And as of this chapter, this story has offically broken 100 pages and we are now in the Djanet arc! And i could not be happier! Its been a wonderful week and I have not been able to stop writing chapters! If all goes well this weekend I'll have enough updates to last until November...and be prepared because we got some MAJOR plot twists coming up...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot; characters based on historical figures are all fictional representations of themselves and in no way relate or pertain to the actual persons. I DO own the design of the ships.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE FEEDBACK! It always makes me smile to know not only are people reading and enjoying the story but they're GETTING IT! I'm happy i've been able to make you all think ;)

As always read, review, critique, comment, ask questions and go nuts!

Chapter XV: Returning

Yugi didn't even try to contain his enthusiasm. They returned to the main deck just as The Eye banked right and slid into the Nile's Tanitic branch. With his first step on the deck, Yugi bolted for the nearest landing and all but lunged over the railing. Exuberant eyes gleamed with a vigorous light: sparkling, bright and amethyst with childish wonder.

The once vast and endless sands and golden hills of Seth's Red Land sloped into the vivid blue lakes and jungles of Horus, wild with color and life: Ta-Mehnt. The anket flood swept over the Delta, swallowing the shores palm roots and whole undergrowth in water creating a perennial swamp. Only small green islands remained in some parts providing refuge for flocks of wintering birds. Wadjet's papyrus were gone from this region and the dark Nile was a rainbow of color with blooming white, red and blue lotus: their golden hearts gleaming to greet the sun.

Yugi dashed to the opposite railing, desperate for a better look at them: the brilliant white and blue flowers glowed like a spray of stars covering the dark waters. Yugi drank in the sight. He scurried across the deck, jumping on the rope ladders, piling on crates and racing the stairs to the foredeck, not even his guardian could keep up with him.

He reached the railing and hopped up for a better view of the upcoming city.

"Djanet," he mused. It jiggled in the distance: its image a shifting mirage against the blue of Lake Manzala. The grand House of Amun and House of Life shimmered like a star, but unlike the claustrophobic walls and perpetual darkness that made him dread Waset's House, Djanet's beckoning light was almost whimsical and so inviting his spirit soared.

His old home. His father's city. Pinedjam I had begun its construction, now Pas continued his work and it thrived under him. Yugi felt giddy and alive and couldn't stop laughing even as his feet started to slip and Timaeus caught him with a shriek.

From their previous brawls, Timaeus knew Yugi possessed gifted speed, but it was a poor comparison to the uncatchable bursts of energy and gazelle-like jumps and darts that Yugi's excitement created. He finally caught him with a quick dive that drained the remaining breath from his body when Yugi's footing slipped. Yugi laughed like a child when he was caught: excited and unable to sit still. Timaeus growled and wanted to scream but the words had no air.

"Thank you," Yugi said with a gracious, dwindling laugh, so sweet Timaeus' natural protective instincts resurfaced. Reluctantly and he found his heart was unable to scold him. Instead, he pinched his forehead and shook his head. This sweet lad was going to be the death of him. He just knew it.

A loud whistle signaled overhead. Timaeus turned to the helm. Dartz gave a curt nod and banked hard to the left. Recognizing the signal, Yugi wiggled out of Timaeus arms forcing the man to drop him and returned to the railing. His eyes doubled with wonderment and delight. "There it is!" he screamed with excitement, and Timaeus strode to join him.

A smile crossed his lips. Djanet gleamed in the flaming light of Atum's descent like a white jewel. Surrounded by a massive, incomplete pylon, a grid-style labyrinth of squat walls and mud-brick houses crowding around a new palace like a mismatched collection of children's blocks. In the heart of the city, the new palace and temple rose like a massive, palatial mountain of smooth, towering trapezoids. Rows of obelisks spires speared the sky in jagged lines. Four-column walled temples and buildings shaped like walled boxes stacked inside of the other boasted a single, secret entrance.

