Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. But, I own a couple of stuffed animals, wheee!

Note: I think I'm more used to college now, that's good news. But, there are still tons of readings and many tests (--)… I also kind of want to update my other stories, but just couldn't help it that the one story I really really want to update is this one… Feel so bad about not updating other stories…

Enough with my rants. Thanks for the reviews! And now presenting the second part of the grand escape. Enjoy!

The Spirit of the Sword

Chapter 24

The Nerve-racking Getaway (Part II)

Tea ran towards the direction they had come from, and turned a corner swiftly. She had to catch up to Yami. She didn't want him to face the enemies all by himself. Plus, was he crazy? Dashing off all by himself, and the soul-less Mokuba was still on Yami's back? 'You better be all right, Yami!' Tea yelled silently in her mind.

Tea's blue orbs scanned the hallway in front of her eyes. There were no traces of Yami. There was no one there, at least not one that she could see. Her heartbeat started speeding out of fear. A hallway without any one somehow seemed very eerie.

"Where are you?" Tea mumbled and leaned over a wall to support herself. The castle was so huge, so many hallways like a maze… How could she find him? She couldn't risk calling out to him, that would only reveal her location to the guards. "Calm down, Tea, calm down." Tea mumbled again to avoid panicking, but it wasn't very helpful. She was all alone now, Joey and Ishizu ran off without her, and Yami was somewhere in the castle still.

"Over there! Over there! Catch him!" Faint voices coming from the faraway corner. Tea froze hearing those voices. That seemed like the yelling of guards. Following the voices came footsteps stepping away at a quick pace. Seemed like there were a lot of guards running or chasing after this person.

Tea covered her mouth with her hands to prevent her from gasping out too loud. Her azure eyes filled with fear. Could Yami be spotted by the guards already? If the guards spotted him, then he must be in danger now. "I have to find him now!" Tea encouraged herself to keep going. She took a deep breathe, and then ran off towards the direction the yelling came from.

Tea panted lightly for running. Stopping near a staircase, she hid herself behind a wall. Shadows of guards running appeared on the wall because of candles lit around the castle. Tea stayed motionless until the guards ran off to some other directions. She didn't hear any yelling anymore. Perhaps Yami got away? Hopefully that would be the case. Otherwise, it probably means that Yami got caught.

Tea poked her head out to see if it was safe to go. She came out into the quiet hallway. Suddenly, a hand reached over Tea's shoulder and covered her mouth, preventing her from screaming. Tea jumped, a wave a panic washed over her brain. She tried to scream, but her voice couldn't come out. She started struggling, waving her hands randomly to get away from her 'kidnapper.'

"Shh it's me, Tea." A low voice whispered at Tea's ear. She recognized this voice. It was Yami! Thank god he was all right! She stopped struggling and wanted to turn around. But Yami continued to cover her mouth with his hand and pulled her into a nearby room. He let go once he shut the door silently.

When Yami turned around to look at Tea, she already jumped into his arms giving him a big bear hug. He could feel Tea trembling a little. He patted her back to soothe her fear. The room was dark, so he couldn't see Tea's expressions on her face.

"Don't you ever run off like that again!" Tea whispered, trying to sound angry, but instead her voice was shaky. She wanted to chide him for pushing her away and running into danger himself, but she couldn't say anything. She was way too glad the guards didn't catch Yami.

"I'm sorry, Tea… I just want you to make sure you and Joey are not in danger of getting caught…" Yami explained in his calming voice. He had to admit, he was a bit rash when he ran back to check if anyone was following them.

"Then we can go together! I don't want you to be facing the danger all by yourself!" Tea continued to try to sound angry, but to no avail. "We can face whatever is to come… together!" Tea said firmly.

"But I don't want you to be in danger…" Yami said, clutching onto Tea's back a little more tightly. He wouldn't forgive himself if anything were to happen to Tea. All he wanted to do was to protect her and get her out of Pegasus's creepy castle safely.

"I don't want you to be in danger too…" Tea declared determinedly. Who would want the person they loved to be in danger? No one would, and she was no exception.

