"So, you're gonna be staying at Miguel's place for the next while?" I ask as I boil the kettle. Kenta stayed over at my place again, after disappearing to Miguel's apartment the last few days.

"Something like that," Kenta's eyes widen slightly as he rubs the back of his neck, "Until I get back on my feet at least."

"And he's letting you?"

"He insisted," I swear Kenta's face flushes slightly when I raise an eyebrow. "That sounds umm… He suggested it, I mean."

"He must be pretty keen on you too." I chuckle.

"I think so. His friends act weird when I walk in with him."

"Oh definitely keen." Kenta covers his face in embarrassment.

"Shut up."

"It's true though." The kettle finishes boiling, so I turn to pour out the water. I steal one of Kaoru's teabags for Kenta. Not that he'd notice anyway. Kasumi says that he only comes home to sleep nowadays, and it's not even every night.

"Yuuka!" I hear Kasumi shout as she opens the front door. "Look what I have!" I hear something thud on the floor and a bell jingle. She comes into the kitchen holding a cat that is more fluff than anything else. "I got this precious thing from the shelter." I inhale deeply through my nostrils and stretch my arms out, making a grabbing gesture. Kasumi laughs, handing me the giant fluffball. "Oh hi Kenta! How are you doing?" She turns to Kenta as the cat, reluctantly, is passed into my arms.

"I'm doing better. You look really happy." Kenta stands up to finish making our drinks, pouring out another for Kasumi.

"Of course I am. I have this little cutie." The cat starts squirming in my arms as I pet her soft orange fur. I notice there's a notch missing from her ear with a scar just above her eye. "I don't know what we should call her though, the people at the shelter didn't have a name for her."

"Mrs. Whiskers." I say.

"What?" Kasumi and Kenta both turn to me.

"I used to feed this cat. She disappeared a while ago, so the shelter must have picked her up. I called her Mrs. Whiskers."

"I like that name." Kasumi smiles as she pets our cat. My phone starts ringing on the counter, causing Mrs. Whiskers to jump out of my arms.

"Hello." I answer, stepping out of the kitchen.

"Yuuka," Yusei starts, "Jaeger is going to tell us everything he knows about Yliaster."

"Now?" I groan. "I just got a cat, I don't need this right now."

"Yuuka." He sounds tired.

"Okay, I'll send you pictures of the cat." Silence. "Fine, I'm on my way over."

By the time I actually get my shit together, Jaeger has already finished talking. Apparently, he knows even less than us about Yliaster. Jaeger is bringing us to a database that holds the name of a company involved with the three Directors, meaning Yliaster. This, inevitably, makes me confused when we pull up outside of an arcade. Everyone just kinda looks at each other as Jaeger leads us to a duel terminal with a Riding Duel setup.

"The database is here?" Jack asks.

"Only a handful of people know that it's here." Jaeger laughs.

"No matter how you look at it, it looks like an arcade machine." Rua raises an eyebrow at Jaeger.

"Right? No one would expect a computer terminal to access the Public Maintenance Department's database would be located here. Even if someone was following me, I can safely extract the data." Jaeger jumps into the seat of the fake D-Wheel and types in a password. "Here we go." Cup Ramen Man appears on the screen before a duel puzzle loads up.

"This looks like the endgame of a duel." Yusei comments.

"Instead of a password, it's a Riding Duel endgame." Jaeger explains. "Since I developed it, I'll solve it easily." This is starting to look very familiar.

"Get ready. Duel start!" The computer generated voice drones.

"There are two questions total." Jaeger starts. "I get three chances to answer. In other words, if I make three mistakes, the PC will be locked. I have 1000 life points. The opponent has 1800 life points. We both have 4 Speed Counters. Cup Meatball Cayenne with 1600 attack points is on the opponent's field. Jester Lord with 0 attack points is on my field. There is one trap on my field, and there are two cards in my hand."

