Okie dokie. Here I am again, with Chapter 3! This chapter is dedicated to Deana, because she was my second reviewer and also because I'm pretty sure she'll like this chapter...for some reason...;) Now. I've gotten 4 reviews now...Haven't read the fourth one yet, but I'll get to it. The first people who read/review get chapters dedicated! *applause* *gasping* *oohing* *ahhing* You should tell me what your fave parts/characters of TM and TMR are so I can dedicate the right chapter to you; I guess it would be pretty kewl. Okie doke. Enough of me blabbing: Read on, Dear Friends!

Chapter 3

There are several deserts in the world, some large and some small, but none are as hot as an Egyptian desert. The sun beats down with such ferocity, it is all one can take to work a single day under its scorching rays. The sand there is like a fiery walkway leading into nothing but infinite waves of golden brown dust, swirling around in wisps every time a warm breeze blows. Therefore, Shanala had a very good reason to be complaining. She had been riding her camel for hours now, her hands tied in front of her, the ropes digging deep into her tan skin. She blinked up at the sky to see when the sun would set. It still had at least another five hours to go. She sighed, glanced at her hands, and then at the guards flanking either side of her camel. One was humming softly as he stared straight ahead into the endless desert, and the other was biting into a sweet, fruity date. Shanala's mouth watered as she realized how hungry she was. She licked her lips and closed her eyes, leaning her head back and letting the sun beat onto her face. Oh why hadn't she run faster back in the tomb? If she had, Anck-su-namun never would have caught her and she wouldn't be so hot. Shanala was a very beautiful young lady with sun bronzed skin and a slender figure. Her shoulder length hair was auburn and blunt cut so that it swept up against her face and made her deep blue eyes stand out. She swallowed to dampen her mouth and said, "I'm thirsty."

Abitula glanced up at her, "No."

Shanala frowned and crossed her arms, "What do you mean, 'no'? It's not your decision to whether or not I'm thirsty!"

"You can be thirsty all you want," Abitula growled, taking a water bottle form his side and drinking a long, nourishing gulp, "That doesn't mean I'll let you drink any water."

Shanala glared at him, "Fine. I'll just die from dehydration and fall off my camel and you'll have to pick me up and bury me in the hot sand and I doubt if she will be very happy with you."

Shanala nodded at Anck-su-namun, who rode slightly in front of them all and was deep in thought. Abitula snarled ugly words at Shanala and said it was preposterous, but he also gave Shanala some water.

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The O'Connells and Izzy were flying over Ahm Shere, the seemingly endless sand dunes hiding the fact that an oasis had once been there. Though the sun was now setting, it was still exceedingly hot.

"Look, Izzy, I told you that there isn't an oasis anymore! It disappeared when the Scorpion King was defeated!" Rick was shouting, prodding the little pilot in the chest with his finger.

"Oh yea, O'Connell? And what if this.Scorpion King guy is alive again?" "Then.we'll know ahead of time because we'll see the oasis."

"Ugh! Exactly my point! There are some creepy looking kids in that oasis, lemme tell you what."

Evelyn turned away as she smiled at Izzy's remark. A warm breeze blew across her face, and, compared to the scorching sun, it felt cool. Evelyn looked into the distance and saw the remains of a large, golden pyramid against the skyline and she suddenly felt sick as she remembered the last time she had come here. Alex had been kidnapped then, and just the thought of how he had come so close to dying made Evelyn nauseous. "Rick?"

Rick stopped arguing with Izzy and sat down next to Evelyn, "Hmmm?"

"Do you think.Alex is ok?"

"Sure he is, Evy. Anck-su-namun ordered the guards not to attack until she told them too. Besides, without Imhotep, how bad can she be?"

"I don't know." Evelyn looked out into the distance again.

"Evy, Alex is perfectly fine. He's probably just reading his precious books, wishing he could have come with us. Besides, Jonathan's there, remember?"

"I know, but you know Jonathan."

Rick wrapped an arm around Evy and lifted her chin with his hand. "Hey. It's gonna be ok, alright? Alex is a smart kid. Like I've said before, he's smarter than you, and he's braver than me. He'll be fine." Evy smiled and leaned against Rick's shoulder, ready to doze off... Suddenly, Izzy called from the helm, "Hey! Will you two stop flirtin' and help me? We're about to land!"

Rick stood up and walked over to Izzy, "What do you want me to do?"

"Lower the helium on gauges one, three and five."

