Try to Remember

Even though Yami was beginning to understand why he was transported back to this certain period, he still had questions about what else would be in store. Reliving the past meant facing the battles he fought before; including the Battle of the Gods. That made him worry about the future and have great uncertainties. With no memories of what happened the first time, how would he know what to do this time? If I'm unable to save mankind, what will become of the future? Yami looked at the cartouche in his hand and at the sky again. The safety of my friends and family depends upon me. Yugi, Emily, I'll do whatever I can to protect you.

Yugi and his friends continued to wander through the labyrinth of the Millennium Puzzle. "Every doorway looks the same," Kaiba said as he came to another door. "And every time I open one, I find several more."

"Even the doors have doors?" asked Joey.

Emily stopped and looked at her wristwatch, seeing that it stopped working. "Hey, guys, either the batteries on my watch just died or time is somehow standing still."

Joey looked at her watch too. "Hey, she's right."

"Guys, this place is starting to freak me out," Kaiba moaned. "If we don't get out of here soon, I'm going to lose it."

"Hold on, that's the way out," Joey said, pointing at the door in front of him. "I may not have a Millennium Item, but I do have instincts and I say we break that door down."

"Joey, wait," Yugi called, but his best friend charged for the door and opened it. But as he got through, there was no more ground below his feet. To keep himself from falling, Joey turned around and caught the ledge. "That's weird," Yugi was saying. "How can he be up there and down here?"

"Let's ask questions later," Kaiba said, grabbing Joey's arm and pulling him back.

Shadi warned Joey once more. "Many doorways within the chasms of the Millennium Puzzle contain traps."

"You might want to tell us that sooner next time!" Joey shouted.

"He did," Emily reminded him. "You obviously weren't paying attention."

Kaiba got an idea. "Wait a second. There's no one closer to the pharaoh than Yugi is, right? Maybe if you concentrate hard enough, you can figure out what door he's behind."

"I'll try," Yugi said, "But ever since his spirit left the Puzzle, I haven't been able to sense him at all."

"Just try, Yuge," said Joey. "It may be the only chance we've got."

Yugi tried calling out to Yami. "Pharaoh, can you hear me? We're all inside the Millennium Puzzle and we're trying to find you." Not hearing a response, he raises his voice and tries again. "Pharaoh, are you out there? Hello? Pharaoh!"

But Yami couldn't hear him at all. He remained on the palace balcony lost in his own thoughts. It's strange, everyone seems to know me quite well, but I have no memory of them. What did all of these people mean to me when I was pharaoh? Did I consider them my friends or where they merely my servants. On that note, he began taking Emily and Mystery into account and wondered how much he loved them, if he really did at all. He'd have to or else he wouldn't have a family. If only he could remember how much he loved them.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Mystery's voice. "Pardon me, my pharaoh."

Yami turned and saw her lowering her head and holding her hands together. "Is everything all right?" He pauses and wonders how he should address her. What should I say? He clears his throat and says, "My queen."

She stands up straight and tells him, "My king, please accept my apologies for the interruption, but it is not wise of you to be outside alone."

Then Yami wondered if spending a little quality time with his wife would help him to remember. He smiled and told her, "Perhaps you're right. It's not safe here. We should go."

"Yes. Stay close; especially after today," Mystery cautioned. She really didn't feel safe now that her nemesis was on the move. It made her feel like a child wanting to hide behind someone strong and who would be able to protect her and her husband was the bravest and strongest person she knew. She hoped that being with her husband would help her to relax. They left the balcony and decided to take a walk outside. "One can never be too cautious," Mystery told herself. "Perhaps overprotective, but never too cautious." She had been taught to always be aware of her surroundings and keep her eyes and ears open.

They stop and hear a clattering sound as they come to a jar. "Did you hear that?" Yami asked.

"Stay behind me," Mystery cautioned, worried that whatever was inside may come out to attack. From inside, a young girl with dark brown hair and turquoise eyes jumped out and laughed with her Pokémon friend. It was a young magician named Mana and the little Pokémon was a mythical one known as Jirachi. They were a duo and loved to make merry and play together. Mana landed in Mystery's arms and wrapped herself around the queen to hug her while Jirachi was clinging to Yami's face to hug him. "Mana, Jirachi," Mystery gasps, setting the magician down and pulling the Pokémon away. "What are you doing?"

