"Finding you was not easy, even for a God like me. It required a great deal of effort on my part. I hope you appreciate everything that I have done for you." Naruto said casually, as if he didn't just watch the formerly decrepit and smelly mummy, now beautiful, exotic, and sexy mummy, suck the life out of people's faces right in front of him.
Of course, he had known about her life force absorption capabilities before he came here, and had known that she would need human life force to absorb in order to regain her strength, which is why he had brought her fifteen chained people, all murderers, rapists, and thieves of course. He wasn't an evil asshole, he would never offer innocent lives as sacrifices for an immortal evil witch with godly powers, but evil sons of bitches would do just fine.
"My chosen one…." The sexy mummy trailed off with an unearthly, inhuman and yet sexy and seductive voice.
She knew, of course, that the being in front of her was her chosen one, after all, he was the one who released her from her prison, an act which constituted the formation of a spiritual connection and pact between them. However, the issue here, was that this being was no mere human, but a God himself, a powerful God, more powerful than the God she served, Set.
This presented her with a significant problem, because her influence over him was non existent as a result. She couldn't enter his mind unless he allowed it, and she didn't have the physical or magical ability to force him to give in to her. Given the fact that he was stronger than her God, she also realized that there was no way that he was going to let her God take possession of his body.
Her goals and ambitions were, quite literally, doomed to amount to nothing. She supposed she could try and find a new chosen one, but breaking such a pact, with someone as powerful as this being, would present some serious challenges, especially if he didn't want to break the pact. Besides, even if she did manage to break it somehow, he was in possession of Set's dagger.
What if he didn't want to part with it? And if he did agree to part with it, what would be his terms and conditions? There was absolutely no way that he went to all the trouble to release her from her prison just for the hell of it. He obviously wanted something from her, but what was it?
Did he want her to switch allegiances? To betray Set and swear fealty to him? She supposed it wouldn't be much of a betrayal considering Set had left her to rot in that sarcophagus for 5000 years, or considering the fact that she already had a spiritual pact with this being. However, what would happen to her if she disavowed Set? Would he take away her powers, and return her soul to the underworld? Would this being be able to not only resurrect her but give her back her powers?
Gods, she was back for less than thirty minutes and already she was facing extinction. How the hell was she going to survive this whole ordeal? And what was up with those terrifying, soulless, metallic grey eyes with weird concentric rings around them? As if she needed any further proof that he was no human.
"It is an honor to meet your acquaintance, Princess Ahmanet, and to be your chosen one. I'm sure you intended to stick this dagger into my chest at some point and thus enable Set to take over my body. But that's not going to happen is it? Given how intelligent the ancient texts say you are, you must have already figured that out." Naruto said with an emotion deficient tone, much to Ahmanet's concern as it was further cemented to her that she really couldn't read any of this being's thoughts at all, not even from just observing his mannerisms.
"Besides, there is no guarantee that this thing could even penetrate my skin..." Naruto trailed off thoughtfully, although he was not one that would underestimate the magical powers of another God.
"You have me at a disadvantage, my love. You know who I am, and apparently what I can and want to do, but I know nothing of you." Ahmanet replied cautiously.
"I go by many names, Nathaniel Wilson, Naruto Uzumaki, New God Kitsune, Sage God Kitsune, The Toad Sage, etcetera. I am a New God, born of the seed of meta human Deathstroke The Terminator and New God Gilotina The Executioner." Naruto introduced himself in detail.
"I see…." The sexy mummy trailed off thoughtfully.
"What is it?" Naruto asked, seeing the confused look on her facial features.
"This meta human terminology, I have not heard of it before. What is a meta human?" Ahmanet asked curiously, realization dawning on Naruto as he decided to just psychically give her the knowledge of everything that she missed out on and be done with it, Ahmanet's eyes widening in surprise when she realized just how much the world had changed and how much more of it she never even comprehended in her time.
She also understood one thing, her former plans of taking over the entire world were no longer possible, even taking over Egypt would not be easy now with all this international law and international secret organizations using powerful meta humans, aliens, and even Gods to fight their battles for them. She wouldn't be able to just power her way through everything like she could have before, because humanity had evolved and was now capable of mounting a strong challenge, even against her.
"The world has changed significantly since my time. It appears as though time truly has left me behind." Ahmanet said contemplatively, although she wasn't really willing to just give up yet. Her father, bless his soul, taught and mentored her well. She knew that power was something one had to struggle for and work hard for. She knew that a person weak of mind and weak of spirit would never cease power, and she was not weak of mind and definitely not weak of spirit.
"It has….left you behind that is. You can however catch up very quickly, if you forsake Set and swear fealty to me as your God and Emperor. I will make all of your dreams come true, and I shall never betray your trust. You will have my undying loyalty and commitment, and all I ask is that you swear the same oath of fealty to me." Naruto said with conviction.
"I will not and cannot betray Set. His power is the reason I am even able to stand here like this before you. I am sworn to him, in soul and body." Ahmanet replied firmly.
