A/N 3/23/2020: So, life is nutty right now, ain't it? I hope all of my readers, if indeed I have any, over seas and in the most affected areas especially, are keeping safe. I've started making surgical masks myself, so that we don't have to go out totally unprotected. I even contacted my brother (a combat medic) and did random internet searches to see how to make them better. Surprisingly easy if you have the stuff. But guys, please, stay safe. Listen to the experts and be smart. Wash the hands, which you learn when you are a toddler, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, ditto on the toddler learning, and don't get into people's faces. It may not stop the spread, but it will limit it. Much love. ~Angel

The next jump saw Irisi looking upon the comfortingly familiar sight of the Nile. Though it was not the Nile of Ancient Kemet. The Nile then roared and came up to one's waist at the shore, and could easily drown a man a man at the midway point, and they would never be found. Now, it was a pitiful ankle deep at the shore, and though one could still easily loose their life on the river, it could easily be swum from shore to shore.

It was night, and she was looking out from the ferry, moving at a lazy pace down river. The princess was reading. She had always been one to devour knowledge. But Irisi saw something the princess missed in her preoccupation. Another boat, or rather, three other boats, nothing more than a canoes, skimming silently along towards them. Each holding 3 to four men. She caught the flash of a blade in the moonlight, and thought that was rather sloppy of the men in the boat. Luck was on their side that this ferry didn't seem to have much in security, and that she was unable to communicate with anyone of this period.

Both Irisi and the princess jumped when a heavy bag was thrown onto the table she was sitting at. The man who threw it, the cute American she saw, made a face of contrition.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," he said, removing his jacket, and revealing two pistols in side holsters.

"The only thing that scares me, Mr. O'Connell, are your manners," Evy snipped.

O'Connell made another face. "Still angry about that kiss, huh?" Irisi was intrigued, and really didn't like the fact she missed said kiss. In ancient times, the princess never gave the slightest thought to romance. She believed, and still do as she watched the princess's new incarnation, that it would take a rather strong man to muscle his way into her heart. If need be, quite literally.

"Well, if you call that a kiss," Evy said, as if daring him to do better. O'Connell narrowed his eyes at her and unrolled the bag on the table in one fluid, albeit jerky, motion. Evy was stunned at the artillery stored inside, while Irisi was impressed. The man was toting around an entire personal arsenal, and she knew why. She also knew, when Imhotep made an appearance, all of it would mean absolutely bupkiss.

"Um… Did I miss something? Are we… Are we going into battle?" Evy asked, putting down her book nervously and taking off her glasses.

O'Connell had sat in a chair opposite her and began cleaning his pistols. "Lady, there's something out there. Something underneath that sand."

"Yes, well, I'm hoping to find a certain artifact. A book, actually. My brother thinks there's treasure. What do you think's out there?" she asked, picking up a trigger guard.

"In a word? Evil," he said simply, taking the part from her. "The Bedouin and the Tuaregs believe that Hamunaptra is cursed."

"Oh, look, I don't believe in fairy tales and hokum, Mr. O'Connell, but I do believe that one of the most famous book in history is buried there. The Book of Amun-Re. It contains within it all of the secret incantations of the old kingdom. It's what first interested me in Egypt when I was a child. It's why I came here. Sort of a life's pursuit," Evy said passionately. Irisi sniggered at the innocence the princess was displaying, but sobered, as she realized that the reason she was here is because at least one of the books had been found… and used.

"And the fact that they say that it's made out of pure gold, makes no never mind to you? Right?" O'Connell asked as he was wiping down his rifle.

"You know your history," Evy said approvingly.

"I know my treasure," he corrected.

Evy all of a sudden got more than a littler nervous. "Um, by the way, why did you kiss me?" she asked haltingly.

O'Connell gave a chuckle as he checked the sights on yet another handgun. "I don't know. I was about to be hanged. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Evy looked affronted and got up in a huff with her book before stomping away. Irisi laughed. Strong man indeed. As well as brutally honest. O'Connell didn't hold anything back. His response just made her laugh harder.

"What? What'd I say?" He asked innocently as he turned and followed her progress towards the camels at stabled in the back.

