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They raced out of the museum without looking back, until Evie turned and began dragging the bench over to block the door. Irene would have joined her if Rick hadn't pulled her away. "Honey, what are you doing? These guys don't use doors!" he reminded Evie.

"W-Why didn't you tell me they were this bad?" Irene stammered, glancing back at the door nervously and expecting the mummy warriors to burst out at any moment.

"I did tell you they were bad!" Rick defended, "You just didn't..." he trailed off as they rounded the corner and saw that his car was empty. "Where the hell's Jonathan?" He cursed in annoyance.

At that moment, a bus pulled into the parking lot with said man on board.

"Speak of the devil," Irene muttered, rolling her eyes. Only Jonathan would think of using a double-decker bus at a time like this. She was about to get on after Evie when she skidded to a halt with her eyes wide. "Oh no! The gun!" she gasped, finally figuring out what she was missing.

Irene let out a yelp as Ardeth grabbed her around her waist, stopping her before she could run back into the museum and make a fool out of herself and pulling her onto the bus. "It is too dangerous to return," he reminded her gently. "I lost you once...I do not want to loose you again," he murmured, "I will never forgive him for taking you away from me."

"Ardeth, I - " Irene began, but her words caught in her throat when she met his eyes and saw the pained look he was giving her.

She found herself leaning in. His hand was still around her waist, and this was the first time they had been so close to each other since their reunion. It had been so long since she saw him last.

"I know you two haven't seen each other in for who knows how long, but can we save this for later?" Rick's voice interrupted their moment. "I'm trying to get on the bus here!"

"Oops," Irene mumbled sheepishly, feeling rather disappointed as Ardeth let go of her. But her brother was right - they did have more important things to deal with at the moment.

"Here," Rick muttered, tossing something at her. She almost dropped it, but managed to grab it at the last minute. Once she saw what it was, she looked up at him in surprise. "You'll need this after he took your gun, right?"

Irene nodded. "R-Right."

"I still can't believe I'm actually giving my little sister a gun," he added in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere, causing Irene to smack him with said gun. Ardeth watched the exchange with amusement, and Irene suddenly felt embarrassed under his gaze, but she didn't have time to speak when they heard the crash behind them. "No, no, not my car!" Rick complained, and Irene gasped when she saw the mummies leap after them. "Oh, I hate mummies," Rick growled, his voice filled with annoyance.

Irene couldn't blame him.

"Glad to see me now?" Ardeth joked. Irene blinked, wondering when he had started lightening up to the point of making jokes, and then remembered that the first time he had made a joke was when they had been in the sewers. Then it must've been because of her...

"Just like old times, huh?" Rick responded sarcastically, slapping Ardeth on the back before making his way to the second deck. "Take care of Rena for me, will you?" he called down.

"You did not have to ask!" Ardeth returned, pushing Irene behind him protectively.

Irene couldn't believe that her brother was actually voluntarily asking him to take care of her, whereas years ago the last thing he would have done was to leave the two of them together. After all these years, they had both changed.

Without warning, one of the mummy soldiers swung in from the back door, and Irene shrieked and buried her head in Ardeth's back while he opened fire at it, sending it flying back out of the bus.

Irene let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding while Ardeth reloaded his gun, but what they hadn't expected was for the mummy - now just the top half of his body - to lunge back for a counterattack. "Ardeth!" she screamed as it swiped at him, sending him toppling to the ground.

"Stay back, Rena! Do not worry about me!" he gasped as the mummy swung him this way and that, crashing him against the windows.

Irene didn't know what to do. She couldn't bare to watch the man she loved being in so much pain while he was unable to do anything to fight back. She was vaguely aware of Evie and Alex screaming behind her as the mummy and Ardeth continued their fight.

The mummy's nails suddenly grew out, becoming sharp and deadly.

"No!" Irene cried, but her words did nothing as he slashed Ardeth's arm.

"Turn! Turn, Jonathan, turn!" Evie yelled, and luckily, it caused both the mummy and Ardeth to slam into the bus's side, momentarily stopping the mummy from doing any further damage.

But the relief was short-lived, for it didn't take the mummy long to resume attacking Ardeth with his nails, slashing him again and again. He roared at Ardeth as he prepared for a final blow.