Tea continued to hold onto Yami, enjoying the warmth of his body. She felt so safe and protected in his arms. A satisfied smile appeared on her face. The fear she felt previously had all disappeared miraculously. Yami also felt satisfied holding onto Tea. At least he knew she was safe with him at that moment, and that alone was enough for him to be grateful.

An image of a little boy popped into Tea's head. She quickly let go of Yami and looked around the dark room. But her eyes were still not used to the dark, and hence couldn't see anything.

"What's wrong, Tea?" Yami asked, concerned about her behavior.

"Where's Mokuba?" Tea asked in confusion. "When you ran off, Mokuba was still on your back, no?"

"Yes, that's correct." Yami answered with an amused look on his face. Was Tea always so concern for others all the time?

"Where is he now?" Tea questioned, didn't see the amused expression on Yami's face. She extended her arms out and tried to fumble along the wall to see if Mokuba might be sitting on the floor.

"He's right over there, at the corner." Yami pointed his finger at the corner. Tea's eyes had finally gotten used to the darkness of the room, so she looked over to the corner. She saw a little frame sitting on the floor, motionless.

Tea was about to make her way over to Mokuba when Yami grabbed her hand. He pulled her back into his arms and sat Tea down on the sofa. Tea gasped, there was sofa in the room? What was this room used for, then?

Yami seemed to understand Tea's confused look in her eyes. "This is probably a guest room, but I doubt anyone would come visit Pegasus. What a pity." Yami explained. He sat down next to her and let her head lean on his shoulder. Tea sighed out of comfort; she really didn't pay attention to what Yami said about Pegasus. Who cares about that creep? She closed her eyes ready to take a quick nap. The escaping plan was so exhausting!

Yami suddenly got up the sofa. Tea almost fall off, not expecting her "pillow" (Yami's shoulder) to suddenly move. "Hey! What's that for-" Tea's protest was cut off by Yami's kiss. It was really just a peck on the lips.

When Yami pulled away, Tea was still stunned. She wanted more. She longed to be kissed deeper. But Yami only gave a peck on her lips. Yami lightly caressed her cheeks before whispering, "Now's not the time, Tea." And smirked, as if Tea's thoughts were clearly revealed before him.

Tea blushed, embarrassed that her thoughts were disclosed so easily. That was so embarrassing, letting Yami see that she wanted him to kiss her more… If there was a hole somewhere on the floor, she wouldn't mind hiding in there to avoid dying of embarrassment.

"Get some rest. I don't think we'll be able to escape anytime soon, since the guards seemed to already found out about us trying to escape. The security around the castle now is pretty tight, I'm sure you saw that too when you tried to find me." Yami explained.

"Uh-huh…" Tea couldn't say anything else. Her mind couldn't function correctly since that light kiss Yami gave her. "Um… how about you? You should get some rest too…"

"It's okay. I'll keep watch until morning. We have to come up with some other plans. I just hope Joey make it out with Mai." Yami walked towards a chair near the door. He planned to stay near the door, so it would be easier to hear any changes in the hallway.

"… I'm sure they are safe…" Tea mumbled, trying to assure herself and Yami. Tea started to frown. Now that they were left behind in the castle, and with guards patrolling all around the castle trying to track them down, how could they escape? The night-time was the best time for their escape, but they blew it. In the day-time, it would be even harder to hide from the guards.

"Do you think we'll be able to get out safely?" Tea whispered. She needed some assurance from Yami, otherwise her mind would just go crazy thinking they would never make it.

"Sure we will…" Yami answered, even he was unsure. "Sorry, Tea, it was all my fault. I shouldn't have turned back. If we just keep running, perhaps we already got out of the castle."

"Don't say that… I know you just want us to be safe, you're always so cautious…" Tea mumbled. She was really tired. She closed her eyes, and soon drifted off into her dreams.

