Broken by Humanity, Healed by a Dragon

by Hunter13hawkie

Zarc has been fighting humans for as long as he could remember and when he finally creates the world for his spirits only, he feels an emptiness in his heart, longing for something he never had. His loyal generals so give him four orphaned children that they found in the human world, hoping it will heal his pain of loneliness. (Another story about Zarc and his dragon children!)

4. Boy Who Wishes For Clear Wings

I'm terribly sorry for delaying this since 2018 started, but at last, I managed to finish it. If I were to use Yugo as we know him from the anime, I would probably do it much faster, but nooo I had to use manga Yugo (which I still think is cuter than his anime counterpart :D ). Well to spare you from any further waiting, enjoy the new chapter.

Though please, take your time as it is probably the longest chapter I ever wrote (25.000 words, holy hell?!) and keep a box of tissues somewhere near. As far as I can tell, Yugo has the saddest story of them all (but happy ending, I promise!).

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The winter wind howled around the castle's walls as the sun began to set, the sky slowly darkening down. The freshly fallen snow began to freeze as the cold engulfed it as soon as the sun was gone. Luckily, the certain two look-alikes were safely inside, sitting on comfy couches and wrapped in warm blankets as they slowly sipped down warm milk with a pinch of honey. Zarc and his general of the Synchro part of the spirit world, Yusei, both had their tea, but neither of them touched it.

They were far too busy with trying to get someone else to drink a warm beverage.

Yugo, a boy whose face looked just like Yuya's and Yuri's, was also wrapped in blankets, his eyes blankly staring at the cup with steaming milk. No matter how many times Yusei held the warm drink close to his lips Yugo seemed as he wasn't even sure what it was and just sank into his blanket more. It wasn't that the blue-haired child seemed not to like milk. It looked more like he was afraid to drink it and on top of it, Yugo was even skinnier than Yuya had been when Atem and Yugi brought him to Zarc. By the looks of how starved he was, the boy should be gulping it down in hunger, not ignoring it like it was a bitter medicine.

"When did you find him?" Zarc asked to break the silence of nothing but Yusei's whispers to Yugo.

"About a couple of weeks ago… we found him along with a bunch of other kids that we… rescued… and we assumed he got taken from his family. We managed to return all the children back to their homes, but we failed to find his family or the place from where he was taken." Yusei let Yugo snuggle to him after the kid took a tiny sip of milk "I came across Judai and Johan while searching for his home with other Signers and they told me about you taking in two children whose faces were identical to Yugo's. In fact, when they saw Yugo they were convinced he was one of those two."

"I see…" Zarc scratched the back of his head in puzzlement "So they thought he could be related to them…"

The whole time Zarc and Yusei conversed, Yuri carefully listened to every word. With mind sharper than Yuya's, he has always been curious just from where he was coming from, something he had in common with both Yuya and this Yugo kid. The earliest thing he could remember was just being stuck in some sort of house with other people until someone decided to leave him in the forest in the middle of a heavy snowstorm to die before Asuka rescued him. From what Timegazer and Stargazer told him, Yuya couldn't remember much either since anything before landing in that circus was nothing but a blur to him and any attempts to remember more often resulted in panic attacks. The spirits that Zarc sent to investigate their origins didn't find anything either so their early childhoods were a complete mystery. The same case seemed to be with Yugo, but unlike him and Yuya, the third lookalike just looked… empty.

Empty of any emotion, just like a doll.

From what Zarc told him, Yuri knew that when the two of them arrived, each of them was overwhelmed with one emotion. For Yuya, it was fear since he couldn't normally function for quite a while before Zarc make him feel safe again. And for him it was anger. He still struggled to control it at times and even Yuya would get triggered by most random of things, reliving his most painful memories over and over again.

But Yugo didn't portray any emotions at all. He was just there, staring with bright blue eyes that were actually closer to white than blue. As Zarc and Yusei continued to talk, Yuri tried to communicate with Yugo in some way, being as careful with gestures as he could considering how awfully his first interaction with Yuya went. The lookalike didn't even blink at Yuri's waving hand let alone looked in his direction, just more leaning at Yusei's side like he was extremely sleepy, similar to how he would see Zarc doze off when working on the paperwork. While Yuya wanted to talk with Yugo as well, Yuri gestured him not to since he doubted that Yuya's cheery personality was what the half-dead kid needed.

Noticing his wards trying to communicate with the child, Zarc called for the Gazers within his mind. As much as the two kids wanted to help Yugo, the Dragon King knew that the situation was far more complicated for them to be involved just yet and to add up, both of them, especially Yuya, were quite exhausted from their snowball fight. What they needed right now was a warm meal, a bath, and a bed. Before he knew it the Gazers were back by his side, bowing to greet Yusei, though they hardly hid their shock when they saw the third lookalike in the room.

"Take Firefly and Lily back to their rooms. They are pretty tired from today's playtime and they need to wash up and get some food in their bellies." Zarc said while gently petting their heads.

Before either of them could protest, the Gazers already took their hands and escorted them out of a meeting room where they were currently staying. Yuri understood, following Timegazer's lead while Yuya seemed as he wanted to stay, Stargazer trying to explain things to him to which the odd-eyed boy responded only with more questions. Fortunately, Yuri held onto his hand as well, giving him a trust me look as he and the two spirits dragged him out of the room. Yuya gave his Haoryuu one last confused look before Gazers closed the doors.

With the kids gone, Zarc could now ask Yusei for more details. In order not to discuss the sensitive topic right away, the general rather told him how things were going in Synchro's part of spirit world and how the rest of the Signers were doing. The kingdom that Signers ruled didn't have as much complications as other ones, so they spent quite a lot of time in the human world helping out spirits and humans alike. Their dragons assisted them as much as they could such as carrying them from one place to another. The Stardust Dragon now rested from the journey from Synchro in a grand hall that was big enough for his big form and warm enough to be comfortable enough. Yusei tried to keep it long so Yugo could get enough time to get used to the new environment. The whole time Zarc observed the barely moving child in Yusei's arms, how disinterested his eyes were and just how still he was all the time. If the Dragon King didn't know better, he'd say that the boy's soul was stolen.

"So… what exactly happened for him to suffer the injuries to this extent?" Zarc finally returned to the topic that they were supposed to be discussing.

"I can tell it all, but I think Yugo needs a bath, food, and bed first too." Yusei picked up the blue haired child and as soon as Yugo noticed a movement, he grabbed onto general's shoulders with the little strength that his scrawny arms still had.

"Of course, just follow me." the man leads Yusei to the other part of the castle.

Just like when Yuya arrived here first, Zarc asked Xiangsheng Magician to draw a bath for a new guest along with some of the fresh clothes and light dinner even though he doubted Yugo would eat anything if the milk alone was a challenge for him. As they walked through the luxurious hallways, the child kept his face buried in Yusei's shirt, not wanting to look any other way.

"If I may ask… why did you decide to bring the poor child to me? He's obviously more attached to you and your Stardust Dragon." Zarc asked in a bit more uncomfortable tone.

"That's not really the case…" Yusei replied, fixing the hold on Yugo a bit "It's not that he's attached to me and Stardust only. He's attached to whoever gives him comfort. The poor kid has been through too much hell to care for anything else and would stay wherever he feels safe. The thing with Stardust… well… he likes him because he can see his bright wings so well."

Zarc raised his eyebrows at the last sentence, confused about just what the general meant. It took him until they reached a guest bedroom with a bathroom to figure it out. Only when Yusei gently undressed Yugo and wrap him up in a soft towel did the Dragon King truly see it.

Yugo's eyes were never really following anything that was going on around him. He just stared like he wasn't seeing anything before him and let Yusei place him in a warm water. His scrawny body barely supported him in the sitting position and numerous fading scars didn't help at all. The kid flinched a bit at the new sensation, but let it slide as he moved his hands around to examine the sleek material of the bathtub along with a few shampoo and soap bottles that were placed there.

He couldn't see them otherwise after all.

The reason why Yugo was so terrified of being too far from Yusei or Stardust Dragon was because they were his guides in the world of darkness. Should he be separated from them, Yugo was completely disoriented of where he was or who was with him. Even now, the boy was calm because Yusei's gloveless hand was resting on his shoulder – a way to reassure that the general was still with him.

"The first few days were the worst…" Yusei sighed as Zarc reached for the sponge and other cleaning tools despite still being dumbfounded by the shocking reveal "He would run around and scream until someone would take him in their arms. If someone would touch him without a guard he'd start shaking so much that he could as well knock himself unconscious. And when he would wake up all alone… he'd be just wandering around until someone would eventually be by his side."

"I-I… just can't believe this…" the Dragon King handed the soap to the general "For someone who's so young to already have eyes damaged to this point…"

"He's not completely blind… he can still point out bright objects and what's directly in front of his eyes… but that's about it. Everything else is complete darkness to him and that scares him." Yusei explained as he started scrubbing Yugo's back "I'd gladly continue taking care of him… but there are children just like him still waiting to be rescued. Right now the other Signers are continuing with the search and rescue missions, but I'll be needed soon-"

"I'll take care of him." Zarc shot right away.

"Are you sure? Judai and Johan told me about the kids you're already taking care of… and from what I heard they've also been through a lot." the general gave him a worried look.

"They're doing much better now that they're recovering together." Zarc reached for more towels "I'm sure the three of them are connected by something far more than just their resemblances and I believe that if they stay together, there's more chance of them healing properly."

Yusei saw the grit in the eyes of his Dragon King, remembering of the time when he first met him. He was just an orphan at the time, living out on the streets and struggling to survive each day. Even though he was just a child, no one wanted to help out a boy who came from the Satellite, an infamous district where a big explosion caused by the clash of enslaved spirits and human mages had happened, killing many and marking even more with after-effects of the magic. Yusei lost his parents that day and all alone he lived on his own on the streets, surviving on the scraps of what he found. Other than that he was just moving around in hopes of finding food or a better shelter. Not until the day when a stranger whose face was hidden by a mask approached him.

"Are you alright?" the stranger asked, Yusei slightly looking up from the spot where he has been trying to catch a quick nap before.

"I manage," Yusei replied, ready to run away if necessary. In the past even those who appeared to be kind were dangerous, he had far too many experiences like these. But that stranger only gently caressed his right arm, whispering in his ear so only he heard it.

"There is a power inside of you that is just waiting to be awakened." the man then lifted the sleeve of the boy's oversized shirt, revealing the mark that made other people avoid him at all costs "This is a sign of a someone that is waiting for you… but to stay or go is your choice alone."

"What do you mean?"

"You have something that connects you to the spirits." the stranger pointed at the mark on his arm "This birthmark is your destiny, you can follow it or you can refuse it if you don't want to. As you are right now, you're stuck between both worlds, but I can guide you towards your own destiny or erase it if you wish."

"Who… is the one waiting for me?" was the sole question that Yusei wanted to ask. For as long as he could remember he was alone, so who could possibly wait for him?

"Someone really special."

That's when he met Zarc who took him to meet Stardust Dragon. The spirit was fairly young at the time along with other offsprings of Crimson Dragon, so the young dragon bonded with Yusei quite fast. Soon more kids with birthmarks like him were found by Zarc, each of them entrusted to take care of another dragon and therefore Signers were formed. Once the war broke out, he and other Signers joined the war without a second thought, each of them sworn to protect the spirits.

The Dragon King gave them a purpose in their lives, the Signer Dragons became their reasons to live and the need to protect the spirit world gave them a reason to fight. Just like Zarc helped him out, Yusei was determined to do the same for people and especially children in need. So leaving Yugo in hands of the person who helped him stand on his own feet was most definitely a right thing to do. The Synchro general was brought back out of his thoughts once he noticed how much was Yugo dozing off already. They did have a tiring journey from Synchro part of spirit world to here after all so it was more than understandable for a child to be exhausted to that point.

Yusei was going to lift him out of the bathtub and get him ready for bed, just like how he's been doing since he rescued him, when Zarc already did it before he did. Yugo flinched at the unknown touch, but the Dragon King seemed to pick on that fast as he instantly started comforting him by gently stroking his back which made the child more relaxed. Yusei helped him put the nightclothes on, Yugo's bony arms slipping out of the sleeves right away of how skinny they were. The two of them went to the freshly made bed, clean sheets and warm blankets prepared especially for Yugo. The nightstand also had a steaming plate of a simple porridge that was rightfully cooled down and despite how little milk Yugo drank back then, Yusei took a spoon and scooped a little of it for the child. Back when he had him at Synchro, Yugo would eat those few bites in order to stay alive but he never ate anything on his own. It was like food was completely foreign to him and he really ate only if he was spoon-fed. Soon enough, not finishing even the half of the portion, the child's sleepiness finally won him over, so Zarc gently lay him in the bed, fixing the pillow underneath his head and tucked the edges of the blankets to make sure Yugo won't be cold.

"You seem quite skilled at this." Yusei commented as he put away the bowl.

"It's not the first time that I'm putting an injured child in the bed." Zarc remembered the same scene with Yuya and then times when Yuri would violently wake up "And I still can't understand why children are always the ones suffering the most."

"You haven't even heard the whole story…" Yusei sighed with a sullen look.

Zarc used his magic to weaken the light in the glowing crystals so Yugo could sleep better and Yusei could tell him the rest about how he found the poor child. From what Zarc was told by Gazers, Yuya and Yuri were already in bed, with the former already sleeping and latter reading, so the Dragon King had time to hear about the horrors that happened to Yugo.

…

Yusei flew on the back of his Stardust Dragon over the mountains along with Crow who was riding his Black Feathered Dragon. Jack, Aki, Rua and Ruka were supposed to join them later on since they were taking care of something back in spirit world. Kiryu, an old friend of Yusei's who happened to be a mage, had sent the Signers a message with his suspicions about a certain town that might've been hiding something horrible. As one of the council members of a group made of mages, Kiryu would often patrol the populated areas and would take care of all the problems by himself, so to need a Signers' help must've meant it was pretty serious.

