Chapter 4: Shadows Return

"Ana! Wait!" Atem called, running after the girl and the thief she was chasing. He couldn't believe how reckless she was being. He understood that her bag was important to her, but that doesn't make it alright to just take off after a suspicious character (He conveniently forgot that he and Yugi used to do just that all the time). He pumped his legs harder, determined not to lose sight of them. The criminal appeared to be leading them toward a more deserted part of the city.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Just as he suspected, they ended up by the pier. The thief ran into an empty warehouse, Ana and Atem following close behind. Once they entered, the doors slammed shut behind them, leaving the area inside to be dimly lit by the sunlight streaming through the windows.

Ana took a moment to catch her breath, before shouting at the figure, "Who the hell do you think you are? Give me back my bag!"

The thief was standing quietly at the other end of the warehouse, Ana's tote hanging from his hand. His face was covered in shadow from the hood of the dark jacket he was wearing, a jacket Atem recognized. "It's the man from the store!" he exclaimed.

Ana looked at him in surprise. "The other shopper?" she realized, and turned her glare back at the thief. "Did you follow us out of the shop?"

The man pushed back his hood, revealing his face. Atem immediately noticed an odd tattoo on his forehead, but couldn't quite make out the shape from this distance. The stranger opened his mouth to speak, "Not exactly. Rather than following you, I was waiting for you."

"Waiting for us? So, what, are you some creepy stalker?" Ana frowned.

"What do you want?" Atem added, "Return Ana's bag to us at once."

"I can't do that," the stranger replied, "It has something my master needs. And so do you, Pharaoh."

The former spirit narrowed his eyes. He knew it. This man had something to do with the new enemy he was supposed to face. Unfortunately, Ana was not quite as cognizant of what was going on. "Pharoah?" she repeated, bewildered.

The thief ignored her. He briefly rummaged in her bag, pulled out her duel disk, and tossed it to Atem.

Atem scowled, "I suppose I know where this is going. If I win this duel, you will return Ana's bag and everything in it," he demanded, strapping the device on.

"Very well, but if I win, you'll hand over your Millennium Puzzle," the stranger responded, loading his deck into his own disk.

"Fine," Atem growled, expecting as much.

"Wait, Atem, you don't need to do this," Ana interrupted, laying a hand on his shoulder. "This is my problem, let me handle it. You don't need to go risking anything."

"Sorry, girl, but I've already gotten what I wanted from you. However, the Pharaoh's Puzzle I need to win in a duel," the stranger interrupted.

"Why are you so fixed on a piece of jewelry anyway?" Ana shouted back, "And what does a card game have to do with anything?"

Atem covered her hand with his to calm her. "Ana, it's fine. Don't worry, I won't lose."

"Atem…" she said, still looking hesitant and concerned.

He smiled as reassuringly as he could. "I'll be fine, I promise." Grey eyes bore into amethyst ones for a long moment, before she finally assented, pulling back her hand.

"Fine," she grimaced, "But Atem? You owe me some explanations. Because this all seems absolutely crazy to me, but you seem to be taking everything in stride."

He nodded, before turning back to the stranger as he inserted his deck into the disk. "Alright, get ready, whoever you are. It's time to duel!"

Ana was completely and utterly confounded. What the hell was going on? Since when did purse snatchers start negotiating through card games? And why was this guy so interested in a chunky necklace? She felt like there was whole lot she was missing, and she did not like that feeling.

She held her breath as she watched Atem and the stranger start their duel. It was just a game, but for some inexplicable reason, it felt more serious than that, never mind the material stakes put on the match. Not only that, she felt even more annoyed because she had been looking forward to watching her friend duel, but not like this.

"First, let's make this interesting, shall we?" the stranger drawled. Suddenly, his forehead started…glowing? Okay, who slipped what into my breakfast this morning?

Shadows started to creep in and surround them, throwing them into what appeared to be a dark storm. The sun was completely blocked out, and the air became dank and heavy. Ana looked around incredulously. What the hell is going on?!

"This can't be," Atem breathed, looking just as surprised, though for different reasons. "You need a Millennium Item to invoke a Shadow game. Not only that, I defeated Zorc, the source of all darkness!"

Grey eyes widened even more. Okay, who slipped what into his breakfast?

"I'm afraid you've been misinformed, Pharaoh," the thief smirked sinisterly, "You may have defeated Zorc, but you think eliminating the Shadows would be so simple? You cannot have the light without the dark, fool."

Atem scowled. "It still doesn't explain how you were able send us to the Shadow Realm."

"Zorc and the Millennium Items aren't the only ones able to control the Shadows," was the stranger's only response. "Now enough chit chatting. Let's do this." He drew a card.

