Author's Notes:

Firstly, as always, I would like to thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.

Secondly, for those of you with questions regarding the story, please login before leaving your review, for I normally answer those through PMs, and so I simply cannot answer the questions of guest reviewers appropriately.

Thank you for your understanding.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, I would like to ask for a moment of silence for the passing of an amazing author. Becuziswrong author of 'Memories of Iron', 'A Propensity for Wrath' and other such amazing stories has recently passed away.

I was an avid follower of his work, his stories possessing a depth and incredibly well done world building that I couldn't help but admire, and I'm confident in saying that I'm not the only one who thinks he will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace, your works shall be remembered.

Lastly: I do not own "Campione!" or "Worm Serial".

\V/

Old Age and Treachery, Can't Beat a Campione.

Moving out of the bathroom of her hotel room while absentmindedly toweling her long hair after taking an extremely long shower, Taylor couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment.

For while Anit's spell had indeed healed all of her wounds and even lessened the headache that had been pounding in her head, it had done absolutely nothing about the grit, sand and blood that had been all but covering every inch of her body.

And after spending another hour or so questioning the Egyptian mage regarding more information about the magical world and everything else that was apparently hidden in plain sight by the assorted mage associations, she had been left feeling more than just a little crummy, so the feeling of being clean once again was just about heavenly.

Even if Taylor considered herself to be of the practical sort, forgoing most luxuries in favor of doing what she believed had to be done, she couldn't deny that feeling clean was something that she refused to let go without proper reason.

Thinking about the olive skinned mage that had left to report to her organization what had just happened, Taylor couldn't help but ponder what that would mean to her in the long term.

She was still wrapping her head upon the fact that on this Earth magic was absolutely real, but in the end she knew that she would accept it soon enough after letting her brain simmer on the subject for some time. After all she had already seen far weirder things on her young life.

The fact that she had apparently been reborn as a superhuman being capable of literally defying the will of the Gods themselves was a little harder to swallow, but in the end as they say, seeing is believing, and as her eyes rested upon the golden colored marble that was now resting on her nightstand, a marble that was all that remained of Khepri, alongside the fact that she could feel the faint thrum of her new recently acquired Authority in the back of her mind, made it extremely hard to refute that little fact.

Even thought she felt both those facts were quite curious and more than a little on the weird side, they did not really worry her all that much, she knew she could adapt to them easily enough. What was occupying her mind was the fact that almost all countries had mage organizations operating on the background and controlling things, just like the organization Anit was reporting to at this very moment, the so called Council of the Sands.

Her personal experience with any kind of authority figure, specially large organizations, could be called shaky at best, downright catastrophic at worst, so she was more than a bit wary at the fact that she, as one of the only eight God-slayers currently walking the planet, would undoubtedly be seen as a major asset to be acquired by those in power.

'Politics.' She thought with distaste, all but turning the word into a curse.

She knew that Anit had said that due to their power Devil-kings were pretty much given free rein to do whatever they desired as long as they fought off Heretic Gods, being pretty much common sense that angering someone that could squish you like a bug was a bad idea.

But the truth remained that she knew that there would be inevitably those that would believe themselves smart enough to try and control a Campione in order to further their own goals or gain political power, thinking themselves above any possible fallout.

After all, if there was something her near nineteen years of life had managed to teach her, it was that common sense was, incredibly enough, anything but common.

'Like Einstein once wisely said, only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.' She though with a hint of amusement, knowing from personal experience just how right that saying was.

Sitting at the front of the laptop that had been provided with the room, there were definite benefits on splurging a little on an upper class hotel, and it was not as if she was in need of money what with her little excursion before facing Khepri, she powered it on intending on continuing her earlier research.

Upon finding out that an unaffiliated, recently reborn, Campione was upon their territory the so called Council of the Sands was bound to make a move to try and ensnare her into their area of influence, that was a given.

For to do so would greatly increase their own power and reputation, both locally and globally, and she was certain that the promise of power would be more than enough to blind quite a few idiots to what logic would dictate was the best course of action.

That knowledge was only reinforced by the fact that while she had gotten a very positive first impression from Anit, the mage herself could barely hide her contempt for her bosses and the Council she apparently served.

Her main weakness at the moment was how very little she knew about the supernatural side of this world, a fact that she knew others would try and exploit.

And while she doubted that she would be able to find anything truly important on the internet, now that she knew exactly what she was looking for she knew that the Thinker powers she could give herself would be able to glean a lot more information than what she had first obtained. So it was time for a research binge.

