He is floating. He's not sure though, he thinks he is floating. It's hard to tell.
…We're losing him!
Wha… what was that?, He thought. He can hear a voice somewhere. A bit faint and it's coming from everywhere but also nowhere.
…Arnold, get the defibrillator. His heart is slowing down.
The faint voice says again.
Why am I slowing down? He thought again. I'm right here
Something doesn't feel right. He can't even feel anything. He should feel something, not this quiet and numb stillness.
He's finally stabilizing.
That voice says again. He doesn't like it, the way they talk like he is in danger. He tried to say something but nothing happened. He can't feel his mouth, his arms or his body. Like something is covering his mouth. He tried to move, then the faint voice spoke again more urgently this time.
It's a flatline! We need Move fast now!
Huh? What's a flatline? He asked himself.
He tried to move again, like what the voice said but nothing happened. He tried again and this time he could feel something. It is not his body, but something holding his body in place. Pushing against him. It's annoying but it is something, anything other than numbness. He tried harder, pushing against that force holding him down.
HOW…INTERESTING…
Another voice said. This one is much louder, deeper and it feels like it is closer. No, more like it's coming from inside him. It's also very familiar somehow.
THOSE CHAINS ARE ENCHANTED, IT IS FUTILE TO BREAK THEM
The louder voice declares.
Hearing those words, it sparked something inside him. It was anger at being told what to not do. This only pushes him to do the opposite, and push harder. Going against the force holding him down to prove that voice wrong.
Then, like in reaction to his action to move, the force that is keeping him down starts to materialize. First as sparkling light in the air, then it finally settled down, then finally to solid chains.
He can see that the chains connect to a wrist. It took a while for him to realize it was HIS wrist. He can see his hands, arms, his torso and legs. All of it wrapped in white strips. He is covered from head to foot in those white strips.
NOW YOU SEE THE TRUTH.
The louder voice says again.
He is getting annoyed by it. "Show yourself", he says.
Another light starts to show, this time it is paler and cooler, almost freezing. The light then concentrated itself to form something.
A large skull of a bird. Then a golden necklace below it, then the body and the arms.
The head was so high up that he had to bend his head backwards. He can see a white cape materialize behind the body, and then a staff with a crescent on top. The staff feels very familiar somehow. He also noticed that the larger body also has chains, like himself.
"What is this?" he said.
A PRISON
The skull said and this confuses him.
A prison? He thought.
"I can move and talk. What kind of prison is this?" He said outloud. He has a faint idea on what prisons are. At least he thinks he does, and it involves being unable to talk, move or even be aware of things, unlike what he is doing now.
ONE THAT IS FAR FROM MY TEMPLE.
The skull said again. He realizes that it is just floating there, doing nothing. "Have you tried leaving?" He said.
I HAVE ALREADY TOLD YOU FOOLISH CHILD, THE RESTRAINS ARE ENCHANTED WITH ASGARDIAN MAGIC.
Magic from Asgard?, He thought.
Now he understood why they feel off. It is foreign and not of Earth. He inspects his wrist again, feeling the otherworldly Alien energy from it. Upon closer inspection, he can slightly feel the energy flowing inside the shackle. This gives him an idea, he then looks at the other shackles, on his right wrist, ankle and the chains that connect him to the large floating figure.
The figure is just staring at him. He knows that it is studying him, the same way he is studying it.
The last thing he remembers is grabbing hold of someone, then a sharp pain on his head. The rest is a blank blur, but one thing he is sure of is that he does not belong here and he needs to leave.
He then remembers something, in the depths of his consciousness, a short memory starts to surface.
A silhouette of a figure, he has a moon disk on top of his head and the body of a human. But he also has a longer pointy beak. The head is not a skull, it is a living bird with a neck and holding a short stick. It is saying something to him.
"Heka is the basis of the universe and living beings. There is also god himself, which reminds me I still owe him a drink. Anyway, it can be confusing at first, but try to see heka as a force manifest everywhere, it can be considered as magic by others. Think of it, like water. It flows from one to another. And just like water, it can be diverted. This is a bit of an inaccurate analogy though since water has a form and…Are you still listening, Khons? Hey, wake up you little brat. I am not that boring…"
The memory ends there. He now remembers the figure in memory, someone older but the name escapes him.