The room became quiet again. Yami put his ear against the door. He could hear the guards patrolling in the hallways, perhaps still searching for them. But even if the guards were to search room by room, it would take a while for them to find them, since there were way too many empty rooms in the castle. Within this time, he must come up with a new plan to get them out safely, and as soon as possible. If they were able to escape before dawn, that would be great. But there were only three hours left before dawn. It was now officially a race against time…

Two guards forcing a captured young man to knell down. He had blonde hair, beautiful violet eyes, and tanned skin. Another guard pointing a sword on the neck of the captured young man. Marik, who was captured while trying to buy time for his sister to help Joey Wheeler escape, stared angrily at the guards who forced him to knell down. He was the head of the guards, how dare his subordinates treat him like a prisoner. Yet, he understood that he had betrayed his king, Pegasus, while trying to help Ishizu.

"Come!" a guard shouted. Marik saw another two guards pulled Ishizu into the lobby. She wasn't even struggling. Ishizu just had her head lowered, as if she already expected to be caught. The guards violently pushed her and she fell onto the ground.

"Hey you! Cut it out! Is that how you treat High Priestess Ishizu?" Marik yelled angrily at the disrespectful guards. "Sis, are you okay?" Marik tried to struggle his way towards his sister, but his action only earned him a punch in his face.

"Hmph. You two are traitors. High Priestess my ass! Ha ha ha" One of the guards blurted out ridiculing them. Marik glared at the guard, trying to kill him with his glares. "Don't you look at me with those looks! Wait until King Pegasus come, and it will be the end for you two. Hmph." The guard gave Marik and Ishizu a scornful looks.

"Leave those two traitors. The rest of you leave." Pegasus's voice arrived as he appeared in person. His voice may sound calm and emotionless, but his eye was definitely giving Marik and Ishizu a chilling glare. Pegasus came into the lobby and sat down on his seat a couple of stairs higher than the floor, looking down at them.

"Is there anything you two would like to explain?" Pegasus asked, barely audible. He didn't take his eyes off Ishizu the whole time, while kind of ignoring Marik.

No one answered. Ishizu was still looking at the floor, as if regretting something. Marik also looked down on the floor. The silence in the room wasn't helping, it only made Pegasus's rage went up in a much faster pace.

"I'm feeling generous to give you two a chance to explain… Or did you have nothing to say before your death?" Pegasus interrogated. A satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his lips when he heard Ishizu's gasp and her shocked expression. "Yes, I did say death. There is only one path for traitors, that is, death." He sounded very casual, like they were just chatting.

"You… wouldn't…" Ishizu managed to whisper. Her eyes were widened out of shock. Pegasus wouldn't actually want to kill her… he wouldn't… They knew each other for a long time. She knew she would be in trouble by helping Joey, Mai, Yami, and Tea escape, but she thought the worse of her punishment was to be cast out of the kingdom forever… Well, if he really wanted her death, she will accept it, but now Marik was involved too…

"Yes I would. Death awaits the traitors." Pegasus said icily, while staring coldly at Ishizu. "… Unless… You give me a reasonable explanation of what you did. Perhaps after that, I will re-consider your punishment, since we do know each other for quite a long time."

"I… wanted you to… snap out of your revenge-game. Stop hurting innocent people like Mokuba and Mai!" Ishizu yelled with all her might. "I don't want to see you like this. Gozaburo was already dead! Cecilia should be able to rest in peace! Serenity already died because of you, now stop this madness!"

Slap. Pegasus rushed over to Ishizu and slapped her hard. Rage burned wildly in his brown eye. Ishizu flew a couple of feet over from where she was kneeling. "Don't you dare speak to me like that! It's not enough! Seto Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba, they must pay, because they are also from the Kaiba family! I won't rest until every single one of the Kaiba is destroyed!"

Ishizu wiped the blood from her lips. Marik had already rushed over to help her up. "But they are adopted, Pegasus. Seto Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba don't have the blood of that evil Gozaburo Kaiba…" Ishizu said sadly with her eyes closed. She felt so bad for Pegasus. The death of his beloved Cecilia drove him mad. How else could she try to help him?

"It doesn't matter." Pegasus said, regaining his composure. "No one can stop me, not even you, Ishizu. Remember that."

