Author's Notes: Here's my prequel to Three-In-One Combo! Yay! I really hope you like it… It'll be a little more neutral and confused on Shadi's end, and more angst on Ankh and Scale's side. And I don't like Shadi's father. He's nasty and hypocritical, but his cruel moments are probably his funniest times… But I won't use his name much, for reasons that will become obvious when you see what it is. I know it'll seem like he has no idea what he's doing, but he's trying to get Shadi to learn how to do stuff too… And please tell me what you think of this little Shadi, because he's hard enough to write as an adult, much less a child! I think he's about seven or eight years old. In the series, Isis is twenty and Rishid is twenty five, so I think he's older than Isis, and a bit younger than Rishid.
Thanks to Crossover Authoress for a title suggestion, which I twisted a bit to fit my own dark needs… Hope you like this!
Oh, and I'm already thinking of a challenge for this fanfic… I'll bet you can guess what it might be! So think about chibi-things.
Two staves clashed and the young Egyptian boy was knocked to the ground by the force.
"Is that the best you can do!?" the older man asked, glaring fiercely and stabbing his staff into the hot sand next to his son.
The boy did not flinch. He slowly got to his feet, rubbing his back. He stood tall again, raising his staff to a defensive position. He looked up into his father's hard blue eyes with a look of calm determination.
"Oh you think you can hold your own against me, do you? We'll see about that!" The boy's father made a few wild swings that young Shadi blocked easily. However, the strikes became progressively harder and more focused. This time Shadi was just barely able to remain standing as the blow that had felled him before was delivered. Just before it hit, he took a step back and braced himself to lessen the impact and put his father off balance. He made a swift swing at his father's ankles.
Seeing his opening, the man gave Shadi a firm thump on the back with his staff. The boy fell to his knees, but did not completely collapse. He gave his father a deadpan look.
"You're dead, boy. Many times over," the man said in a loud, crisp voice. He planted his staff firmly in the sand and regarded his son with a critical eye. "You'd better start practicing more often if you want to amount to anything." He wiped a sleeve over his sweaty forehead and squinted up at the sun which continued to move towards its zenith. "At least you're improving. We'll return tomorrow to try again. Come." He turned and walked back towards the town. Shadi gripped his staff and followed, walking quickly.
Upon returning home, Shadi's father set him to copying an ancient scroll. While Shadi did not have beautiful penmanship, his handwriting was at least legible. Meanwhile, his father went to the sacred tablet to dust and polish the shining golden Millennium Items that lay within. When Shadi finished his copying, he looked up. His calm expression showed none of his curiosity. His father was viciously scrubbing the pure gold Scales, frowning and giving them a violent shake every so often. He almost looked like he was talking to someone, the way his eyes kept changing.
Finally Shadi's curiosity got the better of him. Emboldened by his skill earlier in the day, he spoke up quietly.
"Father, what are you doing?" the boy asked, never changing the tone of his voice.
The man glanced up at him. "I told you the Pharaoh's spirit lives on in the Millennium Puzzle," he said, gesturing towards the golden box holding the Puzzle pieces. Shadi nodded expectantly. "Well nothing's stopping the others from holding spirits too. The Pharaoh was sealed through treachery, but it was a punishment for most of the others. They were worthless criminals, all guardians know that. And definitely this one." He glared at the shining Scales and flicked one of the balances. The whole Item seemed to shake with some other force.
Shadi looked just slightly puzzled. "They speak to you?" he asked, mildly interested. "You said that they were inanimate objects with no intelligence."
"Start the next scroll," Shadi's father commanded. Shadi did as he was told. "The spirits are only sources of power for the Items to draw on. They might have had minds at some point, but now they're just collections of thoughts, repeating themselves."
"Then what hope is there of restoring the Pharaoh, if he is no longer in possession of his mind?" Shadi asked, meticulously copying the rotting scroll onto new papyrus.
"Look at this," his father said, picking up the Puzzle's box and shaking it. "The Puzzle was broken, so the Pharaoh's mind and memories are scattered. It saved him so when the Puzzle is solved, he'll still be a full person."
Shadi paused, then continued his copying. "That does not make any sense."
"Listen, all you need to know is that the Pharaoh won't bother us and we work towards his restoration when we can. Other than that, we distribute the Items to their rightful owners. The spirits in them sometimes try to stop this, so it's our sworn duty to beat them back." His father clunked the Scales back in their place and picked up the Ankh to polish, glaring at it.
