Ava and Raven had found the great stairway path to the Phoenix's temple in the sands of time.
They had not long to make an appearance as their host to arrive, had been a familiar face.
~Hathor, Min ...we are glad you called us here.~
Raven spoke in the dialect of this realm.
Having the use of telepathy; with many arts a great must that she had gathered along the way to harvest such a skill, Rachel Roth knew thay none of this would bury her chances at seeing the glittering bird before the two, it's prophecy nearly complete from pages strewn across the cosmic order.
~Your journey was a successful, and safe one? Then come, come!~ Hathor in her sphinx cat-hybrid's guise ushered the two to see themselves up the sandy bridge between time lines.
~The desert brought you here. I had it sweep you to this place by will of my powerful magic. ~
Ava nodded and walked gingerly up the steps behind her companions.
~Will...I be allowed inside? ~ She asked, remembering her time with her teen siblings in this very spot. (These new years part two. The our siblings travel to meet the fire birdand find that Min is the reincarnate of Lady Hathor .)
~Your power was unpolished then.~ Min or rather, Lady Hathor smiled gracefully, placing her palms open in welcome of the princess's arrival.
~Do not be afraid. You are the Northern sphere's balance. We are here to protect you. Like that balance between elemental directions, I of the Sun scorced Universe, do not judge this meeting. It is required in order to hold to our peace between sister realms.~
~Thank you.~ Ava tried not to cry tears of joy around the goddess. She dabbed her eyes and looked up to Hathor's cat's gaze of an ancient relic. Yet Hathor wanted relations to seem alright within her council's standards.
Ava was just a figurehead to them. Raven knew that, as Ava Marie understood the goddess's thoughts and intentions enough to be prepared..should they ever have to defend anything less of Earth from the grubby deity.
~We will not abandon those whom increse the odds we have in closing this 'tome' forever. ~
Hathor replied.
~You mean, the Prophecy..~Raven turned her brows in the deity's direction.
~What else would I say? The chapter must end, for the protagonist always tires of fighting deomons and dangerous minds within his lore. ~
The goddess sighed this , greatful for her chance to make all right again.
~I think Aiden is that protagonist. ~Ava agreed as they tapped their feet up, up the guilded steps to the Phoenix's domain together.
Upon entering the great halls of the fire- relic,Ava noticed that his post remained bare with a side ways glance.
~You will have to excuse our golden one ~Hathor nervously turned on her heels with hands tucked behind her back. Ava shook her gaze back towards the cat- woman.
She was stalling.
Raven frowned, though Ava Marie caught up to the adults' stares, sure enough as she let her elder speak her piece out loud.
~He's not in?~Raven asked this, demanded an answer with her voice aquiver when she seemed disturbed by noteable events.
Ava waited as she felt her heart beat too heavily in her chest to wait another moment still. Her brother would not last long if he let the demons in..
~The fire bird shall be here shortly, as I did say earlier. The Phoenix is a busy fowl!~ The cat woman snickered and leapt on to the top of a small ottoman within the bird's great hall of ancient of secrets. Her tail entangled round a golden statue of the lady Isis. How indeed was her old student?
~Wait with me? I have something to discuss with you both.~
She asked them as if in a 'mock form' of her kind nature. Perhaps luring the two sorceresses to her tall ear's distance? ( Cat hybrid, quote on quote. )
Raven tried to reply to this request so soon. She stillhad doubts about the Phoenix's partner in crime..
~We will stay.~ Even though Raven would have considered the meloncholy of Ava's pouting eyes, she still stayed her ground as the current, though not permanent caretaker of her eldest niece.
~We will wait..though you said you have something you want to talk to us..~
~I do indeed! Come and sit in one of these seats of a royal's presence, so that I may tell you a tale worth hearing once into your own life- time...~
Ava gasped as the sky grew to house a million stars. In only seconds the world around them had turned to night. Raven understood perfectly well that this was far from sorcery.
A planetarium..? Was this an ancient civilization's feat , or a borrowed wonder from Greece, Rome and the western sphere? (Not sure if the planetarium feat was polished by astrologists in the ancient world to a degree, though as far back as ...)
~What is al!-
~I have brought you here, to explain...Another soul's magic watches over the current Chosen...come, look at the stars where Nut and Shu lay pondering their final moments!~ Hathor said this in a yearning, romantic way, as if caressed by the memory (never a reluctant lover) , of the creators in her time line's era.
~Your brother, is watched over by this star, this sun as it were...you are blessed both in body and wholly in mind by this moon...right here. ~
~Fortune telling through Astronomy..or astrology?...but why?~ Raven looked to the cat-eyed relic as Hathor replied in an echoing voice.
~Astronomy, astrology, or the Astral, the worlds were born to thrive and to die...we do not deny your lives above our own. How however, did a human gain the rites of a shadowy god-
~Wait! This is not the dragon's st-
~No..you will have to listen , for this tale is a truth upon truths. Your heroes far below this Universal sect ...are struggling to learn how our world is formed. It can be of many changes, of loss and love. Of redemption, of strife and broken oaths of kings and saints no longer loved by many...I tell you a tale, of a prince whom had only to gain the truth from his lying relative's jaws of a beast, of an eater of the wise and unwise...of the creature slain, called Set...~
Returning to the tyranny of a new kingdom left to dusk, the story of Osiris's return and Isis's sworn will...now setsforth into a different time...
(Continued from earlier chapters. )
The mother and son had found the entrance to the Under- realms , a river ran to the very far ends of the earth. It's waves crashed onto lifeless dolls of men, carrying goods for the gods to devour.
A devout woman herself, Isis however was not interested in seeing to this demise of souls, so she set onto another path.
One that was covered in white upon banner upon banner , it's flying flags seemed to welcome the dead as if to celebrate their arrival. This was untrue as to celebrate a death, as Anubis aided the queen in knowing.
As Isis ventured below and beyond the void's edge, her son stayed behind with Lady Sekmet in the upper land's , palace dwelling. She hoped to prevent Set from coming to kill her only blood. Isis had only had Horus. Anubis's controversy over his mother was reasonable, though unecceessary in her own time right now.
~Dearest relative.~
Anubis spoke in a way one never would he have to to uncommon stranger. Yet to his aunt and lady of the dead king Osiris, the jackal had a tongue to wag instead of a gruff bark* to scare the lady by.
~Why are you here before the Netherworld courts? This realm is not where you belong-
~I belong as queen, beside my Lord Osiris. ~ Isis said this as her feet moved forwards to meet with the leaders of this demanding sect. They were stone recepricals , as the creatorgods were not fond of travelling the void without being per- request. Isishad little time and did as any follower. She prayed her part in hopes that they would be received.
~Great seers of the powerful void ...I beseech you aide, your patient minds to day I ask for ye to allow this queen a moment, to see her soul- half husband once again amongst the dead- lands of of the lower void.~
Isis herself could see the past, present, and future. It was how her magic had earned her the names of Lord Ra. Her cunning had been besides this. Isisrefused to hand over her kingdom to her equally ruthless brother , Set.
Also as a sorceress in her spare while, she had meastered the sacred shamanist's rituals that had brought prosperity to her kin for many generations. That couldnot be lost!
Yet, Lord Set was not aware of her full intentions. Nor by the way she had paved to hold order within the upper- kingdom unto her life's work.
Isis believed this false, for she knew Set. He would discover a lie folded between the sacred scrolls of the royal librarium. She hoped to allow her son the time to grow strong before this did come to pass.
Dear gods..yet he was not old enough to face Set as the true king Pharohx's heir!
~Maat, goddess of truth. Thoth, lord of scribes and magical practice...Ra...deity of our rising day into night...I pledge my eternal rites ...show me the heart and body of the dead- king made by the gods!~
Her eyes saw through a veil, a very hungry fish swallowing the remains of a man's-
~My lady Is-
~Now is but the time to act!~Isis came from her trance anew. Her mind was powerful enough to see to the child of her only love's pact.
