Poor Carter and Sadie. Only fifteen and thirteen and they have the weight of the world on their shoulders and they're dealing with the thought that their baby sister is very probably going to die.
Replies:
Guest: You are not wrong.
Drizzle: 2 left of this story, and I don't know how many chapters my next fic will be but there will probably be a minific before I begin the PJO plotline.
Deborah Swenson: Lol
Unknownloser097: Yeah, it's gotta be tough for her.

On the other side of the door the two Kanes found themselves once more in the throne room of the gods- and Sadie forced down the memories of the last time- with Percy.

There was a crowd of assembled deities, who all turned to face them. And the palace looked even grander than the last time they'd been there. The columns were taller, more intricately painted. The polished marble floor swirled with constellation designs, as if they were stepping across the galaxy. The ceiling blazed like one giant fluorescent panel. The dais and throne of Horus had been moved to one side, so it looked more like an observer's chair now, rather than the main event. In the center of the room, the sun boat glowed in dry dock scaffolding. Its light-orb crew fluttered about, cleaning the hull and checking the rigging. Uraei circled the throne of fire, where Ra sat dressed in the raiment of an Egyptian king, his flail and crook in his lap. His chin was on his chest, and he snored loudly.

A muscular young man in leather armor stepped toward them He had a shaven head and two different-colored eyes—one silver, one gold.

"Welcome, Carter and Sadie," Horus said. "We are honored."

His words didn't match his tone, which was stiff and formal. The other gods bowed respectfully to them but Sadie could feel their hostility simmering just below the surface. They were all dressed in their finest armor and looked quite imposing. Sobek the crocodile god wore glittering green chain mail and carried a massive staff that flowed with water.

Nekhbet looked about as cleaned-up as a vulture can, her feathered black cloak silky and plush. She inclined her head to Sadie, but her eyes told her she still wanted to tear her apart. Babi the baboon god had gotten his teeth brushed and his fur combed. He was holding a rugby ball—possibly because Sadie's Gramps had infected him with the obsession.

Khonsu stood in his glittery silver suit, tossing a coin in the air and smiling. Sadie wanted to punch him- she wanted to punch a lot of things at the moment but him especially, but he nodded as if they were old friends. Even Set was there, in his devilish red disco suit, leaning against a column at the back of the crowd, holding his black iron staff. Sadie remembered that he'd promised not to kill them only until they freed Ra, but at the moment, he seemed relaxed. He tipped his hat and grinned at them as if enjoying their discomfort.

Thoth the knowledge god was the only one who hadn't dressed up. He wore his usual jeans and lab coat covered with scribbles. He studied Sadie with his strange kaleidoscope eyes, and she got the feeling he was the only one in the room who actually pitied her discomfort

Isis stepped forward. Her long black hair was braided down behind the shoulders of her gossamer dress. Her rainbow wings shimmered behind her. She bowed to them both formally, though Sadie could feel the waves of cold coming off her- and Sadie felt a rush of anger- after all, this had all happened because of Isis poisoning Ra in the first place. How dare she act like that.

And then Horus turned to the assembled gods, and Sadie notice that he wasn't wearing a crown this time.

"Behold!" he told the crowd. "Carter and Sadie Kane, who awakened our king! Let there be no doubt: Apophis the enemy has risen. We must unite behind Ra."

Ra muttered in his sleep, "Fish, blue cookie, weasel," then went back to snoring. Horus cleared his throat. "I pledge my loyalty! I expect you all to do the same. I will protect Ra's boat as we pass through the Duat tonight. Each of you shall take turns with this duty until the sun god is…fully recovered."

He sounded absolutely unconvinced this would ever happen.

"We will find a way to defeat Apophis!" he said. "Now, celebrate the return of Ra! I embrace Carter Kane as a brother."
Music began to play, echoing through the halls. Ra, still on his throne on his boat, woke up and started clapping. He grinned as gods swirled around him, some in human form, some dissolving into wisps of cloud, flame, or light.

Isis took Sadie's hands then. "I hope you know what you're doing, Sadie," she said in a frigid voice. "Our greatest enemy rises, and you have dethroned my son and made a senile god our leader."

And- if things had been different Sadie probably would have been scared, or upset or something. As it was she felt a rush of anger and she tilted her chin up defiantly.

"You know it's funny, you lecturing me about Ra. I'm not in the mood to deal with you now Isis. You think what you guys have lost his bad? Try being in our shoes right now." and as Sadie said that Horus clasped Carter's shoulders. His words weren't any friendlier.

"I am your ally, Carter," Horus promised. "I will lend you my strength whenever you ask. You will revive the path of my magic in the House of Life, and we will fight together to destroy the Serpent. But make no mistake: you have cost me a throne. If your choice costs us the war, I swear my last act before Apophis swallows me will be to crush you like a gnat. And if it comes to pass that we win this war without Ra's help, if you have disgraced me for nothing, I swear that the death of Cleopatra and the curse of Akhenaton will look like nothing compared to the wrath I will visit on you and your family for all time. Do you understand?"

"The wrath you'll visit on my family?" his expression was sharp. "No offence but my nine year old sister did something you could probably never in a million years hope to do. You just do your part and we'll do ours." he scoffed, "Don't talk to me about your wrath when my sister is on deaths door after saving all of our asses. How about you show some respect."