Ana's mind was still reeling with everything going on. But as much as she was trying to pay attention to the duel, she suddenly found that her vision was getting blurry. Now that she was thinking about it, it was getting hard to breath, too. She put a hand on her laboring chest, and felt herself fall to a knee.

"Ana!" She could hear Atem call, his voice laced with concern.

Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to get enough oxygen in her lungs to respond. Her head started to pound. She felt oppressed on all sides, like the darkness was engulfing her. She realized, though, that this actually felt familiar.

It's like…the shadows…in my dream… she thought before her vision went completely black and she fell to the floor.

"Ana!"

"What have you done to her!?" Atem shouted, running over to the girl and propping her up in his arms.

"Nothing. Apparently, she was too weak for my Shadow Realm," the thief smirked. "Now hurry up and make your move. We're in the middle of a duel."

Atem narrowed his eyes. "You'll pay for this," he growled. Carefully, he picked Ana up and carried her to the nearby wall, setting her gently against it. "Don't worry," he whispered to her, "I'll take care of this."

He stood up and strode purposefully back to his place in the duel, where the thief and his monster awaited.

Horror filled her entire being as she watched the demon approach the city. It was massive, and none of their most powerful monsters were even making a scratch on it. What was worse, the Millennium Items were scattered, and without his Pendant, Atem could not summon the Egyptian Gods.

Dark shadows crept over the valley with the beast. She grit her teeth, and looked down at her dia dhank. She did not have much power left, but she had to buy Mana and Isis time. They had to get the Pendant back to Atem.

She ran forward, toward the creature, holding her arm high.

"Wait, Ana, stop!" she could hear his voice calling her back, but she only responded by throwing a reassuring smile over her shoulder. Don't worry, I'll be back, it said. She took one more look into those amethyst eyes, before summoning her Ka.

"Come forth, Anuket!" she shouted. Power welled in her, attempting to summon her spirit monster… but then began to fizzle out. No! She had overestimated the Ba she had left. She clenched her teeth, determined not to give in. Even if she had to use up the remainder of her Ba, she would make sure her king had the chance to defeat this evil. She had to.

Suddenly, her own pendant resting on her breast began to grow warm, filling her spirit with power and strength. Looking down at her dia dhank in surprise, she watched the meter that reflected her Ba grow full again. She smiled and placed a hand over her necklace.

Thank you, Atem…my heart.

The thief had used some strange monsters and tactics, but Atem had managed to keep the upper hand. However, just as he was about to call an attack with his faithful Dark Magician, he sensed a disturbance behind him.

"Ana!" he exclaimed, turning around to look at the girl. The aura around her was starting to pulse. And…was something appearing on her chest?

"What is happening?" the stranger suddenly exclaimed, reclaiming Atem's attention. Whipping back around, he saw that on the floor next to him, something in Ana's bag had begun to glow. The thief reached into it and pulled out her deck. One of the cards was shining as brilliantly as a star, its light cutting through the darkness. The shadows receded, and sunlight began to pour into the room again.

"No! My Shadow Game!"

Atem watched all this incredulously, before looking back at Ana, who was beginning to stir. Grey eyes opened slowly and dazedly. "What happened?"

"This can't be!" the stranger shouted, "How did she dispel the Shadows?"

The former pharaoh was just was bewildered, but couldn't help but smirk. "Looks like none of this is going your way. And it's still my turn – I activate Diffusion Wave Motion! At the price of 1000 life points, this allows my Dark Magician to attack all three of your monsters, finishing off the rest of your life points. Dark Magician, attack! Wipe him out!"

The thief screamed in defiance as his life points hit zero, and the holograms dissolved from the field.

"Aw, I missed the duel?" Atem could hear Ana behind him, making him smile.

"You should be grateful," he told the stranger, "If this had still been your Shadow Game the consequences of your loss would have been severe. Instead, hand Ana's bag over and you may go."

The thief tossed the bag over, but kept the deck that he still gripped in his hand. "If you want it so bad, here!" he spat, before taking off for the exit. His get-away was stopped, though, by Ana standing defiantly in doorway.

"Not so fast, buster. Give me back my deck!"

"I don't think so, girl, now get out of my way!" he lunged at her, making Atem's eyes widen in concern.

"Ana!"

However, Ana easily dodged the arm swinging her way. Grabbing the outstretched arm as the fist flew past her, she quickly threw the man over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground and scattering her cards across the floor. "Great, now I have to pick them all up," she murmured. "Atem, would you mind calling the police?"

"Oh, uh, of course," Atem blinked, still a little surprised at what he had just witnessed. He pulled out the phone he had purchased a few days ago.

"Oh no you don- " the perpetrator was about to protest, before Ana interrupted him by pushing a heel down onto his collar bone, making his shout in pain.