~Horus will wait, three years time will not be long. Let us stay with Hathor and her sect before I have extended the time? ~She added this with a turn to her noble guide Anubis.
~There is a visitor I must seek out, a king whom pines for the past. ~
Her eyes fell to the floor, then drove clear through the fog of a sandy present.
~Lady ! My dear relative! No! Why must you try to continue with this quest? My father is a fearsome sort, with the ability to relinquish any heart's powerful will. I warn you, for he knows only of what he craves! Please! Do not tempt his wrath!-
~Horus will be well, I shall do what I will in my power, to add to a bet he will surely fail to own-
~Foolish wishes are these!~ Anubis thrust himself to block the doorway to the higher world. ~I cannot let you sever your love, not for anyone for I know your game is well played- yet , he will stop at nothing...~
The dog clenched jaw , then continued.
~I can, have you flee to the west..the sphere is quiet for now and no king rules it out of fear . You may raise the boy there! In that place without any confl-
~If it exists , then I shall. Yet first, I must meet with your father. ~ She proclaimed aloud, to leave poor Anubis in a slump by her antics..
~You..are not giving this much, extra thought? The boy has not the cunning of a jackal, nor his loyalty as the domesticated race! You are not well enough to see this, yet I live by the mortal and Immortals' dying's wishes every century! I know what will become of your desire..it wi-
~Still as a royal to the creation gods, you must obey. I rule over- top truth and the order of kings. I grant life to princes. You were once nursed at my bossom when Nephthys had been unwell. Remember what I say, for risks are far less the greater as the gain I intent to have .~
Sighing, Anubis felt his resolve turn to mists between the two adults' faces.
~I do not condone your ...conditions to be had with my king-
~You would not, he is your father for all I desire to hear of your objections.~ Isis frowned.
~Your brother, my sire and lord...yet I will help you to meet this king before the end is to be swept away with time.~
Isis blinked, thinking her nephew to be jesting the olden queen.
~I would never believe you to side with your father's enemy. ~ She sniffed.
~I am a prince, though one who does not rule the upper lands.~ Anubis shrugged and stood to retrieve the role he'd left aside as the daughter to Nut's guide.
~I have never been loyal to kings, I only act as a guardian of that realm as it is my sworn duty to uphold.~ He explained with a push of two doors of iron from their faces.
~This void is to the realm of the Nether- gods. ~ He responded, hoping Isis would have them call a truce before her heart had to be shattered by the news. Osiris would see her very soon...
~I will go, yet do not let me find you to have become a traitor during this time apart. My nephew , you are a prince whether your father believes you not his. It was believed that we ...had been the ones at that time. Never allow your king to upsurp what-
~I do not let the emotions I carry rule my judgement of that, lord... ~ Anubis stopped the queen with a lowered modest and reflecting his own intentions.
~Set is a ruler for as long as his power is nt abused over these lands. His world of the lower keep no longer flourishes. That is why he inwardly weeps to have his rule known again. Stay well on your feet, my lady . Set is a trickster if ever I have known his cunning to be just. ~
~He will hold a grudge until the gods' end.~
Isis agreed, decided a truce would benefit for the better , for now.
~Then you are by my arm, do not return a glance yet to this plane.~ Anubis warned the queen.
~The realm before us will break even a king to ash. Come quickly, the vortex is weak now. ~
Isis noidded with her tresses dangling around her form in waves.
~To his majesty's hall of souls.~
~Yes, so that you may find HIM another day..~ Anubis added this, which brought a smile to the mother's lips once more.
~If you had been have of what Horus hopefully shall become,then my son has nothing to fear. I thank you...here we descend towards to- morrow !~
Through the vortex, the door was soon barred shut by magics lost to the ages.
Aiden could not see, nor think of why this stry had come to him while he'd been flat on his back.
The blonde pained himsel,f further ashe tried to roll hopelessly onto his bruised and torn side. A gash was by his cheek. The kick had hurt as if barreled by a mounain ram.
~Why...?...Am..Am I ..dead?~ Aiden was too hurt to open his eyes. They felt crusted and shut closed to forgtting the current scenery ..the dead world..the apocalypse!
~Wh!-
"hah!*" Aiden breathed life back into his lungs with a yell. The world spun round until he had to vomit out his stomache onto his 'actual' side. His physical body cried out as the pain was recalled with those deadly memories.
~I..was beaten...by that!-
Aiden let his form roll back onto his other side. The next was a cruch of bruised ri, a ccrrrack* too loud to forget.
"Aaaggh!*" Aiden howled as his back hit the earth of red dust again.
"oww..argh! I...oww!" He did not open both eyes yet as he seethed between clenched teeth. In and out, his lungs were on fire, churning from the unneaded pressure of the smack- down..
~Dopple..he.. ...~
Aiden blinked , thinking his dream to be far from through. A yell or cry of a damsel in distress had the blonde raise his neck to the air.
~Someone..in..danger?..~ He coughed* as the gook from the dopple's influence made the boy wheeze uncomfortably.
He had pain, everywhere. This must have been how his dad had felt..fighting two villains..no- three monsters in his sleep..
~Dad was ...he's a hero..am I just making us all look-
"Aiden!"
Kori shouted for her son, he had finally opened his muddled eyes!
She had tears streaking down her green, glowimg orbs'. He felt nothing come as the blonde teen could not even bellow a 'hello'.
A croak sounded, and then a shadow loomed over his vision of her. A dark, curling worm with eyes of crystal and gemstone jet.
Aiden was unale to call out, it crept round him and twisted the blonde between it's tendril arms. This creature..looked ancient! Aiden saw it with his bruised eye, his sight clear enough tomake out details..that would have baffled his scientist , younger sister Ami.
~You...what are -
~You..are light...I..want nothingness ...return, to sleep-
~NO!~ Aiden shouted in protest, flailing his torso to twist away. This was just like Roku's net that had almost absorbed the old Aiden Gr-
~You won't destroy me yet!~
The fire of a Tameranian son blew the worst of a flicker into view, coming right for the serpent Apep's shadowy aspect of chaos.
~Rraah!~ Before Aiden could blink twice, Horus had appeared, facing the creaure as both astral entities swam through the closed space. Aiden shouted within the mind- speak to his protector.
~Stop ! He's not !-
~My enemy has promised only destruction upon his return!~ Horus shook his head of a falcon son and drove his spear into the serpent's back. Aiden gaped and saw the next happen without warning.
Horus was tossed; to and fro, he had found the beast to be as a horrible bull on a rampage. A dangerous hydra of the western sphere, the king of chaos had the prince slammed to the dark floor.
~s..Horus!~ Aiden remembered, Shiro wasn't here anymore. This former god's son was.
~i...have less power than in ..cough..*..my time..~ The bird headed male said. His arms dropped as his energy was slowly downing with this world.
~I...can't fight ..myself..~ Aiden moaned as his life flashed quietly before his eyes. The beast was hissing and roaring way above the fallen warriors. It's tongue flickered embers to terrify the boy's mother to bits. Aiden let his face fall as he started to weep. This was hard! He couldn't keep his promise for anyone!..And to add to the misery,the good guys were next to powerless... 't happening-
~Apep intends to leave you weak. That is what true far will not breed. Those who breathe avarice as the dragon had to you, will always lose to those named victorious by their virtue-
~That..I already lost! This..this isn't right! ~Aiden bawled, hs head and heart losing strength from this impractical scenario.
~You have lost nothing! I came to tell ou that your family is well. They have stood to again side with those whom hold justoce above all. ~
~No..no! I see fire..and I'm hurt! ~ Aiden could not stop , hs focus was lost to his disaster while his mom...he did not want her to see him! He was too weak to be an-
~Took you long enough. ~
Aiden blinked,what had that been? Voices?
