It's a nightmare. It's his nightmare. It's his worst nightmare.
He has no control over his body, over his life.
He just has to go along with it.
Steven rests in the back of the body, in the back of the brain.
Able to be heard, but barely.
So close, and yet so far from the one he wants.
He's simply just stuck, even as Marc hops from rooftop to rooftop and leaves Cleo behind.
Marc approaches the men on the rooftop, just as they drive a knife into the stomach of the one person he was looking for.
" Oh, shit. You killed him. I needed to talk to that guy," Marc comments, drawing the attention to him, " About a dig site. Guess I'm gonna have to talk to you instead."
" You're too late," One of them sneers as they all draw their weapons, " You're never gonna find Harrow."
The man throws his knife up into the air and catches it, then scraps it against the floor.
" What, are we dancing? We fighting? What are we gonna do?"
The first one attacks with a battle cry, trying to slice Marc with two blades, but he easily dodges the attack. He grabs the man and shoves him to the floor by the side of his face. He throws a kick, then gets hit in the back. He turns around to face the kid who tries to plunge a knife into his chest, but Marc blocks it and gets him on the ground. At first, he forms a fist, but his palm opens and smacks the kid on the head.
Marc blocks yet another attack, grabbing both of the man's arms and using his head to knock him back down. He kicks the knife out of his hands, but this allows his attacker to grab his shirt.
The kid picks up the knife and attempts to throw it at Marc's head, but it lands in the basket beside his head.
Marc gets backed into the corner with a kick and a punch. He covers his head as he ducks underneath the arms of the attackers to go back to the middle of the roof. As Marc brings his hands up, the attacker brings the blade to his mouth and licks the cool steel. And in that moment, Cleo jumps down from the tall ledge to land on the attackers shoulders. She kicks the knife out of his chest and grips his arms with her calves as her thighs tightly squeeze his neck until he drops to the floor. They land with a thud, but as the man reaches for the blade, Cleo kicks him in the face with her boot and goes to stand up, but as she does another attacker tackles her to the ground. She shoves her elbow into his chest, making him wheeze, then brings her legs up to wrap around his head. She rolls them over so she's on top, then delivers a punch to his jaw as the child attempts to attack Marc once more.
Everything seems perfectly under control, that is until Marc's eyes roll back into his head as Steven takes over the body. Cleo stands up to grab a knife, but before she can go attack, Steven holds her back.
She looks at him with a clenched jaw, expecting it to be Marc... but once she sees his soft eyes, she knows that it's Steven.
An attacker attempts to lunge for them, but Cleo simply side kicks the man in the stomach to stop him, then brings her attention back to him.
" Steven?" She asks as her eyes flicker between his.
" Hi, love," Steven says with a smile and wave, then turns to the attackers, " Now before you lot try to kill us again... we will be leaving," he grabs Cleo by the hand and begins to walk away, " Go on, now. Go find someone else to stab, yeah?" he looks over the ledge and finds a ladder, " Bloody hell. Now, why aren't there any stairs? I'm not Spider-Man, I can't exactly climb walls, so what do they expect us to do?"
Steven guides Cleo down the ladder, holding his hands out just in case she falls. And once they're both on solid ground, Cleo is engulfed in a large bear hug that nearly knocks her breath out of her lungs.
" I've missed you," He pleads, his voice nearly cracking.
" I've missed you, too," Cleo says as she wraps her arms around him.
And with that, Steven pulls back just enough to cup her face in his hands, tilting it in odd directions to get a better look.
" He didn't hurt you, did he?" Steven asks.
Cleo furrows her brows, reaching her hands up to gently remove his hands from her face.
" No... he's not a bad guy," Cleo states.
" He's killed people, love."
" So have I."
With her words, Steven's eyes go wide. He can't believe it. He doesn't. His sweet little Cleo couldn't possibly be a murderer.
" Well, you won't anymore," Steven says, then grabs her hand and marches towards the street.
He finds the first taxi that he can and hops inside with Cleo.
" Hi, yeah, excuse me. Um... airport" Steven says to the driver, who sighs at the tourist.
" What?" Cleo asks as she turns her head, " Steven, we can't leave."
" We can't stay."
" Steve, please, we have to stay."
" Cleo, I'm doing this to protect you."
In that moment, Cleo inhales deeply through her nose, looking Steven directly in his eyes as she forces himself to stay calm.
" I've already told this to Marc... and I'm only going to tell you once," She states, " I do not need protecting."
Once more, Steven's eyes roll back into his skull, giving the control back to Marc, and the very first thing he sees is Cleo.
It takes him a minute to take in his new surroundings, but as soon as he does, he's not very happy.
" What the hell did you do?" He asks.
" I didn't do anything."
" Then why are we in a cab?"
" Ask your reflection."
