The Return of the Med-jai

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the motion picture The Mummy. That's all you, Universal Studios. And I'm not going to profit off this story, so calm down. There's no reason to sue, and you all make too much money anyway. Vultures.

AN: Thanks to Nelle07, Twimoonclipsedawn, Kassandra J, benzene, Pirate Hero, TheDevil'sVendetta, SandraSmit19, Hakujou Enputi-shigai, tigerlily 124, bringmetheangie, RitualKitten, WhiteInnocence, and gothicluver13 for all the reviews! Sorry this is kind of short, but when you find a good place to stop... well, you find a good place to stop. Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Attack of the Red Scarves

Nasira stood in the upstairs hallway of the O'Connell manor, her ear pressed against the dark, smooth wood of the bedroom door. She gripped her scimitar tightly, holding the weapon down at her side, anxious to burst into the room. Rick wasn't moving fast enough. He wasn't going to get there in time. She was about to go in and rescue Jonathan without him. Really, where the hell was he? The other entrance to the bedroom couldn't be that far away. It was around the corner, not halfway around the damn world.

She heard the click of an opening door. "Hello," Rick's muffled voice traveled through the door. "Jonathan, I thought I said no more wild parties."

Jonathan laughed nervously. "Well, when you're popular."

Nasira took hold of the round, cool doorknob, turning it slowly and silently, and pushed the door open ever so slightly. She peeked inside the room. Meela Nais and Hafez were standing before Jonathan, who was sitting in an armchair. Behind him stood a man in a red turban holding a knife to his neck. Several more of the Red Scarves were stationed behind the chair. None of them were looking in her direction.

She opened the door a little more and slid silently into the room, shutting the door soundlessly behind her. No one but Rick noticed her entrance, and he was far too smooth to give away her position.

"Look," Rick announced. "I'm sure my brother-in-law deserves whatever you people are about to do to him, but this is my house, and I have certain rules about snakes and dismemberment…"

Suddenly, Meela Nais (the woman in the black dress and feather wrap) threw the writhing black snake in her hand right at Rick's face.

Rick ducked to the side, his hands going up instinctively to protect his face. For one terrible moment, Nasira was certain that the snake – an asp, she was sure – had sank its fangs into Rick's face or neck, and the ex-legionnaire was done for. But Rick surprised her. He straightened up, gripping the snake tightly in his hands in such a way that it was impossible for the snake to bite him. Then, with a spare glance at Nasira that she immediately interpreted as a warning to step to the side – which she promptly did – he tossed the snake right back at the woman.

Meela Nais ducked. The snake sailed over her head and landed in the face of one of the men in the red turbans. He let loose a horrible cry as the snake bit him right under his eye.

Nasira raised her scimitar as the rest of the Red Scarves opened fire on Rick. She promptly sliced the asp in half – it had abandoned its victim writhing on the ground and was heading straight for her. Then she whirled around, sword flying, and cleaved through the neck of one of the gunmen.

He fell, his weapons tumbling to the ground. Jonathan ducked out of his armchair, snatching a gold scepter out of Hafez's hands, and raced out of the line of fire. Rick was on the other side of the room, miraculously catching the knives being thrown at him and tossing them back at his attackers.

One of the men realized that Rick and Jonathan had a third ally in the room and raced at Nasira, his own scimitar flying. She instantly raised her weapon and blocked his, knocking it to the side. The man clung tight to the hilt, narrowly avoiding being disarmed, and swung back at her head. Nasira ducked, swung at his abdomen, and nearly sliced him open, but he leapt back too quickly and dodged her blade. They parried and thrust, exchanging blows, and finally Nasira backed him into a wall, surprised him by thrusting her sword upward, and disarmed him. The man went wide-eyed for a brief second before Nasira drove her sword into his gut.

As her opponent fell to the ground gurgling, a warning shout rang out from Rick. Nasira turned to look just in time to see one of the Red Scarves whip out a machine gun and open fire.

Someone grabbed her wrist and yanked her into another room. She looked up to find Jonathan, strange gold scepter in hand, hauling her across the dark marble tile of the bathroom.

"Jonathan!" she hissed in annoyance. "What are you doing?"

"Saving you!" he retorted, sounding equally harassed. "Machine guns trump scimitars, you silly bint!"

With that, he tossed her into the bathtub… which was full to the brim with warm, sudsy water.

The water closed over her head, and she choked on it. The soap was irritating her still open eyes. Nasira surfaced, spitting out suds. "What in Allah's name are you doing?" she demanded angrily.

Jonathan leapt into the tub beside her and shoved her back under the water without further explanation.

