Author's note: Thanks for the review. I'll admit, I was among those who knew the 4Kids version first. As such, I honestly thought that the end of the series was Jaden and Zane dead. I only discovered season 4 a few years ago. It did feel a little rushed in part and some of the characters like Jim, Aster and Zane did sort of have their roles reduced to almost being written out, although to be fair that happened to Jaden's main gang in season 3 so... At least that's what I felt.

/

For no apparent reason, Zane seemed to decide that he needed to see more of life. It wasn't something that he declared or an intention that he made known somehow, more something that Aster found himself observing through spending time with the man.

It was quite spontaneously that the man had stated that he was going to the Academy with the intention of seeing the results. He hadn't invited Aster along but then as a student, he was rather expected to tag along so as to at least be somewhat present. He'd sat the blasted exams after all. Something of a joke in itself given that he already had two PHDs but then he'd signed up for Duel Academy and that meant all of the other modalities associated with that. So he went along, his ghostly companion walking next to him. It was busy around the school. Initially, Zane made some sort of a point of trying to move out of the way of those who threatened to inadvertently walk through him but the volumes involved caused him to abandon such precautions.

As such, Aster found himself on the receiving end of a few glares. He did his best not to even acknowledge them. He wasn't to blame in the first place. Just how or why people thought that he would be capable of summoning an otherworldly chill and the feeling that someone had walked across their graves was beyond him. As a result, he forced himself to continue on and ignore the looks that he received, if nothing else to avoid drawing any more attention to himself.

Aster slipped into the hall where the results were to be announced. He made a point of finding the most discrete and isolated seat that he could, one where he could, if he so chose, speak with Zane without attracting confused looks and questions about his sanity from his classmates. The results were yet to be announced but judging by the way that there seemed to be a genuine atmosphere of anxiety in the air as collective breaths were held.

"You seem pretty relaxed." Zane noted quietly.
"Well, I'm a pro-duellist and I've got two PHDs, no offense but end of year exams? I think I can handle them." He paused a few moments before admitting. "Though I can't say I've been to too many classes."
"Were you conscious?"
"In the classes? Yes, of course."
"Then you've probably attended more classes than Jaden."

Aster snorted at the comment, more than slightly aware of his friend's reputation for falling asleep in class. He quickly scanned the room, eventually spotting the Slifer with his friends somewhere towards the middle of the rows, waiting. They didn't seem to have noticed him. That suited him just fine. For a moment, he wondered if Zane wasn't here if he'd have been down there with them. Whilst he did consider them to be "friends" or sorts, he didn't exactly spend his days hanging out with them. He found himself to be comfortable enough with his current albeit somewhat ghostly company.

There was what Aster could only describe as a collective intake of breath. A series of names and scores appeared on the screen. He was quick to find his own, quietly satisfied. Zane took more interest in the results than he'd assumed that he would. Considering them for a moment. Initially, the pro-duellist assumed that he was likely just searching for his brother (he wouldn't have far to look, Syrus had done himself proud) but as the seconds trickled by, it became apparent that it was the entirety of his former group of friends that interested him. Just why it was now that he was suddenly invested in what happened with some of the more mundane parts of their life, he couldn't have said.

As usual with Zane, he hadn't ever bothered explaining himself. So Aster was forced to hypothesize.

It was the graduation week. In a little over seven days, the very last of his friends would leave this island and be scattered across the world. Given that he'd be unable to pick up a phone and call them to check up on them, these would likely be his last few days with them. Even for a man as seemingly cold and detached as Zane was, he reasoned that must have meant at the very least something. The prospect of being left alone for what could be all of eternity must have been enough to get him to at least shudder. So in a way, that didn't really surprise him.

What Aster was struggling to get his head around was: why now? Even a couple of days ago, he'd been decidedly indifferent about the whole thing and even given off the impression that he had little to no intention of attending anything to do with the whole Graduation ceremony. His own had been boring enough apparently, with the exception of the duel.

No, something somewhere had changed. He had only a small idea of what might have been the cause.

He waited until they had left the room and were walking back through the corridors before bringing it up, glancing around carefully as he did so to ensure that they were well and truly out of anyone else's earshot.

"What did you see?"
"Hm?" He sounded puzzled rather than the usual vague sense of irritation Aster tended to associate with him.
"In Trueman's world or whatever you want to call it…"
"I saw what everyone else saw-" His tone was dryer now, a clear warning this wasn't something he wanted to discuss. "An illusion."
"Come on Zane, don't play dumb." Aster took his courage in hand and decided to proceed. "You've been acting different since you came back… Must have been something you saw..."

