Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter- In which Percy tells Set to shut up. Also, I was writing my latest chapters and I'm just there thinking about how much I hate how Rick doesn't seem to let his female characters be girly and badass very often. And literally one of the lines in my latest chapter is 'There was no reason why a hardened badass warrior couldn't also wear pretty dresses and twirl. She was allowed to do both.'
Replies:
Undeath9087: Yeah, Sadie officially sees Percy as her sister- I love their bond now that they're actually friendly because let's be honest, I've said it before and I'll say it again, Percy and Sadie are ridiculously similar in terms of how they work and the chaos they cause.
Guest: Honestly you made me laugh, I can just imagine it happening- though since the Greeks believe that the Egyptian's faded he'd be more like 'What the Tartarus is going on here?! Wait you're an Egyptian I thought your lot were go- wait is that- POSEIDON! Why does this child look like you?!'
And yeah, if it was to the sea Percy would just kick Sets butt, we all know it. And Desjardin's already knows Percy's not normal he's just not figured anything out yet.
Guest: At the end of the KC series Carter will be fifteen, Sadie will be thirteen and Percy will still be nine- I actually spent ages figuring the ages out when I started writing it, the KC books take place from December- September, which means Percy turns ten about a month later- and I already have that chapter planned out.
There was a moment of stunned silence and Percy stared at the pyramid- which was still intact- just about, but it was cracking- and the capstone was cracking further too- it was glowing, clearly trying to maintain it's magic but they weren't in Phoenix anymore. The pyramid had been ripped from the desert, from it's source of power and in front of them loomed the default gateway for North America. The most powerful focal point of Ma'at on the continent, the Washington monument. Percy let out a relieved bubble of laughter even as Set screamed at Sadie in Ancient Egyptian before adding, "I will rend your limbs form their sockets! I will-"
"Die?" Carter called out, "Sadie catch!" Carter was already moving- and Percy actually screamed as she was quite literally tossed towards Sadie by Carter before he was rising behind Set- and as the other girl caught her she watched Carter swing his sword and she saw the blade cut into Set's armor at the ribs—not a killing blow, but enough to knock the Red God off balance and send him tumbling down the side of his pyramid. Carter bounded after him, his avatar growing stronger by the second.
"The book!" Carter shouted as he ran, "Do it now!"
But Sadie looked dazed- which was reasonable- she had just opened a portal to DC and she'd just had to catch a flying Percy- and Set caught on before Sadie did.
"NO!" the shout made Percy wince, and her eyes widened as he started charging towards them- but Carter stopped him halfway up the slope.
Percy clutched at Sadie tightly- the other girl had a tight grip on her though so Percy was pretty sure she wasn't about to fall at least. And she watched as Carter and Set grappled, Carter focusing on holding him back. The stones of the pyramid cracked and crumbled under the weight of their godly forms. All around the base of the pyramid, demons and magicians who'd been pulled through the portal and knocked momentarily unconscious were starting to stir.
"Percy-" Sadie's voice snapped Percy's gaze back to her, "I need to put you down. And- dad told me to tell you something. Maybe it's not the time but he told me to tell you not to forget why he did this."
"I-" Percy shook herself- she wasn't sure what her dad had meant but she couldn't focus on that now. "Of course." Percy nodded, forcing herself not to wince when Sadie lowered her so that she was able to stand up- her left ankle felt like it was on fire, but she gritted her teeth- Sadie needed to focus on the spell, the last thing she needed was to worry about Percy being in pain- besides a broken ankle wasn't that big of a deal. She could put up with it.
A moment later Sadie had a familiar little blue book in her hands- Percy glowered at it slightly- the stupid booby traps had gotten her caught after all.
Then a feather, a glowing snowy feather was in the air just above the book.
And Percy stumbled back, managing to land on her butt and stopping herself from going sliding down the pyramid as Sadie started to chant- she was speaking Divine words- more than Percy knew- and she did know a few.
She felt her mouth dropping open as Sadie rose into the air, hovering a few centimetres above the pyramid- it was a truly stunning sight, Sadie was almost glowing herself, the power was shining from within as the Washington Monument started to glow, hieroglyphs appearing along it's sides, the capstone gleaming silver.
And Carter and Set kept fighting- the pyramid started to break apart- and Percy gripped at the sides of it desperately when she started to slip again.
