Ishizu and Rishid stared as the kuriboh fluttered around Yuugi's body, letting out distressed cries of, "Kiri!"

After a moment's hesitation, Ishizu rose, coming to greet the creature. Kiri sensed her approach and turned to look up at her, letting out a pleading, "Kiri?"

"It is alright, little friend," Ishizu replied, kneeling so that her head was level with Kiri's body. "Yuugi is fine. His lack of response is due to his mind being inside a spell. I believe that either he or my pharaoh were trying to bring you there, too. We can try to send you to them, if you would like."

Kiri tilted to the side, considering, then nodded as Rishid asked, "Do you truly think that will work? What if this was a sign to end the spell?"

Ishizu shook her head. "No, I do not think so. Something else is going on here. As for sending our little friend in, well, duel monsters are living creatures with souls much like our own. I see no reason why the spell should fail to work on one of them. There may be a risk, though. We have never sent someone in after the spell started."

She addressed this last statement to Kiri, whose face grew serious. Then he flew over and perched himself on Yuugi's lap, letting out a determined, "Kiri!"

"Very well," Ishizu said, rising to her feet. "The spell is almost over, so your time will be brief. Use it well, little friend."

Yuugi leaned back against the temple wall, eyes closed as he slowly breathed in and out. He had tried, but it looked as if summoning was out of his power here. He'd have to think of something else. He was turning the idea over in his head, trying to come up with another plan, when an overjoyed "Kiri!" rang through the temple.

Yuugi's eyes flew open. He almost sobbed when he saw Kiri flying towards him. Instead, he held out his arms, pulling his furry friend into a hug as he cried, "You're here! It worked! It really worked!"

Then he remembered why he'd summoned Kiri in the first place.

Yuugi pulled away from the hug, face serious as he said, "Kiri, I need your help."

The kuriboh grew equally serious, giving his version of a salute as he straightened and waited for instructions.

"Here, on this side of the gate, we use stone tablets and cards to summon duel monsters. Is there something like that on your side? Do you have a shrine telling you who the pharaoh is?"

Kiri nodded and Yuugi let out a cry of delight, throwing a fist in the air. "Can you go there and bring me his name? It'll be the last one."

Instead of replying, Kiri floated down to the ground and began to scratch at the temple's stone floor, giving Yuugi a pleading look. For a moment, Yuugi was confused. Then he let out a crazed laugh. "Of course you already know it! Why wouldn't you? It's one name and you've had 3000 years to learn it!"

He turned, running through the temple as he called, "Come on, we're not far from the exit! There's plenty of dirt for you to write in outside!"

Ryou's double was a skilled fighter. Of that, there was no doubt. But it was pretty clear that he'd had nothing close to Marik's lifetime of formal training. The longer their fight went, the more desperate the double grew. His moves became sloppy while Marik retained his fighter's calm.

Soon enough, Marik was able to pull off a disarming blow, leaving the double weaponless, grasping at his now injured hand. Then Marik was on him, wrestling the double to the ground. By the time he was finished, the double was lying face down, arms pinned behind his back, Marik's knee pressed against his throat.

The double struggled against his captor, but Marik only tightened his grip and demanded, "Who are you?"

The double laughed. "You do not even know my name, yet you attacked me?"

"Yeah, well, I tend to judge people by the company they keep. You might have missed this, but all your buddies are currently fighting my... companions. Seemed fair to think you'd do the same."

The double didn't reply, leaving Marik to sigh and roll his eyes. "Come on, rant a little! This is your chance to convince me to join you or impress me with your plot. I have a hard time believing that you'd rather wait in silence while my guys beat up your guys. That sounds awfully boring for you. I mean, I can at least watch the fighting. You're stuck with nothing to look at but dirt and rocks."

"Bakura."

Marik blinked, surprised to hear his best friend's last name spoken by the double. "What?"

"You asked who I am or did you already forget that?" Bakura growled.

"No, I just didn't realize it was your name," Marik admitted. "It's not exactly Kemetic."

"My lineage is not of Kemet."

"That would explain it," Marik mused conversationally. "Where are you from then?"

"I do not know. Your so-called god robbed me of that knowledge."

Marik puzzled over that statement for a moment, but quickly gave up. He had no idea what Bakura was trying to imply. Best to just ask him outright. "Sorry, you lost me. What god are we talking about here?"

"Akhenamkhanen," Bakura replied, splitting out the name like the vilest of slurs, making Marik raise an eyebrow. As much as he wanted to ask for more information, he was starting to get the feeling that this would take awhile. Best to make sure he wasn't needed elsewhere first.

