Warnings: Less dark than last week, but that isn't saying much.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX.
Year Two: Descending Light
" Neos, take out his dragon!" Jaden cheered as he watched the last of Orlando's life points drop. Behind him, he heard Syrus and Hassleberry start cheering as well, Jesse's laughter at their antics audible over the sounds of the explosions as they shook the field. He smiled to himself, the tension of the duel with the fake Ra card (which hadn't been eased by even Chumley's timely appearance, or the incredible gift of a specially designed card) and of the disturbing fact that Sartorius had access to a satellite whose purpose had yet to be revealed seeping out of him. There was nothing like a duel to help him get over his problems.
After Orlando had left (and showing them his patented 'victory dance', for which they had cheered, smiled, and fallen into bouts of laughter over), the four boys sat on the grassy knoll for a little while, staring up as the sky was streaked orange and purple by the sunset.
" Ain't that a sahght?" Jesse sighed , lying back on the grass with the other boys. Syrus agreed breathlessly, cradling his blue head in his arms.
" It's nice." Jaden agreed, breathing in the air. The ocean gurgled somewhere off in the distance, and there was the sound of seagulls cawing overhead, and Jaden a perfect sense of calm overtake him, as if nothing could go wrong ever again.
Of course, something had to come along and shatter it, because that was the way of the world.
" Jaden!"
The Slifer looked up, startled by the cry.
Aster was running towards them, his hair whipped back by the wind. Although Jaden couldn't see him very well as he was in constant motion, the desperation behind the cry set his nerves tingling. Fear choked up his voice and a cold sweat started to form on his brow.
" I've been looking everywhere for you!" The younger boy snapped when he finally reached them. Jaden noticed he was pale and haggard looking, and it did nothing to set him at ease.
" Why?" He asked slowly, praying that he didn't sound too anxious. Beside him, Syrus walked up, looking suspicious, and Jaden felt Hassleberry move to stand behind him, glaring at the pro-star. Jesse walked up casually, and though his face was neutral, Jaden saw fire spark in his green eyes. Winged Kuriboh settled on his shoulders, bristling and letting out noises that sounded like they could be curse words. Jaden was glad to see his spirit lively again, given that the furball had been acting strangely the day before.
Aster refused to meet his eyes.
" It's...Lia."
That had all their attention.
The air around the five boys dropped dramatically. The cold lump of fear that had been twisting around in Jaden's gut exploded outwards, sending ice water shooting through his veins. He opened his mouth, ready to demand that Aster explain further, but the fear closed a frigid hand around his neck and he couldn't make the words come out. Something in the way Aster had said her name, something in the way he stood, something that gleamed in his eyes (oh god, was that the same fear Jaden felt?), made the Slifer terrified.
" What is it? What's wrong?"
Syrus push forward, commanding looking on his face. Jaden felt a rush of relieved affection for the smaller boy. He'd forgotten, for a second, that he wasn't the only boy who cared about Lia. Hassleberry made no secret of the fact that he was fond of her, and Jaden knew that Syrus and her shared a special bond; they could usually be found sitting quietly together whenever Lia joined the boys for a night in.
" I..." Aster whispered, his voice weak. " She's...hurt."
Hurt.
The word cut through him like a blade. Instinctively, beyond all reason, he knew this was more than Lia crying over Alexis slapping her or fuming about Bastian leaving. With a terrible sense of knowing, he understood that whatever had happened was worse than it had ever been. He knew that even if Lia didn't have blood splattered across her clothes, she was broken and bleeding on the inside.
And in the same breath, Jaden knew that there was going to be Hell to pay.
They found Lia just a little farther down the slope of the path. She was leaning against a tree, half hidden by the trunk, her hair (loose and tumbling like a cascade of auburn curls in the dying sunlight) flying out around her face like a shroud and hiding her features. There was an aura of fear around her, and Jaden's breath caught the second he saw her hunched shoulders and timid body language. Before he could even reach out to her, Aster was hurrying forward, his hands finding her shoulders.
" I told you to wait. I said I'd be quick."
Her voice came out as a raspy whisper, and the ice water in Jaden's veins started to pump faster, spreading down his body like frostbite.
" I didn't like being alone."