He and Crow landed at the edge of a cliff where their dragons weren't as visible and got down using the limited magic abilities they had as Signers. To call the place where they arrived at a wasteland would be an understatement. There was literally nothing but the hard rock and dry land wherever you looked, the mountains gave a little shade to otherwise burning sun and the small town in the distance seemed as it was falling apart. Just who in their right minds would live somewhere like this? Crow was just about to suggest what they should do when an eerie sound of harmonica was heard, echoing through the walls of rocks.

A man around the same age as Yusei and Crow walked towards them, his form being hidden by a travelling cloak and face obscured with a hood. The Head and Tail Signer recognized him right away as their friend Kiryu, the very same guy who asked for their help. His long white locks flapped in the wind as he approached his two comrades. He certainly looked way more mature than the last time they met when the war was still ongoing.

"It's been a while, Kiryu." Yusei offered his hand with a smile which his friend gladly took.

"It sure did, but we might need to save the chatter for later. We need to hurry up in fact." the white haired mage pointed at one of the mountains.

"Wow, you did grow up." Crow raised his eyebrows at the maturity that Kiryu portrayed "So what are we dealing with?"

"This used to be a mine where a rare mineral called Dyne was dug up, but due to an accident over six years ago it was closed and all the people from the town moved away. It has been a ghost town ever since." the mage walked towards the cave that used to be an entrance "Recently someone noticed the weapons made from that mineral on the black market and since it's so rare, I've started investigating."

"So the mine is in works again?" Yusei gave him a concerned look.

"But how? From what I know once mines collapse, it is impossible to reopen them again." the Tail Signer scratched his head when realization hit him "No way… do you really think they would…?"

"Yes…" Kiryu replied simply as they reached a closed entrance "They're using child labor."

As someone who grew up on the streets and often took care of the orphaned children, Crow was absolutely enraged that kids that young would be enslaved and brought into deadly mines. For the collapsed mine to be operating again it probably meant that children were pushed into the tunnels where their little bodies would fit and were surrounded by stone prison every single day. Besides the danger of falling rocks, claustrophobic environment and exposure to ore, the children were most likely treated as tools that could be replaced.

"So where are the kids?" Yusei asked looking around for entranced that weren't blocked by rocks.

"I found out that they are kept in some sort of dungeon in one of the caves in the mountain next to it when they aren't working. I wanted to go save them as soon as possible, but there are guards everywhere and the number of children kept there is worrisome. I needed your help to release them."

"Well you got it!" Crow cracked his knuckles "These bastards will get a serious butt kicking for taking those kids!"

"We'll have to wait until the evening though." Kiryu gently grabbed Crow's arm "That's when they bring them back to the dungeon, because it's more stable than the mine. Should we go there we would risk the mine collapsing."

The two Signers nodded and once Kiryu led them to the hiding place behind some rocks they started constructing a plan. Stardust and Black Feather dragon took onto their spirit forms so they were no longer visible to regular people and patiently waited on the same spot in case their help would be needed. Before they knew it the sun was down and the time for them to act.

Hiding under the dark ponchos provided by Kiryu, all three of them sneaked to one of the seemingly blocked entrances where they awaited the guards with the captured children. Soon the wall of rocks in front of the entrance moved, proving it really was just a fake door that gave an illusion of rocks. From there at least twenty guards emerged, all leading around fifty children on a chain that was locked on cuffs around their wrists. All kids looked terrible, barely lifting their feet off the ground and their empty eyes staring on the ground the entire time. If there weren't for guards pushing them forward they probably wouldn't know where to go since their moving was awfully similar to puppets whose strings were being pulled. Crow barely kept himself together at the sight, his nails nearly drawing blood of how tightly he clenched his fists. But they had to stick to Kiryu's plan if they wanted to defeat the guards without endangering children. Luckily, the time of action was getting close, so both him and Yusei were prepared to do their part. At once, the two Signers touched their birthmarks.

BWOOM!

All guards instantly pointed their eyes at the cliff from which the explosion was originating and the big cloud of smoke was emerging. Like Kiryu predicted only a handful of guards stayed since the rest went to check on the commotion, leaving children unguarded. This gave Yusei, Kiryu and Crow an opportunity to instantly attack the guards before the others were back. Yusei relied heavily on close combat while Crow would summon several spirits known as Blackwings who shielded confused children as he knocked out the guards with spirits' help.

Unfortunately the distraction caused by Stardust Dragon and Black Feather Dragon didn't work for long since the guards were already coming back, but that too was a part of a plan. They were away from the children enough so the trio could take care of them without putting the kids in the danger. Luckily the guards didn't possess heavier weaponry, this making their rescue mission easier. With nothing but whips, metal sticks and chains, they were no match against spirits, skilled close combat and magic. There were only a few of them left when the Tail Signer realized in horror that there were more guards getting out of the hidden mine entrance, getting close to the helpless kids. But Kiryu had a plan for that too.

BANG!

"You're a mage and you're using a gun?" Crow shrieked at the sight of the weapon in Kiryu's hand.

"I aim better with it." Kiryuu narrowed his eyes at Crow's remark as he shot down another guard "Here, you can use my spare one."

Yusei managed to catch the gun that was thrown at him, immediately aiming at the guard that was about to grab the chain locking the kids. The bullets were enough to bring them down without killing them since Yusei aimed for non-lethal places. Despite their cruel actions, the Head Signer still valued each life and whatever punishment he had for the guards it should wait until children were safe. Few more bangs with guns and kicks to the gut, and all the guards were on the ground unconscious or unable to fight due to injuries. Once they made sure there were no more of them to take down, the trio proceeded to the next step. Kiryu went to tie up and drag all the guards into the dungeon where kids were usually locked while Crow and Yusei checked on the children. They also called for their dragons that gracefully landed next to them so they could move the kids to a safer place faster.

The moment the two huge dragons appeared before them, some children gasped at the sight, but none of them was really scared. It was like that they could feel the calming aura that oozed from the dragons and two Signers, which made them feel safe and trusting of the strangers who came to their rescue. One by one, Yusei and Crow released each child from the cuffs that dig into their wrists and gently placed them on the backs of their dragons. Kiryu advised to take them to one of the buildings in the nearby town for which he knew it was big enough and still had basic living accommodations, enough for them to spend a night and properly check on them. Soon enough Kiryu was back too and he joined Yusei on his Stardust dragon with a first set of the children. Crow stayed with the rest while the duo flew back in town where Kiryu led the first rescued group to the building. As a mage he was skilled at healing magic and there were quite a lot of injuries to take care of. He hoped the rest of the Signers would be there soon since checking on more than fifty children who spent years in slavery was no easy task. Eventually all kids were taken to the safety of an old building where they were given blankets and treatment for their wounds, both physical and mental. The children were quiet, hungry and just confused of what was going on, but either way they accepted every comfort that was given to them.

Soon the rest of the Signers arrived, bringing food, blankets and clothes for which Crow and Yusei asked them to bring. Aki and Ruka started making a soup in an old cauldron that was still useable while Jack and Rua went on to heal children's injuries. The wounds varied, the most common being the cuts around their wrists and ankles from the cuffs. Crow hardly looked at the kids who removed their clothing to expose their bruised skin to show where they were whipped or beaten by the guards. There were also kids whose injuries were quite old and it was a miracle that they were still alive. No matter what, Signers and Kiryu gave each child as much attention as possible in order to comfort them from the horror they were just saved from.

It took them nearly an hour before all the kids were given first-aid and were properly tucked up in their blankets as they slowly ate a warm soup. Kiryu and Jack went to check on the guards while the rest just stepped from one child to another to talk with them in order to find out more of how they ended up in mines. Only few managed to talk properly, others still too shaken up or injured to share their experiences as well. From what they learnt the majority of children were taken from villages and smaller towns around Satellite. Some kids haven't seen their families for more than three years which was the time when they were kidnapped and they longed to see their parents again. The Signers promised to take them home as soon as they are well enough to travel, which made a lot of them calm enough to rest.

But while passing past the children huddled up on a pile of old pillows, the Head Signer noticed a girl who was quietly sobbing. Instantly Yusei crunched down to her level, seeing her tear stained face and blood-shed eyes.

"What's wrong? Does anything hurt?" he checked for any injuries that might've went unnoticed.

"H-he… is st-still there…" the little girl cried.

"He?" Yusei asked in shock "Is someone still in the mine?"

"A boy… h-he was kept in the m-mine! He was always separated from the rest!" she started shaking the more she talked "He's still there!"

"Calm down, it's alright." Yusei patted her shoulders in support.

He got from her stuttering sentences that another child was still in the mines, but before rushing off to get him, he had to learn more about the situation.

"Now focus, where exactly is he?" the Head Signer asked once she calmed down a bit.

"There was an isolated cell where some of the kids were kept if they didn't follow orders. Near the entrance there's a narrow tunnel that leads there, but it's really dangerous!"

"Don't worry, I'll go get him." Yusei gently stroked the girl's hair "Now you get some rest alright?"

The girl wiped her tears and nodded, giving the Signer a pleading look to save the boy. Yusei stood up, taking his bag and heading for the door. Crow was close enough to hear the conversation between him and a girl to explain others where he was going. The Tail Signer offered to go with him, but Yusei knew that it was better to go alone since from what kids said the mines were really cramped and it was more difficult for more people to move in them. With the help of the Stardust Dragon who patiently waited for him outside with other dragons, he got there before he knew it.

The fake wall was entirely removed so getting in there was fairly easy enough. There were still some lit oil lamps that illuminated the mines enough, though a lot of them were put out, probably by guards. Following the girl's directions he eventually found the tunnel she was talking about. And she wasn't kidding when she said it was dangerously narrow. Yusei felt like he was going down the roof and the fact that the ground was slippery just added up to the difficulty. Just in case, he sent two of his weaker spirits, Road Runner and Bolt Hedgehog to have a look around. Due to their spirit forms it wasn't that hard for them to move plus they were also faster and had higher senses than him.

Once he reached the flatter grounding, the spirits were already back by his side, nudging at something in the dark. With no oil lamps, Yusei used light magic to illuminate the way consisting of an empty tunnel with a few wagons filled with ore, boxes with tools and at the very end of it, bars. There was an iron structure build around the dented wall that had a really little space behind it. Without a need to light up that space, the Head Signer knew someone was there. Since mines were embarked in silence now that no one was there, Yusei could clearly hear quiet breathing that was closer to sobbing. Without a second thought he focused his thoughts into the bars he held onto, the fire magic melting them away. Carefully he entered the small space cramped with only few tattered blankets and boxes.

And there was the boy.

He was around ten years old, like other children whom they saved, though now that Yusei saw him up close, the boy could as well pass for a much younger child from how small he looked. His dirty blue hair with blond bangs was messily spiked up and nearly entirely covering up his squinting eyes. Like others he was also noticeably malnourished, but at much larger scale. The dirty shirt he wore looked more like a nightgown on him and the pants only stayed on due to the belt tightly keeping them up. Otherwise he had nothing on, stick-like arms lying on the ground unmoving and feet bare while his head was floppily leaned against the wall as his wide eyes emptily stared in the distance. If the Head Signer didn't hear his breathing before, he could as well think he was too late and the boy was long gone.

But he wasn't and if he wanted to help him out, he'd have to bring it out of this awful dungeon. Yusei approached him slowly in order not to scare him off. Using the same fire magic, he undid the chains that bounded the boy to the wall. Like a marionette without strings, the limbs hit the ground making the Head Signer gasp at how light the boy really was. There was no telling it – the poor kid seriously needed to be brought out of the mines and get some proper treatment. He was half dead already, so Yusei didn't lose even a second when scooping him up in his arms, carrying him out of the dark place. Road Runner and Bolt Hedgehog used a little bit of light magic to lead him out since getting up that narrow tunnel was anything but easy.

The whole way out, the boy didn't say a thing other than making quiet gasps whenever some of the rock dust got into their eyes. The Head Signer was rather surprised of just how calm the boy was though then again, the kid probably was just dazzled from everything that was going on. Somehow Yusei managed to get out fast, especially since his spirits felt uneasy and that certainly wasn't a good sign. Clenching onto the small body, the Head Signer managed to crawl out of the tunnel and ran towards the exit when a pure instinct made him dodge the sudden falling debris. Shielding the boy from any falling rocks, Yusei finally managed to get out however much to his surprise he wasn't alone. And it wasn't any of his comrades.

Dressed in brown clothes, similar to the ones that guards were wearing and leather boots was another man with hair tied in an ugly pigtail who held the gun, aimed at the ceiling of the entrance, exactly where Yusei was lying with the boy. Another shot and more rocks could probably hit them both. Considering his current position, one wrong move could become deadly for both him and the kid since all the guards had proved to have fast fingers and Yusei doubted he could crawl away before the man would pull the trigger.

"Where did you take all the brats?" the man asked while his eyes observed the Signer curiously "Tell me and I might not bury you with the useless one."

"Useless?!" Yusei's face turned red from anger "You'd call a child useless?"

"So? That's what he is. I paid good money for him and the brat wasn't capable of working for more than a year."

"For a good reason! You're starving and beating them up! They're only children, not tools!" Yusei protectively put his arms around the boy.

"Yeah, yeah I keep hearing that, but business is business. Dyne can only be found here and with smaller tunnels we need appropriate workforce." the man dully mingled with his gun "Look I don't have time, either tell me where did you take the other ones or I'll-"

BANG!

A bullet hit him in the arm and another one followed, hitting him in the shoulder. The man let out a surprised yelp as he landed on the ground, clenching onto his wounds.

"Yusei!" Jack shouted from the distance, followed by Kiryu who still held a gun clouded in smoke.

The Head Signer quickly used the chance to get out of the hidden entrance in order to check on the kid. Surprisingly even this kind of an ordeal didn't bring a single reaction out of him. His bright blue eyes just stared emptily at him like they were made out of glass. Jack went on giving the man a quick first aid so he wouldn't die and after tying him up, dragged him towards the dungeon where other guards were.

"Lotten… the bastard never let go of the mine." Kiryu gritted his teeth at the man "He used to be in charge of this town but after the accident everyone pretty much left. I'd never expect he'd go as low as this."