Was the name De Booty? Djehuty? Or Thothy? He thought.
He decided to figure it out later, he has other things to be worried about.
He looks at the shackle once again, recalling what his memory says about heka or magic. He taps it with his finger and feel the energy inside. Flowing from the shackle to the chain, and back again. He now identifies the energy as something similar to heka but not really. Still alien in nature but acts similar to how he understands heka to be.
Then slowly, he tried to manipulate it. Not going against it, but slightly pushing it to the side. Divert what he now sees heka, or magic, inside it. It does not glow, but he can feel the energy as he slowly and carefully wills the runes to solidify on the shackle, turning the abstract runes of pure energy to something solid enough that can be hit. Soon enough that he can feel the rune glyph etched literally on the metal. He then tries again on his other shackle, and the ones on his legs.
He decided to walk around, to see how far he could go. He can feel the chains pulling him back to where the larger skull-headed figure is just floating. But he kept on moving, not caring if his wrists are now in pain. Then he hit something, another force in front of him that is different from the chains. He put his hands up to feel it and tried to punch it.
"What the.." He said.
AH YES. THE BARRIER THAT KEEPS OUTSIDERS FROM ENTERING.
The larger figure says. It's tone condensing, like it is talking to a child.
He decided that he hates it.
YOU SHOULD CEASE THIS AT ONCE FOOLISH CHILD. THERE IS NO POINT IN LEAVING.
Okay, now he really, really hates it.
He looks at the chains, and then to the figure, specifically, the sharp-looking beak.
But first, he put his hands on the barrier first, feeling the energy and diverting some of them away from a small spot to create what he hopes to be a weak point. But he can feel the diverted energy fighting back, trying to return to the spot it was pushed away from. He knows that he does not have enough time.
He beckoned the larger figure to come closer, the older figure oddly followed, more intrigued than wary.
Then without warning, he threw the chain connecting his wrist to the figure's head, making sure the chains wrap around the beak and pulled hard. The momentum of the pull is strong enough that the figure, taken by surprise, fell forward.
He quickly moves so that the falling beak lands on his wrist, twisting his arm so the runes are hit first. Immediately the runes are scratched away, weakening the shackle until it shattered on impact. He then grabbed the skull head, not caring how large it is and hit the beak to the shackle on his leg. Using it to repeatedly strike the location of the runes until his left ankle is free, then his right. Then lastly the shackle on his neck. He nearly beheaded himself but he is finally free. The older figure is now disoriented from having its head being used as a hammer.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING!
It shouted, sounding pissed.
"Getting out of here" was his reply. But there is still the invisible barrier. He suddenly remembered the staff.
Quickly he ran towards it. The older figure is still on the floor trying to stop his head from vibrating. He also noticed that the beak is broken now, he can see bone shards on the floor along with the broken chains.
Once he reached it, he embraced the base. Immediately he can feel energy from it flowing to him. Like it belongs to him
As it should, He thought. There's something off about the staff though. He quickly senses a foreign, even more otherworldly energy in it that is not him, yet at the same time similar to himself. He decided he can still use it, combining his newly returned energy and poured it on the large oversized staff.
He struggled to lift it. The size difference makes it look like he is embracing a column rather than a staff. But once he got it off the ground, he concentrated his energy to the crescent top, and swung it at the barrier. The impact was so strong that the whole area shook.
STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY! The larger figure yelled.
But he didn't stop. He swung again and again. A small crack started to appear in the air. Then a shattering noise. Runes glowed in the air then disappeared. Revealing a never-ending abyss.
Immediately he dropped the staff and ran, leaving the large figure behind.
He does not know where he is going, only that he needs to get away as fast as he can.
Suddenly he is falling. Everything becoming black, then silence.
He is not sure how long it has been until a faint beeping noise echoes in the darkness, then another, and another. Slowly he tried opened his eyes, but he realized he couldn't. The beeping noise became faster now. He can feel something on his hand.
Like a chain, he thought. So, he ripped it off.
Then he heard a slam and footsteps.
"It's okay, you're safe here. It's going to be fine." a voice said, this one is not echoey or coming from inside him. It is clearly from someone solid. He can feel someone holding his hands, but this only made him want to fight more.
