Mellow Town Stories: Ankha's Destiny

by TheFoolOfTheNoon

Time passed since the Immortal Shagaru incident and things have been returning to normal. However, one day another Chosen of the Egyptian god's shows up and inform Ankha of her negligence to her duty to the Goddess who chose her; to set up a place of worship. However, with Aten looking for her, this is impossible, but a new way is revealed to her and she takes it.

11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Lurking Shadows

Author's Note:

Well finally this chapter is done and made. Moving forward and getting some story and set up done. Honestly, I am surprised how long I had this series going looking back on it now. From humble clone zombie killing to gods and monsters. So those of you who have been reading and sticking with me, even you phantom readers who don't want to say anything. I'm honestly happy that I got this far, with nintendo characters no less. Anyway, read and review if you like. This is TheFoolOfTheNoon signing off.

/

Nacho's P.O.V.

I don't even know what happened. The last thing I remembered was getting so mad that I beast triggered and that was it. The only thing I remember is this searing pain as I woke up back in the open dreamscape once again. The familiar open plains with the house in the center of it all. However, I felt there was something different here. Something off and wrong, I can feel it in the center of my being. It didn't help that mental representation of the monsters whose DNA I absorbed didn't come to greet me as they usually do. That has been a commonality with my dreams lately.

Usually I would find myself in these plains and environments and find myself interacting with the monsters. Learning new moves and tricks with their forms from them, but after I learned everything about them and focused trying to use the chimera form; they disappeared. Ankha and Isabelle wondered where they could have gone when they dream share with me. Honestly, the entire situation is just odd and eerie.

"Argh…what hit me? Wait, oh shit! Ankha! Isabelle! Are they okay? Damn it! I must got knocked out!"

I began pacing around frantically as I recall the situation with Aten. I was scared out of my mind as who knows what is happening while I am out cold. A mixed feeling of anger, sorrow, worry, and helplessness took hold of me as I got on my knees and started pounding on the ground.

"Damn it!"

I roared to the empty air, my frustration hitting an all time high. I simply hated this situation with every fiber of my being. I hate this feeling of helplessness; all this power and I was beaten so soundly and easily.

"Well well well…what are we screaming about?"

A dark yet familiar voice pierced through the open air. The suddenness of it forced me to look up to see a glob of darkness being formed in front of me. To my shock and horror, the glob of darkness took the familiar shape of…me. Not just me now, but an older look I used to have. White skin, red hair, the white tux, white ballroom mask, and black top hat. The only startling differences this thing has from my original look is that the tux looks messy and undone, the sleeves have been torn to shreds to reveal large clawed hands of shadow. His mouth looks more sinister with a fanged toothy grin. Disturbingly, where his eyes should be instead are nothing by flowing voids of darkness.

I read, played, and watched many fictional media to have a good guess what this thing in front of me is.

"Are you…my dark side?" I asked as I slowly got up.

The creature grinned at me, "Yes, and no. I am your darker aspects given form, but I am much worse than that. I am your wild side, the side you suppress and that alone is the reason why you lost."

"So, like an Anti-me? Wait what do you mean the reason I lost?"

"Heh, if you have trouble remembering. Aten kicked your ass even when you beast triggered, a transformation I triggered for you when you couldn't move."

"Wait, you're the reason I beast triggered?"

"Yes and no, in case you forgotten I am you pal. You called to me in your most desperate moment, but even then, you held back. If you would have let go of yourself and let your instincts fly, then you would have stood a chance against that dirt bag who abused our mates."

"I can't just let go, I'm a walking biohazard in a new world. Same reason why I am hesitant on using beast trigger, even when I don't activate apex mode there is a small chance that I might still pass on the virus to others who don't have a resistance."

"Oh boo hoo, I don't care. So are you telling me that losing Isabelle is a good enough sacrifice just to keep others safe from the virus in your systems?"

"N-No! I-I argh…" I growled in frustration and pounded the floor. However, my anger turned to horror when I saw my bare hands and the black markings on both of them from my previous adventure. I just assumed they are just left-over scars from the energy blast, but now…it grew turning into a bigger black patch and began to look more scaly.

