We learn what the heck's been up with Sally lately- and we all fucking adore Sadie okay, I will fight people on this. But yeah I've made subtle hints to what's going on but nothing big so I'm not surprised you guys didn't guess.
Replies:
Guest: It's fine! I'm glad to clear things up.
Undeath9087: Good point, at least this Percy doesn't have an Alabaster to deal with. Though... she's got someone worse to deal with in a way.
batmanuchiha: You will see soon enough, after the Khonsu stuff you will see my dear, until then you must wait.

The man looked about twenty, he was thin and tall- and kind of glamorous. His face was totally human, but his irises were silver. His head was shaven except for a glossy black ponytail on one side of his head, like Ancient Egyptian youth used to wear. His silvery suit looked to have been tailored in Italy. The fabric shimmered like some bizarre mix of silk and aluminum foil. His shirt was black and collarless, and several pounds of platinum chains hung around his neck. The biggest piece of bling was a silver crescent amulet.

When his fingers drummed on the back of Carter's chair, his rings and platinum Rolex flashed. If he'd seen him in the mortal world, he might've guessed he was a young Native American billionaire casino owner. But here in the Duat, with that crescent-shaped amulet around his neck…

"Moon pie!" Ra cackled with delight.

"You're Khonsu." it was a guess, but an educated one and Carter was pretty sure he was right, "The moon god."

And the god gave him a wolfish grin, looking at him as if he were an appetizer. "At your service," he said. "Care to play a game?"

"Not you," Bes growled.

Khonsu spread his arms in a big air hug. "Bes, old buddy! How've you been?"

"Don't 'old buddy' me, you scam artist."

"I'm hurt!" Khonsu sat down on Sadie's right and leaned toward them conspiratorially. "Poor Bes gambled with me ages ago, you see. He wanted more time with Bast. He wagered a few feet of his height. I'm afraid he lost."

"That's not what happened!" Bes roared.

"Gentlemen," Julius said in his sternest Dad tone. "You are both guests at my table. I won't have any fighting."

"Absolutely, Osiris." Khonsu beamed at him. "I'm honored to be here. And these are your famous children? Well, two out of threeisn't bad! Are you ready to play, kids?"

"Julius, they don't understand the risks," Ruby protested. "We can't let them do this."

"I agree with Ruby." Sally's expression was pained, "There has to be another way. I don't like it Julius."

"Hang on," Sadie said. "Do what, exactly?"

Khonsu snapped his fingers, and all the food on the table disappeared, replaced by a glowing silver senet board. "Haven't you heard about me, Sadie? Didn't Isis tell you some stories? Or Nut? Now, there was a gambler! The sky goddess wouldn't stop playing until she'd won five whole days from me. Do you know the odds against winning that much time? Astronomical! Of course, she's covered with stars, so I suppose she is astronomical."

Khonsu laughed at his own joke. He didn't seem bothered that no one joined him.

"I remember," Carter said slowly. "You gambled with Nut, and she won enough moonlight to create five extra days, the Demon Days. That let her get around Ra's commandment that her five children couldn't be born on any day of the year."

"Nuts," Ra muttered. "Bad nuts."

The moon god raised an eyebrow. "Dear me, Ra is in bad shape, isn't he? But yes, Carter Kane. You're absolutely right. I'm the moon god, but I also have some influence over time. I can lengthen or shorten the lives of mortals. Even gods can be affected by my powers. The moon is changeable, you see. Its light waxes and wanes. In my hands, time can also wax and wane. You need—what, about three extra hours? I can weave that for you out of moonlight, if you and your sister are willing to gamble for it. I can make it so that the gates of the Eighth House have not yet closed."

And for the first time since they'd found Percy's scarab amulet Carter felt hope bubbling up in his chest- it was a chance- sure it wasn't a certainty but they might actually have a chance. And if there was even the slightest of chances he had to take it- but- "If you can help, why not just give us the extra time? The fate of the world is at stake."

Khonsu laughed. "Good one! Give you time! No, seriously. If I started giving away something that valuable, Ma'at would crumble. Besides, you can't play senet without gambling. Bes can tell you that."

Bes spit a chocolate grasshopper leg out of his mouth. "Don't do it, Carter. You know what they said about Khonsu in the old days? Some of the pyramids have a poem about him carved into the stones. It's called the 'Cannibal Hymn.' For a price, Khonsu would help the pharaoh slay any gods who were bothering him. Khonsu would devour their souls and gain their strength."

The moon god rolled his eyes. "Ancient history, Bes! I haven't devoured a soul in…what month is this? March? At any rate, I've completely adapted to this modern world. I'm quite civilized now. You should see my penthouse at the Luxor in Las Vegas. I mean, Thank you! America has a proper civilization!"

Khonsu smiled at him, his silver eyes flashing like a shark's.

"So what do you say, Carter? Sadie? Play me at senet. Three pieces for me, three for you. You'll need three hours of moonlight, so you two will need one additional person to stake a wager. For every piece your team manages to move off the board, I'll grant you an extra hour. If you win, that's three extra hours—just enough time to make it past the gates of the Eighth House."

"And if we lose?" Carter's voice was steadier than he'd expected it to be.

"Oh…you know." Khonsu waved his hand as if this were an annoying technicality. "For each piece I move off the board, I'll take a ren from one of you."

Sadie sat forward. "You'll take our secret names—as in, we have to share them with you?"

"Share…" Khonsu stroked his ponytail, as if trying to remember the meaning of that word. "No, no sharing. I'll devour your ren, you see."

