mummy maddness

so jeannie finds herself in egypt, dressed up like lara croft from tomb raider cause she thought that'd be a good costume for exploring which was kinda what she was here for,

well at the moment she was lost and not really sure what it was she was looking for.  her and her friend dire was attacked by  icky  bug thingy it had got away but she wants to figure out what it was and how to squish it sense she'd hate to see him get hurt if the bug thingy came after them again.

she thinks it said it was a locust, she remember seeing something on tv that pyramids  have doodles of funny bugs on them or in them. anyway she thought maybe it was like some kinda mummy curse thingy, oh that be neat if she  saw one of them. she never seen one before.

huh maybe she could find a expert on magical stuffs like that as she  wasn't  too knowledgeable on them things,but first she needs to get unlost wandering in the dessert probably wasn't the best idea. so she spied a camel and decided to ask it for directions

At first glance, the two individuals riding the camel didn't seem out of the ordinary. The one in front was taller than the passenger behind them, but nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Not yet, anyway.

As Jeannie approached, more seemed off. The main rider was easily identified, probably one of the locals. But the smaller individual was more extensively robed in pale linens, so much so that the individual couldn't be made out. The mysterious passenger sat cross-legged, but seemed to realize the pair were no longer alone.

With the slightest turn of the head, the passenger addressed Jeannie. "Fancy meeting you here, Indy", she sarcastically greeted. Seems she knew English, and had a New Yorker accent to boot. And this close, Jeannie's sense could something was off about this passenger. She stunk. It wasn't overwhelming, but there was a critter musk to her that seeped from the robe.

The rider began to speak up, but the passenger muttered something under her breath. "Antazir. 'Ana la 'athiq baha." Something in Arabic, and if Jeannie knew anything about the language, it wasn't spoken well. Was probably taken off Google Translate or something, and those words were recited much too slow to be a fluent speaker.

"Y'look lost. Yer not trouble, are ya?" The click of a gun behind the robes, probably the hammer of a revolver. Typical American. "Right. Why don't y'tell me who you are? I'm a bit... cautious. Expecting company, n' not the good kind. You get me, Indy?"

Wait. Was Jeannie seeing this right, or was the tip of a dark animal nose poking from behind the cowl of the passenger's robe...?

Jeannie was kinda confused the second person had something odd about her Jeannie could put her nose on it, huh maybe the girl's nose, well she thought it sounded like a girl.

well she for sure knew sounded like a gunoh yes I am lost everything is so dusty here it all looks alike. are you a guard of some kind? they usually point guns before asking questions

jeannie smiles happily to find someone who seemed to know where she was. she supposed it was better than being lost but still kinda bad odd people pointing guns at her.

am i trespassing or something? I didn't mean to end up in your pile of dirty just did. I'm looking for pyramids see. oh I'm Jeannie, not indy, nice to meet you I gusses

Jeannie watches the odd lady hoping she would maybe be more friendly if she explained.

Behind the pale robe, Dana canted her head. The bad news was that this passerby seemed interested in the pyramids, where it just so happened weird stuff was going down. The good news is that she didn't give any real red flags to the vixen. Part of the Apocalypse Fox's paranoid mind made her think this cosplayer was being intentionally... ditzy.

And what was with all the hatred of dust? Stuff filled the crumbling buildings that Dana had explored. Heck, even ones with occupants were still dusty. Was this... huh. Jeannie, right? Was Jeannie a germaphobe or something?

Dana carefully reset the hammer of her revolver. Better not to have it cocked unless she intended to shoot this woman. "A guard? Yeah, something like that. But yer in luck. We don't see a point in wasting ammo on someone who doesn't deserve it."

Yeah. A guard against the supernatural. Which led Dana to her next statement.

"Ind-- er, Jeannie. Y'say yer lookin' for pyramids? Didja get lost from a tour group or something? Y'got a great Indiana Jones cosplay n' all, but we're not takin' tourists." The pot to call the kettle black, Dana scoffed internally toward herself. She wouldn't have been on this excursion if she wasn't being a tourist herself.

She thought her words over a bit. Better not to let this Jeannie know about the weird stuff that's going on at the pyramids. Dana wasn't even allowed to interfere in this happenstance either, really. But the last thing she needed to do is get this woman eaten by whatever hellish beings lingered in the tombs. Or cursed. Or slaughtered by a trap. Or even gunned down by whatever rent-a-cops the Egyptian government hired to keep people from defiling a super-old, super-big limestone triangle or three.

That was for the Apocalypse Fox to deal with, and the Apoc-Fox alone. No stragglers, no one to babysit, no casualties she couldn't stop.

