"What do you mean the engine can't be repaired?!" Honda yelled out.
"It was damaged during our escape from Noah's island...!" Fuguta responded with a shaking voice as he was trying anything he could, desperately trying to start the blimp.
"Kaiba, that asshole! Leaving us to die like this!" Jounouchi exclaimed in frustration.
Akia was feeling the panic rise and she squeezed Marik's hand in her own. He squeezed back, both of them at a loss for words regarding what was happening.
"We could use the helicopter! It should be big enough for everyone to fit," Isono stated.
Hope lit back up in everyone's eyes as they quickly followed the two Kaiba Corp employees. They all started boarding the helicopter.
"What about Kaiba and Mokuba?" Yugi said. "We have to find them."
"Ugh, fine, let's go look!" Jounouchi replied begrudgingly.
Honda, Otogi, and Anzu decided to follow as well. Jounouchi told Mai and Bakura to keep Shizuka from going, to which they agreed.
"I'm coming too!" Akia stated, but Marik held her back from going. She looked him in the eyes. "Please, I can't just abandon my brother like that...!"
"Akia, I know it's very selfish of me, but I don't think I can handle losing you..." He whispered to her, fear clear in his eyes. "Besides, too many people going would just create more confusion. Please stay with me..."
Akia didn't know what to reply. She looked to her brother. Yugi looked back to his sister. "Akia, we both know how bad you are with directions. I think it's the smartest thing for you to wait. I promise we'll be back in time."
"...Fine," the red-eyed girl mumbled. "I'm not boarding the helicopter until you're back."
"Deal." Yugi gave his twin a thumbs up before running back to the tower with the others.
Akia's heart squeezed uncomfortably as she saw her friends get further away. Soon, she started pacing out of anxiety. Marik decided to give her space so that she could process things. He didn't want to seem too overbearing. The minutes went by and everyone else was also starting to look visibly worried.
"Fifteen minutes until impact." The robotic voice sounded.
"We need to go! We can't wait any longer!" Fuguta exclaimed as he started the helicopter.
"We can't just leave everyone!" Mai retorted.
Akia's body started shaking in fear. Unable to watch her suffer without stepping in, Marik went up to her and embraced her. "It's going to be okay, Akia. I'll stay out here with you until they come back."
His soothing voice and warm body calmed her down a bit. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Marik looked out in the distance and saw some approaching figures running their way. He was about to tell Akia, but someone else beat him to it.
"They're back!" Shizuka exclaimed.
Akia quickly perked up her head and looked to where she last saw Yugi go. "Yugi!" She called out.
"We're lifting off!" Isono told everyone.
"We have to go in, Akia. The more people that are not on board, the more time we'll take to escape," Marik said, pulling her with him inside the helicopter.
All she could do was follow, even though, her gaze was fixated on her brother. Honda, Jounouchi, and Yugi made sure that Anzu was first to board as the helicopter started lifting off the ground. Jounouchi and Honda pushed Yugi in next as they then boarded as well.
Everybody let out a sigh of relief when the door closed after everyone was safe on board.
"You didn't find Kaiba and Mokuba?" Mai asked Jounouchi as she got him to sit next to her.
The blond young man shook his head. "No... But we couldn't spend any more time on that."
Akia held Yugi's hand as the helicopter flew away from the island. She was so relieved that her brother and friends were safe.
"Look outside! Is that...?!" Otogi exclaimed.
"Blue Eyes White Dragon!?" Jounouchi yelled out.
As everyone went to the helicopter windows, they spotted a Blue Eyes White Dragon emerging from the mist beneath.
"A jet! Kaiba's in it!" Akia pointed out.
Indeed, Kaiba and Mokuba were on board a very large dragon jet and flew off into the distance at high speed.
"Well, I guess we had nothing to worry about..." Mai grumbled.
"That Kaiba bastard! We risked our damn lives for him!" Jounouchi started getting worked up.
"He could've at least told us that he had it covered," Akia frowned, feeling extremely annoyed at the young CEO.
