Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Yu-gi-oh!5D's : Legacy of the Star Princess. Of course, you already knew that. Also, there are no new illustrations from our generous contributor, Coke head. But, there is more expected to come soon, so I will keep you posted.

Sidney took a seat next to Jack at the other end of the table from Goodwin and Lazar. Zigzix had gone to do work on the energy readings, leavings the four of them alone.

"So, who wants to go first?" Lazar asked.

Goodwin hushed Lazar. "Sidney, I'm very disappointed that you lied to me about where you were going."

Sidney stared down at the table.

"Do you care to explain to me why you did this?"

"Not really. But, you weren't telling me everything, and I was going to find out sooner or later…" Sidney trailed off.

"About what?" Goodwin asked.

"About my marks. I know that's why you have been having me go through all those tests for the past few days…" She explained calmly.

"And not to check on the health of my new foster daughter?"

"If it was just that, you wouldn't have sent Jack of all people to come and get me." She denied him, "In all due respect, Mr. Goodwin, I'd like to know how it is you found where I was in the first place."

"That's not your business, I'm afraid. So, what did Yusei tell you about your marks?" He inquired.

"I don't know much really. But, I know they hurt a lot when they are visible and today they caused me to float in the air! I did find out that he has a mark, and he says Jack has one too. In fact, I saw it!" She glanced over at Jack. He put his hand over his arm where the mark was hidden beneath his sleeve.

"Did he call you a signer, by any chance?" Lazar chimed in.

"Yeah, apparently, that's the name for people like us." She said.

Goodwin smirked. "So, you say you started floating in the air? Is this true, Jack?"

Jack nodded quietly. "It happened when one of her symbols started glowing more than the others…the one that looks like mine, on the left shoulder."

"Did he tell you anything else, Sidney?"

"No. That's about it." She said defiantly. In a way, what Sidney told him was completely true, but she failed to mention what Yanagi had told her about be some Princess or something.

"Do you realize what could have happened? Yusei Fudo is a dangerous man from the satellite. I am sure you are aware that he was marked by the facility."

Sidney remembered the yellow triangle on Yusei's cheek. But, he had been kind to her. It didn't make any sense at all.

"Well, he didn't strike me as that kind of guy."

"Some criminals are masters of con-artistry. Yusei knows someone like you is just a sitting target." Goodwin lied, "I don't want to hear anymore of this."

Lazar tittered to himself in the background. Goodwin motioned for him to keep his silence.

"You've been a trustworthy person so far, and this is your first mistake. I can understand that someone like yourself may not see who you can trust or not. So, I'm letting you off with a light warning this time. If you do this again, I'm going to make sure you never even leave the house." He spoke sharply.

Sidney shivered.

"Jack, I want you to take Sidney home. You are both excused."

Jack tried to hide his smile. Lazar could hardly stand to sit with a blank face. Sidney felt like she could just curl up into a ball right then and there. At least she wasn't grounded or something. But, she would never be able to see Yusei again. No, she thought. There has to be another way! There has to be!

Just then, a black-suited guard came in.

"Sir, we caught an eavesdropper outside the door." He stated. Another guard came blundering, dragging a young woman by the arm.

She looked to be about twenty years old. Her skin was a warm bronze hue and her eyes sparkled like molten gold. Her thick, waist-length black hair was woven into a ponytail, with dyed-red bangs. She wore a form-fitting red T-shirt and a denim mini-skirt, along with a pair of black knee-high boots.

Sidney recognized this girl immediately. Her name was Laura Shinoda, the daughter of one of her dad's friends from work. Mr. Shinoda was a Japanese scientist who had married an African American journalist, (originally Maria Biggs before marrying him) from Savanna, Georgia. They had played together a lot as children and Laura often thought of Sidney as a lifelong friend.

However, after Laura had graduated from High School, they hardly ever saw or got to talk to each other. And all that was in her mind was the wonder of what Laura was doing here now.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? What did you hear?" Lazar quickly asked her the questions in rapid succession of each other, hoping to confuse her. Laura was strong and focused. She spoke to them with a politeness and serenity not expected by a darker skinned woman.

"I apologize for giving the impression that I was listening on your private conversation, Director Goodwin," She began, "I was looking for my friend, Sidney, and I was informed by my father that she was here. I came here and was told that she was on the top floor, so I took the elevator and waited here. I've only been here about two minutes… I was to busy with my own agenda to hear anything you were saying."

