Owner Pose
Chas Chandler     Returning to the Hall of Judgement is a simple matter, the portal of Anubis did not fade when used. It transport the combatants back to the hall just as they had left, smoothly and without the usual disorientation associated with dimensional travel.

    The god of the scales eyes those who arrive with surprise. "It would seem that my assessment of you was incorrect. I thank you for not disposing of Ammit. Wild and unpredicatable as she is, she is still a necessary part of the process."

    Ma'at smiles, looking in their general direction. "Many congratulations are due to you four. Besting and surviving the Devourer is no small task." Her eyes are still closed, the sockets seeming sunken without the eyes that are currently in Jon's skull.
Jonathan Sims     After shoving the leaf down Ammit's throat, and the subsequent blast back of power as the plumbing of the universe got forcibly re-routed, Jon stares down at the gash in his arm with momentary dismay. Right along his veins, lengthwise along his arm. That's... not good. There's a reason that's not good. It actually takes him about thirty seconds to remember that /oh yes/ he has a body now and bleeding is /dangerous/, especially from a major vein.

    Right.

    "Let's all get back in the Hall and see to our wounds," he suggests. He conjures up a globe of water with ease and encases his arm in the healing substance as he moves to go back through the portal.

    Once on the other side, he bows politely to Anubis. "I might suggest, Lord Anubis, that you listen to your colleague in future." He gestures to Ma'at. "She is the foundation of order, after all, the basis of law and right. Her opinion might be given more... weight, one might say. And she sees the hearts of mortals in a way you have, perhaps, forgotten in this long stretch with so few coming through the Hall." It's a gentle rebuke, but a pointed one. Ma'at never doubted their ability to get the job done, after all.
Cael Becker     Cael groaned after having been tossed free, an slammed into a rock. That was going to leave some bruises that would take a while to heal. She climbs slowly to her feet - checking for broken bones, but finding no obvious serious injuries at the moment. She was fortunate. "Did anyone get the license plate on that semi?" she complains, as they limp towards the portal back to the Hall of Judgement. Her rope was gone - disappearing with Ammit. She could only hope they wouldn't have need of it moving forward.
    She stops near Jon as the Gods address them, studying first Jon's injuries, and then each of the Gods in turn. She remains silent for the moment, letting Jon respond to his Gods - a smirk tugging with amusement at the corners of her lips at the rebuke he aims towards Anubis.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin touches her lacerated scalp and winces. Scalp wounds are always bleeders. A ripped up piece of towel is improvised into a compress and Caitlin holds it to her head with her free hand. The other hand is occupied with putting stabilizing pressure on her cracked ribs.

Fortunately the bleeding stops in moments as her body begins rapidly rebuilding the injury to her head. The ribs won't take much longer to heal either, painful as they are. Her immense strength, combined with aid from Cael and Lady Death's power boost, has helped her body endure the crushing power of those awesome jaws with no serious injuries.

Jon's talking to two of the actual gods of Egypt; it doesn't stop Caitlin from approaching, and probing at his injured arm with her fingertips. "Looks like a venal bleed, but it's not too bad," she tells Jon. She moves with the certainty of a trained medic, the aid imperative overriding any manners that might regard propriety or the etiquette of the moment. "I can stitch it up though."

A bundle on her pack proves to be removable; inside is a surprisingly complete trauma care kit, including a couple units of plasma and field surgery tools for stopping bleeding.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death drops the chunks of scaly Ammit flesh that came away from the creature clenched in her hands as she was blasted free. Pushing herself to her feet, she shakes the blood and bits of gore from her hands as she begins brushing away the pulverized stone and casually plucking out the she shards of shattered boulder that have embedded themselves within her arms and torso. The larger shards come away with spurts of black ichorous blood, though her grin doesn't falter even for a moment.

"You have a wonderful pet, she's adorable. I want one of my own." Lady Death winks at Anubis upon stepping back through the portal. Before adding, "He's right you know, you seem like you could really use a few drinks, loosen up a little." It's hard to know if she's being serious or taunting Anubis, possibly both.
Chas Chandler     Anubis scowls at Jon and then again at Lady Death. "Ammit is hardly a pet," the lord of the scales replies. "But I will take your words under advisement. All of them." He looks at Ma'at and then turns to Osiris.

    The Lord of the Egyptian Underworld regards the group. "You have made your choice, Jonathan Sims. What you do now is out of my hands. You may continue your journey and rise as Ra does... or you may stay in service here to Ma'at." He pauses and adds. "While I am fairly certain you have already made your decision, I felt it prudent to extend the offer." There is a soft smile playing on the mummified god's lips.
Jonathan Sims     Jon considers Caitlin's offer for a moment, still holding the magic water over his wound. "I can heal it with magic... but stitching would help that go faster. And make it scar less. The water speeds up the body's natural healing process, but it's limited by my knowledge of how that works... and an unsutured wound /would/ scar pretty badly." He smirks. "One of the downsides of having an actual medical degree, I've found. But... just a moment... if I turn it into a numbing agent..."

    He waves the glowing emerald hand, and the water disappears. "There," he says, holding out his fleshy arm to Caitlin. "Go ahead."

    Jon looks up at Osiris then, quirking a brow. "Oh, the whole idea is that I'm supposed to go back into the world and help bring back balance and order and all of that. Why on Earth would I stay down /here/? If I wanted to do /that/ I would've merged with you." He beams a smile at the god. "You should be glad I didn't; I'd probably make your life miserable."

    He looks around at the others. "But I /am/ going back on Ra's barque, that was always the plan. Ma'at precedes the sun into the world, and Ra is reborn, and... well, it all works out. I know Lydia has a path to get everyone back home... but admittedly now that I'm /myself/ and not just Ra, I'm shaky on whether I can definitely defeat Apep." He makes a face. "I could use the help, if anyone wants to come. But you have to put up with a lot of ritual back-and-forth in Middle Egyptian, fair warning. The food's good though."
Cael Becker     "He can be such a pain in the ass," Cael agrees - a smirk appearing on her lips for a moment, before her expression grows more serious again. She spends a moment watching Caitlin fussing over Jon's arm, then leaves the woman to it as she studies the Gods once more. If she'd been at all concerned that Jon might choose to stay, it certainly didn't show now, as she endeavors to stand beside the man with as much stoic confidence as she can muster.
    While also ignoring the way it aches with every breath. Did she crack her ribs again with that toss? She wasn't entirely sure.
    "I think I can do without a lippodile as a pet. I'll stick with Bear," she adds towards Lady Death. "But you do you."
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin ties off a tourniquet and gets him moved around so he's stable and she can work on his arm while he talks. The blood stops flowing almost immediately; Caitlin wipes her hands with an alcohol wipe, taking her time to sanitize, then dons some surgical gloves and starts in on Jon's arm. Despite her sheer size the redhead has surprisingly deft and skillful fingers, and neatly ties off the partial laceration of the vein with gossamer-light thread. That done she starts working on the larger wound, tying the muscle back into place and applying clotting powder to the other minor cuts and crush wounds. Last she sews the skin up nicely. It's not exactly surgical-theater work, but the scarring should be pretty well reduced.

"I've got some painkillers," she murmurs to Cael-- the wincing isn't missed. "They're not very strong, but it's enough to make broken ribs marginally more tolerable."
Hope Svelgate Lady Death gives an exaggerated shrug and folds her arms beneath her chest. "I suppose it can't be helped. I've fought and defeated that serpent before. It's not nearly as cute as Ammit." she offers.

"Bears do make great pets." She agrees with Cael. "But that beast was a lot of fun to wrestle with." She grins, apparently in what passes as a good mood for her.
Chas Chandler     Osiris nods. "Then I suspect you have your ways to go. I will not delay you further here." He gestures with both rods in his hands and two doors open. One is the door that Lady Death, Lydia, Phoebe, Cael, and Caitlin emerged from (it seems that they were repaired while the four of them were fighting Ammit). The other is a nondescript single stone door to his left, presumably it leads back to the barque and towards hour six of the jouney of Ra.

    The Great Pharoh regards Lady Death for a moment longer. "I would ask... that you not exercise your newfound power on any of those you face on the journey. The great serpent is an eternal enemy for a reason. Removing him from the equation could have unforseen complications." He narrows his eyes in a speculative look rather than one of suspicion. Dispatching him when there was the uprising was one matter. Destroying him here is something else entirely."
Jonathan Sims     Once Caitlin's got his arm all sewn up, Jon conjures up the healing water again and surrounds his arm in it like some kind of magical medical gel. Just a sheath of water, encasing his arm. Then he turns to Cael, worried. "Do you need healing? Or can you get by with painkillers?"

    He glances toward the side door. "That's my path," he says. "Why am I not surprised you've already fought Apep?" He heistates for a moment. Part of him... /really/ likes the idea of just being rid of that damn serpent for good.

    But then he sighs. "I suppose Lord Osiris is right," he mutters. "Order overcomes chaos; that's what makes it order. Energy must be spent to keep entropy at bay, and defeating the serpent represents that energy--you can't have eternal stasis. Killing the serpent for good would probably just make everything fall apart."
Cael Becker     "I'm alright," Cael answers Caitlin. "...but I wouldn't say no to a few painkillers," she admits.
    As the doors open, she looks back the way she'd came, and then to the other door, which Jon soon identifies as 'his path.' There's a stubborn set to her expression that he doubtlessly would recognize - that almost dares him to just //try// to make her go back the other way, as she remains standing beside him.
    "I might have cracked a couple of ribs - or it might just be some nasty bruising. I'm not honestly sure yet. I can manage, though - especially if you need to save your strength for what's ahead."
    As for Lady Death's talk of 'bears' - she seems content to let her misunderstand the nature of her pet.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin starts distributing painkillers to the mere mortals-- which means Cael and Jon, mostly. They don't work on Caitlin or Lady Death, Phoebe is a font of self-healing, and Lydia's a vampire. Lidocaine patches and vicodin for anyone who wants them, and while the rest are talking Caitlin repacks her bag, even taking the medical waste and carefully tucking it out of the way so no litter is left behind.

"Well, I'm ready when you are," she advises the others-- and turns to the gods to salute them respectfully in the style of an Aamzon. "Thank you for your hospitality," she bids them. "I hope we didn't make too much of a mess of things. Is there any message I can convey to Olympus for you?" she offers with a diplomatic helpfulness.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death just smirks looking between Osiris and Jon, "I didn't need the Scythe the first time and I see no reason to use it now. She says cracking her knuckles. "I'm beginning to wonder if you guys even know how to enjoy yourselves." She gives a little shrug as if it probably can't be helped. "Besides, I'm rather a fan of Chaos when it comes down to it."
Chas Chandler     "We all have our failings" Osiris says to Lady Death his expression mildly amused. "Good luck to you all and I look forward to seeing what you do as the Agent of Truth and Balance, Jonathan sims." THe Great Pharoh focuses on Caitlin for a moment. "Caitlin Fairchild, give our regards to our Greek Cousins on their mountain if you have the opportunity." He regards Lady Death once more and smiles. "Tell your Mistress that she is continually honored here and that our remembrance and reverance of her will never cease." His eyes fall on Cael. "Your skepticism of all that is before you is rather refreshing. It is good to be directly humbled by ones who care not for fancy titles and power."

    Once out of the Hall of Judgement they are met with a downward stair that is rather pleasant in contrast to everything Jon has experieneced arriving in the Hall from the opposite way.

