The cascade of glowing green-blue water shielded the children from his immediate view. Before he could cover even half the distance to them, the tide from the now multiple broken pots leached sluggishly over the floor and the rat-priest was forced to scramble up one of the stone columns to avoid a second contact with it. From his now higher vantage point, he had no problem seeing the results once the deluge had ceased and it broke his heart.

In the space where the boys had been, he could now see four large patterned stones. But he knew they were not as they first appeared because they rocked and moved, sluggishly at first then with more vigor, as an egg ready to burst forth with new life. Then with trepidation a leaf green, appendages began to emerge and Hamakto was struck with a remembrance of the vision he had the first night he was cast into prison. As arms, legs, and heads began to appear from the shelled torsos the priest knew that the boys had all become turtles, and that it was by his own hand that their new form had been set. Jumping down from his perch to a clear space, he went to a water trough that had been used for the menagerie and filled two buckets he found there. With his heart in his throat he raced to the children, jumping from one pile of debris to another in order to avoid the tainted ground.

Once he reached the children he poured the water over and around them, hoping it would bring them relief from the burning and cleanse the space so that he could examine them closer. Three of the boys sputtered and fussed at the treatment before taking each other in, wonderment in their new eyes at the change that hand come upon them. They didn't speak at first, just stretched their limbs and examined themselves and each other with curious fingers, of which they all now had only three on each hand.

Finally the smallest of them looked at Hamakto, blue eyes wide. "Zer?" he said in Mi-kyky's youthful voice before turning again to his nearest brother and running his hand over the textured shell that replaced where skin and a muscled back had once been. "Dortoka?"

Though Hamakto wanted to sweep little Mik up in his arms, regardless of his changed form and possibly even more so because of it, and comfort the boy, his attention was drawn elsewhere. While three of the boys were slowly adjusting and discovering their new existence, one had still not emerged. From the stained bandages draped loosely across his now armored body the priest knew that it Ra-pacis.

With careful movements and gentle hands the rat-man went to the little shelled body and drew the hidden turtle boy into his arms as he sat on the ground. For a moment he was fearful that the child had not survived the change but the barely perceptible rise and fall of the sand colored plates that covered the child's chest and torso told him otherwise. The bandages had come loose from the shoulder because the form they had bound no longer existed. Hamakto could see that wound was still there, though it had changed and shifted so that the impaling wood had pushed up, in and thru at an angle so that it was embedded in the front plate and the edge of the rounded shell. The priest had no way of knowing how their bodies had changed but it was possible that the wood, either from its presence or the pain it inflicted, kept the boy from fully emerging.

Shifting the surprisingly hefty weight of the confined youth, Hamakto cradled him as one would a toddler, supporting the upper portion of the shell in the crook of one arm and the lower portion in the hollow of his folded legs. He rubbed the boys' sectioned stomach, as if he was easing away a pain he could not reach, in slow moving circles. "Rapi," he called in a soft voice, focused on the open top of the shell where he could see dark emerald skin. "Are you ok? Can you hear me? It's Hamakto, if you can, please come out, my son."

The priest had meant the words in a comforting manner but as he said them, they burrowed through his chest to embed themselves deep in his heart. Mi-kyky had already invited the once-man into their little family and if the others would allow him, Hamakto would gladly take up that mantle now. He felt a shift, followed by a tremor move through the hard body then a weak breathy whine reached his ears. "Shh shh, its okay, be still, be still." He cooed as he rubbed and rocked the injured child. Apparently something was very wrong and the boy was in pain.

By now the other children had realized something was wrong and the one of them was missing. They made their way over to Hamakto, as they crowded around him he could feel the hard yet smooth edges of their new bodies pressing into him as they tried to get closer to their brother. Though they had lost many of the human features that distinguished them from each other, they looked more like brothers now than they ever had before, there were still discernible differences between them. The most notable of which was their skin tone. Though they were all now green, the shades were varied enough that it would be easy enough to tell who was who with just a moment's observation. The turtle boy with skin the shade of young olives came to kneel in front of Hamakto and rested his forearm on the rat's linen covered leg so that he could reach Rapi's flesh thru one round opening towards the bottom of the shell. When he spoke, the priest could tell by the gapped tooth and calm demeanor that it was Dhouti-tenemi.

