Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You any good with that?”

Jonathan glanced up at Ardeth, ignoring that way his stomach tingled at the man’s smirk, before straightening up, his grip tightening on the shotgun. “Three times Fox and Hound grand champion I’ll have you know…” he then gestured at the sword at Ardeth’s side, “… you any good with that?”

“… You will know soon enough.” Quicker than what seemed humanly natural, Ardeth drew the sword and gently pressed it against Jonathan’s neck, “Because the only way to kill an Anubis warrior, is to cut off their head.”

“I-I’ll remember that.”

“Before you kill my brother-in-law, can I have a word with you?” Rick called out, clearly amused with the expression on Jonathan’s face… and the flush that lined his cheeks.

Ardeth nodded, sheathing the sword and heading back over to Rick.

Jonathan wasn’t sure exactly how the conversation went, but it was soon decided, that because Ardeth knew how to deal with Imhotep and anything else they might come up against, Rick would be the one to lead Ardeth’s tribe against the Army of Anubis, should they return. Even with a foreign leader at the helm, Ardeth knew they would be willing to be fight with him.

The mark would guarantee it.

“Come.” Ardeth ordered, “We will save the child.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

When he heard the gunshot, Ardeth thought he was done for.

All this effort that had gone into trying to stop Imhotep and rescue the young Alex, and this was how he died.

Aside from the fact that he felt no pain.

Slowly, he turned around, just in time to see the man who’d aimed the gun at him, fall to the ground. In a slight state of shock, he glanced up to the ledge where Evie and her brother Jonathan had positioned themselves, watching as Jonathan nodded at him.

He’d been attracted to the Englishmen from almost the first meeting, but this was something else. This was… magnificent.

Knowing that he couldn’t linger for too long, he nodded his thanks at the young man, before leaping back into action.

He would thank Jonathan properly once all this was over.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Up above, Evy was giving her brother a smug look. “See, I told he liked you.”

“More like he’s surprised that I actually know how to use this.”

She rolled her eyes, “Come on Juliet, let’s go.”

“Juliet? Evy!”

As they raced through the jungle, they quickly met up with Ardeth and a newly rescued Alex. As Evy went to hug her son, Ardeth walked over to Jonathan, an impressed smile on his face, “You were correct… you do know how to use that.”

“Thanks…” Jonathan cleared his throat before gesturing back at the jungle area, “… What were those creepy little pygmy things?!”

Silence.

“Oh… that bad.” Jonathan winced, but decided to let it go as Alex pulled away from his mother.

“Come on! We have to get to the pyramid! I have to get this bracelet off, now!”

Turning away from the trees and bushes surrounding them, Jonathan waved his hand in dismissal, “Keep it on Alex, it looks good on you!”

“No! You don’t understand!” The eight-year-old immediately protested, “It’ll kill me if I don’t get inside the pyramid before the sun hits!”

Evy shook her head in disbelief, “Oh my God.”

And then the sound of something screeching, and bushes rustling came from behind them.

“Time to go!” Ardeth yelled, as Evy lifted Alex into her arms as they sprinted away, with Jonathan scowling behind him.

“That’s bad! That’s very bad!”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

After a terrifying run through the jungle (including a slight mistake over a circle of stones), Jonathan found himself scampering over a large bridge, made out of a fallen tree.

“Wait for me! Wait for me!”

As his sister lit up a stick of dynamite, Jonathan leapt to safety, stumbling into Ardeth’s arms, only to pull back in embarrassment as he turned to his sister.

“Where did you even get that?”

“Goodbye present from Rick.” She smirked at him, before chucking the dynamite at the creatures that were now starting to clamber over the tree bridge. Less than a minute later, the dynamite exploded, shattering the bridge and sending the creatures falling into the gorge down below.

But the danger wasn’t over yet.

“Jonathan! Ardeth!” Evy cried out, gesturing at the horizon, where the sun was slowly starting to rise in the sky.

“Come on Alex!” Jonathan cried out, taking Alex’s hand and racing towards the pyramid, batting branches away with his hands as Evy and Ardeth followed on behind, “A little faster now Alex!”

“Uncle Jonathan!” Alex stumbled weakly, “The bracelet!”

It was clearly starting to hurt him, as the nine-year-old struggled to keep up. However, before Jonathan could lift the child into his arms, Ardeth moved forwards and lifted Alex into his own arms, running far faster than both Evy and Jonathan as he raced to save the boy.

