Walking back to the blimp with their friends, Seto was quiet and hung to the back. Mokuba was ahead of him, walking with Ryou. Anzu was already talking to Yugi about what they should do when they got home. Mai was chatting with Duke about the last tournament she'd competed in. Joey slowed down so that he was walking at Seto's side.

"That was a great duel," Joey said, still looking ahead. "Nice of Yug to let yah keep the god-cards."

Seto didn't answer, and Joey sighed. When he spoke again, he dropped his volume considerably.

"Look, you beat Noah, isn't that enough?"

"No."

They glanced at each other, and Joey felt a shiver run down his spine. It had been a long time since he last saw Seto look so… dissatisfied. He couldn't understand it. How could one loss against a friend outweigh a victory against a psychopath?

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask, but shut it again without making a sound. Even if Seto could explain, he wasn't sure he would get it.

Mokuba looked back over his shoulder and smiled at his brother. Joey saw the automatic softening of Seto's features when he smiled back.

He might be upset for now, Joey mused, but he'd get over it. He couldn't stay down for long, right? He glanced at Seto out of the corner of his eye. Then again, he'd known Seto to hold grudges in the past…

They didn't see any of the staff as they made their way back inside the blimp. They found Marik in the reception area, pacing along the walls with a tense look. When they entered, he lifted his head to smile at them and reached out a hand as Ryou approached.

"Who won?" he asked, ignoring Ryou's outstretched hand and reaching for his waist instead, tucking his boyfriend in against his side. Ryou blushed, but leaned into Marik's hold.

Unseen, Roland slipped away from the group.

"Yugi won the final match," Mai informed Marik. "He gets to keep his champion title, for now." She winked at the short teen, reminding him that she was still gunning for that title too.

Marik could feel eyes on him, and he turned to meet Seto's sharp gaze.

"Where's your sister?"

"She's in her room"—Seto took a step towards the hall—"but she asked not to be disturbed by anyone."

Seto stopped.

"Is she alright?" Anzu asked; such a request concerned her.

"She's feeling fine since she woke up," Marik assured. "But she said that she's working on something important right now and shouldn't be bothered."

"Hm." Seto frowned, and so did Yugi, but for different reasons.

Yugi was considering what Ishizu had said about Noah Kaiba's fate during her duel against him.

Seto was considering something less consequential.

Don't be so offended. It's not like she singled you out.

I'm not offended, Seto scoffed, his expression shifting to match his mood. If she doesn't want to thank the person who saved her soul, that's her business. I don't care.

Of course he cared, but he wouldn't admit that to Seth. He didn't even understand why such a tiny thing got under his skin like this.

It's hardly a "tiny thing," Seto. It's alright to be a little upset.

Shut up and mind your own business.

He could feel Seth's exasperation, but he respected his wish for silence. He was getting better at that.

Sometimes when you tell me to shut up, it's truly unjustified.

This is not the time for this discussion.

You never want to have these discussions, because you never want me to tell you that you're wrong.

Shut up.

Are you trying to prove my point for me?

Caught up in his conversation with Seth, Seto wasn't paying attention to what the others were saying. The sudden sound of crackling over the speaker system caught his attention.

"I assume you've completed your little tournament by now," Noah Kaiba said through the speakers without preamble, making everyone fall silent. "I hope that you're pleased with yourselves, ruining everything like this. I don't understand why you couldn't just play your parts."

"Play our parts?" Mai echoed, suddenly feeling a chill.

"Thanks to you, this whole thing has been a failure. My staff and I have already left the island on one of my helicopters."

"Hold on," Duke muttered, suddenly dashing out of the room.

"This tournament was supposed to be my vengeance. With the god cards, I should have achieved absolute power."

Yugi and Seto exchanged a glance. All three god cards now lived in Seto's deck, but he didn't have absolute power. Exodia, as the final duel had proved, was as real a god as Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra, and more powerful than all of them together.

"Failing my goal, this entire venture has been fruitless. I'm going to remove all evidence that it even happened. That's why I've decided to destroy the duel tower, and the entire island, in fact. The island is set to detonate within the next half hour."

"Are you kidding me?" Anzu squeaked, furious and quickly tearful. "I'm so sick of this guy!"

Duke burst back into the room, his face pale.

"I can't find the pilots," he announced, looking at Seto.

"Duke, can you–"

"Co-pilot?" he interrupted, understanding immediately. "Yep, let's go."

Duke took off at a run, Seto hot on his heels.

"So," Noah sighed over the speaker as the teens ran. "This is going to be my final farewell to all of you. It's been interesting." There was another soft crackle before the audio shut off completely.

"It looks different from the helicopter, but it can't be that different, can it?" Duke panted as he ran.

