Alright, I'm back! My appologies for the wait, school is a nightmare! Hope you guys enoyed the last two chapters so far, this one's a doozy!

I do not own 5D's Daisuke is an OC though.

enjoy...

Familier faces.

Rex Goodwin gazed out his window with a concerned look. Just a few hours ago, mysterious beings lit up the night sky, security had beed sent to investigate, but so far noone had heard from any of them. He sighed for possibly the hundredth time that night.

"So they've already made their move," he said to noone in particular. What had he been thinking? He had just brought mere children-hardly in their mature years-to a 600 year old battlefield! He silently swore that if any of them survived tonight, he would explain everything to them. With or without their final ally.

That is...if they survive at all, he thought grimly.

***

"Hurry up guys!" Jack Atlas called as the group rounded a corner. How the hell did it come to this? He asked himself. Tonight was supposed to be fun: friends, food and dancing. Everything had been going so well! About a few minutes after Yusei had left with Aki, the gang had started to feel tired themselves. They had decided to leave then, but Mina's favorite song started to play and she demanded one last slow with Jack while the twins rested...That's when it all went bad.

The song was just ending, they were on their way back to Luna and Leo, when suddenly Jack and Luna keeled over in pain. Each clutching their arms. Everyone immidiatly grabbed their things and made a mad dash for the exit, for they knew that a burning dragon mark meant one thing: trouble. They picked up speed upon reaching the sidewalk, which brings us to where we are now.

"Do you think Yusei and Aki are alright?" Mina asked.

"Those guys are tough. And if I know Yusei, he'll toss his deck in the trash compactor before he lets Aki get hurt," Jack answered. "Right now, I'd worry about ourselves at the...moment?"

What awaited them once they rounded yet another corner was quite the had barely noticed before, but the streets were almost completely bare. The street before them however was...different. A mob of people stood before them, at least five-hundred, all of them duelists. But something was off about these people: their eyes were empty and emotionless and their stance was lazy and limp. These were no doubt trouble, made even more obvious by the fact that they were droning "Duel me...duel me..." while eyeing them hungrilly.

"W-what the hell are those things!?" Mina asked.

"Looks like something from a horror-flick!" Leo pointed out. "Hey, what's that?" He pointed to what appeared to be marks similar to what Luna and Jack had on the ghoulish duelists, but they were all the same: a dark mark in the shape of a spider. The others were just as puzzled about it as he was, but before they could wonder about it any further, they realized that the zombie/duelists were closing in... and fast!

"Duel me...duel me..." They droned.

"What do we do now!?" Luna panicked

"What do you think?" Jack asked her. He pulled out his duel disk, which had been stored in the backpack that he had decided to bring at the last minute. The twins did likewise with their own, realizing what he was thinking.

"These punks wanna duel? Well they've got one!"

***

While the rest of the gang fought off the apparent army, Yusei and Aki were having problems. Namely the fact that they had been chased down by a mystirious cloaked duelist. A dark signer as he called himself. Though Aki wouldn't let it show, she sensed somthing off about him. The way he smiled, though sick, twisted and sadistic, she could see something else in there: Familliarity.

Meanwhile, the dark signer himself was getting ready for what he believed was the greatest moment of his was going to pay for what she did to him, and she would pay with her life. He was just about to draw a card from his deck for an opening hand, when he felt a strange pulse.

This duel has got you fired up too huh? He mentally asked the new precence in his mind. Yes, imagine my surprise when not one but two signers revealed themselves right after you had been fully released. Not only that, but one happend to be the very same one I've been longing to kill for so long! He chuckled. Fate must be on our side tonight, master, get ready! He then turned his eyes to the sky and reached upward, his hand outstretched like a claw.

"Hear me, beings of darkness," he cried. "I, the emissary of the condor, summon thee to aid in the destruction of my foe!"

He then clenched his fist, and Aki and Yusei couldn't help gawking. The same symbol that was on his arm, which was now glowing brighter than ever, had formed in the sky above them. There was a loud clap of thunder, and a pillar of black flame spiraled down to them. It stopped a few inches above them, then coiled around the two duelists, forming an arena of sorts. Yusei stood up, it was a quite a site indeed, just what were these 'Dark signers'? And what other powers could they possibly posess? He was about to step foward for a closer look when...

