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I look around the spacious flat. "Where's Rua? I thought that after all his excitement he'd want to be here for a front row seat."

"He did, but I managed to convince him not to." Ruka walks to the couches in the living room and gestures for me to sit across from her.

"Did you buy him new cards? Candy?" I ask, laughing.

She shakes her head with a smile. "I just told him that you would want to concentrate in peace, and that watching us trying to figure out how your powers work wouldn't be any fun for him since he can't see spirits like we can."

Like we can…?

It surprises me how easily it rolls off her tongue. I thought that maybe she'd lost faith in me after the Kuribon fiasco. I thought everyone might have.

It's not like I want to see spirits, I'd be fine just seeing people. I'm fine with being normal. But after all this time, I guess I've gotten used to it. These spirits and visions and blackouts have become my new normal. And now that I may not be able to see them as I believed I could, the shock isn't wearing off. It's hitting me harder and harder.

…until I know all of this my mind will not quit…

I can't believe I said such a thing. I hadn't quite meant it in the way Carly took it—her optimism had lead her on a more positive path than where I was headed. In my fatigued stupor, I hadn't caught the mistake until getting a nap hours after. Although I'm relieved Carly took it as she did, what I really meant was that I probably wouldn't get much sleep until my questions have answers.

Take now, for instance. I wouldn't be sitting here with Ruka if I was satisfied being dazed and confused. Even if it turns out to be the tiniest of breakthroughs, I'd settle for it. For something, anything.

"You didn't bring Annie with you?" Ruka asks, glancing at my empty arms.

"No. She's pretty good at staying at Martha's until she randomly decides to follow me places."

"That's okay. We figured out that she can see duel spirits, anyway." The young girl smiles at me. "I figured it would be best to do it in here since we have room, but I have to get some things so I'll be back."

I nod and make myself comfortable in the plush couch. What is this thing made of? Angel feathers?

"Alright." I straighten up at the sound of her reentering the room. She lays what looks like a couple deck cases and a tin of cards on the coffee table between us. "Where should we start?"

I blink, then chuckle nervously. "To be honest, Ruka, I was hoping you'd know. I really don't have a clue what I'm doing."

She fidgets while looking to the floor. "I can't say I know much, either. I didn't have it explained to me by anyone so I know how you feel, Maria. I've wanted to have this talk with you for some time."

"Of course. Is there anything you wanted to talk about in specific?"

Ruka continues to shift in her seat, a guilty look tugging on her face. "I've wanted to approach you about your mark for a while now. Ever since meeting you—no, even before meeting you I knew you were like us."

"Like…us? You mean marked like you and the other Signers?"

She nods. "I didn't want to tell you at first because I didn't know how you'd react and I didn't want to scare you off since you had just met everyone. I was never that sure about it, either. Not until what happened in the forest. But I still couldn't talk to you about it because there never seemed to be a good time to."

I'm taken aback. She had thought about all this? She knew about me before all along?

"You're probably mad that I didn't tell you sooner," she mumbles. "I'm sorry."

"What!" My outburst causes her to jump a little. Suddenly I feel like I'm too far from her, like we aren't just sitting across the table from one another but across the universe. I join her on her couch. "I'm not mad! If anything, I'm grateful. You took all that into consideration, even my feelings—how could I not be?"

She was so young, and yet perceptive enough to notice these things. Considerate enough to not bring it up until we were alone.

I didn't want to tell the group about what was happening to me because it would mean worrying everyone or outing myself as a loon; Ruka didn't want to tell me she knew because she was afraid of my reaction to the idea. I can't be mad at someone who had willingly put themselves in the same boat of secrecy as me.

"But how did you know that I was something? Did the spirits tell you about me?"

"It was a couple things. Though, I can't really speak to spirits. Sometimes I can pick out things Kuribon says if the situation is right, but mostly it's a general emotion I pick up on."

"So it's empathy then? You can feel what they're feeling?"

