I don't own Mummies Alive! or any of the characters, except for Evelyn and Ratshet.
Welcome back for episode five so I had to take some extra time to finish this because it was hard to focus on Nefertina and Pep's characters and romance( romance is defiantly not my forte). I also decided not to push Eve to the side and show her perspective of things so in the end I had to keep all Nefertina's scenes plus Eve's scenes plus extra scenes... we have here the new biggest chapter of this story and I've got the feeling that they will get even bigger.
I hope I got the characters right.
Episode five: The mummy and the serpent
Feeling the wind on your face while riding for the first time was the best experience Nefertina has ever had. She felt free, as if all her problems were gone. It was her calling, she knew it the moment she experienced it. There was only one problem. She was a girl and "girls can't drive carriages".
For a while, she tried to convince people around her that she could do this better than anyone else, especially better than any man. It was a fruitless attempt, everyone thought it was wrong for a woman to be able to do that. Even his own parents turned their backs on him. His family owned a small store in the capital, they sold fruits and bread. They wanted her to keep the family tradition and not to waste time with some strange desire to ride.
One day, a soldier from the palace appeared. He was a tall man with a missing arm. He tried all the fruits they had and bought a lot of them. His parents were satisfied with the good deal, but what really interested Nefertina were the things he commented on about his life while eating.
He was chosen by Pharaoh himself to be one of Princess Ratshet's main guardians after he proved himself a worthy warrior after losing his arm in battle.
It seemed so amazing to her ... not the part of losing an arm, of course. But his story of bravery in battle. It was the moment when she realized her secondary peculiarity, to fight.
She trained and rode in secret with her parents. To hide her long hair, she wore a head piece. Using that made her look more masculine.
When her parents started to suggest that she get married soon, she decided to take a leap of faith. She would completely assume a male identity and work in the palace driving royal carriages. For this she changed the name from Nefertina to Nefer.
To his surprise, it worked. His skills were so impressive that no one asked much about his origins. They were happy to have someone so talented among them. She even crossed paths with the armed man again, his name was Armon. They talked a little bit from time to time and he never recognized her. Her secret seemed to be well kept from anyone ...
Except for one person.
"I know you are a girl." A voice said at his side. Princess Ratshet herself. At that time, she was only twelve, but she was already an intelligent girl.
It was strange to be asked by the princess herself to take her for a walk in the desert. Nefertina wondered if rumors that her skills had reached her ears. Only now does she discovered that this is not why the princess specifically chose her.
Nefertina was terrified to look at the only person she could see through her disguise. It was the end for her, if the princess told someone she would be excluded as a knight. She couldn't let that happen.
"Please don't tell your dad." She begs to the princess.
"I will not." Ratshet admitted with a sweet smile. Nothing in her expression indicated hostility, she even seemed satisfied. "In fact, I think it's amazing what you're doing."
"...You do?" Nefertina felt a combination of relief and suspicion, she did not expect this reaction from the princess.
"Yes, you are not the only girl irritated by rules that make no sense. When I am older and become pharaoh, I will change things for the better and you will no longer have to hide."
Nefertina was surprised a second time. A pharaoh woman? This never happened before! The princess really had a strong will, Nefertina could respect that.
"Nefer is a male name, so it's probably a fake. May I ask what your real name is?" Ratshet kindly asks.
Talking like that to the princess seemed inappropriate, especially now that she knows the truth, it was as if the two were just normal people talking.
"... Nefertina."
"Nefertina, you are an incredible carriage rider." Ratshet declared.
A warm feeling invaded Nefertina's chest. It was the first time that someone congratulated her using her real name. At that moment, a bond formed between the two girls. A bond that lasted until his premature death and started over with his meeting 3500 years in the future.
There was a negative thing about their meeting: Ratshet, or now Evelyn, did not remember her. As I learned later, the only person I recognized was Ja-kal because of a dream he had. There was also the fact that Ratshet and Eve were not quite the same. There were both similarities and differences between them. However, Neferina quickly learned to like Eve too, with differences and all.
There was also the factor of her fellow guardians. They were shocked when she revealed her true sex. At the same time that they were adapting to the modern era, the guys were adapting to the real Nefertina. To her relief, they did not turn her away or condemn her for lying to them. There were times when they called her "Nefer" on impulse, but they soon got used to her real name.
She was finally free to be herself anyway. Or at least that was what she thought.
Things were going great for Nefertina. The guardians had finally reached their third month in the modern world. She didn't had to lie to the others anymore. She had learn about a lot of new amazing vehicles she could drive. Their mission to protect Eve was going well. And they had been able to kick Scarab's tut four times already.
Yes. Things were looking up for her.
The only downside is that the hot-ra has been passing for some repairs and she had to wait to drive it again. She was anxious for Rath to finish with it.
As she walked around the walls of the Sphinx, her ears caught the sweet sound of engine revving and speeding wheels. The hot-ra was ready to roll.
She ran in the direction of the sound and got into the room to see that the car was speeding in Rath and Eve's direction. Armon had got there some seconds before her. Thinking fast she used him for support to jump really high. She landed into the cockpit of the Hot-ra, hitting the breaks of the car seconds before it could hit her friends.
The duo stared at the car millimeter in front of them and let out a breath they didn't knew they were holding.
"Now that you finished improving the hot-ra maybe I can take it for a ride." Nefertina offers. "I have been inching to try it out. But maybe it's the bandages." To empathize what she said she ran her hand over the bandages on her arm.
"Oh! Alright." Rath agrees while fixing his wrappings with Eve's help. It had been caught by the car's engine before she arrived. "...just don't scratch the paint."
That probably would happened anyway.
Behind them, Ja-kal had arrived on the room. He got there in time to hear Neferina's offer to Eve.
"Come on, Eve! I'll give you a ride home."