"Hey! I...can't move," Struggle as he might, he truly was stuck. But what scared him was just what was holding him in place. He appeared to be standing in a puddle of pure darkness, with human (or at least humanoid beings) reaching up from the shadows and clamping down hard on his ankles like clamps!

"Yusei!" Aki called out to him.

"Relax, your little boyfriend over there will be just fine, for now at least. Those spirits I summoned are incapable of harming a human being," He then smirked "You however are not so fortunate. The two of us may enter this circle, but noone can leave until the game is over. And even then, there will be only one who can leave, the other shall lose their soul forever in the world of darkness!"

"World of darkness?" Aki asked. What the hell have I gotten myself into!?

"I assure you, Aki Izayoi, that this duel will be the likes of which you've never seen. I'm a whole other level from those amateurs you've dueled in your life,"

"Hmph, we'll see about that," she muttered. Meanwhile, the now immobilized Yusei was watching the match with intent. Aki...

(Aki:4000/DS: 4000)

"Ore no turn..."said the as-of-yet unnamed Dark signer. "...Draw!" His call was soon accompanied by a sinister smile.

"I summon spirit reaper (ATK:300/DEF:100) in attack mode!" A skeleton wearing a long flowing cloak appeared on the field, glaring menacingly at Aki. "Next I place two cards face-down and end my turn,"

"Watashi no turn...draw!" Aki called in response. Why would he play such a weak monster? she thought, What're you planning? All thoughts of caution disappeared from her mind however once she saw the card in her hand. "To start things off, I'll summon cactus fighter (ATK:1900/DEF:400) in attack mode." True to it's name, a warrior like cactus appeared on the field. "Then I'll activate the field spell, black garden." The field immidiately began to change as one of Aki's signature cards took affect. Vines erupted from the ground, surrounding the two duelists in a thorny cage.

"Now whenever someone summons a monster, that monsters attack points will be halved and the opposing player shall recieve a rose token," Despite these disadvantages, the dark signer didn't even flinch. "Now, let's see how your reaper deals with it's own death...attack!"

The plant-like fighter unleashed a flurry of needles towards spirit reaper. An attack which would have surely sent it to the grave...but instead passed right through it, striking the dark signer squarly in the chest, he groaned. (DS:2100)

"Spirit reaper can't be destroyed in battle," he explained.

"Your life points aren't so lucky," Aki pointed out. "I place one card face-down and end my turn,"

"Ore no turn...draw!" That sinister smile of his was back, Aki couldn't help but wonder if she had just made a big mistake. "I think I'll get rid of this annoying field spell..."Aki paled, this was definately bad. "Trap hatsudo...cursed seal of the forbidden spell! With this, I can select one spell card on the field and remove from play not only it, but every single copy of it in your entire deck!"

"No way! That means Aki's field spell can't be played for the rest of the duel," Yusei realized. it was true, even as he concluded this, the arena that had just come into existance just as quickly rotted into ashes. Leaving the dark signer looking smug and Aki looking flabergasted.

"I'm not done yet, I still have another trap: Mirror of the dark ruler! This card can only be activated when one of my zombie type monsters loses a fight, I simply discard the top two cards from my deck, and it reflects the damage I took from the battle directly to my opponent," Sure enough, a giant, demonic-looking mirror rose out of the ground. Immidiatey adjusting to reflect Aki's image, it fired a halo of needles like what her cactus fighter had used, this time tainted black. They struck her in exactly the same place as the dark signer, leaving her gasping for breathe. (Aki:2100)

"No need to thank me," the signer cackled. "I'm just feeling generous today,"

"This is...an actual impact shock?!"Aki realized. "How can this be? Have I lost control of my powers again? No, that's not it,"

"Figured it out yet?" her opponent called to her. "This duel isn't a normal holographic sideshow. If you look closly, every monster, as well as magic and trap effect, is tangible. All the blows dealt to you and your deck will be actual, physical, strikes," His voice was non-chalant, despite this rather disturbing information.

"Does this mean that my attacks are causing you harm aswell?" Aki demanded.