"That's it, yeah. I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone, though." The smile she shoots me this time is akin to one of her brother's. "You're the first person I've met to have made contact with them."

I lean back and say tactlessly, "It doesn't seem they like me much."

"Those white spirits aren't good. But you are, Maria. I know it." She pauses, seemingly to decide what it is she wants to relay to me. "Those spirits you've been seeing aren't like normal duel spirits. In the forest, there where other duel spirits around and they were afraid of the ones that attacked you. Even my deck senses them from time to time. They're afraid, too."

So the spirits are what we need to be prepared for? But what about the 'three cursed ones' I remember the voice telling me about? Are they the same—three big, bad, rough-and-tough spirits that plan on wreaking havoc in New Domino?

"They sense you as well, Maria." Ruka picks one of the deck cases and holds it in the air. "Even if for a chance I did doubt you, the spirits in my deck know you're good and that you're on our side."

"Well, what are they saying? Or, er, feeling?"

Without a speck of hesitation, she replies: "They're happy. They're glad to see you."

My eyes widen. "Do you think I could…I could hold your deck?" Ruka unclips the flap and pulls the thick stack from inside, handing it to me. I can't keep my hands from shaking, and I can't discern if it's from trepidation or sheer excitement. "What are they feeling now?"

"It's the same," she begins slowly, eyes concentrated on my hands, "but stronger. Much stronger, as if you've amplified it."

I can't stop smiling. This was what I'd been hoping for—that teensy breakthrough I've been dreaming of. Whatever I am is good, Ruka's duel spirits could be there to back me up on it, and even better—they aren't afraid of me. They don't want to hurt me or deceive my mind.

"Here. I have an idea." I hand her the deck and as she sorts through it she tells me, "I was told once that in order to reach people, you have to have a bond."

"A bond?"

"Mm-hmm. A connection between you and others. It's through these bonds that you're able to understand how people feel and what they're going through." Before I can ask who she's quoting, she removes a card from the deck and shows it to me. "If that's true with people, surely it's the same with spirits."

"You think that a card could bond me to a spirit?"

"It's worth a shot. I'm able to see Kuribon because we've been together for so long. I don't need to be near my deck to see her, but it could be different for you seeing as you don't duel much."

I take the card from her and read the name. "Kuribon? This is Kuribon?"

"I thought we could give it another try." She quietly adds: "Unless you don't want to."

"No, no. That's not it!" I wave my hands at her. "I just remember this from somewhere. Though it looked a bit different. I'm not sure it had a tail."

"Kuribons are pretty common duel spirits and cards. They've been around since before I started dueling."

That wasn't what I meant. I remembered it from the dream I had when I passed out in the park. It was the duel monster that led me around town, and eventually to a heap of other duel monsters.

But I keep it to myself for now. The card is my focus, not a dream.

I stare at Kuribon's picture. Come on, Maria, you can do this. It can't be that hard. If Annie can do it, you can do it too. Just like I feared, nothing happens.

"Don't be discouraged, Maria." I glance at the girl across from me, easily spotting the determination in her eyes. "I believe in you. Everyone believes in you."

How did she know exactly what to say to me? Was she a telepath as well? No, you're just easier to read than you think. You're predictable.

I look at the duel card again. If other people can so easily believe in me, I should do my best to prove their beliefs aren't in vain. My friends believe in me. I can't let them down…

My forehead starts pulsing. It doesn't hurt much, more like a vibration. My ears fill with its noise.

"Maria…your mark is glowing," I hear Ruka's voice float from under the buzzing. I nod so she knows I heard but keep my eyes and mind concentrated on Kuribon.

I shut my eyes tight and put all my effort into my thoughts. Kuribon, I'm calling out to you. I hope you can hear me. Please answer. Please show your spirit to me.

"Maria…!" comes a garbled voice. I remind myself that it's Ruka and open my eyes.

I let out a gasp when my eyes meet Kuribon's card. It's glowing, the same gold light I remember from in the forest shining around its edges.

