Incest/Taboo Pharaoh’s Curse

Atlantis and the journey to Punt

Last time on Pharaoh...

"Andy, what are you doing?" Alex asked as they walked down the sky bridge.

"Praying to Nut," Andrew answered, looking over at her.

"Why?" Anta asked from behind him.

"So our plane isn't taken down by angels or whatever is out there," Andrew stated, peering over his shoulder.

"Awe, you do care about us," Carla said in a teasing voice.

"What kind of Pharaoh would I be if I let harm come to my Harem?" Andrew retorted as his mother slapped his chest.

"Thank you for bumping us up to first class," Alex said, interweaving her fingers with his as she held his right hand.

"You're welcome."

"I'll repay you once we land," Anta said in a sultry purr.

"Can't wait," Andrew said, flashing her a smirk from over his right shoulder. Nodding to the flight attendant when he directed them to the first-class section of the airplane. "So, what museum will we be at in London?" he asked, taking the middle seat in the middle row like they had talked about while the others would rotate seats every hour, so each of them would be able to have their hands on him at some point during the flight.

"Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology," Alex said, settling in beside her son.

Stansted International airport...

Andrew McCain, better known as the Pharaoh of Egypt, walked hand in hand with his mother and Anta while Carla led the way to the baggage claim. Seeing his mother's sky-blue eyes glancing over at him, to how her cheeks blushed, to the way she held onto his hand. Looking over to his right as Anta's 32A left breast brushed along his right arm. Seeing how the waning sun played along her ebony hair as the voices of the other flight passengers filled the terminal.

"You best call your father, Andy. Knowing him, he's probably pacing around the house waiting for your call," Alex (or Alexandra, her given name) said in a motherly voice. "I'd rather not have him harassing us when we get to our hotel room," she spoke in a sultry tone with a coy smile on her lips.

"Mmmhmm," Anta hummed as she snuggled up to Andrew. "So many new places you're going to fuck me in, I can't wait," she said with a lustful smile on her lips.

"I hope the two of you aren't forgetting me in all of this," Carla retorted, peering over her shoulder as she plucked Anta's bag off the carousel. Feeling her face heating when she noted how Andrew was staring at her ass while she was bent over.

"No, we weren't, Carla. We can't forget about you. That would be wrong to do so when you are in the Royal Harem," Alex spoke in a tone fitting for a Queen. "So, Andy, since you're Pharaoh and all, have you thought of what name you were going to be known as once you take your throne?"

"Menes the II," Andrew answered without really thinking as he pulled out his phone.

"Why Menes?" Carla asked in a scholarly voice as she laid her bag on the cart.

"Huh?" Andrew uttered, confused.

"You did just say you were going to be called Pharaoh Menes II," Alex stated, wondering why she saw genuine confusion in her son's eyes.

"I did?" Andrew spoke, seeing the three of them nodding. Feeling his divinity burning his blood as a blue ring of light played along the surface of his blue-green eyes. "As Menes was the first, so shall I be the beginning of the restoration of Egypt," he said in an alien voice. Shaking his head, wondering where the hell that came from.

"Andy, does that happen to you a lot?" Anta asked, helping Carla with the bags while Alex comforted Andy at the uneasiness she saw in his eyes at what had just happened.

"Far too often as of late," Andrew admitted. It wasn't like he asked to be Pharaoh. He didn't ask to be related to Pepi II, didn't ask for the gods to whisk his mother away from his life all so they could lure him back to Egypt when the time was right. He didn't ask for all the weird shit that's been happening all around him ever since he had stepped foot on Egyptian soil. Even now, so far away from it, he could feel Geb calling to him, whispering to him to return where he rightly belonged.

"So you're saying you're going to restore the Dynasties of Egypt?" Carla asked for clarification.

"I have no clue?!" Andrew grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. "It isn't like the gods gave me a handbook on how this all works?!"

"Don't worry, honey," Alex cooed, pressing her 32C breasts into her son's left arm. "We're here, between the three of us, with our knowledge of ancient Egypt, we'll figure it all out," she said, lightly rubbing her son's back. "We'll get to the bottom of this and why you are needed to restore Ma'at[5]."

