Chapter Text
Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty: The Curse of Anubis
Miguel sat in his backyard as he looked up at the night sky with a look of uncertainty and worry etched onto his face. If you'd look closely (maybe even squint) at the moon, you could see him starting to turn a very light shade green. He sighed at the thought of going through whatever was about to happen. Just then, he felt a paw on his shoulder. He looked and saw his ancestor, King Nacho, sitting next to him.
"The time approaches, my boy." He solemnly said.
"I know. I just believe it's already time." He said, his eyes starting to tear up. "And I'm scared."
"I know how you feel." Nacho replied, pulling him into a comforting hug.
As Felicity slept soundly, she was awoken from her slumber when she heard a loud crash outside her house.
"What the?" She groaned with a yawn.
She hated having her sleep disturbed as she stomped to her door and peered outside to see what was all the commotion about.
"It's 11 at night! I'm trying to sleep!" She complained.
Suddenly, she heard one of her neighbors let out a blood-curdling scream. That jolted her awake. Wasting no more time and without thinking, she rushed to the Meanotaur's house to see if he was okay. She barged through the door and saw something that made her blood run cold: her neighbor was sprawled out across the floor with a hole in his chest where his heart was supposed to be, had various stab wounds all over his body, and his eyes were completely white. And judging by the mess, there was a scuffle of some kind. She was so horrified, she couldn't even scream. As she turned run, she caught a glimpse of something running into the darkness.
She would not be able to sleep for the rest of the night.
"And that's was happened." An exhausted Felicity yawned.
"I think I've heard of something like this." Athena commented. "Give me second."
The owl pulled out her phone and did a quick internet search. After scrolling through various documents and articles, she finally found what she was looking for.
"Here we go. The exact same thing happened 10 years ago. Bodies were found with the same mutilations over the course of 3 days." She explained. "And the same thing 10 years before that."
"So, whoever is doing this is doing this in some sort of cycle." Felicity theorized.
"Exactly."
"And it can't be just one person doing this. No one could pull this off by themselves and not have someone get suspicious." Yana added.
"Wow, that's actually a really point." Athena commented, surprised by the yeti's deduction."
"I had a point?" The yeti asked as a fly flew into one ear and out the other.
"Never mind." Miguel sighed.
"Hey, Miguel. You've awfully quiet." Felicity noted.
"I... just have nothing to talk about." He shrugged.
"By the way, did you guys see the decennial Green Moon?" Felicity said.
"I've also noticed these murders happen around this time." Athena chimed. "But yeah, it is pretty cool."
Just then, Miguel's watch beeped.
"I gotta get going. See you girls later!" The chihuahua said as he dashed out of the shop.
"What's got him in a hurry?" Yana wondered.
"Probably a dog thing." Fleicity figured.
"You sure this'll work?" Felicity asked.
"Positive." Athena assured. "If anything weird happens, these security cameras will catch it."
"If you say so. Thanks, Athena. Good night." Felicity thanked as Athena left.
With the surveillance system up and running, the cat decided to get a little shut-eye. She hopped onto her bed and kneaded it before laying down. However, it was difficult to fall asleep, what with the fear of the killer going around town. Her eyes were about to close, when she was alerted by a loud beeping. She perked up immediately and and rushed to her computer to see what was going on. On the live feed, she saw her scout master, Organic Chicken running from the same dark figure she saw last night. She rushed to the window and was just in time to see the being entangle the chicken with with what looked like gauze bandages it summoned from the ground. She was able to get a better look, but all she could make out clearly were its glowing green eyes.
Organic tried to cry out for help, but the figure raised an ornate, gilded dagger before plunging it into his chest. It then proceeded to do it repeatedly. While the chicken was barely alive, the figure finished him off by ripping his heart out before gorging itself on it as the chicken's eyes turned completely white. Felicity was terrified. But, she had to be brave. Just as the thing finished the heart, the cat confronted it.
"Hey you! Who do you think you are?!" She hissed.
The figure growled before running away. It was at that moment, Yana and Athena ran out.
"Felicity! Did you see that?" Yana cried.
"Yeah! And he's getting away!" Felicity pointed out.
They wasted no more time and chased after the killer. As they did, the creature summoned gauze bandages from the ground which wrapped itself around the owl's legs, rendering her unable to fly. It then shot bolts of green lighting from its hand. Felicity dodged it, but Yana was electrocuted.
"This just in: I'm in a lot of pain!" Yana said in a dazed state before passing out.
