A/N: Short? Yes, a little. Chapter 13, unlucky... for Jack! (Mwhahahaha...) Anyway... yes, another from the great JACK ATLAS! I love him so much but it's so hard to write completely in character all the time. That's why it took so long (lots of times my head and desk met). Reviews please guys, don't think I don't notice they're not coming in so much anymore. That's why I did what I did to Jack and why Kiryu is angry with Yusei. It's all your fault all you people who don't review. And don't think not review so you get more torture is a good plan. I know what you're up to...

"Godwin, what about other Signers?"

Godwin frowns. "What about them?"

"Well, who are they?" I say quietly. "Why haven't I met any others? If there are others, why does it seem like it's just me?"

"To be honest with you, Jack," he says. "We had thought your friend Yusei would be revealed to be one of them. He owned Stardust, so naturally, we thought he would eventually be proven a Signer."

"Didn't really work out like that, did it?" I mutter. "Isn't there anything that makes this better?"

"Being a Signer isn't a curse, Jack," he says.

"My best friends are all dead," I hiss. "It feels like a curse. Because of this stupid thing, I hurt Yusei, now he's dead. Who knows what would have happened if I'd stayed."

"It's hardly your fault what happened to Yusei, Jack."

"Yes it is. I'd do anything to bring him back."

"Don't talk like that," he snaps. I frown. Does he know about the Dark Signers? Does he know that I'd happy abandon him and his precious dragon to bring them back? "They're dead, there's nothing you can do for any of your friends. You've been chosen to save the world. You're a hero."

"I never asked to be chosen. I just wanted to live a better life. I didn't want to live in the slums all my life, that's not a lot to ask. I should have realised sooner it wasn't worth my friends. I should have known that I could do it without sacrificing them."

"Jack, please, there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing can bring back the dead."

"Then tell me about the other Signers. I've lost everyone I've ever cared about but my mother and I want to know what it's all for!"

"We believe that a young woman called Aki Izayoi. However, currently, we can't reach her. She's under the protection of the Arcadia Movement, they're a group under the instruction of a man named Divine, he is set on overthrowing me. I'm sure I will get proof soon, but it has to be a careful matter. We believe we may have found another but she has yet to have a mark."

"That's it? I thought they were supposed to have five Signers," I snap.

"We believe we know the location of another, in the shadows for now," he says.

"So, if it had been Yusei, you'd have them all?" He nods. "Then, what's the backup plan?"

"We wait and see where the Crimson Dragon goes."

"Wait and see who else is going to get their life destroyed by this thing."

"Jack, it's not a curse, you must understand this," he says quietly, putting his hands on my shoulders. "This marks is a blessing, it's the mark of King, of power. It's what you are. It's your destiny."

"My destiny... that's it... that's all there is to it?"

"Mr Atlas, I'm sure what he meant was-"

"Be quiet, Mikage," Godwin snaps. "Jack-"

"My friends died because of my destiny?" I say, standing up. "Yusei, Crow and Kiryu, three people who didn't have anything to do with this, who were entirely innocent, because this dragon wanted make sure I fulfilled my destiny? That there was nothing left to distract me?"

"Jack-"

"I'm not buying it, Gdowin, I'm not going to be broken down by this stupid creature! It made a mistake thinking my friends were play things!"

"Jack, I highly doubt you friend's deaths were influenced by the Crimson Dragon."

"That's what destiny is, isn't it Godwin? Something unavoidable!" I yell. "So it was their fate to die, right? For my destiny? No, my friends are not toys for some god to use against me."

"Either way, Jack, they are dead."

"Didn't I just tell you I'd do anything to get them back? I mean it. I will do anything if it gives me hope that they can come back."

"Jack, believe me, I lost my brother in Zero Reverse, do you think I wouldn't bring him back if I could? Nothing brings back the dead."

"Something will."

"Mr Atlas, please-"

"I know they can come back," I snap. "I just have to figure out how."

I turn and storm up the stairs. I slam my door and turn. Kiryu is sitting on my bed. He smiles slightly and I sit at his side. He's dead. It's hard to see him like that. Knowing he's dead, but seeing him sitting there, real as I am. I suppose that's what makes him so powerful, like that Dark Signer thing was saying.

"Well, do you know anything? About the Signer?"

"How long is this going to take? It's been a month since I left the hospital. How long before I can get rid of this mark?"

"Soon," he says gently. "Very soon, I promise."

"How soon?" I snap.

"Shh, keep your voice down," he says. "He'll hear you." I nod and he smiles. "Good, now, just relax, Jack. I'm not going to let anything go wrong."

"Then, you do have a plan?"

"Of course."

"Want to fill me in?"

"If you insist."

"Go on then."

"You sure?"

"Kiryu, get on with it. I want to know what's going on."

Kiryu lies back on the bed. "Alright. What are you going to wish for?"

"Come on, Kiryu. You're not stupid," I say. "You know what I'd wish for."

"You're not so bad deep down, are you, Jack?" he says quietly. I frown. "You'll wish for us to come back? Not just like this, for a little while, but back to life, properly." I nod. "That's kind of sweet. Not like you at all."

