Far Pangaea 81 : cHORUS line

"Not falling for it. Nice try Bro."

"No. Seriously, there was a wall five feet behind you and now it's...behind me? What the heck?" Horus realized.

"I think the room shifted while we were concentrating on pummeling each other. Anyways, the tables are turned...actually it has turned. It was to our left wasn't it?"

"I think so. Oh, well." A shadow sword collides with a light shield in a resounding clang as if true metal. Neither sword nor shield were remotely galvanized. Energy in one form or another at best. Confusing to say the least. So if not any true alloy why the clamor of metal? Why the extension of sparks spitting in all directions?

"Sabbath never deserved you Hawk Vader. She might have been a vampire but she had a heart. One that probably didn't pump blood. Her being essentially dead. Still she cared about others." Grumbles Lightmare.

"You said Ixnay on the Vampey. What are you doing?"

"Shit! Right. My bad. Our bad. You know what I'm trying to get at."

"Yeah, that you were jealous...of my power." Horus smirked improvising but not being far off in his presumption.

"Right, your power over others. Especially Ixnay on the sexy assnay. I found the vampay firstay."

"Getting stupid here Lightmare. Ixnay made the choiceay. Who am I to arguay." Another round of sword on sword strikes. Both stepping along with vigor and arrogance.

"Are you telling me Ixnay didn't follow Thay by dark magicay? I wasn't even given the optionay. I'm just as good as you. Oh wait! Dark Angel, you're not as good as me after all."

"I am good you moron. I'm just trying to get used to who and what I am." Horus pauses suddenly to consider what he just admitted to. Maybe this Osiris was right. He had a right to be good in his own way. To fly free as a bird...a Falcon. One that hunted. Clenching his enemy and flying away with it. Enemy or lover. With a devilish grin Horus accepted the moment. Time to stress a point. He was superior in every way.

As his arm swings down with his sword Horus rams head on into Lightmare's chest toppling him backward to the stone floor. On his ass Cameron Scott looked up to see a deathblow brewing. Surely, an act. Evasive tactic required Cameron lay there awaiting the killing blow of a shadow sword slashing straight down. Shield poised to ward off the impact. Cameron Scott grinned. Bring it on.

As Horus slams his sword on the shield the image of Lightmare shifts at a rapid speed. Without even seeing him move Lightmare stood behind Horus with a boot to the winged versions ass. Throwing him off balance and sending him to his knees over a glowing illusion. Lightmare was also learning his powers. Light refraction. A hologram of what once lay there in peril vanishes as Horus folds over on to the floor.

"And, the winged warrior goes down. The crowd goes wild." Cam dances about feigning a public cheering section that wasn't really there.

"ARE YOU TWO DONE?" Osiris echoes through their minds.

"Just getting started." Lightmare sizzles.

"I THINK NOT. CHILDREN OF MY LOINS YOU MAY BE. CHILDREN WHO NEED TO ACT THEIR AGES."

"Hey! We were both literally born just a few weeks ago. Reborn that is. Sort of. However you wanna look at it." Lightmare wages.

Horus crawls to his feet pointing at his other self, "Technically you were reborn after me. I'm older."

"How can you claim that? I'm the original skin Bro. I was born in the 1980's."

"Yet I was a born billions of years prior. That still makes me older than you."

"Dufus! Without me to give you life you wouldn't be here. It was Verago that assumed my body. I just took my body back. Therefore I am the eldest."

"ENOUGH!" Osiris growls forcing a chill through their bones. Seething he suddenly expresses a lower decibel, "Ahhhh! TWO MORE OF MY BROOD HAVE ARRIVED."

"Two?" Both Cameron's glare at each other at a single unified reply. Furthered by a second query of, "Who?"

The battle ended. For now.

Elle Franklin and the Ganthorian scientist Mav'Ryk prowled the interior corridors just as the two Cameron's had earlier. Mav'Ryk's scanner showing their every movement along the path. It helped. Elle's storage of solar energy limited she only ignites her right fist into a makeshift lantern. It was enough to illuminate their journey. Reaching the first wall they locate their signature icons on the wall and are granted entry.

"Cameron? Are you in here?" Elle felt compelled to ask. She was a strong woman but even this atmosphere was choking her bravado. Mav'Ryk seemed to show zero fear. Of course he would.

Her walkie talkie crackles again. Malcolm was attempting early contact. Hearing it she held her headset steady, "We're still alive. Tunnels every direction it seems. Mav here is projecting Cam's journey. We were right in guessing his other body is down here too. Just entered a hidden passage through a wall." They no more than enter when the wall seals behind them. The talkie goes dead. Tapping it she rolls her crystalline eyes, "There goes Tokyo."