The sun was almost right on top of them.

As they approached the pyramid, he made a desperate leap into the area, just as the rays of the sun hit the pyramid.

“Being a parent…” Ardeth gasped for air, Alex rolling off to one side, “… being a parent feels like hard work.”

“… I think you’d be good at it.” Alex slowly turned to face him, “And I’ve always wanted a little cousin.”

The meaning was clear, but before Ardeth could say anything, there was a loud CLICK, and the bracelet came undone.

Almost immediately, Alex grabbed the golden artefact and threw it as hard as he could, watching as it skidded across the sand.

From the other side of the courtyard, their feet sinking into the warming sand, Evy and Jonathan sighed in relief.

“Oh, thank God.” Evy laughed, “They’re okay! They’re okay, Alex’s okay!”

“Yeah, he- “Suddenly, Jonathan stopped, spotting movement out of the corner of his eye.

Meela… Anck-su-namun…. Whatever she was called.

“EVIE! LOOK OUT!” He darted forwards, pushing his sister to one side, just as Meela’s fist moved forwards, and a sharp blade slid into his stomach.

Vaguely, he could hear his sister crying out in anguish.

He couldn’t say anything, not even when Imhotep appeared over Meela’s shoulder, throwing Evie to one side, before turning his attention to Jonathan.

“Ramases…” he hissed, a heavy Egyptian accent in his words, “… brother of Nefertiri. Son of Seti. He will do.”

“NO!”

Ardeth’s own cry of pain echoed throughout the area, as the blade slid back out and the pair made a run for it.

“Jonathan!” Ardeth continued to cry out, arms reaching out to catch Jonathan, just before he could hit the ground, “Jonathan, no please!”

“Uncle John! Uncle John!” Alex dropped beside Ardeth, hands hovering over his dying uncle as his Mother raced over, stumbling slightly from the force of the impact she’d recently suffered.

“Oh God!” she exclaimed, tears already streaming down her face as she saw the extent of the wound, “Jonathan!”

“He’s going to be alright!” Alex desperately cried out, “He’s going to be alright!”

It was then that she knew, that she had to get Alex away. “Of course…” she whispered, pulling him into her arms and leading him away, “… of course he’s going to be fine.”

She didn’t want to lie to her child, but it was necessary.

Continuing to reassure her son that everything was going to be alright, and that his Uncle Jonathan was going to live, Evy couldn’t help but wince as Ardeth grew more and more panicked, especially at the amount of blood that was now staining Jonathan’s suit and his own hands. Most of it was in Arabic, however, the odd sentence did come out in English.

“You’re going to be alright.” He was now muttering to Jonathan, calloused fingers rubbing tears away from pain-flushed cheeks, “You can get through this, you’ll be alright!”

Shaking violently with the pain, Jonathan tried to give Ardeth a reassuring smile (failing miserably, but the effort was appreciated). “T-T-Take care of E-Evy, yeah?” he whispered, “A-and A-A-Alex?”

“Yes but- “

Another pain-filled smile, “I-I-I should h-have said this e-earlier, but…. I-I really l-like you Ardeth. Maybe e-even l-l-lo- “Before he could finish the sentence, his eyes fluttered shut and he inhaled sharply… before going completely limp.

“No, no, no!” Ardeth swore under his breath, painfully aware of Evy’s sobbing behind him, “No, come back! Come back!”

Nothing.

“Please… don’t do this to me.” Ardeth whispered as he lifted Jonathan into his arms and buried his face into the man’s shoulder, muffling his own sobs as the situation dawned on him.

Jonathan was gone.

Before he could ever tell the man how he felt, he was gone.

As Alex seemed to realise what was happening, his own tears streaming down his cheeks, grief settled over the small area.

They were all unaware of what was happening in the temple behind them.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Evy broke free of her son’s clinging hug, gently ordering him to stay where he was, before moving over to the body of her fallen brother, laying him back on the ground and re-arranging his limbs in order to make him look more at peace.

“I am going inside.”

Evy turned to Ardeth in shock, watching as the man pushed himself to his feet, turning his face away as one hand reached up to wipe his face clear of tears.

“I must finish this.” He answered to her unasked question, “For him.”

Without waiting for an answer, he was gone, running into the temple, disappearing into the shadows.

Less than ten minutes later, the entire ground shook and a shadow quickly passed over the land, traveling until even Rick and Ardeth’s men could see it.