"Your loyalty, devotion, and commitment is the very reason that I want you by my side. I am well aware of the fact that if you choose to betray Set for me, then you will no longer be the Goddess that I went to such great lengths to liberate, for you will be a liar and an oath breaker. I would not see you dishonored in such a way." Naruto said earnestly.
"I do not quite understand, my chosen one." Ahmanet said with confusion, how could he expect her to be by his side without betraying Set? How could she be with him without being an oath breaker?
"You shall soon enough." Naruto said as he formed a cross hand sign, summoning a singular shadow clone on his left hand side.
"You know what to do." Naruto ordered, without wasting time, his shadow clone going through several hand seals before ending on a ram hand seal, causing the earth to shift as a slab of earth grew from the ground, a slab that was waist length and formed in a similar shape to an examination table.
Following that, the clone went on to remove his sword and weapons, and take his clothes off as he lay on the table he just created, at least, his upper body clothes, Ahmanet marveling at not only the display of power and technique but also at the sheer physical specimen that her chosen one was, lust and desire taking root in her mind, body, and heart.
"What are you planning to do?" Ahmanet asked curiously, Naruto ignoring her in the meantime as he went through his own set of hand seals and placed his right hand on the stomach of his clone, forming an intricate seal on its eight pack. Following that, Naruto made a ram hand seal and summoned chakra chains that came out from under ground and wrapped themselves tightly around the clone, leaving only his head and the area around the seal visible to sight.
"I'm going to use the dagger to summon Set into my shadow clone's body, where his power and mobility will be suppressed by the divine chakra chains. Meantime, the seal on the clone's torso will siphon all of Set's power into the seal, leaving him weak and powerless for me to dispose of him." Naruto replied casually, causing a look of fear and concern to appear on Ahmanet's facial features, fear for the life of the God that she served and loved, and fear for herself of course seeing as she derived her own power from Set, which meant that she too would perish if he died.
"M-my love, my chosen, please don't do this. I beg of you! You will have the power of life…over death. You will rule the entire living world and the underworld together, and I will be your eternal queen. Why destroy what you can take for yourself? Why destroy our glorious and beautiful future together?" Ahmanet replied, Naruto hitting her with a psychic blast, causing her to witness some of his memories, particularly relating to Wonder Woman, Kara Zor El, The Hive, his family, and The Kitsune Alliance.
"…"
"I see now. You already have not one but two Goddesses as your queens, no, rather….as your Empresses. You already have not just the world but the Universe practically at the palm of your hand. You do not need me….or want me…." Ahmanet said with such a sad and hurt tone and look in her eyes that it almost literally broke Naruto's heart, unable to believe that such an evil creature was able to bring about those kind of emotions from him of all people, the epitome of emotional control and compartmentalization.
"I will destroy Set, nothing can change that, but you do not have to die. You can become a part of my world, and have more power than you have ever dreamed of. I can give you Set's power, it can be all yours….if you will swear unequivocal and irrevocable fealty and loyalty to me." Naruto said, causing Ahmanet's head to snap up in his direction, so fast that Naruto thought that she might have snapped her neck clean off her shoulders for a second, and with such pure, unadulterated joy and hope that Naruto had to consciously remind himself that this was an evil and malevolent spirit lest he forget.
"It would be my honor to serve by your side for all of eternity. That's all I wanted, to be with you, my chosen one." Ahmanet said excitedly.
"Me…..not Set?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I…I had hoped….planned for you and him to become one and the same, but if he is to be destroyed and there really is nothing I can do about it, then of course, I still want to be with you. I love you, in life….and in death." Ahmanet said sincerely, Naruto mentally shaking himself out of his trance as he wondered how the hell someone could manage to make the word 'death' sound so sexy and seductive, like it was the most beautiful thing in the world.
"I believe you, wholeheartedly. But I do not believe my uh….Empresses would be too eager to have a third party join our union. If you join me, and serve me, it won't be initially as my queen…it might never be." Naruto replied, trying to make sure that Ahmanet understood exactly what she was agreeing to.
"I understand, my love. My father taught me well. Power, and love are not things that are freely given. One must struggle for them, sweat for them, work hard for them, and earn them in earnest, for nothing in this world is freely given. I will earn your love my chosen, as have my future sisters. I will earn it….and I will have it. Eventually, you will give in to me." Ahmanet said in such a sincere, earnest, sexy, loving, and seductive way that Naruto was almost tempted to give in to her right then and there.
'Damn! She's even worse than Enchantress. I guess with greatness, power, wealth and physical perfection, comes even greater temptation.' Naruto thought, his massive boner now on full display as, while his mental discipline was impenetrable, his physical discipline however wasn't…apparently.
'She hasn't even touched me and she can do this. I shudder to think what she could do to me if we were to…engage.' Naruto thought warily.
