Chapter 29: The Cruelty That Is Fate

It definitely seemed like the threat of Seth had never occurred. At least, that's how it could be seen on the perspective of the mortals. As far it was concerned by humanity and the governments, there was never an attack of a psychotic ancient Egyptian god and his army of biblical plagues. There was nothing confirming the possible existence of a secret organizations' network that covered the existence of mortals. There was still evidence that the Avengers were torn apart. Many secrets were hidden while some couldn't.

For one, it couldn't be hidden that Dr. Zoë Hazelfields Erskine had managed to remove the triggers from Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. It might seem cruel that he had to forget meeting the individual he once saved, who saved him in return, and had sparked something beyond business. Fate is strange, for while the events were forgotten, the king of Wakanda had to recognize that the doctor was talented and she saved the man he vowed to protect. It didn't surprise Tiresias that by the time May Day came, Zoë and Bonnie quit GAMA to head to Wakanda, where the king promised them their own lab and where a certain soldier was waiting for a certain doctor.

It couldn't be hidden that Anubis, like Thor, would also come to terms with his past emotions and recognize that the surviving Rapharions were still his family. With Tiresias' permission, Anubis decided to come clean about his nature. He and Marion invited Simon over to Marion's house to explain to him the whole truth. What Anubis was, what they had done, and what they were thinking of doing. They thought Mediansburg, in the heart of nowhere, would be the ideal sanctuary and protect both the Rapharions and the outside world.

"It's an insane story." Simon shook his story.

"Simon, I'm being as honest as you've ever known me…" Marion tried to assure Simon as they sat at the kitchen table. Anubis glanced uneasily at his mothers, Hera, Ishara, and the other surviving Rapharions. Horus and Hathor were holding on to one another, Sekmeth and Ptah avoided looking at one another, Sobek gave a friendly wave at Anubis, and Hapi seemed more interested in learning how to use his new Iphone.

"Honestly, I think I already have the clue that this ain't some science-fiction garbage." Simon shook his head before turning it to Anubis. "You honestly want to do that… Should I call you Anubis or Jack Allen? Wait, now I get it. You put 'jackal' in Jack Allen."

"Call me anything you want." Anubis shrugged. "And yeah, I'm sure of it. Last year I thought that running away from my problems would solve everything, but all it did was hurt a lot of people. We didn't hurt too many, but still…" He sighed. "We're all that's left, the Asgardians aren't going to be of much help once their leaders leave to find more refugees, and the Avengers can no longer be involved… But if you're against it, I understand…"

"No, it's not that!" Simon raised his hands in defense. "It's just that I thought you said these people treated you like crap." He turned to face the other gods. "I mean, I don't know any of you, but I know this kid. He's good."

"Of course he's good," Isis said. "I raised him."

"And I gave birth to him and gave him to my sister before my husband murdered me." Nephtys added in.

"So you get why I don't trust you," Simon said. "I don't know how old you are, but you treated him like shit for too long. The folks in this town enjoy my friend, so if you want to stay, you're gonna have to behave and be nice to him!"

"You obviously show a lot of devotion and we already owe Anubis." Sekmeth nodded.

"But how are you going to convince the villagers to let a group of gods like us stay?" Sorbek raised his hand covered in crocodile tattoos. "They might think we're conquering."

"It's not about establishing a dynasty. It's about establishing a home, rebuilding our heritage, and giving ourselves a second chance as friends and family," Anubis said quietly. "All of you managed to survive without the Eye of Ra's gifts for a year, and now we will have to continue surviving without it. I got the resources and we can cultivate ambrosia and nectar to remain alive. But we all came with gifts. We were gods for reasons, so lets use our reasons to contribute to this town. To provide help to the mortals of this town and to survive as a family."

"Oh… and let's not forget the dino kid we got to train on weekends," Marion pointed out.

"He's trustworthy. He won't rat on us."

"How do you think you can help us out?" Simon asked.

"I can continue to hunt with Marion but my biological mother and I could take care of the mortician services. Derek did tell me that the cemetery wasn't well groomed…"

"She also makes some epic beer!" Ishara gave Nephtys a little punch on the arm. "You remember that beer you made for Hera's bachelorette party?"

"Yes, you nearly threw up on her dress," Nephtys said plainly while Hera glared daggers at Ishara.

