Heehee. Aren't I evil to leave you all hanging like that? Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!! LOL. OK, ok. Here's more fight for you guys. Deana, I made sure that Ardeth fought a lot, but don't worry if it's not enough; there's much, much more battling to come! And Jessica, I know Imhotep hasn't been in lately, but he'll have a big part coming up, ok? Special thanks to all of my special reviewers for all of their reviews: EvelynOConnell27, I know u weren't able to review it cuz fanfic was down, but ur still a sweetie and I luv ya lots! Besides, the reviews you have given me are some of the sweetest and most well-written ;), and you've inspired me sooooooo much. Deana, you make me laugh with your reviews, and they keep me going. Thanx! Imhotep's Lover, you were my first reviewer, and ur sooooo special cuz of it. You have gr8 advice and I'm sooo glad u helped me out. Nahkti, ur SUCH an inspiration to me. Your reviews always make me feel so special *blushes*. I really appreciate that u review for me. U guys all totally rock. I luv u all. *sniffs* OK. That's enough of me blabbing on.  It's time to read!

Chapter 14

Ardeth Bay was used to fighting the Undead. He had battled mummies, pygmies, and Anubis Warriors all within the last ten years. However, he had never gone against anything like these. These monsters were incredibly swift, and every time Ardeth ort Rick came close to hitting one, it would leap up into the trees and then catapult back down. "Ardeth!" Rick panted, ducking as one of the creatures spat out a burning liquid at him, "What do you call these things?"

"Setaos!" Ardeth replied.

"Super."

Ardeth chuckled slightly "Don't tell me you can't handle it?"

"No prob for me, Pal. You?"

Ardeth was about to reply, but a Setao suddenly leaped down form above him and grabbed him from behind. Shanala screamed, and Rick turned around, eyes wide, "Oh sh-...shoot."

Ardeth grunted in pain as the Setao tossed him to the ground. His head exploded with agony and as he opened his eyes, the world spun around. He quickly got to his feet, and then toppled over again, blinding pain shooting through his head. Rick hurried over and grabbed Ardeth's arm, "You ok?"

Ardeth nodded, "Yes...I...I am fine..."

Rick helped Ardeth to his feet, and then was knocked on the head by a Setao. Rick crumpled to the floor, stars winking in his face. Ardeth turned around just as a Setao reached for him. Leaping nimbly out of the way, Ardeth swung his sword forward and caught the monster. The Setao shrieked loudly, making Ardeth's ears ring. Rick was lying on the floor, fighting unconsciousness, gritting his teeth against the throbbing of his skull. Shanala was watching the scene before her with wide eyes full of terror.

 "Rick! Ardeth!" she cried, and then she scrambled up the cliff.

"Stay there!" Ardeth yelled, and he started forward to help her, but something suddenly collided with his side and he was flung through the air.

He crashed into the tree with a sickening crack and fell to the ground, unconscious. Rick got to his feet, swaying, drunk with agony. The oasis swirled before him with dizzying colors, and he never saw the Setao come charging at him until it was too late. Like Ardeth, he was thrown into the air like some rag doll and he smashed to the ground.

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Alex was scared. Of course he was. But he didn't act like it, and he certainly hoped that he didn't look like it. His arms were sore from being twisted behind him, and he swore his blood was being cut off; Lock-Na was holding his arm tightly. He was too worried right now to notice much pain, though. He was watching his mother, wondering if she was hurt or not; like him, she hardly ever showed pain. She was standing in front of two soldiers, her eyes cold and glued onto Anck-su-namun. Alex struggled for a minute, hoping to get to his mother but Abitula jerked him back, making his arm explode with fiery pain. He bit tears back and watched Anck-su-namun. She was pacing the tent, seeming thoughtful and absent. Finally, she glanced over at Evelyn and smiled, "Nefertiri, we're both mothers. Therefore, I'm certain that we feel the same things without our children."

Evelyn glowered at her, "Yes, and?"

Anck-su-namun snickered, "And right now, all that we both want are our children back, correct?"

Evelyn nodded, "Yes...and I want my husband."

Anck-su-namun shrugged, "Of course, of course."

"And...we want our children for different reasons. I want Alex back so I can protect him and make sure he's safe...and you only want Shanala to hurt her."

Anck-su-namun whipped around and faced Evelyn, looking shocked "Why, Nefertiri! That's not at all true!"

Evelyn smiled wryly, "Oh really? Then what do you need her for?"