"You really are mad… Sis is right." Marik mumbled under his breathe. He was glad he didn't capture Ishizu, but instead helped her out earlier. Pegasus didn't seem to hear him, or he just didn't respond to Marik's rudeness.

"… Then I have nothing to say… Please, this will be my only time begging anyone, please let Marik go. I forced him to help me. I'll gladly accept my punishment, just let him go…" Ishizu put down her self-esteem for the one and only time, begging Pegasus to let her brother go.

"What are you talking about, Sis?" Marik asked with a horrified look on his face. Ishizu was just going to accept her death for betraying a mad man? That would be the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard of. There's no way he would live without his sister!

"Deal." Pegasus clapped his hand. Two guards came in and dragged Marik away. Marik struggled and yelled at Ishizu, but he still got dragged away with two strong guards. Ishizu watched Marik with worried eyes. Was Pegasus really going to let him go?

"Don't worry, my dear Ishizu. I promise to let Marik go, as long as you accept your punishment." Pegasus roughly grabbed Ishizu's arm and dragged her towards the cell. He couldn't forgive her for betraying him. Never!

Ishizu didn't struggle. She let Pegasus dragged her away. She couldn't see her own future. She couldn't see her brother's future. Neither could she see other people's future. For some strange reason, her millennium necklace had completely ceased to function.

"Any other thing you would like to say?" Pegasus asked, feeling a bit generous toward this traitor.

"No… I'll accept my fate if you are the one who decide the end of my life…" Ishizu mumbled strangely. Her only real regret was that she couldn't finish her task of getting Yami and Tea out of the castle safely. They were still somewhere deep in this castle, yet she had no power to complete her task.

"Very well." Pegasus stopped in front of the cell that was to confine Ishizu until her death. He violently threw her in, showing how angry he was being betrayed by her. Ishizu fell to the ground. She just stayed there without moving.

"And just to let you know. Yami and Tea, I'll get rid of them for trying to disobey my order of not to escape." Pegasus said as he locked the door to the cell.

"No! You can't!" Ishizu yelled, getting up from the floor, but Pegasus turned around and left, ignoring Ishizu's protest. Her voice wasn't able to reach Pegasus anymore…

When Pegasus went back to his library, a guard was already waiting for him. The guard was sweating profusely, with colorless face.

"My lord! A mysterious person had invaded our castle! A lot of guards and soldiers were already died!" The guard reported nervously with shaking voice. Not only was he afraid he might be next to die at the hand of this mysterious person, but he was also afraid of Pegasus's reaction after hearing his report.

"Ha ha ha" Pegasus chuckled darkly. He had a vague idea of who this mysterious invader might be. "So let the game begin!" With that, Pegasus disappeared into his library with a wicked smile…

"Search every single room! This is Pegasus's order!" Yami snapped out of his sleep when he heard the yelling. Not good, not good! He had accidentally fallen asleep while trying to think up a new plan of escape. He looked out the window and saw that it was already dawn. The sun had already been rising slowly.

"Shit!" Yami cursed under his breathe. He could hear doors being opened and guards busting into other rooms near the room they were in. It would be in a mere couple of minutes before the guards get to their room.

Yami quietly walked towards Mokuba, picked him up, and walked back to Tea. He wobbled Tea lightly to wake her up.

"Tea… Tea, wake up…" Yami whispered quietly. He couldn't afford to let the guards hear him. He softly shook Tea's shoulder.

"Hmm? What is it?" Tea asked with a sleepy voice. She opened her eyes and saw Yami's serious face. "Huh? What's going on? Yami?" She asked, still a bit confused after just waking up.

"The guards are searching room by room. I have to lure them away, otherwise we'll all be in trouble." Yami told Tea his plan. "Watch over Mokuba, and try to escape, with or without me. Just go, okay? I'll be fine."

"No!" Tea clutched onto Yami's arms. She had a bad feeling about this. "No! Let's go together! We'll get out of here together! Don't just think about my safety! I hate that!" Tea whispered strongly.