"Ah! What the?!"

"Oh yeah you just noticed that didn't you? Well here is the short version, your 'control' and unwillingness to beast trigger and go apex when you needed it most is having and affect on our body. The more you ignore, you try to suppress, unleashing your wild side when you need it, the more it's going to show on your body. Eventually, it will not matter what you want if it continues. Because once that 'corruption' hits one hundred percent then you will be nothing but an animal and instinct. Basically, I get free reign and we will be doing things my way. If you don't want to lose that special control you love so much I suggest you start stretching your wild side and don't hold back when the time comes to protect our mates. No matter what, you and I both know that they mean the world to us."

"I know, but I can't just go wild every time they are in danger…wait…what about them? Do they have to go through this too?"

"Our mates? I don't know, we are patient zero for this special virus that you probably thought you had complete control over. Hopefully they don't, I like to hope this...unique situation is just between us alone."

"Well that is one thing we can agree on, we want them safe."

"Yeah, I'm dark you, but I am still you. However, remember my words, if you keep holding back…you will lose more than just your reason pal."

I growled, "I hear you, but I still don't think going wild isn't going to solve anything. What's the point of having strength that you can't control?"

"What's the point of power you don't use?"

"Ergh…you really are going to be a pain in my ass are you?"

"Only as much as we clash."

"Argh…huh? I think I'm waking up…" I said as I felt myself fading again from my dreams.

"Heh, lucky you, but keep in mind my warning. I want to keep our mates safe as much as you."

I only looked at my darker self with a knowing look as I finally fade from the dream and woke up.

/

Ankha's P.O.V.

I didn't remember waking up, all I can remember is pushing Nacho back to the floor when I felt him nudging me. I was relieved that he was okay as tears came from my eyes, once again ruining my make-up but I didn't care. My sleep was plagued with a terrible nightmare and to see his smiling face is what I needed right now. Our lips met and just let our emotions take hold, I know Nacho survived worse, but that entire event shook me to my core. Aten's words haunt me, and the power he showed just added to the fear.

I broke off the kiss as my mind returned to Isabelle, as Nacho and I looked over to her. My poor female lover is shaking in her sleep and holding onto Nacho tightly.

"Isabelle…I'm so sorry this happened to you," I said quietly as I leaned in to kiss her head and gently caressed her ear.

"If only I was stronger, then maybe I would have protected both of you better," Nacho said with clear regret in his voice.

"Don't say such a thing Nacho, there was no way we could have anticipated Aten and his increased power."

"Still, I should have been able to do something I…*sigh*"

"Nacho…Little N, please don't blame yourself."

"I know I know…"

I said nothing else as I embraced him, just letting my hug calm him down. Still it is clear that our utter defeat at the hands of Aten affected all of us mentally. If I didn't have enough doubts about my own abilities, then this defeat only reminds me how far behind I am in being a proper chosen. I guess like Nacho I am weak as well, but this just shook my confidence even more. Can I really live up to the quest Bastet gave me? Just how far have the other chosen gotten? Have they already completed their quests? How strong are they?

I looked up to Nacho and down to Isabelle as I decided to push these thoughts from my mind for now. I can't let such thoughts overwhelm me, I lived far too long and experienced so much just to have negative emotions halt my tracks. I have to do it, for them. As a matter of fact, I imagine Nacho is doing the same thing, but inevitably we would have to face these mental troubles. I just hope nothing bad happens before we can be ready to talk about it.

"Oh hey, they are awake!" shouted the voice of Lucky. My ears shot up as the zipper of the tent we were in opened up and the bandaged face of my canine brother peeked in. My mood improved a little bit more, "How are you three feeling?"

"Shaken Lucky, but alive. Isabelle is still sleeping so can you keep the volume down please?" I said while shooting him a warm smile.

"Oh right…sorry everyone is waiting for you guys outside. I'll let them know," Lucky smiled at us before leaving the tent.