~Aaiden! Come home! ~
Aiden shook his head, blocking out the sounds with his palms over his ears studdering with a hoarse whisper.
~Not ..r-real...n-n- not...for...m-m-me!~
His eyes grew to house flowing cycles of tears, however..someone arrived just in time to stop the fallen hero from falling faster.
~Aiden!~ It was...
Ami used her magic with Astarte and Ann to call out to her brother. It had been impossible to quell the mass of snakes with weapons. Ami had a plan, yet even she had been amazed by her ability to play a tune , to put the drove to sleep for good.
Anna had not bothered doing anything poetic. She and Horus swam through the vortex at light speed. They had to catch the signal, Aiden was in danger of being eaten whole by a monster from the depths of the netherworld!
~Aiden! Here! Here we are! Don't wimp out! That is what IT WANTS! FIGHT FOR YOUR FUTURE!~
~W-what future?~ Aiden sniffed, his energy darker than a moon's eclipse. Ann's astral form was shoved away witth a gust of the boy's blinding aura- energy.
~Everyone is busting their butts out here! Come BAAACK!~ She was rejected by the teenager's negative powers. Her body fell back to lay beside a distraught Amelia Grayson. "He said nay?" She cocked her head curiously, her answer knowingly to be a 'nay' in itself.
~He freaked out, pushed me..he always acts like that when he can't take the pressure...just like how dad...don't care. I know what he's afraid of. I was afraid to ...ow...know what I could do. You were too! Don't forget. " Anna dusted off her garb and lifted herself to stand beside her younger sister.
"We are supposed to protect this earth, even if it doesn't look like the real one. "
"It's ..a shadow. Isa said something like that once. She said that a shadow is an opposite and can contradict any truth or doubt we might carry. Doing nothing or doing something can cause it to grow restless. A paradox but I thin-
"Sorry missy but thet's a bit too late to talk bout'. We don't have time to philo-
"Umm, for you, to it's analyze. I know cause you are on the force! " Ami smickered to the jab at her sister's position.
~We try to not abuse our role on your plane. ~ Astarte walked over t the two, her eyes careful of her surroundings in case the beast grew to restless as well.
~What are we fighting?~Ann asked with her fists to her sides. ~What is keeping my brother from us?~
~A very, powerful relic that was born of the sun's shadow. A deity that devours light in the sky. ~
~A...dunno! Why isn't Isa here?~Ami asked. They had called, though the one to come had been Aiden in his present state. He refused their help!
Something did not smell right. Ami had Haru fly to Amaterasu to check out things in cloud- country. Little had she guessed, that Isis had been visiting her old friend before descent to earth.
~Madame Bao Shi!~ Isa called out as the coucil skittered about their halls of justice and peace.
~We have no time for chit- chat.~Madame Shi interjected and pushed a young Tsani ahead, hoping to get the deity to hold her tongue as well. As the elder generation of deity- lives, Bao Shi had so much on her plate,that she someho longed to return to the desolate past..
Though, no more..
~Madame!~ Princess Tsani looked back with the eyes of the old teacher's late pupil. ~Why must we flee? I have yet to send work to Tsuki-
~No! We must flee, before the masses find our city by the strix's last attack on our capital. Lilu has left one final curse in place to destroy the Celestial realm. None can stop it's coming. Ye have only your self and spirit to see to . Go now, Princess Tsani Nebulae! Free yourself from these shackles, this world is about to die with the higher gods of time space!..~
Isis fought her way by the fleeing staff of the council's hallways. Tsani was becoming a speck from her eye as she realized, that the time was nigh. The end of the Celestial order was here to remain.
~I know of this prophecy...it was foretold during...Lilu! The promise upon Raku's turning and his title's switch in to Roku...of the forelorn eastern sect! ~
When Roku had finally taken up his maiden succubi's wish to destroy the peaceable council of a false heaven, the prophetic teller, Hecate had spoken of a calamitous prophecy to arise from the boy's tragic attempt. The witch was re- inacting this world's demise!
Isis flung past the crying, bawling escapees from the catacombs. Hecate..she knew what death would be, where one too many would be present! The crone had to tell the mother goddess everything she had withheld since time's beginning.
~Aleiah too could be in danger!~ As Isis feared for the worst for others, she had stopped caring for herself in earnest. Physical grooming, social customs and gestures,these all made her realise how far she had fallen as a goddess to protect the humans.
~I...know now what must be done!~ Her craft had her levitating over the running convicts and guards. The lady of the moon's end lay below these halls,those walls outstretched for worthy magicians to find.
~Crone! Lady Hecate! Selene! How could you let us lose !? Why do you hide the truth!~ She intended to drag out the lich of a goddess. Her life was wearing thin by a strand...to have had her ally against the council, this long!
~Dear...Queen Isis...you know what humans do. You know how our 'gods' will forget the actions of we elder, fellow gods-
~Lies!~ Isis cried through a more ancient, mind- speak that only Universal relics could wield.
Their candidates; such as Alice from Alicia's aspect of light, had the ability from their inner being. Raku had also been a candidate with his mother and Lady Catalina, the boy's torn aunt. Now, the crone had come to feel a side of contemptfor the new dawn. It weakened her as a lady of shadows and magical power.
She, Hecate, was now against her kin as never before believed possible!
~I ...regret nothing I have done all and for every reaction for those clumsy, young Guardians, even the heroes we forbade from Earth-
~You call them ally, yet they see you as a duel provider-
~Just as my brother's accusations.~ Isis reminded the frowning crone. ~I will not bow my head in denial. I will not forget my charges and they shall be protected as the Prophe-
~Yet what do you say-
~What dost thou say herself?~ Isis countered the goddess in a fit of frustration. Her eyes started to light full of a glowing gold. Her ankh did the same as the deity still had her pride to care for.
~Raise not your staff to I~ Hecate riled her art to barricade the deity from all harm. The mirror from across the great hall shattered. The wall grew back to it's present state, the deity had fled for her miserable life.
~Crones dine on disaster..you caused this fall! Innana was dead and the dragon was THEIR DOING!~
Isis rioted as the sky grew ever cloudier with miasma. The gods were lost! The Titans were separated by a thin veil..Isis felt her heart pound. Something was tugging at her conscious mind. The queen mother took a breath and had the ankh by her breast. ~Show them to me...my charges, are they free-
~Mother!~
Aiden's echoing cry was enough to send Isis into a recall , an episode that housed memories of her own son. A flash back of how hehad left her arms ...
~My Queen!~
Isis gasped by how the deity before the shuddering maiden had made her cry tears of joy.
~In form..I see only you...My dear Osiris-
~I live forever as a relic. You too will one day be needed within our realm of soul- counting. ~ He embraced her as a spectral entity. They had not seen one another, that Isis had believed her dear brother and husband...gone forever!
Why had the king of the nether realms of Olden Egypt (New Kingdom texts) come to her aide? Isis was brought away to stare into her dear beloved's eyes. He never did blink most of the time.
~Go, I will create a vortex for you to rude as your chariot. There, a reunion awaits...~
~You..you are fading, my love! ~Isis croaked as her fingers grew empty again. Her husband was returning..she would be all alone!
~I am remembered by my allies, my followers are not dead, they live to know my grade, my beliefs were never of my heart. Of man and his right to understsnd that which, is infinite-
~What are you saying?~ Isis shook as her dear was becoming less and less tangible with each sentence.
The vortex emit from the old king's palms. He had his wife and consort of many generations turn from her Osiris's side. He wanted her to go forwards. This destiny..it was so heart breaking!
~I..will not let your name lose in the face of Time's law-
~Do not...~ Osiris smiled with his eyes shut to the world, a vapor trail as he returned to the nether- kingdom.
