Chapter 5

When Rowen heard the tray crash onto the floor, he immediately slammed the door shut and spun around; while he was doing this, he noticed that everyone was rushing down the hallway that led towards the castle kitchens. Running as fast as he could, Rowen and the other seven armor bearers bolted towards the kitchens, only to skid on the wooden floor that led to the area where everyone had heard the crashing noise. The white, unnamed Candy Skulls were still intact, but scattered all over the floor. However, no one noticed them because everyone was looking at Mercedes. She was kneeling on the floor, hugging a little eight-year-old girl. The little girl had Mercedes dark brown hair and tan skin; when the girl turned around, Dais noticed that she had brown eyes. They were a lighter shade of brown, not the Dark Brown color Mercedes had. "Mercedes," Dais swallowed, "who is this?"

Mercedes smiled, "this is my sister Pepita."

"Imp…Imp...Imp…Imp…Impossible," Cale stuttered, "Mia told me that your little sister died two years ago."

"I did," Pepita smiled, looking at the new people in the room, "but every Day of the Dead, I leave Mictlan to spend time with my family."

"But doesn't your family live in Mexico City?" Rowen questioned.

"Yes," Pepita nodded, "but I like staying with Mercedes. She's the only one in my family who'll play dolls with me. Mama use to play dolls with me, but now that she and papa are working, she's always busy, and never has time to play. Mercedes is the only one who would play dolls with me every Day of the Dead."

Everyone's eyes went wide; to Dais, Cale, and Sekhmet, the events taking place in front of them were far too weird to comprehend or explain.

"So," Pepita asked when she turned towards her big sister, "who are your new friends?"

"The boy with Black hair is Ryo," Mercedes began, "the boy with blond hair is Sage, the boy with smoke-gray hair is Kento, the boy with light brown hair is Cye, and the boy with blue hair is Rowen. The man with blue hair and the cross shaped scar on his face is Cale, the man with white hair is Dais, the man with green hair is Sekhmet, and the young lady with brown hair is Mia."

Pepita looked at the three ex-Warlords, "so you're the three men that my friend keeps talking about."

Dais, Cale, and Sekhmet looked at each other. "Friend?" Sekhmet questioned, "What friend?"

Pepita giggled, "don't tell me you've forgotten him already. You know, Red-Brown hair, Blue-Green eyes, wears a funny looking outfit that he says was a monk's outfit from when he was alive. He gave me a new doll."

"A doll?" Sekhmet questioned. The ex-Warlord of Venom knew that Anubis was more comfortable around people than animals, but still, Sekhmet did not see Anubis as the type of person who would give a child a doll.

"Don't worry," Pepita smiled, "when I leave tomorrow. He'll come and visit you."

"WHAT!" All eight armor bearers yelled in unison.

"He's going to come and visit you," Pepita repeated, sighing, "besides, you made him an altar. It's only fair that he come and visit you."

"But he died many months ago," Ryo countered, "How can he come and visit us?"

"You eight obviously have not been paying attention," Mercedes sighed as she shook her head, "the Day of the Dead is a three day celebration. It starts on October 31, today, and ends on November 2. The deceased children visit at 12:00 in the afternoon on October 31, and at 12:00 in the afternoon tomorrow, November 1, Pepita will leave and your deceased friend will come and visit. The Day of the Dead festival is to welcome the dead home from Mictlan. Everyone who is visiting is dead. They have not been resurrected, for that will come at the Last Judgment, but their spirits will be solid and they can visit living friends, family, and other loved ones."

Pepita giggled, "Anubis has funny friends."

"They're not funny," Mercedes smiled, "they're just not used to the concept of the dead returning to visit the living."

Pepita looked at her altar, "you made a very pretty altar."

"Thanks," Mercedes blushed, "do you want anything to eat from there."

"No," Pepita smiled, "I want you to play dolls with me. I have three new dolls to show you."

With that, Pepita and Mercedes started walking towards the Commons Room.