C.C.: I am ashamed. This somewhat follows the show.

Jack: Tch. Haven't you done that this entire time?

Kara: Yeah. But this is wayyyy different now. Heehee. This is just the beginning of the Dark Signer arc for BBM.

Yugi: That doesn't sound good. And 'BBM'?

Ayame: It's not. It never is now a days. And Yugi, BBM stands for 'Bonds Beyond Magic'.

Luna: Where's Leo? He's been gone this entire time.

C.C.: Feh. You'll have to ask my muses. Just know he's still alive. Jack! We need the disclaimer!

Jack: Cool Cat 2000 doesn't own Yugioh 5D's or any of its characters. Emphasis on 'any of its characters'.

C.C.: (He actually did the gizmatchee) But Ayame is mine, so no touchy! Oh, and someone in the end belongs to Shimmering-Sky. So, no touchy touchy on that one especially. Or Destiny, Kara, and Seth will have to kill you.


Ayame's POV

The crowd is chanting our, Yugi and I's, names. There are technically a ton of reporters on the track right now behind a gate. And to top it off, Yugi and I are in an amount of extreme of pain. I have no idea what had just happened during our duel. Here I am on my knees, panting. My arm stops glowing and the mark vanishes afterward. 'Typical.' As soon as this happens, the grey statues of our dragons disappear as well.

I look up to see Yugi still flat on his back. He's probably unconscious because that duel looked like it really had taken a lot more out of him than it did me. Plus, I couldn't feel anything from him and for once I'm actually trying to.

When I try to stand up, I almost fall over. My foot caught my body by taking a half step forward. Next thing that happens are the paramedics rushing over to Yugi's side. They put him on a gurney and rush away just as they did with Jack. 'First, Jack. Now, Yugi,' I bitterly think. I take another step forward just to end up falling over.

Here, a strong pair of arms caught me. My eyes remained on where they took my brother away. "Do you think…..he'll be okay?"

"He's been through worse," Yusei answers.

"Yusei! Ayame!"

We look over to the direction of Leo's voice while he, Yanagi, and Tanner were sprinting towards us. Tanner had dashed off elsewhere on the stage. "Hey, guys," Yusei greets when they stop in front of us, "everything okay?"

"We're fine! But you're about to face a brand new enemy!" The old man replies then points to the reporters behind the gate, "The media!"

I stand up straight while we look at the many flashing cameras. Unfortunately, the only thing that was keeping them out broke down. "They're loose!" Leo shouts.

"Ah!" Yusei gasps while taking a step back. Seriously, when will the problems end for at least ten seconds?

"Better rev it up," Tanner insists behind us while pushing my duel runner.

"Coming," I nervously reply. I take a step to start sprinting until I almost fall over again. Yusei gets in front of me and kneels down on one knee and looks back at me.

"Climb on," He tells me. The reporters too close for comfort, I nod and do so while wrapping my arms around his neck. He stands back up as he puts his hands under my legs, so I won't fall off, before running after the others. I exhaustedly shut my eyes.

When I open them, we were all in a dark- "abandoned service tunnel," Tanner finishes my thought, kind of.

Tanner was to our right pushing my runner, the old guy was pushing Yusei's. Honestly, I didn't even know he had it in him. "How'd you know this was down here," Dexter asks.

"A guy like me knows these things," He answers.

"That, and Blister told you," Leonidas remarks on Yusei's shoulder next to a blue-looking bakugan. What the….

"Yusei," I say. He looks back at me using the corner of his eye.

"You're awake," He says.

I nod with my eyes still on the two bakugan on his shoulders, "Why are there two bakugan?"

"Is that what they're called?" He asks while looking at Leonidas and the other one.

"I thought you knew. They're-" I'm interrupted by Dexter's voice.

"They're technically the physical forms of duel spirits in the real world. But only the strongest duel monsters in the game can take that form with the help of something like ancient magic used 5,000 years ago."

I'm very impressed. How old was he? 12? "How do you know this?"

"Duel theory," He simply replies. Wow. Humans actually learning about that world as some sort of grade or something.

"I'm guessing you're still wondering why there are two," Yusei cuts in, "After that light you and Jack disappeared in happened, Stardust Dragon appeared like this."

'That's why it looked so familiar…..', I think. "You say that like there was a second light or something…." I then look at the said dragon, "Can we just call you Stardust from now on?"