"Just shush. You tried to steal from me, then you lost at your own game, and now you're just complaining," Ana told him unsympathetically.

Atem couldn't help but smile as he spoke into the phone. She certainly was something else.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the police to come. Ana and Atem both gave a them a brief statement (they both decided to leave out the supernatural parts of the story. Atem because he knew it was prudent, Ana because she wasn't even sure if they would believe her), and soon enough they were free to go.

"That was certainly an exciting morning," Atem remarked, "Do you still want to eat?"

"Sure," Ana replied, "And besides, you owe me some explanations. What was all that?"

"Um, let's wait until we sit down," he proposed. He needed some time to figure out how much he should tell her. He wasn't sure how much she remembered, or what her role in this was. Plus, he wasn't sure how much she would believe, anyway.

She agreed, and they made their way toward the more populous area of the city. Deciding on a simple sandwich place, Atem couldn't help himself from mentioning as they ordered, "I was impressed with how well you handled that thief as he was trying to escape."

Ana smiled and shrugged. "Oh, well, both Sarra and I went through a lot of self-defense training. My aunt and uncle were pretty adamant that we could protect ourselves."

"Very smart," he remarked as they sat down.

"So, are you going to start giving me some answers?"

Atem took a sip of his drink. "What do you want to know?" he asked carefully.

"First, what's so special about that necklace that he wanted it so bad? And why did he have to duel you for it?" she asked, pointing to his Puzzle.

He held it up. "This is no ordinary piece of jewelry," he explained. "It's actually an ancient Egyptian artifact called the Millennium Puzzle."

"Is it one of those Millennium Items you mentioned?"

He nodded. "Yes. There are seven total. This one seems to be highly sought after, although they are all powerful in their own right."

"Powerful?" Ana repeated.

He nodded "Each of them have special abilities." He watched her carefully. He knew that to a lot of people, what he was saying sounded more than farfetched. It was one of those things where seeing was believing. But he wasn't sure how much she remembered from before she passed out, and if she was ready to open her mind to the occult.

Ana put a hand to her temple and massaged it. "If you had told me this a couple hours ago, I would have called you crazy. You're essentially talking about magic, here. But…I remember the weird shadow thing we were in right before I passed out," she said, answering Atem's silent question. "It was like we were sent to another world. And unless Sarra slipped something into my breakfast this morning, I wasn't hallucinating. What was that?"

"It's called the Shadow Realm. It's a place where dangerous games are played, with serious consequences," he told her.

"And you've been there before," she surmised.

"Yes, many times. Many enemies have been after my Puzzle, and many of them have tried to use that dark world to get it from me."

"But it wasn't there when I woke up."

He nodded. "Something appeared to dispel it just as I was about to win the duel."

"Why does Duel Monsters seem to be so important to all this? I mean, it's just a card game." She pulled out her deck and looked at the cards contemplatively.

"In Ancient Egypt, high ranked individuals used to duel each other with similar monsters, except they were on stone tablets, and the monsters were very real. Pegasus discovered these tablets, and based his game off of them. Now, in the modern era, battles involving the Ancient Egyptian artifacts and powers are done using Duel Monsters."

"How do you know all of this?" Ana asked, looking very much like she was still processing everything.

He internally sighed. This was something he still hadn't decided on yet. Should he tell her that he was actually from those ancient times? A pharaoh who had sealed himself into the Millennium Puzzle, living as a spirit inside of it for millennia?

Ana could see Atem was mentally debating whether to tell her. She understood – he was probably trying to decide whether she would think him crazy. Honestly, she probably would have already thought him crazy, just with his answers so far.

If it hadn't been for that other dream she'd had while she had been passed out.

It felt similar to the dreams she'd been having for years now, and the darkness she remembered approaching from that monster had felt just like the darkness she felt in her last dream. But this vision had been different in that it felt so real. Much more real than any of her other dreams. Almost like a memory.

But what really freaked her out about the dream was the fact that Atem was in it.

Not someone who looked like him. It was Atem, with that same olive skin tone, distinctive hair, and strong violet gaze. And his voice. Now, she realized it was the same voice she'd hear almost every night. The voice of the man who would given that pendant to her. The same pendant she'd worn in this dream as well. But it couldn't be the same person, could it? In her dream, Atem was a king, gilded in gold and regal.

Well, the thief did keep calling him "Pharaoh"…

But, was Atem really the person she'd been searching for? Something in her gut told her 'yes', but her brain was arguing with her the whole way. All this just seemed so crazy.

"I'm…not sure if you're ready to hear my answer to that," Atem finally answered. Ana looked searchingly into his eyes, and he did not look away. A part of her wanted to make him tell her, but another part of her, a larger part, acknowledged that he was probably right. She had a lot to process already.