The group finally settled down and each took a seat in the helicopter. Since there wasn't much space, Akia sat on Marik's lap and Mai did the same with Jounouchi. Both men did not complain about that. Jounouchi had his arm around Mai's waist and she had hers around his neck. They spent the rest of the flight talking softly to each other. Considering how much shorter Akia was compared to Marik, when she sat on his lap, he was able to rest his head on top of hers while hugging her tightly around the waist.
"Are you comfortable?" He whispered to her.
"Very... And a bit nervous..." She replied softly.
"Nervous?"
"Because you're so close... It's giving me butterflies," she let out a quiet giggle.
This prompted Marik to squeeze his arms around her more and nuzzle her neck. "You're so cute, my princess."
"I thought I was goddess now," Akia retorted, a bashful smile plastered on her face.
"You're all of it, but right now princess fits a bit more with how adorable you're being," Marik answered and placed a small kiss on her neck, causing her face to turn a deep shade of red.
She was enjoying this way too much until she saw Bakura glancing her way, not looking the least bit amused. Akia couldn't help but let out a small sigh, which Marik noticed. Following her gaze, he realized the reason for that sigh. Bakura glared at Marik when he saw him looking his way. The latter glared back, a little annoyed that the former took Akia's attention away.
"Bakura-san?" Shizuka called out to him, making him break away from the staring contest he was having with the young Egyptian man. She had noticed the tension rising between the two and wanted to provide him with a distraction from the sight of his love interest being with someone else.
Bakura looked to the girl sitting next to him with a tired smile. "What is it?"
"I hope you don't mind me sitting next to you..." Shizuka replied, not really sure what else to say.
"Not at all. You're lovely company," Bakura told her kindly.
The girl blushed at the compliment. Both of them engaged in light small talk, which made the flight feel less aggravating for Bakura, his attention now focusing on Shizuka.
Seeing this, Akia started feeling less guilty. She leaned back into Marik and glanced up at him. When she did, he kissed her forehead and smiled at her.
"You're a very physically affectionate person, aren't you?" Akia told him, returning his smile.
Marik chuckled. "I can't seem to keep my hands off you, so you might be right. You kind of enjoy it, though, right?"
"I don't just enjoy it, I'm living for this," the red-eyed girl replied enthusiastically.
"If we were in private right now, I'd be kissing you all over," Marik whispered in her ear, sending pleasant shivers down her spine.
"G-Geez... You're getting me all flustered..." Akia stuttered with a shaking voice.
"Marik, behave yourself," Ishizu, who was sitting next to them, nudged her brother.
"Yeah, yeah..." The young Egyptian man said dismissively.
"Come on, Ishizu, they're young, it's normal," Rishid chuckled.
"Yes, but there is a certain decorum that should be kept at least in public," Ishizu replied.
Marik tried to control himself for the rest of the flight, but couldn't help placing little kisses wherever he knew would get Akia the most flustered, earning more reprimanding comments from his sister, but he just couldn't care less. His girlfriend's little whimpers were more than worth it.
The helicopter finally landed in Domino City at sunset, bringing everyone back to the unfinished coliseum. Since the Ishtars needed to get to the dock to leave on Marik's boat, Mai offered a lift for most people. Ishizu got some of her bodyguards to drive them as well.
"Hey, um... I'll join you guys after. I need some time with Akia," Marik told his siblings.
"Sure. We'll be waiting for you at the docks," Ishizu replied.
Marik turned to Akia and took her hand. "Do you want that motorcycle ride that I promised you?"
"Yes!" The red-eyed girl replied enthusiastically. "Kind of really excited about that, not gonna lie."
"Let's go then, princess, your carriage awaits," Marik led her to the motorcycle as she giggled.
He took a helmet and put it on Akia's head, fastening it for her. When he was done, he gave her a peck on the lips. The young woman smiled dreamily at him. Marik put on his own helmet and climbed on his motorcycle, motioning for Akia to sit behind him. She quickly did, wrapping her arms around his waist, her heart beating faster in anticipation.
"Hold on tight," Marik told her as he started the engine. When he twisted the throttle, it let out a loud roar until he was on the road, maintaining a steady speed.
Akia closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh air. It felt so liberating. She was starting to understand Marik better as a result. He loved riding because of how free it made him feel, after living a big portion of his life in confinement.
