Don't Stop to Look at the Clock

Disclaimer: Same as before...

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The vehicles continued deeper into the desert, after the shootout with the mixed German and Heartless patrol, Captain Tisdale wanted to put distance between the battle sight and the patrol. Godfrey yawned and stretched, very likely he wasn't going to be sleeping this night, until the vehicles reached a layup point, or a place to hide before sunrise.

Traveling by night was the preferred method to avoid being attacked by marauding German aircraft. Tisdale had learned this lesson from bitter experience. Once a four vehicle convoy had traveled in the morning hours, almost a year ago. From out of the sun came two Junker JU-87 Stuka dive bombers dropping their 500 lb bombs and firing their machineguns into the vehicles. All four vehicles were destroyed and nearly twenty five of thirty men were killed.

Alex glanced out into the moonless desert night. The hardened faces of the other British soldiers in the vehicle showed no tension or worry. Private Howe's eyes seemed to have retreated into his skull, giving him an almost skull-like gaze atop a skeletal frame.

Machineguns and recoilless weapons poked off the trucks at various angles. The soldiers manning the weapons were alert, ready to shoot down any threats encountered. Alex felt the cold desert night wind blowing onto him

---

British soldiers wandered about the airfield, busy with various tasks. They were repairing the damage from the last German air attack, doing maintenance or preflight checks on aircraft, fixing the craters in the runway or carrying ammunition and fuel on foot and in trucks.

"How are we crossing the desert to Ahm Shere?" Prue asked.

"The old fashioned way." Rick said, as he came into view, several camels in tow with Jonathan bringing several others along.

"Camels?" Prue asked.

"What's wrong with camels, Prue?" Goofy asked.

"Well they stink, they spit, they..." Prue began.

"And what is wrong with that, mon amie?" Mole, the eccentric French miner asked.

"Well Vinny doesn't seem to mind the camels at all." Goofy began as the group began loading weapons, water and provisions onto the animals.

"We three kings of Orient are..." Vinny sang, carrying a box full of hand grenades, "Smoking on a rubber cigar."

As they were loading supplies, Kolopak was smoking a cigar in his right hand. "This is quality tobacco, Vinny...I must admit you have your moments of good taste..."

"Why thank you Kolopak, I paid a good sum to the Royal Air Force supply officer for these." Vinny replied, and then continued to sing.

"Why do I get the feeling the other shoe is going to drop?" Prue asked.

"It was loaded, it exploded. Now we don't know where we are." Vinny sang.

BOOM! Just then, Kolopak's cigar exploded. "Vinny," Kolopak began, evenly, "Do you know that most bomb makers tend to die before the age of forty. I will make sure that you don't see your thirty-first birthday..."

"That was my personal touch to the cigar, a little extra oomph..." Vinny said.

"I'm putting a LOT of extra oomph into my punches when I catch you!" Kolopak began.

"HELP!" Vinny shouted as he ran off screaming.

"What the bloody hell was that!?" A British officer in a rumpled, oil stained pilot's uniform asked.

"Just our lunatic inventor, Vinny, creating one of his inventions." Prue replied.

"Well tell him to quit causing explosions around my airfield, he's giving the chaps a sodding heart attack with his bomb making." the British officer replied. From his rank insignia, which Godfrey had taught her to read, Prue could tell he was a Squadron Leader, a fairly senior British Royal Air Force officer. He was a pink cheeked, tousled headed fellow with a gray handlebar mustache and tangled and thinning graying brown hair.

"We try." Prue replied.

"Well tell Kolopak that Squadron Leader Cavendish sends his regards, and also to control his man if he wants to use my airfield to fix his airship." Cavendish began, "I appreciate the fact that you chaps bring us supplies from time to time, warn us about German movements, Heartless attacks and everything else. But I could do without the constant explosions..."

"But you are in a war zone?" Prue asked.

"Yes, but I'd appreciate it if the chaps weren't diving for cover over a false alarm all the time." Cavendish replied, and noticed the cigars in an open satchel on Kolopak's camel.

"HELP! HELP! HELP!" Vinny screamed, "OW OW! OOH OW!!! MERCY!!!!"

"You're lucky I need your insane inventions to fight Imhotep!" Kolopak could be heard yelling over the berm.

"He'll need more than that, Miss." Cavendish replied, "He'll need a bloody miracle to take on Imhotep. If you need air support for your scheme, call on channel 5, and you'll get No.112 Squadron, Royal Air Force on hand if we're in the area."

