Written By Zhie, Edited By Mark

        "Is this the correct incantation?" she asked of the sorcerer, bringing the thin yellow sheet to eye level.

        "It is, my queen." he answered, bowing his head.

        "Good."    She read over the contents and passed the sheet to him. "Begin, " she instructed, "for death gains upon me quickly with each passing second."

        He nodded, and laid the sheet down before him on the floor of the dark pyramid, and raised his arms to the sky.  "Ra - most powerful of the gods - fulfill our request of life, ever-living!"  he exclaimed.  He continued on with the spell.  Once finished, smoke billowed from the cauldron at the center and crept into every corner of the room.  It filled their lungs, leaving no room for air.  The queen fell to her knees and clutched her throat.   The wizard felt his chest burning, aching for oxygen.  When at last the air cleared, he was startled to find that he was no longer breathing.  His heart had stopped.  In fact, it was no longer there - nor were any of his other organs.   Yet his spirit seemed renewed - he felt stronger than he had ever before been.

        He grasped the cauldron to pull himself up, then rushed to the queen's side.  She struggled to stand, and he helped her balance upright.  She clung tightly to him.  "We did it." she whispered hoarsely, "We will rule forever."  She smiled up at him.  "All of Egypt is ours."

        "Eternally, my queen - my love."    He comforted her.  Such a strange thing for him to try to comprehend now.

        Without warning, a bandaged, time-ravaged hand shot up from the slab only a few feet away.  The queen noticed this and began to scream, but her throat was still not recovered from the smoke, and all that emitted was an eerie squeaking.  The sorcerer held her closer.  "Rigor Mortis," he said, just before the creature turned his head and gazed at them.

        The wizard's knees gave out and both fell to the floor, still grasping one another.  The figure raised a finger at them as a second figure began to move.  "Dare you wake the corpse of the great Pharaoh Rakah!"  boomed the voice of the dead man.  His mummy wraps were brittle, and were beginning to crumble off as he spoke.  He tore the bandages from his face to reveal his decayed features and graying skin.

        A shriek came from the queen as she buried her face against the wizard.  His arms squeezed against her so tightly that had she still been breathing, she no longer would be able.  The corpse gave a loud, evil laugh, causing a rat which had nested in his stomach to scurry away in fright.

        He brought his legs over the side of the palette.  Flicking off maggots from his shrunken skin as he stood, he laughed again. "So, you dare call upon the ancient spirits of evil?"

        "No, that is not true!" exclaimed the the wizard. "We made a request of Ra!"

        "Ra would never grant such a wish!   But the ancient spirits of evil..." The mummy motioned around him.   "And now, I shall reclaim what was once mine!"  He sat upon the throne at the front of the pyramid.   "Where is my queen!" he demanded.

        The second figure now opened her eyes and glided to the throne.  Her body, unlike his, had not been marred by the passage of time.  Clean, white bandages were tightly wrapped around her body, covering every inch but her face and hands, which were still flushed, and she looked almost angelic.

        "Pharaoh," she began, as she bowed before him, "It would be more wise for you to embrace good, and leave this morbid place.  We are ever-living now, and have no need to conquer."

        "Silence!"  He pounded his fist against the back wall, and flakes of dried flesh fell from his hand. "I dealt with your disrespect of me during my life, I will not deal with such in my death!"

        "What have we done?" whispered the queen to the wizard.  They began to stand.

        "I think the spell worked too well - not only on us, but on them as well.  I think it best we leave while they have been distracted." He started to lead her to the door.  A huge block of granite plummeted from out of thin air, blocking their passage, and knocking them both backwards a few feet.

        "I have not finished dealing with you,"  The Pharaoh shouted.  "I will destroy you," he said, motioning to his queen, "and I shall then conquer your precious Egypt, and then the world!" he directed to the two figures at the doorway.  His laughing echoed through the temple of doom.

        "And who are you going to have help you?" questioned the resurrected queen.

        "I need no one!" He stood from the throne.  "I require only the magic Helmet!"  The mummy walked forward and stood in front of the wizard. "Give it to me!"

        "Why should I allow you to have it?   Why would I?"  The wizard shouted back.

        "I will be more forgiving of your disturbing of my eternal rest if you give me the Helmet.  I wish not to take it by force."  He paused for a moment, directing his gaze to the women in the wizard's arms.  "It would be a shame if I had to do so and others got hurt in the process."  The mummy reached out to take the helmet from the wizard.   The sorcerer raised his free hand to shield the headpiece.

        Pure gold is a highly reflective substance.   Some will stare into it to gaze upon their reflection.  Such was the case with the Pharaoh and the golden cuff around the wizard's wrist.

        The Pharaoh stepped back in disbelief.   He continued to gaze upon the ugliness that his reflection cast back.  Where there once would have appeared a handsome, bold leader, now was a decayed form.   Too much for him to handle, he screamed wildly and was thrown back by the force into a sarcophagus in the back of the temple.  The cover slammed shut.

        "Come.  Let us leave before he wakes." The resurrected queen rose, and came to stand before the granite.   "Ancient Spirits of Good!" she called out, "Remove this barrier from out path!"  They waited for what seemed like an eternity.  Magically, the block of stone disappeared into a million beams of light.  Slightly hesitant, the wizard took hold of the young queen's hand and followed the figure of goodness out into the sunlight.

        Another spell was cast, and with the aid of the Ancient Spirits of Good, the pyramid was sealed, and within a heartbeat, the three were standing near the entrance of the white pyramid.  A Roman soldier rode by on a horse, oblivious of their sudden arrival.  Mummrana beckoned Wizz-Ra and Queen Tashi into her temple.