Avatars
What had happened?
Where were the souls she needed?
Ammit growled loudly in the Egyptian night, in the middle of an empty... city.
“Arthur Harrow!”
The goddess exclaimed and, at her call, her new avatar came forward, kneeling at her feet, which was imitated by her followers.
“Yes, my Lady”
“What is this? Why is no one here?”
The human pursed his lips and the goddess narrowed her eyes.
Evidently his avatar had an explanation. Only, it wasn't one she was going to enjoy.
“Someone freed more gods than Khonshu” the man finally said “This is… too elaborate for someone like him… or his mentally challenged avatar”
The crocodile-headed goddess turned her face, surveying the crowd of followers with perfect scales at her feet.
This night was destined to be her night of triumph.
Not her night of failure.
No one was going to stop her from ruling mankind.
Less, after having defeated Osiris and his judges.
Whoever the deity was that had allied himself with Khonshu was going to pay heavily for their daring.
“What do we expect then?” she said to her avatar “Stand up my children! We will march on the pyramid! They won't stop us from rebuilding Earth!”
Her exclamation was followed by loud cheers from the humans who served her.
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“I wouldn’t be complaining about this new look”
Han Solo commented as he watched how, after the white guy came to an agreement with his bird-god, the rest of them were guided by a different deity, who laid his hands on their heads, changing all or part of their clothes.
In his case, Sehkmet, had decided that his style was good enough and had only modified the material of his usual clothes to make them more durable and useful. Therefore, his pants and jacket had gone from being brown like those corresponding to his rank in the New Republic, to turn black with stripes of orange stones and made up of a kind of leather that consisted in very small scales strongly attached to each other. His blasters had also changed and, in the place of his old weapons, there were two gold ones, but with chargers that gleamed in the semi-darkness of the chamber.
As a whole, the goddess watched him with a smile that was a cross between pride and curiosity, predicted that his new toys and clothes were going to cost dearly to whoever stood in front of him.
“I say the same”
His wife confirmed with a low laugh, but as he turned around to make the joke he naturally had to make about how good he always had looked in leather, his mouth closed in amazement.
Leia… looked amazing.
Her costume was very similar to the one worn by the woman who was an avatar of Thoth. Only, unlike this one, whose clothes seemed to be made up of dark-colored bandages that hugged her body, those of his wife were like a second skin, crossed by golden lines, which ended in shoulder pads of the same color, decorated with various gems and a kind of semi helmet on her head, which imitated the animal form of the goddess Pahket.
“You look… stunning” he confessed approaching his wife.
“As I said before: I say the same about you, Han”
“I haven’t lost the touch then?”
He asked Leia, who burst out laughing, to then hung around his neck giving him the kiss he had been deserving since the beginning of that adventure.
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“I didn't want to clash too much your style with what your lover wears, but I had this idea about an impressive suit and, well, I couldn't resist”
Taweret said to Luke and the Jedi had to hold in his laughter.
The goddess was adorable, but as her partner Bastet said to her before: Taweret, for the love of…
“No, if I don't say it's wrong” the Jedi sighed “It's just that I'm going to have to… get used to it”
Quite a lot.
He was going to have to get used to it quite a lot.
He wa wearing a suit that had wings.
Wings.
And that of the definition of suit… didn't have much.
It left a lot of his body exposed!
It was literally a series of heavily embellished armor parts covering his head, shoulders, part of his arms, wrists, part of his legs, and of course, a pair of matching boots for his feet.
Luke gave thanks to whatever strength had compelled the goddess not to leave his legs bare as she had done with his torso. That part of him, at least, was protected by a strong dark blue stretch cloth, over which the same decorations danced as on Din's armor.
“Good idea Taweret” another of the goddesses said to hiss “That head armor piece its perfect”
“It is, doesn’t?” commented the hippopotamus goddess smiling enthusiastically “Not only will protect him, but will look very much in tune with the one the avatar of Isis wears”
“Excuse me?”
Luke asked, as Din walked over and pointed a finger at the diadem on Luke's head.
“Is it a concealed helmet?”
The Mandalorian asked, to which the goddess nodded.
“Yes!” she replied, to then turn to Luke “Close your eyes and think of my name”
The Jedi looked at the woman strangely, but he did what she asked him and could feel how something was unfolding on his face.
Oh sure. Din had spoken of a helmet.
When Luke opened his eyes, then, he was not afraid to observe the chamber in which they were through a blue light that, as it happened inside the helmets of the X-Wing, displayed a series of readers and indicators of various things such as temperature, distance and possible exits.
