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Chapter 4: The Plan

"I need you to listen to me," Larry pleaded as he and Beth followed Doctor McPhee through the Museum.

"Uh, our esteemed chairwoman asked my resignation," McPhee told them as he carried a box into his office. Beth and Larry exchanged worried looks. "She said that since the Night Program was my brainchild, the buck starts, and stops, with me," he said shortly. Beth felt guilty, blaming herself for it.

"I can fix it. We can fix it," Larry insisted.

"How?" McPhee sounded sceptical at the idea.

"I need you to let us take the Tablet and Ahkmenrah to London," the head of the Museum stared at Larry as he made his request. Beth folded her arms, knowing how insane the idea was.

"Sorry...just processing that," McPhee managed to find his voice, and mimicked a robot processing what had just been asked of him. "I've just told you I'm being fired, and the first thing you ask is if I'd allow you to take some priceless artifacts away on holiday!"

"Yes-"

"No, way-"

"Please! I'm just asking you to please go with me on this!" Larry pleaded as McPhee made his feeling abundantly clear.

"Can't do it dude," McPhee shook his head. Larry then sighed, and glanced to Beth. She rolled her eyes, and walked over to the door, shutting it. When Larry took a step towards him, McPhee leapt back. "Are you gonna mug me?" he yelped.

"What?" Larry blinked at him.

"I dunno, just being prepared!"

"No, I need you to listen to me, okay?" Larry took a breath. "You wanna know the truth?" he asked.

"Go on," McPhee nodded, but didn't look very eager.

"Larry, you sure about this?" Beth asked softly, looking worried. They'd discussed the idea on the way to the museum, knowing that McPhee would be very hard to convince, even if the fiasco the previous night hadn't happened.

"He has to know. It's the only way," Larry shrugged. He then turned back to McPhee, who was frowning, and took a deep breath. "The Tablet...the Tablet is actually magic," he said. The doctor's eyes narrowed. "Things really do come to life at night," his voice was quiet.

"Special effects..."

"It's not special effects-"

"Course it is!"

"How could it be?"

"How could it not be special effects?"

"Because it isn't!" Larry exclaimed as Beth put a hand to her face. "I'm telling you, this is what happens! The sun goes down, the Tablet starts to glow, and everything comes to life," his honesty must have shown in his face, as McPhee started to look as if he believed him. "It's real," he insisted.

"Tablet starts to glow...now I know you're mental," he shook his head, turning away. Larry groaned, and turned to Beth. She frowned, folding her arms again.

"No way," she shook her head.

"It's the only way!" Larry insisted.

"No!" Beth denied again, looking stubborn.

"Don't you want to help everyone?" Larry demanded of her. Beth glared at him, before letting out a groan.

"Fine!" she threw her arms into the air. "You don't believe the Tablet glows? That this place isn't full of magic? Well check this out," her eyes turned blue, and as she moved her hand through the air, water seemed to materialise in front of her. McPhee's mouth fell open at the sight, and Beth easily manipulated the water in front of her, turning it into a tiny version of the gaping doctor. Taking a breath, she focused, and it solidified into a perfect ice sculpture of him. She then set it down on the table as her eyes returned to their normal brown colour, and she looked at him defiantly.

"But...how?" he lifted the block of ice up, staring at it.

"Magic. Just like the Tablet," Beth replied softly, her voice less challenging as she looked away. Larry nodded to her and turned back to McPhee.

"Listen. Nobody cares about this place as much as we do, right?" he asked, and McPhee nodded. It was an obvious thing. "If you don't help us, everything that's special about it, might stop, and it'll never come back. I'm not asking you to understand, I'm just asking you to trust me," he pleaded. McPhee stared at him.

"I'd like to help you," he said honestly after a moment, setting down the little ice figure. "But I don't even work here any more," he pointed out. He went to walk past, but Larry stopped him.

"The British Museum doesn't know that," Beth spoke again, offering a small smile.

"The mummy, and the Tablet, both," McPhee said to the director of the British Museum on the phone. Beth and Larry stood on the other side of his desk, holding their breaths. "Classic conservation job, under authority of me, of course, the Director of this museum, which I still am," Beth closed her eyes as Larry gave a slight shake of his head. "Yep, okay, ciao," he leaned forwards and hung up the phone. He then looked up at the pair and nodded. "You're in," he confirmed. The pair breathed a sigh of relief, and glanced to each other. Now just to discuss it with the others.

Larry shook his head with a frown as he sat behind the front desk of the museum. Beth was sitting on the desk, not looking the least bit guilty.