Behind the palace opened to the lake with a sizable harbor basin. Single-mast galleys, some carrying huge cargos of stone, crowed the shores. Rows of sphinxes guarded either side of the canals feeding in waters from the Nile and Lake. With the green delta wild and alive with plants and animals surrounding it and the impenetrable marsh to protect it, Timaeus could easily see why Psusennes chose this place as the new capital, already it was a thriving port city, and clusters of stone and ramps surrounding incomplete buildings proved it was only growing.

He turned to Yugi who watched the scene fascinated and couldn't resist a smile. Not once during this voyage had he seen the lad's eyes so bright, his cheeks so flushed nor his smile so vibrant and rich with life.

"Come," he said with a small squeeze on his shoulder. Yugi turned to him with a bewildered glare Timaeus immediately disliked. "We'll be in the port soon."

Yugi reluctantly left his post and followed him down to the main deck.

Once more the Trierarch, Timaeus barked "All hands to stations!" and began issuing commands. Rudders climbed the rope ladders and loosened the sails, soldiers not below decks, tied down barrels and raised anchors. Over the side of the boat, Yugi saw the oars were being lifted and pulled back into the boat.

"Come with me," Timaeus whispered, taking Yugi's hand then once more ordered the crew to their stations. He followed him to the aft where Dartz relinquished the helm to Timaeus. Up ahead, two Per-a'ah Ramses colossus stood on either side of the Bahr Saft. Their watchful gazed judged the Eye as it flew past. Yugi swore he saw his ancestor nod in approval. Lost in the memorizing sight, Yugi stumbled when Timaeus banked left and road the current to Lake Manzala.

"Careful now," The King warned him as Yugi found his footing.

"Hold fast men!" Timaeus commanded stern and sharp. "This is Kemet not Atlantis. Remember we don't have the luxury of the deep sea." Finally, the ship found the harbor and Yugi spotted three more ships parked just between the temple and the palace, in the same massive size and style as the Eye of Timaeus. One had a deep blue hull and its strange sails were black on one side and yellow on the other and all cut in sharp-pointed arches. Its bow was that a fin-necked dragon with a crown of three spikes and a blue jewel on its forehead, and two huge fang tusks protruding from the sides of its jaw. Its small, but sharp wings folded behind its neck.

"The Fang of Critius, her specialty is ambush." Timaeus explained, making note of Yugi's curiosity. "She's impossible to see in the dark and Critius knows how to turn with those sharp sails."

"And that one?" he gestured to the second ship. The second was a deep burgundy color but unlike the other two its hull was thicker and stronger, bulkier with thick armor-liked plates. Its sails red and massive, purely designed to catch the wind and its bow, or rather is ram, was a massive armor-plated dragon the color of blood, spikes jutting from his head and neck, another on its nose and its massive front paws poised straight in front of with deadly claws.

"The Claw of Hermos," Timaeus smirked. "Appropriately named. She's not as fast or maneuverable as the others, but you'll never find a stronger and more durable vassel." Timaeus chuckled. "And I know plenty of fools who underestimated the power of her ram."

"I see," Yugi shuddered, how anyone could underestimate that ship was beyond him. That ram was as frighteningly powerful as it was deadly in strength, it seemed. One final ship, rested in the harbor, hidden behind the others. At first, Yugi only caught glimpses of it but as Timaeus pulled The Eye to port, he could see it now and gasped.

"That grand masterpiece," Dartz caught Yugi as he stumbled, pride radiant in his features. "Belongs to me."

It was probably the biggest and strangest ship Yugi had ever seen. Unlike its wider, bulkier cousins, it boasted a longer, thinner vessel with a much more slender hull of sleek midnight purple with a lighter underbelly, shiny like cobra scales. Slate-blue sails protruded like elongated butterfly wings from the center mast, a series of fin-shaped sails ran down the additional masts like serpent frill. Its bow, a monstrous serpentine neck, fins melting into the sides and sails, mouth opened in a terrifying maw of frighteningly realistic teeth poised and ready to strike: its ice blue eyes alive and striking, a shiny green stone bearing a decagram star around its neck. Its rudder was long and slender and thrashed from side to side giving the whole vessel the appearance of a chilling sea serpent. "And her name?" Yugi gulped on his words.

