I do not own any of the YU-GI-OH series -just a really big fan

I've had this idea going around in my head for a while -tell me what you think!

i'm not very good at Duelling descriptions, so you're going to have to know 5Ds quite well and use your imagination. main character doesn't really Duel during the first Arc. lot more in the second arc, promise!

Sonja's the only OC at the moment -the only thing I own in this story. oh and so is the idea of a 6th Signer. how many of you have noticed that the Crimson Dragon when seen in episode 42 is clutching something that looks like a heart in one of its claws? that's were i got the idea of another sign that represents a Dragon's heart from.

story is broken into three arcs, like the anime

(1) the first ends at the finale of the Fortune Cup

(2) the second is an adaption of the Dark Signers arc, with adaptions to fit the 2010 Reverse of Arcadia game

(3) the third -not to sure where the anime is going, so going to hold off on that.

"C'mon, Sonja!" a boy shouted impatiently from the yard. Sonja hurried down the stairs, grabbing the Duel Disk that she had fixed with the help of her friends. It was an old KC model, used a couple of lifetimes ago, but it still functioned as well as her friends' more modern ones.

The ginger-haired Crow was considered something of a rebel, even among the Satellites. The two had known one another for over thirteen years, and had started Duelling each other as soon as they had mastered the rules. The score was even for now.

Crow used a Deck of the Black Feathers series, made up of birds and humanoids wearing suits of feathers. In fact, his name had come from those Black Feathers. He was a constant troublemaker, with Marks on his forehead and cheeks, in and out of the Re-Education Centre and Facility for multiple years. But he never learnt the lesson Security was trying to teach.

Sonja, on the other hand, avoided trouble as much as she could, and although that was difficult in the Deduclus Bridge District of the Satellite she had managed it. It was there that the vast majority of marked criminals gathered in gangs after returning to the Satellite from the Facility. Only the best Duellists could pass through the district without having to pay a toll of cards. Her own Deck was based around power and finishing the Duel as quickly as possible.

The two headed to the derelict building where they stored their Duel Runners. The motorbike-like racers were forbidden in the Satellite, only supposed to be used by the Securities. The in-built Duel Disks allowed the rider to Duel while on the move, a style that was known as Turbo Duelling. In these high-speed Duels, the 'Speed World' field spell limited the rider to using Speed Spells, which only activated depending on the number of Speed Counters they had.

Crow and Sonja had been working on their own Duel Runners for a couple of years now, ever since their friend, Yusei Fudo, had decided to go the City after an ex-friend of theirs who had taken Yusei's first Duel Runner and favourite card. Now Jack Atlas was New Domino's Turbo-Duelling King.

Sonja pulled the blanket off her Duel Runner, running her hand over the bonnet. Hers was purple with streaks of red. She had attached wings to streamline it, and increase her accuracy around the corners.

It was certainly more colourful than Crow's. His was pure black, with a single streak of red along the sides from bonnet-tip to the rear boosters. He had named it Blackbird –somewhat of an appropriate name. Crow had actually attached wings that could extend from the sides, allowing him to fly –quite literally.

Despite their apparent differences, they were two of the toughest Satellites around, the duo with a lot of powerful contacts, who commanded respect from even the hardiest criminals. They had constantly out-Duelled Sector Security even while the majority of Duellists were defeated, rounded up and thrown into the Facility. They were very good friends.

"How's Blackbird looking?" Sonja asked, picking up a wrench from the bench in between the two Runners.

"Pretty good," Crow said, flipping the bonnet and fiddling with the engine. "All I need now is a CPU chip."

"Yeah, me too," Sonja replied. "I suppose I should go shopping. Do you have a preference?"

"Nope," Crow replied. "Take care, Sonja. Don't go smudging that perfect record of yours by getting a Mark like mine."

"Don't worry," Sonja laughed. "I'm not as reckless as you."

Crow's record came from the fact that he was often caught stealing cards from the Security Impound Centre's vaults. But he was getting faster, and was finding ways in and out without being detected. Blackbird was equipped, in theory, with wings that would enable him to clear the chasm between the Upper and Deduclus Bridge Districts, a jump no other Duel Runner could make.

