Victory looked up at the stone building with some awe.
"Hey guys," she called. "I do believe I've found something."
She gave them directions. It was about time they found something - they've been searching those annoying floating islands for... who knew how long? She was sure that time was distorted here.
"Oh good," Saku replied enthusiatically. "On my way."
It was Kankia, however, who was the first to catch up with Victory, and the question of what she had found died on her lips.
"Wow," Kankia said. "It's like a replica of the temple at Bubastis. Only, y'know, intact."
Serafina
Serafina and Faolan appeared simultaneously, looking up at the temple in awe.
"Wow."
Saku
"Okay, that's cool," Saku said. "I'm guessing that this is where we need to be."
Kanika started towards the doors.
"Only one way to find out." she said.
Serafina
"Righto then chaps," Faolan drawled.
"And girls," Serafina said absently.
Saku
Saku chuckled and followed Kankia over to the doors. Victory landed and shifted to human.
"Guess we'll have to topen these doors the conventional way."
"They're stone. Will they open that easily?" Saku asked.
"There are three of us with super strength," Kankia reminded him, having shifted back to human as well.
Kankia and Victory looked at each other, each took a door handle. Saku wisely flew back out of the way while the two girls threw the doors open, at which point he looked at Faolan.
"You know, Fao," he said. "I just realised that all three of our sisters are stronger than we are."
Serafina
Serafina shifted back human and rolled her eyes slightly.
"If you worked harder, you'd probably be strong as well," she told the boys. "Especially because we did inherit some of Mama's strength."
Saku
"Yes but," Saku said, shifting back to human also. "You've got super strength."
"Saku stop being a child. Seriously!" Victory snapped.
"But where would be the fun in that?" Saku asked, smiling with mischeif.
"We've got more important things to do, Saku," Kanika replied.
Saku shrugged but Faolan gave Kankia a Look.
"This? Coming from you?"
"I admit it's ironic."
Serafina
Serafina almost laughed, but managed to stay composed at the last moment.
"Alright, let's do this thing, shall we?"
Saku
"Yes, let's," Saku agreed, then lifted up his hand and pointed it into the temple. "Onwards!"
Kankia hid a smile and Victory rolled her eyes before following Saku in.
Serafina
Serafina followed behind Victory, and made her way past.
"Little dark... hey, firebug, you wanna help us out?"
Saku
"Oh I'm sure I can arranged something," Saku said gleefully.
"You had to ask didn't you?" Victory said.
Saku chuckled. He cast out, sensing that which was flammable, raised his eyebrows at the results, then took a deep breath. A flame appeared just infront of his chest and then pushing outwards with his hands he turned the flame into a ball that flew out in all directions (leaving he and his siblings unscathed, of course). At about a third of the way up each wall was a trough of flammable liquid which the fireball ignited, and the flames spread quickly, lighting up the temple completely.
"A little dramatic, don't you think?"
Saku shrugged.
"I can only work with what's here."
"The fireball did not have to be that big. A little one would have done the same thing."
"I wanted to be thorough."
"No you -"
"Okay, seriously, can you two stop fighting?" Kankia cut in. "It's getting really annoying."
Serafina
Serafina and Faolan glanced at each other, before moving further inside the temple.
"Wow," Faolan said, his voice echoing slightly. "Just... wow."
Saku
"It is slightly big," Saku nodded.
"Very impressive," Victory said cyncially as she stepped up to the alter. "So, now what?"
Serafina
"I don't know," Serafina said. "But... I sorta think that's the point."
Kanika gave her a funny look.
"I think we're meant to feel this out as we go," Serafina clarified. "And like finding the place, I think we'll know what to do when the time comes."
"I never picked you for a fate believer," Faolan said, his eyes scanning the temple.
Serafina shrugged.
Saku
"Hello," Victory said suddenly. "What's Wepwawet's image doing here?'
Faolan looked up in interest at the wolf-god's name.
"Where?" he asked, joining her at the alter and looking down at it. "Oh, yes I see. And for once they haven't mixed him up with Anubis and given him a jackel head or something."
Victory rolled her eyes and walked away.
"Whatever. Stupid dogs."
"Hey we finally found something we agree on," Saku chuckled.
"Wolf. Not Dog," Faolan objected.
"Still a canine," Victory dismissed, taking her inspection elsewhere.
Faolan didn't bother to answer as he ran his fingers over the image. He paused as his super senses found a set of faint indentations.
"Huh, weird," he muttered.
"What?" Kanika asked.
"It's got holes in it."
"Big deal," Victory snorted.
"Five of them," Faolan went on. "No particular... oh!"
"What's oh?" Saku asked.
Faolan didn't answer except to shift into his wolf form.
"Is that really neccesary?" Saku asked, turning up his nose.
