A Dynasty Christmas
Part 1
Anubis sat up, and rubbed his aching back. Mental note to myself- never fall asleep on the floor again. He yawned and stretched. God, it was cold. You?d think Talpa could make it a little more comfortable in here. But he?s only a floating head, can?t expect him to be too bright, can I? Anubis stood up and walked around the room, stretching his legs. He finally sat down on the floor again, folded his legs underneath him. He debated what to do, but it was not like he had a huge variety of choices. If Talpa doesn?t need me, and the others already have something in mind, then maybe I can go into the mortal world. That would be interesting. Anubis was fascinated by the humans. They were so? different than anything in the Nether World, but definitely more entertaining. Anubis especially enjoyed the gang fights that occasionally broke out in the worse parts of the cities. Wonder what?s going on around this time of year? He wondered. I don?t even know what day it is!
Maybe the others might know? but I doubt it. Anubis?s stomach growled, bringing him out of his thoughts. He clambered to his feet and walked towards the kitchen.
To his surprise, Sekhmet and Dais were already eating. They were fighting over the cereal box that Anubis had brought from his last trip to the mortal world.
"You?ve got more than me!" Sekhmet cried out.
"No way! You?re hogging it all!" Dais accused. Anubis ignored them and opened the refrigerator. What happened to all the food? I made Kale get some not too long ago. Anubis sighed. They eat so much that they should each be paying their own food bills! He thought angrily. Just because I?m the only one with mortal money doesn?t mean they should get to use it all on food. He grabbed a bagel and sat on the stone counter next to the fridge.
"It?s not fair!" Sekhmet whined. "Anubis, make him give it to me!"
"He?s got more than I do!" Dais complained. Anubis stuffed the rest of the bagel into his mouth, and swallowed it.
"Give me a break! Like I would help either one of you?" He slid of the counter and went to see Kale. Dais and Sekhmet looked at each other and shrugged. Then Sekhmet started whining again and the argument resumed.
* * *
Kale?s room was pitch-black, but then again, it always was. Anubis squinted, but couldn?t see anything. But Kale?s heavy snoring told him the Warlord of Darkness was still asleep. That was good, this way there would be one less person annoying him. Anubis was about to return to his own room when there was a rumbling through the castle.
"Warlords, I command you, come to the throne room!" Talpa?s voice rang through the castle. Great, Anubis cursed silently. He?s going to find some job for me! Guess I?ll have to postpone my trip to the mortal world for another day. Anubis teleported himself into the throne room. Talpa?s head hovered and wavered in front of him.
"Where are the others, Anubis?" Talpa demanded.
"Uh? well, Kale?s still sleeping?" Anubis answered.
"Stupid fool! And the others?" Talpa asked. Suddenly, Sekhmet and Dais appeared, Sekhmet with a bowl of cereal and Dais with a glass of orange juice. The room is silent except for Sekhmet crunching away at his cereal.
"Don?t you put milk in that?" Dais asked curiously.
"No, it gets all soggy. Next time I go shopping, I?ll get a better kind." Sekhmet answered with his mouth full. Talpa growled in rage.
"SEKHMET! DAIS!" Sekhmet dropped the spoon with a clatter and Dais spilled the orange juice all over himself. They stood at attention, afraid to even breathe. Anubis laughed inwardly. If Talpa has any awful jobs to do, they?ll get it instead of me. He tried to suppress the grin on his face, but failed. Talpa?s voice rumbled as he continued.
"I am reconsidering the original offer I had in mind." He paused to think for a moment. Anubis asked curiously,
"What offer, Master?"
"I was intending to give you a bonus, but I don?t really think you deserve it." Talpa?s eyes were now glowing red.
"Master, I apologize for their childish behavior. Sometimes they forget they are in the presence of such a great fighter as yourself." Anubis bowed low when he spoke. Sekhmet and Dais both shot Anubis a dirty look.
