Author's note: Exciting news guys! The next chapter is the last one for this story. So if you notice that this chapter is a little shorter than usual, that's why. I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review! Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all from The Mummy.

"So what now?" Ava asked as they climbed out of the catacombs.

"We get her back," Rick replied walking ahead down a deserted street. The rest followed.

"Well obviously," Ava said tugging Rick's arm and forcing him to a stop. "But how?"

"Well we know where they're going," Rick responded. "So we just need to get ourselves back to Hamunaptra."

"And how will we manage that?" she asked. "I'm sure Mr. Mummy will get there long before we do, or did you forget that the trip's quite a journey?"

"She's right we have to find a way to get there faster and save my sister," Jonathan exclaimed.

"Will everyone relax? I've got a plan," Rick said.

"Why does that not make me feel better?" Ava muttered under her breath and then sighed. "Alright let's hear it."

"It's time to go visit my old friend Winston." Ava stared at him. "You find a flaw in that plan?" Rick asked her.

"No, that's why I'm surprised," she admitted.

"See, not all my plans are horrible," Rick said and the group started moving again.

"Yeah, well let's not get uppity until we actually execute this plan of yours," she sighed.

"Where is this Winston?" Ardeth asked.

"Well he refers to it as the Royal Air Corp," Rick replied. "It's just a scrap of land about fifteen miles out of the city."

"Fifteen miles!" Jonathan exclaimed. "By the time we walk there my sister will be dead."

"We're not going to walk," Rick told him.

"Oh? So we're going to just sprout wings and fly then?!" Jonathan cried.

"Of course not," Rick replied. "We're going to drive there." He motioned for them to all look ahead then. Ava smiled when she saw Jonathan's car.

"You cycled us back to the fruit stand," she said hurrying to the car.

"Sure did," Rick replied hopping in the driver's seat and turning the key in the ignition. "Now let's go."

The sun had risen by the time they pulled up to Winston's place and they hurried out of the car and made their way to where the old army pilot was lounging out in the sun. "Morning, Winston," Rick greeted the man. "Uh, a word?"

"What's your little problem got to do with His Majesty's Royal Air Corps?" Winston asked gruffly.

"Not a damn thing," Rick replied.

"Is it dangerous?" Winston asked sounding excited.

"Well, you probably won't live through it," Rick said.

"By Jove, do you really think so?" the man questioned, definitely excited now.

"Well, everybody else we've bumped into has died. Why not you?" Jonathan returned dryly.

"Yeah, might as well add one more death to the list," Ava muttered under her breath.

"What's the…uh, what's the challenge then?" Winston asked getting to his feet.

"Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, and save the world," Rick replied.

"You know the usual," Ava quipped.

"Winston Havelock at your service, ha ha!" the man exclaimed tearing off towards his airplane. "You'll have to figure out your seating arrangements. I'm afraid there's only actually room for one extra in the plane."

"That's not a problem," Rick said. "We'll just tie the other three to the wings."

Ava froze where she stood. "No way," she replied firmly. "This is where your plan's execution just failed. Under no circumstances are you tying me to the wing of an airplane."

"Well, unfortunately for you, you have no choice in the matter," Rick told her as he caught the rope Winston had taught him.

"Rick…"

"You're on this side with desert man," Rick ordered and cupped his hands. "I'll give you a boost up."

"I already told you no!" she cried crossing her arms. Rick sighed and started towards her. Knowing he intended to toss her up onto the wing himself she stepped back…right into Ardeth. She spun around to face him.

"I don't like the idea any more than you do," he said, "but we have no choice in the matter. The creature must be stopped and we're the only ones who have a chance of doing it. You'll be safe with me, I promise." Sighing she nodded her head, giving in. She turned back to her brother who boosted her up onto the wing. Ardeth joined her a second later, and Rick tied them tightly to the wing before walking around to the other side of the plane and doing the same for Jonathan who put up as much resistance, if not more, than Ava.

"Alright Winston," Rick called hopping into his seat. "We're ready to go." Ava curled her fingers around the edge of the wing and held on tight as they plane took off from the ground. She grit her teeth in an effort not to scream. If she hadn't been terrified of flying she was now. Beside her, Ardeth seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. She heard Rick whistle and then ask Jonathan how he was doing but couldn't hear the man's response over the wind and the engine.

"Hey Ava!" Rick shouted now in her direction. "You two alright!"

"After this adventure I am never speaking to you again Richard O'Connell!" she yelled clinging tighter to the plane. She heard the window carry the sound of his laughter down to her ears.

"See that?" Winston asked suddenly and Ava glanced to where he was pointing. She felt an ominous feeling as she saw a sandstorm in the distance. "I've never seen one so big."

