Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Friends before the light
"Bye guys! Have a good trip!" Jaden shouted as the ship going to the city moved from the dock of duelist academy. Aster, Sartorius and Sarina waved good-bye to their friends at the academy.
"Well, we have about a 2 day trip ahead of us. Why don't we go grab some dinner and chat about how times have changed for us over the years, yes?" Sartorius mentioned to his sister and trusted friend. Both nodded in agreement and soon made their way to the dining hall. Everyone ordered their dinner and chatted about things they used to do before this whole "light of destruction" ordeal took place. As the laughing died down, Sartorius noticed Aster barely touched his food. Sartorius gave Aster a questioning look, "Aster, is something the matter? You haven't touched your food." Aster looked up from his plate and replied, "I'm fine…..I'm just not that hungry at the moment. Hey I'm really tired, so I think I'm going to call it a night. I'll see you guys in the morning!" Aster got up from the table and made his way to the rooms on the ship. "I can see why he's so tired, it's been a long day dear brother. I think I'm going to head to bed too. Good night Sartorius." Sarina said as she gave her brother a hug and made her way to her room. Sartorius sat at the dinner table for a few minutes before getting up. He also figured he might as well go to bed, he was physically and mentally exhausted after this horrible ordeal.
Morning came sooner enough. Sartorius yawned and stretched his arms as he walked down the hall to the dining hall for breakfast. To his surprise he saw his sister, but no Aster. "Morning Sarina, where's Aster?" he asked as he sat down at the table with a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. Sarina finished eating her bite of eggs, "He was here a few minutes ago. He had two cups of water and a glass of orange juice. I told him he should eat something since he barely ate anything last night, but he only ate a slice of toast." Sartorius thought this over for a minute, "He's been acting strange since last night. I should probably go find him." Sartorius looked up from his plate, "Sarina, do you know where he went?" Sarina shook her head, "Sorry, I don't. You can try his room. He looked like he was about to collapse from exhaustion, so I told him he should go to his room and rest." Sartorius nodded and got up from the table.
He knocked on Aster's door for over 5 minutes. "Damn it, he must not be in there." Sartorius then made his way to the bow of the ship. He figured if anywhere else on the ship, Aster would be there looking out over the ship. Sure enough, his hunch was correct. There Aster was, leaning on the railings at the bow of the ship. Sartorius smiled and made his way over to Aster. "It feels great out here." he said as he stopped mid in his tracks as Aster turned around and smiled. "Yeah, it does." Aster replied. Sartorius was shocked, Aster looked like he was through hell or something. Aster had bags under his eyes (probably from lack of sleep) and he was so pale. "Aster, you feeling alright? You look like you've been through hell." Sartorius asked. Aster nodded and smiled, "I'm fine, had some trouble sleeping last night." Sartorius watched as Aster swayed a little bit on his feet. "Well sit down, you look like your about to fall over." Sartorius sat down next to Aster against the railings. "Last time I saw you like this, you were a kid and having nightmares about your dad." Sartorius mentioned. Aster looked down to his lap, his bangs covering his eyes. "I take it you've had nightmares all last night?" Sartorius asked while placing his hand on Aster's shoulder. Aster sighed, "Yeah, I kept seeing you when the light had you under control. It got so bad, it killed you and I was to blame." "Aster, you're always going to be the one to steer me on the right path. Nothing will happen to me ever again, I promise you that." Sartorius said while giving Aster a hug. Aster only nodded his head in agreement and yawned as Sartorius held him in his hug. "Come on, let's get you to bed. You look exhausted." As Sartorius released Aster from his hug, he noticed Aster fell asleep. Sartorius chuckled, "he must have been so tired." He thought to himself. Sartorius picked Aster up and carried him off to his room and placed him in bed. Before leaving, he heard a faint "Don't go, please stay…I don't want to lose you again." Sartorius turned and saw Aster in a half awake half dream haze. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." After saying that, Aster took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Instantly, he fell into a deep slumber.