Aster's shoulders slumped, and his hands started moving up and down in soothing motions of their own accord, because his eyes had dropped, like he couldn't bear to look at the girl in front of him
" Sorry." He sounded defeated. Lia took a step forward, one hand reaching up to touch one of the ones on her shoulders. Aster flinched as she did so, a brief look of pain passing over his features.
Jaden strode forward, his morbid curiosity getting the best of him.
" Lia?" He murmured, reaching up to brush the hair out of her face. " Koneko-chan?"
Lia turned to him, and the ice water froze into solid ice in his body.
Her eyes were wide, glistening with tears that she was trying to hold back for some reason. She was paler than she normally was, and the freckles stood out like damning black spots against the paper-shade her face had taken on. The shirt she wore was rumbled and covered in wrinkles, and at the top of the green tank top, there was a brown stain of dried blood that reached up into the black shirt under it. She was shaking, and even as she gave Jaden a pleading look, the fingers around Aster's hand tightened until the knuckles went white.
But Jaden wasn't looking at her face, or her clothes, or even her shaking body. Behind him, he heard Syrus' breath catch.
Jaden stared at her neck in fascinated horror.
It was covered in bruises. They stretched from one side to the other, like a hideous collar. They were thick, heavy things, blue-black and ringed with purple, so dark that they appeared seared into her skin, like a brand. The skin was swollen, although not as much as Jaden thought it should've been, and looked as though it would be painful to even breathe. A pulse hammered underneath the damage, fluttering and trembling like a little bird. The bruises followed the line of her jaw, and Jaden wanted to reach out and touch just one, if only to prove to himself that they were really, and not part of some horrible nightmare.
" Mother of God." Syrus whispered, and Jaden could almost see the hand he was bringing up to his mouth.
" Jesus H. Chrahst!" Hassleberry shouted as he caught sight of them. The temperature around them dropped, and Jaden chanced a look at Jesse. The boy from North Academy was speechless with rage, his hands clenched to fists at his side, and his lips pressed into a grim line so tightly they were white. Ruby appeared on his shoulder, hissing and spitting, no longer a sweet, little spirit, but a hellcat, a bakeneko, monstrous and powerful and on the verge of becoming a nekomata. Jaden could almost see the fireball starting to form in her mouth, and there was certainly fire reflected in those blood-red eyes.
Wordless rage seemed to overtake him as he watched Ruby. Something had done this to Lia. Some monster had put its hands around her neck and squeezed and squeezed until she'd been bruised and broken and breathless. Someone had tried to strangle his friend and the same, protective anger that had spurned him to demand Syrus back from the Sacred Beasts, gambling on little more than his own courage and stubborn will, rose in the back of his mind and sent all other emotions and thoughts crashing to the ground.
" What. Happened." Jaden growled, when he could finally speak again. Aster gave him a searching look, but Lia ducked her head, and shook it, shoulders shaking even more.
" Lia..." Syrus whispered, looking confused.
" She doesn't know." Aster answered for her, and drew the girl close. If Jaden hadn't been so angry, he would've noticed the way Lia leaned into Aster's body immediately, nearly burying her head in his shoulder.
" What d'ya mean, 'she doesn't know'?" Hassleberry's eyes shifted, and they were jungle green with slitted pupils. He advanced on Aster, the muscles of his arms bulging and ready to fight. Aster met his gaze squarely, one arm wrapping tightly around Lia as if to protect her from the younger Ra boy's anger.
" Exactly what it sounds like!" He snapped back, eyes sparking. " She doesn't know! She can't remember anything!"
" And you just 'happened' ta fahnd her?" Hassleberry's voice was a deadly snarl. " How convenient."
Aster blanched, a look of shock on his face.
" You think I...that I would..."
Syrus looked between them, growing increasingly agitated. Jaden clenched his fists until his fingernails bit into his skin and drops of red slid in between his fingers. The red haze was starting to clear a little, but he was still too high-strung, too emotional, to try and sort out the situation. All he knew was that he wanted to find the person who'd done it to Lia, and, forgoing the usual methods, beat them into a pulp, and leave them to bleed out on the ground in the middle of the forest somewhere. He was so caught up in the violent images playing in front of his eyes that he failed to notice Jesse moving until the other boy put a hand on his shoulder.
