Chapter 3: Southampton

Gem of the Deep

Chapter 3

Southampton

DISCLAIMER: Mummies Alive! is the property and trademark of Dic Inc. and the producers of that show. This page is intended for entertainment purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Disclaimer: TITANIC is a Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Lightstorm Production. Basically, anything that's in the movie isn't mine, and a copyright infringement is not intended.

Thanx again to Mia, who's allowing me to use her character, Lyris, in this story.

There was blackness. Nothing. Everything that could once be seen was gone, washed away by a sea of pure white light, now just an expas of darkness which covered all sight.

Was this what death was like? To be stranded in this place for all eternity, never to see another living thing again? To cry out, hoping that someone would hear you, or listen for an absolution that would never come.

Although they didn't know it, they were all there. All six of them, wondering where they were. The darkness was paralizing, and even if they wanted to, couldn't move around to feel anything or visit anyone. None of them understood what was happening, or if it was ever going to stop.

Lyris stood where she was, listening. There was an eerie quietness around her, not like one that she has ever heard in her entire existence. She tried to look around, trying to find anyone there, even someone that she didn't even know, but even when she looked down at herself, there was nothing there. It was almost as if all of her five senses had suddenly disappeared. She couldn't see, hear, touch, smell or cry out for anyone to listen to her. It was just...nothing. She suddenly came to the realization that Maat had cast the wrong spell, and hoped beyond hope that everyone else wasn't feeling the same sense of punishment and terror that she was feeling then.

A sudden tingling at the tips of her fingers was the only thing that brought Lyris back from near shock and dispair. She tried to look down at her hands, but couldn't see anything. The blackness covered her entire body like a veil, making it nearly impossible to figure out what was going on.

The tingling continued, slowly making it's way up her arm, and other sensations began at the tips of her toes, waves of warmth suddenly shooting up her legs. She wanted to yell, not realizing what was happening to her, and yet... the feeling was so familiar, so special...

It continued, until it was reaching up her neck. She felt more comfortable now, her entire body covered in a lavish warmth that she hoped would never disappear. It went higher, and higher, until even her white hair seemed to glow in ardor, and she felt herself smiling at it. She finally remembered where this weird feeling had come from. Lyris closed her eyes and remembered way back when, as a faint, yet prominent beating sounded in her chest, and a deep breath was inhaled into her lungs.

Life.

***

A seagull spooped up onto another passing updraft, followed by the rest of it's flock, their calls sounding across the skies like foghorns diluting through the air. They swerved, both to the right and left as a huge crane pulled up large crates of fish and alcohol, attached by twine ropes and nets. The crane went higher, higher... until it's destination was reached.

Hundreds of people were standing together in large groups, everyone of them waving their hands wildly in the air to wish all farewell and a safe journey. A path was made at the very front of the dock, so that those that were to be traveling that day, would be able to reach the ship without problem. First class citizens, second class, third class- each and every one were passing throught he crowd, all glancing up to view the spectacle that lay before them, placed in the water almost as if by God's hands himself. Reaching higher than the tallest building in the area, and longer than a city block. They were of course, looking high up to view the great ship, the famous luxury cruiser- the RMS Titanic.

And wasn't she a sight to see. There, the greatest moveable opject ever to grace the hands of man, sitting there like a 750 foot long statue, it's four tall smokestacks pumping out clouds of black smoke swirling around like a funnel up to the rays of the sun. The new paint that was streaked across the exterior of the hull gave off an aroma that smelled as a newly- decorated house. The gangplanks that were letting on first, second and third class passengers were filled to the brim, as hopeful immagrants and well-off milionaires tried to get inside the in-famous ship, and get a taste of it's elegance and well-planned living conditions.

Across the way, across the crowd of waving citizens and through the groups of cheering hopefuls and well-wishers, a horse pulled wagon bearing the name of the White Starline, the builders of the ship, crossed across the dock with more supplies that the passengers of Titanic would use out at sea. As the wagon passed by the end of a long Starline warehouse, away from the crowd's eyes, a faint glow pertruded through the darkness. As the horseman pulled his wagon away however, where was once a deserted alleyway now contained new visitors from away. Six new visitors to be exact.

The first thing that they all noticed, was the light. Being in the darkness that they had recently come from, the bright light of the mid-morning sun was a little hard to take.Presley put his hand over his eyes, trying to shield what sunlight he could, annoyed that even more of it was bouncing off the port water, lapping softly against the pillars holding up the docks, where now the hundreds stood. His eyes passed over the water, amazed at how clear it looked, but his attension was quickly brought away by what he saw on his arm, forgetting about the lavish scenery.

What he saw was not what he thought would happen. On his arm, instead of his usual creme pullover and elastic cuff, was now something completely different. Fisrtly, the pullover wasn't there anymore. Instead, a long, yellowish sleeve fell over his arm, along with a white cull that pertruded slightly from the suit sleeve, revealing a small, gold cufflink clasping the white cuff together. He glanced down, amazed at the rest of the suit that he was now adorned in. It was a three piece suit, with a dark green vest underneath the creme cotton jacket, matching pants, and shiny new black leather shoes. Although they were very impressive, they also made him alittle uneasy, and uncompfortable. Presley looked up to try and find comfort in his guardians, but what he saw next was more shocking than one hundred suit & jackets with one thousand glimmering cufflinks.

When he glanced up at his companions, the prince expected to see what he always saw- six tall, bandaged mummies looking back at him. Only now, he could hardly recognize them.

To his near left, stood who he thought was Nefertina. But there were many differences to consider- firstly, she wasn't wrapped in the old linen bandages that his guardians had been accustumed to. Instead, she was wearing a very elaborate grey business suit, reaching practically to the ground and covered with strips and collars of dark royal red. She wore a big hat, which was the style of the time, with a bright red ribbon neatly stitched in place on the right side of it. And instead of the cold steel-grey skin and lifeless white hair that she had always had as long as Presley could remember, her skin was now a rich light tanny color, with locks of smoke black hair descending from the bottom of the expensive-looking hat.

Behind Nefer-tina, was Armon. He was looking very different as well. Like Nefer-tina, he has also lost the dirty, old bandages and pale complextion. Now, he had dark brown, almost African-looking skin, and a dark blue derby that hid the rest of his head from view. He was dressed in a massive plum- colored business suit, with the same gold cufflinks that Presley had discovered on his own arm, and two white gloves that covered both his large hands (Naturally, he must have had his golden arm already attached underneath the suit). With all these accessories, Armon looked more like the owner of a famous restaurant then the warrior that he was suppose to be.

Beside Armon, was Lyris. Presley noted that she looked more comfortable in her new outfit than Armon had been. She was dressed in a very elaborate two-piece boarding outfit, having some of the same similarities as Nefer-tina's. It was a dark maroon, Chanel maybe, with a thick black feather boa extending around her arms. She also had a large hat, this one adorned with blue fake flowers, and green feathers gently falling over the rims. This all highlighted her new dark Cotta-colored skin and auburn hair, which gently fell around her shoulders in defined waves and spirals.

Next to her was Rath, who had already reached into his pocket and pulled out an antique watch and chain, fiddling with the knobs and small buttons on one side. Like all the other guardians, he was wearing his individual color, a dark green velvet-looking business suit, polished brown Oxfords and a high collar and necktie. His skin was now a rich dark, almost caramel color, and a midnight derby covered pitch black hair that was barely visible. He, Presley though, looked the most well-off in the first class clothing, while already, Nefer-tina was busy trying to loosen the small tie that was circling around her neck.

To the prince's near right, was Ja-kal. He was in a suit similar to Presley's- a three piece one with a high vest and dark shiny shoes. He, like the others, was wearing a hat, a derby, which covered up his shady brown hair. His skin was now a dark tan, not as dark as Rath, but not as light as Nefer-tina, and he wore a pair of very expensive-looking black leather gloves.

Presley's mouth fell open at the changes that had come over his friends. Already, the situation felt very awkward, and he was at a complete loss for works. What could you say to people who had been dead for millenia and all of a sudden regain life?

" Um... you guys are...are, alive." Was all he could make out, not caring that he probably sounded very foolish and stupid with that remark.

