Akia was starting to panic more and more as time passed. She was going stir-crazy from not being able to go where her brother and her friends were. Technically, she could just get out of the blimp and head into the many corridors to try and reach them, but she knew that she'd probably end up so lost that they'd make it back before she ever ran into them. She kept her Millennium Scale in her hand, since, at this point, Marik was an actual menace to her. His dominant personality had been receding more and more, and Akia worried that he might be lost forever as time went by. This whole interruption with Noah had delayed the finals which were her chance to hopefully do something about Marik's situation.
"Where are they...?" Akia mumbled to herself.
Suddenly, the hangar started opening up, exposing the whole area to the outside. Akia looked around, feeling alarmed at what was happening. A scary thought crossed her mind: were they about to leave without waiting for everyone else?
Just as she was thinking that, she heard a bunch of footsteps hurrying closer. Hope filled her heart as she saw Jounouchi being the first to come out with Shizuka in hand. Right after, Otogi, Honda and Anzu also appeared. "Everyone!" Akia exclaimed.
"Akia!" Jounouchi called out.
She worriedly darted her eyes around the area, wondering where her brother was. When her friends got up in the blimp she went up to Jounouchi, "where's Yugi? And Kaiba? And Mokuba?"
"They're still in the virtual world, Yugi wanted to wait for them. Don't worry, I'm sure they're not far behind. Noah is going to help them escape," the blond young man reassured her.
Akia blinked a few times in disbelief. "Wait, Noah? How can you even trust him after all he's done?! He's the whole reason behind all of this! And now you're telling me that my brother's safety is in the hands of this crazy brat?"
Jounouchi held her by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Akia, if you can't trust Noah, then trust me when I tell you that Yugi will come back safely."
The red-eyed girl grit her teeth in frustration. A mechanical voice sounded in the facility. "Warning, please evacuate the facility. Fifteen minutes until impact."
"Fifteen?!" Akia yelled out. She started to hyperventilate, feeling the panic overcome her.
"Akia, look at me! Breathe!" Jounouchi held her face in his hands, forcing her to focus on him. She started to slowly control her breathing, following the blonde young man's lead. Just then, the blimp started lifting off.
"What? Wait! Yugi and the Kaiba brothers are not here...!" Before Akia could finish her sentence, she saw the three aforementioned running to the blimp. A wave of relief washed over her.
Yugi was the first to board, greeted by a big hug from his sister. "Akia! You made it!"
Seto then threw Mokuba at Jounouchi who caught him and then the former jumped up to the ladder that was already off the ground.
With everyone safely inside the blimp, the door was closed and the airship took off. Akia and Yugi were hanging on to each other as the blimp went full speed out of there, causing major turbulence.
Finally, they escaped far away, with everything behind them being destroyed by the missiles. The airship was now headed back on course, to the island where the finals would take place, Alcatraz.
Jounouchi and Shizuka went to check up on Mai and Akia decided to go to Ishizu to tell her about her worries regarding Marik. She went back to her room and found her sitting, looking out the window. Ishizu looked to Akia when she came in.
"Akia-san. I'm glad you made it out safely," the Egyptian woman smiled.
Akia smiled back and went to sit next to Ishizu. "Ishizu-san... I... I'm really concerned about Marik."
"Did something happen?"
"I just feel like his dominant personality is receding more and more. It almost feels like he's close to being lost forever. This really really scares me. What should I do? I don't know how to help him. Will duelling him really save him? What if it just makes things worse?" Akia spilled out her worries. When she looked into Ishizu's eyes, she instantly regretted saying these things, since the woman looked even more concerned than her. "I'm so sorry... You're his sister, so of course you would feel even more concerned than me."
Ishizu shook her head, "you don't need to apologize. I know you care for him a lot. I wish I knew what to do. My brother is suffering and all I can do is watch and hope that he might be saved. The burden that I'm making you bear is unfair, but I don't know what else to do."
Akia took Ishizu's hands in hers, both women comforting each other. The red-eyed girl then looked around and realized that Rishid was not in the room anymore. "You moved him?"
"I realized that keeping him here would make him an easy target for Marik. I hid him somewhere where he won't be able to find him," the woman replied.
Just as they were mentioning Marik, he came into their room that Akia had not locked after her when she came in.
