Lu: Hey ya guys! I have risen from the pile of discarded fanfiction, and will hopefully haul myself out of there permanently. I'd also like to thank my reviewers, and I hope they are still vaguely interested in this story. If not, oh well.

Evil Overlady, Moses-the-little-gurl, Darkhope, The Fifth Champion, Jellybob 15, Mai Wheeler, box girl, Hysterik-Angel, LoveoftheStoriesAnime, Juju, MaiValentinefan, Joey's Baby Girl

Lu: Anyway, I've been working on this for a while, so I hope it is up to standard. I hope you all enjoy it! Read and Review!

Chapter 1

Memories

"How can she… why… she can't be…" stuttered Joey, head hung low so that his blond bangs covered his eyes.

"Joey, we know you're upset. Mai's time in the shadows must have taken her memories of everyone she ever knew… or loved. There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry Joey." Yami's eyes were full of pity, as were everyone else's. This was all too much for him. He buried his face in his hands and began to tremble. Téa patted his back sympathetically.

"Shall we bring her in again?" asked Tristan quietly. Yami nodded solemnly. Tristan signaled to one of the KaibaCorp doctors standing in the doorway. He nodded and opened the electronic sliding door to the medical room. Another doctor led in a confused, timid-looking woman, who sat down shyly.

"So… my name is Mai. I am a duelist in the… Battle City?" – here she glanced up while the doctor nodded in confirmation – "tournament, and… I've been unconscious and now have amnesia. Is that right?"

"I'm afraid so, Mai. So… I suppose we better reintroduce ourselves. I am most commonly known as Yugi, although sometimes I am called Yami. It is a long story," explained Yami.

"Tristan Taylor. And this is Serenity Wheeler," added Tristan quickly, before Duke could have the honours of introducing the girl. Though Duke scowled, he introduced himself as well. Mai turned her eyes on each of them in turn, fixing their faces in her mind.

"Téa Gardener. And this… is Joey Wheeler," said Téa quietly, indicating the near-silent male sitting near her. Mai's lost face softened as they rested on him. He looked up silently, and his red eyes and tear-streaked face made it evident that he was devastated.

"So… you and… Serenity? You're brother and sister?" Mai asked finally, following a long, awkward silence. Joey nodded.

Their strained 'conversation' was interrupted by the door sliding open, and a tall man in a white trenchcoat entered, followed by a shorter boy.

"Mokuba, Mr. Kaiba. I assume you heard?" said one of the doctors, moving aside respectfully. Kaiba inclined his head slightly. Most of the group stood up. Only Joey and Mai remained seated. Kaiba approached confidently and addressed the group.

"I apologize for the mental injuries that seem to have affected Ms. Valentine. Unfortunately, there is little we can do about it."

"Whaddaya mean ya can't do anythin' about it? Kaiba, I don't care how much it costs ya, ya gotta fix her up!" yelled Joey, springing to his feet. Kaiba glanced at Joey without the usual glare or sneer, and then turned around and walked to the door.

"I'm sorry, Wheeler, but there's nothing we can do," he muttered quietly before leaving the room. Mokuba glanced back apologetically and followed his brother. Joey sunk back into his chair, hands covering his face.

"Dis is too much… It wasn't meant ta be like dis! Yuge, afta you beat Marik, wasn't Mai meant ta be fine? She's free from da shadows now, but she's not Mai. She doesn't know who she is. So what can we do about dis? 'NOTHIN'' SAYS KAIBA!" Joey erupted, making everyone in the room flinch.

"Joey, it's not her fault. Do you think Mai wanted to lose her memories? You know how much we all meant to her. How much you meant to her. Do you think she would just give that all up? Mai must have fought. But the shadows won. There's nothing we can do, Joey," said Tristan hopelessly, lowering his eyes to the floor.

"Don't give up like that guys! Mai's not lost to us. She's still there somewhere, hidden in some corner of her mind. Mai, do you remember anything at all before the shadows?" questioned Téa quickly. Mai, startled at being asked a question, considered this for a moment.