    Nothing harasses them in the dimly lit chamber and at the bottom is the mirror of the Nile and the sun barque floating up to a mooring dock. Alya smiles as she sees Jon and then her expression becomes troubled. "You are whole and true... and yet different... she says to him. "And you've brought... mortals with you?" Her use of the word falters some as her eyes fall on the pale form of Lady Death.
Jonathan Sims     Jon waves off the painkillers. "I'm not... /quite/ alive yet, I'm not certain if those would work. I'll be alright." Indeed, he seems just fine as he nods respectfully to Osiris, says goodbye to Lydia and Phoebe, and leads the way out and down the stairs. He's not surprised that Cael is coming with him, and after a moment's thought... well, Caitlin and Lady Death coming with isn't all that surprising either.

    He smiles brightly as he comes to the barge. "The plan worked." A pause. "They... did brief you on the plan, right? The one where I was supposed to merge with Ma'at, and not Osiris?" He quirks a brow at Alya. "...I don't /really/ strike you as the Osiris sort, do I?"

    He gestures to the others. "Alya, this is Cael Becker, Caitlin Fairchild, and Lady Death. They came down here to help bring balance to the universe; they can explain their credentials themselves." He looks to the others. "This is Alya Montague, an old friend and Agnes' mother. She is in service to Sekhmet much as I serve Ma'at, and has been my guide through the lands of Duat." Implying that she's, well, dead.
Cael Becker     Cael is surprised, and a little gratified by Osiris' words to her, and she offers a small nod of acknowledgement. "It's been an interesting journey," she remarks, before turning to accompany Jon down the stairs, grateful for the painkillers even as she waits for them to take full affect. When Jon glances aside at her, she gives him a wide, confident grin - as if this is just the sort of thing she does every weekend.
    And not at all as if she'd spent weeks in an anxious panic over the 'lack of a plan' as she saw it.
    She studies Alya as the woman is introduced, surprise and curiosity on her features. "Agnes' mother?" she repeats quietly. "You're daughter's doing... well. I saw her not long ago. She- the message she delivered the other day was appreciated."
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin waits for the pleasantries to be handled; when it's her turn she salutes Alya, and bows respectfully. "I'm also an Amazon of Themyscira, but I'm not here in an official capacity," she promises the goddess. Sovereignity of space is something she seems particularly worried about treading upon. "Thank you for your hospitality and letting us board your ship. I hope we won't be an inconvenience," she says, and flashes a grateful smile.
Chas Chandler     "They did, Jon. Though to see it done is much different than thinking about it" Alya replies mildly. She regards Cael for e moment and nods. "I thank you for being kind to my daughter in my stead. And for keeping this one" she says looking at Jon with a grin, "At least slightly out of trouble."

    Her golden colored eyes move to Caitlin and she bows. "Official or not, your presence here is more of an honor than we have seen in some time. It is not trouble for the barque of the great god to accomodate all who will accompany him." She pauses and regards Jon again. "I believe, given the change in Jon, that some things will require... a measure of improvisation on his part and I expect that you and the others will be instrumental in that. Please, come." She steps back and allows the four of them to board the barque before it sets off once more.
Jonathan Sims     Jon rolls his eyes--surprisingly enough, considering they aren't technically /his/--and mutters, "Everyone's a critic." Just what he needs, Alya and Cael ganging up on him about 'keeping him out of trouble.'

    He walks toward the middle of the barque, where the statue of Ra had been before. "Am I still filling in for Ra?" he asks Alya. "Performing all the rituals and giving blessings and so on? I know it's important to those who... exist down here." 'Live' really isn't /quite/ the right word. "And it's been an awfully long time since someone came this way..."

    Then, suddenly, he stops and turns around, walks back over to Cael. "Can I have the thermos of tea?" Once it's handed over to him he offers it to Alya with a smile. "Martin," he says, as if that should explain everything.
Cael Becker     "I'm not sure there's any real chance of keeping Jon out of trouble," Cael remarks in a dry tone. "It's just as futile as anyone trying to keep //me// out of trouble. We just watch each others' backs instead." More seriously, she adds, "Is there anything you'd want me to-" But she cuts herself off, shaking her head as she adds, "But you can talk to her yourself, can't you?" That's how she got the message, after all. "And anyways, whatever it might be would be better coming from Jon." And not her.
    She climbs onto the barque, handing over the thermos as requested, as she looks around the boat and at the path before them. "Were you also a fan of Martin's tea?" she asks. "I had some of that earlier. It's //way// too sweet."
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin moves to the aft of the ship (she's been on enough of them to know aft from prow!) and sits down heavily. It's time for the redhead to take a little break and eat something; she looks down at the gore covering her armor still, grimaces, and starts shrugging out of it to clean it. "Hey Sims," she calls, lifting her voice. "Is there some water that we can use for ablutions and making dinner?" she inquires. "I got yelled at repeatedly to avoid any water the last time I went into an underworld, so I'd like to play it safe."
Hope Svelgate Amusement plays across Lady Death expression at Osiris' parting words, but she just turns and walks on raising a hand to wave absently behind her.

Perhaps surprisingly perhaps not, Lady Death doesn't have much to say on the way to the barge. Until that is the meet Alya. "Yes, mortals. He brought mortals." She laughs to herself as she steps on to the boat. "Like he said, I'm Lady Death. She Who Reaps." Her lips quirk halfway towards a grin as if that should explain everything and then she finds a convenient place to lean aboard the barge.
Chas Chandler     Alya smiles at Jon's response to her jab but she nods. "You are. Once we pass through the gate into hour seven he will return whole as he should. Just as you are." She is brought up short as he offers the thermos to her. "Oh..." she says, tearing up a bit. "Martin..."

    She uncaps the thermos and inhales the smell of the tea slowly and reverently. She opens her eyes and nods to Cael with an affectionate smile. "It is and that's why I am not going to drink it but the smell. There is more to a good cup than just taste. He taught me that." She takes another slow inhale of the tea and caps it again before handing it back to Jon.

    She turns to regard Caitlin. "There is a bucket behind you. Jon, help her if you can. What you clean can be poured into the waters here safely. As for food, you will be provided a meal... multiple meals as we progress. You can safely eat the food offered without ill effects, I promise."

    She makes a note of Lady Death. "Not one I expected here but you are known by many, if only by reputation. We all welcome you aboard the Barque of the Great God, who is Ra. Shall we?" she asks looking at Jon.
Jonathan Sims     Jon levels a /look/ at Cael as she comments on his tea preferences. "You can't even brew tea properly, don't even start." It's said in a bantering tone; this is what people signed up for, coming along with Jon and Cael. He watches Alya take in the smell of the tea, then takes a long drink himself as if to prove a point before he caps the thermos and sets it aside.

    That done, he looks to Caitlin. "Egyptian belief is a little different. The realms of the dead aren't seen as... inhospitable to the living? We actually often share food with the dead, though usually it's the living giving offerings. But I understand your concern. I can provide water--it's drawn from the Astral Plane by magic, it shouldn't be a problem."

    He turns to the bucket and waves his hand over it, filling it with water. He then brings it over to Caitlin. "I wonder what it says about me that I hardly even noticed that you're all covered in blood," he mutters, half to himself. He glances over at Lady Death, standing there with ankh and jacket. "I suppose it just looks... normal?"
Cael Becker     "What's the point of brewing it 'properly' if you're just going to //murder// it with sugar?" Cael counters. "It's been //defiled,// Jon." There's a smile on her features as she speaks - an inexpressible relief.
    This is still her Jon. Sure, she's certain his experiences will have changed him. But he's still Jon, and that's what matters.
    She takes a moment to look at the blood covering her arms, and her clothes, and she moves towards the bucket as well - settling into place so she can start washing the worst of it out. She'll still need and welcome a shower when they get home - but for now, this alone would be a relief.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin sets about preparing some water. The surgical supplies are sterilized and repacked, first; she's even got a little waterproof sack in the bag that allows her to wash the worst of it off her clothing, and she offers the bag to anyone else that needs it. Last is the armor, cleaned and lightly re-oiled, and she attends to that while starting some water boiling on a portable camp stove. Her bag clearly is magically enchanted! Or it's just really cool space-age camp gear. Caitlin really does seem ready for anything.

"I can make some more hot water if people want fresh tea," she offers.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death looks up from the place she had found to lean and gaze out at the water, turning her attention back to Alya when addressed. "Death is rarely expected." She says with a small grin before looking back out at the water again.

Listening to the banter about underworlds and drinking water she adds, "It really depends on the River. The various branches of the River of the Dead are not something the living want to drink from. But you can find something drinkable even in Hell if you know where to look. Sometimes that's blood. There's a lot of water in blood." And in her attempt at pleasant banter, everyone is left with the very much unasked for knowledge that Lady Death almost certainly has drunk the blood of her enemies.
Chas Chandler     The barque sets off towards a massive gate of two stone doors barring the barque's passage. Alya smiles at Cait. "I suggest you do what you need to now, as the next hour is a dangerous one that all of you will need to be prepared for what is to come."

    A massive figure bound as a mummy with a great coil of rope around his neck stands next to the gate. The figure, known as Aken custodian of the ferry that carries the souls of the dead to their final place of rest. The coil of rope about his neck is the physical representation of time and its passing. Aken speaks as they approach. "Rise up, O disk, rise up great god, verily get thee forth to the standards of Seb" he calls out as the doors begin to open. "Keep ward over the enemies, and bind fast those who shall be smitten. O ye gods who are behind the standards, and who are in the following of Geb, I give ye the power to bind fast the enemies and to keep ward over the wicked. Let them not go forth from under your hands, let them not slip through your fingers."

    A wave of energy passes over the boat. Any sense of fatigue or hunger or thirst is washed away by the wave of energy and those on it feel invigorated and renewed. The doors open wide to allow the barque passage and Aken speaks a final benediction. A warning for the enemies of Ra. The enemies of Jon. The enemies of those who travel with him. "O enemies, you are reckoned for slaughter according to the decree which was given]to you by him that with his body, has created the Duat. He has passed the decree for you to be punished, and he taketh count of you and what ye do." With that warning the boat passes through to the 7th hour.

    The boat changes as it passes through the gate into the next realm. It grows a row in length and there in the middle of it is a golden sun disk supported by a pair of bull horns. Encircling the disk is a serpent as if protecting it. The golden disc glows brightly and illuminates the land of the 7th hour. The land before them looks as if it is it a great field of farmland. A number or workers till and harvest from the field wheat and others work on making bread from the wheat that is being harvested.

    Further on in the realm a red haze rises on the horizon, some great calamity threatens the land of farms and sustenance and by extension the Barque of the Ra.
Jonathan Sims     "Sugar brings out the deep complexities of the flavor of the tea, Cael. I'm /elevating/ it." Jon dumps out the dirty water as it's used, since Alya said that would be fine, and re-fills with fresh water as needed. He drinks more of the tea from the thermos, himself, seeming to find it bolstering. And maybe rubbing its sweetness in Cael's face a little.

    "I hadn't even thought of this being a branch of the River of the Dead," he muses to Lady Death. "I suppose it stands to reason. My ancestors believed this was the true source of the Nile... if so, and it /is/ a branch of the River of the Dead, would that imply the /Nile/ is also a branch...?" He frowns thoughtfully, and adds, "Blood is definitely drinkable, yes. I wonder what blood sausage made from demons would taste like..."

    Well, look, eating insects isn't all that weird to him anymore either. You do what you have to do, to survive.