"Alright, fine," she agreed. "But I still feel like I need more answers."

"Maybe, instead," Atem hesitantly proposed, "I could help you discover them? There is a lot I don't know either, Ana, and I think I am looking for the same answers you are."

They continued to gaze into each other eyes, before Ana finally broke the connection and smiled. "You know? I have a feeling you're right."

He gave her a gentle smile in return.

By that point, their food was ready, and they briefly paused their conversation to get their meals.

"One thing I'm really curious about, though," Ana said as she nibbled some fries, "is why this guy seemed to care about my deck more than anything else in my bag, including my wallet."

"Yes, well, I have a theory it has to do with your Light of the Goddess card," he said, reaching over to pluck the card from her deck. Flipping it face up on the table, the two of them looked at the phoenix pendant on it contemplatively. "He did say he was waiting for us at that store. With what we learned about it in the shop, and added to the thief's desire for it, it appears this is more than a normal card."

Ana nodded. "I agree." She'd always known that, though, because of that fact she had been dreaming about the necklace before she'd even seen the card.

"And…I believe it might have been this card that dispelled the Shadow Realm," he continued.

Ana blinked. "Really?"

"Yes, just before you woke, it started to glow, and its light, I think, is what drove away the Shadows."

She hummed, and let her fingers lightly trace the image on the card. She wondered if that had anything to do with the flood of energy she had felt come from her pendant in her dream.

"He mentioned a 'master'. That means there's probably more of them. Do you think they'll come after it, again?" she asked.

Atem frowned. "I would say there is a good chance," he admitted. Ana frowned as well, still gazing at the card. Her life in Domino City appeared to be getting much more complicated. A large tan hand moved to cover hers, its warmth reassuring. She looked up in surprise. "If they do, I promise I'll be there to help," he declared, his voice resolute.

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Atem."

When Atem returned to the Muto's game shop, he found Yugi playing some video games in the living room. His partner looked up though when he entered the room. "Oh, you're back? How was it?"

"Well…" Atem said hesitantly, seating himself on the couch.

Concerned, Yugi powered the game off and gave the former pharaoh his full attention. "What happened?"

Atem told him everything they had found out at the card trading store, as well as everything that had happened after. Yugi listened with wide-eyed shock, and after Atem was done, he didn't appear to know how to react for a while.

"Well…you certainly had an eventful day," he eventually said. "Are you okay?"

The taller boy nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

"How about Ana?

"Yes, she's fine, too."

Yugi smiled. "Then I suppose we should have expected something like this to happen at some point. I mean, we're always going from one world-jeopardizing situation to another, aren't we?"

Atem smirked. "Yes, I suppose so."

"How did Ana take all of this? What did you tell her?"

"I told her about the Millennium Items and the Shadow Realm, but not much else. I wasn't sure how much she was ready to learn. But now I'm almost positive Ana is the girl we're looking for. Even though it was the Light of the Goddess that dispelled the Shadows, the card was reacting to her," Atem said, remembering the girl's pulsating aura before the card had reacted. He also recalled the faint outline of something around her neck, something familiar.

"Yeah, and that card is definitely no ordinary card. I can't believe there's only one in the world, and no one's heard of it," Yugi remarked.

"Ana had," Atem corrected, "But just like I had the wrong memory of how we got the card, she appears to have the wrong memory of how she discovered it."

"Wrong memory?"

"Yes," the tanned boy nodded, "It's not that we don't remember, it's that our memories are wrong. But I think that actually makes sense."

"You do?" Larger purple eyes blinked in confusion.

Atem nodded. "Remember, since regaining my memories, I have no sense of there being any gaps. Mahad told us that the girl sacrificed her name, memories, and my memories of her in order to seal this evil. I think instead of wiping them, like the spell I cast to seal Zorc, her spell replaced them, so that we wouldn't even feel their absence."

"But you're starting to remember," Yugi pointed out.

"Yes, and, I believe, so is she. I don't know what that means though. We might never know, without the details of the spell. The question is, how can we discern our real memories from the fake ones?"

The king of games sighed and sank back into the couch. "And I thought things were complicated when you didn't remember anything."

Atem chuckled. "Indeed."

"Well, it sounds like the two of you are the keys to each other's pasts. Maybe spending more time together will help you unlock them."

"Perhaps," he agreed. "I also had another idea. I was going call Ishizu and ask her if she'd be willing to send the tablets back over to Domino City's museum temporarily. Maybe there are more clues hidden in it that we haven't seen, and it might trigger more memories for Ana."

Yugi nodded. "I think that's a good idea. And who knows – the Ishtars said they would try to uncover more clues for us. Maybe they've discovered something."

"Maybe."

"How about the thief? Were you able to get any information from him?" Yugi asked.

