Chapter 10: To feel the shift

To anyone passing through the desert region, they'd have seen quite the sight.

Leading a group of some twenty-plus Mummies was an Anubis, and by her side was a young girl dressed in cat-themed apparel. A small ways behind them were Nelius and the Sphinx.

"Hey! Would you... quit climbing all over me?" Nelius was busy trying to pry the desert cat from his person. "I'm not a jungle gym."

"Aww, but you smell like cat. I wanna know more."

"Aisha, let go of him." The Anubis shouted the order back to her. "Now is neither the time nor place for your shenanigans."

"Aww..." Reluctantly, she let go, and returned to walking at his side. After a few seconds, she noticed his lone eye flicking around. "What is it?"

"Don't want to sound mean when I say this, but this place looks like it got sacked."

"It did. This region used to look so nice, but during the reign of the former Demon Lord, it got hit hard."

"Around the time the old Lord was overthrown?"

"No idea. All I know is that this is how the place looked when I was born."

Meanwhile, further up...

"So, where's our real culprit?" The Trickster asked.

"Somewhere within the cave network running below the sands."

"Wait, there's networks below us right now?"

"Many of them, all excavated out of former structures made during the reign of the late Pharoh, and lost beneath these sands. They run all across the region, and I've had to seal off passages that entered and exited many of the pyramids. I was in the middle of sealing one of those passages when I found you."

"Yeah, you were in a real pissy mood. Still, you didn't need to wrap me up like a Christmas present."

"But I simply couldn't let you roam free until I had concrete evidence as to whom our real culprit was." She held up a paw, signaling for everyone else to stop. "Here's one of the caves I mentioned."

"If they run practically everywhere, our real thief could be anywhere else by now. How are we going to flush him or her out?"

"Counting youself and the Incubus over there," The Anubis gestured to Nelius, who was again prying the Sphinx from his person, "There's shy of thirty of us in total. I've given the knowledge of the other nearby caves to Aisha and several of my Mummies, so we're going to divvy up."

"Flush our person of interest out by boxing them in?"

"Correct; we'll make sure they haven't anywhere else to run. All right, everyone gather over here." She unfurlled a scroll, which had a map of the underground caverns.

"So, what's the gameplan?" Nelius questioned.

"This mark is our current position. The areas here and here are the closest entrances into the underground network."

"Hm?" Shizuka, dangerously close to nodding off, suddenly snapped her head upward. "We've got guests."

"Y'know, I've gotta find out how you know this stuff." Atreya commented as the Kunoichi slinked off to observe whomever entered the mansion. "Seriously, how does she know that someone's just walked in?"

"Eh, it's a ninja thing." Tomoe commented. "You should've met the person who trained her. She could not only tell who arrived, but what they had on them, what their lunch from one week back was, and even if they'd been around anyone else."

"That good?"

"Yeah. I walked up to her, and she not only identified me, but she even knew I had a Cosmic Blade hiding in my sleeve, and that I'd had garlic noodles last month."

"Wow. Any chance I could meet her?"

Two floors down, Shizuka silently moved from room to room, tracking down whomever decided to intrude.

'They're using the south end stairs to ascend. Those stairs would go right to the roof.' Creeping closer, she managed to catch some of their conversation.

"...moving upwards. The body must be there."

"Remember, we're here to observe. The Incubus may have declared neutrality, but we do not have concrete evidence that he plans to keep his word."

"Geez, pessimistic much?"

"That naivete may end up being your downfall. Come along."

'Three of them, all female. Guess I'll have to get ahead of them.'

"Huh?" The tailing member of the trio looked behind herself. "Thought I heard something."

"And you're certain you didn't imagine it?"

"Yeah, I definitely felt someone was there."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we must advance."

"Man, it's been too long since I came down here..."

As the Anubis had explained, the cavernous network running below the sands had connections to both the abandoned structures and the ones still standing. Given that whomever was stealing items from the pyramids knew the area pretty well, she'd made the decision to split everyone into groups of seven.