His attention was caught by a squirrelly man hitting himself on something as he hid. Once O'Connell pulled him out, Irisi recognized him as the same squirrelly man that abandoned him and his troops as they fought for Hamunaptra, Irisi was all for O'Connell shooting him. It seemed that he was up to more of his no goodiness as he was the one leading the other Americans right to the City of the Dead. Irisi shook her head. Some things are meant to stay lost. The man was a squirrelly little pig and he too, should get and stay lost.

She laughed and jumped up and down excitedly, cheering him on when he threw the man, Beni, as she learned his name was, overboard. It was then, as he turned to put his artillery away, that he noticed something amiss. Wet footprints leading in the direction of the cabins. When he followed, Irisi actually stayed put. That many men in the canoes were out to cause a ruckus. And they didn't disappoint.

o0o o0o o0o

"She turned him human..." Rosalie said in a stunned whisper.

"It's impossible, Rosalie," Carlisle said adamantly, though the evidence was right in front of him. None of the family had taken their eyes off of Edward since he had entered the throne room. It was, if Edward were honest with himself, making him even more nervous than having the eyes of the Volturi guard on him.

"And yet, here he is. Alive and well," Aro said in an amused tone. "Our lady mother has said that he should remain human, and human is what we will ensure he remains. In truth, I could not have envisioned a more apt punishment. We were going to give him his wish for almost exposing himself. It seems young Bella has effectively taken the matter out of our hands."

"Emmett? Do you think…?" Rosalie asked her mate in a whisper full of reluctant hope.

"Nefernefret… Haurunhotep," Irisi breathed, though her trance like gaze into the mirror in front of her and the burning incense, didn't ease up. Both Emmett and Rosalie froze, hearing their deep names. Rosalie's hand sought her mate's, and she grasped it hard.

"We thought you were still afar, my lady," Marcus said in a reverent tone as he gave a shallow bow.

"Human." Both Rosalie and Emmett stumbled at their sudden pulses. Rosalie's hand went to her heart above her left breast. Then two fingers sought the pulse in her neck. She laughed exultantly, as she turned to her husband and did the same with him. Everyone stood agog at the display, though the members of the Volturi less so than the Cullen coven, it was still a shock.

"She still is afar, Aro," Amun said. "However, a part of her will always remain cognizant of her surroundings. She must have felt young Ms. Cullen's pain, and rectified it."

Rosalie, who had parted from her husband, whom she had passionately kissed, and slowly walked over to Bella and her protective entourage. She knelt just outside the circle and bowed her head.

"Thank you, Bella," she said softly. "Youu have no reason to do this, but thank you."

The young priestess's attention never wavered, but she did speak. "Immortality is not meant to be the curse many say it is. I provided the means, but it is Fate that determines the course. Immortality is meant to provide a means. A lesson. You, childe, were meant to heal. Live to find and turn your mate. You have done that and more. You have learned to cherish life. Both mortal and immortal. You tried to warn me. Tried to tell this incarnation of myself everything being immortal entailed. Your reward is your humanity, and that of your mate. Live well, daughter of Hathor."

Amun sucked in a breath and turned to the entranced girl. "Are you sure, mother?" he asked her.

Bella/Irisi chuckled. For a moment, everyone heard two distinct laughes. "Of course. Her soul shines as brightly as any child from the gods."

o0o o0o o0o

Irisi's next sight was of Rick and the princess taking shelter from gunfire. Although, whoever was shooting, was getting closer. Evy had to pull Rick out of the way as two bullets ended up where his head had been split moments before. Rick looked at Evelyn in an exasperated glance, annoyed, it seemed, at being interrupted loading his weapon, before he turned from cover and started shooting at the Magi. It took Irisi a moment to place the face tattoos, but it was them. The descendants at any rate.

Once Rick had blasted his way into a clear spot by the railing, he holstered his weapon and turned to the princess.

"Can you swim?" he asked in a raised voice, due in part to adrenaline, and in part to the noise of the horses and people trying to escape a raging inferno.

"Of course I can swim, if the occasion calls for it," she said breathlessly.

