Rating: PG13 prolly eventually
Author: Angel - http://www.geocities.com/ninthsaturn
Summary: The ending of the Scorpion King changed and expanded upon. The O'Connells meet up with some strange people that look very familiar. Almost too familiar.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Mummy or it's characters. But I would give a whole heck of a bunch to own Imhotep and Ardeth. ;-)
*
As the morning light slowly washed over the pale desert, Rick O'Connell swept his wife into his arms, smoothed her hair back and kissed her on the lips. He would worry, he knew, and accepted the onset of the seemingly age long emotion without too much of a fuss. She looked particularly lovely this morning, he noticed. He told her so. Evy smiled brightly and touched his lips gently. "You promise you'll be careful?" she asked him, hugging his body close.
"You know it," he whispered back, running a finger down her cheek. He looked her over. "Keep that gun I gave you nearby and keep Alex out of trouble while I'm gone."
Grinning and poking at Rick's belly, Evy shared a passionate look with her husband. "You know it," she echoed and they kissed again.
Rick beeped her nose. She thought it silly and slapped at his hands for it, but he couldn't resist. Never could. He didn't want to leave her. That single desire to never leave her side kept him glued to the desert sands. O'Connell hugged her again, kissing her neck and inhaling her hair.
Looking over her shoulder, he could see Jonathan and Izzy, both with an equal disdain for the morning sunshine written on their faces. Imhotep sat beside the fire and gazed into the flames in thought. His wrists and legs were already bound, something the priest hadn't allowed very easily. Alex was still asleep, dangerously close to the priest. Rick didn't like that, but what could the tied man do? Michael and Alannah were curiously missing from the morning scene.
He smiled back at Evy. "So, planning on getting to know yourself?"
She rested her head against his shoulder, still holding to him. She always did that when she didn't want him to go. "Yes. I'd like to know how different she is and at the same time, how she's like me. You remember how I was having those visions and dreams about Nefertiri?" He nodded. "I wonder if Alannah's ever had visions of being me."
Rick grinned at that, pushing her back so he could look at her face. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Let's hope we weren't doing anything private."
Before Evy could comment further, Michael came forward and Rick wondered where he and Alannah had been. "Are you ready, my friend?" he asked and for a second Rick had Ardeth's name on his tongue to reply.
He nodded, patting the gun holstered at his side. "Ready as I'll ever be. Jonathan, Izzy! We're ready to leave."
"Just bloody great," Jonathan replied in a mockingly sarcastic tone.
Rick grinned and stepped up beside him as they all headed towards Michael's car. He elbowed Evy's brother, chuckling at the man's sour face. "Jonathan, I can always count on you to make a bad situation seem better, can't I?"
Carnahan rolled his eyes and rubbed his cheek, biting back a yawn. "Oh, right. And just how big is the Med-Jai army, anyway? It could take us forever to track down one man."
Shrugging, O'Connell shook his head. "I don't know, Jonathan. We'll have to ask around and hope someone saw Ardeth fighting."
"So, let me get this straight. We'll drive into a battle that's in progress, roll down the window and ask around?" Jonathan asked dryly. Trust Jonathan to bring up all the bad points.
Rick exhaled, doubting himself the chances for success. But they had to try. For Ardeth's sake and for this stranger's. The Scorpion King could not be allowed to win. He sighed. "Yeah, that's about what we're gonna do. Why don't you pester Michael about all this? He's the one in charge." Without waiting for a reply, Rick headed to the passenger side of the big vehicle and sat up front.
Michael of course got into the driver's seat and the other two got into the middle. Rick gazed out his window as the man beside him started the car and pulled away. It was going to be a long day. As soon as Evy was out of sight, he looked at their leader. "So, Mike, what do you do aside from stopping the bad guys?" he asked, needing a distraction. He noticed the man wince at the nickname.
Inhaling deeply, his dark eyes on the road ahead, Michael replied, "I'm a psychologist."
Rick couldn't help but snicker. "Sorry," he said at the man's puzzled and slightly miffed look. "Just picturing that on Ardeth. A head doctor, huh? How'd you wind up getting to know Alannah if she's an egyptologist?"