" Hmmm...yes." Rath acknowledged, flipping the cane to the other hand and placing the watch back in his coat pocket. " Maat has done her job so far. Everything is as she said it would be."

" Excuse me!" Nefer-tina exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, showing off a pair of bright red gloves. " She has done her job?! She abandonned us! She cast us into another time and place, with different people and different technologies!"

" That may be true, but sitting around here and argueing about it isn't going to solve anything." Ja-kal rationed, putting a secure hand on Presley's shoulder once again. " Our job now is to retrieve the Jewel of the Nile and get the young prince home as soon as possible."

" Ya. Oh great! Mom!" Presley yelled, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand. " I told her I'd be back at five, then going to the movies with Walter. What'll she say when I'm not home for days?!" The boy prince sighed heavily, with an air of worry and concern around him.

" You should have though of that before we got sent to Victorian-style England." Rath told him, only to get a swift elbow in the gut by Lyris, who had an annoyed look on under her feathered hat.

Forgetting about the tight-binding clothes that she possesed now, Nefer-tina turned towards the sea, where now the great Titanic stood, her decks beguinning to fill up with eager passengers waving at their relatives and friends. There was something calming about the large ship, only a small image in the distance. She suddenly came to the realization of something, and swerved around to face the rest of her teammates. " How do we get on?"

" What do you mean how do we get on? We walk up the gangplank into the greeting area..." Lyris began to explain to her.

" No, no, no." Nefer-tina interrupted, putting out a hand to silence her. " I mean, how do we get permission to get on the ship. It's not like they let people on or free."

" Tickets. We need tickets." Presley stated, remembering the time he and his mother had gone to the Statue of Liberty and had to pass the attendant their tickets before entering the boat. He began to rummage through his outer and inner pockets in his coat and pants, only to come up empty-handed. " This is not good."

The five others began to do the same, searching through pockets, wallets, purses and whatnot. Lyris pulled out a small piece of paper from inside her small hand purse. Rath did the same, this time, from an inside pocket of his jacket, as did Armon, who quickly followed the example. Nefer-tina found hers in an outer pocket of her elaborate suit, and Ja-kal was able to find not one, but two passes in his wallet hidden away quietly in one of the pockets in his dark navy pants.

" I assume that this one is yours 'o prince." He exclaimed, handing the small slip of paper to Presley, who had been waiting anxiously for it. The boy took it from his guardians hand and looked at the image of the mighty Titanic neatly printed on the top of the paper, complete with the four tall funnels and anchors hanging off the riveted sides of the ship.

" Cool." Presley stated, squinting to try and read the extremely small print on the bottom of the page. The ship Titanic built...Wullf...something-or-other. After very little trying, he finally gave up and returned to the others. However, they were already in a short conversasion, so like always, he would have to guess what they were talking about.

" ...But it doesn't look that big from here." Armon told everybody, holding a hand up to shield the sun. Even the curved sides of the blue derby couldn't get rid of the glare of the midday sun on the still waters of the Atlantic.

" Well, not from here. We must be a couple hundred yards away." Lyris told him, tipping her feathery hat to the left to view the scant image of the large ship docked in Southampton harbor. " It looks almost as big as a tugboat from here."

" I still don't think it's as great as they say it is." Armon noted.

" Well, maybe you should try making a ship with thousands of tons of iron and three million rivets and see how impressive it is." Rath sniffed, turning away in slight annoyance and disgust.

" Alright everyone." Ja-kal said, breaking up the arguement that he knew would be underway in a matter of seconds. " Are we going to wait around here all day argueing, or are we going to get over to the dock?"

" Staying here would be a heck of a lot safer." Nefer-tina stated, pulling her skirt away from a leftover crate, one of many cluttered in the small alleyway between the White Starline's two main warehouses. " But then we'd never get home."

Presley stuffed the Titanic first-class ticket into his creme, colored jacket pocket and waved to get everyone's attension. " Well, what are we waiting for? We only have four days, let's go!" For some strange reason, the boy had more energy now then he had had before, and waiting around for everyone to make decisions and chat all day was line a knoose tightening around his neck. They had to get moving. Now.

" C'mon Ja-kal!" He urged, pulling on his guardians arm to get them all moving in the right direction. It was weird in a way, as when he pulled, there was warmth radiating from under the jacket, when usually when he contacted the mummies in any way, there was just...cold. Now, this group of people that stood before him seemed more inviting than before.

Ja-kal obeyed, making a quick head movement for everyone else to follow his lead. As always, the others obeyed, and began to walk across the wooden dock towards the crowds of anxious people, calling and waving kerchiefs to the people onboard the Titanic.

***

The docks were truely alive. Hundreds of people lined the waterside- old, young, men and women alike. They were all excited about the large vessel that sat before them, knowing full well that this piece of spectacular engineering would put their town of Southampton on the maps and inside all the history books. If they'd only known how right they were.

Nefer-tina jumped in surprise as a trio of giggling school children passed by her feet like lightening. One of them had been jabbering on about how her uncle had been able to get a ticket and was on the ship already. It made her sad to think about it, and to know that there was no way to help anyone.

" All those people," She began, turning around to make sure that Armon was still behind her. " And they have no idea what's going to happen to them."

" But what are you going to do?" He asked, in no need of an answer from her. " They're suppose to be here. We can't get everybody off the ship."

" I know. But it seems like such a waste." She sighed. Usually things like this didn't bother her very much. When Nefer-tina knew that something was suppose to happen, and nothing could change it, she never felt like it could be changed. Now, she almost felt guilty, like it was her fault that the ship that they were slowly making their way towards was doomed to nothing short of damnation, and that somehow, she should be able to change the course of history.

" Hmmm. So, what type of food do you think they have on there?" Armon asked hopefully, rubbing his hands together in an eager manner with hopeful anticipation.

" I believe that it's called a "cuisine"." Nefer-tina instructed holding out her hand daintily and speaking with a terrible english accent. " Were all us millionaire snobs sit down and eat crumpits and drink tea until our girdels pop." She let out a loud laugh at her steriotypical english antics, causing a few men behind them to look and take notice of the two.

Armon, however, didn't seem to get the joke, and looked a little disappointed. " I don't even know what crumpits are."

" Neither do I. Let's get going." Nefer-tina giggled, pushing him in front of her and smiling sweetly at the the group of business men who had been watching them before with curiosity and humor.

Presley ran ahead of the group, much to Ja-kal's dismay, until he finally reached the end of the dock. Ahead of him, all that could be seen was black. A black hull and rivets. The boy prince began to look up, higher...higher... he thought that it would never end. Finally, the very top of the ship could be seen. The people walking on the decks and peering over the railings looked like small specks in a glass of milk. Presley couldn't seem to make out any features on the people. Just black figures here and there.

" Young prince! Wait up!" Presley looked over his shoulder, to catch a glimpse of the person who was calling his name. He knew who it was of course, who else in this time would know him and his title.

Ja-kal rushed up to him, his jacket slightly out of shape from trying to get through the hourds of people lining the dock and the gangplanks. And, for the first time ever, Presley actually saw his guardian stopping to catch his breath, something you didn't have to do when you were dead.

" Young prince, you mustn't run off like that." Ja-kal instructed, pulling the shoulder of his jacket back over the dark blue vest and white shirt that he was wearing. " Anything could happen."

" Like what? Scarab could come after me?" Presley informed, turning back to the very tip of the large vessel. " He isn't going to be free for another fourteen years."

" Still, we can't be too careful when it comes to leaving you alone. It may be dangerous in this large mob."

" So, you won't let me walk around a dock by myself, but you'll let me get on a big ship that's gonna sink." Presley stated, crossing his arms across his chest.

Ja-kal got a sudden annoyed expression on his face. What Presley was saying was making perfect sense. Only, there was no way of getting around boarding Titanic.

" Get on the ship." He sighed flatly.

***

" Uhg!" Lyris jutted forewards as her large feathery hat fell down in front of her face, blocking out the scenery in the road and the direction where she was going. As quickly as she could, she pushed the hat back up onto her head, her hair making an uncomfortable bind on the top of her head. She glanced back to who had bumped into her just then, but with all the people who were behind her, it would have been impossible to tell who was the culprit.

