Chapter 46

One for the Road

Outside, the group was searching for the Kaiba brothers. "This is just insanity, why would Kaiba set his Duel Tower to go kaboom and then just vanish with Mokuba?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know, but I doubt he knows the engines are busted, so he's only assuming his flight crew couldn't fix them." Twilight replied.

"Well, we'll have to track them down. They couldn't have gone far, so we better split up and search fast." AJ figured. "Can do." Tristan replied before they all went in different directions. "I just hope we find him and Mokuba before its too late." Fluttershy said, worried. Down below the Duel Tower, the computer warned that only 25 minutes remained until the whole island went up in smoke.

'Soon, this place will be nothing but a memory. The very site where Yugi disgraced me by retaining his world championship title, will be gone forever. I was supposed to win this tournament and leave the island with all three Egyptian God Cards, but Yugi fought his way here and beat me once again. Now the only way I can move forward, is by destroying the very site where Yugi robbed me of my victory. But all of that pain will soon be behind me.' Seto thought as he remembered the moment Yugi defeated him.

"Well, bro, looks like there's only 25 minutes left till the place blows. I just hope everyone else made it off the island." Mokuba said before the two brothers headed through another door. Meanwhile, at Kaiba Craft 3, the engines still weren't coming online. "Why won't those rust bucket engines start?" Duke asked. "Not sure, no time to check if the island is set to explode." Fugata replied. "The thrusters aren't responding at all." he added. "How much time is left?" Bakura asked. "Not enough." Fugata answered.

Back below the tower, the Kaiba bros continued. 'When this tower crumbles and the whole island goes up in flames, Battle City will be behind me. But more importantly, the memory of that maniac step-father of mine, Gozaburo, will be buried forever.' Seto thought before he remembered the final time he confronted Gozaburo, and how he defeated him in a game of Duel Monsters.

'Even though I faced my greatest demon and won, I'm still haunted by the memory of my step-father. But once I destroy this tower, which sits at the heart of the very island where he made vehicles and weapons of war, Gozaburo Kaiba will be out of my head for good. Maybe then I can start to rebuild my life.' he continued. "Seto, no time to stop and think now! We have to get out of here!" Mokuba called after noticing his brother stop before heading to the elevator.

'With the destruction of my past will come the birth of my future, the future I promised Mokuba he'd have.' Seto thought as he opened his locket and looked at the picture of Mokuba when he was younger before remembering the day he made a sand sculpture of a theme park he called Kaiba Land and promised Mokuba that he'd build it one day, along with others like it in major cities all around the world.

'Soon, this nightmare will be over and I can start making my dream a reality, and keep the promise I made to Mokuba.' he continued. "Seto, let's go!" Mokuba called before Seto climbed into the elevator he was in while the computer warned the tower would be destroyed in 15 minutes.

'Time to create a new branch of the new Kaiba empire.' Seto thought before the elevator started going further down. "Talk about cutting it close!" Mokuba said. Back on the surface, the search wasn't going so well. "Roland, how are we doing on time?" Rainbow asked. "We have 13 minutes left." Roland answered. "Did Kaiba tell you how to stop the detonation sequence?" Twilight asked. "No, only Mokuba knows." Roland answered.

"Well, this is getting more and more bleak by the moment." Rarity said, worried. 'With Kaiba and Mokuba missing and our ride home on the fritz, we'll never escape that explosion.' Yugi thought. 'We've got to have faith.' Yami replied. "Our best hope now is that the engines get fixed." Spike said. Soon, Duke and Bakura came running up. "Here come Duke and Bakura, let's hope this is good news." Twilight said, hopeful.

"Well, what's the word on the engines?" AJ asked. "They won't come online. They're out for good." Duke replied. "Oh, great. JUST GREAT! The island's about to go sky high, our ride home is damaged beyond repair and we're almost out of time!" Rainbow shouted. "Twleve minutes remain." Roland added. "Wait, the rescue copter! The crew said they'd be on standby if the engines couldn't be fixed." Twilight said, finally realizing that they DID have a way off the island.

