It was everywhere and it was alive. Like a living, breathing web, crawling over the walls, the ceiling, the windows and floor. Marc felt it push against his skin, trying to go past natural barriers and shields.
He pushed back.
Hard.
The thrum had him gasp and he locked his knees. He heard a hissing noise, then the magical lines strengthened, lashing toward him.
The ceremonial suit formed without much of a conscious thought and he raised an arm in defense as a whip-like tendril shot toward him. It wrapped around his lower arm and Marc felt a sharp pain where it touched the suit.
His free hand grabbed a crescent blade and he slashed at the magical rope, which disintegrated under the attack.
"What the hell?" he hissed, scanning the room.
It's everywhere! Steven exclaimed.
Yes, it was. It was covering every surface of the building, crawling over the walls and ceiling. But there wasn't another attack.
"Ideas?" Marc asked crisply.
There was a hum from the deity standing close to one netted wall. Khonshu studied the lines, head slightly tilted.
Moon Knight joined him, looking at the lines.
Which were not just lines. There were varyingly intricate and elaborate geometric configurations or patterns. Some looked almost like sigils, glyphs or runes.
"What is this?" he murmured.
"Weird magic," Khonshu repeated. "Very old. Convoluted. So much mixing together into something twisted and unnatural."
"Magic you know?" He slanted a look at his god.
"Yes."
"Osiris?"
It got him a low chuckle. "Not everything revolves around him. But it also is partly his. As well as that of other gods, other realms, even humankind."
"The items!" Steven exclaimed, fronting. Mr. Knight radiated excitement. "Layla left us with a list of how many, possibly magical items are in this person's possession. He collects them. All this magic is coalescing together and maybe that's why this… this net formed!"
So it's a kind of self-defense? Marc replied, tense and on guard. Great! Fucking great!
Eddies of light moved around him.
Steven reached out to touch one of the moving lines, but Khonshu's fingers quickly closed around his wrist, stopping him.
"Oh. Right. Don't touch. Sorry. Uhm."
It got him a quick little smile across the bond, then his wrist was released.
"We leave," Khonshu decided.
"But we haven't found the Unholy yet!"
"We. Leave." That was very final.
Suddenly the magic flared sharply, quite uncomfortably, and with such strength, Steven gasped as it rushed over him like a tidal wave. His suit crackled with faint static where the magic touched him.
"Go!" Khonshu yelled.
Mr. Knight whipped around at the order, at the tone. His eyes widened and he cursed colorfully as he saw the net of magical lines weaving around Khonshu, trying to bind the moon god. He was struggling against the tendrils, grunting sharply, almost in pain, as one looped around the arm holding the moon staff.
"Khonshu!"
"Go!" the deity yelled.
"No!"
"Steven!"
"I said no!" both yelled back.
Mr. Knight stepped back and Moon Knight released the blades hidden within the crescent ornament on his chest. He slashed at one of the tendrils trying to trap their god, and there was a shrill, screeching sound as he cut through one.
Moon Knight continued to chop and cut at the glowing lines, throwing the half-moon blades with precision.
One tendril whipped up and lashed over the bony beak, leaving a blackish streak. Khonshu gave a grunt of pain and Marc actually felt a spike along the bond.
"How can these things even touch you?" he demanded, severing more.
Magic! Steven whispered, wide-eyed and shocked. It's bloody magic and it can touch him! It's hurting him!
Whatever this stuff was, it was dampening Khonshu's own energy, was making him vulnerable to attacks.
Marc snarled and doubled his effort, trying to free the entity who was getting more and more entangled in the glowing strings. Several twisted together and looped around the struggling figure's body, pulling him brutally to the ground. Khonshu crashed to his knees with a choked-off cry. He was by now lashed in eerily glowing tendrils that looked sharper by the moment.
"NO!" Marc screamed.
There was a shifting sensation within him and Mr. Knight was suddenly there, right beside him. Steven gave him a brief nod, then attacked the thick ropes.
Moon Knight grabbed one flailing, mummy-wrapped arm. "Merge!" he ordered desperately.
Khonshu groaned, his whole form trembling from the effort to not give in. Marc felt the anchor take hold, felt how he was instinctively latching onto the essence of the deity, refusing to surrender his god. Steven was counter-balancing the severe drag and drain just as instinctively, shielding his alter as Marc did everything in his powers to hold onto Khonshu.
"Do it! NOW!"
It got him a wheeze.
"Khonshu! Fuck, please! Stop playing the fucking martyr and merge!"
Steven shattered another thick rope with a powerful blow and Khonshu collapsed with a raspy moan.
"Khonshu!" Marc insisted.
Psychically he was already pulling the other closer and closer, but Khonshu needed to take that last step. He met the empty sockets and the moon god suddenly dispersed in a cloud of barely perceptible dust and silvery light. Marc felt him settle abruptly within his soul, the other presence heavy but not alien. Not anymore. The root where they were all connected adjusted easily, as did the human body the god now possessed, even if it did feel a little off kilter. Khonshu wrapped himself around his bonded partner and sank deep into the connection toward the soul mark.
The magical net shuddered, twisting and stretching, then the glow intensified, turning almost neon bright.
Marc's eyes widened as he felt the renewed pull, this time inside him, as if it was trying to extract his bonded god.
No! he thought fiercely. Not a fucking chance! You're not getting him!
The silvery light of the moon spread from it like a stringy wave, latching onto whatever they could catch. The light poured out, seemingly endless, seeping into everything that was Marc Spector, the Moon Knight, and with him, the moon god.
