"Why would that woman want to destroy you Lutina? Who in Ra's name was she anyway?"

Breathing deeply, the female mummy couldn't turn to face the angry mummy standing before her. Running a hand through her long white locks, she searched her memory of who the woman might have been but so far, her recollection was failing her.

"Lutina, your silence isn't helping! This is very important."

"Don't give me that attitude now Ja-kal, I know what's at stake. Do you honestly think that I would keep something like her identity from you? Rath's been in his sarcophagus for hours already because of me. I'm trying here but what I've done back in Egypt always seems to precede everything I seem to have done since then."

Silence.

"I don't know, would you? You have been quiet about your time at the palace. Maybe it's someone you're trying to protect from us?" he wondered. "Maybe you knew that we would want to stop them from whatever plans they have and you have something to gain from this?"

Lutina climbed to her feet and she rushed the distance between her and her former teacher until their faces were only a few inches apart.

"Why would I ever do that? Haven't I been honest with enough since my reawakening? Haven't I tried to help you in any way I can to protect Rapses?" Lutina posed to him. "I always believed that you were around me enough at the palace to know that I almost always had to accompany Scarab wherever he went in the palace and I had to always be on my best behavior. I had no time for myself. No time to make plans with anyone but him and so you see me leaving in the middle of the night just so I can plot your downfall? Just remember that I recently betrayed him so I don't think he will be exactly waiting for me with open arms."

Ja-kal couldn't respond right away. He tried to summon up every memory he could from back at the palace after her assault He could not remember ever seeing her alone nor use her magical abilities between her capture and her rebirth into this day and age. All the same, something about the situation was nagging him and he couldn't explain what.

"Behold the almighty, ever insightful Ja-kal. You know how to read the situation and you are always correct in what you see before you. Maybe I should leave right now before I get someone else hurt," she snorted.

"Lutina, don't you think like that!"

Nefertina strode over to them, unable to help but listen to the conversation that had been quickly escalating to fill the room. The leader glared at her for the interference but remained quiet for the moment to see what else would be said.

"Nefertina, please don't. I know you believe in me but I think my past has already been too dominant in what defines me as a person. I know for Ja-kal, I will forever be an angry woman who once worked for your greatest enemy and I doubt there will be anything that can change his mind. I shall leave. Just please do one thing for me: tell Rath I am sorry. I didn't mean for it to end this way and without talking to him but it's probably better. He will want to come after me but I can't allow him to find me. I won't be a danger to him any longer," she replied before turning back to Ja-kal. "Looks like you finally getting your wish."

With that, she turned around and began to make her way to the exit. As they watched her leave the Sphinx, Nefertina twirled around to face her leader, a fuming stare on her face. She folded her arms across her chest before she stepped closer to him.

"What the hell was that all about? Do you honestly believe that she's still associating with everyone she came in contact with? I admit, her attack on the palace all those years ago was well more than a mistake. I also realize that you were completely unaware of what her true intentions were when you were in teaching her archery way back in Egypt but does that mean a person is completely unable to change? You've seen Rath in the last number of weeks. They have begun to talk and she has shown a great interest in what he does here, as him with her. I can't explain per se but it feels like his outlook on life has been transformed because of her and it's for the better. He's changed. Don't forget that there was a time where I had to hide who I was from you otherwise I would have never become one of Rapses' protectors. When you found out the truth, there was a time where it felt like the ability to do my job properly was in question. Has your confidence in me changed as well?" she posed to him.

Before Ja-kal could answer, she calmly walked away from him. This left him all alone in the room with only his thoughts keeping him company. The events by the bay troubled him in more ways than one. A good part of him wanted to believe that Lutina was telling the truth: that she had no idea who the woman was and why she attacked them. On the other hand, a small voice kept telling him that there was something that she was not telling them, perhaps in fear of being rejected yet again. He could only stand there, debating if he should go after Lutina and bring her back before it was too late.

00000

"Why did you bring me here?"

"My dear, you are extremely cunning and talented but you are not the most experienced sorceress I know. I brought you here to explain yourself for you managed to take down not one but two people with hardly any effort. I also know for a fact that one of those two people is a fierce opponent when threatened," Scarab explained to her.

The woman fumed as she stared out the window over the towering iron structures of San Francisco. Her arms crossed, she twirled around to stare at the man who 'kidnapped' her from her mission.

"How do you know I'm not going to kill you where you stand? That is - after all - what I came here to do," she contemplated.