"Rapi," Dhoune said evenly as he tapped the hidden skin with one thick digit, "this is your foot. It feels different now but if you just wiggle a little it will come free and you can get your legs out." Everyone held their breath, waiting for some movement and after a pregnant pause, two dark green limbs slowly emerged.

"Well done," Hamakato praised. "Now, how about the rest of you?" Again there was shift within the shell and the exposed legs twisted and failed, but no more progress was made. From his angle, the priest could see muscles twitch and strain via the open top of the shell, but the barely detectable creak of wood accompanied each movement. The shard had not only shifted but somehow fused to the exposed bony plates. Before long, Rapi was visibly shaking and his pained cry came through clearly. His chest was moving rapidly and Hamakto was worried that he would pass out if his breathing did not calm. "Relax, my boy, deep breaths. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

The rat looked up just in time to see a worried look pass between Dhoune and the leafy green boy who must be Lateef-pamu. Hamkato's face tightened and worry seeped into his bones. "What? Tell me."

"It's just that…" Lemu hesitated, finding the words hard to get out, "... when everything is scrunched up together… it's kinda hard too…"

"He doesn't have enough room to take a deep breath, " Dhoune explained and there was fear evident in his brownish-red eyes. At his statement, Rapi resumed his flailing and even managed to kick Hamakto squarely in his elongated muzzle, allowing the panicked boy to tumble from the priest's lap.

When Hamakto had shaken the stars from his vision, he saw that the other boys had piled on top of their frantic brother, their combined weight containing him but their desperate pleas for him to calm down having no effect. A flash of pink caught the rat's attention, the portal had flared to life once again and he could see more of the kraang beings coming through. Now that he looked, the rat-man could see that the boys were not the only ones to have been caught in the poisoned spill. All around, animal men were gaining their feet and it was no longer possible to tell friend from foe. It seemed that the Aten-impersonators had called for their own troops to handle the matter. Their respite was over.

However there was no way that they could move till they had dealt with Rapi's condition, if they waited any longer the boy may do himself a permanent harm. Hamakto rose to join the others when his foot bumped into something in his path. A creeping dread traveled up his spine as he looked down. There at his feet was the hatchet that Lemu had been wielding, its sharp chiseled obsidian blade glinted wickedly up at him and Hamakto knew what he had to do. Snatching up the handle, he strode purposefully towards the rocking pile of shells and green limbs, not giving himself any time to second guess his decision.

"Hold him still," he commanded in a voice that could not be argued with, though Lemu choose to do so anyway.

"We're trying, " the oldest boy countered.

"No Trying. Do IT!" His voice was loud enough that even Rapi heard him through his panic and made the distressed child momentarily stop his struggles. The pause was enough for Dhoune and Lemu to each secure a leg while Mik draped his whole body over his stout brother's torso. Hamakto lowered to the floor, pinning the boy's chest under a knee and turned so that his body effectively blocked the view of what he must do from the other children.

"My son, " he said as he brushed the exposed skin near the confining wound with trembling fingers, "I am going to set you free, but you must remain very still. You must trust me Rapi." The priest took a final steadying breath before raising the black blade, praying that Ra would make his strike sure, Hamakto let the hatchet fall.

The first blow landed true, going cleanly thru the bony plate into the wood chip, creating the first half of the angled notch he would need to excise the shard. He shallowed the approach of his next strike, hoping to make the new wound as small as possible. The priest was working as quickly as he could to complete the task, but could not land the blow before Rapi tried to buck him off. The shift threw off his aim and caused the blade to miss completing the 'V' instead dipping into the skin and muscle underneath.