"A monster with 0 attack points... The key to this duel is increasing its attack points." Jack hums.

"Exactly. When there are no other monsters on my field, Jester Lord gains 1000 attack points for every Spell and Trap card on both of our fields. Therefore, I should do this. I set Speed Spell - Speed Energy. Then, I activate my trap, Raigeki Break!" Jaeger declares. "By discarding one card in my hand, one card on the field is destroyed. I send Jester Confit in my hand to the graveyard to destroy Cup Meatball Cayenne!"

"However, when Cup Meatball Cayenne is destroyed, all cards in your hand are also destroyed!" The voice of Cup Ramen Man explains.

"That won't work on me. There are no cards in my hand. There's one spell card on the field. Therefore, Jester Lord gains 1000 attack points. Jester Lord, attack him directly!" Jaeger's attack leaves the bot with 800 life points.

"Too bad. I have 800 life points remaining. In a Riding Duel endgame, you have to win in one turn! You failed!" The sprite of Cup Ramen Man on the screen makes an x-shape with his arms.

"What are you doing?" Jack's eyebrows furrow.

"Didn't you create this puzzle?" Crow squints slightly at Jaeger.

"Actually, I had my subordinates create the puzzles." Jaeger waves off their comments.

"This isn't a standing duel. You need to use Riding Duel strategy." Yusei sighs.

"I see." Jaeger nods slightly.

"Sheesh, I'll take care of it." Crow groans, stepping forward.

"Wait. Let me do it." Aki places a hand on Crow's arm.

"Aki…" He mutters, glancing down at her hand.

"I did plenty of riding practice. I want to help." She smiles, only looking at Crow.

"Alright, we're counting on you!" Her face lights up at Crow's words.

"Do your best!" Ruka cheers.

"Get ready. Duel start!" The computer drones once again.

"I activate Speed World 2's effect. By removing 4 Speed Counters, you take 800 points of damage for every Speed Spell in my hand." Aki declares.

"Alright! He only has 1000 life points remaining!" Crow grins. "That means…"

"I set Speed Spell - Speed Energy. Then, I activate my trap, Raigeki Break! Due to Raigeki Break's effect, I send Jester Confit in my hand to the graveyard to destroy Cup Meatball Cayenne!

"Cup Meatball Cayenne's monster effect activates!" The voice of Cup Ramen Man interrupts.

"But there are no cards in my hand. There is one spell card on the field. Jester Lord's attack points increase by 1000(ATK:0-1000). I attack you directly!" Aki's attack leaves the bot with exactly 0 life points.

"You win!" The automatically generated voice says.

"You did it!" Rua cheers as Aki sighs in relief.

"I see. You must first use your Speed Counters to take 800 life points away from your opponent. That was the key." Jaeger says as it clicks in his head.

"You're one to talk!" Jack shoots back.

"That was a great Riding Duel!" Crow gives Aki a fistbump. "Your skills have improved." They smile at each other. I swear Aki's face flushes just the tiniest bit.

"It's too early to celebrate. The second puzzle." Sherry interrupts the nice moment, turning back to the screen.

"If we solve this, we unlock the password!" Jack jumps into the seat. "Leave it to me!" I feel my eyes roll back into my head. We're going to waste an attempt here, I can feel it.

"Duel start!"

"I have 300 life points and 10 Speed Counters." Jack reads out the data on the screen directly in front of him. "The opponent has 4000 life points and 10 Speed Counters. The opponent has three monsters on his field(ATK:600/1400/1600). Jester Queen has been added to my field(ATK:800). When there are no other monsters on my field, Jester Queen can attack for every card in my Spell and Trap Card Zone. I have two set cards. And there are four cards in my hand."

"Can you handle this?" Crow's clearly having the same doubts as me. "When Cup Ramen Lard is destroyed, all your monsters are also destroyed. When Cup Udon Uno is destroyed, all cards in your Spell and Trap Card Zone are also destroyed. If you include Cup Meatball Cayenne's effect, this will be difficult."

