Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Scorpion King, only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and the Scorpion King belongs to Universal and WWE. They only thing that I do own are the OC's of the story. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
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Previously on the Avatar and the Scorpion King:
Cassandra: After defeating the villainous Memnon and becoming the Scorpion King, Mathayus, the Akkadian and his friends would soon be thrown into the adventure of a lifetime. And so begins the continuing of the story of the Scorpion King and his new friend the Avatar.
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Chapter One: A Dark Cult
It had been two months since the city of Gomorrah had been liberated from Memnon's tyrannical rule and Mathayus had risen to power as the Scorpion King. The Akkadian himself was strolling through the refurbished palace along with his beloved Cassandra. The two were currently talking amongst themselves about how to better the relationships between them and the other kingdoms. They had already won the respect of the Nubian King, Balthazar and the other Free Peoples. Mathayus then said, "I'm just saying, we might not want to take things out of proportion when it comes to there being speculation amongst the guards."
"But it isn't just speculation, Mathayus." Cassandra argued as they walked out into the garden. She seemed worried as she said, "I fear that some of those still loyal to Memnon will try something. And soon."
"Cassandra, it's been two months." The Akkadian said, trying to ease her fears. Then he said, "I think that if someone was going to try something, they'd have already done it by now. And ended up without a limb."
"I suppose." She said, still not one hundred percent convinced. From up in a window, a lone guard watched the two as they continued walking. Quickly turning back into the shadow's of the palace the guard went to discuss their plan with his comrades.
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The guard quickly walked through the halls before coming to a special wall. Quickly looing about to see if anyone was watching, he found the coast to be clear before touching a stone and muttered, "Even the sorceress does not know of the palace's secrets."
The wall slowly opened up to reveal a secret passage that led to a hidden chamber within the palace walls. Quickly stepping inside, the doorway shut behind him and torches ignited along the walls of the chamber. Four others were already waiting. The man in the middle wore a regal robe while his head was completely shaved and the other three kept their faces hidden under their hoods. The one in the middle sounded irritated as he said, "You are late."
"Forgive me, Kota." The guard said with a bow, "I was just watching the Akkadian and the Sorceress before coming here."
"Did they see you?" The man behind Kota in the middle asked. The late member shook his head before saying, "They were mostly thinking how there was no need to worry about dissenters from the ranks."
"Foolish thinking." Kota shook his head. He turned to a table with a scroll on it and walked over to it. A scowl formed on Kota's face as he said, "Thanks to this scroll that we were able to steal from King Balthazar, we will be able to bring power back to us."
Kota looked back and said, "Tonight, we will take what we need from Gomorrah and head for the City of the Dead."
"But can we do it without getting caught?" One of the others asked. Kota looked back and angrily questioned, "Are you experiencing doubts to the plan?!"
"N-No." The man stammered as Kota came threateningly close. He then said, "I'm just saying what if we are caught by the Sorceress's magic and the Akkadian decides to end us?"
"Her powers are weakening." Kota said with a scoff. He turned back to the table and then said, "Round up the soldiers and prepare to invade the crypts." He looked down at the scroll and said, "Memnon will rise again."
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Over in Nubian territory, Balthazar was walking down a corridor with Queen Isis and two other men. He sounded truly angry as he asked, "And you're sure that the scroll has been stolen?"
"Yes, King Balthazar." The man nodded in confirmation. Balthazar glanced back and said, "That scroll was supposed to become part of a dark tome that would've been buried to keep out of the wrong hands! Did you at least track the thief?"
"Yes." The other man said, "We deduced that the thief's tracks were heading to Gomorrah."
This stopped Balthazar and Isis in their tracks. They looked to each other with concern before the former said, "Prepare a falcon and send a message to Mathayus to warn him of eminent danger. Tell him we will arrive as soon as we can to help him deal with the issue."
"At once, sire." One of the men said before they both moved off to do their tasks. Balthazar turns to Queen Isis and said, "If I think what is happening is happening, I pray that we make it in time."
"You and I both." She said before they moved to get ready.
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Later that night, as the messenger falcon made its way to Gomorrah with Balthazar's message, the four men made their way through the catacombs underneath the palace. They soon came upon the passage way to their destination. The one in the front said, "Let's hurry up and get this over with."
"Superstitious about removing corpses?" The one on the other side of the group asks. The in front said, "Uh, yeah. Not only are we desecrating a grave, but we plan to use dark magic to bring one of the world's most fierce some warriors back to life."
"The other bodies were easy to move to the City of the Dead, this is the last one." The man at the back assured. They soon came before a large door. Written above the door in the ancient language was the words 'The Hall of the Dead' and at the center of the door was an odd shaped key hole.