We took a few more minutes gathering ourselves before Isabelle woke up, "Mmm…mm…hmm? N-Nacho? A-Ankha?" she said in a groggy and shaky voice.

"Yeah Isa, it's us. You aren't dreaming," Nacho answered her.

"Your okay now, we're safe."

Tears began to form around her eyes, "Nacho! Ankha!" she lunged at us and enveloped us both in an emotional hug.

"Oof! Easy Isa! I'm still feeling a bit sore," Nacho laughed as he began caressing her head. I did the same and after a while she began to calm down.

"Mmm…can I stay like this?"

Nacho gave a small laugh, "Heh, sorry Isa, but we need to get up now."

"Oh…okay…" she sighed with disappointment as she got off of us, but we both gave her a kiss on the cheek to help her feel better.

She smiled, but I get the feeling she was putting on a happy face for us. Sometimes I wish my mind reading can extend to my lovers, but there isn't much I can do about it now. When we got out of the tent, we were greeted with relieved faces from everybody. Diva wasn't cracking any jokes, Amr did his best to comfort us, Lucky was keeping things positive, and Azhum was trying to say this is a learning experience. We responded as best as we can before sitting down at some small stools that group set up, seeing that they set up a campsite with a live fire. Only now I realized that it was nighttime, and we have been out for most of the day.

"How is everyone?" I asked awkwardly.

"Been better, but the better question is how are you three?" Diva responded as she gave a big sigh before looking at the ground.

"Shaken, for lack of a better word," I said as I recalled our horrible loss to Aten. I quickly pushed the memory out of my mind as I didn't want to dwell on it.

"It was horrible…" Isabelle managed to say but couldn't say anymore before hugging Nacho for some comfort.

"We were completely unprepared, freaken Aten…we couldn't do anything."

I look over to them with a sadden look on my face before finding interest in the ground in front of me. Silence befell all of us before Azhum spoke up, "This was certainly unexpected, Aten attacked you three personally while Diva, Amr, and Lucky had to deal with Adofo. This clearly was planned, but why I do not understand. This Aten clearly had enough power to bind me and prevent me from using magic, so he could have wiped us out if he desired…an-"

"That's not what he wanted," I interrupted, "He wanted to get to me…to show how weak I am…how weak…I…" I didn't want to finish that sentence. I feel a sense of despair creep up on me, I had to stop myself or else I wasn't sure if I can keep up appearances. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Thankfully it was enough for Azhum to get the message.

"I see…then this is troubling, Aten must have formidable magic power. Those magic binding chains are a high-level spell of magic, quite powerful and hard to learn correctly. Adofo, from my observations have grown strong as well. He would have easily overpowered Diva, Amr and Lucky if he wasn't holding back."

"Wait what?! He was holding back?!" Diva shouted in surprise.

"Indeed, he is, why I would not know, but what I do know is that you all have a way to go before you can take them on should they show up again."

"That's not comforting to hear Azhum," Nacho said dryly.

"Sorry, but it is the truth. Training your powers is the only way you will be able to overcome Aten and Adofo. I taught you all that you needed to know, while I will give guidance you are ultimately on your own, with the books I gave you. Also, they are only a side obstacle, Lady Ankha, Lady Diva, you two still have a mission to do in spite of this now looming threat."

"I am aware," I mentally sighed, "And I don't plan to abandon it."

"Same here Azzy."

"I'm glad to hear that, the tribe of Felinmew's that witness Bastet shouldn't be too far away. I say roughly two miles from where we are now. So I suggest Ankha, that you take the time to compose yourself before making your appearance to them. Diva, you will stick with us for a bit, but you must take your leave to the swamp village so you can accomplish your quest."

"Alright then, but you will give me and Amr a lift right? I don't know where it is specifically."

"Yes I will, we may lose man power in the additional search for the missing body of Ser-Ka's husband, but we can't keep one of the chosen from their duty. We'll manage without you lady Diva and your guardian."