“And so, it begins.” Muttered one of the men by Rick’s side.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Alex…”

Alex turned his attention away from the body of his uncle, focusing on his mother (who was still crying slightly).

“… I know this might not be what you want to hear right now, but he’s gone to a better place.” She briefly glanced over to her brother, “Remember when you had to study the Bible, the so-called ‘good book.’”

“…. The book.”

Evy frowned at the whisper, “What?”

“That's it. That's it!”

“That's what?”

Alex pushed himself to his feet and started pulling at her clothes, “Come on Mom! Come on!”

“What are you- “

“- That's it! The book!”

………………………………………………………………

“You’re too late Medjai!”

Ardeth glared at the Curator, his grip tightening on the torch in his hand.

“I have released the Army of Anubus! Lord Imhotep shall soon kill the Scorpion King and take command.”

Already drawing his sword, Ardeth didn’t really react to the words, “Not by the time I get through with him.”

When the curator started screaming, Ardeth didn’t even flinch.

The man deserved everything that he got.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Alex, sweetie…” Evy grunted as she tugged on the hastily crafted reed sledge that she was now using to pull her brother’s body through the corridors of the temple, “… I know you don’t want all this to be real, but this might not bring him back! The Ancient Egyptian has to be flawless!”

As they came to a junction, she sighed, dropping the rope. “Which direction now?”

“Right.”

“And how do you know that?” Evy winced at her tone. Yes, she’d seen the wall and the writing, but there was no need to treat it like a lesson.

Alex held the torch up near the wall, “Kasheesh Osirian Nye…. Basically, this way to the Scorpion King.”

As he strode off in that direction, Evy couldn’t help but smile proudly. “That’s my boy.”

There was a chance this would work.

…………………………………………………………………………..

“Meela.”

The woman turned around and glared at Evy as she strode closer.

“Care for a rematch?” Evy asked, moving into a defensive position as her mind flashed back to the fight her past self had once had with Anck-su-namun all those centuries ago.

This bitch had killed her brother and she wasn’t going to get away with that.

Her eyes never strayed from the woman, not even as Alex went to steal the book Meela had been guarding.

“This is for my brother.” She hissed, suddenly lunging forwards as the fight began.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Ardeth strode calmly through the corridors of the Temple, not even flinching as the sound of a gong being struck echoed throughout the deserted away.

In the distance, he could see that Imhotep was the one making the noise, probably hoping to summon the Scorpion King. The chamber rumbled violently as the walls quivered and a loud bellow echoed throughout the room.

Once again, Ardeth didn’t care.

He just needed to kill Imhotep.

Lunging at the ex-mummy, Ardeth slashed and swiped at the man, not even caring when his sword was knocking into the cracks in the floor.

He still had his fists.

“So, you wish to kill me Medjai?” Imhotep hissed in Ancient Egyptian, “And then you will kill him and send his Army back to the Underworld? This I cannot allow…” he smirked, “… It will be so satisfying to kill you again. A shame I will not hear the screams of Ramses this time.”

Ardeth snapped.

…………………………………………………………

Evy winced as the other woman’s nails broke the skin on her face, running her fingers over the wound to check for blood, before smirking at Meela, “What? Is that all you’ve got?”

Meela was silent, pulling a pair of Sai out of the hands of a nearby statue.

“Great…” Evy whispered, “… come on Alex, hurry up.”

In a darkened corner, Alex was frowning at the book, lips forming the words as quickly as possible as he sat by the body of his murdered uncle, “Hootash naraba oos Veesloo. Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei…”

The fights continued.

“… Efday Shokran. Efday Shokran… Mum! I don’t know what this last symbol is!” he called out in panic.

“What does it look like sweetie?!” Evy groaned as she and Meela duelled.

“A-A bird! A stork!”

Evy couldn’t help but smile at this, wincing as Meela grabbed her collar, “You are so much like Jonathan!”

“Mum! What’s the symbol?!”

Just before Meela could stab the Sai blade directly into her throat, Evy pushed her away, knocking her to the ground before leaping back and crying out “Ahmenophus!”

“That’s it!” Alex turned his attention back to the book, “Efday Shokran Ahmenophus!”

Lights flickered, and a loud noise echoed throughout the room, causing Alex’s eyes to widen.

…………………………………………………………………….

“Ah!” Evy yelped, one hand pressing against her shoulder, which had recently been scratched by the sai, a thin line of blood staining her shirt.

