Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

It was undoubtedly the coldest, most hollow pair of once-enchanting bright blue eyes he had ever seen. They made his heart wrench painfully. It was certainly a sight he wouldn't soon forget, even if they were to escape, alive.

Yami Yugi stood there on the cold stone floor, stunned and utterly bewildered. His brilliant eyes of violet were wide with shock, so much that tears threatened to show themselves. What he saw pained him beyond repair.

Before him stood one of his best friends in the whole world, staring back at him with distant, opaque-turquoise eyes. No pupils, no gleam, no sign of life. The moonlight from the nearby window reflected off her light pink blouse and white skirt, the lasting bubbly reminder of who Tea Gardener once was. What she was, that is, before becoming subject to the mercy of a wielder of ancient, powerful shadow magic. Simply being the wrong person, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The pharaoh, usually confident and facing every challenge fearlessly, now had difficulty finding his voice to speak. He had hoped this wouldn't happen; he swore to protect her, with everything he had. The past three days that Tea had been missing, he would drive himself to the brink of insanity just to find her and bring her back safely. Now he had found her, standing in front of him with a hand behind her back.

"Tea…" he finally muttered, his voice hoarse and shaky. "No…not you…"

The figure before him spoke, in Tea's voice, and in another's in unison. A unique and frightening sound all too familiar to Yami and the gang.

"Prepare to die and relinquish your powers to me, pharaoh."

"Never!" Yami shouted back defiantly. "Let her go, Marik! She has done nothing to you!"

"No, my pharaoh, but you possess powers that I sorely desire. This girl is important to you, am I right?"

Yami knew if he went along with this, he would play right into Marik's hands. He summoned up what courage he could and took a step forward. "Just leave her alone. This is between you and me."

The mouth on the soulless face of Tea cracked into a sinister smile. "Kill him."

Yami froze in his stride.

Tea's hidden hand emerged from behind her back, to reveal a switchblade in her hand. The moonlight took no hesitation to shine upon the blade, showing off its lethal glory. The golden hilt, of which Tea's fingers were firmly grasping, was adorned with amethyst gems, not unlike the hue in Yami's frightened eyes. It was beautiful…and deadly. A work of art; an instrument of destruction and bloodshed.

Tea also took a step forward, and pointed the dagger at him threateningly, without any hesitation to her master's orders. Yami did not move, even as she advanced, the point of the blade coming closer and closer to his frantically-beating heart.

"Tea, no, please," he begged her. "Fight it, Tea, you can do it. Don't listen to him!"

The possessed brunette continued to approach him without pause, completely ignoring his plea. Blank eyes stared straight ahead, unmoving as she broke into a short sprint, catching Yami by surprise. He was too slow to react; in no time, Tea had him firmly pinned against the hard brick wall, with her free hand at his throat. Her manicured fingernails dug into his skin, adding sting to suffocation.

"Tea!" the pharaoh choked, hands grasped tightly around her wrist, trying to break free. He sensed the blade coming in her other hand, going straight for his heart – his core. He reacted quickly, removing one of his hands to grab her other wrist just as it was about to penetrate his body. Tea was strong for a female, and Yami found himself using all the muscles in his arm to keep her from killing him on the spot. He knew the Millennium Rod was assisting her, but his Puzzle was helping him counter it.

"It's no use, pharaoh! You are going to die by the hands of your own ally! Your best friend! Resisting is pointless, you are only delaying your eventual death!"

"Stop it Tea, you don't know what you're saying!"

"Shut up! She belongs to me now!"

"No!"

"Yes! Face it, she's gone!"

Yami knew he had to. He hoped he wouldn't have to do this, but he had no choice in the matter. Tea's grip immediately loosened and her resistance to his hand buckled as his knee collided with her stomach. He took this opportunity to shove her off of him, watching as she toppled to the floor, still holding onto the knife.

"I'm sorry, Tea," Yami croaked, wiping a tear from his eye. "But you left me no choice."

The brunette quickly got back on her feet, glaring at him with menacing eyes. "You will regret that, Pharaoh."

"Tea, please, just fight it," he pleaded. "You are a strong girl, you can free yourself from Marik's control."

There he saw it. A flash in Tea's stone-cold eyes. Small grunts escaped her lips. Yami smirked – Tea could hear him. The real Tea, his best friend.

"Come on Tea, you can do it!" he cheered, as if she were in an athletic competition. "Of all the times you've encouraged me to do my best, now it's time I do the same for you! Come on, Tea, fight it! Be strong!"

"Y-yami…"

The pharaoh's eyes lit up at his name. It was hesitant, and weak, but it was something. She was fighting the Millennium Rod with everything she had.

"What?! What are you doing, you insolent girl? I said kill him! Do it now!"

Yami watched in horror as Tea's face grew angry and distorted, even moreso than before her attempt to break free. She charged at him again, but Yami wasn't going to be fooled twice in a row. He quickly dodged the knife swiping down on him, but not enough to escape it completely, as the sharp blade tore his sleeve, grazing his skin. Blood immediately leaked from the wound, and a red stain spread on the rest of his jacket. Yami yelped in pain, clutching his arm and feeling warm blood ooze through his fingers.

