Chapter 10: The ushabti

You woke up from the humming of your PC and blinked to see the body rolling around in the bed. From the black blue-framed screen to the left you knew it to be Steven. It was dark and it was cold and the window was open, curtains fluttering. And there in the corner of the screen was Khonshu's little avatar.

You hurriedly jumped out of your hammock, grabbed your VR glasses and activated them before Steven could fully wake up. If you allowed him to become fully aware of the situation, he was sure to fight you and you did not want a repeat of last time.

You sighed in relief when you found yourself switching with him smoothly. Now up front, you sat up and you could clearly see the moon god standing on the roof of the neighboring building. Watching you.

You swallowed thickly. You had no desire to speak to Khonshu again. You still felt dirty from the last time. But after Marc's near breakdown, you could not allow Steven to see this. So you swung your legs out of the bed and-

You froze as you felt the cool breeze around your very much naked buttocks. You looked down at yourself, then over your shoulder to the bed, where a second figure was buried somewhere under the bedsheets, one (equally naked!) shoulder and arm visible in the moonlight.

Something inside of you died a sudden death of embarrassment.

"Oh my god… I'm going to complain to the publishers about this", you muttered, face beet red. You looked around the unfamiliar room, spotting Steven's pants somewhere way too far away and drew the bedsheet over yourself to cover you before trying to reach for it. You barely noticed a new patch of red blooming on the bandages of your right tight. You looked outside again and Khonshu was gone, though you were sure he hovered somewhere nearby.

Somehow you managed to grab the pants and hurriedly put them on. Halfway through your leg gave in though and you fell, awkwardly landing between the wall and the bed.

"Steven?" May muttered sleepily, turning around slowly. "That you?"

"Uh, yeah", you made, borrowing Steven's voice. "I just, uh, need to go to the bathroom."

"Hm'kay", she made and turned around again.

God, could this become any more awkward?

You managed to finish dressing quietly but now the wound was bleeding profusely again. You suppressed a groan. Since you did not feel the pain, you had forgotten to avoid putting any weight on the leg and the wound had evidently reopened. Already the blood was seeping into the fabric of your pants.

Khonshu had reappeared on the roof and he was slamming his staff against the shingles. The message was clear.

You threw a glance over at May. Then you opened the door as quietly as possible and sneaked outside.

In the corridor, you found some blank notes and a pen next to a telephone. Using Steven's handwriting, you wrote a short message for May:

Hey darling, sorry to have left so early, I have a doctor's appointment first thing in the morning. Thank you so much for letting me stay the night. Yours, Steven

That sounded close enough to something Steven would say, you decided and pinned the note to the fridge before you sneaked outside. You felt something warm run down the inside of your leg and cursed when you noticed more blood drenching your pants. You'd once more forgotten not to put any weight on the bad leg, walking normally instead.

You ducked into the next alley and rested against the wall for a moment.

Not even a second later, Khonshu appeared before you.

"I have a mission for you. Summon my warrior", he demanded.

"Jake's not in today", you replied tiredly. Your friend had looked just as exhausted as the boys the last time you'd seen him and considering he was a real person, not just a scripted game character, something really must be wrong with him. "You'll have to deal with me instead."

Khonshu slammed the end of his staff onto the ground. "This is important! I have found the location of Anubis' ushabti. We must retrieve it before Blackwell does!"

You were torn. On the one hand, if you got your hand on the ushabti, that meant there would hopefully be some quiet for a while. It would give you time to sort out the mess with the boys. On the other, you were really reluctant to force Jake to take on another mission after the last one had gone so badly.

"Okay. Show me to the location", you decided at last.

"This is too critical. Give the body to Jake", Khonshu demanded.

"I will, once the fighting starts", you promised. With a thought you activated the suit, feeling the bandages wrap around your arms and legs and the hood settle over your head.

"Let's not waste any time", you said, staring challengingly at the god, who, after a short moment, gave you a reluctant nod.

You quickly and nimbly climbed up a nearby fire escape ladder until you were high enough that you could open your cape as you jumped down, gliding through the streets. You moved through the night, the cool wind of New York brushing against your bandaged face. Khonshu's presence was close, his massive, skeletal figure looming over you.

Your suit, pitch black with the gray hood pulled low over your face, blended into the darkness, but the white crescent moon emblem on your chest gleamed proudly.

Khonshu's deep voice echoed through the night, guiding you as you glided between buildings, silent and focused.

