(A/N: Yeah! I'm back. Stories needing to be updated for so long. For those wondering what happened, let me explain. Wellz, I got my new laptop but the problem is, it never came with Microsoft Word. But now that's taken cared of…to those who are anticipating for the conclusion of Enchanted Seduction, I'm currently writing the second half of the ending. Besides having a busy schedule and dealing with college apps., another reason is that the conclusion is the longest chapter throughout the story that could have been divided into two parts -if written, it's at least eighteen pages in a notebook- As far as when I'm updating it? Between Dec. 30-Jan.2)

Nightmare of a Thousand Cries:
Bakura walked down the halls of the 7th floor in the apartment complex in which he resided in. It was about midnight as he strolled about with a lot in his mind.

"Bakura…" a girl's voice cried out. "Bakura…"

Bakura walked down the halls of the 7th floor in the apartment complex in which he resided in. It was about midnight as he strolled about with a lot in his mind."Bakura…" a girl's voice cried out. "Bakura…"

With his head turning around, Bakura tried to look left and right, trying to locate the voice. "Who's there?"

"Where are you?" the voice called out.

Suddenly, he recognized the voice all too well and realizing where it was coming from, he dashed towards his apartment. Shaking fingers dug inside his pocket, taking out his keys, jamming it through the keyhole before bursting in.

"Tea!" he shouted. Trying to switch on the lights, it had proven to be a failure. "I know you're here. Everything's all right." he closed and locked the door behind him.

"Where are you?" the soft voice called out. All of a sudden, cries replace the shaky voice. The crying sounded more of a child's.

"Tea…" Bakura's voice softened, his face sketched with worry, unlike his demeaning look earlier with his encounter with Mari. He stood in the middle of the living room, within the darkness except for the moonlight that had cast its illumination in the room. His voice was calm, yet tense at the same time. "It's me…just me…Bakura. I'm not going to hurt you. Where are you?"

The cries echoed all around. He then found her curled up against the corner of the wall. Her head buried between her knees. Silently, he made his way towards her, kneeling before her, almost trapping her within the corner. His hand reached out, brushing her hair he attempted. But to much of his surprise, his hand went right through her.

Eyes widening, he tried to hold her in his arms but the result was the same. No matter how much or how hard he tried, he could never hold her.

"What's going on?" Bakura couldn't believe what was going on. Slowly, Tea stood up, not noticing Bakura at all. Making her way to the sliding door in his bedroom, she stepped onto the balcony, gazing at the view below her.

He followed her, trying to call out and catch up to her but it was no use. Tea just stood there, her fingers gripping onto the railing.

"Tea," he called out, nearing her slowly. "It's all right. It's just me. You're safe now. Mari's gone.

She turned around, appearing to have stared down at him. Her face was red and tear stricken. Her eyes swelled, her body shaking in fear as she pushed herself up, sitting atop of a railing. Her attention turned towards the full moon illuminating at the sky.

All of a sudden, the most horrifying, yet unexplainable thing happened. Pushing herself back, Tea slid back, falling out of the railing. No doubt was the master thief stunned as he ran after her. Attempting to reach her, it had only proven to be too late.

"TEA!!!"

(-)

Cold sweat dripped from Bakura's forehead. He sat up on his bed, breathing heavily, looking around. All was silent and dark within the confinements of his own bedroom.

It wasn't silent for long as a soft chuckle echoed throughout his chambers. He looked around, seeing a shadowed figure sitting on the edge of his bed. When the identity became in full view, he gritted his teeth. "Whench."

"You like that dream, don't you Bakura?" Mari grinned. "To see within the mind of the one you love. I know how she truly feels and I know how you truly feel about her in return."

"You leave Tea in peace!" Bakura slapped her right in the face. "I knew from the moment you possessed her that you have weakened her soul."

Reaching out to touch her face, the eyes familiar to Bakura appeared before him. "Tea?"

