The Eyes of Horus: The Eye of Thunder
Chapter Three: Dance with Sekhmet
That evening, Liu Kang offered the two gods a room to stay in his house. Finding it as a great way to rest and relax before they set out the next morning, the gods accepted and shared a small room. Raiden sat on the floor in a meditative style, his eyes closed. Bastet was sitting on the floor across from him, running a hand through her fingers to comb out the knots made in it by the children. Once again that night, the children had found the cat goddess and forced her to play games with them. She was finally saved when the children were ushered home to be in their houses for the night. The curfew was still in order so the children and everyone else had to be in the safety of their homes to prevent the possible attack of the lioness god that was stalking the forest. Monks and other warriors walked the streets, keeping a very watchful eye in the event Sekhmet were to attack.
As he meditated, Raiden could hear Bastet rumbling around. The golden jewelry around her wrists jingled musically as she moved her hand through her hair. It was a nice noise, but distracting when a thunder god was trying to meditate.
"I think I already found one thing that I don't like about this realm…" Bastet started, looking at Raiden as she spoke. "The games kits play. They are more brutal than fighting a warrior."
Raiden did not answer, hoping that she would realize that he was not in the mood for conversing.
"I've had my share of worthy adversaries but none as worse as a group of kits crawling all over you, pulling your fur and ears."
Raiden still did not answer the cat goddess. He was lucky to find a few odd moments of peace and quiet because he could not hear Bastet move or talk. But then, suddenly, he felt warm fur press against his back. Bastet, in her feline form, wrapped her body around Raiden. He could hear her distinct purr and her long whiskers tickled his ears. With great patience and repressing the urge to snap at the cat goddess, Raiden remained in his meditative state. He knew that Bastet would get bored and leave him to do something else. The thunder god took in a breath and felt the fur pressing against him disappear. The purring had stopped as well and Raiden was left in silence.
"Finally…" Raiden muttered under his breath.
After a long meditation, Raiden opened his eyes and saw that he was alone in the room. The only thing with him was a flickering candlelight. Raiden looked about the room and there was no sign of his feline companion. "Bastet?" He asked aloud. "Where are you?"
Raiden stood up and made his way out of the room, trying to sense Bastet's presence. He immediately found it and located her whereabouts. In a flash as quick as lightning, he teleported outside onto the wooden porch and he did find the cat goddess.
In her feline form, Bastet sat on the deck. In the moon's silvery light, her dark grey coat looked lighter; the golden jewelry shone a silver glow. Her long tail wrapped delicately round her paws and her long neck stretched up. Her green eyes stared at the moon with a mixed focused and trance look. She seemed not to notice Raiden. Raiden walked slowly up to her and she still didn't seem to notice. When Raiden was close enough, he placed a hand on her back. Amazingly enough, the cat goddess did not finch. Her gaze remained on the moon.
"Bastet?" Raiden asked her. "Bastet? Are you all right?"
After a moment, Bastet's eyes widened and she looked over at Raiden. Now she seemed back to normal.
"I am sorry Lord Raiden," Bastet promptly apologized.
"It is fine, but what was with you staring at the moon?"
"I-I don't really know…When you were ignoring me, I saw the big circular thing floating in the sky and I felt drawn to it, so to say. Oh, whatever…this is stupid. Why am I telling this to you?"
"It is not 'stupid.' I witnessed many cats share a connection with the moon and the night sky."
"I'm a god of cats, Lord Raiden, and I have no idea what you're getting at."
"Uh…never mind. And I am sorry I did not respond to you in the room. I was meditating."
Bastet didn't answer him. Her cat eyes gave the expression of a pouty look. "You could've told me…" Bastet mumbled. The cat goddess moved over to the thunder god and rubbed her head against his leg, giving out a small purr. "But, I guess I can forgive you. After all, we got to stick together and try not to kill each other if we want to accomplish our mission."
Suddenly, Raiden felt an odd sensation. Though it was odd, it seemed vaguely familiar. Like a presence he met this morning…
"Sekhmet…" Bastet growled, the fur on her back stood on end and her tail puffed out a little.
"And she is not alone," Raiden added. "I sense serpent-like creatures alongside her."
With that, Raiden watched as Bastet ran away from him, making her way towards the village without him. Using his powers, Raiden teleported himself into the village and began to witness what has already happened in the time span that he had missed. The warriors of the village, brave Shaolin monks, challenged unusual monsters with snake-like bodies and human-like torsos. Each of the serpent warriors had a sharp sword their hand, their tongues whipping around wildly like a snake's.
