Author's Note: I thought this fic would remain discontinued, but I had the urge to write for it. I considered using Egyptian names, considering the Egyptian AU theme of this fic, but decided to keep the GX names we know and love; this was due to quick and simple character recognition. It will still be delayed, as I've got other projects. My novel is taking up most of my spare time.
-o-
Keeping himself out of sight, Fubuki moved through the temple courtyard. Each pillar was ringed with symbols; the paving stone stretched from a meter off the walls all across the complex. Hearing footsteps, he kept out of sight. A silver-haired man, his target, passed his hiding place, followed by three ladies so similar they could be sisters. They went to a door opposite. Once they ventured indoors, Fubuki hurried to the rear shrine and, with a quick look back, sneaked inside. He searched the first room on the left. Huddled in the corner were small canopic jars in two rows of four. Another set stood upon the opposite shelf. He inhaled the salty air and frowned; if it wasn't a shrine, what was it? And why the jars?
Fubuki moved to the shelf and lifted the nearest jar. Empty. And so was the next. But something in his stomach told him the ones on the floor were full. He searched for a full five minutes before he was forced to hide from visitors:
"How should I know what you want?" said a boy. "We shouldn't be here. I want to go."
"Go?" said a second. "They're praying, and the priest won't tend the idol till the end of the service. He won't see us. Or are you afraid?"
"Do I look like a coward?"
Catching his breath, Fubuki looked around then ran for the blind spot. The door closed again soon after. The only light came from the bottom crack, where a shadow appeared. He just wanted to get his evidence and get out. He'd let Ryou and Chousaku handle the rest; this was too dangerous.
"Now isn't this a surprise?" said a man's voice. "The sun is high and you're indoors. What reason could you have for such a thing?"
"He made me do it."
"You know this is a sacred area."
"Sorry."
"And I don't want to see you here again."
The first boy mumbled and was ushered through now-open doors. Fubuki could do nothing but remain hidden as he watched the priest usher the children outside, the three being followed by an overweight cat. He chose that time to run, silently to be unheard, and sought to infiltrate the inner sanctum. He did so, for when the priest went inside again, opening the closed door would give away his position.
Fubuki looked round the sanctum, at the repeated columns and shadowed walls, with their depictions of salamanders and coiled serpents and fish, and chose a pillar at the end. It was a good place to hide. The profound dark gave Fubuki a perfect viewpoint, and the column was good cover. He was sure the priest would come here; it was part of his routine. Fubuki had observed him daily, and this room was key. The priest came in and rarely ventured out. His hurried mind concluded that where the priest was, the missing citizens would be.
The priest, according to his superiors, was dangerous.
"Would you like fish today, Pharaoh?" came a voice.
A cat meowed.
"They don't like fish in parts of our land, you know. Let me see what I have when my work is done. I saw a delightful specimen on the market the other day, and removed the bones just for you. You can enjoy it, though that is not always the case, yes?"
"Oh and how many sisters are there?" the priest continued quietly, squatting to stroke Pharaoh along his back. "One, the daughter? Two, the mother and child? Three, the father of alchemy? I'm not a man who needs material wealth. I enjoy my work, you know. I've always sought to understand those who would obstruct it. They deem it unhealthy, against the gods. But what is a god? A single existence who dreams of others? All and one? Is there life beyond the All? It's not fair to be denied enlightenment, is it? People often do the wrong things for the right reasons."
Fubuki didn't like the sound of that. He kept back a dissatisfied sigh and heard pacing, bare feet slapping the stone floor one step after another. He looked round the pillar and took one long look at the wall. It was half-open, and the man was hauling it aside. It was a false door. That was how he disappeared.
He knew that trailing this priest to obtain needed evidence would be to follow him into danger, and wondered whether the old-looking man (which itself was strange, as his voice sounded younger) had arranged it like that for the purpose of flushing him out. It was amazing how at ease he sounded, and yet there he was, looking over his shoulder as if expecting visitors. Living under the thumb of a dynasty made ever more difficult by the history of the current Pharaoh's predecessors, he thought.
Why does he never leave this place?
The priest stood eight meters away by the glow of his candlelight, and soon as he'd disappeared into the hidden room, Fubuki was tiptoeing round looking for clues.
He couldn't see what happened next.
With a slight jerk of the head, the cat jumped off the table. A hatchet blade came down after the animal left. It cut the skin, and through flesh, sinew and bone to the board underneath, severing the woman's head from her body. This was not murder, and the priest honestly felt the women knew what they were doing when they came to him with the intention of seeking help. He was renowned for wizardry, but loathed the term. Alchemy was the means of understanding the truth of life. All was the same. And when he saw it, he couldn't resist. A Ka, a united existence of three human beings!
He turned to clean the blade with a rag, tranquil and static and rapt, his red eyes darting time upon time to the cat. Pharaoh gave him a soft meow then turned. Fubuki retreated round the corner with open, worried eyes, hid from Pharaoh, and ran for the door.
Fubuki in his hurried state of mind was unable to fathom how he'd been noticed, and didn't see how the depiction of the salamander stretched its wings. He saw that, nor the shimmering air, only the emerald light that filled the room soon after.