Hello, Dear Friends! Here's the next chapter! And, oh joy! I have a new reviewer! Let's all welcome Nakhti! *cheers* *applause* Hey! Special thanx to ya for your review/suggestion. LUV the username! Hope you enjoy the story! Alright, ya'll. Time to move on. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

"Devindo, this is Rick O'Connell, Jonathan Carnaham, and Shanala." "Nice to meet you." "Pleasure's all mi-" Jonathan started, but Rick cut him off, "Yea, right, ok. So. The message, Kid? What is it?" "Oh yea!" The teenage boy reached down and yanked a scrap of paper from his waistband, thrusting it at Rick, "It's for you." Rick took it and frowned slightly as he unfolded the script. Shanala went over behind Rick and looked over his arm at the piece of paper. On it was written a single paragraph in rushed, barely comprehendible handwriting. Shanala swallowed hard and read:

"Dad, this is Alex. I don't have much time to explain. I was outside washing up when this kid came by and I asked him if he would take you a message. I'm not sure if he'll make it to you or not...I'll have to take my chances. Listen, I don't want you to worry, but you have to get over here now! Mum's hurt really bad and Imhotep's planning on moving the camp on! You have to hurry and get here, Dad. We're in the Kjuiin Oasis, ok? Please hurry, Dad. And the last time I talked to mum, she wanted to see Shanala...best bring her to, ok? I know you'll get here in time, Dad. I trust you.

-Alex

Shanala looked up at Rick as he sighed. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, and Shanala didn't think she'd ever seen someone look so worried. Ardeth came over and placed a hand on Rick's shoulder, "It will be alright, My Friend. We have saved them before, and we shall do it again without any problem." Rick nodded, swallowed, and looked around. Jonathan and Shanala were staring at him, and Devindo was looking at the ground, scuffing his foot into the sand. Rick cleared his throat loudly and smiled grimly, "Let's go, folks."

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"Your Highness, we have returned, as you commanded." Alex yawned sleepily as he listened to the murmur of voices in the next tent. His hands were tied together and two men stood on either side of him, their swords drawn. Alex had been surprised when he had seen the large, dark tunnel leading to the tomb; he hadn't known that the camp was directly outside of Set's temple. Suddenly, Alex felt one of the soldiers grab his arm and drag him into the next tent. He tried to fight, as he knew for a fact that he didn't want to see what was inside, but the soldiers simply lifted him up and carried him into it. "Your Highness, here is the boy." At these words, the guards dropped Alex onto the hard floor. Alex scrambled to his feet and looked around. Several soldiers were standing along the walls, watching him. And in the very center of the tent was Anck-su-namun, along with Imhotep. They were both looking at Alex with dislike, but he doubted that they looked worse than he did. Anck-su-namun gave him a wry smile and waved at him; he glared at her.

At that moment, Imhotep motioned for the captain to bring Alex to him, so Lock-Na grabbed Alex's arms and dragged him over.

"My Lord, "Lock-Na said in Arabic, "Where shall I take the boy until the girl gets here?"

Imhotep thought for a minute, staring at Alex. Finally, he ordered, "He will be able to walk around free, as long as you or another person is watching him carefully." Then, he turned to Alex and stated, "But if you try to run away, we'll chain you to the wall next to the scarabs. They will not be able to reach all of you, but maybe they'll be able to reach your legs."

Alex felt his face drain at these words, but he tried his best to show no fear, "Fine."

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She was in a large, beautiful room with gold walls and marble floors. It was peaceful and quiet in the corridor, with only the occasional chirp of a bird to disrupt the silence. Then, without any warning whatsoever, a young woman raced through, her face a mask of terror. She was holding a girl in her arms, who was very pale and gasping for breath. The woman raced into the next room and began shouting in Egyptian, handing the small girl to a tall man. The man seemed afraid as soon as he took the child, and he set her on the bed before he asked a servant to fill a bowl up with water and to hurry back with it. After that was done, he reached up on a small shelf above the bed and grabbed a bottle of some powdery substance. He dumped the powder into the water, and watched it swirl together to make a green liquid. He dropped a rag into the bowl and rang it out before he set it on the young girl's forehead. Nefertiri sat down on the edge of the bed, holding the little girl's hand and speaking soothingly to her.

"Shanala, twes lishmah kingste los mehade?"

Shanala shook her head, "Nai, Nefertiri...tes...tes los...Anck-su- namun...Anck-su-namun qjiest los...los ben...ben...lena."

Shanala's eyes were glassy with fever as she gasped, "Nefertiri? Tai...liae nuis kinh...kinh..."