"The ushabti of Anubis," Khonshu said, his voice like the wind through old bones. "Wilson Fisk has it hidden away in his penthouse."

"Wait, the same Fisk that's the boss of those traffickers we busted a while back?" you asked. Jake had gotten the name out of one of the goons before executing him.

"The same. I doubt he knows what he has in his collection. His residence will be well protected. I want no witnesses."

You landed silently on the rooftop of Fisk's building, crouching low as you peered over the edge, your eyes scanning the exterior. The penthouse was high above, the lights inside dim but the security presence unmistakable. Cameras, guards, sensors—it was all in place. Fisk didn't take any chances when it came to his prized possessions. You faintly remembered passing this place before and when you gazed down at the streets, you spotted the building where Marc usually went to see Dr. Moore. So that's how Khonshu had managed to do recon on this place without having to call on Jake or you.

Moving quickly, you scaled the side of the building, your hands finding the smallest ledges, your body moving fluidly as if it were second nature. You could feel the adrenaline starting to build, the thrill of the mission creeping into your bones.

You reached a window of the penthouse that opened the view into what looked from the distance like a galley, pausing for a moment to listen. The building was quiet, but you knew better. This was the place of a crime boss that dealt with human trafficking and who knew what else, and if you'd learned anything about people like him, it was that silence usually meant danger. Your eyes flicked to the corners of the window frame. Security systems, no doubt. You didn't have the tools to deactivate them—honestly, you wouldn't know where to start even if you did—but you could recognize the danger.

It didn't matter. You weren't here to play it safe.

You drew your lightsaber, pressing the opening against the glass before activating it with a snap-hiss. The moonbeam cut right through the glass as if it was made of butter and you started to move it in a circular motion, carefully holding onto the edge of the glass and lifting it aside when the opening was big enough for you to slip inside. You leaned the glass pane against the wall and took in the room. It was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the city outside, casting long, eerie shadows across the polished floors and high-end furniture. Everything in this place screamed wealth and power—artwork that probably cost more than a year's worth of rent, display cases filled with relics, some of which, you were sure, should never have left their countries of origin.

But none of that mattered right now. What mattered was the ushabti of Anubis. Somewhere in this place was a small stone figure with enough ancient power to make even Khonshu wary.

You moved carefully, your senses on high alert. You knew Fisk's security was close—probably a mixture of high-tech systems and heavily armed guards. It was only a matter of time before they realized you were inside.

Khonshu loomed beside you, his massive form flickering in the dim light. "The ushabti is near," he said, his voice echoing in your mind, cold and commanding. "Do not delay."

"I'm not delaying," you muttered under your breath, though you weren't sure if he could hear you or not. You kept moving, your eyes scanning the room for any sign of an alarm trigger or motion sensors. You spotted them—small, barely noticeable, tucked into the ceiling corners and along the baseboards. Avoiding them would be tricky, but not impossible.

You slipped through the room like a shadow, keeping low and out of sight, your black suit blending into the darkness. Your cape fluttered silently behind you as you moved toward the next room.

You edged toward a doorway, peering into what looked like a display room. Inside, under a glass case in the center of the room, was the ushabti of Anubis.

"There it is," Khonshu said, his voice quieter now but no less urgent. "Retrieve it."

You stepped into the room, your eyes immediately flicking to the corners, where you spotted more motion sensors. You moved carefully, avoiding the beams as best you could, your heart racing as you neared the display case.

But then—a sharp, shrill alarm suddenly erupted, piercing the silence like a dagger.

You froze, cursing under your breath. You must have triggered something. Within seconds, you could hear footsteps—heavy and fast—coming down the hall. Fisk's private security.

"Give up the body, Chameleon," Khonshu's voice echoed through the room. "They are coming."

You reached for your lightsaber, the only weapon you had on you, your fingers wrapping around the hilt just as the door burst open. A group of guards rushed in, their guns raised and aimed directly at you.

Without a second thought, you ignited the lightsaber, the blade springing to life with a sharp hiss. Its white light filled the room, casting long, flickering shadows across the walls.

The first guard fired, but you were already moving. You dodged to the side, the bullet whizzing past you as you spun, bringing the lightsaber up in a defensive arc. The white blade cut through the air, leaving a burn on one of the guard's hands as you aimed to knock his gun out of his hand. He let it drop with a cry, holding his smoking hand.

