Marc felt like he was about to topple over from the force, his mind spinning. Something twined through him, feeding small trickles of energy, and he breathed in sharply as the rush cleared. There was the clear sensation as if the suit had wrapped itself around him, individual ribbons layering into armor, but he was still in his 'civvies'.
He's here… Steven said again. He shouldn't be able to do that, Marc! No god can enter the chamber in their true form! None!
But here he was. Very much physical because one of the ragged edges of the torn cape was brushing over Marc's arm; curled around it briefly. Then the contact was gone.
How… how could he? Steven whispered, radiating shock.
"Us," Marc murmured, lips barely moving.
They can use their avatars…? No, no, can't be! Then the others would be here, too! And they're not. Well, they are, but they aren't physically here like Khonshu. They're just possessing a human body!
Maybe this was just something Khonshu could do? Marc thought. But if so, why him and why hadn't he done it the first time they had been here? Why stress his avatar's system so badly, Marc had been pleading for help?
No, he didn't believe the other gods could just manifest, too.
"Khonshu," Isis greeted him, apparently the first to get over the shock. "Time has not been kind to you, my friend."
Ouch!
"Spare me the small talk," the god of the moon replied.
Oh, alright, there goes the political savviness.
"You… you endanger your avatar to enter the Council Chamber?" Osiris demanded. "You harm his physical form and drain him of his energy… for this insulting and theatrical entrance! For your own benefit! I see you haven't changed your ways! Despite his ill-advised allegiance with Ammit, your prior avatar was right!"
-"Khonshu is taking advantage of him the same way he abused me.-
Marc pushed away the almost forgotten voice, the memories of the time he had been here before. Steven was right there, next to him, and from the brief, thin smile, his alter was quite aware of the memory.
"How dare you accuse me, Osiris!" Khonshu made a sharp, cutting gesture. "I have not harmed my host! I did not drain his energy! He is physically and mentally more than capable of functioning as my conduit! Without harm to his body or mind. Or his souls!"
Okay… Marc looked at the towering figure. What the flying f…?
Because there's is two of us! Steven exclaimed excitedly as a light bulb went off inside his head. Marc! I think it's because we are two! He has an incredible advantage over all of them! We're not an injured mind, split apart. We're whole! We're one, but more than the others! We provide stability! We give him his physical form! Like with Layla! She saw him because of his bond to you!
Marc felt almost winded with the realization. He, the fractured, almost broken mind… the one Khonshu had chosen as he lay dying in his temple… Everything he had been through, the mental anguish, the physical pain, losing so much… He had come out stronger… with Steven as part of the whole now. He had lost parts of himself, but he had gained stability, balance… and a soul bond with an ancient deity.
Empty sockets briefly met startled, silvery white eyes. Khonshu's dark, satisfied grin was clear to feel. As was the possessive note.
Tefnut's eyes were wide open, the shock clear. "You… you are balanced within both souls," she whispered, speaking out loud what the others were starting to realize now. "This has never happened… No one has ever…"
"I claim a reciprocal soul bond to my host," Khonshu stated, voice dark, filled with satisfaction. "Unconditionally."
Horus slowly shook his head, clearly speechless. Hathor was radiating amusement. Her expression was one that could almost be called pride.
"My claim on my avatar's souls supersedes everything," Khonshu stated, voice rough but booming. He made a sharp gesture with the staff. "My binding will not break and my host will not be broken!"
There was a gleam to the sockets Marc had seen before and it made him smile, actually grin like a madman. The crescent moon of his staff glinted sharply, dangerously, and Marc felt an immense pride and strength suffuse him.
He faced Osiris without a single doubt about who and what he was. His eyes were glowing brightly and shadows of the armor overlaid his clothes. On his chest, the crescent moon symbol was visible. Inside he felt Steven's mirrored strength and his alter's own clothes were trembling between the loose-fitting sweater with pants and the sharp, white suit.
"It was my right to break the curse. It was my soul-bound's right to physically destroy what threatened us. This so-called hearing is a farce! It is a petty game to play to stave off your boredom, Osiris! Pathetic!"
Khonshu looked at the assembled Ennead.
"You summoned me over a so-called infraction! You accused me of laughable matters that wouldn't have been worth your time before. But it is my name that drew you here! You have done so before and banished me to the realm of humankind!" He leaned forward, fixing empty sockets on Osiris' representative. "I have grown, I have evolved. You cannot command me anymore!"
Isis raised her hand to stop Osiris' reply. "You have truly consciously bound yourself to this eternal form, Khonshu?"
"Yes." So simple. So clear and simple.
"Shackled in this grotesque parody of your former glory?" She gestured at his appearance. "Why would you do that?"
Uhm, Steven murmured. He… they… they do self-actualize, well, choose their appearance… wow… That's why he looks so different… Oh dear… Oh dear, wow… This is amazing!
Marc wanted to laugh at his alter's enthusiasm. This was a research spree about to happen.
Khonshu rumbled darkly. The entity still looked like a down on his luck deity, still so drab and without many ornaments.