"Of course, I feel every blow! But you shouldn't be concerned about your opponent. That kind of thinking will get you killed, especially here!" The dark signer then picked up another card from his hand, a slot popped open on his disk. "Now, I do think a change of scenary is in order. I'll activate my own field spell: Zombie world!"

The field instantly changed beneath him, a dark fog spreading from his feet. It seemed to rot away everything within their little arena, leaving it looking like it was just hit by a nuclear bomb. And, under a haze of dark clouds which just appeared above them, Aki could just make out the form of a large hill. It was littered with gravestones. Not only that, her cactus fighter was starting to shrivel and rot.

"What is this?"

"It's just the power of my field spell. As long as this card is out, all monsters on the field and in the graveyard will count as zombies," Aki suddenly felt a little relief. An effect like that was hardly a threat.

"If that's all you got," she said "Than you're not so tough after all,"

"I assure you, Aki Izayoi, that there is more to my strategy than meets the eye," the dark signer replied. "Now I activate the spell card, harvest of souls*! This card can only be activated when I have spirit reaper on my side of the field, it lets me remove any amount of monsters in my graveyard from play, and it summons a lost-soul token for each one," Spirit reaper waved its' sythe over the ground, and two ghost like creatures rose from the dust. (ATK:900/DEF:0)

"Hold it! I haven't sent any of your monsters to the grave, so how-"

"I never said you had to send them, these ghosts were summoned by removing from play the cards I sent to the grave when I played my mirror of the dark ruler...Now, I release my two tokens to advance summon: Dark tuner chaos reaper!(ATK:0/DEF:0)" The two ghost tokens vanished from the field, leaving in their place a strange creature. It appeared to be some sort fiend, its' upper and lower torso seemingly suspended in midair by a strange sphere in its' center.

"Dark tuner? What the hell is that?" shouted Yusei from the side lines. The same question was written all over Akis' face.

"You two certainly ask alot of questions," the dark signer stated. "But you'll see soon enough. Just watch as I dark tuning my Dark tuner catastrophe with my spirit reaper," Catastrophe was already rising into the air, upper and lower parts disappearing, leaving nothing but it's mysterious core. It abrubtly broke aswell, leaving a circle of stars.

"DT chaos reaper is a lv. 9, and spirit reaper is a lv.3. Now behold: Dark tuning!" He continued. But even as he uttered those words, the newly released stars surrounded the reaper. Then, suddenly, they thrusted themselves into it, only to burst out moments later as Spirit reaper faded to nothing. Only, they themselves were dark, and there were only six of them.

"What the...! The stars have turned black?" said questionned Yusei.

"Yes, the light has turned to dark," replied the dark signer crypticly, then continued to explain. "Dark tuning is just like a regular syncro summon, only you subtract the level of the dark tuner monster from the other card you used,"

"No! That can't be!" Aki argued. "If you subtract a lv.9 from a lv.3-"

"Oh, but it is, see?" Her opponent then proceded to reveal a card from his hand. It was completely black, with stars that showed it's level going from left to right. "A negative level six monster," He explained. Both our heros were flabergasted.

"Impossible," They muttered. While the dark signer meerly laughed and started to chant...

When darkness overlaps with darkness,

the doors of the underworld shall open,

to a world without light!!

Dark syncro!

show yourself,

Lich king Aruthias*!!!

A pillar of darkness erupted from the ground as he said this, only to dissapate once he finished. The new monster that appeared forth was something the likes of which neither Yuse and Aki had ever seen. It resembled a warrior king clad in black armor, its' face veiled under its' helmet. In it's hand was an enormous sword covered with strange symbols, glowing with an unholy looking aura. (ATK:2500/DEF:2500)

"Now Aki Izayoi," The dark signer cackled. "Stare into the face of the instrument of your destruction, and the tool of my revenge!" That brought her attention back to him.

Revenge? Just who is this guy? And why does he seem so familliar?

***

Jack had been running/dueling for what felt like hours. He, Luna, and Leo had been fighting their way through zombified duelists, and at this point they were all exausted. Every time they managed to beat one, another more skilled one arrived to take its' place. To make matters worse, they all had powers similar to Akis', where the damage a duelist takes is real. This of course left them gasping breathe. They had at last seemed to lose them awhile back and were now following Luna.

