Warnings: There are sadtiems ahead. You have all been warned. And if you didn't see this coming, then I am ashamed to know you. I mean, GOD, we're in the frickin' Society of Light Arc! Everyone's getting brainwashed left, right, and centre!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX.

Year Two: Descending Light

Lia wasn't sure what was going on. That in itself wasn't a very big oddity, given that she was in the dueling stadium watching a duel come to an abrupt and frightful end. She was usually lost when it came to dueling. She could follow the game at a rudimentary level, and could name a few of the monsters from memory (because repetition was good for remembering, and her friends usually made her sit through their duels, unless the class she had was something she couldn't miss), but beyond that, she generally tended to sit in a haze, relying on the others to shed light of what move had just been made, why someone had lost lifepoints, and what that one card did.

So Lia being confused wasn't the issue.

Alexis, groggily sitting up, bangs in her eyes and hand pressing into her temple, most certainly was.

Lia was over the side of the stands as fast as her legs could carry her. Unlike both Atticus and Jaden, she didn't dare try and jump the barrier, but leapt down the stairs two at a time, her grip on the railing tightening as she stumbled with her landing. Beside her, Hassleberry flung himself gracefully over the chairs and landed on the barrier, glaring at Chazz with no friendly light in his jungle green eyes. Syrus was racing down the stairs behind her, muttering darkly, while Abeni had her head in her hands, shaking so much Lia could see it from where she stood at the bottom of the stairs. Brier had an arm around her, trying to calm the girl down, and Syrus had stopped his decent, turned back, and was bounding back up the stairs to where his fellow Ra's were sitting. Lia paused on the last step, taking in the sight before her.

Both Jaden and Atticus were at the edge of the platform. Atticus was yelling to his sister, who was still on her knees, head bowed and hand entangled in her hair. Chazz was standing a little bit away from her, looking at her with a pleased expression on his face. Lia shuddered at the sight of him. Further back from Atticus was Jaden, his arm slowly dropping from where it was at his waist, his eyes hidden from view as the lights above cast shadows on the upper half of his face. Lia peered at his curiously, watching a ball of distorted colours flit around his head. The light from the ceiling seemed to hit the ball, and was bent so that it fell at the completely opposite angle. Lia squinted, trying to ignore the burn at the back of her eyes. The ball shifted, landing on Jaden's shoulder, before turning slightly.

And Lia looked hastily away, rubbing her eyes frantically.

" Stupid...dusty air." She muttered, feeling her way down the last step. When her foot touched the floor, she pulled her hand away, blinking rapidly to keep her eyes from drying out. Absentmindedly, she touched the part of her tank top that fell by her collarbone, and breathed a sigh of relief when her fingers came back dry.

There was the sound of hurried footsteps by her ear, and the girl turned around. The entrance to the arena rose up behind her, but it was empty. She leaned over farther, trying to see down it, but there was no one there, only the distant echo of shoes hitting the floor an indication that there ever had been.

She hurried forward, just as Atticus scrambled up towards his sister.

" What happened?" She whispered as she reached Jaden. The boy just shook his head, bangs swishing back and forth.

" This won't end well."

" Huh?" Lia glanced at him, trying very hard not to look at the way the light darkened a little when it hit the swirling colours that rested on Jaden's shoulder.

The boy looked up at her, his eyes distant, and Lia had the same sensation that she'd had with Chazz; that she was being looked through, like he could see into her very soul. But unlike Chazz, Lia didn't feel the need to tremble and balk. Instead, she closed her eyes, and let him. Jaden was someone she couldn't bring herself to be afraid of. He'd seen her, the good, the bad, and the incredibly ugly and he'd neither turned tail and run, nor recoiled at the sight of her shrivelled heart. Jaden had made her strong, and he'd made her happy, and Lia was never going to be afraid of him or what he did. So she closed her eyes, let her mind go blank, and let him look right through her.

She missed the soft smile of approval he gave her, and by the time she opened her eyes again, he was staring at the platform, a heavy look of sadness in his eyes.

" Jaden, what do you mean?" She tried again, following his gaze. " What won't end well?"

" She's gone, Lia."Jaden whispered before moving forward, almost appearing to glide over the floor. Lia stared after him, puzzled.