Rick did so, and they slowly started to sink towards the waves of endless sand. Finally, with a slight bump, they landed. "Now that," stated Izzy, jumping out of the blimp, "is the way to land! Not by crashing into a jungle filled with devil children that shoot darts at you! Land, nice and smooth on this nice, safe, hot sand." Evelyn rolled her eyes and looked up at the deserted remains of a once glorious temple. "Well," Rick said, pulling out his gun, "Looks like we're saving the world.again."

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There were very few things that scared Alex O'Connell. He was braver than any other kid he knew of, and he was bright enough to get out of any trouble. But, at the moment, with the sound of the door getting smashed into splinters and the feeling of weight against the wood, Alex was afraid. However, that didn't mean he was going to show his fear. "Stop! I'll fight you! Stop!" He heard the men laughing at him from the other side of the door, and he considered the fact that his arms were giving in to the pain from holding the door up. He squeezed his eyes shut and thought, "Oh help! Oh help! I swear, much more of this and my arms'll break off!" Then, Alex thought his arms had broken off, because of the loud sound of cracking wood. He let go of the door and, deciding it would be better to run than to stay where he was, he raced up the stairs and into his parent's room.

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Though and oasis had once littered the landscape of the sand in the Egyptian desert, there was nothing that could prove it had once been there. It was hotter and dryer than any other place in the desert, and nothing but sand and a few poisonous snakes littered the golden brown waves. That is, until the soldiers set camp. They had arrived at their destination hours before, had set up tents, made a fire, and got out food. Now, as dusk dawned slowly, they were sitting around the fire, laughing and chomping on their food. Shanala sat against a tent, far away from the loud men and sizzling fire. She stared around her, taking in the scene of the camp. Dozens of tents surrounded her, formed in a sloppy circle around the monumental fire that spit ashes and flames towards the soldiers. Outside of the circle, there was a crashing waterfall that filled a deep blue pool of water on one side, and on the other, nothing but sand. Shanala shivered and hugged her knees to her chest tightly as a cool breeze blew across her face. She had never seen so many soldiers before! Some were marching around the camp, watching for wild animals and other dangers; more were sitting around the fire chatting, and still others lay sleeping inside their tents. Anck-su-namun had left for the tomb, leaving Mugentai (a rather stupid soldier, Shanala thought) in charge until she got back with Abitula and other brave men. Shanala looked out, away from the camp, to the pool of water. It was the Blue Nile; she knew it because of how long she'd lived in Egypt. She also knew that the oasis of Ahm Shere used to lie somewhere beyond it, but it had been destroyed a mere five years ago. She glanced over at the men, who were completely ignoring her, and she straightened and walked over to the edge of the camp. She glanced around at the soldiers, each one walking past her every minute or so and giving her warning glances. She mentally measured the distance from where she stood to the river, and saw that it was too far for her to run to without getting caught. "I'll never get out of here," she sighed, sliding to her knees and resting her chin in her hands. That's when she heard a faint hiss to her right, and she slowly turned to meet it. An Egyptian asp lay coiled near her, its black coils gleaming from the nearby firelight. It was staring at her with its beady eyes, daring her to move again and startle it from its sleep, causing it to sink its inch long fangs into her skin... Shanala felt fear well up in her throat. "Great. Now I'm in even deeper trouble than I was before..." Then she thought of something and a smile came to her lips. Slowly, so slowly no one would know she was moving, she raised her hand towards the snake, ignoring the fact that it was opening its mouth. She stared at the snake, its jaws open, ready to bite, and then she grinned. "Sorry, Old Boy. You aren't going to get me this time." Quick as lightning, Shanala snatched it up and, just as a soldier walked by, she threw the serpent hard. It landed at the man's feet and hissed, springing to attack. The man shouted curses and backed away, yelling for help. Two more men came from the other side of the camp and tried to help the man kill the animal. No one noticed that Shanala had run from the camp, straight into the desert.

