A Dynasty Christmas
Part 2

"I swear! It was Anubis!" Kento spluttered.
Ryo and Cye just laughed.
"Kento, relax! We?d know if the Dynasty was here, wouldn?t we?" Ryo said.
"Yea! Calm down," Cye said. "Besides, what would they be doing here, dressed in normal clothes?" Kento sighed and shook his head.
"You?re probably right. I think my hunger is making me hallucinate. Can?t we pleeeeeeease stop?"
*  *  *
Anubis stopped walking. Finally, he had made it into the city! It had taken him almost fifteen minutes, and that was too long for his taste. He thought about teleporting more than once, but there was an increasing amount of people and he decided not to risk it. As he stood on the street corner, he pulled out a crumpled list. Attempting to flatten it, he squinted, trying to read Sekhmet?s writing. You?d think that after 400 years he?d be able to write! Anubis thought, irritated, turning the paper right side up. Hmm? a CD player, huh? What?s that? And just where am I gonna get one of these things? Anubis stuffed the paper back into his pocket and made his way down the street, looking left and right. Suddenly, he heard music coming from somewhere. He weaved his way through the sidewalk and came to a stop in front of a tiny store. There was a huge sign on the front window that read:
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SALE! 10% OFF ON ALL CDs AND CD PLAYERS!
Anubis looked at Sekhmet?s Christmas list. Yup. That?s what he wants all right. A CD player. Anubis pushed open the door; the bell that was attached rang merrily. It startled Anubis almost into jumping. I?ve got to calm down. The mortals think I?m just another normal person like them. I have to be convincing. Anubis squared his shoulders and walked in. There was music blasting from about twenty different speakers throughout the tiny store. Anubis?s ears pounded as he looked at the store in wonderment. For such a tiny front, it stretched back a long way. From wall to wall there were cases of? things. Little square-shaped cases lined the walls. Anubis looked carefully at them. They were classified strangely as things like "Pop", "Country", and "Rock". Anubis scratched his head. How can a rock be in that tiny case? Suddenly he jumped as a girl walked up to him. She was wearing leather pants along with entirely black makeup, shirt, and knee-high black boots. Anubis shuddered inside. She?s scarier than Talpa! She was chewing something pink and sticky, occasionally blowing a big wad of it into a bubble. Hmm, Anubis thought. I?ll bet Dais would like something like that. He silently made a mental note to find out what it was. She interrupted his thoughts.
"Can I help you?" She leaned on one leg with her hand on her hip. She impatiently snapped her gum, waiting for him to speak.
"Err? yea. I want to know where the CD players are." Anubis shifted uncomfortably. He didn?t like the way she looked; she was creepy. She motioned him to follow her, and he reluctantly did so. Near the back of the store, she pointed to a shelf with really big boxes on it. Anubis waited for her to leave before examining the boxes more carefully. On one it read:
LBT-X34002. 3 CD CHANGER. MEGA BASS.
Hmm, Anubis thought. That must be good. Mega Bass? Umm, as long as it?s on sale, it can?t hurt. Anubis hefted the box off the shelf. How can a hunk of wires weigh so much? Anubis walked over to the desk, with some difficulty, seeing as how he was unable to look directly in front of himself. He dropped the box on the cash register. The man behind it picked up a funny little gadget and zapped this sticker on the box. There was a thin red line that appeared over the sticker and it made a funny beeping noise. Anubis looked at the little gadget. How did he do that? Now the man turned to press some colored buttons on a machine. While his back was turned, Anubis picked up the gadget. There was a trigger on it-but what came out of the thing that made the beeping noise? He turned the opening to his face and pressed the trigger. The blinding red light flashed straight in his eyes. OW! He shrieked silently. His eyes hurt as he carefully placed the gadget back on the desk. The man turned to him and asked for payment. Anubis sighed and handed some money over. The man carefully counted it.
"Uh, excuse me sir, you're twenty dollars short." Anubis handed over another bill. As soon as the man told him to "Have a nice day" Anubis bolted out of the store. That place was very strange! Disturbingly so. He then decided to bring the CD player to the abandoned apartment where he had first entered the mortal world. That's probably the best place to hide it while I finish my 'shopping'. So he carefully slipped into the alley directly behind the store. He prepared to teleport himself to the apartment. Just as he was departing, he thought he noticed someone watching. And that someone seemed familiar?