"I can't believe you were against us telling McPhee, but you told your friend. Whose dad is one of the board that tried to send most of the guys away to the Smithsonian," he complained. Beth shrugged.

"Marie didn't agree with it. And she knows about my powers. She knew something happened last night and I couldn't lie to her anymore," she defended. "Besides, you told that lady before, the tour guide who used to work here," Beth grinned, and Larry frowned at her. He felt his cheeks warm red at the mention of Rebecca.

"How'd you find out about that?" he asked. Beth laughed.

"The miniatures are tiny, but they have big mouths, Gigantor. You know that better than anyone," she told him, smiling, and he rolled his eyes.

"I told you not to call me that," he complained. He then heard the door go, and looked up to see Marie walking in. She smiled shyly, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hey Marie, right on time," Beth greeted her with a lazy smile. Larry huffed again, quietly. "You remember Larry, right?" Beth's eyes were shining with laughter as Larry shot her a scowl.

"Oh, hi," Marie smiled at him.

"Hey," Larry stood up and pushed Beth off the desk. "Good to see you again Marie. I hear Beth told you everything?" he smiled at her.

"I didn't really give her much choice," Marie shrugged, and Beth cleared her throat, shooting Larry a smug smile. He rolled his eyes at her, and Marie's smile grew. "So...when does stuff actually, y'know...happen?" she asked, looking around. Larry's watch beeped, and Beth laughed.

"Right about now," the pair said, and as if on cue, the Museum was suddenly filled with life. Marie's eyes went wide as she heard the noises from all parts of the museum echoed down. When Rexy moved behind her, she squeaked, turning around with wide eyes.

"Good evening, Lawrence, Bet'anya!" Marie looked around sharply as Teddy suddenly moved, greeting the two guards. "Oh, and you've brought a friend with you this fine evening," he smiled at Marie, dismounting from Texas. He bowed politely to her. "Theodore Roosevelt, at your service," he announced. Marie giggled.

"I know who you are. I'm Marie," she introduced herself.

"Ah, the same Marie who Bet'anya is fond of, I'd wager!" Teddy nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I told Marie the truth about this place," Beth nodded.

"I see!" Teddy nodded. "How about a tour, my lady? It really is something to see at night," his blue eyes shone, and Marie nodded.

"That'd be...awesome," she laughed, giddy at what was happening.

"We'll catch you up," Beth told them, and Marie nodded as she followed Teddy away.

"Great, now to talk to Ahk about London," Larry turned to Beth as soon as they were out of earshot. Beth nodded, and the two headed off to find the Pharaoh.

"I cannot believe that my parents were there all this time," Ahkmenrah murmured, taking in what Beth and Larry had told him, including the plan to restore the Tablet.

"And you really think your dad will know how to fix it?" Larry asked him as Beth looked at the Tablet in her hands. The green corrosion hadn't spread any further, thankfully, but it still looked scary to the woman.

"He knows more about it than anyone," Beth answered for him. "He was the one who connected me to it in the first place," she looked up at Larry, who sighed.

"That still freaks me out Beth. Can you not talk like that, please?" he requested, making her grin.

"Like what?" she asked, trying and failing to look innocent.

"Anyway, we'll be travelling to London as soon as we leave here in the morning. We'll leave your sarcophagus unlocked so you can get out, and let us into the building," Larry changed the subject, and Ahkmenrah smiled slightly, nodding.

"Right," he glanced to the Tablet in Beth's hands, thinking about what they'd told him. The magic of the Tablet was running out. The Tablet was dying. At the rate it was corroding, tomorrow night would probably be the last chance to restore its power.

"At least we have a bit more permission, breaking into the British Museum, than we did with the Smithsonian," Beth grinned.

"Yeah...let's try to leave this place in better shape, than we did with Smithsonian," Larry told her, smiling slightly. Beth snorted.

"I wasn't the one who flew a plane through a window," she argued. Larry turned pink at her words. "And we're both very lucky that the cameras mysteriously stopped working that night," Beth chuckled, looking down at the Tablet. "The British Museum huh? I've always wanted to know what it was like there," she murmured, before her eyes lit up. "Oh! Do you think they'll have-"

"Beth, if you wander off when we get there, I swear, I will trap you in a painting," Larry warned her. She grinned in response, thinking back to when she'd wandered off in her excitement over stepping into a black and white photo, and gotten separated from Larry and Amelia.

"That would be awesome," Beth shrugged. "I'm just saying, the Smithsonian was so cool, I can't wait to see what the British Museum has," she grinned.