"That's fine, sorry for that you guys, but I think you all can do it. This defeat won't keep you down forever, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks Diva, I'm sure you can pull off your quest just fine," I said with a smile. Diva returned the smile before giving off a yawn.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Ankh's now if you excuse me. I need to get some sleep; we spent a good amount of the day making camp for you three and getting some supplies. Amr, would you like to join me?"

Amr looked away for a bit before saying, "I rather keep guard, as I don't really need to sleep."

"Come on, I need a big teddy bear to sleep with."

"You're not a child lady Diva, you can sleep fine on your own."

The two began to argue which got a small laugh out of me, "Well you two figure that out, I don't think Nacho, Isabelle, and I want to sleep. So, we will stay up along with Lucky."

"Whatever, you do you," Diva said as she went back to arguing with Amr.

"Those two really get along do they?" Nacho joked which got a little laugh from Isabelle and a smile from me.

Eventually, the two ended their argument and Diva won. Amr reluctantly became her comfort pillow as they went into their tent. I couldn't help but make a little comment on their relationship once they went inside, "You don't suppose there is something going on between them?"

"If there was, I doubt they would admit it," Nacho added.

"They like each other, no doubt about it, what about you Lucky?" Isabelle said with a smile.

Lucky raised a brow before his leaning his head in to whisper, "I think so as well."

We all share a little laugh before Azhum cut in, "I'm glad you all can still find humor after such a great lost. I shall rest myself, but I suggest you take this time to study on your spells. Practice a bit more, not like you have much else to do."

We nodded as the talking tome floated towards the bag and simply nestled himself inside. Who knew a master wizard would find a bag the best way to sleep? Still his words rang true so we decided to get our books and to studying and practicing. Isabelle got to work working on some spells within her range, working on her summon vines spell and healing bloom, which is a healing spell as she told me. Other spells in her arsenal is pollen shot, petal dance, and Aromatherapy.

Lucky began practicing his draining skills on the nearby flora in order to gain some mana for dark magic blasts and a wind strike. Being undead, I suppose this is the only way he could practice his magic skills and moves. It appears that he is able to use dark and wind-based skills and magic, but after seeing a vine strike it would also means that he can temporarily use magic of the target's elemental affinity.

Nacho began practicing on his earth Ki skills, although he had to separate himself a bit away from the camp as his Earth spike, Tremor, Rock slab, Rock shot, and Boulder fists as they make a bit of noise when used. It is nice to see they have expanded their repertoire of abilities, a luxury I do not have right now as I simply focused on what I know already.

For the sake of not burning down a jungle, I focused my fire magic practice on a large wall of stone near our campsite. I cycled through each of my spells, first starting with my fire ball spell, once again practicing with the strength and speed of the balls of fire. To practice my ignite spell, I took a random leaf and set it ablaze by merely focusing the magic into the same hand holding it. I blew the ashes away like it was nothing, but an idea came to my mind. Using the ignite spell again the ashes, a weak flame appeared on each little bits of ash. While the fire is hot, I used accelerant on a nearby rock and used magic telekinesis to grab the burning ashes and sent them towards the rock. As expected, the rock ignited from the ashes touching it which brought a smile to my face.

"That's an idea for later," I said to myself as I continued with my practice.

Going through more of my spells, Azhum's training allowed me to practice more spells before having to rest. So, another thought came to my brain is, how long can I keep a spell going? I assume depending on how much mana I have left. Testing this, I cast a gentle warmth spell and continued pouring some mana into it after it was created. Slowly and surely, I can feel myself losing mana over time, but I tried to keep focus on the magic spell.

I used the word tried as I recalled Aten's words, a mix of anger and despair clouded my mind for just a moment. In that moment, the spell changed into a fire mine and exploded, nearly sending me reeling.

"Ankha!" I heard Nacho and Isabelle shout towards me. I heard them ran to me and helped me up as I was still trying to regain my senses from the explosion. It wasn't big, but certainly was disorienting.