"Are you sure they're this way sis?" Leo asked for the umpteenth time.

"I'm sure Leo," she answered rather calmly. "I'm not sure how, but I can feel them both close by...this way,"

"I can feel it too," Jack agreed. They continued in silence, never once letting their guard down. Not wanting to be caught by surprise by those...whatever the hell those things were.

Suddenly, a little while later, Jack leapt infront of all of them. His left arm, mark of the dragons' wing glowing, was raised in an army-like signal for the rest of them to halt.

"What is it?" Mina asked.

"More ghouls," he answered. "They're right around the corner,"

Sure enough, there were about a dozen duelists toward the street on the other end of the alleyway. Relief flowed through the group once they realised they hadn't noticed them. Unfortunately the group were so intend on watching them and waiting for that path to clear, they paid no attention to the other end of the alley. They realized this a second too late as a second group passed right infront of them...only to continue on their way and join the other group.

Okay, now they were confused, weren't the last few hours of the night spent trying to get away from zombie duelists, why were they sudennly off the priority list? Not that were complaining.

"Well, that was conviniant," Leo remarked

"Shh! We don't knowif they were ignoring us or just didn't notice us," Mina chided him

"I don't know, Babe. It may be dark, but they're not blind. There's no doubt in my mind that they noticed us,"

"Well then, why did they suddenly decide to leave us alone?"

"Don't know," the former king replied. "But something's up," there was a light pause, then: "We should follow them," he stated. The reactions he recieved were just what he was expecting.

"Are you crazy?!" Leo hissed. "This is our chance! We should-"

"I think he's right Leo," His sister cut him off. "I can feel the others' presance there anyway,"

And so they were off. Cautious, though considerably less so, they followed the what-were-duelists. They didn't have to go very far though, they didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

What the hell is going on here? was the thought that went through their heads as they gazed up at a collosal wall...a wall of black flame.

***

"Now go my servant! Strike her cactus fighter down with blade of the fallen!"

The undead lord obeyed in an instant. With both hands, it raised its' great sword into the air and struck the now decayed cactus fighter, cleaving it clean in two. The result of which an explosion from the fallen creature which, to Aki, sent shockwaves through her body (Aki:1500). Then something peculier happened, when the smoke cleared Aki was surprised to see her monster on her opponents' side of the field.

"Nani?"

"I guess I should explain this too," chukled the dark signer. "My lich king is the king of all undead. And what good king lets his servants go to waste? Every time he destroys a zombie-type monster, that monsters' destruction is negated, and I gain control of it, and since all your cards are zombies due to my field spell...well, I don' need to tell you the details"

"Not good," said Yusei from the sidelines. If this keeps up...ungh! And i can't do anything about it!!

Aki shared his frustration '"Kisama..." she cursed. "...I'm wide open," Meanwhile, the dark signer was about to take full advantage of her perdicament.

Now's my chance! he thought. One more attack and- "Ugh!" he clutched his chest as a sharp pain stabbed through it. Of course, why should I let her off so easily? Very well, as you wish my lord, I shall toy with her for now, and let you finish her off,

"I switch your monster to defence mode and end my turn," He declared, leaving Aki confused.

"What the...? Why did he do that? He could've finished me right there," Then it hit her. "Is he toying with me!?" That did it, Aki was quite an independant person, despite her relationship with Yusei. She was always trying to prove that she was a highly capable young woman, ever since the fortune cup. She had always been trying abandon her old way of thinking, where she would let someone else think for her.

Well, she thought. Mr. Over-confident here is about to regret his decision.

"Ore no turn...draw! I summon Ivy wall in defence mode, turn end."

"I take it you had a bad draw," her opponent taunted. "Draw! Lich king Aruthias, demolish her wall!" Saying that, the great warrior raised its' sword and blew ivy wall to pieces, leaving a strange creature in its' place.

"When Ivy wall is sent to the grave, it leaves a ivy token on your side of the field-"

"And if the token is destroyed, I take 300pts of damage," The dark signer cut her off. "I'm well aware of it's effects Izayoi," he adressed her "I've seen you use that effect dozens of times,"

"Nani? How?"

