A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Archers! Take aim!"

The sound of arrows being notched and string being brought back filled Atemu's senses as he intently took in the large group coming over the horizon. So it was true...the 'Followers of Apep' had grown to dangerous numbers.

Not looking back because he knew it would make his men anxious, Atemu steadily looked on as the group loudly approached the royal army. "Steady, men..." the pharaoh warned, knowing that the soldiers wanted nothing more than to attack.

Suddenly, a horse rode up beside him, and Atemu glanced a shot at Seth, smiling to himself, feeling the usual tense air between them gone.

"You seem relaxed, cousin," the pharaoh commented lowly, just missing the mock chuckle the priest let pass through his lips.

Although he, too, was staring out at the advancing group, Seth replied, "and you seem to be taking your job seriously for once, my pharaoh."

Nodding a little with a small smile of his own, Atemu turned his attention back onto the group. There were to be no negotiations as of yet, and Atemu was quite happy with that. But it would seem that the leaders of the group had just turned their men loose.

With some soldiers on horses but most on foot, thousands of men had started to run down the dunes just beyond, obviously unaware of the archers patiently waiting.

"Take aim..." Atemu bellowed loud enough, his arm raising unconsciously, the teen numbly told himself to wait, wait, and wait until..."fire!"

Suddenly, thousands of arrows sliced through the air with a whoosh that would've sent a horse running back scared. Atemu watched stoically as many of the men further out dropped dead or wounded, many horses toppling over and crushing their owners.

But to Atemu's unheard horror, he realized that the group had yet another wave of men coming.

Gripping his trusty steed's reins, Atemu silently motioned for the archers to take aim yet again, and then fire. As more arrows cut through to do their job, Atemu briefly gazed upon his own men.

"Prepare for battle!" To emphasize his point, he took out his own sword with grace, raising it well above his head. The soldiers before him bellowed their own war cries, raising their own swords and shields. "On my mark, you will attack!"

Another eruption of excited cries ensued, and Atemu nodded at his lead archer to take ready again, and then a second for another attack. With arrows flying over his head, the pharaoh led his horse over to his priests, returning his sword to its rightful place on his hip.

Choosing his words carefully, the young pharaoh said, "we will take battle with our own Shadow Monsters when I say, understood." He glanced at his priests, rewarded with a curt nod of understanding.

Silently cursing himself, Atemu wished he hadn't been so childish before. The 'Followers of Apep' were many in men, and many of them seemed to be holding out against the royal arrows. Turning around to his soldiers, he yelled with a watchful eye on the advancing group, "attack!"

With energy he didn't know his army possessed, thousands of men emitted their loudest war cry yet and charged forward at an alarming rate. Watching with slight awe as weapons began to clash, Atemu pulled himself out to motion to the head archer to fire at will.

Keeping his horse steady as the action and noise had riled him up in excitement, Atemu retreated back to his priests, all of them ready to summon monsters to attack. With their trusted millennium items at hand, each priest muttered their sacred spell, and within a few moments, their Shadow Monsters had been revealed.

"Attack!" the priests all ordered, and in a split second, more blood was being shed as the Shadow Monsters attacked along the royal army.

"My pharaoh, you did not summon a Shadow Monster," Shada said suddenly, concentration on the task at hand as much as possible. "Is something wrong?"

Licking his lips, Atemu watched as his priests monsters attacked bravely, but his heart sunk when he noticed multiple figures along the horizon the sand dune. He was suddenly able to identify them as Shadow Monsters that some of the men harbored deep within their own souls.

Gritting his teeth, Atemu didn't reply to his priests' concerns, but he gripped his horse's reins tighter than before.

The sudden thought of him being afraid during this battle to uphold the position of pharaoh quaked through his whole body. As he had gone over many times to himself, Atemu had realized that he had acted like a foolish child, not taking his position as pharaoh seriously and now...

...now he had the chance to prove that he wasn't afraid of it anymore. He knew for sure that his priests weren't one hundred percent with him on standing up bravely to his duties, and Atemu felt the undying urge to show them that he was.

He wouldn't summon a monster of his own. He would fight alongside his men. Sword to sword.

Reaching for said weapon, Atemu drew it out, hearing the small gasps from his stunned priests. With an unwavering stare, the pharaoh watched the deadly blade of his sword shine in the dimming sunlight, a determined look overcastting his face.

If he were to die fighting for his country as the pharaoh, what would happen? The thought came so quickly to his mind; Atemu didn't know what to think. Maybe Seth would take his place, after all, that was what he wanted after all before he manned up.

Yugi...he deserved better, wherever he currently was. He should've never treated Yugi the way he did, using him as a lovely distraction to get away from his duties. He should've propped Yugi up from his position as a servant to an advisor...he shouldn't have tried to use him for his own needs...

