The next thing I feel is a heavy splash of cold water upon my face. This nightmare still isn’t over yet?

“Wake up, young one,” said a deep, authoritative voice I haven’t heard before. I groan in response. Looking up, I see another one of the Egyptian god plushies standing on me, with a now empty water bottle. This one was Anubis. I could tell from his jackal head’s facial expression that he wanted my attention. Which plushie didn’t at this point?

I decide to entertain his request. “At least you don’t call me a mere human, unlike Ra. But please tell me you’re not allied with him?”

“The proof that I am not allied with the rogue Ra plushie is in your bindings. Or lack thereof. Try to sit up.” He said this as he hopped off my body and onto an empty space on my bed.

Indeed, I do try to sit up, seeing as I was previously unable to. But the resistance I expected was gone. This time I was able to sit up easily, the covers falling off of me as I lifted my torso upright.

“You untied me?” I questioned the alive Anubis plushie.

“Yes. Well, not all of you, not yet. Bastet and Sobek at the foot of your bed are undoing the last of your bindings.” Anubis pointed towards the foot of my bed, where, indeed, a cat-woman plushie and her crocodile-headed companion were busy using a pair of scissors like a lumberjack saw to cut the remaining ties on my bed. They both looked up and waved.

I offer them some advice. “You know, if you close the scissors on one end you’ll get through those a lot sooner.”

They stare at me, then look at each other, then to the scissors they were holding. Each grabbed a handle end and then moved towards each other and reacted with astonishment as the last of the ties were easily cut away.

“OMG, thank you so much for that, kid,” chimed Bastet, the cat-headed goddess/plushie.

“I would’ve used my jaws,” lamented Sobek, the crocodile-headed one, “but my teeth don’t work like they should as a...what do you call this body? A plushie?”

“Yes,” I replied. “But,” redirecting my attention back towards Anubis, “if you’re not with Ra...do you know how I can stop him? How did Ra and the rest of you come to life anyway?”

“It had to do with the solar eclipse that occurred earlier today, young one,” began Anubis. “Traditionally, during solar eclipses, when Khonsu the moon moves in front of the sun, Ra goes...a little crazy,” Anubis sighed.

“Uh...there have been plenty of solar eclipses before. And Ra goes crazy after each one?” I questioned.

“Sadly, yes,” replied Anubis. “The only reason you haven’t heard about anything related to this until now, is because after each eclipse, us other Netjer — that’s the term we use to describe ourselves — have successfully been able to rein in Ra and calm him down. Then he goes about his business once again.”

“Yeah, our success rate is perfect because we know what to do each time,” said Sobek in his gravelly masculine voice. “However, this time we need your help, kiddo.”

I looked between the three of them, flabbergasted. “How am I supposed to help with this? Before now, I thought you guys were a myth, and then all of a sudden I’m tied up by living plushies!”

“It’s simple, really,” replied Anubis in that calm, Morgan Freeman-style voice of his. “All we needed to do in the past was get Ra to watch the inevitable sunrise. That always calms him down. It’s no different this time, except right now, since he’s a mobile plushie, we need to somehow hold him down long enough for him to witness the sunrise.”

“And how do we do that?” I questioned.

“That’s pretty straightforward,” replied Anubis. “We literally have to hold him down, make sure he faces the sunrise, and—“

“I get that,” I interrupted. “But do we have a plan? How are we going to find him, let alone hold him down until sunrise, and have him face it? Not to mention deal with all the backup he has in the form of other plushies?”

Anubis paused for a moment. “I don’t know.”

“Well, that’s just grand,” I replied sarcastically.

“Hey, I’m hungry, kiddo,” said Sobek. “Do you have any marshmallows?”

I stared at Sobek, astonished. “How could you be thinking of eating at a time like this? And also… why marshmallows?”

“Oh, don’t you know, kiddo? Ancient Egyptians used to offer marshmallows to the gods. They’re actually the ones who invented marshmallows!” Sobek declared proudly.

At that, I felt like a light bulb went off inside my head. “Wait a minute,” I asked them, and they hushed in response. “Sobek… does Ra like marshmallows?”

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t, kiddo. Why do you—“ Sobek attempted to continue, but Bastet raised a hand to cut him off.

“I think I’m picking up what the kid’s putting down,” elaborated Bastet. “You want to lure Ra with marshmallows, right, kid?”

“Yeah, exactly,” I responded. “We’ll need to get to my kitchen. Do you guys know if the kitchen is safe?”

“I had to sneak in there to get this water bottle, as it’s being patrolled,” said Anubis. “But that said, the three of us can do some sort of distraction while you get your marshmallows.”

“Hey, what’d I say about volunteering me without my permission?” Sobek retorted.

“Would you rather we let Ra slip through our grasp and possibly have him be lost forever?” Anubis admonished Sobek. Sobek sighed in response and then nodded.

“It is settled then,” Anubis confirmed. “Let us go to the kitchen and grab ourselves a snack.”

“And don’t forget to save some for me!” Sobek added.