A Matter of When
As If The Walking Dead Wasn't Enough

Through the mischief of two Hobbits Rick discovers his family line travels further back than he could have imagined.

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When she had taken that tumble down the trap door something inside had warned Evelyn that she was headed straight for trouble. As if those scarabs weren't enough to worry about, she was most certain that Hamunaptra was likely filling with those robed terrors that had visited them last night and to tell the truth, she wasn't quite sure which would be worse to meet in a dark hallway.

When she had lain eyes on Burns, had seen the damage done to his eyes and tongue…then she knew she had wandered into something particularly sinister. Who would do something so torturous and terrible to another living being? Had those desert warriors done this in retribution for whatever she had done when she read from the book? There were many tales about desert tribes—the Song-Hoi for example—who took pleasure in hurting people for entertainment. Were those black-clad men Song-Hoi?

Of course none of her previous fears had prepared her for this and when the single-handedly most frightening vision she had encountered stepped from the shadows, she did the only thing that came to mind. She screamed. Perhaps that hadn't been a particularly helpful action, but it did relieve some of the tension. Unfortunately that tension was replaced almost as soon as it was eased. Backing away, Evelyn noticed movement out of the corner of her vision, but just couldn't seem to tear her eyes off this walking impossibility coming after her. But the sounds told her enough. Burns had fallen and was crawling away. Leaving her alone to die with this…this thing.

"Please help me," she prayed in unnerved tones and the creature followed her glances to Burns, then turned back. Surely she had bumped her head in that fall and was now hallucinating. That could be the only explanation. Dead things did not walk—not unless Jonathan was having himself a good joke. This wasn't really his style. "Please don't leave me."

Unimpressed with Burns' rescue, the creature turned back and opened his mouth—presumably to bite her so she thought, but when he spoke it did little to calm her fears. "Ancksunamun?" it rattled in unsavory, otherworldly tones. Those stolen eyes stared back in fascination as it closed in predatorily, as if she were some prize to be had. Evy's back hit the wall and a well of fear sprang up, sending ice-cold torrents of fear through her veins. A hand stretched towards her, beckoning her to come. "Kadeesh mi pharos, Ancksunamun."1

Evy shivered as it waited, then lowered that gnarled, decayed hand with cool eyes. Those eyes were remarkably animated, bringing life to a thing that likely hadn't seen such glory in millennia. Another few steps brought the monster right before her and his fingers tangled into her hair, causing her to wince at the thought of papery flesh being left behind on her. It leaned close and caged her to the wall, filling her nose with the fetid scent of death.

"Evy!" A voice rang through the air, saving her from whatever terrible thing this being was planning to do to her. "Evy, where the devil are you?"

Shivering quite uncontrollably, she shouted, "In here, Jonathan! Help me!" One of those dead hands curled around her shoulder, yanking her closer as the bones of its neck creaked, turning towards the voice. Light filled the dim chamber and Evy pulled away long enough to see her brother, two Americans and—not O'Connell—enter. A dark-haired stranger, tall and gazing on her with glinting blue eyes not unlike the ex-Legionnaire's. Where had he come from?

"Oh my god," Jonathan breathed, watching his sister behind man-handled by this walking corpse. He wrung his hands in fear and frustration as the creature let her go and turned towards the group. It hunched as if to pounce, leaving Evy free. Seeing an opportunity for her, he yelled, "Run!"

But this thing was a fast learner and stopped her, turning and clasping her wrist tightly. "Jonathan, think of something!" she pleaded, trying to pull herself free as it again faced the group. The Americans thought quickly enough on their feet and drew guns, pointing directly at the monster…and unfortunately her as well. Evy closed her eyes and prepared for doom. Where was O'Connell when he was needed?

A voice and the sound of a sword being drawn jarred her out of her silent prayers and Evy opened her eyes at the pleasant sound. "Face a foe that is your match, fell beast!" the stranger hissed, holding a tall blade in the offensive with an intense glare. The creature holding her laughed and ignored his threatening stance, pushing Evy towards an exit in the room.

"Jonathan!" Evelyn called, at a loss. How did one kill something that was already dead? She stumbled at another push and felt her stomach turn in fear. Whatever this thing had planned likely wasn't going to be pleasant.

Footsteps echoed in the chamber behind and the hand on her shoulder fell away, freeing her once more. Evelyn Carnahan didn't need to be told twice. Or once even. Taking that opportunity, she fled a few feet and turned, making sure she wasn't leaving her brother to certain death. What she saw made her gasp. That stranger was fighting the beast, slamming his sword into bone and flesh…and the creature wasn't falling. With a startlingly eerie scream, it flung two hands out and knocked the blue-eyed man away as if he were nothing more than a child. "Run, Evy!" her brother yelled, but how could she? They were going to die for her? This was all her fault.

