Hello! So sorry for the delay in updating! Here's the next chapter!
Fourteen
Too Late?
SMASH! Their plane flew right through the castle's stained-glass window. They were right on time.
The plane landed and skidded across the floor. Larry was sent flying from the wing, rolling across the ground. Since he and Nat had been holding hands she went with him.
They didn't have long to recover for the plane went crashing into a large glass case.
Amelia! They stumbled to their feet and moved to check if she was alright.
"STOP!" roared Kahmunrah from behind them. "Stop right there, Mr. Daley, Miss Bentley." They two stopped, but not before they saw Amelia peek her head around the wing to give them a signal that she was okay.
Kahmunrah approached, the hourglass with Jed still inside in his hand. The poor cowboy was nearly drowning in sand by now, just his head with his hat peeking out. "Well, well, well, you certainly know how to make an entrance. Let us hope for your little friend's sake here that you also figured out the combination."
"Give me Jed-" Larry reached for the hourglass, but Kahmunrah snatched it away.
"Oh, no, no, no. First you give me the combination. And hand over that tablet." He reached for it.
This time it was Larry who snatched the sought-after item away. "I'll give you the tablet and the combination when you release our friends."
"And I will release what I want to release, when I want to release it."
"Great, and I'll release what I want to release when I want to release it," Larry shot back.
"Give me the combination and the tablet right now, or I shall kill all of your friends, starting with your shaggy-headed little cowboy here."
"I ain't shaggy-headed!" hollered Jed. "Gigantor let me take this guy!"
"Don't worry Jed, I've got this handled. You don't want to release my friends, fine, then you don't get the combination or the tablet."
"Do you know, Mr. Daley, what they called me? They called me Kahmunrah the Bloodthirsty, who kills whoever doesn't give him whatever he wants when he wants it, which is right now, when I had also better get the combination and the tablet!"
"That's what they called you?" He looked to Nat for confirmation, who nodded.
"It was shorter in Egyptian."
"Great, well I'll give you the combination and the tablet when you give me Jed-" Larry reached for the hourglass, only to have it snatched away yet again.
"How dare you!"
They proceeded to have an argument about who should give over what they owe first, Larry really angering Kahmunrah by continually trying to reach for the hourglass. By the end, Kahmunrah was practically roaring.
"If you do that again, I shall kill all of your friends! And on second thought, I'll start with your fair-haired little girlfriend here-" He seized Nat's arm in an iron grip, causing her to grit her teeth.
"Get off me-" She squirmed as he dragged her away from Larry and to his side.
"Now, tell me the combination."
There was a tense silence. Larry and Nat met eyes. He looked conflicted. She shook her head. Don't give it to him!
The silence was broken moments later by a call of, "We already got the combination!" The group turned to see Capone, Ivan, Napoleon, and their guards marching into the room, Capone holding one of the Einstein bobble-heads by the hair. "It's pi! 3.14159265." He tossed the Einstein up in the air and caught him again. "Little Crazy Hair here, he sang, oh did he sing! Like a canary!"
"I'm sorry," apologized Einstein.
"Hey, enough out of you!" threatened Capone, raising a fist.
"Hey, that's enough," defended Larry.
Pleased now, Kahmunrah shoved Nat back into Larry's arms before throwing the hourglass carelessly over his shoulder, Larry diving in order to catch it before it smashed to the floor.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, peering down at Jed
"Yeah, thanks," answered Jed, dusting the sand off himself.
"This all must be a real downer for you, Larry Daley," Kahmunrah said, taking the tablet and making his way over to the gate. "Knowing that all of your valiant efforts were, in the end, for naught. What a terrible disappointment you must be to yourself." He placed the tablet at the front of the gate in its place and began pressing the symbols. There was a low hum. "Ah, do you hear that sound? Do you know what it is? That, my friends, is the sound of the end." Now a bright golden glow shone from the tablet. Kahmunrah gave a content smile and then began a low chant in Ancient Egyptian.
