Chapter I: A Seemingly Good Idea
Hello, GX believers and welcome to a whacked out comedy by Peach Wookiee and 15animefreak15! This was born of an idea by RGZ Archer, who wanted to see the "incident" the gang spoke of in Summer Love, Summer Fears. We sincerely hope we live up to expectations with this one, Archer. And we hope all of you love it, too.
Okay…so the usual legal stuff… No, we don't own GX. Seriously. We don't. We also own nothing from Frito-Lay, Doritos or any soda companies. We wish we did. We also don't own Star Trek. That belongs to Paramount Pictures and the Roddenberrys. And we don't own any songs of Justin Timberlake's. We do however own Annie, Violet, Rosa and this story and our version of the Yugi-verse.
Authors' note: Aster Phoenix might seem a little OOC here as he actually decides to hang with the rest of the group instead of being like Batman and being alone. So we hope you don't mind the way he is too much. This story will also explain why Aster's less standoffish in "Nightmare Resurrection." Thank you.
It was an unseasonably warm October afternoon at Duel Academy in the year 2017. This particular school had a reputation for the unusual being the usual, but today was actually a normal day. No one was trying to kill or control the students, there was no vortex opening up to suck the school into an alternate dimension and there was no other discernable threat. In fact, Jaden Yuki, a brown haired, brown-eyed boy with a penchant for saving the world from such threats, had done so again two weeks previously when the school had gone on a field trip to Domino City. And so today, said boy was sitting under what he'd dubbed his "chilling tree," and thinking of ways to relax with his friends.
"Guys...short of a prank on Dr. Crowler, can we think of something we can do to chill?" he asked.
Atticus Rhodes, a brown-haired, brown-eyed boy wearing a Hawaiian shirt instead of his usual Obelisk Blue uniform jacket, strummed the ukulele he was holding. "Well, we could—"
"No." The person who had interrupted him was Alexis Rhodes, a blonde, hazel-eyed girl.
Atticus blinked. "But Lexi, I didn't even—"
"I already know what you're going to say. And we're not doing it, Atty," she interrupted yet again, giving him a hard glare. He sweat-dropped.
"Uh," Annie Hanson, a shy Obelisk girl with brown hair and big blue eyes asked curiously, "Atticus, what did you do?"
Atticus opened his mouth to answer, but his sister answered for him. "Nothing, yet. But I know he was going to say we should have a karaoke party," she explained, arms crossed over her chest.
Syrus blinked. "Karaoke party?"
"Oh, please no," Chazz Princeton, a boy with unruly raven hair and gray eyes, and wearing a black trench coat instead of a bright red blazer that was the Slifer Red uniform, groaned softly.
Syrus Truesdale, a boy with baby blue hair and silver eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, blinked. "Is that even allowed??" he asked to no one in particular.
Bastion Misawa, a very smart Ra Yellow boy who was tall and had gray eyes and dark hair that almost seemed gray in some lights answered, "Yes, actually, but only on rare occasions..."
On one of those rare occasions, it should be mentioned, Atticus had chosen to sing Justin Timberlake's "Bringing Sexy Back." It had led to a horrific situation...for Atticus. The charming teen had thought he'd been swarmed with fan girls before. But that was nothing compared to the riot that practically occurred. Needless to say, he barely made it out of the crowd in one piece, and somehow he'd had everything but his pants taken by his "fan girls."
"If we have another one of those special occasions, Atticus, you might just get killed," Jaden said, sweat-dropping.
Atticus grinned sheepishly, while his sister just sighed. "He had to go into hiding for almost a week after that. Which is why we're NOT doing it again," she stated.
Violet Haverbrook, a hyper-active girl with bright, green eyes and purple hair pulled back into a ponytail, leaned against the tree. "Well, it's pretty nice outside. Why don't we do something out here?"
Tyson Hassleberry, known at this time to the group simply by his surname, nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea, Private Violet. Rosa, what do you think?" the muscular Ra boy in the cut-off vest and wearing dreadlocks and a dinosaur bandana on his head asked.
