Ok, Ok. Here it is. "The Mummy Returns" From Ardeths POV/filler. I got many good reviews on my last fic, thank you all. So...here is the second one. This is going to be harder to write, for Ardeth has a lot more on screen time....and I cant find my bloody voice/tape recorder so I have to write out his lines by hand. Any way....enjoy. Review, be nice...and more will be on the way soon.

As always, I dont own the characters or anything to do with the rights of "The Mummy" & "The Mummy Returns" So if any of you big-wigs who do in fact own the rights to the movies read this...thanks for letting my borrow your characters and ideas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"5000 years ago, a fierce warrior known as The Scorpion King, led a great army on a campaign to conquer the known world." His hands moved as he spoke of the fighting.

"After a vicious campaign, The Scorpion King and his army was defeated and driven into the sacred desert of Ahm Shere. One by one, they slowly parished under the scorching sun, until only the great warrior himself, was left alive. Near death, The Scorpion King made a pact with the dark god, Anubis. That if Anubis would spare his life, and let him conquer his enemies, he would give him his soul.

Anubis excepted his offer, and spared his life.

Anubis gave The Scorpion King command of his army. Like an evil flood, they washed away all that lay before them. When his task was done, Anubis forced The Scorpion King to serve him for all time.

His army was returned to the sands from whence they came, where they wait, silently, to be awaken once again."

Ardeth Bay sat back in the sand a little, and took in the faces of the children that sat around him. All were shocked and frightened, as they stared at the chieftain with wide eyes.

"Is that true?" One child asked in a shaking voice.
"Yes, it is." Ardeth replied his voice set in an eerie tone. And from the fright on the children's faces, he laughed. "That is enough story telling for tonight, you must all go to bed now."
Their protests went on deaf ears, as the children's parents came and dragged them off to bed. Until only Ardeth and his nine-year-old nephew, Codei, remained.

"Is it really true, Uncle Ardeth?" He asked in a timid voice. The warrior scooted closer to his nephew, and looked at him softly.

"It is what the tribal scholars told me as truth, so I must believe that it is, yes." His nephew nodded. "Have no fear, my son, these stories bring no danger to you, your family, or the rest of the Med-jai. Now run along to bed, before your mother gets angry."
"Good night, Abbat." The nine-year-old said as he stood up.
"Good night to you, Abbat." Ardeth replied.

The boy ran off, pausing only to wish his father a good night. His father, Ahmad, walked on to where Ardeth was sitting.
"My King." He said with a bow of the head.
"My friend, sit, tell me news before I return to the city." His life long friend sat down next to Ardeth, and stared into the fire for a few seconds, before speaking.

"Word just came to me that there was an attack on the O'Connell's, during their dig in Thebes."
Ardeth sat up quickly, staring at his friend with concern in his eyes. "They are alright?"
"They don't even know about it. Some of our men saw three men go in to the temple where the O'Connell's were digging. A few minutes later, the men ran out and ran away. They had guns and knifes and the such, but when our men looked, the O'Connell's were all fine and unhurt."

"Do we have any idea on what these men want with them?"
"No. But the O'Connell's left soon after. We believe that they are returning home."
"And the three men?"
"We have not seen them since."
"Shukran, my friend." Ardeth said as he stood up.

"Of course. Do you wish for me to travel with you to the city?"
"Yes, Ahmad. I won't be long tonight. Our spies have said that they are getting closer to where we think the creature is buried. I want to see for myself."

Together, they walked to the Med-jai stables, and as they did, Ardeth thought of his friends, the O'Connell's. If there had been an attempted attack on them, that meant that more would most likely be on the way. And Ardeth couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the dig going on in Hamunaptra.

The Chieftain and Second-in-command rode of into the night, towards the great City of the Dead. When they got there, Ardeth, dressed in the robes of the slave diggers at the site, dismounted and turned to his friend.