"Thank you, Mr. Cavendish." Prue replied.

"Squadron Leader Cavendish, Miss..."

"Halliwell." Prue replied, "Prue Halliwell."

"Hmm, I wonder if the old boy wouldn't mind if I took one of these..." Cavendish said, noticing the cigars in the bag on Kolopak's camel.

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you." Prue warned.

"Nonsense, Kolopak and I have been friends for years. He still does owe me for those five Imperial quarts of whiskey I found for him a month ago." Cavendish replied, "He can part with one cigar, surely."

"I'm warning you..." Prue replied.

"Don't be daft. Threatening an officer of His Majesty's Royal Air Force..." Cavendish said as he reached into his pocket for his lighter and put the cigar into his mouth.

"Don't say I didn't warn you..." Prue began.

"Kolopak's a friend." Cavendish replied.

"Your funeral..." Prue replied, as Cavendish lit the cigar...

BOOM!

"What the devil was that!?" Cavendish demanded.

"I tried to tell you, Vinny's been tampering with that batch of cigars." Prue replied.

"NO! WAIT KOLOPAK! LET ME GIVE THIS WANKER A SOLID KICK TO THE ARSE!" Cavendish shouted, forgetting all pretenses of gentlemanly conduct as he scrambled over the dune.

"The pride of the King's Air Force." Rick grunted sarcastically, as he helped load a bundle onto another camel, a large sack with numerous weapons, "Give me a hand..."

Prue blinked a little and helped lift it telekinetically onto the beast of burden.

"You're really handy to have around." Rick replied, "I see why my nephew mentions you a lot in his letters."

Prue couldn't help but blush at the comment, despite Andy's piercing glare. Kida however gave Andy an equally piercing glare.

"WOUCH!!!!" Donald shouted as he stepped on a wind up porcupine.

"Let me guess, one of Vinny's bags?" Jonathan asked.

"Exactly." Prue replied.

"Gawrsh Donald, you'd think you'd be more careful when carrying one of Vinny's bags." Goofy remarked, as he bent over to try and pick the porcupine out of Donald's foot.

CRASH. Goofy's shield landed solidly on Donald's other foot.

"WAKK!!!" Donald shouted, "NEXT TIME DON'T HELP, GOOFY, YOU MAKE THINGS WORSE!!! ARRRGGGHHH!!!!"

Donald headed straight for the nearest palm tree, grabbed either end of the trunk and began to bash his head against it.

"Oh no, not again..." Andy grumbled.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

"Donald, I know you're clumsy sometimes, but that doesn't mean that you turn into your King's jester anytime you screw up!" Kida shouted.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Donald continued bashing his head into the palm tree. "Not again..." Prue replied, rolling her eyes.

"Donald! Stop!" Andy shouted, "At least at twenty-five whacks!"

Prue gave him a dirty look. "What? I wanted to make a few extra pounds." Andy protested, "It was for a good cause! Besides you're in on it too!"

"I was down for twenty whacks." Prue replied.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

By now several RAF ground crewmen and off duty aircrewmen and pilots were standing around, watching Donald make a spectacle of himself.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

"Donald! Quit going loco man!" Audrey shouted.

"This is bloody hilarious." A British aircraft rigger laughed.

"I agree mate," an Australian anti-aircraft gunner replied, "This is good entertainment."

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! THWACK!

Donald finally knocked himself unconscious. Unfortunately he landed, butt first, onto a rather thorny plant.

"Damn." Prue replied, "I lost by one whack. Bertha, what's the tally?"

"It looks like a three way tie for 150 pounds between D'Artagnan, Godfrey, and Vinny." Bertha deadpanned.

"WOUCH!!!!!" Donald shouted.

"Donald, you could at least be more careful, or relax a little more." Milo began.

"OW! OW! OW! OW!" Vinny screamed as Kolopak and Cavendish were still pounding the daylights out of him.

"OK, I'll break up the coming of the apocalypse over there." Andy said.

"I'll go help with Donald." Milo said.

"Thanks." Prue replied.

----

"Gideon." Nigel nodded courteously as he passed the Whitelighter Elder, the meeting was about to begin.

"Coffee?" Leo offered.

"No thank you." Nigel replied, "I'd prefer water. I think you would too."

At this, Leo turned pale, recognizing Nigel was up to something, "You didn't…"

"I learned a rather interesting recipe for coffee from a rather eccentric old cook on an Army base not like any other." Nigel remarked.

"Nigel…" Leo began, "How much of the substance did you make?"

