In which Percy does not like evil annoying ghosts thank you very much, also in which Percy loses her shit at the idea of Carter and Sadie's last resort plan.
Guest: It's gonna be included in the fic now- it literally starts from a few months after this fic and spreads across the years to give a rough idea, if that makes sense. And Walt does have the common sense to act as mediator at times lol. And Julius can't leave the Underworld- it's part of being Osiris, sadly enough.

Together the three younger Kanes explained everything to their father, who's expression turned angry when Sadie told him about her talk with Anubis. And he sat down, leaning forward with narrowed eyes.

"Anubis told you this? He revealed the nature of the sheut to a mortal?" His blue aura flickered dangerously.

"Well…it wasn't just Anubis." Sadie said quickly, stepping backwards. "Percy was the one who suggested it first. Like, she actually said the words. Shadow Execration."

"And Thoth helped." Carter spoke up, "A lot of it we figured out from Percy though- like Sadie said."

"I have little bits of knowledge from him." Percy pulled a face, scrunching up her nose, "Which is kinda stinky but the others keep saying it's not my fault and I'm not allowed to feel bad about it- and Nephthys said to think about-"

"Thoth." Julius spat the name, "Children all of this is dangerous knowledge- Percy, I don't blame you for telling your siblings of course- but Thoth knows better. It's much too dangerous for you, I won't have any of you-"

"DAD!" Percy and Sadie yelled in unison and Julius' eyes widened in shock.

Percy glanced at her sister, who gestured for her to go first.

"We know all of this is dangerous dad." Percy wrapped her arms around herself, "I know how dangerous it is. Apophis was inside of my head. Not yours, mine. And you can't protect me from this." she shook her head, "You can't protect any of us. It is the one thing that scares Apophis dad-" she paused, "Other than me."

"Apophis's shadow is what's drawing the souls of the dead. It has to be! It's feeding on them, getting stronger as Apophis prepares to rise." Sadie was almost shaking as she spoke up. "We've got to find the shadow and capture it, then we can use it to banish the serpent. It's our only chance—unless you want us to use a standard execration. We've got the statue ready to go for that, don't we, Carter?"

And Percy froze at that, her gaze snapping around to focus on Carter and Sadie, and her mouth dropped open in shock as Carter patted his backpack. "The spell will kill us," he said. "And it probably won't work. But if that's our only option…"

Zia looked horrified. "Carter, you didn't tell me! You made a statue of—of him? You'd sacrifice yourself to—"

"No!" Percy almost screamed the word, "No!"

"Percy-" Carter gave her a wounded look, "Percy it's a last-"

"No!" Percy almost flew at him, screaming as she she lunged for the backpack, "NONONONO!" and Sadie was lunging, clamping her arms around Percy's waist, hauling her backwards as she screamed.

"Percy calm down-" Carter looked near tears but Percy didn't care.

"NO! You can't do that you can't leave me behind no no no!" she could feel hot tears pouring down her cheek- and Carter and Sadie were both crying too as Sadie dragged Percy away from Carter.

"Percy- please- please don't cry please calm down." Carter's voice cracked, "It's only the last resort-"

"No." Julius' voice cut over Percy's screaming and struggling. "Percy- Percy sweetheart calm down. You're all right. A small chance is better than none I- I couldn't bear it if you children-" he closed his eyes- a broken defeated look on his face, and Percy stopped her struggling, though she was still glaring, her eyes shining with fury at the thought of losing her brother and sister. "How can I help?" his voice was almost resigned, "I assume you came here for a reason but you're asking for magic that I don't possess."

"Yes-" Sadie loosened her grip on Percy- who straightened up, still glaring. "That's the tricky part."

Before she could say anything else the sound of a gong reverberated through the chamber. The main doors began to open.

"My lord," Disturber said, "the next trial begins."

"Not now!" Julius snapped. "Can't it be delayed?"

"No, my lord." The blue god lowered his voice. "This is his trial. You know…"

"Oh, by the twelve gates of the night," Julius cursed. "Children, this trial is very serious."

"Yes," Sadie said. "Actually, that's what—"

"We'll talk afterward," Julius cut Sadie off. "And please, whatever you do, don't speak to the accused or make eye contact with him. This spirit is particularly—"

The gong sounded again. A troop of demons marched in, surrounding the accused.

Setne had arrived.

The guards were intimidating enough—six red-skinned warriors with guillotine blades for heads, but even without them there was something about Setne.

He was surrounded by magical precautions for one thing. Glowing hieroglyphs spiraled around him like the rings of Saturn—a collection of anti-magic symbols like: Suppress, Dampen, Stay, Shut up, Powerless, and Don't even think about it. Setne's wrists were bound together with pink strips of cloth. Two more pink bands were tied around his waist. One was fastened around his neck, and two more connected his ankles so he shuffled as he walked. To the casual observer, the pink ribbons might've looked like the
Hello Kitty incarceration play set, but Percy knew what they were.

"The Seven Ribbons of Hathor," Walt whispered. "I wish I could make some of those."

"I've got some," Zia murmured. "But the recharge time is really long. Mine won't be ready until December."

Walt looked at her in awe.

The guillotine demons fanned out on either side of the accused.

Setne himself didn't look like trouble, certainly not someone worthy of so much security. He was quite small—not Bes small, but still a diminutive man. His arms and legs were scrawny. His chest was a xylophone of ribs. Yet he stuck out his chin and smiled confidently as if he owned the world—which isn't easy when one is wearing only a loincloth and some pink ribbons.

His face was definitely the one Percy had seen in the Hall of Ages when Sadie had pointed him out.