"Never?" Rick asked his voice reflecting her own fear.

"No!" Winston yelled back. And that was when all hell broke loose. Ava screamed as she saw the storm heading straight for them.

"Oh my God," Rick panned. "Hey, Winston! Paddle faster!

"Hang on!" Winston shouted and the plane dropped quickly to a lower altitude. Ava could hear Rick shooting at the sandstorm that was chasing them, and Ava had no doubt who had created it. Imhotep was trying to keep them from Hamunaptra. Suddenly, the sandstorm swallowed the plane whole and she struggled to breath with the sand in the air. She closed her eyes and braced for impact as she felt the plane falling out of control. She had just realized the sandstorm had ended when the plane crashed to the ground.

The crash had loosened the ropes holding her and Ardeth to the one wing of the plane and she shakily crawled off the wing and pulled herself shakily to her feet. She barely noticed the movement of her brother and the others as she wobbled away from the wreck. She was trying desperately to breath, the tightness in her chest making it difficult. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and her heart felt too big for her chest. A wave of heat rushed over her despite the fact that her body was trembling so hard you'd think she was freezing. Her hearing was dulled and she couldn't make out the voice that was shouting. She barely registered the fact that someone had grabbed a hold of her and pulled her back a few feet.

Rick watched the plane disappear with Winston still aboard and saluted his lost friend. "Hey Rick, something's wrong with your sister," Jonathan said and he immediately whipped his head around to see Jonathan standing next to Ava looking very concerned. Ava was shaking so hard it was amazing she was even still upright. He heard the desperate gasps for air.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed running towards her. He grasped hold of her face at the same moment the desert man, Ardeth he'd said his name was, grabbed her arms and pulled her against him.

"I-I c-can't breathe," she gasped, her chest heaving.

"You don't think sand got into her lungs?" Jonathan asked worried.

"She's fine! It's just a panic attack," Rick assured Jonathan before focusing his attention back on his sister. "Ava, you can breathe."

"N-no," she gulped. "I c-can't breathe. I-I can't breathe!"

"Hey! Hey!" he gripped her face harder so she couldn't turn away from him. "You are just having a panic attack. You can breathe. You're going to be fine." She stared at him, still struggling for air. Her bright blue eyes were filled with tears and he brushed away the ones that dropped. "Listen to me," he ordered. "Just take a deep breath. Don't think about anything. Just breathe."

Ava listened to him and struggled to regain control of her breathing. Slowly she felt her heartbeat return to normal and the tremors through her body slow. Exhausted, she slumped back against Ardeth, who'd grabbed ahold of her earlier.

"There you go," Rick said letting go of her face. "That's better, right?"

She wearily nodded her head. "Sorry," she murmured sleepily.

"Hey, you've got nothing to be sorry for," Rick told her. "The past few days have been hell. Now are you hurt?"

She carefully tried to assess her body. She didn't feel any pain. Mostly she just noticed that Ardeth was comfortingly rubbing her back. Reluctantly she pushed herself away and support her weight on her own. "I'm fine," she assured her brother who was staring at her in concern. She didn't want him to start fussing over her like he usually did whenever she had a panic attack. She hadn't had one in years now, not since Rick had left her on her own, but they had occurred quite often when they'd been children. She knew her panic attacks freaked Rick out. Their mother had often had them. She and Rick both believed that her anxiety had been the reason she got so sick. Although Ava was hardly the frail thing their mother had always been the fear of being separated from her brother at the many different orphanages had had an effect on her mental state. She had gotten better once Rick took her out of the Cairo Orphanage, but they still popped up once in a while, usually due to acute stress. Still, she knew they scared Rick.

"Really, Rick, I'm fine," she said again. "Now let's get going. We'll have to be quick if we want to make it to Hamunaptra on time." She walked forward, forcing them all into action. She slowly regained her strength as they headed to the abandoned city. They quickly made their way into the temple only to find their pathway caved in.

"Well this is just great," Rick cried.

"Yes, well, there's nothing left to do but remove the debris," Ava said and began pulling at the rocks that blocked their entrance. Rick and Ardeth quickly joined her while Jonathan lazily watched them work.

"I'd take those bigger stones first," Jonathan suggested gratingly. "And take them from the top, otherwise the whole thing will cave in on us. Come on put your backs into it!" Ava, Rick, and Ardeth all turned and glared daggers at Jonathan who quickly backed off. "Yes, well, you've got the idea." They turned back to the cave-in and kept digging.

Behind her Ava could hear Jonathan messing around with something. "I say! You should come have a look at this," she heard Jonathan exclaim.

"Maybe later," Ava panted discarding a heavy rock to the side. She was about to start digging again when she heard Jonathan scream. She whirled around and saw him clutching frantically at his arm.