"Maria, look." Ruka shakes my arm and I follow her gaze upward. "Can you see Kuribon?"

The same brown fluff-ball from the card I was looking at seconds ago is hovering around us. It mews happily, tail swinging about with every movement.

"Oh my god," I whisper. "I can see it." As if Kuribon knows I'm referring to her, she flies around me in circles.

"Maria, you did it!" Ruka cheers, laughing in awe. "That was amazing!"

Kuribon steadies a bit, just enough to float before me in midair. I take a hand away from the card and slowly reach out. My forehead beats on, and as my fingers grow near Kuribon, my hand glows. I poke her gently with a single finger and feel her fur on my skin. Gradually, I rest my entire hand on Kuribon's head, petting her like I do Annie.

Kuribon makes a sound almost like a purr.

"Maria," Ruka says from my side, "can you touch Kuribon?"

I retract my hand immediately, now feeling as if I've done something wrong. "Aren't you able to?"

I don't know why I ask. The answer had made itself visible on Ruka's appalled expression.

"No, I can't. Not outside the Spirit World."

I peer down at my hand still holding the card; the glow is less than when I held it with two hands but it remains. Then I look at my empty hand, and see nothing but human skin. Glancing between Kuribon's spirit and her card, I let go of the latter.

The glowing fades out until it's no longer there. Kuribon is gone. My forehead settles down.

"How did you know how to do that?" Ruka asks, snapping me out of my trance.

"I…I didn't," I gasp. "I just thought about what you said—about everyone believing in me. And that I wanted Kuribon to answer my call."

"And touching Kuribon? What about that?"

"It was just instinct. Curiosity, too. I didn't do it knowing I would actually feel Kuribon between my fingers." I hold out my hands. Study the palms, each finger. I rub them against each other, though nothing happens. "Just what am I?"

"You're incredible," Ruka says under her breath. When I turn to her, she flushes pink. "It's just that I've never heard of that being done! Not outside the Spirit World!"

I laugh, causing her face to darken. "I guess it's a first for the both of us. But what's this 'Spirit World' you're talking about?"

"There's an entire world of duel spirits. Kuribons, fairies, magicians—all kinds of different duel monster spirits live there," she informs.

My jaw drops. "Is there really such a place?"

"Yep. I've been there myself. The head of all duel spirits, Ancient Fairy Dragon, is a friend of mine and also my Signer Dragon."

"I remember hearing about that. You all have dragons, don't you?" She nods. "Can I see its card?"

Ruka grasps her deck again. I hand her Kuribon's card and she sticks it in the pile. "I'm not sure if trying to get her to appear is a good idea, though."

"Why do you think that?"

"Since she looks over all other duel spirits, it's difficult to contact her directly. Kuribon tends to act as her messenger if she needs me." Ruka finally comes to the card she's been searching for and passes it to me.

"Ruka," I breathe out, "I've seen her too."

If the picture on Ancient Fairy Dragon's card is truly her, then this is the serpent I had seen along with the Kuribon in that dream. A turquoise body, wings like a fairy, and gold-plated armor around her head and body.

There was no way I could forget it. Ancient Fairy Dragon had been the one to wake me up, all with a single touch of a claw to my forehead.

"I saw her in a dream after that day in the park, a Kuribon too. Back then, I didn't think much of it because it was before the spirits and my blackouts started. I thought it was just a dream about the cards I saw Martha's kids playing with."

Ruka doesn't respond quickly. She takes time to make sense of the news, and yet it doesn't seem like she has to deliberate on her conclusion. The previous events have got her pretty convinced. "I think you went to the Spirit World, Maria."

"You really think so?" I lay Ancient Fairy Dragon on the table.

"Did it seem real? Like you were actually there?" I nod eagerly. "Then it's probably true."

"I remember it being a bit off, though. The duel monsters were blurry and mostly noiseless. Is that normally how it is?"

