Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

Staring at the humans as they came all the more closer, the Jackal headed man continued to bare his teeth, in what could be said to be that of a smiling dog, or a predator showing his fangs for the more cynical minded, the two like beastmen to his side seemed a mixed to be guarded, alerted and watchful, staffs forward and at the ready as the group was led by Gauss, eying Moreau, one of them snarled and growled, but remained firmly at his post, his monster soul flaring akin to an angered human, as he voiced the cause for this reaction in the ancient egyptian language; “<Defiler! Have you no more tombs to rob?!>”

Causing a rebuke from the blue eyed one at the center, as the other looks directly at Ark and says in perfect Egyptian Arabic;

“<This one has a smidge of being from these lands, though he holds magic, Arbiter should we really be here? The humans have lied time and time again.>”

The smiling Anpu raised a hand as blue fire and the swirls of shadow aspect magic swirled around them, not burning, nor harming anyone as a feather appeared in his hand, taking in all of those in turn, the feather shifted upwards and downwards several times before stopping as the Anpu spoke up in perfect and one dare would say a British Accent from the 19th and early 20th Century spoke to the group as a whole.

“What a curious collection. Some of your Souls are heavy, some of you are as light as a feather. It is a good thing I am not here to carry out the charge of my great Ancestor. Our scouts reported that your party was in the ruins of our sacred charge. I would know what you all were doing and how far you got before the false pharaoh showed. In term I shall answer questions you may have.”

There was something Gauss found interesting about the atmosphere and presence of these creatures. The media, movies, games, from classics to the modern era, tried to recreate what the Egyptians were or would be. The Anpu were likely the only thing that existed which could even begin to provide an accurate insight of what their culture was like. Granted, Gauss didn’t immediately recognize just how drastically the culture and leadership of Egypt actually changed during the different eras it existed.

He did, much like Steve Rogers, finally get a fucking reference. Even he knew the mythology behind weighing a soul. Though, he was pretty sure it was actually weighing a heart, but perhaps that was lost in translation. Words had a funny way of meaning multiple things.

”We are the souls of those seeking redemption in this life,” Gauss responded to the being, ”I would be surprised if any of us had a soul light as a feather.”

Then came the actual question. Well, it wasn’t really a question. It was more of a statement. This creature wanted to know precisely what their intentions were. If they are guardians, such made sense.

”I am the leader of this group. I am best known as Gauss. Our goal was simply to find any survivors that may have been present,” he explained, also trying to introduce himself and present some sense of formality. ”The bigger picture of our purpose here is to investigate the undead and provide any relief we can to the locals from these… supernatural sources,” Gauss told the creature, being quite honest in his release of information. He figured if this thing could read his soul, it would likely know he was lying even if he tried.

As fuckin’ bad as Elly.

”I cannot speak for every group of humans that have entered that tomb, but I can assure you that my group sought no relics, treasures, or to defile the grounds,” he added, trying to explain that–at least for himself and his team–their ambitions were not greed or discovery.

Moreau’s words were right, as harsh as they were. If Wes accompanied Annika to the hospital all he’d end up doing is dragging down the rest of the team, reducing their fighting force when they would likely need every advantage they could get.

He stared at his partner, face falling as the sight of her sent a fresh wave of guilt through his heart, before turning away to face the assembled group. “I’m sorry.” With a silent apology, he made his way over to the rest of the team, and the three jackal-men.

He arrived just as Gauss finished his explanation, Wes giving a nod as his leader spoke to the Anpu. The feather floating in what he assumed to be the leader’s hand drew his attention, it having a sound that was almost incomprehensible. It was as if it were sampling the souls of everyone in their group, small bits that mingled and clashed against each other as the creature looked on. A small part of him wondered whose souls were heavier and lighter, more morbid curiosity than anything else, but he kept that thought to himself.

It was like Gauss said, everyone who was in the program was working towards some form of redemption. Wouldn’t be right for him to pry into everyone else’s problems, and especially not out in the open like this.

