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The paramedics ran out to us with a hospital gurney and slowly loaded Jack onto it. They removed his Duel Disk to lighten the pressure on his arm. Yusei and I watched as the paramedics rolled the blonde-haired man away as the audience chanted my name. Star Eater was still flying in the air, growling at my new male fans. But I also heard a lot of girls throwing bad words at me and insulting me saying I cheated.

I turned to Yusei and saw he had a concerned expression on his face. I put a hand on his shoulder, making him turn to me.

"Don't worry about Jack. He'll be fine." I told him.

Yusei was about to reply when we heard Yanagi shouting our names. We turned around and saw him, Tanner who was rolling Yusei's Duel Runner and Leo run toward us.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked them.

"We're fine, but you're about to face a brand new enemy, Estelle!" Yanagi pointed at the camera/reporter crew. "The media!"

Just then, the media crew broke through the gate, running into the arena.

"They're loose!" Leo shouted.

Yusei gaped in a panic.

"This is crazy!" I commented with widened eyes.

"Better rev it up!" Tanner called.

"Coming!" Yusei exclaimed, grabbing my hand.

I gasped loudly as Yusei dragged me away from the arena. I quickly turned to Star Eater. "Star Eater, you know what to do!"

"Yes, Mistress." Star Eater growled.

XXXXXXXXXX - Normal POV

Just as the reporters were about to reach the new Queen of Games, Star Eater lowered himself to the ground and roared loudly, scaring the media crew. Then he breathed fire and created a barrier between himself and the others.

"Come on, guys! This is just a trick!" A woman with long blonde hair told everyone. "These flames are just holographic!"

The woman was about to prove it by reaching out and putting her hand in the flames, but she got a big warm surprise. She yelled out in pain when she felt the fire burn her hand. "OW!"

"No freaking way!" A man with a mic shouted. "The flames are real!"

Star Eater roared once again before he dissipated with the flames. When the reporters rushed forward, they couldn't find Estelle anywhere.

"Dammit!" The blonde-haired woman cursed. "We lost her!"

A young woman with black hair and coke-bottle glasses looked around, wondering where Estelle and her friends had run off to.

XXXXXXXXXX - Estelle's POV

I was still panting after that sudden rush as we walked through a underground tunnel. I wasn't a athletic type, so my body was kinda weak after running. But what I didn't realize was I was still holding Yusei's hand.

"Where are we?" Dexter asked.

"This is a abandoned service tunnel." Tanner answered, still rolling Yusei's Duel Runner along.

"Cool!" Dexter commented. "Hey Tanner, how'd you know this was down here?"

"A guy like me knows these things. That, and Blister told me."

"I have no idea what happened to you guys when the Crimson Dragon appeared, but I'm thrilled that you won the tournament, Estelle." Yanagi smiled.

"I knew you could do it, Estelle!" Leo said excitedly. "You're like the best duelist I've ever seen! You're like my heroine!"

I chuckled lightly with a small smile.

"Forget the tournament." Tanner interrupted. "The whole thing was a setup on Goodwin's part. Let's not forget the only reason Yusei dueled was because he captured his friends. Until we figure out what the whole story is, we should lay low in Blister's hideout. Leo, Luna, Estelle, you three should probably come and stay with us too."

"Are you serious?!" Leo asked excitedly. "Awesome! It'll be like sleep-away camp, but even better!"

I smiled at Leo's enthusiasm, but then remembered the vision of the future. About the Dark Signers that would soon rise...

"What's wrong, Estelle?" Luna asked me. "You haven't said a word since we left the dome."

I sighed. "I'm just thinking about that vision we had."

"I think we all saw it." Yusei said. "That was a vision of the future the Crimson Dragon showed us."

I nodded. "He said only the Signers and Priestess can stop it."

"Priestess?" Dexter questioned.

Luna looked at her arm and grabbed it. "What is a Signer?"

"Allow me, Luna!" Yanagi said, excited to share his knowledge. "I can tell you everything there is to know, but before I explain what a Signer is, I'll have to give you some backstory by thrilling you with tales of my numerous archeological adventures around the world!"

"Um...okay?" Luna said with some uncertainty.