She tried to get closer to the ship, but a band of running teenage boys began to head towards her, and as they passed by, brushed along her with whoops and hollers about getting to America and visiting New York. They were the typical third-class boys that you would meet lining the docks at that time of day. Many of them looked tired and worn, but non the less excited and filled with a zest for life. Qualities that she wished others that she knew possessed.

" Some people have no matters what-so-ever." Lyris rolled her eyes playfully at the voice behind her. She couldn't help but think about that all famous phrase " Speak of the devil."

Rath walked up beside her with a stern expression, arms crossed across his chest. Apparently, the group had passed by him first, and being the type of person he was, didn't approve of anything of the sort at any time.

" They're only excited." She defended, pulling the feather boa up onto her arms higher and shaking her head. " All they want is a little adventure and thrills."

" There'll be plenty of time for that when the ship sinks." He exclaimed, trying to talk her into his point of view. " Now hurry up! We've got to reach it before it leaves dock."

Lyris sighed a heavy sigh, her head filled with a bewilderment and astonishment of how he could think that innocent boys, who's only wishes were to see their families back on America were no less than hulligans who would only get in their way. But that's just the way Rath is, she knew. And you could either live with it, or get off the ship (No pun intended). She glanced back at him as he swiftly passed by her silently, probably still a little steamed about the previous incident. Lyris tipped her large black hat with the tip of her finger, the feathers shifting in the quick movement, making no other gesture to try and convince her aquaintance otherwise, and simply followed behind quietly.

" Extra, extra! Read all about Titanic's great departure!" An english paperboy ran through the crowd of hopeful wellwishers, flailing a newspaper in his left hand. He raced through the group like a fish, squirming out of rough places and into open areas as if it were nothing at all. " Come read about the ship that has been dubbed unsinkable!"

Rath stopped to listen to the boys antics, and couldn't help but wonder what the young man's reaction would be when he learns of Titanic's demise. The railings lining the large ship's hull seemed to get closer and more impressive. Especially the ones at the front, where they gracefully rounded tip of the ship reached out for the open seas, a long crane neatly attached to ensure that any materials needing moving will be handled fragily. A loud cry sounded behind him, and he glanced up above his head to see a shining 1910 Renault being lifted high above the audience's heads onto one of Titanic's many decks. The metals gleamed and shimmered in the noon light, and although it never reached the high speeds that the modern day cars could have easily, it was quite a piece of work.

" Hey! Are you coming or what?!" Rath looked over the heads of a few english businessmen who were busy looking over a map of some famous road in Britain. Beyond all the crying babies and yelling teenagers, a large black hat and red bow pertruded. From another angle, Nefer-tina's face could be seen, her arm high in the air, to get the other's attension.

" Rath! Lyris!" She called. " Not that I wouldn't love leaving you guys here on the dock, but we've got a boat to catch! So hurry up!" Before he could even think about dignifying her calls with a response, the sea of people began to crowd around, and she was lost behind them.

" Like we're going to be able to miss it." Rath uttered quietly, knowing full well that they had a good other twenty minutes or so before the ship would heave the over-populated harbour. Still, it was best to be safe rather than sorry, so he turned around to try and get Lyris to hurry up and at least try to get through the hourds of people.

" Lyris, it's best that we get going n..." He began, wheeling around to get her attension. Only, instead of being faced with an auburn-haired lady, there was short, white-haired man where she once stood. The englishman looked up at him with a curious and unusual look, and Rath turned away quickly in annoyance and a bit of embarassement. " Out of all the harbours in all the world, why did it have to be this one?" He asked himself, looking around more hastily now trying to get a glimpse of a black hat with bluish green feathers.

" Where is she off to now?"

***

'Plughk!'

A second pebble fell into the salty sea water, making it's last appearance as it disappeared from view, never to be seen by human eyes again. The boy laughed and picked up another one, dropping it like it's brother before, into the briney deep. Nearby, a parade of dignified landowners and nobles strolled confidently down an isle separating the mob from the edge of the dock.

Lyris peered over the railing of the dock, the rope which was attached to the wooden poles feeling gritty and rough on her hands. A fourth pebble fell into the water, it's sound delighting the small boy which was sitting beside her on the old wooden dock. She smiled happily. No matter what mood she had always been in, nothing had ever cheered her up lik the laughter of a child.

She knew, she knew that being here, she was only bying time for herself. The inevitable was to come, that she was certain of, but there was a part of her that longed to stay on shore, to never step out onto the decks of the large ship. And it wasn't because she knew that it was going to go down either. Something else bothered her, something from the past...

" Look what I can do." She glanced down at the young boy who was sitting there, watching her with his inquisitive blue eyes.

" What can you do?" She asked him, more of a statement than a question. With a laugh, the boy picked up another one of the small stones, aimed, and threw it. The pebble went flying over their heads, landing at the foot of the giant ship.

" I can almost hit it! I can almost touch Titanic!" The boy exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air in delight. " One day, I'm going to really be able to touch it."

Lyris smiled an unsure smile at the little tike. All he wanted to do was touch the ship, not get on, not live in it's quarters, but just touch it. There was nothing more innocent in the entire world. " Sure you will." She encouraged, placing a hand on the small shoulder of the blond-haired child. " Someday."

The boy smiled, happy that another had the same viewpoint as he did. A woman from the crowd shouted a long name out in their direction, and the child looked at Lyris with an apologetic look. " I've gotta go!" He stated, getting up off the wooden boards of the dock and wiping off his already dirty overalls.

" Oh. Well, have fun seeing the boat launch." She told him.

He ran off toward the sound of his mother's voice, but before he reached the crowd of people, he turned around and ran back to her. Lyris watched, with a puzzled expression, as the boy opened up her dark hand, and placed something in it. Then he simply smiled again, and flew away, into the gang of awaiting bystanders and hopeful family members.

She opened up her hand, and there, in the palm, was a small pebble, smoothed on all sides with a brilliant shimmer of red on it. She turned it around and around in her hand, feeling that the rock had no edges, and was almost perfectly circular. It was small, had no economic value, but it was a nice though, and she thanked the boy for it in her mind.

" Well, it's about time!" She looked up from her gift, towards the crowd once again. The child was long gone, but a still more familiar voice appeared from it. Rath pushed his way through a pair of lovestruck warehouse workers, much to the couple's dismay, and fould himself on the boardwalk, between the water's edge and the excited mob.

" Having fun?" She asked cheerfully, giggling to herself at the expression he gave to her statement. " Oh, it isn't that bad."

" Where have you been? I have been up and down this entire length of the dock, and you weren't anywhere!" He told her, pointing across the audience beyond.

" I pushed passed a couple people, and came here." She explained. " I just wanted to see the ship in the water before she left."

" Well, you can explain to Ja-kal why we're probably going to be late." He stated, glancing in the direction of the gangplanks, which were beguinning to fill out with passengers. " Now, come on. And this time, no detours." He commented, putting his hand on her shoulder to beguin to lead her towards the loading areas and storage facilities.

Lyris looked up at the large ship once again. The size was impressive, she had read that the insides were extravagant, and the housing was very comfortable. But beyond all of them, there was a hint of horror. The ship was going to sink, this was true, but there was something else wrong. And she believed she knew why.

She turned to Rath, just for a moment, then quickly turned away again. She had know, she had always know that he was confident in practically anything that he did. She herself had never had that kind of knowledge, and through the wishing and the hoping, she still found herself unable to think of herself alone in the world.

He took his hand off of her shoulder, exposing it to the cool April air all around them. The gangplank was getting closer, and she could make out the colors that everyone boarding was wearing. One woman had on a lavish maroon Chanel suit, complete with matching boots, and her husband (Or who looked like her husband) was adorned in an elaborate black and green business suit. Definitly first-class individuals.

She reached over the railing, beyond the rope, over the deep blue water that was lapping quietly under their feet. Gently, she let her hand open, letting the contents quietly slide out and fall beyond reach. There was no turning back now.

