Death Comes To All

The Palace, Alexandria: 26 July, 204 BC

Zephyrus chuckled hollowly at the detective's threat. "It is you who have made a mistake, Sherlock. You and your companion should never have gotten involved in our timeline. And now, this place will be your grave."

Tobias stared at his friend in shock. "What have you done, Zeph? You aren't supposed to be like this! You're a good man. Not a killer."

His eyes flashed with pain for a moment. "How can you say that? I killed Lucian. I. . ." His face hardened once more. "It doesn't matter. You all are just holding me back anyway. The only way to save the world is to rule it. And you would never let me. I'm sorry. But this ends here."

Sherlock frowned. When he spoke, his voice felt as if it were coming from a long way off. "You're right about one thing. This will end here. But only once you have paid for what you have done."

Susie looked at the boy she called brother in disbelief and growing fury. "Dammit Zephyrus, are you even listening to what you are saying? You plan on saving the world by killing us all? What the hell kind of madness is this?"

Faith sighed. "Twisted logic. Makes sense in a backwards way."

Zephyrus scoffed at the girl he used to love. "No, what's backwards is giving a damn about any of you. I understand now. Caring makes you weak."
He smiled at Sherlock. "You understand what that means better than anyone, Sherlock."

Susie screamed out her frustration, beating the ground with her fists in fury at her own weakness. Something was very wrong with Zeph. He never would act this way unless…oh no…what the hell could she do?

Faith shook her head. "That's not true and you know it."

Sherlock frowned at the girl. "Shut up. He's not going to listen to you. If anyone can convince him, it'll have to be me." He turned to Zephyrus. "I used to think the same way, Mr. Ambrose. But you're wrong. Caring doesn't make you weak. It hurts, and it isn't logical. But I think it makes us stronger in the end. And that is why I can do this." He threw the knife at Zephyrus, piercing his abdomen.

Faith rolled her eyes. "Wasn't talking to him."

Sherlock sighed. "It's always something with you, Faith."

"No!" bellowed Susie. She grabbed her own knife, flinging it at Sherlock and taking him in the left hand. "The flail, you idiot! Get rid of the damn flail! Can't you see it's possessed him?"

Zephyrus laughed maniacally, ripping the knife out of his gut and dropping it on the ground. "You'll pay for that, Sherlock." He raised the flail again. Sherlock cried out in pain as his skin

Faith sighed. "Oh for the love of…" She raised her hands. She was really gonna hate doing this. Out of her hand flew what appeared to be a boomerang made of light. It flew at the speed of light towards the flail, trying to knock it out of Zephyrus' hands.

Susie grabbed a spear that had fallen from the back of the chariot, and hauled herself to her feet, where she stood swaying a moment, before staggering to the back of the chariot and dragging herself onboard. She thanked fate that these were trained war horses. She grabbed the reins and forced the horses into a run, back through the doors that had come from. She only hoped she could find the right corridor.

Zephyrus glared at Faith, his eyes glowing with golden light. As he stared at her, she felt the strength leave her body. He grabbed the boomerang in one hand and threw it at the chariot, severing the reins. Faith lowered her arms, her eyes hypnotized by Zephyrus'. She felt herself falling.

Susie stared at the reins in disbelief. "Shit…I think I've had about as much of this stupidity as I can take for one day!" She held on for dear life as the horses careened out of control, dragging the chariot behind them.

Sherlock ran to the fallen girl. "Faith, you fool! Tying the flail to yourself like that. . ."

She grimaced. "Was… Not… My… Intention! …So… this is how… Pharaoh felt… where is… he?"

Tobias charged Zephyrus. "This isn't you! Zeph! This isn't you! Please."

Zephyrus rolled his eyes. "Clearly, you don't know me very well."

He raised the flail again. Tobias fell to his knees as darkness billowed around him, choking him to death. When it cleared, his dead body was covered in frogs.

Faith cried out seeing Tobias fall.

Ptolemy entered the room, his eyes wide in distress. "And what are you doing to our palace?" He flailed about in distress. At least he looked healthier.

Sherlock sighed. "Gay. Well, that explains everything. No wonder Egypt fell. No heirs."

Susie finally dropped and rolled out the back of the chariot, landing in a heap against the wall. For a few long minutes, all she could do was fight the white hot pain coursing through her body. Slowly, the pain ebbed to a manageable level, and she looked up, only to see the form of Tobias on the ground. Her world slowed.