"That was quite an explosion, you aren't hurt, are you?" Lucky asked me as he checked my hand. Other than being covered in soot, was fine. Adding to the concern for my well being was everybody else who came out of their sleeping spots to see the commotion.

"Geezus Ankha, wasn't even a minute before you made some noise and woke us all up!" Diva shouted angrily, "And I was just getting comfortable…"

I saw Amr gave a small sigh of relief before Azhum floated up to me, "What happened? That sounded like a fire spell horribly backfiring."

"Well that is exactly what happened, I was trying to extend the length of a gentle warmth spell before…I had a mental lapse and my spell went wild, turned into a fire mine and exploded."

"Ah I see, we call that in the wizard world, being emotionally distracted. My advice is to clear your mind before trying the spell again. Please be careful, I have seen my fair share of careless mages that blown their hands off from mistakes like that."

"I will, thanks. You can all go back to sleep now, sorry for disturbing you all."

The three looked at me with concern before nodding and parting with more words of caution. Nacho, Isabelle and Lucky stayed with me for a bit before I asked them to give me space. They went back to practicing their magic and skills. Me, I began to meditate, slowing my breathing and just focused on my own thoughts.

I fought the echoing laughter and words of Aten, however, I mentally tired myself just trying and barely made any progress removing his haunting words from my head. Only because I know what he said is true, anytime he can just drop in and overpower my lovers to just take me away. Or worse…I shudder at the thought. For now, I can only push them from my mind, but those words will inevitably return. Not until I am strong enough to face him on my own terms.

/

I wasn't sure how long I spent meditating, but apparently, I fell asleep again as I woke again in the sleeping back with Isabelle and Nacho. Having slept a dreamless sleep which is better than suffering a bad one. I woke up my lovers as we got ready for the day, getting our gear on and eating a satisfactory breakfast which involves eggs, sausages and some ham. Good think no pig folk was with us or else we would be making them uncomfortable right about now.

Once we put away our camping gear, we continued our path to the Felinmew village. Following Azhum's lead, however, I felt the gazing eyes of other felines. I can sense it, so can Nacho and Isabelle too. The intent was mixed, there was a feeling of hostility but also curiosity. Hence why they just kept watching us, scouts for the tribe whose main mission is to follow outsiders. Trying to figure out our intentions in their lands. I figure this is the case due to past experiences with Native Americans during colonial times.

Despite having this thought in my brain, I can't help but be uneasy. As I need to give a good first impression in order to have a smoother time. Isabelle looked nervous as she looked to the trees, the natives clear hiding spots. We comforted her as we walked but keeping our guard up at all times. After some time, we reached a jungle clearing and at long last we came across a village. Well made wooden huts are the first thing we see along with some natives who look quite different from cat folk back in our world.

While they share a similar structure to the average cat folk with the humanoid body, arms and feline faces, that is all they share with us. As their hands and feet are more animal like, appearing more ready made to climb the trees of the area. Their legs are more structured to be like a wild feline too, having their heel being more jutted out with the leg so they are walking on their toes. Their fur patterns are something to gawk at as they sport Jaguar, Leopard, Cheetah, and Tiger coats. The color of said coats leaning towards more jungle like colors, such as green, brown, and even black. Despite living in the jungle, they seem to have worn modern styled clothing using leather, pelts, and foliage.

Their attention turns towards us as we walked into the clearing. The adults shooing their children inside the huts while some stared at us with confusion and curiosity. As if they weren't expecting us to come so soon yet. It was kinda eerie, but at least they weren't attacking us on sight especially with Nacho around. We did not speak or take another step as I saw one of the men whispered to his neighbor about something. I did not know what it was as I did not understand their native language.

We waited awkwardly until finally one of the native cat men brought over a rather aged, but otherwise fit man wearing different clothes than the others. Unlike the others he had a more pantherine appearance. Tall, muscular, tan colored fur, with native markings painted on the exposed bits of his body. He was definitely some kind of chief if the feathered crown around his head wasn't anything to go by along with his staff.