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Back on the surface portion of the palace, Mathayus was currently looking over the balcony where he had defeated Memnon. He sat on the edge while gazing out to the city. The sound of a screech made him look up to see a messenger falcon coming towards him. He held a covered arm and allowed the bird to land on his wrist. Seeing the parchment rolled on the bird's leg, Mathayus removed it and unrolled it to read. His eyes grew wide as he know knew that Cassandra was right. Quickly getting up and making the bird take flight for the journey back, the Akkadian turned back to the palace to find Cassandra.
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Said sorceress was currently in her and Mathayus' room waiting for him to return. The doors opened and the Akkadian walked into the room. Holding the note to her he said, "It turns out that there might be some trouble within the city walls. A scroll with a spell was stolen from Balthazar."
"What kind of magic?" Cassandra asks as she looked over the note. Mathayus shook his head with a worried expression, "His note doesn't say, but I know that we can trust him when he says that it's bad."
Moving back to the doors he stopped before glancing back and said, "Get dressed. We need to hurry and see if the thief's already within the palace walls."
Suddenly, Cassandra inhaled sharply and her eyes glowed white. Mathayus looked back and rushed to his queen's side and asked, "Cassandra?"
She looked to him and said, "The thief is already here, but someone is down in the catacombs." Gripping his arm she said, "You must hurry."
Not needing to be told twice, Mathayus rushed to the door while grabbing a sword. As he ran down the hall he saw two guards and ordered, "You two, come with me. There's trouble down in the catacombs."
They ran after their king while keeping their spears at the ready.
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The three behind him watched as he pulled out a small puzzle box before opening it up to reveal a key. The key had many points on it for the lock. He placed the key into the key hole and started to twist and turn. When he was able to open it, the doors started to rumble open as it slid back. No doubt everyone in the palace could hear the stones moving. When they had completely opened, all four of them walked into the catacombs. They didn't have to walk far as the only body in the chamber at the moment was that of the late Memnon. The former king's body had been placed in a stone casket as a sign of respect.
Reaching behind his back, the man pulled out a war hammer before walking over to the casket. When he stood in front of it, the man raised his hammer above his head before striking the lid. The stone lid busted open and the two halves sank down into the coffin. Looking back, he ordered, "Help me with this."
The three men moved to follow his commands and gripped the two halves of the coffin lid. With a quick push, they were able to push both pieces out of the coffin and onto the floor. Then looking into the coffin, they could see the charred remains of the former king. All four men reached down and gently lifted the deceased king out of his coffin. They were about to walk back out when a voice said, "You might want to put him back."
All four of them looked to the entrance to see the Akkadian and a few guards standing there. Pointing to them, Mathayus then sternly said, "You all have a lot of explaining to do."
"Argh!" One the hooded men exclaimed. Looking to the other three he questioned, "Where is Kota with our exit?"
Luck would be on their side however, as a red portal appeared behind them. Mathayus and the guards were shocked by this, and the four tomb desecraters' shock turned into devious smiles as they quickly moved to the opening. Seeing as they were about to get away, Mathayus readied his sword and shouted, "No!"
Running up to them he was able to slash the back of one of the men. The man cried out and released his hold on Memnon's body. As the man fell to the ground, the other three disappeared into the portal. Before Mathayus or the guards could go after them, it closed with a loud zap. Mathayus glared at the spot where the portal once stood and then turned to the man on the ground. Blood was starting to pool up in the man's tunic. Looking to the guards he ordered, "Get him help and hold him for questioning."
He walked past them and said, "I must find out who is responsible for this betrayal."
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Cassandra was making her way to Mathayus when she saw him turning the corner. Calling out, "Mathayus, what happened?"
"They got away, Cassandra." The Scorpion King told her as he continued to walk. Glancing back he asked, "Have you had any more visions?"
"None so far." She said with a shake of her head. The shriek of a hawk drew his attention. Looking out between the space of a couple of columns, they saw a hawk descending from the sky. It landed on the bottom of a column and both Mathayus and Cassandra saw that there was a message tied to its foot. Quickly moving to the bird, Mathayus took the note and quickly read it. Cassandra came closer, placed a hand on his arm and asked, "What does it say?"
"King Balthazar has a little insight to the situation." Mathayus said before rolling the note back up. Then he said, "But before I make any more moves, we wait for him and Queen Isis to arrive.
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This story's dedication to:
Michael Clarke Duncan:
December 10, 1957 – September 3, 2012
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Author's Note: And the first chapter of the prologue part is done. I have a few more chapters before we get on with the main story. Be on the lookout for future chapters. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.