AN: So this is a sequel to the Prisoner of the Shadow Realm. The reactions to Cairo and her bond with her father made me want to do one more that's centered around them both. If you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do! This will probably be my last multi-chaptered fanfic and I'll be transitioning to doing little oneshots here and there (vase shipping of course). Anyway, thank you to all those who have been following my fanfics for so long! And I hope you enjoy this one too!

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It seemed like only yesterday that the doors to the afterlife opened up, allowing a certain pharaoh to finally be laid to rest. It only seemed like mere hours ago that he said his final good-byes to individuals who he had grown extremely close to. Joey, Tristan, Téa, Yugi and many more. It was a very tough farewell. But it was much longer than that.

On the one hand, he had finally fulfilled his destiny. But in doing so, it meant leaving his friends. Not one moment has gone by that he hasn't thought about them. And he will never forget them.

Being in the afterlife has become his new reality and new stage in life. Much has stayed the same, while other aspects have changed. He is still the pharaoh with the same responsibilities. The palace and everything he remembers about Egypt is practically the same as well. There are no more Millennium Items involved after returning them to its resting place. Crime still exists, but not as often as few bad souls are able to trickle through to the afterlife before they are reprimanded. But with his priests by his side, he is confident that he will be able to keep the afterlife peaceful.

The sun shines brightly on the palace, just as it usually would in the world of the living. The sky is a vibrant blue with no clouds in sight. As he walks down the courtyard, his navy blue cape flowing behind him, he takes in a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air. The tall, stone columns give him brief relief from the sun's rays every so often as he passes through.

Hearing the chatter between two magicians, the pharaoh looks diagonally across the yard, spotting none other than Mahad, standing poised as usual with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Standing across from the taller magician is Mahad's apprentice.

Atem smiles at the sight of the sorceress, who also happens to be the queen. His wife. The mother of his child. She has truly been his backbone and has continued to be a positive light, even during the toughest times.

"While I understand that you would like to be more hands on, your primary role is Queen," Mahad tells Mana who pouts in response.

"You don't have any faith in your student?" she questions.

"O-Of course I do!" he stammers. "But you should only be stepping in when absolutely necessary."

She sticks her nose up in the air with a playful smile. "No promises!" she replies.

Mahad holds his head, groaning at Mana's stubbornness before he catches sight of the pharaoh approaching. "My King!" he bows with his hand over his chest.

"Mahad, you know how much Atem dislikes when you do that," Mana chuckles.

"My apologies. I guess I cannot help myself no matter how many times you two remind me."

Atem smiles warmly at him. "No need to apologize Mahad."

"I don't suppose either of you have seen the princess anywhere?" Mahad asks. "She volunteered to assist me with the other sorcerer in training after our breakfast."

Mana looks off to the distance, searching for her daughter's energy. "She's in the yard to the east."

Mahad cups his chin with thought. "Strange. I couldn't sense her when I tried."

Mana giggles. "She conceals her energy a lot. But I can pretty much always locate her since I am the one that gave birth to her, anyway."

"This is true. I'll see you all inside then," Mahad says before walking away.

Atem and Mana make their way to Cairo's location, which is further down the long pathway in the palace. They enter the yard that is mostly compiled of soft sand, a large patch of green grass and several trees. But still no sight of Cairo anywhere.

"Hmm…" Mana says as they stop just beneath the tree.

"She has you beat when it comes to hiding places," Atem comments, earning a chuckle from Mana. He can still remember when he first came to the Memory World, his memories still clouded. He and Mahad were walking down the stairs after having an intense battle with Thief Bakura when Mana had suddenly popped out of a vase she was hiding in, startling them both.

Despite him losing his memories, he was able to say her name instantly, indicating a bond that he was not yet aware of at the time of her appearance.

He closes his eyes, smiling inwardly. Since regaining his memory, he has become privy of more moments they shared. Including those of their childhood in which they played around this specific tree.

"Atem?" Mana says, noticing his silence.

"Yes?" he asks, opening his eyes.

"You okay?"

He looks toward the tree, placing his hand on the trunk for a moment. "Just reminiscing." His hand gently falls, grabbing onto hers in one swift motion, causing her to blush. He looks toward the purple fruits dangling off the branches. "I used to pick your favorite fruit from this branch."

