A/N: There's a lemon in this chapter—marked with bolded brackets at start and end—so just skip it if you don't want to read it.

Far Reaching

When Atem and Set stepped out of the dungeons and into the courtyard, the Prince stretched and drew in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "It's almost strange to be out in sunlight again..." he commented, looking over at Set, who had stopped a couple feet away to wait for the smaller young man to adapt to freedom again.

"Somehow, hearing you say that is frightening," the High Priest commented dryly, extending his hand in the direction of the Temples in invitation. "Shall we head to my chambers, then?"

"Yes," Atem agreed, falling in with the taller of the pair as they continued to their destination. The courtyard and the nearby halls were deserted at this time of day and with the chaos of the attacks on the villages. "I feel...disconnected, like this is all familiar and completely foreign at once. Currently, I appreciate the familiarity more, thankfully. I hadn't realized how much I took this for granted until I spent days without it in the dungeons."

Set's lips twitched as they neared his door, and he said, "Then maybe that was another reason for you to have done what you did—to remind yourself just how precious all of this, and all of us, are to you."

Snorting as the High Priest opened the door to his chambers and let the smaller young man precede him into the room beyond, Atem replied, "That was a bloody awful way to go about it."

Shutting the door behind them, the High Priest answered impishly, "Then consider it a lesson learned and don't repeat the mistake—and there won't be any further problems, yes? I sure have no complaints with hiding you in my private room for awhile, which wouldn't be possible without your earlier actions, anyway..."

After giving a surprised blink, the Prince had to give a small chuckle in spite of himself and replied in amusement, "Leave it to you to take advantage of the situation, or to find a way to do so. I think, at this point, I'd be worried if you didn't."

Thoughtfully, Set replied, "Actually, so would I." He then opened the door to his sleeping chamber and invited, "Come in, Atem."

As the smaller young man stepped into the room, seeing the cushion-covered pallet, a small table beside it where a lamp sat, and a few scroll-covered shelves, Set shut the door behind him. The Prince was a little surprised to find that the main color scheme of the room was green with only highlights in purple and blue, but green was a much easier color of dye to produce than purple or blue, so there was some logic to it. A dark, wooden trunk at the foot of the pallet likely stored clothing.

Hands ran down Atem's bare arms gently from behind, drawing him back to the moment, and to Set, who stood very close behind him, so close he could feel the other's hardness against his lower back. The touch was like fire and made him tremble, but he still couldn't fully give himself to that pleasure—uncertainty of Set's honesty still plagued him, no matter how much he wished it didn't.

Apparently, those thoughts and feelings transferred somehow to Set, because he asked softly, "Since I'm the more certain of the two of us, shall I lead at first, and you may join in as you feel able?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Atem let it out with a small, "Please..." It shocked him to hear a slightly choked sound in his own voice, but both of them knew the cause—Atem didn't want to feel so uncertain, nor could he stop that feeling currently.

"It's all right. Even I would be uncertain after what happened," the High Priest told him gently, but surely. "It won't last forever, and we need to begin somewhere."

Letting out a deep breath in a sudden rush which wasn't quite a sigh, the Prince answered, "Thank you, Set."

(LEMON ALERT! SKIP to the next bold brackets if you don't want to read it!)

A hum of agreement was his answer as the taller young man turned the smaller to face him, then walked him backwards to the pallet. When Atem couldn't back up anymore, he found himself falling to land on the largest of the cushions with Set on top of him as the other's hands began exploring his body. Even the Prince could tell how reverently Set's hands explored him, caressing legs, arms, hips, shoulders, along his belly and chest. Each touch was like fire, and Atem began panting from the sensations the High Priest was making him feel—for any playing and experimenting he'd done before then, with both male and female partners, it had never felt so intense.

Finally, when Set had completely disrobed him and leaned down to take one hard nipple in his mouth, Atem felt the urge to participate strongly enough to act on it, despite his misgivings. Lifting his hands, he gripped his partner's long, brown hair, weaving his fingers through it as he actively realized the High Priest had actually disrobed them both in the time he'd been exploring Atem's body. Gently dragging his fingers through the long hair produced a hum from the taller young man, and the Prince gave a small, breathy chuckle before letting his own hands wander.

While their current positions limited what the smaller teen could reach, he explored the High Priest's shoulders, back, and arms—only to find himself shocked enough to dig his nails into Set's back when a hand gripped his mostly-hard length. When a groan of pleasure sounded from the brown haired young man, it shot straight to Atem's length and he grew fully hard. Despite all the doubts, he couldn't deny the pleasure he felt, so arched into Set's hand.