    He listens to Aken's benediction and nods acknowledgement, then looks ahead toward the red haze on the horizon. "If I've read the funerary texts correctly... the followers of Apep, or Apophis, will be coming after us in retaliation for my joining with... well, not Osiris in this case, but trying to strike down Ra and the pharoah when he's still weak. First, we'll have a meal, though, and then... there will be war."
Cael Becker     "Jon, you know I love you, but I think the trauma of everything that's happened has seriously fucked with your head," Cael responds casually, still washing the blood out of her hair and off her arms and face. She doesn't worry too much about her clothes, though - or her armor - but she does take off her leather cuff bracelet to gently clean it with a damp cloth, and a minute attention to detail, trying to get into each of the little openings in the butterflies' wings.
    "What the fuck is blood sausage? I think I'll skip drinking blood and eating blood sausage - if it's all the same. A bug was enough. //I ate a bug//."
    As Aken speaks, she looks up curiously, a wary expression settling onto her features - though it soon changes to relief as that wave of energy passes over her and replenishes her. "Did we all just get called Gods? Am I a God now?" she asks in dry amusement.
Caitlin Fairchild With the ablutions and camp necessities concluded, Caitlin repacks all her gear in neat stowage and stands up. The redhead stretches, arms reaching for the sky, then rests her palms on the handrails of the boat. It's quite a view; at least, it's much better than the parts of Tartarus that Cait's seen thus far.

"Wish you could see this in person," she says under her breath. With the wave of invigorating energy there's not as much impetus to eat anymore. Any day Caitlin doesn't have to cook herself a meal is a welcome relief.
Hope Svelgate "Most demons are not delicious." Lady Death replies, seemingly the voice of experience. "You can live off it, but it tastes like shit."

At the words of Aken, she turns around resting her elbows on the side of the boat to hold herself up as she leans. "Slaughter? I think Osiris and I have different definitions of slaughter." She smirks. But then Jon clarifies Aken's meaning and she adds, "Dinner and violence? Are you trying to seduce me?" With an amused grin.

When the sun disc comes out, Lady Death's skin, bone white as it is, begins to positively reflect the light in a way that puts even an Irish beach day to shame. Reaching into a pocket of that black leather jacket that she's been wearing, she draws forth a pair of black aviator shades and places them over her eyes.
Chas Chandler     True to Jon's prediction, they stop near to one of the farms bisected by the river they float upon. There a group of people overseers of the farm by the official look of their attire approach the barque and offer praise and congratulations to Jon. Jon in kind recites a benediction to the overseers and farmers of the land and a meal is shared. It's simple food: fresh bread, ale, and cool clear water but the taste is remarkably satisfying.

    They continue onward and stop again at another farm where men and women with sycthes work the field. Jon again gives to these workers a benediction, telling them that their actions are pleasing to the sun god. Even as he speaks there is power imbuing his voice, he speaks for Ra even as he is an Avatar of Ma'at. The Truth of the Sun God's power is transformed within him and spread out to those he speaks to.

    Once again the barque moves along the river and the first signs of conflict arise. There are massive serpents with great fangs and flared hoods moving through the fields. Striking out at farmers and overseers alike. Some fail to the work of the farmers but more pass through and converge on the barge, a number rising up above the stalks of wheat and spit acidic venom to those who ride upon the barque, the noxious liquid raining down from above in accurate arcs as more move forth to assault the boat more directly.
Jonathan Sims     "I take it you don't want me to explain what's in sausage at all, then? I'm certain with the right spice blend we could make even demon flesh palatable." Jon grins. "But evidently, right now... yes. We're all technically gods, for the duration of the trip."

    To Lady Death: "I don't try to seduce anyone, but maybe you could come back and see what Osiris would think? He and Ra make this trip daily."

    The benedictions given and received are in Middle Egyptian, which Jon translates for the others. It's all pretty much the workers praising the 'great god'--evidently Jon--and him going 'you're doing good work, keep it up' and making sure they get their food and offerings. He's glowing the same way the sun disc in the center of the barge is, and by the way the shadows fall in this place the barque is the source of light for the entirety of Duat. Jon is the sun, right now, odd as that might seem.

    He doesn't hesitate to eat, and though he encourages the others to join in on the meal he won't press if they're reluctant. He enjoys the food, talks with the farmers, asks about their lives--or existence, anyway--as if he's genuinely interested in the well-being of these people who populate the lands of the dead.

    "Well," he says, as they near the site of conflict. "That's the first challenge coming up out of the darkness." He uncases his sword and raises it, surrounding the barque with a protective barrier to protect them from the rain of venom as they approach. "Shall we?"
Cael Becker     "I can be a God. That's fine," Cael agrees - smirking in amusement with amusement as she adds, "Though I don't know how Martin's going to manage when we get you home and tell him he's in the presence of //two Gods//. There has to be some fun to be had there." With her bracelet finally cleaned, she snaps it back into place, and climbs to her feet to rejoin Jon - staying a step or two back when he addresses his 'subjects,' but then moving forward to curiously slip her fingers into his right hand. Her fingers rub gently at his strange, green-hued fingers as she asks in an aside, "Can you actually feel that?"
    She joins in on the meal, tasting the bread and beer and letting out appreciative sounds. "This ain't bad," she remarks with a grin. Who knew there'd be eating on this trip?
    But of course the idyllic moment can't last forever, and as the snakes approach, she calls her axe to her hand - waiting for the initial rain of venom to peter off as she takes a few practice swings. "I take it we're all ready for this?" she remarks casually - before spreading her wings, and jumping from the barque, and over to the shore. She wades into the fields of wheat, swinging with her blade and cutting down crop and serpents alike.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin's kitted back up before they reach the first obstacle; she puts her helmet back on and looks upwards at the incoming venom arcs. Jon's shield holds them at bay for now, and the redhead casts around for a weapon that can reach that far. A set of classical javelins near by look like they'll do the ticket. She hefts the weight and balance of one, takes a short step to start, and hurls it at the higher defilade with a great deal of strength and precision.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death just sort of side eyes Jon when he takes her statement literally and continues downing ale in as a great a quantity as is provided. It seems she drinks as hard as she fights and is no stranger to a good revelry. Though whether doing such /before/ a battle is a good idea remains to be seen.

"Gods aren't that great." Lady Death informs Cael between cups of ale. "They can still bleed and die like everything else. And the responsibilities are a real bitch."

When the serpents appear, the cup, empty of ale, is cast aside to clatter across the deck of the ship. "Party time!"

Fiery blue energy surrounds Lady Death and she rises into the air and flies towards the first of the serpents like an undead Supergirl, upper cutting it beneath its jaws right in the soft tissue.
Chas Chandler     The serpents are legion in number. The rain of venom patters and hisses against Jon's shield, the golden disc in the center of the boat burns brighter as if bolstering the shield of its progress but the barque stops as its passengers move from the confines of its protection.

    As Cael swings her axe finds purches on snake flesh with each pass. Many of the snakes lash at her, venom filled fangs bouncing off of her greaves as they seek to pierce flesh and deliver an incapacitating dose of their poison.

    The spear from Caitlin finds purchase and hammers into two flying serpents--because yes, the sky too is starting to fill with serpents--before piercing through one of the acid spitting vipers. Another javelin is thrown with equal force and precision.

    Lady Death finds that while the number of the snakes is a daunting ordeal, their makeup is quite similar to their physical counterparts. Her punches do more than enough to tear flesh from bone on the creatures she engages, even as more jump from hidden positions and coil about her hissing and lashing at her but finding no luck in piercing her pale flesh.

    Even so, more vipers pour from the fields preceding a massive hulking beast of a cobra. It rises, all black scales, and flares its hood revealing two red eyes on either side of the hood. A lieutenant of Apep for certain, it sets its eyes on Jon and slithers forth with surprising alacrity.
Jonathan Sims     With everyone disembarking to fight the serpents, Jon drops the shield around the barque and spreads his wings, launching himself into the air. Large swaths of serpents are targeted by glowing energy, the light of the sun hopefully searing flesh or even incinerating the foes. He has far less trouble with this than he has in the past; seeing this as energy spent to overcome chaos and restore order helps him actually channel it.

    As the largest cobra approaches he calls to the others, "If we kill this one all the smaller ones will stop attacking and we can move on!"

    Then he darts in, swinging his sword at one of the serpent's eyes. It's probably not used to facing a foe that can fly; Ra and Osiris don't really fly, after all. So Cael and Lady Death and Jon himself are probably a novel problem for the creature.
Cael Becker     Cael has stayed fairly low to the ground - attacking the serpents slithering through the wheat fields, and she looks up as Jon takes to the air - a broad smile growing on her features at the sight of him, glowing with power, and searing snakes from the sky. It only lasts a few moments before her expression shifts back to grim determination, as she cuts through more of the snakes with wide sweeps of her blade, before taking back to the sky again, with a few running steps and a leap, the black, metalic wings at her back beating for open sky.
    After sweeping the wings off some of the flying serpents, and arcs around towards the back of the great serpent, while Jon holds most of its attention - seeking to bury her axe deep in the flesh of its raised neck - with a hope towards lodging the bladed weapon deep into the creature's spine.
Hope Svelgate Like a fiery blue comet of death, Lady Death carves a swath of ichor, shattered bones, and splattering venom through the serpents. Their numbers seemingly almost limitless, more and more pile upon her attempting to smother her in their coils. But with a great flexing of her muscles and supernatural might, followed by a sickening tearing sound, the snake bodies burst from around her like so many snapped ropes. "Is this it? I was promised a fight!"

The appearance of the massive cobra brings a grin to her face. "Oh good. I was getting bored." And she streaks towards the massive beast, true to her word clearly intent on fist fighting a giant cobra.
Chas Chandler     The great serpent lashes at Jon, intent on destroying the vessel of the Sun's power and is met with a blade sweep across the eye in response. It hisses and rears back to strike again just as Cael's axe burries itself in the beast's hood driving it forward to the ground.

    Despite the power and (typically) fatal blow, the creature rises up; freeing itself from the crescent blade with a vicious shake of its head. It coils in on itself like a spring and readies itself to launch at Jon onces more, black mouth open ready to deliver what could be a fatal bite to the man.

    As it launches the comet of blue connects with it, Arcane infused fist bursting through the body of the creature covering arm and hand in black ichor that hisses and sizzles against pale skin. The snake's determination doesn't seem to be spent though as it continues to lurch towards the source of Order in Duat. It tears itself in half against the power of Lady Death's fist. Even so, it slithers forward, blood spilling over the land as it approaches Jon, before rising once more to let out a hiss of aggravation before crumbling down on the field in a heap. It and the other serpents disappear in a flutter of black ash and dust as the forces of Ra succeed in protecting the fields of sustenance of the dead.
Jonathan Sims     Jon catches the cobra's strikes on his right arm, not even flinching as it touches him. He flies backward away from the thing as Lady Death comes in and punches it in half, only encouraging it to head to its doom on her fist. When it's all done, he flicks the serpent's blood and eye gunk off his khopesh's blade with a bright grin. "Nice warmup," he comments, looking out over the fields, and over those who had been fighting the serpents before they came.

    He speaks to them in Middle Egyptian again: "Keep ward over the enemies, and bind fast those who are to be smitten. O gods who are in the following of the standards, and who are in the following of Geb, I give you power to bind fast the enemies, and to keep ward over the wicked. Let them not come forth from under your hands, let them not slip through your fingers."

