Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 23: Light in the Dark

It took around fifteen minutes to reach the mysterious dome that encased the island of Satellite. The dark clouds were thick and loaded with static that I could taste it on my lips. Lightning erupted outside of the helipad, but none of them hit us. Leo and Luna had curled against each other for comfort as the rest of us were silent. Yusei still hadn't let go of my hand. Not that I complained.

Aki broke the silence as she turned to Mina for some explanation. "You seem to be in the know. What's the whole story behind this Old Reactor thing?"

Mina looked down on her lap, as if she was a bit ashamed to tell us the truth. "They call the incident 'Zero Reverse'. A massive energy Reactor, being built by a group known as the R.R.D, malfunctioned and released a powerful charge of Negative Energy. That's what separated Satellite from the mainland of Domino City. The head of the Reactor Research Division, the one in the charge of the Reactor project, was Yusei's father."

Yusei never reacted on the tale nor did he snap out of his thoughts, and he never let go of my hand.

"Whoa!" Leo said in amazement as he turned to Yusei. "So, if that was your dad's project, what happened to him with the Negative Energy and stuff?"

"Don't be dense! What do you think happened?" Luna said sternly, trying to make Leo shut up, fearing that talking about Dr. Fudo would upset Yusei.

"What? What'd I say?" Leo asked, looking very confused.

"Nothing. Just stop talking", Luna sighed in defeat.

"Go back a few!" Trudge called from the cockpit. "Why would they put some no-one from Satellite in charge of such an important project?"

"Yusei and his dad were born in Domino City", Jack revealed the truth.

Trudge's jaw almost hit the floor by the shocking revelation while glancing over his shoulder at Yusei. "So are you saying this Satellite-reject isn't actually a Satellite-reject?!"

"I was born in Satellite, Trudge!" Jack spat irritably. "Got a problem with that?"

"Uh… No… Of course not…", Trudge replied sheepishly before turning his attention back at the flying.

There was another moment of silence except for the lightning outside. It almost felt like the thunder was getting more intense as we flew deeper into the clouds.

"Say, uh… Is this lightning bothering anyone else?" Trudge asked. "One strike and we're finished. I'm thinking we should turn this bird around."

"Our primary directive is to reach Satellite!" Mina said sternly.

Yusei let go of my hand before he stood up from the seat and walked over to the cockpit. He placed a hand on Trudge's shoulder and pointed at something outside. "Set us down near that building in the park", the young Signer demanded.

The male officer steered the helipad down to the park where Martha's house was located. Yusei walked back to the seats and sat down while Trudge lowered the chopper with ease. Once we landed, we headed to the hatch and waited for it to open. Once it was lowered, we were greeted by Martha, Blister, and the orphans of the house.

Martha gasped visibly before she left the porch and ran straight to Jack with glassy eyes. "Jack!"

"Hi, Mother…", Jack said with a low voice.

"I can't believe how big you've gotten", Martha smiled like a proud mother as she patted his shoulder.

"Well, it has been quite a while since I left, you know", Jack replied, sounding a bit ashamed for not contacting his foster mother in two years.

"Do that thing you used to do; that adorable little prince routine", Martha grinned as she held up her hand.

Jack gaped nervously by the little demand from his foster mother. The rest of us watched him intensely as Yusei held back a small chuckle. Jack glared at all of us, but he then gave up and grabbed Martha's hand before getting down on one knee.

"Greetings, most fairest of maidens. May this prince kiss your hand?" the blonde Signer bowed his head before planting a kiss on Martha's knuckle.

The others were stunned by Jack's actions, since it was way out of character for him. Yusei had a small grin on his lips while I covered my mouth to hold back my giggles. This was even more entertaining than the anime.

Martha chuckled in delight by the nostalgic gesture and she gave Jack a bear hug once he straightened up. "You're such a sweet little boy!"

"M-Martha…! I can't breathe…", Jack groaned as he struggled against the woman's tight hug.

The children of the orphanage ran out and greeted Yusei. Julia, the brown-haired girl who was one of my fans, ran over to me with the other orphan girl, Miku. Miku was around eight years old, two years older than Julia, and had midnight black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. She was dressed in boys' clothing, so at the first glance she looked more like a boy with long hair.

"Hi, Estelle!" Julia called joyfully, her two pigtails ruffling as she ran to me.

"Hi, Julia and Miku", I greeted as I crouched down to their eye level. "Have you been good girls while Yusei and I were away?"

"Yes, we have!" Julia smiled.

"But we were a little worried that something happened to you because of what's going on in New Domino City", Miku confessed.