"This mark killed you, if I can get rid of it, shouldn't it make sense that you come back?"

"I suppose."

"So, tell me the plan."

"Alright. When the time comes, I'll be waiting for you, ok?" he says, sitting up again. I nod slowly; Yusei said Kiryu was waiting for him when he died. "The only way to rid yourself of this mark is pass on, Jack, but only for a few minutes, you know, like when someone drowns and their heart stops beating and then they're revived." Again I nod. "It's like that. The second your heart stops beating you'll be free from that thing."

"Why do I have to wait then? I don't get it."

"Because to become a Dark Signer, to get your wish, you have to be in a certain state of mind," he says. "You'll see, when it's time, I'll be here to guide you. For now, what do you know about the other Signers?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Well, do you want to defeat the dragon or not?"

"But-"

"Come on, Jack, what do you know? Names, locations, anything."

"Godwin said he thought Yusei might have been a Signer." Kiryu frowns and nods. "If he returns, will the Crimson Dragon be able to claim him?"

"No, no it won't. Or you. What else?"

"Err... He said Aki-"

"Izayoi, yes," he says. I frown. "I've got tabs on her, don't worry."

"He said about another," I say. He sits up. "Definitely a girl, he didn't say much about her though, just that they'd located her, but she'd yet to show a mark. And another... he said, in the shadows for now..."

"In the shadows?" He frowns and taps his fingers against his chin. "Wonder what that means..."

"Kiryu."

"Yes."

"You and Yusei, what's going on there?" I ask quietly.

"What's... oh, you mean are we together?" he laughs. I frown. "Yeah... I guess we are. It's complicated."

"Tell me," I say.

He frowns. "It started... it doesn't matter now. Focus on doing this, ok. I'll explain afterwards."

A few days pass and I try to figure out more about the other Signers. Maybe if I tell Kiryu more he'll tell me more about what I need to know. For now there's nothing though. He doesn't tell me anything more. Godwin pushes me harder and harder and it's all getting too much. I won't complain, or give up, of course, but he keeps talking about my dead friends like I should forget about them. Any time I talk about them, or defend them, he tells me I should be grateful I escaped the Satellite and wasn't with them. I should be grateful he's taken me out and saved me.

I can't believe he's so arrogant. I'm out in the city, not really going anywhere, but just walking. It's been another week and I just need to get away. He's impossible. I just can't stand Godwin anymore, or Mikage trying to act like she's on my side while at the same time saying 'yes, Director' to everything. I clench my fists. I don't even know why I'm in this stupid city. They're all shallow, self serving bastards who are twisted by this Crimson Dragon.

Something hits me from nowhere and everything flares in pain as the world goes white for a moment. I open my eyes slightly. I'm not the ground with people around me. Breathing hurts. I groan and try to get up but collapse to the ground again.

"Don't move," says a quiet voice. "You've been in an accident." Something warm is wrapped around me and I manage to look over. There he is; Kiryu. "Don't move, you're hurt, just lie still and wait for the ambulance."

I do as he says, drifting in and out of consciousness. He's sitting with me, holding my hand and stroking my hair while people stand around me curiously. I try to ask him what's going on but I can't get the breath.

"Shh," he whispers. "It's ok. You'll be ok soon, the ambulance is on its way." He smiles. "It's ok, Jack. You're going to be fine."

He smiles and rests his hand on my arm, just over my mark. I squeeze his hand and he nods slightly. If this is the time... I have to die to get rid of this stupid mark... to get them back. If it's time, then that's ok. It's time to get them be back.

Next thing I know I'm in hospital. It seems to be the standard result of Kiryu telling me it's going to be ok. He's standing at the foot of the bed, just watching and waiting. Godwin comes in and no one even notices him. I can't really hear anything they're saying but...

Kiryu offers me his hand, I reach up slightly. I reach for his hand but I can't move. I just reach for him and his hand closes around mine. It's not real, but I can feel it. He pulls me up and I can look down at my own body as the doctors rush in. He smiles.

"Are you ready?" he whispers. I gaze back at my body. "Jack? Come on, this takes more effort than being solid. We have to be quick. We have to go or you have to stay."

"Let's go."

"Yeah, come on."

He pulls me into darkness. I frown as the other me appears, watching quietly. He reaches out for my hand and Kiryu pushes me forwards so he can catch me. After a few moments I stand and turn. Kiryu's gone.

"We don't have long," the other me says. "Jack, you want to bring your friends back to life. I will grant your wish. Are you ready?"

"Yes. Bring them back for me."

He nods and smiles. "Time to wake up then."

"That's it?"

"Yes. Now, wake up."

I open my eyes and Mikage sighs. "You're ok, Mr Atlas."

"Of course I am," I snap, pushing her away. "What happened?"

"We lost you for a few minutes, Mr Atlas," she cries, hugging me. I hiss and push her away again as pain flares through me. "We thought you were dead."

I glance around. Did it really happen? Was I really dead? I push her away and sit up. "What happened?"

"From what we can see, you got hit by a car, Jack," Godwin says. I frown. "We' lucky, you hit your head and they were worried about brain damage, but you seem to be pretty much unharmed."

