Disclaimer: I don't own or claim to own the Mummy. The character of Ardeth Bay and the Medjai belong to Stephen Summers and Universal Studios. All other characters are products of my imagination and are therefore mine; any similarity in their names, etc. are purely coincidental.

Author's Note: For some background info on this story, please go to my author's page.

Prologue

Twenty-four year old Lexa Morgan rushed down the halls of the ICU until she reached the dreadful hospital room which threatened to tear her happiness away. Her older sister of four years – her best friend and her whole world – was lying inside, dying of a freak accident which she still didn't quite understand.

"Lexa?" She paused and looked up, her piercing grey eyes shocked the doctor who stood before her. The doctor looked distracted for a moment before he recovered himself and spoke to her. Lexa chose to ignore it; she was used to people's reaction by now. "I'm Dr. Lewis. Your sister just got out of surgery. She had a collapsed lung, a couple of broken ribs from her fall…"

"Is she going to be ok? The nurses told me that there was an accident in her kitchen?" She trailed off, not wanting to picture what had caused her sister's accident.

"Yes," Dr. Lewis continued. "Apparently she slipped and tried to grab hold of the counter to steady herself. Unfortunately certain stray kitchen utensils got in the way. She was stabbed by a knife, which punctured her lung." Not getting the response she wanted and annoyed at the fact that the doctor was attempting to crack a joke in this dire situation, Lexa tried to push past the doctor into her sister's room. Dr. Lewis stopped her. "She's lost a lot of blood, Lexa. Her injuries were too severe. If she were bought in earlier there might have been a chance we could've done something to save her…I'm sorry." He really did look sorry.

Tears began to fill her eyes. "How long does she have?" she asked softly. "Not too long. We've given her morphine for the pain. You can have a couple of minutes with her."

--

Lexa held her breath when she entered the room. It was extremely quiet, and she heard the sounds of the machines which kept her sister alive beeping, as well as her sister's soft and raspy breathing. Lying on the bed was Thalia Morgan, an older version of Lexa. The once beautiful woman was now pale and dying before her. Lexa's hands shook as she reached out to brush the strands of the light brown hair from her sister's face.

As if she felt her sister's presence, Thalia slowly opened her eyes. The same piercing grey eyes stared back at Lexa. "Hello, baby sister," she said in a weak voice.

Lexa wiped the tears from her eyes. "I came as soon as I heard. They said you were in an accident – I don't understand. How did this happen?" Her sister wasn't a clumsy person. In fact, Thalia was perfectly coordinated. Too perfect.

"It happened. All I know is that I don't plan on leaving knives lying around in the kitchen". Thalia's laugh turned into a cough. She tried to smile to reassure her sister, but even she knew of the seriousness of her situation.

"It's ok, I'm going to fix this. You'll be jumping around in no time." Lexa rolled up the sleeves of her sweater and positioned herself beside her sister's hospital bed.

"Alexandra Leila Morgan," Thalia's grey eyes were now serious and cold. "You will not use your powers on me. Your mother and I didn't teach you anything beyond healing simple cuts and the common cold. You can't heal wounds this big without knowing what it'll do to you. Besides, we've been over this a million times. What will people think if I suddenly got up from my bed with no signs of injury? What will they do to you?" Pictures of herself as a lab rat and prisoner flashed through Lexa's mind.

"I don't care. I'm not going to lose you. Not to a couple of stupid kitchen knives," Lexa knew that she sounded like a child at the moment, but she didn't care. This was her sister lying on the bed. She would trade her own life if her sister could live.

"I know. Lexa, you know that I love you with all my heart, but you're going to have to let nature take its course on this one. It's my time," Thalia's voice was stronger now.

"You know I can't. I love you, and you can't leave me. First mom and dad, and now you. I can't be alone," Lexa's tears were falling freely now. "You can't leave me here all by myself!" Lexa knew that she was throwing a child-like tantrum, but she didn't care.

"Hush," Thalia tried to calm her sister down. She grasped Lexa's hand in hers. "I don't have a lot of time. The nurses will come in soon. You have to listen to me."

Lexa felt something cold touch her hands. Confused, she looked and saw that her sister had given her a gold necklace with a small pendant. Holding it closer, she gasped when she saw what it was – a shield with a symbol of two crossing spears which formed the shape of an X. It looked just like the birthmark she bore on her left arm.

"It was Mom's, given to her to remind her of her destiny and of her responsibility. It's now yours – to remind you of your lineage and your destiny," explained Thalia. Lexa's head was spinning, and she was so confused that she allowed her sister to continue talking. "You're a special one, Lexa – your superhero power of healing is one dead giveaway. The world is in danger, and you're the chosen warrior. Your mother and I tried our best to protect you, to keep it from you as long as we can, in the hopes that the prophecy wouldn't come to pass and you could just live your life normally – "

"What are you talking about, Thalia? You're not making any sense. Destiny, prophecy, chosen warrior…the doctors must have given you too much medication." The concerned Lexa reached for the button to call for a nurse.

"Stop", she grabbed Lexa's arm before Lexa could do anything, but she was beginning to feel so tired that her eyes were dropping. "Please listen…go to Egypt… Find the Medjai…so sorry…love you…" Thalia was asleep.

Lexa tried to wake her sister up, but a nurse came in and told her that visiting hours were over. For the next week, she spent every waking moment beside her sister. The topic never came up in their conversations again.