"Oh, I have my reasons," was all he said.

"Don't give me that crap!" Aki shouted. "Just who the hell are you?! Why do want to kill me so badly?!" She demanded.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to give you just a little hint," The dark signer smirked. "I activate my Lich kings' second special ability: Once per turn I sacrifice any number of zombie-type cards on my field, and you lose 200LP equal to the level of the monster destroyed, I tribute the level 4 cactus fighter to send 800Pts of damage your way,"

Cactus fighter rotted away into nothing, leaving nothing but a strange aura that engulfed Aruthias' blade in a terrifying, but nonetheless beutiful, glow. The undead lord then slashed the air, sending a wave of energy hurteling towards Aki. (Aki:700) At that instant, a vision flashed through Akis' mind, it seemed that The dark signers' intentions were to knock her memory into work. It was hazy, and only bits and pieces, but she could see a few details:

Flashback/vision:

It was what appeared to be Neo-domino park, or rather, a large tree at the center of it. In its' branches, hiding within the thick leaves, sat two figures. Aki recognised one of the figures as herself, and she was looking at the young boy next to her intently. It seemed as if he was telling her a story, while using his hands to express some of the parts. She was laughing, clearly enjoying herself, when he spoke:

"Those guys are all gullable idiots," he stated. "And prone to anger. Geez all I did was swipe a couple of apples for dinner, he could at least be a little more considerate,"

"You know that would be impossible, Daisuke," said Aki. Her tone suggested that she was not chiding him, but simply like she was stating a painfully sad fact. "Not with our reputation here,"

All whimsy seemed to fade from the boy, apparently Daisukes', face. "I know, Aki, believe me. But there is nothing more I would love in this world for my little fiasco to be all that there was..."

"But there's more than that," Aki finished for him when he trailed off. "There's..." she pointed to her arm. "...It's this...thing," At this, Daisuke smirked.

"Don't go blaming yourself again, Aki," he chided. "That's the only thing I do regret in being your friend: your freakin' guilt spells!" Sure enough, Aki was starting to sob.

"But...you had a family...and friends. sniff I took that all away from you,"

"No, you didn't," he corrected her. "I was already a disapointement in my parents' eyes, I bet they were just waiting for a reason to disown me,"

He took her chin gingerly with his fingertips, and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "You're such a crybaby sometimes,"

"sniff I-I know," she smiled back. "Thanks, Dai-kun, you're a true friend,"

Daisuke grinned, apparently pleased by the change in her mood. "Besides," he said "I believe that...whatever it is, has a better part to play in your life yet,"

"I doubt it," Aki frowned. "This wretched mark is something I don't think can ever be a good part of my life. Not now, not ever, " her tone started to rise, then before Daisuke had a chance to intervene, she took a deep breath and relaxed. "I wish it never appeared on my arm, that none of this had ever happend,"

Her companion put a hand on her shoulder. "So do others who see such times, but that is not for them to decide," He said. "What is important, is what we decide to do when the choices are given to us,"

Aki didn't answer, but seemed to take what he had said to heart. She lay her hand on his own, and they sat there in silence. Watching the sunset, through the leaves that kept them hidden from the rest of the world...from the people that had forsaken them.

End flashback/vision

Aki found herself struggling to get up. That vision, it was a long surpressed memory, one that had become lost in her mind once she joined the Arcadia movement. That boy, Daisuke, how could she have let herself forget him? He had been all she had growing up on the streets. But then she remembered that night.

"Are you starting to remember, Aki-hana-chan?" Her 'enemy' questionned. She gasped. That name, only one person in the world ever called her that, but that was...

"Impossible," She muttered. Pure shock etched into her voice. The dark signer laughed again, but this time, Aki recognised it. "D-Daisuke? Daisuke Fujiwara?"

The Dark signer laughed even harder, he cackled like a madman before lowering the hood that had kept half his face covered this whole time. And Aki Izayoi looked on in horror as she looked into his face...

end of chapter 2.

Haha! Don't you just love cliffhangers? Sorry it took me so long to update, school is a nightmare this time of year.

Just who is this Daisuke fellow? What is his connection to Aki? Find out in the next chapter...