Rosa Jimenez, an Obelisk student with chocolate brown eyes and ruddy brown hair who had come to the school all the way from Spain, smiled. "A wonderful idea! This is the perfect weather for a picnic," the toned Obelisk girl answered.
Zane Truesdale, a boy with dark hair and gray eyes, dressed in a light sweater and jeans as he was no longer a student at Duel Academy, nodded thoughtfully. "That might be good."
"How does a picnic sound to everyone?" Syrus asked, smiling.
Everyone looked at each other and might've just agreed, but not Jaden. He got a happy look on his face, his eyes got big and then... "THAT'S GREAT!" he shouted happily.
Half of the group—mostly those unused to Jaden's behavior—fell back at the outburst. Of course anything including food would get him excited. Alexis sighed. "Jay, don't get too excited and go overboard, all right?" she asked.
"I think that's normal for Jaden," Annie observed softly. "Right...Sy?" she asked shyly. No one but Violet, Rosa and Alexis knew, at least as far as Annie knew, realized that the Obelisk girl with the curvy figure harbored feelings for the small bluenette Ra boy. Or perhaps Annie kidded herself. After all, open secrets were a common thing at the school.
Syrus blinked and looked over at her, barely suppressing a nervous blush. "Uh, yeah, Annie. Jay does get excited a lot," he mumbled. Little did Annie know that Syrus had a crush on her, but was just too shy to even come close to admitting it.
There were times both of them suspected the other's feelings, but right now, it didn't matter. "I thought as much," she answered, flushing slightly and hoping she didn't faint.
"A picnic sounds excellent. I'd...actually fancy doing that. I think I need a break from studying," Bastion admitted.
Violet walked over and dropped down beside him, grinning. "That, Bastion, is an understatement. You were in your room all day yesterday and would have been today too if I didn't drag you out!" she quipped.
Bastion flushed. "Soldier, you need a break!" Hassleberry added.
"Yeah, Bastion. Remember 'The Best of Both Worlds,' Part One?" Annie asked, reminding him of an episode of one of their shared favorite Star Trek shows.
"Oh, yes, Commander Shelby," he answered.
Syrus blinked. "Commander who?"
"She was on one of the Star Trek shows, Syrus," Bastion explained. "I think the episode just might scare you..."
Syrus sweat-dropped at that. "Really?"
"Yes...space zombies...Right, Annie?"
"Yeah," Annie answered, blushing.
"Space zombies? That sounds awesome!" Atticus stated with a broad grin. Alexis sighed.
"Not really, Atticus," Jaden said with a shiver. "I saw the movie with those aliens last week, and I almost wet my pants!" Annie and Bastion sweat-dropped.
"It wasn't that scary, Jaden," Bastion said, a little embarrassed.
"Hey, if it made Jaden, the guy who faced Kagemaru and the Sacred Beasts, nearly pee his pants....then I'd say that's pretty scary," Violet stated matter-of-factly.
"But it was pretend-scary, Violet," Annie said. "Remember when I made you sit through Star Trek: First Contact?"
Violet blinked. "Oh yeah. I remember that...it wasn't all that scary at all."
"Are you kidding?! That part when they put the mechanical arm on that guy...that was gross! And then when they got that guy like a vampire...that was freaky!" Jaden yelped.
Everyone looked at Jaden with different expressions. Syrus was thinking that did sound pretty scary, while Violet looked surprised at how scared Jaden was. Alexis was looking at Jaden incredulously, while her brother simply blinked in confusion. Bastion groaned softly. Annie flushed, Chazz snickered and Hassleberry looked puzzled.
"Uh...ain't that the movie with the robot people, Private Annie?" Hassleberry asked.
"Yeah, that's the one. I guess I've watched it so much, I don't think it's scary."
"IT IS!" Jaden yelped.
"Sarge, it ain't that scary," Tyson said, "with all due respect..."
