Sasaki slowly regained consciousness, finding herself in a humongous bed with soft silk sheets. She sat up in surprise and alarm only to fall backwards again, yelping at the sharp pain in her back. The high school girl realized that she wore bandages on her upper arms and around her upper torso also. Other than that she was unclothed, except for her undergarments.

She struggled to sit up, worried about her friends. A voice called out. “I would not sit up yet.”

“Who’s there?” Sasaki asked warily, tensing at the sound of a male voice. She seemed to remember hearing that voice before.

“No one you should worry about,” the voice said as it neared Sasaki. She could now see the silhouette of a young man. “How do you feel?”

She hesitated. She wasn’t sure what this person wanted, but the question seemed innocent enough. “Tired, and sore all over.” Sasaki gave up trying to sit and collapsed back on the pillows. “Where am I?” she asked as she studied the ceiling and the walls of the room she was in.

“In the pharaoh’s palace.”

“Palace?!” Sasaki almost yelled in disbelief but the pain in her back cut the yell off short.

“Take it easy. I was doubtful that you would recover.” The voice made its way to the side of the bed, moving the veil with his hand, no longer a silhouette. The man that took the place of the silhouette had bandages on his left arm and chest and a couple of small scuffs here and there. He was a tall young man, dark hair and deep, dark brown eyes.

Eric?! No, it can’t be. Oh my gosh, what a likeness. Sasaki almost sat up in shock but only fell back again.

“If you keep on doing that you’ll make your injuries worse,” the Eric look-alike scolded with worry in his tone.

Sasaki, suddenly aware of what little she was wearing, covered herself with the sheets. “Who are you?” Sasaki asked, still cautious as to the young man’s intentions. He may have resembled Eric, but he might not have his personality.

“I am sorry for not introducing myself when we first met, but you were a bit unconscious,” he smiled sadly. “If you feel the need to call me something, you can call me Takmet. And who might you be?”

She replied, “My name’s Sasaki.”

“Very glad to meet you, Sasaki,” Takmet said with a smile. “I hope you like the room, and there are clothes for you when you feel you are able to dress yourself. I am in charge of your care. I had a feeling you wouldn’t have chosen the other option.”

“Which was...?”

“To become part of the pharaoh’s harem.” He looked troubled as he said this.

“So instead of his harem, I get to be in yours. Is that it?”

“Not at all. I don’t do that type of thing. I don’t believe in keeping girls just for pleasure.”

That struck Sasaki as odd, seeing as he was too cute to be alone. She was sure many girls would have wanted to be part of his entourage, if he had one. “Well...,” she said, struggling to sit up again, careful to keep herself covered with the sheets, “..thanks for your concern.” She finally managed to keep her balance, supporting herself with her arms. It seemed to her that this situation was non-threatening, and felt more comfortable. “How long have I been out?”

“A couple of hours,” Takmet replied. “Not surprising after the number that riffraff did on you.”

Sasaki remembered, looking at Takmet. “He didn’t get to...” Sasaki stopped in the middle of her horrible thought, closing her eyes and shaking the rest of the thought away. She looked at Takmet again. “Thanks to you, he didn’t...” Sasaki said with true gratefulness in her voice.

Takmet was caught off guard by this emotional show and didn’t respond. He wondered how she knew, but he left that subject alone.

“Hey, did you happen to run across any of my friends?” Sasaki asked with renewed interest.

“Friends? No, just you. How many are there?” Takmet asked.

“Three. They were all dressed like I was, so they shouldn’t be too hard to find,” Sasaki said hopefully. “I have to find them. I don’t want them to be the unlucky ones if they get into such an predicament as I did.”

“No problem. I’ll go find them for you,” Takmet replied.

“They’ll run from you.”

“They will not get far.” He paused. “Get some rest. Don’t try to get up yet,” he advised. He exited the room, saying something to one of the guards, and the one he had spoken to ran off. The doors closed.

