Told you there'd be an update soon. Though, this chapter sucks. But it's getting towards a part I made this story FOR. Dark signers :)
Chapter 14 (for real this time): The Signs of Time Part 1
Somehow, Keisa found herself standing outside of the largest house she had ever seen in person. "This house is huge," she breathed.
"It's practically got its own zip code!" Leo yelled.
The huge doors before them opened with a creek and Goodwin approached them, hands clasped behind his back. A shiver ran up Keisa's spine and she tensed. Something was not right about this man. Not at all. She could feel Yusei's eyes glance at her but she chose to ignore both the bad feeling and her protective brother.
"Thank you all for coming," the man greeted. Mina bowed, but no one else moved. "I've waited a long time for this moment. Four signers standing here, all together. It is with great honor that I welcome you to my home." He bowed grandly and Keisa knew then that he was just blowing smoke up their asses.
She glanced around. If the others thought the same thing, they made no indication. Maybe it was just her Satellite suspicions, her tendency to come up with conspiracies that was making her feel that way. Her brother did tend to be the more rational one. Sometimes.
"I'm here to serve you," he continued.
"Right," Jack scoffed. "The only thing you've served is a tennis ball."
So she wasn't alone. You could take the man out of the Satellite, but you can't take the Satellite out of the man.
"Jack is right," she heard Akiza, who was standing on Yusei's other side, murmur. "Goodwin's been playing us since the beginning. I mean, he's the one who threatened your friends in the satellite to make you duel in the tournament. All just to see if you were actually a signer."
"He's the—and—he—" Keisa sputtered. She rounded on Yusei. "How can you even consider trusting him? He locked us in a box for who knows how long! All for what?"
"You're right," Yusei responded slowly. "I can't. But he seems to be the only one who knows what's happening. And with everything at stake, I can't risk not giving him a second chance."
"What if he had hurt us?" Keisa prompted.
"But he didn't," Jack piped in. "If he had, I'm positive we wouldn't be standing here right now."
"If Goodwin is the only one who has a plan, I have to trust him."
"Well," Akiza sighed. "When you put it like that, I guess you can count me in, ok?"
"Glad to have your support," Yusei murmured. He raised his eyebrows at Keisa, he averted her eyes and crossed her arms in response.
"So why did you invite us here?" Leo demanded, stomping up to the much taller man in front of them fearlessly.
"I don't recall anyone inviting you or the girl," he snapped, looking down on Leo with harsh eyes. "You should probably go home now."
Keisa twitched and stepped up behind Leo, narrowly avoiding Yusei's hand trying to pull her back to his side. "Sorry, see, we don't need your approval to stay. You locked me and my friends in a cell in the satellite with no proof that we'd done anything wrong. Pretty sure there's a rule against that."
"Keisa," Yusei warned.
"Besides," she continued, ignoring him for once. "I'm his sister, and he's her brother. We. Stay. You've already tried to rip my brother from me once; it's not going to happen again."
Goodwin's eyes softened and he sighed. "Very well then." He gestured to the door behind him. "Shall we go inside?"
Without any other words, Jack was the first to follow the older man into the mansion.
"Keisa," Yusei sighed as they began to follow. He reached down and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" She muttered. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Goodwin led them into a dark corridor lit only by small flames along the walls. Keisa studied the strange architecture with suspicious eyes. The further they proceeded down the hall, the darker it seemed to get.
"Where are we going, Mr. Goodwin?" Luna asked timidly.
"To a very special room that holds the answers you seek," he explained.
"Last I was here, I was left with more questions than answers," Jack noted sourly. For as much as she was still angry at Jack for what he'd done, she couldn't help but admit she'd missed his pessimism and distrust in others.
"Hm. Funny," Goodwin smirked over his shoulder. "Good to know you didn't lose your sense of humor when you lost your title, Jack."
"Oh, snap," Keisa snickered quietly.
Before Jack could retort, a stone door scraped the floor loudly as it opened and shut them inside. Darkness surrounded them and Keisa instinctually reached out and grabbed a fist of Yusei's jacket.
As their eyes adjusted, a huge stone building towered above them. Stars twinkled overhead and beneath their feet, a familiar red glow etched itself into the earth in careful thin lines.
"What is this place?" Yusei demanded.
"This, my friends, is the Stairway of the Crimson Dragon," Goodwin announced.
"What's that?" Keisa asked, entranced by a circular design above the entrance.
"It looks like all of our signs," Luna noted carefully.
"The Crimson Dragon," Akiza guessed.
"Correct." Goodwin turned to face them. "It is the sign that binds you all and defines you as signers. Protectors of the world."
A gasp from Leo caught Keisa's attention and she glanced at what he was staring at. Luna's sign was glowing through her sleeve, as was Yusei, Akiza, and Jack's. Suddenly, a new red glow lit the place and Keisa looked up to see a huge flaming red dragon wrapped around the tower.
"Look familiar, Jack?" Yusei muttered. He was staring intently up at it, eyes narrowed and faraway.
"What?" Keisa demanded, releasing her hold on her brother.
"Jack and I had a turbo duel in an empty stadium. It was just ourselves, our runners, and our decks. And then, when our dragons attacked each other, something appeared," Yusei explained, not once looking at anything but the dragon in front of him.
"Not just something," Jack added. "It was the Crimson Dragon."
"Exactly. It had chosen to instill its power in each of you," Goodwin told them. "Influencing your lives until you all met here today."
"What do you mean? The dragon has some sort of control over us?" Yusei snapped, eyes shooting downward to glare at Goodwin.
"Nobody tells me what to do," Jack sneered.
"We're well aware of that," Keisa mumbled.
"Then you think this is all a coincidence?" Goodwin challenged. "Leaving the satellite, finding Yusei, and meeting the others? In your hearts you all know that you're destined for something greater. It's the dragon's spirit guiding you."
"But why all of us?" Yusei asked. "Sure, I know we're good with a deck—"
"This goes far beyond your skills as a duelist," Goodwin interrupted, "the Crimson Dragon chose all of you based on the strength in your heart to take on the army of shadows. This has always been your destiny."
"Is he telling the truth?" Keisa looked over at Akiza as she whispered to herself. "My destiny?" She felt a pang in her chest when the girl glanced down at her mark and shut her eyes tight.
"All of us are on the same side now," Keisa whispered to her, offering up a small smile when amber eyes met her own.
"She's right," Goodwin agreed. "You all have your own skills but despite your pasts, this is your future."