*  *  *
Dais breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Gods that Anubis didn't see me! He then scratched his head. Hmm, wonder what Anubis was carrying? Well, I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Now? Dais frowned in concentration. Sekhmet wanted to buy him? Dais couldn't remember what it had been called. He snapped his fingers when it came to him.  A VCR! That's what he wanted! So he could watch Gundam Wing, or whatever that stupid show is. Dais smiled to himself, proud that he had remembered.
He stepped out of the alley, looking around. He was wearing a disguise. He was pretty sure the mortals wouldn't respond favorably to long, pale blue-gray hair, or an eye patch. He had cleverly worn sunglasses, and created an illusion for his hair. It was now black. Dais read the sign above the door Anubis had come out of.
ELECTRONIC STUFF
Creative name! Dais sneered. I could've come up with something better than THAT! Dais sauntered in. Well, electronic stuff covers VCRs, so I'm all set! A teenage girl walked up to him, dressed all in black and snapping pink, chewy, sticky stuff. "Can I help you?" HEY COOL! Dais had an urge to ask her what the pink stuff was. Pink's my favorite color! He thought excitedly. And sticky stuff is WAY AWESOME! He could hardly keep himself from shouting out. She stood waiting for him to answer.
"CAN I HELP YOU?" She shouted, thinking he hadn't heard her. He jumped, and gave her a smoldering glare. But she didn't flinch; she just kept chewing.
"Do you have any VCRs?" He asked. The girl nodded and waved him over to a side shelf. He followed hesitantly. She pointed to the shelf and left. Dais looked at the boxes. They all seemed the same to him. He picked up the first one he saw and carried it to the cash register.
*  *  *
Kento sighed. He always got stuck buying Sage's presents. They just want to punish me for asking about the food? there isn't even a fast food place on this block! His unhappy face turned to Electronic Stuff, where he was supposed to buy some meditation music for Sage. As if he hasn't got enough already! Kento rolled his eyes. As he walked in, he heard someone speaking and that voice? it was very familiar. Kento was sure he had heard it before. But where? Kento searched for the face that went along with the voice. It was a man wearing sunglasses with long black hair. Kento's mouth dropped open as it suddenly clicked. That's Dais! I'd stake my life on it! But? what's he doing here? Kento immediately became suspicious. No doubt he's up to something. I'm going to make it my business to find out what! Kento waited until the "Dais" had paid and was about to leave. He stepped in front of the "Dais".
"Excuse me, do I know you?" Kento stood, watching "Dais" carefully.
"No, no you don't." 'Dais' attempted to continue walking, but Kento blocked his way again.
"I recognize your voice, and your face is familiar." Kento persisted. "Dais" frowned and pulled Kento outside. No one was paying much attention to them, so he pulled Kento into the nearest alley. Once safe from the view of everyone, "Dais" took off his sunglasses, revealing an icy blue eye and a patch. The illusion of black hair disappeared and the real Dais came out.
"Kento of the Hardrock? it's difficult to recognize you without your armor." Dais sneered.
"I could say the same for you." Kento growled. "And what are you doing here, anyway? Nothing but trouble, I'll bet." Dais frowned.
"It's none of your business, now is it, Ronin?" It was Kento's turn to frown.
"When a Warlord is sticking his ugly face in one of our cities, l make it my business." Dais put one step forward, preparing to fight.
"It doesn't concern you, so get lost." Dais's eye narrowed as Kento put one step forward.
"I don't even need my sub-armor to beat you into a bloody pulp; so don't tempt me." Kento's eyes narrowed. In a split second, they each had a hand at each other's throats. They would have choked each other to death if Sekhmet hadn't suddenly appeared.
"Hey Dais, hurry-" His eyes slowly took in the two choking each other. "Oh, I guess you're busy, never mind." He slowly backed away as he saw the fire and hatred in both of their eyes. "I better be going now?" He grinned sheepishly and put his hands up, indicating he didn't want to get involved. But before he could leave, Kento suddenly cried out.
"CYE! HEY, CYE!" He began struggling to get out of Dais's grasp. But Dais just closed his hand tighter. "CYYYYE!" The two warlords were confused. Why was he drawing attention to them? Sekhmet wasn't even wearing a disguise! Everyone would know that they weren't people, and then they couldn't go shopping!
