Author's note: New chapter! It is a bit long sorry but please read and enjoy!
Chapter Five: Death Makes His Move
Kim still couldn't believe it. Six months had passed? And to top it off she had not been able to tell her mom anything that she had learned while trapped in limbo and Artemis' cavern. After informing Kim that she had been out for six months the doctors had immediately wanted to do a checkup and they wanted to take care of the slash across her chest and abdomen. Thankfully, she hadn't sustained too serious of damage from the Soul-eater, although the wound was plenty painful. As if all that wasn't enough, her body was having trouble responding.
It seemed when her consciousness had returned to her body her neuro pathways had been slightly scrambled. Instead of her right foot moving her left hand had moved. Shortly afterwards when she repeated the action her left foot responded instead. Slowly, but surely her body was going back to normal. However, not before accidents happened.
Right after returning to her body and the doctors had left she had accidentally blasted a hole in the wall when attempting to move her arm. Twice she had put holes in the ceiling when she had sneezed. After the incident they moved her to a mostly empty wing that was due for remodeling.
Then there were the nightmares and dreams. The nightmares usually involved the Soul-eater or a faceless Anubis, but these didn't trouble her. It was her regular, non-nightmare dreams that made her uneasy. Dark caverns and unintelligible whispers came to her in these dreams. Lastly, her more recent dreams had included a dark misty forest, an endless impenetrable fog, or a crystalline chamber full of towering crystal spires the size of small skyscrapers of every color and in each one she the same deep voice, sounding far more ancient than Alder's, moaning through the trees or reverberating off of the crystalline spires. In these dreams she was able discern a message she was still piecing together.
So far she had: "Mistress of the moon, death and destruction on a cataclysmic scale await the world should the Netherworld be opened and the dead be freed. To stop death you must find—"
Find what, though? Death clearly meant Anubis and the god of death was trying to open the Netherworld to destroy all of the humans on earth. These dreams above all haunted her. Except for one in a forest setting where she could have sworn she had seen Birch shifting tree to tree. So bothered by the dreams Kim was that she began to lose sleep. More recently she had started losing her appetite.
She had just woken up from yet another one of these dreams when a doctor entered her room. He smiled at her but it was a hollow smile that didn't reach his cold gray eyes. He crossed to the machines and checked them. He then checked her blood pressure. It was as he was putting the strap on her arm that she noticed his cufflinks. They were small black jackal heads with red eyes. It couldn't be could it? It was just a coincidence, that was all. She looked up at his long face and nose. He seemed like any other doctor. He finished the blood pressure test and removed the strap.
"Blood pressure is looking good and your neural pathways seem to be back to normal. Barring any complications, you should be able to be discharged tomorrow." He told her. He even sounded like a doctor.
He went to the door and instead of opening it, he locked it.
"I was worried you wouldn't make it out of limbo but as you say, 'Anything is possible for a Possible.'"
He turned to face Kim just as she lit a hand. He raised his hand and the weird tattoos appeared on her arms began to move. They slithered and flowed across her flesh, gathering on the insides of her forearms.
"Behold the mark of Hades." He murmured, his gray eyes began to glow.
The glowing tattoos on her forearms settled into two identical shapes. A single small black circle inside a claw-like semicircle. A straight line tapered at one end was attached to the semi circle by the wide end and finally a small cross line appeared across the center of the tapered line. Kim stared, mesmerized by the symbol for a moment before snapping back to reality and attempted to blast him.
"I won't let you succeed, Anubis!" She declared then gave a surprised "huh" when her body didn't respond.
She tried to speak again, but she couldn't.
Anubis grinned, "You're mine to control, Moon Mage."
He laughed, "You can thank Susanoo for it. I agreed to free him for a week from the realm that I had imprisoned him. Although he hasn't left yet which I don't understand. He's been clamoring for freedom for milennia."
The god of death spoke the last part as though to himself. His attention returned to her and she felt her arm involuntarily lower to her side. Kim's temper flared. She had vowed that no one would control her via moodilators, mind-control or anything like that again.
"It is time to bring the Netherworld to this one." Anubis said an evil smile adorning his face, "You will come with me."
"Yes, of course." Kim heard herself reply. Her body moved out of the bed and stood up while Kim tried in vain to regain control of herself.
Anubis turned his back on her and began to glow with a black aura. Kim focused and her hand slowly turned to face him. It was agony, forcing herself to act. Silvery white sparks flashed across her finger tips before a glowing ball of the light bloomed into existence in her hand. His control broke and she shouted,
"Hey, Anubis!"
He turned, a look of surprise etched on his face and she let loose the lunar energy which had grown to the size of a small beach ball. There was a loud explosion and dust filled the air followed by the sound of crashes. The dust settled to reveal a large hole in the wall which continued through several more walls.