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Alex lay on his stomach, barely breathing, listening to the sounds below him. He had been this way for at least fifteen minutes, his muscles cramped, his lungs stinging, trying to find a way to get help. "Lemme think...what would Dad do..." Alex scowled, "He wouldn't be hiding under a bed like some ninny." He cautiously crawled out from his hiding place, hitting his head on the bed frame as he did. Alex sucked in a breath and covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" He rubbed his head furiously and walked to the door, peering out at the hallway. There was nothing out of the ordinary: Egyptian statues, pictures and maps, his father's gun case, a few antique swords...nothing unusual. At least for his family. Alex stepped cautiously out the door and peered over the railing. Several soldiers were tearing through the house, shouting curses in Arabic. Alex felt a wave of rage rush over him as he saw them tear his parent's hard work apart without a trace of sorrow, and maybe even some happiness. Then, one of the men took a painting from the wall and sneered at it; Alex froze. The picture was of his mother's parents. She would die if it was ruined. The man gestured to the soldiers around him and they all gathered around him. He pointed to the picture and then took out his sword. Alex leaned far over the railing and barely stopped himself from shouting "Stop!" He watched in misery as the creep sliced through the portrait, and flung it against the wall carelessly, laughing with the others. Tears stung Alex's eyes as he mourned the picture for his mother. He had inherited much sensitivity from her. However, as was quite obvious from the way his eyes suddenly hardened and his lips tightened, he had also inherited his father's temper and need for revenge. He backed away from the rail and glanced up at his father's gun case; it was payback time.

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That was exactly what Rick was thinking as he and Evelyn clambered through the maze-like chambers of the temple.

"Rick," Evelyn stepped carefully over a rat skittering madly in front of her and to the other side of the tomb, "how will we find her?"

"I was expecting you to tell me that!" Evelyn sighed and continued moving along the dark, chilly corridor. "Tell me again, Rick, why Izzy decided to stay in the blimp?"

"You know Izzy," Rick stated, moving his torch to his other hand and reaching for Evelyn's hand, "To him, the sky is his wife and his kid is his precious little blimp. He's worried that someone will steal it."

"Oh brother."

At that moment, they reached a fork in the tunnel. Right in front of them was a wall and chiseled on it were several colorful symbols. "Hieroglyphics," declared Rick, moving aside and grinning at Evelyn, "After you." Evelyn moved her torch closer to the wall and read the symbols. "We go right," she finally decided. Rick moved towards the right, closely trailed by Evelyn. After they'd been walking for a few minutes, they heard a loud, blood-chilling skittering sound. Rick held out his arm to stop Evelyn and stated, "Remember? There are a ton of scorpions here." Evelyn nodded and moved cautiously the rest of the way. After they turned a bend in the tunnel, they saw a black, shimmering pool of the venomous insects, scrambling over each other in a mad rush to escape from the deep gulch that trapped them. "Well, how do we get across?" Rick questioned, bending to observe the minute animals. Evelyn bit her lip and looked around the room. Finally, she spotted a small ledge of stone next to the wall. "This way," she stated, grabbing Rick's arm and pulling him over. "Just make certain not to lose your balance. Otherwise.the scorpions will..." Evy trailed off and ran a finger over her throat. Rick nodded and followed Evelyn onto the ledge. Evelyn clutched the wall and edged slowly across the ridge. They had gone along fine for about five minutes when a stone crumbled and fell into the glittering mass of scorpions. Evelyn screamed a she lost her footing and almost fell in; Rick grabbed her arm and nearly lost his balance, but he grabbed onto a hole in the wall and held on. He was finally able to pull her back up, and she moved quickly on to the other side, Rick close behind.

"What was it you were saying? 'Just make certain not to lose your balance'"

"Oh shut up. At least we made it."

Evelyn was right. Right in front of them was a large chamber, lit with large jets of fire that shot up from the ground. "Déjà vu," Rick muttered, creeping slowly into the hollow with Evelyn at his heels. Rick stopped dead at the sight before his eyes. Dozens of soldiers, their guns held at their sides and their swords strapped to their waists, were lined around a fissure that was spurting fire and mournful howls from lost souls. And, standing next to the large, fiery pit was Anck- su-namun. She was walking around the room, looking down into the crack and smiling. She was holding the Book of the Dead in her hands; the key hung limply from the book. Suddenly, she stopped walking and ordered, "This is it. Bring in the men." A loud moaning sound echoed around the room. Evelyn and Rick both turned to see three men enter the room chained together, their arms and legs shackled. When they reached Anck-su-namun, they were pushed to their knees in a bowing position. Anck-su-namun took no heed to their groaning and opened the Book of the Dead. Everyone started chanting in Egyptian as she read from the book. "What is she saying?" demanded Rick.

"Cornalius tofurata menano. Rise from the dead," Evelyn frowned as she strained to hear Anck-su-namun over the chants, "Ben horano delastio shranano tjishti." Evelyn frowned as the chanting got too loud for her to hear. "I can't hear!"

"That's alright. We already know what's going on, anyhow. We've got to stop her!" Rick stated.

"I know that, but how? We're outnumbered a thousand to one!"

"You mean a thousand to two."

"Whatever."