Kento cried out once more. Cye, who had just walked by the alley without thinking to look in, stopped and poked his head back to see what was going on. He saw Kento and Dais going at it, with a hand at each other's throats. Cye laughed. They look so ridiculous! He thought to himself. What in the world are they doing? Kento's face was relieved.
"Cye, help me out here!" Kento's face was beginning to turn red, and it was getting harder to breathe. Cye immediately went to help, but Sekhmet suddenly appeared in front of the tiny Ronin. Sekhmet's beady eyes stared down at him, blocking him from helping Kento.
"Cye of the Torrent? it's difficult to recognize you without your armor." Sekhmet sneered.
"I could say the same for you." Cye growled. "And what are you doing here, anyway? Nothing but trouble, I'll bet." Sekhmet frowned.
Kento and Dais looked at each other. Kento asked.
"Is it just me or does this sound vaguely familiar?" Dais shrugged.
"Yea, it does, a little bit." They looked quizzically at the two. They shrugged in unison and went back to choking each other.
"It's none of your business, now is it, Ronin?" Sekhmet was saying. It was Cye's turn to frown.
"When a Warlord is sticking his ugly face in one of our cities, l make it my business." Cye retorted. Sekhmet stepped forward, preparing to fight.
"It doesn't concern you, so get lost." Sekhmet's eyes narrowed as Cye put one step forward.
"Even without my sub-armor I could beat you into a bloody pulp; so don't tempt me." Cye's eyes narrowed. In a split-second they were at each other's throats, trying to choke one another. Kento and Dais were continuing their choking match as well. This might have gone on forever if Ryo hadn't suddenly run by.
"RYO! RYYYYYOOOO!" Cye cried out. As Ryo flew past, he waved his hand.
"Sorry guys, can't stop now, I'm way late! They're gonna kill me!" As soon as he had appeared, he was gone. Cye and Kento looked at each other.
"LATE?!" Then it hit them. "MIA!" Kento shuddered.
"Sorry, guys, we've got to go." Kento tried unsuccessfully to pull out of Dais's grasp. "Mia needs the car later and if we aren't there, she'll have a fit and we're dead!"
"Yea," Cye added. "You know how women are." Sekhmet and Dais looked at each other.
"Oh, we know how women are alright, we've got Lady Kayura!" Dais said. "But I don't think that's a good enough reason to let you go." Sekhmet nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Kale appeared next to Sekhmet. He whacked him on the side of the head, hard.
"Owww!" Sekhmet whined. "What'd ya do that for?" His large, beady eyes were welling up with tears. Kale shouted.
"YOU STILL HAVEN'T TOLD DAIS?!" Sekhmet shrunk back from Kale's hostility. He managed a tiny,
"No." Kale's face turned red.
"You haven't told Dais?! About the candy?" Sekhmet shook his head. Kale started growling.
"Guess I can't rely on HIM anymore." Kale shot Sekhmet an evil look. He turned to Dais. "Well, what Sekhmet was SUPPOSED to tell you was, we want some of the candy that Anubis brought back that other time. So don't forget to get some. And now, since SOMEONE was too STUPID to tell you immediately when they came about that, Anubis will be back in an hour, so GET MOVING!" Kale disappeared before anyone could say anything. Dais and Sekhmet looked at each other, both very frightened.
"Uh, I better get going then." Dais said.
"Yea, me too." Sekhmet laughed nervously. Kento and Cye just stood there, very, very, very confused. Then they remembered Mia, and answered,
"Yea, us too." Sekhmet disappeared and Cye ran off. Dais and Kento were left glaring at each other.
"This isn't over yet, Ronin." Dais dissolved into blackness.
"You're right--I'm looking forward to ripping your head off." Kento shot back. Then he ran off, anxious to catch up to Cye.
*  *  *
"What?" Rowen looked at Cye and Kento warily as they repeated what happened, word for word. "You've got to be kiddin' me."
"I SWEAR that's what happened!" Kento insisted. Cye frowned thoughtfully.
"But then? what would the warlords be doing here?" He asked rhetorically.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Sage shrugged.
