Chapter 188: Ritual Site Complete

"Has the construction finished, Magneto?" Asked Storm as she floated close to the ceiling and looked down beneath her before glancing at Magneto, who lowered his hands and nodded.

"Yes, the construction of the transferring ritual site has been completed; I've modeled it after the old one that was destroyed. It needs to be decorated, though I doubt he currently cares about such things." Replied Magento lightly as he looked down at the room and floated towards Storm.

Looking at the ground beneath me, there were two large metal tables, with one being slightly higher than the other, along with numerous small veins connecting the two; it was far from being a place worthy of our God, but that'll, unfortunately, have to wait. Now that the transferring ritual can be completed, there was nothing stopping us from capturing the host of the Phoenix Force and allowing our God to be birthed anew.

Just as I was about to open my mouth, Magento and I suddenly looked at each other, both of us sensing our God's summoning us. Without any words, we quickly lowered ourselves and flew out of the room through the only passageway before exiting the large metal pyramid Magneto had constructed under our God's orders. Flying towards the top of the pyramid, we landed on the ground and quickly entered through the large archway, leading deeper inside to where he was sitting on his throne, along with two other people present.

Once we got close, we stopped and got onto one knee while lowering our heads, patiently waiting for our God to grace us with his divine voice.

"Is it complete?" Asked Apocalypse as he rested his cheek on his hand while glancing at Magento.

"Yes; it's just been completed and ready for use whenever you desire." Replied Magneto with a nod while keeping his head lowered, his words causing Apocalypse to nod.

"Good. With the transferring ritual site now complete, the capturing of the host of the Phoenix Force is next." Stated Apocalypse softly as he raised his head and looked at the ceiling, only to raise his hand before clutching it, crushing the fighter jet that had been flying towards them from a distance and causing it to explode.

"Shall we go and capture her right now?" Asked the woman to the right of Storm with a fanatical look in her eyes as she boldly raised her head and gazed at Apocalypse, who glanced at her before shaking her head.

"No. They'll come on their own accord." Said Apocalypse lightly as he dismissively waved his hand at the woman, causing her to nod before lowering her head once more.

Just when I assumed the meeting would be over and our God would dismiss us, I suddenly felt my heart constrict in pain, causing me to clutch my chest while collapsing onto the ground.

"As for you two. Fail me once again, and your life will be forsaken." Stated Apocalypse coldly as he glared at Magenot and Storm, who were both clutching their chest, writhing about on the ground in pain while the other woman watched in amusement.

Feeling my vision turns blurry, and my mind slow down, the pain in my heart suddenly disappears, causing me to take a big breath of air before nearly coughing, though I barely managed to hold them back. Quickly fighting through the uncomfortable feeling, I returned to my knees, lowered my head, and nodded.

"I-it will not happen again." Stated Storm solemnly as she angrily clenched her fists while lightning sparks traveled through her eyes.

"We won't." Said Magneto in a deep voice of anger.

Our God didn't respond but merely grunted before dismissing us, prompting us to all stand up and quickly leave; only when we reached the outside of his throne room did I finally dare to cough.

"Just know, but if you hold back while facing against your former friends, I'll kill you myself, Storm." Stated the woman aggressively as she unsheathed her katana and pointed it at Storm, who glared at her while raising her hand, causing the wind to pick up speed.

"It will not happen, though I'd like to see you try, Psylocke." Remarked Storm with a frown as she eyed Psylocke, numerous dark clouds circling from above while lightning arced between them, eagerly waiting to strike down upon the earth.

"Enough, you two; fighting before our God's home is utterly disrespectful. If you wish to fight, do it far away." Said Magneto with a frown as he raised his hand towards both Stom and Psylock, stopping their movements before tossing them off the pyramid.

Clicking my tongue, I caught myself and floated in the air while eyeing Magento before turning and glancing at Psylocke, who was standing on a psionic construct she had made in the middle of the air. Grumbling under my breath, I looked away and flew towards my room; it was best to mentally prepare for the battle that was to come. I cared for my former friends, but if they dared to go against our God, I'd be forced to kill them, and I must ensure I don't hesitate.