"Apology accepted. Sekhmet, Dais, you can thank Anubis for this. I?m giving you all a week?s vacation, provided you stay within my castle. And, you will be getting extra food rations and some extra cash to spend. After your performance today, I reduced the money and the rations, but be thankful you get any at all." His eyes had now gone back to the normal empty holes they usually were. "Send Kale to me when he awakens. That is all." The three warlords bowed low and teleported themselves back out of the throne room. As soon as they left, Sekhmet grabbed Anubis around the throat.
"You said I was childish?!"
* * *
Anubis pulled on the clothes he had stolen. His sub-armor was now covered and he could blend into the crowds. He stepped out into the street from the alley. He drew in a deep breath. It?s nice to be back in the mortal world. He admitted. Being in Talpa?s castle can get really boring at it?s best. He strolled down the sidewalk. He stopped at a toy store and peered into the window. What?s this? His mind worked quickly trying to solve the puzzle. Hmm?
The window had a modest display. There was a little winter scene, with "snow" on the ground. There were little houses, almost buried in the snow, with blinking lights in a multitude of colors. Anubis was fascinated. He saw a little train chugging around the winter scene on its tiny tracks. His eyes followed the miniature train as it went across a bridge, then through a tunnel. How does that work? There must be something inside it. Anubis was so intrigued by the miniature train that he didn?t hear the bell ring as the store door opened.
"Can I help you, Sir?" A boy no older than fourteen asked.
"Err? no, just admiring your display here."
"Do you like it? I made it myself." The boy?s eyes were wide with happiness at the thought that someone appreciated his work. Anubis was about to say something mean, but instead, he said,
"You did a commendable job." Then he turned away and continued walking down the street. Now why did I do that? That was pretty stupid of me. Anubis suddenly decided to take a right at an intersection. He turned so sharply that he bumped into a big fat man dressed all in red with white hair and a white beard. Anubis turned very red and muttered an apology. But the fat man just laughed and slapped him on the back.
"HO, HO, HO!" The man?s baritone voice thundered. "Merry Christmas!" Anubis gave the fat man a strange look. Merry what? Anubis wondered. Suddenly a little girl walking by shouted out,
"Mommy! Mommy, look! It?s Sant-y Claus!" She pointed. Santa who? Anubis was now thoroughly perplexed, but decided to take this opportunity to leave. As he made his way through the crowds, a thought hit him. What day is it?
He pushed through the thickening crowds to a newsstand. He glanced at the paper. December 23. Wait a minute? isn?t there a holiday on the 24th? Or was it 25th? Ah, I can?t remember. He continued walking down the street, but the smell of peppermint lured him into a candy store. Mmm, the guys won?t mind if I indulge, will they? He thought to himself, grinning slightly. I?ll be nice; I?ll get each of them one. The realization of what he just thought hit him. Why am I being so nice all of a sudden? It?s like some contagious disease I get when I enter the mortal world. He picked out four enormous brightly painted candy canes and bought them. While he was paying, he overheard two girls behind him talking.
"Are you going to the Christmas party tonight?"
"Yea, but I still need to get a few more presents. You?re good friends with Kristin, what would she like?"
Anubis pondered this conversation. So when it?s Christmastime the mortals have parties? And they give each other presents? He looked at the two girls curiously as he walked out of the store. They were so strange. Suddenly Anubis had an idea. With the extra money and the vacation, why don?t WE have a Christmas party! Anubis smiled at the thought. That would give them something to do. Anubis turned into the nearest alley he could find and teleported himself back to the Nether World.
* * *
Sekhmet picked up the remote. Borrrrrrred again. He sighed. A day of vacation hadn?t even passed yet and he had nothing to do. Dais was off sharpening the blades on his weapons, Kale was still sleeping (although Sekhmet noticed it was almost two in the afternoon) and Anubis had disappeared. Wonder where he went. It?s not like he?d be mad at me for almost choking him. We do it all the time. He knows I?m only kidding. Sekhmet dropped the remote on the couch and stood up.