All was silent in the cold darkness of Bakura's room. Tea simply sat there on the edge of his bed, staring out at what it seems to be nothing.

"Tea?" Bakura called out once more.

(-)

"Don't listen to him Tea." Mari appeared before her. Within her own darkness, Tea just stood there.

"What do you mean by that?" Tea asked nonchalantly.

"Come now," she wrapped her arms around Tea from behind. "We don't have to be enemies. I'm just looking out for your best interests."

"My…best…interests?" Tea repeated in a dreamy voice.

"Think of it Tea." Mari smiled softly. "Do you really think Bakura would love you up to this point? After all, by the time he gave you the millennium bracelet, he became more fond of you simply because of the jewelry he gave you."

"That's not true!" Tea cried out.

"I'm sorry," Mari rested her head on Tea's shoulder, giving her a sad, sympathetic look. "But it is. What would have happened had he not given it to you? He would simply let your feelings for him go without being acknowledged."

"Stop it!"

"Besides," Mari took a step back. "It's too bad Yugi is nowhere to be found."

"Where's Yugi? What have you done to him?"

"Tea, I didn't do anything to your friend." Mari tilted her head to the side, smiling. "It was you. You were the one who kidnapped Yugi in the first place. Not to mention it was you who attacked both Yami and Bakura."

"That's a lie! I could never hurt them! How could I?"

"But you did." Mari held out her arm, a ball of light formed right on the palm of her hand. "See for yourself.

Tea's eyes peered into the sphere, seeing the images of her throwing Yami out of the car, attacking Bakura at the pawn shop, sending Yugi's grandpa in the dark and abducting Yugi. With each scene, Tea became more shocked, her hand clamping over her mouth. "It can't be."

Mari frowned sympathetically at Tea, slowly approaching her. "But think about it Tea. Everyone knows what you've done."

"It's a lie!" Tea's voice shook, falling to her knees. "You…you were the one who did this!"

"But who was there when it happened Who was it that everyone saw?"

This struck Tea like a bolt of lightning. Mari had made a good point. After all, their appearance was closely identical that it was almost impossible to tell them apart.

"So who was it Tea?" Mari smiled at her counterpart. "Who was there the whole time when these things happened?"

It…it was me, isn't it?" she answered in a soft voice.

"I think you're finally getting it." Mari placed a finger under Tea's chin. "But it's sad, don't you think? Think of it this way. Bakura never got the bracelet for you in the first place. As soon as his memory came back to him…"

The words Mari spoke became inaudible to Tea. Her lips kept moving but no words came out. Her mind and the surroundings around her began to fade back to reality…back to Bakura's room.

(-)

"Tea," Bakura shook her gently, sitting beside her. "Snap out of it. What's wrong?"

Rain began to pour down hard on the window and on to the streets. Tea slowly got up and made her way down the doorway. "I'm going home."

"It's raining hard." Bakura replied, although he didn't look up at her. Shifting a glance at the alarm clock, it was 2:30. "I suggest you stay here for the night."

Tea stood there, not looking up at him. The words of what Mari had said continuously repeated over and over, pounding into the dark cresses of her mind. Maybe what Mari said about the ancient thief was really true. She felt tears streaming down her face yet unable to control it. "I…I'm sorry. I should get going Bakura. I'll see you some other time." And at that, she left his bedroom before leaving his room in general.

Reaching the first floor, she left the complex, slowly walking under the pouring rain. To her, it didn't seem to matter if the drops of water soaked every inch of her.

Do you really think Bakura would love you up to this point?

"He did mean it when he said he loved me…right?" Tea asked herself as she continued walking in the pouring rain. Images played like a movie in her mind about attacking both Bakura and Yami. How could she have done so if she could not remember.

Streetlights barely lit the streets and no cars passed by. Yet as she made it to the bridge, she saw familiar figure with an umbrella in hand, looking over the view below her. Blinking twice, despite that his back was turned, she immediately recognized it was Yami.