He had the same hawkish nose, heavy-lidded eyes, and thin cruel lips. Most priests from ancient times were bald, but Setne's hair was dark and thick, slicked back with oil like a 1950s tough boy.

The guillotine demons pushed him to his knees. Setne seemed to find that amusing. His eyes flickered over the room, registering each one of them. He winked at Sadie- before his eyes settled on Percy and he smirked slightly, gaze flicking to her neck- and Percy's hand shifted, moving up to press over the bandage that hid the scar.

Then he inclined his head toward the throne. "Lord Osiris, all this fuss for me? You shouldn't have."

Julius didn't respond. With a grim expression, he gestured at Disturber, who shuffled through his scroll until he found the proper spot.
"Setne, also known as Prince Khaemwaset—"

"Oh, wow…" Setne grinned at them, and he looked friendly enough but every bone in Percy's body was screaming 'DANGER' and there was that damnable itch from the scar on her neck "Haven't heard that name in a while. That's ancient history, right there!"
Disturber huffed. "You stand accused of heinous crimes! You have blasphemed against the gods four thousand and ninety-two times."

"Ninety-one," Setne corrected. "That crack about Lord Horus—that was just a misunderstanding." He winked at Carter. "Am I right, pal?" which made Carter blink, shifting uncomfortably.

Disturber shuffled his scroll. "You have used magic for evil purposes, including twenty-three murders—"

"Self-defense!" Setne tried to spread his hands, but the ribbons restrained him.

"—including one incident where you were paid to kill with magic," Disturber said.

Setne shrugged. "That was self-defense for my employer."

"You plotted against three separate pharaohs," Disturber continued. "You tried to overthrow the House of Life on six occasions. Most grievous of all, you robbed the tombs of the dead to steal books of magic."

Setne laughed easily, glancing over at them with an expression that said 'Can you believe this guy?'

"Look, Disturber," he said, "that is your name, right? A handsome, intelligent judgment god like you—you've got to be overworked
and underappreciated. I feel for you, I really do. You've got better things to do than dig up my old history. Besides, all these charges—I answered them already in my previous trials."

"Oh." Disturber looked confused. He adjusted his wig self-consciously and turned to Julius. "Should we let him go, then, my lord?"

"No, Disturber." Julius sat forward. "The prisoner is using divine words to influence your mind, warping the most sacred magic of Ma'at. Even in his bindings, he is dangerous."

Setne examined his fingernails. "Lord Osiris, I'm flattered, but honestly, these charges—"

"Silence!" Julius thrust his hand toward the prisoner. The swirling hieroglyphs glowed brighter around him. The Ribbons of Hathor tightened.

Setne began to choke. His smug expression melted, replaced by absolute hatred. Percy could feel his anger. He wanted to kill their father, kill them all.

"Dad!" Sadie cried, "Please, Don't!" and Julius frowned at her, clearly unhappy with the interruption.

He snapped his fingers, and Setne's bonds eased. The ghost magician coughed and retched. "Khaemwaset, son of Ramses," Julius said calmly, "you have been sentenced to oblivion more than once. The first time you managed to plead for a reduced sentence, volunteering to serve the pharaoh with your magic—"

"Yes," Setne croaked. He tried to recover his poise, but his smile was twisted with pain. "I'm skilled labor, my lord. It would be a crime to destroy me."

"Yet you escaped en route. You killed your guards and spent the next three hundred years sowing Chaos across Egypt."

Setne shrugged. "It wasn't that bad. Just a bit of fun."

"You were captured and sentenced again," the god continued, "three more times. In each instance, you connived your way to freedom. And since the gods have been absent from the world, you've run amok, doing as you pleased, committing crimes and terrorizing mortals."

"My lord, that's unfair," Setne protested. "First of all, I missed you gods. Honestly, it was a dull few millennia without you. As for these so-called crimes, well, some people might say the French Revolution was a first-class party! I know I enjoyed myself. And Archduke Ferdinand? A total bore. If you knew him, you would've assassinated him too."

"Enough!" Julius' voice had a razor edge. "You are done. I am the host of Osiris now. I will not tolerate the existence of a villain like you, even as a spirit. This time you are out of tricks."

Ammit yipped excitedly. The guillotine guards chopped their blades up and down as if they were clapping. Disturber cried, "Hear, hear!"

As for Setne…he threw back his head and laughed.

And Percy watched her dads expression shift into shock, and then outrage. He raised his hand to tighten the Ribbons of Hathor, but Setne said, "Wait, my lord. Here's the thing. I'm not out of tricks. Ask your children over there. Ask their friends. Those kids need my
help."

"No more lies," Julius growled the words. "Your heart shall be weighed, again, and Ammit will devour—"

"Dad!" Sadie shrieked. "He's right! We do need him."

Their dads gaze turned towards them- and Percy winced at the pain- the grief and fury that was in his eyes- he needed to do something right, he was helpless, and all he wanted was to do something good. But Percy knew that he couldn't- they couldn't let him.

"He's a stinky asshole but he's-." Percy started before-

"Language Percy-"

"I am not stinky." Setne looked amused, "Aren't you a rude little halfling-"

"Oh go shove it up your butt you stink head."

"Such skilled insults- truly you Greeks are so skilled with words-"

"I'm Egyptian too, and I'm not the one bound by magic- you want to taste some of my magi-"

"Percy-" Carter was holding his head in his hands, "Can you please not bicker with the evil ghost?"

"But-"

"Listen-" Sadie cut over them both, "Dad- we know it's dangerous. And I know you'll hate this but we came here because of Setne. What we told you earlier, about our plan.. Setne's got the knowledge we need."