3rd Person's POV

KNOCK KNOCK.

Buffy opens the door to her house looking surprised as Giles saunters his way past her.

"Thank heavens you're home."

Buffy grimaces with a shrug, "Yup! Not at the dance. Not with my friends. Not with a life. What are you doing here? I thought we were gonna meet at the museum to find the bodyguard."

Giles frowns shaking his head, "No, he's already been found. In a school restroom... Mummified."

Buffy freezes immediately feeling totally and utterly confused. She stares at Giles as he paces back and forth.

"Okay, I don't get it. Why would the mummy kill her own bodyguard?"

"Well, I've cross-referenced, and, uh, I've looked at the pictograms anew. He was a guard alright. But it was his job to insure that the mummy didn't awaken and escape."

Buffy frowns, "So, Ampata translated wrong."

"Perhaps."

"Hold on a sec. She was wiggy about the seal from minute one."

Giles nods slowly still not understanding, "Yes, I suppose she was."

A thought comes to Buffy's head making her eyes widen, "Her trunks!"

She runs up the stairs without hesitation leaving Giles standing by the stairs in confusion.

"I beg your pardon?"

Shaking his head, Giles follows Buffy upstairs to find her opening Ampata's luggage.

"Here you look in this one and I'll look in that one."

Giles goes through Ampata's things with a frown, "It's certainly all boys' clothes. Why would a girl pack these?"

Buffy tears open the lock on the trunk and lifts the lid, "How 'bout this one? What kind of girl travels with a mummified corpse? And doesn't even pack a lipstick?"

...

"She's in ecstasy,
Her hollowed sky,
Pours down heavenly,
Fakes desire."

A group of girls enters the Bronze. Cordelia comes in behind them with Laney by her side and stops to look around.

"Wow best dressed again."

Laney scoffs, "Always. No doubt about it Cordy."

Cordelia glances over at Laney's cultural outfit. She was wearing a beautiful head scarf that went to her knees. Along with a strapless red tie like top and a colorful skirt. She was wearing blinged out sandals with an anklet and she had huge colorful diamond earrings.

Cordelia then looks down at her Hawaiian outfit and sighs. For the first time she felt like someone beat her. Of course she was okay with it being Laney it just still felt weird to Cordelia to not be number one.

"Oh wow," Laney says snapping Cordelia out of her inner monologue.

"What?"

"Dingoes ate my baby... weird name. Good music. I'm impressed."

Cordelia nods smiling looking at her new fling Devon sing onstage, "I told you they were good."

Laney nods, "Better than good."

Cordelia gasps making Laney jump, "You should totally join. Tell Devon you sing!"

Laney shakes her head with wide eyes, "Oh no no no no no. No thank you. I'm not that good. Everyone would just laugh and leave."

"Uh no they really wouldn't. But I'll let it go for now. Come on."

"I've been living here,
In the red,
I've been feeling I'm,
Dead again."

Cordelia spots Willow wearing her Eskimo costume. She pulls Laney over to the girl and chuckles.

"Oh! Near faux pas! I almost wore the same thing."

She continues on her way. Willow frowns looking down at her outfit.

Laney smiles sheepishly patting Willow's shoulder, "Hey you look great Will. Honestly."

Willow frowns looking at Laney's beautiful outfit, "Thanks..."

Laney nods with a smile then turns away leaving Willow standing there alone. She quickly finds Cordelia standing with her friend Dawn and her exchange student Sven. Catching up to them she hears Dawn say she would take Sven to go get punch.

"Hey wanna dance?"

Cordelia thinks for a second then grins, "Duh!"

Grabbing Laney's hand, Cordelia pulls Laney to the dance floor. The two squeeze through people and make their way up to the front of the crowd. Cordelia was right when she said there would be fan girls near the front of the stage. Laney sways side to side listening to the music. Feeling eyes on her she looks up and sees a handsome tall brunette guy staring down at her as he plays the bass on the stage.