Yusei nearly didn't hear him due to how worried he was for a kid in his arms. A situation such as this would surely dazzle him out of his state right? Wrong, the boy stayed the same even once Kiryu approached him, examining him closely.

"How did you know someone was still there?" the mage asked as they began walking back to the town.

"I didn't, one of the kids told me he was still there." Yusei fixed a hold on the boy as he mentally called for his dragon "I really have to get him back to the town as fast as I can. Could you check the mine one more time just in case?"

"You don't need to ask me twice." Kiryu said as he turned back to the mines.

Stardust Dragon also arrived by that time, landing right next to Yusei as always. Considering how the boy wouldn't react to anything, the Head Signer just put him on the back of the dragon, securing him with his arms around his waist to keep him safe. He was about to nudge the dragon to go when he noticed something happening in front of him.

The boy's eyes were staring like they did so far, but this time they stared at something specific. As the sun was setting, its light shone directly on the Stardust's wings, making its sparkling wings that much brighter. The child even extended his fragile hand to caress the nearest wing, watching it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Yusei nudged his dragon to wait a bit since this was the first time that the boy showed interest in anything. What happened next surprised him even more.

"C-le...ar… W-Wi..ngs…" the boy stuttered in pained moan like his throat has been made out of sandpaper.

Yusei reached for his water bottle, pouring some of it into boy's mouth. The child needed a while before he felt the water and gratefully drank it in few big sips. In a way the Head Signer expected him to go back to his quiet state but instead the boy continued to adore Stardust's wings. Even once they were up in the air and the dragon's wings flapped fast, the boy's bright eyes wouldn't break a contact with the sparkling wings. By the time they reached the town, the kid was noticeably tired and yet his eyes were still pointed at the same thing.

Not having a heart to separate him from the one thing that seemingly calmed him down, Yusei left him on the dragon and rather led him towards the abandoned barn that was big enough to fit all of their dragons. Red Daemon Dragon and Black Feather Dragon were outside, looking for any threat that may endanger their Signers and the children while the rest were nestled inside. Due to being healing dragons, Ancient Fairy Dragon and Life Stream Dragon were quite exhausted from lending their magic to the Signers that were healing the children so they were both curled up and sleeping next to Black Rose Dragon who was fixing its scales. Yusei managed to find a nice place in the corner where his Stardust Dragon also nestled up with the boy still on its back.

"Yusei?" a pair of voices asked, making him turn around to see two familiar faces of twins "Is that the boy?"

"Yes… and for some reason the Stardust Dragon made him all relaxed." Yusei gently stroked the boy's hair, he still not giving any particular reaction to it "Can you take a look at him and heal any injuries that you find? I'll go get him some blankets and food."

Rua and Ruka nodded at the request in a bit more uncertain way since kids were supposed to be brought back in the building, but knowing Yusei for so long they knew he must be right. Ruka so used her magic to search for mental wounds, while Rua looked for physical ones. The Head Signer returned back to the main building where he saw Crow helping out Aki who was cooking more soup. Yusei grabbed couple of spare blankets and would go retrieve some food for the boy when he felt someone tugging onto his shirt. It was the same little girl from before.

"Did you find him?" she asked close to crying.

"I did and my friends are healing him right now." Yusei smiled which made the girl more relieved.

"Is he alright?" she continued to ask like she was afraid of the answers.

"I'm not really sure… he looked so…" the Signer thought of the words to describe it "Say, can you tell me more about him? You seem to know a lot about him."

"I-I…" the girl stuttered "I only know him because he stood out so much… and he caused trouble too… He was so… I don't know…"

Yusei was a bit surprised to sense a hint of resentment in her words, like she cared about the boy but didn't like him at the same time.

"Do you at least know his name? He didn't really talk to me while I was bringing him here." Yusei tried to continue the conversation now that the girl didn't seem as she wanted to talk at all.

"Yugo… that's his name… but I doubt he still remembers it." she nervously stepped from one foot to another "Even though he made such a big deal out of it whenever someone would pronounce it wrong."

"How so?" the Head Signer nudged towards the corner away from the other Signers and sleeping children once he noticed how uncomfortable she looked.

"We were all taken from towns and villages around Satellite... he was from somewhere else and he could never really recall the name of his home place. That was about two years ago, a year after we were brought here…"

"So you were brought here three years ago?"

"I'm not sure… it's what the guards said…" the girl wrapped the blanket around herself tighter "When you're locked underground… you easily forget the time… You just hope the guards will give you some extra food, that the ceiling won't collapse on you… and that everybody will follow the rules."

The girl gazed through the window, visibly shaking from every said sentence, but despite it she continued. Yusei was really impressed that even all that happened, that ten year old girl remained brave enough to share her experience unlike so many of children who would tear up at the simple question if they were alright.

"Yugo… when he was brought in the mines, he was just like everyone else. Scared, confused and obedient… like we all were. But during the night when we were locked up in that dungeon, he would talk with us, saying we would be okay." girl hugged herself when thinking back "Weeks before he was brought here… I-I lost my friend… no one really comforted me about it since it was just something we would need to get used to… but Yugo sat down with me and talked until I felt better. He did the same with other kids who lost their friends… he really gave us hope that we will get out one day."

She made a slight smile, knowing that Yugo's words actually came true, but soon it turned grim.

"He said too that he is searching for something, though he never knew what it was. It was like a big part of his memory was missing… he would often say that some of the kids and the mine itself reminded him of that something…" the girl gripped the edges of the blanket "But then… about a year ago it was like something snapped in him."

"What do you mean snap?" Yusei asked in a worried.

"Like… I don't know… he became a completely different person." she narrowed her eyes at the memory "He would start breaking the rules, desperately trying to escape and talking in complete gibberish. It caused trouble to many since he wouldn't stop even if the guards beat him up. He would just start fighting back more... it was like he didn't even feel the pain. We all told him to stop acting like that, but he wouldn't listen and only struggled more."

The girl angrily gripped her blanket, hands clenched in fists.

"We would start getting less food, we were beaten more regularly and we were pushed to the more dangerous parts of the mine… all because he didn't care!" she shouted, nearly waking up some of the kids "We all tried to knock some sense into him, but he would ignore everything. Then… they took him away…"

"Away?" Yusei repeated, puzzled at the word.

"I don't know where, but we were all just glad we won't be punished because of him anymore… I know it's wrong… but we were all hurting and we just wanted it to end… We thought they took him somewhere else since he could handle the pain and work hard… some even thought they finally got rid of him…" the girl continued now close to tears "But he was back couple of months ago…"

"Was he all…" the Signer tried to find the right word "…empty?"

"Yes… I'm still mad for what he did… but he didn't deserve that."

"What exactly happened while he was gone?"

"I don't know… I only remember guards talking about how somebody finally fixed him… For some time he worked the same as before, but he didn't talk with anyone… not even when we were locked up in that dungeon… and then he would be sent to do specific works in another part of the mine… I'm not sure what he had to do there… from what other kids heard he was doing pretty pointless tasks…"

"I see…" Yusei sighed, not knowing what she meant with fixed.

The little girl then went quiet, clearly tired from everything that unfolded in a single day. Even though Yusei wanted to know more about this boy named Yugo, he knew well that children had their own limits and needed plenty of rest from everything they went through. Seeing both Jack and Kiryu were back and Akiza was done with soup, Yusei only took the girl in his arms and carried her back the pile of pillows where other kids were resting.

"Am I a bad person… if I didn't care what happened to him?" she mumbled, pulling blanket all the way to her chin.

"No… you were just trying to survive. Everyone would in this kind of situation." Yusei gently petted her head "And if you didn't tell me that he was still in the mine, I wouldn't be able to save him. So you're in no means a bad person."

The girl gave the Head Signer a grateful smile before snuggling closer to other kids, seemingly less tense than before she spoke with him. Yusei headed back to Aki, who spoke with Kiryu with a worried expression, to get some of the food for the boy Yugo who was probably starving from how thin he looked. Hopefully the twins were done with healing by now so he could have the food in peace.

"Was there anyone else at the mine?" Yusei asked Kiryu as he scooped the soup in a big mug.

"I checked twice and there was no one. Even my spirits didn't find anything, though I did find…" the mage stopped and whispered it on his friend's ear, the Head Signer understanding why Aki looked so shocked.

"We can't do anything about it… but at least we can get the rest of the kids back home and bring the Lottel to the justice."

"Why didn't you bring that boy here though? He'll be probably much more comfortable with other kids than on his own with the dragons." Kiryu asked once he noticed that Yugo wasn't anywhere among the rescued kids.

"Well that's the thing…"

Yusei explained the rest as he and Kiryu walked back to the barn with blankets and rightfully cooled down soup. Rua and Ruka were still casting healing magic on Yugo, who had his head in Ruka's lap, eyes still opened and his chest slowly rising and falling. Considering how many children did the twins had to heal it was understandable that they would be tired, but from the looks of it, the Heart and Front Claw Signer seemed like they were drained of their strength. When Kiryu looked at their faces, he thought the twins just returned from a mountain hike, not healing a child.

"Was it that bad?" Yusei approached the boy who still hasn't broken the eye contact with Stardust's wings.

"Yusei…" Rua mumbled after whipping a sweat off his forehead "I… I… can't believe he's still alive…"

The serious tone in usually cheerful Rua shocked him so it certainly had to be worse than it looked. While bringing Yugo here, Yusei never really got a chance to properly check for all the injuries due to Lottel and Yugo's hopeful look at the wings. Just what has this kid have been through?

"He has so many healed fractures… probably going back as long as five years ago… then there were fading scars of cuts and even burns… mostly from corroded iron…" Rua barely described without feeling sick "And his legs seemed to have been heavily damaged in the past but he still walked with them. It's like he was unable to feel the pain… Then his eyes… a lot of kids had damaged eyes from spending so much time in the darkness… but he…"

Rua looked like he was about to cry, Ruka hardly comforting him as she was too about to break down in tears.

"… he's half blind already…" the Heart Signer said as tears started running down his face "… and his hands were damaged too… he no longer has a feel in them…"

"Bastards…" Kiryu balled his hands in fists "They probably made him work with Dyne directly."

"What do you mean?" Ruka asked while trying to calm down her brother.

"The mineral Dyne is extremely dangerous when exposed to unprotected skin. Even for adults it is hard to handle and requires thick gloves and other equipment. If his hands were in state as bad as that… then he was probably forced to scrap the mineral off the smaller pieces without a decent protection…" Kiryu looked at Yugo's hands up close "And if his eyes are that damaged from being in darkness… then he has been working in the mines far longer than any of these kids… and probably wasn't let on the sunlight."

A simple thought of who would force a five year old to work in such conditions and continue to push him for years left them with a sick feeling in their stomachs. If the physical wounds were that bad, Yusei feared just how bad he took it mentally.

"What about his mental injuries?" Yusei broke the silence.

"I-I don't know..." Ruka shook her head while her hands were still cradling Yugo's head "It's like there's no damage at all... But that's not the main problem..."

"You mean there's nothing at all?" Yusei remembered the little girl's words.

"Yes... each child that we healed had some emotion rushing through their mind, but he... He has nothing... It's like his soul is missing"

Yusei gently caressed Yugo's head, in hopes the boy would acknowledge something else besides Stardust's wings. There was some movement, but it was really mild, like Yusei and others were just flies to him. Even when Ruka put Yugo in Yusei's arms and he proceeded to wrap him in a blanket and give him food, the only thing that Yugo did was blinking a bit more intensely. With the light of a setting sun it was visible that the boy's eyes weren't really bright blue like how Yusei remembered from that one glance the first time he saw him. No, they were close to white with just a tiny hint of sky blue. Taking a hand that could no longer feel in his own and giving it a soft squeeze, Yusei gently whispered in his ear.

"We'll get you home little one, I promise."

…

Zarc stared at Yugo's sleeping form, still shocked to learn just what kind of horrors has the child gone through and from the looks of it, Yusei wasn't done with the story just yet.

"It took the kids couple of days before they were well enough to travel and for us to hand the guards to appropriate authorities. We tried to get Yugo to interact with other kids, but in the end Stardust was the only one who truly comforted him. So for those two nights and throughout the days we took turns watching over him so he wouldn't be deprived of human contact." the general fixed the blanket around Yugo "Once the children gave us enough information about their hometowns we started bringing them back to their homes. Each time, we brought Yugo along in hopes someone would recognize him since he was the only one who couldn't tell us where he was from. No one knew anything about him."

"What about that girl? Didn't she say he would talk about his hometown?" Zarc remembered.

"She only mentioned that he couldn't remember it, even when he was his old self. When we got her home, she said goodbye to Yugo and even hugged him, but he didn't even acknowledge the fact that someone else was hugging him. In the end he was the only child left and until we came across Judai and Johan we didn't know where else to look than to aimlessly wander through human kingdoms." Yusei looked at his birthmark and then at Yugo "I tried to look in his memories for any clues by all means possible and every time I got nothing. I've never seen anything like it before."

"I did..."

Yusei was stopped in his tracks at Dragon King's words but then again, Zarc was far older and wiser than he was so it perfectly made sense that the ruler of spirits encountered something that Yusei had no idea existed.

"Now I remember why his state looked familiar... It reminded me of the time when I found Aki." Zarc thought back "Unlike you and others, Aki's birthmark has been recognized when she was much younger and was therefore taken by mages who worked for dangerous people. Like Ruka she also shared connection with spirits ever since she was born and was therefore made into their soldier."

Yusei remembered the day when Zarc took him to meet other Signers. Jack had already bonded with Red Daemon Dragon at the time, the twins have been just starting learning about their powers and Aki was fully connected with her Black Rose Dragon at that time. Crow came soon after him and what he knew about others was basically that they all came from the streets and were isolated due to their weird marks. He never knew Aki had such dark past.

"Aki doesn't really remember the time with the cult that manipulated her into becoming a sadistic killer. I would do anything to punish the people who took her childhood away, but no matter how hard I searched I never found them." Zarc sadly looked at the sleeping child "I managed to erase the pain from Aki at least."

"Do you think you could do the same with Yugo?"

