It wasn't until late into the next evening, after Marc had returned from a small job just outside London that hadn't been much of a challenge but had taken down a notorious drug ring, that the ushabti became the center of attention again.
Could we destroy the ushabti and free him? Steven asked carefully while ignoring Marc's unhealthy, late dinner. His punishment was severe… and I would believe he served his sentence.
Khonshu scowled, even without having facial features that allowed such a display. Marc and Steven were quite aware of that scowl anyway. Like they felt so many of the entity's emotions. As alien as they had been a mere two years ago, it was now a familiar sensation that easily translated along their connection.
"It's not for us to decide," the god muttered, but he didn't sound convinced.
He isn't Ammit.
"No."
"I don't want to have his ushabti sit in this place like some freaky paper weight," Marc muttered around a bite of a fully loaded, super-size hot dog.
The rags whipped about.
His crime was… well, he didn't do it on purpose, Steven added slowly, recalling what Khonshu had told them how Anubis had ended up trapped in stone. It was an accident… because of an oversight. A terrible result, yes, but not planned murder. And he suffered for his deeds before Osiris banished him into the ushabti.
Marc raised an eyebrow, glancing at the narrow mirror. "You want to play advocate for an ancient deity we don't have a single connection to?"
Steven shrugged. No? Maybe?
"Or any idea of? We have no clue who he is?"
Well… yes?
Marc smirked. "Do-gooder."
I… I know it might be a bad idea, his alter said slowly. He's been frozen in this… this cage for millennia, and to confront him what is now reality might be a bit… jarring?
Khonshu leaned forward, looking dark and foreboding. "He is aware of the passage of time."
Marc stared at the moon god, almost slack-jawed, food forgotten. "Come again?!" he choked out.
He is aware?! Steven exclaimed almost simultaneously.
"Yes."
He… he knows what's going on? Outside? Right now? All the time?!
"Yes."
"As were you," Marc whispered, the shock creeping in.
Khonshu seemed to shudder for a moment. "Yes." The voice was a little more scratchy, a little darker.
Oh, dear lord, that's cruel!
"It… can be," the god agreed softly and Marc felt him lean so much closer over the bond. He suspected it was an unconscious gesture, one guided by instinct. "Time is no matter to us. We are timeless. To be forced into this space, held in place by magic, can be… unpleasant."
"Unpleasant my ass," Marc growled, remembering the distress in Khonshu's voice when the Ennead had torn him out of this realm by magical force. He tossed the rest of his food, no longer hungry.
No wonder Ammit went bonkers.
"Her mind was twisted before she was banished," the moon god rumbled. "She claimed to bring balance and justice. She was ready to accept a world empty of life but those few sinners she called acolytes."
Marc pushed away very dark memories; nightmares, actually. They had won, but they had lost, too. So much more than they had initially been aware of.
C-can he hear us? Steven asked carefully.
"To a degree, yes."
Holy moly! Can… Are… Do all…?
"Yes. Sound is transmitted. With enough focus, it can be heard and sometimes seen."
Steven paled and Marc felt a tremor pass through him. He tried to imagine being trapped in stone, completely aware, hearing and maybe even seeing everything, but unable to interact. Even if millennia were nothing to an eternal being, this was absolutely cruel!
Khonshu was suddenly right there, next to him, and the loose bandages and rags curled and brushed over and around Marc's body. He caught one of the brownish-yellow ribbons and it wrapped around his hand. There was barely any room between them and along the bond, the entity was curled more and more around the two souls. It was an embrace, a shield, a promise of protection and support.
And an emotion. Always the one emotion.
"Anubis knows we are here? That we have his ushabti?"
"He does."
"And he's aware of you?"
Khonshu inclined his head.
Marc expelled a breath and scrubbed a hand over his head. "What happens if we release him?" he asked, staring at the ushabti on the desk. "Will it set off some kind of alarm?"
It didn't with Ammit, Steven reminded him.
"Yeah," he muttered sourly. "We might just end up with another psychopathic god. We're talking prison inmate here. The last one worked out so well, too…"
"Anubis' crimes differ from Ammit. As does his mind-set," Khonshu told him evenly. "He never had the insane notion to judge humans before their death, before an actual crime, and act just on the idea of their possible futures." Disgust had wormed into his voice.
"Isn't he some kind of god who judges souls, too?" Marc raised his eyebrows.
He judges them after death.
"Well, that was Ammit's job, too, and she got new enterprising ideas. What about others getting on the same bus? Prison can change a guy."
Khonshu gave a little chuff of almost-laugher. "That is your human notion, Marc Spector."
"Can you know he didn't lose it while trapped in this thing?" he challenged.
"Anubis is not Ammit. Neither is he Seth."