The Anubis and Trickster, who insisted on being called Sif, stating it was an acronym for her real name, had five of the Mummies accompany them. Aisha and Nelius each headed their own group.

The plan for capturing the offender was this: given that the network had many dozens of branches, the Anubis had sealed off the ones entering into the pyramids, cutting off any potential escape routes. However, this left the abandoned structures and the ones that ran to the few oases that dotted the region. So, at each of these critical junctions, someone would be left to monitor the junction, ensuring that eyes would be everywhere.

"Still, why couldn't I have gone with the Incubus?" Aisha pouted as she lead her group down one of the tunnels. "I want to find out why he smells so strongly of cat. I just know there's a story behind it."

'Man am I glad to be rid of that furball.' Nelius wasn't sharing her sentiments as he lead a group of six down a seperate passageway. 'Way too clingy for my tastes.'

'A bit harsh, aren't you? All she wanted was to get to know you.'

'And I'm certain you heard Tomoe's explanation on how the creatures here operate. Her 'getting to know me' wouldn't exactly entail dinner and a movie.'

'Always the spoilsport, aren't we?'

'This isn't a game. Someone out there wants our heads on a stainless steel platter, and they're willing to do whatever they have to in order to have their way. Hm?' Looking to his right, Nelius noticed something on the ground far away. "You." He pointed to the closest Mummy. "There's something over there. Go check it out." Giving a nod, the Mummy slowly meandered her way to the item in question, picking it up before bringing it back to show him. "No doubt about it, it's one of the stolen items. All right, you keep watch here." In front of Nelius, a small communication window began to open up, and the shoulders and head of the Anubis showed through.

"How's your end?"

"Found a little something." He held up the item in question. "I'm gonna guess our thief went this way recently."

"Not likely. That was one of the first items that'd been stolen from me years ago, though it could've been dropped on purpose to throw you off the real trail."

"Point made. How are the others doing?"

"Sif's with me, and Aisha... hold on, is she..." Nelius was about to inquire when the portal closed off. Then came the sounds of shouting to his left.

"Ahhh! Forgive me, boss!"

"Do that on your own time! Or, since you seem to be preoccupied with that, perhaps I should just let you have another taste of the-"

"Nonononononononoooooo! I'll behave, I'll behave! Just don't use that on me again!"

'Well, quite the strict taskmaster, isn't she?'

'Now isn't exactly the time for your... huh?' Seeing something moving out of the corner of his eye, he whirled around on the spot and ran after the shadow. Around corners and up and down different passageways he chased the figure; though Nelius was much faster, the chasee knew the tunnels much better, and was able to use the odd terrain to its advantage. "Dammit! Hold still!"

"In there." The three intruders inside Tomoe's mansion arrived on the roof. All three of them wore body-concealing cloaks and had hoods on to cover their faces. "That odd-looking structure there is where the soul went. I can presume that the body is inside."

"Let us enter, then." The three strolled forward, the leader of the trio gripping the door handle and opening the door. The interior of Tomoe's penthouse was dark. "Which direction did the soul take?"

"I do not know. It was around the center of this room, that the trail has gone cold."

"So, they're already reunited? Welp, our job's done, let's split."

"Hold it. Our job is not yet complete. We must ascertain the child's status, and ensure that he is not in the grasp of those who would mistreat him."

"You're really not giving us much credit, aren't you?" Shizuka' voice rang out, surprising them. "Demons we may be, but we're not so callous as to mistreat a kid."

"Hey, where are you?"

"Right here." Tomoe's voice was next. "Now I believe you three have some answering to do. Why did you consider it a good idea to sneak in here?"

"Wh-where are they?"

"How should I know?"

"Lemme... shed some light on this." Atreya snapped her fingers, illuminating the room and momentarily blinding the three. "Now then, mind elaborating on why you're here?"

"Was this whole setup really necessary?"

"We had to make sure you weren't about to try anything funny."

"Anything funny? Listen, there's a human child here missing its soul."