Back aboard Kaiba Craft 3, Serenity and Mai reached the Ishtar family room. "Guys, we have another way off the island, the rescue helicopter!" Serenity said, urgently. "So move it or lose it cause it's time to abandon ship!" Mai added. Soon, everyone was climbing aboard the rescue chopper. "Just think, if I hadn't passed out during my duel with Marik, this chopper wouldn't be here and we'd be trapped." Joey pointed out as everyone was finally aboard.

"Any luck with finding the Kaibas?" Roland asked. "No, and we can't afford to wait any longer Let's hope the Kaiba brothers found their own way off the island. Pilot, take off!" Fugata responded before the helicopter rotor started to whir to life. "We've got 30 seconds left until detonation! Accelerate the takeoff speed!" Roland said before the copter finally lifted off the ground. "We're not at a safe enough distance yet!" shouted the copilot. "Kaiba..." Yami said, worried the brothers were still down there. "Poor Mokuba." Fluttershy said with tears forming in her eyes.

"Ten seconds!" Roland shouted before the helicopter was finally far enough away just in time for the tower and the island to go boom. "Oh, no." Yami said, grimly. "I hope they made it off the island in time." Rarity said, worried. The tower soon came crashing down in a fireball. "Thar she blows!" Pinkie shouted. The ground soon began to crack and start to engulf Kaiba Craft 3 before a giant wave approached. "This is awful." Serenity said.

"Kaiba, how foolish." Yami said, thinking Kaiba went down with the island. "Yugi, maybe Kaiba wanted to go down with his island." Joey suggested. Suddenly, they saw something approach from below. "Wait, what's that?" AJ asked before they saw what they thought was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Is that, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Spike asked before they realized, to their shock, it was a jet made to look like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Surprise, surprise!" Mokuba shouted. "Soooo...they were safe the whole time?" Pinkie asked. "Let's just be glad its over." Rainbow said in exasperation as everyone else looked dazed and baffled. "Wait, why are they traveling in the rescue chopper?" Mokuba asked. "My guess, the flight crew aboard Kaiba Craft 3 couldn't get the engines online." Seto answered.

"Listen, Kaiba, no offense to you, but don't ever do that again. You had us worried you and Mokuba were blown up." Twilight said into the radio. "Dually noted, Twilight, but we have important KaibaCorp business to take care of, so we aren't going back to Domino City with you and the others." Mokuba replied. "If you say so, as long as its not another tournament." she replied. "Just wait until you see what it is, once its ready." Seto said before the jet pulled away from the chopper.

"Don't worry, you folks haven't seen the last of me. Especially you, Yugi Muto." he added. 'The battle between us will never be over.' he thought before giving them a salute. "All systems set and destination coordinates locked in. Hang on, Mokuba!" he said before the jet blasted out of sight in the opposite direction of the chopper.

'Well, they're off. I hope Kaiba will learn to put his anger aside and move on, right?' Yugi said, mentally. "Yes." Yami concurred. 'Now it's time for our next journey, discovering the secret of the Nameless Pharaoh.' Yugi thought. "Alright, pilot, next stop, Domino City!" Rainbow said with a beaming smile. "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." Pinkie sang. Meanwhile, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Jet zoomed on. "I can't believe we're finally going to do it, Seto. We're going to build Kaiba Land at last!" Mokuba said with excitement.

"Just remember that building a theme park, let alone a chain of them like the Disney company and Universal have done, isn't all fun and games, Mokuba. It takes hard work and determination." Seto pointed out. "Guess some things never change." Mokuba replied. Back aboard the chopper, everyone anxiously waited to reach their destination. "We'll reach Domino City before nightfall." said the pilot.

"I can hardly wait! Soon we'll be home sweet home!" Pinkie shouted. They soon approached the city as the sun was starting to set. A bit later, they landed and exited the chopper at the pier. "Well, we made it home in one piece." Tristan said. "Barely." Rainbow pointed out. "Pharaoh, it is because of your bravery that my brother is freed from the evil that once consumed his heart." Ishizu said. "How could I ever thank you?" Marik asked. "No thanks are necessary." Yami replied.

