They both sat on opposite sides of each other on the ride back to Alexis's apartment. It was an awkward experience for both of them, to say the least. None knew what to talk about. Each time their eyes glanced at one another's, they turned away. Alexis dug into the pocket of her park and put headphones on as she listened to music on her phone. She could take the silence no longer.

Antososson sipped very sweet tea from his cup and nudged Aster on the shoulder. "Say something to her," he whispered.

"Like what?" Aster asked.

"I dunno. Anything. You did just buy her contract. It's only fair you explain what you want to do with her."

"That's the thing, I don't even know why I did it." He scratched his head. "Ugh, maybe I should have just let well enough alone."

"Nonsense. You rescued her. It was terrible what that man was doing to her." He nodded. "And you were right about one thing. Her skills are too good for that place. She's in another league. Believe me, I know a thing or two about dueling talent."

"Well, she was one of the top students in school," said Aster. "I think she has a bright future in the pro leagues."

"So explain that to her," Antosson said. "Go on. Go on."

"Ahem," Aster said, trying to get Alexis's attention. She didn't hear him. "Ahem! Ahem!" he coughed even louder. Alexis noticed him and took off her earbuds.

"Yeah?" she said.

"I uh...hope you look forward to our partnership," Aster said.

"I guess but why did you choose me? What did I do to deserve being under your wing? We barely talked at school, we haven't seen each other since we graduated. What motivated you to get up on that stage and just buy me out like that?"

"Well," Aster said crossing his arms. "I guess I should have just left you there then so that…"

"No! No! It's fine. I'm sorry. I'm just...nervous and confused. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Especially not since…"

"What?" Aster asked after she paused.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What about studying abroad? What happened to becoming a teacher? You had it all mapped out in school, Alexis, what happened?"

"A lot of things, but I don't want to talk about it. You say want to help, so tell me. What is it you want me to do? Do you want me to duel in the pro leagues? The colosseum?"

"You're not ready for that yet," said Aster. "But I do know much better independent promotions you could work in. Shows more deserving of your skill. If you can work your way up from those, we'll talk about the colosseum."

"Sounds good to me," said Alexis.

"Great. Do you uh...want to meet tomorrow morning for a coffee or something?" He pursed his lips.

Shit! Did I really just ask that?

Alexis shook her head. "No, thanks. I'd rather just get down to business."

"Straight to the point, I like that," said Antosson. "No, dilly-dally. Maybe Aster, here, can learn a thing or two from you, Alexis."

The SUV stopped in front of the apartment complex. Aster looked out the window and grimaced. "Uh, is this the right place?" he asked.

"Yeah, this is where I live," said Alexis. "Where did you think I lived?"

"Not here, that's for sure. A girl as well-connected as you."

"I don't have those connections anymore," Alexis said with a sigh. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Mind if I go up with you?" Aster asked. Shit! There you go again! Stop being so desperate!

Alexis smiled. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt. Maybe having you by my side will keep the landlord off my ass." She opened the door and walked out. Aster followed her outside and into the apartment building.

He wrinkled his nose when the terrible smell of multiple meals cooking at once filled his nostrils. The halls were dark and full of very shady people hanging around and making deals concerning God knows what. Aster wanted to get out of here and fast.

Alexis stopped in front of the door to her room and took out the keys from her pocket.

"You live here?" Aster asked. "Good God, Alexis, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Alexis said opening the door.

When Aster saw the room, he could take it no more. That small spark of generosity in his heart started to bloom into a roaring fire. And he asked something he never thought he would ever ask.

"No, no, Alexis, this place is not you! You can't live here!"

"But it's all I've got," said Alexis.

"No. Come stay with me at my place." He pursed his lips again.

Idiot! What are you doing?

"What?" Alexis asked. "With you?"

"Just until you get back up on your feet, that's all."

"No!"

"Alexis, I…"

"Aster, stop. You can't do this. It was nice of you to give my dueling a chance but I can't find myself burdening you with me."

Aster should have taken her protest as a sign to just drop it. But he couldn't. He just couldn't find it in himself. "Alexis. Come on. If you're going to work for me, you can't be living in a dump like this. Gather what you need and let's…" He picked up a bra hanging from the back of her chair. "Uh…"

Alexis swiped it from him and hid it behind her back. "Uh, was that necessary?"