Marc inhaled sharply and he almost didn't see the attacking tendril to his left. Steven blocked the attack with his batons, the glowing eyes briefly meeting Moon Knight's similar ones.
"Thanks," he managed.
"We need to get out of here!" his alter yelled. "This is getting so much worse by the second!"
It was. He felt the weird, magical presence that seemed to be searching for any opening to get to the essence within Marc. He had no idea why it had launched its attack or why it was trying to very hard to keep the avatar from the god, but he knew he wouldn't go down without a massive, painful fight.
"Marc!" Steven insisted. "Get it together, mate! We have to go!"
"Right," he breathed harshly. "Right."
He rolled his shoulders, but the imbalance remained. Damnit! Khonshu wasn't a foreign presence, but it needed both of them in one body to handle it.
Their eyes met. Steven's widened a fraction as understanding dawned brightly, then he nodded sharply.
The merge happened within a fraction of a second, rebalancing the third presence within him, taking a load off Marc's core. The heavy feeling disappeared and Steven smoothly evened the scales with his presence alone.
Something tingled along his spine and energy whispered over his fingers as he flexed them.
Marc found the net getting tighter, the energy lines weaving into new and more complicated patterns. The orange was turning a bronze and dark golden. It appeared like millions upon millions of wires spreading everywhere.
Let's get out of here! Jump! Steven cried, alarmed. Go, go, go!
He did.
Like he had numerous times before, Marc just thought of the place where he wanted to be and stepped forward, using their still rather novel ability to move within the human realm without actually teleporting. Opening a door, stepping through.
Not this time.
He took a step…
… and everything exploded.
Sight, sound, touch… everything was heightened one second, the next it dulled to nothing. Marc felt something pull him into one direction while he was also rooted firmly to the spot.
The energy lines encased him, sank toward the armor, but they couldn't penetrate the ceremonial suit.
Marc couldn't move.
It felt like a hundred fingers were digging into his suit and trying to keep him in the house. He fought against the hold, teeth clenched, muscles straining.
Energy screamed around him, rising out of every crack and fissure of the house. The magic was doubling and then tripling its effort to keep him inside.
Moon Knight groaned. The pounding behind his eyes was bad enough to make his teeth ache in sympathy. Every breath seemed to be a massive effort, burning his lungs. It was like a furious hiss, coupled with fear and terror, and the sheer desperation to keep Khonshu safe.
He dug deep.
Magic whirled and snapped all around him.
He dug incredibly deep.
Holding on to the essence of a god that was relentlessly attacked through his avatar's body, the magic hacking away at the defense system that consisted of two very determined souls bonded to a powerful deity.
They would get out of here, with Khonshu. He wouldn't leave the entity behind, no matter what it took!
The raw moon energy racing through him was like a jolt of energy.
Marc screamed in denial, forcing himself through the net that was trying to hold him.
The cape disintegrated in a shower of dust. The hood and mask followed, leaving him bare, but not defenseless.
The fingers clinging to him turned into sharp blades, slicing through the armor, into his skin.
The golden breastplate disintegrated next, taking the half-moon emblem with it.
The twisted magic sliced deeper.
Into his very energy.
Into the bond.
It overwhelmed him, raced through his mind and soul.
The spaulders turned to nothingness next, leaving the Knight in just the skintight wrappings that were shivering under the constant barrage of energy against them.
No! Marc thought furiously. No, no, no!
He wouldn't give in. He wouldn't give up!
He pushed. Hard. Sheer terror and absolute panic at the impending loss suddenly turned into cold, hard intention.
Marc suddenly felt his alter, felt Steven, standing with him like the shield he was. He was without the mask, without the suit jacket, and vest, only in the white shirt and pants. Silent, never losing a single sound. The dark eyes were a mirror to his own, alight with determination and the acceptance that if they lost, if they lost Khonshu, everything would be gone.
Their eyes met.
The moon was rising within the darkness of their orbs. Bright, bright light that encompassed the dark and turned it silvery white.
The sword and the shield. Two protectors. Two warriors. One incredible force to be reckoned with.
The moon's power rose between them, so endless, so beautiful and so deadly, and Marc reached for the enticingly brilliant energy. It wrapped around his fingers, his arms, was everywhere, sharp and biting, but so gentle and loving to its host. It was familiar, it was known, and it was part of both of them. Forever there and interwoven, never to be separated or removed.
"Ready," Marc whispered roughly, his voice echoing with that of Khonshu.
Steven nodded.
This was all or nothing.
He flung everything he had against the restrictive force.
First nothing happened, then a screech ripped through the room. To Marc it sounded like a dying animal, dying in great pain. A flash of light blinded him. It was as if everything was suddenly nothing but intense whiteness.
And then there was a resounding boom.
Again! Steven yelled.
He probably had only one more attempt, Marc thought faintly. So he repeated the first attempt, feeling Steven's shield everywhere as he launched the attack.
He screamed in desperation and pain as the pounding continued, slashing like knives into his body, demanding its share of his soul.
He couldn't keep this up for much longer.
But he couldn't give in.
If he did, they would die
It was like a bullet hitting glass and shattering it into a million pieces. The energy contained behind that glass burst free, now unhindered to make its way across the wide planes. It overwhelmed what it touched and created hundreds of tiny quakes, vibrating through the fabric of the spirit plane.
Space…ripped. It tore apart like thin paper.
And then it all ended.
Abruptly.