Akiza stayed leaning against the counter, still feeling the ghost lips of Yusei pressed against her cheek and lips. She continued to smile into the air before Blister's irritated shouting brought her back down to reality. "Sorry, I zoned out there for a moment. What did you just say?"

"I said that Max is ill so he couldn't come." His gruff tone answered.

"Oh." She was disappointed that he couldn't come. It would have made the entire idea complete. She shrugged the problem away. "Anyone else who can't make it?"

"No, just him. The rest I've either already told you about or sent along some cards. It's a great plan, I wonder why we didn't think of it sooner."

"I've had it in my head for a while. It's just now coming out." He chuckled down the line.

"Ideas like this could make a fortune to the right people. Got any more?" Akiza smiled down the line.

"There was one I had about an electric sponge."

"Humph, funny." The line closed with a click. Akiza continued to smile as she replayed the night before over and over.

Anywayyyy... We're going to HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET LOOSE?! PUT THAT DOWN! AARRGGGHHHHHH!

The light that fell upon him from the crack in his open door was blocked out by a tall silhouette. "Hey Crow." Jack let himself in. Crow continued to stare at the wall in shock. Judging by the look of his eyes he hadn't had any sleep. And judging by in his eyes it wouldn't find him for a long time. "It looks like someone is still shocked over being reduced to a floozy wannabe." He snorted. "I fell a lot further when Yusei beat me." Crow looked over at his friend. "Point taken." Crow rolled back over to stare at the wall at the foot of his bed. "Would it help if I told you Carly never actually wrote that article?" Crow rolled back over to face Jack. "It came up over dinner last night. Apparently she knew nothing about it. Although, come to think of it she may write the article now she knows." Crow slowly sat up. He had to clear his throat several times before he could speak.

"No article?" Jack nodded lightly. "Not Carly?"

"Not Carly." There was a moment of stunned silence followed by,

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YUSEI FUDO!" Crow leapt towards the door only to be flattened by Jack. "GET OFF ME I'M GOING TO MMPPPPPH!" Jack covered his mouth with his hand.

"Calm down Crow." He hissed under his breath. "It was only a little fun. Besides, Yusei doesn't know that you know so you could get revenge before he knows you know. And I wont let on that I know that you know but that he doesn't know that you know. Get it?" A very confused look said that no, Crow didn't quite get it. Jack sighed. "You mess with his head and pretend you don't know that it was all a trick." Crow's eyes brightened. He nodded eagerly and Jack let him up. "Do you have any ideas?" Crow smiled gleefully.

"A few."

"They had best not be as bad as you're usual ideas." Crow shoved his face right up to Jacks.

"Whadda ya mean bad? My ideas are pure strokes of genius." Jack snorted.

"If by that you mean that breaking the kettle in trying to get it to work better is a good idea then by all means." Crow punched him in the stomach and Jack fell on the small man.

You abandoned me to those thugs?! Just because I did some SINGING! I had to beat the last guy up with a SPATULA!

Downstairs Akiza frowned at the disruptive noise. She glanced at the clock and was thrilled to see that Yusei should have reached the twins house and would be returning soon. It was, of course, at that moment that Yusei powered in on his Runner. With what sounded like a massive brewing upstairs she directed him back out, grabbing her helmet on the way. She sped off down the streets with Yusei in hot pursuit. "Where are going?" He shouted over. She ignored his question.

"How did you get back so fast?" A guilt expression slid across his face. "Accel?" He nodded silently. She sighed wearily. The group had been telling him not to try it, just in case he got depressed again. "Why did you do it?" He sped up to her and, reaching over, grasped her hand.

"Guess." She blushed behind her visor. It seemed strange that only yesterday he had treated her not much different than any friend but now... She sped up and was pleased to see Yusei fall behind slightly. Then she swerved around a braking car and lost precious speed, letting him regain the lead. The two battled it out, back and forth, with Yusei pulling ahead before he realised that Akiza was leading him somewhere, then she took the lead once more, then he would lose to his competitive instincts again, over and over. Eventually Akiza lead them down a less used road towards the ocean.