He looked up, taking in the various battles. The guards were still locked in combat, but they seemed to be doing fine. The duel monsters were still going at it, too, though it was hard to tell who was winning those fights. Duels were as much about their summoners as they were about the monsters themselves. Marik couldn't see Tem's uncle, making it impossible to say if the man was weakening. Mahado seemed fine, at least. The priest was standing behind the fighters, eyes trained on his monster, seemingly unphased by the battle.

Tem wasn't looking so hot, though. His sword fight was still going and he'd acquired a decent gash on his left arm. That would have been surprising had he only been fighting on the physical front, but he was also supporting that dragon. Not an easy task in and of itself. The fact that the pharaoh was keeping up in both the physical and mental fights was frankly astonishing.

Marik bit his lip. Tem needed help, but Marik didn't have a way to secure Bakura. Maybe he could get Mahado to help?

He was just about to call out to the priest when a winged, angel-like duel monster flew by, moving to Tem's aid. In the sky above, a blue dragon joined the fight against the snake-demon. After a moment's stunned staring, Marik turned his head, searching for the creatures' summoners. In the distance, he could see a chariot approaching. A chariot that appeared to have two riders. They were still far enough away that he couldn't make out their faces, but Marik had a gut feeling that one of them had to be Isis.

Okay, maybe it's not an Ishizu thing. Maybe the necklace has always tattled on misbehaving brothers.

Seeing as Tem was now taken care of, Marik turned his attention back to Bakura. "So what exactly did Akhenamkhanen do to you?"

Yuugi watched with bated breath as Kiri clawed at the ground. Then the kuriboh floated backwards, exposing a series of five hieroglyphs scratched into the dirt. A few hours ago, they would have been gibberish to Yuugi, but he could read and speak Kemetic now. Could look at these symbols and know the sounds they represented.

Vulture. Loaf. Reed. Owl. Quail Chick.

ah-team-oo

Atemu.

His name is Atemu.

Yuugi brought his hand up to cover his mouth, blinking back tears.

I did it. I actually did it. He has a name and it's perfect.

As much as Yuugi wanted to shout his partner's name into the night, he didn't. Instead, he reached out and destroyed Kiri's work, saying, "Thank you, but this has to stay secret now. No one else can know, okay?"

Kiri nodded and Yuugi smiled. Then he looked up at the monsters still fighting in the sky and frowned. Was that a blue eyes? When had that gotten here? It didn't matter. What mattered was that the fight was still going and, from the looks of it, it wasn't exactly going well.

"Okay then, for our next puzzle: how do we get this to Tem?"

After a moment's careful thought, Yuugi looked at Kiri and said, "Well, I managed to summon you. That means some of my powers are working. I can't talk to him or send emotions, but knowledge transfers seem to be functioning on his end, at the very least. Let's try a memory transfer and see what happens."

Tem watched in shock as Spiria, his sister's favorite monster, slammed into his opponent, knocking the man to the ground. Once he was sure that Spiria had the situation well in hand, Tem let his weapon fall from his hand. A second later, he collapsed to his knees, gripping his left arm, trying to slow the bleeding gash.

His head was swimming from the trifecta of physical fatigue, blood loss, and the mental drain of supporting a monster. He couldn't let himself pass out, though. Whatever that demon creature was, it was clearly a match for the Sky Dragon of Osiris. If that was true, then only Tem had the power to summon creatures strong enough to fight it. He had to stay awake. Had to fight the dizziness.

A warm hand came to rest against his back, supporting him. He looked up and found Mahado leaning over him, studying his injury with worried eyes.

"You appear to be bleeding quite profusely, my pharaoh."

Tem shook his head. "It is hardly as bad as it looks. Just a surface scratch. I still have full use of my arm, see?"

"Be that as it may, we had best stop the flow," Mahado replied. "Can you support yourself while I fashion you bandages?"

Tem nodded and Mahado began the process of creating makeshift wrappings, using Tem's abandoned sword to cut up one of their cloaks. As his friend worked, Tem took in the aerial battle far above and felt his eyes widen. Two dragons now fought the demon, though it seemed like they were struggling. The Sky Dragon of Osiris had been greatly weakened by its solo fight and the newly arrived Blue Eyes was struggling against a monster that clearly outclassed it.

I need to summon another monster to aid them, but what? What has power even close to a god?