Jaden jolted, and looked at Jesse in confusion. The other boy tossed his head in the direction of the other boys, where Hassleberry was glaring at Aster with enough force to set him alight, Aster was fidgeting, trying to push Lia behind him, and Syrus looked ready to jump in between the two and start a fight with both of them.
" Ya better do somethin', Jay. It's about t'get ugly."
Jaden nodded, patting the hand on his shoulder twice before shrugging it off and marching forward, catching the end of Hassleberry's rant.
" – supposed ta believe that ya just 'found' her, all beat up and bruised, and ya had nuthin' ta do wit' it? Is that it?"
" I'm telling you, I didn't do anything to her!" Aster shouted back, shoving Lia behind him, where she backed off from the fight, watching it with wide eyes. Syrus seemed to forget about stopping the other boys and hurried to her side, pulling the girl to her knees so he could talk to her better.
" I don't believe it fer a second!" Hassleberry declared, and yanked his arm back. Jaden darted forward and grabbed it. " What the hell, Sarge!"
" Hassleberry, calm down" He commanded, but the boy struggled.
" But he did it Sarge, I know he did! He's nuthin' but a low-down, dirty coward! He prob'ly gets off hitting a girl-"
" Tyranno!" Jaden snapped and Hassleberry's mouth shut with a 'clack'. His shoulders drooped in defeat and when Jaden let go of the hand, it fell to his side. Jaden sighed audibly.
" I don't know what happened, but this isn't the way to solve it. More violence isn't going to help Lia at all." He directed the words to the little part of his brain that was still screaming for blood retribution.
" But, Sarge..." The soldier protested, but Jaden cut him off, turning swiftly on his heel to face Aster. The boy held his gaze for a moment or two, and then either found it too intense, or found the look on Jaden's face too terrible, and dropped his eyes. There was a look of shame on his face that didn't sit well with Jaden.
" Tell me you didn't do it." The Slifer hissed, his voice deeper and darker than it had ever been. Aster's shot up, eyes wide, and he looked like nothing more than an innocent child. But then, so did Syrus, most of the time. And he'd broken a man's nose for calling him weak.
" You can't possibly think..." Aster tried to say, but cut himself off with a noise of fury. His eyes started to spark again, and Jaden, for some reason, felt buffered by it.
" I would never hurt her!" Aster shouted, flushed with anger. " Or anyone for that matter!"
" Says the gah who blahnded mah best friend!" Hassleberry jumped in, but Jaden held up a hand, silencing him. Behind Aster, Jesse had joined Syrus and was very carefully tilting Lia head up, to see the bruises in whatever sparse light was left over from the sunset. Lia was frowning at him, trying to place where she'd seen him before. As Jesse squinted at her neck, Jaden felt his heart leapt into his throat as he caught sight of a smaller bruise right on her jaw line, looking only a little bigger than his thumb.
" That wasn't my fault!" Aster protested. " That was Sartorius I swear, I had nothing to do with that! I swear it!"
" Then swear that you didn't hurt her." Jaden said coldly, and both younger boys looked at him. Behind them, Lia's eyes had lit up with recognition, and she pointed at Jesse, saying something that he nodded in response to.
" What?" Aster whispered. Jaden held his gaze, steel in his own.
" Swear to me that you didn't hurt her. Swear that you didn't put those bruises on her. Swear it."
" You're just gonna take his word for it, Sarge?" Hassleberry exploded. Jaden didn't look away from Aster.
" Give me an oath I know I can trust." Aster blinked. " Swear it, Aster!"
" I swear!" He snarled suddenly. Behind him, Lia said something that made Jesse blush, and his face matched Aster's, though what had the younger boy so red in the face, Jaden could only guess at. He supposed it was anger, but there was some kind of tenderness in his eyes that said differently. " I swear that I didn't hurt her! I would never hurt her, not ever! She's my friend too and I'm sorry I wasn't there to save her, but I would never, ever ever hurt her."
" Give me an oath." Jaden commanded, and, for a second, Aster floundered. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find some answer to give the older boy. He looked helplessly around him, and then his gaze landed on Lia, who was eyeing Jesse suspiciously. And the confusion on his face cleared.