" Wait, what?" She hurried to catch up. " Who's gone? What are you talking about?"

" Alexis!" Atticus' voice startled Lia out of her confused haze. The older boy was kneeling by the blonde, shaking her shoulder as he leaned her weight against him. Alexis was trying to pull away from him, her face still in shadow. " Lexi, talk to me!"

Chazz started to walk towards the siblings. Atticus pulled his sister closer, snarl on his face.

" Get away from her, you bastard!" Chazz stopped, looking at Atticus with something that might've been pity if it hadn't been for the look in Chazz's eyes.

" Atticus, I understand how you feel." Chazz said. The Obelisk boy's glare intensified.

" You're nothing but a monster! If you really think I'm gonna let you anywhere near my sister after what you just did to her, you're even crazier than I thought!"

" I've done nothing wrong."

" Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong?" Atticus' voice rose in pitch. " You did something to my sister! You hurt her!"

" I had to."

" Had to? What kind of excuse is that?"

" It's not an excuse. It's the truth."

" Shut up! Just shut up!"

" I did what was necessary."

" Hurting my sister was necessary?"

" I had to show her the Light. In order to see it, the darkness needed to be burned out of her."

" Burned?"

" The darkness was coiled around her soul. I had to get rid of it. You can understand that, can't you?"

" She was screaming!"

" That wasn't my doing. It was the darkness that was holding on to her. I had to get rid of it, can't you see that? It was holding her captive, blinding her to the truth. I was trying to help my friend."

" If you ever come near her again, you sick freak, I'll-"

" That's enough, Atticus." Alexis said, pulling away from her brother. She climbed shakily to her feet, swaying slightly. Atticus jumped up beside her, making to put a steadying arm around her, but Alexis stepped away.

" Lexi, are you okay? What did he do to you? Should you even be standing?"

" Atticus. I'm fine." She shook her head. " In fact, I'm better than fine."

" Really?" Her brother's whole face seemed to light up.

" Yeah. I've finally managed to see beyond the darkness." Alexis looked up at her brother, bright smile on her face. Her skin was paler than it had been during her duel, but her cheeks were flushed almost red, like all the blood on her face had been gathered to them. Her whole body shook with the effort to remain upright, and the hands she had clasped in front of her chest were trembling fiercely.

But what got Lia's attention and held it were her eyes.

Bright in a face that was getting whiter by the minute, they seemed to glow in the shadow cast by her bangs. They were staring at the group like none of them were really there, like she was just talking to ghosts. Her eyes never focused in on any of them, not Syrus, who was walking down the stairs with Abeni and Brier; not Lia, who stood, transfixed, staring up at her blonde friend; not Hassleberry, who was alternating between swinging his head around in confusion, seeking an answer, and growling low in his throat at Chazz; not Atticus, who was giving Alexis helpless looks, as though willing her to snap out of whatever trance she was under; not Jasmine and Mindy, who'd been sitting silent since Alexis' first outburst, the dark-haired girl striving to hide her tears while the redhead tried to wrap her mind around the proceedings; and certainly not Jaden, who was eyeing Alexis as though she might leap up and bite him at any moment. Her eyes bypassed them all, and as they stared straight ahead, not seeing anything, they burned just like Chazz had that day Lia had tried to talk to him.

The Academic bit back a sob she didn't know was fighting to get free of her throat, and involuntarily took a step back, shaking as she felt Alexis' gaze sweep over her. Her eyes screwed up shut again, and this time, a tremour of fear went down her spine.

" I have seen the Light."

Lia shook her head, willing the words to slide back in between Alexis' lips and vanish.

" Shut up." She whispered, looking at her feet. " Lexi, shut up."

" I can see the path that was laid out for me."

" Stop it." Lia muttered, taking another step back. Atticus was staring at Alexis in shock, his mouth hanging open.

" The Light has shown me the truth, and I am grateful."

" Stop talking."

" I'm ready to finally step out of the unending night-"

" Stop saying those things."

