Author's note: I'm sorry for the delay with this one. Thanks for the reviews.
/
Today was the last day that his old friends would be on Duel Academy Island. It was something of a strange thought for Zane to get through his head. It didn't seem all that long ago to him that they'd just been arriving, nervous at embarking out on this new stage of their lives. Now that they were leaving this place and about to begin their new lives as adults, he felt as if some part of him had been left behind.
He knew Aster to be on his yacht, still recovering from the effects of their switching positions only a couple of days prior. Alexis was busy packing. With them otherwise occupied, Zane found himself to be straying somewhat aimlessly around the island. He was killing time, unsure what the sunrise tomorrow would bring.
Frustratingly, the more time that he spent alone, the more that he felt that Aster might just have been right. The prospect of having to spend all summer here alone wasn't particularly appealing. Even if he managed to last, it would be a load of strange faces which would replace those who were leaving. There was only so many times that he could walk round this island and still manage to preserve some vestiges of his sanity. As such, as much as it paid him to admit it, he reasoned that he was going to have to take up the younger man on his offer. He might not necessarily stick to him like glue but perhaps use him as something of a base of sorts, a place that he could find another to speak with and who could see him. There was Alexis as well of course but he was reluctant to saddle her with his presence.
He wanted to kick at the pebbles beneath his feet as he did what he could to gather his thoughts together but as always, his foot went straight through them, only adding to the rage that he felt in those few instants. He resigned himself to the reality of his situation once more. Given that all the signs seemed to indicate that this was going to be a permanent affair, he reasoned that there was little point in him spending the rest of what was likely to be a very long death angry.
No. Tomorrow he would leave with the others. He already knew that much. As such, he decided that he would go on a tour of the island, at least until Alexis and Aster were finished. It was unlikely, Zane reasoned, that he would ever set foot here again. Not with Syrus away, trying his luck in the pro-leagues. So he had might as well get one last look. He drifted around somewhat listlessly. There were a few old haunts which he wanted to get one last look at. He made sure to stop off there but in between he allowed himself just to wander.
"You're not a face I thought we'd see around here again."
He recognized the voice but knew it to be impossible. So for a moment, he remained frozen in place unsure how he could be hearing what he knew himself to be hearing. After everything that he'd lived through, he was naturally somewhat weary of the "impossible", associating it more often than not with bad news or some dark force which was going to attack them. Experience had taught him that as far as the owner of the voice was concerned, he might not be entirely wrong to be cautious.
As he turned around however, he found himself faced with something strangely familiar. It wasn't just the man who stood before him whose features he knew well but that somewhat wispy quality about him was something which Zane had grown accustomed to. He identified it easily enough as a clear sign that the man didn't quite belong here.
"Banner… Escaped from the afterlife, have you?"
"I never went. The same as you it would seem."
"Not by choice..." Zane grumbled in response. "I'm not like you. Clinging to life no matter what it costs."
"Maybe you have more choice than you-"
The man let out a sudden cry as without warning, Pharaoh leapt up. With a single swipe, he managed to get rid of the man, rendering him little more than a small ball of bright light. Zane watched with a mixture of helpless horror and astonishment as within a split second, the spirit of the man had been swallowed by the beast. The cat didn't seem terribly bothered about what it had done, raising its paw to clean its whiskers and face. He stared at the animal, unsure if he was looking at a cat or some demon from hell.
"Banner!"
"I'm still here!" Somehow the voice still reached him.
"Hang on!" Zane reached out to grab the creature but stopped himself, wondering if Pharaoh might conceivably have it in him to eat more than a single person. "I'll go get help!"
He justified his decision to turn tail by reasoning that it wasn't as if he could have done anything. His hands would have passed through the feline just as easily as they would have done through the walls and people. No, he needed the help of someone with a little more substance than he currently possessed. So he rushed across the island, running as fast as his legs would carry him as he headed back down towards the port. A small white yacht was still moored there but come tomorrow, he knew that it would have set off for somewhere else, somewhere new.