Faolan lifted one of his paws onto the alter and placed the tip of each claw into the five holes. They slipped into place with ease, just as if the site had been made for his exact paw. Once his claws were in place, Faolan was able to push down on Wepwawet's image. The wall behind him shifted and shimmered.
"Okay," Saku said. "I guess it was. They don't call Wepwawet the opener of the ways for nothing, right?"
Serafina
"Neato," Serafina commented.
She glanced at her siblings.
"Well, figures why Sabre and Priss never got this far. Collectively, we have more talents."
Saku
"True," Saku nodded.
Faolan shifted back to human.
"There's no way a cat paw would have fit," he told them.
"Let's get this over with," Victory said, and stepped through the wall.
Saku followed and nearly jumped back at the sight of his sister. They were on a square of stone in amongst a pool of water that stratched as far as the walls. Other than the portal they ha djust stepped through there didn't seem to be nay way to move off the square without getting wet. What startled Saku, however, was Victory standing in the middle of the square being zapped repeatedly by lightning.
"Try not to get too close, Saku," Victory said dryly. "I'm acting as a magnet for all the chaotic magic here. It won't hurt me, but the moment I leave, you and everyone else is dead."
"Ahh. So nice to know my life is in the hands of an assassin."
Serafina
Kanika looked down at the water and wrinkled her nose slightly. "What's the deal with the water? I hate swimming."
Faolan pointed at one of the walls. "That looks like it could be a doorway. There has to be a way to open it from here, you think?"
Serafina looked around on the platform they were standing on, then peered into the water. She groaned slightly, seeing something way down the bottom.
Without a word, she stripped down to underwear and dove gracefully into the pool, the water barely rippling as she swam deeper and deeper.
"Sera?!" Kanika exclaimed, peering down into the dark water. "I can't see her."
After ten long minutes without any sign of Serafina, the door that Faolan had spotted started to open. A platform from inside the room was sliding out above the water.
"Wow," Kanika said again. "Guess she found something."
Seconds later, Serafina surfaced and Faolan went to help her out of the water.
Saku
"Cool," Saku said. "Here, let me help you dry off."
He then used his hydrokinesis to lift all the unneccesary water from his sister's body. The platform then shuddered a little as the flosting platform hit it. Kankia tentatively stepped out onto it.
"Seems study enough."
"Yeah, hurry up about it," Victory said, who continued to get zapped by more lightning. "The sooner you guys get out of this room and into that one, the sooner my hair can settle down."
Serafina
Serafina slipped back into her clothes.
"Thanks Saku," she said.
Faolan followed after Kanika, then Serafina followed after him.
Saku
"No problem," Saku replied, following her onto the platform.
Victory gave them a chance to start moving through the door before following, being zapped by the chaotic magic all the while. It was with a great deal of relief that she too walked through the door and her unwilling magnatisim subsided. She took a moment to press her hair back down before looking around.
Serafina
Serafina glanced at her siblings as they came to another obstacle.
"Anyone got a clue?" Faolan asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Kanika stepped forward. "Well... I would guess it was my turn?"
Saku
"Absolutely," Saku nodded. "Clearly the rest of us have been doing all the work so it's about time you pulled your weight."
"Saku?" Victory said.
"I know, I know. Shut up."
The room, as far as anyone could tell had neither doors, nor windows, just a sarcophegus in the middle. Kankia considered this as she paced around the room, inspecting everything. Of course, just because they couldn't see a door, didn't mean that there wasn't one. Seriously, whoever designed this place was concealed door happy.
Serafina
"Alright, so..." Serafina started, still looking around the room. "Anyone's spidey sense tingling?"
Faolan snickered.
Saku
Saku grinned at Serafina and chuckled.
"Maybe we should open the sarcophegus?" Victory suggested.
"Wouldn't that be, like, scariligious or something?" Kankia asked dubiously.
Serafina
"It does feel like a bad idea," Serafina agreed. "After all Mama taught us about our old customs..."
Faolan nodded, but then shrugged. "Maybe that's the challenge?"
Saku
"Decisions, decisions," said Saku as he inspected the sacophegus. "Hmm this looks like Bastet... only not..."
"That's helpful," Victory said cynically.
Kanika moved to join Saku in his inspection.
"Why would Bastet be here?" she frowned.
"Why is any of this here?" Saku mused.
"Point. I think you're right... this isn't Bastet. It's someone close though," Kanika frowned.
"Sekhmet?" Saku suggested, then shook his head in answer to his own suggestion. "Nah."
Serafina
"No," Serafina said, shaking her head slightly. "It's not... it's not something we've studied. It's not in a textbook."
Kanika looked at her quizzically. "How do you know?"
Serafina gestured with one hand gracefully. "It's closer to home, Kanny."