"Ma'at?! Really?" Carla had an excited tone in her voice when she heard that name. She had drafted her dissertation for her Master's degree on ancient Egyptian mythology and how it was interwoven into their everyday lives. "How are you going to restore order and balance? That is what Ma'at is known as the goddess of." Watching how Andrew just shrugged his shoulders as he stood there without a clue on how to go about any of it.

"Don't worry about that now. Go, call your father," Alex said, ensuring that they had gotten all their bags.

Pulling up his father's cell number and hitting the call button before bringing it up to his ear. Hearing the line ringing as he stood away from the three of them. Knowing it was only two in the afternoon in New York City while it was seven in London. Arching an eyebrow when his father's phone just kept ringing, he was about to hang up until Julián finally picked up.

"Sorry about that, Andrew." A smile formed on Andrew's face at the sound of his father's voice. "I was on a business call when you rang."

"It's okay, Dad. I knew you were probably busy. I was just calling to let you know I landed safely in London," Andrew said into his phone.

"Oh? Have you? How was your flight?"

"Uneventful, already miss home though," Andrew uttered in a sheepish tone.

"We miss you too, Andrew. Are you on your way to your hotel?"

"Not yet, still at the airport," nodding when he noted how they were ready to head out to hail a cab, "walking out as we speak to catch a cab."

"They're called hackneys there," Julián said in his worldly knowledge of London's taxis.

"What?! No way?!" Andrew retorted with a huge smile on his face.

"I won't lie to you, son. That's the slang for them there."

"I'm hail a hackney just sounds so wrong and dirty," Andrew joked, getting a chuckle out of his father. "How's work?"

"Oh, you know the usual; Wilma was really torn up about you leaving. I hope you know it isn't going to feel right until you're back home."

"Love you too, Dad," Andrew said, feeling his cheeks heat at his father's words. Little did he know, as much as he would like to return to New York City, something within him knew that was never going to be, that the moment he returned to Egypt, that was where he would be for the vast majority of his life. "Tell Mom," seeing his mother shooting him a look when he said that, "I said hi, that I'm okay, that I'll send lots of pics when we aren't working to set up the exhibit."

"I will son, you be safe out there, and just enjoy yourself. You never know. You may not see London again."

"I will; don't work too hard," Andrew said in a loving tone as Anta waved down a taxi.

"I'll try not to," Julián mused before saying his goodbyes to his son.

Three days later...

"Damn imbeciles!" Alex cursed as she tossed her phone at the couch in her anger.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Carla asked from Andrew's lap while Anta went to fetch their lunch.

"There's some problem at customs with the paperwork, and they're withholding the exhibit items until this mess is cleared up," Alex said angrily as she dropped down onto the couch.

"How long do you think it's going to take to get cleared up?" Andrew asked; he would rather not be sitting on his hands for a week or more. There was only so much he wanted to see in London, and he wasn't hiring someone to drive him all over the United Kingdom.

"Two, maybe three days," Alex answered, blowing out a breath, knowing her anger wasn't going to help them any.

"Well, seeing how we have the time, want to take a trip?" Noting how Carla and his mother were looking at him quizzically when he said that.

"What do you mean, Andy? We just can't up and leave; who knows when they'll release the crates, and when they do, we'll have to work extra hard to make up for the lost time," Alex uttered with a pointed look.

"You all were the ones that wanted to come with me; if you're saying you don't want to see Atlantis..." Wincing as their high-pitched squeals of excitement filled the air.

"You really meant it, Andrew? That we can go with you?" Alex asked, practically crawling across the couch. So eager to explore that mysterious city, to see what wonders those people created. Even if only a tenth of it was left, there was enough there to rewrite history on that part of human events that were lost to the ages. Also, she wondered if the capstones were still on the pyramids there just so they could see their grandeur before the ones in Egypt were robbed to make homes out of.

"Yeah, did say you could unless you would rather wait here while I go alone since I don't have much to do," Andrew said, grinning evilly at his mother.

"Oh, you so aren't getting rid of me that easily, mister?!" Alex spoke in a motherly tone as she wagged her finger at him.

"Then we need to prepare for this kind of expedition, don't we, Professor?" Carla asked, peering over at Alex. Remembering what her Professor's sex tasted like on her tongue the night after the party at the grand opening in New York City.