" I swear on my father's grave." He whispered, not taking his eyes off the girl. The tenderness swelled and spilled over his eyes and into his face, transforming it into something soft , a look of something akin to adoration creeping onto his features and emanating from every pore, his lips upturned in a soft smile and his eyes light with a warm fire from within. For a second, Jaden thought he recognized the look, having seen it somewhere before. Then he mentally shook his head to clear it, because he had more important things to be thinking about.
Aster turned away from Lia, and the look melted into one of haughty apprehension.
" Does that satisfy you?"
Jaden nodded.
" That'll do."
Before Hassleberry could start up again, Jesse got to his feet and walked over, hands in his pockets, affecting to look calm and collected. Ruby stayed by Lia, cuddled up against her, although Jaden knew the girl wouldn't be able to see the spirit. Jesse stopped when he was standing next to Jaden, and smiled encouragingly at Aster.
" She says you gave her an ahce pack fo' the swellin'."
Aster nodded.
" Yeah, she..." He hesitated, looking torn. " She said she didn't want to go to the infirmary, and she was so scared, I didn't want to force her. I took her back to her room, and got her some ice and made her swallow some pain meds."
" Did she sleep?" Jaden asked. Aster shrugged.
" On and off throughout the night. Sometimes, it'd seem like she was awake, but she wouldn't respond when I talked to her, so I think she was asleep."
" She says she still doesn't want t' go to the infirmary, but Ah don't think she'll protest as much if all o' us insist." Jesse sighed. " She says she doesn't want t'go 'cuz they'll ask questions, and she doesn't have th' answers."
Jaden noticed that his accent had gotten thicker, and wondered if it worked the same way Lia's did.
" Jaden." Aster said firmly. " You go talk to her. She'll listen to you."
And normally, Jaden would've protested his influence over anyone. He hated being able to say he had power over anyone's decisions. It made him feel too much like a puppet master, too much like the monster that was currently taking up residence in Sartorius' head, and from there spreading out to accumulate most of the student body in its grasp. But for once, Jaden didn't argue, and merely nodded, walking forward to convince Lia that Miss Fontaine would look after her so much better than any of the boys could.
Two hours later saw Lia looking wide-eyed around the hospital, a little drugged up on pain killers, her neck rubbed with salve and bandaged, mainly to hide the bruises she knew were going to get questions. Miss Fontaine had taken one look at the girl as Jaden had escorted her in, gasped in horror, and set to work examining, muttering darkly under her breath and actually cursing out loud when the severity of the marks was made apparent as Lia's head was tilted back.
Aster had stood a little off to the side, looking a bit lost and confused. It was understandable, seeing as how he had tried to separate from the group once they'd reached the school, assuming that he was unwanted company during such a crisis, and was ready to let her friends take care of Lia. The other's had tried to protest, but it was only when Lia's hand had curled around his wrist and tugged him towards the school with her, her voice rasping out, " Don't be stupid." that Aster had agreed to come up to the infirmary with them. As Syrus had pointed out, at least Lia was insulting people again, which meant she couldn't be too traumatized.
They'd sent Hassleberry off to find Jasmine and the girls when Lia had muttered something about worrying them by not calling back. The army brat had still been furious, shooting glares at Aster, but refraining from speaking. Jaden thought that it was more than likely that Hassleberry was more upset about Lia being hurt than anything. He knew that Hassleberry had four sisters, whom he loved quite a bit, and saw more than a little of their pride and spunk in Lia. He'd latched onto her and Alexis like a gentleman, but never treated them like they were too fragile or weak to take care of themselves. Hassleberry had mastered the art of acting like a gentleman without being a chauvinist, and that, Jaden knew, was the same place most of his anger was coming from.
Unfortunately, none of them had really thought about what Hassleberry would be likely to say to explain the situation to the girls, and that was why when Jasmine Makita burst into the room looking ready to murder someone, most of the boys fell out of their waiting chairs.
" Where is he?" She roared. " Where the fuck is he?"
" Who?" Aster dared to ask, and flinched as her eye fell on him.
" You!" She snarled and lunged, only to be held back as Mindy and Miriam darted in behind her and grabbed her around the waist.
" Let me go!" She screamed. " Let me go so I can beat his ass!"
" Jazz, like, take it easy!" Miriam squeaked.
" It probably wasn't him!" Mindy pulled harder. " He's not that bad of a guy!"
" Like fuck he isn't!" Jasmine kicked at her captors.