"Whoops." Kim whispered before collapsing against the bed.
She grabbed her Kimminuticator and called her mom.
"Kimmie?"
"Mom, I need you to get me out of here." Something out of sight fell to the ground with a crash as voices began to be heard. An alarm sounded adding to the ruckus, "Like now!"
Ann nodded and the screen went black. Kim set down the Kimminuticator and looked at her forearms. The Hades symbols stood out against her white skin. She traced the one on her left arm with her index finger as she considered it.
Far away and deep underground a lone figure staggered into its secret lair. She had been in his grasp and yet she had managed to slip through his now charred fingers. How had she overcome his control runes? Susanoo had all but told him that guaranteed that he would have complete control. He growled and kicked a device beside him.
The device was designed to channel the lunar energy from the redheaded girl in order to open the Netherworld. Her energy was key and he would have her, but he couldn't get it unless he could control her.
Anubis ran the encounter through his mind, trying to figure out how she had overcome his control. Something clicked into place within his mind. Mind control was all about suppressing one's will. Her will must have been very strong to be able to fight it.
"Let me guess, she broke free of the control."
Anubis jumped and whirled around. Perched atop a stalagmite with a mischievous grin on his face was Susanoo.
"Yes, and why didn't it work?" Anubis demanded of the trickster god.
Susanoo rubbed his chin and brushed back his long red hair before responding,
"Not sure." His brown eyes looked troubled, "Tell me what happened."
Anubis recounted his experience with Kim to Susanoo who listened intently. The trickster god was silent for a moment before finally saying,
"I would guess that her will was stronger than anticipated."
"My thoughts exactly." Anubis responded grumpily.
"I'll pay Miss Possible a visit so I can figure out what went wrong and fix it." Susanoo said before throwing a small blue ball on the ground.
The ball exploded into billowing smoke which when it cleared showed the death god that the trickster god had vanished. Anubis stared at the spot for a few seconds,
"Why would you wait to leave until now, Susanoo?
Home now and very wary, Kim lay wide awake despite having retired to bed hours ago. Anubis, the god of death, had been in her hospital room and had used some form of mind control on her, and fled when she attacked. Soft, snuffling sounds made her look around at the forms of the other two occupants of her room. Bonnie and Zita had agreed to 'guard' Kim that night though both were aware that the redhead was more than capable of protecting herself or so they had thought. Kim's loss of sleep and lack of appetite had weakened her considerably although the redhead maintained that she was fine. Still, Ann had insisted on extra security.
There was a flash of blue light and a red haired man materialized in the room. Kim jumped out of her bed and sunk into a fighting stance, managing not to tremble despite how weak she felt.
"Don't bother trying to wake your friends." He said before she could speak, "I had Hypnos put them under a sleeping spell."
"Who are you?" She asked, not lowering her guard.
"I am Susanoo the trickster god." The man answered with a bow, "You should know that Anubis will do anything and I mean anything to get you and use you to open the gates of the Netherworld so that his armies may march forth and conquer this world."
The god's name was familiar somehow but she couldn't place it, "I'm well aware he's after me." Kim said a little impatiently, "Why are you here?"
Susanoo carefully stepped over Zita and sank into the desk chair,
"Oh, I just wanted to have a little chat."
Kim sat down on her bed, never looking away from the god,
"Okay, about what?" She asked.
"You see, I'd told Anubis that I would do something for him, but I'm not much interested in helping him to destroy this planet as we know it." Susanoo said pleasantly as though commenting on the weather, "Besides, I rather like this world as it is."
He waved his hand in the air around him.
"So you wanted to talk about what exactly?" Kim asked, still confused.
"A plan to stop Anubis of course." He answered like it was the most obvious thing.
"Okay, but that's like saying, "How are we going to stop death."" She replied, rolling her eyes.
"You didn't let me finish. I want to come up with a plan to stop Anubis once he has you because inevitably you will be under his control."
"What!"
"Those marks on your arms are a sure sign that it is only a matter of time before you're in his machine, releasing the Dead." He explained, looking apologetic.
"How do you know that?" Kim suspiciously.
Susanoo gave her a sad smile then sighed. His smile became a somber line,
"I helped create them."
Kim was grateful her friends were in an enchanted sleep because with a loud crash and smack, she had flown across the room and struck the trickster god across the face. Of course she knew his name. Anubis had mentioned Susanoo when he was telling her about the tattoos. He rubbed his cheek and bowed his head.
"I deserved that, plain and simple."
"Can't you get rid of them?" She asked desperately, panting slightly.