"I don't care about details! I have 10 Speed Counters! I'll use them, of course!" Jack pumps his fist in response. "I'll show you Jack Atlas's overwhelming power! I activate Speed World 2's effect! By removing 4 Speed Counters, you take 800 points of damage for every Speed Spell in my hand! I have two Speed Spells in my hand, so you take 1600 points of damage!" Cup Ramen Man stands at 2400 life points. "I now have 6 Speed Counters! I activate Speed World 2's effect again! You take an additional 1600 points of damage!" Meaning that he now has 800.

"He instantly dealt 3200 points of damage!" Yusei exclaims.

"As always, he's focusing on power." Crow sighs.

"I'm not done! I activate Speed Spell - Speed Energy from my hand!" Jack declares. "When I have two or more Speed Counters, one of my monster's attack points increases by the number of Speed Counters multiplied by 200 points! Jester Queen's attack points increase by 400 points(ATK:800-1200). Then, I set two cards in my hand and activate the Speed Spell - High Speed Crash! When I have two or more Speed Counters, one card on each of our fields are destroyed! I destroy Jester Lord and Cup Meatball Cayenne!"

"Cup Meatball Cayenne's monster effect activates! Taste this!"

"But there are no cards in my hand! Next, I activate Jester Queen's monster effect! There are four cards in my Spell and Trap Card Zone. Jester Queen can attack four times! Jester Queen attack Cup Ramen Lard!"

"Wait, Jack!" Yusei tries to interrupt him.

"What is it, Yusei?" Jack turns as his fingers graze the button.

"That monster's effect is…" Yusei glances at the screen, and seeing that the attack went through, stops.

"When Cup Ramen Lard is destroyed, all monsters on your field are destroyed!"

"What?" Jack exclaims.

"You have no monsters! Therefore, you fail!" Jack shrieks as the duel ends, restarting.

"You idiot! Didn't we tell you? And even if you could attack four times, Cup Udon Uno had more attack points than Jester Queen!" Crow raises his voice at Jack. I look to Yusei, who seems to be dreading this as much as I am.

"I was just testing a strategy! I was able to lower his life points to 200!" Jack shoots back.

"There's no point if it's not 0!" They start moving closer together.

"C'mon now, you both need to calm down." Luckily, Jaeger interrupts them before they start properly fighting.

"Whose fault do you think this is?" They scream at Jaeger in unison.

"We only have one chance left." Sherry says, bring their attention to the task at hand.

"Virtual battles don't suit me!" Jack huffs.

"Excuses, excuses." I say. "Actually, I think the way you used Speed World 2 was right." Then it hits me. "I think I got it."

"What do you mean?" Jack asks as I approach the terminal.

"The trick here is the timing."

"Timing?" Bruno echoes.

"Duel start!"

"I activate Speed World 2's effect!" I declare. "By removing 4 Speed Counters, you take 800 points of damage for every Speed Spell in my hand! I have two Speed Spells in my hand. Therefore, you take 1600 points of damage." This leaves the bot with 2400 life points.

"Good! If you do that again, he'll only have 800 life points left!" Jack exclaims.

"But that will be the same as last time." I hear the scepticism in Rua's voice.

"That's right, everyone usually wants to deal as much damage as possible at the start. However, I'll activate Speed Spell - Speed Energy from my hand!" I say. "Due to Speed Energy's effect, Jester Queen's attack points increase by the number of Speed Counters multiplied by 200 points(ATK:800-2000)! Then, I activate Speed World 2's effect! I have one Speed Spell in my hand. By removing 4 Speed Counters, you take 800 points of damage!" I get the bot down to 1600 life points.

"Why? You could've dealt 3200 points of damage!" Jack makes a big gesture with his arms.

"It's true that she dealt half the damage for 800 points." Aki comments.

"But in exchange, she increased Jester Queen's attack points." Crow finishes.