"Hmm? maybe I can wreak some havoc by letting my python loose. That?ll be fun." Sekhmet muttered to himself. "Nah, Dais would only spoil it by sending his spiders after it. Leave it up to him to ruin everything." Sekhmet collapsed back on the couch. He sighed. There had to be something to do besides sitting on a couch waiting for his vacation to be over. Suddenly, Anubis appeared in the room.
"Hey, where were you all afternoon?" Sekhmet asked, while attempting to stifle a yawn.
"Out and about." Anubis answered absentmindedly, still trying to figure everything out that he had seen and heard.
"Hey, nice duds." Sekhmet snickered. "Where?d you buy those?"
"I didn?t. I stole them." Anubis answered, still preoccupied. "Hey, where?s Kale? Don?t tell me he?s still sleeping."
"Ok, I won?t." Sekhmet answered, yawning again. "Whatcha got there?" He asked, pointing at the bag.
"Don?t you have anything better to do than bother me?"
"No, not really." He answered, nonchalantly. Anubis sighed, exasperated.
"Go bug Dais, and leave me alone."
"Now why would I do something like that when I can annoy you without even leaving the room?" Sekhmet wondered aloud.
"STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!" Anubis fumed.
"Why?" Sekhmet couldn?t resist asking. Anubis shouted in frustration and stomped off to his own room. Sekhmet watched Anubis leave and slam the door. There goes this afternoon?s entertainment. Sekhmet sighed and picked up the remote again.
* * *
Anubis was sitting in the center of his room. Suddenly Kale threw open the door and sauntered in. Anubis looked at him after a moment.
"Yes?"
"Something smells." Kale said rather pointedly. Anubis sighed.
"You bothered me for that? Go away."
"No, I?m serious I smell something and it?s definitely not me." But Anubis was no longer paying attention to him. "It smells like food... mmm, like peppermint. Definitely peppermint." Kale confirmed it aloud.
"Like I?m supposed to care? Go away, or do I have to kick you out?" Anubis was getting really annoyed by now. He hated it when they came in and disturbed him. Why couldn?t they just leave him alone? They knew that when the door was closed he was meditating, which meant DO NOT DISTURB. Was that too difficult a concept for them to understand?
"What?s in the bag?" Kale was now asking. "Is that where the smell is coming from?"
"Kale, go away." Anubis had now abandoned any hope of resuming his meditation.
"Tell me what you?ve got in there."
"All right! Will you just shut up now?" But Kale had already walked over and picked up the brown bag. He reached in and pulled out one of the huge candy canes.
"Hey, cool!" Kale turned it over in his hands. "But? what is it?" He turned the brightly painted peppermint over in his hand.
"It?s a?" Anubis tried to remember what it had been called. "? A candy. Yea, and I got it in the mortal world." Kale shouted out,
"COOL! Wait?ll I show Sekhmet what I stole!" Anubis looked at him as he ran out of the room. What a deranged mind he has. Maybe he goes insane in the darkness. Interested in what might happen next, he walked out of his room and down the dark stone hallway. He heard shouting coming from the TV room already, so he stuck his head in.
"Give it back, Dais!" Kale?s voice could be heard above the rest of the scuffle. Dais stood, er, rather hung, from the rafters and was examining the candy cane.
"What is it, Kale? You should at least know what you were stealing." Dais was looking at the red stripes closely with his one good eye.
"It came from the mortal world! How am I supposed to know? Ask HIM!" Kale pointed at Anubis who had quietly entered the room. Sekhmet, who had been watching from the couch, now took this opportunity to snatch the candy cane from Dais.
"Hey!" Dais and Kale shouted in unison. Ignoring the outbursts of the others Sekhmet stuck it in his mouth and crunched down hard on it. But then he made a face, and spit out.
"Yuck! What is this anyway?" Anubis sighed. All three of the warlords were waiting for his explanation of this strange item he had acquired from the mortal world. Anubis walked over the couch and plopped down next to Sekhmet. He pulled out the bag.
"Look," He explained. "There?s this plastic film over it which you have to peel off before you eat it."