And then it happened. One moment, he was lost, trying to figure out what he was missing. The next moment, he knew. He knew everything. Knew that this fight was a farce, they should have lost ages ago. Knew that the only reason they hadn't was the enemy's missing memories. Knew that his name wasn't Tem, it was Atemu and, oh gods. Oh gods, they were all in terrible danger!

Atemu jumped to his feet, looking around at the assembled group with wild eyes. If he had his memories back, did they have them back, too?

"My pharaoh, what is wrong?" Mahado asked, rising to his feet.

"What is my ren?" Atemu demanded.

"Pardon me?"

"My ren," Atemu repeated. "You know it. What is it?"

"Tem," Mahado replied, looking confused as Atemu breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the gods, the memory world was still based on its original source. It had not shifted to match this new knowledge. But where had... Yuugi. This had to be Yuugi's doing.

How did you find it, love? What did I miss? Must I fear the enemy learning his ren, too?

There would be time for such questions later. For now, he must focus on ending this fight.

Atemu held up his hand and calmly said, "I summon you Obelisk, the Giant God Soldier."

A moment later, he felt a mental drain that made him tremble as a giant blue creature appeared. Atemu looked at the new arrival and smirked. For all his weakness and newfound fears, there was still a deep satisfaction in winning a fight. "Obelisk, aid my Sky Dragon. Destroy that snake creature. Then end the rest of these fights. I am quite done with this."

In less than a minute, the fights were over. The enemy fighters were all either dead or unconscious, the monsters had disappeared, and Akhenaden was found passed out in the boulders he'd been hiding in. The only enemy that was still conscious was the one trapped beneath Marik.

Bakura, Atemu's mind supplied as he silently came to stand beside the pinned man. In the distance, he could see Seti and Isis rushing towards them, but he paid them no mind. Instead, he stared down at his one-time foe and the teenager holding him against the ground. Marik had an odd look on his face. A mixture of disbelief and horror that Atemu remembered well.

I suppose that makes sense. The enemy may have lost his memories, but Bakura was his own person as much as he was a vessel. He would be recreated as I knew him. Have the memories that I associate with him. The tale that he used to destroy me would work on Marik just as easily.

Marik looked up, as if sensing Atemu's gaze. There was a question in his dark eyes.

Atemu smiled sadly and said two words: "Kul Elna?"

Marik nodded, seemingly unable to speak.

"Whatever he told you, it is likely all true," Atemu admitted with a shrug. "A thief and vessel of evil he might be, but a liar? That he never was."

Bakura moved his head to the side, staring up at Atemu as best he could from his pinned position. "How do you know of me ?"

Atemu's only reply was a sardonic smile. By now, Isis and Seti had joined them while Mahado and the guards had come to stand nearby. All of them were looking at Atemu, waiting for instructions and explanations from their king.

I have no desire to continue this needless charade. We have what we came for. Let us be done with this.

"Mahado."

"Yes my pharaoh?"

"Use your ring and tell me where my partner is," Atemu ordered, eyes never leaving Marik's.

"Your partner?"

"The one with the purple eyes who rode here with me. I sent him to complete a task. I must now ensure that he has."

"My pharaoh, what-" Isis began, but Atemu held up a hand, silencing her.

"See to it that the still-living men are bound. I would have them brought back to the palace for interrogation. Remove my uncle's item as well. I will not have him awaken while it is still in his power."

The others exchanged confused looks, then moved to do as the pharaoh commanded. Only Mahado and Seti remained. The first was busily preparing his item while the other stood frozen, staring at his cousin. "Your uncle? You cannot mean my father? What-"

"We will speak of this later, cousin," Atemu lied. "I have tasks that must be seen to first. Go help the others."

Seti looked as if he wanted to argue further, but then he nodded, moving off towards his wife. Once he was gone, Atemu spoke to Marik. "I would suggest leaving Bakura in the guards' care. Take a walk. Clear your head. The knowledge you have gained is not easily borne."

Marik didn't reply. He just turned his head downward, staring at the man trapped beneath him.

Mahado came to stand beside Atemu, then pointed towards the distant shadow of Akhenamkhanen's mortuary temple. "He is there, my pharaoh."

"Good. I shall go to him at once," Atemu decreed, turning to walk away, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at Mahado, taking in his friend's worried expression.

"You are still injured and doubtless weakened from your fight. Please, at least let-"

"No," Atemu interrupted, tone firm. "I will be fine. No danger awaits me. Only knowledge that is best kept as secret as possible."

