Author's note: This story is inspired by a play through I had in Rome Total War where I lead my Egyptian faction into fighting and even winning the Roman Families and take control of Rome after a massive and heart pounding campaign. Thanks CA for the groundbreaking RTS strategy title. PS, you guys need to make a new Total War game about some other time era like American Civil War, Africa, India, Feudal South East Asia, etc... This story is once again written by me and Squdge/Shiryu Rex of the GRC.

From the palace of Knossos to the top of Mt Olympus, Hellas stretches its beauty and majestic philosophies throughout the known world and beyond. Its people prosper in the Agoras, the beating heart of cities from Sparta to Athen and the far reaches of the Anatolia, the various city states rose from humble backgrounds to immense wealth. Even their Egyptian neighbors were impressed by the great development of Hellas and the philosophies of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Pericles and much more. Among those Egyptian, was Anubis, Patron of the Dead. On the back of his horse Ramiel, he rode on the paved road of Athen towards Mt. Olympus, the summer air was hot and warm on his back and shoulders, he felt the great pleasure of being on the land of the freemen, to be an ambassador of his Pantheon to the long time friends.

However, his moment of peaceful travel was soon interrupted when his ears heard the sound of mortals shouting, the cracks and rumbling of rocks and stone structures can be heard on the horizon as he came closer to it. "Heave! Ho!" Shouted one of the man, as the statue of Hades was yanked from its pedestal at the temple's facade, the worshippers and priests there celebrated their effort and screams their joy in the air. "That can't be good, what is the meaning of this?" Anubis wondered as he galloped towards the mortal group. "What's happening here? You don't look like vandals from the looks of things." He asked the group and much to his surprise they knelt before him, bowing their heads to the ground before his regal appearance. "Uhh...what is your purpose for this...display of fidelity?" He perplexed.

"We mortals have been suffering for far too long!" Cried the priest in his white toga as he approached Anubis offering him gifts, a bronze statue of Anubis jackal reclining on a pedestal with Greek writing on it that reads "Noble Judge and Beacon of Hope ever after." The title was quite grand and chivalrous to say the least as Anubis had to tilt his head in confusion. "What on Earth? Hades has been neglecting you?" The jackal deity asked and the priest nodded to him. "Aye" he said, "Our countless prayers and sacrifices mean nothing to him m'lord. We believe that no longer does Hades uphold his principle of unquestioning commitment to his duty to the mortals. And so in our hour of despair, we turn to you Anubis, most diligent and fair of all the Underworld deities in the Mediterranean." The priest declared as the Greeks there began to give Anubis flowers and bouquet to express their love to him. Their songs of praises and lyres were strummed in his honor. "Very well...I can't turn down the willing worshippers such as you. You all are welcomed to worship me be it here in your home or along the Nile." Anubis declared somewhat reluctantly and even confused by the situation he found himself in.

But before he could say anything else, he heard the sound of a booming thud and electric zapping behind him, he turned his head around to face the source of the sound and found much to his horror, the deity of Greek Underworld, Hades. "How dare you steal my followers, mutt? Return them to me or suffer punishment at the foot of Olympus." Hades commanded as he ventured forward, his appearance was a grisly reminder of the eventual demise of all life and how grotesquely deformed and twisted it looks to mortals. His body was clad in a purple robe with a hood hiding his entire face with antlers and prongs perching up on his head.

"I can't give back what I didn't take, you neglect your duty to your own followers and for that, they turn to someone else who would answer their prayers." Said Anubis as he held his scepter in his right hand and poised his horse Ramiel for a charge at Hades. Aggression was clearly not an ideal situation right now as Anubis was actively getting into conflict with the pantheon he was sent to mediate with. "Then perhaps some house rules must be laid down on you." Hades's scepter began to glow sickly green with his skeletal arms giving off an aura of dread.

"We'll see about that." Anubis uttered as he lobbed his energy ball out at Hades, who in turn fired his own energy ball at Anubis. The two balls clashed with each other, discharging their energy against one another and exploded in mid air, Anubis would then ride in towards Hades and fired his Mummification Attack on Hades to ensnare him, causing Hades to struggle against the Mummification bandages and growl out at the sight of Anubis skirting around him and pelting him with his Plague of Locusts. Hades then quickly melted down into the ground and moved about causing mortals to flee the sight of battle while Anubis sniffed the air for Hades's scent. He soon saw that Hades was emerging from underground and his blast knock Anubis off of Ramiel's back, his steed whirred in shock as its master was thrown off its saddle. "I told you so. Give me back my followers and I will let you go…" Hades approaches Anubis slowly with his left hand throwing out a miasma of dread and soul devouring force on Anubis.

The jackal deity refused to give in and quickly returned the favor by slamming the hilt of his scepter on the ground summoning Grasping Hands to tuck at Hades's robe and yank him down from his levitation walk. Anubis then quickly got back on his feet and fired his Gaze of Death at Hades's head, blasting him flying into the temple, smashing the pillars and columns apart. The mortals who were watching the battle unfold from their safe distance cheered and whistle in admiration to Anubis. "Cease this violent transgression, I command!" Called an elderly booming voice from above as the thunder struck the ground violently, from it came the Ruler of the Sky, the God of Thunderstorm and King of Mt. Olympus, Zeus himself. With his grey hair and beard he levitated to Anubis dressed in white toga and extend a hand to the Jackal. "I recall you are an emissary to this land and yet you are here fighting the pantheons you were supposed to mediate with, it makes me wonder if Ra was right in his mind sending you here."