Everything that happened next was muffled by the bathwater in her ears. Nasira dimly heard a door slam, and then a second volleying of rapid fire. Both she and Jonathan stayed in the safety of the thick marble tub until the firing of the machine guns died away and they heard Rick shout in anxiety, "Jonathan! Nasira! Jonathan!"

Then both of them burst through the sudsy surface of the bathwater, gasping for air.

Rick, standing in the middle of the bullet riddled bathroom, stared at the two of them in shock and irritation. Suddenly, he grabbed Nasira by the arms, half lifting her out of the tub. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded. "Who are these people, and why are they shooting up my house?"

Nasira's answer was rushed and breathless and barely understandable. "They are called the Red Scarves and they're an enemy tribe of the Med-jai, sworn to unearth all that we protect and ultimately destroy the world for their own personal gain… and they want the Bracelet of Anubis."

Rick blinked. "That sounds bad."

Jonathan leapt out of the tub, splashing water on the floor. "Oh, good," he said, sighing in relief. "I was worried I got drunk one night and accidentally stole some lady's bracelet."

Rick released Nasira's arms and extended her a hand, helping her out of the marble tub. Water sloshed onto the marble tiles, dripping from her long black robes. Her robes were so weighted down by the excess water that Nasira felt as if the floor had turned to quicksand and was trying to drag her under. Mumbling several creative cusses under her breath, Nasira began attempting to wring the water from both her robes and her long black hair.

Suddenly, a third volley of gunfire exploded from the room next door, the bullets ripping through the wall and bouncing around the bathroom. "Time to go," Jonathan squeaked.

Rick looked all around the bathroom for an escape route, his eyes finally alighting on the large warped-glass window. He looked back at his two companions, his intent clear in his eyes.

Nasira raised an eyebrow at him, and then spared a glance at the window. "That is not a good idea," she informed him.

More gunfire erupted nearby, and the three of them had to duck to avoid their heads being turned to Swiss cheese. "Better than the alternative," Rick retorted.

Jonathan looked from the door to the window, and sighed. "Bloody hell."

The three of them raced towards the window and threw themselves through it, shattering the glass and hitting the large canopied cover just beneath it. They tumbled down the canopy and landed on the stone patio the cover was shading.

Shaking glass from their clothes, Rick, Jonathan, and Nasira struggled to their feet and glanced around the estate with wide, confused eyes. The O'Connells' driveway was crowded with fleeing men dressed in red.

Rick turned to Nasira, his eyes glinting dangerously. "All right," he said. "All that stuff you said back in the bathroom? How about you run that by me again?"

Nasira took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. This was her own fault. She had begged Ardeth to let her come here, after all.

She suddenly regretted that decision very much.

Suddenly, the machine gun went off again. All three of them instinctively ducked, glancing up at the shattered bathroom window in alarm. The gunman had broken into the bathroom and was now standing right where they'd just escaped, shooting at them.

"Hold that thought," Rick said ironically. She nodded. Then she, Rick, and Jonathan took off, vaulting over the brass patio railing and hitting the grass below. The gunman persisted, still shooting, and bullets ricocheted off the porch rail and the stone wall of the house as they raced through the shrubbery and around the corner of the manor, heading for the driveway.

It never seemed to matter where Nasira was. Egypt or England, she still ended up getting shot at.

Madeline stood in her brother and sister-in-law's elaborately decorated parlor, holding two swords in her hands and staring down a herd of bad guys in red turbans. Things just did not get worse than this.

Actually, they did, she corrected herself, and since this was her life, they were certainly going to. Behind her, Evie and Alex stood at the ready – one prepared to fight, the other to hide. At least, he better be ready to hide, or his ass was grass.

And as usual, she stood between her brother's family and certain death… with a tall, dark, and handsome Med-jai warrior at her side. Good to know some things never changed.

After greeting one another in an icy, threatening manner, Ardeth and this Lock'nah character had spent several seconds glowering at one another menacingly. Madeline had just begun to get annoyed by the ridiculousness of it all when Lock'nah let loose a sharp battle cry, unleashing his henchmen on Ardeth and the O'Connell family.

There was a metallic scraping sound as Ardeth drew his scimitar and blocked one of the swords aimed at his head. Madeline brought up her own swords in preparation for the onslaught. A few of the red robed warriors pushed past her towards Evie. And a whole bunch of them came right at Madeline.

She grabbed one man's sword between both of hers, yanking it from his grasp and tossing it across the room. The man reached for another weapon, but Madeline knocked his hand away with one sword and then sliced through his throat with the other. He toppled to the floor, blood dribbling down his neck.

Another man charged her from the left. Madeline spun on instinct, her sword going up to block his. They exchanged blows, moving across the parlor at a frantic pace. Her opponent managed to knock her left-hand sword from her grasp, sending it flying around the room. Madeline brought her other sword down on his back, slicing through his neck and shoulder.

