[DISCONTINUED UFN] BENEATH SANDS OF BLOOD ⟶ THE MUMMY 1999/2017

𝐱𝐢𝐢 ⟶ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧

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"And so the awakening
of others now begins."

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THE SAHARA
1926

║ ARDETH ║

ARDETH BAY THOUGHT HE'D SEEN STRANGE THINGS.

The last few days were changing his mind, though. He'd witnessed the rise of an evil priest, the return of a murderous queen, and just how incompetent Americans could really be. The man was on high alert, even more so after seeing these fools resurrect an ancient evil. The world was surely doomed.

Still, not all hope was lost. Everyone had a weakness, and surely the two Ancient Egyptians did too. Not even the gods were completely invulnerable.

"Sir," a man nearby said, attracting Ardeth's attention. "There is movement."

Ardeth peered down into the desert below. His soldier was right. There was a group that was moving into the desert, though their progress was slow and seemed troubled. Ardeth held out his hands for the binoculars, and they were handed over.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

"Move out! Now! We do not let these travelers live!" The man ordered, and he whipped his horse around. He urged the steed to a gallop, finding a way down the sand cliff they were currently on. She has been in Hamunaptra this whole time. How is it that she resurrected others?

Was the Lady of Set's power already so great that she could resurrect those hundreds of miles away?

Impossible. 

So then how were there three mummified corpses stumbling across the desert?

Ardeth urged his horse onto greater speeds, and soon they were racing down the side of the cliff. The horse moved across the desert sands in a swift blur, and in minutes, they were upon the undead travelers. Ardeth had his sword out and swinging with a yell, stabbing one of them in the shoulder. The mummy merely snarled.

"Who are you and why do you trespass?" He snapped out, halting in front of them.

The mummy in front was dressed in white linen and a pharaoh's red and white crown. Despite the finery, his skin was dry and shriveled, a contrast to his bright eyes. "You dare call the Pharaoh of this land a trespasser?" He rasped out.

"You are Pharaoh no longer," Ardeth stated. "You have been dead for thousands of years."

"And now you presume to tell me what I already know," the mummy scoffed back. "You are Medjai. You are sworn to protect the Pharaoh. Why now do you turn on your master?"

"We no longer serve you," he responded. "We now guard the dead in these sands. Where are you headed, Pharaoh?"

"I only tell you this because I will kill you, but I am Pharaoh Ramesses the Second, only child of Queen Ahmanet. My mother has summoned me, and I go to join her cause. Any who stand in her way, or mine, will be killed."

The mummies behind him snarl in what seems to be agreement. It was then Ardeth noticed that these two wore white dresses, and one even had blue fingertips. High Priestess Tiye, he thought. The priestess who succeeded Ahmanet when she left to become the queen. A sacrilege punishable by death. Tiye and the other mummy looked in worse condition than Ramesses, with bones sticking out of what flesh of theirs remained. Truly disgusting.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you go," Ardeth sighed, before raising his weapon again. A few barked orders and the Medjai descended on those their ancestors had once served. Ardeth charged for Ramesses, but the pharaoh dove out of the way. Fast for a corpse. 

He didn't have time to attack again as the corpse of Tiye dragged him off his horse. She screeched in his face, clawing at his skin with sharp fingernails. Tiye didn't make any sensible noise, only continued to scream. Even when his men dragged her off, she shrieked until her head was cut off.

When Ardeth regained himself, Ramesses had vanished.

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"That is simply not possible."

"I would not have believed it either," Ardeth replied grimly. He was safely back in Cairo, at the Museum of Antiquities. Before him, Terrence Bey looked disturbed. "So she resurrected three mummies from hundreds of miles away?"

"There is no other explanation," Ardeth agreed. "One of which was her son."

"My boy, are you sure?" Terrence questioned. "Her son. . . Ramesses the Great? If he is on her side now, we are even more doomed than before. You understand what this means? He was one of the best military generals ever seen in Egypt. If she woke him up, that means one thing. She's planning to go to war, and she's having him lead it."

A shiver ran down Ardeth's spine. 

The Lady of Set certainly lived up to her title.

"You said there was another mummy you recognized?" Terrence continued, frowning.

"Yes. The other, I believe, was High Priestess Tiye, the Lady's successor at the main Temple of Isis." In a room of glittering gold and jewels, Ardeth was well aware that he stood out with his black cloth and tattoos. "She had blue fingertips." Such grandeur almost made him uncomfortable.

"But you stopped her, correct?"

"Yes. Her and the other mummy. Ramesses escaped, however."

"That is fine," Terrence muttered. "Let him report back to her. There is not much we can do about that. So she has Imhotep and Ramesses with her now. . ." He fell silent, but his expression held trouble. Ardeth didn't like that.

"Doctor?" Ardeth prompted.

Whatever Terrence was going to say was cut off by sudden motion in the doorway. Ardeth turned as Rick, Evie and their group burst into the room, guns blazing.

"You!" Evie gasped, eyes widening. Ardeth just stared at her, his expression brooding. 

"Miss Carnahan," Terrence greeted, his voice rather cold. 

"What is he doing here?" Evie demanded.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" He replied, raising an eyebrow. All the guns drawn at him were rather annoying, Ardeth thought. Especially considering these people were the reason the world was going to end anyway.

"After what I just saw, I'm willing to go on a little faith here," Rick conceded, tucking his gun away. 

Ardeth just sighed.