Nephthys spoke in her mind again.
Little one. Let me lend you my eyes- look into the Duat. Do it now, face your fear and see him again, understand what is to come. Understand your fathers words.
And Percy's eyes felt like they were tingling as she looked into the Duat with the help of the goddess.
She felt shock flood through her as she looked around- in the Duat she could see chunks of chunks of pyramid flying skyward and the souls of demons lifting off like fireworks. As Set's chaos magic dispersed, all the force that had been charging up, ready to destroy a continent, was being sucked into the clouds as Sadie kept her chanting.
Percy felt that roaring in her ears- felt her body almost growing numb, because as she watched, the chaos tried to form a shape. It was like a red reflection of the Potomac—an enormous crimson river at least a mile long and a hundred meters wide. It writhed in the air, trying to become solid. Percy could feel the rage from it- the bitterness- and she knew what it was- it's plan had failed, it had needed chaos, power to form properly. It needed death and destruction- and Percy could remember.
It felt like a lifetime ago that she'd had that dream- the dream of a terrifying snake in a desert- the dream that had stolen so much from her.
If she hadn't had the dream her dad may have never felt the need to free the five. But that wouldn't change much in the long run would it? Apophis would rise with or without Set- he'd just tried to use the god to speed up the process, Set was being used and he didn't even know it.
Sealing him away or whatever the spell would do might deal with the threat for now but- Percy sucked in a sharp shaky breath, forcing herself to her feet- Sadie was still chanting, focused on the spell- and she was near the end.
"I name you Set! I name you Evil Day!"
"Now Sadie!" that came from Carter- who had set down on one knee, he was winning.
"You have been my enemy and a curse on the land"
A line of white light shot down the length of the Washington Monument. It widened into a rift—a doorway between this world and the brilliant white abyss that would lock Set away, trapping his life force. Maybe not forever, but for a long, long time.
My husband might deserve to be locked away but you may need him. You must warn them!
"SADIE!" Percy screamed the name- and Sadie's head snapped around, her gaze focusing on Percy, who had to jump and roll to avoid a crack that formed beneath her feet "Sadie he's not the root of it! LOOK!" and Sadie hesitated before her gaze shifted, looking towards the top of the monument- and Percy could see, she could see the way her sister's eyes widened, see the sudden look of dawning horror on her face as she too saw the snake writhing amongst the chaos.
"SADIE!" that was Carter, "What are you waiting for?" and Percy's gaze swung to her brother. He hadn't seen it- he didn't know..
Set was on his knees now, writhing and cursing as white energy encircled him, pulling him towards the rift. "Lost your stomach, witch?" he bellowed. Then he glared at Carter. "You see, Horus? Isis was always a coward. She could never complete the deed!" and for a long moment there was a look of doubt on Carter's face that pissed Percy off, and she snarled, as she dropped to her knees- she could see how hurt Sadie's expression turned. And Percy did the only thing she could think of- she had no weapons, and using too much magic would kill her now, so she yanked her shoe off and launched it at Carter- hitting his head hard.
"Don't be a dumbass Carter!" and that startled him- and Sadie shook herself.
"Percy's right Carter! Look!" She threw the feather into the sky, breaking the spell- and Percy winced as Carter let out a furious scream.
"NO!"
But the feather exploded into silver dust that clung to the form of the serpent, forcing it to become visible, just for an instant.
Carter's mouth fell open as the serpent writhed in the air above Washington, slowly losing power.
Then a voice from right behind Percy scream, "Wretched gods!" and Percy whirled to look, topping backwards as she lost her balance- moving so fast with a broken ankle was not a good idea- it was the demon from before, the one who had broken her ankle, standing over her, a jagged knife in his grip.
Percy screamed as he brought his knife down and she threw her hands up- it was a sharp pain, slicing across the back of her hand and up her wrist and forearm- then he was kicking her hands away and bringing it down again and she couldn't do anything- couldn't move her hands fast enough couldn't even roll away from him fast enough she was dead she wad dead she was- there was a flash of metal, a sickening thud and the demon froze, knife slipping from his grip and clattering as it slid down the side of the pyramid as he dropped to his knees and looked down at the blade- Carter's blade, which was sheathed in his side. He crumpled to his back, exhaling with an angry hiss.