'Plughk!'

***

Ja-kal paced impatiently in front of the gangplank, the officer standing beside him looking the otherway. Presley stood by Nefer-tina, who was still trying to loosen her tight collar still wound around her neck. He was bored. And, although he knew that this voyage would be Titanic's last, he would rather have been anywhere else than waiting on that busy dock.

" Sir, I really think you should get on now, we're leaving in a matter of minutes." The officer insisted, trying to get Ja-kal to stop pacing around the frameway to the ship.

" But we can't yet!" he insisted for the third time. " We are missing a part of our party."

" They will be able to find you on the ship, but right now, we are ready to pull the plank away." He held out his hand to show the way to the small door in the side of the mighty hull before them. " Now sir, if you please..."

Ja-kal sighed heavily, turning around to face the rest of his team. He reached his head up higher, to view over the crowd quickly. Like before, there was no sign of Rath or Lyris. Either they'd gotten lost, or something was wrong.

" They're still not here." He stated impatiently.

" If they're here or not, we've still got to get on Ja-kal." Nefer-tina persisted, standing away from Presley for the time being. " It's either now or never."

" I'd rather it be never." Armon chimed in, leaving his silent vidule from one of the steel legs of the giant crane, and moving over to where the conversasion was.

" But we can't leave them here. Not in the past." He said quietly, as to not arrouse the suspitions of the officer, who was still waiting for them to get on up the gangplank and into the first-class hallway. Ja-kal looked crossly over the entire area. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but Nefer-tina was right. They had to get on the ship, with, or without them.

" Sir." The officer pipped up again, this time with a more demanding voice and annoyed tone. " If you plan on getting on the Titanic, please get on now. We are ready to leave!"

Ja-kal looked at him with an angry stare. The officer took it with a light heart, pointing to the still open door in the side of the great steel hull. There was another officer there also, ready to jought down any passengers names which pass by him into the lavish reception area of the ship.

With a small jesture, Ja-kal waved for the others to walk up the plank. For a moment, they all hesitated, not knowing whether to wait for the others or follow Ja-kal. But after awhile, they reluctantly followed. Nefer-tina's high-heeled boots made a loud clicking noise against the steel and wooden gangplank, while Presley's shoes had more of a dull knocking when it quickly connected with the removable walkway.

Ja-kal reached the top, and carefully stepped over a small uprise located on the bottom the doorway. Holding a hand out, he helped Nefer-tina over it as well, her still not being very use to the long skirt and high heels. With a quite yelp, she bent sideways, as her heel slipped to the left, nearly sending her sprawling onto a pair of eager-looking bellhops, awaiting passengers so they could show them to their rooms.

Presley jumped over the uprise, and looked around the lavish area which they were now standing in. It was quite a sight to see- a tall ceiling housing a small, but impressive-looking chandelier hung over a meeting area, where elegant ladies and respectable gentleman met and communed on to of a Victorian-style carpet. The lights were slightly dimmed, giving a feel of a frech restaurant to the place.

" Cool." Presley mouthed, about to walk into the center of the room when the officer who was picking up people's names stepped in front of him.

" Hey!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms in disbelief. " I want to go see the place!"

" Excuse me...sir" The officer said with an uptight, deep english accent. " You must first sign in. Name please?"

" Fine." Presley said with a deep sigh. " Presley Carnavon."

The man sketched down the list of names. Having practically all the passengers aboard already, it wasn't that long of a read. There were very few names left. After glancing through the list twice, the officer gave Presley a deep accusing look. " There is no reservations for a 'Presley Canavin."

" Carnavon." He corrected, with a sign of resentment.

" Whatever. You don't have a reservation."

That can't be good, Presley thought. Holding his finger up to tell the officer to wait a moment, he turned around to Ja-kal, who had still been looking out the window, hoping to catch at least one glimpse of Rath and Lyris.

" Ja-kal." Presley uttered, making the man turn around and face him. He did, and looked down at Presley, knowing that it wasn't good news by the look on the boys face.

" Is there a problem my prince?" He asked concerned.

Presley scratched his head nervously. " Um... I think so. Ja-kal, they don't have a reservation for us."

" But we have tickets." He told him, pulling out his ticket from his blue coat pocket. The white piece of paper stood out in the dark room, possibly the only bright color in the entire place.

" It doesn't matter. If we don't have a reservation, then won't let us on."

Nefer-tina fought back to keep her from kicking the side of the light creme wall. It discouraged her to think that they had come all this way, and then all of a sudden, not be allowed to get on because of some fouled-up reservation list.

" Maybe, they have us under a different name." Armon stated.

" What are you talking about Armon?" Presley asked, still annoyed that they wouldn't let them on. " What do names have to do with it?"

" Well, Maat knew you as the prince. Like we did the first time we met you. She didn't know your name was Presley." He explained, knowing that even though he didn't know about most things like that, he still knew that back at the Spinx, Maat had called him "the Prince."

" Hey ya!" Nefer-tina agrees, holding her hands up in realization. " She didn't know you were Presley Carnavon. Maybe we're reserved under your old title."

Ja-kal turned away from the group, looking over to the officer, who was ready to put the cap on his lime green fountain pen and leave the reception area to return to whatever post he was occupying during the voyage. Ja-kal walked over to him.

" Yes, excuse me." He began. " We have tickets and reservations to be on this ship." The officer looked at him wearily, but non the less brought out his clipboard from under his arm, and out in front of him so he could inspect the list of passengers again.

" Name?" He asked.

" We are reserved under the name... Prince Rapses." Ja-kal said slowly, hoping beyond hope that they would be on the list.

The officer trailed down the list with an unsure eye, then took his pen and made quick motions on the paper. After almost ten seconds, the officer looked up at Ja-kal again.

" Yes sir. There are reservations for the five of you, and the prince." He told him. Behind the guardian, the other three heaved great sighs of relief at their stroke of luck of beind able to find the reservations that had been prepared for them by Maat.

" All ready to cast off!" Came a loud shrill voice from the outer deck areas. A loud whistle blew over their heads, and two other deckhands came down the stairs to their rights to help with the closing of the doors on this portion of the ship.

" I can't believe that we're going to actually leave them here." Nefer-tina said bewildered. The two others began to talk with the officer on the outside of the door, and with a nod, the order was given to pull away the gangplank.

***

With an annoyed action, Rath pushed his way through yet another bunch of people waving at others on the Titanic. It was nearly noon, and if the two of them didn't reach there in time, who knows what would happen. Behind him, Lyris tried the best she could to keep up, it being difficult with her new high-heeled boots and the large hat that she was trying to keep on her head.

" Will you slow down!" She shouted ahead of her as she quickly slinked by a trio of elaborately-dressed townswomen.

" Well if you want to stay here in the past for the rest of your life, go right ahead." He called back, turning his head around to face her. " But my main concern is getting on that ship before it leaves." He turned around quickly, then stopped suddenly. Lyris haulted as well, the treds of her boots being terrible, and nearly slamming into him.

" What?!" She asked in an exclaimatory fasion. She tried to look in the direction that he was looking, but all she could see were tall men and women in her line of vision.

Rath's shoulders slumped in disappointment. Ahead of them, he could see the outlines of the gangplanks beguinning to move away from the black hull of the large ship. It was probably already too late.

" Come on!" He ordered, pushing his way quicky through the crowd. Lyris didn't even have any time to respond. He grabbed her arm and pulled her through the mob, and all she was trying to do was not fall over onto her face.

" You know, I can walk" She stated, her boots clicking wildly on the wooden dock. " What's the problem?"

" Now you see what your doddling around has done?" He accused, leading them into an open area, where no others besides the crew that were bringing the gangplanks were present. " Why you wanted to waste your time waiting around for nothing, I just don't know!"

" They're leaving!" Lyris exclaimed, seeing now that the gangplanks were being drawn back towards the docks. This gave her more incentive, and she began to run more and be pulled less. Some of the drewmen gave the two an unusual look. They had thought that everyone that was boarding Titanic had already been across, but apparently...