"You may," She- for the voice sounded like a she- answers with a bob of her head. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but where are we going?"

"I say we should lay low and crash at Blister's hideout," Tanner insists. He looks at the twins, "Leo and Luna, you should come stay with us, too."

"Are you serious!?" Leo wonders, "Awesome! It'll be like the ultimate sleepover only even better!" Yusei and I smile at his eagerness. If we're lucky, I'll be able to help him out with his dueling. My eyes trail over to Luna and she looks deep in thought.

"Luna?" I ask.

"I don't know how, but I was able to see in that light, too," She says while looking at me, "I saw you and Jack dueling while the Satellite was being destroyed. That was the future, wasn't it?"

"I….don't know," I answer while looking down guiltily. Neither Yusei nor Luna has mentioned my wings randomly appearing in that light.

"But if it is, we have to find a way to stop it from happening," Yusei answers. He then looks back to me, "Yami, you remember what happened in that second light, don't you?"

Oh. So there was another one. I shake my head. "No, I don't remember anything after the flash. One minute I was dueling Yugi, the next I'm on the ground feeling like I got hit by a truck. Did something happen?"

"We'll discuss that once we get to Blister's hideout," Leonidas answers, "You don't remember any part of what happened during the end of that duel?"

"It did feel familiar. Like I was transported from somewhere I've been to, before. Was it that bad?" I ask. Yusei smiles before talking.

"No. When we found our way and watched you guys dueling, everything looked and felt different."

"'We' as in?"

"Luna, Akiza, and I."

"Jack was there, too," Luna adds, "But it was really weird. He walked through all the doors and none of us could touch him. He was like a duel spirit or something."

Doors? What the hell happened? I see Luna place a hand over her arm. "What is a Signer?"

"Allow me, Luna," Yanagi inquires, "I can tell you everything there is to know. But, before I explain what a Signer is….."

His voice trails off in my ears when I look at Yusei for some type of other answer. I guess he notices this and glances back at me. "Yusei," I say to where only he can hear, "You said everything was different. What did you really mean besides the change of setting?"

"I was talking about you and Yugi," He replies. That caught me off guard, "Where we were, wherever that is, you two were relaxed more than ever."

"Aren't all duelists supposed to be?" I wonder.

"Well, yes, but what I'm trying to say is when I saw you guys dueling, it looked like you were having fun. None of you had anything to worry about except the face down cards and strategies the two of you were putting into play."

I rest my chin on his free shoulder while I stare at the ground. Right now, I really am racking my brain to see if I remember something. Anything. So far, only Akiza and Yusei know me the best out of everyone he says who was there. The last thing I remember feeling is just wanting to beat Yugi. The last thing I remember seeing is the Crimson Dragon in the middle of our duel when Naga and Leonidas were battling. It's all a blur after that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I was finally able to walk on my own. That is, after we made it to Blister's hideout. Yusei stops when he feels me shift on him. I move my hands on his shoulders so I'm able to lean forward more. "Thanks, for everything. You're the best, and I'm glad I can call you my Shooting Star," I say before quickly pecking him right on the triangle of his criminal marker again. Just like last time before our duel, I somewhat feel my face heat up a little. Soon after that, I jump down from his hold. My legs carry me over to where everyone else was, and Yusei stops behind me.

Now, we were all crowding around Yanagi while he was drawing the Seal of the Crimson Dragon on a sheet of paper. I was already recognizing some parts to it. "Keep in mind that I'm no artist and I've only seen it once. But the dragon seal looked something like this."

We all leaned forward to get a closer look. Yusei was the first to gasp. I knew he was eyeing what looked to be the tail, because that's the mark on his arm. "Luna," I turn toward her, "Can we see yours?"

She nods and pulls up her sleeve. "So, Luna's mark looks like the claw thingy," Leo comments. What really caught my attention was the shape the claw was holding. It looked exactly like mine. Too bad it never stays like the others. The other thing was that same weird eye thing in the middle of the seal. Exactly like the mark on Yugi's arm.

"Yanagi, what does all this mean?" I wonder.

"According to legend, the Crimson Dragon's head, wings, hands, legs, and tail were split into five parts. They were sealed away within the five original Signers. The marks were then passed down through the generations."