"Great. Its way better than go back by the bus." Eve hops in the car.
Before they could leave, Ja-kal got closer to the car.
"I will go with you to...help you guard the princess." He offers.
That got Nefertina suspicious. He never got a problem with her driving Ratshet around.
"You don't think I can protect the princess?" She gestured to Eve sitting next to her. Then her tone became accusatory. "In Egypt you let take Ratshet in my chariot when you thought I was a man! Do you doubt me now because I am a woman?" She ends pointing a finger at his face.
Ja-kal remained calm so as not to make the situation worse. This was something he hadn't dealt before. He never had to get along with female fighting companions( except for Ratshet but she was a especial case) before so he was kind of lost.
"Man or woman, it doesn't matter. This world is new to us we have a lot to learn. All of us." Ja-kal tried to explain as he gestured to the others still fixing Rath's wrappings.
It didn't convince Nefetina. She had already gotten mad.
"Yeah, like how to threat a woman." Nefertina snapped at him then closes the cockpit before he can answer and she drives off.
This time driving was hardly making her feel better. In her mind, the scene that just happened was repeating over and over again. She wasasking herself why would he start treating her like that. Nefertina had proved time to time that she could protect herself and the princess... but that was when she was 'Nefer'. It shouldn't matter that now she was a girl, hiding her true identity or not, she still was the same person that fought with them 3500 years ago!
Nefertina then starts to vent with Eve.
"I don't care what Ja-kal says, he doesn't respect me because I'm not a man!" Nefertina was complaining. "Why did I expect someone to change after 3500 years?"
In her inquietude, she was speeding throw the streets while dodging cars driving at regular speed. She was quite good at it but regardless of her abiliity, Eve was terrified on her seat. Scared that they would make a wrong turn and crash into something.
Nefertina went on talking, oblivious of her friend's state of fear.
"He is just so... so... mummified." Nefertina struggles to chose the right word to describe him.
Traffic Sign changes to Red ahead of them and in a fast movement Nefertina dodges all the cars passing with a single movement.
Eve blew out a sigh of relief. The streets ahead of them were more empty, so she was less concerned from that point on.
With that out of the way, Eve could answer to Nefertina.
"If you want I can give the book '3500 years of female rights' for him to read."
She offers but her guardian didn't seem better so she tried saying something else. "... Or I can just order him to treat you better."
Nefertina shakes her head, not taking her eyes of the road.
"I don't want him to respect me because he has to but because he want to. He trusted my decisions in the past but now he is questioning me! I just want he to trust me again."
"Maybe he really meant what he said." Eve suggests, rethinking about the man they were talking about. "That he was worried regardless of you being a girl or not."
"You really think so?" Nefelina said with skepticism.
"Yes, I mean when he wasn't worried about something?" Eve points out.
Nefertina let's out a dry laugh. There was truth in Eve's words, Ja-kal was worried most of the time. It was just who he was. Still she couldn't get rid of the feeling that things would be different now that she was a girl in his eyes.
"Maybe." Nefetina then concluded.
Soon they reached Eve's house and the car cover opens.
"Thanks for the ride." Eve got out of the vehicle.
"This manning of the red lights... why would the Pharaoh's chariot ever stop for another? These people need to learn how to respect their king."
Eve was going to correct her but Nefertina immediately drives away. The girl watch the car disappear across the corner in full speed.
"I need to learn how to explain to her how traffic rules work..." Eve mumbled while thinking about it. "...maybe I can get her a book or something. I just don't know if she will read it."
Nefertina was driving in an empty street when she was spotted by a group of motorcyclists recently escaped from the western gate.
The leader of the group had the current appearance a man with blonde hair. He noticed the strange looking car passing on the street.
"Even without it's horses I would know the royal chariot of the sun." He said in a lower tone before turning to the others. "The princess is here! Attack!" And they drive after her.
One of the members got to the right back wheel of the hot-ra and landed a kick at the car making it pull to the side.
When feeling the pull Nefertina shouted "Make way!" Then she looks to her left. "Amators!"
Those guys had chosen the wrong day to mess with her. It was time to fight some of her anger away!
She holded her charm in her hand and transforms "With the strength of Ra!"
The cockpit of the car glows and her armor appears.
She opens the car cover and launches her whip at the driver who hit the car. The whip attaches close to the throttle of the bike. He tries to pry it out but she pulls it, making him lose control of the bike and fall off it.
Two more approached on their right, their eyes glowed red and from them they shoot blasts at the back engine of the car.
Smoke started to come out of the engines and Nefertina lost control of the vehicle. The car began to spin, knocking down the same bikers who shot it and then another one riding in front of it.
Nefertina jumped out of the car before it crashed into a brick wall, finally stopping.
"Rath will never let me hear the end of this..." She mumbles. She just did a lot worse than scratching the paint.
The last motorcyclist stopped next to her but before he could get off, she ran towards a motorcycle abandoned by another member and drove in the opposite direction from which she came.
She tries to lose him but the mysterious man manages to follow through the tightest spaces of alleys.
She turns around with him still following her. She had to admit, he was good.
"I hadn't seen anyone drive like that since I was alive ..." she realizes.
When she turns to look ahead there is garbage at the end of the alley and a piece of wood in one position creating a ramp that she couldn't avoid.
"Oh oh!"
Even the guy after her didn't saw that comming.
Both end up being thrown from their bikes and falling into some trash bags scattered on the floor.
He falls on top of her and begins to attack and in the process takes off her helmet revealing her face.
"You are not a man!"
Oh, great... that again?! She thought.
"Disappointed?" Nefertina spat. "You drove so well I was sure you were a woman." She grabs back her helmet from his hands.
He kept looking at her. Nefertina was surprise by his facial expression. It wasn't a glance of disappointment or surprise but amazement.
