This chapter might come as a surprise for you, but there is a reason why Black-Winged Dragon needs to make a much earlier appearance in the story than in the anime. The reason? That will be revealed in the next chapter.

And, since most of us know what happens in the very end, this is going to be a short chapter, but there will some hints about the upcoming chapters, so don't skip this.

The chapter begins in Crow's point of view.

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

Chapter 40: Keeping a Promise

It was a nice and slight chilly day in the middle of October. The air was fresh and filled my lungs with the scent of sea water as I drove to Satellite. Since it was chilly, I wore a dark brown leather jacket to keep me warm. A fresh bouquet of dark red amaryllises was tied on the back of my Duel Runner to make sure it wouldn't fly off. Some people would think I was on my way to meet someone special and that was kinda true. I was on my way to visit an old friend of mine who gave me an important purpose to live after the Enforcers split up.

I parked my Duel Runner before I took off the helmet and got off my bike. I put down the helmet and untied the bouquet before stepping into Satellite's cemetery. Last time I visited, the cemetery didn't look as proper as now; it used to be full of weeds and trash, but those who had precious people resting here made sure to keep the tombstones clean.

I quickly found the tombstone I was searching for and just stood there for a minute in silence.

Robert Pearson.

The adult who helped me become the young man I am today.

I crouched down and placed the bouquet of dark red amaryllises on the tombstone before straightening up. I would normally go with the cheapest bouquet of flowers I could get, but I had been visiting Aki's house earlier today for a photoshoot.

Yep, because Halloween was approaching, Aki's mother had the brilliant idea to design and make our Halloween costumes. In exchange, we had to do some modeling in the now finished costumes for a magazine that was going to be printed the week before the holiday. It was a little boring at first while waiting for my turn to model, but it was actually pretty fun.

When I told the others I was going to visit the cemetery, Aki asked who I was visiting. When I explained to her who I was going to see, she quickly prepared the bouquet of red amaryllises. She said she had been studying the language of flowers and told me that a dark red flower meant "I miss you" and red amaryllises meant "I respect you from the bottom of my heart".

"It's been a while, Pearson", I began speaking to the tomb. "Sorry I couldn't visit you sooner. It's been very hectic since the Daedalus Bridge got connected to Satellite." A very light chuckle passed through my lips before my smile dropped. "I wish you'd been able to witness it… But… What actually happened on that day three years ago?"

XXXXXXXXXX – FLASHBACK

I was running as fast as I could through the streets of the old Satellite. A huge pillar of smoke had caught my attention from where I was living in B.A.D., but I knew right away where the smoke came from.

My fear grew bigger as I approached Pearson's workshop. It was on fire and it was swallowing the whole building!

"Pearson!" I yelled as I rushed into the burning house.

I threw my arms up to shield my face from the fire as I looked around, trying to see if someone was inside and needed help. I found a lantern on the ground that got broken. Oil was spilled from the lantern, so that must have been the culprit of the big fire.

I snapped my head up when I heard a weak groan among the crackling fire. My eyes widened when I saw it was Pearson! His lower body was trapped underneath a beam that had fallen straight on him. He had his Duel Disk on his arm, so he must have been Dueling before the fire broke out.

"Pearson! Hang on, I'll save ya!" I called.

However, before I could run to him, burning debris was falling from the ceiling. I could also hear how the roof was slowly bending in, ready to collapse in any second.

"C-Crow… Is it you…?" Pearson's weak voice called.

"Pearson! What happened here?!" I asked worriedly as I tried to reach him.

I gaped in shock as wood fell on top of Pearson, almost burying him alive. I had to move fast so I could save him.

"I-It has nothing to do with you…", Pearson grunted in pain. "It's my…personal problem." He moved his arms among the debris on him before he removed his Duel Disk. "Crow… Take my Blackbird…"

He threw the Duel Disk to me, which I caught, but stared at the adult in shock. "The Blackbird?"

The Blackbird was his personal Duel Runner he had built from scratch to represent the Deck he had been using for a long time.

"Take care of the kids for me…", Pearson told me with a weak but serious voice before he lost consciousness.

"Pearson?!" I called desperately.

