A/N: Thanks to all reviewers so far! Happy Christmas & happy holidays!

Chapter 6: the negotiation

"Pharaoh," Seth said. "You…you're..." He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something more, but then – shut it again. No words came as the two of them stared at one another. The priest swallowed hard, raising a hand to cover his mouth. If there situation hadn't been so dire, Atem might have laughed. He'd rarely seen Seth so at a loss. Even when Atem defeated him in their duels, he usually recovered faster than this.

There was a noise from over in the camp and suddenly Seth snapped into action – he seized Atem's arm and dragged him behind the first rocky outcrop he laid eyes on, getting the pair of them out of sight.

"You can't be here," he hissed, his eyes darting around. "This is the exact worst place for you to be – if Anubis finds you-"

"Too late now, isn't it?" Atem said shortly. "Well, Seth? Are you going to answer my question or not?"

Seth ran a hand down his face again and groaned. "I believe the theory you proposed. There must be another Item. I thought – if I could get to the centre of the camp, find it, and destroy it…"

"And if you got yourself killed in the effort?"

"I'm not going to die here," he said, but there was something false about his tone. Atem stared him down, then shook his head. He pulled his hood back up, taking care that his hair was hidden under it.

"I've heard worse plans, considering. But you're not going alone."

"Pharaoh-"

"This is an order. Let's find the item together."

For a moment Seth didn't respond and Atem thought he was planning to ignore the order – until he saw where Seth was looking. The Pharaoh's hand was still on his hood, the cut visible. Atem dropped his arm, trying not to make it obvious he was hiding the mark.

"Shall we go?"

Seth eyed him, silent for a moment. "All right. But I need your word on something."

Atem folded his arms. "What now?"

"If we are discovered, no stupid heroics. Prioritise saving your own life."

Atem stared him down again, tempted to refuse, or to say that it wasn't like him to be so defeatist. But he knew the situation was dire. So he merely nodded.

"Let's go," he said. "We don't have too much time to waste before dawn."

Seth had Duos keep low as they crept towards the camp, the two of them listening close for any sign of movement. They had to keep making turns to avoid guards, but soon it seemed like they were in sight of the tent of Anubis himself, given its position at the centre of the camp.

But there was the problem: it was naturally surrounded with more guards, impossible to get close.

"We're going to have to pull off something to get any closer," Seth whispered from their hiding spot. "I think you and Duos should-"

Suddenly the flap opened and Anubis himself appeared. The two of them froze, uncertain of what to do, but Anubis was pulling a cloak of his own closer and dismissing the guards from following him. Atem and Seth exchanged a quick glance and scrambled to follow him, which wasn't easy when they had to avoid getting caught and losing him at the same time.

The situation only got more curious when the Nubian general abruptly appeared behind Anubis, clearly following him too. Atem got the immediate sense this was a plan, which could only mean one thing – the two of them were looking to meet somewhere they couldn't be overheard.

The location turned out to be somewhere even better than Atem had hoped – a cave just out of sight of the encampment. It had an opening at the top where the moonlight was streaming in, but otherwise the space was enclosed – and dark.

Atem, Seth and Duos crept into the opening and behind a crop of rocks. The Pharaoh caught Seth's eye – Atem was unsure if they should just ambush the two of them now, and there was no way to communicate that since it was too risky to talk so close to Anubis and the general. Seth seemed to understand what he was thinking, gave a slight shake of his head in warning.

"We need to keep this short," Anubis said, sounding annoyed. "Dawn is coming soon."

"You completely changed everything, without consulting me," the general snapped back. Atem recognised that tone – he was clearly gearing up for quite an argument, no matter how long it took. "And now you expect Nubia to settle for scraps? When you intend to claim the entire Egyptian empire for yourself?"

"You'll get the territory you wanted," Anubis said. "And better trading deals with my new empire. What more do you want?"

"The rest of the Millennium Items, for a start. Security for my kingdom. Everyone knows that their magic gives them a huge military advantage, but they don't deserve it! If Nubia could have the magic you have-"

"Ha! Is that all you're asking for? Without me, the Pharaoh would crush all of you on the battlefield. You'd be nothing without me – and we're done talking about this."

There was the sound of footsteps and Atem moved to follow – if they let Anubis go, they'd lose their chance – but Anubis went marching past just as Duos seized Atem's arm to stop him. The so-called god didn't notice, but the general was following him close behind, yelling after Anubis.

Right at the last second he sensed the movement behind him, starting to turn-

Seth darted forwards, shoving Atem further back into the grip of Duos and out of sight as he propelled himself into the open. Atem instinctively went to call out to stop him but Duos clamped a hand over his mouth with one hand and immobilised him with the other arm, trapping him in the shadows.

Atem cursed, trying to wrench free and failing. He should've known Seth would know he had no intention of letting his priest take the fall alone.

The general saw Seth, confusion turning to shock and then disbelief. He looked about to raise his voice and warn the retreating Anubis of the intruder, but Seth raised his hand quickly and dropped to one knee.

"Please," he said, head bowed. "I only wish to speak with you."

The general was no fool; he could clearly see Seth was Egyptian. But he didn't raise the alarm, instead looking furtively around before hissing, "How in the gods name did you get -"

"There's no time for that," Seth said. Atem held his breath, still stuck in the shadows. It was bizarre seeing Seth kneel before someone else. He didn't doubt it must be greatly wounding his priest's pride to do it…

"I wanted to make you an offer," he continued quickly, sensing the general's indecision. "The Pharaoh doesn't have the pride to be a ruler."

Atem swallowed. Seth was just acting. He knew that.

"Your victory is assured tomorrow. But do you really believe your fortunes will improve with Anubis as the monarch instead? I can offer you an in with the sacred court of Egypt – and our Millennium Items...if you'll negotiate territories with me."

The general's eyes looked up. Seth sensed his opportunity, raising his head.

"That is, if you'll kill Anubis with me."

"What? I couldn't possibly…"

"You don't have to hide it from me," Seth said smoothly, standing up. "That man isn't a god, is he? A god would not have to bargain. He would take what is his without exception."

"I...I don't think…"

"There's a source to the pyramid, isn't there? Perhaps...another Item?"

The general swallowed hard. Seth approached, just a step. Just enough to press his advantage. Atem didn't dare breathe as he watched the general's face. The man couldn't wait to betray Anubis, that much was clear. All he needed was a tell. Just one sign that Anubis wasn't as invincible as he pretended to be.

"If – if there was to be a counterfeit Item-" the general said haltingly, then immediately stopped himself.

Atem relaxed. Thank the gods. There'd be a way out of this-

"What are you doing?" a voice called sharply.

They all tensed.

Anubis had returned.

From there, everything seemed to happen very quickly.

Seth sprang forward, drawing the knife from the Millennium Rod and slitting the throat of the general in one sweep. With the shock of the moment Duos' grip on Atem loosened and the Pharaoh managed to wrench himself free, darting out out of the shadows in order to force Seth's ka to follow him.

Anubis stared at the picture, thunderstruck. "You," he said. And his arm shifted, just enough to hide it inside his cloak.

Not fast enough to hide the rope in his hand, and the blue pyramid hanging from it.

It hung the opposite way to the Millennium pendant, but the eye of wadjet on it was just the same.

The counterfeit item.

The source of the pyramid of light.