A curled smile slit the King's face. "The Great Leviathan."

It was a creature notorious in Kemet for its resemblance to Apep, but sacred in Atlantis and a perfect representation of its king. "Appropriately named." Yugi said in a breath.

Timaeus chuckled. "I assure you, she is not as frightening as she first appears. Her speed can't hold a candle to my vessel." Timaeus assured then yelled "Prepare to make port!"

Dartz prickled but said nothing and Yugi laughed. Compared to her bulkier, more sinister counterparts, Yugi agreed the Eye of Timaeus was indeed sleeker, her voyage smoother, and much prettier. She docked with a rough lurch, and Timaeus caught him before he could stumble. Yugi blushed. He'd miss the ship, he realized—and her Trierarch.

"We're here," Timaeus said and Yugi's heart stopped. His eyes grew. He looked to the palace, the temple: the richly inscribed obelisks, the lotus shaped columns and beautifully decorated blocks, and Ramses statues, and the incomplete wall where dark-skinned builders shoved richly decorated stone blocks up sandy ramps. It was the city their father had started when the ancestral home of their ancestor's loss its accessibility. And overseeing it all was a man with a wild mane of bi-colored hair tamed by a winged crown bearing the Eye of Horus at its heart illuminating a strong jaw and a face full of angels and sharp eyes, the deepest shade of blue, almost violet.

Like Yugi's.

Yugi's own eyes filled with tears and his lips quivered, his shoulders slouched and shook. He could wait no longer. His heart was shivering, wild and frightened. His limbs were light and ready to flee. Timaeus sensed his impending escape and scooped him into his arms. Yugi shrieked and struggled begging for freedom but Timaeus held fast and soothed his cries.

The King approached his trembling guest. "Just be patient Ujalah." He mollified. "Remember your brother is Per-a'ah, now. There's a way to these things."

Yugi forced himself to stead, dried his eyes and gave a small nod. Pas was Per-a'ah, and he was no longer a child. There were protocols that had to be met; he'd known that, though he'd wanted to pretend he didn't.

He let Timaeus guide him across the ship.

Down below, the entire ship gathered on the deck. Healed servants and hem-netjer stood at Rhebekka's sides, their wounds healed and their strength restored. The most trusted of men removed the Divine Servants and their supporters from their holdings. None of them were chained but their hands secured by two guards on either side, a grim warning against resistance. Seeing the gathering crowd of onlookers flocking to witness their shame, even Maatkare swallowed her temper. No one departed the ship. Instead, they waited, suave and obedient and waiting. First for their King then for their Trierarch. They visibly frowned when they saw the boy in the Trierarch's arms. The Divine Servants growled in disgust. Yugi only smirked at them from the shelter of Timaeus' cloak.

The rudders lowered the ladders and ropes where dark-skinned dock hands donned only in simple kilts, secured the ship. A crowd had gathered on the banks: vendors and animals and hoards of traders, crowded along the shores, piling their wares and arguing with others in a cacophony of quivering curiosity and excitement. He spotted a few soldiers on the docks, and two intimidating figures donned in Atlantian mantles and under-armor stood stone-faced.

Another group arrived and both the crowd and Atlantian Knights parted. Standing at the head of the group, and flocked on either side by Kemet advisors and priests, and protected by three Atlantis Royal Guard, was Per-a'ah Psusennes I and Great Royal Wife Mutnedjmet.

King Dartz disembarked first. His steps slow and deliberate, his posture straight and unyielding, his face a regal smile that betrayed no emotion. The Trierarch was at his side, never passing him. Rhebekka slowly followed when the previous two has dismounted. Her hair loose and cascading over the bosom of her surgeon gown: she made no effort to contain her excitement. The residents of Waset's House of Life came behind her: servants and hem-netjer alike smiled, relieved to be home, relieved to be free. The army followed their General, the servants the quartermaster. Only the guards securing the traitors remained on deck.

Dartz stropped before the Per-a'ah and stood, regal and holy in a long-white capelet trimmed with blue over lose white pants and tied with an ornamented paneled sash. A simple chain and drop adorning his sky-blue mane, spoke of his sovereignty.

