Hey guys sorry about teh delay but here is chapter 13 and a BIGGGG (Squeezy hugs) HUGS to all ma guys hu reply

Devious Dragon

Mana's Hikari

T'ea-the chosen one

Fieryhalo

Nightfall2525

Raygypsy714

S13 and A15 Pheonix

dark soul 1313

Love Destiny

Inocentenough

InkedButterfly

Empress of the light

luckygirl777

Super-special-awesome pirate

Shadow-fox313

Port rocks

Nightcrawlerlover


Chapter 13

"YUGI!" Tristan shook him but he didn't move.

"Yugi? C'mon man wake up!"

"Tristan what's happened to him?" Yelled Joey

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!"

Tristan tapped him lightly on the side of his face, but it rose to a hard slap which eventually caused him to groan and open his eyes.

"Ughh...what happened?" said Yugi holding his head.

"You passed out man...you gave me a scare" Yugi looked round and saw everyone staring at him.

"Guys quit staring at Me." he said frustrated. Everyone turned away except Atem. The two best friends shared a glance for a minute before Atem turned away to look at Hanif.

"So Hanif...how long till we go?" said Atem.

"We shall go now" he said walking off.

"Hey wait up!" said Tristan who had now been given the task of carrying Joey and walking with Yugi.

"Marik. Why can't you carry Joey?" said Tristan.

"You're stronger than me." he said smugly walking ahead.

Atem looked down at T'ea. She moved in his arms and groaned. Atem stroked her face softly.

"You care for...that. Don't you" Hanif said gesturing to T'ea.

"That's name," he said venomously.

"Is T'ea" Hanif grunted and walked ahead of Atem.
"I am merely saying that as she has been touched by a vampire, do you definitely know she is mostly human anymore?" he said with an almost cocky tone.
"You arrogant Bast-"
"Atem...don't," said Ishizu.
"We are even lucky he said that he would take us to civilization." she whispered.

"Yugi?" said Atem quietly after a few hours of walking.
"Yes?" he said, refusing to meet Atem's eyes.
"How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine...So how's your face?" he said remembering how hard he had punched him.
"Fine...at first it stung a little but I'm ok"
"Sorry about that" Yugi looked at the floor then the sky then finally to his friend who was smiling.
"It's no big deal" Atem said.
"How's T'ea doing?" he asked awkwardly.
"I'm no doctor but from what I can tell she's stable."
"Good...good"
"Do you want to tell me why you have been acting so strange?"
"...I...Honestly buddy if I knew I'd tell you" he said thinking up a lie. Atem looked at him, unsure that what he had told him was the truth but accepted it non-the less.
"Ok Yugi" he said ending their conversation.


The next day everyone seemed to be in greater spirits than normal. Even Marik and Joey were getting along. Atem of course didn't talk to anyone. His full attention was focused on T'ea and her alone.
"Ishizu do you think maybe someone else should carry T'ea for a while...I feel bad for The Pharaoh" said Marik.
"No Brother...I doubt he will part with her even if you offered to do such a thing."
"There is no harm in trying." Marik slowed his footsteps down so he was level with the Pharoah.
"My Pharoah...I was just wondering if you...that is to say wanted someone else to carry T'ea for a while so you can rest yourself a little" Marik said trying to figure out the right words to use. Atem smiled and shook his head.
"Thank you for the kind offer Marik but no I would prefer not to part with T'ea for now"
"Very well my Pharoah" he bowed his head and rejoined his sister.
"I told you" she said smugly.
"That may be sister but I at least tried to offer some help." he said feeling very good with himself for being so generous making Ishizu bite down a giggle.

Joey sighed as Tristan put him down on the floor again as they all had a rest.
"Tristan...I'm sorry that you have to carry me dude"
"No your not" he panted. Atem looked at T'ea who was strangely warm and she had sweat, forming on her forehead.
"Ishizu...T'ea doesn't look to good" he said wiping sweat from her brow. Ishizu came over and kneeled next to her.
"Well she probably isn't used to the heat and also the fact that we have little water and she is wearing a long, thick, black dress"
"Well what can we do?" said Atem who a second later was shocked when Ishizu ripped several of the underskirts off the dress making it considerably thinner.
"...that...could work I guess" Ishizu laughed at the expression on his face.
Marik pulled the last three bottles of water out of his backpack and passed one to Ishizu and one to Tristan.
Ishizu poured some into T'ea's mouth and then gave the bottle to Atem who tried his best not to drink the whole thing and passed it onto the Egyptian woman.

Hanif took a cow skin water bag from his side and drank silently.
"What are we going to do? We are barely surviving as it is" said Tristan looking at the weak and frail Yugi.
"We can try and preserve our water as best we can and rest for only short periods of time. It's cooler at night so it shouldn't be too hard to travel" said Hanif looking forward.

"If we rest for 10 minutes every two hours we could be in the nearest village by tomorrow evening"
"That's good" said Joey.
"How are your eyes Jo?" said Yugi.
"Not so good"
"What is wrong with him" said Hanif. They explained the situation and Hanif thought about it for a few minutes and then he spoke.
"You need to see a healer" he said looking at his wounded eyes.
"Your kidding right?" said Tristan.
"No...he needs a spiritual healer they are very powerful" he said in an 'as a matter of fact' tone.
"Guys lets go we've rested enough" said Atem getting up and placing T'ea on his back.


