"The chief wants to see you," the guard said. Yusei's gaze shifted between the two officers. Was this a routine check? If Yanagi and Tanner's concerned and confused expressions could tell anything, then that would be a 'no'.

"Careful, Yusei," Tanner warned. The ebony duelist nodded and stepped forward. The guards stayed behind him as they walked out. They went down a few different hallways and stopped at a door. It was faint, but Yusei could hear the sound of someone yelling.

The first guard opened the door with a key card and Yusei was grabbed, being held back from running over to Ringer. The fox was muzzled and the leash was choking him. The animal seemed to notice him, struggling becoming more like thrashing.

The large man in the room bellowed a laugh, a deep belly kind of laugh. This man must be the chief. His gut was larger than a watermelon and nose about the size of a pear. The man had a strange cut on his beard, arching twice and meeting in the middle. His skin was dark and his beady eyes darker.

"You must be Yusei," the man growled. "This mutt your pet?"

"His name is Ringer-" the teen was cut off by the man's awful breath. God, did he ever brush his teeth?

"I'm Chief Armstrong," he declared. "I run this joint. So, I know everything about everyone. But the Big Man called and he says you're hiding something." Armstrong made his way behind Yusei, the guards moving away, and grabbed his arm. He forced it behind Yusei, twisting it painfully. The teen felt his glove and sleeve being pushed away when it struck him. They were looking for that mark. The one Ringer had.

"Leave Ringer out of this," Yusei shouted. The fox's movements went still, large red eyes pinning on him. "He has nothing to do with this."

"Is that so?" Armstrong asked. He lowered his foul breath to Yusei's ear and whispered, "Do you know what happens at pet shelters when they don't get adopted? They get put down. Do you know why pets don't get adopted? Because they're too weird looking, they're too old, they're too noisy. I'm going to take a guess and say that your little friend here wasn't going anywhere." Yusei was shoved hard and he stumbled, tripping over his feet as he almost fell to the floor.

"Search them thoroughly," the large man commanded. "Even if you see any kind of blemish or beauty mark, I want to hear about it." The officers nodded and watched Armstrong leave.

Yusei glanced down to Ringer. The fox looked scared, black ears pressed against his head and tail between his legs. He tried to reach out to his partner once and received a harsh tug on the leash, he whimpered when it cut into his skin.

"Let him go," Yusei growled. "You're hurting him," but his words fell on deaf ears as they began their search. The officers and scientists separate Ringer and Yusei, leading the teen to another room. They stripped him to his light blue boxers and led him to a machine, where they strapped him down to the metal surface.

It felt like an MRI, a metal table sliding into a large hollowed out cylinder. A red fanned beam passing over his tanned skin. He didn't struggle against the metal cuffs. When they're done, they would let him go and, maybe let Ringer come with him.

Wait. What was that? It was faint and maybe he didn't hear it. But it happened again; a scream muffled by soundproof walls. Yusei tried sitting up, to get a better ear. The steel cuffs sparked and arched with electricity. He cried out as the blue treads traveled up his limbs and through his torso.

It stopped after a few minutes, but the feeling of time was slowed for Yusei. The shock started again, this time hotter and sharper as it dug into his skin. His own screams drowned out the other's, which he chalked up to being Ringer's.

It happened a few more times, each getting worse and his screams louder. After the last one, the metal table was pulled out and raised to look Armstrong in the eye. Yusei didn't even notice when the man had walked back in. He wrapped his thick, sausage fingers into Yusei's black and yellow hair and gave it a sharp yank.

"Had enough, yet?" The teen answered with heavy pants, throat ripped raw from his cries. "I was hoping these tests would shock some sense into you. Who would have thought people from the Satellite could get a deck, let alone a duel runner. Those things should never be in a Satellite's possession. Including that mutt of your's." He released the hold on Yusei's hair and waved a hand for the officers to continue.

Over the next few hours, Yusei could hear Ringer's cries and sometimes drowned it out with his own. He never saw Ringer. It was dark when they were finished, the guards who oversaw the tests dragged him back to the cell Yanagi and he shared. His feet never met the ground once, not until he was thrown into the cell and the door closed behind him.

'What did they do to you?" Yanagi asked, helping Yusei sit up. The teen gasped for a bigger breath, lungs screaming for their pain to stop.

"Just-" He swallowed thickly and tried to cover his hoarse voice with a cough. "Just ran a few tests. Probably looking for that mark that appeared during my duel with Jack." Yanagi perked up and practically leaped into Yusei's lap.