"For a time I worked in Egypt, where Alannah was born and raised." His eyes seemed distant as if remembering an easier time. Rick knew that look well, had given it enough times during these little ordeals. "I met her totally by accident in a small cafe. There was something familiar about her, but I wouldn't discover until years later why that was. So, I asked to sit with her and we became friends. Best friends. I helped her study Egypt during my off times and we learned many of ancient Egypt's secrets." He sighed and glanced at Rick. "How did you come to know Evelyn?"
O'Connell leaned back against his seat and looked at the desert, idly wondering if Michael really knew which way to go. "By accident, I guess you could say. I acquired the key to the Book of the Dead and by chance her brother stole it. Then we all went to Hamunaptra. Lots of that "strange desert stuff" happened, but by the end of it Evy and I both knew we wanted each other. She had that familiar feeling too, come to think of it." Rick scratched his head and sighed. "Do you guys know a version of me in your time?"
Michael nodded. "Yes. His name is Ryan. He even dated Alannah once." The man gave a sidelong smile. "But they broke up and he married a girl named Lizzy."
From the back Jonathan chuckled and leaned forward. "Lizzy? You know, that's actually quite funny. What with all the reincarnation going on I'd have to stop and wonder if Lizzy weren't a female incarnation of Izzy." Carnahan tapped Rick's shoulder gleefully. "Interesting prospect, eh Rick?"
Rick scrunched his nose and looked at his wife's brother with a warning glare. "Don't even joke about that sort of thing."
*
Imhotep was bored. She could tell and it made her just a little bit nervous. Bored men had time to plot and plan evil deeds. Alannah had wandered off into a small grouping of rock formations with Alex, leaving Evy all alone with this monster. Which was okay, she supposed. She had a gun and Imhotep didn't seem all that threatening at the moment. He sat quietly, his face passive and thoughtful. Evy sighed and took a drink from her canteen.
"I am thirsty," he announced, his dark eyes moving to gaze upon her. There was the slightest smile on the corners of his lips when she jumped at the sound of her voice. "I have been given nothing to drink or eat since I was captured," the priest continued. He spoke warily as if he were afraid talking too much would unleash his anger and result in mistreatment.
With an exhale, Evy scooted close to him and handed him the water, pursing her lips when he snatched it away and drank. "Do you have to be such a jerk?"
Imhotep didn't reply to that, merely shrugged and took another drink as if he'd been owed it. She rolled her eyes and was about to ask for the canteen back, but before she could even get one word out he was on her. The priest pounced on her with his mortal strength and shoved her into the sand roughly.
Evy fell back with a groan and a sense of panic began to spread through her as he climbed on top of her, pressing his hands down into the sand on either side of her throat. The rope that bound his wrists together began to strangle her as she struggled beneath his heavy weight. Alex...little images of him as a baby poured through her mind, his first words, Rick teaching him to ride a bike. And Rick...what would happen to them if Imhotep killed her?
His eyes were dark and clouded with strange emotions as he held her down and continued to slowly take her life. "Things will be as they must, Nefertiri," he whispered, looking around to make certain that the other woman was still gone. To Evy's dismay Alannah was nowhere around. She was helpless to this.
She began to see stars and couldn't find the strength to push him away anymore. But on the very edges of her perception she could hear something. A humming in the desert that grew louder as whatever it was came closer. Imhotep's hold loosened slightly and Evy drew in a few precious breaths. She could now hear a car horn blasting towards them. It gave her a headache.
The priest made no move to either get off her or kill her, but Evy didn't have the strength to care at this particular moment. She didn't feel very good. The car stopped nearby and she heard the door open and shut. Quite suddenly Imhotep was knocked off her and she heard the priest slam into the sand. Panting for air, Evy pushed herself up, very grateful to whoever it was that had stopped this from happening to her. Opening her eyes, she looked up into a concerned face and gasped.