Regardless, If the group had to back up Gauss’s claims, there were the three survivors that they had found in the ruins. He would have also suggested asking Evans and Moreau, but that might not have been the best idea. Whether they were in the wrong or not, they still disturbed the ruins and removed artifacts from it. Not to mention most of those artifacts were now in the hands of one of their group, who was now going around and declaring himself the new Pharaoh and defiling the dead.

Not a great look by any means.

“No. Two of you are burdened with tremendous weight, and two of you are without any at all. As to your stated purpose…” The eyes on the head Jackal glowed as did the feather, as he looked at Gauss, a sudden spike in magical energy would be picked up by Ark, and with those with good soul perception, the Sons and Daughters of Anubis were not without something in this regard that tugged at the rest.

“You mix truths with admissions of… What I wonder? Very well, there is some truth in this, and for that I shall volunteer truths to you. I am the Arbiter of my people, the 47th to hold such a seat. You may call me Seth.” Looking pointedly at the Tomb Raider, he continued, not missing a beat as he scathed the other. “We are here to protect the resting place of comrades long betrayed, exalted in deeds, of souls common and grand, of years long before me, when yet our father walked this world, the Lord Anubis, Guide of Souls, keeper of the Dead in the lands of Egypt.” The two men to the sides flash a sign of prayer and bow their heads letting out a cry that hinted at their bestial nature as it was picked up from points unseen, the echos of Jackals giving voice could be heard throughout the city.

“Only when the dead are being robbed or in instances of mass death and chaos have we made ourselves known to the world. And this, young Human, is a threat, should our final wards fail, that will burn far more than Egypt, A legend of History, a story of Myth. Mayhap you rather I speak with you in my glamor form.

Regardless, we are here to safeguard our allies, to guide the souls across the Styx, and to lay the dead to rest once more… Regardless of how deserving man has been for this aid, we remember our Oaths to Kings whose names you do not yet recall.”

Gauss took a moment to analyze what this leader-priest-figure was claiming. The Arbiter, he called himself–amongst other titles. None truly mattered at the moment. What did was the gravity of his claims. If this species here apparently showed themselves during major threats involving the dead and had been thought extinct prior, that likely meant the importance of this mission skyrocketed significantly..

Gauss knew the DWMA was working at giving the F.A.T.E. Program more legitimate missions, but failing to report developments like this could be tantamount to neglect.

”Arbiter, I can request more reinforcements,” Gauss offered, not knowing if there would actually be time even if he did make that call. The African Branch was unique amongst the branches that didn’t quite align with the Main Branch in that it was mostly independent, meaning cooperation especially on its territory had a fair chance. ”And, I don’t particularly care what form you choose to speak in,” Gauss said after, providing an answer to the point the Arbiter had mused over. Besides, it made no sense to waste magic better used for fighting.

”It seems you know far more about the situation and the threat than any intelligence I’ve surmised or been given,” Gauss admitted, granted his team hadn’t been there long, had only investigated one camp, and had focused on saving survivors over finding information. His ignorance was understandable and far from regrettable; he was sure Evans and the others appreciated the assist.

”What would you have me and my team do to prevent this undead incursion and the failure of your wards?” Gauss asked, effectively deferring to the Arbiter for guidance, though in guise of requesting input.

For his part, Seth smiled as he had been doing, as it slowly faded away, he decided to add in a dismissive tone, as if it were a small matter. “Taking on a human form is of little consequence to my magic, it is how my people have survived, though I rather not fight in it. It is very detrimental.” The Anpu continued, taking on a more harsher appearance.

“Unfortunately this event has robbed us of that secrecy. Your technology and phones no doubt have confirmed our existence all across the world… But ah, yes, as to what you can do. Speak truthfully and I shall tell you all there is to know of this threat, what was passed on to me at least, but tell me this… Is the Map room still sealed?”