'Like Lisa loved to say, knowledge is power.' She idly though even as she opened her mouth to invoke her powers.

"From the void I claim you! From the ether I beseech you! Come to me fragments of creation! Grant me thy blessings in my hour of need; invest me with thy might; empower me with thy graces; for I'm the agent of thy will!"

Selecting a Thinker power she decided that for this the duration of the ability would be far more important than sheer strength, so setting the power ranking at level four, ensuring she would be able to use it for forty two minutes, she started to search for something useful.

It was slightly annoying how random this Authority could apparently be, forcing her to search power after power for what she needed, some of the powers being offered showing her how lucky she had been at drawing that gravity manipulation power when battling Khepri.

After all why would the Authority even think that a Thinker power that showed her the elemental composition, down to the molecular level, of the things she was seeing was something she would ever need?

Slightly shaking her head she couldn't help but feel that she had been truly fortunate that chance had favored her with something capable of taking the Heretic God down in her moment of need.

'Well either that, or just like the Entities Shards the Authority responds best while under conflict scenarios.' She mused, making a mental note to try and check out that particular possibility at a later date.

Stopping at a power than would dramatically increase her deduction capabilities and her logical reasoning she turned to the computer on the desk.

It was time to see if she could fill a few of the gaps in her knowledge.

\V/

She had been researching for over half an hour, using every single scrap of information she could find to fuel her power in order to obtain even more information, rinse and repeat, when a knock on the door of her room broke her concentration.

Slightly annoyed she turned to see who it was and if she could get rid of them quickly so that she could return to what she had just found out, the fact that apparently England had two directly competing magical organizations was something that she wanted to try and delve deeper before her power was up.

Opening the door all thoughts regarding England's apparent secret magical feud were immediately pushed out of her mind, as she took in Anit and the two other men standing out of her room's door.

Looking at the sharply dressed silver-blond haired man standing between the two others, a serene affable smile on his face, her still active power immediately started feeding her information.

'Used to power, used to command, high ranking member of the Council; Confident, arrogant, believes himself superior to others, believes himself superior to me; Knows about my lack of magical knowledge, believes that he can use that lack of knowledge to gain control over me; Sees others as mere tools to further his own ends; Untrustworthy.'

"Yes, can I help you?" Taylor asked putting forth her best public relations smile, while inwardly fighting to contain the massive smirk that was threatening to appear on her face as her power kept feeding her more and more information with every moment that passed.

With her deductive power still running strong the timing of the Council for this little meeting could not have been better.

Looking at the younger black haired, kindly smiling man wearing apparently common but obviously expensive clothing she allowed her power to run wild, gleaming everything she could about him.

'Perfect balance, ready stance, trained fighter; Slight hidden bulges spread throughout his clothing, hidden weapons; Knows how to use weapons, has killed before, trained killer; Deferential body language towards the first man, subordinate to the first man, utterly loyal to his master; Assessing my form for potential threats, sees me as an objective, has a mission regarding me, plans to gain my trust, plans to join my service; Untrustworthy, dangerous.'

"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce myself. I am Zaliki Abubakar member of the council of the humble magic organization that oversees Egypt, and this is my companion Abasi Ubaid and of course you already know Anit Khalfani." He said in a polite friendly tone, gesturing first to his kindly smiling minion and then to Anit's politely smiling form.

Turning her gaze towards the woman that had helped her in the aftermath of her battle she decided to see what else she could learn, calmly tuning out Zaliki's ramblings about what an honor it was for them that she was currently upon their country she got to work.

'Fake smile, stiff body language, uncomfortable with current situation; Doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to serve the Council; Facing pressure by her family, facing possible punishment due to her actions during the recent crisis, being used as a bridge with me so that to help gain my trust due to her help healing me; Does not trust other two, does not respect them; Respects me for my actions regarding Khepri; Trustworthy.'

'Well isn't that interesting?' She inwardly mused, her face still serenely smiling as Zaliki rambled on and on. She could easily see what the Council was planning, her still ongoing power feeding her more information with every line that was spoken. The Council was planning on putting one of their personal pawns in a position where it could watch and subtly direct her movements, but now how best to thwart said plans?

She would like to avoid a direct confrontation if at all possible at this particular time, but the fact remained that no matter how much in need she was of information, or how shaky her standing upon this Earth was at the moment, there was no way she was allowing the black haired man, Abasi, to remain within even thirty meters of her person.

But if she were to directly refuse their offer of service not only would she probably make an enemy out of the Council, but she would also appear weak, and that was not a helpful image to cultivate, especially this early in the game.