"Ok, look. Here's the plan. You and I go in there, fight the soldiers, and stop Anck-su-namun before she resurrects Imhotep."

"You make everything sound so easy," Evelyn remarked.

Rick grabbed his gun, threw one to her and whispered, "I'll go to the other side of the room. When I count to three, you and I jump in and-"

"Shoot everyone?" questioned Evelyn.

"You're good!" complimented Rick. Then, he kissed her and stated, "I'll be right back."

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Panic is something that pushes everything away from our minds; except flight from whatever is causing the terror. That can be good, and bad. It's good because it's your best bet of escaping. It's bad because your escape could just lead you into more danger. And, even though she hated to admit it, Shanala knew she was panicked. She did not want to be caught. She did not want to be tied up again and thrown into another tent. But mostly, she did not want to see Anck-su-namun. Never again. And she was willing to risk almost anything in order to prevent it. She was racing aimlessly through the endless desert, occasional cool winds chilling her and slowing her down, but not stopping her. She had only one destination, and she wouldn't halt until she reached it: The Scorpion King's tomb. She knew if she made it there, she would be able to hide out in the long, echoing tunnels until the men gave up. Anck-su-namun would be harder to escape from, but she didn't even know that Shanala had escaped. "Where is she, anyhow?" Shanala wondered, "I didn't see her in the camp..." Shanala shrugged the fact off as she came to the deserted remains pf the tomb. Without stopping, she searched for the way in, found it, and immediately charged towards the dark, gaping hole in the ground. Not until she made it to the edge and almost fell in did she slow down. And that was only to jump in. ******************************************************

There is a saying: "Silent as a tomb" Rick knew it was called that for a reason, but he couldn't figure it out. Every time he'd been in a tomb, it had been loud; very loud. Rick glanced over at Evy, who pushed her hair away from her eyes and stared at Rick. He grinned and mouthed, "Just like old times, huh?" She nodded. Rick scanned the chamber again, rather unimpressed. "This is nothing compared to what I'm used to," he muttered, cocking his gun. Then, quite suddenly, everything changed. The soldiers stopped chanting and pointed at the entrance of the tomb. Rick, worried they had found Evy, shot his glance to where she had been. She was against the wall, her mouth open in shock as she stared at one spot in front of her...which, Rick found, were swarming with hundreds of cloaked, mysterious men: Medjai. "What in the world?" Rick couldn't help but to grin as his old 'friend' Ardeth Bay (There you go, Deana!) raised up his sword and shouted, "Till the death!" With a great army cry, his army swooped towards Anck-su-namun's soldiers, who jerked their swords from the holsters and charged the Medjai. Rick shook his head, disappointed that he hadn't been able to jump in and scare the crap out of everyone. "Still," he thought, "may as well join the party." He looked at Evelyn and gave her the thumbs up before jumping out and shooting. Anck-su-namun looked over at Rick, who was shooting down every single man he could reach, and calmly motioned for some more men to attack him before she continued reading. Evelyn had already leaped out and was shooting at everyone she could see, which made Rick swell with pride. Then he caught sight of a soldier raising a sword to stab Evelyn in the back. And he shouted, "Evy! Behind you!" Evelyn ducked and Rick shot the man behind her before tripping another one next to him. Then, Ardeth Bay worked his way over to him, sword-fighting with a large, fat soldier that was grunting under the pressure of battle. "My old friend!" he exclaimed, "How surprising to see you here...not."

"What? You think I'd let you and your little fellas in dresses take all the fun?"

Ardeth Bay laughed and kicked the guard to the ground.

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Shanala landed with a sickening crash on the stone floor. Her legs gave way under her and she toppled to the ground in a gasping heap, her breath coming in short painful spurts. The metallic tang of blood was thick in her mouth, and she swallowed to get rid of it. Her legs ached almost as much as her lungs, which felt like they were on fire. Still, amidst all this, she grinned and giggled hoarsely, "I did it! Ha! You can't get me now!" After a few moments of rest, she shakily got to her feet and wiped sweat away from her eyes. It was too dark too see anything but a few dim outlines and jagged corners, but she knew it was the best she could do and started off. Surprisingly, she didn't bump into anything all the way to the first chamber she came to. It was large and eerily dark, and very noisy. A strange skittering sound echoed around her, and she took in a sharp breath as she looked into a small pit filled with what seemed to be a moving floor. She bit her lip and muttered, "Perfect. Scorpions. Just what I need." She clutched the necklace hanging around her neck and frowned as she thought of some way to get across. She didn't have to think long, however, for soon the insects scrambled to move to the sides leaving a straight pathway in the middle. Shanala hesitated; who was too say they wouldn't just swallow her up as soon as she stepped into the path? But it was her only choice, so she stepped gingerly onto the path. Nothing happened. She took another step, and still nothing. Finally, taking no chances, she raced cross the ditch and scrambled onto the other side, breathing heavily. She looked back and saw that the bugs still didn't move back to the middle. She shrugged, knowing she had not time to wonder about such things, and hurried on through the tomb.

