Ahk is back in this chapter. Hooray!

Thank you all for responding to my story.


"Stop! Right there, please, Mr. Daley," Kahmunrah commanded as he approached Larry among the wreckage. "Well, well, well, well! You certainly know how to make an entrance, Mr. Daley. I hope for your little friend's sake here that you also figured out the combination."

Isis watched them argue and banter over Jed and the tablet. Kahmunrah was like a child and wouldn't see sense through his stubbornness. Watching them argue was like watching a tennis match. Her head turned one way then the other more times than she could count due to his pacing.

"I will give you precisely five seconds to give me that tablet and tell me the combination," Kahmunrah nearly growled out his demand when his soldiers reappeared lead by young Al Capone.

"We already got the combination," he said. "It's Pi. 3.14159265. See, crazy-hair here, he sang." The gangster held up a bobble head of Albert Einstein. "Oh, oh, oh, did he sing! Like a canary."

"I'm sorry, Larry," Einstein apologized.

Kahmunrah took the tablet from Larry and tossed Jed carelessly behind him to be caught by a worried Larry.

"Must be a real bummer for you, Larry, knowing that all of your valiant efforts were, in the end, for naught. What a terrible disappointment you must be to yourself." Kahmunrah replaced the tablet in the doorway and entered the combination. The tablet began to glow its usual golden hue and gave off an ethereal humming.

"Do you hear that humming sound? Do you know what that sound is?" Kahmunrah asked. Ivan raised his hand, as if to answer. The Pharaoh sighed. "It's rhetorical," he answered dryly. "That is the sound of the End."

With a sound like stone cracking and scraping, the door opened to reveal a chasm of light shining through dark clouds.

"Welcome to the new extended reign of Kahmunrah, fifth king of Egypt, and now the world! Horus! Ra! My warriors, come forth! Send Larry Daley and his friends to their doom!"

Bird-headed warriors emerged from the dark chasm and surrounded the area to do their master's bidding. They stood at attention before pointing their spears at Larry at Kahmunrah's command.

"Halt!" cried a remarkably large voice. They all looked around to see Octavious bravely standing up to all of their enemies. "The mighty Octavious had returned. I ride on the back of nature's most fearsome creature! I ride the squirrel! Do you wish to surrender honorably? Or must this end with the spilling of your blood?"

"This?" Kahmunrah asked Larry, nearly laughing. "This is your big rescue?"

"Oh, no. This is!" Octavious shouted.

Everyone started as the statue of Abraham Lincoln stepped into the room in all his statuesque glory.

"What is that thing?" Kahmunrah asked as if he were disgusted by the sight of the former president.

"The name is Abraham Lincoln and you, sir, are in a heap of trouble," he said sternly with a large and threatening finger pointing in his direction.

Kahmunrah commanded his soldiers to attack it, but their spears only served to irritate the larger-than-life president. He knelt down and began flicking the half-pigeons, as he called them.

Frightened, the warriors fled back into the chasm and shut the door behind them, not listening to their master in the slightest. Abraham declared his business done and left to go back to his monument before giving a vague piece of advice to Larry regarding a divided house.

"What now?" Ivan asked.

"You know, I'm not quite sure. I suppose we should start by watching him die," Kahmunrah suggested with airy irritation, looking pointedly at Larry.

"Streltsy! Make him dead!" Ivan commanded.

A bugle sounded behind them and Kahmunrah groaned.

"Now what?" he whined. Behind them stood their friends from the museum, including Amelia Earhart, all lead by General Custer.

"We are not going to attack, right now!"

They all cheered at Custer's words and ran out in what seemed to be a plan of attack. The battle commenced immediately all around the room. Isis looked around for a weapon and saw a sword laying at the bottom of the treasure pile. She picked it up and hefted it into her hands, grateful that it seemed like a genuine article and not just a cheap replica for show. She doubted herself for a moment, wondering if she had it in her to harm their enemies.

"Well, they are just wax," she said to herself. She heard a screeching behind her and saw that Al Capone's men had Dex surrounded. She approached quickly and placed the sword at Al's neck.

"Drop the weapons!" she commanded.

Al huffed out a dry laugh. "Boys," he called to his henchmen. They immediately pointed their guns at her instead of Dex, letting the monkey escape. She smirked at them.

"You think the museum put bullets in those guns? No," she answered for them. "On the other hand, I have a very sharp sword and no qualms about cutting through animated wax figures. Drop the weapons!" The clatter of guns was heard as they did just that to save their boss from being beheaded. She allowed them to scamper off and turned to see who else she could save, possibly with the same bluffing strategy. It wasn't like she actually knew how to fight, not that they needed to know that.