"Well, we're all scared of something, right? Maybe Jay's scared of sci-fi movies," Violet offered with a shrug.
"I'm just scared of that one," Jaden, the stopper of psychopaths and vampires, muttered.
Alexis sighed and sweat-dropped. "Well, at least you weren't too scared to fight all of those crazy bad guys we came across."
"Yeah," Jaden answered, sweat-dropping and smiling sheepishly. "So what were we talking about?"
"How in heaven's name do you pass classes?" Bastion wondered aloud.
"We're talking about a picnic," Zane groaned.
"So, since everyone likes that idea, we need to pick where to have it," Violet said.
"Okay...hmmm...how about near the chilling tree?" Jaden suggested, gesturing at the big tree.
"Sounds like a great place to me! Now we just need the food!" Atticus replied with a grin.
"I can help with that!" Annie smiled.
"Me too!" Violet cheered.
"So can I," Rosa added, smiling.
"I can help with KP duty," Hassleberry offered. "I can cook a little...And I can keep the Sarge from raidin' the provisions!"
"HEY!" Jaden yelped.
Alexis sighed. "Jay, we'd like to save the food for the picnic, okay? And the same goes for you, Atty," she growled, looking at her brother. He sweat-dropped.
Chazz smirked. "Oh like you didn't go through the caramel corn last week, Chazz?" Jaden asked with a grin.
"SLACKER!!!" And a small chase ensued between the two Slifer boys.
"Every time," Annie sighed.
Alexis groaned. "Those two can't be together for ten minutes without this happening," she muttered, standing. As the two boys passed the group again, Alexis reached out and caught each of them by the backs of their blazers. "Jay...Chazz..."she growled in a well-known warning tone.
"He started it!" Chazz whined. "It's not my fault he's a doofus, Lexi. What you see in him..."
Alexis got the lightest of blushes, then a vein popped out on her forehead. "Chazz, Jay is NOT a doofus and I have no idea what you're talking about!!" she yelled, punching the black-haired boy on the head.
"OUCH! Atticus, call her off!" Chazz pleaded.
Atticus opened his mouth to speak, but promptly sweat-dropped and closed it at the glare he received from his sister. "Sorry, Chazz, you're on your own," he muttered. Luckily, Alexis simply huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, sitting back down.
"Lex, it's okay," Jaden soothed. "I can be a doofus sometimes...And..." He wasn't about to let on that he was crazy about the Obelisk girl, so he said, "And...you see me as a friend."
Alexis looked at him, and smiled a little. "Right...so, er, back to the topic of the picnic..." She was his friend, but inside she wished they could be more than that.
"So...sandwiches?" Zane asked. "Make sure to load them with lots of spinach," he grinned wickedly at his little brother.
Syrus sent his brother a glare, though all it really did was make him look cuter. "No way, that stuff is gross! And who's ever heard of spinach on a sandwich, anyway?"
"I made a roast beef with spinach once," Annie said shyly.
Syrus blinked and looked over at her, blushing a little. "O-Oh, well, it might taste good with that...I mean, uh," he murmured.
"It's okay...I can eat weird stuff sometimes," Annie stammered. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' she thought, hating that she'd made the Ra boy uncomfortable. Syrus, too, was at a loss, feeling he'd made Annie look strange.
Luckily, Violet broke into the conversation. "Hey, weird stuff can taste awesome sometimes! Like tuna salad and apples!"
"Eww!" Chazz yelped.
"That's not bad," Bastion countered.
"You'll never know 'til you try it, Chazzy!" Violet said with a grin.
"Then I'll never know..."
"Wuss," Hassleberry muttered.
"WHAT'D YOU SAY, DINO-BOY?!"
Rosa sent Chazz a fiery warning glare. "You heard what he said just fine!" she growled, misinterpreting Chazz's meaning.
"I heard him; I just wanted to confirm he'd insulted me!" Chazz growled. Perhaps growling at Rosa wasn't wise.