Jirachi stops laughing and asks, "What? We can't pay a visit to our two oldest friends?"

"We just miss you, that's all," said Mana. "Ever since your new daughter was born, we haven't been able to talk at all," she groaned, sounding like a child.

"It has only been one day," Mystery reminded them.

Yami was beginning to figure out who the magician and the Pokémon were. "You're Mana and you're Jirachi," he said, trying to remember. "And we all grew up together."

Jirachi giggled once more. "I know we haven't spoken in a whole day, but you didn't forget either of us, did you? After all the adventures and battles we faced together."

"And after all these years of training and practicing magic together," Mana added. "I mean, we're all one big family."

The way Mana and Jirachi were talking to the pharaoh and queen, they sounded like children seeking their parents' attention. But it soon reversed on itself and they began sounding like parents when Jirachi asked Yami, "Hold on, you haven't been walking around in the desert without wearing a hat again, now have you?"

"Jirachi, what nerve," the queen reprimanded. "Where are your manners?"

"And, Queen Mystery," Mana was saying, "you've been remembering to tie your hair back for when you fly so it doesn't get knots and tangles, right?"

"Enough, both of you," the queen said firmly. As much as she loved their playful antics, she really wasn't in the mood for games right now. But she keeps her temper and says softly, "It is not like how it used to be. Do you not see? We have a baby now and we have no time for-"

Jirachi interrupts her and finishes, "And you have no time to let your husband speak for himself?"

Mana joined in and asked, "So you've been speaking for him as well as yourself?" Yami seemed to be the only one who was enjoying their playful methods and was starting to feel cheerful. Mana and Jirachi were doing it to help their friends and make them happy.

Mystery quickly learned that and decided to lighten up a little for her friends. Mystery had control of her emotions and learned to never lose it when someone was only trying to help with their own methods. But although she appreciated that her friends were only trying to help, she still had to act like a queen. Feeling a little cheered up and remembering her duties, she clears her throat and says, "We are getting off the subject. How did you two get past the guards anyway?"

In answer, Mana faces her front and shows them that the soldiers are totally immobilized. "Well, my magic's been improving."

Mystery was both impressed and displeased. "Why did you have to use your freezing spell when you could have just asked Jirachi to teleport you? We need them to guard the palace."

"Oops! Sorry," Mana said, still sounding cheerful and treating it all like a game. But she was confident she could undo the spell, so she places her fingers between her eyes and says, "I release thee." Pink lights shine around the outlines of the men, but the soldiers were still immobile.

"Uh-oh," Jirachi groaned, seeing that this turned out to be a spell that his friend had not yet mastered. Mana was still a student in the arts of magic and had only learned to master a handful of spells. At the same time, she had trouble performing counter spells to reverse them. That was one of her flaws in practicing magic.

The queen arched an eyebrow. "Your magic's improving, is it?"

"Let me try that again," Mana said and began looking through her spellbook. "Uhh… it's in here somewhere," she groaned, trying to find a way to undo the spell.

Mystery knew that Mana was prone to these simple mistakes and had patience with her. As the young mage said earlier, they went to school together and took some of the same classes and learned the same spells. But Mana was still in training and learning under Mahad. He had patience with her too, but he would be a bit harder on her than the queen was. Considering the fact, Mystery asks Mana to hurry up. "You are lucky I will not tell Mahad you were playing games and practicing magic at the same time."

Mana knew just as much and tried to find the spell as quick as she could. "Let's see…" she says, thoroughly looking through the pages, "turning humans into toads… getting rid of bad breath… ah! The freeze spell."