A day and a half later Hanif had brought everyone to a village that was populated by probably just under five hundred people and seemed to have satellites for phones etc.

"Thank you for taking us so far Hanif" said Ishizu, bowing her head in respect.
"It has been a pleasure miss Ishtar" he said returning the honorable gesture. He turned to everyone and said goodbye
(obv I'm not going into character development for Hanif because I'm only using him this once)
and set off back home to his family feeling somewhat annoyed that he would have to walk all the way back alone.

Ishizu and Marik went off to find accommodation for the night whilst Yugi and Tristan went to get food, carrying Joey along with them. Atem looked at T'ea and smiled. Her cheeks had regained some of there color and her body was a normal temperature. He went to buy a bottle of water and sat down with T'ea in his arms, pouring some water into her mouth but allowing himself to drink as well.

After a while Ishizu and Marik returned explaining that they had found a small hostel where they could stay the night whilst Joey and Yugi brought back different types of foods.
"Oh my god I'm starving I think I've lost a stone in the past week. Do I look thinner Yug?" said Joey wolfing down a strange looking meat dish.
"...sure Joey you look so much thinner I hardly recognize you" he said making everyone laugh.

After they finished eating they set off back to the hostel where they got three rooms. One for Marik and Ishizu, One for Tristan and Joey and Yugi and then one for Atem and T'ea. Strangely enough it was Marik who had decided the rooming arrangements.

'Another one of your generous acts my brother? 'Ishizu thought to herself. She asked Marik about it later but he denied everything...strangely he had denied everything...before she had even asked him the question.


When everyone had gone to their assigned rooms Atem placed T'ea on one of their two single beds and sat on hers beside her, stroking her hair. He looked at her neck and caught sight of the two small pin holes in her skin; he kissed them tenderly and leant his head on her shoulder. T'ea muttered something just loud enough for Atem to here which made his heart ache. She had muttered Khaldun's name.
"What has he done to you T'ea?" he said taking her hand in his and kissing it gently.
"...Atem..." she said quietly which made him blush.
He caressed her face and kissed her lips ever so gently. He doubted that she even knew how much he really did care for her...how much he loved her...or would have known.

Sure he had told her...well screamed it to her before Khaldun had taken her away and she had heard him but, she didn't even remember him now.
All those times that he had wanted to say how he felt, he had been too scared. When he had woken up in iron hearts tent last year after that train had ridden of the cliff, she had looked so beautiful whilst she was asleep.
Or when one of the big five had dueled T'ea and she was trapped in the ice...her will power to carry on was inspiring, even if he did cut his hands open tying to break the ice when she collapsed.

Atem got up and walked over to their window. He sighed and leant his head against the glass.
"What am I going to do?" He turned back to the chocolate haired beauty and knelt next to her. He leant his head under her chin and let the tears he had been holding back for days, now leak out.
"Oh god T'ea I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you sooner...I'm so sorry T'ea I really am...oh God" he said helplessly.

"...Atem..." Atem smiled as he heard T'ea mutter his name again, the tears still fresh on his cheeks. It was nice.
"...Atem..." That was odd she said it twice. Then Atem felt a hand on his. He looked up to see T'ea's half lidded eyes staring up at him.
"...T'ea...your awake" he said smiling. He sat on the side of her bed and enveloped her in a hug.
"My god I was scared"
"...where am I? Where's Khaldun?" Atem looked up at her and stroked her face. His previous tears were long forgotten.
"He's gone. He can't hurt you again not while I'm here" T'ea sat up her eyes now fully open. Atem stared into her eyes and traced his finger down the side of her face. Her eyes were darker...they were dead of all emotion. That bastard had done this to her. He would make him pay. She smiled happily at the sensations Atem was causing her but then snapped out of it.
"Hurt me? what are you talking about" she said confused.
"Don't you remember? What he did to you T'ea?" T'ea wracked her brain until a memory developed in her mind.

'Khaldun got T'ea's arm and threw her to the ground he suddenly let sparks of energy fly from his fingers and hit T'ea dead in the eyes.

"You want her to remember? Well then maybe you should see how much pain she was feeling on the inside" T'ea suddenly yelled out in pain and arched her back up to breaking point. Someone yelled out her name but all she could focus on was the pain that she was feeling.

"Ahhh...my head" she said with tears leaking out of her eyes. Atem wrapped his arms round her waist and held her body, close to his, rocking her slowly back and forth.
"T'ea what's wrong?"
"My head...it's killing me" she said in short sobs.
"Shhh T'ea it's alright" he said calming her.

After a few minutes she had stopped crying and had returned back to her peaceful slumber.
Atem placed her under the thin bed sheets and kissed her on the lips.
He stroked her face and whispered in her ear.
"Your so beautiful T'ea" he kissed her one last time before going to his bed and slowly falling to sleep.
T'ea's eyes opened slightly and she pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips and smiled.
'He thinks I'm beautiful' She closed her eyes and sighed happily and drifted off to sleep.

hopefully next chap will be up soon
but i cant make promises...or can i?

luv u all

Saph

XxXxX