She hesitated as she typed something into the phone she hid under her sleeve. She then whispered something to the rider ahead of her. Again, this was in shoddy Arabic, but Jeannie's hearing could make out the words regardless of knowing that language. "Asnae shyyan hataa tughadira. Bisureat ya sahi!"

The man raised a brow at Dana's butchered sentence, then turned his head to face Jeannie. He spoke up in English, "We are to inspect the pyramids for reported intruders."

Dana hissed under her breath, "Shit!" She then snarled at the rider aloud, "Ghabiun!" Whatever this term meant, it was mostly said by irate-sounding youths in the city. And oddly enough, it sounded the most well-spoken Arabic word this mysterious traveler had spoken yet. There was also the issue of a very fox-like tail tip peeking from under the robe at this point, yet alone the snarling fox muzzle jutting forward to cuss at Dana's transport...

Jeannie was happy the lady didn't want to shoot her that hurts. too bad, she doesn't seem too interested in being friends.

Jeannie sneezes silly dust you and my sensitive nosey don't mix she pulls a colorful hanky from her pocket and blows her nose. she then gets a bottle of allergy pills from her bag and takes some.

she then notices something being able to smell again sniffing the air. hey do you have a doggy with you I love doggies, huh I smell one somewhere.

she smiles when the lady mentioned her cosplay oh thanks yeah thought I should try and look the part if I'm going to be exploring.no me not lost tourist I am lost though.

she scratches her head wondering how to best explain things. I am investigating I think the funny bugs on the pyramid have to do with this odd string of crimes me and a friend was investigating were these weird bugs got into peoples minds and made them like zombies

she playfully acts like a zombiemaybe the intruders you are looking for have something to do with it, like a mummy curse or something.

she then notices the tail poking out and is distracted again.you do have a puppy
with comical ease, Jeannie hops on the camel behind them and tries to peek under the robe to find the puppy.

come out and play puppy!

At some point while cussing out the rider that blew her cover, three things occurred to Dana. One, this Jeannie knew about the weird and dangerous locusts that had been appearing and attacking at the pyramids. Two, the woman also wanted to investigate the pyramids for the same reason as Dana and her escort. Three, Dana's concealing robes no longer concealed her beastly body.

Sighing loudly, the vixen pressed her fingers into the bridge of her snout. As the woman reached for the hem of her robe, she scooted back and tugged her tail away. "Don't do that", she yipped indignantly.

The Apoc-Fox then raised an arm and dropped the hood, turning her head and staring down at Jeannie from atop the camel. Her tuft of fluff between her ears was messed up from the robe, awkwardly poking over one of her glaring, pine-green eyes. She let her legs drop, paw-like feet and ankles poking from beneath the bleached linens. By now Jeannie could see both the 9mm revolver in her right hand, and a weirdly retro-looking cellphone in her left. Both the gun and the phone looked weathered and worn, well beyond any normal wear-and-tear.

"Guess the fox's outta the bag", Dana scoffed. "Me n' Bakari here were goin' the same way. Y'know more about the locust swarms than others, I take it?" She turned her snoot a little toward Bakari the rider, adding "May as well spill th' beans, right?"

Bakari nodded. "I am a guard for the pyramids. Off-duty. This... Apocalypse Fox from the United States, she says she can help end this curse. She told me she is a monster hunter. Hmph, takes a creature to hunt them, no?" By now, he's got a concerned look on his face as he turns the conversation back over to Dana.

Dana grimaces at Bakari's remark, shrugging the shoulder dismissively. "Yer goddamn right I'm a monster hunter. Had a plan n' everything to get my tail inside. But hey, Jeannie, this's dangerous. If you didn't mention the locusts n' their zombie curse stuff, I'd tell you again t'go back. So lemme ask y'this".

At this point, Dana raises the pistol back up at Jeannie. She hasn't cocked the thing, and her expression might tell that she's trying to act tougher than she feels. Reluctant to have help and a liability, the fox can't help but wonder if this odd woman before her could be more helpful than just the random guard beside her with a camel and a submachine gun. "Do y'got more in ya than a little too much info? Or should I send y'packing back to yer hotel? If yer some kinda super, now's the time to tell me, 'cause the last thing I need is to bring some normie to get zombified. Y'get me?"

Jeannie looks at Danna amused that she was a talking fox.

monster? I think you are cute actually a werefox is much nicer than a werewolf

she scratches her head thinking

you are some kinda werefox yes? huh never seen that before, might you be a Kitsune? but those are usually from Japan, and he said you are from America. skinwalker perhaps. but your accent suggests eastern new york or jersey, skinwalkers are more common in Native American lore from the western area.

Jeannie then realizes she is rambling and turns her attention back to answering the question.

oh yeah I am a super if you mean like comic books I don't wear a cape but I have powers and am actually like you a hunter. my card

she reaches into her bag and hands the fox lady a business card.  it reads Jeannie Rose bounty hunter /private investigator.  867-5309

right so now that we are friends you can put that scary old gun away, and we can go on a fun adventure!

