Once more, quoted research on oases, which have never been more beautiful in real life as depicted in picturesque scenery. Sarah Brightman herself, in the "Harem" DVD special, had explained that when she was in the locations of the making of the feature, the oasis was even more beautiful than she imagined it would be.
I had to read "The Mummy Returns" wiki for the information of Ahm Shere's Oasis for the details mentioned.
Chapter Ten
Sinéad had never traveled outside Ireland when she was still living in her native homeland, nor had she ever been outside of Gotham. To be in Egypt where the ancient pharaohs lived long ago was too good to be true and dangerous at the same time. The sun beat down on the group on their horses as they covered great distance and speed, not once stopping until they would get to their destination. Of course, they stopped once in awhile for water and the nutrition bars they brought with them before continuing.
Sinéad recited the clear details of an oasis in general as they galloped through golden sands and blistering heat. Oasis: an isolated area of vegetation in the desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water sources. It provides habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big enough. Given the known story, the Oasis of Ahm Shere has to be big enough for whatever perils lie hidden, like in the other tales. Danger lurks in every corner. "Did you know the Oasis of Ahm Shere is also known as the Sacred Desert?" she yelled over to the others, only asking out of habit. She recieved a no from Rachel, her being the only exception.
"Sacred being a damn good keyword," Anna answered. "Because we'll have to always be on our guard once we come to, arm ourselves with the weaponry we brought."
Jonathan gave a sardonic laugh. "It's not that I don't have knowledge in these myths and fantasies, but what can we expect more than bats and insects that you would find in any other desert or jungle global?"
"There are more than just bats and insects, Jonathan," Anna said. She'd begun to be a little nicer towards him since the start of the adventure, to which Sinéad started to like her moreover other than the bitch she remembered her as. "Everyone, expect pygmies in the jungles."
"Pygmies?" Bruce's attention was raptured off the bat and in disbelief once more. Disbelief was often used over-the-top, but who can blame the person who is?
"Murderous mummified midget beings created by Imhotep himself because he wouldn't want any trespassers going into his oasis," Anna answered with a crooked grin played for humor, but no one in the group thought it funny at all. Not even Sinéad, who knew funny, and this wasn't it. This was talk of death traps awaiting for them. "The last ones to ever come to were troops sent by Alexander the Great, Rameses IV, Julius Caesar, as well as Napoleon Bonaparte."
Bruce laughed. "Good for Alexander, same with Rameses, but too bad what happened to Caesar's career." Rachel and Sinéad giggled together with him. "And we're taller and smarter than Napoleon." This was where Jonathan had his turn. "But all their men never lived to return and tell the tale."
Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Isn't that always the story?"
Sinéad turned to her side and looked at him with a wink. "Always one of the best parts." But not in reality when you know your time comes for the real battle to the death. The Blade of Life still rested deep within her boot, safeguarded, but she knew that Ra's al Ghul's minions would search them and find it soon, and use it for the unspeakable ritual coming up. To take Jonathan's blood and Rachel's life...
She brought her brown-and-cream mare up beside Jonathan's honey-colored one and lowered her voice, their distance a short way behind the others now. "How come you never came here to refresh yourself?" He would catch on what version of "refresh" she meant. He gave a sarcastic laugh.
"As if that's not obvious enough. I never had the money to travel here and back to Gotham after my release from Arkham."
She scoffed and shook her head. "I still don't understand why you stayed in Gotham where your next worse experiences live."
Silence settled between them for a few moments before Jonathan answered her. "Because I have no other place suitable for myself to start fresh. I couldn't return to Georgia because that holds too many demons of my past I would rather leave. After my grandmother suffered a heart attack shortly after I graduated high school and was about to go to Gotham State." His voice was thick with dredging up his painful past, so she asked no more, instead settling on an alternative.
"Jonathan..." He turned his attention towards her, one eyebrow raised. "...if we ever get out of here, would you like to leave Gotham and go back to Ireland with me?" She hadn't been back there since Gran died, and her parents never gave a damn about her anyway. And it was her home, no matter how much time passed by and no matter how hard she would ever try to run away from it. "My parents and I don't speak anymore, so I couldn't care less leaving them to rot by themselves."
