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Birth of Anubis

By Chris Gilman

Andy Nubis sets the pottery shards down with a light hand before sitting up with a sigh, his back popping as he stretches from the bowed form taken from hours of cataloging the small ceramic fragments. "What a night," he whispers to himself. Walking over to the sink, he runs some cool water and dips his hands into the stream to splash it over his face. Looking up into the mirror he studies his face as the water drips from him. Typical black jackal features meet his gaze and piercing green eyes return his stare. Unruly black hair frames his face and courses down to below his shoulder blades while two tall and perked ears poke through from the top of his head.

He closes his eyes for a moment; once again a vision coming to his mind, one as vivid as if he was watching it before him in the same room. With a quiet grunt he recognizes his mother and the same strange male jackal he sees her with each time she goes on one of her little vacations, such as now. Not for the first time he wonders who this stranger is and why they are both dressed in something straight out of an Egyptian wall painting. "She'll turn up in a week or so and be happier then she has been in the last month," he says with a nod that drips water from his long muzzle.

Taking a towel from the counter he wipes the remaining water from his face and stands to his whole six foot height. His ears twitch to the quiet sound of breaking glass coming from the public display area. "Now what can that be?" he grumbles as he drops the towel and heads for the door. Checking the clock he raises an eyebrow in curiosity, "Two in the morning? No one else should be in the building except security."

Opening the door onto the darkened hallway he cocks his head one way, then the other, the sound of breaking glass once more coming to his ears. It is definitely coming from the displays in the Egypt wing. "No one should be in there this late, not even security."

Slipping into the hallway with care he edges along the wall towards the lit archway thirty feet away. Reaching the edge of it he hears a low voice mumbling as more glass shatters and falls to the floor in a tinkling rain. "Where isss it?!" demands the low voice from the room. "I know it isss here. It callsss to me. I mussst have it!"

Andy takes a quick peek around the edge and his eyes fall on a short overweight tan reptilian male in brown tights with a long tail whipping back and forth in obvious agitation. With a shout the reptilian spins towards another display case of Egyptian jewelry; his tail whipping out with a crack, more than doubling in length, to easily smash the glass that should have been almost unbreakable. "Ahhhhh, there you are," the unknown male hisses in relief as he walks towards the now busted case and reaches in to pull out a large necklace. Andy knows the necklace immediately, the necklace of Anubis, believed to grant the wearer the powers of the god himself. It does no such thing of course, but it is still a priceless artifact beyond value and he can't let the thief make off with such a prize.

He looks back down the hallway and smiles to himself, "Yes!" Creeping a short way down the hall he opens a small red cabinet next to the fire-hose and pulls a heavy fire-axe out. Hefting it in his hands he takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out as he returns to the archway and comes around the corner to stand in clear view of the perpetrator in the room. "Put it back!" he barks with a menacing growl.

The odd male goes quiet and slowly turns to face this new confrontation, an insane grin on his features. "What have we here? A wannabe hero isss it?" He throws back his head and roars with laughter that trails off in a hiss. "Foolish kid, you are no match for Whiptail!" His tail suddenly whips around to smack the axe from Andy's grip despite his strength. With a second casual backslash the tail catches him across his right cheek, sending him spinning to impact a stone pillar with his face. Letting loose a soft whimper as he slides to the ground leaving a thin trail of blood on the coarse stone.

The metallic taste of his own blood fills him mouth from his split lip. His ears droop in fear as he hears glass crunching under heavy footsteps, the thief walking towards him. Andy looks up with blurred eyes to see the lizard leering down at him. "How can I stop this thief," he thinks to himself as the reptile rubs his chin in thought at the young jackal bleeding on the floor in front of him.

"I think I'll make you the first of my ssslavesss, boy. You ssshould feel honored." Holding up the necklace like he's in some archaic ceremony, he pulls it back and secures it around his neck. Looking down at Andy he narrows his red eyes, "Now ssserve me puny normal."

