PanDaemonAeon - part I

All the Fun of the Fair

by Drakhen

Presley ran down the empty street, breathing hard and not even looking back to see if he was being followed. At the end, the reincarnation of the Ancient Egyptian Prince Rapses skidded round the corner and continued on. His breath was coming shorter now and he did not think he could run much further.

"Hey! Presley! Wait up!"

The twelve year old finally halted and stood bent forwards, hands on knees as he caught his breath. He looked up, knowing who had called him, "Hi Walter,"

"Are you nuts? What are you running for on a hot day like this?"

"Uhm ... just getting my exercise?"

Walter shrugged and then told Presley he'd called at his house on his way to the amusement arcade, but Presley hadn't been home, but since they had met now he asked if he wanted to go along with him.

"Sure - sounds like a great idea! Let's go," Presley started walking so fast that Walter almost had to run to keep up

"What's the hurry? And why do you keep looking round like that? Anyone would think you were being followed or something!"

I sure hope not thought Presley grimly with a final glance over his shoulder as they reached the arcade. Here they were met by a sight that struck both fear and horror into their hearts.

"It...it's closed!"

"What do we do now?!" gasped Walter, nearing panic.

The two looked at one another, glad of each other's support in this time of crisis. The day was hot and the sun unforgiving, but from somewhere a strong breeze blew up and a sheet of paper blew against Presley's leg, "What's this?" he picked it up. It was a flyer for a carnival.

"Hey isn't that the one that had closed down?" asked Walter. It had been on the news; the place had been closed by health and safety inspectors after several unfortunate and freakish accidents, and also because a number of people had gone missing in and around it. Just the kind of place to attract two bored twelve-year-olds on a summer's afternoon.

"We can stop by your place and pick up our bikes," suggested Presley. He had left his bike over at Walter's the previous day.

As they went on their way, Presley glanced over his shoulder one final time to make sure no one else had seen him, particularly if they happened to be Ancient Egyptian of origin.

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Nefertina looked up at the red light. Their Prince protested about them so much that, for once, she had decided to stop at one to see what all the fuss was about. The crossroads were empty, "I don't see the point of this. Why wait when there is no one around?" she said looking over to Mira who was sat beside her. The two were out on the lookout for Presley after he had 'given them the slip' (as the Prince would have put it) at the Galleria.

Mira began to explain the rules of road safety which Presley had once told her, but the roar of an engine interrupted her. Both mummies turned to see what could make such a discordant din. Beside the Hot-Ra another huge car had pulled up; it was monstrous and black with chrome fittings. The rear tyres were huge and made it tilt its front toward the ground, giving the impression of a dark beast crouching in preparation to attack. Along the thin silver 'go faster stripe' along its side, was written the name 'Christine'. The loud boom of heavy metal permeated through the body, its intensity indicating the presence of some very large speakers.

"I haven't seen one of them before," commented Nefertina

"I think it's a Hearse - a funeral car."

"I wouldn't want one like that for my funeral!" (although neither she nor any of the other mummies were quite in a position to worry about such things anymore!).

The Hearse edged forward, its driver revving the engine in what could only be interpreted as a competitive way. Nefertina got the hint, and smiled, "So you want a race, huh?" she grinned. Although through the mat black windows she had no idea as to who the driver was, she would bet her bottom dollar (and so great was the power of George Washington!) that it was a man.

"You can't be serious!?" Mira hastily scrabbled to make sure her seatbelt was on. Her protest was lost in the roar of engines as the lights turned amber, and then green.

With a scream of tyres and the acrid stench of burning rubber, the race began.

The black car started in the lead, cutting right in front of the Hot-Ra, forcing Nefertina to break, "Male drivers!" she spat, pulling out to try to overtake but the stranger blocked her. She eased the accelerator further towards the floor, until they were almost nose to tailgate. Then she speeded up, nudging the Hearse.

This had the desired effect, the driver swerved, just far enough that the Hot-Ra came up on its inside.

"Hey! He's trying to crowd us out!" the Hearse, trying to cut out their room, was angling in towards them.

"Fat chance!" Nefertina floored it and they screamed past, taking the lead.