Anubis shoulder dusted himself before crossing his arms at Zeus to show just how seriously offended he was. "With all respect Zeus, these mortals were Hades followers, but their patron has neglected them. In despair they voluntarily turn to me while Hades just so happen to arrive and start a battle against my wishes." He did not bat an eye or even move his gaze away from Zeus as he stood in front of the father of all Deities, the Greek God of Thunder turned around to see that his brother was levitating back to Anubis coughing out exhaustively and most definitely outraged by the jackal deity's intervention and his combat prowess despite the young age of only 40 years old. "Hades! How dare you neglect your worshippers? What hath your mind been dothing about these days?" Zeus roared out at his brother who huffed back at the Ruler of the Golden throne.

"Oh Zeus, brother, I have nothing to say about what I do. And I shall not speak a word more regarding what is going on right now as it is outside of your concern, you should look to your own fidelity before judging me." Hades's remark gave Zeus a boiling anger as he glared at Hades for his insubordination of the King. "You all shall be in my home on Mt. Olympus now." Said Zeus as he held his thunderbolt high in hand, with a zap and blinding light that struck them, they were transported to the top of Mt. Olympus. "Alright, now tell me, what happened back there Anubis?" Zeus asked as the dust settled.

"Simple, I was on my way from Athen to Olympus when I saw the mortals tearing down Hades's temple, they said that Hades has been ignoring their plights for some reasons. They offered me gifts and other praises. Reluctantly, I accepted them as I have no ground to decline." Anubis sighed out to Zeus as he crossed his hands while giving Hades a slight glare for the aggression that the Lord of the Underworld suddenly show to the Patron of the Dead. But while they were debating merits of the participant in the brief clash, Aphrodite and Mercury were nearby seemingly in their own conversation about something when the Goddess of Fertility, Love and Women heard the booming gravely voice of Anubis.

Aphrodite looked past Mercury's hyperactive nature, and was completely oblivious to him by the time Anubis's voice hit her ears. Her walking speed increased, and she moved into the same room where Anubis and the other deities were discussing the troubles Hades was causing by his ignorance towards his own followers. She however did not know this, and wondered what the commotion in the palace was about, and why Anubis seemed more emotionally angry today. "Anubis? Hey doggy! It's been awhile since i've seen you here, or at all." Aphrodite said in an excited tone as she moved closer to him. However, Anubis was greeted by the blurred wave of Mercury as well. "Hey there jackal head! Long time no see!" mercury exclaimed.

Anubis grunted as he felt overwhelmed by the welcoming of Mt. Olympus much to Zeus's dismay of his own children. "Hermes! Aphrodite! Behave yourselves as our emissary from Egypt is on important business." He bellowed out, causing thunder to crackle and the booming explosions of their discharges sounded across the heaven of Olympus. "Now, now, you heard your father, children. Behave and prove that you more restraint than your father was in his days." Said Hades as he snickered at the sight of Zeus's embarrassment and outrage at his brother's attempt to take potshot at his infamous cases of infidelity. Not a day goes by without someone pointing out Zeus's hypocritical nature and his high standard which he never uphold.

"Enough Hades! Anubis shall have your former followers as it is final! Now leave my presence immediately!" Zeus commanded his brother with an impatient roar, the sinister Hades would then huffed out and disappeared into ashes and smoke, gone from sight at last for Zeus to sit down on his golden throne forged by Hephaestus. Seeing the throne reminded Anubis of something and turned back to Aphrodite to ask her. "How have you been? The last that I heard from you was you were engaged to someone, Hephaestus was it?" He asked curiously to her but also sounding rather concern at the same time as he put his luggage and souvenirs down on the ground.

Aphrodite however did the odd thing, and instead of showing she was happily engaged by nodding she instead showed him things were not quite right in her world. She sighed and sat down next to Anubis while the upper part of her body slumped forwards. She looked to him shaking her head slowly. "No. I'm afraid engagement does not bring a permanent unity between two people. These aren't like the old days were marriage meant something." She said looking foods at the constructions Hephaestus made. She seem to look at the objects with a bitter expression rather than with a pleased happy look. "He moved on. Rome is his love, and as such he roamed to Rome. Sounds like a good song doesn't it? Written by me about how love isn't permanent." Aphrodite said with a sigh.

Anubis too sighed out hearing this as he felt that time has been cruel to Aphrodite while he was away. He felt that perhaps he should have pursued a relationship with Aphrodite and foster a union with her. But then again, his mindset with women was never right as his life had rendered him numb and alien to the concept of love and other matters of romance. "I am sorry to hear Aphrodite, you shouldn't have suffered this in anyway at all. There's not much I can say in the matter however as I was not present here to be aware of the unfortunate union." He sighed out before approaching Zeus with a scroll of Papyrus paper in his paws. "My Lord Zeus, I hope that this pact would bring us solid ground in these times of turmoil. I heard that a number of deities from your pantheon have left for Rome…"

Zeus nodded to Anubis as he sighed out, picking up the scroll and opened it to read it, thankfully the writing was in Greek, perhaps penned by either Anubis or Thoth. The wording were obviously of Ra while the two acted as scribes to bring his words to a formal coil. "Regrettably yes. Hercules the Mighty champion have left Greece and he took up the role of a Champion for Rome. I may still have Ares and Athena. But who are they compared to the might and wit of Heracles?" He drowsily replied to Anubis.