"We shall see." Naruto said casually, as if the massive boner that was in clear sight of Ahmanet didn't even exist, Ahmanet looking at his crotch before looking back at his face in confusion, as if wondering if the boner was real or not given the fact that Naruto's demeanor had not changed at all despite his obvious arousal.
"Say the words." Naruto said harshly, snapping Ahmanet out of her reverie as she decided to leave exploring the issue of the erection on display for after she has secured her position.
"I, Princess Ahmanet, swear my undying, unyielding, and unequivocal loyalty to my chosen one, Nathaniel Wilson, for all of eternity, in life….and in death. I shall serve you loyally and never intentionally bring your name to disgrace and dishonor. My love and devotion to you is true and unyielding. I will shield your back and give my life for yours without question. This I swear to you, with an open and loving heart." Ahmanet declared passionately.
"And I, Emperor Nathaniel Wilson, vow that you shall always have a place at my home and at my table, and I shall ask no service of you that would bring you dishonor. You shall be treated with love, respect, trust, and courtesy befitting and worthy of your station, and I will put my life on the line for you if need be. This I swear to you, in my name as Emperor of the Kitsune Alliance, in my name as Leader of the HIVE, in my name as The Sage God, in my name as Nathaniel Wilson of the Wilson family, and in my name is Uzumaki Naruto of the Uzumaki Ninja Clan." Naruto declared with honor and sincerity, causing a wide, loving smile to appear on Ahmanet, tears threatening to form in her eyes as she heard words that made her the happiest woman alive right at that moment.
"I accept your pledge, with unrivalled happiness and satisfaction, my love." Ahmanet said joyously.
"Then let us begin. Come over here and place your hand on this seal." Naruto ordered, Ahmannet not wasting a moment as she quickly did as instructed, looking deep into her chosen one's soulless rinnegan eyes as she placed her hand on the seal without hesitation, showing him that she trusted him unequivocally, which of course was easier now that they had pledged themselves to each other.
"It is easy to tell what this rune will do since you already explained part of it. You said that it would absorb Set's power, but with you asking me to place my hand on it, I can only assume that it will then transfer that power to me. I just want you to know that you will not regret this. I will never forget what you have done for me today, and my gratitude will never wane in its potency." Ahmanet said sincerely.
"Then brace yourself. Your body will be reconstructed at a molecular level to contain all of Set's power. It will hurt, to say the least." Naruto warned.
"Nothing can be more painful than the thought of losing you." Ahamanet said, causing Naruto to sigh internally, not because he didn't appreciate the love and devotion Ahmanet seemed to have for him or her open expression of it, but because of what it might cause Kara and Diana to do or think if they heard her talking like that to him. Nevertheless, he could not miss the opportunity to recruit such a powerful ally, so without hesitation, he plunged the dagger into his clone, resulting in the screams of both Set and Ahmanet for the next ten minutes, Set throwing insults and curses at Naruto, although Naruto didn't seem phased at all nor did he seem to care.
After all, from his perspective, Set only had himself to blame for this. He was the one who put himself in such a vulnerable position by giving the dagger to Ahmanet all those years ago. Actually, now that he thought about it, giving the dagger to Ahmanet was not the issue, the issue was Set creating the dagger in the first place, just because he wanted to have a physical presence on earth so that he can cause death and destruction.
Set probably knew the risks, that it might be possible that someone could use the dagger to his disadvantage, but having found a servant as devout and sincere as Ahmanet, he had thought that he could trust her to deliver the intended consequences for him, for which he wasn't wrong to trust her Naruto supposed. However, the ancient Egyptians seemed to have been prepared for the worst, and had cut her plans short, which afforded Naruto this opportunity, thousands of years later.
He supposed he could have recruited Set himself, along with Ahmanet. But Set was the God of Chaos and Destruction, who had tricked Anubis into conceding part of his domain over life and death, and thus tricked Ahmanet into making a pact with him instead of the noble Anubis. He could not be trusted. Besides, Set had been an all powerful God for millennia, he would never truly submit to Naruto's authority and would always be trying to usurp him or outright destroy him.
Ahmanet on the other hand was an entirety different story. She had been human before, and therefore had the humility to serve under his authority as her God and her Emperor. He had given her power and freed her from being under Set's control, and she would be eternally grateful for that. She was a far better bet than Set could ever be.
Ten Minutes Later:
"Y-you, what have you done! What have you done to me! You will pay for this!" Set exclaimed angrily, directing his rage and fury at Naruto, looking at him with a deranged facial expression, consumed by rage and madness.
'So much rage and hatred, I better get rid of this guy before Atrocitus does something stupid and gives him a Red Lantern Ring.' Naruto thought amusedly, and somewhat warily, not putting it past the Mad God to try and pull a fast one like that.
Naruto, of course, had warned Atrocitus of what would happen to him if he gave an earthling a red lantern ring without getting authority from him first, but then again, Set was not an earthling, so that was a loophole the Mad God would likely use to excuse his behavior, although Naruto doubted that even the Mad God was crazy enough to do something that insane, not that he was gonna be taking any chances.