'No one will stop our God's reign.' Thought Storm sternly as she looked up at the night sky.

___

___

It was the following day; Jean and I had already returned to the X-mansion, and currently, I was sitting on the roof of the mansion while waiting for the X-men to finish getting dressed. Jean wasn't going to attend the fight, which was understandable; after all, not only did Apocalypse want her, but she still couldn't control her powers.

'Which kind of sucks since her Phoenix Force is quite strong; I'm positive it would burn the fuck out of that blue man.' Thought Tut lightly as he leaned back and looked at the morning sky.

Last night, Jean and I had told Mom everything that was happening, and she wasn't exactly pleased when she learned of that, especially since, unlike the trio I fought against before, Apocalypse was capable of harming me. However, unlike before, she didn't try to persuade me not to go; in fact, she actually ended up encouraging me; whether it was concerning Jean's safety or not, I'm happy she didn't try to persuade me; after all, it wouldn't have worked.

'Haa, speaking of Mom, I should tell Sara; I know she's angry, but this concerns her Sister and boyfriend.' Thought Tut with a sigh as he stood up and vanished, only for his figure to reappear a few seconds later with a phone in hand.

Dialing Sara's number, I waited for a few seconds, half expecting her not to pick up, though she actually picked the phone up and responded.

"Tut." Said Sara lightly, and although it was hard to perceive, her voice showed signs of pain.

Haring Sara's voice, I was a little frozen since I didn't know what to say or how to start the conversation; it felt awkward between us.

"Tut, if you're not going to say anything, just hang up; it's early in the morning." Stated Sara with a slight frown as she looked at her phone.

"S-Sorry. I-it's about Jean and I…" Said Tut quickly as he started telling Sara everything that had occurred in the past two days, causing her to constantly frown.

"... we're about to leave soon, and I just wanted to tell you now that I had some free time by myself." Remarked Tut lightly as he leaned forward and rubbed his head while waiting for Sara to respond.

"Huh, all that happened? How's Jean?" Questioned Sara softly, causing Tut to sigh with a nod.

"A little stressed, but she's good, though her new powers make her a liability to others, so she's not coming." Said Tut, his words causing Sara to nod as the line went quiet.

"H-How are you, Sara?" Added Tut softly, while it took Sara a few moments to reply.

"I'm fine. What about you, Tut?" Replied Sara lightly, causing Tut to faintly smile while looking at the sky.

"I'm also doing fine, though life has been a little hectic for me lately." Said Tut, his words causing Sara to nod quietly while the line once again went silent for some time.

"I-I love you, Sara."

"Haa, I know you do, Tut; if you didn't, you would've kept quiet about sleeping with Ms. Rand. That's also why I'm not that angry with you because the first thing you did was to tell me the truth." Said Sara with a slightly pained voice as she rolled onto her side and looked at the ceiling.

"However, just because you told me the truth doesn't mean I'm going to so easily forgive you, Tut. You had broken my trust by sleeping with another woman; I understand if I'm not able to satisfy you, but rather than going behind my back, you should've told me. I know you were probably not trying to make me feel like a terrible girlfriend, but we should've communicated with each other; I'm sure we could've made things work." Added Sara in disappointment as she looked at the wall.

"I-I know, and I deeply regret my actions, though I've learned from my mistakes. I'll make sure to talk with you from now on and ensure nothing like this ever happens again. I-I just want us to go back to normal; I know it hasn't been long, but I'm already missing you, Sara." Stated Tut softly with a sigh as he looked at his phone, which had a picture of Sara making a goofy face, causing him to smile softly.

"Haa, w-well talk about his later, Tut. You've got people to defeat and Jean to protect; I don't want to keep you busy. Love you, bye." Remarked Sara as she hung up her phone before stuffing her face into her pillow and sighing.

"I miss you too." Muttered Sara in a muffled voice before she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.