Atem shook his head. "No, he wasn't very talkative during our duel, or after. He spoke of a 'master', though, so I'm certain there are more of his lot." Atem paused for a moment. "There was one thing I noticed, though. He had a mark on his forehead, and it appeared to have some role in how he was able to call a Shadow game."

"What did the mark look like?"

Atem leaned over and picked up a pencil from the coffee table, and started drawing on an errant sheet of paper. He sketched what looked like a serpent, coiled into a looped knot.

Yugi stared, eyes wide with shock. "Are you sure this is what you saw?" he asked.

His 'brother' looked at him in surprise. "Yes, I made sure to take a good look before the police took him away. Why? Do you recognize it?"

Yugi looked back at him probingly. "Yes, and so should you. We saw it yesterday."

"We did?!"

"In class? During our history lesson? You weren't paying attention, were you."

"Uh…"

Yugi shook his head. "You're not going to catch up if you don't pay attention in class, Atem."

Atem let his eyes drop uncomfortably. "Yugi… I don't need to."

"Sure you do. I know you're smart but even you have to study a little."

The former spirit shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Yugi, you're forgetting," he said gently, "I don't belong here. Eventually, my spirit will return to the afterlife."

Yugi's eyes widened, before they dimmed sadly. "…Oh."

Atem sighed, and placed a hand on his partner's shoulder comfortingly. "You knew that, Yugi," he reminded him softly.

The shorter boy dropped his head. "I know, I know I did. It's just, it's so easy to forget, you know? You're here, in your own body, using your true name, hanging out with our friends and going to school. It just feels right, like this is how it should be."

Atem shook his head. "But it isn't. I died millennia ago, Yugi."

"I know that. I just…I don't see why you can't stay," Yugi's eyes looked mournfully at him, and Atem felt guilt begin to bubble in his stomach.

It wasn't that he didn't want to spend more time with Yugi and the others. He did. He would miss them dearly when he left. But, he couldn't stay – that wasn't the natural order of things. He belonged in the afterlife.

He ignored the part of his heart that tried to convince him otherwise.

Ana crept as quietly as she could past her sister's door into her own room. Normally she hated keeping secrets from her, but honestly the day's events were still reeling through her mind and she wasn't even sure how much Sarra would believe. She needed time to process things. Starting with a little research.

Sitting at her desk, she powered on her laptop and opened her internet browser. Her fingers flying across the keys, she first searched 'Millennium Items'.

Not much came up. There were only a couple news articles of an expedition in the 60s, when the Millennium Puzzle was discovered. Reading through the articles, Ana saw the team had been led by Dr. Muto, explaining how the puzzle came into Atem's possession, she supposed. But what she was more interested in was that, apparently, Dr. Muto had been the only one to survive the foray into that particular tomb. The tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh.

She frowned. There was no mention of the other Millennium items though. Or that anyone even knew there were others. Tapping her fingers against her desk, she finally raised them back to her keyboard and typed a new search.

'Shadow Game, Egypt'.

This one came up with a few more results. Dr. Arthur Hawkins, a colleague of Dr. Muto, in fact, had drawn a lot of attention a little over a decade ago, proposing that in Ancient times, Egyptians played Duel Monsters for real, using magic and a power known as the Shadow Realm. Most of the articles were fairly derogatory, mocking Dr. Hawkins for his obtuse theories, and after a while it appeared Dr. Hawkins quietly let his discoveries lay to rest. Until less than a year ago, when an Egyptian family revealed they had evidence that his theories were true. Two tablets, one of which was titled the Tablet of Lost Memories, were temporarily lent for a special exhibit right here in the Domino City Museum. However, only a few people had been given access to them, and she couldn't find any more reports on their contents.

She sighed, leaning back against her chair. Her research so far confirmed for her that today was not a hallucination, and that Atem was not crazy. The world might not agree, but she knew what she saw, and Atem's words made more sense than they didn't. Plus, her dreams…

Slowly, she replaced her hands on her keyboard and typed 'Egyptian King Atem.' Hesitating for a moment, she finally held her breath and hit [Enter].

Nothing.

Dammit, she scowled. Shaking her head, she scolded herself, Did you actually think you would find out that your classmate was really some Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, Ana? That he's the man from your dreams?

Well, he could still be, another part of her argued, I just don't know how real my dreams are.

The gears in her head turning, she tried another search. 'The Nameless Pharaoh'.

That, at least, got her a Wikipedia page. Clicking on the link, she read that he had ruled Egypt approximately five thousand years ago. But his rule was one of the shortest on record, lasting only a few days after his coronation. No one knew what happened to him, only that he had abdicated to his cousin, Seto. No one was even sure of when he had died. What was stranger was that all records of his name seemed to have been eradicated from any document – stone, papyrus, or otherwise – from that time, thus earning him the moniker The Nameless Pharaoh. And yet, for so short a reign, his tomb was one of the most protected constructs in the Valley of Kings, and the carvings within spoke of his great and heroic deeds.