Shadi frowned slightly. "If they have no minds, why do they need to be beaten back? If they are no longer human, there should be no need."
Shadi's father frowned, striking the Ankh against the Scales before returning it to its place. "Don't ask stupid questions! You don't understand, so keep your mouth shut." He picked up the Tauk then to polish. Even the Items not his own needed to be kept in good condition. The Ring, Rod, and Eye were missing, having been given to their current chosen ones.
Shadi allowed himself a small sigh. It wasn't worth his time to argue. He continued copying the scrolls until his father had polished every piece of the Puzzle.
"I'm going out for a while, Shadi. Build up some resistance to the Items while I'm gone, will you?" his father said. He got up and left.
Shadi glanced at the stairs his father had walked up, and then over at the yellow stone tablet holding the shining gold Items. They gleamed in the torchlight. He carefully put away all the new and old scrolls and his pens before going to stand beside the golden sarcophagus-shaped tablet. He was just slightly reluctant to touch the Items because he knew it could be dangerous. Or at least uncomfortable.
Shadi carefully picked up the Tauk first. It had an especially ancient feeling of suppressed power about it. He didn't mind holding it, because it was not overwhelmingly powerful. Nor did it seem particularly unfriendly. He turned it over in his hands a few times before carefully wiping his fingerprints off of it and replacing it in its spot.
Next was the Puzzle. Shadi picked up its box reluctantly and opened the lid, wincing slightly. He put a hand in the box, though it kept pulling back of its own accord. There was great power in this as well, but it was more broken and jagged than suppressed. A normal person probably wouldn't feel anything from the Items unless they were truly unworthy and burned to death, but the Guardians had passed down sensitivity to power and magic since the days of the Pharaoh. Shadi clenched his teeth and held the Puzzle's pieces one by one until he couldn't stand it any more. A corner piece fell from his hand, which was shaking. He quickly put the box back and cradled his hand for a moment before picking up the fallen piece and flicking it back in the box, replacing the lid on top.
Shadi leaned on the tablet for a moment, rubbing his hand. Then he reached across and picked up the Ankh. There was power in this as well, but it wasn't as overwhelming as the Puzzle, or even the Tauk. It had a gentle, almost friendly feel to it. After the Puzzle, it made Shadi feel much better. It would have been an entirely enjoyable experience, but there was also a feeling of intimidated apprehension in it that couldn't be ignored. Shadi rubbed the Ankh thoughtfully. A mindless power source couldn't be afraid… But it might just be a meaningless feeling about it, left over from the past. Nevertheless, when Shadi held the Ankh he felt it gave him strength and abilities that he could not use on his own. He only had this sort of affinity for one other Item…
Shadi put the Ankh back carefully, giving its golden surface a wipe with his sleeve. He moved on to the last remaining Item. He gingerly touched the Millennium Scales and was rewarded with the mental equivalent of a shock of static electricity. Frowning slightly, he grabbed the Scales anyway. Their power wasn't overwhelmingly strong either, but they couldn't have felt more different than the Ankh. It reminded Shadi of a barely contained swarm of angry bees. But despite this resentful hostility, the Scales had a strangely familiar feel to them. Shadi didn't exactly like holding them, but he seemed drawn to them and the Ankh.
"Don't hold the Scales so long." Shadi got a sharp rap on the head and he quickly put the Scales down. "You'll get your chance with them and the Ankh later. How are you coming with the Puzzle? Let's see you hold that for a while."
Shadi carefully put the Scales back in their place. "I held the Puzzle as long as I could," he objected, his deadpan expression and tone never changing.
"Well do it again. If you're still complaining about it, you need to get more used to it!" his father commanded, gnawing on some sort of poultry leg. "When you don't even notice anything from it, that's when you're ready to guard it."
Shadi gave a mental sigh and picked up the Puzzle's box again. He gritted his teeth and opened the lid. He picked up a small piece and narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly.
"No, of course you're not getting any better just holding one at a time!" His father said, frowning. He grabbed Shadi's hand and plunged it into the Puzzle's box. Shadi sucked in his breath sharply and bit his lip, trying to keep silent. "Just sit down and hold it for a while."
Shadi did as he was told reluctantly. The Puzzle lacked the Scales' hostility, but the pieces still stung to the touch. Had Shadi not been of the guardians' lineage, it would most likely have burned him alive. After a few minutes, he shakily put the lid on and put the box back in the tablet. He put both hands on the Ankh to steady himself.
