In the evening, it started to snow.
Now it wasn't unusual for snow to fall in Pallet Town, after all, it was winter. But Ash had never before seen such an enormous snow storm outside. One could think Articuno himself was flying outside.
As he and his friends couldn't do much outside, they sat in the living room and played a round of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
"Where are your parents, Ash?" May asked as she put down a card.
"Over at Professor Oak's," Ash said. "He always wanted to show my father a few of his old books, and he barely had the chance, as Dad isn't home too often... Your turn, Brock!"
"You think your father is angry about what happened?" Brock asked as he looked into his cards.
"Eh, probably. But he never stays angry for very long. In the end, he will probably blame the Delcatty... he would never admit that the Pokémon he brought into the house was responsible for the chaos."
"You looked kinda upset too when you looked at Anubis," May said. "Is there something wrong with him?"
"I don't know, he just..." Ash shivered. "He gives me the creeps when he looks at me. Don't you think so?"
"Well, at least he's a very intelligent Houndoom," Max said while he put down his card and smiled. "Looks like I won!"
"Again?" May groaned. "Oh man... let's do something else, okay? I don't want Max to win again..."
Brock took the TV's remote control and pressed a button.
He frowned. "Only static. The storm must be really bad."
Ash looked outside. He could barely see anything except a white chaos.
But when he looked closely, he could swear that he was seeing something... or someone... among the snowflakes. A person?
He shook his head. "I wonder what Petach is doing. That guy acts even stranger than Anubis. You know, he acted as if he knew who was responsible for the accident in Dustia."
"Well, he certainly is..." Brock stopped himself in mid-sentence and frowned. "Guys, do you hear that?"
They all listened... and then they could hear it as well: A strange humming noise, coming from the office of Ash's father. It almost sounded like music, a strange chant made of words that neither of them could understand.
"Is that... Petach?" Max wondered. "What's he doing up there?"
They put away the cards and walked upstairs to take a look.
Ash opened the door leading to the office... and they were witnessing a very strange scene.
Petach was sitting in the middle of the room, cross-legged. His arms were half-raised and his eyes closed, while he was chanting his strange song. Two bowls that were filled with a strange burning material were being put on the floor next to him, creating two blue flames that smelled... strange. All kinds of unknown figurines and small, decorated stones were strewn across the room.
Anubis was sitting near the chanting man, looking at him intently. And just to his left, they could see the Delcatty that had caused such a stir earlier this day.
It was eerie, and maybe it was just a coincidence, but Petach and the two Pokémon were forming an equilateral triangle. Neither of them had noticed the four youngsters that had appeared in the door.
Pikachu crawled backwards. "Pikaaa..."
"Come on, let's leave him alone," Max whispered. They turned to leave, but then Anubis opened his eyes and barked once.
Petach looked at them and was clearly surprised. "Oh, it's you children!" He was clearly embarrassed. "How... how long have you been standing there?"
Ash wasn't too sure what he should say. "Well, we heard a strange noise..."
"The wind... yes, that must have been the storm," Petach said with a nervous smile." He got up from the ground.
He noticed that May was looking at the Delcatty and he smiled. "I see you are wondering about Bast."
"Bast?" May wondered.
"The Delcatty," Petach explained. "After your father already named the Houndoom Anubis, it just seemed fitting to call her that. You know, Bast is the Egyptian goddess of cats."
Nobody said anything for a few seconds. Petach then sighed. "I guess I owe you an explanation."
"Well, that would be a beginning," Brock said. He felt uneasy, for some reason. He looked down at the strewn figurines and the other stuff. "Where did you get all of this?"
Petach smiled. "Oh, this is my little collection. I'm a collector of Egyptian antiques, you know? And when you came in, I was just... Well, no matter. I think I should start at the beginning..."
Petach sat down again and gestured that they should do the same. He looked at the still burning, blue flames and made a gesture with his right hand. Immediately, the flames went out.
"Who are you?" Ash murmured. "How did you do that?"
Petach sighed. "Do you believe in ghosts, Ash?"
"I believe in Ghost Pokémon, but not in white figures that float through old castles and rattle with their chains."
"Well, in a sense, I am a ghost, even if I don't carry any chains and am, by all means, a being of... flesh and blood."
Ash noticed the slight hesitation in his voice, but Petach just kept on talking: "To understand what happened in Dustia, and the reason why we are here today, I have to tell you a story. Ash, your father already told you that I am from Egypt, did he?"
Ash remembered how his father had mentioned it once or twice, and he nodded.
Petach nodded back. "Well, every nation has its own legends, its own gods and demons. The only thing all of the people on Earth share are the same sky... and the Pokémon. But every human culture has created its own gods and spiritual beings. The Greeks had Zeus and the other gods of Mt. Olympus. The Norse people had the Aesirs, such as Odin and Thor."
He made a small pause before he continued: "The Egyptian gods were Anubis and Ra, Aten, Bast, Isis, Horus and Osiris, and many, many more. But to understand my story, you have to understand one very important thing: Those beings that the humans worshipped as gods really existed."
