Back at the camp, Eric was watching everyone wander back and forth as he checked some calculations he was making. Suddenly he got a bad feeling. It crawled up his spine and to his neck, making the hairs stand on end. He looked up, shading his eyes when a bright light shot out from one of the pyramids. The light died as suddenly as it had appeared.

“What in the world was that?” he asked himself. He turned to see if anyone else had seen the light, and was surprised to see that no one had stopped what they were doing. Was I the only one who saw that? It was awfully bright, he thought dubiously.

Then he remembered something the Prof. had said. The Prof. had been looking for an artifact still hidden in the pyramids. The Prof. had told him the legend about a scarab that had the power to take people back in time. That was what he was looking for when he had disappeared. Eric’s bad feeling only grew worse as he thought about it.

“Sasaki.” He gazed at the pyramid. It had to be her. Why do I know it’s you? he asked himself.

“Is something wrong?” a voice asked.

Eric turned, startled, to find the teacher of the high school field trip. He quickly turned toward the camp again snapping out an answer. “Uh, no, not at all!” he smiled, his hand behind his head. “Um, could you take over for a while? I just remembered something I have to do.”

The teacher looked at him slightly puzzled, but responded, “Sure.”

Eric made his way to his tent. He had to go into the pyramid after Sasaki, even though he had a feeling she wasn’t there anymore. Walking into the tent, he paused, noticing the chest that had been on the shelf was out of its place and open. Eric had no idea what had been in the chest, but it was the only thing that the Prof. Insisted he not touch. He was always mumbling something about the future or past or other such unbelievable nonsense when telling him so. Now the contents were still unknown and despite the Prof.’s warnings about messing with whatever had been in the chest, he grabbed a flashlight and headed to the pyramids.

* * *

Eric searched the dark hallways, following whatever minuscule signs he found that revealed where Sasaki had gone. He judged that she had brought friends with her by the amount of disturbance in the dusty floor. It would be even more difficult for him to explain more than one person’s disappearance to the teacher later on.

His foot hit something hard and metallic by the sound of it skidding on the stone. Shining the light down towards his feet, the walls were suddenly filled with color. Eric saw that this object had plenty of small jewels on the outside, bending the rays of his flashlight like a disco ball. He picked it up, seeing it was a golden scarab. Eric started as the wings popped open, revealing the four hollows inside.

“This must be it,” Eric said with partial excitement. He really wasn’t all that sure about the Prof.’s theory of time travel, but he did know that something unusual was going on.

A flashlight rolled out of the darkness. He bent down to pick it up, discovering that it had Sasaki’s name on the bottom. “She was here all right, but where did she go?” Or maybe when? Eric thought. He hoped they were safe, wherever or whenever they were. He went farther into the pyramid, hoping to find the girls, despite the possibility, which was only growing, that they were no longer there.

* * *

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, Mandi,” Sasaki said, rubbing her eyes to rid them of the flashes she was still seeing.

“Well now that it’s over, can we leave?” Chloe asked eagerly.

“Where’d the scarab go?” Ami pointed to where the four necklaces were as if dropped from the air. She went to pick them up and handed them to her friends.

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Chloe stated. “I just want to get out of this place.”

“What time is it, Mandi?” Sasaki asked as she yawned. She hadn’t slept much and the warmth and darkness of the pyramids were making her sleepy.

“It’s---hey, now that can’t be right.” Mandi pointed her flashlight at her watch.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked.

“My watch stopped.” Mandi shook her wrist. “There goes the guarantee. I don’t think they cover sand damage. Who can count on modern technology these days?” she sighed.

“Must be close to lunch time,” Ami said. “My stomach has its own watch.” She put her hand over her stomach, trying to quiet it.

Sasaki’s stomach growled and she made a face. “Don’t remind me.”

They made their way out of the pyramids, squinting in the face of the sunlight reflecting off the sand like a mirror.

“Uh, I think there’s something very wrong here....” Sasaki stared out across the empty desert.