"My adoptive is a healer and a figure of motherhood," Anubis continued. "I can imagine her working at the town hospital. Ishara, with her skills in love and oaths, I could see her in couples' therapy. A similar thing with Hera, but at the same time with her talents in marriage, I could imagine her in wedding catering." Hera shrugged as he continued. "Hathor… honestly, I imagine you tending baby cows."

"I see no inconvenience. Baby cows are adorable." Hathor smiled.

"Horus and Sekmeth… I kind of imagine them involved in security. Sobek could bring a lot with his and Hapi's irrigation skills but he's also into apotropaic magic, so he could also help Horus and Sekmeth in protecting Mediansburg. Ptah can help build more houses…" Anubis rolled his eyes when he saw Ptah raise his hand. "Drop it, we're not building pyramids or another sphinx or an obelisk." Ptah lowered his hand, causing Sekmeth to smirk.

"Well, we're going to have to talk to the others in Mediansburg." Simon got up.

"Um, question?" Hapi casually raised his hand. "I know that if it's no, we all make a run out of here, but if they say yes, what happens next?"

What happened next

After hearing out the truths and offered tributes, the only rational thing to do was to throw a big barbecue party for the whole town. Ishara was serious about the beer Nephtys could concoct and it was popular among the adult humans who ended up 'boozing in their ancestors' names'. The local youth really enjoyed the idea of having the town's version of Thor, only a tad cooler, and often kept asking for the gods to show off their animal heads.

By 9pm, the town was still partying. String lights illuminated above the small streets, barbecues kept grilling, and people just felt in the mood of singing old songs from the 70s. This was all happening on a Saturday night, so Humberto was there on his first weekend in Mediansburg to train, and he also took part in the merriments.

"I still don't get one thing," Humberto admitted as he exchanged cheers with some Nephtys, Isis and Simon (and rest assured, he drank root beer). "If Anubis' mom was dead for thousands of years, how did Seth manage to find her soul? I thought gods literally disintegrated when they die."

"It was strange." Nephtys nodded. "But I guess it was part of the whole ordeal with the Soul Stone being in the Eye of Ra. Seth had been exposed to it and it chose Anubis once he was born; I suppose it managed to preserve my soul in case it knew that one of them would have to make a sacrifice."

"Anubis sacrifices the stone willingly, the stone gave you back… and Seth exploited you so the stone let him exploit it. Damn." Humberto drank his root beer.

"So that… magic rock that got Anubis into all that trouble, is it far away from here?" Simon asked for the sake of double-checking.

"Indeed. It traveled through time and space into the heart of the universe. People say it's a planet called Vormir." Isis shrugged. "We were told that it was where Ra first received the Stone. It seems only fitting that in case the Eye of Ra was of no more purpose, the stone would go back to where it was first given."

"It does worry me, sister." Nephtys admitted. "When Anubis threw the stone into the mouth of Ammit, my soul was brought back to the living."

"Indeed. Surrendering the stone's power awarded the user with the soul of a beloved."

"But imagine it now in its new home… and with the wisdom you just displayed, wouldn't that mean that the next person who'd hope to use it would have to sacrifice someone he or she loves?"

Isis pondered at the dark notion. "Then lets pray that the Mad Titan loves no one."

"So where's Ammit?" Humberto asked.

"She's sleeping in the barn. Anubis didn't want to take any risks with letting her get too close to the mortals. But don't worry. Unless Anubis wants to get dangerous or if there's a sinner walking about, she's more docile than a Labradoodle."

"And the Devil himself?"

"Probably coming to terms." Simon smirked as the next round of barbecue arrived at their table.

While they were off partying, Anubis had discreetly snuck up one of the fire escapes and quietly watching the night sky over the festive town. He still couldn't believe all that had happened in the past: Seth's attack, the wild demigods, the plagues, the evil gods, his personal conflicts, the untethering with the Eye of Ra, the global mind wipe, and now the part where he was capable of moving forward, being accepted as he is and finding the last Rapharions a new home. For once, he didn't feel like he was a problem.

"Funny. I thought you'd be doing a dog pout by now." Marion popped her head up the fire escape and jumped on the roof. She cautiously took her steps until she managed to sit next to Anubis.

"Why would I pout?" He asked. "Everything worked out."

"Yeah. For the divine organizations."

He sighed when he realized he forgot about that. "I won't lie, I was disappointed with Reptil and Thor that this adventure didn't help reunite the Avengers for good. Heck, I even thought that Kory and Steve Rogers would have been good together if, you know, Sharon Carter hadn't survived…" Marion chuckled in amusement. "What?"

