Chapter 16

Yami's awareness came back to him slowly. He was drinking from something.

No someone.

YAMI STOP!

"Let go man!"

"Yami you'll kill her!"

"ALEX!"

Alex.

The sound of her name was like a bucket of water had been dumped on him. With a dawning horror he ripped himself away from her neck. Her eyes were half closed, her heartbeat erratic, and her breathing shallow and laboured. "A… m…" she breathed looking at him.

"No," he breathed. "No, no, no, Alex! No please! Please don't leave me!"

"Yami!" his head snapped up. There was Tea, Tristan, Joey, and Kaiba standing next to an unconscious Bakura. Well Tea and Tristan were standing. Joey was struggling to hold back a frothing Kaiba who had murder in his eyes.

"You BASTARD! You killed her! You killed my sister!" Kaiba howled at him.

Yami looked back down at the woman in his arms, and let his tears fall. Who cared about pride when his heart was in agony?

Then her green eyes fluttered opened and locked onto his own. Despite what he'd done all that was there was love in those eyes. "No," Yami snapped as her eyes slowly closed again. "She's not dead yet. Tristan, Tea, there are blood bags somewhere in this building, Bakura threw one at us. Find as many as you can and bring them back here." He ordered before ripping his wrist open on a fang. He quickly pressed it against Alex's mouth trying to encourage her to drink. For the longest minute of his life nothing happened. And then Alex started to swallow. Her colour gradually came back and Yami's strength started to fail. Tea and Tristan came bursting back into the room with their arms full of blood bags. He quickly adjusted Alex so she could lean back against his chest and continue drinking from his wrist while he reached out his free hand to grab a blood bag and tear into it.

After several minutes and a dozen blood bags, Alex's eyes fluttered open and she pushed Yami's arm away. "Yami?" she said confused turning to look up at him.

"Oh Ra Alex," he rasped gathering her into a tight embrace and burying his nose in her hair.

"But how?" she asked. "I thought I was dead."

"Alex!" the rest of their friends shouting while converging on them. Seto nearly ripped her from Yami's arms.

"Don't you EVER do that again!" he snarled shaking her slightly.

Alex just gave him a small smile and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry Seto. I love you too my brother."

The hug lasted for a minute until Joey noticed something. "Hey Kaiba? Are you crying?" he asked astonished.

"Of course not Mutt," Kaiba said bolting upright. The two immediately launched into an argument with Tea and Tristan looking on in amusement.

Alex grinned at them before turning to look back at Yami. His eyes held none of the mirth everyone else had. "I thought I lost you," he whispered cradling her face.

Her smile turned sad at the heartbreak in his voice. "But you didn't," she whispered. "You saved me. I told you on the first day I met you that I trusted you."

Yami finally gave her the smallest of grins shaking his head, "Foolish woman."

"Ridiculous man," Alex countered her smile widening.

"You know, you promised you wouldn't offer yourself up to anymore hungry vampires," Yami pointed out.

"Mm, that was when I wanted to be your friend. I think we're much more than that now," Alex whispered in his ear.

"You're right. You're my heart. My love," Yami said pulling her tight against him again. "I love you Alex."

"I love you too Yami," she beamed back at him.

A gasp brought them back to the real world.

Everyone turned their curious gazes to the source. Surprisingly, Tea was looking at them wide eyed. "Your love…" she said.

Yami quirked an eyebrow at his friend's strange behaviour. "Yes?" he questioned.

"Remember what Ishizu and Malik said about getting your memories back? You have to have your love and your friends to support you? What if it doesn't mean your emotional love for your friends and family?"

Yami's eyes widened. "What if it meant my physical love? A person?" he looked down at Alex. "The love of my life."

Alex's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Oh my Ra Yami, you can get your memories back."

"We can get our memories back," he corrected. "Bakura was clearly right about you being a reincarnation with all your dreams and recent memories. I have no doubt you were in the ancient past with me."

"Looks like we have a trip to plan then," Alex said grinning.

"Awesome!" Joey exclaimed. "But in the meantime, what are we gonna do with- aw shit he's gone!"

Everyone turned to look at the spot where Bakura had been lying. It was true the man had disappeared.

"Hurry! He can't have gotten too far," Tristan said and started to rush out of the room.

"Leave him Tristan," Yami called. Tristan turned to look at him with a confused expression. "He'll not attack again right now, now that his plan has been spoiled. There's too many of us and only one of him. But we shouldn't go seeking battle when we are so tired and battered," Yami explained eying the gashes and bruises his friends had collected.

"Yami's right," Alex said. "Let's just go home. We can fight Bakura another day when we're all stronger." The other four looked ready to argue, but let the issue go when they saw the stubbornness in both Yami and Alex's eyes.

"Ok," Tea said for them all. Yami and Alex both awkwardly stood up given that they were both still weak from what had happened. After they managed to get up they held onto each other but Tea came support Alex on one side while Joey helped Yami on the other.

On the journey out of the warehouse Alex found herself locking eyes with a pair of red ones continuously. Red. It was the colour of his eyes, of passion, of blood. It was funny how the colour red bound them.

The six battered teens made their way back to Kaiba mansion to rest and recuperate while they prepared for a second journey to Egypt, never noticing the eyes that watched them from the darkness.

"'With his love and his friends to support him' huh?" a voice pondered. "No wonder the Pharaoh waited so long to unlock his memories. He couldn't until he met his sweetheart. I suppose it's actually a good thing his little friends interrupted my fun, otherwise the real battle couldn't begin for another generation."

White and gold gleamed in the darkness. "Well enjoy what little time you have left Pharaoh. Soon you will lose everything you ever loved all over again. And I will be the only one left standing this time," the voice cackled as Bakura walked away into the night.

Thank-you so, so much for reading. I'd love to know what you guys thought so feel free to leave a review if you want. There will be a sequel to this story (working title right now is 'Gold'). I'll update this Author Note once it's done and posted, which I'll warn you could be a while. Like a year. Or more. Sorry.

Au revoir! à la prochaine!