"I… I remember someone laughing… it was frightening…" she mused, straining her almost nonexistent memory. "I remember something about… a strange stick… or something…" She faltered. She glanced at Téa, then Yami, and received two encouraging nods. "It was… gold, with a strange eye engraved on the front," she finished.

"That's good, that's something from before… before," finished Téa. "Is there anything you remember about yourself?"

"I… I can't remember… anything…" struggled Mai, lowering her eyes. Yami and Téa exchanged a meaningful look.

"Very well, we've got something to work with. There must be a trigger, something that will unlock all your memories. Now, when you lost your memory before, Joey brought it all back. But we have no stressful circumstances, and most of your memory was still intact. So we're back to square one," concluded Yami.

"I've lost my memory before this?" asked Mai tentatively.

"Once before. Once again, it was because of the shadows. You began to forget your friends… us. But then Joey broke you free of it. You and Joey were… very close. This was right before you were locked in the shadows again."

"Oh… how close is very close? Were we…?"

Her sentence was interrupted by the humming of the door opening. Kaiba strode in once more. "I hate to interrupt, but the blimp is taking off. We're going to blow up the island."

-

The gang huddled on the stadium floor, keeping close together for warmth. Mai stood off to one side, hugging her arms.

"Thank you for participating in the Battle City tournament. All finalists will find a large sum of money in their bank accounts when they next check as a consolation prize. Yugi, you will find a larger sum as your prize money. Miss. Valentine, you will also find an equivalent amount to help you through this… illness. I once again apologize for any damage caused to anyone during this tournament. This tournament has now officially ended. Congratulations to all participating duelists."

Kaiba said all this loudly, his voice echoing around the stadium. When his speech was met with silence, he nodded slightly to the gang as a goodbye, and reentered his jet. Large gusts of wind announced its departure.

Mai shivered. The shape of the jet, a large blue dragon, had stirred something in her mind. Several sharp shrieks; a five-headed dragon; and sadness, terrible sadness.

"Mai?" A quiet voice and shuffling footsteps accompanied Joey, his face red. Mai half-smiled. "Here. Take my jacket."

"No… no… it's not that… I'm not cold…"

"But Mai, you were shivering."

"I remembered something. Something about a five-headed dragon. I was just looking at Mr. Kaiba's jet, the blue dragon… and…"

"The virtual world! You remember the Mystic Dragon! That's great Mai!" Joey moved closer, a huge grin spreading across his face. Mai hummed softly; a slow, sad tune that Joey had never heard before.

"Joey… I'm sorry…" she said suddenly. "I know that this is painful for you. Yugi said we were close."

"Yeah… but don't worry. It's not your fault. And we can get ya back. Like Yami said, I've gotten ya back before. And I can do it again. I care fa you Mai. I care fa you so much…" He broke off, wrapping his arms around her. Mai returned the embrace cautiously.

"Guys, are you coming? We're going back to Yugi's house for an end of tournament party. We'll see if there's anything there to help you, Mai," shouted Tristan.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll catch you up," replied Joey loudly. Turning back to Mai, he smiled softly. "We'll get you back Mai. Trust me."

-

"Can I get you a drink Mai?" asked Yugi from the kitchen.

"Just some water, thanks," she replied. "So, the jet was a Blue Eyes White Dragon. You know, this whole Duel Monsters thing does ring a bell. Did I have… a card with a feather on it?"

"Yeah, dis one. Harpies Feather Duster." Joey handed the card over to Mai. She brushed her finger over the surface.

"I think I remember some things. About the game at least. I remember summoning monsters, and magic and trap cards. In fact, I remember most of the rules. Why is that?"

"I guess ya remember some tings. Ya don't remember yourself, your past, or us. But ya can remember knowledge, just not memories. Does dat make sense?"

"Yeah, it does kind of. In a way. I'm just so lost. I mean, my subconscious obviously remembers you guys, because I feel comfortable and safe around you despite not knowing who you are. But it's confusing, because I don't know who I am. But without the trigger, there's nothing I can do. I'm just… no one."

