Rick bolted at full speed towards the Scorpion King, not slowing an inch as he bowled the surprised man over and knocked him down. The both leaped up and put up their fists, the Scorpion King growling as he recognized Rick. Ardeth drew his sword and shouted to get Merserqet's attention, running at her from an angle so that Evy could slip up unnoticed. Merserqet noticed him and scornfully turned to face him fully, dropping the Book to one side. She pulled out a little bottle full of something red. Ardeth stopped and held his sword tensely as she undid the stopper. She drank the contents quickly, tensing herself. Ardeth moved a step back apphrehensively. Merserqet doubled over suddenly, only half-successfully repressing a scream. The Scorpion King looked over, worried, allowing Rick to punch him. Furiously he turned back to the battle and kicked Rick in the knee. Ardeth gasped as the soul he knew so well tore away from her trembling body and reshaped itself. As it soaked back in, her body shuddered into a new shape and she stood. Ardeth froze. He could not have moved if he tried.
The woman who faced him now took a step forward, extending her hands. "Lover," she pleaded softly. Ardeth tried to tell himself that this was not Ashëla, that the woman he loved had never existed, but his brain could not make his body obey. Helplessly he took a step forward. His sword sagged in his limp hand. Meanwhile, Evy, seeing his struggle, quickly grabbed the Book from where she was crouching behind Merserqet. Once it was in her hands, she whispered in Ancient Egyptian, "Mistress, it is done! Take us-" Before she had even finished, the wind roared back and they were all swept away, leaving Merserqet shouting furiously. Rick threw in one last punch before he was whisked away from the irate Scorpion King. Merserqet threw up her hands. "Mistress! Why have you abandoned me?" she called in the old tongue. There was no reply. Instead, the golden-red light of Serqet's power shot from the dying sun to consume Merserqet. Her soul was magnified and doubled, and she shrieked in pain and loss and Serqet roughly withdrew her powers. She was left in her original state, yelling hoarsely. This transformation shocked Ardeth awake as they sailed away. The Scorpion King ran to help his queen and shouted in Egyptian, "You are too late! Anubis has already granted me my one true power! My army will destroy you!" He held Merserqet close as they vengefully watched the adventurers fly rapidly away. "Friendly guy, huh?" Rick yelled over the howling of the wind.
Back in the inn room, Alex was exclaiming over their trip. "Whoa, Mum, that was awesome! Let's do it again sometime!" Evy smiled indulgently. "Maybe, dear." She held out the Book of the Dead. "Time for a little reunion!" She put it on the table and searched her pockets for the key. "I usually keep it with me…" she muttered. "Rick, do you-" He proffered the spiky, octagonal box. "I've got it, hon." She smiled and took it from him. "Well, this brings back memories," she said as she twisted the key in the lock. The Book sprang open. "All right," she said. "We're in business. Now…" she leafed through the Book. Ardeth shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?" he asked. "It goes against the very purpose of the Med-jai." Evy nodded. "Yes," she said, "it is. Imhotep is the only person strong enough to defeat the Scorpion King." "What about me?" asked Rick. Then he considered his logic. "Why am I arguing?" he asked himself, and shut his mouth. Alex asked, "Don't we need his body?" Evy shook her head, still turning pages in the Book. "No, Serqet said that she would take care of that."
Ardeth listened to Evy and her family talking about the revival of the Creature as if they were discussing the weather. He was very uneasy with having to sit passively while the one thing he spent his whole life trying to prevent came to pass. Evy began slowly, carefully reading familiar words from the Book, ending with, "Eadue! Eadue!" His eyes widened as the very air in the room began to form the High Priest of Seti the First. The Creature was spun from nothing as a tapestry from thread. Ardeth involuntarily took a step forward, fighting with his ingrained instincts. Imhotep looked around wildly, startled to be somewhere besides the Pit of the Underworld. He saw Rick, and hissed, "You…" in Ancient Egyptian. Evy stepped next to Rick and held his hand. The pain Imhotep exhibited at this simple gesture startled both of them. "Why do you torment me thus?" he cried brokenly. "For the sake of Ra, let me sleep!" Ardeth stared, shaken. He did not understand the words, but he knew what he was saying just the same. He had just heard his own self-loathing echoed by his eternal enemy. Evy cleared her throat and spoke in English. "No, Imhotep, you many not sleep. For the Scorpion King has risen again, and only you can defeat him." Imhotep turned and looked out the window. "I have no wish," he said through clenched teeth, "to fight him." Evy looked at the others, at a loss. She suggested hesitantly, "For the sake of Anck-su-namun?"