"My physical form means nothing, Isis."
"You chose this ghoulish representation," Tefnut interjected, shaking her head. "Why? Why would you forsake your true form?"
"Because it shows his garish essence," Osiris stated coldly. "It is a reflection of what he truly is. A disgraced, fallen god. Weak, without believers or followers."
Khonshu actually laughed. Well, it was more a derisive snort, of sorts. Marc felt a moment of relief that the moon god hadn't even so much as twitched at the insult.
"Superficial glamour. What I am hasn't changed. It has only grown. I do not need to brag." His gaze was solely on Osiris' avatar now; the point clear. "My power is not diminished by this form, nor am I defined by it!"
Marc glanced at Yatzil again. She was watching with a faint smile around her lips. When she caught his gaze, she briefly inclined her head.
Osiris' expression of contempt was hard to miss. "Do you renounce your place among the Ennead, then?"
NO! No, don't! Steven cried immediately, surging forward. Marc was nearly thrown back into their mind by the force. The sudden co-fronting almost gave him whiplash. He's goading you, Khonshu. That's what he wants! Two are imprisoned in stone, Ammit has been destroyed, and you are the outsider. You were banished, shunned, ignored… He can't do this to you without a reason, but if you choose to leave…
Khonshu looked down at his avatar, clearly aware of Steven's argument. "No," he said slowly, voice deadly calm. "I do not renounce my place." He swiveled his empty sockets back onto Osiris. "You won't get that satisfaction today."
"Or ever," Marc said under his breath.
"I have grown tired of your drama, Khonshu!"
"Drama? No, Osiris, you are the only melodramatic one." The rough chuckle echoed in the chambers. "Your allegations against me were always ludicrous! Without evidence. Without proof! You claim I intentionally destroyed your creation. You state I would abuse my avatar. That I hurt and still do hurt a broken soul? Who was my accuser?"
Horus inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Arthur Harrow, avatar of Ammit."
"You believed his pretension," Khonshu said harshly. "But cast aside my warnings!"
"Your avatar was unwell at the time," Osiris stated. "It proved his claim."
"And still we saved your avatars, saved you and your realm," Marc threw in.
"Tell us, Marc Spector," Isis turned her attention to him, "are you well now?"
Almost the same question Horus had asked so many months ago.
The moon god bristled again.
She raised her hand. "Let him answer for himself, Khonshu."
"If that was the case, wouldn't the Unholy have severed my connection to Khonshu? Left me a dead husk? An empty shell?" he replied provocatively.
Steven rolled his eyes.
Isis studied him.
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine," Marc elaborated evenly.
Aces, Steven piped up.
"You claimed otherwise the last time."
"And you didn't listen last time," he told her evenly. "None of you did. Back then I was unwell, I did suffer. I told you. I needed help that you didn't give."
Isis inclined her head, accepting the accusation. "We didn't listen."
"You didn't want to hear. You also didn't want to hear about Harrow. You were never interested." Marc stared at her; hard. "Because it was Khonshu making the accusations. Because of your prejudice."
Isis bowed her head briefly. "We were wrong."
Osiris shot her an incredulous look, but she raised a hand again to stave off his interruption. Even Khonshu radiated surprise, something his avatar felt immediately. But the moon god remained silent.
"And are you unwell in your binding to Khonshu now? Is he exploiting your oath as his avatar?"
He laughed wryly. "I claimed him, Isis," he stated coolly. "I am not bound by him but to him. I work with him, not for him. It was my choice. My free will. I would do it again and there are no regrets."
The other avatars shifted again, murmuring.
"And that of your second soul?"
"The same. We are proud to call Khonshu, god of the moon, protector of those who travel the night, ours. I have protected him as he has protected me. I will not renounce my claim. Neither of us!"
Isis studied him, almost as if trying to look right into the twin soul. Steven looked back at her through Marc's eyes, refusing to evade that searching gaze, just as proud as Marc was. Just as protective and unyielding.
"His twin souls are freely entwined with my essence. In every realm!" Khonshu stated calmly. "Equals and balanced."
"The package deal," Marc added with a dark smile.
The other avatars stared at him with shocked expressions, Osiris with one of contempt and disgust. Steven was grinning like a loon.
"You truly bound your essence… to… to two souls?" Horus whispered, sounding shocked. "Even in one body… The risk… This is insane, Khonshu! Absolutely insane!"
"It was well worth the reward," Khonshu stated with satisfaction.
There were murmurs now. "You cannot ever return to what you were!" Isis exclaimed. "This… this is all you are now!"
"It is all I need to be. Have you become so superficial, Isis? To not see past an exterior anymore?"
I thought he must have been more… Steven whispered, shaking his head. Before, well… before he was banished from Heliopolis. Look at all those murals and paintings! All the gods are splendor and gold. He was never any of that.
Marc looked up at the imposing figure, the mummy-wrapped limbs and torso, the ragged shawl and drab colors. Barely any jewelry to speak of, and what he did have was muted in color. Old. Scuffed. Faded.
