As the screams persisted, glimpses of a humanoid form appeared,
With legs flailing as they gasped for air, Leo sprang towards the person cradling them in his arms, falling to the ground. The stranger was clearly frightened but soon eased himself.. The human was a much older man than both Ben and Leo, with wrinkles, facial hair and tougher skin, that showed the many scars he had gotten throughout his life. His hair was coily, swept to one side in a pony tail. The man had prominent eyeliner with smokey black on his eyelids; although, his eyes spoke of tiredness, fatigue and strain.
On the ground, the stranger recollected himself by leaning over and placing his hands on his knees.
"Today might be the most strangest for me yet."
Said the stranger while panting heavily, he then looked up towards the duo.
"I imagine that both of you have the identical inquiries that I do?"
Leo nodded his head.
"I'm the only one that's part of this world. Both you and Ben are from another universe I think?"
The stranger furrowed his eyebrows.
"Different universe?! Now that is unheard of. "
As the stranger finished his sentence, a deep rumble had been heard in the distance.
"I assume you can't fly, so I will carry you. We can introduce each other where it's safe instead.", Leo interjected.
Levitating above the man, Leo linked his arms with the stranger. The stranger wiggled his legs as he was being lifted off the ground. Ben morphed into a bandage, wrapping around Leo's arm tightly. Hyksos took out the hoverboard he had behind his back, opening it and placing it on the floor.
"So where are we going exactly?" , questioned the stranger.
There were huge buildings in the distance that looked like it had three pyramids with a massive wall surrounding it.
"Egyxos. A palace that once belonged to the Earth now here in a desert."
"This Egyxos...must have a king or queen if it is a palace?"
“Yes, two Pharoahs in Egyxon terms. Ra and his son, Kefer.”
Bayek squinted his eyes at this information. He had felt a bit more tense than they had been before with this but nonetheless he patiently waited to arrive to their destination. Finally, they arrived at the front gate of the palace where a person, presumably a guard, on top of the wall squinted their eyes to see them below. Having noticed Leo with them, they decided to jump down and communicate. Their stature exuded that of bravery and confidence. White hair, a large golden shield and a staff with eyebrows furrowed..
"Hello Leo, who are these people with you?"
"Hi Neith, this is Ben-"
While Neith directed their gaze toward Ben, he became his full bandaged form again waving to the brave guard.
"-And this is... Uh I don't think I caught your name." Leo said, glancing to the man.
"My name is Bayek."
Neith confused, looked at Ben and Bayek.
"Where did they come from? They do not look like they are from here."
That's the problem, I don't know how they did." , Leo scratched his neck.
Neith rubbed her chin. Reluctantly, she let them in. She was though trusting of Leo's judgement and believed he would handle things if it all may go array.
Entering the large gates, the strangers gasped in awe. Seeing such familiar yet advanced architecture. Bayek, especially, grazed his hand against one of the walls feeling the textures of the wall. They soon entered a market area which had been bustling with activity that day.
Apparently, there was a special sale going on with many of the stores so Ben decided to do a detour while Leo, Bayek and Hyksos continued to walk through the market within the crowds of people. After quite some time, walking through the stores, Leo noticed that Ben had not talked at all and called for him to no avail, realizing that Ben got lost in the crowd.
"Okay, you and Bayek can go so long to Kefer. I'll catch up!" , Leo directed to Hyksos as he swiftly ran back into the crowd.
Leo frantically searched within the mass for Ben, passing the many vendors screaming at the top of their lungs promoting their products and the many children running around with one even nearly tripping Leo as he walked past. He became more frustrated when he saw Ben talking to a vendor. The person was hidden within a cloak selling fruits, vegs along with the usual that would be sold at the market.
Although, there was something different about this seller.
As Leo approached closer to the market, the cloaked figure gathered a multitude of things and ran away. Ben saw Leo coming to look for him but they both now had a new focus and that was to catch this suspicious runaway vendor.
Meanwhile, by Bayek and Hyksos, they had arrived in one of the pyramids which resided within the large city; Hyksos proclaimed this area was inhabited by the Council of Regents. A group that under Ra’s rule have helped the people of Egyxos for centuries. Guardians so to speak. In the council’s room there were four beings that sat on their assigned thrones with one empty.
The first seat had someone of short stature with a curly large beard. The masculine figure bore a radiant smile, exuding a comforting but excitable aura to everyone around them.
