Rick seemed quite upset as he hurried wordlessly over a sand dune. Jonathan had a bit of trouble keeping up with him.

"What's wrong O'Connell? You've seemed not quite yourself ever since we met up with Ardeth again," Jonathan wondered.

"That's the point. He must know something we don't. Plus it's that girl I'm more worried about than him," explained Rick.

"I want to know where the third piece of the jewel. Maybe even get the first two pieces. It would definately be worth to have. It must be worth a fortune," Jonathan said.

Rick started to laugh at the typical Jonathan antics. The O'Connells and Jonathan climbed onto the camels as Ardeth climbed onto Geb behind Catlanda.

"So okay, where to now?" asked Rick.

"This way," Catlanda replied, moving Geb forward.

They started off and Alex was excited as a newborn puppy as he followed alongside his parents.

"I can't believe it. We're on our way towards Luxor!" Alex said happily. "Maybe we could actually go into the city or maybe see the Valley of the Kings!"

Everybody laughed as they watched Alex.

"Only if your parents have time to Alex. We have quite an adventure ahead of us," Ardeth said.

00000

Ramses paced back and forth beside his coffin.

"Now what are the possibilities for the location of the jewel? My men have looked everywhere for it. In all the temples and tombs all across Egypt. It could be anywhere! It could be buried underneath sand for all we know," Laron told him.

"No, it's someplace where it can be found. Somebody has to know where it is. We will find that person," Ramses replied.

Laron just stood there, dumbfounded.

00000

Later in the day, they stopped for a rest. As Catlanda was giving her horse some water, she noticed Evie walk over to Rick and kiss him. She looked at Alex before immediately facing her horse. Isis whimpered as she looked at her friend.

"Darling, I can't believe we're off to save the world again except this time it's not from Imhotep. Tell me, how long has it been since we defeated him last?" Rick told her.

"Three years Rick, three years," Evie replied.

Ardeth watched her and sighed, shaking his head.

"If only I could help Catlanda but I know I can't," he whispered.

"Are we there yet?" asked Alex.

"No," replied Rick.

"Not yet we aren't, but we're close. It depends on where Catlanda leads us now," Evie explained.

"I still really hate the fact that she's leading the way," mumbled Rick.

Ardeth glanced over at Rick, a sad look on his face that the American didn't see.

"Catlanda, it's getting dark. Where is that hidden oasis you once told me about?" Ardeth asked.

"It's...nearby. This way," she replied.

00000

Ramses suddenly looked skyward and smiled.

"They're nearby. I'm going to welcome our guests," he said to Laron.

Before he could go any further, a bright light engulfed him. Laron had to shield his eyes from it. Once the light died down, Ramses stood there with his crown atop his head and a white Egyptian skirt. Ramses laughed.

"It's close. Very close. Soon, my victory will be near," he said, still chuckling and clenching his hands into fists.

The six saw saw green slowly coming into view when suddenly, a mound of sand flew up before them only to reveal Ramses.

"Ramses II!" screamed Catlanda.

Geb reared up, throwing her and Ardeth off. He gasped as he sat up. He looked over at his friends before his stare came to Isis, who was standing in front of her owner, growling. Ramses slowly moved forward, causing her to move behind the Medjai.

"Stay away from her!" he cried.

Ardeth jumped to his feet, grabbing his sword along the way. Ramses ignored him, walking up to Catlanda and grabbed her arm, nearly crushing it. Ardeth ran towards him with his sword and tried to attack him but the pharoah just casually pushed out of the way with one arm. Ardeth grimaced in pain as he fell to the sand.

"Ramses II, the all powerful pharaoh from ancient times," whispered Evie.

"So...this is the guy we're trying to stop. It's his jewel we're after," Rick said. "I'm going to kick your butt in."

He pulled out a couple of guns and shot at Ramses. They hit him, but didn't phase him a bit and He laughed it off. Ramses let go of Catlanda and walked towards Rick.

"Rise up!" cried Ramses, raising his arms.

A dozen mummies rose up behind him from beneath the sands. Rick's mouth hung open.

"Oh great!" shouted Rick.

He tossed a gun to both Ardeth and Evie and yanked out another. Catlanda took a fighting stance, Alex and Jonathan standing behind her. The mummies started to move. Half went after the female Medjai and she held out a hand.

"Halt!" she said.

The mummies immediately stopped moving. With the extra time, she grabbed Alex's arm and pulled him out of the way. The young teen's mouth hung open as they moved away from the scene,

"Whoa. How'd you do that?" he asked.

"I'll tell you the story later," she replied.

They hurried over to the others, who were trying to stop the other six. Evie, Rick and Ardeth led the way. Jonathan had moved to behind them and was cowering in fear.

"Halt! All of you!" she cried.

The mummies stopped dead in their tracks and Ramses stood before the six.

"You may have slowed down me down this time but we will meet again and it will not be in your favour. I will be sure of it," Ramses told them.

He disappeared beneath the sands, the mummies soon following him. Rick moved to where they once stood, kicking the sand.

"On second thought, maybe we should head towards the temple," Rick said. "At least there we can find some answers to this guy and how to stop him."

"We've been heading towards the temple all along," Catlanda told him.

"What? You've been leading us astray? I thought you were supposed to lead us towards the oasis. I bet that what we see up there isn't even real. Either that, or it's not the right one. Why I ought to..." Rick started angrily.

"We're almost there. Let's go," Catlanda interrupted.

It was apparent that the young Medjai was angry as she led everyone further into the temple. Evie began to follow when she felt a hand grab her arm. Glancing back, she found Ardeth beside her, a distraught look on his face. She gave him a one over and ended on the upset look on his face, which said there was something wrong.

"Please...forgive my daughter," he sighed.

TBC...