"Because I was too short and hadn't mastered flight," Mana pouts briefly before giggling to herself.

He looks to her with a soft smile and she does the same. They find their faces edging toward each other until their lips meet in a passionate kiss. Atem can feel his heart fluttering, subconsciously bringing her closer, deepening the kiss while Mana feels herself melting into his embrace, kissing him back.

She smiles into the kiss and they briefly pull away, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. He has always had this tough exterior, which is only to be expected with him being the pharaoh. But when they are alone, he could be the most loving and affectionate person, being able to make her heart race with his tender kisses or even just him just looking her in the eyes.

He raises an eyebrow when she suddenly smirks. "What?" he asks, curious as to what's going through her mind. She stands on her tip toes, whispering something in his ear that makes his eyes widen and she giggles. They are about to kiss once more until...

"I forgot how lovey dovey you two could be," a voice says from above. "It's been centuries."

Pulling away, Atem and Mana slowly look up, seeing Cairo hanging upside from a branch. A pearl of sweat drops down Atem's head as he folds his arms and looks away to hide the blush on his face.

"How long were you up there?" Mana blushes madly, her eyebrow twitching at the thought of her daughter witnessing that intimate moment between her and Atem.

"Long enough for me to hear dad admit that I'm better at hiding than you are," Cairo says smirking and Mana dims her eyes before a smile creeps on her lips. She missed having these moments with her daughter and husband. And although it's all occurring in the afterlife, she is just happy they are all reunited again.

"It's rude for us to be late," Atem points out as he begins to walk away, still embarrassed.

Cairo smiles, beginning to follow him and her mother. It is the most she's felt at ease in a long time. It feels good knowing that she doesn't have to be on edge all the time, like it was in the Shadow Realm or in Yugi's time period. A part of her has this nagging feeling of guilt of her past. The royal court welcomed her into the afterlife with open arms, showing her grace and forgiveness she couldn't even give herself. But she deals with her ever changing emotions the best she can.

Feeling an abnormal cool breeze and hearing a faint rumbling noise, she stops in her tracks and looks up, perplexed. The sky is still clear and the sun is still shining. When she returns her gaze forward, watching her parents walk away, the atmosphere turns purple and dark, and to her horror, her parents have vanished.

"Stop," she says in a tone just above a whisper, blinking her eyes.

"Cairo?" her father says and her head shoots up, looking up at him, startled. "You were staring into space and said…'stop'."

"I wouldn't be sent back into the shadows right?" she asks, looking away.

Atem frowns with concern. That question came out of nowhere. "What?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing. Forget I said that," she chuckles nervously.

He bends down on one knee. "I'll always be here to protect you. So you needn't worry."

She cracks a small smile. "I know."

"Come on slow pokes!" Mana calls out to the both of them, waving her hand as she waits at the entrance of the throne room.

"Your mother is growing impatient," Atem says, standing to his feet. "Let's go."

Cairo nods.

She finds herself sitting next to her mother toward the head of the table as they eat with a few members of the royal court—Seto, Shimon, Shada, Mahad, Isis and Karim. Although she was hungry before, Cairo can't bring herself to dig into her food like she normally would. Instead, she twiddles with a grain of rice using her fork as the others converse.

What she saw and felt earlier was so similar to the Shadow Realm. Is her anxiety and guilt getting to her? Or is something else amiss?

Karim, who sits next to her, notices her off behavior and looks at her from the corner of his eye. "Princess?"

Cairo keeps her eyes on her plate. "Karim."

"You've hardly touched your food."

"I don't have much of an appetite at the moment I guess."

"It's time you moved on and accepted what happened in the past," Karim says all of a sudden, earning him a surprised look. Did he read her mind somehow? "At some point, you have to forgive yourself."

"I thank you for showing me grace…really I do," Cairo replies, turning her head away. Under the Dark One's control, she killed Karim. And although he was one of the first people to welcome her with open arms, it's still something that clearly haunts her. "But…I'm not sure if I'm there yet…"

She hears another rumbling noise that puts her on alert again. When she observes everyone else in the room, it doesn't look like anyone has noticed the noise.