~I loved my time, for it was fulfilled. I have no regrets , when again you and our son ...join by my side...then..I shall be..forever a whole...again...~
~My love! ~
The parting was not all as Isis was shoved forth into the vortex by the god's ability to control air drifts. She swam through the web of time space with a crying laugh. Calling back with her tears not yet shed, Isis made the deity open his eyes with a single sentence of her own.
~My kingdom was of us, with you and always will be...I may never be allowed your desire to live in eternity. I...will live as the world decrees, as a strong maiden to the Upper Keep. Thank you..and fare well...~
He must have had a sullen look or turning away with such a frown...no! He was trying to find her through the pull!
~Return , my love! I shall one day search for this kingdom you own! I shall never forget a second of our waking nights! Fare well! I always love you till my death doth arrive!~
He only seemed to cry at this remark. Isis, could not die as her curse had been woven by an enemy now sworn to damnation.
~Set left me to wonder..~
Isis thought within the drifting ride.
~What is my worth as not a daughter to creator- gods, yet my worth as one who sees the pain of her creations...~
Humans, plainly put. They had driven her to find hope in the cycle. That humans could find their end with eyes and ears open to the sounds of time and time again.
~Absolution will do away with those against her...it is the just end to all, none will be spared by her wrath. ~
Isis was devout to her belief of after-lives and redemption. She believed in all to be seen, instead of those of a certain sect to be responsible for many. Together, the truth would be left in place of what human hope stood for.
~They will not see this...only the gods know what fate awaits the unworthy...~
Horus fought bravely, yet his body had separated from the plane of Aiden's conscious effort. The falcon- headed lord was tossed back into the valley where Astarte looked out in horror of the growth of...
~Apep is getting quite large...yet they fall all the same! Bring me the beast's skull!~
Nina raised a brow with a gaping jaw. Her mentr was a fire blazing under a red , hot sun! She meant to break the spine of the behemoth demon!
~Why do I -
~aaaAAahhgghgh!~ Ami swiftly escaped a tendril's movements. Her foxes bit and chomped on the arms to protect their mage's magic. Amaterasu would not enjoy knowing her vassal had been swallowed whole by a chaos- worm's incarnation.
~Huff! Huff!* Annnie! Gangwaaay!~
Amelia dove by her fan's winds to barrel past the red- head's gang of 'attacker drone monstrosities.'
~Heads uup! Pow*! That's one row solved! Now get these flying monkeys of a my baack! Aaghaahahaa!~
Ami was clearly in a mess of her own. Whenever the tendrils were torn or pulled from the creation below the teens' feet, they created different types of themselves.
The flying type were darting here and there without stopping. Ami was terrified silly as her fans were used as a way to get air born, though none of that seemed to work with the road runners in the air right after AND on the go!
~Those ones have claws!~ Amy shouted for Anna to watch her back. Astarte had the mother load as the mass had swung her way.
It was closer to a blob of gunk miasma. As if Shadow Von Hert's creatures had left a reminder of the dark forces still being at large. Those demons were the least of the deity huntress's problems. The world was going to the hounds of hades for a millenia of torture on her brain!
~Nina! Detonate that hydra! Do it !~
~Terminator style!?~ Ami shouted over the high flying bee- stampede on her tail.
~No! Wait! Horus..you -
~I was about to...say...~ Horus halted the goddess who was near ready to abandon ship just to prove why her return had been imminent.
~We want to know what you saw through the portal.~
She tried to have the god- son speak his piece. Santiago could wait her turn like everyone else.
~What did you see inside that portal?~ Anna repeated.
~I saw..him...the one to have infected the Chosen, as healso did my heart...in, in our era...a snake made of despair. Or of Chaos!~
~It's Apep, prince absolutely unfaith-
~What have you to say of the boy's family!~ Horus shot his eyes in the direction of the warrior maiden.
~I say, you have no real grasp on the current situ-
~Have I any reason to aide an ally? ~ Horus spat and brought his staff to full power, severing a limb of a rampaging demon whilst doing so.
~I stay. The Chosen is my charge from the Prophecy's command. You have no rite to abolish it any further than your superiors have not already.~
~Do you guys have a death wish here?~ Ami screeched as the big bad fighter jets headed over in the deity swordstress's direction. Astarte took out her blade , and in one fell swoop...**
~Yowch! She's not playin! You should watch your back, mister hawk face.~
~Child of the sun's eastern counter part!~
~Cool it! Anna just had,s that same look in her eyes when I erased...her gam-
~You did that ? I blamed Aiden for being a klutz with his hands! Dangitt!~
Ann hit her targets within direct firing range of the group's attacker.
Ami squealed in a panic. She had to find an end to this nightmare before 'Game Station XInfinity''s newest release date.. left her in the dust...as the last kid on earth to play for the end of the world tournament! EARTH'S END!
"We have to keep fighting!? I'm sick of baddies running amu-
~Hungh!*!~
~Annie!~ Ami flew off to stop the blob mass from devouring her sister with it's see- through stomach.
~Gggrrr! Now I am not holding back! ~ Amelia called upon her foxes to open an ability ubefore the red- head and crew's eyes.
~Mystic Reflection of Light! Shine and Capture The Enemy inside my crystalline relic!~
The mirror in the mini - miko's hands made it look as if she were healing from wounds the relic ...the power was scalding the youngest! She could not control it!
"A...ami...let...me-
~Sever ! I command the dark to divide and fall! ~ Horus's power resounded as his staff of the gods rang* out above the reddened skies.
"n...no!" Ami was the first to let the mirror work it's way, influencing the sacrifice of the youth by her allowence. Her eyes grew dim and shadows vastly parted overhead..The creature below the team, up and vanished from within a winding fog.
"a..AMIII!" Anna ran to her sister who had lost her...everything! Her soul was not in there! What had the bird- god done !?
"Lil...genius! ...y-you s..said...Aiden is still out there! WAKE UP!"
~My magic..It has never-
"Enough. " Nina put a palm up to the unhappy faces of her elders. "The girl is not aware, Amaterasu was using the child as her soldier..yet this is not the end of her deep -rest.."
"huh?" Annie heard this , blinking tears from her eyes as...no! That was not realistic thinking!
"My sister..you think she'll wake up when her 'heart' just shattered to a million pieces!? She sold it to your friend , the princess of the east! She is no-
"Quit this bickering before I have your butt sent home from the forces!"
"You can't fire me, I quit!" Amelia lay limp in Anna's arfms as the red head shouted this with her head aching from the steam and tears.
~First special force captain-
"I'm sick of acting like that title means anything!" Ann shot back to Astarte, who came crashing forth as her cat's eyes never let the teen run ..back to where , where could she go!?
"I..am a freak, like the rest of your 'unit.' Mom was wrong...this was not what I wanted...I wanted to protect my family from-
~Danger lurks, you will find that...~ Astarte brought her eyes away so thast the girl could focus on her superior's , wise words.
~You have a knack for not only rejecting the darkness you once understood...you did not let the past slow your movements. You walked with your head to the air! Were you not proud back when we recruited you? This was all to help you live with your powers! So...it IS possible..Your sister's magical influence will not kill her as she dreams. She will recover as you intend to move ahead...your brother, the prophecy.~
Astarte wiped a tear from her old pupil's eye. Ann did not hesitate to let her ..be this close..
"Wi...will Aiden win , against ..Apep ?" She hoarsly asked, with reddened cheeks left from crying.
~As long as he remembers, you are his happiness. His family is not an enemy to direct his anger towards. He could not learn this,unless he too chose the path of those who..left their relatives as foresasken. I know of this rite. It is cowardice, deliberately and a punishment to thee is swift. Do you understand?~
"I...want to continue.." Ann frowned,chewing her lip as Ami's ghostly pale face had the teen shudder.