"Wait for my whistle, I will not be long." He said before slipping into the dig site, unnoticed by the many guards and other diggers. Once inside, he carefully went from dig to dig, watching what was happening. His ears and eyes open to take in any and all that was said or to be seen.
Ardeth found his spot, in a large hole, where he had been working for sometime. He did not like the sights he saw. A large machine, a crane, someone had told him, was being hooked up to something below the ground. He knew at an instant what it was.

A guard nearby yelled at him to get to work, and putting his head down, Ardeth grabbed a rope that was at his feet. It led into the hole. Slowly, the machine's long arm began to rise, pulling up something from the ground.

A large amber stone came up. The creature had been found again
"WE HAVE FOUND HIM!" Someone cried in Arabic.
Massive hordes of diggers and guards began to rush to where Ardeth was. As the Med-jai slowly twisted the rope around his hand, he hoped that no one saw his tattooed hands.
The stone was slowly lowered to the ground as a man pushed his way through the crowd behind him. He pushed Ardeth aside as he passed him.

"Get aside! Out of the way!" The man barked. It was the stout man who was running the dig. The man crossed to the large stone, and Ardeth dropped his head so no one could notice him.

"Imhotep!" The man said. "It's him! It's Imhotep!"
Lock-nah and the woman were with him. One of the men in the crimson and blood red robes handed Lock-nah a large blue jar. He took it and raised it.
"Now we must raise those who serve him!"

"Get out of my way! Get out of my way! Get out of my way or I'm going to shoot you in the face!" He heard a British accent say. Looking over, he saw as three men walked passed him and into the guarded circle that the stone and the others were in.
"He means it! He's done it before!" One of the three said.
"Give it to me!" The stout man said.

"The uh…opportunity passed us by." A fat man said. He had been the one who had ordered for someone to get out of his way.
"We need that bracelet!" Stout Man said.
"We need it before it opens!" Lock-nah chimed in.

What in God's name are these fools talking about?
Suddenly, the group drew swords and guns, and pointed them at each other.
"Enough!" The woman cried. "My dear Hafet, I told you I should have handled it!"
The stout man…Hafet?…looked at the woman. "I did not want you're…past history…to cloud the issue." Past history?

"Now you don't worry none. We know where the bracelet is, we'll take care of it." The fat man said.
"NO!" Hafet cried out. "We'll take care of it. I have a different chore for you."
"Where is the bracelet?" The woman asked.
"On it's way to merry ol' London." The man replied.

"Then London is where we must go!" Hafet said as he walked away, right past Ardeth. The Med-jai watched him go. London? That cant be good. The O'Connell's were in London. And what Bracelet? There had only been one bracelet he had heard about lately….and it would be impossible for the O'Connell's to have it. Then again…it was the O'Connell's…so it didn't seem to out of the realm of possibility.

Ardeth turned as the throng of evil ones walked past him. Even after all this time, they did not recognize him for who he was. Making sure he was out of sight, he ducked off to the right, sprinting through the dig site unnoticed. When he finally got out of the city, he whistled.
A minute later, Ahmad came up on horseback, an empty horse next to him.
"What is it?" He asked, as he handed the empty horse to Ardeth.

"They have found the creature."
"The creature?! That is not good."
"I know. And they are aware of the where the O'Connell's are, and they are going to hunt them down. I have to get to England quickly."
"England?!"

"Yes, I must get there before them. I have to keep the O'Connell's safe."
"As you wish."
"What is the quickest way to get there?"
Ardeth didn't like the next answer.
"By flight."

"Then that will be the way they are going, and the way in which I must go. We need to get back to the camp, so that I may get ready for my trip. Send message ahead to Cairo, set up the arraignments. I need to be on the first plane that leaves Cairo for England tomorrow night. Got that?"

"That is cutting it a little close."
"I have to. The seem to think that the O'Connell's have the bracelet...they will kill them wither or not that is true."
"Do you think it is true?"