”If that is the room where we fought the greater undead… then no. In fact, that door is, uh.. In need of repair,” Gauss answered, simply trying to provide the information despite his obvious guilt.

“<Inform the rest at once, go now.>” Seth said, dismissing his ancient language speaking friend with a wave of his left hand, leaving only one guard in attendance. “Then that fool has gotten what he needs, or will in short order. I shall tell you all the story of the lost temple and what it is we are meant to protect, one of a number of Oaths we have kept.”
“What’s so important about that room?” Wes interrupted, crossing his arms and cocking his head slightly. His tone was slightly dismissive, despite the weight of the creatures’ words.

“Evans said something similar when we found him. Acted like we just gave the prick everything he needed.” The obvious answer was access to that strange map that was present, but if Ishmeal was as powerful as he hyped himself up to be, why did he have to wait for them to open the room?

With the questions from Wes and the admission of Gauss, plus battling the undead, those undead… Well, that was a problem. One which his bestial face could not communicate towards the party. With that in mind, he sighed, taking upon himself the form of human, a glamor, a real human was not there, with blue eyes and an unnaturally lithe, and white hair, in the garb of an orator, he would not be out of place in a period drama, tourist trap, or playwright, point of fact, the old man of the group would have known of him as a performer in the ancient and dead city of Thebes.


“It is indeed a bad thing, for he spurned our words and engaged in conflict, we have been busy ever since, attempting to undo his damage, he operates on the Hubris of Ignorance, so to you I will share this tale, but I warn you, getting help from anywhere is not an option, for we must react quickly to settle this matter, though I have you not go in ignorance or alone. It is a shame you destroyed the Royal Guard, they were sworn to this same duty.” A wide range of emotions seemed to play out across his face, depicting worry, agency, disappointment and sincerity.

"In ages gone past, when my forefathers were akin to gods and walked the Nile, when heroes of myth and legend sprang to being, from Thebes to Babylon, when the world was young and magical terrors the like you have never imagined roamed the darkest corners of Africa, when the Kings of old were covered in Gold, and so much from then has been lost. However, there are those which have not been so....

Meskhenet was a Sphinx, they are no longer a presence in Egypt, many things saw to that, or they have left for a realm for magical beings like they, it matters not, they were wise beings that taught man much and walked alongside other ancient beings. However, Meskhenet was as twisted as she was cunning, seeing man and other beings beneath her as little more than amusements to be killed when that amusement was at an end. With her divinity she became a terror upon the land, using her connection with the sun to bring draughts to the land, her wings with wind to crash ships into the banks of the Nile, and her claws to rip man and beast asunder. Truly her magic and power would be a problem, even for your modern DWMA, should she Awaken."

"As I said this was a time when we Anpu and our grand progenitor Anubis joined hands with those of humans to put an end to her nightmare. Three peerless members of the Aristocracy, gifted in the arts of Magic, Sorcery I believe you call it. All three were gifted with unique magics and had tools that were as powerful as they were dangerous. The eldest of the three, High Priest of Set, Thoth-hotep, had a cane that could imbue and enhance the magics of others, or the effects of...hmm... Sacred Relics... Demon Tools you call them?

Then there was High Priest of the dual god Aker, Seker, he was known beyond peerage for his assistance and construction of great works. His Gauntlets were blessed with the power of earth, able to move and reshape and till the lands, it demands much in the way of attention and affinity with the Earth Elements.

And lastly was the Sorceress of Rah, Nofret-Kau. She was a Priestess of Ra, having killed a great magical beast in the depths of the Nile, her necklace was able to absorb and store sunlight, turning it into mana that she could call upon by command, allowing her great use of magical power.

And there was a Fourth Relic. A book of the Dead. Entrusted to us, the Anpu. It contained means of banishing and moving souls, to form...hmm... contract. To shepard a soul to the afterlife, or to bind it in service for punishments for crimes, or for the needs of the Pharaoh. A True book of the dead. What he has is indeed a portion of it, but he lacks one final piece, sealed within the Tomb we have built for Meskhenet.