"I do not understand." Mav'Ryk cocks his head to the left.

"Nothing. Godzilla right beside me." She scowls and moves onward. Mav'Ryk skulking behind her attempting to decipher her racist words. Reaching the hall of tombs Elle silently points toward the open door of Bastia. Peering inside to see tech long dead of activity. Only cat statues offered a clue. Shrugging Elle moves on. Mav'Ryk utilizing his scanner captures a very faint image of a lithe young woman of shadowy flesh. For a moment it almost appeared as if she knew he was there. Watching him as if a mouse in the house. A sudden transformation leads a tiny black cat to race in front of Mav'Ryk and out into the hall. Gone. He paid it no further mind.

"COME HOME." They heard once again forcing Elle to freeze in step right in front of a door that was marked with the symbol she had chosen outside to gain entry. Caressing the symbol opened the door before her. Eyes flaring she looks back at Mav'Ryk. His gaze haunting. For no other reason than he rarely expressed emotion. Only his eyelids fluttering quickly made her decide to step inside. As she did Mav'Ryk noticed to his right the door with a coiled serpent upon it. His own curiosity leading him to plant a palm over it. Another predictable entrance achieved. Both explored on their own. Separated against their better judgment.

Scanning his room Mav'Ryk could not reveal images. The room had remained untouched for far too long to expose knowledge. Yet a slight hissing noise was coming from within a sarcophagus. Approaching it with ears planted on the golden shimmer he listens. The merest contact releases a seal. The golden cover levitating upward to introduce a long dead corpse. One that sorely resembled images depicted of the Ganthorian God, Go'Hod. It took him by surprise. As did a strange vapor creeping into his lungs. For a Scientist he was unprepared. Choking he covers his face with life fiber. It molds over his entire exposed areas and seals him in tightly. He hoped it was enough to save his life.

Elle across the hall checked out her own encounter with a gold sarcophagus. This one with a drawing of a beautiful woman of color. Similar in flesh tone as Elle in her human form. Her robes lined in gold and jewels. The eyes crystalline like Elle's at this very moment. A brash caress to the cover follows the line of release. Lid rising up Elle stands firm watching as a spirit lifts away from its bandaged body. Floating beyond the crypt to take a stand in front of Elle. There was nothing decomposed about this Goddess. Appearing as youthful as she must have a millennia ago.

"Well Hello Cleopatra. You're just a ghost right?"

A simple smile before the ghost steps toward her. Elle discovering her diamond flesh shimmering on its own. It almost felt as if it were communicating with her. Possessed? The ghost had entered her body. Yet, she still had her own thoughts. A light whisper expels, "This cannot be good."

Exiting the room she meets Mav'Ryk in wait. Both shimmering as if reborn. Mav'Ryk thinner than Elle remembered. Still, he seemed normal enough.

"Take the lead Toho."

"My name is Mav'Ryk. Have we not established identities?"

She pats him on the back, "Inside joke. You're still my Buddy. Let's go."

Nodding he dogs her heels.

Outside the Pyramid Malcolm watches the sun set. Anemone hugging his side fearfully. She had not encountered the night since leaving the safety of the X'Hal. The slightest howl of the wind making her jump and draw closer to Malcolm.

"Brave new world for you ain't it?"

"Yes." She nods without blinking, "Should they have not spoken to us by now?"

"You heard the talkie go dead. All we can do right now is wait. If they're not out by daylight we go in ourselves. This time I make the doorway."

His tone frightened her even more. Poor girl. Fish out of water.

Eden.

Having set up camp in a clearing devoted to their needs Lionel Warjorj and his sidekick Chokote stand guard as usual. Lionel releasing his negative energy Lion known as Manitou to prowl the Gardens. A third set of eyes to keep watch from angles opposite their position. The Marshal knew that the T-Rex and his family were toward the East. They would know if trouble arose. He had a hunch they would react noisily if danger snuck in.

Stefan playing his violin was soothing to the cows. To every living creature. Regardless, the Garden of Eden was only a myth. The things these men were treated to seemed unreal. If not for seeing it with his own eyes Lionel Warjorj would not believe in any Goddess. Only one true God in his neck of the woods. Bible in his saddle bag. A comfort in times of need.

While the Marshal and his deputized Comanche friend stood vigil Bogart Ross was the only other Human still awake. Stefan calling it a night and leaving the Midget Strongman to stoke the fire. Turnips and carrots not filling his belly enough. The internal growl led him to leer up at the moons. Troubled by two moons in the sky he felt his urge to howl. He would contain it to avoid waking Abigail. The moons were not full tonight. Still, a constant scratching at his door to be let out never ceased.

