The moment is finally here. The moment that he has been dreading ever since he became aware of what he has to carry out. As he stares into the eyes that resemble his own, his heart begins to beat out of his chest. He looks to all of the destruction that she has caused. And his mind goes to that of Karim, who did not stand a chance.

None of this is her fault. But he has to do this. He has a duty to protect all of Egypt. Even if it means protecting Egypt from his own daughter. He knows he is running out of time. Not only does he need to defeat her, but he can sense the presence of Zorc, the Dark One, beginning to make his official entrance to this world after being trapped for so long.

He has to make this quick while also conserving his energy for the ultimate battle with Zorc. Telling by her current stance, she seems to be weakened from Mana's attack, hunching over and holding onto her arm. She begins to approach him, occasionally wobbling and tripping over her own feet and he clenches his fists at his side, mentally and physically preparing himself for whatever is to come.

"What is he gonna do?" Téa asks, looking on with worry while tending to an unconscious Mana whose head lies on her lap.

"I don't know," Joey replies. "We've seen Cairo in action. I don't think any human being is capable of going against her."

"And the only one that did is now out of commission," Tristan chimes in, referring to Mana's current state.

"I wouldn't count the pharaoh out just yet," Yugi says, causing them all to look at him. "Just look at Cairo. She took a critical blow and she likely doesn't have much energy to do anything too drastic. The pharaoh still has a chance!" He looks up to the darkened clouds in the sky. "He just needs to do it quick before the Dark One fully awakens!"

"Dark Magician! Come forth!" Yami summons. In a flash of purple light, Mahad appears, wearing his magician wardrobe and wielding his green staff, ready for battle. But when he sees who he's up against, his heart drops.

"My King…" Though he stands protectively in front of the pharaoh, even he has to admit that he is thrown off at the fact that he has been summoned to fight Cairo. He watched her grow, running through the halls of the palace and being carefree. He remembers when she first exhibited qualities of a magician and the look on her face when he caught her rummaging through the magician's scrolls, her curiosity getting the best of her. Like her mother, he trained her and although Cairo was insecure with her skills, she showed great promise.

Outstretching her hand, Mahad readies himself for what's to come, but he feels hesitant and Yami can sense that. He has never questioned the pharaoh's orders…until now.

"We have no choice…" Yami says and Mahad looks over this shoulder. It's almost as if the pharaoh is reading his mind at this very moment. Looking down to the pharaoh's clenched fists, Mahad can see them slightly shaking. If this is hard for him, he can only imagine what the pharaoh is feeling right now.

"We must defeat her once and of all," the pharaoh finishes to Mahad's surprise.

"But your highness…!"

"I know." Yami nods understandably. "But we have no choice."

Cairo shoots out a magical blast, though something is much different about this one. It is much smaller in size compared to the ones she's shot out before and the pharaoh takes notice. Mahad whisks it away with his wand with ease and does it once more when she shoots another attack. Cairo is very much winded as she gasps for air and her current attacks are weak.

This is his chance.

All he has to do is command Mahad to land a powerful blow and she will be defeated.

So why isn't he?

"What's he doing?" Tristan asks, noticing the pharaoh's hesitance. "He's got one shot!"

"Yeah but…" Téa looks down to Mana briefly before looking over to Cairo. "That's still their daughter…"

"This isn't fair…" Yugi says, gritting his teeth and shutting his eyes, knowing that what the pharaoh must be going through at this very moment must be hard without a doubt. "Does it really have to be this way?"

"Unfortunately, it does," Joey says, staring down at the scene below. He remembers what Shadow Cairo told the pharaoh when she returned back to her prison. "It's either her…or she'll destroy everything in sight."

Téa frowns. "But Joey…"

"I know how awful this is gonna sound but…" He looks down to the pharaoh who hasn't made a move and he takes in a deep inhale before shouting, "YOU CAN DO IT PHARAOH!" from the top of his lungs, causing everyone to gasp collectively.

"Joey what are you doing, man?" Tristan asks.