He shook his head, "Sorry, I'm afraid not. Those marks can only be removed by Anubis himself."
"Which would work; if he wasn't trying to control me." Kim responded sarcastically.
Kim's eyes widened, "But, I broke his control before, so I should be able to do it again. Right?" She trailed off hopefully.
"That I don't know." He answered ruefully, "To be perfectly honest, your breaking his control was a fluke. He thought the enchantment had been flawed somehow and thus I am here, but I see clearly that it is not. However, seeing as you broke free of the control once before you should, much like lightning striking a person again going up, have a higher chance of breaking the mind control."
He rose from the seat and moved towards the window, "That being said, it could very well be the opposite; each time he controls you his hold and influence over you grows."
Kim walked back to her bed and sank down onto the blankets,
"It seems that the best way to defeat him would be to break his hold while I'm in the machine." Kim said miserably.
"It would seem so." The trickster god agreed.
He opened the window and was about leap out when Kim remembered something,
"Wait!"
Susanoo paused and looked at the redhead, "Yes?"
Kim had been debating telling the god about her dreams and the cryptic message that she had yet to piece completely together.
"You see..."
And she began telling everything starting with her meeting with Artemis and being sent to The Forest of Limbo. She told him about the conversations she had had with Birch, Laurel, Cypress, and Alder; about her encounter with the soul eater, about the dreams and the cryptic message that were causing her to lose sleep and her appetite, about how Anubis attempted to take from the hospital, and about how confused and even how scared she was. Susanoo remained silent through the entire story only nodding every now and then.
He stepped off of the window sill and sat back down at her desk, "Well, it appears we have more to talk about and it seems I need to tell you about the first time Anubis attempted to open the gateway to the Netherworld, but it would be easier to show you."
He waved a hand through the air and the bedroom around them vanished to be replaced by a Greek temple set up on a hill overlooking an ancient Greek city except it wasn't ancient. The temple looked impeccable, not a crack or blemish to be seen.
Inside the temple was Artemis kneeling in front of a statue of Zeus, praying silently for a moment before standing up and leaving.
"There I am." Susanoo said, pointing to a figure that was watching Artemis.
Kim and the trickster god beside her seemed to float after Artemis and other Susanoo as they went through the city. Kim noticed that while the merchandise was clear, the merchants themselves were blurred and distorted.
"I see you've noticed the irregularities." Susanoo said looking at the different shops himself, "The blur and distortion is what I can't remember as well."
Artemis led them into an arena where several other people were gathered, including Anubis.
"These are the heroes of my time. The ones who'd go on to be worshiped as gods and goddesses." Susanna said, wistfully looking around the arena.
The 'heroes' were sparring, using powers that the gods of mythology were known to have had. Artemis walked over to a young woman with light brown eyes and hair observing the fights. They started talking, Artemis lighting up a hand and extinguishing it. Anubis joined them and asked Artemis a question. The moon goddess nodded and followed Anubis out the arena. Kim and the present day Susanoo followed his counterpart as he followed Anubis and Artemis. Anubis took them across the city and to a trilithon. Anubis passed through it and vanished. Artemis followed suit, leaving Kim, Susanoo, and his younger self to follow.
Kim's jaw dropped. They were standing in the center of Stonehenge and it wasn't the crumbling ruins Kim remembered. This was a Stonehenge that looked like it had just been built.
"I had forgotten what it looked like." Susanoo murmured softly, glancing around at the stone circles.
"Are each of these gateways?" Kim asked.
"Only the middle ones were." Susanoo replied shortly, "After the first trilithon fell they ceased to function as such."
Anubis crossed to another trilithon and vanished through it. A vast, seemingly endless canyon met them on the other side of the trilithon. The canyon seemed familiar somehow. Kim looked around at the red rock walls but couldn't place them anywhere.
"To you, this is the Grand Canyon." Susanoo explained.
Kim nodded, now she saw it. It may not have been what she remembered but it was The Grand Canyon. They followed Anubis, Artemis, and the younger Susanoo through the canyon arriving at another trilithon.
This new trilithon led them onto a small sandstone platform in front of several large pyramids. This was Giza, Kim was sure of it except that there were more pyramids that were at the Giza she knew.
They followed Anubis and Artemis into a pyramid and Kim gasped. Used to seeing faded colors and chip surfaces the walls were covered with bright hieroglyphics and depictions.
"So beautiful." She whispered in awe.
Susanoo nodded, "Yes, but I think they lack the character time gave them."
Kim was about to reply when they entered a large chamber with a large depiction of Anubis and what Kim was guessing was the Netherworld on the back wall. The Netherworld painted with black and a dark orange and looked positively frightening. In the center of the chamber were two large stone rings. One had clasps in it like something was supposed to stand inside it. A wooden table sat off to one side with rolls of papyrus on it.
