Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 10

Pieces Of The Puzzle

"How could he have been poisoned, Aster?" Jaden grumbled. "There was nobody in the room but us. We would've seen something."

"Jaden, you heard him shout. He could see her. We didn't, but that means she can appear to specific people. The ones she kills can see her as they die!" Aster cried, starting to work things out. "Nobody saw Zane die. Or Axel, or Atticus. But we all saw Chazz."

It was the day after Chazz had been poisoned with an unknown substance. The body had been taken away and the funeral was being planned.

It was surely a day for funerals, because the gang had just come from the sad funeral of Atticus Rhodes. Alexis was crying into Jim's shoulder. Syrus and Aster sat close together, both of them having experienced the same thing: losing the one they loved. Syrus admitted now that he loved Chazz, and it had been a shock to him when Jesse and Jaden had told them of his sad death.

Jaden had had to spend all night holding his friend in his arms while he cried, feeling sick with pity for him. Jaden didn't even want to imagine how painful it would be to him if Jesse died. How Syrus was feeling.

Now, they were in the Slifer canteen, none of them really talking, but Aster and Jaden were debating what was going on.

"It's Vanessa Rightly. I'm sure of it" Jaden said softly.

"It doesn't explain while Axel had the necklace in his grip" Aster muttered. "But if she left it by accident then maybe she came back for it. That would explain why it's gone now."

"I can maybe help you with that" Jim said.

"You can?" Jaden asked, puzzled.

"Sure. You see, I was the first one to find Axel's body. I was walking by the classroom with Shirley, and I heard some choking noises from inside" the Australian told them, everyone nodding to show they understood. "I opened the door to check, and saw this mysterious aura floating around. It disappeared really quickly, I didn't get a good look at it, but it was almost like I'd intruded. Like it was being caught in the act."

"Maybe it was" Jesse said. "It was her. Vanessa. Her ghost was there, using the necklace to strangle Axel, and when you came in, she had to disappear quick."

"So she didn't have time to grab the necklace without Jim noticing her!" Aster gasped, having pieced it all together.

Vanessa Rightly had been killing Axel when Jim walked in on it. She had to disappear immediately so as not to be noticed, and in doing so, had left her necklace behind. She had then come back for it afterwards.

Jaden, Jesse and Aster left for Aster's dorm to do some final research, Syrus joining them because he greatly wanted to avenge Chazz. Alexis turned down the offer to join them because she was still too cut up over her brother's death, and was going to go with Jim and Hasselberry on a fossil dig.

"We're almost at the bottom of this. We know who did it and why" Aster grinned.

"Right, we know who did it. Vanessa Rightly's ghost" Jaden said. "But Aster, we don't know why she did it yet!"

"I do. And I'll tell you" Aster said triumphantly.

"Tell us, then."

"Okay" Aster said. "She's doing it because Zane, Atticus and Chazz have all beat someone in a duel. Whoever has Vanessa Rightly's deck has had their deck beaten by Zane and Atticus and Chazz. They defeated that deck, and so Vanessa's ghost killed all three of them."

"What about Axel?" Jesse wondered.

"See, I don't think Axel was killed because he beat the deck" Aster said. "Axel was killed because he knew too much."

The other three looked at him in confusion.

"Just think about it" Aster said. "Axel had read every factual scroll, right? He must have read the first half of her story. And he stole the second half of the scroll from me and Zane. He must have read that, too. If Axel had pieced it all together, he must have known what she would do to other people. Zane had already died. If he was planning to let everyone know about her, Vanessa would have killed him before he could warn Atticus and Chazz and whoever else is her next victim."

The other three froze.

What Aster said made sense.

Axel was killed because he knew too much. Zane, Atticus and Chazz were killed because they've beaten Vanessa Rightly's deck.

The only thing they had to find out was who on the island had her deck.

Please R&R