"You're still Mai, Mai. It won't be long before you're the Mai we knew. I know, what about photos? They always help me remember things I've forgotten," said Téa, grabbing a photo album from a stack under Yugi's coffee table. Joey and Mai scooted closer to look over her shoulder. There were many old pictures of Yugi as a kid, and as Téa flicked through, the Yugi in the pictures got gradually older. Eventually, Téa stopped at a page close to the back of the book.

"Oh… it's perfect…" she murmured, surveying the photo in awe.

The photo had been taken during Battle City, just before the beginning of the finals. Mai had whipped out her digital camera, and got a bystander to snap a shot of all of them together. In the center of the photo stood Yugi, hand on his Millenium Puzzle. To his left was Téa, one hand on his shoulder, and on his right was Tristan, grinning widely. Serenity stood next to Téa, smiling timidly. Next to Tristan was Duke, and on his right stood Joey. Joey stood with his arm slung around Mai's shoulders and her arm around his waist.

Joey leaned forward, eyes wide. "Wow… I'd forgotten we even took dat…" he whispered, taking the album gently out of Téa's hands and staring at the photo. He scanned the picture, pausing at each person in turn. When his eyes passed over the confident, smiling Mai, he looked away, shoving the album back to Téa.

"We never saw it comin'… we thought it was just another tournament, another Duel Monsters game for us ta beat… but Yugi and I almost died, Bakura and Mai got trapped in da Shadow Realm… and now Mai…"

"None of us were ready, Joey. Despite Marik turning out to be good and everything, this tournament didn't really have a happy ending," said Yugi sadly, returning from the kitchen clutching some glasses.

Mai's eyes were now roaming hungrily over the picture, observing and memorising each detail. She held each individual in her mind, recalling all the details that she could remember about them. Then she moved on to trying to learn something new from the photo. They were all very close, that much was evident.

"See ya guys! I'll make sure Serenity gets home safely Joey, don't worry," called Tristan from the door, following Serenity into the front yard. Duke also bid goodbye to Yugi, Joey, Téa and Mai as he left for his game shop.

Mai handed the photo album back to Téa. "Nothing," she said simply.

"Oh well, it was worth a try. It's always good to look at photos anyway," replied Téa, smiling reassuringly at Mai.

"It's getting late," commented Yugi, glancing at his watch. As if in agreement, Joey yawned widely, stretching his arms above his head. Téa chuckled, Mai smiled.

"Hey, Mai, do you want to stay at my house for a while? Since you don't know… who you are or anything… it would probably be better if you stay with me. We can go and pick up some clothes from your place tomorrow," said Joey eagerly. Mai glanced at Téa, unsure, but Téa nodded encouragingly.

"Sure Joey. I'll be there in a second." She drew Téa aside.

"What's the problem, Mai?"

"I want to know a bit more about Joey before I stay with him. Well, more specifically, about… us." Mai cast her eyes downward, blushing slightly.

Téa was surprised, but answered. "Joey… cares about you deeply. You never dated, but there was certainly something there. During the tournament, before your mind got locked in the shadows, Joey was willing to sacrifice himself to protect you from a potentially fatal blast. Yugi took the blast, but the point was that Joey never stopped trying to get you back from then on. He ended up taking the blast that could have killed you, and he came close to dying. Joey would do anything for you. So just trust him. I know he seems a little cold at the moment, but that's because he's in shock from losing. But believe me, he would never do anything to hurt you."

Mai nodded, taken aback, but pleased. If she had to recover all of her memories, she was glad that she had someone who would be there to help her.

"Ready?" asked Joey, offering his arm to her in a gentlemanly-like way. Mai was unsure how she felt about it, but linked arms with him none the less.

"Come by tomorrow!" shouted Yugi as they exited. He shut the door behind them, turning back to Téa.

"I sure hope this works…"

Lu: Enjoy? Tell me! Review!