"…and so in thanks of the services you have granted to the whole of Egypt by dealing with the recent threat in such a magnificent manner, the Council has decided to grant you a gift in order to further aid you, in the form of giving you one of our most talented practitioners." He magnanimously declared, stopping for a moment for dramatic effect.

Seeing that, she had to fight down the urge to allow the smirk she had felt earlier to resurface and grow to truly predatory proportions. The pompous fool need for dramatics had just given her a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

"Very well I shall accept this gift from the Council, carry to them my thanks for such prompt assistance." She regally replied, eyes shining with mirth as her power feed her Zaliki's triumphant body language, it was time to show him she was not to be trifled with.

"Anit Khalfani, you showed great courage and dedication during the recent crisis, I hope you shall show equal care and diligence while under my service." She continued on, a hint of the smirk she was still fighting down appearing on her face as she took in Zaliki's slight widening of his eyes and Anit's gobsmacked expression.

"You may enter my abode; there is much we have to discuss." She commanded with an imperious tone of voice. "If there is nothing else, you two are dismissed."

"W-wait Your Grace, if this humble servant could be allowed to speak, Anit is not the…"

"Enough! I grow weary of this meeting; I desire to consult with my servant before finally retiring for the night, leave and carry my thanks to the Council, now go." She cut him off in her best Alexandria impersonation, giving him a stare that all but shouted that he was beneath her notice and should better leave before her patience was lost and she crushed him like a bug.

With his pause he had created a situation where he had offered her a servant but not named said servant, allowing her to take the initiative and choose one of her own from the 'selection' he had brought forth, and now he couldn't back down or the Council itself would appear weak or untrustworthy.

Not waiting to see his reaction she turned around, leading a shocked looking Anit into her room before closing the door in the face of the two equally baffled men.

'Take refuge in audacity, make it look like you know what you are doing, and everyone else will believe that to be the truth.'

She fondly remembered that little pearl of wisdom Faultline had given her in the aftermath of Leviathan's attack, and while she couldn't help but question most of the mercenary cape's actions, that little piece of advice had helped her a lot in the following months. Now it was no different.

Anit had apparently overcome her momentary shock if the look of evaluating appraisal she was giving Taylor was anything to go by. Giving the mage an slightly apologetic look, after all, for all intents and purposes Taylor's actions had turned the woman into her servant, she made a gesture towards the door before moving a finger to her lips and raising an eyebrow in question.

The Egyptian mage had shown quite some versatility with her spell work up to this point, and it was her hope that she would have something that would allow them to talk without worry of the two men outside overhearing, since Taylor really didn't want to use her remaining charge for such an action.

Thankfully Anit both seemed to understand what Taylor meant with her little game of charades and apparently had something that could be used, for she immediately started to chant.

"Silent Meretseger, She who is on her mountain, safeguard us from all those who would pry upon our secrets."

Watching curiously as a faint emerald sheen seemed to permeate the walls all around them, Taylor finally allowed the mischievous grin she had been holding back to appear.

"I take that the egomaniac outside and his pet assassin won't be able to hear us now?" She simply asked, highly amused as Anit seemed to choke on air for a moment upon hearing her words. "What is up with big organizations and their love for shadowy deals anyway?"

"Managed to notice that did you?" Anit finally managed to say, a small grin appearing on her face. "But if you managed to see past their little ruse, then why did you take me into your service? For all you know I may well be a spy too."

Letting out an amused huff Taylor moved towards her bed, grabbing one of its pillows before moving towards the closet.

"Please, I may not have even a single clue when it comes to all this magic stuff, but that doesn't mean I don't know about human nature or the seedier aspects of life. And having quite a useful Authority also doesn't hurt." She lightly said, opening the closet and rummaging around it until finding a blanket.

"I know you despise both those idiots and most of the Council too. That your family forced you into your current path and that you were going to be punished for 'disobeying' your superiors latter on."

"I couldn't simply refuse the Council 'gracious' offer without appearing weak and making an enemy, but hell if I was going to willingly allow a viper to stay that close to me. You are trustworthy, competent, and highly unsatisfied with your now past employer." She continued while moving towards Anit's surprised form.

"Claiming you makes it seen as if I'm allowing the Council some leeway while at the same time not compromising me ,all the while allowing me access to an competent mage from what I've seen so far, and not to mention allowing you out of the tight spot you where in, a win-win no matter how you look at it." She finished with an impish smile, placing both the blanket and the pillow upon the mage's hands.