Xander and Ampata finally arrive. He takes her hands  Ampata looks around and sees Willow in her Eskimo outfit. Willow is heartbroken to see them together like that.

"I think I should've worn something sexy."

Xander spots her and leads Ampata over to her table.

Willow smiles painfully, "Wow. You guys look great."

Ampata nods grinning, "I-I love your costume. It's, it's very authentic."

"Thanks..."

Xander nods smiling sheepishly, "Yeah, you look, um... snug."

Willow looks around stiffly. She can hardly move in her outfit, "That's what I was going for. Where's Buffy?"

...

"I should've guessed. Remember Ampata wanted us to hide the seal?"

Giles nods frantically, "And then she wanted us to destroy it becau- Oh wait!"

"Uh, waiting..." Buffy frowns confused.

"Well, we already know that the seal was used to contain the mummy. If breaking it freed her..."

Buffy thinks slowly figuring out what Giles had come to conclusion, "...reassembling it will trap her."

"I'll go to the museum. I'll drop you off. I'll try to piece together the fragments there."

"Okay, I'll still get Xander. Before he gets smoochy with Mummy Dearest."

...

Willow watches longingly as Xander and Ampata walk past her. On the dance floor Xander and Ampata touch hands and slowly intertwine their fingers. Xander smiles at her. Ampata lets go of Xander's hand and slowly moves it around his neck.

On stage, Oz notices a girl in the crowd and stares intently.

"Hey."

Devon comes over to him.

"That girl. Who is she?"

Devon thinks he means Ampata, "She's an exchange student. I think she's from South America."

Oz shakes his head still staring intently into the crowd, "No, not her. The Eskimo!"

Devon looks confused at Oz but shakes his head and walks back to the mic to continue singing. Oz is enamored of Willow.

...

Giles is back at the museum trying to put the last pieces of the seal together. Ampata sneaks a peek in from the exhibit entryway and sees him there. She quietly makes her way over to him.

"There, that's it." Giles sniffles holding the seal up, "Just one more piece. "

Ampata reaches around his shoulder from behind and pulls him up. She takes the seal from his hand and throws it to the floor, smashing it to pieces. She grabs him by the neck and lifts him onto the rim of the stone coffin just as Buffy arrives.

"I'll say one thing for you Incan mummies," Ampata looks at her in shock, "You don't kiss and tell."

Buffy makes a long, high leap onto the platform and adopts a fighting stance.

"Looks like you've been keeping secrets from me!" Ampata shoves Giles into the coffin, "You're not a normal girl."

Buffy scoffs, "And you are?"

She does a roundhouse kick to Ampata's face and another kick to her side. She throws a punch, but Ampata is strong, too, and catches Buffy's fist and swings her around onto the rim of the coffin. She grabs Buffy's neck and tries to choke her. Buffy headbutts Ampata, making her stagger back. She tries to kick but Ampata ducks it. Buffy lunges for her, and Ampata grabs her by the shoulder and diverts her into the coffin. She closes the stone lid on the two of them.

Willow comes running in as Ampata starts to leave. She grabs Willow by the neck and picks her up.

"This won't hurt!"

Willow begins to choke. Ampata moves in to kiss her.

"Let her go!" Xander calmly walks in, "If you're gonna kiss anybody, it should be me."

Ampata frowns, "Xander, we can be together." She looks back at Willow, "Just... just let me have this one."

Xander frowns shaking his head, "That's never gonna happen."

"I must do it. I must do it now! Or it is the end for me and for us!" She tries to kiss Willow again, but Xander jumps in to stop her.

"NO!" He pulls Willow away from her, "You want life? You're gonna have to take mine. Can you do that?"

Ampata looks into his eyes as she considers. Her skin has mummified up to her neck.

"Yes!"

She grabs his neck and tries to pull him to her as he holds her away by her arms. Buffy kicks at the lid of the coffin and gets it open. Xander keeps holding Ampata at bay and watches as she turns back into a mummy.