"No." Ruka looks concerned but releases the look to make way for a new thought. "Maybe it's because your mark hadn't appeared yet. Like you said, the white spirits and blackouts took place after that—which we know are related to your mark—so maybe not having your mark affected how things appeared to you."

It was a plausible theory. That day in the park was when Akiza said she got a glimpse of my mark, and now whenever it shows it stabilizes itself onto my forehead. It pulses, but like the steady rhythm of a drum; I assume that's how it's supposed to be.

"Do you think I could at least try to contact Ancient Fairy Dragon? She could remember me. She could tell me something about what I am, or what the white spirits want from us."

Perhaps it's selfish of me to want to keep going, but we're on a roll. I don't want to stop now that I've come so far from where I was just yesterday. I know I said a small crack in this brick wall of mysteries would do fine, but it wouldn't now that we've moved ahead of my standstill.

"We could try," Ruka agrees softly. "And I doubt Ancient Fairy Dragon would forget you. I don't think many humans are able to go to the Spirit World."

I pick up the duel card again, hold it firmly between two hands, and take in a large breath. "Here goes nothing."

I go through the same process—the thoughts of everyone putting faith in me; how I don't want to let them down; hope that I'll be heard and my call will be answered.

I want to see you again, Ancient Fairy Dragon. Show me your spirit. My hands light up to full power. My mark pulses. I close my eyes, focus harder. Let me reach you.

The buzzing comes in louder than before. I keep concentrating, but wince at its strength. I can't let my answers slip away when I'm so close to them.

No. I won't let them get away. I'd follow them into unconsciousness.

My eyes flick open. High above, much too far for an arm's reach, is a sky too picturesque to be real. Grass tickles my skin.

"I was wondering when I would see you again."

I raise myself on an elbow and gasp. Ancient Fairy Dragon looks clearer than I remember, more like the little picture on her duel card. Only the size of an actual dragon, not an inch by inch drawing.

It's just us two in an open field similar to the one I saw last time. As I stand on my feet I notice that it looks like it goes on forever, no bridges or village streets anywhere in sight.

I take a few steps back so I can at least look at her face. "Is this apart of the Spirit World?"

"No. The place we are in resides within my mind. It is a mind-world of sorts."

"Oh. That's interesting. How did I get here?"

"You too have a mind-world. And much like Ruka, yours is connected to duel monster spirits."

"So that's why they can sense me…"

"Your presence is stronger than it was the last time we interacted. I can sense it even in the Duel Spirit World. You are awakening quicker than I imagined."

Her voice is coming from nowhere, but it resonates all around, like when I had my first blackout. But Ancient Fairy Dragon's voice isn't the one I've been hearing, nor is she the mocking laugh. Her voice is foreign in every way, but a welcome change since I can match it to a face.

"What do you mean by awakening?"

"You are not where you should be. But you will be. Hopefully before things on the World of the Living grow worse."

"That's right. I came here to ask you about those things!"

"While I do have answers, I do not have as many as you would like. It is also not my place to inform you on such matters."

Yusei leans against the couch's arm rest, but refused to sit like everyone else in the twins' living room. He always prefers to stand so it may not look like anything out of the ordinary to the rest of his friends, but Yusei needed to be on his feet. In case something else developed, he could react and be by Maria's side within a few steps.

Luckily, nothing new has surfaced since the group's arrival. Maria hadn't moved an inch.

"How long has it been since she passed out?" asks Rua, his cheery demeanor set to a lesser level.

"About two hours," his sister answers with a sigh. Ruka looks at Maria's unconscious form from her spot on the floor. "I was afraid something like this would happen."

"What is happening exactly?" Crow asks next. "You said something about trying to see if Maria could see spirits, yeah?"

Since he was in the middle of deliveries he'd been the last of the gang to come, entering the flat just minutes ago. Ruka insisted on waiting until everyone arrived to announce what had conspired. When he walked through the door, Yusei was impressed at how calm the young girl was as she sat by Maria.

Apparently, because whatever happened wasn't life-threatening to their friend, there was no need for Ruka or anyone else to be in a panic.