"Yes, yes we do, Carla. We simply can't undertake this kind of adventure and not document it. Not saying anyone would believe us if they saw the footage, yet we need, as scientists, to examine everything we can lay our hands on," Alex said in a teacherly voice.

"Let's make a list of what we need," Carla said, getting up from Andrew's lap, very excited to see what awaited them.

"Yes, very sensible," Alex nodded as she stroked her chin. "What are you doing, Andy?" she asked when her son pulled out his phone.

"Calling someone," Andrew said offhandedly as he rose from his seat as their hotel room door opened.

"I'm back?!" Anta uttered with a smile on her lips with their drinks in one hand and their to-go orders in the other. "What's going on?" she asked as Andrew walked into the other room. Confusion showed on her face knowing she missed something while she was out.

"We're planning our expedition to Atlantis," Carla said with a wide smile on her lips.

"Really?!" Anta hurried over to where the other two were without jostling their food or their drinks too much.

"Mmmhmm, this is going to be like no other expedition any of us has been on," Alex said in a scholarly voice.

"Andy, come eat before your food gets cold," Anta called to him as he was pacing along the foot of their bed. Arching an eyebrow when she heard him mentioning time and how whoever was on the other end, whatever the speaker had said, clearly startled Andrew. Also, the way Andrew had said: 'You can do that?!' had her very concerned with who or what they would be dealing with. Seeing him rubbing his forehead as he continued on in his pacing. Wondering about whatever was going on in his mind, or just the absurdity of all this was getting to him.

"Alright, I'll call when we're ready," Andrew said before ending the call. Blowing out a breath, wondering how much more of this weirdness he was going to get dragged into throughout his life.

"Is something wrong, honey?" Alex asked in a loving tone.

"No, everything is set, don't ask me how we're going to get there; I don't think I can even explain it if I tried," Andrew sighed as he plopped down in the seat he was once in.

"But who was that you were talking to?" Carla asked in a quizzical light.

"Please, don't make me say it?! This whole affair is convoluted as it is," Andrew groaned as he peered up at the ceiling as his head rested on the back of the chair.

"Andy, son, I can't know how this all must be for you. Dealing with things we all thought were just fables to inspire the masses in ancient times. Yet, we need to know who or what we're dealing with if we are to go to this place," Alex said in a firm tone. Hearing her son sigh loudly as he ran his hand down his face.

"Fine, fine, the man I met... is something you won't believe. What he is isn't the issue..."

"It kind of is Andrew," Anta said, handing out their lunch. "So, what is this person?"

"His name is Suriel Zol, but he said to call him Ira," seeing his mother's eyes widen when he said that, nodding before his mother could say a word, "what he is... this is going to sound silly coming from me, Nagdaium' of vengeance, Prince of Heaven and Hell, Ruler of the Fourth Heaven," Andrew said in all seriousness.

"What's a Nagdaium?" Carla asked, sitting down and opening up her take-out box.

"Simplest of terms?"

"I think that would be best, Andy," Alex nodded as she sat down beside Carla while Anta handed Andrew his lunch.

"He's a hybrid, at least that's what I could make out from what he told me after that fight with whatever that thing was."

"A hybrid of what?"

"Angel, demon, human," Andrew rattled off before popping a french fry into his mouth. "Hey, I told you it was convoluted, but you wanted to know," he said, pointing a drooping fry at their disbelieving faces.

"So... this person is a Prince of Hell..."

"And Heaven apparently," Andrew cut in.

"And there's a Fourth Heaven?" Carla asked, still not believing it all.

"So he says, don't really have a reason to doubt him; otherwise, why even mention Atlantis?" Andrew retorted. "I know it was real; I have the memories," he said before they could speak a word.

"Okay, if it is real, where was it?" Alex spoke, trying to disprove her son yet prove to the world that he was right at the same time.

"Where Plato said it was," Andrew replied before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Then why isn't it there now?" Anta asked; she had so many questions she wanted to ask. Pondering if Andrew had the answers to them.

"How would I know?" Andrew retorted with a shrug. "Isn't like I was there when it disappeared."

"Andrew, if you say you have all the Pharaoh's memories, surely there must be something about it locked in that brain of yours," Alex stated, trying to get to the bottom of this.

