AN: Well, this chapter seemed really long to me, but it turns out that its only three pages on Microsoft Word…lol, well, I hope you enjoy!

Thanks to…

FlyingShadow666: Yeah, go Ryou! Thanks for the review!

dragonlady222: Too bad Ryou's archery isn't up to par for all this close-quarters fighting. Hopefully, he'll be fine with Bakura and Marik (hopefully) at his side. I love that line, too! ('He's Bakura') Thanks for the review!

Fyre Spirit: Ah, really? That's really nice to hear.  Thank you very much! Poor Bakura indeed, and I always saw Ryou as more of an archery type, than a sword or knife person, you know? Thanks for the review!

Shamise: No sweat. Thanks for the review!

casaragi: lol, I get that a lot. And yes, don't die Bakura! Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Hehe, I didn't mean to, really. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Twenty Eight: Judge

"W-wait!" Ryou tried to say, but the words never left his mouth. You don't understand! Ari shouted incomprehensible sounds as he brought his sword into position for an attack.

The little prince stood a few feet from Bakura's kneeling form, the thief clinging onto consciousness as he struggled against the agony his shoulder created. When Ryou saw the slash coming right at his head, he hesitated for only a second before he leapt off to the slide.

Ryou winced as he collided with stone, his vision fading into a view of black and white. His entire midsection flared in pain, and he knew had at least one rib was cracked. Numbness seized his entire body, though he felt like his head was going to explode. He felt like he was in overdrive, because he barely had time to breathe as he dove out of the way again.

A gust of wind, a crash, and a frustrated scream told him that Ari had missed him again. He was on his stomach now, and Ryou knew he didn't have time to turn around and leap out of danger. The fear of getting sliced in half made his heart jump into his throat as he scrambled forward, crawling as fast as he could. He couldn't feel the tears on his face, or the pain of sharp filaments of broken marble biting into his skin as he scuttled across the floor.

There was a grunt as Ari raised his sword, and Ryou stopped for a moment as he screamed, throwing his arms over his head and jerking into the fetal position. He cried, not knowing how to fend off a sword with nothing but his bare hands. He wanted someone to save him, someone to stop this man from cutting him into two.

A heavy clank to the right of the child resounded through the chamber. Ari growled as he tried to pull his sword back up, having missed the prince. However, the storming of the castle was really starting to show as he fought to raise the heavy weapon.

Ryou didn't even glance back as he struggled madly to his feet, trying desperately to get away. He almost tripped as he launched himself ahead.

Two hands grabbed him, one entangling itself in his hair while the other took ahold of his tunic. Ryou was jolted back, right into Ari's chest. By a quick glimpse behind the man, Ryou could see that the traitorous Egyptian street rat had abandoned the sword and resorted to his bare hands.

Fear swelled up inside of him like a volcanic eruption, and it was hard to fight down the urge to beg the man to leave him alone. Ryou was utterly terrified by Ari's bloodshot glare as the street rat repositioned his hands.

Ryou hadn't even taken a breath when Ari slammed him into the marble floor. So surprised by the attack, Ryou didn't scream or cry out from the pain that shot up his back.

A strong hand gripped the child's neck, and memories of the bruising chokehold that Ryou had experienced at their first meeting flashed in his mind's eye. At first, Ryou clawed at the hand as the difficulty of breathing rammed into him like a bulldozer, but stopped when Ari tightened his grip.

It took a lot of willpower to lower his hands and stop crying, but Ryou did so. His heart was still pounding like crazy as he laid on his back and at the feet of the enemy. He stared at Ari with scared eyes, trying to read the man's face as the hand around his neck never loosened.

Was he going to kill him? Was he going to make him suffer? Was he going to-

"Why?"

Ryou blinked at the forced question, and immediately gasped as Ari's hand constricted.

"Why the hell did you ruin his shoulder like that for?" Without warning, Ari raised the child up with both hands and slammed him into the floor again. A choking sound arose from the small form, but Ari ignored it and squeezed the prince's neck hard. "Why the hell do you make us suffer? You take away a man's hard-earned money with taxes, you starve orphaned children by throwing them out on the streets! While you eat your fancy meals and live without a care in the world, we struggled to get by each and every f-cking day! You deserve to die! You, and your filthy Royal folk!"

With each word, Ari inched his face closer and closer to Ryou's while he shrieked vehemently to the young prince. When he was close enough, Ryou mustered up what little remaining energy he had and channeled it all into a fierce punch at the man's face.

It wasn't very strong, but the fact that Ryou had hit him was enough to stun Ari enough to slacken his hold on the child's throat. Ryou frantically kicked Ari's side as he rushed to stand, panting and crying at once.

"What have you done that makes your life so much better than mine?" Ryou screamed, tears streaming down his face as he stumbled backwards, trying to put as much distance as he could between Ari and himself.

The street rat glared, his arm draped across his side as he struggled to catch his breath. He looked like he was about ready to fall over and faint, but he grit his teeth and fought the blackness.

"Who are you to judge who deserves to live and who deserves to die? What have you been doing the past few years that makes your being so much more significant than mine?" Ryou paused, gasping for air as his throat burned from all the shouting.

He warily watched Ari's crumbled form, feeling crushed under the weight of the fear of being misunderstood by the man again. More quietly, he continued in a pained voice, "You can't blame an entire body of people for an atrocious act that only one of them performed. When one child in a village steals from another, do you place the blame on all children?"

The rhetorical question hitched Ari's breathing for a moment.

Ryou swallowed hard, lowering his gaze. He stared at his hands as he felt the edges of his awareness blend into nothing. Groaning, Ryou felt his body break under the stress and pressure it held, and never really knew if he had hit the ground when he fainted. All he remembered was the warmth he felt when his body was put at ease.

Ari saw the Egyptian soldiers rush forward to aid the ailing Captain of the Guard, who was shaking from merely holding the little prince. He was perspiring from the poison that was circulating around his body, turning even his lips blue.

He could hear Marik and Bakura exchange quiet words before Bakura grinned and fainted as well. Soldiers caught the thief as Marik weakly demanded that someone find and bring the High Priest, Kaiba, from the city temples. Ari could see that the remaining Romans had given up, their arms above their heads with their weapons on the side. He put his arms up as well.

Half an hour later, there was a sort of muted thunder as priests from the temples came rushing into the dining hall, some brandishing weapons. Almost immediately, all thoughts of fighting was dropped and priority went to tending the wounded.

Seeing all this, Ari couldn't help but think that maybe…just maybe, Egypt wasn't as far beyond help as he had thought she was.

What he saw as her only hope was the one Egyptian prince with snowy hair.

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AN: Hm, that wraps up the last and final battle. However, the story isn't done yet! Please review, and expect the next chapter by Friday or Saturday! Thanks!