The burning wood was now raining over me like a light shower, so my instincts took over. I rushed to the Blackbird and connected the Duel Disk to it, starting it up. Just before the roof collapsed, I pushed the gas and flew out of the workshop before it was gobbled by the flames. Since I had never driven a Duel Runner before, I didn't land gracefully with it. I ended up getting thrown off of it and rolled down the hill before I came to a halt next to the Runner. My body was sore and I had burn marks, but I was alive. I looked over my shoulder and watched the fire that danced like the Devil himself before devouring the workshop. Tears accumulated in my eyes before frustration and sadness took over my senses and I screamed to the dark night sky at the top of my lungs.

XXXXXXXXXX – END OF FLASHBACK

The children that used to visit and work in Pearson's workshop were devastated when I told them what happened. Bolger, Pearson's friend who used to run to workshop with him, was sad to lose his old friend. After the incident, I made sure to keep Pearson's promise and I took in the orphans and treated them as if they were my brothers and sisters. A few of them left, but some of them stayed since I could provide them with food and good stuff. Three years later, I only had Ginga, Taiga, Daichi, Kokoro, and Hikari left, but they were now living in Martha's house, so they were in a safe home where they could smile and laugh and be children instead of fighting for survival like Jack, Yusei, and I did when we left our foster mother's home after we became teenagers.

Bolger and I lost contact, but I heard rumors he went to New Domino City and made a huge career. I was glad for his sake, but I couldn't help but feel like he had moved on and forgot about Pearson.

"I've got a lot to thank you for, Pearson", I spoke up again after I had gone through my memories. "I've been taking good care of both your Blackbird and Blackwing Deck. If it weren't for them, I'd never been able to help Yusei and my friends from stopping an evil power that wanted to destroy our world. I promise I'll keep looking after the kids and do my best in life at the same time. Yusei, Jack, and I are thinking about participating in the World Racing Grand Prix next year. I hope you'll cheer for us."

I stayed by the tomb for a while before it was time for me to leave. I walked back to my Duel Runner and climbed onto it. I put on my helmet and started the engine. However, I got a warning on the display of the dashboard as the engine shut down.

I let out a sigh. The Blackbird had been acting weird lately. I was pretty sure Yusei was trying something on my Runner without my permission, due to the preparations for the World Racing Grand Prix. I tried starting the engine again and this time it purred nicely, just the sound I loved to hear.

"There we go", I smiled lightly before throwing one last look at the cemetery. "I'll see you later, Pearson."

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

I was typing on my computer at Sector Security while keeping my concentration on each word that appeared on the screen. The last few months had been hectic and loaded of work when old cases were opened after Satellite got connected to New Domino City. It was mostly to give the victims and relatives closure after being in agony for such a long time, especially when it came to murder cases.

Trudge had also been promoted to a commissioner, so he was now mainly working in the same office and section as Mina, very much to his delight, but he could still be asked to go on patrols with the aspirants coming fresh and straight from the Domino Police Academy.

I got a request from Goodwin to start making preparations for his 50th birthday in November. Since it was going to be quite a big party and he wanted to invite every employee of Sector Security, I had been hunting for a grand and five-star hotel that could host the party. I had been working on this for a long time without a break, except when I went to eat lunch.

I was so into work that I didn't notice Mina and Trudge were standing in front of my desk until the man cleared his throat. I snapped out of my trance and blinked my tired eyes before finally looking up.

"Oh… Mina and Trudge", I greeted them, feeling a bit light-headed after the long work, before moving my glasses to rub my eyes. "What is it?"

"We're about to visit Crow and ask him a few questions about an old case", Mina replied. "If you're going to visit the garage, we can give you a ride."

"Wait, what?" I said confusedly. "Don't I still need to work…?" I glanced down on my smartphone and realized I had been working one hour overtime. "Oops…"

"Don't tell me you lost track of time?" Trudge asked concernedly.

"Umm… Yes", I confessed sheepishly. "When I fall into a trance with something that catches my attention, I have a hard time stopping myself from keep doing more. This happens a lot to me."

"Are you sure you feel well enough to join us?" Mina questioned while having a mother's worried expression.

"Yeah, I just need time to collect my thoughts after I was brought out from the trance", I said as I saved the files where I've written down lists of things needed to do and shut down the computer. "I also have some questions to ask Yusei about Turbo Duels, since I'm working on getting my license."