"Now the time has come for you to uncover the great mysteries that surround your past." Ishizu said. "Pharaoh, you saved me from myself. You helped me conquer the darkness within my own heart. I hope that, in spite all I've done, we can be friends." Marik said, gratefully. "Yes." Yami confirmed. "Goodbye, my king. I know that we will meet again soon." Ishizu said with a curtsey. "Farewell to you all." Marik added as he and his family turned towards his docked yacht to begin their long voyage home.

"Be safe." Fluttershy said. "As they say in Egyptian-Arabic, rihlat amna." Twilight added before the boat sailed away into the sunset. "Who would've guessed that there was a psychotic, evil nut case inside that really nice guy?" Joey asked. "You certainly have a way with words, Joey." Mai pointed out. "Guess it's a gift." he replied. "Well, guess I better be heading home." Duke said. "What about the shop?" Tristan asked.

"Don't worry, Pegasus' nephew was tasked to run it while I was away, I'm sure its still standing and bringing in customers as usual." Duke answered. "Plus, I've got plenty of Dungeon Dice Monsters dice to roll. But don't worry, we'll meet again." he said before taking Serenity's hands. "See ya later, Serenity." he concluded before walking away. "Bye, Duke." she replied before opening her hand to see a piece of paper in it.

"Hey, what's that?" Tristan asked before seeing the paper. "He slipped you his phone number?! Talk about a regular Romeo." he said. "Well, this is one adventure we won't be forgetting anytime soon." Joey said as he looked out at the sunset. "Yeah, makes me wonder what life will be like once we graduate from Domino High in a couple years." Rainbow pointed out. "Just brings up the question, what's next for us?" AJ said.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be another adventure involving Duel Monsters. Doesn't it always?" Pinkie replied. Everyone soon shared a laugh, knowing she was practically right. "Well, boys and girls, its time for me to head off, too. After all, I follow the open road and go where the tournaments are." Mai said. "Mind if I walk you to your car?" Joey asked. "Oh, Mai. I'm sorry you can't stay. You're like a big sister to me." Serenity said sadly, remembering the moment she met Mai yesterday.

"Thank you, Mai. You've done so much." she added as she started shedding tears. "I'm the one who should be thanking you, Serenity. When I was trapped in the Shadow Realm, you took care of me and you never left my side. Thank you." Mai responded before turning her attention to Yami. "Yugi? Listen, in the next tournament, if we're competing in it against each other, either in the quarter finals, semi-finals or, better yet, in the finals, its gonna be me against you." she said. "You're on." Yami replied with a nod.

"And Joey, you certainly may walk me to my car. Its just around the corner of those warehouses." Mai said. "Sure. Shall we go?" Joey asked before offering to link his arm with hers, which she accepts. "Man, who would've thought Joey to be a lady's man?" Rainbow asked. Soon, Joey led Mai to her car. "Thank you, Joey." she said before getting in. "And before I forget..." she added before grabbing a pen and paper from the glovebox and writing something down. "Just to keep in touch." she concluded before giving him her phone number.

"Thanks. And let me write down my phone number for you." Joey replied before she gave him her pen, another piece of paper and let him write down his number. "Here. That way, we can always stay in touch, no matter how far apart we are." he said before giving it to her. "You're really sweet, you know that, Joey?" she asked. "I'd say it runs in the family, especially since you like my sister." Joey replied. "Well, I'll be talking to you. But before I go..." Mai said before giving him a goodbye kiss. "Love you, Joey." she added.

"Love you too, Mai." Joey replied before she started to pull out of the parking lot and drive down the road toward the exit of the pier. 'I have to admit, Joey surprised me. When I first met him, he was an okay Duelist with a big mouth and a good heart. Now he's a great Duelist with an even greater heart, not to mention he's in love with the greatest female Duelist of all time, moi. We may be taking separate roads right now, but our paths will cross again. We may love each other, but if me and him meet in the dueling arena again, my love for him won't stop me from trying to win, and I know his love for me won't stop him from trying to win, either.' she thought as she headed toward the intersection to exit Domino City.