The youngest Signer nods. "Maria can definitely see them, even touch them."

"What?!"

"I know. I'm just as shocked," Ruka smiles weakly. "All she needs to do is hold a duel card and concentrate."

"There's a 'but' coming isn't there?" says Jack. He makes no effort to hide his exasperation, but there isn't a need to. Yusei could tell his feelings are directed at the situation, not any particular person.

"This didn't happen when she saw Kuribon. Both her mark and hands glowed but she didn't fall unconscious." Ruka glances at the girl again, first at her pulsing birthmark then at her hands clenched around the last card they tried. "I think she sent herself to the Spirit World by accident."

"What should we do?" Akiza questions. "Do you know when she'll wake up?"

Ruka shakes her head. "There's no telling. Time seems a lot different in the Spirit World than here."

"Can't we just take the card away from her?" her older brother asks.

"It's not like she's in danger. The card is what's connecting her to Ancient Fairy Dragon so Maria's most likely with her. I don't know about you but I'd rather not know what were to happen if that connection was abruptly cut off."

"Then we'll just wait," Yusei says before a tense atmosphere has a chance to settle around everyone's shoulders. The Riding-duelist doesn't take his eyes away from the floor-to-ceiling windows, but he can make out his friends' startled expressions in the reflection. "We'll wait by her side and believe she'll come back to us."

I swallow as much of my irritation as possible. "Wha… What do you mean? Why can't you tell me?"

"I did not say I cannot, just that I am not able to answer all you have to ask. It would be in your best interest to contact Zephyrus about your curiosities."

"Zephyrus? Is that another duel spirit?"

"More than. He is who gave you your mark."

"Where is he? If I come back to your mind-world or to the Spirit World, will I be able to speak to him?"

"I am afraid that is not possible. Mind-worlds are singular to their owners unless two or more individuals share a strong enough bond. Zephyrus does not dwell in the Spirit World, either. He has been separate from us for centuries."

"What about a duel card? That's how we're talking right now. If he's a duel spirit he has to have one, right?"

"Zephyrus is older than even I and the other Signer Dragons. It is possible that he has a card, but doubtful. And even so, I would not know where it lies in the World of the Living."

I can't keep myself from yelling or feet from stomping this time. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"Maria. I will tell you again." Ancient Fairy Dragon slithers forth and lowers her head so that we're eye to eye. I immediately regret my actions and shrink under her reptilian gaze. "Zephyrus is who bore your mark upon you. Card or not, you are bonded to him as long as your mark remains. Just as Ruka shares a mind-world connection between I and the Spirit World, you and he share a connection."

"So I should be able to speak to him without a card?"

"Have you not already? I would think that with how much you've progressed you would at least have spoken with him before coming to me like this."

"I think…I think I have."

"Then do not fret. You will do so again."

A shimmer starts up at my side. I raise my arm, flabbergasted by the sudden burst of light. But it isn't like the vibrant glow my hands emit. No, I can see through my arm and now even my legs. I am beginning to fade.

"What's happening to me?"

"You are returning to yourself in the World of the Living."

"But I still have things to ask you!"

"Remember what I have said. Pursue the bond between you and Zephyrus. He will know what you seek."

"I don't know how! He always comes to me, not the other way around."

"You will figure it out. You would not have your mark if you could not walk its path."

I'm barely a torso at the moment, ribcage and under vanished into thin air. "My path? What do you mean?" Now it's collarbones and counting. "What am I?"

The buzzing returns as if it's been with me the whole time, its vibrations filling my head just as Ancient Fairy Dragon says her final words.

My first thoughts after waking up are about the hour. Could it really be so dark already? I was only with Ancient Fairy Dragon for a few minutes.

I rub a finger along my eyelids. When I sit up, something softly tumbles to the floor. I pick the card up and flip it over. The image sends a flurry of thoughts to my head. The conversation with Ruka. My newfound abilities. Seeing Kuribon. And lastly, visiting the mind-world of Ancient Fairy Dragon, the spirit of the card I hold between my fingertips.

