"Pharaoh? Pharaoh wake up. Now is not the time to be napping," an old voice says.
A light groan escapes his lips and he stirs a little as he slowly opens his amethyst eyes. The last thing he remembers is approaching the stone slab at the museum and presenting the three Egyptian God cards. His spirit separated from Yugi and then…
With his eyes fully open and his vision clear, he gasps. He sits in a large open room upon a golden throne where people are bowing to him. Then he looks down at his clothes. Instead of sporting a school uniform belonging to Yugi, he wears a white skirt, tank top with a navy blue tunic and matching cape. As the people that were previously kneeling finally stand up straight, he recognizes a few faces. One in particular really strikes him.
"Kaiba…?" he says to himself before looking to his right as a man resembling Yugi's grandfather takes off his mask. "…and grandpa?"
"Who's grandpa?" the older man asks with an eyebrow raised.
"My pharaoh, perhaps we should postpone the celebration," Seto suggests.
"That won't be necessary. Please carry on," says Yami. As the festivities continue, he watches as women dance in front of him while men play various instruments. Then his eyes go to the people closest to him, each wielding a Millennium Item. "All of these people work for me?" he asks himself. "And each one of them holds a Millennium Item?"
"Have you forgotten?" Shimon whispers and Yami looks over at him. "These are the six members of your sacred court. They were chosen by the Millennium Items themselves. Each one is destined to wield its power in the name of the pharaoh."
Setting his sights back on the festivities in front of him, many questions enter his mind. Had he really been transported back in time? Or are these events simply happening in his mind?
As the day goes on, he learns about the origins of Duel Monsters and how the monsters are stored inside stone tablets, as well as how a duel would occur in the past. A lot of what is he witnessing is a bit overwhelming to him, but he tries to grasp everything as best as he can.
Suddenly, Priestess Isis' Millennium Necklace begins to glow and she closes her eyes, trying to focus on what the necklace is trying to show her. "I'm sensing a great evil headed our way."
"What?!" Seto exclaims, narrowing his eyes.
A priest by name of Mahad also grimaces when a huge force shoots through his body. He looks down to his Millennium Ring that glows just as Isis' necklace does.
"Mahad, what's wrong?" Priest Aknadin, the holder of the Millennium Eye asks.
"We are in the presence of pure evil!" Mahad tells them.
A panic soon ensues in the palace when they hear the screams of civilians coming from outside, and the clanking of swords between the guards and what they believe to be the intruders. The final guard that stands just before the entrance, cries out, collapsing to the ground and the palace guests make a run for it.
"Who goes there?" Mahad asks.
"Pardon the interruption," a voice replies and a dark figure appears from the shadows. He has melanin skin and wears a red coat. His scarred chest is visible and he carries a bag full of treasures, presumably from a tomb that he robbed. "But apparently somebody left me off the guest list!"
Narrowing his eyes, Yami recognizes the intruder standing before them. He is a foe that he has fought in the present world and he has continued to be a problem ever since. "Bakura!" Yami growls. "What do you want from me?"
"Now is that any way to speak to an old friend, your highness? I believe you know what I came here to acquire," Bakura replies with a grin.
Yami's eyes widen in realization. It's something that Bakura has always been trying to get his hands on. "The Millennium Items!"
Bakura snickers. "I hope I haven't ruined your little celebration, folks!"
"Your mockery is a disgrace to the pharaoh and for that you shall be punished, rogue!" Seto shoots back.
"Not so fast! I reside in the outskirts of your kingdom, so your rules don't apply to me! Now if you wouldn't mind handing over your Millennium Items!"
"What?!" Shada asks in disbelief.
"I didn't mean for free," Bakura clarifies before throwing the treasures at their feet. "I've come bearing gifts!"
"You stole those!" Shimon exclaims.
"I assumed those wouldn't be enough. So I brought something else!" Bakura uses his fingers to whistle to his horse and they begin to hear the galloping noises fast approaching the throne room. As the horse approaches, it also appears to be dragging something large behind it. "Say hello to your previous king!" He steps on top of a coffin to everyone's horror.
"You dare disrespect the tomb of the former pharaoh!" Seto yells.
"Bakura! Now you've gone too far!" the pharaoh yells, slamming his fist down.
"Pharaoh Aknamkanon was a tyrant!" Bakura shouts, his anger seething and very apparent in his eyes. "He destroyed my village when he tried to fashion the seven Millennium Items in a selfish attempt to further his own power!"