He fell. She moved onto the next. As she clashed swords with her next opponent, she heard the clang of Evie and Ardeth's swords as they took on their own red-robed attackers. Stabbing her current opponent in the gut, Madeline glanced over at Evie and Alex – to find Evie kicking some serious ass.

"Holy shit," she whispered.

"Whoa Mum," Alex asked. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Madeline's thoughts exactly.

"I have no idea!" Evie exclaimed, finishing off one of her opponents.

Madeline would have liked to continue watching her sister-in-law do some heavy damage with that sword she had no clue how to use, but the red turbaned men had other ideas. One of them came rushing at her, sword aimed for her neck. Madeline ducked, blocked, and attacked, forcing him backwards across the room.

This was getting ridiculous. It was like their attackers were clowns in a circus. They just kept filing out of that tiny car.

Madeline blocked one blow of the man's sword and then punched him in the face. He toppled backwards, tripped over an armchair, and hit the ground. She stabbed him in the chest and moved on.

One of the men had grabbed hold of the stone chest and was trying to wrestle it away from Alex. Madeline charged him next, tackling him into the nearby bookshelf. Both the man and her nephew let go of the chest. She grabbed the thief by the scruff of his neck and tossed him back in the direction he came, taking out one of the men Ardeth was currently engaged in fighting. Both men crumpled to the ground in a tangled heap.

Lock'nah, who up till now had been nothing more than a mere observer, suddenly joined in the fray. He charged Ardeth directly, seemingly unbothered by Madeline and Evie. The two locked swords.

"What's in the chest?" Ardeth bellowed.

"The Bracelet of Anubis!" Madeline's sister-in-law hollered back.

Ardeth's murderous expression turned to one of shock. Well, Madeline thought. At least that means something to somebody.

Lock'nah punched Ardeth in the face. Madeline moved to help, but one of the men she'd thrown to the floor got to his feet and attacked her. She met him with her sword, slashing through his face. Enraged by the smarting cut, the man whipped his own sword in her direction and they engaged in blows.

"They must not get the bracelet!" Ardeth shouted. Madeline looked up at the cry. "Get it and get out of here!"

The momentary distraction cost her. Her opponent nearly stuck his sword in her face. Madeline dodged the blade, getting the brunt of the hilt instead. She stumbled into the wall.

Her opponent ran at her. Madeline swung up her sword and met the man dead on, the tip of her blade puncturing the man's gut.

He fell to the side. She struggled to her feet. Evie was attempting to abscond with the chest. As Madeline watched, another man in red came tearing around the corner, punched her sister-in-law in the face, and tossed her over his shoulder. The chest fell from her hands.

"Mum!" Alex shouted.

"Evie!" Madeline hollered after them. She raced across the room, ignoring the man who snatched up the chest and ran with it. The stolen bracelet was no longer a priority in the light of her kidnapped sister-in-law.

She made it to the hall, grabbing Alex's shoulder and shoving him behind a statue. "You. Stay," she ordered.

"But that man took Mum…"

"I'm on it," Madeline cut him off. "Don't move."

Then she tore off down the hall.

Her thoughts were racing as she ran. Everything had just gone to hell. Her brother and his wife had found some wacko bracelet, a whole bunch of men in red turbans had just attacked the manor, her sister-in-law had been kidnapped, said wacko bracelet had been stolen, and her ex had just reappeared on her doorstep, right on time for the battle of the century.

Great.

She turned the corner, hitting the entrance hall, and stopped only long enough to snatch her pistols off the chest of drawers by the front door. Then she was off, out the door, and racing across the dark, dewy lawn.

Evie was no longer unconscious, and had started struggling against her red-robed captors. They forced her inside one of two shiny new automobiles parked in the long, circular driveway. Madeline stopped short, aimed, and opened fire.

The men ducked, hollering in alarm. Evie was forced inside the car anyway. One of the men forcing her inside received a bullet in his forehead and hit the ground. Another ducked just in time, a surefire chest wound becoming a shoulder shot. He crawled into the car. Madeline took aim at the tires. A bullet bounced off a hubcap and she swore, readjusting her aim. She hated wasting ammunition.

Then, suddenly, she felt a presence at her side. Ready to fire, she turned… just in time to see five dark knuckles flying towards her face. Madeline tried to duck, failed, and got the full force of the punch in the side of her head.

It felt like an explosion had gone off in her temple. Pain ripped through her skull and she toppled backwards, her knees going weak. Her assailant caught her around the waist, lifting her up and tossing her over his shoulder. She thought she heard her nephew's cry of alarm in the distance as she was hoisted from the ground. Then her vision faded to black, and she lost consciousness.