“Please” he whispered to his partner “Tell me I don't look ridiculous with this thing on”
“I'm not going to lie to you, Jedi” the Mandalorian confessed, raising his arm so that Luke could see his own reflection on Din’s armor “I doubt you can understand how attractive you look dressed like that”
The Jedi swallowed hard.
It definitely wasn't a bad suit after all.
The goddess had decided to honor his familial relationship with the god of mummification and his helmet was not just a helmet of an armor as in Din's case, it was truly a mask in the shape of that god which, as far as he could see, reproduced the movements of his face to perfection.
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“We don't have much time left”
Kebechet sighed as she saw her avatar enter the chamber.
“How much time do we have?”
Anubis asked when he heard her.
“An hour at most, my lord” the young man's voice replied to the god as he approached “My brothers have carried out the orders, my lady, and they are already regrouping in the pyramid”
“The inhabitants of Cairo?”
“With the Masters of the Mystic Arts” Kehmu commented with a low laugh “The Sorcerer Supreme was not very happy”
The young goddess burst out laughing heartily at hearing her avatar.
Stephen Strange.
Angry.
She wasn't surprised at all.
“I'll make it up to him” she finally told her avatar patting him on the shoulder “and he knows it”
“I think that's why he didn't strangle me, my lady”
Her avatar answered with a shake of his head, while lifting his face mask and adjusting his hood.
“What its important is that Ammit no longer has their souls to become more powerful”
“Although she has some auxiliar deities” Wadjet announced returning from his tour of the Ennead's chamber “Some sculptures are missing, I can bet that her followers took them”
“Anyone relevant?”
Isis asked.
“Seth” confessed the snake goddess “the others… are minor deities”
“Nephthys?”
Isis asked, causing her sister to roll her eyes.
“Just finish that nuisance” growled Anubis's mother “I never want to see his face again. He has served no purpose other than to make us suffer”
“You will have to work together” Pahket told the avatars of Isis and Taweret first, then pointing to those of Khonshu and Thoth “You against the avatar of Seth and you against the avatar of...”
“Ammit” finished for the goddess Layla “We know”
“Don't kill them” Anubis intervened “Bring them here as soon as you defeat them. My mother, Wadjet and Neith will be here waiting to be able to form the circle to enclose the gods again”
“And you?” the Princess questioned the jackal-headed god “Where will you be?”
“My avatar and I” answered the god of mummification “will be at the top of the pyramid, channeling the Force”
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The Mandalorian scowled inside his helmet.
He didn't like the idea of his little boy being involved in a fight in the open like that.
“Din” Luke whispered holding his hand “Grogu will be fine. The Force will take care of him”
“I wish I could have the same confidence that you have in that thing, Jedi”
Recognized the warrior in silver armor looking into the eyes of his mate's helmet.
He was never going to be able to understand that almost esoteric belief that the blond had in what Ahsoka Tano had described as an ""energy field created by all living things".
His were more concrete things: weapons with which to defend yourself, food and water with which to sustain yourself, arms that would give you warmth, smiles that will alleviate your suffering.
“Do you trust us?” questioned Luke “Grogu and me?”
“You know I do” admitted the Mandalorian sighing “With my life”
“Don't worry ahead of time then”
The Jedi stated, raising a finger pointing at him, causing Din to laugh briefly.
The blond was... very particular, although definitely similar to his sister in certain things.
Like the Princess, his mate issued opinions that almost sounded like order, only that, unlike his twin, Luke's were delivered in such a way that they didn't necessarily sound aggressive. But more similar to an affectionate scolding.
Of course, they were still orders.
“Alright Jedi” he accepted once he stopped laughing “Whatever you say”
“Let's go see our child”
Luke told him and his heart almost jumped out of his chest when he heard him say something like that, while the blonde led him by the hand to where his little one was, still in the arms of the man in the white suit.
“Buir! Master!”
Grogu exclaimed when saw them approaching and extended his arms, making them both smile, before moving on to hold the little boy.
“Buir means dad, right?” asked the one of the warriors in white named Steven and Luke nodded.
“How old is he” the woman who called herself Layla questioned them in turn.
“My ad'ika is more or less fifty years old” answered Din and the guy's suit changed again.
“Fifty?” Marc asked amazed “He doesn't look like he has more than…”
“Grogu went through very bad times” Luke intervened “and his species ages very slowly, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to ensure that he must be around nine or ten years in his species growing rate”
“You are very brave little Grogu” Layla sighed stroking their son's head “I’m very sorry that we had to involve you and your parents in this”
“Grogu happy to help. Do not worry. All go well”
The four adults laughed at the little boy's expression between serious and tender, and then they looked at each other.
They couldn't lose.
They had to get out of that pyramid to end the threat that hung over that world.