"You lie!" Aknadin says. "King Aknamkanon put an end to the great wars that ravaged our nation! He brought peace and prosperity! He then created the seven Millennium Items to ensure that harmony would reign forever in Egypt!"
"Correct. Then he gave those tools to us in order to keep the peace and help rule the land with justice as well as to thwart evil doers such as yourself, Bakura," Seto chimes in.
"Your king wanted power," Bakura says. "That's why he devised a plan to use the seven items to control the entire world! The secret lies in the village of Kul Elna!"
"Enough lies!" Mahad exclaims.
"What you speak is treason," Aknadin says, but a chill shoots through his body. He wonders how he knows about the incident since the secret of Kul Elna's existence was buried ages ago. Had Bakura possibly escaped from the village before it was destroyed?
'So it was the previous pharaoh that created the Millennium Items?' Yami asks himself. He also caught onto Bakura's mention of the village and he gasps in realization. It is the same village that Cairo had referred to and why the souls were after him. Once again he finds himself having more questions.
"I'm sorry you had to see this pharaoh," Shimon says, being overcome with emotion. He never imagined the former pharaoh that he also served alongside with would make his return in such a disgraceful manner. "We cannot let this monster continue to dishonor our heritage by spouting false accusations and lies! And you must not believe what he says about Pharaoh Aknamkanon. He was kind and just. Please trust me."
Yami nods.
After attempts by his six priests to take down Bakura and his monster that goes by the name of Diabound, the pharaoh stepped in, giving Bakura a run for his money by summoning the Egyptian God, Obelisk the Tormentor. But to everyone's surprise, he and Diabound were evenly matched, even going against something as powerful as an Egyptian God.
On the outside of the palace where there is complete chaos, a small girl walks toward the entrance. Her clothes are completely drenched and she leaves droplets of water with each step that she takes. She wears a white pleated skirt and matching tank top with a golden necklace. She carries the golden crown that is normally on forehead, in her right hand and her long black hair drapes all the way down her back, nearly touching the ground.
Hearing a galloping noise quickly approaching, she hides behind a nearby pillar and peeks out, seeing a gray haired intruder make a run for it. She watches the failed attempts of the guards as they try and stop him to no avail. "Gee, I wonder what's going on," she asks herself before continuing inside the palace. She has spent all day at the Nile River, practicing her magic and occasionally getting distracted, having fun playing in the water well into the evening before the sun went completely down. Knowing that she is supposed to be back home way earlier than now, she sneaks back in, hoping the current distractions will cause her to enter the palace unseen.
Watching the guards scramble to catch Bakura, Yami looks down from a high balcony. The area outside of the palace that is full of merchants and civilians has been set on fire and soon, the focus goes from catching Bakura to putting the flames out.
'So I was sent back in time to relive these events all over again?' thinks to himself.
Shimon, Mahad, Seto and Aknadin approach him from behind. "My king, you fought bravely," Aknadin compliments.
"Yes. Thanks to you, we can all rest well," Seto says and the pharaoh looks back. This version of Seto is completely opposite to the one has grown to know in the 21st century.
'If only Kaiba were able to see himself fighting boldly by my side.'
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After everything as settled, Yami walks down the inner corridor of the palace, being escorted by Mahad. After a night like this, Mahad advised him not to be out on his own as a precaution. As they walk down the stairs past a row of vases, a knocking sound comes from one of them, putting the two men on alert.
"What was that?" the pharaoh asks.
"Stay behind me." Mahad stands protectively in front of the pharaoh as they wait for the person to make their big reveal. And a big reveal it is.
A brown haired woman jumps out, with her arms and legs spread wide in excitement as she latches onto the pharaoh, startling him. She giggles while he continues to look at her with surprise. Her brown hair is spiky in a downward position and she wears a pleated miniskirt, charmed bracelets around her wrists and ankles and matching necklace, belt and headwear.
Mahad hits his forehead. "Is that really appropriate out in the open?"
She jumps down and grins. "I just missed him, that's all."
"Where were you anyway? Why weren't you here for the pharaoh's festivities?"
She clasps her hands together apologetically and flinches, turning back to the pharaoh who has gotten somewhat relaxed after her surprise appearance. "Sorry! Sorry! I totally went overboard with the training today and it slipped my mind!" she apologizes. "But he has a ton of festivities on a daily basis! Missing one won't hurt right?"