"So where does that leave the one marked with the shape that looks like what the dragon's holding?" I say, asking about my mark.

"It's like the heart of the Crimson Dragon. 5,000 years ago during the war, if a Signer was defeated by a Dark Signer the heart of the Crimson Dragon would be lost for a very long time to the darkness. If the heart was defeated directly, it would've been lost forever. Either way, the one marked with the heart would face the inevitable. Death."

"….So, can this heart speak to the dragon directly?"

"No. Only the Envoy of the Crimson Dragon is allowed to do that. They hold the entire seal on their right hand and have the powerful "Crimson Star" cards."

Then why was I able to talk to him that one time? Maybe it's because of my powers. Yeah, I'll just go with that theory, because I did feel exhausted after communicating with him directly like that. Now to clear something else up. "Okay, so do you know anything about that eye in the middle? Yugi had that mark, and it looks exactly like the design on his puzzle."

"It's an Ancient Egyptian symbol," He says, "The Eye of Wjdat is what they called it. I'm afraid that's all I know about it."

'What does the Crimson Dragon have to do with Ancient Egypt?'

"But there are only five Signers we know about," Tanner pipes up, "How was the Crimson Dragon summoned if all seven of them weren't gathered?"

"That means the seventh Signer was in the arena after all," Yusei says, knowing very well I had a mark.

"So, Luna's a Signer," Leo starts, "Jack's a Signer, Akiza's a Signer, Yusei's a Signer, and Yugi's a Signer."

I bring my bare arm up to look at it. Yusei's watching me from where he stood behind me. 'If only I could get mine to show. Five seconds, max.' I wince by shutting one of my eyes out of nowhere when I feel a burning pain in my arm. Then there it is. The heart of the seal. Yusei and Luna's marks were glowing, too.

"I don't believe it!" Yanagi stood up to look at my arm closer, "You're the heart of the Crimson Dragon."

"I figured….." I comment. Finally, it stops glowing and it's only there for a little longer before vanishing again. Luna and Yusei's marks subsided in their glowing scenes, but of course they remain on their arms. Coincidence that it showed up when I wanted it to? I think not.

Suddenly feeling exhausted after that, I feel my knees wobble before I collapse to the ground. I end up sitting with my legs on both sides of me. I sigh while placing my palms on the ground when I faced it and shut my eyes. "That took more out of me than I thought it would."

I feel a hand on my shoulder. I meet Yusei's eyes to see him kneeling sown beside me. I just send him a quick smile to let him know I'll be okay.

"That's six down. So who's the other one?" Tanner wonders.

"Maybe it's me!" Leo shouted while lifting his shirt up and looking himself over for something, "Maybe I have a mark."

Then Luna faints out of nowhere. Yanagi had caught her, and her eyes open tiredly again. "Is she okay?" Yusei asks while staying next to me. Leo runs up to her when she answers.

"Yeah. I- I'm just a little tired or something."

"I second that statement," I agree when I feel my shoulders droop down a bit.

"I don't see why," Tanner says, "We've all had a couple of crazy days. Let's try to get some shut eye."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

A masculine, dark, voice chuckled. Darkness. That was the only thing I saw- Hold on. Fire. It was purple fire in an odd shape revealed in the dark sky above me. Down below- for I was floating in mid-air- was the same shape. Except there were two duelist riding their due runners inside this fire. There was another runner that looked like it had crashed.

Everything seemed to zoom in. Here, I recognized one of the duelists being Yusei with Stardust Dragon flying above him. He was riding behind his icy-blue haired opponent with the shape in the sky on his arm. My eyes drift up to see some weird heart looking thing in the sky. Purple lines glowed each time it pulsed.

Facing it was….something. It looked like a person not too far away from it in the sky before the heart. Purple glowing rings were constricting the body, who had a helmet on. These rings seemed to be creating the odd purple sparks I keep seeing that bounce off from time to time. I guess they were the reason for the dark aura I saw around the person. But who was it?

That mark. It's on this person's right arm that looks exactly like mine. And now I can see the glowing marker under the left eye: The violet colored, star-like shape with six points. Th- That's me.

Something else catches my attention far off in the distance. I look over to the side and I see someone in a cloak that completely covers her entire body and the entire right side of her face. The only thing I see is a grey eye. That eye was glaring daggers at the other me in the sky. Behind her is a green dragon that I have never seen before. Then a voice reaches my ears. I guess it's hers since her mouth is moving.