"Finally! I've been so sick of this ship! Anyway, I'm going shopping! See you both later!" Sarina said as she called a taxi and zoomed off towards the mall. The 2 day trip wasn't that bad. Aster mostly slept, which Sartorius found odd. Even with nightmares, someone shouldn't be that tired. He just assumed that with everything that went on, he needed a good day or two of rest and relaxation. "I'll walk with you home, but I need to head somewhere after. I made a promise to a friend I'd sign books at his book store once I arrived." Aster said as he and Sartorius boarded land. Sartorius nodded and both continued their way to Sartorius's house. The walk from the ship dock to his house was about ten minutes, so there really isn't a need for a taxi. While walking Sartorius notices Aster breathing heavy. It's unlike Aster to be out of breath already, he is an athlete after all. "Aster, are you sure your feeling alright?" Sartorius asked as he slowed his pace so Aster could catch up. "Never better, let's go…we are almost there." Aster replied.
"Thanks for walking with me, you sure you don't want to stay for a bit?" Sartorius asked as he unlocked his house door. Aster shook his head, "Can't, I'll see you later for dinner." Sartorius watched as his friend walked down his drive way. He turned around and started to open his door when he heard a loud thud from behind him. He turned around quickly and saw Aster on the ground. "Aster!" Sartorius shouted as he quickly made his way to his friend. He got down on his knees and slowly turned Aster over. Aster's face was flushed and his breathing was labored. Sartorius brought his hand up to his forehead and flinched on contact. "He's burning up! I need to get him inside." He thought to himself as he lifted Aster up and hurried to his house. He laid Aster down on his bed and began removing his shoes and jacket. He instantly saw he was sweating under his jacket and started removing his shirt.
Sartorius tucked Aster in and made his way to the bathroom. He returned to his room with a bowl of cool water and a wash cloth and a thermometer. He dipped the wash cloth into the cool water and rung it out before placing it on Aster's forehead. "When he wakes up, I'll need to get his temperature." He thought to himself. And so the wait began. Sartorius was constantly changing the wash cloth every hour and trying to get small gulps of water into Aster's unconscious state. His fever didn't seem to change at all and Sartorius sighed. "He must have been catching whatever he has on the ship. That would explain why he was so exhausted." Sartorius was just about to refill the bowl with cool water when he heard a slight groan. He looked at Aster and smiled as he opened his eyes.
"Aster? Aster, can you hear me?" Sartorius asked worried. Aster shifted his gaze to Sartorius and tried to sit up. Sartorius put his hands on Aster's chest and slowly pushed him back down in bed. "Don't move Aster, you have an intense fever." Aster tried to speak, but broke out into a coughing fit. With seeing this, Sartorius helped Aster sit up and slowly brought a cup of water to his mouth. "Drink slowly" Sartorius said as he tilted the cup towards Aster's lips. Aster swallowed water at his own pace. After his coughing died down, Sartorius helped Aster lay back down in bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he covered Aster back up with the blanket. "Warm, too warm." Aster replied softly. Sartorius removed the blanket, but Aster started shivering. He quickly placed it back over Aster. He then turned and took the thermometer off the side table. "Put this under your tongue, let's get your temperature." Aster listened to what he was told and placed the thermometer under his tongue. When the beep went off, Sartorius took it and read out loud, "102". Silence fell into the room until Sartorius spoke, "I'll be right back." He then made his way to the bathroom.