He hopped on board, searching for its occupant. He found him easily enough busy shifting through his deck. He didn't have the same amount of packing to do. Everything he had could be found on board the ship. All he needed to do was lift the anchor and he would be on his way. As soon as Zane tore round the corner, he jumped to his feet, presumably fearing the worst.
"What is it?"
"Aster! I need you to catch a cat!"
Alexis Rhodes let out a heavy sigh and she folded the last of her skirts into her suitcase. It was strange to think that this time tomorrow she would be back home. That thought had been weighing heavily upon her mind for a week or so and up until two nights ago, she would have said that it was her single biggest worry. Now however, she found herself faced with another issue in the form of an old friend.
Zane was very much being Zane about it all. Telling them not to worry about it. As if the assurance was enough to do anything but the contrary. She'd only had the briefest of opportunities to discuss things with Aster but reading between the lines, she'd grasped that things very much weren't "alright" where the ghost of their friend was concerned. He hadn't gone into much detail but there was enough of a warning there to let her know that she had better tread carefully. So whilst her natural instinct was to go to Syrus and tell him that his brother was still here, she forced herself not to. Keen to remain in his good books for a while it least and in order to do so, to respect his wishes.
Her room was back to how she had found it. Any trace of its former occupant had been removed, ready for the next who would come along in a few months. She would have been lying if she claimed that she didn't have something of a heavy heart when she considered that fact. This place had been such a huge part of her life. It hadn't all been great. Some of it had been pretty downright terrifying and there had been more heartbreak than she would ever have thought possible. It had been a large part of her life however. One which she knew that she was about to say goodbye to so as to embark upon something different for all of them. They would still keep in touch of course, they'd promised as much but she was still aware that it wasn't going to be the same.
She left her room, going in search of the others. They would, she hoped, be able to distract her from this sense of regret that her life was going to be, from tomorrow, irrevocably different.
She found Mindy and Jasmine easily enough. They'd been finished for a while now and had, it would seem that they'd been waiting for her. She greeted them warmly before heading out for the yard, it would be a fair bet that the others, those that had finished would have congregated there. It was a short walk really but Alexis found herself to be determined to make the most out of it:
"So… You and Aster Phoenix, when did that happen?" Mindy asked her after a few moments.
"It uh-" Her natural reaction was not to lie to her friends but she was equally aware of just what was at stake. "Honestly not long. It was just for the dance really."
"Still. You could have said something!" Jasmine's tone remained playful.
"Yeah. Guess I wanted it to be a surprise."
She hadn't really put much thought into accepting Aster's offer that morning. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea: a way for her to finally have some peace and an excuse to present to her suitors. She hadn't really given much thought to what would happen afterwards however. Perhaps, she reasoned that she could have come up with some sort of excuse for them to separate amicably. In theory, their lives would have been going in two very different directions after all. It wasn't as if it could have lasted… All of this was made a fair bit easier with the knowledge that he didn't care for her. At the very least, she didn't have to worry about hurting his feelings seeing as they weren't there.
In a few weeks, she was certain that all of it would be forgotten about. Everyone would have more important things to worry about.
Jaden was nowhere to be found. It should have been cause for concern and yet, as she found her brother, Syrus and Hassleberry waiting patiently. They were a little bit quieter than they should have been. No doubt that was mostly attributable to the fact that they, much like her, knew that everything would be different this time tomorrow. So they chatted as much as they could, remembering some of the best times and wondering about just what the future would hold for them. One thing they all seemed to be certain about was that they were going to keep in touch, come what may.
It wasn't long until Chazz joined him. He dragged his feet, head low and hands in his pockets as he approached:
"Aster's lost it." The teen's declaration was as simple as it was confident.
"What do you mean?" Alexis asked, her mouth dry.
"Saw him running through the woods earlier shouting and cursing." He took a sip of his drink, his gaze shifting to focus on her. "Maybe you should talk to him, seeing as he's your boyfriend."
Alexis grimaced but held back retorting anything. She didn't want to risk souring the mood. Not today. She was however concerned. There was no concealing that much. She caught sight of Atticus' gaze resting upon her, watching to see what her response would be. As a result, she forced herself to remain calm and composed. After all, perhaps unlike her friends, she was already pretty sure what the cause of the commotion would be. It was more the reason that worried her. Zane could, in his own way, be decidedly frustrating at times but perhaps not to such an extent.