"I am not sure, but I pray that it is not." Ardeth looked over at his friend...they both knew what could happen if that bracelet fell into the wrong hands. "Contact the other 11 chiefs and tell them to get to Cairo as quickly as possible. We need every able warrior in case the Army of Anubis is awoken. Have them put the warriors on full alert. We all need to assemble as soon as possible. I know this will be hard for some of the far away tribes, but they must hurry.
When we get home, write to Jakum and tell him he has to be in Cairo by tomorrow night at the latest."

Ahmad nodded as he took all the info in.
They reached their home in little under a half an hour. Ardeth went straight to his tent to get ready for the trip. By they time he had finished, so had Ahmad.
"Ready?" He asked as he mounted his horse again.
His second in command nodded.
Together, they rode off into the night.

~~
They reached Cairo in record time, though by the end, both their horses must have hated them. When they reached there, they saw that three of the 11 commanders were already there.
"My friends!" Ardeth called out when they saw them. They all bowed their heads in respect.
"Ardeth, you have to get to the plane in less then a half an hour." Ahmad warned. The Chieftain nodded and dismounted.

"Give me five minutes." He said as he pulled a duffel bag from the back of his horse and ducked into a near by Med-jai owned shop. Once in there, he crossed to a back room, nodding at the Med-jai in the store. He quickly changed into a clean pair of black pants, a button up black shirt, and a long black trench coat. he pulled his hair into a ponytail and placed a hat over his head, covering his forehead markings. He folded his robes and turban, then he zipped up the bag and left the store.

All the Med-jai heads turned towards him at once. All filled with puzzlement.
"I have to fit in." Came the simple reply as he mounted the horse again.
The warriors nodded. Swiftly, they rode to the airport, where they could see people loading onto a large plane.

"I don't want to do this." Ardeth mumbled to Ahmad.
His friend looked at him, puzzled.
"I don't want to fly. I hate flying. remember what happened last time I flew?"
Ahmad chuckled. "Yes, I do."
Ardeth dismounted and grabbed his bag, as Ahmad handed him a ticket.

"Make sure that the rest of them get to Cairo as soon as possible. I want them all here by the time I get back. Got it?" The Leader told his second in command.
"Yes."
"And make sure Jakum gets here soon as well. I will contact you as soon as I get back to Egypt."
"Yes."
"I don't want to fly, Ahmad."
"I know."
"I really don't like flying."
"I know. You're going to be late."
"It's for the good of my friends, but I don't like to fly."
"I understand. go, now."
"I will contact you as soon as I get back."
"I know. Get on the plane."
As the conversation went on, Ahmad was pushing Ardeth closer and closer to the plane's stairs. Finally, they reached the bottom steps.
"I'll..." Ardeth began.
"Get on the damn plane, Ardeth. We will be fine here. Have a good trip, tell the O'Connell's I say hello, and by all means, keep them safe."
Ardeth blinked at him.

"It is I who gives the orders, Ahmad." He told his friend jokingly.
"Get on the plane." Ahmad said with a smile as he pushed Ardeth up the first step.
"I'll be back soon!" Ardeth called out as he climbed the stairs, the noise of the engines threatening to drown out his voice.
"I KNOW!" Ahmad cried.

At the top of the stairs, Ardeth handed the stewardess his ticket, she took it, smiled, and stepped aside. Allowing him to enter the plane.
Ardeth was happy he had changed for one reason. The plane had on it nine English people. Oh, he would have fit in with them in his Med-jai robes. He found his seat, and sat down. Looking out the window at the runway. He watched as his men rode away, and wished them well. He placed his palm on the window, and spread out his fingers. Then he took his hand off and looked at his fingerprints.

The plane jumped forward a little bit, a feeling Ardeth never liked, and started to roll along. Ardeth sat back in his chair and buckled his seat belt, a delight he did not have on his last flight, and stared out the window.

The sun hung low, and looking down, as the plane took off, he saw his men, sitting on their horses, watching him leave. They all saluted him in the traditional Med-jai manor, and inside the plane, Ardeth returned the salute.