Buffy comes up behind Ampata and pulls her off of Xander. His grip on her arms is so tight that they are torn from their sockets. Xander is freaked out and drops them. Buffy looks at Ampata's body and drops it, too. The head breaks off of the body as it hits the floor. Buffy is grossed out as Willow just stares at what's left, then looks at Xander and comes over to him. She crouches down next to him, holding his arm and rubbing his shoulder. He looks up at her a moment, then back down at his hands. Giles is out of the coffin now, and he and Buffy collect them to go. Giles looks back briefly as they leave the exhibit.

...

"Wait hold on... what happened?"

Willow sighs as Laney looks confused. Laney had been with Cordelia and so she wasn't able to help out the Scooby Gang with the mummy. Little did Laney know Ampata was the mummy.

"I knew there was something wrong with that chick."

Willow nods as they get closer to Buffy and Xander, "Yeah. He's really hurt though."

"I'm sure. They only knew each other for like three days."

"Laney..."

Laney scoffs, "What? I'm serious. But fine I'll be nice obviously. I'm not gonna be a bitch about it."

Willow nods with a light smile, "Good. I gotta go to history."

"Alright see you later."

Laney quickly makes her way to Buffy and Xander as they walk along the colonnade.

"Hey guys."

Buffy smiles, "Hey."

Xander just nods.

Laney frowns, "Alrighty then a simple hey would be acceptable but it's fine I get it."

Xander exhales, "I'm really the Fun-Talking Guy today, huh? Sorry."

Buffy shrugs, "That's okay. You don't have to talk."

"I just, present company excluded, I have the worst taste in women of anyone."

Laney laughs, "No argument there."

Xander chuckles pushing Laney's arm, "So we Bronze bound tonight?"

Laney shakes her head, "Nope sorry I'm going to a party with Cordy."

"Just be careful."

"I'm always careful."

...

"Come on in. Welcome to my humble abode."

Laney rolls her eyes with a light chuckle as Devon opens the door to his house. Squeezing past him she grins looking at the large crowd. Cordelia allows Devon to kiss her cheek before she grabs Laney's hand and pulls her to the kitchen.

"Isn't this sweet?"

"Yeah totally. Maybe a cute guy will catch your attention!"

Laney scoffs, "Yeah sure. They have to look like freaking Superman to be able to gain my attention."

"Xander wasn't Superman worthy."

"We don't talk about those times."

Cordelia holds her hands up in surrender as she laughs, "Fine fine. Alright I gotta pee already. Hold this for me, I'll be right back."

"Okay if you're not back in two minutes I'm coming in swinging."

Cordelia shakes her head, "I'll be quick."

Laney watches as Cordelia runs around the corner in hopes of finding a vacant bathroom. Sighing Laney slips Cordelia's crossbody around her then reaches for a red solo cup. Just as she reaches for it another hand touches hers. Quickly pulling back Laney starts to stammer out an apology.

"Shoot I'm sorry. Go ahead."

"No no you're good. You were here first."

"No seriously it's fine."

"Here how about I make you a drink. We'll call it even."

Laney looks at the guy internally screaming in joy. This was the bass player from Devon and Oz's band. He was very attractive but Laney definitely knew to keep her wall up. He looked like a player and she wouldn't allow any more guys to break her heart.

"Yeah right."

He guy smiles taking in Laney's appearance. He quickly yet slyly looks her up and down, smirking.

"I'm Colby, Devon's older brother."

Laney stares at Colby as he holds out his hand, "And I'm just supposed to trust you Colby? No offense but most parties like this the guy usually takes this chance to drug the girls drink when she's not paying attention."

Colby grins, "Well what if I'm actually a nice guy who actually really wants to talk to a pretty girl and was going to make her a nonalcoholic drink."

Laney squints her eyes in confusion as she tries to figure him out, "It usually doesn't work like that."

"Listen... I think you're gorgeous. I just wanted to some talk to you truly. If you're not up for it. That's totally fine."

Laney thinks for a moment.

"I'm Laney."