Chapter 12 (I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH)

Three days had already passed and Atem's priests still had no clue were the caravan people had taken Yugi, or what their plan was. Even though there link had somehow been shut down, Atem knew Yugi was in pain and was scared, he could feel it in his heart. His priests had started to become worried about him, without Yugi here he seemed unable to ground his mind, he would try to concentrate on his duties as a Pharaoh but he couldn't, so he had given up on trying.

He now sat in his room, watching the setting sun and staring at the statue that resembled Yugi, but even its amethyst eyes could not motivate him. They may have been priceless gems, but they nowhere neared Yugis loving eyes. Atem sighed, rubbed his eyes and laid back onto the cushions just when a knock came to his door, not wanting to be bothered by anybody he ignored it and closed his eyes again.

Outside Seto shook his head at Shimon, "He refuses to see anybody, he's neglecting his duty's and takes all his meals in his chambers."

"At least he's still eating, that something good, he hasn't given up completely." Shimon said trying to keep things positive.

"I fear it is only a matter of time until he does." Seto said before leaving for his own chambers, leaving Shimon to worry over his king by himself.

An hour later Atem opened his eyes as more unwanted noise was making it threw his doors. He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that it was still light out, no, it wasn't light out there was a large fire raging in the city below. Pulling himself out of his mood he ran to his throne room to find out what was going on.

"Seto, Shimon! What in the name of Ra is happening?"

"My king! It seems that some of the caravan people have decided to attack the city." Seto said as soldiers ran to assist the citizens.

"Start evacuating the people, get them behind the palace walls, tell them to leave everything not of importance, and send someone to have Isis assist those who are injured. HURRY!" Atem ordered as he joined the other soldiers that were heading to fight the attackers.

The city was chaos, people were running for their lives, other trying to fight off the attackers, he shouted to his citizens to get to the palace as he helped the other soldiers fight off the invasion. The invasion was small but they were good at causing panic and discord with the fires, Atem fought his way to the forefront of the battle.

"Pharaoh! So good of you to join us!" a sickly sweet voice said from somewhere in front of him, he froze when he knew that face, of short brown hair and blue eyes. He saw her when Yugi had let his memories slip through there link days before. She cut down one of his men before climbing back onto a carriage with a large covered box.

"You! Tell me where is Yugi!" Atem demanded when his forces had finally started to push the invaders back.

"Yugi, Yugi…nope doesn't ring a bell." She said mockingly.

"Quite your games, you snake!" Seto yelled coming up beside his king "Return him!"

"Oh! You must mean that monster, are you sure you want him back? He might not be the same as before, you might not be so quick to take him back."

"Quite this! Return Yugi!" Atem said, his voice dropping dangerously low and threating.

Tea loved the reaction she was getting from him, he was playing right into her hands and making her plan so much easier. What would happen to his fighting spirit when he saw his precious Yugi, nothing more than a monster that he was. She smiled, "Fine, RETREAT!" she yelled, then placed a foot on the large box and pushed it as the cart jumped forward, "You can have him!" she laughed as she and her forces disappeared into the night.

"Wait, don't follow. We have more important things to do, tell the able to get to work on killing the fires then make sure the wounded are all taken to Isis for healing." Atem said, to a couple soldiers. That taken care of he and Seto approached the box that had been thrown off the cart.

"Wait, we don't know what has been done to Yugi. I don't believe that he would ever willingly turn on us, but that woman seemed too happy to let Yugi go, especially after all they went through to get him. We must consider that he isn't going to recognize us." Seto said, both his and Atem's worst fears, and as much as they hated it, it could be true. After what happened to him before, and him just beginning to heal from it, then being recaptured could have damaged him even more.

Atem wanted to run and throw his arms around Yugi, but he knew what Seto had said was possible. Carefully they approached, and Atem pulled the tarp off the box, and both he and Seto jumped back, away from the cage, as something slammed into it snarling fiercely and bending the already ripped and bent metal bars.

Atem covered his mouth in horror as he felt himself become sick and Seto looked away, unable to continue to look at what was inside the cage.

It paced back and forth with its teeth showing, a permanent snarl on its face, blood dripping from its mouth from multiple wounds made by ripping the metal. The once beautiful fur was dirtied ragged with vicious bite marks, open gashes, one so bad you could see a bit of bone as it moved, with wounds still bleeding. Clumps of fur hanging from its body, which had lost much of its weight, you could see its ribs. The tip of one of golden ear had been torn and there were claws missing from it's paws. It snarled again and lunged for the bars gripping them in its powerful jaws coating the bars with blood that dripped from its wounds. But the worst thing of all was the look in its eyes, they saw nothing and rejected all.

"My god, that's not…" Shimon's horrified voice came from behind them.

"It is. It's Yugi." Seto said, finally getting the nerve to look at what had happened. Atem who hadn't even looked away, felt his knees buckle beneath him as he fell to the ground.

"What did they do to you." He said breathlessly.

"They tortured him, it obvious." Honda's voice said quietly as he joined there small group. "They did it for one reason, to mess with the Pharaoh, that and they enjoyed it. I can't wait till I find that snake so I can give her a taste of her own medicine."

"Shimon, will you get a few horses and a cart. I will not leave Yugi in that cage, and it's too dangerous to try and lead him somewhere else."

"Of, course. But where are you going to take him?"

"There is an old part of the dungeons that has a large cell, there is plenty of room for him in there." Atem answered, his voice emotionless and broken. With a quick bow Shimon went to fetch the horses. "Honda, Seto. Help me cover him, it should help calm him while we move him." They nodded and retrieved the tarp and began to replace it over Yugi.

