• Disclaimer - I will never own any of the characters mentioned in this fan fiction. Everyone belongs to his or her respective producers, artists, voice actors, and creators of the series. I am not making any money off this fan fiction, nor should I receive money for any such reason.

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    Hannah Yeager || Isabel Night

    A shrine bell tolled the hour inside the castle grounds. The dual moons shone in the golden sky, lulling the residents of the palace into a dreamless sleep. However, one room in the lower level of the citadel showed signs of turmoil.

    Glass shards spread out across black-bordered tatami mats. The paper shoji screens which sectioned off the room bore slash marks made by sharp chunks of broken vases and shattered porcelain dishes. Some of the jagged shards were coated in oil spilled from overturn paper lanterns, while those that hadn't spilled their fuel were struggling to stay lit.

    In this room, a man with white hair sat on a maroon couch, the flicker of the lamplight casting shadows across his similarly colored armor. Across from him sat another man, possessing green hair, purple eyelids, and a serpentine armor. A third man leaned against the only unmarred shoji screen left standing, his blue hair, brown armor, and red cape blending in perfectly with the darkness. None of the men wore helmets. There was a moment of silence before the green-haired man spoke.

    "Well Dais," the emerald-haired man asked. "Are you done having your temper tantrum yet?"

    "No, Sekhmet." Dais snarled at the other man. "You're asking me to be calm when you heard the report as well."

    "It's a lie! It has to be," exclaimed the blue haired man, Cale. "Anubis doesn't walk out of people's lives like they're nothing. It has to be a trick from Kayura."

    "I want to believe you Cale," Sekhmet sighed, "but Kayura has no reason to lie about Anubis being the new Ancient One."

    "Yes, she does!" Dais snarled again. "She knows we will never accept her!"

    Cale looked at the two men and absently touched the inverted cross-shaped scar under his left eye. It was an unconscious gesture to remain calm. There was already a mess on the floor, and sane heads were needed at the moment. A fight was only going to make the situation worse.

    "Even if she's not telling the truth, what does she have to gain by making us her enemy -"

    "I find your faith in Kayura charming," Dais interrupted. "Perhaps that same faith blinded you to the dishonor we were subject to endure!"

    'He's right Cale," Sekhmet agreed. "I'm surprised our shame was reduced to time in the Nether Spirits' pool. I don't know what was drained from us, but it hurt."

    "So you blame me for setting us up?" Cale snapped, even after re-tracing his scar. "I didn't, and I don't expect to be treated like I did!"

    "Cale, you should calm down -"

    "No!" Cale cut Sekhmet off. "I'm offended at the fact that you've blamed all of this on me!"

    "This isn't your fault!" Sekhmet snapped back at Cale. "We've already been dishonored, made a mess of this room, and fighting isn't going to make this situation better!”

    Cale and Dais looked at Sekhmet, knowing that his temper was just as volatile as Anubis'. Sekhmet looked at the two of them, shook his head in apology, and continued the conversation after clearing his throat.

    "Look, I see no reason why Kayura should lie in her report to Master Talpa. If she was lying, we would know."

    "So what do we do now?" Cale folded his arms over his chest plate. "Just take her word for it and wait until we have Anubis brought before Master Talpa in chains?"

    "Well," Sekhmet turned to him without blinking. "What else are we supposed to do? We're not allowed to leave the palace, even though we captured three of the Ronin Warriors."

    "You mean the orders to stay inside the castle while Wildfire and Strata try to rescue their friends?" Cale repeated, focusing on the shadows in the room.

    While Cale and Sekhmet continued talking, Dais studied the mess he made with his good eye. Anubis couldn't be that powerful now that he had rejected his armor. Besides, the two Ronin Warriors weren't able to protect him, and Master Talpa's presence was quiet for the evening. Perhaps...it was possible, when everyone was asleep...

    'Nobody would know anything until they woke up.' Dais mused privately. 'No harm done if I take a look.'

    "Dais," Cale tapped him on the shoulder plate. "Are you okay? You seem lost in thought."

    "I'm fine. I was just thinking," Dais tried to hide being startled by plastering an idiot smile across his face, "that I could come up with a plan. It'll take a few days for me to work out the details."

    Sekhmet and Cale looked at Dais. "This better be a good idea," Sekhmet rolled his eyes at another one of Dais' elaborate schemes. "We don't want to lose favor with Master Talpa again."

    "Leave it to me," Dais promised. "You'll have a rough idea of the plan by tomorrow."

    Cale and Sekhmet looked at each and then back towards Dais. "And," Cale began, "what if your plan doesn't work?"

    "Then we'll have either proven that Kayura is right, or that she lied. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see her reaction when Master Talpa finds out she lied to him?"

    "Agreed," Cale bared his canines in approval. "I'm heading off to bed. I hope to hear more about your plan tomorrow."

    "Yes," Sekhmet agreed as both men teleported to their bedrooms.

    'Perfect!' Dais grinned deviously. 'Now, the first thing to do is to find him.'

    Dais summoned his helmet, closed his eye, and using their signature link, began searching for traces of Anubis' power. It was something the four of them developed to find each other on the battlefield, but it was rarely used by a single Warlord. Still, if Cale and Sekhmet couldn't feel his connection inside their minds, he could narrow down his search...

    It didn't take long before he found the pale yellow light of Anubis' power walking along a junction of train tracks inside the city of Tokyo.

    "There!" he whispered in triumph.

    THE END

    End Notes - I would like to thank all my Beta Readers for editing this story! Without you guys, this story would simply be a rough draft!