"I activate Speed Spell - High Speed Crash from my hand. I destroy Jester Lord and Cup Udon Uno!" I declare.

"When Cup Udon Uno is destroyed, all cards in your Spell and Trap Zone are destroyed!"

"Why Cup Udon Uno?" Aki questions. "Without any set cards, he can't use Jester Queen's effect."

"But Yuuka still has…" Bruno trails off.

"That's right. I set the trap cards Discord and Imperial Custom that are in my hand. Now Jester Queen can attack twice. That's all I need. Jester Queen, attack Cup Meatball Cayenne!" I leave the bot with 1200 life points.

"Cup Meatball Cayenne's effect!"

"I have no cards in my hand! Go, Jester Queen! Destroy Cup Ramen Lard!" I flash a peace sign as the bot's life points hit 0.

"You win!" The computer spits out.

"Well done, Yuuka!" Jack cheers.

"I didn't win all by myself. Jack and Aki, you helped." Aki shakes her head, smiling, while Jack just looks done with me. I get out of the seat of the D-Wheel to let Jaeger get the data.

"What about me?" Jaeger tries to chip in.

"Hurry up and get the data!" Sherry puts her hand on Jaeger's shoulder.

"Oh yeah." Jaeger smiles nervously, fearing for his life. "I'll access the external call records." Binary numbers fill the screen as we wait. "This is it. The person who called the three Directors was…" A logo pops up on the screen.

"What's this?" Sherry asks.

"Moment Express Development Organisation." Yusei answers.

"Stay still." I sigh, covering Yusei's mark with concealer.

"Where did you get concealer this dark?" He asks before flinching as I move near his eye.

"Emiko."

"Makes sense." Rick, the new president of Bolger & Company, kindly lets us borrow uniforms to infiltrate that company Yliaster is involved with. Yusei and I are covering our marks so we don't get recognised. Besides, the marks would draw attention that we don't need. For an extra layer of protection, I'm also using the wig that I used during the Fortune Cup. Once I put it on, Yusei had a moment of enlightenment, saying that he knew it was that day.

"Okay, that should be good enough." I step back, letting Yusei stand up off the couch.

"Quite impressive." Bruno comments.

"Easily done, I'm just too lazy."

"We should get moving." Sherry comes into the garage, dressing in a blue jumpsuit, matching mine, with the signature Bolger & Company jacket and cap. We all nod, moving to our D-Wheels.

"We'll find clues on Yliaster here." Yusei whispers as we enter Moment Express after a relatively quiet ride over.

"Yes, and also on who killed my father." Sherry responds. We walk silently through the lobby of the building. A sinking feeling comes into my stomach. Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it.

"Are you from Bolger & Company?" We turn around to see a tall blond man in a grey suit. His eyes trail over all of us, landing on Yusei. "I was waiting for you, Mister…"

"Daniel." Yusei answers with his undercover name.

"Timothy." Bruno says, next to him.

"Eva." Sherry responds curtly.

"Alexis." I blurt out.

"I'm Clark, the person in charge," The man introduces himself. "It's sad what happened to Mr. Bolger. However, your company still has many friends. It proves that he always worked hard in building D-Wheels."

"Thank you for those kind words." Bruno bows slightly.

"Have we met before?" Sherry's tone doesn't make it seem like a question.

"No, I don't think so." Clark's face turns slightly, which makes me think he's lying. I believe we're on the right track to finding out more about Yliaster.

"I see, I'm sorry." Sherry's head bows slightly.

"The course is this way." Clark comes unnecessarily close to my shoulders as he walks past me. I get a shiver down my spine.

"You've met him before?" I hear Bruno whisper.

"Maybe." Sherry answers. We follow Clark onto an escalator. We stay a good distance behind him. Suddenly, the escalator stops.

"This often happens when Infinity is active." He turns back to us, before walking up the rest of the way. We stay exactly where we are.