There was a flutter of sounds and voices, groans and gasps and Evy stood, frozen to the spot, fearful that Jonathan would never meet her vision again. Covering her lips, she listened in horror and tried to calm the feelings rushing through her. "My sister! Help my sister!" she heard Jonathan cry out in a clearly pained voice and that was the straw that broke the camel's back, as they say. She took a few steps forward to help her brother or die trying.

A shadow stopped her and a form raced into the hallway. The stranger ran towards her with urgent eyes and blood dripping from a cut on his cheek. He said nothing as he moved to walk by her and for a split second she thought he meant to leave her, but he didn't. A hand curled around her arm and forced her to follow his quick pace. "Where is the exit to this place?" he asked softly, trying to steady her fearful expression with calm tones.

"M-my brother," she stammered, following anyway. To tell the truth Evy felt too shaken to be forceful about anything just now, but Jonathan's face kept flitting back to her mind.

The stranger shook his head and tightened his grip as if to be sure she wouldn't turn and flee. "I will get you to safety as he bid me do, my lady. Then I will return for him alone. But you must lead us from here, for I do not know the way."

Fighting the urge to ask him how he got into Hamunaptra in the first place, she lifted a hand and pointed in the direction she assumed was at least somewhat correct and let him do the leading. At least that way it seemed somehow she wasn't choosing to leave Jonathan behind…that she was being made to. It didn't work for very long. Where was O'Connell, anyway? Had he too been left somewhere in Hamunaptra to die?

When they finally reached the upper level the night air beckoned sweetly from outside, hitting them with the cool of an Egyptian breeze. Sand and the sound of voices filtered through the entrance, filling her with dread. They spoke Arabic and sounded lightly perturbed. Was O'Connell out there causing trouble?

Breaking into the night air, Evelyn came to a halt right outside the entrance, causing the stranger to bump into her back and push her forward slightly. But then he stilled at the sight laid out before them. Ten tribesmen stood with weapons drawn and death-glares aimed at another man. Another stranger, even odder in appearance than this man who had saved her. Long blonde hair blanketed his shoulders softly and an arrow strung up in a bow focused on a single man, who held the Egyptologist captive. Her eyes lingered on him a moment as she wondered where they had come from and why his intense stare made her shiver. This one had a western look about him as well, but was certainly like nothing she had ever seen before. He was beautiful.

"Aragorn!" he called out in an English sounding accent, his dark blue eyes darting between the man beside her and his enemies. His words were musical and spoken in a language she had never heard before. "Thia in Rhevain dammen maethar aen!"2

One of the desert warriors shifted on his feet, hissing, "Silence yourself if you cannot speak in a language we all understand, western dog!" Evy narrowed her eyes at the offending robed figure, having already taken a disliking to their kind.

The blonde's vigilance did not waver, though he was injured. The blood on his forearm came finally to her notice and Evy marveled at his will to ignore it and hold his bow ready to kill. "You would do well to mind your sword if you would not have my arrow pierce your flesh!" he retorted hotly, never breaking eye contact.

From beside her the raven-haired stranger took a step with outward stretched hands as he faced the warriors. "I assure you we do not come as enemies. Can we not talk in peace? We need not end this disagreement bitterly."

The warrior holding Dr. Chamberlin brought his eyes away from the bow-wielding stranger and met those of the speaker. "I am called Naseen of the Med-Jai and I want to know where you and this fair-haired whelp came from and more importantly, what you have done with our captain." Evy narrowed her brow at that, wondering again where Rick was.

Still holding his hands free, the man replied, "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and my friend is of Mirkwood. I know not what befell your captain."

"Do you lie?" the dark warrior seemed to ask and seemed to assume all at once. This Aragorn made no reply to that. Naseen sheathed his drawn scimitar and shoved the Egyptologist to the sand. "All will be found out in time, I assure you. Until that time I think you should surrender your weapons and take camp with my men." He cocked his head and waited for defiance.

Aragorn nodded to his friend and called, "Legolas," in a tone that conveyed his want.

"Aragorn, I do not agree this is wise," he answered, still holding his weapon drawn. "They attacked on sight."

The stranger shook his head. "We are outnumbered, Legolas. There are innocent people dying with our idle talk." The tone was firm, but not demanding. It was enough to make his friend lower his bow, if reluctantly. A Med-Jai quickly stripped him of that and two swords at his back. Naseen came closer and held his hand out, causing Aragorn to tense. "I give my word I will not use this weapon against you or your men, but I will surrender Anduril to no other hand."

With a sneer Naseen put a hand to his hilt and instantly another two Med-Jai were at Legolas' back, keeping him from aiding his friend. "What was this talk of idle chatter and innocent lives?" he said, throwing Aragorn's words back at him.