“What’s this!?!?!?!” Chloe screeched, looking around insanely. “Where’d everybody go?!!”

The girls gaped at the vacancy of the area around the pyramids.

“This can’t be happening!” Chloe shook Sasaki by the shoulders. “Where is everybody?”

“How should I know!?” Sasaki yelled in her face.

“Um... guys?” Mandi whispered. “You may want to take a look at the Sphinx....”

Chloe stopped shaking Sasaki long enough to realize what Mandi was talking about.

“There is something really wrong here…” Sasaki sounded panicked as she observed the nose on the Sphinx. The fact was that it had one.

“Wasn’t it missing the nose?” Ami asked, puzzled.

“Exactly,” Mandi answered, arms crossed.

“What does all of this mean? This is just great! There are no roads, no camp, no sign of civilization, the Sphinx has a nose, and on top of all that I’m hungry,” Chloe complained, throwing her hands up in the air.

“Well, I guess the light show before was a little bit more than a light show,” Sasaki thought out loud. “I don’t think we are any longer in the Egypt of the present. Looks like we’re in the past, that or in some weird dream, but I don’t want to pinch myself to find out.”

“Well then allow me!!” Chloe volunteered as she pinched Sasaki’s shoulder long and hard.

“OWWW!” Sasaki yelled.

“Guess it’s no dream,” Chloe said, disbelieving.

“Grrrrr,” Sasaki growled as she sat down Indian style on the sand, rubbing her shoulder. “In either case, we’ll need to find some civilization. I can’t believe this is happening. It’s impossible!”

The other three girls only stared at Sasaki as she pulled at her hair.

“Where exactly did you just say we have gone?” Mandi asked. She didn’t believe what explanation she had just heard.

“More like when have we gone,” Sasaki sighed. “I knew there was something to find, but if I had known it was this I never would have bothered. It’s my fault you guys are here. If it were just me, it wouldn’t be so bad because I love ancient Egypt. But now you guys have gotten dragged along without any way home.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that. We wouldn’t have let you go alone anyway,” Mandi said, putting her hand on Sasaki’s shoulder.

“I might have…,” Chloe said out of the corner of her mouth. Mandi promptly smacked her upside the head.

“You know she’s joking, Sasaki.” Mandi turned back to her, an apologetic smile on her face.

“Well, now I feel like it’s my responsibility to find somewhere to stay,” Sasaki said. “Looks like there’s some people over there.” Sasaki pointed to a cluster of dark dots moving in and out of city walls.

The girls slowly walked to the city, entering without incident. No one seemed to notice they were foreigners. The merchants were so busy stuffing objects for sale under their noses that they didn’t notice the clothes they wore.

“This place is a zoo!” Ami cried as she shied away from an old beggar passing on her left. The girls were constantly avoiding collisions with other people as they made their way deeper into the heart of the city. And the stench of humans only got worse in the narrow alleys.

“Must be some great sales or something,” Mandi speculated, amazed at the amount of people.

“Doubtful,” Sasaki replied. “It’s probably always this busy at this time of day. Most likely getting food for dinner since they don’t have lunch per se.”

“No lunch!” Chloe gasped. She proceeded to complain some more. “I can’t believe this is happening!” As she whined, they unwittingly strolled into the troubled part of the city. “I can’t live here!! Sasaki, please tell me you have a plan!”

“I’m sorry, I don’t. I’m just as lost as you are,” Sasaki replied. Chloe whimpered some more. “We’ll find a way home, Chloe. Even if I don’t want to right away. I know this is scary, I’m petrified myself.” Sasaki looked at their surroundings. “But you might want to keep it down. Looks like we’re in the slums. We don’t want to attract any attention.”

“But you’re the one who knows the most about Egypt,” Ami said. “You just have to find a way home. And we’ll have to stick with you. We’re lost without you. You’re our way home, our guide to Egypt, and most especially our friend.”

Sasaki smiled. “Let’s keep going.”

