A/N: Thanks to all reviewers/comments so far!

chapter 7: the tipping point

Atem sprang forwards, throwing himself full force at Anubis. The so-called god was so taken aback by this that Atem actually managed to knock him over despite his smaller size, his one hand trying to stop Anubis from screaming and the other trying to yank the pyramid from his hand. Anubis wouldn't stay down for long though, biting down hard on Atem's hand and seizing the rope on the Millennium Puzzle and twisting it tight around Atem's neck.

Atem choked but in the next second he fell back as Seth and Duos moved in to pull him off Anubis and hold the man down. Anubis kicked and tried to scream but Duos managed to do what Atem couldn't and cover his mouth, silencing him. Seth rounded on Atem, crying, "Grab the Item! Hurry!"

"You don't need to tell me twice," Atem muttered, recovering himself and trying to get Anubis' arm to stop thrashing for long enough to seize the pyramid from his grasp. He finally managed to yank it free when he heard noise approaching the cave. "Seth, we need to go-"

Seth looked up, seeing the shadows of people approaching. He paled. "Shit-"

Anubis managed to seize on the distraction to cuff Seth across the head, but he didn't have enough room to get free of Duos, who was far stronger than either of the Egyptians. Seth didn't immediately run as Atem expected, though – he took the blade of the Millennium Rod and tried to get a clean killing blow, but Anubis was using his free arm to shield himself and Seth only managed to get a decent stab into his upper arm and leg.

Atem looked from him to the mouth of the cave and a cluster of soldiers were now in eyeshot – they were already on high alert, but as soon as they spotted Atem and Seth they immediately went to battle stations, drawing their swords and racing forwards.

"Seth, we have to go now!" Atem yelled, backing off and pressing the pyramid to his chest. Anubis gave a pained yell, throwing Seth off just as Duos also backed off. Duos covered Atem, forcing him to keep moving instead of waiting for Seth as the three of them raced past the stunned Nubians and out from the cave. Atem tried to turn back and ask Seth what the hell they were going to do now when Duos suddenly scooped him up in one of his arms and Seth climbed up on his ka's shoulder as the monster took off into the air.

The racing wind made it hard to hear so Atem didn't even realise Seth was saying something until he leaned over and yelled, "Break it! Smash it!"

Atem held up the Item so that Duos could try to strike it with his sword, well aware that the pyramid boundary was still up and they were going to be trapped pretty quickly if they couldn't bring it down. Duos swung his sword but right at the last second the ka suddenly turned, protecting Atem from a stray arrow shot their direction -

- that struck the rope on the Item, slicing it clean in two.

The pyramid started to tumble back to earth and Atem cried out, trying to scramble free of Duos' grip so he could grab it before it fell out of reach, but the ka refused to let him go, keeping his arm tight around Atem's waist even as he failed to grab the pyramid back before it fell.

"Go down!" Atem cried. "Let me go, let me-"

"Don't even think about it!" Seth snapped. "The drop will break the Item and we'll get out that way!"

Atem was barely listening, his eyes fixed on the pyramid, trying to see where it landed as Duos was still flying the pair of them out of shooting range of the Nubians. He thought he'd lost sight of it until he saw a flash of blue hit the ground and bounce back up – it was hard to tell from this height, but it looked like parts of it had splintered off, though not enough to call it truly broken.

Seth swore under his breath and Atem thought he was looking the same way before he said, "The barrier's still up."

Atem looked. They were flying right towards the blue barrier – and now more Nubian troops had heard the commotion and were coming out of their tents, looking for them through the night sky. They were going to have to land eventually, they were going to be killed…

No. He couldn't give up now. Atem looked around, desperate for a sign that they had done at least some damage to the barrier, that there was a weakness they could exploit -

Suddenly his eyes landed on something up high above – a crack forming in the blue barrier, actually several cracks running up together and joining together in a red, swirling haze. And at its centre, a golden eye of wadjet.

Atem turned so fast that Duos had to scramble not to drop him, but he managed to reach over and grab Seth's arm and point straight at the strange seal. "There! Do you see that? The eye!"