Evy saw steel in those storm-colored eyes as the stranger held the Med-Jai's glare. "I gave my promise to this lady that I would return and save her brother. To beat the foe in that dark place I will need my sword. Will you send me to my task unarmed?"

The smile written across the face of the dark warrior before them was cynical as he took his hand from his scimitar. "If you left people behind, they are dead. I assure you of that. We have a struggle before us, thanks to your friends here." Evy backed away when his glare turned on her. "Who read from the book?"

Her brow furrowed as he looked her over completely, then met her eyes again. The frown on her lips increased. "I read from it! What harm ever came from reading a book? And if you knew this could happen, why didn't you just tell us instead of behaving like animals?" She crossed her arms, trying not to let her fear and sorrow for Jonathan overwhelm her.

The quick-tongued reply had given her pride a little satisfaction, but it rapidly faded when the warrior raised his hand to her. She didn't even have time to think before it fell, but instead of being knocked to the ground, she found another hand in front of her face. Aragorn grasped Naseen's wrist and shook his head, warning, "That would be most unwise."

With an assessing stare, Naseen ripped his arm back and nodded, then turned to the Med-Jai. "Take them out to the riders and report back here."

Evy shook her head and fumed at the dismissal of Jonathan's life. "My brother! I won't leave my brother!"

"Your brother is dead," the hardened warrior answered in a tone of finality. "I will look for him, but don't count on his being brought back whole. In the meantime, you and your friends here have some questions to answer and we have a mess to try and clean up." He said the last with a sneer as he stalked by.

Another Med-Jai stepped from the towering group of dark warriors and addressed both Evy and Aragorn as the Med-Jai forced the other two along. She caught the blonde giving Aragorn an uncertain look, to which the kind stranger lifted a forestalling hand. "Well, I never!" she huffed, looking into the face of this new warrior. "Of all the rude, boorish and unsavory types. What gives you men the right to push innocent people around, anyway? My brother is as good as dead because of all the time we wasted!" Evy shuddered inwardly at the images playing through her mind. Jonathan dead, O'Connell gone and now this? Where did the tragedies end? And it was all her fault, too.

The Med-Jai caught her nerves and looked down on her softly, his black hair shifting in the breeze, free of a protective cover. "Three thousand years of history and tradition gives us the right and harsh-spoken or not, Naseen is probably right about your brother's fate. I am Salih and I apologize for my brother's 'boorish' behavior. He is an ass who has his eyes on a captaincy that will never be his. I won't let him harm you." He turned his head then to the other man, who watched after his companion in concern. "Your friend could be in a lot of danger. Our captain has disappeared and the blonde was found where he had stood. I recognize in you something of honor, I think. If your friend has caused harm to come to Ardeth, he won't live very long." There was something that wanted to be friendly in those words, but also a warning and a probing for truth.

Whatever he was seeking, however, was not to be found. A dangerous glint of blue flashed through the eyes of this Aragorn, but he too remained peaceful. "I know not what has happened to any of us, but I know this; my friend is a formidable foe. Punishment given where it is not earned will result in losses perhaps on both sides. My blade was made for the blood of Orcs and evil things, not for that of Men, but I will come to his aid."

Both Evy and Salih rewarded such words with confused, dubious expressions. Orcs? Why on earth would someone use a reference like that? Salih shook his head and turned, motioning them on and for the moment all they could do was follow. Evelyn exhaled, resigned to thoughts other than worry, and swallowed as she gave him an odd look. "Excuse me, ah…Aragorn, was it? Did…did you say Orcs?" He nodded with equal disorientation. "And these Orcs, they were real, were they?"

"Of course they were real." His wan smile was amused at this line of questioning. A kind expression, it was. Like O'Connell's, when he wasn't leering or being sarcastic. "Do you not believe I am fit to handle their like?"

Evy returned the smile, conscious that Salih was listening to everything that was said—and likely deeming her new friend a little crazy. Not that she herself wasn't beginning to think that as well, but he seemed nice enough that she would hate to see him harmed. "Well, it's not that I…I mean I'm sure you're perfectly capable, but… Are you quite sure you didn't hit your head at some point while wandering around Hamunaptra?"

Aragorn laughed a little at that, clasping his hands in front of him as they headed over a dune by the Med-Jai's lead. "I suppose that may be possible. Are Orcs uncommon in this part of the world?"

Uncommon wasn't exactly the word she would use, but the remembrance of what she had just escaped warned her not to totally discount anything anymore. Maybe he had seen Imhotep and was trying to brag on having beaten others of his like? He didn't seem the boastful type, though. Evy shook her head. "Not common, no. How did you arrive here, anyway?"

