A/N: Well, yes, I am back. I've been away for a while, but I'm back now with a brand new fic for you. This is something like a redo of a few very old fics that I refound and kind of inspired me into this. Anyone who's read any of my fics knows I love AUs and this is no different. I don't want to give too much away, but we have Yusei in a parallel world where the Dark Signers have won and the gang never met. And, of course, reviews are all very much loved.

"You're finally awake then?"

Yusei groaned softly and focused his blurry vision on a young woman sitting a little way off. His body was in more pain than he'd felt in a long time. Every part of him was in agony. He sat up slowly, ignoring the pain, and glanced around. They were in a small, dark shelter. There were no windows and only one way out, a set of stairs leading up. He frowned. They seemed to be underground. The young woman across from him was watching with cold, calculating dark eyes.

"Where am I? What happened?" he groaned.

"You're in my home," she replied. "I found you on the streets, you were in a bad way. There was something glowing on your arm, so I brought you here. What's your name?"

"Yusei Fudo. You?"

"So many people call me so many things... it used to be Blue but that would piss off Big Blue. We're two sides of the same coin, me and him. He's told me that more than once. Sometimes, they called me Morta, as in mortician. The one he loves is the Angel of Death."

"That's not very helpful," Yusei said.

"No, I suppose not," she said with a small smile. "Melinda Snow. Friends call me Milly, well, they used to... well, yeah, there are still two... but that's history, it's just Snow now." She brushed her dark bangs from her face and tilted her head. "So, tell me, Fudo, what happened to you?"

"I was in a riding duel," he replied. "Out on the highway then... I must have crashed, where did you find me?"

"C Sector, about five minutes down the street. At first I thought you were just another drunk or something worse, but you had a deck and duel disk. And that mark on your arm... Although, you might have been on something if you think you were on a D-Wheel on a highway. There's nothing like that in the Satellite except the old road in-"

"M Sector." He frowned as Melinda nodded. That was all wrong. The Satellite was gone, Neo Domino City was one. "I think something's gone terribly wrong here."

"You must have hit your head hard. At least you know where you are."

Yusei lowered his head in thought. His mark had been reacting to something when she found him; he must have been dropped here for a reason. If it was the Satellite, maybe he'd been sent to the past. He knew the Crimson Dragon was capable of it. Maybe he was supposed to find something to help him with a new threat. Melinda seemed to know about his mark, she didn't seem freaked out like most people.

"Snow, tell me, how long has it been since Zero Reverse?"

"Eighteen and a half. Why?"

"Something is really wrong," he whispered. "Does Team Satisfaction me anything to you?"

"Some duel gang? I dunno, they all got wiped out by Security a few years ago," she said. "It's not like I care."

If there was one thing Yusei hated more than anything about the Satellite it was that kind of attitude; it's not me and my friends it's my problem. No one cared about everyone else. It was starting to fall into place now, at least. Parallel worlds were hardly news to him. After the things he'd seen not a lot really surprised him anymore.

"Snow, this might sound weird, but I don't think I belong here," Yusei said, glancing around.

"No duh," she laughed cruelly. "You don't sound like you belong here. You seem a bit confused."

"I mean, in the world I live in, the Satellite and the city are one again, and I know it sounds crazy but I swear, it's true."

"Not so crazy, no. Alright, here's the deal, I'll hear you out and give you the benefit of the doubt if you do the same for me. My job isn't easy and it's hard to find people who believe me to help out. So tell me."

"Well, whatever happened, I'm here. In my world, after the destruction caused by Zero Reverse and the Dark Signers- a group who-"

"I know about the Crimson Dragon, and the Dark Signers, I understand that much."

"That makes it a lot easier. I guess the Crimson Dragon brought me here to do something. It very rarely does anything without a reason. So, this world seems similar, but something seems to have gone wrong here."

"Makes sense. I'll fill you in on the details as we go along, but I think you and I are partners from now on. There are very few things that can get you home; however I am a dark card hunter. If there's anything that has the power to get you home other than the Crimson Dragon it will be that kind of card."

"You're right."

"I know, I tend to be. One thing though, Fudo, I am not a nice person; please, don't mistake me for one. I do a job and nothing gets in my way. I don't do friends and if you can't keep up I will leave you behind. You are a partner- a useful person- nothing more. I only took you off the streets because of your mark."

"You know a lot about my mark, and the Dark Signers. Why and how?"

Melinda stood slowly and shook her head, glancing down at him. "I have to be prepared. Cards that come to life and deal real damage... Dark Signers are a hub for that kind of thing. They rule the Satellite and only Security challenge them, and that is a rare occurance."

"That didn't answer my question."

"We'll start looking into it tomorrow."

Yusei nodded. Maybe it was a bit much to want so many answers so quickly. The Satellite wasn't full of trustworthy people in his world, why should this one be any different? At least he was somewhere safe for the night, he'd think more about Melinda later. It seemed to be a running theme in his life that people who knew about the Crimson Dragon more than he did were the ones trying to use and ultimately kill him. What worried him more was that she knew about the Dark Signers and had openly said they were around. That was most important now and most likely the reason he was here. If they were running unchecked, that meant the Signers weren't around, or had already been beaten. He couldn't help wondering, if this world was so different, who were the Dark Signers, and why were they still contained in the Satellite?

In the depths of the Dark Signer's base, their leader was sitting at the head of a long table, shuffling his deck slowly. There was a heavy awkward silence over the room. Demak was on one knee, head lowered, at his side. The other three were watching from their seats, knowing exactly what happened to anyone who challenged their leader's authority. He didn't mind arguments, he was always happy to take suggestions and prided himself on being a fair leader, but Demak had crossed the line.

It had been a long time coming. Demak was loyal to the Dark Signer's cause, but they'd been grating on each other's nerves since they'd defeated the Signers. Everyone had seen this coming. Their leader set his deck on the table and stood slowly, a cruel smirk plastered across his lips.

"We all knew it would come to this sooner or later," he said softly. "You really can't stand it, can you? That you're not second in command anymore? If you think I'm doing a bad job of leadings, say so and you can leave."

"I've told you many times what I think, master, you very rarely listen," Demak replied.

"Well, tell me now."

It was that soft tone that was so unnerving for the group. He was at his most dangerous when he was quiet like that, most of them preferred it when he was shouting and fuming, but this quiet anger was far more dangerous.

"We had a plan when we took on the Signers. Why change it?"

"The plan was flawed," the leader said, folding his arms. "It was based on a situation that never happened. It got us the victory over the Signers and now we've had to adapt and change. Does anyone else have a problem with how I'm leading?" He glanced at the others but there was silence. "I didn't think so. Now tell me, Demak, what are we going to do?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot continue like this."

"Somehow I thought you were going to say that. Too bad, I'll have to find a replacement."

He sighed, but didn't seem at all disappointed and reached for his duel disk. Demak stood and strode across the hall a little way as their leader picked up his deck. It took only a few turns for Demak to lose all his life points.

"For what it's worth," he said softly. "I actually feel a little regret that we couldn't get along as we used to. It's a loss that I won't forget." Demak crumbled to dust and he shook his head. "Now I need to find someone to replace him. It's a good job I always have a backup plan."