Ardeth wiggled a little bit and took off his coat, before settling in for good. And roughly a half an hour into the flight, as Ardeth stared at the tiny lights below him, a man approached him.
"Hello." The man said in a think British accent.
"Hello." Ardeth replied.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but just what are you doing on this flight?" Ardeth stared at him blankly. "Well, me and my chaps chartered this plane for our selves, then we are told you are going to be joining us. Why?"

Ardeth kept his face in the dark as much as possible, for he had removed his hat, and wanted to keep his tattoo's hidden. "It is of dire emergence that I get to London very quickly. I have some friends who…need me to be with them."

The man nodded slowly. Ardeth went on. "I hope I did not cause an inconvenience, but it is very important that I get there, and your plane had the only free seat."
The man nodded again. He studied Ardeth for a moment, then went back to his seat.
"Welcome aboard!" He said as he sat down. Ardeth went back to staring out the window.

He thought of his life with the O'Connell's. What a strange life it had been to. He had met Rick, Evy, and Jonathan nine years before, the first time the creature was disturbed. He had wanted to kill them then, for awaking the creature. But in the end of it all, he had made new friends for life. He had grown to care greatly for the O'Connell's. And even though Jonathan was a Carnahan, not an O'Connell, Ardeth considered him to be one. God knows he spent enough time with them.
Ardeth would visit them when he would go into Cairo, and was delighted to hear of the birth of their son, Alex. Cute little boy, though Ardeth had seen him last when Alex was only three. After he was born, and the O'Connell's and Jonathan had moved to England, Ardeth saw them less and less.

It made him sad, yes, but he still kept in touch with them the few times they went to Egypt for whatever reason. Ardeth was now worried for his friends, for he knew that this cult would bring them much trouble.

Sitting back in his chair, the warrior leaned his head against the window and soon drifted off to sleep.

~~
"Hey! Wake up! We've landed!" A voice rang in his ears. Sitting up, Ardeth looked at the man who owned the voice. "We're in London."
"Thank you." Ardeth said with a yawn. "What time is it?"
"It's…" the man checked his watch. "It's about 10:30."
"Thank you." Ardeth said again as he unbuckled his seat belt and stood, grabbing his coat and bag before leaving the plane. Out of the two flights he had taken, he had liked this one the most. Considering he didn't crash.

Stepping of the plane, Ardeth was instantly hit with cold and wetness. And looking around, he realized it was raining. Shivering, he quickly raced inside. Rain was not something that happened often in his home. For all good reasons. He found a men's bathroom and went inside, finding a large stall that he could change in.

He really did have nothing against how men dressed in the outside world, but their shirts were uncomfortable, and he was very happy to get out of it. Reaching into his duffel bag, he pulled out all the things he would now need. His robes, his cloak, his weapons, a picture of the stout man…Hafet?…from the dig site.

He took off the shirt and replaced it with his Med-jai Chieftain Robe. A special robe that had silver lining around all the edges and sleeves. He closed the robe and placed his scimitar in its holder, before sticking a dagger inside his robe, along with the picture of Hafet. He pulled his hair out of its ponytail before placing his cloak, decorated with gold symbols of the Med-jai leader, around his shoulders.

He pocketed some English money before leaving the stall, and the duffel bag and the clothes, behind. He exited the small airport quickly, catching a few odd looks from the people inside.

He raced outside and did something he never thought he would have to do, hail a taxi. A car drove up to where he was standing and Ardeth got inside.

"Where to, mate?" The driver said in an accent Ardeth had never heard before. Withdrawing a piece of paper from a pocket, Ardeth handed it to the man.

"I need to get to that address as soon as possible." He knew this would help. "The sooner you get me there, the larger the…tip." He thought that was the right word. It must have been, for the car sped away and into the stormy London night.

Lighting flashed overhead, a bad omen for the Med-jai, and Ardeth watched it uneasily. He turned his attention to the London world outside the taxi, as rain pelted the sides of the windows. He hoped that he would arrive at the O'Connell's before Lock-nah and his men.