Sasaki inspected the outfit on the bed. It was beautiful. Elegant yet simple design. She carefully and painfully put it on, finding it was very light and comfortable. She hoped that the seemingly friendly young man found her friends. If anything happened to them Sasaki would hold herself responsible. She would have gone with him, but the lashes of pain in her back had already proved to be a major disability. Fatigue slowly gnawed away her concern and she gradually drifted off to sleep, unable to fight the need to rest.

* * *

“I think we’re okay now,” Mandi said. “They’re still no where around, but neither is Sasaki.” Mandi looked worriedly at Ami.

“We’ll never find her without help,” Ami sighed. She was distressed by the present predicament.

“What’d she go do? Get herself hurt by fighting with those guys?” Chloe asked, glancing back the direction they had come from.

“That seems to be the case, which means we should try and find her even faster.”

Ami looked from one side street to another. “But which way is it?” she asked, bewildered.

“I say we just keep on walking towards the middle.” Chloe pointed toward the center of the city.

Mandi shrugged. It was as good of a plan as any at the time, so they began to walk down the narrow alleys and wider streets, trying to avoid as many people as possible.

The girls turned around a corner, encountering a young man with a weapon. This one was different from the others they had faced that day. He looked cleaner and his weapon was decorated with detail. He saw the girls, and noticed their foreign clothing. He shouted into the air. “Takmet! I found them!”

Chloe, Ami, and Mandi retreated slowly, wary of what the man might do. But they backed into another man. They turned to face him, ready to run.

“Calm down. It’s okay,” he said.

The girls gaped. It was Eric! Or a version of him at least. He was dressed in Egyptian clothing, standing straight and tall. They were startled and prepared to run, but the man known as Takmet grabbed Chloe, and he yelled at the two guards that accompanied him to grab Ami and Mandi.

“Don’t fuss so much. Sasaki asked me to look for you,” the stranger claimed, working to hold Chloe’s flailing limbs.

“Like we’re gonna believe you!?” Chloe spat, wriggling to free herself.

He struggled to hold the squirming girl. “If you won’t come quietly...,” he switched her from both his arms to his right, holding her tightly as he set his left hand on her forehead. He shifted his thumb to the middle of her forehead, “...I will have to carry you to her.” A glow appeared from his thumb, pulsing gently. Chloe continued to struggle, but her eyes began to close. She was losing control of her body and her vision blackened. She grew limp in the young man’s arms.

Takmet carried Chloe back to the palace, the two guards who carried Ami and Mandi in tow. He brought them to his room, which was where Sasaki was still sleeping. When he walked in the room, Sasaki awoke. The door had not been as quiet as he wished it to be.

Sasaki saw that Takmet had her friends and that they were all safe. “You found them.” Sasaki said gratefully, propping herself up on an elbow. Takmet so far showed all the evidence of being a decent fellow. She was beginning to trust him despite herself.

“Sorry for waking you.” Takmet apologized as he laid Chloe on the bed. He noticed that Sasaki had put on the dress that had been on the bed and noted that she looked much better in it than in her other clothes. The guards laid Ami and Mandi on the bed next to Sasaki.

“What happened?” Sasaki asked, the image of the well-mannered young man threatening to disperse.

“Don’t worry, they are only asleep. They should wake up in an hour or two,” he explained. “Are you hungry? I bet you havn’t had anything to eat all day.” Sasaki’s stomach growled in answer. “I guess that is a yes,” he smiled. “I’ll go get something.”

He left the room. Why is he doing all this? Sasaki thought. He’s been so nice. And why does he look like Eric? Takmet soon returned with several plates of food, some of which Sasaki had never seen before. He stopped at the door to check something, then, with the help of some palace servants, Takmet placed the food on the end of the bed. Sasaki scanned over the food, her eyes glittering with hunger and happiness. The feelings of uneasiness that remained were engulfed by her hunger, unable to take precedence on this occasion. She sat up all the way, slowly scooting herself towards the end of the bed. “Looks delicious,” she said.

“Help yourself.” Takmet replied. No sooner had the words gotten out of his mouth than she started eating with relish. Not exactly messy, but quickly. Takmet watched, at a loss for words. She was almost as bad as a herd of camels.