Mahad sighs and Yami cracks a smile at her bubbly and energetic nature. He wonders what significance she has in his life. If he could take a guess, he would say that he, Mahad and the woman in front of him shared a close friendship. But the more she stands there, the more he feels himself drawn to her. It could just be her energetic self. Everyone else in the palace seems pretty cut and dry in terms of personality, but there is something about her.
Without thinking, he speaks. But "Mana" is all he can muster to say and even that surprises him. Where did that come from? He blinks a few times and at the sound of her name, she turns to him.
"Yes?" she says with a smile.
'So that's her name? How did I—? How could I have possibly known—?' Sweat begins to drop down his face. Besides recognizing Seto and Isis, who went by Ishizu in the present world, he is shocked that he would even know what her name is. But it just came to him.
Mana tilts her head, waving her hand in front of his face to snap him out of his thoughts. "You okay?"
"Mana, don't change the subject," Mahad says with his arms folded. "You're a queen now. It's time you start acting like it."
The pharaoh's eyes go wide and his heart begins to pound. 'Queen?! She's the queen? Does that also mean she's my...'
Mana fans her hand with a chuckle. "I'm also a magician. I refuse to be one of those queens that doesn't do anything. If the time ever comes, I want to be able to fight by his side too!"
"So you were practicing? I find that hard to believe," Mahad says and Mana dims her eyes. She is his apprentice and has been known to skip out on lessons and goof off.
"Why is that so hard to believe?"
"You haven't changed since we were kids." Before she can come up with a rebuttal, he quickly changes the subject. "Cairo was noticeably absent as well."
"Cairo's…here?" the pharaoh asks slowly, his heart dropping at the sound of her name. He remembers when he saw her last, fighting for her life in the shadows and fending off the evil souls. The bravery she showed even when the odds were against her. How she helped him get to this point. He cannot forget his other goal. He has to keep his promise.
Mana rubs the back of her head. "She should be. She's probably hiding somewhere."
"Like mother like daughter," Mahad says and Mana giggles.
'Mana is…Cairo's mother…it all makes sense now.' Once again, Cairo's words fill his head. He remembers when they sat at the park in Domino and how she described what her mother was like.
"I'd like to think, when you see her again, you'll know it's her. Because the bond between the two of you was strong," he remembers Cairo saying. It's no wonder her name came so quickly to him.
Mana looks over at Yami. His face is a little pale and he seems out of it. She moves in closer, her face being inches apart from his and he feels his cheeks starting to turn red. She presses her forehead to his and his body goes stiff, trying to prepare himself for whatever it is she's trying to do. But she pulls back, looking at him with a bit of concern.
"You haven't been walking around in the desert without a hat again, now have you?" she asks to which he looks at her in confusion.
"I think what she's trying to say is that we should all be trying to get our rest. It's been a long day," Mahad says and Mana nods in agreement.
"Very well," the pharaoh replies. That doesn't seem like such a bad idea at all.
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After making his rounds and observing the damage on the outside village the next morning, Mahad returns back to the palace, walking through the courtyard. The damage done by the fires Bakura and his group of thugs started was pretty extensive, but he was able to instill hope to the people in the affected areas, vowing to stop Bakura once and for all and to ensure the tomb of the previous pharaoh wasn't disturbed again.
He currently has a team of his sorcerers putting a magical barrier around the wall of the tomb at this very moment.
Turning a corner, he walks into the gardens, spotting a little girl with long black hair. She seems focused on her palms, rubbing them together briefly before pulling them apart, causing a spark of magical energy to appear for a split second and it disappears. Growling in frustration, she drops her hands in defeat and Mahad approaches the young sorcerer in training.
"Working hard I see," Mahad says and she looks over at him. "That's quite impressive, Cairo."
"Yeah, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong."
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're far advanced for your age and that shouldn't be taken lightly." He watches as she attempts her magic again, only for it to end up with the same outcome. He smiles. "Just release it."
She looks over at him, tilting her head to the side. "But…" Taking a few steps away, he folds his arms across his chest to her confusion. "Uh…Mahad?"
"Go ahead," he says with a confident nod. "Come at me with all you've got."
"What if I hurt you?"
"You won't. I promise."
She hesitates for a minute before taking a defensive stance, taking his words of reassurance as a challenge. "Okay. Here goes."
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"So how are you feeling today?" Mana asks as she skips behind the pharaoh while they walk in the courtyard.
"Much better. Thank you for asking," Yami replies, looking at her from over his shoulder.
"Oh good. You kinda had me worried there!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any alarm."