"Time to go Set. Don't worry, I'll make sure you disappear from the face of the multiverse and multidimensional spectrum. No one will ever know your fate bar a select few people." Naruto said as he brought his right hand towards Set's face, or rather his shadow clone's face.
"Ahmanet! My love! Help me! Help me you traitorous wench! Aaaargh!" Set exclaimed frantically, before screaming in pain as Naruto literally ripped out his soul from his body, visible shock in his eyes as Naruto displayed his soul to Ahmanet, which looked like the most hideous creature Ahmanet or Naruto had ever seen in their lives, causing them to wonder if he really was even a God, because he looked worse than a demon.
"This is the guy you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?" Naruto said as something that looked like the giant head of a demon came out from below the earth, Ahmanet unable to help but notice that it had the same eyes as her chosen one, those soulless metalic grey eyes with concentric rings around the pupil.
The demon opened its mouth wide and a long tongue came out and ripped Set from Naruto's grasp, putting him inside its mouth and chewing him up until the screams completely died down, signifying that Set was now well and truly gone, vanquished from existence as even his soul was destroyed, the demon head vanishing as it sank into the ground and disappeared, Naruto turning around to look at Ahmanet and take in her form now that she had Set's powers, although it seemed like her form did not change at all, just the potency and strength of her power.
"Your eyes, they look strange, and terrifying, but there is a mystique about them, a unique kind of beauty and wonder about them." Ahmanet said appreciatively.
"Your eyes aren't exactly normal either you know." Naruto said with a raised eyebrow, referring to the fact that a second pupil kept appearing next to the ones she already had and then disappearing at the corner of her eye depending on the emotions that she was feeling, Naruto also suspecting that it was something that would occur if she were to use her powers. Of course, he was also referring to the fact that the eyes were an animalistic golden yellow color, like they didn't belong to a human at all, which in fact they didn't seeing as she had been an immortal mummy and was now a Goddess.
"Y-you do not like them?" Ahmanet asked with a vulnerable tone, looking away self consciously.
"Truth be told, so far, I like everything about you, well, except for the part about you killing your own father in cold blood." Naruto said sternly.
"I only wanted him to love me as I loved him, but he betrayed me and discarded me like I was nothing." Ahmanet said, anguish in her eyes as she spoke about her long lost father.
"You killed an innocent woman and your baby brother, literally, a baby…who was your brother." Naruto said uncompromisingly.
"I know I did horrible things in the past, but Set wanted proof of my devotion and loyalty, he would not except anything less. To eliminate all ties I had to the world except to him, and to sacrifice my chosen one to him, this was the price I had to pay. Nothing is for free in this life." Ahmanet explained, hoping beyond hope that her New God would understand, and more importantly, forgive her.
"I would never kill my own siblings, or my father, and I would never ask it of anyone as proof of loyalty." Naruto said sharply, causing Ahmanet to look down in shame and fear, not knowing what the hell she was going to do if her chosen one decided to forsake her because of her past.
"But…." Naruto trailed off, Ahmanet's head snapping up again, hope renewed as she waited in anticipation for her chosen God to speak.
"I forgive you, and shall not revoke my forgiveness as long as you make an honest effort to do better and to be a better ruler." Naruto said sincerely, causing a beaming smile to appear on Ahmanet's beautiful and exotic facial features.
"Thank you, my love. Your kindness will not go unrewarded. I promise. I will do everything in my power to make it up to you." Ahamanet said excitedly.
"I'm glad to hear that. Now, I have an important task for you, well, a couple of important tasks. One, I need you to find me the Staff of Horus. It holds the eye of Horus, and thus, great magical abilities. Secondly, you will infiltrate the Egyptian Government and gradually make your way to the top until you become the president of the country. They no longer follow a Monarchial system, so this is the most productive way to retake your birth right." Naruto ordered.
"It shall be done, my love, on both accounts, but if I may ask, what do you intend to do with the Staff of Horus?" Ahmanet asked curiously.
"Not me, you. You….will present it to Queen Perdita Vladek of Vlatava as a gift. You will gift her the staff as a symbol of the eternal alliance between Egypt and Vlatava, and as a weapon to protect herself with. The staff is proof of your loyalty and fealty to Vlatava." Naruto explained much to Ahmanet's surprise.
"I see. Yes, this would be a good way for me to earn trust and clout in the HIVE hierarchy, and from the memories you shared with me, this would also present a solution to Queen Perdita's lack of super powers predicament. I will have to cast a spell on the staff, so that it only works for Queen Perdita and her descends of the Vladek bloodline. That way it can truly be a King's or a Queen's weapon." Ahmanet said thoughtfully.
"Brilliant idea." Naruto said, truly impressed by Ahmanet's devotion and commitment, and of course, her intellect and quick decision making.