The battle was long and difficult, but with some sacrifices and the Tomb Guardians we recruited explicitly for this purpose, we were able to split her essence into three parts, a mound of stone for her body, a great flaming eye held within a golden harness, her Magic, and lastly her spirit did we bind split between the two and its open air, in sigils and hieroglyphics within her prison, within her tomb.

With her sealed it was agreed that the four relics would be sealed when each Priest left this world in a different location, lost to time. An event that would likely not come to pass for a thousand years. However, mortals, as plotting, short lived and cruel as you can be, were not happy with this arrangement and a great tyrant betrayed our pact. A Pharaoh, one whose name was removed from history, and his reign ended at the hands of invaders and rebellion, after he sowed Chaos upon the lands of Egypt and the deaths of many people and many beings such as ourselves..

We were forced to put all three relics in here, sealing them behind traps, and we buried the Temple and went into hiding, our numbers reduced. Unfortunately in this conflict we lost our book... And it seems your people rediscovered it. Now that all the relics have been rejoined and the Star Map solved, we have no choice but to reenact the wards or to destroy the beast, provided the false Pharaoh. Yet here I am, in a position where I must extend my hand, like my fathers before. When all of this is said and done, we shall have words to the final arrangements. That is the story as I have understood it and how it has been passed down to me.”

For her part Feng who was mostly content with staying shut up, squinted her eyes and blinked a few times, as if processing all that was said.

“Wait a second, how bad of news is she, how long will it take to undo this body, soul, magic shit and what of Ishmael and this other temple?”

“He is a powerful mage because of the items he holds, before this he was little more than an everyman. Someone set him upon this path and I know not who, nor how or why he had the book. As to that, a matter of minutes, fortunately the temple is not so easy to enter. We have time, but she must not be allowed to reach full power. She was akin to a god as you would put it, cost the union of man and the arcane, hundreds of lives, with the collateral in the thousands. It may be possible to defeat her with conventional means, but the act of sealing, or an act of banishment may be our only recourse.”

Gauss listened to this story, but his interpretation soured his perspective of these Anpu. Sure, humanity had betrayed them. Power corrupts, so it was no doubt of his that the power they held corrupted. In fact, Gauss wouldn’t have even defended humanity. The mistake here was that the Anpu didn’t just hand these objects over to the Lord Death.

Regardless of which Shinigami it was, each of them tended to collect powerful artifacts like this. Not for the sake of power, but for the sake of preventing them from falling into the hands of humanity. The Death Vault had gone through several iterations over the countless thousands of years, expanding in size and scope for this very reason. In fact, it wasn’t just a concern that these items would fall into the hands of men, but they’d probably be just as dangerous for Witches, too.

Really, it was all just plain dangerous. No one should have had it. Including the Anpu, even if they were sworn to guard it.

That opinion didn’t matter at the moment, though. In fact, it didn’t matter at all. Gauss didn’t intend on voicing it. No, instead, there was a real threat to deal with. Even without a threat, it was of no real benefit to make his argument anyway.

”It sounds like our best bet is to intercept as soon as possible,” Gauss replied, his tone resolute and straight-forward. ”I don’t doubt the DWMA or some government has some big-ass weapon that could kill this would-be God, but I’d rather solve the problem before it gets there,” Gauss added, having thought through the reality that a huge bomb or some nuke equivalent would be an option. Something he wasn’t sure if the Anpu were aware of; that type of destructive power must have far exceeded anything in their era.

”Which means this: lethal force is on the table, no hesitation,” Gauss said, though he doubted it would matter much for Feng or Aki. Wes, Noah, and Arky, though… that might be a problem. He considered, too, what it might do to Ark. Granted, even he hadn’t had to kill a human himself yet. ”I wouldn’t worry about collateral damage at this point; anything we do surely won’t compare to the bombs they’ll drop if we fail,” he added, though at this point, he cared much less about that. He only brought it up given how strict Moreau was with it earlier.