The jackal deity sighed out hearing this, his sympathy to the God of Thunder speaks so much in the silence he displayed. "With respect Zeus, Hercules is still lesser to Athena in terms of knowledge and wisdom, and he is much more prone to wordly things than Ares to compensate for his emotional imbalance." Said Anubis as he saw Zeus giving him a seal of approval bearing the Omega symbol of Greece before handing it back to Anubis. "Thank you Zeus, there are still many matters to discuss but I shall continue when you are in a better state of mind." Said Anubis as he retire himself from Zeus's presence to follow Aphrodite out to the more relaxing part of the palace. The jackal deity walked alongside her carrying the number of luggage and gifts that he suddenly received from the mortals, "So then Aphrodite...Hellas has been doing well for itself now has it? The Greeks have spread far and wide into parts of the world that they wouldn't have gone to before." As they were passing through the cloudy and granite halls of Zeus's palace in heaven they saw Ares and Athena practicing their combat methods with Ares sporting a gigantic sword and shield that shot out a chain and doubled as a flamethrower while Athena held up her golden shield and spear to counter her brother's aggressive style. "I hope that we could...pursuit something with each other, like a relationship perhaps." He suggested to her.

She cringed watching Athena and Ares fight, She herself wasn't against fighting for herself despite her appearance, but seeing the vicious and brutal ways Ares and Athena fought gave her some kind of fear knowing they could injure each other during their exchange. She however heard Anubis's words, and took her focus off of the practice combat routine to give him a longing smile. "Oh yes! I thought you would never ask me!" she exclaimed with glee. Her arms immediately found their ways around Anubis's body to give him a tight squeeze. For him thankfully she was more light in her embrace compared to other deities. Although she had a clear warm and loving embrace that spoke a strong impact on Anubis's soul.

Anubis let out a whimper of joy, a feint one but still audibly noticeable and he returned the favor by hugging her deep into his chest. This caught the eyes of Ares and Athena, the God of War himself huffed out at Anubis's display of kindness and general empathy towards Aphrodite, scoffing it in fact, "Hmph! That mutt couldn't even sniff under her skirt for his birth." He snided in a cruel and lewd manner. "Ares! Your mother wouldn't want you back into hers either." Athena retorted as she thrusted her spear at Ares's Corinthian helmet, knocking him back slightly. "Well play sister...well played." He huffed out exhaustively at Athena before retiring away from the practice field. Anubis himself followed Aphrodite into a chamber of his own, it screamed of Greek luxury with a stool, a bed and a chest made from the most valuable material there was, gold and painted with a shiny gloss that would no doubt make Ra's eyes melt.

"You guys sure know how to impress us with furniture." Said the jackal deity as he placed his luggage down and look out of the balcony seeing the wider world underneath, the land and mountains of Hellas and the Aegean Sea that lead them to Asia Minor where new Greek colonies were set up everyday. "Maybe after this...diplomatic mission I will ask your hand in marriage, but that sounds a bit rush, don't you think?" He asked her as sit down on the bed in front of Aphrodite looking out at the vast expanse of the Hellenic World that these Olympians rule over. It would be hard to imagine how can anyone challenge their majestic supremacy and elegant philosophies.

Aphrodite herself sighed, and sat on the bed next to Anubis, and watched the sight of the partly cloudy sky just outside of the balcony the room had. She made a gentle sigh watching the sights feeling somewhat more at peace. Especially now she had Anubis back with her. The question Anubis asked gave her a kind smile, but the cautious nature of such a question gave her a lot to think on. "Oh well… maybe we can get to know each other. As much as i would not mind seeing all these each day when I wake up." Aphrodite said rubbing Anubis's abs. "You really kept yourself in shape. I suppose Horus is keeping you busy?" She asked.

Anubis chuckled a bit feeling slightly ticklish by the motion of Aphrodite. "Oh yes he has been. We went on a expedition campaign a few years ago, attacking and overrunning the Rump State of Seleucid. Last month we took their last settlement of Sardis, solidifying our rule next to the Greek States." Said Anubis as he opened a brand new map of the world as drawn by cartographers of Egypt and Greece, it showed that Egypt now spread from its traditional homeland out to the far reaches of Judea, Nabatea, Assyria, the Mesopotamia, Arabia Magma's northern edge and even out to the island of Cyprus, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Ionia, Lycia and even encompassed the Island of Rhodos where Anubis helped Isis raised Horus when he was a toddler. "Our hard work, has net us with many rewards and the fruits of our labor has gifted us much prestiges. Horus has shaped up to be a fine prince so far and a capable military commander, he'll be fine on the throne." Anubis sighed out hopefully as he thought about the brilliant battle tactics and campaign strategies the two brothers came up with one another while fighting the Seleucid Empire, from the brilliant use of Siege tower attacking undefended sections of a settlement to the swift and decisive capture of Sardis by undermining its walls by Anubis's sappers.