"But I've got a guess that makes sense," Rowen snapped his fingers. "They were talking about candy, right?"
"Yea?" Kento murmured. "Food?"
"Well," Sage picked up, beginning to understand what Rowen was saying. "They plan on using the candy to?"
"TAKE OVER THE WORLD!" Ryo suddenly shouted. "BEFORE ANUBIS GETS BACK!" Cye jumped up.
"That's it! They're going to poison all the candy factories-"
"Where they make all that delicious food! -" Kento interrupted.
"And turn all the boys and girls evil-" Sage interrupted.
"AND DO YOU GUYS REALIZE THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE?!" Rowen cried out above the hubbub.
"Of course it does!" Ryo stubbornly insisted. Rowen shook his head and sighed. Sage added,
"Yea, Rowen. Let's face it, that's a perfect way of making everyone turn evil. And that's just what the Dynasty would want. Then they could get enough energy to open a Dynasty gateway into our world."
"AND THEN TALPA WOULD BE BACK!" Ryo cried out hysterically. "WE'VE GOT TO GET TO HIM FIRST!" Ryo pulled on Rowen's arm. "WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? LET'S GO!" Rowen tugged away from him.
"Have you guys completely lost it? HOW could they turn people evil with CANDY?!" Sage gave Rowen a suspicious glare.
"Never underestimate the Evil Dynasty! They're capable of anything!" Rowen was beginning to get frightened. Suddenly, something hit his head, really hard?
Rowen opened his eyes.
"Huh? What's going on?" Sage was bent over him.
"Are you ok? You fell asleep on the couch and?" Sage looked at Rowen's head cautiously. "You sure you're all right?"
"Yea, I'm fine." Sage suddenly looked towards the kitchen.
"Hey, I didn't want to wake you up from your beauty sleep, but? I thought you'd like to know that Kento, Cye and Ryo are back." Rowen suddenly tensed up.
"Really?"
"Yea, and the weirdest thing happened. Kento and Cye were fighting the Warlords!" Rowen's eyes popped out in shock. "But better yet..." Sage whispered. "They ran away when Kale came and mentioned the word 'CANDY'!"
Rowen smacked himself on the side of the head, which was slightly fuzzy, since he just woke up. What was I dreaming about? I can't quite remember ? there was something about candy. Hmm? Wait! That must be it! The Ancient One was trying to warn me that Talpa's going to take over the world by using CANDY! But that's ridiculous. Rowen shook his head, trying to think clearly. It was definitely about candy, though? and the Ancient?I've got to tell the others?
Rowen could overhear Cye wondering aloud, " But then? what would the warlords be doing here?"
*  *  *
Kale sat happily on the sofa. The decorations he had spent all afternoon putting up were done. And, he admitted quite proudly, they look fantastic.
Anubis had assigned Sekhmet and Kale to the decoration committee before he left. Sekhmet had spent most of the afternoon running back and forth from the mortal world for things Kale needed. Kale had stayed and put up the decorations, as well as determining the "menu" of junk food for their little party. The room was completely white, Kale painted the formerly drab, gray stones and placed fake white snow on the floor. It was at least an inch deep, so the stones wouldn't show at all. Kale leaned back still admiring his work. Sekhmet had even managed to buy a Christmas tree, a silver, sparkly one. Kale hadn't really liked it at first, but Sekhmet had insisted that it was the prettiest left. Kale had put some fake snow on the tree too, just to make it look more like the outdoors.
While Sekhmet was SUPPOSED to be telling Dais to get more candy canes, Kale had scrounged through the castle, looking for candles. This was a very precarious job, especially if Talpa decided to interrupt his search. But Sekhmet and Dais had silently agreed to leave this job to Kale, only because if Talpa were to discover what was going on, Kale would be stupid enough to get himself out of it.
There were over thirty candles lighting up the room, giving it a dreamlike glow. The only window in the room had been covered, so the sentries posted outside the castle would not see what was going on. Kale had been afraid that they would want to join the fun, and since they were so clumsy, they would ruin all his hard work.
Now the preparations were complete. Kale sat, waiting expectantly for Sekhmet to return. He was stalling Anubis, making sure Dais came in first. Dais hadn't been seen for an hour, which made Sekhmet very, very nervous. Kale on the other hand, hadn't been worried at all. He was confident Dais would show up on time. He wouldn't have the nerve to be late when it was this important.