Marc sighed, eyes screwed shut, then he finally expelled a sharp breath. "If he goes off the deep end, it will be my pleasure to say I told you so."
"Noted," Khonshu replied and the glint in the empty sockets was accompanied by a small wave of warmth over the bond.
We release him then? Because returning him to the ushabti chamber… feels so absolutely wrong on so many levels.
Khonshu chuckled. "Soft-hearted little idiot."
Steven scowled at him from within the mind-space. Maybe, but we can't let him rot in this stone prison! You, of all gods, know what it means!
The moon god was silent, the endless socket's reflecting a thin sickle of the moon. "Yes," he said slowly, voice dark and low, "I know. I remember. I will always remember the pain of my banishment and the shame of my prison."
Then we release him.
"And then what?" Marc asked, looking at his alter.
Wait and see? He won't try to devour our souls, right?
Khonshu gave him an exasperated look. "Of course not."
"I need a drink," Marc groaned. "You are certifiable, Steven!"
He is aware of where he is. He knows we aren't an enemy. I won't put the ushabti up on a shelf or hide it in a museum! It's too dangerous to leave it anywhere and aside from destroying it and freeing Anubis, the only other option would be to deposit it with Apophis!
Khonshu was silent, just looking at the ushabti.
"Khonshu?" Marc prompted.
It got him a deep, rumbling sigh, then a nod. "Summon the suit."
He raised his eyebrows. "That means we're not dumping him with Apophis?"
"Summon it," the god repeated, though it was a softer tone of voice, not the harsh bark he sometimes used.
A request. Not an order.
The ceremonial armor wrapped around him, warm, powerful, like a second skin. Marc's eyes glowed with the light of the full moon.
"Satisfied?" he asked.
"Yes."
He grimaced. Marc picked up the funeral figure, weighing it in his hands. And then, in one quick move, he slammed it onto the flat's hardwood floor.
It broke into tiny little pieces…
…that immediately turned to sand.
A grayish cloud, interspersed with golden streaks, swirled out of the debris, coalescing into a humanoid form and uncurled out of a crouched position. Arms that had been crossed in front of his chest stretched, long fingers with claws at the end flexing briefly.
The god was as tall as Khonshu, just as slender, but not dressed in mummy-wrappings and tattered rags. He also didn't have a skull for a head, though he did have the expected jackal one. His whole body, at least the part that wasn't clothed, was covered in pitch-black, short fur. The eyes were completely white, with no iris and pupil, reminding him of Apophis' completely black ones. His pointy dog-ears were rather long and had golden markings, which were also present on his forehead, and along his eyes. More gold appeared in elegant lines on his upper body, like a delicate tattoo.
Anubis had just a few ornate jewelry pieces, like a band around his right upper arm and vambraces, as well as the clasp depicting an ankh on the belt of his knee-long, white skirt.
He truly was a sight to behold.
The jackal-headed god met Moon Knight's bright silver gaze and Marc had a sudden flashback to the moment his soul had been judged by another god, one intent to devour him, Steven… everyone. Someone who had taken his third. Someone who had taken thousands upon thousands of lives.
Moon energy rose inside him like a defensive shield and he felt Steven's strengthening presence.
The long ears flicked once, then the ebony-colored entity looked at Khonshu who was standing right next to his soul-bound. Tall and imposing, and very much radiating a warning that was hard to miss. The moon staff thudded down next to his Knight, the ancient wood seemingly glowing from within.
Wow, Steven murmured. I am truly getting a sense of déjà vu.
So did Marc, who was reminded of their encounter with Yatzil in that alleyway, not too long after the second oath had been cemented their partnership.
"Khonshu," Anubis greeted him, the voice a little rough, as if from disuse. "God of the Moon, God of Vengeance. Protector of the Night Sky." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and bowed ever so slightly.
Khonshu mirrored the gesture. "Anubis. Guide of Souls," was the equally formal answer. "Guardian of the Afterlife. Embalmer of the Gods."
The former god of the afterlife studied the moon god before him. "You, old friend, have changed since I last saw you."
Khonshu looked unimpressed. "Change is evident in all life. It is evolution."
It got him a head-tilt.
"Who took your ushabti from the Gizeh chamber?" Khonshu demanded. "When was it taken?"
Tact and political savviness, thy name is Khonshu, Marc thought with an inaudible sigh. Like a bull in a China shop. Right to the point, without the small talk. Not that Khonshu was one for small talk anyway. He had the tact of a battering ram and no patience for small talk.
The pointed ears almost flattened for a moment. "That was a very long time ago. Ages…"
Ages? As in hundreds of years? Steven blurted. Or more? Millennia?