"I know. I found him in the first place. What we're trying to figure out is who'd take his soul, and for what reason."

"Where is the child now?"

"In my room, resting up. Now, level with us here, why are you three so concerned?"

"Because we have a lead on who took the soul, and what it tells us is... upsetting, to say the least. The one who took his soul was human."

"We've never yet seen a human who'd stoop this low."

"We've seen plenty in our world, and dealing with them isn't exactly easy, not on a strength level, but because many of them actually took the time to think their strategies through."

"Hey, where are you going?" The Anubis practically screamed at him through the portal.

"I saw someone headed this way... now, lemme see if I..." Focusing power through his wings, Nelius shot them out in the form of a tendril, wrapping around the runner's legs and tripping them up. "All right, now let's see who you are." Reeling his transformed wings in, he took in the struggling figure.

It was a female, but this one was different. Her skin was a deep brown, a darker color than the Anubis or Sphinx's tans, and around her arms and legs were a thin layer of bricks wrapped to act as clothing (primarily stockings and sleeves) alongside the brown panties and bra, but they seemingly melded into her skin around the upper thighs and shoulders. Around her wrists, there were slightly thicker "cuffs", and as for the shoulders, there was a noticibly thick plate on each arm where the upper arm met the shoulder, where writing was inscribed onto them with ink. In place of ears were stone antannae, and a pair of red eyes glared back at him.

"The hell's this?"

"A golem, way out here?" Noticing Nelius' questioning look, she continued. "They're artificially constructed beings, usually made from stone, mud or clay, and were given life through sorcery. What's the name on her plate?"

"Plate?"

"The protrusions up on her shoulders. They're written in a runic language." Nelius brought the Golem closer and held one of her arms straight out, so the Anubis could read the name. "Hey, that's a female's name on there!"

"Really? I can't make heads or tails of this moonspeak." Having released the Golem's arm, he had to avoid some flailing punches. "You recognize the name?"

"I do, but what puzzles me is how she managed to get her hands on one, much less have the knowhow to actually make one."

"You know where this woman lives?"

"I have an inkling... keep moving straight, and at the next junction, take a right. Then, for the next two junctions, head left on both."

"Got it." Struggling Golem in tow, Nelius set upon the directions laid out for him by the Anubis. It was about five minutes later that he came upon an underground oasis, and gave a low whistle of approval as he took in the sight. "Check this out. Hey, where's our little friend supposed to be?"

"I'm right here." A new voice came from Nelius' left, and he had only a second to jump back, avoiding a gigantic scorpion's stinger that slammed down right where he'd been standing. His sudden movement caused him to drop the Golem, who quickly took off... only to have her feet once again caught by the feet by several bandaged hands that shot up from the sand that had collected down there.

The new monster, from about mid-thighs down, resembled a scorpion, right down to the pair of pincers and tail. From the mid-thighs up, it was another tanned woman wearing a purple sarong around where humanoid half met monster, and a matching top containing her sizeable assets. Around her face she wore a transluscent violet veil, but the one thing Nelius noticed the most out of her features was her eyes, which looked glassed over.

"Hey, what is this thing?" The portal was gone. 'Shit, guess I'm on my own for this one.' Drawing his axe, he hardly had time to react as the scorpion woman was already upon him, trying to sting him.

'He was close by. Why did you not warn him?'

'I tried, but the words wouldn't come out.'

'He will return soon. Then you can be free of this burden.'

'I hope so. I didn't like being stuck in there... I don't want to go back there again.'

'We are in the care of his friends. We're safe.'

As the stinger came forward once again, Nelius repelled it using the flat side of his axe. As the pincers snapped at his legs, he jumped back to avoid them. At once she burrowed into the sand.

'Underground movement? Too bad for you, I got that covered.' Letting his wings spread, he took to the air and began focusing a strong wind spell. 'C'mon, surface.' When she did surface, she was covered in Mummies and was desperately trying to shake them off. Canceling the spell, he dived down but kept his distance in case she got free.