"You're okay back there?" Marik shouted out to her.
"More than okay! Can you go faster?" Akia replied with a loud enough voice for him to hear.
"Your wish is my command, my queen," the young Egyptian man answered with a happy chuckle, turning the throttle of his motorcycle to accelerate.
As he got faster and faster, Akia cheered and giggled contagiously, causing Marik to laugh as well. She tightened her arms around his rock hard abs, the feel of them making her heart skip a beat. This was one of the happiest moments of his life. Sharing one of his biggest passions with Akia was more priceless than he'd ever imagined. He drove on the highway, now mostly empty due to the late hour of the afternoon.
Marik decided to reach the closest road to shore, slowing down to appreciate the view and smell of the ocean.
"Want to take a walk along the beach?" Marik suggested.
Akia held back her excitement, as this was one romantic scenario she'd always dreamt about. "Let's do it!"
Marik parked his motorcycle close to shore, getting off and offering his hand to help Akia up as well, which she happily took. They both took off their helmets, Marik ruffling his hair and Akia whipping hers to regain some volume. The young man held her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers as they started walking side by side on the sand. The water reflected the warm hues of the sunset.
"This moment feels so peaceful and beautiful," Akia whispered. "I wish it would last forever."
"We'll have more moments like this, I promise, " Marik gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
"More motorcycle rides in the future?" The young woman asked with a smile.
"You enjoyed it?" The young man inquired expectantly.
"It's so much fun. No wonder you seem to love it."
"Yeah, it's so freeing. Like the world and its problems can't reach me while I'm riding."
"When did you start getting interested in motorcycles?" Akia asked, genuinely interested in learning more about her boyfriend.
"It was actually the day we met," he replied, turning his head to her. She also turned to meet his gaze.
"The day your dark personality..." Akia stopped herself from saying anything further, not wanting to bring back the bad memories.
"The day I killed my father? Yeah..." He looked out in the distance in front of him as they both kept walking slowly. "I still prefer remembering that day as the day I met you. I remember exactly the feeling I had that day. I felt so shy but excited. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with you. When I had to leave, my heart ached so much. I couldn't stop thinking about you through the years. I wondered if you still remembered me, if we would ever meet again. It was all so irrational when I think about it."
"It was and it still is," Akia replied. "Whenever I tried to be with anyone else and deny my feelings for you, this immense feeling of what I can only describe as heartbreak would overwhelm me. I cursed that strange destiny that we share for a while, feeling like it was trapping me. But now... I feel so grateful that we are part of each other's life."
"Good, because I can't imagine my life without you anymore," Marik let go of Akia's hand and draped his arm around her shoulder. She intertwined her hand into the one he had around her, enjoying their leisurely walk, listening to the sound of the waves crashing along the shore.
"Did Ishizu tell you about the visions she had?" The red-eyed girl asked.
"Yeah, she did when I went to see her on the night that me and you spent together. How your past self was involved with the Dark Lord because of your father. And you were the only one who could decipher the Millennium Spellbook. She also told me that our past selves had a tragic love story, which led to the promise of finding each other in future lives."
"I wish we had some more details on all of that."
"We will, when the pharaoh unlocks the gate to his memories. I'm sure the memories of our past lives will return too." Marik stopped in his tracks, and went to face Akia. "Enough about the past, though... I want to focus on us now..." His eyes were shaking with yearning as his lilac gaze met her red eyes.
"Marik..." She whispered his name, her voice laced with desire.
His fingers lightly caressed her cheek before cupping her face in his hand. Unable to contain himself any longer, he moved his hand to her nape and crashed his lips on hers. He used his other arm to hold her waist, bringing her closer to him. They kissed each other with hungry passion. Akia rested her hands on his chest, grabbing onto his tank top as she lost herself in the moment. He nibbled her lower lips, licking his way into her slightly parted mouth. Akia felt her feelings swelling up in her chest. Neither one of them wanted the kiss to end, as if they depended on each other to breathe.
"Akia..." Marik groaned her name in between kisses. "My goddess..."
She moaned into his mouth as he pushed his tongue further into her mouth, his fingers tangling in her hair.