"It's not something I can just will into existence, Mom," Andrew intoned with a pointed look. "I don't even know how I do half the things I do; you expect me to just say: 'Hey, I need this so and so memory,' and bam, it just appears?!" he asked, using his hands to give depth to his statement. Andrew's head turned as he saw what appeared to be Bast's shadow playing on the wall.

"Andrew, what is it?" Alex inquired as her son rose from his seat.

"Stay here. I think I might need to have a talk with a goddess," Andrew stated as he walked towards their bedroom. Peering back as the pocket doors rolled shut the moment Andrew walked into the room. Hearing feet rushing to the door, turning his head towards the bed only to find Bast sitting on the foot of it. The sunlight that filtered through the window played along her fur-lined face. Her gold-brown eyes stared at him, seeing the power of her godhood burning within them. His eyes ran along her golden skin, knowing intimately how soft it was beneath his touch. His gaze drifted over the white linen tunic she wore, having no trouble seeing those delicious nipples through it. Seeing her thatch of golden fur bleeding through the material, her crossed legs hid her womanhood from his sight. Not that he had any trouble recounting what it looked like.

"It's fine, I'm okay," Andrew spoke from over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving her. "What are you doing here, Bast?" he asked, knowing she wouldn't have shown herself with the others around if she didn't have a reason.

"Do you think it wise to go there?" Bast asked, not pretending that she and the other gods didn't know what he was planning.

"Don't see the harm Bast, unless you're hiding something from me," Andrew said, crossing his arms. "Are you?" Arching an eyebrow when it appeared to him, Bast was blushing. He had no earthly idea gods or goddesses' could blush.

"If you go, I can't protect you... husband," Bast answered in a soft tone.

"Why do you think I'll need protection?"

"It's a spawn of Yahweh; it can't be trusted," Bast spat.

"Okay," drawing out the word, "why do you believe he can't be trusted, other than Ira being Yahweh spawn?"

"He stole the Heavens from us!" Bast growled, her upper lip curled, revealing her left fang as she did. "Him and that bitch whore of his Ba'al,' she spat in hate.

"Umm... how can two deities steal the Heavens from a ton of other gods?" Andrew asked, confused.

"Worshipers is how, along with stealing something we gods protected for eons," Bast replied in a bitter tone.

"Okay, and what did they steal?" Andrew asked, rolling his hand.

"Nu," Bast uttered as she gazed up at Andrew.

"How can a watery abyss give them the power to overthrow you and the other gods?" Andrew asked, perplexed as he scratched his head.

"It's more than just water, my Pharaoh. It's life and death. Creation and chaos. With it, he usurped our place in the Heavens and remade it to fit his vision. That he was the only power in the cosmos."

"Alright, I can get behind why you hate God or Yahweh, or whatever you want to call him if it is a him..."

"He is," Bast nodded.

"But I don't see why you would have a problem with Ira..." Taking a step back when Bast surged from her sitting position. Her hands reached out and curled around his shirt, yanking him into her.

"He has the power of a god. He's dangerous?! You don't know what he's going to do. If you go, I cannot protect you without creating a war that would set the Heavens aflame." Andrew watched how her nose wiggled, her fur ruffled as her concern was clear as day in her eyes.

"I understand, Bast, and I hear you," Andrew said, lightly placing his hands on her shoulders. Ignoring how her breasts felt when they pressed into him. "I don't think he's out to harm me, Bast. If he was, he could have done so on that night. Yet, he didn't; if you say he's as powerful as he is, then wouldn't you think he would have done so then?" Tilting his head to the side when Bast spun out of his grip and moved a few paces away, only to stop.

"You're going anyway, aren't you?" Bast asked.

"I am; I promise if he tries anything, I'll set the Heavens aflame myself," Andrew said with conviction. He didn't have a clue how he was going to do that. However, it seemed to him Bast needed the reassurance.

"You promise?" Bast asked in a rather cute voice from over her shoulder.

"Mmmhmm," Andrew hummed. He was a little taken aback when Bast spun on her heel and leapt onto him. Planting one of the most sensuous of kisses he's ever felt before.

"Don't you go getting yourself killed, or I'll have to ask Osiris to judge you very harshly," Bast spoke. Andrew didn't know if she was kidding or not, nor did he want to find out.

"You have my word, no dying," Andrew nodded. He so wasn't planning on seeing Osiris on the other side anytime soon.