"No doubt you are." He said in a dreamy tone as his friends arrived at the scene. "You are truly beautiful."
She felt a slight blush appear on her face, she wasn't accustomed with that kind of compliment, especially after becoming a mummy.
The mysterious man walks to his bike. And she gets up.
"You really know how to ride. I respect that." He lifts his bike off the ground and gets on it. "I'm sorry we bothered you."
"I'm not." Nefertina stated while crossing her arms in her chest. Even with the part where she hitted the car, this was probably the best part of her day. The racing was one of the best she ever had participated and her adversary actually showed respect to her gender.
"When we've completed a small task I shall find you." He declairs before driving away.
Seeing that guy again sounded great. Finally, a man that could see her valor as a driver while being a competent adversary.
"I will look forward to that day." Nefertina was still for some moments, seeing him in the distance and then she left the scene.
As she got to the hot-Ra was reminded of her current problem, how would she explain that to Rath? Telling him about the mysterious racer was out of question, he would tell Ja-kal and the situation would get worse.
Then she could just say she crashed... Yes, she would probably do that.
"... so it's ends with four hundred sixty four." With that Eve concluded the last question from math homework. Closing her mathematics book, she turned to lay in her bed. Her cat was already sitting there as always.
Eve threw herself against the soft surface careful not to land on her cat. She turned to her side to look at Kahti and tell her some of the events of the day as she usually did. Strangely talking to the cat was kind of relaxing to her.
"Today Nefertina and Ja-kal had a fight. He wouldn't let Nefertina bring me home alone but she did anyway. She is quite a rebel sometimes."
The cat meows. Eve smiled a little while rubbing Kahti's neck making the cat purr.
"I wonder how she is now." Eve becomes thoughtful. "She just rode off in a hurry. I hope she don't got in trouble with anybody, I guess I will just find out tomorrow."
What happened next was similar to the occurrence on the night of Ja-kal's capture. A voice echoed in the room, seemingly coming from nowhere. Just this time was a unfamiliar male voice.
"Word in the western gate is that you are the real power in this kingdom so I will let you leave if you do me one service..."
Eve sat on her bed startled by the sound. Just as last time, she noticed there was nobody there. The same voice then continued.
"Help me get my hands on the girl princess Ratshet."
Eve was confused, she had no ideia who was the owner of that voice. Why would that person be looking for her?
"Why? Whatever do you want with Ratshet?" This time the voice for sure belonged to Scarab. The old sorcerer was probably involved in some new scheme to catch her.
"Her grandfather drove me into the desert. The father and the grandfather are beyond my grasp but the daughter lives again and she can be made to suffer." The other voice said in a revengeful tone.
Eve shivers at his voice. It sounded pretty threatening. She decided to avoid meeting the owner of the voice personally.
She waited for more but it never came. It was just silent again. She fell back, back on her bed.
"I must have finally lost it..." Eve mumbles then turns to Kahti again.
"That can't be real, right?" Eve asked before realizing that she was taking to a cat.
Eve tried to make sense of the situation. Last time it happened the words spoken proved themselves to be true. Before deciding how to react she had to be sure. There had to be a way to confirm things said.
"...the voice said that Ratshet's grandfather drove him into the desert." She recalled. "I can ask Rath if he knows about something. Just hope her grandfather didn't drove too many people into the desert..."
Then it came the Scarab's factor.
"If that person is really working with Scarab they probably will make some trap for me. But why would Scarab work with someone who want to kill me? Don't he want me alive so that he can have my soul?"
Eve shook her head. First she had to confirm her suspicion.
Back in the lair, Nefertina couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious man she met. There was something in him that really attracted her. Maybe was the charming face or the way he drove his motorcycle or the way he praised her habilites...
She really was looking forward to see him again. Hopefully he would end his task soon and they could see each other again.
Nefertina was walking to check the state of the Hot-ra when she noticed, Armon watching TV. He was laying on the sofa while a comercial played out.
"Tonight on lifestyles of the inexplicably famous..." A voice announced and the person that appeared on the screen caught her attention. It was the mysterious driver. And he didn't look busy at all. The comercial showed him in a rock concert playing the guitar. "You can't turn on a TV, flip over a magazine or a open a newspaper without seeing his face. Who else could it be but Pep? Come with me, running glitch, as we explore the mystique of this white-hot palindrome."
The announcement ended with a scene were Pep was in his hotel room with some beautiful girls.
Nefertina felt all her attraction burn into rage as it was exchanged by hate and jealousy.
"Two-timing weasel!" She exclaims as she throws her whip at the TV destroying it.
"Hey! I was watching that!" Armon complains, not liking that she just appeared out of nowhere and destroyed his source of entertainment.
"You watch too much already!" Nefertina snaps without thinking." You are a slab potato!"
"Who died and made you Ra?!" Armon shout frustrated.
Nefertina decided to make a visit to this "Pep" at the hotel he was staying. She decided to take the Hot-ra in case it was already fixed. When she got to the room, Rath was fixing something in the bottom of the car.
Before she could say anything Ja-kal appeared behind her. He had heard her screams and got there to check what was happening.
"Is there a problem?" He asks.
She just ignores him, not with patience to deal with him at the moment.
"Rath! Is the Hot-ra ready? I need some air." Nefertina asks.
"Há! Surely you jest." Rath joked sarcastically. No way he would let her take the car fixed or not, just break it for the second time.
"The Hot-ra stays." Ja-kal decides using his autoritary tone.
"That's not fair!" Nefertina shouts, crossing her arms in rebellion.
Ja-kal placed a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down.
"We must stay close to Ratshet." He said.
Nefertina slapped his hand away.
"You don't trust my judgment, you don't trust me!" She than pushed him with force, not too much to bring him down but enought for him to lose compusure.