"I appreciate your concern…", I began as I picked up Julia and held her close to me. "…But as you can see, I'm safe and sound. I'm too hard-boiled to get cracked."

"You're so funny!" Julia giggled as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"I thought everyone in the Satellite Sector would be all creepy and sad", Leo commented in the background.

"Yeah, I know", Luna added. "They seem so friendly."

"That's how they trick you, kids", Trudge told the twins. "But they're just all liars and thieves."

"You got that right", Blister said sarcastically as he approached the male officer. "We're the worst kind of people imaginable."

Trudge blinked his eyes a couple of times before he recognized the cowboy. "Hey, you're…! I remember you!"

"How nice of you to visit our happy wasteland, Officer", Blister taunted amusingly.

Trudge's eyebrow twitched before he went into a "cool guy" mode. "Look, Director Goodwin is makin' me babysit Yusei. No way I would willingly come to this garbage dump of an island!"

I rolled my eyes at Trudge's ignorance, so I approached the adults with Julia in my arms and Miku hiding behind me. "Trudge." Said officer turned to me. "This place is what these children have known ever since they were born. To them, this is their home. This is their everything, just as it is for Yusei and Jack. You will only be able to understand it if you live in a place you call a dumpster that is your actual home."

I walked away from Blister and Trudge as Takuya walked past me to talk to Trudge, since I knew he had a dream to become a Sector Security officer. I settled down Julia on the ground before she and Miku ran over to Jack to welcome him home.

"Thank you, Estelle", Yusei said.

I turned to him and saw his eyes shone with appreciation for standing up to the island that he had grown up on since he was a toddler. I gave him a small smile in return before I heard Trudge laughing. I looked over my shoulder and saw him interacting with Takuya, acting like a big-shot to impress the little boy.

Yusei turned to his foster mother. "Martha, is everyone in Satellite safe?"

Martha's eyes shifted into sadness. "Not really… I'll explain everything inside."

She guided my friends to the dining room to talk about the situation in Satellite. The orphans stayed outside to give us some privacy. Martha sat at the head of the dining table while Blister took the other head and the rest of us sat around the table.

"Yesterday, a strange black fog appeared out of nowhere and descended on the downtown area of Satellite and when it cleared, almost everyone who had been caught in the fog was gone", Martha told us.

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked.

"They vanished", Martha said concernedly. "They just weren't there anymore. Fortunately, the fog didn't come here, so we were safe, but I'm afraid everyone else…" Her voice started cracking due to her emotions, so Blister took over.

"We haven't seen or heard from Rally, Tank, Nervin, Blitz, or Crow since this happened", the former Duelist filled the gap.

"Seriously?!" Yusei said in disbelief.

"I'm worried that something terrible has happened to them", Martha said worriedly.

"Who are those people, Yusei?" Leo asked. "Are they your friends?"

"Yeah…", Yusei nodded slowly.

I was concerned about the missing people's well-being, especially my friends. Sure, I didn't have the same tight bond with Rally and the others like Yusei, but they had become very dear to me.

Martha snapped her head up before she curiously eyed Aki. "You are that Senator's daughter, aren't you?"

"Yes", Aki replied with a small nod. "I'm Izayoi Aki."

"I heard about the issue from your father", Martha smiled as she turned to me and Yusei. "I'm glad to see you two were able to open her heart."

Aki looked away with a shy smile and a blush on her cheeks.

"Estelle did the main job", Yusei explained. "I was more in the cheerleading squad."

Martha chuckled softly before her eyes turned serious at Yusei. "And how are you doing? You're not still scared to fight against Kalin, are you?"

"Not anymore", Yusei shook his head. "That Earthbound Immortal and his Dark Signer powers scare me. But as for me doubting whether or not I can fight him, 'cause we used to be friends, I'm not worried anymore. After all, my real friends are right here."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I haven't become anyone's friend", Jack intervened rudely. "I just came here to stop the Dark Signers."

"Don't lie, Jack", I told him with a small grin, sensing his honest feelings through our Marks. "I know you're worried about Yusei and the rest of us."

Jack's pale cheeks suddenly got a tiny hint of pink before he looked away with a pout. "Damn you and your sneaky powers."

The others giggled or chuckled at Jack's reaction as Martha stood up from her chair. "Well, you're welcome to stay here for the time being. The lunch's at noon, so you've got some time to do whatever you want. Make yourselves at home."