He snapped around and snarled at Evy, coming at her. Rick and Ardeth leapt forward in alarm, but whatever shield Serqet had given them held. Imhotep could not touch them. Angrily he stood a bit apart. "Do not mention that name. It-" he was both hurting and angry, a bad combination, Ardeth knew. "She betrayed me. Mentioning her is no reason for me to agree." Just speaking about it was hard for him. "Why should I help you?" he said suddenly, regaining some of his former arrogance. Evy didn't know what to say. What reason did he have to help them? Alex shifted uncomfortably, and Imhotep noticed him for the first time. A bare ghost of a smile touched his face. "'My dad's going to kick your ass," he remembered. Evy looked at him in astonishment, then turned to look at Alex. "Did you say that to him?" Alex was puzzled. "Say what?" Imhotep almost laughed. "Your son is an irritating child." Evy shook her head, amazed. "Alex, you told Imhotep that Rick would kick his arse?" "Well, it was true!" Alex exclaimed. "And you did, didn't you, Dad?" Rick shifted. "Well, uh…" he obviously didn't want to discuss his defeat of Imhotep right in front of him. Imhotep glared at Rick, but he almost smiled again when he saw Alex glaring at him. Ardeth noticed how tolerant he was of the child, and thought that perhaps Imhotep thought of Alex as the child that he and Anck-su-namun could have had. It would make sense, from what he knew of the Creature.
Suddenly Imhotep's eyes found Ardeth's. "Med-jai," he spat. Ardeth bared his teeth, not trusting himself to speak. Imhotep turned back to Evy, turning his nose up to Ardeth. Ardeth clenched his fists. "What will I get if I help you?" Imhotep asked Evy haughtily. She thought for a moment. She saw Ardeth and Imhotep glare out of the corners of their eyes, and suddenly she noticed how similar they were. "You will get a distraction," she said intuitively. "Something to take your mind off… things. And after that, you will have eternal sleep once more." Imhotep looked at her for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly. "I will meet the Scorpion King in battle." Evy smiled happily, then restrained herself. "Thank you, Imhotep." Ardeth let out a quiet breath he hadn't known he had been holding. He suddenly noticed suddenly that Imhotep would not look at Rick. Alex said excitedly, "I can't wait to see the battle!" A smile flitted across Imhotep's face. "I do not believe your parents will want you there, little one." Alex glared at him for a moment, then turned to Evy. "Can I go, Mum?" "No." "Aww, Mum, you're no fun!" Evy shook her head firmly. "That's just too bad, Alex, because there's no way I'm letting you join a battle that could hurt you!" Alex looked down. "I guess…"
Out of the corner of her eye, Evy saw Imhotep kneel. She turned and saw him taking a thread from his loincloth. "What-" she started, but he ignored her and started to mutter, passing his hand over the thread. She fell silent and watched. The thread twisted into a circle, stretching and expanding. Then it filled in like a painted, turning into a hand-sized mirror. Imhotep gave the mirror to a surprised Alex. "You will be able to see what happens through this glass," he told him. To his parents, he explained, "I still have the more harmless of my powers." Evy gave him an unsure smile; Rick said nothing. Alex gasped, looking into his mirror. "Whoa! I see the Scorpion King and that lady! There's a hundred million walking dogs behind them!" Rick and Evy exchanged glances. "That's our cue," Rick said. Evy closed her eyes and spoke to Serqet in Egyptian. "Mistress, we have the one who has risen again. May we be transported once more?" The musical voice replied serenely, "Yes, my child. But this must be the last time. I have already pushed the barriers of etiquette." As she spoke, the familiar breeze hurtled through the window like a rambunctious child. It blew around the room and gathered the four adults. "Bye, Mum!" called Alex. "Bye, Dad!" He watched their progress in his mirror as they disappeared from sight.