"I should probably go check on him..." She declared after a few moments.
"You want me to come with you?" Atticus offered.
"No thanks! I'm sure he's just lost one of his cards or something..."
It was the first excuse which had come to mind. She was sure to move on before any of them had the time to question it. With luck, she would be able to track down Aster and get to the bottom of things before anyone else grew worried enough to actually take action. With luck, it was only something minor.
She made quick work of reaching the woods but found no trace of the pro-duellist. It was only after asking a few students that one of them was finally able to inform her that they'd seen him heading back to the docks but only from afar. She'd thanked them before heading on her way once more. The young woman made a concerted effort not to rush. Rushing would have looked odd and she knew that the students here had become especially sensitive as far as anything out of the ordinary was concerned. The last thing that she wanted to be responsible for was creating a panic.
Ironically enough, she'd never actually set foot on Aster's yacht, only ever considered its luxury from the port. She managed to get on board easily enough. As soon as she did however, it occurred to her that it might have been in her interests to be cautious. After all, she'd only assumed that he'd been acting up because of something to do with Zane. All of a sudden, she found herself wondering if there might not be some darker force at play here. Unfortunately, it wouldn't have been the first time. So she tread carefully as she approached the door, one hand on her deck just in case.
Somehow, the sight that greeted her was both a comfort and wasn't one.
Both Aster and Zane was there. The latter seemed grumpy (well, grumpier than he usually was), arms folded across his chest as he considered his companion, whilst the former was in something of a sorry state. It wasn't that any of his wounds were particularly severe. They were scratches in the truest sense of the word, although he did seem to have acquired a multitude of them. Even from where she was standing, she felt as if she could sense the rage and humiliation radiating from him as he did his best to try and apply a gauze to his right shoulder. Neither of them paid her any attention, even as she entered the room:
"What the-?! What have you been doing?!" Her surprise turned at once to anger. "What did you do to to him?"
"Me?! I can't touch him without jumping into his body. It was the cat!"
"What cat?!"
Zane nodded with a grunt towards one of the cupboards but provided no further explanation. The woman approached perhaps more brazenly than she should have, reasoning that if it were dangerous one of the two of them would no doubt have said something. She noted that Aster had jammed a wooden spoon between the handles in order to ensure that they couldn't be opened. She removed it carefully. Almost as soon as she did, a brown tabby cat bounced out, landing on the counter and hissing loudly.
"Pharaoh?!" Again, this only seemed to make things more confusing. "Wh-"
"Banner is inside the cat!" Zane explained to her.
"How's that even possible?!"
"I don't know but he'd better be. It took me an hour-and-a-half to catch that thing!"
"If he is in there… How are you going to get him out?"
"I dunno." Aster cast a glance towards Zane. "You got some of those shock things?"
"Don't you dare!"
Alexis was formal. She took a risk, scooping the cat which had, on occasion, been known to take chunks out of those who were careless around it, in her arms. The animal remained docile however, purring ever so slightly as she held it protectively. It's eyes remained fixed upon Aster however. Exchanging something of a death glare with the young man who had managed to capture it. Despite the weight of Banner's former pet, she managed to hold it in one hand as with the other she went through the cupboards, searching for something, anything which could have been of use.
She found eventually: a tin of sardines. Already, she could see Pharaoh begin to grow excited, no doubt sensing what was to come. She carried the cat over to the dinner table and put it down carefully. Next, the young woman opened the tin and offered it to the animal. It licks its lips, clearly enticed. Something however seemed to cause it to pause, to hesitate. It considered the food, weighing up its options before suddenly retching as if to bring up a furball. It strained only for a few moments before a ball of light emerged. In a flash, the cat began tucking into its fish.
It was only a few seconds later that Banner appeared, seemingly no worse off for having spent time in a stomach. Instead, his attention fell upon the somewhat startled young woman:
"Thank you Alexis."