"Marik!" They both exclaimed.
"Well, well, the two women who keep meddling with my life in one room," the young man chuckled and glanced around. "Where is Rishid?"
"I don't know," Ishizu lied.
"Don't play dumb with me!" Marik retorted. "It's obvious that you're the one who hid him."
"Even if I did know, there's no way I'd ever tell you," his sister said.
"I thought you'd act that way..." the Egyptian man said as he took out his Millennium Rod. "However..."
He started walking towards his sister, with her cowering back, as she did not have her Millennium Necklace to protect herself anymore. That was when Akia took out her Millennium Scale and stood protectively in front of Ishizu, facing Marik. He stopped in his tracks at the sight.
"Stay back," Akia warned him.
"Hmm... Quite the little protector you got there," Marik smirked. "No matter. I hope I get to duel you in these finals. I have found something pretty interesting in the darkness to use that I'm sure you'll enjoy, Akia." The man then headed for the door and stopped. He looked back at the two women behind him, addressing Ishizu specifically. "Rishid was struck by the wrath of Ra. Unlike Akia, he is only an ordinary human. It won't be all that easy to wake him up. In fact, he may never wake up. And if you're waiting for Kaiba, Yugi, or Akia to save the day, you may as well reserve the effort. Before the Ra that I hold, all that awaits them is failure. Now then, I should go. After I'm done crushing the pharaoh and severing the bond of destiny between me and Akia in the upcoming duels, I'll take my sweet time killing Rishid. Dear sister, you had better keep your mouth shut and watch closely. Akia, try your best so that we can duel in these finals. Watch as the little hope you have left is swallowed by the darkness of death!"
As soon as he left, they both exhaled the breath they were holding because of how tense they felt.
"Akia-san, I fear that your observations were correct... Marik might be lost forever if nothing is done soon..." Ishizu whispered with sadness in her eyes.
"Ishizu-san," Akia turned to her with determination in her eyes. "I will bring him back. I will make sure I face him in these finals."
The red-eyed girl then headed out of her room and went to look for her brother and her friends. She found Bakura's room open and, feeling some hope that he might be back, she ran to it. She saw her brother there, standing in front of an empty bed.
"Ah, Yugi... I thought Bakura was back," Akia let out a small nervous laugh.
"Akia..." Yugi called out to his sister and walked to her.
Before they could say anything, another voice sounded from the door. "Oh! There they are!" Anzu said.
"We've been looking for you two," Honda added. "We're about to arrive at our destination."
The twins nodded with a smile.
"While we're here, I wonder where Bakura went off to," Honda inquired.
"I wonder if he'll be alright with those wounds he had..." Otogi expressed his concern.
"I just hope he's not being controlled by the Millennium Ring again," Honda commented.
Yugi took his sister's hand and ran ahead, turning to his friends, facing them with a bright smil. "Don't worry! Bakura-kun will be back before you know it!"
His enthusiasm was contagious and it brought hope to Akia's heart.
It didn't take long before they landed on the island, since they were quite close to it before the interruption.
As the friends came out of the airship, they stared in awe and the tower erected in front of them.
"So this is it..." Jounouchi whispered.
"It's so big, that you feel that it's reaching the sky," Honda commented.
The Kaiba brothers also came out. "That's right! This is a battleground where duelists will fight their way to the top. The Duel Tower!" Seto pointed at Yugi, "Yugi! I will defeat you! And I will be the one standing at the top!"
"Aren't you dismissing the fact that I'm the Queen of Games?" Akia interjected.
Kaiba scoffed. "You? You may have posed a threat before. However, in the battle of gods, you are but a mere obstacle that isn't worthy of any attention."
"I'll make you eat your words, rich boy!" The black-haired girl yelled out.
"Beat his arrogant ass, Akia," Jounouchi cheered. "Show them the Red-Eyes' pride!" The two then gave each other a high five.
"Tch. Losers will always stick together," Seto said as he started walking to the tower.
"What did you say?!" Jounouchi shouted while Honda and Otogi were holding him back from trying to attack Kaiba.
Finally, they all reached the base of the tower. The mechanical door opened, prompting everyone to go inside.
"We will now hold the Battle City Tournament's semi-finals!" Isono's voice sounded.