Anubis tilted his head, looking at Marc, expression sharpening. "Your avatar… Your soldier. Your weapon. You always chose interesting ones. This one is… special. Unique…"
Khonshu took a step forward, his moon staff moving for a fraction of an inch toward the Moon Knight, almost as if to block Anubis from getting too close. Marc's tension skyrocketed and he just about aborted a move toward the half-moon blades.
Anubis' lips curled into a fraction of a smile. "Quite interesting." He tilted his head and the white eyes turned almost translucent for a second. "Ah."
"Anubis!" Khonshu hissed and this time the staff did move in front of Marc.
"Two souls, one human form. I can see how balanced they are within your avatar's form."
Steven froze, eyes wide. He… he can see… us? he squeaked, then, Yes, of course he can! He is generally known as the god of death, the god who ushered the souls into the afterlife! It stands to reason he can see a soul. Both of us… Oh dear! He can see both of us, Marc! He can… Can he hear me, too?
"My avatar is none of your concern, guardian!" Khonshu snapped, the wind whirling briefly around him. "What is my concern is how your ushabti was stolen from a sacred chamber within a realm no human can enter!"
The other god's eyes turned white again. "It was no avatar I recognized."
"How long ago was this theft?" Khonshu demanded. "How could it have been replaced without anyone noticing?!"
Anubis rubbed two fingers over his snout. "It doesn't matter, Khonshu," he sighed wearily. "It happened. I was sentenced to this existence, no matter where that prison resided."
"It's quite some hole in your security that just about anyone can walk into a pocket dimension and nap something as valuable and dangerous as an ushabti," Marc told him wryly. "Breaking it frees you. If it hadn't been you… who isn't keen on world domination or eating the souls of innocents, this would have been catastrophic. It almost was with another of your kind and she wasn't stolen, just never placed in that freakshow of a room."
Anubis blinked slowly as he looked down at the human avatar.
"Ammit," Khonshu supplied. "She was found and freed from her stone prison. She rose to consume innocent souls, judging them before they had ever committed a crime." The rags moved sharply. "Attacking innocents… children, even those unborn yet… killing thousands."
"If it hadn't been you, if it had been Seth, this could have been the next ugly disaster on the brink of happening," Marc added coldly, silvery white eyes hard and unyielding. "Unless you're just as gone as your fellow goddess."
Anubis' brows shot up and the milky white eyes reflected surprise. "Why would I? I do not consume the souls of the damned. I don't punish. I guard, protect and guide. At least I used to," he added a little hesitantly.
"Ammit wasn't a complete lunatic back in the old days either," the Moon Knight stated acidly. "That happened over time. You had a lot of time to go from guardian to problem child, too."
Anubis regarded him with mild curiosity, then met Khonshu's empty sockets. "He is protective, defensive, and very close to you."
Marc clenched his hands into fists. Inside, Khonshu moved closer, wrapped around him and Steven.
"My partnership with my Knight is none of your concern," he stated coldly.
"I can see the closeness," Anubis continued as if he hadn't heard him. His voice was low and filled with wonder. "More than any I have ever witnessed in the avatar of a god. You gone down a road we always avoided, maybe even feared. You have soul-bonded to your chosen."
Khonshu drew up sharply, a clear warning radiating off him. He was going into a protective mode. A low but inaudible rumble seemed to surround them all, like a distant thunder that couldn't be heard, only felt. Deadly, swift, merciless.
Anubis' eyes never left Khonshu's. "Two souls. Equal in strength, balanced and counter-balanced. Your anchors. You have… made powerful choices, moon god. A partnership… of trust."
His expression briefly twitched into something almost painful. Like memories. Marc was quite adept at reading bad memories, understanding pain and remembrance. Anubis had not only lost his freedom, he had lost his avatar. He had been betrayed by the man he had chosen, the man who had served him willingly and faithfully. The man he had risked everything for, to raise his dead wife from death, but he had failed at retrieving the souls of his unborn children.
I can't fathom… condemning Khonshu to a fate like that, Steven whispered. Even back then… when we were at odds… It's so cruel to imagine anyone imprisoned in stone, always aware… How can anyone be so filled with hatred…?
Yeah, Marc thought. He might have hated Khonshu once, for being a manipulative, ruthless bastard of a god, but it had never been so deep as to consider betrayal.
"We're not here to discuss what is quite personal," Moon Knight stated coolly. "It's about you and how someone managed the impossible: stealing an ushabti."
Anubis inclined his head. "My apologies for the transgression into a sacred bond. But I cannot answer your questions. I don't know the one who took my ushabti."
Marc glanced at the moon god and he felt Khonshu's spiking emotions, as well as his anger that there were no leads to follow.