Andy slides his hand slowly towards his boot as he makes to slowly push himself towards his feet in defiance. With a flick he pulls the small boot knife kept there and flings it at the crazed thief who dodges it with a casual ease. With a roar of anger the thief whips his tail towards Andy again but the younger male ducks with a 'yipp' behind the pillar that he impacted so solidly only a minute before. The tail chips pieces off the solid rock but misses Andy's head by only a hair's breadth. Another lightning fast flick of the tail and it snakes around the pillar to lash at his gut, knocking the wind from him and dropping him to the floor. Arms clutching his belly as he fights for breath.

"HOW?!" demands the crazed reptile as he faces the pillar, "I wear the necklace, all mussst sssubmit to me!!!"

"It's just a trinket you fool, just gold and gems, not magical in any way," Andy croaks out as he tries to catch his breath, his mind racing as it tries to find an answer to this problem. 'If I don't come up with something fast this guy is going to tear me apart,' he thinks as he huddles behind his scant cover.

Then another sudden vision comes to him, again he sees the male jackal that is always with his mother in such visions, but this time alone. His muzzle points towards the sky, howling in rage as his eyes begin to glow with an otherworldly power. His head tilts further backwards, his neck and back arching with the effort, as the howl intensifies till Andy believes he can truly hear it in the room. His hands spread out from his sides and twin khopesh swords come to appear in his hands which the unknown male suddenly flourishes and crosses in front of him.

Andy can't resist the urge this vision builds in him. Throwing back his own head, in mirror of the unknown warrior, he lets out a howl that joins and rivals that of the other jackal. The ear splitting noise causes Whiptail to cover his ears in pain as the howl echoes in the large room. The stone room's acoustics amplifying his howl to a point above what a normal throat could produce and making the glass on the floor vibrate with the sonic barrage coming from the two throats combined in one.

As the sound settles into a dead silence Andy opens his eyes and peeks around the pillar. His eyes widen at the sight of five ghostly forms appearing out of thin air between him and the villain. The semi-transparent figures are lined up and stand there in a rigid state of attention, their eyes looking straight at the young male canine staring back at them slack jawed.

Seeing them the crazed lizard screams at them, a demanding finger pointing to the injured jackal. "Kill him my ssservantsss! Do asss I, the wearer of the Necklace of Anubisss, command! I am your GOD!"

The ghostly warriors turn to the villain and draw their weapons in unison. Raising their weapons threateningly they all snarl and growl at the villain. Andy is shocked to realize the warriors are all dressed in an odd Egyptian styled armor and carry similarly styled axes, swords, and spears. The muscled lion in the middle raises his swords towards the villain and his voice echoes oddly in the suddenly silent room, as if his voice doesn't actually come from his mouth, but from the room itself, "No harm may come to the Prince."

With a ghostly chorus of, "For ANUBIS!" the five spectral warriors charge the lizard who cries in defiance as he whips his tail towards them. But that tail, so strong and dangerous only a few moments before, passes right through the ghostly warriors without harming them. However their weapons seem to have a far more real effect on him. The lion who had given the order bashes the lizard in the face with the pommel of his swords and a splatter of blood sprays the air from a broken nose.

Whiptail falls on his back clutching his bloody face and tries to scoot away in panic only to have a spear wielded by a lanky hyena pierce clean through his tail and into the granite floor to pin him in place. The villain screams in agony as his symbol of power is now his own anchor and trap. Seeing an axe raised over the head of a large rhino warrior Andy calls out with a tone of command he never knew he had, "No! Don't kill him!"

The warriors stop and turn to look at him briefly before turning towards the lion, obviously their leader, who nods silently. The other spear wielder, a burly panther smashes the butt of his spear into the villain's gut and just as quickly smacks him across the head, knocking the villain out cold, his tongue hanging from the side of his muzzle and a small puddle of blood forming from the broken nose.

The lion silently points to some solid iron railing and the axe wielding rhino smashes a few pieces of the metal loose with the flat of his axe. Slipping the weapon into a complex back sling he picks them up and returning to the prone and unconscious villain, proceeds to help a shorter, but heavily muscled, fennec use them like normal men would use ropes to secure the lizard.