Ignoring him, Joey continues. "REMEMBER YOUR PROMISE!" Yami looks back at him with a surprised expression, not expecting the sudden outburst. "I know this situation is messed up, but she's counting on ya, pharaoh!"

"Joey…" Out of all people, he definitely isn't expecting to hear that from Joey. But he's right. In the long run, defeating her now and completing his destiny will give him the opportunity to free her from the shadows when it's time for him to return to the afterlife. The thought of having to defeat her pains him, but he really has no choice.

Clenching his fists, he looks to Mahad with a more determined look on his face. "This is it, Mahad. We have one shot."

"Are you sure?" Mahad asks, to which Yami nods. Mahad lifts up his staff and charges a magical sphere at the tip of it.

The pharaoh watches as Cairo outstretches her hand once more and he prepares himself as well. "Cairo…you didn't deserve this," he says to himself. "You deserved to live a full life. And I'm sorry I couldn't protect you in that moment. But I will set you free…and that's a promise."

Cairo releases her attack while Mahad waits for his own attack to charge. His magical sphere becomes bigger and bigger until the time is just right. The pharaoh outstretches his hand toward Cairo and sends out the command. "Do it, Mahad! Dark Magic Attack!"

With a loud battle cry, Mahad finally lets go of his attack. The blast is so strong that it easily overcomes the magical blast that Cairo sent out and her eyes widen with horror as Mahad's attack comes hurdling toward her. The blast makes contact with Cairo who lets out a demonic scream and everyone shields their faces from the explosion and the strong winds that follow.

"Is that it?! Did he do it?!" Tristan yells with his eyes shut while the wind continues to blow.

What feels like minutes pass by as they wait for the smoke to finally clear. Yami drops down to one knee, panting heavily and feeling his heart beating out of his chest. What he just did wasn't easy at all. Even while he was commanding Mahad to attack, he wanted to intervene. But he somehow managed to do it.

"It's over…" he breathes out and he closes his eyes. There's no way Cairo could have survived a blast like that in her weakened state.

"I'm so sorry, my King," Mahad says, turning to his master. "She was an ama—GRAAAH!" Mahad cries out after a blast emits from the smoke and hits him dead on, sending him hurdling to a nearby abandoned building. Feeling the damage that Mahad has just taken, Yami gags as blood shoots out of his mouth and he clenches his chest, quickly looking up to see what the source of the attack is. What he sees next completely shocks him.

"You guys! What is that?!" Téa asks, staring at the tall dark figure standing protectively in front of Cairo as the smokes clears more.

Joey squints his eyes before gasping. "I've seen that monster before!"

"The Magician of Black Chaos!" Yugi exclaims, his eyes widening. "I didn't know Cairo could summon that!"

"And something's telling me the pharaoh didn't know either," Tristan concludes.

Attempting to collect his breath, the pharaoh looks up, clenching his teeth. Cairo's eyes glow a purple hue and her hair begins to stand while her magician prepares to shoot another attack, this time, at the pharaoh directly.

"GET OUTTA THERE, PHARAOH!" Yugi yells out to him. The pharaoh stumbles to his feet just as the second attack is released and it lands on the ground, mere centimeters away from the pharaoh, blowing him back into a nearby wall.

"Pharaoh, no!" Téa cries out.

He can feel himself going in and out of consciousness. His vision is blurry, his body is tired and he doesn't know how much more he can take. He thought he had finished her off once and for all. But this new occurrence of her summoning a monster has totally thrown him off guard. He has has never seen her summon one in the present world, though he guesses she never felt the need to.

The sky above begins to rumble, signaling the coming of an even greater evil. Zorc will soon make his grand entrance into this world and he will have another battle on his hands. But how can he even focus on that when he feels his life force being drained?

'I'm sorry, Cairo…' His world begins to go dark. 'I tried…"

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'Is this really the end?'

He can't even bring himself to opening his eyes.

'Have I really...?'

What's the point when he couldn't fulfill his promise?

'Where am I?'

He hears demonic laughing echoing in the air and he finally opens his eyes. As he takes in his surroundings, he realizes he is no longer in the desert. In fact, it doesn't appear that he is in Egypt anymore. He is surrounded by infinite darkness. Where has he seen this place before?