His face tightened, a shadow casting over it. For a moment, Aster feared that he might have been about to receive a mouthful or be told to mind his own business. Instead, he took a sudden right turn. Startled, Aster followed to the best of his ability. He followed him straight into a brick wall his head and nose crashing against it as he did so. Pain caused him to fall to the floor, dazed. His ears were ringing but he was still just about able to make out a mixture of a few concerned gasps and some chuckles which were muffled to the best of their owners' abilities.

Groaning, he sat up, rubbing his tender forehead as he did so. He'd walked into the wall very sincerely, that was to say that he hadn't though it would be there and thus had hit it with a fair amount of force. He was aware of the attention that was now focused on him, that he had embarrassed himself. His cheeks were somewhat flushed as a result, humiliation fuelled indignation and anger:

"Very funny, jerk." He muttered through clenched teeth as loudly as he dared but Zane didn't reappear.
"Are you okay?"

He turned his head to see Jaden and his gang approaching. Great. Just great. The other students, he imagined, might have laughed at his expense but would ultimately have ignored him. He knew better than to expect such indifference from the group now approaching him. He made a point of getting to his feet as quickly as possible, brushing the whole thing off as unimportant, in what he had already resigned himself to be a vain hope that they might ignore him and assume that he was alright. He offered them a smile, his excuse already in hand, a slight note of humour infused so as to make light of the situation:

"Guess that serves me right for daydreaming."
"And you forgot the wall was there?" Chazz questioned dubiously.
"I guess..."
"Here."

He raised his eyebrows surprised by Alexis offering him a tissue. Almost automatically without thinking he reached out to take it. It was only then that he noticed a spot of blood. Acting on instinct, he raised his hand towards his face where there was now a decidedly familiar warm, damp feeling. His fingers encountered more blood. He was quick to plaster the tissue there both to wipe away that which was already there and in the hopes of being able to absorb some of the flow which was still coming. Looking around, he found himself to be rather disorientated surrounded by such a crowd:

"Aw jeez, where's the nearest bathroom?" Panicked, he was obliged to ask for help.
"Come on… I'll take you." Jaden offered stepping forwards before turning back to his other friends. "I'll meet the rest of you in by the dorms."

As luck would have it, he couldn't have really asked for much else. It had been a long time since he'd last found himself alone in the company of Jaden Yuki. He kept the hand with the tissue against his nose whilst with the other, he pinched just above the nostrils so as to slow the flow. Jaden accompanied by someone bleeding had a curious effect on the crowd who quickly made room for him. They made it quickly to a bathroom.

Aster was quick to wash his face, getting rid of the worst of the blood. He gestured for Jaden to pass him some of the paper hand towels from the nearby dispenser. He did so, allowing him to wet them with cold water and apply them to his neck. He steadied himself, bracing himself against the sink as he waited for it to pass. He was going to have a bump on his head tomorrow, he could feel it coming. He glanced into the mirror, seeing the reflection of his friend watching him, arms folded and with some concern still lingering.

"Sorry 'bout that." He apologized. "Used to get them all the time as a kid… Couple of years back, the D had it cauterized."
"Don't worry about it..." Jaden assured him with a warm smile.

The blood was starting to slow a little bit. The frustration with Zane less so. Some part of him would quite like to return the favour… Perhaps it was a good thing that he couldn't stew on his anger for much longer and instead had something else to focus on. Right now, Jaden didn't seem to be terribly different from what would have typically been considered "normal" (assuming such a term could be applied where Jaden was concerned) only a few months ago. That was comforting in a way. It gave him some courage and cause to believe that there might be some hope after all. He waited for a few moments longer, weighing up the pros and cons before deciding to risk it:

"Hey pal, mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure!" If he was uneasy, it certainly didn't show. "What about?"
"About Yubel and Zane… I still don't get why he didn't come back."

He'd been in two minds about spitting out the whole truth and begging for help. He knew Zane's position on the matter: no one was to know about him, not even those closest to him. Aster could sort of understand the logic but it was that of a man who had given up all hope of being rescued. He deemed his situation to be permanent. If that were true, then informing others of his predicament would only mean including them in the fact that he was suffering – and for having spent a while in his shoes, the pro-duellist knew that he was – and being able to do nothing to help him. He supposed that was relatively selfless of his friend but after a few days of observation, he was far from convinced that he was dealing with it quite as well as he thought he was.

For the time being though, his wishes would be respected. Assuming he didn't cause him to walk into any more walls that was.

Jaden frowned. Admittedly, from his perspective, the question had come out of nowhere. He shifted, head tilting to one side as if that would somehow give him a different perspective on the matter. For a moment, Aster considered telling him not to worry and to forget about it. He held off, realizing that it was too late. Even if he backed out, then that would still leave the Slifer wondering just what had caused it to come up in the first place. In fact, if anything, shying away might seem to be more suspicious.