They wandered on, hoping that the slums would end and a nice inn would appear. No such luck. As Sasaki, Mandi, Chloe, and Ami rounded a corner, three local street rats met their stares. They were all much bigger than the girls and the looks on their faces were a little too friendly.

“Well, well.... look what we’ve got here,” one of the men said.

“We were wondering where all that whining was coming from,” said another with a grin. Sasaki, Mandi, and Ami turned to glare at Chloe who was unsuccessfully trying to disappear.

The first man spoke again. “They are definitely foreigners. No woman’s dumb enough to walk through here without protection. And look at their clothes.”

The man who had remained silent finally spoke. “We can take care of that, can’t we?” The three smiled with hungry grins.

Sasaki tensed, sensing a disagreement coming up. Those guys wanted something she wasn’t going to give them. “Excuse me, but we don’t want any trouble. Could you show us a place that we could stay?”

“You can stay at my house,” the first man spoke saucily.

“I meant an inn,” Sasaki replied flatly, unimpressed with the amount of thought it took for him to formulate that response.

“I’m so heartbroken.” He held his hand over his heart mockingly. “Too bad you won’t have a choice. You’ve got spunk. I think I’ll take you home to mother.”

“Not on your life,” Sasaki retorted.

“Looks like they’ll need a little persuading,” he addressed his companions. They nodded.

Sasaki turned to her friends. “You better get out of here.”

“What about you?” Ami asked worriedly.

“I’ll be right behind you. Go!” Sasaki turned to face the street trash, hoping her friends were running the opposite way. They had no way to defend themselves, but at least Sasaki had a high belt in karate. She positioned herself for a fight.

“Oo, looks like miss “spunk” wants to get a little spunkier,” one of the miscreants sneered. “Catch the other three before they decide to run.” He eyed Sasaki. “I got dibs on this one.” Sasaki snorted in disgust.

That got Mandi, Ami, and Chloe running. The other two thugs were closing in on them, but Sasaki suddenly stood in their path.

“Stay away from them,” she growled.

“You wanna play rough, honey?” scoffed one of the assailants. His hand shot out to grab her arm but Sasaki easily dodged it. He ended up with a big Nike imprint on his face. He tried again and found his face up close and personal with the floor in a matter of seconds. “All right!!” the man yelled, “No more mister nice guy.”

He charged Sasaki, not caring if she was in bad shape when he finished with her. His speed wasn’t anything exceptional. Sasaki dodged or countered each blow he threw. She saw some empty pots lying in the alley behind her, did a back flip out of the bandit’s reach and continued down the alley with a series of back hand springs, landing cat-like next to pile of woven baskets. The men only stared. None of the women they had encountered before could move so quickly and with such confidence. Sasaki took advantage of their stupor, grabbing a woven basket and charging them. Just before they thought she would run into them, she jumped over their heads, neatly depositing the basket over the head of one of the men, using the wall to redirect her momentum as she hit it and pushed away with her feet again. She rammed into the back of the man whose head she had just covered, knocking him out for the count, coming to a halt in front of him, still on her feet as he fell.

“Impressive,” the third bandit spoke, smirking as he saw she had landed herself in a dead end between him and the other man left standing. “Though your victory will be short lived.”

Sasaki turned, realizing her situation. She prepared to fight both of them.

“Really now, you think you can take us both? Try it!” he yelled as both he and the other man ran at her from opposite directions.

Sasaki ducked under the first swing, countered the second. Two of them were almost too much for her since they were so strong. She was always one step ahead of them, predicting their moves and countering them just as fast as they could throw them. These street fighters had no technique, no discipline. She prepared to counter an attack from behind, but as she did so, the assailants went for her legs. Because she was focused on countering a blow going to her face, she didn’t realize until she was on the ground what had happened. The men pinned her down despite all her struggling. A cloud of dust rose as she squirmed, kicking and screaming.

“Let me go!” Sasaki yelled, hatred in her eyes, not fear. Fighting awakened in her a more rough and tough undercoat that was usually covered by the fun-loving teenager image.