"Now I know on which side of the family matchmaking comes from."

"Don't." Anubis leaned on the tiles to properly see the sky just as a shooting star passed by. "Still, I wished it didn't have to happen like this. We could have been friends… and it's a bummer that Thor and Loki have to leave when Loki finally managed to patch things up with Kory. I get the bad feeling that something bad will happen… Especially now that we know there's a madman out there looking for the Infinity Stones and I'm no longer connected to the Soul Stone."

"It's been a while now. How do you feel without hat thing hanging on your neck?"

"Like a dog that got its collar removed, that is free to run as it pleases but is unsure of the way to go." Anubis fidgeted his fingers nervously before sitting upright. "Um… about the… thing we said we were going to talk about once Seth was defeated…"

Both of their cheeks blushed in a fierce shade of red. "Right. That…" Marion said. "Well, surprisingly, after dealing with your mentally malfunctioning dad and witnessing your ancestor practically send him to a demise icier than the Titanic… my thoughts haven't changed on you."

"Which were?"

"That I… definitely felt for you more than just a best friend and partner for many months now, that I was kind of irritated because of your priorities and insane self-consciousness, and that you're clearly not going to be able to stay calm with the Rapharions unless I'm around. What about you?"

Anubis laughed a bit at the humor in her statement. "Well I admit that my… perspective of you elevated ever since the… accident in Mt Rushmore. Back in October?"

"You mean the one where we were chasing those rock giant INs and I nearly got caught in a landslide until you turned into a giant jackal to save me?"

"Yeah… You nearly died, which didn't happen in our previous missions. You're always confident that things will work out, that you'll survive, and that we'd still be a team forever. When the rocks fell, I thought that you were going to get out of it as you did, but when it got too close to my taste…" Anubis bit his lip. "I don't know if it was me or the Eye of Ra doing the rational thinking, but deep down, I didn't think I could move forward without the one partner in my life. So I saved you… and I kept my emotions distant because my promise of not being to you how most male gods behave towards female mortals… and because I was scared that you might not like the idea of dating your partner and friend, the god of mummification."

A giggle escaped Marion. "Seriously?" Anubis frowned. "You find this humorous?"

"No. It's both sweet and humorous. Your confession was definitely the closest thing to the most romantic thing I ever heard... and I'm still amused by your over-the-top sensitivity."

"Sorry. I'm just inexperienced…"

"Anubis."

"Yes?"

"Do you want me to do it?"

"Only if you really want to."

While the locals, the Rapharions, and Humberto kept stuffing themselves with beverages and barbecue or making a fuss that the local butcher sang an old country song of Taylor Swift in the karaoke segment, nobody noticed that on top of Simon's diner, Anubis and Marion finally shared that kiss they were waiting for so long.

In Norway

Kory fidgeted her fingers nervously on the kitchen counter. Anytime soon, Loki was going to stop by the house for a last exchange before he and Thor left on The Statesman to find any other Asgardians stranded around the universe and bring them back to what would become New Asgard… which happened to be annexed to Kory's hometown.

"You OK?" Aaricia casually came in from her recent quest to finish cleaning the new moat they had built around the house for Fjordson.

"I thought Thor set you up to train with Valkyrie. Why are you still in your regular clothes?" Kory gestured at the sweater with woven Sami patterns Aaricia wore over her blue pants and socks. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a braided ponytail.

"Well for one, I'd rather you didn't have to deal with this shit alone and I'm still not ready to deal with the one that was thrown at me." Aaricia nodded. "I'm sorry. I really hoped that you could patch things up with your dad, and just when it seemed like you had a chance…"

"There's still a chance."

Aaricia widened her eyes. "Really?"

"Well, you know… Assuming that they do come back alive, I don't think there's any shame in all of us mending the familial bonds…"

Aaricia nodded. "Let's hope they come back on a Saturday."

"Yeah. Saturday's would be good. And what's the problem with Valkyrie?"

"Don't get me wrong. Valkyrie is a fun gal and all, but after everything we went through, I'm not sure I'm ready to be saddled with the possible destiny of becoming queen. I just don't have that Asgardian mojo, you know?"

"Uh, I think you might have it by this much." Kory used her thumb and index finger to make a small size gesture. "Adrenaline rush? Insufferable bravery and constant belief in our screwed up family? You definitely get that from your ancestor. I'm just relieved you don't have the egotistical arrogance that Thor had when he first came to Midgard."