"Finally," the High Priest murmured with a bit of a chuckle. "I was starting to worry about your mental state that you couldn't respond fully. I'm glad you can."

"So am I...Despite it all..." the Prince whispered in reply.

Set then shifted and leaned up to claim Atem's mouth with his own, initiating a deep, penetrating kiss, one returned by the Prince and beginning a battle of wills and dominance. The moment Atem moaned deep in his throat and gave in, Set knew he was being given the right to lead this time. If he was to be completely honest with himself, as much as he liked holding the power, he had a huge respect for the Prince for being willing and able to relinquish his own power. In the same moment, the High Priest knew he would have to reciprocate if they would have a functioning relationship—though it may not be this first night, it would come, because it would have to.

And he was willing to give his power to Atem as well, something he knew he'd have never given to Yuugi.

For the moment, however, he focussed on the kiss, and on gently sliding his fingers into Atem's body with his lubricating oil, spreading and stretching the muscles of the anus to prepare him for penetration. The Prince willingly gave him access, hands tracing Set's sides, hips, ass, and upper thighs while waiting for the preparation to be complete, the slender fingers in his body giving him pleasure he hadn't imagined with any other partner.

Finally, the fingers withdrew and Set settled himself between the Prince's thighs to place his hard, aching length at Atem's entrance. Being in no rush, wanting to enjoy the experience as much as possible while making it as pleasurable as he could for his smaller partner, Set slowly, steadily slid into him until he was fully seated, feeling Atem arch into him. He then paused to wait for the smaller young man to adjust, and when he felt the Prince slide against him, he began the steady pulsing, using the first few thrusts to find Atem's sweet spot, then the rest to target it. The Prince met him thrust for trust, as both moaned at the intensity.

In the end, it took them both by surprise when Atem came hard and suddenly, clenching around Set's length and pushing him over the edge unexpectedly. Both nearly screamed their pleasure, then collapsed, panting as they tried to regain some semblance of coherency.

(END OF LEMON!)

Finally, able to get his mouth and mind working in conjunction, the High Priest asked softly, "Did I live up to your expectations, or fantasies, as the case may be?"

"More than..." the Prince murmured sleepily in reply, nearly in dreamland already. "Thank you..."

They drifted into sleep together, wrapped in each other's arms.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

It was past dark when Mahad, Karim, and Yuugi got back to the Palace, where the two Priests led the way to the Pharaoh's room. Mahad knocked, and a voice from the other side called, "Enter!" When the Priest pushed open the door, the three could see both Pharaoh Ahknemkhanen and Akhenaten there, and it looked like the Pharaoh had been pacing. Once the three were inside, the door closed behind them, the older sat and motioned them to join him at the table.

"What did you find out?" the man asked tiredly.

"I'm going to be blunt, Pharaoh," Yuugi told him quietly. "My homeland is very different from this one, as are most of the other lands around it, and the thing which caused the crater is one of their weapons. It's a man-made weapon like a catapult, but the results rival a natural disaster, and the only thing which can potentially turn it back is Mirror Force. If it's true and no one here can use that spell, it leaves me as the only one who can counter the weapon before it does any more damage. These aren't people you can send foot soldiers to attack, because frankly, even the weapons we replaced bows and arrows with are strong enough to take down any number of regular ground troops. Your only advantage is your magic. Don't send troops out to die when they can't fight this enemy."

Vizier-Priest Akhenaten frowned, but his twin said tiredly, "Weapons from your land, weapons as strong as the Gods in a fury...Is this the reason you were brought here by the Gods, then, Yuugi?"

Pausing for a minute to think, the boy said, "I don't know for sure, but this is most likely part of it, regardless of the whole reason. What I know is that you have to find and destroy the launchers to stop the missiles from coming, but we have no way to trace them, and they're too far away for Isis to see, so our best bet, and our only real chance, is Mirror Force."

"It'll kill its own caster to use it!" Akhenaten barked sharply.

"No, sir," Yuugi answered dryly. "I've used it before. It doesn't do anything to me at all. That's why...this is the best option, and what the troops need to do is guard the city perimeter, just in case there are also ground troops here."

"Why would your people want to attack us?" the Pharaoh asked suddenly.

"It's not 'my people'," the acting Prince informed him. "We have terrorists, people who harm others for no real reason but to harm them, and as unfortunate as it is, all you need is enough money to convince someone to give you the means to make weapons like those. This is probably being done by those 'terrorists', not by any of the rulers in my homeland and the surrounding kingdoms. The reason I say that is because...well, frankly, there's nothing you have which 'my people' would want."