Jeannie smiles happy with the idea of adventure and making an interesting new friend. if the guard and fox were paying attention they might have noticed her canine-like teeth.

but first there something important i need to ask

Jeannie makes a kinda  serious face before making a Cheshire cat smile

can i pet your ears? they look so soft and fluffy, you can pet mine if you want there not fluffy but their cutie.

she pushes back her hair so they can see her elf-like ears.

Though Dana huffed at being called cute, she couldn't help but pay attention to Jeannie's words about other beings like her. Werefoxes, kitsune, skinwalkers and the like. Although her scowl got more grumpy at first toward being considered a were-animal, this is honestly the first she'd heard of other beings. Education wasn't common in her overgrown wasteland, and not even the tech cult she dabbled with had much intel on such creatures.

But she knew that if she asked this person more about them right now, she'd be breaking keyfabe. Dana had always assumed she was some sort of mutant animal -- some called them 'Moreaus' from where she came from. Well, if they were being polite. Otherwise they'd be called things like mutt, furry, yiffy or other apocalyptic slurs. Finding out the origin of that last one on an old website or two wasn't pleasant.

Shifting from a curious expression to her resting bitch face, she listened into the fellow hunter's words. "A card, huh? There real money to be made in the 'kill assholes for a living' industry?"

That'd make her out to be a merc, Dana thought to her self immediately. She's too sugary for that. Nah Dana-Marie, I bet this chick's not so different from you after all. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject hastily.

"Er. Well! Must be my lucky day", Dana dismissively shrugs, holstering the gun at last. Not like she didn't have a scarier old gun hidden on her, but the plasma it spewed was meant for the locusts and whatever devil-spawn caused this threat. "Ol' Sekhmet or someone musta sent you, maybe. Or Bast. One of Ra's murder-cat eyes, I'd bet."

The moment Jeannie asks to pet Dana's ears, a sarcastic chuckle leaves her mouth. "Not unless y'wanna get bit, girl." However, the devotion to a mean persona had its downsides -- Dana wasn't paying much as attention to Jeannie's face as she thought. Those pointy teeth were stretched wide in a whimsical grin, and Dana could see that Jeannie clearly wasn't as human as she assumed.

Between the fangs and the elven ears, the fox couldn't quite tell what to make of this acquaintance. It's not like she hadn't seen people who had some stranger traits to them. They were more common in Dana's wasted Earth than animal-people were. And like Jeannie claimed, those parahumans often had power to them that humans didn't. If Dana didn't know any better, she'd have thought that the investigator before her was someone displaced from her own Earth, or that she was mutated in the same way.

Either way, Dana's thoughts were cut short. She missed an especially leery gaze from Bakari, who muttered something in Arabic before saying in English, "This camel can hold one more. Hop on." He watches Jeannie with a tense look on his face, waiting for her to climb up as he handled his steed to make it crouch.

oh yeah there is lots of money to be made catching bad guys, you just got to find ones with lots of zeros on their posters. or if you catch like a whole gang or something small fry can add up

Jeannie was happy the fox lady was seeming more friendly well besides the whole threatening to bite her most be touchy about her ears, she did have a catch that got annoyed when her other pets missed with its tail.

right then upsy dasiy! Jeannie hopes one the camel.

so who's this Sekhmet and Bast peoples? are they who sent you to get the monsters? don't know about ra but I do have cat's eyes. is that important for something?

The camel sets back off with Jeannie on its back. The pyramids were off in the distance, not too far of a journey. To pass the time, Dana responded to Jeannie's questions.

"Ah. Where to begin?" Recounting what she'd learned from her veritable step-mom, the fox spouted what lore she had. "Far as I've been told, Ra is the god of the sun in these lands. People used to worship him, and other gods like him, long ago. His daughters, the Eyes of Ra, are Bast and Sekhmet. Bast's the cat, while Sekhmet's the lion. They used to protect the two halves of Egypt before they came together as one."

Bakari grumbled behind him, "They are a part of our history and nothing more."

Dana shrugged dismissively. "If y'say so, but I disagree. Ain't here nor there. When we get close enough, you were gonna meet with the other guards and I was gonna slip into the pyramids, right? Jean, does that work for you?"

so there like magic kitties yay I like kitties meow

Jeannie wonders what they might look like picturing cats with wizard hats

oh yeah I guess that is a good plan, but how do we slip in they don't have doors. would be fun to climb to the top and slide down though. need to find a sled though that'd be rough on your butt, sense there big rocks

"Uh, yeah", Dana blinked as Jeannie referred to two of her goddesses as 'magic kitties'. "Somethin' like that.