Almost as if to respond to Kale's thoughts, Dais slammed open the door, the gust nearly blowing out the candles. He was breathing heavily and holding a shopping bag. Kale waited until he had caught his breath before asking,
"Whatcha got in there?" Dais set the bag on the ground and looked around the room.
"It's the candy." Dais panted. Kale shouted with joy. But Dais continued, "By the way you did a real nice-" He was cut short when he realized Kale wasn't listening. He was too busy hugging the box of candy canes Dais had brought. Dais sighed and shook his head.
"Is Sekhmet here yet?" Kale shook his head. "He's busy keeping Anubis busy so you had time to come back-" Kale stopped when he heard voices in the hallway. The door to the room opened.
"Here it is Anubis!" Sekhmet said proudly. Anubis looked around in awe. It looks like? what do the mortals call it? A winter wonderland! He felt as though he had just stepped into a dream world. But Dais interrupted his thoughts.
"Here Anubis? from me." Dais didn't look directly at Anubis as he handed over his gift. Probably embarrassed. Anubis smiled and took the gift. He then rummaged through the bag beside him and pulled out a package.
"Here, Dais." Anubis grinned good-naturedly. "From me." Dais looked at it, curiously.
"Well, what is it?" There were little pink bubbles on the front wrapper and two words: BUBBLE GUM. "What's Bubble Gum?" Anubis took the package back and opened it, revealing a tiny pink cube.
"You chew it." Anubis said. "And if you're really good, you can blow bubbles with it. But be careful, because it's sticky." Dais's face lit up.
"Wow? pink and sticky? I LOVE IT!" He popped several pieces into his mouth and began chewing noisily. "Mmm? tastes good!" He sat down on the powdery floor to examine it more carefully. Anubis was hunting through his bag for more goodies.
"Oh, here we go!" He said triumphantly as he pulled out a monstrously large box. "Found it! Here Sekhmet this is for you." He handed it over to Sekhmet who started shouting with delight.
"A CD PLAYER! AWESOME!" Dais laughed from where he sat on the floor.
"Yea, now if only you were smart enough to use it!" Sekhmet didn't hear him; he was too busy admiring his present. Anubis was rummaging some more, and found one of Kale's presents.
"Here, Kale-this is for you." He threw it over to Kale, who was sitting on the couch, hugging the candy cane box. Kale examined it carefully, one hand still around the candy canes.
"It's a night-light, Demon of Darkness." Anubis grinned, suppressing laughter. Kale frowned.
"Haha, very funny." He hugged the candy cane box closer. Dais and Sekhmet were snickering when suddenly, there was a loud bang.
"What was that?" Anubis asked, alarmed. Dais, Sekhmet, and Kale sat very still, listening intently.
"There it is again!" Dais said. He was beginning to get worried.
"I'll bet it's Talpa!" Sekhmet whimpered. The warlords were silent. Suddenly, the wall started to glow. It got brighter and brighter. Kale shielded his eyes. On the other side of the wall, he heard,
"THUNDERBOLT CUT!"
"AHHHHH! IT'S THE RONINS!" Sekhmet cried out, before the blast of light cut the wall. Sage stood breathing heavily in the opening his attack had created. He stepped back, revealing an angry Ryo in the Inferno Armor. Suddenly, Kento pushed him aside and charged at Dais.
"Let's finish what we started." Kento grimly attempted to choke Dais.
"It'll only end in defeat, Ronin." Dais answered, choking Kento. Ryo rolled his eyes.
"We don't have time for this! We have to get to Talpa before it's too late!" The other Ronins nodded. "RAGE?OF?INFERNOOOOO!" Ryo cried out. Anubis shrieked; Sekhmet began to cry, and Kale shielded his candy canes. Dais and Kento paid no attention whatsoever to the others as they privately dueled. The power of the Inferno Armor flashed through the room, blinding everyone, even Ryo. When the light dissolved into blackness, Ryo looked around.
The room was back to black. The paint on the walls had been charred, and had fallen off with the intense heat. The Christmas tree was a melted pile of plastic, which smelled nasty. The 'snow' on the ground was blackened and scorched, and all piled on the opposite side of the wall from the intensity of the blast. Kale cautiously opened one eye.