As Yami watched Mana perform the counter spell and saw her and Jirachi and Mystery getting along as friends again, he thought to himself, It's good to know I had friends. That made him remember that before you can love someone as family, you must first love them as friends. Obviously, he and Mystery were friends before they were spouses. He figured that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. If he continued to spend time with his friends and remembered to be himself, maybe he would remember more about the people around him and what kind of person he was. At the same time, he felt like all of his worries and concerns were disappearing and that everything would be all right. At the same time, maybe things here wouldn't be so different from how things were in the modern era.

The next morning, while the royal guard was investigating the city and helping to repair the damages that were caused by Max and Bakura's attacks, Yami was walking through the palace courtyard with Mana and Jirachi following him around. He didn't mind their presence and decided that if spending time with his friends would help him to remember them, then he would do it.

"So tell us," Mana said as she was skipping near the water, "is everything really going to change now that your daughter is finally born?" She had to ask because she had heard rumors about the Great Goddess promising an era of overcoming any darkness and that Egypt would forever live in light now that the new princess was finally born. But it wasn't fair to expect so much from a newborn.

Yami wasn't too sure of what to expect. He simply replied, "To be honest, it's hard to remember what things were like before I became a parent."

Jirachi sighs and tells him, "You must have a lot on your mind these days."

"Yes, I do," the pharaoh replied.

Mana understood. There was a lot to think about now such as starting to be a parent. Plus, the heir of the Dark Lord was on the move and would be planning another attack. But she didn't want her leaders to worry too much or to forget their friends. "But you and your wife will still have time for me and Jirachi and the rest of our friends, right?"

"Of course we will," Yami promised. Then he got an idea. "Mana, would you – could you – and Jirachi tell me more about all of us?"

"Sure, Pharaoh," Jirachi said, taking it normally.

But Mana took the question a little differently. "Wait, you're serious, aren't you? This parenting thing's made you weird."

"Mana," Jirachi snapped.

The magician places her hand over her mouth and blushes. "Oops. Did I say that out loud?"

"It's fine," Yami told her.

"No, it's not," Jirachi argued. He does the same thing and says, "Oops. That wasn't very good either."

Mana sighs and says, "No, not really. If we care, we shouldn't be selfish and think about ourselves." As Jirachi asks her what she means, Mana places the little Pokémon in her arms. "The pharaoh and queen have been looking forward to being parents and you and I should be happy for them because we've been looking forward to their baby coming too. And now that she's finally here, we can help out the pharaoh and queen a lot and still spend time with them too. So there's really nothing to be impatient about."

Jirachi smiles and agrees. "I like that about you, Mana. You're always so optimistic and know how to have fun." But he and his friend still had to remember their manners, so he turns around and asks Yami, "Is that all right, Pharaoh?"

"I don't see why not," Yami told him. "You're her friends too." The magician and the Pokémon were both happy to hear that and they decided to go back inside the palace and help out right now. Yami smiled as he watched them run off. He was glad that they were his friends. But he decided to head back inside the palace as well. He remembered Mana and Jirachi mentioning that they weren't his only friends. That made him wonder if perhaps there were others close to him who lived in the palace.

There wasn't time to consider that yet. Yami returned to the throne room and saw the members of the royal court gathered together. He and Mystery took their seats and listened to their reports. Mahad was the first to speak. "Pharaoh and Queen, rest assured, the tomb of our former leader King Aknamkanon will never be disturbed again. My team of sorcerers is casting a wall to secure its walls as we speak."

"Excellent," the king and queen said gratefully.

Seto wasn't too sure. Many of the royal magicians were still in training and he had witnessed their efforts. To Seto, Mahad's students weren't very talented in magic. That was often why he bragged that he possessed more skill in sorcery than his friends and the students. "I will believe that the tomb is safe from intruders once I have tested it for myself. After all, we've seen what your 'magicians-in-training' are capable of. I would say a bit more training couldn't hurt."

Joseph didn't take kindly to his master's smart remarks. "All right, Seto, I think that's enough. Besides, if you ask me, I think trying to break through the barrier means attempting to disturb the tomb." Seto growls and throws his Millennium Rod, hitting Joseph in the face.

Joseph groaned and rubbed himself. He was about to jump on Seto, but Mahad stopped him. "Stop now," he ordered. "The last thing we need is to start fighting amongst ourselves. We cannot forget who our real enemy is."