He looked surprised at the proposition, but then he quickly turned to look ahead. "I don't know about this. I haven't left America for years, and I don't know about now. And I have never lived with a woman. One more thing," he added with a nervous smile, "I can't even give you what any man would have given you."
Sinéad snorted; she knew what he was implying. Money, security, a roof over our heads...all those silly things any woman would die for. "I don't need anything from you," she countered. "Only comfort and security with what we have already. We have plenty of time to make it work, Jonathan. And I'll make sure you get back on track instead of bars and that other shit." He looked shocked at her use of language, and she laughed at his expression.
~o~
She'd traveled globalwide while growing up in the League of Shadows, following the death of her mother and her escape from the Pit deep in Saudi Arabia. There were many things she witnessed, anything realistic to believe and others too fantastical that blurred the lines of fact and fiction. Talia's birth in the Pit had hardened her heart and rendered her incapable of any form of attachment, since her mother had been taken from her and there had been nothing she could do to stop it. Her protector had allowed himself to get killed before she escaped with her life and found her father who at first disregarded her existence before seeing the necklace that had once been her mother's.
Everything had been hers since she'd become the official leader of the League, honoring her father by finishing his work. And honoring him by giving him new life. Wearing a black sparkling shawl over a plain black dress of abundant elegance, her long dark hair pulled out of her face, Talia stood in one of the many chambers scattered about the Great Gold Pyramid deep in the heart of Ahm Shere. In this particular chamber, she stood before and gazed upon the large golden statue of a serpent-monster that looked more Asian dragon than Egyptian cobra, nevertheless roaring power and doom. She smiled sardonically. "It won't be long now, Father," she whispered, running her right hand bedecked in silver, the ring on her middle finger a pure inspiration of the waves of the Indian Ocean whilst the other beside it featured the stunning Ethipian opal surrounded by magnificent diamonds - her left hand bore gold on both ring and forefinger; the first bore the square lapis-lazuli sided with shining citrine and the other a true opal emerald-cut and flanked on both sides with three white diamonds - on the pure golden scales of the thing bearing the body of her father inside.
Ra's al Ghul's dying wish had been to be reborn as the great serpent, powerful than any of the animals Set was presented: the crocodile, pig, scorpion, and other dangerous and vile animals. His corpse, upon recovered, had been placed inside this statue and preserved until the day came; the blood of the phoenix - Jonathan Crane, the man who worked for him and failed him as a servant - mixed with the blood of the child's mother - her hated, estranged half-sister Rachel Dawes - would be poured in through the serpent's mouth and trail down into the system which Ra's al Ghul, the Demonhead, would rise again. She grinned as she turned at the sound of footsteps. "What news now, Hasina?" she asked that of her soothsayer.
"They draw closer, mistress," the woman answered. "They are within a day's journey here now. It won't be long until they reach the pyramid."
Talia grinned. "Good. Rally the men, bring the boy with them. I shall join to greet our guests when they arrive. They will never know what shall hit them."
~o~
They had been traveling for what felt like more than five days when it was actually five exact. Rachel thought that their luck was beginning to run out even though they came this far. I'm tired as hell, feel like I'm pregnant again, she thought with a humorless laugh as she moved to remove her jacket as the heat pressure was getting to her skin. She felt Bruce's eyes on her as she bared her arms and the exposed top of her chest to him, wrapping the shirt around her waist and knotting it.
By nightfall, their luck had changed entirely.
"Oh, my God, there it is!" Jonathan exclaimed, pointing ahead, and everyone followed his gaze. Sinéad gasped, Anna smiled softly, and Bruce pursed his lips in a tight line. Rachel's heart thudded as she stared at the dark, lush sliver before them, happened to have popped out of nowhere before their sights. The Oasis of Ahm Shere...or is it a mirage?