"I want one!" Kale cried out, as he grabbed the bag from Anubis. Dais dropped from the rafters to get one too. After a short fistfight, Dais finally got one. He went back up to the rafters to figure out how to peel off this film. The other warlords did the same. Anubis broke a piece off and popped it in his mouth. Then he began to explain what this was all about.
"You see, every year around this time the mortals celebrate something they call Christmas. All the stores are decorated with bright colors and all sorts of strange items. There?s this big fat guy who stands on street corners dressed in red and calls himself Santa Claus." Anubis frowned with concentration. "And this is the weirdest of all: the mortals go to parties and give each other presents!"
"What?!" The warlords cried out. "That?s crazy!" Anubis nodded his head in agreement. They began muttering amongst themselves before Dais suddenly asked,
"So what?s the big deal?"
"Yea, why are we even talking about it?" Kale and Sekhmet turned to Anubis waiting to hear what he was planning.
"Well, I was thinking we should do the same." Anubis answered slowly. "Here," Anubis pulled out several flyers from his pocket. "I found these in some stores that looked interesting. With the money Talpa gave us, we should be able to afford anything in there. I propose we do what the mortals do - buy each other presents."
"Well- doesn?t sound too bad to me," Dais said thoughtfully, as he flipped through a flyer. "But if we bought presents for each other, then that would mean that we?re actually being NICE."
"Mmmnnfffm," Sekhmet protested.
"What?" Kale turned to him and whacked him on the back. Sekhmet?s candy cane flew out of his mouth. With an evil look at Kale, Sekhmet retrieved his candy. "I said, I think it?s a good idea, even if we are being nice." Dais nodded in agreement.
"Yea, I guess being evil all the time gets really boring."
"Nah, it?ll never get boring! I love being evil!" Kale burst out. Everyone looked at him. Then, Sekhmet shrugged.
"Ok, we just won?t buy any presents for you." He winked at Dais.
"But... Aw, come on, guys! That?s not fair!" Kale protested. He looked at all their faces. "All right, all right. I guess it won?t kill me to be nice for a day. But I don?t think Talpa will like this?" But Anubis had a huge grin on his face.
"Don?t be stupid, Kale," He said. "We?re on vacation, we can do whatever we want."
"Oh. Right." Kale stood there, thinking about that.
"Ok." Anubis stood up. "Next order of business is: What do you guys want? I?m going back to the mortal world tomorrow, have everything ready and I?ll go shopping for you."
"Wait a minute," Dais interrupted. "You can?t do ALL the shopping. Then you?ll see what we plan on buying YOU!" Anubis just shook his head and smiled.
"Of course I?m not going to buy the presents you plan on giving me. I?ll just buy all your presents for everyone else." Sekhmet looked very confused.
"What I mean is, I?ll buy all the presents for you, Dais, and Kale, but not me." Anubis patiently explained.
"Ooooooh!" Sekhmet suddenly understood. "I get it. Ok, sure." He grabbed the nearest flyer and began to flip through it. Anubis quietly left the room, but no sooner was he down the hall than he heard Kale and Dais fighting. He shook his head and thought, How am I going to survive vacation?
* * *
Kale knocked on Anubis?s door. Anubis slammed it open.
"What do you want?" He demanded, very ticked off. This was the fifth time someone had interrupted his meditation.
"Uh, here." Kale shoved a list in front of Anubis?s face. "It?s my list." Anubis threw it back at him.
"It?s almost a page long! How do you expect us to buy all that with the little money we have?" Anubis shouted at him. All morning the warlords had been in and out asking questions about their presents.
"Well, I figured that this way you?d have a variety of choices?" Kale stopped, afraid to make Anubis any angrier. Grudgingly, Anubis admitted that Kale had used his brain on that one.
"All right! Give me that." Anubis snatched the paper back from Kale. He looked at it quickly.
"Mmm hmm. You?re all set. I?ll be going in about an hour, just in case you want to make this two pages." Anubis closed the door and set the list on his table. He was about to sit down and resume meditation when there was another knock on the door.
"I swear, if you knock on the door one more time-" Anubis fumed as he threw the door open. Sekhmet stood there with his beady eyes wide open.