"The Mark of the Crimson Dragon!" He shouted. Then, quickly covered his mouth and looked around. "You're a Signer, Yusei."

"A Signer? Wait do you mean the mark that's on Ringer's shoulder?"

"Ringer has one?" Yanagi asked. The teen nodded, voice still sore. "That means he's part of this. Did Jack have one?" Another nod. "You both are Signers," Yanagi said in astonishment.

"What does that mean?" The simple sentence sent Yusei into a fit of ragged coughs and gasps. That didn't help his sore throat but made it worse.

"I've only heard a little bit about the Crimson Dragon from my trip to South Africa," Yanagi said once the duelist's coughs subsided. "According to the People of the Stars, the Crimson Dragon was worshipped as a God and the people with the dragon's birthmarks were called Signers. Each Signer had a dragon of their own they controlled. They've changed over the years, but they're still the same dragons."

Yusei cleared his throat and tried to say something. It was scratchy and hurt but he managed to say, "Crow." A few more coughs cleared his vocal cords a bit more. "And Spark."

"Who's Crow and Spark? Are they friends of your's?" Yusei nodded. "Are they Signers?" Another nod. "There are five Signers all together, so there's only two who you don't know. Though, sometimes the Crimson Dragon would pick another. The legend doesn't say why." Yanagi leaned forward excitedly.

"You must have a dragon! Can I see it?" Yusei shook his head. He didn't have his deck. They confiscated it when they took him in. "Right, you don't have it." Yanagi pointed out. He deflated when he realized the little fact. "How about you get some rest," Yanagi suggested. "Might help with that throat of your's." Yusei nodded and yawned. He didn't realize how tired he was.

They crawled into their beds and slid under the covers. Within minutes, Yanagi's snores filled the small space and rattled the window bars. Yusei laid on his back and stared at the ceiling, thinking. Was he really part of this? That mark on Ringer's shoulder? How was he part of this?

Yusei rolled over and reached a hand down, finding only air. He forgot Ringer wasn't there. No, he was. At least his screams were. The fox's cries and pleas were unheard by those scientists. They bounced around in Yusei's skull and wouldn't fade away. It wasn't very loud when he first heard his partner's screams, but now it's like someone put a speaker on his head and played a recording on a loop. The volume on its highest setting.

The black-haired teen curled on his side and covered his ears, wishing someone to hit pause. The playlist was never turned off and Yusei didn't get a wink of sleep all night. He pulled himself out of bed, the loss of sleep never affecting him. It's not like he's pulled all-nighters before.

"All prisoners come to the meeting room for our special guest," Armstrong's voice growled over the speakers. The guards came to collect them and guided the two to the location. The place was crowded, but Yusei was able to pick out Tanner. Yusei tapped Yanagi on the shoulder, catching his attention, and led him over to the older duelist.

"Hey, Yusei," the turquoise-haired man greeted. "You look awful. What did they do to you?" Yusei was about to answer, but Yanagi interrupted.

"They were looking for Yusei's mark," the old man whispered. "The Mark of the Crimson Dragon."

"They did it to Ringer, too." Yusei's fist tightened, violet eyes glued to the ground. Tanner and Yanagi shared a worried glance at the reaction. Their gazes were turned from each other and to Armstrong, who was causing a ruckus.

"Attention!" He shouted. "Turn your eyes up here and give some respect to Director Goodwin."

"Thank you, Chief Armstrong," a man with grey hair said, taking his place at the podium. Yusei was staring at the man. Who noticed and caught his eye. "I just wanted to refresh everyone's' memories as to why we keep the Satellite and New Domino city separate." He stepped from behind the stand and started walking down the small aisle between the convicts. "Ever since the two split, a new hierarchy had formed and the balance was restored." He stopped next to Yusei and stared him down. "Crossing from one to the other throws off this balance and endangers their friends."

They kept eye contact for a couple of minutes. Until, Armstrong shouted for everyone to hear, "Alright everyone, back to your cells." Yusei broke the connection first and turned to leave with his friends. "Not you, Yusei. Goodwin wants to see you personally." He waved to Yanagi and Tanner to tell them to go ahead and he will be fine. Though, they didn't seem to believe it.

"Hello, Yusei," their speaker monotoned. "Jack is in the middle of a match right about now."

"What are you planning?" He snarled in a raspy tone. "Where's Ringer?"

"Ah. I see Armstrong didn't find your mark," Goodwin observed. "But I heard they did find something interesting about your partner. He has abilities similar to Celeste."

"Whatever you're planning," Yusei rasped. "You leave my friends out of this."

Hey, guys

Hope you like this chapter. Please R&R!