It was the last straw for Ja-kal, he was trying to deal with her bad mood with composure but as a leader he couldn't let her behave like that.
"Why should I?" He then asked.
Armon arrived in the room in time for the trio to see at Nefertina leaving in the motorcycle.
"Well, someone got up in the wrong side of the sarcophagus..." Rath grumbles.
She got out by the launching route coming from the mouth of the Sphinx. As she rode, her eyes caught someone walking in the direction of the Sphinx.
Pushing hard on the break, she came to a stop next to the girl.
"Eve, what are you doing here?" Nefertina asked.
"I have to ask Rath about something." Eve answered, not knowing about Nefertina's current mood.
Nefetina reacted impulsively at the answer.
"Can't you must ask me? I can help you as much as he can!" Nefertina exclaimed rudely.
Eve held her hand up in a non threatening way. She didn't meant to make Nefetina angry.
"Calm down,Nefertina. I was just going to ask Rath about Ratshet's family. He teached history to Ratshet so I thought he was the most likely to know." Eve explained calmly, making Nefetina understand better the situation.
Nefertina then calmed down and regretted her last action. She was angry at the guys, not Eve. The girl hadn't done anything wrong to her, she didn't deserve her anger.
"Sorry,Eve. I am just... having a bad night." Nefertina admits in a sadder tone.
"...Do you and Ja-kal had an argument again?" Eve deduced.
"Yeah... he said I couldn't take the hot-Ra for a spin and Rath won't let me ride it after the accident and..."
Eve interrupts her.
"What accident? Are you okay?" The girl asks, she had been worried that something could have happened to Nefertina in that state after she left after leaving Eve home.
Nefertina gave a small smile, noticing her worried tone. The two of them cared for each other as not only companions but almost as sisters.
"I am fine, thanks."
Eve noticed something shadowy in her eyes, they seemed distant as if she was thinking about something else that she didn't mention yet.
"There is more to your anger than you are letting on. You can tell me."
Nefertina some seconds to decide if she would tell the truth. She avoided telling the others since they would judge her but Eve wouldn't do that. In fact, the princess was always her best option to vent with.
"I met someone. A guy." The cat armored mummy confesses.
"Really? When was that? After you left me home?" Eve inquires.
"Yes. He was amazing, he drove his motorcycle amazingly. And after we had an..." The mummy stops for a se one second, thinking the correct word to describe the incident " race, he told me I was the most truly beautiful."
"That sound great, Nefertina!" Eve exclaimed, happy for her friend, but that didn't explained Nefertina's bad mood. "...but then why are you angry?"
"Because he turned out to be Two-timing weasel!" She exclaimed, anger emanating from her tone of voice. "He said he had some small task but after that he would come to find me but he now I saw him on the magic box just playing around!"
Eve felt bad for her, she had experience with an insincere person in the past. She knew how it hurted to be lied to like that.
"I'm sorry..." Eve starts. "Sometimes people just aren't what we thought of them and there is nothing we can do about it."
Nefertina felt like there was a hint of experience on Eve's words. She was going to ask but preferred to wait to do that later. She had a situation to solve right now.
"There is something I can do. Confront him. I am going to take my answers from his face!" Declares while clenching her fists.
Eve was going to say something but Nefertina had a good guess of what it would be.
"Don't try to stop me!" Nefertina shouts.
"...alright. I won't." Eve decided to not try to stop her, it would be useless anyway. "Just do what you got to do and then return to back the people that care about you, okay?"
"Okay..." Nefertina agreed, more calm. "...one more thing, don't tell the other about where I am going."
"My lips are sealed." Eve had again forgot about the mummies misunderstanding of modern terms.
"But you just opened them now." Nefertina asks confused.
"Nefertina, it's just an expression. I promise to not tell them." Eve clarified.
"I will never understand some of the things you say." Nefertina mumbles before leaving in the motorcycle.
Eve got inside the lair using the secret passage in the back of the Sphinx. To find Rath she tried to follow the sounds of someone working echoing threw the halls.
Eventually she was guided to the same room Nefertina was before she left. At that time, Rath had returned to his work fixing of the Hot-ra. In his mind, he was wondering how Nefetina managed to break so many things in one ride. In just one day he had to repair the Hot-ra twice.
From his position under the vehicle, he heard the sound of steps of someone arriving in the room but expected Ja-kal or Armon, even maybe Nefertina. Certanly, not Eve.
"Hey, Rath."
He immediately stopped his work to check if it was really her. He was surprise to see her there at that hour.
"Eve? Why are you here? You should be at home doing your homework." He asked.
"I already did that." She clarified before explaining her reason to be here. "I was just wondering if you could tell me something about Ratshet's family."
"I studied many of the royal family's ancestors in my years as the princess' teacher. I know many information about them." He illustrated his knowledge. "What do you want to know?"
"Did Ratshet's grandfather drove anyone into the desert?" She finally asks.
He turned suspicious at her strange question.
"That's oddly specific. Why do you want to know that?" He questioned.
"... curiosity." It was the only response she could come up with at the moment.
He was still suspicious but answered her question anyway. It was his duty to clarify any of her questions.
"Pharaoh Ahmoset has driven many bandits into the desert. But the most Notorious was probably Apep."
For some reason, the name sounded familiar to her. Maybe she read it in some scroll.
"Who is this guy?" She asks.
"Not a guy, a spirit. Apep was a spirit of Chaos causing trouble and destruction in the lands of Egypt, Ratshet's grandfather hunted Apep and his companions and drove them into the endless desert inside of the western gates to make sure they wouldn't bring chaos into this world again."
Eve got tense. If the voices were correct than that guy was back in the human world already planning revenge.
"So... technically speaking, if he returned what would he do?"
"Probably seek revenge against the only living member of the royal family, you."