"I must go now. I will teleport this temple into my kamui dimension and store it there. We don't want any nosy archeologists discovering this temple or what happened here. You must go and find the Staff of Horus, we'll reconvene once you have it in your possession. Also, while you do that, I'll have my PA, Hack, create a cover identity and background for your mission to infiltrate the Egyptian Government." Naruto explained the next phase of his plan.
Truth be told, he kind of felt bad for Ahmanet because she was the only one who didn't have a team nor did he have any potential recruits lined up for her at the moment. He was going to loan Hack to her to assist her with infiltrating the Egyptian Government but that was about all he could do for her at the moment. He hoped she didn't feel unfairly treated and saw it as a symbol of how much faith and trust he had in her abilities. Perhaps it was time he took a closer look in Africa, maybe there were meta humans or sorcerers in Africa that he could recruit to aid Ahmanet.
"I don't need to have access to your mind to know what you are thinking. I may not be able to read or manipulate your mind, but I still feel everything you feel, and vice versa. You and I, we are eternally bonded to one another. Do not worry, my love, I know you will get me my own team when the time is right, and I appreciate your trust and faith in me. I will not disappoint you." The Egyptian Goddess said as she used her super speed to close the distance between her and her chosen one, who, to his credit, did not even flinch at all in surprise, Ahmanet pushing him against the wall as she looked deep into his eyes before licking the side of his face with her tongue, which was both a weird thing to do and yet such a turn on for Naruto that he completely lost control, raw, primal lust and attraction taking root from deep within himself as he lifted Ahmanet off her feet and slammed her against the earth style table, dispelling his shadow clone just before impact whilst simultaneously reverse summoning his clothing, armor, and weapons.
Of course, Ahmanet barely felt the impact, she was far too durable after all to be hurt at all by the rough play, instead, immediately replicating her chosen one as her bandages immediately untangled themselves from her body, leaving her as naked as the day that she was born, well, not quite the same as her skin was now a pale white compared to the caramel tan that she had in her human life, and of course, she now had ancient writings magically tattoed all over her body.
Still, that did nothing to take away from her exotic beauty and sexual appeal, if anything, it might have even enhanced it, Naruto taking in every inch of her body before kissing her passionately, his hands wondering all over her body, groping her breasts, tracing her body with his hands, down along her perfect waist and hips, and groping her firmly around her buttocks.
He was about to move his head down her body and go for crotch when he felt Ahmanet wrap her entire body around him wantonly, unable to take it anymore as her womanhood was dripping wet and itching to have her chosen take her right then and there, the tip of Naruto's eleven inch erection touching her entrance before she felt a strong physical, psychic, and empathic resistance from her lover, the act of touching private parts seemingly jolting him out of his lustful trance as he realized that he was about to do something that he would never be able to come back from, that being that he was about to become a cheater and an oath breaker, as he had vowed loyalty and faithfulness to Diana.
Instinctively, Ahmanet knew what was happening and why it was happening, as a result, consciously and subconsciously controlling her nigh indestructible bandages and having them wrap themselves around Naruto and aid her in making her chosen one penetrate her, having initial success as she was able to pull Naruto's entire head inside of her, physically overpowering the blonde Uzumaki as a result, but only because a large part of him wanted nothing more than to be trapped inside of her and make love to her like she was the only woman on earth.
"Give in, my love. You and I, we belong together, we are meant to be. Give in to me…" Ahmanet whispered in his ear with so much lust, desire, and love that Naruto immediately realized that he was not going to win this battle if he carried on like this, which left him with one choice only, one way to escape this carnal sin that he was about to commit, the Hiraishin no jutsu.
"N-no….my love…my chosen? Where did he go? Noooooo!" Ahmanet cried in anguish and frustration as, one moment she was at the brink of getting her chosen one to give in to her, and the next thing she knew, he was gone, without a single trace, as if he was never there to begin with, leaving a very angry and frustrated mummy alone in an abandoned temple.
10 Minutes Later:
Ahmanet had been crying for nine minutes straight, frustration and heartache the reason behind her tears, hoping and wishing that her chosen one would return to her, wondering why he rejected her when she only wanted to give all of herself to him, when all she wanted was to give him love and pleasure, even though she already knew the answer.
She knew, in her mind, why he ran away from her, or rather teleported away. She knew it was because he was loyal to his Empress, Diana of Themiscyra, and also because he loved his other potential future Empress, Kara Zor El of Krypton. Her darker nature made her want to assassinate both of them, eliminate the competition so to speak. But she knew that if she did that, her chosen one would never forgive her, and he would never welcome her in his heart, no matter how strong their connection.
Even if he did eventually forgive her, how long would that take? A hundred years? A thousand? A hundred thousand? Could she really wait that long? No, she couldn't! She would go mad, literally. Maybe she had come on to him too strong and too fast, she should have been more subtle, be a slow poison, let the love and lust build up over a period of time, allow him to fall on his own sword, or rather, to let his sword drop right into her instead of trying to force it into her.