"I don't think we can make those lights!" Mira said, eyeing the traffic signals up ahead. Up until now they had been on quiet roads, but up ahead was a crossing with a main road. The signals were green at the moment but would not be for much longer.

"Sure we can!" They raced up the hill, leaving the black car further behind. They made it as the lights turned red, but just before the cross traffic started moving, "I think we can declare this race won!" Nefertina grinned to Mira, "He'll have to stop."

Mira, looking behind, frowning "Or, then again..." the sounds of horns and collisions reached them as the hearse had simply smashed its way through the traffic, knocking two cars spinning and causing everything else to stop, "And the Prince says you drive dangerously!"

Nefertina simply raised her eyebrows at the comment.

A siren drew their attention as a police car turned onto the street just behind them. They looked round to see where the other car was, but it had simply disappeared!

"Weird..." They hastily turned onto a new road, and then cut into a backstreet where they easily lost the police car.

"This hasn't gotten us any closer to finding Presley, though" commented Mira, but Nefertina was just sulking because the race's outcome had been inconclusive. It didn't help her mood that they were now going to have to explain to Ja-kal why they weren't bringing Presley back to the Sphinx with them. Nor would it help that Rath was not going to be best pleased when he found out he would have to mend the dents and damaged paintwork on the front of the Hot-Ra.

"Uhm, we'd better get our stories straight..."

Mira just nodded. She wouldn't tell Ja-kal that they had been racing, like she had never told a soul back in Egypt how she knew of Nefer's true identity...

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"Do you know how irresponsible that was? We have been sworn to protect the Prince! Not to go shopping and then let him run off into Ra-knows-what sorts of dangers there are out there!" Nefertina and Mira stood and let Ja-kal's tirade wash over them.

"But he said he'd wait while we were..."

"I don't want to hear it!" snapped Ja-kal.

Rath, who had been present but until now remained silent, spoke up, "Perhaps we should turn our attentions to finding where the young Prince has gotten to ... Standing here shouting cannot accomplish very much."

Ja-kal sighed, "Yes, you're right Rath. We'd better get the others in here to organise a search." He sounded like a worried father and Mira felt a pang of regret for the worry being caused. She bit her lip and swore to herself that she'd do her best to help find the Prince.

The Guardians of Rapses all gathered in the main room of the Sphinx. Ja-kal told them what had happened, but did not lay blame.

"We'll perform a sweep of the city" Ja-kal was saying when a latecomer interrupted his process of thought.

"Oh. Nice of you to make it, Rathera," sniffed Rath, standing on Ja-kal's left. To the hunter's right was Calliope.

"It's nice to be missed, dear brother," she sneered in response, choosing a place near the back to stand. She looked around the room. Almost all the guardians were here. A quick whisper to Orissa - technically Rath's half-sister - who stood nearby and she was filled in on the details. She rolled her eyes - this wasn't the first time they'd managed to go and lose track of Presley. With so many Guardians it made the situation seem even more ludicrous.

"Can't you just track him with your ankh?" she said to Rath.

Rath looked serious, "There seems to be some sort of disturbance in the ether... it isn't working.

Ja-kal started giving directions for who should be in which group, "Nefertina and Mira - you were last with the Prince in the Galleria, so take the Hot-Ra and check back there again. Take Rathera and Sora with you."

"I'll go too!" offered Nightfall, landing beside Nefertina. Ja-Kal nodded in consent.

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No sign of Presley was to be found at the Galleria and the general consensus of opinion in the Hot-Ra was that looking for the Prince was akin to finding the needle in the proverbial haystack. Resorting to driving round more or less aimlessly in the hopes they would see Presley walking along the pavement, Nefertina found herself driving them through a closed-down industrial area on the outskirts of town.

"I don't think Rapses would be around here," remarked Rathera, considering this to now be a waste of time. The words 'wild', 'goose' and 'chase' came to mind.

"Hey look! A fun fair!" Sora pressed her face against the glass for a better look. This wasn't really the place to have a successful fair: it was too out-of-the-way. Apparently this assumption was correct as, with a second look, it was obvious this place had closed down some time ago. However, it was the perfect place for someone to go exploring whilst at the same time avoiding their oft-over watchful guardians.