Marc sighs at her words, pinching the bridge of his nose before he looks up at the driver.
" Tawaqaf huna (Stop here)"
" Alan ant tatakalam alearabia (Now you speak Arabic?)" The driver asks as he pulls over.
Marc gets out of the car without another word.
" Asf (Sorry)" Cleo comments as she scoots out of the car, only to see Marc chasing down the attackers, and so she lets out a heavy sigh," Rijal (Men)"
She reluctantly follows, but at her own pace. She walks to the alley where she saw them run into. She expects to see some form of a fight, but only sees Marc laying on the ground with the 3 men standing above him. They drag him into a truck, and as Cleo sprints towards them, they drive off.
And as fast as she can run, she can't keep up with a car. She turns around to see a man on a motorbike, and so she shoves him off, ignoring his exclamations as she quickly drives off.
She follows the truck to a nearby cliff, but as they pile out, Marc bursts out of the back. Like a beast starved for days. He violently and brutally attacks the men. He slices their skin with their own blades and runs it through their bodies, all as Cleo pulls up. She jumps off the motorbike, watching in horror as Marc drives the blade into a man's stomach, all with a sickening grin. Marc turns his head to gaze upon Cleo, but she can see it in his eyes that it's neither Marc or Steven.
His eyes roll back into his skull, and soon enough Marc regains control. Shock fills his body as the man he's currently stabbing falls down to the ground to die. He looks down at his hands, gazing into the reflective surface of the knife as he talks to the man in the mirror.
The kid struggles to stand up, acting as the sole survivor in the rampage. Marc turns to him, face covered with dried blood and hand still holding onto the weapon. He doesn't move, especially not when Cleo positions herself in front of him, blocking him from approaching the kid. Cleo stares at him in the eyes, and for the first time today, he looks back. They're at a stand still, and Cleo shows no intentions of backing down. Not even when the God appears.
" TAKE HIM TO THE LEDGE."
He appears over Marc's shoulder, in view of Cleo, but she never once reverts her gaze from Marc's eyes.
" No," She states, strongly and clearly.
And so, the God appears over Cleo's shoulder, tilting his head at his Avatar.
" He's just a kid," Marc says.
" HE'LL TALK."
And this time, Marc walks around Cleo. He grabs the kid, against her wishes, and drags him to the ledge where he holds him by the thin material of his scarf. The kid panics, feeling the ground beneath his feet crumble as he faces a more than hundred feet drop.
" Where's Harrow?... Where is Harrow?!"
Marc's voice is loud and demanding, expecting an answer out of the kid so he could spare his life. The kid looks over his shoulder, making direct eye contact with Cleo, and she knows his look all too well.
" No..."
" Praise Ammit"
The kid pulls out a blade and cuts his scarf in two as Cleo runs up to the ledge. She attempts to reach for the kid, to grab him before he can fall, but she's too late. She nearly falls off the ledge as well, if it wasn't for Marc pulling her back. Even in his state of total shock, that a child died at his hands, he's still able to prevent another death. She shoves off his grasp, bringing her eyes back to his as her jaw clenches.
" HM. I THOUGHT HE'D TALK."
Cleo breaks the eye contact to turn her head to the God who appears kneeling at the edge of the cliff. Her eyes glance down to the ground, and then she bends over to pick up a rock and throw it at the God, who simply catches it with ease.
" I AM NOT THREATENED BY ROCKS, CLEOPATRA."
And Marc... Marc keeps his eyes on the dead body. The one who would still be alive if it weren't for him and his servitude... but perhaps... perhaps it wasn't his fault.
" What the hell's wrong with you, Steven?" He questions, his voice cracking as he turns to face the nearest reflective surface.
" You really think Steven could do something like this?" Cleo asks, but she's only ignored.
" Me? You're the on going on a killing spree."
" I didn't do any of this."
" Me neither. Listen, if you've got a problem with the body count, I suggest you stop listening to that stupid pigeon."
" Stay out of my way."
As Marc walks away from the shinny object, Cleo lets out a sigh of frustration for only ever being able to hear one side of their conversations. The God now sits a top an old car, as if he's the one being inconvenienced.
" Well, if we can't find Harrow's digging crew we're gonna have to stop 'em another way," Marc sighs, then turns to the God, " So, what about the other Gods? Are they gonna stand by and allow somebody to unleash Ammit?"
" MAYBE WE WOULD HAVE FOUND THEM IF SOMEONE WOULD SIMPLY DO AS I ASK."
Khonshu turns his beak to the woman, who clenches her jaw at the implication that she must listen to him.
" I'm not your Avatar, Khonshu. I don't have to listen to you," She states.
" AREN'T YOU?"
His question catches Marc's attention, who now faces Cleo as well.
" AVATAR'S CAN BE A RELEASED SOUL IN A BODILY FORM."