Although only a day has passed since 'meeting' her, he is finding himself more drawn to her. Talking with her has come so natural and he finds it easy to open up to her. Hearing her casually talk about stories of their childhood gives him insight as to what his life was like before he became king, as well as how they became a family and how she became his queen. She was reluctant to the idea at first, wondering if she would have to give up her ambitions on become an elite spell caster.
"I'm sorry for not being there for your festivities yesterday," she apologizes. "I know I can goof off and what not, but I truly was practicing my magic and when I get so immersed in my magic, sometimes I can lose track of time."
The pharaoh stops and turns around with a reassuring smile. "It's alright. Being a great spell caster means a lot to you."
"I heard about the incident yesterday. Bakura seems like a tough foe and I want to be able to help."
"Yes," the pharaoh agrees with a nod, his expression turning more serious. "He was able to go toe to toe with something as powerful as Obelisk the Tormentor. He will be unlike anyone we've ever faced."
"That's why I have to continue to push myself. For you and all of Egypt," she says with a look of determination. "I know I can't amount to a power like an Egyptian God, but I can at least try to help somehow."
"Thank you, Mana."
"We're a team." She smiles and he returns the same expression before they're interrupted by what sounds like a tussle between two people from not that far away. Yami and Mana both exchange looks, then they dash off in the direction of the noise. As they peek around the corner to get a closer look, Yami's eyes widen while Mana chuckles, seeing the small girl facing off with Mahad.
"Cairo…?" he says in a slight whisper. Could it be? Her appearance is slightly different than what he remembers, with her hair being much longer and her amethyst eyes are narrowed with determination. But her current fighting style is different as she stays more on the defense and seems somewhat unsure about her abilities. The Cairo that he came to know barely showed any type of emotion, her strength was immeasurable and she displayed her abilities with ease. But the version in front of him seems to be in learning mode, trying to hone her abilities.
Cairo grunts, crossing her arms protectively in front of herself after being pushed back by a magical force field from Mahad. "Release that energy Cairo. I know you—"
Cairo lets out a frustrated cry, jumping up into the air and swinging her hands behind her head. Her eyes begin to glow purple to Mahad's surprise and a ball of magical energy forms in her palms. "Hyaah!" she screams, bringing her hands forward and shooting out a charged magical attack so strong that it even puts Mahad on alert. Yami's mouth goes slightly agape. That purple glow in her eyes. It really is Cairo. There's no doubt about it.
Previously not moving from his spot, Mahad goes on the defensive and outstretches his hands, grunting as her blast hits his palms and he deflects it, sending it right back at her. Panicking, Cairo covers her eyes. Mahad sees Mana peeking from behind a nearby wall alongside the pharaoh and he silently signals to his apprentice, motioning at the blast that is quickly approaching the child and Mana whips out her wand, forming a magical barrier around Cairo as Yami watches with fascination.
When the smokes finally clears, Cairo slowly uncovers her eyes just as Mahad walks up to her. At first she thinks that he is going to be mad at her for being frightened like that, but instead he gives her a warm smile. "I knew you could do it."
She looks down at her hands, surprised at the fact that she was actually successful in releasing a magical blast. "Whoa…"
"You okay?" Mana asks, going up to her and kneeling down with a hand placed on the child's shoulder.
"That was awesome!" Cairo exclaims once the initial shakiness wears off and Mana laughs.
"You're awesome!" Mana cheers.
"My king, I'm sorry for the commotion," Mahad says with a bow, before looking back at Cairo who talks enthusiastically to her mother. "I'm quite impressed with how far she's come, especially at her age. Not even my most skilled students can do that." Mana clears her throat with a grin and Mahad shakes his head. "Of course my apprentice is quite capable."
"It's not a problem at all, Mahad," the pharaoh assures him, also setting his sights on Cairo. She beams from ear to ear, an expression that throws him off completely. In contrast to her 'shadow' self, she is full of so much life.
"Did you see me, dad?" she asks excitedly with balled up fists.
He smiles. "I did. I'm very impressed Cairo. Keep practicing and you will go far." She giggles and her smile becomes bigger than before as he places his hand on her head.
'Cairo. I promise I'll do everything to save you.'
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And here's your introduction to the Millennium World portion of the story. Like before, I won't delve in too much since I assume you watched the series and can fill in the gaps. This will mainly focus on the events that led up to Cairo being sent to the Shadow Realm, and how the pharaoh will attempt to save her.
I did make changes in terms of Yami being a more established pharaoh as opposed to it being his first day. And obviously Mana being the queen, being able to still pursue her dreams of being an elite spell caster in the mean time.
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