As everyone in the room began to retort in anger, Yuugi held his hands up in a surrender motion and said, "I'm not saying it to be rude or imply you're weak, because you're not. What I'm saying is that your way of living is so vastly different from ours we may as well be living on different worlds, and the things which legitimately do good for you and your neighbors does nothing for us. We don't even take water from wells, or keep herds, or even farm fields by hand and hard work, and things we take as 'normal' look like magic to you, when they're just 'made' toys, tools, or weapons we always have. A kingdom in my area, be it my own or some other one, gains nothing by taking power or destroying anything here, so it has to be someone outside the power structure."

"What would someone outside it want?" Karim asked in confusion.

Heaving a sigh, the boy replied, "Basically, to take over here in order to gain a launching pad their nation of origin can't touch, thereby allowing them the ability to develop and attack freely. To take over, to take slaves, and to work those 'slaves' to death for their own desire for power in another part of the world. Or, as a lot of them figure it, they want to control the entire world. The likelihood I was brought here to prevent that outcome, for your sake and ours, is very, very high, because I'm one of the few people with the sheer power to be able to, especially if I have Atem at my side."

After a long silence, the Pharaoh sighed and said, "Then, I will send for you as soon as there seems to be trouble." He paused for a moment, then met the boy's eyes. "Is it true you went with the same Lord who attempted to take your life earlier the same day?"

"What?" Karim asked in complete confusion.

"It was my own choice, and a means to keep Atem from being found," Yuugi answered dryly. He then looked at Akhenaten and said, "And you know very well it was no 'torture', so you should never have led people to believe that." The man blinked at him, but said nothing, so the boy returned his gaze to the startled Pharaoh and asked, "So, how early am I going to have to get up in the morning for whatever kind of meeting it's going to be?"

"What if the Crown Prince has recovered by then? He seemed calm most of the day today," Priest Akhenaten asked with a frown.

Pausing, Yuugi gazed down at the tabletop in thought for a minute, then gave his head a shake and looked up at the men. "I've been taking Atem's place for too long, now, and they're familiar with me, enough so that I can't actually stop. If it had been just a day or two, there's a good chance it may have worked—assuming Lord Orion hadn't gone out of his way to drag me into whatever was happening. No, there are differences between us, like our skin color, height, and eye color, and I think most of those Lords, being the manipulators they are, would realize we're not the same person. Frankly, even our voices and auras are different, enough-so that people do notice it, even when they don't know what just changed or why. As long as I don't have to fight with swords, I can do it, since I know how to use a bow and arrows, and I can even ride Shakir."

At the words, the two older men stared at him in shock, then Akhenaten sighed and admitted, "There is most likely truth to the fact that you would be discovered if you were to return to your previous roles now, after so long and so much activity."

"I will not have my son remain in the dungeons the whole time!" the Pharaoh retorted with a scowl.

"He doesn't have to," Yuugi answered dryly. "He just has to stay out of sight, like in the Guardians' chambers, since the foreigners aren't allowed there, regardless, unless they've been invited in. If it's true he's recovering, he shouldn't mind doing so, since I think he'll also see for himself that he can't take back his position yet."

Finally, after a long, heart-felt sigh, the Pharaoh agreed, "Very well. For the time being, I will pray you are amply able to fill the role of Crown Prince in the fullest sense of the word, and I will send either Priest Mahad or High Priest Set to you as needed. Go rest, as I daresay things will not be calm tomorrow."

"I will. Thank you," the boy agreed with a smile, then rose and left, heading for Atem's room in the Palace.

However, on the way, Karim asked, "What was that about you and the foreign Lord, Yuugi? What actually happened?"

"Just ask Shada," Mahad glared.

"Calm down, Mahad. Geez..." the boy sighed at the older man, who glared at him in reply. "The Pharaoh had been taunting the foreign Lords, anyway, so I originally offered to take him on a tour of the city, but rather than a tour of the city, it wound up being a much more personal, private affair. Shada acted as the 'teacher' to make sure it wouldn't become torture, but Lord Orion has more energy than he knows what to do with, so...it was a long night. Well, I had no idea 'what' I was getting in to, but I was curious, so I can't blame anyone else."

After a startled pause, Karim gave a snort. "If you're still curious, go to his room late in the evening. You can be in such a position for several weeks without experiencing all it has to offer, so it's different every time. Though, one thing puzzles me."

"What's that?" Yuugi asked curiously.

"Set told us how part of your refusal of him came from a man in your homeland who greatly resembles him, and you are attracted to that man." The Priest of Bastet paused for a moment before continuing, "If so, what made you curious enough to betray him?"

