[M] Lest Darkness Fall

[Sy23]

For answer, Agent Goldstein put his finger to his lips, and waved them to stay still. He crawled forward, silently, and then retreated, moving backwards on all fours.

And then the chanting filled the passage, filtering out from the large chamber just around the corner.

"Come on!" He snapped, clicking off the safety from his gun.

The others followed his charge... into the main chamber. The tableau that met their eyes would stay with all of the group, for the rest of their lives.

The first thing they encountered was a skirmish line of cultists, all with automatic weapons leveled at them. But though this was terrifying enough, what lay beyond this protective wall was evern worse.

On the floor of the chamber lay Zolar - already dead. There was no doubt about that. The amount of blood pouring form the gaping wound in his neck left no room for ambiguity! In his dead hand was clutched a small, mummified object.

"Too late," laughed one of the cultists. "You're here to see the last seconds of the old order. Set has accepted the sacrifice. See?"

And, sure enough, a crack was forming across the sand-strewn floor of the chamber.

"Who needs you, you sexless virgin." he laughed, pointing at Nathalie. "And you," he turned his gaze to David. "You thought to foil our sacrifice. And all your heroics achieved was to force us into a plan that worked even better. It's you that brought about the return of Set - doesn't fate work in mysterious ways." he began giggling helplessly. "And as for you," he stared at Julie. "Stupid, brainless girl, meddling in things you can't hope to understand. And the two of you," his gaze swept Agents Goldstein and Solomon. "You're strength is useless here. You face a greater power. All of you will be enslaved - made into mindless, drooling slaves of the elite. Darkness rules again!"

The crack widened, and a dreadful sulphurous stench began wafting from it.

"Soon, Set himself and all his legions will emerge. And there's nothing whatsoever you can do about it!"

Agent Goldstein leveled his pistol and squeezed the trigger. He received only an impotent click for his pains.

"Never give up, do you?" giggled the cultist, insanely. "None of your power works any more. It's Set - and his earthly servant, Zolar - who call the shots now. Your guns are useless."

David rushed to Nathalie, and held her tight. "You know, darling," he said to her. "I wish I'd said this before it was too late, But I should tell you anyway. I love you." He turned back to the cult bodyguard. "And that's why, whatever happens, you can never win. Even if Set's legions infest the entire world, you still haven't won. They'll be no joy in his triumph, not for him, nor you. Because you'll have no beauty, no laughter - no love! You'll be as much slaves as we'll be."

The cultist looked a bit doubtful, but recovered himself. "Brave words, Mister White Knight," he spat out. He glanced at the fissure on the ground, which was becoming ever wider. "But I guess that's all you have left, now. Words!"

[Kris]

"Dammit", Nathalie had tears in her eyes, watching the back of David and all the people around her, but to her, it looked like the whole scene was focusing only on David.

Her David.

She held his hand tight and grabbed him for her direction, forcing his lips for a kiss she drawn and sucked more and more from, every emotions she could obtain from him holding both him and her close while tears continued to drop from her closed eyes all over her cheeks.

Once she let go she took a deep breath, her face red from crying, from sneezing and from blushing so hard.

What the hell took over her?

She didn't know for sure, but she had somehow gained the idea of what to do next.

Kissing David was part one.

Part two was...

"Don't you dare do such stupid thing!", Agent Goldstein cried.

Agent Solomon was the second one to understand what she wanted to do the moment he realized where she was looking at. She started to run and he tried to hold on to her, but was only able to rip huge part of her dress. For the first time she didn't feel ashamed or anything, and just continued onward the trail she set herself to go for.

They all started to shoot, she felt some bullets hit her skin but she continued to run, and run and run and in the end she just jumped inward...

Right into the fissure...

[Sy23]

"Nathalie, NO!" screamed David. He reached for her, slipped, and grasped despairingly at empty air. He was just in time to see the woman he loved jump.

The pit had widened, and smoke was billowing from it. Various creatures began to emerge. Lions with wings, and evil, snarling faces. An epileptic boy, with arms but tentacles instead of legs, his tongue protruding revoltingly. A black puff of smoke, with the face of a jackal and the wings of a bat. A spider, with claws at the end of its legs. Massive winged insects, bigger than dogs. An crocodile, with multiple eyes.

"No, no," whimpered Julie. "this can't be happening!"

"Behold," screamed the head of the cultist guard. "The powers of Set emerge!""

And then...

One moment the dreadful creatures were swirling around the chamber. The next...

