Lu: Hey, I'm here again! groans heard. Hey, I said I was sorry I couldn't update. ducks flying fridge thrown at her Yami!
Yami Lu: Sorry, couldn't resist -
Lu: --" I'm sure you couldn't. This is the major change. Lots of YamixTea after this point! - Anyway, reviewers-
Yami Lu: Not that you have any.
Lu: Here we go again! Oh, and in your next review, can y'all tell me if you're a guy or a girl? Inwe and kai4eva excepted, 'cause I already know them. And if it's on your profile, I apologize. I've read all your profiles, but I have a very short-term memory. Kinda like Dory's in Finding Nemo. But anyway, on with the fic!
Chapter 23 – Captured and Helpless
They arrived at the pod room, panting.
"Seto! You made it," said Mokuba. "Hurry, the stimulation is about to begin."
They bolted towards their pods, and sat down.
"Three... two... one..." said Mokuba through the microphone. He pulled a lever, and the bodies of the duellists fell limp once more.
Inside the virtual world, the group woke up at the edge of the forest. They all stood up.
"Well, at least we came to here. It'll make it easier to get to the next map. The map said the next one was in the desert," said Mai.
"Yeah, let's go," said Yugi. They started walking into the desert.
An hour later, they were sweating and panting. Needless to say, it was hot in the middle of the desert.
"Kaiba, you really make dis all realistic, don't you? Even de heat..." said Joey, wiping some sweat off his head.
"Well, it's all part of the virtual experience," said Kaiba. Joey snorted. Suddenly, a huge monster appeared in front of them.
"I'll take care of it," said Mai, drawing a card. "I play the Harpy Lady sisters!"
"Mai, it's too strong," shouted Joey. "I'll help you along with this card. Harpy's Brother!"
The four harpies appeared on the field.
"Attack!" shouted Mai and Joey simultaneously. The harpies flew towards the monster and attacked. But it seemed that even their combined powers were not strong enough. The four harpies were destroyed.
"Allow me," said Kaiba, drawing his card. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, White Lightning attack!" The dragon appeared on the field. It shot a ball of white electricity at the monster, and the opposing monster was shattered. Mai and Joey checked their life points. They were both down to 8000.
"Man, that thing was strong," said Duke. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Look! Another map!" shouted Duke suddenly, and ran to the site where the monster had been destroyed. A map lay on the ground.
"Way to go Duke!" shouted Ryou. The group ran over to congratulate Duke and Kaiba.
Back in the pod room, Mokuba and Tristan were having a game of cards while Serenity watched.
"Hey, have any of you seen Tea since she said she needed to go to the bathroom?" asked Serenity suddenly. Tristan thought for a moment.
"No," he said slowly.
"But she went there over an hour ago," said Mokuba. Serenity stood up.
"I'm going to go and look for her," she said. Tristan immediately stood up to support her.
"Thanks Tristan," said Serenity. He helped her limp to the bathroom. "I'll go," she said. She limped inside, using the wall for support. "Tea!" she shouted. "Hello? Tea, are you in here?" She heard no reply. She limped outside again. "She's not in there," she said in a worried voice. Tristan and Serenity checked all of the bathrooms around, and then started on all the other rooms. They then headed back to the pod room. But Mokuba didn't greet them. Mokuba was unconscious, and they were greeted instead by two robed figures.
"You're coming with us," one of them said. They walked forward, and held Serenity and Tristan's hands behind their back before they could react.
"What do you want with us?" spat Tristan. The people did not reply. "Hello? If we are captive, we would like to know why," said Tristan.
"Then look over at those pods over there," said Tristan's captor, turning him towards Malik. Next to Malik was another robed figure, and Tea.
"But Tea isn't in the competition. She isn't meant to be in the virtual world. Why?" shouted Tristan, struggling against the strong grip of his opponent.
"Keep still. We will be forced to knock you out otherwise," said the person holding Serenity. Tristan fell silent.
Malik watched Yugi, Joey, Mai, Bakura, Duke and Kaiba start walking across the desert again. Tea lay unconscious in a branch of a tree behind him. He turned to her.
"So beautiful..." he muttered, brushing his lips against hers. "Too bad she will not be alive at the end of the day."
Yami jumped up inside the soul room.
/Yugi/ he shouted. /Something bad's happening to Tea/
Yugi entered the soul room. /What? I didn't feel anything/ he said.
/Well I did. Not like she's hurt or anything, but she is definitely not safe/ said Yami, his eyes wide in fear. He cared a lot about Tea. A/N: And we all didn't know that, did we? sarcastic
/Yami, are you sure you felt it? Usually if something happens, we both feel it, but I didn't feel a thing/ said Yugi.
/I know I did. My heart is still aching. Yugi, we must get to her/ said Yami, his hand clenching into fists as he tried to hold back tears. Yugi approached him, and put his hand on his shoulder. Yami didn't look at him. He had never cried before this week. He didn't want Yugi to see him like this. Yugi forced Yami to look at him.
/Yami, we will find her/ said Yugi confidently.
/Yugi, may I please take over/ said Yami. Yugi looked a bit startled at the request, but smiled and nodded.
The Millennium Puzzle flashed, and Yami appeared where Yugi had been walking. He was still holding back tears.
"Tea is in trouble," he said. "We must save her."
"Huh?" said Joey, turning around. "Oh, it's you, Yami."
"How do you know this?" asked Ryou.
"I just do. I can feel it. Yugi said he couldn't feel it, but I can. We must save her!" he shouted. A tear slid down his face.
"Yami... I've never seen you cry," said Mai, putting her arms around his shoulder. He sniffed.
"Come on. If Yami says Tea's in trouble, den I believe him," said Joey. "Lead de way." Yami nodded and started walking back towards the forest.
Malik surveyed the sudden change of direction of the group with interest.
"Maybe Bel um Fal felt something... what could I have done? Maybe when I kissed Tea... but how would he? No one else seemed to. Unless... he loves her... could he?" he muttered.
"What?" said Tea, who had woken up. "What did you say?"
"Doesn't look as though Yami's coming for you," lied Malik. Tea looked crestfallen.
"Yami! Please! Save me!" she shouted, struggling against the ropes that Malik had used to tie her to the tree when she had came to.
"Tea!" shouted Yami, and started to run.
"Yami! Wait! What's going on?" called Ryou.
"Tea! Tea's in big trouble! We've got to hurry," he said, and continued sprinting. Everyone else exchanged glances, and started running after Yami. The forest grew closer as they ran, and Yami did not slow down.
"Don't worry Tea. I promise that I will be there for you soon," he muttered.
'It seems whatever I do to Tea effects Bel um Fal. He must love her. No one else could be that in tune to her emotions,' thought Malik. 'Maybe I can make them effect him so much that he cannot do anything.' He turned to Tea.
"My dear, please excuse this," he sneered. He removed a knife from his pocket. Tea screamed. He approached her, knife outstretched. She struggled against her bonds. But instead of hurting her, Malik cut her bonds. She fell to the ground, panting.
"Why did you do that?" she asked, rubbing her wrists. Malik smiled.
"Why should I tell you?" he asked. Tea lay on the ground, too physically exhausted to run away. Malik approached her with the knife again. He cut her cheek. Tea squealed slightly, but couldn't move to protect herself.
Lu: We are at the end of yet another chapter.
Yami Lu: bows her head Yes, very, very, noble words. coughs
Lu: I said no more comments!
Yami Lu: I was making comments throughout the whole chapter, but you said you didn't want to hear them, so I was talking to Malik and Bakura -
Lu: growl leaps for Yami Lu pauses for a second to address reviewers Review! goes back to strangling Yami Lu