"But, it won't be easy. More power from the phoenix..just isn't gonna happen-
"Was that power ALL the fire- bird?" Nina asked. Her arms were crossed as if planning her own approach to be more lecturing, of course...
"I...my...My dad is human! Mom is..she's an alien from the royal house of Tamaran! What am I? Am I just a freak or...-
"You'll be late ifwe don't stop the world from coming to pieces. " Nina grunt. "Is that a good enough excuse to go by? Humm?"
"Yeah, could be? " Ann giggled with hertears still nearly done plopping into the red head's lap.
~Then rise , stand up and fight to help us. Help us to help you find the answer. We are forever thankful that the rift was opened. The dragon could not tame the wild ruler as she remains, still vigilant.~
"You were in a web of eternal voids! I had to drag you out with Greg on my -
~Gregory...whence we return, the council will knowof your heroics, my protege.~
Nina huffed and helped the teen Grayson up with Astarte's aide.
"Did you not lose an ounce of muscle in that realm!?" The Android soldier gawked at the elder's muscular forearms.
~I did not lose the mentality to 'keep' them.~Te deity incarnate winked before heaving - hoing the younger to her feet.
"Glad you came well armed-
"Funny, you look like a 'spit and walking polish' shop's reccomended item of the year."
"Was not funny.."
"Was too! You didn't get the joke! Oi! Thought I was laughing at an 'insult' by my superior!" Nina growled , though received a surprising laugh from the red- headed cadet.
~See? Her emotions are still intact.~ Astarte smirked before the android could protest.
Horus shook his head and remembered his mother's light..was she really busy in the cloud capital? He could only guess what her reaction WOULD be..and his father!
"Well, time to shove off, soldiers!" Ann declared with her eyes fully dried now. Ami would live, Aiden would wake up from his bad mojo...hisego was always loud andheavy for the twin to deal with.
"When we get back home, he is so doing dishes for an entire year! Just you wait, astro- kid! I am not gonna let you get defeated by a mutant wormand his army of chaos."
The windy skies would have rebeled thrice over, had it not been for their perfect timing. However the case, one mediocre game show host..was losing hius patience as it became...
Spider's thread thin.
In a very pressed- for - time -episode...
The dopple had his hand over the trigger, the buzzer to indicate that the Titans..had lost the second round.
"Why..." Kori looked to Zatana with her giant emerald, orbs that shimmering with tears. "Why are we not victorious?.." Her son was the prize for their expenditure here in the bad lands. Dick had not arrived..she was finding it hard to move , to think clearly..
This hostile place made hope seem paper thin , as Kori had lost her vitality through two whole sessions of the mock game show- the dopple- the being of Aiden's inner pain, had cooked up a great number of penalties for... Zatana really.
She had continuously forced her way past tendril attacks, one after another. Her arms were sore from casting spells with both palms quaking. The beast below only seemed to make her worries grow stronger, as the sorceress held onto hope for the both of ...the remaining, Heroines.
"I...won't let you be-
~Aaaghrgh!~ Zatana struggled from an anaconda with the powers of a static bolt, as it coursed through the magician by her pouting. The dopple shook his head with a frown, and a finger wagged as a reminder of WHO held Aiden's fate in it's palms.
~Do you want to die here? Then why fight me! The boy will become our cosmic beginning,as the egg within this 'womb' of change..he, just needs a push before being reborn...I wonder what it will take...?~
The demonic smirk had Kori drop her face to the earth. She had her reddened palms in the dirt, exhausted and fearful of this dilemma growing out of her control...the dopple was folding nothing! He was 'charging...in..
"What..is it you will have, in order to let my son go free!?-
~You dolt of a caregiver!~ The demon barked a laugh and set up his stance for the next question.
~How about I shut this problem away for good!? I am letting you stay her, alive! Damned creature! ~ He cussed this as Kori bit her lip, trying to find the courage as miasma clouds never let a bolt fly free ..maybe ever again if the m-
~We have a secret weapon.~ Zatana snorted the monster's way. ~It's going to shut down this clow- house whether you do us in...it won't make you any more a winner to your ugly boss!~
~Say that even louder next time! Your voice was cracking..~ The smirking , evil double mentioned to Zan, who raised a brow , taken aback.
"It wa-
~Yyaaah!" Her concentraion broken, the eel- serpent struck out it's lightening to torture the sorceress once again. Kori gasped and felt her tamaranian blood hit a high , one that was of rage and of her onlooking guilt..her friend...!
"no...nonono! You will not defeat us! Hand over that child...or a queen will drag you to the depths as her prisoner!~
~You!~ The beast below them had interrupted with a booming below of a hiss*.
~Star Capital princessss!~ It was able to see through her very heart- Arianna had awoken in order to seek vengence!
~I come never quietly, Apep.~
"A..Apep? The god of CHAOS!?" Zatana gaped up to the alien mother,her eyes wide and left in a state of shock. (Not including the anaconda without an off switch!)
~You...you , are athorn in my side for the last-
~Ugh!-...s-s-sir?~
The snake had not apparently enjoyed the comment, which left Eames and Arianna's host, to witness a back- lash of events.
~I live again, not by you..you are only to serve the purpose as...my energy supplier...I hunger for the aura of sun light...Now, feed my angered pulse! Devour!~
The dopple had not understood the changes, as the tendrils which had attacked Zan, suddenly came after him.
In a flash,the master's body from below had come into view, it's large, deadly eyes as dream- catching webs ...it's tail never ending as roots through the world. Dark, cloudy miasma covered the base of the demonic king's belly...it had no end in it's dominion towards this god- forsaken void without an end in sight.
~We seize the crown,now! Go, magician ! Our chance is granted to stop this mighty devourer!~
Arianna turned to a shaken Zan, her eyes fixated on the suffering youth on his last-
CHOMP!*
"No...no!" The sorceress sprung from the dying anaconda's grip, her arms up in arms over the devastating scene.
"he..he was! You ate your own!-
~He..is power in my stomach's core now...~ The demonic king of serpentine chaos burped loudly by the ...undoing of the inferior lackey...
Aiden was out of the power in his grasp to resist, as the demon used his powers to bring the boy closer tp his widening jaws-
~Unhand him, monster!~
Kori allowed Arianna's guise to slip away as the dragon mistress of the Spirit's divide. Her scale attire was also a shock to Zan, who had still been hopelessly lost in the disaster meant to follow.
~Have at thee!~ The princess send a magical, flaming spear of both the Tamaranean's and her own energies towards the chaotic being .
His eyes were everywhere,as the magical power of chaos made orbs of the monster's appear all across the sky. Their lure made the energy of the Princesses' dim, compared to Apep's growing luck.
~No...I...Must face the chaos god! He is the catalyst of the Golden Lord!~
Zan turned her attention to the demon , it's growth was terrifyingly easy to guess. The monsterous snake had been sucking the energy from the area's inhabitants. As a result, Apep would not stop outgrowing his skin upon the king's newly awakened, takeover.
"Aiden! Wake up" Aiden would not budge as the terrible lord of darkness loomed over it's prize,it's eyes taken by what the aura aabout the boy would mean for the monster's assertion over human kind.
~My...return...is you!~
The king took to doing something that had the mother of her Tamaranean realm , nearly faint.
"Overshadowing! Starfire! We have to fight him or Aiden is!-
"I...but...my son is not your next meal to be had!~
Kori AND Arianna screamed this through two hearts aligned.
Zan fired back, yet felt like a worm in the dirt, hoping to avoid any enemies ...any troubles...-
"TITANS!~ Damian, Anna, Ami, Cyborg, Gar...And Dick, Astarte , Nina ! They had all come through on their legs and wings, headed right for the ...tornado of sand!?
"Watch ouuut!" Gar tried to direct his allies to avoid the whirling trap that lay dead ahead.