Sonja tugged on her coat and gloves, leaving the building for the rickety bridge that was the only way across to the Upper District. It was there that the majority of the recycling plants were found, employing hundreds of Satellites to recycle the garbage that came through the pipeline from the City. The Satellites had been used for generations by the City with no real return. There was a divide between the City's residents and the Satellites, and it was more than the fact that the Satellite was separated from the City and mainland by water.

It was also where the black markets were assembled. It was here that mechanic devices, chips and cards could be bought and sold. Of course, Satellites were forbidden to carry cards, but Sector Security had a hard time of enforcing the rules. The majority of cards that Satellites found were in the many junkyards, in amongst the rubbish that came from the City.

All the Satellites shared the same dream: to one day leave the plains of rubbish and head into the City. Across the sea lay the mainland with its almost limitless possibilities and wealth. Yusei, Crow and Sonja believed in that dream so much they had assembled strong Decks and built Duel Runners. After all, Jack Atlas had managed to leave the Satellite; if he could, why not them?

The bridge across the deep void creaked as Sonja stepped onto it. This journey required concentration as sharp as a carving knife. One false move and a person was said to plummet into the chasm.

She went slowly, knowing she had time. Sector Security had no files on her, would never know that she was crossing from the dangerous uncontrollable Deduclus Bridge District into the Upper District, where she would be easier to pick up –if they could out-Duel her. They wouldn't even know she had crossed.

At last she stepped onto the welcome solid ground on the far side of the bridge. She was now in the Upper District.

She had heard the expression 'the grass is greener on the other side of the hill' over in the Deduclus Bridge District, referring to the Upper District. In personal opinion, however, Sonja thought it should refer to the District she had come from. Sure, the Deduclus Bridge District was full of thugs who would rob as soon as they saw you, but it was the one District that no Security would dare to enter. They had the greatest freedom of all the Satellite Districts.

Here in Upper District, a ten o'clock curfew was in place, and regular Security patrols were in effect. Most of the people worked from dawn to dusk in the recycling plants, producing energy that was sent back to the City. More people had to live by the rules.

The black market was a place full of bric-a-brac valuable goods, either stolen or hidden from police searches, and some were built by hand. Even late at night, people gathered to buy and sell whatever they could.

Sonja walked in amongst the stalls, looking for any sign of even the most pathetic CPU chips until she saw a stand obviously boasting of chips of all makes and years. She walked over to the dealer.

"What have you got?" she asked. The man brought out a case of chips, and Sonja let her eyes roam over them. She caught her breath when she saw two Skyline chips –they were the best acceleration chips out there, but they were incredibly expensive. She simply couldn't afford them, even at black-market price.

The man was studying her face as she examined his merchandise. "See anything that interests you?" he asked.

"Not today," Sonja said, and turned to walk away. The man grabbed her arm.

"You're Sonja Walker, aren't you? The Phoenix," he hissed. She turned around. The man looked awed and a little spooked. "I've heard of you. You're supposed to be one of the toughest in the Deduclus Bridge District."

"What does that matter?" Sonja asked. She didn't know her name was whispered in the Upper District, and she had never realised she was called 'the Phoenix' before. The man was suddenly all business.

"I'm sure we can do a deal," he said, motioning for her to draw closer. They put their heads together. "I saw the way you looked at those Skylines. Normally, I'd sell them for $500 each. But I'm willing to cut it down to $5 for you."

"What's the catch?" Sonja asked, somewhat wary of a possible trap. When a black-market dealer cut a price for someone, there was always a catch. And it wasn't always pleasant.

"That's perfectly simple," the dealer smiled, holding out a card. "I want to see you participating in this."

"Participating in what?" Sonja asked, reaching out to take the card.

It was an invitation to Duel in an Underground Tournament:

THE FIRST-STEP TOURNAMENT AWAITS A SELECT EIGHT. PRESENTATION OF THIS CARD PROVIDES ENTRY INTO TOURNAMENT

SEVEN FUN-FILLED DUELS AWAIT AND THE WINNER WILL BE THE UNCONTESTED SATELLITE'S SHOOTING STAR! REWARD MONEY OF $140,000.