"Erase part of our souls," Sadie said. "Take our memories, our identity."

The moon god shrugged. "On the bright side, you wouldn't die. You'd just—"

"Turn into a vegetable," Sadie guessed. "Like Ra, there."

"Don't want vegetables," Ra muttered irritably. He tried to chew on Bes's shirt, but the dwarf god scooted away.

"Three hours," Carter breathed. "Wagered against three souls." and suddenly he was glad that Percy wasn't there- he didn't want to do this it was insane. But- Percy wasn't there because she was captured by their enemy and the only way for them to stand a chance against him was if they did this.

"It's so dangerous." Sally's voice was shaking and Carter wanted to rush around and hug her- but he could see that Julius had a hand on her shoulder, gentle and comforting and Ruby was holding her hand, their fingers intertwined. "I don't like it you two- you're so young it's too much-"

"Sally's right." Ruby looked just as worried. "Carter, Sadie you don't have to do this. We don't expect you to take the risk."

And Carter stared at them for a moment- his gaze focused on Ruby for a second- and for the first time he noticed how much Sadie took after her. They both had the same fiery determination in their eyes. They both tilted their chins up when they were expecting a fight. And they both weren't very good at hiding their feelings. He could tell from Ruby's shaky voice that she realized what had to happen. She was telling them they had options, but she knew very well that they didn't.

Carter glanced at Sadie, who met his eyes with a small nod. "It's okay mom. You gave your life to close Apophis' prison. How can we back down now."

Khonsu rubbed his hands. "Ah, yes, Apophis's prison! Your friend Menshikov is there right now, loosening the Serpent's bonds. I have so many bets on what will happen! Will you get there in time to stop him? Will you return Ra to the world? Will you defeat Menshikov? I'm giving a hundred to one on that!"

"Oh gods-" Sally's voice cracked and she twisted, pressing her face into Julius' shoulder as Ruby let out a desperate noise.

"Julius tell them! It's too dangerous."

And Julius was rubbing Sally's back gently, his expression sadder than Carter had ever seen it. "Carter- Sadie, both of you... I brought Khonsu here so that you'd have the choice. But whatever you do I'm still proud of you both. If the world ends tonight that won't change."

And when he met Carter's gaze Carter could see how much it hurt him, the thought of them dying- worse than dying even. His dad was already dealing with the fear of losing Percy- this had to be killing him inside, the idea that he could lose all three of them.

"I understand dad." Carter swallowed hard, "We're Kanes. We don't run from hard choices."

He didn't answer, but he nodded slowly. His eyes burned with fierce pride, and Sadie scoffed loudly.

"Of course we don't." she declared, "And you know if Percy was here she'd be asking what was taking us so long-"

"She would be." Carter nodded, a determined note in his voice.

"Excellent!" Khonsu said. "That's two souls. Two hours to win. Ah, but you'll need three hours to get through the gates on time, won't you? Hmm. I'm afraid you can't use Ra. He's not in his right mind. Your mother is already dead. Your father is the judge of the underworld, so he's disqualified from soul wagering… Your other mother-"

And Carter's heart sunk, but before he could protest as Sally raised her head Ruby was speaking. "No!"

"What-" Sally barely had the chance to open her mouth.

"No. No don't you even think about it." and Carter blinked, there was a look of anger on her face at that suggestion- and fear.

"Ruby-" Sally shook her head, "Lo- you can't just-"

"I agree with her-" and Julius looked just as worried as Ruby, his eyes fixed on Sally- and Carter glanced at Sadie, who's eyes were narrowed.

Okay, so it wasn't just him there was definitely something strange going on there.

Was this where Sally had been disappearing so often? It did kind of make sense he guessed, he knew she still loved Julius but- was- the way Ruby was acting too... and okay he was allowed to be a bit weirded out by that thought... though, she did deserve to be happy. And if she was happy that was what mattered right?

"Julius Kane-" Sally's voice was sharp, "You and Ruby can't just decide-"

"Sally it is dangerous- even more for you than for them-" and was it just Carter or did- oh gods his dads's hand had shifted downwards and it was pressed on Sally's belly- and Ruby looked like she wanted to cry.

Oh.

Carter's gaze flicked to Sadie- who's eyes were glued to their dads hand, then Sadie glanced at him, a clear question in her eyes and Carter nodded silently, certain that they were thinking along the same wavelength.

And gods but the timing wasn't good was it? If they were right and Sally was pregnant- well Carter was pretty sure that stress wasn't good during pregnancies and there was nothing more stressful than the possible end of the world was there? Nothing more stressful than having her baby girl captured by their enemies, than having to worry that Carter and Sadie might be about to become empty husks, shells of their true selves.

Carter swallowed hard, "Mom, dad and mom are right. You can't do this- you can't-"

"Carter- honey-" Sally's expression softened, "I-"

"No- because- because you're pregnant aren't you?" Sadie spoke up, "You're gonna have a baby."

"Sadie I-"

"And if you're gonna have a baby you can't take stupid risks."

"It's not stupid- the fact that I'm pregnant doesn't mean that I can't help the kids I already have-"

"Mum." Sadie's voice was firm. "You're not helping us with this." and Carter's eyes widened- as did Sally's, Ruby's and Julius'.
And Sally pressed her hand to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears, "Sadie- honey-"

"You're our mum." Sadie repeated the word, "And you're gonna be the babies mum too. So you have to stay safe."