Atem silently takes a sip of his red wine as he listens to a somewhat tipsy Shimon crack a joke, erupting the table into laughter. With the golden cup covering half of his face, he scrolls the room with his amethyst eyes. Then he looks to Cairo, who looks like she is subtly on alert too. 'What was that just now?' he asks himself internally. He looks out a nearby window, seeing if there are any signs of rain on its way.

The sky is clear.

'Maybe I'm just hearing things.'

"Your highness!" a guard comes running in with an alarmed expression, causing all eyes to land on him. "A fire has broken out in the village!"

Without thinking, Atem and Cairo jump to their feet simultaneously, darting out the door without waiting on anyone else, despite the calls for them to come back due to the situation possibly not being safe. They are so focused on getting to the village, neither of them have noticed they are running right beside each other.

Atem's mind goes back to when Thief Bakura made a mess of things with his monster, Diabound. The large, slithering monster wrecked havoc as Atem did all he could to protect innocent villagers using the body of Slifer the Sky Dragon.

Cairo thinks back to when she herself was the cause of such destruction that resulted in death. On the one hand, she thinks she has no business going out into the village. It would be their first time seeing her since centuries ago and it might cause a fright, especially since she was the last person some saw before she took their lives. On the other hand, she has never hesitated to help anyone and this would be no exception.

As the large stone gates leading outside of the palace walls open, Atem and Cairo are both anxious as to what lies on the other side. Would it be as bad as they think? Would people be screaming and crying for help?

Finally emerging, they both stop and go on guard. That is, until they realize the fire is but a simple house fire.

One house.

Apparently it's due to one of the mothers teaching her eldest daughter how to cook according to bystanders. As the father-daughter duo stands dumbfounded, Mahad and Mana go past them, chanting a spell that extinguishes the fire.

"My king!" Shimon exclaims, walking to Atem and Cairo. "It is not safe for you two to rush into potential danger like that." He looks down to the princess who now holds onto her head. "You look unwell. Are you alright?"

This makes Atem look down to her too. "Perhaps you should rest. We've got it from here," he assures her before going with Shimon to check on the villagers to make sure no one has been harmed.

Cairo turns around, squinting her eyes to fight through a pounding headache. The world around her becomes dark again and she grits her teeth. 'Why is this happening?'

Walking in the direction of the palace, she doesn't notice a man observing her from afar. He narrows his eyes as if trying to confirm he knows the person walking by him and then he emerges from the shadows. "So the rumors are true…" he remarks lowly. Then he raises his voice. "The disgraced princess is here after all!"

He yells the last statement loud enough for others around him to hear and all eyes go on Cairo, who obliviously continues to walk, blinded by her own thoughts. She doesn't notice there is now a small crowd of people who gather behind her.

"She's got some nerve showing her face," a woman snarls. "So many lives cut short because of this wicked child."

"I heard she nearly killed the queen," another woman says, referring to the all out battle between the two sorcerers centuries ago.

Hearing mumbling, Cairo lifts her eyes and turns around, only to be met by a bunch of angry faces. Some have even picked up stones as they glare at her.

"I typically don't question the gods, but this is outrageous!" the first man says, earning unified agreements from the group of people.

Overhearing them, Atem and Mana spot a crowd that now surrounds Cairo. "What's going on?" Mana asks, looking concerned.

"That murderous demon shouldn't be allowed here!"

Atem's eyes widen. They're talking about Cairo.

Cairo is left completely speechless by their harsh words. It has been hard for her to forgive herself. But after hearing this, how can she? The villagers still think of her as a monster. And it's not like she can particularly blame them for thinking this way. She took lives, burned homes to the ground and mercilessly unleashed attacks upon them.

"Gods of Egypt, hear us!" the instigator yells, with his eyes looking toward the sky and his hands clasped together pleadingly. "Banish her back to the shadows where she belongs!"

Cairo can feel her heart shatter as she takes a few steps back. Seeing movement to her right, she notices someone has thrown a stone her way. Without thinking about how they would continue to perceive her, she instinctively outstretches her hand, her eyes glowing purple as she magically stops the stone in mid air, earning horrified gasps.

Seeing their reactions, Cairo quickly drops her hands, returning her eyes back to normal while another villager attempts to throw a stone, until they feel their wrist being grabbed by Seto, with Atem standing behind him with his eyes narrowed.