Aphrodite thought on the war Horus and Anubis had mentioned, and despite the two bonding through the brutal fights, and becoming actual brothers in arms there was a concern that had grown in her head knowing that Anubis and Horus could possibly risk a vicious injury fighting a war such as this. She smiled regardless and rested her head on Anubis's shoulder. "Brave men. But besides being you know together fighting for each other like that what about when you guys are with peace? You know. Just relaxing, and bonding outside of battle?" She asked though clearly she was much more gentle and with a strong sense of peace among her.

Anubis nodded to her and turned his head to face hers. "Well we do, I tend to my farms in Lycopolis, collect taxes and trade with the Indians. In fact I've been thinking about a trip to India lately just to see what that country is like. The Nubians and Aksumite told me of spices in that country is second to none." Said Anubis as he show Aphrodite a Sanskrit scroll of India. One that was imported to them by the Indian traders from the conquered Aksum. It detailed the various practices and maps of regions in India, one of them was marked by an elephant headed deity with four arms. He was a chubby figure, probably in proportion with the elephant head. He sat cross legged on a lotus with his four arms holding a lotus, a dagger, a plate of fruit and a tusk while sporting pinkish violet skin.

Aphrodite's eyes widened somewhat as she looked to the four armed elephant deity. "Huh. Well this is embarrassing… I'm not the most knowledged on the Hindu deities. Aren't they like newer than us?" she asked with the faintest hint of perplexion in her voice. She looked at the scroll deeper, and kept her eyes trained on the deity. The chubby stature of the elephant headed deity made her laugh however. "He looks weird. I think others might be creeped out by the arms, but he looks kinda funny to me. Like for real. He looks like he could be a big hugger with the four arms." she said still giggling.

"I heard he's Ganesha, God of Fortune and patron for diligent workers of all strives. He is the wisest of the Hindu Pantheon." He looked at the map of India fascinated by the Pantheon there as complete strangers to him and of course the diverse and exotic land of India gave him the hints of the Orient and the distant Pantheons of China and Japan, places that he had never come to before. "I'd wager that he may be the friendliest of the Pantheon there, but honestly, until I meet him, you'll occupying that spot for me." He said half jokingly as he hugged her in and cuddle into her giving her some love and kisses to enjoy the bliss of his off duty moment.

[hr]

After dinner with the Hellenic Pantheon, Anubis was seen alone with Zeus looking over the Non Aggression Pact that he drafted with Thoth and Ra to the Hellenic Pantheon. "Here, with this our two pantheons can be safe from aggression against one another for the time being. The Norse has been having a hard time, along with the Celts with Rome's aggression in Gaul and Germania already. I fear that the Romans will soon go down to the Balkans and eventually Greece seeing their unchecked aggression is most troubling." Said Anubis as he laid the treaty out to Zeus and let him see it again for himself to review the content. Once the God of Thunder seem to be content with it, he gave his signature in Greek letters and handed the treaty to Anubis and shook his hand. "You serve your House well Anubis, your diligent and dedication is equal to that of Hephaestus himself, and perhaps...that of Hermes." Zeus sighed out and shook Anubis's hand before handing him a goblet of Dionysus's wine to celebrate their progress in diplomacy.

"You are too kind Zeus, but I thank you. Ra will be most pleased by this, I am certain." The young jackal deity took a sip from his goblet before retiring to his room with the Pact in hand, he rolled it up and put a seal on it again before putting it into his pouch. He sighed out feeling rather disappointed and lonely knowing that he will have to leave soon. The past few days and weeks have been taking their tolls on him. Making it hard for him to enjoy the world for once. He had been pushed to diplomacy missions first with the various kingdoms to the South to subdue them easier and without a fight, giving Egypt monopoly in Gold mind, then he went to Carthage to establish trade relationship with the Punic city before going to the Greek settlements to give Ra an accurate awareness of their temperaments towards Egypt. Soon, he will have to leave for India as well.

He picked up his luggage and belongings rather reluctantly, feeling that he was being forced by duty to leave but he wished to stay for Aphrodite a bit more. Anubis went out to the hallways of Olympus's palace of the Gods and venture into Aphrodite's chamber, there he found her sleeping on the furry bed with wolf skin as her bed sheet. He sighed out and kissed her cheek lightly trying not to wake her up. "I love you…" He whispered softly to her before leaving with a letter placed on her shelf. In the dead of night he rode on Ramiel's back towards the port of Athen and boarded his personal ship, a Penter Galley ship with a large mast in the middle that bore the symbol of Egypt's Horus falcon, or could be Ra's Hawk with sun emblem behind it. "Set sail!" The captain hollered to his crew and first mate, the vessel untie its mast and began to paddle its way out into the open sea of the Mediterranean Sea.

[hr]

The next day, as the sun rises in the East to give the inhabitants of Gaia knowledge that it is a new day. But while some woke with joy and excitement in their hearts and minds, others like Aphrodite and Athena were greeted with a gruesome sight, Zeus...murdered. Laid dead on the floor of his own hall with Hades inspecting the corpse, next to him were Ares and Athena who were all appalled by the murder. Ares himself was outraged by this as he roared out in anger and outrage. "Who did this!?" He exclaimed out loud, "I have no clue, the murderer left little to no clues other than this…" Hades picked up a strand of fur on Zeus's chest, it was black jackal fur that Ares would recognize right away as Anubis's. "Aphrodite! Look what he had done! That Egyptian dog has murdered father and violated Olympus's sanctuary!" The God of War yelled out and show Aphrodite the fur stand before giving it to Hermes.