Artemis suddenly stopped, ignited both of her hands and raised them defensively.
"Anubis, what is this?" She demanded.
A black aura surrounded Anubis, "I intend to bring the Netherworld into this world and rule it for all eternity."
"I can't let you do that!" Artemis shouted and threw a ball of silvery white light at Anubis who enveloped the ball in darkness making it disappear. It reappeared an instant later out of Artemis's shadow and stuck her in the back sending her sprawling. Black tendrils flowed from Anubis and wrapped around Artemis, lifting her from the floor.
Artemis thrashed about, trying to free herself from the tendrils.
The younger Susanoo gasped and suddenly there were two of him. One ran up the stairs behind Kim and the older Susanoo while the other dashed into the chamber. He brought his hands together and there was a bright flash of light. Anubis's hands flew to his eyes and the tendrils fell limp. Artemis freed herself and created a javelin made of her lunar power. She flung it at Anubis, forming a bow and arrow immediately after. Anulbis rolled to the side and created a shield out of two of his tendrils. Another wave of his hand and the floor around him erupted. Skeletons and half-decayed corpses flew out of the ground and charged both Susanoo and Artemis. The trickster god was quickly overwhelmed and pinned.
"Artemis!" Anubis bellowed, "Stand down or watch this trickster die!"
Artemis paused which proved to be a mistake as the corpses pinned her down. They hoisted her to her feet and dragged her to the ring with straps. Anubis strapped her in and straightened up as Artemis's entire body suddenly lit up. The silvery white glow began to flow from her and into the other ring.
"No!"
The younger Susanoo closed his eyes and just before there were two of him, then four, doubling then doubling again until there were at least three trickster gods for every corpse or skeleton.
"You're everywhere." Kim whispered, looking around the chamber.
"Only time I've been able to produce that many clones." The older Susanoo replied with a small smile as the clones began to overwhelm the dead. Kim however was watching Artemis and the other ring. The moon goddess was writhing and jerking as lunar light flowed from her and into the ring opposite her. A gray smoke began to fill the ring, billowing and rumbling with thunder. Simultaneously, Artemis began to scream.
"Anubis, you're going to kill her!"
The death god sneered, "She's strong, she'll be fine."
"Anubis, stay this madness!"
Kim turned to the new voice to see Minerva and several other heroes.
Anubis seemed confused then, spotting the second Susanoo he growled and began battling them.
"Susanoo, you will pay dearly for your meddling!" He snarled then roared, "You all will!"
Behind him the original Susanoo was trying unsuccessfully to free Artemis while his clones continued to battle the undead. He finally got one clasp open and set to working on the next one. Two clones joined him while three more placed themselves between the original and the undead. Two clasps popped open and an earthly roar that Kim had heard only once before issued from the other ring. It was a Soul Eater flowing slowly out of the ring. This one was shapeless like the one Kim had encountered in limbo but seemed more rotund than the other. The Soul Eater attacked a nearby clone which vanished. There was a second roar from the ring. Another was coming. Artemis's screams suddenly stopped and she began to go limp as the second Soul Eater appeared in the other ring. The assembled heroes had started to battle the Soul Eater and it wasn't going well. Several were sporting injuries and a few had fallen back to a man who was healing them. Anubis was now battling the clones, trying to get to the three freeing Artemis. He tore one clone away and slammed him into the floor where he vanished. The second clone vanished shortly after then the original was yanked away and thrown into the wall and all of his clones vanished.
The image became blurry and Kim looked at the Susanoo next to her.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Well, getting thrown into the wall almost knocked me out." He explained.
"Anubis!" A loud shout came and the image cleared somewhat.
Artemis was free and the second ring was empty. The Soul Eater charged her and vanished in a flash of light. Anubis howled in rage and enveloped the others in darkness.
"This is when we became sealed away in pocket dimensions." Susanoo explained as his younger counterpart got up and shot across the chamber as blackness began encircling the moon goddess. He pushed her away and was immediately grabbed by the darkness. The image went dark.
"That's it." Susanoo waved his hand and her room reappeared. As I understand it the spirits of limbo warned Artemis of a second attack from Anubis. He told me she sealed herself into a pocket dimension of her own making. But she sealed away most of his power before doing so."
It was a lot to take in but the others needed to know. "I'm going to gather all of the others tomorrow for a meeting and I want you there to tell them about this. This way we can formulate a plan." Kim said.
Susanoo bowed, "I would be honored." He said before going to the window and jumping out.
Kim closed the window and went back to her bed. She lay down and was soon asleep.