“So?” Takmet waited for a vote on the food.

Sasaki sighed and leaned back in satisfaction. “It was exquisite. Just what I needed.” She grabbed another piece of fruit that she had liked and took a bite, savoring the flavor this time.

“Where are you from, Sasaki?”

She choked on the fruit, coughing a couple times. She finally managed to take a breath. “You wouldn’t believe me,” she managed between coughs.

“I have quite an imagination,” Takmet replied.

“I think this will stretch your imagination to the limits.” She hesitated, deciding what to tell this stranger. “Well, I’m from across the ocean: the one to the west, that is.”

“West? There is nothing in the west. Certainly not a land beyond the ocean,” Takmet stated, regarding such a claim as utterly fantastical.

“Ever been there?” Sasaki asked, raising an eybrow.

“Well...no.”

“I rest my case. It won’t even be discovered for a couple of thousands of years anyway,” Sasaki continued. She looked at Takmet. “I’m guessing your imagination’s not that big from the look on your face.”

“You are right, I don’t believe you,” Takmet sighed. He had meant to ask her about something, and glancing at her neck jogged his memory. “Where did you get that jewel?” Takmet pointed to Sasaki’s necklace. He had noticed it before in the alley when he had found her.

“I...um, I found it,” Sasaki replied guiltily. “All of my friends have one, also.”

Takmet surveyed the new arrivals and saw that they did. “Have you always been able to move things with sheer thought?” He was referring to the alley incident. Takmet watched her reaction carefully, narrowing his eyes. Sasaki was not the only one in the room who was being cautious. People with that kind of power were not born every day.

“How much did you see?” Sasaki asked reluctantly, wondering if he had been watching the whole time.

“Only the very end and from far away, no less. I knew the gutter trash could not have been moving that whole pot. He probably didn’t have enough brains to lift a grain of sand. And also, you were the one emitting a strange light,” he pointed out.

Sasaki hesitated. The uneasy feeling arose again. He didn’t need to know all about her so soon. Why is he asking all of these questions? she thought. She finally decided to give him what he wanted. Honesty always had the advantage in such situations. Truth brings trust. “I’ve been able to do things like that since I was a kid. Only small things. However, I never gave off light while exercising my power.” Sasaki furrowed her eyebrows.

“How about a demonstration?”

Again Sasaki balked. Takmet was still watching her with a scrutiny that made her uncomfortable. He had noticed her hesitation before and had expected the same reaction with that question. At least the girl was not without common sense, though her encounter with the downtown rascals did not do anything for her intelligence profile. Why she had been in that situation he did not know.

He softened his expression and smiled sympathetically. “I will not hurt you. I only want to see what you are capable of. There are those who would threaten our pharaoh and hire such pretty young things like you to do their dirty work. I only want to be certain that you are no threat.” He did not believe she was a threat at all, but his job was to protect the pharaoh and he had to constantly be on guard. He hated accusing her like that, but if she showed any intention of hostility toward the pharaoh it was his job to notice.

Sasaki took offense to the implied charge. “I would never do such a thing,” she protested, jerking forward to glare at him, face to face. She cringed and settled back into her original position. Takmet smiled. She certainly was spirited. Sasaki spoke again. “I’ll play your game.” She looked at one of the empty plates and it picked itself up, hovering in the air and spinning. “Flying saucer,” she smiled, noting that he had no idea what she was talking about.

Takmet let that one go over his head. Where did this girl come from? he thought. She had shown him her power when he had asked. Now Takmet decided to show her that they had something in common and that he understood her power. He looked at some of the food still left over and it floated into his hand. Sasaki stared at him, surprised. She let the plate fall back on the bed.

“Y-you have those powers, too?” she asked, half surprised.

He nodded as he ate the food. “Yes.” He thought for a minute. “Could you tell me something about that mark that appeared on your arm?”