Seto grinned. "Don't worry so much, Mahad. It's all good fun."

Joseph calmed down and agreed. "Yeah, getting along would be too easy."

They say that the more friends fight with each other, the more it shows that they care about each other. Mahad hoped that Seto and Joseph's fighting with each other would help them to grow on one another just as it helped him to grow on them. Sure, the blonde and the brunette still fight and argue for fun sometimes, but Mahad considered them immature for it. At the same time, he figured it couldn't be helped. They would make up and be friends again in the end. But he wouldn't be around forever to help them break up their fights. Even Seto and Joseph knew as much and were remembering to work together and avoid fighting and arguing.

When the royal court was dismissed, Mahad told the king and queen that he would be returning to the Valley of the Kings. Mana wanted to join her master on the journey, but her friends warned her that it would be too dangerous. They told her that she needed to believe in her master the same way her friends believed in him. After all, he wasn't just a follower of Millennia or a brilliant magician. He was also one of the Children of Millennia. So this task wouldn't just be about his loyalty to the royals, but for his devotion to his family.

Mana did believe in her master and knew he would be able to hold his own. After all, he was strong, reliable, and resourceful. She just had to stay positive and believe in the Great Goddess as well. But she also knew that she could still help out as well because she was one of the Children of Millennia too. And she did say she wanted to help out her friends too by starting with taking care of the princess.

Mana carefully tiptoed near the cradle and saw the infant looking up at her curiously with her blue eyes. The young magician thought she looked precious and began whispering to her. "Princess," she softly called and twiddled her fingers. "Yoo-hoo. Princess." After looking at Mana for a few seconds, Princess Emily smiled and softly cooed. This caused Mana to smile as well and wonder if the princess liked her.

Kisara came by and softly asked, "Mana, what are you doing?"

The young magician turns around and whispers, "I just wanted to see the princess."

Kisara approached her friend and set her hand on her shoulder. "That's so sweet of you."

"Can I pick her up?" Mana pleaded. "I promise I'll be careful."

Kisara put her finger close to her bottom lip. She smiled and said, "Well, I guess there would be no harm. But nice and slow, all right?"

Mana was more than happy to hear that. Carefully, she lifts the baby from the cradle and gently bounces her. Mana began to imagine practicing magic with the princess like she did with the pharaoh and queen. She began to imagine doing lots of other things with the princess once she would get older like play games, brush her hair, dress her up, lots of different things.

Freya was walking by until she stopped and saw her friend and cousin playing with Emily and she invited herself to join in. Freya figured that maybe a little playtime would help tire the princess out and get her ready for naptime. "I can take her for you now if you want," Freya said to Mana.

"All right," Mana said and carefully handed the princess to her friend. Her arms were a little tired from rocking her, but she still had strength to play. Mana twiddled her fingers once more and began tickling Emily's belly, making her laugh and squeal. "Coochie coochie coochie coo," Mana cooed as she tickled Emily. The magician giggled and said, "I could do this every single day." And the pink amulet around her neck began glowing.

Seeing that, the cousins wonder, why not? Their friend's element was joy and she had the virtue of making merry and making her friends happy and giving them something to smile about. Kisara and Freya already had their jobs as the royal handmaids, being responsible for helping the queen to take care of the princess. They figured that perhaps when Mana didn't have lessons to attend to, she could be Princess Emily's playmate. Mana liked the idea and figured it would be fun. But that would be up to the pharaoh and queen.

There was no need to ask Yami or Mystery since they were watching what was going on and appreciated what the girls were doing. They greatly appreciated their help and couldn't say 'no'. Seeing their daughter having fun and looking happy made them smile as well. Yami placed his arm over Mystery and set his hand over her shoulder. As he looked at his daughter, he could have sworn that she was looking and smiling right at him. Yami smiled right back, thinking she knew who he was. He felt something warm and comforting inside. It was telling him that this was the way things were and how they should be. Though he still didn't remember much about the people around him, he knew that this was his family and he knew that he was home.