Salty tears mixed with rain drops as she stood ten feet away under the streetlight.

Who was there when it all happened? Mari's voice replayed over and over again. It was you.

(-)

Meanwhile, Yami leaned against the railing gazing at the streets below him. No cars were present as the rain flooded the concrete sidewalks as well as the roads. Easily, Yami could see his reflection down below. After searching for Yugi for hours, he was exhausted more on the fact that Yugi was no where to be found.

Feeling the presence of someone, he looked around seeing someone standing not too far away from him. Squinting his eyes, he finally recognized who it was. "Tea? Is that you?"

With her head down, Tea slowly approached Yami, her body shaking with each step she took. As soon as she stood a good foot in front of him, she felt her knees go weak. The whole time, she avoided looking up at him.

Yami's face etched with concern. Gently, yet cautiously, placing his hand on Tea's shoulder, he spoke softly. "What are you doing out this late at night."

For a moment or two, there was only silence hanging on a thick line. Finally, she spoke but did not look up. "It's all my fault."

"What's your fault?" he tilted his head to the side. "Did Bakura do something?"

Tea shook her head, unable to control her tears. "No, it's not that. But…it was I who did it."

"Did what?" Noticing her tears dripping down her face, he used a single finger to lift her face up, surprised to see her eyes red and swollen.

Instantly, Tea retreated, taking a few steps back, looking away from him. "Don't look at me!" she shrieked.

"Tea!" Dropping his umbrella onto the road, Yami approached her, taking both of his hands in hers. "Something is wrong! I can see it in your eyes! Tell me!"

"Her face twitched madly as she finally looked up at him. "I was the one who kidnapped Yugi! It was me!"

"Tea…" Yami wasn't sure what to say of Tea's confession. He reached out to her, taking her by the shoulders. "Tea, look at me."

To this, Tea did not obey. Yami shook her a little harder, a bit more demanding than earlier. "Look at me Tea!"

Shaken by the harshness, Tea finally looked up at him. Shaken not from the rain but by her own fear. Yami, however, stared down at her, his eyes pierced intensely onto hers. "Listen to me Tea. It's not your fault Yugi was kidnapped."

But she wrenched herself away from Yami's hold. "You don't understand!" She began to back away from him as if she saw a ghost. "The only one to blame for what happened to Yugi is me!" Turning around, she ran in the pouring rain.

"Tea!" Yami called out. Picking up his umbrella, he went after her but quickly noticed that she was out of sight.

(-)

Soaking from head to toe, Tea stumbled down the stairs of the train station. She nearly collapsed as she reached the bottom steps.

With thunder and lightning calling out in the skies, Tea ran into the darkness of the platforms until she reached the pawn shop. Hesitant at first, she pounded her fist on the door with all her might, despite the fact that it was closed.

Almost instantly, the door opened only to have Shadi standing in front of her. His eyes bored into hers for a moment before pulling her in locking the door from behind. Gazing at her in an expressionless manner, he gestured to follow him to the storage room. Handing her a few towels, Tea used one to spread on the bed, the other to wrap around her figure.

With his back turned, Shadi brushed some of the dust off of his robe. "So why do you come to me?"

Kicking off her shoes, Tea sat on the bed, unsure of how to answer his question. "You must've known something about how to take off the bracelet Shadi."

"If you are asking me on how to remove it, I'm afraid I can't help you there." Turning around, he made his way towards her with his millennium key in hand. "You come for another reason, have you not?"

Eying the millennium key in hand, Tea gave Shadi a rather unusual look. "You're not going to scramble my mind, are you?"

"Let's be straight here." Shadi pointed the key right on her forehead. "What I do for my own pleasure is none of your business." he then proceeded to turn the key, entering himself into her mind.

(-)

Within the dark corners of Tea's mind, Shadi's eyes wandered left to right. Tea's mind looked slightly the same since the last time he checked it out, which seemed ages ago. Seeing the mirror wall within his reflection, he slowly approached it, placing his hand on the glass.