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Alex ran a hand through his sweaty hair, making it stand on end. He peeked around the corner into the study, where three men were tearing through drawers to find any valuables; Alex didn't know how, but they knew that his parents brought some priceless artifacts from tombs into the house and kept them there for 'safe-keeping' as Rick called it. Alex knew his father just liked to know he wasn't working for nothing. And Alex wasn't about to let these slime wads destroy his parents house after they'd worked so hard on it. So, he did something very brave, and very stupid. He jumped out from the corner where he stood and yelled, "Here I AM! Come get me!" All three men whipped around and stared at him, shocked, before drawing weapons and charging. They didn't see the string dangling dangerously from the balcony; nor did they see the revolver, the other end of the string tied to the trigger. Then one man's sword caught on the string, there was a loud bang, and Alex's mother's favorite mirror exploded into a million fragments of razor-sharp glass that rained over the soldiers, stopping them in their tracks. "Sorry, Mum," Alex muttered, glancing at the broken mirror and then racing out of the study and into the front room. He could see the front door ahead of him. He knew that the soldiers guarding the door were now covered in glass and cuts and blood, and he knew he was safe. At least, he thought he was safe, until a hand came down hard onto his mouth and he toppled backward into someone's chest. Then a menacing voice hissed somewhere near his ear. "Don't move. If you do, I'll slit your throat." It was then that Alex felt cool metal on his neck, and he held still. What other choice did he have? "Oh God, Dad. Please hurry up!" he thought to himself.

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"Oh God, Rick. Please hurry up!" Evelyn ducked down behind a boulder again as a bullet ricocheted off of the wall next to her. "Well, at least he'll have had his adventure for the week," she muttered, reloading her gun and firing back at the foolish man who had tried to shoot her. Her bullet caught the man in the chest, and he flew backwards into his partner, who was shooting at Ardeth Bay. Ardeth gave her a gracious salute and turned to Rick, who now had one man in a headlock and was shouting, "Now who's big and bad? Now who's big and bad?" Finally, the man must have gasped, "You," because Rick let him drop to the ground in a lifeless heap. Evelyn heard Rick mutter, "Darn straight." The limp bodies of several guards littered the floor now, and Rick placed his hands on his hips as he observed, "Well. Good fight."

Ardeth nodded in agreement, "Now what?"

Rick nodded towards Anck-su-namun, who was still reading from the Book of the Dead, "We take care of the witch." Rick and Ardeth Bay started towards her, weapons drawn, when she raised one hand from under the book and flicked it up carelessly, as if she was swatting at a fly. Rick felt his feet leave the ground seconds before he smashed down, hard, into the stone floor. "How in the-?" he muttered.

Ardeth Bay was looking down at him in alarm, "Rick! Are you alright?"

"Yea, yea, sure."

Rick got to his feet and started towards her again. He flew into the air, higher this time, and collided with the wall nearby. "Riiick!" Evelyn screamed, running out to him and helping him up.

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

Evelyn stared hard at Anck-su-namun, who continued reading as if they weren't even there. "I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it," Rick muttered, glaring at Anck-su-namun.

Ardeth Bay was looking very worried, "My friend! Don't you understand? She has obtained the dreaded powers that Imhotep possesses! She is just as powerful as the Creature, if not more!" At these words, a murderous and triumphant smile flitted across Anck-su- namun's lips. "We are in serious trouble," Rick declared.

Evelyn glanced at him, "That's not good."

Rick was about to reply, when a chill swept through the chamber, blowing out all the torches and casting dust everywhere. The group stood in the dark for a while, the only sound Anck-su-namun's steady voice pronouncing spells from the Book of the Dead. Rick had seen plenty of resurrections in his time, so he knew what to expect and when to expect them. That was why he panicked when he heard the last three words of the spell: "Yatiwe! Yatiwe! Yatiwe!" A monstrous shriek tore through the room, and Evelyn moved nervously closer to Rick, who grabbed her arm, ready to run if the need come. "Which," he thought to himself, "It will. Sooner or later, it will."