Aster shivered and turned and laid on his side. He felt awful. His body ached, he kept going through hot and cold flashes, he couldn't think straight and worst of all he felt nauseous all of a sudden. Aster quickly sat up and held his stomach. He winced at the pain soaring through his stomach and took a deep breath. He quickly placed a hand over his mouth. Sartorius walked back in with a bottle of fever reducer in his hand. "This should help your fever A-" he was cut off when he saw Aster looking like he was about to puke. He quickly grabbed the nearest trash can and placed it in front of Aster. Aster quickly put his head over it and puked. Sartorius did the only thing he could do in this situation, try to calm Aster down by talking to him telling him he was going to be alright and rubbing circles on his back. Once Aster finished puking, Sartorius put the trash can down by the bed. "I-I'm…s-sorry" Aster said as he coughed into his hand. "For what? Sartorius asked as he helped Aster lay back down. "This….having to take care of me so suddenly." Aster croaked. Sartorius placed a wash cloth on Aster's forehead, "Honestly Aster, this is nothing. After what you did for me, this is the least I could do. I don't think it's a good idea to take that medicine after you just vomited, so just get some rest. Try to sweat this bug out of you, ok?" Aster took a deep breath and nodded. He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.
"He's right in here doctor, thank you for coming on such short notice." Sartorius said as he led the doctor into his bedroom. "It was no trouble, I was just shocked you said Aster Phoenix. It's unlikely to hear he can get sick, he's always the one doing dangerous stunts and stuff." The doctor replied as he went into the bedroom. The doctor sat in the chair next to the bed where Aster was sleeping. He gently took Aster's wrist in his hand and watched the pocket watch he pulled out. "How long has he been like this?" the doctor asked as he stuck a thermometer in Aster's ear. "Since we got home this morning. I was hoping that I could at least get his fever down a bit, but it was no luck. It's been at least over 7 hours now, so I figured I'd call you." Sartorius replied. "I see, well I'm glad you did. A 102 fever isn't something to mess around with." The doctor said as he pulled the thermometer out of Aster's ear. Aster started to wake up from his slumber. He turned his head to face the person sitting in the chair next to him. "Sartorius?" he questioned as he looked at the doctor. Sartorius made his way to the other side of the bed. He gently placed his hand on Aster's shoulder. "I'm right here Aster. I called a doctor to have a look at you since your fever wasn't letting up." Aster looked at Sartorius and nodded. "Aster, can you sit up for me please?" the doctor asked as he was putting on his stethoscope. Aster tried to push himself up, but couldn't. His strength was completely gone as of this moment. Seeing this, Sartorius helped his friend up. He kept his hand on his back to hold him up straight. The doctor placed his stethoscope on Aster's chest and asked him to breathe in and out several times. He then moved the stethoscope to his back and asked him to breathe in and out several times once again. After, the doctor checked Aster's throat, eyes, and ears with a light. "Ok, just to make sure, what are you feeling?" the doctor asked as he was putting his stuff away. "Hot and cold flashes, chills, aches and pains everywhere, coughing, nausea and dizziness." Aster replied. "Alright then, looks like you caught the flu. I'd say it's a stress induced flu though. You need to take it easy for a while Mr. Phoenix. Hope you feel better. I'll escort myself out." And with that, the doctor was gone. Sartorius helped Aster lay back down. "I'm sorry, this is my fault." Sartorius said while looking the other way. "Don't be stupid, this could happen to anyone." Aster replied. "You're stressed out though, that's my fault and I'm truly sorry." Sartorius said while holding back tears. Aster reached for Sartorius's hand, "Its fine, this isn't your fault. You were always there for me, well I'm always going to be there for you." Sartorius wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled. "I'll be right back, stay in bed." Sartorius said as he walked out of the bedroom.
"You don't have to eat all of it, just enough so you can take some of the flu medicine I had in my bathroom." Sartorius said as he placed a bowl of soup next to Aster. Aster nodded and let Sartorius feed him spoon after spoon of the broth. About halfway through, Aster said he didn't want anymore and Sartorius poured some medicine on the spoon and had Aster swallow it. "Get some rest. I'll be here checking up on you during the night." Sartorius said as he tucked in a sleepy Aster. "Don't stress yourself too, you need to rest." Aster said through a yawn. Sartorius laughed, "I'll be fine, just go to bed."
"Well that's a relief, your fever is gone!" Sartorius said as he removed his hand from Aster's forehead. "Thanks to you it is." Aster smiled. "Friends before anything Aster….friends before anything…."