"THE DECORATIONS!" He cried out. "Nooooo!" Just as he was about to mourn the loss of the Christmas tree, he realized that the candy canes where still in one piece. "YES!" He shouted. "The candy is safe!" Sekhmet opened his eyes.
"NOO!" He cried. "MY CD PLAYER!" Now it was the Ronins turn to be startled.
"A CD player?" Rowen wondered aloud, confused. "What's he doing with a CD player?" Anubis had finally picked himself up off the scorched floor and was holding a burnt mess, which had formerly been his presents.
"Nooooo!" He howled. "Nooooo, how could you?! You vile, low, vulgar, nasty meanies!" Anubis began to sniffle. Rowen and Cye look at each other, both very disturbed.
"Now I'm really confused." Rowen frowned in concentration. Anubis's sniffling had turned to growls, getting louder and louder by the second. Sage and Cye instinctively stepped back. Anubis was now standing and looking at them, the fire in his eyes now at its maximum.
"HOW COULD YOU?!" He repeated, only on a louder level. "ALL THAT TIME?EFFORT?WASTED? " He gritted his teeth. "ONLY TO BE SPOILED BY A BUNCH OF BOYS?!" Anubis was so furious he charged Ryo, even without his armor on. Ryo stepped back.
"YOU RUINED OUR VACATION!" Anubis was now screaming like one possessed. "YOU RUINED OUR PARTY!" Ryo's mouth dropped.
"Party?!" They shouted in unison. But Anubis continued.
"NOW I'M GONNA RUIN YOUR LIFE YOU MISERABLE LITTLE *******!" Cye's mouth dropped open.
"That's not nice!" Cye protested. Anubis, however, clearly did not care as he swiped at Ryo's face. Even Ryo, in the Inferno armor, knew he should not fight back. This was all just a big mistake! He kept thinking. If only I hadn't listened to Rowen's dream?but that was the Ancient? Suddenly Ryo remembered the Rowen had been sick the past few days, and more likely than not, he had just been hallucinating! But the coincidence is unbelievable! Ryo shook his head clear.
"Come on, guys. We gotta get out of here!" Ryo yelled. Sage added in agreement,
"Yea, we shouldn't have crashed your party. Sorry guys." Anubis was practically frothing at the mouth by now. Cye reached out and grabbed Kento, pulling him away from Dais.
"Let's? go?" Cye struggled to keep Kento from going back to fight Dais some more. "There's some food in the fridge-" Cye hardly had the words out of his mouth before Kento bolted past him to go back home. Cye made a hasty retreat, leaving the warlords to mourn their loss.
However, they didn't have much of an opportunity of doing that, for as soon as the Ronins had left, Talpa called them into his throne room.
"WARLORDS!" His voice boomed throughout the castle. They all bowed dejectedly. "What do you have to say about the attack on my castle just now?" His eyes were glowing dangerously. But no one spoke up, not even Anubis. Talpa roared.
"WELL? You have nothing to say? About your pitiful performance?" But no one responded; they all stood with their heads bowed. Talpa was now getting angry. NO ONE ignored him!
"I'm taking away your vacation! I'm tired of your insubordination! You'll be back to work tomorrow!" But still, they did not respond. Finally after a moment of silence, Anubis burst into tears.
"They ruined our party!" He sobbed. Talpa growled.
"Party? What party?" He asked. Sekhmet joined in the crying as he said,
"We were having a Christmas party? and? and? WAHHHH!" Dais began to sniffle.
"They ruined all our presents and decorations?" He broke down in tears. Talpa roared.
"YOU, MY VERY OWN WARLORDS ARE CRYING ABOUT A PARTY?!" But the warlords kept on crying, except for Kale who was happily eating a candy cane. Talpa sniffled. "And you didn't invite me? I'm crushed!" His floating head disappeared. Kale looked around at everyone crying. He cracked a smile.
"Cheer up guys, the candy canes survived!" The other warlords stopped crying for a moment to look at him.
"C-candy canes?" Dais's lip quivered. Kale nodded happily.
"They're from the party?" Anubis whispered. "WAHH!" All the warlords started to cry again. Kale thought to himself with a sigh, This is gonna be a loooong day.

The End
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