"RAINBOW BUTTERFLY UNICORN KITTY! RAINBOW POWER!" Felicity cried out as she transformed into a rainbow.
She then lassoed the thing, tying it up and tripping it.
"Now, let's see who you really are." Felicity said, pulling the struggling mass towards her.
To her shock, she saw clearly who it was: Miguel! His mouth, chest, paws and the blade he was holding were stained with blood and the glow was fading from his eyes with each blink. He gave Felicity a guilty look.
"Miguel... why?" She asked. "Why would you do this?"
The blue dog whined in shame.
"It's hard to explain." He said. "To start off, you know the Green Moon?"
"Yeah."
"Well, to me and others in my family line, that's the Anubis Moon and it all has to do with me. You see, everyone in my family line is descended from Anubis, the God of Death. And because of that, we're also afflicted with the Anubian Curse. It enhances the powers of every bearer, but it come a cost. When we come of age, we must collect three souls over the coarse of three days and must do it again every ten years during the Anubis Moon. Otherwise, we will kill indiscriminately and the curse will eventually destroy us." He explained.
Felicity couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her best friend killing because of a family curse. Just then, Athena came up to them, dragging the still unconscious yeti with her.
"You're kidding, right? Tell us this is a joke." Athena gulped.
"Yeah, is it?" Felicity pressed on.
"I'm afraid it's all true." A voice said.
A second later, King Nacho emerged from the shadows with a solemn look on his face.
"What's the Nacho King doing here?" Felicity asked.
"It's King Nacho." The Anubis ruler corrected. "And the curse very real. Let us show you."
Both dogs removed the cuffs they wore and showed them the marks on both their wrists. Te marks consisted of a jackal skull wearing an Egyptian crown in front of two scythes and a triangle. They were shocked to see the marks.
"W-w-well..." Felicity stammered. "Is there any way to get rid of his curse or at least control it?"
"Indeed there is." Another voice chimed in.
In the same manner as Nacho, a certain magenta cat in a fine blue coat appeared before them.
"Lady Catterly? What are you doing here?" Miguel asked.
"I occasionally like to take late night strolls." The aristocratic feline answered. "And there is indeed a way to lighten Miguel's curse. You see, when I learned of Nacho's curse, I offered to help him in anyway I could, despite his initial protest. Long story short, he and I, with the help of one of his high priests, performed a ritual so that we share the curse. All the perks, but with a lessened cost."
As she finished, she rolled up her sleeves and showed the same symbol on her wrists. She then snapped her fingers, causing a green flame to engulf her palm, putting Felicity, Athena and Yana in awe. Before anyone could say anything else, Nacho spoke up.
"However, it's extremely dangerous and painful." He interjected. "For one, if the slightest mistake is made during the ritual, one of five things will happen: a slow and and agonizing death for all the participants, a swift death, it won't work at all, the curse will become much worse, or the curse will transfer. And even if you do it correctly, the sacrifices will will have to lose 10 years of their own lifespans and will still have to kill every 25 years or so."
They all gulped at the thought of it.
"You heard him. Are you even willing to take this risk, even if it means we still have to kill and I'll probably outlive you?" Miguel asked.
As soon as he finished the question, Felicity tightly wrapped her arms around her best friend. He could even feel tears dripping onto his shoulder.
"I don't care. We promised that we'd have each other's backs no matter what, even if it means sharing your curse and dying sooner." She sobbed.
"Count me in." Athena said, joining the hug.
"Me too!" Yana said, hugging them all.
Miguel couldn't believe it as he started tearing up himself.
"You guys are the best." He said with a smile.
"It's settled then." Catterly confirmed.
"Right and the more sacrifices, the better. Tomorrow night will be the night we'll be able to perform the ritual. But be warned; it's also when the curse is at its most powerful, therefore most dangerous." Nacho warned.
The next night was the night. Felicity stared at the moon in morbid anticipation. This will be the night she'd help Miguel with his curse. She was nervous, terrified, and dreading the ritual, but she had to be brave for him. Just then, Yana and Athena came in.
"Hey Felicity! We're ready to go." Yana said.
"We just have to get Miguel." Athena asked.
Suddenly, they heard a loud crash coming from Miguel's house. Not wasting a second, the girls raced to the door, only to find the inside totally trashed, and I don't typically. Among the broken items was a ripped up cage with a broken chain attached to its floor.
"What happened here?" Athena wondered, examining the cage and chain.
Miguel! Where are you, buddy?" Yana called.