The stalls and rides were arranged rather like a corral, several rows deep. In the middle was a clear area and in the centre where Nefertina parked. The four mummies and winged cat piled out and began looking around.

"Seems pretty quiet," said Mira, watching as the warm breeze lazily toyed with the overgrown grass.

Rathera frowned, "It can't be that quiet - those tire tracks are fresh!" she pointed to where the grass had been depressed, leaving a clear trail that led behind some of the wooden buildings.

They followed it round, some of their number with hands cautiously resting near concealed weapons. The vehicle responsible for the tracks came in site. Mira and Nefertina stopped in surprise, "That's the car we racing earlier!"

"You were racing?! I'm sure Rath would love to know that's the real reason why he's going to have to knock out those dents!" smirked Rathera, relishing the worried look Nefertina gave her at the prospect of Rath - and inevitably Ja-kal - finding out about this.

The charioteer quickly turned away, annoyed at herself for letting slip like that and to avoid giving Rath's sister the satisfaction of seeing that. Instead she started towards the car.

A sudden voice made them all stop.

"What's this? A party without inviting me?" A new voice sounded and a female figure appeared on the rooftop of a nearby games stall, silhouetted against the sunset. She was humanoid, but possessed the features and tail of a cat.

"Eshe!"

The feline mummy leapt gracefully from the roof to land beside them and, hands on hips, cocked her head as she looked at them, "What're you doing out here?"

"We're looking for the Prince. We sort of .. uh .. lost him," explained Mira. The Sybil went into a brief explanation of what was going on and Eshe agreed to join in with the search. But first of all they were still curious about the Hearse from earlier that had now appeared here. There was a distinct air of familiarity about it, although none of them had actually seen this car before.

Voicing these thoughts, Mira turned to Nefertina, "Is it just me or do you get the feeling this car should remind you of someone?"

"Me, perhaps?"

The mummies started at the sudden sound. Rathera narrowed her eyes, surprised at herself for not detecting someone being so close by. But on recognising the voice - one she had not heard for a long time - she realised this was the kind of person who would not normally be detected until it was to late.

A dark form detached itself from the shadows from where it had been watching them, folding its huge black wings against its back, revealing the humanoid but inhuman form more clearly. A viciously scarred semi-canine/draconic face split into a grin, "Long time no see..."

"Blackjack" said Mira, as far as she was concerned, the dragon was bad news and the tone of her voice suggested her word was not so much a greeting as a reminder to all that she did not trust him.

"Delighted to be in your presence once more too," he replied, raising his eyebrows in an ever-so-slightly smug expression to accompany his sarcastic undertones. He nodded to Rathera and Nefertina in greeting and then looked to Sora and Eshe, "We've not yet been introduced, I believe."

"There's probably a reason for that," muttered Sora, already disliking this guy's attitude.

"Hey Sy! Did you see the Hot-Ra just pull up?" a female voice introduced itself into the conversation and Meccha appeared from round a corner. She stopped short when she saw the mummies there and then happily greeted them, not having seen her friends in a while.

"No, this is all just a figment of my imagination," Blackjack flattened his ears in annoyance; he didn't mind Meccha and Shade using the abbreviation of his real name, Syrax, but not in front of other people.

Meccha completely ignored him and Rathera, instead catching up on the latest gossip with the others.

Not at all caring about what Meccha had to say, Rathera turned to Blackjack, "And I suppose where two of you go, the third is bound to follow," she looked round expecting to see Shade, but he was nowhere in sight. But when she turned back to the dragon, the werewolf was standing right behind him. She hated it when he did that. "I take it you're not here to sight-see," she said.

"Business, I'm afraid," said Shade, "It's pretty much a dead cert that there's demonic activity going on in this place. We've come to clean up."

"How come you're here?" asked Meccha.