Seth nodded, a look passing between him and Duos and the ka immediately responded, raising the two of them higher and higher until they got to eye level with the strange seal. "Strike it!" he cried and Duos immediately responded, throwing his sword full force at the seal. It hit dead on and for a moment there was a void in the middle of the pyramid, Seth yelling, "HOLD ON!" as the three of them rushed towards the gap.

Atem took one last look back before they made it through, scanning the ground for any sign of Anubis. But there was none.

They made it through the gap, but the hole in the seal didn't close back up.

But the pyramid barrier didn't fall, either.

Seth swore again.

Neither of them said anything else as Duos bore them through the night back to the Egyptian camp.

The moment they touched down Atem ordered a guard to wake the court and have them gather in his tent for a briefing. Seth was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself something that sounded like, "If only I could have gutted the bastard…"

Atem turned to him. "How badly did you injure him?"

Seth grunted. "He shouldn't be able to stand without trouble. But even if the wound goes bad, it'll take time before it kills him."

Atem looked away. He'd been afraid of that. He went to the opening of the camp and signalled over another guard, telling him to get the generals together also. They were going to need to get their troops ready, as soon as possible. With Anubis was injured and angry and the stunt Atem and Seth had just pulled, it was inevitable he would call off the temporary truce and attack as soon as possible. With the pyramid still up, Atem had no idea what they were going to do, but there was no good reason to be caught off guard.

With that done, he turned back. Seth was watching him, looking like he wanted to say something but he was interrupted when Mahad was the first to come racing into the tent.

"Pharaoh," he said, looking Atem over and frowning at the sight of the cloak Atem still wore. "What – what happened? Has Anubis gone back on the deal?"

Atem sighed, looking over at Seth. "I'll need to keep this brief," he said, seeing the sun starting to rise outside the tent. It was going to be light out, and soon. He and Seth's little adventure had taken them through to the dawn. "We're going to have very little time to get a plan together before the Nubians attack, if my suspicions are correct."

The Pharaoh had caught the sacred court up in record time, leaving them all – yet again – in shocked silence. This time Seth was the first to speak.

"So you intend to break the pyramid by force?"

Atem bit the inside of his cheek. He was so damn tired and his mind was running a mile a minute, but there was no more energy for any more plans. No time for any more delays. Ultimately it was going to come down to this after all – pitting his power against Anubis'. The man wasn't a god, that much was clear, but he was a formidable opponent. He still had the counterfeit Item and the barrier.

There was no guarantee they were going to be able to bring it down, even with the barrier and Anubis weakened.

It came down to whether or not Atem believed he would be strong enough to win.

It always had.

He just hadn't wanted to face it.

Atem shut his eyes. Took a deep breath. Opened them again.

"Yes," he said, and Seth's eyes lit up before Atem added, "But if we are unable to bring down the barrier, we should try and take the original deal. I will surrender to Anubis...and leave it to you to finish the job. We cannot allow Egypt to fall into his hands...no matter what it takes."

The priests looked immediately disturbed, Mahad standing to his full height and starting to protest, "Pharaoh-"

"I need to speak to the Pharaoh in private."

Heads turned. Seth stared Atem down, cold fury in his eyes. Atem looked at the other priests, nodding his permission for them to leave.

They filtered out one by one, leaving silence in the tent. Atem squared his shoulders. He and Seth had gotten into a number of arguments in his time on the throne, but he didn't have the energy for one right now. They just didn't have the time for it.

The thought must have occurred to Seth, too, because his voice was quiet when he spoke. "Do you really expect us to give up your life if we can't break the barrier?"

"You must. If the long game is the only way to defeat Anubis, it is the path you must take."

"And why do you think we will not be able to break the barrier?"

Atem hesitated. There was nothing for it but to answer honestly. "We have no way of knowing if our power can overcome the new Item."

"Not even the gods?"

"No. Not even them."

Seth also paused, then steeled himself. "What about Ra?"

"Ra may not answer my call. We cannot factor an unreliable element into our plan."