Pressing her fingers into her temples, she tried to stymie her racing thoughts. Could it be?

She scrolled to the bottom of the article, where his heritage was listed. "Father and Predecessor – Aknamkanon". She stared at the name, something in the back of her mind itching to come forward, similar to the first time she'd heard Atem's voice. She tried to focus on that feeling, bring it forward…

Suddenly, her temples throbbed under her fingers, and pain shot through her head. Clenching her eyes, she saw indistinguishable flashes on the backs of her lids, brief bursts of gold and heat. Blindly pushing herself away from her desk, she fell onto her bed, cradling her head.

Finally, the pain subsided. Rolling onto her back, she stared at the ceiling, panting. What was that? She had never been one prone to headaches. Maybe, with everything that happened today, her brain had decided to call it quits.

Allowing her eyes to gently fall closed again, she couldn't help but run through her day one more time. Even with all the craziness that happened, there had been bright spots. She really was growing comfortable around Atem, and enjoyed spending time with him. She'd had fun. And when he had told her he'd be there to help her, she believed him.

That evening, Atem and Yugi made a call to the Ishtars. They easily agreed to send over the asked for tablets. Even better, they had apparently found a clue.

"You did?" Yugi asked happily.

In front of the webcam, Ishizu nodded. "Odion and I noted that there appeared to be something large missing from the original wall that used to house the Tablet of Lost Memories. Perhaps even another carving. So we searched through our family records. We had to go all the way to when our clan was first appointed to protect the tomb of the Pharaoh, but we finally discovered something."

"What is it?"

"With the help of the Millennium Necklace," she continued, "we were able to discern that shortly after the Pharaoh sacrificed himself, thieves raided his tomb and managed to steal an important tablet. It was this theft that prompted King Seto to appoint our family to protect the tomb, and the Millennium Items. Perhaps this was related to the new evil that manifested after you sacrificed yourself, my Pharaoh."

Atem frowned. "But we have no idea what was on that tablet, or who stole it," he stated.

Ishuzu nodded. "Unfortunately. I am sorry, but that was all we could find."

He shook his head. "No, thank you for your help."

"Pharaoh," Marik cut in, "You said you believe you found the girl that Mahad spoke of?"

"Yes, her name is Ana Schuyler. She has already triggered some memories for me, and it appears she shares a unique connection with a special card," Atem told them.

"Special card?"

Atem nodded at Yugi, who, with a few taps of the keyboard, beamed them a digital image of the Light of the Goddess card.

"It is apparently a unique card - the only one in the world, like the Egyptian Gods. What's even more unusual are our experiences with it." He explained the 'mistaken' memories, the Shadow game from earlier in the day, and how the card appeared to react to Ana's power to banish it.

Ishizu was looking at the image with a strange expression. Marik noticed his sister's odd behavior. "Do you recognize it, Ishizu?"

"…Maybe." she mused. She looked back at the webcam. "I will search our records more thoroughly, and I'll contact the Domino City museum with regards to sending over the tablets once more. In the meantime, please be careful, my Pharaoh."

"Of course," he nodded, "Thank you, Ishizu, Marik, Odion."

The Ishtars gave their own nods in return, and the video cut out.

"I feel like Ishizu did recognize the card, Atem," Yugi commented, pushing away from the computer desk.

"I agree. However, she's always had her reasons for not divulging certain pieces of information. Remember, she's seen far more than we could ever fathom while she held the Millennium Necklace in her possession," the former king replied, touching his own Millennium Item.

"True. I guess we have our own research to conduct too. Maybe our history teacher will know more about that symbol you saw," Yugi said. "It's too bad Grandpa is out for the weekend. We could have asked him."

Atem smiled. "He appeared excited for his trip, though he wouldn't tell us where he was going."

The shorter boy sighed. "Yeah, which makes me nervous."

"Your grandfather will be fine, and he deserves a vacation."

"I know, but I can't help but worry," Yugi frowned, "He's not as young as he used to be, though he insists on acting like it."

The ex-spirit chuckled, "Well, he's younger than I am, and I'm still feeling fairly spry."

Yugi gave him an exasperated look, though his lips twitched with amusement, before he suddenly smiled. "Oh really, is that what you told Ana?"

"Yugi."

That feeling of warmth and safety had settled on her breast again, and she looked down, knowing what she'd find. She fingered the pendant gently.