" Your point?" Cleo asks.
" WHO DOES YOUR SOUL BELONG TO?"
Cleo's eyes go wide as Marc lets out a scoff.
" Khonshu, what are you--"
" DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT POSSESS THE SOUL OF QUEEN CLEOPATRA THEA PHILOPATOR? GODDESS OF EGYPT?"
Marc still thinks the God is spouting nonsense, but upon looking at Cleo's face, he realizes he might not be. While Cleo has a knack for masking the truth, Marc has a knack for detecting lies. He approaches her, already seeing that she's unable to make eye contact.
" What's he talking about?" Marc asks, but upon no eye contact, he changes the tone of his voice, " Cleo," she finally lifts her head, " What is he talking about?"
Cleo inhales and exhales, attempting to settle her nerves before she speaks.
" It's a long story," She starts.
" Then make it short," Marc says.
She hesitates at first, but ends up reaching into her back pocket to pull out the golden amulet that bears the Eye of Horus. Marc's eyes flash down to it, then quickly return to hers.
" This amulet belonged to her. We found it in a shrine years ago... and it... called to me. When I was born, I only had a small portion of a soul... Cleopatra's soul," Cleo says, watching as Marc tries to process the information, " And this... it gives me... powers. Things I barely understand myself," her eyes loom over to the God, " But I am not an Avatar."
Marc takes a few seconds as his brain absorbs it all, not being helped by the fact that Steven continues to ramble from within his mind.
" Oh my-- I-I'm dating a Goddess?!"
Marc tries to ignore him, but Steven might have a point.
" How long were you gonna hide this?" Marc questions, " What, were we gonna be in the middle of a fight and you lean over and say, hey by the way I have the soul of an Ancient Egyptian Queen, just letting you know."
" Marc, I--"
" You, what, Cleo? You didn't think it would be important to mention that you have superpowers?"
" I mean they're not superpowers..."
" What can you do?"
" I guess I control sand."
" Sand?"
" Yes, Marc, sand."
" How does that even work?"
" I don't know."
" So you just control something annoying that ends up in people's ass cracks?"
" Well, when you say it like that..."
A large, heavy gust of wind blows by them, wisping their hair up into the air as their conversation comes to a halt. They bring their attention back to the God who loves to throw temper tantrums when he doesn't get enough attention.
" IF YOU TWO ARE FINISHED."
Marc glares, but does not argue. Instead, he shoots Cleo a look, as if to say that they will discuss this at a later time.
" TO SIGNAL FOR AN AUDIENCE WITH THE GODS IS TO RISK THEIR WRATH."
" Are they more annoying than you?" Cleo sighs as she crosses her arms.
" Why? What's the worst that could happen?" Marc asks, straining his neck to look up at the God.
" ANGER THEM ENOUGH AND THEY'LL IMPRISON ME IN STONE."
Marc nods his head, sharing a look of agreement with Cleo.
" That doesn't sound so bad," He shrugs.
" SEE HOW YOU FARE AGAINST HARROW WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF MY HEALING ARMOR."
And with his words, Marc frustrations bubbles yet again as he paces back and forth.
" Alright, so what?" He asks as he throws his arms in the air, " Do you have any good ideas?"
" I HAVE A BAD ONE."
" Aren't all your ideas bad ideas?" Cleo comments with a tilt of her head, earning a dry chuckle from Marc.
The God disappears with a flash, something that would supposedly make Marc relieved, but in this moment it only brings him stress. He searches for where the God may have gone, but looks in every spot where he's not supposed to. As he aimlessly searches, Cleo stops him. She uses her hand to turn his face in the direction of the sky, where they both see an eclipse forming in the sky. The blue turns into a dark and painful red, effectively sending a signal to the Gods that they simply cannot ignore. It's beautiful to those who do not know the true meaning behind it, but to Cleo and Marc it serves as a stark reminder that their work has just begun.
They soon depart from the cliff, heading back into the city, walking down a large and steep staircase, unaware as to what happens next.
" HURRY. THEY'RE GATHERING THE AVATARS NOW."
" Aren't they scattered all over the world?" Marc asks as they reach the end of the steps.
" YES, BUT FOR A MEETING WITH THE ENNEAD, A PORTAL PRESENTS ITSELF ANYWHERE."
And right on queue, behind Marc forms exactly that. Large stones slowly peel back into the wall to reveal a hallway covered in gold and scattered with dust.
" THE LAST TIME I SPOKE TO THE GODS, THEY BANISHED ME. OUR CASE AGAINST HARROW MUST BE INDISPUTABLE."
Marc turns, expecting to see the God behind him, but only sees him walking away.
" Aren't you coming with?" He asks.
" OH, I'LL BE THERE... AND SO WILL YOU... CLEOPATRA."
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[ i am not ready for jake to be here ]