Mahado frowned, but nodded, removing his hand and letting his pharaoh go. Atemu smiled sadly at his old friend, taking in the man's face. Then he turned and walked away. He did not look back.

Yuugi sat on the temple steps, listening to the calmness of the night. The sounds of battle had stopped several minutes ago, shortly after that giant blue thing had appeared. Now, all was quiet. He couldn't see any monsters in the distance. He hoped that was a good sign.

Then he saw the figure approaching.

Spiked hair. Cape billowing. Atemu.

Yuugi was on his feet in an instant, rushing to meet his partner with Kiri close behind.

Atemu must have seen them coming, because he stopped and waited. Within moments, Yuugi was there, wrapping his arms around Atemu. The Egyptian seemed to melt into the embrace, holding onto his partner with a worryingly tight grasp.

"Thank the gods you're alive!" Yuugi whispered, allowing himself a moment to bask in the warmth of his partner's arms. Then he pulled back just enough to study his partner's face. "Is everyone else okay? Did it work? Did I- do you remember?"

Atemu nodded and Yuugi let out a relieved sigh, though he didn't relax. He was too busy worrying about his partner. Atemu's eyes were squeezed shut and there was a noticeable tension in his arms. Something was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

Atemu shook his head, letting out a shuddering breath. Tears began to squeeze past his closed eyes.

"You won the battle, though, right?" Yuugi asked, just to be certain, and was grateful to see Atemu give the smallest of nods.

"So this is something to do with your memories then?"

Another nod and more tears.

"Come on then," Yuugi urged, gently pulling Atemu back towards the temple. His partner followed, letting Yuugi guide them.

Once they reached the temple's steps, Yuugi forced Atemu to sit down. Then he sat down by his partner's side and pulled him into a tight embrace. Atemu wrapped his arms around Yuugi's waist, hiding his face against his partner's neck. Yuugi could feel a slight dampness from his partner's tears, but Atemu was still tense. His breath was still coming out in shaky gasps. It was clear that he was holding something back. Trying to maintain some semblance of composure.

As Yuugi debated what to do, Kiri flew over, coming to rest so that he was half in Atemu's lap and half in Yuugi's. The surprised addition to their hug made Atemu pull away just enough to glance down. He let out a watery laugh. "How did you get here?"

"It's a long story," Yuugi replied. "One that probably shouldn't be repeated out loud."

Atemu hummed, returning his face to its hiding spot. There was still a tension to him, but it had softened.

Yuugi took that as a good sign and hesitantly offered, "You know it's just us, right? You can cry or scream or whatever you need. I won't judge. Promise."

"Kiri," Kiri agreed, nuzzling against Atemu's chest.

That seemed to be all the prompting Atemu needed. He let out a choked sob and finally let himself cry in earnest. Through it all, Yuugi and Kiri stayed quiet, two silent points of comfort in the cool night.

It wasn't long before the tears faded to quiet sniffles. Atemu pulled away, wiping at his eyes, knowing he had to look a mess. Yuugi didn't seem to mind. He just smiled and pulled off his cloak, saying, "Here, it's not exactly a tissue, but..."

Atemu gratefully accepted the offering, using it to clean his face and blow his nose, then throwing it off to the side. "I had forgotten how messy crying was."

"The perks of having a body," Yuugi teased, taking his partner's hand.

"I much prefer this perk," Atemu replied, entwining their fingers with a soft smile. Then he sighed. "I am sorry that you had to see me like that."

"I don't mind. Really," Yuugi quickly reassured, then shyly added, "Boyfriend duties and all that."

Atemu made a face as if he'd smelled something foul. Yuugi's heart sank. "Or not boyfriends. Sorry. I shouldn't-"

"No!" Atemu cried, cutting Yuugi off mid-sentence. "No, I am- It is not- I take no issue with the idea of being your... boyfriend . My distaste is for the word, not the commitment it represents. While I understand that it is the modern term for romantic partners, I find it... childish. Unsophisticated. Wholly inadequate for expressing all that you are to me."

The more Atemu rambled, the softer Yuugi's expression grew. When the rambling was done, he offered, "Not boyfriends, then. Partners?"

"Partners," Atemu agreed softly, leaning in to press their lips together. As they kissed, they could feel a strange tugging sensation surrounding them. Pulling them. The memory world was fading. That knowledge only made them cling to each other tighter, memorizing the feeling of being able to hold each other. The last thing either of them registered was the feel of their entwined fingers. Then the memory world disappeared, sending them back to reality.