Looking further down, he sees someone in the distance, perched on top of a rock. She hugs her knees close to her chest and her head is lowered. Could it be?

A dark figure appears in front of her, a demonic smile appearing on its lips. "Look at her," it says, staring down at Cairo.

Another figure pops up. "Still holding out hope that your father will save you?" They both laugh as more figures appear in front of her. She ignores them, choosing to attempt to block them out.

"Cairo…" Yami cautiously approaches.

"Well I hate to break it to you, but he's given up," the evil soul says, causing Yami to stop in his tracks.

'Is this some sort of dream?' he asks himself. 'Or perhaps…a vision?' Even with him being in plain sight to the evil souls that surround Cairo, they don't acknowledge his presence.

One of the evil figures gets close up to Cairo, appearing to inhale deeply before snickering. "Is that fear I smell?" it asks. "So the princess does show emotion after all." Another soul appears, knocking Cairo off her perch and onto the ground, pinning her head and back down as she narrows her eyes, attempting to break free.

Witnessing this occur, Yami growls and begins to run up to them. "Leave her alone!" he yells, but it doesn't seem like anyone has heard him. As he gets closer, he runs into an invisible shield, blocking him from getting any closer.

"Now to do what we've been aiming to do for centuries!" a dark soul hisses. "Destroy her!" Cairo grunts and tries to break free as more souls pile on top of her. "Give up! Just like your father did!"

Cairo manages to kick one of them off. "My father would never—" She gets pinned down again and cries out under the weight of the dark souls.

"Cairo, no!" the pharaoh yells, pressing his palms against the invisible shield.

"No one's coming to save you. You've held onto his word, only for him to fail you once again. He couldn't save you then and he can't save you now!"

She feels a multitude of punches and kicks landing on her body, from her stomach to her face and she clenches her teeth, trying not to cry. It isn't so much the physical pain that is getting to her, but the toll that being in the Shadow Realm has taken on her after all these centuries.

Cairo!

Is someone calling out to her? That's impossible from down here.

Cairo! I'm coming!

It almost sounds like him. But with the all of the shadows surrounding her, she can't tell who it is for sure.

Yami bangs on the shield as hard as he can, managing to break through just as Cairo closes her eyes. He pushes through the shadows, who appear confused as to who just did that, for they cannot see him. "GET BACK!" he yells from the top of his lungs and a huge force blows the shadows away.

Cairo can feel herself being lifted and carried away. She manages to open her eyes and gasps when she sees it is her father. "Dad?"

He sets her down somewhere safe, cradling her in his arms. "I'm here, Cairo."

"What…? How…? Did you…?"

He shakes his head, knowing what she is about to ask. He can see the brief hint of disappointment on her face and she lowers her eyes.

"I see…"

"But I'm still fighting…And I'm not gonna give up. I won't stop until I save you." he tells her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently. "I just need you to wait for me a little while longer."

"Dad…"

"Yes, Cairo?"

"I trust you." She squeezes his hand back and a look of determination replaces her previous look of doubt. She stands to her feet and he stands beside her as the shadows start to emerge again. "And if you're still fighting, then I won't stop fighting either. I'm gonna give it all I've got!"

He nods his head. "And so will I."

She smirks as a purple aura appears around her and her eyes emit a purple glow. "No holding back?"

He nods once more. "No holding back…"

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The pharaoh's eyes shoot open and he sits up, gasping for air. An explosion quickly brings his attention back to reality. He looks to Cairo's magician that wreaks everything in its path and slowly begins to make its approach to the palace, where villagers and the priests are taking refuge. Wobbling to his feet, he uses the nearby wall for balance.

"He's up!" Yugi exclaims with relief.

"I knew he wasn't down for the count!" Joey says, clenching his fist.

Yami closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I have no choice…this is my last shot…" He looks up to the dark sky, knowing that time is quickly running out. "…I need to end this now."

He looks over to Mahad who emerges from a pile of rubble who nods understandably before pointing its wand at the Magician of Black Chaos, shooting a blast at it to distract it from harming anyone at the palace. It then turns its angry gaze at the Dark Magician and the pharaoh.