"- and into the bright dawn that is breaking through the –"

" Shut up!" Lia pressed her hands against her ears to try and drown out Alexis' words. The blonde kept going, completely oblivious to Lia's plight. The younger girl felt the stares of her friends, but she threw her head from side to side, trying to dislodge the image of Alexis' burning eyes. A warm hand fell on her shoulder, and Lia's eyes flew open.

Chazz smiled at her.

" I know you're scared. And that's alright. You're so lost right now, so disoriented and confused, that you have no choice but to be afraid. You don't understand what's going on because you've been trapped so long, but I promise you that you'll be free someday soon. The Society will come for you and it will save you, I swear. It will save everyone." He put his other hand on her other shoulder. " So don't tremble, Kitten. Very soon you'll be able to see."

" Let go of her."

Both parties, the shaking girl with her green tank top and black shirt rumbled and bunched, and the boy in his white jacket, turned to see the source of the command. Jaden was standing with his arms crossed, the closest thing to a scowl Jaden could have on his face. Lia felt Chazz's hands tighten on her shoulders, until the nails of his fingers were biting into her skin. She didn't even flinch, a strange numbness settling over her.

The world was spinning out of control. Chazz was being nice, Alexis was rambling like a lunatic, and no matter what Atticus had promised her, something very wrong was happening, and they were going to have to fight, very soon. They were going to have to fight like they had last year, and Lia knew that she was not alone in saying that those scars were not all closed up yet. There were no Beasts to take Syrus away, but Chazz was drifting farther and farther out of their grasp, and he was evidently determined to pull as many people out to sea with him as he could. Alexis was following after him, caught in the current. Zane's brooding but powerful presence was gone, replaced by some dark, hideous aura that made even Lia wish for the old Zane every time she saw him in a magazine or on TV. Jaden was scowling, Sheppard was gone, and she could feel the world tilting dangerously under her feet, until she couldn't even make out left from right anymore. The terror was catching up to her, and with the same violent force she'd used to deal with Syrus' disappearance, she shut down her senses and let herself drift into the comfortable emptiness of shock.

Chazz let her shoulders go.

" Of course." He nodded his head politely to Jaden. " I was only trying to reassure her. She seemed so upset."

Jaden didn't take his eyes off of him.

" Lia, you have English in ten minutes." Lia jumped slightly. " Hurry up."

It would've sounded like a dismissal coming from anyone else, but there was an undertone in his voice, something that reminded her of the way Atticus had sounded when he'd promised to look after her, that made her start to back away slowly from the scene. Alexis hopped down off the platform and walked to stand next to Chazz, and Lia dropped her eyes before she could lock gazes with either one of them. With her head still down, she turned, and walked briskly out the entrance way, the sounds of Chazz telling Alexis to get fitted for a white uniform fading.

As soon as she was far enough away, and certain that the corridor was clear, Lia broke into a run, heading for her classroom, determined to work so hard that the duel would be erased from her mind. She was so preoccupied with getting to her class that when she ran around the corner and nearly collided with someone going the other way, she merely dodged around them, muttered an apology, and took off again, not even noticing the stunned look on Aster Phoenix's face as he watched her go.

When he'd decided to take a walk around the island to clear his head, this was not what he'd expected to find.

Following the duel that Aster was not afraid to admit had become downright terrifying towards the end, the pro-star had quickly turned around and walked out of the duel arena, his thoughts whirring around like busy bees in his head. He'd come to the match with the sole purpose of finding out more information about the Society of Light Chazz had mentioned the night he'd confronted the younger boy. He'd tried calling his manager, but the number that had always worked before had apparently been disconnected, and Aster could find no time in his busy schedule to actually visit the man.

When he'd finally gotten around to it, there had been a note taped to the side door, his usual entrance, telling him that Sartorius was off talent scouting and Sarina was off on a small pilgrimage to the mountains of Japan, where she'd be staying until further notice. Why she'd chosen the same time as her brother to leave the country was a mystery to Aster. Still, he wasn't going to question Sarina on her decision. She'd fallen in love with the Shinto religion when she'd gone on exchange to Japan in her early college years, and she was wont to go back there, in full shrine maiden garb, and continue her training with the elements. Aster 'd just wished she'd called him first.

