All the Stars - Moon Knight: Marc Spector / Steven Grant

VII

The two explored the inner tomb, solving puzzles together. Xia looked at Steven every time the little gears in his head turned to solve something. She smiled softly at him. Bastet scoffed in her head. "You're making a mistake," she tried to warn, which Xia ignored. Steven turned around and noticed her expression. "What?" He asked, wondering why she was staring. "Do I have something in my teeth?" He questioned, picking at his teeth.

She snickered. "Let's go," she ushered. The two shined their flashlights on the ground, to which they saw a smear of blood. Steven began looking for another way. Xia stayed on the floor as he climbed up onto a little balcony and investigated more.

Suddenly, a mummified creature came out of the passageway, causing Xia to summon her suit. She tried attacking it, but it was much more of a challenge than she suspected. "What the hell is this thing?" She asked, out of breath as it threw her against a wall. Then, it heard Steven where he was, and immediately jumped up. "Steven! Run! I'll find you!" He ran into the hidden passageway, leaving Xia to deal with the creature. She cracked her neck and went at it until it stopped moving.

"Finally," she sighed. She kept her suit on and continued to the nearest passageway. It led her to a set of stone stairs surrounding a deep pit with seemingly no end. "Fuck," she sighed to herself. "Keeps getting better and better."

She managed to slide her way over to a ledge. Thats when she heard Harrow's voice on the opposite end of the pit. "You handled that beautifully," he stated.

She sighed, hoisted herself up, and dusted herself off. "Do me a favor," she started, "and shut the fuck up." She turned away and began to leave when he spoke up again.

"Mon petit chat," he stated, causing Xia to pause in her tracks. She had heard this before, but where? "Sound familiar?" He questioned. She turned to him, awaiting an explanation. "It's what Marc used to call you."

"Marc? He's said no such thing before," she replied.

"Really now?" He continued, "why don't you ask your goddess what she thinks of the phrase."

"Don't listen to him, child. He is deceiving you," Bastet warned.

He spoke up again. "You've never questioned the gaps in your memory? Why do you think that happened? Who do you think did that to you?"

"No one did that to me," she replied.

"You think so? Ask your goddess to tell you about her history with Khonshu," Harrow suggested. Xia looked up at Bastet, who stayed silent. Xia sensed a hint of guilt. "Let me tell you a little story," Harrow sat down. "When I was younger, Khonshu came to me. I thought he was my savior. I did everything for him. Until I met her. My wife. She was Bastet's former avatar." He paused for a moment and reminisced. "And I got her killed because I listened to Khonshu." Xia's eyes widened and she felt a sense of pity towards Harrow. "Khonshu is a curse towards Bastet and her avatars," He stated. "My advice to you, Xia, is to run. Run from Marc and Steven. Run from Khonshu, and listen when Bastet says to stay away."

"What are you saying?" Xia asked him.

"Isn't it obvious?" He replied. "Wake up!"

The realization hit her like a bullet shooting right through her. "I knew Marc, before. Didn't I?" She looked up at Bastet. "I knew him! And you took away my memory, didn't you?"

Bastet sighed. "I was trying to protect you," Bastet started.

"You have no right! Give it back! Give it back goddamn it!" She demanded. "Does he know? Does Marc remember me? Was he in on this?" Bastet did not respond, which implied the answer. "He let this happen? Give it back! Give it back! Give it back!" She yelled frantically.

"I can't," Bastet replied.

"The fuck you mean, you can't?" She asked, frustrated. She turned back to Harrow. "You!" She pointed, "you know something, don't you? How do I get my memories back?" Harrow simply shrugged. "What else don't I know?" She asked Bastet.

"Now is not the time," Bastet replied.

"No, no. Tell me, "she sat down, implying that she wouldn't move until she knew everything.

Bastet sighed. "Khonshu and I were married, years ago. We were in love. Inseparable. Before humankind, Khonshu collected all of the stars, and gave them to me as a gesture of our love. When we were able to have avatars, it was like fate. My avatar and his were drawn together, always falling in love. One day, Khonshu went against the gods. Against me. I didn't agree with his actions, but he followed his heart anyway, which wasn't me this time. He was banished, and I never talked to him again. He betrayed me, he broke my trust. Most of all, he broke our bond. He broke fate.

Since then, the fate of our avatars has been soiled. I tried to keep mine away from his, but they somehow always found a way to each other. My last avatar, fell about a terrible fate during a mission with Khonshu. I blamed myself. I blamed him. I never wanted to see him again. I vowed never to let my avatar make bonds with his ever again.

When I met you, you had already made bonds with a man. Marc. He was not Khonshu's avatar at the time. When I found out about his transition to becoming Khonshu's avatar, I was furious. Why him? I fought with Khonshu and told him to let Marc go. Khonshu refused. So I did what I thought was the next best thing: erasing him from your life.

Marc knew about the plan, and though he was hurt, he agreed to it in order to protect you. He hated Khonshu for this. He hated the fact that he was blindsided and forced to give up something so precious to him: you. I still haven't Khonshu, but I agree with his efforts, which is why I brought you back into Marc's life again. I thought with the missing memories, you'd be okay. I was foolish. You can't escape fate."

Xia stood in silence for a while, staring at the ground. When she looked up, she noticed that Harrow was gone. She didn't know what to feel but betrayal. She stood up, still not saying a word. Eventually, she found Steven standing excitedly at a tomb.

Xia entered the room slowly, to see Steven celebrating. "You alright love?" He asked.

"What were we?" She asked, referring to Marc.

"Sorry, what?" Steven asked, confused.

She approached him. "What were we, Marc? Answer goddamn it!" She yelled, shaking his shoulders.

He inhaled, and she knew that she was now face-to-face with Marc. "Xia," he sighed softly.

"You knew?" she trembled. "You let this happen?"

"Xia, we'll talk about this later, okay? We got to get out of here," he advised, ushering her out.

"No!" She yelled. "No Marc I need to know NOW! You have no idea what it's like to have a piece of your life ripped away with no explanation!"

He sighed softly. "You were my fiancée," he replied. "I loved you. But Bastet told me all these things about fate and I didn't want anything to happen to you, so I agreed. And I regret it, okay? I've regretted it every single day since that day."

"That's why you were so cold and tried to keep me away," Xia sighed. "You had a guilty conscience."

Suddenly, there was a burst through the door, and Harrow's men erupted with guns. Harrow slowly approached Marc, convincing him of his freedom and choices. Marc didn't buy it, and stupidly decided to fight. In an instant, a loud bang filled the room. Xia felt her heart sink as she noticed the bleeding in Marc's abdomen. She ran over to him as he fell.

"Marc!" She called out. "Steven!" She shook his shoulders but received no response. He was limp in her arms, and it became increasingly clear.

Marc Spector and Steven Grant were dead.