I am happy to present part 4 of my story! Enjoy everyone! And by the way, I'd like your opinion on something, but I'll pose my question at the end of this chapter.

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy or anything Egyptian related… well, except for an old Egyptian drawing on papyrus paper.

A/N: Also I don't own Sphinx's winged lion form. That was THQ and Eurocom's concept that I saw in a preview on the demo for the original version of the game. For some reason they didn't include it in the finished product, so I thought it would do it justice to put it in my tale. As to exactly what it looks like, I don't have any images. But the lion's fur is a reddish color, resembling Sphinx's face paint. Other than that it looks pretty much like a lion with the same reddish colored wings. Only instead of a mane, the lion form gets an Egyptian pharaoh-like headdress.

Sorry, but one more interruption. If there's any fans out there who aren't sure what Sphinx or the Mummy look like, I've found a few pieces of wonderful fanart that might help. Please visit my profile page to get the links. I'll search for some images of the other characters too. I'd love to put a link to one of my own fanart drawings, but sadly, I'm not a member of Deviantart as of yet.


Chapter 4: The Shadow Spreads

Last lines in previous chapter: "Sphinx?" Imhotep asked in disbelief.

"No! That—he was—Impossible!" Set cried in frustration as the lion faced him and roared again.

The lion took off into the air with a great beat of its feathered wings. Spotting the Crowns and immediately understanding the urgent situation at hand, Sphinx made a quick dive for the ray's base platform, his full attention focused on snatching at least one of the sacred artifacts.

Set shot a string of fire that completely encased the base and the magical items on it, forcing Sphinx to roll sideways in order to avoid the flames. Since the Crowns were currently impossible to reach, the lion decided to take to an evasive strategy--circling around the room while rising and dipping to dodge the beams of dark magic from the Cursed Staff.

Sphinx hovered in place and faced his foe, reading himself to strike; he quickly changed his mind as Set sent another jet of energy in his direction. The lion flipped out of harm's way and the magical projectile made direct contact with the sphere of lightning that Prince Tut was still stunned inside of; the sphere instantly shattered and the Mummy landed onto Sphinx's back with a terrified yelp.

"Incompetent fools!" Set rounded on Horus and Menes. "I commanded you to activate the ray!" Horus scurried off towards the switch that had been concealed behind the section of the wall near the main door while Menes stayed behind to guard Imhotep and Anubis, in order to prevent them from interfering.

Back up in the air, the Mummy suddenly tapped Sphinx on the shoulder. After getting his attention, Tut pointed to himself and then at the ray's fire-protected base.

"I confess that I underestimated you earlier, Sphinx," Set said. "However, I assure you this shall be the last time you meddle with my plans!" He sent the dark energy-draining pulses from the Staff's serpent-like head at the airborne lion. Sphinx, having understood the Mummy's gesture seconds before, dived toward the ray's base again. He maneuvered so that instead of flying smack into the deadly fire shield, he would glide right along its side.

As Sphinx swerved around the base, the Mummy hurriedly leaned over, reached his hand through the flames, and managed to grab one of the Crowns. The lion held the artifact in his mouth while the Mummy attempted to pat his burning right arm in order to extinguish the fire on it. Despite the dark energy sapping his strength, Sphinx determinedly continued to circle around the base.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to swipe the rest of the Crowns was soon ended as Horus pulled the lever and the room began to tremble.

"Enjoy your front row seats to the domination of the Empire!" Menes exclaimed victoriously.

"Sphinx, it's no use!" Anubis cried. "We must get out of here, now!" The winged lion landed at Anubis and Imhotep's side and the Mummy fell off of its back. With a burst of yellow light, Sphinx changed back into his normal part lion (actually, only his tail, nose, and feet are lion-like in his normal form.), half-human demigod self.

"I fear that I only have enough power left to teleport myself back to Heliopolis," Imhotep informed them.

"Possibly with our combined strength," Anubis replied, "we might be able to transport all of us safely back." He and Imhotep began to summon up the teleportation spell as a bright orange light enveloped them, Sphinx, and the Mummy.

"Master," Horus shouted, "They're escaping!" When the light lifted, they were gone.

"It does not matter now," Set answered. "There is no place where they can hide for long…"

A brilliant orange explosion of light filled the room as a sharp crack of thunder split the air. The remaining three Crowns increased the power of the ray as its orange beam shot up out of the open ceiling and up the narrow tower of the Castle. The beam traveled past the Eye of Ra structure near the tip of the tower and continued straight into the sky.

As it pierced the clouds, it turned them and the very sky itself into dark swirling shadows that began to spread over the surrounding land of Uruk. Soon, the darkness descended upon all of the other kingdoms. The majestic waters of Abydos dried up from their canals, the guards at Luxor palace abandoned their positions and retreated into the safety of the royal building, the sun was blocked from warming Heliopolis, any crops growing withered and died, and all of the dark monsters throughout Egypt rejoiced at their master's triumph.


Sorry for the shortness, but I think this chapter was better off that way: short and to the point. As for my question, I was wondering if I should have Sphinx talk. You never get to hear him speak in the game, possibly because there's no voice acting? But he never even has a line. If you think about it he must talk because at certain points you can answer a character's question by selecting 'yes' or 'no'. Then again, that might not really mean anything. So let me know what you guys think when you review. I think I'm going to have to make him talk because if I don't it would probably drag some parts on. I could always put his thoughts, but I don't know yet.

-PurpleArmadillo