"We're here, mate." The driver said as he pulled up to a large gate. Ardeth saw no sign of Lock-nah, but still feared the worse. He thanked the driver and stuffed a fifty pound note in his hand, before jumping out of the car and running towards the gate. He was happy to find it open, and as he ran up the long driveway, he heard the driver shouting something at him about "too much money!"

But with a sinking heart, he saw one large car sitting in front of the home. Blood red curtains hung on the windows.
Ardeth withdrew his scimitar and raced up to the open door. And with a quick glance in the window, he saw that he was almost to late. Lock-nah and four of his men stood in a room of the house, and as he ran inside, he heard the voice of Evelyn O'Connell.

"Get out…of my house."
"Whoa…mum, maybe not the best idea." A young voice said.
"Alex, get back there."
"Defiantly not the best idea. I think it's time to call for dad now."
"Now I will kill you and take it anyway." He heard Lock-nah say. Time to make his entrance.

"I think not!" Ardeth boomed out, as he walked into the room. Every one's eyes turned on him. The boy, Alex, looked up him with wide eyes. Lock-nah didn't seem too surprised, but his men instantly drew their swords.

"Ardeth! What are you doing here?" Evy asked, turning and looking at him. She held a sword in her hand.
"Perhaps explanations are best saved for later." He said back. He turned to Lock-nah.
"Ardeth Bay." He said.
"Lock-nah." The Med-jai replied.

A second passed. No one said a word.

"Lets go!" Lock-nah cried out in Arabic.
Ardeth whipped off his cloak and swung out his scimitar. Behind him, he saw Evy race off, as two of the red warriors went after her. The other two went after Ardeth. He met the swipes with great glee, parrying the blows of both red-clad warriors. The blades clanged and echoed in the room, as Ardeth, with a master Med-jai skill, kept both warriors at bay.

One of the red warriors swiped at the Chieftain, but he jumped back just in time, then jumping forward and kicking the foe into a display case, the contents rattling inside. The other lunged at the Med-jai, and Ardeth grabbed him, and whipped him around his arm, using the man's own blade to dig into his back. He threw the body down as the other warrior again attacked him.
"Not bad, for a Med-jai." Lock-nah spat, disgust filling his voice.

Ardeth would deal with him later. He threw the other man back and killed him quickly. Looking over, he saw Alex and a Red Warrior playing 'tug-of-war' with the chest. The warrior won and threw the boy across the room. Acting quickly, Ardeth rushed forward and skewered the man with his scimitar, then threw the body aside as he had done before.
He saw Lock-nah draw his sword. This was what Ardeth had been hoping for.

"What's in the chest!" Ardeth yelled at Evelyn.
"The…Bracelet of…Anubis!" She cried back, intertwined in her own fight.
SHIT! How could they have this?!

Lock-nah proceeded to perform a fancy move with his blade, before whipping it right at the Med-jai's neck. Ardeth ducked down just in time. Only to catch Lock-nah's elbow right in his face. Their swords clanged together a couple of times, as Ardeth-with a force he did not know he had in his tired body-forced both swords down. Bad move. He caught one wicked left hook from Lock-nah, then another , as the Med-jai stumbled back. And though he was slightly dazed, Ardeth let lose a solid left hook on his foe, which clearly caught the man off guard.

Lock-nah's finger rose to his lip and checked for-and found-blood. His eyes inflamed with rage. In a swift movement, he kicked Ardeth in the stomach. Ardeth lunged at the man, but Lock-nah blocked the blow. He spun around and elbowed Ardeth in the chest. And as he doubled over, Lock-nah brought his knee up swiftly and hit him in the upper chest and face. It hurt like hell.

Stumbling back, Ardeth shouted, "They must not get the bracelet! Get it and get out of here!"
He blocked another blow from Lock-nah's sword as he heard a sound that made his heart drop.
The sound of a human being hit very hard, and the scared yell of Alex. "MOM! Watch out!"
Forgetting himself, Ardeth turned and screamed, "EVELYN!" Another bad move.