"Then how did I manage to die for a few minutes?"

"That's not been discovered yet, so they want to keep you in for a while to see if they can figure it out. How do you feel?"

"Alright, I think... kinda tired," I mutter, glance over at the window. It's dark. "Can I just sleep for a bit?"

"Of course, Mikage will be here, just call the nurse if there's anything you need and they'll fetch her."

"Yeah, sure."

I suppose it's an hour before there's noise outside the door. I frown and turn to the door just as it bursts open and they tumble in. Within seconds, they're on the bed, sitting around me. I frown and glance between them. They're all smiling and talking over each other. I frown and they laugh.

"Jack, don't you remember?" Crow says.

"Remember..."

Kiryu grabs my arms pulled down my sleeve where my mark used to be. I frown. There's nothing there. They laugh again and show my their arms, each with dark purple mark like that other me had.

"What's going on?"

"You're like us," Kiryu says. "You're a Dark Signer now. You'll see, sooner or later, you'll get a mark like ours."

"You set me up?" I snap.

"No," Yusei says. "We didn't. We saved you from the Crimson Dragon. Now we can be a team again."

"I was done with that," I says. "I was moving on."

"We know, but... if we hadn't done this, you would have had to fight us," Crow says. "We already died. We were Dark Signers. We couldn't go through with it, we couldn't fight you, so we figured we could bring you to our side too."

"You two... you really did die?" Yusei and Crow nod. "How?"

"Like I said," he says, glancing at Yusei. "When you left... Kiryu directed me towards the docks so I'd be there to save Rally. Then Kiryu helped Yusei come back."

"And you?"

He frowns and glances at Kiryu. "The fire."

I nod slowly. Of course, that's the only thing that really makes sense. Kiryu smiles though. "We're a team again now. We've got the upper hand on Rudger-"

"He's going to kill us," Yusei mutters.

"Let him try," Crow laughs. "We've got each other now. As long as we stick together we can deal with him."

"No," Kiryu says gently. "Let him think he's in charge. You carry on how you were, Yusei, keep letting him think he's got you, and then, Crow, you stick with Aki and Divine. Jack's going to watch Godwin and try to keep in with his plans, you report back to me. We follow Rudger's plans and weave ours in. Let him think we're working for him, he'll let his guard down and we'll be working in the background for our own cause."

"Which is?" I mutter.

"Firstly, getting rid of the Crimson Dragon, secondly removing Rudger," he says. "I'm not sure where after that. I'm still working on it."

"What do we do then?" I say.

"When it's safe, you trust your instincts," he tells me quietly as Yusei and Crow lie next to me. Kiryu frowns. "The Immortal within you will guide you to me, where it's safe. I can explain more there. It'll be ok though. Sooner or later things will fall into place. Come to me when It's safe and things will make more sense."

I do what Kiryu said. When it's quiet and Mikage has stopped fussing and Godwin has stopped being so protective and exploiting my accident for the crowds, I go out. My instincts lead me through the streets of the Daimon Area, to a nice apartment. I push the door, it's unlocked. Inside, Yusei is on his knees, Kiryu standing above him with a smug grin on his face. He turns.

"Jack."

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" I mutter.

"No," Kiryu says. He smirks and kicks Yusei to the floor. I frown. Yusei doesn't even put up at fight. "We were just sorting some things out. How's it going, Jack?"

"Ok, I guess. I want answers though. And you can start but what's going on between you two."

"Nothing per say," he says.

"Per say?"

"Well..." He smirks and sits on the couch. I frown and sit next to him as Yusei climbs up to his feet and sits the other side of Kiryu, resting his head on Kiryu's lap. Kiryu smiles but completely ignores him. "It's entertaining if nothing else. Crow's dealing with the other Signer."

I frown and nod. "What's wrong with you, Yusei?"

"He's angry with me," Yusei whispers. "So, I'm going to make him forgive me. No matter how long it takes."

"Why are you mad at him?"

" He betrayed me-"

"I didn't!" Kiryu shoves him off his lap and Yusei stares up at him from the floor. "Kiryu..."

"So, Jack," he says quietly. "Does anymore of this make sense yet?"

"Not really. And do you know what's bugging me? You said something about Rudger. Wasn't he the man who you and Crow were watching called Rudger? The one who owned that slave boy, Yusei?"

"Oh yeah... about that..."

"Let me guess. You were the slave boy in blue, Kiryu?"

"Yes. Rudger owned me. Kinda of..."

"He cracked your head open," Yusei snaps, sitting up.

Kiryu slaps him and he falls quiet again, lowering his head. "He can be difficult."

"Yusei or Rudger? And what's this about you getting your head broken open? Crow was muttering about that too."

"Yeah, well, I annoyed him when I killed Demak and apparently he hit me so hard my head was broken open. I don't remember anything."

"Nothing?"

"Not after he hit me the first few times."

"But you're ok, right?"

"Yeah, see that's the thing about being a Dark Signer, until our problems are solved, we're damn near immortal. Nothing can kill us, Jack, it's awesome."