The sight of how Zeus layed dead, and bleeding appalled Aphrodite. Her own elderly father laying dead and with no good reason. Her eyes swelled up full of burning tears of sadness, and she fell to her knees once her legs could no longer support her petite properly. However, the situation for her got worse once a piece of Anubis's fur had been found on Zeus's body. She gasped trying to hold back her emotions, but she only resorted to loud shaken snivels. "No… No! Not Anubis! Why- No! He would never resort to murder! I won't believe it! I refuse to believe this!... Why would he kill d-dad?..." Aphrodite questioned begging for a logical answer. Her heart ached and she felt her delicate soul shatter seeing the only evidence of a murder being Anubis here before her.

"I'll ask him when I find him and if he doesn't admit his guilt then I'll have his head on a platter!" Ares boastfully exclaimed to Aphrodite as he raced out to gather his weapons and armor. However Athena placed her hand on Aphrodite's shoulder and comfort her sister. "Sister, know this. Anubis maybe the God of the Afterlife but he can never be a killer. It is not his way to kill without purpose or causes. Ares's anger makes him liable to be manipulated so I fear that there maybe other interest groups in this. I will find Anubis and I will clear his name." Said Athena and went out to chase Ares down before he can do anything crass and foolhardy.

[hr]

Back at Egypt, things were not going well, Anubis sat with Ra and Thoth with the treaty that Zeus had ratified and confirmed to be in agreement with. However, they were also reading a declaration of war from the Greeks for the cause of Anubis being the murderer of Zeus. It was baffling to all of them, even Anubis was speechless to see that he was accused of being a murderer. He slammed his fist on the table in fury and stood up. "Preposterous!" He yelled out. "I have no bone to pick with Zeus and now they suddenly declare war after we had signed an agreement of Non Aggression! This is nuts!" Said Anubis as he paced around the room in boiling fury equals that of Ra.

Ra himself looked to the allegations, and felt his eyes ablaze with fury. His eyes scanned over the declaration trying to connect the logic the Hellenic deities had to choose Anubis. He could not comprehend what he was reading, and finally his rage snapped. His anger forced him to grab the bottom of the table and then throw his arms upwards with no restraint on fury flipping the table over on Thoth. Ra nearly growled if not for the fact he was an avian deity. "Blasphemy! I sent you over to make peace with the Greek deities! How could Zeus wind up dead after one night? One night! There is no possible way you could have done this! I spent weeks training you on negotiating!... Something smells fishy, and I want to know before this swallows all of our pantheons…" Ra said while his eyes glew of crackling electricity shaped light energy.

Thoth weakly let out a mumble while the two other deities fought. He lifted the table off of his body, and moved it to the side so he could stand. Only as he stood his legs shook visibly in a nervous fear. All of his limbs were held close to his body, and his posture was held with his back arched lowely. "I feel the hypothetical blood is on my hands… Right now an entire pantheon is pointing their sh-sharp weapons at us, and demand our own blood in return for Zeus. Oh the mess this is. I feel the Hellenic empire is without a doubt in their own turmoild without a leader…" Thoth stated while swallowing his fear in a nervous gulp.

"There's no way that Zeus was murdered by me, I can't do that and not powerful enough to do so! Secondly, I have a feeling that someone wants us to go out against one another. I will have to face them head on and make my innocent known!" Anubis declared to the two elder deities before walking out to the window watching the coming enemies, the Greek Navy was massing over the horizon, the port of Alexandria was about to be blockaded and besieged by the incoming Greeks, standing on the flagship was Ares and Athena though she was much more reluctant in the invasion for a single deity who was alleged to have murdered Zeus. Ares himself couldn't care less as long as HIS justice is served then all was right in the world.

As the naval forces pulled into Egypt Ra made his way one of the windows in the palace to get a good view of the forces that were amassing against him. He grunted and felt his bird eyes widen. His eyes were keen enough so he could view the force, and even see Ares's furious expression. Ra huffed, and walked backwards feeling weaker, and suddenly light head. "That war pig! They are already here, and… And we haven't even made our own preparations!" Ra shouted. He grabbed his head feeling increasingly angered, and suddenly from his eyes came a premature use of his ultimate attack. A bright golden beam shot out at lasser force and struck a nearby wall shattering and melting it.

Ra's attack caused Thoth to yelp loudly and jump. He looked back at Ra, and knew the elder deity's heart and by this point soul was not in good enough shape for a surprise like this. Thoth himself felt weak watching the arm grow closer. As much as he wanted to scream to Anubis to run, and hide as an innocent fugitive he knew this was not aligned to his justice, and worse yet he could not protect Anubis form this. "I don't think i can argue our way out of this one my friends… My debating skills are fruitless against the muscular mass of Ares…" Thoth admitted.