The next morning at Kame Game, Yugi/Yami was up in his room preparing his deck. 'Yep, its definitely nice to be home.' he thought. "Yes, but we can't rest yet." the ancient one pointed out before they stumbled upon Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon. They both nodded, knowing what they had to do, so Yugi took over and prepared to leave. 'Have to be careful not to wake mom and grandpa.' he thought. "Yugi? Where are you going this early in the morning?" Sol asked before Yugi looked back and saw that his grandpa was awake.

"Just gonna go take a walk, grandpa. Plus, I have to return something to Joey. Something he let me borrow for Battle City. I promise, I won't be long." the boy replied. "Alright, make sure you come back soon before your mother wakes up to make breakfast." Sol said, drowsily. A bit later, Yugi is walking down the streets of Domino City when he ran into Fluttershy. "Hey, Fluttershy. You're up early." Yugi said. "I could say the same thing of you, Yugi. What are you up to?" Fluttershy responded.

"I have something to return that I borrowed for Battle City. After all, better to give it back now before we have to go to school in a few hours." Yugi explained. "Mind if I go with you?" Fluttershy asked. "Sure, I don't mind." Yugi answered before taking her by the hand so they could begin their stroll together. Soon, they were walking down a seemingly empty street. 'Battle City's not over yet. I have one thing left to do.' Yugi thought.

At the other end of the road, two figures stood, with several others standing on the sidewalk. It was Joey and Rainbow on the road and the rest of Fluttershy and Rainbow's friends on the sidewalk. 'Time to see how far I've really come.' Joey thought, indicating that he and Yugi were about to have the duel Yugi and Yami saw in their vision provided by the Millennium Necklace. 'Well, Joey woke us up early for this, and Fluttershy must already know about this because Joey told her and us yesterday.' Rainbow thought.

'This is gonna be the rematch of the century.' AJ thought. 'Good luck, Yugi.' Fluttershy thought as Yugi had flashbacks to the day he stood up for Joey and Tristan and the night Weevil threw his Exodia cards overboard on the way to Duelist Kingdom, only for Joey to dive down after them. At the same time, Joey had a flashback of the day he saved Yugi from dying in that warehouse fire. And then, Yugi had a flashback to when he and Yami defeated Seeker and won Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon, only for Joey to let his best friend keep it for the tournament and so he could use it to defeat Marik and the Rare Hunters.

At the same time, Joey had a flashback to when he and Yugi were forced to duel each other thanks to Marik's mind control before Yugi let Yami take over just as he had a flashback to the moment Joey felt the intense power of The Winged Dragon of Ra in its Immortal Phoenix form and survive, only to collapse from the strain of the Shadow Game he was forced into. Yami then remembered the moment he saw the vision of the future the Millennium Necklace showed him, of him and Joey dueling. Before they knew it, the two friends were staring each other down.

"We made it, Joey, but there's still one thing left to do. I still have something of yours." Yami said. "Yep. And its time for me to earn it back, pal." Joey concurred as they both readied their decks. "You're on." Yami replied. "I've been wanting to see this rematch for a long time." AJ admitted. "And we finally get to see it." Spike added. "Two friends in a grand encounter." put in Rarity. "And the winner gets the symbol of their friendship." Twilight added. "So if you're both ready..." Rainbow began to say. "It's time for the final duel of Battle City to begin!" Pinkie shouted.

"Good luck to you both, and may the best Duelist win." Fluttershy concluded. "Of all the battles I've been through in this tournament, this one means the most." Joey said as he activated his Duel Disk as the sun rose over the city. "You better watch out, you taught me everything you know about dueling before your grandpa took over." he added. "Almost." Yami replied as he activated his Duel Disks. Soon, both friends inserted their decks, their life points set to 4000, and they drew their hands. And with an equally ready and determined 'Let's duel!', the rematch of the century, and the final duel of Battle City, began.