With that said, the group split up and stayed inside the house or they went outside. Yusei hurried to check his Duel Runner to do some final adjustments with Blister. Aki stayed with Martha for a while as Leo and Luna went to find the orphans of the house to play with them. Mina and Trudge stayed in the dining room to check the maps of Satellite, and Jack went on his own.

I followed the twins and found them playing with Julia, Miku, Jun, and Micchan in the living room. Leo and Luna were showing the orphans their cards and Dueled each other on the floor for fun. Takuya was nowhere to be seen, but I had a feeling he was secretly following Trudge around like a small chick following the mother hen.

XXXXXXXXXX

After lunch, my friends and I had another brief discussion about our next course of action. The Dark Signers hadn't showed up yet nor sent us an "invitation" with a Shadow Drone, so we all agreed to wait until the next day before heading out to the Old Ener-D Reactor.

The sky was dark the entire day, so if you didn't have a digital clock, you wouldn't be able to tell if it was daytime or nighttime. It was soon time for Martha to start making dinner, so I decided to help her out. She accepted the help, but she told me to wait because she was going to bring another "assistant" to help out with the cooking.

While I waited for Martha, I tied my hair up into a ponytail and tied an apron around my waist. It didn't take five minutes when Martha returned to the kitchen while dragging Trudge by the ear.

"What are you doing?!" Trudge rubbed his sore ear after Martha let go of him.

"I'm gonna start getting dinner ready, and you and Estelle are going to help", the woman proclaimed before she picked up an apron from the table.

"You're putting me to work?! I'm a guest!" Trudge protested.

"I'm a guest too, but I want to help out", I told him. "Besides, the dinner will get done faster if there are more people helping out."

"You're doing it voluntarily! I'm being forced to help!" Trudge argued.

Martha held back a smirk as she gave Trudge the apron. "Here, wear this. It'll look great on you!"

Let's just say Trudge didn't have the same experience in household care as a single man would usually have. Martha and I corrected him multiple times whenever he made a mistake while cooking, like peeling the carrots and potatoes first before chopping them, not putting a finger in the soup pot to check the temperature, and so on. Martha even brought Trudge to the male bathroom to clean the toilets, so she left me in charge of the kitchen to check the soup and the fresh bread buns she was baking.

Soon, dinner was ready, so we set the table. Blister and Yusei helped out by unfolding a small table to connect it with the main table so everyone could sit and eat dinner. Slowly and surely, everyone gathered for dinner and we prayed briefly before starting to eat. The orphans sat closest to Martha who sat on her usual spot as the head of the orphanage. Miku and Julia sat next to me, which had been a request from Julia. Then it was Yusei, Leo, Luna, and Aki. Micchan, Takuya, Jun, Jack, Mina, and Blister sat on the other side. Trudge sat at the other head of the table.

Leo and Luna hesitated to take the first spoon of the soup because the dish looked very simple and the soup plates were chipped on the edge, which was a sign they had been used too many times. I assumed the twins always had luxurious dishes prepared at home, so they weren't used to poverty dishes. Leo gave in when his stomach growled, so he tasted the soup. When Luna saw how her brother's eyes widened in surprise and he didn't get sick by the soup, she tasted it herself.

"This is delicious, isn't it?" Jun commented happily.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Micchan nodded after he ate a piece of bread.

"The cool guy from Security made it for us!" Takuya said.

Everyone stopped eating and stared at Trudge in disbelief, except me and Martha. We kept eating calmly, but we grinned secretly to each other. The male officer stuttered modestly while the orphans thanked him for making the food.

Trudge calmed down and took a spoon of his soup, only to gulp down his whole glass of water. "It's too hot!"

The children laughed briefly before they continued eating quietly. It was nice to relax for a short time, but I knew the peace would soon turn around.

"Hey, kids", Yusei called around half-way through the dinner. "If we're able to win this next battle, Goodwin's gonna finish the bridge that connects Satellite to New Domino City." Everyone stopped eating again as they had their attention on him. "That bridge will bring people together. It'll signal the beginning of a new era where you guys can grow up to become anything."

A new gleam of hope was lightened in the orphans' eyes when they heard the good news.

"I sure hope you're right!" Takuya smiled excitedly.

"I want to be an amazing Duelist like Estelle!" Julia confessed as she smiled at me. "I want to become a dragon tamer like you!"

I smiled warmly as I patted her head, making her giggle. "I'm sure you'll become a strong Duelist, Julia. Stay close to your dream and it shall come true."