"So now that you are my loyal minion and all that whatnot, what do you say that we continue that impromptu crash course to the magical world we had started after I took Khepri down?" Taylor half joked, moving to sit on the bed. "By the way you are sleeping on the couch."

Not even trying to fight down the startled laugh that emerged from her throat Anit moved towards said piece of furniture intending on fixing it so she could lay down. "You are a sneaky little schemer aren't you? I guess this job is going to be interesting if nothing else."

"Oh you have no idea." She replied, thinking of the time she and the rest of the Undersiders had all but taken control of the underworld of her home city of Brockton Bay.

"What's in this thing?" Anit mumbled while lifting the heavy duffel bag that had been placed above the couch.

"A few hundred thousand Egyptian pounds." Was Taylor's nonchalant reply from her spot on the bed.

"What?!" Anit shouted, all but dropping the duffel bag. She gave the Campione a look, as if asking if she was serious, before opening the bag's zipper in order to confirm that, yes, the heavy bag was indeed filled to the brim with money.

Noticing the flabbergasted look entering the olive skinned woman's features at the sight of her re-appropriated funds, Taylor felt an mischievous impulse form deep within and, after a moment's thought, decided to let her inner Aisha out to play a little.

"By the way, I'm in need of a few documents, you don't happen to know a good forger do you? " She nonchalantly asked, a calm serene look fixed upon her face, as if she had just asked about the weather.

Watching the confused, bewildered and slightly skeptical gaze Anit was giving her, Taylor managed to keep a serious face for all of a minute before letting out a burst of laugher.

Giving the laughing Devil-king clutching her stomach a deadpan glare, Anit shook her head before starting to fix the blanket upon the couch.

"This is definitely going to be an interesting job." She mumbled, a hint of a smile appearing beneath her faux offended look.

\V/

Opening her eyes Taylor immediately jumped up to her feet, the white featureless surroundings pushing her instincts into overdrive as she noticed she was no longer in her hotel room.

Knees bent, ready to launch her forward if there was the need and arms raised in front of her body in case of an attack, she took in the completely white misty landscape, downright unnerved.

"There is no need for such alarm you know; nothing can harm you here after all." A calm motherly voice said from right behind her.

Twisting around with a start Taylor took in the appearance of her apparent kidnapper. A young looking woman on a white dress, long light purple hair, a pair of purple motherly eyes and a proud gentle smile finished her appearance

All in all the woman looked completely harmless but Taylor did not drop her guard even for an instant despite that, she knew far too well that being cute did not stop someone from being deadly, Bonesaw being the perfect example of it.

"Hmph, calm down already will you. Why must all of my children be so difficult?" The woman bemoaned in a playful manner.

"Who are you, and where are we?" Taylor demanded, even as she acknowledged a strange sense that she had already seen this woman, that her voice was somehow familiar.

"I am the all giving woman, Pandora, but if you want to, feel free to call me Mom, it's a pleasure seeing you again Taylor."She said while giving a small playful curtsy.

Taylor immediately linked the name to the information that Anit had given her earlier, that the Devil-kings were the sons and daughters of the Witch Pandora, who resurrected them as Campione.

Not a moment after she made the connection she remembered their first meeting, how the young looking woman had comforted her when she had been on the verge of death, right before reincarnating her as a Campione due to her victory over Scion, and what she had called the woman moments before waking up in the desert.

Turning crimson with embarrassment she averted her eyes, body relaxing slightly amidst Pandora's bell like laughter.

"Ah so you do remember our last meeting!" She cheerfully said, all but skipping towards Taylor's embarrassed form. "So many of my children barely seen able to remember me, it's a little infuriating really."

"But not only did you remember, you even came to visit! Such a good dutiful daughter!" She happily exclaimed, enthusiastically hugging Taylor's left arm, increasing the young Campione's embarrassment even more.

"As for your other question, we are in the Netherworld, the boundary between life and immortality, though I think that it's a little shy at present, what with all the mysterious endless white expanse thing it got going on right now."

Looking at the laughing carefree woman hanging from her arm Taylor was having a really hard time reconciling her with the image of the extremely powerful True God that Anit had described.

"It was you that reincarnated me as a Campione, wasn't it?" She asked, a serious look entering her features.

"Indeed! And my choice has already proven itself the right one! You did an excellent job dealing with Khepri, perhaps now that misbehaving child will learn some manners!" Pandora confirmed, daintily raising a hand to cover her laughter.

Removing the arm that was still grabbing her, Taylor took a step back and stared the immortal woman straight in the eyes before bowing her head.