"What?" Max asked. "But that's... that's impossible!"
"No, my boy, it isn't," Petach said softly. "Think about it, what exactly is it that makes gods and demons real? They are nothing but the essence of what we believe. Do you really think that such beliefs and wishes are just illusions?
I admit, they are not quite the same gods you imagine when you hear their words. But, once upon a time, human have been very superstitious and gullible. They have seen the incredible powers of the Pokémon and used them for their own advantage. But they could do nothing against the might of the most powerful of all Pokémon... the ones you call 'Legendaries'. And in their beliefs, they saw in them what we hear today in their old legends: The old gods of ancient Egypt."
"Unbelievable..." May murmured. "Is that really true?"
"I can assure you they do, my girl!" Petach nodded. "They all really existed and they had been very powerful, for the Egyptian realm had existed for a very long time."
"And they... still exist today?" Ash whispered. Pikachu shuddered. Petach nodded.
Max looked at the two Pokémon. "So those two are... Bast and Anubis?"
"Well, they are not Legendary Pokémon, but I already figured that they can't be normal Pokémon... they are filled with knowledge and wisdom. Maybe... these are two of their incarnations... I thought the attacker in the woods was Anubis, but... I'm not too sure of that anymore."
Ash looked at the middle-aged Egyptian in surprise. "So you did see it after all? And you said you didn't..."
"I... had to be certain," Petach said. "Please try to understand me, but I realize that I made a mistake. I should have told you from the very beginning. I hope you can forgive me."
"So, is that all there is to your story?" Brock asked.
"Not quite, Brock," Petach said. "See, there once was a god called Aten. Originally, the ancient Egyptians worshipped dozens and hundreds of different deities in their temples... but then, a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne. His name was Amenophis IV... but most people nowadays know him under the name Akhenaten. Akhenaten was a very intelligent man and in spite of his youth, very wise."
An expression of sadness and pain appeared on Petach's face as soon as he mentioned the name of Akhenaten. "He had a vision," he explained. "He didn't want the humans to worship many gods because of fear, they only should worship one single god, and only because of commitment and gratitude. And then, one night, he saw something that changed everything in his life... he saw a comet in the night skies, a comet that was shining as bright as the sun. And therefore, he claimed that his one and only god would be the god of the sun... Aten!"
"But... the gods didn't allow it, right?" May asked.
"Not the gods," Petach said. "The humans did it, his own people. The priests of the other gods felt betrayed. They rallied all of the displeased people and waited for the right moment."
"They... they killed them?" Ash asked.
Petach nodded grimly. "It was a trap. They were working together with the Pokémon that were worshipping the very same Pokémon gods, and the killer of Akhenaten was one of his closest confidants, maybe the only friend Akhenaten ever had. It happened within a deep canyon in a desolate area. Akhenaten was on his way to Thebes, to meet his wife, Nefertiti. Akhenaten's men fought bravely, but they were helpless against the might of the opposing Pokémon army. Akhenaten fled, but the traitor followed him... and killed him. Akhenaten did not even defend himself."
Ash and the others felt that what Petach was telling them was much, much more than just a story.
"But... the gods survived, did they?" Max asked.
"Yes," Petach said. "And Akhenaten was responsible. He cursed his murderer. With his last breath, he put a curse on him, a curse that wouldn't allow him to die until the dead warriors that fought for him would rise again from their graves."
"But Akhenaten lived more than 3000 years ago," Brock protested. "Nobody could live for such a long time."
"You mean: Nobody is supposed to live for such a long time. Humans are afraid of the death, although they don't see that it actually is a present, as much as life is. But no punishment is eternal, my children! The prophecy will be fulfilled, and the dead will rise from their graves. 3000 years are enough, don't you think? No crime is so bad that someone has to suffer for such a long time."
"But why... why are you telling all of this to us?" May asked.
Petach was going to reply, but then a massive blow hit the window behind them, made the glass break, and within seconds, the whole room was filled with snow and ice that was being blown inside by the raging storm.
Ash winced as he felt the stinging cold and slowly stood up. He held his arm in front of his face for protection and noticed how Pikachu was slowly rising to his feet as well.
Anubis started to bark as loud as he could and tried snapping at the storm with his jaws, while Bast had already disappeared underneath the heavy armchair of his father.
"Ash!" Petach shouted against the loud roaring of the storm. "The window! We have to close it! Help me!"
"Oh my god!" May yelled. "What kind of storm is that?" She could see a strange light that was coming outside, and it felt as if the storm was concentrating mainly on the window they were sitting behind.
"That is no normal storm," Petach gasped as he and Ash tried to close the window. "That is..."
Ash then gasped as he looked outside. "LOOK! DOWN THERE!"
Outside, in the middle of the chaotic maelstrom of snow, wind and glass shards, they could see a figure... a figure that was roughly human, was wrapped in ancient bandages and was carrying a shield and a deadly lance.
It was the mummy! The mummy from the museum!
And it had come to finish what it started.
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See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:55)
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