The villager's mouth goes agape. "Your highness! I'm—"

"I suggest you all disperse or there will be serious consequences!" Seto yells. Without another word, the crowd goes off in different directions.

Mana rushes past everyone and goes down to Cairo's level, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulder consolingly. "Are you alright?" she asks with concern.

Cairo looks to her mother, managing to smile. "Of course."

"You're none of what they say you are, okay?"

"I'm fine mom, really," Cairo assures her before taking a step back. "Excuse me." She magically phases through the ground below, completely leaving their sight.

Mana sighs in defeat, not believing her daughter. As Atem stands behind her at a short distance, he silently shares the same thoughts.

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Atem sits up in bed the same night of the unfortunate incident between Cairo and the villagers. Unable to sleep due to his racing thoughts, he decides to get up and get some fresh air on the balcony. Swinging his legs out of bed, he slides his feet into his slippers and heads toward the balcony. As he walks in that direction, a look of surprise flashes across his face when he sees Mana sitting on the balcony.

Going outside, he is immediately greeted by the cool gentle breeze on his exposed back. Mana's brown spiky hair sways through the wind as her eyes look down with focus until she feels the presence of someone behind her. Her head whips back with alarm, but she soon relaxes when she sees that it's Atem.

"Can't sleep?" Atem asks as he joins her side.

She flashes a smile. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

He frowns, sensing the sadness in her heart as much as she tries to hide it. "You alright?"

"Mhmm!" she fibs.

"Mana…" Atem says knowingly. She turns her head and closes her eyes. He can see her shoulders droop a little, her sadness even more apparent now. He cups her chin and gently brings her face to look at him. At this point, a tear has escaped her closed lids, trickling down her cheek.

"I'm…worried about her," Mana finally says, opening her eyes, allowing more tears to fall. "I hope Cairo knows that she is still loved by so many, despite what was said today."

"I'm sure she does," Atem replies, bringing his hand up to wipe her tears with his thumb, although he isn't entirely sure of that.

Mana looks downward near the palace walls and Atem follows her gaze. Sitting on the dirt with her knees bended, leaning back on her hands, is none other than Cairo as she looks up toward the walls.

"She's been sitting there for awhile." She sighs before continuing. "Sometimes I feel like I don't know how to get through to this... new version of her. She says she's fine, but I don't believe her. I…just need to know she's okay."

Prior to the darkness taking control, Cairo was practically a full replica of Mana in terms of personality, with hints of Atem in between. Though she could be shy, she had a bubbly personality and full of energy. The current version is still shy, but more melancholy, presumably from a great feeling of guilt that she feels from her past, uncontrollable actions.

Mana turns to look at Atem who still has his eyes on Cairo. "Maybe you'll have a better chance at talking to her." He finally returns her gaze. "You've had more interactions with her prior to coming here. I'm sure she'll open up to you."

"Maybe…"

Mana smiles a little. "Besides…you two have always had this strong father-daughter bond. I know you'll be able to get through to her."

"Don't worry. I'll talk to her," he replies as she leans her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

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Cairo sits crossed legged on the ground with her eyes lifted toward the enormous wall in front of her. She takes in a deep inhale before exhaling. The incident from earlier weighs heavily on her mind as she grasps what happened. In the past, she would disguise herself prior to sneaking out of the palace walls to be amongst the villagers.

Back then, it was a safety issue with her being royalty. But even so, she wishes the villagers could have seen the true her. All they know is the version of her that wrecked havoc around Egypt while she was under the control of the Dark One. She bows her head briefly until a familiar chill causes goosebumps on her arms.

The world turns a dark purple hue, raising her heart rate. She hears the sound of someone laughing evilly, making her eyes go from left to right. The laughter gets louder and louder to the point where she covers her ears and shuts her eyes.

"Stop…" she says as the volume increases. She jumps to her feet, the sound of the laughter becoming unbearable at this point as the darkness around her grows. "Stop!" She doubles over clenching both sides of her head and gritting her teeth. It's almost as if the shadows are calling out to her. And as much as she tries to block out the sounds and imagery that reminds her of her prison, the stronger the sensations become.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she quickly whips around, her eyes glowing purple along with her fist. "I SAID STOP!"