Eve became thoughtful about this Apep spirit and the voices she heard. Backstory with Ratshet's grandfather? Check. Reason to want revenge? Check. Reason to ally with Scarab? That still didn't make sense. Apep wanted to kill her, Scarab wanted her alive. Their objectives collided with each other. Why would they ally?
Contrary to what Nefertina suspected, she had made a great impression on Pep. While he had been making all those shows and commercials to attract Ratshet, he couldn't help but think about the masked girl that caught his attention. No girl he ever met was like her, she was fearless and adventurous. He would love to drive with her in a close future.
After finishing his work for the day, he and his gang were at the hotel. They had a strong bond. All those years trapped at the western gate make sure of that. Those terrible years wandering trapped inside that desert were the royal family fault. He had no means to get revenge on the man who casted him out or his son but his granddaughter was in his reach and he swore to himself that he would get back for every second he had to suffer at that deserted land.
Yet at the moment, he was talking about the masked woman to the others. They didn't understood his attraction to her but if he was going to go see her again they had to get used to it.
"I tell you she is like no other woman I have ever seen." He was saying.
As always, they stood silent as he spoke. No one would there would dare to interrupt him, he was the boss.
"After we dispose of the girl..." He was about to explain his plan when a noise from outside caught his attention. He signals for them to remain silent and sends two henchmen to investigate the source of the sound.
He opened the door to the balcony and the two henchmen go out and look around.
Nefertina was hidden in a column above them so they didn't saw her. They see nothing and shrug their shoulders deciding to go back into the room. As soon as they are on their backs Nefertina jumps on top of them pressing them against the floor.
"Now, where is he?" Nefertina exclaims to them as she raises one of her hands with sharp claws exposed threatening to hit them. Pep had noticed her presence but remained calm.
"Please, spare my man. They don't know me as I do." He normally asks, not even a little nervous at having his man at this position.
Having Pep already there, Nefertina had no reason to hold her captives so she let them go. As soon as they were free, Pep gestured for them to go inside and they obeyed. That left them alone in the balcony.
"I like a lady that knows how to make an entrance." Pep admits, adding another quality to her profile.
"You said you would come find me." Nefertina had come there to confront him yet in the moment she saw him her anger extinguished. She just wanted to enjoy the moment she had with him. She detransforms one clawed hand and smiles at him. "Now you have me."
She extended her hand to him and he took it.
"Come ride with me to the ends of the earth." He offers in a seductive tone.
Nefertina takes just a moment to decide.
"Let's ride."
Feeling the wind in her face as she rode for the first time was the best experience Nefertina ever had. And sharing that feeling was a close second. She and Pep drove their bikes closely to each other, their movements in sync as if they were in the same tune. It was amazing to both of them. They got closer to the seaside of the city, listening to the sound of the waves beneath the roar of motorcycle engines.
Soon they reached the end of the road. They got off their bikes and just wanted to be close to each other. As they held one another in their arms, the light of the bikes illuminated their figures amid the darkness of the night around them.
"I have never known another like you..." Pep starts as he looks deep in her eyes and make a decision. "I want to make you my queen."
No answer was made, they just held each other in a hug. Nefertina felt the excitement at the moment decrease when she realized that he knew nothing about her identity. On the spur of the moment she decided to be sincere ... a little too sincere. She got some feet from him and started talking.
"There is something you have to know." She detransforms revealing her mummified form and then confessed. "I am from another time too."
He gently put a hand caressing the side of his face, his attitude did not change. Normal human or not, the attraction was still there.
"The spell you hold over me is even greater than this magic." He stated.
Letting the strong emotions of the moment control her decisions, she then told too much to him. Confessing her true propose here.
"I... I am here now for a reason. There are three others like me. We have been reawakened to protect the new reincarnation of Pharaoh daughter."
The romantic atmosphere was shattered in the moment she mentioned the Pharaoh's daughter. Pep was horrified to discover that the object of his affections was a swore protector of the princess he was after. It was the worse outcome possible.
"No!" His turned violent as anger take control of him. He got her arms in a hard grip to keep her in place.
His shock made him return to his original form: a humanoid snake. He then holds her with his long tail, she tried to come off but she was not strong enough to do it in her form without armor.
"Are you the sworn Guardian of Rat? Tell me?!" He snaps. Still trying to comprehend the quick turn of events. "Why must it be?!" He then gets closer to her face. "If you protect the princess you shall share her fate!" He declares as his eyes glow crimson red.
Next day, Eve got to her school as usual. She noticed that the girls were acting strange, they were more talkative today, their hairs were better done and some of them were even wearing makeup. For most of the classes, she just tried to ignore it but curiosity quickly got the best of her and she decided to ask the one person from her class who seemed to know about every gossip in school.
Elaine Setter.
She was the school's reporter and was always looking for some story that would make her famous. She and Eve weren't exactly friends, Elaine always talked too much about journalism to Eve's liking yet most of the time they got along fine so she was the best source of information to Eve.
After the last class ended, Eve finally got to Elaine's table.
"Hey, Elaine. Do you know why the girls are all... fancy today?" Eve asked.
"You mean, you don't know?" Elaine asked as if it was obvious.
"Know what?"
Elaine got her phone from her backpack.
"All girls are trying out to be the next desert princess..." Elaine explained while she looked for something in her phone.
"Desert princess?" Eve repeats in surprise.
"Here." Elaine finds what she was looking online. She turned the screen of the phone for Eve to see it. It showed a handsome man leaning over his motorcycle.
"If you are a girl over fifteen years old but not over sixteen and you ever got the feeling you're a born leader you must have just what it takes to be a desert princess. Try out to the new desert princess tomorrow afternoon in Gate park. Be there." The man announced in the video. Eve was shocked to notice that it was the exact same voice she heard the day before.