She swallowed hard, her eyes going unfocused and beginning to flutter closed. The man, who had been pounding some chalky substance, dumped some water into a bowl and made a strange paste. "Nefertiri...akh pihy los danter awh." Nefertiri took the paste from the man, ignoring his statement, and scooped some onto Shanala's face. Shanala shook her head and reached up to wipe the stuff off, but Nefertiri grabbed her hand and said, "Nai, Shanala. Pleur hañe kjinnte." Shanala shook her head, and her chest heaved with the effort of breathing, "Nai, Nefertiri...nai...ben djinn...liae...liae...Nefertiri?" Shanala seemed panicked now, looking around the room desperately.

"Tieu, Shanala...siy mequesh poña."

Shanala smiled slightly then, groping around for Nefertiri's hand. Nefertiri took it and felt how cold it was. She swallowed hard, tears forming in her eyes, "Shanala...?"

Shanala closed her eyes and choked, "Nefertiri...yai tien yeña...ben saestaan."

Then, se took in her final breath and became completely still. Nai! Shanala! Nai!" Nefertiri sobbed and laid her head on Shanala's still chest. The doctor sighed and picked up the bowl of water. After a final look at the dead girl, he walked out. Nefertiri stayed for a while longer, sobbing with unbearable devastation. She hugged the small girl to her and stroked her hair away form her face, "Shanala..." Then, her tear-filled eyes dried and her face was set like stone. She lay the girl down and turned from her just as the pharaoh entered the room. He took one look at Nefertiri, and then at the girl on the bed, and he too looked ready to cry. However, he held back and held his arms out to his daughter. Nefertiri stepped into them, forcing back tears, feeling numb with disbelief. That was when her father's possible future wife, Anck-su-namun, entered. Nefertiri's heart burned with hatred at the sight of the woman, and she broke free of her father, fuming. Anck-su-namun was looking over at Shanala with a mask of sadness...but Nefertiri saw the faint smile flicker across her lips before she looked over at Seti. It was then that Nefertiri vowed revenge on Anck-su-namun, and it was then that her life changed forever.

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Alex looked around him, too excited to be scared or nervous. He was in a tomb, and the only supervision he had to have was Lock-Na or some other stupid guard! It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and there was no way Alex was going to miss it. He had wandered around the tomb for around two hours now, stopping to read very hieroglyphic and stare at every picture etched into the walls. "Why can't you just walk through real quick and go back?" whined the soldier that was watching Alex.

Alex turned around to face him, "My mum taught me to notice every little detail. If you don't, you'll never know what you missed!" The soldier scowled, but Alex ignored him as he turned back to the hieroglyphics he was reading.

"Malastus!"

The soldier guarding Alex whipped around.

"Bring the boy back here at once!"

Alex moaned and allowed himself to be steered back to the place where the soldiers had set up camp.

"Here he is."

Alex crossed his arms and glared up at Lock-Na, who grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards a tent.

"Hey!" Alex exclaimed, "Easy on the material! They're attached you know!"

Lock-Na ignored him and threw Alex into the tent.

"What am I supposed to do here?" Alex demanded, looking around at the small, ragged blanket and the lumpy parcel that served as a pillow.

"Sleep," Lock-Na replied, preparing to step out, "It's late and Lord Imhotep has ordered that you turn in." Then he stopped, "Oh yes, and look out for the scorpions and snakes. They really seem to like this tent." Alex wasn't afraid of snakes or scorpions, but the thought of finding one under his pillow still made him shiver. "Pleasant dreams!" Lock-Na smirked, walking out and closing the tent.

***************************** It was sunset by the time Rick and the others reached Izzy's 'airport'. They had immediately dismounted their horses and gone over to the door. Rick cleared his throat, sighed, and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Izzy's unmistakable voice called.

"Santa Clause," Rick snapped.

There was silence, and then, "Go away! I hate you O'Connell! You've cheated me too many times! Way too many times, O'Connell! You're a filthy, lying, conniving-"

"Hey!" Rick yelled, "D'ya mind? There's a kid out here!"

"Like I care, O'Connell! Alex's heard you swear many more times than I care to-"

"It's not Alex!" Rick hollered.

Izzy was quiet again ("for once," Rick thought angrily) and then he spoke, again, in a slightly higher tone, "...you never told me you have two kids!"

Shanala giggled, and Rick rolled his eyes, "Look, Izzy! That doesn't matter! Just...we need a ride."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Izzy! I'm not in a patient mood!"

"Like you ever are!"

Ardeth shook his head and smiled, "Rick, I do not know if you'll win this one..."

Rick glared at him, "I will...eventually..."

"What are you gonna do?" Shanala asked.