"Trust me," the man said, picking her up bridal style, and Irisi had to admit, it was pretty impressive of the man. "It calls for it." He then dropped the young woman over the side, and turned to get his weapons bag. Before he could follow Evy, however, a Magi rose to meet him. Kicking the ever living daylights out of him before he was pushed up against a post, the Magi's hands around his neck. That's when Rick O'Connell got angry. Irisi jumped up and down, cheering for the Egyptian raised American as he pulled out a few impressive boxing moves to gain the upper hand and push his opponent into a blazing room.

She winced at the thought of a man dying, her actually witnessing it, but laughed uncontrollably when Rick's former warden came up to him, asking frantically what he should do.

"Wait here! I'll go get help!" Rick said as he slung his bag over his shoulder, then himself over the railing of the ferry. Honestly, the stupidity of some people. She actually counted down from three on her fingers as the realization dawned on the stupid little man.

She waited just long enough to see the princess's brother get off the boat, or rather throw himself off amid an explosion, before she let the feeling of weightlessness carry her to another scene.

It opened, once again, at the gates of Hamunaptra. Only the sun hadn't hit it quite right yet, so it was still hidden in the reflected horizon. She shook her head at the horses. Those poor animals were not made to travel long distances in the desert. The shifting sands weren't good for their hooves nor their legs, and that's saying nothing for the heat!

Rick's friend made fun of his camel, but Irisi applauded the smaller party. They knew how to travel. Light, unburdened.

"Get ready for it," Rick tells the princess and her brother.

"For what?" Evy asks.

"We're about to be shown the way."

They watched as the sun rose, and the City of the Dead literally melted into existence as the firey orb rose above it.

"Will you look at that?"

"Can you believe it?"

"Hamunaptra."

The American side murmured in awe. Rick only had one thing to say.

"Here we go again." And he seemed anything but pleased to be in the shadow of the ancient city once more. Remembering Imhotep's last greeting, she couldn't blame him.

It was then, everyone began marshalling and urging their steeds towards it's gates, hoping to reach it first in order to win some kind of bet. Well, Irisi couldn't interfere with events that the humans had a part of, but animals were another matter all together. Animals were much more in tune with their instincts than humans were. A few whispered words into the princess's camel as she urged him on saw the poor creature bellow and pick up speed as it sailed across the sands and into the city.

It was amidst this, she felt part of her consciousness register life being returned to two of the immortal, Rosalie and Emmett, if their life forces were correct. Also, a change in her focus. It seemed her son had shifted it from the small mirror, so a larger, more malleable surface… water. She could work with water.

o0o o0o o0o

Rosalie and Emmett were brought food and chairs to sit in, as the newly alive couple refused to be moved from the proceedings until the girl that gave them their lives again was present enough to hear their thanks.

"Is there a way to see what she is seeing?" Rosalie wondered as she worried over Bella's entranced condition.

Amun thought for a moment. "There may be. We would need a large reflective surface brought in. Water is the best medium."

"We can have a small pool brought in," Marcus said. It took twenty minutes for a metal sided pool the size of a queen bed to be built and filled with water.

Amun carefully arranged Irisi's tools around her, and moved her so she was kneeling on the side. He took her hand and whispered in her ear. "Mother, we wish to see. To watch. Show us what you see, through your eyes." Irisi's hand, guided by her son, waved over the pool and suddenly, they were able to see. A ruined ancient city crawling with men.

"Hamunaptra," Amun said reverently. "My father's city."

They watched as Irisi followed a small group down into a darkened room.

"Do you realize we're standing in a room no one has entered in over 3,000 years?" a female voice said.

"I know that voice," Amun said. Emmett chuckled when a male asked what smelled, then realized it was the man behind him. A shadow went over to a round object, dusting off the cobwebs.

"And then there was light," said the female voice. The room lit up and Amun gasped.

"It's the princess!" he said. He then shook his head. "Well, they reincarnated mother. Why not Nefertiti as well."

"Nefertiti? The queen, Nefertiti?" Aro asked, high on drama.

"The one and only. Makes sense she would be reincarnated at the time Imhotep rose. She had her own secrets to protect. Though given the look of it, it's not quite time for those secrets to come out," he said, ending in a soft murmur.

