Chapter 41 - Reminiscing

Yami stood a few feet away from Joey, as Tristan and Tea kneeled next to him, begging him to open his eyes. It was all for nothing though, for his soul had been taken by the Orichalcos. Yami could only stand back and watch as his friends tried to get through to the man, who was lying unconscious against the fence.

"Say something," Tristan said, his hands gripping Joey's shoulders.

"I don't think he can..." Yami said, his voice strained. First Yugi, then Rose, and now Joey...when will this stop? he thought. As he stood there looking down at his friend, countless memories passed through his mind, one after another.

Yugi watched on, confused as Rose sorted through her cards. She soon found the ones she was looking for, "Here," she held them out to him with a smile.

"Your Knight cards?" Yugi stared at them, puzzled.

"I want you to have them," Rose said. She handed them to Yugi and he looked down at them. Queen's Knight, Kings Knight and Jack's Knight.

"I can't take these, they're some of your best cards," he said, holding them out to her to take back.

She shook her head, "I have plenty of good cards. Besides, you'll need them more than I will, your deck needs to be as strong as possible, remember? These knights have always been great cards to me, so I'm sure they'll do the same for you," she gave him an encouraging smile.

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked her.

Rose nodded, "And like when you had Joey's Red Eyes, you'll have a part of me in your deck, so technically I'll be helping you kick butt," she grinned.

"Thanks Rose," Yugi said, putting the cards with his deck.

"Now we're one step closer to defeating whoever it is that is causing all this madness," Yami said.

"Let's just hope we can find out exactly who it is before it's too late," Rose said.

Yugi turned to the Pharaoh's spirit who was standing beside him absent mindedly, "Have you ever seen this card before?" Yugi asked. Yami appeared to be deep in thought, he was staring into space. "Hello?" Yugi asked, walking around to face him, "Something on your mind?" Yugi asked him, waving a hand in front of the Pharaoh's face.

Yami looked up, "Did you say something?"

Rose and Yugi just looked at each other, "Alright spill it, what's wrong?" Rose said, standing up to stand next to Yugi.

"I'm perfectly fine," Yami said.

"Yeah, right." Rose and Yugi were now both standing in front of Yami, with their arms folded accusingly.

"Come on, we know you," Yugi said, "You're worried about something and you don't want to tell us."

He looked at them both for a moment, and then sighed, "You're right," Yami said. "I forgot, I can't hide anything from you two." If it had been any other situation, Rose and Yugi would have grinned at each other.

"Then what's up?" Rose asked.

Yami turned to look out the window, "It's just that we know so little about what we're up against and who this new enemy is," he explained. If I only understood more about my own past, I could be more helpful in answering these questions, he thought.

"I heard that," Yugi piped up. "Remember our spirits are together, I know your thoughts. Actually, that's probably why you're worried about all of this," Yugi continued, "because I am too...This seems like our toughest fight yet, and the future of the world is depending on us. What if we mess things up?" he asked, sounding worried.

"We won't," Yami said reassuringly.

Rose then grabbed the boy's attention. "Yugi, you have all of us behind you, there's no way you'll screw things up," she said with a smile.

"You're both right," Yugi sighed, shaking his head as if to clear his distressed thoughts. "I guess I sound kind of silly," he said. "Let's get some rest, we have a huge day ahead of us, and our new adventure starts tomorrow."

"Can't sleep, can you?" Yami's spirit appeared before Rose, sitting on her desk chair.

"How'd you guess?" she asked, sitting up in her bed with a sigh.

He shrugged, "I can sense you," he said. "Ever since I met you I've noticed this mysterious, ancient presence about you, and now I know why."

Rose sighed, "Yeah but what's bugging me is how I ended up here 5000 years in the future with no recollection of anything. I mean, at least you know how you got here, you're spirit was locked inside the puzzle until Yugi solved it, but I've got no clue. It frustrates me that my memory only goes back a few years. And the fact that I have my own body compared to you is another mystery altogether."

"Hmm," Yami nodded, "well, how about instead of focusing on what we don't know, we have a look at what we do know," he suggested.

"Alright," Rose said, "So what is it that we do know?"

"Well we know that back in Egypt I was Pharaoh, and we were somehow close friends as Arthur explained, though I'm not sure where your place was in the palace." Rose nodded, urging him to continue. "We also know that when that great evil arrived, I apparently saved the world from destruction, and sealed my spirit inside the millennium puzzle doing so. As I recall, Arthur said you were with me when this happened, so I would assume that whatever happened to you during that time was something similar, as when I returned 5000 years later, so did you." He had obviously spent some time thinking about this already, Rose realised. It was a very plausible explanation however, she just wasn't sure how she could have been involved in helping him rid the evil that threatened to destroy all of Egypt, perhaps the world even.

"That's quite possible," Rose said, throwing the idea around in her head, "I just wish I remembered more about my life in the 21st century," she slumped back against her bed head.

"Let's not worry about that now. At the moment we just have to focus on stopping that biker gang from collecting more souls, and hopefully Pegasus will help us find more answers."