His black eyes fixed on Percy even as Sadie was suddenly at her side, hauling her up and backwards, and he spoke in a completely different voice—a rasping, dry sound, like a reptile's belly scraping over sand. "This is not over, godlings. All this I have wrought with a wisp of my voice, the merest bit of my essence wriggling from my weakened cage. Imagine what I shall do when fully formed. Your nightmares will become reality"
"Oh gods- oh gods." Sadie was dragging Percy away from him, "Get the fuck away from her!" and the demon gave a ghastly smile and then his face went slack.
A tiny line of red mist curled from his mouth—like a worm or a fresh-hatched snake—and writhed upward into the sky to join its source. The demon's body disintegrated into sand.
Percy swallowed hard, tilting her head upwards again to look at the giant red serpent slowly dissolving in the sky- then she heard Sadie mutter softly and a blast of wind dispersed it completely.
The Washington Monument stopped glowing. The rift closed, and the little spell book that Sadie had in her free hand disappeared.
"Come on." Sadie's voice was soft, reassuring as she shifted her grip on Percy, sliding her arm around her and helping her as she went- and Percy forced back a pained noise, tried to disguise the fact that she was limping- each step set white hot pain shooting up her leg.
Together they moved towards Set- who was still ensnared in the ropes if white energy.
"You saw the serpent in the clouds." Sadie's voice was short, "You know what it is."
"Apophis." Percy added, "I dreamed of him. He's the reason dad wanted to free Osiris. Like I told Carter and Sadie before."
Carter gave a small nod, a stunned look on his face. "He was trying to break into the mortal world using the Red Pyramid as a gateway. If it's power had been unleashed..." he looked down in revulsion at the pile of sand that had once been a demon. "Set's lieutenant. Face of Horror. He was possessed by Apophis all along, using set to get what he wanted."
"Ridiculous!" Set glared at me and struggled against his bonds. "The snake in the clouds was one of your tricks, Isis. An illusion."
"Oh stop being foolish" Nephthys spoke through Percy's mouth, "Husband, my host dreamed of him before Julius Kane summoned us. They are telling the truth. You were foolish and he was using you- you of all people-"
"No one uses me!"
"You who once protected Ra himself from Apophis- you doubt this? You allowed him to use you!"
Carter let his warrior form disperse. He floated to the ground and summoned his sword back to his hand. "Apophis wanted your explosion to feed his power, Set. As soon as he came through the Duat and found us dead, I'm betting you would've been his first meal. Chaos would've won."
"I am chaos!" Set insisted.
"Oh shut up." and that was Percy, not the goddess, "If you wanna be so stupid then fine, we can totally still seal you up like you deserve. But you're one of the strongest gods- like Nephthys said, you used to fight Apophis. Do you really, really want to let him win?"
"I fought for Ra." Set snapped, "But he is gone forever- thanks to her." he jerked his head towards Sadie- who paused.
"Maybe not forever. We'll have to find him. Apophis is rising, which means we'll need all the gods to battle him. Even you."
Set tested his bonds of white energy. When he found he couldn't break them, he gave them a crooked smile. "You suggest an alliance? You'd trust me?"
Carter laughed. "You've got to be kidding. But we've got your number, now. Your secret name. Right, you two?" he focused on Sadie and Percy, and Sadie closed her fingers and the bonds around Set tightened.
"The House of Life tried banishing the gods." Sadie's voice was confident, "It didn't work. If we lock you away we're no better than they are. It doesn't solve anything. Especially now."
"I couldn't agree more." Set groaned the words, "So if you'll just loosen these bonds-"
"Why the heck would we do that?" Percy blinked, "You'd just attack us again soon as look at us- you might be useful but you're still a big bully-"
"I think villainous piece of scum is better." Sadie piped up. "But Percy's right. You could be useful. You have a role to play and you'll need controlling. I'll agree to release you, if you swear to behave. To return to the Duat and not cause trouble until we call you. And then you'll only make trouble for us, fighting against Apophis."
"Or I could chop your head off." Carter suggested, "That'd probably exile you for a good long while-"
"Hey!" Percy pouted slightly, "I wanna chop his head off too."
"We can do it together. Sibling bonding." Carter added, smirking at Set. "Make your choice."