Psusennes I stepped forward, a man in his prime appropriately donning the King's war uniform. Tall and broad-shouldered, in a short, guaffered kilt and armor bearing a Horus-feather design hugged a firm chest; gold bracelets and armbands decorated strong arms. The creases of middle-age lined the mouth of his broad jaw. His cheeks were sunken but in the depths of his blue eyes was the fire of a new King: young and strong and full of optimism, but wise with the maturity that his life was not his own.

The two Kings faced the other: Kemet and Atlantian reflections of the other. Their faces stoic and neutral. Their gold and blue eyes unyielding. Only silence between them. Then a friendly smile graced Psusennes' face and Dartz' sharp eyes softened to a greeting. Rival kings, no longer, but powerful allies.

"Hail, Akheperre Setepenamun, King of Ta-Mehu and now, Ta-Semhu, Son of Ra, Pasebakhaenniut, Per-a'ah Psusennes I of your name. And, you, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Two Lands, Mutnedjmet, I am an honored guest in your presences." Dartz said in a dramatically gracious greeting but respectful with titles and names. With a start Yugi recognized both their throne names and their birth ones. It had been so long since he'd referred to them by anything other than Pas and Mut, that he'd nearly forgotten, but Psusennes was foreign to him.

The Per-a'ah smiled. "Rise my old friend. We are pleased you've managed to find your way back to our fair city, King Dartz, Son of Ironheart and Stronghold of Atlantis." His tone was regal but with an underline of friendship like a secret code only those who knew it could decode. He gave a curt nod of his own and Mut bowed at his side.

"Welcome back to the capital, Your Highness." Mutnedjmet spoke with a pleased smile.

"It is an honor to return, my Lady. I hope my men served you as faithfully as they have me?"

"Your men have been of great assistance to us." Psusennes addressed with a nod to the two armored knights and the trio of men behind him. He scrutinized the company with a quick glance. "I trust your mission was a success?"

With a turn of his chin, Dartz gestured behind him. "As promised, the priests and staff have all been transported safely and you have my word and my honor they received the best of care under our Surgeon," he gestured a hand to Rhebekka how bowed to the waist and kept her head low.

"And them?" There was a pause as he said it, his mouth a neutral line, and his eyes blank.

Dartz frowned but quickly recovered. "Per your request, I have had the High Divine Servant and Divine Adoratrice accompany my crew and I to the capital so we may begin the new enactment of your reign upon the two lands." His tone as overly gracious and addressed the gathering crowd, not the Per-a'ah and his wife. "My General," He turned to Timaeus with a proud smile, his words low and veiled, "was very thorough."

Summoned, Timaeus stepped forward, and dropped to one knee in a bow.

"King Dartz spoke fondly of your strength in battle; your humbleness in victory and your honor to those who come under your protection. His words were not misplaced. Nor was my trust," the Per-a'ah praised. "You have my highest praise, General Timaeus, and my humblest thanks."

"You humble me beyond words, Per-a'ah," Timaeus replied humble.

"Your second mission," Psusennes paused. His voice strained. Timaeus recognized the question before he spoke it, "Were you successful?"

Timaeus stood with a compassionate smile. He retracted his cloak and stepped aside, as did Dartz. The secret they kept so carefully hidden revealed.

Mut's voice was a long, drawn in gasp that her slender hands moved to cover. Her large eyes expanded, the beautiful lotus blue of her irises brightening with the shine of forming tears, her graceful figure shook with an overwhelming happiness.

Beside her, Pas stood rigged: his deep eyes widened slightly with a wet shine, his mouth parted in a low sigh of heartbreaking relief and overwhelming joy. His shoulders rigid and his face pinched with barely restrained emotion.

Yugi had stayed silent during the exchange, too stunned, too frightened to move. Like he was about to awake from a dream, alone and unloved in his tiny cell. Standing here on the docks of his childhood home with his siblings standing before him, the potent emotion of pure joy washed over him.

