"The courses of true love never did run smooth."
~ by William Shakespeare ~

Chapter3: The Rift in Time

Tea, Yugi and Bakura walk to the opening of the cave wall that gave way. In the dark cave is a small opening where a small waterfall with some rocks leading to it. Which allowed delicate moonlight to shine inside the cave. Besides the waterfall is a hotspring that look warm and inviting.

Tea smiles happily " Wow neat a hotspring!!" As she goes to it and takes off her socks and shoes to clean and relax her feet. Yugi follows Tea and joins her.

While Yami Bakura scans the place with and evil smiles as he looks at the size of the gave. "This place is more then big enough for a duel." He says qutiely to himself.

As for Yugi he shyly looks at Tea as he dips his feet into the warm water. He tries not to stare at her as she rubbed her legs in the refreshing water. Tea rubs her broken ankle lightly and squints in pain a little. Yugi reaches into one his pockets and takes out a good size blue handkerchief and holds her ankle as he ties it for temporary support tell the get to a hospital "There you go."

"Thanks Yugi." Tea smiles with appreciation.

" No problem. Yugi smiles back.

Yugi looks at Tea's face as the exchanged smiles and dreamily says to himself " Wow she beautiful when she smiles"

Tea raises one of her eyebrows weirdly at Yugi and asks " um. Yugi you can let go of my ankle now."

Yugi shakes his head and flushes red on his cheeks and clears his throat "Uh.. Yeah …eer..Sorry." he lets her ankle go looks away embarrassingly.

Tea laughs lightly at Yugi as he sees him blush and says " Oh Yugi you're so cute when you blush."

Yugi smiles lightly still blushing " thanks.."

Tea smiles and lightly splashes water playfully at Yugi. Yugi laughs and splash her back, as they splashed each Yugi's millenium puzzle glows lightly and hears Yami's voice in his mind " Yugi..let me out.." Yami says in somewhat in a sharp tone.

" What is it Yami.." Yugi asked.

"I sense an evil presence and its getting closer."

Before Yugi could transform he hears an unnatural and dark chuckle coming from the direction where Bakura is standing. Tea and Yugi stand up and sees right away that it wasn't the good Bakura. But something darker and sinister that they both though was gone to the shadow real forever.

Yugi closes his eyes as his millenium item's light glows around and transforms into Yami. Yami opens his eyes and gives Bakura a cold serious face. " I thought your spirit was banished to the Shadow Realm.." As he remembers seeing Tristan through the ring into the ocean. "How on Earth did you get back!?"

Bakura eyes widen psychotically and laughs " Ha.. You think I'll just leave so easy Yami?"

"I told you I will never give up until I get all of the millenium items including yours and unlock it powers!!"

Yami glares and holds the millenium puzzle " I'll never give the puzzle to you!!!"

Yami Bakura smirks " Lets duel right know. Or else I'll trap your precious little Tea into a game card as her pathetic Magician of Faith and Shadow Realm forever." Smiles lustfully at Tea who looks frightenly back at him as Yami goes to her side and wraps a protective arm around her " Leave Tea out of this!!" says Yami as Tea holds on to him for protection.

"Oh come on Yami you think I'm just going to duel you without any fun." Bakura replies.

"Enough! Let's duel!!" Yami takes his dueling disk from his jacket and activates it. While Tea stays safely behind Yami so Bakura could not get close enough to harm her.

As they prepare to duel the atmosphere in the cave turned dark and cold like the last time the two duelist dueled on Duelist Kingdom. The atmosphere makes Tea's body feel cold and heavy like as if hard lead slammed into her head. Tea's eyes lose their focus before completely collapsing. Yami turns around and Catches Tea before she hits the hard cave floor. "Tea!!" he says concernedly at Tea who almost looks pale and quite as if death as hit her. Yami Turns around and gives Yami Bakura a furious pricing violet stare. "What the Hell did you do to Tea?!" He demanded.

Bakura smiles coldly " I just put her into a deep sleep so she doesn't interferes with our duel."

"And just to make sure she doesn't wake up..I'll add little more dark energy." Bakura takes out his millenium ring and shots out a golden light to hit Tea.

But before the light could ever reach Tea another beam of light clashes with his which came from the Millenium puzzle that Yami is using " I won't let you hurt Tea." Yami says as he grits his teeth together as if to straightening against Bakura's evil energy.

As the energy clashes the intense brightness cases the ground to shake a little and split opening a vortex of Energy to suck all three into the spiral of light. As all three fell in Yami grabs hold of Tea's defenseless body and wonders "what's happened?" But the force of the Vortex was so strong it pulled Tea away from him. Yami tries to grab hold of tea's hand but Bakura Snatches her away from Yami's grasp and disappears into spirals movement of the Vortex. Yami tries to go after them with no prevail and shouts "NO! Tea!!!"

-To be continued-

---- Thank you SM Candy for your inspiration couldn't have done it with out you.---