Rosa, like anyone in her family, took that growl as more than just a tone. She jumped to her feet and rolled up her sleeve. "Is that a challenge, Senor Princeton?!" One could practically see the flames in her chocolate brown eyes.
And Chazz predictably felt that today wasn't a good day to die. "Uh...no, ma'am," he answered, nearly crouching.
Rosa was actually a little disappointed; she liked some action now and then. None the less, she dropped back down beside Hassleberry and nodded. "Then next time, do not speak in such a manner."
"Okay, okay...geez," the black-clad Slifer boy groaned.
"Okay, so...sandwiches, most with no spinach," Zane said. "How about chips?"
"Yeah! Some regular with dip and some barbecue!" Atticus exclaimed excitedly.
"Yuck, barbeque!" Jaden groaned. "That tastes nasty!"
"Only the ones with more kick than sweetness if you ask me. But you don't have to eat the barbecue ones, Jay," Violet said.
"All the ones I've had don't taste right," he explained.
"Then you can have the regular. Or does anyone else have a certain type we should bring too?" Alexis asked.
"I'd like some plain, unadulterated potato chips, please," Bastion said.
"That sounds good to me," Annie added. "And nacho cheese Doritos!"
"And Fritos!" Chazz added.
"And some chips in Salt 'n' Vinegar flavor," Syrus added, smiling.
"Okay...good idea," Zane said, remembering his brother's liking for those chips. "How about baked beans?"
Atticus grinned. "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart! The more you eat, the more you—"
"Don't even, Atty!" Alexis growled, punching him on the head.
"Isn't it 'Beans, beans, the musical fruit; the more you eat, the more you..." Jaden began, slightly confused.
"Jaden...that's disgusting and juvenile," Bastion stated, cutting him off.
"Okay...moving on," Zane said, actually sweat-dropping, "what else?"
"We need drinks!" Violet answered, grinning.
"Okay...how about Jolt Cola?" Jaden asked.
"Oh, lord," Zane groaned.
"Oh, that stuff makes you run on walls!" Violet replied excitedly, grinning.
"Uh...let's try something else. That stuff is dangerous for you," Annie explained. The truth was that the idea of Jaden and Violet on that stuff was scarier than the thought of being assimilated by the Borg, the Star Trek alien race Jaden seemed scared of.
Both teens looked a bit disappointed. "How about some Coke and maybe some juice?" Alexis offered.
"And some Sprite or Sierra Mist would be nice," Jaden said, remembering Sy liked the stuff.
"Yeah. Anything else?" Syrus asked.
"Mountain Dew!" Violet answered.
"Mountain Dew? That's your favorite, isn't it, Violet?" Bastion asked.
The purple-haired girl nodded. "Yup! And it has the most sugar too!" That was probably one of the reasons it was her favorite.
"Uh...let's pack some root beer too," Annie suggested.
"All right!" Hassleberry whooped.
Luckily, most of those popular sodas had spread to other countries, so Rosa knew what they were. That didn't mean she knew what they tasted like, and Hassleberry's reaction intrigued her. "This...'root beer'...is it bien?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's good, darlin', and Annie brought the best to the island! You got that with you?" he asked.
"Yup," the dark-haired, pale girl answered with a grin. "I'm glad to share!"
"Hooray! Root beer tastes the best when it's the best kind!" Violet said happily.
"Okay...how about potato salad?" Bastion suggested.
"That's a basic picnic food to have. Good idea," Alexis replied.
"And for dessert...how about I make some chocolate pudding?" Violet asked with a grin.
"Oh, that sounds great!" Jaden grinned. "Let's do it!"
"Do what?" asked a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see the white-blonde blue-eyed Aster Phoenix sauntering up to them in his customary dove-gray suit.
"Hey, Aster!" Jaden greeted. "What's up?"
"Not much," the other boy answered. There was something in his walk and expression that indicated something wasn't right with him. It was subtle, but the group could tell something was off with the white-blonde Pro League duelist.