    Then he raises his arms to the sky and cries out, "O enemies, you are doomed to slaughter, according to the decree of Ra concerning you. His person is the body of Akert, and he has created the Duat of his frame work. He has issued the decree for you to be put into restraints, he has ordered your doom which shall be wrought upon you in the great hall of Ra! The gods weep and lament, he sets the gods to guard you, and the enemies and those who are to be smitten in the Duat are condemned to these standards."

    That done--evidently somehow ensuring the serpents won't just return as soon as they're gone--he heads back to the barque, leading the others along with him so they can continue their journey.

    "I can't feel anything in that arm," Jon admits to Cael, quietly, as they return to the barque. "It's like anything else I summon; it's a magical construct. So it doesn't hurt if something hits the arm... but I can't feel you holding my hand, either."
Cael Becker     "I just washed the blood //out// of my hair!" Cael 'protests' - but she says it with a grin on her features. After all, there's no moral ambiguity to slaying monsterous snakes in the afterlife - just good, 'clean' fun.
    She stays in the air as Jon speaks - watching him with a furrowed brow, and an uncertain expression as a voice that isn't wholy his comes from his throat. When the speach is over, she joins him, reaching for his left hand this time, and rubbing his fingers in the same way as they return to the barque. "I'll keep that in mind, then," she remarks. "Is that something you'll be able to do after all this is over, do you think? Creating that arm when you need it? I know it's not the same, but- seems like it could at least be useful."
    Towards Lady Death she adds, "You really don't do things by half-measures. That was pretty impressive."
Hope Svelgate Lady Death floats there in the air as blood from the punch sundered serpent continues to drip from her body and the beast's own bisected pieces raining down upon the water below. "Enough fodder, where is Apep?!"

When it seems no other challengers are forthcoming for the time being she floats back towards the barque, eventually alighting upon its deck once more. "Apep could have taken that punch and more. The best is yet to come!" Lady Death tells Cael, there is anticipation in her voice. The thought of fighting something truly formidable /excites/ her. But then it was the same way the first time she crossed blades with Michael, too.
Chas Chandler     The barque floats forward and waits for it's passengers. Alya smiles at Lady Death's enthusiasm. "You will have your encounter with the Enemy soon enough, Mistress of Destruction" she calls. "But this, like all days, passes in a schedule." She gestures for them to reboard and the barque continues on it's winding path down the river.

    A great corridor of stone leads to the gateway to hour eight and the nine gods there call to the boat proclaiming the glory of Ra. "Come to us, Ra and open the secret places, open the holy pylons, and unfold the hidden portals."

    Sia, the embodiment of perception, speaks to the serpent above the gate, declaring it to open for Ra, as all gates before it and this one gives no resistance. The barque slowly makes its way forward into the 8th hour of Night.

    There are ten open temples in this realm, five on either side of the river and within are the gods of Egypt standing unclothed and waiting renewal from the Lord of the Day. As he is made anew, so too much they be made new in his image as they have since the dawn of their creation. The barque stops in their midst, the light of Jon and the sun disk illuminating the faces of all the gods in attendance.
Jonathan Sims     Jon goes to create more water for people to wash off in if they like, replying to Cael, "I've already created magical hands to move things around, so I don't see that it'll be a problem. The thing I'm trying to figure out is how to do things that require a certain amount of feedback. Delicate, intricate work." He frowns, then shakes his head. "A worry for the future... assuming this process doesn't grow back my arm." Not much hope of that, really... but one never knows.

    He nods in agreement with Alya. "We're coming up on the eighth hour now... I believe we fight Apep in the tenth, if the Book of Gates is the correct template. Which it appears to be, thus far. The timing of it is such that on the surface... or the other side of the world... the first hints of dawn will be beginning in the eastern sky once we defeat him."

    Once they stop in the midst of the temples Jon gives the others a wry smirk; he's become a bit self-conscious about performing these rituals. But nonetheless he turns to the gods surrounding them and says, "My offerings are from your offerings, and my nourishment is from your nourishment which is to you, O you who are in my secret places. I protect my secret things which are in Het-Benben. Hail to you! Your souls live, and their offerings are the offerings of Khuti."

    Jon glows /very/ brightly for a moment, a pulse of light that sweeps across the land. Clothing appears on the gods in the temples. "O you gods who dwell in the Duat, who are in the divine places of the governor of Ament, to whom what is their due is given upon their ground, who lie down upon their own lands, your own flesh is to you, you have gathered together your bones, you have knit together your members, and you have collected your flesh. There are sweet winds to your nostrils, you have girded on your apparel, and you have put on your wigs." He's looking healthier himself. Slowly but surely, more alive, more real.
Cael Becker     "We'll figure it out - whatever it takes," Cael promises Jon quietly, giving his hand a squeeze, before the temples and their Gods glide into view. As he steps forward to address them, she lets her hand slip free of his, taking a small step back to leave him at 'center stage' as it were.
    Looking towards Lady Death and Alya she adds, "I never say no to a good fight. I guess we just wait and see what happens between now and-" she shields her eyes for a moment as light coming off of Jon brightens, almost painfully, "...then. God, this is fuckin' weird, right?" she asks.
    Honestly. Maybe this is all part of some weird dream? It certainly doesn't seem like it should be reality.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death's enthusiasm fades slightly at Alya's revelation that Apep is apparently bound to a schedule and no amount of taunting or bravado is going to make it come any sooner.

"Maybe there is hope for humanity yet." She gives Cael an amused look before taking a moment to stretch her arms skyward. She then searches out a comfortable-ish spot on the barque where she can lie down, hands placed behind her head in the manner of a makeshift pillow. "Wake me up when Apep arrives." She says before closing her eyes to apparently take a nap.
Chas Chandler     The gods seem to glow for a moment longer before they fade from view, returning to their posts as instructed even in the silent command of the Sun God. The barque continues and stops before another corridor guarded by nine gods and two great mummies. Again these call to the barque intoning their praise for the Lord of the Day. "Come to us, you who are the head of the horizon, O great god who openes the secret places, open for yourself the holy pylons, and unfold the holy doors."

    Sia speaks to the gatekeeper once more, repeating the phase needed to pass into hour nine. The gates open and they gain admitance to the realm beyond. The river flows into a wide pool and the barque floats to a stop on the banks. "Here is where you will be restored" Alya says smiling at Jon and gesturing to the deep lake-like pool. "In preparation for the fight with Ra's adversary you must do so entirely as you and that means returning that which you borrowed from Ma'at."

    She pauses a bit and nods. "There is time though before you must do that. We can talk and have another meal if you wish." It's possible they are hungry, maintaining physical forms in this realm requires a great deal of effort and energy on the part of those who are completlely alive.
Jonathan Sims     Jon eyes Lady Death as she lies down, then shrugs. He turns to look out at the lake they arrive at with a slight frown. "I should have figured this would be here, given the middle register of hour nine in the Book of Gates. All those people floating in the water." He looks to Alya. "Can the others swim if they like, or is it better for the living to avoid the waters?"

    A pause, and then he adds, "I wouldn't say no to a meal. But, then, some part of me is still remembering being half-starved the last couple of weeks. It was... not a good time, at all."
Cael Becker     "The food was pretty good - and that //beer//..." Cael admits, as she looks over the pool, and then back to Jon, and Alya. "But all of this is very surreal. If I wasn't so //certain// of all the planning, and all my panic and anxiety about coming down here... I'd be convinced this was all a particularly bizarre dream."
    Looking back to Jon she adds in a quiet voice, "I did get your message, you know. From Agnes. You always know what I need to hear."
Chas Chandler     Alya frowns for a moment. "They can swim in they like but they must stay close to the bank. The depths are meant for those who are closer to rejuvenation. I'm not certain the effects on a living body would be pleasant." She getures to fields beyond where a number of elite looking men in royal garb bring forth food and drink: more of the rich bread an ale with carafes of cool water.

    She chuckles and eyes Cael. "Skepticism is perfectly sound and reasonable for those without a frame of reference. For others..." she shrugs. "This is perfectly normal. My trip through the Duat was... disruptive to say the least. My connection to Sekmet meant that I was to do battle against all the enemies made for the Great Lioness. I would either endure and succeed, or fail and be condemned for eternity." She smiles at Jon. "Obviously I succeeded."
Jonathan Sims     "Imagine what one of them would think of New York," Jon notes, gesturing to the people bringing the food and drink. "Towers of glass that reflect the sun, more people packed into just Manhattan than probably lived in the whole of Kemet, chariots without horses that move at unthinkable speeds, screens that show moving pictures... they'd probably adjust in time, people are adaptable, but like Alya said, it's only surreal because it's not what you're used to."

    He looks around as he picks up a cup of ale with his emerald hand. "All of this, it's... mostly laid out in various funerary texts. The words I'm speaking I memorized years ago, they're found on the walls of various tombs from the New Kingdom. Some of it's matched Amduat, most has matched the Book of Gates, some of it's been entirely unexpected. The question I have is... did people get the information from the afterlife and set it down, or did what our ancestors thought of the afterlife affect this place...?"

    A shrug, and then he looks to Cael. "I'm glad," he says softly. "I knew you'd be worried. I knew you'd all be worried. Though my biggest concern was Agnes having a complete breakdown over there not being a body, if I'm being completely honest. She takes magic as a very rigid sort of thing; she's going to need to unlearn that."
Cael Becker     "I suppose so," Cael agrees, as she digs into the bread, and sips it with the ale, appareciatively. "I guess all of this would make more sense to Agnes. She, uh- she was very insistant on doing all of the //right// things to prepare you for this journey. I suppose she was probably right about all of it - even if that stuff made no more sense to me than all of this stuff.
    "I panicked," Cael admits. "I'd thought-" her gaze flicks to where Lady Death reclines before she adds, "Well. It doesn't matter, but I panicked, and just- hearing from you, //knowing// it was from you, and that you still believed in me, and that everything would be okay..." Her right hand rubs at the leather cuff she wears. "It helped immensely."
    Wryly she adds, "Though, I hadn't even realized that there not being a body would've been a problem at all. Definitely not an Egyptoligist."
Chas Chandler     Alya nods to Jon as he mentions one of Agnes' failings. "A product of the one who raised her. She will adapt in time." She then answers her question. "I believe it was some of both. The framework of this endeavour was set before and the words taken into account. But as with most divine delivery methods, there was miscommunication and improvisation added."

    She smiles sadly. "In order for there to be consistency enough to facilitate the path of the pharohs things here were modified to match what was dispersed among the populace." She adds for Cael's sake. "The body is just as significant for our people in death as it is in life. Without it, it is believed that one cannot truly make it here." She looks at Jon. "Another artefact of miscommunication."
Jonathan Sims     "Well... yes and no," Jon notes. "There's plenty of evidence in Spells 21, 22, and 23 of the Book of the Dead that something else can substitute for the body... I /suspect/ that doing so required magic, however, and thus a priest or someone who could perform the proper, umm, transubstantiation, as it were." He grins, using the Christian term on purpose, as a kind of joke. "Agnes was, I presume, able to mystically transform some representative object to fill in for my body. A mummy is, presumably, easier to use, and doesn't require magic."

    He smiles to Cael. "She did it just right, though. I had a moment where I couldn't hear or speak or see... well, my eyes were gone," he gestures to his face, "but shortly after I entered the Underworld my mouth and ears opened. That's what the ritual she was performing, the Opening of the Mouth, does. There's a tight bond between the body of the dead and their soul. One enters the land of the dead as... well, as the dead. Unable to see or hear or speak. The rituals that the living perform attend to that problem."