Anck-su-namun smiled, "The same reason your want your son back. I want to make sure no one hurts her."

"She's with Rick. Rick wouldn't dare harm her and you know it."

"Oh really? Anck-su-namun snarled, her eyes burning, "Do you really believe that? Your husband detests Imhotep and me more than anyone. Now that he ahs my daughter what's to stop him form killing her to get back at me?"

Evelyn seemed genuinely surprised, "You...you really are worried, then?"

Anck-su-namun nodded "Of course I am. She's my daughter."

Alex could see that his mother was wavering in her vow to never trust Anck-su-namun. Thinking fast, he spat, "If that's true, how come you killed her back in ancient days?"

Anck-su-namun turned to look at him, and he was pleased to see that she hadn't expected that. Evelyn raised her eyebrows, waiting.

Anck-su-namun smiled slightly "That was then, Alex. This is now."

"Who's to say you won't just kill her when she comes back?" Evelyn demanded.

Anck-su-namun sighed, "Nefertiri, that is not the point. The point is that we both want our children back, and until Shanala is here next to me, you will never see your son again!"

"What? Who the in the bloody he-" Evelyn stopped and glanced at Alex, "Who do you think you are to tell me that?"

Anck-su-namun snickered, "Your stepmother. And besides that, I have the upper hand, and I can do what I want now."

"You are not going to harm him!:" Evelyn hissed through clenched teeth, and Alex swore that he'd never seen his mother look so angry.

Anck-su-namun raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? Well forgive me for disagreeing...but I believe that with you so....preoccupied, and with no one here  to save either you or your son, I can do whatever I wish to either of you. "

Evelyn swallowed hard, "You....you are....so horrible..."

Anck-su-namun smirked, "Name-calling won't help you now."

With that, The men  left, dragging a struggling Alex with them. Anck-su-namun stopped on her way out of the tent and turned to Evy, "It's simple enough, Nefertiri. When I get Shanala, you get your son."

"You're going to pay for this!" Evelyn said softly, fighting against the men who kept her form her son.

Anck-su-namun simply smiled and left.

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Shanala was screaming. Rick could faintly tell that much. He lifted his head up slightly and saw that the Setaos were closing in on her, teeth bared. Rick tried to tell her to run, but he couldn't. He also attempted t reach his revolver, but his hand wouldn't move. He felt so helpless, and there was very little else that could make him angrier then that sensation. He glanced up at Ardeth and saw blood trickling down the Medjai's forehead. He swallowed, imagining what terrible wounds he himself had. Shanala was watching all of the Setaos, breathing fast, blinking back tears. The Setaos were surrounding her, moving in closer and closer...waiting for the right time to pounce and annihilate...There was a loud cry, and Rick's heart skipped a beat; had they jumped already? Was Shanala even now being ripped to shreds? But no, she was fine as always, and she was looking to her right. Rick followed her gaze and saw...but it couldn't be. He was dreaming or hallucinating...Jonathan. Jonathan Carnaham, perhaps the most cowardly of all men, was shouting at the Setaos. His shirt sleeve was torn, his hair was tousled, and a scratch adorned his cheek; it had been a worse fall than Rick thought.

"Get outta here!" Jonathan shouted, and the Setaos stared at him. "Go on! Get!"

Shanala took a deep breath and joined him, "Go away! Get outta here! Leave us alone!"

 Then Izzy, who had been hiding behind the cliff wall, popped his head up and yelled, "Go away, Devil Children! Go on, Ugly Beasts!"

The Setaos seemed truly surprised by the act of courage coming from them, and they backed away, confused. Rick smiled to himself, "You go, Jonathan."

***********************

Jonathan was going to have a bloody heart attack and die. However he decided to wait until Shanala was safe; then he could collapse and be buried in London. His lungs hurt from so much screaming, and his cheek stung from its cut, but he ignored everything else, even terror, and did nothing but yell. The monsters were backing away now, confused. Jonathan, seeing this, grew more courageous and ran forward, waving his arms like a lunatic, "AAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GAIAGIAGIAGIGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The Setaos seemed a little peeved about this, as they stopped moving back and leaned forward, shrieking loudly into Jonathan's face. Jonathan fell over with shock, his ears ringing. Everything was quiet for a second, and then there was a loud series of pops and crackles, and the Setaos lay in a heap on the ground. Jonathan looked up and saw Rick and Ardeth, holding smoking guns.