”...We weren’t going for that before?” Aki blurted out callously, having been silent for the most part throughout the entire exchange. She wasn’t good with these sorts of things, lots of details and context to keep track of. Rather, she absorbed only the highlights and simple points. Namely, a guy was stealing artifacts to bring back a sphinx. The sphinx was bad news. And this, a manhunt, she could and without the qualms that some of the others may hold in regard to slaying a man.

Her response did get a curious glance from the silent Earth mage.

As Gauss and the Anpu leader spoke, Wes listened, his expression growing more and more sour as the conversation continued. Not only because of the tale of this mad deity that Ishmeal was trying to free, but also at the declaration that they would be moving on with the intent to kill.
Wes didn’t share Aki’s opinion on taking the life of another person, as dangerous as they might have been. He didn’t know what kind of life she had led to speak so frankly on taking the life of another person, but it certainly wasn’t one he would wish for. It would have been easier for him had the source been some sort of monster, some corrupted soul that had grown too powerful and was causing havoc. He expected that going in, and the presence of the undead only made him more comfortable with the thought. That was familiar, it was what he and everyone in the DWMA learned and trained for. This was different.

Egotistical and cruel as he may have been, he was still just a regular human, those artifacts being the only reason he was any sort of threat. Knowing that, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to take the man’s life.

“Actually, I don’t have to do anything.” The thought came quickly, an ugly feeling welling up in his chest as his eyes roamed over the assembled group. “I could just stay back with Annika and let everyone else deal with this.”

He could, couldn’t he? As much as it would let down the rest of the group, he could claim that he wouldn’t be in the right mind to help. “I could just say that I can’t resonate with anyone, not with the way my head is now. I should just-“ A sharp stinging sensation broke him out of his thoughts, glancing down he found hands clenched, fingernails digging hard enough into his palms to draw a thin line of blood.

His partner was wounded, lives had been lost and the fate of thousands were at stake. The ugly feeling remained in his chest, but he quickly smothered it underneath a thick layer of disgust in himself.

“You said he was just a normal guy before this.” Wes asked the leader, before turning to Moreau, his face drawn downward in a deep scowl as he spoke.

“You knew him more than any of us. Did he seem the type of person who’d do something so cruel and dangerous?” There was a decent part of Wes that wanted for the man to deny the accusation, to tell the group that there was no way the man would have done this normally. Maybe even suggest that someone or something was messing with his head, and that he was being manipulated. At least then he’d be able to suggest taking Ishmael down without killing him.

“He does not believe that Meskhenet will mean as much harm, that he can harness her power himself. Someone filled his head with ideas on this place and cut him loose.” Seth says plainly with an indignant look to his face. “As to what he was before, your human friend may indeed know more. But now he is driven mad with power and glory, blind to any reality that he does not abide by. He conversed with us as much, then we spent this time fighting and putting to rest his undead horde, but could not challenge him directly, unless we abandoned all other missions.”

“Then we kill him if capture is not an option,” Ark stated grimly, having noted Wes’ general hesitancy and finally speaking up after being silent for so long.

Understanding the sentiment Wes held, he couldn't fault the Weapon. Aki's clear mindset that they were always going to kill Ishmael certainly wasn't something he had expected, but then again perhaps Hawaii had made him forget that the Asian duo were both the gray sides of life. “Seeing what he could do, I doubt I will be able to land anything truly effective with my magic. At best I will have to counter everything he does or can do with those gauntlets. You've seen what I can do with my gloves, if the necklace and cane are further boosting him” the mage made an expression as if it pained him to even consider it.

“Getting rid of Demon Tools is no easy task either,” he sighed, muttering more to himself.

