A voice cried from down the hall, "HELP!"
Mara awoke and burst from her sarcophagus. She was joined by Rath, Ja'kal, Nefer and Armon. Scarab was there too, threatening the young prince.
"Mara? What are you--?" Rath began, wide eyed, but there was a more pressing matter at hand.
"With the strength of Ra!" the five guardians cried. Armor appeared on their long-dead bodies.
Ja'kal's armor took the form of a falcon, Nefer's a panther, Armon's a ram, Rath's a serpent and Mara's a jackal.
There were only a few shabti this time and they were easily defeated. With Ja'kal's bow and arrow, Nefer's whip, Armon's indestructible metal arm, Rath's sword and Mara's daggers the job was done in no time.
But Scarab transformed into his purple beetle-like armor and said, "you'll have to do better than that."
He grasped Rapses and flew away, crashing a hole through the ceiling.
"Let me go!" the prince cried, struggling to break free.
Ja'kal shot an arrow through the boy's shirt, releasing him from Scarab's grasp. Armon caught the prince.
"The boy is mine," Scarab growled.
"Not while we are here," Ja'kal said, shooting a flaming arrow at Scarab, who fled just in time into the noon-day sky.
"Coward," Mara growled, glaring at the spot where he'd disappeared.
"Mara!" Rath said quietly taking her hand. Then, realizing what he'd done, he took a step back and asked, "ahem, how are you here? I thought only the sworn guardians would be brought back to protect the prince."
"The Pharaoh must have given her the title after finding that she'd died protecting Rapses," Ja'kal said.
"I'll never…" Nefer said, closing his eyes tightly and bowing his head, "Never, even after an eternity in the heavens, forget the sight of your body lying in the sand."
"No," Rath said, "nor forgive myself for failing to save you."
"Don't blame yourselves, my friends," Mara said, "I only did what any of you would have done. It was an honor to give my life in the service of my prince."
She motioned to the young boy standing nearby.
"So I guess you're the good guys," the boy said, "but we gotta get out of here. No way I could explain this to mom. What a mess!"
The room in which they stood was almost completely destroyed by all the fighting.
"You are wise, young prince," Ja'kal said, "Even the desert lion retreats when the pack of hunting dogs is too large. Armon, after you."
Armon threw Prince Rapses' sacred cat through the hole in the roof and used her wrappings to climb out, leading the others.
Once safe outside, the mummies used their amulets to remove their armor.
"Whoa," the young boy said, "how do you do that?"
"Magic," Rath explained simply.
"So why don't you guys stay pumped up all the time?" the boy asked, "it makes you look less...dead."
"The magic that gives us strength is limited. When it wanes, we must rest in our sarcophagi to renew it," Ja'kal explained.
"Kind of like my mom's cell phone," the prince said.
"What is a cell phone?" Armon asked.
"Ah," Rath said, "well, it's a, um...you...wouldn't understand."
"Well I guess we cannot go back there now," Ja'kal said.
"Hey, I know where you guys can hang out for a while," the boy said, "you can come to my place."
He led them through back alleys to avoid being seen. It was not a far walk back to the child's home.
"Hurry! We've got some pretty snoopy neighbors," the boy said, opening the door for the mummies.
"The great house of your father in Memphis was much...er...larger," Rath said as they all walked in.
"How'd you know my dad was from Memphis?" the prince asked.
"We know every detail of your life," Ja'kal said, "you are Rapses, the only son of the Pharaoh, Amenhotep."
"Hold on, guys," the prince said holding up his hands, "the name is Presley Carnovan. I only woke you guys up because those clay-face dudes were chasing me."
"They were chasing you because you are Rapses," Ja'kal said as the boy closed the door behind them.
"You got the wrong guy, pal!" the boy cried, "I'm not Rapses! I've never even been to Egypt! Who are you guys?"
"I am Ja'kal," Ja'kal said, "This is Armon, Rath and Mara. And he is Nefer."
Nefer sat in a chair next to the wall.
"You mean she?" the prince asked.
All four of the other guardians gasped.
"Actually, the prince is right," Nefer said, standing up and removing her helmet, revealing a full head of thick white hair, "I am Nefertina. I only pretended to be a man since women are not allowed to drive the chariots of the Pharaoh."
"No wonder he never went swimming in the Nile with us!" Armon said to Ja'kal.
"Only prince Rapses knew," Nefertina said, placing her hand on the boy's shoulder.
The prince groaned. "Would you guys give the Rapses thing a rest?"
"So let me get this straight," Presley said, "You're supposed to guard the Pharaoh's son even though you're, like, mummies. So if I'm in trouble--er, Rapses is in trouble--you call on Ra and whoever to give you the power to kick butt right?"
"Why in the name of Ra would anyone want to kick Tut?" Rath asked.