"We're looking for Presley. We haven't found him anywhere else, so we think he might have come here," said Mira, looking a little sheepish but also concerned: if the Daemonslayers had come all the way here, then something serious was going on in this place. She slid a sidelong glance at F'lair who was standing off to one side. He seemed somehow different from the last time the mummies had seen him (and this was not just the extra piercings in his ears, nose and eyebrow or the dark teardrop design tattooed around his left eye): the dreadful business that had occurred when the demon Saragoth had joined forces with Scarab and Meccha lost her soul. They had seen Meccha since, and she was coping well, but there had been hide nor hair of the other two since then. She had been worried about F'lair, remembering how he had blamed himself for letting the demon escape with Meccha's soul.

Blackjack, Shade and Soul looked at each other, "We'd better help you look," said Meccha, twisting one of the earrings in her long fay-like ears in agitation, "If Presley's here then he's in danger."

"Two groups would cover the ground quickest," suggested Sora, quickly adding that she would go with Meccha, inwardly thinking that she would rather stick with her than with Blackjack or Shade who, to say the least, she found annoying or rather disturbing (respectively).

Mira frowned and then spoke up, "There could be trouble. Someone had better go tell Ja-Kal what's happening here."

"Okay, I will," Nefertina jumped back into the Hot-Ra, "Just don't start the fun without me!"

"I'm sure we won't" muttered Rathera as the charioteer sped off.

They split into two groups, Blackjack, Mira, Rathera and Shade heading for the north end of the funfair and the others taking the south.

The first place they stopped was the waxworks. As they entered Shade hung back a little, looking more edgy than normal. Mira paused on the wooden steps leading to the entrance looking back at him quizzically, if it was at all possible, she could have sworn that he was paler than normal, "What's wrong?"

"Um, nothing," he jumped past her up the stairs but stopped again once he was inside.

Blackjack and Rathera were both waiting inside. The dragon opened his inner eyelids, his eyes starting to glow as he used his heat-vision to see in the dark hallway they were in. This made it highly visible when he looked at Shade and then rolled his eyes, "Go and check the next building then." The werewolf couldn't get out quick enough.

"F'lair has a bad thing about waxworks," the dragon shrugged.

"I'll go with him," said Mira quickly, turning to follow him. For some reason she did not particularly fancy the idea of being stuck with Rathera and Blackjack.

"I'll check in there," said Rathera heading towards one of the two doors, on opposite walls, that led off the hallway. With a shrug Blackjack went through the other portal. A quick look around revealed nothing suspicious, just a room full of rather poorly made waxworks. Stopping with his back to a rotund clown with a lopsided bright red smile he removed his axe from here it was slung across his back and, putting it on the floor, he attempted to readjust the spiked shoulder pads he was wearing, darkly muttering about needing some gear that didn't nearly impale him every time he turned his head.

Distracted, he did not see as the grinning clown behind him reached out, suddenly grabbing for him. Blackjack gagged as he found himself caught in a headlock, with an arm pressing his throat in cutting off his air. Choking he sent a spasm of movement down his back, the retractable spines stabbed out into his attacker, but had no effect. His vision greyed as the crushing grip tightened and he found himself no longer able to see to reach for his axe. His writhing struggles started to weaken as consciousness failed.

"With the deceit of Set, and the might of Anubis!"

The silver flash of a bright blade in the corner of the dragon's fading vision and he was free. Blackjack fell forward onto his hands and knees, half choking as he gulped greedily for air.

"Bested by a dummy?!"

Blackjack coughed a final time and looked up, seeing Rathera standing there in her armour, leaning on her sword "Embarrassing, isn't it?" almost being strangled had left his throat hoarse and the dragon couldn't be bothered trying to think of a reasonable comeback. Besides, he didn't mind Rathera that much (probably because their personalities allowed them to share similar views) so he wasn't going to go out of his way to be unpleasant to her. He pulled himself up and then reached down to retrieve his axe.

Without those wings in the way, she could now look at the damage she had done to the waxwork. Half the clown's head was gone, together with the shoulder and the arm it had been holding the cursed dragon with as her sword had sliced clean through it. Rathera blinked in disbelief, and then peered closer. A strange reddish substance was seeping from the freshly cut surface...blood?!. The wax there began to bubble and without warning a tentacle erupted forth where the arm had been, "Behind you!" she yelled as the clown reached out, the painted grin on its half-face more hideous than ever.