One awkward silence later, Dana finally replied to worries about getting inside. Uh. So! I'm told the place is normally open, and even to th' public for private tours. Sneakin' in there plain of day seems impossible. No one's supposed t' get close right now without clearance. When Bakari here begins to chat up th' lead guards, we make a break for the entrance. Intel says th'place has been much too quiet, and is locked down from civvies gettin' too close.

Seemed vague enough to work! Never mind the fact that Dana knew as much about the deadly locusts and the zombies they produced as the guards, which was to say little. For all she knew, the three of them would arrive at the patrolled pyramid during a frantic attack. And if such creatures could take over people, what was stopping their controller from unleashing them wholescale across all of Cairo? Truth of the matter was, both Dana and Bakari were poorly informed about the gravity of the situation and by proxy, so was Jeannie.

Even if they had a good plan, it was sure to fall flat at the first sight of the enemy anyway. That's how it usually went. And this time was no exception. Though the camel wasn't moving as sluggish as romanticized -- a good 25 MPH trot, or 40 KPH for the chimera and the rest of the world -- Bakari lashed the reins and the humped critter began to dash faster and faster. "The blockade!", Bakari shouted behind him, "They have scattered!"

Dana whirled her head to the side, seeing the same horrors in the distance that Bakari just warned about. The rat-a-tat of automatic gunfire echoed in the near distance, armed guards falling back to fire at zombified citizens and tourists while trying to evade clouds of scattered beige and green. Some caught in the clouds reeled and stumbled as they were being overwhelmed, torn into before jolting eerily still.

"Son of a bitch!, Dana yowled. "Yo, Jeannie! Th' moment we get there is the moment we run! Bakari, let's aim for the side and pray to our gods we don't join the rotters, got it?"

Jeannie was surprised and amused yay I was hoping to see a mommy in Egypt eww something is smelly, run to the side of the pyramid? ok

Jeannie goes to follow foxy's plan but she doesn't want to leave the camel behind so she comically tries to push the camel along with them as they head for the pyramid

come on Mr. camel it's not safe here you can nap later

Jeannie was kinda confused with the plan

hey how come we're running away instead of trying to stop the zombies? isn't that the hero thing to do

By the time the three of them arrived, Bakari was already reaching for his SMG and Dana was already making a break away from the crowd. She was quick to pull a slate-colored pistol of weird make from her robes, casting them aside.

But as the scene unfolded, all Dana could do was hopelessly watch from afar. She stumbled to a halt. The guards were opening fire on the zombies, who were regular people once before. Some of the zombies seemed to shrug off the hail of bullets completely, while others continued to hobble or crawl as their limbs were ravaged by automatic fire. The swarm of locusts were now starting to overtake the gunners, and Dana couldn't tell if they'd still knew how to shoot.

Then Jeannie chimed in, quirky as ever, about the situation. Why they didn't stand and fight. How could either of them, short of a flamethrower or a boatload of insecticide, hope to stand against those unholy insects? How could they attack citizens, tourists and guards who were just normal people? Surely there had to be a way to destroy the bugs and lift the zombie curse?

All sorts of responses came to mind to try and answer Jeannie as Dana froze in place, holding her blaster in a shaking hand. Appeals to her mercy. The futility of fighting. The hope to break the curse by defeating whatever was commanding the chaotic brood. As she wiped away forming tears, back turned to Jeannie, she finally just blurted the first thing to come to mind. It wasn't very nice.

"Couldja shut yer fucking trap for like, two seconds?!" She snarled. "Unless you wanna die like them, get in the damned tomb with me!"

no need to be so mean about it

Jeannie starts crying then the camel acting like a dog rubbing up against her then tugs at her shirt getting her to move.

yeah good point Carl, being dead is no fun, so to the tomb, we go!  

huh, Jeannie wasn't sure if she could turn into a zombie or not since she doesn't get sick, and if she remembered resident evil right that was kinda how zombies worked viruses, or something like that.

with carl the camel in tow she follows Dana to the tomb.

reaching an opening she tries to get carl to go in not wanting to leave her new furry friend behind and with the zombies. but the large animal seemed stuck after some pushing they fall through the tunnel.

all abord and away we go!

Jeannie grabs dana as they fall dragging her along to they end up on top of carl riding him as they slide into the tomb.  

Jeannie cheers as they go like it was riding a roller coaster.  they ended up landing somewhere in the pyramid Jeannie giggles amused.

yay that was fun! lets do that again!

carl the camel snorts

well we didn't have time to look for an easier way down of a bigger door, lucky you fit buddy, idea hate to see you become a camel zombie

she pets him on the head then turns to dana

you ok foxy? the first step was a dossy, guesses stairs hadn't been invented when they built the place.