When she turned, a Russian soldier pointed his axe at her in a threatening manner. Before she could even lift the sword in retaliation, Attila picked him up and threw him into a group of French soldiers.

"Thanks," she responded gratefully as Attila nodded to her. She approached Kahmunrah through the fray of the battle. She rounded on him and punched him straight in the nose. He reeled back from the surprising blow, clutching his injured face.

"There is no way in hell I would ever obey you!" she shouted. Bodies fell between them and she couldn't reach Kahmunrah as he began to fight Larry. She saw them conversing as Kahmunrah held a khopesh to Larry's neck. The Pharaoh lunged back to attack and Larry blocked with his flashlight. Everyone had stopped to watch the fight between the guard and the Pharaoh. In a complex pattern of moves she could barely follow, Larry disarmed Kahmunrah and pinned him in an awkward position with his flashlight just as Amelia reopened the Gate of Kahmunrah.

"What are you?" the Pharaoh asked in astonishment.

"I'm the Night Guard," Larry declared and shoved Kahmunrah through the open gate. He struggled in the dark space, screaming in denial, when Amelia shut the gate to many happy cheers.

Everyone shouted and cheered their victory as they looked around to their friends happily. General Custer declared their win at the Battle of the Smithsonian.

"I hate to cut the party short," Isis interrupted, "but we only have an hour till sunrise. We've come this far, Larry, we can't leave them behind."

"They don't want us there anymore," Jed argued.

"Well, we do," Larry said with finality. "Amelia, do you think you could hook us up with a ride?"

She smiled. "My pleasure, of course."

"Izzy, can you get everyone on Amelia's plane? There is one last thing I've got to take care of."

"Go on. Meet us back at air and space."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Isis and Amelia had loaded up the exhibits that belonged back in New York into one of the planes from The Air and Space Exhibit. Larry joined them after a brief excursion to allow the giant squid to bathe in the reflecting pool.

After a seemingly long and anxious ride back, they touched down outside the Museum of Natural history and began to file out.

"Alright everyone," Isis announced, "buddy system. To the basement immediately. No dawdling." She ushered them towards the steps and saw Dexter carrying the tablet inside. "No, no, no, Dex. Ancient Egyptian tablet is going with the only Egyptian here. Help Jed and Oct…never mind, Larry has them."

Isis hurried them inside as Larry said goodbye to Amelia. She walked briskly to the Egyptian exhibit as the museum came to life just minutes before sunrise. As she entered the long hallway towards Ahk's tomb, the pharaoh himself stepped out and caught sight of her.

"I know there is a lot of explaining to do," she started, "and I promise to tell you everything, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. All you need to know now is that Dexter stole the tablet when they were shipped to the Smithsonian, your brother is an ass that can't let go of a grudge, and it's almost sunrise so you need to go back in your tomb." She stopped right in front of him as she finished speaking and expected him to ask a few questions as he went back to his sarcophagus. But he did none of these.

Instead he only stood staring at her as if he was dumbstruck.

"What?" she asked, confused by his reaction.

"You—" He paused to clear his throat. "Where did you get that?" He gestured to the outfit she was wearing.

"Courtesy of your brother, long story."

"My brother?" he asked with surprise. "What happened?"

"Weren't you listening?" She shook her head and knew the night was nearly over but continued calmly. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, I promise. But right now it's almost sunrise. Come on." She made to move past him to replace the tablet and hopefully encourage him to get back in his tomb when he caught her gently by the hand to stop her. When she looked around at him she was puzzled to see concern and worry consuming his features.

"Ahk?"

"Did he hurt you?" he asked quietly.

She was struck by how sincere and deep his worry was. She knew Kahmunrah could be quite... troublesome, and perhaps on the scarier side of insane with his plans foiled time and again. But Ahk knew none of what had happened. He could only assume the worst, believing his brother to be capable of far more than what Isis had witnessed that night.

"No, I'm fine," she replied seriously.

He sighed in relief and nodded. She squeezed his hand firmly, wanting to console him and to assure him that everything was fine through that touch.

"Can you be here first thing tomorrow to explain?" he requested politely.

"I'll be here. I promise."

They didn't let go of each other's hand as they walked up to the sarcophagus. He detached reluctantly as he climbed into the casket and watched her walk around to replace the tablet where it belonged. She turned and helped him pull the lid over.

"I'll be here first thing when you wake up," she promised before letting the lid fall into place right as the sun rose.


The second movie is officially over. There will be a few chapters of Ahk and Isis goodness before we get into the third movie. Please let me know what you think.