"Yeah," Rose said, "And we'll take these guys down," she said with a grin.

"Together," Yami nodded, smiling. "Now get some rest, tomorrow is a big day."

With a measly 200 life points left, Joey was about to forfeit the duel, thinking that if Mai saw him sacrificing himself for her, that maybe she would see the light. Defeated, he moved to place his hand over his deck.

"Joey no!" Yami called out, causing him to stop in surprise and turn towards the gang. "Forfeiting is not the answer, if you give up the duel you're giving up on yourself and your friends. If you want to save Mai then keep fighting," he urged.

"Are you sure?" Joey asked, sounding unsure.

"Yes, because right now Mai is driven by anger, jealousy and hatred, so you need to remind her what duelling is truly about: trust, conviction, and heart," Yami explained.

"He's right Joey," Rose said, "If you want Mai to see the light, giving up will do nothing, she needs to see you fighting with all of your heart, and that you're doing it for her."

"You're right," Joey said, moving his hand away from his duel disk and curling it into a fist. "I forgot what really matters, I forgot the heart of the cards..." He then lifted his head up, determination clear on his face. "This duel is still on Mai, and from now on, I'm giving it everything i've got!"

The Orichalcos was closing in on Yami as he stood there helplessly, but to his surprise at the last minute he was pushed out of the way.

"Huh?" he turned around, shocked. "Yugi! What are you doing?" He asked, alarmed.

"The seal only needs one of us," Yugi said, "That's why I'm letting it take me instead."

His eyes widened in horror, "No! Yugi!" But no matter how loud he called out Yugi's name, nothing could have stopped the Orichalcos from tearing the boy's soul away from him.

Rose carefully approached Yami as he sat on his hands and knees facing away from her, and she could see the small pool of tears that had formed on the ground in front of him. She couldn't imagine the guilt he must have been feeling, and she knew it would not disappear soon, but she had to do something. She kneeled in front of him, gently putting her hands on his shoulders as his head was dropped, facing the ground. He was trembling, and he didn't move upon noticing her presence, nor did he try to hide the look of utter despair on his face.

Rose wasn't quite sure what to say, so she said the first thing that came to mind. "I promise we'll get Yugi back," she said gently. He didn't look up at her, but she continued anyway, "We'll find this Dartz guy, kick his butt all the way back to Atlantis, and then we'll make him return every single soul the Orichalcos took..." Yami seemed to have stopped trembling, and it seemed as if he had paused in his place, listening to Rose's words, but not giving her any sign of acknowledgement. "Look at me," Rose lifted his chin up so that he would finally look at her, holding his face in her hands so that he couldn't look away. "Yugi will be okay," she said reassuringly. "We just have to find him, and bring him back." Yami's face softened, and he put his hand over hers where it rested on his cheek in a thankful gesture. Even though he hadn't said anything, she understood what he meant.

"Pharaoh," Rose said, grabbing his arm gently. He relaxed his hand and finally turned to look at her. "You can't believe a single word that Raphael said to you. He may have not used the card in your duel, but the Orichalcos controls him, and we can't trust anybody associated with it. I don't believe you were an evil Pharaoh. You fought against the evil that tried to destroy Egypt, you weren't the cause of it."

He sighed, "Even if that is true," he said, turning back to the window, "I still fear the darkness inside my heart since I played that card. Without Yugi's light to guide me, I don't know what will happen."

"The world isn't split up into good and evil," Rose said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Everybody has both light and darkness in their hearts, but their character is judged on which side they decide to act on. You are a good person, I know that. You were also a great Pharaoh. You just have to believe that your light can overshadow the darkness just like it did all those years ago."

He looked back at her, "You really mean that?" he asked.

"Every word," Rose said with a reassuring smile.

He sighed, and Rose could see the ghost of a smile trying to show itself, "Thank you." Rose gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and then looked down, noticing the deck of cards sitting in Yami's belt. She reached down and pulled them out to make a point. "My deck?" Yami asked as she held them in front of him, "What do you wish to do with that?"

"This is the deck that you and Yugi built together, right?" Rose said. Yami nodded. "Your heart is in this deck, and so is his. So even though he may not be with you right now, you can still defeat this evil together. Just don't forget everything you taught me about the heart of the cards."

Yami smiled, "How can I forget my own advice." He took his deck back from Rose and sorted through the cards until he found Queen's Knight. "I also have a part of you in my deck to help me," he said, holding the card up with a smile.

"You bet, so there's nothing stopping us. I promise that together we'll defeat this beast and save Yugi, he'll be back with us in no time."

Yugi demanded Queen's Knight to go onto the catapult.

"Yugi please!" Yami called out to him, "Don't go through with this!"

"Too late," Yugi said, narrowing his eyes. "Attack!" The Catapult began to launch.

"Yugi no!" Yami cried out, "I won't let you do this!" So he activated his trap card, Divine Wind.

"He did it!" Rose said, nudging Tea's arm. The other girl looked over, just to see Yugi get blown off of his feet.

"What have I done?!" Yami said, "Yugi!" he ran over to his friend, who was lying on the ground motionless. Yami reached him, and lifted him up, "Speak to me, please."