"Infinity?" Yusei echoes as the escalator starts working again. Clark doesn't answer him but keeps walking. He leads us down a corridor. A familiar rainbow filters through the thick glass of the windows. Inside lies some sort of power generator with the multicoloured light of Momentum.

"This is Infinity." Clark gestures to it as a door close above it, leaving us with little light.

"It's humongous." Bruno mutters.

"What does this machine do?" Yusei asks.

"Infinity is our company's experimental matter transfer device," Clark explains, "We accelerate planetary particles to high speed inside the machine and send them through a dimensional distortion. In other words, we create a wormhole to transfer matter. If this becomes practical, we won't need to fire rockets into space anymore." He suddenly looks at Yusei. "What is it, Mr. Daniel?"

"It's nothing." He answers. I try to reach out to Yusei's mind. The red door. I look at the door behind Clark marked with red and surrounded by electric locks. Yusei thinks that it's important.

I'm sent down to drive the D-Wheel on the test track. We are here to test out Bolger & Company's engine after all, supposedly. I have to wear this tacky yellow riding suit. In that moment, I am glad that they let me design the Team 5D's suits. Or else, they would have looked like banana nightmares. After we finish the first session of tests, we meet in the guest canteen which is completely empty.

"There was no information regarding Yliaster." Bruno says as he types on his laptop.

"But since this company contacted the Directors, there must be something. We don't have much time until the afternoon driving tests." Sherry explains to me as I missed everything in the computer room.

"The only thing we haven't examined is Infinity." Bruno stares at his monitor.

"There must be something there." Sherry takes a sip of her drink.

"But information regarding Infinity is heavily guarded." Bruno turns to her with a frown.

"The most important information must be behind that door." I remember Yusei thinking about that earlier from our mental connection.

"But only special staff can enter there," Bruno explains, "Even if we manage to break in, we'll need a specific access key to unlock its biggest secrets."

"Access key? Do you know that chief's schedule?" Yusei raises an eyebrow.

"I knew you were going to ask that!" Bruno chuckles. "He's having lunch with his staff."

"That means his office is empty right now," Sherry smirks with a twinkle in her eye.

"Let's hurry!" We discreetly leave the canteen, only to start running once we're in the corridors. We glance around every corner before sprinting to the next one. We finally reach Clark's office.

"Where's the card key?" Yusei says as we enter. I head straight for the drawers in his desk, a likely spot to find it. I hear a button click. I glance up and see that Yusei's turned a screen on, displaying security footage. I open the most central drawer in the desk. I pick up a card and see Infinity written on it.

"I think this is it." I say, holding it up.

"Alright, let's go!" We go to leave the office but Clark appears on all of the cameras, meaning he's just outside the door. "No, wait! You three go ahead, I'll stall him." I don't take the time to question his decision. Bruno takes out a screwdriver and gets the vent cover off, letting us climb up into the vents. Bruno jams the cover shut once we're all in. I try to feel for Infinity's energy when we're in the vents. It's faint because it's not currently on. My guess isn't too far off, as we find that red door quickly. The access card miraculously works, letting us inside a room with some computers and servers. Bruno and Sherry takes both of the computers, leaving me to root through some paperwork lying around. There just seems to be blueprints and photocopies. The lights suddenly flicker before blacking out entirely.

"It's Infinity." Bruno says, before the lights immediately turn back on. A few seconds pass.

"I found the Yliaster file!" Sherry exclaims, putting a USB stick into the computer. We watch the download bar fill. Just as it finishes, alarm sirens start going off.

"Let's go!" Bruno grabs my wrist by instinct and we start running. Security men start chasing after us, which only makes me run faster. I nearly knock Yusei over after running into him.

"Yusei, we have the Yliaster file." Sherry shouts as we start running again.

"There they are!" The security men turn the corner behind us.

"Hurry! This way!" Yusei leads us down a corridor into a wide open area full of shuttles.