"I can try, but with the state as bad as his… I will need some help." the Dragon King stood up, heading towards the window "It will take time… and a whole lot of healing before I dig into the depth of his sealed memories…"

"Please let me know if you find anything, I really wish to take him home."

Zarc was a bit taken back when Yusei said home, something he never really thought about before. What if Yuya, Yuri and Yugo indeed have homes and their parents are still desperately waiting for their return? What if all three of them were forcefully taken from their families just like those children? Would they want to go back? Would they prefer to be with their actual parents than him?

The Dragon King didn't know. He had looked in Yuya's and Yuri's memories many times and he never got to the memories from their early childhood to when they were five. It wasn't that memories were hard to reach, they were simply not there. Zarc knew that in a lot of cases when it came to traumatic experiences, children would erase the painful memories out of their minds like some sort of a defense mechanism. But what could be more terrible than years of physical abuse, emotional isolation or slavery? Zarc didn't know.

But he did know that another scarred child was now in his care and he was determined to help him out the same way he helped Yuya and Yuri. Murmuring an order for one of his Gazers, Zarc stepped closer to his general.

"You said you have tracks on other places where children are enslaved." the Dragon King brought about Yusei's request from before.

"We do and we have no idea just how many of them are there. Synchro part of human world is after all the largest of them all and from what Judai told me, there might be some of them even in other kingdoms. Each second another child like him could be in danger." Yusei gave his king a pleading look "I tried to find something other than Stardust's wings that may help him heal and I'm afraid to just leave him someplace that won't give him comfort. I know I'm asking you a lot-"

"There's no need to say another word Yusei. I'll take care of him."

"Are you sure? With other two kids and your kingdom to take care of-"

"Yusei… the moment you brought Yugo underneath my roof, I swore to myself to do anything to see this boy smile. Just like Firefly and Lily, this poor child shouldn't live like a broken doll. I know there's a tiny part of his former self still somewhere in him and I'll do everything I can to bring his smile back."

Listening to his king, gave Yusei a much needed assurance that Yugo was in safe hands. As much as he believed that the child's parents are still waiting for him, he trusted Zarc to fit in the parental role just as much as they would. After all, the Dragon King was the very same person who raised him right and helped him become a ruler of Synchro domain of the Spirit World.

"Then so be it." Yusei gave a small bow "I will have to leave in the tomorrow before noon. Yugo should be awake by that time so he'll be able to be properly separated from Stardust."

"There's a room right next to this one if you wish to rest a bit. The journey around the human world and from Synchro domain to here had to be quite tiring I believe."

"I thank you for your offer, but I think it would be the best if I stay by Yugo's side. If he were to wake up during the night he would have really bad reactions from being all alone."

"Then allow me to at least switch with you from time to time." Zarc smiled "You haven't changed much Yusei, still putting the needs of others way ahead of yours."

The general smiled and knowing the Dragon King had everything under his control, he moved the chair to the bed closer to sleeping Yugo. There's going to be another long night, though at least he knew now for sure that the boy was someplace that resembled a home much more than at any other place so far. Zarc then excused himself, saying he had something to do and will be back after a while to take Yusei's turn at watching over the child. Once he entered the hallway and nearly reached the throne room, he finally found whom he was looking for.

Astrograph Sorcerer was at his regular spot, a balcony that despite being small gave him an excellent view at the town nearby during the day and a clear view at the starry night sky. He would be usually with Chronograph Sorcerer when not patrolling Zarc's kingdom and when the other Sorcerer would be busy he would look at the stars thinking of how to make the spirit world better for living. The Dragon King wasn't surprised when the spirit bowed before him the moment he stepped on the balcony. Nothing passed his precise vision after all.

"How may I assist you?" the spirit asked, his voice echoing like it came from a distant galaxy.

"Astrograph Sorcerer, please deliver this message to the right person. I need their help." Zarc handed him a magically forged scroll with glowing letters.

The spirit nodded at the request and with a scroll in his hand teleported out of the castle. Zarc was tempted to finish up some of his paperwork, but knowing that Yusei could use a little bit of a rest headed towards the guest room where the general and the boy were. As he walked through the hallways, he still thought about the boy without a soul. His empty bright eyes staring, but not seeing anything. Just who would do such an awful thing to a child that young?

If someone would dare to lay their hands on Yuya, Yuri and even Yugo now, Zarc wasn't sure he'd be able to hold back his anger on humans who so selfishly pointed all of their negativity into their own young. The enslavement of spirits and mages wasn't good enough for them so they went after the most vulnerable ones they could find, the children. Zarc angrily punched the wall and for a second he was glad it was made out of strong concrete, otherwise that wall would surely break down.

"Haoryuu?" a small voice asked, making the Dragon King look down to his side.

"Lily?" the man raised his eyebrows at his little ward in a purple robes over his pajamas "What are you doing here?"

"I was just… looking for a bathroom." Yuri replied in an uncertain tone.

"There is one built directly in your room." Zarc scratched his head in confusion "Unless you…"

"I-I… the kid… is he okay? And who is he? Where did he come from?" Yuri blurted out a load of questions in a whisper "Why does he have the same face as me and Yuya?"

Zarc was half-lost in his tracks when his sensitive hearing picked on Yuri's whispers. Slowly he got closer to the boy who stared on the ground.

"I'm sorry, but I don't really know. He doesn't talk and general Yusei told me as much as he could about him." Zarc crunched down to Yuri's level, gently caressing his shoulder "But I'll let you know as soon as I can, okay?"

"I… just…" the boy stuttered "I just want to know who I am…"

"Lily… where you came from does not matter of who you are. You are you, Yuya is Yuya and Yugo is Yugo."

"I know, but I… I just need to find out what happened to me before Asuka found me… and Yuya probably wonders about the time before he was put in that horrible place. I just want answers Haoryuu…" Yuri said in frustration, nearly mimicking Zarc's reaction from before.

The Dragon King wrapped his arms around his little ward, gently lifting him up and pressing him against his chest. Unlike Yuya, Yuri wasn't that big fan of Zarc's baby treatment, but for that moment he let it be. With so many questions bubbled up in his head, he needed some comfort. Burying his face into his Haoryuu's shirt made him feel more at ease, especially since he could hear Zarc's calming heartbeat.

"I too wish to know more about you and Firefly, so I'd known how to help you better." Zarc slowly swayed Yuri back and forth "But it's far too late to be thinking about these things. You need sleep and I promise I'll talk to you again in the morning."

"Will you try to find out more tomorrow?" Yuri asked in pleading-like tone.

"My friend who might know how to help will be visiting tomorrow, so I will. You keep Firefly away in the meanwhile, alright?" Zarc asked to which Yuri nodded "I still don't know how either of you will react to each other, so it's better to keep it safe than sorry."

Yuri nodded and didn't struggle when Zarc carried him back to the room he shared with Yuya. True, both of them had their own rooms, but the two wards would pretty often sleep huddled up together. The two children gave the comfort to each other, harmoniously healing the wounds in their hearts that were broken far too many times by their own kind.

Carrying Yuri back to his room Zarc remembered his first weeks with Yuya, how the poor boy only saw shelter in his arms and would experience panic attacks I he were to be separated from him for too long. While Yugo felt the same when in his arms, it was in fact different. Yuya desperately needed comfort, Yuri did too from time to time even though he was mature enough to handle it on his own and Yugo... it was like he needed it just as much as Yuya but was unable to say it. He had to bring the poor child's voice back and hear his plea for help that was silenced by the darkness surrounding it.

Bringing the purple haired boy back his room he wasn't at all surprised that Yuya was already soundly sleeping there with Stargazer and Timegazer looking over him. Yuri let Zarc press a quick goodnight peck on his forehead and after getting out of his night robes, got next to Yuya whom he hug from behind in protective embrace. And soon the other ward was asleep as well.

Knowing that Yuya and Yuri were both nicely tucked in, Zarc headed back to the guest room in order to take over the watch for the Synchro ruler. Once he got there, he saw Yusei half-asleep on the chair, still looking after the sleeping boy like a mother bear. Zarc could remember just how many times he saw him like this, especially once he took in the youngest of the Signers, Rua and Ruka. The cyan haired twins were only eight when they joined the war, but still fought just as fiercely with the help of Ancient Fairy Dragon and Life Stream Dragon. Now that they were eighteen they followed Yusei's footsteps by taking care of young spirits in Synchro domain while also joining the search and rescue missions in human world. For someone who has lived for hundreds of years, Zarc was surely impressed how fast humans grew.

"It's alright, I can watch over him now, you deserve some rest." the Dragon King gently pat his shoulder.

Yusei gave him a sleepy nod and headed towards the guest bedroom to rest up after not only a long trip from the kingdom he was ruling, but also from the nights he didn't dare to fall asleep on the practically blind child. Even if he would pull several all-nighters in row, he always made sure Yugo wasn't scared to wake up all alone.

Next day Zarc experienced it firsthand just what looking after a partially blind and traumatized child meant. As a dragon spirit, Zarc didn't need a lot of sleep so throughout the night he just sat by the bed, going through the paperwork while occasionally checking for any changes in Yugo. From time to time his breathing would become faster, similar to when Yuya would get night terrors, but unlike the odd-eyed boy, Yugo would just start shaking like having a seizure. Fortunately the same method of giving him mental comfort through whispers of sweet words and gently squeezing his hand, Yugo was fast to go back in sleep.

Before he knew it, the morning sun was shining through the windows, welcoming the new day. Yusei entered the room soon enough too, visibly as fresh as a daisy and Gazers also reported that Yuya and Yuri were awake. Zarc was a bit saddened by the fact that he won't be able to join them for breakfast like he always did, but he knew Gazers could take care of it. Xiangsheng so quietly brought them food in the room in order not to wake up the child.

"Did he make it through the night alright?" Yusei asked, checking over Yugo.

"He had a few episodes, but I managed to prevent him from waking up." Zarc noticed the boy stirring up a bit.

"Good, then he won't be that scared once he wakes up."

Like Yugo heard him, the boy slowly started moving his head and drawing his nails into the blanket like he wanted it off himself. Through different gestures Yusei guided the Dragon King into getting a hold of Yugo's fragile body. As gently as handling a baby, Zarc took him in his arms, making sure that his face was close enough for the child to see it. During the weeks that Yusei watched over Yugo, the Synchro ruler learned that if his or other Signers' faces or even Stardust's wings were the first thing he saw he wouldn't start panicking and rather wake up with an ease.

Just like he did now. Gradually opening his bright eyes, Yugo made a tiny yawn as he was waking up. His blank eyes twitched slightly at the new scenery and at the face of a man he wasn't used to seeing, but taking in Zarc's gentle smile and warm yellow eyes, Yugo didn't show signs of being frightened.

Step by step Yusei lead him through the daily routine that he had followed so far when taking care of Yugo. The child remained the same way, unfocused and still the whole time, although little by little Zarc could've sworn he saw more sparkling in Yugo's eyes.

...

Yuya joyfully ran through the snowy land closely followed by Silver Claw and some other Entermates. Even though Yuri despised snow, he kept his promise to Zarc and tried to distract Yuya as much as possible so Haoryuu could help the mysterious lookalike in peace. As much as he wanted to interact as him as well, Yuri knew well that he could do more harm than good so he sucked it up and kept Yuya happy, even if it meant spending another day in sixty inches of snow instead of warm and cozy library.

"So much snow!" Yuya shouted as he threw himself into it, drawing angel wings with his arms "Come on Yuri, you make one too!"

Yuri politely declined and pretended he was more interested in a blooming bush that somehow still grew in the winter. It soon turned out to be just another spirit that found Yuya's shouts bothersome and got away, taking a reason to not participate in a happy disposition along with it. Not wanting to have his face sprawled by a bunch of snowballs, Yuri rather dragged Yuya towards the pile of snow to suggest a different activity.

"Let's make a snowman." Yuri said, which was enough for Yuya's eyes to gleam in utter excitement.

"A snow Haoryuu!" Yuya already started shaping a big ball of snow.

"Sure, why not." the other boy mumbled, not admitting that he actually liked the idea.

Of course they didn't go off to make Zarc's dragon form in actual size, though it was still quite big compared to the size of two ten year olds who were building it. Entermates stared at the snowy structure in the making confused of what it was and even the Gazers who watched from afar needed some time before they figured out what it was. Truth to be told even Yuya wasn't familiar with snowman building until Yuri introduced him to it. During the winters when he would hang out with those few spirits who were fine in the cold winter and tried to make sculptures out of snow looking like them. The moment Yuya learned just what can you do out of snow, the odd-eyed boy instantly started making his own snowy projects though they were nowhere near as detailed as Yuri's were.

After what felt like hours later, the duo was closed to finish. Entermates eventually picked on how to help out and with their powers combined the snow sculpture of Zarc's dragon form grew right before their eyes. Yuya climbed up the sculpture's neck, fixing its horns.

"Look! I'm on Haoryuu!" Yuya exclaimed while standing on the tall snow dragon.

"Be careful, this thing is nearly 10 feet tall." Yuri warned, knowing that despite snow, his lookalike could still get hurt if he were to fall down from such height.

"Don't worry! I'll be-" a part of the sculpture crumbled away, causing Yuya to lose his footing.

"Damm I told you!" Yuri ran towards the other boy, trying to catch him.

Yuya, still shocked from the fall, but as a former circus performer he quickly curled up to shield himself from the fall. But instead of the cold snowy ground, he landed somewhere much softer, strangely familiar to his Haoryuu's arms.

Looking up, Yuya was met with violet eyes and dark maroon hair peeking out of the hood, covering the head of a person who caught him. Gently placing him on his feet, the odd-eyed boy got to see the rest of the features, mostly covered up by a thick winter cloak.

"That was a close call little one, you should be more careful." the person, revealing to be a young woman who strangely wasn't a spirit like Xiangsheng Magician, smiled.

"Who are you?" Yuri protectively stepped before Yuya.

"Oh so he really wasn't kidding when he said you have identical faces." the woman raised her eyebrows once she saw Yuri up close "Hmmm how should I put this… I'm Dragon King's friend?"