And Horus laughed for the audience- none of whom would have been able to hear the harsh words. "Go now, Carter. See what your victory has cost as well as your fiery sister-" and Carter would have lunged if Bast wasn't suddenly behind him grabbing his arm- and Sadie would have joined him. "Let us hope all your allies do not share such a fate as them-" with that he turned his back on them and joined the celebration.

When Isis tried to smile at Sadie the look the Kane gave her was enough to make her stop smiling before she dissolved into a sparkling rainbow.

Then Anubis spoke his expression embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Sadie. The gods can be—"

"Ungrateful?" Sadie asked. "Infuriating?"

His face flushed. Sadie wondered if he thought she was talking about him- which honestly, he was definitely infuriating.

"We can be slow to realize what is important," he said at last. "Sometimes, it takes us a while to appreciate something new, something that might change us for the better."

And that made Sadie flush slightly, despite her annoyance at pretty much everything.

"We should go." Bast interrupted them, "One more stop. If you're up for it."

"The cost of victory." Carter's voice was strained. "Bes? Is he alive?"

Bast sighed. "Difficult question. This way."

And truthfully Sunny Acres was the second to last place Sadie wanted to see again- after that horrible beach of course.
Nothing much had changed in the nursing home. No renewing sunlight had helped the senile gods. They were still wheeling their IV poles around, banging into walls, singing ancient hymns as they searched in vain for temples that no longer existed.

A new patient had joined them. Bes sat in a hospital gown in a wicker chair, gazing out the window at the Lake of Fire.
Tawaret knelt at his side, her tiny hippo eyes red from crying. She was trying to get him to drink from a glass.
Water dribbled down his chin. He gazed blankly at the fiery waterfall in the distance, his craggy face awash in red light. His curly hair was newly combed, and he wore a fresh blue Hawaiian shirt and shorts, so he looked quite comfortable. But his brow was furrowed. His fingers gripped the armrests, as if he knew he should remember something, but couldn't.

"That's all right, Bes." Tawaret's voice quivered as she dabbed a napkin under his chin. "We'll work on it. I'll take care of you."

Then she noticed them. Her expression hardened. For a kindly goddess of childbirth, Tawaret could look quite scary when she wanted to.

She patted the dwarf god's knee. "I'll be right back, dear Bes."

She stood, which was quite an accomplishment with her swollen belly, and steered them away from his chair. "How dare you come here! As if you haven't done enough!"

And truthfully Sadiewas about to break into tears and apologize when Sadie realized her anger wasn't aimed at Carter or her- she already felt horribly guilty for what had happened to Bes, he was their friend after all. But no, no she was glaring at Bast.

"Tawaret…" Bast turned up her palms. "I didn't want this. He was my friend."

"He was one of your cat toys!" Tawaret shouted so loudly, a few of the patients started crying. "You're as selfish as all your kind, Bast. You used him and discarded him. You knew he loved you, and took advantage of it. You played with him like a mouse under your paw."

"That's not fair," Bast murmured, but her hair started to puff up as it does when she's scared. Sadie couldn't blame her.

There's almost nothing more frightening than an enraged hippo.

Tawaret stomped her foot so hard, her high heel broke. "Bes deserved better than this. He deserved better than you. He had a good heart. I—I never forgot him!"

And Sadie could see where this was going. The fight would probably get violent if Sadie let it break out and- and that wouldn't be good for anyone. "We'll fix this." Sadie stepped between them. "Tawaret I swear on my life. We will find a way to heal Bes."

And Tawaret's anger instantly seemed to drain away until their was nothing left but pity as she focused on Sadie. Child, oh child…I know you mean well. But don't give me false hope. I've lived with false hopes too long. Go—see him if you must. See what's happened to the best dwarf in the world. Then leave us alone. Don't promise me what can't happen."

She turned and hobbled on her broken shoe to the nurses' desk. Bast lowered her head. She wore a very uncatlike expression: shame.

"I'll wait here," she announced.

Sadie could tell that was her final answer, so she and Carter approached Bes by themselves.

The dwarf god hadn't moved. He sat in his wicker chair, his mouth slightly open, his eyes fixed on the Lake of Fire.
"Bes." Sadie put her hand on his arm. "Can you hear me?"

He didn't answer, of course. He wore a bracelet on his wrist with his name written in hieroglyphs, lovingly decorated, probably by Tawaret herself.

"I'm so sorry," Sadie whispered the words. "We'll get your ren back. We'll find a way to heal you. Won't we Carter?"

"Yeah-" Carter cleared his throat, blinking rapidly to clear away his tears, "Yeah I swear it Bes, if it's-" he shook his head- and Sadie forced herself not to think about what he was about to say.

"I-" Sadie swallowed hard, "You- you'd probably ask us about Percy if you could." and that just made her cry harder.

"She- we've got her back. She's with mum now. She- we have her back-" she choked on a sob as Carter pulled her away and she twisted so that she could press her face into his shoulder- and she could feel his body shaking as he sobbed too, both of them finally letting out the pain and grief that had they'd forced down ever since the nightmare had begun.