I rubbed my forehead in exhaustion and thought about the spider. I disliked spiders so much that I was wondering how I would face the Dark Signer that had a spider Earthbound Immortal.

Yusei squeezed my hand. "You okay?"

I turned to him and nodded. "Yeah...just a little bit tired."

I looked at my Duel Disk that was offline, but Star Eater's card was still on it. I let go of Yusei's hand to remove the card and properly put it away.

XXXXXXXXXX

We were now in Blister's hideout in the Daimon Area, waiting for Yanagi to finish drawing the full Mark of the Crimson Dragon. I had removed my Duel Disk and put my bag on a couch during that time. Dexter had returned home on his own.

"Now, bear in mind that I am not a artist and I only saw it that one time, but the Dragon Seal looked something like this." Yanagi said after he finished.

We all leaned forward to see the rough sketch of the Dragon Seal.

"That's the dragon's head." Yusei pointed at the part that was actually the tail, but I didn't say anything.

"What is it? What about the head?" Leo asked.

Yusei rolled his sleeve up to show us his Tail Mark. "Look."

"That looks just like it." Leo turned to his sister. "Hey Luna, let's see your Mark."

Luna pulled her sleeve up to show us the Hand Mark.

"So Luna's Mark looks like the claw thing. What's that mean?" Leo wondered.

"According to the legend..." Yanagi began. "...The Crimson Dragon's head, wings, hands, legs and tail were split into five parts and then sealed away as Marks on the original Signers. The Marks were then passed down over generations."

"But right now, we only know about four Signers." Tanner stated. "So how was the Crimson Dragon summoned if only four of them were gathered?"

"I guess the fifth Signer must've been somewhere in that arena." Yanagi speculated.

"So Luna's a Signer, Jack's a Signer, Akiza's a Signer and Yusei's a Signer." Leo counted with his fingers. "So who's the other one?" He then began to check himself. "Maybe it's me! Maybe I have a Mark somewhere!"

"But what about Estelle's Mark?" Tanner asked. "Her Mark looked like a pentagram and if I take a closer look at the Dragon Seal, I can't spot a single star anywhere on it."

I looked at my arm before pulling the sleeve up to reveal the Star Mark while thinking about the sixth person among the original Signers in the vision we saw.

"I started to remember about the Star Mark during the duel." Yanagi said. "There might be five Signers, but there was a sixth person who served a bigger role and she possessed the Crimson Star Mark."

"The Crimson Star Priestess." I mumbled loudly.

"Exactly!" Yanagi exclaimed before acquiring a shocked expression. "Wait a moment! How'd you know that?!"

I looked up in confusion. "I...I don't know...the only thing I learned from the Crimson Dragon is that I'm a Priestess, but I don't know the full title."

"The Crimson Star Priestess has a power that is almost equal to the Crimson Dragon's, and she can communicate with said dragon, but not summon it on her own." Yanagi added. "That's why she needs all five Signers to help her reach her full strength to summon the Crimson Dragon when the situation demands it."

"Like the upcoming war." I mumbled.

"Is this Crimson Star Mark also passed down over generations?" Yusei asked.

"I'm not sure." Yanagi confessed.

Luna suddenly looked dizzy and fell down, but I caught her just in time.

"Luna!" Leo shouted.

"Is she okay?" Yusei asked, concerned.

"Luna, what's wrong?" Leo asked, worried.

"It's nothing...I'm just a little tired, that's all." Luna mumbled.

"Well, that's understandable." Tanner said. "We've all had a crazy couple days. Let's try to get some rest."

I nodded as I caressed Luna's head, causing her to fall asleep in my arms.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a little after midnight when I woke up. I sat up on the couch with Leo and Luna sleeping by my side. Tanner and Yanagi were sleeping on another couch while Yusei just stood by the table, looking at the drawing of the Dragon Seal.

I made sure not to wake the children up as I stood up, adjusted my glasses and walked over to Yusei. I had removed my red jacket before falling asleep so I was wearing my black long-sleeve shirt. It wasn't a shirt that was meant to be super-tight, but it was still fitting enough to show my skinny body.

"Yusei." I called out softly as said man looked over his shoulder when I stood to his left. "Can't sleep?"