Shuddering at that last thought, Atemu felt guilty from his head down to his toes at such a thought, the actions playing over and over in his head.

Shaking these last hard thoughts from his mind, Atemu turned to his confused priests, calling out Seth. "If I shall fall, you will become the new pharaoh, understood?"

With a look of bewilderment, Seth took a few seconds to nod in approval before Atemu kicked his horse's side, and fell into a rhythmic gallop toward the current battle.

Through his Shadow Monster, one of the leaders of the large group chuckled, motioning to his comrades to listen to what he had to say. The others came close with anticipation.

"It seems that Apep has given the great pharaoh some confusion," the man chuckled, his tale amusing him to no end. "It would seem that he thinks he is one of the soldiers."

"Ha! What a fool, he deserves to die for such immorality."

"Kill him on the spot," another offered with a sinister grin.

The man who had given the news chuckled again, looking up at the sky with some wonder. "Apep shall."

No one had ever informed him of what it was like in the heat of battle. Atemu felt utterly lost.

The sand was being picked up in every motion a man made, creating a cloud of dust thick enough that made Atemu have to squint to see to some degree. Blood was being thrown this way and that with every strike, and the noise was almost deafening from the men screaming in agony, or the shields being banged on, or even the cry of Shadow Monsters above.

Slashing away at enemies from atop his horse, the pharaoh was able to fend for himself for quite a time. He had been trained no doubt by the best of warriors, and his armor of layered animal skins and a light layer of bronze was serving him well if he was hit.

Just as he was attacking a man from the opposite army however, Atemu was suddenly knocked off his horse, and the beast ran away in fright, leaving Atemu to stick the man he was currently fighting to death before gathering his wits about him.

Getting to his feet, feeling some blood from another splatter on his cheek, the young pharaoh was suddenly bombarded by two or three men – he couldn't tell. Growling in frustration, the teen swiped at them with his sword, thankful to have some other soldiers join in, recognizing him as the pharaoh even through all the dust.

"Thank you," he quickly said, wiping his upper lip from sweat. For the next while, Atemu found himself battling off one man after another until his lungs burned. It was when he heard a rather loud hiss from behind that he felt blinding pain.

Down on one knee, Atemu looked through, inwardly horrified to see a large Shadow Monster before him in the shape of a deadly black colored serpent. "Apep..." Atemu breathed, pulling himself up despite the large gash in his leg the beast had caused.

Knowing with a definite instinct that this could be his last battle, Atemu straightened, knowing that he needed to prove himself worthy of pharaoh now. Gripping his sword tightly, the teen jumped back, narrowly missing the serpent's poisonous fangs.

This went on for a couple more moments, each time Atemu trying to strike the monster, but just missing every time. Whoever was controlling the beast was obviously trying to tire him so that he'd be an easier target after a while.

Suddenly, as the young pharaoh was trying to quickly recapture his breath, the serpent made a quick but efficient strike, causing Atemu to cry out hoarsely, his sword being knocked out of his hand as he clutched his injured side, feeling the two puncture points oozing blood.

Panting harshly as he saw the blood pool red at the top of his armor, Atemu gritted his teeth to the point they would hurt. The serpent made a continuous hissing sound, as if it were laughing at his weakness. The pharaoh violently coughed, knowing that blood had come up because of the poison injected into his body.

"My pharaoh!" a familiar voice cried out, and Atemu could tell that it was Seth's. He was starting to wonder when his priests would follow him into the heat of battle. He tried to spot his cousin's face, but couldn't for the life of him. Another hiss brought his attention back up to the black serpent.

Panting, Atemu found himself swallowing blood, and his nose was stuffy with liquid as he looked up. The monster was tauntingly creeping nearer and nearer to him until there was about five feet between them before the serpent straightened up to strike him to death.

Knowing that there wasn't much that he could do, Atemu licked his lips and clutched his aching side even harder. "I'm sorry, Egypt," he muttered to himself, flinching when he watched the snake make a quick downward movement.

The next thing he heard was a loud screech from above, and the pharaoh looked warily up, confused as to what happened. Suddenly, there was a loud thump somewhere that he couldn't see in front of him, and hands were on him.

"My pharaoh." Seth's face came into view, as did Mahado's. Atemu remained silent, biting his lip when his sorcerer told him that they were going to lift him onto Seth's horse. He couldn't help but cry out in pain as he was lifted, and as he watched Seth carefully maneuver his steed through the battle, Atemu couldn't help but black out.

A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the shortness of the chapter...and the romance. But I promise that that will come in the next chapter, honest. Oh, and I hope this whole battle scene didn't seem too overdone, I'm not very fond of them, and I was listening to some epic music while writing this. Hehe. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please comment!