There was a massive flash of light. It was as if someone had set off a gigantic flashgun within the chamber. And there was a gigantic crack of noise, resembling a supersonic boom. Suddenly, the creatures all vanished, leaving nothing but a putrid stench behind.

"No! No!" screamed the miniions of the cult. "What's-"

Beyonce emerged form behind Julie, and padded over to the fissure. It was now just an ordinary crack in the ground. Even the horrible smell was dissipating, replaced by perfumed winds. She looked down into the crack.

And then, suddenly, she began to change, To metamorphose. As the humans watched, she grew taller, and began to stand upright. Her front legs became slender arms, her back legs lengthened, and her form became human. Her tail shortened, and vanished, her ears flattened into human organs. She became a woman, Egyptian in form, and of unearthly beauty, dressed in a clinging linen garment and a gold head-dress. She stood at the edge of the pit, and opened her arms.

"Nathalie Zamir, warrior of light," she sang. "Come out. Regain your rightful place!"

She turned to David and Julie, her glance taking in the two mossad agents as well.

"I think you know who I am," she said. "By the rules that govern the cosmos, I was forbidden to interfere. The reign of light may only continue if the human race defends it. This is what was written at the creation of the world. But you have fought my battle, brave mortals. And you have triumphed." Her form was bathed in light, her beauty so strong it hurt to look upon it. "Behold thine enemies, the harbingers of darkness!"

David looked across the pit. On the far side of the chamber, the minions of the cult were lying, dead. And Zolar's previously perfectly preserved form was now mummified and dessicated.

"You have fought, and you have won, in my name, and in my service," the goddess continued. "Blessed be you all. Go now, and live out your allotted spans in peace and prosperity."

"But - but Nathalie - " sobbed David.

"She is a warrior of light," laughed Isis, softly. "All will be well, David of the misty lands."

And then there was an even brighter flash of light, and David fell into a dead faint.

*****

The first thing he noticed when he awakened was the hard ground underneath him. There was a softness, as if of something put there to ease his discomfort, but it was doing little good. The next thing was the sound of breathing. Two separate breaths, one loud and human, the other soft, and hissing.

And then he remembered. remembered what had happened to Nathalie. And tears sprung to his eyes.

"Oh Nathalie - I loved her." He screamed out. "I loved her so much!"

"Typical bloody male," came Julie's voice from behind him, full of laughter. "Talking about her in the past tense like that. You're going to break the poor girl's heart, you go on like that!"

David opened his eyes experimentally.

The first thing he noticed was Beyonce, sitting curled up on his chest, snoring softly. A normal cat again, with no trace of the transformation she'd undergone in the pyramid. The next...

A gentle pressure on his shoulder, and the realization that Nathalie was curled up beside him, still sleeping...

He kissed her lovingly, and she opened her lovely eyes...

"But... but you..." he goggled.

"I think, on the whole," said Agent Goldstein, who was sitting a few feet away. "It's best not to think about the last few hours. Our official report will say we apprehended the enemy, defeated them in a gun battle, and that their corpses may be recovered by the Israeli government at their convenience."

"It says so already," laughed Agent Solomon. "I've just finished filing it on my laptop. And now..."

"I think," said Julie "That since Nathalie's woken up... we should..."

"Leave them alone for a while," Agent Goldstein finished.

"I second that," laughed Julie, making a clucking noise. Beyonce woke up, and scurried after her.

And Nathalie and David were alone.

He looked ahead. The great pyramid was still intact. Around it were ringed masses of soldiers, tanks, guns. But the soldiers looked relaxed, leaning on tanks, swapping cigarettes, joking. A group were brewing coffee in the shade of an armored personnel carrier. It was obvious that the threat had vanished.

David turned to Nathalie. Never had he seen a human woman more beautiful... Never.

"Well, they've left us alone," he said, nervously. "I thought I'd lost you. I did. But... that was a brave thing you did."

His voice cracked, nervously.

"A girl who can do that - I'd be proud to call her mine. And I'd look after her... make sure she never goes into any danger again, ever. For the rest of our lives. And all she'd have to do in return is... well, turn a blind eye, if I occasionally sneak out for a bacon roll, or the occasional crab or lobster."

He smiled.

"It's your choice, of course. But I think you know what I'm saying. I'm yours... if you'll have me, sweet Nathalie."

He waited for her reply, even more nervous than when he'd faced unspeakable evil a few hours before!


THE END