"A bag or two." Nigel replied, as the Elder Gideon began to sip at his coffee.

"Nigel, what insanity have you concocted this time?" Leo began.

"Zippity Doo Dah! Zippity Eh! MY OH MY WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY!" Elder Gideon sang out, acting entirely out of character, almost as if he was seriously intoxicated.

The other Elders, paragons of Whitelighter dignity and grace, were now dancing about the meeting hall like a gaggle at a heavily alcohol soaked fraternity party.

"Zippity Doo Dah! Zippity EH!" Gideon shouted, "Come on everybody! CONGA LINE!!!!"

The Elders began to dance around in a conga line right out of the meeting hall, making complete and utter asses of themselves, sounding like an army of drunken frat boys.

"Nigel…" Leo warned.

"It appears that I failed to lock the doors." Nigel replied.

"You think."

"Outside inside out! Living la vida loca!" Natalie sang drunkenly as she danced atop a table, singing a horribly off key Ricky Martin song.

"Zippity Doo Dah!!!" Gideon chanted madly.

"Nigel..." Leo said, "You've gone too far."

"I daresay not." Nigel replied.

---

The sun beat high in the sky as the British soldiers took cover under camouflaged tarps, hiding their vehicles under the tarps and under sparse vegetation. Godfrey was one of the few awake, and standing watch. He checked the chamber of his M1 Carbine, making sure there was a bullet in it.

Sergeant Flannagan was sitting behind one of the .303 caliber machineguns on one of the gun jeeps. Corporal Winford was crouched behind a rock, his rifle aimed toward the horizon. D'Artagnan was one of the group resting, napping in the front seat of his vehicle.

Little did this group of men realize that their lives were in the hands of others, not Germans or Heartless. Two black robed men observed the British patrol from a rocky outcropping.

"Shall we signal the others to attack?" one Medjai asked the other.

"They are enemies of the Germans ravaging our territory." The other Medjai replied, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"He is right." A voice sounded.

Both men turned to see their leader, Ardeth Bey, standing behind him. "These British troops are enemies of the Axis and Heartless that plague us. Perhaps they can help us."

Meanwhile, Alex tapped Godfrey on the shoulder when he saw a glint from a rocky outcrop. Almost as soon as he saw the glint the British patrol found themselves surrounded by horsemen in black robes, brandishing rifles and wicked looking curved scimitars. Both sides had weapons aimed at heads and hearts, the suspicious and territorial Medjai had little patience for any intruders on their territory.

"Perhaps you could be of some help." A voice began, "As you can see we could easily have attacked and killed your group at any time."

"Not without serious casualties, mon ami." D'Artagnan replied,

"You would all be dead, nonetheless." Ardeth Bey replied, "But we do need your help. German and Italian forces and their Heartless allies have been decimating our territory. We have been raiding and attacking their bases, at times at great cost to ourselves. We could use your help."

"And that is what we're offering." Godfrey replied, "We have plenty of experiences raiding German encampments and sabotaging a lot of their more complicated equipment."

"It seems that the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Ardeth Bey replied, "And we do have a target that we desire to attack."

"Let's discuss this in more comfortable settings, since we seem to be friends now." Godfrey replied.

The Medjai lowered their weapons, as did the British troops before the Medjai led them to a hidden cave deep inside a wadi. The British raiders hid their vehicles in a shallower depression a mile away, leaving a few soldiers to guard them.

"Ardeth," Alex began, "Do you remember us?"

"Of course," the Medjai said, with a wistful look, "you've grown so much, child, but I still remember you as the little boy you once were."

"My mum's been kidnapped by Imhotep, and my Dad and Uncle Jonathan and some others have gone after him." Alex replied, "We need your help."

"Against Imhotep? I'm afraid we cannot help you." Ardeth Bey replied, "He has grown far too powerful for us to directly oppose."

"But we have an ally, a powerful witch. She should be powerful enough to help us fight Imhotep." Alex protested.

"And those Heartless, and the forces of Nazi Germany that he has gathered to his side?" Ardeth asked.

"I believe that is where we step in." Godfrey replied, "We'll assist you in your raids against German and Heartless positions, keep things stirred up long enough for Prue and the others to sneak behind German lines and go after Imhotep."

"But will your friend be powerful enough to directly oppose Imhotep when they do encounter him?" Ardeth asked.

"Let's hope for all our sakes yes." Godfrey replied.