Goodwin doubted that she hadn't heard ANYTHING that was said. But, considering she said she was only there for a minute or two, she couldn't have heard the whole conversation anyway. Perhaps there was no need for unnecessary action.

"Do you know this woman, Sidney?"

"Yes. This is Laura Shinoda, her father and mine were very good friends."

"Ah! You must be Hiroyuki's daughter then. He works here…I apologize, I had no reason to think of you as being an intruder." Goodwin said nonchalantly, hiding his suspicion.

Lazar winced. "We were just going to have Jack drive Sidney home…"

Laura gave Jack a cold stare. "Ah yes, the master of faster…doesn't seem your style to be babysitting, don't you think?"

Jack glared at Laura. "I think she'd be safer if I drove her home in my Jaguar. She shouldn't go zipping around in a Duel Runner without a helmet or a jacket."

"Perhaps…But, you don't know where it is." Jack objected.

"Sidney knows where it is. If she gives me the address I can use my GPS to give me directions. I'm sure Mr. Goodwin will agree with me if I say his first priority in the matter would be the safety of his new foster daughter." Laura explained, as if Jack were an idiot.

"That's correct. Well then…Sidney? Would you like your friend Laura to take you home them?" Goodwin asked. The air around him was thick with agitation. Lazar could feel it, and it made him nervous.

"Yes, if that's alright with you."

"Very well then, Miss Shinoda. You may take Sidney home. But I expect her to be taken straight there, lest I suspect any ill of one of my employers…" Goodwin referred to Laura's father. Any sidetracking and there may be trouble for him.

I'll have to make this quick, then.

Sidney was excused and proceeded out to the elevator. Laura spotted Jack eyeing her up and down, and gave him a threatening look before going on her way.

Lazar stuttered. "You're just letting her walk? Can we trust that woman?"

Goodwin smiled. "I doubt Sidney will tell her anything. After all, few people would believe her if she tried to tell them. Then again, we can never be sure…I will have my people keep a closer eye on her family until further notice."

Lazar sighed with relief. "For a second there I thought you had let your guard down. We can't have that now, can we?"

"I never let my guard down."

Jack was still sitting there.

"You can leave at any time, Jack." Lazar pointed out.

"You knew, didn't you?" Jack asked.

"What do you mean, Jack?" Goodwin asked.

"You know that my interfering would cause one of her signer powers to activate, didn't you? Why else would you have sent me to get her?"

"We didn't know exactly what would happen, but we needed someone under us to make sure things went smoothly and to tell us what happened." Lazar explained.

"You realize this won't be the first time. After seeing those two…" Jack's tone added a hint of envy, "I have reason to believe Yusei will find a way to see her again."

"You needn't worry Jack, that's our problem, not yours."

Jack got up from the table and stomped off. Mina gazed worriedly as she followed after him. Lazar grinned maliciously.

It'll boil over soon enough... Just you wait, Jack.

…

Laura fired up her white Jaguar as Sidney hopped in the passenger's seat. It was a moment before Laura turned to Sidney.

"What happened, Sid? Your dad said if anything happened to him you'd come live with us! I haven't seen you since his funeral." She put her hand on Sidney's arm.

"I don't know, Laura. It's so hard to explain…but I was in my own bed for the last time one moment, having terrible nightmares the next, waking up in a hospital with Jack Atlas at my bedside after that. I don't think you'd quite get it…" Sidney thought about her marks.

"Well, after what I heard in there, I'd like to here a little more…" Laura sighed. They started down the road until they reached the first stop light.

"You heard the conversation? I thought you said you had been there only a minute or two." Sidney looked at Laura accusingly.

"You know me, I am too good of hearing not to pick up a conversation when I'm all alone and the other people are not too far away." Laura explained, "So tell me, you planning to sneak out and go see this Yusei guy again?"

Sidney looked at her puzzled. The light turned green and they drove for a few minute before coming to the next one.

"Hey, if Goodwin doesn't like him, he's probably the most wonderful guy on earth, and you know I want only the best for my friend." She smiled at Sidney whimsically. Sidney remembered she always got that smile when she had a plan up her sleeve.

"What are you talking about?" Sidney wondered.

"Oh, you know. The way you spoke when you said he didn't seem that bad to you? It sounded like you've got it bad, girl." Laura spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Got it bad? I don't have a crush on him! I just…think he's cool. He was so nice to me, even when I probably looked like a complete moron!"