"No." Yusei replied. "What about you?"

I shrugged. "I suddenly woke up." I looked down at the drawing. "Thinking about the vision again?"

Yusei nodded before walking over to the window, me following him. "I grew up in the Satellite with my foster family...so that place is precious to me...if that darkness really is trying to destroy my home, I've got to stop it."

"Yes, but not alone." I told him. "The five Signers and the Priestess must work together to get rid of the evil force that is about to come."

All of a sudden, my arm that had the Mark of the Crimson Star on it started to hurt. I hissed in pain as I lifted my arm, seeing the Mark glow through the sleeve. I turned to Yusei who's Mark was also glowing.

"What the...?" Yusei mumbled quietly.

I looked out the window and spotted a man in a black cloak, his left arm was glowing purple.

"Yusei." I pointed outside.

Yusei glanced out the window and saw the man. "Who is that? He has a Mark...is he the fifth Signer?"

"No." I whispered. "If he was, then his arm would be glowing red." I walked over to my bag and put my jacket and Duel Disk on. "But that guy is bad news."

"How'd you know that?" Yusei wondered.

I didn't want to reveal the truth yet, so I lied. "Call it a hunch. But you better grab your Duel Disk."

XXXXXXXXXX

Yusei and I went outside and ran after the cloaked man who headed towards a tall parking garage far away from Blister's hideout. Yusei could have run ahead since I was slow, but he didn't leave me behind, which was nice of him.

We ran up to the floor that we saw the cloaked man on and ran towards the middle. We looked everywhere, trying to find him.

"Where's he hiding?" Yusei questioned.

"He's around here somewhere." I said, standing behind him.

I wasn't prepared to be ambushed from behind, so I screamed loudly when I felt someone hold my wrists behind my back and then cover my mouth to keep me from shouting. Fortunately, Yusei heard me scream and turned around, seeing me being held by the cloaked man.

"Who are you, and what are you doing to Estelle?!" Yusei angrily growled.

I struggled in his grip as the cloaked man chuckled.

"I am a Shadow Drone." He said. "If you want your precious Crimson Star Priestess back and to learn the truth, then my master says you must duel me." He activated his Duel Disk.

"Why am I not surprised? Alright buddy, you got yourself a duel!" Yusei declared, activating his own Duel Disk.

I seized the opportunity and bit the man's hand, causing him to yell out in pain.

"Why you!" He roughly threw me down onto the concrete, causing me to yelp when I hit my back.

"Estelle!" Yusei shouted.

"I'm fine." I groaned, sitting up while rubbing my aching spine.

"Not for much longer, Priestess." The Shadow Drone chuckled.

After he said that, a ring of purple flames appeared around the Shadow Drone and Yusei. I was still inside the ring with the Shadow Drone in front of me. When I tried to sneak over to Yusei's side, three rings of purple flames appeared around me and squeezed me tight, trapping my arms. One ring was around my collarbone, the next one underneath my chest and the third one around my waist.

"Estelle!" Yusei yelled before he turned to the Shadow Drone with a intimidating glare. "Who are you, and what's going on?"

"You and I have been offered up by the light and placed inside the energy ring of the eternal shadow. I'm afraid there's no turning back now." The Shadow Drone explained.

"What're you talking about?!" Yusei demanded.

"You'll see soon enough." The Shadow Drone replied.

Yusei cast a worried glance in my direction, that I noticed.

"Don't worry about me! Just focus on the duel cause it might cost you your life!" I shouted.

Yusei's expression showed that he wanted to ask me some questions, but skipped it to focus on the duel.

XXXXXXXXXX

Every time Yusei lost life points, I felt the rings of fire squeeze me tighter, sometimes causing me to hiss in pain. But I tried to take control of the rings to relieve the pressure which helped, thanks to Sun Dragon Inti supporting me in his transparent form. I also tried to give Yusei some strength to resist the real damage, which didn't help because I was becoming weaker after every hit he took.

The duel ended with Yusei's victory. The flames disappeared along with the rings that caged me. I rubbed my abdomen, feeling really sore due to the rings squeezing me. When I rubbed my waist, I grimaced after feeling a bruise.