" He didn't do it!"
" Oh yeah, and he just 'found' her lying around, all beat up? You fucking believe that, Min?"
" I believe," Mindy huffed, " that you are irrational, and jumping to conclusions."
" Fuck, let me go! I wanna hurt him!"
" Jasmine, calm the hell down!"
" Fuck you Miriam!"
" I didn't do it."
Aster's voice was perfectly calm, and that was what made the girls look up. They were met with a stony look and clenched fists, and eyes so bright it made Miriam look away. Aster took a step forward.
"I didn't hurt her. I would never hurt her. I don't care how many times you people make me say it. I would never do that sort of thing to anyone, let alone her."
" Jazz, he's telling the truth, look at him." Mindy pleaded. Jasmine stared at Aster for a moment later, then sulkily began to push the arms holding her back off.
" Yeah, yeah, let go." She fixed the pro-star with a glare. " You'd better hope you're telling the truth, 'cause if you aren't, and you so much as touched even one hair on her head, I'll rip your throat out with my bare hands, you got that?"
Jaden watched Aster glare at Jasmine's threat, and shot one last look at the bed where Lia lay, watching the fight with a dopey expression on her face. Syrus had pulled up a chair and was rolling his eyes at the antics of the others in the room, talking to her in a soft voice. Lia leaned towards the sound of it, and reached up to start stroking Syrus' hair. Syrus caught her hand and placed it down on the mattress, shaking his head and smiling at her. Jaden gave them both a fond smile and walked out the door, determination filling his mind.
It didn't take him long to find Chazz. Night might've been settling in, but the GX tournament was still going, and Chazz was fighting a duel just outside the school with an unnamed pro-star. Jaden was sure Aster could've indentified him, if he'd been there. As it was, Jaden leaned back against one of the stones along the walkway leading up to the school, and waited for Chazz to notice him.
That didn't take long either.
" Oh, hello Jaden." Chazz gave him a polite smile. " What can I do for you?"
Jaden saw no point in beating around the bush.
" Aster says you're the one who gave Lia over to him yesterday."
Chazz blinked, then tilted his head to the side, apparently thinking. Presently, a look of recognition went over his face, and he nodded.
" Oh yes, I did. Poor thing looked very distraught. Was she alright?"
" She's in the infirmary." Jaden snapped through gritted teeth. Chazz tried to put on a look of sympathy, but it didn't reach his burning eyes, and the whole effect was ruined.
" Well, better she's in there and healing, I suppose."
" Did you do it to her?"
Chazz looked at him, and, for a split second, something dark danced through his eyes, a wicked look that dared Jaden to accuse him again.
" What do you mean?"
Jaden more than dared.
" Did you put those bruises on her?" His hackles rose as his voice dropped dangerously, and something hot flooded into the space behind his eyes. " Did you make those marks on her throat? Did you try to strangle her?"
Chazz paused for a moment, then let out a tinkling laugh that made Jaden's blood boil.
" No, of course not. I found her like that in our dorm."
" Then who did it?" Jaden's jaw was clenched so tight it was hard to form the words.
Chazz shrugged, but under his look of puzzlement, the dark thing shifted again, goading Jaden, trying to make the Slifer challenge Chazz to a duel.
" Well, I can't be certain, but I thought I heard her and Master Sartorius having a disagreement through the door."
The wicked thing smirked in triumph, and Jaden let its tactics get to him, just for a second.
The second was enough.
Before he'd realized what he was doing, Jaden had pushed off the stone, his face in shadow and the something hot behind his eyes sliding down the rest of his body, much like the ice had hours before. But this time, Jaden felt hot, rage and fury and a bit of nausea at the look on Chazz's face all swirling together into a storm inside of him, and his body was moving without his say so, striding forward with a purpose in his eyes. Chazz kept on looking politely at him, but behind his genial smile, the Light of Destruction smirked tauntingly.
Jaden could almost feel It's surprise when his fist connected with Chazz's face.
I feel the need to fully expression my feelings surrounding that last line:
FUCK YEAH!
In your face, Light o' Destruction! In your fucking face!
...
Sorry, I just REALLY like that scene. And it gets even...more so next week.