----

"We three Kings of Orient are, smoking on a rubber cigar. It was loaded. It exploded. Now we don't know where we are!" Vinny sang.

"Vinny, continue singing that one more time and I guarantee I will explode." Kolopak replied.

"Well Kolopak," Rick began, "Your cigar certainly exploded last time."

"Will he ever stop singing that infernal and infantile racket?" Jonathan said, hands over his ears.

"Get used to it." Doc said, "It's his favorite novelty Christmas song."

"Any song that involves fire or explosions is likely to become a fast favorite of Vinny's." Milo replied.

"We three Kings of Orient are smoking on a rubber cigar...It was loaded it exploded. Now we don't know where we are!" Vinny said, "BOOM! I love that song!"

"He's cracked." Andy remarked.

"Gee, whatever gave you that idea?" Sora remarked.

"He sure doesn't know what planet he's on, ahyuck." Goofy remarked.

"Goofy, you rarely know what planet you're on." Donald grumbled.

"Donald, with the number of times you bang your head on the nearest wall with frustration I'm amazed you know that planets even exist." Prue quipped and wrinkled her nose.

"You certainly made an ass of yourself when we got shot at by the German fighter yesterday." Andy added.

"Oh Brother." Donald remarked before Sora's camel spit on him, "HEY! WATCH IT!"

"O. Cigar of Wonder. Cigar of Light. Cigar exploding beauty bright. Westward booming. Cloud mushrooming. Guide us with explosion's light." Vinny continued to sing atop his camel.

"Vinny, knock it off! It's not even Christmas time yet!" Rick shouted.

"We stopped trying to stop him writing novelty Christmas songs years ago." Kolopak remarked.

"It never worked." Milo replied, "It beats him setting explosions off every fifteen seconds."

"How many Christmas Carols has Vinny permanently twisted with his demented imagination?" Andy asked.

"About fifteen." Milo remarked.

"Hoo boy…"

"They get pretty creative too." Bertha replied, "Things like Grandma Got Blown Up By A Landmine, Oh Christmas Bomb, and Oh Little Town of Bomblehem, among them."

"Born a bomb on Bethlehem's plain." Vinny began, "Fuses I bring to blast it again. Explosions forever. Ceasing Never. Blasts o'er head to rain."

"Why did Vinny start singing novelty Christmas songs that involve explosions?" Prue asked.

"Two words." Bertha deadpanned, "Sally Torelli."

"Who's she?" Prue asked.

"A girl he met in Traverse Town, her family owns an Italian restaurant there and he was smitten with her. They dated for a while, but her parents didn't approve…" Bertha replied.

"I wonder why?" Andy asked sarcastically.

"She broke up with him on Christmas Eve and he started singing novelty Christmas songs involving explosions immediately thereafter." Bertha replied.

"Where I come from, we call that stalking." Prue replied.

"O. Cigar of Wonder. Cigar of Light. Cigar exploding beauty bright. Westward booming. Cloud mushrooming. Guide us with explosion's light." Vinny sang, waving his Tommy gun in the air.

"Vinny, will you shut up right now, we're almost out of British territory!" Donald shouted.

"I can't wait till we get to No-Man's Land and the no talking rule goes into effect." Prue replied.

"Comp B to offer have I. Explosive putty blows everything high. Blasts and blasting. Debris casting. Explosions up to the sky. O. Cigar of Wonder. Cigar of Light. Cigar exploding beauty bright. Westward booming. Cloud mushrooming. Guide us with explosion's light." Vinny sang out.

"How many more verses could he possibly have invented?" Andy asked.

"You don't want to know." Bertha replied.

"Nitro glycerine is mine. It's bitter perfume breathes a life of a gathering boom. Exploding, imploding, booming, burning. Nitro makes all things boom. O. Cigar of Wonder. Cigar of Light. Cigar exploding beauty bright. Westward booming. Cloud mushrooming. Guide us with explosion's light." Vinny sang.

"Vinny, I say again, most bomb makers die young." Kolopak warned.

"It's a good thing we need you to fight that army of Heartless that Imhotep's bound to have around." Rick said.

"Guys we're crossing into the No-man's Land." Prue warned.

---

"The security at the German airfield is tight, and their guards are definitely on the ball." Godfrey began, "That's why your last raids haven't been the most successful. They don't seem to take the bait."

"But how do you intend to attack the base?" Ardeth Bey asked.

"By making them come to us." D'Artagnan replied, "They know that base is vital to their persecution of your people. They know you will want to attack it at all costs. We can use that against them. Many other German and Italian targets are open."