Lock-nah whipped his sword up and slashed Ardeth right across the shoulder, hit him again, and threw him to the ground in a grunt. Behind him, somewhere, Ardeth heard Alex scream out for his mother.

Clutching his shoulder, Ardeth fell back onto…something. He didn't really know…Looking up, he saw Lock-nah whip out a nasty looking sword and throw it right at Ardeth's head. He moved to the side just as the blade slammed into the wood, right next to his head. With a swish of his cloak, Lock-nah-and Evy-were gone.

"Are you ok?" Alex asked as he ran to the warrior. Ardeth nodded. Alex helped Ardeth stand, while asking, "Your Mum and Dad's friend…right? The Med-jai?"
"Yes, I am. And I am going to help get your mother back. Where is your father?"
They began to make their way to the front door, still open from the warrior's entrance, as Alex told him he didn't know where his father was.

That's when the gunfire erupted from outside the house. Quickly, Ardeth dropped to his knees and forced Alex down as well, covering the boy with his own body, protecting him.

When it stopped, they raced out of the house. Ardeth saw Jonathan and O'Connell standing not far ahead of them, staring out at a car racing away.
"DAD!" Alex cried as he rushed into his father's arms.

Ardeth was relieved to see his friends were safe, for the moment. And as he approached Jonathan, he wondered why the other man was wet. Jonathan shot him a puzzled but happy look, as the Med-jai Chieftain lad a hand on his shoulder.

"Jonathan." He said, before turning to Rick O'Connell. Old friend, former foe, to the Med-jai. The man just stared at him, his eyes and face puzzled and incensed. With a bow of the head, Ardeth said softly, "O'Connell."

Suddenly, Rick grabbed the labels of his robe and whipped him around, slamming the Med-jai into something hard.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE *YOU* DOING HERE!" He yelled as he did so. He let go of Ardeth's robes and lowered his voice. "No, scratch that. I don't care. Who the hell are those men and where are they taking my wife?"

Ardeth could see and hear the concern for his friend's wife. And he desperately wanted to tell him something, anything that would be of use. Placing his hands on Rick's shoulders, he looked his friend square in the eye.

"My friend…I'm not sure." He reached a hand into his robes and pulled out the folded picture of the Hafet man. "But where ever this man is, your wife will surely be."
Suddenly, the picture was torn from his hands.

"I know him! He's the curator! He works at the British Museum!" Little Alex said as he looked at the picture.
"Are you sure?" Ardeth asked, looking at his small friend.
"You better believe him. He spends more time there then he does at home." Rick said with almost a sigh. He turned and began to jog off. His son, Ardeth, and Jonathan followed.

"Ok," Rick began. "You're here, bad guys are here, Evy's been kidnapped, let me guess…"
"Yes, they have once again removed the creature from his grave." Ardeth said as he kept up pace with his friend.
"I don't mean to point fingers, but isn't it you job to make sure that *doesn't* happen?" Jonathan asked, pointing something at him.

"The woman who is with them, she knows things. Things no living person could possibly know. She knew *exactly* where the creature was buried. We were hoping she would lead us to the Bracelet…she obviously did. And now they have it." Ardeth told his friends as they walked along.

"I wouldn't get to nervous, just yet." Alex said, stopping. They all turned and looked at him. The bot pulled back the sleeve of his jacket and showed the three men his left wrist. Where the Bracelet of Anubis calmly sat. Ardeth cupped the bracelet in his hands and looked at it, in wonder, before looking at the boy.

"Is that gold?" Jonathan asked to his right. It was good to know he hadn't changed one bit…
"When I put it on, I saw the pyramids of Giza, then whoosh! Straight across the desert to Karnac." Alex told him.

Ardeth couldn't help himself. "By putting this on, you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse!"
Alex's eyes grew in fright as he gasped.

Rick pointed at Ardeth. "You, lighten up." To Alex, "You, big trouble." To Jonathan, "You, get in the car."
Ardeth looked at his friend for a second before his raced around to the passenger side of the car and got in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So....more will be on the way then.