IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!

In case you haven't noticed, in chapter eight, I took down the note stating that I changed the pairing from JoeyxMai to JoeyxSubaru. Well, there is a reason for that and this chapter will explain everything. Just read and you will soon understand why I made that last minute change. Thank you and enjoy the last chapter of 'A Dream's Meaning'!

Chapter Twenty-Three: Going Home

Once the group arrived back at the hotel, everyone headed to their rooms to start packing for their trip home. When Yugi got to the room that he was currently staying in, the first thing he did was flop down onto one of the double beds and sighed, looking like he was ready to fall asleep at any moment. That was when Yami sat down next to him and gently ran his fingers through his multi-coloured strands.

"Are you going to be all right, hikari?" he inquired, speaking in a low, soft voice, placing his hands back in his lap.

There was a moment of silence before Yugi's voice could be heard. "Yeah... I'm fine..." Yami raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yugi..." he said sternly.

"What?" Yugi looked at his yami as he grinned innocently.

"I know you're not overly fine. So tell me, what's bothering you?"

"I told you, it's nothing, really."

"Tell me Yugi. You don't normally act this way so it's pure instinct that I worry about you. After all, you are my hikari as I am your yami and as such I am entitled to protect you at all costs. So please, tell me what's on your mind..."

Yugi continued to stare up at the ceiling for a few seconds more before pulling himself up and looking into the eyes of his yami. "I... I just don't want anything bad to happen to our friends ever again..." he spoke in an almost inaudible whisper. Yami then pulled Yugi closer, embracing him in a warm, comforting hug.

"Don't worry hikari. I can almost guarantee you that your friends will always be safe. Even if their lives are threatened once more, I promise that they will return unharmed. You have nothing to fear as long as I'm around...and I'm not going to be leaving anytime soon..." Yugi then looked up at Yami with his now tear-stained eyes. Without hardly any hesitation, Yami wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall from his hikari's beautifully clear, amethyst orbs. His mouth then widened, showing off a large, toothy smile. "I told you before, you have no reason to cry. Everything is back to the way it once was and Kalika is now gone forever. Our trip to Hong Kong is now officially over and before you know it we'll be back home in Domino City where we can finally have a well-deserved rest in peace." Yugi returned the emotional gesture and gently snuggled closer to his yami, falling asleep in his arms.

Meawhile in Joey's room...

Before the blonde even started his packing, there was sudden knock at the door.

"I wonder who that could be?" Joey pondered aloud as he reached for the door handle and swung the door wide open. At that moment he was both shocked and surprised to see just who was staring him in the face. "Mai? Where have you been?"

The tall, blonde-haired woman chuckled a little to herself. "Why Joseph, don't you remember? I was out shopping...and just look what I managed to bring back!" she exclaimed, pointing to numerous amounts of shopping bags, all labelled differently. There must have been at least twenty of them, if not more.

Joey heaved a heavy sigh as a large sweatdrop streamed down the back of his head. "Well I can certainly see that you had fun..."

Mai winked seductively at him. "That's right hun. Now if you'll excuse me, I better start packing. After all, we're leaving tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I was just checking. By the way, would you be a dear and carry in my things? I'm a little tired from all that shopping and I still have to pack. Thanks hun." Before Joey could even get a word in, Mai brushed past him and headed into the bathroom to take a nice long, relaxing bath. The moment that he heard the door shut tight, Joey sighed.

"Well I guess I better get moving..." and with those words Joey started carrying the bags in two at a time. It wasn't until ten minutes later that all the bags were safely in the room. Joey then flopped tiredly onto the bed and sighed once more. "Finally...done..." It was then that Mai came out of the bathroom in a rather sexy outfit, or so to speak. Let's just say that it was enough to make Joey drool uncontrollably.

"Uhh..." was the only word the blonde managed to slip from his mouth. He couldn't help but stare, after all, she was a very beautiful woman and almost any man would agree. Then again, what kind of man wouldn't think she was hot? For some odd reason, Seto Kaiba seemed to pop up in his mind. Gee, I wonder why?

"Well? How do I look?" Mai asked, striking a seductive pose, causing the blonde to drool even more.

Joey then eventually snapped back to reality and wiped the drool from his mouth. "I...uh...you...look great." It was simple, yet it was the only compliment he could think of while in that position.

"Aren't you going to say anything else?"

"Umm..." Joey hesitated for a brief moment, although it seemed like forever before he replied to Mai's question. "I...I think you look...wonderfully beautiful." Mai's eyes widened with happiness as soon as she heard those words escape Joey's lips. She extended her arms out to him just as he did and fell into his embrace.

"Thank you Joey, I've always wanted to hear that come from you..."

"You...did?"

"Yes. I never thought that you could be that romantic but now I know that I was wrong. Thank you so much for proving that..."

The blonde hesitated with his reply. "You're...welcome..." Mai then withdrew herself from her boyfriend's embrace and looked into his clear, chocolate brown orbs with her own violet ones.

"Thank you..." she smiled.

"For what?" Joey looked confused.