More gunfire. You ducked, narrowly avoiding the next volley of bullets as you twisted around, your lightsaber flashing through the room. Thunk, thunk, thunk you felt the impact of small, fast objects hitting you but there was no pain. It didn't even slow you down and the suit would heal it anyway.

One of the guards, carrying a shotgun, charged at you, but you were faster. You sidestepped his attack, swinging the lightsaber low and slicing through his weapon, the gun falling to the floor in two pieces. Before he could react, you delivered a swift kick to his gut, sending him flying across the room.

More guards poured into the room, and you felt the pressure mounting. You couldn't afford to get bogged down here. Not when the ushabti was so close.

You moved quickly, tanking another round of gunfire as you dodged and weaved through the guards, towards the display case. You smashed through the glass, your hand closing around the small brown figure. As soon as your fingers touched it, you felt a surge of energy, cold and overwhelming. This was no ordinary artifact.

"Good," Khonshu whispered, his voice almost pleased. "Now, we leave."

You pressed the ushabti to your side under your arm where it was somewhat protected from getting hit by bullets – the last thing you wanted was for it to break – and bandages wrapped around it, securing and protecting it.

But as you turned, you stared at a half circle of no less than six guards pointing guns at you.

They shot at you all at once and you ducked low instinctively, making sure your body shielded the ushabti, then surged forward. You raised your blade and aimed it at the first guard standing between you and the exit. You meant to cut his gun in half like before. He raised it in front of himself as if to block your blade.

The lightsaber cut right through the rifle.

As well as the man behind it.

You stared at the angry red line that had suddenly appeared, nearly bisecting the man before you from top to bottom. The smell of smoldering flesh hit your nose and the man's eyes looked right at you, wide and blue. He just stood there for a moment, staring at you, you staring at him.

Thunk, thunk, thunk, your back and arms were littered with more bullets but you barely registered them as you watched the man before you sink to his knees and then… And then he just keeled over backwards and didn't move anymore.

Something with a lot more power than a bullet hit you from the side and you were thrown to the ground. Two of the guards had wrestled you down, your lightsaber was knocked out of your hand -

And suddenly you were sitting back in your chair.

You stared wide-eyed at the screen. Black fabric turned into white, drenched in red blood and you watched as Jake fought and threw fists and kicks and pure desperation against no less than ten people at once.

With trembling fingers you picked up your controller. You had to help Jake, you knew you should.

But you couldn't.

You just watched, wide-eyed and afraid as Jake fought for his life, for Marc's life. He managed to get his hands on your weapon that had turned into his gun. Bang, bang, bang went the gun, making peoples' heads explode. Khonshu's little avatar was spewing out orders.

"Protect the ushabti! Kill them! Kill them all!"

This was not an exciting action game. This was not fun.

This was…

This was terrifying.

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XxX

couldn'tbreathecoulcn'tbreathe couldn't-

AIR!

Your head broke through a watery surface. Or so it felt at least but you were not wet. You were…

You were in the body.

Standing with your back to a wall, still wearing the suit yet your cape was pinned to the wall behind you by… golden feathers?

In front of you stood Layla, in her full Taweret avatar outfit. Her fist was holding up the fabric of your cape around your neck, her grip so strong it was slightly choking you. She was glaring daggers at you.

You were completely disorientated. The last thing you remembered was watching Jake fight for his life. You didn't know how he got out of the building but you were clearly no longer in Fisk's penthouse but in some dark, abandoned alley instead. How had you gotten here? How had Jake gotten here? Why were you in front? You didn't even remember turning off the game, but you must have, when things got ugly, when somehow that stupid age restriction failed, making everything so much more terrifying-

"Well? Answer me, you-"

Layla stopped herself in what seemed to be mid speech, a muscle twitching in her angry face.

She let go of your cape abruptly and took a step back, her eyes wandering down your form.

"Did you just freaking switch!?"

Fuck. Your costume – it was different from Jake's and Jake's was different from Marc's or Stevens. As talented as you were at imitating people – it was pretty damn obvious now that Layla was not talking to either of the boys.

Layla saw you.

Layla saw you.

Fuck.

XxX
AN: Wow, I almost feel bad for putting David through so much.

Will that guy he just killed haunt his nightmares for years to come? Yes, Yes he will.
Is Khonshu a manipulative asshole? Well, yes but also... zombies bad.
Now David has to deal with Layla knowing and this time, it won't be enough to pretend to be someone else. Whelp.
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