"You mean Haoryuu?" Yuya blinked after hearing the name that Zarc used only for formal occasions.

"Haoryuu? Looks like he kept that name after all." she chuckled while looking around "Can you show me the way to the castle? I have an awful sense of direction."

Yuri was still skeptical about the mysterious woman, but before he knew it Yuya was already by her side taking a hold of her hand.

"The castle is this way!" Yuya grinned as he led her towards the massive building.

…

Zarc had Yugo in his arms as the Stardust nuzzled its head against the boy's face. Yusei shared more information of how he has been taking care about Yugo so far, all while the two of them took a walk around the snowy garden. The general needed to pull his winter poncho tighter on himself as it was much colder than back home in Synchro domain and in the human world. Yugo had one of Yuya's coats on instead of the oversized one that the boy was wearing when he arrived with Yusei. Just in case, Zarc wrapped him in several blankets, making Yugo look like a big marshmallow.

Not that the kid mind it or anything. Just like day before he showed zero interest in anything but Stardust and maybe some things that sparkled like the dragon's wings. This proved difficult since Yusei had to leave soon, taking Stardust with him. The Dragon King so did his best to have Yugo with Stardust the whole time while trying to tell him that the dragon would have to go soon. Even Stardust tried to explain in some way and still neither of them didn't know if Yugo had any idea what was going on.

Only once Yusei got on his dragon, waving goodbye did Yugo stir up a bit, even lifting up his arm like he was calling for dragon to come back. Stardust whined at Yusei like asking if leaving Yugo was really necessary as he too became attached to the kid. The general only nodded sadly since he knew well that another innocent child could every passing moment. He was needed and so was his dragon.

"I'll keep you updated about Yugo's recovery." Zarc reassured him once he saw his general's hesitation "You just go make sure no other child suffers the same fate."

Yusei gave him a polite bow and soon Stardust was up in the sky, taking his Master to other Signers who were heading off for another mission.

Yugo's blank eyes stared at the place where the dragon with beautiful wings was just seconds ago, puzzled and baffled of where it could go. The poor child started turning around, searching for

that shine of bright wings, but seeing only snow and darkness all around it. His guiding light was gone and he was again all alone in the world of darkness.

"It's alright, I'm here." Zarc pressed him closer to his chest, stroking his hair "I know you want Stardust, but for now he has to go somewhere."

Yugo's head swayed like he didn't pick on anything that the man just said. He knew that Zarc was talking, but not exactly what the words meant. Despite it, the voice itself felt like a sincere message that everything would be alright so Yugo just remained still in the man's arms in hopes the dragon with pretty wings would be back soon.

"Over there!" Zarc heard a familiar voice calling somewhere near.

"Firefly? Lily?" the Dragon King looked at them in confusion when he saw his two little wards accompanied by a young woman dressed in white and purple robes.

"It surely has been a while... Haoryuu." she smiled while giving him a slight bow.

"You're early, good to see you responded this fast." Zarc stepped closer while still holding Yugo.

"How can I not outstretch my arm when my favorite dragon needs help?" she giggled while removing her hood, Yuya adoring her beautiful maroon hair tied into two long ponytails "So you're Yugo? Nice to meet you little one, my name is Ray."

Yugo actually turned his head in the same direction from which the voice was coming from. Just like Zarc's voice, the voice belonging to this woman calmed him down the same way so he let her place her hand on his forehead. Using some of her powers, Ray could see some of the most recent memories which nearly made her lose her focus.

"You poor thing… you've been through so much…" she mumbled, trying hard not to get effected by the horrible images of nothing but darkness and pain.

Seeing how Yuya and Yuri stared at Ray using her magic, Zarc urged them to go back to where they were playing before. Luckily Yuya was too eager to show the man Snow Haoryuu before asking too many questions and even though Yuri was dying to get some answers he understood that whatever that lady Ray was going to do will take time. Zarc was pleasantly surprised at the snowy sculpture of himself in dragon form and even helped them work on some of the details to make it look even more realistic. He knew Ray would need a while before she will get into Yugo's memories in the state the kid was, meaning he could spend some time with Yuya and Yuri while Ray did her part. The Gazers stayed by her side too so they could inform him immediately if something would go wrong. He trusted her just as much as he trusted generals after all.

Their last meeting in person happened just before Yugi and Atem brought Yuya, when he was still a lonely mess and she had suggested him to travel a bit or interact with his Gazers more. Their very first meeting however, took way back, to the wartimes.

As the only daughter of the high priest belonging to the temple at the spot where all four kingdoms touched, Ray inherited unique and powerful magic that allowed her to communicate with humans and spirits alike. From her young age she was well aware of the injustices that both worlds suffered and despite witnessing spirits being enslaved, she had to remain neutral about it. Her faith dictated her to never side with anyone since her job was simply to spread harmony and keep everything in balance. Even when the war started and she desperately wanted to go out and fight, her father kept her in the temple where she was safe from the war.

But just like every other kid in their late teens, Ray started questioning the rules she was supposed to follow and therefore became the rebellious tomboy that Zarc got to meet soon after. The Dragon King appeared at the doorstep of the temple in a smaller version of his dragon form when rescuing several young spirits who had escaped slavery. She was just in the middle of sweeping the stairs when she was face to face with Zarc and youngsters that he was protecting. If it weren't for his injured wing, the Dragon King would've picked the spirits and flee in a blink of an eye as he didn't trust humans at all. For him people were monsters that enslaved his kind and creatures who wouldn't think twice before killing the spirits they considered useless. Spreading his grey wings with glowing green markings to appear more threatening, Zarc snarled to keep her away since he was too exhausted to fight and his healing powers weren't kicking in fast enough. Even if it was just a mere priestess, Zarc wasn't taking any chances when it came to protecting the young spirits.

Imagine his surprise when Ray used her magic to heal his wounds and told them about the cave near the temple where they could hide until they would be well enough to travel. Of course Zarc was suspicious about her motives but once he realized that he didn't have a better plan he followed her directions. After that Ray didn't see him until more than a year later.

This time Zarc was using his human form and bowed before her, thanking her for helping him out the last time. Knowing of how fidgeting the spirits could be about humans, the young priestess told him that she should be apologizing for what her kind did to his instead and assured him that she is on their side. Ray was surprised to learn that he had been observing her for the last year, studying her way of life and realizing not all humans were the same. The Dragon King knew that the war was approaching and he needed as many allies as possible, Ray included. Soon she officially joined his side, helping him rescuing the spirits and finding more human allies who eventually became Zarc's generals.

It all happened nearly a decade ago when the war ended with many losses on both sides. Tired and broken from the war, Ray helped him a great deal when she came up with an idea to use all of the magic they could gather to create their own little world where spirits could finally live their own lives without humans. Two different kinds just weren't meant to coexist in the end and separating the two worlds was the best option. But still his generals and Ray wouldn't give up on the human world and continued to help both kinds until the present day. Ray even used her priestess status to spread the ideology of her temple, no matter how much her father forbade it. In the end she put together her own ideology and after completely dismissing herself from the temple, decided to travel around the kingdoms to share it with people and helping those in need. Though from time to time, she'd drop by Zarc's castle to catch up and to give him a hand if he needed one.

Zarc's thinking about the priestess was stopped when a huge snowball hit his head, reminding him that he was still outside with his two wards. Once Snow Haoryuu was finished, Yuya went on making more snow sculptures, mostly resembling his Entermates while Yuri helped him out with the details. Zarc had no idea just how long he was outside with Yuya and Yuri, though considering the position of the sun and the growling stomachs of his wards, several hours have passed. With more clouds gathering in the sky Zarc concluded it was enough fun in the snow for children for today, so calling for Xiangsheng Magician he entrusted her to take care of the boys while he goes through Yugo's memories with Ray.

After Yuya and Yuri were taken away by the female spirit, Zarc headed for the guest room to which Gazers teleported Ray and Yugo so she could see his memories in peace. The Dragon King was rather surprised when he saw that Ray still wasn't done and her emotionally exhausted expression could only state the whole process was anything but simple.

"The child's mind is just so fragile that I was afraid to continue many times…" Ray said with her hands still on Yugo's forehead "I can't even describe it…"

"That's why I want to see it for myself. I have to know what happened to him in order to help him."

"Say, why didn't you have me do the same thing with other two? You told me to search for their origins along with several other spirits, but never to look in their memories? I think that the boy that you call Lily also wishes to know what happened in his early childhood."

"Because, they likely concealed those memories for a reason. Whatever happened to them must've been so terrible that their survival instincts kicked in, making them forget in order to function properly. If I were to make them remember… I fear for their sanity. Yugo's mind is damaged to the point where your magic couldn't effect his current behavior but for Firefly and Lilly… I just don't want to risk it."

"I completely understand your concern." Ray said as she cradled Yugo in her arms "And speaking of which, for some reason I couldn't look into the memories before he was five, except for only few moments that actually appeared to be completely normal. It's like all of them experienced something when they were around five years old."

"Then let me see all the memories you've gone through so far."

Ray let Zarc sit next to Yugo who was in magic induced sleep so his memory could be examined without him being aware of it. As carefully as he could the Dragon King used his powers to look into what Yugo has been gone through in order to end up like this. Ray watch over both of them with caution since both of them could get hurt from watching those terrible pass events.

…

"Dad look! I've finally finished it!" Yugo around five years old ran towards a man in blacksmith uniform who was working on small piece of iron.

"Well done." his father smiled when Yugo showed him something he held in his palm "A small but precisely made… ehmmm."

"Red Eyed Dice! And this right here…" the boy pulled another small object out of his pocket "Is Tri-Eyed Dice!"

"This is a really impressive work! I bet spirits will be fighting over them." the man used magnifying glass to examine the details "You surely did much better than I did in my days."

"Say dad… how can spirits possess objects again? Do they just go in them?"

"Well no one really knows." he picked the dice shaped object "But from what we know some spirits lose parts of themselves and those parts can only continue to live if they find handcrafted object. Just like the Double Yoyo that I did the same year when you were born."

"Spirits are amazing!" Yugo grinned as he picked more of the scrapped metal "I'm going to make more!"

The scene then switched to what appeared to be months later where Yugo hid on the tree because of something he apparently did wrong.

"Yugo come down, this is serious!" a woman who appeared to be his mother called "It's for your own good."

"No." Yugo said stubbornly, burying his head in the branches full of leaves.

"Come on, I know your ear is bleeding. We'll treat that first and then we can deal with whatever trouble you got into."

"Alright…" Yugo slowly slipped down tree with his hand on the bloody ear "I …. pierce my ear. …. didn't do it well."

"But why?" his mother sighed as she led him towards the nearest bucket with clean water "You're a bit too young for this stuff."

"I just wanted to look cool with this crystal earring..."

The boy then let his mother treat his wound and the scene again faded into another memory.

…

"Earring?" Zarc questioned when back in the room with Ray, checking Yugo's ear to see it was indeed pierced though with no earring.

"Yeah when you told me he was kept as a slave, I firstly thought it was from the earrings that they use for marking enslaved people like a cattle. Turns out it was just a silly thing he did in his childhood." she moved some of Yugo's bangs off his closed eyes "He really used to be just like any other child… before…"

"Before what?"

"You'll see it soon."

…

Yugo was walking with his father, who carried bunch of iron tools like axes and knives, towards what appeared to be a very festive looking town. The boy despite his small size helped him carry heavy boxes as well, clearly stronger than he looked. They put them on a stand that had signs describing what they were selling and soon everything was ready. Yugo also brought several other items similar to the dices he had shown before, proudly showing off his handiwork. All of them looked like toys, though the details could as well made them into unique decorations. Yugo even wore armor-like shoes that were heavy, but made him look cool, much better than the fail with the earring.

"Too bad, mom… can't be with us." Yugo mumbled while playing with his little creations.

"She is selling flowers… at a different stand where they sell similar things. Pretty flowers and sharp metal objects kind of don't go together I'm afraid."

"But you and mom are together. Why can't the things that you sell go together?"

"Well that's because…" his father was about to tell him but was never able to finish it.

All of a sudden several explosions echoed all over the busy city center. Yugo was quickly pushed underneath his father's coat in order to shield him from the flying pieces of what used to be stands. People were screaming and trying to escape the arrows that followed, along with a cloaked group of men that appeared literally out of nowhere. Just like something out of nightmare, the men marched towards them menacingly, shooting more arrows, casting spells or swinging their swords at everything that crossed their path.

Yugo's father quickly took him in his arms, carrying him towards the safety as fast as possible. The streets that were usually occupied by people and stands, which were so nicely decorated for that day's festival, were now covered by broken pieces of wood and rocks. There were bodies of people who failed to escape the deadly raid, children crying and adults yelling in pure terror. Yugo cradled the two dices in his pockets, praying and begging for the spirits that might be in them for this horror to just end. He wanted to be back home, making more pretty objects with his father and helping his mother on the garden. Not this… not this nightmare that decided to rob him of everything that made him happy.

Then his father hit the ground.

Two arrows hit him, one piercing through his shoulder and other one stabbing him deep in his abdomen. Yugo watched in horror how his father coughed blood from his injuries while still trying to protect him. Despite the wound, his father still didn't let go of him.

"Y-Yugo… you must run back to the house… it's too dangerous…"

"Not without you!" Yugo cried, clenching onto his father's shirt that became bloodier each passing second.

"Please just think this through… I doubt I can make it far… But you can…" the man coughed out more blood while struggling to stand up "Go! Those people are after you!"

Zarc's own heart was breaking at the sight of a five year old child being forcefully separated from the parent, all while the mysterious group still wreaked havoc all over the streets. Yugo reluctantly let go of his father in order to escape the men who seemingly noticed him. He tried to run back home as fast as possible since the house located outside of the town was currently the best shelter from whoever that group of men was.

Then another explosion was heard.

Not thinking straight, the boy ran in the different direction, right towards the place from where others were running from. He had to get there for whatever cost, not after his father was mostly likely gone.

"Mom! … " Yugo shouted when he witnessed the remains of several stands and flowers.