Ready this time, Blackjack swung round with lightning reflexes, burying his axe in the demon-thing's chest. A green-red liquid spurted out. With a reptilian hissing snarl the dragon freed the weapon and struck again, and again, and again with frightening savagery. Only when the being was all but mincemeat did he stop, the balefire glow of his eyes losing its intensity as he calmed down.

"Feel better?" asked Rathera, but her voice was only mildly sarcastic. She was aware that he was an infamous schemer, but had not expected to see such sheer brutality there as well.

"Lots. I don't mind being bettered so long as I get the last word, (or hack, in this case)." He looked about and frowned, "Were they as close as that before?"

Rathera followed the Daemonslayer's line of vision. He was looking at a group of waxworks, their detail lost in the shadows, that she could have sworn had been closer to the far wall before. She didn't like this. "I think the door would be a good place to head for right about now."

Blackjack nodded, not hugely willing to fight where he wasn't sure if they had an advantage. But when they turned for the door they found their way blocked. Rathera looked over her shoulder. The manikins had moved again, this time much closer. All seemed to wear the same horrible smile. The two did not actually see them move, it was just whenever they blinked or looked away for even a second the waxworks got closer, simply appearing in one place and then the next, and getting closer all the time.

The dragon said something that, although not in any language Rathera recognised, was most certainly a filthy word.

"In there!" their only option seemed to be a single door with the word 'private' written on it. Every dragon and mummy for themselves, Rathera and Blackjack made a run for it dodging suddenly outstretched arms as the sinister waxworks moved yet again, they reached the door and Blackjack pushed in first.

"So much for chivalry..." she muttered, slamming the door shut behind them. Wherever they were, the two were in complete darkness. The most disturbing thing, Rathera realised, was the silence. The models had made no sound ... even the greatest assassins she could think of would have been humbled by their stealth!

Blackjack sniffed, there was no fresh air or draughts in here, "Dead end" he said simply.

"That had better not be literal..."

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"Well that was uninspiring"

"Yeah - I'd have been pissed off if I'd paid two bucks for a go in that!" Eshe replied to Nightfall as the calico cat flew with her, Meccha and Sora.

The three had just been searching through the Fun House, but had found nothing suspicious at all. Nor had they found any sign of Presley. In fact, they had searched everywhere and were on their way now to the Ghost Train - the last place left where they had not looked.

The four stood in front of it, "It doesn't look very big."

"Or scarey. The Tunnel of Love was creepier than this looks," said Meccha, casting her eye over the decor.

"I'd say that depends on who you went on the Tunnel ride with!" joked Sora. The others laughed with her.

"Okay, let's get on with this!"

Knowing that they had not found anything yet the two mummies, immortal werewolf and winged cat readied themselves for an encounter. There was bound to be something here.

Two minutes later they found themselves walking out the other end of the ride.

"Now that definitely was not worth the money!"

"Hey look - there's a power switch here," Sora pulled it and all the lights in the Ghost Train came on. One of the carts came to a stop outside. The four looked at it, at each other, and then back at the cart.

"Why ever not?"

"Yeah - maybe we missed something when we went through the first time. We should look again."

"With the lights on it'll be easier to see, too - no offense or anything for that magic light you were using, Mech." Meccha smiled and agreed with Sora anyway.

"And it's a free ride!" grinned Nightfall.

The four jumped in and the ride started.

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The Hall of Mirrors was dark and cold, the glassy surfaces seeming to draw in any heat. Mira and Shade's soft footfalls echoed on the hard floor as they entered the maze.

"I don't think Presley would be in here," commented Mira, looking down the empty corridors. Something in the air here made her shiver.

F'lair nodded, but did not voice the fact that he much preferred this to the waxworks. Those things seriously creeped him out.

They moved in silence for a minute or so. The walls were completely made of mirrors, and sometimes it was hard to find where the passageways turned.

"You know, where I come from it's considered bad ju-ju to walk between two mirrors."

Mira almost started as Shade unexpectedly broke the silence but she was glad for the distraction, "I suppose it is kind of strange, watching yourself disappear into eternity."