"The moons are beautiful tonight."

Bogg Ross bulges his eyes which quickly narrow as a light snarl escapes his lips. The hair all across his body stands on end at the feminine words. It must be Gaea. Looking around him he locates the source. A woman with chalk white skin color glows in the moonlight. A woman lifting a tarp to observe a slumbering young girl.

"Step away from Abigail." Bogg lifts a flaming log menacingly. The fires embers burning his arm yet he refused to release his weapon.

"I mean her no harm. I sense her dreams is all. Who is Gypsibah?"

Bogg hesitates, "My ole lady. She died today. Dinosaur attack. She was Abigail's adopted Mom. The girls real Mother also died from a lizard."

"She is haunted by that fact."

"Who? What are you?"

"My name is Sabbath Black. Lillian...Gaea is my sister."

"British accent both of ya."

"Yes. We were born in London. As for what I am? I question that now more than ever. A week ago the moon was deadly to me. Days before that the sun my enemy. Now? It appears I have transcended the harmful effects of both. Perhaps it has something to do with that secondary moon."

"You a Vampire?"

"Yes. A friendly one. I merely come to check out my new neighbors. Those cows. That horse. Where did you get them?"

Bogg swallows dryly at this white heavenly body. Like Gaea she chose nudity instead of containing garments. She was perfect in every way. Forcing himself to drop the log he pats his singed hair.

"We ran into a lady named Greta. She asked us to bring the cows here. Gave Lionel her horse. Said they would be safer here. Is this really the Garden of Eden?"

"Yes. The original home of all existence. A month ago it looked totally different. Destroyed by the Vampire Queen Lilith. It's soil tainted by oil. Our friends helped revive the Garden. It is still growing. Not yet reaching its boundary. My sister has never been so happy."

"How can your sister be a Goddess?"

"Her soul is entwined with that of the true Goddess Gaea. My soul is split in two. She and I share Gaea. Yet, I am my own person. Lillian sees to everyday caretaker. I merely cope with trying to live a normal life. Being a Vampire, that requires patience. I should let you rest. Forgive my intrusion."

In a blur the woman was gone. He chose to check on Abigail none the less. Tucking her in carefully before dropping back down to the ground. The second he dusts his hands off he hears another voice.

"COME HOME."

"Who said that?"

Bogart Ross would not get any sleep.

The Sands Hotel, alias the Pyramid.

Elle and Mav'Ryk react to the two returning orbs she had released earlier. As if dogs trying to get them to follow along they usher forwards then retreat looking back through tiny penlight eyes on their shells. Curious Elle trudges behind them. Mav'Ryk pausing to look behind him at the wall leading into the Great Hall where the Cam's were still bickering. He could sense unusual vibrations. Abnormal to his usual body functions. He maintained his stance letting Elle head off on her own.

Narrow passages made Elle have to squeeze through into another large room. Once entered she lets the orbs do the lighting for her and eases her illuminated fist back to normal. Their lights revealing more hieroglyphs to her.

"Atum? Wonder what that name means? A tomb?" She deciphers with her translator collar.

As if a loud grumble from within wasn't enough to nearly make her piss words enter her mind.

"DO NOT OPEN THAT DOOR DAUGHTER. IT WOULD MEAN THE END OF US ALL."

Eyes trembling Elle Franklin swallows before, "Daughter? Who am I speaking to?"

"I AM YOUR FATHER OSIRIS. YOUR BLOODLINE MATCHES MY OWN. RETURN TO YOUR BROTHER SET. JOIN WITH RA AND HORUS. I WILL HONOR YOU WITH MY PRESCENCE VERY SOON. WELCOME HOME ISIS."

"Isis? Oh, hell no."

As the bellowing voice fades Elle takes a moment to accept her fate. This event required stealth. Without a word she motions the orbs to her side. Recording her actions over her thoughts she creates images of getting taller by inching her hand over her head in levels. She then went into a defensive stance and went full on Mike Tyson. Doing her best boxing impression as if hitting an opponent. Afterward she taps her chest over her heart and puckers her lips into a kiss. Ending her charade with a military salute. One final extension of her arm she points for the orbs to go away. That they did. The orbs seemed to understand.

Once gone Elle retraces her steps until finding Mav'Ryk. Weirdly he was licking the walls with his thin tongue.

"What are you doing?"

"A serpents tongue picks up on a vibrational frequency. I am attempting to gain us entry into this room. Our friends appear to be on the other side."

"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS ASK." Osiris calls out. Mav'Ryk hesitates to look at Elle with a curious peaked brow.