“Quiet or I’ll hit you so hard your teeth will be in the back of your throat!” one responded violently.

Sasaki yelled as loud as she could. “HEEELP MEEE!!!!”

A fist swept down and hit her hard, leaving a red mark on her cheek, and her lip bleeding slightly. Sasaki glared at him and spit in his face. He wiped it off angrily, now grabbing her wrists even tighter, making her wince.

“You won’t be so feisty when I’m done with you,” he growled as he closed in on her, hovering over her with a wicked smile.

Suddenly her necklace began to glow, startling the street trash. The glow brightened a symbol appearing on her arm. It, too, gave off a light.

“What’s this?” the man gaped, backing off.

Sasaki saw a whole, solid, and heavy ceramic pot in the alley. She lifted it with her thoughts and guided it speedily to the back of the man’s head who held her legs before he even knew it was coming. It shattered against his skull, and he slumped.

“Hard-headed perverts!!” Sasaki yelled. They deserved it, just like Mandi’s boyfriend had. She caught sight of another pot in the alley and raised it up as well.

“What are you?!” Her assailant asked her, seeing the hatred in her eyes.

She looked at the fear on his face. This is how you take advantage of girls? By trying to frighten them? Sasaki thought. So I shall do worse to you.

The pot was still going toward him, and quickly. But he saw it in time and he grabbed Sasaki harder, jerking her up off the ground and in front of him. The vase hit Sasaki, shattering as it did, the broken shards digging into her back as they kept their momentum. Sasaki arched her back in pain, eyes opened wide as she let out a yell of intense suffering. Then, eyes closing, she suddenly lapsed into unconsciousness in her assailant’s arms. The glowing of both her necklace and symbol flickered and died.

“Not so tough are you now, witch?” he smirked. He laid Sasaki back on the dusty alley floor, lowering himself onto her, digging the shards of clay deeper into her back. He began to touch her in places that she would never have allowed him to, when he heard a sound down the alley.

He sat up. “Who’s there?” He shouted into the darkness.

“Let her go,” a voice commanded out of the darkness.

“Who are you?”

A silhouette appeared. It was a man that Sasaki’s assailant did not recognize. “I said leave her be,” the man ordered again.

“Not until I finish my business with her.”

“You have no business with her without her permission,” the silhouette replied.

“I’ve got her permission,” he said sarcastically as he pointed to Sasaki’s face, which still carried vestiges of pain.

“I suggest you let her go, for your own good.” The silhouette held out a fist. Opening it suddenly, a small fire ignited, lighting up his shadowed face. The man glared at the street trash, regarding him with a look of disgust. “Or I’ll have to do something very unpleasant. To you.”

Sasaki’s assailant recognized his face. “It’s.... you’re....,” he stuttered, fear in his voice.

“That’s right,” the other man said. “Now let her alone!” he ordered.

“R-right away, sir!” he stuttered.

“Now leave. I never want to catch you doing anything like this again. And you know I have ways of finding out,” the man said, watching the miscreant race out of sight faster than he could say “Osiris”.

The strange man reluctantly let the fire in his hand die with a sizzle of smoke. He sighed, wishing he could have scorched that thug for what he had been doing to the girl, but he had restrained himself. That type of behavior did not suit men of his status.

He walked to where the girl lay, her clothes dirt ridden and torn in several places. She was clad in foreign attire of which he had never seen its likeness. He carefully tried to pick her up, but recoiled quickly as cut himself on the shards still embedded in her back. Looking at his hands, which were covered in her blood plus some of his own, his anger flared again. What a number that low-life had done on her.

I should have roasted him, he thought angrily. He tried to pick her up again, this time attempting to avoid the shards and ignoring his own cuts. As he picked her up, sharp ceramic slivers fell from her back, breaking on the ground in a pool of dripping blood. Oh no... he thought urgently. She’ll die from this much blood loss. Just then he felt a force flow through him, probing his own powers and reacting with recognition. The symbol on Sasaki’s arm lit up slightly and she began to burn in his grip. He decided to get her help, and quickly.