Saku
"Closer to home?" Saku asked, scratching his head. "Like who?"
Victory gave Serafina a searching look and pursed her lips.
Serafina
Serafina looked at her siblings for a second, then sighed.
"It's Mama."
Faolan looked at her in shock.
Saku
Saku looked back at the sacophegus.
"You're right," he said softly.
"No," Kankia denied, shaking her head. "That can't be... Mama can't be... Sabre and Priss went looking for her after the blood rain, because she was still alive. She could... she... I felt her! She couldn't have connected with me if she was dead... right? Right?"
Serafina
Serafina shrugged.
"Mama had a lot of tricks up her sleeve..."
Saku
"I think that we've all known of the possibly that Mama was dead for sometime now," Saku said softly. "I... I have to say I'm kinda glad, actually. Because now we know for certain and -"
"We don't know that!" Kanika insisted. "This might be empty. Maybe Mama just prearranged all this. Like humans prearranging funerals."
"How many gods do you know prearrange things for their death?" Saku asked.
"I cannot believe we're having this discussion. Fine," said Victory, and she started pushing the lid of the sacophegus.
"What are you doing?" Kanika shrieked at her.
"Finding out if Mana is really in there or if it's empty."
Serafina
"Kanny," Faolan said softly, reaching out for his sister. "We knew it was only a slim chance - "
"Shut up, Faolan," Kanika snapped. "It's like you all want her to be dead!"
"No," Serafina said, approaching her sister. "We don't. But we can't sit in limbo with this for the rest of our lives."
Kanika huffed, and made to push Victory out of the way. "I'll do it then."
Saku
"Whatever," Victory replied dismissingly.
Kanika slid the lid across and peered inside. She closed her eyes briefly.
"What?" Saku asked.
"It's her," Kanika said softly.
Serafina
Serafina reached out to hold Faolan's hand, who had gone unnervingly pale.
"Well, now we know," she said quietly.
Saku
Victory looking inside for herself, ignoring the frown from Saku. Kanika slowly pulled the lid shut again.
"Yeah," Saku replied softly.
"Okay, well, now that that's settled," Victory said. "I say we leave."
Serafina
"May as well," Serafina agreed.
"We've done all we can here."
Saku
"Question," Saku said. "How?"
"The way we came, duh," Victory sneered.
"Open the door, and I'll follow," Saku replied, pointing.
The door they had entered was now sealed shut. Victory closed the distance and tried to figure out how to open it again. Meanwhile, Kankia slumped down, leaning against the sacophegus and generally looked woeful.
"I can't believe she's gone."
Serafina
Faolan looked at Serafina as though it was her duty to console their sister and Serafina just raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
With a sigh, Fao moved to sit next to Kanika, putting a hand on her arm, sending soothing vibes through to her.
Saku
"Damnit!" Victory shouted.
"What?" Saku asked.
"The door isn't just sealed shut, I can't even touch the blasted thing!"
"Ummm...."
Victory grabbed Saku by the arm and pressed his hand against the wall.
"Reef my arm out of its socket why don't you," Saku grumbled, then realised what Victory was trying to show him. "Hey that's weird. It's like there's something inbetween my hand and the wall."
Keeping his hand on the wall, he did a tour of the room but no where could he actually touch the wall.
Serafina
Serafina looked over at the raucous that Victory was causing and stopped herself from rolling her eyes at the whole situations.
Sometimes, she was really starting to understand why Nyx had split them up.
She got up with a slight sigh and went over to the door, reaching her hand out.
"Fao? You wanna try too?"
Faolan glanced over and nodded, letting the last of the soothing waves filter through to Kanika.
Saku
"Great, so now we're stuck in here. Probably cursed because we had the audacity to want to verify Mama was actually in there," Kanika muttered bitterly.
"Would you like some cheese with that whine?" Saku asked Kankia.
"Shut up, Saku," Kanika retorted.
It wasn't really Saku she was mad at though. It was what she knew she had to do no matter how much she fought it.
Saku, for his part, ignored the command to shut up as usual.
"I wonder who Mama's heir is," he mused. "I mean, she took over for Bastet when she died and took over being the cat goddess, so I guess someone needs to take over for Mama."
"How can you be so cold? Take over for Mama?" Kanika glared at him.
"What?" Saku asked. "Someone has to. Auntie Priss maybe. Or Uncle Sabre if it doesn't have to be a girl."
Victory looked at Saku, a curious gleam in her eyes.
Serafina
"Logically speaking, it should really be one of us," Serafina shrugged, earning herself a glare from Kanika.
"After all, Mama was Bastet's heiress, so... it should fall to one of her own children, rather than Sabre or Priss. And with that in mind, it really should be the first born."
Kanika kept glaring.
Faolan was keeping quiet through all of this, watching Victory.