"It's not that..." the boy sighed. "You know, what I said is true. I am attracted to him, very much so. The problem is that he was...His birth family was good to him and his brother, but his adoptive father tortured him, and made him into a cold, heartless prick, regardless of the moments he has where his shell breaks and he shows real caring or concern. A side effect of how he was raised is that he doesn't know a damned thing about feelings, of his own or of others, so we don't have a 'relationship' I can betray. In Set's case, it's wrong when it's him, because both our feelings are too easily skewed by the 'other' we know who looks like the one we care about. For anyone else, if I'm curious, for right now, I'm allowed to experiment."

"You might ruin yourself for him if you get too curious about 'toys'," Karim snorted.

That time, it was Yuugi's turn to snort. "After his Death-T, I doubt it. I told you, he was exposed to torture, anyway, and he's far from innocent. If he's not already into that sort of thing, I doubt it would take much prompting to get him to start."

After a shocked silence, the three parted ways for the rest of the night.

PA-HPS-YM-SK

When Atem woke to see an unfamiliar room and Set, he was momentarily startled, but he then gave a small, sad smile. As much as he'd enjoyed the night, he still doubted the reason behind the action, and he still doubted himself. Really, the Prince shouldn't be doubting anything, and yet...he couldn't stop himself from doing so. It felt like it was too good to be true, it really did, and he had no way of confirming what was the truth, since Set was hard to read. The intensity, even when he'd been holding back, had been startling, though, so he really wished he could let go of that doubt...

"How are you feeling?" the taller teen asked quietly.

With a startled blink, the younger of the two realized he'd been thinking too hard, so looked up and admitted, "It was good, but I'm still confused."

The High Priest gave him a wry grin and informed him, "Even if you have no comparison, I can safely say I enjoyed my night with you a hundred times more than the one I had with Yuugi. I'm starting to understand what he meant when he insisted 'him and me' was just wrong. Are you willing to find out if I'm as good as my word now that I've chosen you, Atem?"

Right then, before the Prince could reply, there was a knock on the door, and Set gave it a glare—only for the door to the outside chamber to open as Mahad called, "High Priest, Yuugi and I need a word with you."

Sighing, the brown haired teen rose and called back, "Just a minute!" He grabbed his robe off the floor and pulled it on, then leaned down to kiss Atem fiercely on the lips. "Think about how you'll answer. Unless you're brave enough to face them?"

"Er...give me a few minutes..." the smaller teen murmured.

Set nodded, then left the room—only to see Yuugi sitting at his usual place at the table, looking rather tired, as Mahad stood by him. "What seems to be the matter?"

Both looked up at him as the boy said, "I need to borrow that scroll you told me you have, the one which taps into Ra's power for a few moments."

"Can you even read it yet?" the High Priest asked shrewdly.

"Enough of it," the boy replied. "Actually, I have to take it back to the Pharaoh and Akhenaten so the three of us can cast it, and I also have to set Mirror Force. They woke me after only about three candle-marks of sleep to tell me three other villages had been destroyed as well, so it can't wait."

"Mirror Force?" the High Priest blinked, then went to one of his shelves to check some of the scrolls. "Won't it kill you if it activates?"

"Nope," Yuugi replied. "Anyway, now isn't the time to question that, because it's the only current means we have to stop the missiles destroying the villages."

The High Priest paused to consider that for a moment, then took a second scroll off the shelf and returned to Yuugi with both. "Read this one right now," Set told him, and Yuugi took it to read it.

After a few minutes, the boy looked up and asked, "What does this energy flow do for me?"

"It's a damage buffer, and it effectively causes every casting to automatically use the least amount of energy for the greatest amount of effect," the older teen explained. "All the members of the Royal Family have this set—if you're going to perform any Gods' casting and maintain Mirror Force, it would be a good idea for you to have it active before you go back."

Thinking about that hard for a minute, Yuugi suddenly blinked, then looked up in understanding. "Conservation. I've felt it before, so I should be able to copy it. Let's see..." He closed his eyes and concentrated, activating the flows he knew he needed from his time being bound to Atem. Once he finished, he looked up at Set's wryly amused expression questioningly, asking with his gaze if he had it right.

"I'm impressed," the taller teen said wryly. "You're missing the grounding sub-flow through the middle of the cycle, but otherwise, it looks like you set the rest properly."

"The grounding...?" the boy murmured absently, then blinked, nodded, and closed his eyes again as he pulled the second flow down alongside the one he already had.

"Good," the High Priest told him as he opened his eyes.