Eventually she pulled over and Yusei slammed his brakes on to prevent crashing into her. She slid off her Runner and walked over to the rail separating the road from the rocky embankment above the pounding surf. Yusei felt that the area was somewhat familiar but couldn't remember where he had seen it before. She leaned over it on crossed arms and Yusei joined her, mimicking her posture. For a moment they simply stood in silence, letting the great mass of water lull them into a deep calm, with Yusei admiring how Akiza's hair was being gently blown around her head by the slight wind. Eventually Akiza broke the silence. "What does this spot mean to you Yusei?" He glanced over at her question. "For me it's the first real step I took towards you." He glanced around, still unsure of when he had been here before. A passing car blew the memory into his mind. Just before the WRGP he had been kidnapped by an insane businessman who wanted him to join his team. Sherry LeBlanc had helped his friends to find him before tricking him into a Duel. It had eventually been called off when the same madman who had kidnapped him had tried to drop a truck on the pair and Akiza. If it hadn't been for her quick thinking then the would have been rushed. After Sherry had ridden off, alongside her butler and life-long friend Elsworth, they had come to this spot and Akiza had asked him to help her become a Turbo Duelist. She turned to face him.

"If right here is where you took you first step towards me," he moved closer to her, "Then it's only fair that I take a step towards you." He stepped over to her and gently kissed her cheek. She smiled at him and like she had that very morning, gently rubbed his face with her hand. She leaned up to his face and gently kissed his lips, admiring how good they tasted. She then stepped back but Yusei followed, never letting their lips part. They slowly lost all sense of time and their surroundings. It could have been minutes later or eons, but eventually the laughter coming from across the road broke through to them. It was a deep throaty laugh and when they looked across the tarmac they recognised its owner. "Sherry." Yusei smiled warmly. "How are you?" The blonde French-women removed her helmet and placed it upon the handles of her Runner.

"It is good to know that you are well. I still regret how things turned out between us last time we met." Yusei's smiled flagged for a moment as he remembered the fight between the Signers and Zone.

"It's not you fault. You thought you were doing the right thing and helped us when it mattered. Not a person in the world would blame you for that." She smiled brightly at him.

"Thank you. I happened to be in New Domino and thought that it would be pleasant to catch up." She winked at Akiza, who still had her arm around Yusei's waist. Akiza nodded back. She liked Sherry but wished she could be a bit more subtle. Yusei looked between the two, knowing something was going on. "I thought that we could finally settle our match as last time we called it off." She smiled confidently at him. "And this time it will end. With your defeat." Yusei's smile slid straight off his face.

"I'm sorry Sherry, I don't really feel like it." The last few times he had Duelled he had hurt people. While its true that he had saved the entire city, he had convinced Zone that he should sacrifice himself instead of letting Yusei do it, before that he had sentenced his friend to a horrible fate, before that he had destroyed Aporia. It didn't make him feel any better that Aporia had somehow come back. Akiza frowned at him.

"What's wrong Yusei?" He looked down at her sadly.

"Nothing's wrong, I simply don't feel like it." Akiza stared at him, knowing that this wasn't the full truth.

"Yusei, you can tell me anything, you know that. Now tell me what the problem really is."

"It's," He thought about lying to her but remembered Sayer. Akiza had been lied to far too much in her life. "It's just that the last few times I've been in a Duel people have gotten hurt. I don't want to be in that position again." She hugged him fiercely and he held onto her.

"That wasn't your fault. You had to stop Zone and Aporia from destroying the city and Bruno... Bruno choose his own path, a path that would help you."

"Akiza is right Yusei." Sherry walked over to the two and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "We all do what we think is right. If we knew what was coming things would be very different. I would not have joined Zone. Zone's future would not have happened. Lots of things would change. But while we could stand her for an eternity and say what could have been or what we would have done, we miss what we could be doing." Yusei placed his hand atop hers.

"Thank you Sherry." Akiza smiled.

"Now, how about that Duel?" Yusei shook his head.

"I'm sorry but not now. Another time, I promise." Sherry nodded, expecting nothing more. "But if you want we could race back to the garage." Once again Sherry nodded and walked back to her Runner. Akiza and Yusei did likewise. The three pulled up in a row and set a countdown. It hit zero and by the time the beep had faded they were far away and still going faster.

A spatula. I'm not even sure how I managed it. And you just sat back and read the story leaving me all on my own. The nerve.