"Good, now I must go." The moment she returned to Ra's side, the doors slid open an inch now that they were no longer held closed by Bast's power. Turning around when all three of them rushed into the room. Speaking all at once, Andrew couldn't make heads or tails out of what they were saying.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down; as you can see, I'm fine," Andrew said in a soft tone.

"But where did you go?!" Alex asked in a worried tone.

"Go?" Andrew was quite confused by that question.

"The moment you told us you were fine, it just got silent. We couldn't hear a word or noise for that matter from this room," Carla stated, a little freaked out by what she had just witnessed. Doors just don't close by themselves. Sound just didn't cease to exist since she knew the room wasn't soundproof. Even if he had left, they would still have been able to hear something, even if it was the tiniest of noises.

"Just what happened in here?" Anta asked, looking around, trying to see if anything had been moved or misplaced.

"Told you; to talk to a goddess," Andrew replied, looking at Anta.

"But which one?!" Alex inquired. She just couldn't believe he would just say that so candidly or that she believed him. Seeing color rushing to her son's cheeks as he looked away. "I take it, it was Bast."

"Yeah," Andrew muttered.

"Did the wifey come to check up on you?" Alex teased, smirking when her son groaned and noted how Anta and Carla were sporting gaping mouths and shocked eyes.

"You're married?!" Anta and Carla shouted.

"Did you really have to?!" Andrew bemoaned, to which his mother simply nodded her head.

"You're really married... to a goddess?!" Anta asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Andrew answered sheepishly.

"And you're okay with that?" Carla inquired, peering at Alex.

"Isn't like I can do a whole lot about it, Carla. Bast is a goddess, after all."

"But why?" Anta and Carla quired, trying to understand.

"It's one of the ways to restore Ma'at," Andrew replied, leaving out the fact that he was also a demigod; he so didn't think they would be able to handle that at the moment.

"And the other ways?!" They prodded for information.

"Umm..." Looking away, unsure how they would take the news, he was planning on having Luxor and Karnak restored to their former glory, nor how he was going to bring back the ancient festivals that brought the people and the gods together as one.

"Don't you start holding out on us, mister," Alex said, poking her son in the stomach. "Out with it."

"Well... you know Karnak and Luxor?"

"Yeah? What about them," they asked in a tone that inferred they weren't idiots.

"I'm kind of having them restored," Andrew spoke in a shy tone.

"What do you mean having them restored?" Alex asked with a pointed look.

"To what they were when the Pharaohs ruled and will rule again," Andrew spoke as a blue ring of his divinity danced along his eyes.

"And just how are you going to pull this off, huh? Those are historical sites, Andrew. You just can't go in there and slap a coat of plaster on the walls without riling up the people," Alex said in a disapproving tone.

"You think I'm an idiot?" Andrew asked, shooting his mother a look. "Isis is going to pull some strings and get the government to do it under the disguise of tourism."

"Awful sneaky, aren't you?" Anta huffed; she could see how Alex didn't like it one bit, just like she didn't.

"Has to be done," Andrew stated in a firm tone.

"And pray tell me, son, just why does it have to be done?" Alex asked in a motherly tone as she crossed her arms below her breasts.

"Because restoring the temples and reviving the ancient festivals is another step in restoring Ma'at. Also, they sit on the focal point of Ma'at; if they didn't, we wouldn't be having this discussion."

"Are you trying to bring back the old religion?" Carla asked to which Andrew simply nodded.

"Whether you believe in them or not, the gods are real. As much as I hate being this..." gesturing to himself, "it seems the gods won't let me bow out of whatever they have planned. I doubt they will allow me to just shrug them off even if I wanted to. So I must do what I must; I'd rather not be tossed into the maw of Ammit," Andrew said truthfully.

"They would do that?" Anta asked quizzically.

"Have a feeling they would," Andrew nodded. Not telling them if God, in whatever form he wished to be called, was losing power and the old gods were returning. He doubted they would jeopardize their return if he went off-script.

"And just how do you know Ammit exists?" Alex asked in a scientific voice.

"I've seen the demon, Mom," Andrew said, rolling his eyes.

"And just where have you seen it?" Alex shot back.