Seth stared him down for a long time, then abruptly rolled his eyes. "What in the world has gotten into you?" he snapped, making Atem flinch. "Of all the times to be struck with this – this needless self-doubt!"

Atem stared at him. "Priest Seth-"

"You are the one person I recognise as my rival. And you are my king! And yet you've been consistently allowing people to disrespect you!" He gestured to the cut on Atem's hand, making the Pharaoh instinctively try to hide it. "I know that trick well, I've seen other nobles use their rings to deliver cutting handshakes often enough in my time. What was it? What's kept you from tearing off their necks and spitting down their spines all this time?"

"Perhaps I just don't have the pride to be a ruler!" Atem snapped. Seth clearly recognised his own words from earlier, but for once he didn't rise to the bait.

"Answer me, Atem. What is it holding you back?"

Atem cradled the cut in his other hand. "I...I have to keep our allies onside."

"And?"

"And...preserve what my father built."

It was immediately the wrong thing to say. Seth was giving him that look, that awful, awful look that said he'd just seen completely through him.

For a moment the priest just sized him up in silence. Then, finally, a single devastating sentence: "You're not him."

Atem looked down. He knew that already. There was nothing he could say.

And then: "I've always believed you could be greater."

Atem looked up. He couldn't bring himself to speak.

"Anubis might not be a god," Seth said, holding his gaze. There was none of the judgement Atem expected to see in his eyes. Just an impatient frustration, like he was trying to slow-walk Atem to an understanding he'd long since come to. "But I'd refuse to let you give up your life even if he was. I'd lay down my own first. And I still will, if that's what it takes to right my – to fix this."

"Seth…"

"But more than that," he insisted, "I'd demand you fight. If a god stands in your way, don't offer your soul in judgement! Mow the god down!"

Atem stared at him. Then he laughed, disbelieving. "Only you...could make blasphemy sound like strength."

Seth chuckled, too. He looked insufferably smug. He always did when he knew he'd won an argument.

Atem turned away, tipping his head back and taking a long, long breath in. He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying to push away the stress and tiredness. Just one last push and they'd have this won.

He could do this. He could.

He turned back to Seth. Nodded once. "Send the priests back in. I'll keep this short."

Seth smirked, did as asked. The priests filed in, looking grave. Mahad looked almost nauseous. Atem knew he'd have to thank him once this was over. He always seemed to be putting them through stress.

"I'll keep this quick. No doubt the Nubians have nearly prepared their forces by now." He cleared his throat, meeting each of their gazes in turn. "Having the heart of a ruler means having the bravery to know when a battle is lost. Having the courage to sacrifice oneself if necessary."

He took another deep breath. "But today is not that day. When we go out there, we're playing to win. And we'll expose that 'god' for the charlatan he really is!"

The court knew as well as he did there was still no guarantee of defeating Anubis, but after a moment's silence a look of relief passed across their faces. Some of them were even smiling.

It hit him then. They believed in him.

More than he believed in himself.

"Yes, Pharaoh!" Mahad said. "And our first step?"

He thought. "When we got back, Seth and I found a seal at the top of the pyramid and we punched a hole in it to get through. I suspect Anubis proposed waiting until the next night before we the time limit was up because he didn't want us to spot the seal. If we can damage it further, we can either push ka through the gap or destroy the barrier for good."

"So we focus our fire there?"

"Our strongest ka will do that," he said. "I need the rest of you to shield our troops from the Nubian archers until we can do enough damage." He chuckled softly, the crown suddenly heavy on his head from his having no break from wearing it for hours at a time. He pushed at it, making sure it was in place. "Cunning over brute strength is usually more my speed. But this time…"

"This time it's our best bet," Seth finished. "And we're going to show them what the Egyptian empire is made of."

Atem held his gaze, then looked across the sacred court. He nodded once, allowing himself a small smile. Functionally little had changed, but he felt strangely buoyant.

All that was left was to prove it to the court, to Anubis, and to himself.

He was the Pharaoh now. And he wasn't going anywhere.