"I don't but as you already know, I am a formidable opponent. I could have killed you earlier but I spared your life and for that, I would like an explanation as to why you are here to kill me and why you attacked the mummies," he demanded.

Without saying anything she returned her stare back out the window, the smoke emanating from her to fill the room. She gave a deep sigh before she turned back around to face the skyline.

"My entire life, there were always two people to which I was always compared. The women who raised me talked in hushed tones about a man and a woman who were long since gone. I could only hear bits and pieces but I knew that what they were saying wasn't good. I eventually found out that these two people had apparently committed atrocious deeds against the Pharaoh and for that, I could not live down the shame they brought me wherever I went," she replied.

"Apparently, I am one of them and one of the mummies is the other?"

She nodded as she carefully watched Scarab step closer to her. Heka hissed slightly as the woman gave her a death stare.

"Heka, be nice to our 'guest'. After all, she is going to help us with the mummies."

"Give me one good reason why I should help you. I do want you dead after all the dishonour I've had to deal with after you killed Rapses. Allow me to leave and complete my primary mission before I come back and destroy you. I don't know your feelings towards the one female mummy but she will be destroyed, one way or another."

Scarab cocked his head to one side, feeling like he knew her somehow but couldn't immediately place her face. The former vizier scanned his memory from his time at the palace before one of them sparked recognition. His breathing quickened as he realized exactly who was standing before him, wanting him dead.

"Oh my Heka: we have a problem," he muttered.

00000

A groan filled his ears and it took him a moment before he realized that it was his own. He opened his eyes to be greeted by an immense blackness and his arms rose up to find something blocking his path. A sense of claustrophobia overcame his senses before he gently began to push. He found that whatever it was, it could easily be moved until a bright light filled the air surrounding him. Blinking his eyes, Rath stepped forward, uncertain where he was going.

"Rath, you're awake!"

Straining his eyes, he found two blurry figures standing on either side of him. He racked his memory and the forms soon cleared into the images of Armon and Nefertina, who were helping him stand.

"Bring him over here!"

Rath found himself being led across the room and he was soon sitting on the couch before the television set. He blinked a few times, clearing his vision before he turned his attention to Ja-kal, who was standing before him, arms crossed and a sombre stare all over his face. Glancing to either side, he took notice of both Nefertina and Armon, who both had worried looks on their faces.

"What exactly happened? I don't remember a few things after the encounter with the woman down by the bay," Rath finally asked.

"What do you remember?" Nefertina pondered.

The scribe thought for a moment before answering.

"I - remember - finding Lutina and Scarab battling each other. She was terrified about - something, I don't know what. Just when I got her to calm down - a woman showed up, proclaiming that Lutina was the one she was looking for and attacked us. She must have knocked us unconscious because the next thing I knew, I was on the ground. As I regained my senses I could see that she was leaving with my sister and I tried to stop her. After that, it's nothing," he replied, his eyes glancing around the room. "Speaking of Lutina, where is she? I'd like to see if she's alright."

Armon and Nefertina nervously glanced between themselves while Ja-kal uncomfortably shifted his footing. Rath could see the leader trying to look away from him and the scribe stood up to face him.

"Ja-kal, where is she?" he demanded.

Ja-kal hesitated to answer him. Rath glanced back at Armon and Nefertina, who also appeared to be hesitant in providing an explanation. He finally turned around and began to make his way towards the door, when a hand grabbed his elbow and stopped him.

"Rath, she's gone and we have no idea where she went. She stated that she doesn't want you to try and follow her and that she no longer wants to be a danger to you," he finally replied. "Besides, you don't have your full strength back. You took a hard hit from that woman earlier."

"The hell I will stay here and leave Lutina to her own doings. She's out there all alone and believes that no one wants her around, that nobody has ever wanted her. I thought that you of all people would understand what I'm going through Ja-kal. You have an estranged brother. If you had the chance to reconcile the differences between the two of you, wouldn't you take it?"

With that, Rath left the room, leaving behind a stunned trio. Nefertina and Armon slowly turned towards their leader, who had a shocked look upon his face. He carefully turned his attention to the two remaining mummies, unable to say a word. After a few long, tense moments, Ja-kal finally glanced back in the direction the siblings had disappeared into, uncertain what to do next.