“Mark?” Sasaki blinked. “You mean my birthmark?” Sasaki held out her arm revealing a backwards “S” type mark. Takmet leaned closer. That wasn’t it, but as he studied it more closely, the symbol that he had seen began to appear.

“THAT symbol,” he said, pointing. Takmet was on his guard as the light grew stronger. Sasaki just stared as it lit up, beginning to feel a burning sensation.

Takmet raised his hand to her arm. The symbol’s glow intensified. “Is that a good thing?” he asked her.

“I’ve never seen that before in my life,” she answered, staring at her arm.

Takmet wrinkled his brow. He reached out his hand and touched her arm. CRACK!! BLAM!! The symbol flared bright white. Both Sasaki and Takmet felt burning pain.

* * *

Back in the future, Eric stumbled as he walked toward his tent, feeling intense, shocking pain out of nowhere. He wondered where it came from, tripping again as the pain flared. He never had had any problems before. He thought maybe he was getting sick, or heatstroke, but he threw that thought away as the pain rose again. Definitely not normal. He thought of Sasaki for some reason, and made a renewed wish for her safety as well as for her friends.

* * *

Electric forces caused them both pain that lingered after their separation. Sasaki and Takmet were blown away from each other, Sasaki tumbling off the bed. Takmet slammed into the wall as Sasaki violently skidded across the floor on her back, crashing into the solid stone that made up the walls. A faint clatter sounded as Sasaki hit the blocks, unnoticed by both she and Takmet. She left a trail of blood in her wake, the bandages on her back rubbed through and the wounds badly irritated.

“That stings,” Takmet said, shaking his head. “What did you do that for?” Some accusing thoughts entered his mind but were interrupted by Sasaki’s faint reply.

“I-I didn’t.” Sasaki said weakly as she sat herself up painfully.

Takmet then realized the position Sasaki was in. He saw the blood on the floor and the blood running down her back as she attempted to raise herself from the floor.

“Sorry about...the floor,” Sasaki cringed, supporting herself against the wall.

“Don’t worry yourself about that.” Takmet rose stiffly to go to her, still feeling the pricks of electricity all over his body. “Don’t get up. Stay there.”

“I’m okay,” she insisted. But her eyes threatened to close. Takmet knew he couldn’t move her, realizing she’d only be injured further if he did.

He called to one of the guards at the door. “Hotep!! A little help!!” Hotep came jogging quickly around the corner into the room, slightly alarmed at the tone of his friend’s voice.

“What for?” Hotep asked as he saw a girl leaning against the far wall, and then the trail of blood. She was struggling to get up, increasing the amount of the wickedly dark liquid that dripped on the floor. “What in the world happened?” he asked as he hurried over to Sasaki, supporting her shaky body.

“I need you to carry her back to the bed,” Takmet said, extreme worry in his voice.

“Why can’t you?” Hotep asked, simultaneously putting one of the girl’s arms around his neck, lifting her easily off the ground.

“I don’t want to hurt her again.”

“What do you mean? What did you do?” Hotep asked as he carried Sasaki to the bed.

“All I did was touch her. Then we both flew across the room.”

“Wha...?” Hotep’s eyes grew larger. Some impure thoughts came to mind.

“Not that kind of touch!!! What did you think I meant??” Takmet declared forcefully. “I was looking at the symbol on her arm!”

Uh huh, Hotep thought. “I’m hoping you’re not building a harem with all these girls here.” Hotep counted the young ladies that were sleeping on Takmet’s bed. “Wow, Takmet. Four girls all to yourself.” He put Sasaki in the bed next to her friends, helping her roll over onto her stomach. Takmet ignored his comments.

“I’m all right,” Sasaki insisted, looking away to hide her face, contorted with pain.

“No you are not,” Takmet said. “We have to get the physician to change the bandages.” He did so, and the physician grounded her to bed for the rest of the day.

Sasaki fell asleep, despite the pain that the experience had added. Takmet stayed in the room, feeling responsible, also there was the fact that it was his room. All four girls and Takmet, not realizing how tired he was, remained asleep until the next morning.