So that left out confronting the problem at the source. All he really had to go on was that strange behaviour of Chazz's and a name given to him by the clearly unbalanced boy. So, he'd figured the best course of action was to return to Duel Academy (where he was, technically, a student), and snoop around for clues.

And that was how he'd ended up at the duel between Chazz and Alexis Rhodes.

The actions had been shocking. The explosion of light that had rocked the stadium, the unbridled fury on Alexis' part, the way she'd surrendered just to be able to punch Chazz, had all made Aster a little uncomfortable. He was used to trash talking and empty threats, but to see such violence first hand was a little unsettling. He'd always had a weak stomach for it ever since his father had been murdered, and the look in Alexis' eyes had made him wonder if she would've been able to stop hitting the boy under her had the punch connected.

And then there had been the scream.

Aster shuddered as it echoed in his ears. It reminded him far too much of the blood-curdling scream Jaden had given at the end of their first official duel, right before he'd collapsed to the ground in much the same fashion as Alexis. Given what had happened to the girl afterwards, the American had to wonder what had been going on inside Jaden after he'd fallen down. He'd woken up the same, as far as Aster had heard, and had not been rambling on about Light and being able to see and a whole bunch of other nonsense that just didn't sit right with Aster at all.

And speaking of things that didn't sit right with him...

" Hey," he said tentatively, " you okay?"

Lia Shanner, huddled in a ball on the ground, looked up at him in surprise.

She was sitting with her knees bent so that they touched her chest. Both her arms were wrapped around her knees, and up until he'd spoken, her head had been resting on them. Her hair was a bit messy, strands tumbling out of her braid in thick, dark curls. Her tank top was rumbled, and one strap threatened to fall off of her shoulder.

But it was her face Aster was staring at.

Her eyes were rimmed with red and there were tear tracks streaking down her face. As she looked at him, a few more tears tumbled from her eyes. In the hand she held near her face, she was clutching a tissue. Her nose was a little red as well, and when she went to take a breath, probably to yell at him, she hiccupped, a wet, broken little sound that made Aster's gentleman instincts rise.

But what really had his attention was the patch of bright red skin on her right cheek.

" What..What happened?" He pointed lamely at her face. Lia immediately bristled and looked away with a huff.

"Nothing!" She snapped, and tried (and failed) to discreetly wipe her eyes.

" It doesn't look like nothing." Aster coaxed, taking a few steps forward. The girl whipped her head back to glare at him.

"Back off! I don't owe you any explanations!" Her eyes narrowed. " What are you even doing here? I thought I told you to not come back."

Aster hunkered down beside her, the corner of his mouth tugging up.

" Hate to break it to you, babe, but you don't get to decide who can set foot on the island and who can't."

Lia looked at him incredulously, almost surprised at the joke. She blinked, and Aster's face broke into a full-blown, albeit small, smile. Lia immediately ducked her head, breaking the eye contact.

" Go away." She whispered miserably, and Aster felt his smile drop.

" Okay, you're definitely not alright. You haven't tried to slap me once."

" I can still do that if you want me to so bad." She growled, looking at him through her bangs. Aster waved the suggestion off.

" Nah, violence isn't really my thing." He looked at her speculatively. " But a smile might be nice."

" What?" She balked, but there was a hint of laughter under her tone, and her head rose up all the way, so Aster mentally patted himself on the back.

" I told you, right? I can't stand to have a cute girl mad at me. So just smile, and I'll be gone."

" You're annoying." She said dismissively.

" And you're defensive." He leaned forward, squinting as he looked at her cheek. " Whoa, that looks like it hurt."

Lia's other cheek went the same colour, and she leaned back, putting a hand on Aster's chest to push him away.

" What do you think you're doing?" She hissed.

" Taking a look." He darted forward, and cupped her chin with his fingers. " So hold still, would ya?"

" Cut it out!"

" Easy." He murmured, tilting her head so that her cheek was more in the moonlight. It was starting to fade back to the pale colour the rest of her was, but the sight of the irritated skin still made him wince.

" Looks like someone smacked you." He said as he let go. She immediately turned her head to the side, giving him a view of her profile. " Who was it?"

" None of your business." He supposed he deserved that one.

" Isn't that a little cold?"