"We were just talking about having a picnic," Atticus said, grinning.
"A picnic? Sounds interesting," Aster responded.
"Well, would you like to join us?" Annie asked, steeling herself for a refusal, as Aster tended to be fairly standoffish.
"There'll be plenty of food!" Violet added.
To everyone's surprise—except, of course, for Jaden—Aster nodded. "Okay...I'm in. When are we having the picnic?"
Several pairs of eyes blinked. "I knew we'd forgotten something," Alexis muttered. They'd never said a time.
"How about tomorrow at noon?" Zane suggested.
"Lunch time would be a good time," Syrus said in agreement.
"Okay...So is noon all right, Aster?" Jaden asked.
"Sure...sounds good," the white-blonde answered a bit dully. Alexis exchanged a curious glance with Annie; they'd both caught that.
"Aster, is...everything okay?" Annie tried.
"Yeah...I guess..."
"You sure?" Alexis probed gently.
"Yeah...I just have stuff on my mind," Aster answered quietly.
"Okay. Well, see you tomorrow, then..."
"Um...is...it all right if I just hang out?" Aster wondered.
That surprised the teens even more than when he accepted their offer. "Uh...sure?" Syrus replied.
"Thanks," the other boy said.
"You're always welcome to hang with us, Aster," Jaden said, grinning.
"Yup. Always room for one more," Violet added happily.
"Cool," Aster said, sitting down on the grass. He'd just found out that the man who had been his guardian for the past ten years may have murdered his father. So he needed human contact. These kids might not be like him, but they were good people. Problem was, Aster knew nothing really about them, and they knew nothing about him. Well, it's as good a time as any to find out about them, he reflected as he sat on the grass.
"So," Alexis tried, an awkward silence having appeared since no one was sure what to say.
"Hey...does anybody like good steak?" Aster tried. He thought he might offer something for the picnic.
"Oh, I do! What's your favorite kind?" Violet asked.
"I love steak...specifically filet mignon," Aster mentioned. "Would it be okay if I brought enough for everyone for the picnic?"
Syrus's eyes widened. "Wouldn't that be really expensive?"
"Uh...it's okay...I have a big supply," Aster answered. "No big deal..."
"Um...what do you guys think?" Alexis asked the others.
"Go meat!" Hassleberry grinned happily.
"Cool," Jaden added.
"Phoenix...okay," Chazz asserted.
"That sounds wonderful," Annie added.
Violet grinned. "Sounds great to me!"
"Yeah, sounds good," Syrus said.
"Muy bien," Rosa added.
"Definitely!" Atticus said.
"That sounds good, Aster," Zane added, looking at his former adversary. "Why, though?"
"I...just feel like doing this, okay?" Aster answered calmly. Everyone could tell that wasn't the real reason, but knew it wasn't best to shove. If Aster wanted to talk about it, he'd bring it up when he was ready.
"That's cool," Jaden said. "So...let's just hang out...Aster...feel like dueling?"
"No thanks...I don't feel like that right now...I just want to veg." Several eyebrows raised at this.
"You actually wanna sit around and do nothing?" Violet asked for everyone.
"Yeah. I think it's good to do that sometimes. Has anyone ever been to a sauna?" Aster asked with a little more pep, trying to avoid being probed.
"I've been to one once," Alexis answered.
"Me, too," Annie added. "Mom, Dad, Bobby and I went to Minnesota once and did the whole Scandinavian thing. We went into a hot tub out in the cold weather and then straight to a sauna. Very invigorating..."
"I just went to one with our mom once," Alexis admitted.
"I went to one last year...I'd just finished up a project and I needed to unwind," Aster explained with a light smile.
"You're fairly advanced, aren't you, Aster?" Bastion asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Aster answered casually.
"Advanced as in how, Bastion?" Violet asked curiously.
"School. He excels at every sport, tends to be top in his class..."
"Not at math; you kick my butt, Bastion."