Yugi then opened his eyes, "You passed the test, pal," he said with a weak smile.

"What are you talking about?" Yami asked, his eyes burning with the threat of tears. "Did you plan this all along?"

"It was the only way, by defeating me you were able to defeat the darkness that was inside your heart. It wasn't easy but you did what was best for me and for mankind. You acted like a true hero," Yugi placed a weak hand on Yami's arm with a reassuring smile.

"But now what?" Yami asked, staring down at him.

"Don't give up this fight, remember: I'm always with you."

Yami suddenly felt something in his chest. What was it? He wasn't sure, but it felt like something was calling out to him. It felt like...

"The Millennium Heart!" he called out in surprise, stopping.

"What is it, Pharaoh?" Tea asked.

"Rose's heart, I can feel it..." he looked down at the Millennium Puzzle that had started glowing, "Joey must be in trouble!" He suddenly started running again at full speed, determined to reach his friend. "We're close!" he called back as they ran through a narrow gap between two buildings. That's when they heard someone cry out nearby, and everyone's eyes widened.

"That doesn't sound like Joey!" Tea exclaimed, worry clear in her voice. They saw the green illumination of the Orichalcos just ahead of them, and they broke into the clearing, before stopping dead in their tracks.
Before them, Rose and Mai were standing facing each other, surrounded by the Seal of Oricalcose. What made Yami's stomach drop however, was that Rose's life points had just hit zero.

"Rose!" Tea called out in alarm, before covering her mouth with her hand in shock.

Rose was struggling to stay on her feet, having just been hit by a devastating attack, and she turned, noticing their arrival. A look of guilty despair suddenly appeared on her face as her chest rose and fell rapidly, her shoulders slumped. Her hair had fallen into her eyes, but Yami could still see the self hatred that filled them as she looked over at him.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed. Yami almost couldn't hear her from where he was standing, only 10 meters away. "I didn't want Mai to get to Joey...but I failed." Her body trembled as she tried to stay on her feet, and she didn't bother to hide the damage that duel had done to her, she was weak and drained. The adrenaline she had felt only moments ago had been sucked out of her, leaving her to feel the pain she'd been holding off the whole time.

Yami couldn't believe what he was seeing, this was the last thing he had expected, and he knew what happened next. He couldn't make himself move though, his legs were glued in their place, his eyes fixed on her. Never before had he seen that look in her eyes; they were so empty yet so filled with guilt and despair. He was speechless, and he couldn't bare the thought of losing another friend.
Yami was pulled out of his trance and back to reality when Rose let out a piercing cry, the Orichalcos closing in around her.

"No! Rose!" Yami cried out to her. Finally able to pull himself forwards, he ran towards her desperately, but by the time he reached her, she was already gone. The Orichalcos had disappeared, and her empty shell of a body fell towards the ground. Yami just managed to catch her before she hit the hard bitumen, sinking to his knees in order to break her fall. He stared down at his friend, who he'd known back when he was Pharaoh, over 5000 years ago. If only he remembered. She had been the only person who had managed to cheer him up after he lost Yugi, and now she was gone as well.

"Rose..." he breathed, looking down at her limp and lifeless body, "Not you too..."

Yami pulled out his deck, and saw Queen's Knight sitting on top. They may not be here, but their courage and determination is in my deck. He looked down at Joey, before taking a deep breath and placing his deck back in his belt. "This madness stops now." He then turned, and with Rose still on his back, he headed towards Paradius headquarters with only one thing in mind: Eliminating Dartz.

"Hold up!" Tristan said, trying to lift Joey onto his own back so he could follow. Yami stalked towards Paradius, thinking about his friends that were counting on him to defeat Dartz and bring all the souls back that had been captured. The weight on his back only reminded him of how lonely he felt without Yugi, Rose and Joey by his side, but he had to keep pressing forwards. He still had Tristan and Tea following behind him, though he wasn't sure how far ahead he had gotten.

Yami soon reached Paradius, and instantly a familiar voice echoed around him.
"We've been expecting you Pharaoh..." It was definitely Dartz. Yami placed Rose on the ground next to the front elevator, leaning her against the wall.

"You should be safe here..." he murmured, kneeling in front of her. "When I come back, I hope that you, Yugi and Joey will be free again." He then looked up, and saw that someone was coming down in the elevator. He stood up and braced himself for whoever it might be. The doors opened, and a a ghostly fog rolled out, before a figure of a person fell forwards towards Yami. He caught her before she hit the ground, "Mai?" he looked down at the unconscious woman. "Say something," he said. But it was no use, she was gone. He placed her next to Rose beside the elevator, before walking inside and heading up to face whoever had taken Mai's soul.

Hello all! So this chapter may not have been very eventful, but i still think it was relevant cause I imagined that while Yami was making his way to paradius that his mind would have been running wild with the previous events so there you go. This is actually about as far as i had pre-written of this story also, so chapters may take a little longer now as I actually have to continue watching the episodes and writing at the same time, so we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

PharaohsThrone :)