"No girl would turn down an opportunity to meet Pep in person, so everybody is going to the audition. They are trying to look like actual princesses." Elaine calmly explained. "I have more interesting news to investigate to participate in such show myself but maybe you should try. I heard some girls say that you would look like a princess if you dressed more feminine."
Eve was too thoughtful to react to the comparing of her to a desert princess. Pep was almost the same as Apep. She had already seen Scarab take human form, so it wouldn't be impossible to the spirit of chaos to assume this Pep persona. Also the description of the age of the girl they were looking for was too close to hers to be coincidence. The audition was probably a trap to get her.
Yet, she couldn't risk the chance of the mummies attack someone innocent. Especially someone famous as Pep. She had to be totally sure, including some physical proof. And she knew just where to get it. Pep would be too busy interviewing the lots of girls coming to the audition to notice her sneaking in and get her proof. It would be just a quick scearch, not risking too much. If he really was Apep, Eve would prefer to stay far away from him.
Saying a quick goodbye to Elaine, Eve walked out of the school with her new mission in mind.
At the entrance of Gate Park there was a line of girls trying to get the desert princess role, the auditions were happening inside a huge tent installed in the park. Eve was hidden in the middle of the crowd trying not to attract attention to herself. To her luck she had a hoody stored in her backpack in case it got cold. So she was able to hide her hair using it.
She had noticed that the line was moving very quickly, as if no one of the girls were given much attention before the next one was called. Weird. Eve would have to be fast, Pep wouldn't be distracted with the auditions for long.
She examinated her surroundings looking for anything suspicious. There was a secondary tent, smaller than the principal one, that probably stored supplies. The proof she is looking for had to be there. Moving away from the crowd as quickly as possible, Eve went to investigate what was inside the secondary tent. The sight that greeted her when she opened the coverings to look inside was unexpected.
It was Nefertina. She had been tied and gagged. She looked as surprised as Eve when she noticed the girl's presence. Then she tried to say something but it was too muffed for Eve to understand. Quickly getting over her inicial shock, Eve got the gag off her friend's mouth.
"Eve, you have to leave! Pep is after you!" Nefertina warned desespered for the girl to leave.
Instead of doing that, Eve got to Nefertina's back and tried to get her friend free.
"Don't worry. He isn't too busy with the auditions to notice me." Eve said.
"Are you sure of that?" A third voice asked.
The duo froze as they turned to see Pep enter the tent with two of his man at his sides. His gaze focus in Eve's amulet, the princess amulet.
"We have been waiting for you." His Stare than turned to her wide green eyes. "Hum... I see your grandfather's spirit in your eyes."
"Ratshet, run away!" Nefertina screamed, she had quickly changed the name she called for since she didn't wanted Pep to know Eve's real identity. With her ties around her lose enough, she was able to break free quickly calling to her armor. "With the strength of Ra!"
Her armor appeared in a flash of light.
She advances against Pep, pushing him away from Eve and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
"No one touches the princess." Nefertina exclaims in his face.
"Take them!" Pep orders.
The two man that had arrived with him transformed into their monster forms, one with resemblance with a crocodile and the other a turtle. They got closer to Eve that had taken take some steps back as soon as she saw them transform.
Nefertina lands a punch in Pep's face before turning to help Eve.
Eve was trying to get out of the tent by the second exit on the other side, when two more monsters entered the space from there. Those were already in monster form resembling a mantis and a scorpion.
Eve found herself being surrounded by the four monsters, she would have to fight to get out of this. She quickly got her boomerang out of her backpack, ready to throw it at the first who got too close to her.
"Back off!" She exclaimed, disappointed to notice that her voice gave away her fear.
The first monster to attempt to attack her was the turtle one, but as soon as he was some steps from her, a shinning light emanated from the Eye of Ra and a blast of energy came from it hitting the monster in the chest making him fall some feet back.
The scorpion was the second to try to hit her, he tried hitting her with his claw but a whip wrapped itself around it, pulling him away from her and stoping his attack. As soon as he saw Nefertina trapping his companion's claw, the mantis tried to strike her from behind.
This one he was stopped by Eve's boomerang being thrown hard in his head by herself.
But it doesn't helped Nefertina much since the scorpion had trapped her with his tail then shocking her. She was weakened enough for mantis and a footman in human form to immobilize her.
Seeing her in this weakened state worried Pep that warned his man.
"Do not hurt the woman!"
Just one second later the boomerang flew at his head. Hitting it hard.
"Then just order your man to let her go!" Eve exclaimed in revolt. She wouldn't let that man pretend to care about her friend while his man hurt her.
Pep let a growl escape his lips while he glared at the girl. This situation was her fault, she was the reason he had to hurt his object of affection and now she was yelling at him. He would enjoy to make her suffer.
Before anyone can react, someone starts shooting rays of light from outside the tent, a shot hits the tent's support causing the structure to collapse on top of them.
The group got free from the fabric that fell above them. As soon as they could see around they were greeted by a group of clay soldiers and Scarab.
"Give me the girl." Scarab said.
Eve realized that their alliance must have been based on Scarab's lies.
"She must pay for what her grandfather did to me!" Apep exclaimed with his monstrous voice, already transformed in his snake form.
"I need her alive." Not taking any of Pep's persistence, Scarab just shoot a spell at him knocking him out cold for the moment.
The clay soldiers tried to get to Eve and another group entered the scene.
"With the strength of Ra!" The guys transformed as soon as they got there. They had noticed Eve's absence earlier and came to look for her.
Scarab started giving instructions to his soldiers.
"Don't lose the girl." He ordered to one soldier and then turned to the others." The rest of you stop them!"
As the soldiers shoot from the point of the staffs they held, hell broke loose. It was a three way battle between the mummies, Scarab and Pep's gang.
Eve was initially trying not to get caught in the crossfire but with most of the people here trying to capture her it seemed like a better idea.