    He reaches over to clasp Cael's hand for a moment. "I knew that things would be okay, somehow. I knew that even if she wasn't here, we'd figure something out. I don't know what, but... something." He gives her a wry smile. "When I met you, you were much better at adapting to a plan going awry."
Cael Becker     "Things were less outside of my experience then, Jon," Cael points out as she leans into his presence. "And I- for all I'm managing, we both know I'm less //well// than I was when your first met me, yeah?" She squeezes his hand reassuringly as she adds, "It keeps getting better and better - but a lot's happened, and I'm not well."
    Looking towards Alya she adds, "If you'd asked me a few months ago what happens after death - I would have said nothing nothing happens. We cease to exist, and our bodies rot. ...I've had that disproven repeatedly since then. In many different ways."
Chas Chandler     Alya laughs, and some of the glow about her fades some, her voice losing a measure of the power and becoming more human and less Avatar. "Oh yes..." she says grinning at Jon. "Please compare this sacred process to that of the Chrisitian belief they are so very alike after all." Her expression softens a bit at Cael's explanation.

    "Much of what you experience in life is there to prepare you for what you're going to experience when you die" she says softly but with a matter of fact tone. "You just have to figure out how you're going to continue with the knowledge that you acquire as you progress. I was rather surprised myself when I first arrived. Even with all the studies I had gone through, to see them... verified as it were came with its own shock."
Jonathan Sims     "/Actually/," Jon says, enunciating the word with a kind of relish that makes it clear he's gearing up for an argument, "there /is/ rather a similarity to the processes. No, nobody's eating the corpse, because that's /weird/, and I maintain it's kind of gross. But whatever statue or picture Agnes used to stand in for me /was/ made to be my body. In what way, precisely, is that different than the Eucharist being made to be /literally/ the body and blood of Christ?"

    He reaches out to put a finger on the table, like he's pressing down on a point. "Both rituals are meant to take an otherwise mundane item and transform it into the flesh of one who is dead. What that item is used for afterward is of no moment to the fact that transubstantiation /is/ an appropriate term for the process. Do you have a better one?" He raises a brow at Alya

    ...Yes, Cael, he's always been like this.

    He glances to her, and adds, "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Which... doesn't prove that there /must/ be an afterlife, but all the energy our bodies put out has to go /somewhere/. Even if it just... dissipates into the wider world one might think of that as us rejoining the universe." He makes no comment on her not being well, beyond squeezing her hand in return.
Cael Becker     As Alya's voice changes, Cael studies the woman's face again, trying to understand something of this woman - in this strange place. Someone who'd been close to Jon. And who was Agnes' mother. It was hard to say what that made the woman to //her// - or if that really mattered.
    Especially when she wasn't even certain what //Agnes// was to her.
    She lets the pair argue while she sips at the ale, offering no opinion on the subject of religious doctrine. Instead, she remarks, "Well, I have no idea at the point what happens to me when I die. Oblivion still doesn't sound bad - but neither does spending eternity with people I love. With... family. But I suppose that would mean signing up for..." she gestures around herself with her mug of beer, "all this somehow. At least Jon seems to think my heart would pass muster, so I suppose that's good."
Chas Chandler     Alya gives Jon a flat look. "Jonathan Sims..." she says a dangerous edge to her tone. "What you are doing is attempting to compare two disparate religions, one that's barely in its infancy to one that's all but extinct, and you're trying to tell me that they are derivative -of each other-. Would you like to start to tell me how similar a newborn child is to an old man who's lived a full life? Explain to me how the man is as derivative of the child as the child is to the aged man? Hm?"

    Her stern expression lingers for a moment and then she starts to laugh deeply and heartily. "Oh, I have -missed- you." She smiles brightly. "It is so difficult to find someone to properly argue with me over philosophy here. Most are too intimidated by my position and proximity to Sekmet to engage in such banter." She shrugs a shoulder as if she doesn't entirely blame them.

    She then looks at Cael. "Actually, I think you should be happy to know that Jon's position has afforded him a great number of boons from beings of higher power. I think, in his true end, he will have a myriad of afterlife scenarios that he is able to choose from, you won't have to fully dedicate yourself to a field of study you don't have any interest or spiritual tie to, should you not wish."
Jonathan Sims     "I am not claiming they're derivative!" Jon splutters indignantly. "I'm just saying that the /word/ is appropriate to use! It's a similar process! You... you..." His eyes narrow. "You are deliberately misinterpreting what I'm saying, aren't you?" He glowers at Alya for a moment and then he, too, starts to laugh.

    "It's been terribly lonely without you," he admits. "I didn't have any friends beyond Martin for... years. That's started to change." He looks at Cael with a smile. "And I'm quite grateful."

    He frowns, then, peering at Alya. "Do they really separate people based on beliefs? Or... is there more going on here than there seems to be? I cannot fathom a paradise, a reward--even if it wasn't eternal--that wouldn't include my family." He squeezes Cael's hand; clearly he includes her in that statement.
Cael Becker     Cael listens to the arguement - one she doesn't entirely follow, in part because she simply doesn't //care// to - and a small smile grows on her features for a moment. There was something akin to the teasing she and Jon give one another, and there is love there; she's glad he can have this after everything he's been put through.
    "As I said - I still don't know what I really want when I die, or how much what I //want// even matters. But with luck I've all the time in the world to sort all that out, still." She squeezes Jon's hand back, looking towards the man, her gaze lingering there as if searching for something - or considering something. "It's strange to have a family again..."
    Looking to Alya she adds, "I hope you really don't mind- I mean, I don't really know what Agnes and I are to one another. And maybe there isn't a need to be too fussed over //words,//" she muses. "But maybe it's a bit like... an older sister?" From the probing way she says it, it's clear she's trying the idea on for size, herself.
Chas Chandler     Alya grins at Jon. "Maybe, I mean it would track, that is what I did a lot of the time just to get a rise from you so..." She laughs. "I figure it would good for old time's sake if I gave it one more go." She sobers some and nods to the pair of them. "I know. And I am glad that you've mananged to move forward and make your place in the world Jon. It's not good to sit here and watch you suffer. Especially when I am restricted in what I can do."

    She contemplates his last statement for a moment and shrugs."The truth of the afterlife is a complicated subject and not one I can readily divulge with any sense of accuracy for many reasons. Least of all, because our time to rest is nearly up." She rises and nods at Cael. "Your relationship with Agnes is something you and her can decide for yourselves. But I trust you to do right by her, because I trust your heart."
Jonathan Sims     Jon peers at Cael for a moment. "Older sister? That... please think about that for a moment. It doesn't really... work." He sighs. "At any rate, words are... limiting, and it depends on... what commitments you want to make?" He shakes his head. "Those are things to figure out when we get back, I think."

    He finishes off the food and drink, then stands and looks toward the lake. "So... this is it, then? The last stop before the big battle." He glances around at Caitlin and Lady Death. "I suppose everyone will be ready when the time comes?"
Cael Becker     "Look - there's only so many words for family. Mom, dad, son, daughter, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents... there isn't really a //word// for- For whatever..." she shrugs helplessly, "whatever sort of family we're building. Whatever my relationship, my //feelings// to her might be. Sister's the closest fit, independent of what... we are to each other." She shrugs her shoulders a bit uncomfortably, never very easy with frank conversations about feelings - especially if they involve family.
    Martin she doesn't mention at all. She has //no// idea how ot categorize what Martin is in her life, now.
    She rises with the others, giving a nod to Alya at her words, and taking Jon's hand for another squeeze, before letting it go. She remains where she is - waiting to see what this acid-trip of a journey will bring next.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin was off on her own for some time; briefly napping to nurse her energy, and also looking out over the scenery of the underworld. It's a strange and rare thing to witness, and weirdly, it's not even the first one she's seen.

When Jon looks over she's politely lurking at the edge of the circle, not intruding into the conversation he has with Cael and Alya. The look garners a small flash of a smile, and she nods once at the man. "I'm ready for whatever's next," she promises them. "A good meal and a quick nap always helps put the pep back in my step."
Hope Svelgate "Try to keep up." Comes the sound of Lady Death's voice from where she is lounging on the deck of the ship, eyes still closed, after drinking copious amounts of ale and punching a giant cobra in half. To all appearances she could be asleep, but is apparently still listening. It begs the question, does she even actually sleep?
Chas Chandler     Alya nods and some of the color comes back into her aura, respresenting her reclamation of her position as Sekmet's voice. "It is. Are you ready to return to your full glory?" she asks Jon. "I warn you the process might not be... pleasant, but it is necessary for a renewed physical form. Something you will need if you have any chance of defeating Apep when he emerges."

    She gestures to the lake. "All you need do is wade into the waters and allow them to take you down into their depths. There the rejvination process will begin, when it is done you will rise to the surface as most physical bodies do. I must warn you, be ready to hold your air..." She gives him a small smile. "It wouldn't do for you to drown seconds after regaining your body, now would it?"
Jonathan Sims     Jon squeezes Cael's hand, then lets go. He looks around at the others with a smile. "This shouldn't take long, I expect. I'll meet you on the other side, I suppose." Then he wades on down into the waters, not bothering to remove his clothing.

    When the water gets too deep for him to keep walking, he pushes off the bottom, and takes a few strokes out into the water with the ease of one who grew up by the seaside. Even if he hasn't been swimming regularly for a while, the motions are almost instinctive and are never really forgotten. After those few crawl strokes, he lets the glowing emerald arm disappear, takes a possibly unnecessary breath, and dives down into the depths of the lake.
Cael Becker     "Jon," Cael says as he steps into the water. "...don't fucking drown, yeah?" she remarks, watching him wade off into the water. Her eyes remain on him until he dives from view, then she looks towards Caitlin, and Lady Death, a small, tight smile on her features. "Who would actually believe us about any of this, huh?" she asks, before looking back to the pool, her arms crossing over her chest as she waits.
    This is fine. Her boyfriend's being reborn in a pool in the underworld. Perfectly normal day, right?
Caitlin Fairchild "Don't look at me," Caitlin says, lifting her palms. "This is only my second time in an underworld. Tartarus was *way* different," she informs them. "And a lot scarier. This part's pretty nice, all things considered."

She tracks Jon's progress out into the water and unconsciously holds her breath when he goes under. "Also, if he needs rescue, I won't be a lot of help. I float like a rock," she adds, belatedly. "Best I can do is anchor the lifesaver."
Hope Svelgate "He can stay in the boat if it hurts too much." Lady Death opens her eyes and sits up, apparently done resting. Her eyes trail after Jon for a moment as he does in fact wade into the water, before pushing herself to her feet once more.

"Is there any more of that ale?" She asks stretching out her limbs and limbering up a bit.

Her expression turns amused at the banter between Cael and Caitlin. "Yes, who would believe any of this?" Echoes the ex-Hell Lord who has spent centuries beyond the veil of death, voice dripping with irony. "It is rather pleasant as underworlds go. Not all of them have beer. Though Valhalla is really the best in that regard."
Chas Chandler     As Jon drops into the water and the remaining people move back onto the boat,--after of course procuring Lady Death another earthenware takard of ale--Alya speaks. "The Greeks had an unnatural fear of death. Hades--and it's subrealms, like Tartartus--are modeled to be dire and full of torment. Perhaps in a way to allow their various heroes and soldiers more incentive to survive?" She shakes her head. "I cannot say for certain." The boat travels along the water toward the far bank, moving over where Jon dived with ease. "For Egyptians... and in a way the Norse as well, death is simply another facet of existence."

