Chapter 7 One mummy, no makeup

Buffy was worried when she heard someone at the door. Maybe it was Willow.

But when she opened the door, Giles was there.

'Good! You're here’, he said and came in.

'Yes. Not with my friends. Not at the dance,' said Buffy. She looked at Giles. 'You're a bit early. I'm not ready to go to the museum yet.'

'Things have changed. We're not going to find the bodyguard at the museum’, said Giles.

'Why not?'

'Because he's in the school toilets - dead. He's a mummy like Rodney.'

Buffy was surprised. 'I don't understand. Did the mummy kill her own bodyguard?'

'I've looked at the pictures on the plate again,' said Giles. 'The bodyguard protects the sarcophagus. With the bodyguard around, the mummy can't escape.'

'So Ampata didn't translate the pictures correctly'

'Maybe not’, said Giles.

Buffy was thinking. 'When we talk about the plate, Ampata always seems upset. Wait a minute - her bags!'

Buffy ran upstairs to her bedroom. Giles followed her.

'Look at the clothes’, she said to Giles. She pointed at Ampata's bags.

Giles looked through one of them. 'They're all boys' clothes! Why did she bring these?'

Buffy opened Ampata's second bag. There was a horrible kind of mummy smell - and a horrible dead mummy. 'What about this? What girl travels with a mummy and doesn't bring make-up?!'

'Ampata is our mummy!' said Giles.

'And our killer. Giles, she's at the dance with Xander!'

'Let's go! We don't have much time.'

***

In the car, Buffy and Giles were both thinking - hard.

'Ampata told us to destroy the plate’, said Buffy.

'Yes’, said Giles. 'The mummy couldn't escape with the plate there. It broke and she was free.'

Suddenly Buffy had an idea. 'Why don't we put the pieces of the plate together? Then she won't be free.'

'Very good’, said Giles. 'I'll go to the museum and look for the other pieces. I'll see you later.'

He stopped the car outside the Bronze, and Buffy ran inside.

She couldn't see Xander or Ampata, but she found Willow.

'Willow - we have to find Xander! Ampata is the mummy!'

'Really?' For a moment, Willow looked very happy - but only for a moment. 'Oh, no - what about Xander?!' 'Where did they go?' asked Buffy. 'They went out that way, I think.' They left the main room.

***

'Are all kisses like this?' Xander thought as Ampata kissed him. He was feeling weaker and weaker. He was starting to fall.

Suddenly, Ampata stopped. 'No, I can't!'

Xander fell onto the floor. Ampata sat down next to him. 'Xander, I'm so sorry,' she said.

Xander wanted to answer. But he couldn't speak.

Ampata stood up. 'Ow!' She touched her head. 'Stop! The plate!'

'Are you ill? What's wrong?' Xander asked, but Ampata ran off.

He lay on the floor. Soon he started to feel a bit stronger. 'Are you OK?'

He looked up. It was Buffy and Willow. 'I think so,' he said. He sat up. 'Wow - that kiss ...!' 'Where's Ampata?' Buffy asked. 'I don't know. She went off. She was talking about the plate.'

'The plate! Giles! Come on!' Buffy said.

'What?' Xander stood up slowly. 'I don't understand.'

'He doesn't know,' said Willow.

'We'll tell him on the way there,' said Buffy, and they all hurried out.

***

The princess hated the Inca Room at the museum. But she had to go back there. When that stupid boy, Rodney, broke the plate, she was finally free. Free after 500 years. She was never going back to her old life. Now she had Xander. For the first time in her life, she was in love.

As she walked towards the sarcophagus, she heard a voice. She knew that man! It was Giles, the teacher interested in archaeology. He was next to the sarcophagus, and he was reading from one of his books.

She watched him. He was putting pieces of the plate together. The princess felt weaker and weaker.

No! Her arms and legs were looking older and older. She moved towards Giles.

That's it,' he said to himself. 'The last piece!'

Ampata took the plate and threw it on the floor. It broke into lots of small pieces. With her other hand, she held Giles's throat. She moved closer. She wanted to kiss him. She needed to feed.

Just then, a voice came from behind her. 'Leave Giles alone. He's too young for you!'

It was Buffy. She jumped over to Ampata and hit her quickly twice. Ampata was surprised. Clearly, Buffy wasn't an ordinary girl. Ampata dropped Giles's body into the sarcophagus and was ready to fight. Buffy tried to hit her again, but Ampata held her arm back.

'This girl is strong,' she thought to herself. ‘I will feed on her.' She tried to kiss her, but Buffy was too quick. She jumped on Ampata's back. Ampata turned and Buffy fell into the sarcophagus. Quickly, Ampata closed it. Good! Giles and Buffy couldn't get out.

But the princess was feeling weak. She had to feed on someone very soon. She turned a corner and saw Willow. She took Willow's throat in her hand. Willow was very frightened.

'Leave her alone!' It was Xander. Ampata turned. She wanted to cry. 'Xander - Willow is my last sacrifice. After this we can be together.' 'That will never happen,' said Xander. The princess felt weaker and weaker. ‘I must do it’, she said. She moved closer to Willow.

'No!' Xander shouted. He jumped between the two girls. Ampata was now too weak to fight.

Xander looked into the princess's eyes. He was very angry. 'Take my life instead.'

The princess was frightened. She didn't want to kill Xander. But she didn't want to die. She finally had an ordinary life and she couldn't leave it now. Not for Xander. Not for anyone.

She looked at Xander and moved towards him for their last kiss. Just then, the top of the sarcophagus opened and Buffy jumped towards the princess.

Buffy pulled her away from Xander and threw her across the room. Suddenly Xander was only holding a pair of arms.

Ampata's body crashed heavily to the floor - and then she felt ... nothing. It was the end.

The next morning he and Buffy walked to school together. Xander was unusually quiet. Finally he said, ‘I’m a really fun guy today, huh!?’

'It's OK,' said Buffy. 'We don't have to talk.'

'I can't believe it, Buffy’, he said sadly. 'I am so unlucky with women.'

'I think Ampata really liked you,' Buffy said. 'It wasn't her fault. She was a young girl. She never really lived. It's difficult when you can't choose your own life. She's like me - I didn't choose to be a Vampire Slayer. And I wasn't very happy about it at first.'

Xander looked at her. 'But you've done the right thing. You've sacrificed your life.'

Buffy smiled. 'I've got my friends. They help me.'

Xander smiled back. Anything could happen when you lived on the Hellmouth. They all knew that. But for the moment Buffy and the Slayerettes were safe.