"Listen to me, Tea. You take Mokuba and find a chance to escape. I'll lure the guards away from you. I promise I'll be fine, I'll find a way to escape." Yami tightened his grasp on Tea's shoulder, trying to make her listen to him. "Stay here for now. Listen to the sounds in the hallway, when it is quiet and safer, run away."

Tea shook her head stubbornly. She couldn't leave Yami behind. She just couldn't do that! What if she left and Yami got killed or something in the castle? She wouldn't forgive herself for surviving at the cost of his life!

"You have to listen to me this time, Tea! Just this one time… Okay?" Yami looked Tea in the eyes. Tea saw determination in Yami's violet eyes, and knew she couldn't change his mind. Tears appeared slightly in her eyes, but she forced them away and nodded her head.

"Okay… promise you'll be fine." Tea desperately searched Yami's eyes for assurance.

"I will. You be careful too." Yami gave her a kiss on her forehead and tucked Mokuba into Tea's arms. He opened the door into a small gap, peeped into the hallway, and suddenly made for the run. Tea put Mokuba onto her back and hid behind the door, listening to the outside.

"Over there!" She heard the guards yelled. Then, footsteps chasing down the hallway and disappearing, along with the shouting. The hallway was now quiet. Tea peeped through the gap of the door, and quickly closed it as she saw some guards running pass the door again. Tea decided to stay in the room for a little longer. She walked quietly towards the window and took a look outside.

Tea gasped. She saw some guards lying in the garden, and there were blood on the grass. What happened? She doubted that Joey or Yami would kill those guards… The situation was getting crazier and crazier…

Just when Tea was about to walk back towards the door, suddenly fire sparkled from the door. The fire danced across the room very fast, burning the sofa, furniture, curtains, and soon she was surrounded by fire. Tea panicked. What the hell? Where did this fire come from? The flames engulfed everything around her in an unbelievable fast pace. The smoke stung her eyes and she began to cough.

"Did you think you can escape?" Came an eerie voice from the door. "Too bad." Tea tried to see who was there, but only saw a vague figure with long silver hair walked away from the door.

"Pega- cough- Pegasus?" Tea coughed. Her eyes wide in disbelieve. He was crazy to this extent as to burn down part of his own castle to kill her?

Tea looked around for a place to escape, but to her disappointment, she was surrounded by fire. "Yami… help me…" Tea mumbled as she kneeled down on the floor. Her mind was getting more and more cloudy. She couldn't think straight anymore because of the smoke…

A buttress collapsed and started falling towards where Tea and Mokuba were. Tea only widened her eyes but couldn't do anything else. She believed she was going to die… But the anticipated pain and burning didn't come. Suddenly, Tea saw a familiar figure appeared before her. This figure had a long white dress on, but strangely, the white dress was tainted with red blood? This figure had long auburn hair, and a beautiful, yet sad, face.

"Get up, Tea. You have to make it out alive." The familiar figure spoke to her in a gentle voice. She had shielded Tea and Mokuba from that falling buttress.

"Se-Serenity?" Tea coughed some more. "Is it my imagination? Why would you be here?" Tea asked, trying to stand up.

A gentle smile appeared on the figure's face. She reached her hand out and helped Tea up. "Yes, it's me, Tea. I'm here to help you." Serenity said.

"What happened… to you? Are those… blood on your dress?" Tea questioned, occasionally coughing. She noticed that Serenity's hand was freezing.

"No time to explain. Believe in me, Tea. I'll help you get out of the fire that surrounded us." Serenity said. She glanced at Mokuba on Tea's back. "Mokuba?" Serenity seemed surprised.

"Yea, it's a long story. Let's get out of here." Tea suggested, but frowned. How could they escape when they were surrounded by fire?

"You'll be fine. In a count of three, I'll send you and Mokuba out of this burning room, okay?" Serenity winked at Tea.

"How about you?" Tea asked in fear. Serenity didn't mention anything about herself! "You'll be able to come out too, right?"