Raiden heard a loud hiss behind him. The god of thunder turned around to see a serpent warrior. This warrior was much bigger than most of the other serpent warriors and stared at the thunder god with spite. Unlike most of the other serpent warriors, this one did not hold a weapon. Instead, he had strong forearms and his fingers were armed with sharp claws. The serpent bared its sharp fangs at Raiden, sticking its fork tongue out to taste the air. It must be a general of the serpents, Raiden thought. The creature chuckled evilly, opening its mouth to speak.
"Well, if it isn't the great god of thunder Raiden," the monster said, mocking a cheerful emotion. His "s" sounds were coming off as a long hiss, as stereotypical and appropriate it was for this monster. For such a creature, Raiden was shocked at how well it could communicate. "Finally stooping so low to live with the fleshy mortals, are we?"
"You are very well spoken for a monster," Raiden growled back, readying into a fighting stance. "Why are you causing trouble here? You have no right to be here!"
The monster hissed at the thunder god. "That is none of your business! I will have your head and my father will be most pleased."
The snake creature snarled and lunged at Raiden, mouth agape and clawed fingers ready to slash at the thunder god. Raiden threw his hands up at the serpent general's face, sending out a bolt of electricity. Contact with the current had stunned the monster, sending him back a few meters away from Raiden. As the monster got over his shock, it lunged again at Raiden. Raiden was more prepared with the new attack the serpent monster imposed and was able to parry against the monster. With clawed fingers, the serpent monster slashed wildly at Raiden and luckily, Raiden was able to dodge the monster's blows. Finally, after much luck on Raiden's part, the serpent landed a blow, giving the god of thunder a nasty left uppercut. This sent Raiden into the air and crashing hard onto the earth. The serpent warrior slivered towards the down god and Raiden remained motionless on the ground. The snake creature growled triumphantly.
"Your head is mine," he hissed.
Suddenly, as if lightning had materialized on Earth, Raiden shot up and gave the serpent a taste of its own medicine, with an added electric jolt. With a scream, the serpent man flew back. Raiden quickly got his balance back and flew towards the serpent, sending the monster into a wall. Raiden stood in front of the serpent and saw its muscles twitching. It was not finished yet, not by a long shot. But even in this moment, Raiden couldn't help but wonder of what had come to his feline friend.
Bastet ran through the streets, narrowly dodging the blows of both the Shaolin monks and of the serpent creatures. She was on the scent of her sister, the treacherous warrior goddess Sekhmet. Finally, after much searching and running, she found her sister sitting quietly on top of the monastery. She looked as if she had no part in the fighting and seemed to have been waiting.
"At last you have come to me, sister," Sekhmet growled, her voice dripping with fake appreciation for her sister. "I've been waiting for such a long time for you."
Bastet shifted into her human form and stared down at Sekhmet, her green eyes blazing with fury though she had a playful smile on my face. "No parade for me though…my Sekhmet, you sure are a boring old cat."
Sekhmet curled her human lips up into a snarl. "You act so playful all the time, its rather annoying. I'm excited to wipe the smirk off your face."
"I know you like a good clawing and all, but first let me ask you a question. Why are you allied with these serpent monsters and why are you attacking these villagers? They did absolutely nothing to you."
Sekhmet looked down, as if she were trying to come up with a reasonable answer. But the reason went away when she lifted her head, glaring at her sister. "I have no need to answer you. Now, my sister, fight me! Let us see who is a more worthy daughter of Ra!"
With a jump as graceful as a cat, Sekhmet launched herself to the ground and landed a few feet away from Bastet. The goddess charged at her sister, baring fanged teeth like an angry lioness. Bastet charged at her sister in the same manner. Sekhmet was the first one to strike, pouncing on her sister and pushing her down to the ground. Bastet let out a hiss of annoyance and struggled under the lion goddess' weight. Sekhmet raised a clawed hand to slash at her sister's face. Bastet retaliated quickly, kicking her sister off of her. Sekhmet let out a surprised yowl as she flew through the air away from Bastet. Bastet quickly got back on her feet and so did Sekhmet, who let out an annoyed hiss as she got up. The two stared at each other, green eyes staring at ice blue ones. The two feline women walked around in a circle, sizing up the competition.
