Disclaimer: This is an AOA fic, set slightly previous to everything else. Think of this as a prelude. Poccy's not mine, alla the others are, and yes, I duplicated the Bishop line on purpose. Apocolypse and the AOA are the property of Marvel Comics. :) Enjoy. The Chosen People By Dyce "This is a human." The prelate met his eyes squarely. "Her escort are mutants. They bring tributes and messages to the Lord Apocolypse. I have inspected the train personally, Fedayeen. They bring the wealth of a small country to lay at our lord's feet." The trio of red-clad Madri turned as one to inspect the small group. A single human woman, flanked by two robed figures, presumably mutants, and four heavily burdened beasts of burden. "They travel so lightly guarded, carrying such wealth?" "We had guards, great ones," the woman said in a smooth, subtly accented voice. "They were sent back at the border." "Why?" the central figure snapped. Normally, of course, a mere human would be incinerated for such impertinence, but if she really did bring such vast tribute, Apocalypse would not thank the man who destroyed such a lucrative chance. "They had families." The woman, robed and hooded in black like her companions, her face veiled, seemed to glance at her companions. "We are volunteers. We do not expect to survive. All that we ask is the chance to deliver our gifts and messages to the High Lord, in person." Good. The woman obviously understood the realities of her situation. "It will be considered. Bring them." With that order, the Madri left the green-armoured prelate in charge, and left. "Very well," the man said, sounding irritated. He shooed the small group ahead of him. "You will be taken to a holding pen until a decision has been made." Should he offer them food? Water? "We require nothing," the woman said, as if reading his mind. "If you will be kind enough to show us where we may wait, that will suffice." One of the large, clumsy beasts eyed him thoughtfully, and spat with astonishing accuracy through the eye-hole in his helmet. To her credit, the woman's voice held no trace of laughter. "I apologize. It is the habit of camels to be… ill tempered." Muttering, he wiped his eye, and guided them to a small holding pen. * * * "Bring them," Apocalypse ordered. He hadn't gotten where he was today by turning down offers of vast tribute. Besides, he was bored. Obediently, his minions scurried and hurried to do his bidding. In mere minutes, the trio of robed figures (all inspected right down to the skin), the four camels (ditto), and the assorted bags and boxes (thoroughly searched) were escorted into the vast hall. They were marched to the centre, and then the guards fell back. The woman stepped forward, drew herself to her full height… and folded slowly to her knees in a complicated movement that was part bow, part salaam, and part something else. Behind her, her escort performed an even more complex version that left them face down on the floor, and the camels went slowly to their knees. Apocalypse basked. THIS was homage. He'd have to get these people to teach his minions that one. The woman stood, folding her hands before her. Her companions moved to unload the camels, and more than one flunky was soon salivating openly at the display of riches rapidly being assembled. Jewels and gold were prominent… but assorted pieces of technology, several obviously magical devices, and what looked like a boxful of genetic samples drew even more covetous glances. The robed and veiled woman, however, ignored it. She drew a scroll from her sleeve, and unrolled it calmly. "We bring unto thee, High Lord, the greatest wealth our land has to offer. In the jewels of the ancients, the greatest technology we can now create, and the genetic material of our most powerful children, we offer to thee our past, present, and future. To thee we bring the homage of our people, and our wealth." She looked up from the parchment, the eyes behind the veil seeming to seek his. "We ask permission for only this. That we may ask of thee three questions, that we may know thee." A blueish eyebrow ridge went up. This was a first. Question /him/? Interesting. "You would presume to question me?" he asked, voice a little stern. All around the room, his minions whimpered and cowered in fear. The robed woman didn't even flinch. "I merely do my duty as a messenger, High Lord. The questions were given me to ask, and so I must ask them." She actually shrugged. "I do not hope to survive, High Lord. I merely hope to live long enough to my duty." Apocalypse leaned back on his throne, eyes narrowing. Her courage was impressive, and the tribute she had brought was more than adequate. Still, it was more her proud, fearless demeanour than her proffered wealth that prompted his next words. "You may ask, though I do not promise to answer." The woman nodded, apparently satisfied. "Then I pose the first question of three." She tilted her head to look up at him. "Who art thou?" He recognized a standard ritual question, and actually gave it a moment's thought. She wasn't asking him if he was really the High Lord, obviously. The question sought the answer to who /he/ thought he was. "I am Apocalypse, the mightiest among the mighty." She nodded once. "I pose the second question of three. What art thou?" "I am the High Lord, strongest of the strong." A second nod. "I pose the third question of three." Was it his imagination, or was the voice a little hesitant now? "Where are thy people?" He lifted an arrogant hand to gesture about the hall. "You see them around you." Slender shoulders slumped as she nodded for the third time, and she turned to her two companions. "The last box." A small, ornately decorated chest was set ritually before her. "Go," she told them then. "And carry back the message…" she looked up at Apocolypse again. "Tell them… it is true." The two figures, whose voices were never to be heard in that hall, simply nodded… and vanished, along with the now unloaded camels. Teleportation. Apocalypse scowled, and gestured for weapons to be trained on the single remaining figure. She unrolled the scroll further, the smooth, cool voice suddenly sounding weary. "In that thou hast answered the questions posed to thee in a certain manner, and that consistent with thy demeanour, I have one more message for thee." She bent to unfasten the lid of the chest and straightened again. With calm ceremony, she pushed back her hood, and let her veil fall. Then, lifting a small, dainty foot, she kicked it over. Sand scattered across the floor. Desert sand. Amidst it, the bodies of dead scarabs littered the floor. Hundreds of them. The Egyptian woman lifted her head, and dark eyes met eyes of steely grey. "You have forgotten who you are," she whispered. Her face was sad. "You have denied us." She wasn't young, this woman… there were threads of grey in her hair, and fine lines around her eyes. Still, she must once have been beautiful. She still was. He blinked. This, he had not expected. A woman of the tribe once his, and always loyal to him, he had not expected. "You are of the desert," he said quietly, in Egyptian. "Yes," she agreed, in the same tongue. Then she drew herself up, and her face turned hard. "And I tell thee that thou art outcast, Apocalypse," she said softly. "Thou hast no people. Thou hast no home. The dwellers of the desert turn from you, and the sands are no longer your place." He stood, towering in his rage. "YOU CANNOT-" "You are nothing, Apocalypse. You are no-one." She lifted her head proudly. "The desert-dwellers will be ruled by none but their own, though we die of it." She would die, the blast shattering her slender body left that in no doubt. And yet somehow he found himself standing beside her, searching her eyes for whatever truth he might find there. She gazed up at him, this woman without a name, and her clouding eyes met his. "You have abandoned your people, En Sabah Nur," she whispered, even as blood bubbled in her throat. "Your father… would not be proud." Then her eyes closed, and her breath stilled. And Apocalypse was just a little more alone than he had ever been before. End __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com