"HOLD HIM!" he yelled, the hatchet flinging droplets of red blood through the air as he brought it up again. He could not stop, he could not think, this had to be done. Bringing the weapon to bear again, the sound of cracking was his reward as the pressure from the struggle completed the work his third blow did not. He could see that the impaling shard was now moving independent of the boy's front plates. Hamakto could not rest, he could not listen to the screams coming from beneath and behind him. With shorter, almost angier strokes, the priest set to work on Rapi's back. Here the wood had more fully fused to inner wall of the bony shell and it took several passes to free the shoulder from the boy's new armored back, the view of where to strike becoming more and more obscured by a growing river of red.

Hamakto was feeling himself becoming frantic when the hatchet, turned perpendicular to the other cuts, made a clean pass. Rapi's previously confined head emerged suddenly, gasping for air, sucking in great hungry breaths as his now freed arms splayed wide from his body, resting on the blood soaked stone. The priest stood instantly to allow the freedom of movement the boy needed in his chest and flung the hatchet away from himself violently, refusing to hold it a moment longer. He backed away, breathing heavily himself, shaking from both relief that Rapi was free and shock at what he had just done to the child, regardless of how necessary it had been.

Mi-kyky flung himself at his brother, the one who had been his constant protector, crying words that the priest could not understand, nuzzling and caressing him. Rapi turned on his good side, so that his shell faced Hamakto, and curled into the younger turtle-boy, one arm wrapped around his waist in a half embrace and face hidden in the smaller child's lap. The sound of soft crying and hitched breathing could be heard under the untranslated stream of Mik's attempts to comfort. Lateef-pamu had taken up a defensive position, placing himself between the other children and the rat-man, but close enough to Rapi that their shells touched. He kept looking back at the tabou behind him and then back at Hamakto. It was obvious the little leader was torn, his expression switching between soft confusion and anger. The priest did not blame him.

It was Dhouti-tnemei who broke the tension. He looked from his brothers to Hamakto, body still as his mind evaluated the situation, then stood and walked over to the priest. Hamkato looked down, waiting to hear condemnation or accusations, but was instead graced with shy closed-mouth smile and a large reddish-brown eyes brimming with gratitude and unshed tears. The young lanky turtle then embraced him in a quick but firm hug, rubbing his smooth cheek into the fur on the former-man's chest, before dashing away so abruptly that Hamakto didn't even have time to return the embrace. Dhoune went to the table of medicines to retrieve the basket of supplies he had gathered along with some cloth before returning to his injured brother. Once there he set to wiping away the blood and binding the wound again.

Lemu took in the scene then turned again to the priest. The rat-man took a step forward, no longer able to reframe from his desire to make sure that Rapi was ok, but paused as a rumbling came from Lemu's chest. The priest instantly recognized the threat on a deep instinctual level and halted his approach, his hands held with open palms towards the boy in a pleading and non-threatening gesture. Hamakto and the protective leader locked eyes for a minute before both took a deep breath and understanding fell between them. Neither had liked the events that had just transpired, but both understood that it had to be done. After a pause, Lemu straightened from his guarding posture and stepped to the side to allow Hamakto access to those he had sworn to protect, head held slightly downcast but eyes never wavering from the adult's approach. It was an act of trust despite the lingering wariness and the priest nodded his head in acknowledgement of it. However, he couldn't dwell on the depth of the gesture, right now the important thing to focus on was their escape.

"Rapi. Rapi? Rapi!" Everyone's eyes fell to Mi-kyky as his calls to his brother, which had started softly, became more frantic and he began shaking his elder's suddenly lax body. "RAPI!" He looked to Dhouni who had left their side momentarily to finish putting supplies in his basket but quickly returned at the youngest's frantic calls. "Dhoune! Rapi no wake!" the child cried.

"It'll be fine," the intelligent child soothed. "He hurts. The sleep will help him." Dhoune spoke with a gentle confidence but Hamakto could tell that the statement was said more out of hope than knowledge from the worried glance he shot towards himself and Lemu.