"This is the end of the road for you," Yami says. "Your destruction ends here!"

Cairo looks to her own magician and it begins to charge up a powered up attack at the end of its wand.

"Here it goes…" Joey says anxiously.

Téa looks on worriedly. "Pharaoh…"

"You can do this…" Yugi says.

Mana stirs a little and slowly opens her eyes, sensing the presence of two powers growing at a fast rate. Looking down to the battlefield, she sees the pharaoh and Cairo standing across from each other with their respective magicians, preparing for one final clash. Her thoughts briefly go to the Magician of Black Chaos, a monster she has never seen Cairo summon before. In fact, she didn't know that she could summon a monster of her own to begin with. It appears to be powerful. Even more powerful than the Dark Magician. But the look on the pharaoh's face shows that he is determined to end this once and for all.

Téa gasps with surprise when she hears Mana grunt and sit up, holding her head. "Are you alright?"

"Take it easy, Mana," Yugi says with concern.

"He needs me…" Mana says, materializing her wand in her hand.

Cairo silently motions for her magician to send its attack and it obliges, preparing to shoot a powerful magical wave toward the Dark Magician and the pharaoh.

The pharaoh smirks to her her surprise and he outstretches his hand. "Now, Mahad!"

"SPELL BINDING CIRCLE!" Mahad yells, causing a magical seal to appear around the Magician of Black Chaos to Cairo's surprise, stopping its attack right in its tracks.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Cairo asks in her demonic voice, watching her magician struggle to break free. She then glares at the pharaoh and charges a magical ball in the palm of her hand, shooting it toward him in anger.

"Look out pharaoh!" Tristan yells.

The pharaoh narrows his eyes, bracing himself for the attack, only to be shocked when Mana appears in front of him, her eyes glowing pink as she deflects the attack with a blast of her own. "Mana!" he exclaims, relieved to see her standing.

"Now, Dark Magician Girl!"

The Dark Magician Girl appears behind Cairo, pointing its wand and performing the same spell Mahad just did, this time on Cairo. With both the Magician of Black Chaos and Cairo being bound by the spell, it leaves them both open for a direct hit.

"NO!" Cairo yells, floating in the circle alongside her monster.

Yami and Mana slowly look to each other, realizing this is it. As he gazes into her eyes, she can see her look of determination, mixed with a hint of sadness. Her eyes are watery, yet she manages to keep the tears from falling. He finds himself doing the exact same thing, bottling his emotions to perform this final attack.

His mind flashes back to when he first met Cairo. How she literally came crashing down into his world back in Domino City. How she managed to get him and his friends out of tight situations. Never hesitating to help despite her mission. Her rare moments when she let her guard down and became a kid again.

Then he came here, truly seeing her and her bright personality prior to the darkness taking over. Her smile. Her laughter. Her strength. And her braveness. Despite the circumstances, he is proud to call her his daughter.

With him and Mana standing side by side, they prepare to call out their final attack. He lightly draws in a breath when he feels Mana's hand interlocking with his. He looks to her and she does the same. This time the tears fall freely from her eyes, but she remains strong in that moment before they nod their heads simultaneously.

This isn't good-bye.

They will see each other again.

And that's a promise.

"Dark Magician!"

"Dark Magician Girl!"

The two magicians put their wands together and raise it to the sky, charging a magical sphere so bright that it temporarily brightens up the dark sky, causing a orange hue.

"DOUBLE DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"

The magicians obey their masters' orders, aiming the large sphere at Cairo and her magician whose demonic screams fill the air as the blast makes contact. The explosion that follows causes a strong gust of wind. Yugi and the others hit the ground while Yami brings Mana closer to him, shielding her with his cape. He can hear her sobbing gently and he looks down at her, seeing her face buried in his chest.

He gets an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach and a jolt shoots right through his heart as he comes to terms as to what just happened.

They did it.

It's over.

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AN: We are reaching the conclusion of this story and I just want to say for the hundredth time: Thank you to everyone that has been following along! Leave a review and I'll see you next chapter!