I'm sorry for the crappy quality of this chapter. Some a-hole at school today thought it'd be funny to torment the "nerd" and throw my fucking story journal (where I write out the rough drafts of all my FanFictions) and THROW IT INTO A FUCKING PUDDLE.

So, that's ONE HUNDRED PAGES of writing lost.

Dick.

So, yeah.. I'm sorry. I kind of improvised from memory of what I had written. I'm not used to typing chapters without some sort of rough draft to go off of, but it would take FOREVER to try and re-write the three chapters again. So I'm kind of winging it for the next two or three updates. Sorry. :/

But, on a happy note, Only Human has been nominated for the YGO Fandom Awards! Whoohoo! :D

Thank you so very very much, Ocena Strex! Also, we've hit 50 reviews!

Thank you so much, everyone! I hope you enjoy! ^^

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything within/to do with the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime/manga franchise. Those are (c) to Takahashi Kazuki, as well as Konami and any others I may have forgotten to mention. This is simply a work of fiction inspired by the original anime/manga, and is in no way, shape, or form gaining a sort of profit nor am I associated with it in any way. I do, however, own the plot of this story, and I will not tolerate any form of copying and/or plagiarism.

Please respect the hard work I have put into this and all of my other stories, and do not steal/copy/claim this story as your own, nor post it/use it anywhere without my direct permission.

Also, though I respect/appreciate constructive criticism, I will mot tolerate any flaming and/or spamming within the reviews of this story.

Thank you, and happy reading.

~ Fallen

~ Chapter XIII ~

I sighed at the warm arms wrapped around me, snuggled closer into the warmth. I felt as if... with them holding me, nothing could go wrong. Nothing could hurt me. I was safe. One of the arms moved, and slender fingers wiped the water away from my cheek. I subconsciously leaned into the touch. There was a small chuckle.

"See? No-one's going to hurt you," that lovely voice soothed again, and I wrapped my arms around him more tightly, not wanted to let go. "It must be scary, waking up in a new place, full of all these new things, yeah?" I nodded into his shirt. "Well, you don't have to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

There was a shuffling, over by the doorway, and I briefly un-tucked my face from his shoulder, to peer at the source of the noise. I blinked, eyes wide, as I saw the elder from before lean into the door-frame, and peek inside of the room. His wrinkled, tan skin creased more with a small smile, and his dark purple eyes glowed with something sincere as he looked at my Star and I. I gripped his shoulders more tightly, but at the same time, tried to shrink back, forcing the other to lean with me. I glared at the old man. Because I couldn't trust him. I couldn't trust anyone in this new world outside of the Facility.

Not one person, except for me, Yami, and... Atemu...

He looked a little surprised at my possessive and cautious hold, and craned his neck to look over his shoulder. I loosened my grip a little, feeling guilty at putting him in such an uncomfortable position. "Jeddo*, you're frightening him," he said seriously, though I could detect a trace of amusement in his tone. This... this "jeddo", whatever that meant, blinked owlishly, before putting up his hands in a gesture of surrender, looking sheepish.

"Ana asef*," he spoke, using some strange, foreign tongue I did not understand, "I was just going to ask if our guest was feeling hungry. I was thinking I could pull a few things out for you two to eat."

My body responded before I could. A small gurgling sound escaped my midsection, and my tummy ached slightly at the mention of sustenance. I looked down at myself, arms wrapping over my abdomen, as I tried to hold back those unpleasant pangs and grumblings. What was this?

Was I ill?

There was a chuckle from the both of them, and for some unknown reason, I blushed. I felt embarrassed. But why did I feel this way? My stomach was hurting... Why were they laughing? This was no laughing matter! What if I were to suddenly keel over, right here and now?! They were finding humor in the face of my demise!

The old man murmured something through his chuckles, and left to go do... whatever is was he needed to do.

I looked to Atemu, hurt filling me. He stopped at my gaze, blinking in something akin to confusion. He stopped laughing, as did the other man. "...Is something wrong?" he asked. I averted my gaze, pulling my knees to my chest, and nodded. "What is it, Yuugi?"

I was quiet for a moment. "You are... laughing... at my pain?" It was then his eyes widened to large gems of ruby. He gently took my shoulders, and seemed to look me over. A hand gingerly cupped my cheek, shifting my head, as if inspecting for something. I started, and pulled back at this sudden inspection, face growing warm. "What are you doing?" I asked.

He paused, looking bemused. "You... said you were hurt..." he murmured.

I nodded, shyly, and motioned towards my recently-noisy tummy. He blinked again. "Am I... growing ill?" I asked.

He grinned widely in humor, and laughed again. I crossed my arms, looking away timidly, and scooted back towards my hiding place. He gripped my arm gently, "La, la*, Yuugi, you're not sick," he said quickly, "I'm sorry for offending you. You're just hungry. Your stomach makes those sounds and feels that way when you get hungry. It's totally natural!"

I blinked, and flushed slightly.

"Oh..."

It took a little while, but between Atem's coaxing, my curiosity, Yami's reassurance, and my growling stomach, I finally summoned up the courage to leave the new room.

Atemu pushed open the door all of the way, and waited for me, just outside to frame. I stepped up to it, poking it with a finger. It was smooth and warm beneath my skin. Was it... going to shock me? Or snap shut before I could leave? Why wasn't it made of metal? So many questions about this strange new place...