It wasn't too late. All she had to do was to apologize to him, get a gift as a symbol of her remorse for her actions. Remorse and forgiveness had a way of bringing people closer together, it could even earn her some of his respect. The staff of Horus, that is what he asked for from her wasn't it? What if she got him another magical artefact, as symbol of her apology. Yes, she could do that. Surely that would be enough to earn his forgiveness.
"He…hehehe…ehehehe! Nathaniel Wilson, my chosen one, you will forgive me, and you will give in to me. It is only a matter of time…." Ahmanet trailed off as she heard an explosion from her left hand side, dust and debris flying everywhere as something, no, rather, someone burst through the left side of the temple, Ahmanet's bandages quickly rewrapping themselves around her as her fight or flight instincts kicked in, looking to her left hand side only to be greeted by a sight she never imagined she would see so soon, that pure blonde hair, those brilliant blue eyes, and the S symbol on her chest rendering the identity of the interloper unmistakable to Ahmanet.
"Kara Zor El, my beloved sister. I did not expect to see you so soon." Ahmanet said with genuine joy and excitement, completely confusing the interloper as this was definitely not the kind of reception she expected.
"You must have me confused with someone else. I am not your sister, nor will I ever be!" Kara said venomously.
"Hehehe! You wouldn't say that if you knew what just happ…oh….I see now, you already know what happened here, that is why you are here. You saw it, all of it. Does this mean you have the all sight of the Supreme Gods? You pervert, did you enjoy the show? hehehe!" Ahmanet laughed diabolically, not the typically crackling laugh of a mad woman but a low tune but sinister laugh nonetheless, a laugh that caused her to find her back smacking against the wall on the far right as Kara, with god like speed, grabbed her by the throat and smashed her hard against the wall, her eyes glowing a menacing red as her heat vision became activated, causing her to look far more deadly and intimidating than one would expect of her.
"Now you listen to me! You are going to keep your smelly corpse away from my man or else….!"
"Or else what? You're going to kill me? I very much doubt that my chosen would appreciate that." Ahmanet taunted.
"He is not your anything! You are nothing but a mere servant to him! You will serve him loyally and faithfully, but you will never touch him again, and he will never be yours, do we understand each other?" Kara said angrily.
"I understand. If I were in your shoes, if he had resurrected me before he ever met you or Empress Diana, I would never have allowed him to take the two of you as his wives. I would have kept him all to myself. However, the situation is different. He and I, we are soul mates in the very literal meaning of the word. Our souls are connected to each other, we have an unbreakable bond to each other, and that, young one, means that we are inevitable. You cannot stop our union no more than he or I can stop it. We will always be drawn to each other." Ahmanet managed to say despite the vice grip that Kara had around her throat.
"N-not if you're dead." Kara said as she finally released the heat vision that she was holding back, right into Ahmanet's eyes and through the back of her head, at least, that's what she tried to do, failing however as Ahmanet teleported herself away, leaving a black wisp of smoke behind (think Night Crawler from Xmen).
"You hesitated…" Ahmanet said from behind Kara, causing Kara to whirl around in surprise, wondering how Ahmanet had gotten behind her so fast.
"That slight bit of hesitation is what allowed me to get away even at such a close distance. You will not get a chance like that again." Ahmanet said, Kara looking at her in morbid awe as she saw that Ahmanet now had eight pupils in total, four in each eye.
"I do not need to be able to teleport to defeat you." Kara said venomously.
"I'm surprised, Kara Zor El. From the memories that my beloved shared with me, I was under the impression that you were not the type to kill an innocent person period, much less out of selfish ambition and jealously. I do not know whether to be disappointed or impressed." Ahmanet said curiously.
"First off, you're not innocent, you're a murderer and a kinslayer, and secondly, you kill babies!"
"You mean I used to kill babies. Its in the past, Kara Zor El. Those are sins for which my beloved has deemed me worthy of his forgiveness…"
"And finally, you're already dead. I'm just making sure you stay that way." Kara retorted as if Ahmanet didn't even say anything, clearly not listening to anything her rival had to say at this point.
"Semantics, that's all it is. Besides, what would Nathaniel say if you successfully killed me and he found out what you did? Do you think he will ever forgive you for what you did?" Ahmanet asked.
"I'm doing this to protect him from you! Even if he never forgives me and hates me for all eternity, I would be content as long as he was safe from your corruptive influence, I would be able to live with it." Kara retorted with conviction and determination.
"I do not doubt your conviction, but I do not think you have fully reconciled with yourself the amount of emotional pain and regret you would suffer because of your actions, especially when you revise them in hind sight." Ahmanet argued.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kara asked with confusion.
"There will come a time when you will wonder if you could not have taken a different course of action. What if I hadn't killed her, would I still be with Nathaniel? Would we have had a family, little Gods and Goddesses? What would they have been like? What if Ahmanet had really changed her ways, what if she could really change? What if I had helped her instead of killing her? Could we not have all lived together happily ever after? What if I hadn't been so jealous and envious? How different would the future have been for us?" Ahmanet said as if she could actually see the future itself.