"Hide inside the shuttle!" Sherry shouts and we go inside. The door closes with a thud and a click. Bruno and Sherry start panicking and banging the door.

"We're sealed in!" Bruno exclaims.

"It's a trap!" Yusei curses. The shuttle shakes slightly as it starts moving. We run up into the cockpit, everything starts passing us as we move. Bruno and Sherry start banging on the windows, shouting in case someone will hear us. I gradually sink to the floor. I can feel myself starting to shut down. Doors below us open up, revealing the rainbow coloured ring of Infinity. Multicoloured lights flash on the ceiling of the shuttle. Kiryu's thin pale face flashes into my mind. I feel a hand on my back. Yusei helps me stand up again. He envelops me in a hug and I press my face into his shoulder.

"What is this? What's going on?" I look up to see Sherry and Bruno staring at screens.

"Big trouble! They're about to send this shuttle into a wormhole!" Bruno exclaims.

"Wormhole?" Sherry echoes.

"It's a tunnel that connects to another dimension! If we enter, I don't know where we'll end up." I dig my face into Yusei's shoulder again, gripping the front of his jacket.

"You!" Yusei raises his voice. I look up again, seeing Clark's face project all around us.

"So, it's Yusei Fudo, Sherry LeBlanc, Yuuka Hattori and a friend." He smirks.

"How do you know my name?" I manage to cough up.

"He knew who we were from the beginning." Yusei takes off his cap, making his hair spikes flare out.

"Yusei, he said Hattori," I whisper to him, "I haven't gone by Hattori in years." Yusei's eyes jolt between my face and the projections. He doesn't seem sure what to do with that information.

"You fell into my trap." Clark chuckles at us.

"Your actions prove that there's a connection between your company and Yliaster. You know who killed my father!" Sherry shouts.

"Dr. LeBlanc? I haven't heard that name in a long time." Clark boasts this fake thoughtful expression. "He was an excellent man, but he asked too many questions."

"Too many questions?" Sherry echoes.

"Dr. LeBlanc created Infinity's control card," He explains, "But he found out how we were going to use this device."

"How to use this device?" Bruno asks.

"Infinity is a device that connects various eras. Yliaster was using Infinity to alter history. But, the world must never find out. It's taboo. But Dr. LeBlanc discovered the truth. That's why we got rid of him." Clark shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

"I'll never forgive you!" Sherry all but howls back at him.

"In your current situation, your threats don't scare me. Besides, now that you know the truth, I can't let you go free." I grab Yusei's jacket by instinct.

"How dare you!" He snarls back.

"That shuttle doesn't have a control card. It will fail out of the wormhole and be lost among the dimensional distortions. Farewell, Yusei Fudo, Yuuka Hattori and Sherry LeBlanc." Then, the screen just disappears.

"Wait!" Yusei screams as the shuttle shakes and is filled with a bright light.

"Wake up!" I feel Yusei's hand on my back. Alarm sirens make my head throb. I sit up and look through the window of the shuttle. Streams of orange coloured light fly past us. "Are you okay?" Yusei asks.

"No." I answer.

"Where are we?" Sherry mutters.

"We're inside the wormhole." Bruno says, standing in front of the screen.

"It really exists?" Yusei's eyes widen as he stares out the window into the orange abyss.

"Yliaster has scientific knowledge that exceeds our imaginations." Bruno sighs. The shuttle starts shaking again. A red light fills the cockpit, following by more warning alarms.

"Shuttle is out-of-control. Please use the control card immediately."

"This is it. This is how I die." I mutter, leaning my head against the wall.

"If we don't do something soon, the shuttle will fall out of the wormhole!" Bruno exclaims.

"What happens if we fall out?" Sherry asks.

"I don't wanna know," I sigh.

"We may end up in an unknown era or shatter to bits in a dimensional distortion." Bruno looks over to me, before turning to Yusei who goes over to him. They start fiddling with the computer.

"Bruno, how is it over there?" Yusei asks after a few seconds.