He was wearing all black as usual, but the clothes were quite different. Yet despite the friendly concern written in his eyes, Evy still felt like reaching for her gun. He picked up on that and smiled gently. "Are you all right?" he asked in accented English. All she could do was nod, rubbing her neck absently. Imhotep, this new version of him, held out his hand and helped her up when she dared to take it. "Where is Nefertiri?"
*
He could barely hold onto his consciousness. Not much that was going on around him actually entered into his thinking. He was quite exhausted by now. They all were. As the last remaining creatures of Anubis left their vision, the Med-Jai turned and headed away from the oasis of Ahm Shere to rest and plan. And pray the creatures gave them enough time to do so.
Ardeth walked slowly, every muscle in his body aching for rest. Beside him was Isfahan, also looking a bit worse for wear. Blood gushed down his arm as he examined his wound. "The fight was good," he commented, pressing his hand against the large gash to stall the bleeding.
Any fight was good for this man. Isfahan loved battle. Ardeth agreed to a certain extent - it was a rush to risk all and fight to the death - but right now all he wanted was rest. Ever since he'd gone to London his sleeping had been too little and it was finally catching up with him. But he nodded, feeling the large bruise on his shoulder throb. "Yes, my friend. We did well. God was with us."
Isfahan laughed and eyed his friend with merry eyes. The man's moods were always on the cheerful side, Ardeth noticed. "And we must pray He'll be with us tomorrow, when we must do better."
"Truly," Ardeth replied with a smile. The fight would likely escalate as soon as the creatures were able. Why they had left in the first place was a mystery to him. Undoubtedly they would return, but what if they didn't? Not that he had a problem with that. Rest sounded very good. But he didn't like not knowing what was going on behind the scenes. Something had called them back, whether it was their own inability to take the Med-Jai on for much longer, or a real summons.
He inhaled deeply, looking around the desert. Night had just fallen upon the surface of the earth, bathing everything in the pale glory of the moon. The voices of his people echoed around him as he entered the makeshift camp. Again he felt a wave of tiredness hit him and his body begged him for rest. Without even really thinking about it, he followed Isfahan and was ultimately led to a place he could rest. Ardeth laid down almost immediately and closed his eyes.
He would not rest for long. He heard the footsteps rapidly heading towards him and prayed that whoever it happened to be was looking for someone else. But inevitably, as luck would have it, the next thing he heard after the foot falls stopped was a panty voice saying, "Ardeth."
The Med-Jai opened his eyes and looked up at his brother warrior. The expression he saw was a mix of curiosity, confusion and concern. "What is it, friend?" he breathed, sitting up.
The younger man pointed off towards the east. "O'Connell is here to see you."
A wave of relief rushed over him like the waters of a cool stream. His friend lived. The Scorpion King hadn't succeeded that far yet. Ardeth was on his feet instantly and he followed the Med-Jai through the large gathering of his people. As they drew further from his resting spot, he could make out a large vehicle in the distance. It was white and sizable. His eyes looked it over appreciatively, but slid to Rick's as he hung out the window. "You live," he said with a smile, coming to stand before his friend. "And the others?"
Rick nodded his head in reassurance. "They're fine. What happened to the army of Anubis?"
Ardeth shook his head uncertainly, an admission he didn't care to make very often. It was one thing to be in the dark about what exactly was going on, it was quite another to parade the fact you didn't know before others. "They simply began to retreat. There is no explanation any of us can give you. I was hoping you knew."
Scratching his head in thought, the ex-Legionnaire shook his head. "I'm not sure. Listen, Ardeth, I've got some things to explain to you. Some really," he waved his hand in search of a word, "weird stuff. I need you to come with me."
That drew an immediate reaction. Ardeth couldn't leave his people to the hands of the armies of the Scorpion King. "I am sorry, my friend, but I cannot leave before the fight is over."
"You don't understand," Rick replied, a tone of urgency in his voice. "You're in danger, Ardeth. Personally." He sighed, seeing Ardeth's expression of dubiousness. "Please, don't argue about this. The longer I have to fight you, the longer I'm going to worry about Evy."
Ardeth furrowed his brow. "What is wrong with Evy?"
