Chapter 36
Never Ending

A/N) Warning there is a mention of MahadxIsis in this chapter, ignore if you wish. But I think it is adorable. ^_^

Mahad caught the Pharaoh just in time to keep him from hitting the ground. The guardians, along with Mana, suddenly went active. They ran to where their king had collapsed. Seto quickly began to check the Pharaoh's injuries. None looked serious enough to have caused the collapse so it was assumed it was caused by pure exhaustion.

"You must wake him. He has a head injury. I fear it isn't safe for him to sleep." Seto told Mahad.

"I tried, he won't respond." Mahad answered though he tried again anyway. It was difficult as he didn't want to shake the injured young man.

"And I am supposed to believe you are some kind of master of magical,you cannot even wake a child?" Seto rolled his eyes. It took Mahad far longer than it should have to understand what Seto was saying.

"You mean you want me too..." Mahad cut himself off and placed his hand on the Pharaoh's forehead using his magic to wake him. Normally Seto would have never allowed any magician to use magic on the Pharaoh in his presence. It was too dangerous, even a simple spell could be fatal when done wrong, but even Seto knew that the thought of Mahad messing up any spell was laughable. The Pharaoh was in no danger from Mahad, as much as Seto hated to admit it.

The Pharaoh woke with ease as the other guardians caught up.

"Mahad? Seto?" The Pharaoh's voice held much weariness.

"We apologize for waking you, your Highness, but we did not feel it was safe for you to rest until we have that head injury of yours examined," Seto told him as Mahad helped him sit up.

Atem looked around as he tried to remember why he was sleeping on the ground.

"Oh, I should not be on the ground. Please help me up, Mahad." The Pharaoh began to stand, but Mahad did most of the work in the attempt.

Mana practically ran over Seto to help Atem. He vainly tried to shake her off.

"I am fine. I do not want the people to see…" he began but was distracted as his balance faltered.

"I assure you none of them see you as weak," Mahad assured. After that display they would have to be insane to even entertain the thought.

"And besides I do not think you could make it all the way to the palace without help." Mana added on with a smile.

"Thank you, Mana," Atem replied sarcastically, but he no longer refuse their help. The guardians followed close behind as the citizens gave them wide berth.

There was so many questions they wanted to ask him. But now wasn't the time for questions. There would always be later.

Atem slept all day and through the night without waking once. He woke around midday for a small time before sleeping again, this time actually waking when the others came to check on him.

It wasn't until a few hours after dawn the next morning that he actually felt up to leaving his room and talking with the others.

He was worried that Mahad would be upset with him for sacrificing his own health in order to keep Kuriboh on guard, but Mahad assured him that he was just proud of him for thinking of it. Whether it had hindered his sleeping ability or not. He knew there were more important things then rest.

He was forced to explain what he had done to Bakura at least three times. He told them how he sealed Bakura's soul inside the Millennium Ring, and apologized to Mahad multiple times, as Mahad now had to deal with a possessed evil ring. Mahad was simply happy that the Pharaoh trusted him enough to give him this task. Atem didn't tell anyone, but really, Mahad was the only one he knew could handle it. Bakura had a strong will, a will that even the Millennium Ring couldn't hold completely. Mahad was the only one he knew that would not be tempted by the Thief King's evil.

The Pharaoh even explained more about Kurboh. Everyone had known that his Ka looked unimpressive due to Shimon's words and actions when he'd first summoned it, but even Seto could say nothing against Kuriboh, and it wasn't because Kuriboh was the Pharaoh's Ka either. Mana thought it was perfect, that it just fit Atem so well. A seemingly weak monster but when used correctly, in ways that would be over most men's heads, when used correctly could become the most useful or devastating monster. Atem agreed with everything, except the weak part, he didn't really appreciate being called weak.

Things weren't normal in the palace, not by a long shot, but it was a lack of normalcy that they were alright with. Things would never again be normal, but really what is normal to begin with...

"So what now? Bakura has been defeated and Egypt is once again safe. Does everything go back to the way it was now?"

Mahad heard Seto's voice from behind him. He turned to look at the guardian of the Millennium Rod as said guardian joined him on the balcony. Mahad gave a light laugh at Seto's words.

"My best friend is now the exalted Pharaoh of Egypt. Nothing will be the same as before." Mahad turned again to look at the undamaged capital city of Egypt.

"I suppose that is true. Everything will be very different now. My question still stands though. What happens now? Perhaps we should all just settle down or something. Egypt is safe now."

"Nonsense," Mahad countered. "As long as the Pharaoh lives I still have a job to do. 'Settling down' would only distract me from my duties. I have no intention of marriage."

Seto smirked and shook his head. "I am aware of that. I made the same vow as you, do not forget. But if marriage was an option…"

"Which it is not."

"If… Mahad. If. If it were an option… are you blushing?" Seto interrupted himself and tried to get a closer look at Mahad's face, who promptly hid from him.

