To Turn the Other Cheek

The other watched in shock through the power of the puzzle, why would Tea turn on Yami? "What da?" Joey asked.

"I don't know but it doesn't look good." Tristan said and looked over a Yugi who was fighting hard to hold back his tears of fear. "Uh but hey man, I am sure they will get out of this one, Marik must be behind this and he never wins."

Twenty-Third floor

The Arrow flew at him and Yami was paralyzed. How could she do that to him? He was going to let her kill him for he had nothing to live for now that his Tea was no longer his.

Ryou stood there and watched but something inside him was breaking free, Bakura was braking through and Bakura could not hold him any longer. And in a state true of heroism, Bakura pushed Yami out of the way and was hit with the arrow of Tea.

"Damn!" she said completely out of character, "The next arrow will not miss." She said reaching for her quiver. But Yami ignored her for his friend was hurt. Blood took no time in staining his shirt. Yami pulled out the arrow and Bakura gasped.

"What, happened?" Bakura asked. His vision becoming blurry and his voice dropping into nothingness. "Oh Yami, are you okay, sorry I pushed you." he smiled weakly.

"No, Bakura. Why did you do that? The arrow was meant for me." Yami looked down at his friend for answers, but Bakura was falling into darkness and fast. Yami could only watch him take his last breath before he fell limp in the Pharaoh's arms. Yami placed Bakura down gently before standing to face Tea once more. "What you did was unacceptable, Tea, how could you?" Yami was angry again, yes it was true but he was angry for the first time at Tea.

"What, you were trying to kill him anyway." she shrugged.

"Tea, what are you saying?" Yami asked, no he refused to think that Tea was capable of such things."

"I told you, that Marik is the real Pharaoh, and he wants you out of the way." she said as a matter of factly. It was at that moment that he knew Marik was using Tea against him. And he did the only thing he could do

"I am sorry Tea." He held out his hand, "Mind numb!" He called and Tea's eyes dropped and she fell forward into his arms. He had put her mind to sleep for the time being, for it was time fore him to face Marik, once and for all. Yami placed Tea on the ground and whispered a few promises of return before reaching the elevator and going the rest of the way up.

At the top, Marik sat in a chair over looking the moon, it was pinkish, soon to be read, for he would get Tea to dance for him. "Ah, Pharaoh, I am glad you came." He said. "Tea has been waiting for you." He pointed to the pool on which Tea hung by her arms. Her head was down she was asleep.

"Tea?" he asked, it was she, but how, he had left her on the twenty-third floor, "how can this be?"

"Oh, I guess you aren't as smart as people think you are. The Tea you encountered was a copy, nothing but a mind slave made to look like your love. Pretty good huh?" Marik laughed darkly. "She was to kill Bakura."

"But she told me that she wanted to kill me." He paused, of course. "You knew that Bakura would save me, you knew what it took to free him, you were trying to get rid of Bakura so you could rule the world alone." Yami said

Marik clapped, "How very perceptive of you" and smiled darkly and laughed, "For him to think that I would share the power with him was stupid."

"I don't care who you are, turning against your friends will be the end of you." He said "let her go." He pointed to Tea.

"Making demands, not much has change in five thousand years? Has it Pharaoh." He smiled "well under my rule the world will be a better place." He said, "If you step down now, I will spare you and your pathetic friends."

"Never, will I step down, never will we bow down to you. You will free Tea and be forever banished to the place of darkness for all you have done, in the past and present."

At that moment Tea groaned and looked up to see two forms in the pink moonlight. One, she was sure was Marik but the other? Was it Bakura? No, she studied the way the other help himself and she knew… "Yami! You did come for me, I knew you would."

"Of course I would come for you. Why wouldn't I?" Yami turned and glared at Marik, "What have you been telling her?"

"Oh nothing. Just a little story, something about you forgetting her, honestly, do you expect me to believe that you came here to save that girl? You want to be pharaoh just as I do."

"That is not true, all I want is a life with my friends, and a life with Tea." He said

"Really?" Tea asked, tears brimming her piercing blue eyes.

Yami nodded at her but was pulled back to Marik's view when he heard the slivery twang of his opponent's sword. It had come to this. A fight to the death. To save all that he knew and wanted it would have to be this way. Yami drew his sword as well and stood before Marik, waiting for his move.

"You know I wish it didn't have to be this way. You see if I have been made Pharaoh in the first place I would have befriended you, for you would have made a good adviser, and as for you." He turned to Tea, "My desert flower, you would have made an excellent queen." He smiled as Tea scrunched her face in disgust.

"Enough of your talk Marik, you will not win this one" Yami said