Mother And Son

"The neck IS the collar, you fool... Please... Just release it from the torment it was going through for the past few years. Please..." begged Vastra as her voice started to fade away.

The Queen Of Sands murmured something else, but Tomoe could hear it, so he turned his attention back to the howling Anubis. Then, gripping his sword, Tomoe jumped onto the broken debris to get to higher grounds. As he launched himself from the last rock, Tomoe prepared to slash.

However, seeing Anubis' actions and appearance, Tomoe quickly switched his grip and gracefully decapitated the God of Death's head. What was this thing thinking, just dropping its weapon like that? Was Anubis conceding defeat so quickly?

Never mind, it doesn't matter to me, though, Tomoe. Similar to the earlier Spell, this method was opposite Tomoe's usual style. The Kitsune landed with grace and turned to look at the crumbling statue. Vastra smiled as she witnessed Anubis fall onto its knees.

The Queen of Sands could still move around, but it was lucky for her that Tomoe slew Anubis close to her body. Then, Vastra slowly started to pull herself towards the dead Familiar.

"If you get summoned back again, do me a favor, and don't cry when you are about to die. Either take it as a grown-up or keep on fighting to the end and don't. The God of Death of Egyptian Folklore shouldn't be crying against a Kitsune like me... So why are you still alive?" asked Tomoe, confused.

Vastra said nothing as she managed to gently pat Anubis' paw as if she was comforting a crying child.

"There... There... My sweet boy... I'm sorry that I failed you... But it was needed..." mumbled Vastra as she started to cry.

Tomoe got closer to figuring out what was going on and if he could get information from Vastra about Fabian Brookes and his ultimate goal. But seeing the two in that position made the Kitsune uncomfortable.

"I couldn't bear to see you in such a state of frenzy..." continued the crying girl as Tomoe neared the two.

"Are... You... My mummy?" asked Anubis, finally speaking.

"Yes... I am, and I'm going to join you soon..."

"The two of you were related? I never thought that you would have a bond with anyone..." said Tomoe.

"I may look like a child, but I am an adult... I can't grow up..." explained Vastra, annoyed that Tomoe was ruining her moment with Anubis.

"What else do you want from me? You've killed me... And I will disappear for good after a few Tocks from now... So please leave us alone..."

"I need to ask you about Fabian Brookes' plan for Mavislin and anything you know about him as a Mage. It's for my Mission and the least you can do since you are technically my prisoner now," replied Tomoe, sheathing his katana.

"So that's what you wanted from me? Not why did I commit those horrible atrocities by luring children to my shop? Sadly, I can't help you much as I often work away from Fabian. I'm only here tonight because..."

Vastra's eyes started to water again as she saw Anubis entirely vanishing into dust.

"He promised to release my son from the shackles if I defeated the intruders. If I continued to listen to him... But Fabian lied as he forced Anubis' essence into my son's body which was stuffed into a statue by Old Man Pond..." explained Vastra, trying her best to stay alive.

"All I know about Fabian is that he is working with Old Man Pond, so Valkyrie should be careful... If I'm not wrong, Fabian is obsessed with finding the Valkyrie since those beings don't die from natural causes..."

"Great, my best friend is having dinner with a psychopath..." complained Tomoe, shaking his head.

"Hush now... I want to sleep... Please..."

After a few long moments, Tomoe turned away from the scene in front of him for a few reasons. The most obvious one was to respect Vastra's last wishes. One, it reminded the Kitsune of an old memory he didn't want to relive.

The second reason was that Raiyen's Elemental Energy had dwindled after spiking significantly during the climax, and Tomoe was worried that the guy might be in trouble. However, the fact that Tomoe was still standing meant that Time Mage was still alive.

The last reason was that someone other than the Five Ducklings had infiltrated the area, and Lizzie was facing that person. But the Mage was someone that should have died a couple of months ago at the hands of a Valkyrie. Someone that Tomoe particularly did not like when he was alive.

The thought of it made Tomoe's ears twitch in annoyance. So the instant Lizzie sent out the message...