Just before Meela could make the killing blow, a hand appeared out of nowhere, grabbing her wrist and preventing it from going any further.

“Don’t you dare touch my sister!”

Chapter Text

“Don’t you dare touch my sister!”

Jonathan pushed Meela away, raising both fists in the traditional Eton boxing pose as Evy gaped at him.

“Jonathan!”

“Get Alex!” he ordered her, a serious expression on his face, “Go and help Ardeth!”

“But Uncle Jonathan- “

“- hate to be the boring Uncle right now kiddo, but go with your Mother!”

As Evy gently pulled her son away, still in shock over the sight of seeing her brother, Jonathan turned his attention back to Meela.

“I don’t suppose you’ll just surrender?”

………………………………………………………………………………

“We did it Mom! We did it!” Alex cried out as they raced into the dark chamber.

“You did it sweetie! Now let’s go and help Ardeth!”

…………………………………………………………………….

Ardeth growled as he lunged at Imhotep, forcing the ex-mummy to take a couple steps back.

The fight would have continued, if it weren’t for the large golden doors slamming open and a truly monstrous figure scuttled out, claws clicking and a horrifying sneer on it’s human-like face.

Needless to say, it didn’t take long for Imhotep to crack under the pressure.

“I am your loyal servant!” he cried out in Ancient Egyptian, falling to his knees and clasping his hands together, “I am your loyal servant.”

The creature hesitated, before smirking, “We. Shall. See.”

Before Ardeth could say anything, Imhotep seized his opportunity, pointing at Ardeth, “But he was sent to kill you!”

Ardeth cursed and ran.

……………………………………………………………………………

Jonathan felt like he was Frankenstein’s Monster, full of life and energy, to the point where he felt like he could take over the world. Hence, him and Meela circling like Eton students in a boxing ring… except with sais.

“Ramses.” Meela muttered.

“Anck-su-namun.”

Meela smirked, “Good.”

Lunging at each other, Jonathan was amazed at his own reflexes. It was like all the muscle memory and fighting skills from his past life had suddenly been re-awakened, their sais clacking against one another.

“You have remembered the old ways.” Meela stated in the ancient language, a smirk on her face as she pinned him against a nearby statue. The smirk was soon wiped off her face when Jonathan’s head shot forwards and hit her in the nose, forcing her back a couple of steps.

“That’s a little something new!” Jonathan laughed, “Thank you boarding school!”

From there, the fight was in his favour, leading to him slashing her across the cheek.

She ran straight into the dark chamber.

“Oh, come on!”

…………………………………………

For a moment, it seemed like the Army of Anubis had been defeated… until over a thousand more could be seen over the sand dunes.

“Oh for fu- “

……………………………………….

Ardeth leaned against the wall, panting heavily. The fact that it was a carving of how the Scorpion King was defeated in the first place was more than a little ironic.

“Yes… he would have been useful right about now.” He muttered, referring to Rick, the only other man he’d seen with a mark such as this warrior had.

And then he noticed the spear.

“ARDETH?!”

At Evy’s voice, Ardeth raced out into the open, to see Evy and Alex rushing into the room. Personally, he wished that they’d stayed with Jonathan’s… body, but he could understand why they left.

Better to protect the living, than the dead.

“Evy!” Ardeth rushed over to hear, his eyes on the gold stick that was hanging from Evy’s belt, “It’s a spear.” He gestured to the stick, “It opens up into a spear!”

Before Evy could reply, there was a roaring from behind Ardeth, as the Scorpion King scuttled along the walls, before lunging at them, sending them screaming and running away as fast as they could.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Jonathan followed Meela into the dark chamber, both of them stopping in their tracks at the sight of the horrific creature chasing after Ardeth. As one giant claw slammed into the tribesman, sending him flying into the air and landing heavily on the ground.

“Ardeth!” Jonathan called out.

For a moment, Ardeth just stared at him in shock, a frown on his face before he finally whispered, “Jonathan?” Before he could say anything else, he was forced to roll to the side to avoid being skewered, leaping to his feet and grabbing the nearest weapon that he could.

On Jonathan’s other side, Evy and Alex were struggling over the golden stick that Evy had been carrying around, arguing about whether or not to twist it or pull on it.

“Come on old mum!” he called out, having spotted Imhotep at the other end of the corridor, the ex-mummy’s eyes lighting up at the sight of the spear, “You need to- ARGH!”