They finally parted the kiss to catch their breath, staring longingly into each others' eyes. Just as they were about to go in for another heated make-out session, they got interrupted by Marik's ringing phone. He sighed as he took it out of his pocket, keeping one arm around Akia's waist.
"It's my sister..." He informed Akia as he picked up the call. "Yeah? Yeah, we're on our way back. Sure. Be there soon."
After hanging up, he kissed Akia's forehead and nuzzled her nose. "I think that's it for our romantic afternoon..."
"It's not enough..." Akia's voice shook, knowing that she had to say goodbye to him soon.
"I promise I'll keep in touch every day..." He tried to comfort her. "Do you have a paper and pen?"
Akia nodded as she took the items out of her backpack and handed them to Marik. He took them and wrote down his phone number and handed it back to her.
"This is my phone number. It's going to be long distance, so it will cost quite a bit. We can use it for emergencies, though. We can talk online otherwise..." The young man told her.
"Yeah... We have to do our best until we're together again," Akia replied with quivering lips, trying very hard to not let her tears spill out.
It was all rendered futile, though, when Marik embraced her, enveloping her small frame in his muscular arms.
"I'm going to miss you so much..." She sniffled.
"Me too... I'll miss holding you, hearing your voice... The taste of your lips..." Marik breathed, biting his bottom lip to keep his own tears at bay.
After they both regained their composure, he drove them to the dock where everyone was there waiting for them.
"Well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Ishizu huffed.
"Sorry, we got a bit caught up..." Akia replied as they disembarked the motorcycle.
Ishizu's gaze softened as she went up to Akia and hugged her. "Thank you for everything, Akia-san. I know it's hard to say goodbye, but you two will be reunited soon. It's your destiny."
Akia hugged her back and gave an affirming sound. Marik went up to Yugi and thanked him as well, informing him that whenever he does decide to come to Egypt that he will be there as his guide.
After everyone said their farewells, Marik went back to Akia, giving her one last kiss goodbye before embarking on the boat and sailing away.
"Akia-chan... You're going to be okay?" Mai went up to her friend and placed comforting hands on the latter's shoulders.
"I feel like my heart is being ripped to pieces, if I'm being honest..." Akia let out a sigh. "But at least we'll be keeping in touch this time."
"It'll be okay, you two seem pretty into each other. Especially with all that destiny thing you've told me about, I'm sure you'll get through anything together," the blonde woman reassured her.
"Well, I guess I'll get going. Gonna get back to working on Dungeon Dice Monsters," Otogi announced. Before leaving however, he held Shizuka's hands in his own, placing a kiss on one of them. "I hope to hear from you, Shizuka-chan."
"Hey! Otogi!" Jounouchi yelled at the young man who quickly left with a big grin on his face.
Shizuka opened her hand, revealing a piece of paper with Otogi's phone number on it.
"That sly little...!" Honda grumbled in disbelief.
"You're pretty popular, aren't you?" Bakura chuckled.
Shizuka's cheeks flushed. "N-Not at all, Bakura-san..."
Honda wrote down his number as well and did the same as Otogi, although not as smoothly, leaving the crumpled piece of paper in the girl's hand as he said goodbye. "Shizuka-chan! I'll see you around!"
He then quickly left with Jounouchi yelling at him as well. Shizuka let out an exasperated sigh as she held both papers.
"Do you not enjoy the attention?" Bakura asked her, noticing her perplexed expression.
"It's not that... They're both great, it's just... They're quite pushy and I'm not really interested..." Shizuka mumbled, not wanting anyone to hear her except Bakura.
"I see. Maybe you should just tell them that. It'll keep them from having any false hope," the white-haired young man told her.
"Yeah, you're right, Bakura-san. I'll do that," the girl nodded.
Mai kissed Jounouchi and also bid her farewells to everyone. Bakura said his goodbyes afterwards as well. Jounouchi and Shizuka left together. Yugi offered to walk Anzu home and Akia decided to head straight home, feeling pretty down about Marik's departure.
When the red-eyed girl arrived home, she collapsed on her bed and sobbed into the pillow, letting out all of the emotions that she had kept inside.