"What?" Rick asked annoyed at the interruption.

"It's my arm! My arm!" Jonathan cried. Rick grabbed hold of Jonathan's arm and ripped the sleeve off.

"Whoa!" he cried and Ava screeched a little as she saw a huge lump climbing up the Brit's arm.

"Do something!" Jonathan shouted.

"Hold him!" Rick ordered Ardeth. Ava and Ardeth quickly grabbed onto to Jonathan and held him steady as Rick pulled out a long knife.

"Do something! Do something!" Jonathan continued to scream and then froze when he saw the knife. "Not that! Not that!" Rick ignored him and dug the blade of the knife into Jonathan's arm right above the scarab that was making its way to his shoulder. The scarab was flung out across the floor, but it quickly rolled back onto its feet and scurried back towards Jonathan. Ava quickly unhooked her gun and shot at the scarab, killing it on the second shot.

They stood there panting for a few seconds before Ava turned to Jonathan. "Maybe you shouldn't touch anything for a while," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, got it," Jonathan replied nodding his head. Ardeth and Rick went back to work on the nearly cleared doorway while Ava patched up Jonathan's wound as best she could.

"Alright, we're ready to go," Rick said after clearing the last of the rocks away. Ava and Jonathan followed the other two down hall and through a tight doorway into a pitch black room.

"Does anyone have any idea where in the temple we are?" Ava asked squinting in the dim light their torch gave off.

"Give me a second," Rick replied before shooting his gun up towards the ceiling. Ava jumped in surprise but then realized Rick was using the trick with the mirrors like Evie had shown them a few days ago. Ava turned her gaze back to the room and nearly choked as she saw all the treasure piled to the ceiling in the room. Gold was everywhere you looked. She took a few steps forward with her brother towards the stairs that led down into the room.

"Can you see?" Jonathan asked amazed.

"Yeah," Ava replied glancing around her.

"Can you believe…?"

"Yeah," Rick cut him off.

"Can we just…"

"No!" Ava and Rick replied firmly before their attention was caught by mummies popping up out of the sand floor.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Rick asked.

"Priests," Ardeth replied. "Imhotep's priests."

"Alright then," Rick responded and they all started shooting, Jonathan taking two guns off Rick, as they made their way out of the room. They quickly ran into the next room and Ava's eyes landed on the large statue in the middle of it.

"There he is!" Jonathan cried rushing towards it. "Hello, Horus, old boy!" Rick quickly shoved his rifle at Ardeth before striking a match along the man's face, who promptly glared at Rick.

"Rick, could you at least try to not be a complete ass?" Ava sighed exasperated.

Rick just looked at her as he took out an explosive. "Time to close the door," he said tossing the now lit explosive at the mummies that were tumbling into the room. Rick shoved her and Ardeth behind the Statue of Horus before the explosive went off. Ava landed on top of Ardeth, face pressed into his chest.

"Sorry," she mumbled embarrassed as she carefully climbed off him.

"I hardly think it was your fault," Ardeth replied sending a hard look at Rick who just shrugged before helping Jonathan dig out the Golden Book.

"He's impossible," Ava sighed climbing back to her feet. She and Ardeth stood watch as the other two dug. It wasn't long before they heard more mummies approaching.

"These guys just don't quit do they?" she muttered as she watched Rick and Jonathan pull the book out from under Horus's feet.

"The Book of Amun-Ra," Jonathan said worshipfully as he held up the book. Ava didn't even glance his way as she began shooting at mummies with Ardeth. Suddenly she found herself being shoved into Rick. She glanced up in surprise to see Ardeth staring right at her, a look of longing in his dark eyes, before the man turned his gaze to Rick.

"Save the girl. Kill the creature," he ordered before rushing headlong into the mummy filled corridor.

"No!" Ava screamed, beginning to rush after him, but Rick quickly pulled her back. She struggled against his hold but could not break free. "Ardeth!"

"What are you waiting for?!" Ardeth called back. "Get out! Get out!"

"No!" Ava screamed again and managed to wriggle out of Rick's grip. She'd only rushed forward two steps before Rick grabbed onto her again and swung her back towards Jonathan who gripped her shoulders tightly.

"He made his choice," Rick said. "We've got to save Evelyn."

"But he'll die," Ava protested, holding back a sob.

Rick gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry," is all he said before tossing another explosive at the opposite wall. Jonathan pulled her to the ground before the explosive went off and opened a makeshift doorway. Ava felt a tear slip out and slide down her cheek. Rick turned back to her. "I know you want to go after him, but I need you on this one."

She gazed up at him and nodded, brushing her tears away. "Okay," she answered and the three quickly ducked through the new hole in the wall and continued on their way to Evie.