Author's Notes; Semi Mythological Egyptian AU. Shounen Ai. Lots of Plot. Action. The conclusion to this fic..Its been a ride, to be sure..Until next fic..Please enjoy..

A few visitors came to Zero's oasis at sunrise the next morning. Iris, her brother, Wily, and two cloaked strangers were just outside their tent. Zero thought he felt a few presences, including a demonic one. He got up slowly and peered outside the tent. "What might be happening this early in the morning?" He groggily barked. The other redhead man nodded. "I'm terribly sorry to wake you, but I have relatives of X and Wily here. I have to insist X come with us to the station in Cairo to discuss the question of X's custody. By law, X is too young to be on his own. I know you object to such, but its a crucial matter." Zero groaned in frustration. X had just woken in time to hear the other redhead's voice. "I-I..have to go..back?" The cop looked at X as X peered around Zero's wing. "I'm afraid so." Zero began to look a little hurt. X could tell from Zero's slowly sagging wings that he wasn't happy. "Would you excuse us for a few minutes?" The cop nodded, stepping back. X took Zero's hand, leading him into the small but thick forest area of the oasis.

Zero followed quietly and stopped with him behind a large palm tree. X looked at Zero sadly, holding Zero's hands. "What do you think I should do?" Zero gently squeezed X's hands. "You know my stance on this whole question of age. I feel you are old enough to make your own decisions. Unlike those humans, I respect your choices. I see no wrong in them. Nonetheless, if we want to see an end to this nonsense, go with them and sort it out." X was surprised. "I don't..I don't want to go back..though I guess you're right..I just..I feel naked..without you..Vulnerable.." Zero smirked. "Oh, I am coming with you. Alas, they shall not know it." X tilted his head. "Do you have a means of sneaking along with me?" Zero nodded, looking down at their shadows. "I can hide in your shadow and communicate telepathically with you from there. I will not emerge unless I feel you are in danger. You will not be without me." X smiled, losing a tear. "Thank you." Zero reached and wiped X's tear away. "Should it come to it, we can show them whom your father has entrusted with you." X smiled more. "You're wonderful, Zero."

The journey towards Cairo was long. Zero prepared canteens of water for X before he hid into X's shadow. X reluctantly followed Iris and her brother to the camels, hitched to a post not far from the oasis. He felt more comfortable riding with Iris and her brother than with Wily and the two cloaked strangers. He couldn't help but notice as the other camel walked in front of them, Wily seemed to have a tail protruding from the back of his pants. Zero's voice came to his head telepathically. 'So..your father was indeed correct. That tail proves Wily is a demon.' X nodded. 'Yeah..but is he related to you?' Zero responded. 'There is no way I can know at present. He would have to show his true form.' X paused. 'Wait..Zero, you don't have a tail though..' Zero responded. 'Good eye, my pharaoh. An arrow-like tail is spot on for a demon. Alas, indeed, some do not have tails at all. He may be a different demon altogether. Should needs be, I will see if he can make his true form clear.'

In Cairo, everyone got off the camels next to the local police station. X hadn't liked the sight of many homeless people trying to take shelter from the intense heat. Zero wasn't too happy with it either. 'I cannot say I like modern treatment of the homeless. It is most upsetting.' X nodded. 'I'm not in favor of it either. I could hardly get food for myself either back then.' Everyone went inside the station and sat down on cushions while Iris and her brother remained standing. X finally got a better look at the cop's badge, which read "Colonel". Colonel started. "Xavier Light, aka X, child of Doctor Thomas Light and Kya Light. In his will, and unless otherwise stated, Dr. Light entrusted you with custody of his sole child, thereby making you his legal guardian." X shook his head. "I don't feel comfortable with Dr. Wily, though." Colonel frowned. "There truly isn't anything I can do about that."

Before X could get another word in, the two cloaked figures grabbed X and ran out of the station. They were too fast for Colonel and Iris to stop. Colonel rushed outside and blew a whistle, calling more cops over. He then spoke on a walkie talkie. "Attention all units. Be on the lookout for two cloaked figures with a young male, brown hair green eyes, in tow!" Wily started to go after them but everyone was already gone. "Ach du lieber.."

The two cloaked figures dragged X, kicking and screaming, into a dark alleyway before throwing him to the ground. "We got unfinished business, twerp." They said, lifting the hoods of their cloaks. X quickly recognized them. "Vile! Double!" Double smirked. "You've got more goods for us. Cough them up!" X crawled away as Vile, Double, and other shady figures closed in on him. Zero lurched out of X's shadow and knocked down Vile and Double. The others ran after him. 'Get clear, X. This will get very bloody.' Zero told him. X scrambled to a different spot, not daring to leave without Zero. Zero roared and growled, tearing at the crooks with his claws on his hands and wingarms. Bodies were flung in every which direction. X couldn't watch the bloodshed.

When the screams grew silent, Zero returned to X's side covered in blood, but it wasn't his own. Zero was unharmed. X stood up and rubbed Zero's cheek. "You've saved me..again." Zero smirked. "No trouble, X." He leaned in and kissed X deeply. X kissed deeply back. "Mmm.." Zero slowly broke the kiss after a short while. "I do believe your law enforcement will want at least those two who posed as your relatives. I made sure to keep them alive. The others are not so lucky." X nodded. "They will. They've been wanted for a long time, even before they hit my family." Zero nodded, picking up Vile and Double and slinging them over his back. "Lead me to your law enforcement station so we might turn these vagabonds in."