"Of course not!" Mahad defended.

"I would bet my job I know exactly who you are thinking about right now." Seto's smirk grew. It wasn't very often Seto resorted to teasing, but it was even less often that Mahad gave anyone something to tease him about and Seto had to jump at the rare opportunity.

"The only thing I am thinking about is my irritation with you. You are acting like a teen-aged…"

"Isis. "

"… … … … … I hate you."

Seto's laughter would not soon be forgotten by the magician and neither would the embarrassment said laughter caused him.

"Well… as there is really only two women you actually even know. So the object of your affection is either Isis or Mana. And everyone knows the Pharaoh has dibs on Mana."

The red on Mahad's. cheeks deepened and he jumped at the chance for a change in subject.

"Yes, it was clear to me very early on that their relationship would go further than mere friendship."

"It brings me such joy to know that our next Pharaoh has about a fifty percent chance of being one of you people." Seto's voice was all but dripping with sarcasm.

Mahad laughed. "Actually it is probably more like seventy five percent. Magic has a higher chance of passing through a female then it does a male for reasons that are as of yet unknown."

"Wonderful. So were your parents…" Seto began to ask, knowing he was hitting a very sensitive subject. Mahad liked talking about his father about as much as Seto. And Seto liked to pretend his mother reproduced asexually just so he didn't have a father at all. He was pretty sure Mahad's father wasn't a mass murderer though.

"Neither of my parents. It skipped a generation in my family. My grandmother was the sorceress in my family." Mahad didn't seem upset in the slightest about the question. Which Seto was relieved about. "Mana is pretty sure both her parents were, which might actually increase her chances of passing to her children."

"I am so glad." Seto replied with more sarcasm. Mahad laughed.

"Well at least he will be easy to protect," Mahad offered.

"Yes, from everyone except himself," Seto countered causing another laugh from Mahad.

"You two are in a good mood."

The two guardians turned and gave a bow as the Pharaoh joined them. He was glad that the animosity between the two were all but gone.

"It is a relief to see you in such good health, your Highness." Mahad gave him a smile, Atem returned it easily.

"Thank you, Mahad. What about you? How are you?" He asked, worried about how much trouble he'd made for his oldest friend.

It took Mahad a moment before he understood what the Pharaoh was asking him.

"Oh, yes I am just fine. I sometimes hear him in my head, but without his spirit friends the Thief is... well let us just say he is nothing compared to me." Mahad said with a confidence that was unusual for him.

Atem laughed. "You should not spend so much time with Seto, Mahad." They looked at him with surprise. "He is starting to rub off. Keep it up and you will have an ego the size of the Great Pyramids as well." Atem laughed while Seto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms and Mahad flustered and looked down.

The Pharaoh looked into the sky and closed his eyes. A moment passed and his face was nothing but serene.

"He is up there somewhere, right?" Atem looked at them for a moment before returning his eyes to the sky. They didn't have to guess to know who he was talking about. It seemed as though it had been forever since the Pharaoh died, but it really hadn't been that long.

"Somewhere." Seto replied, although he wasn't one for sentimental moments, Mahad was much better at things like that.

"He will be proud when you are able to meet him again. This I am sure of."

"I know, my whole life I hoped I could one day walk in my father's footsteps. To be just as he was. But now that I have a chance, I find myself drawn to make my own footprints." Atem told them, opening his eyes but not looking away from the sky.

"Where will those footprints take you?" Seto asked watching as the Pharaoh turned to him, smile never wavering.

"Let us find out, shall we?" He said before turning to leave. They watched him go.

"He has grown." Seto managed to say quietly, he was surprisingly proud of him.

"Yes, he has grown well." Mahad agreed.

They looked back at the city, a comfortable silence falling between the two... until it was interrupted by a yell coming from inside.

Mahad and Seto ran inside to find the source. At the end of the hall, the Pharaoh knelt hunched over with his head in his hands a strange light was coming from his direction. They quickly caught up to him and knelt in front of him, the light was coming from the puzzle. The Pharaoh's eyes were tightly closed and he was breathing heavily.

"What?" Mahad was worried.

Seto had seen this before.

He reached out, ignoring Mahad's protests, and pulled the Millennium Puzzle off of the Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh instantly opened his eyes, the sheer terror they showed startling the guardians. Atem spoke though it looked forced.

"It is coming."

A/N) I'm not entirely fond of the end of this chapter, but I really couldn't make it come out right. I can see it in my head easily, I just can't get it on paper the same way I see it in my head. Sorry about that.

Did you guys think the story was pretty much over? Or did you expect there was more? Well you'd be kinda right either way. Beating Bakura was the climax of the story. This is the beginning of the ending.

I needed to add a little bit of friendship between Seto and Mahad, I guess I just like them both too much for them to continue hating each other, and really they aren't that different. Besides how do you go though something like that without respecting each other.