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Disclaimer: The following will contain homosexual individuals and relationships and will involve interpretations of deities from various religions. No offense is intended. This is copyrighted to me (mewjen(at)ymail.com), so no using it without my permission. This is a work of fiction.

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Anubis was surrounded, when I exited the portal. He was facing off against seven metal soldiers within a ring of glass and stone. He was holding his own quite well, deflecting every strike with focused ease.

That was until my brother moved aside, pulling Jaller forward.

The threat was made, and each hit was brutal, as An stopped fighting back. At least one sounded like a break. He was on the ground in six hits, despite the four that followed.

My brother shoved Jaller into Sobek's grasp, as he strode forward. He placed his foot on An's neck and waited. "Come on out," he said smugly. He paused, and when nothing happened, he applied pressure. "Now, Horus!" he shouted angrily, as An thrashed against him.

"Stop!" Horus landed gracefully from the portal he used to expedite his descent.

"Only because I have a different end in mind," Osiris stated, as he backed away from An. "Let's get started."

My brother waved his hand, and our troops moved out, encircling us at the boundary of the courtyard, where polished stone met harsh sand. Then we felt the rumble, as we rose from the ground.

The Surveyor's Tower. Not so much a tower, but a platform connected and bound to the earth by a singular column of energy. Taller than any building in Tem when activated. It was the only point that had a full line-of-sight with the entire outer wall. When deployed, it surrounds its perimeter with bubbles of glass, displaying and highlighting every aspect of the city it surveys. It was built by Ra to let the architects of this great city guide its creation, to protect its people, and to bring hope to every corner of its gaze.

Now it would have a different purpose. One of war and chaos. To help seat its new king.

There were six of us now. I stood at one edge. Horus had helped An to his feet, and they stood opposite. Sobek had pulled Jaller away, and they stood off to the right, between us. My brother chose the center, as he faced my former friends.

"So Horus," Osiris asked goadingly. "Was your lack of opposition a sign of your surrender or do you have something else in mind? Because I have an army," He let the tower's screens showoff his soldiers, "and you brought a dog."

"Back to name calling?" Anubis grunted, before spitting out a wad of blood.

"We had the same amount of time, and you have nothing to show for it," my brother continued. "I'm going to own this city, and you can do nothing about it. From here I will spread. The kingship of this land is mine, and you are going to have to watch me win."

"Let Jaller and Set go," Horus stated, uninterested in my brother's boasting.

I was surprised. Horus seemed unrealistically confident.

I guess my brother was equally confused. "Why would I do that?"

"Jaller is innocent. You have no right to involve him. Set? I understand your twisted rationale. He is your brother, and for that, you have done worse than torture him. I want you to release him because I love him."

Horus spoke with such endearing honesty that it left a weird feeling inside of me, as my brother's programming tried to take away the warm flutter in my heart and replace it with pain.

My brother remained silent, as he glowered at Horus.

"This is the only chance I am giving you," Horus added.

"No," Osiris answered. "I will not give in, just because you asked, my son."

"I am not your son." Horus' wings rustled, equally showing the distain in his voice.

My brother rolled his eyes, exaggerating his movements, playing the game with an annoying amount of cheek. "Deny all you want. But how will you stop me? Or my army?"

Horus stood his ground, looking handsome, even in defeat. "Even if I fail to stop you. Your army will fall. I will admit that I did not expect you to so openly declare war, and I do not know how I will capture you yet, but I had time and friends. If your forces try to invade anywhere else, they will be crushed."

Osiris laughed. "Brilliant. You planned four moves ahead, but forgot to plan your next. How pathetic they've made you. You're an embarrassment to me and your mother." He sighed, before waving me forward. "Thankfully, it's my move."

When I reached my brother, he put his arm around me, holding me close, as if I were a loved brother.

"Meet my new, fully recondition brother," he praised, hanging off me. "He shares my dreams, my goals, my desires. No more nasty weaknesses. He's cured and happy, and I can share that with you."

I watched the same emotion flash across the faces of both Horus and Anubis. Concern? Fear? Pity? I remember knowing the emotion, but I could not link it to the expression directly.

"Release his mind," Horus demanded.

My brother tilted his head. I could sense the bemused smile. 'Tell them,' he commanded through his silence.

"I chose this path," I offered Horus, following the minor command, but telling the truth. "Horus, I'm so close to finally being happy. Don't fight me."

He turned his gaze away from me. "What you make him say is meaningless."