We simply stared as the chief cleared his throat, "What brings outsiders to village?" He spoke English, but with a heavy tribal accent.

Honestly none of us were expecting that, but Azhum floated up to him and spoke on our behalf, "Oh you can speak English? Well that is unexpected, but I digress. We are band of travelers on a quest you see, we detected energies of a large magic spell being used in your village. We came to investigate it as another incident happened back in the land of Egyptapia and.."

"Stop," he commanded, "Noisey book, I understand, but we felt no such energies," The tribe leader then pointed to a far-off hut, "I know, you stubborn, outsiders all stubborn, take guest hut far from tribe. Investigate area, if wish, but no interfere with way of life, severe consequences."

"Oh well thank you good sir, so uh yeah, we will do that. But before we do, what is your name?"

"I am chief, all you need to know, you are outsiders, all we need to know."

The coldness in his voice was astounding, but he wasn't wrong. We are outsiders to him and his people, so all we can do is respect his wishes as we made our way to the hut. We got everything placed and settled, and despite the cold and awkward shoulder we got earlier the guest hut did have the basic necessities of living. I actually wonder why they have a guest hut in the first place, since clearly, they didn't like us being here. I mean I wasn't expecting a warm welcome, but they allowed us to do what we want without much resistance. That is red flag if I ever saw one, and it was a sentiment shared by all of us. So, we agreed to exercise caution when we go about our investigation.

Using Azhum as some kind of magic divining rod, we began to sweep the area for a trace of the same spell that caused the surge. Surprise surprise, the moment he turned on his magic detector he went crazy.

"Whoa! My detector is telling me that this village is heavy in the traces of the spell. Like we are sitting on it!"

"What? This small village? That can't be right," Diva responded in shock.

"Then maybe there is more to this village that meets the eye?" Nacho suggested, "I mean, clearly these people are being ultra-quiet with us. They know something we don't but what and why is anybody's guess."

"Well we can't just walk up and ask one of them, nor interrogate as we want to leave a good impression," I added as my ear twitched, picking up on some footsteps, "Hold on…somebody is listening in on us."

I watched as Nacho and Isabelle focused their hearing and heard the footsteps too before they went quiet. However, their presence was still there, there was a feeling of fear from the owner of the footsteps as in hoping that they weren't discovered. I was trying to pin down the size, but Isabelle seem to figure it out faster than all of us as her face lit up.

"Azhum, can you follow me?" she said as she walked out of the tent with Azhum in tow.

We waited with slight confusion as we didn't know what she was going to do, but then we heard a surprised gasp of a young boy before Isabelle began to talk.

"Oh! Sorry I didn't mean to surprise you, my name is Isabelle. Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you," I smiled as I knew she was going with the good old cutesy charm she always have.

There was a pause as Azhum coughed, no doubt after scanning the language via magic and began translating Isabelle's words into the tribe's native tongue. This indeed surprise the boy but he didn't run away, sadly none of us could understand what was being said. Just Isabelle and Azhum when he translates into English.

("M-My name is Tah…")

"Nice to meet you Tah. You must have gotten curious about us huh?"

("Y-Yeah…it's just I never seen outsiders like y-you or a Hume…")

"Oh you mean my boyfriend Nacho? Looks like you don't get out of this village much."

("No, I never seen the outside world. Uh…can I ask you something?")

"Sure, what do you need to know?"

("Is that the cat mother?")

I raised a brow as I looked at Nacho who gave me a shrug. I know that the boy is referring to me as I am the only cat in this group, but did he really think I look like their cat mother? I mean, I look nothing like Bastet. I held onto that thought as the conversation continued.

"Cat mother? You mean Ankha?"

("Yeah, I mean I heard of the stories from my parents and the chief, but she seems to match all the descriptions told about her!")

"Oh…would you like to see her?"

("Can I? Real or not I want to see her!")

"Okay, umm Ankha? Tah here wants to see you!"

I sighed but gave a smile as I exited the hut and finally meet the young boy, who had a leopard patterned fur that was drifting towards the green coloring. His eyes lit up when he saw and I couldn't help but give him an awkward smile.

