and shower to the floor below.

Naomi and Ally tumble out and eventually roll to a stop amidst the chaos and literary debris. Naomi coughs and opens her eyes and is immediately frozen in horror. Ally squeals beside her and she knows that the boy whose feet they sit on is familiar to her as well. The castle suffers an aftershock.

Naomi doesn't remember anyone else from the stories who was described with such grey eyes.

Meanwhile, in Heliopolis

"Quickly." Jilan waves her arm and ushers in the dusty refugees. "Everyone inside." She follows Ashlee into the small chamber that still stands in the ruins of Heliopolis. "This will have to do."

"Did they see where we went?" Pizoku pants and leans against the wall on the far side from the doorway.

Ashlee only blinks when the sound of a resounding explosion shakes the room. Dust falls from the ceiling as the tremor hits. "I think they were a bit distracted."

"Where is my husband?" Izanami grabs hold of Jilan's hand and clings. "Did you see what happened to Naoki?"

"Not so much, no," Jilan tells the distressed woman as Pizoku pulls his mother off of the Bajoran. "There was a large fireball and things got smokey from there." Jilan turns to watch Ashlee peer out of the doorway. "Just stay down."

"Down where?" Raul asks as he catches his breath on the side wall. "There's no where to hide in here."

Jilan turns around and aims the small metallic tube she is holding at the ground. A bolt of some kind of energy shoots out. Suddenly there is a crater in the ground and the sand forms a wall formation. "There," Jilan says and turns back to the door way. "Now there is."

Pizoku blinks in surprise as sand sprinkles down from the blast. "I wondered what that was."

"Oh, it's so much more," Ashlee tells him with a grin. Pizoku is confused. Then he becomes stunned when the metal cylinder stretches out from both ends to form a staff in Jilan's hand.

Another echoing boom shakes the room. "What is happening out there?" Raul asks as he helps Ma'at down into the crater.

Ma'at looks up at the ceiling. "They have the power to move the earth and sea," She says with fear and wonder. "I saw water rising from the Nile." She looks to Jilan and Ashlee for clarification.

"Neah and Kha'lei are Chainkans," Jilan replies. "They're a bit more connected to the universe than the rest of us."

Pizoku leads the trembling and stumbling Izanami closer to the crater. "And what about Taylor?"

Ashlee and Jilan share a look. "It's best not to dwell on Taylor," Ashlee says after a beat.

Pizoku frowns upon this but becomes distracted when Jilan holds up her staff and shoots the ceiling above the doorway. He shields his mother as the dust and rumble tumble down and form a pile in front of the former entrance.

"Well," Raul coughs from inside the crater. "That should make it harder for them to get in."

The dust cloud that wafts out suddenly takes them all by surprise. The air clears instantly in a highly unnatural way. In the doorway, The South and the East float forwards.

Raul swallows. "Or I could be mistaken."

Jilan and Ashlee move between the Ancient Ones and the ones they seek. "Stay down," Jilan says. "We'll take care of this."

To Be Continued...