"You don't think he was trying to restrain himself, do you?" Felicity gulped.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut and revealed Miguel, standing there and clutching his dagger. The girls screamed and scattered to try and evade him. Unfortunately, Athena was caught and held up by her throat. She braced herself as he raised his blade high and attempted to stab her when she was saved by Yana who engulfed him in a bear hug.
"Sorry, Miguel." She said.
She regretted her decision when he bit down on her hand, causing her to scream in pain and let him go. Before he could attack, Miguel was blasted back into a wall by Felicity in unicorn form before she shifted back. Suddenly, Miguel lunged out of the dust and pinned her to the ground. He attempted to plunge his dagger into her chest, when she caught his hand, but she struggled as the blade inched closer to her skin. She had no other choice.
"Forgive me." She strained.
With that, she slashed him across the face with her claws, splattering a bit of blood on her herself as he reeled back and hissed in pain. It was, however, able to snap him out of it, prompting her to apologize profusely.
"That's gonna leave a mark." Athena remarked.
"You think?!" Miguel barked as Felicity bandaged the slash marks. "Let's just go."
As they went outside, King Nacho appeared from the shadows.
"Okay, what is up with you tonight?" Felicity asked, getting slightly annoyed.
"I'll explain later. We haven't got much time, we need to go now." Nacho said as he pulled out his staff.
With that, he slammed it onto the ground and they were instantly transported to a large open-air temple with torches on the pillars, three large Anubis statue, an ornate altar with a chalice in the middle of them, a stand with a large book. and a skylight which showed the green moon almost directly above it.
"Where are we?" Felicity asked.
"The place where we will perform the ritual. Come on, there's no time to lose." Nacho said as they rushed to the altar. "We must do this perfectly. Now, get into position."
The four did as instructed, standing around the altar.
"Now we can begin." The Anubis king said. "You see the chalice right there? Miguel, take your dagger and have all of them and yourself spill your blood into it."
"You didn't say anything about cutting!" Felicity cried.
"We don't have time for this! You wanna help Miguel, right? Well, it's too late to turn back now." Nacho asserted.
The cat gulped, but she had to be brave. She stood there as she watched the dog cut his own paw and spill his blood into the chalice before doing the same to the owl and yeti. Soon, it was her turn. Miguel's paw gently grabbed hers as they looked at each other.
"Ready?" He asked as she exhaled and slowly nodded.
Felicity was surprised she didn't feel any pain when he cut her paw. Well, initially. Once her blood was added, she clutched her paw to stop the bleeding. Now the next step was a bit more unpleasant for they had to drink it. Athena went first and took a tiny sip of it, not liking the metallic taste at all, neither did Felicity when she sipped it and turned green in dusgust. Yana, however...
"I taste like strawberries!" She giggled.
Everyone else just looked at her weird before focusing back on the task at hand. Miguel then drank the rest of it. Soon, the moon was directly over the skylight.
"Good, now it's time for my part of the ritual." Nacho said. "I want all of you to face to away from the altar."
"I hope this works." Miguel hoped quietly as Felicity held his paw.
"I hope I get the pronunciation." Nacho gulped
He then closed his eyes and started to chant quietly. He opened his eyes and his chanting increased in volume. It started to get weird when the four started to chant themselves, without thinking about it.
"Now this is weird!" The cat thought.
Suddenly, chains sprung up from the altar's base and tied them to it before forcing them to the floor just as Nacho stopped. Before anyone could say anything else, the Anubis king started to chant something else in the same ancient language. It was at that moment the statues' eyes opened and shot beams of green, yellow and blue magic at them. Shortly after, the four were starting to squirm and then scream in pain as his chanting grew louder and louder.
"LIGHTEN HIS BURDEN! I BEG OF YOU!" Nacho boomed.
The pain worsened with each passing second. It was as if someone branded them with white hot irons all over their bodies. After several minuted of excruciating pain, everything died down. The four friends were left panting and groaning from the ordeal as the chains released them and they fell to the floor. Nacho rushed over to check on them.
"How are you feeling?" He asked them.
"Everything hurts." Yana sobbed.
"Did it... work?" Athena squeaked.
Felicity looked at one wrist and her eyes went wide. She looked at her other and saw they both had the curse's symbol
"Check your wrists." Miguel said.
Yana and Athena did so and also found the symbol on their wrists.
"It worked." Miguel said.
Felicity, without hesitation, hugged him tightly. He responded by returning the hug. Suddenly, they heard Yana screaming and saw her running around hand engulfed in fire.