The cloaked man fell down to the ground, dropping his Duel Disk and losing consciousness. Since I was still standing next to him, I got down on my knees and removed his hood.

Yusei ran over to us and grabbed the man by the collar, shaking him violently. "Hey, you owe me some answers, got that?! Start talking!"

The man regained consciousness and looked really confused. "Start talking about what? Who are you?" He looked around. "What am I doing here?"

"Stop fooling around and tell me what your Spider Mark has to do with the Satellite?!" Yusei growled.

I glanced down at the man's arm, seeing that the Spider Mark was gone. "It's no use, Yusei. His Mark is gone, meaning that the evil force that temporarily took him over is gone."

Just then, Carly appeared out of nowhere, walking up to us while asking the former Shadow Drone why he challenged Yusei and used me as a hostage.

"And why are you asking?" Yusei wondered.

Carly knelt down. "Oh...cause I'm a worldwide reporter. And this is gonna be my biggest story ever." She took a mic out of her bag. "Now, perhaps you wouldn't mind answering a few questions."

While Carly kept asking Yusei about this duel, I glanced at the cloaked man who looked completely confused. I looked down and spotted a spider leaving him as a dark aura left his deck.

I tapped the man's shoulder, getting his attention. "Sir, can I see your deck for a second?"

"Um...sure." The man nodded, giving me the deck.

I grabbed the deck and went through it, noticing that his Dark Synchro monster and other dark cards were gone. "Yusei."

Yusei turned away from Carly as I showed him the deck.

"His Dark Tuners and Dark Synchro monster are gone." He mumbled.

I nodded and handed the deck back to the man who was being interviewed by Carly. It was then that we heard the sirens of Sector Security vehicles approach the parking garage.

"We've got to go, Yusei." I told him.

"Right." Yusei nodded. "Can you walk? You were squeezed every time I took damage."

"We'll see..." I slowly stood up, but when I straightened my back, I gasped as pain surged through my spine. I held the pain back, hissing through my teeth.

"No use...I can't run like this." I murmured.

"Then I guess I have to carry you." Yusei said.

"What? No! If the Queen of Games is hurt, she has to go to the hospital!" Carly retorted.

"There's no time for that." I said before thinking about something. "Gallis the Star Beast!"

A light emerged from my deck that was inserted in my Duel Disk and hit the concrete in front of us before it materialized into said monster.

"Mistress!" Gallis gasped, seeing the condition I was in.

The others were astonished after seeing a monster standing in front of them without me placing the card on my Duel Disk.

"H-how?" The cloaked man stuttered in fear.

I limped over to Gallis who had got down on his limbs, letting me climb onto his back. "I can't explain right now, but we can get out of here faster with Gallis."

Yusei hesitantly looked at the beast. "Are you sure?"

The sirens became louder with each passing second, causing Carly to panic. "Go! Hurry, before Sector Security arrives!"

Yusei nodded to Carly before climbing on Gallis, sitting behind me with his hands holding my shoulders. Gallis got on his paws and walked to a opening in the parking garage. He spread his wings and flew up into the air, blending in with the shadows of the night.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was almost 3am when we returned to Blister's hideout. Gallis landed gently on the ground and got down on his limbs. Yusei jumped off first before helping me get down.

I turned to Gallis and patted his head. "Thank you, Gallis."

"Anything for you, Mistress." Gallis growled before dissipating, returning to my deck.

"How can you summon monsters without using the Duel Disk?" Yusei asked me.

"I think it's part of my power." I replied.

Yusei helped me get into the apartment and led me to a room that had a bed. He helped me sit down before I removed my Duel Disk and put it on a nightstand next to the bed. "Thank you, Yusei."

"You're welcome." Yusei said, sitting down next to me. "How're you feeling?"

"Sore." I mumbled, removing my jacket before lifting my shirt to see a big bruise on my waist.

Yusei grimaced at the sight. "We better take care of that in the morning."

I nodded, letting go of my shirt. "Yeah...and we better tell the others about the duel with the Shadow Drone."

Yusei nodded before standing up. "I'll go research this Spider Mark."

"Yusei, you need your sleep." I retorted. "You can look for information after a few hours of rest."