"Now what?" he asked pragmatically.
Anubis might be traumatized. I think we all know what that's like.
"I… don't know," Anubis said slowly.
Maybe he can stay here?
Marc stared at his alter. "Are you fucking serious, Steven?"
Of course. He needs somewhere to be. He has no one, Marc. No one at all.
"We're not a lost and found! We're also not running some kind of day-care! Or a bed and breakfast!"
Steven shook his head. Gods don't eat or need a place to sleep.
"I know that!"
Anubis might just need a little time with… uhm… friendly faces to get his feet back under him. Until he can do whatever… well… job or… whatever, he finished awkwardly.
Khonshu was staring at his soul-bound, clearly not happy, minutely shaking his head.
Anubis simply radiated stunned confusion.
We also don't know if maybe Osiris comes looking for him. Or sends someone. We can't leave him on his own!
"He's a grown god, Steven!"
"I am also right here, protecting soldier of the moon."
Marc spread his arms. "Very much aware of that! Just having a tiny disagreement here!"
"I see. But I'm not some pet to be kept," he growled. "If you offer to bind me with hollow gestures or words…"
Khonshu straightened sharply, radiating warning. "Watch your tongue!" he snapped.
Anubis' eyes flared and he bared impressive teeth. It was a reaction that had and hadn't been expected. This was an ancient, very much immortal entity who had been around for a whole lot longer than Marc or Steven. Yes, he had been trapped for a few thousand years, but it wasn't a length of time that should leave an impression. Gods experienced the passage of time differently. Their eternal lives gave them another angle when it came to such menial matters as time.
Compared to that, being trapped in stone for round about two thousand years was like a few days in prison for a human being, Marc supposed.
Or maybe not.
Khonshu had never mentioned what it had been like for him and he had been locked away for just a few days. There had been a few cryptic remarks, but nothing else.
Note to self, he thought, feeling Steven's agreement.
The moon staff slamming onto the hardwood floor had him jump a little, drawing Marc out of his thoughts. Energy crackled over the half-moon top.
"Cut it out!" Moon Knight snapped. "Both of you! No one is trying to bind or coerce anyone! I'm already taken and not on the market for another grumpy, growly deity! I just got this one housebroken!"
Khonshu glared at him, but aside from a sharp gust of wind, nothing else happened.
"You're not here because we're trying to extort something out of you, alright?" he snapped at the ebony-colored entity.
Anubis' white eyes flashed once as they looked at him, then the god seemed to almost deflate a little.
"My… apologies," he rasped. "I… truly apologize. I also seem to be doing that a lot."
Marc crossed his arms in front of his chest, studying the slender figure. "Accepted."
"This is your home." He looked at Khonshu, ears twitching once. "Your realm, god of the moon. You released me."
Khonshu visibly scowled, even without facial features.
Steven shifted forward and the ceremonial armor changed to the white business suit.
Anubis actually took a step back, eyes wide.
"You can really stay," Mr. Knight blurted. "If you want to get accustomed to all of this again." He made a vague gesture. "If you want to leave, I can accept that, but you are welcome here. Uhm, sorry about that…" He gestured at himself. "I know it takes some getting used to. Well, hi. I'm Steven, by the way."
Khonshu stared at him in disbelief.
"What?" he demanded, meeting the empty sockets. "It's only polite! And it's not like he has a job to go back to! Taweret's in his place now. And I doubt Osiris would be happy to see him in the Overvoid!"
Anubis' ears flattened at the name of the head of the Ennead. "I will not return!"
"So you can stay here," was the bright reply.
Steven, Marc sighed.
"He can stay!" his alter insisted. "Until Anubis knows what to do, where to go…"
We're not running a rehab center!
Khonshu's laughter was silent, but both felt it along the bond.
Oh, shut up!
"You will grant me refuge?" the former god of the underworld asked.
Steven surrendered the body with an almost smug smile. This time the Moon Knight armor dissolved and Marc scrubbed a hand through his hair.
"Alright, alright! Yes, you can stay. We're already on Osiris' blacklist. This will just cement the fact."
The jackal-headed deity tilted his head. "I will not endanger another's avatar with my presence."
Marc shrugged. "You won't. No more than we do ourselves by simply existing."
We weren't the ones who stole the ushabti. We actually recovered it and discovered a severe lack of security in the pocket dimension of the Council Chamber, Steven stated almost cheerfully.
"Knowing Osiris, he would find something," the other muttered.
Anubis looked at Khonshu, who was still watching silently, radiating amusement.
"Khonshu?"
The skull tilted slightly.
No words were spoken, but something passed between the two immortal entities.
Anubis looked surprised, then inclined his head. Khonshu straightened to his full height and mirrored the nod.