"Uh, here. Just came to give you my list." Sekhmet gingerly handed it to Anubis and then made a hasty retreat down the hall. Anubis sighed and put it on top of Kale?s. Anubis gave up on meditating and went to search for his "disguise". He couldn?t remember where he put those stupid clothes! But if he didn?t find them, he?d have a hard time blending in. Hmm? Anubis tried to remember. Maybe they?re under my bed? Anubis crouched and looked. I was right! There they are! Anubis reached out for them, but the dust underneath made him sneeze. Then, as if in reply, there was a loud knock on the door. Anubis?s head shot up, hitting the bottom of the bed.
"Ow!" He pulled out the clothes and stood up. Rubbing the back of his head, he went to the door. Dais stood there with his list.
"Here, Anubis." Dais gave it to him. "The others said you?d be leaving soon, so I thought I should give you this." Anubis took it and put it on the table. "I also came to pick up your list. The guys decided that I should be the one to go shopping for your stuff, and I thought it would help to have a list." Anubis sighed.
"Look, I didn?t have time to draw up a list like you guys did. I was busy. But I?m sure you know me well enough, you can figure something out." With that, Anubis closed the door and pulled on the mortal clothes. Dais stood there for a moment, looking at the door. Then he turned to the TV room to go talk to the Sekhmet and Kale.
"Hey guys." Dais immediately climbed up to the rafters. "Anubis doesn?t have a list."
"So? That?s your problem." Kale said.
"Yea, we?re not the ones going shopping." Sekhmet said. Dais sighed and gently swung side to side thinking. What would Anubis want? Whenever he sees something he likes, he just goes out and buys it, and that?s it. Dais frowned in thought.
"Guys, I?m drawing a blank. If you expect me to buy anything for Anubis, you?ve got to help out."
"Fine," Sekhmet complied. "We?ll help as long as you come down here." Dais landed with a thud.
"Ok, let?s see, there?s gotta be something in one of these things?" Kale said, picking up the first flyer.
* * *
Anubis appeared in a deserted apartment building. He looked around, trying to see where in the city he was. But the windows were all boarded up, and so was the door. He moved to the back of the building. On one window, the boards were half-rotted and decayed. Anubis stuffed the lists and his money into his pockets. He then thrust his fist through the wood, the splinters clattering on the pavement. He stood silently, waiting to see if anyone heard him. When no one came, Anubis simply slid out the window. He was behind a row of houses in a residential area. How did I end up here?! He wondered. It?s a long way to the center of the city. He made his way to the street and began walking. This is gonna take a while. And the stuff on these lists is pretty expensive. I hope I?ll have enough money to cover all this. Suddenly, Anubis saw a bright red jeep fly past him. Sighing, he continued to trudge toward the city.
* * *
"We?re really lucky Mia let us borrow the jeep!" Cye commented thoughtfully. "It?s the only way we can get her present."
"Yea," Kento agreed. "But can we get some food too? I?m starving!" His stomach growled.
"Kento, we just ate before we left!" Cye said.
"I know, but I?m not used to going so long without food! Pleeeeeease, can?t we just stop really quick?" Kento pleaded. But from the driver?s seat, Ryo answered,
"Kento, we all know that a quick stop will last for at least a half an hour. And not only that, but we have to get the presents and go back before five. Remember? Mia has to go to some meeting then." Kento?s stomach only rumbled louder.
"You guyyyyys!" He tried one more time. Ryo and Cye answered at the same time,
"NO!" Kento fell back into the seat. Muttering to himself, he looked out the window, trying to think of anything but food.
"How much longer till we get to the city, Ryo?" Cye asked.
"Not more than five minutes I should think. We?re almost there." Ryo answered. Suddenly Kento cried out.
"What is it?" Cye asked.
"That guy we just went by-" Kento faltered.
"Yea, what about him? He seemed normal to me." Ryo shrugged.
"I thought he was?" Kento shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
"Thought he was??" Cye supplied. Kento blurted out.
"I thought he was Anubis!"