"I'm going to break down the door, point a gun at him and-"

Jonathan coughed loudly, pointing at Shanala. Rick glanced at her and stated, "I mean.we'll ask him nicely if he'll give us a ride."

"I think not, O'Connell! I'll never let you in again! Not even if you shoot me one hundred times!"

"What about two hundred?" Rick yelled, and Jonathan sighed loudly.

"Forget it, O'Connell! You may as well consider me dead, because I never want to hear from you or anyone else you know ever, ever again!"

At these words, Rick lost it, "Fine! We're all tired! We'll never come back here again! And you know what, Izzy? I'll just send my son's head to you as a memento of what you've done to him!"

There was silence, and then Izzy's voice, sounding stressed, shouted, "What's wrong with Alex? He's not there?"

"No. He's been kidnapped," Ardeth replied.

"Yea! And the camp he's at is moving on soon!" added Shanala.

"Who's speaking?" Izzy demanded.

"Shanala. She's my." Rick thought for a second, and then said, " ...niece."

There was another silence, and then Izzy spoke again, "You have a niece?"

"Izzy! Can we please get back to the fact that I'm gonna receive my son's head and my wife's body if we don't make it to them in time?" Rick interjected angrily.

"Oh, right, sorry.all right, I'll make you a deal. If you agree to give me half of all of the treasure you find in the next.three years, I'll give you a ride!"

"Half?" Jonathan exclaimed, his eyes bulging, "Three years?"

"Take it or leave it, O'Connell, I'm a busy man!"

Rick clenched his fists together, took a deep breath and said, in a strained voice, "Fine. Deal."

The gate immediately swung open and Izzy walked out, looking very happy. Rick didn't say a word to him; instead he just nodded and jerked his gun out of the car. Jonathan was fuming, his arms crossed as he walked. Ardeth followed Izzy down a small hill to his blimp, which was tethered close to a small, fat donkey.

"All aboard!" Izzy called, moving aside so that everyone could get on board. Then he caught sight of Jonathan, "You!" he said angrily, pointing a finger at him.

"What?" Jonathan demanded.

"You took my payment for last time!" Izzy glared at Jonathan and stated, "If it wasn't for the fact that there is little girl here, I'd strangle you!"

Jonathan rolled his eyes and muttered, "Whatever."

******************************** Evelyn woke up with a jolt, her head throbbing as much as her heart. She looked around her, dazed and sleepy, wondering what had woken her up. "Nefertiri."

Evelyn looked up and glared at Anck-su-namun, "You..."

Anck-su-namun gave her a icy smile, "I trust you've slept well?"

"Haha, very funny," Evelyn snapped, sitting up; it was then that she realized that her hands were tied together.

She looked up at Anck-su-namun and demanded, "Where's my son? What have you done with him?"

Anck-su-namun shrugged carelessly, "I haven't done anything with him..."

Evelyn watched her walk around the tent, looking out at the rest of the camp.

"Where is my son?" Evelyn whispered. Without looking at her, Anck-su-namun replied, "He's asleep."

"Where?" Evelyn was getting panicked now.

Anck-su-namun didn't answer again. Instead, she turned to her with a calm smile, "You know, Nefertiri, that I will not let you leave without killing you."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? What a surprise! I had no idea!"

Anck-su-namun sneered at her, "You haven't changed at all, Nefertiri. Ever since that..." a smirk crossed her lips as she finished, "...slight accident with Shanala..."

Evelyn stared at her, "What...?"

Anck-su-namun arched her eyebrows, "...you don't remember? My...what a shame...back then, you swore to never, ever forget...and to avenge your dear, dear little Shanala..."

Evelyn felt her mouth going dry as chills raced through her body, "What do you mean? Why...who would I need...to have revenge against...and...and why...?"

"Why, Nefertiri, who else would you need revenge against but me? And..." A dark glimmer reached Anck-su-namun's already black eyes, and a deeper hatred than Evelyn had ever seen before dripped form her words, "...and why, you ask? Well...for Shanala's death...her...accidental death...terrible fall, wasn't it? You always told her not to stand on the balcony alone...but she always was stubborn, wasn't she? And that day...she was only trying to call you...she needed you, Nefertiri...you remember..."

Evelyn's mind fogged up, and she closed her eyes as waves of nausea crept over her. When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in a tent, but it a large and beautiful courtyard. Before her was a truly large and stunning palace. The walls were made of white ivory and marble, stretching up to the sapphire sky in long, fresh curtains. The roof, which was easy to see form the sun glinting off of it, was pure gold. The courtyard she sat in was filled with bubbling fountains, tangling vines, and marble benches. She was dangling her hands in one of the fountains and swirling it around, thinking, when a terrified scream erupted towards her...

"Nefertiri! Nefertiri!"

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