Mira struggled to stand, but was trapped in the wreckage of the chariot. As she cried out in pain at her ankle, her throat constricted as her saliva changed form and she began to choke on blood.

Zephyrus watched her fall, his eyes ablaze. He was enjoying this.

Faith moaned. "This is not good." She tried to get to her feet. She must do something.

Susie's world was being torn apart. Toby…Mira…John…all killed by her brother. Her breath began coming in short gasps and her eyes widened, the whites showing starkly as her irises contracted in shock.

Zephyrus stares down at her, his emotional turmoil overthrowing the lure of the flail temporarily. "Susie. . . I'm sorry. . ." But his control didn't last. He directed a fireball at her, crying in agony as he does so. She burned to a slow crisp. He shook it off, leaping to the ground and stalking towards to others in the room.

Faith moaned once more in agony. "Should have seen this coming…"

Sherlock smirked through the pain. "Don't worry. Even I. . . didn't see this. . ." It was clear that the blisters were inside his body as well. His breathing came in only ragged breaths.

He and Faith watched in horror as Zephyrus hunted down Violet and Romana. Cornering them against the far wall, he crushed the life out of them with darkness as he did with Tobias.

Faith turned to Sherlock. "So… any idea of what we can do?"

"Die," hissed Zephyrus.

A swarm of locusts descended, consuming Faith whole. As she screamed in pain and terror, Sherlock closed his eyes, gripping the card with the Dragon on it tightly.

Sherlock sighed. "Well, at least I'm not bored now." As he breathed his last breaths, the world faded to darkness.

The Egyptian Afterlife

When Sherlock opened his eyes, he found John Watson smiling down at him.

Sherlock gasped in shock. "John? But you're. . ."

John smiled weakly. "So are you. We all are. Dead."

Susie chuckled slightly. "Well, least my leg's no longer mushed up! Now what, Idiot?" Susie spoke from her perch in Tobias' arms. She looked like she had no plans to leave him anytime soon.

"I was so scared I'd never see you again," he cried. "Oh, Su. . ." They kissed passionately.

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "So I suppose this his hell then."

John frowned. "Not heaven?"

Sherlock gestured to the others. "Well, that lot are all here. Though I suppose. . . maybe purgatory?"

John blushed slightly. "How's that? Because I'm here? That's sweet, but –"

Sherlock shushed him. "No. Because they look like they're willing to let us out." He gestured to a group of figures approaching them.

Susie smirked at the two. "Hmmm, someone should spend less time bitching, and more time acting on his impulses! What's this then? Good thing? Or bad thing? And do our weapons work here? Just in case of course."

A man with the head of a jackal shot her a dog grin. "I would not advise trying to harm us. We are here as friends, not enemies." He bowed to her, then turned to Sherlock. "And we will let you go. But only if you can prove yourselves worthy."

Susie returned the bow with a low one of her own, then snorted at his words. "Oh brother…more tests…should we have studied?"

A man with the head of a stork walked over to her, pulling her out of Tobias' arms. "My dear Susan Olivier. We have much to discus. Perhaps you should take this more seriously."

As he spoke, a beautiful naked woman grabbed John's hand. He blushed awkwardly. Sherlock glared at her.

"You're the Egyptian pantheon, right?" he asked. "So what do you want with us? Oh. I see. You need our help."

A man with the head of a hawk helped him off the grass. "Exactly. Thoth, I get this one."

The stork-headed man glared at him. "Lord Horus, by rights, he should be mine! But. . . fine. I'll take the girl."

Susie kept a death grip on Tobias' hand as she was pulled from him. She glared at the god. "I might be more serious if I got some straight answers! Now stop dragging me already, I can walk fine!"

A young woman with the head of a cow approached Mira shyly. "Welcome, Mirabel Jamerson. I'm sorry if you found your death inconvenient at all."

Mira rolled her eyes. "The only inconvenient thing is that Hottie McHotterson's boyfriend's here too. . ."

The goddess laughed, taking her by the arm.

Romana opened her eyes, yawning. "Well, this is curious, I didn't regenerate." She looked around at the others, wondering what was going on. Then she gasped. "By the Egyptian gods! Seriously…"

Susie sighed. "Sooo…Where are we going, and what will we be doing when we get there?"

Another falcon-headed man approached, this one with a shining disc of light above his head. The others bowed to him. He smiled, bowing to Romana. "It is time. Come, children of another time. We have need of you."

Romana bowed in return. "You must be Ra. It is an honor to meet you. What is it you need our help with?"