"Uh-huh. And my name is Mokuba Kaiba," Laura said sarcastically, "Seriously, Sid. You're not fooling me one bit. I want to know…is he cute? He wouldn't happen to be the same Yusei that gave Jack a beat down in the Fortune Cup?"

"If I say yes, will you let it die now?"

"That depends. Am I right?" Sidney nodded. Laura squealed with joy. The light changed again and they were just a little while away. They came to a stop sign.

"Anyways, I was thinking I could help you two get together. Think of it as my way of getting back at Goodwin for snatching you right under our noses," Said Laura.

"Ok, but how do we pull it off? This isn't some School scandal." Sidney looked away, daydreaming a little about possible plans.

"You got his number? I can arrange the whole thing; all you have to do is sit back and wait." Sidney searched through her pockets and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper with Yusei's contact code and handed it to Laura.

"You're not going to ask me about the marks or the floating, are you?" Sidney asked. Laura grinned at her.

"Of course I am! But, this is too much fun, girl. Maybe I'll ask when we execute the first secret meeting…courteous of your friend, Laura Shinoda." Sidney remembered that Laura had often tried to play matchmaker for Sidney in middle school, and in the one year they were in high school together. Laura had her own boyfriend, evidence that her relationship skills far exceeded those of Sidney.

They went another few blocks before slowly approaching Goodwin's estate.

"You know you should keep wary of Goodwin and Lazar, but just so you know, on want you to keep on eye on Jack Atlas, ok?" Laura commented.

"I don't think he'll be too much trouble but…I did notice he seems to…" Sidney recalled the incident in the elevator, trying to make it sound better than it actually was, "…Have an interest in me, to say the least."

"Oh, I think it's more than that. Did you see the way he was checking you out before we left? Probably not…you do tend not to notice that sort of thing," Laura explained, "That's not always bad. But the truth is he's probably my age, and you're still a minor by legal terms…anyways, you are probably wondering why I didn't ask that about Yusei. I saw the article in the paper about his victory in the Fortune Cup. He's only a year ahead of you, Sid. And, like I said, Goodwin doesn't like him."

"So what are you getting at?"

Laura sighed. "I want you to be careful! A guy like that might use his popularity to take advantage of you. You don't want me to come up to him and beat the living daylights out of him if he ever tried something. You know if ANY guy tried to force himself on you, I'd rip his balls off. Or at least try to…"

"Laura!" Sidney exclaimed. Laura never talked that way unless she was angry or didn't like someone, and it sounded like she didn't like Jack.

"Sorry for getting all bent out of shape…I never liked him from the start, ok? I was always a Bolt Tanner fan…even after Jack Atlas beat him." Laura walked Sidney up to the house.

"Thanks. So, you'll give me a call then?" Sidney asked.

"Of course."

…

That night, Leo had another mysterious dream that would haunt him the morning after. He was in a strange building somewhere, almost like a warehouse, with writing all over the wall in an uninterruptible language. Pictures of dragons flying everywhere were painted on the ceiling. And in the center of the room was a dragon whose body was made of flame and it looked at Leo with a blank expression.

"Leo…I need you to listen carefully to me." The Dragon's voice was feminine, almost motherly in nature.

Suddenly, Leo's left arm began burning like it was on fire. When he looked down, he could see a blazing red mark resembling the dragon's head. It was shining on his arm like a torch.

"Leo, do not be afraid. I have a favor to ask of you," The dragon stroked his arm, numbing the pain it caused him, "I believe the man who bares this mark is a traitor. His brother before him was also a traitor and even gave himself to the darkness; I fear it is similar for him…"

Leo didn't understand whom she was talking about then.

"If I have to strip him of his sign in order to protect the world…I ask that you take his place as the bearer of this mark."

"Luna…she has a mark."

"…This is why I have chosen you. Your fate is tied to that of your sister, and perhaps, this way…you can protect her, as I can see you wish to do…"

The dream ended with the dragon flickering away like the dying flames of a candle into a pile of ash, and within the ash laid a human figure. Some how, he knew this person…but where?

Before he could figure it out, he woke up, with the images still fresh in his mind.

Well, that's episode seven. Tune in next time for episode eight. Also, I've noticed people aren't reviewing me as much. Reviews are love, please R&R.