Rath pulled Lyris up onto the gangplank, taking long strides to try and make it up as quickly as possible. For her, it wasn't a walk in the park, but at least this way they would reach the ship a little quicker than they would have with just a normal, everyday walking style.

The officer who had greeted the others on the ship was ready to close the door. He was busy chatting with one of the deckhands now, not looking in the couple's direction as the door was closing. With a quick motion, Rath threw out his hand, and grabbed the door by the outside handle, ceasing the closing of it.

" Excuse me! What are you doing?" The officer asked bewildered, knowing full well that if they didn't leave on scedule, the Captian would be very cross with him. The Titanic was suppose to be the most efficient piece of equipment on the sea, and nothing, not even these two on the end of the gangplank were going to execute that priviledge.

" We are suppose to get on the ship. We are passengers!" Rath explained, still holding onto the door handle, rendering the officer helpless to close it.

" Oh really? Do you have a reservation?" He asked, annoyed that these two were trying to get on the ship when the it was suppose to be leaving dock.

" We have tickets." Lyris chimed in, reaching across the two foot gap between the ship and the gangplank, salty sea water churning below them. In her hand, she held a small piece of paper, bearing the White Star insignia.

" Do you have a reservation?" The officer repeated calmly.

" We came with Prince Rapses!" Rath exclaimed impatiently. " Now hurry up, we're standing fifty feet over an ocean of water!"

" I'm sorry, but the Rapses party has already boarded. Now if you don't mind..." He grabbed the other end of the door handle, and tried to pull the door closed, so they could be on there way. Rath ried to keep the door open even though the other man was trying to pull it closed. So, as an anchor, he grabbed the side railing of the gangplank with his other hand, and held fast, not budging when the officer tried again to close the door.

" Let go of it right now!" He ordered.

" It is of the utmost importance that you let us on!" Rath exclaimed again.

Lyris was in the middle of this. She watched as the two men tried to keep the doorway in their favor. She peered quietly inside of the reception area. The dim lights and dark colors made it difficult to see, especially with the bright sunlight shining down on her from the outside. But, even through the darkness, she could plainly see a familiar figure out of the very corner of the doorframe.

She waved her hand in their direction, and began to shout loudly at the party. " Nefer-tina! Nefer-tina, over here!"

The figure looked around her, trying to figure out who was calling her name. She turned around slowly, thinking that there was no one there that would know her name. Instead, her eyes briefly met with Lyris's, and she came running over to the door.

" Hey, we thought we were going to leave without you!" She exclaimed when she poked her head, still covered under the large hat, out of the doorway.

" You just might still." Lyris stated, glancing back to where the others were still in a battle for the right of way.

" You must leave now!"

" You must let us on!"

" I am the fourth officer to the Captain!"

" Your mother must be very proud...!"" What are you doing?!" Nefer-tina asked loudly, pushing the officer out of the way. " These people are coming along with us!" The officer simply stared at her, not knowing whether to believe her or not. He knew that she was from what the crew had been calling the "Rapses Party", she had just gotten on about five minutes ago.

" They're, they're with you?" He asked her, being a little short of breath after the brief battle to close the door. Nefer-tina nodded angrily.

" See? We tried to tell you." Lyris explained, putting her hands on her hips, and a small smile slinking across her face. " You just wouldn't listen."

The officer got a very disgruntled look on his face. The last thing he liked was to be wrong about something, and in his profession, that could proove to be deadly. And the last thing he wanted was a report from these people to the Captain, telling of how he wanted to keep them from getting on the ship.

" Here, let me help you in." He offered quietly, leaning his hand out towards Lyris with vast hesitation. With a forgiving smile, she took it carefully. Nefer-tina put out her right hand for her to grasp also, and with a small hop, the two of them pulled her into the dark interior of the ship.

Grabbing onto the inside handle of the door, Rath jumped the extra two feet between the gangplank ending and the uprised doorframe. Once inside, he looked at the officer with a degrating look, and absently brushed some dust off of his green suit sleeve. The officer simply gave back the same stare, then walked away down towards the end of the ship.

" Wow, that was fun, let's do it again." Lyris proclaimed sarcastically.

" Ya sure, only this time, you can fall into the water!" Nefer-tina laughed, tipping her hat with a flick of her middle finger.

" Well, I can certainly say that that man is one of the most obnoxious people I've ever met." Rath exclaimed, still watching the embarrassed officer walk quickly down the carpet-covered hallway, packed with new-coming first class passengers and a pair of purebreed Afgan hounds.

" Ya, sure, well that makes two of us." Nefer-tina said, brushing the statement off as simply one of those things that "she just doesn't listen to". " Oh, we have to go see Ja-kal! He think's we left you behind!" She grabbed the sleeve of Lyris's jacket, and pulled her into the direction of where the others were waiting for a bellhop to escort them to their rooms. Lyris just looked up at the ceiling with a hopeless look. 'I'm going to be pulled all around this stupid ship', she though.

They met the other three at a small desk in front of a pair of very elaborate gold-studded wire doors, where inside, the first-class rooms, dining areas and recreational facilities were waiting to be explored. When Ja-kal saw them, his face went through a series of expressions- Regret, amazement, happiness and finally, concern. Nefer-tina stopped with Lyris in front of Ja-kal, while Rath, who had been preoccupied with looking down the isle, was only a short distance behind them.

" What, were have you two been?" Ja-kal exclaimed, holding his hands out in confusion and relief.

" Hmph! Ask Lyris." Rath said flatly.

***

The receptionist looked up at the six standing before him. He knew that they were to have visitors from Egypt, wealthy visiters, on this voyage, but he had never once thought that they would have been this diverse. From the young boy standing around in a creme-colored suit, to the mammoth-sized visitor that was looking through a window towards the dining room, each was severly different and comfortable in their own way.

" Excuse me?" He turned his attension towards a tall man in a dark blue suit and black derby standing practically in front of him.

" Yes sir?" He said in a slight Irish accent, still a little taken by the group's appearance.

" Are we suppose to be escorted to our rooms here?" He asked, as though the man had never been on a ship before. The receptionist looked back towards the two gold-looking doors, out by the entrance doorway, and then down each isle going to opposite ends of the ship. And he saw not one of his employees to help these people.

" I'm sorry sir, but all the bellhops are currently unavailable." He apologized, sitting back down in his uncomfortable wooden seat. " See, we thought that everyone who was coming on had already boarded, so I ordered them to other parts of the ship. I hope this won't inconvenience you in any way."

" No, not an inconvenience. But, what are we to do while we are waiting to be seen to our quarters?"

The receptionist got a very greetful smile on his face, realizing what the party could do. " Well sir. Why don't you take the lad and lassies out for a little air on the decks." He told him, holding his hand out towards a tall flight of stairs to his left, leading up to B-deck. " I'm aware that most of the passengers are already there, waving goodbye to the crowd and their loved ones."

" That sounds like a good idea." Nefer-tina agreed, turning towards the vast flight of stairs. " We can go and wave goodbye to everyone! Well, even though we don't know anyone here, it could still be fun all the same!"

" Alright." Ja-kal agreed, looking back towards the receptionist. " When will your personelle be returning?"

" They will well be back by the time you return sir." He told him cheerily, a wide smile on his face. " Now, go out and enjoy the scenery. It'll all be gone in a matter of minutes." The guardian nodded to him, and circled around to follow the others, who were already beginning to walk up the huge flight of stairs.

" Come on Armon." He ordered, tapping the large man on the shoulder.

" Did you see how many things they're making in there?" He asked Ja-kal as he was slowly led away from the dining room window. " They must be making enough food for an entire army! Maybe more."

" Well, they do have to feed an entire ship of people." Rath pointed out, following Presley up the narrow stairway. " Or, half a ship of people, and you."

" Hey!" Armon protested, squeezing into the tight compartment which turned out only to be about one and a half meters in diameter. " I'll have you know that I only eat as much as four average people!"

" Well, there go our dinners." Nefer-tina joked, looking down at Lyris, who was a few steps behind her. Lyris just left out a quiet laugh, thinking of the four of them sitting down to dinner with empty plates, while Armon chowed down in the elegant dinging saloon overlooking the water.