Leaning over the now bound lizard the lion removes the necklace from the villain with great care and carries it over to the surprised Andy. Kneeling before him the lion places the necklace carefully before him and holds his right fist across his chest as his eyes focus on the floor as if trying not to look at him. The other four rank up behind him and assume similar positions. The lion's voice echoes oddly through the room again, "Prince Anubis, son of the Great Ruler, do you have other tasks for us?"

Andy looks down at the ghost warriors and stammers, "W... W... Who are you?"

"We are the personal guards of your father, the Great Ruler, and he has ordered that no harm shall come to you, his only son and heir. You called us to aid you and we have done so my prince." The lion looks up slowly, the look on his face one clearly of loyal obedience, "Is there any further need of us now my prince?"

Andy shakes his head slowly, "No... Thank you."

The lion bows his head a last time before the five figures disappear like smoke in the wind. He blinks as the smoke clears and looks at the necklace still resting on the floor at his feet then at the bound villain. The sound of sirens grows from outside the museum to intrude into this inner room. Hearing the authorities on their way he sits down with his back against the pillar and starts to tremble in shock. "What just happened? Was that all an illusion or some kind of mad dream?" he asks himself in a confused whisper.

Minutes later a short female bear wearing a skimpy purple outfit and holding a club apparently made of energy runs in with several of the Marshalls in tow. He recognizes the independent hero Plasma from news stories about her immediately as she pulls up short looking at the bound lizard in surprise. Blinking a few times she turns to see him sitting against the pillar with a trickle of blood flowing from his lip and a bruise forming on his cheek from where the tail had hit him. She dissipates the club with a wave of her hand and walks over to kneel beside him and look into his eyes, "Are you alright sir?"

Andy looks up at her and gives a slow nod. She smiles and looks over to the others, "Paramedics, over here," she calls and stands to let them examine him. "I think he's in shock," she comments as she watches the Marshalls do their job.

He watches, still stunned, as the Marshalls take charge of the bound Whiptail. "How'd he get tied up with iron bars?" one asks while another examines the metal.

One of the Marshalls comes over and kneels next to him while a quiet paramedic is taking his vital signs. "Son, did you see what happened?" Andy finds one of the highest ranking Marshalls looking down at him with a kind gaze, the lion Pridemount, his skin still stone but changing slowly back to the tawny fur it normally is.

Andy nods slowly, "He was smashing up the place, raving about finding a necklace that would make him into a god." His eyes look to the floor where the necklace now rests and Pridemount follows his gaze. "I... I stopped him."

"How'd you do that lad? You're not an unregistered Super are you?" he asks as he eyes the young jackal before him. His eyes squint as if he can tell there is more to the young jackal than meets the normal eye.

Andy shakes his head, "Not that I know of. I just work here in the Egyptology wing, happened to be working late tonight when I heard him breaking things in here."

"Then how did you do it lad?" the older lion asks as he scratches to top of his head.

"I... I guess I was lucky is all," Andy answers with a shrug and half a smile. "He must have tripped over something and knocked himself out. That's the only way I could have beaten him."

Pridemount looks at the bars being cut off the villain and replaced with handcuffs before nodding to himself in disbelief, "Yeah, tripped huh?" He takes a spear that one of the other Marshalls brings over to him, "And this just happened to fall off one of the displays to pin his tail to the floor did it lad?" He examines the spear's unblemished razor like point, blood still dripping from it.

Andy shrugs, "That's all I remember sir, I came in and tried to stop the theft of museum property. By luck I was able to survive and knock out Whiptail. But he hit me hard a few times sir, I don't remember everything that happened. Maybe someone else came in to help? That would explain the bars. I certainly couldn't do that."

The large buff lion nods again, "Indeed..." He gives the spear to another of his men and gives the young jackal a soft fatherly smile, "Sometimes luck is all that saves you lad." Four of his men carry the unconscious Whiptail from the building and he nods to Andy again. "Have a good day son. We can reach you here if we have further questions?"

He nods with respect to the lion as the paramedic dabs at the cut on his lip, "I'll be here, sir."