"I'll be fine. I'm no longer afraid of fire… Flames cannot hurt me anymore…" Serenity said with a sad smile. Without hesitation, Serenity pushed Tea, with Mokuba on her back, out of the burning room. Tea watched in fear as Serenity being engulfed by the flames while she was flying out of the room thanks to Serenity's push. And strangely, she flew past the fire without being burned.

Tea landed on the floor in the hallway. A terrified Yami was running towards her. There were other guards there too, but they were too busy putting out the fire that they didn't have time to catch Yami and Tea.

"Are you all right, Tea?" Yami asked with trembling voice. He embraced Tea tightly, afraid that if he lets go, she would be eaten by that fierce fire. "What happened? I was only gone for a few minutes, and when I came back, the room was burning! I thought I was going to lose you…" Yami yelled with a terrified voice.

"Save her, Yami! She's still in there! How can she survive in the room? The room is burning!" Tea shook Yami's shoulder, trying to get Yami to save Serenity.

"Who's in there? Who are you talking about?" Yami asked in confusion. But he quickly dragged Tea and Mokuba farther away from those guards trying to put down the fire. He wouldn't want to get caught after the guards successfully put down the fire.

"Se… Sere…" Tea couldn't say Serenity's name because she was choking on her tears. She watched Serenity got engulfed by fire. How could anyone survive under those conditions? Did Serenity sacrifice herself to save her? No way! She couldn't allow that to happen!

"Did you mean Serenity?" A cold voice suddenly appeared behind Yami and Tea. Both of them gasped and turned around, only to stare into a pair of icy blue eyes.

"Kai-Kaiba?" Yami asked with shock. "Why are you here? And Serenity's here too?"

"Thanks for taking care of my little brother, girl." Seto said coldly to Tea, and grabbed Mokuba from her arms. Seto's expression instantly changed into caring expression when he looked at his brother Mokuba.

"Serenity! Save her!" Tea continued to plead Yami. "She's still in there… She pushed me out… Her hands are so cold…" Tea felt so bad for Serenity. After hearing what Tea said, Yami instantly stood up, ready to rush into the burning room to save Joey's little sister.

"Save it. She's fine." Seto said coldly and turned around. "You two better get out of here before the guards set their eyes on you guys again." With that, he left without any hesitance with his little brother in his arms, and his sword hanging on his waist. The white-jade-dragon-necklace hanging on the handle of his sword.

Tea stared at the white-jade-dragon-necklace swung as Seto walked away. That was Serenity's jade, wasn't it? She showed it to her when she first came back to live with Joey. Yami just helped Tea stand up and was about to follow Seto. They must get out before running into any more troubles.

"Wait, Kaiba! What do you mean Serenity's fine? I saw her! She didn't get out of the room!" Tea yelled, trying to catch up to Kaiba.

Seto just ignored them. Even though he came to kill Pegasus, but now that he found Mokuba's soul-less body, his priority would be to bring Mokuba to a save place first, then come back to get Mokuba's soul and kill that evil Pegasus. As for Serenity, such a painful memory… Seto unconsciously clutched onto his sword with one hand.

"Kaiba! Explain yourself!" Yami also asked. They couldn't just leave if Serenity was still in that burning room.

"I said she's fine!" Seto growled in annoyance. He didn't really want to explain to them what happened to Serenity. Not just yet. His wound in the heart didn't completely heal yet. He wasn't ready to talk about her.

Yami and Tea stared at Seto's back dubiously. But they followed him out of the castle. There were no guards to stop them. Everywhere they passed, there were already guards lying on the floor, died. Yami and Tea couldn't help but wonder what happened to all those guards… Did Kaiba kill them all? Guess they'll find out later when Kaiba decided to tell them…

Note: Yay, finished this chapter! So Yami and Tea also got out of the castle safely. Hooray! And, the appearance of Seto Kaiba and Serenity Wheeler! Yippie! Even though it isn't very clear what happened to Serenity, but you'll find out more soon!

Again, I don't know when I'll be able to update. So, please be patient. Now, review please! Thanks a bunch!