"Star! Zatana! Where are!-
"We...we are watching this happen now! He took away my strength..." Zan groaned as her mana slipped away, her energy was nearly left as a wallowing pit of despair.
"Apep..apep...he-
~We are coming' ta hold im' off! Wait an' see! Don't do anything brash!~ Kaien slipped into view and allowed the sand to become rain with his ability to turn it to mud.
"Moisture ...wow..." Damian noted this as an interesting ability to own for the elder guardian .
~Rrah! Brought reinforcements !~ Kay, Ronald, Greg and Verra all swept from behind to lead the Titans through the deadly feature. The chaos king had arisen from the seeds planted. Now, he had the power to out-grow all cosmic order itself!
"Maximum creepo , at three o clo!-
"Eye- eye, eye!" Gar shouted with a shriek up to the sky's view. The eyes were patrolling the ground as spheres in constant motion!
~Eww! Apep!? Go back to sleep ya old fossil! That is so cliche it's killing me! ~
Vee spat by the miasma's effects on his form. It would not be long before the cat also met his fate..just as the seer long ago had expected of the outcast criminal of many realms to perish in the sands of time..
~I will...sire absolution!~ The great serpent roared out as the sky rained down thunderous lightening from every angle. Chaos had many forms, even as Horus in his tangible form, laid widenening eyes upon his old enemy...the deity still had the same animosity as with his battle in the past.
~I must duel the monster, face him unti-
~You can no longer triumph. ~Astarte spoke to the god, her eyes sharper than steely blades of precious metals.
~Why? He is a god still, is he-
~He was a bringer of destruction since 'this' time and again. ~ The chariot- riding queen corrected.
~His name has been foresaken as a mere monster , as any hydra living in the present day. You cannot face him honorably as before. ~ The goddess said in a quieter voice.
~He is no longer a ruler, though a harebringer of unneccessary death!~ Her tone tipped the scale, as Gory drank in this information with a silent sigh, a shake of his head after-
~Apep the Devourer.~ Kaien growled in his own tongue. ~You shoulda' given up after Hecate blasted you with Isis ta theh pit o ends! Why did-
~Did..did you say the pit of ends!?~
Greg hit his own forehead by this realization. ~That could only mean...-
~You? You angered the dragon lord to terrorize us, by bending his already, damaged will further to attack!? You are the true catalyst behind the Golden's Dawn's revivial!~
As Greg said this, Horus left himself to grip his spear . He shouted loudly tgrough his anger with the demonic - snake watching with a flickering , forked tongue.
~Do not dare disturb this soul, for she will riot unto you, until your very cursed existance is laid by her feet, bare! Your skin shall be shorn...I warn you no longer...serpent enemy of all times over!~
Arianna had been lost , Kori now no longer held any control over the Dragon mistress's actions and was attacking too brashly! Aiden would not!-
~Mom!~ Ami tried to reason with the princess through the mind- spoken word of the spirit .
~You are making a big mistake! When the dragon chose that path, even if Apep did tempt him...he still did that for himself and by his greed! He allowed the monster to win..he was not the only catalyst! Fight her confusion...cough!*.. or I will lose you too! Please... stop this ! ~
Aiden cried this please, out in protest of the dark one's hold over his unturned vessel. Starfire yelled out before retrieving her voice from the shock.
The weeping heroine had to dry her eyes, as those eyes of Richard's sapphire broke the hellish hold over the mother...the child's only care taker of a female name...by blood.
"Kori!" Dick had arrived with Speedy and Kid Flash. The priestess Athena and even Esme and Cliff had also swapped their forms to face this new disaster over either realms apart.
"My, love...I ..will not leave you alone..or our bumgorfs again! ~
Kori regained the positive vibes that Arianna allowed from her Star Capital official's form. "Let us fight once again, as the 'heroes of this earth!"
Aiden was covered in the growing shroud of endless miasma. Horus could not fight...Ami and Ann were still outside this prison...he had to break out NOW!
~Aaaaaa-
~agh!~ The boy brought his wrist to his chest, cradling it from the strike of so many monstrous tendrils.
~W...why? Why are you trying to destroy the earth!? I want out! I never made a promise wit-
~You made a pact, even one so small...The dark aspect was a central pillar in the destruction, and rebirth of thee Lord Apep! ..for such thanks from I...You could live by my decree as it's king...~ The snake hissed as it transformed into a shadow beast in the form of a tall, lanky boogieman.
~Unless you decide I'm too tasty to save as a late- night snack!~ The boy spat with his wrist still buring from the sting.
~Yes, well...in time , my new body will be what the...lackey was not.~
Aiden's eyes narrowed. ~I'm not becoming your puppet to dance around Gotham! That body..that soul is not your's!-
~What of your precious magic, little hypocrite? ~ Apep sneered , or rather, the copies of those miasma - creatures cackled. Just puppets on strings themselves...
~I...I can have it ba-
~It does not belong to you.~ Apep replied while Aiden had not yet prepared a proper comeback for the remark.
~It...was...-
Aiden paused, realising that he had said it before. The magic he'd been granted was his, but he had rejected it like the flu cvoming to mow the blonde'sreputation over..Apep..he would see right through the tn's insecure state of being..as gods coulddo so much more than even the heroes of planet earth's solar system combined.
~Even so..~ Even as Aiden spoke this,he rose in his stupor. His state of emotionless realization left the boy bound to lose himself for what was yet to be put to practice.
~My power, is here! And you'll just have to kill me first if you want to see the sun!~
Aiden's light was a thing of the purest wave of golden auras. The golden dawen had arisen from beyond the foreshadowing dusk's domain.
~I'm not letting you in, or outside of this mouse trap until you listen to me!~ He came, diving about to play the serpent king shadow's game. Aiden left his blade to cut the binding threads that held this world of cinders at the seams.
~You fight as an enemy, yet I sense great animosity in you ...I will have it's rage and burn away this realm from sight! Grant me your rites! Rrrah!~
Apep slithered to the floor, then, as a page from the myth of his very ending...
~Spear , be born from my blade!~ Aiden watched as his sword turned to a sharpened, pointed and steely staff. The tip rippled past as the teen ran his arm farther than any pitcher on a major league team could.
~gAaaaAAHHH! You are NOT heee!~ The snake swirled it's tail in an attempt to bat the spear from his enemy's hands. ~Nnnha!~ Aiden tugged at the serpent's mighty tendrils. The power- blade was about to be snatched away! It was the reason the monster feared it's dying day...Horus had already killed it!
Isis of the past had held her head up high. However, her kingdom was still severed by the new Pharoh's ruling fist.
~Set has reason to mock my dearest Osiris...~Isis wept by the riverbend with her red eyes swelling endlessly full of those salty droplets.
~I will not uit until my son has learnt of his uncle's ills! ~ She stood, wiping herface with the maiden's own cloth. ~Horus has yet to live as a sun- child , a student of Lord Ra..yet he is not ready to become one!~ Her eyes left again to sweep over the rushing channels. ~The nile looks restless...~Isis raised a brow, then narrowed her eyes to a darting fish that seemed to be in pain among the rapids.
~Little sea creature!~ Isis knew not if this were an omen , nor Hapi's trickery. She hated to think that the kindly elder had been out to clasim a wife in such an unnotably crude way.
~Ohh ohh! I am choking! Ooh ! My voice ispainful, my gasps are too many! Save this drowing fish ! For I have no desire to lose my life to a second after- world! Ohh ohh!~ The fish moaned, bobbing and thrashing about as Isis heard the spoken voice from within of the little critter.
~All great and small, I give thanks and desire entry into the lands of Lord Hapi...sea over storms! A life to be granted true!~ Her body was swallowed by the waters as Isis used her magic chant to have the rivers aid in the queen's grand deed.