She used the crossfire as cover so anyone who got close to her would get hit. At some point a clay soldier tried to grab her but he was destroyed by the crocodile monster and then said monster was hit by a spell on the back.
Rath was landing cuts, kicks at the soldiers who approached him when he noticed Pep regaining consciousness, he was still in his snake form. His mind returned to Eve's question the other night. That was Apep, the spirit of chaos, over there. But he couldn't reflect on that at the moment as the fight required his full attention.
When Ja-kal located Scarab, the mummie shoot flaming arrows at him, pinning him to a tree.
"Call off your monsters, Scarab!" Ja-kal exclaimed.
Seeing that the leader of the mummies didn't understood fully the situation yet, Scarab snapped at him.
"Fool! They aren't mine!"
Nefertina was cutting some soldiers to pieces when the roar of a motorcycle caught her attention. Pep's footman had caught Eve and they were trying to escape!
"No!" She exclaimed. After getting rid of the soldiers attacking her, she ran to look for her motorcycle and then rescue Eve.
Eve felt scared as the her captives drove her away from the park. She had no ideia where they were going and she had no curiosity to find out.
The girl analyzed the situation he was in. They were moving in a fast speed on the motorcycles. And there was apparently no backup for her at the moment. She planed a way to escape by herself. The member that held her in his motorcycle was way stronger and larger for her to fight physically. That left her with two options, use a weapon or magic. Unfortunately in the middle of the confusion at the park her boomerang was lost somewhere and she hadn't learned only simple spells to that point.
An ideia formed in her mind, it was risky and probably would hurt a little but it was defiantly better than anything Apep was planning for her.
Taking a deep breath for courage Eve pressed all her weight to her left front, as that the sudden change in the weight organization on the bike was too quick for the driver to rebalance in time they ended up driving out of the street into the woods to their left. They crashed into some bushes and Eve was thrown out of the vehicle into the ground. The landing hurted a little but at least it stopped them from getting too far from the park.
Eve was left with small superficial cuts in her arms, nothing too serious. The man that was driving with her had landed in his head knocking him unconscious.
The girl heard the sound of two motorcycles getting closer, the other two must have noticed they crashed into the woods. Not wasting time, Eve hid among some bushes in time to see Pep and the other footman stop their motorcycle next to their companion.
"Where is she?!" Pep exclaimed, after all that trouble he had gone threw to get her he wouldn't let her escape.
Leaving his friend to tend to the unconscious rider, he went to look for the girl. She couldn't had gotten far.
"Come here, princess. If you get out I may be more merciful in your punishment." He taunts.
Eve had to place a hand over her mouth to silence her quick breaths of fear. She was defenseless at the moment, her hiding spot was the only thing between her and Pep. There was a moment of silence before...
The bushes in front of her were pulled to the sides revealing red eyes shining the shade of the trees.
"Found you!"
"AHHHHHH!" She sprinted at the opposite direction in full speed. Eve could hear the sound of his septs as he ran after her. Then, from a second to another, they reached the end of the florest and were able to see the bridge in the distance.
Eve let out another scream as Pep got hold of her arm, keeping her in place.
"You are going to pay for what you grandfather did to me!" He screamed in rage, annoyed with her previous trick.
In the heat of the moment, something inside Eve snapped and she started to shout back.
"Stop with this shit, you idiot! You are just trying to blame someone else for the stuff you did and without Ahmoset here I was your best option!"
He was a little taken back by her response but didn't show it.
"How dare you?!" He growls.
"How dare I?! You were the one that caused trouble in Egypt in the first place! I am sure that Ahmoset didn't drove you away from Egypt without reason! Your fate is only is a consequence of your actions, not his!"
Before any of them could say something else Nefertina arrived in her bike. She had followed their tracks until there, totally ignoring the two footman in the middle of the way. Her priority was Eve, who looked mostly unharmed. The said footman had followed her here, they stood close behind her.
"You lost, guardian!" Pep exclaimed seeing that she was in disadvantage.
An idea popped inside the mummy's mind.
"Surely the mighty Apep desires more than vengeance on a mere girl." Nefertina starts, quickly getting Pep interested.
"What do you propose?"
"You and I shall race if I get to the far side of the bridge first you shall release the girl and go back to your world." She declared as she gestured to the gate in the distance.
"And if I win?"
"Then you get the girl and me. I will stay at your side forever."
Pep didn't had to think twice before agreeing to the deal.
"Done!" He walked to his lackeys while still holding Eve. He pushed the girl to the duo and barked a order. "Hold my prize."
Eve exchanged a glance with the lackey she made crash. He definitely wasn't happy with her.
The bridge was crowded with vehicles so the two of them had to be both fast and careful not to hit any of them. Pep got the upper hand, being some meters ahead of Nefertina.
"You are mine, enchantress!" Already feeling like victory is his, he starts to taunt her.
"We'll see!" Nefertina was focused on the road but still answered him.
Pep without noticing hit the back of a car making the vehicle hit against another making a chain reaction that ended with the cars ahead of him crashing against each other blocking his path.
"Blast!" He curses.
"Coward!" It was Nefertina's turn to taunt.
She ran over a car and used others as a ramp to her to the cable stay of the bridge. Using the new rout to have the get to the finish line faster.
"What a woman!" Pep felt impressed by her quick thinking and decided to do the same.
He used the same sequence of cars as her to get to the cables but she is already far ahead. In his desire to win he made a terrible decision.
"Shall have her." Pep transformed into his snake form.
He tried to use his long tail to hit her motorcycle rear wheel to make her slow down a little. The trick proved itself to be a mistake when Nefertina lost her balance and fell of the bridge screaming as she descended.
"Nefertina!" Horrified by his mistake Pep screamed with his monstrous voice.