"Yubel did try..." Jaden spoke eventually, quietly. "She tried so hard but his body was damaged. His heart gave out. She tried to bring him back but it wasn't enough."
"So…" Aster struggled for a moment to think of a way to ask without giving everything away. "What happened to him?"
"I don't know, his body died but for a moment, I thought I could save his soul..."

Jaden's voice seemed different somehow, it had gained something of an echo-like quality to it. Aster frowned, there was something, someone else there. He could see that now. He assumed it would be kuriboh or maybe another of the neo-spatians. Very slowly however, he felt that he could make out a different form altogether. Up until a few days ago when he'd witnessed Jaden's duel against Nightshroud, he hadn't ever laid eyes on the spirit but had heard and felt just what she'd done. She was here, with the Slifer student. His gift allowed him to make out that much.

Instinctively, he took a step back. Whatever part she'd played in bringing them back to this world, it wasn't quite enough to make him entirely comfortable in her presence. He remembered why he was here, why he was asking these questions. Zane's spirit was trapped here and needed help. He owed him that much:

"So what happened to him?" He managed despite his fear. "Could he be trapped somewhere?"
"I scoured every inch of the dimension and couldn't find a trace of him. I guess that he must have gone to the other side."
"What if he didn't? If his spirit's lost couldn't we find some way to help him?"

This time, there was no mistaking it, Jaden's confusion had turned to suspicion. Aster realized that he wouldn't be able to get away with another. He tried to act a little more innocently, risking turning away so as to turn on the tap and wash his face once more. The blood had almost stopped. Now he was more interested in erasing any traces of the incident so as to avoid him receiving any more stares. Discarding the wet hand towels he'd been using to slow the flow into a nearby waste bin, he washed his hands attempting to remove what crimson was still present.

"I would have sensed him. Besides, his body was damaged beyond repair. All that could be done would be to find him a new one or allow him to pass over."

Not the news he wanted to hear. For the briefest of moments, he wondered if there was anything that could be done at all. It wasn't as if he had any spare bodies or a gateway to the afterlife just lying around in the wardrobe of his yacht. He considered for a moment whether or not he might not be better off just telling Jaden and Yubel the whole truth, reasoning that maybe if he did so they would be able to offer more insight and perhaps even a solution. Once more however, he held off. He needed Zane's opinion on the matter. Presenting it as a fait accompli likely wouldn't go down very well. For whatever reason, his friend seemed to be opening up a little more, maybe in a couple of days when the reality that everyone was going to leave the island had sunk in, he would be more open to possibilities.

For the time being, Aster was inclined to let the matter lie. He was going to have to make sense of the whole Jaden-Yubel thing later. Right now, he felt obliged to leave. He'd got the worst of the blood off and as far as he could tell the bleeding actually seemed to have stopped. Next to him, hehe felt something tap his forearm. It was Jaden, offering him some more towels. The pro-duellist mouthed a "thank you", finishing to clean himself.

"Didn't realize you cared that much about Zane."
"He..." Aster would liked to have explained it but found himself lacking the right words or even a proper explanation as to just what was happening. "He had my back in that dark world. I didn't know how sick he was… I guess, I just wish I could have helped him. You know?"
"He's gone Aster…"

That was Yubel speaking. He was certain of it. He bit his lip to avoid telling her that she was wrong. That somewhere along the line a terrible mistake had been made and that his spirit was trapped here. Instead, he just nodded slowly just as he had done a few months ago when he'd been told of the fate of the other duellist. Accepting it without question and acknowledging that no matter how much he might wish for it to be otherwise, he couldn't bring back the dead.

They left a few seconds later. Aster was relatively quiet, pensive as he tried to make sense of everything that he'd just learned and the potential ramifications. To him, none of it was good news and only seemed to increase the likelihood of Zane being right.

"Is everything okay Aster? You've been acting kinda..."
"I'm just a little tired. Nothing to worry about Pal." Aster dismissed with a wave of the hand.
"You should come and hang with us for a bit, instead of sitting around on that boat of yours all day."
"Maybe..."

Zane wouldn't want to accompany him. He knew that instinctively. Watching his friends from afar was one thing but actually being in and among them (even if they couldn't see him) another altogether. There was a certain amount of regret there as Aster was acutely aware that they were running out of time. In a few weeks, they'd all be going their separate ways and doing their own things in life. If he was lucky, he might run into a few of them in the pro-circuit but even that wasn't terribly likely.

It was with a heavier heart than he would have thought possible that he said "goodbye" to Jaden. Part of it he could blame on disappointment, the last few vestiges of hope that there might have been some way to restore Zane disappearing. The rest… That was something which he couldn't quite understand. A regret perhaps? The feeling that all of this was now coming to an end...