"But I'm being honest," I countered, pulling away from my brother. "Horus, I love-"

"Enough," Osiris interjected. "They need proof. Proof that you are no longer like them, that you have found a wife and through your future lineage, happiness. Proof me right before them." His arm directed me to Sobek, who froze in terror, as he stared back at me, before lowering his gaze somberly.

I looked back to my brother.

"Show them," he mouthed.

I felt the command moving through me, trying to force my legs forward. Until it reverberated against the other commands, the ones that governed my purpose, that included:

I will care for Isis in sickness and in health.

I will prove that she loves me.

I will care for my children and protect them from harm.

I will make my parents proud of the legacy they left to me.

I will be king at all costs.

_ _

My brother walked up to me. "What's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"Nothing." I was finding it hard to follow through.

"You love Sobek," my brother whispered to me. "I made sure of it. Now go make him a female finally."

I sighed, finding my resolve.

"Oh that was never going to happen," my clone answered from behind him, just before plunging the dagger into his heart.

My brother lowered his head, shocked to find the bloody protrusion. He tried to speak but choked instead. "How…. Wha…."

I smiled down at him. "You did a marvelous job on me. I'm gay. You can't control that. But your other gift? That I will use. Mother and Father will finally be proud of me." I knelt down, as he collapsed. "You see," I whispered, holding his head. "You gave me your will, your desires. But you don't desire that 'Osiris' become king. You desire that 'I' become king." I chuckled softly. "Thank you, Brother." I kissed his forehead. "Thank you for this gift."

He gasped one last time, as the dagger was twisted.

I stood up to find four shocked and rather horrified faces.

"What?" I shrugged, walking forward. "I wasn't going to share with him. This is mine." I stopped in front of Horus. "And yours," I added, before I pulled him into a passionate kiss that was unfortunately rather one-sided.

"Set?" Anubis started timidly. "You…"

"-killed my own brother," I finished, pulling away, while slipping my hands down my falcon's scaled arms, taking his hands into my own. "He would've done the same. To be fair, he has tried a few times."

I saw Horus' eyes gleam his sorrow. "Set," he almost whispered, "let us help you."

"Oh my prince, my king," I corrected myself. "I know I am different. And you will need time to adjust to me, but I'm not going back," I soothed, rubbing my thumbs across his hands, as I kept us together. "I will not become that weak, pathetic version I remember. I was so afraid of getting too close to you. So afraid that I would hurt you that I feared to tell you how much I love you. Horus, I'm madly in love with you. Let me share this with you."

The tear that fell from his eye was crushing.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" He sounded hurt.

"Why?" I asked confused. Not knowing how to comfort him.

"The first time you say that out loud…and you're like this." His body sagged, and his hands pulled away.

"This is who I am," I offered, hugging him.

"No," he countered, rubbing his face into my neck, breathing in my scent, "it's only a part of you." He pulled back, taking my hands this time. "You are so much more. You can still come back from this."

I shook my head, before stepping forward and pulling him closer. "And you can come to me. I want you by my side, ruling with me. You'll be king. My king. Like you deserve. Just like your mother always wanted, except we'll be together." My smile at that was subconscious. "Together like we always wanted."

"I will not give up on you." His determination was true but misplaced.

"And I won't give up on you. This is our only chance at being happy." He closed his eyes, showing pain, and I felt it hurt. "What do you think was going to happen with us before? I was never going to accept you. I was never going to get over my guilt or my fear. This is how it has to be for us to find happiness."

"Come home," he said, opening his eyes and begging. "Before you hurt someone or do something that can never be forgiven."

I pressed my lips to his upper beak, before I pulled away. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. You and Sobek should go, while I take care of things here."

"And what does that mean precisely?" Anubis interrupted.

"I have an army to run and a city to enslave." I saw the horror on my falcon's face. "But I, unlike my brother, have a plan to minimize the cost." I turned to An, but Horus moved between us. "I'm not going to kill him. You were right. He has a better use."

My clones formed instantly. One pulling Horus away from An, the other pulling Jaller away from Sobek.

I smiled broadly at my lone remaining victim. "Come now, Anubis. You don't want anyone else involved, do you?"

"And just what do you have in mind?" he asked dryly. "Have you found a fitting fate for me?"

"I think so," I answered. "It's not my design, but it will be good to put Horus' hard work to good use." I reached for An, but he moved faster.

His arm around my neck faltered at the sound of breaking glass and Jaller's cry. He turned, dragging me with him, to find Jaller hanging over the platform's edge, struggling to hold onto my clone's arm.