(FINAL TO BE A CAGE MATCH SHOWDOWN)

ANTE RULES IN EFFECT

Sonja was somewhat uneasy about the Underground Duellists. They were said to be the toughest of the tough in the Satellite, with no regards for Duelling besides humiliating their opponents. There were rumours that newcomers were crushed by the brute force, especially if it was a cage-match.

Then there was the fact that the old Ante rules would be in effect, giving the winner the right to take their opponent's most valuable card. On one hand, it was an awesome idea because the winner would get a super-Deck made of the rarest cards in the entire game. But on the other hand, Sonja had spent ages on her Deck, putting it together card by card she had rescued from the scrap heaps; if she slipped even once and lost, she would lose her most valued Card, not to mention her personal favourite.

Still there was a title, and a large sum of reward money.

"There're rumours circulating that reps from the City's Underground Arenas will be here," the dealer said. "That's why it's called the First-Step Tournament –the first step to leaving the Satellite, the first step towards Duelling professionally."

"Alright, it's a deal," Sonja said, making her decision. The salesman grinned at her.

"Smart choice," he said. "So, you want anything?"

"The two Skylines," Sonja said, pulling a $10 bill from her pocket. It had taken her weeks of hard work at the factories in the Upper District to earn even that small sum of money.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the man said, handing over the chips with a grin on his broad face. Sonja left the market and stepped out into the road.

She knew Yusei spent a great deal of his time in this District, and it had been a long time since she had seen him. The friends had long ago received his co-ordinates, and now she pulled the sat-nav device out of her pocket and punched in the co-ordinations. Almost at once, a map of the slums popped up, a red beep appearing over the entrance to an abandoned subway tunnel.

She descended into the darkness of the abandoned subway station. She clambered over the broken ticket barriers and walked towards what she knew was a hideout. It was a corner of the station that Yusei had thrown a canvas around, equipping it with rugs, couches, and a TV screen. There was a laptop sitting on the desk, and the noise of a Duel was echoing from the TV onto the walls of the tunnels.

And parked in pride of place was Yusei's second Duel Runner. It was red with white streaks, and it looked as fast as it was mean.

"Are you down here, Yusei?" Sonja called as she approached. When she peered around the curtain, she saw Yusei's closest friends sitting watching the screen.

"Hi, Sonja," one of them hailed her. Rally dressed like a girl and looked like one as well, but he was one of the guys who had known Yusei for years. Blitz, the mega-cool member of the gang that rooted for Yusei, was there too, and so were the ever-jumpy Nervin and the rather negative Tank.

Sonja had known them as long as she had known Jack and Yusei, and had grown up with them.

She saw then what was on the screen: Jack Atlas about to lap the man he had defeated to become New Domino City's latest Champion, a re-run of the latest rematch that had ended in a second defeat for the ex-Champion.

"Does Yusei know you're watching this?" she asked.

"No, he's out collecting a few things," Tank said. "He's going through tonight."

"He's actually planning to go through the tunnel?" Sonja asked, amazed. Sonja had heard her friend talk about following Jack to the City, planning to get his precious Stardust Dragon card back, for years. But she couldn't believe he was actually going ahead with it. "He does know what'll happen if he gets caught, doesn't he?"

"Yusei knows all about the Facility," Nervin said. "But since when has he ever been cautious?"

"Man, I hope he gets through alright," Sonja said. It was a dream of hers as well, to leave the Satellite and make a real name for herself. Everyone who could Duel here thought of the promise of freedom, of leaving some way for the City. But there was one thing to take into account: Satellites were not allowed to set one foot in the City without official permission, let alone Duel there.

A few minutes later, there were footsteps and the four hurried to turn off the TV and the sight of Jack Duelling as a Champion before Yusei saw it.

Yusei pushed aside the cover over the doorway, and smiled when he saw Sonja. They had been Duelling each other for years, building Duel Runners that they knew were illegal and planning their own ways of making life difficult for the policing Sector Security.

He was tall, as thin as a rake, with raven hair he had spiked and dyed streaks of it gold. His blue eyes shone from underneath his hair that partially fell down into his face. He looked much older than his seventeen years.

"Hi, Sonja," he said. "Long time no see."

"Hi," Sonja said. "Your Duel Runner's looking slick. I thought I'd drop by to say goodbye, and good luck. I hear you're heading for the City tonight."