"Distinction noted, but rumor has it you've taken college courses..."
"True...but I'm not ready to graduate..."
"Wow...Aster, I didn't know all that. I thought you were just a pro duelist," Syrus said.
"I had a lot of time to study," Aster said. "Kyle made sure of that."
"Kyle?" Alexis asked curiously.
"Kyle Jables. You'd know him better as the D...he was the one who adopted me after my dad..." Aster trailed off. Jaden, usually the one to bluntly probe had a realization that he'd better keep his mouth shut.
The others did the same, and Alexis asked a different question. "I didn't know you were the D's adopted son."
"He's your pappy?" Hassleberry asked.
"Yeah...he took me in," Aster answered. He then stood up. "Guys, I'll meet up with you later, okay? I forgot to do something."
"Sure, Aster. See ya," Atty said, the others giving similar goodbyes. It was obvious that Aster was lying, but no one said anything. Aster headed off, grateful they hadn't probed further. He wouldn't tell them all yet what had occurred, and as soon as he returned to his new room in Obelisk, he locked the door and had a good cry. Many people would be surprised to see the great Aster Phoenix cry, but he was just as human as anyone else, and today, he'd reached the limit of what he could endure emotionally.
Back at the chilling tree, Jaden sighed. "He's sad about something."
"I think we all noticed that. But he obviously doesn't feel comfortable with telling us yet," Alexis replied, frowning.
"Who wants to tell you guys anything?" Chazz groaned. He wasn't intending to be mean with this. "I mean...it's not like you can do much..."
"But everyone needs someone to talk to. Does he have anyone he can do that with?" Syrus asked to no one in particular.
Annie was quiet for a minute. "I don't think he does," she answered finally. "He and Sartorius are still patching things up, but after what happened...I don't think Aster is ready to trust him again..."
"Then he needs someone to talk to. Maybe he's trying to get to know us better so that we can be those people," Violet offered.
"Yeah, that'd be good if he'd start to trust us...and I think he's edgy because of Zane still," Annie said thoughtfully.
"I've made it clear there's no problem," Zane said in some confusion.
"Yeah, but he still might feel uncomfortable because of what happened, Zane," Alexis replied.
"It wasn't really his fault, though," Zane said. "Lexi, it wasn't his fault I had a meltdown..."
"But he might feel like it is," she stated.
Zane might've disagreed with her, but then realized that she did have a point. "Yeah...so how do we deal with that? I don't think you guys could do an intervention again..."
"No...never again," Chazz exclaimed, remembering Zane's intervention.
"It probably wouldn't work with him, anyway, since we're not as close to him as we are to Zane," Atty said thoughtfully.
"I wonder what would've happened if you guys had had to do an intervention with me," Jaden mused.
The group looked at each other with mixed emotions. "I doubt it would be pleasant, Jay," Violet said, sweat-dropping.
"Oh, no," Bastion agreed, picturing either a hyper, happy Jaden or a very moody Jaden.
"Let's hope we never have to do that," Syrus said.
"Yeah. The only way you guys would have to do that is if I went totally emo," the Slifer king grinned.
"Emo Jaden...that would be one freaky universe, Sarge," Hassleberry said, sweat-dropping.
Rosa shook her head. "I cannot even imagine it."
"So...rather than explore that," Bastion said, "let's enjoy tomorrow..."
"Yeah, we're gonna have some cooking to do," Violet said excitedly.
And so the would-be chefs prepped for the picnic the next day, making enough sandwiches to feed an army but in actuality, enough to feed the gullets of Jaden and Violet along with the rest of their cadre, plus the dessert and the potato salad. Hassleberry prepared a grill for Aster's steaks, and then, the next day, the group met up at the tree.
Whoa…Aster's having a bit of a hard time, and he wants to hang out with the gang. Will he regret hanging out with them? Maybe he will, but for now, let's focus on the good eating to come! So join us next time for Chapter Two, "A Picnic Challenge." Please read and review and stay tuned! Thank you!