    Underneath the waters, Jon hovers. Weightless, he drifts lower and lower into darkness. He barely feels it when the eyes in his head vanish, returned presumably to their source. The restoration process starts as a subtle itch. Regrowth of the body is usually an unnoticed affair, but regrowing entire organs--especially sensitive organs such as eyes--is another process altogether. Eventually the subtlety leaves and it's just a persistent itching. It stops just shy of unbearable before suddenly there's the sensation of pressure and Jon can feel -his- eyes beating back against the pressure of the depths. A multitude of organs regrow after that in a myriad of sensations, some agonizing (like the digestive track) others surprisingly ecstatic (like the tactile senses).

    One last tingle remains, a desperate tingle at the edge of his right shoulder. The process attempts to recreate the arm and finds it cannot. Even some things are beyond the realm of the Waters of Restoration.
Jonathan Sims     Itching and tingling is better than excruciating pain, so Jon doesn't mind the process much. Once the pressure starts, and especially once his /lungs/ are in place, Jon starts to press toward the surface, swimming upward while holding his breath. He doesn't bother waiting on the right arm to regrow; that got removed in the Astral Plane, and he's been pretty certain he wasn't getting it back.

    He comes to the surface gasping for air, and does a sort of side-stroke with the one arm, back over to the boat. He doesn't have the wings anymore, at the moment; he just looks like himself.

    "Well," he comments, "that was... moderately unpleasant." He pulls himself out of the water and onto the barque, still glowing, dripping but drying more rapidly than one might expect. He coughs, making sure there's no water in his lungs. "I could /feel/ all my organs regrowing. Eugh." At least his eyes are his own again, agate brown with no glow or overlay, at least for the moment.
Cael Becker     As Jon approaches the barque, Cael is unsurprisingly at its edge - leaning over and offering him a hand, giving him a firm haul out of the water. Her gaze goes first to his eyes - a smile growing as she stares up into familiar brown irises. She pulls him down towards her - presumably going in for a kiss, but it's each of his eyelids she kisses instead, her left hand resting on his chest where he had, not too long ago, been run through with a sword - though there's been no sign at any point in this voyage of a wound left by Michael's sword.
    "So... you're alive again?" she asks. "...texts probably don't work from Duat, huh?" she asya a bit teasingly, slipping her right hand into his left to give it a squeeze - before she'll step back from him again.
    "I think Lady Death is determined to finish off the ale," she remarks simply. "Can't say I blame her."
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin's near enough to offer a hand up as well as Cael pulls Jon out of the water. Just enough to help stabilize himself, what with his missing arm.. Once he's on the boat she smiles approvingly at the man. "Alive is a good look on you," she bids Jon. "I'm glad to see you back on your feet."

She politely steps back so Cael and Jon can embrace, and at Jon's sidebar she glances at Hope and a smile cracks her face again. "Well, someone's gotta drink it all before it goes bad," she says, venturing an attempt at levity.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death gladly accepts the new tankard of ale, entirely unsure of where she cast her last one off to before the serpent fight or if it even survived, and sits in the boat enjoying it.

"You get used to it ...eventually." Lady Death calls over when Jon breaks the surface and reports on the unpleasantness of the experience. One might imagine she's had a fair bit of experience with that, not the least because of Michael's recent penchant for impaling her on various things.

"See? She understands." Lady Death says gesturing in Caitlin's direction when the topic of drinking all the ale is brought up.
Chas Chandler     Alya smiles as Jon reunites with them all (mostly) whole and complete. "It is good to see that you are once again alive, Jon" she says as he recovers from the depths of the water. "Though I regret that you're recovery is going to need to be cut short." She gestures before them to another corridor much like the past couple.

    Again the nine gods guard this corridor along with a pair of great mummified dieties. They do not harass the barque as it passes silently though the chamber and stops before a door and a guardian serpent. Sia again implores the serpent let them pass and, like before the serpent allows it slithering on soft coils as the doors open and allow them access to the 10th hour.

    The 10th hour is a vast plain split by the ever churning river. A battle rages on this plain. Armies move forth to do battle against Apep and his forces. Serpents fill the ground and sky slithering and devouring the forces of Ra in constant push to overtake this realm of Duat. But they are held at bay by those who worship the sun god with arrows, swords, clubs and spears. In the distances straddling the river itself is the great cobra Apophis, his sickly white shining with ethereal god light. He waits for his adversary to approach, ready to destroy the Sun and its retinue.

    None of the warriors who manage to approach him can harm him and those that try are smited with fang and force.

    As the barque enters the realm, the light of Jon and the Sun disk radiate out over the plain and Apep's forces are pressed back, but the great cobra itself remains unphased and ready to destroy.
Jonathan Sims     "Martin will know soon enough," Jon says to Cael, grinning and leaning down to kiss her forehead fleetingly since she pulls away. He smiles in return to Caitlin as well. "Alive and no broken bones, for the moment. Hopefully I'll stay that way. I'd rather /not/ get used to regrowing organs." He shakes his head.

    He's quiet as the barque heads into the next space, and frowns over toward the battle raging between serpent and the forces of Ra. "Well, this is it," he says. He closes his eyes for a moment and his wings reappear. When he opens them again, they're overlaid with an emerald glow. He looks around at the others and, once he's certain they're ready, nods and launches himself into the sky to fly over toward the great serpent.
Cael Becker     "Please don't get used to dying or regrowing organs," Cael agrees flatly. "Let's just- endeavor to stay whole and alive for the next... while." How long is a while? Who the fuck knows.
    This of course is when she turns and sees all the snakes. "...oh."
    Now allowing herself anytime to feel dismayed at the number of the forces arrayed against them, she summons her axe back to her hands, and propels herself up into sky alongside Jon, on dark, metalic wings. "I'll help clear you a path!" she calls to him - wings beating heavily, as she tries to stay just ahead of him, swing after swing felling the flying serpents - so that Jon can reach his foe relatively unharassed.
    After all - it's probably supposed to be 'Ra' that subdues the damned thing. Right?
Caitlin Fairchild Not a lot of the enemies make it to the barge itself, but those who do run right into Caitlin. The redhead mans the prow like a figurehead and anything that gets close enough to threaten the ship itself runs right into her shield and the heavy falchion she wields with one hand. Her hits are fast and full of power even as they clip the wings of swift-flying enemies soaring past her.
Hope Svelgate "Now this is a party." Lady Death pronounces as the vista of the war torn plan unfolds before them. "Don't disappoint me!" She shouts at the oncoming forces, long white hair flowing up behind her, as that fiery blue glow erupts all around her and she hurls herself straight into the oncoming forces with reckless abandon plowing straight towards the biggest threat she can find.
Chas Chandler     The serpents that attempt to overpower the barge are easily repelled by the overwhelming force of Caitlin. The blade in the hand of one of the Titans' greatest fighters cuts a literal swath for the boat to cascade forward down the river, growing ever closer to the hulking albino form of Apep.

    Cael is met by the lesser wadjet in a variety of colors and configurations. They are easily batted away by the bright bladed axe in her hands though she does sustain a few grazes from the sharp teeth in her quest to give Jon a clear path of attack on the Great Cobra.

    Lady Death tosses herself into a mass of some of the Chaos god's lieutenants. The slithering approach of 20 foot cobras is met with the oncoming wave of the Hell Lord's engagement and the glow of blue fades deep withint the tangle of black scales and flashing, venomous fangs.

     Apopis rises up as Jon approaches, towering high into the sky above the battle. His tail lashes out destroying entire swaths of the army of Ra, a display of brute strength against the sun-god's herald. His hood spreads, revealing an expanse of stars within and his deep red eyes blaze with fury. The hiss that bubbles up from within him is more thunderous than raspy and words pour forth from the creature's chest. "KNEEL AND LET CHAOS CONSUME ALL THINGS!" the great cobra bellows with haughty fury.
Jonathan Sims     "...You're kidding, right?" Jon replies as the serpent bellows at them. "Order will be restored, and the cycle continued."

    Taking advantage of the path that Cael gives him, he flies in as close to Apophis as he can safely manage, to better assess the situation. He hovers for a moment, wings spread, sword uncased and held in his left hand. A moment's thought re-summons the right arm, and he shoots a bolt of sunlit energy at the serpent's eyes. It's meant as a feint, however, to distract the towering creature while he flies in to slash at its hood with his sword.
Cael Becker     "Are the bebe sneks," yes, Cael says it like that, "poisonous do you think?" Cael asks - without pausing in her assault against the winged creatures that seem intent on closing on Jon, to interfer with his battle against the massive force of chaos.
    On the list of things she didn't think she'd be doing even a month ago - this was pretty high. Who could have predicted this? (Other than Jon.)
    Her massive, double-headed axe swings with skill and finesse, as she twists in the air, catching foes on both the swing and backswing - and sometimes shoving the snakes into their fellows. Finding herself pushes closer to the massive Apophis than would be comfortable for most, she aims first a kick, then a slice at part of his hood as she continues to fight unflaggingly.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin's mobility hampers her here, but it's at least enough that she can keep the barge from getting overwhelmed and bogged down with snakes. Worst case, she could probably portage the damn thing on the banks if she had to.

Gore and effluvia clings to her armor but Caitlin fights on with grim-faced determination and a steady rhythm that's more like a laborer than a fighter. Chop, block, swing, chop, block, swing... nothing stays alive for long if it crawls onto the barge, ensuring a safe fallback for the others if they can't continue to carry the fight forward.

"Venomous!" she calls over at Cael. "If it bites you and you die, it's venomous. If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous," she clarifies.

"And yes, most baby snakes are more dangerous than the full grown ones," she adds on. "It's a survival mechanism. At least in biological adders and other serpents."
Hope Svelgate The huge mass of writhing serpents swarming upon Lady Death seem to explode with, flesh, blood, and bone shooting out in all directions as she rises into the air covered in their gore. "Weak." She pronounces them before turning her gaze to Apep.

"Time for a rematch." She grins wickedly, the aura of arcane power flaring brilliantly around her as Hellfire engulfs her hands and she shoots the massive creature, intent on simply plowing headlong into it. There is no contemplation, no cerebral assessment, a just a burning desire to fight and beat it into submission.
Chas Chandler     The lesser snakes turn their attention to the army as Ra's heralds engage their leader. The kick from Cael barely seems to register on Apep despite the enhanced strength gifted by Cael's amulet. The axe blade appraoches the hood of stars and vanishes into it, there is a tugging motion and Cael only barely manages to winthdraw the axe before it's consumed by the void of the creature's hood.

    Jon's blast of sunlight is dodged by the great serpent, exposing the outer edge of the hood to Jon and the blade cuts a swath into it before reaching that facade of stars. Again there is a pulling sensation,the void of the hood threatening to draw Jon into it, erradicating forever.

    The barque stops just clear of Apep and it seems that Caitlin has cause enough of a deterent to free it from external threats (aside from the great cobra before them now).