"Let's hope not, we don't have time to figure it out."

Seth was taking a merciful backseat to the chaos. Machines were not his specialty, and Seto didn't need to be distracted. Noah's actions could always be discussed later.

Joey and Yugi had followed them out of the room, and Mokuba tried to join them.

"No no, you're staying here." Ryou grabbed the kid's shoulder and pulled him back, looping his arms around him to hold him close to Ryou's front.

"But I want to see Seto fly the blimp!" he protested.

"Not for take-off." Ryou's voice was firm, but he was scared. "Maybe later." He looked over at Anzu, who was using a tissue to dry her eyes.

"Why are we even trusting them to fly this thing?" Anzu whined, still looking panicked as she scrunched up the used tissue in her hand.

"They're the only ones with flight experience on board," Ryou answered, holding Mokuba tighter as he tried to keep calm. "Even if it was only one time in a different aircraft with no training."

"You're not making me feel better about this," she retorted.

"If you don't want them piloting, you're welcome to give it a try yourself!" Ryou snapped back. A moment later, he felt Mokuba's hand patting his own, trying to soothe him.

"Absolutely not!" Anzu squeaked, appalled at the suggestion.

"Then sit down and get ahold of yourself."

Anzu obeyed, dropping herself into a chair and gripping it tightly.

A few seconds later, and she was glad that she was sitting because the entire blimp lurched, imbalancing everyone and everything that wasn't bolted to the floor.

"Whoah!"

The cry came from the hallway.

"Is everyone alright?" That was Yugi's voice from the hall, and a moment later, he and Joey came into view, struggling back to their friends, off-balance like everything else.

"No!" Anzu wailed, starting to cry again.

"How about everybody else?" Joey asked while Yugi made his way to the chair.

"I think we're good," Ryou answered, looking down at Mokuba, then at Marik, who nodded his agreement.

"How fine can we be expected to be under the circumstances?" Mai demanded from her spot braced against the wall, feet widely set apart.

"Nobody's hurt, though." Marik was trying to be positive. "Seto and Duke will get us home safely, I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" Mai asked, concerned but less aggressive than Anzu's tone had been.

"Because they have to," was Marik's simple answer.

"That's really not a–Whoah!" Mid-sentence, the blimp shifted again, and Mai cried out as the aircraft tilted in the opposite direction, the shift rapid and extreme enough that she and Yugi were both knocked off their feet. Ryou grabbed a nearby chair with one hand while the other gripped Mokuba's arm to keep him upright. At the same time, Marik had been holding onto Ryou for stability. In an instant, Joey was pulling Yugi back up, then reaching for Mai, his own feet braced against the wall.

Yugi was about to repeat his question when the speakers crackled again and familiar voices could be heard.

"Stop pressing random buttons!"

"I'm looking for something!" Duke protested, sounding offended.

"Look with your eyes, not your fingers. Have you at least found the fuel gauge?"

"I was just–yeah, it's over there."

"And the manual?"

"Uh, still missing in action."

"Then keep looking, and stop pushing so many–like that! We don't need windshield wipers!"

"I'm trying to–" Then the audio cut off, as abruptly as it had started.

"That settles it," Anzu sighed. "We're all going to die here."

"Don't talk like that!" Yugi exclaimed, reaching for her hands. "They'll get us home safely, just like last time. You have to have faith, Anzu!"

She stared at him, trying desperately in her heart to obey.

The blimp lurched again, leveling out and accelerating at a rapid pace. Mai almost fell again, but grabbed onto Joey for balance while Marik did the same with Ryou. Mokuba slipped free of Ryou's hold but grabbed onto the same chair he was holding onto.

"See? We're moving forward now." Yugi's hand moved to Anzu's shoulder with a smile. "Everything's going to be okay!"

"I… I guess so."

Yugi held onto Anzu, still smiling, trying to reassure her. As the blimp stayed steady, the others began to cautiously let go of each other. Ryou crossed the room to stand by the window that gave him a view of the retreating island. The tower was starting to shrink as they got further and further away.

Ryou sighed.

"You know, I don't think Noah was really going to–"

But he was cut off by the boom of an explosion. The entire airship rocked from the impact, but was well beyond the reach of the explosion itself. Everyone grabbed onto each other again, but the rocking passed quickly.

"I… stand corrected."

"As long as everybody made it off the island, no harm done." Mai stared out the window at the cloud of pluming smoke. "Note to self: never underestimate Kaiba."

"That's a pretty good rule," Yugi sighed. "That's not even the first time he's tried to kill us."

"Excuse me, what?" Mai's eyes, wide with shock, turned back to Yugi. She released Joey, but only with one hand. The other still curled around his arm. "Care to explain how that went down, exactly?"