"You will ask yourself the same question in many different words and it will drive you crazy. Maybe you will try and go back in time, go back in time and change everything that happened. You will kill whoever you have to kill, hurt whoever you have to hurt, even Nathaniel himself, because after all, it doesn't really matter seeing as you are going to go back in time and fix everything. You will become the villain that you thought you were fighting against, and in the end, you will lose everything. I beg of you, sister, do not go down this road. I have been there, and I have consequently known unimaginable suffering and solitude." Ahmanet said compassionately.
"…."
"I….damn it!" Kara cursed, anger replaced by frustration as she tried to remove the image that Ahmanet painted from her mind, but failing miserably as she realized that what Ahmanet described felt too real for her to discard, and of course, that she absolutely did not want to live in such a horrible reality.
"It is okay sister. I know I have to earn my place. You see, this is what you must understand about my bond with Nathaniel. I don't just love him, I love everything that he loves, and everyone that he loves. When he feels emotional pain, I feel emotional pain, when he is sad it makes me sad, and when he is happy it makes me happy, and whoever makes him happy makes me happy too. So you see, as long as he loves you, and as long as you make him happy, then you have nothing to fear from me." Ahmanet said sincerely.
"…."
"I still think you're creepy." Kara deadpanned, the two powerful women, one a God, and one who might as well have been a God given her abilities, staring unblinkingly into each other's eyes, one with malice in her eyes and one with confusion, as she tried to decide whether the other expected her to feel insulted or what?
"But…..you're alright. I mean, I guess eight thousand years or whatever of solitary confinement is enough time served, even for a baby killer." Kara said with mirth in her tone, although Ahmanet just continued to stare at her with the same facial expression.
"It's a joke, kind of. Did they not have any sense of humor eight thousand years ago?" Kara asked incredulously.
"They did, I just never had the opportunity to enjoy such…trivialities. I was always training, studying, or working. It's what I had to do as the Pharaoh's heir. Nothing less than military and academic excellence was acceptable." Ahmanet explained like she was talking about a day at the park.
"I see…." Kara trailed off, now realizing just what a hectic upbringing Ahmanet had.
'She had no childhood, and she sacrificed everything for her father and her people, only for her to be cast aside like rubbish when her baby brother was born. No wonder she lost it and went mad.' Kara thought sympathetically.
"I'm sorry for judging you. What you did was wrong and will never be right by any yardstick. So, I don't agree, but I do understand. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for all the pain and suffering you endured. I hope that you will be able to start afresh, with us, with Nathaniel, The Hive, and The Kitsune Alliance. What do you say, a fresh start?" Kara asked as she extended her right hand for a hand shake, causing a genuine smile to appear on Ahmanet's facial features as two of the pupils in each eye disappeared, showing that she wasn't as hostile as she was a few seconds ago.
"A fresh start." Ahmanet said as she teleported right in front of Kara, grabbed her hand, and shook it roughly, Kara, to her credit, doing very well not to jump out of her skin in fright, only slightly flinching but otherwise holding herself together.
"Does everything about her have to be so creepy though…' Kara thought with exasperation.
"Oh, I hope you don't think this means you're out of the woods yet. You may have won me over…sort of, but there is no guarantee you will be able to win Diana over. She might not be as merciful as I am…" Kara trailed off eith a diabolical smirk.
"You would tell on your own sister like that? Shame on you, Kara Zor El." Ahmanent retorted.
"W-what? First off I'm not your sis…wait a minute, do you just express humor just now? I thought you said you didn't know anything about humor!" Kara stuttered, surprised by the playful and mischievous smirk on Ahmanet's facial features.
"I said no such thing, only that I never had time for it. I do now." Ahmanet replied humorously, Kara rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"Do not worry my child…"
"I'm not your child!" Kara snapped irritably, though if Ahmanet cared at all, she certainly did not show it as she simply continued as if nothing happened.
"Empress Diana will come around. When the time comes, we'll hash things out, Goddess to Goddess." Ahmanet replied.
"Sure, if she doesn't kill you first. Anyway, I have to go. Some of us actually have jobs and haven't been sarcophagus potatoes for thousands of years." Kara said as she levitated herself, getting ready to fly back to National City.
"A sarcophagus potato?" Ahmanet asked, confused.
"You know, like a couch potato, except with a sarcophagus." Kara retorted.
"…"
"You know what, whatever! Figure it out yourself!" Kara said as she flew away at the speed of sound, a sonic boom echoing in her wake as she jetting off in the direction of her home city, flying through the hole she made on the side of the temple.
Meanwhile: Naruto's Penthouse
"Hey handsome! You won't believe what I have to tel…" Diana trailed off in surprise, and confusion as Naruto jumped away from her in a fright, the fright itself a major surprise to her because the Nathaniel she knew simply did not frighten, like at all.