Anubis huffed out hearing this. He couldn't run away and leave his family to be punching bags of Ares and his rage filled fists. "Damn it! I can't just leave you all here to die at that red meat's rage!" He retorted back to Ra and Thoth as he held up his Xiphos in the air, however, his objection was soon met with another force pressuring him to leave, Isis. She walked into the room with her dress in splendid marvel showing herself as a Goddess of regal motherhood and foresight of her judgements. "Anubis, I know that you want to prove yourself innocent and protect us, but fighting Ares would only lead to more conflict with the Greeks in this time of turmoil when the world is tearing itself apart. Go into hiding my son, you'll be safe, have at least one innocent after darkness is better than perish in it." Said Isis as she put her hand on Anubis's shoulder giving him a shiver when he was suddenly feeling deja vu at the thought of being reminded of his biological mother's death when he left her. "Mother, Isis, I can't...I lost Nephthys when I ran away and I won't let it happen again to you. I've already lost too much…" He groaned out as he collapsed to the ground huffing out feeling exhausted and strained by the situation he was in. "Thoth, escort him to Myos Hormos, the port there will take him to the safety of India. It's better to have my son be safe than being dead for a crime he did not commit." Isis commanded sternly to Thoth before helping Anubis up to his feet much to his objection of the situation.

Thoth quickly nodded his head while he brought a hand to his forehead to salute Isis. He lowered his hand, and looked to Anubis's eyes feeling a very prominent memory come to his head while the situation seemed to boil over out of control. The memories of Anubis being forced to run from Set came back to him, and as such the bad, and yet sweet nostalgic memories of him and Anubis hiding while also bonding flowed into his head.

"If Ares touch a hair of anyone of you, I'll have his head on a platter." Anubis growled aggressively as he slowly went out of the chamber with his sword sheathed. He begrudgingly went to pack his belongings while the servants and Guards of the palace went to their posts preparing to defend the place from the danger of the Greek invasion force, the Greeks weren't known for large armies but they were known for high quality forces with durable weapons and armor. As their victory against the Persians at the battle of Salamis, Marathon and Thermopylae had demonstrated that they weren't meant to be trifled with.

The city of Alexandria had to open its gates to let the citizens of the city and the merchants there move out to other cities around the Nile Delta, large and small towns will have to prepare themselves for the coming of refugees suddenly displaced from their home by the mere threat of conflict with an invasion looming out at sea. They packed their belongings and necessities before moving in large columns, escorted by Hellenic and Heliopolis soldiers heading up stream of the Nile and towards the older cities that had seen depopulation due to migration to the Nile Delta and other holdings outside of the old Egyptian realm. Anubis and Thoth rode out on their horses following the trail of the various refugees, they head down the Nile Delta along the canal towards the Dead Sea, disappearing from sight for the time being.

Out at sea, Ares was seen on his flagship with Athena and Hermes, his sister and brother were reluctant to say the least as they see that Ares had nothing to cling on to in his accusation of Anubis and his sudden desire to invade Egypt with the might of Greek Cities just for a murder that hadn't been investigated properly. "Our plan of attack is simple! First our fire ships will sail into the port with fire pots to burn the Egyptian ships and our catapult will bombard the city with fire shots to spread confusion into their ranks. Once that is done our troops will disembark at two points, the port and the gates to take the city's Eastern edge in a two prongs attack." Said Ares as he show Hermes and Athena a battle plan he drawn up using a battle map of Alexandria and a war table that had a model of the city complete with the sea and their fleet placement corresponding with their positions complete with clouds and weather condition, day and night cycle to properly command troops. "Any questions?" He asked with a snarl at Athena and Hermes.

Hermes rose his hand high in the air, and nodded his head at a blurred speed. "Yeah yeah yeah! I got one!" Hermes said while clearing his throat. His hand lowered so he point ahead of the ship. "How does your fire pot idea work bro? I mean we are on the sea. The sea has water, and fire don't mix so well on water." He said. He then dashed to the front of the sea, and pointed to the opposing forces that were now against him. "Also I don't think they are just going to let us move in and burn their biscuits bud. Do you even have a defense plan, or is your tin covered head going to make this all of our last voyage?" Hermes asked.

"To top that off...do you have a proper cause to invade them?" Athena asked a razor sharp question to Ares who then widened his eyes and tilted his head at his sister's wise assessment. "I do!" He fired back. "He murdered father and run away the same night when father died!" He cried out to Athena, however, she was not impressed seeing that her brother remained a stubborn fool who grasped straws whenever he could. "Hermes, it is clear that Ares is not qualified to lead military matters and exercise his power despite being the God of War. I will find Justice for Father but only with sound judgement. Follow me Hermes, Ares can have the ship to himself." Said Athena as she stood up and walked up to the deck of the ship, expecting Hermes to follow her while Ares was left to frown and lash out in a mad manner in his cabin. His sister had walked all over him repeatedly and his Spartans haven't been given any wars to collect new Helots, this made him all the more unstable as he hack and slash the furniture in his cabin.

Hermes quickly zipped a quick circle around Ares, and made a cocky, and yet mocking salute to Ares. "Well good luck to yah Sergeant Slaughter! Imma live another day. Maybe a nice vacation by the Nile! See yah bro!" Hermes start making another zip around Ares in a display to mock him. He quickly met up with Athena and flexed his own muscle while imitating Ares's voice. "Witness these muscles he says! Has there ever been a sexier man alive he questioned. How about do you got any common sense in your head, or did the helots squeeze your brain juice?" Hermes asked while chuckling.