"Ja-kal, I will admit that she is a very angry woman and in a small part, that anger is justified. She grew up without a father and alongside a brother that never wanted her. As an adult, she was subjected to a form of slavery through Scarab that I can't imagine was like. Wouldn't you be at least a little angry if nothing in your life seemed to go right?" Nefertina finally posed to him. "She needs time and help to figure everything out. We haven't exactly made ourselves available or trusting for her to completely confide in us. She probably is hiding something from us and I wouldn't be surprised if the reason she hasn't said anything earlier is because she's afraid that she's going to be negatively judged over it. It'd be what people have been doing to her all her life."

Ja-kal couldn't find himself to say anything as the three of them stood there, watching the door the siblings disappeared into. He fully knew he should probably stop Rath before he got himself into trouble but he didn't have the heart to do it.

00000

Lutina stared out over the Golden Gate Bridge, her sorrow sinking faster to the bottom of its waters than a rock to the bottom of the Nile. The waves lapped at her feet and the moon showered its rays over her as she began her walk down the length of the bay.

"Oh Rath, after all this time I have what I desired and now it's been snatched out my clutches by an unknown woman. How I wish I knew who she was and what she wanted with me," she quietly said.

After walking for a few more minutes, she halted her movements and sat down on a nearby rock and continued her gaze out over the water. With her attention elsewhere, she failed to notice anything else going on around her. When something struck her from behind, she fell forward into the dirt before her. Glancing over her shoulder, she found the woman from earlier hovering over her.

"Somehow, I knew you'd return here and I have been waiting for you," the woman smirked.

Lutina scrambled to her feet and turned to face the woman. She yelled out "With the strength of Ra" and soon enough, her snake armour adorned her body. She whipped out her bow and cocked a flaming arrow in the woman's direction.

"What do you want with me?" she demanded.

"I want you to no longer walk this Earth, whether it be as a human or as a mummy." The woman smiled at her, the realization slowly creeping into her features. "You truly don't remember me, do you?"

The mummy cocked her head, wondering what brought on the sudden comment. She glanced over the woman before her before shaking her head. Butterflies filled her stomach as Lutina watched her every move.

"Part of me is not surprised - Lutina. I was once told a long time ago about your death by the women who brought me up. They explained in great detail of your assault on the palace and how you ended up as nothing more than Scarab's bed partner. I have never been able to live past the stigma of your deeds or his," she replied.

"Who are you?" demanded Lutina.

Without answering, she lifted her arms and a blast of magic tore through the air. Lutina somersaulted out of the way, lifted her bow back up and fired an arrow at her. To the mummy's surprise, the woman lifted her hands in front of her and stopped the arrow in its tracks just inches before her. Forcibly grasping the shaft, she drew it closer to her face and quietly chanted before lifting it over her shoulder and throwing it back towards Lutina.

"This isn't good," she muttered.

She tried to step out of the way but soon found the arrow was now following her like a homing beacon. With her step turning into a run, Lutina attempted to sidestep the arrow's path until she lost her footing and fell to the ground in a heap. Turning onto her back, she helplessly watched as the projectile soared towards and finally closed her eyes once it got closer and she felt the sting as it penetrated her shoulder and pinned her to the ground. Gasping for air, Lutina's eyes widened as she watched the stranger pull something out from behind her back and gulped once she saw what they were.

"How did you find those? They have long since been lost," she breathed.

"I've had the daggers of Ma'at for a long time now and I know that for some reason beyond m comprehension, they are the only things that will ensure your departure from this world," the woman snickered. "Looks like I finally get my prize and then Scarab will pay for his part in all this."

"Scarab isn't easy to defeat. I should know," Lutina tried to tell her.

The stranger tiptoed up to the mummy and held the dagger in the air as she crouched over the fallen mummy. A huge smile crossed her face as she leaned in closer to Lutina's face.

"You should know who I am before I finish you off. My name..." she started. "...is Mezaria."

With that, she plunged the dagger through the armour and deep into the mummy's chest and a scream penetrated the night air. Mezaria kept the dagger still as the woman struggled underneath her. After several moments, Lutina's limbs slowly stilled and Mezaria climbed off the corpse, watching as the armour flickered a few times before completely disappearing. When no more movement came, Mezaria grasped the hilt of the dagger still within the body and viciously raked it down the body until it hit the pelvic bone and drove the other dagger into her throat.

"At least I got my retribution for all the shame you ever brought me and brought you the indignity that you should have always received. I wish I could say I was happy to see you gone but this is the most peaceful I've felt in years," Mezaria smiled. "Good-bye."

She walked away from the scene, satisfied in knowing her job was done.

TBC...