I pushed An off me, before pulling him close, whispering, "My brother's final command countermands his order to leave Jaller unharmed."

I released my hold, and without his balance, he collapsed.

"Why are you doing this?" he muttered, getting up.

"Because he makes you happy," I hissed, before pushing him forward.

He turned on me, yelling out his frustration. "What do you want then? We've been through so much. I have nothing left to give you. You know this is wrong. You know you forgave me. What do you want of me?"

That deep piercing look in his eyes sent a wave of anger coursing through me. I threw him to the ground. "Maybe I should leave you in Sobek's hands?" I threatened. "Are you certain he's forgiven you for killing his sons? Even after all these eons?"

It was cruel to bring up that war, but the look on An's face was worth it.

I dragged him into position by force. Leaving him facedown, as the system reacted to his presence. The metal columns broke through the thin layer of stone, rising and splitting apart to cage its prey. An ran into the gap, before the walls finished forming, but was thrown back by the arcing current.

It was sad that the sounds of his pain were isolated. He could hear the outside world, but I could not hear him suffer like I so wanted.

I turned at the crunching sound of a body landing on marble.

Horus had stopped his struggles and was kneeling on the ground, horror etched into his face.

"You remember," I stated. I wanted him to be proud, to take joy in my clever use of his weapon. But the shame and guilt his body displayed was almost too much. "Do you want to tell him? Or should I?" I asked, trying to coax him out of his despair.

"Stop this," he begged of me. "If you love me, do not use it against him."

"One jackal's suffering will protect the lives of this city. He's the guardian. He'd make that trade any day." I returned my gaze to An. "But he needs to understand the truth. Did Horus ever tell you that he once hated you, Anubis? And I don't mean his distain when we regain our memories. I mean real hate. Enough that he wanted you to suffer just because you existed."

"That's not-" Horus tried to interrupt, but I stopped him.

"-You had your chance," I snapped. "You stole his mother's love, and he wanted to punish you. Then he grew up and became your closest friend. It makes you wonder why. How does the saying go? Keep your friends close and your enemies…." I paused, waving my hand to activate the control panel. "He built this machine to turn you into a weapon, to put that lineage within you to use. With the push of a button, this machine will rip the traces of your father's power from you, funnel it into the energy stream that maintains this platform, and unleash it in a controllable burst.

"I assume this process will be agony for you, but think of the lives that will be protected by a show of might."

An had been quiet, despite the lack of sound. He just stood there, probably trying not to believe me, but he couldn't stop where the threads of his mind were leading him. He couldn't stop the doubts that would break him and Horus apart, leaving me alone with my falcon.

"You can't do this!" It was surprising to hear Jaller's voice. I turned to find my clone had failed at keeping Jaller contained. "You made a promise to me that you would not give up."

I sighed, bored at the continued interruptions. "And you made a promise to fight me. I remember. Do you remember my prediction?"

To his credit, Jaller took his stance with determination and solidarity, not showing any fear or nerves that should have been present. "It does not matter," he stated. "I will protect him."

My eyes narrowed, as I felt the need to destroy his confidence. "After all he put you through, how can you truly love him? Are you sure you're not forcing your feelings for him out of desperation? I watched you try repeatedly to fall in love. You would hide your past, lie, cheat, but still none would have a god's whore as a mate. Maybe you're perfect for each other. Two lying bastards. Or maybe, you're meant to be alone."

I waited for Jaller to create his fireball. I even gave him three shots for free. But his lack of training made it easy to dodge them. I caught the last just because I could and returned it gently, meaning he had to throw himself out of its way.

"You still need practice," I quipped, before I bound his arms together behind his back. "If you were trained, you would not need your hands, but I guess that is not the case with you. Maybe Anubis didn't want you to get too out of hand."

I could still feel a sense of order coming from Jaller. He was still fighting my influence.

"So at the end, he means nothing to you." Jaller spoke from the ground. "He cares about you, Set, and because of your brother, you're throwing it all away."

I picked Jaller up and pushed him into my clone. "No, not because of my brother."

My arm was tingling, as I walked back, feeling less focused then I had been. It was like something was affecting my powers. I looked up at An and his calm face, as I reached the controls.

"I forgive you," he mouthed.

I lowered my gaze for a moment. "I love you, An," I confessed. "Even if I can't feel it anymore." I took a deep breath and steadied myself, setting my target with the controls. "But you're in my way, and I need this," I finished, meeting his eyes, before I hit the button and watched.