Then, it was Bastet's turn to make the next move. The cat goddess kicked out at Sekhmet. Sekhmet blocked the blow, grabbing Bastet's leg. As Bastet writhed to get her foot out of Sekhmet's hold, the lion goddess bent her head and bit down on Bastet's leg. Bastet let out a pained yowl. As she struggled, Sekhmet refused to let go. Finding no way to free herself, Bastet wound back her right arm and her fist made contact with Sekhmet's stomach. The blow made Sekhmet let go and the loin goddess stumbled back in shock. Bastet glared at her sister, letting out a low growl. Sekhmet lifted her head and returned an even angrier look to her sister. Bastet watched as s subtle red tint came into Sekhmet's blue eyes and felt terror go through her. Sekhmet opened her mouth and an arid, hot air came around Bastet. This was one of Sekhmet's special skills, Desert Wind. Bastet knew it was time to get away from her sister.
Bastet quickly transformed into her cat form as the air around her got dryer. Soon, she felt as if her fur was on fire. Suddenly, Sekhmet gave a small smirk and the air exploded into fire. Bastet was too late. The fire caused an explosion, sending Bastet into the air with a startled yowl. She returned to the earth, crashing onto her side. The air returned to normal and Sekhmet stood straight up, giving off a satisfied stare. She walked up to her limp sister slowly, taking in the moment. Much to Sekhmet's surprise, the cat goddess was still alive. The dark grey cat's eyes opened quickly and she jumped onto Sekhmet, pushing the lion goddess to the ground. Bastet bit down on Sekhmet's shoulder, biting down hard enough to draw blood. Sekhmet let out a terrible scream and glared at her sister.
"Now…tell me why you are doing this," Bastet growled, not letting go of her sister's shoulder.
"Get off of me!" Sekhmet shouted fiercely. With incredible strength, she punched her sister in the shoulder and pushed the cat away. She returned to her feet, clutching her shoulder as the blood trickled down her fingers.
Bastet returned to her human form and stared down at her sister. "Why Sekhmet? Why?"
Sekhmet comprised herself and stared back at her sister. In the distant, Bastet could hear the serpent men shrieking and yelling their retreats. She saw some of the ugly reptiles slither back into forest, some missing limbs and most badly bruised. Her focus returned to Sekhmet when the lion goddess spoke.
"You have lost you strength, Bastet. Being the Elder God's trophy pet has made you weak. If our father were to see you now, I think he'd be very disappointed."
"I have no time for your bellyaching," Bastet spat back. "Now tell me or I'll make you."
"If you want find our precious father, you're going to have to be a lot stronger than you are now."
"Sekhmet!" A cry came out from the one large serpent warrior. He came slithering by, being chased by Raiden. The serpent was very injured, bruising and open wounds all over his body. One of his eyes was bruised black and the other had an ugly cut on it. "Let us get a move on! We're retreating. You're mission here failed and my men will not get harmed here!" Then the serpent slithered with his men into the forest.
"Damn that Hasani. Always such a coward to finish what was started…" Sekhmet growled. She looked back at her sister and Raiden, who was now standing by the cat goddess. "I guess I'll be seeing you all later. Good bye my dear, sweet sister and farewell oh great god of thunder."
Sekhmet transformed into her lioness form and disappeared in a burst of flames. The arid, desert-like air clung to the area even after she disappeared.
Paritheikae: I thought it'd be fun to add in a little game (As you said, most people never mention the children of the village ever having fun.) And I found the mistake and corrected it! And I'm glad you're enjoying these history notes. They're pretty fun to research.
Jen: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking the Egyptian theme of this. I will be planning to have more than just Earthrealm in this story and will try to incorporate all of the other realms in the universe. And I hope you stay tuned for future chapter!
SuperSaiyanMario9000: I'm glad you like the game. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And thank you for the praise!
A/N: I apologize for the length of this chapter. It seemed pretty long when I was working on it. Anyway, here is your history note:
Sekhmet's "desert wind" attack is actually based on one of the several myths about her. It is said that Sekhmet's breath is like the desert's wind or air. So, basically, the arid desert air in Egypt is thanks to Sekhmet breathing.
So, here is another chapter. I'm not all too good at writing fight scenes but I think this one is faintly adequate. I'll go into more detail about the aftermath of the attack in the next chapter because this chapter was beginning to get a bit too long. And I apologize if this was kind of Bastet-centric…I just wanted to introduce Sekhmet a little better. Thank you so much for the read! Please review and constructive criticism is always welcome! Stay thirsty, my friends.