Moreau had been silent, only whispering to Gauss to aid in translation the few times the Anpu didn’t speak English. However, he didn’t say anything. He knew the Anpu hated him. He was a tomb raider, why wouldn’t they hate him? He’s helped many archaeologists - in the eyes of the Anpu - defile their places of worship. While he didn’t like the Anpu either, his opinion of the jackal-headed bastards weren’t as negative as it was at the start of this mission. He looked at Wes when he asked about Ishmael, waiting for Seth and Ark to finish speaking before doing so himself.

“Look, I’m just the guy who protects the overly curious from getting killed from their curiosity. I didn’t know Ismael very well. He was a prodigy and an aspiring archaeologist under his professor, and had a thing for the occult. I wish I could say he’s a good guy, and he probably could have been, but humans can be easily corrupted, even if their souls don’t actually become corrupted in the way you agents are familiar with. Their morals can change in a matter of days under any number of circumstances. As for Ismael, he wanted to revive traditional Egyptian practices and magic and was in some circles that pursued that. Before all this, he was far more subdued in behavior and he was probably a lot more noble in intentions back then.” He paused, his lips pressing thinly.

“A man’s previous actions and behavior does not prevent them from receiving consequences due to the danger they pose now and the sins they’ve gathered recently. I don’t feel good about it either. He might think he can control the sphinx, but I’d rather not let others die because of a man’s blind ignorance. There is a saying: “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”. In this case, it’s more of his ignorance and hubris that was conscientious to begin with before it evolved into something else. That man I saw on that throne was not the Ismael I saw back then, but a power-hungry monster in human skin willing to do anything and everything to gain more power and reclaim his birthright for being of distant Egyptian nobility. He won’t stop since he’s started, and a man with nothing to lose, especially after being locked away, is even more dangerous than a stupid one.” The last sentences had a touch of a growl to them, his face hardening.

Noah didn’t like having to kill a man either, but if it meant preventing the death of hundreds, he’d do it. He’d wish there would be some way to just lock the guy up forever, but men like him shouldn’t live, lest they just harmed more people to get back at the ones who took away their chance. Noah agreed with Moreau, though really wished Aki kept herself silent. Her opinions grated on his nerves and he didn’t want to be reminded how morally grey she and her partner were. But after this was all said and done, he wondered how the Anpu would take to the DWMA needing to take these artifacts… He hoped it wasn’t going to start something, but if the Anpu say their numbers are rather limited, he was sure they wouldn’t want to upset anyone who was stronger than them, but that also put them in a rather unfavorable position if there ever was a deal.

Still, he remained silent, wondering if he should help Wes by zapping him again. However, he didn’t want to prevent the poor guy from being able to process his emotions. The last thing he needed was for Wes to break down when he needed him most. So instead, he walked up to him. “Hey, we’re all in this together, right? I don’t like it either ‘n’ I know we’re in an even tougher spot cuz we’re weapons. But it’s not just yer burden ya ‘ave to shoulder on yer own, it’s the team’s burden, too, give or take a third.” He wryly smiled as he joked about Aki’s and Feng’s ability to kill a human. “If it helps, he’s like the Sorcerer version of a rogue Witch. Not a corrupted soul, but still just as dangerous as one ‘n’ will become an even greater threat if left to his own devices. So, ya with us?” Noah held out his hand for Wes to take. While Noah didn’t know Wes very well - only really meeting him on occasion when he and Gauss met Annika - Noah did feel like he understood Wes pretty well as they were both pretty similar.

For her part, Feng didn't say much for a long while before she patted Aki on the back and smiled. How they all were acting, had they never killed anyone before? Surely that Mage had, what with his background, but the idea of it seemed uncomfortable with the rest, even with Ark. What had happened to him? Or rather what happened to herself and Aki. Likely a part of her thought, they might have been the ones with the lightest souls, because the idea of killing Ismael didn't phase them at all. Was that how it worked? Still... "Hey! Don't worry about it, just leave the final bit to me and Aki. Anyways, we are going now, yeah?"