It was his turn to shake his head and his crystal eyes softened sympathetically. "I do not know. I became dizzy in my home and suddenly found myself in the dark tunnels of this evil place. Your brother and the ones with him, they marveled at my appearance and said there was light, but I did not see it. There was a sound trailing us and without exchanging greetings I was led away, hearing mutters of your name and the name of another who seemed to be absent."

"O'Connell?" Evy supplied, a little startled by this strange and highly dubious tale.

Aragorn nodded sadly. "Alas, I do not know what befell him or this captain they speak of, but I do regret not returning for your brother before we left the darkness. Even his name I knew not before entering the fray with that foul creature. I am truly sorry, my lady. What was his name?"

Hugging into herself and trying to fight new grief, Evelyn looked away and almost let those tears spill when the stranger's hand touched her shoulder. How could he be dead? It was as impossible as that monster stalking the deep of Hamunaptra. He would return to her.

"Jonathan."

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Author: Ruse – jedinineofnine@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: No infringement intended. Naseen and Salih are mine.
Feedback: Yes! By all means, my precioussss, lemme know how I'm doing!
Archive: Sure, just please let me know if you will, so I can stop by and see your site.

A/N: Okay. I'm sticking a wee amount of Elvish in here for the sake of…well, doing it. ;-) Some things I wasn't too sure about…I'm taking my guesses from two different sources and how I think the words are being used. Such as "maethar aen". I read "prestar aen" (I amar prestar aen – The world is changed) and "beriathar aen" (dammen beriathar aen – will be held against us) which was used in the FOTR movie as meaning: prestar aen v. pass. 'is changed'; cf. presta- 'affect, trouble' and aen 'they' (beriathar aen v. fut. passive 'will be guarded, will be held'; beria- 'protect'.) and in seeing that I took the usage of maetha- 'to fight' and used it in much the same way.

At any rate, die-hards who are cringing, don't worry…I won't do it often. Just for secret talk. ;-)

and are my resources.

Translations:

1. "Come with me my princess, Ancksunamun." – Hmmm…I think so, anyway…something like that…I don't remember. I don't think The Mummy's Egyptian was all that accurate, anyway. :-O

2. "It appears these wild men [mean] to fight against us!" Lit. Thia 'it appears' in 'these' rhevain 'wild men (probably from Rhovanion)' dammen 'dan against + men us maethar aen 'they will fight'

Reviewers:

Mommints – Oooh…excellent!! I hope you do write that scene up! Would be excellent! There can never be too many LOTR/Mummy stories in my opinion…two excellent fandoms with LOTS of hot guys…what could possibly go wrong with that? ;-) Thanks!

Anya – Thanks! Hehehe…I hope we can expect more LOTR/Mummy crossovers, too. I know of at least two friends who are thinking of it…and I urge them both to do so. ;-) Me glad you like!

Narya's Bane – Thanks for the review! I hope this met your reading well. :-)

Missy – Well, you're probably right that perhaps I made Rondy a bit too easy going…but I didn't want him all freaking out either, cause I assume Elves have a larger stock of patience than say Gandalf may have. To make up for it I could make him a bit ironic and irritated in the next chapter. ;-) As for Evy…boy, I don't know…I'd be hard pressed, especially since the point of The Mummy I chose to make the other side of the coin face is so early in their meeting. Who could resist those blue eyes of theirs? ;-) Not I! Thanks…I'm glad you enjoyed despite Elrond. ;-)

Kessele – Thanks! I hope I still have it! ;-)

Karri – Too true…say, why don't you do a LOTR/Mummy crossover too? ;-) I bet you'd do great, I love your stories!!! Thank ya for the feedback!

Sparkle Weaver – Thankie! I'm glad you enjoyed! I would have had this out sooner, but I realized I based the original chapter on something wrong, so had to re-write lots of it. Doh!

O'Connell's Mummy Girl – Thanks for the compliment and yeah…Ricky and Legolas…mmm…nice combo! ;-)

Deana – Erm…sorry? Hehehe. Well, see I had just begun it a few nights before posting…so, it never came up? :-O Forgive me! ;-)

Deb – Hey! Thanks for the review! I would certainly like to see your LOTR/Mummy crossover, if you ever indeed decide to do one. There are so many possibilities out there and I'd just love to read them all! Aragorn and Ardeth would be awesome fighting together! Thank you so much for your high compliments…I'm glad I'm doing something rightish and not being too predicable. :-) Sometimes I wonder if I am…lol. So it's nice to hear people don't think I am. :-)

Marcher – Hehe! Crazed friends think alike, eh? I say go for it…I'd love to read what you come up with…it's fun to write and get the feedback, but I'd also like to read someone else's interpretation of crossing over and you'd do so well and add Boromir, the hottie. ;-) Maybe you could even break Rondy's armor and sword out of mothballs! ;-) Thank you muchly for the review, mellon nin! Glad you like!