Hey people, once again, I'm sorry it's been so long. I read Gone with the Wind last week, and it was incredibly good, and so I couldn't get immediately back into The Mummy writing spirit. And then, I kept trying to download the story and it wouldn't work . . . but I got it now. Hopefully I'll be able to update a lot sooner now that school is over. Thanks to my reviewers! And thanks to Bachy A for helping me with my format problem.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. If I did, I would be a rich movie director named Stephen Sommers.
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Chapter Five: Arguments and Deja Vu
Evy looked around her bedroom suite and sighed. Ever since she and Rick had realized what the implications of them being in the past were, they had barely spoken . . . not out of malice or because of a fight, but because each had to go over their options by themselves. They had to form their opinions on what to do, without anyone else's influence changing what they really thought.
But now Evy thought she knew what she wanted to do, and she desperately wanted to hear what Rick had to say. Maybe she had overlooked something. Maybe he would find some way out.
Slowly Evy stood up from her bed and made her way over to the next room. Rick was sitting there on a wooden chair, staring off into space. She walked over to him, her jeweled sandals slapping against the stone floor and echoing loudly in the silence.
"Hi, Rick," she said, and was surprised to hear herself whisper the words, as if the stillness had made it impossible to make a loud noise. She sat down next to him and took his hands in hers. His hands were warm, and hers were cold. "Earlier you said we needed to talk. I'm ready now to do that, if you are."
Rick nodded and looked at her. "Yeah, I'm ready," he replied, and grinned. "But you get to go first."
Evy slowly let out a breath. "Okay. Rick, this is what I think we should do. We can't just ignore what we know is going to happen. We can't just - just let Seti be murdered. And we can't let the Med-jai perform the Hom-dai on Imhotep. We have to stop it now, before it even takes place. I know that it'll have an enormous impact on our lives. But . . . I think we have to look beyond ourselves. If the whole world will be safer without Imhotep, then we can't be selfish. We can't risk everyone else's lives just so that we get to keep ours."
Rick looked away and slowly shook his head. "I don't know, Evy. That's not what I would do. I think we should just let it all happen. Who knows what might be affected? We can't mess around with history like that. Plus, I'm not willing to risk you - I can't do this and then maybe never meet you, never hold you, never kiss you - " he stopped abruptly.
"Yes, but Rick, we can't let it just happen! We just can't!" Evy exclaimed. "Are the two of us worth more than the whole world? Oh Rick, I couldn't bear it either, if our lives were torn apart. But - I don't know how I could live - when I would know that I could have stopped it all." Evy felt her heart breaking as she contemplated a life without Rick . . . a life without his laughter and jokes and strength. It would be a dreary existence, indeed. But . . .
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Rick's hands clenched. He had been afraid that this was what Evy would say. She had such a sense of right and wrong, fair play, and justice, that he knew she would insist on doing the unselfish thing. And to her, that meant sacrificing themselves for the rest of the world.
He looked down for a moment at his feet. He was about to say something, which he didn't really want to say, in an attempt to sway her opinion. But he was willing to play any card he had to try to get Evy to agree with him.
"All right, Evy. Maybe in one way it would be unselfish to stop Imhotep and Anck-su-namun. But . . . have you thought about Alex? What would happen to him? Is it fair of us to condemn him to possibly never existing at all?"
For a moment Evy simply gaped up at him, her mouth slightly open, too stunned for words. "Oh Rick - I - I never thought about Alex. What would happen to him? Oh, my goodness - how is it possible that I never thought about him?" she fretted, her face creased with worry. "How could I just forget about him like that?"
Rick breathed a sigh of relief. Evy was beginning to see his way. It'd all be okay now. "Yes, so now you see why I think we should just let it all go. For Alex."
"Yes . . . for Alex," she echoed. But then Evy frowned and bit her lip. She looked down, and when she looked back up a moment later, she glared at Rick. "Rick! I know what you're up to! You said that just so that I would agree with you. Well, it didn't work, Rick."
"Evy . . . be reasonable," Rick appealed.
"Don't 'be reasonable' me. We got ourselves here in the past, and it must be for a reason."
"We? What we?" Rick yelled, exasperated. "YOU read the walls. I told you not to. Didn't I tell you that you shouldn't mess around with those things? Didn't I tell you?"
"Yes, well, fine," Evy snapped. "I read the walls, I got us into this mess, and now I intend to do something about it, whether or not you help me. I'll stop Imhotep and Anck-su-namun alone if I have to." She turned her back to him.
"Look Evy," Rick shot back. "You can either stay here and save the world, or you can come with me and keep our lives together. What'll it be?"
Evy looked over her shoulder and glared at him. "I'm staying."
"Fine!" Rick threw his arms up and stalked over to the door.
"Fine!"
"Fine!" Rick got the last word in as he slammed the door. That woman can be infuriating at times . . . although that's why I love her, he thought, grinning in spite of himself. On the other side of the door, Evy was thinking almost the identical thing.
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Three hours later Evy was sitting on the chair staring into space when there came a knock at her door. "Come in," she called, knowing who it would be.
Rick entered the room and crossed over to sit next to her. Their eyes met, and both smiled. "Hey, Evy," Rick said. "Sorry about our fight earlier."
"Yes, I'm sorry too, Rick," Evy agreed. "But I was thinking - didn't it seem awfully familiar? Like we had done it all before?"
"Yeah, we did it all before," Rick grinned. "I remembered, too. Back when Imhotep arose the first time. We came back from Hamunaptra, and were arguing in your hotel room."
"Yes - I remember now," Evy replied. "You wanted to go - I wanted to stay."
Rick grew sober. "You were right back then, Evy. You're probably right now. But before we make our decision, I want a third opinion. Earlier we said we needed to find someone we could trust."
"Yes - we did. Who do you have in mind?" Evy asked, puzzled. Who could they trust here?
Rick grinned a little. "Ardeth Bay."
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Phew . . . a longer chapter to make up for the slow updates. I hope you all enjoyed it! I love to hear from you all, so please review!