"Get Doctor Arnold in here!" Someone yelled while they tried to contain the panicking child.
Said doctor finally got word that one of his patients is awake. A young boy that has been in a coma. His sudden activity was a surprise to everyone, and the doctor quickly ran into the room with some nurses. When he arrived, he saw 3 people trying to restrain the unruly child, he also saw the boy's bloody hand from when the later ripped the IV needle.
But the boy refuses to calm down so Doctor Arnold had to inject a sedative. Once he is sure that the boys is asleep, the doctor quickly inspected the boy's bloody arm.
"Looks like he is awake now, Arnie" one of the nurses said as Doctor Arnold puts back the IV.
"Yes he is Sally, '' Arnie said. He lifts the clipboard containing the status and information of his patient. The file has the name, Patient K-25 since they still do not know his real name. But the boy is informally given the nickname "Sleepy Johny" by everyone.
"Are we going to inform his parents?" Nurse Sally asked. Arnie shook his head. "We don't know who is parents are; we don't even know his real name. He was brought here 3 months ago but the cops who brought him here also don't know his name" He said.
The boy slept until a day later. There Arnie is in the room, waiting.
"Ugh." the boy said. Arnie helped the boy sit up straight.
"Hello there, sorry if you can't see. Your eyes were damaged and had to be bandaged. But I can remove it now, it should be healed" Arnie said calmly. He is familiar with panicking patients and learned to speak in a more friendly tone.
The boy slowly nodded, so Arnie leaned forward to carefully remove the bandages on his head. When he was done, the boy slowly blinked his eyes open. The irises have a pale hue now.
"There you go." Arnie said. "You were asleep for 3 months so it can take a while for you to adjust. Here, can you see how many fingers I'm holding up?" Arnie said and lifted four fingers. The boy blinked three times and answered, "Four".
Arnie is pleased that his patient's vision is fine. He then proceeds to ask more questions. Checking if he remembered how he got here.
"I remember running and holding something. I went into a building, with other people." The boy said, quietly and a bit unsure.
"Yes. Do you remember anything else, your name perhaps?" Arnie asked.
The boy recalled the memory he had, "Khons" he said on impulse.
"Cons?" Arnie repeated, "Do you have a last name?" he asked again. But the boy he now knows as Cons, shook his head.
"I see", Arnie said. He then asked a few more questions, to see if the boy is healthy. So far, his senses are fine but the Cons can't answer questions about where he is from. Arnie left the boy and headed to his station. He still has the number of Officer Grey and decided to call her if she can come visit. Maybe a familiar face can help the boy.
In the room alone, Khonshu is now remembering how he got here. He remembered that he tried to stop a little girl from being kidnapped and got shot at. He touched his head, feeling a small indentation where the bullet entered, and curses at his sloppiness. Especially since he is now in a hospital, and was in a coma for 3 months.
Khonshu also tried to think about that place that he was in previously, before he woke up. That formless space with chains, and that large figure with a skull head. It finally dawned on him why it was so familiar.
That's...me. He thought. Specifically, the appearance he was forced to take after his banishment. He finally realized that was facing his Other self the whole time, the Khonshu native of this world. One thing does surprise and confuse him.
Why am I, he…the Other me in prison? He asks himself. The only time he was imprisoned, was as punishment for reversing the night sky. But he was trapped in an ushabti. And in his experience, he cannot speak, move or contact the outside world. Unless there is a pocket dimension inside an ushabti, but he knows there is no such thing. He also remembered that the Other Khonshu mentioned Asgardian Magic. How did the Asgardians get involved in this?
Did the Other me piss off Odin or something? He thought.
He is very familiar with the Asgardians since they came to Earth thousands of years ago. He was curious about the aliens at that time and would try to take a peak, despite his father's intense protest.
He decided that this is not good for him. Pissing of his own pantheon is bad enough, but two? Now Khonshu really knows that he really needs to stay as hidden as possible.
What did my Other Self do to get imprisoned in space jail? And why didn't he just break the chains? He thought.
Khonshu managed to do it despite being smaller, granted he used the other's beak to shatter the chains. And he realized that he may have pissed his Other Self by doing just that.