Episode 6...
Still processing... Especially Khonshu's little "Marc?" when he was just about to get his skull kicked by Ammit. I was so rooting for a different end after that!
But you get a chapter, even if all of you all still in a coma after that...
Damn, I knew Khonshu was pulling that stunt the moment he said "you two"... He never wanted someone else. He wants one particular avatar. Yes, called it!
Who had bets on Layla becoming Tawaret's avatar? *raises hand*
Since this is an AU, the Ennead is still alive and very much kicking, and Osiris is an asshole...
Typos in this chapter are the fault of my brain saying bye-bye...
It was like stepping over a threshold.
Something flittered through him, faint, like a sizzling spark of electricity, only to disappear again as quickly as it had come.
Marc had been to this place before and just like the last time, it gave him the creeps. It was a hall of grandeur, of exquisite art and larger than life statues that was every archeologist's wet dream. It was amazing. And it was a pocket dimension.
He had seen some pretty horrifying stuff, had done some very terrifying things, had fought creatures that others might never even dream up, but the huge stone hall with its depiction of the Ennead hewn in stone was right up there with the worst of it.
They were back inside the pyramid of Giza, inside a world that didn't exist in their time or even their space. It was beautiful, yes. Steven was brimming with scientific curiosity, but Marc was the one to assess the threat level.
Which was insanely high.
"To signal for an audience with the gods is to risk their wrath," Khonshu had said a long time ago. Well, now they had called for him and Marc could feel the low thrum of the moon god's own wrath echoing in his bones at the audacity of a summoning.
He didn't like this. His fight or flight reflex was screeching loudly.
The energy in the room was tense as he stood in front of the avatars of the Ennead. Almost the same faces as before. Osiris was presiding over the council, the avatar's face cool and distant, with a rather haughty look. It was almost a sneer, if Marc had to give it a name. For someone whose life they had saved, he appeared less than pleased.
Well, the great Osiris had been proven absolutely wrong. By a shamed and banished god who had tried to warn them. That he looked like he had bitten into a lemon was just proof of how strained the relationship still was.
Isis and Horus flanked him, just like the last time, both avatar's giving nothing away.
Something was up.
He kept his stance loose, but far from relaxed. His eyes scanned every corner, took in the entrances and exits, noticed how nothing had changed since the last time.
And yet, everything was different.
Last time had ended with his near breakdown, with his mind fracturing wildly, with his body shaking with the stress it had been under. He had been thrown into a situation he had had no clear grasp on and Khonshu hadn't given him any pointers either.
Not to mention that Harrow's presence had made the whole messy situation even more of a disaster.
Getting restrained by Osiris and forced to kneel had been the cherry on top, had broken him more than everything else before. Right now, Marc wasn't in a good place to start with. Not mentally. No. He wasn't wildly flashing back to those torturous moments.
These were emotions.
His. Khonshu's. And Steven's.
"Marc Spector," Osiris spoke up. "Welcome."
Oh… oh wait, no way... They summoned… you? That's… And if they summoned you, they know your god will be here, too. Addressing you without acknowledging Khonshu is a serious breach of protocol. What's he playing at?
Part of Marc wondered when Steven had learned about the Ennead's protocol, but maybe that had been part of those Q&A sessions he had with Khonshu sometimes.
Another, much larger part stiffened at the slight against the god whose avatar he was. Yes, this was bad. This was going to go to hell in a handbasket at warp speed, he thought.
Khonshu's response was a spike of fury that ran along the mental connection. The god's presence within his avatar was quite pronounced and unlike the last time, it didn't feel abrasive or invasive.
The insult was clear, as was the intent.
Don't! Steven called. That's what they want, Khonshu. Don't play their game!
The god bristled. This had been an outright provocation, and if Marc hadn't disliked Osiris from the very first time of meeting him, he would have gladly kicked him where it hurt now. And punch his lights out. Repeatedly.
There was a surge, almost like a request, and Marc felt his god slide along the bond to envelop his mind. He closed his eyes for a second. It was softer, more mindful than the last time. Not a possession. His eyes shone a brilliant white as he met each avatar's gaze. Some of them frowned at the continuous glow.
It was a poignant response to the breach of protocol by addressing Marc and not Khonshu. Okay, getting off on the wrong foot right from the start, Marc mused darkly. Khonshu wasn't and had never been a political animal. He responded emotionally and this was a very clear statement. He was one step away from suiting up, which would most likely break every last protocol.
"Osiris," Khonshu spoke, using Marc's vocal cords and mouth. "Why was I summoned?" he demanded coldly.
"You and your avatar were requested to appear to a hearing on the infraction you caused," Osiris told him sternly.
Infraction? Did we mess up somewhere? Steven muttered, worried. What's going on?
Marc had no idea. The other gods hadn't given them so much as a thank you for saving the realms and Khonshu had been smarting over that brush-off for a while. Aside from Yatzil, no one had spoken to them since. That had been months ago. Almost a year now. Khonshu had grown out of his temper tantrums, but the summons had opened the old wounds again; wounds that still hadn't scarred.