"So, it is you." The Anubis had walked in, Aisha and Sif at her sides. "You've much to answer for, including the reason for the theft of several treasures."

"And framing me for the robberies!"

"Now then, where are the treasures and artifacts?" When the scorpion woman didn't respond, the Anubis asked again, only to dodge another tail strike. "Very well, you've dug your own hole with that." Raising her staff, she muttered something under her breath, then launched a spell. The scorpion woman's body tensed up, before shivering almost uncontrollably and flopping to the ground as the Mummies kept a tight hold on her.

"OK, now what is she?" Nelius approached the Anubis to ask.

"That is a Giratiblilu."

"Ain't that a mouthful?"

"Your sarcasm is ill-appreciated. They're commonly referred to as 'Assassins of the Sands'. What I'm trying to figure out is why she broke the agreement."

"Lemme guess, she was helping in keeping potential raiders from taking your items?"

"Something along those lines. This sort of behavior from her is erratic."

"Well, right before she decided to try and turn me into a pincushion, I noticed a glassy look in her eyes. Call it me overthinking things, but she might not be in the right state of mind."

"Hm, I will look into that personally. For now, though, Sif is free to go with you-"

"YES! WHOOHOO!" The Trickster was practically dancing around in excitement. "I'm free!"

"After you help us reclaim the stolen items." That statement stopped her prancing around.

"Aww, there's always a catch."

"Be glad that's all you're being asked to do." Nelius repremanded the thief before turning to the Anubis. "Anyway, if it's not too much a detriment to your effort, I'm going to take a look into something that crossed my mind earlier."

"That being?"

"Another of my kind's somewhere in this region. Last reading we got on that one, it was getting faint, as if moving underground. I wonder if our friend over there got ahold of him or her."

"Sif and I are going to her abode over there. Should we find anyone held there, I'll notify you."

"Thanks." He watched as the two headed over to the Giratiblilu's section of the underground. "Now, as for- agghh!" He didn't get much of a chance to finish his thoughts as he was soon tackled by the Sphinx.

"Yay! We're together again!"

"Magog-damn it."

"It was right around this area where we first picked up on the child's soul." The three as of yet unidentified individuals used one of Atreya's gems to create a projection of the place where they'd first sensed the child's loose soul. "How it suddenly appeared here, though, is something we are still trying to comprehend."

"Hmm, that is strange indeed. We're going to have to take a look around there later."

"Why later? What is stopping you from assisting us in this investigation?"

"When Nelius returns with the next two members of our growing team, we're planning a group expidition out to an as-of yet unexplored area. As important as investigating who it is that took the kid's soul is, we can put that aside for another day. Our first concern is making sure we have our way home secure."

"An understandable point, but allow me this counter: where the child's soul came from could lead us to an important clue regarding whomever released that monster that attacked earlier."

"That is a good counter argument, but let me counter that with this: we've still many other locations to search and locate more of our own. If one of those monsters caused that much trouble with just the eight of us, we'll have a better chance of dealing with them the more people and options we have."

"...very well. We shall look into this on our own, but we first have a few questions."

"Shoot."

"Dammit, I am not a jungle gym! Knock this crap off!" Nelius once again attempted to pull the Sphinx off of himself.

"But you smell like cat, and I wanna know why!"

"Will you quit!"

"Nope. There's nothing stopping me from finding out now!"

"Aisha..." The Anubis had opened another portal to check on Nelius' status, and let an growl of irritation rumble up from her throat.

"Except that?"

"Uh oh... uh, this is exactly what it looks... LIKE!" Aisha's voice noticibly rose in pitch as she slid off Nelius, sighing and spasming on the sand.

"What was that?" He looked down at the writhing desert cat.

"The mummy's curse. I thought it fitting that if she was so wound up with desire, I'd help wring it out."

"Ah, not that I'm asking for a demonstration, but what does that curse do?"

"The curse makes her skin extremely sensitive to the touch. Even the weakest caress of the wind would send her into... well, look at her."