"That appears to be our Dad. Osiris. I'm Isis. You're Set."

"Interesting." He then turns away from the wall to return to the corridor of tombs. Elle following she points out, "Cam. Our Cam is Ra. The other Cam is Horus. The vacancy is the goddess Bastia the cat. Which leaves us what?"

Mav'Ryk points out the Moon symbol. Then the Jackal. Then the Mother, "If my studies are accurate the Egyptians of old were descendants of the Osirians. Their Gods of given names leave only Khonsu, Anubis, and Nut."

"Surely there were other Gods." Elle directs, "Wait. Who was Atum?"

"The creator God. Father of all." Mav'Ryk recalls.

"That explains the Big Door. Big Daddy of smaller Daddy."

"WHY DO YOU TARY? JOIN YOUR BROTHERS. DO NOT MAKE YOUR FATHER CROSS."

Both cringe lightly and look at each other with an expression of worry. Had they walked right into an ambush? While ordinarily Elle might retaliate with sarcasm this time she chose to bite her tongue. With a voiceover that powerful she didn't expect to find any man behind a curtain like Dorothy Gale had. This Wizard was not from Oz.

"Thoughts Toho?"

"We find your friends."

"Good an idea as any. Behind that wall you seemed to be getting a little too attached to?"

"I believe so. As strange as it might seem I can almost taste them."

"Yeah? That is strange. Word of advice? Do NOT tell Cameron you just said that. Trust me he will run with it."

"I do not under--"

"No need to Mav Man. Let's start looking for a way in."

As if on cue the wall shimmers as if it had evaporated. Before their eyes the great hall revealed itself in glorious gold trappings. It was magnificent. As Elle drops her jaw Mav'Ryk chooses to use his analyzer to examine their surroundings.

"Ms. Franklin? I detect none of this. It should not even be here. A hologram perhaps."

"Great! Do you hear a sword battle?"

"I do. It appears to be coming from a great distance."

"Not that far. Over there. It's Lightshow and Shadowbox. Dang the other Cameron has come a long way. Look at those wings. I think he's bigger than our Cameron even. Come on. Let's end this before anyone gets hurt."

Hanging back Mav'Ryk observes Elle's stride toward the Cameron duo in their symphony of sword clatter. Elle considered utilizing her reserve of sunlight to halt their battle via laser beams from her crystalline eyes. However, she had no idea how long they might be trapped in here and decided against it. Instead she marches right up to them and clears her throat loudly. Multiple times before both men, same man, decided to lock eyes upon her. Their stances lingering to hear her sudden whistling.

"What exactly are you idiots doing?"

"ELLE?" They equally speak.

"That's right. Now answer my question."

Both point a finger at each other and jointly agree, "He started it."

"Riiiight! Put the testosterone away and let's figure this crap out. I for one do not like calling any man Daddy when I know he's not."

"How did you get in here?" Lightmare retracts his sword of light into his hand. Horus in turn wants to push his other self just for kicks until Elle wags a finger his direction. The Dark Angel grits his teeth and lowers his shadow blade. Fading away as if never existing.

"Same as you. Picked and pushed the right buttons. What's with this Osiris cat?" She shakes her head scowling.

"Osiris is not the cat Ms. Franklin...Bast..."

"I KNOW THAT." She snaps at Mav'Ryk.

"Hey there fellow Pilot. I remember you. Let me guess...you're now Set the Serpent God." Lightmare smirks.

Horus in turn points at Elle, "Which makes you..."

"Pissed off? You got that right Birdy.

Mav stirs once again, "I thought he too was Cam..."

"SHE KNOWS!" Both Cameron's abruptly inform.

Sulking the Ganthorian decides to use his analyzer and prowl the vicinity. These humans were far too temperamental. Leaving them to their consistent banter. Mav'Ryk comes to a quick conclusion. The Great hall was a pocket dimension. Conceived of magic. Not so unlike the one that his Superior Harpea watched over within the X'Hal. Even though he did not know of her situation. The information would remain his until approached. Even Ganthorians could get headaches.

"We're not really sure what Osiris is." Lightmare frowns, "All we know is he called and we were stupid enough to come. He thinks we're his kids. Like a family reunion I guess."

"You both found the tombs of the children just as we did?" Horus asks.

Elle notices the circular medallion without the chain connected to Cameron's chest. Tapping it a spark flies beneath her diamond fingertip, "This is new."

"Yep. It followed me out so I kept it. Just like Hawk Guy's head dress." Lightmare points at the cap on the head of Horus, "You get anything?"

Elle rolls her hands over her body, "Full meal deal. I got the spirit of Isis herself. Not sure how that benefits me but she's in here."