"On the Atet when I traveled through Duat," Andrew spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Believe me or don't, that's on you," he stated, seeing the disbelief in his mother's eyes. "Have I not given you enough evidence for you to believe that I am not making this up? Why would I? What do I possibly gain from lying?"

"Andrew, the Duat?! You seriously expect us to believe you've traveled through the Egyptian underworld on Ra's barge no less?!"

"Believe what you want to believe, but it's true, I have," Andrew said, standing his ground.

"Okay, let's just say you have; why you? Why not the Professor? Why wasn't she picked to be the next Pharaoh?" Carla asked, seeing Andrew rubbing his temple.

"Because she and Bast couldn't consummate the pact," Andrew sighed, feeling like he's just talking in circles. Tapping the brand on his chest when he noted her puzzled look. "Also, I'm Ra's some odd great-grandson," noting how their eyebrows rose when he said that, "hence why I could do what I did at the museum," he said, looking at Carla, referring to how he had caught her when she fell off the ladder.

"But that would mean..." Anta's voice trailed off when all Andrew did was nod.

"But then why can't I do any of that stuff?" Alex huffed.

"How the hell would I know?! You want answers to questions that I don't have a fucking clue how to answer them. Do you think the gods tell me why? No. They just say hey, you're needed and go do this," Andrew said, throwing up his hands.

"Andy, I'm..." Her voice stilled when her son held up a hand.

"It's fine; let's just go get what you need; all we're doing is talking in circles," Andrew grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.

Andrew stood back as the three of them studied the camcorders sitting within the glass display of the local electronics store. Noting how they were murmuring to each other when they were specifically looking at the ones with an external light source and long-lasting battery life. Hearing his mother chatting with the salesperson about if there were extra batteries they could buy and the memory cards for the one they had decided to purchase. He could see the glee in the person's eyes at the commission the woman was going to make because of it.

"Andy?" Alex said in a soft tone as she turned towards him. The backpack she had bought to carry the supplies she would need to explore the ruins and properly study them jostled within it. Noting how Anta's and Carla's did the same when they, too, turned around to peer at Andrew. "Would you mind? It's a little too much on my salary," she stated in a bashful tone.

"You promise that whatever footage you take won't see the halls of your museum?" Andrew asked, his arms sat crossed along his chest when he peered at the three of them. He so didn't need for whatever they find there to find itself on the internet. He was already dealing with one giant headache; he didn't need another.

"We promise, it will just be for us, isn't that right?" Alex asked, looking at her two students.

"Alright," Andrew sighed as he pulled out his wallet when he approached the counter. Noting how the price came out to one thousand five hundred and twenty-six pounds, pulling out his phone doing the conversion to USD. Glancing at his mother, hoping that for over two grand it better be the best camera on the market. Seeing how Carla was stuffing the boxes of extra batteries into her bag along with the extra memory cards, as well as the charger for the batteries when one wasn't installed in the camera itself. Hearing the woman tearing off the receipt from the machine and laying it and a pen on the glass surface. Hearing the ball of it moving along the paper as he signed his name. Turning his head when the BBC channel that was playing on the wall of TVs on display stopped him in his tracks.

"Andy, what's got your attention?" Carla asked when she and the other two were about to exit the store, only to find Andrew's attention was captivated by whatever was on the screens of the televisions.

Andrew didn't say a word when satellite images of Egypt appeared on the screen. Showing how lush and green the land was starting to look. Seeing the waters of the Nile pouring over the top of the Aswan High Dam. Seeing how their flood gates were wide open yet couldn't stop the onslaught of water that crested over the dam. Praying to Hapi so that the water wouldn't destroy the dam and ruin countless people's lives. Reading the closed caption as the reporters yammered on about how strange this was due to the drought that Egypt was currently experiencing. Chalking it up to climate change when in truth, it was due to the fact of his and Bast's union that had brought about this change. No one other than him would know this was just the beginning of the restoration of Egypt; that more vast changes would be occurring in the days and years to come.

"Anta, Professor, you might want to come see this," Carla spoke, unable to take her eyes off the screens as she stood beside Andrew.

"What in the world?!" Alex muttered, knowing the dam was built to stop the Nile from flooding like it did in the days of yesteryear. Watching how Anta quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She knew her family relied on the Nile for their income, and any change in it would harm the limited income they made from it. "Andrew, can't you do something?" she whispered as Anta talked rapidly in Arabic behind her.