"Yu-Yugi?" Mut couldn't control herself any longer and neither could he. She dove to embrace him and he caught her as she fell. She took him into her arms and collapsed to her knees: tears streaked her pretty face. In the shelter of her arms and his face pressed to her cheek, Yugi let his tears fall silently. Mut rubbed his back in soothing circles, and pressed tender kisses to his forehead and hair. Pas approached them with a calm step, watching. Then he knelt down and stroked the young man's hair.

"Oh habibi, I've missed you." Mut pulled away to kiss his cheeks. Her ebony hair had fallen over his shoulders, and it clung to him even as she pulled away, like shadows enveloping him, unwilling to release their hold. "Can you ever forgive me?" She pleaded, her voice laced with love and desperate for forgiveness.

Mut had always been beautiful, tall and willowy with smooth, sandy skin, a round face and rounder eyes, playful and twinkling like stars, and her hair dramatically long and black but tinted with the blue of Nut's night. But in that moment, Yugi thought she'd aged a decade and her soul was that of an old woman trapped by youth.

Yugi took her hands in his and shook his head, his love hardening to chastising. "There is nothing to forgive, I don't blame you, and I never did. I know how hard you fought for me."

"I should've fought harder," Mut growled and her face contorted with unforgiving anger, but Yugi stroked her cheek and kissed it.

"It's alright, Mut," he whispered careful with the name. "It no longer matters. I've missed you, sister."

Mut smiled and held him tighter. "I've missed you more. We both have." She turned to Pas who nodded, remaining silent but the love in his eyes spoke with volume. Yugi wished only to tell him he understood. Instead, he nodded and smiled. His brother was Per-a'ah and mastered all the authority and responsibility that position commanded. His duty was to Kemet, his worries hers, her troubles his. Mut would always be his wife, Yugi always his brother, they would always be closest to their heart, but in their smiles they assured him: Kemet would always come first. It was a burden, together, they would share.

Timaeus watched the scene with a heart both heavy as well and light. The potent emotion of heartbreaking love washed over him like the warm touch of mother Mut herself. Next to him, Dartz observed the scene with tearful serene while Rhebekka made no effort to conceal his satisfaction that he'd played a small part in their reunion. Timaeus watched him turn to his fellow Dragon Knights with a sharp nod. They bowed in understanding and marched towards his ship. The rest of the army stood joined their comrades, all stood aghast, and Timaeus resisted the urge to smirk. He turned over his shoulder and glanced at their stunned faces, their frightened curiosity.

Psusennes stepped past them and stood before Timaeus with a slight bow. "Thank you, General." It was not the Per-a'ah who spoke, but the man inside him, the man who'd loved Yugi and held him so tenderly that Timaeus suspected that it was more than brotherly love the two shared. "Thank you for returning my youngest brother to me."

There was a collective sound of restrained gasps behind him and the horrible shrill of realization that followed. Timaeus ignored it and bowed. "There is no reason to thank me, Per-a'ah," he began, gracious and humble but Psusennes cut him off sharply.

"Yes, there is." He said with stern eyes. "As Per-a'ah, I can reward you with land, with riches, with any number of gifts to express my thanks, but as a man and a brother," he turned to Yugi, he and Mutdenjet just now standing. "Nothing I can give you will ever be enough."

Stunned to silence, Timaeus, wisely, said nothing and nodded.

Yugi turned to them and frown. "Please don't fuss over me," He told Pas with a smile. "I'm just happy to be home." He assured them all.

He blinked at the guards then gave Timaeus a half-lidded smirk. "General?" he said sweetly and mockingly innocent. "Why do your men all look so surprised? Surely, they knew you were escorting me?"

"Aye, little one, they did," Timaeus matched Yugi's face and turned to his men. They shivered at the spark in his eye: sharp and bright as danger. Every soldier grimaced. Those that turned to the quartermaster were given only a frown and a disapproving shake of her head.

"Then surely they knew I was kin to the Per-a'ah and his Great Royal wife?" Yugi added in the same mocking tone and alerted the listening royals to the joke. It was simple, matter-of-fact like

"My apologies my Prince," Timaeus said accentuated. His final words dropped like a stone in a well and bit like a whiplash. "I believed my men intelligent enough to understand that for themselves. It seems I was grossly mistaken. One I will not make again."