"A lot of infamous sorcerers were rumoured to use them to open portals... they're a popular medium for magic users. Even the wizard I was an apprentice to..." He broke off suddenly. Mira was easy and understanding to talk to, but F'lair could never bring himself to speak of when he had actually been alive. Stopping mid-sentence was a reflex action for him.

"You were a wizard's apprentice?" Mira knew about the Raven Staff and Shade's apparently inherent shadowcasting abilities, but she had not known he had trained in magic.

"That was a different me. It's not important anymore,"

She almost stopped to stare at him at the sudden harsh, bitter note in his voice, but the pain there told her this was a scar that should not be poked at so she said nothing and continued looking ahead. After a moment she changed the subject, "I don't think the Prince is here. Nor anything else, for that matter." she added, remembering that the three Daemonslayers had come 'on duty', "Maybe we should find our way out, this place is a labyrinth!"

F'lair followed a pace or two behind Mira, watching their reflections flicker through each mirror they passed on their way back. Something made him stop and turn. The mirror on his left was all wrong, the surface had not been bright like the others, but dark, as though it was partially absorbing light rather than reflecting. He stood in front of it, staring. There was no reflection here. Wondering if his imagination was playing up and this was actually another corridor, he reached out.

His hand found the hard, cool surface of glass. The werewolf felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and an instinctive growl arose in his throat. Suddenly the surface went cold, like ice. Shade gasped as his hand slid through the glass and something began to pull from the other side.

"Dear Ra!" exclaimed Mira. On hearing the gasp she had turned to see that he was in trouble. Even as she hurried to him he suddenly lurched forward as though something on the other side was pulling him. The dark mirror's surface rippled like water. Silver hands reached out from it, clawing at her as she tried to help the stricken Daemonslayer.

"Look out!" F'lair used his free arm to push her back, out of reach as one of the spectral hands snatched at the place she had stood a moment before. Then, with a startled yelp, he was gone as the mirror took its victim.

"No!" Mira rushed forward, meaning to follow him through but she was rebuffed by the once more cool, hard surface of the mirror. Even its brightness had returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. She pounded her fist against it, to no avail. She could have helped him - why did nobody give her a chance? If Shade hadn't pushed her back to try and keep her from harm rather than let her help he might still be here. Mira closed her eyes, not knowing what to do, or what had happened to her friend.

Raising her head again she looked round. She had to retrace her steps through the maze and find the others for help. She went a little way, but found there were new forks in the path that she could have sworn were not there before. She ran on, trusting to the gods to take her the right way and keeping as far away from either reflective wall as possible.

Finally she had to stop. She had no idea where she was. She looked into the mirror to her right, and saw herself repeated to infinity. Far, far away in the worlds reflected there, she thought she saw something dark move. The glint of red eyes laughing at her.

Weak child!

Mira started. The voice had been at her shoulder. But nothing was there. She ran on blindly. She had to get help. She had to get out of here!

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"This still isn't very scarey," said Meccha, fighting off some fake bats that dropped down from the ceiling.

"Yeah this is dull," Eshe slumped back in her seat, arms folded.

"Urg! Those cobwebs were real!" exclaimed Sora as she got a face full.

Meccha frowned, "Hey, I don't remember this taking so long to walk through before."

Eshe stood up, her instincts telling her something was wrong, "I think we should get off before- Whoa!" As if someone had hit the accelerator, the ride suddenly speeded up, the sudden jerk of movement causing the anthropomorph to fall back into her seat.

Faster and faster, they were now moving down a straight unlit passageway.

"Ahhh! Where're the safety belts on this thing?!" yelled Sora.

"More to the point, where the hell are the brakes?" shouted Eshe. The ever-loudening sound of howling wind above a deep, underlying roar like the rumble of an earthquake was drowning out their voices. Towards the end of the tunnel was a light, growing brighter as they rushed towards it, still getting faster and faster.

"You reckon this is one of those 'near death experiences?'" Nightfall asked Meccha.

"What? You mean all of us having the same one together?" she yelled back.

The conversation ended though as they plunged into the blinding light and overpowering noise and the world as they knew it ended.

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Outside there was no sound to indicate movement. For all they knew the waxworks could either be crowded round the door, waiting for them, or they might no longer even be there!