There was a moment where Anubis just stared at his hands, as a thin film of energy formed across his body, glowing his customary light blue. It was similar to his shield, but less focused. He collapsed, grimacing in pain, as white energy started pouring into the film, but even that soon became distilled, as Ra's colorless power was forced to the surface. Then two seconds later, An screamed as the film was ripped away. He blacked out, as the chamber glowed a bright red and the beam fired from the Tower's core, hitting the outer wall of Tem in the monitors. As the smoke cleared, all that remained was a gaping hole, boulders, and dust…and my army at the ready.

I smiled broadly at my triumph, turning back to the controls and An. He returned to his feet, but his body was trembling out of his control.

I leaned forward, "Let's try that again with feeling." I flicked my hand sending out a wave of green energy that shattered a section of monitors and sent Jaller and my clone flying. I noticed An's action, before I noticed the shield surrounding Jaller in the air. But he was still hanging several feet over the edge. I hit the button again and watched the shield falter, as An tried so hard, and fail.

If Jaller yelled, I did not hear him, but the ring of red the poured out of the tower was awe-inspiring, as it destroyed the remaining wall. I didn't even hear the crash of Horus diving off the platform. I just saw two holes and the lack of my other clone's presence.

I felt cheated and alone in that moment.

I gave the order to my army, but they remained still. I tried again, but they had no reaction. I turned to Sobek, but found he had moved.

Then came the loud clapping of hands.

"Well done, Set," my brother cooed.

I looked back and saw him walking towards me, with Sobek moving to stand up. "What will it take for you to die?"

"You can stab me, slice me, cut me into little pieces, but I will always come back," my brother continued to coo. "You tried so hard, just to fail." He laughed at me, as his army attacked.

I heard it echoing around me, growing louder and louder. I covered my ears, but it didn't work. Nothing could drown out the sound in my head. I collapsed in pain, trying to make it stop. I writhed, but it only grew louder.

Then all was quiet, as the air was pushed out of my lungs.

He sat on my chest, pinning me to the platform, as his hands wrapped around my throat. "I never wanted to do this," he said. "I just wanted you to be happy."

I froze in confusion, while my clone tackled Osiris. "Happy?" I asked, my fury building, as I stood up. "You ruined my life. You took everything from me! Happy? You want me miserable or dead."

My brother destroyed the clone, and stood up. "I was saving you from misery," he stated, before destroying the next clone. "It's impossible to find happiness with another male." And the next clone was gone. "A relationship with Horus would just leave you both empty and without purpose." And the next. "You see the outcome of your folly with Anubis." He gestured to the cage, as he finished off two clones at once.

"Leave Anubis out of this!" I shouted, as three more clones pulled themselves from my body.

"Tell me," he asked, pulling out his crook. "Why are you so determined to destroy yourself? I am willing to give you another chance, if you stop this and let me help you."

My clones rushed forward to their destruction.

"No," I answered. "You turned me into a monster. I can't even remember half of what I've done to Sobek, because of these fake feelings you forced on me."

"They are not fake," he refuted. "They are as true as your former love for Ra's son."

"He doesn't love me!" I yelled at my brother, and the loss of control caused my anger to arc into the platform. "He never loved me. You can screw around with my head, toy with me and him, but the important piece never crossed your mind. Your bitterness is a disease you spread to everyone you touch."

His anger rose to the surface at my calling him bitter. "So what will you do then?" he countered. "Your greatest love is burning." He gestured to Anubis again. "You have no one left."

I refused to look back, to acknowledge my means. "You never could understand the lasting effects of love." My clones spread out, as I spoke. "For you, Isis was a gain in stature, someone you always tried to please, a simple direction to follow. For some of us, love isn't simple. It's painful, with hard choices and harder consequences. It makes you run from those you care about, do things that you can never forgive or forget, running and hiding, lying to yourself, hurting yourself, trying to make it stop. And always coming back to the same point." I paused, letting my anger fall, and focusing on the one truth I had left. "I love Horus."

My brother was silent. His expression was growing more and more hateful, as the seconds passed. "Fine," he spoked at last. "Let's find out if my resurrection can out last Ra's greatest protection!" He charged me, slashing my nearest clone until it poofed out of existence.

I reacted without thought, falling back, but with every step I took, I created clone after clone, until it was hard to remember if I was my original or not. We launched ourselves at Osiris, not trying to conquer him with skill, but sheer overwhelming numbers.