Looking around, there was nothing noteworthy about the tower, except for four shut doors. It was actually quite empty.
"The four remaining duelists will head to the top of the tower through four different doors," Isono continued explaining. "Please choose one of the doors before you. None of the doors give you any sort of advantage in this duel."
The doors then opened, revealing a dueling seat. Yugi had already switched with the pharaoh on the way to the tower and was staring intensely at the door in front of him. All four duelists headed for the door closest to them, since it did not really matter which one they chose. Mokuba led everyone else up the elevator to bring them to the dueling area. When Kaiba, Yugi, Marik, and Akia took their place, the doors closed on them. The dueling seats then lifted up, appearing at the higher level where the others were watching from beneath. The seats all stopped at a display showing 4000.
"What the? What the heck?" Jounouchi yelled out as he saw the four finalists facing each other at the four parallel walls of the hexagonal tower.
Akia looked around and saw that she was facing Kaiba, with Yugi on her right and Marik on her left. Confused, she opted to wait for someone to explain what was happening.
"For proud duelists such as yourselves, it would be unfair to decide your opponents with a mere lottery," Isono stated. "So, the semi-finals shall be decided with a game. The rules are simple. This will be a four-way duel between the remaining duelists. The first two to arrive at the top, as well as the two remaining at the bottom, will be paired up for the semi-finals. Of course, the fame will be Duel Monsters. You will start with 4000 Life Points. As you lose Life Points, you will climb closer to the top. In other words, the two who lose first, will be the first to the top. Let me explain the rules. Each player will use their 40 card deck. Shuffle it and set it in the Duel Disk." As he was explaining, the four finalists did as he said. "When you attach the duel disks to the connectors, your cards as well as the other players', will be displayed on the viewing screen. All four players will take separate turns. You may attack any player you choose. The first players who rise to the top will be in the first match of the semi-finals."
Akia looked at the three people she was facing. She knew exactly who she wanted to face and she also knew that she would not let herself lose this duel. This meant she had to defend the person she wanted to duel as well if they ever seemed like they needed it. Kaiba knew he wanted to duel Yugi in the semi-finals so that he could acquire two god cards in order to have better chances against Marik's god card. Yugi looked at Akia and saw her gaze fixated on Marik. He didn't want her to put herself in danger. He wanted to be the one facing Marik so he knew that he had to try to counter what his sister was planning to do. The Egyptian man didn't care who he faced, since he was confident he'd crush all three when the time came.
"We will now decide who goes first and the order of play amongst the four of you," Isono informed the duelists. "Each player must choose one monster card from his deck. Whoever has the highest attack power takes the first turn. However, that monster card must be removed from your deck for the duration of the duel."
The duelists picked up their deck and started looking through. Akia chose the card she decided on quite quickly, since her deck did not depend on attack power.
"Now, please present your card!" Isono told them.
Kaiba showed Masked Beast Des Gardius with 3300 attack, which he got as an ante from another duelist. He did not care to not be able to use it in the duel. This made him first. The second to go was Akia with her Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer standing at 1800 attack. It was not the monster with the highest attack in her deck. She knew she could duel without it for the time being. Marik was third with Lekunga at 1700 attack points. Finally, Yugi would be going last with Feral Imp who had 1300 attack. The pharaoh did not want to sacrifice his stronger monsters, as he felt that he might need them in this duel.
"The order has been decided! Kaiba Seto will be taking the first turn," Isono announced, "then Mutou Akia... Marik Ishtar... and finally Mutou Yugi. The Battle City Final Match Preliminary Round will be held as a Battle Royal! Duel Start!"
"I go first! Draw!" Kaiba said, not missing a beat. "I place two cards face-down and summon Blood Vorse (1900/1200) in attack position. Turn end!"
"Alright, my turn!" Akia stated cheerfully, feeling excited with the novelty of this duel. "I draw! I will activate Gold Sarcophagus, which allows me to remove from play a card from my deck so that I could recover it in two turns. I'll banish my D.D. Survivor! I'll also set three card face-down and set a monster in defence position. I'll end my turn." As soon as Akia ended her turn, her D.D. Survivor's effect activated. "Oh, would you look at that? I guess I don't have to wait two turns after all." The red-eyed girl giggled. "Thanks to my monster's effect, if it was removed from play, I can summon it back to the field at the end of that turn. I'll place my D.D. Survivor (1800/100) in defence position."