"Alexis. Come on. Don't make me beg. If you don't leave this place, I'll just have to buy one for you."

Alexis's legs crossed and she twidled her thumbs. "Aster I...I don't know. You won't find me a bother?"

"Not at all."

"All right. Can you grab that box on the kitchen table and fill it with those books on the shelf over there while I get my clothes?"

"Uh, sure," Aster said. He picked up the box and took it to the bookshelf by the window, loading it with her books. "A Song from the Divines?" Aster said, picking up a very thick one. "I didn't take you for a fantasy lover."

"It keeps me sane," Alexis said as she stuffed some clothes and cards into her backpack.

"I know what you mean," Aster said, examining the cover. "It's a nice story. Too bad the author's a moron."

"Tell me about it," said Alexis. "He's so damn slow. He keeps promising book four, but it just never comes out. Instead, he puts out all these useless spinoffs. You know people are betting George R.R Martin will finish A Dream of Spring before that guy even gets one new story out."

"And whenever things go bad, he bitches and blames his readers," Aster laughed. "Oh, man. Did you get everything?"

"It's not much," said Alexis. "Just some clothes. Everything else in here is junk my landlord got me from the dump."

"I can tell," Aster said, smelling the pungent scent of trash from the table. "You hungry?"

"Why?"

"We could stop by the mall and get you something to eat. Not to mention some new clothes. No offense, Alexis, but those rags you're wearing smell really bad."

Alexis sniffed the color of her parka. She made a face of disgust when she whiffed the scent of layers of perfume mixed with sweat. "All right, all right. I'll go."

Aster and Alexis left the miserable apartment and then got back into the SUV, which took them to the bright lights of downtown Paradise. The SUV parked outside the mall. Alexis stepped out and gawked at the sheer size of the place. It had been forever since she went shopping in a place like this.

Aster smiled when she saw the look of wonder on her face. He then looked back into the SUV and held up his hand to stop his manager from coming out.

"I need to be alone with her, Antosson. See you later."

Antosson didn't like the idea. He shook his head and said: "If you insist. Don't stay up too late, kid. There are matches to be won tomorrow."

He closed the door and the SUV drove off into the city. Alexis kept both her hands pressed over her mouth when she saw all the giant Christmas trees lining down the mall. The glowing curtains, the wreathes, all the wonderful smells, and the jazzy Christmas music reverberating across the mall. The fountain in the foyer was forty feet tall and was glowing brightly in front of the largest tree in the mall.

"Wow!" Alexis said. "I...I never thought I'd see this place again."

"Here," Aster said, handing Alexis his platinum card. "Go get what you want and meet me back in the food court."

"Aster, you sure?" Alexis said taking the card.

"If you're going to work for me, you're going to need to look your best," Aster said. He squinted and looked closely at Alexis's blonde hair. "Are those pink streaks?" he asked.

"Oh?" Alexis said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You don't like it?"

"No. It's just not you, Alexis. Man, what happened to you?"

"Don't ask me that again. I don't want to talk about it. So...I can buy anything I want, right?"

"Anything," Aster said. "I'll be waiting for you at the food court."

"You're not going to kill me when you get the bill are you?" Alexis asked.

"I can handle it. Go on. Get out of here," he said. "Go have some fun. I have some business to take care of."

They went their separate ways. Aster walked to the food court and he waited and waited for Alexis to come back. She arrived an hour close to nine, her hands full of shopping bags bloated with parcels and smaller bags. Her smell rags were gone. She was now wearing a white knitted dress, boots, and a white scarf. Aster waved to signal where he was. Alexis walked towards him with a bright smile on her face. She almost seemed to light up, especially with the lights of the trees behind her.

"Well, you were gone a while," Aster said. "That's a lot of stuff."

"And I plan to get some more," Alexis said, setting her things down before she sat on the white metal chair on the opposite side of the table. "But I'm going to need your help getting them."

"If you insist," said Aster. "Uh oh. Look out!"