"For everything," she replied, her eyes sparkling with the light of happiness. Joey just returned the smile and went back to packing, as much as he despised doing so. But it had to be done so he couldn't delay it any longer. Both teenagers then turned around with their backs facing one another and started collecting all their things while placing them in thier suitcases one by one. Well, at least Mai did. Joey just simply threw everything into his suitcase, hoping that it would close in the end. Sigh. That's a typical guy for ya...

The next day...

Everyone was scurrying around their rooms, gathering together all of their last minute belongings. Yugi and Yami, however, were an exception. They were already packed and waiting downstairs for the others.

"Yami?"

"Yes Yugi?" Yami looked down at his hikari with his usual serious expression plastered across his face.

"Are you sure that everything will be back to normal when we get to Domino City again?" This question caused Yami to think heavily as he tried to think of a reasonable answer that would satisfy his aibou's hunger for the truth. Suddenly, something then triggered in his mind. He turned to his hikari and smiled.

"Don't worry Yugi. I may not be able to promise you that no evil will arise again, but what I can promise is that you and your friends will always be safe as long as I'm around. I have already told you this before but I mean it. I won't let anyone even come close to hurting you or the others. All of you mean so much to me and it would tear my heart in two if I found out that I let danger take its toll on you. So you have nothing to fear...and when you're in doubt, all you have to do is come and talk to me and I will reassure you that everything will be okay. Don't be afraid; I swore to protect those that I love and I intend on keeping that promise." A smile then made its way onto the young teenager's face, looking like he had wanted to hear those words come from his yami for so long.

"Thank you," was all Yugi managed to say in return before allowing himself to fall into his yami's arms. It was then that they both heard the elevator doors open as the rest of their friends piled out one by one. Joey and Mai stood together holding hands, as did Seto and Kisara. Serenity and Ryou had their arms wrapped around each other as Subaru stood behind them with Tea. They all looked at Yugi and Yami as if they were ghosts or something. The twins then pulled away from each other and turned to their friends.

"Uh..." They both started tripping over words, trying to find the right thing to say without raising any suspicions...though I think it was already too late... Oh well.

Tea looked to Yugi and smirked. "You don't have to say anything Yugi. I know that you have feelings for Yami, after all, he is your yami and I can only expect that. I'm not mad at you or at him. Just promise me that you'll always be forever by my side..."

Yugi turned his eyes up to look at his girlfriend. "I promise. I swear to you, I will never leave you for anyone else. I love you Tea and that's what really counts in the end, right?" Tea nodded at this, grabbed him by the neck with both hands and started kissing him passionately. Yugi deepened the kiss further before he broke it. "We really should get going. It takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to get to the airport and we have to be there about an hour before our actual flight," Yugi remarked.

"Good idea," Tea added as everyone picked up their suitcases and headed outside where three taxis were currently waiting for them. Of course, Seto had called ahead, as usual.

"Thanks for getting us a ride Seto," Serenity said thankfully as Seto simply turned his nose up in the air and walked over to the first taxi with his arm now wrapped around Kisara. Seto, Kisara, Subaru and Yami sat in the first taxi, Ryou, Serenity, Joey and Mai sat in the second one and Yugi and Tea were left to sit in the last one. Once everyone was all settled into their seats and their luggage was packed tightly into the trunk, the three vehicles headed down the street towards the Hong Kong airport.

When they all arrived at the airport, they got all of their luggage out of each one of the trunks and walked into the extremely large, dome-shaped building. One by one they walked up to the front desk to show their tickets and have their luggage checked in and weighed. Once all that was out of the way, they all headed into the waiting area where they would be staying for the next little while until they were called to start boarding.

Everyone looked bored, yet sad to leave at the same time. Excluding the whole situation with Kalika, their time in Hong Kong had been so exciting. They all had so much fun, especially Mai, which, by the way, maxed out all of Seto's credit cards and took a thousand dollars from his wallet, blowing that as well. Let's just say, the CEO wasn't too pleased with his arch-rival's girlfriend. However, Joey prevented him from laying even one finger on her. Thank Ra for boyfriends!

"Attention all passengers boarding flight 101 to Domino City, Japan! The plane has now arrived and we would like all passengers to come to gate three immediately! That's all passengers boarding flight 101 to Domino City, Japan please come to gate three immediately! Thank you." As soon as the group heard that announcement, they all headed over to gate three just as they were told to do. Once they made it past security, they walked outside and over to the stairs that led up to the plane. They all walked up one by one until they were all inside and seated in their correct spots.

The seating arrangements were as follows:

Yugi, Tea and Yami

Ryou and Serenity

Seto and Kisara

Joey and Mai

Yugi, being seated next to the window, began staring mindlessly at nothing in particular. He sighed inwardly. Well, this is it. Time to say good-bye to Hong Kong...and hello to Domino City...

OWARI

A/N: Well there you have it folks! The final chapter of 'A Dream's Meaning' is now complete! I hope you enjoyed that chapter because I know I did! I'm happy that I finally managed to complete this story because now I can work on finishing the rest of my fics. Anyway, I shall quit rambling on and let you review. I really want to know your opinions on what you thought of this chapter. Did this story meet your standards? I sure hope so. Well, talk to you later! Ja ne!

P.S. Don't forget to read my other stories!