And somehow, yes, it was just the outside. He was intimately familiar what lay underneath, the power, the strength, the very energy. He felt it everywhere with him. Nothing about Khonshu was old and faded. He was brimming with power.
"Yes," he confirmed, sounding deeply satisfied. "This is all I am now, Isis. It is more than I ever was before. You banished me to the realm of humankind yourselves for what I am. You ignored my warnings against Ammit. You trapped me in stone, like so many others, for a perceived transgression."
"Revealing our existence to humankind!" Osiris reminded him sharply.
"Humankind has been confronted with many revelations. You found petty satisfaction in my fate," the moon god snarled. "You turned your back on me, Osiris, for I spoke my mind! For I never gave up on humanity! You still don't see their evolution and neither can you fathom to evolve yourself." Khonshu thumped his staff down next to Marc. "My avatar survived the darkest of curses, broke it, and he stands before you as my host and soul-bound."
"Two souls truly balanced equally and without suffering and harm in one body?" Isis asked, her voice rather calm and slightly inquisitive.
"Yes," Khonshu huffed, radiating how done he was with the inquisition, how he had tired of the repeated questions. "The scales are balanced. Ammit herself couldn't harm him."
Marc saw some of the avatars stiffen, eyes briefly flashing with the emotional response of their gods.
Isis' eyes were on the tall god standing right behind his chosen avatar. She finally clasped her hands and inclined her head in acceptance. Khonshu mirrored the nod.
"This laughable show of a hearing is over!" the moon god snapped before someone else could interrogate his host, clearly displeased by the inquisition.
"You do not decide whether to come or not! Nor when you may leave!" Osiris snapped.
Khonshu's ragged cape whipped up wildly and there was a loud rumbling inside the chamber.
"Do not test me, Osiris. I adhere to the Laws that there shall be no fighting within the Council Chambers, but do not test me! Not now, not ever. You have no grounds to stand on. Your so-called accusations are figments of your petty mind. This hearing shows your boredom in the Overvoid. There was no infraction. There is no judgment and there cannot be a verdict or sentence. This is over! Do not summon me again!"
With that he turned stalked toward the exit. Marc blinked at the abrupt departure.
"Whoa," he muttered. "Way to make a statement."
He caught Yatzil's eye and she nodded her head to follow the tempestuous god. Steven would probably have loved to talk to her, and maybe Marc, too, but right now it was time to leave these not-too-friendly halls.
He went after the entity whose fury spilled over from the bond, though it was rather muted. Marc hadn't really given it much thought that he had started to get such a good read on the deity whose partner he was, but right now it was driven home again just how much they were one. Ribbons curled wildly in the magical winds, flapping like angry birds, and Khonshu's state of mind was clear to feel.
I suppose we won't get an invitation to the next company picnic, Steven piped up and Marc almost laughed. We did save their sorry arses. They could at least spring for some crisps and a pint.
Osiris truly had a chip the size of the pyramids on his shoulder and his clear contempt of Khonshu was almost palpable. Despite everything they had done for the Ennead and their realm, saving their avatars and countless souls…
I'll say, he really does hold a grudge.
"Yeah. Ours isn't any better, Steven," he murmured. "Mutual dislike is way more their style than cooperation."
He had worked with mercenaries he had detested, who were cruel, cold and blood-thirsty, and he had made it work. No fists had flown, no knives had been pulled. This, right there, back in the Council Chamber, had only been so civil because the pocket dimension was neutral ground.
Marc inhaled sharply when he felt Khonshu's presence merge abruptly with him as he walked into the corridor leading to the portal. Vertigo nearly overwhelming, he stumbled and reached for the wall, stone scraping over his hand.
Gloved hand.
Damnit!
The ceremonial suit was semi-physical, the mummy-wrappings complete, the chest armor and face mask missing. The moon god's riled up emotions boiled to the surface, and Marc fought down the instinctive reaction to fully suit up. He closed his eyes, breath escaping with a hiss.
"Stop that!" he whispered harshly.
It was as bad as the possession had been. Hard, sharp, abrasive, no sophistication.
And it stopped. Abruptly.
Marc? Steven asked worriedly, pushing forward.
"No!" he ordered sharply. "Don't!"
Steven froze, wide-eyed. Marc…
"Fuck…" He dragged a hand over his face.
He stayed where he was, eyes closed, riding it out. Marc had no idea if the sensations currently flowing through him were all Khonshu or also his own. He felt wrung out. Depleted in a way that couldn't be compared to last time. It was and wasn't Khonshu. It was and hadn't been the whole confrontation.
"Go," the deity ordered softly. "You need to leave this place."
Right. They were still in the corridor, only halfway out of the pocket dimension inside the great pyramid of Giza.
They stepped through the portal and the moment the door clicked shut, Marc fell against the wall, a tremor racing through him. The wrappings dispersed, changed into a white business suit with a startled Steven fronting.
"Oh, blimey…"
Then even that was gone.