"Do what you're best at, raid and attack in small groups, hit isolated German outposts and melt back into the desert, like you've been doing." Godfrey added.

"What of your witch friend's attack against Imhotep?" Ardeth Bey added, "Members of his cult have been sighted here in the desert for these past few weeks, and have aligned themselves with the German forces."

"That's how they've been able to track your settlements and destroy them." Godfrey replied, as the group stood amidst the burned remnant of the Medjai camp.

"Fallschrimjager." D'Artagnan remarked, "German paratroopers."

"Since they've arrived here in Egypt, the German counterattacks have been most successful." Ardeth Bey remarked, as two Medjai walked by with the body of an elder of their tribe between them.

"The well has been poisoned." A Medjai began.

"We need to stay on the offensive." Tisdale began.

"We cannot fight without water." The Medjai began.

"We'll just have to gain some then." Godfrey replied, "And I know of a German supply depot several miles from here."

"Our horses and livestock are at their limit." Another Medjai began, "The journey will likely exhaust them…"

"But our British friends' vehicles do not need water." Ardeth Bey replied.

"We'll be glad to take some of your blokes along, so you can do what you do best." Godfrey replied.

"A chance to avenge your losses, to take back your land is at hand." D'Artagnan began.

"We will join you." Ardeth Bey replied.

"We'll raid the supply depot, and then we'll show you just what targets are most vulnerable." Captain Tisdale added.

"For our people!" The Medjai shouted, "Harum barashad!"

A small detachment of the British patrol were left with the villagers at the Medjai settlement as they tried to move what they could away from the shattered remnants of their homes.

"Why do I have to stay behind?" Alex asked.

"Alex, this is an equally important part of the mission. We need to show the Medjai they can trust us." Godfrey replied.

"I can fight." Alex protested.

Godfrey put a hand on his cousin's shoulder, "I know. But these people need your help. Who knows if the Germans won't come back for them."

Alex gave his cousin a look, but Godfrey returned it with a stern glare, "That's an order."

Alex felt annoyed as the British vehicles, with their mixed force of Medjai and LRDG soldiers, headed off into the distance.

---

"Herr Leutnant." A German soldier saluted as Leutnant Gunter Weisser, of the 15th Panzer Division, walked by.

"Stay vigilant, private." Weisser advised, "British infiltrators are likely afoot."

"Jawohl Leutnant." The soldier said in a bored tone. Private Herz Ostmann had slept a grand total of three hours each night for almost two weeks at the frontline. And this barely shaven boy, fresh from officer training school was telling him to stand more watch? He was a veteran of the fighting, dammit, but still discipline insured he must obey the rules. Little did Ostmann know that his last moments were at hand, as Weisser walked elsewhere on the base.

A supply truck appeared on the horizon, the black crosses being a dead giveaway that it was a German truck. Possibly that latest shipment of ammunition. Behind it was another truck, a water truck. Ostmann could see the smoke of his own breath as he breathed in the desert night.

The truck stopped at the front gate, and Ostmann returned the driver's salute, letting him onto the base after a cursory look at the vehicles.

From underneath the water truck jumped a Medjai soldier. The last thing Herz Ostmann felt was a blade burying itself into the middle of his shoulders…

German soldiers in the perimeter began falling with the night, blades truncated shouts of alarm before they could warn other, slumbering troops. From the back of the truck came more Medjai who flung the gates wide open.

A German soldier came out of the barracks, rifle in hand, in time to see several black robed figures killing his colleagues left and right. He aimed his weapon and fired the only shot in anger he would fire this night. A black robed figure crumpled to the sand. The German soldier joined him momentarily, his body falling first, followed in short order by his severed head.

D'Artagnan smashed the window of the barracks and flung a satchel charge inside. After diving into a trench, D'Artagnan heard the barracks explode, killing many of the guards. The sound of engines could be heard as the British trucks appeared from behind the nearby dunes.

Godfrey had been in the midst of the fighting from the start, and ran for the nearby water truck as several German riflemen who had survived the explosion and the Medjai sneak attacks were firing at him. Three shots sounded in quick succession and Godfrey glanced round, in time to see three German soldiers falling dead to the ground as a trio of Medjai riflemen opened fire.

The Medjai began to run towards the British and commandeered German vehicles, laden with stolen weapons and ammunition. They set fire to anything that they couldn't carry and jumped onto the running boards of the vehicles as the German supply depot burned in the air.

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TBC