Atem doesn't flinch at her outburst, even with her glowing fist inches away from his face. She abruptly pulls back, stumbling over her feet as she balls up her hair into her palms. Her father approaches her with caution and concern, reaching his hand out to her. "Cairo, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"They're calling out to me…" she says, shutting her eyes.

"Who is?"

"MAKE IT STOP!" she yells from the top of her lungs before quickly zooming up into the air, still clenching her ears as she flies off.

"Cairo, come back!" Atem calls after her.

"Atem!" Mana comes running down the courtyard, witnessing what just happened.

"We need to go after her."

Mana nods her head, closing her eyes momentarily before reopening them, revealing her glowing pink orbs. A pink aura appears around the both of them and soon they are flying in pursuit of Cairo who is already out of sight. Luckily, Mana will be able to easily locate their daughter with her own magic.

"I have a really bad feeling…" Mana says, her eyes still glowing as she focuses on Cairo's wavering energy.

"You and I both," Atem replies. He remembers hearing a strange rumbling earlier in the day that sent chills through his body. And when he thinks back on it, he and Cairo were the only two that reacted to it. Though he hasn't heard any of the voices that Cairo is presumably hearing 'calling out' to her, he can only assume the worst seeing as both of them have had some sort of contact with the Shadow Realm.

"We're getting close," Mana tell him. He looks in her direction, taking her hand, causing her pink fluorescent eyes to look over at him with surprise. "Atem?"

He has this nagging feeling that he will be going away. To where and for how long, he doesn't know. But his intuition has hardly ever led him astray. "I may be leaving very soon."

"Huh?" She stops flying, stopping to look at him while they float in midair. "What are you talking about, Atem?"

He turns his head away. "I believe whatever is happening to Cairo has to deal with the Shadows. And if I'm correct, then I'll have no choice but to go after her."

Mana frowns. "You really think that's the case?"

"I'm almost certain," he replies. "And I made Cairo a promise that I will always protect her…no matter what."

Mana closes her eyes, the thought of her being separated from her husband and daughter causing her much dismay. She can feel Atem cup her cheek, pressing his forehead against hers, a motion that they typically do when the other is upset or in distress. "I'll hold things down until you get back."

"Mana…"

"Just do what you have to do," Mana says. "Whatever it takes…"

"Of course," Atem assures her. He lifts his head, gently pressing his lips on her forehead for a few seconds before they continue their pursuit.

Previously flying in the air, Cairo falls to the ground, landing alongside the Nile River. The sounds in her head are so deafening, she can hardly manage to think straight. She crawls on her hands and knees, trying any possible way to just get away. Her body has begun to physically hurt at this point, starting at her finger tips to the soles of her feet.

Feeling the ground beneath her sinking suddenly, she attempts to fly up, only to be dragged back down by a pool of dark matter. "No! No, let me go!" she yells.

Atem and Mana land not too far away, witnessing their daughter sinking before their very eyes as she cries out in fear and agony.

"Cairo!" Mana yells, her eyes filling up with tears, feeling helpless in this moment. She watches as Atem dashes forward without another second to waste, grabbing one of Cairo's hands to try and drag her out. The scene is almost reminiscent of when the Dark One fully pulled her into the darkness, taking over her mind completely.

"Dad!" she cries out. "It's no use! Save yourself!"

"I'm not letting you go!" Atem yells back. He can feel himself being surrounded by the darkness as well, but even so, he doesn't doesn't give up, even if the majority of both of their bodies have been swallowed up by the darkness. Her eyes suddenly roll to the back of her head, sending him into a panic. "CAIRO!"

In mere seconds, they are completely swallowed up, surrounded by nothing but darkness.

At first he can only see his hands in front of him as he floats in nothingness. The air is heavy and he can feel himself losing consciousness as well. Seeing something floating downwards in another direction from the corner of his eye, he slowly looks over, seeing none other than an unconscious Cairo. He tries to maneuver his body to reach out to her, but the more he does, the further she floats away from.

He calls out her name, but his voice is silenced no matter how much he tries. Soon, she has descended so much that he can no longer see her, leaving him to wonder what will become of them.

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AN: And there you have it! The first chapter of the sequel to Prisoner of the Shadow Realm. I hope you enjoyed this so far and stick around for what I have in store! Let me know in the reviews what you think! Reviews keep me going!