So I think there was a glitch on the website a bit ago with chapter updates. I updated Sunday night and then again last night, but didn't get the e-mail about the chapters being posted until tonight. And one reviewer mentioned "two updates in one day" which wasn't the case.

I thought I wasn't getting reviews because no one was reading…

Ah, well, here's another chapter.

Chapter 11: Digging Deeper Part 1

Keisa walked around the side of the house, wiping her hands on a rag. She stopped when she rounded the corner and noticed Yusei standing several feet away from his runner, just staring at it. She could see the tension in his shoulders. His fists were clenched and shaking. Keisa felt her heart break.

Of course his confidence would be shot. He'd had his ass handed to him right before he crashed and burned. It had probably been at least slightly traumatic. She glanced behind her at her own runner, leaning up against the house. It seemed a little more frightening than it had a few days ago.

"Hey Yusei!" Rally ran past her. "How are you feeling?"

"Are you supposed to be up yet?" She scolded, joining Rally.

Yusei smiled. "I'm feeling much better."

"Are you going to be able to fix the runner?" Rally asked. They had gotten it running, but none of them knew if it worked. "If you need us to scavenge you some new parts—just say the word!"

"Are you sure?" he asked him skeptically. "You guys have already done so much."

"Sure we're sure!" Rally jumped up and down. "What are best friends for? Whatever you need!"

Yusei smiled softly and looked at Keisa. "You guys are the best." He looked down at his hands, which were noticeably shaking. All her previous thoughts were confirmed then. He was afraid. Well, she'd just have to get him back up to speed.

"So, I replaced the obvious stuff—the axle and the wheel and such, but I can't ride yet—" Keisa began, gesturing to the parts she spoke of.

"It's okay—we have plenty of time for test runs later," Yusei explained. "Martha says I'm not allowed to ride yet."

"Well, everyone else has already eaten, so I made us some soup." To anyone else it would sound like an offer, but to Yusei, he knew it was an eat-it-or-die kind of thing. So he followed her wordlessly, sending Rally off to the other kids with a wave.

"This smells awesome, Kei," Yusei noted, sitting down carefully as Keisa placed a bowl in front of him. "Thanks."

"No problem." They ate in silence. Yusei's poker face was firmly intact. She wanted to bring it up, but she didn't know how to do it tactfully. How could she tell him to get over it without sounding insensitive.

She wanted to laugh at herself. Since when has "tact" and "sensitive" ever been used to describe herself? This was her brother. Even if her words came out a bit harsh, she knew he would forgive her eventually.

"Someone wise once told me," she started in between bites of vegetables, "that whenever you're knocked down, you can't be afraid to get back up. The longer you wait, the harder it gets." Yusei stopped eating and glanced up at her. "You're afraid to turbo duel again, aren't you?"

He didn't respond, he simply resumed eating. That was all the confirmation she needed.

"Getting back on your runner for the first time is probably going to be the hardest of them all." She didn't know what she was saying. She just wanted to support him somehow. She was running on assumptions she weren't even sure were true. "Besides," he tone changed to a less serious one, "I haven't even learned to ride yet. So teach me before you quit."

He laughed. "We'll see. We still haven't even been able to find all the parts for your runner, yet."

"We will." She bounced in her chair.

"And just where do you expect to find a spare engine that would work?" He didn't mean to shoot her down—he was just being honest.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I figure you found two, and Crow found one, then I should be able to find one."

Yusei remained silent for a second. "You know, I've been thinking."

"About what?" she asked around a mouthful of vegetables.

"Something Martha said."

"What about it?" She began to down her glass of water.

"I got Stardust back, I think it's time I forgave Jack. He was only doing what he thought he had to."

Keisa nearly choked on her water. "Excuse me? Dude trapped Rally on a boat off shore, stole your card and your runner, and you're going to forgive him for that?"

"And I think you should, too," he nodded.

"Uh uh, no. No way am I ever going to forgive him."

"Martha was also right about something else—we need all the friends we can get with these dark signers."

"So why Jack?" she snapped.

"He's a signer."

Keisa leaned back in her chair in shock. "I can't believe that. Who else? How many?"

"There are supposedly five signers. Jack and myself, of course," he began to tick off on his fingers. "Then there's a girl about your age name Akiza, and a younger girl about Rally's age named Luna."

"And the fifth signer?"

"We don't know yet," he shook his head slowly. "No one has come out yet."

"Not all of those duelists are in the satellite, are they? Jack certainly isn't," she muttered bitterly.

"Actually, the other signers are all in Neo Domino."

Keisa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Oh, so I get it. None of the satellite scum was chosen to be a signer even though the satellite is what's in danger? Sounds like a plan to me!" She stood up angrily and took her bowl to wash it out in the sink.

Yusei opened his mouth to respond when the mark on his arm lit up. "What?" He stood up, his chair flying backwards loudly as it scraped the floor, and he bolted out the front door before Keisa could protest.

So she followed him. He had stopped in the middle of the front yard, eyes skyward.

"What the hell," she muttered airily. In the sky was a large purple shape, much like the one that had hung above Yusei and Kalin's turbo duel.

"Someone's dueling a dark signer," Yusei whispered.

"That's over Neo Domino City," Keisa gasped, turning to Yusei.

"You're sign is glowing through your sleeve," Keisa noted. She took a hold of his wrist and brought it up closer to her face. How was this possible?