"Hermes I fear that Anubis is framed by someone, an interest group intending for something terrible to happen. I must speak to Ra now since Ares shall have no reasons." Said Athena as she held up the supposed Jackal fur of Anubis found on the corpse of Zeus, something was not right for both her and Hermes, the fur strand was at first all black when found like Anubis's fur. But after some observation, Hermes noticed that it was just a piece of hair strand found on anyone just painted black and made to look like a jackal fur. "A clever trick to the simple minded like Ares." Said Athena as she handed it to Hermes, the fur itself was apparently dipped in ink to give it the jet black color.

"Whaaaaat? Hold up Athe! Ech! It even smells like ink. Ew books…" Mercury said in disgust. He grabbed the piece of fur, and tried to dust it off. "Maybe this isn't permanent ink. Maybe I can yah know get the ink off of this. Besides that Athena tha guy has his fur stuck onto his body! He didn't look like a rug when he came in so I doubt he'd shed all over the place! If this wasn't so bad of a situation I think this could have gone down as the biggest prank of the century. But nah. Someone somewhere we took it too far." hermes said in a quick huff.

"And now war is potentially coming towards us. We must enter the palace now to warn Ra." Said Athena as she went to the side of the ship and gestured for Hermes to pick her up and run towards the city. The quickster of course did as she ask and ferry her in a lighting fast blur across the water surface towards the harbor where he jumped up from the water surface and landed on the streets of the city, he then ran across town passing through the columns of Greek and native Egyptian soldiers running to their posts along the walls and coastal defenses. Inside the palace at that moment, Isis and Ra were sobbing the forceful departure of Anubis for his own safety, Anhur and Sekhmet were seen in the chamber to report the preparation effort of the men. "So far our forces have fortified the Northern and Eastern walls somewhat with archers and onagers, the ballistas are ready on the beach to bombard their landing points if they do try." Said Anhur as he show Ra the troops dispositions of the Egyptian Army and Navy in Alexandria to defend the city. That was when Hermes and Athena arrived in the room to interrupt the meeting.

Hermes holding her still felt his legs tremble and shake. He panted in slight exhaustion feeling his arms burn a little. "Sis is that the armor, or have you been putting on the pounds?..." Hermes said putting her back to her feet. He then stretched his back, out and sighed."Oh right. We were here to do the thing. Ahem." Hermes glanced to the table and made a waving blur greeting the other deities. "New evidence has come up! We got a new thing, and a clue! I think. We have definite doubts about your puppy headed death head being a malicious murderer!" Mercury shouted loudly.

Ra however only made a confused squint at Mercury, and blink his eyes confused by his speech pattern. Mainly how fast he spoke. "Excuse me?... Mercury or Hermes… Whoever. This is not a time for you hyperactive lingo boy. We are in the beginning parts of a war, and a family feud I got at that… Another one!" Ra shouted. He shook his head out, and huff. "This is why i don't attend dinner parties anymore. State your business!" Ra shouted.

Athena then stepped in and held up the alleged fur strand found on Zeus, it was still dripping with ink but Ra can see that it was losing the jet black color of ink and reveal the blond color that would be out of place for the Mediterranean region except for Athena whose hair is as gold as her armor. "Look at this, we found this on Zeus's body, a single fur strand made to look like Anubis's fur but I know for certain that if it belongs to him, it's too soon for his fur to shed and if he was the murderer then he must be older to match power of Zeus himself." Said Athena as she handed the fur stand to Ra to inspect it. Anhur and Sekhmet noticed that the hair strand was a bit too short in comparison to that of Athena, as it was obviously male but there was no telling that the hair strand had a clear cut owner before. "Hades could have murdered Zeus if the souvenirs and tales that Anubis brought back are anything to go by." Isis assessed as she stroke her chin looking at the fur strand. "And Ares is too dense, as a brick if I may say so to even bother figure this out, he was neglected by Zeus for too long that now anything for him to lash his anger out would do well for him. But now would be a better time to punch him out of his killing spree." Said Isis.

The new evidence that had entered the light only made Ra's anger grow more knowing he was right however. The fact that there was still a murderer on the loose, and was getting away scot free made Ra's heart boil with rage. "Well then who killed Zeus? The situation is quickly spiraling out of absolute control, and that the king of the god and leader of your pantheon is dead we are all going to face fire and fury! Stock market crashes, pandemonium in the streets, hellfire and brimstone, cities and whole civilizations falling, the dead walking among the living, riots and riff raff all without control, dogs and cats living together under the same roof! Mass hysteria!" Ra shouted in panic feeling that the pressure was on his shoulders now. Being a higher authority deity than the rest he felt a sense of duty to take over for Zeus, or some how restore order. His memories flashed chaos in his head leading him to believe Set may fester off of the discord now.

"I have a feeling that Hades may know but we need to get rid of Ares first before going to question him." Said Athena as she took a careful glance at Ares's fleet out at sea, he arrayed his ships into a blockade formation to prevent the economy of Egypt from developing any further until Anubis is surrendered to him by the Egyptian. "Hermes, Anubis was sent to India for his own safety. Go there now and bring him home, if we have to face Ares's wrath, we face Sparta together." Said Isis as she handed Hermes a map of the Indian Ocean stretching from the Southern Nubia kingdom out to the Hejaz kingdom, Arabia Felix, Persia and eventually India on the Westernmost edge of the map.