"You're going to the British Museum?" they looked up to see Marie with Teddy. "Why?" she asked, and when she stepped into the exhibit, the massive statues of Anubis moved to stop her, making her shriek and cling to the former president.

"Sorry, they don't care much for strangers," Beth apologised as Ahkmenrah calmed the two guards down.

"R-right," Marie gulped, not relaxing even as the statues returned to their normal stances.

"May I introduce you to the Pharaoh himself, whose Tablet is responsible for all of this," Teddy guided her through the corridor. Still staying close to him, Marie glanced up nervously at the statues, who watched her warily. "Marie is an old friend of Beth's," Teddy explained, and Ahkmenrah greeted her, remembering seeing her often with Beth during the night hours of the museum.

"So you're the real Ahkmenrah?" she asked curiously, and he nodded. Marie glanced to Beth, who kept her face impossibly passive, before Marie cleared her throat. "So, what's this about the British Museum?" she asked, changing the subject. Beth had to fight the sigh of relief. She knew Marie would be on her case later.

"It's the Tablet..." Beth held up the normally golden Tablet in her hands. Marie frowned at the green corrosion that was spreading up it. "It's losing its power, so we need to go fix it," she explained as Marie leaned closer.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked curiously.

"We don't know. It's like the magic is running out," Larry sighed.

"Can't you do something?" Marie asked Beth, looking up at her. Beth shrugged.

"I haven't got that sorta power. The only one who knows is Ahk's dad, and he's in England. So, that's where we gotta go," the determination in her voice surprised Marie. It all sounded completely crazy, and even seeing it didn't make it any easier to believe. But this was a part of Beth's life, and had been for some time. So she needed to accept that it was very real, and trouble was brewing.

"Oh, Larry, Beth," they looked up as a woman called out. She walked in, offering a small, worried smile. "The miniatures require your assistance," Sacagawea told them, and the pair sighed.

"You shouldn't have brought Claudia back y'know," Larry complained as Beth handed the Tablet to Ahkmenrah. The pair walked out as Marie looked curious.

"Octavius vouched for her, it's not my fault Jed winds her up," Beth shrugged unapologetically. She then paused in the doorway, and glanced back. "Coming Marie?" she asked with a grin. Marie nodded and hurried after them as Larry sighed again.

"Just watch out for hell, those Romans listen to Claudia as much as they do Octavius," Larry warned the red-head. She frowned, not understanding just what he meant. Beth just grinned in amusement. She'd understand soon enough.

"Okay, the Miniatures are awesome," Marie decided as she and Beth stood in the main hall.

"You say that, but it's been one night. This happens every night," Beth complained, making Marie laugh. "You sure you can't stay?" she asked as Marie tugged her jacket back on.

"I would love to, but I need to get some sleep. I need to be at my dad's early tomorrow," she complained. Beth arched her eyebrow, and Marie shrugged. "He wants to 'discuss the engagement'," she repeated, and her friend flinched.

"Ouch. He found out?" she asked. Marie nodded, looking downtrodden.

"Turns out he's not quite as blind as I thought," she complained, glaring down at the diamond ring on her finger. "He saw it last night. This sucks," Marie grumbled, and Beth laughed softly, patting her shoulder.

"Just don't back down. You love Ray and you're going to be with him no matter what," she said confidently, and Marie brightened a little at the thought.

"You're right. Thanks Beth," she lifted her head and smiled at her. "So...about your own love life," Beth's own smile faded and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't-"

"Come on, you've been playing that tune since the Night Program started, but it's obvious. I just don't get it, if he's the real Ahkmenrah, then surely..." Marie trailed off, looking worried. Beth didn't answer straight away, looking at the ground. She then gave a heavy sigh.

"It's a very long and complicated story, Marie. One that we don't have time for tonight. I'll tell you though, when I'm back," she said confidently, and Marie huffed.

"Just when I thought all the secrets were revealed," she complained. Beth chuckled, and shrugged.

"Not just yet. Let me know how it goes with your dad, okay?" she asked, and Marie hugged her tightly.

"Sure. And be safe in England. Let me know how it goes there too, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Beth hugged her back, feeling relief that she was able to talk to her best friend about such things. "Good luck!" she called as Marie left.

"Thanks..." Marie called back, her nerves evident in her voice. Beth grinned, locking the door after watching Marie hail a taxi, before her smile fell.

"I really hope this works," Beth whispered to herself, knowing just how much was at stake.

Hope you liked it! I'll try to update soon!

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