"With this, we'll always be connected," that deep voice whispered again. This time, though, when she looked over her shoulder, her eyes met familiar amethyst ones. He smiled warmly at her, and she felt arms winding around her waist from behind. She smiled in return, and moved to rest her hand over his hold, but before her fingers could touch his, his image dissolved, scattering to the winds.

"Atem!" she shouted, reaching for where he had stood, but there was no answer. She felt a hole open in her chest, leaving her feeling bereft.

And then, she fell into the Shadows.

Ana shot up from bed once more, panting. It took a few moments before she became fully alert, but once she did, she groaned, tipping her head back onto her headboard. Okay, well, that answers that, she thought. It appeared Atem was the person she had been looking for from her dreams, or at least, her subconscious believed it to be so. But she still didn't know what it meant. Why was she dreaming of Atem?

She pressed fingers to hot cheeks. This time, her dream-Atem had been more…affectionate. She could still feel the ghost of his warmth against her back, and his strong arms around her waist.

Shaking her head, she made herself think of other parts of her dream. The Shadows she fell into, they definitely gave the same feeling as the Shadows from Atem's duel with that thief yesterday. And Atem himself had been wearing the same type of clothes as he had in that vision, the one she had while knocked out – gilded in gold like a king. But what did all this mean? How did everything relate?

Her temples were starting to itch. Grimacing, she looked around. Daylight was only just starting to stream in through her windows. She huffed to herself and threw off her covers. She needed to work off some steam.

When Atem awoke that morning, it was still sunrise. He quietly got out of bed and pulled on a sleeveless hoodie and track pants, and then finally a pair of sneakers. At first, he had felt guilty when Yugi's grandfather had bought him all these things to make him feel comfortable, knowing that the Muto's weren't the wealthiest of families. However, Yugi confessed to him that the Ishtars had given his grandfathers some funds, thinking of just that, which put Atem at ease.

As silently as he could, he made his way downstairs and out of the store. He knew Yugi was a fairly light sleeper, and didn't want to wake him, knowing that he tended to allow himself to sleep in Sunday mornings. Atem himself probably could have used some more sleep, but maybe because of all that time he spent locked in the Puzzle, alone, with very little to do, he found himself unable to sleep too late.

Instead, he found he enjoyed going out in the mornings for a light jog. The cool temperature felt refreshing against his skin, and he enjoyed the sounds of the waking city. Besides, back during his days in Egypt, his father had him keep to a strict combat training schedule, so he was used to the exercise. Bending over, he took a moment to stretch, aware that he could not simply rely on the powers of the Puzzle to care for this body, before taking off.

He had reached the park and was about twenty minutes into his run before he happened upon someone familiar.

"Hey Atem!" she called, waving.

"Tea," Atem blinked, slowing down as they met on the path. "Good morning."

"Good morning!" she chirped. "So, you like early runs, too?"

"Yes, I've been going every day," he told her. "I'm surprised to see you. Wouldn't you like to sleep in on the weekends?"

She shrugged. "Probably, but my dance instructor is pretty strict on conditioning."

"I see."

"Shall we?" she proposed, gesturing down the trail, and they took off again.

"So," she said hesitantly, grabbing his attention, "Um, how was your day with Ana yesterday? Did you find anything out?"

"Yes," he answered, "but Yugi and I thought we'd catch the whole group up later today."

"Did something happen at that store?" she asked, looking worried.

"I'll explain later, but everything's fine for now," he said simply.

"Oh, okay, that's good." She hesitated a moment, before finally asking, "Did you do anything else with Ana?"

Atem, however, didn't notice anything wrong and answered easily, "Yes, I showed her around the city and we ate lunch together."

"Oh, I see. Um, that sounds nice," Tea responded, her voice slightly forced.

He attributed that to the exercise though and smiled, "Yes, even with everything that happened, I had a good time."

Tea was oddly silent after that, so they simply continued their jog. Eventually, they reached area where the park met the water, and Atem was once again surprised to see a familiar figure along the edge.

"Hey, is that Ana?" Tea commented, seeing her as well.

It was. She appeared to be practicing some martial arts forms, her body lithe and graceful. Atem grinned and jogged ahead to meet her. He didn't notice Tea's slightly disappointed expression.

One. Two. Three… She counted in her head as her limbs moved through the air. The dojo she usually visited wasn't open this early on a Sunday, so Ana had come to the park to practice on her own. It would have been better if she had something to train with, but she wasn't about to go punching random trees. Instead, she decided to settle by the water, which was quickly becoming her favorite part of the city, and enjoy the calming atmosphere as she trained.

Five. Six. Seven. Eight— her leg swung around in a round house kick, only for her to realize there had been someone behind her. Her foot stopped inches away from what should have been his face, but it appeared he had reacted just as fast, for his arm was poised to block.

"Atem!" She gasped, quickly dropping her leg. "What are you doing here? Also, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that. I could have knocked your lights out."