"See, that's not so bad! How do you feel?" his father asked.
"Numb. And --"
"Right, good! You're doing better." He flicked Shadi's hands away from the Ankh and handed him a paper bag. "You don't need to touch the Ankh. Here, I picked you up some lunch."
"Thank you," Shadi said expressionlessly. He opened the bag, took out some sort of wrap-thing, and bit into it.
"Mmh. After you're done I think we'll start on getting you to use the Items' energy," his father said around a mouthful of meat.
Shadi chewed and swallowed calmly. "Then I will be using the Ankh and Scales?"
"Start with the Ankh. It's such a pushover, even a weak-willed child like YOU could control it." His father laughed.
Shadi rolled his eyes a bit. There were those mixed signals about the Items again. "Do any of the Items have what might be considered real… living, intelligent beings in them? Besides the Puzzle?"
"Well I think a tomb robber was put in the Ring, but that hardly matters."
"You said there were others at one time, though," Shadi pointed out. "You always seem to be listening, and yelling without speaking when you hold the Ankh and Scales."
"Oh it's possible that some vestiges of other spirits are still there. But even if there was any intelligence, the Ankh and Scales aren't strong enough to do anything significant without the will of their host."
Shadi shook his head slightly, still chewing. By now he was resigned to the fact that his father made no sense at all. It would be no use to argue further. He had learned early on to take everything in stride.
"Come on, aren't you finished yet?" the older man asked, throwing his bone away.
Shadi put the last bit of the wrap in his mouth, chewing slowly. His father went over and snatched up the Ankh. He shook it a bit and banged it once on the side of the tablet. He glared at it for a moment before pushing it at Shadi, who took it. "What should I do?" Shadi asked, fingering the warm golden Ankh.
"Hmm, come with me," Shadi's father said, pulling Shadi up the stairs and out the door. They walked through the town, Shadi calmly but curiously, and his father with pent-up excitement. "One of the Ankh's most useful abilities is allowing you to sense all the life around you. You can tell what a person's thinking and what kind of mood he's in, too. Can you do any of that?"
Shadi looked at the Ankh in his hands. "How should I do it?"
"It's not hard at all, look." Shadi's father snatched the Ankh from him. "Center yourself like when you're meditating. Then just open your mind to the Ankh. You should be able to tell at least if there's anything alive nearby."
Shadi nodded and reached for the Ankh again, but his father pulled it away. "I'll carry it until we get there," he said, frowning at the Ankh. Shadi watched his father make a variety of angry, threatening faces at the gold Item as they walked. They got to the other side of town, twisting and turning through the narrow streets. And they continued out into the desert. After a while they came to a small stone well in the ground. Shadi's father pulled his son to the side of the well and motioned to him to be quiet. Shadi glanced down into the well and thought he saw a flicker of light down in its depths. But no water.
"Okay, here's where you start. Look down there in the well with the Ankh and tell me how many people are in there," Shadi's father said, handing the Ankh to his son with one last shake.
Shadi took the Ankh, squeezed it, and closed his eyes to concentrate. He felt a connection with the Ankh. He could almost feel the life in his father… and deep under the sand…
"Now don't forget to center your energy." His father's loud voice broke through Shadi's trance-like state, almost making him jump. He frowned in annoyance as his father continued. "And open up to the Ankh. You should probably start with your eyes closed so you're not distracted. If you start seeing things… especially a person… with your eyes closed, you'd better stop right away."
"YES, father," Shadi sighed. "Why would I see a person with my eyes closed?"
"You wouldn't. Now go ahead," the older man said.
Shadi nodded and closed his eyes again. Once more he felt his father's life force and a few more in the house. He focused on the lives under the sand. "There are three… no, four people.
"Four? You're sure? Which ones? What kind of people?" his father demanded quickly. Shadi just blinked at him. "Focus more! I want age, sex, health, state of mind! Come on, try!"
Shadi scrunched his eyes shut. He opened himself completely to the Ankh and let its warm, gentle, but strong energy flow through him. Then he focused closely on the four lives in the well. "There is a man… about your age. He is in good physical health, but his mind feels odd…" Shadi shivered slightly.
"Ishtar…" Shadi's father muttered to himself. "All right, what about the others?"
"There is a girl, a lot younger than I am. She seems to be in fairly good health. Her mindset is positive, but quiet somehow."
"Yes, he has a daughter… That's pretty specific, son! Can you feel any kind of… power from her?" his father asked, rather impressed.