Ra nodded. "We know that Set has taken your friend. And Zephyrus is consumed by the Flail of Set. You are not strong enough yet to fight him. But he must be stopped."

Horus cleared his throat. "When we first made ourselves known to the people of earth, we gave them ten artifacts of power. The one who had all ten of them would be impossible to stop."

The cow-headed goddess Hathor's eyes were wide in sorrow. "But we saw that men were greedy and bloodthirsty. They used the artifacts for personal gain. So we took them away."

Thoth nodded. "We waited for a time when those destined to wield them showed up. The Arc of Time."

The naked sky goddess Mut smiled warmly. "We have found you. Our champions. You must find our artifacts. Use them to stop Zephyrus and Seth."

Romana watched them carefully. "You took them away, but we have to find them? That's our test…. Any clues at all?"

"Naturally, we will tell you what you each are looking for," replied Thoth. As to how to find them, you must rely on your wisdom."

"Your courage," said Ra.

"Your wiles," added Hathor.

"Your character," commanded Horus.

"Your kindness," crooned Mut.

"Your passion," mused Isis.

"Your instincts" growled Sakhmet.

"And your judgement," finished Anubis.

Susie sighed in resignation. "We are so screwed." She took a deep breath, then turned to the gods. "What are we looking for then?"

Mut smiled. "My gift to mankind was a shield that protects the wearer from all harm, just as I am a barrier between the waters of heaven and earth. John Watson. You are destined to be my Shieldbearer."

John sighed. "Right. So a shield. Well, that's useful I guess."

Hathor beamed at Mia. "My gift to mankind is a girdle that makes the wearer irresistible to all who look upon them, just as I am the goddess of love and beauty. Heather Mirabel Jamerson. You are my champion."

Mira chuckled. "Sweet. . ." She eyed Sherlock.

The lion goddess Sakhmet growled. "My gift to mankind is a collar. It makes the one who wears it a peerless warrior, such as I, the goddess of war, need. Tobias Forth, you will be my warrior."

Tobias gulped.

Horus bowed. "My gift is a crown. As I am god of the pharaohs, so he who wears my crown is a leader of men, and can bend the minds of others to his will. Sherlock Holmes, you are my chosen bearer."

Sherlock beamed at John, who facepalmed. "Worst. Choice. Ever."

Isis approached the Irishwoman quietly. "My gift to mankind is a blade of unparalleled power. It bears my blessings of earth and water and all the powers therein. Violet Conway, you will bear my sword."

When Violet heard her name coming from the goddess she perked up and listened closely with a questioning look on her face. "Why me of all the people here? There are better suited people… so why me?" she sighed. "But if I am the one that you want, then I will be the one that you need."

Thoth clicked his beak. "My gift to man is a book that contains all the knowledge in the world. Though I should also have chosen Sherlock Holmes, I give this book to Susan Olivier."

Susie rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence mate! Guess I'll just have to make do with the idiot's scraps then."

Sherlock eyed her with jealousy. "Can I trade? I'd like to trade. . . Wait. No. Hot-headed Australian with the power to manipulate minds. . . yeah. I'll stick with what I've got."

Ra turned to the Time Lady. "And my gift is sandals. Sandals with the power of flight, so the bearer may soar through the heavens as I do. They also allow the wearer to freeze time. Romana, you are the one I have chosen."

Nodding her head, she looked up at him. "It's an honor, thank you, Ra, I won't let you down."

Sherlock frowned suddenly. "Hang on. I thought you said ten. With the flail, that's only eight. What about the others?"

Anubis whined softly in the back of his throat. "My gift to mankind is a set of gauntlets that allow the wearer to see the sins of others, as I am the judge and arbiter of the dead. By rights, my powers belong to Lucian Jamerson. And yet, you will still need to recover them."

Horus nodded. "As for the last, those are the Bracers of Osiris, my father. His leg bands give the bearer power over life and death. But these already belong to your party member Faith Harkness."

Susie sighed. "Surprised she hadn't got them already…with everything that's happened…"

Violet looked at the faces of the others at the mention of Faith. "I think we need her. I totally get that she has hurt us, but she wouldn't do that, something or someone made her. Let's look for these for her."

John just sort of stared as the absurdity of the situation finally caught up with him. "So where should we start?"

Sherlock grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the horizon. "Let's start with yours, shall we? It'd be damned inconvenient to lose my blogger again. Don't you think?"