Finally, after walking for a few minutes, Nefer-tina finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel- it being more the sun shining through the open doorway of the stairwell. She stepped, being very careful of her skirt, out onto the clean white deck, the smell of paint wafting through her nose, and for some strange reason, nearly making her sneeze.

Lyris followed suite, but the instand she reached the opening, the bright sun fell onto her and she had to sheild her eyes. Apparently, the huge hat she wore simply wasn't enough, and she felt that it was stupid to wear such an accessorie if it wasn't for a probably purpose. Presley poked his head out of the doorway, and had a similar, though less severe reaction the the bright sun, and he passed by Lyris to view the hundreds of people still on the docks waving to the giant ship.

" Hey neat!" He exclaimed, reaching over the bright white ledge to get a good look at the crowd. Unlike what he'd seen while he was actually on the dock, the mob seemed to reach for a whole mile, while many of them still waited patiently on the dock, there were others driving horse-driven carts, automobiles and the old-time bycicles of the times.

" Look at them all!" Presley stated, squinting to view them all at once, but to no avail. " I've got to get a better look!" He jumped down from the ledge, and began to hurridly run towards the bow of the ship, to a small railed staircase, leading down to the main decks, and the railing encircling the entire floor of Titanic.

" Young Prince! Where are you...come back here!" Rath yelled after him, following the boy through the open corridor and down towards the stairs as well.

" I think I'll go with them. Just in case he gets into more trouble." Ja-kal told the other three, and pointing in the general direction where Presley had run off to.

" Go ahead, you can't be too careful with our young prince." Lyris agreed.

" I wasn't talking about Presley." Ja-kal told her, and with a smile turned around and followed the others out towards the pointed bow of the massive 750 foot giant.

***

Presley jumped ethusiastically on the lower rung of the railing incasing the passengers on the Titanic. From here, he had a much better view of the people beyond, although they still looked like little toy soldiers waving at them from this high up. He remembered only a portion of what the people up on the ship from the ground looked like, and this was no better. They weren't all individuals here...it was almost as if they were just one big mass covering one side of the large vessel.

" From what I can tell, we have four days- three days excluding this one, to find the gem and return home." While Presley was busy looking down at the spectators below, Ja-kal and Rath were standing behind him, farther away from the railing, and were talking about the task at hand. They mustn't forget why they were there in the first place- to find the Jewel of the Nile and return with it to present day San Fransisco.

" Half the day has already gone." Ja-kal responded, looking down at his dark black and white shoes with a sigh of discontentment. " That gives us three and-a-half days, up to... when did the iceberg hit?"

" 11:40 on Sunday night." Rath reminded. " At that point, there will be only about two hours left until the ship beguins to sink completely and there will be no way to search any longer."

" Will you guys chill? You're ruining the mood." Presley exclaimed, turning around from the waving crowd set before him almost 75 feet below. " This is suppose to be a happy day. What would other people think about seeing you guys talking about the ship going down?"

" We must be prepeared for what is about to happen 'o prince." Rath explained, coming up to the railing where, even when Presley was standing on the first rung, he was still a few heads taller. " We can't spend this voyage lying down and doing...well, whatever people of our supposid callibre are suppose to do."

Presley's shoulders slumped in slight annoyance and boredom. Here he was, standing of one of the greatest, largest, most entertaining vessels in history, and all he heard was how much fun he would NOT be having the next three days or so.

Something bright caught his eyes from the dock. Looking down, he wasn't sure, but there seemed to be small fountains errupting out of the group below. They happened almost simultaneously, and when they did, everyone around them seemed to jump up with joy.

" Hey! Ja-kal, come see this!" Presley urged, looking around at him excitedly. " They're doing something down there!"

Ja-kal, forgetting that the prince's vocice sounded with urgency and amazement, lazily walked over to the others and slowly looked over the side of the ship. By now, there were hardly any erruptions left, but a few spares went off now and then. Ja-kal wasn't as enlightened as Presley had been, but they did make him curious.

" What are they doing?" He asked out loud, not thinking that an answer would come out of anyone.

" Some sort of...celebration ritual?" Rath proposed, leaning down towards the dark waters below. " Or, some sort of recreation."

" Aye, you three are a sight for sore eyes." A husky Scottish voice sounded over them. Like clockwork, they looked over to their rights, to see a short, grey-haired man in a lavish dark red business suit. He, like the others, had on a dark black derby, and a long, elaborate walking stick was hooked to his left arm.

" Excuse me?" Ja-kal asked what seemed so amusing to the older man standing practically next to him.

" Exactly what I said. Those folks down there, they're not having some sort of...ritual or activities, or whatever else in God's name ye thought they were doing." He held out his hand in a sign of recognition to the crowd, as if showing them off to these new strangers. " They're having a party, don't ye see? They're toasting the good name of Titanic, the unsinkable it be, and all that boarded it today." He cast an eerie eye over them. " Ye've never seen that before. They do it with all the large ships on maiden voyages."

" Actually, we're not from around here." Presley told him, leaning over the railing only slightly farther to view the man alittle better.

" Oh. Where ye be heeded from?"

" Originally... Egypt." Ja-kal answered, putting a secure left hand on the uppermost railing of the tall ledge. " We are here to...escort the Prince to America."

" Ah! So you're the famous 'Rapses Party' that everyone from the boilers to the bridge has been bustlin' about for hours now!" The scotsman smiled a welcomed smile towards the young boy who was clinging onto the railings to look over towards him. " Well, I welcome ye as well. Welcome to Titanic!"

" Wow. Thanks." Presley responded, smiling back to the kindly old man.

" What did you mean by, the 'Famous Rapses Party?" Rath enquired from behind Presley.

" Didn't ye know?" He asked in amazement. After recieving three practically clueless lookes, he began again. " They've been preparing for ye for quite some time young one. As a matter of fact, you're to be housed in one of the four millionaire suites, second to only J.J. Astor, one of the richest men in the free world. You are, of course royalty, one of the only pureblood royals on this very ship, next to the the respected Countess, which I assure you you shall meet in due time."

A sudden uproar from the end of the ship began to sound over the entire docks, dilluting through even the massive space that was the Southampton Harbour. Everyone on the decks and down below on the docks began to quickly wave with a mad ease, becoming more excited and happy than they had in recent minutes.

" Ah, the ship's finally leaving!" The man exclaimed, pulling out an old watch attached to a tarnishing chain. He looked over the time rapidly. " Practically on scedule. Only about five munutes late. Hmmm... I wonder what kept them up?"

" One can only guess." Ja-kal said slyly, casting an ironic glance towards Rath. He met the gaze only briefly, then turned around in an arrogant huff. Presley looked up at the cloudless sky and smiled. Hopefully, this corny little game about the two of them nearly missing the boat would continue for the duration of their voyage. It would keep him occupied in what he thought was going to be a pretty boring cruise.

Slowly, the ship began to pull away from the dock. Everyone, man, woman and child, some lining the street nearby the dock, and others actually running alongside the ship were waving and yelling well-wishes to their loved ones on board. Of course, all those on the deck were doing the same. Presley followed their exampled, reaching as high as he could to wave goodbye to all the strangers on the dock.

" Goodbye! See ya! So Long!" Presley yelled, holding onto the railing with his left hand, and waving energetically with his right.

The old man turned around, away from the crowds gleaming eyes and excited expressions. " Well, now that that's all said and done, I guess I'll be heading back to m'room." He looked back towards the three. " I'll hopefully be seeing ye again whilst we're traveling. Good day young prince." He tipped his hat towards Presley, and slowly made his way through the small groups of people on the deck now, humming what was sure to be the song "Skye Boat."

Titanic left the docks now, being heartily pulled from the front by three small tugboats. Although the engine was on, the prepellers were only warming up, and the tugboats had to get the giant vessel out of the harbour before the Captain was to full-throttle and beguin them. The crowd on the docks were beguinning to fade now, their images being blocked by the side of the ship as it began to slowly turn outward towards the open Atlantic. Presley unhappily jumped down from the first rung of the railing, and slouched beside it, looking down at his new uncomfortable black shoes, wishing that he was able to wear his old brown sneakers for the rest of the day.