"You know I don't care whose the ancestor or father of who." Aaricia gave Kory a warm hug. "Adopted, technically related or not, you're still my big sister."

A knock came from the front door. Aaricia gestured Kory to go answer it and made herself scarce while the latter answered the door. Unsurprisingly, Loki was the one who had knocked. Kory found her father sitting on the steps of the front porch, dressed in whatever alien garb he had worn when he came back to Earth. He didn't have his horned helmet on his head; instead, it rested on his right side, so Kory just went on a limb and sat next to Loki's left side.

"You showed up." Kory shrugged in her best attempt to sound indifferent.

"I had to." The god of mischief sighed in exasperation. "This is cruel. I was sitting right on this porch when I told your mother that I had to leave."

"Yeah, I know. Odin was a jerk." Kory rubbed her fingers in frustration. This wasn't something she was used to. Usually, she'd concoct spells to expel her father out of her house's perimeter and now she couldn't even muster a good conversation topic for the first time she ever decided to not chase him away.

"The past lifetimes weren't generous to any of us, but things are definitely certain, Kory." Loki's green eyes met the identically colored ones of his daughter. "When we come back, it's to stay."

"Stay as in a quick hello and go back to helping Thor rebuild Asgard next to Tønsberg?" Kory asked.

"Stay as in the next time I'm on this porch, I won't leave."

Kory's eyes widened. Feelings were becoming turmoil of butterflies in her mind. "Really?"

"I missed out on all your life. Everything Evangeline shared about in her letters, everything about you growing up, suffering and loving, I missed out. I could have just stayed with you and your mother or asked to bring you to Midgard…"

"Yeah, Odin already said similar things. And frankly, I don't think I would have like Asgard back then."

"Really?" Loki curiously raised his eyebrows.

"Too much gold. And if I heard correctly about their feasts, their diet in boars wouldn't have been my cup of tea. No, I prefer this town where coastal shops reek of fish."

Loki chuckled. "Evangeline said a similar thing. Back in our early stages of courting. Yellow wasn't a color she liked nor would she hear anything about Asgardian roasted boar recipes. She did make the best bread, though. No Asgardian baker could beat it."

"Her challah bread? She had a bad habit of overdosing raisins."

"Why do you think I enjoyed it when she gave me some?"

His statement made Kory roll her eyes. "I guess I'll have to add challah bread with an overdose of raisins when you get back."

"The return will be permanent, I promise."

"Promise all you want, but words don't just work on me. If you're going to keep a promise, make sure you do physically."

Loki smirked. For once in his life, he felt like he was doing something right for his family, adoptive and biological. His green eyes darted at his helmet, which he picked from the wooden porch and gave a thoughtful expression. "You know, I always see your mother in you during each of our exchanges, but never have I seen aspects of me in you."

"I come and go as a Frost Giantess. I use magic, shapeshifting, illusions, and potions. I am permanently stuck as an immortal demigod who looks like she barely got out of college. I'd never put my foot in a warm landscape even for a holiday. I have a pesky, blue-eyed blonde who plays with thunder and is as equally mischievous as I am as a sister." Kory snarked. "Your green eyes and pale skin is all I got from you physically. Besides my hair and obvious good looks, what did I possibly not inherit from you?"

Sarcasm. Like father, like daughter. Loki held his helmet in front of Kory, who stared down at it in surprise. "Honestly, I don't think I'll be needing this when I go out there with Thor. Perhaps you could see if it suits you? If you dislike it, you could just return it once I get back."

Kory looked hesitantly at the helmet before finally accepting it. The moment the helmet with large horns fell into the demigod's hands, it shrunk into a tiara with shrunken horns. With one hand, Kory pulled her hair back while her spare hand placed her new horned tiara on top of her forehead. "Well?" She asked after she properly adjusted her new accessory.

"Like the Princess of Mischief," Loki said proudly.

Meanwhile, Aaricia cautiously spied from the living room curtain. A big smile plastered its way through when she got to witness Kory actually hug Loki, a site worth all the cash in the world. In ten minutes, Loki had finally given his good-byes, and by the time night came, the Statesman had left Earth.

And you can all imagine how things turn out south from there, when the events of INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME take place.

End of AVENGERS: ANUBIS AMONG US