" Why do you care, anyway?" He flinched, because her tone was venom, and even though she wasn't looking at him, he could still feel her glare.

" Can't help it." He shrugged. " I can't resist a cute girl who needs help."

There was a rustling noise, and then Lia hopped to her feet, fists clenched at her sides. Aster jumped back at the sudden movement, looking up at her thunderous expression.

" What?"

She tossed her head.

" God, I can't stand guys like you!" Then she stormed down the path. But unlike the last time she'd walked away from him, Aster hadn't been thoroughly cowed, and he wasn't willing to give up without a fight.

" Hey, wait! Wait up!" He took off after her. " What do you mean, guys like me?"

" Guys who mercilessly tease girls like me." She said without looking at him, still walking as quickly as she could. Aster fell into place beside her.

" Girls like you?"

" Girls who aren't the prettiest or the most developed or whatever it is you guys are attracted to. You make fun of me because I don't look like a super model, and that amuses you or something. And while I'd normally be more than able to dish it out, I haven't had a good day, and I'd really appreciate it if you would leave. Me. Alone!"

Aster blinked, stopping as he tried to make sense of her words. Lia brushed past him, her face still flushed from her outburst and her shoulders still tense from her anger. She was almost past him when his arm shot out and grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him. Lia struggled, snarling at him in French, but Aster held tight. When she whipped her hand out to slap him, he caught it, and held it captive, hauling her closer.

" Easy, easy." He said slowly. " Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm not gonna do anything. I just wanna know why you think I'm teasing you."

" Are you fucking stupid or something?" Lia spat in his face, the stress of the day finally getting to her. " You're making fun of me by calling me cute and being all flirty when we both know you don't mean anything by it! You're mocking me by acting like I'm someone you could actually be attracted to, and I know for a fact that guys like you don't even look at girls like me so you can take your fucking pet names and shove them right up your ass because I'm not buying it! If Lexi were here she'd..." Lia trailed off. She went limp in Aster's grasp, slumping forward.

" She'd..." The girl tried again. " If Lexi were here, she'd definitely...she would...she'd..."

Her voice broke over the last word, and through the gap in her bangs, Aster saw two telltale glimmers run down her cheeks.

" This is about that duel, and what happened to Alexis Rhodes, isn't it?" He said, letting her go. Lia took a step back.

" Leave me alone." She pleaded miserably, but Aster ignored her. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and then started walking down the path. Lia's head shot up, and though she gave him a disbelieving look, Aster noticed she fell in step beside him.

" What are you doing?"

" I can't leave a cute girl like you alone in the woods at night. That'd go against everything I was taught." He held up his hand for silence when her face went indignant and she opened her mouth. " And I'm not trying to tease you. Do you look in a mirror often? You're seriously cute, and anyone who tells you otherwise should have their vision checked. Now, let's hurry up and find your friends, since you clearly aren't going to let me comfort you."

And he tugged her in the direction of Duel Academy, completely missing the way her face lit up in a blush as he called her cute.

So, I have some very happy news! Some wonderful person nominated me for the Fanfiction Facebook's Fanpage most beloved author of the month for October! I feel so honoured! I'm not expecting to win, but dear god, just being considered for a nominations means so much to me! I don't know if the person who nominated me is reading this, but if you are, I really, really, want to thank you for that! You made me feel so wonderful! Thank you so, so, SO much!

Wow, now my only other goal is to get a mention on TVTropes.

Anywho, this is the aftermath of the Chazz vs Alexis duel, which, as we all know from last week, ended rather badly. ( And yes, I am a HORRIBLe person for writing that. And that's not even as bad as it's gonna get, trust me.) Just what am I saying about Lia and Alexis' friendship? Well, put it this way: Once again, it's gotta get worse before it gets better.

And to all the people who hate Aster (there are a more than I expected), his sympathetic character analysis begins now, because frankly, yeah, he's a dick, but he's got a good reason, and in this story, that reason is getting severely fleshed out. You may not like Aster, and maybe you still won't like him by the end of it, but I am determined that you will have at least a grudging respect for my version of him. The guy's been through a lot, give him a break.

That's about it. Let me know if you liked it, okay?

See you all next week for the Lexi confrontation.

MoS