~oohhh...ohhh...water...I...cannot...free it! This throp- throp! I have no such sound in my bowels! Ogh!~
The fish became still as Isis gasped, edging closer to the little creature of the nile with all her strength.
~Do not leave the river's flow! Come, float to me...please...my magic will save you-
~Oh...~ The fish drifted into it's pained slumber asd time was running out. Isis had the fish to her, her eyes shut as she prayed for it's recovery. To no alas...
~oh...You...are she?...Then, cut on my bel-...cough! ..My gut...has...the piece , the p..part..you...seeek...!~ The fish flopped to the side, then died. It had ingested a painful object...why? And of all reasons, why had Isis seemed familiar to this strange animal?
~Live in your kingdom again...I wish you well on your journey past the void...~She did what it had required, her eyes half opened for what she would instead discover..
~The piece...Osiris' s manhood? ~ Isis blushed, then realised that her searh was complete! She covered and cleaned the object with cyprus palm leaves that had fallen by their continued growth. As the queen made her way back to the ally goddess's palace, her heart began to swim with pride.
~My darling will live eternally by the side of both myself, and our son...I have beaten Set..~
That night (by our earlier pause), Iss had visited the dark , desert lord to beseech an extension of their trial. The queen had been granted her wish, though another task would leave her now teen son unprepared for what was to come...
Horus had the growth , or spurt many deity expected of Immortals to have in their times. They were some what exempt from time's continuity. Young Horus was just as he should have been, in order to undo Set's deed of trecherous proportions.
Yet Set..had other plans in mind for his youngest nephew.
~Poor brat..too bad , too bad..His mother was possibly the dearest to my line..sigh...ifonly they had forgotten that desire of a unified capital. I would have locked Osiris in a casket! We might have started again..~ The king stabbed a piece of green vegetable as if it were boar on his plate.
~I would never, leave my dear sister waiting...we are family! And what not of my lovely Nephthys! ~He turned to his consort as hatcheries grew red by the distraction. A burried sensation of guilt never seized to hold the second queen hostage. ~Isis..heh!...Humph! She was not as strong as my darling...Why do you wish a harem of your-
~I desired then only she..yet he!~ The king of the desert's dead lands grit his jaw to hold back his temper. ~My rites are now no longer sullied..we must act! Have the queen found and brought before me ~
He turned to Nephthys who left quickly as Set's only comfort. His only companion left in this world.
~Oh, and my dear?~ The king let the words bounce in an echo to reach the mistress's ears.
~Have the boy join us! Family is best when together..do you not agree?~ His voice was poison on her mind as the deity goddess nodded, fleeing soon after to warn her sister of her enemy's assault.
Isis took the pieces one by one to a place where none could search . The spot was perfect as the widowed mother began in her completion of her Lord king's body. His frame , his eyes..and heart..as well as...
She touched it, gingerly trying not to feel as if the magic would matter until her husband had been returned to his origin self.
~O..siris...~ She wept when the member had been added last. She tried her hardest to cast her spell by way of the queen's relic. ~They must return you! My-
~My dearest aunt!~
~Oh! Sir Anubis, nephew!~Isis was stunned, he cared not and only harmed to tell before they were to flee. Set's soldiers were coming to take the queen and her child to stand before the desert's ruler. Anubis hated the way his fatherhad become such a monstrous soul. If only he were not that same soul ..if only he knew of the good..of what time would shed light onto!
~My lady...we cannot stay here. You are to come with myself and Lady Hathor, immediately.~ He said this with a stern look of distress in the funerary god's eyes.
~He has sought me out..~ Isis whispered with her eyes trapped onto the form of her hands could not leave his ...
~Osiris is whole!~She exclaimed to the jackal son. ~I must bring him to be tested before Maat's feather of truth!~ She was in mourning,yet there was warning all around the desert .
~We shall, yet there is little time to weep. You and your son are in grave danger. My father has not just sought you, he also wishes for Horus to be brought befor the king..he is testing the boy..and I fear...his rage is -
~I do not fear kings! ~ The queen stood to jab her nephew in his bare chest. ~You fear? A god is wary, though not careless! We shall leave to- night. I will go to my son and have him contact by falcon our only hope. ~ She realised that Lord Ra was pissibly also being attacked by the kimng of desert woes. This mattered not , for Isis had a plan, a plan to take her capital's kingdom by force with the help of an inside ally...
Two to be exact. Poor Bastet was beside herself as she flew from rooftop,to tower , just to escape the unseen eye of a devious rat...
~Ahah! ~ Bastet hopped over as her cat- form. Her eyes were wide and dangerous as a lion's pounce in action. The rat was a slithering worm compared to the daughter of Ra's fury.
~aggg..! Pl..pleease! Mercy!~ The evil creature was batted as a toy before the cat goddess finally decided to question her prey's motives in private.
~A snake from the nether- realms..~Thet snarled with a deep, low growl. ~Why doI find you within the walls of Heliopolis! Speak your reason,or I shall send you to reurn to your unknown master in tatters! ~
~Hissss lord ssship isss verry thorough...yet..you...are verry sly, hissing about!-
~How dare!- Answer my qustion or you shall bleed between my massive jaws! Do so now!~ She swiped at the limp rope as if it held no such soul in the goddess's eyes.
~Yesss...I am surveying..watching for my massster...The mule is quiet..he iss losing time on your plane...we made a pact...the one called 'king' is dea-
~You speak once again as if I am daft! Dead you say? He is a menace and will be overthrown by the council! Now tell me once more...if you are here, then what master do you speak of? Set? Thoth? Pray tell.. What is this king called to your kind?~ She leaned in closer, making the serpent hiss by it's instinctual inability to be so close to ..a cat...
~He is asss we wormsss of the dark nile's depthsss...the under- realm's lord of shadowss and oppresssion...~ The creature's voice leaned in a direction that alerted the cat deity of her range's ability. It was holding time back, her time as a decoy .
~Have you spoken your all?~ Bastet asked as he lifted up the demon to dangle before her widening jaws.
~You'll never win! My kings exists withi!-
Gulp!*
~Not a moment too late or sooner. ~ Bastet burped by the sickness of this creature's scent..it did terrible things to devourer gods' stomachs. Yet, devourer gods had gall. They had the ability to cleanse all they ingested back into the earth...
~Sounds to me that Apep is awake. ~ Bastet sniffed and slipped back into her appearance of a cat- woman of the people. ~Lord Ra will hear of my findings..now, what of-
~Hathor!~Bastet saw the deity of cows make her way through the gates of the great palace. The new capital was a difference, compared to Set's olden world of Egypt's end.
~Is..that..?~ Lady Bast cocked her head by a wall ,and found that her suspicious nature had faltered a slight.
~Nephthys? On her own without that rat- man to tempt her?~ Bast thought and thought as to what the traitor goddess must have been after. She did as any spying cat and followed the funerary deity to her next location. A door to the under- realms was within the temple? Thoth's abode must have been of his prying nature. She did not resister to become a cat, to enter the room without the gods toslay this ister deity as a suspect.
Yet Nephthys took her time, watching the halls for any who would follow after the traintor consort to a dastardly lord. She closed the hinges shut before setting off towards a path that led as far below as any pyramid (of) Giza.
~She is very swift,this child...hmm..~ Unlike Hathor, the eye of Ra was Bastet's greatest relic. Having it by her chest, the cat sat into it's most powerful position before drawing enough energy from the 'eye' of her father's ..incident.
~Ra was no fool, I have the eye of his second realm of sight. I may just see whom it is Lady traitor Nephthys intends to summon...~ Her eyes stayed peeled on a vortex the deity had cooked up. Now, Bast justhad to monitor this happen-
~Sister!..~ Nephthys almost lost her composure, her crying face was a sign that she had planned to trick her husband..then..