And the bodies of people who couldn't escape the destructive attack and the ones still alive who were heavily burnt from the spreading fire. The whole scene became blurry, probably from the panic and shock as Yugo continued to call for his mother.

Then he finally found her, but a simple glance told him he was too late. The only confirmation that it was indeed his mother was her clothing as everything else of her was no longer recognizable. Completely frozen in fear and anguish, Yugo stumbled to his knees, screaming out in tears as the town was being further destroyed.

"Look there's another one." two men noticed him while scattering around the stand for valuables.

Next thing that Yugo knew he was grabbed by a much larger man, his strong arms nearly crushing his own when they were forcefully pressed against his back. For a moment the boy wasn't aware what was going on, he was just completely still when he was dragged away.

"Got any other ones?" the other man who was walking next to him asked.

"Yes… I also got…" another man who waited by the cart said and continued to talk about the situation that Yugo seemingly didn't really listen to.

Then all of a sudden it was like something snapped within him and before he knew it, he was out of the man's grip. Before any of them could react, Yugo kicked them with the armed shoes, the ones whose sole purpose was to make him look cool and not for self-defense. Either way they were useful when he took them off and threw them in the men's faces, causing them to pass out from the hit. With the shoes off, he was barefoot but faster to dodge more of them as he tried to escape them. Even when someone would grab his little body, he would fight, biting, punching and clawing until they would let him go. He didn't care if they hit him back, it didn't really hurt that much. As a young blacksmith Yugo would accidently hit his hands with a hammer, scrap his skin deep and carry heavy objects many times, all with zero reaction since his pain tolerance was rather high.

But sooner or later the exhaustion got the best of him. When he could no longer fight back he was instantly apprehended, had his hands and ankles handcuffed and thrown into the covered cart where other children were. As the cart started moving, Yugo started crying with all other kids until he passed out from all the sadness.

…

"This is terrible…" Zarc was at loss of words.

"It's only the beginning…" Ray said sadly as she cast another sleeping spell on Yugo so he wouldn't wake up just yet "I tried to find what was the name of the town, but for some reason there are holes in his memory before the incident, including the name or any hint where it was located. There were many wars among people five years ago, mostly due to influences of spirit-demonetizing religion that spread hatred all over…"

"Did I… Did I do the right thing when I created this world? When I took all the spirits from humans?"

"Oh Zarc…" Ray gave him a gentle hug from behind his back "Even if you'd taken everything related to spirits or the memories of the times when human race lived with spirits, humans would've find another reason to hate each other. They… We are unpredictable beings that will need years before we can fully change."

"Then how can I prevent them from hurting their own young?" Zarc cradled sleeping Yugo close to his chest.

"You save as many as you can."

…

The next memory showed what appeared to be an auction. The children were lined up in chains and the adults haggled and yelled the prices. Yugo was sold to a man who was looking for strong and rough kids for apparently really hard labor. The men who captured him probably brought up his violent behavior to raise his price though they most likely lowered the number of soldiers that he beat up to spare them from embarrassment.

The scene skipped to the moment when he was brought in a dark mine. He was only given a pick and pushed into the stone prison where only a dim light of an oil lamp could help him see. Every day from that point on was the same, working in darkness during the day and sleeping in a nearby shed where children were imprisoned during the night. If he struggled, he or other kids were hurt so for a while he just followed every order. Whenever he l took metal tools in his hands or saw anything resembling flowers, he could hardly hold back tears when thinking about his parents. But he didn't cry, at least not during the work. The kids who did were an easy target of the guards who took onto every opportunity to beat them up.

But after what seemed to be months, Yugo discovered that his father was right - right about the spirits. The dices that he managed to hide in his own underwear were indeed possessed by spirits and once they concluded Yugo meant no harm, they started showing up whenever no one was watching. This gave him the courage to start gathering all possible pieces of scrap metal that he could find, any discarded tool or even the ore that he was forced to dig out. During the night when guards weren't really watching, he would build up more devices in hopes spirits would choose to possess them and help him escape someday. The more days passed, more kids picked on what he was doing. Some told him he was crazy, some wished him luck but no one dared to betray him. With time some children even started helping him out by also bringing him stuff. With more spirit possessed objects and also tools, there was more hope for them to escape. Yugo didn't know how much time have passed, but it was certainly more than a year, at least according to the guards, before they managed to construct an escape plan.

Then came the day of the escape. The older kids learned the patterns of how guards patrolled while younger ones smuggled whatever useful things they found. Yugo sent the Dices, Double Yoyo, and other devices, he referred as Speedroids, outside to cause the commotion. Before that Yugo used his lock-picking skills to unlock the cuffs and once the guards rushed out to see what the deal with all the noise was, Yugo went after the lock on the doors that had them imprisoned all this time.

The kids hardly hid their excitement once those doors were finally opened. The older kids held the hands of younger ones who despite being happy to be free weren't sure what would follow. Yugo was among those, clenching onto the hand of a boy around couple of years older than him. As fast as they could they escaped into the night towards what appeared to be a village where they could seek shelter until the further travel.

But unfortunately they could never predict that the village was full of selfish people who quickly sold them out to the guards. What was even worse was that they discovered that Yugo was behind the whole plan and before he knew it, he was sent to a different mine.

And yet he never gave up. The moment he arrived he already started plotting new escape. The different kids this time were more skeptical of his actions, but let him do what he wanted. The Speedroids luckily escaped the last time and managed to find Yugo quite fast to help him out again.

The children in this mine were less willing to leave so only few of them joined Yugo in the escape. Even though they made it further this time, the guards caught up to them anyway. Just like before, Yugo wouldn't give up without a fight.

However no matter how hard he punched and kicked, it was still not enough and he was back in chains.

The third time Yugo faced the familiar darkness he didn't think twice before attempting another escape. He hoped the third time might be the charm, just like his father always told him. During all those times when he was alone in a cell tinkering, his mind would often drift back to his old home that was most likely in ruins and abandoned. The tears would often run down his face whenever he worked as he kept pushing himself to escape. But why was he really trying to escape so hard if he knew that his family was dead and home destroyed, Zarc wondered. The child had a passionate soul that made him go forward no matter the pain he experienced on daily basis.

The guards would call him names, beat him up, forced him to crawl in the tunnel that was likely to collapse and made him scattered through ore that made his fingers bleed. By now he was around seven years old, his body stronger and bigger from all the work he was forced to do. The newly gained muscles helped him carry out the new plan for which he knew will be successful.

But how wrong he was.

Not only the group of kids that escaped with him consisted of really young ones, but the mine where they worked was falling apart. On the night of the escape, Yugo broke the lock of the prison doors built into the mine where they were kept and led the kids outside.

But at that one moment the old wooden pillars supporting the ceiling finally gave up under the massive weight of the mine.

"Run!" Yugo yelled to the children, urging them to escape the deadly trap.

The kids screamed and ran as fast as their exhausted legs could carry them. The pieces of debris started falling as the walls began to crumble away. The tiny Speedroids tried holding onto the falling rocks, but their tiny forms could only hold the heavy weigh for so long. The sight of an exit gave them hope, using whatever strength they could pull through to get out. The rocks were falling, the dust blinded everyone and whichever oil lamp illuminated the hall was put out during the terrible demolition. Yugo urged the kids to hurry and holding onto their hands tried to push them out of the mine, so at least they could survive if not him. He ran and shouted until the world went dark.

As his mind faded into the emptiness, he could only see other kids running… and never reaching the exit as the falling beams and debris buried them…

…

The next time he woke up, he was in what appeared to be an unknown building, his hands again restrained and guards arguing what to do about him again. For a while he couldn't remember what happened, but as the guards started complaining of how many slaves they lost, Yugo was instantly hit with realization.

All the children died in that escape attempt.

And somehow he survived.

The regret instantly started burning in his chest. The children trusted him, believed his words when he told them he'll get them home… and he let them all down. Instead of taking them home, he led them into an early grave. He deserved to be dragged into the pits of hell for what he did and yet he was here… why?

"Tell me how the little runt survived anyway? At least dozen of brats perished once the ceiling collapses." one of the guards said while looking in Yugo's direction.

"Apparently two beams collided just above him, creating temporary shelter from the falling rocks." a guard that seemed more sympathetic towards the boy replied "I can't say the same about his legs though."

Legs? What did he mean about legs? Only now did he notice that his ankles weren't restrained. Weren't they afraid he's going to run away? Because right now it was an excellent opportunity.

He however didn't make it far, in fact he couldn't move more than a foot away. His legs were in excruciating pain, hurting like someone swung a hammer on them hundreds of times. As he looked at them, Yugo could see through the ripped pants just how damaged they were. They were practically black from the bruisers, spreading all the way to his knees with an addition of many cuts, probably caused by the sharp rocks. They were fractured badly, probably broken at many parts. If he were to put any more weight on them they would most likely continue to break so he rather stayed still and face whatever consequences awaited him rather than permanently disfigure himself.

"So what do we do with him? I doubt a kid can do anything in the mine if he can't walk."

"What about reselling? I've heard the kid escaped from previous owners before and now it's guaranteed he won't."

"Forget it, no one will buy the broken merchandise that rebels."

"Yeah but what about…" the same guard that showed concern for Yugo before said, starting to debate about something that the boy didn't really understand since his head hurt from the whole thing.

He was brought back in reality when he was roughly placed on a chair, his handcuffs off the wrists and something was placed before him. Even the mine collapsing wasn't enough to destroy the three Speedroids that would follow him literally everywhere since the day he created them.

"Where did you get this?" the guard demanded rather than asked.

"I-I.. I… made it…" despite being the hothead he was, he could only stutter when met with intimidating appearance of the guy.

"You're lying. These details can only be done by years of practice." the man didn't believe him.

"It's true! My dad is…- was a blacksmith and taught me everything!" Yugo raised his voice which surprised many.

"Then prove it." the sympathetic guard threw bunch of tools and scrap metal on the table along that he dragged next to the heating pot full of embers "What you create will decide what happens to you."

Yugo didn't expect anything like this after all that happen and was really confused what they wanted, though as soon as one of them grabbed a whip, he quickly started working. In about two hours, the guards were the ones who were puzzled, staring at the tiny creation that they doubted an experienced blacksmith could make, let alone a child.

…

"So why should I spend money on this dirty brat?"

A nicely dressed man fixed his coat patched with dozens of gems while he stared at Yugo who despite more appropriate clothing still looked like a low-grade citizen compared to the guy. As he was still unable to stand, he was in guard's hands who held him more like a sack than an actual human being. His legs were tied between wooden planks that kept his broken legs in place, a cheap way to treat his injuries and still allowing him to use his arms.

"Sir, you've seen what he's capable of doing at such a young age, just think how much better he can become after years." the nice guard explained "Just think, the experienced workers in New Neo Domino are paid a lot and the average ones don't have the right skills."

"I know and I'm still wondering what kind of difference it makes if the brat works for me? You said it yourself he's too broken to work in the mines."

"You only need to cover his living necessities and due to the injuries he'll be unable to cause trouble. By the time they'll heal up, I'm sure he'll learn to listen to every word."

The guards went on haggling for the best price and in the end Yugo was sold to that man. Just like that he was put on the leash like a dog and carried into a luxurious carriage pulled by horses. The town where they arrived to, after several hours, was unfamiliar to him as it was much larger than his own hometown with way more people everywhere he looked. But there was one major difference that he kept on noticing.

Beggars, people in rags and merchants selling cheap goods – they were everywhere. Yugo remembered some of them back home whenever he would visit city center with his parents, but never so many of them. It appeared as there were more of the poor folk than average citizens and even that was putting the situation lightly. Whoever didn't look like they were on poverty line was dressed in lavish clothing and acted as sophisticated as the man who bought him. It was like the society was largely divided between those who had money and the ones who didn't.

"Get the brat to the back of the shop." the man ordered to the older person who appeared to be his servant once the carriage stopped "Walk him through the working process and the rules. I'll come to check his progress in the evening."

Yugo was so left alone with a servant who carried him through narrow streets until finding the doors that he unlocked with a key. In fact he unlocked many doors and other security measures until they reached what appeared to be a working space. The place looked awfully similar to his father's workshop, the sturdy table and tools neatly placed on the shelves, the materials gathered in the small boxes and the fire place. The familiarity of the room nearly made him tear up, thinking about all the times when his father would show him how to mold the metals into neatly made objects.

"I have no idea why mister Kotsu picked you, but here's the drill." the man who carried him placed him on a chair high enough for his size. The leash was secured to the chair just in case he would get any ideas though with legs completely tied up and broken, it was close to impossible he'd try to run away.

It turned out that Yugo's new owner, mister Kotsu was a very wealthy owner of the line of jewelry stores that have recently spread throughout the rich cities such as New Neo Domino. The servant named Chojiro was actually one of the workers, but due to his old age, his finished products started lacking in quality so mister Kotsu went on looking for his replacement and as he was a cheapskate, he was ready to go as far as buying a kid slave if it meant saving up. Yugo wasn't really sure if he could make extravagant looking jewelry and accessories that Chojiro showed to him, but he did his best to at least make it look as close to the ones that were sold in the store.

As promised, mister Kotsu was back by the evening, examining a bracelet with tiny gems that Yugo worked on for hours. The man looked over it from many different angles, tested it sturdiness and closely analyzed the details with magnifying glass. After nearly an hour, he was finally done and approved of Yugo's work.

"You still need it perfected. Chojiro will show you how for the next few months until he retires."

And that's how that one year at Kotsu jewelry went. The old man continued to teach him the art of jewelry making, guiding him through every step until the pieces look perfect enough to be sold. There were some other workers as well, but they mostly ignore Yugo as he was on the lowest working scheme. His legs were somehow healing and even though Chojiro was paid to only help him with his living necessities, like bringing him food, teaching him crafting and move him around, he also carefully treated his broken legs whenever he could with home remedies. As they were broken on many places they healed with a snail's speed and even Yugo's high tolerance to the pain couldn't mask the pain whenever he moved his legs. Whenever he was lying on a simple bed in the storage, the boy barely slept since the slightest negligent movement would jerk him awake.