" I think it's time to round up the rest of our group, and return to the reception area." Ja-kal told everyone.

" Ya, wouldn't want to be late for something like that." Presley acknowledged playfully.

Rath crossed his arms in frustration and resentment. " Well, if all you're going to do the next few days is mock about how Lyris and myself almost missed getting on the ship..."

Presley smiled widly and began to run across the deck, towards the stairway that they had come up from the lower deck. Trying to get to it, he jumped over one of the long anchor chaines which were being pulled in from the cold ocean, and nearly bumped into a respectable-looking lady dressed in fine silk and lace. Ja-kal slowly followed his prince towards the main center of the ship, trying to avoid the anchor chained that the boy had jumped over, and smiling politely to the young woman who had nearly fallen.

Rath just decided to stay put for a little while longer, still clasping the cold white railing with one of his bare hands. Sighing ominously, he realized that, being one of the most respectable of the group, was going to be the butt of many jokes for quite some time.

***

Nefer-tina sighed lazily as the last glimpse of shore suddenly disappeared from her view. She was, to say the least, exausted. She couldn't remember the last time there had been so much excitement and commotion in her life in nothing short of one hour. Her wide-brimmed hat shielded her eyes from most of the scenery beyond her- the people walking down the isle where she was now stationed and where crewmen were walking down the outsides of the ship, making sure that everything was in order before returning to their posts inside.

Like most of the others, she had decided to venture off by herself, trying to see most of the sites that the mysterious Jewel of the Nile would not be in. Only because if the gem did not seem to be in a certain part of the ship, she would get to see it the least. Now, standing in one of the many covered areas encircling the bridge, she almost felt like falling asleep.

But, as usual, her pleese wouldn't be answered, for as she had the overwhealming urge to drift into dreamtime, a familiar sight met her eyes, heading towards the stern of the ship. She suddenly got an unusual feeling in her gut, and she had to go over and talk to them. Pushing back the large hat which had briefly fallen down over her face, Nefer-tina made the slow walk over from the bridge, to where the other party was travelling.

She walked quickly, almost jogged over to where the other person was. There was something on her mind that she knew, this person could only answer. Because it involved her.

" Hey, wait up!" She called after them, holding out a hand for the other to wait for her. And they did. In a flash of bright green feathers and auburn hair, Lyris turned around to face her friend.

" Oh hi! I didn't see you there." She greeted, putting both her hands behind her back in an innocent fasion.

" Meanwhile, I nearly had a stroke getting over here!" Nefer-tina exclaimed playfully, holding her tight collar with one of her hands and panting heavily. " So, what are you doing out here all by your lonesome?"

Lyris got an easy look on her face. " I don't know. There's just something about being out on the open sea, with the salty sea air, and the waves lapping against you..." She trailed off, turning a forty-five degree angle towards the white railings that ran across the perimeter of the ship. She walked over to them, and quietly leaned foreward against them, just to sit and look at the cornflower blue tha encircled them.

Nefer-tina curiously strolled over to where her friend was, leaning against the railing in a similar manner. There was something on her mind, and the only way to get the answer was to just come right out and say it.

" What's the matter gal?" She asked quietly, leaning over to her left to get a better look of Lyris's face.

" What do you mean?" She replied.

" You know what I mean." She interrogated. Ever since we learned about this Titanic idea, you've been off and away in your own little world. So, what's bugging you?"

" Well, I....it was...nothing. Just alot of scrambled memories in my head." She stated, resting her head on her arms, which were folded neatly in front of her. " Just a childhood memory that I forgot."

" Want to talk about it?" Nefer-tina asked concerned.

Lyris looked up at her sharply. " What? Oh Nef, no! It's not a bad memory, really. I just had a glimpse back into my childhood, when father use to cart us back and forth from Egypt to Greece." She smiled as a load of memories suddenly filled her mind, one of the many happy times that she had shared with her family. " I use to love those times. Especially when my brothers and I were playing and they tried to throw me overboard. They use to call me a "Weak swimmer."

" What?! I hope you kicked their butts!" Nefer-tina exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips in resentment.

The young woman exploded in a gant of laughter and turned towards her friend. " No, no! It wasn't like that! It was for fun!"

Nefer-tina looked at her with an accusing expression. " You have a weird definition of the word fun." She giggled, prancing around the deck around her as if at Cinderella's ball. " Me, I'm hoping to get some serious dancing time in while we're here."

" Do you think we'll have time?" Lyris speculated, her too turning away from the open sea, and watching as her friend flew galliantly around the deck in large circles.

" I'll make time." She answered, stopping the large spinning circles she was creating, but suddenly holding her head as the backlash of her actions returned, giving her a large dizzy feeling in her head and the pit of her stomach.

" You look like you just got out of the lint trap." Lyris giggled, holding her hand up in front of her mouth so her friend couldn't see how much she was smiling.

Nefer-tina looked at her slyly. " Oh, like you could do better!"

Lyris waved her off. " Probably not!" The two then just began to laugh hysterically, all the jokes that they had been telling each other coming back in full force.

Still laughing, Nefer-tina brushed a tear from the side of one of her steel-grey eyes. " If the ship isn't, you'll be the death of me."

" Again." Lyris added, smiling a wide smile.

Meanwhile, up by the bridge, everything and everyone was in the russle and bussle of getting everything underway. Crew members were running this way and that. A sailor was busy swinging the huge steering wheel of the ship this way and that with surprising accuracy, and a tall dark haired man stood confidently just outside the steering room. He wore the dress uniform of a high ranking officer and carried a seaman's hat on his head. The man wore an expression of pure contentment, and was deeply honored to be one of the high-ranking officers which ran the fine ship RMS Titanic.

" Quite a sight, isn't it?" The young man turned around to see who he had been expecting at the bridge at this time. He was older, probably around fifty-five or sixty years of age, with the usual high-ranking officer's dress. A metal incrested his chest, and a hat, more elaborate than his own sat on the older man's head. But the most obvious thing about him, was a thick, bleached-white beard that came around his chin and up over his lips. He was, of course, the famous Captain E.J. Smith.

" It is indeed sir." The dark-haired man exclaimed, never leaving his eyes off the Captain as he walked up to him, and placed both his hands on the ledge in front of him. He looked out over the bow of the ship. Everything was running smoothly, and soon, they would be docking in Chembroug, to pick up more passengers for the Titanic's many rooms. It was at this point in his life, that he was looking foreward to retirement.

But, although he was getting on, there was still a aprt of him that had a craving for speed and excitement. He, still staring right ahead, spoke to his second officer in a delightful tone. " Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch. Let's stretch her legs."

" Yes sir." The first office replied, returning to the steering room where he gave the order, through a series of channels, to start pumping up the boilers. It was going to be a long ride.

Smith looked down at the decks, where he could still see crewmembers and deckhands working hard to get the great chaines of the anchor in place. Below him, he saw a pair of giggling ladies, both wearing elaborate hats, and still, a bystander or two were stationed at the front of the ship, probably watching the sea as it passed by them oh so quickly. He sighed gratefully. He had a good feeling about this voyage.

***

" And finally sirs, here is your fabulous Millionaire's Suite, complete with two separate bedrooms and your own personal promenade deck for any, Ahem... royal matters that need attending to." The servant opened the door with a finely handcrafter bronze key, twisting it gently in the lock. It clicked slightly, and the brand new door, carved in the finest oak, swung open to reveal the contents within.

" Whoa!" Presley exclaimed, rushing quickly into the room, and turning around in a circle, just to get all the scenery in at once. It was extremely impressive- from the gold-studded fireplace, to the small ornaments that were carefully placed on the shelves of a bookcase to his right, everything took extra care to construct. " Ja-kal, I'm gonna check over here." He called to his guardian, and ran into the first room that he saw, which ironically, turned out to be his.

Ja-kal nodded at the prince's response, and took the keys away from the bellhop. " Well, thank you for all your help." He said.

" No problem at all sir. You do know how to work a telegraph, do you not?" He responded, with a question completely out of the blue.