The second seat there sat another figure. A donkey headed man with a golden cape draped onto his side, the cape looked like it had been blessed by the sun itself with its luxurious golden sheen. His glare showed to be menacing and his energy felt much less inviting than the curly bearded man that sat right beside them.
In the third seat, there was a woman with crimson hair bearing a crown of golden feathers, they, like the donkey headed man, furrowed their eyebrows displaying a divine yet imtimidating demeanour.
In the fourth seat , an older woman with grey hair sat. They smiled gently towards Hyksos and Bayek with her arms placed upon her lap. Her posture relaxed, eyes lidded.
The donkey headed man wrinkled his nose at the new person who walked alongside Hyksos; the other guest though had not been present, specifically what he and his fellow council members had been told of.
“Where is the second one?”
“Leo went to fetch him as he had gotten lost in the flea market.” , Hyksos bowed.
As the two conversed, another figure gracefully walked through the main open door.
“Seth, don’t be so glum, I am sure Leo will bring the other guest soon. I trust him to be honest with me.” Interjected the new individual.
Seth scoffed, looking away.
“Nice to meet you.I apologize if some here have imtimidated you but do not worry, they all have kindness in their hearts.I am Kefer, the son of Ra ,who is the respected Pharoah of this wonderful kingdom. Unfortunately as of now, he has gone missing."
Bayek nodded.
“Pleasant to meet you, I am Bayek. If you may need help with finding your father, I do not mind to give such aid.”
The older woman tilted her head with arms still placed on her lap. She sensed within Bayek something unusual. Nothing of alarm but, something hidden deep with him that spoke of a broken heart. A man with deep anguish buried underneath. The medjay had noticed her inquistive stare yet, he ignored, fidgeting with his fingers.
All of a sudden, the sound of running echoed in the halls. Everyone in the room turned their head to look towards the sound, seeing Leo and Ben out of breath.
“It seems our other guest has finally arrived. From what I see, you two ran into quite a bit of trouble.” , Kefer raised his arms in greeting.
“There was a stranger in a hood that ran away, we think they may have been selling something illegal in Egyxos.”
“We tried to stop them but they vanished into thin air”, Ben chimed in.
”Literally”
The older man crossed his arms, holding his chin.
“I see, we would have to investigate this. I will send guards to find this mysterious person, for now though, speak with the other council members.”
He left the room, leaving Hyksos, Ben, Leo, Bayek and the other four council members to discuss with one another.
“How did you two get here?”, The lady with maroon hair commanded, focusing on Ben and Bayek.
“Well I fell into some type of strange portal, all I know is that the portal emerged from some type of Orb that a bad guy I was chasing had.” Ben could not keep eye contact with the stern woman.
“I found mysteries crystals within the desert, a location I stumbled upon randomly. It gave me a painful headache to where I lost my consciousness. In the moments after, I saw myself being plunged towards the earth.” Bayek stated.
The woman squinted her eyes towards the two. She took a quick breath in before her shoulders lowered.
“I am Ma’at, one of the council members of Egyxos. If that was not obvious enough.”
She continued to analyze Bayek and Ben from the distance they had between them.
“I am unsure if you both have come here with ill intention”
She walked closer to them both and with her staff raised higher, she hit it against the floor.
“But you will see what happens to unfaithful people within this kingdom. I will not tolerate it.”
While Ben and Leo gulped, Bayek stayed put in his stance.
The other older woman stood up from her seat, to ease the tension in the room.
“Do not take it to heart, dear strangers, Ma’at only wishes to protect.” hands clasped together the older woman smiled, “I am Iside, it is so lovely to meet you both.”
The shorter man stood up from his throne and walked with a skip in his step towards the strangers.
“My name is Bes! I am one of the council members of Egyxos alongside, Iside, Ma’at, Seth and kefer!” He offered his hands to Bayek and Ben to shake.
“It can sometimes get a bit intense here but no worries, I practically am the one people here trust to get a good laugh!”
Bayek and Ben shook hands with Bes and felt a more comforting aura around the hearty man. The man crossed his arms with a wide prideful grin.
Some time had past where the council members, Hyksos and the two strangers discussed about to each other more about themselves. Learning about their different worlds, their advancements, similarities and abilities. Ben explained about his alien contraption that would allow him to become different beings. The older man, Bayek, did not explain much of his life nor what he’d done in his world. Leo and Ben bonded the most, as their powers were similar yet also not.
The discussion between the strangers and the beings of Egyxos came to a halt, when a guard frantically ran through the doorway.
"Kefer calls for your aid Leo! There are strange snakes terrorizing the people of Egyxos!"