"It's no good! The controls don't work!" The cabin shakes again. I manage to avoid getting thrown around like everyone else. "This is bad! At this rate…"

"Can't we do anything?" I hear the frustration in Yusei's voice.

"If we don't have the control card, there's nothing we can do." Bruno explains.

"Control card?" Sherry repeats, taking out a card from her jacket.

"What's that?" Yusei asks.

"My father left me this card. Will it work?" She places the card down in the slot.

"Card confirmed. Starting control programme." A computer generated voice says. "Confirming course. Altering shuttle trajectory." The shuttle starts spinning, this time, sending me crashing into Sherry, knocking us both over. I hear the window shatter. I start flying towards the window, I grab onto Sherry.

"Yuuka!" Yusei shouts, grabbing a cable and jumping up to me. He barely manages to grab my hand before I'm pulled out into nothingness. I feel his grip start to loosen.

"Yusei!" I scream. I feel each of his fingers slipping away. Then, all of a sudden, he loses his grip entirely.

"Yuuka!" His scream is the last thing I hear.

I awake to the noises of nature and the feeling of sunlight on my face. I look around me. I appear to be in a clearing of a forest, leaning against a tree. I put my hand to the ground, feeling the earth. This isn't normal earth. There's something alive about this place. I wonder if this is the Spirit World. It matches Ruka's description of it. Then, I freeze, realising that I'm still in the Bolger & Company uniform, without the hat and wig. Yusei. I stand up in my fit of panic.

"Yusei!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Bruno! Sherry!"

I try scanning the place for auras. Everything seems to have an aura, which doesn't help me at all. I sit myself back down on the ground. The energy here is almost stifling. What am I going to do? I'm stuck here, in the Spirit World, alone. I try to take a few deep breaths, but I can't calm myself. I cross my legs and try to meditate. I might be able to reach out to the spirits here, and see if they can help me get home. Even without opening my eyes, I can feel monsters peeking out of the trees, moving through the sky. For a second, I feel at ease. Then, I hear giggling. My eyes snap open. I spot a figure in the trees.

"Who are you?" I shout over to them. They laugh again, and turn back into the woods. "Wait!" I start running after them. I spot their long, dark hair flying out behind them. I nearly got knocked off my feet by a few stray branches. The shrieks of spirits fall deaf on my ears. When I finally tumble out of the woods onto the bank of a river, the figure is nowhere to be seen. I look back towards the forest, while I catch my breath. I look across the river, the figure suddenly appears when I blink. I jump. "Who are you?" I ask again. They put a finger up to their mouth, their face obscured by their hair.

"Yuuka." I hear my mother's voice say. I go to respond, but I'm hit by a force, knocking me to the ground.

"You." I open my eyes after hitting the ground. The other version of myself hovers over me. Her long blonde hair falls into my face.

"Who are you?" I ask. She gives me this look like I'm stupid.

"That doesn't matter." She's pinned down completely so I can't move. I try to move my legs but she squishes them further together. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean?" I stutter out.

"Yusei." She almost growls. "At this rate, you're not going to save him." My eyebrows furrow. "Should the Ark Cradle descend, Yusei Fudo will fall." She says it like she's reciting a poem.

"What's the Ark Cradle?" I ask, but I think she's going to find that question is stupid. She sighs, confirming my suspicions.

"That island in the sky that you see in your dreams, the one that will fall into the ocean if you do nothing." She answers.

"How do you-"

"That's not important right now." She snarls. "What's important is that you save Yusei. That's all that matters." I stare at what looks to be an alternate version of me. She's practically identical to me, minus the hair. Even down to the criminal mark shaped like an arrow on her right cheekbone. There's a harshness to her eyes, I realise. A raw anger to them, and pain.

"How do I do that?" I whisper. Her face relaxes slightly.

"You stop that idiot from walking to his death. One of you must die to stop the Ark Cradle from falling into the sea and levelling the entire City."