He couldn't get distracted for too long. He had to save Tea, no matter what happened to him.

"Tea…please stop this madness…"

"Ph-pharaoh…"

There it was again. She was still fighting. Her whole body began to shake. She let her arm fall limply to the side, barely holding the knife in her hand, its once flawless blade now tainted with the pharaoh's blood.

Grimacing from the searing pain in his arm, Yami slowly let go of his bleeding arm, shaking off the blood from his hand. He approached Tea cautiously – he was taking a risk, but he didn't care. He had to break through to her. He won't lose her to Marik.

Tea took a small step backwards, surprised at the pharaoh's determination. She flinched as he delicately cupped her face with his two hands, bringing their faces closer and closer until they were inches apart. She looked away, not wanting to give in.

"Look at me, Tea," he demanded. By this point, blood had traveled down his elbow and had begun to drip on the floor, but he didn't take any notice.

She was forced to stare into his eyes, a wistful look about them. Yami's amethyst eyes searched for any sign of his best friend in the pair of blank blue eyes staring back at him. He took a deep breath. If this didn't work… he didn't want to think about it.

"I love you, Tea Gardener."

"…what did you say?"

"I love you, Tea," he said again, noticing more flashes of light appearing in her possessed eyes.

Tea gasped as Yami pulled his face to hers, closing the gap in a warm, loving kiss. He parted slowly, holding his breath to see what in the world she would do to react to that.

Yami jumped slightly as he heard a sudden outburst from somewhere in the room. "What is this?! No, I'm losing my control over her! Shit! How can this be?!"

It was working.

Uncontrollable shaky breaths escaped Tea's lips. She was obviously struggling to regain control over her body again. She was almost there. Marik was weakening; he could sense it.

"I…" she began tentatively, in her normal voice barely breaking through. "I-I…"

Yami interrupted her, locking his lips with hers in another kiss, this time with a little more passion. She stiffened at first, putting up her guard. He ignored her resistance and continued to kiss her.

It seemed like hours had gone by until he suddenly felt Tea return the kiss with equal passion, sensing the shadow magic melting away, like cotton candy on the tongue. The dagger slid out of her grip, falling to the floor as a small clang echoed in the small chamber. They broke free, and with a gaze in Tea's eyes, Yami knew that his friend was back. Her eyes shimmered cerulean-blue brilliance, further brightened by the moonlight. He couldn't mistake those eyes for anyone else's in the whole world.

Her mouth stretched into a joyful smile. "I love you too, Yami." His heart sang with her reply. It was just too good to be true.

"Tea…" he whispered softly, noticing her eyelids drooping. She had to have been quite exhausted. Her eyes closed completely as she nimbly collapsed in his arms. Yami held her tightly, having been missing her since the day she vanished.

He sensed something immediately, snapping him out of his reverie. Not even thinking of it, he swiftly swiped the half-bloodied switchblade lying on the floor, Tea still in his arms. With a quick turn and precise aim, he buried the knife in Marik's flesh beneath his heart, just as Marik was about to stab him with his own dagger, hidden in the Millennium Rod. Marik stopped dead in his tracks, voice stifled in pain, still holding the gold blade high above his head as he fell backwards, blood running down and staining his dirty-white tunic. Yami didn't even look back from where he came as he exited the chamber with an unconscious Tea in his arms.

It must have been well into the early morning when he finally arrived at the Game Shop. No one was outside; the small side of town was desolate, in a sort of peaceful way as the moon smiled upon the handsome hero. Somehow he managed to briefly hold Tea in one arm as he fumbled for the extra key in his pocket. The shop was deathly quiet, and with a quick glance at the clock, he figured why: 3:41am.

Yami gingerly laid the sleeping form on the couch in the living room. By this time, his injured arm was throbbing painfully. He made his way to the bathroom to tend to it, retrieving a wash cloth soaked in lukewarm water, with some gauze and a roll of bandage wrap. As he returned to the living room, compressing the rag to his wound, he heard the brunette stir.

"Tea, are you okay?" he asked her as she slowly opened her eyes. "Yeah, I…Yami… what happened to you?" she lifted a finger and pointed to his arm. Half of his sleeve was soaked with crimson blood. She frowned and furrowed her brow, realizing who must have done that to him. "Yami… I-I'm so sorry… this is all my fault…"

"Don't be silly," he whispered gently, soothing her with his smooth, baritone voice. His expression was soft and sympathetic, putting her somewhat at ease. "It wasn't your fault. You were under Marik's control. Besides, I've had worse than this."

Tea slowly sat up and took the gauze and wrap in her hands. "At least let me wrap it for you."

Yami happily obliged, removing his blood-soaked jacket and the warm, damp cloth, surrendering his arm to her. He remained relaxed as Tea wrapped his arm with a touch as gentle as a lamb. His arm was definitely sore, but it surely felt much better than before. He gave her a peck on the lips as a thank you.

"You need your rest, Tea. Would you mind…staying the night?"

Tea blushed, and nodded gratefully. "Sure, and thank you."

Yami crawled onto the couch, making sure to lie on the side that didn't have the healing arm. Tea soon joined him, resting her head against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her in a warm embrace. Both fell into a blissful sleep, thankful for their lives, and each other.

THE END