X led Zero out of the alleys and into the street. People looked at Zero in both fear and wonder. "He's beautiful." "What is he?" "Those wings, so scary" "That hair!" "He doesn't look old, but he must be old." "His anklets are definitely ancient." were among the murmurs of the locals. Zero glanced at some of the humans along the way. Many reacted in fear, cowering behind objects closeby. X giggled. "Don't worry. He's with me." The closest cop to the scene phoned in on his walkie talkie. "Colonel, come in." Colonel responded. "Go ahead." The cop continued. "I see the boy described. He is unharmed. But.." Colonel answered. "Good. But..what?" The cop continued again. "There's another male with him, red hair blue eyes, that has incapacitated Vile and Double. Both are heading to the station." Colonel responded. "Red hair, blue eyes? I only know one individual like that.."

Colonel was standing outside keeping an eye out. It wasn't long before he could see X and Zero coming in the distance. Many of the other cops were calling in, not knowing who the redhead was. "Attention all units. Do not be alarmed of the redhead blue eyes male. He's not to be harmed either." Colonel told them on the walkie talkie. X and Zero finally stopped in front of Colonel. "I do believe these two vagabonds might be of interest to you." Zero remarked. Colonel nodded. "They are indeed. Well done. We'd been trying to catch them for a long time." He grabbed the weakened thieves from off Zero's back. X looked at Colonel. "Sir, if its ok, I have a request." Colonel looked at X. "What is it, Xavier?" X looked down. "Would it be possible to do a DNA test on both Zero and Wily?" Colonel paused. "Curious, why such a request?" "X spotted his tail. Alas, something feels strange about him whenever he is near me." Zero added. Colonel paused again. "I see. Have Xavier hose you off and then we'll see." X nodded. Zero smirked. "All I need is the river."

X accompanied Zero to the river just a little further into the city. He watched Zero dive into the river without hesitation. Zero scrubbed himself off and enjoyed the water. X watched from the shore. Zero swam to the shore and pulled X into the water. X giggled when he was pulled into the river. Zero held X close, snuggling him. X double checked Zero for any missed spots of blood, snuggling Zero back.

Towards evening, Zero and Wily each provided samples for their respective DNA tests. Their samples were so foreign to the Forensics department, that the only thing to be concluded was that neither of them were human. Zero was very disappointed. "Perhaps I had set my hopes far too high. Only one way shall settle it." Wily was just as disappointed. "Fine! I'll spell it out!" Wily began to change before everyone in the station. Iris grew terrified, clinging to her brother. Wily's true form had long blond hair halfway down his back, similar black marks to Zero and a smiliar tone of tan skin. He no longer looked old and ragged, having large wings that didn't have the hands and arms of Zero's, complete with ethereal voice. "You're that desert rat we drove out from the Underworld after all. Even before we saw you on the surface, I knew you looked familiar." Zero was a little shocked, recognizing the demon Wily showed himself to be. "So we have met. Then, answer me this; Are you my father?" Wily nodded. "Yes. We drove you out because you were..and still are weak. The Underworld is only for the strong. The rest go to the surface to die." Colonel shook his head. "That is incredibly dysfunctional."

X clung to Zero's back. "How can you do that? How can you do that to your only son?" Wily pointed to Zero's chest. "All felt it. The writhing of that infernal organ in his chest. Demons don't have those..hearts. If any do, they are driven out and deemed inferior. They have neither a place nor purpose in the Underworld." Iris, although terrified, finally spoke. "If you would do such a thing to your own child, then you're unfit to be godfather of any child." Colonel nodded. "Indeed. Our deepest apologies you had to go through such treatment, Zero. The question still stands. If Wily is unfit to be X's godfather, then who shall be?" Zero snarled. "I knew my instincts were right about you. Something about you always had rubbed me the wrong way. I do not need your approval of what I am now nor what I have become. Go your own way..father..and I will go mine." X nodded. "The ancients treated him bad enough." Wily snarled, stepping aside. X looked to Colonel. "I know how this sounds, but the spirits of my father and mother visited us not long before you came to find us. We can show you what happened and what my father said." Colonel nodded. "If you're capable of such, lets see."

X and Zero looked at each other. "Can you channel memories onto a flat surface, Zero?" Zero nodded. "Yes, that is easy. I will need you to press against me though so that way, they will see the memory from both of our perspectives." Iris pulled down a projection screen and turned out the lights. X pressed his head against Zero's as Zero began to project the memory of the ghostly encounter they'd had the night before. When it was over, Iris turned the light back on and rolled up the projection screen. Colonel pondered. "Well, the good doctor's requirements have certainly been met in Zero. But..is it wise to trust a demon child with a human child?" Zero chuckled. "A child I am no longer, Colonel. X has seemed quite happy with me. He has not wanted to leave me for even a second." X nodded with a blushed. "I want to stay with Zero. He's become everything to me." Zero snuggled X contently. "I enjoy taking care of this little one. In my eyes, he is a pharaoh to loved and worshipped." Colonel paused. "Very well. If X is happy with you, then I suppose it will be."

Soon, X and Zero walked outside the station after all was settled. "Are you ready to return to your new home, my little pharaoh?" Zero asked. X nodded eagerly. "Yes, our new home. And a life of love." Zero turned his back with a smile for X. "Then, let us away from here." X crawled onto Zero's back and held on happily and tightly. Zero once more took flight for the oasis, happy that he and X would finally find peace.