Pushing off the thin blanket someone had placed over me, I swing my feet to the floor. I can't take my eyes off the card. I can remember everything Ancient Fairy Dragon shared with me. Instantly I wish we had discussed more, but her reminder rings in my head.

…Pursue the bond between you and Zephyrus. He will know what you seek…

Zephyrus was what caused my birthmark. Zephyrus was the voice. I would have to figure out how to see him if I wanted real answers.

I scrutinize the duel card even harder. Every detail stands out to me now that I've seen her up close and personal. I set the card on the table and stand in the middle of the room.

"Maria! You're awake!" Ruka says from beside the hallway. She places the tray in her arms on the table, dishware clinking from the hurried action. "Hold on. Let me get everyone." She disappears as swiftly as she'd come.

I pay her words no attention. Instead I glance around the room for a mirror. There, on the wall by the door. I trot to it, my footsteps meshing with the ones coming down the hall. I scrutinize the girl in my reflection.

"Thank God! We thought you were going to be unconscious all night," says Crow.

No. This isn't me.

"Can you tell us what happened?" questions Rua. "What did Ancient Fairy Dragon say?"

This isn't Maria Takanashi. Invisible girl. Plain Jane.

"Maria?"

Who are you? Who is this person?

I open my mouth—the teeth of a normal person. Poke at my cheek—the skin of a normal person. Tug a stray piece of hair—unruly but usual for a normal person like me. Like Maria Takanashi.

Who's eyes are these? Not Maria Takanashi's. Not ordinary, not plain. These aren't the eyes of a normal girl. There is nothing left in these eyes to tell there had been any sign of normal.

These eyes belong to Ancient Fairy Dragon. To Zephyrus. Possibly Annie.

A hand lands on my shoulder, firmly turning me to its owner. What about Yusei's eyes? Who do they belong to? The Crimson Dragon? His Signer Dragon?

"Maria," he says, his voice low and gentle. It's the first time I can keep his gaze with no trouble. It calms me down. It extinguishes my consternation in a heartbeat. It leaves me with only one thing swirling in my brain. "What's going on?"

"I'm…I'm both."

"Both of what, Maria?"

Like I was able to hear Ruka's voice through the noise of my mark, I could decipher the last thing Ancient Fairy Dragon said to me before returning to myself. All I can do now is hear it, run it backwards and forwards, vertically and horizontally. My mouth opens and closes, trying to word it so that they can understand. I find I can only put it how it had been told to me.

"Born of man and star, a being of both human and spirit. You are a Star Child."

Ta-tata-taaaa! Finally it has come to the light—Maria is a Star Child!

I put you guys through twenty-eighty chapters of mystery and uncertainty, and I'm sorry for that! But I did it simply because 1) who doesn't like a bit of mystery to spice things up? 2) I always wondered what it would be like if Goodwin wasn't there to tell the Signers everything and they had to be the ones to figure it out by themselves and 3) I needed things to start coming around in a full circle. These past few chapters have recounted things you probably don't even remember because they happened soooo long ago!

That said, I was afraid that after so long revealing what Maria is would be anticlimactic so I reaaaaally hope I delivered and surprised you all, or at least gave you something to put you on your toes. I'll be disappointed in myself as a writer if you guys tell me you expected this ^.^' But judging from the couple of reviews for last chapter (shoutouts to truesparks and The Dark Eco Sylph of Heart for reviewing!) it doesn't seem like you guys knew.

Even after all this there's still a lot to discover. I wanted the moment of finding out she's a Star Child to be the tip of the iceberg, and I'm glad it's become so. I've dropped some hints along the way as well, but they're probably so small you'd never notice them until knowing what it is they lead to and going back to reread chapters~!

If you have any questions feel free to ask! If I can't answer them it only means they're eventually going to come up in the story, but I would love to hear ideas from you guys ^.^

TTFN