"Yeah," Yusei said. "It should be a piece of cake."

Suddenly there was the twirling of copter blades.

"What the hell's Sector Security doing here?" Nervin asked as he and the others emerged from the hideaway.

"Do not move," said a voice as it boomed through a mega-phone at the entrance. "You are surrounded. You are suspected of possessing stolen property. There's no chance of escape."

The gang turned on Rally.

"What have you done this time?" Blitz asked. Sonja got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Rally's not to blame," she said, producing the Sky-lines.

"Where did they come from?" Blitz asked, gawping at them as Yusei took them.

"I got them from the black market," Sonja said. "But that doesn't explain why Sector Security was able to trace them."

"They're models with a code that allows them to be tracked by Sector Security," Yusei said as he tinkered with them. "I guess it's some sort of security against thieves. Luckily, I'll be able to disable that function."

"Thanks, Yusei," Sonja said, tucking them away when Yusei handed them over. "But how are we going to get out of the jam I got us in?"

"Rally and the rest will head off east, and we'll head for the bridge across the Chasm," Yusei said. As the others headed for a back route, he hurried to his Duel Runner, kicked it into life and waited until Sonja was on behind him before sending it flying forward.

They sailed over the barricade that the Sector Security operatives had erected and raced along the old highway that was now pitted and full of holes from the neglect it had suffered. It was no more than a racing track for those who had Duel Runners that they had either stolen or built.

A few minutes later, there was the sound of a wailing siren and the draft of rotors as they were chased by a helicopter.

"Pull over," someone shouted from behind, and they saw the officer known as Trudge bearing down on them.

Yusei ignored him, kicking the bike forward to the next gear, leaving the officer in a wave of dust and dirt. Still the sirens blared, but eventually they started to pull away.

Yusei pulled into an alley and killed the engine. The officer raced by, oblivious to the fact that his quarry was hiding down the alley.

"We'd better walk until they decide to call off the hunt, at least in this area," Yusei said. They clambered off and began to push it.

"Sorry about all this, Yusei," Sonja said as they walked.

"Don't worry about it," Yusei said. "I'll be out of here tonight, and hopefully it'll go smoothly. Besides, you're a friend –we're supposed to watch out for each other."

Sonja smiled at that.

"You seem to have my back more than the other way round," she said, trying to keep the envy out of her voice. It was true –Yusei was a much better Duellist than she'd ever be. And she'd lost count of the number of times he'd thrown the Securities for a loop for her.

"I said not to worry about it, didn't I?" Yusei said as they drew closer to the bridge.

"You can go," Sonja told Yusei as she saw the bridge though a gap in the buildings. She was nearly home.

"Alright," Yusei said, climbing back onto the Duel Runner. "Go well, Sonja."

"You too," Sonja said, making a run for the flimsy bridge as Yusei drove away.

She was focused on the bridge that she never saw the patrol car until it nearly crashed into her. She twisted out of the way and was on the bridge as she heard the car doors slam and heard the shouts as the two Sector Security enforcers gave chase.

She made it across and ran for it. She knew these streets as well as any other who lived in this area. And she was the only inhabitant who didn't demand a toll or have a permanent record.

She left them around a corner as several Duellists appeared out of nowhere to surround her, demanding a toll for passage through the area. She looked around; the Sector Securities had slowed down, seeing her surrounded and assuming that the criminals in this area would surrender the girl without a problem.

She located their leader, the largest and strongest of all with the most markers on his face, and beckoned for him to listen.

"How much is information worth?" she asked. "Does that count as a toll?"

"If the information's good," the leader said.

"They say the Sector Securities have the rarest cards of all," she said. "And look who's coming now."

The leader saw the approaching law-enforcers and signalled for his fellows to surround them while he kept a hold on Sonja. The gang cleared out the pockets of the Securities and the leader, deciding the pickings were good, released his grip on Sonja, who slunk into the shadows like a ghost.

She hurried to the garage where Crow was sitting on a box. He was delighted as the top-model of CPU chip sailed into his lap.

"Didn't you get any food?" he asked, earning an angry glare from Sonja. He raised his hands quickly. "I'm just joking!"