"Yusei, huh…?" Trudge mumbled, but I sensed a hint of teasing in his voice.

"He's a good friend and teacher", I responded fast as I packed my briefcase, trying to keep my blush under control. "He takes his time with me when I get stuck by a question and he doesn't get irritated when I ask the same thing multiple times until I finally get it."

"I'm glad to hear that", Mina said before we walked together to the elevators. "I'm sure you'll ace the final exam and receive your Duel Runner license."

"I hope so…", I mumbled nervously before calming down. "By the way, what is it you want to ask Crow about?

XXXXXXXXXX – Crow's POV

I was walking back to the garage after buying groceries. We were running low on supplies and it was my turn to cook dinner. Yusei and I were the only ones who could cook a decent meal. Last time we allowed Jack to be in the kitchen, he almost burned the house down while trying to cook some bacon. We got a huge earful from Zora after that accident and the scent of smoked bacon was still lingering in the air. Seriously, how hard is it to cook bacon?

I opened the twin door to the garage and looked down to see Yusei was working on my Duel Runner again! "Hey, Yusei!" I dropped the bags with groceries and rushed down to protect my baby. "What are you trying to do with my Runner this time?!"

"Crow… I wanted to adjust a program, but I received a strange error instead", Yusei explained, but he caught my curiosity.

"What strange error?" I asked as I looked at the laptop that was hooked to my Duel Runner.

The blueprint of my Runner was on display and Yusei pointed at part somewhere in the middle of it, around where the seat and dashboard were. "It's around here, but no matter what I do, I can't access it any further."

I sighed in relief, glad to hear he wasn't doing anything weird to the Blackbird. "Just be careful and try not to break it, okay? If I don't have the Blackbird, I can't do my work."

"Don't worry, Crow. I won't do too much", Yusei assured me.

I walked back to the twin door to shut them close and picked up the grocery bags. "How long do you think it'll take to figure out that error?"

"It could take a few hours or even a few days."

My jaw dropped in shock. A few days?! But what about work? I couldn't deliver stuff to the other side of the city or to Satellite on my feet! I wasn't Sonic the Hedgehog on speed dial!

"Hi, guys", Estelle's voice called.

The gate of the garage was open, so Estelle, Mina, and Trudge stepped in, all three of them looking concerned.

"Oh, hiya, fellas", I nodded as I headed towards the stairs to the kitchen.

"Got a minute, Crow?" Trudge suddenly asked.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to the trio. "Uh… Yeah, sure. Just let me put these away and I'll see you outside."

I quickly put away the groceries before I joined them outside of the garage. Mina and Estelle sat on a bench while Trudge leant against the railing.

"So what do you want?" I asked.

"The truth is, it's about Robert Pearson", Trudge began.

My eyes widened in surprise. "Pearson?! How do you know about him?"

"Did you think I didn't know? My jurisdiction was in Satellite, you know", Trudge replied.

"But… Why now?" I questioned.

"We have something we want to ask you regarding Pearson's death", Mina spoke up.

"And what is that?" I wondered.

"As the old reports said, we quickly realized Pearson was Dueling somebody before the fire broke out", Estelle explained. "And we were also able to find out which card his opponent was using."

I remembered clearly that Pearson had his Duel Disk on him, so that speculation was finally confirmed.

Mina stood up and walked over to me while pulling out a photo from her jacket. "This is the card."

She gave me the photo so I could take a closer look. The photo was of a Synchro Monster I had never heard about. It looked like a wizard, but it had a slight disfigured face and dressed in a long black coat without legs, a red and black cape tied with a big red ribbon on the front, and a tall black hat. It was holding a wand in its left hand, looking ready to cast a curse.

Blood Mefist…

Just by a single glance at it made me feel a bit nauseous, as if the Monster was mocking me.

"We're looking for the person who used that. Do you know who could've used it?" Trudge asked.

"Sorry, but I've never seen this card before", I shook my head.

"I see…", Trudge scratched the back of his head in defeat.

"This happened a long time ago, but there was a time when cards with new effects were being researched", Mina explained. "Among them, there were some dangerous cards that inflicted actual damage to the Duelists."