"Huh?" Alexis looked at her pile of bags. They couldn't take the weight and collapsed. "Oh, shoot!" she said. She tried to grab it, but it was too late. The bags inside the top one spilled by Aster's feet. And they came from a certain store on the west side of the mall. Panties spilled out of the bag, one of them touched the tip of Aster's shoe.

"Whoa," he said, picking it up and stretching it playfully over his face. "This one's quite colorful. I didn't know you liked getting this kind of stuff, Alexis."

"Hey!" she said, snatching it from Aster. "Ugh, got anything better to do than grabbing my underwear, Aster. God!" She stuffed the garment in the pocket of her denim jacket and pouted. Her face was glowing red. She muttered obscenities under her breath and drummed her fingers over her biceps.

Aster couldn't take it anymore. Her sitting there with that angry look on her face. He found it quite...cute. He suddenly found himself bursting out laughing. "Man, Alexis, you need to learn to chill."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You said you were going to buy me dinner. Well, where is it?"

"What do you want to eat?"

"Burgers," Alexis said. "Lots of them."

So that's what Aster did. He bought every kind of burger from the Burger World vendor. When Aster came back with the tray, Alexis wasted no time in grabbing a burger from the pile and ripping it out of its yellow paper. She bit savagely into it, not caring that ketchup started globbing up around her lips. A warm, jazzy version of Silent Night started to play on the radio and it brought of sense of calm to Alexis.

"Wow," Aster said when she reached for her third burger. "You must have been really hungry."

"It's been ages since I ate like this," said Alexis. She stopped chewing and smacked her chest with her fist. "Hrk! Mmph-Mmmm!"

"Well, that's what you get for eating so fast," Aster said, passing Alexis her soda. "So, have you stayed in touch with the gang?"

"From school?" Alexis asked. "No, I haven't heard from them since we graduated."

"What about those two girls you hung out with? Jasmine and Mindy? I'm surprised they didn't help you out."

"Pfft, not those two. They're happy now and don't need me weighing them down."

"What happened to them and the others?"

"They both married wealthy duelists in the pro leagues. Zane...well I don't know what he's doing right now. But I do know his little brother started his own dueling league in Domino."

"And Atticus?"

Alexis shrugged.

"Your brother can't help you out? I'm sure he'd have a thing or two to say if he saw how you were treated tonight. Where is he?"

"He doesn't know I'm here," Alexis replied. "He thinks I'm an assistant teacher at a nearby community college. If he got wind of what I'm doing now, he'll never let me live it down."

"He'd help you if you just reached out to him. Atticus behaves in a certain manner but he's still your brother, Alexis."

"I know. Maybe I'll tell him the truth someday. Just not now. After the... incident I've tried my best to distance myself from my family. I will say no more about it."

"I understand. What about Jaden?"

Alexis sighed sadly and looked up at the glass ceiling. "I don't know. I was hoping you knew."

"I don't know a thing," said Aster. "I heard he traveled to America. After that nobody saw him again."

"Yeah. I wonder how that guy is doing right now?"

"Who knows," said Aster. "All I know is no matter how low Jaden is, he's always happy. So I'm pretty sure he's doing fine right now."

"Yeah," Alexis agreed with a chuckle. "I miss him. I miss them all. Not even a year went by after we said goodbye, and I felt like I lost something important. In a way...those guys...they were like family."

"I can imagine," said Aster. "You'll see them again one day. I know you will."

"I plan on it. When I finally get to redeem myself to the world and maybe get as rich and famous as you, I'm going to do everything in my power to reach out to the crew and get them together. I want to see them again."

"It's a nice goal, Alexis. And I'll do everything in MY power to help you reach it."

"Thanks, Aster. What about you? Have you seen anyone from the group?"

"Not really. Well, Chazz is a competitor in the colosseum. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you again."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Great," she said. She drummed her fingers on the table and yawned.

"It's getting late," Aster said. "Come on. Let's take you home."

"No, no, it's fine," Alexis protested as she waved her hand.

"We have to go. The mall's about to close." He got up and helped Alexis with her parcels before calling a cab back to his penthouse suite at the top of a luxury tower called The Salazar. The name shined in bright red near the top where Aster lived. Although Alexis said she wasn't sleepy, she was nodding off on the elevator up to his place.

"Wow," said Alexis. She stepped out of the elevator and started exploring Aster's home. "This is where you live?"