Each time Chojiro noticed Yugo gritting his teeth when trying to move on his own, the old man could only pat his head and told him that he doesn't need to cover up his pain, that it was only natural if he was hurting. Despite his words, Yugo never wanted to show his weakness as he knew well that the moment he gives into the pity, the strength that got him through so far will fade. So with no complains, the boy continued to follow the routine of repetitive banging of the hammer, careful molding of precious metals and arranging the gems on different type of jewelry. His tiny fingers helped him a whole lot since many jewelers struggled with tweeters to accomplish the same thing.

Just like mister Kotsu said, Chojiro left after few months. Yugo was grateful for everything that the old guy did for him, especially treating his legs that were already well enough for him to support him while he moved around with walking sticks. Just in case, a tight chain was put on his collar, the one that he couldn't break even with all the tools in the workshop (still he tried to remove it many times, risking the burns with corroded iron, cuts from the saw and bruisers from the hammer).

With Chojiro gone, someone else started taking care of him and surprisingly a girl around his age. She had shoulder-length black hair, red eyes and much darker skin than he did, though after all the time he spent in mines, his skin was paler with practically anyone in comparison. Yugo tried talking with her many times, but the girl ignored him each time, only leaving him food, materials or whatever else she was tasked to do.

Yugo soon found out that she was actually the daughter of his master, so it was understandable that due to her status as the heir to the wealthy chain of stores, she avoided talking with a mere slave like him. As the talkative kid as he was, he missed someone to talk to such as Chojiro that would tell him about New Neo Domino or the art of jewelry making. As much as Yugo wanted to bring up his times in mines or the whole problem about divided society, Chojiro didn't allow him to since it was a rather taboo subject in this kingdom. The boy was so forced to keep all the memories about mines to himself and keep up a polite smile when talking to his master, despite holding onto the something that was most likely dug out by children like him.

His only comfort were Speedroids. By some miracle they survived the collapse of the mine (at least the objects that spirits were possessing) and hid nearby once the guards dug him out of rubble. When they were spotted by the guards they remained completely still until Yugo got them back. They understood that for now working in the jewelry store was the best option for the boy to properly heal up before they could plan another escape. While Speedroids couldn't really talk, they were good listeners at least, easing up Yugo's mind whenever he was alone.

"Why are you talking to yourself?" was the first thing that the girl said to him after more than a month of seeing him "And don't tell me you don't, I can clearly hear you through doors."

Yugo was a bit startled by her sudden demand one morning when she brought him food (not that you could call a small bowl of cold tasteless stew a proper meal, but at least it was better from what he got in the mines). The girl never really showed interest in anything about him, so he just assumed she didn't care about his weird behavior.

"Cuz I like to talk I guess?" Yugo tried playing dumb but she was not having it.

"Don't give me that! I saw you talking with that weird cube."

"You mean dice?"

"Yes, what's the deal with it?"

It's been so long since he talked with anyone who would reply back, especially someone who would be interested in Speedroids as his creation. Mister Kotsu would only care about the jewelry pieces he was ordered to make, not even once allowing him to create something that he wanted. He really wanted to talk with this girl about them, but if his master would find out…

"I can tell you, but you'll have to keep it as a secret and… tell me your name." Yugo tried to sound confident though his body betrayed him since he started shaking nervously.

"Why would I tell my name to a mere slave?" she instantly crossed her arms, her crimson red eyes glaring at her.

"Fine, then I won't tell you." Yugo smirked as he hobbled away with his walking sticks to go pick up some materials.

"Wait…" the girl instantly changed her mind "I'll tell you okay… just promise you'll keep this secret too, alright?"

Turned out, her name was Masumi and the reason why she was so interested in his Speedroids was because she also had a connection with tiny spirits that seek human-made objects to possess, but unlike Yugo she wasn't that skilled at tinkering. While Masumi attended apprenticeship under one of the best jewelers in town, she was afraid to ask him if she could learn how to make an object for spirits. Yugo didn't need to be asked twice as he simply set another chair to the table, so she could see how to pour your heart and soul into crafts.

Impressively, Masumi was a fast learned and quickly picked on Yugo's teaching as she decided to create doll-shaped objects rather than toy shaped ones. She also included gems from her personal collection, giving them as much of personal touch as possible. Their little tinkering lessons had to be kept secret so Masumi had to keep on making believable excuses to spend more time with Yugo. In the end, after nearly a month of work, she finally finished her first project, consisting of two doll-like items that she named Lapis and Lazuli.

"When will I know if the spirits accepted them?" she stared at her unmoving creations.

"You will eventually, Speedroids needed more than a year to acknowledge the dices." Yugo put away the finished items "And you better keep them hidden. Some find them evil."

"I know… and I want to thank you for all of your help… uhmmm."

"It's Y-"

"Don't! The slaves aren't supposed to have their own names! Only numbers or impersonal names given by their masters." Masumi interrupted him before he could finish "I'm sorry… I just don't want to get you in trouble. It's how things work here."

"Then what if you give me a new name? The one only you will know?"

"I'm not your master… but if we keep it a secret as well, then maybe it could work." Masumi started thinking as she watched Yugo working on another piece of jewelry. While mister Kotsu's store mostly used precious gemstones, they would sometimes use cheaper ones as well, such a pearls and crystals.

Such as the one Yugo was polishing at the current moment. The cheap gem that was a mere crystal, was illuminating the more it was polished, the light from the lamps reflecting its pretty shine all over the table. Then Masumi saw it for the first time up close – Yugo's beautiful sky blue eyes that sparkled just like the crystal. As a seller in training, she knew well how low its price was compared to others and yet it was still so beautiful.

"What about Crystal?" she suggested, bringing Yugo's smile right up.

"Sounds good to me." he grinned back.

…

Nearly a year has passed since he was brought here, working with rare metals and gems he never thought he would. His father would sometimes bring small amounts of it for special orders and that was about it. Yugo could only work with tiny scraps of rubies that he would end up placing them in the dices to look more aesthetically pleasingly. Here he would get to craft extravagant jewelry and challenge himself with new orders…

… and yet he didn't feel like he belonged here at all.

True, he had a bed to sleep in, food to ear and by now even a supposed friend, but the tight collar around his neck attached to a chain kept on reminding him of a cage he was living in. Not even once he was allowed to go out of the workshop. He could never see the people who bought the jewelry he made, something he was always looking forward whenever he accompanied his father to the city center where they would sell it together. No one called him by his name, making him nearly forget it each passing day. Sometimes when his work wasn't perfected, mister Kotsu or whoever came to collect the finished products, would pull his chain, nearly suffocate him or even burn his side with corroded iron.

The message was clear – no matter how hard he would work, he was still a slave to everyone. His life had no value and if it wasn't for shortage of workers, mister Kotsu would probably replace him with another skillful slave or cheap worker. He meant nothing besides being a working pair of hands. Masumi might've eased his days in the last few months, but even he wasn't sure if she really cared about him as much as the friends he made in his hometown.

By this point he was only waiting for his legs to get well again so he could run away again. With the limited amount of maps and information of the nearby towns, he was able to sort out where he could go. With a messed up hierarchy, Neo Neo Domino or any other nearby town was out of the question and from what Masumi told him, the area around his hometown was wrecked by similar attacks, like the one that killed his family. That left another nearby kingdom, but according to the chats between other workers a plague was ravaging its people. The only place he could run was a kingdom across the ocean that hasn't been affected by any of those disasters just yet. To get there he would need to sneak on the ship and make sure he is never found.

For now that was a plan and he really needed to make sure it will work… because if he'd screw up… then he'd be killed for sure.

But that was a risk he was willing to take.

…

"I should let you know, that there's another huge chunk of memory missing…" Ray informed Zarc while he watched Yugo plan his escape "…so a lot of his actions might seem out of place."

Zarc nodded and only held Yugo's sleeping form closer to himself.

…

"Rose badge?" Masumi's eyes widened when Yugo gave her one of his newest creations.

"You said you liked flowers, right? I had no idea which one to make so I went on with rose. Hope it's okay, I only did lily before."

"But you shouldn't use the gems that way, dad forbids it!"

"Actually I made it from scrap metal and chips of damaged rubies and emeralds. This is more or less junk."

"But it's so beautiful… I doubt anyone could tell it's made out of junk. I bet you could trick all the rich snobs into buying them for a fortune."

"Yeah but I don't plan on doing that…" Yugo limped towards the box where he kept his modest clothing "And I hope you'll be alright once I-"

"No! Don't tell me you were actually serious about running away!" Masumi covered her mouth in realization of what the boy, she came to know for, was planning on doing "Please it's too risky! If you escape now and you're captured, you'll be sent back to the mines for good! You're safe here and you can make jewelry here, isn't that what you want?"

"It is nice here, but I want… my freedom more." Yugo reached for the collar around his neck "I might get to eat a good food, sleep in a warm bed and get to work with gems… but I'm still a slave. Your father will never see me as more than a kid he bought…"

"B-but… it's a suicide! If they throw you overboard you'll be lucky to die from the fall!"

"I know but this is something I must do-"

"And why now?! Your legs still haven't healed! Can't you wait a little longer?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you." Yugo brought out a small bag that was usually used for materials "But can you take the badge as a reminder? If anyone asks, you had no idea about me escaping."

"Crystal…" Masumi wanted to say more, but rather kept her mouth shut especially once she saw just how serious Yugo really was.

She didn't know his story or what he has been through and yet deep down she knew that despite the safe place, Yugo could barely breathe here. He wanted out, just like a bird that has been behind the bars of a golden cage for too long.

Then the memories quickly skipped to him running towards the ships at the dock of New Neo Domino. There were two ships still loading the goods for trade, perfect for sneaking on. But those weren't the ones that Yugo was running to.

His target was another one, much bigger that was just about to set off. Yugo ran, ignoring his still not healed up legs, practically hearing them cracking again, but he didn't care. As fast as he could, he jumped, grabbing onto the rope that hung from the deck. By some miracle no one noticed him and as he began to climb up, hope filled his eyes.

He could do this, he could get on!

But just then, a ship made a sharp turn. Yugo hold onto that rope with everything he had, even once he started slipping off. He tried to hold onto the deck, any place that he could grabbed, but by now his adrenaline that kept him going so far started lacking.

"No, no! I'm so close!"

At last he couldn't hold on anymore. His fingers slipped right thorough wax coated ropes before falling into the cold ocean water.

"Wings… if only I had wings to fly…"

…

Zarc tried to see what happened next, but for some reason all the memories that were supposed to follow, were sealed.

"You don't need to see the ones that follow." Ray said while placing Yugo underneath the covers "I can tell you instead. It's quite exhausting for a child like him to go through such magic."

"How did he…" Zarc questioned, still not believing the pain and bravery of a child that refused to be imprisoned.

"He was later found at the shore by the sailors. At first they thought he was just a random kid, but as soon as they noticed the collar, they knew he was a slave and instantly sent him back to the slave traders. Due to the fall he again lost majority of his memories, so for a while he didn't try to escape at all." she sighed, trying to keep the painful details from Zarc "But then soon after arriving at the new mine, he appeared to be triggered by something and like before he did everything to escape. Though this time he was a lot more violent at it, not taking any of the kids into consideration. He kept on fighting until-"

"He was fixed?" Zarc remembered Yusei's words.

"Yes… the memory was buried deep down and I only got a glance of it…" Ray visibly shook as she was about to say it "I've only seen it a couple of times… but from what the memory showed, I believe Yugo's been through Carding."

"Carding? You don't mean…"

"You know it by different names, like Mind Crush, Divine or Numbering and in that area it is known as Carding – the ritual done by a mage who can literally take everything from a human being. Including a free will."

Zarc just had enough of it as his wings angrily sprouted from his back full of fury and if it weren't for Ray, he'd probably set off to the human world and burn down whoever did this to the poor child. It wasn't enough that they enslaved him when he was only five. It wasn't enough that his legs were broken. It wasn't enough that they locked him in a cage… no they had to take his own free will as well.

Restoring his memories was one thing… but returning his stolen free will? Zarc wasn't even sure if that was possible. For Aki, he only needed to block the memories of that cult that brainwashed her until she was old enough to understand, but Yugo… the boy has been through so much.

"If his will is back, so will his soul. Without it, he's stuck like this." the priestess gently removed locks from Yugo's eyes "The one who did this to him even went as far as damaging his eyes. It will require a long term healing and even for that I'm not so sure if it will work."

The Dragon King was still in his raging mode and for the sake of Yugo he tried hard not to lose it. The child has been through enough and didn't need to see him at his worst. What he needed right now was precise care and love that he never got enough of during those five years of torture.

"I'll take care of you Crystal, I promise to bring your soul back."

…

What followed were long months of waiting and hoping that Yugo would recover. There were tiny bits of Yugo getting interested in other things besides Zarc's dragon form and Stardust Dragon who would come to visit, but due to his partial blindness it was hard for him to be aware of his surroundings. Zarc let both Yuya and Yuri interact with him, under a strict supervision of course since he didn't want to trigger his fears. Yuya would try talking with him or read him from the books he's been recently interested in. The odd-eyed boy would also bring Entermates to him who performed before him, though Yugo wasn't able to pick anything else but the sounds and blurry images before him. From what Zarc could tell, his sight was like looking underwater, extremely blurry with really dark shades of colors.

Yuri also tried talking with him, bringing him flowers that he could smell and try. Yugo showed tiny bit of interest whenever he would have lilies before him, but quickly lost interest as he returned to staring in the distance. The purple haired boy had hard time holding himself back whenever he had an urge to ask him about the time before he was five and as much as Yuri tried to remember, he could never see what has been going on with his life in his early childhood.

Ray stayed with him whenever she could, as her healing magic took care of all the injuries that he had collected in the last five years. Slowly, but gently, his scars began to fade and with a proper diet he has been slowly gaining a weight that he should have for his age. As a traveling priestess didn't required her to be present in human world at all times, Ray was able to stay longer, watching over Yugo so Zarc could spend some quality time with his other two wards.

Even when Yugo wasn't with them, Yuya and Yuri wouldn't stop asking about him. "Can I play with him again? Can I show him my garden? Can we have dinner together?" were their constant questions. Even though Yugo never replied to their constant questioning, Yuya and Yuri were still looking forward to spend time with him.