"I'm sorry guys," Larry said.
"Ah, you did your best, Gigantor," Jed assured him. "And dadgum it we almost had him too."
Nat squeezed his arm in similar assurance.
"No I mean I'm sorry I wasn't there the last couple of years at the museum. Maybe none of this would have happened."
"You don't get it, do you Gigantor? I didn't call you cause we needed your help - ah sure, we were in a little pickle - but no partner, I called you cause you needed us. That fancy suit you've been parading around in the past couple years, that ain't you. And hey, I'll tell you another thing: this night ain't over yet. This little cowboy's still got some fight left in him, and something tells me you do too-"
He was cut off then by a rumble as the front part of the gate shifted, moving forward, bits of rock debris crumbling to the ground. The tablet shimmered, and Kahmunrah continued his chanting. Slowly, the gate swung open like a door, revealing a dark abyss.
"Welcome to the new reign of Kahmunrah," Kahmunrah said, breaking his chant and stepping forward. "King of Egypt, and now, the world!"
Dark swirls started to appear, growing closer, until they materialized outside of the door itself, taking the form of guards in ancient costume, with the heads of birds. A whole army marched out, spears in hand at the ready.
"Come forth my warriors! Send Larry Daley and his friends to their doom!"
Nat felt Larry's arm wrap tightly around her waist, drawing her close to him as the warriors squawked and surrounded them. She gripped his arm. Soon they were tightly encircled, and upon Kahmunrah's shout, the spears were raised level with their heads.
"Halt!"
Everyone's heads turned in search of the voice that called out. Larry, Nat, and Jed recognized it though.
"The mighty Octavius has returned!" Nat and Larry shared a glance. "And I ride on the back of Nature's most feared creature - I ride, the Squirrel!"
Everyone stared down at the tiny man on the back of a little squirrel scampering up to stand at Kahmunrah's feet.
"Will you surrender honourably, or must this end with the spilling of your blood?" Octavius called up to him.
"This," said Kahmunrah, looking as though he might burst into a fit of laughter. "This is your big rescue?"
"Oh no," said Octavius. "This is!"
Suddenly there was a rumbling followed moments later by the Lincoln statue stepping through the smashed window. This startled everyone.
"Hello again friends." Lincoln waved and smiled down at Larry and Nat.
"What is that thing?" demanded Kahmunrah.
"My name is Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States of America. And you Sir are in a heap of trouble!"
"Attack it!" shouted Kahmunrah, pointing at the statue, followed by the same order in Ancient Egyptian.
The army from the underworld launched their spears at the great statue, only to have them bounce off his stone body.
"Disgusting half-pigeons!" Lincoln batted them away with ease, sending them flying into walls and smashing into display cases. Those remaining obviously got the message and scurried back through the gateway, closing and securing it, Kahmunrah shouting after them.
"Well it appears that my work here is done," Lincoln announced, sounding pleased. "Just remember," he said, turning back to Larry and Nat. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." With that he strode out through the smashed window, back the way he came.
There was a long silence. "Well, this is awkward," remarked Kahmunrah.
"Uh, what now?" piped up Ivan.
"Well, I suppose we could start by watching them die."
Larry pulled Nat closer again.
But, they were interrupted yet again, this time by a bugle sounding.
"Oh now what?" demanded Kahmunrah with a pout.
General Custer's voice echoed throughout the hall. "We are not going to attack - right now!"
Alright Amelia! She'd recruited, well, everyone. Their friends from New York, Custer, the Thinker, the squid, the cupids, and everyone from Air and Space. With a great cheer, everyone charged forward. This was their big rescue.
Kind of a cheesy ending but oh well! Haha hope you guys enjoyed! And I'm so sorry for such a long delay - school's been crazy busy! I'll try and update the next chapter sooner - almost at Part Three - yay! Thanks so much!