"It isn't hard. The Ankh does what I want it to. And I do feel a power in her. Almost like ours," Shadi observed, slightly surprised.
"Well you aren't used to the Ankh enough to see that clearly, it seems. No Ishtar could have our powers… What about the other two?" his father asked.
Shadi exhaled and looked again. "There is a boy about my age. Or perhaps a bit older. His health seems fairly good. And… he wants something more than what he has."
"That'd be the kid he adopted… Ha, Ishtar never liked him. Or wanted him. But the boy's ambitious, you say?" Shadi's father asked, his eyes gleaming in interest.
"…No. Not ambitious…. He just wants something more form life," Shadi said. The Ankh suddenly whispered to him so lightly that he barely realized it wasn't his own thought. "He wants… acceptance."
"Ha, that's a strange way of putting it! But I guess the more he's accepted, the closer he gets to the clan's inner circle of power," the older man mused.
"I do not think --" Shadi started.
"Quiet. You said there were four?"
"…The last one is a woman, a bit younger than you, I think. But her health is not as good. Her life force is so weak that I did not sense her at first. She seems very kind. But… there is another I sense. Inside her?" Shadi looked mildly confused. "Another child?"
Shadi's father grabbed his shoulder. "His wife's having another kid? How soon? Boy or girl? Does it feel weak too?"
Shadi shrugged out of his father's grasp. "I think it is a boy. And he seems ready to come out soon. The mother's weakness hid him, but his life force and power is the strongest of all…" Shadi opened his eyes and blinked in the suddenly bright sunlight. He looked down into the deep well to make his eyes more comfortable.
Shadi's father began cursing and muttering to himself. Shadi rubbed the Ankh, but a slight movement caught his eye. Deep down in the well, there was a clear light. It was a candle, and above the flame was a little girl's face. Wide blue eyes shone up at him, unblinking. Shadi blinked and leaned over to take a closer look. It was the girl he had felt. She looked around four years old, as he had thought.
"…and he'll love it, having his own heir. Damn, he shouldn't have that kind of power," his father muttered to himself. Then he realized that his son was leaning into the well, staring into another pair of eyes. "What the hell are you doing!?" he shouted. He quickly grabbed up a handful of sand and flung it down at the girl, grabbing Shadi and dragging him away.
"Put that away. What in the name of Osiris did you think you were doing!? You weren't supposed to be seen!" Shadi's father fumed when they got back home.
"You never told me that," Shadi reasoned calmly. He carefully put the Ankh back in the tablet. His hand brushed the Tauk though, and he felt a strange pull. He had never felt anything like that, except from the Ankh and Scales. This was weaker though. As if it recognized something in him, but wasn't interested in Shadi himself…
"Come on, why are you taking so long? Come meditate for a while!"
Shadi blinked, suddenly tired. He wasn't used to channeling the Ankh's power just yet, though it seemed quite easy. "All right…" he said, following his father with dragging feet.
Later that night when Shadi and his father were asleep, other voices rang in the Guardian's sleeping mind.
Master Shedsunefertum's son used my power today…
I hope you had the sense to give him a shock! Or at least struggle a bit.
But he's only a child! And he didn't even try to make demands…
Probably because the little worm doesn't have the sense to realize we're even aware! He doesn't understand anything.
So maybe we can talk to him… After he takes over the guardianship, if not sooner. Do you think he'd listen to us?
Not a chance! Don't be a fool, you'll only get us both hurt! You try this with every host we get. People just aren't like that! Get over it! You're too trusting. But this brat seems like almost as much of a pushover as you are. We shouldn't get much trouble from him.
Well… I think you're right. He's far more likely to ignore us than… anything more aggressive.
Of course I'm right! I always am! And let's make it clear right now that I'll be the one to take control of him. This one will be mine. And next, all the other Items… Don't get in my way, weakling!
…I can't let you harm him. Or anyone else.
Well then, it looks like we can't be on the same side any more, can we?
Please, if you'd just give me a chance with him…
No! Get over yourself! The Items will be mine, and then I won't need any stupid mortals carrying me around! I don't need your approval! Get lost.
A door slammed. There was a long pause, a slight sigh, and then another door closed softly.
Endnote: Well… What do you think? I know Shadi's father is confusing. Shadi doesn't like it either. So… Tell me what you think!
Yeah, since the Ishtars live in Egypt too, they'll play a fairly big part in this too, at least for a while.
Just so you know, you probably shouldn't expect this to be updated frequently… But I'll try my best!