Meela suddenly charged at him, her earlier cowardice gone as she pinned him against the wall, the hard stone digging into his back.

He was going to have a bruise there in the morning.

As he struggled with Meela, trying to prevent himself from being stabbed in the throat, he noticed that the spear had popped out, with Alex and Evy clinging onto it.

“Throw it!” he screamed at them in desperation, “Throw it at that thing! We need to send his army back to the Underworld!”

Evy nodded, watching as Ardeth kicked over one of the large vats of fire, prompting the Scorpion King to snarl in anger. Pulling her hand back, she threw the spear at the creature as hard as she could, only to curse as it was snatched out of the air by Imhotep.

“And now…” the ex-mummy hissed, “… the Army of Anubis will be MINE!”

The spear was thrown again.

“ARDETH!”

Diving forwards Ardeth managed to snatch the spear out of the air, much like Imhotep had, causing the ex-mummy to scream in frustration and anger. With the spear in his hands, Ardeth knew that he had to keep it away from the Scorpion King and Imhotep.

One was easier than the other.

Forced to duck and weave as the Scorpion King swiped and slashed at him, Ardeth didn’t realise how close he was to the lava. The Scorpion King made one last desperate attempt and Ardeth fell straight towards the lava, thrusting the spear out in front of him.

If he was going to die, then he was taking this thing with him.

“Ardeth! No!” Jonathan kicked Meela away from him, running over to try and catch Ardeth before he could fall into the lava… only to realise that Ardeth wasn’t falling.

The spear lodged in the heart of the creature was the probable cause of that.

“Go back to wherever you came from…” Ardeth hissed, “… and take your foul army with you!”

Less than a second later, the creature exploded into a cloud of black smoke and ash, the cloud getting larger and larger until nothing could been seen within the temple.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

“Yes!” Rick whooped in glee as the army vanished into a cloud of smoke, “Yes! They did it! They did it!”

The rest of the Medjai tribe cheered on behind him.

…………………………………………………………………………

Once the cloud of black smoke and ash cleared, the temple started to rumble violently, leaving Imhotep and Ardeth clinging onto the ledge over a pool of boiling lava, skeletal bodies attempting to pull them down to their doom.

“ARDETH!” Jonathan cried out, darting forwards, only to jump back as the ceiling started to fall down all around them.

Hearing the cry, Ardeth managed to pull himself up slightly, managing to catch eyes with Jonathan. “No!” he ordered the other man, clearly seeing his intent, “No! Get out of here! Just get out of here!”

Jonathan’s eyes widened as he glanced behind him, clearly weighing his options…. Until a look of determination flashed across his face, and he tensed up, clearly preparing to make a run towards Ardeth.

“Jonathan!” Evy growled, as her grip tightened on her son, “Don’t even think about it!”

“Never do old mum.” Without giving Evy or Ardeth another chance to protest, Jonathan made a run for it, dodging the pieces of rubble from the falling ceiling.

“JONATHAN!” Evy cried out, before she met eyes with Ardeth, a look of concern flashing across her face. “HANG ON ARDETH!”

Jonathan ignored whatever was said in reply, diving forwards and grabbing Ardeth’s hand just before the other man could lose his grip. As he struggled to pull Ardeth to safety, he could hear Imhotep calling out for his own love, desperate for her to save him like Jonathan was saving Ardeth.

She ran.

As Jonathan and Ardeth quickly backed away from the ledge, Imhotep glanced over at them, tears in his eyes and a look of acceptance on his face… before he let go.

…………………………………………………………………………..

“Everything’s being sucked into the pyramid!” Evy cried out as they raced up the stairs, heading towards the top of the pyramid, “How are we getting out of here?”

Still slightly in shock, Ardeth started to think to himself furiously.

They couldn’t jump down, not unless they wanted to be sucked in along with the pygmy monkeys and jungle.

Going higher was their only choice.

As they reached the top of the pyramid, clinging onto the golden scorpion at the top, Jonathan glanced around. “Great…” he whimpered, “… I was kind of hoping to be alive for a little longer than this!”

Ardeth pulled Jonathan closer, opening his mouth, intending to confess everything.

“EVY! ALEX!”

Ardeth stopped in his tracks, glancing up as the large airship piloted by Rick’s friend made a reappearance, with Rick leaning out the side, beaming at the sight of his wife and son.

Confessions could wait until later.