Without thinking he launched himself after her, as soon as she was at his reach he wrapped his body around her to protect her from the heavy impact of the long fall.
The impact spread a huge pain along his monstrous body, making he feel dizzy and weak. His body detaches from hers as his strength disappears giving place to pain.
She then noticed his sacrifice to protect her. She turned him to his back to examinated his condition.
"You saved me..." She realizes.
With no more power to keep his monster form he turns back into Pep.
"I raced to win you, not lose you." Pep said in weak voice. "I had no choice. It seems you have defeated me after all..."
He than vanished, his weakened spirit returning to the western gate. Nefertina could just watch as the man who got her heart in only a day disappeared infront of her very eyes while she could do nothing to save him.
"No! Don't go back!" She yells distressed as she felt tears forming in her eyes. This wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to be with him.
To be able to ride with him again.
"So... you guys can't talk or you are just silent like that all the time?"
Eve had been waiting for the results of the race for half an hour. The two lackeys keeping an eye on her hadn't said a world in all that time. It was making her feel anxious.
Suddenly, the man turn to look at the bridge, they were still expressionless but Eve could tell they were surprised with something. They shared a look before they disappeared, leaving Eve to her confusion.
"What the...?" She wonders but then hear something landing on the ground behind her.
Ja-kal and Rath had finally gotten rid of most soldiers and remaining gang members so they followed the trail to get to Eve. Leaving Armon to deal with the rest.
"Are you injured, my princess? Ja-kal ask as he puts his hand on her shoulder and scans her form with his eyes. There were some small cuts on her skin but nothing life threatening.
"Forget me! Nefertina is racing Apep over the bridge!" Eve exclaims pointing towards the bridge.
Ja-kal immediately took flight to check on Nefertina.
"So you did knew he was Apep." Rath starts, her odd question last night finally made sense to him.
"I had a suspicion." Eve admitted.
"Why didn't you told us?" He than asks.
"I couldn't risk it. If I was wrong and you guys attacked someone famous like him who knows what would happen! He could call the cops or worse. Famous people have more influence than randoms on the street, when they say they saw something people tend to believe."
Rath was thoughtful of her explanation. He didn't knew much about this 'famous people' but he understood that Eve wanted them to keep a low profile.
"Please don't tell Ja-kal. He is going to lecture me for hours if he finds out!" She begs.
Eve was left praying for him to agree while he fell silent.
Rath didn't like keeping secrets from Ja-kal, he was his leader and friend but at the same time he was loyal to Eve too. Telling or not telling felt like betraying someone. The difference is that Ja-kal would never know and Eve would, so he made his choice.
"Alright, I won't tell him but don't make it an habit of yours." He warns totally serious.
"Thanks." Eve smiles in gratitude.
Nefertina was staring at the horizon for what felt like an eternity. She didn't had the desire to leave that place, not yet.
She had a lot of conflicted feelings inside of her and needed time to process all of them. As of duty as a guardian she did what she had to do: protect the as a normal person she lost someone that mattered to her, someone she got a strong connection with. And it was wrong of her feeling like that.
Wrong because he was a spirit of chaos.
Wrong because he tried to hurt Eve.
Wrong because he held her hostage.
Wrong because he was her enemy.
And yet she still she couldn't stop herself from falling in love with him.
She didn't turn to look when Ja-kal landed next to her.
He recognized the expression on her face, it was an expression of loss and sadness. He didn't understand why he would feel that way, in fact, he didn't understand much of what happened that entire afternoon. He can only assume it was some Scarab's plan to capture Eve and those monsters were involved in some way. So, yes, he was kind of lost in it all.
But what he did know is that he somehow failed Nefertina both as a leader and as a friend. He should have helped her, regardless of what the problem was.
"...I don't know all that happened but it seems I was not there for you when you needed it. Thanks to you the young princess is safe... Are You alright?"
Nefertina was a strong woman, if she fell she would always get up. Even in a situation like this, she just needed time.
"...I will be."
I will start by giving a quick explanation for my changes from the original: Pep's vengeance always seemed to me a little vague. It didn't seemed like a strong motivation for his actions since we didn't knew the story behind it. The explanation here is simple, Apep is a spirit of chaos, he caused chaos around, the pharaoh didn't like it and sent him away not only to the desert but to other dimension, the dimension inside of the western gate.
As for Pep's characterization, I hope he is close to the canon he is still a rebel and a revengeful guy. But the original episode focused too much in his good side instead of the bad side. I mean he was planning to get revenge against a kid! He wasn't a good guy just because he had a crush on Nefertina. And here I tried to show this duality: His good side shining in his time with Nefertina and his dark side appearing in his time with Eve. Needless to say, he had opposite impressions on the girls. He turned out to be Nefertina's first true love but at the same time he scared and worried Eve. He returns later on the series and I plan to show their opposite reactions to his return.
The next episode that will be rewritten is "High Huhn", there will have to be some big changes on it. The reason is that in the original Presley is trying to flirt with his friend's older sister, that won't happen here. I won't just keep changing people's gender to make my work easier so Walter's sister won't become a guy. Maybe you have noticed that I dropped a hint that Walter was getting suspicious of Eve in chapter 4. So the synopsis of next chapter will be the following:
"After being behaving strange because of her adventures, Eve's best friend confronts her. Feeling bad for lying to him and not spending more time with her friend, Eve tries to convince the mummies to let her tell the truth to him. At the same time, a new spirit is summoned and if he isn't defeated he will flood the entire city."
Also I want to let you know that I already have a romantic pairing for Eve, he is not a character created by me that I put in the middle of the story and no, he is not Walter. Walter and Eve are just friends.
Please, leave your opinion on the review. Knowing that someone following this story helps a lot to continue writing. Even with a simple comment like "I like that".
So that's it for this chapter, see you in chapter six.