Sherry had obviously had some work done since she had last been with her Signer friends. Her speed had been vastly increased and she was handling it like a they were a single being. That still didn't stop Yusei from pulling out an early lead and blocking her so that Akiza could pull alongside him. Sherry smiled behind her visor and shifted behind a truck. When Yusei looked back he was surprised to see Sherry had seemingly vanished. She pulled out ahead of them as the truck went past. Akiza noticed and urged Yusei to go faster. He tried sneaking past Sherry but she noticed him every time. When he tried to simply outspeed her she slid in front of him and forced his speed back down. They were halfway back and his teeth were being grounded down in frustration. "You may not be ready to lose to me in a Duel but you appear quite willing to lose to me in a race." He pulled back slightly.

"Don't count on it." And then he broke the barrier and went to Accel speeds. Akiza sighed and signaled Sherry over.

"It appears that we're on our own for a little while. And while we are there's something I wanted to discuss with you."

You see? You did it again. Every time I try too have a simple conversation you immediately get distracted by something else. I am sick and tired of it and the next time it happens I'm gonna

Yusei could never quite take in the world that existed inside Accel. It was light and constantly shifting but there was a subtle difference this time. It was like there was a dark pressure approaching from behind him, but if he turned it would move as much and stay behind him, always coming closer. He shuddered and fell back into reality just outside Poppo Time. He appeared in the air slightly and had to fight a slight wobble as he touched back down. He grappled his way down the ramp and was thrown off his Runner as it hit the frame of the opening.

"Yusei!" Crow hurried over. "Are you alright man? You look like you've seen a ghost." He helped Yusei to his feet and steadied him a bit.

"It's fine Crow." He winced slightly as he moved his stomach.

"No, it's obviously not fine. The last time you crashed it took a giant evil Shadow creature. What could have scared you this much?" He glared at Yusei, daring him to lie.

"It's difficult to explain Crow. I have no idea where to start." Crow sat his friend down on the sofa and leant the slightly bashed Runner against the wall.

"Try at the beginning. It's always easier to follow I find."

"Oh,ha ha." Yusei grumbled. He paused and collected his thoughts for a minute. "Okay, as simple as I can put it, every time I reach Accel I phase out of reality for a second." Crow nodded. "And when I'm not here I'm somewhere else. It's a warm, comforting place, filled with light. But just now I thought I felt a darkness, following me."

"I don't get it. Whadda you mean you felt a darkness? Do we really have to defeat another twisted bunch of freaks? Cause I am really getting tired of this now." Yusei smiled slightly.

"No Crow, I don't think so. It just seems that somethings coming."

"Is it possible to mark it "Return to Sender"?" A haughty voice broke in. Yusei looked up at the stairs and saw Jack leaning on the banister. He looked less tired than he had when Yusei had last seen him.

"Jack." Yusei greeted him with a nod.

"I'm serious Yusei. We've been fighting the supernatural for two years now. It's getting to be a bit old now. Isn't there someone else we can get to do the job? I'm sure that our Norse friends will be happy to take over for a bit." Yusei looked up.

"You know that's not fair. Haldor, Dragan and Brodor were meant to prevent Zone destroying the world if we couldn't. Besides, if we wont do it then who can? And it's not as if there's anything to worry about. For all we know I imagined it." Jack and Crow simply stared at him. "Alright, I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it. But we don't know if it's anything about it so for now let it lie." He leant back and waited for Akiza and Sherry.

You did it again! Why do I matter so little to you! Was it something I said or is it my face? That's what happened to my last relationship. "It's not me, it's you. You face just puts me off."

An hour later the two finally pulled into the garage. They both looked throughly put out that Yusei had vanished. "You cheated." Akiza announced as she strode over to the kitchen.

"It is true. None can do what you did. It was unfair." Sherry agreed.

"I'm sorry. But trust me, it's not something I'll be doing for a while." He stared blankly at the floor while the women looked on in puzzlement.

"We'll explain later." Jack translated. Akiza stared at him but Crow gave the slightest shake of his head. At that moment a burst of thunder crashed across the sky and rain began pouring down outside.

"Where's Elsworth?" Yusei asked. "It's not often the two of you are apart." Sherry shut the garage door and half shouted over the pounding rain.

"He is probably at the hotel rooms we have chosen while we stay here." She leaned against the wall. Yusei glanced at the two females in the room.