" A what?" He asked, clearly not knowing what a telegraph was. With an asking look on his face, the servant gently pushed past the confused guardian, and over to a small table in the corner of the living room. He picked up a small apparatus that looked almost exactly like a stapler.

" This, it's the telegraph that you requested sir. Oh, and here's a phone." He pointed to a large, wind up telephone that had been placed directly behind where the telegraph had once been. " It was to ensure that you could communicate with the Prince's other guardians without going through interpol."

" Oh, that." Ja-kal acted out, pretending that he actually knew what this man was talking about. " With all of the excitement, I must have overlooked that detail."

" No problem sir. The bellhop assured. The man bowed slightly, which was the thing to do after serving whomever they were assigned to. " Take care." He told him, and then let himself out through the still open oak door leading out to the hallway.

Presley ran out of the bedroom, eyes wide with amazement. " Ja-kal! This place is great! This's so cool! I really do feel like royalty, in a way. I even found new clothes in my closet! And they all kinda look like my size!" He flopped down in one of the cozy armchairs that lined up in a small semi-circle around the fireplace. " I want to see more!"

" There'll be time for that later my prince." Ja-kal apologized, walking over towards the end table which had the telegraph and telephone neatly placed on the hard wood top. " Right now, we should assemble and discuss how we are going to go about finding the Jewel of the Nile."

He sat down at the small wooden desk on a small, wooden chair. One that definitly looked less comfortable than the one that Presley was presently occupying. On the desk, there were small pieces of paper- numbers for the other guardian's rooms for the telegraph, numbers for the other guardians rooms for the telephone, letters for the telegraph, channels for the telephone... His head was spinning just looking at them.

" Um.. well, I guess I'll start at the top." Ja-kal said to himself, clicking on a small switch on the side of the machine. A small light suddenly appeared on the top of it, so he assumed that the telegraph was now on. He clicked a second switch, the one closest to the left, with the letters ROOM 12 written on the bottom of it.

" Well, here goes." He said to himself. He took out a small card, which had all the little blips and stops on it, each different order meaning a different letter. Carefully, he slowly began to click the button on the small contraption, a small 'dit dit dit' noise echoeing through the entire room. Almost five minutes later, he finished, turned the first switch off, and turned the one beside it on. He then began to repeat the procedure again, following the same practice that he had with the first.

Presley looked up from where he was now lying, a deep burgandy antique couch placed on the opposite end of the room, facing the gold fireplace. " Um, Ja-kal, do you know what you're doing?" He asked questioningly.

" I simply have to look at these little letters on thecard, and they explain everything to me my prince." Ja-kal explained, finishing the second message, and flicking and pushing switches to start the third message. " There is nothing to know."

***

Curiously, Rath picked a second suit of the closet. There were many of them there, inculding a trenchcoat and ballroom tuxedo, for any occasion that he wished to wear them. There were other, more casual suits there as well, and some he just didn't know what to make of. Such as the one he held in his hand, which looked almost like an archeologists uniform (Think to the clothes that Harris Stone was wearing when he found Rapses tomb).

" What am I going to do with this?" He said to himself, throwing it on the bed with other garments that he didn't understand hid nor hair of. " Maat must have been sick in the head when she thought about this part of our journey."

A loud buzzing from the other end of the room broke the inquiet silence in the large vestibule. With a start, Rath wheeled around, wondering what was going off, and IF it was suppose to go off. A small red light at the other end of the room invited him over, at a small stapler-like machine the bellhop had said was something called a telegraph, placed in front of an old-time telephone on the corner.

Curiously, he walked over to the machine, and sat down at the small desk in a rather uncomfortable wooden chair. With a pen and paper in one hand, and the small telegraph card which housed the code in the other, he waited until the small machine began to start up. And it did. A faint 'dit dit dit' began to circulate through the room. Quickly, he began to glance from the card to the paper, and copy it down.

Half way through the message, Rath began to get a disunderstanding look on his face. As the message began to come out further, he was even more confused. And then, after almost five minutes, the message stopped, leaving him with a message that he could not decipher of understand what it was suppose to mean.

" What the?" He said curiously, picking up the reciever to the antique phone, and winding up the handle on the side of it, creating a dialtone and a path to every other telephone on the ship. Beside the phone, on the wall was a sign displaying each other guardians telephone number, and he began to dial the number to the Millionaire's Suite, Ja-kal and Presley's room.

After a few seconds, the reciever at the other end, and the easy voice of their leader could be heard through the earpiece. " Hello?"

" Um... Ja-kal, have you been experimenting with the telegraph machine?" Rath asked curiously.

" Yes, I was." He answered proudly. " Did you get the message?"

" Oh, I got the message. The only thing is, it's not exactly an intelligent or important statement is it."

" What are you talking about?" Ja-kal's omnipotent voice echoes statically through the reciever. " I thought it was down to the point."

" Ja-kal, a message saying, " Stop the porridge, Jerry's pants are on fire" isn't a very reliable message." Rath rolled his eyes as he had to repeat the unusual information that has just been sent over the telegraph.

" What?! That's not the message I sent!" Ja-kal defended, nearly yelling into the mouthpiece of his telephone. " I sent a message saying that we were all to meet here..."

" Ja-kal." Rath interrupted his rantings, slouching back in the uncomfortable wooden chair set in front of the small desk beside the bed.

" What?"

" From now on, stick to using the telephone for any important information." And just as quickly as he had said it, the reciever was thrust down upon the handle, and the telephone was disconnected from the line.

***

" You screwed up the telegraph thingie, didn't you." Presley stated, sitting up from the burgandy couch with an ironic look. " Maybe you should just stick to using the telephone, that way you won't have to learn how to use that thing."

" But I was so sure..." Ja-kal explained, sitting back in the wooden seat. Already, things were going wrong on this journey. First, they were brought here against their will, then Rath and Lyris were nearly left behind, and now this. It was then that he began to slightly doubt their chances of finding the gem in time before Sunday night.

A loud ringing from the end of the small table brought Ja-kal back to the task at hand. Irritated, he picked up the reciever, and with an unhappy welcome, he spoke. " Hello?"

" Um... Ja-kal?" Came a low voice from the other end.

" Yes Armon?" He sighed greatly, already knowing what the call was probably for. That, or he had just discovered the round the clock room service dining that the Titanic presented to them.

" Um, I just got this thing... what's with the porridge message?"

" Never mind." He told him, standing up from the brand new wooden chair, and walking over to look out at the exquisite promenade deck just beyond a small door on the left side of the room. " Just, come here as quickly as possible. We are going to have a meeting."

" Uh, OK." Armon agreed, slowly hanging up the phone and disconnecting the line to the Millionaire's Suite.

Ja-kal put his hands on his hips and turned around towards Presley. " My prince, I just hope that we will be able to recover the jewel as quickly as possible."

" Sure we will. We're the good guys, remember?" He assured, standing up as well, and strolling over the door linking the main room with their private deck. " And if TV's taught me anything, it's that the good guys always win."

Ja-kal smiled at the boy's innocents, thinking back to Ancient Egypt when that phrase would not have been legitimate. " You have a very strong will my prince." He complimented. Presley shrugged his shoulders unknowingly, and reached out to turn the handle of the door leading to the promenade. The door swung open easily, a warm temperature and the scent of wildflowers hanging in a bouquette wafting through the doorway. Unlike the Suite, the deck was drenched in sunlight, and visiting rows of lawnchairs and couches made it feel more confortable, and less formal.

Ja-kal was just about to follow Presley into the warm relaxation area, when a familiar and hated noise echoed through the room once again. Agitated, he turned around to see the telephone, although looking peaceful enough, emitting a loud ringing, no doubt from the ladie's room, wondering about the unusual message that they had recieved.

This was not turning out to be the wonderful cruise that he had hoped that it would be. All of them thought that. And even though the fine dining areas and ballroom was awaiting them, there would be hardly enough time for that.

They all knew that the trip was going to be purely business, never a chance to make friends or join in various conversasions. But what they all didn't know was, that this doomed journey, filled with sacrifices and regret, was just what the doctor ordered.

To be continued in Chapter 4: Out at Sea Return to the Gem of the Deep Homepage