Mercury took a quick glance at the map, and nodded his head quickly. He cleared his throat out and moved backwards in the room to begin his long trip to retrieve Anubis. "Boy I thought it was the dogs who fetched,a dn not the men. Alright no problemo. No issue. No sweat. Not a problem at all. I can go super fast. Just make sure Leg Day out there doesn't fire anything at his own bro can yah?" Hermes asked as he zipped out of the meeting room in a flash.

Although, this left Ra to let off a sigh of relief without Hermes presence. "Thank goodness… i could barely keep up with him, and everything he said made my brain feel like its swelling more than it should… I need a headache reliever please…" Ra said. His head stung from the hard thoughts that entered in his mind causing him to let out a pained groan. He placed two fingers on form both hands on his temple, and began to circle his temple to relieve the pain in his head. "I certainly hope his talk is not for show. I fear we have run out of time already…" Ra said in solemn tone.

[hr]

Meanwhile, Ares was still in his flagship, tossing and turning on his bed trying to sleep well but as hard as he try, he can not put himself to sleep, he felt that something was not right that something was gnawing at him for some reasons. There was an uneasy feeling that his prey might have ran away. He tossed his bedsheet up and panted out feeling exhausted and went about in his ship trying to find some ways to distract himself with. He then suddenly stopped and turned around to see behind him, the corridor of the ship was empty, quiet but he felt the presence of someone was with him there. He took a step back at his room when he noticed something on his door, it wasn't there before but now it was as clear as day. A note stabbed to the door by a knife.

"Your prey is cowardly as he is as crafty as the jackal he is. While you revel in plundering the riches of the land, he had left for the exotic Orient of India."

Ares tilted his head and squinted his eyes when he saw the writing. This was preposterous not to mention dubious in fact, his target had already ran off to India and he didn't know it, surely taking Alexandria as punishment now would only slow him down. "Curse that mutt! I'll stomp him down as my carpet the moment I get my hands on him!" He bellowed out in an insane tone as he stormed out to the deck of the ship. He then slam his sword's tip on the wooden deck and utter an incantation, the teleportation spell of deities, a blinding light engulf his masculine and oily form before he pointed his blade into the sky and light the stars he was whisped away across space but not time to India.

"Too easy…" Said a figure who was stalking Ares, it was a scrawny and skinny female figure with long black hair down her face with her walking being hunched over and broken with her hands tied by a long silky cloth. She then utter her spell and teleported away from the ship.

[hr]

It was morning at Rome with the Latin speakers went about their daily lives living in one of the biggest cities of the ancient world. They pride themselves as the most civilized people of the planet with their way of life and culture the paragon for all others to follow. To the North, they have driven out the Gauls of the Po Valley and were now fighting in the Gaul itself as well as the Iberia to carve out their empire. To the East they march against the Illyrian tribes of the Balkans. But to the South, trouble remained. In the Senate, debates fire at one another by the Senators with them trading insults and rhetorics at one another. "We should have conquered the Syracusan. Many years ago, they humiliated our Legions and Classis with their mirror that distracted Solus." Shouted one Senator as he held the attention of the Senate's floor with his debate. He was a rather obese, out of shape senator who seemed to be in his middle age with a shaggy hair style.

"Nonsense Crassus!" another retorted, this one was a much younger figure with a red scarf wrapped on his toga. "You proposes more interventions, more conquests while the plebians are living in increasingly worse living conditions. Their slums are growing and the apartments are dilapidating by the daily basis, not a day went by that our plebs have to live in the distraction of glory and fruitless conquests!" Said the younger one while another stood up from his seat to offer his argument. "And yet the Julii like yourself have always been able to drive off unwashed barbarians at our gates. The Geats, the Jutes and the Danes are now forced into the Northernmost edge of the world. Collectively speaking, the Norse are finished!" The Senator emphasized causing the others murmur with one another about the situation. "Tiberius, tell me that you have a solution to the plight of the Plebs who toil endlessly to build Rome. Another campaign of expansion will change Rome's wellbeing for the better just by moving our people out to new colonies." The Julii Senator fired back at his Brutii counterpart.

"The Brutii has been the symbol of power and Rome's stability for years, we have brought order, law and respect to Rome since its inception. The conquest of Makedonia and Hellas will bring Rome to its greatest glory ever!" Crassus declared to his Julii counterpart this made the other members of the Senate standing shouting Aye to the notion of war with the Greeks, silencing the Julii member. Even the Scipii counterparts join in and boxed the Julii in. "Then you can do so without us, the Julii will continue to safeguard the borders of Rome, not expand it!" The young Julii senator declared before walking out of the senate with his fellow Julii members. War was on the horizon for all, "And so be it, the conquest of Hellas has been approved by the Senate, the invasion will be led by the Brutii family, while the Scipii shall take the island of Sicily. Soon, our Roman light will shine over all civilizations on Earth! Now and forever more!" The senate fired into an flurry of activities with them proposing strategies and tactics over the world map of the Eastern Mediterranean. Peace seems to have died at that moment.