The priest couldn't stand to look upon the heartbreaking scene when he could offer them no comfort in return. He did not know if their efforts would ultimately be in vain, if he had truly saved Rapi's life or had only delayed the inevitable, setting the child on the path to a crueler lingering death through the wound he inflicted. He had seen it before, workers that had survived some horrible accident only to become lost in fever as their bodies slowly rotted away. He touched his own shoulder, he was not far removed from that fate himself. The wound was no longer detectable under his new pelt, the transformation seeming to reunite the skin and muscle beneath, though there was a faint soreness still present.

Looking away, Hamakto could see that the chaos of the room was beginning to come under control. Sobek could no longer been seen battling and a quick scan found him on the floor, entrapped in a thick-roped net and being slowly drug towards the portal behind a worm-beast. The priest's distress at the development was quickly compounded as several pink beings started waving their fleshy tentacles in their direction. Apparently Mik's shouting had finally attracted attention now that the other noises in the room were being quelled.

"Come, we must leave." The rat-man bridged the gap in three long strides and bent to scoop up the wounded child. Mi-kyky squeaked in protest when Rapi was beyond his reach. Hamakto gave him no heed but started to make his way towards the vent and their freedom, leaving Lemu to take the youngsters' hand and follow after him. Dhoune was just a step behind them with the basket of medical staples.

During their flight to the back wall the rat-man noticed a long length of rope coiled around a pillar where an iron ring had not been set but still had been used as a base to tether some beast. He called to Lemu and Mik to retrieve it, they would need it in order to maneuver Rapi through the confined space and reach the ground outside. He waited for them, bouncing on his new toes in trepidation, wanting to run ahead but reluctant to leave any of the children on their own in these dangerous circumstances. The rope was gathered quickly and the group was off again. Escape was less than a boat-length away.

"STOP!"

Hamakto screeched to a halt, skidding on the rough hewn stone. Looking around him, he checked to see if the children were all okay, for it sounded as if the command had come from right next to him. The boys just looked up at him confused. He shook his head and continued on, knowing that he had to reach the vent. He had not taken more than two steps when he heard it again.

"Go. No. Further!" The voice had not come from around him but bounced around inside of his skull. "You are going nowhere my old friend." This time he knew the voice and cold dread seeped into his soul. Faihorako.

"That's Lord Faihorako, rat." He could hear the cackle of the high priest's laugh in every corner of his mind, even as the worried voices of the boys filled his ears, though is was like trying to hear through water, only vague sounds on the outskirts of his perception. "I was worried that you had brought me to ruin this time. But it seems that you have only granted me more power. How can I ever thank you for that, brother?" Again there was a cruel amusement and Hamakto fought against it. He struggled desperately to push back the oppression he felt creeping into the very sinews of his body.

"Now kneel, and await the judgement of the gods." The response was immediate and Hamakto collapsed to the ground, the shock of the impact traveling up his knees and reverberating through his frame. He could sense the children tugging at him but he was powerless to respond to their desperate pleas to move. Lost within his clouded mind, he was vaguely aware of Rapi being pulled from his arms and he put up no resistance as the child left him and now empty limbs fell heavily to his side.

'Oh glorious Ra, who shines upon all, spare them. The mighty Sobek has judged these children innocent and worthy of his protection. Gather them in thy wings and bear them speedily to safety.' Hamakto offered up his silent prayer, a final plea to save the children that had become so precious to him so quickly, it was his the only thing he had left.

Again the cruel laughter echoed through his head. "Pray all you like, it will do you no good. I am one with my gods and you, you are far from Ra!" Then Faihorako's presence departed from his mind and he became aware of his surroundings once again. Only to wish he hadn't.

They were surrounded by the kraang, each of the children with two or three of the small Aten-like creatures crawling over them, trying to keep them subdued. Mi-kyky was being dragged across the floor, the sound his shell scraping on the stone could be heard. Lemu was putting up a fight, that was until one of the creatures pressed a short staff into the turtle's side, causing lightning to arc across the boy's body, making it twitch and jerk till the boy fell still.

Hamkato tried to rise and go to him, only to see a similar instrument being shoved into his furred chest. He screamed and writhed to no avail. The last thing the former priest saw before the world went black was a jagged bone white smile in a sea of pink.