All of the sudden, my Mark started burning. I brought my arm back and saw the Star Mark glowing through the black sleeve. Next thing we all knew, a lightning bolt struck outside, right next to the window behind Martha. The window shattered into pieces by the force of the nature element. The glass shards flew everywhere in the dining room, so I quickly jumped to shield Julia and Miku with my body as the orphans screamed in fear.

"What was that?!" Yusei exclaimed behind me.

"Is everyone okay?" Martha called once the shards stopped flying in the air.

I raised my body to check the little girls. Both of them were scared and unharmed. I looked up when sinister laughter echoed from outside. Yusei ran past my seat to the broken window and pushed it open. I hurried to his side and spotted a hooded figure not so far from the house. Another lightning bolt struck the ground behind the figure as its shadow on the ground briefly revealed the shape of a spider.

"Who are you?!" Yusei shouted. "What do you want with us?"

A chilly wind blew by and caused the hood of the figure to fly off, revealing the face of Roman Goodwin.

"Sorry to interrupt your dinner", Roman said in a deep voice. "My name is Roman, and I bear the Mark of the Spider." He raised his right arm up to reveal said glowing Mark.

"The Mark of the Spider!" Yusei growled. "Just like in the vision we saw!"

"I heard that we had four Signers and one Priestess visiting", Roman said as he raised his left arm, revealing a black Duel Disk. "I thought I'll come and welcome you. Of course, we Dark Signers have only one way of saying hello."

"Bring it on, you scum!" Jack shouted as he approached me and Yusei.

"Now, hold on, Signer", Roman said calmly as he raised a hand to give the blonde man a stop sign. "I've come to personally give your Priestess the warmest reception we Dark Signers can offer."

I blinked my eyes in surprise. Was Roman saying he wanted to Duel me instead of Yusei? Well, I was the Dark Signers' worst fear and obstacle, so it wasn't that shocking they would try to get rid of me first before dealing with the Signers.

"I accept your challenge, Roman", I called, surprising everyone in the dining room.

"What?!" Yusei gaped in disbelief.

"You can't Duel a Dark Signer, Estelle", Aki spoke up nervously. "They want to get rid of you because you have the power to stop them."

"But if I have the power of creating miracles, then I might come back from the Duel without a single scratch", I retorted calmly as I walked past the group that had gathered at the other side of the room.

I went to the hallway and put my jacket on before grabbing my Duel Disk. I pulled my Deck out from my satchel and inserted it into the device. I was about to walk out of the house when someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face with Yusei.

"Are you sure you can do this, Estelle?" he asked with a concerned expression. "He has the Mark of the Spider, so he's obviously going to have lots of spider Monsters."

"Yes, that's true", I nodded, remembering my phobia for spiders. "But I might be able to face those spiders as long as they're not extremely ugly."

"Still, I'm going with you", Yusei said. "I know a better place where you and Roman can Duel. If Roman summons an Immortal here, everyone will get swallowed up."

"Okay", I nodded. "In return, can I borrow Turbo Booster?"

"Turbo Booster?"

"Yes, Rally's card. I have a feeling I might need it for this Duel."

I was trying to convince Yusei to let me borrow Rally's card for a reason. If Roman was going to use Rally in the last part of the Duel, just as in the anime, then maybe the little boy would try destroying Earthbound Immortal Uru to end the Shadow Duel.

Yusei hesitated for a second before he picked up one of his Decks from the leather Deck holders he had attached on his belt. He swiftly went through the Deck before he gave me the card of Turbo Booster. I accepted it and added the card to my Deck.

The others walked out of the dining room as Yusei turned to them. "Jack, you look after Martha and the kids. I'll go with Estelle."

Jack looked like he wanted to argue, but he gave in and nodded in reply. Yusei and I stepped out of the house where Roman was waiting. His dark smirk widened when he saw Yusei by my side.

"If you wanna Duel, Roman, follow us!" Yusei told him.

"Lead the way, Signer", Roman replied.

Yusei went to his Duel Runner to get his hybrid Duel Disk for just in case. He walked back to me just as Aki joined us. "I'm coming with you", she stated.

"Thank you, Aki", I gave her a small nod. "The more the merrier."

"Two Signers by the Priestess's side…", Roman chuckled. "We shall see if you can save the little star when she will drown in the darkness."

What did Roman mean by that? Was he talking about my "death"?

Wait.

Drown in the darkness…

My eyes widened in realization, getting a theory what that sentence actually meant.

Roman was going to try defeating me and use the power of the Earthbound Immortals to turn me into one of the Dark Signers!

Of course they didn't say anything about having a Dark Signer Priestess by their side, because I could end up becoming the Signers' enemy!