"There it is! Akia's Different Dimension monster!" Jounouchi exclaimed.
"Nice going, Akia," Yugi gave her a thumbs up.
"She already has two monsters out in her first turn!" Anzu exclaimed.
Akia smiled smugly, enjoying the attention. She was always a bit of a show-off, after all.
"My turn then, is it?" Marik chuckled. "Draw! I summon Newdoria (1200/800) in defence position. Turn end."
"My turn! Draw!" Yugi drew his card. "I summon Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defence position and set two cards. Turn end!"
Kaiba drew his next card. Looking at everyone's field, he knew it would be too risky to attack any of them yet. Marik seemed way too confident with just his monster out. Yugi's Big Shield Gardna had too much defence. He could target Akia's monsters, but she had three cards facedown and, knowing her dueling style, they were probably all traps. He decided to skip his turn.
"That all you've got? Haha, I expected more from you, rich boy!" Akia mocked Seto.
"A nobody like you isn't even worth my time," the young CEO replied. "Play your move carefully, since I am planning to eliminate you first."
"I'd like to see you try," the red-eyed girl smirked. "I draw! I sacrifice my D.D. Survivor to tribute summon Great Maju Garzett (?/0)! Its special ability grants it double the attack power of the monster used to summon it."
The attack power of Akia's monster jumped all the way up to 3600.
"Such a strong monster!" Otogi commented.
"I will fight the person I want and I will win this," Akia shared her resolve. "Great Maju Garzett! Attack Kaiba's Blood Vorse!"
"As if I'd let you!" Kaiba retorted. "Activate trap card Sakuretsu Armor!"
Kaiba smirked, thinking that, with this, he could get rid of Akia's strongest monster. However, Akia wouldn't let that happen.
"Too bad nobody can beat me when it comes to traps!" The red-eyed girl interjected. "Counter Trap activate! Dark Bribe! This negates the effect of your trap card and, in exchange, you get to draw a card. Your Blood Vorse is a goner!"
Kaiba grit his teeth as Akia's monster wiped out his, bringing his Life Points down to 2300. His dueling platform went up according to how much Life Points he had left.
"Big brother!" Mokuba yelled out to Seto in concern.
"Haha, see ya, Kaiba!" Jounouchi cheered.
Kaiba clenched his fists, feeling very angry at being bested by Akia, the most annoying girl he'd ever met.
"A duelist who couldn't even make it to the finals has no say in what's transpiring!" The young CEO yelled out. Jounouchi frowned and yelled back "what did you say?!"
Akia continued with her turn, a smile plastered on her face. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."
Marik then started his turn. "Draw! I'll set one card face-down and summon Lord Poison (1500/1000) in attack position. I'll switch Newdoria to attack position and attack Great Maju Garzett!"
"What?!" Yugi exclaimed.
Akia was also confused at what he was doing, but she knew that she didn't want him to lose any life points or for her to potentially suffer from a strange monster effect. "I won't let you! I activate my trap card Dimensional Prison, removing your monster from play!"
With that, Newdoria could not complete its attack and was removed from play.
"Hmph, I should've known you'd have some traps laid down," Marik mutterred. "I'll end my turn."
It was now Yugi's turn. "I draw! I'll sacrifice Big Shield Gardna in order to tribute summon Gilfer Demon (2200/2500) in attack position! Gilfer Demon, attack Kaiba directly!" Yugi was trying to get Kaiba to fight against Marik, so that he could keep his sister safe.
"I won't be had twice!" Kaiba retorted. "I activate my face-down Attack Guidance Armor to redirect the attack to Marik's Lord Poison!"
"I guess it can't be helped," Marik smirked. "Trap card, activate! Mirror Force!"
"Mirror Force?!" Kaiba exclaimed.
"So now, Yugi, your Gilfer Demon's attack will be negated and all your monsters will be destroyed!" The Egyptian Man said.
"We'll see about that," the pharaoh smiled.
Marik widened his eyes in shock.
"Counter trap, activate!" Yugi countered. "Seven Tools of the Bandit! This card negates the activation of your Mirror Force and destroys it."