"Real damage?" I mumbled in disbelief.

"It didn't matter if the Duelists who used those cards were psychics or not", Estelle shook her head. "Anyone could use them to harm others."

"Of course, the research was stopped immediately", Mina added. "However, during the research, a few of the cards were lost and Blood Mefist is one of them."

Anger was boiling inside me after I heard all of this. "So that means Pearson got hurt by this card's effect damage?"

What if the Duelist who played Blood Mefist used the Monster to hurt Pearson and the power was so strong it pushed him back and somehow broke the lantern that caused the fire? But who would want to hurt Pearson? He did have several enemies after beating them in Duels, but they never tried to approach him again.

"In any case, those cards are, luckily, few in number", Trudge spoke up. "If we can track down the owner of Blood Mefist, we can find Pearson's killer as well. We thought that you might know something."

I stared at the photo for a few seconds, trying to move the rusty gears in my head. "I don't know about this card…" My eyes widened in realization. "But I think I know someone who can help out with the investigation. Can I keep this photo?"

"Of course, Crow", Mina nodded. "Let us know if you find more clues about Pearson's killer."

"Sector Security's been busy with old cases in Satellite since the construction of the Daedalus Bridge, so we've reopened the investigations to give the victims justice and closure they need", Trudge explained.

"That's great to hear", I nodded, feeling happy there had been huge changes since Satellite got connected to New Domino City.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later that day, I took Jack's Duel Runner to visit Bolger, since Yusei was still working on my Runner. Bolger had now his own company that was called "Bolger & Company", so he got very successful. They were even saying the company was going to be one of the sponsors for the World Racing Grand Prix.

At first, I was close to be thrown out from the building by the guards, but Bolger appeared just in time to save my skin. We talked in his luxury condo that was the top floor of the company building. When I told him about the new reports of Pearson's death and showed him the picture of Blood Mefist, his body grew rigid. After that, he tried to change the topic by asking me if I wanted to test-drive a new course for Duel Runners. I got very upset when Bolger tried to make me forget about Pearson and not bother about chasing after his killer.

After some convincing and me almost leaving the place, Bolger agreed to tell me the truth, but there were a few conditions. First, I had to defeat him in a Turbo Duel. Second, if I lost, I had to give him Pearson's trump card; Black-Winged Dragon.

I didn't have Black-Winged Dragon in my Deck, so I assumed it got burned along with Pearson, but Bolger insisted that I was hiding it somewhere and he needed it to save his company. He confessed the business was running low on money and he needed the Synchro Monster card to sell it to an investor or else he would have to fire every employee and the company would go down.

When I left the company, I was very conflicted of what Bolger told me. He said Pearson had the desire to complete his Satellite Duel Runner, and so Bolger had been trying to fulfill that dream with "Bolger & Company".

I had always thought Pearson had cared more about the children he took in as apprentices to teach them about mechanics and how to build Duel Runners. In my memories, he was very gentle and patient with them. He worked to allow children to realize their full potential. He also gave me the hope to live again. I enjoyed helping Pearson's research to build a Duel Runner made of parts from Satellite that would shock people in the city.

I didn't know if I should accept the Turbo Duel challenge or not, so I asked Bolger to let me think about it for a few days before giving him an answer.

XXXXXXXXXX – Estelle's POV

It was early evening while I was in my bedroom, dressed in my eastern outfit, minus the coat, and working on the birthday plans for Goodwin's party. There was a lot to think about; grand hotel, decorations, food, drinks, invitations, and more.

My head felt a bit heavy because my mind was traveling to one place to another. I was worried about Crow and the Pearson case that came up a few days ago, but I was also questioning it at the same time. This part was supposed to happen several months later, not now. Was there a reason why this was happening much sooner?

I groaned, feeling the thread of concentration snap. I placed the pencil down on the desk and leant against the chair to give my mind a rest. I needed to do something to relax and not focus on anything.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. "Come in."

I turned around as Hilda stepped into the room. "Ms. Estelle, Mr. Yusei is here to see you", Hilda informed me. "He's waiting for you in the living room."

Yusei? What was he doing here? I checked my smartphone to see if I had missed a message from him, but nothing.

"Thank you, Hilda", I nodded as I got up from the chair.