He grinned. "I'm sure," he said, putting his own arm down. "I was jogging through the park. Tea is here as well."

"Tea?" Ana repeated, looking up. Sure enough, there on top of the bank was the brunette, who waved in greeting. Ana waved back.

"Are you practicing?" Atem asked, reclaiming her attention.

"Oh, uh, yeah. My normal dojo wasn't open, and I like the water," she explained, feeling her cheeks tinge slightly in embarrassment. It didn't help that she still hadn't cleared that dream completely from her head. His smile was too similar to her dream-Atem's smile.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" he asked.

She looked at him in surprise. "You know martial arts?"

He shrugged. "Some. I will admit I'm a little rusty. It's been a…while…since I trained properly."

"Oh, well, sure then, I guess," she said, slightly skeptically.

Atem turned around to wave Tea over, who made her way down the bank to meet them. "Good morning, Ana," she said pleasantly.

"Morning," Ana replied.

"Tea, I was going to spar a little with Ana. You're welcome to go ahead without me, and continue your run," Atem told her.

"Oh, that's okay. I was almost done anyway. I'll watch, if you don't mind?" Tea asked, and Atem shook his head in response, before looking at Ana.

Ana, however, had her brow quirked, though at him. "Oh, you wanted to spar?"

The tanned boy grinned. "Was I not clear on that?"

She grinned back, challengingly. "Fine."

Tea made herself comfortable on the grass as Atem and Ana moved to an area that would give them plenty of room on the water bank. "Now, just remember, I'm rusty at this," Atem told her.

She smirked back at him, grey eyes flashing, "Hey, you're the one who wanted to spar, remember?"

"I do, but I'm just saying, let's keep this friendly," he laughed.

"Whatever you say," she responded, still smiling, before lunging at him.

He managed to block the initial swing of her fist, but was less prepared for the kick immediately following it. He jumped back, managing to get away with a graze, and bounced lightly on his feet. He threw a kick of his own, which she easily ducked under, and attempted to surprise her with a swing from the opposite side. She was having none of that, though, and smack an open hand against his chest, forcing him back.

He grinned. This felt good – it wasn't until he got his memories back that he realized how much he missed training. He would spar with Mahad and later Seto almost every day, and he always enjoyed the break it had provided from his other studies. He had been better with a sword, but he did fine in hand to hand combat as well.

However, as he had said, he was rusty, and it wasn't hard to tell Ana clearly had the upper hand. Most of the time it was all he could do to block or dodge her attacks. At least he was holding his own, and he could see that she was slightly impressed.

She appeared to be enjoying herself as well. Her stormy eyes were dancing merrily, and there was a healthy flush to her cheeks as they exchanged blows. He couldn't help but watch her expressions with fascination. It was like he'd seen it before…

Suddenly, his vision flashed. Once again, he saw tanner limbs flying toward him, but this time the surroundings changed too. Instead of the lake he saw sandstone and columns. And in the corner of his eye he saw two familiar figures under the shade of one of the awnings.

"Go, Ana! Trounce him!" Mana was cheering.

He blinked furiously to dispel the vision, distracted, and unfortunately the kick swinging toward him was no hallucination.

Smack.

His vision went black.

A/N: So, did anyone else notice how incredibly ripped everyone was in the Memory World? I took that to mean that everyone exercised. Which makes sense for the commoners and workers, because they, well, work, but even the nobles and Atem were pretty in shape. And we even got a small flash of Seto training with his father, though he didn't know it at the time, Aknadin. In my head, this was because everyone had to be combat-ready, including royalty, and a strong body meant a strong spirit. So yeah, I hope you don't think my martial arts stuff is too far-fetched. But come on, I mean, even as a spirit, when Atem took over Yugi, he did some pretty amazing physical stuff. Well, yes it's a cartoon, but whatever.

So I have no intention of making Tea a part of a love triangle or whatever. I'm not a big fan of those in general. But I do feel like although I think it's clear her feelings for Yugi were stronger, she did have at least some genuine feelings for Atem, and I thought those deserved addressing. But yeah, like I said, I'm not a big fan of love triangles, so don't expect too much drama in that department.

Oh sorry, one more note. So I'll admit this wasn't intentional, but apparently there was actually an Ancient Egyptian Queen Ana at one point! Has nothing to do with my story, but it did mean I didn't have to look for another name for her in her memories, haha. Actually, I meant to mention this before, but Ana is spelled like that because it's pronounced "ah-na", with a short 'a' (yes, like Ana from Frozen). Along those same lines, Sarra is also pronounced with a short 'a' sound.

Anyway, hew, okay this chapter is done. Hope you guys liked it! Please leave a review with your thoughts! They fuel my muse