So, this chapter. ...I'm rather fond of it, because it shows that even though the group has been kinda torn apart by the Society of Psychos, it's not totally destroyed. They'll still rally around and protect their own. And it didn't occur to me until a lot later that this might come off as sexist (especially with Mindy's comments last week), but I really didn't write it with that in mind. I mean, c'mon, Lia's never really been dependent on a 'man' to save. She's never been the damsel in distress. Here? Yeah, I'm writing her as distressed but hell, wouldn't you be? I mean, god, she's got a long gap in her memory, and during that gap, she somehow went and got herself nearly strangled to death. It's a rather distressing situation. So no, I never meant to write Lia as ' a girl needing a guy to save her'. This entire chapter? It's about a person needing their friends to save them. And I'm well aware that you guys probably won't jump to this conclusion. I just wanted to justify myself in case someone comes along and tries to call me on it.
I also like this because it shows what I've been leading up to since Lia first saw Sartorius: She's vulnerable, and it's around Aster. She's clung to him before, and always pushe dhim away the second she regained her senses. Even after the Domino City Rain Scene, she's still kept him at a bit of a distance, being friendly, but not letting herself be as vulnerable as she can be around, say, Jaden. In this chapter, that barrier got swept away. Lia actually reaches for Aster. She's never done that before. She's never fully acknowledged, to either of them, that she needs and wants his presence in her time of need. Aster's finally become one of her closest friends. He's someone she can trust, completely. And more than that, he's someone who will understand. Lia's got some serious emotional baggage, and try as she might, she can't really make anyone in the group understand. Lexi got her brother back; Jaden's parents are both still alive, if a tad neglectful; Syrus isn't an only child. Her immediate group can't really connect to her story: She lost her father. And then he died before she had the chance to make peace with that. But Aster? Aster's pretty much in the same boat. His dad is gone, and, as you'll soon see, his mom won't be winning the Parent of the Year award anytime soon.
That's the third thing I really like about this chapter: Aster. It's not his point of view. You don't know what's going through his head, and neither do the characters. But they are starting to get a pretty good picture. Hassleberry is blinded by anger, because he really wants someone to blame, but the others, Jaden specifically, know that Aster would never do something like this. Not to anyone. And certainly not to Lia. Why? He clearly cares about her. Is he in love with her? No, not yet. I still think he's a little too young to be in love in love. But he's very close to it. Aster was forced to grow up pretty fast; faster even than Lia, who had extended family to dote on her and coddle her. Aster's already gotten two degrees. (That's either out of the Japanese version, or the manga, I forget. I've decided that one is in Dueling, and the other is either Psychology, Forensics, or English Literature. What do you guys think?) Aster's, in some respects, more grown up than Lia (and in other ways, he's got the maturity of a selfish toddler. Huzzah for dimensions!). The point is, I think he's old enough to really, truly, fall in love with Lia. As in, possibly forever kind of love (is this stretching reality? A bit yes. But this is a made-up story based on an anime about card games saving the world. I think, dear readers, that you can handle a little stretching), but not without a little more interaction and character development. So, no. Aster's not in love with Lia. But he IS dangerously close, and Jaden can see it, and that's why he'll leave Lia in Aster's care. I said once that this story is more about friendship than romance. And that's still true. After all, Lia and Aster are pretty good friends by this point. And I promise, romantic feelings, both his and hers, won't seriously come up until Year Three. And just in case any of you were hoping for the easy-breezy hook-up, allow me to dash your dreams upon the rocks: They'll have to move mountains before I let them be together.
The last thing that I really, really, really liked is obvious. Allow me to reiterate:
FUCK YEAH!
No, there will NOT be a duel with Chazz. Jaden is pissed, and, to quote TVTropes, It Is Personal. In this version of the story, the Light has crossed a line that never even got DRAWN in the anime. Forget brainwashing or wiping out all of humanity; the Light physically hurt one of Jaden's friends, put bruises on them, and he's not gonna take that lying down. A duel would take too long, and would be too impersonal. Jaden will duel anyone. For this kind of action, the reaction has to be equally as brutal and personal. The Light fucked with one of Jaden's friends, so Jaden's gonna fuck with it. If you came to see the card game between Society!Chazz and Jaden, then I'm sorry, and suggest you look up the episode. Because in my world? We're having ourselves a good old fashion fist-fight!
Join me next week for the thrilling conclusion!
MoS