"You want me to die?" I choke out.

"Oh what? You'd rather Yusei die?"

"Of course not!" I shout back at her. "I'd do anything to stop him dying."

"Now you know what to do." She closes her eyes with a pained expression on her face. A wind suddenly whips us, I hear the rustling of the trees. I suddenly feel my stomach churning. In an instant, she's off me. She runs into the trees and I hear her wretch. I stand up, only to be dragged backwards. My back is planted firm against a tree. My windpipe starts to burn. I start coughing The other me runs back out of the trees. Her hand is stretched out. She has the same power as me, I realise.

"How?" I manage to cough out. She walks over to me, holding a hand for my throat. Her eyes are wide. I can feel her invading my mind.

"Your only job is to stop Yusei from dying." Her gaze suddenly turns cold. "You'll know what to do when the time comes. Just focus on that." Her fingers loosen for a split second before tightening again. My hands reach up for her wrists. It's becoming hard to breathe. Her eyes don't move from mine. One of her hands move, which alleviates some of the pressure. She rips my jumpsuit open with one hand. My body instantly tries to jump away, but that only causes her grip to become tighter. "Stop." She says. "I'm not going to do that." Her free hand moves to a pouch on her thigh. She pulls out a pocket knife. "I'm doing this for your own good." She lifts my shirt up just far enough that my ribcage is bared to her. She breathes on the blade before pressing it to my skin. The ice cold blade slashes my skin. I scream as she cuts me five times. She lets go of my throat, letting me fall to the ground. I shake as I press my hands to the wound, it feels unnaturally cold. Then the pain sets in and I start screaming again. I can feel cold starting to move around my body. My fingers are starting to look purple. "Now, whenever you forget what your task is, that scar is there to remind you. Your advanced healing isn't going to work fast enough for it to disappear. I've placed so that Yusei shouldn't see it. He shouldn't know about this under any circumstance, do you hear me? You will fail if he finds out."

"What does all of this mean?" I manage to cough out. "Is this Yliaster's doing? Will Yusei really die?"

"Yes, this is Yliaster's doing. Though to be more specific, it's all to do with Z-One." I look up at her with wide eyes.

"That was the man in the machine. Z-One." She seems shocked by my words.

"Yes, that was Z-One you met that day." She brushes off her surprise with a sigh. "And yes, Yusei will die if you do nothing." Her eyes glaze over for a few seconds, looking into the distance. She suddenly crosses her arms. "I've kept you here long enough." She says as I start to stand up again. She paces to the edge of the river. I look down at the scar on my ribcage. The five slashes make the shape of a star.

"How do I get back?" I ask. She turns back around to me with a neutral expression on her face.

"I can get you back. You have one more question."

"Who are you exactly? I mean you look like me, but you're definitely not me, cause y'know the hair." She rolls her eyes.

"That is not important right now." Her hand stretches out over the racing river. "Good luck." There's a sad smile on her face. "Have a good life." Her hand flies in my direction. Water rushes towards me, claiming me in its body, dragging me into itself.

I take my first breath. I hear people panicking over me. Water rushes up to my windpipe, sputtering forth from my mouth. I start shaking with the cold.

"Yuuka!" Several voices ring out at once. I feel my torso being lifted up and squeezed. My eyes open slowly. I'm barely able to make out Yusei's face in the bright light. I look at around at the rest of the Signers and Bruno.

"Where am I?" I manage to get out. My voice is raspy from all the water.

"You washed up on the beach. The Crimson Dragon lead us here." Aki explains, brushing the wet hair off my forehead.

"We could ask you that!" Crow says. "You've been gone for a week."

"What?" I mutter. The Crimson Dragon? Why would it react to me? It's never done that before. Yusei sighs before pulling me into a hug.

"I'm just glad you're alive." Alive. He says. I think back to what the other me said. She wants me to die in Yusei's place. This is what I have to leave behind if I truly do that.