Aster took off his coat and hung it in the hall closet. "Yup. Being grand champion of the colosseum has its perks. There's a room upstairs that you can use. Stay as long as you want, I mean that."

"Thanks, but I won't be around long," Alexis said. She removed her scarf and touched the rocky water walls of the hallway that led to the living room, which had a grand view of Paradise City. Alexis pressed her hands against the window and looked outside. She spotted the colosseum and the tri-towers of Kaiba Corp's Paradise City headquarters. "This is beautiful!" Alexis said. She stormed into one of the bathrooms and laughed. "My God! This bathroom is bigger than my old studio."

"Why won't you be around long?" Aster wondered. "I mean it, Alexis. Stay as long as you want."

"You're really sweet, Phoenix," Alexis said. "But I'm not one to linger. Once I get back up on my feet, I'm outta here. I promise."

"If you insist," Aster said, leaning against the doorframe. He watched as Alexis walked all over the place examining the rooms. "And I'll do whatever I can to help you get the crew together again."

"Thanks, Aster." Alexis yawned and covered her mouth with a polite hand.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room," said Aster.

After Alexis got settled, he left so she could wash and dress into her pajamas. He waited outside, leaning against the door to her room, listening to the pipes rumble. He heard her shuffling out of the bathroom. Afterward, there was silence.

"You done?" Aster asked, knocking on the door. No answer.

"Alexis?" He knocked again. No answer still.

Aster opened the door. The room was dark. All the lights were off, save for a lamp on the night table next to Alexis's bed. And there she lay, clad in a silky nightgown. She was sound asleep, probably knocked out as soon as her head rested against the pillow. Aster leaned his shoulder on the doorframe and watched her. She breathed so softly. Her hair was flowing on the right side of her head and spilled over her pillow.

"Good night, beautiful," Aster whispered.

"Ahem."

Aster turned. Antosson was standing there waiting for him. He had a snarky grin on his face and he tapped his foot on the ground. "Ah, I'm beginning to understand now."

"Understand what?" Aster said, closing the door.

"When I first started managing your career, you once told me about a crush you had while you were in Duel Academy. That crush was her, wasn't it? You like her, don't you?"

"That's none of your damned business. What the hell are you doing here?"

"We have a lot to discuss in terms of business. Your duel against Carlos Ollanta was one of the finest matches I've ever seen. The crowd loves you, baby! They want to see more of you. And I've come up with a plan to give them what they want. And what you want. More duels more money, eh? Enough to impress your princess in there, too."

"She's just a friend in need," said Aster. "Nothing more, nothing less. She's not staying long, either — she made that very clear."

"Whatever you say, Aster, baby. Just take a look at the list of opponents we have in store for you. Find the ones who think will prove a challenge for you and let me know so I can begin the bookings for some main events. It's going to be big, Aster, really big!"

Alexis stirred in her bed. She sobbed in her sleep as her nightmares began to form the shape of a terrible beast. She could see its burning red eyes glaring at her from the darkness across from her. She stood all alone in a ghostly arena full of faceless, shapeless masses of shadow calling out to her. They were mocking her! Cursing her! Booing her.

"No, please!" Alexis shouted.

The monster in front of her roared so loud her clothes were ripped to shreds, leaving her naked and at the mercy of the phantom crowd who started laughing at her. Alexis covered herself as best she could with her hands and fell to the ground, sobbing.

"Please, leave me alone! Please! Stop laughing at me! PLEASE! PLEASE STOP LAUGHING AT ME!"

Ten!….Ten!...Ten! The crowd shouted.

The monster unleashed a jet of golden flames at Alexis. The fire spun around Alexis. The crowd continued pointing and laughing at her. The flames then formed into the head of a dragon with a long mane and two jagged spikes on its head. The dragon snarled and then opened its mouth.

"NOOOOO!" Alexis shouted as the beast devoured her.

Alexis woke up gasping for air. She was soaked in sweat. The room was dark. Every shadow looked like the creature from her dreams. She turned on the light. The shadows dispersed and revealed chairs, coffee tables, and decor.

It was just a dream. She was safe now.

But Alexis's horror was extreme.

She sobbed, buried her face in her palms, and started to cry.