    Lady Death connects with the pale white scales with a thunderous crash that shockwaves out from the snakes form. The sheer power behind the strike is enough to move the monstrous serpent several feet. In retaliation the cobra lashes at her with its tail intent of delivering a lashing with the whiplike end of its massive bulk. "IS THIS WHAT THE SUN HAS BECOME? HANDMAIDENS AND PETTY CREATURES WHO ATTEMPT AT POWER? ONCE YOU ARE ALL CONSUMED I WILL END THIS CHARADE FOR ETERNITY!" bellows the Lord of Chaos.
Jonathan Sims     "And I thought I was pedantic... let's not test the amulet against underworld snake venom if we can help it!" Jon does /not/ want to come back to life only to lose Cael down here. That would suck. A lot.

    The pull of both Cael and Jon toward the hood makes the Archivist pause, and pull back with a frown. "Oh," he says to himself. "/I/ know what you are. A dead sun. A black hole. Why didn't that ever occur to me before?"

    He raises the sword again. "I am the Voice of Ra, the Truth and Law that he speaks from the fires in his heart. This is the secret of the kings: they have always carried Ma'at as well as Horus and Ra, as you well know. Do you fear the Truth? You are not the fate of our sun, Apophis. No matter how many times you try, you will not succeed. Our sun is fated to grow large and blow off all his energy, not collapse beneath his own weight as you have."

    He doesn't bother with sunlight this time. Instead, he conjures a large emerald rope in his hands and holds it up. "Who wants to play Set and bind this thing so I can hack it to pieces? Be careful of the hood; it's got a pretty strong gravitational pull." He'll toss the rope to whomever volunteers.
Cael Becker     "Dear lord - SCIENCE ME LATER, OKAY?!" Cael counters - though she lets out a laugh, cleaving another snake in half as she manages to haul her axe free of Apophis' hood. "I'm not TRYING to get poisoned here, Sims!" she adds, before warning, "PS: the stars suck. LITERALLY SUCK. Avoid them!"
    As the rope is tossed off, Cael lets out a slightly frustrated, "How am I going to ancho- nevermind!" Getting creative on the fly, she manges to tie up several of the smaller snakes at once - and tosses them, on the end of the green rope, into Apophis's hood, attempting to use the chaos lord's own gravitational pull against them. Careful not to pull strongly enough to dislodge her anchor - she then begins flying around the snake, getting tighter and tighter with each circuit, and then flying toward his lashing tail, to try to capture that into the coils of green magical energy as well. "The things I do for you, Sims!"
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin and Hope haven't exactly spent a lot of time 'reading' each other. Not to the extent that they've built that sort of reflexive synergy, where they're anticipating maneuvers and setting themselves up for best advantage. But Caitlin's seen enough of Lady Death's skills and abilities to get a sense for how the woman can move and fight, and more importantly how Apep responds to the threat the hell lord provokes. When that tail lashes at Hope, then, Caitlin's balance is forward of her toes and she lunges forward to intercept the inner arc of Apep's tail. Rather than slashing with her falchion she braces the blunt reverse edge against her opposite forearm and sets her weight for as much leverage as the deck underfoot will give her. It's all about using Apep's momentum against himself, forcing the tail to lash against the razor edge of Themiscyran-forged steel.
Hope Svelgate Without missing a beat Lady Death takes full advantage of Caitlin's intercession and somersaults backwards in the air, before shooting straight upward. "You talk pretty big for the one who lost our last encounter!! She shouts at Apep. "I'm hoping you'll put up more of a fight on your home ground!"

Fists ablaze with all consuming Hellfire, she aims the mother of all shouryukens at the underside of the massive snake god's jaw hinge. Already her face has become a mask of manic glee as the battle madness begins to take her.
Chas Chandler     More and more of the rope falls into the void of Apep's hood tethered to the serpents of Cael's improvised anchor. Suddently the rope draws taught as the difference is reached and the massive snake lurches forward... but only slightly. After all, black holes do not collapse under their own weight with ease. Even so the emerald cord tightens against the snake's scales and holds fast.

    Apep's scales scrape against Caitlin's Themyiscyran steel and sparks fly; the skin of a god of chaos not giving way any more than the Amazonian craftsmanship does. But the Titan's strength is enough to slow the beast down allowing Lady Death's uppercut to slam hard into the jaw hinge of the monster.

    There is a high pitched wheeze of pain from the god and it shifts back even more, but does not fall. Hope's memory of her last encounter would show her that this creature is -not- the same as it had been when she faught it before. It was stronger, more at ease, and more durable than it had been when she last fought it. And by extension would take more than her own might to tear it down.

    It is the god's turn to retaliate. It may have been locked in an endless cycle of repetition, but this encounter introduces a variable to that pattern and forces him to adapt. He lashes out with suprising accuracy and speed that baffles the mind, given his size. One, two, three, strikes in differing directions in the blink of an eye. There is a sharp stab of impact on Lady Death's arm, Caitlin's shoulder, and Jon's leg... tell-tale signs of a snake's bite and a black stain begins to spread under the skin of the three victims around the surprisingly small impact sites. Their muscles--even if enhanced by science or magic--begin to ache and grow heavy under the quick spread of divinely-enhanced cytotoxic venom.

    Apep coils back on itself with delight, the emerald rope drawing tighter around it as it looks forth at Jonathan. "WHAT DO I CARE FOR FATE, TRUTH SPEAKER. I AM BORN OF CHAOS AND WILL CONSUME ALL THAT IS, WAS, OR SHALL BE!" His blazing eyes fall on the pale form of Lady Death and narrow. "YOU WILL FIND THAT HERE I AM A FAR GREATER BEING THAT ANY OF YOU CAN HOPE TO BE, PRETENDER!"
Jonathan Sims     Jon lets out a hiss of pain as the serpent strikes him in the leg, and gestures to Cael. "We need to hold him down!" he calls, hoping the other two will listen. He focuses for a moment, and the glow coming from him brightens, pulsing out in a flare meant to cleanse the venom from himself and those around him. The black stain on his leg retreats some, making him feel less heavy.

    He conjures a bright ball of plasma in one hand and runs it along the length of his khopesh. "Even you have to follow the fundamental laws of the universe. Entropy will claim all in time, even you... the only thing that's kept you from dissipating all this time is the continual feeding of energy from these battles, isn't it? If you were to succeed here completely, you would only guarantee your own slow starvation."

    "That is the ultimate end of every collapsed star, to radiate off all their captured mass. Some day, the sun will die, and you will starve. Some day even the atoms that make up all matter will fall apart. And when that is done, when all is quiet in the waters of Nun once more, the universe will be born anew in the fires of a new creation."

    A pause, then, "But in the meantime, we create order from the energy of your corpse." He dodges in to strike the creature, aiming at its eyes with his sword blazing with the fire of the sun.

    "Keep it up!" he calls out to the others in his own voice. "The world is still spinning, the sun will rise, he /can't/ win so long as that's true!"
Cael Becker     Concern shows in Cael's gaze as the snake strikes at the champions - and she tries to fly another quick circle around the hooded snake, to further entangle it in the line. Concern shows on her features, but it hardly seems the time to address it.
    However, it does seem time for her to remark, "Really?! //More// science?! Not you too, Sims!"
    Looking to Caitlin, she tosses the gleaming green cord towards her as she calls, "Help me pull him down!" Hauling with all her strength, she tries to further restrain the creature, so Jon can do whatever it is these insane Egyptian beliefs dictate necessary.
    How does she get involved in this shit? Isn't she just supposed to be... busting up street gangs?
Hope Svelgate Lady Death glances at the wound on her arm and the spreading discoloration and necrosis. "I liked you better when you didn't talk."

The poison spreads and yet, somehow she doesn't seem to slow down much. One can only imagine there is significant, the site of that wound is not a healthy thing and yet flaring the aura of Energy Arcane that now completely surrounds her ever brighter she presses her attack.

Keen eyes may eventually notice what is really going on, that arm is not moving as it should, indeed much of her is not moving as she should. While the internal battle of her own powers of recovery against the poison rages internally, she has essentially turned the Energy Arcane into marionette strings to manipulate her body as it otherwise fails to obey her commands.

"Bind him and cut him to pieces you say? That's not a bad idea. At the very least it ought to shut him up! Lady Death calls out before floating in front of Apep's face. "Let me show you who the real pretender is, slave."

From beneath the leather jacket she pulls her rune-forged Asgardian blade. The weapon shimmers and shifts with the Energy Arcane coursing through her body, channeling it and amplifying it as it morphs and shifts, first extending into the shape of a scythe and then into some sort of scythe-chain-whip of seemingly limitless length.

The weapon is whipped out towards Apep's snout. The scythe blade and chain behind it dart and swerve at angles that seem to defy the laws of physics as they race towards the creature, seemingly intent on wrapping around its mouth and binding it shut, as Lady Death prepares to use that base as an anchor and corkscrew down around it wrapping it in the Energy Arcane infused rune-forged Uru metal chain as she goes.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin staggers sideways and grabs her arm with a hiss of pain. That stinger dug deep-- but the slow creep of necrotic poison is even more horrible. The stinging gives way to molten pain as her mighty heart pumps the poison into her system.

"I'm hit!" she calls to her allies. Pain stresses her voice. "It's bad!"

She nonetheless pushes to her feet to carry the fight on, letting her wounded arm hang limp and grabbing Cael's rope with the other. The redhead's strength is prodigious but physics demand a toll even here, and there's no way her bulk will inhibit Apep meaningfully. Instead she pulls the rope Cael offers around the anchor drum and with one hand and all the strength she can spare, Caitlin starts ratcheting the drum tighter and tighter to try and use the barge's weight to keep any slack from the restraint. Perhaps with Hope's improvised restraints, they have a chance at negating some of Apep's power and fury.
Chas Chandler     As the pulse from Jon washes out over the land, Hope and Caitlin can feel some of the toxins fade from their system. It's not a full curative agent but the speed and deterioration slow significantly under the light of the sun. The blade swipe would normally bounce off the skin of the creature but the sun-enchanted blade strikes the scales and digs in searing flesh and causing the red-eye to burst in an explosion of superheated vitreous fluid. The stench is indescribable. The scream of agony from the snake, even moreso.

    The combined strength of an enhanced Cael and a leveraged Caitlin do draw the snake further down as its muscles spasm in reaction to pain that it cannot put to words.

    The Uru metal chain-sycthe spark and hiss against scales of divine hardness and then lock, the barbs holding fast to almost imperceptable nicks torn into the almost metallic sheen of the massive serpent and the Hell Lord's own corkscrew around the beast tightens in counterpoint to the work of Cael with Jon's mystic rope the final tug drawing him to the ground with a thunderous crash of weight.

    As the dust from the fall settles the landscape has changed. They are in the eleventh hour of night. A number of gods stand in witness to the next acts. They speak as one to the great serpent. "Let darkness be upon thy face, O Uamemti, and you shall be destroyed, O sons of the helpless one, by the hidden hand, which shall cause evils to come upon you by the deadly chain which is in it. Geb keeps ward over your fetters, and the sons of the fetters put upon you the deadly chain. Keep you ward under the reckoning of Khentyamentiu."

    Apep hisses out a keening scream that burns with pain and hatred to all those who bear witness to his defeat by the Avatar of Truth and those who hold him fast and strong.
Jonathan Sims     "I just want him to understand his place, Becker!" Jon shouts back to Cael. "He's been down here for a while, maybe he hasn't heard the latest scientific discoveries!"

    He darts back out of the way as the serpent crashes to the ground, but only briefly. Even before the dust settles, he flies back in to begin hacking at the corpse with his sun-enchanted blade. There's a distinct sort of rhythm to his movements; he's not really wielding the blade as if he's a warrior slashing at a foe. Instead, he's acting almost as if he's cutting up the snake in the kitchen.