Yusei was hesitant before nodding. "Yeah, I guess so."

I smiled warmly before crawling under the covers. "You better do that."

I yawned and took my glasses off, placing them on the nightstand. A second later, I fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

I heard birds singing their summer song, waking me up. I rubbed my eyes and slowly sat up, still feeling sore after the incident a few hours earlier.

I put my glasses and jacket on before slowly walking to the main room with the Duel Disk in my hand. The others were already awake. Tanner and Yanagi were the only ones in the main room when I stepped inside.

"Estelle!" Tanner exclaimed. "Yusei told me what happened so I got the first-aid kit." A white box with a red cross was next to a laptop on the table.

"Thanks." I limped over to the table and grabbed the first aid kit.

The bruise already seemed to be a bit better, but I still put the bandage on. When I was done, Tanner took the first aid kit and put it back wherever he found it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yusei hadn't left the laptop for a couple hours. He kept trying to find clues about the Spider Mark. I wished I could tell him what I knew, but that wasn't a option.

I entered the main room with two cups; one with black tea for me and the other with coffee for Yusei.

I placed Yusei's cup next to the laptop. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Yusei nodded before taking a sip of the hot liquid.

I looked over his shoulder to see different websites and forums, but none of them said anything about the Spider Mark. I grimaced, hating what I was about to say.

"Yusei." I said, getting his attention. "I hate to say it, but I think Goodwin is the one we need to turn to in order to get some answers."

Yanagi was now in the room, hearing what I just said. "But Estelle, you can't trust Goodwin!"

"Yeah, you already forgot he locked Yusei up and kidnapped his friends?" Tanner agreed. "He's not our friend."

"Who else can we turn to?" I argued. "He knows about the Crimson Dragon and the Signers, so he should know about the Dark Signers."

Yusei placed his cup of coffee down.

"Estelle's got a point." We turned to him. "Goodwin's the only one with answers about the Crimson Dragon."

"Who?" A soft voice spoke up.

We turned to the door, seeing Leo and Luna standing there with sad expressions on their faces.

"You're leaving?" Luna asked. "But it's not safe for either one of you out there."

"Please don't go." Leo begged.

I put my cup of tea down and stepped over to the twins, kneeling down to put my hands on their shoulders.

"Leo, Luna, we don't have any other choice if we want to learn more about what's going to happen next. I'm only going to get answers myself, and then I'll come back. I have a feeling Yusei not only wants to look for the enemy in the Satellite, but see if his friends are okay."

Yusei nodded, confirming my theory.

"But what if he doesn't come back?!" Luna whimpered.

"Please stay here!" Leo begged Yusei.

Yusei walked up to us and knelt down next to me, facing the twins. "Don't worry. In fact, I've already made some arrangements for backup."

The twins blinked.

"You mean, getting a bodyguard?" Luna asked.

Sirens from a Sector Security vehicle were heard outside, causing me and Yusei to walk up to the window.

"Looks like our ride's here." Yusei commented.

I chuckled lightly, seeing Officer Trudge with a megaphone in front of his mouth among the Security officers.

"Alright Yusei, I got your message. Now, get your deck and get down here! I'm not gonna waste my time waiting just because we're teaming up temporarily! You got that?!" He shouted.

"Trudge is your protection?" Tanner asked in disbelief.

"He's more." Yusei said. "If he gets us to Goodwin safely, we just might have to call Trudge one of the good guys."

I picked my bag up and strapped my Duel Disk onto my arm before turning to Tanner and Yanagi. "Look after the twins while I'm away. I hope to be back in a couple hours."

"You got it." Tanner nodded.

The twins ran over to me, hugging me gently around my still sore waist.

"Be careful, Estelle..." Luna mumbled.

"And come back safely this time." Leo said.

I smiled and rubbed both of their heads. "I will."

Yusei and I exchanged glances before nodding, knowing we both thought about the same thing. We walked out of the apartment and down the stairs, Yusei going first with me behind him while holding onto the railing for support. Trudge gave us a irritated look as he spotted Yusei.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Yusei asked, not affected by the look. "Let's roll out."

Yusei repeated one of Optimus Prime's most famous quotes.