Do something, Irene O'Connell! Anything! Tears began strolling down her cheeks. Never before had she felt so scared in her life. Her worry over her brother joining the Legion had seemed bad at the time, but this, seeing Ardeth so close to death...she couldn't take it anymore. Here he was, sacrificing himself to protect her, and she wasn't doing anything in return. Her hand tightened, and her eyes widened when she felt the gun in her hands. How could she have forgotten about it?!

"NO!" Irene screamed, unable to take it any longer, and aimed the gun Rick had given her at the mummy. The force of the bullet knocked the mummy out of the way, and without thinking, she flung herself on top of him. "Oh, Ardeth!" she wailed, sobbing into his chest. She hated herself for not acting sooner, for just standing there in terror and not being able to move her hands while Ardeth fought for his life.

"Irene, look out!" she heard Evie's warning too late as the mummy suddenly lunged at her, but Evie aimed a gun - Irene realized with a jolt of horror that it was the same gun Rick had been carrying with him - at the mummy's head, getting rid of it once and for all.

"T-that gun," Irene began weakly, clutching Ardeth for support. "It was Rick's. You don't think something bad happened to him, do you?" she froze when they saw the tunnel looming ahead of them.

And it was only tall enough for one deck, not two.

"Oh, no," Irene whispered. She felt Ardeth hug her tighter, but all she could think about was the fact that her brother could be in danger at this very minute. She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the screeching above them.

"Your brother survived the desert. He will survive this," Ardeth reassured her, squeezing her closer to him.

Even now, he was the one supporting her. She really was pathetic. Irene's shoulders shook and she bit back a sob.

"Missed me?" the voice Irene knew so well came from behind her, and she lifted her head to see Rick stumbling towards them. He looked tired and worn out, but otherwise perfectly fine.

"This isn't a dream, is it?" Irene asked, feeling almost as though she was in a daze.

Both her brother and Ardeth were alive and well. If this wasn't a dream, she didn't know what else to call it.

Rick smirked and leaned forward to ruffle her hair. "More like a nightmare," he teased, before turning to nod to Ardeth with appreciation and something else - it couldn't be respect, could it? - in his eyes. "You alright?"

"This was...my first bus ride," the Medjai chieftain replied with a small smile.

Somehow, this made Irene want to cry even harder, and before she could stop herself, she burst into tears. She had had too much to deal with in one day.

"You're making Rena cry!" Rick accused with a glare, but this only made Irene sob more.

She really didn't care if she was ruining Ardeth's shirt, and he didn't seem to mind her crying against him. "I'm crying tears of happiness, you idiot," she scoffed.

Seeing that his sister was fine, Rick turned to Evie, leaving the two of them alone. "How is your wound?" Ardeth asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

"Like you're in any position to talk," Irene pointed out. "Your injuries are much worse than mine." There was a sparkle in his eye, and suddenly extremely embarrassed, she burst out, "What? Is there something on my face?"

Ardeth shook his head and chuckled, gently placing one hand over the hand that still held her gun. "No, Miss O'Connell. Only that every time we meet, you never cease to amaze me."

At a loss of words, the only thing Irene could mumble was "Oh." That probably didn't amaze him very much, she thought, mentally slapping herself for her idiocy. Even after all these years, she never ceased to act like an idiot around him.

Their faces were extremely close now. She found herself mesmerized by his gaze, and slowly, she sensed him lean in closer toward her. Just as their lips were about to touch, a scream filled the air.

"Alex!"

Irene and Ardeth jerked apart. They exchanged a worried glance before she ran after Rick and Evie, who were chasing after a car that was driving toward the bridge. She didn't need anyone to tell her that Alex had been taken.

The bridge was slowly beginning to lift up.

Please make it, Rick, oh, please make it, she begged silently, watching as her brother run with all his might toward the bridge and leap over the gap. Her heart clenched with pain when she heard his cry of frustration.

Alex was gone.

A/n: I just noticed that "OC" is an option now! I actually got really excited about it I mean doesn't Ardeth's name look lonely just by itself? LOL 8D (wow I have no life OTL). Mummies is a very fitting theme for Halloween LOL

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