Pridemount nods in return and leaves the building. Several museum staff members arrive to examine the damage, including the head of the Egyptology department, Mr Stipedtail. "Are you alright lad?" asks the older tiger as he comes to squat down next to Andy and grip his hand with a gentle hand. Looking at the paramedic he asks, "Will he be alright?"

The young rabbit fem nods her head with a reassuring smile, "He's got a cut on his lip and a concussion from hitting the pillar, but he should be fine with some rest sir. The bruises will look worse than they actually are for a week or so." She pats Andy on the knee with a soft smile, "You'll mend, sir."

The older tiger pats his arm gently, "You just rest here lad and it'll be alright. I've got to make sure everything is here before the others try to clean up this mess, but I'll be back soon." Standing the curator starts talking to a few of the others gathered around.

The paramedic closes her bag and gives him a small smile, "I think you'll be fine now sir, just take it easy for a few days. We can take you to the hospital if you'd like though? You can get a thorough check out there if you wish."

Andy shakes his head and gives her a slight smile, "I'll be fine, thank you."

She nods and leaves passing the Marshalls guarding the exit on the way out. Andy sighs softly and closes his eyes as he leans his head back against the cool stone of the pillar behind him. "Quite an event Andy, picking fights with Supers and all," says a soft voice in front of him.

His eyes snap open to look upon the pretty face of Sandy Spir, the young black leopard with the stunning white hair who also worked in the Egyptology section of the museum. "Hello Ms Spir, I'm not sure just what happened as I told the authorities."

She surprises him with a wink and a whisper, "I think you know exactly what happened, Prince Anubis." A sly grin crosses her features at the look of surprised shock on his face, "Don't look so shocked, or someone might ask questions cutie." She looks over her shoulder at the others around them before turning back to him, "I won't grill you right now, but I want to have a long talk with you later." She kisses his forehead gently before she heads back to the others and hears Mr Stripedtail voice raised over the general noises, "I want a full catalogue of the wing before anything is taken as evidence. That Whiptail destroyed several cases in here." He notices Sandy and hands her a clipboard, "See to it would you Sandy?"

Pridemount steps up and quietly talks to the curator. With a surprised look on his face Mr Stripedtail looks at the spear he still holds in his hands. Examining it closely they look back at Andy and walk over to him. "Andy," asks the curator, "Where did this come from?" he holds up the spear indicating the 'this' he was talking about. "It's not part of the museum's collection and it's made of modern materials, not ancient. I can tell that from the lack of a patina on the blade."

He shakes his head as if trying to clear it, "I... I must have brought it from home. I was working on an ornamental replica based on some research here in my spare time." He nods more assuredly, "Yes, I remember now, I brought it in last week and had it with me when I confronted Whiptail. Good thing I did too, it looks like it might have helped keep me alive."

The curator nods thoughtfully as he examines the weapon again, "Quite a fine replica here lad, the detail is exquisite." He returns the spear to Pridemount with a sad sigh, "I regret these fine officers must take it as evidence lad. But I think the museum might be willing to compensate you for its loss. I just heard from Ms. Bringal, she wants you to be promoted into the vacant position as my assistant. And with the great service you just did for the museum I think that is more than justified, you were already being considered for the position anyway." He smiles down at the young man as Pridemount leaves them, "Take tomorrow off and have a nice long weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday Andy."

With a shocked look he swallows nervously, "Thank you sir, thank you very much." The old tiger turns back to the others and Andy slowly starts to rise.

Andy catches a glimpse of Sandy's white hair as she helps another associate pick up the pieces from one of the many smashed display cases. "What did she see, and how did she see it?" he thinks as he turns to leave the museum.

Exiting the museum with a nod to the officer standing by the door he sees the sun starting to peak over the horizon. "It looks like it's going to be a good day," he says to no one in particular as he stuffs his hands in his pockets and saunters off towards his small apartment.

All characters unless otherwise stated are the property of Christopher Gilman.Story © Copyright Christopher Gilman 2008 all rights reservedMegalopolis © Copyright Goliath Thunderstep and Emerald Cistern and is used with permissionPlasma © Copyright Goliath Thunderstep and is used with permissionPridemount © Copyright Emerald Cistern and is used with permission mail me and tell me what you think at [email protected]