I walked to the living room and found the Signer on the couch. He snapped his head up when he saw me walk towards him. "Estelle."

"Hi, Yusei. I didn't expect such a late visit", I said with a tiny smile before I sat down next to him.

"Yeah, sorry about that", Yusei said with a small chuckle.

"It's okay", I shook my head. "So what's the matter?"

"It's about Crow", Yusei told me.

I knew straight away where this was heading, but I didn't say a word. "Is something wrong with him?"

"No, it's not that. He visited Pearson's old friend, Bolger, to ask him about his killer and Blood Mefist. It seems Bolger knows something, so Crow agreed to Duel him this weekend to get the answers. However, if Crow lose, he must give Bolger the card of Black-Winged Dragon to save the company."

"That sounds…complicated", I replied.

Yusei looked at me with eyes that clearly said he knew I was hiding something. "There's more to the story, is it?"

I sighed in defeat before nodding. "Yes, but I can't tell you."

Yusei didn't push on that matter, but he noticed my tired expression. "You okay? You look very tired."

"I've been busy with work lately", I replied as I rubbed my right eye underneath my glasses. "I'm making process, but I'm not done yet."

"Just don't overwork yourself", Yusei said before he placed a hand on my right shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "I noticed you looked tired last time you came to the garage to talk about Turbo Duels. If you need a break, just say so. I won't get mad."

"Thank you, Yusei…", I smiled softly while feeling my cheeks getting a bit warm.

I was about to stand up from the couch when I suddenly felt a harsh pain in my right arm. It was so strong I had to grit my teeth to not yelp in pain as I clutched my arm while it turned numb.

"Estelle? What's wrong?" Yusei asked worriedly.

"I… I don't know…", I grunted as I held my right arm. "I suddenly felt quite a powerful pain in my arm…"

Next thing I knew, the pain vanished just as fast as it had appeared. I blinked confusedly at it as I removed my hand from the arm. "Now it's gone." I moved my arm around to make sure the pain was really gone.

"Has this happened before?" Yusei asked.

"Never", I shook my head as I looked at my Star Mark. "But the pain came from my Mark."

I didn't know why, but I got a very bad feeling. My Mark didn't glow when the pain came and went. A voice in my mind told me something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what.

XXXXXXXXXX – Crow's POV

I got the biggest shock of my life when I Turbo Dueled Bolger and found out he had Blood Mefist and he was the one responsible for Pearson's death. He told me he stole the research from Pearson after he rejected some big-shot guys from the city who wanted to help with an investment for the Satellite Duel Runner. One thing led to another and Bolger used Blood Mefist to prevent Pearson from stopping him, except it ended up horribly bad.

I almost lost hope when I thought I couldn't defeat Blood Mefist when the kids I used to look after showed up with Estelle, Aki, Leo, and Luna. They all cheered for me and told me not to give up. It was then I remembered the promise I made with Pearson just before he passed away; it was to look after the children. His passion was to take care of children, give them a purpose in life and help them realize their potential. My passion to protect the children and carry Pearson's true will caused my Duel Runner to open a hidden compartment where Pearson had kept Black-Winged Dragon the whole time. My Mark of the Dragon responded to Black-Winged Dragon when I Synchro summoned it, so I quickly connected the dots.

Black-Winged Dragon was the fifth Signer Dragon and my partner!

I managed to defeat Bolger while telling him why Pearson refused the offer from the city. He had prioritized the children before anything else and wanted them to learn to achieve things without any help while completing the Satellite Duel Runner at the same time. The truth got to Bolger and he felt ashamed of his mistake and greed for money. I was relieved he finally understood Pearson's reasons for rejecting the offer.

Bolger ended up turning himself in to Sector Security a few hours after the Turbo Duel. While it was true his company was close to bankruptcy, Goodwin offered to help out as an investor while Bolger was serving time. The next day, Bolger's assistant, Rick, called me and said his boss had left an order to help me, Yusei, and Jack to provide us with financial backing and technical support for the World Racing Grand Prix in the near future, meaning we got a sponsor.

This had been an emotional ride for me as I, once again, promised in front of Pearson's tomb to keep carrying on his will and take care of the children with Black-Winged Dragon.