His crook broke through my waves, but for every defeat, two more spawned. I was landing strike after strike. He was falling. I just had to wait for my victory.

It was too easy. That was when they hit us.

A black cloud descended, filtering in from the cracks and gaps between the monitors, enveloping the platform in a dark mist. I heard hit after hit land, before they struck me. They hit hard and fast, but I held strong, holding in the pain and frustration, until I could no longer.

"Stop toying with me!" The waves I unleashed pushed the clouds back violently, forcing each of the three guardians into their cohesive states.

They were hideous, twisted ash dragons. Obviously born from Horus' clone, they were like dark distortions of my love. They took position around my brother, protecting him and grinning at me, bearing their teeth, and snarling.

"You never could fight fair," I hissed, spinning my spear out of subspace. "Always having to steal the upper hand."

"Interesting choice of words," my brother mused. "Considering, you tried to steal my army. You attacked me with how many clones? You're still a cowardly unloved disappointment."

"Cowardly? You are just jealous that Horus and I accomplished what you could never. You were fighting for Ra's scraps, while we had Anubis. All we needed was the desire, and Ra would have been ours. You locked him away, because you were afraid. But with Anubis control is easy. If I'm a disappointment, then what are you? I will enjoy putting you back in that cell and making you watch my everlasting reign." I walked forward, producing six armed clones.

"For king and chaos!" we roared, as we launched ourselves, two clones per guardian and myself for Osiris.

"Well, if you want to allow powers," he started, stepping in front of his guards, raising his hand high.

His fist closed, and I felt my heart stop.

My soul felt cold, tingling as I lost control. I tried to move, but I couldn't. I fell to my knees, before I stopped feeling my legs altogether. I watched my brother walking towards me, as I collapsed further. I tried to speak, but I couldn't feel my mouth.

My brother knelt down, leaning over me. "The universe may end in chaos, but life and death are my domain," my brother whispered into my ear.

He sat down. "It's interesting. I can actually feel my body trying to die." He paused, putting his hand over his heart, feeling its rhythm, before lowering his hand with a sigh. "But my heart hasn't beat for a very long time. So what's the worst the will happen."

My mind hung on his statement. I never knew his heart was dead. How could he still…?

"My heart stop because you came back," my brother continued in his melancholy, as he waited. "I wish now that you had stayed dead. In fact, I wish you were never born. I tried to love you, Brother. I tried to be a good older brother to you. But you made it so hard. How could you be born to my family? How could you ever be a viable candidate for the throne?"

He stood up as my vision started to blur.

"I am sorry, Horus," he spoke. "I would love to say you were a good son, but you weren't. I blame your mother for leaving us. I couldn't prepare you for the world, and you fell astray so quickly. You built a wonderful tool out of your anger. It's too bad Isis would never have allowed you to use it on her other brat. Goodbye, you four. You were truly annoying."

I heard shifting from behind me and the sounds of someone groaning.

"Are you trying to kill me with my own powers?" I heard Anubis ask.

I heard Osiris rush forward, and then the sounds of two bodies struggling.

"Oow whoo," An exclaimed. "I think they like me better than you."

I felt a rush of heat envelop my soul. I was breathing hard, as I rolled over slowly, looking back.

Horus had returned and was lying next to his cage, recovering as I was. An was standing a few feet away from Osiris. His hands were glowing, as he reversed Osiris' curse.

"Why?" I croaked. "Why would you save me, after what I did?"

He looked back at me, raising a hand to grab Osiris' crook, as it swung down. "Because you're my friend and I love you."

I felt my mind explode, screaming in pain. I struggled to my feet, my vision blinded by a wall of flashing colors. I felt hands wrap around my neck, squeezing down.

"It seems you were wrong. Just like last time," my brother hissed.

All I heard after that was the shattering of glass and the roar of wind. I blacked out, but just before, I felt a wave of comfort surround me like curling into a favorite blanket or into a thousand little hugs.

"Rest, my little grain. Let us take away your pain and heal you."

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Author's Note: This has been a long moment to get to. When I decided to separate Horus and Set and pair the brothers together, I knew I wanted Osiris to get his comeuppances from Set. I hope this and the moments that is about to following (once written) make his journey worth it. Though Set did go darker than I originally pls\anned, and I have not fully worked out consequences.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and are excited for the continuation from Horus' perspective.

Thank you for reading. Please, let me know what you think by rating, favoriting, and commenting. They are very much appreciated, and they help encourage me to write more often.