However, even more surprising, and suspicious, was the fact that he was completely naked, as naked as the day he was born, for seemingly no reason at all. Of course, that didn't last very long because he at least, despite his fright, had the presence of mind to summon his clothing, although apparently not enough presence of mind to summon his business suit instead of his Kitsune Combat armor, as he never actually wore the armor what he was at home.
"What's going on?" Diana asked suspiciously, not waiting for a response however as, just as Naruto was opening his mouth, she was gone, disappearing in a burst of speed as she searched the entire Penthouse in less than a second before returning to her original position.
"What's going on?" She asked again, satisfied that there wasn't another woman in the Penthouse but still finding the whole scenario, coupled with the reaction of her fiancé, to be much to suspicious to ignore.
"I uh….Diana I…..I'm sorry. I have betrayed you. I have betrayed everything I stand for, and just as importantly, everything we stand for. I have been unfaithful to you." Naruto said with pain and regret, clenching his fists tightly as he looked down at the floor in shame and anguish.
"…."
The silence was deafening, but Naruto didn't try to erase it or disrupt it. As far as he was concerned, he deserved whatever Diana decided to do, whether that be to give him the silent treatment, beat the crap out of him, scream obscenities at his face, or break up their engagement completely. This was all his fault and he was going to take full responsibility for it.
"Show me." Diana said with a deceptively calm tone, fury and rage bubbling at the surface of it, unnoticeable to the inexperienced ear but not to Naruto, who felt like Diana might as well have had his neck at the edge of her sword right now, such was the intensity of the rage and killing intent that he felt from her.
"Diana, my love, I…."
"Show me what happened….now." Diana said again, steel in her tone, steel much sharper than before as it was both audible and visible to Naruto that her patience was evaporating very fast.
To Naruto's credit, he didn't immediately crumble under pressure and surrender to her demands as he actually critically and analytically weighed a number of scenarios. His high intellectual and emotional intelligence resulted in him immediately throwing away the idea of somehow talking his way out of this. That was just not going to happen. Hell, he doubted it would happen even if he used genjutsu on her.
He could probably run away. That would be easy, plus she wouldn't expect it. Even if she did expect it, he could teleport away if need be. But what then? Run away and do what afterwards? No, that was stupid, and not to mention cowardly. Diana would lose what little respect she still had for him.
No, he needed to face this head on. Get down to the gritty and painful parts of it all. He needed to ride it out like a man…like a God, no matter the outcome. He wasn't happy about reliving probably the weakest moment of his life, much less sharing that moment with anyone, especially his beloved, but if he had even the smallest of chances of fixing things between them, then this was the only path that he could follow.
With that said, Naruto hit her with a psychic blast, sharing all of his memories of the events with her. From the moment he learned about Ahmanet, his research about her, his decision to free her, and the unexpected consequences of freeing her, the result being a romantic soul connection with the 8000 year old mummy.
Diana, of course, got to see and experience everything, the kissing, the foreplay, the raw, primal lust and, dare she call it, love, between Nathaniel and his new soul mate. To say she was livid was an understatement. She knew Naruto didn't plan for that part, to be bound to that succubus! But how could he have been so stupid? Did he not realize that soul bindings affect even Gods?
Gods, she wanted nothing more than to hunt down the witch and snap her neck! Not only to avenge herself but also because killing her is literally the only way to break the soul binding. However, Diana knew that she was better than that. If Ahmanet preyed on the innocent again, Diana would not hesitate to kill her, but killing her for her own gratification was not right, and what would that even say about her? No, Diana would not stoop that low, she would not degrade herself like that.
Still, the question remained, what was she going to do about this? She'd already convinced…begged her mother to give Nathaniel and her a chance, begged the Amazons to accept their union. After much time and effort spent begging and convincing, it would be so embarrassing to now have to tell them that they were not getting married anymore, because Nathaniel was not the man she thought he was.
There was of course a more important reason for not canceling, which was because Diana herself didn't want to cancel. She was hurt, disappointed, and the rage inside of her was as hot and fiery as the pits of the underworld, but she still very much loved Nathaniel and wanted to spend the rest of eternity by his side, as his Empress.
Despite her rage, she knew he didn't mean to betray her, in fact, she was proud of the fact that he was even able to resist that succubus given what she knew about soul bindings. The fact that Nathaniel was able to escape her clutches like that spoke volumes of his mental fortitude, not to mention his honor and integrity as a man. The fact he didn't lie to her about what happened and immediately confessed to her spoke even louder.
So, while hurt and heart broken, ironically, Diana couldn't help but to gain a greater respect and love for Nathaniel. His commitment to her, and his commitment to his ideals, morals, and principles made him even more desirable and respectable to her. It made him even more beautiful in her eyes, and most importantly, it made her love him even more.
She didn't quite know what to do about Ahmanet yet, but she knew one thing, Naruto's heart belonged to her, unquestionably. If anything, this whole ordeal only served to reaffirm to her and hammer that fact into both her mind and her heart. Yes, this event, tragic and painful as it is, has only strengthened the love between them. No one is taking her Nathaniel away from her, ever.