DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN Yu-Gi-Oh!, its characters, plots, or anything even remotely associated with it.

Just a little something my mind cooked up while watching Yu-Gi-Oh! again, but it only works if Marik didn't trap Mai's mind, so you can call it AU or alternate ending; I don't care – just read it and enjoy :)

Out of a like for their Japanese names (or respect for the Japanese's ingenious with anime and manga in the first place – maybe both), I'm using the Japanese names.

If you don't know them, here they are with their different spellings in Western order.

(Given name, surname/family name/last name)

Mai Valentine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mai Kujaku

Joseph "Joey" Wheeler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katsuya Jounouchi/Jōnouchi/Jonouchi

Yugi Moto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yuugi/Yūgi Mutou/Mutō

Téa Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anzu Mazaki

Tristan "Timothy" Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hiroto Honda

Duke Devlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryuji/Ryūji Otogi

Ryou Bakura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryo/Ryō Bakura

Serenity Wheeler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shizuka Kawai

Marik Ishtar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mariku Ishutāru

Also, we don't really know the inner layout of the blimp, so I'm making it how I want it :P

Mai began to make her way back to her room, broken and bloody on the inside.

She didn't know this Mariku guy or what his deal was, but she did know she had just barely escaped a fate worse than death – The Shadow Realm, he had called it.

And I nearly lost them forever, she thought with a harsh sob, covering her face lest anyone be near to see her cry; she hadn't cried in a while, since she was much too proud and had an image to uphold.

Not since my seventh birthday, when Mom and Dad were to busy to show up to a party they threw.. If I lost them... Yuugi-kun, Anzu-chan, Honda-kun...

"Jounouchi-kun... Oh, God!" She cried with another sob.

The Harpes Ladies were my only friends, and as much as I love them... as much as they mean to me... I've always wanted something more, and I couldn't bear to lose the only real friends I have!

Mai had somehow made it to her room with her blurry eyes and produced her key card from one of her jacket pockets before roughly sliding it through the slot and allowing herself entrance.

She dropped gracelessly onto her bed and let the bottle blow, not at all caring if anyone passed; she was in her room, and the action in itself meant she wanted some privacy.

XxXxXxXxX

The young group exited the elevator in a very unorganized fashion, some laughing at jokes and others – namely Ryuji and Hiroto – were quietly fighting over trivial things... like who would go out with Shizuka.

"Goodnight, guys," Ryo called over his shoulder, walking into his room with a large yawn.

"Goodnight, Honda-kun," Yuugi and Anzu called back, turning to Katsuya, who just turned the corner with a worried expression.

"What's wrong, Jounouchi-kun?" Yuugi inquired.

"I haven't seen Mai since she left. Where do you think she is?" He wondered aloud, trying not to seem as frantic as he felt.

"Maybe she just went to take a nap," Anzu offered, watching Hiroto and Ryuji take their spat away from the approaching Shizuka. "She did seem pretty beat after that duel, and she's probably on edge because of what Mariku kept telling her..."

"So you think she's in her room?" Katsuya asked hopefully.

"Positive," Anzu replied, looking to Yuugi and Shizuka, who both nodded. "But do you think it's a good idea to disturb her? She doesn't go in her room unless she wants to be alone."

"Well this is important," he insisted. "So I better not catch any of you following!"

And with that, he was off to Mai's room on the floor below, barely catching Anzu's nod of understanding and Yuugi's small giggle, signaling that they knew what he wanted to say, but that they would respect his wish of privacy.

The blonde teen found the elevator with ease after having been on the blimp for so long already, stepped in and pushed the "down" button, and hummed to himself as he waited.

When the doors slid open, he peered into the dark corridor and sighed with relief; no one would disturb them.

He rushed down the hall and slid to a halt in front of Mai's door, but as he prepared to knock, he heard a heart-wrenching sob, "I can't lose them... I just can't!"

Confused as he was, he nudged the door open just enough to peer inside and found Mai, sobs wracking her body as she cried.

He opened the door a little more and opened his mouth to say something – anything – but stopped when she continued, "Especially not Jounouchi-kun... I can't..."

Hours could have passed in the moderate silence, where the only sounds heard were Mai's quiet sniffles, but Jounouchi knew it had only been a few minutes before the tear-stained girl in front of him raised her head and sighed, not looking back.

"Katsuya..." She started quietly, gaining his attention and making him freeze; how did she know he was there? "I thought it went without saying that if I was in my room, I wanted to be alone."

"I was... I was worried about you," he stated simply with a shrug, letting himself in.

She sent him a death glare and he froze.

"And why would that be?" She wondered bitterly, looking back to the floor; even though he admitted that she was in his dream, it still hurt that he hadn't admitted it in the first place. "If I'm not a good enough friend to be in your dream as you remember it the first time, then why would I be good enough to be remembered immediately?"

Katsuya staggered back a step and looked down in shame; the words hit him – hard, like a blow to the stomach by Ushio – and he couldn't believe she was still on that after what he and Yuugi did for her. Biting back his annoyance, he stepped cautiously farther into the room and apologized again.

"I told you I didn't mean it," he said softly, clenching his fists. "It was stupid for me to say that, and I'm sorry... I just... couldn't tell you with everyone watching..."

Mai looked up at the younger blonde with a curious expression.

"Tell me what?"

He still didn't look up at her, but she could tell that whatever he had to say was weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"Come here, Jou," she insisted softly. "Tell me what?"

He stayed there but picked his head up enough to look at her through his unruly dirty-blonde bangs as he replied, "I really... I really like you, Mai..."

A light pink blush dusted the young duelist's cheeks and Mai smiled at the sight; how often had Katsuya ever blushed? Did he even blush? He didn't look like the type to get embarrassed easily.

Katsuya rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh and looked over his shoulder at the door, hoping to get a response from the girl sometime before the end of the century.

Mai, happy as she was, wouldn't get her hopes too high, and asked, "You don't mean that. Not how I think you mean it... right?"

Katsuya stiffened and the air around him turned serious.

His attention turned back to the older duelist and he gave a slight nod.

"I do mean it."

Mai immediately stood and choked Katsuya with a hug, whispering, "And I couldn't hope for anything more," as she pulled him down into a kiss.