She blinked again, hoping it would clear, but it was there as clear as she saw the people around her. The Oasis stood before her as any normal primordial jungle concealing whatever trickery and peril hidden in its vast formation. According to little known records, a part of the Blue Nile could be seen at the bottom, and filled with hazards such as quicksands, vast chasms, the usual you'd find in an African or South American jungle. With the exception of previously mentioned mummified pygmies which slaughtered those who dared venture into the Oasis.
The group galloped for it without a moment's hesitation just as the sun was beginning to set. The jungle was vast, and the Gold Pyramid rested in the heart of Ahm Shere; they would be able to spot it in the distance with help from the diamond that was rumored to rest at the very top, "winking" at distant travelers, beckoning them to their deaths. The enormous jewel itself was said to be priceless enough to be worth billions if brought back to America; it was held by a golden sculpture of a serpent beast. Even Bruce could sell it to a charity benefit.
Bruce had contact to Alfred via communications system so that the butler would come via aicraft known as a dirigible once again owned by Wayne Enterprises so that they would need his help. Alfred had taken off a few days before and would not be long now, hopefully. They were packed with as much weaponry as they were, settling somewhere in the jungle to prepare for fight. Anna, however, had more motives than just armory. Rachel saw her withdraw a page that looked old and worn and had come from a spellbook. "What's your plan?"
Her friend looked her square in the eyes. "Recall the previous individuals who dared venture here only to lose their lives to the pygmies hiding deep in this jungle. Their remains still lie, so I will call them to battle to protect you and when the Army of Set arises." Before anyone knew it, there was a flash of silver, and Anna now had a long gleaming sword thin as the blades of the French Revolution. "Because the only way to kill a Set warrior is by taking off its head. You need not fear for my safety because I have faith you will stop Ra's al Ghul and his followers."
Lightning then coursed the sky, followed by a crack of thunder, making everyone nearly jump out of their skins. As a little girl, Rachel was scared of the thunder and would often sneak into Bruce's bedroom for the night so they'd protect each other; as she grew older, it was a calming experience to keep away the demons of corruption for one night. Now it served as a terrible omen that the storm itself was coming. "Storm's coming," Bruce voiced her thoughts, making her laugh a little. She turned to see him strap a shotgun to his back. He still clung to his "no guns, no killing" rule; however things had to change since he wasn't Batman anymore.
Rachel chose the .45 Colt semi-automatic - low velocity yet full of high-stopping power. She saw that Anna chose the Thompson, larger than her own pistol and more reliable in its high volume of automatic firepower; Sinéad the FG-42, a fire battle rifle originally produced in Nazi Germany during the second World War, considered one of the most advanced weapon designs - and Jonathan the ranger gun. He apparently wasn't keen on long-range firearms like the possible girl of his dreams. For a guy who once was in league with the man whose rebirth awaited them and the entire world.
The sound of Anna's voice brought their attentions as soon as they were finished. She held up the yellowed page embossed with obvious Arabic symbols that she understood herself as the Hispanic read them aloud:فتح أبواب الماضي وتحرير النفوس. Her own Arabic was limited, but she'd seen enough films and read enough books on these things to know the obvious translation:
"Open the gates of the past and free the souls of the dead. Arise, arise, ARISE!"
This verse was repeated three times, going by the old saying "The third time's the charm", when the earth rumbled beneath them, and all around them began to change drastically and too grotesque for words. "Don't panic, just stay calm!" Anna shouted as they crowded close to each other as several random places of the earth began to rise like bubbles in water and then pop to show what they all grew up reading and watching in media: the undead soldiers of those who came before them. They were all rotted skeletons, no description needed, with earth and moss, clad in the dull armor of their regions, and armed.
"My very own army of the undead," Anna announced with a little smile. "Run now, get to the temple as fast as you can," she told them. "Save the boy and kill the creature, as the stories go."
"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" was good if not the best as its two predecessors, but the part when Zi Yuan (the good witch who raised the souls of the damned by the cruel emperor's hand) was also one of the most memorable, and just as Anna Ramirez brought back the foreign armies who perished in the oasis. :) And what better way to arm the heroes than with epic armory of the times, just like the "Mummy" protagonists? Now we are getting to the BIG SHOWDOWN.