"Well hello there Tah, my name is Ankha and well…I'm not the cat mother, you think I am."

("Oh that's slightly disappointing, but you look very close to how the adults describe her. Then again, I heard the story so many times I started tuning them out and some details may have escaped me. Heh heh, but in all seriousness it's a pleasure to meet you.")

"Aw…thank you Tah, well if I am to be honest. I actually met the cat mother your people worships."

The young kid gasps, ("Really? You aren't pulling my leg, are you?")

"I'm not lying child, I really have met her, I owe everything to her, and I also work for her."

("Wow…I have so many questions…")

I giggled, the kid is very enthusiastic that's for sure and maybe we can use this to our advantage, "That's great to hear, but can I ask you some questions first?"

("Oh sure! What do you need to know? I am pretty active and keep my ears to the ground, so I know a lot of things.")

"Alright then, first off, have you noticed any kind of magic surge around here? Our talking tome friend detects large amounts of magical energy here."

("Oh that? Yeah everyone in this village felt that, I don't know why the chief didn't tell you about it. I mean it was hard to ignore, I honestly got a bad feeling from it.")

"I see, but do you know where it came from?"

("Hmm…if I had to guess it might be connected to Wildclaw Kingdom.")

"Wildclaw Kingdom? What's that?"

("Oh, you don't know? Our entire tribe is connected to the kingdom, we are the scouting tribe of our collective people.")

"Huh, that is good to know. Do you know where the kingdom is?"

("It's underground, you can find an entrance via cave, it should be around the east exit of the village, but it is guarded so you need permission first.")

"Thank you for that info young Tah, you have been very helpful."

("Anything for the beautiful feline connected to the Cat Mother! I'm sure you can get permission from the chief, and I can only imagine the looks of everybody in the kingdom when you show up!")

"Hehe, I'm sure it would be quite an event. Now what questions did you wanted to ask?"

("Well…")

I was honestly surprised at the number of questions young Tah had for me. He must have been a big fan of the stories as he asked me for Bastet's real appearance, her actual role as a goddess, and so on and forth. Unlike most people who would have gotten disappointed from learning the truth, this only seem to excite the young man further. While the information we got from him is very useful, I can't help but feel that we may have just broken the sacred rule we just made with the chief. Still the information we were given, just makes it easier for all of us.

Once his line of questions are done, we send him off back to whatever he came from and return to our hut. We relay the information we learned and then began planning.

"Well clearly we need to get into the kingdom through that cave," Nacho pointed out, "However, I think we should rack up popularity here."

"What do you mean?" Diva interjected, "We just sneak past the guards or knock them out and boom! We are inside the kingdom!"

"Look Diva, as much as I enjoy a direct approach. We need to be careful how we act here, as a man who was and hopefully still a mayor. I know how important public opinion is."

"But that's going to take too long, at least I think it will."

"I agree with Nacho, he has been a wonderful mayor and everybody is pretty loyal to him because he does so much for everyone," Isabelle pointed out, and it was true. Nacho spent most of his time doing things for the people. Making them his friends more than just citizens.

"Well that's nice and all, but how the heck are we going to do that with people who clearly want nothing to do with us?"

"Mistress is right, we would be trying to climb a wall here," Amr added.

Azhum sighed, "I hate to say it but they are right, if we are going to take the most direct path to completing the quest then sneaking past the guards to the kingdom is the optimal option."

"Are you sure though? Maybe we do have a way to make it easier to win the hearts of these people? That kid Tah!" Lucky exclaimed, which was true. Tah, though young, would be a good promoter, not many see the influential pull the younger generation can pull. If you can touch the children, then you can touch the parents.

"Well three votes for option one and three votes for option 2. Looks like you are the tie breaker Ankha, what do you think is the better option?" Nacho asked me, putting me in the spotlight.