"Now what?" hissed Rathera, "You said for us to go in here, you can get us out!"

"Well the door's right behind you if you're in such a hurry. I'm sure our silent friends will be more than willing to lend a hand..." snapped Blackjack.

There was a long moment of silence as both individuals thought hard about how to save their skins. Rathera broke the silence with a furious whisper, "Look, I know this situation's bad, but would you please let go of my arm!"

"ME?!" Blackjack was mildly insulted, and surprised seeing as he didn't even know where Rathera was standing, let alone where her arm was. He reached out and felt around, his hand stumbled across a light switch which he flicked on.

They were in a cross between a workshop and a storeroom. The ceiling was high and the walls on all sides were covered in shelves. On these shelves was every spare part imaginable for the waxworks. More disturbing, however, was that every head was turned towards the two, loose eyeballs and empty sockets stared at them and all faces wore that same awful smile. Spare arms were reached towards them and a half-completed manikin was on its way over. The same red-green viscous substance that had spurted forth when Blackjack had destroyed the dummy that attacked him could be seen dripping down the walls and somehow being absorbed by the waxworks here.

Rathera looked in horror to see one of the hands already clamped to her arm, its fingers suddenly digging painfully in. She hastily produced one of her concealed daggers and removed it, but the waxwork began to 'bleed', then boil and tentacles, like before, burst through the surface. In the blink of an eye the same occurred throughout the entire room, attacking them from all sides.

Neither dragon nor mummy had the time or space to ready their weapons, and both resorted to their magic.

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Sensing a cool breeze on her face, Mira hastened her steps even further and suddenly found herself clattering down the wooded steps outside of the Hall of Mirrors. Finding herself to be shaking she stopped and breathed deeply, seeking to calm herself before going to find Blackjack and Rathera. The hairs on her neck began to stand on end as she felt a charge building up in the air, emanating from the waxworks building. She stared as brilliant light filtered out through widening cracks in the wooden walls and then was thrown to the ground as it exploded in a blinding insurrection, the shockwave destroying several of the less well built stands nearby.

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"And you do this sort of thing often, do you?" Rathera's voice sounded from nearby.

"Oh yeah, mixing magic in an attempt to blow myself up is a regular pastime," retorted a second, male voice. Mira quickly registered the owner as Blackjack as she groggily opened her eyes. The blast had knocked her for six but otherwise she was unharmed. Getting up she could see the other two also pulling themselves upright from where they had been thrown.

"What happened?" asked Mira, picking her way over to them around bits of broken building.

Brushing dust and plaster out of the grey fur on his arms Blackjack jumped in with his side of the story first, "Rathera here decided to go ahead and use her magic while I was summoning a blast of dark magic. The two didn't mix well. Still, I suppose it had the desired effect of getting us out."

Rathera scowled, inwardly saying 'thanks a lot' for the dragon making her sound bad. The fault was as much his, if not more so!
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Meccha coughed and started to pull herself upright. Eshe, whose feline side had allowed her to take the fall better than most, was aiding Sora to her feet. Nightfall shook her head to help clear it. A blast of warm, unrefreshing wind passed around them and the red-tainted daylight suggested they were no longer in the Ghost Train. All about them lay the shattered remains of the white carriage they had ridden in.

Sora was the first to look around, "Where in the name of Ra are we?" she whispered, her voice hushed in shock and fear as she stared out at a dark, blasted landscape. The sky was a swirling, boiling cauldron of sombre red clouds and smoke. There was no sun.

"Some place Ra has forsaken."

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To be continued...

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Please!!!! Comments are more than welcome! I need to know if I'm writing ppls characters properly! Or if this is actually any good! Thanks for reading!

disclaimer: Mummies Alive! et al belongs to DIC. No money being made, for entertainment only, blah blah blah.
Rathera, Mira, Sora, Eshe, Nightfall and Meccha belong to Rathera, Sekhmet, Panthatrona, Bastet, Nightfall and Medusa respectively. Used with permission. Calliope and Orissa belong to Caisia and Ruka respectively. Tell me if I missed anyone out. Boring bit over.

Comments, questions, whatever, can be addressed to me at the www.NecroDragon.com forum.