"I don't think it's safe for you two to ride in this weather. It seems to be like this a lot come to think of it. Either way, I think you should both stay here tonight." Akiza tried to look like it was a massive chore and almost pulled it off. Sherry tried to pull off that it wasn't a going to be uncomfortable and failed. "Jack can sleep on the sofa, Sherry can have Jacks bed, I'll get my bag and sleep on the floor and Akiza can have my bed." Akiza took a sip of her tea in order to hide her smile.

When Jack had finally got the "injustice" of it all out of his system he deigned to lend Sherry some of his pajamas. Like Yusei, he usually just slept in a shirt and some shorts. He did have pajamas but he seldom wore them. They were plain white and style after his usual outfit. Sherry spent what seemed like forever in the bathroom getting changed but came out with her clothes in a neatly stacked pile and her hair pinned back in a simple braid. "Why don't you take longer next time? Just to achieve that effect a bit better." Jack was still in a bad mood when he pushed past her into the bathroom. In Yusei's room Akiza was just snuggling down next to the wall. She made sure there was room enough for Yusei when he was ready and turned out the light. Downstairs Yusei was running a check on the records of his runner. He was comparing his Accel data from that evening with all his previous data. The only problem was there was never much data recorded. He leaned back and sighed in puzzlement. Slender hands covered his eyes and he smiled gently. Those hands slid down and over his chest, clasping together there. He felt a locket of hair slide over his shoulder and, when he looked to see the person behind him, he was shocked to see it was a shining blonde.

"What are you working on?" The French tones purred into his ear. "It looks complicated." Yusei bolted out of his seat.

"Don't do that." He scolded, rubbing one hand over his beating heart.

"Do what?" She pouted adorably. "I was only having a little fun."

"As amusing as I'm sure it was for you," He glared slightly at her, "I would be grateful if you wouldn't do it again. It was rather... surprising." She laughed at him.

"I thought people liked surprises." Yusei slowly sat back down in his chair, wary now of the beautiful women beside him.

"After all I've been through I think I can cope with a boring life for a while Besides, I have Akiza think about. " Sherry laughed, recalling that afternoon when she had interrupted the two, and sat down in the seat beside him and stared at the computer screen, changing the subject.

"This appears to be Duel Runner data. Or at least, it would if there were more to it." She traced one line with her finger. "This segment would describe your speed but it just degenerates into meaningless drivel." Yusei sat forward again and pointed at another.

"This is where my rotational output would go but it's missing completely." He called up another file and superimposed it on the first. The two were near enough identical. "This is what worries me. Today I thought there was something in Accel, something dark and coming this way. Until I can figure out what it is I'm not going that fast again." Yusei pointed out the one anomaly. "See here? This is similar to a Zero Particle." Sherry looked at him blankly.

"A Zero Particle? What is that?" Yusei rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Sherry, how much do you know about the Satellite? How it was made I mean." She shrugged gracefully.

"There was an earthquake and part of Domino City was split from the rest." Yusei frowned. "At least, that is the official story. What really happened is a reactor went into meltdown. The reactor was some experimental kind, something about bonding particles together." Yusei filled her in on what she was missing.

"When that meltdown happened it unleashed a wave of negative energy. We called that event Zero Reverse. A Zero Particle was a unique particle that existed during that moment of concentrated negative energy, just before it exploded outwards and spread. A Zero Particle instantly destroys anything it touches and release negative energy. We only know that they exist because the data that was being recorded was being transmitted to a backup facility at the same time." Yusei's frown deepened and he tapped the screen. "If we're seeing one of these, chances are, it's not good."

Yes, I'm aware there was no mention of any "Zero Particles" anywhere but they will play a minor role in what's to come. And if anything I've said or had done in this chapter upsets anyone consider this; I stayed up all night to write this chapter. Then I had tea with quite a lot of sugar. And I don't really care. PM me if you want anything changed and I'll see what's what. And I'll be only be uploading one chapter every two weeks. Mainly because they are all really short and I hate that, but also because I keep getting stuck and then not sleeping to write another chapter. And (I can't believe that I'm asking for help(I'm not, it's really a competition thingy(that may just be an excuse as to how I'm not asking for help))) would anyone like to send a FEMALE OC in? Deck not needed but one may be created if not provided. PM the genius creator of this awesome story for submission.