She did appear to be controlled earlier when she came here he thought to himself.

"You're looking in the wrong places." Mari approached him from behind a childish smile curling her lips. "It's not always the mind that causes one to fall into dark despair."

"Explain yourself!" he hissed, his fingers clenching onto the key.

"Of all your time in Egypt, you obviously don't know much of the soul of a mere human."

Shadi's eyes widened, realizing what Mari meant by what she said. "You can't mean…"

Mari laughed wickedly, taking a step back. "Enjoy the show Shadi." Turning around, she vanished from Shadi's sight.

With eyes darting around, Shadi looked around, trying to find Mai. Unfortunately, however, she was nowhere in sight. All of a sudden, the mirror in front of him began to scramble like the lines of a TV. It then became in full view with Tea simply standing there in her own darkness, staring at what seemed to be nothing. Mari, on the other hand, appeared beside her.

"Tea," Mari shook her gently. "Do you really think that either Bakura or Yami will ever forgive you for what you have done?"

"For the last time Mari!" Tea raged. "This is all your fault!"

"Tea!" Shadi called out to her. "Tea, can you hear me?"

Tea looked around, wondering who was calling out to her. "Shadi?"

Gritting her teeth, Mari turned her attention towards Shadi, raising her fist towards him. "Don't interfere you common, lowl-life sadist!"

"Tea!" Shadi watched the two. "Do not let your guard down. Mari is trying to manipulate you."

"Shadi!" Tea's eyes darted around. "I can't hear you. I mean, I can see you. It's just that I can't hear what you're saying but nothing's coming out!"

At first, Shadi was puzzled by Tea's response. He then noticed Mari smirking towards him.

"She can't hear you oh great one." Mari laughed at Shadi mockingly. "It would've been much greater pleasure if Bakura or the pharaoh were here to see this but I guess you will do." she then turned her attention towards Tea. "Tea, don't listen to Shadi. The guy is trying to give you false hope, something you don't need."

"What is it that you want?" Tea sneered. "I know you're after Bakura."

"But here's the fun part." that smile remained plastered. "Do you think her loves or he really loves me?"

"What do you think the answer is?" Tea tried to remain strong but found herself slowly falling weak.

Shadi's eyes watched silently at the two girl confronting one another. Tea, Mari will go through such great lengths to break you completely. Be strong and you may get out alive. He, at one point, felt a twine of guilt for none of his powers could work against Mari. Although he was strong enough to knock out the sorceress, he knew that if he penetrated Tea's heart, there was a great chance that he could hurt Tea.

"You know what? I don't know. Why don't we ask him ourselves?"

"Say what?" she was completely taken back. Suddenly, a figure stepped out from the shadows, appearing behind Mari.

Wrapping one arm around Bakura's shoulder, Mari smiled childishly at Tea before pulling herself closer to him. "Hey," she said softly enough so they could all hear. "Do you love Tea?"

Bakura parted his lips before speaking. "I never loved her in the first place. The only reason I seem to love her in the first place is because I knew I could bring you back."

Mari took a glance at Tea, anticipating her reaction. Tea's eyes had widened with shock. Her body began to shake, tremble, trying hard to not collapse.

Turning back to Bakura, Mari smiled at him, running a finger down his face. "Hey Bakura, tell me something. What do you think of Tea? What is she to you?"

A small smirk curled Bakura's lips before he answered. "What Tea is to me? She's nothing. Nothing but a worthless bitch who should die a slow, painful death."

Tea could feel her heart beat rapidly. The sounds of her heartbeat were like Indian drums pounding all around them. It couldn't be true, could it? It sounded exactly like Bakura and it was definitely him standing there. She didn't want to believe it but she didn't know what to think.

Bakura turned towards Mari, pulling her close to him. "My childhood friend, my eternal love…" he leaned forward, pressing her lips onto hers.