"What did you say?!" The tanned young man exclaimed as his Mirror Force cracked, making Gilfer Demon's attack succeed and destroy his Lord Poison, bringing his Life Points down to 3300, making his platform rise up.
Due to Yugi's trap card, he had to pay 1000 Life Points for its activation, which brought his own Life Points down to 3000, making him rise as well.
"Woah, it's really heating up..." Mokuba stated.
The Life Points were now as followed. Mutou Akia had the most with 4000 Life Points. Next was Marik Ishtar with 3300 Life Points. Mutou Yugi had 3000 Life Points left. Finally, Kaiba Seto stood the highest with 2300 Life Points.
"My turn! Draw!" Kaiba said. "I'll set two cards and summon Blade Knight (1600/1000) in attack position! Blade Knight, target Marik! Direct Attack!"
"I won't let you do as you wish!" Akia exclaimed.
"Akia!" Yugi yelled out. "Don't do it!"
"Sorry, Yugi, but I need to go against Marik in the semifinals," the red-eyed girl replied. "I activate my trap card Karma Cut! By discarding one card from my hand, I can remove from play one monster on the field. I choose your Blade Knight, Kaiba!"
"My many thanks," Marik chuckled sarcastically.
Kaiba frowned as his monster was removed from play. "I'll end my turn." The young CEO was annoyed, but he still had tricks up his sleeve.
Akia started her turn. "Draw!" As she looked at her hand, she knew that she could finish this in one turn. "I flip summon my face-down defence monster!" The monster was revealed to be Man-Eater Bug. "Due to my monster's effect, it destroys one monster on the field." She then looked straight at Yugi. He frowned, knowing what she was planning, but he knew he could not stop her. "I'm sorry, Yugi... I destroy Gilfer Demon!"
"What? She's targeting Yugi's monster?!" Jounouchi inquired in disbelief.
"She probably doesn't want to duel him in the first round," Otogi replied.
"Is she aiming to duel Marik...?" Anzu speculated.
"That seems like the most plausible explanation..." Honda answered.
Akia was not done with her turn. "Next, I will use my spell card Monster Reborn. This card allows me to special summon a monster from the graveyard to my side of the field. I choose my D.D. Survivor! I will then sacrifice both Man-Eater Bug and D.D. Survivor to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
The black-haired girl couldn't help but smile widely as she summoned Red-Eyes for the first time.
"Red-Eyes!" Jounouchi exclaimed with a similar smile. Everyone looked in awe as the majestic dragon materialized.
"I will end this now!" Akia stated. "Red-Eyes! Attack Kaiba directly!"
"I won't lose to the likes of you!" Kaiba countered. "Trap card, activate! Ring of Destruction! This will destroy your Red-Eyes Black Dragon and inflict damage to both you and me equal to its attack."
Before he could continue, Akia interjected. "I know what you're planning! You want to use your Ring of Defense so that only I take the damage. I won't let you! I activate my counter trap, Solemn Judgement! At the cost of half my Life Points, I will negate and destroy your Ring of Destruction! Red-Eyes! Resume your attack!"
Akia's platform went up halfway to the top. Kaiba grit his teeth and placed his arms up as Red-Eyes' attack collided with him, bringing his Life Points down to zero. "How dare a lowly scrub like you defeat me...?!" The young CEO insulted Akia as he went all the way to the top.
"That's what you get for underestimating me, Kaiba," the red-eyed girl smirked before she looked at Yugi. "I'm sorry, Yugi, but you're next. I use my Great Maju Garzett to attack you directly, defeating you as well!"
The pharaoh closed his eyes in resignation. He had a trap card that could have thwarted her attack, but he knew that she had made up her mind to battle against Marik. He decided to trust her and see where it would lead.
"T-The outcome has been decided!" Isono stuttered a little, not expecting the outcome. "The first match of the semi-finals will be Kaiba Seto versus Mutou Yugi. The second match will be Mutou Akia versus Marik Ishtar!"
Akia sighed in relief as she had gotten the exact results that she was hoping for. Now all that was left was to defeat Marik and bring back his dominant personality.
"I guess it's a lot easier said than done..." Akia mumbled to herself.
Thank you for reading! Don't forget to Follow and Favorite if you like the story :)