Not a single soldier's head was not bowed in shame. Yugi giggled triumphantly. Timaeus matched his smile, then frowned when he saw Yugi's gaze harden and his stance become defiant.

Over his shoulder, Timaeus saw that Critias and Hermos had returned and all fell silent. Instinctively, he moved towards Yugi and the Royal Wife, but she was not to be sheltered and instead stood next to her husband. She fixed Timaeus with a glance as she passed him. Dartz stepped aside to let his friends past, and dismissed the two Knights with a glance. They surrendered their prisoners reluctantly and stood by their King. Yugi moved to join them but Timaeus touched his shoulder. Yugi spun to face him but he only shook his head. Reluctantly, Yugi remained still, and watched them stand on either side of the battle field, like two opposing prides of lions on the cusp of brawling: High Divine Servant and Divine Adoratrice on one side, Per-a'ah and Great Royal Wife on the other.

I'm so proud of that revamped ending ^^

I'm also very proud of how i designed the Atlantian ships: I designed each one based off the characteristics of the three dragons and to me what seemed to be their strength: Timaeus is speed, Critias is stealth and maneuverability, Hermos, with that body and horn, is definitely strength. I originally has a VERY different plan in mind for Dartz' ship but in keeping with the dragon theme, and doing research on it (and in particular i LOVED its wings) I decided to base his off the Great Leviathan

I hope you also all enjoyed Yugi's little bout of revenge ;)

Glossary

Tanitic branch—one of the nine rivers that branch off the main Nile river and into the Delta. Djanet (Tanis) is located. Today, all but two of the rivers have silted up

Bahr Saft—a Nile distribution stream to lake Manzela off the Tanatic branch. Presently silted up

Ta-Mehnt—Lower Egypt, the Nile Delta the "Black Land" in Ancient Egypt

Ta-Semhu—Upper Egypt, The Desert along the Nile, "Red Land" in Ancient Egypt

Anket—Winter or the winter season in Ancient Egypt usually marked by the annual flooding of the Nile that also starts the Ancient Egyptian New Year and turns the Delta and any area in the Nile's Flood plain flooded for the better part of two months.

*Note on Names and Titles:

Kings had TONS of names and titles back then, especially when addressed in the open so for the sake of historical accuracy I had both Dartz and Psusennes address the other by their titles. For Ancient Egyptian titles bases on my research, firs his the throne name (Psuennes was Akheperre Setepenamun, translates as "Great are the Manifestations of Ra, chosen of Amun." Proceeded by the titles esu-bity, "King of Upper and Lower Egypt"; the epithet neb tawy, "Lord of the Two Lands", referring to valley and delta regions of Egypt, often occurs as well. The Birth names was usually preceded by the title Son of Ra, where as with Dartz I went with the Ancient Greek title of the title, name and lineage. Really wanted to make sure I got that right (phew!)

A note on Psusennes I age:

I did a lot of research on this topic to keep it as accurate as possible, but it was IMPOSSIBLE to find his birth date and I wanted to keep his age roughly the same as Dartz's maybe younger since Dartz has a teenage daughter and he's Pinedjam's oldest child. Psusennes I's mummy proves that he was an old man when he died, roughly his late 80s (good for him) and he ruled for nearly fifty years (47-49 to be exact) so that would put his age around mid to late thirties when he took the throne, and since Yugi is 19 and Pinedjam died about 15 years before Psusennes took the thrown (and yes that means Yugi was a small child when his father died) it meant Psusennes was old enough to have a paternal relationship with Yugi but still relatively young in terms of modern times (which worked great for me since all the pictures I found were of him as an old man which was a bit of a turn off). So he's about mid-thirties in this and I would say Dartz is about early 40s himself. Hope that clears that up.

As always review, reply, comment, critique and have lots of fun! Now is when ALL the fun stuff begins ;)

Next Time: The Final battle for the fate of Egypt begins. Who will win? And Timaeus makes a very unique request of the new Per-a'ah