I edged closer, before quickly scurrying past it, before it could shut me in, and I leaned close to my Star's arm. I cast a look to the doorway, feeling both suspicious, and intrigued. It hadn't moved a millimeter. And where were the guards? The people to lead me quietly along this soft-floored corridor (Atem told me the soft stuff was called "carpet"!), and to the next room? Back in the Facility, there were always guards roaming the halls, keeping eyes out for any unattended Specimens...

My eyes caught something else, lined up against the walls of the corridor. Little, colored squared, inside frames, and covered in glass. Inside of them, were miniature humans, all frozen and staring out at us. I grabbed Atemu's arm. "Ate'! Look at the little people!" I said, urgency in my voice, "Are they stuck? Can we get them out? I think they need help - why aren't they moving?"

He chuckled again. "Those are called 'photographs', Yuugi," he enlightened, "A photograph is when someone... er..." He trailed, looking as if in deep thought. "A photo is when... somebody takes a sight, and captures it, and prints it off into those little squares with a camera. The people in them are from the past. They aren't alive, just... well... It's - uh - it's kind of like a painting... Only different..."

I stared at him. Camera? Painting? What?

"You didn't understand a word I said, did you?"

"Iie."

A sigh. "Well, they're scenes from the past that people can capture and hold forever, I guess. Like... a memory, only outside of your head for everyone to see. People put them in those little frames, and hang them up around their houses for others to see and share. Even if the person... isn't there anymore... that picture will always show them and the memory, for their family or friends to look at and enjoy."

"Oh..."

"You're still confused, aren't you?"

"Hai." He smiled a little at my honest reply. I looked up, studying the... photographs, curiously, as we walked down the hallway. I did not have any new memories popping into my head... Maybe it only happened to those present at the time of the photo-taking? I stopped again, bringing my attention to one photograph, in particular, with five people in it.

One, was the old man from earlier, only... less wrinkly. His darkened skin was tighter, more smooth, and his grayed tresses held a sort of off-color to them... Kind of like Atemu's, only less saturated. His eyes were a brighter shade of purple, and he was smiling, and didn't look so tired. The second, was of the... a mini-Atem. He was small, and had more rounded features, with a big grin on his face. His hair was much more wispy, and soft-looking, its colors paler than today-Atemu's were. Slightly round, sparkling crimson eyes were filled with joy.

Next, was the hazel-eyed man. His hair was also more richly-colored, to a rich chestnut brown. He was smiling, his arm drawn over the shoulders of a woman. She was very pretty.

Her hair was long, and draped down over her shoulders in soft curls and loops of ebony. It turned to a maroon hue towards the ends, and stopped just halfway down her back. She had a shock of bright, golden-harvest bangs, framing at the sides of her face. She had eyes that weren't quite, red - more of a... magenta. She, too, had tanned skin, and was holding the hand of a little girl, with somewhat-spiky, brown hair and dark brownish-red eyes. She was giggling, leaning up against the picture of mini-Atemu.

"Who are they?" I asked without thinking, looking up at my companion. He, too, was looking at the picture, but his eyes had dimmed in color. The were now a dark burgundy, and... sad. Why was he sad? Who were these knew people, and why did they make him sad?

He hummed quietly. "Who were they, would be a better question, little one..." he muttered quietly, not looking away from the memory-square.

"Then... who were they?" What a strange term...

He glanced briefly down to me, before looking back at the picture. "The woman with long hair was my mother, Jamel, and the little girl was my sister Mana..."

"Where are they? Are they here?"

"No, Yuugi... they are..." he swallowed, "They're dead. They died about ten years ago."

I blinked, my hand slipping into his. He looked like he needed something to hold. "Atemu... what... what is... 'dead'?"

He blinked rapidly, as if holding something back. His eyes looked watery. "It's when... Dead is when... someone goes away... and they don't come back..."

"Where do they go?"

"Somewhere... they will always be happy."

"Like... a dream? Are they asleep?"

He gave a shaky smile, and looked down at me. "Yeah," he murmured, "They fall asleep. And they don't wake up again, because they're having a really, really good dream. And they don't want to wake up from it... so they never do."

I nodded quietly, looking back at the photograph. His mother and sister look so happy. Why wouldn't they want to wake up to that happy life? What dream could be better than the joy in their eyes?

Eternal sleep... it sounded... lonely.

"Your mother and sister... are sleeping?"

His face looked pained for a moment, and he cleared his throat. "A-Aiwa*, Yuugi... N-Now, please... No more questions for now, alright?"

I blinked, a little confused by his reaction, but nodded. And with that, I let him guide me downstairs, keeping my questions at bay.

And all the while, he still held my hand.

Translations:

"Jeddo" - "Grandfather" in Egyptian-Arabic.

"Ana asef" - "I'm sorry" (towards a male) in Egyptian-Arabic.

"La" - "No" in Egyptian-Arabic (can be spelt as "la3", with the "3" representing the letter "ein", which has no English equivalent.

"Aiwa" - "Yes" in Egyptian-Arabic

Ok... I did my best on the translations. I'm sorry if some of them are a bit muddled. I tried my best, but I'm pretty sure they're accurate! ^^U

Well... the 14th installment, and we're not even halfway yet! It'll probably be a while yet, before this one's finished up... It's going to be the longest story I've written yet!

Review? :)