"Hey, that is a neat trick," a male said.

"Oh, my God. It's a Sah-netjer."

"What?"

"A preparation room," the woman elaborated.

"Preparation for what?" the man asked.

"For entering the afterlife," she said spookily.

"Mummies, my good son. This is where they made the mummies," the funny lanky man said.

They watched as the group went single file down a corridor, and jumped as they heard the skittering of tiny bugs all around.

"Scarabs. Flesh eaters. Don't want those in you," Amun said.

They made it to a statue, and had a stand off with another group, both claiming they had dibs, as it were, over the excavation of the monolith. It was the young woman who diffused the situation, after a small tiff over her tool kit. It seems she had found another way of it.

And she had, in a fashion. They ended up just below the statue, but digging right under where Imhotep was buried.

"According to these hieroglyphics, we're underneath the statue. We should come up right between his legs," the woman said proudly.

"When those damn Yanks go to sleep… no offense," he said to the man swinging the pickax.

"None taken."

"We'll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under them."

"Are you sure we can find this secret compartment thing?" asked the man digging.

"Oh, yes, if those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it. No offense."

"None taken," he said with a grunt.

"Say, where'd our smelly little friend get to?" asked the lanky one curiously.

Both the other man and the woman shrugged and went about their business. They worked for another five minutes before they settled down for a rest and the women went into an in depth description of the mummification process.

"Let me get this straight, they ripped out your guts, and stuffed them in jars," asked the American.

"And then they'd take out your heart as well. Oh and do you know how they took out your brains?" she asked excitedly.

The second male, playing golf with some stones and a sledge hammer, looked a bit sick.

"Evy, I don't think we need to know this," he said, raising the hammer for emphasis.

She continued, seeming to ignore the skinny man. "They'd take a sharp, red-hot poker, stick it up your nose, scramble things about a bit, and then rip it all out through your nostrils."

"That's gotta hurt," said the American uncomfortably, feeling his nose as he said it.

"It's called mummification. You'll be dead when they do this," Evy clarified.

"For the record, if I don't make it out of here, don't put me down for mummification," he tells the other man.

"Likewise," he agreed. It was then he gave one hell of a swing to the stone, and a giant chest like object, fell from the ceiling where they had been digging.

"One hell of a shot, Tiger," Emmett said as he watched the pool. Felix and Demitri agreed.

Once the dust settled, the party clearing their lungs of the dust, Evy spoke. "Oh, my God. It's a… it's a sarcophagus. Buried at the base of Anubis. He must have been someone of great importance," she said before adding haltingly, "Or he did something very naughty."

She grabbed her tool kit and took out a small brush, and she blew and brushed away the sand to reveal the hieroglyphs beneath.

"Well, who is it," asked the lanky one.

"He that shall not be named," she read slowly.

The American blew away a patch of sand on the sarcophagus and pointed to it. "This looks like some sort of lock."

"Well, whoever's in here sure wasn't getting out," said the other guy.

"Yeah, no kidding. It'd take us a month to crack into this thing without a key."

"A key," Evy said in dawning realization. "A key! A key! Now, that what he was talking about!" She turned and rummaged through their things, coming up with a small metallic box.

"W-who was talking about what?"

"The man on the barge, the one with the hook. He was looking for a key," she explained opening a box and laying the jagged points to fit with the mold.

"Hey, that's mine," the lanky man said. She beamed at both men before they heard a pain filled scream coming down the corridor.

A scream that was accompanied by the flailing form of a man, clutching at his head and running without seeing where he was going. Everyone, both within the time and without, watched as the man ran head first into a wall, where he fell back and lay un-moving.

"Carlisle?" Emmett asked in fear. "What could do that to a human?" He didn't want to lose his new life after all. If he could find out what it was, he sure as shit meant to avoid it at all cost.

Carlisle shook his head. "Could be any number of things. An aneurysm maybe."

Amun shook his head. "No. You heard them. Scarabs. I'm assuming he ran afoul of a trap. Woke one that had been in hibernation, and he wasn't prepared for it."