O'Connell's eyes were very concerned. He looked distinctly restless. "We left her and a few others back at a small oasis. Alone. I want to get back there, but I'm not leaving without you. You can't die and that's all there is to it."
Frowning and looking over the car again, then back to his people and finally to Rick again, Ardeth shook his head and relented. "I do not like this, my friend, but I will trust you." And he did. Rick would never lead him off without it being necessary.
"Good," Rick replied, patting his hand against the car door and settling back into his seat. "Take a seat in the back."
Ardeth opened the door and climbed into the strange car, seating himself beside Jonathan. Taking one last glance at his people, he sat back in the comfortable seat and turned his eyes ahead, asking, "Now would you please explain why I am in danger?"
Rick turned around in his chair and looked back with a small grin on his face. He clapped the shoulder of the man driving, a man with short black hair as far as Ardeth could tell from where he was, seated between them in the middle row. "First, I think you should meet Mikey."
The next voice startled Ardeth quite a bit. With audible irritation the driver warned, "Don't call me by that name, Rick." That voice sounded just like...
"Right, right," Rick replied with a smirk. He seemed to be looking for his reaction. Ardeth held his face straight despite the sudden onslaught of curiosity that hit him. "Ardeth, this is Michael."
Turning his head slightly and slowing the car down, this person, this Michael confirmed Ardeth's small suspicion of what his face would look like. With the stolen voice of the Med-Jai behind him, Michael said, "Undoubtedly, you have a good many questions now. Well, for starters, I am an incarnation of you, you could say. I have your spirit, or will in about forty years." He looked at Ardeth in his rearview mirror, also awaiting a reaction.
Seeing both the men in the front seat and also Jonathan beside him giving him a watchful gaze, Ardeth nodded his head simply and kept his face nonchalant. "I see," was his only reply. Izzy, in the back seat, snorted.
Rick rolled his eyes. "I see? I see? That's all you have to say?" At the Med-Jai's chuckle, he pointed his finger and shook his head. "You irritate me."
"I am sorry, my friend," Ardeth told him with a small smile. "Next time I will strive for a more dramatic performance. Though I will admit, I am quite curious as to how you came to this time, Michael, and why you are here. If you are who you say you are."
Sparing a glance at the rearview mirror, Michael smiled a quiet smile, one that reminded Ardeth of himself strangely. "All will be explained."
"Don't worry, old boy," Jonathan said, nudging Bay with his elbow. "You'll get used to it. I think Evy did."
Ardeth furrowed his brows. "Evy?"
Behind him, Izzy grunted, obviously finding this all a little too strange for his blood. "You aren't the only one with a twin."
Before Ardeth could comment a loud crash demanded his attention. Suddenly the car swerved as if it had been struck on the right side and Ardeth could see Rick holding his hands against the dash board for balance as Michael fought to regain control of the vehicle. There was a large gun between the two men in the front seat and seeing as how neither made a move for it, he took it upon himself to use it.
Ardeth busted the window and looked out at the desert, ignoring his future self's sudden cry of displeasure at having his window broken. Barely visible in the dusky lighting, he could just see two stray Anubis creatures running towards them. What was this? Some sort of parameter guard? As the large white car bounded through the sand, Ardeth pointed the scoped shotgun at the gaining Anubis warriors and fired. He missed.
Steeling himself, he concentrated and trained his gun upon one of the two creatures. Screaming it's wrath, the horrid monster stretched it's wretched hands forth and quite suddenly dropped to the ground as Ardeth fired and hit his target. But the other Anubis warrior was too close. Leaping into the air, it struck the front side of the car with a supernatural strength, causing the driver to again lose control.
But this time he couldn't regain that loss. The vehicle began to spin, it's back rapidly heading towards the direction the front had been traveling. The dune below sloped down and the top heavy truck flipped over and slid the rest of the way down. That was the last thing Ardeth perceived before blackness took him.
*
Hmm..well,
I didn't get as far with Imhotep's appearance as I would have liked, but
here is the new chapter.:D Thanks you guys, for the reviews!!!
Yes, Lula, it would be wonderful to comfort Ardeth. ;) Hope
you all enjoy this chapter! -Angel