"Explain yourselves!" the moon god ordered harshly.
"You are accused of deliberately destroying an Unholy. You unraveled ancient magic and counter-cursing spells woven over sacred ground without express permission by the Ennead!"
Marc was stunned and Steven's wide-eyed confusion was a reflection of that.
Oh dear, his alter suddenly murmured. Oh dear… oh dear… oh… bloody hell's bells!
Marc couldn't exactly ask what was going on, mainly because Khonshu was currently in control of his avatar, but he didn't really have to. The deity wasn't stupid and whatever Steven had already understood, Khonshu now uttered out loud.
"You speak of the blade?" The moon god was bristling, seething. White eyes turned to stare at Osiris.
"An Unholy, yes."
Steven groaned. The dagger! We're here because of the bleeding dagger?!
"It was singularly foul magic created to cut into oath-bindings!" Khonshu replied sharply. "Unspeakable, sinister magic we haven't dared touch in millennia! It shouldn't exist on any plane! You dare summon me over this?"
"It was a relic of my temple," Osiris simply stated.
Steven made a shocked little sound and Marc wondered if they shouldn't have let Ammit eat the guy. Khonshu's response was a sharp rise in energy and Marc's body stiffened accordingly. It wasn't painful, but it was a warning.
"I erased an evil that should not exist, nor even spoken about! You claim such unspeakable magic as your own?"
"The Unholy was created to protect avatars," Osiris said evenly. "It isn't a weapon. It is a means of healing."
There was a gust of wind dancing around Marc and Steven was frantically shaking his head.
Don't let them provoke you! he pleaded. Last time was an outright disaster!
Khonshu snarled softly, but he quieted a little. "It doesn't protect an avatar. It kills them!"
The other representatives shifted in their seats.
"The choice was not yours to make, Khonshu. Your actions were not sanctioned by this council's vote."
Marc's jaws clenched as Khonshu's emotional response trickled through him. Yet, it was a far cry from the forceful presence that had used his body and voice the last time. That had been stressful… painful.
"My avatar was attacked. The bond was threatened. I do not nor did I ever need the so-called sanctioning of the council to defend myself!"
"You claim an attack by an Unholy, a weapon created specifically to break an avatar's binding. Yet here you are, with your avatar; healthy and whole." Osiris' own avatar relayed cold curiosity and something else. "You claim to have won against the strongest of bind-breakers?"
"Yes. Yes, I do! It was cruel magic," the moon god snapped. "Sadistic and unnecessary!"
"It was necessary!" Osiris argued. "The only way outside a ritual conducted by at least six of the Ennead to ensure the freedom of an avatar!"
"Because imprisoning Seth in stone wasn't enough?!"
Seth? They created that terrible weapon because of Seth? For one rebellious god?
Marc was rather hazy on these matters, especially when it came to myth and lore.
"He tainted his avatar. He abused his host," Osiris stated. "He couldn't be allowed to have access to the avatar, even in his imprisoned state."
Khonshu narrowed those brilliantly white eyes and Marc felt the whisper of the suit.
Oh fuck, he thought faintly. Please no…
Khonshu, Steven pleaded.
"You of all should know that a binding oath cannot be broken by the entrapment of the god who wove it." Osiris gave him a pointed look.
Yeah, Marc thought bitterly. Your luck or Ammit would have killed millions. It had been his only way of reaching Khonshu, breaking him out of his prison.
"You broke it for them… To punish Seth?" Khonshu's voice was flat, cold. "Using dark spells forbidden by your very self?"
Marc wanted to punch the othergod; hard; repeatedly. He had been on the receiving end of that 'freedom', how Khonshu had been ripped out of him. That had left a hole in him that had threatened to tear his very soul apart. He had also been the victim of the Unholy, the cruel spell trying to sever the connection to Khonshu permanently, torturing his mind into turning away from the god. Both events had eaten and chipped away at his soul. The second time had been far more cruel and gruesome, the nightmarish images and clear psychological manipulation enough to drive any avatar into insanity or worse.
No avatar should be forced to endure this, Steven whispered, shocked. No one! That was sadistic! If the dagger had stabbed you before… before we had healed ourselves… before we reached a partnership…
They would be dead now, Marc agreed wordlessly. His fractured mind and soul would have been torn apart. He would gladly have renounced Khonshu and just accepted his fate; his death.
The moon god's energy swirled through him, curled around his mind and soul, whispering and warm. Khonshu's possessiveness rose, holding on tight. It was reassuring and calming, though their god was far from calm. Right now he was about to blow the lid off.
Marc… Steven said softly. Let me. Please.
Alright.
"Hope you're sure," he whispered, barely moving his lips.
I am. Trust me.
He felt Khonshu's surprise, then the sudden acquittal. Marc briefly closed his eyes, then stepped back.
It was Steven who opened his eyes and gave the assembled avatars a smile. "Hello."