I weighed my options carefully, while it is true that if we build popularity here and gain permission to enter the kingdom. Then we would be more welcomed and accomplishing my personal quest would be easier. On the other hand, just sneaking in would be the fastest of the options. However, thinking about it, that's all it is. Sure, we would be inside the kingdom quicker and can also find the body of Ser-Ka's husband, but there is a high chance we would be seen, and the locals won't be too happy to see us.

It may take longer, but I decided that Nacho's option is the more optimal route to take. It won't be easy, but if we can woo the villagers here and the chief then we would be welcomed with open arms, not to mention a sponsor. No doubt Tah is going to spread word about his encounter with me around his friends and that will spread like wildfire. We have to take advantage of that.

"I vote for Nacho, it may take longer but it's the only tactically sound way we can go about this."

My decision got a groan out of Diva, but others who voted with her respected my decision. With that done, we decided to get settled in with the village and its people. This way we can learn about them and become more accustomed with their way of life. Not to mention it would give me good time to get some practice in and prove myself as a chosen when the time comes.

/

Adofo's P.O.V.

I couldn't help but feel ill for whatever my master did to Ankha and her lovers. From what I saw they are shaken and may have suffered some mental trauma. I held back during my battle with the others, so easily I could have defeated them. However, there was no honor in that fight just pure emptiness. As I wait in the temple along with my corrupted master for his spy. The one who has been keeping tabs on Ankha and her group for him. He has grown wise in his resources to accomplish his goals.

The spy in question I know all too well, they are another unfortunate soul that my master managed to worm into his services. Speaking of which, here they come now. A portal opened up a tall humanoid dressed in dark robes and gi. Very ninja-esque, but that was only the outfit my master chose for them. As for who they are I don't know, but they obey my master's every order. He even tried to use them for assassination once, but that failed and they were nearly caught.

"So, how are they? Minion?"

The spy sighed, "Ankha and her lovers are still reeling from their encounter with you, but it would seem they aren't letting it interfere with their goal."

"That's quite fine, the seeds of doubt are already in place. With the right push it can hinder their abilities."

"Yeah sure, I feel like that your idea can go one of two ways. However, the way I think it would go, is that you will just strengthen their resolve."

"Heh, your humor eludes me minion. Just keep observing them and letting me know of their movements. I don't have to remind you what's at stake here?" He said as his hand began glowing in dark power.

"Grrr…no you don't…"

"Good, now begone with you."

The spy just gave a sigh as they walked and cross through the portal they came in. Leaving me and my master by ourselves. I stifled a sigh as he turned to me.

"Adofo, my dear friend, things couldn't turn out more better."

"Your tactical mind is quite astounding master. Many would think your early actions folly, but your knack for playing the long game is often overlooked."

"Indeed, Ankha will be mine one of these days, but until then I will settle for acts of demoralization. Hinder her quest to buy more time for the great god we serve."

"Indeed, so when would be your next act of demoralization master Aten?"

"Oh, I have already set those events in motion my faithful guardian. Thanks to my spy I am aware of Ankha's fears and desires. She is a strong-willed woman and no amount of seduction would ever break her fidelity from her lovers. Disguises will not work either, Bastet's blessing cannot be fooled and Ankha can sniff out those who have a different scent from them too."

"Then what is your intention with her then?"

"Simple, break her. I simply want her by my side Adofo, urges of the body matter not to me. No…she is far too valuable for such treatment."

"You plan on making her a trophy wife? A simple prize to show off?"

"Yes…to show the fruits of my efforts. Hehehe…"

I could not believe the words that came out of his mouth. It sickens me to hear them, but I kept my façade strong and only agreed with his words out of preservation. I even had to silence my own thoughts out of fear he may be reading them for any sign of insubordination. However, I am no prisoner, I myself have a plan. Only just in case things go bad, it may be crazy to think about, but I am hoping Ankha and the other chosen grow wise to his plans. I have seen this vile god and learned of his plan. I shudder to think about it now. I must do what I can here to ensure that there is still a way out of this madness.

As we began to walk together and left, an idea came to mind. It's risky, but it would be worth a shot.