"How can I? I'm not in Egypt," Andrew uttered, never taking his eyes off the TVs.

"But that's too much water; the Nile will flood," Carla said in a worried tone.

"I know," Andrew nodded in agreement. Glancing down, when Bast curled herself around his legs in her cat form that only he could see. Silently reassuring him that they had heard his prayer, that they had heard his worry as well. Yet if he wished to stop the water from rising above the banks, there was only one way for him to do so. His hand slid down his face as Cleopatra's Needle appeared in his mind.

"Andy, what's wrong?" Carla asked in a caring tone as she placed her hand on his upper left arm.

"We need to go somewhere," Andrew spoke, spinning on his heel and walking towards the door. Bringing his fingers to his lips and whistling loudly as he heard the three of them rushing out the door as he hailed a taxi.

"Andrew, what's gotten into you?" Alex asked worryingly as she and her students slid into the back of the cab. Not seeing Bast sitting on her son's lap. However, she did note how intently he was staring at his lap.

"Cleopatra's Needle[16], and step on it," Andrew ordered when Anta was settled and closed the door.

"Andrew, what's going..."

"You want me to stop it, right?" Andrew shot his mother a look.

"But..."

"Just trust me, alright," Andrew stated, not realizing his hand was stroking along Bast's spine, nor the looks the three of them shot him as he did that while he peered out the window.

"Andy, you're freaking me out," Carla whispered; her eyes glanced down to his lap when he had a confused look on his face when Andrew peered at her.

"Can you not see her?" Andrew asked, looking at the three of them.

"See who?" Anta asked with a worried look in her eyes. Hearing his sigh, wondering why he was giving his lap that pointed look. It was really starting to make her worry about his mental state.

"Bast." Was the only word Andrew spoke.

"And she's on your lap?" Carla inquired with a pointed look.

"Yeah, who do you think told me to head to that obelisk?" Andrew retorted with his own look.

"You're saying Bast, the cat goddess of fertility and childbirth, the home, and battle, is sitting on your lap, allowing you to pet her like a normal cat?" Carla asked, trying to make sense out of it.

"You forgot one; she's also the protector of the Pharaoh," Andrew stated, peering down at Bast, who was purring as she licked her right front paw. Those green eyes of hers glanced up at him with a mischievous look within them. Wondering if she was doing this on purpose. "But yes, I am, and she is," nodding when he peered over at her, "she especially likes it when I rub her belly." Smirking wickedly down at her, watching how her eyes narrowed, then the glint of her claws when she unsheathed them, daring him to try it.

"You're so lucky," Anta pouted as she slumped back into her seat.

"Huh?" Andrew honestly didn't feel lucky.

"I love cats; I have a tabby at home; what I wouldn't give just to know a cat goddess called my room home," Anta said in dream-like wonder. Seeing how Andrew peered back down and arched his right eyebrow, wondering what was happening on his lap. They all jumped, except for Andrew, when Bast leapt across the divide and landed in Anta's lap. "Andrew?!" Anta spoke in a nervous tone when all Bast did was stare up at her as she sat on her hind legs. Her tail brushed along Anta's legs, waiting patiently.

"What? You're the one who wanted to pet her. What did you expect when stating your desires to a cat goddess? She always needs attention," Andrew said, grinning madly when Bast turned her head and hissed at him.

"But I didn't..."

"You kind of did, Anta. Go on; she isn't going to wait forever," Andrew spoke, gesturing her on.

"She's so soft?!" Anta squealed as her hands ran over Bast. Smiling like a little kid as she lightly massaged Bast's ears. Losing herself when she listened to her purr as she did.

Andrew rolled his eyes when Bast was just sitting there soaking up the praise and worship the three of them were giving her. Shooting his mother a look when she couldn't stop touching Bast when just a few minutes ago she questioned her presence in the car. Seeing how she bowed her head and how her cheeks grew red. His eyes glanced over to his left, seeing Cleopatra's Needle looming in the distance. Wondering just what Bast wanted him to do when they got there and just how was he going to stop the waters of the Nile from so far away. Andrew really wished this all came with a handbook and an appendix?!