"Nice work, Johnny Boy," Rick said coming over and slapping Jonathan's shoulder.

 Jonathan nodded mutely.

 Shanala raced over and threw her arms around Jonathan's neck, "Oh Jonathan! You saved me! You did! You're a hero!"

Jonathan blinked, stunned; had someone called him a hero? He opened his mouthy and gurgled.

Shanala laughed and kissed him on the cheek, "Thanks so much!"

Jonathan blushed.

Izzy cleared his throat loudly, standing up to his fill height, "I helped too."

Shanala laughed, "Thank you, Izzy!" Izzy smiled and bent down, pointing top his cheek.

Shanala giggled kissed his cheek, and then ran to Rick and Ardeth.

"You were amazing!" she exclaimed, "The fighting...and you just up and got them...and you were knocked out, but you still...it was amazing!"

Rick shrugged, but everyone could see that he was flattered, "It was nothin'."

"Maybe to you. But you two...you're a great team!" Shanala hugged the two of them, and then turned, "Can we go now? Please? I don't like it here. It's too..." She wrinkled her nose up, "Smelly."

Rick sniffed the air and gagged, "Ugh! What is that?"

Ardeth laughed, "Rot. It is decay and rot form the Setaos."

Everyone looked over at the mound of bones and deco posing flesh.

Jonathan shuddered "I agree with Shanala. Let's get outta here!"

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Evelyn sat alone in her tent, feeling completely torn. She knew that Rick would be coming for her soon, and with him would be Shanala. Her sister. Her younger sister. Evelyn sighed and leaned her head back, "How am I supposed to know whata to do? If I give Shanala to Anck-su-namun...she'll be killed. But if I don't, Alex will be killed." She swallowed hard, tears of anger springing to her eyes, "How could that awful witch offer me such a deal?"

"Hey! Pipe down in there!" a soldier hollered.

"Pipe down yourself!" Evelyn snapped. Evelyn felt more exhausted then she had ever been in her life. Her eyes were heavy and her chest felt full of sleep. She felt such an ocean of emotions crashing around inside her that she thought that she had lost her mind. "I've gone bonkers," she thought, and then chuckled slightly for no reason before drifting off to sleep.

******************************

"So lemme see of I get all this. Anck-su-namun hates you because you are Isis's Blessing. She hates Isis's Blessing because Isis is who your mother worshipped, and your mother was married to your father who was a descendant of your grandfather, who forced the people who brought Anck-su-namun up to serve him....?"

Shanala giggled, "Yea, that's right. Then she grew to hate me more after a time."

"Why?" Izzy questioned.

Shanala blushed and giggled, "Well, for one thing I walked in on her and Imhotep..."

Everyone stopped, "Doing what?"

Shanala laughed, "I'd rather not say."

Rick chuckled, "Right. So why else would she hate you?"

"Well, lots of times I'd be spying on her and she'd find me and beat me, so I'd tell my father, and she'd have to make up a whole bunch of lies..." Shanala laughed "It was quite amusing."

Jonathan nodded, "I can see that happening...sounds like Evy and I..."

Rick shook his head, "She beat you?"

Shanala shrugged, "Not badly. She usually just slapped me. Or threw things."

"What'd you do? Didja cry?" Jonathan asked.

Shanala nodded, "Sometimes. Not often though. She never hit me hard. She didn't normally hit me when she threw things, either. So I'd just laugh and be a pest and run off to tell my father."

Shanala giggled at the thought, but Rick could see that she was hiding something. Still, he decided not to press it and changed the subject, "So, what's the plan anyway?"

"What? No running in, guns blazing?" Izzy asked sarcastically.

Rick stared at him, "I'm saving that for later."

"Oh."

'I thought you had it all thought out?" Ardeth questioned.

Rick shrugged, "I do."

Everyone stared at him, and he laughed, "I just...I mean...ok. Here's the plan: Shanala and I will go through the camp looking for Evy. You guys cover us. Once we find Evy, we get her and Alex, kill everyone, and hightail it outta there."

"That's it?"

Rick shrugged, "Maybe we can stop for ice cream sodas on the way."

Shanala rolled her eyes, "Oh please..." Then she stopped and frowned "What are ice cream sodas?"

Rick and everyone else stared at her. She shrugged, "What?"

Ardeth nodded "Yes...what?"

Rick laughed, "You two have no idea what you're missing."