Saku
"Well, yes, that's true," Saku nodded in agreement with Serafina.
"Forget it," Kanika dismissed. "I'm not going to be the new Bastet or the new Nyx."
"I'll take the job," Victory said cheerfully.
"You?" Kanika scorned. "Oh please, you can't protect anything unless its your own interests. You don't have the compassion to be the protector of women, children and cats."
"Not to mention all the other stuff on the list," Saku nodded cheerfully. "Family, fertility and birth, sunrise, music, dance and pleasure. Okay, you could probably do pleasure, and dance of the horizontal variety too."
Victory gave Saku a Look.
"Oh and I suppose you could do better?"
"Probably," Saku replied with a grin. "Lets face it, I could probably cover family and music way, way better than you can, and I do have a secondary focus on protection magic but! The job isn't meant for me."
He looked at Kanika.
Serafina
"Stop looking at me!" Kanika snapped. "This isn't my job!"
"Well it sure as shit isn't mine," Serafina drawled. "Sunlight still hurts me a little, though I am growing out of it, I apparently inherited Dad's music and dance talents... should I go on?"
"Don't bother," Kanika snapped. "You all act like you wanted this. Like you don't care Mama's really gone."
Faolan shook his head. "Kanny... it's not like there was a huge chance that Mama was alive. We've been without her for most of our lives. It sucks, but that's how it is. We have to grow up sooner or later."
"No, we don't!" Kanika protested. "Why are you guys in such a rush to stop being kids?"
Saku
"Because children are annoying and they don't get to do anything cool," Victory replied.
Saku opened his mouth to comment, but Victory glared at him until he shut it again.
"We all have to grow up eventually anyway."
"The key word being 'eventnually'," Kanika retorted.
"I prefer to do these things on my terms. And lets face it, Kani, whether we like it or not, Mama's gone. There's a void that must be filled and only one of us can do it," Victory nodded.
Saku scooted next to Kanika.
"Mama knew she was in danger for a long time," he said softly. "That's why she left us with our Dads. And it sucked being separated and all, and even felt like we'd been abandoned. I think sometimes it even felt like we hated Mama more than we loved her although I don't think that was every honestly thr case. But now we know for certain that Mama can't come back to us now, no matter how must we wish otherwise, and it's time to accept the inheritance she left us."
Kanika snorted.
"Some inheritance."
Serafina
"We're Godlings," Serafina shrugged. "Or half Godlings anyway. What's not to love?"
Faolan glanced at Serafina then Kanika.
Saku
"Okay," Victory said, clapping her hands together. "So how do we do this thing?"
"Do what?" Saku asked.
"Become goddess. Y'know, seeing as how Kanika doesn't want the job -"
"If you don't know how already, then it's not for you to be," Kanika interupted, glaring at her.
"And how would you know?" Victory sneered.
Kanika caught her eyes. The two locked their gaze until finally Victory turned away. What she saw there scared her. Kanika closed her eyes and sighed, finally capitualating to the unspoken knowledge inside her.
"Fine. Just so you all know, I'm doing this under protest."
A light started shining around Kanika and she slowly lifted up into the air until she was hovering above the sacophegus. The light became almost blinding and Saku was forced to shade his eyes as it filled the room.
Serafina
"Wow," Faloan breathed, as Kanika lowered to the ground, newly grown up. "Kanny..."
Kanika blinked a few times, to steady herself.
"Let's go," she said.
Serafina nodded, looking at her siblings.
Saku
"Right so... how do we unseal this place anyway?" Saku asked.
Kanika chuckled.
"Oh, that's not going to be a problem at all," she said.
Before Saku could query this, the roof of the room split into quarters and slid open. Kanika spread her hands and all five of them lifted up through the roof and back into the floating island scene.
Serafina
"Well," Serafina said, looking around.
"That was convenient."
Saku
"Yes, yes it was," Saku agreed.
"I can send you all home from here," Kanika told them.
"Us home?" Saku repeated. "You're not coming with us?"
Kanika shook her head.
"There's things I need to do."
"Become the new Egyptian goddess of mischief?"
Kanika grinned, a grin which soon faded.
"As appealing as that idea is, no," she said. "I'm afraid there's a bit of a mess I need to clean up. So... I guess this is good bye."
Saku hugged her.
"I prefer 'see you later'."
Serafina
"See ya round, Kanika," Serafina said, waving.
Faolan went over and hugged Kanika.
Ending as written by Michelle
One by one, Kanika sent them all home, until it was just herself and Victory left.
"Good luck, Kani," Victory said.
Kanika smiled faintly.
"You don't have the neccsary compassion to do this job, and I think you know that."
Victory grinned.
"Yeah, but think what I could have done with all that power."
"And that attitude is exactly why I'm the one sending you home."