"You mind waiting?" Andrew asked the driver once he had parked a few hundred yards away from the obelisk.

"Sure, mate, it's your dime, but the meter will be running," the man said, tapping on the box as the counter inched up as they talked,

Arching an eyebrow at how Anta was carrying Bast in her arms as they strolled down the sidewalk towards the monument. Also noting how Bast was getting far too much satisfaction out of it as she just laid there all regal like in Anta's arms. Equally confused when Bast pushed his hand away with her paw when he reached for her. Shrugging his shoulders, if she wanted to be with Anta he was all the more willing to unload all this weirdness onto her.

"Not going to happen." Hanging his head when Bast spoke into his mind. "Don't deprive me of my pampering, my Pharaoh."

"What?" Alex asked when she saw her son shaking his head.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," Andrew muttered as they waited to cross the street. His eyes moved down the stone's surface as the sunlight caused shadows to play along the hieroglyphics. Not that he could read it from where he was, yet he didn't have to. He already knew what was chiseled onto the stone. A flash of memory from the ancient past flared in his mind. Taking him back to the day it was being hewed out of the stone. Hearing the bronze hammers striking the buts of the bronze chisels. The cadence of the worker's voices in the air as they worked as one to cut the stone away.

"Honey." Alex's soft tone and light touch brought him out of that meandering memory. "You sure you're okay?" she asked in a motherly tone.

"Nope, not one bit," Andrew admitted before stepping onto the crosswalk and towards where the obelisk rested. Pondering if those memories would always flare up or would they die away.

"Andy, what's wrong?" Alex inquired when she quickly scurried to her son's side.

"Do you know how irritating it is to have memories of people who lived thousands of years ago pop into your head?" Andrew uttered, thrusting his hands out in annoyance.

"Why, what did you see?" Alex asked in a scholarly voice.

"That," Andrew replied, pointing to the obelisk.

"What about it?" Alex looked towards the stone pillar, wondering what could have her son so worked up about.

"I remembered watching the workers quarrying it out. The sound of their voices. The very song they were singing to keep up the pace of their chiseling. The way the very air tasted on my tongue?!" Andrew exclaimed.

"But honey, this is a very unique experience anyone in this world has been given," Alex said in a teacherly voice. "Just think of all the insight you can provide to us about what the people were like at that time. What they were really worried about in their day-to-day lives. All the little nuances that failed to survive throughout the ages. I know how much this must be disconcerting to you, Andrew, and I'm not trying to belittle what you're going through at this moment. I'm just trying to make you see the other side of things. I know ancient Egypt isn't your favorite subject," reaching over and taking hold of Andrew's arm with they were a quarter of the way to the obelisk, "I know that's because of what I did and how you must have wanted to do whatever you could to forget me for what I did. I can never, ever apologize enough for that; I will hate myself until I'm dead for missing out on those years with you. How I would give anything to be able to turn back time and take you with me or share half a year with your father for custody. Yet, I can't; all I can do is move forward and hope that someday you will forgive me on your own for what I did, the pain I caused you.

It's my hope that if I can help you in figuring out what you're seeing, that maybe we can work on rebuilding what I willingly left behind for a dream. That you could maybe learn to turn what you know into something useful while providing a good life for you and your future. And as your future Queen, we, my Pharaoh," she whispered sinfully in ancient Egyptian, "will use all the leaders of our kingdom to guide Egypt back into the spotlight," Alex said in a regal tone as she struck a royal pose.

Wondering if his mother had suspected that the gods had a hand in her departure now that she knew the gods were real and who they were related to. Andrew pondered on that as his eyes studied his mother's face. Shaking the thought from his mind, at the time, he knew she didn't, so he couldn't place all the blame on her since he knew firsthand that the gods did twist Fate to set this whole thing up to get him back to Egypt. However, that didn't mean she was off the hook either. Nonetheless, given who was in earshot, he didn't know if it was wise to speak it in front of Bast.

"Can't shake that, huh?" Andrew shot his mother a smirk as he placed his hand over hers.

"Nah-uh," shaking her head, a warm, loving smile was on her lips, "I am a Princess of Egypt; I want the land I've loved since I was your age restored to its glory. I might not understand what you're going through, yet I can imagine what Egypt was like back in those days. When it was at the height of its power before the collapse."​