"Professor Banner?!" Somehow, despite having been told by Zane just what to expect, she found herself to be struggling to believe her eyes. "How are you-?"
"Oh… I've been around for a while." The spirit assured them. "Since Jaden defeated me in fact."
"Yes but… In a cat?!"
"I think it's just Pharaoh's way of keeping me company."
Having no other way of contesting such a claim, they were forced to accept it. Some more explanations were required however they proved to be somewhat disappointing when given. He'd always been there apparently, although usually trapped within Pharaoh. From time to time, he managed to escape. Sometimes only briefly, others longer. It had been then that he'd seen Zane. Whilst he experienced things more often than not from the stomach of a cat, he remained nonetheless aware that the young man had perished. That had spiked his curiosity.
"You were in to all that occult stuff, weren't you?" Zane asked, his tone dry.
"Yes..." Banner's tone was somewhat more uncertain.
"How do I pass over? I'm trapped here."
"You're trapped?" Banner raised an eyebrow curious. "Did you fight to stay?"
"No. I wanted to go."
"Odd..." The man paused for a moment, thoughtfully. "Usually souls pass over when they're ready."
"This wasn't a case of "usually"..." Zane let out in a frustrated sigh. "So how do I move on?"
"I can't help you I'm afraid." Banner shook his head slowly. "All I can suggest is that you get used to your new existence. It's not that hard really."
Zane grumbled. More than that, for the first time in quite along while, Alexis found the young man to be transparent. His emotions lay bare and for everyone to see, just for a few moments. She could see the pain, the fear, the suffering as he realized that this was to be his existence for the rest of eternity. Just why it was that he'd chosen to put so much faith in the worlds of the professor who had once betrayed them but hearing once more that his situation was hopeless clearly came as an immeasurable blow.
Subconsciously, she found herself to be reaching out for him. She almost reached him too but abruptly, Zane became aware of her presence and shifted away from her, panic in his eyes. She remembered suddenly just what might happen should they touch:
"Careful!" He cautioned her. "You can see me now. One touch and… I don't want you to get sick."
"Sorry..." She muttered apologetically.
"Don't be." He looked away from her. "This is my life now..."
Silence fell over the room, disrupted only by Pharaoh's loud eating of the fish. A silent recognition of what had been said and everything that it entailed. Alexis let out a sigh, folding her arms across her chest. Her gaze drifted around the yacht, discovering it for the first time. It was pretty much what she would have expected from Aster Phoenix's home. All clean, orderly and pristine: any Obelisk blue would have been comfortable in there. It must have cost a fortune.
A pained whimper drew her attention. It was Aster, still struggling with dealing with a scratch that he'd somehow managed to get behind his left shoulder. She could only assume that he'd received it when trying to grab the animal. He seemed to be struggling to reach it with his gauze covered with antiseptic. She watched him struggle for a few moments, not because she was enjoying it but more on account of her brain which for whatever reason, was working slowly, refusing to kick itself into gear, unable to forget about Zane. It took her a short while to realize what she should have been doing. When it did occur to her however, she found herself moving over automatically reaching for the pad he had in his hand.
"Here. Let me help." She requested, encountering resistance for a few seconds eyes wide with incomprehension. "It's okay… I don't bite."
"Thank you."
It provided all of them with a distraction. Even if Zane let out the occasional huff of amusement whenever Aster winced, shuddered or otherwise let out a sign of his discomfort. In truth, it wasn't something that Alexis could boast to doing before: helping another with their wounds. The closest she'd come to it was tending to her brother whilst he recovered from his possession by Nightshroud. It was made a little bit more awkward by the fact that she didn't know the pro-duellist particularly well. His eyes were focused on the bottom right corner of the room, away from her as she carefully dabbed the cuts. All of them were red and swollen and must have been painful.
"How's you get so many scratches?" Alexis couldn't help but ask, impressed equally by how widespread they were.
"He stuck the cat down his shirt." Zane noted dryly.
"I was trying to hide him for you!" Aster snapped back in response. "You didn't tell me he was a lion!"