"Yeah, I can see that. Anyway, how goes your recollection of your stuff?"

"All is proceeded well. We've already managed to recollect over fifty of the stolen items. However, we've not come across anyone else."

"Got it. Say, what should be done with her?" He pointed down to Aisha, who was still writhing in pleasure from the curse.

"Leave her. I've already a few Mummies coming back to pick her up."

"All right." Turning away from the now closing portal, Nelius went to go explore the rest of the underground, in hopes of locating the other Netherworld denizen still lurking about.

"Hm, this is interesting information we have received." The three were already on their way back, having finished their discussion with Tomoe. "So the Incubus is not the direct leader of this endeavor, nor do the humans know he is such a creature."

"Considering what we have gleaned from this conversation, I believe that the Incubus helping them is of a far different physiology compared to the ones here."

"...you just now came to that conclusion? I mean, look at his actions. He's assisted the Order, refrains from any kind of relationship with the monsters, is always on the lookout for his own...if not for the fact that he's planning on helping his friends get the hell outta here-"

"Language!"

"- the guy'd be a friggin' saint compared to most others."

"Then again, outside of what we have been told, we know little to nothing about the world he is descended from. Before we even think of referring to him as a potential ally for our own goals, we should get more information on him."

"How, exactly? It's not like we can just walk up to him and ask 'Hey, mind spilling your guts on what you are'?"

"Perhaps... perhaps we can."

"Eh, we can?"

"Geez, I scoured the whole damn place and still no sign of the guy." Nelius, taking a quick breather, stopped by the underground oasis. He was reaching towards the water, preparing to cup it in his hands.

"Excuse me." A new voice brought him out of his thoughts. "I would appreciate you not scooping me up and trying to drink me."

"Who said that?" He stood back up, looking around for the source of the voice.

"I did."A female figure began to rise from the middle of the water pool itself. Scratch that, the water itself was taking a female form, its face soon reaching eye to eye with his.

"A water elemental, I take it."

"Correct. I am an Undine, and I can safely assume you're the Incubus that has most in an uproar?"

"Suppose I am. What's it to you?" 'Man, word travels fast, even here.'

"Nothing much, I'd guess." She gave a nonchalant shrug. "I happened to overhear how you're searching for someone down here."

"Yep. Problem is, I haven't a clue who it is I'm searching for."

"Well, I did see a suspicious character sometime before the Anubis and her group came down here."

"Lemme guess, you know which way they went, but there's something you're looking for me to do first."

"Not really, but since you were nice enough to offer..." Before she could attempt to ask, the cavern began to quake. "What the... it's happening again?"

"This has happened before?"

"Twice before, and they were responsible for sending me down here." A small portal opened up, and the face of the Anubis showed through.

"Hey, do you have any idea what that was?"

"Took the question right out of my mouth. Anyway, you're closest to where it originated, so I'm... hello, what's this?"

"What'd you find?"

"I don't remember one of those being there... a gateway."

"Gateway? Can you tell where it goes?"

"Unfortunately, this is news to me, but it seems to have been used recently."

"Which way is it relevant to my position?"

"From the way you're facing, right behind you a small ways." The portal closed.

"Welp, sorry to cut this short, but duty calls." Turning abruptly, he ran off before the Undine could voice her request.

"..dammit."

'Well, this I wasn't expecting. Three new test subjects.' The girl in black and white noted to herself as she observed the trio of cloaked individuals roaming around. 'I may have lost a prior item of importance, but that can wait. Another of my pets is ready to feed.'

Reaching over, she pulled a lever, releasing another of the milky white monsters.

'I wonder how they'll fare against this.'

"Hm? Those are..."

"Oh, you're back. What is it about those three?"

"Let your little pet reach them, and you'll see soon enough."

"Do you know something about them I don't?"

"About your pet, a hunch. Something I observed during the first one's test run, and should it prove correct... well, let's just say things'll get interesting, real fast."

Chapter 10: Complete