    Not that they're going to be /eating/ the snake. The watching gods are going to bury the pieces. But it's a more familiar rhythm to him.

    At some point during the whole business he conjures up a mask of emerald light to cover his nose and mouth, to keep out the stench of the snake's innards. Because eww. Another reason to work quickly.
Cael Becker     "Excuses, excuses!" Cael calls back - straining to hold the snake in place - until it finally goes limp entirely. She releases the magical green bindings with a relieved sigh, hovering in place with slow flaps of her wings as she watches the way that Jon moves with the sword of it.
    "Holy crap, Jon. We're going to have to do something about..." did she just gesture at //all// of him? "...this. I mean, seriously."
    Way to get judgey.
    She winces at the stench, and starts retreating towards the barque to leave the man to his 'work.'
Caitlin Fairchild "Hey Jon, I could really use some help here," Caitlin tells the man in the middle of his cold dissection. The redhead's slumped against the barge's rail, holding her arm. The poison's spread has slowed but the mystical toxin is not just an attack against Caitlin's body; it's her spirit, too. Hardy as she is, the venom of the God of Serpents is enough to test even her resilience.

Sweat beads on her brow. The redhead tries to get into her medical kit with one hand; she's sensibly staged it up that it's not impossible to adminster self-aid.

"Partial locational paralysis," she mutters to herself. "Rapid necrosis of injection site. Uh... cytotoxins, need... um..." The medical kit's spilled out and she fumbles through it, looking for something. "Hypercortisoid B... and antihistamine spray." The spray's used first, and Caitlin inhales a snort up both nostrils to get ahead of the inflammatory redness crawling up her neck.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death strains to hold the chained serpent, going so far as to ignite the chains with Hellfire to sear into its flesh and sap its strength. "I win again, Pretender." She sneers at it as Jon moves in to begin cutting, not letting that one go.

"That did hurt though." She adds glancing at her necrotizing arm, before applying a hand glowing with Holy Light to banishing the poison, discomfort visible upon her face as she does so.

When Caitlin calls out for assistance, Lady Death makes her way over to her as well. "You fight well." She tells her with the sound of genuine respect in her voice, and though the use of the power causes her to grimace, she turns the same healing Holy Light upon Caitlin's shoulder as well.
Chas Chandler     With each severed section of the great serpent rent from the main formm, a hole opens beneath it and the section falls in before being covered and a glowing Eye of Ra over the hole. The gods here sing hymns to Ra, proclaiming him the victor over the chaos of Apep and cry for his rebirth in the East as the barque continues on its path.

    Even as Jon works on dismembering the serpent the Sun disk on the boat glows brighter and brighter searing away fatigue and pain just as before. Jon in answer glows brighter too. A signifier of his own conquest and his own rebirth on the horizon.

    Alya looks at those in the boat and then at Jon. "It is almost done. Soon you will go your separate ways and Jon will be returned to the world of the living. Thank you all for your assistance in his process. I think without you his journey back would have been far more dangerous and uncertain."
Jonathan Sims     "If you have such a problem with me, Cael, I can stay here," Jon comments over his shoulder as he keeps working on the snake's corpse. "Wouldn't be a bad life, you know. Steady, meaningful work, good food, good company..." He glances back at her, briefly, grinning to show that he's kidding.

    Which is when he spots Caitlin having trouble. Fortunately Lady Death helps to heal her before it get too bad, and then the finishing of the work sears away the remaining venom and injuries.

    He flies back over to the barque when he's done, looking over each of them in turn, to be certain that they're healed and doing okay. "Thank you," he says. "Is everyone alright? Did the magic work properly? It should have counteracted the venom."
Cael Becker     Cael is just landing, and moving towards Caitlin when concern when she pain and exhaustion from her own wounds begins to hit - the tingling on one of her arms a little worrying - until the light brightens, and she breathes a sigh of relief. Her faltering steps pick up in pace again until she's knelt down at Caitlin's side, studying her with concern. "You're good now?" Her gaze lifts to Lady Death as well, giving her a nod of appreciation, before her attention shifts to Jon once more.
    "Oh, //suuuuure,//" she answers her. "And what message would you like me to pass on to Martin and Agnes, then?" she counters dryly, before flashing him a smile. "Get back on the boat, your Royal Godliness. I think the snake is //dead//."
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin's on the mend soon enough, and gives Hope a grateful murmured 'thanks' for the help she offers. The aid of the magic from Lady Death and Jon Sims both attacks and dispels the preternatural element of the venom coursing through Caitlin's veins; her body repairs the blackened, inflammed web of injured blood vessels with visible speed. In just a few minnutes it looks like merely an angry injection site instead of a festering hole where corruption was poured in.

"Lady Alya, we're grateful for your guidance here," Caitlin bids the woman. "Thank you for being such an accomodating host."
Hope Svelgate Lady Death nods to Caitlin, testing her own arm again once the supernatural poison has been eliminated, before walking back towards the boat. Evidence that the poison was ever there soon vanishes as her timeless unchanging flesh resumes its timeless unchanging nature.

"He definitely put up more fight down here. It's a bit sad though really, how he is a slave to this cycle. A force of Chaos, forever bound." She says of Apep but then just shrugs, she still enjoyed herself.
Chas Chandler     The barque continues toward the east to the rising point of the sun itself. As they progress a number of gods and goddesses come forth and tie ropes to the barge, following in its wake.

    The gate to the final hour and the true rising of Ra approaches, two figures with white crowns stand guard at the entrance to the gate, one is Osiris the other Horus. As the barque grows closer they call out "Come in peace! Come in peace! Come in peace! Come in peace! O you whose transformations are manifold, your soul is in heaven, your body is in the earth. It is your own command, O great one."

    Alya looks to Caitlin and Lady Death. "It is here that you two must depart. Your purpose fulfilled in assisting Jon through the hours and your lives not needing the restorative power granted by the last hour. I am granted the ability to guide you from here if you cannot do so yourself." She smiles at Lady Death, "Though given your reputation I doubt my assistance is required."

    She then turns to Cael. "You are still needed. His life is intrinsically tied to you and thus you will be the light that guides him back to the world you belong to. Only a little longer and you will be reunited in your world." She finally settles on Jon. "Take care of our daughter and give my regards to Martin. If you need speak to me, you know where and how to reach me. I bid you all farewell and a victorious life from this passage."
Jonathan Sims     Once he's certain they're all okay, Jon gives Cael a kiss on the cheek in response to 'your Royal Godliness,' and grins at Caitlin. "I see I'm 'Jon' now instead of 'Dr. Sims.' I appreciate that." Well, fight a giant serpent together and you're on a first name basis, right?

    He looks out over the field where Apophis' body is buried and says to Lady Death, "My ancestors understood that 'Order' is not sustainable if it is merely unchanging, neverending perfection. This," he gestures out at Duat with his hand, "is a reflection of the rhythms of life. Nothing lasts forever. Kings die, rivers flood, civilizations fall. A wise ruler prepares their successor well, lays aside part of a bountiful harvest to help the people through the lean times, keeps a level head in a crisis." He sighs. "And when all preparations fail, the wise adapt. Order and Chaos /need/ each other. They define each other, balance each other, flow back and forth in rhythm."

    He frowns, briefly. "That's part of what I'm hoping to get Michael to understand. He should be upholding balance, not merely order."

    He shakes himself, then. One last benediction to give, in the voice of Ra: "Take the rope, set yourselves in position, and pull me, O my followers, into the height of heaven, and lead me along the ways. My birth makes you be born, and behold, my coming into being makes you to come into being. Establish the periods of time and years for him who is among you."

    Then he goes to give Alya a hug, wrapping his good arm around her tightly. "I'll tell him," he says. "And if you ever see Tim around the afterlife... tell him I'm grateful. And I'm sorry, for... everything."
Cael Becker     Cael smirks at Jon, bumping him playfully with her shoulder. It was still a relief to her that everything was alright - that Jon was still, essentially himself after everything he'd endured. They would be together, and there would be scars and trauma and nightmares - but they'd get through it together, and with the support of their friends, and their family.
    She takes a small step back as Jon plays his role of God once more, and then turn her attention to Alya, a small, sad smile on her face that the woman and Jon would be parted again soon. "And I'll look after Jon for you - when it's needed, anyways. We've got each others' backs." And have for a while now.
    Seeing that they'll be parting from Caitlin and Lady Death soon as well, she turn her attention to the pair and actually steps towards Caitlin - giving the other woman a brief hug if she'll allows it, before stepping back. "Thank you," she says simply and sincerely, before looking to the pale warrior.
    "I hope you didn't find this journey to be a waste of your time," she adds, a smirk pulling at the corners of her lips. "It certainly had its moments.
Caitlin Fairchild Caitlin exchanges handclasps with Jon and gives Cael a warm and sincere hug. Tough as the cop is, Caitlin silently lends her some quiet solidarity to bolster her morale as she and Jon cross over the final hours of the trip. "Be safe," Caitlin bids Cael, and smiles again at her once they break.

"When you guys get topside... let me know?" she asks, making it a plaintive request. "Otherwise I'll worry. I know I shouldn't worry, but..." she shrugs, vaguely apologetically.

The last of her supplies are loaded up and she looks over at Lady Death, nodding once at her. "I'm ready when you are," she bids the pale warrior.
Hope Svelgate Lady Death nods to Alya. When Jon speaks up she turns and looks at him for a long moment. "How many times has this charade repeated? How many times has Apep been allowed to win? Every time his fate is the same, forever chained by Order. Now I think I understand far more clearly why he sought to rebel the first time our paths crossed. Balance is a noble ideal, but I am not sure this is it." Does she pity the serpent? It almost sounds like it.

Her gaze then turns to Cael and she nods back at her. "It has certainly given me things to think about." There is a pause before she looks back at Jon and Cael one more time, hard demeanor softening ever so slightly for a moment, and adds "You both fought well, you deserve this." Before turning away again. Which is perhaps as close to something nice as one is going to get out of her.

In the soft fiery blue glow of Lady Death's hand, Scyinster becomes a short sword once more. Focusing the Energy Arcane through the blade she opens a portal, a fiery blue rift in time and space, with looking church on the other side. "Let's go." She tells Caitlin, before striding forward through the portal. "The mortal realm awaits."
Chas Chandler     As Lady Death and Caitlin depart Alya nods to Jon. "If I happen upon him again, I shall. Be well, both of you." She waves a hand and the blue portal Lady Death seals shut and then she and the others on the barque vanish, leaving the boat to float forward into the final hour of the Path of Kings in Duat.

    Before them is a horizon. The end of the path and the moment of rebirth for Ra. On the center of the barque the sun-disk is given a crown now with a Uraea on it, the symbolism of a king's full power.

    Twelve pairs primordial gods--some with names not known to history--stand on one bank, offering their power to to assist the rising of the sun. On the opposite bank, another twelve pairs give their own power as well proclaiming, "Born is he, who is born! Who has emerged, has emerged! Venerated of the Earth, Ba-soul of the Lord of Heaven! The sky belongs to your Ba-soul, that it may rest in it. The Earth belongs to your corpse, Lord of Veneration! You have seized the horizon, that you may rest in your shrine, the two goddesses raise you with their body! Acclamation to you, Ba-soul which is in heaven! Your two daughters receive you in your form."

    The barque begins to rise into the sky, drawing nearer and nearer to the great light at the horizon and the exit of the path of death, into life.