Atem had shut down ever since seeing Yugi in that condition, he still talked but it was in a broken voice, he couldn't forgive himself for letting that happen to Yugi, even when he had promised to protect him.

"We're here." Shimon halted the horses at the closest entrance to the cell they were transporting Yugi too. Almost robotically Atem, moved to help the others position Yugis cage onto a smaller cart they would haft to push to the cell.

"It's the one at the very end of the hall." They carefully positioned the cage until it was right against each other than using a chain they had found earlier, opened the smaller cage from the outside, Yugi sprang out instantaneously into the bigger enclose, quickly they worked together to shut the door. Yugi continued to growl and pace inside the cell. It didn't take long for the others to figure out that Atem wasn't going to leave Yugi, and they left quietly.

Yugi paced back and forth, he was in so much pain, and he had long given up trying to figure out what was reality and what was illusion conjured by the drugs Tea and the others had pumped him full of. He was hungry so it surprised him when food suddenly appeared before him, and he was sure the space he was in was much bigger than before, but he couldn't tell if it was real or not.

It was dark where ever he was though, so maybe everybody was asleep and he was safe for the moment, too hungry to ignore the possible food he went to the illusion and began to strip the meat from the bone colored plate. Once he had eaten his fill of the illusion meat he sat down and began to wash himself, his fur tasted of nothing but blood and all of it his own. After giving up the thought of cleaning himself he laid down and stared at the two gold hoops on his right hind leg, they were the only things in his mind that he knew were not an illusion. Even after all that had been done to him, he had refused to let them be taken from him, they were the only thing he could believe in being real, they grounded him and kept what little of his sanity he had left.

But oh how did he wish to see the person that had given them to him, he wanted to see Atem, to smell his sent and feel his warmth. A scent floated to his nose, it was exotic and spicy cinnamon. It was Atem's scent, opening his eyes he saw the source of the scent , Atem was curled up on the ground asleep against the bars of the cage, he let out shiver from the nights cold air.

But Yugi knew it was an illusion, if it was really Atem he wouldn't have seen him threw cage bars, but still that need to be near that warmth and scent was overwhelming and he moved painfully over to the bars and laid down to rest and prepare for the next day's hells that he would haft to endure, but at least for now he had a brief reprieve with this illusion.

Atem woke with something warm pressed to the side of his face, it was Yugi's fur. He closed his eyes trying to prolong his sleep, when he realized there shouldn't be fur pressed up against his face. Looking up hoping it was all dream he was disappointed to find Yugi in just as bad of a condition as last night.

"Yugi…" he said quietly and touched the ragged fur, Yugi jumped up and whirled around growling threateningly. Yugi's sweet dream had finally ended and before him was another man from those people, he had no want to be touched by the likes of them. Atem's small hope had left him, that maybe just maybe Yugi would of regained his senses over the night, but his eyes were still clouded with rejection.

"My king." A gentle voice of Isis's little brother Marik came around the corner carrying a plate of food and a bag most likely filled with meat for Yugi. "I've brought you some breakfast and also some for Yugi as well." He set down the plate and began to throw the chunks of meat covered in green herbs, through the bars to Yugi who devoured them hungrily. "My sister put herbs on it to help him heal."

"I'm glad he is quite hurt." Atem said as he began to eat his own meal. Yugi watched the unknown man and Malik converse and he growled at him. He wondered how two people that could be twins could act so different. It wasn't until half way through his meal, that Atem began to think Marik's complete unsurprise at Yugi's condition began to nag at him, but by then it was too late. He could feel the effects of the aesthetic work and he passed out.

Yugi watched curious, it was new that Malik talked with a stranger and even stranger when he brought them food. He watched as the man ate and then soon passed out, it was drugged Yugi figured out, but why drug your own men? Yugi turned away uncaring, these people could all go jump off a cliff for how little he cared, and for the first time in days he slept peacefully for the whole day.

Seto came down, finally getting tired of waiting for the king to get his broken ass together and get back to ruling. As he rounded the corner Yugi snarled and leapt into the bars again, to Seto's eyes he didn't look any better than he had the night before, still completely injured and insane. He glanced around looking for Atem but he didn't find him. "Atem." He called out, but found no answer.

"Seto!" Isis's voice rang hurriedly down the hall, she jumped in fright as Yugi lunged at the bars again. "Oh, Ra! I-is that Yugi?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Now what was it that you were so much of a hurry about before?" Seto asked, trying to pull her terrified attention from Yugi's continued lunging at his door.

"Uh-o-oh yes, my brother. Have you seen my brother, I haven't seen him since last night. I sent him back to his chambers as I finished tending to peoples wounds, and I haven't seen him since. He didn't eat breakfast and he wasn't in his chambers." Isis was almost shouting as she finished, Yugis banging getting louder and his growls rose in volume as he pulled at the doors bars.

"What's wrong with him, if he keeps this up those wounds will kill him because they won't get a chance to heal properly." Isis said as Yugi began bending the bars, his eyes crazed and frenzied.

"I'm not sure why he's doing this-" they both froze as they heard a dangerous sound. The top pin that held the door to the cage had given and ripped of its hinge, Yugi saw this and began to throw himself into it with a renewed force, until the piece of bent and mangled metal, was ripped off and thrown away. Isis and Seto were frozen in place as they looked into those menacing and half crazed eyes, as he let out a vicious snarl and leapt at them.