"Thank you." She sincerely stated, her words filled with gratitude. "If not for you I would no longer be alive, and for that, for saving me, you have my thanks."

Even if she had been willing to sacrifice her life in order to stop Scion, that did not mean that she hadn't wished to stay alive, to keep enjoying all the wonders contained in the world, and the fact that the woman standing before her had allowed that to happen made her feel a debt towards her.

"It was my pleasure to aid one such as you, Taylor."Pandora said, her voice without a hint of her usual playful tone as she gently lifted the Campione's head. "There is no need for thanks."

Looking at the dazzling smile Pandora was sporting and the proud motherly gaze being given to her, Taylor couldn't help but smile in kind.

"I really enjoyed our talk my dear child, but alas, it would seen our time is nearly up." She pouted as she spied something from above the Campione's shoulder, even if when Taylor turned around to see what it was all that her eyes gazed upon was a white void.

"Since you are such a good dutiful child I think I shall give you a little hint! A Heretic God will soon strike upon the proud city of Alexandria, and you are the closest of my children to there. So if you hurry up you can possibly avert the coming disaster."

"What?!" Taylor asked, wariness filling her voice, but even as she spoke white mist seemed to be slowly filling up her vision.

"Head north my child that's all that I can tell you at this moment and good luck." The all giving woman seriously stated, before a large playful smile came back into her features. "And do come back to visit when you are done, I truly do enjoy receiving visitors!

\V/

Jumping straight out of her bed, the sound of bell like laughter still filling her ears, Taylor tried to remember the dream she had just had.

Proud purple eyes and a caring motherly smile, a familiar face bearing some kind of message, a sense of urgency, that she had to be somewhere, and amidst it all a single name resounding throughout her mind, Alexandria.

"Damn, what got into you?" Anit mumbled still half asleep from her perch upon the couch.

Ignoring the question she tried to remember anything else, but it was all already fading away, as if mist upon the light of the dawn, but the sense of urgency, that she had to be someplace else as soon as possible, remained.

Looking towards the north she pondered this feeling, wondering for a moment if whatever this was could possibly be a trap.

But in the end she decided to trust her instincts, and they were saying to her in no uncertain terms that she should head north. Nodding her head she left the bed and started packing her things under the bemused stare of the Egyptian mage.

"Anit you better get up and start to get ready, also if there is anything you want to take with us say it now so that we can go and pick it up, we are heading out north right after breakfast." She stated while grabbing a new change of clothes.

"Wait, what? North, north where?" Anit asked as she slowly got out of her makeshift bed.

"Alexandria." Taylor simply stated while starting to move towards the bathroom.

"And why are we going to Alexandria in such a hurry?" She curiously asked, clearly wondering what was happening.

Stopping for a moment, Taylor tried to put into words why she felt such an urgent need to head to the ancient port city, but only managed to grasp pieces and fragments of it, like a dream of a dream.

Looking at the woman expecting gaze, she finally decided upon telling the truth, after all if Anit was to trust her, then she herself would have to show the mage some trust in kind.

"You know, I really have no idea."

Taking a moment to appreciate Anit's open mouthed perplexed look, Taylor turned around and closed the bathroom door right behind her.

But even through the thick wooden door she was still able to clearly hear Anit's shocked shouted response.

"What?!"

\V/

Author's Notes:

You know one of the few things that irked me in the original Campione was how Godou immediately trusted the History Compilation Committee, Japan's mage organization, without any reservation and how hands free he was with them; and considering some reviews I have received since starting this fic I'm not the only one.

First and foremost let me make it clear that I have nothing against Godou, I love him as a character, both his actions and his morals, or his hidden deviousness. But truth be told, I always felt he was way too trusting in regards to what amounted to a centuries old shadowy magical secret order whose members regularly used mind altering powers to keep the populace ignorant in regards to the supernatural.

After all, even if the powers of a Campione should cower most people, there will always be those that will believe themselves above such things and try to obtain some kind of advantage despite all common sense saying that's a bad idea, that's just human nature.

So that's why Taylor is facing a more realistic magical organization, one that upon seeing a newly reborn, and in their eyes naïve and inexperienced, Campione within their grasp tried to put Taylor under their influence.

Pity for them that Taylor is anything but naïve or inexperienced.

Rest assured, not all members of the Council will be sleaze-balls or idiots, but considering Taylor's innate distrust of authority figures, I thought it would be interesting to make her not have a good first impression of the Council since it would create a great initial setup for latter plot development.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.