~Oh, weep not dearest ally. We are we-
~No! You must go to him befor the king send his guards! Your son..why is Hor..us..~
Bast saw it as well, as Horus was no longer young or the boy he had once been.
~He has gained his aspect.. a falcon, how...-
~Becoming. ~ Bast crept from the shadows as her self of a cat headed mistress. ~The boy is old enough, yet can he handle beheading that tyrant-
~I will allow this, yet he must be convicted by-
~By the council you say?~ Bast laughed with a barking echo. ~I come here to warn you of this king's plot. He intends to devour the sun , along with our entire city of glory and mistrust! You have only to snatch away his weapon before then. ~
~Thank you, Bast. ~Isis bowed,yet Anubis did sofor all of their sakes. ~Lady Hathor is making well with the council for our big entry?~ He asked, his ears alert to any intruding guards.
~Yes, you may sleep well if we make the boy crowned by then ,and by the blood of the rat- man's to say the least.~ The deity cat snorted, not caring for the taste still lingering over her tongue.
~Then, pretend you have captured them.~Nephthys told her son with a stare. ~Right yourself before the guards, and find them willing to bring in the queen and her child for the bounty. ~
~Hail! What! What?! ~ Bast growled, hoping that the traitor was not still this same, scrawny witch standing before the feline maiden.
~I speak this as a way, to be inside of his chambers! Anubis will make a great false- guard to infiltrate Lord Set's quarters. We will not catch him first without flattering that animal, he enjoys that which is known as 'flattery'.~
Now, Isis was in awe by how her sister had clearly been holding her all , and up against the unloyal mule of a king.
She nodded, for this must have been a great blessing to end their quest once and for all.
Horus would be led to meet in disguise before the cowardly lord himself. Anubis and Isis would stand before the king, as if the jackal had captured his aunt by his ability to traverse through realms in order to locate the queen's hiding spot.
Nephthys decided to stay where Set would find no difference in his consort's behaviour. She would have him distracted by the strongest spirits the kingdom cook could brew by hand. Set would drink and become the one under Isis's power. Once the mother deity Autur had her chance to arrive, the council would hear the serum from within the desert lord's blood as he would speak no ills. He would tell then every detail upon Osiris's death from his own parched lips gasping for mercy.
The plan set, the desert king had only to be left to the courts for his mutinous acts against his own family to be questioned by a greater force than the master-mind's own.
Bringing the temple's guards to the attention of Anubis and his captive, the group left to find the hall of their tyrannical ruler. In the flesh- he was enjoying himself by the seat of his queen , the meal of this very significant hour laid nicely out before the aardvark being. A plate of green lettuce to one end, with the whitest camel's milk on the other. It was a strnge combination, though never for the god of utter disorder within the desert's boundaries.
As Isis watched beside her nephew as the king chewed with a dog's jaw, her heart stood still against the way, not just how the king sat..he was already full of an ego past- bursting..
~As a psychic, you would understand this aura well, right sister?~ The king drank his beverage without haste as his muzzle was stained with the stuff lightly, all before Nephthys painstakingly forced herself to wipe her husband clean with a linen from his plate.
Set was mad with power, drunken off of his glorious rites that would be there to catch the god..should he fall even further than to- day.
~I see only that your ambitious nature is all ye dareth to carry unto your prime-
~Oh! What praise she casts unto I!~ Isis narrowed her eyes as the laughing, drunken lout had her tongue tied.
~Ah..you know why I have broughteth thee before thy grand, stature? ~ He paused to link, almost hoping for a quick reply from the daring woman before him.
Bastet rolled her eyes from the cover of her darkened , shadowy crevice. Her tail whipped up to sense a presence within the room. A...justice enforcing deity!?
~Mafdet! You traitorous cheetah! ~ The cat- goddess hissed as the other barked a 'mind- spoken' comment overhead the other listener's ears.
She wore the robes of a high priestess. Her eyes were of a lion and of a merciless ruler. Mafdet's form was not as feminine as Bastet's. She had the head of a cheetah, as the kit's eyes could only sense the outcome of a larger predatory force's presence. She sneered back, her eyes golden as Bastet stood her ground against a formidable hyena.
~He is our king now. Osiris was soft as a child's newborn flesh. I despise disorder by all means..yet Set promises the kingdom will return to it's former rights as an ultimate power over the desert lands!~
~You buy into whatever feeds your need! Damned cat! I am more noble to stand beside the witch queen! Your conquest will never be fruitful with such spite, that whip tells all. ~Bastet noticed that Mafdet was indeed holding her weapon as a goddess of executive order amongst her many believers.
~Order dis- order, it matters not...we shall rule the cosmic realm as the gods of Egypt intended! My dagger to you, god- mother of the boy son!~
Bastet gasped before flinging herself out of reach from the cheetah's claws.
Isis had no truth spoken..the gods were not controlling such as ..as this!?
~We are divided! You will lay down your scepter or be destroyed by the present ruler of this land's boundaries! Hah!~
Mafdet did not resist the urge as her muscles rippled beneath mounds of fur the color of dunes.
Bastet's midnight black fur was shimmering in a fight or flight response, to simply desire now..an escape route from the big- cat's raging aura..
~Finally, Ra's line has failed us! A new Pharoh shall lead the desert home to its' oasis! I will be the one to repeal the new kingdom..it will never come to live again!~
~You drag yourself so deeply into his throws that your loss is much greater, Mafdet! ~ Bastet fought by to find Isisbelow her. The halls were not dark enough for a cat to clash with her predecessor of the felidae line.
Isis had to meet eye to eye with this 'king' by her wits as all she had about her. Anubis would only win over the god's delusional favour if he did not allow Lord Set to know just who, as in his son whom had come before the king with much to add to their debacle.
~Lady Nephthys? My dear?~ Her caressed her cheek as Isis frowned by how this had to occur against the goddess's wishes.
~What do you believe should be done about this, harlot and her babe? Shall we execute them together? Would you prefer I make hera personal-
~S..she...Set!..Darling!...Her will is weak, let her be sent to the under realm's door as punishment?~
Isis mentally thanked her sister with a masked look of desperation. As Isis had even acted past the god Ra's expectations of the minor deity then.
~Brilliant, sister! We are nearest to my darling Osiris if he agrees to your demand!~
~Will? She is so strong to cower before I..in fact..-
~ah!~ Nephthys fell to her side by the king's abuses from his palm against her cheek.
~You dare to out wit me here? My beloved sides with Maat !? I do not approve! You see? I know of your tricks..even a son against his father! Lo! What have you done to mee! Seize them all!~
~His drink was countered!~ Isis heard from Hathor feet away as her eyes saw just how the god had figured them out from the start.
~The poison was weakened!?~ She snapped back to the cow mother telepathically with a shout.
~I..was unsuccessfully foiled by the daemon's ego! He hates to bleed from the hands of this mere , mother deity! ~
Isis bolted from the guards as fast as her feet could fly from the room. ~Anubis! Come away! He is mad with too much lust! ~ She cried out to the deity as he stood between the steely tips of many a soldier's staves.
~Run, my relative! He is unwell! Fight your way to the portal below! This is the destination WE chose! GO!~
His body was engulfed in a sea of daggers as the god of funerary rites struck back ten- fold. His father's way were unlimited in this realm . If Osiris were revived somehow, then would he be enough to end the choas - keepers rants for good?
Cliffy , will Aiden understand the flahback well enpugh toface his demons over!
Is Ami speaking the truth or is she just afraid for her brother's well being? When will the deity step in to bring the chaos- serpent tohis knees? (no knees! All one unit! ) Will the guardians force their way to where our heroes have been left to fend off another collapse! Don't miss a thing! Chapter 21 is on the way, this was a lengthy chapter so I hope to lead the this arc to a close- for a new one? Spoiler alert!
Stick around and read on, stay curious for the chosen's big finish.