Shadi, from Anzu's mind, watched the whole thing. He didn't seemed surprised at what was taking place. However, he did realize the kind of impact it would have on Tea. "Don't give in Tea," he said to himself. "It is all an illusion. If you truly believe Bakura still loves you, then you would know by now that this is just an illusion."

Tea, however, simply stood there, her knees falling weak watching Bakura kissing up Mari. "Bakura…"

"Mari," Bakura smiled, placing a finger on her lips to silence her. "Give me a single moment my dear."

Nodding, she released her hold on him. Bakura slowly approached Tea, until he stood about two feet apart from her. His eyes were full of hatred, an essence of pure evil. A sneer crossed his features into something sinister.

"You crazy little whore," he hissed. "I never loved you in the first place. I don't know why you came to me the first chance you thought you had. As for how I feel about you…" he cupped hi hand on her face, and for a split second, Tea thought Bakura really cared. But in the next second, with all his might, he slapped Tea right in the face. As he did so, a fingernail viciously scratched her flesh, blood flowing from her cheek.

Overcome with negative emotions, Tea's hand went to her face where Bakura slapped her. Tears streamed like a crystal river down her face before she dropped her hand to the side, falling to her knees.

Simply, Bakura stood there, still glaring at Tea with such intensity. Tilting his head to the side, that smirk didn't leave his face, laughing softly to himself.

"I hope you die…" his words were like poisoned honey as they slipped out. All of a sudden, the surface below her began to crack. Like glass, they cracked into many pieces, causing her to fall into the shadows…

…to fall endlessly in darkness.

Tea's screams could be heard all around. Her hand tried to reach out in hopes of grabbing something. However, there was nothing to hold on to. She could easily Bakura standing there, watching her. She could hear Mari's laughing ringing in her ears. She could hear her terrified screams as she fell.

And there was no more.

(-)

Shadi, after having been pushed from Tea's mind, woke up to find himself laying on the floor. He laid there for a few more seconds before slowly rising to his feet. Tea sat there, her eyes dull and lifeless. Shadows had surrounded her body as if she had been caught by a tornado.

But he knew better. Tea's heart gave in to the darkness after what she had seen from Mari's illusions. It's easy to give in to the demons and shadows but after falling within could only be impossible to break free.

Tea sat on the bed, still silent as the shadows finally faded from view. Her eyes remained closed yet not for long. Opening them, they looked the same but if looked very closely, it's easy to realize that Tea was replaced by Mari.

"You little bitch." Shadi locked his gaze with the evil sorceress. "Are you happy now?"

Mari's eyes opened, smiling dreamily at Shadi." Me? Oh come now Shadi, I remember when you made Tea into your puppet back at that Egyptian Museum. Quite amusing indeed, having her to stand on the platform on the edge of the roof while you try to crack the pharaoh's mind. But, as we all know, the pharaoh kicked your ass."

"Oh no little girl." he tried to hold his ground. "My situation was different. I actually controlled Tea. Not send her soul plummeting in a timeless existence where only darkness consumed her. And another thing, she obeyed me. You, on the other hand, she obeyed the illusions you entertained her with."

"I know." Mari gave a short laugh. "All I had to was create a few things here and there, and sweet like candy, she falls into her own mess."

Shadi growled, glaring at Mari for a long time. "A child of loneliness. If you want to destroy someone like Bakura, why don't you go after him instead of dragging your reincarnation to an early grave?"

"I have a problem with interference," Mari smiled at Shadi. "And I know Tea is going to interfere if I were to settle my differences with the pharaoh and the thief." She then got out of the bed, slowly, making her way out of the pawn shop. "Oh, and don't worry Shadi, I'll deal with you soon. Just after I finish my agendas." Laughing softly, she vanished as she reached the door.

(-)

So what you guys think? Huh? Huh? Stop staring with your mouths open and go off to review -starts holding out her broom to readers- Review everyone and I'll continue.

-To Be Continued-