"I'll teach her that those who kill," A green-like rapier appears in her hand, "should be prepared to die."

Kill…? I… didn't kill anyone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

My eyes snap open to meet the dark quarters of the room we were in. Snoring reaches my ears which causes me to look down. Leo and Yanagi were on the couch leaning back to back. My eyes go up to find Tanner sleeping in the chair behind the desk. Me, well, I'm not really sure. I know that I have Yusei's jacket over me. I turn on my back slightly to see his face with his eyes closed. I realize my head was in his lap.

Sitting up, a hand comes to my vibrating head. 'Let's see…. Oh, right. Yusei, Leo, Stardust, and I were just talking. I must've fallen asleep on his shoulder while at it.' How my head ended up in his lap was beyond me. But it was somewhat comfortable considering the circumstances right now. I silently remove his jacket.

I stand up and grab my deck, that was inside my deck holder, and place it on the thin chain I'm wearing. I'm still wearing blue shorts with the same blue-colored high tops. And this baby blue cold-shoulder crop top. What can I say? Somehow, I've always loved the color blue.

Walking over to the door, I see Luna sleeping quietly under a blanket. A smile can be felt when I walk out. I just need some air to clear my mind right now. Not like I'll be sleeping anytime soon anyways. I don't even remember what happened in that dream. I only remember whatever I was feeling. That's all.

I found myself walking out onto to the roof of Blister's hideout. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's somewhere around midnight. 'What is going on?'

I come back technically being chased by Goodwin through Trudge. I met Yusei back in the Satellite after that. We came to the city together. Get separated only to find out some crazy info about all this. The Fortune Cup. Yugi…. Those nightmares that Wezzles- I mean Wes- claimed to be the future. The actual future when Jack and I dueled. Going inside of Yugi's Millenium Puzzle-

'That's it! That's where we went in that flash of light. Yugi and I dueled inside of his puzzle just like the duel I had with the professor. But, why don't I remember anything that happened?'

A cool breeze goes by and my brown, now violet-streaked, hair covers part of my face, blocking my vision slightly. I feel my arm sting out of nowhere again. I bring it up to see that it was glowing. But this time, it feels so much weirder and different compared to how it should be feeling. With each pulse, I feel like I'm getting weaker. This isn't even the beginning of it. I feel my marker burn. It even feels like someone's zapping me or something right on the spot.

I hear a masculine chuckle behind me. "So it is true," The ominous voice says. I turn around when I place my hand over my mark. He was wearing a dark cloak that even covered his face. His smirk was the only thing to be seen. When I see the purple glowing spider mark on his arm, I gasp.

"What!?" He just laughs even more while he still approaches me slowly. Then I see it. As soon as my eyes land on the thing in his hand, my marker feels like it shocked me definitely. After that, I tenuously fall down to my knees; my eyes still remain on the dark looking object.

It radiated so much dark aura, yet I think it was weakening me at the same time. It was a small dark purple crystalline that had a small rope wrapped around its center. It was glowing so bright for such a small crystal. I start to see dark spots in my vision.

The cloaked figure stops in front of me and everything goes painfully dark.


Ayame: Hold it! I don't remember you busting that last bit in about 'being prepared to die'. Who was that? You're saying I'm gonna die!?

C.C.: So you did take a peek... Anywho, yeah that character can't be named at the moment. And... well, you said it I didn't.

Yusei: That isn't right.

Ayame: The first chapter and you leave it at a cliffhanger. Typical.

C.C.: Not exactly. You just ended up unconscious at the end.

Yusei: You still ended it like a cliffhanger.

C.C.: Whose side are you on, Fudo?

Destiny: Why are you guys arguing. If there isn't going to be any fire it's pointless. Hey, when can I go get that pyro lesson from Shade? I have a few things to ask that only he would know answers to about fire.

C.C.: Uh, that's up Shim. But-

Leo: *Runs in panting* I'm back! Why did you take me to Canada!?

Kara: WHAT!? I thought it was Mexico.

Jack: Canada? Are you nuts?

C.C.: No. Just screwed. So, tell me what you thought about this little chapter in a review. You can flame it if you feel like it. See ya!