Alexis shook her head. A small and somewhat nostalgic smile crept its way onto her features as she sat there. In some ways, it reminded her of her childhood, right up to when Atticus had disappeared and then the summer following his return when her big brother had invited his stoic friend round or she'd tagged along to go and visit the Truesdales. They'd been simpler times but now when she looked back upon them, it was all the fonder for that.
It was about lunchtime by the time that Aster was all bandaged up. He'd definitely managed to cover much of his upper body in scratches. Pharaoh must have given him hell. Despite that, he'd still made the effort to drag the beast back to yacht. It would seem, for some reason which Alexis couldn't quite comprehend, that the cocky pro-duellist was surprisingly keen and willing to make sacrifices for his old rival. She decided against questioning it. Recalling that Zane had never much appreciated when someone asked him why he from time to time, decided to display kindness. Whether or not it was because he thought it made him seem weak or it was some form of modesty, she wouldn't have liked to say.
"Are you all packed?" Zane questioned.
"Yeah… It'll be strange to leave this place. It's been my home these past three years."
"Are you hungry Alexis?" Aster asked getting to his feet.
"Um. Yeah. A little." It was an honest reply.
"I was going to have some steak. Will that do?"
"Steak?" Apparently his diet wasn't one which needed to envy anything served for the Obelisk blues. "Yes. Thank you."
It felt somewhat alien to be settling down for lunch with her current company. It was the sort of mix which she felt her parents would probably have guarded her against at some point: a relative stranger, someone who would arguably have qualified as a psychopath up until recently and a man who had already kidnapped her once. Curiously enough though, whilst she was struck rather abruptly by the oddity of the situation - something which threatened to cause her to giggle – she found herself to be unafraid.
They settled down. Aster was hungry. He claimed to suffer from sudden bouts of hunger for a good few days after Zane had taken his body. She could tell that from the way that he initially tucked into his food. Wolfing it down initially, she was surprised that he had enough time to breathe. It was only after a few moments when his eyes abruptly fell upon her, widening silently. In a flash, his table manners were back to their impeccable usual standards. Zane lingered nearby, watching but unable to sit down and join them. That in itself would have been awkward were it not for the added presence of Banner who seemed equally confused by the situation they now found themselves in. So Alexis did her best to create some form of conversation.
"Professor Banner, what are you going to do now? Stay on Academy Island?"
"There's not much for me there now. I might see what I can find elsewhere..." He provided no further insight or explanation.
"Want a lift?" Aster offered. "I'll be heading back to the mainland. You're more than welcome to tag along."
"Thank you but I thank I can manage by myself."
They left it at that and silently, all eyes fell upon Zane. He didn't react. No doubt he was aware of the choice which he found himself saddled with. The spirit remained silent for a moment, arms folded across his chest as he pondered the matter. They gave him some time, not even attempting to articulate the decision which lay before him: solitude or, at least for a while, company. The response however was slow in coming, prompting Aster to ask:
"What about you big guy? Feel like coming along?"
"What are you two going to do with me?"
"Keep you company." Alexis told him, her voice soft.
"Then what? Start the Aster Phoenix and Alexis Rhodes home for wayward spirits?" There was a dryness behind his response. "You do not need some sort of a ghost hanging around you. You'd be better off getting back to normal lives."
"Unless it's escaped your attention of the five of us round this table, only three of us have a pulse and one of those is a cat!" Aster gave his friend a knowing smile. "I think we can handle a little more weird for a while."
This time, Zane's indecision was somewhat more apparent. He made no attempt to conceal that he was in two minds about the matter and in doing so, Alexis felt that she knew already what he wanted. She would have liked to take him to one side. To chat in private and to beg him to listen to reason and do what was best for him: he couldn't stay here alone. She couldn't though. She knew him to be too proud to accept to it when in the company of others. As he turned to look at her however, for a moment, she thought that she might be able to see some of her old friend. Just a flicker of him, a split second where his gaze softened.
A moment later, Zane returned to his usual cold self; looking away and closing his eyes. He let out a sigh which failed to affect anything else around him.
"I guess it's not like I have anything better to do..."
Both Aster and Alexis let out a silent sigh of relief. It was a small victory but a victory all the same and certainly a step in the right direction.