Whenever Zarc was with him, he'd transform into his dragon form, letting the child on his back and take him on the flights. At first he was quiet, just enjoying the wind and fresh air that he had been deprived of during his time as a slave and after a month, he'd start saying basic words as a response to his surroundings. Zarc encouraged every single little achievement and even started calling him Crystal once he started responding to the nickname. Yugo also got used to sleeping alone, so by the second and third month, Zarc no longer needed to stay by his side, though he still would from time to time, just in case.

…but Yugo still didn't get his soul back.

Like a puppet he would stare into distance, unable to see anything even when deep down the tiny fragment of his remaining soul was screaming to get out.

…

Yuya couldn't sleep. Despite recovering from so many fears ever since he started living with Zarc, lightning was still something he feared greatly. It reminded him of times when he was cooped up in that tiny cage, when he was all alone under the tattered tent that did nothing to protect from the freezing wind. Whenever the lightning would strike, entire tent cast shadows of the objects that were stored there, the creepy silhouettes preventing him from sleeping. What was even worse was that on stormy days, the circus leader was always in the bad mood due to lesser visitors which meant less money.

And whenever he was angry he would open the cage, drag him out and beat him up until…

The boy clenched his eyes shut, trying hard to forget the abuse he suffered. He needed someone, just someone to hug him and affirm to him that man won't ever hurt him again. This would usually be Yuri, but the pink haired boy was outright exhausted from the previous day when he helped out at the nearby village. Weeding, planting the new flowers and digging drained him up completely and Yuya certainly didn't want to trouble him with his own problems.

As quietly as he could, he managed to crawl out of his bed in order to look for his Haoryuu. Yuya would jump and fidget at every lightning that cast more creepy shadows on the hallways. Despite the illuminating crystals, it was still dark enough to give him the creeps. Now where Zarc could be? Either at the throne room or his personal quarters. Yuya knew directions to both, but due to the lightning strikes, he ran to the nearest curtains or pillar to hide, causing him to mix up the directions several times until he no longer knew where he was.

The walls looked familiar when the windows were completely different from the ones he remembered. The doors looked unfamiliar too and before he could decide where to go, another particularly loud lightning sent shivers all over his body. Yuya couldn't take it anymore!

He ran in the room closest to him, slipping under the massive bed until the sets of thunders would stop. Gripping onto the sheets hanging from the bed, Yuya could grit his teeth and wait for the lightning to stop. After what felt like hours but was really just several minutes, the odd-eyed boy plucked up enough courage to finally crawl from underneath the bed since the storm seemed to calm down a bit.

All of a sudden Yuya was surprised by a sudden appearance of a face right in front of him. At first the boy thought he was staring into his own reflection, though sooner or later he figured out it was probably just Yuri. Even months later, he'd still sometimes forget that there's another lookalike living with him.

Though it wasn't Yuri facing him. Somehow, Yuya wandered all the way to Yugo's room that was on entirely different part of the castle. Zarc didn't want them to be this close ever since Yuya one time napped next to Yugo, and the blond haired boy just then got a seizure and it triggered Yuya to have a panic attack too. But as they faced each other, both puzzled of what the other was doing, it felt completely different.

Yugo's eyes were just about to be healed which helped him see the silhouettes of people and objects, though the colors still confused him from time to time. Even now he wasn't sure what those two giant blobs of red and green were before him.

Then slowly his mind started going through memories, the most recent ones that he made with these new strangers that seemed like they really cared about him and eventually he started seeing memories for which he wasn't entirely sure if they were his. They all seem so distant and yet so familiar.

"Can you help me put this earring on?"

"Leave them alone! I'll fight you!"

"They're still alive, I know they are!"

"Just hold on a bit longer, I'll get to you!"

"A circus is coming into town and it will have some weird kid with differently colored eyes."

"I have to go… he will be on that ship."

"Please don't go… not now that I've found you! Wings, if only I'd had wings to get you out of there! I want wings! Don't leave me behind!"

"I have to get out, I must to! Yuya needs me!"

"Yuya, Yuya, YUYA!"

"Yuya!" Yugo screamed, the echoes filling the room, which made Yuya's eyes go wide.

Yugo grabbed his head, shaking as the more and more images filled his head, remembering bits and bits of things he thought he had long forgotten. His hometown, his parents, the workshop, the mines and… Yuya. He saw the boy with mismatched eyes before, the one whose eyes made him special for the circus where he was performing. Yugo didn't know why he was so desperate to get Yuya out of the circus if he never met him before. He remembered Masumi bringing him commissions to design several jewelry pieces with emeralds and rubies for nobles who were fascinated by some dual colored circus kid and when he saw the detailed drawing of him, Yugo remembered the familiar feeling of something snapping in him. The exactly same one that he felt before going crazy at the last mine.

The never-ending questioning only made him scream more, twisting and turning on the bed while trying to figure out just who was he. There were way too many loose ends to be fixed and he had no idea how to get, except for yelling, all of his bottled emotions out.

But then Yuya hugged him tight over his screaming fit and just like that his arms automatically hugged the odd-eyed boy back.

Why, why did he know that boy? Was it because his face looked like just like his? Did he see the kids that he was unable to save from the mines in him? Just what made him risk anything just to get him off that ship?

"Yuya…" Yugo hugged his lookalike tighter as the tears started running down his cheeks.

"I'm here…" Yuya couldn't respond any differently than that "Are you okay?"

"Yuya…" the other boy repeated as the more tears fell "You're here… you're okay…"

Yuya didn't understand what was going on, but right then it didn't matter. Yugo finally spoke back to him and returned all the affection that the odd-eyed boy has been giving him for the past few months. It felt so warm, warmer than any blanket in that castle. Just the two of them sharing their body warmth to comfort each other.

"Oi, where did you run off to?" Yuya glanced at the opened doors where Yuri stood, completely out of breath "Don't just walk out of the bed."

"Yugo is okay!" the odd-eyed boy shouted, happy for his lookalike.

No later than now did Yuri notice Yugo acting on his own, that his eyes were no longer empty, but filled with brilliant sky blue color, just like the wings of a familiar dragon. One part of Yuri wanted to question him immediately of why he had the same face as them while other part simply wanted to embrace him tightly. Just why did the lookalike felt so familiar to him all of a sudden?

"We can finally all play together!" Yuya couldn't help but keep on hugging Yugo.

"It doesn't make sense… how did Yuugou-" Yuri thought out loud.

"It's Yugo, not Fusion you grinning bastard!" Yugo suddenly grabbed Yuri's collar in anger and instantly released it right away.

Yugo covered his mouth in confusion when Yuya felt like he was in this situation before, when he was trying to calm the two of them down. Even Yuri looked puzzled and yet he strangely felt satisfied after teasing his lookalike with a different pronunciation of his name. Did he do that before?

"Are you alright?!" Zarc appeared out of nowhere in his own pajamas with a worry written all over his face "I heard screaming!"

"It's fine… Yuya and Yuri are with me." Yugo smiled for the first time as he hugged them both.

As touching as the scene was, Zarc couldn't help but wonder just what happened to bring, Yugo's soul back. How did he suddenly know how to talk?

And better yet – how did he know Yuya's and Yuri's names? Whenever he was around he'd only refer to them by their nicknames. And how he knew who was who? Yugo was embracing the two lookalikes like they knew each other for their whole lives. It was a perfect chance to restore the memories that were still missing in Yugo, but with all of them happily living in the moment, Zarc concluded it could freely wait until the next time.

For now, he crunched down and embraced all three of his wards, the three boys whose own kind forsaken them snuggling into the touch of a mighty Dragon King who swore to protect them. All was well, the pieces were finally getting together.

"Welcome to the family Crystal." Zarc mumbled as he pressed a good night peck on Yugo's forehead "You, Firefly and Lily are all brothers now."

…

It was several weeks later when Yusei dropped by. The general was pleasantly surprised when the child who used to be as frail as a doll was now beaming with energy as he and Yuya tried to outrun the Entermates in some sort of track match. Yuri couldn't care less since it was already summer and all of the new flowers that he planted needed to be watered, though he would secretly glanced at the duo that resembled each other in so many ways. An airhead like Yuya truly needed another airhead friend for whenever Yuri needed some time alone so everyone was happy.

Even Ray supported the new family as she too joined their fun, by cheering for them, all while talking with Zarc and Yusei who watched the whole play before them.

"I'm glad to see Yugo is doing much better. You and Ray really helped him out, more than I did…"

"Nonsense Yusei, you too took care of him well, especially those first weeks which were probably the hardest. I simply took over and learnt from your experience." Zarc smiled and patted the general's shoulders in support "You can heal others' pain; make sure to always remember that."

Yusei returned the smile as he watched Yugo and Yuya play with Stardust Dragon's tail while Yuri was busy trimming the new flowers on the garden. The child who used to only see darkness was now happy and his eyes full of life that was stolen from him. Now he had a family, a home and most importunately, a childhood that he deserved. His job was truly done now and he was glad that child for whom he was so afraid if he'll even survive or not, was completely different person now.

"I better get going, Crow had discovered another human facility where children and spirits are experimented on. We have to make a plan and rescue them in time." Yusei nudged to his dragon that it was time to go "Though he warned us that villagers refer to it as the Lost Incident. It surely sounds ominous and some even reported seeing a dragon that looks a lot like Stardust."

"I wish you the best of luck Yusei." Zarc ruffled his head, just like when Yusei was little.

"And if you do come across another broken soul, never fear for their recovery. Even if the free will is taken, the tiny fragment is always hidden deep down to bring it back." Ray added.

The general grinned at priestess's wise words and soon he was back in the air, Yugo waving him like crazy from below. Even now, the kid could never get enough of Stardust's wings, he going as far as flapping in order to imitate the beautiful dragon. His memory was still a mess, but with Yuya and Yuri he no longer cared about it. He didn't need it to be happy and even Yuri eventually figured out the same thing himself.

Just like the nice lady told him, the past didn't matter when the bright future awaited them.

Everything was alright.

But their story was far from over as there was someone who had all the answers and loose ends to tie.

…

The summer was closely fading into cold autumn as Zarc wandered through the entrance hall, figuring out how to organize his growing paperwork again. He just got an idea how, when the main doors suddenly opened with a loud creak.

"Astral? Yuma?" Zarc recognized the joined form of the generals "What brings you here?"

Zexal was still out of breath, but wouldn't let go of something wrapped in their own cape. Once Zarc got closer to see what it was, he hardly believed his own eyes.

The fourth one… a boy with a face just like Yuri's, Yuya's and Yugo's.

"We found him near the ruins of the Heartland." Astral talked through their joined form "He was still conscious when we approached him and he wasn't in a good shape. We offered him help, but he refused to take it."

"Even once Astral pointed out all of his injuries, he still wouldn't listen!" Yuma did the talking this time "He just… he just wouldn't stop walking towards Heartland! He was clearly exhausted and yet he kept on going!"

"We tried to take him wherever he was so set on going, but before he could say it where, he passed out." Astral continued once Yuma could no longer talk through Zexal "Heartland was still full of bandits and due to the ongoing conflicts between Astrals and Barians we couldn't really take him to XYZ domain in order to heal him up, so your castle was the best other option."

"Healing Ward is preoccupied so let's take him to one of the guest rooms. I'll have Xiangsheng Magician examine him." Zarc stated once he remembered that Yuya and Yugo were recovering from a cold in there "How are his vitals?"

"He'll live, but he's completely drained of his energy, has old injuries and probably suffers from mental scars as well." Astral replied through Zexal who carried the boy towards the room.

"Another victim with the same face… just what is going on?" the Dragon King mumbled to himself, quiet enough not to be heard.

As soon as the boy was placed on the bed, Astral and Yuma reverted back into their original forms as the helped remove the clothing so the boy could be looked over. His body was wrapped in so many layers of rags, to keep him warm and to act as the bandages to so many old wounds. The red scarf around his head hid the wild raven and lavender bangs that were spiked all over. The tattered cape came off next, revealing his skinny and yet still a rather muscular form. Zarc really questioned what the kid has been doing to become so sturdy at such a young age.

Xiangsheng Magician came soon after, starting with examination while Zarc went all folding all of the boy's clothes. The clothing had holes and was dirty, but he'd rather ask for his permission before throwing them away. From what he knew, they could have a sentimental value or something.

Then he noticed a tiny bag slipping off the tattered jacket that he just placed on the pile of clothes. Compared to the rest of the clothes, the leather bag was in the best condition of them all, not having a single scratch.

With the curiosity getting the best of him, Zarc carefully undid the rope that kept it closed and slowly brought out the items that were in it:

A blue crystal attached to the rope like a pendant.

A purple badge, shaped like a lily.

A simple earring with a tiny blue crystal.

And a small blade that seemed like it fought many battles but was still in a good condition.

The boy must've treasured them a lot as they all were neatly taken care of with not as much as the scratch on them. In fact once he talked with Yuma and Astral about it, the boy held onto the bag like it mattered more than his life. Like the items was the only thing that made him go forward.

"Why do all of these feel so familiar?" Zarc questioned himself as he looked at the boy's unconscious face.

---

And another Yu-boy is safe in sound in the arms of his dragon dad. I found this chapter especially hard to write since I really wanted to be accurate in the means of representing medieval life and how the slavery was handled. I think the most inspiration came from the fact that Synchro had an underground factory where people were forced to work as slaves plus the whole Crash Town Arc (which is one of my favorites, right behind Dark Signers arc) in 5Ds. If anyone is wondering, yes the twins are no longer kids in this, they're the same age as Yusei was in anime.

If anyone wonders, yes the yu-boys are connected in some way, but in what kind of it, you'll see in the last chapter (after it, it's only an epilogue and maybe a mini-chapter about Yusei rescuing kids from Lost Incident ;) )

Preview for the next chapter: in the ruins of XYZ domain in human world wonders the boy who seeks something, but cannot find it. Zarc hears his story as he remembers the wartimes, of loyal spirits and the lives that were lost that day.